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wednesday, september 20, 2017

Delhi City Edition

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24 pages O ₹ 10.00

Rahul cites intolerance and unemployment as key issues facing India

Sushma meets Ivanka, discusses women’s entrepreneurship

Ram Nath Kovind clears appointment of 25 judges to 2 High Courts

Kiren Rijiju now says Chakmas cannot be given citizenship

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Printed at . Che n n a i . Coim b ato r e . Be n g a luru . Hy de r a b a d . M a d u r a i . No i da . V i s a k h a pat n a m . Th i ru va n a n t h a pu r a m . Ko ch i . V i j ayawa da . Ma ng a lu ru . Ti ru c h i r a pa l l i . Ko l k ata . Hu b b a l l i . M o h a l i . M a l a p p u r a m . M u m b a i . Ti ru pat i . lu c k n ow

Suu Kyi promises to resettle ‘veried’ Rohingya refugees

NEARBY

‘Police trying to derail Junaid case’ The Haryana Railway Police has withdrawn charges of rioting, unlawful assembly and common intention against four of the six accused in the Junaid murder case charge sheet. Two other accused in the case remain unidentied. A PAGE 1

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Judge recuses himself in Ryan school case CHANDIGARH

Punjab and Haryana HC judge A.B. Chaudhari on Tuesday recused himself from hearing the anticipatory bail application of three trustees of Ryan International School in connection with the Gurugram murder case. NATION

A PAGE 7

Shinde gives clean chit

Nay Pyi Taw

Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi pledged on Tuesday to hold rights violators to account over the Rohingya crisis but refused to blame the country’s Army, as the U.N. Secretary-General demanded an end to the military campaign and a better deal for the Muslim minority. In an address timed to pre-empt censure at the U.N. General Assembly in New York — delivered entirely in English and aimed squarely at an international audience — Ms. Suu Kyi called for patience and understanding of the crisis which has driven some 4,21,000 Rohingya out of Myanmar.

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OPPORTUNITIES A PAGE 2 DELHI METRO A 6 PAGES

DMK slams Governor for ‘black chapter’ in State politics Special Correspondent Chennai

Agence France-Presse

FARIDABAD

DELHI METRO

In national address, she oers no solution to halt ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Rakhine

Madras HC to hear plea of disqualied MLAs today

International outcry Ms. Suu Kyi vowed to resettle some refugees but offered no solution to halt what the U.N. calls Army-led “ethnic cleansing” in Rakhine State, where soldiers are accused of burning Rohingya out of their homes. At the General Assembly, U.N. Secretary-General Anto-

Peace plan: Aung San Suu Kyi arrives to deliver a national address in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday. AFP

Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde said on Tuesday that when he was Union Home Minister, he was not aware of any intelligence report on the involvement of undocumented Rohingya in terror activities in India. A large number of Rohingya arrived in India in 2012. “They never troubled us,” he said. A PAGE 11

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nio Guterres joined the international outcry. “The authorities in Myanmar must end the military operations and allow unhindered humanitarian access,” Mr. Guterres told the UNGA. “They must also address the grievances of the Rohingya, whose status has been left unresolved for far too long.” In her 30-minute speech, Ms. Suu Kyi reached out to critics and said Myanmar stood ready to take back

refugees in accordance with a “verification” process agreed with Bangladesh in the early 1990s. “Those who have been verified as refugees from this country will be accepted without any problems,” she added. Ms. Suu Kyi promised to punish anyone found guilty of abuses “regardless of their religion, race or political position.” POLICE EVICT REFUGEES A PAGE 12 TARGETING REFUGEES A EDITORIAL

A ‘positive message’ India on Tuesday praised Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech on the Rohingya, saying it had a ‘very positive’ message. Indian Ambassador to Myanmar Vikram Misri said the situation in the Rakhine State caused concern in India and urged greater international collaboration to address the exodus of the Rohingya. A PAGE 11

The Madras High Court will on Wednesday hear a batch of petitions challenging the disqualification of 18 dissident AIADMK MLAs by Tamil Nadu Speaker P. Dhanapal for having withdrawn support to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami. On Tuesday, Justice M. Duraiswamy accepted a request made by senior counsel P.R. Raman, representing some of the disqualified MLAs, to hear the matter immediately in view of the urgency of the issue. He directed the Court Officer to issue a slip to counsel with a direction to the Registry to number the cases, if the papers were in order, and list them for hearing on Wednesday.

Rao meets Rajnath Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the latter’s residence in New Delhi on Tuesday morning. During the 20-minute meeting, the Governor is believed to have apprised Mr. Singh about the current

Taking stock: Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao calling on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Tuesday. PIB *

political developments in Tamil Nadu, a Home Ministry official said. He arrived in Chennai later in the afternoon. A day after Mr. Dhanapal passed his order, revenue authorities sealed the constituency offices of the disqualified legislators in different parts of Tamil Nadu. Some of those disqualified hurriedly vacated their rooms at the MLAs’ hostel in Chennai. Leader of the Opposition and DMK working president M.K. Stalin, who chaired a meeting of his party legislators at Anna Arivalayam here, accused the Governor of having created a “black

Honeypreet Insan charged in absentia

Trump vows to ‘destroy’ North Korea

‘Crazy vikas’ drives BJP bonkers in Gujarat

For her alleged role in inciting violence

Reuters

AHMEDABAD

Viral social media campaign on poor infrastructure has party worried ahead of polls Mahesh Langa

New York

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT CHANDIGARH

The Haryana police have booked the adopted daughter of Dera Sacha Sauda chief, Honeypreet Insan, for her alleged role in inciting violence in Panchkula on August 25, after Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted on two counts of rape.

Lookout notice The State police have already issued a lookout notice against Ms. Honeypreet and Dera spokesman Aditya Insan, who have been on the run since the violence. The Panchkula police have added Ms. Honeypreet’s name to the FIR number 345, in which other Dera functionaries, including Aditya Insaan and

Honeypreet Insan Surinder Dhiman, have been named for allegedly inciting violence. Panchkula Police Commissioner A.S. Chawla on Tuesday said Ms. Honeypreet is an accused in the case now as her name has been added to the FIR. CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10 SEE ALSO A PAGE 7

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed to “totally destroy” North Korea unless Pyongyang backs down from its nuclear challenge, mocking North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a “rocket man” on a suicide mission. It was Mr. Trump’s most direct threat to attack North Korea for belligerent acts that have included launching ballistic missiles over Japan and conducting underground nuclear tests. His comments rattled the world leaders gathered before him in the greenmarbled U.N. General Assembly hall, where minutes earlier U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had appealed for statesmanship. ‘SUICIDE MISSION’ A PAGE 12

The much vaunted ‘Gujarat model of development,’ once the poster-child of economists, has “gone crazy,” according to the top trending hashtag on social media. With State elections barely two months away, the ruling BJP is worried. Over the past two weeks, witty posts, satirical memes, and audio-visual capsules — all with the Gujarati hashtag, vikas gando thayo chhe (Development has gone crazy) — have gone viral on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp. Mostly shared by youngsters, it has turned into a trending social media campaign that has put the ruling BJP on the defensive. The campaign began spontaneously after the monsoon rains that left potholes in roads across the

Mauled by meme: A man telling his curious friends that he is “looking for vikas.”

State, including in cities such as Ahmedabad, and the government’s claims about smart cities and world-class infrastructure took a beating. Soon, people started sharing photographs or videoclips of caved-in roads, decrepit State transport buses, roadside garbage dumps, flooded streets, and figures of swine flu-related deaths, all tagged with the catchy ‘vikas’ punch line.

Sensing an opportunity, the Congress’s social media teams latched on to the campaign. As the phenomenon moved beyond social media and became a talking point across age groups, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani responded by blaming the Congress. “Those who are saying vikas gando thayo chhe have themselves gone crazy,” he said. Recently, BJP president Amit Shah felt compelled to ask the State’s youth not to “fall prey to anti-BJP social media campaigns.” However, many BJP leaders admit that they are unable to counter the forceful social media posts on fuel price hikes, high GST rates, and job losses. “This campaign is a huge success. Even BJP supporters are forwarding these posts on WhatsApp,” said Saral Patel, a social media volunteer

for the Congress in Gujarat. Though the Congress social media team has taken credit, the phrase Vikas gando thayo chhe is attributed to 20-year-old Sagar Savalia, a civil engineering student and member of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, which leads the Patidar quota agitation. “On August 23, I received some photographs of a dilapidated State transport bus. I forwarded them with the line, ‘Stay Away! Vikas has gone crazy in Gujarat,’ and it went viral,” Mr. Savalia told The Hindu. “The social media campaign has exposed the BJP’s misrule in Gujarat for more than 20 years. Now the youth are questioning the socalled development model which has no substance,” said Varun Patel, a prominent activist of the Andolan Samiti.

chapter in the State’s politics” by allowing a government without majority to continue in power for 28 days. Mr. Stalin alleged that the Governor was functioning as per the whims of the BJP-led government at the Centre. When journalists wanted to know if the DMK planned to ask its 89 MLAs to resign en masse to protest the Speaker’s decision, he said any such move to bring pressure on the government would be made after the Madras High Court decided on the issue of disqualification of the dissidents. CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10

1 paisa loan waiver a cruel joke: farmer Mohammad Ali Govardhan (Mathura)

Chiddi Sharma, a farmer in Ading village of Mathura, has received 1 paisa or ₹00.01 as part of the U.P. government’s flagship crop loan waiver scheme, which promises a relief of up to ₹1 lakh to the 86 lakh farmers in the State. Mr. Sharma, one of the many farmers who have been given waivers of minuscule amounts, says his is the “cruellest joke” as no one in the State has been paid 1 paisa as relief for losses running into lakhs. Announced in April this year, a month after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came to power in U.P., the ₹36,000-crore ‘Rin Mochan Yojana’ had come as a blessing for debtridden farmers of the State. DETAILS ON A PAGE 6

Vaghela to launch front ahead of Assembly polls Says people are fed up with Cong and BJP Special Correspondent AHMEDABAD

Shankersinh Vaghela, who recently quit the Congress, is set to launch a third front in Gujarat ahead of the Assembly polls. The former Chief Minister and Union Minister has joined Jan Vikalpa, a political outfit floated by his supporters to provide a third alternative to the people of Gujarat. “We need an alternative to the BJP and the Congress in Gujarat because people are fed up with both political parties,” Mr. Vaghela told reporters on Tuesday.

‘Formidable alternative’ According to him, Jan Vikalp will prove to be a formidable alternative. “In Gujarat, both the BJP and the Congress play a fixed match on everything,” Mr. Vaghela said. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and in charge of Gujarat Ashok Gehlot slammed Mr. Vaghela, calling his Jan Vikalp a ‘B team’ of the BJP. “Vaghela stands exposed now. At the BJP’s behest, he tried in vain to defeat Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha polls,” Mr. Gehlot CM YK

Shankersinh Vaghela

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PTI

said. “Since the BJP has found that the ground reality is different, it is sponsoring Mr. Vaghela’s third front to divide anti-BJP votes. But now the people of Gujarat have seen through Mr. Vaghela and the BJP’s secret deal,” he added. Asked whether the Jan Vikalp will contest in all seats, Mr. Vaghela said candidates will be fielded in the maximum number of seats possible. Mr. Vaghela and 13 other legislators recently split from the Congress ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls. Except Mr. Vaghela and his MLA son Mahendrasinh, all other legislators have joined the BJP. Mr. Mahendrasinh is likely to join the BJP in the next few weeks.

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THE HINDU

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Rajasthan BJP to organise ‘kisan chaupals’ to highlight govt’s works Meetings to be held between September 20 and 25 in all village panchayats Special Correspondent JAIPUR

After a 13-day-long farmers’ agitation in the Shekhawati region forced the Rajasthan government to agree to loan waiver earlier this month, the ruling BJP has decided to hold a series of ‘kisan chaupals’ across the State to highlight the government’s works and schemes for the farming community. The BJP government had agreed last week to waive crop loans up to ₹50,000

and appointed a committee to study the procedure adopted in other States for its replication here. The farmers’ agitation, led by CPI(M)-affiliated All India Kisan Sabha, had brought life to a grinding halt in Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Churu and Bikaner districts.

Govt schemes BJP Kisan Morcha general secretary Shaila Ram Saran said on Tuesday that the ‘kisan chaupals’ would be or-

ganised between September 20 and 25 in village panchayats of all the districts. The party’s district presidents and other office-bearers attended a training programme for speakers at the chaupals organised here on Monday. Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini and Cooperative Minister Ajay Singh Kilak informed about the government’s schemes which were benefiting the farmers, peasants and la-

bourers. These measures include loan facilities, soil testing, weather-based crop insurance scheme and crop storage facilities. Mr. Saini said the districtlevel BJP leaders should reach out to the farmers in every village and apprise them of the government’s measures for their benefit. “Kisan chaupals should become platforms where farmers can get all information they need about the government schemes,” he said.

Flesh trade racket busted, three held Press Trust of India Shimla

The Shimla police on Tuesday busted a flesh trade racket by arresting three persons, including the owner of a hotel, where it was allegedly running. The police also claimed to have detained seven women, four from Punjab and three from Himachal, during a raid in the hotel at Janedghat on Kufri-Chail road, about 40 km from here late on Monday night. A call was received at the Dhalli police station that loud music was being played in the hotel, following which the police conducted raids past midnight and arrested three persons under sections of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1956, the police said.

DELHI

Timings

Wednesday, September 20

RISE 06:08 SET 18:20 RISE 06:00 SET 18:38 Thursday, September 21

RISE 06:09 SET 18:19 RISE 06:58 SET 19:15 Friday, September 22

RISE 06:09 SET 18:18 RISE 07:55 SET 19:52

0 DISCLAIMER: Readers are requested to verify and 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.

CM YK

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THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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IN BRIEF

1 paisa loan waiver a cruel joke: farmer

Weather Watch Rainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

Yogi Adityanath govt in UP had announced ₹36,000-crore crop loan waiver scheme in April Akhilesh Yadav tweeted on Monday: “Bhool chukey jo apna sankalp patra, shweta patra unka bahana hai (The white paper is an excuse for those who have forgotten their poll promises)”.

Mohammad Ali Govardhan (Mathura)

Modi to ag o new Mahamana Express NEW DELHI:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the country’s third Mahamana Express from his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi on September 22, senior railway officials said on Tuesday. The new weekly train will run from Varanasi every Friday and from Vadodara every Wednesday. PTI

Farmers dump potatoes on road in Mohali CHANDIGARH

Farmers of Punjab on Tuesday dumped potatoes on a road in Mohali, demanding a remunerative price for their crop. The protestors here accused the Congress government in Punjab of failing to resolve the farmers’ plight. During the protest, the farmers called for exporting potatoes, which they say have no buyers in Punjab even when sold for as little as ₹1 per kg. PTI

Maoists blow up solar power plant in Gaya GAYA

Maoists blew up a solar power plant in Bihar’s Gaya district, damaging its control room and workers’ accommodation unit, the police said on Tuesday. Irked over nonpayment of levy, the Maoists detonated an IED in the Tata Power-owned plant. PTI

Jammu-Srinagar highway reopens after landslide JAMMU

A landslide blocked the 300-km Srinagar-Jammu national highway in Ramban district and was cleared in two-and-a-half hours to ensure smooth movement of traffic, officials said. The landslide occurred at 6-25 a.m. and blocked the arterial road in Ramsu area of Ramban district, he said. PTI

Chiddi Sharma, a farmer in Ading village of Mathura, has received 1 paisa or ₹00.01 as part of the U.P. government’s flagship crop loan waiver scheme, which promises a relief of up to ₹1 lakh to the 86 lakh farmers in the State. Mr. Sharma, one of the many farmers who have been given waivers of minuscule amounts, says his is the “cruellest joke” as no one in the State has been paid 1 paise as relief for losses running into lakhs.

‘Blessing for farmers’ Announced in April this year, a month after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came to power in U.P., the ₹36,000crore ‘Rin Mochan Yojana’ had come as a blessing for debt-ridden farmers of the State. Even as the Adityanath government competed six months, Mr. Sharma got a message on his phone from Punjab National Bank on Sunday that he had got a loan waiver of 1 paisa as part of the flagship scheme. When The Hindu met the 52-year-old farmer in his humble one-room house, Mr. Sharma was visibly angry. “I had distributed sweets in April when Yogiji an-

Chiddi Sharma and his wife at their Mathura home. (Right) The loan waiver certicate issued to him. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *

nounced the loan waiver. I had taken loan of ₹1.55 lakh from the Punjab National Bank six years ago, but could not repay it that due to repeated losses in farming. Today I do not know whether to laugh or cry. Many leaders have played with the emotions of the farmers, but this one by Yogiji is the cruellest of them all,” said Mr. Sharma who owns five bighas of land and comes under the category of “marginal farmer”.

Waiver certificate “Since the day Yogiji announced the ₹1-lakh loan waiver scheme, I had only been thinking about it. I don't know what to say now. The six-month wait has resulted in

1 paisa in my account,” Mr. Sharma said, waving the loan waiver certificate embossed with the photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Adityanath, with the slogan “har kadam kisanon ke saath (with farmers in their every step)” running under them. “I don't want to speak much but what is the point of advertising ₹36000 crore. How come other farmers in Mathura who took almost the same amount as me and who were in a similar situation, got the full waiver of ₹1 lakh,” asked Mr. Sharma, flanked by his son Banwarilal Sharma and his two sons. Since the news of 1-paisa loan waiver broke, Mr.

Sharma has been receiving hordes of journalists and photographers at his home. The media attention is also proving to be a pocket pinch for the family, said Banwarilal Sharma who had spent over ₹100 on tea and snacks for the reporters visiting them.

Opposition fumes While there are many beneficiaries of the loan waiver scheme who have got a relief as low as 40 paisa, no one else in the State has a certificate that matches the 1-paisa laon waiver to Mr. Sharma. His case has already given ammunition to the Opposition leaders in the State. Former Chief Minister

Two-account theory The district manager of PNB bank, P.K. Singh, said that a case like that of Chiddi Sharma may have happened because of two accounts in the same bank. “Under the scheme those accounts of farmers ended up getting selected in which the money was either repaid or there was a meagre loan amount left,” said Mr. Singh. But Mr. Sharma said he never had two accounts in PNB, so there was no chance of any confusion. Probe ordered The district officials of Mathura have ordered a probe into Mr. Sharma’s case. ADM Mathura Sadanand Gupta told Mr. Sharma that it was a mistake on part of PNB and directed the bank officials to issue a new certificate. The District Magistrate of Mathura, Arvind Malappa, told The Hindu, “I looked at the case of of Chiddi Sharma and it seems that it happened due to some technical error which we are trying to sort out.”

Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: Skymet (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)

Forecast for Wednesday: Heavy to very heavy rain is likely at isolated places over Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Odisha, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura rain max min city Agartala..................2.... 31.6.... 25.3 Ahmedabad............ —.... 36.3.... 26.0 Aizawl ..................22.... 30.2.... 14.6 Allahabad .............. —.... 35.2.... 26.1 Bengaluru .............. —.... 27.7.... 20.4 Bhopal...............45.3.... 33.8.... 22.2 Bhubaneswar .....37.2.... 30.0.... 24.2 Chandigarh ............ —.... 35.5.... 23.1 Chennai .............25.8.... 35.4.... 24.9 Coimbatore..........0.3.... 31.6.... 23.6 Dehradun.............3.6.... 32.9.... 23.6 Gangtok...............1.2.... 22.3.... 17.7 Goa ...................86.8.... 29.3.... 22.5 Guwahati ............... —.... 34.0.... 25.9 Hubballi................. —.... 25.0.... 21.0 Hyderabad ............. —.... 30.0.... 22.1 Imphal...............48.3.... 24.8.... 21.4 Jaipur .................... —.... 37.0.... 21.0 Kochi..................... —.... 31.8.... 25.0 Kohima.................. —.... 27.6.... 19.4 Kolkata................1.2.... 30.3.... 26.7

Particulate matter in the air you are breathing CITIES

Not a single riot in 6 months of my government: Yogi

₹75,000 ne on family for defecating in open

‘Law and order situation in UP has improved drastically’

Betul (MP)

Omar Rashid LUCKNOW

“There has not been a single riot” in Uttar Pradesh since the BJP came to power, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday, as he counted the ‘achievements’ of the first six months of his government.

“It is a record for the State which used to have an ugly picture of it presented before the world” Mr. Adityanath said. Releasing a 56-page booklet titled “Badh Chala Uttar Pradesh Ek Nai Disha ki Aur” or UP moves in a new direction, Mr. Adityanath claimed

his government had taken strong steps to fulfil people's expectations. The booklet starts with the government's claims of having improved the law and order situation in UP. Since the BJP came to power, the police had shot dead 17 accused criminals in alleged encounters.

Press Trust of India

A panchayat at a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district has imposed a fine of about ₹75,000 on a family for open defecation. The panchayat of Rambhakhedi village also served notices to 43 other families, asking them to stop defecating in the

open. “About a month back, the family was advised to stop defecating in the open. However, they turned deaf ears to it. So, a fine of ₹75,000 was imposed on the family of 10 members,” Rambhakhedi village panchayat’s employment assistant Kunwarlal said on Tuesday.

city rain max min Kozhikode ...........55.3.... 31.2.... 24.3 Kurnool ................... —.... 32.3.... 24.2 Lucknow.................. —.... 34.7.... 26.3 Madurai................... —.... 35.2.... 23.6 Mangaluru ............... —.... 30.8.... 24.0 Mumbai.................1.8.... 31.4.... 26.4 Mysuru.................... —.... 27.0.... 20.3 New Delhi ............... —.... 36.5.... 25.6 Patna ...................... —.... 35.0.... 26.4 Port Blair ..............1.6.... 30.6.... 26.1 Puducherry.............. —.... 35.4.... 25.4 Pune ........................9.... 25.4.... 22.4 Raipur .................12.7.... 30.3.... 23.3 Ranchi...................6.6.... 30.2.... 21.0 Shillong.................1.7.... 23.1.... 15.8 Shimla..................... —.... 25.1.... 15.3 Srinagar .................. —.... 30.9.... 11.5 Trivandrum ...........3.9.... 31.0.... 25.5 Tiruchi .................... —.... 35.1.... 26.0 Vijayawada .............. —.... 33.5.... 26.0 Visakhapatnam ......... —.... 33.0.... 27.4

SO2 NO2

Yesterday

CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE

Ahmedabad.............— ....— .....— ....... —.......— ......— Bengaluru ........... ....9...52....60 ....... — .....84 ......* Chennai .............. ..15...19....23 ......62.......— ......* Delhi ......................—...29..101 ....210 ...159 ......* Hyderabad .......... ..44...23....20 ......25 .....49 ......* Kolkata ............... ..20...42....29 ....... — .....35 ......* Lucknow ............. ....7...37....48 ....... — .....55 ......* Mumbai .............. ..12...10....14 ......36 .....54 ......* Pune................... ..38...11....92 ......14 .....33 ......* Vishakhapatnam.. ....7.....8....36 ......55 .....78 ......*

In observation made at 4.00 p.m., Nagpur, Maharashtra recorded an overall air quality index (AQI) score of 301 indicating an unhealthy level of pollution. In contrast, Durgapur, West Bengal recorded a healthy AQI score of 29

Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system, making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues and monuments. NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters. CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death. PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature death in people with heart or lung disease (Individual pollutant data for various cities are averages for the previous day)

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IN BRIEF

Another Bench to hear Ryan bail case U.P. schools report death, molestation

Judge recuses himself from hearing trustees’ petition CBI arrests BJD MLA in Odisha chit fund scam BHUBANESWAR

Ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLA Prabhat Biswal was on Tuesday arrested by the CBI in the seashore chit fund scam in Odisha. He had been quizzed four times earlier in connection with a land deal with the Seashore Group. IANS

Plane overshoots runway in Mumbai MUMBAI

A Spicejet plane carrying 183 people overshot a wet runway while landing at the airport in rain-hit Mumbai on Tuesday and got stuck in the mud. The passengers were safely evacuated using the emergency chute of the Boeing 737 aircraft. PTI

75-year-old attacks doctor over ‘inflated’ bill PUNE

A 75-year-old knifed a doctor at the Sinhagad Speciality Hospital here on Monday allegedly on the suspicion that his bill was inflated, the police said. Maruti Shirwale, who assaulted Dr. Santosh Awari, was under treatment for acute asthma.

Press Trust of India SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Deoria/Bareilly

CHANDIGARH

A Class 9 student fell to her death from the third floor of a school in Deoria, while a school bus conductor was arrested for attempting to molest a nine-yearold girl in Bareilly, days after the U.P. police issued safety guidelines for educational institutions. The father of the 15-yearold student of Modern City Montessori school in Deoria alleged that she was pushed from the building on Monday. The police have registered a case against unknown persons, SP of Deoria Rajiv Malhotra said. The girl had reportedly gone to the washroom on the third floor when the incident took place. “The CCTVs at the school were not working,” the SP said. In Bareilly, the bus conductor who allegedly tried to molest a girl on September 16 has been arrested. The school staff who beat up the girl’s father when he went to speak to them about the incident, have also been booked.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court judge, Justice A.B. Chaudhari, on Tuesday recused himself from hearing the anticipatory bail application of three trustees of Ryan International School in connection with the FIR registered in the seven-yearold student’s murder in the Gurugram school. The matter will now come up before a separate Bench of the High Court. The trustees — Augustine F. Pinto, Grace Pinto and Ryan Pinto — filed an application for anticipatory bail on September 16. However, the application was filed again after removal of certain objections raised by the court registry in the matter. On September 14, the Bombay High Court had rejected the anticipatory bail pleas of the three trustees of Ryan Group in connection with the murder of the boy. The Pintos, who are based in Mumbai, had approached the Bombay High Court as they had apprehended arrest in the case.

Politicians had links with Kaskar, say police

Haunting memory: Students demand justice for seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur, who was found murdered in Ryan International School in Gurugram, at a march in New Delhi. PTI *

Haryana writes to Centre Press Trust of India Chandigarh

The Haryana government has written to the Centre seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the gruesome murder of the seven-year-old student at the Ryan International School in Gurugram, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The death of the Class II student, who was found with his throat slit in a washroom of the school, has triggered a furore nationwide. While incidents of bullying and accidents have often been reported from schools, both private and government, the brutal murder of the Class 2 student has opened the proverbial Pandora’s box on the

basic issue of security. The Haryana government has sent a written communication, which has been received by the Central government, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, S.S. Prasad said in a statement. “It is our endeavour to get a CBI inquiry initiated into this case at the earliest,” he said.

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In sync

‘Dawood’s brother extorted money’ Gautam S. Mengle Mumbai

The arrest of Iqbal Kaskar, the younger brother of global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, might hold the potential to blow the lid off an alleged underworld-politician nexus in Thane. According to the Thane police, there are indications that political figures, including corporators, are hand-inglove with Mr. Kaskar and others accused in the case. Mr. Kaskar was picked up from his sister Haseena Parkar’s residence late on Monday by the city police.

Sought four flats He and three others have been arrested for allegedly demanding ₹30 lakh from a Thane-based builder, as well as four flats in one of his projects on Ghodbunder Road. Police said that according to the complaint filed by the builder, they had demanded more. All demands were made in Dawood's name. The co-accused have been identified as Mumtaz Sheikh and Israr Ali Sayyed. Meanwhile, Haseena’s brother-in-law Iqbal Parkar and Yasin Khwaja Hussain, an alleged drug dealer, were also detained and are being questioned. On Tuesday, Thane Commissioner of Police Param Bir Singh said, “We have information that the accused targeted several others in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane. We are in touch with Central intelligence agencies to verify if Dawood is involved. We might also seek

Gurmeet will prune trees

help from the Enforcement Directorate and are examining grounds for invoking the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.” According to the FIR registered at Kasarwadavali police station, the complainant has claimed that shortly after his building project was announced in 2013, Mr. Kaskar contacted him through the co-accused and demanded four flats and ₹30 lakh from him. After several threats, the complainant agreed and the ownership of one of the flats was transferred to Mr. Sheikh, while the other three were sold and the proceeds divided among Iqbal, Mr. Sheikh and Mr. Sayyed. “Mr. Sheikh is a real estate agent and was supplying information to Mr. Kaskar about builders and their activities. The latter was also running similar rackets in Mumbai; we are working on identifying his accomplices,” a police officer said.

Hawala trail Mr. Kaskar is allegedly looking after Dawood’s real estate business in Mumbai, and was running an extortion racket with the help of some builders and local politicians in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane. The police are also verifying if he was running a narcotics racket as he was with Mr. Hussain in the Nagpada residence. They said as some threat calls were made to builders from outside the country, hawala links are being investigated with the ED’s help.

Wait ends: Garba artists perform a full dress rehearsal in Ahmedabad on Monday, ahead of the Navratri festival that begins on September 21. VIJAY SONEJI *

‘Finalise body for Cauvery water sharing’ T.N. insists that the Supreme Court appoint an authority Krishnadas rajagopal NEW DELHI

The Tamil Nadu government insisted on Tuesday that the Supreme Court itself should finally appoint an authority and frame a scheme for sharing and management of Cauvery river waters among Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry, and not leave the responsibility to the Centre. Arguing before a Special Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justices Amitava Roy and A.M. Khanwilkar, Tamil Nadu, represented by senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, said it has for the past 25 years had a frictional relationship with Karnataka over Cauvery, and had often to make the journey to the Supreme Court for release of water. The day-long hearing saw the court chide the Centre for not implementing the final award of the Cauvery Tribunal in 2007.

Centre questioned The court questioned the reluctance shown by the Centre to set up of the Cauvery Management Board and frame a scheme for implementation of the tribunal award despite it having been notified in 2013. “It was your responsibility to frame a scheme,” the court asked the Centre, appearing through Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar. Mr. Kumar said the Centre did set up the Cauvery River Water Authority and Supervisory Committee following the Supreme Court's direction. It had, in fact, been waiting for some clarifications on the tribunal award. Mr. Kumar said the Centre had decided to wait till the Supreme Court took a final call on the tribunal award.

Bone of contention: The Cauvery ows in Tiruchi.

Water let out from Kabini Special Correspondent MYSURU

The Kabini reservoir has reached its brim for the first time in three years with the revival of monsoon. The Irrigation Department authorities, who have already sounded a flood warning to people residing in villages downstream, began releasing 16,000 cusecs of water early on Tuesday by opening four crest gates of the reservoir. But Chief Justice Misra responded that the Centre should not have let a vacuum prevail after the tribunal’s award. Senior advocate Fali Nariman, for Karnataka, submitted that the Board or Authority should be headed by a former Supreme Court judge. While Mr. Kumar said the tribunal award was not clear about water release during times of distress, Mr. Nariman differed to say there was no clarity in the award in times of surplus. Mr. Naphade objected to any fiddling with the monthly release of water as this would impact the State’s seasonal crops. Karnataka interjected to submit that there should not be any restriction on how it uses its share.

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When Baahubali reached puja pandal Themes on display this year cover the whole gamut from politics to entertainment Staff Reporter KOLKATA

From demonetisation to Baahubali, female foeticide, and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), an eclectic range of themes are on display in this year’s Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata. Organisers of a comparatively less known Durga Puja, Mitra Sanghati, in the Beliaghata area of eastern Kolkata have picked demonetisation as the theme. The dimly-lit pandal, constructed in the shape of an old house with a ‘moneytree’ in the middle, has nearly 30,000 replicas of the demonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 notes hanging from the tree’s branches. Demonetisation’s impact on the common man is presented through six

Filmy style: A pandal in Kolkata resembling the Mahismati palace shown in the lm Baahubali 2 SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *

statues of people from various walks of life, who are shown entangled in vines garnished with old notes. “After demonetisation, people were rendered

penniless despite having money,” said Prasenjit Haldar, the artist who designed the pandal. On the northern fringes of the city, Sree Bhumi

Sporting Club has erected a 100-ft pandal resembling the imposing palace of the ancient kingdom of Mahismati as depicted in the Baahubali movies. “We picked it as our theme to attract visitors,” said D.K. Goswmi, general secretary of Sree Bhumi Sporting Club. The evil of female foeticide is the theme of the Durga Puja organised by the Ichapur Shivaji Sangha in the Dumurjola area of Howrah district. In southern Kolkata, IVF and test tube babies are the theme of a Durga Puja called Purbalok Sarbojonin. “Our aim is to create awareness and clear misconceptions about IVF,” said Kuntal Chowdhury, the spokesperson of the puja committee.

School director, teacher held for rape of student

Press Trust of India Chandigarh

He was master of the sprawling Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters at Sirsa till this past August 28. But now incarcerated, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh will spend his time growing vegetables, pruning trees — eight hours a day just for ₹20. The 50-year-old selfstyled godman, who boasts millions of followers, is lodged in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail for raping two of his disciples. A CBI court had sentenced him to 20 years in jail — 10 years each in two rape cases — on August 28. And the ‘pita-ji,’ as his followers would call him reverently, was stamped prisoner number 1997. CM YK

Special Correspondent Jaipur

The police on Tuesday arrested the director and a teacher of a private school at Ajeetgarh in Sikar district of Rajasthan on charges of raping a student of Class XII. The accused, Jagdish Yadav and Jagat Singh Gujjar, had also allegedly forced the girl to undergo an abortion when she became pregnant. Sikar Superintendent of Police (SP) Vinit Kumar said the accused, Jagdish Yadav and Jagat Singh Gujjar, were arrested after several raids at their hideouts and were being interrogated. They will be produced in the court on Wednesday for the remand proceedings.

Angry villagers stormed into the Janata Bal Niketan School and broke its doors, windows and furniture., besides damaging its properties, such as ceiling fans, chairs and tables. The villagers demanded immediate closure and derecognition of the school. The victim of the horrific crime is undergoing medical treatment at Sawai Man Singh Government Hospital here. Her abortion was carried out last month at a private hospital in Shahpura, where the two accused tricked the family members into believing that a surgery was being done for treatment of her stomach pain.

https://t.me/yk_info A ND-NDE

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8 EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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India needs to push for a new deal It must reopen the discussion on balancing the global intellectual property system with development sidered critical to build mobile phones with wireless technologies, accounting for a total prot of $5.7 billion through intellectual property licences in 2016 alone.

Targeting refugees

The Kurdish vote With Iraqi Kurds still rm on a referendum, Baghdad must keep tensions from escalating

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raqi Kurdistan’s decision to go ahead with a proposed independence referendum, despite strong opposition both from within and outside Iraq, has created a regional political storm in West Asia. The Iraqi Supreme Court has already asked the Kurdistan Regional Government to suspend the vote, scheduled for September 25, till its legality is settled. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has threatened to use force if the referendum turns violent. The Turkish government has ordered a military drill on the Iraqi border, while Iran has also issued a warning. Such opposition is largely driven by fears that a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum, which is almost certain, would enhance the nationalist aspirations of Kurds living in other countries and further destabilise the region. Besides Iraq, Kurds, the fourth largest ethnic group in West Asia but without a state, are scattered in various countries, including Turkey, Iran and Syria. In Turkey, Kurdish rebels are involved in a protracted civil war, while in Syria they have established a regional government. They are all keenly awaiting the outcome of the Iraqi vote. A ‘yes’ vote doesn’t necessarily mean that Iraqi Kurdistan would immediately break away from Iraq. Both the regional government in Erbil and the federal government in Baghdad are not ready for that. But the Kurdish Regional Government, led by Masoud Barzani, wants to send a message to Baghdad as well as the outside world that its aspirations for independence are genuine and have popular resonance. For generations, Iraqi Kurds have been at the receiving end in the dysfunctional relationship between Baghdad and Erbil. Kurds had been brutally repressed until the regional government was formed following the rst Gulf War of 1991. Since then, they have exercised autonomy and built institutions for self-governance, but Kurdistan has remained part of Iraq. Now, Mr. Barzani, who will step down as the President of the regional government after the November 1 elections, is looking to begin the process for restructuring Erbil-Baghdad ties. Baghdad should see this as an opportunity to address the Kurdish question. In recent years, both Baghdad and Erbil cooperated in the ght against the Islamic State. Now that the IS threat has been largely contained, both sides can refocus their energies on settling the dispute between themselves. Though independence remains the proclaimed goal of Iraqi Kurdistan, Mr. Barzani himself has often signalled compromise. He once proposed a confederation, a united state in which Iraq and Kurdistan could co-exist, sharing resources and a vision on foreign and security policies. Baghdad chose to ignore such proposals. With the push for the referendum, Kurds are trying to change the status quo. Federal dialogue is essential, for it is neither in Baghdad’s nor the Kurds’ interest to jeopardise the relative calm in Iraq’s northeast, or to deepen sectarian fault lines. CM YK

lobal trade and intellectual property are at a crossroads. In a time when multilateral consensus is languishing on a large number of issues, the Trump administration is considering pulling the U.S. out of most free trade agreements on the ground that it needs a more favourable environment for its companies and its people. Much will be written about the carnage as far as jobs, wages and national sovereignty that the current American onslaught on trade deals brings to the fore. Here, I focus on a critical issue — how trade deals are becoming the new Trojan horse to ensure stronger patent protection and continued prots to global companies.

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Problem with trade deals A bit about the historical trajectory of events. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) embodied an international regulatory regime for the rst time, in 1995. Although it represented a major compromise for most developing countries, it was only the starting point for many other nations, which have since then promoted excessive protection of private investor interests through bilateral trade agreements, often at the expense of wider public interests. Corporate libertarians, riding high on increased market power, continue to lobby their governments for absolute protection of intellectual property (IP) rights of corporations. For the U.S. in particular, which has never made any qualms about the importance of its domestic corporate interests, trade agreements are a prime vehicle to supplant its strong domestic standards of IP

ing markets and rigging established rules of the game. A superstar rm today is not necessarily one with the greatest technological breakthroughs or the largest research and development labs, but surely is one that has a large IP portfolio, engages in extensive litigation on patent issues, and thrives on licensing revenues. Noting the gravity of the situation, The Economist in 2016 produced two short opinion pieces on how corporate prots and returns on capital are at near record levels in the U.S. and what might be wrong with it. It argued that established companies are “becoming more entrenched” in existing markets worldwide, and made the case that high prots may be a sign of a sickness rather than growth and called for reining in IP rights. At the global level, these sectors are stratied, with prots neatly split up between large corporations and new kinds of non-innovator rms that simply amass patents speculatively in upcoming, promising technologies for spurious returns. The non-innovator companies are the patriciates of the system: when they hit the technology jackpot, they control the market and have the power to shift wealth and control competition. An example that beautifully captures the situation is Qualcomm Inc., an American company that is the legal patent holder of thousands of patents that are con-

protection in partner countries, in a bid to ensure the same level of privileges for its companies abroad. Over the past 20 years, the American strategy has been a neat one: to pursue bilateral agreements with individual countries one by one to ensure stronger IP protection across markets, by sidestepping the multilateral regime.

Gaming the system In an inter-connected and highly globalised world, what goes around comes around quite fast and often with drastic consequences for all. In this case, the crux of the matter lies in how these stronger rules are changing the global corporate landscape. For years now, while patent protection is getting stronger in all sectors in a large number of countries, the conditions for its grant are becoming greatly relaxed. Not only do such lax patenting requirements allow companies to claim patents more broadly — or consecutively, with little show of original eort as in the case of evergreening — but also patents can be claimed on all possible inventions (and discoveries) that are of relevance to the present, and even to the future. A large number of countries have already foregone many degrees of policy freedom by signing up to ‘TRIPSPlus’ standards of protection. This, in conjunction with other trade measures, is disintegrating exist-

Stemming the tide For India, the fate of its pharmaceutical and software sectors swings in the balance, and guaranteeing fair and unfettered competition will be critical to ensure that we do not lose more ground to global companies abroad and at home. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s recent Trade and Development Report calls for stronger measures to protect domestic sectors against the undue domination of large companies, particularly in high-prot sectors such as pharmaceuticals, media and information and communications technology (ICT), where foreign companies still account for most of the transfer of prots across borders. Warning against trade deals that seek to protect the status quo, the report identies patents as an instrument of unfair market power across markets. The report uses data for U.S. multinational companies (MNCs) and their foreign aliates in India to show that patent reforms have led to signicant increases in the rates of return to aliates of American companies by enabling monopoly prots when compared to publicly listed and locally headquartered companies, which are increasingly being left behind. In the pharmaceutical sector, for example, the analysis that ranges 20 years (from 1996) shows that prots of domestic companies are in sharp decline since the late 2000s while those for the American MNC aliates operating in the Indian market are rising steeply. A similar trend is visible in the ICTs sector as well. It is important to take these ndings in the broader perspective of what India’s growth drivers will be in the years to come. Our hightechnology sectors are already taking a beating because they operate

Padmashree Gehl Sampath, a policy expert at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, is one of the authors of the Trade and Development Report 2017

In Vivekananda’s country? His wise words on sheltering refugees are not reected in the government’s adavit on the Rohingya

karan thapar

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ust about ten days ago, on September 11, Prime Minister Narendra Modi admonished a students convention for forgetting the signicance of 1893. Many were perplexed until they realised this was the year Swami Vivekananda delivered his famous speech to the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. As Mr. Modi put it, that date was the original 9/11. “Had we not forgotten the signicance of our own 9/11, there would have been no 9/11 in 2001,” he added. Perhaps the Prime Minister has himself either forgotten or is unaware of an important and, today, very relevant boast at the start of Swami Vivekananda’s speech. In a critical sentence he said: “I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth.” Unfortunately, that sentiment is

not reected in the government’s adavit on the Rohingya presented to the Supreme Court on Monday. Instead, it views them as “a very serious threat and potential threat to national security”. It claims “many of the Rohingyas gure in the suspected sinister designs of ISI/ISIS and other extremist groups”. It accuses them of “mobilization of funds through hundi/hawala channels”. Finally, it adds there’s a “serious potential and possibility” of Rohingya violence against Buddhists in India.

Assertions without evidence Yet these are simply broad and generalised assertions. So far the government has not submitted a shred of evidence to support them. In fact, there’s good reason to disregard or even dismiss these exaggerated fears. First, whilst it’s true that the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army has connections with Haz Saeed and al-Qaeda, it would be grossly unjust to view all Rohingya as potential terrorists. That leap of logic is akin to a ight of imagination. Or else, because the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and now, perhaps, al-Qaeda and the Islamic

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Interactions in Kashmir After failing to take stock of the situation and enabling a permanent solution to end the impasse in Jammu and Kashmir during his 10-year tenure as Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s move now to lead a Congress team on a fact-nding mission and ‘healing mission’ to Kashmir is nothing but an exercise in futility. It is also aimed at deriving political mileage and a ruse to show the PDP-BJP government in a poor light before the people of the Valley. The team’s visit has also come at a time when separatist elements are on the back foot after the elimination of commanders of Pakistanisponsored terror outts. K.R. Srinivasan, Secunderabad

It would be advisable if the two major national parties take a bipartisan attitude on a Kashmir policy and work out a framework for lasting peace. Essentially, this should involve all groups in Kashmir. An all-India eort must be in place to make Kashmiris feel safe and secure here. The long

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he Union government’s position that it considers Rohingya refugees from Myanmar’s Rakhine state as a potential security threat is a disturbing attempt to paint the persecuted community in a poor light so that it could justify their deportation in future. While some degree of caution is necessary in dealing with any unusual ow of refugees from a conict-hit region, the imputation of collective motivation to the Rohingya refugees in the country, estimated to number about 40,000, is heartless. The Centre’s adavit in the Supreme Court contains self-serving arguments: that providing for refugees from out of the country’s limited resources would have an adverse impact on its citizens, as they would be deprived of their legitimate share in employment, housing, educational and medical facilities; that there is growing stridency in Rohingya militancy; and that Buddhist citizens face threat of violence from the refugees. Whether or not these assertions are based on facts, they disregard the wider context. Myanmar refuses to accept most Rohingya as its citizens, rendering them stateless, and hundreds of thousands have ed to Bangladesh in just the past few weeks. The intention to deport them by itself constitutes an unusual abandonment of humanitarian principles, as India has an exemplary record in taking care of refugees from many countries since Independence. India is not a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees, 1951, but it has so far adhered to its normative standards. It has played host to refugees of all hues, and stood by the principle of non-refoulement, under which refugees cannot be forced to return to conditions of danger. Non-refoulement has now evolved into a peremptory norm that every country is expected to follow. The existing law on the subject as well as some judicial decisions do support the norm that deportation of illegal immigrants is a matter of executive policy. It is also true that the fundamental rights relating to movement and settlement within the country are available only to citizens, but it cannot be forgotten that the right to life and liberty under Article 21 is not conned to citizens, but anyone who has to face the rigours of law on Indian soil. As the Centre asserts, it does have a procedure to pass deportation orders, one that it believes is fair and reasonable. But when an entire class of people is identied for deportation and accused of plotting against the host country, it is unlikely that fairness can be assured in every case. India may have strategic and diplomatic reasons for backing the Myanmar position with regard to terrorism in the Rakhine region. However, that does not necessarily mean that it should cite vague fears about militants inltrating the country under the guise of refugees, who happen to be Muslim, to deny safe haven to a largely stateless community.

padmashree gehl sampath

GETTY IMAGES

The Centre has revealed a disturbing intent to push the Rohingya back to a conict zone

in a volatile global environment. Supporting IP standards that simply follow a ‘winner takes all’ ideology without emphasis on technological advancement and competitive markets will be a regrettable mistake. What India needs right now is a clear and tough stance on intellectual property both in domestic policy and at the multilateral level. At home, support for innovation has to be accompanied with instruments that guard against the misuse of market power, coercive bargaining and aggressive merger and acquisition strategies if local rms should survive and ourish. Heated negotiations in the runup to the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference in Argentina already show that these issues will be central: there are ongoing attempts by big business to push for new rules in areas such as e-commerce to slice up prot-making opportunities of the future. Other proposals being made will largely limit the ability of governments to constrain corporate behaviour in the public interest even if they succeed partially. In such an international context, we need to stop soft-peddling on these issues in the pretence that we aspire to be a major IP player in the same vein as the U.S. What we need is a return to old-fashioned pragmatism that clearly shows the West that India recognises the fallacy of the current IP system and leads the way to broker a global new deal. This new deal should not only call for a return to business in the WTO by tackling the forgotten issues of the Doha Round but also rmly reopen the discussion on balancing the global IP system with development. That way, even if we don’t win in Argentina, we will have made an ambitious start in redening the global trade and IP agenda.

State conduct operations in Kashmir, this argument should lead to the government viewing all Kashmiris as terrorists! However, it’s not just the government’s logic that falls apart; facts also disprove its position. S.D. Singh, the Inspector General of Police in Jammu, where the largest Rohingya concentration is located, has told NDTV that there are only a few cases of petty crime against them, the sort that poor refugees are often accused of, and they are not a threat to national security. Several other police ocers have said that the same seems to be true of Rohingya settled in Jaipur, Delhi, Chandigarh and parts of Haryana such as Faridabad and Mewat. Second, the claim that the Rohingya are carrying out hawala

transactions is nothing but an insult to their poor and wretched status. If they had the money for hawala transactions they would surely spend it on improving their miserable existence. You only have to look at the conditions in which they live to realise how unlikely is this charge. If it were not hurtful, it would be laughable. Third, the claim that the Rohingya will indulge in violence against Buddhists in India is simply bizarre. You could just as well say that Hindu refugees eeing Pakistan and Bangladesh could be a threat to Indian Muslims. This argument suggests the government is dredging up whatever fear it can to demonise the Rohingya in the eyes of the Supreme Court.

Attempt at avoidance The government’s adavit is clearly an attempt to get around India’s international law commitments and its own constitutional provisions, both of which require the grant of sanctuary to the Rohingya. That now depends on whether the Supreme Court is intimidated by the government’s lengthy adavit or has the strength to stand up for the prin-

ciples of our Constitution and international law. These are quite explicit. No doubt India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, but we are still bound by the many conventions on human rights we have signed. These include the UN principle of non-refoulement, which explicitly forbids the forcible return of refugees. More importantly, the Supreme Court has ruled that the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 applies to all people in India, irrespective of citizenship. That includes the Rohingya refugees. The government cannot overlook all of this without shaming India. Paradoxically, Union Minister of State for Home Aairs Kiren Rijiju has tweeted, “This chorus of branding India as villain on Rohingya issue is a calibrated design to tarnish India’s image.” The actual truth is that it’s the government that’s doing the tarnishing. The Supreme Court now has an opportunity to uphold India’s self-respect and honour.

Karan Thapar is a television anchor

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

journey after Independence and a couple of wars with Pakistan have taught us enough lessons that in unity lies strength. Fewer sound bites and more ground work is what is needed.

Rameeza A. Rasheed,

Bibhuti Das,

Chennai

New Delhi

Down South

B. Sundar Raman, Coimbatore

India on the Rohingya Ever since the crisis involving the Rohingya erupted in its extended neighbourhood, the government in India has failed to make any diplomatic eort to defuse the crisis. The Prime Minister’s visit to Myanmar did not touch the nerve of the problem. It was only after much persuasion by Dhaka that New Delhi woke up in response and came out with a soft-worded statement and drew up a soft policy of dispatching relief items to refugee camps in Bangladesh. This has been an inadequate move and doesn’t reect the leadership role that behoves a nation aspiring to be a leading power. It needs to do more by balancing its diplomatic relations with nations in the region while

nd those who are really indulging in such antisecurity acts, isolate them and treat them ttingly?

helping to nd a lasting solution of the crisis (“Rohingya have terror links: Centre”, September 19).

Why should India be so adamant about deporting the Rohingya despite world and domestic opinion? Just look at the pictures of the Rohingya who live in refugee camps, with fear written on their faces about the threat of deportation by India. Most of them are a bag of bones, they ran to this nation empty-handed and with trust, and want asylum here till things become normal in their nation. Do they look like they are capable of causing security threats to India when their worry is about the security of their families primarily? No one likes a ‘refugee status’ permanently. Is it because of the present government’s belief that being from a particular minority community is a source of threat to our national security? Doesn’t India have the capability to

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What is most tragic in the political spectacle in Tamil Nadu is the fact that statutes such as the anti-defection law and those governing the conduct of MLAs are being unconscionably exploited. It is conveniently forgotten that the very spirit of such statues is to ensure that the concept of governance should not be reduced to the spoils system, where the greed for power, pelf and aggrandisement keeps the juggernaut going (“T.N. Speaker disqualies 18 rebel AIADMK MLAs”, September 19). On the contrary, all the dramatis personae are vying with one another to aunt legal and constitutional niceties only to bide their time and outwit their mutually exclusive factions. Can there be a better illustration of well-meant laws being put paid to?

https://t.me/yk_info

S. Balu,

Madurai

Politics here too Thanks to the crazy intervention of politics, even the election of the president of the Bharat Scout and Guides Movement (Tamil Nadu) — which would otherwise have never attracted any media attention — is now in the limelight (Some editions, “BJP’s Raja loses bid to head Scouts and Guides”, September 17). Why does the BJP want to inuence even an international movement? Why move away from the clear intention of Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the scouting movement, who said, “A scout and guide credential is measured not on the number of badges attached to the uniform one wears but by the character that one holds dear to the heart in serving the humanity with no discrimination of any sort”? Victor Frank A., Chennai

Rail travel It is always a bone of contention among train passengers when it comes to claiming berth space,

storing luggage, sharing mobile charging points and so on. One cannot deny the fact that train travel is the most comfortable mode of transportation which, at an aordable price, comes with a comfortable full-length berth and a washroom facility which cannot be found even in air travel. It is unfortunate that because of some bad apples who have caused quarrels to breakout out over oversleeping passengers using the middle and lower berths, the Indian Railways have had to reduce the sleeping time of passengers (“Railways cut sleeping time by an hour”, September 18). We should learn to hold on to the existing benets and request better amenities going by the plate placed in all coaches which says: “Help the railways to serve you better.” A pleasant journey is always possible with the proper understanding and cooperation of fellow passengers. Kshirasagara Balaji Rao, Hyderabad

more letters online: www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

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THE HINDU

OPED 9

NOIDA/DELHI

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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THE WEDNESDAY INTERVIEW | SOLI SORABJEE

‘If dissent is not allowed, it’ll take dierent forms’ The former Attorney General about recent landmark judgments of the Supreme Court, the credibility of the court, and the sedition law tion also exaggerates it. The real test is for the people to openly say: ‘We dissent and we challenge you to do something to us.’

Anuradha Raman

Former Attorney General of India, Soli Sorabjee, was given the Padma Vibhushan 15 years back for his defence of the freedom of expression and protection of human rights. Now, at 87, Mr. Sorabjee says he is looking forward to making his arguments in a pending case on Aadhaar. Excerpts from a wide-ranging interview: What are the implications of the Supreme Court’s privacy judgment on Section 377 of the IPC (that criminalises homosexuality)?

I think Section 377 is very questionable now in light of the privacy judgment. The Supreme Court overturned a very good judgment by the Delhi High Court, which had struck down Section 377. In view of the unanimous privacy judgment of the court, it is clear that what you drink and eat and whom you consort with cannot be the concern of the state. Of course, privacy is also not absolute. No fundamental right is absolute. If a man with questionable reputation visits haunts which have a dubious reputation, and has terrorist links, you can take action against him. But that should be done with proper application of the mind. You can’t rush in to slap the law.

■

Do you anticipate more litigation in light of the privacy judgment? ■ There will be (litigation) on Aadhaar and many other issues. The essence of the right to privacy is the right to be left alone. This is one of the most cherished rights of democracy. It is difficult to draw a line, though. Sometimes there are borderline cases but even in such cases, it should be in favour of the person. But the prosecution doesn’t want to take chances and would rather send the person to jail.

When people criticise, it is often called seditious. Do you think the sedition law should remain in the statute books?

What are your arguments in the Aadhaar case?

In principle, I also feel that there isn’t an argument against Aadhaar, especially when it is linked to social benefit schemes. It is possible that it can be misused, but the possibility of misuse cannot be the ground for arguing that the law is not required. It is a grey area, and we must place our trust in the judiciary and the media. The Aadhaar matter is pending, and I may be involved in some cases, so I don’t want to go into that. You had expressed satisfaction at the fact that the privacy judgment was unanimous. But this was not the case with the triple talaq judgment.

■ On triple talaq, the former Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice Khehar Singh, said Parliament must pass a law. But I am afraid, on matters such as this, there should have been a unanimous judgment. It carries more weight. If you dissent, people read different meanings. That’s why I am glad that the privacy judgment was unanimous. On triple talaq, the main thing is, you cannot arbitrarily divorce a woman. Yes, you can profess and propagate any religion under Article 25, but this is subject to other provisions in the Constitution. Article 14 (equality) cannot be achieved by having gender discrimination. But what I saw was a community upsurge against the women

the whole, the authorities have understood the < > On meaning of sedition. It should be clearly laid down that criticism of the government is not sedition, unless there is a call to violence.

Yes. Challenge the actions, the facts on which the action was taken. But not the statutory provision. The criminal misappropriation provision in law, for instance, where false charges are made. Take Section 420, it has been abused. The judiciary, I must say, comes to the aid of people who are falsely charged or whose voice of dissent is sought to be suppressed. Different judges have different ways of looking at things. By and large, the judiciary has been commendably forthright in supporting voices of dissent. Perils are there in the abuse of law by law enforcers, and very often, this section (sedition) is put to action because of overcautiousness or out of ignorance. It should not be. On the whole, the authorities have understood the meaning of sedition. It should be clearly laid down that criticism of the government is not sedition, unless there is a call to violence. Suppose there is a cricket match and Pakistan wins and you clap for Pakistan... that’s not sedition. I may hold a different view and not like the person who claps. They say, ‘Pakistan Zindabad!’... that’s not sedition. ‘Bharat Murdabad!’ in itself is not sedition. But if someone says, ‘Bharat ke tukde kar do’, the section can be invoked for incitement to violence. But they should be seen in the right context. Authorities should not be overenthusiastic in applying the provisions of the act. I am against the view that sedition should be done away with altogether. It is required in some cases. If there ■

■

*

R.V. MOORTHY

fighting against triple talaq. Why can’t the woman be given the right to give triple talaq to her husband? It won’t happen. The women who fought were seen as anti-Islam, were maligned in the community. You cannot argue that it is a personal law. There have been some allegations against Supreme Court judges. Would you say that people today still have faith in the judiciary?

People still ask for a judicial inquiry despite all the challenges and faults of the judiciary. The confidence has not gone — and rightly so. ■

What do you think of the Supreme Court’s national anthem judgment and the Madras High Court’s Vande Matram judgment?

These ( judgments) were meant well, but they were not proper judicial dicta. To my mind, the courts should not have got into this. They could have said this is desirable, but not to the extent of making it mandatory. The Jehovah’s Witnesses case still holds good, where the Supreme Court had observed that there was no provision ■

is possible that < > ItAadhaar can be misused, but the possibility of misuse cannot be the ground for arguing that the law is not required. in law which obliges anyone to sing the national anthem. So, the present order was not necessary at all. Would you agree that the discussions on intolerance — for instance, what people should be allowed to eat — have come to the fore in the last two-three years? ■ Well, it has gained prominence. But I don’t think this will succeed. One cannot say, ‘you must be a vegetarian.’ People have lost their lives; how terrible is that! That’s why the courts afford protection. But sometimes, the courts fail. Judges are not infallible.

You had recently said that a critical test to check the claim of any country being democratic is its tolerance of dissent and the protection afforded to dissenters. How has India fared in the test?

India can fare better; this atmosphere of fear must be removed. But it is also a fact that all dissenters are not put behind bars. You see people criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister’s Office, the government. There is apprehension that if they dare say anything against the government or against the established order, they may be incarcerated or put behind bars. That impression must go. The government must make solid efforts to encourage dissent, provided it is not abusive, of course. This is important because if dissent is not allowed, then it takes different forms, not very healthy forms, and finds outlet in other activities.

■

Why have things come to such a pass?

It is not really as sorry as it is made out. It’s a bit exaggerated. But the fact that there is such an apprehension... that itself is not a good sign. Sometimes an issue is politicised, and an impression is created that people will be put behind bars. We have witnessed criticism of the government in trenchant, virulent terms. They are not put behind bars or murdered. The Opposi■

JNU? Why can’t they dissent? It was nonsense that they were slapped with sedition. Sedition needs to be understood properly. Sedition is not criticism of the government. In sedition, the essential element is by words or action; there is an incitement to violence. That’s the sine qua non of the offence of sedition. The police who slap such charges are ignorant of the law. Any criticism, they slap sedition. The authorities should have seen the action of the students rationally. Usually, there is not (a clear) understanding of the law. In

■

the Rohingya < > Do pose a threat to security? Do they aect public tranquillity? Unless we have a cogent evidence against them, we should not deport them. one case, Arun Jaitley was slapped with sedition, if you please. What do you have to say to reasonable restrictions of free speech in the context of dissent? Does it require a relook?

Reasonable restrictions should go with the facts of each case. Reasonable means the restrictions shouldn’t be excessive or disproportionate. It should have a rationale in relation to the objectives stated. If the objective is to prevent people from giving a call to violently overthrow the government,

■

FROM

SINGLE FILE

You were Attorney General during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s term as Prime Minister. What is the change you see from the Vajpayee era to the Modi era?

Mr. Vajpayee, of course, was far more tolerant. No question about it. Or, let me say, he appeared to be tolerant. Mr. Modi I wouldn’t say is intolerant, but is made to appear intolerant. ■

By whom?

By some people in the party he belongs to and by the Opposition. His party members make stupid statements like, ‘if you don’t like this, go to Pakistan.’ Those few do a great damage to the government and the Prime Minister. ■

But the Prime Minister has remained silent.

Yes, of course. And silence sometimes can imply consent. But a Prime Minister cannot react to everything. He has condemned gau rakshaks. He has said you cannot kill in the name of religion. India is such a vast country. The real issue is to sensitise people on the value of free speech and the importance of dissent. That can be done even in school and educational institutions. ■

What should India’s position be on the Rohingya issue?

Instinctively and on principle, I am against deporting them. Do they pose a threat to security? Do they affect public tranquillity? Unless we have a cogent evidence against them, we should not deport them. ■

ARCHIVES

FIFTY YEARS AGO SEPTEMBER 20, 1967

The privacy quandary

Phizo criticised for seeking Chinese aid

The iPhone’s facial recognition software is great news for security but what does it portend for the future of privacy?

The Nagaland Legislative Assembly to-day [Sept. 19, Kohima] unanimously adopted a resolution condemning outright the move initiated by the rebel leader Mr. A.Z. Phizo, for securing help from China. Mr. Phizo is in self exile In London for almost seven years past. He disappeared from Nagaland about 11 years ago and was in East and West Pakistan and later in Switzerland before going to London where he settled down after taking British citizenship. A pro-Phizo faction of the underground Nagas is already in China seeking arms and other assistance presumably to rebel against the Government and the powerful anti-Phizo faction in the underground movement in Nagaland. This move, the resolution said, “is an act of treachery against the people of Nagaland and hence it should be condemned outright. This is a serious threat to democracy, political freedom and liberty and the Naga way of life and the Church.”

SRIRAM SRINIVASAN GETTY IMAGES

CM YK

How do you view students being slapped with sedition charges?

reasonable restrictions should be invoked, but that does not mean excessive usage. It does not imply doing away with the section on reasonable restrictions to free speech.

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If an iPhone user unlocks the phone, on an average 80 times a day, as an Apple executive reportedly revealed to the media last April, it does make sense to make the process of unlocking a breeze without compromising on security. Touch ID, a ngerprint recognition feature introduced four years back, made punching in passcodes seem like a lot of work. Now, with Face ID, which Apple will introduce in its upcoming iPhone X as a replacement to Touch ID, you need to only glance at the phone to be able to access it. It is that easy. It won’t be fooled by photos or masks of you, assures Apple. That’s because the technology relies on making a unique facial map by projecting 30,000 invisible dots onto your face. This pattern of dots is read by an infrared camera, which then sends the data to a secure part of the chip to make a match. The image never goes out of the device. Apple is supremely condent when it says: “Put on glasses. Wear a hat. Grow a beard. Your friends might not recognise you. But iPhone X will.” That’s great news for security. But before you are done heaving a sigh of relief, it triggers an eerie realisation too – what if all kinds of devices learn to recognise people? What would this mean for privacy? Face recognition technologies are becoming that mainstream. Make no mistake. Such technologies have been around for some years now. But until very recently, they have been quite inconspicuous, in the service of useful tagging work inside Google’s Picasa, Apple’s iPhoto, and Facebook. They got some attention, though, in 2013 when Google said no to face recognition apps on its Glass. Six years back (a long time in the world of technology), three researchers from Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University – Alessandro Acquisti, Ralph Gross, and Fred Stutzman – anticipated the privacy concerns that could get triggered by face recognition tools. Their study, ‘Faces of Facebook: Privacy in the Age of Augmented Reality,’ investigated what happens when three technologies – face recognition, cloud computing, and online social networks – come together. They found that it was possible to, through a mobile app that they developed, to gure out someone’s personal data from their face in real time. If the result makes you uneasy, it’s now six years later, and cameras and technologies have gotten better, the Internet is stocked with more and more personal information than ever, and the cloud is ubiquitous. Benedict Evans, a partner at venture capital rm Andreessen Horowitz, imagined in a blog earlier this year one of the second-order fallouts of autonomous vehicles: “Pretty much every vision of automatic cars involves them using HD, 360 degree computer vision. That means every AV will be watching everything that goes on around it – even the things that are not related to driving. An autonomous car is a moving panopticon.” There aren’t easy solutions. As the Carnegie Mellon researchers noted, self-regulation isn’t going to work (their study used publicly available information). And, while people may even change their names, it is much harder to change someone’s face!

is a call to do away with the state by resorting to violent means, this needs to be checked by a proper application of the sedition law. A misuse does not mean do away with sedition. Do away with the action, but retain the provision.

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CONCEPTUAL

NOTEBOOK

Ice cream headache

A tragic coincidence

Medicine

Conversations in Berlin on life and death

Also known as a brain freeze, an ice cream headache refers to the pain caused in the head by sudden oral exposure to ice creams and cold food. This is believed to result from a cold object touching the upper warm surface of the mouth, which affects some blood vessels adversely. This could disturb the smooth flow of blood to the brain and result in a headache. The condition usually needs no treatment as it disappears after a short while and can be easily prevented by avoiding sudden exposure to cold foods. The term has its origin in Rebecca Timbres’ 1939 book, We Didn’t Ask for Utopia: A Quaker Family in Soviet Russia. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

MORE ON THE WEB

3

Apple iOS 11 upgrade: features and compatibility

Radhika Santhanam

In June, I had travelled from Munich to Berlin to attend, and report on, a ‘death café’ meet. Having heard about a burgeoning interest in talking about death in Europe, I was curious to know what kind of people turned up at these meets. Nihilists? Terminally ill patients? People recovering from loss? Academics and writers? The idea was as fascinating as it was morbid. Before booking my tickets, I emailed the founder of this movement, the U.K.-based Jon Underwood. Jon, 44, sent me a detailed reply and then signed off rather ominously: “I hope you enjoy your experience with Death Café.” The meet was interesting and the people normal — only one quirky character turned up. Everyone exchanged notes on how to cope with loss and compared the way different cultures view death. The session was mediated by a

SEPTEMBER 20, 1917

Trouble at Calicut.

young, soft-spoken woman called Zyi from China. Zyi had held many such sessions in her country and seemed keen on making us awkward participants feel at ease. After the meet, I pinged Zyi on Facebook asking for photographs. Two days later, on June 27, when I was typing the story, I saw that she had sent me an attachment. I clicked on the link later — and froze. They were not the promised photographs; Zyi had sent me the link to a tribute. Jon had died from undiagnosed leukaemia the day I was writing a story on him and his work. Underwood’s family posted that the irony of the situation did not escape them. Surprisingly, they said his work gave them comfort. “He was a great man,” his wife wrote announcing his death. “I wish I’d told him this when he was here rather than wasting time hassling him about the washing up.” Her message reminded me of Natalie, a social

worker who had come for the meet. Natalie had recounted the story of a man whom she had known closely and who had killed himself. “Maybe if I had told him how wonderful he was, he may have changed his mind?” she had shrugged. Her voice was filled with regret. It also reminded me of the death of a close friend a decade ago — I didn’t remember telling him often enough how lovely he was either. Speaking to many people made me realise one thing. Many live their lives in fear of their deaths or the deaths of their loved ones, which is why Jon began this initiative. Don’t fear the inevitable, he said. But caught in this paranoia about the future, many, it seems, simply don’t appreciate the people around them in life and sadly carry this burden of regret when their loved ones are gone. Perhaps we should first start talking about the living.

Mr. A.H. Davey, the Principal of the Zamorin’s College, needs no introduction to your readers. Ever since he took charge of the Zamorin’s College, he has been introducing strict discipline among students. His discipline relating to the dress which the students of the higher classes should wear when attending the institution does not appear to have been well-received by the majority of them. I am told that Mr. Davey had ordered that those students who wear open coats should wear also neckties and that he could not permit students of the College and other higher classes to appear in their classes in Shirts and ‘dhotties’. Last week, Mr. Davey is alleged to have suspended a student of the College, who belonged to the Zamorin’s family, for a period of two weeks on the ground of having argued impertinently with him on the question of dress. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

DATA POINT

https://t.me/yk_info

http://bit.ly/thenewios11

A ND-NDE

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10 NEWS

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THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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FROM PAGE ONE

Madras HC to hear plea of 18 MLAs today

25 new judges for two HCs President Ram Nath Kovind clears appointments for Allahabad, Calcutta courts

Ram Nath Kovind

judges. But until Tuesday’s appointment, it was functioning with 91 judges. The Calcutta High Court, India’s oldest, too has a shortage as the court, until now, has been functioning with 31 judges against an approved strength of 72. These are the first set of fresh appointments to the High Court after Justice Dipak Misra took over as Chief justice of India last month.

The Allahabad High Court, the largest in terms of Bench strength, has an approved strength of 160

More recommendations Apart from the fresh appointments on Tuesday, the Supreme Court collegium

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI

He said the motive of the Speaker was explained by the fact that he took 43 days to publish the vacancy caused by disqualification of Jayalalithaa in 2014 (following her conviction in a corruption case), but immediately notified the disqualification of the 18 MLAs.

‘Crooked means’ “His action has thoroughly exposed the crooked means adopted by him and misuse of the anti-defection law to secure majority as per the Constitution for Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami,” he said. Mr. Stalin said the Centre and the Governor, who connived with the State government to manufacture majority, were responsible for the

political crisis in the State. “Mr. Dhanapal who failed to remain impartial and the Chief Minister who resorted to horse trading to remain in power should resign their posts and uphold the sanctity of the Indian Constitution and the dignity of the Assembly,” he said. The DMK would continue to take efforts through legal and democratic means to remove the government from power. He said the DMK had approached the court because the Governor was toeing the Centre’s line. “We hope we will get justice in court. After that we will meet again and take a decision,” he added. A resolution adopted at the meeting agreed to approve any decision to be taken by Mr. Stalin.

In a move towards reducing the large number of vacancies in the higher judiciary, President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday cleared the appointment of 25 judges in two High Courts. Issuing separate notifications, the Law Ministry notified the appointment of 19 additional judges in the Allahabad High Court and six in the Calcutta High Court. Additional judges usually have a term of two years and are elevated to the rank of a permanent judge based on their performance.

GJM leaders meet Rajnath, push for talks Special Correspondent

Honeypreet charged in absentia “Some new evidence has come to the fore following which her name has been added,” he said. Ms. Honeypreet has been booked under charges of criminal conspiracy for inciting violence in Panchkula.

Search teams Meanwhile, Haryana Director General of Police B.S. Sandhu said they were in touch with their counterparts in other States to track Ms. Honeypreet and Aditya Insan. “Several teams have been sent to different areas in search of the accused,” he said. Responding to a query on reports that Ms. Honeypreet could be in Nepal, Mr. Sandhu said, “There is no concrete information on this. Police are in the process of verifying every bit of information.” Ms. Honeypreet had on August 25 accompanied the Dera chief to the Sunaria jail

CPI(M) cadres attacked in Tripura rally Syed Sajjad Ali

in Rohtak by helicopter after his conviction in rape cases. Since then she has been missing.

‘No special facilities’ Separately, Haryana's Director General ( Jails) K.P. Singh on Tuesday dismissed news reports about special facilities being given to Gurmeet Singh as misleading and far from truth. “Gurmeet Singh is being kept as a common prisoner, and his health is fine,” he said. Mr. Singh said jail rules allowed two persons having blood relation to talk to a prisoner over the phone. “The prisoner is allowed to talk after police verification of the phone numbers. Gurmeet gave two phone numbers, one of which belongs to Honeypreet, while the other is his own. Honeypreet’s number is not reachable and Gurmeet might have left his phone in the Dera,” he said.

Rajnath reviews steps for cybersecurity

Kolkata

A five member delegation of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Tuesday and told him about the need for a tripartite dialogue to end the three-month long strike in Darjeeling hills. The delegation comprising GJM general secretary Roshan Giri, Swarap Thapa, D.K. Pradhan and Tilak Chnad Roka and P.T. Ola also apprised the Home Minister of the alleged “police atrocities in the name of law and order and attempts to suppress the democratic agitation for Gorkhland.” Darjeeling MP of the Bharatiya Janata Party S.S. Ahuwalia had joined the delegation. While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has recently claimed that normalcy had returned, most of the region remained shut. Two round of talks with the State government have failed to break the deadlock. This is the third time that the hill leaders have met the Union Home Minister.

Asks for strengthened surveillance against nancial frauds Vijaita Singh

panel will < > Aidentify action

New Delhi

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday reviewed the preparedness of agencies to check financial cybercrimes. In view of the growing number of financial frauds using cards and e-wallets, Mr. Singh asked agencies to strengthen surveillance and legal frameworks to check the menace. The issue came up at a high-level meeting at which the strategies being adopted to check financial cybercrimes were discussed in detail. Representatives from various agencies made presentations and apprised the Home Minister of the current trends in financial cybercrimes in the country, and the steps being taken by their agencies to address this challenge, a Home Ministry spokesperson said. The agencies concerned and representatives of certain States highlighted the steps being taken to arrest the growing trend of cybercrime in the financial sector. It was noted that both

Rijiju now says Chakmas can’t be given citizenship

Agartala

Scores of CPI(M) supporters on their way to a tribal rally in Agartala on Tuesday were wounded in sporadic attacks allegedly by activists of the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), which is striving for a separate tribal state. The ruling party alleged that at least 120 of its supporters sustained injuries at different places, while police said 15 of their personnel were hurt in one restive area. The district administration clamped prohibitory order in several places in view of the prevailing tension. “Section 144 has been imposed in seven police station jurisdictions,” an official said.The rally, called by Gana Mukti Parishad (GMP) was addressed by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar. Thousands of GMP workers and supporters braved rains to attend the rally.

also has to decide on 60 recommendations from 13 High Courts across the country. These include 36 recommendations for appointment as judges and 25 candidates to be elevated from additional judges to permanent judges. The collegium also has to take a call on appointing fulltime Chief Justices for the High Courts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Calcutta, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand and Manipur. They are currently headed by Acting Chief Justices.

points and monitor implementation Official Home Ministry

Rajnath Singh legal and technological steps need to be taken to address this situation.

Capacity building “It has been decided to expedite the implementation of cyber crime prevention initiatives in these agencies towards this end, along with measures required to acquire critical cyber forensics equipment,” the official said. It was also decided that an inter-ministerial committee may be set up to identify action points and monitor their implementation. Capacity building of various

New Delhi

cision, Mr. Rijiju retracted his earlier statement.

Days after Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government would honour the 2015 Supreme Court order on granting citizenship to Chakma-Hajong-Buddhists and Hindu refugees from undivided Pakistan, he made an about-turn on Tuesday saying the “apex court’s order was not implementable”. The two communities came to India in the 1960s from the Chittagong Hill area (in present day Bangladesh) fearing religious persecution. Mr. Rijiju said that granting Indian citizenship to the two communities would disturb the “social and demographic structure” of the tribal State and the court order was not easy to implement. On September 13, Mr. Rijiju told presspersons that a “middle ground” would be

Violent protests He said, “As per the SC order of 2015, the court has directed the government to grant citizenship to Chakma-Hajongs within three months. This was misinterpreted in various media reports that the Centre was granting the citizenships. While we are taking care of the human rights of Chakma-Hajongs, the honourable SC must be impressed with the ground reality that they entered Arunachal Pradesh illegally in large numbers. Even if the first immigrants are given citizenship it will imbalance the demographic structure of Arunachal Pradesh.” Criticising the Congress for settling the refugees in a tribaldominated State, he said the Centre would challenge the order.

Special Correspondent

Kiren Rijiju

found so the 2015 order could be honoured and the rights of the local population not diluted. “The Supreme Court order has to be honoured. Chakmas are settled in Arunachal Pradesh since 1964. But ST status and indigenous people’s rights won’t be diluted,” he said on Twitter. On Tuesday, as Arunachal Pradesh saw violent protests against the Centre’s de-

Rahul holds a series of meetings in U.S. Press Trust of India Washington

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has said that intolerance and unemployment are the key issues that pose a serious challenge to India’s national security and development. Mr. Gandhi, who is on a two-week tour of the U.S., held a series of meetings, including a roundtable with eminent Indian and South Asian experts hosted by the Center for American Progress , a Democratic-leaning think tank. Among the attendees were CAP head Neera Tandon, former U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma, and Hillary Clinton’s top campaign adviser John Podesta. Lisa Curtis, who heads the South Asia division at the National Security Council of the White House, held discussions with Mr. Gandhi over a breakfast meeting. During the meeting, the Trump administration official sought his views on the U.S.-India relationship and the recently announced Afghanistan and South Asia policy of U.S. President Donald Trump, according to the

Centre approves cadre review in Army Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

The Union government has approved the long-pending cadre review in the Army for Junior Commissioned Officers ( JCOs) and Other Ranks (OR), which will improve promotion opportunities. “This is the third cadre review since Independence. It will benefit over 1.45 lakh JCOs and ORs. At present, more and more jawans retire in the same rank,” a Defence Ministry source said. The first cadre review

Special Correspondent

Seeks similar action against rebel MPs

MOHALI

The Enforcement Directorate is initiating moneylaundering probe involving at least three Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officials in connection with the entries in a diary seized during searches related to the Sandesara group of companies in 2011, allegedly showing transactions between them. Under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month searched the premises of group companies in Delhi, Mumbai, Vadodara and Ahmedabad. Days later, the CBI registered a case against Principal Commissioner Sunil Kumar Ojha, Commissioner Subhash Chandra and Commissioner Manas Shankar Ray, besides Vadodara-based Sterling Biotech Ltd, based on the alleged transactions shown in the diary.

Special Correspondent New Delhi

Making common cause with the AIADMK, the Janata Dal (U) on Tuesday welcomed Tamil Nadu Speaker P. Dhanapal’s decision to disqualify 18 rebel legislators, and demanded similar action against two of its rebel Rajya Sabha members, Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar. The JD(U), in a statement signed by its chief spokesperson, K.C. Tyagi, said the decision highlighted the wide powers conferred on the Speaker under the Tenth Schedule (Articles 102[2] and 192[2]) of the Constitution. “The provision includes the conduct of the member outside the House,” Mr. Tyagi said. He said the Speaker of the Uttarakhand Assembly, in 2016, disqualified nine rebel Congress MLAs under

Activists argue the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction is unfair to mothers eeing abusive relationships Even as the U.S. prepares to push India to join the “Hague Convention” that deals with international child custody cases, during consular talks next week, the government held a series of hearings from activists demanding that it does not give in to what they called “First World pressure” on the issue. While the government announced in November 2016 that it would not sign the convention, officials have conceded that there has been a rethink, and an “inter-ministerial process” is under way to discuss the repercussions of the CM YK

convention. Ahead of the India-U.S. Consular dialogue between officials from the Ministries of External Affairs, Women and Child Development and Home and their counterparts in Washington on September 27, a special committee heard from lawyers, women survivors and child rights activists over the weekend whether or not they should consider the Bill that would align Indian law with the international convention.

Legal provisions “Indian law has enough provisions to accept foreign judgments and jurisdiction,” activist and lawyer Suranya

are at least < > There 94 such cases pending with us today

that in any child custody case, the court of the country where the child is a “habitual resident” will adjudicate who will get custody.

U.S. official

Aiyar says. Several groups have been campaigning against any rethink by the government. “The Hague Convention is circumventing the Indian system, and India can’t abdicate its responsibility to Indian parents, mostly mothers, and their young children,” she says. Passed in 1980, the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, which came into force in 1983, rules

Separated parents American officials say the problem arises when one parent is in the U.S., while the other brings the child to India (their home country) to avoid an adverse decision in the U.S. court. “There are at least 94 such cases pending with us today, while many more simply lapse once the child turns 16,” an official told presspersons in Delhi, adding that they “will make a presentation to Indian officials about

was done in 1979 and the second in 1984. While the strength of JCOs and ORs remains the same, at 11,49,754, the review will result in the promotion of over 1.45 lakh men in various ranks. It will done over five years: 30% in 2018; 20% each in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and 10% in 2022 in each rank, the government notification sated. Nearly 60,000 soldiers retire from the Army every year, most of them as jawans at a young age of 30.

Farmers pressurise Punjab govt.

K.C. Tyagi the anti-defection law. The JD(U) wanted swift action against its own dissidents. Mr. Tyagi, on behalf of his party, had asked Mr. Sharad Yadav not to attend the Patna rally of the RJD on August 27, and warned that if he did so, he would be considered to have voluntarily given up the party membership. The party then approached Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu seeking disqualification of the two MPs.

why accession to the convention is a good thing”, during the Washington meeting. A total of ninety four countries, mostly developed nations in the Americas, Europe and Australia, are signatories to the Hague Convention so far.

‘Women worst hit’ In rejecting the convention last year, Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi said the worst affected in the cases covered by the convention are women, who form 68% of the parents that take or “abduct” their children to their home countries, and must be protected.

“It is unfair that the mother, who is recognised in India as the primary caregiver, and is often fleeing an abusive marriage, is branded an abductor by the Hague Convention,” says Shivangi Misra of the Lawyer’s Collective, the group spearheading the campaign. However U.S. officials said there are several provisions to protect women in the U.S., should India choose to accede to the Hague Abduction Convention, as it is called, and women had no reason to “run away to India with their children”. They added that the “ball is now in India’s court” to join the convention.

VIKAS VASUDEVA

Farmers staged a protest for the second day running at the Mohali-Chandigarh border on Tuesday before they were whisked away by the police. Farmers from across the State were prevented from entering Chandigarh on Monday as they had planned to “gherao” Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s official residence. Demonstrators dumped potatoes on the road to register their protest against what they claimed were “anti-farmer policies” of the State government. Among the key demands they made was a remunerative price for their crop. . “Potato growers are suffering losses due to lack of buyers. Sugar cane farmers are awaiting payment of dues to the tune of ₹92 crores,” Harinder Singh, general secretary of BKU (Lakhowal), said.

Rabri Devi summoned Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

Suhasini Haidar

participants. U.S. Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Thomas J. Donohue met Mr. Gandhi and other senior Congress leaders at an event hosted by U.S. India Business Council (USIBC). During the meeting, Mr. Gandhi expressed concern over the inability of the government to create jobs in India. Mr. Gandhi had an offthe-record interaction with the editorial board of The Washington Post, wherein he shared his anguish over the rising intolerance globally, but particularly in India. He had another closeddoor meeting co-hosted by Republican strategist Puneet Ahluwalia.

JD(U) hails T.N. Speaker’s action

Centre rethinks joining Hague child custody pact NEW DELHI

Rahul Gandhi

ED probe against three tax ocials NEW DELHI

SC order not implementable, says Union Minister

stakeholders such as police officers, judicial officers, forensic scientists as well as officials in the banking sector has been identified as a key measure, the official added. As many as 1,44,496 cybersecurity attacks were observed in the country in the past three years. As per the information reported to, and tracked by, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), a total number of 44,679, 49,455 and 50,362 cybersecurity incidents were observed during 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. The types of cybersecurity incidents included phishing, scanning/probing, website intrusions and defacements, virus/malicious code and denial of service attacks.

‘Intolerance, lack of jobs key worries’

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for alleged irregularities in

the award of maintenance contracts of two Railway hotels. This is the second summon, asking her to appear before the investigators on September 26. The CBI filed an FIR against Lalu Prasad, Ms. Devi, and son Tejashwi.

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ELSEWHERE

‘Rocket man is on a suicide mission for his regime’ Trump warns Kim; labels Iran a ‘rogue state’ and hints at rescinding the N-deal

No Army role in Sharif’s ouster, says Bajwa ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa has rejected as “unfounded” the impression that the Army was behind the ouster of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and said he was an ardent supporter of democracy. PTI

Pak. court indicts 57 over student’s lynching PESHAWAR

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Tuesday indicted 57 people arrested in connection with the brutal murder of Mashal Khan, 23, a journalism student who was lynched by a vigilante mob in April over blasphemy allegations. Khan was shot dead and his body desecrated in broad daylight by fellow students. PTI

Court overturns school ban on Sikh boy MELBOURNE

A Sikh family in Australia on Tuesday won a legal battle against a Christian school which refused to enrol their ve-year-old son because of his turban. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) ruled in the parents’ favour, nding the school had discriminated against Sidhak Singh Arora, it said. PTI

Hurricane Maria devastates Dominica POINTE-À-PITRE

Hurricane Maria smashed into the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica on Tuesday. “We have lost all what money can buy and replace,” Dominica’s Premier Roosevelt Skerrit said, adding that there were initial reports of “widespread devastation”. AFP

that negotiated the deal, like Russia, China, France and Germany, are not in favour of pushing Iran to the brink.

Varghese K. George New York

Appearing for the first time before the 193-member organisation, U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday boasted of America’s military strength, signalled that he was ready to rip up a nuclear accord with the “murderous regime” in Tehran, and berated U.S. foes in Pyongyang, Venezuela, Syria and Cuba. Mr. Trump, who threatened to “totally destroy North Korea” and undo the Iranian nuclear deal while pursuing terrorist organisations and nation states that support them, was only reiterating his stated positions. However, the combative tone of its delivery signalled a possible shift that could have a destabilising impact on Asia.

Driving out the terrorists Mr. Trump also touched upon his recently announced Afghanistan policy, calling for driving terrorists “out of our nations”. He said that it is “time to expose and hold responsible those countries who support and finance terror groups like alQaeda, Hezbollah, the Taliban and others that slaughter innocent people”. However, unlike his policy announcement on Afghanistan, Mr. Trump did not name Pakistan. Mr. Trump’s ire was focussed largely on North Korea and Iran, and while he thanked Russia and China for supporting the efforts to deal with the threats from Pyongyang, he also indirectly criticised them when he said that any trade with

Calling the shots: U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for the meeting of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. AP *

North Korea was morally questionable. “[If ] the U.S. is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime,” he said, referring to the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un by a nickname he has recently coined. “The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary,” he said, adding that the avoiding a war was the responsibility of the UN. “It is time for North Korea to realise that the denuclearisation is its only acceptable future,” he said, reiterating an American position that Pyongyang has rejected. Mr. Trump also indicated that he was on course to

undo the nuclear deal with Iran concluded by his predecessor Barack Obama. Calling Iran a “rogue state”, he called the deal “an embarrassment” to the United States. “I don’t think you’ve heard the last of it, believe me,” Mr. Trump said. “It is time for the entire world to join us in demanding that Iran’s government end its pursuit of death and destruction,” he said. Inspectors from the Internal Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have found no evidence of Iran violating the terms of the deal but the Trump administration has been threatening action against Tehran. The U.S.’s key alley Israel is lobbying hard to make the Trump administration trash the deal. However, the other parties

Iraqi forces launch assault for last IS bastions in Anbar

U.S. resumes processing of H-1B visas

Operation involves army, police and Iran-trained militias

Washington

Agence France-Presse Al-Sagra

Iraqi security forces and paramilitary units launched a dawn assault Tuesday against one of the Islamic State (IS) group’s last bastions in the vast western province of Anbar bordering Syria. The Joint Operations Command, which is coordinating Iraqi security forces battling IS, said an offensive had begun to retake the town of Anna and the nearby village of Al-Rayhanna. “Infantry units and armour backed by the Hashed al-Shaabi began an offensive to liberate Anna and Al-Rayhanna from Daesh terrorists,” JOC head General Abdelamir Yarallah said in a statement, using an Arabic name for IS. A general in the area said

Members of the Iraqi forces in Anna on Tuesday. AFP *

the operation was “developing along three axes” involving the army, police and the Hashed al-Shaabi, a paramilitary force composed largely of Iran-trained Shia militias. The operation was supported by Iraqi Army helicopters and warplanes from the U.S.-led coalition battling

IS in Iraq and Syria, the general said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The head of Anna’s municipal council, Abdel Karim al-Ani, confirmed the start of the offensive and said security forces had opened a road out of the town to allow civilians to flee. Anna, about 100 km west of the border with Syria, is one of three towns in Anbar Province under IS control. After retaking the town, Iraqi forces are expected to next target Rawa to the northwest and finally AlQaim, which is close to the border with the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor. Iraq is preparing to launch an assault against another of the jihadists’ final strongholds, the town of Hawija about 300 km north of Baghdad.

‘Corrupt dictatorship’ “The Iranian government masks a corrupt dictatorship behind the false guise of a democracy. It has turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos. The longest-suffering victims of Iran’s leaders are, in fact, its own people,” Mr. Trump said, adding that its wealth, “which rightly belongs to Iran’s people, also goes to shore up Bashar Al-Assad’s dictatorship, fuel Yemen’s civil war, and undermine peace throughout the entire Middle East”. Mr. Trump said his policy was showing signs of success already, in the fight against terrorism. “[I] have also totally changed the rules of engagement in our fight against the Taliban and other terrorist groups. In Syria and Iraq, we have made big gains toward lasting defeat of ISIS. In fact, our country has achieved more against ISIS in the last eight months than it has in many, many years combined,” he said. Mr. Trump’s tough rhetoric was greeted with periods of silence interspersed with polite applause. And after decades in which America has led the drive toward a global rules-based order, Mr. Trump indicated his foreign policy would define the national interest more narrowly.

Bangladesh evicts Rohingya from crowded refugee camps Shanties dismantled in the Kutupalong facility Agence France-Presse Cox’s Bazar

Bangladesh police on Tuesday evicted Rohingya refugees from overcrowded roadside camps and farmland as aid groups scrambled to find emergency shelter for tens of thousands living outdoors in squalid conditions. Around 4,21,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh since August 25, the UN says, overwhelming the ill-equipped refugee camps along the border. Aid groups have warned of an unfolding humanitarian crisis in the camps. Police on Tuesday cleared

squatters and dismantled shanties around Kutupalong, one of the largest camps where the roads are choked with refugees and long queues of traffic snake from aid centres.

Makeshift homes Amina Khatun, 70, made her home under a makeshift tent in a rubber plantation before police cleared her out. She took refuge in a nearby school but was moved on again. “We’re running around like headless chickens. They are telling us to go away now. Why?” she told AFP. Using megaphones, po-

lice warned refugees squatting on roadsides they could be arrested if they refused to move. The government is building a massive new camp nearby to shelter 4,00,000 people, but the UN says it will take time before it is equipped with tents, toilets and medical facilities. “The work is ongoing and some newly-arriving families have moved in,” UN refugee agency spokeswoman Vivian Tan told AFP. “As the influx of refugees continues, we are seeing massive humanitarian needs in Bangladesh across the board.”

We won’t shelter the refugees for long, says Sri Lanka Monks have asked the govt. to deny them accommodation Meera Srinivasan Colombo

Amid protests by sections of the island’s influential Buddhist monks, who urged Sri Lanka not to accept Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims as refugees, the government has said it would not keep Rohingya asylum-seekers for long. Denying any mass influx of Rohingya Muslims into Sri Lanka, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Wasantha Senanayake said that even if some of them had managed to land on Sri Lankan shores, it was, in all likelihood, in small numbers — of not more than 20-25 people. “They will either be sent back to Myanmar as the situation improves [there] or [we] will send them to another country that matches

with their way of living. We will not be keeping them for long,” Mr. Senanayake told the state-run Daily News on Monday.

30 from Myanmar According to information provided by the UNHCR office here, nearly 30 refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar are presently in Sri Lanka, among the more than 1,000 from different countries. Mr. Senanayake’s remarks came days after some monks held a protest in Colombo. Hard-liners from the Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka and Myanmar have vowed in the past to work together to protect their common religion. In 2014, controversial Buddhist monk from Myan-

mar Ashin Wirathu, accused of leading an anti-Muslim movement in Myanmar, had pledged support to the Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Power Force), also accused of hate speech and carrying out anti-Muslim attacks in Sri Lanka. Over the last few years, a series of violent attacks targeting Sri Lanka’s Muslims, who make up 10% of the population, has sparked international concerns over perceived religious intolerance. Meanwhile, some news reports said that Sri Lanka has suspended issuing visaon-arrival to travellers from Myanmar, fearing the possible arrival of more refugees. However, Sri Lanka’s Immigration Department has denied the reports.

Press Trust of India

The U.S. has resumed fast processing of H-1B work visas in all categories subject to Congress-mandated limit, five months after it was suspended temporarily. Premium processing of H-1B visa was suspended in April to handle the huge rush of new petitions. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resumed premium processing on Monday for all H-1B visa petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 cap, a media release said. The FY2018 cap has been set at 65,000. Premium processing has also been resumed for the annual 20,000 additional petitions that are set aside to hire workers with a U.S. higher educational degree, it said.

Iran-made drone shot down: Israel

Soviet military ocer, credited with averting a nuclear war, dead

Agence France-Presse

Petrov, in 1983, received an input on the U.S. ring a missile

Jerusalem

Israel’s military fired a Patriot missile on Tuesday to bring down what it said was an Iran-made drone operated by Hezbollah on a reconnaissance mission over the Golan Heights. The drone took off from a Damascus military airport before entering the demilitarised zone approaching the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights, said Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus. It fell in the buffer zone between the Israeli- and Syrian-controlled parts of the Golan. Israel and Syria are still technically at war, though the armistice line on the Golan Heights had remained largely quiet for decades until civil war erupted in Syria in 2011. In April, Israel used a Patriot missile to shoot down what it identified as “a target” over the Golan Heights, with media reports saying it was a drone. CM YK

Agence France-Presse Moscow

Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet military officer who is widely credited with helping prevent a nuclear war with the U.S., has died aged 77, his son told AFP on Tuesday. Mr. Petrov, whose extraordinary story was told in a documentary titled The Man Who Saved the World, received several international awards, was honoured at the United Nations and met Hollywood superstars such as Robert De Niro and Matt Damon. Yet Mr. Petrov lived in a small town outside Moscow and died in relative obscurity on May 19, his death making headlines in Russia and abroad only months later when a German friend wrote a blogpost. In September 1983, Mr. Petrov was an officer on duty at a secret command centre south of Moscow when an alarm went off signalling that the United States

Former Soviet missile defence forces ocer Stanislav Petrov. AP *

had launched intercontinental ballistic missiles. The officer — who had only a few minutes to make a decision and was not sure about the incoming data — dismissed the warning as a false alarm. Had he told his commanders of an imminent U.S. nuclear strike, the Soviet leadership — locked in an arms race with Washington — might have ordered a retaliatory strike.

Instead the 44-year-old lieutenant colonel reported a system malfunction and an investigation that followed afterwards proved he was right. Several months later, Mr. Petrov received an award “for services to the Fatherland” but the incident at the control centre was kept secret for many years. In 1984, he left the military and settled in the town of Fryazino some 20 km northeast of Moscow. The story only came to light after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and over the years he became the subject of numerous media reports in Russia and abroad. A modest, self-effacing man, he never thought of himself as a hero, said his son. The Man Who Saved the World, a documentary film directed by Danish filmmaker Peter Anthony and narrated by U.S. actor Kevin Costner, was released in 2014.

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market watch 19-09-2017

% CHANGE

Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 32,402 ddddddddddddd -0.07 US Dollar dddddddddddddddddddd 64.33 ddddddddddddd -0.31 Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 30,600 ddddddddddddd -0.32 Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 55.18 ddddddddddddddd0.52

NIFTY 50

IPO of ICICI Lombard subscribed three times

PRICE CHANGE

ACC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1817.20. . . . . . . . -8.65 Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406.90. . . . . . . . . 2.20 Ambuja Cements. . . .. . . . . . 285.10. . . . . . . . . 2.80 Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1253.30. . . . . . . . -2.65 Aurobindo Pharma . . . . . . 748.95. . . . . . -13.30 Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520.75. . . . . . . . -3.80 Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3115.45. . . . . . -21.95 Bank of Baroda . . . . . .. . . . . . 144.55. . . . . . . . -0.90 Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 394.80. . . . . . . . -1.85 Bosch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21851.05. . . . . . -59.15 BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506.90. . . . . . . . . 8.95 Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573.40. . . . . . . . . 2.70 Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258.55. . . . . . . . -6.00 Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 2241.55. . . . . . . . -0.50 Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. 32403.95. . . -362.15 GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 420.85. . . . . . . 20.60 HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 893.65. . . . . . . . -3.70 HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1752.60. . . . . . -19.15 HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1849.70. . . . . . -10.75 Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 3944.25. . . . . . . . -5.65 Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246.50. . . . . . . . -3.00 Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1279.30. . . . . . . . -0.75 Indiabulls HFL . . . . . . . .. . . . 1307.95. . . . . . . . . 6.85 ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294.65. . . . . . . . . 1.65 IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1746.45. . . . . . . . . 0.85 Bharti Infratel . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 398.30. . . . . . . . . 9.20 Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 912.25. . . . . . . . . 3.15 Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 418.30. . . . . . . . . 2.65 ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267.85. . . . . . . . . 0.85 Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1034.35. . . . . . . 17.30 L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1225.90. . . . . . -12.05 Lupin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1005.20. . . . . . . . -4.90 M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1294.75. . . . . . . . -0.25 Maurti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 8131.70. . . . . . -26.15 NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169.00. . . . . . . . . 1.00 ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165.90. . . . . . . . . 0.70 PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 215.85. . . . . . . . . 0.50 Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 838.60. . . . . . . . -6.95 State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267.80. . . . . . . . -2.60 Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 515.80. . . . . . . . -5.25 Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 423.65. . . . . . . 18.70 Tata Motors DVR. . . .. . . . . . 241.40. . . . . . . . . 7.90 Tata Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84.60. . . . . . . . . 0.90 Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676.40. . . . . . . . . 3.50 TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2498.25. . . . . . . . -0.80 Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 447.75. . . . . . . . . 2.65 UltraTech Cement . .. . . . 4184.20. . . . . . -25.00 Vedanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323.25. . . . . . . . -2.60 Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289.25. . . . . . . . -0.05 YES Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1866.50. . . . . . . . . 7.35 Zee Entertainment . . . . . . 545.10. . . . . . . . . 1.40

EXCHANGE RATES Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4 p.m. on September 19 CURRENCY

TT BUY

TT SELL

US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 64.12. . . . . . . 64.44 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 76.79. . . . . . . 77.18 British Pound . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 86.52. . . . . . . 86.96 Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 57.51. . . . . . . 57.80 Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 9.74. . . . . . . . . 9.79 Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 66.59. . . . . . . 66.92 Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 47.53. . . . . . . 47.77 Canadian Dollar . . . . . . . . .. . 52.17. . . . . . . 52.44 Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 15.29. . . . . . . 15.38 Source:Indian Bank

BULLION RATES

CHENNAI

September 19 rates in rupees with previous rates in parentheses Retail Silver (1g) . . . . . . . . . . . 42.50. . . . . (43.30) 22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . . . . . . . . . . 2,833. . . . . (2,838)

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI

The initial public offer (IPO) of ICICI Lombard General Insurance, which closed for subscription on Tuesday, was subscribed 2.97 times on the last day till the time of going to press. Bids were received for 18.31 crore equity shares as against 6.17 crore equity shares on offer in the price band of ₹651 to ₹661. Meanwhile, the institutional portion was subscribed 8.17 times while that reserved for retail and high net worth individuals was subscribed 1.2 times and 0.82 times, respectively. Just a day before the issue, the general insurance entity issued 2.45 crore equity shares to a total of 64 entities as part of the anchor portion allocation for an aggregate amount of ₹1,625 crore. Institutional entities like Nomura, Blackrock, BNP Paribas, HSBC, HDFC Standard Life, Societe General, SBI Life Insurance, Franklin Templeton and Reliance Mutual Fund, among others, were part of the anchor allocation. Most market participants have been bullish on the issue citing strong fundamentals and growth potential. “While on the reported numbers it might appear to be fairly valued, we believe with strong potential to deliver high double-digit growth for next multiple years, the issue looks decently priced, and hence we have a subscribe rating on the issue,” said Angel Broking in its report. Close on the heels of ICICI Lombard, SBI Life Insurance Company will enter the capital market with its ₹8,400 crore public issue which opens for subscription on Wednesday.

Online hotel booking rm to add 10,000 properties in India ‘Demand fuelled by domestic travel’

Going places: In the north-east, booking.com is planning to add 3,500 properties, says area manager Ruchi Lahoti. Jay Shankar Bengaluru

Amsterdam-based booking.com, a global online hotel room finder, is set to add 10,000 additional properties by next year in India to meet an increasing demand from domestic travellers, Ruchi Lahoti, area manager, north-east India, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan, said. “There are more young travellers in India now,” Ms. Lahoti said in an interview. “They would rather spend on going for a holiday than a date. From the 28,000 properties, we will go to 38,000 by the end of next year. That is mainly being fuelled by domestic travel.” Tourism in India accounts for 9.6% of the GDP and is the third largest foreign exchange earner for the country. The tourism and hospitality sector’s direct contribution to GDP in 2016, was $71.53 billion, according to India Brand Equity Foundation.

‘Rising market’ According to 2006-17 estimates, the direct contribution of tourism and hospitality to GDP is expected to register a compound annual growth rate of 14% and the direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP is expected CM YK

to reach $147.96 billion by 2027. Priceline Group-owned booking.com competes with Google, MakeMyTrip and Expedia. Priceline acquired Booking.com in 2005 for $133 million. “We have bookings of 17 rooms per second in our 1.4 million hotels,” Ms. Lahoti said. “In India’s north-east, where there is poor road and Internet connectivity we are planning to add 3,500 properties. The key differentiator is our different price points we offer to our customers, from $20 to $200.” The company earns 65% of its revenue from domestic travellers in India. It plans to include lodges, guest houses and villas to its hotel list. Booking.com, earlier this month, acquired a software firm called Evature, which is based in Tel Aviv and offers natural language and chatbot-related technologies for hotels, airlines, travel agencies, and airports. The company is also looking at the start-up space for new ventures. In June it announced that India’s Authenticook, which connects local cuisine made in the region with travellers, received a €200,000 grant as part of a programme to encourage 10 sustainable start-ups.

https://t.me/yk_info A ND-NDE

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14 BUSINESS

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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IN BRIEF

GST refund: ‘mini-social crisis’ brewing Delay in refunds causes working capital crunch; exporters struggle to pay salary, Diwali bonuses least 90% refunds immediately after the shipments and let verification and adjustment be done at a later stage. “This will help small and medium exporters to tide over their blockage of funds, and allow them to pay salaries and bonuses of workers in the festival season. Our members have pointed out that they are in a desperate situation and hence the government must intervene to avoid a mini social crisis.”

Special Correspondent New Delhi

‘Power plants to soon get normal coal supplies’ MUMBAI

Coal Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday assured that power plants would get adequate coal supplies by the end of the month or early October as the Union government is taking urgent measures to resolve the supply issues. About a dozen power plants have been facing erratic coal supplies for a month or so, and the Minister blamed the State governments and power plant operators for the crisis. PTI

Renault unveils Duster Sandstorm at ₹10.9 lakh NEW DELHI

French car major Renault on Tuesday rolled out a new variant of its SUV Duster, with prices starting at ₹10.9 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi. The Duster Sandstorm edition will be available in two variants — RXS Diesel 85 PS priced at ₹10.9 lakh and RXS Diesel 110 PS tagged at ₹11.7 lakh. The model comes with ve-speed and sixspeed manual transmissions. The new edition comes with features like 7-inch touch screen and dual air bags. PTI

HighRadius raises $50 million, eyes growth HYDERABAD

Fintech rm HighRadius has raised $50 million from Susquehanna Growth Equity. Announcing this on Tuesday, the rm said the funding would help continue its ‘aggressive’ growth and expand presence globally. HighRadius is a cloud-based product company. It applies articial intelligence and machine learning to accounts receivable operations, including credit, collections, deductions and payments.

Exporters are troubled by the ‘inordinate delay’ in getting Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds. On Tuesday, representative assocations told the Centre that since the working capital crunch (owing to the delay) is occurring in the middle of the festival season, it was causing difficulties in paying salary and Diwali bonuses to workers. In a meeting with Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, who chairs the Committee on Exports to address GSTrelated problems, exporters sought the Centre’s immediate intervention to avert what they called a ‘mini social crisis’.

‘Affecting payments’ Claiming that the delay in getting GST refunds was severely affecting their cashflow, P.K. Shah, former chair-

Cash ow: FIEO has mooted an e-wallet for GST payment s on inputs; money is re-credited on proof of export . REUTERS *

man and currently board member, EEPC India, the apex body for engineering exporters, said in a statement, “All this is happening when we are in the middle of the festival season, and the

workers employed in the trading and manufacturing units have to be paid their dues including Diwali bonuses.” EEPC India said the authorities ought to release at

Exemption sought The demands of the apex body for the country’s exporters, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) include seeking an outright exemption from the GST regime. The FIEO said in a statement that “It is not fair to expect micro and small units to borrow to pay for taxes, which in any case will be refunded. Why not an

outright exemption window be provided to exporters?” It added that alternatively, an e-wallet may be created so that money flows out while paying GST on inputs required for exports or procurement of exports goods by Merchant Exporters, and money is re-credited to the wallet once the proof of exports is given. The FIEO also mooted that Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS) and Duty Credit Scrips be permitted for payment of Integrated GST and Central GST. Besides, utilisation of the Scrips could be considered for payment of bank interest, it said. Exporters also sought exemption from IGST on imports under Advance Authorisation and Export Promotion Capital Goods schemes.

Centre open to solving exporters’ GST woes Alternate means to release credit likely Special Correspondent New Delhi

The government has indicated that it is open to solving the problems faced by exporters due to the delay in getting refunds of Goods and Services Tax (GST), according to exporters’ apex body FIEO. “The government is open to an alternate mechanism for the release of input credits. They may release credits on the basis of GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B and not wait for GSTR-2 and GSTR-3 to be filed,” said Ajay Sahai, Director General, FIEO, after a meeting with a government panel headed by the Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia to address the exporters’ problems due to the GST. According to FIEO, exporters were expecting that the Integrated GST refund

or refund of Input Tax Credit (ITC) would be available to them in August 2017 for the exports made during July 2017.

Refund hitch However, since filing of GST Returns — GSTR-1, 2 and 3 for the month of July 2017 has been extended till October 10, October 31 and November 10, 2017 respectively — exporters will not be able to get the refund by November 2017, it said in a statement. Such blockage of working capital will severely affect exporter’s liquidity and enhance the tax burden, it added. If the refunds are not released by November, then working capital worth about ₹65,000 crore would be stuck, according to FIEO.

TRAI cuts mobile termination M&M’s driverless tractors to hit market charges 57%; eyes waiver by ’20 Firm eyes 2018 rollout; pricing it ₹1 lakh lower than current models ideal: Goenka Move to take eect from Oct. 1; may lead to drop in call rates Special Correspondent New Delhi

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Wednesday slashed mobile termination charges (MTC) by 57% to 6 paise per minute with effect from October 1, in a move that is likely to lead to a reduction in call rates. The regulator added that these charges would be completely done away with January 1, 2020 onwards.

‘Prolonged battle’ The development comes on the back of a prolonged battle between the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio and the top three telcos — Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, over the issue. While the top operat-

Operators such as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea pitched for doubling the charges.

ors had pitched for doubling the MTC “to recover their cost,” the newer rival had suggested zero charges and shifting to the bill-and-keep regime, under which operators bill their own sub-

scribers for outgoing calls and retain revenue received. “The reduction in the mobile termination charge is likely to yield consumer benefits,” TRAI said, pointing out that the average outgo per outgoing voice minute declined from 50 paise/ minute in January-March 2015 to 31 paise/minute in January-March 2017, after the MTC was cut to 14 paise/ minute from 20 paise/ minute March 1, 2015, onwards. TRAI said these charges worked as disincentive for deployment of new technology such as VoLTE and migration to IP networks by operators, where there are no interconnection charges.

Special Correspondent CHENNAI

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., (M&M), a part of the $19-billion Mahindra group, displayed its maiden driverless tractor, which would be commercially rolled out by February 2018. “We will deploy the technology on all three platforms — Novo, Jivo and Vuvo. But, we don’t know which one will come first,” said Pawan Goenka, managing director, M&M. “Over a period, the new feature will be offered across M&M’s range of tractors from 20HP to 100 HP.”

‘To change farming’ “This technology is is set to make farming more productive and profitable, reduce health hazards for farmers...”

Paytm Mall to spend ₹200 cr. more on gifts

‘New policy may help revive interest in coal bed methane’

‘Festival sale packed with surprises’

‘OALP, HELP will increase investment in coal-rich India’

Look ma, no hands: The vehicle orients itself along adjacent rows for continuous operation without steering inputs.

In the first phase, the technology would be driver assisted, followed by quasidriverless and fully-driverless models by 2018-19, he said. Developed at Mahindra

FM chairs economy review meet Special Correspondent

Research Valley near Chennai, in collaboration with international technology players, M&M plans to increase the localisation level to 75% to 80% to offer products at a competitive price.

“Once in the field, we will see how more and more components can be made locally. Unless we increase the local content, we cannot meet the cost target. Our primary objective is to serve below 150 HP and those having under 50 hectares so that we can roll it out at a price which the farmers can pay,” he said. “Anything that is ₹1 lakh lower than the price for existing models would be ideal and fruitful,” he said. The driverless tractor can be programmed to carry out specific tasks through a mobile app and can also be programmed remotely to perform in the field, he said. The vehicle is able to orient itself along adjacent rows for continuous operation without any steering input from the farmer.

Daimler oers Euro-V ready medium trucks NOx emissions 40% less than in BS-IV

NEW DELHI

Special Correspondent New Delhi

To woo customers during its first festive season sale, Paytm Mall on Wednesday said it will spend ₹200 crore on ‘surprise gifts’ for their customers on every order made during the four-day period. This is in addition to the ₹500 crore that the company would be spending on cashback offers to customers during the sale from September 20 to 23. “To sweeten the shopping experience for customers, Paytm Mall has launched Lucky Lifafa wherein customers will receive a surprise gift after every order,” the company said. It has partnered with over 50 brands including Uber, Zoomcar, Apollo Phar-

macy, Lenskart and Levi’s to bring exclusive deals for customers. Besides, buyers can also get exclusive movie vouchers, free hotel room nights and mobile and fashion accessories.

Additional offer “The cumulative value of offers curated for Lucky Lifafa is more than ₹200 crore and is in addition to the cashback available on products in Paytm Mall,” the company said. Amit Sinha, Chief Operating Officer at Paytm Mall said, “We will be giving away exclusive deals and exciting freebies with every order placed on the platform. We are confident this will add significant value to their festive shopping experience.”

see. By end December, they will announce who will get what.”

TCA Sharad Raghavan NEW DELHI

India has the third-largest reserves of coal in the world. Therefore, the expectation is that there is also a high potential for coal bed methane (CBM), said Prashant Modi, CEO of Great Eastern Energy Corporation. The problem so far has been a lack of investor interest, which should now recover due to the new Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) introduced by the government, he said in an interview. “Generally, the new policy of OALP and HELP (Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy) should help,” Mr Modi said. “They have removed the cost recovery structure, which was a big headache. Revenue sharing

Prashant Modi is much cleaner and simpler. The other major issue that they cleared partially was of pricing and marketing freedom.” “Going forward, if it is market priced, people will invest,” Mr Modi added. “The legacy issues are over. The older fields are anyway depleting. November 15 is the first deadline for the expressions of interest, so let’s

‘No bidding’ Mr. Modi said that there has not been a bidding round in CBM since 2010. “The DSF (discovered small fields) bids happened, but I don’t think any of them have progressed up to now,” he added. “From the information I have, many of them are already in the market for sale.” “There is a lot of coal in India — it has the third largest reserves in the world. So there is scope for CBM. And if the policy is right, then people will take the risk. There is enough CBM resource according to the government. The issue was that investment was not coming in.”

Amid worries about the state of India’s slowing economy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to take stock of the headwinds stalling growth and consider mechanisms to revive economic activity. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu, Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal participated in the deliberations with top finance and commerce ministry officials that went on for over two hours, but everyone remained tightlipped about the discussion and its outcome at its conclusion. India’s economic growth tumbled for the fifth successive quarter to 5.7% in April-June this year, from 7.9% in the same period last year.

Special Correspondent CHENNAI

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) on Tuesday announced the roll-out of Euro-V emission norms compliant medium duty trucks (MDT) from its Oragadam facility. The trucks “are priced at the same level as that of BSIV vehicles. But the new vehicles emit 40% less nitrogen oxides (NOx) than BS-IV vehicles,” said Erich Nesselhauf, MD and CEO, Daimler India. “These medium-duty trucks are targeted for intracity transportation use.”

‘Eyeing No. 2 slot’ Highlighting that more than 55,000 BharatBenz trucks had been rolled out from the Oragadam facility in the

U.S. defence rms want grip on technology in Make-in-India plan Lockheed Martin and Boeing are among companies bidding for contracts; foreign arms manufacturers concerned over legal liabilities Reuters NEW DELHI

U.S. defence firms offering to set up production lines in India to win deals worth billions of dollars want stronger assurances they won’t have to part with proprietary technology, according to a business lobby group’s letter to India’s defence minister. These companies are also saying they shouldn’t be held liable for defects in products manufactured in collaboration with local partners under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make-in-India’s drive to build a military industrial base. Lockheed Martin and Boeing are both bidding to supply combat jets to India’s military, which is running short of hundreds of aircraft as it retires Soviet-era MiG planes, and its own three-decade long effort to produce a domestic jet is hobbled by delays. Lockheed has offered to shift its F-16 production line CM YK

to India from Fort Worth, Texas, and make it the sole factory worldwide if India orders at least 100 single-engine fighters. The U.S. firm has picked Tata Advanced Systems as its local partner under the defence ministry’s new Strategic Partnership model under which foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can hold up to a 49% stake in a joint venture with an Indian private firm which will hold the majority of shares. The US-India Business Council (USIBC) wrote to India’s defence minister last month seeking a guarantee that U.S. firms would retain control over sensitive technology - even as joint venture junior partners. “Control of proprietary technologies is a major consideration for all companies exploring public and private defence partnerships,” the business lobby, which represents 400 firms, said in the

Aug. 3 letter, reviewed by Reuters and previously unreported. “To allow foreign OEMs to provide the most advanced technologies, the partnership arrangement between an Indian owned ‘strategic partner’ company and a foreign OEM needs to provide an opportunity for the foreign OEM to retain control over its proprietary technology,” it said, noting this wasn’t explicit in the policy document.

Risky clause: The rms say they shouldn’t be held liable for defects in products made together with local partners REUTERS *

Technology transfer Technology transfer is at the heart of Mr. Modi’s drive to build a domestic industrial base and cut a reliance on imports that has made India the world’s biggest arms importer in recent years. Without full tech transfer in previous arms deals, India’s mainly state-run defence factories have largely been left to assemble knockdown kits even for tanks and aircraft produced under li-

cense from the foreign maker. Mr. Modi’s advisers have vowed to change that, insisting on transfer of technology so that critical military equipment are designed and manufactured in India. Benjamin Schwartz, USIBC’s director for defense and aerospace, said the new Indian policy offered a roadmap for establishing partnerships between U.S.

and Indian companies, but it raised some questions for the firms. He said he was not in a position to name those companies concerned by the Indian policy, but there was a “general desire to see increased clarity” on several aspects, including the control of proprietary technologies. The USIBC also opposed a clause in the new rules that

held foreign firms jointly responsible for the quality of the platforms provided to the military, saying legal liability is a significant factor in business decisions. “We recommend the MoD (Ministry of Defence) affirm that foreign OEMs will not be liable for defects outside their company’s control,” the USIBC said. Lockheed did not respond to a request for comment. Boeing, which is bidding for a separate contract to sell its F/A-18 Super Hornets for India’s aircraft carrier fleet, declined to comment on the USIBC letter. But the company’s India president, Pratyush Kumar, told a conference this month there were concerns about Indian private firms’ lack of experience in the aerospace sector. Only state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. had made planes under license, while some private players were starting from scratch, having never built even an aircraft

https://t.me/yk_info

component. Mr. Kumar said he could not find a single example worldwide of a private enterprise with limited experience building out a plane under transfer of technology. “Look at Turkey, look at Japan, look at Brazil — look at multiple countries. In all cases there is a fine balancing act of co-opting the capabilities of both public and private enterprise,” Mr. Kumar said at a conference organised by the Centre for Air Power Studies. India’s defence ministry offered no response to the concerns expressed by the lobbying group on the strategic partnership model, which will also apply to building submarines and helicopters as part of a $150 billion modernisation drive. But an official, referring to sensitive technology, said the Centre has made clear that foreign firms can be allowed to raise their stake beyond 49% if the technology they bring is state-of-the art.

Erich Nesselhauf last five years, Mr. Nesselhauf said the plan was to secure second place in heavy duty truck soon, before targeting the number one slot. The company has exported more than 10,000 trucks since 2013 and it will serve 40 markets by the end 2017. Recently, it entered the Indonesian market, according to Mr. Nesselhauf.

Tata Sons consolidates holdings K.T. Jagannathan CHENNAI

Even as it set in motion the process of converting itself into a private limited company despite protests from the Mistrys’ Cyrus Investments, Tata Sons Ltd. has gone on to consolidate its holdings in various group companies. The move, it appears, is intended to step up its direct control over its group outfit. Tata Global Beverages informed the BSE that it had sold 1,04,80,000 equity shares of face value of ₹10 each of Tata Chemicals, or 4.11% of the issued capital of TCL, to Tata Sons in a market transaction. Similarly, Tata Chemicals said it had sold more than 4.31 crore equity shares of Tata Global Beverages to Tata Sons at a price of ₹213.35 per share. Earlier this year, the holding company bought out Tata Motors’ stake in Tata Steel and vice versa. A ND-NDE

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IN BRIEF

Model blasts magazine for slimming her curves

Friendly neighbourhood ‘Pakistan Girl’ to the rescue

August was second hottest on record: NASA

Creator of woman superhero wants her to be a role model for both girls and boys

Washington

PARIS

Agence France-Presse

U.S. model Emily Ratajkowski has called out a French magazine for reducing her lips and breasts in a photograph for an interview which deals with the discrimination she said she faces for “being too sexy”. “I hope the fashion industry will finally learn to stop trying to stifle things that make us unique...,” Ratajkowski said.

Islamabad

Waltz with Bashir team takes on Anne Frank story PARIS

A graphic novel version of The Diary of Anne Frank by the creators of the Oscarnominated film Waltz with Bashir will roll off the presses next month, its publishers said on Monday. Writerdirector Ari Folman and illustrator David Polonsky, who made the acclaimed movie, are also making a film on Frank, to appear in 2019.

Pakistan’s newest woman superhero has vowed to battle venal officials and protect battered women, as her creator tries to inspire the next generation to fight injustice in a deeply patriarchal society. The new ‘Pakistan Girl’ comic series is based on Sarah, a normal teenager with a pet cat who discovers she has superhuman powers after waking from a coma caused by a blast in her village. Donning a green cape, Pakistan’s national colour, the protagonist whips a man beating a woman in a market and saves a young girl taken hostage by a bribe-seeking police officer in the series’ first comic book released this summer. The creator of the Englishlanguage comic says he hopes the superhero will give young girls across Pakistan a role model and embolden them to fight corruption and violence in a country where crime is rife in major cities and corruption is the norm. “There’s a huge shortage of female role models and superheroes in the main-

Big dreams: A patron reads a copy of the ‘Pakistan Girl’ comic series at a bookstore in Islamabad. AFP *

stream media here,” author Hassan Siddiqui told AFP. “We wanted to create a strong female character for the girls in Pakistan and even the young boys in Pakistan that they can look up to.” Women in conservative Pakistan have fought for their rights for decades, in a country where so-called “honour killings” and other violence against women remains commonplace. Netizens on social media have welcomed the comic, writing largely positive reviews online and calling for more superhero stories in the future. “Its a very bril-

liant step by you guys... I’m a big fan of Marvel and DC comics and looking forward for this too,” wrote fan Syed Hassan Nasir on Facebook.

Urdu version The author said he now plans to work on an Urdu version of the comic with the aim of reaching millions of readers across the country. He is also mulling a possible animation adaption. But reaching the masses won’t be easy. Pakistan's education system has been woefully underfunded for decades, exacerbating illiteracy with more than half of

the country’s eight-year-olds unable to read. According to a 2016 government study, a staggering 24 million Pakistani children are out of school, with a larger share of girls staying home than boys — 12.8 million compared to 11.2 million. But new fan and school principal Saadia Adnan hopes the comic will provide a new way to help educate children, while also steering them clear of gender stereotypes. “I think we should be teaching them through this kind of literature because that’s actually the tender age when they are building their own images of their future life,” said Ms. Adnan . Mr. Siddiqui’s latest creation follows the success of his earlier comic series ‘Pakistan Man’ — a moustachioed hero who battles one nemesis named ‘The Corrupter’ and another villain responsible for banning YouTube. “Siddiqui’s first comic, ‘Pakistan Man’, sold like hot cakes and I hope this book, which is already doing good with sales, will follow suit,” said Ahmad Saeed, owner of Islamabad’s biggest bookstore Saeed Book Bank.

Press Trust of India

Last month was the second warmest August in 137 years of modern recordkeeping, according to an analysis of global temperatures by scientists at NASA. The measured value is “consistent with the trend in global average surface temperatures that has been observed during the past few decades”, NASA said. Last month was 0.85 degrees Celsius warmer than the mean August temperature from 1951-1980. It was surpassed by August 2016, which was still affected by the 2015-2016 El Nino and was 0.99 degrees Celsius warmer than normal, according to the agency.

Updating records However, August this year was about 0.2 degrees warmer than the August following the last large El Nino event in 1997-1998. The modern global temperature record begins around 1880 because previous observations did not cover enough of the planet. “Monthly analyses are sometimes updated when additional data becomes available, and the results are subject to change,” NASA said.

WWI German submarine wreck found o Belgium It may still have on board the bodies of its 22 crew members and commander, say ocials Alicia Vikander’s rst Lara Croft poster out

Agence France-Presse Brussels

LOS ANGELES

Warner Bros and MGM have released the first poster for the Tomb Raider reboot, starring Alicia Vikander as the globetrotting archaeologist Lara Croft. It comes more than 15 years after Angelina Jolie first brought the video game adventurer to the silver screen.

The well-preserved wreck of a German submarine sunk during World War I has been found in the North Sea and may have the bodies of its crew still on board, Belgian officials said on Tuesday. A diver who has explored the wreck, lying in 100 feet of water off the port of Os-

tend, said the good condition of the submarine suggested the remains of its 23 crew could still be inside.

Eleventh one It is the 11th German submarine from the 1914-18 war to be found in Belgian waters and the best-preserved example to date, Jan Mees, head of the Flanders Marine

Institute told AFP. The wreck was found in the summer by Thomas Termote, a diver and expert in marine archaeology, but its exact location is being kept secret to deter treasurehunters. “The submarine is very intact, everything is still closed — that's what he [Termote] saw during his first visit this

summer,” Mr. Mees said. The submarine would have had 22 crew and a commander on board, West Flanders provincial governor Carl Decaluwe told De Standaard newspaper. “All the hatches are still closed. This suggests the wreck has not been discovered before and moreover the 23 crew mem-

bers are still inside,” Mr. Decaluwe said. During WWI, the German navy used the Belgian port of Zeebrugge as a base for its submarines, known as Uboats, to attack shipping in the North Sea. To combat the threat, the British tried to block Zeebrugge port in April 1918 by scuttling old ships in the entry channel.

‘Music piracy on the increase worldwide’ It is up by 5%, says industry group Agence France-Presse London

Music piracy is on the increase worldwide, with 40% of users are accessing unlicensed music, up from 35% last year, the global recorded music industry group IFPI said. Search engines are making piracy easier, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said in a report on Tuesday, calling for government action. The increase follows a slump in recent years when policing of the digital music landscape appeared to be clamping down on the practice.

No reason to exist “Copyright infringement is still growing and evolving, with stream ripping the dominant method,” said IPPI chief Frances Moore. “With the wealth of licensed music available to fans, these types of illegal sites have no justifiable place in the music world,” she said, calling for greater regulation of the digital music sector.

Based on a survey of consumers in 13 countries, the report found that most unlicensed music listeners were using "stream ripping" to access pirate content. Thirty-five per cent of all Internet users were using stream ripping — up from 30% in 2016. Stream ripping sites allow users to turn a file being played on a streaming platform, such as Spotify or YouTube, into one that can be downloaded permanently. The percentage of stream rippers rose to 53% among 16-24-year-olds, while only 18% of 55-64-year-olds engaged in stream ripping. The report said search engines “play a key role in copyright infringements”, with 54 of those downloading unlicensed music using Google to find it. YouTube-mp3.org, the world’s most popular stream ripping site in which millions of users converted YouTube videos into audio files, was shut down earlier this month after a legal campaign by IFPI.

U.S. teen ghts for girl power in Africa Zuriel Oduwole is tirelessly campaigning to promote education for girls Agence France-Presse Paris

With braces on her teeth and sneakers on her feet, Zuriel Oduwole from Los Angeles may look like a typical American teen. But over the past six years, the willowy 15-yearold has been granted audiences with no fewer than 24 presidents and prime ministers on her crusade to promote education for girls in Africa. Ms. Zuriel is following in the footsteps of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who survived being shot in the head to become the world’s most famous girls’ education campaigner.

Call to increase aid Born in the U.S. to parents of Nigerian and Mauritian origin, Ms. Zuriel talks to African leaders “about making policies so that girls are able to go to school until at least the age of 18 so they don’t get married when they are 12 or 13”, she told AFP in an interview. Around 39% of girls in sub-Saharan Africa are married before the age of 18, and 12% before their

An important voice: American education advocate Zuriel Oduwole at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. AFP *

15th birthday, UNICEF says. Ms. Zuriel was in Paris at the weekend to help advocate for wealthy countries to boost their aid to developing countries to 0.7% of GDP. France’s aid budget is currently 0.38% of GDP. Addressing tens of thousands of youths at a solidarity concert in Paris on Sunday, the young American tried to sensitise them to the effects of poverty on the plight of girls across Africa. “Now I want you all to imagine your girl cousin...

Mexico plans a Mayan theme park

being married when she is 12 or 13 years old to a man who is 10 or even 20 years older than she is,” she said. “But guess what? Most of these problems are because of poverty.”

The first break Paradoxically, Ms. Zuriel, who is the eldest of four children, has never attended school herself. Her parents began home-schooling their precocious child when she was three. At nine, she got her first

break of sorts as a campaigner when she sought — and obtained — an interview with former Ghanaian president Jerry Rawlings for a documentary about the country’s 1979 revolution. In Ghana, she was struck by the sight of children trying to earn a buck to help out their families. “I saw a lot of children, especially girls, out on the streets selling things, and I see that a lot whenever I visit other African countries like Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania.” At age 10, she became the youngest person to be interviewed by Forbes magazine and last month it named her one of Africa’s 100 most influential women. And next year she will begin attending university at the tender age of 16, with her sights set on Harvard or UCLA, where she wants to study economics and psychology. Despite having a CV that screams wunderkind, Ms. Zuriel insists she leads the normal life of a teenager. ”I play sports, I play football and basketball, I have friends I hang out with. I just happen to do all of these projects on the side.”

Linkin Park plans concert to honour late singer Proceeds will go to Music for Relief

Agence France-Presse Mexico City

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced plans on Monday for an $840 million Mayan theme park on the Caribbean coast to rival the major theme parks in the United States. The park, dubbed Amikoo — or “friend” in the Mayan language — will have rides and characters based on Mayan mythology and be built in two phases in the socalled Riviera Maya, a stretch of pristine beaches on Mexico’s southeastern coast. “We’re going to compete with other [parks] up there [in the United States], CM YK

and I’m sure ours will be better,” Mr. Pena Nieto said at a ceremony also attended by the Mexican investors behind the project. Mr. Pena Nieto said the park would bolster Mexico’s place as a “high-quality tourism destination”.

Big tourist destination Mexico became the eighth most-visited country in the world last year, according to the World Tourism Organization, with 35 million international arrivals who spent some $19.6 billion. The vital sector represents some 8.7% of the Mexican economy.

Agence France-Presse Los Angeles

Rockers Linkin Park on Monday announced a concert to mourn singer Chester Bennington following his suicide as they released a poignant video showing him in a sea of light. The concert will take place on October 27 at the Hollywood Bowl in the band’s base of Los Angeles, with proceeds to benefit Music for Relief, a fund started by Linkin Park after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 to help disaster victims.

The evening will mark the first Linkin Park concert since Bennington hanged himself on July 20 — and perhaps the band’s last as surviving members have voiced doubts about its future. Linkin Park, in a message to fans, said the group will be accompanied by a variety of other artists “to honour the man who touched the lives of so many around the world”. The band on Monday also released a video for One More Light, the title track of its last album, which has taken on new meaning after Bennington’s suicide.

https://t.me/yk_info A ND-NDE

wednesday O september 20, 2017

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New life for amphitheatre

Opening up space

‘Joke telling is truth telling...’

People’s car to the T

A neglected amphitheatre in Old Delhi’s Sitaram Bazar could be transformed into a cultural hub Page 2

Black Box Okhla is an emerging space in the city that is exploring the voids in a mill shell Page 4

Actor Anuradha Menon talks about her generous appetite and her hatred for froth Page 5

A look at the Ford Model T and two other cars of the twentieth century that have earned this title Page 6

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IN BRIEF

Police trying to derail Junaid Girl kills self after being murder case, says advocate gangraped, three arrested Three months on, four of six accused out on bail; many serious charges dropped

HC stops ‘coercive action’ against Le Meridien

Accused harassed victim for weeks after incident Staff Reporter

Ashok Kumar

GURUGRAM

NEW DELHI

FARIDABAD

The Delhi High Court has stayed the New Delhi Municipal Council from precipitating any coercive action, including disconnection of electricity and water supply, against the Le Meridien Hotel here. The court observed that protection was already enduring in favour of the occupiers of the hotel’s corporate tower through its September 11 order. PTI

Less than three months after teenager Junaid was stabbed to death in a Delhi-Mathura local train in June this year, four of the six accused arrested in the case are out on bail. The Haryana Railway Police has also withdrawn charges of rioting, unlawful assembly and common intention against them in the charge sheet. Two other accused in the case remain unidentified. The bail application of the fifth accused, Rameshwar, came up for hearing before the local court in Faridabad on Tuesday and an order in this regard is likely on Wednesday. Chander Prakash (25), an accountant at a factory in Ballabgarh, was granted bail on July 27 — a month after he was arrested. Gaurav and Pradeep were let off on bail on August 2. Ramesh, a resident of Jodhpur village in Palwal, was granted bail on August 18. He was arrested a day after the incident and the police had initially claimed that he was the prime accused in the case.

A teenage Dalit girl in Jind district of Haryana committed suicide after three men from her village allegedly gangraped her and later threw letters inside her house threatening her. The police said they arrested the trio, including a college student, on Tuesday. The accused have been identified as Rahul, Praveen alias Pinna and Kuldeep alias Kala. The girl allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide. Rahul (23) is a college student, while Pinna (24) and Kala (18) are daily-wagers. The incident came to light when the girl’s father reported the matter to the police

HC to pass order on rising air pollution NEW DELHI

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved its order on a PIL initiated by it on the issue of rising air pollution in Delhi and the neighbouring States due to crop burning. A Bench of Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and Sunil Gaur said it would pronounce the order and directions on Friday. The court had earlier directed the Centre to develop environment-friendly farming practices to reduce stubble burning. PTI

Girl injured after being stuck under car wheel NEW DELHI

A three-year-old girl was injured after being caught under the rear wheel of a car in Rohini, police said on Tuesday. The incident occurred on Saturday in Sector 16 and was captured by a CCTV camera. Locals rescued the girl from under the vehicle and took her to a hospital, the police said. The driver of the vehicle ed from the spot after the incident, but the car’s registration number was recorded on camera. The police have launched a manhunt for the driver. PTI

Disclosure reports Advocate for the victim’s family Nibrash Ahmed told The Hindu that the Haryana Railway Police, in its reply to bail applications of the four men, dropped charges of rioting, unlawful assembly and common intention, which facilitated their bail. The police have taken the plea that the charges were dropped based on the disclosure reports of the accused. The police filed a charge sheet on August 23

New Delhi

McDonald’s estranged partner Vikram Bakshi said 18 out of the 43 outlets of the burger chain in the Capital, which have been closed since June due to expiry of eating house licences, reopened on Tuesday. The development follows a decision by the board of Connaught Plaza Restaurants Ltd. (CPRL), which passed a resolution on September 17 to reopen 21 outlets for which health licences have since been received, Mr. Bak-

Staff Reporter New Delhi

omitting the charges of rioting, unlawful assembly and common intention. Mr. Ahmed said that the “police were acting under pressure” and had withdrawn the charges to help the accused. “It is an attempt to derail the case,” he added. The advocate argued that Chander, Gaurav, Pradeep and Rameshwar belonged to the same village and were involved in an argument with Junaid and his brothers and were, therefore, part of unlawful assembly. Mr. Ahmed alleged that

the four men held Junaid while Naresh stabbed him, proving common intention in the case.

‘Under no pressure’ Deputy Superintendent of Police (Faridabad Railway Police) Mohinder Singh, however, denied all charges of acting under any pressure and contended that the police had carried out a free and fair probe in the case. “The charges have been withdrawn based on the investigation in the case. It is now for the court to decide

September 6, CPRL is required to cease using the McDonald’s System and is no longer authorised to operate McDonald’s restaurants.”

McDonald’s reacts The company further said: “We will continue to take steps to exercise our legal and contractual rights.” In June, 43 outlets operated by CPRL were closed after the expiry of eating house licence. Mr. Bakshi and McDonald’s India have been fighting it out at courts over termina-

tion of franchise licence by the US-based fast food chain last month. The fate of 169 outlets run by CPRL in north and east India became uncertain after the expiry of notice of termination of licence earlier this month. While Mr. Bakshi is contesting at NCLAT here, the fast food major had approached the London Court of Arbitration, which last week asked Mr. Bakshi to sell his stake in the 50:50 joint venture, CPRL, to McDonald’s India.

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Govt’s anti-drugs campaign begins today Khwaishe Udan Ki will spread message ‘drugs aren’t cool’ among students in city Staff Reporter New Delhi

The Delhi government will launch a year-long anti-drugs awareness campaign on Wednesday, through which it will tell school and college students that ‘drugs are not cool’. Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam said that the first phase of the campaign will target college and school students, after which it will be extended to all Delhiites through initiatives in residential colonies. “We have found that drug addiction is increasing among students. It is also leading to an increase in petty crimes,” said Mr. Gautam. Khwaishe Udan Ki will start with a seminar at Ambedkar University, followed by events at Hindu College, Indraprastha University, Jesus and Mary College, Hans Raj CM YK

Substance abuse: As per a 2016 study, around 70,000 street children in Delhi were addicted to drugs. SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR *

College and Delhi Technological University over the next few weeks.

‘1,200 plays planned’ Apart from the seminars, 1,200 street plays will be performed by 12 students’ drama groups that have signed up for the campaign so far. The message of the plays, posters and other programmes will be that

‘Abetment to suicide’ Station House Officer Rohtash Kumar said that a case was registered against the three men on charges of gangrape, stalking and abetment to suicide and sections under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, based on the complaint of the girl’s father. The trio was arrested on Tuesday. A local court in Narwana remanded them to three-day police custody.

Men were cleaning septic tank of ashram in outer Delhi

India partner of fast-food giant says other outlets with health licences will open soon shi said in a statement. “18 restaurants in Delhi have reopened on Tuesday,” he said, adding that the decision was taken by the “board of CPRL, chaired by NCLT appointed administrator Justice G. S. Singhvi, in the best interest of employees, vendors, landlords and all stakeholders”. When contacted, McDonald’s India said: “Consequent on the termination of the franchise agreements of 169 McDonald’s restaurants operated by CPRL in the north and east of India, effective

Family kept quiet The girl had narrated her ordeal to her parents, but they decided not to report the matter to the police fearing social disgrace. The three men, however, continued to harass her after the incident and sought sexual favours from her several times. When she did not give in to their demands, the accused allegedly threw letters in her house threatening her. The girl’s father told the police that she could not take

the harassment any more and consumed pesticide on September 16. Her family rushed her to a nearby hospital. She was later shifted to Agroha Medical College in Hisar. She died on September 18.

Manager held after two die in Rampal ashram sewer

18 of 43 McDonald’s outlets reopen Press Trust of India

on Monday saying that her daughter was gangraped by three men a month ago while she was on her way to fetch water from a temple in the village.

“drugs are not cool”, an official said, adding that celebrities may also join the campaign. Mr. Gautam said that he had raised concerns about drug addiction in the Capital in the Assembly as well as in letters to top police officers and the Lieutenant-Governor. He added that a study by NGOs in his Assembly constituency of Seemapuri

found a large number of children addicted to sniffing whitener fluid, cough syrup, pills or other substances. “There is a need for strict action against the sellers. But, the police need the will to stop the trade,” he said, adding that the government would launch a larger antidrugs campaign soon. According to officials, the existing district child protection units would be involved with the campaign by helping children get access to counselling and rehabilitation facilities. As per officials, the Delhi government had asked AIIMS to conduct a study of the number of homeless children who were addicted to substances in 2015. As per the study done in 2016, about 70,000 street children were found to be addicted to some substance.

whether these charges should be added or not,” said Mr. Singh. Mr. Ahmed, however, argued that it was unlikely that the court would seek addition of the charges if the police did not produce any evidence in the charge sheet supporting those charges. Meanwhile, Junaid’s family claimed that his father Jalaluddin, worried over the developments in the case, suffered a heart attack two days ago and was being treated at a private hospital in Noida.

The Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested the manager of an ashram headed by jailed godman Rampal in Outer Delhi for alleged negligence, a day after two of the godman’s followers died and another was hospitalised after inhaling toxic gases while manually cleaning a septic tank there. Police said that Shyam Rathi will be questioned on his alleged role in failing to provide adequate safety equipment to the deceased, Makhan Lal and Amarjeet, and the third victim, Mukesh.

The probe so far has revealed that no safety equipment was provided to them. A police officer said that no responsibility of any civic agency has come to the fore.

‘Private tank’ “The tank was a private one and hence the ashram management is responsible for the upkeep and ensuring that proper safety measures are in place,” he added. “We are still in the probe stage and will verify if any agency was entrusted with carrying out periodic safety inspections before completely ruling anything out,” the officer said.

Meanwhile, the post mortem of the deceased was carried out at a hospital here and the bodies were handed over to their families.

Held for negligence Makhan’s family has alleged that there was a significant delay in the procedure. Makhan hailed from Nepal. The incident took place around 4 p.m. on Monday and the police claimed that the men had asphyxiated to death after inhaling some toxic gases. A case of death and injury due to negligence was registered at Mundka police station.

Won’t go back to Myanmar: Rohingyas Refugees in Delhi camp say they have lost faith in Aung San Suu Kyi Jaideep Deo Bhanj New Delhi

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s assurances on Tuesday that her country was ready to start the verification process to ensure repatriation of refugees who had fled the country over the past months has been received with much scepticism by the Rohingya community living in Delhi. The Rohingyas living in a refugee colony near Kalindi Kunj said the leader in her address did not even once denounce the atrocities based on ethnicity that had been continuing for years in Rakhine State and gave no guarantee to the Rohingyas that they would be safe if they returned.

Global pressure Mohammad Salim Ullah, who fled to Bangladesh in 2005 before coming to India in 2012, said: “Aung San Suu Kyi’s has broken her silence only under international pressure. So many people have died over the years and she has done nothing. We had a lot of faith in her earlier but she has given us no guarantee and has not done anything to give us any hope that we can return safely.” ‘Overstayed welcome’ Speaking of the threat of deportation from the Indian government, Mr. Salim Ullah said: “Any friendly person or country welcomes a guest with open arms and offers them biryani and kebabs to eat but if they overstay then the host will naturally not be that welcoming. The same is the situation in India where we were welcomed but as time has passed, the govern-

Future in ux: Residents of a Rohingya refugee camp in Kalindi Kunj on Tuesday.

ment is no longer as welcoming.” He said they would go to any country that welcomed them if deported, but they would never go back to Myanmar. Sohail Khan, a fellow Rohingya who crossed over in 2012, said Ms. Suu Kyi has said there will first be a verification process and only then will they be given their nationality back. “What if we go back based on the assurances given by her and then find ourselves thrown into a camp? In India, we are living as refugees but we have the freedom to work, earn a living and lead a decent life. Back home we will only fear being killed as there is no rule of law.” The Rohingyas said that over the past month, in India, there has been a campaign to defame them by calling them

https://t.me/yk_info

if we go back < > What based on the assurances given by her [Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi] and then nd ourselves thrown into a camp? In India, we are living as refugees but we have the freedom to work and lead a decent life. Back home we will only fear being killed Sohail Khan Rohingya refugee

terrorists and criminals. “In our camp, all we are bothered about is going to work and earning a living for ourselves. We fear that this name-calling will affect our children who will then for the

*

V.SUDERSHAN

rest of their life have to keep defending this tag,” said Mr. Salim Ullah.

‘India gave us honour’ Those living in the refugee camp in Delhi said they have not faced any problems from the police or neighbours due to the allegations that they are a threat to national security. However, in other places in India such as Hyderabad and Jammu, some members of the community have raised complaints that the attitude of the people who live in areas surrounding them have changed ever since the government changed its stance. “India has given us honour, a country to live in and a chance to earn a living; why would we want to attack India,” asked a refugee, requesting anonymity. B ND-NDE

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THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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Journey through history

This is the last in the series of rare photographs of Raisina Hill, the country’s power centre, being raised from scratch. The Hindu is grateful to the Delhi Archives, Department of Art and Culture, Delhi Government, for sharing its invaluable collection with the readers

The Secretariat's stable gateway takes shape; South Block as it stands today.

*

SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY

The foundation of the Secretariat's North Block tower wing at a nascent stage; the nished building as seen today. *

IN BRIEF

SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY

Govt mulls redo of amphitheatre Spot in Old Delhi now a dumping ground, hangout for drug addicts; proposal for cultural hub in its place

SDMC issues safety guidelines for schools Move after recent crimes against kids Staff Reporter

CM to get back to work today after break

New Delhi

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Tuesday issued safety guidelines for schools to follow with an aim to create a secure space for children after the recent cases of violence. The mayor of south Delhi, Ms. Kamaljeet Sehrawat, on Tuesday said that students and parents have expressed concern over the recent incidents of alleged murders and rapes of school children in Delhi and NCR.

NEW DELHI

After spending a week away from the Capital for a meditation course in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he would return to work on Wednesday, starting with a meeting with all Ministers. Describing the course as “bliss”, he tweeted: “...Hope someday, me n my wife will fully immerse ourselves in meditation.” STAFF REPORTER

New Chief Proctor appointed at JNU NEW DELHI

The JNU administration has announced that since Vibha Tandon has been made the presiding officer of the newlyformed Internal Complaints Committee, Kaushal Kumar Sharma has been appointed as the Chief Proctor of JNU. Mr. Kumar is a professor at the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, School of Social Sciences, JNU. STAFF REPORTER

Allegations baseless: NGO Staff Reporter NEW DELHI

A day after the JNU administration nominated a representative from NGO Sampurna to its Internal Complaints Committee, Shobha Vijender, the head of the NGO, said that all allegations of irregularities against her organisation were baseless. “The baseless allegations against Sampurna resurfacing after more than five-and-a-half years are motivated by narrow political considerations of JNUTA and JNUSU”. She said that former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had made false allegations without any evidence on the eve of MCD elections with the primary purpose of diverting attention. CM YK

Falling apart: The open-air theatre located at the complex, which includes a shelter for the homeless and a community centre of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, in Shanker Gali has fallen into disrepair over the years. SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR/ SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *

Nabiha Siddique NEW DELHI

Used as a dumping ground by locals and an alleged hangout for drug and alcohol addicts, a neglected amphitheatre in the heart of Old Delhi’s Sitaram Bazar could be transformed into a cultural hub, with the government considering a proposal for the same. The open-air theatre located at the complex, which includes a shelter for the homeless and a community centre of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), in Shanker Gali has fallen into disrepair over the years.

Residents have been complaining about the unhygienic conditions and unsafe environment around the property, alleging that the place often sees a gathering of drug addicts and drunkards.

‘No place for kids’ Patela, a local who makes clay toys for a living, said: “This place is becoming a nuisance because of such activities. I have told my daughters and daughters-inlaws to avoid crossing it. That is the least we can do to be safe.” She added that if locals tried to prevent the addicts

from using the space, it would lead to violence. “The next morning we may find our clay toys in pieces,” she said. Another resident, Poonam, said it was ironic that children in the area, which is very congested, did not have a place to play as the amphitheatre and the park beside it were in a bad state. “We have no place for recreation, so we sit at home or sometimes we form groups and sit outside the doors of our homes,” she said. However, recently the amphitheatre was cleaned up to host a cultural show as

part of the ‘Not In My Name’ protests on September 10. Taking it forward, Irtiza Qureshi, the founder of Muslim Association Rehabilitating Homeless and Mistreated (MARHAM), and social activist Indu Prakash Singh, of the NGO ActionAid, have given the Delhi government a proposal to turn the space into a permanent cultural hub.

Benefit for schools Mr. Qureshi, whose organisation is running the homeless shelter at the site, said: “The government schools in old Delhi are deprived of such spaces. So, by trans-

forming the amphitheatre into a cultural hub, not only will nearby schools and colleges benefit but it would also help foster communal harmony and civic pride through cultural programmes.” For example, he said, the amphitheatre could be used to stage short plays or skits to spread awareness about sanitation and waste segregation. Dr. Singh added that the development of the amphitheatre could help uplift the local communities. According to a senior DUSIB official, the proposal is under consideration.

Detailed plan A detailed plan was formulated by the Standing Committee chairperson Bhupender Gupta, leader of the house Ms. Shikha Rai, SDMC commissioner Dr. P.K. Goel, headed by the mayor, for strict compliance by school authorities. “The safety of our children is of prime importance. Any lukewarm response from the principals, teachers or other employees will be taken seriously and strict action will be taken against them,” Ms. Sehrawat said. She said that the priority of the civic body is to create a safe environment for children and to make them fearless individuals. “If children are not taken care of in the formative

years, they are likely to become mentally weak adults. Such cases of violence and crime create a lasting impact on children,” she said. As per the guidelines, the school principals along with the management committees and the staff are supposed to ensure safety audits in their respective schools, as per standard safety norms.

Police verification They will also ensure that the character and antecedents of all the employees working in the schools have been verified by the Delhi Police. This will also include mid-day meal staff and NGO workers, for whom separate identity cards will be issued. The SDMC officials said that the schools will have to maintain a visitors’ register and fixed timings for visitors coming into schools. “The school will have to prominently display the telephone numbers of the police control room, local police station and name and number of beat officer on the notice board,” a statement issued by the municipality read. The guidelines also said that teachers will have to ensure that no student is allowed to go to the washrooms alone and a companion must accompany them.

GSCASH dissolution: JNUTA, students move HC Noida builder faces ₹650-cr claim Plea wants quashing of orders superseding GSCASH by Internal Complaints panel Staff Reporter NEW DELHI

The Jawaharlal Nehru Teachers’ Association informed on Tuesday that a writ petition on the supersession of the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) Rules & Procedures and the dissolution of the committee was filed in the Delhi High Court. The association said that the legal team is led by senior Supreme Court advocate Indira Jaising and

Harsh Parashar of Srivastava Naved Parashar Partners. The petitioners include three teachers -- Madhu Sahni, Rajat Dutta, Hemant Adlakha -- and three students -- Ritika Kar, Rituraj Sharma, and Sonam Goyal. The petition has asked for the quashing of the office orders superseding the GSCASH by the Internal Complaints Committee and the Registrar's letter putting elections to GSCASH on hold.

The petitioners have also asked for a stay on the supersession order and a notice to JNU, directing it to preserve all records of GSCASH from 1999 till date in consultation of GCASH to ensure authority of the paper.

‘Why remove Menon?’ They have also asked the court to allow the elections for student representatives scheduled for September 22 to be held in accordance with law.

The JNUTA added that it was incensed at the decision of the Executive Council of JNU to remove Nivedita Menon from chairpersonship of the Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Theory. They said her removal is an act of intimidation and insult by the university V-C because she asserted the need for correct procedure, impartiality, and integrity in selection panels.

Civic body les claim for dues against Amrapali project Staff Reporter Noida

The Noida Authority on Tuesday filed a claim of ₹650 crore dues on the Amrapali Silicon City here in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The NCLT had on September 5 admitted an insolvency petition against the Amrapali project. The petition was filed by Bank of Baroda (BoB) at the principal Bench of the NCLT in Delhi.

https://t.me/yk_info

“Amrapali group is ₹3,000 crore defaulter with Noida Authority. There is ₹650 crore dues against Amrapali Silicon city project. We will take further course of action to claim the Authority’s money,” said financial controller Manmohan Mishra.

Challenging the order Home buyers of the Amrapali Silicon City may challenge the order in the Supreme Court. According to

them, their investment will not be protected under the insolvency and bankruptcy code because the NCLT gives preference to financial creditors (banks) before buyers. However, the Amrapali Group assured that the investments of its buyers is safe. “The home buyers should not worry because the group has adequate assets to revive the project.,” an office-bearer of Amrapali group said. B ND-NDE

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THE HINDU

CITY 3

NOIDA/DELHI

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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IN BRIEF

‘ISI agent’ held for blackmailing Colonel

Businessman shoots self in his shop

Re-tweet doesn’t cause defamation: Chadha

Threatened her of posting objectionable images on Internet

NEW DELHI

Staff Reporter

A 47-year-old businessman allegedly shot himself dead inside his shop in west Delhi’s Ranhola on Tuesday afternoon. The deceased, identified as Ramvilas Sharma, used to run a plywood shop. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. The reason behind the suicide was not clear as no note was recovered, police said. However, the suicide weapon was found. The firearm is said to be a licensed one. The body was sent for post-mortem. However, no case was registered yet and inquest proceedings were on. The family of the deceased was being interrogated, the police said. Prima facie, he was alone in the shop when the incident took place. He was later spotted by someone who raised an alarm. The deceased is survived by his wife and three children.

Staff Reporter NEW DELHI

AAP leader Raghav Chadha on Tuesday told the High Court that he cannot be made to face a criminal case only for retweeting CM Arvind Kejriwal’s tweet against Union Minister Arun Jaitley, claiming that a retweet does not make out the offence of defamation. PTI

Man arrested for murdering nephew NEW DELHI

A man was arrested for allegedly killing his 15-yearold nephew as he suspected him of having an illicit relationship with his wife, the police said on Tuesday. The police recovered the boy’s decomposing body from a park in Dwarka’s Sector 18 area on August 1. PTI

DELHI TODAY Talk: Panel discussion on “Conicts, Post Conicts and Peoples’ Memory”. Panelists: Vijaya Venkataram, Associate Professor, Hispanic Studies, Delhi University, will speak on The Question of Memory and Post Memory in Post Dictatorship Latin America; Krishnan Unni, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Deshbandhu College will speak on Memory and Time as manifested in Literatures and Balwant Kaur, Assistant Professor, Department of Hindi, Miranda House will speak on Journey through Memory and Post Memory from 1947 to 1984. Series Coordinator: Prof. Vibha Maurya at Conference Room – II, IIC, 4 p.m. Talk: Seminar on “Environment and Energy in China under Xi Jinping” Speaker: Dr. Avinash Godbole, Research Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs at Seminar Room, Institute of Chinese Studies , 3 p.m. Talk: Book discussion on “Europe’s India: Words, People, Empires, 1500-1800” authored by Sanjay Subrahmanyam. Panelists: Prof. Kavita Singh, School of Arts & Aesthetics, JNU; Dr. Rahul Govind, Assistant Professor, History Department, University of Delhi; and Prof. Denys P. Leighton, School of Liberal Studies, Ambedkar University. Chair: Prof. Sunil Kumar, History Department, University of Delhi IIC, 6:30 p.m. Talk: Dr. Manjari Tripathi discusses “What’s New in Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention”, followed by Dr. Vinod Kumar’s lecture on “Music and Mind” at IHC, 7 p.m. Talk and Music: ‘Melody of Rhythm’ Lecture and demonstration by Tabla exponent Pt.Vinod Lele. Accompanist: Dr. Vinay Mishra (harmonium) at IHC, 7 p.m. Exhibition: ‘In the Shadow of the Pyramids’ by Egyptian photographer Laura El-Tantawy at Art Heritage Gallery (Basement), Triveni Kala Sangam, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Screening: “In his inner voice: Kuldip Nayar”, lm by Meera Dewan followed by a conversation between Kuldip Nayar and Seema Mustafa at C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium, IIC, 6:30 p.m. Screening: “This must be the place” Italian lm screening with English subtitles at Italian Embassy Cultural Institute, 7 p.m. (Mail your listings for this column at [email protected])

NEW DELHI

A man, Mohammad Parvez, suspected of spying for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was arrested for allegedly blackmailing and threatening a woman Army officer to upload her morphed objectionable images on the Internet. The woman, a Colonelrank officer, is a resident of south-west Dwarka. She first approached the police when she received some of her own objectionable pictures from a particular Facebook account with the name of one Ikta Sharma. In her complaint, she also alleged that she was receiving calls from two unknown numbers.

Trap for other officers The probe revealed that other senior-rank Army personnel were also sent re-

was threatened < > Ithat if I tried to avoid him, my pictures would be uploaded on the Internet Woman Army officer

quests from this Facebook profile to lure them. These pictures, she said, were morphed and that she was threatened that if she did not speak to him or tried to avoid him, her pictures would be uploaded on the Internet. When she stopped taking his calls, he allegedly contacted her daughter. Following the complaint, technical surveillance was set up and the police’s special cell zeroed in on the accused, who was arrested following a raid in north Delhi’s Chandni Mahal area on Monday. Parvez purportedly admitted that he was an ISI

14 members of family held for Metro thefts Gang from Agra included six juveniles

agent and was tasked with gathering confidential information about India’s strategic defence deployment from the officer. The police are on the lookout for three of his other accomplices.

Secret leak suspected The accused is suspected of already having supplied some of the secret information pertaining to the country’s security to the Pakistani agency, the officer said. A case under Section 123 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war and relevant provision of IT Act has been registered. He has also been charged with violation of privacy, stalking, criminal intimidation and for using word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.

4 in net for disposing stolen cars in N-E Police seize six high-end vehicles

Shubhomoy Sikdar NEW DELHI

Staff Reporter

The Delhi Police have busted a gang of mobile phone thieves who targeted metro passengers. Fourteen members, including minors, belonging to the same family from Agra had been robbing passengers in the Capital, the police said. “We arrested eight adults and apprehended six juveniles on Monday. They had stolen nine mobile phones the day before they were held,” said a senior police officer. During interrogation, they confessed that they stole anywhere between 20 to 25 mobiles every day. The first lead came when a team patrolling the Delhi Metro station learnt about a mobile phone theft. The victim had provided basic details about the appearance and built of the suspected thief which led to the arrest of 24-year-old Bachchan Singh from the Metro station itself. Singh disclosed he was a resident of Vishnupura village in Agra district. The stolen mobile phone was recovered from him, police claimed. He led the police to his other accomplices —

NEW DELHI

The gang targeted Metro commuters. family members who were “taking a break” at a park near Sabzi Mandi police station. The remaining 13 were nabbed from there, the police added.

Strike together The accused have confessed that they always worked in a group who would come, strike and leave the city together. They would then go back to their village where they were engaged in other vocations. However, their main source of income was these thefts, the police said. “Two of them surrounded the victim, while the others stood in a queue. As one person distracted the victim, the other would steal his phone and passed it on to the next member,” said the police.

The South Delhi police have arrested four persons for their alleged involvement in disposing stolen high-end cars in Northeastern States and seized six such vehicles. The arrested men have been identified as Deepak Kumar (25), Amarjeet Kumar (27), Mehraj (30) and Sanjeev Tomar (48). Deepak and Amarjeet used to take orders of the cars from their associates based in Nagaland, the police said. They would then pass on the information to autolifters in Meerut who would steal the vehicles and get the engine/chassis numbers changed on the basis of the details of registration certificate provided by Deepak

and Amarjeet. The duo would then drive the stolen vehicle to Dimapur, Nagaland, for disposal, the police said.

Over 100 thefts “They came in contact with one Narender, a dismissed constable of Delhi Police, having network with people dealing in stolen cars in the Northeast,” said a senior police officer. They started with Narender, but soon developed their own network and were supplying high-end stolen vehicles for the last two years, the police added. Meharaj and Sanjeev Tomar have allegedly handed over more than 100 luxury cars to Deepak and Amarjeet, the police added.

https://t.me/yk_info CM YK

B ND-NDE

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4 SHOWCASE

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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Opening up space

SHORT TAKES

Black Box Okhla is an emerging space in the city that is all about exploring the voids in a mill shell Sunalini Mathew

They say that walls tell stories, especially if they’ve been around for a while and have borne witness to all sorts of lives and events. The mill, christened Black Box Okhla, with its double height ceiling, situated in Okhla phase 2, seems just right for a play because it tells a story using space. Here, Nikhil Mehta, founder and artistic director, talks about the theatre; The Shakuntala Project, the first performance here; and why the story must often be crafted within the space to make sense. Why did you start Black Box Okhla? One of my biggest frustrations of working in Delhi was the pressure to put everything together and make it come together over three days. The nature of theatre is that it takes time to settle in. With one day to put the whole set together and only three days of performance, you are just not able to create something, with no time to explore it, which was pretty distressing. Why is space such an in-

tegral part of the process? Space and environment are the only things that differentiate our story-telling films or TV. It’s a communal feeling of people coming together experiencing something together and if we can’t control elements of the space, we have lost one of the most integral things about theatre. Actors relate to space and time and tell stories with their bodies. I could only reclaim that space, that environment if I was sitting in it. What’s different about BBO? The technology, and by that I don’t mean anything hi-fi. Everything used in Shakuntala is very basic equipment used around the world for running a show. All our lights are programmed through a computer. There were about 70 to 80 cues for lights in the show that were all triggered through a preset that we had made over 10 days of rehearsals with the lights. Super standard procedure all around the world: to imbue your show with a sense of specificity as well as to have some steadiness to

the look across the performance. There were several themes to The Shakuntala Project. What were they? As a director, I was super interested in tracking a story of two people where there is an underlying depth of relation between these two and a connection, which is very established. They go through a journey both on the surface where there’s a lot being spoken about, but also underneath, they go on a similar, but different articulation of the journey. As a director, I was excited to play at those different levels. The actors have been unbelievable – the kind of rigour that they displayed has been phenomenal. How did The Shakuntala Project come out? For a first play in this space, I didn’t want to do a Western play or an adaptation. I wanted to figure out what a contemporary language for Indian theatre could be. So for the first play here, I felt it was necessary to start with one of our oldest and most profound texts, Shakultala. How do we work with Shakuntala today? How we make her come to life? If we break it down into the seven acts, you’ll find all in here. What is your vision for theatre in Delhi? My goal is for shows to run for a long time in Delhi. I think weekend-only runs has completely destroyed theatre culture in India. It makes theatre unsustainable and budgets for shows very small, because the revenue is consequently smaller, which is why the first things to get the cut are usually scenic design, lighting design. We should not dissociate these from theatre. They often happen because there is a culture of shows only running for three days. When shows run a month, it makes it worth the effort to look and feel a particular level. They can also be sustainable then.

Farah’s online endeavours Filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan says that she may turn the film she was planning to make on girl power into a web-series. Farah previously had said she is planning to make a movie on girl power. These

would be way more real, according to the 52 yearold. Farah shares she may have plans to turn it into a webseries in the imminent future, “I’ll start writing a script now as soon as Lip Sing Battle shoot is done.”

Striking it rich Uri, a film based on the Indian Army’s surgical strikes across the LoC in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is soon to be made by producer Ronnie Screwvala and will be starring Vicky Kaushal in the lead role. The movie will be directed by Aditya Dhar. While the rest of the cast is yet to be locked, Vicky plays a yet another role to surprise all as a commander in chief. Vicky will lead the group of paratroopers post the Uri attack. He will be undergoing some paramilitary training for a month to bulk up some kilos before starting the shoot of the film. Vicky said, “When this film came to me and we had this discussion. I was really thrilled and kicked about it because this is one of the fantastic army operations that the Indian army has conducted and with great efficiency. Really excited to get into this because I think this might just be one of the most toughest part that I have played till date, both physically and emotionally."

An Emmy for Trump Actor Alec Baldwin walked away with the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series trophy at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards here for his portrayal of US President Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live. After accepting his first Emmy , Baldwin said, “I suppose I should say, at long last, Mr. President, here is your Emmy.. I always remember once someone told me that when you die, you don’t remember a bill that Congress passed or a

A new stage: “The Shakuntala Project” in progress; Nikhil Mehta SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *

decision the Supreme Court made or an address made by the president...you remember a song, you remember a line from a movie, you remember a play, you remember a book, a painting, a poem.” IANS

Sning milk for comfort Niche fragrances from Penhaligon’s and Bombay Perfumery this season feature milk notes, reecting a global trend notes are the < > Milk easiest way to give a

At the scent bar In a press note from Penhaligon’s, perfumer Alex Lee says, “The initial idea of Agarbathi did not contain milk… something very symbolic and sacred in the Hindu religion. Milk was the final touch we put in Agarbathi to complete its story, ultimately linking it and Paithani together.” Since it is impossible to use natural milk directly in perfumes, it is synthesised and some ingredients are used to create the olfactive illusion of milk. Lee favours Sulfurol as his milky ingredient. “This molecule, which also exists in nature, is used mostly in flavourings and has more of a warm milk facet,”

creamy facet to a fragrance, bringing some comfort and extending an oriental dimension. A typical milky rich note is good for glamourous evenings, but think about a fresh aloe vera milk or g milk blend for spring or summer.● Pierre Kurzenne, senior perfumer, Symrise

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA On the nose The Penhaligon’s store at Westeld mall in San Francisco rosella stephen

Ruthless Countess Dorothea, a haughty matriarch with a passion for young men. Clandestine Clara, rebellious and delectable. Roaring Radcliffe, her illegitimate son, a rake with a weakness for tobacco, rum and provocation. British perfume house, Penhaligon’s, knows a thing or two about using fictional stories of British aristocrats to pique your interest. It did mine, which is why, on a recent trip to San Francisco, I squeezed through a crowded itinerary to slip into the fairly recent Penhaligon’s store at Westfield mall for a dekko. At the perfume bar, over 30 bottles topped with brass animal heads await — sitting pretty in the Portraits collection, the aforesaid Clara, with rhum vanilla head notes, cinnamon musk heart and amber patchouli base, makes her presence felt. She is about to be upstaged CM YK

sulfurol and pyrazine > When < meet, you get a condensed milk note, cloying and intellectually stimulating. We are in gourmand territory now. It brings back the good moments, like digging into cake or sweets, or walking through a forest Jahnvi Dameron Nandan, perfumer

by Agarbathi and Paithani, two scents I least expect from a brand founded in 1870 by a Cornish barber who went on to become perfumer to Queen Victoria. The latest in the brand’s Trade Routes collection, they are inspired by Californian master perfumer Alex Lee’s visit to India. Notes of bergamot, pink pepper, jasmine and sandalwood

define Agarbathi, the perfume house’s homage to Indian temples. Paithani, meanwhile, with cardamom, nutmeg, rose and cedar, references our monsoon beverage, the masala chai. What do both fragrances have in common? A heart of milk accord. It is, let me assure you, no coincidence. For as master perfumer Lee confirms, milk in

https://t.me/yk_info

perfumes is trending. In an interview earlier this year, he bravely called it “the future”. “We are closest to our palate than we were in a long time,” begins perfumer Jahnvi Dameron Nandan, speaking to me from Paris, where she is working on a new fragrance with an opera house that uses pyrazines and a warm rice note. There is a strong connect between aroma and memory, and the general perception is that we associate the familiar smell of milk with warmth and comfort. “We’ve never consumed so many sweets as we do today, as I see on streets in Tokyo, Paris and India. It could be a sign of our (troubled) times,” observes Nandan, trying to explain the revival of milk in fragrances today. “When (Thierry Mugler’s) Angel came in the early 90s, it planted the idea of gourmand scents or wearing what you eat. The milky note, sticky, sweet and unisex,

follows that idea. And when you have the blues, you eat more.” Manan Gandhi, the founder of progressive Indian fragrance house, Bombay Perfumery, adds that the milk trend represents how far perfumery has come in terms of sourcing ingredients. “Milklike ingredients’ molecules are broken down and recreated to achieve a distinct scent that reminds one of comfort and ease,” he says, referring to his Chai Musk, the perfect monsoon fragrance for its “fiery note of ginger balanced by the milky notes of sandalwood”. At Penhaligon’s, Lee, who hails perfume as a “medicine for the spirit”, says you can thank milk for “imparting creaminess, volume, and a new type of addiction to a perfume.” Penhaligon’s Agarbathi and Paithani at approximately ₹14,000 for 100 ml and the Portraits collection for ₹15,000 for 75 ml. Bombay Perfumery’s Chai Musk at ₹4,100. B ND-NDE

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THE HINDU

SHOWCASE 5

NOIDA/DELHI

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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IN BRIEF

TABLE FOR TWO

‘Joke telling is truth telling with a bit of exaggeration’ Over a leisurely meal, Anuradha Menon talks about her generous appetite and her hatred for froth most women don’t get that I have been able to do it because I share a healthy relationship with her.”

Anuj Kumar

Making a splash Bollywood actress Kriti Sanon made a fashion statement when she turned up in a trendy attire during the unveiling of Skin, a new store in Defence Colony in Delhi. At the event, the actress, known for her choice of outfits and accessories in films as well as at IIFA, looked around the attires and posed with designer Sonaakshi Raj and interacted with her fans, who were inquisitive to speak to her or take selfie with her. Speaking on the occasion, Kriti Sanon said: “Sonaakshi’s collection is contemporary with a whimsical twist. Her wild and magical concept results in sheer elegance and romance.” Fashioned with drapes of tulle, blended georgettes, fringing and dripping embellishments, the silhouettes are laden with attention grabbing details.

Finnish exhibition A photo exhibition of the most spectacular phenomena of Finland - The Northern Lights opened at Open Palm Court Gallery of the India Habitat Centre in Delhi. Organised by The Embassy of Finland, New Delhi, together with Fortum India and Visit Finland, the exhibition on nature’s incredible spectacle has been captured on the lens by Finnish photographers Miikka Niemi, AskoKuittinen, Markku Inkila, Jorma Luhta and Markus Thomenius. The exhibition will also be held in Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai.

“It is not a ladylike thing to say!” exclaims Anuradha Menon as one asks her if she is a foodie. When an inane conversation starter gets a witty response, you know the actor has brought her famed sense of humour to the table despite a hectic day. “I don’t eat huge portions but I need to eat frequently,” says the noted actor and stand up artiste as we settle for an early dinner at Mist restaurant in The Park hotel. “There is this running joke in the family, Oh! Anu hasn’t eaten yet! Once I went with a male friend to a restaurant, I ordered something and he ordered something but he was not eating. Later I discovered that he ordered so that just in case I need more. He said every time he sees me eating he feels happy. It feels like as if he is feeding a starving third world village,” says Anuradha without making it sound self-deprecatory. She says female actors often create an impression as if they just eat carrots but they would claim that they eat everything. “Most female actors say, ‘Oh! it is good genes.’ And I say, no, I have seen your mother!” She says boys also like to feed burgers to skinny girls. “If the girl is on the heavier side, they probably won’t. My husband Aniruddh’s friends often say that his wife just eats and makes no bones about it.” The one liners keep coming effortlessly. When she doesn’t eat or get her cup of tea, Anuradha

mother-in-law < > My is a school teacher. When she address me it seems like she is addressing a classroom of 60. I have to tell her, mama, I am right here

Shining smile: Anuradha Menon at Mist restaurant in The Park hotel in New Delhi

reveals, she gets grumpy. “And nobody wants to come in the way of a crabby Anu. Tea is central to my life. I can drink any number and many varieties of tea but my staple is masala chai.” Anuradha gives in to coffee only when it arrives in the filtered version. “I don’t like these cappuccinos. Half of it is froth only. I hate froth.” Without wasting any time, the chef sends a nice blend of prawn and chicken dimsums and a platter of vegetarian kababs. A South Indian who prefers her rice over naan, Anuradha discovered what all can be eaten during lunch and dinner when she married a Gujarati and shifted to Mumbai. “Gujaratis have perhaps the worst food

habits in the world,” she declares. “In the South, we have bhel puri as a snack. For them, chaat is a meal. One day I discovered they were having chaat as dinner. And I was like where is the food. The response was, yehi hai. I mean dahi batata puri...I got myself an egg and came back,” recalls Anuradha with a straight face. In Delhi recently to perform at The Park’s New Festival, Anuradha remembers as a kid she was quite shy and went on stage for the first time when she was 14. “Since then I discovered my love for stage. I like to observe people. I don’t make jokes on political issues. I draw from my personal life and re-

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SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

lationships. At the end of the day, people laugh because there is an element of truth in what you say on stage. Joke telling is truth telling with a bit of exaggeration,” she muses.

Dealing with stereotypes Of late there has been a significant rise in the number of female stand up artistes on stage. Anuradha feels the stereotypes, however, still exist. “It is generally said that all female stand ups talk about the same thing. We never say this about the male comedians. And the notion is that if you go to a female stand up show, you will find her talking about female things which they don’t want to listen to as

a guy. You never say this about a male stand up. According to me, it is not about the gender; it is about the take. A woman’s take is obviously going to be different.” Then, she adds, the reactions after the show are also amusing at times. “Instead of commenting on the performance, I often get asked about the hair product that I use. Or that I have a great waistline despite being a mother of a five year old. Do guys ask Daniel Fernandes how he gets those spikes on hair? Why do I get to hear lines like, you were quite funny ma’am for a woman,” says Anuradha with a sense of exasperation. Coming back to her Gujarati in-laws, Anuradha admits

that the family provides her plenty of fodder for her shows. “I consider myself a loud person but in that house I am like a church monk. My mother-in-law is a school teacher. When she address me it seems like she is addressing a classroom of 60. I have to tell her, mama, I am right here,” Anuradha adds a little bit of drama to explain her point. “Then I look at my child and say this is called noise pollution.” Having said that, Anuradha says her mother-in-law shares a happy relationship with her. “She feels she has inspired me. She wants me to imitate her in front of the her friends and family. I often get flak on social media for making fun of her but

‘The Fifth estate’ Anuradha observes that we are living in times where anyone gets offended by anything. “It doesn’t take much. Especially with social media, the kind of stuff that people say, I often feel whether they are saying it because they feel that way or they say it because they are under the guise of anonymity. You have to develop a thick skin. If I have to do Lola Kutty now, it would have to be done through the Internet route.” The kind of risks that television used to take, she says, are being taken on web now. It took her a long time to break the Lola Kutty image. Anuradha continues to be identified by the Malayali character that she created for Channel V. She says there have been instances where filmmakers have called her to see what she is really like. There have been female fans who felt that she has disgraced them by overnight turning into this ‘girlie’ girl. “That’s scary. I had to constantly tell them that I am like this only. No one gives me any items numbers. I also want to be that curly haired girl holding a shampoo,” she laughs. “But then you don’t despise something that you created,” she underlines. With stand up artistes ruffling the feathers of political class, Anuradha says comedians are emerging as the fifth estate. “They make the harsh truth palatable. They are often called for prime time debates on national television because they have a point of view. The old guard is taking time in coming to terms with their popularity as they have bypassed traditional media,” sums up Anuradha with the promise that she will return to complete her meal.

Creating a storm in wearable art Christine Storm on how she intends to work with Indian artisans and use them in her upcoming IndoAmerican fashion line Madhur Tankha

American designer and musician Christine Storm is now all set to shake up the Indian fashion scene. It might sound a bit premature, but mention this to Storm, who has been sharing her creativity, knowledge and expertise with Indian artisans in factories of Noida

for almost a year, and she only smiles to say, “I am happy to create a storm here, a pleasant one though.” When did she discover the magic of Indian textiles? “Last October on my maiden trip to India, I visited the Taj Mahal. After enjoying the beauty of magnificent monument, I came across indigen-

ous artisans doing such fantastic block printing, handloom techniques and other intricate work. I immediately decided that this was what I wanted on my golf and resort wear. I have always believed in reshaping old things into new,” says Christine, synonymous with her label Clubwear.

Indian motifs On how she proposes to take her Indian foray forward, Storm says: “Right now we are working with Indian artisans in cotton and silk and other embellishments. Silk is coming from Bhagalpur, whereas printing is being done in Delhi, NCR. On outfits we will have hand embroidery, thread work and beads. Golf and resort collections would be launched in India and the US in Spring 2018.” Christine Storm’s collections are sold globally but she now wants to have a seamless collaboration where Indian motifs are central to golf wear. “I am making slight alterations. Once we discovered the beauty and productiveness of Indian cottons, we shifted to outfits with different and

new lines and more breathability. The garments are interchangeable; a woman can easily make a switch from a glamorous party wear to a golf event. There is elastic stretch for golf collections and basic fabric with bead work and hand block printing for resort wear.” Has Storm given native artisans carte blanche in design interpretation? “Being an artist myself, I have let them bring their flavour to the table. I don’t micro manage them,” she says. In the US also, Storm was fascinated by that very Indian of birds, the peacock. And that has translated into her clothes. “The inspiration is the peacock, which is found in abundance in India. I will be bringing alive its beauty and symbolism on outfits. So you would see shimmery golf clothes inspired by peacock’s feathers. And there

active < > Transitional wear would enable a lady to just change her shoe and go for an evening out.

would be motifs of peacock on clothes.” The designer is also game for unisexual fashion. “There is no better fit than men’s jeans and Tshirt. Personally I wear them and if a man wants to wear my clothes I am okay with the idea. This is a fabulous example of people in fashion who think out-of-box. But we are going to keep it separate as we are targeting women for now. Menswear would come later.”

Comfortable clothing Explaining her transformation from a recording artist to a fashion designer, Storm says: “In Las Vegas style shows, I would work alongside costumers. I would see fabulous lines on different women body types. I thought why not make couture clothing which would be comfortable for all body types. Even in those days I was doing my own clothes, with embellishments and I’d get complimented for my dresses. During the shows I would come across women with boxy clothing which was not very flattering. In those clothes, everything stopped below the ribcage

and made women look twice as wide than they were. So when I launched my collection we eliminated those lines and made the silhouette narrower. I wanted to give women something better in the golf world so that they feel confident and look stylish.” On how she would dress up Indian women, she says: “Indian women are incredibly fashionable and not afraid to use colour or bling. And that is what our clothes like big colour tops, flared tops, T-shirts and golf wear would offer. Transitional active wear would enable a lady to just change her shoe and go for an evening out. If she wants to go for a vacation she doesn’t have to pack too many clothes in her suitcase.” Should fashion be realistic or spectacular? “Fashion starts every day,” says Storm. “The kind of clothes that people dress up in reflects their psyche.” Fashion and music have a correlation, says Storm. “Since art is a universal language, you can link fashion with sculpture. What is fascinating about fashion is that it is interchangeable.”

Making traditional trendy: Christine Storm in an attire with peacock motif; (left) model sporting an outt created by her

5 EVENTS WORTH-YOUR-WHILE

FILM EXHIBITION History of Poland “A Phoenix From The Ashes: The Destruction and Reconstruction of Warsaw 1939-1955” revisits destruction of Poland’s capital Warsaw by German troops. It also shows the inspiring reconstruction of the city after the World War II. Venue: Art Gallery, IIC Annexe, Lodi Estate Time: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. CM YK

SCREENING

“In His Inner Voice” Screening of Meera Dewan’s film “In His Inner Voice: Kuldip Nayar”, which is a tribute to the life, times and dreams of post-Independent India’s chronicler and conscience-keeper. It would be followed by a conversation between Kuldip Nayar and Seema Mustafa. Venue: C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium, Main Building, India International Centre (IIC), Time: 6:30 p.m.

“This Must Be The Place” An Italian film with English subtitles, it shows Cheyenne (Sean Penn) as a former rock star. He discovers his father wanted to revenge a humiliation he had suffered. So he starts a journey across America. Venue : Italian Embassy Cultural Institute, 50-E, Chandragupta Marg, Chanakyapuri Time: 7 p.m.

ENTERTAINMENT Opera at Habitat Series “Ariadne auf Naxos” or “Ariadne on Naxos” will be curated and introduced by Sunit Tandon. A live video recording from the Metropolitan Opera House of Richard Strauss’ opera, a chaotic competition between high and low art. Venue: The Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre Time: 7 p.m.

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BOOK My Daughter’s Mum SheThePeople Book Club is hosting Natasha Badhwar, columnist and author, for a discussion on her new book, which covers a range of essential subjects, from parenting and marriage, to faith and selfhood. Venue: Nowhere Terrace BrewPub Cafe, 2nd Floor Crosspoint Mall, DLF Phase IV, Sector 28, Gurugram Time: 5 p.m. B ND-NDE

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6 WHEELS

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017

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AUTO NEWS

Hyundai to discontinue Santa Fe in India The company has decided to stop selling its Santa Fe and its website no longer shows the SUV in its product range. Dealers who have cleared stocks of the car are not accepting bookings either. The move was prompted by poor sales figures and there is no word on a replacement model yet. The company sold only 14 units in July 2017 and only one car in August 2017. From April to July 2017, the company sold a total of only 45 units of the Santa, and a total of 67 units in six months. Toyota, on the other hand, sold 2,116 units of the Fortuner, while Ford sold 1,163 Endeavours in August 2017. The top-spec 4WD AT variant costs ₹38.29 lakh (on-road, Delhi), and its high price tag may have hindered sales.

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MAN AND MACHINE

People’s car to the T A look at the Ford Model T and two other vehicles of the twentieth century that have earned this title

Prince Frederick

With the Ford Model T as the focal point, a page at thehenryford.org guides students on how to create innovations relevant to society. In its time, the Ford Model T signified a path-breaking technological innovation. Its success, however, is the result of other factors clicking into place — one of them being social — at the same time. The fact that we are close to the day — October 1 (1908) — when the first production Model T rolled off the assembly line at Ford’s plant at Piquette Avenue, Detroit, is good reason to discuss these factors. As part of the exercise, let me draw parallels between Ford Model T and two other cars that also had these factors going for them — Volkswagen Beetle (officially the Volkswagen Type I) and Maruti 800. The Ford Model T was meant to conquer the world, and it did, well almost. However, for the American, it also reinforced his faith in the American Dream. In this car, he found a powerful expression of one of the five principles of this Dream — opportunity. The opportunity to buy comfort at an afford-

able price. The car arrived on the promise of bringing four wheels well within the financial reach of the common man, and Henry Ford delivered on the promise. Similarly, beyond the attractive financial factor, a political element was attached to the Volkswagen Beetle. The people’s car project, as reflected in its name Volkswagen, was on from 1934 to 1938, and during this period, Adolf Hitler was establishing himself as more than Chancellor of Germany. He was going to be a guide — an idea enshrined in the title ‘fuhrer’. Through the Volkswagen, he was essentially telling the nation that he would lead them to a better life. He didn’t and that’s a different story. Maruti had its genesis in the mind of Sanjay Gandhi, in the 1970s, as a people’s car. A company was also formed, but it ran into rough weather, even before this grand idea could germinate. After Sanjay’s tragic death, it was revived. Maruti Udyog Limited was formed, and in 1983, Maruti 800 hit the road. It arrived at a time when the average Indian’s aspirations were growing. Liberalisation of the Indian economy began in the early 1990s, leading to greater exposure to the modern and increasingly technological world outside. However, even in the 1980s, a hunger for the new had set in. Doordarshan reaching a wider audience through its national

Looking back: at cars that dened the 20th century

broadcast had a role in this. There were a few, but sufficient programmes — Different Strokes, for instance — training us to be more global in outlook and expectation. The Maruti 800 seemed to travel alongside this growing expectation. The Hindustan Ambassador was based on the British Morris Oxford Series III and the Premier Padmini on the Italian Fiat 1100, but these cars had been part of the landscape, and the Indian car enthusiast was looking for something more strikingly global and Indian at the same time. So, the Ja-

panese technology wheeled in by Suzuki Motor Corporation, seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. All the three cars benefited from the first-mover advantage. In their core markets, they were the first representatives of the idea of an affordable people’s car, with the added advantage of new technology. Besides that, the vision statements had a powerful impact. While announcing the Model T project, Henry Ford crammed into a short statement, positive answers to all the questions an average buyer would have. Here’s a gist of

it: The car would be simple in design, but built with the best materials and by the best men in the business. The car would be small so it could be easily maintained, but large enough for an averagesized family. And, in the Volkswagen, the name said it all. For the Indian accustomed to the Ambassador and the Premier Padmini, the Maruti 800, with its front-wheel drive and amazingly quick pick-up, was a huge change. The Ambassador and the Padmini had a rear-wheel-drive layout. Similarly, Volkswagen Beetle was being fitted with a rear engine, when this technology was found in only a few other cars. The first car to be mass-produced on the assembly line — this was quite something for the Ford Model T buyer to chew on. That takes care of the technological factor. And then, the cultural factor. When something draws sustained attention, sometimes good and sometimes bad, it has entered a cultural landscape that will not fade away with time. Jokes putting the Ford Model T in a less flattering light are aplenty. But, there are any number of books about what makes this car special. The Volkswagen Type I has also attracted humorists, most of them part-timers, but it has had the last laugh. The success of Herbie the Love Bug shows how loved this car is, the world over.

Renault to unveil Captur in September The India-spec Captur will be unveiled on September 21, 2017, and our country will be the first market where the crossover will be sold as a right-hand-drive car. The Captur will be built on the carmaker’s versatile M0 platform (which underpins the Duster) and Renault has managed to locally source a lot of its parts to keep costs low. It will be powered by the tried-and-tested 1.5-litre petrol motor and the ubiquitous 1.5-litre K9K motor. For now, it will only be available with a manual gearbox. The car will come fitted with full-LED headlamps flanked by LED DRLs, an option for a contrasting roof, dual-tone interiors, and a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The Captur crossover will rival the Hyundai Creta and Jeep Compass in India. Expect prices to be in the region of ₹12 lakh (ex-showroom).

India Bike week in November The India Bike Week (IBW), one of the biggest motorcycling events in India that celebrates motorcycling culture and all that comes with it, will be held from November 24 to 25, in Goa. IBW 2017 will have popular Mod Bike Displays, Biker Build Off competition, IBW Strong Man and Woman of Biking competitions, Mega Moto Vlogger Meet Up and Flat Track Racing; and new events such as an ‘Innovation Class’ of India-built biking tech, a film festival and a Biker Mart and Expo. Leslie Porterfield, one of the fastest women on two wheels out there and holder of three land speed records, will also be attending the event.

TVS Akula

Ducati Monster 1200S The Ducati Monster has long been regarded as one of the most beautiful naked motorcycles ever and the new-for-2017 1200S takes the styling up a notch with a redesigned headlight, sleeker fuel tank and curvy tail section. The 1,198cc twin engine makes 150PS and 126.2Nm — more than enough to scare the average rider. And then, there’s the redesigned exhaust section too — end pipes that are just pure art. This one takes the Monster legacy into the future. When: November 2017 How much: ₹24-26 lakh (ex-showroom)

Benelli Leoncino There’s just something about naked motorcycles, and when it’s a scrambler from Benelli, then it’s even more beautiful. The gorgeously-styled Leoncino is finally set to come ashore this festive season, and apart from the way it looks, it packs in a decent kit too. At the heart is a 500cc parallel twin engine good for 48PS and 45Nm. Its scrambler ergonomics will make it extremely comfortable to ride every day, and the Italian brand has already showed how it can be very aggressive with its pricing. When: November 2017 How much: ₹4.5 lakh (ex-showroom)

Bike BINGE Some serious enthusiast motorcycles to keep the riding itch satised through the rest of 2017

Kawasaki Versys-X 300

It doesn’t get better than this for the affordable performance enthusiast this year — the fully-faired TVS Akula is all set for a year-end launch. Powered by an ‘introverted’ 310cc single-cylinder engine developed with BMW for the G310R, the Akula could very well take the fight to the KTM RC390. Years of racetrack experience means that the Akula should be a sweet handler as well. Don’t be surprised if this bike arrives before its German BMW sibling too! When: December 2017 How much: ₹1.8 lakh (ex-showroom)

The adventure touring segment is getting quite a lot of attention, and why not — these are motorcycles that are perfect for Indian road conditions. All the action, though, has been in the premium segment, except for the RE Himalayan. Kawasaki is looking to get in on the action now, with the Versys-X 300 — powered by the Ninja 300’s parallel twin motor and sporting long travel suspension, along with a very India-friendly 800mm seat height. The only question then, is the price! When: October 2017 How much: ₹3-3.5 lakh (ex-showroom)

Muntaser Mirkar

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