Insurance cover for bank depositors raised to Rs 5 lakh

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REGD NO. CHD/0061/2006-08 | RNI NO. 61323/95

Sunday,February 2, 2020

CHANDIGARH, VOL. XXV, NO. 7, PAGES 8, RS. 2

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Jennifer wore Rs68,000 silver threadwork bridal dupattain Beyhadh 2

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he 65th Ama-zon FilmfareAwards are setto take placeon 15th February

AGENCYNEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 1

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Saturdaysaid the government haspermitted DICGC to raise

deposit insurance coverageby five times to Rs 5 lakh.Deposit Insurance andCredit Guarantee Corpora-tion (DICGC), a whollyowned subsidiary of the Re-serve Bank of India, pro-

vides insurance cover onbank deposits. Deposit in-surance coverage will beenhanced from Rs 1 lakh to

5 lakh per depositor, the Fi-nance Minister said herBudget speech in Lok Sab-ha. At present, the DICGC

provides Rs 1 lakh insur-ance to a depositor regard-less of deposit in case thelender fails or liquidated.

Budget 2020: Insurance cover forbank depositors raised to Rs 5 lakh

Government to launch scheme for exporters toreimburse state levies this year: SitharamanNEW DELHI: With an aim to boost dwindling outward shipments, Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Saturday said a scheme for exporters will be launched this year to reimbursetaxes and duties paid by them.It is proposed to digitally refund to exporters, duties and taxes levied at the centre, state, and lo-cal levels, she said while presenting the Union Budget for 2020-21.These taxes include value added tax (VAT), electricity duties and fuel used for transportation,which are not getting exempted or refunded under any other existing mechanism.This scheme for remission of duties and taxes on “exported products will be launched from thisyear itself,” she said. The move assumes significance as merchandise export from Indiascheme (MEIS) was not in compliance with global trade rules.

100 more airports to be developedby 2025 to support UDAN scheme NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 1

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said 100 moreairports will be developed by 2025 to support the UDAN scheme.Presenting the Budget for 2020-21, Sitharaman said Rs 1.7 lakhcrore has been provided for transport infrastructure in 2020-21.She also said 1,150 trains will run under the public private part-nership (PPP) mode, also four stations will be redeveloped withthe help of the private sector.Besides, the minister promised more Tejas type trains to connecttourist destinations. She said a proposal for setting up large solarpower capacity alongside rail track is under consideration.

Atomberg’s energy-efficient smartfans help Chandigarh households CHANDIGARH: Electricity bills have been increasing year onyear for every household. And it is not just because of your air-conditioners. One of the biggest sources of power consumption(next only to AC) are the ceiling fans. Every household has 4-5fans and most of them run for 8-10 hrs a day at a minimum. Andthese fans consume 80-100 Watts. But BLDC ceiling fans areabout to change this scenario. Chandigarh’s residents draw avery high per capita income, which is among the highest in thecountry. Families in Chandigarh are aspirational in nature andlook forward to purchasing goods and services that assure maxi-mum value for money. Recent research studies state that con-sumers are constantly on a lookout for smart products and are in-terested in energy conservation, IOT and smart devices. Com-pared to normal fans, BLDC fans consume 65-70% less electrici-ty. Started by IIT Bombay Graduates in 2012, Atomberg’s energy-efficient BLDC fans consume just 28 Watts resulting in a savingof Rs 1500-Rs 2000 per year for every fan changed.

IIT Genius- Unleash the Academic Genius &Seize the Opportunity of a LifetimeCHANDIGARH: Since the very beginning, FIITJEE has incorpo-rated the essence of a True Guru within its system. Consequent-ly, FIITJEE has not only revolutionized IIT-JEE training industry,but has also set very high standards of transparency & ethics inits system. While IITs & IIMs are struggling to get good faculty, FI-ITJEE has proved that with strategic training and right approach,excellent faculty selected even from top IIT’s and IIM’s can beevolved. As our expedition of innovated excellence completes 27years in 2019, we dedicate a revolutionary service to the Genius-es of India – IIT Genius Scholarships. Top 10 Students from eachClass VIII, IX, X & XI will be bestowed with the Honour of ‘IIT Ge-nius Title’ and will also get their Education at any IIT sponsoredby FIITJEE.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman cuts shortBudget speech after feeling unwellNEW DELHI:Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sat-urday cut short her Budget speech as she felt unwell afterspeaking for a record 160 minutes in Lok Sabha.Sitharaman had only two pages of her Budget speech un-read when she appeared uneasy and was seen wipingsweat from her forehead.She was offered candies by her ministerial colleagues, butthat did not help, and she opted to discontinue the speechasking Speaker Om Birla to consider the remaining part ofher speech as read. This was the longest Budget speech by any finance minis-ter.

Govt sets agricultural credit target atRs 15 lakh crore for FY21: SitharamanNEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 1

The government has pegged the agricultural credit target at Rs15 lakh crore for fiscal 2020-21, Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman said on Saturday.In her second Budget presentation, the Finance Minister alsosaid Nabard refinance scheme will be expanded.She further said Indian Railways will set up Kisan Rail inpublic–private partnership (PPP) mode for cold supply chain totransport perishable goods.Also, Krishi Udaan will be launched by Civil Aviation Ministry totransport agri-products to national as well international destina-tions. The government will also promote one horticulture crop inone district on cluster basis, she said, adding that horticulturewith 311 MT exceeded production of food grains. She also saidthe government will take steps for conservation of marine fishery,and self help groups will be allowed to set up village agri-storagefacilities.

Step-motherly treatment meted out toDelhi again: Kejriwal on Union BudgetNEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday allegedthat step-motherly treatment has been meted out to Delhi againin the Union Budget.Kejriwal took to Twitter to express his disappointment over theBudget for 2020-21 presented by Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Saturday and asked, "When Delhi doesn't figurein the BJP's priorities, why should people vote for it?"

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I Trilok Singh S/o Darshan Singh I, Go g i S h a r m a S / o Pawan I, Manju W / o H a r p r e et Singh R/o H.No. 98, Ward No. 2, K u m a r V i l l a g e J e e d a R/o Ward No. 9 Assandh Tehsil Mundi Kharar, Tehsil Kharar (Bathinda) Have changed My Assandh Distt Karnal Haryana (Mohali) have changed my name Gogi Sharma to Kaur Have Changed My Name From name to Tarlok Singh Chand S/o pawan Kumar. All Manju To Manjot Kaur.

100071 concerned Please note. 100046I, Sandeep kaur Sidhu W/o 90004Sukhdeep Singh Brar, v.p.o. I G u r w i n d e r K a u r W / o Mehma Sarja (Bathinda) Have G u r m e e t S i n g h R / o changed My name Sandeep Chandbhan (Faridkot) have kaur Sidhu to Sandeep kaur changed my name to Amarjeet Brar W/o Sukhdeep Singh Kaur. Brar. All concerned Please 98723note. I Geeta W/o Gurjinder Pal

90004 Sharma R/o Matta (Faridkot) have changed my name to Gita Sharma.

98723I, Charanjit Kaur W/o Gurprit Singh Vill Thal, Tel Assandh, Distt Karnal Have Changed M y N a m e To C h a r a n j e e t Kaur.

100046

I, Sunil S/o Hawa Singh R/o Village I Venkata Kalyani Alajangi W/o I, Navjoyt Singh S/O Gurmeet I Kamaljeet Singh Thind S/o I Gurjinder Singh R/O Village Rohera, Sub- Tehsil Rajound, No.14929570l Hav Siva Kumar Singh R/O Hno-33-A Opp Alpha Sukhwinder Singh R/o Vill-Basti Lehra Dhurkot District Bathinda District Kaithal (haryana) Declare S ivudu R /o Hno .10-6 Near Mall Partap Avenue Amritsar Saun Singh Wali (Jaura), Teh. Have Changed My Minor Daughtrt That I Have Changed My Name Venkateswara Theater, Bhimadole, Have Changed My Name From Zira (Ferozepur) have changed Name Navjot Kaur To Navjot Kaur From Sunil To Sunil Kundu. In W e s t G o d a v a r i ( a n d h r a Navjoyt Singh To Navjot Singh my name to Kamaljeet Singh. Sidhu.Future I Known With The Name Of Pradesh).declare That In My All Concerned May Please Note. 63372 63372

I, Bobby Marwaha Alias Neha Sunil Kundu. All Concerned Please Husband’s Indian Army Service 72737 I, Shimla Devi W/o Gurtej Singh I Manjeet Singh Nepal S/O Bhura Marwaha D/o Braham Kumar Note. Record My Dob Ment ioned I, Shinderjeet Kaur W/o Sukhdev R/o Mandi Dabwali (Sirsa) Singh R/O MCBZ 5 -01315001 St Marwaha W/o Rajeev Kumar 100047 07/03/1989 Which Is Incorrect My Singh Sandhu Village Chakk changed my name to Rani Soni. No.5/2E Baba Farid Nagar Thaman R/o House No 1549, I Balbir Singh S/o Mohinder Singh Correct Dob Is 01/01/1988. Phoola Tehsil Ajnala Dist t 63372 Bathinda Have Changed My Name S e c t o r 4 9 - b , P u s h p a c R/o H.no. E-66, Ranjit Avenue, Ps 90003 Amritsar Punjab 143102 India I, Azad S/o Surinder Kumar R/o To Manjeet Singh.Complex/society, Chandigarh Ranjit Avenue, Amritsar Have I No.14929570l Hav Siva Kumar S/o H a v e C h a n g e d m y n a m e # 55 Sec-2 Block-A Adarsh 63372Declare That Bobby Marwaha Changed My Name From Balbir Sivudu R/o Hno 10-6 Near Shinderjeet Kaur to Shinderjeet N a g a r M a n d i G o b i n d g a r h I, Rupinder Singh Goraya S/o Avtar Aliash Neha Marwaha And Singh To Balbir Singh Sandhu. All Venkateswara Theater, Bhimadole, Kaur Sandhu. (Fatehgarh Sahib) changed my Singh Goraya Prince Enclave Now Neha Thaman Are Has Please Note. W e s t G o d a v a r i ( a n d h r a 72737 name to Azad Kaushal. Nawanshahr have change my name Been All My Names And Are 98728 Pradesh).declare That In My Indian I, Raghvinder Singh Malhi S/o 63372 Rupinder Singh.Of The One And The Same I Savita Kundra W/o Dalip Kumar Army Service Record My Son Name S a w i n d e r S i n g h R / o . V P O 63372I Gurmeet Kaur Kalsi D/o Mohan Person. R/o 1/367 (old No. 3105), Mentioned Pawan Kumar Alajangi B h a n d a l Te h s i l a n d D i s t t Singh Kalsi, 35years Old Resides At I, Gurdev Singh S/o Late: Malook

9000 Hargobind Pura, Gate Hakima Which Is Incorrect His Correct Name Gurdaspur have Changed my 57 clairvale Road Hounslow Singh R/o Vill: Toot Teh-Patti (Tarn I, Suman Kaur W/o Jaswinder Wala, Amritsar Do Hereby Is Pavan Kumar Alajangi. Please name to Raghwinder Singh. London Tw5 9af Has Changed My Taran) Pb, have changed my mother Singh R/o Vill Satoura Dera Solemnly Affirm And Declare That Note. 72737 Name From Gurmeet Kaur Kalsi To name from Angrij Singh to Angrej Parla ,pehowa , Kurukshetra Savita Kundra And Savita Is One 90003 I, Parbodh Chander Bhagat S/o Geet Wilkhu Vide Deed Poll Kaur Changed Given Name Suman And Same Person. I No.14929570l Hav Siva Kumar S/o Des Raj R/o.211, Chander nagar London Uk Affidavit S/No: 63372Surname Kaur. 98728 Sivudu R/o Hno 10-6 Near Murgi Mohalla Staff Road, Batala 556111370 On 07/12/2019. I, Amandeep Singh S/O Raghvir Singh

84661 I Puran Chand S/o Prem Chand R/o Venkateswara Theater, Bhimadole, Gurdaspur have Changed my name 63372 R/O Madpur (Ludhiana) Changed My I, Didar Singh S/o Surender 275, Anandpur Jalbera, Tehsil And W e s t G o d a v a r i ( a n d h r a to Parbodh Chander. Note it I, Karamjit Singh S/o Sampuran Name Mandeep Singh Benipal.S i n g h R / o H . n o 5 2 5 / 2 , Distt Ambala Declare That I Also Pradesh).declare That In My Indian 72737 Singh R/o Vill: Wakilan Wala Teh- 63372Gurunanak Colony , Pehowa, Known As Puran Singh. Puran Army Service Record My Son Pavan I, Rawail Singh S/o Jarnail Singh Zira (Ferozepur) Pb, India, changed I Paramjeet Kaur W/O Amarjit Singh Kurukshetra Changed Given Chand And Puran Singh Are One Kumar Alajangi Dob Mentioned R/o.VPO Chamba Distt Tarn my name to Karamjeet Singh. R/O VPO Usman, Tehsil & Distt Tarn Name Didar Surname Singh. And Same Person. Both Names Are 08/07/2009 Which Is Incorrect His Taran Have Changed my name to 63372 Taran Have Changed My Name To

84661 Pertains To Me. Correct Dob Is 08/07/2008.please Gurwail Singh. Note it I, Gurjinder Singh S/O Amarjit Paramjit Kaur.78645 Note. 72737 Singh R/O Village Lehra Dhurkot 63372

I Shobha Singh S/o Baldev Singh 90003 I, Meena Newar spouse of District Bathinda Have Changed I Shivpreet Kaur W/O Jagmeet Singh R/o # 2, Gali No-2, Near Shiv I, Komal W/O Mohammed Mustafa 15478570H rank DFR Shyam My Name To Gurjinder Singh Randhawa R/O Bijapur (Moga) Have Mandir, Village Jandli, Ambala Sultan R/O.H.No.531 Housing Kumar Newar residing at BAR Sidhu. Changed My Name To Shivpreet Kaur City, Dist t Ambala Have Board Colony Amritsar Have Alengi Satra kalabil mornoi nepali 63372 Randhawa. Changed My Name From Sobha Changed My Name From Komal To Lakhimpur Assam-787054 declare I, Harjinder Kaur W/O Gurjinder 63372Singh To Shobha Singh. Juwapriyah After My Marriage plz that I have Changed my name from Singh R/O Village Lehra Dhurkot I, Jasveer Singh S/o Raj Singh R/o

78645 Note It Meena Newar to Dilmaya Newar District Bathinda Have Changed Kauni Tehsil Gidderbaha Distt. Sri I Veena Kumari W/o Jatinder 72737 both names are of one and same My Name To Harjinder Kaur Muktsar Sahib has changed my name to Kaura R/o Ward No.8, Vpo I, Sakshi Wehgal W/o Rajan Gupta p e r s o n . V i d e a f f i d a v i t Sidhu. Jasveer Singh Brar.Rayya Tehsil Baba Bakala R/o.H.No.299, Brahm Buta Market No.AG577991 dated 31 Jan2020 63372 63372District Amritsar Have Changed Near Hotel Sita Niwas Chowk 72737 I, Gurjinder Singh R/O Village I Gurmeet Kaur W/O Gurpreet Singh My Name To Veena Kaura. Guru Ram Dass Sarai Amritsar I, Manjit Kaur W/o Jaswant Lehra Dhurkot District Bathinda R/O Vpo Nathuwala Jadid Tehsil &

900020 Have Changed my name after Singh R/o Vill: Jattan Wale Teh- Have Changed My Minor Son Distt Moga Have Changed My marriage to Sakshi Gupta. All I, Nirmaljit Kaur D/o Onkar Zira (Ferozepur) changed my Name Navdeep Singh To Navdeep Name To Gurmit Kaur.concerned please note.Singh R/o Patti Masur Ki Vpo name to Manjeet Kaur. Singh Sidhu. 63372

Bundala District Amritsar Have 72737 63372 63372C h a n g e d M y N a m e To Nirmaljeet Kaur.

900020I, Chhinder Pal Kaur W/o Gurmail Singh R/o Ward No.16, Kothe Warring Kotkapura District Faridkot Have Changed My Name To Shinderpal Kaur.

900020I, Harsukhdeep Singh Sandhu S/o Jaswant Singh R/o Village Thathain, Tehsil Baba Bakala, District Amritsar Have Changed My Minor Daughter’s Name From Asees Kaur To Asees Kaur Sandhu.

900020I, Hira Singh S/o Charan Singh R/o Village Rour Khehra Po Wadala Banger Gurdaspur Have Changed My Name To Heera Singh.

900020I, Hitherto Known As Baljit Kaur Daughter Of Dilbag Singh Wife Of Mangal Singh Residing At Pind Rajatal District Amritsar Have Changed My Name And Shall Hereafter Be Known As Mandeep Kaur.

900020I, Hitherto Known As Jagraj Singh Aulakh Son Of Jaswinder Singh Residing At Vpo Raja Sansi, Tehsil Ajnala District Amritsar Punjab Have Changed My Name And Shall Hereafter Be Known As Jagraj Singh.

900020I, Hitherto Known As Madhu Bala D/o Manohar Lal W/o Sushil Khanna Residing At 933, R B Estate, Loharka Road, Amritsar Have Changed My Name And Shall Hereafter Be Known As Madhu Khanna.

900020I, Taro W/o Naseeb Singh R/o Village Pabla Sub Teh. Dhand Distt. Kaithal Have Changed My Son's Name From Rampal To Ram Pal. Concerned Please

Note.84451

I, Mehar W/o Sourav Bansal R/o H.no. 60/14a, Shivpuri Mohalla Dhuri Distt. Sangrur Have Changed My Name To Mehak Bansal

98726I Jc_422015w Rank Sub Name Manoj Kumar Singh S/o Dina Nath Singh R/o Village Digghi, Po Basila, Tehsil Chandauli, Distt Varanasi (up).declare That In My Army Service Record My Wife Anandi Singh Dob Mentioned 01/06/1974 Which Is Wrong And Correct Dob Is 05/09/1974.please Note.

90003

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NATIONNEW DELHI: Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa said the gaming company has no plans to launch a new Switch model this year. Nintendo launched a handheld-only version of its hit console in September, driving demand for the hit device through the year-end shopping season. There have been media reports the company is preparing an upgraded version of the Switch. Nintendo's shares were trading down 4 percent on Friday morning, a day after the company upgraded its Switch sales forecast for the year ending March to 19.5 million units - a number seen as conservative by many analysts. To recall, the Japanese gaming giant on Thursday reported a leap in sales and profit for the nine months to December, upgrading its full-year profit forecast on strong demand for its popular Switch console. et profit for April-December rose 16.4 percent from a year earlier to JPY 196.4 billion ($1.8 billion), with sales for the period up 2.5 percent at JPY 1.0 trillion.

Nintendo CEO Says No Plans to Launch New Switch Model in 2020

PAGEThousands of candles can be lighted

from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases

by being shared.

Buddha

2

AGENCY, connectivity. Under the scheme, financial incentives NEW DELHI FEB 1 in terms of concessions from the Centre, state

governments and airport operators are extended to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday selected airlines to encourage operations from said the Aviation Ministry will launch the Krishi unserved and undeserved airports, and keep airfares Udan scheme to assist farmers in transporting affordable. As at least half of the seats in Udan flights agricultural products so that it improves their "value are offered at subsidised fares, and the participating realisation". carriers are provided a certain amount of viability "Krishi Udan will be launched by the Ministry of gap funding (VGF) -- an amount shared between the Civil Aviation on international and national routes. Centre and the state concerned. In Udan 4.0, the This will immensely help improve value realisation VGF has been enhanced for aircraft having more (on agricultural products), especially in the north- than 20 seats and that would operate in priority areas east and tribal districts," said Sitharaman during her -- Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, budget speech. The Modi government had launched Uttarakhand, northeastern states, Andaman and Udan Scheme in 2016 to improve regional Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

Aviation Ministry’s Krishi Udan Scheme to help transport agricultural produce

LOST & FOUNDIt is notified for the information tha t my or ig ina l /dupl ica te qualifying examination certificate of Main/Compartment, Secondary, Senior secondary examination of year 2017 Matric and Roll No. 2256749 and Senior Secondary Examination of Year 2019 and Roll No. 2738935 issued by CBSE has b e e n a c t u a l l y lost/destroyed/mutilated. name of the candidate Princedeep Singh full Address/Tel. Ward No. 9 Chandigarh Road Samrala Teh-Samrala Distt. Ludhiana, Punjab, India Mobile No. 62393-35393.

63372

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I , Sanjeev Kumar S/o Dharam Pal R/o Hno. - 301/3 ,near Shiv Mandir , Chandana Gate , Kaithal Declares That My Son Neeraj Is Out Of My & My Family's Control. We Disown Him From Our Moveable - Immovable Properties. We Will Not Responsible For Any Work Of Him In Future.

84451I Bikar Singh S/O Joginder Singh R/O Village Matti Teh. & Distt. Mansa Declare That The Spelling Of My Name In English In Some Documents Is Bikar Singh And In Some Documents Is Biker Singh. Both The Spelling Of My Name Bikar Singh And Biker Singh Are Correct.

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Former Congress MP Mahabal Mishrasuspended from partyNEW DELHI: Former MP Mahabal Mishra has been suspended from the Congressfor “anti-party” activities. “Mahabal Mishra, ex-MP, has been suspended from theCongress with immediate effect for anti-party activities with regard to the ongoingDelhi Assembly election,” party’s Delhi in-charge PC Chacko said in a statement.Aprominent Purvanchali face in the party, Mishra had been campaigning for his sonVinay Mishra, who is contesting as an AAP candidate from Dwarka in the February8 election, a Congress leader said.

BJP promises wheatflour at Rs 2 per kg,clean drinking water toevery householdsNEW DELHI: The BJP on Fridayreleased 'Delhi Sankalp Patra', itsmanifesto for Delhi Assembly polls,promising good quality wheat flour atRs 2 per kg for the poor and supply ofclean drinking water to everyhousehold.The document was released inpresence of Union Ministers NitinGadkari, Prakash Javadekar, HarshVardhan, party's Delhi unit presidentManoj Tiwari and MPs.Addressing the media, Gadkari saidthe party will run the "bullet train" ofdevelopment in the national capital."BJP's history is linked to Delhi. Thefuture of Delhi will be changed by theBJP," he said.The manifesto said if it forms thegovernment, the party will give wheatflour to the poor at Rs 2 per kg.The manifesto said in line with theCentral government's Jal JeevanMission, the party will also provideclean drinking water to everyhousehold.Among other promises, the BJP hasalso promised to implement Centralgovernment's flagship schemesAyushman Bharat and Kisan SammanNidhi in the national capital.To boost employment, it will alsoconduct recruitment on all vacantgovernment posts.

Kejriwal hits back atHarsh Vardhan over‘outsider’ remark

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief ministerArvind Kejriwal, on Friday, hit out atUnion health minister Dr HarshVardhan for calling him an ‘outsider,’saying the people from Uttar Pradeshand Haryana settled here can beoutsiders for the saffron party but thecity has ‘adopted’ them.Mr Kejriwal was responding to DrVardhan’s tweet, in which the BJPleader questioned the chief minister forcalling himself ‘Delhi’s son.’The Union health minister said thatwhile Mr Kejriwal was born in Hisar inHaryana, he was settled at Kaushambiin Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.“How can he be Delhi’s son?” DrVardhan asked.“Doctor Sahib, you hate me. You canabuse me. How can you call all thoseborn in UP and Haryana and settled inDelhi outsiders? They may beoutsiders to BJP. But they are part ofour Delhi family. We Delhiites adoptedthem all, made them our family,” MrKejriwal tweeted in Hindi.In another tweet, Mr Kejriwalresponded to the recent ‘sting’ by BJPon mohalla clinics, saying the partyhas again ‘mocked’ the people of Delhiby issuing ‘fake’ videos.“BJP once again mocked the people ofDelhi by issuing fake videos. Delhiitesworked hard to build 450 world classmohalla clinics. Mohalla clinics havebrightened the name of Delhi all overthe world. Today, BJP’s lie was caughtin media investigation. People of Delhiare very happy with mohalla clinics,”he said.

AGENCYNEW DELHI, FEB1

Karnataka Chief Minister B SYediyurappa on Friday finally re-ceived the green signal from the BJPcentral leadership for expansion ofthe six-month-old cabinet in the stateand he is likely to induct 13 minis-ters. Yediyurappa said the date ofswearing-in will be decided in a dayor two, although he indicated it is ex-pected be held on February 3.

There are 18 ministers, includingthe chief minister, in the cabinet thathas a sanctioned strength of 34. Six-teen berths are vacant. And Yediyu-rappa had been anxiously waiting forthe party high command''s approvalto expand his ministry amid intense

lobbying by cabinet aspirants. "Wediscussed yesterday and now also.(Amit) Shah has agreed to almosteverything," Yediyurappa told re-porters after meeting the Union homeminister in New Delhi, and added heis returning back "happy" after get-ting the nod for the cabinet expan-sion.

"Many of our suggestions havebeen accepted by Home MinisterAmit Shah and BJP national presi-dent J P Nadda. If there are minor dif-ferences, we will discuss in Bengalu-ru and sort it out." Yediyurappa hadbeen persistent on his demands withthe central leadership, which, byagreeing to many of them, appearedto be trying to maintain the advan-tage gained in the southern state un-

der the popular Veerashaiva-Lingay-at leader. Barring one or two, thechief minister said, most of the dis-qualified JDS-Congress MLAs whogot re-elected in the bypolls on BJPtickets will be made ministers, andadded there won''t be additionaldeputy chief ministers.

Sources said Yediyurappa hasbeen told to keep three berths vacantand fill the remaining 13. "Ten re-elected MLAs and three from theparty may be inducted into the Cabi-net," a source said.

With the high-command report-edly not keen on making all the 11 re-elected legislators ministers, whomYediyurappa has given assurance, itwill not be an easy task for the chiefminister, who has to ensure adequate

representation to various castes andregions in his cabinet. The cabinet al-ready has eight Lingayats, includingthe chief minister, three Vokkaligas,three from Scheduled Castes, twoOBCs, one from the Scheduled Tribeand a Brahmin. The sources said Be-lagavi district MLA MaheshKumthahalli may not be made minis-ter. The other contenders from theparty are Aravind Limbavali (Ma-hadevapura), C P Yogeshwar (Chan-napatna), Halappa Achar (Koppal), SA Ramadas (Mysore). But only threeof them are likely to be inducted intothe cabinet. Opposition parties havebeen critical of the BJP and Yediyu-rappa over the delay in the cabinetexpansion, alleging he was weak andthat his administration had collapsed.

K''taka CM gets approval for cabinetexpansion, may induct 13 ministers

Delhi: House ofgovernment employeeburgled in SaketNEW DELHI : he house of a 53-year-old government employee was burgledby unidentified people and goldornaments worth around Rs 8 lakhwere stolen in Saket, police said onFriday.According to Sanjay Saxena, who isthe joint director of Public Relation ofthe Madhya Pradesh government, hiswife had gone to their neighbour'shouse on Wednesday afternoon whenthe incident took place.When she returned home, the maingate of the house was broken. She gotsuspicious and rung the bell, followingwhich the accused locked the gatefrom inside and fled from the backside, Saxena said in his complaint.She called neighbours and informedthe police.Police reached the spot and brokeopen the main gate and found that thewhole house was ransacked and threealmirahs were broken, the FIR said.The entire stuff of the almirah waslying on the bed and floor. Theaccused fled with cash and jewelleryworth Rs 8-10 lakh, its said.A forensic team took finger prints fromthe house, it stated."In a CCTV camera footage, theaccused were seen carrying abackpack which is missing from thehouse. The faces of the accused canalso be seen clearly in thosephotographs," Saxena said.A case under sections 380 (theft indwelling house) and 454 (lurkinghouse-trespass or house-breaking inorder to commit offence punishablewith imprisonment) has beenregistered at the Saket police stationand further investigation is underway, asenior police officer said.

NEW DELHI, FEB 1

Senior career diplomat andformer Indian high commis-sioner to Pakistan, Ajay Bis-aria — who was expelled byIslamabad in August last yearfollowing the revoking of ar-ticle 370 by New Delhi —was Friday appointed India’shigh commissioner to Cana-da. Bisaria is a 1987 batch In-dian Foreign Service (IFS)officer. He succeeds another seniorcareer diplomat, VikasSwarup, who has already tak-en over as the ministry of ex-ternal affairs’ secretary (west)in New Delhi.

The development perhapsalso indicates that diplomaticties at the highest level be-tween India and Pakistan arenot going to resume anytimesoon. Mr Bisaria had earned

praise from all quarters, evenin Pakistan, for his diplomat-ic efforts to improve ties be-tween the two neighbourswhen he was posted in Islam-abad as high commissioner.He had returned to India afew days after the Pak-istanigovernment’s decision. “AjayBisaria (IFS: 1987), highcommissioner of India toPakistan, has been appointedas the next high commission-er of India to Canada.

Ajay Bisaria to serve asIndia’s envoy to Canada

Doubling farmers' income by 2022:Status check on govt's ambitious plan

NEW DELHI, FEB 1

Budget 2020 arrives amidst officialestimates that India’s overall econo-my will grow at an 11-year-low of5% and its agriculture and allied sec-tor at 2.8%, 0.1 percentage point lessthan last year. Agriculture sustains600 million Indians, half the coun-try’s population, but generates 18%of the gross domestic product.

Could the window be closing onthe Bharatiya Janata Party-led gov-ernment’s promise to double farm-ers’ income and revamp the agricul-tural economy by 2022? We examinesome official announcements andpolicies that significantly affectfarmer earnings to find an answer--the draft seeds bill, income transferscheme, minimum support price(MSP), farmer producer organisa-tions (FPOs) and zero-budget naturalfarming (ZBNF).

MSP revision still shortchangesfarmers: Experts

Minimum support prices (MSP)are key to protecting farmers fromdistress sale of farm produce and pro-viding implicit signals to encouragecertain crops. As the agriculture sec-tor grappled with low productivity,the government announced an in-crease in the MSP of kharif (mon-soon) and rabi (winter) crops for the2019-20 season. The formula usedbrought the MSPs to “at least 1.5times of the all-India weighted aver-age Cost of production (CoP)” of thecrops concerned.

The formula was criticised byagriculture experts for shortchangingfarmers. The resultant prices fell be-low those arrived at using the formu-la recommended by the M S Swami-nathan Committee, said R Ramaku-mar, NABARD chair professor at theSchool of Development Studies atthe Tata Institute of Social Sciences,Mumbai. The Swaminathan panelhad recommended an MSP 50%more on the actual cost of farming,including the price of seeds, fertilis-

ers, hired labour, family workers’own compensation, and land rent. Inthe case of wheat, for instance, a Rs85 increase in MSP was announced--a return over cost of 109%. This wasan increase of 4.6% over the previousyear’s MSP, the lowest since 2014-15 when the first BJP-led govern-ment came to power, Down to Earthreported in October 2019.

A fallout of low remunerativeprices was seen when the countrywitnessed about a dozen major farmprotests in 2018, with thousands offarmers travelling to Delhi, Kolkataand Mumbai in the last week of No-vember 2018 alone.

Farmer collectives need time,room to evolve The governmenthopes to form 10,000 new FPOs toensure economies of scale for farm-ers over the next five years, financeminister Nirmala Sitharaman said inher July 2019 budget speech.

A collective gives farmers themuscle to negotiate better terms inthe market. More FPOs will helpfarmers realise better incomes, man-age market uncertainties and short-comings of smallholding farms in thecountry, said Neelkamal Darbari,managing director, Small Farmers’

Agribusiness Consortium, a societypromoted by the government, citedin a report in a news agency.

But since FPOs involve peopleas stakeholders and members, theyneed time to evolve and become ef-fective, cautioned Sukpal Singh, pro-fessor and chairperson, Centre forManagement in Agriculture at IndianInstitute of Management, Ahmed-abad. Collectives need adequateworking capital, storage facilities,processing facilities, value-additionsupply chains and non-interferencefrom governments to succeed, saidKavitha Kuruganti, social activistwith Alliance for Sustainable &Holistic Agriculture (ASHA). “Inthis latest move related to 10,000FPOs, the government, as an equityholder, might end up interfering inthe running of the FPO and then thesame fate as had befallen our cooper-atives awaits these FPOs,” Kurugan-ti told IndiaSpend. The working ofcooperatives in India has beenmarred by lack of quality manage-ment and autonomy and dependenceon government. ‘Draft seeds billneeds to be more pro-farmer’

The Draft Seeds Bill 2019, if ap-proved by parliament, will replace

the Seeds Act 1966, which will en-hance the use of certified seeds as op-posed to farm-saved seeds. It willalso specify standards for the regis-tration of seed varieties and make itmandatory for seed producers and re-tailers to register with the relevantauthority.

But the draft bill requires morework, said ASHA’s Kuruganti, toclarify the conditions for price regu-lation. At present, these are based on“emergent situations”. Other factorsthat need to be considered, accordingto her, are compensation for lossescaused by poor-quality seeds, limitson market access for foreign seedproducers, and empowerment ofstate governments since agricultureis a state subject.

The new draft requires compul-sory registration of all seed varietieswhich include those sold by privatecompanies. More than 50% of In-dia’s seed production is undertakenin the private sector.

The size of the private hybridseeds industry is estimated at aboutRs 15,000 crore including cotton (Rs4,000 crore), vegetables (Rs 3,500crore), corn/maize (Rs 1,500 crore),paddy (Rs 1,000 crore), pearl mil-let/bajra (Rs 300 crore) andsorghum/jowar (Rs 200 crore), TheIndian Express reported on Decem-ber 10, 2019.

There is also a need to align ex-isting legislations such as the Protec-tion of Plant Varieties and Farmers’Rights Act (PPVFR) that brings to-gether India's obligation to the WorldTrade Organization and the Conven-tion on Biodiversity. “However, theBill does not mention the PPVFRAct which is leading to a lack ofalignment. This must change,” saidTISS’s Ramakumar.

Some of the draft bill’s clausesare biased against the farmer, he said,citing the example of the conditionthat if the seed is found to be poor,the farmer has to approach the con-sumer court for compensation.

Teen sent to 14-dayprotective custody for

Jamia shooting

NEW DELHI, FEB 1

A day after a youth fired apistol at a group of agitators,students of Jamia Millia Is-lamia on Friday gathered out-side the gate of the varsity tostage a peaceful protestagainst the amended Citizen-ship Act.

The students carriedposters that read “Stop HateSpeech, Safety really?,What’s in the name” and“Tamache Pe Disco, Jamia seKhisko”. Condemning the at-tack on students, the protest-ers said they were shockedwhen they saw the manemerge from the crowd andopen fire in full public viewamidst heavy police presence.

The shooter has been sentto 14-day protective custodyand the police has urged Ju-venile Justice Board to form amedical panel to conduct abone ossification test of theshooter to ascertain his age.

The accused was present-ed before the Board on Fridayafternoon afternoon, DCP(Crime) Rajesh Deo said. OnThursday, the accused fired a

pistol at a group of anti-CAAprotesters, injuring Jamia stu-dent Shadab Farooq, beforewalking away while wavingthe firearm above his headand shouting “Yeh lo aazadi”amid heavy police presence.The Crime Branch is probingthe case.

According to the Delhipolice sources, the accusedhad procured the country-made pistol from his villageand left for Delhi in a bus totake revenge for the death ofChandan Gupta. Gupta waskilled in Kasganj violence onJanuary 26.

The accused told inter-rogators of Delhi Police thatover the past two years hestarted reading incendiaryposts on social media. Hesaid that every day he wouldlisten to speeches online andshare offensive posts. In No-vember 2019, he even tookpart in a protest in Jewar thatwas organised by the BajrangDal. Sources in Delhi police-said that the accused has de-nied having any connectionor links with any organisa-tion.

Berlinale award withdrawnover laureate's Nazi past

NEW DELHI. FEB 1

Organizers of the Berlinalefilm festival have withdrawnits prestigious Alfred-Bauerprize after revelations thatBauer, its founding director,was a high-ranking Nazi.

An investigation by DieZeit daily highlighted Bauer'sstanding in the Nazi party, theorganizers said on their Face-book page ahead of the festi-val, which starts on February20.

The organizers referred toa report published Wednesdayin Die Zeit newspaper "whichcast new light on the role ofAlfred Bauer, the first direc-tor of the Berlin InternationalFilm Festival, in the film pol-itics of the National Social-ists.

"The interpretation ofthese sources suggests that hehad held significant positionsduring the Nazi era. In viewof these new findings, theBerlinale will suspend the'Silver Bear Alfred BauerPrize' with immediate effect,"the organizers said.

They added that "we wel-come the research and itspublication... and will seizethe opportunity to begin adeeper research on the festi-

val history with the support ofexternal experts". Die Zeithas carried out painstaking re-search notably by trawlingthrough national archives. Indoing so the publicationfound that Bauer, who direct-ed the festival from 1951 to1976, held a high rank in Nazipropaganda minister JosephGoebbels's powerful ReichFilm Directorate.

The weekly also foundthat, according to Nazi eradocumentation, Bauer be-longed to the Nazi party and

was "an avid SA man," theSA being the Nazi party'sSturmabteilung paramilitarywing.

Bauer, who died in 1986,whereupon the prize in hisname was established, alsoplayed a key role in the sur-veillance of actors, producersand other members of the filmindustry which was inGoebbel's iron grip during theThird Reich.

After World War II Bauersought to erase all traces ofhis Nazi past, according to

Die Zeit, even putting it aboutthat he had resisted theregime. Six years after theregime's final demise with theend of the conflict he wasnamed Berlinale director andhelped the event become oneof the three biggest globalfilmfests alongside Cannesand Venice.

This year's festival jurywill be headed up by Britishactor Jeremy Irons to select awinning entry that is seen asopening up new perspectivesin cinematic art.Previous win-

Scientists have found a 330-million-year-old shark's headfossilized in a Kentucky cave

NEW DELHI, FEB 1

Kentucky's MammothCave National Park is along way from the ocean,but newly discovered fos-sils suggest the area wasonce teeming with sharks.

Scientists have identi-fied the remains of 15 to20 different species ofsharks deep in the cave,including part of the headof a great white-sizedmonster that's partiallyprotruding from a wall,paleontologist John-PaulHodnett told CNN.

The sharks lived about330 million years ago inwhat is known as the LateMississippian geologictime period, when muchof North America wascovered by oceans.

When they died, theirremains were encased insediment that eventuallybecame the limestonewhere the cave formed."There's hardly ever anyany record at all of sharksteeth coming from theserocks. So that was excit-ing, Hodnett sad. "So thisis a brand new record of

sharks from a particularlayer of time."

Mammoth Cave sci-entists Rick Olson andRick Toomey were map-ping a remote part of thecave when they startedseeing shark fossils, ac-cording to Vincent Santuc-ci, senior paleontologistwith the National ParkService.

They sent photos oftheir find to Hodnett, be-cause he's an expert on Pa-leozoic sharks. He worksat Maryland's DinosaurPark, a fossil site nearWashington, DC, and doessupport research for theNational Park Service.

There were quite afew shark teeth in the pho-tos, Hodnett said, but healso saw cartilage that hethought might be a shark'sskeleton. That's pretty rarebecause cartilage is softerthan bone, so it's not oftenpreserved. When the sci-entist visited the cave inNovember, he realized hewas looking at somethingmuch bigger.

“It’s only decent not to judgeBut stupid to have no judg-ment!”

From Pesi’s Pessimism byBachchoo

So the bakras voted forBakr-Id and on January31, 2020, without the

clear sight which that numberbetokens, Britain seceded fromthe European Union. In theleadership of the bakras is oneSajid Javid, the present chan-cellor in the UK Cabinet who isphotographed on social andother media holding a 50-pencecoin which he has had, in cele-bration of the departure, mint-ed.

The coin has some home-spun text on the “tails” side, ahomily which says “Peace,prosperity and friendship withall nations.” I expect the gov-ernment paid millions to thePR firm that thought up thisslogan, which the likes ofDeepak Chopra might envyand cause the likes of KahlilGibberish to turn in theirgraves. And I bet Sajju (as a fel-low-subcontinental, I feel enti-tled to address him affection-ately!) had both hands behindhis back with fingers crossedwhen he commissioned it.

Sajju and his boss, nowPM Boris Johnson, have “GotBrexit Done” for their own am-bition and that of their finan-ciers, friends and associates, in-

cluding, they hope, DonaldTrump. In so doing they havealienated half (okay, let’s notniggle — 48.3 per cent of) thepopulation of the United King-dom and certainly won the puz-zled antagonism of the 27countries of the EuropeanUnion. This was a Union, wewho voted to remain in it con-tend, which, as the old nurseryrhyme goes “never did the UKany harm, but killed all themice in its now-precariously-held-together barn.” We “re-mainers” will rain on this pa-rade. Absent from it will beScotland, which voted withover 60 per cent to not leave theEU. The representatives ofNorthern Ireland have vocifer-ously stated that they may sup-port Brexit but don’t support

the deal which deals in its cus-toms and tariff rules in a waywhich necessitates a sort ofborder between the UK andNorthern Ireland.

The Scottish Assembly’sleader, Nicola Sturgeon, hasmade it clear that she will askWestminster to hold a secondreferendum on Scottish Inde-pendence from the UK so that,as an independent country,Scotland can rejoin the Euro-pean Union. Of course, BoJohas declared that his govern-ment will not sanction the hold-ing of any such referendum,but the clash goes beyond thatof the wills of Ms Sturgeon andMr Johnson. The Scots haveconsistently increased theirsupport of Ms Sturgeon’s se-cessionist Scottish NationalParty and, at the least, Scotlandwill agitate for greater align-ment with Europe. So, gentlereader, welcome to DK — theDisunited Kingdom of GreatBritain and Northern Ireland.The massive irony inherent inthis breach is that the majorityof people who voted for Brexitwill feel the brunt of its disas-trous consequences. There isevery indication that interna-tional capital which invests inBritain as a part of the Euro-pean Union will feel the loss ofits European markets as taxbarriers are imposed by Europeon imports from the UK.


Both [the US and Pakistan] are on the same page thatthere’s no military solution in Afghanistan and we areworking hard to bring peace to the country,” said Prime

Minister Imran Khan in an interview with CNBC last week.Clearly, the PM’s reference was to efforts Pakistan is makingin tandem with the Khalilzad-Taliban talks in Doha for a cease-fire or at least “reduction in violence” as a prelude to dialoguebetween the Taliban and Kabul government. So far there is nosign the Taliban are willing to do this, or go beyond reachingan agreement for US troop withdrawal in exchange for theirpledge not to allow Afghanistan to be used to plan terrorist at-tacks against the US and to abjure ties with Al Qaeda, Daesh orother terrorist groups.

Is this enough to bring peace to an Afghanistan in whichgovernment forces would have lost control of a number ofprovincial capitals were it not for US air support operations andcash support for its largely ineffective local forces? The Kabulgovernment is fragmented and there’s little chance that it willbecome more united or self-sustaining. Now President Ghanisays he is “totally ready” for a withdrawal of 4,000 of the12,000 US troops, but the Taliban want a complete withdraw-al though they may be open to making this phased.

The Taliban have said that they do not want to monopolisepower but would want to revise the Afghan constitution tomake it conform to their interpretation of Sharia, and would in-clude others in the power structure on terms they deem appro-priate. In their view, Trump is intent on withdrawing and nofurther concessions are necessary. This could set the stage foranother civil war.

Pakistan must sadly come to the conclusion that while wewish to promote peace, the dire situation in Afghanistan willleave us no choice but to insulate ourselves even while takingevery step possible to help with reconciliation. This means:

We must ask the Taliban on our soil to move back toAfghanistan and carry on negotiations with the US from theirbases in Helmand and Kandahar. Make it clear that we recog-nise the Kabul government and support an Afghan-led and -owned peace process. This negotiation, if it materialises, willbe long and complex; if asked we will try to help.

Pakistan should ensure our refugees commissioner exer-cises complete control over all camps, and prohibits clandes-tine addition to the refugee population or use of the camps asTaliban recuperation centres. While continuing to treat Afghanpatients in our hospitals, we would carefully vet anyone withbattlefield wounds. Complete the fencing of the border and,with UNODC, strengthen surveillance on smuggler move-ments. We can facilitate Pak-Afghan trade and make suitableconcessions to ensure Afghan goods are marketed here and be-yond our borders. The truck monitoring system the PM has au-thorised would be an essential tool to check smuggling.

EditorialBe ready for Afghanangst after US exit

In Disunited Kingdom, Brexit’s painmay be felt most by those backing it

The European Parlia-ment’s move to debateand subsequently vote

on a resolution, moved by anoverwhelming majority ofmembers from across a widepolitical spectrum, on the Cit-izenship (Amendment) Actriled New Delhi no end. Pub-licly, the government and itsspokesmen maintained that itwas an internal matter of In-dia’s, and that no foreign Par-liament had any locus standi.Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birlaeven wrote to his Europeancounterpart protesting againstthe move.

The weakness in the gov-ernment’s argument was obvi-ous as, some months ago, thegovernment had itself bentbackwards to welcome a se-lect group of Members of theEuropean Parliament (MEPs),belonging to neo-Nazi or ex-treme right-wing parties, for aconducted tour of Jammu andKashmir. That it was not a“private” tour, as claimed,was apparent even before thetrip as its promoters had limit-ed financial and political mus-cle. The government’s unseenhand was visible behind thepoorly crafted diplomaticsleight of hand. In fact, thatescapade may have con-tributed to mainstream MEPsnow protesting against thedemocratic regression in In-dia.

If the CAA was a solitaryevent in India, it could havebeen attributed to anti-Indiaand pro-Pakistan lobbies inBrussels. However, the

Narendra Modi government,after its decisive victory in theLok Sabha elections last year,has single-mindedly pursuedits core agenda of reshapingthe nation’s polity in line withthe long-held views and sec-tarian biases of the BJP-RSS.It began with the August 5 ab-rogation of Kashmir’s specialstatus, lockdown of the Valley,and the arrest of three formerchief ministers.

Prior to that was the crim-inalisation of triple talaq bythe enactment of the MuslimWomen (Protection of Rightson Marriage) Act in July2019. The Supreme Court’sAyodhya verdict (in Novem-ber) took care of the lingeringdemand for a Ram temple inAyodhya, but it mercifully didnot trigger communal vio-lence. Finally arrived the Cit-izenship (Amendment) Act,tweaking the 1955 law to per-mit the adherents of all Indicreligions plus Christians to le-gitimise their stay in India and

obtain citizenship, providedthey came from Pakistan,Afghanistan or Bangladesh. Itpointedly excluded Muslimrefugees or illegal immigrantsfrom these nations.

The uproar over the CAAconflated with the initial po-lice excesses against the stu-dents of Jamia Millia Islamia,that soon spilled over to othercampuses in New Delhi andelsewhere. The issue nolonger could be framed in bi-nary Hindu-Muslim terms, aspeople of all faiths joined theprotests. The BJP clearly mis-calculated the depth of peo-ple’s anger, which fuelled theprotests. Adding to the BJP’stroubles are a flagging econo-my, rural distress, inflationand unemployment. The BJPhas also lost control over anumber of critical states at theheart of India — includingMadhya Pradesh, Rajasthan,Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand andMaharashtra. It essentiallyruns three big states, Bihar be-

ing an alliance where allyJD(U) faces an internal revoltby its urbane faces. Thus, theDelhi election has become ado-or-die battle, both to oustan irrepressible Arvind Kejri-wal as indeed throw the diceone last time to test the failingformula of communal polari-sation.

Against this backgroundhas risen overseas a crescendoof media and political criti-cism of the Prime Ministerpersonally and his politics.London’s conservative maga-zine The Economist ran a cov-er headlined “Intolerant India:How Modi is endangering theworld’s biggest democracy”,above a lotus blooming from abarbed wire. To shoot everymessenger as a pesky inter-loper challenging Indian sov-ereignty merely confirms thecharge.

Snubbing Jeff Bezos, theworld’s richest person, anddenying him access to thePrime Minister, perhaps be-cause he owns The Washing-ton Post, is at best churlishand at worst a total misreadingof how the American mediaactually works. There are twocounterpoints. One, that lead-ers like US President DonaldTrump ignore the liberal me-dia and demonise it tweet bytweet, and yet thrive. But In-dia is not the United States,and Mr Trump’s re-election isnot a done deal — yet! Two,that China’s domestic politics,including its internment ofover a million Uighurs, hasnot elicited even a murmur

from most Islamic nations.Again, India does not have yeta $12-trillion economy, nordoes it hold a permanent seatat the UN Security Council.Moreover, India’s soft powerhas always been its forte. Itpaled China’s soft power be-cause of India’s liberal, demo-cratic and inclusive vision thatthe founding fathers embed-ded in the Indian Constitution.These values were not alien toIndia’s past. Lord Buddha andhis follower Emperor Ashokashowed the path of a moraland tolerant existence. China,on the contrary, has been aunitary state for two millen-nia, with its strength as a pro-ducer and inventor of prod-ucts, not as paragon humanrights and tolerance.

But do the European Par-liament’s resolutions havemore than symbolic value?After the 2009 LisbonTreaty’s reform of institu-tions, the EU has the councilof heads of state of all 28members, the European Com-mission, with all membersrepresented as the executive,and the Parliament, with 785members (pre-Brexit). TheEuropean Parliament general-ly vocally defends humanrights, including beyond theEU’s borders. It ensures thatthe EU’s international activi-ties, including trade and aid,are aligned with these coreprinciples. It has budgetarycontrol, a role in treaty revi-sion and oversight over com-mon foreign and security poli-cies.

4KITES RISE HIGHEST AGAINST THE

WIND - NOT WITH IT.

WINSTON CHURCHILL

I WONDER WHAT FOOL IT WAS THAT FIRST IN-VENTED KISSING.

JONATHAN SWIFT

STARS TALKSSeemaa Singh, As-

trologer and Vastu Ex-pert known for her ac-

curate predictions of winningBJP minister Kirron Kher, as

well winningof Punjabelections byCongress. Shehas deliveredmany lectureson astrologyin India as

well as abroad. ARIES :- Although you maystill be feeling slightly per-turbed by recent clashes athome or at work, there ismuch that you can do to en-sure that good feeling is re-stored sooner rather than lat-er.

Lucky Color :-Orange

Lucky No:-2TAURUS :- There still seemsto be solid support comingfrom the helpful relationshipbetween the Sun and Venus,your ruler. Lucky Color :-Voilet

Lucky No:-4GEMINI:- If col-leagues and asso-ciates have beenattempting to dis-courage you fromtaking the plungeor accepting atempting offer, the rea-son is not because theywish to hold you back, butthat events have left them be-hind.

Lucky Color :-BlueLucky No:-7

CANCER :- Make the most

of all those deep, colorful andtransformative experienceswhich are taking place in yourpersonal life and partnerships. Lucky Color :-Orange

Lucky No:-9LEO :- Taking a short-

term perspective oncurrent trends, itseems clear thatlady luck is smil-ing on you.

Lucky Color :-Purple

Lucky No:-4VIRGO :- You're in an

ambitious mood, anxious todo your best and eager to takefirst place. Much depends onyour general approach to part-nerships.

Lucky Color:-GreenLucky No :-3

LIBRA :- Jupiter is playing abeneficial role in the activesector of your solar chart, andhas been for some time.

Lucky Color :-HazelLucky No:-6

SCORPIO:- Some peopleare undoubtedly well- dis-posed towards you. Othersare not.

Lucky Color :-RedLucky No:-9

SAGITTARIUS :- TheMoon's relationships withyour house of marriage is awelcome sign that relation-ships will move to a highestlevel.

Lucky Color :-PinkLucky No:-1

CAPRICORN :- There isstill a chance that sensational

planetary aspects will fireyour imagination and enableyou to make enormousstrides.

Lucky Color :-SilverLucky No :-5

AQUARIUS :- Since Marsand Venus are sending a mix-ture of challenging and help-ful aspects to your sign youtoes.

Lucky Color :-PinkLucky No :-7

PISCES :- All the signs arethat professional hopes arecentred on monetary hopesand ambitions . This is perhaps not suprising

in view of the need to dealwith what can only be de-scribed.Lucky Color :-Regal Purple

Lucky No:- 5

Amid CAA fury, India facestough questions abroad

Economic Survey 2020: Keep healthscore for NBFCs, get early warning

The Economic Surveyhas suggested the use ofa ‘health score’ index

for non-banking finance com-panies (NBFCs), which canbe used to decide on the opti-mum capital infusion to de-serving NBFCs that will en-sure efficient allocation ofscarce capital during thetimes of crisis.

The index ranges be-tween -100 and +100 withhigher scores indicating high-er financial stability of a com-pany and employs informa-tion like asset liability man-agement (ALM) problems,excess reliance on short-termwholesale funding and bal-

ance sheet strength of theNBFCs. “The health scoreprovides a good diagnosticfor the problems in the NBFCsector. For instance, healthscore of a stressed NBFC wasconsistently low throughoutthe period 2011-19 with asharp decrease in 2017-18.Hence, the health score of thestressed NBFC over the entireeight-year period providedsignificant early warning sig-nals,” it said. The surveyshows that except for 2011and 2017, the ALM mismatchin the shorter tenures wasnegative for all the years co-inciding with the years whenthe health score of the NBFC

was low. Also, post 2015, theaverage reliance on short-term wholesale funding in-creased over 200%. “Giventhe long-term duration of as-sets of the stressed NBFCs,this overdependence on com-mercial paper funding createdexposure to refinancing risk,”the survey said. The healthscore for HFCs also exhibiteda declining trend post 2013-14. From a peak of 53.44points in March 2014, thescore for housing financecompanies fell to 5.70 pointsin March 2017 and moved tothe negative territory at 5.42in March 2018 and further to8.60 points in March 2019.

So, gentle reader, welcome to DK — the DisunitedKingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Like most Indians, I wasalso caught up in theconfusion regarding the

Citizenship (Amendment)Act and the National Registerfor Citizens when I tweeted,“Never thought I would eversee Asad Owaisi and MIM ina rally holding Indian flags.Maybe we should thank PMModi.” This half-joking tweetgot a huge response, both onthe social media and amongmy personal friends — therewas criticism and compli-ments in equal measure.

I did not expect such amajor response. Perhaps, thisreflects deep divisions andgrowing suspicion within oursociety. That has led me towrite this article.

This is not to clarify thetweet or set the record straight— I don’t need to do that.Whoever knows my work andmy family, particularly mygrandfather’s contribution topolitics and communal har-mony, knows clearly what Istand for. I don’t need todwell on it.

The CAA and NRC aresupposed to resolve somelongstanding issues. Instead,the same has created deep di-visions and suspicions thathave spilled onto the streets,in the form of crowds shout-ing slogans, waving flags andciting the Constitution.

The Partition of India andits aftermath occurred more

than 70 years ago. More than96 per cent of the Indian pop-ulation today is born after In-dependence. Over 45 per centare below the age of 25 years.For most Indians, particularly“millennials”, Partition is his-tory. That generation has to-tally different dreams and as-pirations. Instead of seriouslyfocusing on the future, oursubcontinent is stuck in thepast. Settling scores, hurtingeach other, continuing withold rhetoric and wasting pre-cious resources on purchasingarms have become the rulerather than the exception.Why are we surviving byshowing the people the ghostsof the past? If given a realdemocratic opportunity, pop-ulations in these countries,particularly the young, totallyreject these divisive politics.

Other regions have come outof terrible conflicts and arenow cooperating with eachother. We too can do it.

The CAA and NRC andthe reactions to it, too, unfor-tunately seem to be rooted inthat past. Let us examine fouraspects of the controversy.

First, no Indian — Hinduor Muslim — can deny thatthere was, and still is, largescale, systemic discriminationagainst Hindus in Pakistanand in Afghanistan andBangladesh. That is a fact. In-dia, as a secular and demo-cratic nation, upholding hu-man rights and the rule of law,has a responsibility to providea safe and secure home tothose forced to flee theirhomes and countries. Wehave historically done that.Even as recently as 1970, In-

dia gave shelter to almost 10million people, mostly Mus-lims, who were forced to fleetheir own country. We need toask two questions: Is theCAA the only way to give cit-izenship to those Hindus dis-criminated against in othercountries? Do we need to cre-ate insecurity within our ownsociety, particularly our Mus-lim population, in order toprovide citizenship to Hin-dus? We never had a serious,open and honest debate aboutthis. Protests are essential in ademocracy, but protests mustlead to dialogue. It is not toolate to have that dialogue.And I am happy to hear thatthe government is open to di-alogue.

My second point is aboutthe NRC — every countryneeds to have two things — awell-defined geography andits citizenry. Some countriesmight dispute borders andstake a claim; similarly someindividuals might sneak inand claim the benefit of citi-zenship or subvert the demo-cratic political process. TheNRC is supposed to find a so-lution for citizenship. Whilethe number of people whomight have sneaked in illegal-ly may be pretty small, it issignificant in certain parts ofthe country. Unfortunately,the NRC seems to haveopened a Pandora’s box re-quiring every Indian to prove

that he/she is indeed Indianpurportedly by producing thebirth certificates of their fa-ther and mother. Is this reallyrequired? Is it not possible todo it differently? Commonsense suggests it is. So, thequestion is the same, is theNRC creating insecurityamong Indians in the name ofidentifying illegal aliens?

Governments of the dayneed to resolve these issues,without fomenting insecurity,doubts and unrest. There usedto be an old rural saying, dowe burn our house to get ridof the rats? In this case, it isentire villages and towns.There are better and cost-ef-fective as well as acceptablemethods first to prevent ratsfrom entering the house, andif they do, to catch them. It isnot a perfect analogy, but aclose one. Since we are deal-ing with human beings, theprocess must be humane. In-dia is a signatory to many hu-man rights conventions andinternational covenants. Moreimportant, we have alwaysupheld values of openness,secularism, pluralism and hu-manitarianism. Third, there isthe issue of Kashmiri Pandits.It has a certain connectionwith what is happening. Greatinjustice has been done toKashmiri Hindus; accordingto some estimates, over sevenlakh fled Kashmir due to dis-crimination, systemic harass-

ment and direct violence.This led to untold misery formore than three decades.Those who wish to go backwill have to be resettled safe-ly. This is a major challengefor our nation for two rea-sons: a) Unless a Muslim ma-jority state does not treat itsminorities well, the demandby Muslims for equal treat-ment in the rest of India willnot be seen as morally defen-sible, b) the CAA and NRC,which are being seen as dis-criminatory to Muslims, needto highlight the plight of Hin-dus in the past, present andfuture.

Fourth, in IndependentIndia, secularism as a concepthas never become a target.But today, whatever might bethe problem of definition, itappears that there is a con-certed effort on to seriouslyundermine our own Constitu-tion and its core principle —secularism. Projecting secu-larism as anti-Hindu is dan-gerous not only for India butfor Hindus living worldwide.Governing a country like In-dia without secular values isnot possible, given its diversi-ty — religious, cultural, lin-guistic, geographic, ethnicand even racial. That is exact-ly what is enshrined in theConstitution. India shouldand will be an example forgoverning a country as largeand diverse as ours.

CAA-NRC: Missing the wood for the trees?The CAA and NRC are supposed toresolve some longstanding issues

NEWS AT AGLANCE

Karnataka cabinet expansion onFebruary 6: CMBENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Sundaysaid that the cabinet expansion would take place on February 6, with 13MLAs taking oath of office. “The cabinet expansion will take place onFebruary 6 with the oath-taking ceremony at the Raj Bhavan at 10.30AM,” he told reporters here. Thirteen MLAs, including 10 who had joinedBJP from parties, including Congress and the JD(S), will take oath, hesaid. The cabinet expansion is on the cards for nearly two months eversince the BJP won the maximum number of seats in the December 52019 bypolls and got a majority in the Karnataka assembly.

Road to Karnahreopens; border townsof Keran, Machil, Gurezremain cutoffSRINAGAR: Roads to dozens of far-flung and remote villages, includingborder town of Karnah, reopened onFriday after remaining closed for twodays due to slippery road conditionsand accumulation of several feet ofsnow. However, two main roadsKupwara-Machil and Kupwara-Keranin north Kashmir district of Kupwararemained closed since January 13 dueto accumulation of several feet ofsnow. Traffic on road leading to bordertown Gurez, which is surrounded byPakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) fromthree sides, remained suspended forthe past over a month due to slipperyroad conditions and accumulation ofseveral feet of snow. ''Traffic onKupwara-Karnah road was allowed toply on Friday morning afterimprovement in weather andclearance of fresh snowfall onWednesday,'' an official of PoliceControl Room (PCR), Kupwara, toldUNI over the phone. He said vehicularmovement was also allowed towardssome other remote and far-flung areaswhich are adjacent to Karnah.Meanwhile, he said snow clearingoperation is going on a war-footing onKupwara-Keran and Kupwara-Machilroads. “Road leading to Keran hasbeen cleared of snow till Daad bridge.Still 12 km road to the border town isto be cleared of several feet of snow,”he added. He said restoration of trafficon Kupwara-Machil road will takemore time as huge snow still remainedaccumulated at various places.Razdan pass, connecting Gurez,Neeru and dozens of other areas nearLoC with district headquartersBandipora, remained closed due toaccumulation of snow and freshsnowfall. But, earlier this week,choppers of Indian Air Force (IAF)were used to evacuate passengersstranded at Gurez from over a monthdue to closure of the road. A policeofficial told UNI that about 5 to 6 feetof snow was accumulated at someplaces on the road, adding anotherseveral inches of fresh snow. ''About80 per cent of the road has beendamaged and it is highly unlikely thatthese areas will be reconnected todistrict headquarters before March,''he added. The government hasapproved a tunnel at Razdan pass tomake it an all weather road.

Insipid & all talk, saysOppnNEW DELHI: While PM NarendraModi was joined by top BJP leaders inhailing the Budget, the Oppositionslammed Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman’s announcements as“insipid and all talk”. I did not see anyconcrete, strategic idea that can helpour youngsters get jobs... There is alot of rambling... all talk and nothinghappening.— Rahul Gandhi, Congleader Unimpressed, Congress leaderRahul Gandhi said it offered nostrategic idea and left the issue ofunemployment unaddressed. He wastalking to the media outsideParliament. At the Congress pressconference, former Finance MinisterPC Chidambaram said thegovernment’s claim of 6-6.5 per centgrowth next year was “astonishing andirresponsible”. Asked to rate theBudget on a 1-10 scale, he took a dig,saying “10 has got a 1 and 0, you canpick either. I am okay with it.” TMCchief Mamata Banerjee called theproposal to sell a part of governmentshare in LIC a plan to “ambush” thelegacy of public institutions. CPI(M)general secretary Sitaram Yechurysaid the Budget had no plan toalleviate “people’s miseries”. BKUleader Rakesh Tikait called itdisappointing.

AAP complains to ECabout ‘certain politicalparties’ trying tosabotage pollsNEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Partyon Saturday asked the ElectionCommission to direct the police chiefand other agencies to takeappropriate measures to preventunrest and violence planned by“certain political parties” in the city tosabotage the Delhi elections. In aletter to Chief Election CommissionerSunil Arora, the Aam Aadmi Partysaid it has come to know through itssources that certain “anti-socialelements in connivance with certainpolitical parties” are planning tocreate unrest and violence onSunday to subvert law and order inDelhi and to impede the conduct offree and fair election. “We haveattached a video wherein a groupcan be seen giving a call toassemble near Sarita Vihar in largenumbers. We have attached thepicture of one of such hoarding beingput in some parts of Delhi,” the lettersaid. “In the light of these, weapprehend that this may be a well-planned conspiracy to sabotage theDelhi Legislative Assembly Elections2020,” it said. The AAP urged the ECto act immediately and direct theCommissioner of Police and otheragencies to investigate and takeappropriate measures to pre-emptany such criminal act.The AAP claimed that the BJP isplanning a “big disturbance” onFebruary 2 at Delhi’s Shaheen Baghand Jamia Millia Islamia, where anti-CAA protests are underway and urgedthe Election Commission to takecognisance. Elections in Delhi will beheld on February 8 and results will bedeclared on February 11.


Agriculture, infrapush to spur growth

NEW DELHI, FEB 1

Union Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman todayannounced a majorrestructuring of personalincome tax rates to spurconsumption despite an emptytreasury that has led to a majorslippage in the fiscal deficittarget.

The restructuring of theincome tax rate slabs ismodelled on the reduction incorporate taxes — the schemeis optional and available only ifthe payee does not avail 70 outof the currently available 100exemptions. Later, Sitharamantold the media that thegovernment intended scrappingthe remaining exemptions inthe next couple of years. As aresult, the governmentexchequer will take a hit of Rs40,000 crore annually.

Sensex slid 1,000 points onthe apprehension that many taxsavings would become lessattractive, but Sitharamanexpected it to rebound onMonday when it takes intoaccount much of what has beenannounced. The Budgetproposes a hike in depositcover in banks from the presentRs 1 lakh to 5 lakh to giveinvestors greater peace of mindin view of the fragility in thebanking sector.

In a speech that lasted 160minutes, Sitharaman adopted anovel approach by dividing the

Budget into three parts —Aspirational India, EconomicDevelopment and CaringSociety — leading torestlessness in Oppositionranks as the all-importanttaxation proposals took long inarriving. “These three themesunderline the government’sdesire to provide ease of livingto its citizens,” she explained.

To provide for a scatter-shot of initiatives coveringnearly every sector, thegovernment plans to list LICand IDBI as well as disinvest toraise Rs 2 lakh crore besidesborrowing heavily fromexternal as well as domesticsources – Rs 5.6 lakh crore in20-21 as against Rs. 4.99 lakhcrore this fiscal — leading to aslippage in the fiscal deficittarget. “There is substantialenhancement in capitalexpenditure and all flagshipschemes are fully providedfor,’’ she said.

While the allocation forMNREGA has been slashed byRs 10,000 crore – Sitharamanclaiming that it is demand-driven – the outlay for ruralroads has risen by Rs 7, 000crore. Despite both direct andindirect tax collection missingthe targets by wide margins,Sitharaman was confident thatthe significant reformsundertaken so far, including thecorporate rate tax cut, wouldlead to tax buoyancy in duecourse. In another pro-corporate gesture, companieswill not be required to paydividend distribution tax whichwill be taxed only at the handsof recipients. A major part ofthe speech was devoted tospelling out a 16-point actionplan to boost agriculture andfarmers ‘welfare’ that includedpriority movement of produceby rail and plane, viability gapfunding for warehouses, focuson one horticulture crop in each

district on cluster basis, raisingfish and milk production andself-help groups ofwomen.These will beundergirded by an agricultureloan target of Rs 15 lakh croreto supplement the Rs 2.83 lakhcrore allocated for agricultureand allied activities, irrigationand rural development.

Besides allocating Rs12,300 crore for Swachh Bharatto sustain ODF (opendefecation-free), Rs 3.6 lakhcrore for water conservationand Rs 35,600 crore fornutritional programmes, thegovernment retained its focuson the health sector, proposingto expand the number ofaffordable drug centers as wellas bringing more hospitalsunder Ayushman Bharat insmaller towns.

In the provision for theindustry, the most eye-catchingwas the provision of Rs 8,000crore over five years in thefrontier area of quantumtechnology and a new creditscheme for exporters with ahigher insurance cover, reducedpremium and simplified claimsettlement. To regain the edge,the government has announceda Rs 1,480-crore NationalTechnical Textiles Mission witha four-year implementationperiod. In employmentgeneration, urban local bodiesacross the country would beasked to provide internship toyoung engineers for a year.

CAA in clear violationof Constitution, says

Amnesty

WASHINGTON, FEB 1

Amnesty International has told theUS lawmakers that the recentlyenacted Citizenship (Amendment)Act (CAA) stands in “clearviolation” of the Constitution ofIndia and international humanrights law and “legitimisesdiscrimination” on the basis ofreligion.

The new law passed byParliament offers citizenship tonon-Muslim persecuted religiousminorities from Pakistan,Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

Amnesty International AsiaPacific Advocacy Manager

Francisco Bencosme made theremarks during a testimony beforethe House Foreign AffairsSubcommittee on Africa, GlobalHealth, Global Human Rights andInternational Organisations andHouse Oversight and ReformSubcommittee.

The Indian Parliament “passedthe Citizenship (Amendment) Act,which legitimises discriminationon the basis of religion and standsin clear violation of the constitutionof India and international humanrights law,” Bencosme said.

India has asserted that thelegislation on CAA was enactedfollowing the due process.

Kafeel Khan transferredto Mathura jail

ALIGARH (UP), FEB 1

Child specialist Kafeel Khan, who wasaccused of making an inflammatoryspeech at AMU, was remanded to 14-day judicial custody and latertransferred to Mathura jail, officialssaid on Saturday.

Circle Officer (Civil Lines) AnilSamania said Khan was brought herelate Friday evening and was producedbefore the magistrate who remandedhim to judicial custody. The doctor wassent to the Aligarh jail, but within anhour, he was transferred to Mathurajail, the official said. The UP Policehad on Thursday obtained transitremand for Khan, arrested in Mumbaifor allegedly making inflammatoryremarks at an anti-CAA protest atAligarh Muslim University last month.

A UP special task force arrestedhim in a joint operation with MumbaiPolice on Wednesday, when he reachedthe city to attend a protest against theCitizenship (Amendment) Act. TheSTF said Khan was arrested inconnection with a case registered at theCivil Lines police station in Aligarh,the police said. He was booked underSection 153-A of the Indian PenalCode for promoting enmity betweengroups.

Jamia Millia prohibitsprotests on campus

NEW DELHI, FEB 1

Jamia Millia Islamia onSaturday prohibited studentsfrom holding any protestmeeting or agitation inside theuniversity campus, warningthem of strict action,according to officials. Theuniversity administration alsodirected students to report to itany unauthorised entry ofoutsiders in campus to avoid“disruption of peace”. Thedirective comes in wake ofrecent incidents around theuniversity area. The order Anykind of agitation, speeches andmass gathering or anyunlawful activities are notallowed around the central

canteen or anywhere on theJamia Millia Islamia campus.Jamia Registrar Earlier thisweek, a student of the varsitywas injured outside thecampus when a man fired a

pistol at a group of anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Actprotesters before walkingaway while waving thefirearm over his head shouting“Yeh lo aazadi”. “Any kind of

protest meeting, agitation,speeches and mass gatheringor any unlawful activitiescausing inconvenience anddisruption in the day to dayacademic functioning are notallowed around the centralcanteen or anywhere on theJamia Millia Islamia campus,”the Jamia Registrar said in anofficial order. “Students areexpected to cooperate activelyin discipline maintenance tosupport exam and conduct ofclasses. “They are alsoexpected to immediatelyreport any outsider orunauthorised campus entry asthis can lead to an attempt ofdisruption of peace atuniversity.

HC to take up Centre’s plea in Nirbhaya caseNEW DELHI, FEB 1

A day after a Delhi court postponedthe execution of death warrantsissued against the four convicts inthe 2012 Nirbhaya gang-rape andmurder case, the Centre on Saturdaychallenged the order before theDelhi High Court.

‘Convicts testing patience ofcountry’

Solicitor General Tushar Mehtasaid the convicts had taken processof law on a “joyride”

He said it would go down inhistory of India as a case in whichconvicts of a heinous crime testedthe patience of the country

Justice Suresh Kait issued noticeto the four convicts Mukesh Kumar,Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and

Akshay Singh and posted the matterfor hearing on Sunday after SolicitorGeneral Tushar Mehta said theconvicts had taken process of law ona “joyride”.

Contending that the convictswere acting in tandem to delay theirexecution, Mehta said it would godown in history of India as a case inwhich convicts of a heinous crime

tested the patience of the country.The High Court also asked

Director General (Prisons) and TiharJail authorities to spell out theirrespective stand on the Centre’splea.

On Friday, Additional SessionsJudge Dharmender Rana haddeferred the execution of theconvicts on the convicts’ plea.

The black warrants forexecution of the death sentenceagainst the four convicts — MukeshKumar Singh, Pawan Gupta, VinayKumar Sharma and Akshay Kumarwere issued on January 17.

The convicts’ lawyer hadpointed out to the trial court thatrules dictate that when one convict’splea was pending, the others couldnot be hanged.

UP hostage-taker had studied othercases, planned for a month: Police

LUCKNOW, FEB 1

The man, who had taken 23 childrencaptive at an Uttar Pradesh village,had apparently planned it over amonth and studied similar cases ofhostage crisis, police said on Saturday.

Subhash Batham, a murder ac-cused, took the children hostage afterinviting them for a birthday party athis house in Farrukhabad’s Kasariavillage on Thursday afternoon.

The children were freed after po-

lice barged into the house late onThursday night and shot Batham dead.

“It seems Batham had planned it(the hostage taking) for a month,” In-spector General of Police, KanpurRange, Mohit Agarwal, told reporters,adding that his mobile phone has beenseized.

Batham’s wife, who was lynchedby villagers, was involved and had de-manded Rs 1 crore to free each child,he said. Police have analysedBatham’s phone and it has been found

that “he was planning it for a longtime, searching and downloadingbomb making techniques”, the officersaid. “He had studied in detail a simi-lar case in 2004 in Russia where chil-dren were held hostage, besides someother similar cases,” the IG said.

The 40-year-old had earlier servedjail for 10 years and was out on bail,Agarwal said. “He was in jail last timefour months ago for robbery. It seemsthat he had planned this (the hostagetaking) there, learning the fine details

from other inmates. He collected armsand explosives with their help,” hesaid. Batham’s mobile phone is beingchecked to find out who he was incontact with and the people he hadmet. Investigations are being carriedout to ascertain if any one else wasalso involved in the incident, the IGsaid. The officer said that Batham hadthreatened on Thursday that he hadbombs and had planted them in hishouse’s basement where he was hold-ing the children hostage.

Top 100 educational institutions to offer

full-fledged degree programmes onlineNEW DELHI, FEB 1

Top 100 educational institu-tions in the country will offerfull-fledged online degreeprogrammes, Union FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanannounced on Saturday.

“Degree level full-fledged online education pro-gramme will be started to pro-vide quality education to stu-dents of deprived sections ofthe society as well as thosewho do not have access tohigher education.

“However, these shall beoffered only by institutionswho are ranked within top

100 in the National Institu-tional Ranking Framework(NIRF),” the Finance Minis-ter said in her Budget speech.

Union HRD MinisterRamesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’said the move will help in-crease the Gross EnrolmentRation (GER).

“I appreciate the an-nouncement of introductionof degree level online educa-tion programme. Throughthis, GER will be increasedand education will be accessi-ble to all sections of the soci-ety,” Nishank told reporters.The University Grants Com-mission (UGC) had paved

way for the move by draftingthe UGC (Online Courses)Regulations, 2018.

According to the normslaid down by the UGC, high-er educational institutions areeligible to offer online pro-grammes if they have been inexistence for at least fiveyears and are accredited bythe National Assessment andAccreditation Council(NAAC) with a valid mini-mum score of 3.26 on a 4-point scale. The institutionsshould be in the top-100 inoverall category in the NIRFfor at least two years in theprevious three years.

AAP complains to EC about‘certain political parties’trying to sabotage polls

NEW DELHI, FEB 1

The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday asked the ElectionCommission to direct the police chief and otheragencies to take appropriate measures to preventunrest and violence planned by “certain politicalparties” in the city to sabotage the Delhi elections. Ina letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora,the Aam Aadmi Party said it has come to knowthrough its sources that certain “anti-social elementsin connivance with certain political parties” areplanning to create unrest and violence on Sunday tosubvert law and order in Delhi and to impede theconduct of free and fair election. “We have attached avideo wherein a group can be seen giving a call toassemble near Sarita Vihar in large numbers.

Man walks with wife'ssevered head for 1.5 kmbefore being arrestedBARABANKI: In a horrifying incident,a man on Saturday decapitated hiswife and walked with her severedhead for almost one and halfkilometres before he was arrested.Police identified the accused asAkhikesh Rawat (30) of Bahadurpurvillage. They said that Rawat wasmarried almost two years ago and hada daughter, who had died due toillness. "On Saturday afternoon, Rawathad a quarrel with his wife Rajani (25).He dragged his wife out of his house,and killed her using a sharp-edgedweapon. After killing her, he took thesevered head and started walkingtowards Jahangirabad police station,"a police official said. According to thepolice, he walked for about 1.5 km,and was moving towardsJahangirabad police station when hewas arrested near Kadirpur village. "The case will be thoroughly probed,"Superintendent of Police ArvindChaturvedi said.

Govt ready to talk toShaheen Baghprotesters in a‘structured form’:Ravi Shankar PrasadNEW DELHI: Law Minister RaviShankar Prasad on Saturday said thegovernment is ready to talk to theprotesters at Shaheen Bagh to cleartheir doubts over the amendedCitizenship law, but it should be in a“structured form”. This is perhaps forthe first time a Union minister hasexpressed willingness to communicatewith the Shaheen Bagh protestors whohave been staging a sit-in since last40 days to protest the CitizenshipAmendment Act. “Government isready to talk to protestors of ShaheenBagh but then it should be in astructured form and the@narendramodi govt is ready tocommunicate with them and clear alltheir doubts they have against CAA,”he wrote on Twitter. Prasad alsoshared a link of a TV debate in whichhe participated. In the debate, aperson associated with the protestasked the minister why the centralgovernment was not trying tocommunicate with the protesters atShaheen Bagh. Prasad said it was a“good thing” that people wereprotesting for days but some peoplewere heard saying on television thatthere would not be dialogue until theCAA was rolled back. “If you want agovernment representative to talk,then there should be a structuredrequest from Shaheen Bagh whichsays all the people there want to talkon the subject,” Prasad said. He madeit clear that Shaheen Bagh was notthe place to hold talks. “What ifsomeone goes there and ismistreated,” he said. The ShaheenBagh protest site in southeast Delhi isat the centre stage of BJP’s pollscampaign.

Step-motherlytreatment meted out toDelhi again: Kejriwal onUnion BudgetNEW DELHI: Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Saturday alleged that step-motherly treatment has been metedout to Delhi again in the Union Budget.Kejriwal took to Twitter to express hisdisappointment over the Budget for2020-21 presented by FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman onSaturday and asked, "When Delhidoesn't figure in the BJP's priorities,why should people vote for it?" "Delhihad high expectations from theBudget, but step-motherly treatmenthas been meted out to it again," heposted on the microblogging site inHindi. The AAP national convenor alsoasked that if the BJP wasdisappointing Delhi before theassembly elections, "will it fulfil itspromises after the polls?"

Task force to be set up forrecommending marriageableage for womenNEW DELHI: Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman on Saturday saida task force will be set up torecommend marriageable age forwomen. Presenting the Budget for2020-21, Sitharaman said Rs 9,500crore has been provided for seniorcitizens and Divyangs, while Rs35,600 crore has been allocated fornutrition related programme in FY21.The finance minister further said thatRs 85,000 crore has been allocatedfor Scheduled Castes (SCs) and OtherBackward Classes (OBCs) in theBudget. She also said the governmentproposes to set up a tribal museum inRanchi, Jharkhand, while fivearchaeological sites in Haryana, UP,Assam, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu will bedeveloped with on-site museums.

NEWS AT AGLANCE


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Manmohan Singh calls Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budgetspeech ‘too long to absorb’CHANDIGARH: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said that Finance Minister’s morethan two-hour long presentation of Budget 2020 was “too long” for him to absorb it. The Finance Ministerwent on for 160 minutes without a break—the longest budget speech in India’s post-independenceperiod. The speech in fact had to be abruptly cut short only because Sitharaman felt unwell. "It's such along budget, I was unable to absorb it," was all that reporters got from Manmohan Singh. Sitharamanhad only two pages of her Budget speech unread when she appeared uneasy and was seen wipingsweat from her forehead. She was offered candies by her ministerial colleagues, but that did not helpand she opted to discontinue the speech asking Speaker Om Birla to consider the remaining part of herspeech as read. She broke her own record of a 2-hour-17-minute-long maiden Budget speech in July2019.

Stake sale in LIC, IDBI to do heavy lifting formeeting Rs 2.1 lakh cr divestment target

NEW DELHI, FEB 1

Listing of insurance behemoth LICand stake sale in IDBI Bank willhelp the government garner closeto half of its record Rs 2.10 lakhcrore disinvestment target for thenext fiscal.

On horizon is the stake sale inoil marketing firm BPCL, Concorand Shipping Corporation of Indiain the next few months.

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman expressed confidencein meeting the ambitious disinvest-ment target for 2020-21 as some ofthe major stake sale are lined upover next few months.

“You will see successful disin-vestment happening within thenext few months....So obviously, Iagree between July and now a lot oflegwork has been completed andthe benefits are going to go into thenext financial year. So, you mayhold me having set the target whichI did not fulfil but within sixmonths, I can stand up and tell you,we have done a lot of work,” shesaid in interaction with media afterBudget presentation on Saturday.

For the next financial year, be-ginning April 1, the governmentexpects substantial Rs 90,000 crorerevenue from disinvestment ofgovernment stake in public sectorbanks and financial institutions.This would be in addition to Rs1.20 lakh crore estimated to bemopped up from CPSE stake salesin 2020-21.

Taking into account disinvest-

ment proceeds from CPSEs andshare sale in banks and financial in-stitutions, the budgeted disinvest-ment mop up has been set at Rs2.10 lakh crore for 2020-21.

Besides, the Cabinet approvedstake sale of Tehri Hydro Develop-ment Corp of India and North East-ern Electric Power Corporation(Neepco) to NTPC.

Disinvestment target essential-ly going to come from listing ofLIC and also from dilution of gov-ernment’s stake in IDBI Bank, Fi-nance Secretary Rajiv Kumar said.

The government currentlyowns 100 per cent in LIC, while itholds around a 46.5 per cent stakein IDBI Bank. Without giving theexact timeline for listing of LIC,Kumar said, “We will follow theextant procedure for listing and forother things including the legisla-

tive changes it requires in consulta-tion with the Ministry of Law andthat process we already started.”

Speaking about the proposeddisinvestment pipeline, Depart-ment of Disinvestment and PublicAsset Management (DIPAM) Sec-retary Tuhin Kanta Pandey saidsome of the large ones are going tospill over to the next year and theirreceipts are going to come in thenext fiscal.

“The transactions are all linedup as you know again the expres-sion of interest on Air India is al-ready out and very soon BPCL ex-pression of interest will be out andso on so forth. So, therefore we arequite hopeful we will be achievingdisinvestment target for the nextfiscal,” Pandey said.

Speaking about meeting 3.5per cent deficit target set for the

next fiscal, Sitharaman said the in-creased revenue proceed and reali-sation of disinvestment proceedswill help meet the target.

“The way in which revenuegeneration is improving now. In thelast three months, GST collectionhas crossed Rs 1 lakh crore...I hopethe corporate tax cut and the bene-fits derived by new companies willall come to play in the comingmonths, I guess therefore, they willbe an improvement,” she said.

These will give a little comfortthat deficit will come down from3.8 per cent to 3.5 per cent in thenext fiscal, she added.

On a question as to why therewas no provision for public sectorbank recapitalisation, she said, itwill be provided as and when re-quired.

Meanwhile, Employees’ unionof LIC has strongly opposed thegovernment’s plan to sell a part ofits holding in the country’s largestfinancial institution through a pub-lic issue.

“LIC has always been the lastresort for funding for other publicsector entities. We strongly opposethe government’s proposal to sell aportion of its holding in LIC,” All-India Life Insurance EmployeesFederation General Secretary Ra-jesh Nimbalkar told PTI.

Further, he said the govern-ment’s move is against the interestof the public because growth ofLIC is the sheer outcome of thededication and faith of policyhold-ers and its agents.

Collegium appoints judges on‘impression’; system needs

reconsideration: Justice Sikri

NEW DELHI, FEB 1

Noting that Collegiumappointed judges based onits “impression” aboutcandidates, former SupremeCourt judge AK Sikri onSaturday said the judicialappointments system neededreconsideration as “India isthe only country wherejudges appoint judges”.

“Let me be very blunt.Most times, we go by ourimpression while appointingjudges. It may not bescientific…Many timesthose taken may not bedeserving candidates andthose deserving might be leftout. That needs to be takencare of,” said Justice Sikriwho was a part of theSupreme Court Collegiumbefore demitting office inMarch last year.

Justice Sikri wasspeaking at the launch of‘The Cases That IndiaForgot’—a book authored byChintan Chandrachud. Theauthor’s father and SupremeCourt judge DYChandrachud, Additional

Solicitor General MadhaviGoradia Divan, Zia Modi ofAZB and Partners discusseda range of issues relating tothe Indian judiciary withJustice Sikri in thediscussion moderated bysenior journalist ShekharGupta.

The Collegium system isnot provided for in theConstitution and it wascreated in 1993 through aSupreme Court verdict thatreduced the role of theExecutive to mere checkingof antecedents of theselected candidates andissuance of formal warrantof appointment.

In 2014, Parliamentenacted the National JudicialAppointments Commission(NJAC) for appointment ofSupreme Court and highcourt judges but in 2015 afive-judge ConstitutionBench struck it down torevive the Collegium systemunder which a panel of topfive and three judgesappoints judges of theSupreme Court and highcourts.

Employers’ total contribution towards employeesocial security funds capped at Rs 7.5 lakh annuallyNEW DELHI, FEB 1

The government on Saturdayproposed a combined upperlimit on employers’contribution towards theNational Pension Scheme(NPS), superannuation fundand recognised providentfund at Rs 7.5 lakh annuallyfor an employee.

Any contribution byemployers towards thesesocial security schemesbeyond Rs 7.5 lakh perannum would be treated asperquisite of the employeeand taxed accordingly.

According to the Budget2020-21 documents, it is“proposed to provide acombined upper limit of Rs7.5 lakh in respect ofemployer’s contribution in ayear to NPS, superannuationfund and recognisedprovident fund and anyexcess contribution isproposed to be taxable”.

Consequently, thedocuments further said it isalso proposed that any annualaccretion by way of interest,

dividend or any other amountof similar nature during theprevious year to the balanceat the credit of the fund orscheme may be treated asperquisite to the extent itrelates to the employer’scontribution, which isincluded in the total income.

The documents alsoprovided that this will takeeffect from April 1, 2021, andwill, accordingly, apply inrelation to the assessmentyear 2021-22 and subsequentassessment years.

Under the existing

provisions, the contributionby the employer to theaccount of an employee in arecognised provident fundexceeding 12 per cent ofsalary is taxable.

The amount of anycontribution to an approvedsuperannuation fund by theemployer exceeding Rs 1.5lakh is treated as perquisite inthe hands of the employee.

Similarly, the assessee isallowed a deduction underNPS for the 14 per cent of thesalary contributed by thecentral government and 10

per cent of the salarycontributed by any otheremployer.

However, the documentsstated that there is nocombined upper limit for thepurpose of deduction on theamount of contribution madeby the employer.

“This is giving unduebenefit to employees earninghigh salary income. While anemployee with low salaryincome is not able to letemployer contribute a largepart of his salary to all thesethree funds, employees withhigh salary income are ableto design their salary packagein a manner where a largepart of their salary is paid bythe employer in these threefunds.”

Thus, it stated that thisportion of salary is not taxedat any point of time, since theexempt -exempt -exemptregime is followed for thesethree funds.

Thus, not having acombined upper cap isiniquitous and, hence, notdesirable, it added.

Railways: Rs 70,000 crore budgetary

support, Rs 1.61 lakh cr capex; paltry

3 pc increase in allocationNEW DELHI, FEB 1

The railways got a budgetary allocationof Rs 70,000 crore and an outlay forcapital expenditure amounting to Rs1.61 lakh crore, a paltry 3 per cent morethan the previous year, from UnionFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inthe Budget for 2020-21 presented onSaturday. In 2019-2020, the capitalexpenditure (RE) was Rs 1.56 lakhcrore, which was 17.2 per cent morethan the capex of 2018-2019.

The total receipts of the railwayscomprising earnings from passenger,goods, sundry other heads and railwayrecruitment boards are targeted toincrease by 9.5 per cent in the BudgetEstimates (BE) of 2020-21 over theRevised Estimates (RE) of 2019-20.

In the 2020-21 budget, funds of Rs12,000 crore have been allocated forconstruction of new lines, Rs 2,250crore for gauge conversion, Rs 700crore for doubling, Rs 5,786.97 crorefor rolling stock and Rs 1,650 crore forsignalling and telecom. The allocationfor rail passenger comfort this fiscal isRs 2,725.63 crore. The budget alsoproposed freight loading at 1,265 MT,which is 42 MT (3.4 per cent)incremental over RE 2019-20. Revenue

receipts amounting to Rs 61,000 crorethrough passenger earnings and Rs1,47,000 crore in goods earnings havebeen envisaged in the coming financialyear. The gross traffic receipts are thuskept at Rs 2,25,613 crore. This is 9.6 percent above RE 2019-20. The operatingratio, which was envisaged to be 95 percent in BE 2019-20 and revised to 97.46per cent in RE 2019-2020, now stands at96.2 per cent in BE 2020-21. TheBudget also proposed setting up of alarge solar power capacity alongside therail tracks on land owned by therailways. Redevelopment of fourstations and operation of 150 passengertrains would be done through thepublic-private-partnership (PPP) mode.It also announced introduction of moretrains like Tejas that will connect iconictourist destinations.

Govt mulls separating PFRDA from

govt employees’ trust, setting up

pvt sector pension trustsNEW DELHI, FEB 1

With an aim to strengthen thepension fund regulatorybody’s regulating role, Fi-nance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Saturday pro-posed amendments in thePFRDA Act and forming ofpension trusts by employeesother than government.

Presenting the UnionBudget 2020-21, the ministeralso proposed separating therole of the Pension Fund Reg-ulatory and Development Au-thority of India (PFRDA)from that of trust for govern-ment employees.

“Regulating role of PFR-DAI requires strengthening.Necessary amendmentswould be carried out in Pen-sion Fund Regulatory Devel-opment Authority of IndiaAct that will also facilitateseparation of NPS trust forgovernment employees fromPFRDAI,” Sitharaman said inher Budget speech in Parlia-ment. The Pension Fund Reg-ulatory & Development Au-thority Act was passed inSeptember, 2013, and cameto effect from February, 2014.This would also enable estab-lishment of a pension trust by

the employees other thangovernment, the ministersaid. “I am confident that thiswill motivate citizens to planfor their old age,” she added.Further, to help easy mobilitywhile in jobs, she said thegovernment wishes to infuseinto the universal pensioncoverage with auto enrol-ment. “Also, we wish to placesuch mechanisms which canenable inter-operability andprovide safeguards for the ac-cumulated corpus,” she said.The PFRDA regulates theNational Pension System(NPS), subscribed by em-ployees of central and stategovernments as well as byemployees of private sectororganizations those in unor-ganised sectors. It also ad-ministers Atal Pension Yojana(APY), which mainly catersto the unorganised sector andlow income groups.

NEW DELHI, FEB 1

The government on Saturdayproposed a Rs 22,000 croreoutlay for renewables andpower sector in 2020-21 forrealising its goal of 24X7electricity for all andproviding freedom toconsumers to choose serviceprovider and tariff.

Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman whilepresenting the Budget 2020-21 urged all states to convertthe conventional electricitymeters into pre-paid smartmeters in next three years soas to provide consumers achoice of service providersand rate of electricity.

Pre-paid smart meterssave cost of manualmetering, billing andcollection and improveefficiency of this publicservice. Last month, thepower ministry asked statesto reduce power tariff ofconsumers having smartmetres.

“I propose to provide Rs22,000 crore for power andrenewable for 2020-21,” said

Sitharaman in her Budgetspeech in the Lok Sabha.

She was of the view thattaking electricity to allhouseholds was the majorsuccess of the government.

She was referring toSaubhagya scheme underwhich 2.66 crore familieswere provided electricityconnection. At present,except some households indifficult areas and Maoist-hitdistricts, power connectionhas been provided to allwilling households. Theminister also proposed toprovide Rs 4,400 crore for a

programme to ensure cleanerair in cities with populationof over one million bymeasures such as shuttingdown older thermal powerplants. She told the Housethat the land of the shut downthermal power plants can beused for alternate purposes.

She also said theenvironment ministry wouldnotify parameters forproviding benefits to statesopting for the scheme. Allthose thermal power plantswhose emissions are morethan pre-set level can beclosed down by states.

Rs 22,000 crore outlay forpower, renewable energy

sector in FY21: FM

No strategic idea,anything concrete inUnion Budget: RahulNEW DELHI, FEB 1

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday saidthere was no strategic idea or anything concrete inthe Union Budget and it described the "hollow"approach of the government that was "all talk".Talking to reporters outside Parliament soon afterthe presentation of the budget, he described thebudget as repetitive, saying it does not address themain issue of unemployment confronting thecountry's youth. "The main issue isunemployment. I did not see any concrete,

strategic idea thatcould help ouryoungsters get jobs.There wereredundant things inthe budget and I didnot see any centralidea," he said. "Itdescribes thegovernment quitewell. There is a lot ofrepetition, a lot oframbling and nothing

concrete. It describes the mindset of thegovernment, all talk and nothing concrete," hesaid. Gandhi said the youth of the country knewexactly what is going on. "There are no jobs.Nothing happened here to help you," he said. TheCongress leader said the budget was very long andit was probably the longest speech ever which sawtactical stuff but no central idea. He said that it wasover 2.5 hours long, but there was no strategicissue. "The government's approach is visible—hollow," Gandhi added.

PAGE7

SHORT TALKS

Ambrane announces its powerful, 2in1 Detachable Speaker ‘Fireboom’ HEALTH/NEWS


UDHIANA: Groww, a leading online investment platform that allows zero commission investing in mutual funds, recently conducted ‘Ab India Karega Invest - Ludhiana Chapter’ – an interactive event for aspiring and novice investors in Ludhiana, LPunjab. The event, which saw active participation from millennial investors, was held at Hotel Gulmor on 31st January 2020.

The two-hour event covered an array of topics, ranging from benefits of mutual fund investments, dos and don’ts of investing, and prospects of India’s mutual fund industry. It was kick-started with seasoned investors sharing tips and tricks of mutual fund investing. This was followed by an interactive session, where participants were given a chance to ask questions and clear their doubts. The overarching idea behind this initiative was to break common investing myths and help young investors make well-informed investment decisions. Sharing his insights, Lalit Keshre, Co-founder and CEO, Groww, said, “ At Groww our constant endeavour is to provide our investors with all the necessary tools and resources that empower them to make investment decisions on their own . Financial education hence plays a huge role here. This program will not only help us in spreading awareness but is also a great avenue for us to closely engage with aspiring investors spread across tier 2 cities in India. We are very happy with the response received from Ludhiana and look forward to hosting similar events in the future. “ Groww ‘s event ‘Ab India Karega Invest - Ludhiana Chapter’ witnessed a massive turnout, with

hordes of people attending the event from even outskirts of the city. As expected, millennials and Gen Z accounted for the majority of participants. The interactive session proved to be particularly fruitful as aspiring and amateur investors presented some important questions regarding mutual fund investing before the experts.

Chandigarh: Chandigarh based company, NS Ventures has been awarded ‘Gold Vdonxt Asia’ for their impeccable video production, virtual reality and aerial videos. Prateek , CEO NS Ventures received the award at Mumbai yesterday. After receiving award, he said that we are very excited to win the Gold Vdonxt Asia award which is result of our hard work. Our immense passion made us to win this award and we feel very motivated. Vdonxt Asia is a refined and polished version of India’s largest convention for those who live by the promise of digital video and the biggest open convention in India on digital video.

NS Ventures wins ‘Gold Vdonxt Asia’ award

more are the direct results of unhealthy foods, unbalanced lifestyle, and physical inactivity.Over the past century, humans have experienced four life-changing revolutions: the Industrial, Agricultural, Economic, and Digital. Around the globe, these revolutions have lifted millions of humans from poverty and starvation. However, slowly and stealthily, these revolutions have moved the humans away from nature and its powerful bioenergy source sun. The natural bioenergy remains intimately linked to both nutritious food and a balanced healthy lifestyle. The global epidemics of wellness session Titled life’, which is important for have moved the humans away overweight- obesity and BACK TO NATURE - students as it will make them more from nature and its powerful associated diseases such as SUN ENERGY FOR productive in build a strong nation. bioenergy source sun. The natural Atype 2 diabetes, heart HEALTH for the students was Over the past century, humans bioenergy remains intimately disease, high blood conducted and they were educated have experienced four life- linked to both nutritious food and a pressure, metabolic about health issues and living a changing revolutions: the balanced healthy lifestyle. The syndrome, hypothyroidism, happy and healthy life. This Industrial, Agricultural, Economic, global epidemics of overweight- cancer, and many more are session focused on obesity, and Digital. Around the globe, obesity and associated diseases the direct results of diabetes and many more health these revolutions have lifted such as type 2 diabetes, heart unhealthy foods, unbalanced problems associated with obesity. millions of humans from poverty disease, high blood pressure, lifestyle, and physical Mantra delivered by her was and starvation. However, slowly metabolic syndrome, inactivity.‘Nutritious food and disciplined and stealthily, these revolutions hypothyroidism, cancer, and many

isar, January: Skilling small land-hold farmers using collective expertise and building collective strengths Hof farming community will strengthen the

community’s position within the agriculture value chain and financial growth that would bring back fortune to the agriculture sector in Haryana, according to a strategic thinker Mr. Bobby Nimbalkar, Executive Vice president, SIMACES Learning LLP (SIILC), a Pune based company engaged in creating a large scale positive impact through behavioral change and mass learning-based sustainable solutions. Mr Nimbalkar further said, this unified collective power would have greater bargaining skill to break traditional practices and help in adapting to advance business application in Farmer Interest Group or Farmer Produced Organizations (FPO). Such collective group efforts may be the solution to economic struggles of Indian farmers. Haryana is one of the most economically developed regions in South Asia and its agricultural and manufacturing industry has experienced sustained growth since 1970s. Despite recent industrial development, Haryana is primarily an agricultural state. About 70% of residents are engaged in agriculture. Wheat and rice are the major crops grown here. Haryana is self-sufficient in food production and the second largest contributor to India's central pool of food grains.

Skilling Small Land-Hold Farmers will increase Income of farmers in

Haryana, said SIMACES Learning LLP

Mount Carmel School MCC – 2020 Entices Revellers in Thousands

handigarh : The official mascot of the 36th National Games of India, Rubigula, Flame-Throated Bulbul made a grand entry amidst traditional CShigmo and Carnaval acts at a glittering Launch Event held at the GTDC

Roof Top, Panaji on Saturday. Rubigula was an instant hit amongst everyone present there with everyone jostling to get a glimpse of the mascot. The name for the mascot ‘Rubigula’ was chosen after sports enthusiasts from across India were invited to submit their suggestions through a social media contest. Chief Minister of Goa Dr. Pramod Sawant, Union Minister of State (I/c) for Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri. Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of State (I/c) for AYUSH and President of Goa Olympic Association Shri. Shripad Naik, Dy. Chief Minister and Sports Minister of Goa Shri. Manohar Ajgaonkar, Indian Olympic Association President Mr Narinder Dhruv Batra and Secretary General Mr. Rajeev Mehta, Sports Minister of Haryana Shri. Sandeep Singh, Sports Minister of Tripura Shri. Manoj Kanti Deb, Sports Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Shri. Mama Natung, Sports Secretaries of various states, sportspersons, NGOC members and other dignitaries.

handigarh : Under the auspices of the Founders and Directors of Mount Carmel Schools, Dr. Earnest Charles J. Samuel and CDr. Annie Charles Samuel along with the Principal Dr.

Parveena John Singh the two days Winter Carnival MCC-2020 started off with a great enthusiasm. Retd.Justice Jaspal Singh (Punjab & Haryana High Court) inaugurated the Fete in the school premises at MCS sector 47-B, Chandigarh and in his address lauded the efforts of the staff, students, Principal and the Management for proving a platform where parents could spend quality time enjoying with their children. Mount Caremelites guided by t he i r t e ache r s , decorated and set up the stalls for the day. A number of games stalls, mouthwatering eats, nail art and tattoo corner, joy rides and scintillating stage shows electrified and gladdened the atmosphere. Hundred of students of various schools of the Tri-city along with old and young locals from the adjoining sectors thronged to bask and revel in the wintry sunshine outdoors. The first day reached its zenith with the first round the MCC Fashion Show. The contestant walked the ramp in a casual round flaunting their clothes and accessories. Students of other schools joined the merry making and participated in various competitions organized by the school.

Apple Led Global Smartphone Market in Q4 2019: Canalys, Strategy AnalyticsAfter many successive quarters of Asian dominance, the global smartphone market saw a resurgence from American tech giant Apple, which started the smartphone revolution with the iPhone in 2007. The Cupertino-based company took the lead in the global smartphone segment by shipments, overtaking Samsung and Huawei in Q4 2019. Apple accounted for a greater market share for the final quarter of 2019 thanks to strong demand and pricing for its iPhone 11 series, according to two independent research and analytics firms, Canalys and Strategy Analytics. Although Canalys and Strategy Analytics report different figures for global smartphone shipments, the data released by both firms state that Apple led the segment in Q4 2019, ahead of Samsung and Huawei which ranked second and third respectively. Xiaomi and Oppo completed the top five, while the combined shipments of all other smartphone vendors accounted for around 30 percent of all shipments. As per Canalys, Apple shipped 78.4 million smartphones in Q4 2019, giving it a market share of 21.3 percent. Samsung is reported to have shipped 70.8 million smartphones, giving it a share of 19.2 percent, while Huawei is said to have shipped 56 million units, giving it a share.

9-year-old Delhi Boy Creates an Appto Help Kids Manage Stress

Groww's ‘Ab India Karega Invest - Ludhiana Chapter’ receives overwhelming response from millennial investors

Book on campus placement ‘I got my dream job’ released

handigarh, A book of own kind academic delivery. The book emphasized on helping fresh graduates for their job ‘I the techniques one must perceive in order to Cgot my dream job’ written by HR utilize and showcase those skills to achieve

professional Manju Rawat was released today great placement opportunities. “Skills always by motivational speaker Dr Vineet Gera in a develop with the practice and this book can do simple function held in Sector 37, Chandigarh wonders for the job seekers who aspire to .The book is based bridge the skill on deve lop ing g a p . M a n j u those soft skills Rawat who is which industry the recipient of looks for into the Career Guru young hires. It Award holds the deals with hiring w o r k i n g p r o c e s s a n d experience of selection rounds more than a p e r f o r m b y decade wi th corporate during p r e s t i g i o u s t h e c a m p u s universities and placement process. institutions of A c c o r d i n g t o North India. Manju Rawat, The B e i n g i n t o objective of her writing this book was to make placement and training line of work the student ready to be successful hire. It has simultaneously, she has been closely involved always been projected that there is a big skill in counseling and guiding the students for gap between the industry expectations and the their career planning and preparation.

handigarh, Hosts toiled hard through-out the day till second last over of the match to ensure Cfour wickets win in a nail biting finish during

the Col CK Nayadu trophy match ended at GMSSS, Sector 26 on Saturday. Odisha bundle out for 275 in reply of Chandigarh’s first inning score of 238 and posed a target of 125 runs in 23 over which was achieved by the heroic of Taranpreet Singh. Host secured six points from the match and amassed a total of 35 points with third position in the points table. Chandigarh will play its next match against Bihar on home ground on February 6. Earlier in the day, visitors resumed their inning from 46 for six with overnight batsmen – Saurav Gouda and Binit Mohanty who represented their patience play for 89 runs partnership in in nearly 31 overs. Mandeep Singh brought the first success for the day and for host when he removed Binit Mohanty for 27 off 110 balls in 44th over. Meanwhile, on the other end, Saurav, who got out for duck in his first inning continued to hold the fort and completed his half century. Chandigarh was aiming to wrap up visitors by lunch but duo of Saurav and Tarani Sa further exploited the bowlers to score 40 run partnership and cross beyond 150 runs mark. Odisha was inching closer to level the lead and posing thread for building a target. In 52th over, Captain relied on Mandeep Singh for one more spell which worked out for side.

Chandigarh beats Odisha by four wickets in a nail biting finish

anchkula: Brilliance World had the annual sports day. The day Pwas preceded by an interhouse

badminton tournament . Students from play way to XI participated in various athletics events and set an example of healthy competition. The last event was the interhouse tug of war in which Aravalli house was the winner. Mrs. Niranjana Chatterjee, Principal of the school said, “Sports is an integral part of the curriculum we adopt at the school. Sports we feel makes a child more confident & a well-rounded personality.

Annual Sports Day At Brilliance World School

“Ukrainian aerospace productionmanufacturer will participate in “DefExpo-2020”Chandigarh: Prominent Ukrainian defense manufacturers will participate in a premier exhibition “DefExpo-2020”, held from 5-8 February, 2020, at Lucknow. This event is a large congregation of Indian and foreign defense companies. The Ukrainian aerospace industry among others will be presented by State Enterprise “Kharkiv Machinery Plant “FED”. “FED” is the world-famous brand in the aerospace industry. Founded in 1927, State Enterprise “Kharkov Machinery Plant “FED” occupies the leading positions in State Concern “Ukroboronprom” and Ukrainian Defence Industry in production, overhaul, repair and modernization of equipment for hydraulic, fuel and electrical systems of aircrafts, helicopters and armored vehicles. "FED" products are operated in more than 60 countries worldwide and installed on all Mi & Ka-type helicopters, MiG & Su aircrafts. Products are characterized by high science intensity, precision of manufacture of details and sub-assemblies, low dimensions and weight. "FED" has modern production base and highly skilled personnel. In manufacture of majority of products, the technological cycle is completely closed. All types of production use modern up-to-date technologies.

Goa 2020 National Games mascot ‘Rubigula’ takes centre stage at Launch Event

KARNAL: Children go through emotional, mental, and physical changes as they grow up and are faced with anxiety and stress on a daily basis. However, most of them are not able to express themselves clearly which takes a toll on their health. To tackle this situation, 9-year-old Madhav Agnihotri from Delhi has created the Distress Buddy App, which helps kids to connect with professionals to get required assistance to overcome anxious situations. It is difficult for parents to understand their child’s mood swings and they often end up scolding their kids in such situations. The child in turn is not able to express his emotions properly, and this leads to anxiety and depression. Madhav saw his sister go through stressful situations because of higher studies. While learning coding on the WhiteHat Jr platform, Madhav thought of utilising his learning to create an app to help his sister and other children seek professional counselling and relieve themselves from such stressful scenarios.

Moto G Stylus Spotted on Geekbench, Live Photos and Specifications LeakMoto G Stylus has appeared on Geekbench and live photos have also cropped up online, giving us more information on key specifications and design details. To recall, the rumoured Moto G Stylus is the company's upcoming phone with stylus support, its first such smartphone, and it is expected to launch at MWC alongside new models in the Moto G8 series. To recall, while there as some confusion whether the new Motorola phone would be called the Motorola Edge+ earlier, recent reports have pointed to it being called the Moto G Stylus. The fresh Geekbench listing of the Moto G Stylus suggests that the phone may run on Android 10 and pack 4GB of RAM. The phone is listed to run on a 1.8GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC as well. The phone has achieved a single-core score of 311, and a multi-core score of 1,316. The listing also mentions the motherboard codenamed to be sofiap, something that was mentioned.

Electronic Accessories Brand, Ambrane India announced its newest Portable and detachable ‘Fireboom’ Speaker. The All in one Speaker, remains the ultimate Travel companion for those who are always on the move, and want a robust speaker, in a compact package. The one its kind 2 in 1 speaker, comes with the unique detachable function, simply by Twist and separate, two individual speakers 10W each. Play it rough with IPX7 Waterproof protection, as the speaker is engineered with rugged exterior to withstand any climatic condition. Designed Portable and handy, the Speaker with TWS (True Wireless Stereo) function,produces 20W HD surround sound experience. The Dual performance drivers, pumps out full balanced sound with clear mids and vibrant highs. Fireboom drops 360-degree sound, that resonates in every direction with exceptional high bass in a compact package.

Chicago's dr radha conducted a wellness session at Cordia institute

nkur School, sector 14, Panjab University, Chandigarh,bid a fond farewell to the outgoing classes X and XII batches of 2019-2020 Awith great exuberance.The evening was a celebration devoted to

the years spent together with friends and teachers to recall all the joyous moments. The programme was held in the the auditorium started off with the welcome speech by the students of classes IX and XI expressing

gratitude towards their seniors and for their invaluable contribution in making the journey a memorable one.The Principal , Dr.Parminder Duggal who applauded the batches and appreciated their efforts in every aspect be it academics, sports or other e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r activities,enthusiastically.She wished them all the luck to take forward the spirit of Ankurians. This was followed by the cake cutting ceremony. The highlight of the function was the beautiful cultural presentation by the students of

classes IX and XI.The students of class IX and XI put forth an amalgamation of brilliant dance performances, melodious songs and groovy music that rocked the auditorium. Ms. Ankur and Mr. Ankur titles were accorded to Riddhi and Kushagra Mehta. After the cultural programme, everyone assembled in the for dance and refreshments.

irakpur Honoring and appreciating the achievers with accolades, the function named UTSAV 2020, included a Zseries of thematic performances ranging from devotion to

family values, patriotism, unity in diversity, parental love, social issues and many more. Director of Shemrock World Zirakpur, Rakesh Bansal and Harsh Bansal Principal Mrs. Chetan Bansal,

Shemrock World Z i r a k p u r , presided as the g u e s t s . Commencing on a devotional note, the celebration e m b r a c e d various facets of s o c i e t y a n d

culture. A galaxy of dignitaries graced the occasion as guests of honour. Prominent among those who graced the occasion included Sanjeev Kumar, In charge, Traffic Police, Madan Jindal, Director, Barnala Builders, Amarjeet Singh Bajwa, Chairman, Shemrock Group of Schools, Karan Bajwa, Director, Shemrock School, Sector 69, Mohali, Mrs Nirmal Garg, President, Mahila Mandal, Mataur and Rakesh Tangri, Lions club Panchkula.

Shemrock World Zirakpur Holds its Annual Day 'UTSAV 2020' handigarh, A record

partnership of 336 runs Cbetween opening pair of Captain Amanjot Kaur and Monika Pandey led to an emphatic win over Manipur by massive 255 runs at the Womens’ Under 23 One Day trophy match played at Cuttack on Sunday. Chandigarh posed a total of 336 run and in reply Manipur bundle out for meager 81 runs in 34.2 overs. Chandigarh continued to top the table with 16 points from all four winning games. Team will clash against Nagaland on February 6.Earlier in the day, Chandigarh’s skipper Amanjot Kaur won the toss and opted to bat first which proved too handy to exploit the morning conditions and opponents bowlers. Duo led to a rocket start with century runs partnership in 16th over followed by their 200 runs mark in 34th over. Amanjot Kaur was the first one to complete her century in 124 balls followed by Monika’s ton in 110 balls. Thereafter, duo completed their 300 runs partnership in 47th over and continued to create the wickets draught for Manipuri bowlers.

Local girls beats Manipur by 255 runs in a one side affair

handigarh: PareeHAAT Kasba Karigari Ka an exhibition envisioned by city based fashion designer & curator CRashmi Bindra, who recently survived cancer, is all set to

revive the lost art & fine heritage craftsmanship from different parts of India at Hotel Shivalikview, Sec 17 here. The exhibition has kicked off and will be on from Feb 1-2 (Sat-Sun). The showcase will be held from 11 am till 7:30 pm daily. CITCO Managing Director Jasvinder Kaur Sidhu(IAS) formally inaugurated the

e x h i b i t i o n . Rashmi Bindra said, "I travelled extensively for over 3 months to get some of the most intense handmade art and f a sh ion from nooks & c r a n n i e s o f I n d i a . T h e

PareeHaat team has worked relentlessly to get together all the possible talent, which tells the story of conviction and creativity, the traditional to the modern, chic to the ethnic, and the luxury to simplicity the exhibition aims to capture different hues, splendor and grandeur of India." Added Rashmi, "The whole exhibition has been put up with a motive of empowering every small little skill or 'Kaarigari' and to revive the lost heritage by showcasing fashion , art and lifestyle which is simply an absolute labor of love.

PareeHAAT-Kasba Karigari Ka kicks off

A sentient farewell to outgoing Students at Ankur School

Sony Xperia 1.1 aka Xperia 5 Plus to Pack 5 Rear Cameras: ReportSony will be hosting an event at this year's MWC on February 24 in Barcelona, where the company is expected to unveil its latest flagship smartphone the Xperia 5 Plus, which is also being referred to as the Xperia 1.1. Now, a new report by a Japanese publication claims that this upcoming Xperia flagship will be packing dual-front stereo speakers and a total of five cameras at the back, out of which one of the lenses will be a periscope unit.According to the report by Android Next, the Sony Xperia 5 Plus or the Xperia 1.1 will reportedly pack five rear cameras. If this information is to be believed then the rear camera setup will be as follows — a 12-megapixel primary camera with a 1/1.5” sensor size, a 64-megapixel camera with a 1/1.7-inch sensor size, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a 1/3.4-inch sensor size, a 2-megapixel Time-of-Flight camera, and finally a periscope unit with OIS.

8YUGMARG, CHANDIGARH, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2020

FAT TIGER Roar in Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH : Fat Tigers is an ode/tribute to“the Indian styled Chinese cuisine” developed inIndia by the small Chinese community over acentury ago. Today this food is an important partof Indian cuisine and culture and Fat Tiger wantsto bring this food in its traditional glory with somemodern touches across India in never been donebefore QSR ( Quick Service Restaurant) format.Additionally, Fat Tiger will also serve unique andinnovative beverages (never before served in In-dia) along with interesting dimsums brought intothe QSR format for the first time.After the suc-cessful launch in Karnal and Delhi/NCR, FatTiger is now all set to put its ‘PAW’ in Chandigarhon 29th January 2020 with an exciting launch of-fer. Patrons can choose anything from the menuat INR 29 only for that day.

Jennifer wore Rs 68,000silver thread work bridaldupatta in Beyhadh 2CHANDIGARH : Sony Enter-tainment Television's latestshow Beyhadh 2' has beengarnering much buzz since itspremiere. Like its previousseason, the latest season isgetting tremendous responsefrom the audience. Beyhadh2 has become a topic of dis-cussion due to its gorgeoussets and superb presentationof the characters. Also, Maya's look played byJennifer Winget in the second season has be-come a style statement for the audience.Later inthe show, Rudra will get into Maya's trap and willrun away with Maya to get married. Beyhadh 2'sactress Jennifer Winget, who plays Maya, worebridal dupatta for their marriage sequence whichis worth Rs 68,000. The bridal dupatta is hand-knitted with original silver threads and it took 48hours and 3 artisans to create perfect bridal du-patta.Watch Beyhadh 2 from Monday to Friday@ 9:00 PM only on Sony Entertainment Televi-sion

Raj Subramaniam Joins FedExCorporation Board of DirectorsCHANDIGARH : FedEx Corp. an-nounced today that Raj Subrama-niam, the Company’s presidentand chief operating officer, hasbeen elected to the Board of Direc-tors. With his election, the Boardnow has 13 members, including 11independent directors. Mr. Subra-maniam oversees the strategic di-rection and execution of business priorities forthe FedEx portfolio of operating companies,which includes more than 490,000 team mem-bers at FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedExFreight, FedEx Services, FedEx Logistics andFedEx Office. He is also a member of the Com-pany’s five-person Executive Committee andserves as co-president and co-CEO of FedExServices, which provides support functions formajor FedEx business units.“Raj has played apivotal role in the growth and success of FedExduring his 29 years with the company,” saidFrederick W. Smith, chairman and CEO ofFedEx Corporation. “His international experienceand keen insights will serve the Company well inhis role as a member of the Board.”Prior to as-suming his role as president and chief operatingofficer of FedEx Corp., Mr. Subramaniam waspresident and chief executive officer of FedExExpress, the world’s largest express transporta-tion company.

Announcing the first-ever association between Filmfare and Amazon India, Bollywood actress and six-time Filmfare Award winnerVidya Balan shared the stage with Jitesh Pillai, Editor, Filmfare and Ravi Desai, Director, Mass and Brand Management, Amazon India,at a press conference in Mumbai. The association with Filmfare Awards is the perfect way to bring alive the connect between enter-tainment and fashion helping Amazon India strengthen its position as a leader in online fashion and beauty, making ‘har pal fashion-

able’. The 65th Amazon Filmfare Awards are set to take place on 15th February, 2020 in Guwahati, Assam.

Now, ExperiencetheImmersive Future of 3DSound in Home Cinema

CHANDIGARH : German audio giantSennheiser today announced thelaunch of its much-awaitedSennheiser AMBEO Soundbar in In-dia. With its immersive 5.1.4 soundand deep bass that has to be heardto be believed, Sennheiser's newAMBEO Soundbar is priced at?199,990/- and will be available forthe music lovers in India starting Jan-uary 29, 2020. Created by the audiospecialist to be one of the world'sbest soundbars, the AMBEO Sound-bar places the listener inside thesound experience with incredible re-alism, delivering 3D sound that blursthe line between playback and realityfrom a single all-in-onedevice.Sennheiser's soundbar hasbeen developed under Sennheiser'sAMBEO trademark.

Lexus’ emphatic nextchapter in India

CHANDIGARH : Luxury car manu-facturer Lexus, today reaffirmed itscommitment to India by announcinglocal production under the parts andcomponents category, an enhanced

product portfolio and the expansionof its guest experience centre net-work. Since its debut in India inMarch 2017, Lexus has redefinedluxury in the world’s fastest-growingmajor economy and has consistentlydelivered exceptional design andquality to the discerning Indian guest.This announcement strengthens thebrand’s presence in the Indian mar-ket significantly. The first model to beproduced in India will be the popularworld-class ES 300h, which featuresuncompromising performance andstate-of-the art technology safetymeasures wrapped in Lexus’ signa-ture refinement. Production com-menced in January 2020 with the firstlocally produced model set to beavailable in India from February2020.

The Royal Enfield Classic,Bullet and Thunderbird500cc motorcycles to beavailable till March 31

CHANDIGARH :, Royal Enfield to-day announced an end-of-produc-tion, special series motorcycles,theClassic 500 Tribute Black LimitedEdition.These motorcycles will be thelast in India to carry the iconic long-stroke single cylinder UCE 500cc en-gine and will be exclusively made toorder in a limited production run.Each of the motorcycles will carry ahallmark commemorative ‘End ofBuild’ serial numbered plaque mak-ing it unique to its owner. These mo-torcycles will be made availablethrough a limited time online sale onFebruary 10, 2020 from 2:00 -5:00pm. While the company will dis-

continue the retail sales of the present500cc motorcycles in India on March31, 2020, these motorcycles will con-tinue to be available across all interna-tional markets. Service and spares willremain available for current ownersacross all dealerships in India.Speak-ing about the announcement, Mr. Vin-od Dasari, CEO of Royal Enfieldsaid,“Since 2009 the Royal Enfield500cc motorcycles have proudly setthe stage for the middle-weight motor-cycling segment in India.

Samsung LaunchesGalaxy A51 in India

CHANDIGARH :Samsung, India’slargest consumerelectronics andsmartphone brand,today announcedthe launch of GalaxyA51, its latest addi-tion to the Galaxy ALine. Built to delivermeaningful innova-

tions and awesome mobile experi-ences to everyone, the Galaxy A51 ispacked with enhanced features: asmarter quad camera to help capturethe world as you see it, an Infinity-Odisplay that gives an uninterrupted vi-sual experience and a long-lastingbattery to keep up with your busylifestyle.“At Samsung, we believe that‘Awesome is for Everyone’. Lastyear, millions of consumers in Indiaadopted the Galaxy A line, making itone of the most loved smartphoneline in a very short span of time. Thesuccess of Galaxy A embodies ourphilosophy of bringing meaningful in-novation to all our consumers.Galaxy A51 takes this legacy to thenext level with its awesome camera,awesome screen and long lastingbattery - features that will excite ouryoung consumers. The new ‘Makefor India’ Alive Intelligence featureswill elevate the way Gen Z and mil-lennial consumers use their smart-phones for a truly awesome experi-ence,” said Aditya Babbar, Director,Mobile Business, Samsung India.

Honda Cars Indialaunches BS-6compliant Amaze inPetrol and Diesel

CHANDIGARH : Honda Cars IndiaLtd. (HCIL), leading manufacturer ofpremium cars in India, today an-nounced introduction of BS-6 compli-ant version of its popular familysedan Honda Amaze. Commentingon the launch Mr. Rajesh Goel, Sr.Vice President & Director, Marketingand Sales, Honda Cars India Ltd,said, “Honda is committed to bring itslatest and advanced environmentfriendly technologies to the Indianmarket and today we have intro-duced BS-6 version of our largestselling model Honda Amaze. It will beavailable in both Petrol and Diesel.Amaze will be our first BS-6 dieselmodel in India offering most powerfulperformance in the segment withbest balance of fuel economy.” Pow-ered by 1.5L i-DTEC diesel engine inboth manual and CVT versions, Hon-da Amaze will be the first BS-6 com-pliant diesel model from Honda in themarket. Honda has applied its ad-vanced exhaust gas after-treatmentsystem with NSC (NOx Storage Cat-alyst) and DPF (Diesel ParticulateFilter) to meet the challenging targetof particulate matter (PM) and nitro-gen oxide (NOx) emission in case ofdiesel engines. Honda's original Sil-ver Thin Coated DPF (STC-DPF)enables reduction of PM combus-tion time by 40% compared to theconventional DPF. The petrol modelwill be equipped with BS-6 compliant 1.2L i-VTEC petrol enginein both manual and CVT. Popularfamily sedan Amaze is currentlyHonda’s largest selling model in In-dia.

BUSINESS PLUS

Expert Advice for New Moms This WinterCHANDIGARH : It is important for mothers to follow a goodwinter skin care routine as skin can lose moisture during win-ter, leaving it dull, dry, itchy, and flaky. Dr. Subhashini N. S.,Ayurveda Expert, The Himalaya Drug Company, advisesnew moms to be mindful of the products they use to hydrateand moisturize their skin. It is crucial to choose products thatare developed using natural ingredients and are free fromany form of harsh chemicals.Talking to new moms aboutbath and post-bath routines, Dr. Subhashini says, “Using amoisture-rich cleanser with ingredients like Virgin CoconutOil, Cocoa, and Mango Butter helps manage dry skin. Also,a soap with the benefits of aromatherapy works well for boththe body and mind of new and expectant moms. Opting for abody butter infused with the goodness of Cocoa Butter andGlycerin helps soothe and hydrate skin more effectively thanlotions. Body butters with refreshing fragrances also helpcalm, rejuvenate, and uplift moms’ moods.”Dr. Subhashinirecommends moms to indulge in a massage as it is a provenremedy to stimulate blood circulation, relieve stress, andhelp their body recover post pregnancy.

Rolling Sculptures: BMW bringsAndy Warhol’s Art Car to India.CHANDIGARH : BMWGroup India presents the1979 Art Car painted bymost renowned Americanartist Andy Warhol in In-dia. His creation will beexclusively exhibitedfrom 31 January - 2 Feb-ruary 2020 at the IndiaArt Fair in New Delhi. Af-ter Alexander Calder,Frank Stella and Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol created the4th Art Car for BMW with the BMW M1Group 4 to compete atthe infamous 24 hour race of Le Mans. BMW Art Cars or the‘Rolling Sculptures’ are original masterpieces of art thatdemonstrate an individual synthesis of artistic expression andautomobile design. Since 1975, 19 international artists havecreated Art Cars based on contemporary BMW automobilesof their times, all offering a wide range of artistic interpreta-tions.Mr. Rudratej Singh, President and Chief Executive Offi-cer, BMW Group India said, “At BMW, we just don’t build thebest performing cars, but deeply believe in the intangibles.We hold our design aesthetics very dear, this inspires us aswell as our users to stretch their creative boundaries.

MINI opens first-ever MINI Urban StoreCHANDIGARH : MINIhas arrived with its first-ever MINI Urban Store inIndia by EVM Autokraft.MINI Urban Store pres-ents the iconic MINI in aunique environment thatincludes a showroomand Café. The new MINIfacility is located adja-cent to the BMW andBMW Motorrad Showroom at Angel Plaza, 23/649 A1 NH47, South Kalamassery, Kochi and is headed by SabuJohny, Dealer Principal, EVM Autokraft.The new MINI UrbanStore concept with an integrated Café, brings to Kochi aunique destination and a new gastronomic experience forthe progressive millennials of the city. Customers and MINIfans can unwind, relax and explore the iconic MINI in an in-spiring and interactive space with a curated gourmet selec-tion of Italian and Mediterranean cuisine. Rudratej Singh,President and Chief Executive Officer, BMW Group Indiasaid, “MINI has always been more than a car. It's a mover. Itepitomises iconic style, a unique personality and creativity.

Samsung Launches Curd Maestro CHANDIGARH: Samsung,India’s biggest and mosttrusted consumer electronicsand smartphones brand, to-day announced the launch ofthe Curd Maestro™ Refriger-ator, the world’s first refrigera-tor that will not just preservefood but also prepare it.Forgenerations, curd has been an essential condiment pairedwith varied Indian recipes across geographies; but curdpreparation is demanding. Curd Maestro™, Samsung’sMake for India innovation, is resultant of the company’sdeep understanding of Indian consumers’ needs over theyears, and addresses the pain points of daily curd making.National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) has tested andrecommended the process of curd making in Samsung’sCurd Maestro.Samsung, India’s No.1 refrigerator brand,also introduced India’s First Frost Free Refrigerator withBase Stand Drawer, in which you can store onions .

Panasonic India launches educationsolutions CAREEREX and XCELITCHANDIGARH : Addressing the growing need to upskill students to createa future-ready workforce, Panasonic India - a diversified technology com-pany, today announced the launch of its two education based solutions:“CareerEx” and “XcelIT”. CareerEx has been designed to address theneeds of college and university students to advance their skillset withemerging technologies such Data Science, Cloud Computing, MachineLearning/AI and Internet of Things to name a few. XcelIT on the other handis designed for school students primarily residing in Tier II & III cities, toready them for all competitive exams. Designed and developed at Pana-sonic’s India Innovation Centre (IIC), the solutions were launched for theinstitutes in presence of Mr. Anil Sahasrabudhe – Chairman, AICTE, Mr.M.P. Poonia - Vice Chairman, AICTE and Dr. Antriksh Johri- Director,CBSE today at Vigyan Bhawan. The event was well attended by deansand chairpersons of over 75 leading universities and institutes in India. MrPankaj Rana, Business Chief, Sanyo and ecommerce, Panasonic India -said, “India is rapidly moving towards becoming a digitally advanced coun-try and we are witnessing a significant change in the way businesses aretransforming. Bridging the required skill gap and building a future workforceready for the next phase of technology disruption, is the need of the hour.With this objective, we at Panasonic are focusing on the grassroots leveland we will continue working with student communities across India tokeep them informed of the emerging technologies, enhance skill-sets andprovide career guidance”.

“Neha Kakkar and GuruRandhawa on TikTok”CHANDIGARH : Short-video creationplatforms today, have created a signif-icant impact in the music industry.One of the popular trend that we havenoticed on TikTok is that it is an excit-ing vehicle for songs and emergingartists to gain exposure and reach to awide and varied audience.Popularmusic artists like Neha Kakkar andGuru Randhawa have been lightingup our feed on TikTok. Their songs,challenges and funny videos on theplatform have their fans hooked, who make their own renditions oftheir videos. Both the singers have been actively collaborating andinteracting with TikTok's user community and have secured areach of 14million and 6.1million followers respectively. Comment-ing on her engagement with fans on the platform, Neha Kakkarsaid, “I am super thankful to the TikTok community for embracingme with so much love. The platform not only allows me to sharemy music with the users but also gives me a chance to explorewhat is trending and what people are listening to. I love engagingwith my fans and always enjoy my time on the platform.

Warboy x DEVM,winners of Red BullSpotlight 2019 CHANDIGARH : Warboy x DEVM,winners of Red Bull Spotlight 2019,have released the first single off theirupcoming debut album, Out of theBlue. Titled Ek Chhoti Si Umeed, thetrack is available across all streamingplatforms and accompanied by a mu-sic video.In June last year, the duo –Ashutosh Rai aka Warboy and DevamPandey aka DEVM – went up againstfinalists from nine other cities acrossthe country at the national final inMumbai, before being selected as thewinners by a jury consisting of rapgroups Seedhe Maut, Swadesi andDopeadelicz.“It was really fun to seeall the new rappers and what they cando not just with the mic, but with thecrowd, too.

KFC INDIA GETS YOU TO ‘BUCKET LIKE A BOSS’CHANDIGARH : The KFC bucket just become more exciting! Introducing the perfect bucket forsnacking - packed with fries and chicken - the KFC Buckets starting@INR 199. Choose frommouth-watering combos of Hot & Crispy or Smoky Grilled chicken; Strips or Popcorn and Fries.Walk into any of the KFC restaurants or order from the KFC App/Website to get your hands onthe Buckets. The different combos on offer are: 2 pieces of Hot and Crispy, Smoky Grilled chick-en, 4 pieces of Strips or a large Chicken Popcorn with medium Fries. So whatever the occasion -catching up with friends or binge watching your favourite shows, the new KFC Bucket is just thecompanion you need.Head to your nearest KFC restaurant, order online at online.kfc.co.in or justcall on 33994444 and simply ask for the new KFC Bucket.

NZ welcomes Indians with a heartfelt Good MorningCHANDIGARH : In many cultures, light has been a symbol of consciousness and spiritual illumi-nation. Indians have always followed the principle of how a new morning, brings a new hope, anew day, full of positivity and productivity. Since ancient times, Indians are familiar with Surya Na-maskar (salutation to the sun), a popular yoga asana which is known to express gratitude to thesun for sustaining life on this planet. Similarly, New Zealand too celebrates mornings, and to sig-nify this, Tourism New Zealand launched its new global brand marketing campaign creative,‘100% Pure Welcome – 100% Pure New Zealand’ in India. Inspired by the fact that New Zealandis one of the first places to see the sunlight of a new day, Tourism New Zealand, as a part of100% Pure Welcome – 100% Pure New Zealand, has released a content series with ‘GoodMorning World’ messages shared by locals welcoming visitors from their favourite spots acrossthe country. The campaign showcases what makes New Zealand unique as a holiday destination– the warm and friendly people, stunning landscapes and variety of things to do.