Delhi, wednesday, march 9, 2016

www.thehindu.in Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. TNENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 6 No. 58 CITY EDITION 20 Pages Rs. 8.00 ●

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Printed at Chennai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Madurai, Noida, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada, Mangaluru, Tiruchirapalli, Kolkata, Hubballi, Mohali, Allahabad, Malappuram and Mumbai

NIA has no problem in Pak. team visiting Pathankot airbase

Air Force will induct woman fighter pilots on June 18: Arup Raha

Bangladesh court upholds Mir Quasem Ali’s death sentence

Asia Cup has offered us a good build-up, says India captain Dhoni

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Sharapova to be suspended as she failed dope test in January Three sponsors snap ties with five-time Grand Slam champion LOS ANGELES: Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova said on Monday that she had been notified by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) that she tested positive for a banned substance at the Australian Open in January. A five-time Grand Slam champion, Ms. Sharapova (28) is one of tennis’ biggest stars and has been the highest-paid female athlete for 11 straight years. She said she had been taking Mildronate since 2006 for health issues and it was added to the prohibited list this year. Ms. Sharapova said she re-

THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT MARIA: “It’s my body, and I’m responsible for what I put into it,” Sharapova said. — PHOTO: AFP

ceived an email from the World Anti-Doping Agency in December that noted changes to the tennis programme for 2016. She said the email included a link to a list of banned substances, but that she did not look at it.

“I have to take full responsibility for it,” she told a news conference. “It’s my body, and I’m responsible for what I put into it.” Ms. Sharapova will be provisionally suspended starting March 12, the ITF

Green panel sees red as agencies pass the buck over Sri Sri event

said. Three of her sponsors — sportswear giant Nike, Swiss watch brand Tag Heuer and German luxury car company Porsche — announced they were cutting ties with her. Last fall, the agency had said that Meldonium was included on the prohibited list because of evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance. The sample was taken on January 26, the day of her quarterfinal loss to Serena Williams at the Australian Open. Sharapova has not played since, citing a forearm injury. — New York Times News Service

쐍 CATCH THE FALLING STARS | PAGE 18

HC withdraws nod to RSS lawyers’ body meeting

BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN MOHAMMED IQBAL

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday came down heavily on several government agencies and wanted to know if any environmental impact assessment was conducted on the three-day Art of Living ‘World Culture Festival’ slated for later this week. “Has any of the agencies assessed the environmental impact of the Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living three-day ‘World Culture Festival’ to be held in the city starting this Friday?” the NGT asked while hearing a plea to stop construction on the Yamuna floodplains. The green tribunal also asked the Union Environment Ministry “why no environmental clearance is required for erecting structures on the Yamuna floodplains” and directed it to file an aidavit on Wednesday. The bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar wanted to know from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) who issued the permission

NEW

DELHI:

‘No hike in power tarifs this year’

The stage under construction for the World Peace Festival being organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation, in New Delhi on Tuesday. — PHOTO: PTI

for making pontoon bridges over the Yamuna by the Army. While the DDA said its role was only limited to issuing a no-objection certificate to construct the bridge, the Delhi Government also washed its hands of the controversy, stating it comes into the picture only if there are floods. The Union Environment Ministry, too, chose to pass the buck to the Ministry of Water Resources.

“As per some photos in the media, construction seems to be happening on the river. The court wants to know the exact number of persons expected to attend the festival,” the NGT chairperson said. But none of the agencies involved -- AOL, the DDA and the Delhi Police – could give the exact number of the guests expected for the event.

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SWETA GOSWAMI

ister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday assured residents that there would be no hike in electricity tarifs this year. In another good news, the government has decided to tweak its solar policy so that residents can avail themselves of the 30 per cent subsidy ofered by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

쐍 DETAILS ON PAGE 4

CM YK

쐍 CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

Bravery award for Richa Singh OMAR RASHID

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Power Min-

NEW DELHI: In a major embarrassment, a lawyers’ body ailiated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was on Tuesday forced to shift the venue of its symposium marking International Women’s Day from the Delhi High Court to a cultural centre here after the High Court withdrew permission granted to organise the event on its premises. High Court Chief Justice G. Rohini, invited as chief guest to the symposium meant to celebrate women’s empowerment and discuss “legal, social and political justice for women”, did not attend the programme. A controversy had erupted over allotment of the High Court’s A-block lobby to the Adhivakta Parishad for holding the event. A section of lawyers had taken strong exception to the choice of the High Court as the venue and raised questions about the court premises playing host to events organised by private bodies and sitting judges participating in them.

LUCKNOW: Allahabad student leader Richa Singh, whose ordeal was raised in Parliament on Tuesday, received support both from the ruling Samajwadi Party government and the Opposition Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh. In a last minute decision, the Akhilesh Yadav government included Ms. Singh’s name in the list of women to be conferred the Rani Laxmi Bai bravery award on International Women’s Day. Her name was not in the original list and she was surprised to receive a call from the government on the eve of the ceremony. The award was presented to her by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow on Tuesday. “He has assured me his full support. I also received assurances from the SP. In this fight against safronisation of educational institutions and harassment of a woman student leader, we are reaching out to all parties,” Ms. Singh told The Hindu. BSP chief Mayawati also extended support to the student leader, who has complained of harassment at the hands of the Allahabad University administration and the ABVP. She said the SP government and the university had not learnt any “lesson” from the

Administration is targeting me to settle scores, says Richa Singh

death of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula. The BSP chief said the first woman president of the Allahabad University Students’ Union since Independence

must be provided with adequate security by the State government. She called Ms. Singh a victim of oppression. “Her only crime was that she opposed the entry of Yogi Adityanath, who is known for vitiating the atmosphere with his communal speeches, into the campus. Ms. Singh has also been in the limelight for taking on the ABVP and raising issues of gender insensitivity. She now faces the prospect of having her admission cancelled and a case against her election is pending in the Allahabad High Court. Ms. Singh has said the administration was targeting her to “settle scores.”

MPs lend support VIKAS VASUDEVA NEW DELHI: The main Opposition parties said on Tuesday that the Prime Minister’s Beti Bachao Beti padhao (Save girl child, educate girl child) scheme seemed nothing more than another ‘jumla’ in the light of the alleged harassment of Richa Singh, president of the Allahabad University Students’ Union. In a statement released here, Rajya Sabha members -- K.C. Tyagi of the JD(U), Sitaram

Yechury of the CPI(M), Jairam Ramesh of the Congress, D. Raja of the CPI, Javed Ali Khan of the Samajwadi Party, Tiruchi Siva of the DMK, Jaiprakash Yadav of the RJD and Bhagwant Mann of the AAP -- said the administration of many universities were going after students for views different from those of the ABVP. Ms. Singh has alleged that she has been facing harassment after she opposed the visit of BJP MP Yogi Adityanath to the university last year.

BUDGET PROPOSAL

Backlash forces Jaitley to withdraw EPF tax 40 p.c. exemption given to NPS subscribers will remain: Minister

WEST BENGAL POLLS Congress releases list of 75 seats KOLKATA: The Congress in West

Bengal on Tuesday released a list of 75 seats for the Assembly polls. It did not include any of the 116 seats that the Left Front announced, indicating that a formal “understanding” between the parties is in place. NEWS | PAGE 13

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RELIGIOUS FREEDOM We’re in talks with India, says U.S.

PUJA MEHRA NEW DELHI: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday announced the withdrawal of the budget proposal on taxing Employees Provident Fund, following a backlash in and outside Parliament. The proposal had sought to make up to 60 per cent of savers’ corpus withdrawn from the EPF tax-free if invested in annuity, according to the statement Mr. Jaitley made in the Lok Sabha. The period return on the annuity was to be taxable. The withdrawal decision, however, was taken after MPs pointed out that the tax would “force people to invest in annuity product even if they are not willing to do so.” The main argument was that the employees should have the choice of where to invest, he said. The objective of encouraging people to join the pension scheme could be achieved through other ways on which the government has received suggestions. “A number of representa-

BRIEFLY

WASHINGTON: The U.S expressed

disappointment with India denying visas to members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Religious freedom has been a “topic of conversation between the two countries,” it said. NEWS | PAGE 12

쐍 tions have been received from various sections, including Members of Parliament, suggesting that this change [EPF tax] will force people to invest in annuity even if they are not willing to do so,” Mr. Jaitley said. “The government would like to do a comprehensive review... and therefore I withdraw the proposal.” The 40 per cent exemption given to subscribers of the National Pension Scheme (NPS) at the time of withdrawal remains, the Finance Minister clarified. This would make the NPS, which gives returns of over 11 per cent, more attractive to pension savers than other options, Mr. Jaitley later told re-

porters. The objective of the reform was “not to get more revenue but to encourage more private sector employees to go for pension security after retirement instead of withdrawing the entire money from the Provident Fund account,” he said in the statement. Towards this objective, it was announced that 40 per cent of the total corpus withdrawn at the time of retirement will be tax-exempt under both provident fund and the NPS.

쐍 PENSION SECURITY WAS THE AIM, SAYS JAITLEY | PAGE 12 쐍 GOVERNMENT CUTS ITS LOSSES ON EPF | EDITORIAL

WORLD TWENTY20 India-Pak match on NEW DELHI: The BCCI has said the India-Pakistan World Twenty20 Cricket match at Dharamsala will be held as per schedule on March 19 and that “the State government was on board.”

EMPOWER — Pages 7

Banks move SC to ban Mallya’s overseas travel LEGAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to urgently hear a plea by a consortium of banks, led by SBI, for a restraint order to prevent liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who owes them over Rs. 9,000 crore, from the leaving the country. A Bench, led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur, ordered that the case be listed for hearing on March 9 after Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi sought an urgent audience. The action followed a Karnataka HC decision refusing to grant them an ex-parte interim order against Mr. Mallya, the U.K.-based Diageo Plc and United Spirits Limited. The banks told the Supreme

Vijay Mallya owes banks over Rs. 9,000 crore

Court that the threat to their financial interests were so immediate and grave that the High Court should have passed the interim order without first hearing the embattled industrialist and others, including the debtor firm Kingfisher Airlines Limited.

“The High Court of Karnataka, at Bengaluru, by its impugned order has failed to protect the interests of the petitioner banks who are yet to recover an amount in excess of Rs.9,000 crores from the respondents,” the banks said. The banks want the Supreme Court to pass an interim order to freeze Mr. Mallya’s passport or direct him not to leave the jurisdiction of this country without the court’s permission. Before moving the High Court, the banks had filed four pleas in the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) in Bengaluru, seeking freezing of Mr. Mallya’s passport, an arrest warrant against him and issuance of a “garnishee order against

Respondent Nos. 10 [Diageo Plc] and 11 (United Spirits Limited) from disbursing $75 million.” They had also sought a directive that Mr. Mallya disclose his assets on oath. The DRT had heard arguments on only one plea and did not consider the other pleas related to freezing of the passport and restraining Mallya from leaving country, the banks said in their appeal. The banks had moved the DRT in the backdrop of Mr. Mallya’s recent resignation from the chairmanship of United Spirits. Diageo Plc, the current owner of the liquor company, has agreed to pay Mr. Mallya $75 million (roughly Rs 515 crore) in severance package.

ABVP burns Manusmriti copies in JNU KRITIKA SHARMA SEBASTIAN NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students, including former and current members of the ABVP, burnt copies of the Manusmriti to protest against “derogatory verses” in the Hindu religious text. The students chose International Women's Day to send out the message that anything derogatory towards women will not be tolerated. “Today is women’s day and in order to oppose the derogatory remarks made against women in the Manusmriti, we have burnt certain portions of the text,” said Jatin Goraiya, vicepresident of the ABVP unit in JNU. The students burnt the pages of the text that contained 40 “derogatory” references against women. Some of the points included “2/213. It is the nature of the women to seduce men in this world, for that reason the wise are never unguarded in the company of females” and “2/ 214. Women, true to their class character, are capable of leading astray men in this world, not only a fool but even a learned and wise man. Both become slaves of desire”. CASTE TRUMPS HINDUTVA |

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Uncertainty over T20 matches at Kotla

Course of investigation changes to document trail at JNU

Uncertainty prevails over the T20 World Cup cricket matches at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium after the Delhi High Court said that it would neither grant nor deny permission for holding the matches >> Page 4

After the eight students — de-barred by the high-level probe panel formed to look into the February 9 incident in JNU — refused to depose, the course of the investigation has now changed to “document trail”, University sources said >> Page 5

Where a thousand splendid dreams live Class XII students living in the city’s oldest and dilapidated orphanage dream of an academically brighter tomorrow SWETA GOSWAMI

J

amia Millia Islamia has been on Sania’s mind for the past few months. The 17-year-old, who was abandoned by her parents when she was just three, is studying hard for her Board exams these days lest she fails to get admission there. But a glance around the dingy room she shares with five other girls makes one root for her knowing well that her goal is anything but easy. “I study at night when everyone is asleep because there is a lot of activity here throughout the day. The smaller girls make a lot of noise and demand we play with them once they are back from school around noon,” said Sania, who then took a moment to giggle over an obviously private joke with her friends Azra and Farheen. All three, who are appearing for their Class XII examination, live in a dilapidated three-storey orphanage for young girls in old Delhi’s crowded Matia Mahal. A dark narrow lane leads to the building, which in no way indicates that it is an orphanage named “Bachchiyon Ka Ghar”. “It is not safe outside for these girls. Why draw unnecessary attention by putFUTURE ting up a Board in this congested area full of PERFECT vagabonds?” reHope for best marked Iftikhar Begum. At 65, she is the senior-most among the three-member staf that takes care of 54 girls aged between six years and 17 years. Most girls living here do not have fathers and their mothers are too poor to take care of them, while others like Sania were abandoned by their parents. Farheen, who hopes to get admission in Delhi University, said: “We do group studies for subjects that are common and quiz each other later. I am good at history, so I help my friends with their doubts. Sania is good at sociology, so she clears our doubts in sociology.”

JAIDEEP DEO BHANJ NEW DELHI: Abhinav Garg ex-

Now that they have no school, the girls wake up around 8 a.m., wash their clothes, bathe and then eat breakfast — a slice of bread and a cup of tea. Seven girls from the orphanage are writing their Board exams and one detects a strange sadness in their demeanour. “According to management rules, a girl is allowed to stay here only till the end of her schooling. I will go back to live with my mother, who stays in a jhuggi at Samaypur Badli. She works as a maid,” said Azra. A few kilometres away, an anxious Mohammad Wazir repeatedly prays for enough marks to become eligible for commerce in Class XI. He is among the 120 boys living in the “Bachchon Ka Ghar” in Daryaganj. Both shelter homes are among the oldest in Delhi and their condition has only worsened

over the years. “Two papers were fine, but I am worried about social studies. I pray five times a day and study hard so that I get commerce,” Wazir said after his tuition class. A non-government organisation, Make a Diference, sends teachers to tutor children in both the orphanages. Meanwhile, Parvez and Ahmad are busy discussing probable topics for passage writing when one of them blurts — “nationalism”. “I believe if anyone raises antinational slogans or complains about things in our country, we should try to know what problems he is facing or what is bothering him. If I feel his thinking is wrong, I would ofer them the correct perspective because that’s best we can do. We cannot force anyone,” Par- Students of Bachchiyon Ka Ghar (top) in Matia Mahal and Bachchon Ka vez added, while the other two Ghar at Daryaganj, orphanages for girls and boys respectively, preparing nodded in agreement. for their Board exams. — PHOTOS: SANDEEP SAXENA

App to locate nearest public toilet NEW DELHI: Lieutenant-Gover-

NEW DELHI: With “azadi” as the

keyword in slogans these days, women from all quarters joined a rally on Tuesday collectively demanding “azadi” from rape and patriarchy. Celebrating the International Women’s Day among others at Jantar Mantar was activist Soni Sori, who lambasted both the police and government for its inability to remove the feeling of “insecurity” that tribal women are confronted with. “We live in a democracy, despite which we are insecure. We are attacked and dissent is squashed. Even today, many tribal women are locked in jail. They face various kinds of tortures, atrocities and injustice. Is raising your voice against injustice wrong? Is asking for legal proceedings wrong?” she said. CM YK

Unlike earlier, Board examination results no longer make or break a career today school or a university that does not need a near-perfect score to get into. Career counsellor Riddhima Negi said cliché careers are finding less takers these days with students being encouraged to drop subjects they are not interested in. “Earlier, parents would get worried if their child wanted to drop mathematics in Class XII. I help them understand the many doors it will open if a student takes up subjects he or she is likely to excel in instead of being bogged down by something they do not have an aptitude for,” added Ms. Negi. “Each career is unique and requires a diferent set of skills,” said Ashima, a photographer. “A wedding photographer can even earn nearly Rs.3 lakh per wedding. The sky is the limit for those who are innovative. It is ridiculous to emphasise on Board exam results in this day and age.” A good example for parents who consider marks to be of utmost importance was The Coalition festival, organised here recently. It encouraged those in the creative field to share their stories of success. “Every student and parent should have been there to witness how career options have changed over the years. The Board exams are something that the current generation should not use as a yardstick to measure future success or failure,” Ms. Negi said.

Woman and machine

STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Rajendra Nagar got

about the existing network of public toilets in Delhi,” he added. Over a span of the next nine months, Mr. Anand scoured streets, malls and petrol pumps across the Capital for restrooms, washrooms and toilets over each of the successive days he was of work. “I took pictures of the toilets and washrooms and added them to the database that started coming together one weekend at a time,” he said, adding that his app could now connect users to

an estimated 1,015 such facilities in Delhi. Underlined by a crowdsourcing feature, Find x Toilet now seeks to expand the number of toilets on its existing database through subscribers who can add toilets which they have visited to it. On the occasion, the Lieutenant-Governor urged all the three Municipal Corporations as well as the Delhi Development Authority to make use of the app to upgrade the services of public toilets.

its first municipality-run toilet complex for women on Tuesday, which was International Women’s Day. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation opened a twostorey toilet complex, which was inaugurated by the local women, all senior citizens. Area councillor Rajesh Bhatia said this will be the first public toilet facility for women in the area. “It will greatly benefit working women in the area — whether it is our own sanitation workers or those that work in private firms and houses,” said Mr. Bhatia. Two more toilet complexes for women are in the pipeline for Rajendra Nagar. In view of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the North body will be constructing more toilets, particularly for women. A women’s toilet is being constructed at Arya Samaj Road. The local traders’ association will be responsible for maintaining that complex, said Mr. Bhatia.

Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan vrooms into the Parliament premises on a Harley Davidson on Tuesday, the International Women's Day. — PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY

‘Is raising your voice against injustice wrong?’ STAFF REPORTER

celled in sports all through school, but didn’t make it to any national team. An average student, he was always told that he will not be “successful” in life unless he concentrates on studies and spends less time outdoors or watching matches on TV. But for Abhinav, each time he opened his books, the words would start swimming around his head. Today, a decade later, Abhinav is a manager with a group that organise some of the largest sporting events in the country. “Economics and accounts started making sense after I took up an internship during the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League. I learnt from experience what my textbooks could not help me understand,” he said. Many like him have turned a hobby or passion into a lucrative and successful career despite not being the brightest of students. In fact, examples of people with passionate ideas who are entrepreneurs today are increasingly being used by career counsellors to open new avenues for students who do not score high but are keen on something that the education system fails to recognise. Today, Board exam results no longer make or break a career. With cut-ofs skyrocketing at top colleges, students are being encouraged to start building portfolios from Class VIII or IX itself, so that they can showcase themselves as worthy of getting a scholarship at universities abroad or work while they pursue a degree from an open

New toilet for women opened

JATIN ANAND

nor Najeeb Jung on Tuesday launched a mobile app called “Find x Toilet” that enables users of Android phones to find the nearest public toilet. Created by south Delhi resident Ishan Anand as part of the Swachh Bharat initiative, the free app also allows users to rate the cleanliness quotient of the toilet visited and lodge complaints pertaining to lack of hygiene. The 26-year-old financial manager with an international firm said two subsequent episodes related to the inevitable call of nature triggered the evolution of the app. “I was looking for a toilet near INA Market but couldn't find one, only to realise later that there was one in the vicinity,” he told The Hindu. “Three weeks later, I saw a man defiling a wall in Khan Market when there was a public toilet just 300 metres ahead; that's when I decided to do something about the issue, which revolves around the simple lack of knowledge

Alternative careers make it to the mainstream

Ms. Sori, who was recently attacked with an acid-like chemical in Chhattisgarh last month, added: “My face will be an eternal reminder of the relentless struggle women are waging across the country to gain what is rightfully due to them.” She also alleged that the State police indulge in all kinds of atrocities and still manage to get away with it. Representative of the Domestic Workers’ Union staged a street play to highlight the everyday oppression they face while looking after people’s homes and caring for their children. “It is quite ironical that the same motherly feelings that the employer has towards his/her children is denied to us. Even during emergencies, we are not allowed to bring our children to work,” said Sandhya from the Society for Labour Development.

DCW to launch ‘Acid Watch’ STAFF REPORTER

Activist Soni Sori hugs Annie Raja during a demonstration to mark International Women's Day at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Tuesday. — PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) will soon launch an initiative, “Acid Watch”, to monitor and prevent instances of acid attacks and sale of acid. The programme will be financially supported by the Delhi government. Besides monitoring instances of acid attacks, the Commission will recommend solutions to make Delhi acid attack-free. “There is a Supreme Court order in place to help acid attack survivors and a ban on sale of acid. Unfortunately, it is not followed. Even now, cases of acid attack are reported and there is no check on sale of acid,” said DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal.

Celebrating 60 years of diplomatic ties STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: To mark the 60th anniversary of India-Spain diplomatic relations, IndoSpanish theatrical co-production, “Flamenco India”, directed by renowned filmmaker and flamenco dancedrama director Carlos Saura, will be staged later this year in the city. “Flamenco India” is a collaborative theatrical showcase produced in partnership with Valladolid City Hall, Teatro Calderón and Teamwork Arts in association with Casa de la India (India House in Spain). It features 24 Indian and Flamenco artistes and opened last year at Valladolid’s Calderon Theatre. The collaboration will now be made into a fulllength documentary film and will tour Spain and India. Announcing the India

A still from “Flamenco India”, a collaborative theatrical showcase, which marks 60 years of India-Spain relations. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

tour, Valladolid Mayor Oscar Puente Santiago said: “The first edition of the production, which premièred in Valladolid last year, was a huge success and we hope to repeat the success again this

year and take the production around the world. The project is going to be the beginning of a good cultural relationship between Valladolid and New Delhi in terms of music, dance and theatre.” ND-ND

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CISF detects 160 chinks in Metro shield Consultation is on between the force and the DMRC to plug the gaps and enhance passengers’ security Director-General, CISF, said personnel deployed at Metro stations work with ‘zero error’ motto

STAFF REPORTER

T

here are chinks in the security of Delhi Metro – 160, to be precise – according to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The CISF provides security cover at 149 stations of the Delhi Metro that sees a footfall of approximately 26 lakh passengers a day. According to senior CISF oicials many access points between the unpaid and paid areas of the metro stations are ‘weak links’ from security point of view. With limited WEAK height of the AutoLINKS matic Fare Collection (AFC) gates, there are Check points many points where unchecked baggage can be handed over to passengers without these being scanned. “We have identified 160 weak points and have taken up the issue with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). We are trying to manage these points through ‘Queue Managers’ at the moment,” Director General of CISF Surender Singh said in a press conference on Tuesday. “We have asked DMRC to cordon of these areas and they have raised the heights at 14 places. However, there are some issues with the material that has been used and it has been questioned as we wanted more permanent material,” he said. A DMRC spokesperson told The Hindu that consultation on the is-

sue is on with CISF and the corporation will do the needful required for the security of passengers. Mr. Singh said that CISF personnel deployed at Metro stations work under a lot of pressure due to the huge public interaction involved but the force works with a motto of

‘zero error’. He said that personnel deployed at stations have to wait for colleagues even for a few minutes of rest room break as leaving a post vacant even for that much time would result in long queues. He also said that a large number of CCTV cameras have been in-

stalled at metro stations, feeds from which are constantly monitored and more would be installed soon. Airport Security Since October 27 last year, 62 unidentified flying objects have been observed around Delhi’s Indira

Gandhi International Airport that has left the authorities flummoxed. Mr. Singh said that these include drones, balloons and kites and most of the times, it is diicult to make out what these are by the naked eye. He said that the government is going to come out with “operational guidelines” to tackle such cases as shooting down such objects cannot be a solution and could result in disastrous situations at an airport. He said that apart from CISF, other stakeholders like the Delhi Police and the Indian Air Force are also involved with issue. Mr. Singh also said that 44 hoax calls were received at airports last year, out of which 13 were at the Delhi Airport. This year, already eight such hoax calls have been received in Delhi alone, among a total number of 16 across the country. “The number of calls is considerable but we take each one of them seriously. These are assumed genuine till proven otherwise,” Mr. Singh said. He said that a proper procedure is followed each time with a Bomb Threat Committee that meets immediately to decide on the action to be taken.

‘Can’t claim residence right in in-law’s house’ NIRNIMESH KUMAR NEW DELHI: Stating that a daugh-

ter-in-law cannot claim the right to residence in her inlaws’ property, a Delhi court has allowed an appeal by a mother-in-law seeking a direction to dispossess her son’s wife from her accommodation. A Metropolitan Magistrate court had restrained Phool Wati, the mother-in-law, from dispossessing her daughter-in-law from her property at Najafgarh in West Delhi. The Magistrate had passed the order on a complaint by the daughter-in-law under the Domestic Violence Act. The mother-in-law of the complainant, in her appeal against the Magistrate’s order, submitted that she is the sole owner of the property, and hence, her daughter-in-law has

no right of residence in it. Phool Wati further submitted that the complainant is an employee of the Delhi Police and gets house rent allowance. Therefore, she can arrange her own accommodation and cannot claim any right of residence in her property. “It is not in dispute that the property exclusively belongs to the mother-in-law in which the husband of the complainant has no share. Therefore, the complainant being daughter-in-law cannot claim the right to stay in the property,” Additional Sessions Judge Vikas Dhull said. “The impugned order, therefore, sufers from illegality as it was passed in violation of the judgment of the Supreme Court in S.R. Batra’s case,” the Judge said, allowing the appeal of the mother-in-law.

Car robbers arrested STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: A case of misfiring

during a carjacking incident in South-West Delhi’s Najafgarh led to the arrest of three robbers, the police said on Tuesday. The robbers had waylaid a man driving a Swift Dzire car near Dhansa Stand in the early hours of Monday. When the driver Kuldeep re-

sisted, one of the robbers opened fire on him, injuring him, said R.A. Sanjeev, DCP (South-West). Kuldeep was hospitalised. The car was intercepted near Mitraon village and its occupants were nabbed. A search led to the recovery of a pistol that had allegedly been used to shoot Kuldeep. The car was recovered.

DELHI TODAY Paintings: “Aparajita” - group show of paintings at Convention Centre Foyer, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 10 am-8 pm Exhibition: “Ballad of Love” - an art show of paintings and sculpture, curated by Poonam S Kohli at Open Palm Court Gallery, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 11 am-8 pm Art: “Deck of Cards - Taash ke Patte” group art show featuring 55 leading UK artists at British Council, 17, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, 9 am-6 pm Dance: International Women’s Day celebrations: Maiteryi Bharatanatyam recital by Dr. Soundarya Srivathsa followed by Mukt-Kathak recital by Kadam and Raina Parikh at Habitat World, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 7 pm Theatre: “Bhartendu Natya Utsav” a festival of select plays: “Hazar Chaurasi Ki Maa” presented by Shri Ram Centre Rang Mandal at Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts (SRCPA), 4, Safdar Hashmi Marg, Mandi House, 6:30 pm Discussion: Book discussion on “Half a Century: My connections with Japan: A Memoir” by Aftab Seth. Discussants: Arjun Asrani, former Indian Ambassador to Japan, Prof. H.S. Prabhakar, Centre for East Asian Studies, JNU; Anand K Sahay,

The Asian Age; Chair: Shiv Shankar Mukherji at Conference Room I, India International Centre (IIC), 6:30 pm Screening: “Castaway Man” - documentary film screening (Nepali/English/Hindi/2015/82mins) Dir.Kesang Tseten. Screening followed by discussion with Rahul Roy, Filmmaker & Project Coordinator, The Justice Project South Asia Collab: Fd Zone, at Habitat World, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 7 pm Exhibition: “ARTisTRY 4SDGs” - a group exhibition by UNIC involving the youth of India in its campaign for awareness creation about the newly adopted sustainable development goals at Teri Walk Way, India Habitat Centre Talk: Annual IHC Women’s Day Celebrations - Wok The Talk - Sharing their Recipes for Success. Speakers: Manisha Bhasin, Sr. Executive Chef ITC Maurya, Masterchef Pankaj Bhadouria; Neha Lakhani, Pastry Chef Le Cordon Bleu, Canada & Head Chef & Founder -Patisserie Royale and Anahita Dhondy, Chef, SodaBottleOpenerWala. Moderator: renowned chef Marut Sikka, India Habitat Centre, 7 pm (Mail your listings for this column at [email protected])

Disclaimer: Readers are requested to verify & make appropriate enquiries to satisfy themselves about the veracity of an advertisement before responding to any published in this newspaper. Kasturi & Sons Limited, the Publisher & Owner of this newspaper, does not vouch for the authenticity of any advertisement or advertiser or for any of the advertiser’s products and/or services. In no event can the Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Director/s, Employees of this newspaper/company be held responsible/liable in any manner whatsoever for any claims and/or damages for advertisements in this newspaper.

Published by N. Ram at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., Chennai-600002. National Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).

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A festival that has become too big to fail NGT appointed panel says it is too late to scrap the event, suggest Rs. 120 crore fine; Environmentalists say marshland has been swept clean of vegetation BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN

J

ust what is the scale of the Art of Living’s (AOL) three-day World Culture Festival planned from March 11-13? The organisers say the event will attract 3.5 million people and will cover an area of 24 hectares, with a parking area of 15 hectares. The scale of the event is so massive that the Army (120 personnel) spent more than a week building two pontoon bridges on Yamuna ART OF for the attendees, LIVING which will include Minister NaGreen concern Prime rendra Modi, former prime minister of Netherlands Prof. Ruud Lubbers, US Congresswoman minority leader of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, and former Chief Justice of India Justice R.C. Lahoti. According to farmer and environmentalists, the event — billed as a platform “for spiritual

and religious leaders, politicians, peacemakers and artists to spread the message of global peace and harmony in diversity” — “will do serious damage to the

delicate ecosystem of the Yamuna.” “We hope that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) will cancel the festival, which is meant to

start on Friday,” said activist Anand Arya. Environmentalists claim that the organisers have removed every singe blade of grass to level the marshland for the event. “The spray of pesticides to kill mosquitoes will adversely afect the lives of variety of birds, insects and reptiles who have made the Yamuna floodplains their habitat”. The farmers have also complained that they have lost their crops as the organisers forcibly acquired the land and paid very less compensation. An estimated 100 acres of land under agriculture - wheat, vegetables and flowers - has been acquired by the organisers on the western side of the river Sri Sri’s Art of Living Foundation maintained that the event will feature yoga and meditation sessions, peace prayers and traditional cultural performances from around the world and has denied that there will be any permanent impact on the Yamuna floodplains or the river. “We have secured permission

from all the necessary authorities to hold the event. We have used only eco-friendly material like wood, mud, cloth, and scaffolding towards building a temporary stage,” the Foundation said in a statement. This even as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) appointed panel, which assessed the environmental impact of AOL's activity, noted that the floodplain has been destroyed and the natural vegetation consisting of reeds and trees has been completely removed. It also said it was too late to scrap the event, suggesting a fine of Rs. 120 crore. AOL, however, maintained that they have started work “only after the grant of permission from the authorities including Delhi Development Authority, which noted in court last week that “they were not told of the exact scale of the event”. The NGT, in a detailed judgment last year, had prohibited construction on the floodplains stating that it could pose a grave danger to the river’s ecology.

Traic Police to issue advisory for festival

Pollution remains in floodplains due to sink efect: study

SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR

NEW DELHI: Levels of air pollution, in-

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Traic Police

will be issuing an advisory to motorists to avoid certain stretches during the three-day World Culture Festival, starting from March 11, to avoid congestion. The police have identified stretches that commuters should avoid as they will be used by the visitors to the venue — coming up on the Yamuna floodplains along the DND flyway. Special Commissioner of Police (Traic) Dr. Muktesh Chander said the advisory will mention Noida link Road, stretch of Ring Road from Ashram to Sarai Kale Khan, National Highway-24 and Bhairon Marg and request motorists not to take the routes. The traic wing will issue a plan of the approach roads, restrictions and parking arrangements soon. It is only after the traic unit, fire department and the Electrical Inspectors from the labour department issue clearances, that the licensing branch of the Delhi Police will issue a licence to the event organisers.

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cluding harmful particulate matter , are higher in and around the floodplains of the Yamuna, which should ideally be home to rich eco-systems. The Yamuna floodplains are at the centre of an ongoing debate about their use, with environmentalists opposing a massive cultural fest that will be held there by the Art of Living Foundation from Friday. While the National Green Tribunal (NGT) is hearing a petition filed by Manoj Misra to shift the venue of the World Culture Festival, experts are saying that the floodplains of the Yamuna have been neglected and encroached upon in Delhi. Now, a soon-to-be-released study has found that the distribution of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and coarse particulate matter (PM10) is more in the area around the floodplains. The source apportionment study of PM 2.5 and PM10 done by the Indian Institute of TechnologyKanpur, commissioned by the Delhi government, included a spatial distribution of the pollutants. “As per the study, we saw that PM levels were higher along the floodplains,” said Ashwani Kumar, the Environment and Forest Department

Uncertainty over T20 matches at Kotla MOHAMMED IQBAL NEW DELHI: Uncertainty prevails

over the T20 World Cup cricket matches at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium here after the Delhi High Court said on Tuesday that it would neither grant nor deny permission for holding the matches. The Court said the grant of permission was “entirely within the domain of the authorities”. Hearing a petition on the issue, a Division Bench comprising Justice S. Muralidhar and Justice Vibhu Bakhru said its order should not be construed as if the court was interfering in the matter. The court referred to nonissuance of completion certificate for a particular block in the stadium and said it was for the DDCA to sort it out with the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). The SDMC told the court that while it was satisfied that the DDCA had rectified the deviations in terms of the sanctioned plan of 2005, its occupancy certificate was for the entire stadium except the R.P. Mehra block, as it falls within 100 metres of Kotla

IIT-K study on pollution sources to be released

Secretary. Mr. Kumar added pollution from human activity, vehicles and industries around the floodplains were to be blamed. Due to a ‘sink efect’, the pollution remains in the floodplains. “Had there been more plantation in the area, the moisture would have been more. That would have made the PM settle. Planting more trees will also act as a barrier. Polluted air mass can travel for days, but trees

can stop it,” said Mr. Kumar. The Environment and Forest Department has made its intention to carry out plantation in the floodplains clear via an ongoing case in the High Court, and also informed the NGT on Tuesday that it would be open to plantation at the site of the Art of Living event. Environmentalists say that the floodplains of the Yamuna have been allowed to be neglected over the

NEW DELHI: An important study that breaks down all the sources of Delhi’s air pollution is likely to be made public in a fortnight, months after it was completed and submitted to the government by IIT-Kanpur. The study was commissioned by the Delhi government’s Environment and Forest Department in 2013. The report was presented to the government in December 2015. Oicials said the odd-even experiment in January had postponed the release of the report. — Damini Nath

years. “A total of 97 sq. km of floodplains in Delhi were notified as wetland, but because of illegal construction, it has shrunk to about 65 sq. km,” said Vinod Jain, a conservationist. The floodplains could have saved Delhi 200 million gallons of water per day had they been used to make reservoirs, said Mr. Jain.

Too little, too late

Matter hangs on a stadium block that has been built too close to a protected monument Baoli, a protected monument. The Archaeological Survey of India has refused to give clearance to the block. DDCA counsel Sangram Patnaik said the cricket body would demolish the block if it is unable to get clearance for it by June 30. Delhi government’s standing counsel Rahul Mehra contended that an occupancy certificate had to be for the entire stadium and the R.P. Mehra block was constructed without a sanctioned plan. The court then asked the SDMC about the status of the block. The Bench posted the matter for further hearing on April 1 after directing DDCA to ensure compliance with the recommendations made by Justice Mukul Mudgal, who was appointed by the High Court to oversee the functioning of the cricket body.

AAP likely to deny AOL parking space at depot STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The Delhi Transport

Department is likely to decline permission being sought by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living (AOL) to park thousands of vehicles at Millennium Park DTC Bus Depot during the three-day 'World Culture Festival' here. Sources said the matter came up at a meeting of the Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday, following which the course of action was decided. Sources said that AOL had sought the nod of the (AAP) government to park vehicles during the festival being held on the Yamuna floodplains from Friday but this would be

‘There will be no hike in power tarifs this year’

Gadkari announces Metrino system

power, but to no avail,” he said while attending a workshop on NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Power Minis- Energy Eiciency and Energy ter Satyendar Jain on Tuesday Conservation for RWAs. In a bid to make solar power assured residents that there would be no hike in electricity more appealing to households, the government is in the proctarifs this year. In another good news, the ess of chalking out a list of emgovernment has decided to panelled vendors from whom tweak its Solar Policy so that they can get solar systems inresidents could avail the 30 per stalled. “This will help in two ways – cent subsidy ofered by the Ministry of New and Renew- quality will be ensured for the consumers and they would be able Energy (MNRE). Interacting with representa- eligible for the 30 per cent subtives of Resident Welfare Asso- sidy given by MNRE. The list would have about 25 ciations, Mr. Jain said the government, like last year, would vendors ,” said a senior governnot allow any increase in pow- ment oicial. Tenders to deer tarif, but also urged them to cide a common price and secome forward in support of the lect the vendors would be CAG audit on discoms, which floated within a few days. Sources say the Solar Policy is being fought at the Supreme is currently with the VAT deCourt. He also blamed the Centre partment and will be tabled in for “not allowing the Delhi the Cabinet next week. Representative from East Delhi government to function”. “At first Union Power Minis- RWAs Joint Front, B.S. Vohra ter Piyush Goyal had agreed to said, “It is to be seen how welreallocate power that comes to coming domestic consumers Delhi. But when we ofered to will be about installing solar surrender 2,255 MW, they stop- systems as even the rates by ped responding. Then we also the government are expensive got Telangana on board, which with the minimum being Rs. agreed to consume most of the 65,000 per kilowatt.”

GURGAON: Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday announced the construction of a Metrino Personal Rapid Transit System in Gurgaon from DelhiHaryana border to Sohna road (Badshahpur Chowk) through Rajiv Chowk as a pilot project. He was speaking at the valedictory function of the two-day “Happening Haryana: Global Investors' Summit -2016) here. Mr. Gadkari said the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the project had been prepared at a cost of Rs.980 crore. This project would be like an airborne personal rapid transit system. “This Car Cable Service will be cheaper than the metro rail network,” said Mr. Gadkari. Announcing a host of measures to decongest NH-8 and ensure better connectivity between Delhi and Gurgaon, Mr. Gadkari announced to accord the status of National Highway to the 18-km Dwarka Expressway from Dwarka in Delhi to Kherki Dhaula in Gurgaon. He also announced to construct a bypass road linking NH-8 (near Ambience Mall) and NH-236 (Mehrauli-Gurgaon road). He said that nine National Highways costing Rs.8,000 crore had already been announced for the State. He also announced that Haryana would have its first waterway from Palla in district Sonipat to Wazirabad in Delhi. He told the gathering that the Kundli-ManesarPalwal Expressway would be completed within 343 days. He also announced the plans of his ministry to change the alignment of the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway and said that work on this would start soon. It would cost Rs.18,000 crore.

SWETA GOSWAMI

Policemen keep a watch near the house of a 15-year-old girl, who was set on fire after being raped at Tigri village, near Noida. The girl, with 95 per cent burn injuries, continued to be critical for the second day on Tuesday. The accused has been remanded in judicial custody by a Delhi Court. PHOTO: AP

Law Commission receives reference from HC on inter-parental child ‘removal’ MOHAMMED IQBAL NEW DELHI: The Law Commission has received a reference from the Punjab and Haryana High Court for examining multiple issues involved in inter-country and inter-parental child removal among families locked in disputes. At present, India does not recognise such abduction of children as an ofence. The removal or retention of a child in breach of custody rights is an ofence under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 1980. Since India is not a sig-

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natory to the agreement, children are taken away with the courts and authorities not being able to take any action. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has forwarded a reference to the Law Commission and the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to examine the issue and thereafter consider whether recommendations should be made for enacting a suitable law on the subject and for signing the Hague Convention. Justice Rajive Bhalla of the High Court passed the order recently in a matter involv-

ing a minor child, who was removed from the de jure custody of the court by misusing an interim order of 2006. Despite the eforts of the amicus curiae and the Central Bureau of Investigation, the child remains untraceable. When it became clear that the minor had been spirited away to the United Kingdom on a fake passport after the petitioners were allowed to retain her custody, the court transferred the investigation to the CBI. The child was found in U.K. by the British Police in 2008 and was placed in the

Currently, India does not recognise such ‘abduction’ of children as an offence foster care. The High Court of Justice, Family Division, London, delivered a judgment in April 2009 declaring that it would order summary return of the girl to India. However, on April 24, 2009, the child left the school from a playground in the company of “an unidentified Asian male”. Eforts by the British Police and vari-

ous agencies to trace her have since met with failure. The court noted that amicus curiae Anil Malhotra, who is a Chandigarh-based lawyer, and the CBI, despite their stellar eforts, had been thwarted at every step on the way primarily for the reason that India is not a signatory to the Hague Convention. Taking on record a report submitted by Mr. Malhotra, Justice Bhalla observed in his six-page order that for want of the Indian government acceding to the Hague Convention or enacting a domestic law, children would continue to be spirit-

denied given the fact that the usage of the plains was under contention at the Apex Court. “The government will decline the permission as the matter of Millennium Park Bus Depot is already pending in the Supreme Court. Besides, there is no space for parking additional vehicles inside the depot,” said a senior government oicial. In February, the SC had held that ordering the demolition of the MPBD at this juncture would not be appropriate and granted one year to Delhi government and DTC to get the 2021 master plan amended failing which it would have to shift the bus shelter from the Yamuna river banks.

ed away from and to India, with courts and authorities “standing by in despair”. The court forwarded Mr. Malhotra's report on the subject with the reference and adjourned the matter to March 30. The report stated that it was not possible any longer for Indian courts to stretch their limits to adapt to foreign court orders arising in diferent jurisdictions. Mr. Malhotra, who has authored several books on the related subjects, practises in interpretation and application of foreign court orders regarding divorce decrees, child abduction, custody,

maintenance, adoption and family-related issues for non-resident Indians, and handles family law litigation across the country. In his report submitted to the court, Mr. Malhotra has concluded that it was the need of the hour for India to have a codified and statutory law on inter-country and inter-parental child removal. “Despite the Law Commission's recommendation in its 218th report in 2009, India has not signed the Hague Convention and no domestic law defines or governs this problem till date,” he said.

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Delhiites among most obese people in country NEW DELHI: Men and

women from Delhi are among the most obese people in the country. This was revealed during a discussion in the Rajya Sabha where Health Minister J.P. Nadda said people from Punjab, followed by Kerala and Delhi, are the most obese with 22.2 per cent, 17.8 per cent and 16.8 per cent of men and 29.9, 28.1 and 26.4 per cent of women from respective States reporting a Body Mass Index of more than 25. He was replying to a question on the prevalence of obesity. The Minister also said men from Tripura and women from Meghalaya are the leanest. — PTI

BRIEFLY DJB waives bills NEW DELHI: Pending water bills worth Rs.128 crore had been waived by the Delhi Jal Board as of Tuesday, just a week after the rebate scheme was put into force. At a meeting on March 1, the Board had cleared a scheme to waive late bills and surcharges till November 2015. The late payment surcharges and the entire bill amount for users living in E, F, G and H category colonies were waived 100 per cent.

Course of JNU inquiry panel changes to ‘document trail’

Now detailed proposal for exclusive bus lanes JATIN ANAND

KRITIKA SHARMA SEBASTIAN NEW DELHI: After the eight stu-

dents — debarred by the highlevel inquiry committee formed to look into the February 9 incident in JNU — refused to depose, the course of the investigation has now changed to “document trail”, sources in the university said. The committee, supposed to submit its report by February 25, has been given three extensions and now supposed to submit its report by March 11. According to sources, the members of the inquiry committee are now trailing the documentary evidence including the letter of permission that students had obtained for the February 9 event and if there was a letter of cancellation issued thereafter. “There is a letter that says permission was given to students by the administration but there is no letter that says that the permission was later

withdrawn on February 9. As per the Delhi government SDM report, the administration had informed students about the cancellation of event around 4.45 p.m. but the Registrar has told the committee members that a security guard was sent to Umar Khalid around 3 p.m. to tell him that the permission has been cancelled,” a senior faculty member said. “The panel is now looking at these evidence since none of the eight students have deposed in front of the committee, refusing to accept its formation,” the faculty member added. There are doubts about the authenticity of the video evidence on basis of which the students were debarred. Also, the SDM report had found three of the seven videos on the incident doctored. Meanwhile, according to sources, the two new members who have been added to the committee have refused to

sign on the initial findings of the report. “The two were of the view that the inquiry should be started afresh, which did not happen and that is the reason that they have refused to sign,” a faculty member who is also a part of the JNU Teachers’ Association said. JNUTA and students have also been demanding

that the panel should start the inquiry afresh. The JNU Registrar Bhupinder Zutshi has recently deposed in front of the committee. In his deposition, he had said: “Kanhaiya Kumar had opposed to the administration’s decision of cancelling the permission”, a charge which was refuted by Mr. Kumar.

Threat calls to senior scribe NEW DELHI: Senior journalist Barkha Dutt on Tuesday said that she has been receiving abusive death threat calls for her reportage on the JNU row. Ms. Dutt, who had lodged a police complaint on March 4, also recorded her statement before the magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Based on her complaint submitted at Greater Kailash police station, the police have

registered a case under 509 IPC (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and other relevant sections. Ms. Dutt also tweeted about the matter. “Many of you asked- Yes Post FIR I appeared today at Metropolitan Magistrate Court to give a statement against stalking, death threat & abused.” said one of her Tweets. — Staff Reporter

University celebrates Women’s Day NEW DELHI: Students of JNU on

—STAFF REPORTER

Transfer withdrawn NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Tuesday withdrew the order to transfer Environment Secretary Ashwani Kumar to Goa. The move comes as he hasn’t spent two years in service in Delhi. Principal Secretaries Shakuntala Gamlin (Power) and Anindo Majumdar (Services), who had a run-in with the government, have been transferred to Arunachal Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, respectively. —STAFF REPORTER

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ABVP rebels, who had left the RSS’ student outfit, burn a copy of the ancient text Manusmriti despite the varsity administration denying permission for the same. —PHOTO: PTI

Tuesday took out a march on the occasion of International Women’s Day. The march was flagged from Ganga hostel and continued till Chandrabagha hostel. The participants included members of the JNU Students’ Union and representatives of GSCASH. On the occasion, they paid tribute to Rohith Vemula’s mother Radhika Vemula, tribal activist Soni Sori, and Northeast activist Irom Sharmila. The students also condemned the Hindu religious text Manusmriti, which contains derogatory remarks against women. Condemning Jawahar Yadav’s Tweet, Geeta Kumari, a representative of GSCASH, said: “We respect sex workers and the work they do, but when the Minister is comparing the students here with them, he is just exposing his mentality.” Criticising the Delhi Police’s idea of installing cameras on the campus to keep an eye on

students, Aishwarya Adhikari from GSCASH said that “we will not let something like this to happen”. JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar said: “Today is March 8, when the entire world celebrates Women’s Day. But on the same day, there has been a conspiracy to defame me and a female friend of mine. A picture of me and her has been photoshopped and shown in an objectionable way.” “People say bharat mata, but spread such cheap things about women in JNU. How can you show such hypocrisy, when on one hand you give the moniker of “mata” to your country and on the other hand, speak ill about women?” said Mr. Kumar. “Gender is not only about male and female, but also about the one who does not have that identity. Women are not born, they are made in society,” he added. He also spoke about rights of women and condemned incidences of violence against them. —Staf Reporter

NEW DELHI: In order to improve the average commuter’s experience aboard its fleet of buses and to reduce congestion, the Delhi Transport Department has been tasked with conceiving a “detailed proposal” for the creation of exclusive bus lanes on the Capital’s arterial stretches. Similar to dedicated lanes meant exclusively for traic related to the Commonwealth Games in 2010, obstructing buses on these lanes would attract a fine of Rs.2,000. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had sent a proposal seeking his assent for the same to Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung recently; this, however, was termed “ambiguous” by him before being shot down. “Since the L-G refused to give his nod for the proposal, the Transport Department is now working on a more detailed and incontestable version which will be re-sent to

his oice for approval latest by the end of March,” Transport Minister Gopal Rai told The Hindu. Sources in the department said it was consulting both engineering and legal experts to ensure that the proposed lanes were in a position to be available to utilisation well in advance of phase two of the odd-even vehicle rationing scheme in midApril. A senior Transport oicial said the availability of the said lanes was deemed essential this time around as the AAP government wanted a “visibly streamlined and comfortable bus fleet” to attract more users which was, in efect, expected to translate into lesser burden for relatively limited capacity of the Delhi Metro network. Last Wednesday, the government had termed Mr. Jung’s decision to decline giving his assent for the creation of the lanes “unfortunate” as

this was in line with requests from the Traic Police as well as separate judgements from the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court over several years. The Supreme Court in its judgment on December 1, 1998, in the MC Mehta vs Union of India & others had ruled: “They will also ensure that wherever it exists, buses shall be confined to the bus lane and equally no other motorised vehicle is permitted to enter upon the bus lane...” On March 26, 2007, the Delhi High Court in Motion vs Union of India (Uoi) and Others had ruled “Every driver of a vehicle is expected to drive and maintain ‘proper lane driving system’ on the roads. The buses should ply in the bus lane and should be parked at the bus-bays on the bus stands and wherever bus stands do not have proper bus-bays then they should be parked at the extreme left of the road and in a queue...”

Govt. denies lapses in DERC head appointment JATIN ANAND NEW DELHI: A day after Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta called on the L-G over the issue, the Delhi government has denied that the formation of a panel was overlooked in the appointment of the new chairman of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC). According to senior government oicials, this appointment is once again expected to bring to the fore the very definition of 'government' in the Delhi High Court where proceedings related to it are underway.

Further, according to a senior government oicial, the appointment of Krishna Saini, an oicer of the Indian Revenue Service of 1981 batch as Chairman of the DERC, followed permission granted by the Delhi High Court in its order of February 24. “The Opposition is contending that the file pertaining to the appointment was not routed through the oice of the L-G which, as per guidelines, is not to be done in the first place,” the oicial said, adding that the government's counsel was likely to make the same plea in the High Court in a hearing related to the matter.

Two held for murder NEW DELHI: Two youths have

been held for murdering a boy in central Delhi’s Patel Nagar around a fortnight ago. Vasu Adlania (17) was walking with a girl in Prem Nagar on February 24 when the accused passed comments at the couple. The youths left the spot when Vasu objected, but returned later and stabbed him. —STAFF REPORTER

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EDUCATIONAL

EDUCATIONAL

EDUCATIONAL

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

SITUATIONS VACANT GENERAL

SITUATIONS VACANT GENERAL

TENDERS

BOOKS / PERIODICALS

TENDERS

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FOR JOB LISTINGS & ARTICLES, VISIT www.thehindu.com/jobs

What women want at their workplace Working Mother and Avtar Group launch a panIndia initiative that is aimed at encouraging companies to promote gender equality Liffy Thomas fter a futile search for a company that ofered an in-house childcare facility, Vidya Sujai is now looking for a job that comes with the comfort of flexible working hours. “For the last two months, I have been searching for a job that will ofer flexibility. But I have not found a company that comes close to meeting this requirement and match-

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ing my profile,” says the commerce graduate who took a three-year break from work after her child was born. Finding a workplace after a career break is not all that easy for women, especially those with little support system. At a time when Indian companies are losing their female workforce at the rate of 11 per cent per year, there are many factors that companies need to consider to make the workplace more attractive. A project launched by Working Mother Media and the Avtar Group on Women’s Day wants companies to compete for national ranking on gender equality. It wants companies to publicise progressive policies and programmes that can help other organisations grow as well. Launching ‘2016 Working Mother and Avtar Best Companies for Women’, Saundarya Rajesh founder, Avtar

Group, said the survey-cumbenchmarking project was a “self-tracking, self-reporting, self-evaluating and self-correcting opportunity” for companies. Over 250 companies are expected to enlist for the project. They will be put through around 350 questions covering aspects of a company’s policies, practices and procedures. The questionnaire will prompt companies to report on women’s retention, safety and security, flexible work, paid leave, benefits, gender pay gaps, company culture and work-life programmes. In the United States, ‘100 Best Companies for Women’ ranking has shaped how companies evolved their policies and culture to create an inclusive organisation. “Three decades ago, we started with 30 companies, only seven of which ofered flexi-jobs and only two were

led by female CEOs. Today, we see a remarkable diference,” said Subha V. Barry, vice-president and general manager of Working Mother Media, which is a division of Bonnier Corporation. The ranking of the best companies will be announced in November 2016 at the Global Advancement of Women Conference and they will be honoured. “With the benchmarking project, we hope to raise the bar for companies to recruit, engage and retain employees,” said Saundarya Rajesh, adding that they hope to make it an annual feature.

Balancing work and home can be challenging for women. So, they look for companies that offer flexible working hours. — FILE PHOTO USED FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY.

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ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD IN BANDIPUR

A tonne of waste a month collected from tiger reserve Bulk of the waste is generated by tourists travelling towards Ooty and Masinagudi ment recently launched a drive to maintain a garbagefree environment in Bandipur by hiring 10 workers to collect waste by the highway, there is still work to be done. The workers collect waste thrice a week and it is handed over to the Gundlupet municipal authority for disposal.

M.T. SHIVA KUMAR MANDYA: Liquor bottles, beer cans and plastic covers — totalling nearly a tonne of waste — are strewn in an area that houses the largest tiger population in Karnataka. According to Forest Department oicials at Bandipur, the quantity of waste collected from the national park is anywhere 700 kg and 1,000 kg a month, which includes paper plates, aluminium foil, plastic water bottles, polythene covers, and waste paper. This is particularly bad in the stretch between the Bandipur border near Melukamanahalli in Karnataka and the Tamil Nadu border in Mudumalai. The bulk of the waste is generated by tourists, travelling towards popular hotspots of Ooty and Masinagudi. Thousands of tourists travel on the highway every day

Workers collecting waste along the highway at the ecosensitive Bandipur wildlife sanctuary.

through the Bandipur National Park, and many dump waste within the eco-sensitive tiger reserve, which has 120 tigers, according to the recent tiger census. Some tourists, especially

Centre pulled up over packaging of tobacco LEGAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court

on Tuesday sought the government’s response on why rules that say tobacco products should be packed in a plain fashion had not been implemented yet. Responding to a plea that attractive packaging of tobacco products entice youth to consume them, a bench led by Chief Justice T.S. Thakur issued a notice to the Ministry of Health. The petition filed by Umesh Narain Sharma, represented by advocate Aishwarya Bhati, said the delay in the implementation of plain packaging as per provisions of Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 was

The PIL said no steps had been taken despite high prevalence of tobacco use a violation of the right to life under the Constitution. When the Bench initially said it was a matter best left to the Parliament, the counsel indicated the strong tobacco lobby and how the Allahabad High Court had recommended immediate implementation of plain packaging of cigarette and other tobacco products. The PIL said no steps had been taken for plain packaging despite high prevalence of tobacco use.

youngsters, consume alcohol along the highway and smash the liquor bottles leaving shards of glass there, a worker engaged in collecting waste told The Hindu. Though the Forest Depart-

NEW DELHI: Even as Delhi Chief

Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday accused the Central Bureau of Investigation of not following proper procedure for summoning his staf, the agency said all actions were being taken as per law and that the three oicials in question work under Principal Secretary Rajender Kumar who is facing corruption charges. Mr. Kejriwal in a series of tweets claimed that his staf had been summoned “on phone without notice.” “CBI summons Delhi CM staf ‘informally’ on phone without notice. Staf of other Ministers’ called earlier like this. [sic]” He said the government had nothing to hide, but CBI should follow proper procedure. Kejriwal said: “Which sec (section) of CrPC empowers CBI to summon on ph

More than 150 officials have been summoned on phone without notice, claims the Delhi Chief Minister.

(phone)? Till now, more than 150 oicers summoned on ph (phone) [sic]” We hv (have) nothing to hide. I hv told all oicers to cooperate. But CBI shud (should) follow lawsummon thro (through) proper notices [sic].” CBI sources said that the Delhi Chief Minister had given approval for the examination of two personal assistants, J.S. Rawat and Sasi, and lower-division clerk Yogesh, who work under IAS oicer

THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

Project-afected people yet to pay Rs. 350 crore tax in Maharashtra SHARAD VYAS MUMBAI: Land acquisition in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for recent big-ticket infrastructure works such as the Navi Mumbai airport, the Mumbai Metro, and many roads and flyovers, has created pockets of instant wealth. But the newly-rich beneficiaries of high-value compensation have been, it turns out, frequently evading their tax liabilities. They owe the Income Tax Department around Rs 350 crore. A first-of-its-kind report from the I-T Department that studied 600 such ‘project-affected people’ (PAPs) says that from 2009 and 2014, they had surrendered nearly 5,00,000 square meters of land under various schemes of the government and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and received compensation at prevailing market rates, but did not get themselves assessed for tax. The report, which is in the possession of The Hindu, says. “These PAPs transferred land, received

None of those who got compensation was assessed for tax on short-term capital gains

consideration in cash, or constructed spaces attracting a huge capital gain liability. But none of these PAPs paid taxes on the capital gain under the false belief that being dubbed agriculturists they did not have a tax liability in the first place.” The report further said that these lands were transferred within a short period of less than six months, thereby resulting in shortterm capital gains. Most of this land was acquired by the government for major infras-

tructure projects, or for development of Navi Mumbai, between 2009 and 2014. The report is a conclusion of a pilot project undertaken to verify whether the capital gains on transfer of land in the MMR had been taxed, said officials of the IT department. CIDCO was, until 2014, offering high cash compensation to PAPs under various schemes. Subsequently, the state government announced additional relief by giving developed land (12.5 per cent of

Picture of Shahabuddin hosting SC asks Centre to facilitate soldiers Bihar Minister in jail sparks row voting rights forCentre directed to

the area) as part of rehabilitation measures. The transfer of this land was allowed through tripartite agreements between PAPs, the project developers and CIDCO. “We have already served notices to 60 PAPs and received consideration of Rs 8.31 crore on some of these transfers. But even from these defaulters, 31 are yet to reply,” said an IT oicial. While CIDCO itself has no liability in the matter, senior oicials of the company said it has made changes in its land transfer guidelines to make sure that short-term capital gains taxes are paid to the I-T department promptly. Joint MD, CIDCO, V Radha, told The Hindu, “This is purely a concern of the income tax department, but on our part we are ensuring nobody manages to avoid paying taxes.”

Countdown to PSLV-C32 launch begins

KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL

AMARNATH TEWARY PATNA: A photograph released

on Tuesday showing a Bihar Minister having snacks with the former Rashtriya Janata Dal MP and strongman of Siwan Mohd Shahabuddin inside the district jail has triggered a fresh political row in the State. The Opposition is demanding the Minister’s expulsion from the Cabinet,” while a defensive RJD is calling the event a “normal courtesy.” Shahabuddin is currently lodged in Siwan jail after being convicted in several serious criminal cases. The photograph that has gone viral on social media shows the State’s Minority

CBI is not following procedure in summoning my staf, alleges Kejriwal DEVESH K. PANDEY & MARIA AKRAM

‘TN authorities stricter’ Environmentalists said the Forest Department of Karnataka was not as efective as its Tamil Nadu counterpart in monitoring tourists. At the check-post in Mudumalai, officials check the tourists, seize liquor bottles and issue strict warning against dumping waste in the forests. They even note down vehicle registration numbers. But no such measures have been initiated in Karnataka. The State Forest Department has only installed warning and suggestion boards.

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Rajender Kumar. Through a letter on Sunday, citing a telephonic conversation, Delhi government’s Deputy Secretary (Administration) Bhupender Kumar had informed a Superintendent of Police with the CBI that the matter was discussed with the Chief Minister, who gave his approval on the condition that all of them were not called for examination on the same day. In its reply, the agency informed the Deputy Secretary that the oicials to be examined worked under the accused 1989-batch IAS oicer. The others under CBI scrutiny are Endeavour Systems Private Limited and its two directors Sandeep Kumar and Dinesh Kumar Gupta; A.K. Duggal and G.K. Nanda, former managing directors of public sector unit Intelligent Communication System India Limited; and its incumbent managing director R.S. Kaushik.

Shahabuddin is lodged in jail after being convicted in several criminal cases.

Afairs Minister Abdul Gafoor sitting with Mohd Shahabuddin and another person before a table spread with snacks and biscuits. The meeting is believed to have taken place on March 6.

The Minister is said to be close to party chief Lalu Prasad. He had defeated RLSP candidate Chandan Shah by over 26,000 votes in the last assembly elections. Shahabuddin, accused in over 20 serious cases and convicted in a few, obtained bail recently from the Patna High Court in a sensational double murder case. He has been languishing in Siwan jail for the last several years. ‘Courtesy call’ Meanwhile, the Minister told media persons that he happened to be in Siwan and since the circuit house he was staying in was close to the district jail, he had paid Shahabuddin a courtesy call.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court

on Tuesday stood up for the constitutional right of soldiers to vote, noting that they risked their lives to protect the borders, from the icy Siachen glacier to the remote and harsh terrains of Jammu and Kashmir and the NorthEast. The Centre should pull all stops to ensure that the soldiers’ voices are heard loud and clear during election results, the court said. “Paramount importance should be given to the voting rights of armed forces personnel serving in far-flung areas of the country”, a threejudge Bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi said, and directed the Centre to finalise a

ensure that their postal ballots reach the authorities on time fool-proof mechanism to ensure that their postal ballots reached authorities in time so that these soldier do not feel left out in the country’s democratic process. When Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand tried to assure the court that India’s postal service was “the best in the world”, Justice Gogoi replied, “I will not comment on that. But we think something more proficient than postal (service) is required here. Post is a little outdated”.

STAFF REPORTER NELLORE: The countdown for

the launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C32 began at the Sathish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Nellore district on Tuesday at 9.30 a.m. The 54-hour countdown will conclude on March 10 at 4 p.m. when the PSLV will be launched to put the 1,425-kg IRNSS-1F navigation satellite into orbit. SHAR director P. Kunhikrishnan and other space scientists are closely monitoring the progress of the countdown. With this, the ISRO is moving closer to the task of completing the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System with seven satellites.

Court allows CBI to quiz Kerala CPI(M) leader SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT KANNUR: The District and Sessions Court at Thalassery in Kerala partially allowed the prayer of the Central Bureau of Investigation, investigating the murder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary E. Manoj, to grant it the custody of Communist Party of India (Marxist) district secretary P. Jayarajan for interrogation. Principal Sessions Judge V.G. Anilkumar issued an order on the CBI team’s plea for Mr. Jayarajan’s custody. While disallowing the CBI’s plea for getting Jayarajan’s police custody for questioning, the court allowed the CBI to interrogate him from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for three days beginning March 9 either at the Central Prison or in hospital, where he has been admitted.

Telangana’s Ojha artisans return to their roots S. HARPAL SINGH ADILABAD: The tiny community of Ojha artisans in the Adilabad district of Telangana no longer has a reason to complain, as it has made a surprising turnaround in its fortune, It also rediscovered its bonding with the Gond tribe. The comeback has been made possible as the artisan families reverted to their centuries-old traditional local market comprising mainly of the Gond population. The Ojhas, also known as Wojaris, experienced a rather longish tryst with misfortune, astonishingly, in the wake of governmental intervention in the mid-1980s. Seeking greener pastures at the national level, the brass metal casters had shunned their traditional market, which had the Gonds ignoring them and even opposing their recognition as a Scheduled Tribe in turn. The 80 families-strong artisan community, now based by and large at Jamgaon and Ushegaon in Jainoor and Keslagu-

CM YK

Kova Naneshwar (right), an Ojha artisan, at his workshop at Keslaguda in Adilabad district of Telangana.— PHOTO: S. HARPAL SINGH

da in Kerameri mandal, makes brass objects exclusively for the Gond tribe to be used in agriculture and religious events. Until the crucial time when the Ojhas got alienated from the Gonds, every Adivasi village in the district had boasted at least one artisan family catering to its need all through the year.

“We travelled to diferent places participating in craft melas and exhibitions in the last 30 years, but our fortunes kept plummeting. All of us found it diicult to make both ends meet,” recalled the winner of the prestigious National Shilp Guru Award-2014, Kova Naneshwar from Keslaguda in Kerameri .

“For two years, we are visiting Gond villages with our ware and have found the Gonds quite receptive,” stated Madavi Bhujang. “The local market has ensured food security and the outside markets are fetching good income,” he added as he diferentiated between the period which accounted for losses and the current phase. “Local market is very important for artisans as it ensures food security because the patrons mostly pay in kind and not in cash,” opined Kala Ratna award-winner and founder of Kala Ashram in Adilabad, Guruji Ravinder Sharma, who had initially trained the artisans in design development. “Once you have food security, you have enough freedom of time and money to make products for outside markets,” he added. In addition to the traditional seed sowers, lamps, bells of diferent sizes, ornamental daggers, etc., used by Gonds, the Ojhas make masks and statuettes. ND-ND

THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

‘RELIGION USED TO SUPPRESS US’

Women across faiths come together They question notions of ‘purity, hygiene, segregation’ and role of clerics SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI: Male religious heads

have for long used religion as a tool to subjugate women. Women’s groups on Tuesday questioned the notions of “purity, hygiene and segregation” in accessing places of religious worship. Women and men from the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA), Bhumata Brigade, Sahiyo, Vaghini Mahila Sanghatana (VMS), Muslims for Secular Democracy, and Bharat Bachao Andolan staged a protest march at the Azad Maidan here demanding religious freedom and equal access to places of worship. Former BJP member Sudheendra Kulkarni also attended the protest. He said inequality was not in tune with true religious spirit. Challenging the supremacy of male clerics, Noorjehan Safia Niaz of BMMA, who had filed a PIL petition in the Bombay High Court demanding entry in the sanctum sanctorum of Haji Ali dargah, asked: “Why should I believe their Islam? Can’t I read the Koran myself? We will read the book ourselves and derive

Women from different religions protest at Azad Maidan in Mumbai for their right to enter all places of worship, without discrimination . — PHOTO: VIJAY BATE

our own meaning. What are the governments and judges afraid of? Are they afraid of the ‘maulavis’ and ‘mullahs’?.” She said the clergy branded women as ‘dirty’ and ‘impure’ and imposed restrictions on going out of the house. “They use religion to suppress us. Women are to be blamed too for blindly following them,” Ms Niaz said.

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Some Bohra women questioned the practice of female circumcision in the community. Ms Insia Dariwala, from Sahiyo, said: “We do not want ‘khatna’ (circumcision in which a girl’s clitoral hood is cut). We don’t know why it is cut. We are in the 21st century, and there is enough soap and water. We can teach hygiene to our children. The scars

from this practice are not just physical, but also mental. We are against such ancient practices that crush a woman before she grows up. We are women who have no right to their body.” With a section of Bohra women raising the issue, the community has begun discussing the practice. The female genital mutilation case in a Dawoodi Bohra community in Australia last year gave an impetus to the campaign back home. “Many were not speaking out of fear,” said Arefa Johari, also associated with Sahiyo. “The clergy do not give any oicial reason for carrying out the practice. Everything is kept private. But as some people spoke out, many more are coming forward.” Meanwhile, Hindu women’s struggle to enter the sanctum of Shani Shingnapur temple also found an echo at the protest. Jyoti Badekar of VMS called for a critical look at religions if they denied women equal rights. Another protestor Michelle Vas said while women were allowed in churches, they were not part of decision-making.

Sri Lanka ready for peace, says Erik Solheim Defends overtures to LTTE, praises island nation’s democratic processes

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

With President Maithripala Sirisena at the helm in Sri Lanka, this is the best opportunity to bring about a lasting solution to the country’s ethnic question, Norway’s former special peace envoy Erik Solheim said on Tuesday. “The strength of Sri Lankan democracy is such that it has removed Mahinda Rajapaksa from the President’s chair. While he assured an inclusive approach post-war to settle the ethnic question, he never acted on the promise of reaching out to Tamils,” the former diplomat said. Participating in a panel discussion on the newlylaunched book To End a Civil War: Norway’s Peace Engagement in Sri Lanka, Mr. Solheim, who played a key role in the peace treaty signed between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE in 2002, said there were two main obstacles to reconciliation in the island nation. “The two main Sinhala parties — United National Party and Sri Lanka Freedom Party — were never able to work together. When one thought about making a move forward, there was always the apprehension of the other using it as a political tool to gain ground,” he said. The second was the reCHENNAI:

Erik Solheim (left) in conversation with former Governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi (right) at a panel discussion at the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai on Tuesday, while author Mark Salter looks on.— PHOTO: K. PICHUMANI

liance of V. Prabhakaran, the LTTE chief, on violence. “He genuinely believed that there were military solutions to the political problems. This was political stupidity,” Mr Solheim said and added that the Norwegian peace delegation made it clear time and again to Prabhakaran that killings should stop if he had any hope of proscriptions in different countries being lifted. Norway’s initiative On the accusation that by treating LTTE on a par with the Sri Lankan government, Norway ended up giving legitimacy to the ‘terrorist organisation’ and refurbished its image, Mr. Solheim said whatever was achieved would not have been possible

without reaching out to the other side. He added that the greatest achievement of the peace process that Norway initiated was the ceasefire, which saved thousands of lives. N. Ram, Chairman of Kasturi and Sons Ltd, said the Indian policy on Sri Lanka was contradictory in the earlier stages. Under Indira Gandhi, the country provided sanctuary and training to the various militant groups. It ended up paying a heavy price by losing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated by the LTTE. However, the positive side of the experience was that since 1991, India has deployed a “hands-of” approach and refused to fall into the trap of

Civilian protests in Kashmir I was misunderstood by media: Balakrishna help militants escape: police SURESH KRISHNAMOORTHY

PEERZADA ASHIQ SRINAGAR: Security agencies in

Kashmir are re-strategising counter-insurgency operations in the wake of the growing trend of civilians hampering operations against militants by resorting to stone-pelting in Kashmir. According to the police records, at least six bids were made by the local population in south Kashmir “to help trapped militants escape from the encounter site.” Three militants, in two separate operations, succeeded in breaking the cordon in Pulwama district as the civilian population used the public address system and pelted stones at the security forces. On Tuesday, the Army allegedly opened fire in Ashmuqam,

Raje presents 99,000 cr. budget for Rajasthan KAVITA UPADHYAY

70 km south of Srinagar, and injured two civilians as protests broke out during a search-andcordon operation launched after a tip-of about militants’ presence. The injured, identified as Javaid Ahmad Wani (22) and Amir Sheikh (21), were shifted to hospitals. A shutdown was observed in protest against the Army action. Speaking to The Hindu, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir range, Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani, admitted to the new challenge. “In the past, the security forces would face a law and order problem once the encounters were over. We would send a law and order component of the police only after the operations were over. However, it is seen now that civilians intervene during ongo-

ing operations.” Despite repeated police advisory to the civilian population “to stay 2 km away from the operation site and not rush towards the area,” it has failed to yield results on the ground. “We have decided to have a permanent law and order component as part of the counterinsurgency operation now. It will take over as and when the operation starts in an area,” Mr. Gillani told The Hindu. Two civilians were killed near an encounter site in Pulwama district on February 14. Another civilian was killed during a raging encounter in the same district on January 20 in south Kashmir. Meanwhile, the National Conference condemned the firing in Ashmuqam and demanded a judicial probe into it.

HYDERABAD: Actor-turned-MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna, whose comments about women at a recent audio function of the film Savitri raked up a controversy, clarified about the incident in the Assembly on Tuesday. He recalled the initiatives his father, the legendary NTR, had taken for women’s empowerment, protection of the girl child and his eforts towards taking forward the proposal of 33 per cent reservation. “Several of my films have those embedded in the storyline and have reflected the enormous respect I have for women,” he said. “But I must tell you that at the audio function, I had to speak as two individuals, as a man with two professions and responsibilities. I had to keep

Man sentenced to death for rape, murder of student SHOUMOJIT BANERJEE

JAIPUR: Rajasthan Chief Minis-

PUNE: The Aurangabad Bench of

ter Vasundhra Raje on Tuesday presented the State’s Budget for the year 2016-17 with an outlay of Rs 99,692 crore. The fiscal deficit for 2016-17 — with the impact of Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana – Central government’s State electricity distribution utility revival scheme has been estimated to Rs. 43,147 crore, which is 5.62 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product. The budget included an allotment of Rs. 31,540 crore towards the Power sector. However, of the 31,540 crore, a major amount of Rs 20,133 crore would be spent in UDAY. While VAT was exempted on items including solar torch, biomass stove, kerosene lamp, it was reduced from 14.5 percent to 5.5 per cent for items including pen drive, memory card, and health and fitness equipment.

the Mumbai High Court on Tuesday awarded the death sentence to the main accused in the 2009 rape-and-murder case of a 21-year-old college student. Observing that the particularly violent and cruel nature of the crime committed by Javed Habib Khan obviated pleas of mercy, a Division Bench comprising Justices A.V. Nirgude and Indira Jain enhanced the sentence to capital punishment — death by hanging — under Sections 376 and 302 of the IPC. In 2012, Khan was sentenced to life imprisonment by the District and Sessions Court, Aurangabad. Not satisfied with the verdict, the State government turned the case over to the Bombay High Court for review. The student was sexually assaulted and murdered in the early hours of June 12, 2009, by Khan (then aged 20), a habitual house-breaker from Jalna, and his two accomplices. The vic-

tim had been living with her brother, an engineer, in a rented apartment in Aurangabad’s Ahinsanagar area.According to the police, Khan had gained entry into the house through the balcony. He first picked up the girl’s mobile phone. The sound of loose change spilling from the purse woke her up. He quickly smothered her and stabbed her with a pair of scissors in the neck, then tied her hands and legs with the help of a mobile handset wire. The accused then made of with the victim’s mobile phone. The murder spurred protests by social outfits and Opposition political parties and quickly snowballed into a high-profile case. Less than a fortnight after the crime, a team of the Aurangabad police, led by then police sub-inspector (PSI) Nita Misal, tracked down the accused in the Nirala Bazaar area. Khan’s accomplices, Pradeep Chandalia and Ram Bodkhe,

were also arrested for abetment, providing the accused with shelter and helping him dispose of the stolen property. According to the police, Khan had allegedly given the stolen mobile handset to Bodkhe. The latter had in turn given it to his son, who apparently switched it on to check the balance four days after the crime. This provided a vital clue to the police in cracking the case. Minor killed, raped A minor girl was raped and murdered in Satara district in western Maharashtra. According to the police, the nine-yearold girl went missing from her home in Nandanvan Colony late on Monday evening. Her body was later found dumped in the water tank of a building. However, post-mortem reports suggested that she was first killed and then sexually assaulted. The police have apprehended a 15-year-old boy in connection with the incident.

in mind that I am a member of the Legislative Assembly and spoke of women’s empowerment. Then, I had also to keep the adoration and adulation of my fans and speak the way

they would like me to speak,” he said, adding a line about how he was misunderstood by the media. The MLA went on to urge Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada

Rao to have an independent survey conducted outside the House, with women from a cross-section of society to establish he indeed had loads of respect for them.

A.P. Assembly urges Centre to provide 33 per cent quota for women SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT HYDERABAD: The Andhra

Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed a unanimous resolution urging the Centre to provide 33 per cent reservation to women, particularly in legislative bodies. The resolution, marking International Women’s Day,

was passed after Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu mooted the idea while making a statement in the Assembly on the initiatives launched by his government for women empowerment. Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, who administered oath to the members on their commitment for women empowerment, read out the resolution urging the Centre

to extend 33 per cent quota in educational institutions, employment and legislative bodies. The Speaker read out a brief, recalling the United Nations Declaration and congratulated women. He said despite much progress since 1977, much more needed to be done. The resolution was passed by voice vote in the House.

the LTTE again. “This was despite pressure from fringe groups in Tamil Nadu and the Tamil diaspora,” he observed. Squarely blaming the LTTE for derailing the Norway-faciliated peace process, Mr. Ram said while Prabhakaran was a military genius and had committed cadre, at the core, the LTTE was a ‘Pol Potist’ organisation. “Norway and others clearly failed to recognise this. After the death of Rajiv Gandhi, this should have been utterly clear. Norway should not have equated the Sri Lankan state with the LTTE,” he opined. Mark Salter, the book’s author, said ‘Indian culpability’ in the whole afair also needed some reflection. He said the willingness of the parties involved was a crucial factor for the success of the process. “In the Sri Lankan context, when this willingness decreased, it showed on the results.” Former West Bengal Governor and former Indian high commissioner in Sri Lanka, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, moderated the discussion.

Gujarat BJP to hold farmers’ rallies in State SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT AHMEDABAD: In a bid to gear up

the cadres and win the rural voters back following the loss in the panchayat elections held last year, the Gujarat BJP has decided to hold eight rallies of farmers across the State. The first rally is scheduled for March 16 at Kutch while the last rally will be held at Patan on March 28. The decision to reach out to rural voters, who have apparently drifted away from the party was taken at a meeting of State oice-bearers with national BJP vice-president Om Mathur, who has been asked by the high command to assess the political situation in the State after the BJP’s drubbing in the panchayat elections.

CISF to guard Ramdev’s CBI registers graft case against 4 railway oicials Haridwar food park DEVESH K. PANDEY

NATIONAL BUREAU NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of

Home Afairs (MHA) has sanctioned full-time security cover of armed CISF commandos for the Haridwarbased food park of yoga guru Ramdev. Baba Ramdev will however, have to pay Rs 40 lakh annually for the security cover. Earlier, the NDA government had provided Z security cover to Baba Ramdev. The food park at Haridwar is only among a handful of private entities such as Infosys, who have been provided such security till now. CISF Director-General Surender Singh, at a media interaction in Delhi, said the force has recently received the government's order in this regard and 35 armed men will be deployed at the facility and the “client”— Patanjali Food and Herbal Park Private Limited — will bear the entire cost of the deployment of Rs 40 lakh.

Baba Ramdev will have to pay Rs. 40 lakh a year for the security cover.

of Investigation has registered a case against four South East Central Railway oicials and a private contractor for causing a loss of over Rs.1 crore to the exchequer. Those named as accused are Bhavesh Kumar, the then Senior Divisional Engineer (East), Assistant Divisional Engineer K. C. Panigrahi, Senior Section Engineer

(Works) Ashok Kumar, the then Junior Engineer (Works) S. K. Nirmal Kar posted in Chhattisgarh, and contractor Vijay Kumar Agrawal. “The contractor allegedly created false records by manipulating and recording fictitious measurement figures showing execution of work. He raised the bills and got the undue payment of Rs.1.02 crore without actually executing the work assigned,” said a CBI oicial.

A squad of 35 CISF men had been deployed at the said facility in the middle of last year for temporary security duties after protests erupted there. The other seven concerns in the private sector guarded by the CISF are Electronics City Bengaluru, Infosys campuses in Bengaluru, Mysore and Pune, Reliance Refinery and Petrochemicals in Jamnagar, Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd project executed by the Tata group in Mundra and the Tata Steel project in Odisha's Kalinganagar.

Bombay House is the first heritage building to get top green rating SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI: Bombay House, the

Tata group’s headquarters, on Tuesday became the first heritage building in India to be awarded a platinum rating by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). The building won under the EB (Existing Building) rating system for implementing measurable strategies and solutions in five categories: site & facility management, water eiciency, energy eiciency, health & comfort and innovation. The 93-year-old building improved its energy savings by 35 per cent since 2010, after smart retrofits CM YK

The Tata group’s HQ won a platinum rating by the Indian Green Building Council for sustainable practices like waterless urinals and smart metering, installing solar photo-voltaics, a segregated waste management policy, and a green policy to promote conservation of resources. The Tata group has also implemented a continuous measurement and verification system that has led to savings in power, water, and other resources. Much of the work was

implemented in-house, with The Associated Building Company Limited (ABCL), a Tata group company, responsible for the building, and Ecofirst Services, the sustainability arm of Tata Consulting Engineers Limited, which works in the area of building retro commissioning and facilitation. The ICBC launched its Green Existing Buildings ratings system to encourage sustainability practices, and prioritise green concepts and techniques for water and energy eiciency, reduction in use of fossil fuels, and conservation of natural ressources. ND-ND

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EDITORIAL

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THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

Taking back our universities wednesday, march 9, 2016

Don’t compromise on privacy he Aadhaar Bill, which the government introduced in the Lok Sabha last week, has not come a day too soon. More than six years have passed since the first attempt was made to give legal validity to Aadhaar, an ambitious project that seeks to provide unique identification numbers to each individual in a country of over a billion people, collecting demographic and biometric information in the process. And through these years, amid many legal and political challenges and a change in government, over 98 crore numbers have been issued. The stated idea of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016, is to provide for “eicient, transparent, and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services”. This, along with a clause that says the unique numbers will not be considered as proof of citizenship, is welcome. And yet, the process of legislating for Aadhaar has not been wholly reassuring. The Bill has attracted immediate criticism for being introduced as a money bill, by virtue of which it does not require approval of the Rajya Sabha, where the BJP-led government does not have the numbers to ensure its passage. Bypassing the Upper House’s vote does give the Bill an easy route to becoming law. The question is, given that Aadhaar was a signature project of the Congress-led UPA, could not the government have made the efort to reach out to lawmakers across the board on such a crucial, bipartisan issue? Wider political consensus and scrutiny are vital. Section 7 of the Bill, for instance, makes proof of Aadhaar necessary for “receipt of certain subsidies, benefits and services”. This must be read in the backdrop of a Supreme Court ruling that said Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory. A key concern over the collection of personal information on this scale is data protection. There are provisions in this Bill that seem to address the concern, including one that prohibits any oicial from revealing information in the data repository to anyone. But the exceptions cause unease. Two provisions are particularly troubling. The first is Section 29(4), by which no Aadhaar number or biometric information will be made public “except for the purposes as may be specified by regulations”. The second, which experts have already flagged, is Section(33), under which the inbuilt confidentiality clauses will not stand when it concerns national security. The only reassurance could be that in such cases the direction has to come from an oicial who is not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to the government. Nonetheless, without robust laws to protect their data, citizens would be rendered vulnerable. It is not about just snooping. It is also being said that in order to be useful and efective, Aadhaar data might have to be used alongside other databases. That could trigger further privacy questions. There is little doubt that India needs to streamline the way it delivers benefits, and to empower citizens with a basic identification document. But this cannot be done without ensuring the strictest protection of privacy.

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The Indian government’s authoritarian menace is generated from within a recognisable structure and network: a Prime Minister at its inspirational font with a long and sordid hisAKEEL BILGRAMI tory of winking at his supporters’ violent crimes; a Home Minister ordering a halfcocked police invasion into a place of learning and ideas for which — to the extent that it comprehends them at all — his government has never had any respect; a familiar background of sinister policy-shaping and mobilising organisations that range from the paramilitary to the cultural spheres; and not least its recently energised laureates of goonish intimidation, young Balillas seeking to disrupt any public meeting in universities that expresses dissent or seeks protection for the country’s wide swathe of vulnerable groups: minorities, Dalits, women, and the working poor. The rise of the ABVP The last of these, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a nationwide band of seedy tormentors on the country’s campuses, goes back to the late 1940s, formed in part to fight communist influence in institutions of higher learning. Along with the rest of the Hindu Right, their participation in the movement that opposed the Emergency gave them a moral high ground, a high ground that politicians on the then more powerful Centre-Left surrendered because they lay down like doormats as Indira Gandhi and her immediate circle of advisers stamped on them and the liberties we had taken for granted since Independence. One might think it is ironic that the ABVP, and the Hindu Right more generally, are now mimicking that very authoritarianism and thereby relinquishing the little moral high ground they had secured by their courageous opposition to the Emergency. But in fact there is no irony in this. What their current replication of the authoritarianism of the mid-seventies shows rather is that that opposition was never motivated by the higher ideals that were attributed to them. In other words, they never deserved the high ground they gained, in the first place. In the last twenty-five years (notably coinciding with the years in which neo-liberal ec-

The relevant issue today is not which is the good nationalism, inclusive or majoritarian, but whether one can have a democratic polity at all when the domain of civil society is increasingly diminished by the state’s actions onomic policies have been embraced) their numbers have grown enormously on campuses; and since the Bharatiya Janata Party’s recent electoral ascendancy they have paraded this numerical strength in the style of the Balilla in Mussolini’s Italy. These are the visible symptoms of the rise of right-wing nationalism. Someone with more space than I have here should explore the question (whose answer may well lie buried in the parenthesis above) no less relevant in India today than it was in Italy and Germany in the 1930s: what material dislocation, what psychological desolation, what submerged feelings of inferiority, prompt the young to embrace with such aggressive fervour so dark a nationalism as this? Good and bad nationalism In today’s Europe, which congratulates itself on having lived down its own dark past,

rightly distinguished between such majoritarian nationalism and the inclusive nationalism of Gandhi and Nehru. But right though that distinction generally is, it is not clear why it is relevant in the immediate context when students are being charged with anti-national behaviour. To point out, in this context, that there has been a good nationalism in our past risks the peril of making it seem that a charge of anti-national might have been appropriate if such a good nationalism (instead of Hindu nationalism) were in place. But such a charge is never appropriate. The very category of ‘anti-national’ behaviour is a political and moral outrage. It may be thought that, unlike, say, Savarkar’s nationalism an inclusive nationalism such as Gandhi’s and Nehru’s could not, by its very nature, have even conceived the category of ‘anti-national’. That thought, however, harbours a conflation. Inclusiveness and anti-

What material dislocation, what psychological desolation, what submerged feelings of inferiority prompt the [Hindu rightist] young to embrace with such aggressive fervour so dark a nationalism as this? even just the prospect of the electoral success of parties representing that form of nationalism has filled the entire spectrum of mainstream politics with dread, while in our country that form of nationalism has not only electorally triumphed but has become the political mainstream. Yet European governments, not to mention the United States, fawn over our Prime Minister as a hero who has opened up vast vistas of new opportunities. What this says about the victory of elite global economic interests over global political morality should be obvious to any alert political observer. In the aftermath of recent events, some excellent opinion pieces in newspapers have

authoritarianism are both good things. But not all good things are the same good thing. Striking at civil society In a democratic polity committed to the elementary liberties, no matter which form of nationalism — good or bad — holds sway, any and every person is possessed of the right to ask such questions as: what options do the people of Kashmir have after their sufering over the last three decades, or whether the judicial verdict that sent Afzal Guru to his death was justly made. Even so wise a person as Upendra Baxi in a recent opinion piece in The Indian Express begins a sentence defending liberty of speech by saying, “Shout-

CARTOONSCAPE

Government cuts its losses on EPF acing mounting criticism, the Narendra Modi government at the Centre has decided to drop its Budget proposal to tax a portion of the EPF (Employees’ Provident Fund) corpus upon withdrawal. An ill-conceived move both context- and contentwise, it has deservedly been given a burial. “In view of the representations received, the government would like to do a comprehensive review of this proposal, and, therefore, withdraw the proposal in paragraph 138 and 139 of my Budget speech,’’ Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a statement in the Lok Sabha. The government has also withdrawn the proposal to limit tax-free contributions by the employer to the provident fund account of an employee to Rs.1.5 lakh a year. This did not gel with the Budget speech rationale for taxing EPF savings — to bring parity in tax treatment between the EPF and the National Pension System (or NPS, where employers can pay up to 10 per cent of salary as contribution without any such cap). By putting the EPF back into an EEE tax regime (where contributions, income as well as the accumulated corpus are all exempt from tax), the government’s volte-face would help retain the EPF’s popularity among the salaried class, most of whom are part of it not out of choice but by statutory default. The Finance Minister had himself called them hostages to the EPF in his last Budget, but instead of setting them free, he thought it better to tax them citing fair taxation principles. It is still not clear whether the government had initially thought it could pull the taxation proposal past its middle-class constituency. In the event, the tax on EPF withdrawal gave additional ammunition to an aggressive Opposition, including the Congress party. Diferences within the National Democratic Alliance and the Cabinet finally ensured the climbdown by the Finance Ministry. While announcing a return to status quo on the EPF, the Finance Minister has rightly retained the Budget provision allowing NPS subscribers to withdraw 40 per cent of the corpus without any tax liability. The remainder 60 per cent will attract a combination of withdrawal tax and deferred tax on the annuity products one buys. In a way, partial tax relief for the NPS will narrow the existing taxinduced gap between the EPF and the NPS. The strident opposition to EPF tax must be read in the context of the virtual absence of a social security net of any worth in India. There are no two views on the need to move towards a ‘pensioned society’. However, this cannot happen abruptly or in a coercive manner — people need to be nudged over time to gear up for such transitions. Whatever the intention, it was the ‘out-of-the-blue’ approach of the government that triggered an uproar. A sheepish rollback is a smart move, ahead of a round of Assembly elections. It is to be hoped that this U-turn will trigger a larger debate on ushering in a holistic social security ecosystem in the country.

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CM YK

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Tribunal hurdle The move by the Bengaluru Bench of the Debt Recovery Tribunal to set the ball rolling in connection with recovering crores of rupees borrowed by the Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines Limited should have happened long ago (“Tribunal halts $75 m payment to Mallya”, March 8). When the salaried class applies for a bank loan, the paper work and guarantees needed even for a small amount are enough to drive the applicant up the wall. How did banks lend to the group without collateral security? K. Ragavan, Bengaluru

A news report like this makes one feel elated and one is made to believe that the law is finally catching up with those who are alleged to have indulged in financial irregularities. But subsequent events have always belied those expectations. Honest intentions backed by firm political will is the need of the hour. Archana, Coimbatore

The studied silence of the two national parties, the BJP and the Congress, makes one suspicious about the role of political parties in the sanctioning of big-ticket loans besides highlighting the unholy corporate-political nexus. One waits to see how the case unfolds. Bhanamma Aravinda Bai, Hyderabad

If Vijay Mallya says that he has been treated unfairly by the media and that he is clean, he should prove his point by paying of the dues. Rs.10,000 crore is no small amount. When ordinary people are made to run from pillar to post in order to get small loans sanctioned, one wonders how Mr. Mallya was able to arrange for massive loans in

ing slogans that are not demonstrably anti-India, and conducting and joining protest marches…” must be legally protected in our universities. But what we should be asking is: what is this category of ‘anti-India’? This is not a notion that national democracies can countenance at all and remain democracies. The idea of someone being accused in a university in Stockholm of being anti-Sweden is laughable. India today and America (mostly in the early 1950s) are quite possibly the only democracies in the world where such a classification of behaviour has conspicuously surfaced. To allow it to be wielded with the zeal that we are presently witnessing is to be set on a path of nothing less than the destruction of our civil society. The issue of immediate relevance today is not which is the good nationalism, inclusive or majoritarian, but whether you can have a democratic polity at all when the domain of civil society, i.e., the domain of collective political life which lies outside the orbit of the state and within which citizens may reflect upon and criticise state policy, is increasingly diminished by the state’s actions. It is a stark perversion of politics that a state, by wilful economic policy, is everywhere surrendering its sovereignty to global finance capital, while bearing down like a thug on its own people who are, in the end, the basis of that sovereignty. Resistance from below I had said earlier that the ABVP and the entire structure and network from within which it functions is silencing a variety of causes that have surfaced on many campuses, causes that seek to protect vulnerable groups such as minorities, Dalits, women, and the working poor. The inference, then, is obvious. It is precisely and only a coalitional mobilisation of these groups that can ofer any serious resistance to their assault. The justly iconic status that Kanhaiya Kumar has achieved today is not merely because he has stood up to his own government’s attack on universities but because he eloquently represents these causes — and, above all, he represents them in a mode and mentality that should serve as a lesson to political parties and political leaders in the wider electoral field. What I have in mind by this ‘mode and mentality’ is a point of the utmost significance. When someone like Mr. Kumar raises, for instance, the question of caste, he does so not with the mentality of seeking one or other electoral form of gain for one or other party that claims to represent one or other caste, he does so not as a collective bargainer in a field defined by political careerism and sectarian advantage in which those who come out ahead in the bargaining get co-opted into perpetuating the system of caste oppression, he does so with the quite diferent mentality of wholesale resistance to the very curse of caste, with a view to seeking nothing less than what Ambedkar called the “annihilation” of caste. It does nothing to diminish the ameliorating achievements of electoral politics of the last two or three decades in the matter of caste, to observe that this ofers something entirely fresh in our public life. It should become our common sense, by which I mean it should be a matter of the habits and reflexes of a humane politics. The young men and women in our universities, who have stood and struggled by Mr. Kumar’s side, represent an exemplary political mentality from which our parties and politicians have much to learn. May they grow in every college and university in every corner of the country and take our universities back. (Akeel Bilgrami is Sidney Morgenbesser Chair in Philosophy, Professor, Committee on Global Thought, and Director, South Asia Institute, Columbia University. His latest book is Secularism, Identity, and Enchantment.)

Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

quick time. His contention that there are defaulters who owe much more than him does not hold water. Veena Shenoy, Mumbai

Elusive consensus It has become routine for political parties to wax eloquent on the need to provide a fair share of representation to women in our legislative bodies (Editorial, March 8). The rhetoric assumes even more importance on Women’s Day. No party appears to be willing to provide space for women. Under the circumstances, what is the point in blaming one party or the other for the state of the Bill? Even in parties which are ‘run’ and ‘dominated’ by women, there seems to be inaction. Hence, how can women expect a ‘fair’ deal in parties where men reign supreme? V.S. Jayaraman, Chennai

Modi’s global push It is ironic that Nirupama Rao’s opinion piece comes at a time when the Prime Minister is drawing flak over the perception that he spends more time abroad than at home and when he should be attending to the many prickly issues before us (“New, strong, clear outreach”, March 4). It cannot be denied that within a short spell, he has put in motion a very proactive foreign policy which includes: SAARC initiatives, attempts to mend fences with errant neighbour Pakistan, seeking a greater role for India in Afghanistan, redefining India’s ‘Look East’ policy and building a maritime policy besides working on ties with Australia, Japan and West Asia. Yet, his distinctly proU.S. tilt, notwithstanding Washington’s continuing economic and military aid to Pakistan, seems to have alienated India’s traditional and more reliable ally, Russia. Ties with

Nepal too seem to have soured. However, the grim reality is that all the eforts that Mr. Modi has invested in will come to naught if he does not rein in the obscurantist fringe elements who are portraying India as an intolerant nation. Nalini Vijayaraghavan, Thiruvananthapuram

How long can one ignore the positive things happening to India enabled by a Prime Minister who is not liked by media elites? Mr. Modi has struck all the right notes from day one. His gesture to invite SAARC leaders when he took oice, his move to bring none other than U.S. President Obama as the Republic Day chief guest despite the ignominy of being denied an American visa, his bonding with the French leader, his surprise visit to Pakistan and even the government’s swift move to rescue Indians stranded abroad have all changed the image of our country.

reporting and contracting views. The anti-Modi stance is glaringly evident and reflected in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ column. Here, anything critical of him is welcome. Even the Editorials have a rare pat on the back which is usually followed by a series of small punches. Ethics, fairness and justice must be upheld. The Hindu, with its captive readership, has a responsibility to revive these values. S. Rajagopalan, Chennai

I have been a reader for the last 30 years and this newspaper has stood out for its reporting. But I have seen this trend change and it is not subtle. Somewhere, reporting has got morphed and is driving the shaping of opinions, almost getting propagandist in the process. The newspaper should not degenerate into a forum for all and sundry to express their opinions.

V.S. Ganeshan, Bengaluru

Diwakar B.R., Bengaluru

Ms. Rao is right when she says, “What he lacked in experience Narendra Modi has more than made up for with zeal and personality” — especially when it concerns our relations with China. Mr. Modi seems to have realised that exercising restraint is the only way to make India-China relations prosper. China is the strongest regional power and one of the largest economic powers in the world. India should be happy with a second strongest regional power status. There is no need to overtake China, economically or otherwise.

I have been a reader since 2006 and can notice the change. But one needs to look at what the cause of that bias is. The only area where the daily seems to have a clear stand is when it concerns the nuances of democratic rights and concern for the underprivileged and the marginalised. If no blind support for Mr. Modi means bias, let it be. The daily was equally critical of the UPA.

C.V. Venugopalan, Palakkad

Charges of bias Being an octogenarian reading the paper for decades I have no doubt that The Hindu has veered steadily away from the ideal of fair

Ikbal Ahmed, New Delhi

The Hindu has been my companion for over three decades, and a newspaper which is 137 years old and has set for itself very high standards and values in journalism obviously cannot be, and need not be, pro- or anti-government or have a penchant for a particular tenet by any means. Among all the Indian

dailies in English, The Hindu is the only newspaper which provides suicient space on its editorial pages for writers and readers to air their free and frank opinions. Therefore, for a section of readers to allege bias and call the paper ‘anti-Modi’ sounds illogical and baseless. Khushwant Singh (Oct.19, 2011) heaped praise on The Hindu, calling it the “most readable daily in the world” among a dozen newspapers that he used to go over daily. R. Sivakumar, Chennai

Judge’s memo The fact that subordinate staf are used by top government oicials to carry out domestic chores is quotidian (Some editions, “Judge’s memo to oice assistant: court to look into the case”, March 5). Have we forgotten how jawans are often used as domestic servants by commissioned oicers in the defence forces? In a bona fide democracy, the treatment of less vocal citizens as slaves by powerful and dominant bureaucrats is outrageous and an open violation to human rights. Thomas K.M, Bellevue, WA, U.S.

Government staf being used for domestic and menial jobs at the residences of babus especially in the police and judiciary during the British Raj was common. That this immoral and wicked colonial vestige is sought to be continued even after Independence is shameful and appalling. That such an incident happened in a judge’s house is stunning. The judiciary is one of the pillars of democracy and responsible for upholding the principles of fair play, justice, equality, fundamental rights and self-respect for all. R. Sampath, Chennai ND-ND

PERSPECTIVE

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

ZERO DRAFT

Upgrading India’s cyber security architecture

Cashing in on Libya’s power vacuum Losing territories in Iraq and feeling the heat of American and Russian air strikes in Syria, the Islamic State is fast expanding its presence in stateless, civil war-stricken Libya

ARUN MOHAN SUKUMAR

STANLY JOHNY

Two things set aside India’s digital spaces from that of major powers such as the United States and China: design and density. India is a net information exporter. Its information highways point west, carrying with them the data of millions of Indians. This is not a design flaw, but simply reflects the popularity of social media platforms and the lack of any serious efort by the Indian government to restrict the flow of data. Equally important is the density of India’s cyberspace. Nearly 500 million Indians use the Internet today, but they do not access the Internet from the same devices. Apple’s market share in the U.S., for instance, is 44 per cent, but iPhones account for less than 1 per cent in India. The massive gap between the security ofered by the cheapest phone in the Indian market and a high-end smartphone makes it impossible for regulators to set legal and technical standards for data protection.

In November last year, the U.S. carried out its first air strike against the Islamic State (IS) in Libya, killing Abu Nabil, an Iraqi-born, alQaeda-trained operative of the jihadist group in the country. The Pentagon hoped that the killing of Nabil would “degrade [IS’s] ability to meet the group’s objectives in Libya”. Three months down the line, the U.S. had to send its bombers again into the country to attack an IS training base in the western city of Sabratha, in which over 40 people were killed. The U.S. and Britain have in recent weeks deployed special forces in the North African country besides drones and intense reconnaissance by American, British and French warplanes. A 5,000-strong, Italian-led international force is also ready to be deployed in Libya to fight terrorists. The reason behind this enhanced focus on the IS in Libya is the growing fear that the group is expanding its operations fast in this lawless, civil war-stricken country which the U.S. and its allies invaded nearly five years ago to oust Muammar Qaddafi’s regime. The group already controls Sirte, a strategically important coastal city, and has presence in eastern cities Benghazi and Derna. Though the group’s gains in Libya are limited compared to its near-total dominance of large areas of Iraq and Syria, it’s a growing force in the country, and, if left unchecked, could further destabilise West Asia and Africa.

Digital intrusions With little control over the hardware used by Indian Internet users as well as the information that is carried through them, India’s national security architecture faces a diicult task in cyberspace. India’s infrastructure is susceptible to four kinds of digital intrusions: espionage, which involves intruding into systems to steal information of strategic or commercial value; cybercrime, referring to electronic fraud or other acts of serious criminal consequence; attacks, intended at disrupting services or systems for a temporary period; and war, caused by a large-scale and systematic digital assault on India’s critical installations. Indian authorities have spent the lion’s share of their resources tackling localised cybercrime while responding to major attacks on a case-by-case basis. Recognising the strategic dimensions of cyberspace, the Prime Minister’s Oice (PMO) created the position of the National Cyber Security Coordinator in 2014, a welcome first step. There is, however, no national security architecture today that can assess the nature of cyber threats and respond to them efectively. India’s civilian institutions have their own firefighting agencies, and the armed forces have their own insulated platforms to counter cyber attacks. Unlike nuclear energy, a neat division between civilian and military use of cyberspace is diicult. Just as the Indian Army may face serious cyber attacks from non-state actors in Pakistan, the digital assets of a major Indian conglomerate — say, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation — may be taken down by a military. The asymmetric character of digital warfare requires a multiagency organisation that is technically equipped, but also bases its decision on sound strategy and regular policy inputs. What could such an agency look like? The first requirement is to house it with permanent and semi-permanent staf that is technically proficient in cyber operations, both defensive and ofensive. India faces a shortage of oicers trained in creating and breaking encrypted platforms as well as using digital networks for intelligence gathering. Were such a National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) to be created, it should have a functional “nucleus” or secretariat. The second requirement is to coordinate the agency’s policy functions and operations. The current cybersecurity policy, articulated in 2013 by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, is basically a statement of first principles. The NCSA should be guided by a document outlining India’s cyber strategy, much like its nuclear doctrine. India currently has a top layer of agencies performing cyber operations — the National Technical Research Organisation, the National Intelligence Grid, and the National Information Board, to name a few — but there is also an additional layer of ministries performing governance functions. The Ministries of Defence, Home, External Afairs and IT should be part of a policy wing that provides their assessments of local and regional developments. India’s intelligence agencies should separately provide their consolidated inputs to aid the operations of the NCSA. Last, India should not hesitate to build its ofensive cyber capabilities. This would involve the development of software designed to intrude, intercept and exploit digital networks. The deployment of cyber weapons is not a low-cost afair, as the digital trail allows adversaries to track and possibly predict the development of future technologies. Nevertheless, a cyber arsenal serves the key function of strategic deterrence. India’s cyber command should be the primary agency responsible for the creation and deployment of such weapons. Given the power entrusted in such an agency — as with India’s nuclear command, it would report to the PMO — it should have political or parliamentary oversight. In particular, the use of its capabilities against Indian citizens or domestic networks must be guided and supervised by a legal framework. A fully operational cyber command will take years to complete. It is the need of the hour, given that India’s digital capabilities lag significantly behind regional and global players. Whatever final form India’s cyber command takes, the government would do well to pursue a two-pronged strategy in the interim. First, advocate restraint in cyberspace as a global norm. India is an active participant in discussions around the Tallinn Manual, which is a set of non-governmental guidelines for engagement during war. A group of government experts will convene later this year under the aegis of the UN — India is expected to be at the table — to discuss norms that trigger cyber war. At these forums, India should underline the basic premise that it is impossible to thwart all cyber attacks, and therefore encourage nation-states to restrain from deploying cyber weapons. Second, the government should draft recruitment guidelines to hire and train a cadre of cyber specialists. Attracting such oicers may require high pay scales and other benefits — a model the U.S. has aggressively pursued — but they would bring in India’s best minds. If India’s cyberspace has built-in vulnerabilities, it also has a highly skilled IT workforce, which should be harnessed by the government for strategic use. (Arun Mohan Sukumar heads the Cyber Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.)

A fully operational cyber command is the need of the hour, given that India’s digital capabilities lag significantly behind regional and global players

FROM THE ARCHIVES (dated March 9, 1966)

No change in Pak. Constitution President Ayub Khan to-day [March 8] frustrated Opposition demands for Parliamentary rule in Pakistan and warned the National Assembly that any change in the present Constitution would drag the country into political confusion. A long appeal to end “sterile, frustrating controversy” on the subject was the keynote of his formal opening speech in the National Assembly here [Dacca]. President Ayub also reiterated that Kashmir was the basic hurdle to lasting peace and once that basic dispute was resolved India and Pakistan could tackle social problems and cut their defence spending.

‘Shrunk’ iddlies displayed The State Assembly was to-day [March 8, Madras] taken by surprise when a D.M.K. member exhibited two palm-sized waferlike “iddlies” to the House. Mr. K.A. Mathialagan said he had purchased the “iddlies” from a CM YK

City hotel in the morning. The size of “iddlies” had shrunk while their prices had gone up, he complained. He dramatically took out the specimens from a packet in his handbag and displayed them to the House, while seeking the permission of the Speaker to raise an “adjournment motion” to discuss “the Government’s failure” to check and regulate the “abnormal and mounting” rise in prices of foodstufs in hotels in Madras City. Mr. Mathialagan said there was no justification for hoteliers to put up prices as the Government supplied their requirements of rice and other cereals at fair prices under the statutory rationing system. In some hotels, the cost of a meal had been increased from 80 Paise to one rupee, he said. This had caused “discontent and unrest” among considerable number of hotel-goers and floating population in the City he added. The Chief Minister, Mr. M. Bhaktvatsalam, opposed the motion and said the rise in prices of essential commodities had been debated only last week during the general discussion on the budget.

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Setting up base From the advent of the Syrian civil war, Libyan jihadists were fighting alongside the opposition rebels against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The Battar Brigade was prominent among them. When a group of Battar militants returned to Libya in 2014, the IS took it as an opportunity to expand the group’s influence to Africa. It sent senior militants, including Nabil, to establish a new Wilayat of the ‘Caliphate’. The Battar militants formed a radical outfit, Majlis Shura Shabab al-Islam, in Derna, a hotbed of the Libyan rebellion, and in October 2014, announced the Derna Wilayat. It was the same strategy the IS used in Syria. When the Syrian rebellion started, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the IS, sent his men from Iraq to Syria where they set up a base in the eastern city of Raqqa, fought alongside al-Qaeda against the regime before turning against other Islamist groups and establishing a proto-state. But unlike in Syria where al-Qaeda and the IS initially cooperated, the latter faced

“After establishing full control over Sirte, the IS in Syria sent more militants to Libya.” Picture shows a street in Sirte. — PHOTO: AFP

strong resistance from other militant groups in Libya. For example, Derna was already the base of the Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade, an al-Qaeda-ailiated faction founded by former members of a Qaddafiera Islamist militant group. The Brigade launched an all-out campaign against the IS. In less than a year, they managed to push the core of IS out of Derna. Sirte, Qaddafi’s hometown and the heartland of his Qadhafa tribe, was the IS’s next choice. By the time it was defeated in Derna, the IS had made some advances into Sirte, mainly through the disafected members of the Qadhafa tribe and a group of disgruntled Qaddafi loyalists. This is the strategy the IS used in Iraq where it recruited Saddam loyalists and Baath party members to build its terror organisation. By late May 2015, the IS had captured the city’s airport and within a month, seized the whole city. Once they established total control over Sirte, the IS core in Syria sent more militants to Libya. The group has announced three Wilayats in Libya so far — Tarablus, along the western coast; Barqah in the east; and Fezzan in the southwest. Sirte is its capital in the country. From the IS’s point of view, Libya is its best bet outside Iraq and Syria. It lost territories in Iraq and is feeling the heat of American and Russian air strikes in Syria. On the other side, today’s Libya is a classic case of a failed state. There’s no central authority and a central military command. There are two Parliaments in the country,

one based in Tripoli, the Qaddafi-era capi- both countries, air strikes support ground tal city, backed by an Islamist coalition; and attacks on the IS — by the Iraqi army and the other in the eastern city of Tobruk, sup- Shia militias in the case of Iraq and Syrian ported by a private militia run by Khalifa army and Kurdish rebels in the case of SyHaftar, a Qaddafi-era general. The econo- ria. It’s only after an air strike-ground war my is in free fall, leaving millions in misery. combination started taking on the IS that Libya is also strategically important for the jihadist group’s positions were weakthe IS. It’s a Mediterranean gateway to ened (though they are still strong at the Africa, a continent where the IS and al- core of the ‘Caliphate’). Qaeda are competing for terror supremaIn Libya, the major challenge is the cy. While the recent terror strikes in Mali country’s internal contradictions. Qaddaand Burkina Faso show the growing clout fi’s state, however repressive it had been, of al-Qaeda in the continent, the Boko Ha- was the unifying factor of the country’s diram of Nigeria has declared allegiance to verse tribes and ethnic groups. He built his the ‘Caliphate’. If it authoritarian but Unless the non-jihadist sets up a strong base redistributive state in Libya, the IS could Libyan nationalgroups are unified and the on also exploit the large ism. Those who deLibyan state is rebuilt, it is stroyed the state lawless swathes of the African territories did not have anyimpossible to launch a (something which the thing to replace it credible war on the IS al-Qaeda is doing with. In the abnow) and keep its terror project afloat even sence of the central authority, the power if it sufers major setbacks in Iraq and Sy- vacuum was filled by diferent tribal, reliria. More important, Libya’s oil wealth is a gious and extremist groups. And the IS, bepotential target of the IS. ing the most brutal and organised among them, has a better chance to leverage this Stateless nation chaos and strengthen itself. Unless the The question is whether the IS could non-jihadist groups are unified and the Libuild on its momentum, like it did in Syria, byan state is rebuilt with monopoly and and meet its long-term goals in Libya. The legitamacy over weapons, it is impossible U.S., after last month’s air strikes, said that to launch a credible war on the IS in Libya. it would go after the IS in any country. But That’s the greatest challenge both the Liit’s easier said than done. In Syria and Iraq, byans and those who plunged the country it took years for an efective anti-IS strate- into today’s chaos face. gy — which is still fragile — to evolve. In [email protected]

Cooling the earth down An emissions-reduction approach to fighting global warming is not enough. Alternative solutions involving climate engineering might have to be deployed sooner than we think ing a few airplanes to inject the necessary amount of aerosol to bring the temperature down by one degree could cost only a few billion dollars — well within the reach of even developing countries.

R. RAJARAMAN

The Paris Conference last year primarily discussed plans to reduce carbon emissions, which is understandable as this is the most immediate item for action. But other measures for dealing with global warming, in particular climate engineering, may soon acquire more importance. Today, climate engineering eforts are viewed either as secondary measures to be undertaken alongside reducing emissions or as technologies which have not matured enough to warrant discussion by world leaders. But the situation can change dramatically in the future. Even if all the national commitments made in Paris are fulfilled, the efects of global warming will inevitably worsen in the near term. As nations struggle to reduce emissions even further, alternative solutions using engineering innovations will increasingly gain currency. A variety of such proposals for battling global warming are already on the table — a few are being tried out and others are being seriously researched. Unfortunately, some of them also carry the risk, if things go wrong, of causing unintended environmental disasters. Climate engineering experts have been addressing these problems for years but such awareness has not trickled down to the larger intelligentsia to form a body of educated opinion that can help governments decide on which techniques to adopt and how best to govern and regulate them. Control carbon or sunlight or both? Most climate engineering eforts can be divided into two categories which address, respectively, the management of carbon and the management of sunlight. The first category is directed towards removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. A prominent example is carbon capture and storage (CCS), where some of the carbon dioxide (CO2) being emitted by coal-fired power stations is recaptured by physically sucking it in and transporting it elsewhere to be sequestered underground. The first 115 MW CCS retrofitted coal power plant commenced operation at Boundary Dam in Canada in 2014. The CO2 captured there is transported and pumped into nearby oilfields for enhanced oil recovery. This has reduced its CO2 emission by one million tonne each year. Studies are on in the U.K. and other nations on the feasibility of similar installations there. Another method for removing CO2 from the atmosphere is to increase forest cover as plants will absorb some of the unwanted CO2. Increased forestation is part of India’s strategy for reducing CO2 .

“Stratospheric aerosol injection, the boldest and also the most risky of climate engineering interventions, involves spraying into the stratosphere fine, light-coloured particles designed to reflect back part of the solar radiation before it reaches and warms the earth." Image shows the tethered balloon method to inject sulphate aerosols into the stratosphere. — PHOTO: CC BY-SA 3.0

Using a few airplanes to inject aerosol to bring the temperature down by one degree could cost only a few billion dollars It is not clear whether CCS, reforestation and other carbon removal methods can make suicient impact at the global level to significantly slow down global warming. But they seem relatively benign at the scale at which they are being considered now and will at least lower CO2 pollution locally. More ambitious, but also more worrisome, is the second category of climate engineering: solar radiation management (SRM). Here the plan is to reduce global warming by cutting down the heat absorbed by our planet from the sun. Among the techniques being considered are marine cloud brightening, cirrus cloud manipulation and stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI). SAI, the boldest and also the most risky of climate engineering interventions, involves spraying into the stratosphere fine, light-coloured particles designed to reflect back part of the solar radiation before it reaches and warms the earth. SAI proponents claim that this could bring down the global temperature by as much as 1°C — a substantial amount in the climate change context. This is neither science fiction nor fantasy. Much preliminary research has already been done on this technique and reviewed in major journals. The optimal gases for injection, such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), can be produced in abundance. Furthermore,

just a few airplanes specially redesigned for the purpose may suice for injecting the required aerosol into the stratosphere. There are also precedents from nature. The 1991 volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines injected 20 megatonnes of SO2 into the stratosphere, cooling the globe significantly for a couple of years. But SAI also has the potential for disastrous side efects, crossing national boundaries. The Pinatubo volcanic eruption is also said to have reduced precipitation, soil moisture, and river flow in many regions. Injection of sulphur compounds into the stratosphere is likely to increase acid deposition on the ground and also contribute to ozone layer depletion. Apart from such “known unknowns”, there could also be, to use the catchphrase, the “unknown unknowns”. The global climate system is too complex for current computational techniques to predict all possible consequences of tampering with it. Once the aerosol has been injected into the atmosphere, it cannot be removed. Yet, if for any reason the injection, once begun, is discontinued prematurely, there can be rapid re-warming. That, ironically, could do more damage than the gradual global warming that we are seeking to combat. SAI research is still at a theoretical and laboratory level. Development of these techniques to large-scale deployment is years away. In that case, why should the larger community worry about it now? The reason is SRM interventions could happen sooner than one thinks. The technology does not seem to be astronomically expensive by standards of national budgets. Us-

Flashpoints of the future As climate change worsens, some coastlands could go underwater and other regions could sufer extreme heat and severe droughts causing massive human sufering. Under such pressure, and in the absence of international regulatory regimes, the afected nation, even a small developing one, may well resort to using whatever SAI technology is available by then in the international market. In their desperation, possible harmful efects on other countries may not weigh heavily on their decisionmaking. Meanwhile, just the fear of possible adverse side efects could lead other nations to take preventive action against the “perpetrator”. Nations have gone to war for less. One simple way to deal with this problem is to just ban further research in these fields. In fact, some climate scientists have already suggested this. They also fear that even the possibility of SRM interventions may undermine eforts to reduce carbon emissions. But a blanket ban on SRM would be unwise and diicult to implement. Technology, benign or malevolent, has a way of continuing to advance. Besides, banning all SRM research will amount to throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The goal of SRM is to mitigate damage done by carbon emissions. If there is some chance of it succeeding safely, it would be unwise to abandon it at this stage. Abandonment would also leave SRM technologies dangling midway, insuiciently tested or refined. That may nevertheless not deter some desperate climate changealicted nation from deploying it, leading to disaster. It is only through continuation of responsible research in climate engineering, done under proper regulatory oversight, that the limitations and risks of such interventions can be fully understood and provide the basis for informed decision-making. That will call for international governance mechanisms for overseeing the research and development and possible deployment of climate engineering techniques. This will take years to negotiate and set up. Criteria for permissible work will have to be developed, along with expertise for verification of compliance. While active climate engineering researchers have already been conscientiously worrying about these issues, it is not too early for the rest of us to start thinking about it. (R. Rajaraman is Emeritus Professor of Physics at JNU.) ND-ND

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12 | FROM PAGE ONE

Conditional permission Advocate Rajeev Bansal, appearing for the DDA, which had previously maintained that AOL had not disclosed to them the exact scale of the event, maintained that permission for the event was granted “with conditions that no permanent construction will be permitted without permission from the competent authority.” He said the plea seeking stay of construction activity was filed much after activity to hold the event had started and it needed to be dismissed. “As for the debris at the site, we would like to state that a constant watch is being maintained to ensure that the Yamuna floodplains are safe. There is a contractor to re-

move the debris, if any is dumped,’’ Mr. Bansal said. To this the Bench said there were photographs to show the presence of waste at the site. The DDA, however, maintained that when the site was handed over the organisers, there was no debris. In its submission, AOL maintained that they started work at the site after taking permission from all the authorities. This was refuted by the Delhi Police and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee. AOL was also unable to give the court the exact number of people expected for the event. The matter has been adjourned for Wednesday.

Nod withdrawn After the High Court administration informed the Adhivakta Parishad of the withdrawal of permission citing “security concerns,” the organisers shifted the event’s location to Malviya Smriti Bhavan in Central Delhi. Adhivakta Parishad vicepresident Suman Chauhan told The Hindu that the lawyers’ body had decided to change the venue due to “some constraints” and said the lawyers were looking forward to the Chief Justice coming to the programme, as she had given her consent to attend it. However, sources in the High Court’s Registry said Justice Rohini had decided not to participate in the programme.

Pension security was the aim: Jaitley PUJA MEHRA NEW DELHI: Union Finance Min-

ister Arun Jaitley, on Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that the objective of the Employees Provident Fund tax proposal was only to “encourage more private sector employees to go for pension security after retirement.”

In a statement, Mr. Jaitley said it was towards this objective that it was announced that 40 per cent of the total corpus withdrawn at the time of retirement would be taxexempt under both provident fund and the NPS. It was expected that the employees of private companies, the statement said,

would place the remaining 60 per cent of the corpus in annuity, out of which they could get a regular pension. “We recognised that the feedback and inputs we were getting from the public and salaried classes was relevant,” Minister of State Jayant Sinha said, speaking at a post-budget session at the FICCI.

Labour Ministry exerted pressure on PMO over EPF tax, says Bandaru SOMESH JHA NEW DELHI: Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday said that the government’s intention behind announcing a tax on withdrawal of Employees’ Provident Fund savings was to ofer better returns on investments in the National Pension Scheme, but the two retirement savings instruments could not be compared. It is learnt that the Labour Ministry took a strong stand with the Prime Minister’s Office and said in a note that the proposal would hit the salaried class which was the core constituency of the government, and that the tax would only yield around Rs. 300 crore from 42 lakh workers. “The announcement was made with the intent of getting better returns in NPS. After the stakeholders and we got in touch with the Ministry of Finance, then a discussion took place (where) we said that both the NPS and EPF can’t be compared because NPS is only for pension and EPF is a provi-

Rahul claims credit for rollback NATIONAL BUREAU

Bandaru Dattatreya says the decision to withdraw EPF tax proposal is in workers’ interest.

dent fund scheme”, Mr. Dattatreya told The Hindu in an exclusive interview. Mr. Dattatreya said Congress vicepresident Rahul Gandhi had made himself a “laughing stock” by claiming that his pressure had led to the withdrawal of the proposal. The Minister said he had met Prime Minister on Tuesday and said the decision to withdraw the EPF tax proposal was in the interest of workers. (For full interview visit: bit.ly/1W6CM6G)

NEW DELHI: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took credit for the rollback by the government of the budget proposal to tax the withdrawal of EPF, saying his “pressure did work”. “My pressure did work. Whenever somebody is being oppressed wrongly or victimised, I tend to try and help those people. I had said don't suppress the salaried class, so I think it is a good decision,” he said after the Centre decided to withdraw the proposal.

Talking to India on religious freedom, says United States VARGHESE K GEORGE WASHINGTON: The U.S. on Monday expressed disappointment over India denying visas to members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). A USCIRF team was planning to travel to India on March 4, but India did not process their visa applications. The Indian embassy in Washington said there was no change in India’s policy with respect to such visits and saw no “locus standi of a foreign entity like the USCIRF to pass its judgment and comment on the state of Indian citizens’ constitutionally protected rights.” India has been denying vi-

John Kirby expresses disappointment over denial of visas to members of religious freedom panel.

sas to USCIRF for seven years now. “We’re disappointed by this news,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said,

and added that religious freedom in India had been a “topic of conversation between the two countries.” “It’s not a topic of conversation that we’re afraid to have with our Indian counterparts,” he said. “We are supportive of the commission and the important role they play in reviewing facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom around the world. As President Obama himself noted during his visit last year, we support the Government of India’s commitments — commitment to promoting religious freedom and diversity,” he said. “Our nations are stronger when every person has the right to practise the faith they choose, or to practise no faith at all…,” Mr. Obama had said.

Dhruv helicopters involved in 16 accidents since 2002, says govt. DINAKAR PERI NEW DELHI: There have been 16 accidents involving the indigenously built Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) ever since the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited began producing them in 2002, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday. In two accidents, the helicopters were civilian variants. Eleven accidents occurred in India and five abroad. “Out of 16 accidents, 12 occurred due to human error and environmental factors and the remaining four occurred due to technical reasons,” Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

CM YK

The Dhruv has been indigenously designed and developed by the HAL and is powered by a Shakti engine jointly developed by the HAL and Turbomeca of France. Ecuador ends contract Ecuador had procured seven ALH Dhruvs from India, five in 2009 and two in 2011 in a deal worth $ 45.2 million, of which four had crashed following which the remaining have been grounded. Late last year, the Government of Ecuador had unilaterally terminated the contract with HAL. On this, the government said that as per the notice issued by the Ecuador government, ‘non-compliance of the seller of some of the obligations contracted by virtue of

the present contract’ and ‘value of the fines exceeding the amount of guarantee of faithful compliance of the contract’ had been cited as the reasons. While two of the crashes have been attributed to pilot error, one was due to a mechanical failure while the reason for the fourth crash is still being debated. On this, Mr. Singh said: “After the enquiry, based on the specific nature of the recommendations, the required improvements/corrective measures are implemented by the operator, HAL and other Original Equipment Manufacturers [OEM] as applicable.” In addition to Ecuador, two ALHs had been exported to the Maldives and one each to Nepal and Mauritius.

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THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

Constitution Bench to decide if MPs, MLAs can be disqualified upon framing of charges the Constitution. The court has been tightening its grip on corruption NEW DELHI: Opening its third in politics from 2013 when it chapter against corruption in first held that legislators, on politics, the Supreme Court conviction, would be immeon Tuesday decided to lay diately disqualified from down the law on whether the holding membership of the country should even wait until a corrupt legislator is con- trial court. Should his dis- House without being given victed to have him disquali- qualification be kept in abey- three months’ time for apfied from Parliament or ance till he is convicted? peal, as was the case before. The fact that the Supreme Before this verdict, convicted Assembly. A three-judge Bench, head- Court referred the matter to lawmakers would file an aped by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Chief Justice of India T.S. peal in the higher court and referred to a Constitution Thakur under Article 145 (3) continue in the House. Bench the question whether to set up a Constitution In March 2014, the Sua legislator facing criminal Bench of five judges indi- preme Court passed an intertrial should be disqualified at cates its positive resolve to im order that criminal trials, the very stage of framing of settle this “substantial ques- especially those dealing with charges against him by the tion of law” by interpreting corruption and heinous ofKRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL

The Supreme Court has been tightening its grip on corruption in politics from 2013

fences, involving elected representatives should be completed in a year. This order prevented lawmakers from sitting in the House as their cases dragged on. Meenakshi Arora, who appeared for the Election Commission in the case, told The Hindu that Tuesday’s reference to the Constitution Bench was the third chapter of a “clean-up act” started in 2013. The hearing was on petitions filed by the Public Interest Foundation and former Chief Election Commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh. Section 8 of the Represen-

tation of the People Act deals with disqualification on conviction for certain ofences: A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for varying terms under Sections 8 (1) (2) and (3) shall be disqualified from the date of conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release. In 2013, the Bench found it unconstitutional that convicted persons could be disqualified from contesting elections but could continue to be Members of Parliament and State Legislatures once elected.

Attempt to ‘fix’ Modi in Ishrat case: Jaitley SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Working to get Women’s Bill through, says Venkaiah Naidu

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister

Arun Jaitley hit out hard at the Opposition parties on recent controversies, accusing them of trying to “fix” Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Ishrat Jehan case. Intervening in the debate on the motion of thanks for the President’s address to Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Jaitley said: “You talk about intolerance. During the Delhi polls, news about attacks on religious places of a particular community was played up and an image was created the world over that it was political atrocity. When police investigated, they were found to be cases of theft or simple vandalism under the efect of liquor. But you used it during the Delhi elections.” “In West Bengal a nun was assaulted and a Bangladeshi was arrested for it. This happened in a State [not ruled by the BJP], but you gave it a political colour. Today, the debate on intolerance is who will be the chairman of an institution.” “I have read history and remember that when a singer did not sing in a Youth Congress programme, he was debarred from AIR,” he said referring to renowned singer Kishore Kumar and his blacklisting by All India Radio during the Emergency of 1975-77. Referring to the change in affidavit by the Home Ministry in the Ishrat Jehan case that did not refer to her as a Lashkar-eTaiba operative, the Finance Minister said: “In the process, you unbarred the entire security apparatus of India because you wanted to fix a political leader. Some day an investigation will take place on how internal security was played with.” At this, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, intervened and said the rulings of the “metropolitan magistrate’s court

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: On International

Arun Jaitley says that free speech cannot be allowed to be used to advocate breakup of the country. — PHOTO: PTI and the High Court cannot be dismissed.” “Security Agencies are not sacrosanct, that is why there is something called counter intelligence to keep an eye on all this,” Mr. Azad added. To this, Mr. Jaitley said that in a country like India, which is frequently the victim of terror attacks, “our agencies have to struggle to keep pace with forces out to attack us.” Responding to the JNU row, he said the government has nothing against a “particular student,” an apparent reference to student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, but asserted that free speech cannot be allowed to be used to advocate break-up of the country. “I expect mainstream political parties like Congress to be in the forefront of being against these people. Please don’t do anything that lends respectability to such people,” the Minister said. Mr. Jaitley rejected Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s charge that the government has let Pakistan of the hook, saying: “We are compelling Pakistan for the first time to own up that the attack in India is taking place from their land.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to respond to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President address on Wednesday.

Women’s Day on Tuesday, the Union government said it was working towards evolving a consensus on clearing the women’s reservation Bill and hoped to bring it to the Lok Sabha soon. Parliamentary Afairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said this in the Lok Sabha at the end of a special hour, in

which 30 women MPs spoke. The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010, but ran into opposition from a number of parties in the Lok Sabha. The proceedings started in style with Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan arriving in Parliament House on a motorcycle. In an impassioned speech, Congress president Sonia Gandhi underscored the need for passing the Bill.

RS seats: tough task ahead for Congress MEHBOOB JEELANI

Cong. issues whip to Rajya Sabha members SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: As 17 Congress MPs

are retiring from the Rajya Sabha in the next three months, the party high command is meticulously choosing their replacements keeping in view the upcoming Assembly elections. The vacancies in the upper House have triggered competition among the Congress leaders. And the party high command is aware that the party may face a blowback if they induct wrong candidates from the poll-bound States. With Ashwini Kumar’s membership from pollbound Punjab coming to an end, the State president Captain Amarinder Singh submitted the list of nominations to Sonia Gandhi. Sources said that Ms. Gandhi has decided to select either a Dalit leader or a Jat Sikh. Similarly, in Assam, where the elections are due in April, Anjan Dutta, the State Con-

“Maximum governance means giving women their due,” she said. “It means that ensuring that the civil and democratic rights of a citizen are not denied. It means preserving the social and communal fabric of the nation, and involves the expansion of the scope of debate without retaliation and retribution.” Vrindavan MP Hema Malini of the BJP spoke about multi-tasking, and said women excelled in it.

NEW DELHI: The Congress has is-

Anand Sharma with Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh at the Vidhan Sabha in Shimla on Tuesday. — PHOTO: PTI

gress president, told The Hindu that he has nominated 12 leaders for the two vacant Rajya Sabha seats. “We have strongly recommended Apurba Bhattacharya,” he said. The first sign of older leadership retaining their posts became visible when Anand Sharma gave up his membership from Rajasthan to contest from Himachal Pradesh.

sued a three-line whip to its members in the Rajya Sabha to be present when Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers his reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President's address . According to top sources in the party, the whip was issued for two reasons. “We want to be in full force when Mr. Modi is speaking since he does take a dig at the Opposition for not being present and more importantly, if at the end of the reply we are not ofered clarifications on his reply (a privilege available to Rajya Sabha members) then an amendment to the motion of thanks will be moved,” said a senior MP. Last year, CPI(M) MPs Sitaram Yechury and P. Rajeeve had moved and got cleared an amendment to the Motion of Thanks on the black money issue.

At JNU, caste trumps Hindutva Appointments in judiciary VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI: With a sitting vicepresident of the JNU unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the RSS’ student ailiate, burning the Manu Smriti on the campus on International Women’s Day on Tuesday, something unprecedented in the Sangh Parivar’s history happened. While Dr. B.R. Ambedkar — who was also India’s first Law Minister — had indeed burnt the document, associating it with inequality, it was in sync with the radical Dalit politics he espoused. But this time the challenge comes from within Hindutva — which finds Hindu traditions to be meaningful — though the challengers are already marginal within and seem to be on the verge of staging an exit. Present with Jatin Goraya, the JNU ABVP unit vice-

ABVP Dalit leader burns ‘Manu Smriti’ which is seen as an ‘anti-Dalit’, ‘anti-women’ text president, who is a Dalit from Haryana, were Pradeep Narwal and other students who have moved away from ABVP since the arrest of JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar — out on bail now — under sedition law. Clearly, young Dalit leaders who had associated with Hindutva’s Dalit outreach seem to have moved away ideologically as the ABVP has clashed with the Ambedkar Students’ Association at Hyderabad University — where Rohith Vemula committed suicide — and with the Left union at the JNU. “These are contradictions between Hindutva and Dalits

surfacing in the wake of recent controversies. Hindutva does not know how much to shift its line to accommodate Dalits, who are also Ambedkarites. And young Dalits also cannot adapt to it beyond a point. This contradiction is already playing out in this case,” said Badri Narayan, who teaches social exclusion at the university. Prof. Narayan says caste as an institution is a prime impediment to the growth of Hindutva and the contradictions between the two are beginning to surface. Mr. Narwal told The Hindu that Mr. Goraya would quit the ABVP if the organisation did not condemn the Manu Smriti, widely seen as an “anti-Dalit” and “anti-women” text. The Sangh Parivar, however, seems to be playing down this incident at the JNU for the moment.

out of RTI: government SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The Union government on Tuesday said it had no plans to bring the process of judicial appointments to the High Courts and the Supreme Court under the ambit of the Right to Information Act. In a press conference, Union Law Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda said transparency in judicial appointments could be achieved without bringing it under the information law. The Minister said the memorandum of procedure (MoP) of appointments of judges to the Supreme Court and the 24 High Courts was still in the final stage. He said though the Executive is the hands which craft the MoP, the final nod has to come from the judiciary before a draft is finalised. He said though the new MoP would take “some time”, it would not

hinder the process of appointment of judges in the higher judiciary. Mr. Gowda had in January 2016 written to the Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts , inviting their inputs on the MoP. The idea of involving State governments is one of the proposals made by the Supreme Court's Constitution Bench on December 16, to improve the collegium system of judicial appointments, even as over 400 judicial vacancies remain to be filled. The December 16 order of a five-judge Bench led by Justice J.S. Khehar, which had earlier struck down the National Judicial Appointments Committee law, had asked the Centre to consult State governments and take their views into consideration before drafting the MoP for appointment of judges to the High Courts.

Civil society takes centre stage at MEA outreach programme KALLOL BHATTACHERJEE NEW DELHI: The Government

will showcase ties between Indian civil society organisations and the foreign policy goals during a conference later this week. This comes after the Ministry of External Afairs displayed the achievement of the civil society organisations in the field of sustainable development and renewable energy during the Cop21 Paris climate change conference and the India

Africa Summit of 2015. The global-level conference will be part of a year-long mega conference series, kickstarted by the MEA last week with the Raisina Dialogue. Almost all the major civil society organisations of India will participate in the March 10-11 “Conference on South- South Cooperation”, being organised by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) of the MEA, to showcase the expanding

space for civil society organisations in the scheme of the External Afairs Ministry. New centre of economic activity “New South-South cooperation is needed in view of the shrinkage of resources in the developed North and the emergence of South as a new centre of economic activity,” said Shyam Saran, Director General of RIS and Former Foreign Secretary, highlighting that Indian civ-

il society organisations in the field of sustainable development will play a key role in the two-day conference. The conference, to be attended by at least 100 experts from the field of international afairs and development economics, will be a platform for the Government's long term plan to use development assistance as a tool for India’s diplomacy. The Ministry of External Afairs has been showcasing

civil society initiatives at the international level and also used organisations like the Barefoot College of Tilonia to highlight India's commitment to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). In addition to the civil society connection, the conference will also launch the Network of Southern Thinktanks (NeST) which will connect think tanks across Africa, Southeast Asia, Central and South Americas. ND-ND

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THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

NIA not against Pakistan probe team visiting Pathankot VIJAITA SINGH NEW DELHI: The National Inves-

tigation Agency (NIA) has reportedly informed the government that it will have no objection if a Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Pakistan wants to visit the Pathankot air base, a high security defence installation. The Pakistan SIT is due to visit India Seven personnel were killed in connection with an ongo- in the January attack on the Pathankot air base. ing probe. Last week, the Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup unlikely that the security of Raha, had said that the force the airbase would be comprowould have no objection if the mised”, said the oicial. The NIA’s decision asPakistan SIT wanted to visit sumes significance as India the air base. A senior government oi- and Pakistan have renewed atcial said that the final deci- tempts to share real time insion would be taken by the formation on terrorist groups. Prime Minister’s Oice Last week, Pakistan NSA Na(PMO) and the National Se- seer Khan Janjua informed his curity Advisor (NSA) would Indian counterpart that 10 Pakistan-based terrorists could also have a say in it. A few days ago, the NIA have sneaked into India was asked for its opinion on through the Gujarat coast. the Pakistan SIT’s visit to the Following this information, a air base. “The area of oper- country-wide alert was issued ation, where the four terror- and security agencies were ists were gunned down and pressed into action to further the Airmen’s Billet, which tackle the situation. The Pakistan SIT is expectwas blown up, are located at the periphery of the air base. ed to visit India around March The defence installations are 20, an oicial said. Based on much inside and it is highly information provided by In-

Shift bodies of terrorists: hospital PATHANKOT: The Pathankot Civil hospital has demanded shifting the bodies of four terrorists killed during the attack on the Air Force base here in January, citing lack of space in its mortuary. The bodies have been lying in the mortuary of the Pathankot Civil hospital for over two months now. — PTI

dia, a case has been registered in Pakistan regarding the Pathankot attack and three persons have been arrested. “The area of operation is still being preserved. We might need to access it again as part of the ongoing investigations. We have identified all the four terrorists who entered the airbase and have already sent their photographs to Pakistan with the letter rogatory,” said the oicial. Several people in the security establishment are apprehensive of the Pakistan team’s visit. The attack on the air base by six terrorists from Pakistan on January 2 went on for five days and claimed the lives of seven security personnel.

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POLL POSITIONS

Cong. keeps of seats chosen by Left Makes public list of 75 seats it is contesting in West Bengal

No tribal leader in Congress screening panel for Assam

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The five-member

MEHBOOB JEELANI

KOLKATA: Taking the electoral

understanding between the Congress and Left Front a step further, the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) on Tuesday made public a list of 75 seats for the upcoming Assembly polls. The list did not include A Trinamool poster with the slogan ‘Inquilab Mataram’ on the any of 116 seats that Left Front Left-Congress pact in West Bengal.— PHOTO: ASHOKE CHAKRABARTY had announced candidates for on Monday, indicating mal alliance with a common Chowdhury said there was agenda. Mr “no point playing hide-andthat a formal “understand- minimum pulled no seek game when the talks being” between the Left Front Chowdhury and the Congress was in punches to clarify that he was tween the two parties are not happy about an arrange- [taking place] in full media place. which was glare.” Releasing a list of 116 candi- ment dates, Left Front chairperson “half-hearted.” “If we would have come to- No candidates yet Biman Basu said on Monday that they had entered into an gether properly and conductOn why the Congress only “electoral understanding” ed a joint campaigns the re- announced the seats and not with the Congress, which is sult would have been much the candidates, Mr Chowdbetter. But some of them hury said the decision on senot “an alliance or a Front.” WBPCC President Ahir [Front members] have prob- lection of candidates would Ranjan Chowdhury also clar- lems with us, though we be taken by All India Conified that while the Left and [Congress] do not believe in gress Committee in Delhi. the Congress have entered political untouchability,” he However, Mr. Chowdhury into a “seat sharing arrange- said. Without naming the declared one candidate, alment”, they are not in a for- Left Front chairperson, Mr beit unoicially.

screening committee nominated by Congress for the Assam elections on Monday left the party’s Schedule Tribe (ST) leaders and activists disgruntled as it lacked representation from their community. Since the screening committee plays a key role in helping the party high command decide on ticket distribution, the State’s ST leadership is wary. “It seems like very few ST leaders are going to get ticket this time,” a senior Congress leader from ST community told The Hindu. In Assam, the people from ST community make up 12.5 per cent of population. The rival BJP has fielded Sarbananda Sonowal, a former Congressman, who belongs to the ST community, as its chief ministerial candidate. Sources in Congress said that the party high command had given up on the idea of canvassing support in the tribal belt of Assam since Mr. Sonowal exerts strong influence there. Ajit Jogi, the chairman of the

BJP’s tie-up with AGP opposed GUWAHATI: The police on Tuesday prevented BJP workers belonging to the party’s Patacharkuchi unit from ransacking and locking up the party’s office in Guwahati. Police sources said the workers were angry over their party’s alliance with regional party AGP for the Assembly poll in Assam. — PTI

Congress ST cell told The Hindu that he had been receiving phone calls from Assam ever since the party finalised its screening committee. “I will find out how it [non-inclusion of ST member] happened,” said Mr. Jogi, adding that he would reach Delhi on March 12 to discuss the matter with the party high command. However, senior leader Janardan Dwivedi defended the committee saying that the “formula” for electing a “central level” screening body was different from that for a State election committee.

Women fighter pilots to join IAF in June No legal obligation to NPT, says India DINAKAR PERI NEW DELHI: On June 18, India will in all likelihood get its first women fighter pilots. Bhawna Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi and Mohana Singh are likely to create history as India’s first women fighter pilots if they put on the wings and are inducted into the IAF fighter stream. Who among the three, or all of them, make the final cut depends on them clearing the advanced stage training. This was announced by the Chief of the Indian Air Force Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Arup Raha on Tuesday while speaking on the occasion of the International Women’s

REACHING FOR THE SKIES: The cadets who will be inducted into the IAF on June 18 as fighter pilots.— PHOTO: PTI

Day. “I must thank the Defence Minister for having approved the IAF’s proposal to induct women as fighter pilots and very soon on June 18 this year,

Indian Air Force will get its first woman fighter pilot,” ACM Raha said, addressing a seminar on the role of women in the Army’s Medical Corps.

The three women trainees have volunteered to join the fighter stream. “They are under the second phase of their training. Once they complete their training they will be on par with their male colleagues and the passing out parade is scheduled on June 18,” the ACM added. In October the Defence Ministry, in a much welcomed decision, had announced that women would for the first time be allowed in combat roles beginning with the Air Force. Soon the Navy followed suit saying that women pilots would be inducted except where staying overnight on board was involved.

EDUCATIONAL

KALLOL BHATTACHERJEE NEW DELHI: Weeks before the Nuclear Security Summit, the government reminded the world that India does not have any “legal obligation” to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). “Government believes that given our consistent and principled position on the NPT, to which India is not a party, its provisions cannot be extended to India as a legal obligation,” a diplomatic source told The Hindu. This was in response to a question on the case that Marshall Islands from the Pacific Ocean region has lodged at the International Court of Justice against all the major nuclear states, including India, for possessing nuclear weapons and for not

Marshall Islands has moved the ICJ against India, alleging breach of NPT obligations supporting a global test ban pact. Legal team at ICJ India has sent a legal team to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where Marshall Islands has at present instituted proceedings against India, “contending breach of customary law obligations following from the Non-Proliferation Treaty.” Article VI of the NPT demands that each member state of the NPT undertake

EDUCATIONAL

“negotiations in good faith on efective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and efective international control.” India has already made a written presentation to the ICJ reiterating that Marshall Islands’ argument regarding the obligations flowing from Article VI of the NPT is not valid before India which is not a signatory to the NPT. “India has reiterated its position on global nuclear disarmament,” an oicial told The Hindu. India, the oicial said, continued to support non-discriminatory global nuclear disarmament. The case from the Marshall

EDUCATIONAL

Islands has been on the agenda of the ICJ since the tiny archipelago in the Pacific Ocean lodged the case in 2014 seeking greater international attention to the issue of comprehensive test ban treaty. Ever since, Marshall Islands’ campaign has acquired stronger support, especially since it sufered due to the nuclear tests conducted in its territory by the United States during the 1940s and the 1950s. Though India has been citing its non-membership to the NPT to deal with the case, Marshall Islands has stated that the principles of the Article VI is well enshrined in international law and therefore could be considered a “customary law” that India may have violated by staying out of NPT.

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THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

EU, Turkey seek to realise refugee plan

Defying sanctions, Iran conducts new missile tests If turned into a lasting accord, it may help ease the burden placed on Europe by the refugee crisis

Top Jamaat leader’s death sentence upheld HAROON HABIB

TEHRAN: Iran conducted multi-

ple ballistic missile tests on Tuesday in an exercise to demonstrate “deterrent power,” a move that comes in defiance of U.S. sanctions imposed over its missile programme in January. The announcement by the oicial IRNA news agency said the tests showed the country’s “all-out readiness to confront threats” against its territorial integrity. State television a short time after showed still images of the armaments used in what it described as a military drill in which “ballistic missiles were fired from silos” in diferent parts of the country. The U.S. imposed new sanctions over Iran’s missile programme in January almost immediately after separate sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear activities had been lifted under a landmark deal with world powers. The latest tests, called “The Power of Velayat”, a reference to the religious doctrine of the Islamic Republic’s leadership, were undertaken by the Revolutionary Guards and Aerospace Forces. Sepah News, the Guards’ oicial media service, confirmed the missile tests, which come less than two weeks after elections delivered gains to politicians aligned with Hassan Rouhani, the country’s moderate President. Meanwhile, Iran has exported heavy water, key component for one kind of nuclear reactor, to the U.S. as part of their nuclear pact. — AFP

ISTANBUL: EU and Turkish leaders on Tuesday sought to turn into a lasting accord a plan on easing Europe’s refugee crisis hailed as a game-changer by Ankara and Brussels but swiftly criticised by the UN’s refugee chief. The day after agreeing the tentative plan following late night talks in Brussels, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was to discuss how it could work in a crucial meeting with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras. The EU is wooing Turkey — used by over one million migrants in the last year as a springboard for reaching the bloc — as the key player in helping ease Europe’s worst migrant crisis since World War II. The talks in Brussels were expected to be tough but Mr. Davutoglu upped the ante by bringing additional Turkish demands to the table — such as accelerated visa liberalisation — as well as ofering more than EU diplomats expected. But after hours of talks, EU president Donald Tusk described the outcome as a “breakthrough” and said he would now work on the legal details to reach a final deal at a European summit in Brussels on March 17-18. A key pillar of the mooted deal was the unexpected ofer by Ankara to take back every irregular migrant that crosses from Turkey to the islands of EU member Greece.

A man burns a pair of trousers to make a bonfire on a foggy morning at a makeshift camp on the Greece-Macedonia border, near the Greek village of Idomeni, on Tuesday. Filippo Grandi, the head of the UN’s refugee agency, has criticised the deal the European Union has struck with Turkey which many EU leaders hailed as a “game changer.” — PHOTO: AFP

In return, the EU would then resettle one Syrian living in Turkey on its territory for every Syrian migrant it takes back from Greece. The hope is that the plan will eliminate incentives for migrants to come to Greece by boat, but it ran into swift opposition from the head of the UN refugee agency Filippo Grandi. “I’m deeply concerned about any arrangement that would involve the blanket return of anyone from one country to another without

spelling out the refugee protection safeguards under international law,” he told the European Parliament. Rights group Amnesty International said EU and Turkish leaders had “sunk to a new low” and ridiculed the notion that Turkey was a “safe country” to which migrants could return. Iverna McGowan, the head of Amnesty’s European Institutions Oice, said “the idea of bartering refugees” was “dangerously dehumanising.” Mr. Davutoglu was due to

meet Tsipras later on Tuesday in the Aegean port city of Izmir, with discussions expected to focus on Turkey taking back migrants who crossed from its shores to Greece. “We will have a historic meeting where we will have a decision to update our readmission agreement so Turkey can take in all migrants who do not have a right to international protection,” Mr. Tsipras said. Turkey and Greece signed a protocol over the readmis-

Seoul imposes sanctions on Pyongyang

T. RAMAKRISHNAN COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s leader of

Opposition R. Sampanthan on Tuesday slammed the government over continuing detention of people booked under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) even after it committed itself at the UN Human Rights Council last year to review and repeal the law. Speaking on a motion on the subject of missing persons and those in custody, Mr. Sampanathan, who also heads the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), recalled how the previous governments had granted amnesty to those who were arrested during the insurgency of the early 1970s and the late 1980s. He asked the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government why the Tamil prisoners should be treated diferently.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wrote he could not risk entering the race, which may help either Trump or Cruz win the election. — FILE PHOTO: REUTERS

Mr. Bloomberg was blistering in his critique of Mr. Trump, currently the Republican front-runner, saying the billionaire real estate mogul has run “the most divisive and demagogic presidential campaign I can remember, preying on people’s prejudices and fears.” “We cannot ‘make America great again’ by turning our backs on the values that made us the world’s greatest nation in the first place,” he wrote. “I love our country too much to play a role in electing a candidate who would weaken our unity and darken our future — and so I will not enter the race for president of the United States.” — AP

‘Take a political decision’ Mr. Sampanthan argued that those who were detained “are not charged with crimes against society but charged with crimes which have political dimensions”. Their continued detention was “not compatible” with transitional justice. He contended that a political decision had to be taken with regard to the prisoners, a matter which could not be viewed merely in legal sense.

China warns against destabilising Korean region ATUL ANEJA

CM YK

BEIJING: An assertive China on Tuesday warned that it would not hesitate to intervene if its fundamental interests on the Korean Peninsula were harmed, and made it plain that its deep-rooted ties with the South China Sea could not be rivalled by any foreign power. At an annual press conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi set several markers to explain the broad thrust of Beijing’s evolving, and increasingly bold, foreign policy, where growing competition with the U.S. was the underlying theme. In his detailed response to a query on spiralling tensions in the Koreas, Mr. Wang said China would not “sit by and see” the destabilisation of the peninsula. “If the tensions worsen or even get out of control, it would be a disaster for all parties. As the largest neighbour of the peninsula China will not sit by and see fundamental disruption to stability on the peninsula, and will not sit by and see unwarranted damage to China’s

Bangladeshi Jamaat-e-Islami party leader Mir Quasem Ali is the sixth war crimes convict to have his appeal rejected. — FILE PHOTO: AFP

Fled the country after independence, Ali returned to Bangladesh first as an employee of the Saudi-based Rabita Al Islam welfare trust and helped Jamaat secure a strong financial foothold, amassing huge wealth. Verdict hailed The 1971 war veterans, victims’ families and pro-liberation activists across the country welcomed the apex court’s decision. The ruling Awami League and other secular parties have also hailed the verdict, saying it has “fulfilled” the nation’s long overdue expectations. However, Jamaat has called for a dawn-to-dusk countrywide hartal on Wednesday to protest the verdict.

We’ll repeal PTA, says govt. T. RAMAKRISHNAN COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Tuesday told Parliament that the government was in the process of repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Responding to Leader of Opposition R. Sampanthan’s persistent query on the issue of PTA repeal, Mr. Samaraweera said the Law Commission of Sri Lanka, entrusted with the task of formulating an alternative draft law in keeping with international practices, had just submitted a draft. Hopefully, the matter would be finalised in a couple of months.

218 prisoners

Giving an account of the proceedings in respect of 218 prisoners, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Minister D.M. Swaminathan said 39 persons were, in November last year, The TNA leader also urged the government not to let itself dictated by “slogans” from certain “parochial” sections. ‘Absurd and stupid’ He described as “absurd and stupid” the reported observation of a political leader regarding the re-emergence

Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks to the media in Beijing on Tuesday. Mr. Wang took a hard line on China's claims to virtually all the South China Sea, saying Beijing won’t permit other nations to infringe on its sovereign rights. — PHOTO: AP

security interest.” Yet, in order to defuse tensions, Mr. Wang advocated a multi-pronged approach where denuclearisation of the peninsula would be combined with signing of a formal peace treaty. That would replace the 1953 Armistice, which was meant to “insure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settlement is achieved”.

“Denuclearisation is a firm goal of the international community; replacing the armistice with a peace treaty is a reasonable concern of the DPRK. The two can be negotiated in parallel, implemented in steps and resolved with reference to each other. This would be an equitable, reasonable and workable solution.” The Korean Peninsula is on edge following the start on Monday of the largest-ever

U.S.-South Korea military exercise, which has been fused with North Korea’s threat of a pre-emptive nuclear strike. To a volley of questions on the South China Sea where a back-and-forth between Beijing and Washington has escalated following recent “freedom of navigation” naval patrols by the U.S., Mr. Wang strongly reiterated his country’s claims on the disputed Spratly islands. “The Nansha islands, otherwise known as the Spratly, are China’s integral territory. Every Chinese has an obligation, to defend them and China has not and will not make new territorial claims,” Mr. Wang observed. Analysts point out that the South China Sea has rapidly emerged as an area of contested hegemony between China and the U.S., which has already amassed forces in the AsiaPacific under its “Pivot to Asia” doctrine. In an obvious reference to the U.S., Mr. Wang asserted: “I want to remind some people that freedom of navigation doesn’t give them the licence to do whatever they

want. If someone wants to muddy the waters in the South China Sea and to destabilise Asia, China will not agree to it and I think the overwhelming majority of countries in the region will not allow that to happen.” Historical bonds The Chinese foreign minister stressed that China’s emotional and historical bonds with the South China Sea could not be rivalled by any other power. “China was the first country to discover, name, develop and manage the South China Sea islands. Our ancestors have lived and worked here for generations. So we know and love the place more than anyone else.” “The South China Sea has seen colonial invasion and illegal occupation and now some people are trying to make waves, some others showing of force. However, like the tide that comes and goes none of these attempts will make any impact. History will prove who is a mere guest and who the real host is.”

released on bail. Of them, 19 were recommended for rehabilitation before their eventual release. While three had accepted the government’s offer, the others did not. In respect of the remaining 20, two had been discharged from their cases and one was facing a case in the Trincomalee High Court while issues concerning the 17 accused were under examination. As for 21 accused against whom indictments had been filed, three had accepted the proposal for rehabilitation. Besides, nine out of 41 convicted persons had gone on appeal. There were cases pending in High Courts and Magistrate courts against 117 persons. Mr Swaminathan informed the Parliament that a Special High Court was established one and a half months ago to attend to court cases of the persons kept under detention. of [Tamil] Eelam if the government released the prisoners, withdrew military from the Northern Province and allowed the re-merger of the North and East with powers on land and police. “After the end of the armed conflict, can you cite a single instance to show that there had been revival of violence?”

Deuba is new Nepali Cong. president

An assertive Beijing says its deep-rooted ties with the South China Sea cannot be rivalled by any foreign power

SEOUL: South Korea said on

Tuesday it was imposing unilateral sanctions on North Korea over its recent nuclear test and rocket launch, including a ban on financial dealings with 40 individuals and 30 entities. The announcement came a day after North Korea warned of pre-emptive nuclear strikes in response to the start of U.S.-South Korean military drills it views as a rehearsal for invasion. The South Korean sanctions target 38 individuals and 24 organisations in North Korea who Seoul says are responsible for the North’s development of weapons of mass destruction. A Singaporean, a Taiwanese and six entities in Myanmar, Thailand, Taiwan and other countries will also be sanctioned for indirectly assisting North Korea, the government said. South Korea also said it will ban the entrance of any ship that has stopped at a North Korean port in the previous 180 days. — AP

Turkey’s gains Turkey is the main launching point migrants making the dangerous crossing over the Aegean Sea to the Greek islands. It hosts 2.7 million refugees from the five-year civil war in neighbouring Syria, more than any other country. For Turkey, perhaps the biggest gain was the European Union’s agreement to bring forward to June visafree travel to the bloc’s Schengen passport-free area for Turkey’s 75 million people, provided that Ankara honours its promises. — AFP

DHAKA: The Bangladesh Supreme Court has upheld death for key Jamaat-e-Islami leader and financier Mir Quasem Ali, a pro-Pakistani militia commander in 1971, in an appeal verdict of a war crimes case. A five-member full bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, delivered the verdict before a packed courtroom on Tuesday. Ali is the sixth war crimes convict whose appeal has been rejected. Of the earlier five, four were executed and one serves life imprisonment for crimes against humanity during the nation’s liberation war in 1971. The verdict cited the crimes Ali committed as the Chittagong area commander of the Al-Badr, a militia formed with members of the Jamaat’s students’ wing, Islami Chhatra Sangha, to assist the Pakistan Army during the nine-month-long war. Ali, 63, now a member of Jamaat-e-Islami’s central executive council, handed death by a special war crimes tribunal in 2014. Ali, who owns Diganta Media that runs a TV channel and a newspaper, is also the founder of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd, the country’s top private sector bank. He was the third most important leader of the Al Badr killing squad, which killed tortured pro-independence people in 1971.

Sampanthan slams Sri Lankan govt. over continuing detentions

Bloomberg decides against White House bid WASHINGTON: There will be no battle of the New York billionaires in the 2016 presidential race. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Monday that he would not run for president as an independent candidate, a move that would have roiled this year’s already extraordinarily unpredictable presidential campaign. Mr. Bloomberg’s announcement came on the eve of Tuesday’s Michigan primary, the first nominating contest in a big industrial State. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are both favoured in a primary that should ofer clues about how the candidates will fare in important Midwest contests to come. Also on tap for Tuesday are primaries for both parties in Mississippi, and Republican contests in Idaho and Hawaii. Mr. Bloomberg, who had spent months mulling a third-party run, made his decision oicial through an editorial posted by the Bloomberg View, writing that he believes his candidacy would likely lead to the election of Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. “That is not a risk I can take in good conscience,” the 74-year-old billionaire wrote.

sion of migrants in 2002 but it has rarely been activated and its use could transform the refugee crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel — who has been the strongest proponent of a deal with Turkey — gave cautious support. “It is a breakthrough if it becomes reality,” she told reporters. Mr. Davutoglu said the one-for-one Syrian refugee swap deal was "game-changing" and denied that Turkey was “demanding” money. As well as that ofer, Mr. Davutoglu surprised his counterparts by asking for an extra €3 billion in aid and visa-free travel for Turks to the bloc by June. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker also called the plan a “real game changer,” insisting that it was “legally feasible.”

KATHMANDU: Three-time

Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has been elected the new president of Nepali Congress, the country’s largest democratic party, in a run-off poll, succeeding late premier Sushil Koirala. Mr. Deuba, 69, was elected

during the 13th National General Convention here last night. The post has been vacant since the death of Koirala last month. Deuba received 1,822 votes, while Ram Chandra Paudel, the acting president of the party, was restricted to 1,296 votes. A total of 3,140 votes were cast, while only 3,118 were considered valid. Mr. Deuba said he would unite the party and focus attention on implementing the new Constitution. — PTI

Taseer’s kidnapped son found

ISLAMABAD: The kidnapped son

of a liberal Pakistani governor assassinated by his bodyguard has been found,

officials said on Tuesday, just over a week after his father’s killer was hanged. Shahbaz Taseer (in pic) is in “feeble” health, said Aitzaz Goraya, head of the CounterTerrorism Department of southwestern Balochistan province, where officials said he was found after a raid. Mr. Taseer was abducted by Islamist gunmen from Lahore in August 2011, months after his father Salmaan was killed for opposing the country’s controversial blasphemy laws. — AFP ND-ND

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BUSINESS

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

The Prime Minister has elucidated his vision of converting red tape into red carpet

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projects in Diu, Silvassa Ambani’s $20 bn bet on TV, telecoms DMIC halted due to land issues may rekindle billionaire brothers’ rivalry ARUN S

Mukesh Ambani plans to spend about $2 billion over three years to capture India’s TV sets

I

ndia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is muscling into the country’s cable TV sector as part of a media and telecoms ofensive that pits him against his once-estranged younger brother and threatens to shake up both industries. Ambani controls Reliance Industries, an oil and gas behemoth that is India’s most profitable conglomerate. He is also now targeting India’s consumers, taking steps most recently into telecoms, where he has spent at least $18 billion on 4G telecoms brand RJio, due to start this year. Now, he plans to spend about $2 billion over three years to capture India’s TV sets, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said, as he eyes an opportunity to use his financial clout in what is a highly fragmented sector. Reliance Industries SIBLING declined to comment on its plans. RIVALRY Home entertainredux? ment is wildly popular in India, but it’s a high-volume, lowmargin business where many smaller local operators control the socalled “last mile” — the connection from fibre optic cable in the street into the living room. Mr. Ambani’s television unit has been aggressively wrapping up deals with hundreds of small players in a street-by-street efort to conquer that final hurdle in its cable TV drive, people familiar with the matter said. It could also snap up rival oper-

Mukesh Ambani’s media targets dwarf the largest current player in either cable or satellite TV. Until 2010, the sectors were, like telecoms, the preserve of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications. — FILE PHOTO: REUTERS

ators as part of that push, those sources and analysts said, driving tie-ups in a densely populated sector that includes Hathway Cable, Den Networks and Siti Cable. One Reliance oicial, who didn’t want to be named because the targets are not public, said a mid-year goal of one million subscribers would rise to 5 million homes in the medium-term. Within three years, the aim is 20 million. Today, only 20 million homes in India have a broadband or another Internet connection — indicating huge potential in a country with a population of some 1.3 billion. There are just 1,70,000 subscribers for wireless Internet through optical fibre. “Once the company manages to

Today, only 20 million homes in India have a broadband or another Internet connection — indicating huge potential in a country with a population of some 1.3 billion. There are just 1,70,000 subscribers for wireless Internet through optical fibre.

Industry executives say Reliance Industries’ clout and scale of effort will pressure smaller rivals crack the last mile... it will be a formidable player,” said Rajev Gavi, Managing Director of Den Satellite Network, a leading cable operator. Reliance executives say it will ofer a bundled package with hundreds of channels and video-ondemand in high definition, along with broadband Internet, a landline phone and home surveillance. It will also ofer Jio Play, its version of the Netflix movie and TV series streaming service. Lofty aims Mr. Ambani’s targets dwarf the largest current player in either cable or satellite TV. Until 2010, the sectors were, like telecoms, the preserve of Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications , known as RCom — though he has dominated neither and racked up debts

Railways appoints EY to mop up Rs. 5,000 crore ad revenue SOMESH JHA NEW DELHI: Indian Railways has appointed global consultancy firm Ernst &Young (EY) to help the utility mop up advertising revenues worth over Rs.5,000 crore in the next few years. “Initiating a large-scale significant exercise to identify and leverage pan-India advertising opportunities at railway stations and trains, Indian Railways has appointed EY as consultant to undertake this job on its behalf,” according to a statement from the Ministry on Tuesday. In his Budget speech, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had said that the utility will look to increase revenues from non-tarif sources and do away with conventional approach of increasing passenger and freight fares. He had not announced any increase in passenger fares and hinted at bringing down freight fares. “…We earn less than 5 per

Indian Railways had not been able to increase the average speed in the last 10 years cent of our revenues through non-tarif sources. Many of the world railway systems generate 10 per cent to 20 per cent of their revenues from non-tarif sources. “Over a period of the next five years, we will strive to reach this world average by monetising assets and undertaking other revenue yielding activities,” Mr. Prabhu had said The public utility had decided to create two new directorates tasked with increasing the speed of trainsand boosting non-fare revenues by monetising land along the tracks and advertising. Members of the Railway Board recently met to formulate a detailed plan for the two new verticals to be called Raf-

taar (for increasing the speed of trains) and non-fare box revenue, senior Railway Ministry oicials said. “The Railway Board met recently and decided to create two vertical structures with inter-departmental members – non-fare box revenue and the other one will be named Raftaar to bring speed as an area of focus,” an oicial said. Oicials said the target of the Indian Railways would be to increase the average speed of freight trains by five kilometres per hour in the first year. At present, the average speed of freight trains is 25 km per hour, passenger trains 35 km, mail express 50 km and super fast express trains 7080 km per hour, Railway Board Chairman A. K. Mittal had said last month. He had also said that the Indian Railways had not been able to increase the average speed in last 10 years as there was no separate department to look into this aspect.

Mercedes rolls out blast-proof civilian vehicle at Rs. 10.50 crore SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz unveiled Maybach S 600 Guard in India with a price tag of Rs.10.50 crore (ex-showroom Delhi). “Most of the global heads of States, top diplomats, business tycoons and celebrities prefer a ‘Guard’ vehicle. The Mercedes-Maybach S 600 Guard is launched in India within 15 days of its international debut. With this launch, we continue to follow our ‘top of pyramid’ approach for the discerning Indian customers,” Roland Folger, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes Benz India said after introducing the car on Tuesday. The car, the company claims, is the first civilian vehicle to be certified with the highest ballistic protection level VR10.

CM YK

The car, Mercedes claims, is the first civilian vehicle to be certified with the highest ballistic protection level VR10. — PHOTO: PTI

The Mercedes-Benz Guard range in India currently comprises the Mercedes-Maybach and S 600 Guard. The 4.7-tonne vehicle, which is the most expensive car from the Mercedes stable in India, comes with the highest levels of ballistic and blast protection, available for a non-military vehicle.

Last month, rival Audi introduced the A8 L Security sedan with a price starting at Rs 9.15 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi). The car satisfied the criteria of the class VR 9 ballistic protection standard, which is one of the most stringent requirements for civilian highsecurity sedans.

of more than $5 billion chasing growth. The two brothers fell out more than a decade ago after the death of their industrialist father, eventually splitting the family empire under a truce brokered by their mother. Mukesh took the oil and gas interests and Anil took control of RCom, previously run by Mukesh. In 2010, they reconciled and scrapped a non-compete clause. Within weeks, Mukesh snapped up the only company to have won a national licence in India’s broadband wireless spectrum auction, now called RJio and set to launch by this summer. Analysts say the RJio threat prompted RCom to buy Russian conglomerate Sistema’s mobile business — the first big Indian telecoms deal in seven years — and it is in talks with Aircel to create the country's second-largest mobile operator. RCom declined to comment. The two have, though, cooperated in some areas. RCom has a 1,40,000 km, pan-India fibre optic cable network which RJio will use under a 2014 deal, alongside its own 2,50,000 km network. A Reliance push into TV will also use RCom’s network of towers and cables. In January, the two companies signed a deal to share RCom’s 800 MHz spectrum for its 4G push. That could provide something of a cushion, but is unlikely to ease the pressure. As Mukesh’s telecom and cable projects take hold, analysts and industry executives say Reliance Industries’ clout and the scale of its efort will pressure smaller rivals, including RCom. “If you look at each of these strategies, at the core of it, it's no diferent from what others have done,” said Kunal Bajaj, a telecoms consultant. “But (what) the company is planning is at a scale that no one's done before in India.” — Reuters

NEW DELHI: Plans to build a world-class Integrated Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre at Diu and an Industrial Park-cum-Logistics Centre in Silvassa have come to a halt owing to non-availability of land, oicial sources told The Hindu. Proposals for these two facilities, part of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), were first taken up formally in December 2014 at a meeting between the oicials of the DMIC Development Corporation (DMICDC) and the authorities of the Union Territories (UT) of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli (the capital of which is Silvassa).

EXCLUSIVE The project development activities for the two facilities were to be undertaken under the auspices of DMICDC. In April 2015, tender documents were issued to select consultants to prepare the technical and economic feasibility report for these two facilities. By May 25 last year, which was the last date for submission of bid proposals, four bids were received for the Silvassa facility and five for the Diu facility. The tender value for each of these two facilities was about Rs. 8 crore. The bids were being evaluated. However, the sources said, the processes had to be “annulled” as the authorities concerned of the UTs did not give any confirmation regarding the availability of land required for the facilities. The Silvassa project was to come up on a total area of about 100 hectares (both government and private) in Karad, Velugam, Kharadpada, Parzai and Silvassa, they said. These UTs together have

Land acquisition is a major impediment which is time-consuming and cumbersome

around 2,400 factories and 2,700 small scale industries, employing about one lakh people. The industries are mainly in sectors such as plastics, pharmaceuticals, textiles, basic metals and chemicals. Information technology and tourism are the leading service sectors. The two proposed facilities were aimed at boosting manufacturing and manufacturing-related services there. A total area of around 490 sq km in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and about 122 sq km in Diu & Daman was part of the DMIC ‘project influence area’ totalling about 4.37 lakh sq km spread across seven states and three UTs (including Delhi). The $90 billion-DMIC project envisages industrial hubs on either side of 1,483 km-long Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) connecting Delhi and Mumbai, boosting employment, industrial activity and exports. The 2015 ‘Industrial Policy’ of the UTs of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli had recognised Silvassa’s potential to be developed as a multi-modal logistics hub, considering it was located close to the DFC. Silvassa is situated at the intersection of cargo movement between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The Industrial Policy also sought to provide special focus to ‘eco-tourism’ in Diu and to project Diu as an attractive ‘events destination.’ The policy had acknowledged that land availability was becoming a key impediment to industrialisation. These two UTs were making eforts to create land banks

for industrial use. They had also encouraged entrepreneurs to consider land-pooling independently or in partnership with the government. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the nodal Central government agency for the DMIC project, had also said land acquisition was a major impediment and that it was a timeconsuming and cumbersome process requiring huge financial resources. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce is looking into the problems, including those related to land acquisition, afecting all the industrial corridors. Other sub projects in the DMIC project that have been facing land acquisition problems include the PithampurDhar-Mhow Investment Region in Madhya Pradesh (where private land owners had challenged the government notification to acquire around eight sq km) and the Dholera Special Investment Region in Gujarat.

Exchange Rates Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4 p.m on March 08

Currencies U.S. Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Jap Yen (100 Units) Chinese Yuan Swiss Franc Singapore Dollar Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swedish Kroner Danish Kroner New Zealand Dollar Hongkong Dollar Malaysian Ringitt Kuwaiti Dinar UAE Dirham Bahraini Dinar Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal Omani Riyal

TT TT Buying Selling 67.15 67.47 73.91 74.27 95.40 95.87 59.43 59.71 10.30 10.39 67.54 67.87 48.49 48.74 50.01 50.27 50.35 50.59 7.89 7.93 9.91 9.95 45.36 45.58 8.65 8.69 16.30 16.41 223.08 224.89 18.28 18.37 176.85 180.28 18.48 18.52 17.94 17.98 173.80 175.87

Source: Indian Bank

3G data traic outpaces 2G for first time: Nokia SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: Mobile broadband usage in the country grew 50 per cent during 2015 with 3G traic outpacing 2G across the country for the first time, according to a report from Nokia. The growth, it said, was fuelled by growing subscriber appetite for multimedia services with video and social networking now constituting 60 per cent of data traic.

Study The MBiT Index study, which tracks mobile broadband performance in India, found that the 3G traic in India grew by 85 per cent on the back of network expansion, device availability and improved content ecosystem. Further, 3G data usage per user per month crossed 750 MB. Aggressive expansion “Aggressive 3G network expansion in existing circles and new launches by operators has been instrumental in increasing data traic in India. It is expected that this data traic growth will be boosted in coming years by the auction of additional spectrum, an increase in smartphone penetration and the development of the content ecosystem,” Sandeep Girotra, Vice-President and Head of India Market, Nokia said. Significant growth Mr. Girotra said the rapid evolution of the device ecosystem, supported by a decline in prices, would present significant growth opportunities for operators as they introduce and expand 4G LTE networks in coming years. The study also found that 2G still had the potential to drive Internet adoption in Category B and C circles in the short to medium term.

Bullion Rates March 08 rates in rupees with previous rates in brackets

Chennai Bar Silver (1 kg) Retail (1 g) 24 ct gold (10 g) 22 ct gold (1 g)

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tate-run lenders like Bank of Baroda and IDBI Bank are planning to ofer stock options to staf in a bid to retain top talent. This assumes significance in the backdrop of the imminent entry of 21 new niche banks which have been granted licences by the RBI to begin operations, as well as the prospect of a clutch of mid-management professionals reaching retirement age soon. For instance, IDBI Bank, which has started to transform itself by realigning its business, has also drawn a roadmap for human resources. The lender, which is planning to increase the employee strength to 21,500 by March 31, 2019 from the 15,500 at present, is not only working out a scheme for career progression but also mulling an employee stock option plan (ESOP) to inPOACHING centivise them, said Kishor Kharat, MD and PERIL CEO, IDBI Bank. Bank of Baroda MD and CEO staf P.S. Jayakumar said the bank was considering an ESOP for its employees which could bridge the compensation gap between public and private sector employees. “In general, at a lower level, public sector institutions pay better than their counterparts. But while progressively going up (in the rank), there is a gap that is arising and at a senior level, the gap really becomes unmanageable,” Mr. Jayakumar said. The board had already approved the ESOP. Now, the bank will write to the government for its approval. “We need to create a variable incentive system without creating perverse economic interests. If we can get an ESOP plan, then, at least it will cover some part of the gap,” Mr. Jayakumar said. State Bank of India (SBI), the

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NEW DELHI: The Union Government will sell 5 per cent stake in Container Corporations of India (Concor) at a minimum price of Rs.1,195 a piece on Wednesday, to garner Rs.1,165 crore. The floor price set for the ofer for sale (OFS) is at a discount of 2.58 per cent over Tuesday’s closing price of Rs.1,226.65 of Concor on the BSE. “The government will sell 5 per cent stake in Concor through an ofer for sale at a floor price of Rs.1,195 ,” a source said. The sale of 97.48 lakh shares at this floor price will fetch about Rs.1,165 crore to the exchequer. — PTI

ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN

At a lower level, public sector institutions pay better than their counterparts. But while progressively going up, there is a gap that really becomes unmanageable. P.S. Jayakumar, MD and CEO, BoB country’s largest lender, had floated the idea of ESOP for its employees some time ago. However, the proposal is still awaiting government’s approval. Most banks plan to ofer stock options to their employees in the rank of assistant general manager and above. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said recently that the government was actively discussing the proposal for Employee Stock

BENGALURU: LoveCycles, a start-up which enables women to keep a track of their menstrual and physiological health via a mobile app, has raised Rs.5 crore from seed-stage venture capital firm Prime Venture Partners. The funding round also marks the oicial unveiling of the app in India. The firm will use the money to expand its presence in the country and provide regional language support. It has already launched the Hindi language support for the tracker. “The funding comes at a crucial time,” said John Paul, chief executive of LoveCycles, who founded the firm in 2012. An engineer, Mr. Paul said that women’s health has been a

much-neglected issue, particularly menstrual health that is still a taboo in various parts of the country. “We want to empower women with information and technology,” he said. LoveCycles said it logs over 1.2 million active users every month. The start-up ofers the app on Apple’s mobile operating system iOS, Google’s Android platform and Microsoft's Windows platform. The firm said it has clocked over six million downloads across 190 countries. It is seeing highest downloads coming from geographies such as United States, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, South Korea and Russia. The app, which supports 13 languages globally, is backed by a powerful algorithm that can predict moods and

symptoms based on the progress of the menstrual cycle. “With smartphone and mobile Internet growing, we’re delighted to help bring this value to Indian women,” said Amit Somani, Managing Partner at Prime Venture Partners. “We are excited about the possibilities it can create in helping women and girls in India.” Experts say that menstrual hygiene is one of the most important yet neglected health issues in the developing world. In India, approximately 70 per cent of all reproductive diseases are caused by poor menstrual hygiene. There are 355 million women in thereproductive age in India who need mechanisms and structures in place to meet their menstrual needs.

CBI books Syndicate Bank oicials for fraud DEVESH K. PANDEY

Ownership Plan (ESOP) for public sector bank employees. “The government is considering (the proposal of ESOP for bank employees). It is in a very advanced stage. It has been a long-standing demand and is (under) active consideration,” Mr. Jaitley said at Gyan Sangam, the annual retreat for bankers, last week. Public sector banks are facing headwinds on the human resources front as many mid-management officers are retiring over the next five years, prompting the central bank to term it a ‘retirement decade.’ In addition, the 21 new banks, which have received diferentiated licences from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will try to poach employees from existing banks. In August-September last year, RBI has granted licences to 11 payment banks and 10 small finance banks to start operations. While these banks were given 18 months’ time to roll out services, most of these entities are expected to start operations in 2016.

LoveCycles start-up gets funding, unveils app in Hindi for women

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NEW DELHI: Five mid-rung managers of Syndicate Bank have been accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of defrauding the bank of more than Rs.1,000 crore. Only two years ago, the bank’s Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) S. K. Jain was arrested for graft. According to the CBI, the accused have been cheating the bank since 2011 through various ways and for almost five years, the large-scale swindling remained undetected despite periodic internal and external audit. A chartered accountant and a few businessmen also colluded with the accused. The entire operation was carried out through just three of its branches in Rajasthan—two in Jaipur and one

The officials are charged with defrauding the bank of more than Rs.1,000 crore in Udaipur. The accused had opened over 380 bank accounts in the three branches, several of them using identification documents of genuine account holders in other banks, through which the swindled money was diverted to various destinations. It was during a recent audit that the bank authorities identified the accused oicials and suspended them. They lodged a complaint with the CBI on the basis of which a case was registered and searches conducted on Tuesday in Delhi, Faridabad, Jaipur and Udaipur.

The role of senior bank oicials has not been ruled out at this stage. A CBI spokesperson said among those named in the case are the then General Manager Satish Kumar Goyal, Deputy General Manager Sanjeev Kumar, Chief Manager Deshraj Meena, and Assistant General Managers Adarsh Manchanda and Avadhesh Tewari. Udaipur-based Chartered Accountant Bharat Bamb, Jaipur resident Shankar Khandelwal and Piyush and Vineet Jain from Udaipur have also been named along with several companies and their proprietors. The accused persons cheated the bank largely through discounting of fake cheques, withdrawing money through overdraft facility using forged life insurance policies and

discounting of fake inland bills that were raised against the letters of credit shown to have been issued by another bank. The discounting process involves immediate payment without waiting for the cheque clearance, for which the bank charges a minimal interest rate. However, the payment is made only after checking the authenticity of the cheque, which was not done by the accused bank oicials. The amount involved in individual transactions were kept between Rs.40 lakh and Rs.5 crore, a majority of them ranging from Rs.2.5 crore to Rs.4 crore, to evade detection by higher bank authorities. Many of the transactions were also adjusted from the proceeds of new fraudulent transactions.

Not enough ATMs: Reserve Bank SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI: Growth of card acceptance infrastructure like automated teller machines (ATMs) and point-of-sale (PoS) terminals is not on a par with that of card issuance. This was observed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its concept paper on card acceptance infrastructure released on Tuesday. “The growth in acceptance infrastructure has not kept pace with the growth in cards. While debit cards registered a growth of 64 per cent between October 2013 and October 2015, during the same period ATMs increased by around 43 per cent, while POS machines increased by

The lower growth of ATM and PoS terminals has impacted card use around 28 per cent,” the paper said. Another disconcerting feature is that the rate of growth in setting up card acceptance infrastructure has also slowed down during these three years. “Debit cards vastly outnumber the volume of credit cards issued in the country. Further, a high number of debit cards have been issued in recent times under the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yogana, especially to custom-

ers in rural areas and smaller towns,” the RBI said. According to the concept paper, the lower growth of ATM and PoS terminals, both in terms of numbers and geographical spread, has impacted card use. “Cash continues to be the predominant mode of payment as it appears to be “costless” in comparison to the visible costs associated with card/electronic payments,” it said. Some of the factors that have inhibited growth in the acceptance infrastructure are lack of adequate and low-cost telecom infrastructure and lack of incentive for merchants for acceptance of cards, among others.

NSE asks brokers to segregate client demat accounts NEW DELHI: Leading stock exchange NSE has directed brokers to ensure that their demat accounts used for holding clients’ securities will have to be compulsorily flagged as ‘client margin account’ by April 30. The move is aimed at ensuring proper segregation of client securities and clear demarcation of demat accounts used for client purposes. —PTI

Nalco’s 25% share buyback in FY 17 NEW DELHI: Aluminium maker Nalco’s estimated Rs.3,250 crore share buyback programme has been delayed due to procedural issues and will be completed in FY 2016-17. In January, the Mines Ministry had said that the Finance Ministry asked it to allow Nalco to buy back 25 per cent of government’s stake in the Navratna company in a bid to tap PSUs’ funds to make up for the shortfall in disinvestment proceeds. “There are certain procedures that need to be followed, which is taking time. The buyback will not happen in this month,” Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar told PTI.

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Zimbabwe holds of Hong Kong

Pakistan wants venue shifted from Dharamshala

A. JOSEPH ANTONY NAGPUR: Hong Kong’s pursuit

NEW DELHI: Pakistan is

pressing for a shift of venue for the ICC World Twenty20 match against India at Dharamshala on March 19. According to sources, the Pakistan Cricket Board had indicated its reluctance to the International Cricket Council (ICC) despite the assurances on security given by the Indian authorities. In a related development, the Pakistan team’s departure too has been delayed by a day. The Board of Control for Cricket in India was, however, confident that the match would be played at the same venue. A change would create logistics issues for the organisers and inconvenience to the fans who have planned their visit to Dharamshala. — Special Correspondent

Telecast schedule Irani Cup : STAR Sports 4 & HD 4, 9.30 a.m. South Africa vs Australia : 3rd T20, TEN Cricket & TEN HD, 9.30 p.m.

of Zimbabwe’s 158 for eight spluttered to a halt 14 short of the target in their ICC World Twenty 20 championship qualifying round match here on Tuesday. Holding their nerve in the contest’s closing stages, Zimbabwe’s bowlers bottled up the islanders, Tendai Chatara even verging on a hat-trick in the run-up to victory. On the run-chase, Hong Kong lost fewer wickets but frequently fell short in the scoring rate. Past the half-way stage, it stepped on the gas, Jamie Atkinson’s (53, 4x4, 2x6) huge sixes perking up the pace. Following in his footsteps, the middle-order heaved at everything that came its way, which brought in the boundaries but cost it dear in the outfield. Revival Earlier, reeling at 62 for four, a 51-ball 61-run fifthwicket stand between Vusi Sibanda (59, 5x4, 2x6) and Malcolm Waller revived Zimbabwe. Elton Chigumbura’s unbeaten cameo lower down the order, adorned with three

boundary clearing blows, saw respectability restored for the African side. When the tournament got under way, Hamilton Masakadza was quick on the draw, three boundaries and a six lighting up his short stay. An attempted single proved ill-fated for the Zimbabwe skipper as he failed to ground his bat. Undeterred, Sibanda cut loose, his drives taking of like tracer fire towards the ropes. A six brought up his halfcentury en route to his highest score in the shortened format. Hong Kong made quick inroads early in the game, having Richard Mutmbami caught short of the sightscreen ropes of Tanwir. Sean Williams sought to smear the rival skipper all over the place but chopped onto his stumps. Sikandar Raza’s run out vindicated Hong Kong’s decision to bowl first, its dominant attack backed by fine fielding. The scores: Zimbabwe 158 for eight (Vusi Sibanda 59, Malcolm Waller 26, Elton Chigumbura 30 n.o., Tanwir Afzal two for 19, Aizaz Khan two for 33) bt Hong Kong 144 for six (Jamie Atkinson 53, Tanwir Afzal 31 n.o., Donald Tiripano two for 27, Tendai Chatara two for 28). Man-ofthe-match: Vusi Sibanda.

NAGPUR: Afghanistan stretched

its 5-0 record against Scotland in the game’s shortest version to half a dozen, clinching the Group B qualifying match of the ICC World Twenty20 championship at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium here on Tuesday night. After being well on its way at 84 for one, Scotland stumbled. The target of 171 set by Afghanistan proved beyond its batting prowess, the chase by the Scots running out of steam. The Scots seemed well and truly launched, openers George Munsey (41, 9x4) and Kyle Coetzer (40, 4x4, 1x6) providing the perfect platform to overhaul the rival total. The introduction of leg spin from both ends through Rashid Khan and Samiullah Shenwari slammed the brakes on Scotland’s ambitions. At first it halted Munsey and Coetzer in their tracks, the lefthander trapped leg before and the latter caught in the deep.

HARD HITTING: Mohd. Shahzad’s 39-ball 61 helped Afghanistan put up a challenging total which finally proved beyond Scotland's reach. — PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK

Amir Hamza returned to ply his slow left-arm fare and Mohammad Nabi sustained the stranglehold with his of-breaks. Sure enough, the boundaries came down to a trickle, the Scots taking recourse to singles.

Earlier, Scotland’s spin ‘startup’ through southpaw Mark Watt didn’t really pay of, the spoils landed instead through Alistair Evans’ medium-fast assault. Afghanistan’s aggressive approach wasn’t curbed though, as Asghar Stanikzai

The 11th hour syndrome, and why there is no Plan ‘B’ SURESH MENON

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ST(R)UCK: Hong Kong batsman Ryan Campbell misses a pull and the ball lodges in his helmet’s visor

in the match against Zimbabwe on Tuesday. — PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK

Afghanistan downs Scotland A. JOSEPH ANTONY

BETWEEN WICKETS

heaved Josh Davey over the mid-wicket hoardings soon after, its scoring rate crossing six in the first quarter itself. Scotland’s return to spin from Watt and Matt Machan proved an expensive experiment, Mohammad Shahzad carting the oie over the ropes of successive deliveries. Halfway through, Afghanistan reached 79 for the lone loss of Noor Ali, the Scots quite unequal to the task of containing the batsmen, indulging themselves with reverse sweeps and Dilscoops. Shahzad’s 39-ball, stroke-filled 61 (5x4, 2x6), his 10th halfcentury so far and the highest tally by a player from an associate nation, ended when Calum McLeod held his lofted straight drive of Watt. Unbeaten at the end was skipper Stanikzai on 55. The scores: Afghanistan 170 for five (Mohammad Shahzad 61, Asghar Stanikzai 55 not out) beat Scotland 156 for five (Kyle Coetzer 40, George Munsey 41, Matt Machan 36; Rashid Khan two for 28).

Acclimatisation a major challenge for Bangladesh Y.B. SARANGI DHARAMSHALA: Travelling more than 2000km from the hot and humid conditions of Dhaka at the sea level to the cooler Dharamshala at high altitude to play two matches within four days, Bangladesh will have to go through a breathless experience in its switch from the Asia Cup to the World T20. After playing the Asia Cup final on Sunday, Bangladesh, the only Test-playing nation in Group A, reached here the following day to play its first World T20 qualifier against the Netherlands at the HPCA Stadium on Wednesday. “We took the flight yesterday morning and reached at 6 in the evening. We didn’t have much time to practise and adjust,” said Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza. “India is generally similar (to Bangladesh), but here conditions are diferent. You need to adjust to the breathing here. It is cold in the night and we have to play two night matches.”

Short on time Considering that several of the Bangladeshi players have no experience of playing in such conditions, it will be a real challenge for the side to acclimatise in practically one day and get back to business. However, Mortaza said this could not be an excuse for the team, comprising some experienced batsmen such as Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, all-rounder Shakib Al

Hasan and a good attack consisting of Mortaza and Taskin Ahmed. Good build-up Having spent 10 days in Bengaluru and Mohali, the Netherlands has had a good build-up to the event. Being joint champion of the qualifying tournament and with some seasoned players in its ranks, such as captain Peter Borren and Roelf van der Merwe, the team — consisting of several New Zealand and South Africa-born players — expects to repeat its 2014 performance of making it to the main event. The evening fixture will be between Ireland and the lesser known Oman. Both sides have spent enough time in India and are serious in their approach. Ireland, which made it to the second round in 2009, has some players with the exposure of playing in English counties. With experienced cricketers in captain William Porterfield, Test player Boyd Rankin, the O'Brien brothers, Andy Poynter and George Dockrell in the side, Ireland, which aspires to make the Test grade, will love to start of with a win. Oman, comprising Indian and Pakistani expatriates, has made some rapid progress under the guidance of Sri Lankan great Duleep Mendis. It will depend on players like captain Sultan Ahmed, Jatinder Singh and Mehran Khan to achieve its aim of toppling some bigger sides and making an impact.

ndia, as someone once said, is a country that lives in the eleventh hour. Sporting India even more so. The World T20 cricket began on Tuesday, with the business end of the tournament (the Super 10) set to commence in a week. Yet, as I write this, there is no assurance that matches scheduled for Delhi will go ahead, or that Dharamshala will host the India-Pakistan tie on March 19, or indeed if the women’s team from Pakistan are arriving at all. Tickets for the matches went on sale late enough to discourage many tourists from outside Asia. The last-minute syndrome is typical. In the end, everything somehow falls into place, and handicaps that seemed insurmountable disappear. Perhaps we need the uncertainty to spur us on. Perhaps we work best in the face of doubt and ambiguity. In 1982, as a fresh sportswriter, I reported the Asian Games in Delhi. The start of construction of stadiums had been delayed, there were doubts about things being ready on time, farmers were agitating and threatening to ruin the Games, measuring equipment was found to be faulty and so on. Yet, the Games were a success; you could set your watch by the event that was taking place, such was the precision and punctuality. Nearly three decades later, the Commonwealth Games began with the same uncertainty and finished with the same cheer. The eleventh hour had triumphed again. Cricket usually escaped the curse of uncertainty for one very good reason: No government wanted to be seen as opposing the people’s sport. For the same reason, brinkmanship was the political game. In the 1980s, the Congress government hinted that an England team might not be welcome in India because two of the players, Geof Boycott and Geof Cook had played in apartheid South Africa. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi then found reasons to forgive these players, and announced the tour would take place. A nation was grateful. If in the 1980s, it was politics, in the 90s, it was commerce, with uncertainty over television rights and who would get to watch what on which channel. When the Board of Control for Cricket in India challenged the antiquated Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, it was called “anti-national.” Once that battle was won (in the courts), the next battlefield presented itself: Pakistan. In 2004, the NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee first considered a “feel good” factor if India toured Pakistan and won, then considered the opposite efect if they lost — this in the build-up to the elections. Then on Valentine’s Day, as Indian fans played “will-we-won’t-we”, Vajpayee abruptly announced the tour would go ahead. Again, a nation was grateful.

Eleventh hour is not yet upon us. There is time enough for confusion and consolidation, retraction and reiteration before sport takes over.

Normal build-up Clearly nothing has changed. Now Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh has said that as a mark of respect to the families of those killed in the Pathankot attack, he will not be providing security at the match. In Pakistan, Imran Khan has advised against the team travelling to India. A group calling itself the “Anti-Terrorist Front” has threatened to dig up the wicket. The ex-Servicemen’s League in the state would be unhappy if the match is held, but they will decide formally later. Just the normal build-up to an India-Pakistan match, you might say. The Chief Minister’s late awakening notwithstanding, he is using a familiar technique. The binary system. On the one hand is the Indian army and all that it evokes: duty, patriotism, nationalism, bravery, sacrifice. Then there is the ‘other’: Pakistan, dissenting students, anyone who disagrees with the oicial viewpoint, certain minorities. Put that way, it would be “anti-national” to even suggest that the Dharamshala match be shifted to say, Bangalore or Chennai. But if Pakistan are unwelcome, that should have been made clear in January soon after the Pathankot attacks. Now we have the sight of the security experts from Pakistan checking out the system in India. That’s irony for you. The BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur has said that “there is no Plan ‘B’.” Where Pakistan hosting or touring India is concerned, it is usually prudent to have a Plan ‘B.’ On the other hand, he might be speaking with the confidence that, as in the past, everything will be sorted out at the eleventh hour. Cricket-wise Pakistan need India more than India need Pakistan, so threats of a pullout may not work in their favour. On the other hand, television and sponsorship deals might have to be renegotiated if Pakistan withdraw. That there will be “trouble” at home if we play Pakistan (only in cricket, though) tends to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Those who feel strongly that there will be trouble are the ones who instigate it. It doesn’t take too many people or too much efort. If history is any guide, then there is time left. Eleventh hour is not yet upon us. There is time enough for confusion and consolidation, retraction and reiteration before sport takes over. Soon we will be wondering what the fuss was all about. Till the next time, that is.

VARIETY THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11645 1

2

3

4

5

9

10

11

12

13

16

14

17

6

Afterdark 7

8

15

18

19

21

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consummation is annoying (9) 25 Humbled the peeper, say going back in agreement (7) 26 Cocktail procured from Fabmart in India (7) 28 Actor's fault to get irregular cast and artists (7) 29 Psychopath with a jerk tails a Roman Goddess (7) Down

20

25

26

28

29

Across

9 Well-informed about pressure behind difficult duel at centre court (5-2) 10 Come through evil... (7) 11 ...boor's power, energy and Satan's designs (7) 12 Meet was organised by actress (3,4) 13 Criticises model pupil, perhaps CM YK

23

24

27

having erratic sense (9) 15 Yankee leaves circle of grind (5) 16 Songs written by everyone in substandard school (7) 19 Supreme Court perhaps helps stupid people (7) 20 Cinematic technique displayed by Ang Lee (5) 21 Old and loud female's

1 Son manages to get rooms (6) 2 Country to stand by King and upper class leadership (6) 3 Plan to have idli, dosa for starters followed by timeless tea (4) 4 Irritates police officer by contaminating site (6) 5 Carbon causes diffusion, perhaps in Galaxies (8) 6 Encourage England as well, to follow rest about giving up energy (10) 7 Overdue? Hold premier bank to reverse Euro deposit as ransom (8) 8 Survives wife and others without love,

but constant acting within (8) 14 Legitimate circumstances to acquire English asset (4,6) 16 Display of liquor cut short at hotel; is restricted (8) 17 Tissue provided by wise men coming home during fast (8) 18 Immobilise arrogant despot now (4,4) 22 Ladylike fellow's weak, upset with sweetheart (6) 23 Fools use jargons, time to replace many (6) 24 Girl's love and longing is a mishap (6) 27 Harass, evict Tom and collect lease (4)

Solution to puzzle 11644 A C C O S A D P E T R O O C U O T H E R N I S E N I O G R A C A A H C A R P E U R S T R O U T E W R E S T A

M P L L E A S E R V R E R N T I C A B L

A N I M E N T U O E A UM V I A L S E E R I C R AMB L E D A E Y E L A N D S T C A S S I S T F V A E R P A I R S U R L T R I T I C I S E T A A D I S HM E N T

FAITH

SU | DO | KU

Recipient of a rare privilege A devotee looks at the world with eyes that are not attracted by the glitter in it, unlike the majority of human beings who easily fall for these attractions. So the path of the devout is arduous and more so for the women saints who have had to reconcile the challenges and criticism from domestic and socio-cultural angles as well, pointed out Dr. Sudha Seshaiyan in a discourse. Saint Karaikal Ammaiyar had to contend with this conflict. She was by nature a devout woman and though a devoted wife, her married life came to an end when her husband left her without informing her of his plans for his future. She waited for him faithfully for seven long years and was disappointed when she came to know that he had taken a second wife. She then opted to shed her physical frame and live with the skeletal form. Karaikal Ammaiyar saw the physical body as a distraction to her devotion and so gave up this form for that of a ghoul. It is held that she walked up to Siva’s abode Kailasa on her hands and that Siva and Parvati were so moved by her devotion. Siva addressed her as His mother, a rare privilege for her exceptional devotion. Physical beauty or other individual faculties and talents are to be regarded with care and used appropriately without showing any sense of ownership. It is easy to be afected by the praise or criticism these are likely to elicit from the people around. The chaste Ahalya fell because for a moment she was filled with pride about the fact that her beauty had caught Indra’s eyes. Gautama’s curse deprived her of this beautiful form and she continued to live in the hermitage without a form until Rama relieved her of this curse.

A mind game and a puzzle that you solve with reasoning and logic. Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row, every column and every 3x3 box accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any. The solution to yesterday’s puzzle is at left. ND-ND

SPORT

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

DDCA loses further ground NEW DELHI: The latest directive from Justice Mukul Mudgal has made things more diicult for the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). Appointed to ensure smooth conduct of the upcoming World T20 matches at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground, Mudgal is learnt to have told the host to keep the disputed ‘old pavilion’ free of paying spectators and corporate bigwigs. Following Delhi High Court ruling on a plea from Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on Tuesday, the DDCA has to ensure that the old pavilion is now used only for the accredited media. It may be recalled that the ASI had pointed out violation by the DDCA of building the structure within 100 metres of the ruins of Ferozeshah Kotla. As a result of the latest development, the DDCA would lose 1800 seats in the old pavilion block. — Special Correspondent

Karun misses ton; Mumbai in command

Davis Cup: India to play Korea

CRICKET / The Ranji Trophy champion 299 runs ahead with nine wickets in hand after day three

in the Asia-Oceania Davis Cup Group-1 second round match at home from July 15 to 17. While India had a bye in the first round, Korea beat New Zealand 3-1 to move into the second and final round, the winner of which will make it to the World Group play-of. The other match in the zone will be between China and Uzbekistan. India had lost to the Czech Republic 1-3 in the World Group play-of last season, after having beaten New Zealand in the zone. Korea has a 6-4 win-loss record against India, which had beaten host Korea in 2014 in the last meeting. — Special Correspondent

G. VISWANATH MUMBAI:  There was a dramatic

Sitwala’s reign continues COLOMBO: Reigning Asian bil-

liards champion Dhruv Sitwala successfully defended his title at the Asian billiards championship, beating compatriot B. Bhaskar 6-2 in the final, here on Tuesday. In the final, Sitwala was leading 3—2 at interval before he won three frames in a row. — PTI

Bhambri advances NEW DELHI: Top seed Yuki Bham-

bri won his first singles match on the professional circuit in five months as he beat Peter Gojowczyk of Germany 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in the first round of the $50,000 Challenger tennis tournament in Zhuhai, China, on Tuesday. Bhambri converted seven of 17 breakpoints, as against five of 13 by his opponent. Fifth seed Saketh Myneni continued to be in irrepressible form as he outplayed Li Zhe of China 6-1, 6-4. Both Bhambri and Myneni, who play the doubles together this week, stayed on a collision course and will need to win their next round to meet each other in the quarterfinals. Ramkumar Ramanathan lost both his singles and doubles matches. He was beaten 7-6(5), 7-5 by third seed Jordan Thompson of Australia and, partnering Thomas Fabbiano of Italy, was beaten by fourth seeds Bai Yan of China and Riccardo Ghedin of Italy. The results: $50,000 Challenger men, Zhuhai, China: First round: Yuki Bhambri bt Peter Gojowczyk (Ger) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5; Saketh Myneni bt Li Zhe (Chn) 6-1, 6-4; Jordan Thompson (Aus) bt Ramkumar Ramanathan 7-6(5), 7-5. Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Ti Chen (Tpe) & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt Roman Jebavy & Jan Satral (Cze) 6-2, 6-2; Bai Yan (Chn) & Riccardo Ghedin (Ita) bt Thomas Fabbiano (Ita) & Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 7-6(3).

Arnav Tevatia finishes runner-up CHENNAI: India’s Arnav Tevatia,

finished runner-up losing to Pakistan’s Muhammad Huzaifa Ibrahim 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 in the under-11 final of the Qatar Junior Open squash tournament in Doha. Abhay Singh took the third spot in the under-19 section after beating Hong Kong’s Lai Cheuk Nam Matthew 5-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-5.

Nagpur to host three Kings XI games AMOL KARHADKAR MUMBAI: Nagpur has been con-

firmed as the second home venue for Kings XI Punjab for the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, to be played from April 9 to May 29. The Hindu understands that the Vidarbha Cricket Association’s Stadium in Jamtha, on the outskirts of the Orange City, will host three of Kings XI’s seven home games during the 2016 edition. The decision has been communicated to the Kings XI Punjab oicials, who had requested the switch. Meanwhile, the newlylaunched Rajkot franchise, Gujarat Lions, is likely to play two or three of its home games at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. The decision is likely to be finalised in a week. Nagpur will thus host IPL games after six years. In 2010, the city had hosted three home games of Deccan Chargers, the erstwhile Hyderabad franchise.

VERY BRIEFLY A second-half goal by Paraguay attacking midfielder Hernan Perez gave Espanyol a 2-1 win against Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish league on Monday. CM YK

| 19

PERCENTAGE GAME: Rest of India's Karun Nair combined patience with judicious shot selection to top

score with 94. — PHOTO: VIVEK BENDRE

moment when Siddhesh Lad pulled of an electrifying reflex catch at short cover at the stroke of lunch on Tuesday to send back the Rest of India captain Naman Ojha. It turned out to be the biggest breakthrough for the Ranji Trophy winner Mumbai as it established a firm stranglehold on the third day of the five-day Irani Cup match at the Brabourne Stadium. Thanks to the good work by its bowlers, notably seamer Abhishek Nayar, of-spinner Jay Bista and left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla, Mumbai shot out Rest for 306 and took a first innings lead of 297. If Lad’s spectacular efort caused excitement in the Mumbai ranks, Karnataka’s Karun Nair — who took strike at the fall of the third wicket at 110 — made sure that his team would not cave-in soon. For four and a half hours, he showed the value of patience and cautious shot selection as he compiled a fourth half-century in the tournament. In the previous three occasions for Karnataka, Karun had made 92 (in 2014) and 59 and 80 (in 2015). Trying to farm the strike and

get towards his first century, Karun (192b, 11x4) slashed at Dhawal Kulkarni, operating with the second new ball, and ofered a straight forward catch to Shreyas Iyer at deep point. Rest recovered to an extent through the sixth-wicket partnership of 59 runs between Karun and Sheldon Jackson before the Saurashtra right-hander jumped out and was bowled neck and crop by a viciouslyturning of-break. Soon, Bista foxed Stuart Binny with anoth-

IRANI CUP er big of-break, and his captain and wicketkeeper Aditya Tare efected a fine leg-side stumping. Mumbai then countered an unlikely tough customer in Saurashtra left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat for nearly two hours. The second new ball, claimed in the 87th over, eventually did the trick as Abhishek induced a nick that landed safely into the big hands of Suryakumar Yadav at second slip. Karun and Unadkat added 91 runs for the eighth wicket. An ailing Ankit Rajpoot did not bat and Rest’s first innings folded up at the fall of Karun a few minutes before the conclusion of play. In the last five minutes, the

home team’s left-handed opener Akhil Herwadkar was flummoxed by a delivery from ofspinner Jayant Yadav that hastened of the pitch and found its way to hit the stumps. The match has, perhaps, lost relevance in terms of a contest, with Mumbai up by 299 runs with nine wickets in hand. The scores:  Mumbai — 1st innings: 603. Rest of India — 1st innings: Faiz Fazal c Tare b Thakur 28, K.S. Bharat c Lad b Abhishek 16,  Jayant Yadav c Bista b Abhishek 46, Sudip Chatterjee c & b Abdulla 23, Karun Nair c Shreyas b Kulkarni 94, Naman Ojha c Lad b Abdulla 2, Sheldon Jackson b Bista 37, Stuart Binny st. Tare  b Bista 1, Jaydev Unadkat c Suryakumar b Abhishek 48, Krishna Das (not out) 1, Ankit Rajpoot (absent hurt), Extras (b-4, lb-6):10; Total (in 99.5 overs): 306. Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-55, 3-110, 4-126, 5-128, 6-187, 7-201, 8-292, 9-306. Mumbai bowling: Dhawal Kulkarni 18.5-2-43-1, Balwinder Singh Sandhu (jr) 11-1-41-0, Shardul Thakur 21-461-1, Abhishek Nayar 19-6-35-3, Iqbal Abdulla 16-2-62-2, Jay Bista 13-1-52-2, Suryakumar Yadav 1-0-2-0.  Mumbai — 2nd innings: Akhil Herwadkar b Jayant 1, Jay Bista (not out) 1; Total (for one wkt. in 0.4 overs) 2. Fall of wicket: 1-2. Rest of India bowling: Jayant Yadav  0.4-0-2-1.

BASKETBALL

FOOTBALL

ONGC, IOB are the teams to beat

Consolation win for Mizoram M.R. PRAVEEN CHANDRAN

Playing today Mizoram improved dramatically in the second half to score a consolation 2-1 win over Services in a Pool A match of the 70th Santosh Trophy football championship here on Tuesday. In another match in the same group, Jammu & Kashmir ended its campaign on a high note, defeating former champion Railways 2-1. However, Mizoram’s win had no impact on the final group standings as Services had already topped the group by virtue of having beaten Maharashtra earlier. Having ensured the top spot in the group, Services tested its bench strength. However, the changes did not have the desired efect as the defending champion was far from convincing in attack. The midfield struggled to create chances for strikers Arjun Tudu and Sarajit Singh. But Services went ahead of the first genuine chance it created at the rival half. A quick move opened up the Mizo defence and Bibake Thapa, who was poised to score, was hacked down by Lal Rinzuala Khiangte in the 22nd minute. The resultant penalty was converted by Arjun Tudu

NAGPUR:

ASHWIN ACHAL PANJIM: ONGC (Dehradun) and

Indian Overseas Bank (Tamil Nadu) will start as favourites in the men’s section of the 30th Federation Cup basketball tournament, which commences at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday. The six-day tournament features the champion clubs from the top eight States from the previous senior National championship, and the organisers are confident the event will boost the profile of the sport here. India international Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, forward Yadwinder Singh and experienced centre Murali Krishna — the trio had powered Uttarakhand to the final of the senior Nationals earlier this year — will do duty for ONGC in this tournament. IOB, meanwhile, will bank on its State players. The athletic Prasanna Venkatesh, sharpshooter Pratham Singh and highly-rated big man Aravind

Annadurai form a formidable core. “All the players are in good form, so we are confident of doing well. Our biggest challenge will come from ONGC,” Venkatesh said here on Tuesday. Ludhiana Basketball Academy, which counts NBA aspirant Satnam Singh as one of its wards, Army Red and Bhiwani Club are some of the other units which are capable of going all the way. Among the women, Kerala stands out. P.S. Jeena and P.S. Neenumol — both players possess the most pleasing of jumpshot actions — will look to impress, along with the prolific Stephy Nixon, who is a dominant force in the paint. The teams: Men: ONGC (Dehradun), Bhiwani Club (Haryana), Vijaya Bank (Karnataka), Ludhiana Basketball Academy (Punjab), Indian Overseas Bank (Tamil Nadu), Army Red (Services), Kerala Police, Northwestern Railway, DBO Goa. Women: Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana, Delhi, South East Central Railway (Bilaspur), Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa.

SHOOTING

Indian men fare below par in rifle 3P NEW DELHI: Gagan Narang shot

1159 and missed the final by one point in men’s rifle 3-position event in the shooting World Cup that concluded in Bangkok on Tuesday. Gagan placed 10th following scores of 382 in kneeling, 389 in prone and 379 in standing position. Chain Singh was two points away in 11th position, while Sanjeev Rajput tumbled to the 23rd spot with a total of 1148 in a field of 41. Thanks to the gold in 50metre free pistol by Jitu Rai, In-

dia was joint third with Brazil, Denmark and Germany among 16 teams that managed to win at least a medal. China topped the table with 12 medals — five gold, three silver and four bronze — while US was a distant second with a gold and a silver. The result: Men: 50m rifle 3-position: 1. Matthew Emmons (US) 458.6 (1169); 2. Serhiy Kulish (Ukr) 456.8 (1160); 3. Cao Yifei (Chn) 445.6 (1169); 10. Gagan Narang 1159; 11. Chain Singh 1157; 23. Sanjeev Rajput 1148.

앫 Tamil Nadu vs Punjab 앫 Assam vs West Bengal

M.S. Dawngliana of Mizoram takes on Arashpreet Singh (right) of Services in their Pool A match. — PHOTO: S. SUDARSHAN in the 23rd minute. The introduction of Malsawmfela and Ruben Zosangpuia in the second half gave a much needed fillip to the Mizo attack. Playing with a lot of energy and determination, Mizoram caught Services of guard. Dawngliana equalised for Mizoram in the 49th minute with a sublime finish as Lalkhapuimawia arrowed in a precise cross from the left flank. The equaliser galvanised the

Mizo side and the Services goal came under sustained pressure. A fine move from the right flank resulted in the second goal when Lalrosanga darted in and centred the ball. Dawngliana missed the first attempt and the ball came to an unmarked Lalkhapuimawia, who buried the ball into the net in the 59th minute. Mizoram had another chance, but Services goalkeeper Shibin Raj made a reflex save

to deny Laldanmawia in the 65th minute. Thereafter, there were few chances as Services slowed down the game by holding on to the ball. Altamash Syed snatched a late winner as J&K upset former champion Railways 2-1. Shahnwaz Bashir (38) put J&K ahead, but Anil Kisku (61) found the equaliser in the second half. The results: Mizoram 2 (Dawngliana 49, Lalkhapuimawia 59) bt Services 1 (Arjun Tudu 23); Jammu & Kashmir 2 (Shahnwaz Bashir 38, Altamash Syed 85) bt Railways 1 (Anil Kisku 61).

Points Table 앫 Services: 4-3-1-0-9 앫 Maharashtra: 4-3-1-0-9 앫 Mizoram: 4-2-1-1-7 앫 J&K 4-1-3-0-3 앫 Railways: 4-0-3-1-1

(read as played, won, lost, draw and points):

NEW DELHI: India will play Korea

Jr. Davis Cup, Fed Cup teams NEW DELHI: The top three players

in the under-16 boys’ and girls’ sections, in the latest ranking list, were selected to represent the country in the Asia-Oceania Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup tennis tournaments at the DLTA complex here in April. Adil Kalyanpur and Sathwika Sama will spearhead the Indian challenge in the boys’ and girls’ sections respectively. They will be supported by Siddhant Banthia and Megh Bhargav Patel in the boys’ event, and Mahak Jain and Shivani Ingle in the girls’ event. The fourth and fifth players in the ranking list have been taken as the reserves. The boys are scheduled to assemble for a training camp a week before the event to be played from April 4. The girls’ event will be held the following week. The teams for the AsiaOceania World under-14 events to be held in Nonthaburi, Thailand, for a fortnight from April 18, will be announced later, based on the performances in the two back-to-back tournaments in Vietnam. The teams: Boys: Adil Kalyanpur, Siddhant Banthia, Megh Bhargav Patel. Reserves: Suresh Dhakshineshwar, Abhimanyu Vannem Reddy. Captain: Vishaal Uppal. Girls: Sathwika Sama, Mahak Jain, Shivani Ingle. Reserves: Vaidehi Chaudhari, Sabhyata Nihalani. Captain: Ankita Bhambri.

Ronaldo in lead for Golden Shoe MADRID: Spanish football giant

Real Madrid’s Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo is leading the race for the European Golden Shoe with 27 goals. The award is presented each season to the leading goal scorer in league matches from the top division of every European national league, reports Efe. — IANS

Bengaluru FC will not be intimidated SHREEDUTTA CHIDANANDA BENGALURU: Bengaluru FC har-

bours no feelings of inferiority as it comes up against the might of Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim in the Group ‘H’ AFC Cup game here on Wednesday. Johor, the reigning champion, is on a run of six straight wins in all competitions, including an 8-1 rout of Ayeyawady United in its last AFC Cup game a fortnight ago. BFC, however, will derive encouragement from its previous encounter, in the first qualifying round of the AFC Champions League last year. On that

occasion, Johor needed extra time at home to squeeze 2-1 past the Indian outfit. “They’re a good side but not unbeatable,” the BFC head coach Ashley Westwood said at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on the eve of the game. “Obviously, they’ve got the finances to buy some good players. But we’re not going into this game to make up the numbers. We’re not playing Manchester United or Arsenal. We’re playing a decent Asian side and we feel we’re one as well.” For BFC, which is involved in

a close title race domestically, this is a fifth game in 15 days, with a lot of travel and little time for rest. This fixture comes too early for the recovering Eugeneson Lyngdoh, while Curtis Osano and C.K. Vineeth will undergo late fitness tests. After one round of AFC Cup matches, BFC sits third in Group ‘H’, having lost 2-1 at Lao Toyota. Johor’s head coach, Roberto Carlos Mario Gomez, was hopeful of a good result “Our target is to defend our crown. We will not settle for anything less than a win here.”

Bengaluru FC players stretch it out at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Tuesday. — PHOTO: V. SREENIVASA MURTHY

ALL-ENGLAND BADMINTON

Super Dan’s best still to come: Gade BIRMINGHAM: The best of Lin

Dan, twice an Olympic men’s singles gold medallist and this week seeking a sixth All-England Open title at the age of 32, is still to come, according to Peter Gade. Danish former All-England champion Gade is the longest lasting top level player of the modern era. If Gade is right, the world’s oldest tournament, which starts in Birmingham on Wednesday, could see one of its greatest legends parading his unique skills in all their unpredictable brilliance once more. Whether such a revival after three lower-key years does happen for Lin, known as ‘Super Dan’, this week, or instead when he is chasing a recordbreaking third gold at the Games in Rio in August, is a burning question. “Lin Dan has had the Olympics in his mind for a long time, and a lot of things that have happened have been about that,” said Gade, who is now France’s national coach. By limiting travel and competition, Lin may have been preserving his 32-year-old

tions of all-round technical excellence and tactical variations could bring yet more records. “Lin Dan still has ambition,” Gade asserted. “It’s very interesting from the fans’ point of view.”

Lin Dan. — FILE PHOTO body. “We have still to see the best of Lin Dan,” Gade reckoned. “He will come alive in a diferent way for the Olympics, I think. “But whether he will open up now and see his best this week, we don’t know.” Lin captured only two frontline titles last year, and has won a mere eight since his last All-England triumph four years ago, as well as taken two long breaks. But his dazzling combina-

Sensational comeback Lee Chong Wei, Lin’s closest rival for much of the past eight years, may also be ready to challenge for another All-England title again. If Lee succeeds it would be his fourth. The light-footed Malaysian made a sensational comeback from suspension and injury last year despite his 33 years, extending an unbeaten streak to 21 matches while climbing from 182 to world No. 2. This highly encouraging sequence included a victory over Lin in the China Open semifinals in November, his first since January 2012 over the Olympic champion. “I’m really surprised with my progress,” Lee admitted. “I have come a long way.” “Now I dare to dream again, and I’ll try to regain the No. 1 spot, hopefully before the Olympics.”

The present incumbent Chen Long, has however been impressively dominant since winning the first of his two world titles in Copenhagen in mid-2014, gradually gaining confidence in his ability to succeed Lin as China’s pre-eminent player. Chen has so far held the top ranking for 16 successive months and will start as top seed in his bid to win his third All-England title. Whether the 27-year-old is also the genuine favourite may be learned sooner than later for he is in the same half as Lin and the two dangerous Danes, Jan Jorgensen and Viktor Axelsen. The latter beat him in the Super Series finals in Dubai in December. The women’s singles favourite is clearer cut, with Carolina Marin, the 22-year-old, twotime world champion from Spain top-seeded. Last year’s runner-up, Saina Nehwal of India is seeded second with two former All-England champions from China, Li Xuerui and Wang Yihan, third and fourth respectively. — AFP ND-ND

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LIFE

THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

Tweets, apps help NASA track Auroras

Japanese women face 100-day wait to remarry

Mountain on a dwarf planet

NASA is using Twitter and mobile apps to track Auroras, dancing natural light display caused by geomagnetic storms, in real time, according to the Space Weather journal. — PTI

Japanese women still face a 100-day wait before they can remarry. The approval came on Tuesday after Japan’s Supreme Court ruled that the six-month waiting period for women to remarry was excessive.

NASA’s Dawn spacecraft that slid gently into orbit around dwarf planet Ceres last year shows a tall mountain that the Dawn team named Ahuna Mons.

The Hindu Playwright Award invites entries SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT CHENNAI: Entries are invited for The Hindu Playwright Award 2016 for the best new theatre script in English. Writers above 18 years who are Indian citizens or have been residents of India for the last five years can participate. An entry must be a full-length play (performance time of 50 minutes or more) on any subject of the writer’s choice. The play must be an original, unpublished and unperformed work in English and must not have been staged in any public space before the announcement of the award. Applicants can send only one submission per person and submissions made for previous editions of The Hindu MetroPlus Playwright Award (as it was known till 2014) will not be considered. The entry must reach (in print and via

email) on or before April 30, 2016. The shortlist will be released on July 1, 2016 and the winner will be announced during The Hindu Theatre Fest 2016. Employees of Kasturi & Sons Ltd and their close relatives are not eligible to enter the contest. The submission must not contain any quotations or copyrighted material without permissions having been obtained. Translated works are not eligible. Adaptations of novels and texts are eligible. Submissions must be printed in double space on single sides of A4 sheets and sent to: The Hindu Playwright Award 2016, Strategy Department, The Hindu, Kasturi Buildings, 859-860, Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002. Entries can be also be sent to playwrightaward@ thehindu.co.in The email id can also be used to seek clarifications.

More magic on the way from J.K. Rowling NEW YORK Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is launching a series titled Magic in North America, a four-part backstory for this fall’s film adaptation of the Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Announced on Monday on Rowling’s website, Pottermore, Magic in North America” will run in installments Tuesday-Friday on Pottermore. According to the website, the new series will tell of the North American wizardry school Ilvermorny and “bring to light the history of this pre- Rowling’s new stories will viously unexplored corner of appear on the website the wizarding world in the ‘Pottermore’. — FILE PHOTO: AFP run up to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” It screenplay for the film, which will also talk about ‘The Mag- is based on a Harry Potter ical Congress Of The United spin-of book she published in States of America’, the au- 2001. Rowling has taken on thor’s U.S. equivalent of the numerous projects lately, Ministry of Magic. from co-authoring a script for The film will be in cinemas the stage production Harry in November and star Eddie Potter and the Cursed Child Redmayne as “magizoologist” to translating the script into a Newt Scamander, who writes two-part series. a Hogwarts School textbook The storyline picks up 19 about the weird and wonder- years after the seventh book ful fictional creatures he and catches up with protagoencounters. nists Harry, Ron and HerRowling has written the mione. — AP

OCEAN SCIENCE

Iceberg that sank Titanic was 1,00,000 years old, says study LONDON: The giant iceberg responsible for sinking the Titanic on its maiden voyage may have originated in southwest Greenland in snow that fell about 1,00,000 years ago, scientists say. Grant Bigg from Sheield University in the U.K. combined observations obtained from 1912 — the year of the Titanic’s sinking in the Atlantic Ocean — and modern data on ocean currents and winds. Mr. Bigg used a computer model which can calculate the icebergs’ paths in any given year, the Sunday Times reported. “We take what we know about ocean currents, then add in meteorological readings for that year to calculate the prevailing winds,” he said. Applying those methods to 1912 points to the iceberg emerging from around Qassimiut on the southwest Greenland coast, he added.

been melting into the water for months prior to the incident. According to Mr. Bigg, it was around 1,700 feet long and 75m tonnes in weight. Mr. Bigg’s research suggests 1912 was a bad year, with icebergs reported floating

Goldberg to star in Nine Eleven

A

ctors Charlie Sheen and Whoopi Goldberg have been roped in for the independent actiondrama Nine Eleven, which will narrate the struggle of five people trapped in an elevator in the World Trade Centre during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. They will start shooting on Monday, reports variety.com. Nine Eleven will be directed by Martin Guigui from a script he co-wrote with Steven Golebiowski. Luis Guzman, Wood Harris and Olga Fonda have also been cast in the movie, which will be shot entirely at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California. — IANS

T

A hair donor smiles for a selfie with celebrity stylist Sapna Bhavnani after giving away her locks at the Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai on Tuesday. Nearly 50 women donated their hair, which will be used to make wigs for cancer patients and survivors who have lost their hair during chemotherapy. — PHOTO: VIJAY BATE

VIENTIANE: Bad roads, big moun-

Permissions obtained "We had to fight to get the necessary permission," he said. "Now they’ve realised that it’s a sport like any other." While airplanes are largely only accessible to expats and the wealthiest Laos citizens, paragliding and other airborne endeavours are starting to win a wider fan base. Laos now has an avid crew

The iceberg that sank the Titanic on April 14, 1912, in which at least 1,517 people died, was estimated to be 400 feet in length and 100 feet above the ocean surface, giving it 1.5m tonnes in estimated size. The iceberg, however, had

STAR TREK

Snow back in GoT only as a corpse

The landlocked country has seen a rise in aerial sports tains and dense jungle have gifted Laos a diicult and dazzling terrain — one that is now being enjoyed from the skies by a well-heeled new crop of pilots pursuing a passion for aerial sports. The pastime, new to the tiny, poor Southeast Asian nation, was made possible by Ravansith Thammarangsy, a Franco-Laotian flight instructor who returned to the country of his birth to set up Laos's first aerial club in 2010. Now there are some 20 recreational pilots flying above the country's green hills, with more learning and hoping to compete in global games. "It was a childhood dream of mine. I lived near the airport, and every day I saw the planes go by," said Soutilack Intsaboung, a student at Lao Airsports Club. The club’s founder, known as "Sith", said it took time to convince the country's communist rulers to sign of on the venture, which uses an airfield 40 km north of the capital Vientiane. He worked with the government to draft regulations for ultra light aircraft — including small helicopters — and had to convince authorities that the sport was not a threat the national security.

A picture taken on August 16, 2007, off Greenland shows seagulls standing on an iceberg in a fjord. Icebergs like the one that sank the Titanic are still a threat to ships today. — PHOTO: AFP

much further south than normal. “The presence of extensive ice was widely reported prior to and following the collision,” Mr. Bigg wrote in his new book, Icebergs. He said why the number reaching shipping lanes should vary so much from year to year is unclear, because so many factors — wind direction, sea currents and temperature changes — are involved. One idea is that the Titanic iceberg broke from its glacier in 1908 when a mild winter accelerated melting and floated south during the much colder winter of 1911-12. RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning of April 15, 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during its maiden voyage from Southampton in the U.K. to New York City in the U.S. — PTI

Just bald compassion

Enjoying Laos from the top

CM YK

NOIDA/DELHI

he veil from the fate of Jon Snow’s character in Game Of Thrones has been lifted — and he will not be back from the dead. British actor Kit Harington says he has filmed some scenes of “being dead” for the upcoming sixth season of the TV series. The final episode of the fifth season showed Jon Snow, one of the main characters played by Harington, lying lifeless in the snow. Since then the audience has been rooting for Harington to come back. In an interview to TimeOut London on Friday, Harington shared that he did shoot scenes for the fantasy series. He said: “Look, I’m not in the show any more. I’m definitely not in the new series.” When asked if he had filmed any scenes, he replied: “I filmed some scenes of me being dead. It’s some of my best work.” “I don’t have a clue but I know how long I’m a corpse for, but I can’t tell you that,” he added. — IANS

Mystery behind Mercury’s darkness solved WASHINGTON: Mercury appears to be dark due to the abundance of carbon that originated deep below the surface of our solar system’s innermost planet, a new study has found. The planet reflects much less sunlight than the Moon, on which surface darkness is controlled by the abundance of iron—rich minerals that are known to be rare on Mercury’s surface, researchers said. Researchers led by Patrick Peplowski of the Johns Hopkins University in US have confirmed that a high abundance of carbon is present at Mercury’s surface. They have also found that the carbon most likely originated deep below the surface in the form of a now-disrupt-

ed and buried ancient graphite-rich crust, some of which was later brought to the surface by impact processes after most of Mercury’s current crust had formed. The researchers obtained data from NASA’s MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) spacecraft, the first space mission designed to orbit Mercury. “We used MESSENGER’s Neutron Spectrometer to spatially resolve the distribution of carbon and found that it is correlated with the darkest material on Mercury, and this material most likely originated deep in the crust,” said Larry Nittler, from Carnegie Institution of Washington.

An image of the planet Mercury produced by NASA'S MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging, or MESSENGER probe.

“We used both neutrons and X-rays to confirm that the dark material is not enriched in iron, in contrast to the Moon where iron-rich minerals darken the surface,” said

Nittler, who is also Deputy Principal Investigator of the MESSENGER mission. MESSENGER obtained its data via many orbits on which the spacecraft passed lower than 100 km above the surface of the planet during its last year of operation. Neutron Spectrometer measurements showed higher amounts of low-energy neutrons, a signature consistent with the presence of elevated carbon, coming from the surface when the spacecraft passed over concentrations of the darkest material. Combining the neutron measurements with other MESSENGER datasets, including X-ray measurements and reflectance spectra, Scientists found that Mercury’s

Digital devices can Starving animals cause sleep trouble for sale at Gaza zoo STOCKHOLM: A clear majority of

A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW: (Top) A member of Laos' paramotor flyers

team taking off during an air show in Xayabury, and (above), a camera fixed on a wing shows Miss Laos 2015 Soutilack Intsaboung learning flying techniques above the Khoksa airfield, outside Vientiane. — PHOTOS: AFP

of paramotor flyers and even a national paragliding team. "We're very proud," said Soutilack Intsaboung, one of the team's members. "It's a good thing to show that we now know about this sport in Laos, and that we are able to take on international athletes." In December Laos joined ten other nations from around the region to form the Airsport Federation of Asia. The organisation is seeking a space for sports such as para-

gliding, paramotoring and parachuting in global competitions. They've set their sights on the upcoming Asian Beach Games in Vietnam, and even the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan. But for now, international recognition is still a long way of for Laos. Still lacking large enough facilities, the country's paragliding team was forced to co-host its first competition last month in Thailand. — AFP

young Swedes used digital devices in bed before going to sleep, with one in three having trouble getting proper rest, a media report said. A third of respondents aged 15 to 29 said they had trouble sleeping, a poll cited by public broadcaster Swedish Television found. Eighty-two per cent of that group said they use digital devices in bed before going to sleep. “The very use of social media makes one active. In order to sleep, the brain needs to calm down,” Torbjorn Akerstedt, a professor at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, told the channel.The blue light emitted by screens

tricks the body into thinking it is day time, while at the same time suppressing the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps people sleep, the channel reported. One quarter of the young people polled said they would like to be able to switch of their access to social media during particular hours, Xinhua reported. Nearly half the young respondents said they are sleeping worse today than five years ago, while 31 per cent said they believed social media was disturbing their sleep. Nearly two-thirds said they had trouble concentrating on daily tasks due to lack of sleep. — IANS

GAZA: A Gaza zoo owner is put-

ting the last of his starving animals up for sale. Mohammad Oweida once hosted family and school outings at his zoo in Khan Younis in the southern part of the Palestinian territory. But war and economic hardship intervened to turn the venture into what is now a sad collection of 15 emaciated animals that he can no longer aford to feed. "I have to sell them in order to save them," said Oweida, 24. In all, he said, some 200 animals, many of them smuggled across the tightly controlled Egyptian border in tunnels, have starved to death in the zoo since a seven-week war between Israel and Palestinian militants in 2014 pre-

Palestinian Mohammad Oweida, the zoo owner, near the tiger enclosure. — PHOTO: REUTERS

vented him getting enough food for them. Oweida stufed 15 of the animals he lost, including a lion, a tiger and a chimpanzee, and put them on display for children to pet. But the visitors now stay away. — Reuters

surface rocks are made up of as much as a few weight per cent graphitic carbon, much higher than on other planets. Graphite has the best fit to the reflectance spectra, at visible wavelengths, and the likely conditions that produced the material, researchers said. When Mercury was very young, much of the planet was likely so hot that there was a global “ocean” of molten magma. Scientists have suggested that as this magma ocean cooled, most minerals that solidified sank, except graphite, which would have been buoyant and floated to form the original crust of Mercury. The study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience. — PTI

Detachables take over tablet market WASHINGTON: The global market

for tablet computers will see another decline in 2016, but one bright spot is in "detachables" which are gaining as PC replacements, researchers said Tuesday. A report by research firm IDC said tablet sales worldwide are likely to slip 5.9 percent this year to 195 million units, following a drop of 10 percent in 2015. But even as the "slate" tablet market cools from its once red-hot pace, one key growth segment is detachables, which bodes well for Microsoft and makers of other Windows-based devices. IDC projected a 73 percent jump in detachable tablet sales this year. New entrants like Alcatel and Huawei are coming into this segment. — AFP ND-ND