L VENKAT RAM REDDY n HYDERABAD The Telangana State govern- ment has earned a whooping Rs 860 crore in application fees from those wanting to set up liquor shops in the state. The deadline to submit applications for setting up a total of 2,216 liquor shops across the state ended on Wednesday evening. Special chief secretary of revenue, Somesh Kumar said that the government had received around 43,000 appli- cations by Wednesday evening. The figure could increase as data from the dis- tricts is due to be compiled by Thursday. Such is the demand for setting up liquor shops that over 42,000 applications were received for setting up 2,216 or nearly 19 applicants for every shop on offer. The licences being issued by the government for the shops will be valid for a peri- od of two years — from November 1, 2019 to October 31, 2021. In view of the huge number of applications received, the licencee for each shop would be selected by draw of lots in all the districts on October 18. The bidders were required to furnish a non-refundable deposit of Rs 2 lakh, along with their application to set up liquor shops. In this way, the government earned nearly Rs 850 crore at the stage of applications itself. Post selection, each of the bidders have to pay licence fees, ranging from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2.20 crore depending on the area and the population. @TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneer Follow us on: HYDERABAD 9 ‘WRITING IS NOT AN ART IT IS A CRAFT' ANALYSIS 7 DIALOGUE IS BETTER THAN DEADLOCK SPORTS 12 LAST-MINUTE SUCCESS HYDERABAD, THURSDAY OCTOBER 17, 2019; PAGES 12 `3 } SCIENCE SAYS, BELLA HADID IS THE WORLD'S MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN! Page 11 www.dailypioneer.com { RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469 Established 1864 Published From HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUN VIJAYAWADA *LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 8 *Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable HYDERABAD WEATHER Current Weather Conditions Updated October 16, 2019 5:00 PM ALMANAC TODAY Month & Paksham: Ashwini& krishna Paksha Panchangam Tithi : Tritiya : 06:48 am Nakshatram: Kritika: 03:52 pm Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start any important work) Rahukalam: 01:28 pm – 02:55 pm Yamagandam: 06:12 am – 07:40 am Varjyam: NIL Gulika: 09:07 am - 10:34 am Good Time: (to start any important work) Amritakalam: 01:19 am - 03:01 pm Abhijit Muhurtham: 11:38 am - 12:24 pm Forecast: Partly Cloudy Temp: 27/22 Humidity: 92% Sunrise: 06.09 Sunset: 05.53 PNS n NEW DELHI The Supreme Court Wednesday concluded hearing in the polit- ically sensitive case of Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in Ayodhya and reserved the judgement. The bench heard for 40 days the arguments of the Hindu and the Muslim sides. A 5-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, granted three days to contesting parties to file written notes on 'moulding of relief ' or narrowing down the issues on which the court is required to adjudicate. The other members of the bench are justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer. The protracted hearing in the Ayodhya dispute had entered the crucial final leg on October 14 when the apex court resumed proceedings on the 38th day after the week-long Dussehra break. The Constitution bench, which started the day-to-day proceedings on August 6 after mediation proceedings failed to find an amicable solution to the vexatious dispute, had revised the deadline for wrapping up the proceedings. Fourteen appeals have been filed in the apex court against the 2010 Allahabad High Court judgment, delivered in four civil suits, that the 2.77- acre land in Ayodhya be par- titioned equally among the three parties — the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla. Initially, as many as five lawsuits were filed in the lower court. The first one was filed by Gopal Singh Visharad, a devo- tee of ''Ram Lalla'', in 1950 to seek enforcement of the right to worship of Hindus at the dis- puted site. In the same year, the Paramahansa Ramachandra Das had also filed the lawsuit for continuation of worship and keeping the idols under the central dome of the now- demolished disputed structure. The plea was later withdrawn. Later, the Nirmohi Akahara also moved the trial court in 1959 seeking management and ''shebaiti'' (devotee) rights over the 2.77 acre disputed land. Then came the lawsuit of the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Wakf Board which moved the court in 1961, claiming title right over the disputed property. PNS n HYDERABAD All eyes are on Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's elec- tion meeting to be held at Huzurnagar on Thursday in support of TRS candidate for the October 21st Assembly bypoll. It would be KCR's first public appearance after TSRTC staff launched strike on October 5. Although the strike has entered 13-day, KCR has not publicly react- ed on the RTC strike so far. KCR has held reviews at Pragathi Bhavan with minis- ters and officials on the ram- ifications of TSRTC strike. Official press releases detailed the decisions taken at those meetings, but KCR himself has not uttered any- thing publicly on the RTC strike so far. The RTC strike, launched against the Chief Minister's stern warnings, has put the TRS government in a fix and drawn flak from various quarters. Two RTC employ- ees resorted to suicide, while several others made attempts to end their lives. Besides, there were clashes between the police and striking RTC staffers at various places across the state. With the opposition par- ties expressing their solidar- ity with the striking employ- ees, the protests on the street by RTC workers have had a negative fall-out for the State government ahead of the Huzurnagar bypoll. Compounding the woes of state government, various employees associations like TGOs, TNGOs, teachers unions and students unions etc extended support to the striking RTC staff. In particular, KCR's announcement that 48,000 RTC employees were deemed to have been dismissed from service for having joined the 'illegal strike' has angered government employees, opposition parties and vari- ous social organizations. The RTC staff unions have called for "Telangana bandh" on October 19 to register their protest against the 'dic- tatorial attitude' of KCR. Opposition parties and gov- ernment employees' unions have extended support to the bandh. Continued on Page 2 KCR to break his silence on RTC strike today l May invite RTC unions for talks to end strike amicably l May promise revocation of orders dismissing striking RTC employees numbering 48,000 PNS n HYDERABAD A head constable posted at Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's farm- house in Gajwel of Siddipet district shot himself dead with a service weapon on Wednesday. The incident took place around 10.30 am, sources said. The victim, identified as Venkateshwarlu, 40, native of Valigonda village of Yadadri- Bhongir district, belonged to the 12th battalion of the Telangana Special Police. He was deputed as the security guard in-charge and assigned the duty of head guard at KCR's farmhouse in Erravelli, about 70 km from here. He is survived by his wife Shobha, 30, a vegetable vendor in the village, and two children- daughter Vennela, 13, and son Chandu, 10. Although there are specula- tions that the constable could have killed himself due to alleged harassment by higher officials, the police, while denying the rumours, said the cop was in an "inebriated con- dition" when he took his own life. The Assistant Commissioner of Police of Gajwel, P Narayana, told media persons that the constable had undergone treatment at a de-addiction centre in Narketpally, Nalgonda district, but could not change his habits. "Even last week, he was given a warning to give up his bad habits. He underwent de-addic- tion treatment at a private hos- pital for more than a month during September," the official said. Continued on Page 2 Liquor shop applications fetch Rs 860 cr for TS Govt Constable shoots himself to death at KCR’s farmhouse PNS n HYDERABAD A newborn baby girl was found abandoned under a tree at a secluded spot behind the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Punjagutta here on Wednesday. Police suspect that the infant was abandoned by her parents. Around 11 am, residents heard the cries of the baby, which was wrapped in a cloth. She is believed to be about one week old. On receiving infor- mation, the Punjagutta police reached the spot and shifted the infant to the hospital for a medical check-up. She was later handed over to the authorities of Shishu Vihar, Yousufguda for safe custody. Her health condition is stable, said the Punjagutta police, who have booked a case. Continued on Page 4 SC reserves order on Ayodhya Lawyer tears book showing Ram's birthplace T here was drama and rancour in the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Rajeev Dhavan, the advocate representing the Muslim parties, tore apart a map that purportedly showed that the birthplace of Lord Ram would have been located in the centre of the now-demolished Babri Masjid. Dhavan got agitated when Vikas Singh, the counsel for the Hindu Mahasabha, sought to present a book to the five-member Supreme Court bench hearing the arguments. Singh sought to present Ayodhya Revisited, a book written by ex-IPS officer Kishore Kunal, which claimed to have evidence that correlated the location of the ‘Janmasthan' of Lord Ram at the centre of the Babri Masjid. As Singh sought to present the book as evidence, Dhavan raised objections and declared he would tear the document and began doing so. Newborn abandoned near NIMS PNS n NEW YORK India's public sector banks had the "worst phase" under the "combination" of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and ex-RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, and giving the ailing banks a "lifeline" was her pri- mary duty now, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. The public sector banks have been grappling with bad loans and the gov- ernment has been taking mea- sures to address the issue. In August, the government announced upfront capital infusion to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore into the public sec- tor banks. Besides, 10 public sector banks are being consol- idated into four. Delivering a lecture at the prestigious Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs here on Tuesday, Sitharaman said: "While economists can take a view of what prevails today or prevailed years ago, but I will also want answers for the time when Rajan was in the Governor's post speaking about the Indian banks, for which today to give a lifeline is the pri- mary duty of the Finance Minister of India. And the life- line-kind of an emergency has not come overnight. "I do respect Raghuram Rajan as a great scholar who chose to be in the central bank in India at a time when the Indian econ- omy was all buoyant, she said during the lecture organised by the Deepak and Neera Raj Centre on Indian Economic Policies of the Columbia University. Asked about the ex-RBI gov- ernor's comments during a recent lecture at Brown University in which he had apparently mentioned that in its first term, the Narendra Modi government had not done bet- ter on the economy because the government was extremely cen- tralised and the leadership does not appear to have a consistent articulated vision on how to achieve economic growth, the minister said instead there were major issues with bank loans during Rajan's tenure as the central bank head. Banks had ‘worst phase’ under Manmohan , Rajan: FM While economists can take a view of what prevails today or prevailed years ago, but I will also want answers for the time when Rajan was in the Governor's post speaking about the Indian banks, for which today to give a lifeline is the primary duty of the Finance Minister of India. And the lifeline-kind of an emergency has not come overnight —NIRMALA SITHARAMAN, Union Finance Minister INX case: ED arrests Chidambaram in Tihar PNS n NEW DELHI The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested former finance minister P Chidambaram in Tihar Jail on Wednesday in connection with its probe in the INX Media money laundering case as it now prepares to put him through extensive grilling sessions, officials said. The investigating team fol- lowed procedure after a court here on Tuesday had allowed the agency to interrogate the senior Congress leader, lodged in the jail in the CBI case, and arrest him, if necessary, in this case, they said. A three-member team of investigators of the central agency who arrived at the prison at 8:15 am remained in the premises for about two hours during which they briefly ques- tioned 74-year-old Chidambaram after which he was placed under arrest. The arrest has been made under the provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and his statement was also recorded under this same provision, they said. The ED subse- quently sought 14-day cus- todial interrogation of the for- mer Union minister from a court here. The Congress MP has been grilled by the ED in this case many times in the past but it had never arrested him as he enjoyed a court-issued order of directing the agency not to take coercive step like arrest against him. Sources indicated that Chidambaram will now be put through some fresh evi- dence, obtained from offshore jurisdictions, and confronted with the statement of other accused in the case once his full- time questioning begins, after the grant of custody. NAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD The usage of credit and debit cards has declined in Hyderabad but UPI payments have grown rapidly in trans- actions in the city, says a study. As per a report 'The Era of Rising Fintech' by Razorpay UPI platform done between January and September, "Usage of cards has declined by 11% and UPI has grown by 58% compared to the last quarter. Credit and debit cards are the highest contributors in the P2M segment with an estimated share of 41%, close- ly followed by UPI (39%) and netbanking (18%) in JAS." Google Pay continues to be the most preferred UPI appli- cation with a contribution of 59% in JAS. The findings in this report are based on trans- actions held on Razorpay UPI platform from January to Sept. Continued on Page 4 l UPI transactions grew by 142% from January to September in the city l Financial services, food and beverage, and utilities were the top-3 sectors which contributed to a cumulative of 51% of Hyderabad's online transactions Usage of cards declines in Hyd, UPI payments up Ex-MP CM rips Cong leader for ‘Hema Malini cheeks' PNS n INDORE Senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday criticised Madhya Pradesh minister PC Sharma's statement that pothole-rid- den roads in Bhopal would soon be made "pretty" like actor-politician Hema Malini's "cheeks". Expressing concern over the bad condition of roads, the state law minister said the roads have spots sim- ilar to small-pox, like "the (BJP general secretary) Kailash Vijayvargiya's cheeks". "How can these ministers compare the streets with someone's cheeks? This state- ment proves the mentality of Congress leaders," Chouhan told reporters. He also scotched perception that he was aspiring for any Constitutional post in MP. Chouhan's clarification came a day after Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly Gopal Bhargava. Nitin Gadkari for policy measures to create jobs Sena MP injured in attack at rally MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Omraje Nimbalkar was injured when an unidentified man attacked him with a knife in Maharashtra's Osmanabad district on Wednesday, police said. The accused fled soon after the incident and search was underway to nab him, they said. The incident took place when Nimbalkar, who repre- sents the Osmanabad Lok Sabha constituency, was addressing an election rally at Padoli Naigaon village in Kalamb taluka, located around 400 km from here. During the rally, a man along with a group came close to Nimbalkar on the pretext of shaking hands with him, a police official said. 3 terrorists killed in encounter in south Kashmir SRINAGAR: Three local mil- itants, who had joined terror groups recently, were killed on Wednesday in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, officials said. The encounter broke out at Pazalpora area in Anantnag on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday on a specific intelligence pro- vided by the district police. All the three militants have been neutralised, the officials said. A police team, along with other security forces, laid a cordon and search in the area. It had a pinpointed information where the three militants were holed up, offi- cials said. NEW DELHI: Union minis- ter Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday highlighted the need for policy measures to create jobs in rural areas and check migration to cities for employment. The minister also called for a detailed study to find out ways to skill people in tribal, agriculture and rural sectors, pointing out that skilled manpower was the biggest requirement in the country. Gadkari, who handled portfolios of MSME, Roads, Highways and Transport, was speaking at an industry event here. "Our country's biggest problem is unemploy- ment...Another issue in front of us is migration. People are moving from villages to cities in search of jobs. Once (Mahatma) Gandhi said 85 per cent of the population is in villages. l Over 41k vie for 2,216 liquor shops l Rush attributed to AP Govt's phase-wise liquor ban l Draw of lots on Oct 18 to to allot shops
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L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD
The Telangana State govern-ment has earned a whoopingRs 860 crore in applicationfees from those wanting to setup liquor shops in the state.
The deadline to submitapplications for setting up atotal of 2,216 liquor shopsacross the state ended onWednesday evening.
Special chief secretary ofrevenue, Somesh Kumar saidthat the government hadreceived around 43,000 appli-cations by Wednesdayevening. The figure couldincrease as data from the dis-tricts is due to be compiled byThursday.
Such is the demand forsetting up liquor shops thatover 42,000 applications werereceived for setting up 2,216or nearly 19 applicants forevery shop on offer.
The licences being issuedby the government for theshops will be valid for a peri-od of two years — fromNovember 1, 2019 to October31, 2021.
In view of the huge numberof applications received, thelicencee for each shop would
be selected by draw of lots inall the districts on October 18.
The bidders were requiredto furnish a non-refundabledeposit of Rs 2 lakh, alongwith their application to setup liquor shops.
In this way, the governmentearned nearly Rs 850 crore atthe stage of applications itself.
Post selection, each of thebidders have to pay licencefees, ranging from Rs 1 croreto Rs 2.20 crore depending onthe area and the population.
@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:
HYDERABAD 9‘WRITING IS NOT AN ART IT IS A CRAFT'
ANALYSIS 7DIALOGUE IS BETTER
THAN DEADLOCK
SPORTS 12LAST-MINUTE
SUCCESS
HYDERABAD, THURSDAY OCTOBER 17, 2019; PAGES 12 `3
}SCIENCE SAYS,BELLA HADID IS THE
WORLD'S MOSTBEAUTIFUL WOMAN!
Page 11www.dailypioneer.com
{
RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469
Established 1864Published From
HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH
BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNVIJAYAWADA
*LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 8*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable
HYDERABADWEATHER
Current Weather ConditionsUpdated October 16, 2019 5:00 PM
ALMANACTODAY
Month & Paksham:Ashwini& krishna PakshaPanchangamTithi : Tritiya : 06:48 am Nakshatram: Kritika: 03:52 pmTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start
any important work)Rahukalam: 01:28 pm – 02:55 pmYamagandam: 06:12 am – 07:40 am
Varjyam: NIL
Gulika: 09:07 am - 10:34 amGood Time: (to start any important work)
Amritakalam: 01:19 am - 03:01 pmAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:38 am - 12:24 pm
Forecast: Partly CloudyTemp: 27/22Humidity: 92%Sunrise: 06.09Sunset: 05.53
PNS n NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court Wednesdayconcluded hearing in the polit-ically sensitive case of RamJanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid landdispute in Ayodhya andreserved the judgement.
The bench heard for 40 daysthe arguments of the Hindu andthe Muslim sides.
A 5-judge Constitutionbench, headed by Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi, granted threedays to contesting parties to filewritten notes on 'moulding ofrelief ' or narrowing down theissues on which the court isrequired to adjudicate.
The other members of thebench are justices S A Bobde, DY Chandrachud, AshokBhushan and S A Nazeer.
The protracted hearing in theAyodhya dispute had enteredthe crucial final leg on October14 when the apex court resumedproceedings on the 38th dayafter the week-long Dussehrabreak. The Constitution bench,which started the day-to-dayproceedings on August 6 aftermediation proceedings failed tofind an amicable solution to the
vexatious dispute, had revisedthe deadline for wrapping up theproceedings.
Fourteen appeals have beenfiled in the apex court againstthe 2010 Allahabad HighCourt judgment, delivered infour civil suits, that the 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be par-titioned equally among thethree parties — the SunniWaqf Board, the NirmohiAkhara and Ram Lalla.Initially, as many as five lawsuitswere filed in the lower court.The first one was filed byGopal Singh Visharad, a devo-tee of ''Ram Lalla'', in 1950 toseek enforcement of the right to
worship of Hindus at the dis-puted site. In the same year, theParamahansa RamachandraDas had also filed the lawsuitfor continuation of worship andkeeping the idols under thecentral dome of the now-demolished disputed structure.The plea was later withdrawn.
Later, the Nirmohi Akaharaalso moved the trial court in1959 seeking management and''shebaiti'' (devotee) rights overthe 2.77 acre disputed land.
Then came the lawsuit of theUttar Pradesh Sunni CentralWakf Board which moved thecourt in 1961, claiming title rightover the disputed property.
PNS n HYDERABAD
All eyes are on TelanganaRashtra Samiti chief andChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao's elec-tion meeting to be held atHuzurnagar on Thursday insupport of TRS candidatefor the October 21stAssembly bypoll.
It would be KCR's firstpublic appearance af terTSRTC staff launched strikeon October 5. Although thestrike has entered 13-day,KCR has not publicly react-ed on the RTC strike so far.
KCR has held reviews atPragathi Bhavan with minis-ters and officials on the ram-ifications of TSRTC strike.Off icia l press releasesdetailed the decisions takenat those meetings, but KCRhimself has not uttered any-thing publicly on the RTCstrike so far.
The RTC strike, launchedagainst the Chief Minister'sstern warnings, has put the
TRS government in a fix anddrawn flak from variousquarters. Two RTC employ-ees resorted to suicide, whileseveral others made attemptsto end their lives. Besides,there were clashes betweenthe police and striking RTCstaffers at various placesacross the state.
With the opposition par-ties expressing their solidar-ity with the striking employ-
ees, the protests on the streetby RTC workers have had anegative fall-out for the Stategovernment ahead of theHuzurnagar bypol l .Compounding the woes ofstate government, variousemployees associations likeTGOs, TNGOs, teachersunions and students unionsetc extended support to thestriking RTC staff.
In part icular, KCR's
announcement that 48,000RTC employees were deemedto have been dismissed fromservice for having joined the'illegal strike' has angeredgovernment employees ,opposition parties and vari-ous social organizations.
The RTC staff unions havecalled for "Telangana bandh"on October 19 to registertheir protest against the 'dic-tatorial attitude' of KCR.Opposition parties and gov-ernment employees' unionshave extended support tothe bandh.
Continued on Page 2
KCR to break his silenceon RTC strike today
l May invite RTCunions for talks to endstrike amicablyl May promiserevocation of ordersdismissing striking RTCemployees numbering48,000
PNS n HYDERABAD
A head constable posted atTelangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao's farm-house in Gajwel ofSiddipet district shothimself dead witha service weaponon Wednesday.The incidenttook placearound 10.30 am,sources said. Thevictim, identified asVenkateshwarlu, 40, nativeof Valigonda village of Yadadri-Bhongir district, belonged tothe 12th battalion of theTelangana Special Police. Hewas deputed as the securityguard in-charge and assignedthe duty of head guard at KCR'sfarmhouse in Erravelli, about 70km from here. He is survived byhis wife Shobha, 30, a vegetablevendor in the village, and twochildren- daughter Vennela,
13, and son Chandu, 10. Although there are specula-
tions that the constable couldhave killed himself due toalleged harassment by higher
officials, the police, whiledenying the rumours,
said the cop was inan "inebriated con-dition" when hetook his own life.The Assistant
Commissioner ofPolice of Gajwel, P
Narayana, told mediapersons that the constable
had undergone treatment at ade-addiction centre inNarketpally, Nalgonda district,but could not change his habits."Even last week, he was given awarning to give up his badhabits. He underwent de-addic-tion treatment at a private hos-pital for more than a monthduring September," the officialsaid.
Continued on Page 2
Liquor shop applicationsfetch Rs 860 cr for TS Govt
Constable shootshimself to death atKCR’s farmhouse
PNS n HYDERABAD
A newborn baby girl wasfound abandoned under a treeat a secluded spot behind theNizam's Institute of MedicalSciences (NIMS) in Punjaguttahere on Wednesday. Policesuspect that the infant wasabandoned by her parents.
Around 11 am, residentsheard the cries of the baby,which was wrapped in a cloth.
She is believed to be about oneweek old. On receiving infor-mation, the Punjagutta policereached the spot and shiftedthe infant to the hospital for amedical check-up. She waslater handed over to theauthorities of Shishu Vihar,Yousufguda for safe custody.Her health condition is stable,said the Punjagutta police,who have booked a case.
Continued on Page 4
SC reserves order on Ayodhya Lawyer tearsbook showingRam's birthplaceThere was drama and rancour
in the Supreme Court onWednesday. Rajeev Dhavan, theadvocate representing theMuslim parties, tore apart amap that purportedly showedthat the birthplace of Lord Ramwould have been located in thecentre of the now-demolishedBabri Masjid. Dhavan gotagitated when Vikas Singh, thecounsel for the HinduMahasabha, sought to present abook to the five-memberSupreme Court bench hearingthe arguments. Singh sought topresent Ayodhya Revisited, abook written by ex-IPS officerKishore Kunal, which claimed tohave evidence that correlatedthe location of the ‘Janmasthan'of Lord Ram at the centre of theBabri Masjid. As Singh soughtto present the book as evidence,Dhavan raised objections anddeclared he would tear thedocument and began doing so.
Newborn abandoned near NIMS
PNS n NEW YORK
India's public sector banks hadthe "worst phase" under the"combination" of former primeminister Manmohan Singh andex-RBI governor RaghuramRajan, and giving the ailingbanks a "lifeline" was her pri-mary duty now, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanhas said. The public sectorbanks have been grapplingwith bad loans and the gov-ernment has been taking mea-sures to address the issue. InAugust, the governmentannounced upfront capitalinfusion to the tune of Rs70,000 crore into the public sec-tor banks. Besides, 10 publicsector banks are being consol-idated into four.
Delivering a lecture at theprestigious Columbia
University's School ofInternational and Public Affairshere on Tuesday, Sitharamansaid: "While economists cantake a view of what prevailstoday or prevailed years ago,but I will also want answers for
the time when Rajan was in theGovernor's post speaking aboutthe Indian banks, for whichtoday to give a lifeline is the pri-mary duty of the FinanceMinister of India. And the life-line-kind of an emergency has
not come overnight. "I dorespect Raghuram Rajan as agreat scholar who chose to bein the central bank in India ata time when the Indian econ-omy was all buoyant, she saidduring the lecture organised bythe Deepak and Neera RajCentre on Indian EconomicPolicies of the ColumbiaUniversity.
Asked about the ex-RBI gov-ernor's comments during arecent lecture at Brown
University in which he hadapparently mentioned that in itsfirst term, the Narendra Modigovernment had not done bet-ter on the economy because thegovernment was extremely cen-tralised and the leadership doesnot appear to have a consistentarticulated vision on how toachieve economic growth, theminister said instead there weremajor issues with bank loansduring Rajan's tenure as thecentral bank head.
Banks had ‘worst phase’ under Manmohan , Rajan: FMWhile economists can take a view of what prevails today orprevailed years ago, but I will also want answers for the time
when Rajan was in the Governor's post speaking about the Indianbanks, for which today to give a lifeline is the primary duty of theFinance Minister of India. And the lifeline-kind of an emergency hasnot come overnight
—NIRMALA SITHARAMAN, Union Finance Minister
INX case: ED arrests Chidambaram in TiharPNS n NEW DELHI
The Enforcement Directorate(ED) arrested former financeminister P Chidambaram inTihar Jail on Wednesday inconnection with its probe in theINX Media money launderingcase as it now prepares to puthim through extensive grillingsessions, officials said.
The investigating team fol-lowed procedure after a courthere on Tuesday had allowed the
agency to interrogate the seniorCongress leader, lodged in thejail in the CBI case, andarrest him, if necessary,in this case, they said.A three-member teamof investigators of thecentral agency whoarrived at the prison at8:15 am remained in thepremises for about two hoursduring which they briefly ques-tioned 74-year-oldChidambaram after which he
was placed under arrest. Thearrest has been made under the
provision of the Preventionof Money Laundering
Act (PMLA) and hisstatement was alsorecorded under thissame provision, they
said. The ED subse-quently sought 14-day cus-
todial interrogation of the for-mer Union minister from acourt here. The Congress MPhas been grilled by the ED in
this case many times in the pastbut it had never arrested him ashe enjoyed a court-issued orderof directing the agency not totake coercive step like arrestagainst him. Sources indicatedthat Chidambaram will now beput through some fresh evi-dence, obtained from offshorejurisdictions, and confrontedwith the statement of otheraccused in the case once his full-time questioning begins, afterthe grant of custody.
NAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD
The usage of credit and debitcards has declined inHyderabad but UPI paymentshave grown rapidly in trans-actions in the city, says astudy. As per a report 'The Eraof Rising Fintech' by RazorpayUPI platform done betweenJanuary and September,"Usage of cards has declined by11% and UPI has grown by58% compared to the lastquarter. Credit and debit cardsare the highest contributors inthe P2M segment with anestimated share of 41%, close-ly followed by UPI (39%) andnetbanking (18%) in JAS."
Google Pay continues to be
the most preferred UPI appli-cation with a contribution of59% in JAS. The findings inthis report are based on trans-actions held on Razorpay UPIplatform from January to Sept.
Continued on Page 4
l UPI transactions grewby 142% from January toSeptember in the city
l Financial services, foodand beverage, and utilitieswere the top-3 sectorswhich contributed to acumulative of 51% ofHyderabad's onlinetransactions
Usage of cards declines in Hyd, UPI payments up
Ex-MP CM ripsCong leader for‘Hema Malinicheeks'PNS n INDORE
Senior BJP leader ShivrajSingh Chouhan onWednesday criticised MadhyaPradesh minister PC Sharma'sstatement that pothole-rid-den roads in Bhopal wouldsoon be made "pretty" likeactor-politician Hema Malini's"cheeks". Expressing concernover the bad condition ofroads, the state law ministersaid the roads have spots sim-ilar to small-pox, like "the(BJP general secretary) KailashVijayvargiya's cheeks".
"How can these ministerscompare the streets withsomeone's cheeks? This state-ment proves the mentality ofCongress leaders," Chouhantold reporters.
He also scotched perceptionthat he was aspiring for anyConstitutional post in MP.Chouhan's clarification camea day after Leader ofOpposition in the stateLegislative Assembly GopalBhargava.
Nitin Gadkari for policymeasures tocreate jobs
Sena MPinjured inattack at rallyMUMBAI: Shiv Sena MPOmraje Nimbalkar wasinjured when an unidentifiedman attacked him with aknife in Maharashtra'sOsmanabad district onWednesday, police said.
The accused fled soon afterthe incident and search wasunderway to nab him, theysaid. The incident took placewhen Nimbalkar, who repre-sents the Osmanabad LokSabha constituency, wasaddressing an election rally atPadoli Naigaon village inKalamb taluka, locatedaround 400 km from here.
During the rally, a manalong with a group cameclose to Nimbalkar on thepretext of shaking hands withhim, a police official said.
3 terroristskilled inencounter insouth KashmirSRINAGAR: Three local mil-itants, who had joined terrorgroups recently, were killedon Wednesday in anencounter with securityforces in Jammu andKashmir's Anantnag district,officials said.
The encounter broke out atPazalpora area in Anantnagon the intervening night ofTuesday and Wednesday ona specific intelligence pro-vided by the district police.
All the three militants havebeen neutralised, the officialssaid. A police team, alongwith other security forces,laid a cordon and search inthe area. It had a pinpointedinformation where the threemilitants were holed up, offi-cials said.
NEW DELHI: Union minis-ter Nitin Gadkari onWednesday highlighted theneed for policy measures tocreate jobs in rural areas andcheck migration to cities foremployment. The ministeralso called for a detailedstudy to find out ways to skillpeople in tribal, agricultureand rural sectors, pointingout that skilled manpowerwas the biggest requirementin the country.
Gadkari, who handledportfolios of MSME, Roads,Highways and Transport, wasspeaking at an industry eventhere. "Our country's biggestproblem is unemploy-ment...Another issue in frontof us is migration. People aremoving from villages to citiesin search of jobs. Once(Mahatma) Gandhi said 85per cent of the population isin villages.
l Over 41k vie for2,216 liquor shopsl Rush attributed to AP Govt's phase-wiseliquor banl Draw of lots on Oct18 to to allot shops
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HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019 hyderabad 02
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FIVE WITH MAOISTLINKS ARRESTEDAVINASH DEEPAK PULI n HYDERABAD
In what is being seen as a majorbreakthrough, the Gadwal dis-trict police nabbed five out-lawed Maoist party sympa-thisers in Jogulamba Gadwaldistrict on Wednesday. Thedistrict in-charge SP ApoorvaRao produced the arrestedbefore the media after theywere arrested in connectionwith a case registered inAugust.
The in-charge SP told themedia that one Puliga Nagarajualias Naganna of Elkur villagein Maldhakal mandal wasnabbed in August when he wastrying to escape from a vehiclecheck post on theMellacheruvu cross road.Naganna was chased down bypolice, who, later recovered abag which he possessed con-taining outlawed literature ofCPI Maoists.
On interrogation, the arrest-ed youth revealed purportedlinks of certain sympathisers,the SP said and added that
Telangana Vidyarthi Vedika , astudent wing of Maoist frontalunits, was motivating the stu-dents to join the Maoist party
besides mobilising the fundsfor the outlawed organisation.
The police official said onfurther inquiries Naganna
revealed that seven more per-sons Bandaru Maddileti,Vainamoni Balaram, KanthiJagan, Chukkala Shilpa,Guntha Renuka, MenchuRamesh and NanamasaKrishna were connected withthe activity of the Maoistfrontal units.
On October 5, a case wasfiled against all these based onthe evidences provided byNaganna, Apoorva Rao said.Bandari Maddileti is presentlyacting as the president of TVV,while Nallamala Krishna is thevice-president of TelanganaPraja Front, the SP said. Thetwo were recruiting cadre forthe Maoists and extortingmoney for the naxalites. The SPsaid the two were arrested inHyderabad by the police certainMaoist circulars were seizedfrom their possession.
The men were involved inconducting several outlawedmeetings at the behest of nax-alites and they were support-ed by the other arrested sym-pathisers, the police officersaid.
n Accused nabbed in Gadwal, were mobilising funds for banned outfits
District in-charge SP Apoorva Rao produced the arrested before the media after they were arrested in connection with a case registered in August
BAKKA TENNYSONn NALGONDA
Leaders of almost all politicalparties from Nalgonda districthave descended on villages ofthe Huzurnagar assembly seg-ment for the past five days asthe campaign for the byelectionbegan to peak on Wednesday.
The Congress has roped in allits senior leaders for campaign-ing. Former Dy CM DamodaraRajanarsimha along with someother leaders held public meet-ings in Huzurnagar segment.The MLA of Mulugu Seethakkaand her supporters have takenup the task of visiting the vil-lages and in the Nereducharlaand Mellacheruvu mandal evenas locals felt 'mobbed' and out-numbered by political leaders inmany parts.
The ruling TRS hasdeployed 15-odd MLAs repre-senting all neighbouring dis-tricts who have tasked withround-the-clock electioneer-ing. The TRS has done door-to-door campaigning in thesegment thrice over for what itconsiders a very crucial by-election. TRS leaders expressedconfidence that the partywould wrest the seat fromCongress with ease this time.
Warangal East MLANannapaneni Narender, whohas camped at Nereducharlamandal along with his sup-porters, told PNS that his
campaign was picking up withmore and more people extend-ing support to the ruling partynominee. Independent nomi-nee Teenmar Mallanna is also
giving it a serious run,enthused by the support he isdrawing from youths whoemploying novel methods inhis campaign.
Leaders descend onHuzurnagar as by-poll nearsn Candidates, supporters ‘mobbing’ locals in villages
Cong says Huzurnagar willteach TRS a lessonPTI n SURYAPET
Former Dy-CM and seniorCongress leader CDamodar RajaNarsimha onWednesday said thepublic mandate inthe by-election toH u z u r n a g a rAssembly constituencywould be a slap on the face ofthe TRS government which healleged was taking unilateraldecisions.
Speaking at a media con-
ference here, Raja Narsimhasaid the people ofHuzurnagar "were eagerly
waiting to teach a lesson tothe TRS government
by ensuring the defeatof its candidate inthe by-election". Healleged that a there
was a huge scam in theexecution of
Kaleshwaram Project andMission Bhagiratha, whichare prestigious projectsimplemented by the stategovernment.
Farmercollapses,dies inTahsil officePNS n SANGAREDDI
A farmer of Manair PalliThanda in Kohir mandalsuccumbed in the Tahsilof f ice premises onWednesday after sufferinga cardiac arrest. Accordingto locals, the tribal farmer,Tulja Naik, 55 , had came tothe office for to get a pat-tedar passbook for whichhe had been doing therounds for the last fewmonths.
Sources said Naik's pleasfor his pattadar passbookweren't being heard at theTahsil office for long, leav-ing him anxious and frus-trated.
On Wednesday he againmade a visit to the officewhere officials still hadn'tarrived. Naik complainedchest pain and collapsedsoon thereafter in the officepremises.
Locals rushed him to ahospital in Kohir, but doctorsthere declared him brought-dead.
Family members of thefarmer allege that the offi-cials without reason delayedthe process of the issuance ofpassbook for their landwhich was causing Naikextreme anxiety. He hadreportedly often complainedabout officials' apathy inthe matter.
Lightningstrikes claimtwo livesPNS n WARANGAL
In two separate incidents,two persons were killed inlightning strikes in the dis-trict in the past 24 hours.
One of them was identifiedas Pulamma, 40, was a residentof Akkampet village inAtmakur mandal, and anoth-er a farmer Dudaiah, 45, a res-ident of Machchapur inGeesukonda mandal. The dis-trict has been experiencingthunder showers accompaniedby lightning for the past fewdays. The Met office hasadvised the people to not ven-ture out as far as possible.
1.20 lakh fish released inNalla Cheruvu reservoir
PNS n WANAPARTHY
Agriculture Minister SNiranjan Reddy on Wednesdaysaid the state government hasnot only given a fillip to agri-culture and its allied sectors byextending irrigation to farmlands across the State, but hasalso enriched the lives of fish-ermen by giving fishlings freeof cost to the Mudiraju com-munity.
"Fishermen who had beenneglected for more than threedecades in Telangana, had tosettle for alternate livelihoodslike selling fruits on roadside.With the schemes launched inthe interest of fishermen afterthe formation of Telangana,not only aquatic wealth hasincreased, fishermen haveregained their original sourceof livelihood, which has boost-ed their economic conditionacross the State," Minister
Niranjan Reddy said, afterreleasing 1.20 lakh fish inNalla Cheruvu minor irriga-tion tank in Wanaparthy town.
He said that 1.41 crore fish-lings were released in 290tanks this year and thatrestoration of irrigation tanksthrough Mission Kakatiya notonly helped assuring the aya-cut under the tanks of irriga-tion, but also created an oppor-
tunity to develop fisheries likenever before.
He thanked Chief MinisterK Chandrashekar Rao forsanctioning funds for develop-ing Nalla Cheruvu as a minitank bund, works for whichwere almost completed andKrishna water was alsoreleased into the tank recent-ly, after the tank was lyingneglected for decades.
PV KONDAL RAO n WARANGAL
Panchayat Raj and RuralDevelopment minister ErrabelliDayakar Rao on Wednesday said the'Rurban Mission' proposals set by theadministration will soon bring aboutdesired results in the selected clustersof the Warangal rural district.
The minister was reviewing thenational Rurban Mission programmeswith district and mandal officials inWarangal. Warangal MP PasunooriDayakar, Wardhannapet MLA ArooriRamesh and district collector MHaritha were present at the reviewmeeting.
Addressing the meeting, Errabellisaid the proposal of covering theParvathagiri area of the district underthe unique mission had been linger-ing for the past 15 years, but now ithas been made a cluster to accomplishthe task. Stating that the new clusterwas about to get several developmentworks, the minister called upon theofficials to prepare plans for the pur-pose so that the development isachieved from people's perspective.
The minister advised the officialsto take up construction works ofparks, gyms, modern markets andgovernment schools on par with theprivate school network. Saying thatParvathagiri was his home place,Errabelli suggested to the officials toconsider the constructionalParvathagiri, Annaram andChinthanekkonda tanks and take up
Enugal tank works.The minister suggested the estab-
lishment of skill development centrein the Parvathagiri sector and direct-ed the officials to take up the compre-hensive development work of hospi-tal. Local legislator Aroori Rameshsaid selecting Parvathagiri clusterfor the Rurban Mission would go along way in developing the districtand thanked the minister for secur-ing Rs 30 crore for the scheme.
District collector Haritha said theParvathagiri Pura cluster has indeedtransformed into RurBan clusteradding that the village developmentwas a continuous process and the settasks would be accomplished.
n TS govt striving to boost fisheries sector: Agri Min Clusters under ‘RurbanMission' reviewed
Proposal of covering theParvathagiri area had been
lingering for the last 15 years,but now the task will beaccomplished
—ERRABELLI RAORural Development Minister
PNS n HYDERABAD
The 17th edition of BioAsiawill be organised in the cityfrom February 17-19, 2020at Hyderabad InternationalConvention Centre(HICC). Minister forIndustries and CommerceKT Rama Rao launchedthe logo and declared thetheme as 'Today forTomorrow'. The officialwebsite (2020.bioasia.in)for BioAsia 2020 was alsolaunched on the occassion.
BioAsia is an annual flag-ship international healthcareand technology conventionof the Telangana govern-ment organised in partner-ship with the central gov-ernment. Various centraland state organisations likeTSIIC, Research andInnovation Circle ofHyderabad (RICH), StateInnovation Cell, Federationof Asian Biotech
Associations (FABA),BIRAC, Invest India,Department ofPharmaceuticals, CSIR,MSME etc. will cometogether at the prestigiousevent.
As per the press com-muniqué, KTR said,"BioAsia has emerged as aglobal brand witnessingparticipation of the Who's
Who of the global LifeSciences and Healthcaresector. BioAsia has beeninstrumental inHyderabad's journey tobecoming the LifeSciences capital of thecountry. We are commit-ted to magnifying thescale of the event togreater heights. With anopportune theme of
"Today for Tomorrow",the event will help the lifesciences industries pre-pare for the future".
Switzerland will thepartner country andGermany will be associatepartner for this edition.Assam and Kerala havealready confirmed par-ticipation as State Partnersfor the event.
City to host flagship healthcareand tech convention in Feb
Abandonedman dies,pigs eat bodyPNS n NAGARKURNOOL
An octogenarian passedaway after years of neglectand abandoned by his chil-dren but was denied even anhounourable death as pigsgnawed away at his bodywhich lay in the shed wherehe had spent the last fewmonths.
According to Bijinapallysub-inspector, ChinthigariKondaiah (80), a resident ofNandi Vaddeman village ofBijinapally mandal had beenill for the past few months.His son, who works in theelectricity department,allegedly didn't care for himand had put him up in ashed-like structure whichdidn't have doors.
Kondaiah, who was seri-ously ill for the past fewdays, was not fed properly.On Wednesday, neighboursfound Kondaiah's body inthe shed and pigs eating atit. The animals tore awaypart of his head and his armand were seen runningaround the village with bodyparts.
Police who reached thespot found pigs coming outof the shed.
The incident has left localresidents aghast at the waythe old man was treated byhis children. They also feltrevolted at the sight ofdomestic pigs, not known toeat human flesh, devouringa human body. Animalactivists said it is possible forpigs with piglets getextremely ferocious andcould seek abnormal diet tofeed their young.
KCR to break his silence...Continued from Page 1
In this backdrop, expecta-tions are high among variousquarters that KCR may extendan olive branch to RTC unionsat the Huzurnagar electionmeet. He may appeal to RTCunions to call off their strikeand resume talks to break thedeadlock amicably.
It is understood that KCRmay anyhow obey the ordersthat the High Court issued on
Tuesday. The HC has advisedthe state government andRTC unions to sit across thetable and resolve the strike tomitigate the hardships beingfaced by people due to thecrippling of public transporta-tion across the state sinceOctober 5 due to RTC strike.The High Court has given twodays' time to the governmentand RTC unions to begintalks. The HC will hear thecase again on Friday
Constable shoots himself...Continued from Page 1
However, contrary to the policeversion, Venkateshwarulu'sdaughter, Vennela told mediapersons that her father hadstopped consuming alcohol forthe past few days. "This morn-ing, he called my mother andtold her that he had a quarrelwith another constable namedAnil. We do not know what
happened later," she said.Joel Davis, Police
Commissioner of Siddipet, said"Even after the treatment, heagain got addicted to alcohol.He took unauthorised leave forthe past two days. However, theduty officer took him back yes-terday after his wife came alongand requested. Prima facieprobe reveals the alcohol addic-tion made him kill himself."
Ministers oversee preparations for the CM’s upcoming event in Huzurnagar on Wednesday
PNS n HYDERABAD
While you about blissfully lit-tering roads and even yourown premises, GHMC officialare merrily picking up revenuein the form of penalties for vio-lating sanitation rules. City res-idents' money has been help-ing to increase GHMC'sincome through penalties,which has reached Rs 2.16crore in five months. As ofSeptember 17, GHMC hadcollected Rs 1crore from fines,but with stringent vigilancethis shot up to Rs2 crore.About 2,500 violators paid theRs 1crore last month.
GHMC has taken up a spe-cial drive to penalise personsand businesses for littering
roads and public places sinceMay. So far 11,019 people andorganisations have beenslapped with fines totaling Rs2 crore.
Total penalties of Rs57 lakhhave been collected from 691violators in the Chandanagarcircle, while Rs 12.4 lakh. wascolleced from Khairatabad cir-
cle from 783 violators.Serilingampally circle collect-ed Rs39.6 lakh in penaltiesfrom 454 violators.Ramachandrapuram/Patancheru, Malkajgiri and Yousufgudaremained at the bottom ofcollecting fines, which doesn'tnecessarily mean they are lit-ter-free.
PNS n HYDERABAD
Researchers from IIT-Hyderabad and KIIT School ofArchitecture of Bhubaneshwarhave developed 'bio-bricks'from agricultural waste prod-ucts that can uses in the con-struction industry. The devel-opment will help manage wastebetter and development of eco-friendly, sustainable buildingmaterials.
The research was undertak-en by Priyabrata Rautray, PhDscholar at IIT Hyderabad andAvik Roy, assistant professor atKIIT School of Architecture,Bhubaneshwar.
Speaking about the uses of'bio-bricks,' Priyabrata said,"Twenty-two per cent of India'stotal annual Co2 emissionsare generated by the construc-tion sector. Clay bricks notonly use up fertile topsoil, buttheir manufacturing processalso emits significant amountsof carbon dioxide into theatmosphere. Recognising thisproblem, the Building
Materials and TechnologyPromotion Council (BMTPC)was set up in the 1990's todevelop eco-friendly and ener-gy-efficient building materials,providing impetus into repur-posing agricultural and indus-trial waste items into con-struction materials."
Repurposing of agriculturalwastes is particularly importantin India. More than 500 mil-
lion tons of agricultural wasteis produced in the countryevery year. While some of thisis reused as fodder, 84 to 141million-tons are burnt, whichresults in severe air pollution.Priyabrata Rautray and AvikRoy have found a new way torepurpose agricultural wastematerials. They use it to man-ufacture bricks, a commonlyused construction item.
Talking about the research,Avik Roy said, "Bio-bricks arenot only more sustainable thanclay bricks, but are also carbonsinks because they fix morecarbon dioxide than they pro-duce during their lifecycle."
The process of making bio-bricks starts with careful selec-tion of the dry agro-waste likepaddy straws, wheat straws,sugarcane residue or bagasseand cotton plant. The teamdecided to use dry sugarcanebagasse for the first sample.The bagasse is first chopped to
the desired size. A lime-basedslurry is prepared, and thechopped agro-waste is added tothe slurry and mixed thor-oughly by hand or mechanicalmixer, to create a homogenousmixture.
This mixture is poured intomoulds and rammed with awooden block to make a com-pact brick. These moulds areleft to dry for a day or two, afterwhich the sides of the mouldsare removed, and the brick isallowed to dry for fifteen totwenty days. It takes approxi-mately a month's time forthese bio-bricks to attain itsworking strength by air drying.
The team's bio-brickreceived a 'Special RecognitionTrophy' for sustainable housingat Rural Innovators Start-UpConclave 2019 organisedrecently by National Institute ofRural Development andPanchayati Raj (NIRDPR) inHyderabad recently.
HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019 hyderabad 03
IIT-H develops ‘bio-bricks' from agri wasteBio-bricks can provide affordable, eco-friendly construction materials
Priyabrata Rautray with the ‘bio-bricks’ at IIT-H in the city
A ‘bio-brick’ undergoes a heat test
Littering fines helpfill GHMC coffers!Civic body collects Rs 1 crore in a month frompenalties imposed for dirtying public places
PNS n HYDERABAD
A 62-year-old man was con-victed with 20 years of rigor-ous imprisonment (RI) forsexually violating a four-and-half year old girl at his resi-dence in Lal Darwaza inOctober 2018. The child-friendly court gave the verdicthere on Wednesday. This is thefirst such sentence inTelangana after the CriminalLaw (Amendment) Bill, whichintroduced IPC Section 376AB, came into force in April2018.
First additional metropoli-tan sessions judge SuneethaKunchala held the accused, alabourer, guilty under Section376 AB (for rape on womanunder 12 years of age) of theIndian Penal Code (IPC) and
under sections of theProtection Of Children fromSexual Offences (POCSO) Actand sentenced him apart fromimposing a fine of Rs 1,000.
Additional public prosecu-tor K Pratap Reddy said thechild's mother in her com-plaint said the accused person,who stays in the neighbour-hood, lured the girl to his
house with chocolates andraped her. The girl laterinformed the matter to hermother. The mother alertedher husband and they lodgeda complaint with theShalibanda police who bookeda case under Section 5(m) readwith 6 of Protection ofChildren from SexualOffences (POCSO) Act alongwith Section 376 AB of IPCagainst the accused and arrest-ed him.
Police inquiries revealedthat the accused was a habit-ual offender and had commit-ed similar crimes on other chil-dren in his house. Court LegalSupport Officer SpandanaSadasivuni pointed out that thejudgement had come within ayear after registering the caseon October 25, 2018.
Elderly man gets 20-yearsentence for raping infant
The GHMC hastaken up a specialdrive to penalisepersons andbusinesses forlittering roads and public placessince May
NAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD
Plants growing on Metroexpansion joints pose threat topeople. The incessant rainshave led to plants taking rootat the joints of Metro pillars.Small plants can be seen grow-ing specifically at joints ofmultiple pillars across the cityin the blue and red corridor.
The tufts of grass and weedgrowing in concrete areas pos-ing a big problem. Grassdegrades the concrete and caneventually widen small cracks.As the plants grow they pushthrough the gaps of the expan-sion joints and cause contrac-tion of concrete which may
lead to failure of concrete.When failure of concrete hap-pens, chunks of pieces will fallfrom height.
Metro pillars and stations,based on the requirement,have been built to be more than20 metres tall. When a chunkfalls from that height, thechances of loss of life or grave
injury is high. A senior officialsaid that the vegetation growsdue to heavy rainfall being wit-nessed in the city making theMetro pillars a fertile groundof plants to grow.
Official said, "As part ofour regular maintenance activ-ity, these small plants areremoved. This vegetation
which is growing will beremoved shortly". Since theconcrete failure at Ameerpetstation which killed women, itis imperative for L&THMRL tobe careful. Official stated thatL&THMRL is further strength-ening its maintenance teams toensure that even the smallissues can be addressed imme-diately.
Meanwhile, the Metro rail iswitnessing on an average50,000 more passengers due tothe RTC strike. About 3.5 lakhpassengers are travelling on anaverage. Officials mentionedthat all the stations are active-ly witnessing traffic over thepast 10 days across all the cor-ridors.
Plants growing at Metro pillars pose threatL&T-HMRL says monitoring teams will remove the wild vegetation
As the plantsgrow, they pushthrough the gapsof the expansionjoints and causecontraction ofconcrete
K RAMYA SREEn HYDERABAD
A recent study undertaken byone of India's leading tech-AIplatform, has unveiled thatHyderabad is among the topthree cities in India that is lead-ing demand for overseas edu-cation.
This study is based on vis-its and searches by nearly32,000 consumers acrossIndian cities thatlanded on Sulekhain the last oneyear.
According tothe study, asmany as 32,000requests havebeen generatedby Tier I citiesand they con-tribute to 60 percent of the online searches.Tier II and Tier III cities havegenerated 11,000 and 10,000online requests respectively.Tier I cities are well informedand the searches peak during
admission season i.e.September - December.
The top three Indianstates that are lead-
ing withre qu e s t sare: Tamil
Nadu with7 , 1 2 7
requests fol-lowed by Telangana
with 6,228 requests andMaharashtra with 6,218.Among the above men-
tioned states, Hyderabad,Chennai and Delhi are the topthree Indian cities that areleading the requests for over-seas education, with their top
courses of choice beingEngineering, MBA, Medicine/MBBS, Journalism, HotelManagement and Aviation andtop countries of choice for peo-ple from Telangana are:Canada, Australia, USA,Germany and UK.
The highest number ofrequests has been received forCanada with over 19,849requests followed by Germany(12,979) and USA (11,961).
Satya Prabhakar, Founder &CEO, Sulekha, said, "This studyshows that the number ofIndian aspirants who are look-ing at pursuing higher educa-tion abroad is increasing yearon year by approximately 20%.Canada has emerged as themost preferred destination foroverseas education, owing tothe visa restrictions imposedon students in USA and UK inthe last few years. We are see-ing more interest from theIndian metros as compared toTier II and III cities. However,Tier II cities are also fast catch-ing up."
Hyderabad leads demand for overseas educationTelangana, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra are thetop-three Indian states leading with requests
PNS n HYDERABAD
In a major shuffle, DeputyCommissioners (DC) ofGHMC have been transferredacross various locations. Onadministrative grounds, RichaGupta, DC of Goshamahal, istransferred and posted as jointCommissioner, KhairtabadZone. Vinay Kapoor, AssistantMunicipal Commissioner ofGoshamahal is given FullAdditional Charge (FAC) of thepost of Deputy Commissioner.
A Shailaja is posted as DC,Circle N0 1, Kapra, GHMCvice T Dasharath who is nowDC of Malkajgiri, Circle28.Malkajgiri former DC K.Venugopal will now be DC forCircle No 16, Amberpet whichhas been vacant.
D. Jagan, Special GradeMunicipal Commissioner ofKhammam is posted as DeputyCommissioner, Falaknumarelieving D Suman Rao who ison transfer to MeerpetMunicipal Corporation.
‘Resume busservice beforeschools reopen’PNS n HYDERABAD
Transport Minister PuvvadaAjay Kumar has asked RTCofficials to run buses 100 percent in the state capital sinceschools are going to reopenon Monday.
Addressing the RTC divi-sional managers, regionalmanagers and DVMs fromthe office of the transportdepartment here onWednesday, the ministerasked the officials to be on thealert since the schools arereopening after Dasara vaca-tion on Monday.
They told the minister thatbuses are plying full strengthin districts, while the resump-tion of bus services in the citywas only 40 per cent.However, the minister want-ed all RTC buses to resumeoperations in the capital city.
In view of the heavy trafficin the city, the inexperiencedprivate drivers are hesitatingto run the RTC buses.
GHMC reshufflesdeputy commissioners
PNS n HYDERABAD
Temples protection movementconvenor and chief priest ofChilkur Balaji temple CSRangarajan said that theTelangana government shouldrestore the status of hereditaryarchakas.
He visited MallurNarasimha Swamy temple, aspart of prayer to revive hered-itary Archakatvam in suchancient temples onWednesday. CS Rangarajan
has been visiting traditionaltemples to pray to the deitiesfor restoration of rituals bysuch families of Archakas.
In a press statement, hesaid, "Telangana governmenthas to notice the fact thatSupreme Court had positive-ly responded to the writ peti-tion of Dr M V Soundararajanin 1996 that traditional tem-ples, rural temples would closedown if the Governmentinsisted on stopping the ritu-als of hereditary Archakas".
Chilkur priest says TS govtmisled by some archakas
Man gets lifer for kidnap, rape of minorPNS n HYDERABAD
A local court at LB Nagar onTuesday sentenced a 20-year-old man for kidnappingand sexual assault of a minorgirl.
The man has been identi-fied as Eppili Krishna, anative of Odisha, he was apainter residing in Moosapetin Kukatpally. According tothe police, the victim was a15-year-old girl studying inClass VII.
Krishna got to know herand induced her to befriendhim. Later he sexually assault-ed her several times and shegot pregnant.
On April 28, 2016, Krishnakidnapped the girl from herhouse and dropped her backon June 13 at her house. Hewas arrested the same dayand remanded.
The court convictedKrishna with rigorousImprisonment for life andfined him Rs 5,000.
DRI seizes Rs 24L gold at RGIAPNS n HYDERABAD
Officials of Directorate ofRevenue Intelligence (DRI)arrested a passenger and hisassociate at the city airport inShamshabad for smugglinggold to the city from Sharjah.The seized gold weighing 652gm was valued at Rs 24.61lakh.
Based on a specific input,on October 14, DRI nabbed apassenger and on examina-tion, it was found that the pas-senger was wearing cus-tomized jeans in which goldin paste form was hiddenand stitched in the waistbandand bottom area, a DRI state-ment said.
The study says asmany as 32,000requests weregenerated by Tier Icities and theycontributed to 60per cent of online searches
Police inquiriesrevealed that theaccused was ahabitual offenderand had commitedsimilar crimes onother children inhis house
HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019 hyderabad 04
PNS n HYDERABAD
Telangana BJP leaders metGovernor TamilisaiSoundararajan on Wednesdayand submitted a representationrequesting her to take suomoto cognizance of the obser-vations of the HighCourt and advise thegovernment tofollow its advice.
BJP statepresident KLaxman, MLCNRamchandarRao along witha delegation ofparty leaders metGovernor.
The BJP leadersbrought to the notice of gov-ernor that many believe thegovernment has been doingthis with an ulterior motive ofhanding over the prime prop-erties of RTC at vantage loca-tions across Telangana to pri-vate individuals, individualswho have close proximity withthe ruling party.
"BJP would want to submitto you that the RTC has primeproperties all across the state tothe extent of 1,500 acres of landand other assets which areworth Rs.80,000 crores. Theemployees unions allege thatthe government slowly andsteadily is trying to hand over
these primelands to the
private parties.Surprisingly, the
process of handingover to the private prop-
erties is being done without fol-lowing any norms or proce-dure," they said.
They cited few examples insupport of their allegations.
There have been attempts bythe state government to leaseout 10 acres of prime land atRTC Cross-roads, Hyderabadfor 33 years. There are reportsthat the government hasalready floated notificationseeking expression of interest,which has been designed tomeet the interests of certainindividuals exclusively.
On Hunter Road inHanumakonda (Warangal) 4acres of land which is worth
Rs.76 crores has been handedover to a ruling party politi-cian. Close to Ramnagar OldBus-stand of Warangal, Rs 25crore worth land has beengiven to private parties.
Similarly, 7,000 sqyd of landin the prime area of Armoortown has been given to politi-cians belonging to the rulingparty. In Karimnagar townprime land of RTC has beengiven to private parties 66acres on a 100-year lease.
"It is reliably learnt thatRTC has established over 100petrol pumps in agreementwith Petroleum Corporationson its lands at prime locationsin different parts of Telangana.However, thus secured petrolpumps have been leased out toprivate individuals who havebeen making huge profit out ofsale of petrol and diesel. It is
learnt that one individual hasbeen given over 54 petrolpumps. The profit which theRTC should have got is nowbeing pocketed by these privateindividuals," they said.
It is evident that the primeRTC land is being doled out tothe private individuals and thecurrent aggression that thegovernment has been showingagainst the RTC employees isonly a subterfuge to handoverprime lands to private indi-viduals, they alleged.
BJP leaders complain to Guvagainst govt over RTC strike
CLAIM STATE GOVT DOLING OUT RTC'S PRIME LAND TO PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS
Usage of cardsdecline in Hyd,UPI payments up
Continued from Page1
The top-3 sectors that con-tributed to Hyderabad's digitaltransactions in JAS were finan-cial services (23%), food andbeverage (18%) and utilities(10%). In Telangana, Hyderabadcity saw the highest number ofdigital transactions followed bySecunderabad, Khammam,Karimnagar, Warangal andPaloncha. Payment links andPayment Pages are rapidly grow-ing among the SMEs too inHyderabad.
The report provides an insightinto the rapidly evolving FinTechecosystem in India by analysingthe patterns of digital transac-tions and the impact of indus-try innovations such as UPIwhich are harnessing a digital-ly inclusive economy. Bengalurucontinues to top the list of themost digitised city in India, fol-
lowed by Hyderabad, Delhi,Mumbai and Pune.
Shashank Kumar, CTO andco-founder of Razorpay said, "Itis exciting to see how fin-tech inHyderabad has evolved muchbeyond just accepting paymentsand being transactional to nowbeing transformational andimpactful. Hence, it is not sur-prising to see Hyderabad record-ed the highest number of digi-tal transactions in the state,which we believe will only growas UPI leads the way with morecustomised offerings and fea-tures. The city's tryst with digi-tal adoption has only just begun.The developing fin-tech infra-structure, the transitioningmindset of people and tradi-tional businesses, and collabo-rative effort of the governmentand financial institutions will sig-nificantly aid this growth inHyderabad."
There have beenattempts by thegovernment to leaseout 10 acres ofprime land at RTCCross-roads,Hyderabad for 33years. There arereports that thegovernment hasalready floatednotification seekingexpression ofinterest, which hasbeen designed tomeet the interests ofcertain individuals,they said
PNS n HYDERABAD
Former minister MohammedAli Shabbir has accused HomeMinister Mahmood Ali of mis-leading the Muslim commu-nity in order to secure votes inHuzurnagar by-elections.
In a media statement onWednesday, Shabbir Ali allegedthat the Home Minister wasignorant on the subject ofminorities' welfare. Referring toMahmood Ali's speech inHuzurnagar wherein heclaimed that TRS governmentwas secular and KChandrashekhar Rao was apro-minority Chief Minister,he said Mahmood Ali was
cheating the community byhiding the truth.
He said Mahmood Ali waspersonally indebted to KCR formaking him Deputy CM in thefirst term and now the HomeMinister, but he was wrong inclaiming that that he was firstMuslim in the country to getthe top position. He pointedout that the Congress party gotZakir Hussain and FakhruddinAli Ahmed elected asPresidents of India. SeveralMuslims were elevated to thepost of Vice Presidents,Governors and UnionMinisters.
Shabbir said so far sixMuslims had served as the
Chief Ministers of differentstates.
They include Syeda AnwaraTaimur (Assam), AbdulGhafoor (Bihar), C. H.Mohammad Koya (Kerala),
Abdul Rahman Antulay(Maharashtra), M Farroq(Pondicherry) and BarkatullahKhan (Rajasthan). He saidAkbar Ali Khan and MMHasham had served as theHome Ministers of unitedAndhra Pradesh.
Present Leader ofOpposition in Rajya Sabha isGhulam Nabi Azad.Therefore, KCR might be agodfather for Mahmood Ali,but it was routine for theCongress party to nominateMuslims on top posts. "EvenI've served as the Leader ofOpposition in LegislativeCouncil because of Congressparty," he said.
The Congress leader ques-tioned Mahmood Ali's silenceon the issue of 12% Muslimquota which Chief MinisterKCR had promised in April2014. KCR had assured toimplement it within fourmonths after coming to power,but did nothing even in sixyears.
"Mahmood Ali should alsohave the courage to admit andspeak the truth that 4% Muslimreservation under implemen-tation since 2004-05 was givenby the Congress regime and sofar it has benefitted nearly 25lakh poor Muslims inTelangana and AP States," hesaid.
PNS n HYDERABAD
Minister for Labour MallaReddy awarded the "BestEstablishment Award" to BasicTraining Centre, CarriageWorkshop, Lallaguda forimparting skill developmenttraining to 550 TradeApprentices during the year2018-19. The award was pre-sented at a State level awarenessworkshop on Apprenticeshipnew notification and imple-mentation program held atTelangana Chamber ofCommerce & Industry. Ministryof Skill Development andEntrepreneurship, Governmentof India has jointly organized the"Apprenticeship Pakhawada"from 30September, 2019 to15October, 2019. ApprenticeshipTraining is a course that com-
prises basic and practical train-ing at the workplace, with anIndustry or establishment.
It may be mentioned here thatNational ApprenticeshipPromotion Scheme (NAPS) hasbeen launched by theGovernment of India in August,2016. The scheme entails finan-cial support to establishmentsundertaking apprenticeship pro-grams. The main objective ofthis program is to create a Job-Ready workforce and Train andretain High-Quality appren-tices. The financial benefitsunder NAPS are Sharing ofcost of basic training with BasicTraining Providers (BTP) up toRs. 7500/- for 3 months/500hours or Sharing of 25% of theprescribed stipend subject to amaximum of Rs. 1500/- permonth per apprentice.
Lallaguda carriageworkshop receives award
More unions pledgesupport to strike
Shabbir says Mahmood Ali misleading Muslim communitySAYS HOME MINISTER IS ALSO SILENT OVER 12% MUSLIM QUOTA WHICH KCR HAD PROMISED IN 2014
PNS n HYDERABAD
The JAC of RTC workers onWednesday intensified agita-tion as the protests by work-ers evoked no response fromthe government after 12 daysof the strike.
At Hanmakonda inWarangal urban district, theRTC workers resorted to aprotest raising slogans againstthe government and seekingimmediate conceding ofdemands by the government.
The Telangana StudentFederation members took outa bike rally in the universitycampus in support of thestriking RTC workers. BCassociations president RKrishnaiah and other leaderstook part.
In Karimnagar, two RTCworkers protested in a novelway by resorting to begging onthe streets near Karimnagarcrossroads. In the process,
they attracted the attention ofmany.
In Medak, teachers and BJPactivists took out motorcyclerally in support of RTC work-ers.
As the stir enters 12th day,more and more support ispouring in to the RTC strike.As there is no clear picture ontalks with the workers, peoplewere caught in the grip of anx-iety. People are not able to feelthe pulse of the CM KChandrasekhar Rao because ofhis tough stand on the strike.
Though the RTC workersJAC leaders are ready for hold-ing talks with the govern-ment, the state government isstill adopting dilly-dallyingtactics. There is no deviationin the tough posture adoptedby the government in spite ofsuicides by RTC workers.Therefore, the workers havestepped up their stir to putpressure on the government.
RTC agitation spreadsdeeper in districts
Day 12: Protestors taking up novel methods to draw public attention
PNS n HYDERABAD
The Telangana High Court onWednesday directed the stategovernment and TSRTC man-agement to respond to a peti-tion filed by Telangana JatiyaMazdoor Union (TJMU) seek-ing direction to the manage-ment of the corporation to paysalaries to 49,190 employeesfor the month of September.
It asked the state and thecorporation to reconsider thedemand of the union for thepayment of their salaries. Thepetition was filed by the gen-eral secretary of the union KHanumanthu, a conductor. Inhis petition, he told the HCthat the corporation had notpaid September salaries of theemployees, who have been onstrike.
He urged the HC to declarethe action of the state govern-
ment and the corporation asunjust, unfair illegal andunconstitutional and urgedthe HC to direct the state gov-ernment to pass the orders.Later the HC posted the mat-ter till Monday next weekfurther hearing.
HC seeks state'sresponse on RTC staff salaries
The HC directedstate govern-ment and TSRTCmanagement torespond to apetition filed byTelangana JatiyaMazdoor UnionseekingSeptembersalaries for49,190 employees
PNS n HYDERABAD
International Road TransportCoordination Committee con-vener KK Diwakaran andother leaders on Wednesdaypledged their support to theagitating RTC workers.
In support of the October 19bandh called by RTC workers,the international transport
coordination committee hasdecided to organise nationwideprotests. The organisation willchalk out its future course ofaction if the government didnot respond, he said.
RTC JAC of workers con-vener Aswathama Reddy saidthat national trade unions arealso supporting the RTCstrike.
PNS n KHAMMAM
Former MP of CongressRenuka Chowdhary onWednesday alleged that ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao has been trampling uponhuman rights of people andtermed his action as "anti-democratic". She describedministers in the KCR Cabinetas "sheep" for not being able totalk of ground realities beforethe CM.
The voice that questions isbeing stifled, she said, addingthat the adamant CM chosenot to take notice of the RTC
strike. Renuka Chowdhary said
when KCR's pet dog died acase was filed against the vetwho had treated the dog, butthe same government is silentwhen RTC workers commitsuicide to press for theirdemands.
The RTC was built over aperiod of time assiduously, shesaid charging KCR with tryingto give away RTC assets toCM's henchmen in the nameof privatisation. She vowed tostruggle it out to bring theRTC strike to logical conclu-sion.
Renuka calls Cabinetministers ‘sheep'
People keen onCong victory inHuzurnagar: VH
PNS n HYDERABAD
Veteran Congress leader VHanumantha Rao onWednesday said people ofHuzurnagar constitutencydecided to ensure Congressvictory in the October 21 by-poll. However, the TRS, withan eye on victory, is distrib-uting money with the help ofthe police, he alleged.
He wondered how KCR,who was a Union Minister ear-lier, could advise workers notto entertain trade union activ-ity. After the Huzurnagar by-poll, the Congress would stepup the protest against uraniumexploration in the state.
Newbornabandonednear NIMS
Continued from Page1
Footage from surveillancecameras in the surroundingsis being examined to identifythe offenders. Data on recentdeliveries in hospitals in thevicinity too is being collected.
Following the incident,child rights activists raisedconcerns over the frequency ofsuch cases of abandonment.
"The incidents of abandon-ment of newborn babies areseeing an increase of late. Thisis the third such incidentwithin a month in the city,"said Achyuta Rao of the BalalaHakkula Sangham.
HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS
Mamata pays visit toNobel laureate AbhijitBanerjee's homeKOLKATA: West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onWednesday paid a visit toNobel laureate Abhijit VinayakBanerjee's house in SouthKolkata and congratulated hermother on her son's success.The chief minister who wasaccompanied by senior officialsalso exchanged pleasantrieswith Nirmala Banerjee, Abhijit'smother. Abhijit Banerjee, anIndian-American, has jointlywon the Nobel prize ineconomics along with his wifeEsther Duflo and MichaelKremer. He bagged the awardfor his "experimental approachto alleviating global poverty".West Bengal government isalso planning to organise agrand felicitation for the Nobellaureate, senior minister ParthaChatterjee said on Tuesday.Abhijit Banerjee is scheduled toarrive in the city on the night ofOctober 22.
Congress leader shotdead in UP's Aligarh:Police
Body of truck drivershot dead in Kashmirarrives in RajasthanBHARATPUR: The body of atruck driver shot dead byterrorists in Jammu andKashmir arrived here in theearly hours of Wednesday buthis family refused to accept itunless their demands forcompensation of Rs 50 lakhand the status of martyr forhim were met, officials said.The body of Sharief Khanarrived from New Delhi in anambulance at 1 am but agitatedfamily members and locals didnot let it enter the village,saying their demands shouldbe met first. The body was thenshifted to a mortuary at ahospital in Pahadi town, anofficial said. "The familymembers have refused toaccept to body and aredemanding the status ofmartyr, a compensation of Rs50 lakh and pension to hisfamily. Talks are going on withthem," Tehsildar (Pahadi)Ramkumar Kanwar, said.
ALIGARH (UP): A localCongress leader has been shotdead in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarhdistrict over an alleged propertydispute, police said onWednesday. The men, who areyet to be identified, reachedMohamed Farouk's office nearShamshad market under CivilLines police station limits ontwo motorcycles around 8 pmon Tuesday, said.Superintendent of Police (City)Abhishek Kumar. The attackersthen barged into the office andfired several shots at Farouk, hesaid. A crowd gathered outsideFarouk's office, which is locatedin a busy area, after hearing thegunshots and nabbed one ofthe assailants. However, hisassociates opened fire, freedhim and fled, the officer said.Farouk was rushed to a hospitalwhere he was declared dead, headded. According to initialreports, Farouk was apparentlykilled over a property dispute,police said.
ANTS FOUND ON DEAD PATIENT'S EYES
Civil surgeon, fourothers suspendedPNS n SHIVPURI
Ants were found crawling onthe eyes of a dead patient at astate-run hospital in MadhyaPradesh's Shivpuri district,prompting the government tosuspend a civil surgeon, anoth-er doctor and three nurses.
Chief Minister Kamal Nathon Wednesday expressedshock annd anger over theincident, which came to lightafter some photos purported-ly showing ants on the eyes ofthe deceased, BalchandraLodhi (50), went viral onsocial media.
The civil surgeon and fourothers have been suspended in
this connection, state HealthMinister Tulsi Silawat said.
"Chief Minister Kamal Nathand senior Congress leaderJyotiraditya Scindia expressedanger over the incident. Idirected the officials con-cerned to suspend thoseresponsible for the incident.This is serious negligence,"Silawat said.
Shivpuri's chief medicaland health officer Dr A LSharma told PTI that afterthe initial inquiry, the civilsurgeon, P K Khare, dutydoctor Dinesh Rajput andthree nurses have been sus-pended for alleged derelic-tion of duty.
Kartarpur corridor gets ready;work on Pak side very slow
Dera Baba Nanak (Punjab),Oct 16 (PTI) The online reg-istration for pilgrims visitingGurdwara Darbar SahibKartarpur is expected to com-mence on October 20 as afour-lane highway connectingthe 'zero point' for onwardjourney to Pakistan is gettingready, but work across theborder is very slow.
A state-of-the-art passengerterminal with facilitation cen-tre to host government officialsresponsible for ensuring has-sle-free travel of pilgrims, foodkiosks, parking areas and secu-rity points will also come up byNovember 8 when PrimeMinister Narendra Modi willformally inaugurate the much-awaited Kartarpur corridor.
"The online registration forthe pilgrims visiting GurdwaraDarbar Sahib Kartarpur isexpected to commence onOctober 20," Chairman of theLand Port Authority of Indiaand Additional Secretary in theMinistry of Home AffairsGovind Mohan told a group ofreporters here.
The total area of the pas-senger terminal is 2.5 lakh sqfeet which is being construct-ed on a 20-acre land. Total landacquired for the project is 50acres.
India has proposed that thefirst group of pilgrims shouldcross over to Pakistan onNovember 8.
Mohan said the work on thefour-lane highway and the
state-of-the-art passenger ter-minal, which can accommo-date 5,000 pilgrims, will becompleted by October end.
However, the slow progressof the work in Pakistan isclearly visible from the Indianside as there is no work on theroad as well as the bridgewhich will connect the four-lane road constructed by India.
"Pakistan has deferred the
construction but it has assuredthat it will complete the workin good time," Mohan said.
Gurdwara Darbar SahibKartarpur is one of the holiestSikh shrines located in theneighbouring country.
Mohan said an alternativeroad is being constructed up toto the zero point due to theunavailability of the bridgeand the road on the Pakistanside.
Pakistan will provide trans-port up to the zero point topick up pilgrims to their sideof the facilitation centre and todrop them back.
He said India and Pakistanare still negotiating onIslamabad's insistence ofcharging USD 20 from eachpilgrim and timing of the pil-grimage every day (first entryand last exit time).
A total of 55 immigrationcounters are being set up at thepassenger terminal.
PNS n NEW DELHI
The National Council ofEducational Research andTraining (NCERT) is planningto review the 14-year-oldNational CurriculumFramework (NCF) in accor-dance with new national edu-cation policy and set up a com-mittee for the purpose.According to NCERT DirectorHrushikesh Senapaty, the coun-cil is going to announce a com-mittee by the end of this monthwhich will revisit the NCF tobring it on lines of the NEP.
The NCF has been revisedfour times so far - in 1975, 1988,2000 and 2005. The new pro-
posed revision will be the fifthof the framework. "We are justwaiting for the new educationpolicy to be finalised and a com-mittee for reviewing the NCFwill be announced by month-end. The committee, however,will keep NEP as the base of revi-sion. Ultimately the textbookswill be revised as per the newframework."
Kashmiri students to boycottSir Syed fete in AMUPNS n ALIGARH (UP)
Kashmiri students in AMU onWednesday said they will boy-cott the annual Sir Syed daycelebrations, including a tra-ditional dinner on Thursday, toexpress their anguish over thesituation in the valley follow-ing the revocation of the state'sspecial status.
There are about 1,300Kashmiri students studying inthe Aligarh Muslim University(AMU) currently.
Talking to reporters here,Sajad Rathar, a Kashmiri stu-dent leader and former vicepresident of the AMU students'union, said, "When the rest ofthe world is celebrating the202nd birth anniversary of Sir
Syed Khan, we are living inpain."
He claimed that contrary tomedia reports and officialclaims "only 5 per cent of thepostpaid cell phones have beenactivated in the Kashmir val-ley till now".
Rather said how could thestudents think of celebrationswhen their families were livingin "acute distress".
PNS n KOLKATA
CBI officers visited the WestBengal secretariat onWednesday as part of its ongo-ing probe into the multi croreRose Valley chit fund scam.
This is the first time that theinvestigating agency personnelhave visited the state secretariatin connection with the RoseValley scam.
Sources said that the CBIpersonnel reached the statesecretariat in the morninghours and submitted two let-ters - one for chief secretaryRajiva Sinha and the other forthe officer on special duty tothe land department.
The probe agency has askedthe state government to submitall files related to the RoseValley scam and summonedthe OSD of the land depart-ment to appear before it by
October 18."CBI is seeking details about
land dealings which took placebetween the state governmentand the Rose Valley group," asenior official at the secretari-at said on condition ofanonymity.
"This is a routine visit to thestate secretariat for the pur-poses of investigation", CBIsources said and sought coop-eration from the state govern-ment.
The central probe agencyhas also asked the state gov-
ernment to provide detailsabout the nature of dealingswith the ponzi scheme com-pany and also about the loca-tion of the lands, governmentofficials said.
Thousands of common peo-ple were defrauded of theirhard-earned money onpromises of high returns in theRose Valley case like theSaradha ponzi scheme scam.
Rose Valley had collectedmore than Rs 10,000 crorefrom the public through illegalschemes.
Rose Valley: CBI officialsvisit state secretariat
PNS n NAGPUR
Justifying the Bharat Ratnademand for V D Savarkar raisedby the Maharashtra BJP in itspoll manifesto, Union LawMinister Ravishankar Prasadon Wednesday attacked theCongress for opposing the high-est civilian honour for such"rashtra bhaktas" (patriots).
Addressing a press conferencehere in Maharashtra, he alsoaccused the Congress of ensur-ing that only the "family mem-bers" get the highest civilianhonour.
Releasing its manifesto for theOctober 21 Maharashtra assem-bly elections on Tuesday, thestate BJP raised the demand forBharat ratna for the Hindutvaicon along with 19th Centurysocial reformists Jyotiba Phuleand his wife Savitribai Phule.
Prasad alleged that Congressdid not bestow the Bharat Ratnato 'Sardar' Vallabhbhai Patel, thefirst Home Minister of thecountry, andDalit iconBabasaheb Ambedkar earlier.
"Both these leaders weregiven the highest civilian hon-our (posthumously) whenNarasimha Rao, who didn'tbelong to the family, was primeminister of the country," headded.
"Why the Congress is trou-bled with the BJP's demand for
Bharat Ratna for Savarkar in itsmanifesto? The Congress alwaysgathered 'Bharat Ratna' amongthe family only (sic)," he said.
Reacting to the MaharashtraBJP's poll manifesto, theCongress had said: "If the BJPgovernment was consideringthe Bharat Ratna demand, thenGod save this country."
Justifying the highest civilianhonour for Savarkar, Prasad
said the former was a "rash-trabhakta" (patriot) who hadspent 11 years of his life in theAndaman jail. "Savarkar hadnever asked anything in returnfrom the country," he added.
"Veer Savarkar, as V DSavarkar is popularly known,Mahatma Jyotiba Phule andSavitribai Phule have given somuch to the Society. Suchnationalists should certainly get
Bharat Ratnas," Prasad said.He alleged the Congress
always tried to keep the BharatRatna honour in the "family"only, an apparent reference tothe Gandhis.
"Vallabhbhai Patel died in1950 but Bharat Ratna wasannounced for him only in1991 when Narasimha Rao wasprime minister. If not Rao, thiswork (honouring Patel) wouldhave been done by the NDAgovernment of Atal BihariVajpayee.
"It is good that former PMsJawaharlal Nehru and RajivGandhi, and Zakir Hussian (thethird president of India) weregiven 'Bharat Ratna'. But why didPatel not given the honour ear-lier? It was because he used tooppose Nehru," Prasad alleged.
ROW OVER BHARAT RATNA DEMAND FOR SARVARKAR
PNS n PUNE
Bajaj Housing Finance Limited(BHFL) has made affordablehousing a reality by offeringcredit linked subsidy scheme(CLSS) known as PradhanMantri Awas Yojana (Urban) or(PMAY-U) to the tune of Rs. 50crore. Till date, a whoppinggreater than 4,000 applicationsfor the Credit Linked SubsidyScheme (CLSS) have beenprocessed.
The interest subsidy comesas a boon to first-time home-buyers, helping them reducetheir loan EMIs and thereby,own a flat or a home withoutexceeding their budget. Thecompany's offerings are in linewith the Government of India'svision of providing affordablehousing to every citizen by
2022.How much subsidy can a
customer claim? The extent ofsubsidy that a beneficiary fam-ily is allowed to claim dependson the household income andother conditions levied by gov-
ernment. Households withannual income of up toRs.3,00,000 are considered tobe a part of the EconomicallyWeaker Section (EWS) andthose with incomes betweenRs.3,00,001 and Rs.6,00,000
are part of the Lower IncomeGroup (LIG). Both categoriesenjoy interest subsidies of up toRs.2,67,280, at the rate of6.50%, on a maximum loanamount of Rs.6,00,000.
Families with incomesbetween Rs.6,00,001 andRs.12,00,000 qualify under theMiddle-Income Group 1 (MIGI) and those with incomes
between Rs.12,00,001 andRs.18,00,000 are part of theMiddle-Income Group 2 (MIG2) category. MIG 1 beneficia-ries get up to Rs.2,35,068 andMIG 2 can obtain up toRs.2,30,156 as subsidy. Theinterest subsidy rates are 4%and 3%, calculated on maxi-mum loan amounts ofRs.9,00,000 and 12,00,000,
respectively.Particulars EWS LIG MIG-
I MIG-II Household income(rupees per annum) 0-3,00,0003,00,001-6,00,000 6,00,001-12,00,000 12,00,001-18,00,000Eligible housing loan amountfor interest subsidy (in rupees)Up to 6,00,000 Up to 6,00,000Up to 9,00,000 Up to 12,00,000Interest subsidy (% per annum)6.50% 6.50% 4.00% 3.00%Maximum loan tenor (in years)20 20 20 20 Maximum carpetarea of the dwelling unit 30 sq.m. 60 sq. m. 160 sq. m. 200 sq.m.
Discount rate for net presentvalue (NPV) calculation ofinterest subsidy (%) 9.00%9.00% 9.00% 9.00% Maximuminterest subsidy amount (inrupees) 2,67,280 2,67,2802,35,068 2,30,156 Applicability
of no pucca house Not for ren-ovation/upgradation Yes YesOwnership/co-ownership of awoman Mandatory for newacquisition, Not mandatoryfor existing property Notmandatory Not mandatoryHow PMAY CLSS makes homeloan EMIs smaller Since CLSSreduces interest repayments,PMAY beneficiaries pay lowerEMIs as compared to regularhome loan borrowers. Forinstance, an MIG II beneficia-ry taking a loan of Rs.18 lakhat a 10% interest will pay EMIsof Rs.17,370 over 20 yearstowards a regular home loan.When availing a home loanunder PMAY, such a benefi-ciary can claim a subsidy of upto Rs.2.30 lakh and reduceEMIs to Rs.15,149 for the entiretenor.
Bajaj Housing Fin provides Rs. 50 crore subsidy under PMAY
PNS n PHAGWARA
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)president Sukhbir Singh Badalsaid he respect the Punjab gov-ernment's offer to celebrate 550thParkash Purb function of GuruNanak Dev at Sultanpur Lodhiunder the patronage of AkalTakht and with the support ofSGPC.
Chief Minister AmarinderSingh on Tuesday had sent a let-ter through his two cabinet min-isters and later spoke to AkalTakht Jathedar to resolve theongoing deadlock over holdingthe main event.
Badal claimed that his partyhas been batting for it from thebeginning.
"But what pained me is the factthat barely two hours after hisministers had presented the let-ter to Akal Takht Jathedar,Captain (Amarinder Singh) told
media that SGPC could take careof religious events inside the gur-dwara, while the state govern-ment would look after the func-tion outside it," he said.
"The entire Sikh Sangat allover the world want joint cele-bration of Guru Nanak's ParkashPurb as the guru preached 'SarbatDa Bhala' (welfare of all) andCaptain should not put any
rider or condition on his offer forcelebrating it under the com-mand of Akal Takht Sahib," headded.
The former Punjab deputychief minister was talking toreporters after addressing a pollrally for BJP-SAD nomineeRajesh Bagha here.
On the government's decisionto release five cops convicted offake encounters during militan-cy, Badal said, "One cannotcompare remission of sentenceof Sikhs who had completed theirterm in jails with the humanrights violation by men in uni-
form." He said those who per-petrated human rights violationshould be made to complete theirsentences.
Earlier, addressing the rally,Badal said that SAD-BJP alliancewas so rock-solid that "we willlive and die together".
"It is not a political alliance. Itis an alliance for peace, amity andcommunal harmony in Punjab.Anti-Punjab forces were spread-ing rumours to the contrary," hesaid. Calling Amarinder"ahankari raja" (arrogant king),he said the bypolls will teach hima lesson.
The interest subsidy comes as a boon tofirst-time homebuyers, helping themreduce their loan EMIs and thereby, owna flat or a home without exceeding theirbudget. The company's offerings are inline with the Government of India's visionof providing affordable housing to everycitizen by 2022
Releasing its manifesto for the October 21Maharashtra assembly elections onTuesday, the state BJP raised the demandfor Bharat ratna for the Hindutva icon alongwith 19th Century social reformists JyotibaPhule and his wife Savitribai Phule
The slow progress ofthe work in Pakistan isclearly visible from theIndian side as there isno work on the road aswell as the bridgewhich will connect thefour-lane roadconstructed by India
Prasad hits back at Congwith family jibe
Tributes to studentskilled in 1966agitationJAMMU: Various studentorganisations including RSS-affiliate ABVP on Wednesdaypaid tributes to students wholost their lives in 1966 duringa protest to demand a separateuniversity for Jammu. TheAkhil Bharatiya VidyarthiParishad (ABVP), Jammu JointStudents Front (JSSF) and theNational Panthers StudentsUnion (NPSU) organisedprogrammes to mark theoccasion at a memorialoutside GGM Science Collegehere.
Respect Amarinder's offer to hold ParkashPurb celebrations jointly: Sukhbir
Sukhbir Singh Badal
UP to conductspecial audit ofpower discomsPNS n LUCKNOW
The Uttar Pradesh govern-ment on Wednesday decided toconduct special audit of financedepartments of all power dis-tribution companies in thestate after it received numerouscomplaints of corruption fromconsumers. State Power min-ister Shrikant Sharma saidstrict action will be taken if anyfinancial anomalies were found.
"We have decided to conductspecial audit of financedepartments of all the powerdistribution companies. Thiswill be done at the level of UttarPradesh Power CorporationLimited (UPPCL) in which vig-ilance officials will also beinvolved," he said.
On the government's decision to release five copsconvicted of fake encounters during militancy, Badalsaid, "One cannot compare remission of sentence ofSikhs who had completed their term in jails with thehuman rights violation by men in uniform."
NCERT panel to revise14-yr-old curriculumframework
Come November, India is about toenter key negotiations on theInternational Treaty on PlantGenetic Resources for Food andAgriculture (ITPGRFA) at its
eighth general body meeting in Rome. Butwhat is at stake? All of India’s future as thesetalks may impact the country’s biodiversityand germplasm relating to food and agricul-ture. In the delegates’ own words, “The ITP-GRFA, adopted in 2001, is a global responseto promote the conservation of plant genet-ic resources and to protect farmers’ rights toaccess and have fair and equitable sharing ofbenefits arising out of their use.” But let usexamine the agenda behind this treaty.
As per ITPFRA/Food and AgricultureOrganisation (FAO) data, India is the top des-tination for plant genetic resources for foodand agriculture (PGFRA), numbering725,117. Briefly put, these negotiations areabout how other countries can access all thesePGFRAs at the minimum price possible. Itis also to be kept in mind that India is a sig-natory to the Convention of BiologicalDiversity (CBD) and Nagoya Protocol, whichcover all of its biodiversity already. These twotreaties protect bio-piracy and have workedfavourably for a biodiversity/germplasm richcountry as ours.
The first issue in the discussion comesfrom Switzerland, which has been advocat-ing a “Multilateral System (MLS) to cover allother plant genetic resources for food andagriculture in accordance with Article 3 of theinternational treaty.” One should consider thatSwitzerland has only 39,953 accessions storedwith it. Given that India has one of the high-est stored ascensions in the world — 395,001— we would legally be bound to contributeall of them to the treaty. In this sense, we willbecome one of the biggest donors, too. Butis this economically sound and in the inter-est of the nation? After the emergence of cli-mate crisis, Brexit and Trumpism, it may notbe the best option.
Regarding the Swiss proposal to cover allother PGRs for food and agriculture, Indiashould think of its national interest first andonly those crop species should be includedand PGR accessions designated, which arealready available in the public domain (ieaccessible to everyone). Article 1 of the treatyshould also explicitly declare the crop species,which we do not want to make available underthe MLS. In fact, all crops, for which we havegeographical indication (GI) for now or forthe future, should be excluded from the treaty.China is currently not part of this treaty andis negotiating on its terms to make inroads.India should do the same. Our only bargain-ing chip is our vast plant genetic resource(PGR), let’s not allow it to be taken withoutany benefit to our country. The US recentlyjoined on the insistence of the private sectorand in a matter of years, it is the chairperson.So the treaty is heavily influenced by big glob-al agricultural corporations and geopolitics.
India has held a conservative position
until now and given only 26,530accessions to the MLS. But we arenot the only ones. A cold and wetisland off the north-west coast ofEurope, the United Kingdom, hasa total of 834,451 accessions, outof which it has put only 44,069accessions in the MLS. Beforeconsidering the inclusion of allPGRs in Annexure 1, theGovernment of India and theIndian Council of AgriculturalResearch (ICAR)-NationalBureau of Plant GeneticResources (NBPGR) mustanalyse how many PGRs havebeen accessed by Indian firmsthrough MLS and how much wehave contributed to other nations.A policy paper needs to be pub-lished on this so that citizens areaware of the benefits.
NBPGR must also work outthe economic, agricultural andsocial benefits of Indian seedcompanies under MLS. It mustalso make sure there is no vague-ness or secrecy regarding thesenegotiations. We need a clearplan of how if we contribute ourPGRs, the MLS will reciprocatein nation-building.
The MNCs and foreigncompanies, which will accessthe PGRs from the Indian collec-tion, should maintain strict com-pliance with national legisla-tions, especially related to theProtection of Plant Varieties andFarmers’ Rights Authority,Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), Seed Act, seedrules and other prevailing legis-lations. Otherwise we will see asituation where Indian farmersare growing cotton and the millsof Manchester are making thecloth. Ultimately, Indians will buytheir own cotton at 400 per centtimes the actual price. Thismodel will be emulated for seeds,too. In this case, especially assome nations allow for patents onseeds, our germplasm can bepatented as part of a foreign prod-uct. Then the same seed must besold to Indian farmers. We mustthink carefully and ensure Indianlegislations go with all ourgermplasm, too.
There is also an attempt tointroduce international unionfor the Protection of NewVarieties of Plants (UPOV) con-vention through this treaty. Indiashould advocate farmers’ rightsin ITPGFRA in accordance withprovisions of their rights availableunder the Protection of PlantVarieties and Farmers’ Rights Act,2001. Any dilution of farmers’and breeders rights must not benegotiated/accepted, especiallywhen we are not signatories of theUPOV.
India must seek an expan-sion of the MLS in such a waythat PGR-rich countries getappropriate benefits and advan-tage for conserving and preserv-ing germplasm. This can bedone through capacity-building,
development and expansion ofResearch and development(R&D) activities in India and inother PGR-rich nations. We canpropose that every State shouldhave ex-situ and in-situ PGR con-servation project funded by thistreaty.
Speaking of funds, the othercritical issue is of the corpus(FAO trust fund) created for shar-ing benefits. India must firststrongly urge to be on the boardcommittee of this fund and alsoensure that there is adequate rep-resentation from PGR donorcountries. This can be doneaccording to the availability/con-tribution of PGR resources. Theproject allotted for conservationand R&D should be commensu-rate with the PGR donations. TheGovernment of India andNBPGR must also analyse thatduring the last seven to eightyears how many projects forPGR activities have been fund-ed under the ITPGRFRA trustfund versus other countries.
We have to stress on the factthat monetary benefits arisingafter the commercialisation ofPGR should be made directly tothe PGR donor country. In addi-tion, the product developed usingthe PGR should be made avail-able to the donor country, espe-cially to the farmers, at relative-ly lower costs. There should berelaxations for public instituteslike ICAR and small and medi-
um companies of India, too. The meeting in Rome will
also discuss the dematerialiseduse of PGR. With advancementsin technology such as gene edit-ing, Digital SequenceInformation (DSI), physical plantmaterial may not be required todevelop new varieties. Genesequences will be enough. Whilethe world and organisation suchas the CBD are doing expert stud-ies on them, India should supportthat DSI and other future tech-nologies (CRISPR) should beadded under the benefit-sharingscheme so that our efforts in con-serving PGR are not left out.
But perhaps the biggest ele-phant in the room is: Who isIndia really negotiating with? Isit the developed countries ortrans-national big agriculturalcorporations in the garb of coun-tries? Such corporations are pre-sent in each country today,including India, and are lobbyingto have access to PGR through asecond channel. In fact, throughtheir Indian subsidiaries, they areeven consulting with theGovernment for a softer stanceon ITPGRFA. And why wouldthey do that? Because nationssuch as India expressed sovereignright over their PGR and havemany restrictions for foreignMNCs to access Indian biodiver-sity under the Biological DiversityAct. If the Swiss proposal isaccepted, Indian legislations willbe bypassed and all doors to PGRwill be opened to them withoutrestrictions — all for a nominalpercentage of profits.
Once they have Indian PGRavailable to them in any part ofthe world, we will see the emer-gence of “seed sweat shops”,much like clothes sweat shops incountries like Bangladesh. Thedesign is European or American,raw material is Indian and clothesare made in Bangladesh for a fewcents an hour and then sold inboutique stores for thousands ofdollars. Countries with the cheap-est farm labour costs will beselected to mass produce seedsand then the produce will beexported to nations which canpay higher prices. Indian farm-ers and women, who have pre-served seeds and biodiversity,may be alienated and all of theirbiodiversity commercialised bybig agricultural companies of thedeveloped world.
Given the threat of climatechange, we cannot allow forrampant exploitation of ourPGRs only to participate in for-eign treaties. We should learnfrom China and be more conser-vative and nationalistic in ourapproach towards our biologicalheritage.
(The writer is ProgrammeDirector for Policy and Outreachat the National Seed Associationof India)
Though the BJP seems all set to win a sec-ond stint in the Haryana polls, it is leav-ing no stone unturned to ensure its vic-
tory and has harnessed the star power ofsportspersons in a State that accounted forevery third medal India brought home at the2018 Commonwealth Games. The party hard-ly faces any impediment — what with theCongress riven with faction fights and the OmPrakash Chautala-led INLD still reeling froma split — but this move seems essentiallyaimed at shining up the Manohar Lal Khattar
regime’s own achievements and making a breakthrough in seats the party hasnever won. Haryana has traditionally been a successful model of sports nurs-eries and the Khattar government has encouraged them further, particularly withregard to women’s participation. The BJP is also hoping that the three interna-tional sports stars will take the voters away from the deep caste divide, set aneutral context and pull crowds during campaigning. Commonwealth Games gold-winning wrestler Babita Phogat is contesting from Dadri seat in Bhiwani Lok Sabhaconstituency, former Indian hockey captain Sandeep Singh has been fielded fromPehowa in Kurukshetra and 2012 London Olympics bronze winning wrestlerYogeshwar Dutt from Sonepat’s Baroda Assembly segment. BJP has not wonin any of these seats before, which have been with the Congress. While Singhand Dutt have already emerged as star attractions, Babita is expected to be thebrahmastra. Apart from her credentials as a sportswoman, what adds to hercrowd appeal is that sports-obsessed Bhiwani has 12 wrestling and eight box-ing clubs. It is the only district in the country to have four Dronacharya and 24Arjuna awardees.The fact that the Bollywood blockbuster Dangal was inspiredby Babita’s life story is just gold dust as her tale finds consonance with the“beti bachao, beti padhao” campaign of the Narendra Modi Government at theCentre and also tugs at the heartstrings of a State where many households havefemale wrestlers.
Will this gamble work? Electing a sportsperson does not necessarily meanjobs and prosperity on the ground. For instance, Madhya Pradesh’s hockey infra-structure did not see any development despite Aslam Sher Khan becoming aUnion Minister, nor did Navjot Singh Sidhu’s electoral victory do anything for crick-et or the youth of Punjab. Also, Haryana’s poster boy Vijender Singh contestedthe recent Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket and lost.
The extent of a crisis is not felt until itimpacts human lives. And the stress feltby account-holders of the now collapsed
Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC)Bank became all too evident when three depos-itors died, two out of anxiety-induced cardiacarrests and one committing suicide. The des-peration becomes palpable as cooperativebanks have ordinary individuals parking theirsavings of a lifetime with them, usually smallbusinessmen, farmers, retired professionalsand even cooperative group housing societies.
Basically, honest people, who want to make sure that they get by life on a rainyday under the safety net of a bank and breathe easy risk-free. Now they’ve foundtheir lives and trust completely overturned. While unscrupulous businessmenand scamsters — who have made good by defrauding big banks and fled tosafe havens — have left public banks red-faced, the `4,355 crore PMC scamhas been more intensely felt simply because the neighbourhood bank sudden-ly doesn’t seem at all trustworthy. It has shaken what welds a community, faith.Of course, the Government has stepped in to assure account holders and a reg-ulatory mechanism is kicking in with fury. But why were signs being ignored forsuch a long time and actionable triggers allowed to pile up? According to ReserveBank of India’s (RBI’s) own data till March 31, 46 of the 1,542 urban coopera-tive banks had built up liabilities and 26 were ticked off. Also, RBI itself had beenputting some of these banks under severe restrictions all too frequently, indicat-ing a cascading malaise that ought to have been acted upon strictly. This yearitself, RBI had red circled four cooperative banks and restricted them betweenJanuary and September, PMC included. The bank had a deposit base of over`11,000 crore, reported a net profit of nearly `100 crore even though its non-performing assets (NPAs) more than doubled. Yet nobody considered the lastas a travesty or had foreseen the precipice. With the alert mode off, officials con-tinued their dubious lendings to one group, HDIL, despite its falling fortune.
What is alarming is that the fraud actually began from 2008 with many ofthe bank’s senior employees involved in creating fictitious accounts to loan moneywithout scrutiny. PMC chairman Waryam Singh was a board member of HDILand even though RBI sought his removal in October 2018, there was no follow-up crackdown. Such oversights and laxity led to a sharp rise in NPAs that erod-ed a small bank’s profits. Even the State Government wasn’t aware though thecrony capitalism between banks, politicians and businessmen is not new andthis nexus, too, is expected to reveal some important beneficiaries. Clearly, thereis a need for an incisive regulatory mechanism that doesn’t allow for the slight-est oversight and becomes a trigger for corrective action. Even if a regulatorycheck is in place, poor governance and professionalism and an aversion to tech-nological processes that guarantee transparency have kept smaller banks outof a codified protocol. That carelessness needs to be done away with right nowat the micro level. A phased withdrawal quota, so that depositors can take theirmoney out, or cancellation of licence when the damage has been done, cannotbe the solution. Investors, too, need to watch out for the fundamentals of suchbanks than just falling for the relatively higher rates on deposits offered by themover commercial ones. They should remain vigilant about a bank’s capital base,see that it hasn’t dipped to negative. Other safety nets, of course, include theDeposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India scheme. But theinsurance limit here is only up to `1 lakh. There is no guarantee for the rest ofthe depositor money in case of failures. Of course, the government of the dayhas predictably resorted to a blame game with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanadmitting that all public banks were allowed to continue fraudulent practices becauseof “phone call” recommendations in the UPA regime. The issue has further gainedtraction with Nobel-winning economist Abhijit Banerjee predicting that PMC wasjust the “tip of the iceberg”, that the government simply does not have the band-width to write off loans and rescue ailing banks and that it should, therefore, sellthem off. But cooperative banks by their very nature are not meant to look likea corporate behemoth but inculcate a habit of banking among unserved sec-tors. There will always be a social dimension to look into and, therefore, greateraccountability must not be just monitored but embedded and made systemic.
Economic takeaways
Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Bangla pride” (October 15).Sheer information or official dec-laration may testify that AbhijitBanerjee, along with Esther Dufloand Michael Kremer, has won theNobel Prize for Economics justlike Amartya Sen was honouredwith the same in the similarfield. But the underlying factremains that the NobelCommittee has actually hon-oured the embedded humanitywithin the trio and previouslySen. After all, the economicspursued by them wasn’t related tostock market with an inclinedpro-rich growth story. Rather,they pursued economics with ahumanitarian approach. Theirsole focus was on exploringstrategies to alleviate poverty,improving children’s educationand expand access to healthcare.
Since education and healthform the two most important pil-lars upon which a society thrivesand prospers, indifference tothese two can never eradicate thecurse of poverty from society. Allthe fight against it can be initiat-ed only through an able healthynutritious body, enriched with
basic academic/vocational educa-tion and skills. Also, quality edu-cation and health can be ensuredin this commercialised societyonly when people are upliftedfrom poverty.
So it is seen that poverty, edu-cation and health are intertwined
and all these three subjects needto be pursued at one go.
India and the developingnations must take cue from thehumanitarian approach of thethree and learn to accord utmostpriority towards alleviating pover-ty and ensuring education and
health to the deprived by investingmaximum resource, energy andtime. Nothing is more crucialthan human capital. Proper nurtur-ing and utilisation of it will ensurethe achievement of all other goals.
Kajal ChatterjeeKolkata
Time to course-correct
Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Bengal pride” (October 15). Thepolicy adopted by Abhijit Banerjeemust inspire our policymakers totake a leaf out of his randomisedcontrolled field trials (RCTs) modeland propel them to course-correct.Instead of working towards reduc-ing the burden of the corporateclass, our lawmakers will do wellto increase the purchasing powerof the poor, minimise incomeinequalities and enhance the qual-ity of life of the people.
YashVia email
Brewing trouble
Sir — The number of deals signedbetween China and Nepal havemade it clear that Kathmandu nolonger wants to be dependent onIndia nor will it encourage anyIndian dominance. New Delhineeds to be wary of the growingNepal-China cooperation.
ShambhaviVia email
P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N
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op nionHYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019
06
Rescue biodiversity first
INDRA SHEKHAR SINGH
India has a crucial decision to make. Should it conserve its biodiversity and germplasmfor future generations or surrender its heritage to corporations and foreign treaties?
I strongly believe that theChinese students shouldcome to India and theIndian institutes shouldalso welcome them.
Spiritual leader —Dalai Lama
If we talk about the misuseof freedom in the absence ofcensorship, we are allbecoming Right-wing. Weare trying to ban everything.
Actor—Radhika Apte
India should opt for furthermonetary policy easing andbroad-based structuralreforms to reverse a cyclicaldemand slowdown.
IMF chief economist—Gita Gopinath
S O U N D B I T E
L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R
Tradition or superstition?
Politicians wedded to the Hindutva ideology are adeptat converting every event as an opportunity todeclare their commitment to the beliefs, rituals and
superstitions associated with the new breed of Hindureligion, shaped to implement a certain political agen-da. Recently, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was inFrance to receive the first Rafale fighter aircraft fromDassault Aviation. An amused French audience watchedhim perform “Shastra Puja” before the delivery of thejet. To create a protective charm, to repel evil eyes andward off evil spirits, he placed lemons under its wheelsalong with a strategic placement of Indian chillies. A fewdays later, in Mamallapuram, Brahmin priests clad inwhite dhotis welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping withtraditional music and poorna kumbam. The image of aNew India is clearer as our leaders seem inclined tobelieve in lemons and red chillies as protective shieldsfor astras (weapons). Astrology and pseudo-science arebeing referred to as “Vedic astrology” to determine datesand destiny.
However, these deeds and words became fodder forthe troll army, as they are fondly referred to in socialmedia. Trolls that went “viral” recently were about the
Chandrayan-II mission being under the spell of an evileye that doomed the lander and the rover. If only lemonsand red chillies had been attached to the spacecraft, itwould not have hurtled off the lunar surface. The trollarmy also wondered why coconuts were not brokenbefore the lift-off. It’’s high time we ponder over howclose we have come in prototyping the future of a much-anticipated Hindu rashtra.
Haridasan RajanKozhikode
Send yyour ffeedback tto:[email protected]
Sports to poll iconsI have been slammed with IPC307. My self-respect proved toocostly for me. Now, the accusa-tion that I have stolen goats andhens will also remain with me!
Samajwadi Party leader—Azam Khan
Considering the impact on savings of ordinary mortals,cooperative banks need to be part of the RBI’s strictest vigil
BJP is relying on international medal-winners tobreak through in constituencies it has never won
Lessons from PMC
Mind barriers in M&As
POINTCOUNTERPOINT
It is well-known that 70-90 per cent of merg-ers and acquisitions (M&As) fail to createvalue for shareholders, yet the deals are get-
ting bigger by the year. According to the IndiaM&A Report 2019 by Bain & Company, M&Aactivity has remained buoyant from 2015 wellinto 2019 with more than 3,600 deals with anaggregate value of more than $310 billion.During this period, several developments led toan unprecedented re-organisation of asset own-ership in corporate India. The present landscapeoffers a tremendous opportunity for well-man-aged businesses with a strong deal thesis, look-ing for new avenues of growth and/or improv-ing profitability. Large deals doubled in valuebetween 2015 and 2016 to $23 billion. Over 2017to 2018, large deal value doubled again, to $56billion. Deal size also grew during this period,averaging $0.7 billion in 2015 to more than $2.6billion in 2017 and 2018. Deal volume has beenrobust across sectors, with industrial goods, ener-gy and telecom and media representing morethan 60 per cent deals by volume and value.
Although deal values and volumes increaseevery year, most of them eventually fail to cre-ate synergy. Among other reasons, like nasty sur-prises due to poor due-diligence, poor gover-nance, poor communication channels, weakleadership, paying a high price for acquisitionand non-integration of culture, are the main rea-son why M&As fail. There are many examplesof companies that have destroyed shareholdervalue by overpaying to acquire other companies.Quaker Oats’ acquisition of Snapple for $1.7 bil-lion in 1994 still rings a bell as it sold Snappleto Triarc for $300 million 27 months after buy-ing it, losing a whopping $1.4 billion, makingit one of the worst flops in corporate-merger his-tory. India Inc also has countless examples ofoverpriced purchases. Subex, once a fairy well-known, Bengaluru-based telecom softwaremaker, tipped into bankruptcy by the disastrousacquisition of Canadian telecom software com-pany Syndesis for $164 million in 2007, whichwas four times its annual revenue. This dealturned out to be overpriced as the revenue ofSyndesis in the following year halved.
Overpriced acquisitions are not a new phe-nomenon. But what makes a company ignoreevidence and overpay for acquisitions? Theanswer lies mostly in behavioural theories.Agency problem is one of the main reasons forthis, as in most of the cases, senior executivesearn bonuses and stock grants based on metricsthat have no real connect to value. Corporategovernance and activist shareholders take a back-seat as executives have a higher influence on theprocess. So, they push the deals where they canmake more money. Second, when valuations aregenerally high, as in India, companies fall intothe overvaluation trap and end up making flashyacquisitions. Proposed by Michael Jensen ofHarvard Business School, it is a behavioural trap,where managers try to generate the expected per-formance in the short run, all the way knowing,that maintaining higher performance is not pos-sible, and in turn making investments that willultimately fall short. By making such invest-ments, companies postpone the consequencesof their bad investment decision. Too muchmoney chasing relatively scarce investmentopportunities, is also one of the reasons whycompanies end up paying more for their acqui-sitions. Ego, the driving force that helps individ-
uals reach the top of any organisation,is at play, when it comes to acquisitionsas well. It pushes executives to overpayfor acquisitions so they can get biggerand bigger, or so that they can stop acompetitor from getting bigger thanthem. In addition, managers are alsosusceptible to the Pollyanna Principle,a psychological bias that overratespositive memories and discounts neg-ative ones. This means that executivestake a cue from a few overpriced dealsthat were successful — like buying ofPayPal by eBay for $1.5 billion orGoogle paying $1.6 billion for YouTube— and turn a blind eye towards scoresof overpriced deals that went kaputsuch as the disastrous AOL/TimeWarner merger that led to a $45 billionwrite-down.
Even experienced managers, some-times, get attached to a deal, makingthem susceptible to bad decisions. Inthis situation, how should managersdecide how much to pay or when towalk away? In this flashy corporateworld, executives routinely get caughtup in the excitement of the race, fallprey to it and offer more than theyshould. So the first criterion is to be dis-ciplined and detached and the key tosuccess in buying another company isknowing the maximum price one canpay and then having the discipline notto pay a penny more. A companyshould be able to walk way from a dealif the synergy value is not being creat-ed. In addition to overpriced acquisi-tions, culture has also emerged as oneof the dominant barriers to effectiveintegrations and more than half of themergers fail due to lack of cultural inte-gration. Culture is the long-standing,largely implicit shared values, beliefs,and assumptions that influence behav-iour, attitudes and meaning in a com-pany or society. Since, it is a soft con-cept having a set of implicit influences,and it is difficult to account for com-pletely or accurately, therefore, itbecomes the responsibility of the topmanagement to stop culture clashes
from undermining their desired goals. History is replete with examples of
well-analysed and thought-of mergershaving failed due to cultural clashes asthey play a role in preventing post-inte-gration plans from being properlyexecuted. January happens to be the18th anniversary of one of the worstmergers in corporate history — TimeWarner and AOL. Merging the culturesof these two companies was problem-atic from the word go. The aggressiveand, apparently “arrogant” AOL peo-ple shocked the sober and corporateTime Warner side. Cooperation andpromised synergies failed to materialiseas mutual disrespect came to colourtheir relationships. When GermanDaimler (the makers of Mercedes-Benz) merged with American compa-ny Chrysler in the late 1990s, it wascalled a “merger of equals.” A few yearslater, due to discordant company cul-tures like differences in the level of for-mality, philosophy on issues such as payand expenses, and operating styles, themerger turned into a fiasco. After majorlosses and layoffs, in 2007, Daimler soldChrysler to Cerberus CapitalManagement for $6 billion. Taking anexample from India, the mergerbetween Kingfisher Airlines and AirDeccan failed due to their cultural dif-ferences with Kingfisher being a full-flight service catering to premiumsegment and Air Deccan’s vision toempower every Indian to fly.
Meanwhile, some mergers enduredthe cultural challenges to turn failuresinto success stories. One such exampleis that of Hewlett Packard and Compaq.In 2001, struggling computing giantHewlett Packard acquired similarlystruggling competitor Compaq. Therewere major cultural differences asHP’s engineering-driven culture wasbased on consensus and the sales-dri-ven Compaq culture on rapid decisionmaking. This poor cultural fit result-ed in years of bitter infighting in thenew company, and resulted in a loss ofan estimated $13 billion in market cap-
italisation. However, the companyhung on, and by making significantcultural and leadership changes, result-ed in long-term success.
Since integrating and redefiningthe culture and corporate values andreconciling the differences is essentialfor success of mergers, companiesshould avoid the “bear hug” i.e. toimpose their culture on the acquiredfirm. To integrate cultures, the first stepis to define the cultural objectivebased on where the deal’s greatest valuelies. An acquirer can assimilate theacquired company and continue withits own organisational values or it caneven use the merger to import theacquired company’s beliefs into its ownorganisation. In some cases, it can cre-ate a blend.
The next step is to diagnose thecultural differences between the twocompanies to identify and measure thedifferences among people, units, geo-graphical regions and functions usinga variety of tools like process flow maps,customer interviews and employeesurveys. The third step after setting theagenda and diagnosing the gaps is tocreate an actionable plan that is muchmore than the vision and values state-ments, and is concrete enough to beexecuted by managers. Finally, seniorleadership should take the responsibil-ity for communicating regularly andfrequently using all new technologicalinnovations and techniques such associal media, online platforms andweb-based employee forums, so thatthe new defined cultural objectives per-colate to all the departments andemployees.
To summarise, although successfulmergers and acquisitions must be pri-marily based on strategic, financial andother objective criteria, it should bemore than just numbers and cash flowanalysis; it has to be more human forit to survive and in turn create valueand synergies for all stakeholders.
(The writer is Assistant Professor,Amity University)
Overpriced acquisitions are not a new phenomenon. But what makes a firm ignoreevidence and overpay for acquisitions? The answer lies mostly in behavioural theories
analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N
Cruelty in shiftingelephants
HIRANMAY KARLEKAR
Allegations against forest officials, of mishandlingthe pachyderms while removing them from their
homes, need to be probed thoroughly
HIMA BINDU KOTA
IN THIS FLASHYCORPORATE
WORLD,EXECUTIVES
ROUTINELY GETCAUGHT UP IN
THE EXCITEMENTOF THE RACE,
FALL PREY TO ITAND OFFER MORE
THAN THEYSHOULD. SO THEFIRST CRITERION
IS TO BEDISCIPLINED AND
DETACHED ANDTHE KEY TOSUCCESS IN
BUYING ANOTHERCOMPANY IS
KNOWING THEMAXIMUM PRICE
ONE CAN PAY ANDTHEN HAVING THE
DISCIPLINE NOTTO PAY A PENNY
MORE
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEFCC) needs to order an inquiry into the circumstances inwhich three elephants — Sandhya (45), Indumati (35) and Jayanti
(21) — were shifted on September 26 evening from the facility in whichthey had been living, to the State-run Elephant Care Facility at the MRPalayam Elephant Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, Trichy, Tamil Nadu.According to a petition addressed to the Union Minister forEnvironment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, by theFederation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), and host-ed by Change.Org, “forest department officers along with six mahoutswho were called in from Anamalai Tiger Reserve, brutally and inhu-manely transferred these gentle animals into a truck — shoving themwith an earth-mover, dragging them with ropes, beating them and usingbullhooks (also known as ankush) in the process.”
That the allegation cannot be dismissed off-hand is clear from areport by Nandalal published in The New Indian Express onSeptember 27 under the heading, “Tamil Nadu: Forest officials accusedof beating elephants, using JCB to shift them.” A paragraph in the reportreads, “According to sources at the EleFriends101 elephant care facil-ity, these men, who were in a tearing hurry, resorted to hitting themwith bamboo sticks. The youngest elephant, Jayanthi, even had toendure beatings with a bullhook for putting up a resistance.” The reportadded, “The officers were having a tough time trying to get the ele-phants into the trucks. They even used a JCB to push them into thetrucks,” said a staff member at the centre, who did not want to benamed.
Are the allegations correct? The newspaper report further stat-ed, “When contacted, the forest officer denied the use of bamboo sticksand bullhooks to make the elephants climb the trucks. But the videossent from the site and what we witnessed tell an entirely different tale.”If there is an iota of truth in the allegations, the conduct of the forestdepartment officials involved clearly violated the provisions of thePrevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The latter refers in Section 11.(1) (a), to any person who “beats, kicks, over-rides, over-drives, over-loads, tortures or otherwise treats any animal so as to subject it tounnecessary pain or suffering or causes, or being the owner permits,any animal to be so treated.” It then states later in the same sectionthat such a person would be punishable by fine “or with imprison-ment for a term which may extend, to three months, or with both.”
It should also be investigated whether the manner of transport-ing the three elephants violated any provision of the “Guidelines forthe Care and Management of Captive Elephants” issued on January8, 2008 by Project Elephant under what was then the Union Ministryof Environment and Forests (MoEF). Particular attention should be paidto two aspects. The first is the provision under the heading “Normsand Standard for Transportation” which reads, “The elephant shouldbe fed and given water before loading.” Was this done? Second, aprovision under the heading “Transportation of Elephants” reads, “Avalid health certificate from a veterinary doctor to the effect that theelephant is fit to travel by road or rail, as the case may be, and is notshowing any sign of infection or contagious disease shall be obtained.”Was such a certificate obtained? If so, when were the three elephantsin question examined? It is imperative to ask another question in thiscontext: Did any veterinary doctor from the forest department visit thefacility to examine them prior to September 26? If not, the health cer-tificate had to be issued by a veterinary doctor accompanying the teamforcibly removing the three elephants. Even if such a doctor had accom-panied the team, could he/she have done an adequate job of med-ically examining them in the midst of the hurry and forcible removalthat, by all accounts, had occurred?
What is particularly horrifying is that the allegations, which, primafacie, can by no means be dismissed, have been levelled against for-est department officials who are supposed to adhere to and enforcelaws and guidelines and not violate these blatantly. Not only shoulda credible and thorough investigation, covering all aspects of the inci-dent, be held but exemplary punishment given to those, if any, foundguilty. Violations of laws and guidelines will tend to become routinethroughout India if those guilty go unpunished. More, the pronenessto perpetrate illegal acts reflects a certain tendency. If not counteredat every step, it will grow and in the case of wildlife, come to includeoffences like complicity with poachers, allegations of which are notunknown. In fact, the entire approach of the officials shows total unfa-miliarity with the psyche of elephants, who are highly intelligent ani-mals, sensitive to human attitudes and capable of understanding thethrust of human speech. Instead of just arriving one evening to takethe elephants away from a place where they had lived for three-and-a-half years, the officials should have visited them several times ear-lier to win their trust and friendship. It might have been a very differ-ent story then. India has over 2,400 captive elephants. Should suchofficials have anything to do with their fates?
(The writer is Consultant Editor, The Pioneer, and an author)
The second informal summit atMamallapuram between PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and
the Chinese President Xi Jinping, inthe wake of the abrogation of Article370 in Jammu & Kashmir andChina’s reaction towards it, had gen-erated apprehension.
Most analysts were speculatingthe cancellation of this summitbecause of bilateral tensions due toXi’s statements on the Kashmir issueand Beijing’s open tilt in favour ofPakistan even before the start of hisvisit, but the continuation of the“Chennai Connect” proved themwrong. This summit indicated a
new form of diplomacy meant tobreak the impasse between India andChina despite Beijing’s close ties withPakistan, insistence on resolution ofthe Kashmir problem as per the UNresolution and hosting of PakistanPrime Minister Imran Khan justbefore Xi’s India visit.
The non-cancellation of the visitby either side despite other irritants,like undermining New Delhi’s role ininternational institutions, China’sreluctance to support India’s entryinto the Nuclear Suppliers Group andtrapping India’s neighbours throughaid and connectivity, has signalled thegrowing maturity of both the pow-erful leaders of Asia. This alsoreflects that both have understoodthat dialogue is better than a dead-lock as it will lead nowhere. Thoughthe terse body language of Xithroughout the visit was alsoanalysed but the agreement to hostthe next summit in China has madethe “Chennai Connect” more inter-esting for assessing the impact and
relevance of such summits in theemerging global scenario whereinChina is trying to redefine a newglobal order with its money, infra-structure development, connectivi-ty and expansion of trade.
This becomes more importantwhen one sees it in connection withthe US, which is aiming not only tochange the Chinese-promoted glob-al order through protectionism oftrade but also such measures whichhave resulted in trade wars withChina and India. This tit-for-tatapproach of countries, in way of rec-iprocal tariffs, is a bad omen for notonly the world economy but globalharmony. The narrow approach ofthe US and China signals not onlythe geo-economical aspects of theUS-China competition but also anti-multilateralism, which India views asnecessary for spreading its power andinfluence, especially in the Indo-Pacific and Asia.
The US understands China’stactics and its greedy geo-economic
and geo-political initiatives, whichare aimed at replacing and challeng-ing America as a key securityprovider and stabiliser in the Indo-Pacific. However, its obsession withIran, Turkey, North Korea, non-clar-ity on global issues and isolationisttendencies reflected through the“America First” policy have madeChina bold enough to expand itsreach and influence in all continents,including Europe, Asia, Africa,Southeast and South Asia. This issomething that India is dreading, asin New Delhi’s perception, an eco-nomically and geo-politically pow-erful China is an obstacle to its dreamof becoming a leading power of Asia.China’s constant moral, economic,military and infrastructural supportto its all-weather friend Pakistan, Xi’svisit to Nepal after India and cement-ing of many agreements, including atrans-Himalayan corridor betweenChina and Nepal (CNEC), a railwayline to connect Tibet andKathmandu, Chinese engagement in
Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,expansion of naval power across theIndian Ocean Region, connectivityand infrastructure developmentthrough Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) confirm India’s apprehen-sions.
On the one hand it shows thatIndia’s encirclement from all direc-tions by China is complete, but on theother hand it also signals the desireof neighbouring countries to ventureout of India’s ambit. In view of this,the expanding connectivity throughBRI is becoming a very serious issuefor India as some BRI-funded pro-jects are in the China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC) inPakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK)and in the absence of transparency,sustainability and rule of law, theneighbours are being trapped in aChinese debt-trap. Although duringthe second Belt and Road Forum, inApril, Xi had promised to take careof India’s concerns, nothing concreteis visible.
However, despite showing firm-ness not to support BRI and attemptsto save the neighbours from a debttrap, the complex world order hasforced India to play its role careful-ly and engage with China wisely. InBangkok, during the Quad meeting,while supporting the idea of partner-ships to promote a transparent, rule-based approach to trans-boundarychallenges, India avoided any state-ments, which could offend China.
India is also collaborating withVietnam, Japan and other regionalpowers, but without annoying China.The unresolved border dispute, fre-quent scuffles with Indian troops,trade imbalance, the growing powerdisparity between India and Chinaand unpredictability of US supporthave also forced India to play its cardwith precision. Despite knowingabout China eating into Indian ter-ritory in Ladakh and Pakistan’s aidto various terrorist outfits, a face-sav-ing exit from Afghanistan has forcedthe US to ignore Islamabad’s activi-
ties and support it even at the cost ofIndia’s national interests. The help-lessness of New Delhi has made thechallenge more serious for India.Therefore, while working closelywith like-minded countries andexposing the Pakistan-China connec-tion at all international forums,engaging with China through suchsummits is a good policy, though itmay not bring the desired results. Butas the choices are very limited,India’s move of not unnecessarilyengaging in acrimonious matters isbeing seen as the gains of this meet-ing which has paved the way for thenext summit.
Although it is not a game-chang-ing move but if India plans it well andalso tries to explore opportunities tohit China where it can, then in future,the maturity shown by both leadersand strength and weakness of oneanother will prove that dialogue isbetter than deadlock.
(The writer is professor of PoliticalScience at HNB Garhwal University)
Dialogue is better than deadlockThe non-cancellation of the visit by either side despite other irritants like undermining New Delhi’s role in international institutions and China’sreluctance to support India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, has signalled the growing maturity of both the powerful leaders of Asia
ANNPURNA NAUTIYAL
HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019
www.dailypioneer.com
IF ON THE 150TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF GANDHIJI,THIS GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS GIVING BHARAT
RATNA TO SAVARKAR, THEN GOD SAVE US.—CONGRESS SPOKESPERSON
MANISH TEWARI
IT IS DUE TO SAVARKAR’S SANSKARS (VALUES)THAT WE PUT NATIONALISM AS THE BASIS FOR NATION-BUILDING.—PRIME MINISTERNARENDRA MODI
HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019 money 08
CAPSULE
Airtel selectsEricsson for 5Gready core networkNEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel hasselected Swedish telecom gearmaker Ericsson to deploy 5G-ready cloud technology on itscore network across India, thetwo companies announced onWednesday. "Ericsson is oneof our key network partnersand this deployment will helpus enhance our packet corenetwork which will not justscale up data capacity, butalso make us edge cloudready," Randeep Sekhon, CTO,Bharti Airtel said in astatement. The Swedish firmclaimed that would enhancecapacity in Airtel's networkand enable to address therapidly growing demand forhigh speed data services. "Thetechnologies and solutionsthat we are providing Airtel area key part of Ericsson's 5GCore offering. The deploymentof these technologies will helpAirtel in meeting the rapidlyevolving demands ofcustomers and also enableswift deployment of new usecases and innovative servicesfor SMEs and Internet ofThings (IoT)," Nunzio Mirtillo,Head of Ericsson South EastAsia, Oceania and India atEricsson, said.
JSW Paintslaunched inHyderabadHYDERABAD: The USD 14-billion JSW Group onWednesday announced roll-outof its paints business inHyderabad by offering'anycolour-one price' offer. JSWPaints, Joint Managing Directorand Chief Executive Officer A SSundaresan told reporters: "Ourcolour-one price ensuresconsumers great value, ushersprice transparency and makesthem free to choose colours fortheir homes." He said thecompany set up two paintmanufacturing facilities with aninvestment of over Rs 600crorea 25,000 kilolitre perannum coil coatings plant inMaharashtra and 1,00,000kilolitre per annum water-baseddecorative paints plant inKarnataka. JSW Paints istargeting a revenue of over Rs2,000 crore (when it achievesfull capacity utilisation) by FY22.
India's Sept fuel demanddips to lowest in over 2 yrsPTI n NEW DELHI
India's fuel demand slipped toits lowest in over two years inSeptember after a fall in dieseland industrial fuel consump-tion negated the rise in petroland LPG consumption.
Consumption of petroleumproducts in Septemberdropped to 16.01 milliontonnes, its lowest since July2017, from 16.06 milliontonnes in the same month lastyear, according to data fromthe Petroleum Planning andAnalysis Cell (PPAC).
Diesel, the most used fuel inthe country, saw demand dropby 3.2 per cent to 5.8 milliontonnes, while naphtha saleswere down by a quarter to844,000 tonnes.
Bitumen, used in road con-struction, too saw consump-tion drop by 7.3 per cent to343,000 tonnes. Fuel oil salesedged 3.8 per cent lower inSeptember to 525,000 tonnes.
These downward trendsnegated the rise in cooking gas(LPG) and petrol demand.
The sale of petrol rose 6.2per cent to 2.37 million tonnes,but sale of jet fuel or ATF fell1.6 per cent to 666,000 tonnes.
LPG consumption surged 6per cent to 2.18 million tonneson the back of government'spush for the use of cleaner fuelin household kitchens in rural
areas in place of firewood tocheck pollution and safeguardthe health of women.
Kerosene, which is fast beingreplaced by LPG and naturalgas as a cooking medium, sawdemand fall almost 38 percent to 176,000 tonnes.
Petroleum coke consump-tion was however 18 per centhigher at 1.73 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, Fitch Solutionsrevised downward its Indiaoil demand forecast, reflectinga deteriorating macroeconomic
backdrop and rising risks togrowth.
"We now fore-cast demandgrowth to average3.8 per cent y-o-yover the threeyears to 2021,down from 4.6 percent previously," itsaid, adding soft-ening of Indianfuel demand adds to anincreasingly bearish outlookfor fuel demand globally.
"We had previously flaggedIndia as the outperformer,forecast to overtake China asthe global engine for growth.While the view still holds in thelonger term, the near-termprospects have weakened," itsaid.
More diversified demandgrowth will offer a level ofresilience moving forward, butstructurally lower demandgrowth in China and commonAsian emerging markets' expo-sure to a weaker external envi-ronment will drag to the down-side.
"We have revised down ourIndia oil demand forecast,reflecting a deterioratingmacroeconomic backdrop andrising risks to growth. In partthis reflects the downwardrevision to the country's GDPgrowth forecast," Fitch said.
"Growth has disappointedexpectations, dragged downby slowing private consump-
tion, weakenedinvestment andunderperformance inthe services sector," itadded.
In response, thegovernment hasunleashed a raft ofstimulus measures,including tax cuts, a
liquidity boost for the bankingsector and higher spending onautos.
Fitch Solutions revised downward itsIndia oil demand forecast, reflecting adeteriorating macroeconomicbackdrop and rising risks to growth
Bajaj's iconic ‘Chetak’ makes a comeback in electric avatarPTI n NEW DELHI
Iconic scooter brand of yester-years, Chetak is making acomeback in an electric avatarwith Bajaj Auto on Wednesdayannouncing that it will sell elec-tric scooters under the label asa premium offering.
The company, which hadvehemently opposed a propos-al of Niti Aayog to go for 100 percent electric vehicles (EVs) forthree-wheelers by 2023 andtwo-wheelers with an enginecapacity less than 150 cc by2025, said its entry into the EVspace is to get the first moveradvantage in the segment.
Bajaj Auto said it plans tostart selling e-scooter Chetakfrom January onwards in Puneand then move to Bengaluruand after gauging the response,expand operations to otherlocations.
While unveiling the Chetak
e-scooter the company did notdisclose the price but said itwould not be more than Rs 1.5lakh. The vehicle gives a dri-ving range of 95 km on ecomode and 85 km on sportsmode on a single charge of
around 5 hours.The e-scooter was unveiled
by Union Road Transport andHighways Minister NitinGadkari in presence of NitiAayog CEO Amitabh Kantand Bajaj Auto Managing
Director Rajiv Bajaj.Explaining why the compa-
ny has decided to enter the EVspace, Bajaj cited Alibaba ChiefJack Ma's remarks of not wait-ing for the environment andthe policies to be ready because
"when everything is ready thereis no opportunity for you".
"If you are not the first to themarket, at worst second to themarket, you lose the marketfurther. It is with this attitudethat we decided to move intoour 'kal' with our electric vehi-cle," he said.
Bajaj said the company isentering the EV space with aproven record over the decadesas a credible manufacturer oftwo and three wheelers unlikeothers which have entered thespace either as start-ups orassemblers.
Company Auto ExecutiveDirector Rakesh Sharma said a
few years ago when the compa-ny was looking at future direc-tions and everybody could seethat there is a huge storm build-ing up about the arrival of EVs.
"Nobody knew when butwere sure that the storm wouldmake landfall and we wouldhave to deal with it. So once thatwas decided we felt that theobvious choice was to presentit in the scooter format becausestrategically for us it was a noconflict situation for us....there-fore an obvious choice to startour electric initiative with ascooter format," he said.
On choosing the Chetakbrand, Sharma said,"Once we
opted for scooter the choice ofbrand was very very obvious."
Launched in the early 70's,the Chetak scooter had soldover a crore units in its heydays. Its waiting period ran intonot just months but years andit became a household namewith its popular campaign'Hamara Bajaj'.
However, at the turn of themillennium, sales of the branddwindled as the two-wheelermarket moved towards motor-cycles and the company decid-ed to stop production of thebrand in mid-2000s.
In its new electric version,Bajaj said the company alsoplans to export the Chetak tovarious relevant markets inEurope from next year itself.The e-scooter would be rolledout from the company'sChakan plant and would beretailed from its Pro-Bikingdealerships.
The e-scooter was unveiled by UnionRoad Transport and Highways MinisterNitin Gadkari inthe presence of NitiAayog CEO Amitabh Kant and BajajAuto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj
Mastercard, Dhoni launchdrive to push digital paymentsPTI n NEW DELHI
Payment technology majorMastercard and its brandambassador M S Dhoni onWednesday kicked-off cam-paign to bring more mer-chants and customers on boardwith an aim to boost digitalpayments in India.
The campaign - TeamCashless India - brings con-sumers and merchants to fore-front of the digital paymentsdialogue, Mastercard said.
It encourages all Indians tonominate one or more mer-chants who currently do notaccept digital payments.
Mastercard will worktogether with Confederation ofAll India Traders (CAIT),acquirer banks and financetechnology companies to sup-port nominated merchants todeploy digital payments accep-tance infrastructure.
This is in line withMastercard's endeavour to cre-ate an ecosystem which encour-ages people to use digital pay-ments for their day-to-day pur-chases, the company said.
Under Team Cashless India,
anyone can either nominatemerchants online or give amissed call to 9016861000.
To garner support for thecampaign, Dhoni will interactwith merchants and encouragethem to 'bat' for a cashlessIndia by accepting digital pay-ments.
Mastercard will provideselect nominated merchantsand consumers with a chanceto join Mahendra SinghDhoni's Team Cashless India.
It will also conduct an out-reach programme across mul-tiple cities to educate mer-chants on the benefits ofaccepting digital payments andprovide a platform for con-sumers to nominate mer-chants.
Ari Sarker, Co-President,Asia Pacific, Mastercard said,"Over the years, Mastercard
has invested continuously andworked tirelessly to strength-en acceptance of digital pay-ments amongst merchants,especially those in tier 2 and 3cities, as they are the real dri-vers of India's economicgrowth".
Mastercard believes TeamCashless India will play a vitalrole in engaging consumersand merchants to propelIndia's transformation as acashless economy, Sarkar said.
Dhoni urged consumers aswell as merchants to become apart of his team and play a partin India's evolution as a digi-tally empowered cashless soci-ety.
With this, Mastercard envis-ages to equip 10 million mer-chants in the country with dig-ital payments acceptance capa-bilities by 2020.
Dhoni urged consumers as well asmerchants to become a part of histeam and play a part in India'sevolution as a digitally empoweredcashless society
Worldsteel elects SajjanJindal as vice chairmanPTI n NEW DELHI
Global body World SteelAssociation (worldsteel) onWednesday said it has electedJSW Steel Chairman andManaging Director (CMD)Sajjan Jindal as its vice chair-man.
The association has alsoappointed Tata Steel CEO andMD T V Narendran andArcelorMittal Chief L N Mittalas its members.
"The Board of Directors ofthe World Steel Association(worldsteel) yesterday onTuesday elected...new officersfor 2019/2020 at the worldsteelGeneral Assembly inMonterrey. The new officersare elected for a one-year peri-od," it said in a statement.
The board has elected HBISGroup Co Chairman Yu Yongas its chairman, the body said.
Sajjan Jindal and AndreJohannpeter, executive vicechairman, Gerdau S.A. have
been elected to the post of vicechairman.
Roger Newport, CEO, AKSteel, has been elected as trea-surer of worldsteel, the state-ment said.
The board also elected a 14-member Executive Committee.
Jindal, Newport, Yong andJohannpeter were also electedas members of the committee.
Tata Steel's T V Narendranand NRI steel baron LakshmiNiwas Mittal were elected asmembers.
The body further said that itwelcomes RL Steels andEnergy Limited (India) as reg-ular members and the SteelMinistry's Joint PlantCommittee (JPC) as an affili-ated member.
worldsteel members repre-sent approximately 85 percent of the world's steel pro-duction, including over 160steel producers, national andregional steel industry asso-ciations and steel researchinstitutes.
The associationhas alsoappointed TataSteel CEO andMD T VNarendran andArcelorMittalChief L N Mittalas its members
PTI n NEW DELHI
Homegrown luxury hospitali-ty chain The Postcard Hotel onWednesday said it is looking toown or manage a billion dollarsof hotel assets in five years.
"With over Rs 1,000 crore ofassets under managementtoday and projects underwayacross South Asia, ThePostcard Hotel is looking atowning or managing USD 1billion (over Rs 7,100 crore) ofassets globally in 5 years,"The Postcard Hotelfounder and CEOKapil Chopratold reportershere.
The company isalso on track to open50 hotels in five years acrossthe world, he added.
The Postcard Hotel alsosaid it is soon foraying into SriLanka and Bhutan as part of itsinternational expansion plans.
"Opening of two signaturehotels, one each in Sri Lankaand Bhutan is our first steptowards building a global lux-ury hotel brand inspired byIndia," Chopra told PTI.
"The Postcard Hotel only
wants to be in one of the fivelocations in the mountains, by
the sea, in wild life loca-tions, in wine estates
and in historicalpalaces andmonuments,"
Chopra said.On being asked
about the company's busi-ness model, he said it is large-ly a mix of management con-tract , taking a long termlease of the asset and in somecases it will be buying theassets.
The upcoming hotels will bein Uttarakhand, Karnataka,Andaman and Nicobar,Darjeeling, and Kanha TigerReserve in Madhya Pradesh,he added.
The Postcard Hoteltargets USD 1 billionof hotel assets in 5 yrs
Mindtree Jul-Sep net profitdown 34.6 pcto Rs 135 crPTI n NEW DELHI
IT firm Mindtree onWednesday reported a 34.6per cent decline in consoli-dated net profit at Rs 135crore for the quarter endedSeptember 30, 2019.
The company had posted anet profit of Rs 206.3 crore inthe same period last year,Mindtree said in a regulato-ry filing.
The Bengaluru-basedcompany saw its revenuegrow 9.1 per cent to Rs1,914.3 crore in the quarterunder review from Rs 1,755.4crore in the year-ago period,it added.
In dollar terms, the netprofit declined 34.1 per centto USD 19.2 million, whilerevenue increased 10 percent to USD 271 million inthe said quarter over theyear-ago period.
In constant currency terms(eliminating currency fluc-tuation from financial per-formance), revenue was up3.2 per cent sequentially and11.1 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y).
Mindtree's second quarterperformance of double digity-o-y revenue growth reflectsthe company's client centric-ity, employees' winning spir-it and innovation, MindtreeCEO Debashis Chatterjeesaid.
"We stay committed instrengthening our executionto invest in growth and driveshareholder value," he added.
In July this year, Mindtree,in a regulatory filing, had saidthat Larsen and Toubro(L&T) had "acquired control"of the company with a 60.06per cent stake and had beencategorised as promoter.
At the end of theSeptember quarter, the com-pany's active client base stoodat 343. It had 21,267 employ-ees at the end of the secondquarter with trailing 12-months attrition at 16.5 percent.
Wipro sharesclose over 2pc higher afterQ2 earningsPTI n NEW DELHI
Shares of Wipro onWednesday closed over 2 percent higher after the compa-ny posted 35 per cent rise inconsolidated net profit for thesecond quarter endedSeptember 30.
Wipro scrip closed at Rs248.85, a gain of 2.11 per centon the BSE. During the day,it jumped 3.32 per cent to Rs251.80.
On the NSE, it rose by 2.15per cent to close at Rs 248.90.
"Wipro's September 2019quarter results are broadly inline with our estimates,"according to a report byEmkay Global FinancialServices.
In terms of traded volume,5.81 lakh shares of the com-pany were traded on the BSEand 1.62 crore shares on theNSE during the day.
Wipro on Tuesday posted35 per cent rise in consoli-dated net profit to Rs 2,552.7crore for the second quarterended September 30.
The company had regis-tered a net profit of Rs 1,889crore in the year-ago period.
Its total income forSeptember quarter stood atRs 15,875.4 crore comparedto Rs 15,203.2 crore a yearago.
The PostcardHotel also said itis soon forayinginto Sri Lankaand Bhutan aspart of itsinternationalexpansion plans
PTI n NEW DELHI
Reliance Industries in 24months can become the firstIndian company to reachUSD 200 billion market capon the back of its new com-merce venture and fixedbroadband business, Bank ofAmerica Merrill Lynch saidon Wednesday.
In a report, the brokeragesaid the key drivers necessaryfor Reliance to breach USD200 billion market cap in 24months from current USD122 billion market cap are
new commerce initiative ofempowering Kiranas in unor-ganised retail market by offer-ing MPoS (mobile point-of-sale), entry into SME enter-prise space with Microsoft,Jio's fiber broadband businessand digital initiatives like
advertising."We think the market is giv-
ing little credit to these initia-tives given limited visibility,"it said. "We expect near-termmomentum to be strong."
Its bull case scenario thattakes m-cap to USD 200 bil-lion assumed Jio's per mobilephone user revenue increas-ing to Rs 177 in FY22 from Rs151, 10 million Kirana's pay-ing the company Rs 750 amonth for installing M-PoS,and broadband users reaching12 million by FY22 with 60per cent of them paying an
average of Rs 840 a month."In our bull-case, we look at
a 24-month fair-value of thecompany as we believe mostof the new businesses whichare in gestation period willtake around 24 months toacquire scale and contributemeaningfully to RIL's fairvalue," it said.
Reliance Industries (RIL) isIndia's largest petrochemicaland second-largest oil refin-ing company. It has significantinvestments in telecom, con-sumer retail and media busi-nesses in India.
RIL soon to be 1st Indian firm to hit $200 bn m-cap
shwin Sanghi —the author of sev-eral immenselypopular crimethrillers such asThe Rozabal line,
Chanakya’s Chant and TheKrishna Key (also called theBharat series) — started hissession with an eager audi-ence narrating a personal taleabout his childhood. Hespoke about how his nanaji(maternal grandfather) hadacted as a gateway betweenthe Ashwin who would learnthe family trade to become abusinessman, and the Ashwin
who would eventually turnhis passion for writing into acareer and reach enviouslydizzying heights.
Thus began the interactivesession organised recently bythe FICCI Ladies Organi-sation (FLO) who enjoyedthe talk by ‘the Indian DanBrown’ who opened up theworld of commercial Indianliterature for them.
“The problem with the ratrace is that even if you dowin, it doesn’t change the factthat you’re still a rat,” heexplained, talking about howhe would answer people qu-estioning his inclinationtowards become a writer.
He also said how he does-n’t let rejection bog himdown. Ashwin first book wasrejected 47 times. He thenself-published the Rozaballine under the pseudonymand ‘Shawn Haigins’ in 2007.In 2009, the book was pickedup by the Tata-owned Westl-and and was published underhis real name that went on tobecome a bestseller.
“For writers rejection is away of life,” he said mention-ing a list of famous writerssuch as J.K. Rowling, Marg-aret Mitchell and StephenKing who faced similar issuesin their career. Ashwin’s lad-der of success boasts collabo-ration with internationallyacclaimed James Patterson,author of the Women’s
Murder Club series.He was remarkably candid
in an exclusive interview withThe Pioneer. When askedabout whether even afterpublishing several bestsellershe still faces the nervousnessand anxiety that new writersface, he replied with a defini-tive ‘Yes’. “The process ofwriting itself is beautiful. It isthe most fulfilling part of thewhole journey. But, the mar-keting part of this businesswill always remain a mysteryto me. So, this contributes tothe uncertainty factor andthus the nervousness.”
Talking about feedback hegot for the characters in hisbooks, especially his Bharatseries which come under theconspiracy fiction genre, hesaid, “When I write, whatmatters is the character andhis story. The representationof the character as part of themythology is only secondary.I write about a ‘what if ’ sce-nario which strikes me assomething of an after-thought. I believe that inorder to keep controversies atbay, while at the same timeholding the attention of theaudience, requires animmense amount of researchcombined with the art ofgood storytelling,” he said.
Sona Chatwani, the chair-person of FLO, along withother executive members ofthe organisation, expressed
joy and gratitude for havingAshwin in their midst.
The event concluded witha Q&A session during whichhe presented several sugges-tions on writing. “Writing isnot an art, it is a craft. I con-sistently mail myself ideas. Iwrite everyday between 5 amto 9 am. I research for fifteenmonths, plan, plot and thenwrite.” he shared. In responseto one of the questions, hesaid, “It is not the characterthat matters or to be honesteven the plot. What mattersis one’s skill to manoeuvrethe plot and the characterstogether in such a mannerthat the audience is hookedon to the story. Because atthe end of the day, it doesn’tmatter whether you’re a goodwriter or nor, it only mattersif you are good storyteller.”
Follow us on
@TheDailyPioneer
facebook.com/
dailypioneer
The process ofwriting itself is
beautiful. It is the mostfulfilling part of the wholejourney. But, the marketingpart of this business willalways remain a mystery tome. So, this contributes to theuncertainty factor and thusbrings about the nervousnessthat most writers face
ASHWIN SANGHI, WRITER
ThursdayOctober 17, 2019
‘WRITING ISNOT AN ART
IT IS ACRAFT'
Trust an acclaimed author likeAshwin Sanghi to demystify thewriting process and throw light
upon what sells and what doesn't,reports ANUSHKA PRADEEP
The EDM scene in India is atits nascent stage. Artistes like
Zaeden who has receivedinternational acclaim shares
with ARUN DANIELYELLAMATTY how to take
music to the next level
A
Let The
BEATahil Sharma akaZaeden, one of themost popularnames in theIndian EDM(Electronic Dance
Music) scene who is baskingin his latest hit Tere Bina thathas secured him unprece-dented chart dominance withover 1,00,000 plays and 1.1million views on streamingsites. The artist had also per-formed at Tomorrowland ear-lier this year alongside LostStories, and last year he hadopened for the Justin BieberPurpose World Tour inMumbai.
Sahil began his music
career at the age of fourteen.He was an average studentbut his mind was tunedtowards creating music. “Thefirst instrument that I experi-mented on was tabla. I sawmy tabla teacher playing atmy school assembly and sud-denly it became a big deal forme. So I started learning it. Ina month, I took his place atthe assembly. That was myfirst interaction with music,”the artist shares whose remix-es on the radio captured theimagination of hundreds oflisteners.
“Then gradually my par-ents and also my sister sup-ported the idea of me trying
to make career in music.When I was in my eleventhgrade, I used to listen to a lotof dance music. What actual-ly got me into it was this pod-cast I heard on the radio. Itwas performed by DJ NYKwho used to mix a lot ofBollywood songs with trans-progressive tracks. After that,I started following a few moredance artists and that’s howthings started off.” Sahil saysbands like Coldplay were aninspiration for him.
“I have been toTomorrowland thrice. Themost memorable thing thathappened there was me play-ing my first hindi song Tera
Bina. When I started playingpeople joined me by singing‘Naa-Na-Naa’ which I foundto be pretty inspiring. I ammotivated to take Hindi lan-guage to the world,” he says.
Giving advice to upcomingmusicians about makingmusic, he says, “Whatever Ihave learned, I picked upfrom YouTube. Even today, Ikeep watching a lot of tutori-als and videos. I am alwayshungry for knowledge. Sim-ilarly, if someone is interestedthey need to give it a lot oftime because most of themonly pick this as a hobby. Butthis requires a lot of time andeffort, just as any other art. I
think it is very important forus to be original.”
Speaking about his visit tothe city, he says, “I thinkHyderabadis are really opento everything. In some cities,you see that the crowd isinclined towards only onetype of music genre, be itBollywood or Hip Hop, butin Hyderabad there is a mas-sive crowd for every genre.This helps a musician seekbetter feedback from his/heraudience and that is exactlywhat I am going to do at myevent here.”
S
Whatever I havelearned, I picked upfrom YouTube. Eventoday, I keep watchinga lot of tutorials andvideos. I am alwayshungry forknowledge.Similarly, ifsomeone isinterested theyneed to give it a lot oftime because most ofthem only pick this asa hobby. But thisrequires a lot of timeand effort, just as anyother art
SAHIL SHARMA, EDM ARTIST
TAKECONTROL
ollywood actress
Katrina Kaif has
come out with her
own beauty line called
Kay by Katrina.
On Wednesday, the
actress shared a sneak-peek of her
beauty line on Instagram and cap-
tioned the video, “It’s finally ready...
Arriving October 22, 2019.”
Katrina said she dreamt about the
beauty line two years ago.
“Two years ago I dreamt of creat-
ing a beauty line. So excited to final-
ly share it with you... Can’t wait.
And it’s all on @kaybykatrina #kay-
bykatrina #kayxnykaa,” she added.
The actress, who was last seen on
screen in Bharat shared a letter. She
wrote, “For as long as I can remem-
ber, makeup has been an innate part
of my journey- from the
runway to the big screen,
and now I have rendered
my love for it to Kay
Beauty, my first ever
Beauty Brand!”
Katrina says she cre-
ated a brand that
truly stands for
what she
believes in.
“I’m always
on theclock,always on
the run,
with end-
less shoots
that involve me
wearing make-up
all the time. As much
as I love the look and feel
of it, I do wish my skin felt as
comfortable, as I did wearing it.”
Katrina says her Kay Beauty is “a
bridge between high glamour and
care”.On the acting front, she will be
next seen in Rohit Shetty’s upcom-
ing cop film Sooryavanshi.
ollywood star JenniferAniston finally joinedInstagram on Tuesdays, andshe had nearly 5.4 million fol-lowers within hours of joiningthe social media app. Aniston
is known to be fiercely private about herlife, so her decision to join Insta haspleasantly surprised many of her fans.
Quite in sync with what fans haveloved most about her, the first pictureshe posted on the social media app is aa reunion photo that celebrates hercareer-defining show, Friends. In thesnapshot, the star is seen posing withher Friends co-stars Matt LaBlanc,Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, LisaKudrow and David Schwimmer,according to a report in goss.ie. “Andnow we’re Instagram FRIENDS too. HIINSTAGRAM,” wrote Aniston, whobecame a global star thanks to theshow. The caption she wrote for her
Insta page reads, “My friends call meJen.” The picture already has 7,300,773likes.
Many fans took the post as a hint thatFriends, which ran for a successful 10seasons from September 1994 to May2004, might just be up for a return. Soonafter Aniston posted her first snap, sev-eral celebrities joined in to post welcomemessages, too. Reese Witherspoon wrote,“YASSSS!!! Welcome to Insta Jen!!!”“Oh, yeah tushy!!” went ChelseaHandler’s comment. Celebs whojoined Aniston’s Insta page includeher telly Friends, of course pals.
On her part, Aniston is followingLeonardo DiCaprio, Selena Gomez,Katy Perry, Oprah Winfrey, EllenDeGeneres, Eva Mendes, JessicaBiel, Reese Witherspoon, JustinTimberlake, Orlando Bloom,Michelle Obama, and her ex,Justin Theroux.
H
Hyderabad Thursday October 17, 2019
10
celeb talks
NEIL PATRICK HARRISJOINS MATRIX 4 CAST
n news that may be evenmore out of left fieldthan his casting in GoneGirl, Emmy winner NeilPatrick Harris is set tojoin the cast of The
Matrix 4, Collider has confirmed.Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne
Moss will reprise their roles as Neoand Trinity, while Aquaman villainYahya Abdul-Mateen II is joiningthe franchise as a lead, thoughreports that he’ll play a youngMorpheus remain unconfirmed.
Lana Wachowski is returning todirect the sequel for Warner Bros.and Village Roadshow. AleksandarHemon and David Mitchell co-wrote the script with Wachowski,who is producing alongside GrantHill. Production is slated to startearly next year.
Harris’ role is being kept underwraps, but there are only two possibilities here. He’s either playinga brand new character we've neverseen before, or he’s playing a charac-ter we have seen. As much as I wishhe was playing the older version ofSpoon Boy, I happen to think thatHarris would be good as a youngerversion of the Architect. Isn’t that acharacter you’d like to spend moretime with, and get to know his ori-gins?
Harris recently starred as CountOlaf in Netflix’s adaptation A Seriesof Unfortunate Events, and he alsoappeared alongside Matt Damon inAlexander Payne’s Downsizing.Though Harris felt a bit out of placein Gone Girl, he did a solid jobdelivering exactly what directorDavid Fincher asked of him, and Ialso enjoyed his more comedicwork in the Harold and Kumarfranchise. He has also done big-budget sci-fi before, having starredin Starship Troopers back in theday. With 27 million followers onTwitter, Harris has a huge fanbase,so he’s certainly bringing addedvalue to the project. He’s repre-sented by CAA andUntitledEntertainment,and his castingwas firstreported byVariety.
I
SCIENCE SAYS,
BELLA HADID IS
THE WORLD'SMOSTBEAUTIFULWOMAN!
upermodel Bella Hadid is the most
beautiful woman in the world. At
least, that’s what Greek mathematics
says.Scientists determining the most beau-
tiful woman on the planet according to the
“Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi Standards” have picked
the Victoria’s Secret model's face as the one that comes
closest to perfection, reports goss.ie.
The “Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi” defines beauty
in accordance to classic Greek calculations.
Measurements of facial proportions are done going
by standards that Greek scholars applied while try-
ing to define beauty with scientific formula.
According to the “Golden Ratio” measure-
ments, the 23-year-old Bella has a face that is
94.35 per cent perfect.
Also, going by the parameters of the
“Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi”, pop diva
Beyoncà finished at the second spot. She
has a face that is 92.44 per cent perfect.
Actress Amber Heard is at number
three with a ratio of 91.85 per cent
while pop star Ariana Grande is
placed fourth with 91.81 per cent.
The measurements were con-
ducted by Dr Julian De Silva, an
emminent facial cosmetic sur-
geon at London’s famous
Harley Street.
“Bella Hadid was the clear
winner when all elements of
the face were measured for
physical perfection. She
had the highest overall
reading for her chin
which, with a score of
99.7 per cent, is only
0.3 per cent away
from being the per-
fect shape,” Dr Julian
told The Daily Mail.
B
JENNIFER ANISTONBREAKS INTERNET WITHFRIENDS REUNION POSTAS SHE JOINS INSTAGRAM
KAT LAUNCHESHER OWN
BEAUTY LINE
ctor Willem Dafoe is joining filmmakerGuillermo del Toros Nightmare Alley.
Bradley Cooper is headlining the FoxSearchlight production, which also countsToni Collette, Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett andDavid Strathairn among its cast.
Nightmare Alley is an adaptation of the 1946 noirnovel by William Lindsay. Its first big screen adap-tation came out in 1947.
Nightmare Alley is set in a world of carnival hus-tlers and con men and tells the story of a men-talist (Cooper), who teams with a psychologist inorder to swindle the rich. Dafoe will play a headbarker at a travelling carnival.
Del Toro is directing the thriller and wrote thescript with Kim Morgan. The filmmaker is aim-ing for an early 2020 shoot in Toronto.
Dafoe, a four-time Oscar nominee, hasEdward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn comingout next month.
A
WILLEM DAFOEJOINING DELTORO'SNIGHTMAREALLEY
S
ilmmaker Ohmkar, who is awaiting the release of RajuGari Gadhi 3, which he produced and directed, attrib-uted his standing in the industry to his brothersAshwin and Kalyan. “They’ve been my support system
ever since my anchoring days. They’ve done Bachelorsof physiotherapy like me. The film’s production
duties were taken care by them. My dream hasalways been to make Ashwin a hero and Kalyan a
producer. I’ve realised that with this film. Theydon’t have any other backing than me in theindustry. Last year, our father passed away andever since I’ve been seen only in whites. If Idon white, I’m reminded of my father. I wantto change the color if Ashwin gets accepted asa hero on Friday (the film release day),” hesaid. He was speaking at a promotional eventof the film in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
The filmmaker has also heaped high praiseon the film’s cinematographer Chota K Naidu.“Dad sent Chota anna to me as my elderbrother. They don’t make humans like him
anymore. I haven’t spoken to him about his feefor the film yet. Generally cinematographers
dispatch DI prints to overseas market only if theyare paid but he hasn’t uttered a word about his
remuneration,” Ohmkar raved.
esha Sindhu Rao,who is debuting asa director withChoosiChoodangaane,was crazy about
movies since childhood. Sheknew that she would get intofilmmaking one day or theother. “I was born in the UAEas my dad worked there forthe Central government. Igrew up watching a lot ofShah Rukh films and he hada great influence on me nurs-ing my filmmaking dream.So when my dad told me thatwe would be moving to Indiafrom Dubai, I was keen onstaying in Hyderabad orMumbai as both of the citieswere a filmmaking hub,” shesays in an exclusive conversa-
tion with The Pioneer. Sesha later completed her
B.Tech in Hyderabad andeven contemplated Mastersbut when her admission inAustralia got delayed by acouple of months, she founda chance to get into theindustry. “After learningabout the requirement for anassistant director post for afilm by Prakash Kovelamudi,I met him. Although I could-n’t get the post, I managed todevelop some contacts. Theyintroduced me to a couple ofcinematographers. I usedsocial media as a tool to landopportunities to hone myskills. I started off my jour-ney in the industry by assist-ing camera department for afilm directed by J.D.Chakravarthy. Two days later,I told my parents about what
I was up to. Initially, theywere shocked, but they laterunderstood what I wanted todo with my life,” she explains.
With little more experienceit became easier for her to getprojects as an assistant direc-tor. “When I joined theindustry, there were notmany women in the directiondepartment. The film unitswere looking for female assis-tant directors and I had theprivilege to choose from thefilms on offer,” she smiles,adding that now, the numberof women working in thetechnical arena has increased.After assisting the unit ofKrishnam Vande Jagadgurum,she soon made it to the cre-ative team of Sukumar’sKumari 21F and was associ-ated with the film fromideation stage to end. Shebelieves the place (SukumarWritings) like Krish’s had alot of scope for creativeexchanges.
She stopped assisting afterKumari 21F and began todevelop her own scripts.Towards the end of 2016, shewas ready with the first draftof Choosi Choodangaane. “Ibegan to approach producers,who were keen to know my
experience in direction. Shortfilms boom caught uparound that time and myexperience as an assistantdirector didn’t count any-more. I made a four-minutevideo as a pitch for my film. Istarted showing it to produc-ers in 2018 and although amajority of them liked, theyhad doubts whether I canhandle a feature film being awoman. Around this time, Ishowed the video to RajKandukuri sir and narratedthe story to him. He wasimpressed with it in the firstattempt itself,” she shares.
It was Raj who proposedthe name of his son ShivaKandukuri to Sesha. “Thenext day we initiated pre-production. We did a coupleof auditions and intenseworkshops with Shiva. Myfriend Padma, who is thewriter of the film, helped me.The good thing about Shivais that he is hardworking andalso is capable of remember-ing pages of dialogue alto-gether,” Sesha adds.
Talking about the film,which was wrapped up in flat35 days, she mentions it as alove story of a wedding pho-tographer (played by Shiva)and a drummer (VarshaBollamma) who wants to getinto the industry as a com-poser. “We broke a lot ofstereotypes, like we have anunconventional mother-sonrelationship and an male-female buddy’s story. It’s avery urban film about fragilerelationships,” she says,adding that her inspirationsinclude K. Viswanath, ManiRatnam and David Fincher.
Hyderabad Thursday October 17, 2019
When I joined the industry, there were notmany women in the direction department.The film units were looking for femaleassistant directors and I had the privilege tochoose from the films on offer
SESHA SINDHU RAODIRECTOR
OHMKAR SAYS IT HAS ALWAYS BEENHIS DREAM TO SEE HIS BROTHERASHWIN AS A HERO
S
11
tollywoodFROM ASSISTING CAMERADEPT TO DIRECTION
Sesha Sindhu who is debuting as adirector with Choosi Choodangane,
speaks to NAGARAJ GOUDabout her journey and her passion
for movies since childhood among others
ctor Vijay Deverakondaunveiled the Telugu trail-er of Terminator: DarkFate in Hyderabad on
Wednesday. Produced by JamesCameron and directed by Tim Miller of
Deadpool fame, the film starsSchwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton,
as an older Sarah Connor. Herson John will once again be
played by Edward Furlong.Fox star India is releasingthe film on November inEnglish, Hindi, Tamil,Telugu, Kannada andMalayalam. AlthoughDark Fate is the sixthinstalment in the fran-chise, it is being touted asa direct sequel to 1991’sTerminator 2: JudgementDay. The film ignores theevents of the three films
that have come since.Speaking at the event,
Deverakonda dubbed JamesCameron as a genius film-
maker. “I watched hisJudgement Day in school when
we used to have a movie nightevery Sunday. As kids back then,
we desperately wanted the villain todie. He would never die… The charac-
ters that James Cameron created… thecomputer graphics were magnificent
back then. Watching the Dark Fate trail-er took me back to my school days. After
Judgement Day this is the best trailer thatI’ve liked of the Terminator franchise. Thequality of dubbing has increased from whatit was sometime back and I would watch theTelugu version,” the actor, who has returned
to city on Tuesday after a 15-day break, said.When asked whether he sees himself in a
similar kind of sci-fi action spectacle, he said,“I don’t see gun culture here. If a directorcomes and narrates a story on it, I wouldn’tconnect to it. May be an army film… Prabhasanna is the best fit for such stories. I’m still aboy to attempt such films.”
The actor recently was spotted at multipleevents in Mumbai, triggering speculations abouta looming Hindi debut. Setting the record
straight, he declared, “I haven’t been offered anyHindi film. When they are ready to give me a
mainstream film, I would take it up.” — NG
No Bollywood offers:DEVERAKONDA
A
hooting inHyderabad for thepast 17 days, the unitof Romantic, starring
Akash Puri and KetikaSharma, have added a majorstar attraction to their film.The film’s makers on Wedn-esday announced thatactress Ramya Krishna willbe playing a key role in thelove story laced with action.
While the nature of her rolehasn’t been disclosed yet, wehear that she will be playinga strong supporting role andher presence will be felt allthroughout the film. She has joined the film setson Tuesday in Hyderabad.
Romantic is a joint ven-ture between PuriJagannadh and CharmeeKaur under Puri Jagannadh’s
banners Touring Talkies andPuri Connects.
Anil Paduri, a noted VFXsupervisor, who has alsoworked with the writingteam of Puri in the past, ismaking his directorial debutwith the project.
Puri has penned the film’sstory and dialogues, whileSunil Kashyap is the com-poser.
S
ROMANTIC GETSRAMYA'S BOOST
Akhil bonds withSivakarthikeyan
amil actor Sivakarthikeyan, who is shooting inHyderabad for Hero for the past many days, wastreated to dinner by Akhil Akkineni on Tuesday
evening. Film’s director P.S. Mithran and cameramanGeorge too were present at the party.
T
OHMKARgets
emotional
F
PTI n NEW DELHI
Spin great Anil Kumble saysone of the biggest learnings
from his previous coachingstints, including the contro-versial one with the Indianteam, is to "back off and helpthe players relax".
Kumble resigned as Indiahead coach after the 2017Champions Trophy final dueto an "untenable relationship"with skipper Virat Kohlithough the team did wellunder his tutelage.
The 48-year-old is back tocoaching again, this time asdirector of cricket operationsat Kings XI Punjab. He alsoheld mentorship roles at RoyalChallengers Bangalore andMumbai Indians.
"With RCB we did not winthe title but we came close acouple of t imes. WithMumbai, we had wonderful
success those three years I wasthere. It is nice to have theexperience of crossing theline. It certainly helps (you asa coach)," Kumble told PTI onWednesday.
"It is all about a game ofcricket at the end of it. If yousimplify like that the jobbecomes a lot easier. Themoment you start puttingimportance to result, wins,trophies then it puts morepressure on the players. So thelearning is just to back off andhelp the players relax andwhen they are relaxed theytend to perform better."
At an event here onWednesday, EbixCash wasannounced as Kings XIPunjab's title sponsor for three
years.Kings XI Punjab have
never won the IPL andKumble has come on board toend the title drought. Kumble,who wants to add more expe-
rience to the Punjab squad,will soon start strategisingfor the IPL auction inDecember.
"You learn from the previ-ous experiences you have had
as a player, as a coach but IPLis a rollercoaster ride. Youneed to be patient and thenback the players you have.
"Generally because of cer-tain results you tend to startlooking at other teams andthat starts influencing yourdecision and that is the lastthing you want."
Earlier this week, Kings XIPunjab co-owner Ness Wadiatold PTI that the franchsieboard had a rethink onRavichandran Ashwin and ithas decided to retain him.Ashwin captained the side inthe previous two seasons butfailed to take them to the play-offs. Kumble said it is not cer-tain that Aswhin will captainthe side again.
"We have not decided thatyet. Some decisions need tome made but we don't need todecide at this moment. IPL isstill five months away. Thereis an auction coming up, wewill start to build a squadaround that as well.
"Ashwin had a wonderfultwo years but of course we didnot get the right results but wehave not made any decisionwho the captain will be."
Kumble conceded that anydecision will not be an easyone as he is a senior player.Ashwin has also done well forIndia in Tests of late, havingmade a comeback into theplaying eleven in the ongoinghome series against SouthAfrica.
AFP n STOCKHOLM
Rodrigo Moreno fired Spaininto Euro 2020 with a last-gaspequaliser in Sweden while the
Republic of Ireland’s chances ofreaching the finals are still in the bal-ance after they fell 2-0 in Switzerland.
Spain became the sixth team toqualify for next summer’s tourna-ment thanks to Rodrigo, who cameoff the bench to score a dramaticinjury-time leveller in a 1-1 draw inStockholm, sparking wild celebra-tions on the touchline.
“Qualification is a must for ateam like Spain but achieving it stillhas value,” said Moreno. “It releasesthe pressure and gives us time towork.”
Robert Moreno’s side are top ofGroup F on 20 points after drawingtheir last two matches. They are fiveahead of Sweden and six aboveRomania, who missed the chance totake second spot when Norway’sAlexander Sorloth snatched a late 1-1 draw in Bucharest.
However it was a far from vintagedisplay from Spain, who startedbrightly but faded as the match woreon against the lively hosts, who weredistraught after missing out on afamous victory right at the death.
A celebratory night was tem-pered slightly by the loss of goalkeep-er David de Gea to a thigh injury inthe second half, although that willworry his club Manchester Unitedmore ahead their meeting withPremier League leaders Liverpoolthis weekend.
Ireland left sweatingIn Group D, Haris Seferovic’s
early strike and Shane Duffy’s lateown goal kept Switzerland’s hopes ofautomatic qualification alive with a2-0 victory over the Republic ofIreland.
The win in Geneva means theSwiss are just a point behind groupleaders Ireland and Denmark withtwo matches remaining in their cam-
paign, compared to just the one forthe Irish, who host the Danes onNovember 18 needing a win to guar-antee qualification.
“It’s a cup final. Beat Denmark toreach Euro 2020. I would have takenthat at the start and I’ll take it now,”said the Republic’s coach MickMcCarthy.
The Swiss, who also have the bet-ter of the head-to-head record withthe Irish as the two teams drew 1-1in September, take on group min-nows Georgia and Gibraltar in theirfinal two games.
“The result doesn’t mean a lot inthe group, we still need to get resultsin our next two games. If we get the
points we need against Georgia andGibraltar we can turn our attentionsto Euro 2020,” said Switzerland coachVladimir Petkovic.
Finland towards historyFinland inched closer to qualify-
ing for their first ever EuropeanChampionships after Teemu Pukkitook his qualifying tally to seven ineight matches with a double thathelped Finland sweep aside Armenia3-0 in Turku.
Fredrik Jensen gave the Finns a31th minute lead. Norwich Citystriker Pukki then scored just afterthe hour and got his second two min-utes from the end with a neat dinkedfinish.
Markku Kanerva’s side stay ninepoints behind Group J winners Italy,
who maintained their 100 percentrecord with an eighth straight win, 5-0 against Liechtenstein.
Finland need a win over rock-bottom Liechtenstein to qualify fortheir first major tournament afterfourth-placed Bosnia & Herzegovinalost 2-1 in Greece with an 88th-minute own goal from AdnanKovacevic.
Israel kept their hopes of quali-fying from Group G alive after see-ing off Latvia 3-1 as Eran Zahaviscored his 11th goal of the qualify-ing campaign.
Andi Herzog’s side are level on 11points with North Macedonia andSlovenia and five behind second-place Austria, meaning they stillhave a chance with two gamesremaining.
sport 12HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019
PNS n NEW DELHI
She may have just wonSilver medal in her World
Championship debut butIndian boxer Manju Rani hasno plans to rejig her weightcategory and give it a shot tocompete in the Tokyo 2020Olympics. Instead, the youngchampion wants to developher skills and prepare herselffor 2024.
The 20-year old won herfirst World’s medal in therecently concluded Women’schampionship in Ulan-Udebut since she competes in 48
IANS n KOLKATA
Asian Championships Bronzemedallist Nikhat Zareen
cried foul on Wednesday afterthe Boxing Federation of India(BFI) hinted that there would notrial between her and MaryKom in the 51kg category forparticipating in the TokyoOlympic qualifiers in Wuhanfrom February 3 to 14.
BFI president Ajay Singhtold reporters that Mary Kom,could possibly be their automat-ic choice for the China event.And that hasn’t pleased theyoungster looking to make amark.
“Today morning I got toknow that the President had toldthe media that there would be notrials,” Nikhat said.
“Anyone can win any day. It’sboxing. I am not saying send me,but give me a fair chance. I willtry to talk to them (BFI). Theysaid before that only Gold andSilver medallist at the Worldswill automatically be selected forthe Olympic qualifiers but nowthey are changing that rule foreven women,” she said.
Six-time champion MaryKom settled for the Bronze in theWomen’s World BoxingChampionships after losing hersemi-final bout of the 51-kg fly-weight category to second-seedBusenaz Cakiroglu of Turkey ina split 1:4 verdict.
Ahead of the Worlds, BFIhad a selection policy for boththe men and women boxerswhich said all the medal winners(Gold, Silver and Bronze) in the
men’s section at the Worlds willautomatically be picked for theOlympic qualifiers, without hav-ing to undergo trials.
However, for the Eves, thecriteria was only applicable forGold and Silver medallist win-ners at the Worlds.
“Now in December we haveNationals, again I have to gothrough the grind. Then if thereare no trials, what is the use ofall these competitions. No useright?” questioned the 23-yearold boxer.
Asked about her next courseof action, Nikhar said she willapproach sports minister KirenRijiju after trying to contact BFIPresident Singh several times.
“Everything is in President’s(Ajay Singh) hands. I am tryingto contact him but he is notresponding. I tried so manytimes. I will try to contact ourSports Minister and ministryalso, then let’s see what happens.If all this happens I cannotfocus on my game,” she said.
The BFI did not let Nikhatparticipate against Mary Kom atthe trials for the Worlds, back inAugust also. Chairman of selec-tors Rajesh Bhandari had saidthat her bout wouldn’t takeplace just to ensure that she isprotected for the future and notexposed at a young age in theWorld Championships.
The move had come as arude shock for both the boxerand her father who had travelledfrom Hyderabad to the nation-al capital for the trials for thechampionship to be held inRussia in October.
IANS n KOLKATA
Former India captainBhaichung Bhutia on
Wednesday said India’s 1-1 drawagainst Bangladesh in the GroupE World Cup qualifiers was“unfortunate”, adding that theteam needs to learn from theirmistakes and move on.
A last-gasp Adil Khan goalsaved India the blushes as theyheld a spirited Bangaldesh,ranked 83 places below them, toa draw.
“I could not watch thematch so I won’t be able to com-ment much on it, but it’s unfor-tunate,” Bhutia said.
India held Asian championsQatar to a 0-0 draw last monthand were hot favourites to winagainst Bangladesh who lost toQatar 0-2 at home before thismatch.
“They are a young side.They have talented players and
they will only learn from this.Yes it’s not a great result but theseboys and the team needs to con-tinue the work they are doing.They will get better,” Bhutia said.
India captain Sunil Chhetrialso expressed his disappoint-ment as he and other playerscame close to scoring but justcould not get the ball past thegoalpost until the 88th minutewhen Adil scored off a corner todraw level.
Taking to Twitter, Chhetriexpressed gratitude to the fanswho turned up in large numbersto support the Indian team.
“We couldn’t deliver a per-formance to match the atmos-phere at the Salt Lake last night,and the dressing room is verydisappointed about it. We could-n’t capitalise on the chances wegot, but this is a process on thepitch and in the stands. Youturned up, we’ll keep attemptingto,” Chhetri tweeted.
PTI n AHMEDABAD
Naveen Kumar was the star as DabangDelhi on Wednesday beat defending
champions Bengaluru Bulls 44-38 to booktheir maiden summit clash berth in the ProKabaddi League here.
The Delhi team produced an all-roundperformance, with Naveen Kumar impress-ing with his raids (15 raid points) and AnilKumar dominating with his tackles (4points) to win in front of a packed stadiumat the EKA Arena by TransStadia.
This was the first time Debanag Delhihas qualified for the PKL final.
The Bulls, just like in the Eliminatoragainst UP Yoddha, had a slow start, withDelhi dominating the first few plays.Ravinder Pahal seemed keen to maintainhis dominance in duels against PawanSehrawat and started the match with a cleanankle hold of the ‘High flyer’.
Delhi dominated in all departments,with Naveen Kumar spearheading theattack, and inflicted the first All-Out of thematch in the fifth minute to open up a 6-point lead.
Pawan secured a three-point Super Raidin the seventh minute to reduce the mar-gin but Delhi maintained their momentumthanks to an unstoppable Naveen Kumar.They inflicted another All-Out in the 13thminute to open up an 11-point lead asNaveen Kumar secured another Super 10(his 20th consecutive).
Naveen did make a rookie error as hefailed to complete a raid on time which gavethe Bulls some hope going into the break.Delhi led Bulls 26-18 at half time.
The Bulls opted for a more aggressiveapproach in the second half with thedefenders consistently getting better of theDelhi raiders in do-or-die situations.
But what makes Delhi a complete unitis the presence of versatile all-rounders andthe likes of Chandran Ranjit and Vijaystepped up with valuable raid and tacklepoints to always maintain a healthy lead ofsix or seven points.
Delhi were aware of what PawanSehrawat could do on the mat and werekeen on keeping the league’s best raider inthe dugout as much as possible. Bulls’ starraider spent more than 20 minutes awayfrom the mat as they struggled to reduceDelhi’s lead.
At the other end, Delhi ensured NaveenKumar spent very little time on the bench,and that helped them sure another All-Outwith three minutes left in the match.
Despite Pawan’s attempts in the last fewminutes, Delhi defenders held firm to clincha berth in the grand finale on Saturday.
AFP n PARIS
Argentina striker MauroIcardi said Wednesday he
was enjoying the focus beingback on football and away fromhis private life at French clubParis Saint-Germain.
The former Inter Milancaptain arrived in the Frenchcapital on loan this season andafter recovering from injury hasscored two goals in theChampions League and Ligue 1.
"In Italy a vicious circle hadbeen created in certain journal-istic circles where we alwaysended up talking a little toomuch about anything concern-ing me," Icardi said in an inter-view with Italian sports dailyGazzetta Dello Sport.
"Here in Paris it's not likethis."
Icardi was the joint top-scorer in Serie A in 2017-18with 29 goals. But last season,he was stripped of the club cap-taincy amid a long contract dis-pute and later barred from fulltraining.
The 26-year-old's life withhis television host wife WandaNara, who is also his agent, hadalso become the focus of manyreports.
Despite parting on badterms the forward said he hadno hard feelings towards theItalian club he joined in 2013and scored 120 goals in just over220 matches.
"I can only wish the best forInter in every competition,"said Icardi.
"I'm good now, I'm up andrunning again even if I have tokeep working because I had acomplicated summer and Iwasn't one hundred percentwhen I arrived in Paris."
PSG are unbeaten on top ofLigue 1, and are also leadingtheir Champions League group
which includes Real Madrid."I've always been used to
pressure but I think it helps thatwe've almost always won so far,"said the former Sampdoriaplayer.
"It's a little different thanInter even though I don't havea real yardstick to comparebecause I haven't played inother great teams in the past.
"PSG has the right playersto do well but the Championsis a trophy coveted by all thegreat teams."
Icardi said he had settled into life in France even if he stillconsidered Milan his home.
"I didn't expect so muchsupport from the fans.
"They welcomed me rightfrom my first warm-up at Parcdes Princes. I then had the goodfortune of playing right awayagainst Real Madrid, beforepicking up a slight injury.
"(PSG coach Thomas)Tuchel is very friendly with theplayers. He talks a lot, jokes,tried to put me at ease from dayone.
"I think I made a goodimpression on him.
"Neymar, (Kylian) Mbappé,(Edinson) Cavani, are all strongplayers.
"It is nice to play with starplayers who change matcheseven at the last minute, likeNeymar does."
Icardi added that he had ahealthy competition withUruguayan striker Cavani.
"With Edy I have a greatrelationship. It's not rivalry,just healthy competition," saidIcardi.
"In this period Edy wasinjured so I had the chance toplay immediately.
"When he comes back, itwill be up to the coach tochoose the best one to sendonto the pitch."
Sunil Chhetri is surrounded by Bangladeshi defenders during WC qualifiers IFT
Team will learn fromB’desh draw: Bhutia
Icardi relieved focusback on football
Nikhat to approachRijiju as BFI backsMary for Oly qualifier
Nikhat to approachRijiju as BFI backsMary for Oly qualifier
Last minute successRodrigo’s injury time equaliser takes Spain to Euro 2020; Italy maintainperfect record
Italy players celebrate after scoring fifth goal against Liechtenstein during Euro 2020 qualifiers AP
Rodrigo Moreno celebrates with his Spain teammates after scoring equaliser against Sweden AP
Delhi, Bengal to play PKL final
Manju has no plans for 2020 Olympics
Manju Rani poses with World C’ship Silver PTI
kg, which is not Olympicweight category. She cannotparticipate in the Tokyogames.
The only situation inwhich she can play in Japanesecapital was if she switches to 51kg or higher. But since 2012Olympic Bronze medallist MCMary Kom is expected to rep-resent India in that, Manju did-n’t even want to think aboutchallenging her and insteadfocus on the future events.
“I have a dream to com-pete in the Olympics since dayone of my introduction tothis sport. But right now I am
focused on preparing myselffor 2024 Paris games. Franklyspeaking, I have no plans for2020. For Tokyo, Mary didi haivo jayengi (Mary Kom is there,she will go). I want to preparemyself for the games afterthat,” she responded clearlywhen asked about 2020 games.
“At present, I aim to estab-lish myself in the 48kg catego-ry and perform. And with timeI will think about switching tohigher weight category andplay in the Olympics,” shesaid during the felicitationceremony organized by BoxingFederation of India.
‘No decision yet on Ashwin KXIP future’
Anil Kumble poses for photo with Kings XI Punjab new jersey
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