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tuesday, march 20, 2018
Delhi City Edition
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Supreme Court admits pleas against acquittal of Talwars
ED challenges acquittal of A. Raja, Kanimozhi in 2G case
Putin re-elected Russia’s President for another six years
del Potro outlasts Federer to win BNP Paribas Open
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Protesting MPs again stall debate on no-trust motion Speaker Sumitra Mahajan cites ongoing chaos in Lok Sabha to deny discussion Special Correspondent New Delhi
The Lok Sabha could not take up the two noconfi dence motions against the NDA government yet again on Monday, and was ad journed by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for the day minutes after noon. With the Rajya Sabha, too, being adjourned for the day by Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu minutes after it met at 11 a.m., Parliament could not transact any business for yet another day in the second half of the budget session. Parliament has been ad journed amid protests for 11 days in a row, ever since it met on March 5 after the recess. Ms. Mahajan said at noon that she had received notices for noconfi dence from Tho ta Narasimham (TDP), Jaidev Galla (TDP) and Y.V. Subba Reddy (YSR Congress Party) but added that the House should be in order for these to be taken up. “Since the House is not in order, I will not be able to bring it... I am sorry,” she said before ad journing the proceedings for the day. Just before the adjourn ment, Home Minister Raj nath Singh requested the cooperation of the members so that there could be a dis
cussion on the noconfi dence motion. Soon after papers were laid on the table amid sloganshouting by un relenting members, Mr. Singh said the government was ready to discuss any is sue. He also requested all parties to cooperate so that discussion can be taken up. Adjournment motion The Speaker also decided not to accept any adjourn ment motion. Interestingly, the Congress’s Rajeev Satav had moved an adjournment motion for a discussion on special category status for Andhra Pradesh, an issue on which the TDP has broken with the NDA. Earlier, when the House met at 11 a.m., members of the TDP, the YSRCP, the AIADMK and the TRS protested in the Well.
Congress and Trinamool Congress members stood at seats and protested. The Speaker then adjourned the House till noon. When the House reas sembled, members of the AIADMK and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) protest ed with placards in the Well, demanding the setting up of a Cauvery Management Board and an increase in re servation, respectively. MPs of the Congress, the CPI(M), the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress then stood up to protest the Speaker’s decision not to take up the noconfi dence motions. TDP ignores invite With the TDP also boycotting a lunch given by the Speaker, no end to the impasse in Par
liament seemed to be in sight. In the Rajya Sabha, TDP members and K.V.P. Ra machandra Rao of the Con gress trooped into the Well, shouting slogans in support of special status for Andhra Pradesh, while DMK and AIADMK members raised the Cauvery water issue. Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu repeatedly asked the members to allow the House to function and called for taking up listed zero hour mentions of issues of public importance. But with protests continu ing, he adjourned the House for the day within 10 minutes of the commencement of proceedings. (With PTI inputs) TDP SEES A DESIGN IN AIADMK, TRS PROTEST A PAGE 10
Mamata, KCR move to form federal front
NEARBY
Telangana Chief Minister for ‘alternative agenda’ Kejriwal apologises to Gadkari, Sibal’s son
Shiv Sahay Singh
NEW DELHI
Kolkata
Acting further on the decision to apologise to and compromise with all those who have fi led defamation cases against them, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday apologised to Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and former Union Minister Kapil Sibal’s son and senior advocate Amit Sibal.
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the State Secretariat here on Monday. Both leaders later said the meeting had initiat ed the process of forming a ‘federal front’ for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. While Mr. Rao was clear that the front would be a platform of nonBharatiya Janata Party and nonCon gress parties, Ms. Banerjee avoided a direct answer to the question and remained noncommittal about leav ing the Congress out. They did not give the name of the front. Emphasising the need for “an alternative agenda, an alternative development and an alternative political force” in the country, the Chief Minister of Telangana
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Joining hands: Mamata Banerjee and K. Chandrashekar Rao speaking to journalists in Kolkata on Monday. PTI *
said the “routine kind of ad ministration,” as performed by both the Congress and the BJP, had not worked well for the country. Preliminary meeting “We are trying to bring in a real federal front for the country. This will be a like minded group of political leaders. Today is just the be ginning. Most of the things,
we will make clear when other leaders sit together and discuss,” Mr. Rao said af ter the meeting with Ms. Ba nerjee, which lasted two hours. Describing the meeting as a “good beginning,” Ms. Ba nerjee said there was a need for the federal front because “if the States are strong, the nation will be strong.” CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10
Lalu Prasad convicted in fourth fodder scam case
Junaid’s father moves SC seeking CBI probe
Sentencing by special court likely on Friday
Jalalluddin alleges attempt at cover-up
special correspondent
Legal Correspondent
Patna
NEW DELHI
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad was on Monday convicted in the fourth fodder scam case by the special CBI court in Ran chi. Mr. Prasad is an accused in a total of six fodder scam cases: fi ve in Jharkhand and one in Bihar. He has been convicted in three cases and has been serving jail terms since December 23, 2017. On Friday, the CBI court will pronounce the quan tum of sentence in the fourth case: RC 38A/1996, related to the fraudulent withdrawal of ₹ 3.13 crore from the Dumka treasury between 199596. The hear ing concluded on March 5.
The Supreme Court on Mon day admitted an appeal by the father of 16yearold Ju naid Khan, who was mur dered by a mob on a Mathu rabound train, for a probe by the Central Bureau of In vestigation and stayed the criminal trial in a local court. A Bench, led by Justice Kurian Joseph, issued notice to the CBI and the Haryana government on Jalalluddin’s petition, which alleged a concerted attempt to cover up the true nature of the crime committed against his son. Junaid, his brother and two others were returning to Faridabad after making pur
CM YK
Lalu Prasad at the CBI court in Ranchi on Monday. *
MANOB CHOWDHURY
The RJD chief was brought to the court from the RIMS Hospital, and left after a brief appearance. Mr. Prasad was admitted to the RIMS after he com plained of chest pain last Sa turday. CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10
chases for Eid celebrations when they were accosted by a group of men on the train. He suff ered multiple stab wounds and bled to death. The Punjab and Haryana High Court rejected Mr. Jalal luddin’s plea to transfer the case to the CBI. It said there was nothing in it of “interna tional and national ramifi ca tions,” which would force the court to use its extraor dinary powers to order a CBI probe, the petition said. Mr. Jalalluddin, represent ed by advocates Tarannum Cheema, Smrithi Suresh and Ashok Karthik, said the State police tried to portray a “onesided hate attack” as a “clash” between two groups. CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10 A ND-NDE
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2 NORTH
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
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DELHI
Timings
Tuesday, March 20
RISE 06:25 SET 18:32 RISE 08:18 SET 21:20 Wednesday, March 21
RISE 06:24 SET 18:33 RISE 08:58 SET 22:20
Congress, Akalis all set to spar over farm debt waiver
Majithia wants Sidhu, wife booked for STF report leak ‘Attempt to make a mockery of the judicial process’
Thursday, March 22
RISE 06:23 SET 18:33 RISE 09:42 SET 23:23
SAD plans to ‘gherao’ the Assembly over State govt.'s ‘betrayal’ on the issue
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT VIKAS VASUDEVA CHANDIGARH
IN BRIEF
Debt waiver for farmers is all set to be the key issue of con frontation between the rul ing Congress government and the Shiromani Akali Dal in the budget session of the Punjab Assembly beginning on Tuesday. The SAD has announced that it will “gherao” the State Assembly on March 20 to protest against the alleged "betrayal" of farmers by the Congress government, which they say has taken a U turn on the “complete farm loan waiver” — a key 2017 As sembly election promise. ‘Theatrics’, says CM Reacting to the announce ment, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh termed it as “theatrics” and dared the
People to teach BJP a lesson in 2019: Gehlot JODHPUR
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday claimed that the people were set to teach a lesson to the BJP in the next general elections. PTI
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. *
Akalis, led by Sukhbir Singh Badal, to “gherao” Parlia ment instead so as to pres surise the Central govern ment into waiving off farmers’ debts. “Akalis are now shedding crocodile tears for the farm ers after failing to do anyth ing for them during the 10 years of SADBJP rule. Not only had the Akalis failed to
Punjab to ban hookah bars Move aimed at reducing tobacco use
extend even an iota of sup port to Punjab’s distressed farmers during their regime, they also could not persuade the BJPled Central govern ment in the past four years to come out with a debt waiv er scheme for the farmers," said Capt. Singh, adding, “If Sukhbir Badal was really concerned about the plight of the farmers, he would have taken up the issue with the Centre and managed to secure some relief for the ag grieved community.” ‘State of despair’ Meanwhile, Mr. Badal re viewed arrangements for the party’s rally in Chandigarh ahead of proposed “gherao” of the Assembly. “Party workers were determined to reach the State Assembly to make the Congress govern
CAG to audit health schemes, says Vij SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
CHANDIGARH
CHANDIGARH
The Punjab government has decided to impose a perma nent ban on hookah bars in the State, instead of issuing temporary orders against them every two months. The move is aimed at reduc ing the use of tobacco in va rious forms. The State Cabinet, in a meeting held here on Mon day, approved an amend ment to the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertise ment and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Pro duction, Supply and Distri bution) Act, 2003 (COTPA 2003), for the prevention and control of diseases caused by the use of tobacco products.
Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij on Monday said the government has recom mended a special audit by the Comptroller and Audi tor General in all districts of the State after the Oppo sition alleged irregularities in health schemes. He said the State government has distributed ₹ 87.60 crore under the Mukhyamantri Muft Ilaaj Yojana and the National Health Mission from 2014 to 2017, of which only ₹ 40.89 crore was spent.
Presidential nod “The amendment would re sult in a complete ban on the running of hookah bars in the State. The proposed amendment will be placed before the Legislative As sembly and, after being passed by the House, will be reserved for the assent of the President of India,” read an offi cial statement. At present, Section 144 of CrPC is promulgated against all hookah bars in all the dis tricts of the States for two months, with extension re quired at the end of the period. The Cabinet has also de cided to introduce a Bill for
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regularisation of unauthor ised colonies, plots and buildings in the Budget Ses sion that is slated to start from Tuesday (March 20). The Cabinet cleared the decks for its members to pay their own income tax begin ning March 2018. The draft amendment bills for rele vant changes to 'The East Punjab Ministers' Salaries Act, 1947, and 'The Salaries and Allowances of Deputy Ministers, Punjab Act, 1956,' will be presented in the Budget session, the state ment added. It was also decided that MBBS doctors will now get their full salaries, including all allowances, during pro bation period. “The Cabinet has decided to do away with the condition of ‘basic pay only’ for newly appointed medical offi cers in the Health and Family Welfare Department,” read the state ment.
CHANDIGARH
Waiver certifi cates Capt. Singh, however, point ed out that around 82,000 farmers had already been is sued debt waiver certifi cates by his government, with a clear road map for settling the loans of all the 1.25 mil lion small and marginal farmers covered under the debt waiver scheme by No vember 2018. The principal opposition Aam Aadmi Party's MLAs al so had a meeting to discuss the fl oor strategy for the budget session. As many as 15 of the 20 AAP MLAs at tended the meeting.
Former Minister and Shiro mani Akali Dal leader Bik ram Majithia on Monday de manded registration of a criminal case against Pun jab’s Local Bodies Minister Navjot Sidhu and his wife as well as their accomplices for releasing the report of the Special Task Force, which was submitted in a sealed cover to the Punjab and Ha ryana High Court.
Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Senior Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia.
‘Criminal contempt’ Terming the leak of the STF report as the “gravest of cri minal contempt”, the Akali leader said it is an attempt to make a mockery of the judi cial process. “It is unheard of that a re port sealed on the orders of the high court has found its way into the hands of un
authorised persons with vested interests,” said Mr. Majithia. Mr. Majithia also alleged that the STF chief, Harpreet Sidhu, had colluded in leak ing the report. “He should clarify how if there was no collusion, the sealed report reached the Sidhu couple,” he said.
The SAD leader also said that all players in this epi sode needed to clarify as to what was the urgency, des peration or personal agenda behind releasing a report which was being monitored by the high court and on which the government was to submit a report after due perusal.
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SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
The Cabinet on Monday approved amendment to the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act. FILE PHOTO
ment hear the voice of the farmers, who are in a state of despair and frustration at the government’s turna round on the loan waiver promise,” he said.
‘Strict action’ “If any irregularity is found, strict action would be initiated against the offi cials concerned. Apart from this, all civil surgeons have been directed to pur chase online products available on GeM portal of the Central government,” he said.
Tuber by the tonnes www.dailyreader24.com
A must-have: A farmer harvests potatoes in a fi eld at Bah in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh on Monday. The government is planning to draw a sustainable road map to keep the prices of potato, tomato and onion under check. SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR *
Mehbooba urges Modi to engage Pak. Seeks end to killings on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir “Similarly, Mr. Modi also took the bold step of visiting Lahore but unfortunately in cidents like Pathankot al most stalled the process. Better late than never… when I last met the Prime Mi nister, I appealed him to act like an elder brother and persuade Pakistan for a peaceful engagement and work jointly against poverty, unemployment and depriva tion,” said the Chief Minister.
Special Correspondent
‘Charge misleading’ Mr. Vij said the allegations levelled by Indian National Lok Dal MP Dushyant Chautala regarding irregu larities in the purchase of medicine were baseless and misleading. He said from 2014 to 2017, ₹ 75 crore were distributed un der the MukhyamantriMuft Ilaaj Yojana, of which ₹ 33.03 crore were spent. Similarly, ₹ 12.60 crore were distributed under the National Health Mission during this period, of which ₹ 7.86 crore were spent, he added. Minimum bid Presenting documents of the tender pertaining to purchase undertaken in Rohtak, he said a commit tee had been constituted for this purpose and the tender was allotted to the bid with minimum value.
Srinagar
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday sought an end to killings on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kash mir and appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi “to take lead in getting the State out of this bloodbath”. “Mr. Modi should take the lead in getting J&K out of this bloodbath and help these people in leading a peaceful and normal life. There is a need for dialogue and recon ciliation to stop continued exchange of fi re on the bor ders,” said Ms. Mufti, who vi sited Poonch’s Bimber Gali where fi ve members of a fa mily died in Pakistani shell ing on Sunday. She said it was unfortu nate that the people of bor der areas such as Poonch, R.S. Pura, Nowshehra, Uri, Karnah, etc. “are paying a heavy price in terms of conti nued shelling across the
Healing touch: Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti meets victims of crossborder shelling in Poonch sector on Monday. PTI *
borders”. “I also appeal to the lea dership of Pakistan to see the logic of peaceful engage ment and dialogue with In dia as wars in the past have yielded nothing except de vastation, death and des truction,” she added.
Referring to the decade long peace along the bor ders, Ms. Mufti said an at mosphere of reconciliation within the State followed af ter the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s initia tives of reconciliation and dialogue in the State.
‘Partition unfortunate’ Terming the Partition of the country as unfortunate, the Chief Minister said, “We are paying a heavy price. It’s un fortunate when people el sewhere are demanding bet ter facilities, residents of border areas in the State are asking for bunkers, which is no less than a grave because incentives of development and progress are only mea ningful when one is alive to enjoy them.”
Jail inmates’ skill training gets a boost in Rajasthan It has enabled the inmates to learn new vocations and lead a life of dignity and self-respect Special Correspondent JAIPUR
The skill training of jail in mates in Rajasthan has re ceived a boost with the State Skill and Livelihoods Deve lopment Corporation identi fying more areas of skills for them. New training partners have also been invited to work with the Jails Department. As part of the regular skill training programme, the jail inmates in the State receive training in a variety of trades, such as vermiculture and vermicomposting, nur sery management, electrical house wiring and jewellery making. The training has laid
Skill and Livelihoods Development Corporation is identifying more areas for the inmates. FILE PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR *
emphasis on providing emo tional and fi nancial support to the inmates, many of whom are fi rsttime crimi
nals and victims of circumstances. State Commissioner (Skills, Employment and En
trepreneurship) Krishna Ku nal said here on Monday that the training had enabled the prison inmates to learn new vocations and lead a life of dignity and selfrespect. The State Skill and Liveli hoods Development Corpo ration offi cials, jail authori ties and the training partners met at Kaushal Bhavan here last week to make the skill training more eff ective and resolve the diffi culties of inmates. Mr. Kunal said more than 890 jail inmates in the State’s nine districts had been trained since 2015 through the initiative, while the jail administration had coun
selled and mobilised them. He said new partnerships had been forged with train ers for the sectors such as agriculture and horticulture, bridal jewellery making, gar ment making, Indian sweets and snacks, paper mache, candlemaking and jute products. Training partners New training partners invit ed to work for jail inmates and adolescents lodged in ju venile homes include Prayas Juvenile Aid Society, Sarthak Educational Trust, Dhara Foundation, Jagran Profes sional Studies and Vidya Ki ran Education Society.
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THE HINDU
EAST 3
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Health boost for KBK region Ink smeared on Mookerjee’s name Odisha govt. plans 19 hospitals in 18 districts on PPP mode Staff Reporter BHUBANESWAR
Presidency sets up fi vemember probe committee Press Trust of India Kolkata
The name of Syama Prasad Mooker jee engraved on a marble wall of Presidency University here was found smeared with black ink on Monday, days after a bust of the Ja na Sangh founder was defi led in south Kolkata. The wall is on the ground fl oor of the main building of the iconic in stitution. Names of distinguished alumni of Presidency College, now a university, are engraved on the wall. Mookerjee had graduated from the college with a fi rst class fi rst in English in 1922. University Registrar Debajyoti Konar said the staff of the institu tion fi rst noticed ink smeared on Mookerjee’s name in the morning and alerted the authorities. Minister condemns act Condemning the act, West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatter jee told reporters that the incident should be investigated and the per petrators identifi ed. “The universi ty should ensure that those respon sible for the act are punished in the most appropriate manner,” he said. Mr. Konar said a fi vemember highpowered committee compris ing the dean of students and other senior university offi cials has been
People clean a bust of Syama Prasad Mookerjee which was vandalised in Kolkata on March 7. FILE PHOTO *
constituted to inquire into the inci dent and identify the culprits. “The CCTV footage is being exa mined. We’ll take strict action in ac cordance with the university rules against those involved,” he added. The university’s SFI unit, the stu dents’ wing of CPI(M), condemned the incident. It said in a statement that such acts went against the tra dition of the institution. A bust of Mookerjee was found defi led in the city on March 7 and seven people belonging to a Left wing group were arrested.
2 students killed in accident, 10 policemen injured by mob Press Trust of India Debagram (W.B.)
Two girl students were killed on their way to write their secondary examination in West Bengal’s Nadia district on Monday when a bus hit the scooter they were travelling on. The accident triggered a mob fury in which 10 policemen were injured. The police said the incident took place at Debagram and a man too was injured in it. Nadia Superinten dent of Police Santosh Pandey said the mob blocked the road after the
accident and attacked policemen, injuring 10 of them. He said the two girls hailing from Mirzapur village were on their way to their Class X examination centre with a male relative on a scooter when the bus hit their vehicle. Both the girls came under the wheels of the bus and died on the spot. The SP said seven persons have been arrested for throwing stones at the policemen. “We have arrested the bus driver and seized the bus,” he added.
In a bid to give fi llip to health services in povertystricken KBK region of Odisha, the State government has pro posed to establish 19 hospi tals in 18 districts on public private partnership mode. The Empowered Commit tee on Infrastructure, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi here on Mon day, decided to set up new quality care hospitals mostly in KBK (Kalahandi Balangir and Koraput) and KBK+ dis tricts like Boudh, Kandha mal and Gajapati. “It was proposed to esta
blish 19 hospitals in 18 dis tricts chosen on the parame ters of backwardness in health indicators. These hos pitals would be of two cate gories. One type would be 100bedded and another type would be 200bedded,” said State Health Secretary P.K. Meherda.
Sops galore “The government would provide land at concessional rate and other infrastructu ral facilities and the tariff of treatment in these hospitals would be decided by the go vernment. The private par ties would make necessary investments for setting up
the hospitals and they would bring in more specialists and clinical professionals,” the Health Secretary informed. The State government or ganised an investors’ confe rence to get inputs from in terested parties regarding the feasibility of the project and the methods of its oper ation. Around 71 organisa tions participated in the event and expressed interest to invest in the project. Sources in the Health De partment said the project would create direct employ ment opportunity for 9,500 people while total private sector investment would be around ₹ 1,150 crore.
Villager electrocuted during road blockade by Maoists Trees cut to block roads collapsed on power lines Staff Reporter BHUBANESWAR
A villager was electrocuted after coming in contact with a live wire which got detached from a pole when suspected Left Wing Extre mists cut down trees to block roads in Odisha’s Sinapali block on Monday. Cadres of MainpurNuapada divi sional committee of outlawed CPI (Maoist) allegedly felled trees to block roads demanding uncondi tional release of three persons ar rested by the police from Karlakha man along KhariarSinapali Road. One of the trees collapsed on power distribution lines and a wire got detached from the pole. The victim, identifi ed as Sahadev Saha
of a nearby village, was riding a bi cycle in the early hours of Monday when he came in contact with the live wire. He was charred to death. “Sumitra Dharua (19) of Katripen village, Yusuf Pathan of Khatupani village and Makran Paharia were arrested on diff erent days in the last one month. They were inno cent and did not have any involve ment in the armed struggle. They should be released,” read the lea fl ets left behind by the divisional committee members at Karlakhaman. This is the second incident of violence allegedly perpetrated by cadres of CPI(Maoist) in Nuapada district. A fortnight ago, two police personnel were injured in a blast.
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Prakash Ambedkar behind communal tensions: Bhide ‘Bhima-Koregaon clashes smacked of political opportunism’ Shoumojit Banerjee
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Protest turns violent
Ink attack on Ekbote foiled
Pune
Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide on Monday targeted Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) chief Prakash Ambed kar, saying the Dalit leader is responsible for stoking com munal discord across Maharashtra. “When someone as clever and intelligent as Mr. Am bedkar makes baseless alle gations against me, what is one to say? He has been mak ing noises to secure my ar rest for more than two months now, whereas in reality it is he who ought to be probed for rupturing the peace throughout the State,” said Mr. Bhide at a press con ference in Sangli. Mr. Bhide, who heads Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan, al leged that the BhimaKore gaon clashes on New Year’s Day and its aftermath smacked of political oppor tunism. “Ever since the riots, polit ical parties have been crying for my arrest and that of [Hindutva leader] Milind Ek bote. But one forgets that the
Special Correspondent Pune
On the boil: Sambhaji Bhide questioned as to why the government is not pinpointing those responsible for the Bhima-Koregaon riots. FILE PHOTO *
main spur for the clashes [of January 1] was the Elgaar Parishad of December 31 at Shaniwarwada Fort,” alleged Mr. Bhide. The Hindutva leader ques tioned as to why the Deven dra Fadnavis government is not pinpointing those res ponsible for the riots. “Instead of backing us, all parties are keeping silent be cause the elections are get
ting nearer and politicos are eager to appease the Dalit community. This is a clear case of votebank politics,” alleged Mr. Bhide. The very fact that contro versial Jawaharlal Nehru Un iversity student leader Umar Khalid was invited for the Parishad proved that the aim of the conference was to heighten tension between communities, he said.
Tension prevailed at the Pune District and Sessions Court on Monday, when a person attempted to throw ink on Hindutva leader Milind Ekbote, prime accused in the Bhi maKoregaon riots case. The incident occurred around 3.30 p.m. when Mr. Ekbote was being escorted with a heavy security to the courtroom for a hearing on his police custody. The person was taken into police custody. It is not clear which outfi t the ink thrower is affi liated to or what was his motivation, the police said. Mr. Ekbote’s supporters raised slogans condemning the incident. Meanwhile, the court extended Mr. Ek bote’s police custody till March 21. The Hindutva leader was arrested by the Pune Rural police last week after the Supreme Court can celled his interim bail.
Maoists kill contractor, torch 6 vehicles Special Correspondent Nagpur
A group of Maoists at tacked a road construction site in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Monday, and killed a contractor. The Maoists also torched six vehicles at the site near Koitpal village on Bijapur Gangaloor road where the work was going on under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna.
The contractor was iden tifi ed as Vishal Kumar. Warning issued “This incident should act as a warning to other con tractors. If you take up road work, there will be ac tion against you. The abori ginal tribals do not get anything from the con struction of such roads,” read a pamphlet issued in the name of Gangaloor
area committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Angered over the killing, some antiMaoist groups staged a protest in Bijapur in the evening. 10 rebels surrender In a separate develop ment, 10 Maoists surren dered to the police in Kon dagaon district. They were identifi ed as Maoists’ Jan militia commander Vikas
Salam, Jan militia member Ramlal Vadde, Jaggaram Salam, Ram Vadde, Rais ingh Salam, Pohadu, Dash aru Gawade, Mangalram Gawade, Bajju Lohar and Sarita Netam. “All of them were ac cused in various cases of attack on the police, and of planting explosives to tar get security forces,” a press note issued by the Konda gaon district police said.
No mercy: Police personnel resorting to lathi charge to disperse mining dependants and stakeholders, who were protesting the SC order against mining, at Kranti Circle near Panaji bus stand on Monday. The agitators blocked the entry and exit points to the city, inconveniencing commuters, especially students of Class XII, who are writing their board exams. ATISH POMBURFEKAR *
ATS nabs two more Bangladeshi nationals Duo suspected to have links with ABT; Ulhasnagar man held for helping illegal immigrants Special Correspondent Pune/Mumbai
Two more alleged Bangla deshi nationals have been ar rested by the Pune unit of the AntiTerrorism Squad (ATS) on suspicion of having links with outlawed Ansarul lah Bangla Team (ABT), an Al Qaedainspired Islamic ex tremist organisation. Meanwhile, another man was held in a separate opera tion for allegedly helping the fi ve illegal immigrants, who were arrested in Raigad ear lier this month. Mohammad Aahat Ali (30) and Mohammad Hassan Ali (24) were detained on Sun day. While one was residing illegally in Ambarnath,
Thane, the other was be lieved to be staying in Mahad in Raigad district for the past several years. Both were said to be work ing as construction labour ers. They were believed to be in touch with the three Ban gladeshi nationals picked up on Saturday. “The duo had stayed in Pune for a while, and during this time had provided logis tical support to the three Bangladeshi nationals arrest ed last week. They have been staying in India without valid travel documents, and were in possession of fraudulent lyobtained PAN and Aad haar cards,” an ATS offi cer said.
Aahat and Hassan were produced in the Pune Ses sions court on Monday, where Judge R.N. Sardesai remanded them in police custody till March 29. Both are being questioned for their role in preparing the forged documents, including bogus Aadhaar and PAN cards, which were seized from the three arrested. On Saturday, the police apprehended Mohammad Habibur Rahman Habib, Mohammad Ripan Hossain, and Hanan Anwar Hussain Khan, who had been resid ing in the city’s Akurdi and Wanowrie areas with forged identity papers. Habib and Hossain hail
from Shatkira tehsil in Khul na, while Khan came from Bangladesh’s Shariatpur dis trict. Habib, who worked as a supervisor at a construc tion site, lived in Wanowrie, while the other two worked as labourers in Akurdi. Meanwhile, the Mumbai unit of the ATS on Sunday night arrested a 36yearold man in Ulhasnagar for al legedly helping the fi ve ille gal immigrants, who were arrested in Raigad on March 13. The accused is al leged to have helped them procure PAN and Aadhaar cards without valid docu ments, and is believed to be part of a larger syndicate, sources said.
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THE HINDU
SOUTH 5
NOIDA/DELHI
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
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IN BRIEF
State nod for religious minority tag for Lingayats Now, the ball is in Centre’s court to notify the status
Preliminary probe against exMinister THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge, Vigilance, D. Ajith Kumar, ordered the Vigilance and AntiCorruption Bureau to conduct a preliminary inquiry against former Kerala Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb, MLA, on suspicion of having allocated a college to a religious, educational society that had no infrastructure, including land.
Hashish oil worth ₹ 40 cr. seized in Kerala PALAKKAD
A special squad of the Excise Department on Monday seized highquality green hashish oil worth nearly ₹ 40 crore in the international market and arrested Rajesh, 47. Acting on a tipoff, the officials intercepted his car in Walayar. They recovered 36 kg of hashish oil from the car.
Cong. following ‘divide and rule’: BJP Don’t link issue to coming election, says Surjewala
Special Correspondent BENGALURU
50 hostel students accuse staff of assault
Special Correspondent KANNUR
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI
In a signifi cant move ahead of the Assembly elections, the Karnataka Cabinet on Monday decided to accord ‘religious minority’ recogni tion to Lingayats and Vee rashaivaLingayats who fol low the philosophy of 12th century social reformer Ba saveshwara. It also decided to recommend to the Centre to notify the status under the Central Minority Commis sion Act. The religious minority tag will come into eff ect after the Centre notifi es it. The Cabi net note emphasised that the decision would not aff ect the benefi ts available to other re ligious and linguistic minori ties in the State. This would mean that the Lingayats would not get any additional reservation in go vernment jobs, apart from
Woman held for torturing grandmother
A triumph: Lingayats celebrating the Karnataka Cabinet decision in Bengaluru on Monday. SAMPATH KUMAR G.P. *
what they are already entit led to under the backward classes quota. However, the tag would benefi t those run ning educational institutions in many ways, including ex emption from providing Right To Education quota. ‘Lingayat Dharma’ Law Minister T.B. Jayachan dra told presspersons that the new religion would be named “Lingayat Dharma”. The State government would issue a notifi cation on ac
Four held for ‘human sacrifi ce’
‘Bursting of fi recrackers the trigger’
cording minority religion re cognition under Section 2 (D) of the Karnataka State Minorities Act. Then it would be forwarded to the Centre for notifying under Section 2 (C) of the Central Minorities Act. Lingayat leaders and seers said the decision was ‘histor ic’, while a section of Vee rashaiva seers, who had been opposing it, called it ‘divisive’. Kalaburagi saw a clash between the two fac tions soon after the decision.
The BJP has reacted sharp ly to the Karnataka gover ment’s recommendation to the Centre to accord mi nority religious status to the Lingayat community in the State. BJP general secretary in charge for Karnataka P. Muralidhar Rao said that the move by the Siddhara maiah government was aimed at ‘divide and rule.’
‘Vote-bank politics’ “The Congress is carrying on the divide and rule lega cy of the Britishers. Sidd haramaiahji is playing with fi re for votebank politics. Why has the Congress done this just before the Assembly polls. Why didn’t they do this in the last four years that they have been in power in the State,” he said.
The Congress on Monday asked the BJP’s chief minis terial candidate in Karnata ka B.S. Yeddyurappa and party president Amit Shah to clarify their stand on the issue of granting religious minority status to the Lin gayat community. Congress chief spokes
person Randeep Surjewala said that the decision should not be linked to the impend ing elections in Karnataka alone. Mr. Yeddyurappa is a Lin gayat himself but the BJP will have to tread cautiously on the question of treating them as a religious minority as it may off end other groups.
The BJP saw the move as a way for the Congress in the State to split the sup port of Lingayat communi ty, currently accruing to the BJP, into various parts. The Lingayats, along with the Vokkaligas, are the two most dominant communities in Karnataka.
The Congress had en joyed the support of the Vokkaligas but had had a testy relationship with the Lingayat community, so mething the party had been trying to mend by vi sits to various Lingayat mutts consodered impor tant by the community.
Special correspondent New Delhi
The police on Monday re gistered a case against a woman on the charge of torturing her grandmother here. The woman, identifi ed as Uppalavalappil Deepa, resident of Ayikkara here, was taken into custody by the Kannur city police. Pol ice registered a case suo moto after identifying the woman from a video that showed her allegedly beat ing up her 90yearold grandmother Kalyani. The video was captured on the mobile phone by a neighbour. The police said that Dee pa and her two children were staying with her mother Janaki, 70, and her grandmother. The accused appeared to be suff ering from psych ological issues, as the fami ly was facing fi nancial pro blems, police said.
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Village where all the bachelors are dammed Girls won’t marry into any family from Gudatipally in Telangana that is about to be submerged
Staff Reporter Raghava M. MOODBIDRI
About 50 secondyear pre university students at a hos tel, managed by Alva’s Edu cation Foundation in Mood bidri, have complained to the police that two wardens, student welfare offi cers, and some administrative staff beat them up in the hostel rooms on Saturday night. According to the com plaint on Sunday by a stu dent, Prajwal Jagatap, some students celebrated the end of exams by bursting fi re crackers on the hostel pre mises.
26week maternity leave for contract staff
The complaint said that Rajesh and Nagesh, the war dens, and others arrived at the hostel in an inebriated state around 10.30 p.m. with sticks in their hands. They switched off the CCTV cameras and dragged 50 students out of their rooms and began thrashing them with sticks and kicking them with their boots. Meanwhile, M. Mohan Al va, chairman of the founda tion, told The Hindu that three staff members had been suspended pending in quiry by a threemember committee.
Shivamogga
R. Avadhani
Four persons were arrest ed for killing a 65yearold farmer in a ‘human sacrif ice’ to unearth a hidden treasure in Anjanapura vil lage in Shikaripur taluk on March 17. The police arrest ed local priest Shekharap pa, Rangappa, Manju natha, and Ghouse Peer. The beheaded body of Shesha Naik was found in an arecanut plantation on the outskirts of the village. SP Abhinav Khare said Shekharappa had told the other three about the trea sure and ‘human sacrifi ce’.
GUDATIPALLY
Apart from the usual challenges of making a decent living, young men from Gudatipally village in Telangana’s Siddipet district are faced with a unique problem: they cannot fi nd girls to marry. The reason? None of them have a convincing answer to a simple question from the father of the bride: ‘Where will my daughter live after marriage?’ Gudatipally, which has 800 houses and a population of 4,000, will be submerged
when the Gouravelli reservoir comes up in the Akkennapeta mandal under the Husbanad revenue division. Talks break down “I have fi ve acres of land which has been in my father’s name for a long time. My parents have been looking for a bride for me for the past one year. There is always initial interest, but the talks inevitably break down when the bride’s family discovers that there is no clarity on where and how their daughter will be living
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Workers’ woes
Gudatipally residents stalling the reservoir work in January. MOHD ARIF *
after marriage,” says Singireddy Nikhil Reddy, a young farmer. There are many like him in Gudatipally. According to Anjeti Tirupati Reddy, another resident, the village saw only six
marriages in the last two years. The brides were from fi nancially weak families who could not off er dowry and only barely managed to carry out the wedding ceremonies. It is estimated that in the village’s Reddy community alone, there were about 35 bachelors. “I have friends in other communities as well and I hear the same problems from them,” said Nalla Mahender Reddy, another villager. According to D. Shankar Kumar, Revenue Divisional Offi cer, Husnabad, in addition to Gudatipally,
Somaji Tanda village, with 109 houses, will be submerged. Complaints of diffi culty in fi nding brides had also been voiced by many villagers whose homes were submerged under the Mallannasagar and Kondapochamma reservoirs. The capacity of the Gouravelli reservoir will be 8.23 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft). Scheduled to be completed by December 2018, it is expected to irrigate about 1.25 lakh acres in Jangam, Siddipet, Warangal and Karimnagar districts.
Row over ‘moral policing’ at Kerala college intensifi es Lecturer’s demeaning remarks against girls go viral
Special Correspondent KOCHI
Staff Reporter
The Kerala High Court has ruled that women contract employees in government funded projects are entit led to 26 weeks of materni ty leave as applicable to women employees under the service rules. Justice Anu Sivaraman made the ruling while al lowing a writ petition fi led by P.V. Rakhi and other re source teachers working under the inclusive Educa tion for Disabled Secon dary Stage under the Rash triya Madhyamic Siksha Abhiyan of the MHRD. The court said that the petitioners were also wo men employees working on a contract basis under the Statefunded project.
Kozhikode
Welfare legislation The enhanced maternity leave to women employees was undoubtedly a piece of welfare legislation which was intended to give wo men equal opportunities in public employment. The court observed that the contention of the State government that contract employees under the pro jects were entitled only to 90 days of maternity leave could not be counte nanced, since it would amount to discrimination against women employees only for the reason that they were engaged in pro jects in contractual capaci ties. Govt. contention The State government con tended that the petitioners were not entitled to 26 weeks of maternity leave as provided in the Maternity Benefi t Act or 180 days of leaves under the Kerala Service Rules, as the peti tioners were contract em ployees under a project un der the Centrallysponsored scheme. CM YK
A rally taken out by anganwadi workers in Vijayawada on Monday under the aegis of the CITU seeking a solution to their problems. V. RAJU *
A.P. awaits Central nod for widening of roads
The faceoff between stu dents and teachers on Fa rook College campus last week is reportedly snowball ing into a controversy. Audio and video clips of a lecturer in a training college, run by the same management, pur portedly making demeaning remarks against girls have gone viral on the social me dia and students and youth organisations have come out against it. Activists of the Students Federation of India and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged de monstrations outside the campus on Monday, seeking action against the lecturer. A group of students, mostly girls, however, took out a counterprotest against the ABVP activists, asserting
DYFI will < > The organise a Holi celebration and protest meeting at the main gate of college on Tuesday their right to freedom. In the evening, activists of the Kerala Students Union also staged a protest. The so cial media was also rife with criticism against the lecturer and the attempts to objectify women. The Democratic Youth Federation of India will or ganise a Holi celebration and protest meeting at the main gate of Farook College on Tuesday in protest against “moral policing.” Teachers-students clash Meanwhile, the college auth orities on Monday named Mina Farsana, chairperson
Telangana hikes amount for marriage schemes Benefi ciaries under ‘Kalyana Lakshmi’ and ‘Shaadi Mubarak’ to get ₹ 1,00,116 were incapable of saving mo ney for the marriage of their girl child resorted to inhu man incidents like infanti cide.
Special Correspondent
Plan to take up project at an estimated cost of ₹ 1,800 crore Staff Reporter VIJAYAWADA
The Andhra Pradesh go vernment is awaiting Cen tral (Ministry of Road Tran sport and Highways) clearance for debottleneck ing (widening) as part of the infrastructure creation in the ChennaiBengaluru In dustrial Corridor (CBIC) re gion, at a total estimated cost of over ₹ 1,800 crore. According to offi cial sources, these two road sec tor projects are for fourlan ing of the ChittoorRenigun ta (NH18A) and ReniguntaNaidupet (SH61) (total cost ₹ 600 crore) and some stretches of the NH4 bordering Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
(costing about ₹ 1,215 crore). These road projects are in tended to provide the requi site logistical support to in dustries keen on investing in the CBIC which is being partly funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Similarly, widening of about 30 km stretch of Sa malkotRajanagaram road (SH148) in East Godavari is being taken up at a cost of ₹ 320 crore in addition to two other small road pro jects in Visakhapatnam and Chittoor districts as part of the VisakhapatnamChen nai Industrial Corridor (VCIC). These are in the bid ding and detailed project re port stages. Spread across
1.10 lakh square km strad dling the east coast, the VCIC is estimated to attract investments totalling about ₹ 1 lakh crore. Crucial component The A.P. Industrial Infras tructure Corporation Limit ed (APIIC) is working along with agencies like the JICA to augment the infrastruc ture in the identifi ed nodes with due focus on roads. These are considered a crucial component of the multimodal logistics plan being rolled out by the A.P. government. APIIC is also involved in setting up ef fl uent treatment plants in addition to getting the road works done.
of the students union, as the representative in an internal committee set up to look in to the clash between teach ers and students on March 15. The committee is expect ed to come out with its re port by March 21. The row was triggered when second year degree students decided to cele brate Holi on March 15, near ly a fortnight after the festiv al, on the campus without the college authorities’ per mission. When they drove a car into the campus, a col lege employee objected. La ter, it was alleged that the students tried to run the vehicle over him and the teachers and nonteaching staff were accused of beating up the students in retalia tion. Five students and one nonteaching staff sustained injuries in the melee.
HYDERABAD
The Telangana government has enhanced the amount paid to eligible benefi ciaries under ‘Kalyana Lakshmi’ and ‘Shaadi Mubarak’ scheme from ₹ 75,116 to ₹ 1,00,116. Chief Minister K. Chandra sekhar Rao, who made an announcement in the Legis lative Assembly on Monday, said that the government had decided to enhance the amount as the scheme of fered multiple benefi ts. Child marriages had come down signifi cantly ever since the scheme was introduced, as parents preferred to wait till their girl child turned 18 years of age, which was man datory for availing of the be nefi t. In addition, marriages performed under the
A fi le photo of a cheque being presented to a couple under the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme in Nizamabad. K.V. RAMANA *
scheme got legal as well as government recognition. This was another societal benefi t that accrued through the scheme and hence the decision to hike the amount. So far, over 3.6 lakh re ceived ₹ 75,116 under the scheme. The Chief Minister said that the government had decided to extend the
benefi t to poor families un dergoing hardships for per forming marriages of their girl child. Parents were being led to a psychological situation where they considered the girl child a burden owing to the expenses involved. There were plenty of inci dents wherein parents who
Debt trap “Sometimes, girls from poor families remain spinsters. Families get into a debt trap after performing the mar riage of their girl child and are fi nancially broken,” he said. This had made the go vernment introduce ‘Kalya na Lakshmi’ and ‘Shaadi Mubarak’ scheme on Octob er 2, 2014 for the SCs, the STs and the minorities with ₹ 51,000 but it was extended to all sections following re quests from people. The amount was en hanced to ₹ 75,116 last year and it was made ₹ 1,00,116 now, he added. A ND-NDE
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6 NATION
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
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IN BRIEF
‘Haven’t given up on special status’
Weather Watch Rainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday
Nitish Kumar says the demand remains on his agenda, makes light of bypoll loss in Jehanabad Special Correspondent Patna
Twelve injured in bee attack in Odisha KENDRAPARA
A swarm of bees on Monday stung at least 12 students and teachers of a governmentrun primary school in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, causing minor injuries to them, an education official said. The incident happened at Chatara Chakada primary school in Derabish block. PTI
Harassed woman commits suicide in U.P. KANPUR
Upset at being allegedly harassed by two youths, a 22 yearold woman committed suicide by hanging herself from a tree in a village under the Sikandra police station, officials said. The girl, Neha Kushwaha, had scribbled the names of her alleged tormentors, Sanjay Kori (22), aka Sanju, and his younger brother Sonu (19), on her hands and legs, SP (Kanpur Dehat) Ratankant Pandey said. PTI
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said he has not given up on his de mand for special status for Bihar “even for a second”. He explained his recent si lence over the issue — even as the Telugu Desam Party pulled out of the NDA seek ing special status for Andhra Pradesh — by saying he doesn’t like repeating his de mand all the time. “I’d fi rst raised the issue soon after the formation of the NDA government in Bihar in November 2005. A year la ter, we also got a resolution passed in the Assembly to this eff ect. I’ve not given up the issue of special status even for a second but would
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar embracing Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Narendra Singh, who joined the JD(U) in Patna on Monday. RANJEET KUMAR *
not like to repeat the demand all the time. If I talk about it all the time, when would I
work?” the Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief said while addressing jour
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Line of fi re
“There has been no change in my understanding for development of the State. Anyone can see the develop ment taking place in the State. There will be no com promise on the issues of cor ruption and action will be ta ken against divisive forces in the society,” he asserted. Asked about the JD(U) can didate losing the recent As sembly bypoll for the Jehana bad seat (which the RJD won), Mr. Kumar said, “We were not in favour of contest ing the poll as we avoid con testing seats vacated due to the death of a constituency’s representative. We contested the Jehanabad seat under im mense pressure from our al liance partner, the BJP,” he said.
File compliance report or pay heavy fi ne: NGT Punjab govt. gets one week’s time Staff Reporter
BSF seizes Bangladeshi currency in West Bengal
NEW DELHI
MALDA (W.B.)
The BSF has seized Bangladeshi currency from near the border in West Bengal’s Malda district, a release said on Monday. The troops chased a miscreant near the border outpost and found a packet containing 10,970,00 Bangladeshi taka, it said. PTI
18 houses gutted in Arunachal Pradesh ITANAGAR
A fire broke out at Model Village in Roing in the Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday evening, reducing 18 houses to ashes, the police said on Monday. However, no casualties were reported. PTI
nalists at the State party headquarters on the occa sion of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Na rendra Singh and his two sons joining the JD(U). “But I’m surprised to see that those who had never been concerned about the is sue have suddenly started questioning my silence,” said Mr. Kumar, taking a dig at the Opposition. He indicated that the issue of special status for Bihar would be raised be fore the 15th Finance Commission. The Chief Minister also sought to draw the people’s attention to the development works underway in the State after he parted ways with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and re joined the NDA.
A CRPF jawan recruit crosses a fi re hurdle at the passingout parade in Bhopal on Monday. As many as 664 recruit constables demonstrated their skills. A.M.FARUQUI *
The National Green Tribu nal (NGT) on Monday warned the Punjab govern ment of heavy fi ne if the compliance report pertain ing to the disposal of muni cipal solid waste is not submitted. Rapping the State govern ment for not complying with its previous orders, the Bench headed by judicial member Jawad Rahim has given the State government one week’s time to fi le the report. The green panel added that heavy fi ne will be im posed on the State if it failed to submit the report. Earlier this year, in Janu ary, the green panel had di rected the State government
to resolve its disputes with the company that was res ponsible for collecting and managing the waste. “We direct the Amritsar Municipal Corporation to make 50% of the total dues to the project proponent within the next 15 days. We also direct the Amritsar Municipal Corporation to carry out the exercise of the reconciliation within 30 days and make payment of the dues as are found ba lance,” the Bench had said. Waste management The directions came while the Tribunal was hearing a plea pertaining to the man agement of municipal solid waste that is generated in Bhatinda, Ludhiana and Amritsar.
Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: Skymet (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)
Forecast for Tuesday: No weather warning city rain max min Agartala................. —.... 34.0.... 22.8 Ahmedabad............ —.... 34.3.... 23.8 Aizawl ....................2.... 29.8.... 13.6 Allahabad .............. —.... 36.4.... 14.2 Bengaluru .............. —.... 31.9.... 18.7 Bhopal................... —.... 36.1.... 22.4 Bhubaneswar ......... —.... 36.3.... 23.4 Chandigarh ............ —.... 30.0.... 13.4 Chennai ................. —.... 32.5.... 24.0 Coimbatore............ —.... 34.0.... 23.3 Dehradun............... —.... 31.5.... 12.9 Gangtok................. —.... 21.5.... 10.1 Goa ....................... —.... 33.0.... 23.3 Guwahati ............... —.... 31.6.... 13.8 Hubballi................. —.... 32.0.... 22.0 Hyderabad ............. —.... 35.8.... 21.0 Imphal.................1.4.... 28.9.... 10.0 Jaipur .................... —.... 32.2.... 20.7 Kochi....................31.... 32.0.... 24.0 Kohima................4.8.... 22.2.... 11.4 Kolkata.................. —.... 36.4.... 23.1
city rain max min Kozhikode ............... —.... 37.0.... 26.4 Kurnool ................... —.... 38.2.... 24.8 Lucknow.................. —.... 34.0.... 12.6 Madurai................... —.... 36.4.... 24.6 Mangaluru ............... —.... 36.0.... 24.4 Mumbai................... —.... 32.8.... 22.0 Mysuru..................2.6.... 32.6.... 19.6 New Delhi ............... —.... 35.0.... 15.0 Patna ...................... —.... 34.7.... 15.4 Port Blair ................ —.... 31.7.... 24.0 Puducherry.............. —.... 31.6.... 21.9 Pune ....................... —.... 35.6.... 18.3 Raipur ..................... —.... 36.9.... 23.6 Ranchi..................... —.... 33.2.... 17.2 Shillong................... —.... 22.5.... 10.9 Shimla..................... —.... 21.0...... 9.0 Srinagar .................. —.... 22.0...... 4.2 Trivandrum ..............5.... 33.7.... 24.7 Tiruchi .................... —.... 35.1.... 23.6 Vijayawada .............. —.... 36.0.... 21.0 Visakhapatnam ......... —.... 32.5.... 25.5
Pollutants in the air you are breathing
Yesterday
CITIES
SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE
Ahmedabad ...... Bengaluru ......... Chennai ............ Delhi ................ Hyderabad ........ Kolkata............. Lucknow........... Mumbai ............ Pune................. Vishakhapatnam
74 ..— 23 43 ..7 ..— ..8 27 73 13
104 .76 .26 .99 .71 ...— .50 .32 .30 .52
36 92 30 28 46 .— 36 68 47 28
.. 161 ..... — .. 109 .. 187 .... 88 ..... — .. 248 .... 49 .... 57 .. 139
.....— .128 .....— .162 ...99 .....— .....— ...74 ...83 .109
....* ....* ....* ....* ....* ....— ....* ....* ....* ....*
In observation made at 4.00 p.m., Bhiwadi, Rajasthan recorded an overall air quality index (AQI) score of 373 indicating an unhealthy level of pollution. In contrast, Ludhiana recorded a healthy AQI score of 59
Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI) 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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THE HINDU
NATION 7
NOIDA/DELHI
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
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IN BRIEF
Fire victims took unauthorised route’ CHENNAI
Responding to a calling attention motion in the Assembly on Monday, Chief Minister Palaniswami said those who were killed in the forest fire at Kurangani in Theni district were part of a team that took an “unauthorised trekking route”.
Two from Bangladesh land in ATS net PUNE
Two people from Bangladesh — Mohammad Aahat Ali and Mohammad Hassan Ali — were arrested by the Pune unit of the Maharashtra AntiTerror Squad on suspicion of having links with the outlawed Ansarullah Bangla, an alQaeda inspired organisation.
Stir against mining ban intensifies in Goa PANAJI
The police on Monday batoncharged mining workers who laid siege to two gateway bridges to Panaji in a bid to march into the city to protest against the Supreme Courtimposed ban on iron ore extraction in the State. PTI
Poet Kedarnath Singh passes away NEW DELHI
Eminent Hindi poet and Jnanpith awardee Kedarnath Singh passed away here on Monday following a prolonged illness. He was 84. Mr. Singh, who was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), passed away at 8:45 pm, Bharatiya Jnanpith director Leeladhar Mandloi said. PTI
Engine trouble knocks IndiGo off performance charts SpiceJet moves to top slot for ontime functioning of domestic airlines Aditya Anand MUMBAI
Crippled by engine trouble with its A320neo fl eet, bud get carrier IndiGo has slipped from the top slot in the ontime performance (OTP) charts at four metro airports and has been re placed by SpiceJet. Jet Air ways recorded the lowest OTP in February, even as the number of passengers went up 21.80% between January and February. Passenger traffi c up Domestic air passenger traf fi c in the country rose to 1.07 crore in February this year, up 24.14% from 86.55 lakh passengers fl own in Febru ary 2017, according to offi cial data released on Mon day by aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Data showed a 21.8% rise in passenger traffi c during the JanuaryFebruary 2018 period, which the DGCA said was due to ongoing tourist traffi c. The OTP of scheduled domestic airlines was com puted for four metro air ports — Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. While SpiceJet clocked an OTP of 78%, IndiGo was down to 74% down from 75.4% in January. Vistara came in third at 73.8%, Air India fourth at 68.8%, fol lowed by GoAir with 64.3% and fi nally Jet Airways+Jet
‘Grounding of planes likely to hit air travel’
Lite, which clocked an OTP of just 62.2%. Vistara on song SpiceJet and Vistara topped in carrying the highest pas senger load factor for Febru ary. While SpiceJet had a 96.3% occupancy, Vistara managed to fi ll all three cate gories of seats — business, premium economy and eco nomy — with an overall 91.2% ocupancy. GoAir and Jet Airways both registered a load factor of 90.4% each, with Air India (86.7%) and Air Asia (88%) coming next. The February report found that at 61%, a majority of fl ight delays have been at tributed to ‘Reactionary,’ which refers to the late arriv al of the incoming aircraft (or connecting fl ight/crew/ cargo). This was followed by Air Traffi c Control (ATC) is sues (21%). Highest load factor Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet said, “This is our highest ev er load factor and comes in the traditionally lean travel month of February. For 35 months in a row our loads have been in excess of 90% — a feat unparalleled in the aviation industry.” A Vistara spokesperson said its performance was phenomenal for a carrier with three cabin classes, with more than 95% occu pancy in its economy class during the month.
Fares may increase by 10%, say analysts LALATENDU MISHRA Mumbai
Faults detected in 5 aircraft special correspondent Mumbai
A total of fi ve Airbus 320 air craft, comprising both the neo and ceo types of engine, were withdrawn for inspec tion by IndiGo in the past 48 hours, with one of them be ing grounded, the airline said on Monday. Of those aircraft that faced technical snags, three come from the new engine option (neo) family, while two are current engine op
tion (ceo) aircraft. In a statement, IndiGo said an A320neo aircraft had operated in the Mumbai Jammu sector, and during maintenance checks, a leak age from engine number 1 was detected. “This is a tech nical snag and it is being rec tifi ed. This is not related to the P&W engine ongoing concerns,” an airline spokes person said. In other snags reported on Sunday, were fl ight 6E711
from Mumbai to Goa, which had to return to Mumbai im mediately after departure due to high vibration in en gine. The aircraft, an Air bus320ceo, was temporarily grounded till the issue was resolved. “The other was fl ight 6E439 from Cochin to Mumbai. Due to an engine problem the aircraft was grounded at Cochin for maintenance. It was later cleared for operations,” an airline offi cial said.
RSA cancels award to author amid row
SC admits pleas against Talwars
Press Trust of India
Legal Correspondent
Udaipur/Jaipur
The Rajasthan Sahitya Aka demi (RSA) on Monday can celled an award it had bes towed on author Hardan Harsh, as a controversy erupted after a group of aca demicians claimed that his fi ctional work shows Mira Bai, a Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Lord Krish na, and Mewar rulers in low light. The ceremony was held last evening in Udaipur, in which Mr. Harsh’s book ‘His torical Mira’ was shortlisted by the RSA for its prestigious annual award Rangey Ragh av given to an author for outstanding work in litera
ED attaches property of Naxal leader Special correspondent New Delhi
The Enforcement Directo rate has attached assets worth ₹ 68 lakh of Naxal leader Pradyumn Sharma and others in Bihar in con nection with 67 FIRs and chargesheets fi led against them for extorting money from businessmen and in dustrialists. “We have iden tifi ed proceeds of crime to the tune of ₹ 2 crore as part of the probe under the Pre vention of Money Launder ing Act,” said an offi cial. Pradyumn is the alleged incharge of the Magadh zone of the BiharJhark hand Special Area Commit tee of the banned outfi t, while his brother Pramod, currently in judicial custo dy, is allegedly the secre tary of the Banawar Sub Area Zonal Committee of the CPI (Maoist). The ED probe revealed that the brothers extorted money through at least four private contractors, who have been summoned for questioning. “About ₹ 25 lakh was spent on the medical education of Pra dyumn’s niece, who fre quently travelled by air. She was enrolled in a Chen naibased medical college. A large part of college fees was routed through two iron and steel companies located in Chennai,” said the offi cial. CM YK
ture. A controversy surfaced after a group of academi cians raised objections to the content of the book that they alleged projected Mira Bai and Mewar rulers in low light. Mira Bai was of high cha racter and ideals. Assassina tion of her character is un imaginable. Writing is good when it is based on facts and research. Imaginary writing without references is wrong, noted historian Raghvendra Manohar said. However, Mr. Harsh said that literature was not histo ry. “I have written the book based on the references from Colonel Tods book,” he told reporters in Jaipur.
CBI says the Allahabad HC had erred on many counts while acquitting couple NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court on Mon day admitted appeals fi led by the CBI and Khumkala Banjade, the widow of Hem raj who was found dead on the terrace of the house of dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in 2008. A Bench, led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, took on board the separate appeals fi led by the probe agency and Ms. Banjade against the acquittal of the Talwars by the Allaha bad High Court in the double murders of their teenage daughter Aarushi and Hem raj, who was the family’s domestic help. The CBI said the High
‘Govts. have failed construction workers’ ₹ 28,000 cr. meant for their welfare lies unused: SC
Court had erred on many counts. The High Court had cleared the Talwars of any guilt or involvement in the
‘No decision yet on error in Class X paper’ New Delhi
Krishnadas Rajagopal
Total apathy The judgment, authored by Justice Lokur, said the “total lack of concern and apathy on the part of the powers that be in doing anything substantial for the benefi t of construction workers puts a Shakespearean tragedy to shame”. It said that the State governments have been col
*
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI
For millions of construction workers, mostly women and children, there is no social or economic justice to be gi ven, the Supreme Court la mented in a 57page judg ment delivered on Monday. The apex court found that ₹ 28,000 crore meant for the welfare of construc tion workers lies stagnant in State coff ers. This is mainly because successive govern ments have failed to make use of the money for the health, safety or service conditions of unnamed and unsung construction work ers, who, the Supreme Court said, play a great role in “nationbuilding”. The Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta rued that it can give con struction workers only “symbolic justice” and noth ing real or tangible.
Rajesh and Nupur Talwar after being released from the Dasna Jail in Ghaziabad in October last year. SANDEEP SAXENA
The Supreme Court issued a slew of guidelines.
lecting welfare funds for construction workers since the Parliament passed the Building and Other Con struction Workers (Regula tion of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act and the Building and Other Construction Workers Wel fare Cess Act, both in 1996. A total of ₹ 37,400 crore was collected for the benefi t of construction workers ov er 22 years. Only ₹ 9,500 crore was utilised for their benefi t. Hoping that “someone, somewhere, at some point” would understand the gravi ty of the situation, the Su preme Court issued a slew of guidelines, including identity cards for construc tion workers, the provision of maternity benefi ts and minimum wages, and even bringing them under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guaran tee Act (MGNREGA).
The Central Board of Se condary Education on Monday said it had not yet decided on compensating Class X students for an al leged error in the English question paper. Teachers and students have been claiming that the paper, held on March 12, had certain errors in the comprehension passage section. While students were expected to fi nd syn onyms of ‘endurance, ob struction and motivation’ in paragraphs two, four and fi ve respectively, the answers were in paras three and six. “Though the marking policy is decided keeping the interests of students in mind, an expert committee examines whether it is an error in the fi rst place or not and how students’ in terest can be safeguarded,” a CBSE offi cial said.
crimes, in a judgment deli vered in October last year. The court also set aside the life sentence awarded to
the couple in November 2013 by the CBI court at Gha ziabad. Ms. Banjade had fi led an appeal in December last year against the Talwars’ ac quittal in the case. The CBI fi led its appeal early in March this year. The Talwars had already served four years of their life sentence in Ghaziabad’s Das na Jail. Fourteenyearold Aa rushi was found dead with her throat slit in her room in May 2008. The needle of suspicion was initially trained on the 45yearold Hemraj, who had gone missing, before his body was found on the ter race of the house.
The grounding of 14 Airbus A320neo aircraft of budget carriers IndiGo and GoAir due to faulty engines is like ly to impact air travel during the peak travel season start ing April 15, 2018, said ana lysts, adding that fares were expected to go up by around 10% due to the demandsup ply mismatch. “Fares are now back to normal, but there was a spike when the grounding was announced. This is the lean season, so the impact was minimal. But if the ca pacity scarcity remains in the market for a signifi cant period of time, then fares in the peak summer season will go up by 5% to 10%, ” said Sharat Dhall, chief op erating offi cer, B2C, yatra.com “There will be an impact. If you see the current load factor trend, most airlines are fl ying with 90% load fac tor for the past six months. Now that some capacity is out of the system [due to the grounding], all fl ights are going full. So when addition al demand would be gener ated in the peak season, fares are bound to go up,” he added. Travel agents have urged
Travel agents have urged the government to keep an eye on the fares.
the government to keep a hawkish eye on the fares which are expected to go up due to the demand supply mismatch. Holiday season “I am for fl exible fares but airlines should not jack up fares to abnormal levels . So far the airfares are normal except some occasions, but they may go up by 5% to 10%, starting April 15, 2018 when families will he head ing for holidays,” said Sub hash Goyal, chairman Stic Travel Group and chairman, Travel Committee of Assocham. “The government must intervene and cap fares. Air lines should be allowed to make reasonable profi t but passengers must not be fl eeced,” he added.
Relief for Bihar CM as court rejects petition Plea alleged he concealed criminal case Legal Correspondent NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court on Mon day dismissed a writ peti tion fi led against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar by a Supreme Court advocate, accusing him of concealing a criminal case against him in his election affi davits. A Bench, led by Chief Jus tice of India Dipak Misra, re jected the PIL fi led by advo cate Manohar Lal Sharma, saying there was “no merit” in it. The Election Commission of India urged the court to levy “exemplary costs” against the petitioner, say ing Mr. Sharma made un
substantiated allegations against the poll body based on incorrect facts and with out producing any cogent evidence. It said such un warranted criticism “shakes the confi dence of citizens of this country in the electoral process”. The case in which Mr. Ku mar is named concerns murder. The trial court took cognisance of the charges in 2009. Mr. Kumar had subse quently, at the time of elec tions in 2012, revealed in his Form 26, which is fi led at the time of election nomina tion, that the case was pend ing and the trial was stayed by the High Court.
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8 EDITORIAL
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
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To be fi ghting fi t Towards 2019
A
s president of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi seems to be taking on a more aggressive avatar, attack ing the BJP for its divisive ideology and its failings on the governance front. But at the Congress plenary in Delhi, he had little to say by way of presenting an alter native vision, other than claiming for his party the space given up by the BJP. Most of his speech was a ti rade against the party and its two main leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. Mr. Modi was linked to corruption with a reference to the bank scam, and Mr. Shah to murder with a refe rence to the Sohrabuddin encounter killing. To the BJP’s quest for absolute power, Mr. Gandhi posited the Congress’s fi ght for truth. He contrasted the BJP’s com mitment to an organisation (the RSS) with the Con gress’s voice for the entire nation. But mere aggression is not enough and such words will ring inevitably hol low in the absence of a clear and granular action plan. Even the resolutions passed at the plenary had little use for particulars. The party’s economic resolution faintly echoed Karl Marx’s eleventh thesis on Feuerbach: “We have heard the clamour for change. It is now time for change.” There was no point beyond this. The resolu tion on agriculture, employment and poverty allevia tion seemed more like a budget proposal, the highlight being a 5% cess on the richest 1% to help the poor. The party is clearly seeking the middle ground: equal eco nomic opportunities for all without, however, instilling the fear of tax terrorism or overbearing regulation. So, fostering of business confi dence and rewarding of risk taking were mentioned in the same breath as promot ing employment and security. The relevance of the pu blic sector in critical areas such as defence, transporta tion and fi nancial services was noted, while resolving to win back economic freedom for India’s entrepreneurs. Couched in such vague generalities, there is little to sep arate the Congress’s policies from those of the BJP. If the economic resolution took the middle path, the political resolution was openended with a call for a “pragmatic approach of working with likeminded par ties and evolving a common workable programme to defeat the BJPRSS in 2019”. Although the Congress will undoubtedly be the single largest party in any antiBJP alliance, it will have to play the role of a very junior partner in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. In States such as Gujarat and Karnataka where it is a dominant party, it needs the help of smaller allies. Besides allies, the party will need postpoll backing from the Left, however re duced in numbers, to piece together a coalition against the BJP. A common workable programme will thus have to be forged with parties with very diff erent orienta tions. In this context, the vague generalisations are un derstandable, but will they fi nd favour with voters?
Bending the rules The Neutrino Observatory is important, but it must get all environmental clearances
A
year after the National Green Tribunal suspend ed the environmental clearance granted to the Indiabased Neutrino Observatory (INO), the Expert Appraisal Committee (Infra 2) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has over turned the NGT verdict and granted environmental clearance for the project. The observatory, which is to come up in Bodi West Hills in Theni district, Tamil Na du, is regarded as a symbol not just of India’s push for research in particle physics; it also signals the intent to nurture centres of excellence. Neutrinos are subatomic particles that are extremely diffi cult to detect. The lab oratory cavern will be located 1,300 metres under ground, with an access tunnel. The rock cover is neces sary to minimise the naturally occurring cosmic ray backdrop. The project has become controversial on en vironmental grounds, given the proposed site’s proxim ity to the Mathikettan Shola National Park in Kerala’s Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot. However, considering the project’s national importance, the En vironment Ministry had taken up the proposal for clea rance as a “special case”. The green signal is condition al on getting the consent of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and the National Board for Wildlife. Des pite the 17 conditions laid down by the Expert Commit tee while granting approval, the manner in which the clearance was granted leaves much to be desired. The project has been approved under category B item 8(a) — building and construction projects — of the Schedule to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notifi cation, 2006. But it should have been treat ed as category A as the project lies just 4.9 km from the national park in Idukki district of Kerala. The NGT had ruled that it was indeed a category A project and the Ta mil Nadu State expert appraisal committee also noted that it could not be appraised under category B 8(a) as tunnelling and other activities went beyond the scope of the section. According to the 2006 notifi cation, pro jects or activities that come under category A require “prior environmental clearance” from the Environ ment Ministry. Sidestepping the EIA requirement on technical grounds both by the project proponents and the Ministry is surely not the ideal way to go about such matters. For one, the EIA was done by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, which is an “unaccredited agency”. And though a public consulta tion with local people who have a “plausible stake” in the project was conducted in July 2010, the details of the meeting were submitted only by the end of Febru ary 2018. The importance of the project notwithstand ing, treating it as a special case and bypassing the envi ronmental clearance protocol sets a wrong precedent.
D.S. Hooda
“A
rmy critical of defence budget,” was a headline in this newspaper on March 14, with other newspapers also fo cussing on the “dashed hopes” of the Army while reporting on Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Sarath Chand’s interaction with the par liamentary standing committee on defence. Television debates which followed had the all too familiar trend. The ruling party’s spokes persons talked about how the go vernment had worked to streng then the military while the Opposition accused them of pay ing inadequate attention to the forces. Reality check What is the reality? As usual, it lies somewhere between the two ex tremes. According to a recent re port by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India was the largest arms importer in the last fi ve years, accounting for 12% of global imports. The Indian defence budget has now overtaken that of the U.K. to become the fi fth largest in the world. Despite this, as the ViceChief of Army Staff pointed out to Parlia ment’s standing committee on de fence, the current capital alloca tion is insuffi cient even to cater for “committed liabilities”, which is payments for equipment under contractual obligation. Also, 68% of the Army’s equipment is under the ‘vintage’ category and the sit uation is unlikely to improve in the near future. Equally worrying is the adverse impact on infrastruc ture development and strategic roads where there is a severe shor tage of funds.
The two-front war The service chiefs have constantly reminded the government that a twofront war is a real possibility and of the need to prepare for it. It is quite obvious that the govern ment does not take this too se riously, as evidenced from budge tary allocations and glib statements that the forces are ‘rea sonably and suffi ciently equipped’. The fi rst step to resolve
this contradiction is for the go vernment to order a comprehen sive strategic review of the future threats to India. This will provide a clear picture to the political lea dership, and also directions to the military on its doctrine and force structures. A longterm capability development plan can then be prepared by the military and ap proved by the government. This will form the basis for the defence budget. The annual bickering over the mismatch between what the military demands and the actual allocations made will be avoided. The government must also take a holistic look at all borderguard ing forces — the Army, Assam Ri fl es, the Border Security Force and the IndoTibetan Border Police (ITBP). While the Army leads in responding to all Chinese provoca tions such as Depsang, Chumar and Doklam, the border is techni cally the responsibility of the ITBP under the Home Ministry. Recently, it was announced that the government was planning to raise nine ITBP battalions to “re duce the inter BoP (border out post) distance” along the China border. Not only does this refl ect an inadequate understanding of how the border is to be manned but completely ignores the exist ing deployment of the Army. A comprehensive and an integrated approach to border management could result in considerable savings. The military’s challenge The military also must understand the realities of India’s fi nances and look to reconstruct itself. Military capability is not all about money. As a RAND monograph, “Measur ing Military Capability”, points out, “Military eff ectiveness (is) the outcome of the resources provid ed to the military and its capability to transform these resources into eff ective warfi ghting capability. A country may provide its military with generous budgets and large
cadres of manpower, but if the mil itary’s doctrine is misguided, the training ineff ective, the leadership unschooled, or the organization inappropriate, military capability will suff er.” The military must stop talking in terms of numbers, of squa drons, ships and divisions, and fo cus on capability. This is much more challenging than harping on raising divisions and squadrons because it confronts us with the crucial issue of defi ning the type of capability that India needs for fu ture warfi ghting. It will force us to search for the new and the unex pected, and to look at technolo gies such as robotics, autonomous systems and artifi cial intelligence to enhance our military capability. There is a crying need to move towards greater integration among the three services and with the Mi nistry of Defence (MoD). The luxu ry of each service running its own training, administrative and logis tics system is no longer aff ordable. The MoD, staff ed entirely by civi lians, seems oblivious to defence requirements and follows a pro curement process which appears completely broken. An internal re port prepared late last year by Mi nister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre pointed out that only 8 10% of 144 proposed deals in the last three fi nancial years fructifi ed within the stipulated time period. Greater integration could improve effi ciency. Civilmilitary diff erences over defence budgets are an inevitable part of any democracy. However, these diff erences can be mini mised if there is a common under standing of the contours of a na tional security strategy, and of the genuine requirements of the mili tary for putting this strategy into eff ect. On its part, the military must focus on capability for future warfi ghting, not mere numbers. Lt. Gen. (retired) D.S. Hooda is a former Northern Army Commander
First step in a long journey The National Medical Commission Bill seeks to make structural changes in an exploitative healthcare system
Ruha Shadab
E
ven as the spotlight shifts to a “mahapanchayat” of doc tors under the Indian Medi cal Association getting ready later this month to challenge the Na tional Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017 (now before a parliamen tary standing committee), it is per tinent to look at the Bill’s high lights. Article 47 of the Constitution makes it clear that the state is dutybound to improve public health, but India continues to face a health crisis, with an ab solute shortage of and an inequita ble presence of doctors and over burdened hospitals. Although India has 10 lakh med ical doctors, it needs 3,00,000 more in order to meet the World Health Organisation standard of the ideal doctorpopulation ratio. There is an 81% shortage of spe cialists in community health centres (CHC), the fi rst point of contact for a patient with a special ist doctor. Those most aff ected by this are poor and rural patients who are then forced to consult
quacks. Another fact is that 82.2% of providers of “modern medi cine” in rural areas do not have a medical qualifi cation. Rural India, which accounts for 69% of the population, faces another issue — only 21% of the country’s doctors serve them. The quality of the healthcare experience too needs attention. It is ironic that, while India is a hub for medical tourism (in 2016, India issued 1.78 lakh medical visas), it is a common sight in government hospitals to have patients sleep in corridors waiting for their outpa tient department appointments. The Bill, among other things, seeks to address these problems. A commercialisation The insertion of Section 10A in the Indian Medical Council Act was followed by an exponential rise in the number of private medical col leges. This was encouraged as there was, and still is, a shortfall in the number of medical practition ers. However, the high capitation fees charged by these colleges can have a negative eff ect in terms of aff ordability of medical services. The regulatory authority has been unable to act despite the fact that over half the 60,000 medical students graduating every year are from private medical colleges. With corruption in the issuing
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Farmer friendly? Appeasement of farmers in the runup to any major election is the order of the day in Indian politics. ‘Farm loan waiver’ is one of the tools used most often in the repertoire of appeasement gimmicks (“Ahead of 2019, Congress fi xes focus on farmers”, March 18). The problem here is that if implemented, the balance sheets of banks begin to take a hit; if not, farmers are out demanding its implementation. But is a ‘farm loan waiver’ the best solution in resolving India’s perpetual agrarian crisis? Political parties must take concrete steps to nurse Indian agriculture back to good health. A resolve to implement the M.S. Swaminathan Committee Report will reveal how sincere they are about this. Utkarsh Agrawal, Allahabad
CM YK
the 2016 Human Development Re port, and with 55.3% of the popu lation living under “multidimen sional poverty”, aff ord a higher defence budget? Conversely, can a weakened military support India’s ambition to achieving great power status? Japan, despite being the se cond largest economy at one time, was never considered a great pow er because of its limited military capability. Regular strategic consultations between the political and military leadership are rare, and when they do take place it is generally for crisismanagement, not long term strategy. But the security challenges, both internal and ex ternal, facing the country have to be squarely addressed. The go vernment and the military need to quickly come together and be on the same page. Currently, there does not seem to be a coherent or common assessment, and one ex ample of this is the debate on the twofront war.
a relaxation of the criteria for ap proving a college in specifi c cases. Currently, there is a blanket stan dard for establishing a medical college in India, which disregards the contextual realities in some areas such as diffi cult terrain or a low population density. For in stance, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizo ram, and Nagaland do not have a single medical college.
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What the Congress needs above all is a clear and granular action plan
An insuffi cient defence budget impacts not only modernisation but also the current operational readiness of the force. Reduction in revenue allocation means cut ting down on training require ments and routine replacement of items like surveillance and protec tive equipment. The strategic environment in Asia is well known. Asia is deve loping into a multipolar system, with Russia, China, India and the U.S. jockeying for greater in fl uence. As John J. Mearsheimer points out in The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, “(Asia) will be an unbalanced multipolar system, be cause China will be much more powerful than all other Asian great powers, and thus qualify as a po tential hegemon… And when you have power asymmetries, the strong are hard to deter when they are bent on aggression.” It is a reality that conventional stateonstate confl ict is on the de cline, particularly between nu clear nations. However, one region where such a possibility exists is South Asia. India faces not only a longterm strategic challenge from China but also the continuing ef forts by Pakistan to somehow maintain a semblance of military balance with India by keeping the Indian Army tied down in Kash mir, and developing a credible nu clear force. India’s dilemma is neatly summed up in the U.S.’s National Intelligence Council report, ‘Glo bal Trends: The Paradox of Pro gress’, “Geopolitically, [South Asia’s] greatest hope is India’s abil ity to use its economic and human potential to drive regional trade and development. At the same time, Afghanistan’s uncertain prospects, extremism and vio lence in Pakistan, and the ever present risk of war between India and Pakistan probably represent the greatest challenge to unlocking the region’s potential.” Can India, India ranked at 131 in
AFP
The government must order a comprehensive strategic review of the future threats to India
of licences and regulatory require ments, many such academic insti tutions have a faculty of questiona ble standards, with obvious repercussions on the quality of education imparted. The Bill puts in place a mechan ism to assess and rate medical col leges regularly, with a high mone tary penalty for failure to comply with standards. Three such fai lures will result in the derecogni tion of a college. There is also an enabling provision for the govern ment to regulate the fees of up to 40% seats in private medical col leges. NITI Aayog data show that this amount falls in a Goldilocks zone, wherein the regulation can be made revenue neutral for the college by nominally raising fees for nonregulated students. The Bill goes a step further with
Inverted pyramid India has a wellthoughtout, threetier public healthcare sys tem which rests on a base of sub centres (SC) and primary health centres (PHCs) which take care of common ailments. Patients in need of specialist consultations go up the chain to secondary centres (CHCs) , or tertiary centres, which are district hospitals (DHs) or medical colleges. However, be cause of a poor vanguard, patients who can be treated at the “base” (SCs or PHCs), go straight to the “apex” (CHCs or DHs). Strengthening primary centres can ensure that the pyramid rests on its base again. With the govern ment now planning to revamp 1,50,000 subcentres into health and wellness centres by 2022, there is need for an equivalent number of midlevel providers. For this, India’s 7,70,000 AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy,
Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) practitioners can be tapped. The Bill has facilitated this by providing for a bridge course for AYUSH/nonallopathic doctors. This course, to be designed by a joint sitting of all medicine sys tems, will ensure that nonallo pathic doctors are trained to pre scribe modern medicines in a limited way, within the scope of primary care. A parallel is the sys tem of “barefoot doctors” in Chi na. Thirteen States now permit AY USH doctors to prescribe varying levels of allopathic care. The NMC Bill will bring in a homogenisation of such rules without diluting the varied systems of medicines. An added measure in the Bill prevents “crosspathy” or the un qualifi ed crossover of healthcare providers from one system to another. The Bill provides for two separate national registers – allo pathic doctors, and AYUSH doc tors who complete the bridge course, respectively. In the end, the Bill seeks to make structural changes in a stag nant and increasingly exploitative healthcare system. While it is no magic bullet, it should be looked at as a step in the right direction. Ruha Shadab, a physician and health strategist, is with NITI Aayog
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■ The farmers’ march in Maharashtra, organised and conducted in a spellbinding way, is an example of how protests in a democracy should function (Editorial – “A model protest”, March 14). It was silent enough not to disrupt daily life in the fi nancial capital, and at the same time powerful enough to make the government sit up and take note. The Central and State governments should be aware of the effi cacy of a peaceful but resolute protest. By accepting their legitimate demands, the Maharashtra government has set the right example.
Vaibhav Chatarkar, New Delhi
■ One is happy to know that besides the model protest there is ‘a generation of urban dwellers which can remember what it felt like to be connected to the land in a
real sense’. They can be the ‘bridges’ to reconnect ‘what divides’ rural and urban India. The challenge is to bring urban dwellers and rural farmers together on the same page by creating understanding and supporting their diff erent needs.
be rejected. Congress politicians have an undeniable role in the numerous scams and their probity is far from satisfactory. Even now, the party lacks an agenda to get back to power, if the speeches are any indication.
cannot be expected to handle everything. Given the rise in extensively drug resistant tuberculosis, we must recognise the urgency in ensuring a TBfree world (Editorial page, “The long fi ght against TB”, March 17).
V. Lakshmanan,
Coimbatore
K.M.K. Murthy,
Tirupur, Tamil Nadu
Secunderabad
The TB fi ght At the plenary The speakers at the Congress’s plenary session wasted a golden opportunity to restore the party’s fast crumbling image by preferring instead to launch a scathing attack on the government (“Rahul quotes epics in attack on BJP”, March 19). An occasion like this should have been utilised to focus on the future. The illfounded accusation levelled at the session that the economy is being mismanaged needs to
As a small step towards stopping the spread of tuberculosis in India we need to stop spitting/expectorating on open spaces, especially hard surfaces. If this is done on soil, the person should take steps to cover the aff ected patch with soil. TB patients should assist in steps being taken by healthcare workers to not only safeguard themselves but also help protect others. Eff ective measures at the grassroot level should begin at home as the government
DR. S. Murugan,
triseries fi nal but also covered himself with glory (‘Sport’ page – “Karthik’s fi nalball six dashes Bangladesh’s dreams”, March 19). Like Javed Miandad’s lastball sixer, Dinesh Karthik’s gutsy batting performance will remain evergreen in the memory of all cricket lovers.
Scoring a bullseye
K.D. Viswanaathan,
In the lastball six hit,Dinesh Karthik not only helped India win the Nidahas T20
Coimbatore
more letters online: www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/
corrections & clarifications: In the OpEd article titled “The Skripals in Salisbury” (March 19, 2018) the reference to the fi rst “off ensive use” of a nuclear weapon in Europe since the Second World War should be corrected to read as the fi rst “off ensive use” of a chemical weapon in Europe since the Second World War. “A summit on the hills” (OpEd article, March 19, 2018) had erro neously referred to an organisation called the Gorkha National Liberation Fund. It should have been the Gorkha National Libera tion Front. In “The ecologically subsidised city” (March 08, 2018, Editorial page article), the monetary value of nature’s capacity to treat 750 million litres of wastewater per day was stated to be over $25 billion (₹ 162,500 crore) annually. It should have been ₹ 750 crore. The Readers’ Editor’s office can be contacted by Telephone: +91-44-28418297/28576300; E-mail:
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Time to move beyond subsidies
A move to equivalence
The U.S. complaint to the WTO against India’s export promotion schemes is a wake-up call
After the agreement with France, India must hold bilateral talks for degree recognition with other countries
India’s export promotion schemes face an uncertain future after the Un ited States Trade Representative (USTR) decided to challenge their le gality in the World Trade Organisa tion (WTO). The complaint of the USTR is that India is violating its com mitments under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Mea sures (SCM Agreement) using fi ve of the most used export promotion schemes, namely, the exportorient ed units scheme and sectorspecifi c schemes, including electronics hard ware technology parks scheme, mer chandise exports from India scheme, export promotion capital goods scheme, special economic zones and dutyfree import authorisation scheme. Terms and conditions The main argument of the USTR is that India’s fi ve export promotion schemes violate Articles 3.1(a) and 3.2 of the SCM Agreement, since the two provisions prohibit granting of export subsidies. Until 2015, India had the fl exibility to use export sub sidies as it is among the 20 develop ing countries included in Annex VII of the agreement that are allowed to use these subsidies as long as their per capita Gross National Product (GNP) had not crossed $1,000, at constant 1990 dollars, for three con secutive years. This provision applic able to the Annex VII countries was an exception to the special provi sions provided to the developing countries (the socalled “special and diff erential treatment”) for phasing out export subsidies. Except Annex VII countries, all other developing countries were allowed a period of eight years from the entry into force of the WTO Agreement, i.e. 1995, to eliminate export subsidies. That India had crossed the $1,000 GNP per capita threshold in 2015 be came known when the WTO Secreta riat produced its calculations in 2017. An interpretation provided in a 2001 report of the Chairman of the Com mittee on Subsidies and Countervail
“Contrary to the pronouncements made in the Foreign Trade Policy, the government has continued to increase its outlays on export promotion schemes.” Containers stacked in Kochi, Kerala. K.K. MUSTAFAH *
ing Measures, which is also consi dered as the document providing the methodology for implementing An nex VII of the agreement, says that countries like India must eliminate export subsidies immediately upon crossing the abovementioned threshold. In the Doha negotiations, India and several other Annex VII countries sought an amendment of the agreement so as to enable them to get a transition period. Extension sought In a submission made in 2011, India, along with Bolivia, Egypt, Honduras, Nicaragua and Sri Lanka, argued that the Annex VII countries should be eligible to enjoy the provisions ap plicable to the other developing countries, namely, those that had GNP per capita above the threshold. The latter set of countries was re quired to phase out their export sub sidies within eight years of joining the WTO. Additionally, they were al lowed to enter into consultations with the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, not later than one year before the expiry of the transition period, to determine if there was a justifi cation for the ex tension of this period, after examin ing all of their relevant economic, fi nancial and development needs. But this proposal, like all other proposals
made as a part of the Doha Round ne gotiations, remains unaddressed. What needs to be done It needs to be pointed out that this is not the fi rst time that the U.S. has put India’s export promotion schemes under the scanner; although this is the fi rst instance when its Trade Ad ministration has initiated a WTO dis pute involving these schemes. In 2010, the U.S. had questioned the ex port incentives provided to the tex tiles and clothing sector as a whole, arguing that this sector had a share in global trade exceeding 3.25% and had therefore become export com petitive. The U.S. pointed out that ac cording to Article 27.5 of the SCM Agreement, any Annex VII develop ing country which had reached ex port competitiveness in one or more products must gradually phase out export subsidies on such products over a period of eight years. There was, therefore, considerable pres sure on the Department of Com merce to consider its future strate gies regarding export promotion schemes. It was perhaps the pressure that spoke when the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) of the National Democratic Al liance government unveiled in 2015 did some serious introspection about the future of export promotion
Biswajit Dhar is Professor, Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University
terest in which Indian universities have very little to off er. This ad hoc arrangement for re cognition of degrees has discouraged stu dents from pursuing research careers in In dia. Rather, it precipitates their departure to other global destinations. In other words, this assumes the shape of a statesponsored colonial policy of brain drain.
Shahana Munazir
Several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements were signed bet ween France and India recently on French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit. The most important of these was the landmark agreement signed at the ‘Knowledge Sum mit’ between the two countries on mutual recognition of educational qualifi cations, the fi rst of its kind. This provides an oppor tunity for India to refi ne its policy on higher education by inking such pacts with other countries, thereby seamlessly integrating the Indian student community across the world. Current policy framework According to government data, there were an estimated 5 lakh Indian students pursu ing degrees in higher education abroad in 2017, mostly in the U.S., the U.K., and the Euro pean Union. However, it is iron ical that many who are trained at the best universities abroad are unable to share their exper tise in Indian universities. This can be principally attributed to the problem of degree recognition. In the current policy frame work, the issue of recognition of academic qualifi cations is dealt with on a casebycase basis by the Association of Indian Universi ties (AIU), which provides Indian students with equivalence certifi cates based on eligi bility requirements and the duration of courses. The agreement with France is the fi rst such MoU where the two countries have reached a consensus despite a diff erence in the duration of their various academic pro grammes. This means that even a oneyear master’s degree will be recognised here. In the current system, if a person has a post graduate degree from abroad, an equiva lence certifi cate is essential to pursue a PhD or qualify for a career in academia through the Junior Research FellowshipNational Eligibility Test ( JRFNET). Returnee students from foreign universities need to apply for equivalence certifi cates, but students who hold oneyear degrees from abroad are im mediately ousted from the Indian system. In this way, scholars are penalised for studying at worldclass institutions in their area of in GETTY IMAGES/ ISTOCK
Biswajit Dhar
schemes, the fi rst time that any go vernment had done so. The policy makers recognised that the extant WTO rules and those under negotia tion were aimed at eventually phas ing out export subsidies. The FTP took this as a pointer to the direction which export promotion eff orts in the country must take in the future: a movement towards more fundamen tal systemic measures and away from incentives and subsidies. A similar note was sounded in the midterm review of the FTP released in Decem ber 2017. This document was signifi cant also because the Indian govern ment showed its awareness that the country was at the verge of losing the benefi ts of being an Annex VII country. Contrary to the pronouncements made in the FTP, the government has continued to increase its outlays on export promotion schemes. In 2016 17, the total outlay on export promo tion schemes was ₹ 58,600 crore, an increase of more than 28% in three years. During this period, the largest export promotion scheme in place currently, the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), was intro duced to promote exports by off set ting the infrastructural ineffi ciencies faced by exports of specifi ed goods and to provide a level playing fi eld. The scheme initially covered 4,914 tariff lines and was subsequently in creased to cover 7,914 tariff lines. In recent months, there has been a two fold expansion of the scheme: one, to enhance the MEIS rates of ready made garments from 2% to 4%; and two, to increase the MEIS benefi ts for all labourintensive and MSME sector products by 2%. These expansions in the scope of MEIS increased the total outlay on the scheme to nearly 60% over the level in 201617. The utility of export subsidies to promote exports has long been ques tioned. While the real impact of these subsidies has never been clear ly measured, what has been quite evident is they have benefi ted the rentseekers. There is, therefore, a strong case for the government to in vest in traderelated infrastructure and trade facilitation measures, which can deliver tangible results on the export front.
Robust policy for higher education This casebycase approach in recognising degrees isn’t a robust policy, particularly for improving standards of higher education. Herein lies the importance of countries across the world to move away from diplo matic constraints and maintain an image of exceptionalism when it comes to exchanging and disseminating knowledge. However, de pendence on diplomatic mechanisms with out a robust policy for recognising degrees would mean that Indian universities will con tinue to lag behind world standards. The aim of establishing “worldclass” institutions in India cannot materialise without fi rst utilis ing the knowledge and expertise that their own Indian scholars have to off er. The MoU between France and India means that India is now in the position to hold bilateral talks for degree recognition with other countries too, such as the U.K. with which India shares deep historical ties. Ac cording to the latest data fur nished by the U.K. Higher Edu cation Statistics Agency, in 201617, 16,550 Indian students went to the U.K. for higher stu dies. Of these, 7080% went for postgraduate programmes mainly with a oneyear duration. Despite such a strong case for mutual recognition, students are left in the lurch. The earlier provision of a six month bridge course introduced by the Unit ed Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2013 to en sure recognition of oneyear master’s de grees from the U.K. has been discontinued by the current government. It’s not just the MA degree, the twoyear MPhil courses from some of the best universities are also not re cognised as equivalent to even a lowerlevel master’s degree in India, if the student does not possess a twoyear master’s degree be fore the MPhil. This is despite the fact that some of these degrees have been partially or fully supported by the Indian government with a condition to revert and contribute to their home country. The bilateral pact with France is a good start that needs to be taken forward. Shahana Munazir is a policy and legislative aide with M.V. Rajeev Gowda, MP Rajya Sabha
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Treaty that backfi red?
FIFTY YEARS AGO MARCH 20, 1968
New taxes in U.K.
The Shimla Agreement did not fully achieve any of India’s objectives
The British Government piled extra taxes on a huge range of goods from cigarettes to motor cars today [March 19] in the toughest national budget ever known in this country. A total of £923 million was expected to accrue to the Treasury from the new duties on drinking, smoking, gambling, petrol and thou sands of everyday goods in the shops. At the same time, a legal limit of three and a half per cent per year was ordered on all pay rises and company dividend increases. The moves were announced in the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Roy Jenkins.
Mohammed Ayoob THE HINDU ARCHIVES
The Shimla Agreement of 1972 was expected to be a milestone in India Pakistan relations, for not only did it rend Pakistan asunder, but India also held 93,000 prisoners of war (POWs) who could constitute a ma jor bargaining chip with Pakistan. India had three primary objectives at Shimla. First, a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue or, failing that, an agreement that would constrain Pakistan from involving third parties in discussions about the future of Kashmir. Second, it was hoped that the Shimla Agree ment would allow for a new beginning in relations with Pakistan based upon Pakistan’s acceptance of the new ba lance of power. Third, it left open the possibility of achieving both these objectives without pushing Pakistan to the wall and creating a revanchist antiIndia regime. There was a nearconsensus among Indian policymakers that India must not pull a “Versailles” on Pakistan. A humi liated Pakistan, it was argued, would inevitably turn revan chist. This was the reason India did not force Pakistan to convert the ceasefi re line in Kashmir into the international boundary when Pakistani President Zulfi kar Ali Bhutto ruled out this option. It accepted the term Line of Control (LoC) instead, thus delinking it from UN resolutions and highlighting that Kashmir was a purely bilateral aff air. India was inclined to return the POWs but was con strained from doing so because they had surrendered to the joint IndiaBangladesh command and could not be returned without the latter’s concurrence. Dhaka made it clear that it would not return the POWs until Islamabad recognised Ban gladesh, thus delaying the POWs’ return until 1974. However, despite its soft line on Kashmir and the POWs, India was unable to prevent the military from taking power in Islamabad in 1977 and executing Bhutto. General Ziaul Haq’s coup had a major bearing on India’s other objectives. Zia’s strategy was to use the Afghan insurgency in the 1980s to acquire sophisticated arms from the U.S. and induce Washington to ignore Pakistan’s clandestine quest for nu clear weapons. Pakistan’s acquisition of nuclear capability created a situation of deterrence negating India’s superiori ty in conventional power and instated de facto military par ity between the two countries. The 1999 Kargil War validat ed the success of deterrence when India desisted from taking the war into Pakistani territory. Deterrence also pro vided the shield for the Pakistani military to take the “war” into Indian Kashmir through its proxies, the terrorist groups created and supported by the ISI. Nuclear weapons prevent ed India from retaliating on Pakistani territory. The Shimla Agreement did not fully achieve any of India’s objectives. If anything, it may have whetted the Pakistani military’s appetite to try to turn Kashmir into India’s Bangladesh. Mohammed Ayoob is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Relations, Michigan State University, and Senior Fellow, Center for Global Policy, Washington, DC
CM YK
ARCHIVES
A HUNDRED YEARS AGO MARCH 20, 1918.
War Cabinet.
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CONCEPTUAL
ABSTRACT
Business
This refers to any retail outlet in a mall or a shop ping complex which serves as the main source of attraction for custom ers. The presence of an an chor store helps other stores in the mall, which cannot draw customers on their own, to do business that they would not other wise. An anchor store may be a supermarket or popu lar retail brand that at tracts crowds. Malls try to accommodate multiple an chor stores on their pre mises in a way that it maxi mizes footfall as well as spending by consumers. The death of anchor stores can have a huge impact as it could also aff ect other smaller businesses that de pend on it. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
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12-year-old learns to walk at Mumbai hospital http://bit.ly/RehmatShaikhwalk
The price of privilege Biased legal rules can have a harmful consequence Prashanth Perumal J.
Many tend to believe that the best way to help a group of people may be to off er them special legal privileges that others do not enjoy. In India, for in stance, governments look ing to capture power often allow distressed borrow ers to stop paying their loans. The lenders in such cases do not possess suffi cient legal protection to uphold their contractual rights. Economic history suggests that such legal bias, however, may not be the best way to do good to people. This is because, according to “The fi nan cial power of the power less: Socioeconomic sta tus and interest rates under partial rule of law”, a paper by Timur Kuran and Jared Rubin published in The Economic Journal, there are longterm costs associated with such bias. Kuran and Rubin stu
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Anchor store
died data on private loans issued between 1602 and 1799 in Istanbul under the rule of the Ottoman Em pire and found that privi leged groups like Muslims (who were given rights that were denied to Chris tians and Jews), men (who were privileged over wo men) and elites (who were connected to the Sultan) eventually had to pay higher rates of interest than others to avail of cre dit. To be precise, these privileged groups had to pay interest rate premi ums of 3.4, 2.5, and 3.4 percentage points respec tively. This, the authors ar
gue, is due to the fact that in the eyes of the lenders, the borrowers who were protected by biased courts became highrisk indivi duals who were more like ly to default. The lenders had very little legal protec tion to recover their dues. So, in response, they cut down their lending to these groups, which in turn caused interest rates to rise. Legal rules biased in fa vour of privileged groups can thus have the harmful consequence of raising their borrowing rates. This applies not just to elites but also to disadvan taged groups that seem to require any special treat ment. When the law is biased in favour of the poor, through, say, provi sions that allow them to default on their loans, it can end up hurting them eventually as lenders would begin to cut down lending to the poor.
The War Cabinet’s report for 1917 is now published in extenso [London]. It contains illuminating information regarding the War Cabinet’s working methods and describes how each meeting begins with the hearing of reports on the progress of the war since the previous day. The Cabinet then deals with questions awaiting decision unless wider questions of policy are discussed. In the former case, Ministers and the chief de partmental offi cials concerned attend. Important matters of administration are deliberated with a view to departmental coordination so as to form part of a consistent war plan and Ministers invited to bring outside experts if desired. 248 out siders thus attended in 1917 and tendered their views on Fo reign Dominions, Indian, Colonial and Home Aff airs. The Se cretary of State for Foreign Aff airs, First Sea Lord and Chief of Imperial Staff attend every meeting and communicate the lat est war intelligence and consult with the War Cabinet on new points. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
DATA POINT
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TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
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FROM PAGE ONE
Mamata, KCR move to form federal front
TDP sees design in AIADMK, TRS protest Opposition blames the two parties for creating commotion, but they say will continue agitation for just demands
BJP behind the drama in Parliament: Naidu
Sobhana K. Nair New Delhi
“We have started the dia logue. Let us approach oth er political parties,” Ms. Ba nerjee said, adding that sometimes situations arise in politics where many pol itical parties have to come together. She, however, said that there is “no hurry” and such bigger political in itiatives require time. Referring to the BJP, Ms. Banerjee said the political party which rules the coun try “must not feel proud” and think that “they will rule the country as they feel like”. Asked about the Con gress seeking cooperation
of all likeminded parties to take on the BJP, Ms. Baner jee said all parties are entit led to have their own opinion. “Whatever Mr. Rao has said I fully agree with. He has expressed his views, what is the harm? Rahul al so expressed his views yes terday. He never asked us. So, they can say their views and we can say our views,” she added. On the question of who would lead the proposed Front. Mr. Rao said it would be a “collective and federal leadership”.
Lalu convicted in fodder scam case Following tests, doctors said his condition was now stable. Mr. Prasad is currently lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi. Of the 31 accused in the case, 19, including Mr. Pra sad, were found guilty. Twelve, including former Bi har chief minister Jagannath Mishra, were acquitted. Earlier, the court had postponed the judgment on Thursday in view of Mr. Pra sad’s counsel fi ling a peti tion under 319 CrPC, asking that three former offi cials of the Accountant General’s of fi ce (in 1990s) be made a party to the case. The spe cial CBI court of judge Shiv Pal Singh had allowed ad mission of the petition..
Meanwhile, senior RD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and other party lead ers asked how Mr. Prasad could be convicted in the same case when the other accused persons were being acquitted. “We’ll appeal in higher courts against the verdict and we’re sure to get jus tice,” Mr Singh said in Ran chi. Mr Prasad’s wife Rabri Devi said, “We were hoping for relief from the court to day. We respect the court’s judgment. We will appeal in higher courts now.” The fi fth case of the fodder scam against Mr. Prasad is related to an alleged fraudulent withdrawal of ₹ 139 crore from the Doranda treasury in Ranchi.
Junaid’s father moves SC seeking CBI probe The police investigation, be ing more than shoddy, de liberately introduced ambi guity in several crucial points. “The conduct of the named accused and others as a lynching mob has been concealed. It has been pro jected as if the occurrence/ events were sudden without any element of perpetrators having been acted in conspi racy... The investigating agency deliberately acted
Sehrai named Geelani’s successor
with undue haste because the crime had caused a na tionwide outcry. The inves tigation was so managed as to minimise the damage to the marauders and ensure their release on bail,” the petition contended. The petition said the probe so far had ensured that the victims would not get justice. Mr. Jalalluddin said his family was also in danger.
Staff Reporter VIJAYAWADA
Joint eff ort: Telugu Desam Party MPs and Congress MP Renuka Chowdhary protest outside Parliament. SANDEEP SAXENA *
‘Mockery of democracy’ “I cannot show you any proof, but defi nitely it looks like a concerted eff ort. We are investigating it. The BJP has made a mockery of de mocracy; they are trying to stall a debate in the Lok Sab ha by encouraging these protests,” former Minister and Parliamentary Party
leader of TDP Y.S. Chowdary said. The TDP boycotted the Speaker’s lunch organised on the occasion of Gudi Pad wa, protesting against her decision not to take up the debate. The YSRCP blamed the BJP rather than the protests.
Situation not ripe for pilgrimage, Pak. told Row over denial of visas to pilgrims
“We can’t blame the AIADMK or the TRS directly, because they too are protest ing for people’s issues. We pleaded with both parties to day [Monday] to give us merely 10 minutes so that the motion can be moved,” Ongole MP Y.V. Subba Reddy said.
Mr. Reddy questioned the reasoning that the noconfi dence motion could not be taken up because of lack of order in the House. “Didn’t the government clear the Union Budget in greater din? There are only a handful of TRS and AIADMK MPs in the well; the Finance
Omar Rashid LUCKNOW
TehreekeHurriyat (TeH), headed by 87yearold Syed Ali Geelani, on Monday an nounced that Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, 78, is the new chairman of the sepa ratist amalgam, clearing the decks for a “smooth transition” of leadership. “In a unanimous deci sion taken in an extraor dinary meeting of the Maj liseShoora, its highest decisionmaking body, the TehreekeHurriyat ap pointed Mr. Sehrai as an in terim chairman till the or ganisational elections to be held late this year,” said a Hurriyat spokesman. Hurriyat sources said Mr. Geelani “was not keep ing well of late due to mul tiple ailments and fre quently complains of feeling tired and weak”. He has already under gone surgeries for heart and kidney ailments in the past. Sources said Mr. Gee lani “was under pressure from his cadre and party leaders for the past two years to announce a suc cessor for the infl uential separatists’ grouping to avoid any confusion in case of any eventuality”. Mr. Geelani will remain the chairman of the Hurri yat faction, which is a con glomerate of many separa tist groups including the TeH. The move, however, paves the way for Mr. Seh rai to take over the Hurri yat leadership in the fu ture.
The Yogi Adityanath govern ment marked its fi rst year in power in Uttar Pradesh with a grand cultural event and the launch of a book of achievements on Monday. However, the occasion was boycotted by its alliance partner, the Suheldev Bhara tiya Samaj Party (SBSP), which has accused the BJP of “not following coalition dharma (duty)” and of “be ing arrogant”. The party, which has four MLAs, has threatened to boycott the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections unless BJP president Amit Shah agrees to hold talks with its leader Om Prakash Rajbhar, who is a Cabinet Minister in the
Bill was cleared when more than 100 MPs were protest ing,” he said. “Parliament can’t func tion according to the TDP’s whims and fancies. They de cide to pull out of govern ment at their wish, then they took their own time to exit the NDA. We are only con
Staff Reporter Special Correspondent NEW DELHI
Prevailing circumstances are not suitable for pilgrim age between India and Pa kistan, offi cial sources said on Monday after Islamabad accused Delhi of denying vi sas to pilgrims who wanted to attend the annual festivi ties at the Sufi shrine of Ajm er from March 19 to 29. These comments coincided with the summoning of Pa kistan’s Deputy High Com missioner by the External Aff airs Ministry in protest against heavy fi ring by Pa kistani forces. “Such visits are facilitated and promoted and visas granted after following due procedures. However, from time to time, such visits can not take place in view of the prevailing circumstances and absence of requisite se curity clearances,” a source
told the media. India’s response came af ter Pakistan said that India violated a 1974 bilateral pro tocol by denying visas to pil grims who wanted to visit the shrine in Ajmer. India also summoned De puty High Commissioner of Pakistan Syed Haider Shah and protested at the loss of lives of fi ve civilians from Pa kistani fi ring across the Line of Control in the Bhimber Gali Sector in J&K. Meanwhile, harassment of Indian diplomats conti nued in Islamabad, sources said. A note issued regard ing this matter recorded thatsurveillance of Indian diplomats took place on Monday. “Pakistan has been requested to immediately investigate all these inci dents and direct relevant authorities to ensure they do not recur,”a source said.
New Delhi
The Enforcement Directo rate (ED) on Monday moved the Delhi High Court chal lenging a Special CBI court verdict acquitting former Te lecom Minister A. Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and others in a moneylaundering case arising out of the 2G case. The ED submitted that the court, while acquitting all 10 individuals and nine entities, did not properly appreciate the facts and evidence in the case. ‘No proceeds’ On December 21 last year, the dismissed the ED’s charge of money laundering, saying there was no “pro ceeds of crime” as all ac cused had been acquitted in the main case fi led by the CBI. The ED’s case is that Mr. Raja received illegal gratifi ca
Brewing trouble: A fi le photo of DMK leaders A. Raja and Kanimozhi in Chennai after their acquittal in the 2G case.
tion of ₹ 200 crore for fa vours shown by him to Swan Telecom Private Ltd. while granting 13 UAS licences and allocation of spectrum in 200809. The ED alleged that ₹ 200 crore was paid by companies of the Dynamix Balwa Group through the partnership fi rm Dynamix Realty, Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Private Ltd. and Cineyug Films Priv ate Ltd., which was ultimate
State. Mr. Rajbhar has said that after his talks with Mr. Adityanath and Sunil Bansal, the BJP’s organisation secre tary in U.P., bore no results, he reached out to Mr. Shah, but despite writing to him a dozen times, no response had been forthcoming. “We will boycott the vot ing if they [the BJP] don’t talk. They can celebrate as much as they want. Back wards [Backward Classes] and Dalits must unite. They are not united — that’s why they don’t get their due. We got votes to act as their voice. If that is rebellion, then I am a rebel,” Mr. Rajb har said. The BJP has adequate number of MLAs to get eight candidates elected to the Up
‘No reason to celebrate’ The cracks in the alliance be came visible after Mr. Rajb har went on record to state that the government had no reason to celebrate its fi rst year in power and criticised it for focussing “only on tem ples at the cost of the welfare of the poor, Dalits and BCs”. He has had a shaky rela tionship with the saff ron par ty ever since he formed an alliance with it.
New Delhi
H.T. Sangliana
former Karnataka Director General of Police H.T. San gliana on her physique and its apparent correlation to
her daughter’s beauty dur ing his speech at the Nirb haya Awards 2018 function on International Women’s Day in Bengaluru earlier this month. In his speech, Mr. San gliana, who has since sought to clarify his re marks, said: “When I look at her [Nirbhaya’s mother], her physique is very, very nice. Then how beautiful Nirbhaya could have been.” Ms. Devi, who had been
*
PTI
ly parked in Kalaignar TV Private Ltd. ‘Court misdirected’ The amount was returned along with an additional sum just to show the receipt of il legal payment as bona fi de fi nancial transaction, the ED said. In its appeal, the directo rate contended that the CBI court was “misdirected” in holding that the moneylaun
dering off ence had not taken place merely because of ac quittals in the CBI case. The agency said the ac cused were acquitted on the ground that the CBI case did not stand, ignoring the judg ment by various courts hold ing money laundering as an independent off ence. The ED argued that the CBI court failed to appre ciate that the Supreme Court had examined a large num ber of documents and or dered cancellation of 122 li cences granted during Mr. Raja’s tenure. The CBI court dismissed the CBI’s case against the ac cused in the 2G spectrum al location case saying, “There is no evidence on the record produced indicating any cri minality in the acts allegedly committed by the accused relating to … transfer of ₹ 200 crore to Kalaignar TV as ille gal gratifi cation.”
Centre plans law on online ‘hate speech’ Vijaita Singh New Delhi
A year older: U.P. CM Yogi Adityanath at the anniversary celebrations in Lucknow on Monday. RAJEEV BHATT *
Sangliana’s comments refl ect inherent patriarchy, are a disrespect to my daughter, says Asha Devi special correspondent
cerned with demands of our own people,” Jitender Red dy, fl oor leader for the TRS in the Lok Sabha, said. Even as the AIADMK is continuing protests demand ing the setting up of the Cauvery Management Board, the DMK has called for a halt to the protests.
Law Commission asked to make draft
per House, but its ninth can didate is nine votes short. If the SBSP boycotts, it will become even more diffi cult to push through the extra candidate. The ally, however, has not indicated that it is ready to walk out.
Nirbhaya’s mother fl ays exDGP’s remarks A former police chief ’s ad vice to girls and women to “surrender” to the physical assault from sexual preda tors to save their lives “at least”, has prompted Asha Devi, mother of the 2012 Delhi gang rape victim, Nirbhaya, to write an open letter to him expressing her outrage. Adding to Ms. Devi’s re vulsion were comments by
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Moves HC against acquittal of A. Raja, Kanimozhi in a money laundering case
Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party boycotts celebrations, says BJP is playing big brother
Peerzada Ashiq
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minis ter N. Chandrababu Naidu has alleged that the BJP got the noconfi dence motion moved by a particular party and prompted another to disrupt the proceedings in Parliament to get the ongo ing session adjourned. This was part of the polit ics of connivance being played by the BJP, Mr. Naidu told MPs, MLAs and senior leaders in a teleconference. He asked the leaders to continue their protests and mount pressure on the Cen
tral government to concede the State’s legitimate de mands. The Chief Minister asked the MPs to expose those harming the interests of the State, and reiterated that there was no going back on the struggle for Special Cate gory Status and the imple mentation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. State Finance Minister Ya namala Ramakrishnudu also asked whether the BJP feared that its own MPs would go against the party line in the event of voting taking place on the motion.
2G case: ED challenges verdict
Tempered anniversary fete for U.P. govt.
Srinagar
CM YK
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and other Opposition parties on Monday blamed the All India Dravida Munne tra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) for stalling a no confi dence motion against the government in the Lok Sabha. The two parties, however, insisted that they would con tinue their protests. Hence, the hopes for a debate have faded. For the second day run ning, the noconfi dence mo tion moved by the TDP and the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) could not be taken up because of protests by the AIADMK, which has 37 MPs, and the TRS with 11 MPs.
invited to give away the awards, told The Hindu on Sunday, “I travelled as far as I did to express my solidari ty with girls and women who met similar, but thank fully not the same, fate as my daughter on what hap pened to be a day suppos edly dedicated to us and this is what he said to me.” “I don’t understand the language so I didn’t react when I was on the stage. It was only later when a very
senior lady police offi cer, who was naturally enraged by the comment too, pulled me aside and told me what he had said that I realised the magnitude of his words,” Ms. Devi said. “Not only have you dis respected my daughter’s protest at what she was be ing subjected to but also il lustrated the cheap and pa triarchal attitude of our society at large,” she wrote in her letter.
Moving a step ahead to wards framing a distinct law for online “hate speech,” the Home Ministry has writ ten to the Law Commission to prepare a draft law. The provisions will deal with of fensive messages sent through social media and online messaging applica tions. The decision came after a committee headed by form er Lok Sabha SecretaryGen eral T.K. Viswanathan sub mitted a report recommending stricter laws to curb online hate speech. The panel was formed after Section 66A of the Informa tion Technology Act, 2000, was scrapped by the Su preme Court in 2015. The scrapped provision provided punishment for sending off ensive messages through communication services. Imperfect data A senior National Crime Re cords Bureau (NCRB) offi cial said there was no compre hensive data available on cases in which rumours and hate speech insinuations were made through social media and WhatsApp. “Such crimes are being registered under various other sections like sedition or other sections of the In formation Technology Act. If the law is amended, it will provide us with the extent of the problem,” said the offi
T.K. Viswanathan
cial. The 267th report of the Law Commission had re commended inserting addi tional provisions in Sections 153 and 505 of the Indian Pe nal Code (IPC). Punishment and fi ne The proposed 153 C (b) IPC —‘incitement to hatred’ — re commended that the crime be punishable by two years’ imprisonment and a ₹ 5,000 fi ne or both. A senior Home Ministry offi cial said the Law Com mission had been asked to include its earlier recom mendations, and those from the Viswanathan and M.P. Bezbaruah committees, to give a “comprehensive draft law.” The Bezbaruah commit tee had proposed to insert two stricter antiracial dis crimination provisions in the IPC. Only Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh and the Un ion Territories of Andaman and Nicobar, Dadra and Na gar Haveli and Lakshwa deep agreed to the Centre’s proposal. A ND-NDE
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IN BRIEF
U.S. wants India on board to ease Rohingya crisis Off ers to work together to help Bangladesh with refugee camps ahead of the monsoon, which can fl ood the main camps in Cox’s Bazaar Suhasini Haidar
Mizoram, Assam not to discuss boundary dispute AIZAWL
Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla on Monday told the Assembly that the talks to be held in New Delhi on Tuesday between the Chief Secretaries of Assam and Mizoram would not touch the boundary dispute between the two States. Mr. Lal Thanhawla said State Chief Secretary Arvind Ray would talk about the reported atrocities committed by the Assam police on Mizo students and journalists on March 8 and 10. PTI
Young Indian told to deposit ₹ 10 cr. in IT case NEW DELHI
The Delhi High Court on Monday directed Young Indian Pvt. Ltd, in which Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi are majority stakeholders, to deposit ₹ 10 crore with the Income Tax Department against the ₹ 249.15 crore tax demand against the company. The court directed the company to deposit half the amount before March 31 and the remaining by April 15. On deposit, the tax authorities shall not enforce the demand of ₹ 249.15 crore for 201112.
NEW DELHI
Amid growing worries about the coming monsoon that could fl ood a third of the main Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, Washington has off ered to partner with New Delhi on joint eff orts to assist Bangla desh. Confi rming the off er, a se nior U.S. administration offi cial said, “We think India al so has an interest in seeing this situation resolved.” “We will look for ways to work with India to provide for the needs of the Rohin gya in Bangladesh, but also to work together to create that pressure on Burma [Myanmar] to create the con ditions required for their safe and voluntary return,” added the offi cial, calling In dia a “likeminded” partner. The off er was made dur ing a recent visit to the re gion by Deputy Assistant to U.S. President Donald Trump and the Director for South and Central Asia, Lisa Curtis, as well as Director for India and the Indian Ocean
Meets Foreign Secretary After meeting offi cials of the UN Intersector Coordina tion Group (ISCG) and the Bangladesh government from March 1 to 4, the U.S. delegation met Indian Fo reign Secretary Vijay Gok hale and other offi cials on March 5, in an unpublicised visit to Delhi. Mr. Gokhale met Ms. Curtis and State De partment offi cials during his visit to Washington last week, where cooperation on Bangladesh was discussed. The Foreign Secretary is now expected to visit Dhaka in April, while a number of Ministers will visit Bangla desh in the next few months to “take the development partnership agenda to its conclusion”, an External Af
Chargesheet against exCanara Bank CMD
Pakistani woman says she met Shami as a fan
NEW DELHI
Press Trust of India
The CBI on Monday filed a chargesheet against R.K. Dubey, then Chairman and Managing Director of Canara Bank, and five other senior functionaries for allegedly cheating the bank of ₹ 68.38 crore in a conspiracy with the directors of the Delhibased Occasion Silver Private Ltd. The charge sheet alleges that the company did not repay the loans given by a Delhi branch. The loans sanctioned in December 2013 turned NPAs in September 2014.
New Delhi
The controversy surround ing Mohammad Shami took another turn on Monday as a Pakistani woman, Alishba, said she met him in Dubai but denied any monetary dealings. Ms. Alishba’s name sur faced in the controversy af ter Shami’s wife, Hasin Ja han, alleged that he could have been in a relationship with the Pakistani woman. “Yes, I met him. I am a
Did not deny them medical care: govt.
Basant Sanghera. Ms. Curtis, who travelled to Dhaka and Delhi during an extended vi sit that included Kabul and Islamabad, also visited the main KutapalongBalukhali camp in Bangladesh, which is now the world’s single lar gest refugee camp, housing about 600,000 people.
frequent fl yer to Dubai be cause my sister stays in Sharjah. As a person, I really like Shami. As any fan that has idolised a celebrity, they always dream of meeting their idol. I had the desire to meet him [Shami] like any other fan would want to, which I don’t think is a big deal,” Alishba told ABP News. Shami had been booked after his wife lodged a com plaint of domestic violence and infi delity against him.
Krishnadas Rajagopal NEW DELHI
Refugee fl ow: A Bangladesh border guard pushes Rohingya to the noman’s land at Teknaf in Bangladesh. GETTY IMAGES *
fairs Ministry offi cial said. While the offi cial accepted that the U.S. proposal for a joint eff ort to aid Bangladesh was being discussed at the Foreign Secretary level, the Ministry declined to com ment on whether the U.S. and India would work on joint measures to “pressure” Myanmar to repatriate the Rohingya. While the U.S. has called the action of Myanmar authorities in driving nearly a million Rohingya men, wo men and children out of vil
Staff Reporter New Delhi
The Enforcement Directo rate (ED) on Monday urged the Delhi High Court to dis miss the plea of Nirav Modi owned Firestar Diamond In ternational Private Ltd. chal lenging certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. “He [Mr. Nirav Modi] is a fugitive and absconder. Such a person who is evading the law and has declined to sub mit to the jurisdiction of the agencies is not entitled to in
Additional GST burden adds to problem of insuffi cient budgetary allocation Dinakar Peri
Reeling under an insuffi cient budgetary allocation for mo dernisation, the military has a new fi nancial challenge: the Goods and Services Tax. A recent report of the Parlia mentary Standing Commit tee on Defence says the tax will result in an additional burden of ₹ 5,000 crore on the Army alone. “The additional burden is due to new taxation laws in the GST, which has come in to force in the past one year and has not been taken care of in the new Budget,” the Army informed the committee. The Army told the panel that the capital allocation did not even cater to the pay
ments for committed liabili ties, or deals already con tracted for. The Indian Air Force, which is heavily dependent on imports, is facing a simi lar situation. The IAF informed the committee that in 201617, it paid a custom duty of
₹ 943,62 crore, which went up to ₹ 1,614.28 crore in 201718. “This amount was not even reimbursed to the Air Force. The estimated outgo for 201819 is ₹ 1,726.98 crore,” the committee was informed. The funds allocated for
committed liabilities is ₹ 33,100 crore against a pro jection of ₹ 72,482 crore. The Navy too is aff ected by the new tax regime, though to a less extent than the Army and the IAF. The Navy apprised the committee that in the reve nue part, the tax burden due to the GST will go up from ₹ 427.28 crore last year to ₹ 800 crore this year. “The committee, there fore, desire that reasonabili ty be shown in the budget for the Army, by way of provid ing for the additional burden to the extent of ₹ 5,000 crore due to the changes in the tax ation laws,” the panel said in its observations in the report tabled in the Parliament last week.
Judge-appointee Indu Malhotra resumes practice
Gujarat Congress chief quits
Has not withdrawn her consent for SC judgeship
Special Correspondent
Indu Malhotra
gium to recommend Ms. Malhotra was a rare recogni tion of her professional ta lent. If appointed, Ms. Mal hotra would be only the seventh woman judge in the Supreme Court’s 68yearold history. Justice Banumathi is pre sently the sole woman in the Supreme Court judiciary.
She was spotted arguing a case before a threejudge Bench led by Chief Justice Misra on Monday. Normally, a government decision on the appoint ment of a Supreme Court judge takes a maximum of two weeks, but the govern ment’s delay in her and Jus tice Joseph’s cases has pro longed to over two months. The Collegium had recom mended their names to the government for appoint ment on January 10, 2018. The decision of the Colle
Gender imbalance Ms. Malhotra was the Su preme Court Collegium’s answer to criticism for not bringing more women judg es into its fold, even as more and more gendersensitive and womencentric cases reach the Supreme Court for adjudication. There have been reports that the government has been reluctant to appoint Justice Joseph, who quashed the declaration of Presi dent’s rule in Uttarakhand in 2016.
Krishnadas Rajagopal NEW DELHI
Senior advocate Indu Malho tra, the fi rst woman lawyer to be recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for an apex court judgeship, has decided to resume her legal practice. It has been over two months since the Collegium led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra unanimously re commended her name along with Uttarakhand Chief Justice K.M. Joseph for appointment as Supreme Court judges. Both fi les have been pending with the govern ment ever since. A highly placed source in the Supreme Court said Ms. Malhotra has not withdrawn her consent for Supreme Court judgeship but decided to resume her practice as an advocate till the government takes a decision in her case. CM YK
lages, a case of “ethnic cleansing” and threatened targeted sanctions against the offi cials responsible, In dia has been comparatively silent on the issue in an eff ort to keep its ties with Nay Pyi Taw intact. The U.S. proposal to India may be seen as an attempt to counter China that had last year brokered a repatriation agreement signed by Bangla desh and Myanmar. The agreement, however, is yet to be implemented.
Nirav indirectly challenging case: ED
Taxman cometh for the military NEW DELHI
India has not denied basic medical care to a single Rohingya — man, woman or child — living here, the Union government said in the Supreme Court on Monday. The government does not discriminate between an Indian and a nonIn dian while providing med ical care in public hospi tals, the Centre said, addressing allegations that Rohingya living in re fugee camps were denied health care in government medical establishments. “There is not a single reported case in which In dians or nonIndians are denied treatment ... In fact, any person living in India is not denied per mission for medical care,” Additional SolicitorGen eral Tushar Mehta ad
dressed a Bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra. Mr. Mehta went on to question the “interest” of the PIL petitioners. “There is a spate of PILs. What is the genesis of these PILs? Some day, Your Lordships may have to go into that,” the law of fi cer submitted. “The interest of hu manity,” countered advo cate Prashant Bhushan, for the PIL petitioners, who are Rohingya living in India. “Are the children of Rohingya not entitled to basic facilities of educa tion and health,” Mr. Bhushan asked in court. Senior advocate Ashwi ni Kumar asked why the government “always brings up the bogey of destabilisation when an issue of human rights come up”.
AHMEDABAD
Gujarat Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki has re signed from his post. Sources in the party said that Mr Solanki met the Congress president Rahul Gandhi and submitted his resignation. He is now leav ing for the U.S. for two weeks. However, Mr. Solanki told presspersons at the Ahmedabad airport that the party high command would take a fi nal call on the matter. “I had off ered to step down immediately after the 2017 Assembly polls. Now it is for the par ty high command to take a call,” he said. According to insiders, he was miff ed with the party leadership for not giving him a Rajya Sabha berth. Recently, the party nominated former Union Minister Naran Rath wa and party spokesper son Amee Yagnik to the Ra jya Sabha from the State.
Nirav Modi
voke the extraordinary juris diction under Article 226 of the Constitution. On this ground alone, the petition
deserves to be dismissed,” the ED’s affi davit said. Additional SolicitorGen eral Sandeep Sethi, repre senting the ED, told the court that Mr. Modi, facing an investigation in the Pun jab National Bank fraud case, was trying to abuse the pro cess of law by moving the plea through his company. The agency said Mr. Modi was “indirectly” challenging the money laundering case lodged in connection with the scam. Firestar Diamond, which
is named as one of the ac cused in the money launder ing case, has sought an inte rim stay of ED proceedings. But the ED, in its affi davit fi led before a Bench of Justic es S. Muralidhar and I.S. Mehta, contended that the application for interim or ders was “not maintainable” as the investigation was at a nascent stage. The ED said it was now at the stage of search and sei zure and retention of re cords and was not taking possession of attached or
frozen properties as appre hended by Firestar Diamond. Firestar Diamond had moved the High Court also seeking quashing of seizure of its movable properties by the ED. The ED has provisionally attached some immovable assets of the Nirav Modi group as part of its action against the diamond trader and his uncle, Mehul Choksi, in connection with the frau dulent Letters of Undertak ing case.
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Vladimir Putin wins six more years as Russia’s President After his biggest election victory with 76.6% of the votes, Putin tells the West that he doesn’t want an arms race Reuters MOSCOW
Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a softer tone to wards the West on Monday after winning his biggest ever election victory, saying he had no desire for an arms race and would do everyth ing he could to resolve diff e rences with other countries. Mr. Putin’s victory, which comes at a time when his re lations with the West are on a hostile trajectory, will extend his political dominance of Russia by six years to 2024. That will make him the lon gestserving ruler since So viet dictator Joseph Stalin and has raised Western fears
ELSEWHERE
his daughter. As a result, re lations with the West have hit a postColdWar low. With nearly 100% of the votes counted, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced that Mr. Putin, who has run Russia as Presi dent or Prime Minister since 1999, had won 76.69% of the vote.
of spiralling confrontation. But Mr. Putin, 65, used a Kremlin meeting with the candidates he soundly de feated in Sunday’s election to signal his desire to focus on domestic, not international, matters, and to try to raise living standards by investing more in education, infras tructure and health while re ducing defence spending.
United Russia: Russians waving national fl ags while waiting for results in Manezhnaya square, Moscow, on Sunday. AP
Change in tone “Nobody plans to accelerate an arms race,” said Mr. Putin. “We will do everything to re solve all the diff erences with our partners using political and diplomatic channels.” His comments, which are
likely to be heard with some scepticism in the West fol lowing years of confronta tion, mark a change in tone after a bellicose election campaign during which Mr. Putin unveiled new nuclear weapons he said could strike
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Foreign Minister Wang Yi made State Councilor demonstrating a “strategic vision” which had helped defuse last year’s Doklam crisis, and acknowledged that ties between the two countries were poised for a rapid transition.
Atul Aneja Beijing
‘Abaya not compulsory for Saudi women’ RIYADH
Women in Saudi Arabia need not wear headcover or the black abaya — the loose fi tting, fulllength robe — as long as their attire is “decent and respectful”, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman said. “The decision is entirely left for a woman to decide what type of decent and respectful attire she chooses to wear,” he said. Reuters
N. Korea in talks with U.S. to release detainees SEOUL
North Korea is in talks with the U.S. and Sweden to release three jailed Americans, reports said. Seoulbased MBC TV station reported on Sunday that Pyongyang and Washington had “practically reached” a fi nal agreement on the release of U.S. citizens Kim Haksong, Kim Sangduk and Kim Dongchul. AFP
Turkey vows to expand Syria operations ANKARA
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğ an on Monday vowed to expand the Syria campaign to other Kurdish areas up to the Iraqi border, a day after proAnkara forces ousted Kurdish militia from Afrin. “Now we will continue this process until we entirely eliminate this corridor...” he said, referring to the areas controlled by the People’s Protection Units. AFP
2 injured in mysterious Texas bombing CHICAGO
Police and bomb experts were hard at work on Monday investigating a fourth mysterious bombing this month in the Texas State capital of Austin, a blast that injured two young men. The three previous bombings have claimed the lives of two people, both African Americans and injured four others. AFP
CM YK
almost any point in the world. Russia is currently at odds with the West over Sy ria and Ukraine; allegations of cyberattacks and med dling in foreign elections; and the poisoning in Britain of a former Russian spy and
China’s Foreign minister Wang Yi has been elevated to the post of State Counci lor, signalling a revamp of China’s foreign policy esta blishment likely to in fl uence New DelhiBeijing ties. Mr. Wang will continue to retain the post of Fo reign Minister. The State Councilor, attached to the State Council, China’s ca binet, is of a higher rank. Mr. Wang’s new assign ment was cleared by law makers who had assem bled for an annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s Parliament. Prior to Mr. Wang, Yang Jiechi held the post of State Councilor. He was al so the senior most offi cial in the Leading Group on Foreign Aff airs — a power ful body headed by Presi dent Xi Jinping. Boundary talks In his capacity as State Councilor, Mr. Wang is likely to serve as China’s Special Representative
China’s Foreign Minster Wang Yi. AP *
(SR) on boundary talks with National Security Ad viser Ajit Doval. However, the Chinese Foreign Minis try responded cautiously when asked on Monday about whether Mr. Wang’s role as SR has been af fi rmed. “As I have said, China attached great im portance to this (SR) me chanism and as (to) who will be the Special Repre sentative; we will wait and see,” said spokesperson Hua Chunying. During a press confe rence on March 8, Mr. Wang had lauded Indian and Chinese leaders for
Leadership overhaul Analysts say that Mr. Wang’s elevation is part of an overhaul that would al low China to play a more infl uential overseas role in tune with Mr. Xi’s vision for China, which is em barking on a “new era”. “China’s foreign policy establishment is going through tremendous change and expansion, which correlates with the rapid expansion of China’s economic interests and in fl uence in the world,” said Victor Gao, vice president, Center for China and glo balisation, in a conversa tion with The Hindu. The South China Morning Post had earlier report ed that the powerful inter national department of the Communist Party and the party’s Leading Group on Foreign Aff airs were ex pected to merge.
Free and fair? With more than 56 million votes, it was Mr. Putin’s big gest ever win and the largest by any postSoviet Russian leader. But the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a rights watchdog, said restrictions on fundamental freedoms, as well as on candidate regis tration, had restricted the scope for political engage
COLOMBO
Reminding President Maithripala Sirisena of the “unstinted support” that Tamils extended to him in 2015, senior Tamil politi cian and Leader of Opposi tion R. Sampanthan on Monday urged him to “rise as a statesman” and re solve Sri Lanka’s ethnic problem. “We want a statesman to rise in this country who can say, ‘I resolved the country’s national ques tion’ and we think you can do it, we think you should do it and it is our expecta tion that it will be done,” he said, speaking at an event in Jaff na, where he shared the stage with Mr. Sirisena.
The veteran Tamil lead er’s remarks come at a time when Mr. Sirisena’s nation al unity government is dealing with a major blow in the islandwide local go vernment elections held in early February. Severe criticism The Colombo government also faces severe criticism from the Tamils for its de layed eff orts in fulfi lling promises Mr. Sirisena made in 2015, in regard to wartime accountability and reconciliation. Politi cal observers have said that the government, fra gile and signifi cantly wea kened after the polls, is un likely to address concerns of the Tamils. Referring to the crucial
Leader of Opposition R. Sampanthan. AFP *
minority vote in 2015, which propelled Mr. Sirise na’s alliance to victory, Mr. Sampanthan said the Tamil people supported him to achieve the objective of a political solution. “We know that you want to do it. I know that you want to do it. But your eff orts are being stymied,” he said, adding that Mr. Sirisena
cott the election, urged his supporters not to lose heart and said his campaign had succeeded in lowering the turnout, accusing authorities of being forced to falsify the numbers. Nearfi nal fi gures put tur nout at 67.7%, just shy of the 70% the Kremlin was report ed to have been aiming for before the vote. Kremlin spo kesman Dmitry Peskov played down suggestions that tensions with the West had boosted turnout, saying the result showed that Rus sians were united behind Mr. Putin’s plans to develop the country. Chinese President Xi Jinp ing was among the fi rst to off er his congratulations to Mr. Putin, but Heiko Maas, Ger many’s new Foreign Minis ter, questioned whether
there had been fair political competition. French President Emma nuel Macron was one of the few Western leaders to speak by telephone to Mr. Putin on Monday, wishing Russia and its people success in moder nising the country. Exit strategy Asked after his reelection if he would run for yet another term in the future, Mr. Putin laughed off the idea.“Let’s count. What, do you think I will sit (in power) until I’m 100 years old?” he said, call ing the question “funny”. Although Mr. Putin has six years to consider a possible successor, uncertainty about his future is a potential source of instability in a frac tious ruling elite that only he can keep in check.
Liu He is star in leadership revamp
Bangladesh Supreme Court stays Khaleda Zia’s bail order till May 8
Atul Aneja
Haroon Habib
Beijing
Dhaka
From the comfort of work ing behind the scenes, Chi na’s new VicePrime Minis ter Liu He, a close confi dant of President Xi Jinping, has been brought into the limelight to defend an economy that is facing a mounting debt and a possi ble trade war with the U.S. Mr. Liu will be at the helm to bring China’s eco nomy back on track and work out plans to reduce the existing debt. He was endorsed on Monday by the National People’s Con gress (NPC). The NPC also backed the appointment of Yi Gang as as the head of China’s Cen tral Bank. Mr. Yi will re place Zhou Xiaochuan. Among other appoint ments endorsed by the NPC was that of Han Zheng, a member of the Communist Party Politbu ro who also joined the ranks as VicePremier. It is likely that he will work closely with Mr. Liu to ad dress the debt accumulat ed by the several state companies.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia will have to be in jail for a lon ger time as the Supreme Court stayed until May 8 a High Court order that granted her bail in a corruption case in which she was sentenced to fi ve years in prison. The fourmember bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order on Monday, after hearing two pe titions fi led by the AntiCorrup tion Commission (ACC) and the government, challenging the
Sirisena urged to ‘rise as a statesman’ Meera Srinivasan
ment and crimped competi tion. “Choice without real com petition, as we have seen here, is not real choice,” the OSCE said in a statement. The CEC said earlier on Mon day it had not registered any serious complaints of viola tions. Backed by state TV and the ruling party, and credit ed with an approval rating of around 80%, Mr. Putin faced no credible threat from a fi eld of seven challengers. His nearest rival, Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudi nin, won 11.8% of votes while nationalist Vladimir Zhiri novsky got 5.6%. His most vo cal opponent, anticorrup tion campaigner Alexei Navalny, was barred from running. Mr. Navalny, who had called on voters to boy
must overcome the impe diments and be recognised world over as a statesman who resolved the Tamil question. Mr. Sirisena, in his ad dress that followed, said it was because he remem bers and values the sup port extended by the Ta mils that he felt indebted to the community. Pointing to political challenges that have emerged recently, he urged the people to be mindful of politicians serv ing their own interests and others committed to the people. “I have not be trayed the trust people have in me, I have not changed any of my princi ples, and I will not change them,” he said.
bail. The order means the bail will remain suspended until May 8, and Ms. Zia cannot get released from jail till that date. Appeal by government The Appellate Division also asked the state, the ACC and the defence to submit the con cise statements on their res pective appeals within two weeks and set May 8 for a hear ing on the matter. After passing the order, Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain said all the four judges of the Apex Court arrived at the decision unanimously. The High Court on March 12 grant
ed a fourmonth bail to Ms. Zia. Meanwhile, speculation is ripe over whether Ms. Zia can participate in the parliamen tary elected scheduled for De cember this year. According to Bangladesh’s Attorney General, it will de pend on the fi nal Supreme Court judgment. Condemning Monday’s judgment denying bail to Ms. Zia, BNP secretary general Mir za Fakhrul Islam Alamgir an nounced that the party would stage a countrywide agitation on Tuesday demanding an un conditional release of their leader.
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THE HINDU
BUSINESS 13
NOIDA/DELHI
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
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market watch 19-03-2018
% CHANGE
Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 32,923 ddddddddddddd -0.76 US Dollar dddddddddddddddddddd 65.17 ddddddddddddd -0.35 Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 31,180 ddddddddddddd -0.35 Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 65.66 ddddddddddddddd0.93
UltraTech off ers to buy Binani Cement for ₹ 7,266 crore
DoT raises cap on spectrum
Binani Industries seeks to terminate cement arm’s insolvency process at NCLT
The Department of Tele com on Monday amended licence norms of service providers to increase the number of instalments for spectrum payments and radiowaves frequency holding limit to provide re lief to the sector reeling un der a deep fi nancial stress. “The licensee may opt one time for higher num ber of instalments includ ing in the current fi nancial year 201718 (maximum 16 instalments) for deferred payment liabilities as per Notice Inviting Application (NIA) for auctions conduct ed for award of spectrum in the years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016,” the telecom department said in a note on the licence amendment.
Press Trust of India New Delhi
NIFTY 50 PRICE CHANGE
Adani Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364.30. . . . . . . . -6.20 Ambuja Cements. . . .. . . . . . 231.15. . . . . . . . -3.60 Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1102.55. . . . . . -20.20 Aurobindo Pharma . . . . . . 572.90. . . . . . . . . 0.35 Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519.45. . . . . . . . -3.15 Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2849.45. . . . . . -61.00 Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1631.85. . . . . . -56.05 Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 399.65. . . . . . -17.10 Bosch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17515.05. . . -406.65 BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430.75. . . . . . -16.80 Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559.75. . . . . . . . . 0.35 Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272.30. . . . . . . . -5.90 Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 2119.85. . . . . . -22.30 Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. 27403.05. . . -676.10 GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 442.05. . . . . . . . . 1.05 HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 926.50. . . . . . -41.10 HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1774.50. . . . . . -16.90 HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1847.25. . . . . . . . -5.75 Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 3515.30. . . . . . -30.80 Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214.55. . . . . . . . -7.15 HPCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352.35. . . . . . -12.40 Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1309.40. . . . . . . 10.25 Indiabulls HFL . . . . . . . .. . . . 1187.85. . . . . . -19.60 ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294.55. . . . . . . . -3.55 IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1718.80. . . . . . . . -5.90 Bharti Infratel . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 325.35. . . . . . . . -9.10 Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1146.75. . . . . . -25.15 Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 177.90. . . . . . . . -6.85 ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259.15. . . . . . . . -1.35 Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1049.00. . . . . . -11.75 L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1279.55. . . . . . . 10.25 Lupin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766.60. . . . . . . . . 4.75 M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 742.70. . . . . . . . . 1.95 Maurti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 8773.50. . . . . . . 96.95 NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167.00. . . . . . . . . 2.15 ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176.85. . . . . . . . -0.30 PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 194.20. . . . . . . . . 1.95 Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 895.50. . . . . . . . -4.55 State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247.95. . . . . . . . -4.35 Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 497.65. . . . . . . . -5.40 Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 335.70. . . . . . . . -4.05 Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574.95. . . . . . -25.25 TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2831.00. . . . . . . . . 5.30 Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 609.90. . . . . . -24.80 UltraTech Cement . .. . . . 3972.40. . . . . . -53.90 UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701.85. . . . . . -17.85 Vedanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307.20. . . . . . . . -1.70 Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288.65. . . . . . . . -7.10 YES Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304.80. . . . . . . . -8.10 Zee Entertainment . . . . . . 566.45. . . . . . . . -3.90
EXCHANGE RATES Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4 p.m. on March 19 CURRENCY
TT BUY
TT SELL
US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 64.97. . . . . . . 65.29 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 79.81. . . . . . . 80.21 British Pound . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 91.24. . . . . . . 91.70 Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 61.17. . . . . . . 61.47 Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 10.26. . . . . . . 10.31 Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 68.13. . . . . . . 68.47 Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 49.27. . . . . . . 49.51 Canadian Dollar . . . . . . . . .. . 49.70. . . . . . . 49.95 Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 16.58. . . . . . . 16.68 Source:Indian Bank
BULLION RATES
CHENNAI
March 19 rates in rupees with previous rates in parentheses Retail Silver (1g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.1. . . . . . . . . . (41) 22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 2886. . . . . . (2895)
er and can sell it and repay the loan.”
Piyush Pandey MUMBAI
Binani Cements promoter Binani Industries Limited (BIL), has decided to seek termination of its insolvency proceedings at the the Na tional Company Law Tribu nal (NCLT), after UltraTech Cement agreed to buy out the promoters’ stake in Bina ni Cement for ₹ 7,266 crore. This development comes after the Committee of Cred itors approved Dalmia Bha rat’s ₹ 6,700crore bid to buy Binani Cement last week. Sa meer A. Kaji, advisor to Bina ni Industries, said, “The idea of IBC is to maximise value for all stakeholders. The NCLT has powers to keep the corporate debtor out of the
Part of process: The owner has the right to sell a mortgaged asset and repay the loan, says UltraTech’s Atul Daga. REUTERS *
IBC process, if all liabilities are paid. UltraTech has given us letter of comfort of ₹ 7,266 crore to buy Binani Cement, based upon which we are seeking termination of insol vency proceedings at NCLT.”
Asked if the proposal could go through with the matter pending with the NCLT, Atul Daga, ED & CFO, UltraTech Cements, said, “If you have a house that’s mortgaged with a bank, you are still the own
IRDAI may appeal against tribunal’s order Mulls moving SC against SAT order that cited IRDA member’s decision as ‘aiding corruption’ N. Ravi Kumar HYDERABAD
IRDAI, currently without a chairman, is facing a crisis after the Securities Appellate Tribunal described an order passed by a member of the regulator as one that “vir tually amounts to aiding and abetting corruption.” The legal department of the Insurance and Regulato ry and Development Author ity is examining options to appeal against the Tribunal’s order in the Supreme Court and a decision is likely by the weekend, sources familiar with the matter said. ‘Chairman’s post vacant’ IRDAI has remained without a Chairman since February 21, when T.S. Vijayan demit ted offi ce on completing fi ve years. Though candidates,
many from the insurance sector, were interviewed, no announcement has yet been made. On Friday, while disposing an appeal fi led by Atkins Spe cial Risks, the SAT bench comprising presiding offi cer Justice J.P. Devadhar and member Dr. C.K.G. Nair questioned an order passed by IRDAI Member (NonLife) P.J. Joseph and directed the regulator to conduct a probe by a “competent offi cer” and pass a fresh order. “We fail to understand as to how Member (NonLife) could make such false state ment... the impugned or der... virtually amounts to aiding and abetting corrup tion in the insurance busi ness...” the Bench said. In the complaint fi led with IR DAI in August 2015, Atkins
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GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK
said between 2002 and 2012 it had provided international reinsurance cover to Jagson International on annual brokerage or commission ba sis. Atkins accused Jagson In ternational chairman Jagdish Gupta of demanding a cut, from 2010, in the commis sion it earned. In 2012, the reinsurance business of Jag son went to Marsh India In
Bandhan IPO subscribed 14.62 times
‘U.S. supports WTO, wants some reforms in functioning’
Special Correspondent
Cites major changes since organisation’s inception: Azevedo
MUMBAI
The initial public off er (IPO) of Bandhan Bank, which closed on Monday, was subscribed 14.62 times till 7 p.m. While the institu tional portion was sub scribed 38.67 times, the part reserved for high net worth individuals was sub scribed 13.89 times. The retail portion, ho wever, was subscribed 1.18 times. Bids for a total of 122.07 crore shares were received as against 8.35 crore shares on off er in the price band of ₹ 370₹ 375. At the top end of the band, the lender could raise ₹ 4,400 crore. More than 10 lakh applications were re ceived from investors in the public issue. The issue comprises a fresh issue of 9.77 crore equity shares and off er for sale of 2.16 crore equity shares, includ ing an anchor portion of 3.58 crore equity shares.
reforms in the WTO.” “The WTO has been a dis aster for this country, for our country,” Mr. Trump said on March 1, while speaking at an interaction with steel and aluminium industry repre sentatives. “It has been great for China and terrible for the United States, and great for other countries.”
Special Correspondent New Delhi
Against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump calling the World Trade Or ganisation a “disaster” for the U.S., WTO Director Gen eral Roberto Azevedo has said that the U.S. has been very clear on its support to the organisation, but want ed some upgrades and re forms in its functioning. Mr. Azevedo is in India for a twoday informal ministe rial meeting of WTO mem bers over Monday and Tues day. The meeting assumes signifi cance following the in crease in duty on steel and aluminium by the U.S., and the U.S. taking India to the WTO on export incentive programmes. “The U.S. has been very clear that it supports the WTO,” Mr. Azevedo said, while briefi ng the media fol lowing a CII event on Mon
Roberto Azevedo
day. “The U.S. sees some conversations that are hap pening at the WTO now as very welcome and they sup port that.” “At the same time, the U.S. has been saying that they have some concerns with the way the WTO func tions,” Mr. Azevedo added. “The U.S. maintains that the world has changed sig nifi cantly since the WTO’s inception in 1995, and it wants some upgrades and
Calls on PM Mr. Azevedo also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and thanked the go vernment for taking the in itiative to explore ways to reinvigorate the multilateral trading system. The Prime Minister reiter ated that India was a strong supporter of the multilateral trading system. He said it was imperative to prioritise the WTO’s activ ities so that it addressed the concerns of developing countries.
Is govt. turning a deaf ear to banks bureau? Waiting since July 2017 for time to discuss bank reforms with Jaitley, says BBB SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Mumbai
Is the government ignoring the suggestions of the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) on re forms in public sector banks? The answer is yes if one were to go by the ‘Compen dium of Recommendations’ put up on its website on Monday, where it said the bureau was merely function ing as ‘an appointment board’. Though the bureau, headed by Vinod Rai, had sought a meeting with Fi nance Minister Arun Jaitley to chalk out the action plan for reforms in PSBs in July 2017, the Minister had not gi ven it time yet, it said. Having begun functioning from April 1, 2016, BBB was seen as a step towards gover CM YK
‘Binani sought support’ In a statement, BIL said, “To terminate the IBC proceed ings, Binani Cement will be required to pay off lenders’ debts and other liabilities as admitted in the IBC proceedings. “To add credibility to its application, BIL had ap proached UltraTech Cement Ltd. to support ... with the funds required to pay off the amount determined as due.” It added “upon the termi nation of the insolvency pro ceedings of Binani Cement, the company had agreed to... sell its 98.43% share holding... to UltraTech.”
Vinod Rai
nance reforms in public sec tor banks as recommended by the P.J. Nayak Committee. Preparing PSBs to take on competition, helping them develop capabilities to man age price risk across busi ness cycles and forcing them to focus on generating inter nal capital, among others,
are the objectives of BBB. It also has the mandate to sug gest names for the appoint ment of CEOs and board members of public sector banks (PSBs) to the Centre. The BBB wrote a letter to the Finance Minister on July 26, 2017, seeking specifi c mandates such as advising on consolidation in PSBs, de veloping independent per spectives on asset quality and stressed asset resolution and presenting growth and capital assessments. ‘No executive role’ BBB had also sought the go vernment’s mandate to re work the Articles of Associa tion of IDBI Bank Ltd., so that it mirrored, to the ex tent possible, the Articles of Association of other such in
stitutions which were earlier in the public sector. These mandates were sug gested to further reinforce and institutionalise the zero interference policy of the go vernment, it said. It, howev er, clarifi ed that the board did not seek an executive role. It was to discuss these matters it had sought a meet ing with the Finance Minis ter. The board was still await ing a meeting, the letter said. The letter also indicated that reforms could be under taken without the Centre cutting stake below 51%, con trary to recommendations by the Nayak committee. The present term of BBB members will end on March 31. It is not clear whether the Centre will reconstitute the board or extend their term.
surance Brokers. Detailing the sequence leading to the complaint, the SAT order said Atkins had engaged a global investigating fi rm as it suspected illegal means were used to divert the business, and that the agency, in its re port, said kickbacks were gi ven to Mr. Gupta. “As no action was taken,” on its complaint fi led with IRDAI, Atkins fi led a writ pe tition in the High Court in Hyderabad, which disposed the petition in September 2017 with a direction to IR DAI to consider the com plaint fi led by the fi rm in ac cordance with law. Mr. Joseph heard the ap pellant on November 16, 2017 and passed an order on January 9, disposing of the complaint by “simply stating that the appellant has not
submitted any documentary proof, material information or evidence in support of its contention.” Following this, Atkins fi led an appeal at SAT. ‘Abuse of process of law’ According to SAT, the IRDAI order was a “gross abuse of the process of law and derel iction of duty.” The Tribunal, however, said: “We make it clear that we have not ex pressed any opinion on the merits of the complaint...” In a statement on Monday, a Marsh India spokesperson said: “We strongly deny any wrongdoing and fi nd the complaint, fi led by the com peting broker who lost the business to Marsh India, as baseless and without merit.” (With Ashish Rukhaiyar and Manojit Saha from Mumbai)
What comes fi rst: Once the TDSAT order is vacated, we will honour the guarantees, says Axis Bank. REUTERS *
DoT asks telcos not to accept Axis Bank’s guarantees ‘Guarantees for Aircel not honoured’ Special Correspondent Mumbai
The Department of Tele communications (DoT) has instructed all telecom com panies and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) not to ac cept any new bank guaran tees from Axis Bank. In a letter dated March 16, a copy of which is available with The Hindu, the DoT said that Axis Bank was in “serious breach of trust and contract” with the Govern ment of India (GOI). “Axis Bank has failed to invoke the Bank Guarantee issued by them on behalf of Aircel Group of Companies. This action by Axis Bank is a serious breach of trust and contract with the Govern ment of India,” DoT said in the letter. “In view of this, you are hereby directed not to ac cept any new bank guaran tee from Axis Bank, includ ing renewals. This [is issued] with the approval of competent authority.” TDSAT order The amount of bank guaran tee given by Axis Bank on behalf of Aircel could not be
independently verifi ed. To an emailed query, an Axis Bank spokesperson said, “The bank guarantees have been issued by us on behalf of Bharti Airtel. Payment of the said guarantees, at pre sent, will be in violation of the orders of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Ap pellate Tribunal (TDSAT). “Once the order is vacat ed, the Bank will be pleased to honour the said guaran tees, as per the underlying terms. This matter has been communicated to the Dept. of Telecom (DoT).” ‘Bankruptcy fi ling’ Aircel had fi led for bank ruptcy with the Mumbai bench of NCLT citing high unsustainable debt, price wars and legal and regulato ry challenges. The company has ₹ 15,000 crore of dues to lenders and ₹ 35,000 crore in dues to operational creditors. Aircel has spectrum in the 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands, respective ly. According to current rules, Aircel is not entitled to any refund if it surren ders its spectrum to DoT.
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14 BUSINESS
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IN BRIEF
SEBI for phased rollout of governance norms ‘To avoid genuine hurdles, only big fi rms may be required to comply in initial phase as opposed to all listed companies’ ASHISH RUKHAIYAR MUMBAI
Ford unveils topend EcoSport at ₹ 10.47 lakh NEW DELHI
Ford India on Monday introduced a manual transmission version of the topend petrol variant of its compact SUV, Ecosport, priced at ₹ 10.47 lakh. The new Titanium+ variant will be paired with Ford’s latest threecylinder 1.5 litre petrol engine and feature fi ve speed manual transmission, the company said in a statement. The Titanium+ variant features bigger 17inch alloy wheels. pti
Fintech startups get $50,000 investment BENGALURU
Village Capital, which fi nds, trains and invests in entrepreneurs solving real world problems said two earlystage fi nancial health startups, Impact Micro Ventures and mPokket, were selected by peer entrepreneurs to receive off ers of $50,000 each in investment. This marks the end of an Indiafocused investmentreadiness programme by the Washington DCbased venture capital fi rm.
Vijay Sankar is Honorary Consul GeneralDenmark CHENNAI
Vijay Sankar, deputy chairman of The Sanmar Group, has been appointed the Honorary Consul General for Denmark in Chennai. His consular district consists of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka and the Union Territory of Puducherry. Mr. Sankar succeeds his father N. Sankar and grandfather K. S. Narayanan, who had earlier served as Honorary Consuls for Denmark in south India.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) plans to introduce new corporate go vernance norms as proposed by the Kotak Committee, in a phased manner for listed en tities, with only the bigger companies required to comply in the initial phase as opposed to all the listed companies. The board of the capital market regulator, which is scheduled to meet on March 28, will discuss the commit tee’s proposals before giving it the goahead for imple mentation for listed companies. “The aim is to implement the new norms with mini mum disruption and so the top 200 or 500 companies would be initially mandated to comply with the new
rules,” said a person familiar with the development. “There are proposals that, if implemented for the com plete market at one go, would create genuine hur dles and so the view is that a phased implementation would work better,” he ad ded. He declined to be identi fi ed as the proposals were yet to be approved. The 23member commit tee under the chairmanship of Uday Kotak had submitted its 177page report to SEBI in October. Among other things, the panel proposed that audit committees should monitor the fl ow of funds to unlisted subsidiaries, including those established overseas, and that listed entities should put in place proper regulatory framework while sharing un
the change is not disruptive and the experience gained in the fi rst phase helps to iron out issues, if any, in the com plete rollout,” said J.N. Gup ta, managing director, Stake holders Empowerment Services (SES), a proxy advi sory fi rm.
Setting standards: The committee under Uday Kotak had submitted its report to the SEBI in October. REUTERS *
published pricesensitive in formation with promoters or any other signifi cant shareholders. The committee also pro posed that listed companies should be required to have at
MercedesBenz embarks on tour of smaller cities
least six directors on the board with a minimum of 50% representation of inde pendent directors, including one woman director. “Eff ecting a change in a phased manner ensures that
Compliance conditions Meanwhile, the board of the regulator, which has repre sentation from the govern ment and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will also re view the compliance require ments for investors wanting to trade in the derivatives market. This is part of the regulator’s attempts to en sure that only wellinformed investors with the required risk appetite trade in deriva tives. According to the person quoted above, the regulator
Tirunelveli, Vishakhapat nam, Gandhinagar, Vapi, Kannur and Shivamogga.
Special Correspondent MUMBAI
Luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz India has embarked on a ‘Brand Tour’ of tierII and tierIII cities to tap custom ers from these markets, the company said. The initiative is focussed on reaching out to regions with potential customers who wish to own a luxury car, but have not had the chance to experience the brand due to the absence of a showroom in their city. Through the ‘Brand Tour’, the company would off er testdrives, off roading and showcasing the entire product portfolio, along
Roland Folger
with fi nancial services. The company has already organised such tours in Au rangabad, Udaipur and Alla habad and plans to travel to 11 more cities including Haldwani, Ranchi, Shimla,
‘Economic boost’ “India’s growth has given a major economic boost to its tierII and III markets and with this growing economy, we now have an expanded customer base and favoura ble wealth distribution in the country,” Roland Folger, Managing Director and Chief Executive Offi cer, Mercedes Benz India said. “The Brand Tour helps us in creating a stronghold in the largely untapped tierII and III emerging markets,” Mr. Folger added.
Press Trust of India New Delhi
Markets regulator SEBI on Monday exempted the cen tral government from mak ing an open off er for the shareholders of Punjab Na tional Bank, Canara Bank and four other stateowned lenders following capital infusion. The exemption has been given with regard to Syndi cate Bank, Vijaya Bank, Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India also. Following capital infu sion in these listed public sector banks, the govern ment’s respective stakes in the banks would rise. Un der SEBI norms, an entity whose shareholding in a listed company goes beyond a particular thresh old would have to make an open off er.
Hilton India to manage 16 new hotels Hopes to cash in on rise in international business travellers, domestic tourists Special Correspondent
Aims to tap markets that may not have fi rm’s showrooms
is likely to make it compulso ry for brokers to insist on the net worth certifi cates of in vestors who want to trade in the derivatives segment beyond a certain threshold li mit, so as to ensure that the exposure is well within the risk taking capacities of the individual. Incidentally, the market regulator had released a dis cussion paper in July last year for the ‘growth and de velopment of equity deriva tive market in India’, which, among other things, high lighted the rapid growth in the derivatives turnover over the years, along with the kind of participants trading in the segment. An email query sent to SEBI seeking comments on the board meet remained un answered till the time of go ing to press.
‘PSB recap: open off er not needed’
Bengaluru
Hilton India, a fullyowned subsidiary of the U.S.based Hilton Hotels and Resorts, plans to manage 16 addition al hotels in the next three to four years, helped by a rise in the number of interna tional business travellers and domestic tourists, Navjit Ahluwalia, country head In dia, said. “Sixteen are in the pipe line for the next 34 years,” Mr. Ahluwalia said. “Every year, we are signing new pro perties and by the end of the year it may become 25 and by third year it might be come 50. How fast we grow is something that we need to see.” More than 10 million fo reign tourists arrived in In
Navjit Ahluwalia
dia in 2017 compared to 8.89 million in 2016, registering a growth of 15.6%. Hilton India currently manages 17 hotels. Its fi rst property was in New Delhi built by DLF in 2009. “Hilton is a management company and we rely on third party owners like DLF and Embassy Group. We have not made any invest
ments in these hotels per se. We make investments in our brand and our infrastructure which are very signifi cant. As far as hotels are con cerned, they are funded by individual owners,” Mr. Ah luwalia said. Currently, Hilton India op erates fi ve brands in the country – Conrad, Hilton, Double Tree, Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton. Globally, the company has 14 brands. Business growth “Our economy is growing at 7.5% and institutional capital from all over the world is coming into India. There is growth in both domestic and inbound as far as businesses and leisure are concerned. Indian companies are doing a lot of expansion and there
is also a lot of international leisure travel that is coming. Global Fortune 500 com panies are growing and ex panding their business in In dia. It is a mix of these factors that are contributing to an increase in demand,” he said. Mr. Ahluwalia said supply had dried up earlier. “All the supply which had to come into the market earlier has been tied up. So the new supply that is further to open is very limited. This means we will see a very signifi cant increase in terms of occu pancy, which means it will make sense to people to make more hotels. That is why we are very buoyant and confi dent that the next 510 years in India is going to be the golden period.”
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IN BRIEF
A huge stride forward for Karthik the fi nisher ‘I have always thought about hitting the fi nal delivery for a six and taking India past the line’ NIDAHAS TROPHY S. Dinakar Chennai
Shi stuns Lin, Ying’s reign continues BIRMINGHAM
Chinese superstar Lin Dan was denied a seventh All England Open title as his young compatriot Shi Yuqi clinched a shock victory in Sunday’s final. Seventh seeded Shi profited from Lin’s lacklustre play to win 2119, 1621, 219. Earlier, Tai Tzu Ying, the World No. 1 from Chinese Taipei, became the first women’s player in more than a decade to defend her title. She beat Akane Yamaguchi 2220, 2113.
Dinesh Karthik fi rst watched a video of Javed Miandad’s last ball six off Chetan Shar ma when he was 10 years old. It remained a schoolboy dream in him. “I always thought about hitting the fi nal delivery for a six and tak ing India past the line,” he said. Actually when Miandad struck that sensational tour namentwinning blow in that gutwrenching AustralAsia Cup fi nal at Sharjah in 1986, Karthik was under a yearold.
Decision on Rabada’s appeal by Wednesday CAPE TOWN
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will learn the result of his appeal against a ban for the remaining two Tests against Australia within 48 hours following a hearing on Monday, Cricket South Africa said. The hearing, via teleconference with judicial commissioner Michael Heron of New Zealand, lasted more than five hours. South African captain Faf du Plessis attended the early part of the meeting before leaving to join the team but team manager Mohammed Moosajee and advocate Dali Mpofu remained with Rabada. AFP
Now, he was a battle scarred senior cricketer in the Indian camp. And the moment — when Bangla desh’s Soumya Sarkar ran in — was his shot at longawait ed glory. Ticking a big box And when Karthik bludge oned Sarkar for the maxi mum with India needing fi ve runs off the last delivery in the Nidahas Trophy fi nal on Sunday, he had ticked a mas
Rubel Hossain seeks forgiveness from fans DHAKA
Crestfallen Bangladesh pacer Rubel Hossain, who leaked 22 runs in the 19th over to help India claw back chasing 167 and win the final of the Nidahas Trophy, wants to be forgiven by fans. “I am feeling terrible. I never thought I would be the reason for Bangladesh’s defeat. We were so close to winning but because of me, we lost. I want to apologise to the fans and ask for forgiveness,” Rubel was quoted as saying by Bangladesh newspaper Prothom Alo. IANS
McClenaghan for injured Behrendorff
Advani begins with a facile win YANGON
Pankaj Advani made a smooth start to his title defence at the 17th Asian billiards championship, outclassing Singapore’s Yeo Teck Shin 40 on Monday. Rupesh Shah also won 40 against Indonesia’s Marlando Sihombing. Other results: Women: Vidya Pillai bt Thandar Maung 21; Amee Kamani bt Ngwe Hlaing 20; Keerath Bhandaal bt Varshaa Sanjeev 21. Under-21: Sparsh Pherwani bt Thaw Zain Htet 43.
Savouring the moment Karthik will savour the mo ment. He had donned the cloak of a fi nisher for India and lived out a fantasy dur ing his eightball blitz of un beaten 29. He has been around for long in an international ca reer that began in 2004. It has been a rocky ride for the wicketkeeperbatsman from Chennai, a journey in which he had displayed tremen dous fi ghting qualities. The striking aspect about Karthik’s lastball heroics in Colombo was, there was so little predetermination. He stood still and calm when
the fi nal delivery was re leased. The full length delivery outside off — not the easiest ball to put away — was des patched with batspeed and power for a fl at six over cov ers. The quickfooted Karthik has matured with time, be coming a morerounded bat sman who is hitting a lot straighter, picking his shots and spots with greater judge ment and precision. India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun told The Hindu on Monday, “Look at the way Karthik was using the crease. He stood outside the crease for the fi rst two balls he faced. “For the next two balls, he went deep into his crease. Karthik foxed the bowler in to bowling the line and length, he wanted.” Rare batsman Arun said, “Karthik is among those rare batsmen who can play shots all 360 degrees.
Memorable win: The Indian players take a lap of honour after winning the Nidahas Trophy triseries tournament.
And even under extreme pressure, his perception skills are good. It was a mas sive occasion for all of us
This Washington is going places www.dailyreader24.com
‘The idea is to bowl where the batsman is least expecting the delivery’ S. Dinakar Chennai
When the heat is on, Wash ington Sundar keeps his cool. In hectic modernday shortestformat faceoff s, oldfashioned control keeps him going. This spinner is powerful in PowerPlays. Indeed, one among the breed of bowlers (off spin ners) most vulnerable in the T20 cricket also fi nished
MUMBAI
New Zealand leftarm seamer Mitchell McClenaghan has replaced the injured Australian leftarm seamer Jason Behrendorff in the Mumbai Indians squad for this season’s IPL. McClenaghan, who will receive ₹ one crore, has played 40 matches for MI and taken 54 wickets (18 in 2015, 17 in 2016 and 19 in 2017) at 24.61.
sive box in his wish list. Watching that pulse pounding conclusion in Co lombo was India coach Ravi Shastri who was in that In dian team fl oored by Mian dad’s knockout blow 32 years ago. He rushed to the ground in relief and joy after the contest’s explosive end.
with the best economy rate, and with most wickets too. Despite his minimal celebra tions at successes — a throw back to another era — Wash ington rocked in the Nidahas Trophy. He was rightly the ManoftheSeries. Washington bowled a ma jority of his overs during Po werPlay and yet fi nished with a stunning economy rate of 5.70. And he topped the wickettakers’ tally — along with Yuzvendra Cha hal — with eight scalps at a telling average of 14.25. Great feeling “It’s a great feeling actually. I am only 18 and this is my fi rst full tournament. Sri Lanka
‘Karthik equipped to deliver in any situation’ Press Trust of India COLOMBO
Triumph of spirit: It was an unforgettable feeling for Washington Sundar, who was at the other end when Dinesh Karthik hit the winning six. AFP *
where the batsman is least expecting the delivery.” Using the crease and vary ing the pace are among his principal ploys. For a tall man, who extracts bounce, Washington can also get the new ball to skid, employing cross seam. And Washington was at
the nonstriker’s end when the blazing Dinesh Karthik settled the issue with a last ball six. “It was an unforget table feeling. I was hopeful Karthik would do something special. It happened.” It was celebration time for India. And this Washington is going places.
Dinesh Karthik is always ready to deliver whatever the situation may be and his experience and repertoire of strokes make him a suita ble candidate to provide the fi nal fl ourish for India in the death overs, skipper Rohit Sharma said. Karthik produced a last ball six as India pulled off an incredible win over Bangla desh in the Nidhas Trophy T20 Triseries fi nal, here on Sunday night. “He was with us on the previous tour in South Afri ca and didn’t get much game time. To do what he did today will give him a lot of confi dence going for ward,” said Rohit. “The most important thing he has is belief in him self. Whatever situation comes, he’s ready — wheth er he bats up the order or down the order. That’s the kind of guy we need in our team.” Rohit revealed Karthik was not happy that he was not batting higher in the or der but the Indian skipper defended his decision of sending him at No. 7. “I told him: ‘I want you to bat and fi nish off the game for us, because whatever skill you have, it will be re quired in the last three or four overs’ That is the only
Flat pitch compounds Irani Cup crisis Any strip where the result is decided by the toss is a bad one: Jaff er Amol Karhadkar NAGPUR
Fair point: Though Jaff er made the most of a lifeless pitch, he feels that it defeats the purpose of the game. VIVEK BENDRE *
CM YK
At a time when the BCCI in tends to adopt new measures to popularise domestic crick et, the last thing it would have wanted was a fl at pitch for the Irani Cup . With domestic cricket in general and the Irani Cup in particular suff ering from an existential crisis, the fl at pitch at Jamtha has only compounded the situation. So lopsided was the equa tion that the bowlers — be it pacers or spinners — just did not come into play all over
ek Nayar had tightened the game and strengthened the mind. His journey is as much
AFP
about heart as talent. From now on, he will al ways be Dinesh ‘Nidahas’ Karthik.
Windies stay on course
India skipper Rohit praises his boys
and Bangladesh are danger ous opponents. The pres sure was on us,” said Wash ington to The Hindu here on Monday. He had landed in Chennai on Monday morning after ce lebrations that stretched late into Sunday night in Colom bo. “It was a memorable tri umph,” he said. Although his elegant and freestroking lefthanded batting has not been in view so far, Washington’s deve lopment as a bowler has been fascinating. Clarity of thought India bowling coach Bharat Arun said, “Even under im mense pressure, he stays calm. That’s why his thought process is so good in the Po werPlay overs. He has clarity of thought even in stressful situations.” Arun, who believed Wash ington was “very receptive to ideas”, observed, “He is an exciting bowler. What stands out is the manner he gets the ball to drift. The bat sman thinks he is in line and then the ball drifts. He is also someone who uses the york er extremely well.” Washington said bowling in the PowerPlays and later towards the ‘death’ was a lot about thinking ahead of the batsman. “You got to stay one step ahead. Even if he hits me, I tell myself, ‘My next delivery will be my best’. The idea is to bowl
when he produced that amazing fi nish.” For Karthik, a stint under Mumbai allrounder Abhish
*
the fi ve days. Even the home team did not expect such a fl at track. No doubt, Vidarbha was desperate to get the better of the Rest of India whose bat ting lineup appeared to have been selected based on the Ranji Trophy highest run getters’ list rather than po tential and batting positions. While centurymaker Ga nesh Satish admitted to the Jamtha pitch being “one of the fl attest” he has played on, veteran Wasim Jaff er, whose incredible innings of 286 at the age of 40 was easi
ly the highlight, was also crit ical of the 22yard strip. When The Hindu asked Jaff er after the game if such a pitch was a bad advertise ment for the game, he said: “I think so. You would like to see a fi veday game go on to the second innings. Any pitch where the result is de cided on the toss is a bad wicket. “I mean even if we had lost the toss, they would have posted a big score. In general, you need to play on sporting tracks where every body is in the game at diff e
rent phases. That’s how an ideal pitch should be.” After a twoyear break, the BCCI allowed the Ranji champion to stage the Irani Cup. In fact, the board wants to break away from its neu tralvenue policy for Ranji knockouts from next season. However, after the Irani experience, it could well stick to the existing policy for the knockouts. The timing of the match, too, made it inconsequential, with the cricketing globe al ready switching to T20 mode.
< > I told him: ‘I want you to bat and fi nish off the game for us, because the skill you have will be required in the last three or four overs’ reason he was not batting at No. 6 in the 13th over when I got out. He was upset with that, but he’ll be quite hap py now how he fi nished off the game.” Handling pressure well Rohit was all praise for young allrounder Washing ton Sundar. “Throughout the series Washington’s bowling has been magical for us. What he has done with the new ball is quite incredible. Not anyone can just take the pressure of bowling within the PowerPlay. “Not to forget he also got wickets at the same time. He didn’t allow any of the op position to score runs really in the PowerPlay,” Rohit said. “We identifi ed him as one of the promising talents who can play for the nation al team for many years. This tournament will give him a lot of confi dence.” Rohit said the young team showed character and executed the plans perfectly.
Marlon Samuels.
*
AFP
Agence France-Presse HARARE
West Indies edged closer to a place in the 2019 World Cup when it defeated Zim babwe by four wickets in the latest qualifying match on Monday. Chasing 290 to win, the twotime champion reached its target with six balls to spare. Marlon Sa muels smashed 86 (4x6) while Evin Lewis and Shai Hope also contributed half centuries. The West Indies leads the Super Sixes qualifying table with six points but will still need to avoid de feat against Scotland on Wednesday in its last pool match to be sure of a place in next year’s fi nals. The scores: Zimbabwe 289 in 50 overs (B. Taylor 138; J. Holder four for 35) lost to West Indies 290 for six in 49 overs (M. Samuels 86, S. Hope 76, E. Lewis 64).
CHESS
Caruana dumps Aronian, back in lead Sports Bureau BERLIN
Continuing with his good form, Fabiano Caruana got the better of Levon Aronian in 37 moves to open a half point lead over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov after the se venth round of the FIDE Candidates chess tourna ment here on Sunday. At the halfway stage of this eightplayer double round robin event, Caruana leads with fi ve points. Ma medyarov is a point ahead
of Vladimir Kramnik, Ding Liren and Alexander Gris chuk. In the other decisive bat tle, Sergey Karjakin scored over Wesley So. The results: Seventh round: Levon Aronian (Arm, 2.5) lost to Fabiano Ca ruana (USA, 5); Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 3) bt Wesley So (USA, 2.5). Alexander Grischuk (Rus, 3.5) drew with Shakhriyar Ma medyarov (Aze, 4.5); Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 3.5) drew with Ding Liren (Chn, 3.5). A ND-NDE
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TV PICKS NBA: Sony Six (SD & HD), 4.30 a.m. onwards
IN BRIEF
del Potro edges Federer in a thriller The Argentine saves three match points en route to his fi rst Masters 1000 title BNP PARIBAS OPEN Reuters INDIAN WELLS
Dovizioso wins thrilling Qatar MotoGP DOHA
Italy’s Andrea Dovizioso won a thrilling seasonopening Qatar MotoGP on Sunday, surviving a last lap challenge from World champion Marc Marquez. Ninetime World champion Valentino Rossi came home in third place on a Yamaha. AFP
Aditi fi nishes creditable 26th, Park takes title PHOENIX
Aditi Ashok carded six birdies enroute to a week’s best card of fourunder 68 to finish T26 with eightunder 280 at the Bank of Hope Founders Cup on the LPGA here on Sunday. The win was worth $12,697. Korean Inbee Park, with a 269, won by five strokes over 54yearold Laura Davies. PTI
Juan Martin del Potro saved three match points in a thrill ing fi nal at the BNP Paribas Open before handing World No. 1 Roger Federer his fi rst loss of the year and claiming his maiden Masters 1000 tit le on Sunday. The Argentine stunned a raucous Indian Wells crowd that had been loudly backing Federer to continue his win ning streak and secure the biggest win in the nine years since his U.S. Open title tri umph with a 64, 67(8), 76 (2) victory. The win also helped del Potro improve his ranking from eighth to sixth. Federer, the defending champion, had chalked up 17 consecutive wins in 2018, a run which included his 20th Grand Slam title at the Aus
tralian Open, but was unable to outlast his determined 29 yearold opponent. del Potro was considered a genuine threat to Federer’s dominance of the game when he won at Flushing Meadows in 2009 but has been dogged since by a se ries of wrist problems which almost ended his career. “I’m still shaking I’m so nervous. It’s diffi cult to de scribe with words, it’s like a dream,” del Potro said on court after extending his own winning streak to 11 matches. “I’ve been working hard to get this. I can’t believe I’m here winning a Masters tour nament. It’s amazing.” Beating Federer has never been easy — del Potro had succeeded just six times in 24 previous attempts — and the nailbiting fi nal lasted al most three hours with both players taking occasional is
sue with the chair umpire. “As close as it can be so metimes when you’re not feeling it or momentum has shifted, it’s just crazy how it can go the other way,” said the Swiss.
New Delhi
Udit Gogoi is the top seed in the Road to Wimbledon boys’ event to be staged on the grass courts of the Gymk hana Club here from Tues day. The tournament, featur ing 16 players, will be played on a leaguecumknockout basis. The top two from the four
groups will qualify for the knockout phase and the two best players will make it to the UK under14 cham pionship on the grass courts of Wimbledon in August. It may be noted that from the girls’ event in Kolkata played last week, Sanjana Si rimalla and Renne Singla qualifi ed for the UK under14 championship.
MUMBAI
Osaka’s maiden triumph In a battle of 20yearolds, Ja pan’s Naomi Osaka claimed her fi rst career title with a commanding 63, 62 victory over Russian Daria Kasatki na. The unseeded HaitianJa panese player became the youngest Indian Wells cham pion since Ana Ivanovic was victorious a decade ago. Osaka ousted Maria Shara pova, Karolina Pliskova and World No.1 Simona Halep in the semifi nals on her way to the championship. The results (fi nals): Men: Juan Martin Del Potro bt Roger Fe derer 64, 67(8), 76(2). Women: Naomi Osaka bt Daria Kasatkina 63, 62.
Udit given pride of place Special Correspondent
Special Correspondent
The pools: Pool A: Udit Gogoi, Monil Rohit Lotlikar, Jasmeet Duhan, and Arjun Gohad. Pool B: Aman Dahiya, Hasith Srujan, Krishang Raghuvanshi, and Deep Munim. Pool C: Chirag Duhan, Arunava Majumder, Anchit Gogoi, and Ayushmaan Arjeria. Pool D: Vishesh Janish Patel, Sukhpreet Singh Jhoje, Saheb Sodhi, and Ajay Singh.
What a match, mate! Juan Martin del Potro is congratulated by Roger Federer after the Argentine bounced back from the brink to dethrone the Swiss. AFP *
Sheoran wins gold KUALA LUMPUR
Gauri Sheoran emerged the lone individual gold medallist for India, which fi nished third in the medals table with three gold, two silver and three bronze, in the World University shooting championship that concluded here on Sunday. Italy topped the tally from among 24 teams, while Korea was second. After just about qualify ing into the fi nal of the 25m sports pistol with a modest score of 371, Sheoran was brilliant in the climax winding up with a perfect fi ve, as she beat Wang Xiaoyu of China 3733 for the gold. Shreya Gawande fi nished fi fth. www.dailyreader24.com The Indian women’s air rifl e team won gold apart from silver and bronze me dals by Meghana Sajjanar and Elavenil Valarivan. India won its third gold in men’s air pistol, as the trio of Anmol Jain, Achal Pratap Singh Grewal and NIsshant Sindhu helped Great comeback: Rory Mcllroy conjured up a brilliant game on the team beat Russia by the back nine to walk away with the honours. AP nine points. In men’s free pistol, An die at the 18th to clinch his Chambeau 67667268; 274: mol Jain, Achal Pratap fi rst PGA Tour title since the Justin Rose 69716767; 275: Singh Grewal and Karnav Henrik Stenson 64697171. 2016 Tour championships. Bishoi won bronze. Tejas Krishna Prasad, Akhil She Top scores: 270: Rory McIlroy 278: Tiger Woods 687269 oran and Arjun Babuta 69706764; 273: Bryson De 69, Ryan Moore 71676971. helped India to the a bronze in men’s air rifl e.
Woods ties for fi fth place; Lahiri fi nishes disappointing T75
LONDON
Ninetime champion Martina Navratilova accused the BBC Monday of a “shocking” pay gap which saw her fellow Wimbledon pundit John McEnroe paid at least 10 times more than she. Navratilova said she was paid around £15,000 by the BBC for her role as a commentator. “It’s shocking. It’s still the good old boys’ network.... The bottom line is that male voices are valued more than women's voices.”AFP
Bolt to watch CWG 100m as a spectator: Blake SYDNEY
Usain Bolt will attend next month’s Commonwealth Games to watch the 100m final, Yohan Blake has revealed. “(He) was at the track in Jamaica before I left. He said, ‘When I come to Australia, if you don’t win there is going to be problems’,” said Blake. “I don’t have a Commonwealth medal. It’s very important for me to have one in my trophy case.” AFP
PGA TOUR Reuters & AFP ORLANDO
Rory McIlroy staged a spec tacular back nine charge to claim a threeshot victory at the Arnold Palmer Invita tional on Sunday, collecting his fi rst PGA Tour win since 2016 and putting himself among the redhot favou rites for the U.S. Masters. Two behind overnight leader Henrik Stenson when the day began, McIlroy over hauled the Swede with a bril liant errorfree fi nal round eightunder 64. The Northern Irishman hit fi ve birdies over his last six holes, including a nerve wracking clutch 25foot bir
*
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\ NEW DELHI ROUND-UP \
Anshu, Ardhaya shine Anshu Pandey picked up fi ve wickets for just 19 runs and UP Under16 batsman Aradhya Yadav made 64 as TN Memorial Academy beat Rann Star Club by 28 runs in the 11th Hargopal cricket tournament. The scores: TNMA 190 in 40 overs (Aradhya Yadav 64,
Anchit Yadav 43; Saqlain Haider four for 33, Tejas Baroka three for 50) bt Rann Star Club 162 in 38.4 overs (Ajay Gulia 48, Tejas Baroka 33; Anshu Pandey fi ve for 19).
64 not out as Rohini Court beat Tis Hazari Court by eight wickets in the 7th K.K. Luthra memorial cricket tournament.
Naved, Jaspreet score half-centuries
The scores: Tis Hazari Court
Manofthematch Naved Hussain made unbeaten 67 and Jaspreet Singh scored
151 for nine in 20 overs (Vaibhav Gupta 51) lost to Rohini Court 153 for two in 13.4 overs (Naved Hussain 67 n.o., Jaspreet Singh 64 n.o.).
Actively adopt ‘read block’: Ramana Rao
Sports Bureau
McIlroy ends a long drought Navratilova slams BBC over Wimbledon pay
England women post facile win
Gauri Sheoran with her reward. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *
Stresses on advantage of two liberos
The England women’s team made the most of the fi rst Twenty20 warmup and got the better of In diaA by 45 runs at the Cricket Club of India on Monday. Getting a feel of the se cond string Indian attack and the conditions at the Brabourne Stadium, Bryo ny Smith, Tamsin Beau mont and Heather Knight scored half centuries as the visitors posted 176 for four. Then Anya Shrubsole, Natasha Farrant, Natalie Sciver took two wickets each to restrict the host to 131. D. Hemlatha made a 32 ball 41 with seven 4s. The second warm up match will be played at the same venue on Wednesday. India, Australia and En gland will play a Twenty20 triangular at the CCI from March 22 to 31. The scores: England 176 for 4 in 20 overs (Bryony Smith 50,Tamsin Beaumont 57 not out, Heather Knight 52, Rad ha Yadav two for 37) bt In diaA 131 in 20 overs (D. He malath 41, Anya Shrubsole two for 23, Natasha Farrant two for 21, Natalie Sciver two for 26).
A. Joseph Antony Hyderabad
“Employing two liberos is a tactic even men’s teams should adopt,” A. Ramana Rao told The Hindu while looking back at the Federa tion Cup volleyball tourna ment that concluded at Bhi mavaram on Sunday. Lauding the Indian Railways women’s squad for resorting to the move, he said the stra tegy helped it recover from a fi rst set defi cit to eventually claim the crown. In general, the libero re places a blocker to bolster the defence. One Railway lib ero was brought in specifi cal ly to receive service, a skill she was strong with. When the service changed hands, she was replaced by the regu lar libero, both thus eff ective ly contributing to the team’s cause. “Since the rules allow any number of substitutions for liberos, Railways made the most of that provision and reaped the rewards,” the Dro nacharya awardee observed. Sound interception of service not only saved points but as sisted in properly setting up attacking combinations. More practice The three primary scoring skills of serving, blocking and spiking needed much more practice to reduce margins of error in the Indian game. Other skills being intermedi ary, they could be acquired more easily if the fi rst three had good grounding. If Indian volleyball aspired to international achieve ment, then it should actively adopt the ‘read block,’ he suggested. On the method employed by teams in Europe and lead
Kanika pips Bhunu SPORTS BUREAU MANAMA
A. Ramana Rao . *
FILE PHOTO: V. RAJU
aren’t < > Indians capitalising on their height to score points from kill blocks ing nations in the game, he said blockers responded to the setting of the ball. In that way, the ‘wall’ would not be misled by the jumps of spikers, with one or even two of them faking the shot so that the actual hitter is not quickly revealed. “Indian blockers aren’t capitalising on their height to score points from ag gressive or kill blocks. So should refl exes and reac tion times be improved,” the Arjuna awardee urged. “The pattern of spiking must be changed by assess ing each opposition and backed up by variety.” Appraisals of player per formance in India were based mostly on human observations, the negatives invariably overlooked. At the international le vel, they were more scien tifi c with software to ana lyse the winners scored and also the points spilt, the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) vicepresi dent added.
Eighth seed Kanika Vaidya got past Valeria Bhunu of Zimbabwe 64, 46, 64 in the fi rst round of the $15,000 ITF women’s tour nament on Monday. Other result: Doubles (prequarterfi nals): Tea Faber (Cro) & Ashmitha Easwaramurthi bt Hanna Grace Espinosa (Phi) & Stanzi Stuijt (Ned) 75, 64.
South Zone fi ghts back Special Correspondent Thiruvananthapuram
South Zone hit back with late wickets to stage a co meback against West Zone in the BCCI Senior women’s interzone cricket tourna ment here on Monday. West, in reply to South’s fi rst innings score of 203, collapsed from a comforta ble position of 154 for three to 185 for eight at stumps on the second day. The collapse spoiled the good work done by Shewta (81) and Mugdha V. Joshi (73) who added 140 for the fourth wicket. The scores: South 203 in 99.4 overs (S. Asha 63, R.N. Chaud hari four for 17) vs West 185 for eight in 83 overs (Shweta 81, Mugdha V. Joshi 73, Gouh er three for 56). East 54 & 87 for four in 55 overs (Paramita Roy 41) v North 194 in 93.5 overs (Priya Punia 73, Mandeep Kaur 30, Devyani Prasad three for 43).
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12269
(set by Aspartame)
11 Being like a dog maybe? (35) 12 Korean singer is eating oriental noodles with man that could be Aspartame (9)
■ ACROSS 1 Female boatmen are wielding fl imsy newspaper as weapons (13)
10 Chopper has lice right inside (6)
CM YK
4 Good grey chicken are getting transported by car (7,8)
Scriptures and sacred texts show that great thinkers, real ised souls and the devout saints have tried to reconcile the infi nite variety and change in the universe with what they have intuitively felt as something that is stable, steady and unchanging. But what is most appealing in these texts, opi nions or records from the past is the total absence of dogma, pointed out Velukkudi Sri Krishnan in a discourse. Though the strongly felt views and ideas are fervently expressed, the choice to accept or reject is left to the individual thinker. Even Nammazhwar, who is acclaimed for his exceptional yoga, jnana and bhakti, and whose hymns are on a par with the Vedas, is humble when expressing truths that are univer sally valid. It is held that the Lord had exclusively granted him the vision of the many Divya Desas and had inspired him to sing soul stirring hymns from the depths of his expe riences. He is very clear about the Supreme Lord, the state of the jivatma, the way for the jivatma to attain the Lord, the hurdles that are likely to prevent this, and the ways to over come the diffi culties. He fi rmly asserts that the ultimate goal to be attained is Lord Narayana and that seeking His feet in total surrender is the only sure route. This is available to all, he says. Such is the Lord’s compassion that He will rescue every jivatma caught in the depths of samsara and grant sal vation even as He rescued Bhu Devi from the deep ocean with His powerful tusks during Varaha avatar. He wishes to share this message which he claims is his humble fi nding. In a similar vein, Madhurakavi Azhwar, known for his ex clusive Nammazhwar bhakti, states that to him the very name of Nammazhwar is the essence of sweetness and ho ney. The onus of evaluating the worth of the legacy be queathed by great souls lies with posterity.
15 Question steamy scientist verbally (4)
6 Revenue coming from England's top memorial making nation's leader extremely successful (9) 7 Boy goes back in without footwear (7)
21 Allocates market instruments (6)
13 O, natural arrangement around big city (4,5)
23 Starting point for British novel: chapter fi ftyone (10)
15 House made using primarily wrought iron collapses killing Indian under portico (7)
24 Go down, go down, ultimately go out (4) 25 Lower very big optical device said to be placed above the rest (3,10)
8 Started off job making dye (4) 9 A Rolls Royce rolls out of military setup with coach causing a scene (10)
Onus on individuals
5 Music producers planned to detonate bomb (6)
20 Engineer bribes a class leader to get more marks (8)
■ DOWN 1 Enemies hire one oddball to reveal eccentricities (7) 2 A Pole discusses wood trick (5)
FAITH
3 Setter about to win round rare ring at bar (7)
14 Unites extremely white dames (4)
16 Food from Odisha Tina cooked for dog (9)
SUDOKU
Solution to puzzle 12268 17 Give wrong card to ladies’ man, by mistake (7) 18 Extraordinary sea women ultimately quelled riots (7) 19 Erase short message containing address of president (6) 22 Some lad donates preservative (32)
Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku
A ND-NDE
https://t.me/pdf4exams
https://www.estore33.com/
https://t.me/TheHindu_Zone_official
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THE HINDU
SPORT 17
NOIDA/DELHI
TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
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Santosh satisfi ed with his Dakar showing ‘Desert Storm will be tough and reaching the podium will be a challenge’ S. Dipak Ragav
great on many fronts.
Chennai
This year, in 2018, my aim was to be competitive and challenge the best in the world. I achieved that goal twice with stage times in the top 15 and then in the top 20. This was a very diffi cult Da kar and I made it all the way to fi nish 35th overall despite my share of troubles.
After taking part in another gruelling Dakar rally early in the year, C.S. Santosh is cur rently competing in the Dess ert Storm in Rajasthan. He talks about his career, his Da kar outings and more. Excerpts: Never-say-die spirit: Vikram Agnihotri, who is the fi rst from India to get a licence for driving with his feet, believes in overcoming the challenges. RAYAN ROZARIO *
Vikram — an inspiration to many Amputated hands don’t stop him from pursuing his dreams DESERT STORM Rayan Rozario Bikaner
Rally driver Vikram Agniho tri has no hands. It does not matter much for him as he believes his feet will do the magic on the wheel on his maiden venture in the Maru ti Suzuki Desert Storm 2018 which began here on Monday. It was not a great day for the 47yearold from Indore and his codriver and friend Ankit on the opening day but they termed it a great ex perience. The former has come a long way in life and it is all about grit and determina tion that has seen him driv ing on the desert, consi dered to be the most diffi cult to even the best of drivers. Incidentally, Vikram is the fi rst from India to get a li cence for driving with his feet. He had to run from pil lar to post for close to two years and pass several tests before obtaining it last year. He was also instrumental in
the Motor Vehicle Act being amended accordingly. A post graduate in Eco nomics, Vikram came in contact with a high tension wire while playing at his friend’s terrace top. He was only seven then but it turned out to be tragic for him and the family. “My hands were charred and had to be ampu tated but luckily I survived because I had my feet off the fl oor. I did not realise what was happening then but my parents motivated me and got me on my feet,” he said. “My parents gave me the impression that nothing had gone wrong and there’s more to life,” he added. Vikram went to school like any other child, learnt a bit of football and swim ming, and kept himself oc cupied. But a chance visit to Germany in the 80s changed the course of his life. “My father was an IPS of fi cer and on a deputation with the foreign ministry. So we had to be in London for two years and another four in Germany. There I met a gentleman called Franz. He
was born without hands but he made small useful gad gets for people with such diffi culties.” On his return to India, Vikram drew inspiration from it and decided to make the best use of his feet — in a car. He picked up a Celerio automatic and had a go at it. “I did not go for an expen sive one because I wasn’t sure if I would get the licence. “Lots of people laughed at my decision and asked me why drive at 45, but I fought all odds. Today I am a happy man,” he said. Vikram’s fi rst race outing was at the Malwa Adventure in Indore. “An offi cial there gave me an invite and I grabbed it and won the amateur class. The second came my way through Central Motor sports. We lost out by two minutes,” he added. The Desert Storm is his third rally and he believes in facing challenges. “Because life without challenges is go ing to be boring. I look for ward to more of it.”
you battle against yourself. Racing for over fi ve days or two weeks takes a lot of con centration and eff ort, to be able to sustain speed and performance every single day. What are the areas that you can improve?
On your best fi nish at Dakar. Talk us through the diff erence between 2015 and 2018 campaigns.
Your preparations for Desert Storm 2018
2015 was one of the most crucial years of my life, a turning point in my career. I participated in the Dakar Rally; the fi rst Indian to do so, and then going on to fi n ish it on my very fi rst attempt was indeed special. So it was
Desert Storm is one of my fa vourite rallies in India and I look forward to it every year. This year I’m working to wards improving my speed. The competition , which in cludes international riders, as also stepped up this year.
Ronaldo scorches Girona
Jithin gives Kerala a fl ying start
AFP & Reuters Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo conti nued his scorching scoring run by bagging four goals in Real Madrid’s hugely en tertaining 63 La Liga win over Girona on Sunday. Ronaldo has now netted 22 times in the league this season, trailing Lionel Mes si by just three goals.
Priority: C.S. Santosh says his aim this year is to be competitive and challenge the best. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *
So it will be tough and to reach the podium a chal lenge. Our entire team at He ro MotoSports is working to wards it.
Can you talk about the challenge and the adrenaline of racing a clock than competitors?
Racing the clock is unique as
Defending champion Bengal races past Manipur SANTOSH TROPHY Amitabha Das Sharma KOLKATA
Kerala made a fl ying start to its campaign in the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy drub bing Chandigarh 51 in its Group A league match here on Monday. In the other match in the same group, defending champion Bengal outclassed The results: La Liga: Villarreal former champion Manipur 2 (Unal 82, 90+1) bt Atletico 30. Madrid 1 (Griezmann 20 pen); Celta Vigo 0 drew with For fi vetime champion Malaga 0; Real Madrid 6 (Ro Kerala young M.S. Jithin naldo 11, 48, 64, 90+1, Lucas scored twice while Sajith 59, Bale 86) bt Girona 3 Poulose, V.K. Afdal and V.S. (Stuani 29, 67, Juanpe 88); Sreekuttan fi red in a goal Barcelona 2 (Alcacer 8, Messi each. Vishal Sharma got the 30) bt Athletic Bilbao 0. lone goal for Chandigarh. Serie A: Lazio 1 (Lucas 16) Playing with a twoman at drew with Bologna 1 (Verdi 3); tack, Kerala struck early as Napoli 1 (Albiol 72) bt Genoa Jithin, who made it to the 0. side through the under21 Bundesliga: Cologne 2 (Osa quota, converted a pass from ko 9, Zoller 69) Bayer Lever S. Seesan. kusen 0; RB Leipzig 2 (Keita Kerala doubled the lead in 37, Werner 56) bt Bayern www.dailyreader24.com Munich 1 (Wagner 12). the 18th minute through Sa
Sumit Das celebrates after scoring. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *
jith Poulose. Kerala made it 30 by the 49th minute when Jithin set up striker Afdal with another good assist. Kerala piled on Chandi garh’s misery as Jithin scored his second and the team’s
fourth in the 51st minute. Substitute Sreekuttan com pleted the formalities in the 77th minute seeing his snap attempt going in after hitting the post. Bengal also took an early lead, Sumit Das fi nding the net in the seventh minute af ter captain Jiten Murmu’s header on a Tirthankar Sar kar corner came off the crosspiece. Bengal doubled the tally in the 15th minute, Das guid ing home a pass from up front colleague Bidyasagar Singh. Bengal completed the scoring process in the 82nd minute when Bidyasagar found the target off a nice volley. The results: Kerala 5 (M.S. Jithin 11, 51; Sajith Poulose 18, V.K. Afdal 49, Sreekuttan 77) bt Chandigarh 1 (Vishal Sharma 88). Bengal 3 (Sumit Das 7, 15; Bi dyasagar Singh 82) bt Manipur 0.
My training is well rounded and I train on and off the bike. I try and ride as much as I can during the week. I’m always assessing the areas that I need to improve upon and then work on it. It’s a neverending process. I try to bridge the gap with my competition since most guys I race against started out at a very young age.
Sahaj Grover does it easily
Sahaj Grover. *
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Sports Bureau PORT ELIZABETH
Topseeded Grandmaster Sahaj Grover produced a strong fi nish to win the 2018 Broadwalk Pearson Open chess tournament here on Sunday. In the ninth and fi nal round of this 10player roundrobin event, the 22 yearold defeated Malawi’s Joseph Mwale in 63 moves to aggregate 7.5 points. Da niel Cawdrey of South Afri ca fi nished second with 6.5. After two draws, Grover won six out of the remain ing seven rounds, including the last four.
