Delhi tuesday, january 31, 2017

www.thehindu.in Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. TNENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 7 No. 26 CITY EDITION 20 Pages Rs. 8.00 ●

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SC refuses bail to Asaram, orders FIR for filing fake papers

SC rejects ex-CBI chief’s plea to modify order against him

U.K. petition to halt Trump visit crosses one million signatures

Stoinis’ stunner not enough in trans-Tasman thriller

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BRIEFLY 6 killed in Canada mosque shooting QUEBEC CITY: A shooting at a

Quebec City mosque during evening prayers on Sunday left six people dead and eight others wounded. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it an act of terrorism. The police have arrested two persons. WORLD | PAGE 14

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Panel headed by Vinod Rai to oversee BCCI’s afairs

Opposition questions timing of Union Budget

KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL

NEW DELHI: At an all-party

NEW

meeting, the Opposition parties put on record their differences with the government over the tabling of the Union Budget on February 1, not just because of the Assembly polls but also because the economic data for the third quarter would not be factored into the document.

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Five soldiers rescued from snow die SRINAGAR: Five soldiers, who

were rescued after a snow sheath caved in on them in the Macchil sector of Kupwara, died of wounds on Monday.

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give the BCCI CEO a checklist of 16 timelines the panel had prepared for the BCCI and State associations. The CEO would consider this to prepare his compliance report.

It will administer the cricket body till Lodha reforms are fully enforced The Supreme Court on Monday appointed a four-member Committee of Administrators (CoA) headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai to oversee the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The others are former woman Test cricketer Diana Edulji, historian Ramachandra Guha and IDFC Ltd MD and CEO Vikram Limaye. The four will function as the interim bosses of the BCCI and run the day-to-day administration of the cricket body till the Lodha reforms are fully implemented and elections held. A three-judge Bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra did not heed pleas for fresh hearings by the BCCI, its State members and nonState members and took the step forward in the direction laid out by the Justice R.M. Lodha Committee. The BCCI CEO, who was DELHI:

in charge since the Supreme Court ousted former BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke in a January 2 order for stalling the Lodha reforms, was ordered to submit a report to the CoA detailing the level of compliance achieved by the BCCI and its members in adopting the Lodha recommendations upheld by the court on July 18, 2016. The BCCI CEO has to submit the report to the new committee within a week. After this, the committee has been given four weeks to scrutinise the compliance

achieved and report to the Supreme Court. The next date of hearing is March 27. “Let the Committee of Administrators find out how many directions of the Lodha Committee have already been complied with, what were the impediments and report to us. Then we will see,” Justice Misra observed. The Bench said the scrutiny would help in the ‘smooth implementation’ of the Lodha reforms. The Lodha panel secretary and advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan was asked to

Economy not in good shape, says Manmohan

Reserve Bank eases curbs on cash withdrawals

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: A report released by the Congress here on Monday on the state of the economy over the last two years said job creation was low, exports stagnant and credit growth lowest over decades under the Modi government. The report, ‘Real State of the Economy 2017,’ which comes a day ahead of the government’s Economic Survey, was released by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister P. Chidamabaram. “A day before the Economic Survey, we thought we should bring out a document that sets out what we consider as a dose of realism so that the country as a whole has ways and means of finding or assessing where the economy is...,” Dr. Singh said. “That the Indian economy is not in a good shape is obvi-

about 5%, he added, was the lowest in decades. “Optimism must stem from realistic assessment. The NDA government tends to believe in an exaggerated version, in an exaggerated picture, of the economy,” Mr. Chidambaram said. Later, Congress leader Rajeev Gowda summarised the key points of the report prepared by the Congress’ research cell.

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday lifted curbs on cash withdrawals for holders of current accounts, cash credit accounts, and overdrafts with immediate efect. The limits had been imposed in November following the withdrawal of highvalue banknotes. The central bank also allowed savings bank account holders to withdraw the entire weekly limit of ₨24,000 in a single transaction from ATMs with efect from February 1. Cash withdrawals from ATMs had been capped at ₨10,000 per day. “The limits on savings bank accounts will continue for the present and are under consideration for withdrawal in the near future,” the central bank said.

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REALITY CHECK: Manmohan Singh and P. Chidambaram address the media in New Delhi. — PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY ous. Even the International Monetary Fund has projected that growth rate of India in this current fiscal year will not be 7.6% but less than 6.6 %. Several other rating agencies have also made similar projections.” Few jobs, low credit Mr. Chidambaram said just 77,000 jobs were created between July and September, 2016, of which 50,000 had been created in the government. Credit growth, now at

Guard detained in Pune Infosys techie murder SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT PUNE: A 25-year-old software

engineer working for IT major Infosys was found dead on the company’s premises at Hinjewadi IT Park on Sunday night. This is the second murder of a woman software professional in the city in the span of a month. The deceased, Rasila Raju O.P. from Kozhikode, Kerala, had been working with the company since 2015. She was strangled with a computer cable. Her face, especially the lower part, was mangled, indicating a brutal assault, the police said. The police have detained Bhaben Saikiya, a 26-yearold from Assam who worked as a security guard. He is now the prime suspect because he is the only one who would have had access to the room where Rasila was working. A previous altercation CM YK

Rasila Raju O.P. — PHOTO: DATTATRAYA ADHALGE

between Rasila and the accused over the latter’s alleged misbehaviour is suspected to have led to the murder. Rasila reportedly warned him that she would complain to his superiors. Saikiya worked with a private security firm and was deputed at Infosys six months ago. A background check at the time had shown no previous record of crime.

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To be paid for services At one point, BCCI counsel and senior advocate Arvind Datar said the CoA should work pro bono (for free without remuneration) in the tradition of the former oice-bearers of the cashrich cricket body. “Why do you want them to work pro bono?” Justice Misra, on the Bench with Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud, asked. “Why not? All oicebearers work for the love of cricket,” senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing some member State associations, retorted. “Mr. Sibal, we want a professional set of administrators,” Justice Chandrachud said. The Bench advised the BCCI to come up with a ‘proposition of a respectable amount’ for the Supreme Court to consider as payment to the CoA.

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SC refuses govt. plea to stop hearing on judicial vacancies We cannot run away from our own cause, the Chief Justice told the Attorney General LEGAL CORRESPONDENT DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to heed the Centre's plea to stop hearing a batch of writ petitions on the yawning number of judicial vacancies in High Courts across the country and the delay in filling them, noting that “we cannot run away from our own cause.” “They are projecting the cause of the judiciary. What will happen if we run away from our own cause,” Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar asked Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Centre, on the petition filed by citizens.

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‘Avoid parallel process’ Mr. Rohatgi said the Supreme Court should deal with the delay in judicial appointments in High Courts on its administrative side and not lend its judicial weight to public interest petitions filed by individuals in a “parallel proceeding” like this. But Chief Justice Khehar, flanked by Justice N.V. Ramana, said the Supreme Court had already decided to

Handled critical cases Currently Special Commissioner of Police (Administration), Mr. Patnaik has handled several critical assignments in the Delhi Po-

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HAVOC SPREADS: Oil from the spill off the Chennai coast stained the Marina beach on Monday. The spillage was caused by the collision of two ships near the Kamarajar port on Saturday. Marine life was affected over a large stretch, with many fish and turtles being found dead. — PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN

other assistance to victims of traumatic crimes, an initiative that is working successfully till date.

STAFF REPORTER

Security of PM During his stint as the IG of the Special Protection Group, he is credited with the planning and managing the security of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003, who had undertaken the lone train journey ever undertaken by a Prime Minister.

lice, the key among which was heading the Crime Branch and the Southern Range as Joint Commissioner. Known to be adept in handling both law and order and investigation, one of the highlights of Mr. Patnaik’s career so far was the solving of the kidnapping of a schoolboy by armed gang-

the government to the Collegium in August 2016 for finalisation. “It [the MoP] has been pending for the last six months. Once work on MoP is finished, a large number of problems would be over,” Mr. Rohatgi submitted. He said the Central government would work together with the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice towards this end and resolve all issues."I have been instructed to say that any information, any detail, any officer will be promptly brought here..." Mr. Rohatgi assured the Bench. But petitioner and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay intervened, saying the delay in judicial appointments was not the only demand in his petition.

Blot on the beach

Patnaik to be next Delhi Police chief NEW DELHI: Superseding two seniors in the running for the job, Amulya Kumar Patnaik, a 1985-batch IPS oicer, was appointed the next Delhi Police Commissioner on Monday. Having become the police chief at a relatively younger age of 57, Mr. Patnaik will have one of the longest tenures till January 2020 when he is scheduled to retire. He replaces Alok Kumar Verma, who was appointed as the CBI Director. Sources said the decision to appoint Mr Patnaik was taken on January 23 itself. He edged out Deepak Mishra and Dharmendra Kumar, both of whom are 1984 batch oicers.

entertain the petitions, and having decided to do so, it would not now back out. "Once the petitions have been entertained, whether to grant them or not... This question will be answered by us in a formal order. We will give the order. We cannot treat petitions like this at this stage in a slipshod manner,” Chief Justice Khehar clarified to the government. Mr. Rohatgi said all problems on the delay would end if the draft Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) was finalised. The government and the Supreme Court Collegium, then led by Chief Justice Khehar's predecessor, Justice T.S. Thakur, had serious diferences on several issues regarding the MoP draft, including that the AG should be consulted on judicial appointments. The last draft was handed over by

sters in Sarita Vihar in a record 12 hours. He also led the police action during the anti-Dunkel protest in 1994 in which he received serious injuries. Launched ‘Pratidhi’ In 1995, Patnaik took the initiative to launch ‘Pratidhi’, a Delhi Police programme to extend counselling and

Najafgarh stabbing case One of the earliest cases reported this year was the brutal Najafgarh stabbing incident where a girl was stabbed a dozen times by her stalker bringing the focus back on crime against women. Mr. Patnaik, who is credited with steps like launching the Anti-Obscene Call Cell and the Anti-Stalking Cell, will have to look into this aspect.

Hafiz Saeed placed under house arrest MUBASHIR ZAIDI KARACHI: Police in Lahore raided the oice of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa on Monday and put its leader Hafiz Saeed and four other associates under preventive detention at their residence for an indefinite period. The outfit and its charity arm Falah-i-Insaaniyat have been put on the terrorist watch list, though an expected ban was not announced. A notification was issued by the Interior Ministry on the action against Hafiz Saeed.

U.S. threatened sanctions The crackdown came after reports in Pakistani newspapers claimed that the U.S. had threatened sanctions if Pakistan did not ban the JuD. Hours before the action, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar confirmed the reports at a press conference in Is-

Hafiz Saeed. — FILE PHOTO: AP lamabad. “We have been deliberating on the fate of the JuD for quite sometime now. It will be decided in the next 24 hours,” he had told the media. Meanwhile, the JuD had replaced its flags with Pakistani ones at its centres in Punjab province. Tehrik-iAzadi-i Kashmir replaced JuD on the signboards. The U.N. and the U.S. have already declared JuD a terrorist organisation but Pakistan had stalled action after the JuD got a reprieve from the Punjab High Court. ND-ND

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‘Makes sense for IndiGo to shift to T2’

Low turnout worries Jat leaders

SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh said it would make “some sense” for low-cost airline IndiGo to shift its domestic operations to Terminal-2 of the Delhi airport Page 4

At the Jat agitation on National Highway 71-A, the small number of protesters has left the organisers worried even as they made a passionate appeal to the audience Page 5

‘Stop gender-based violence’ Actor Ashley Judd speaks out against objectification of women, wage gap

DU to recruit 378 permanent teachers

STAFF REPORTER

STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI: From wage gap to

NEW DELHI: Acting on a directive by the Ministry of Human Resource Development for filling up 378 vacant posts, Delhi University has issued a notice for recruiting permanent teachers after a gap of seven years. The Registrar of the university informed that the application form will be available on the Delhi University website www.du.ac.in and the last date for the receipt of applications is February 16. The registrar informed that the call is for the post of Assistant Professor in the Pay Band of ₨15,600-39,100, (as per sixth Pay Commission), in various departments of the university.

online abuse, Hollywood actor Ashley Judd spoke here on Monday about her own experiences with genderbased violence and discrimination, and reiterated the need for women’s bodies to not be treated as objects. Speaking on day two of the second ‘World Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Women and Girls’, Ms. Judd said: “We [women] are not commodities. We are human beings and we are entitled to bodily integrity, sexual liberty and the right to be free from all forms of body invasion.” The programme, organised by Apne Aap Women Worldwide, an NGO that works towards ending trafficking; and the Coalition for Abolition of Prostitution (CAP International), focused on the theme ‘Last Girl First’. First-hand accounts Ms. Judd, who is a survivor of sexual abuse herself, shared her experiences with violence as well as income inequality. Recounting a conversation with her mother, the singer Naomi Judd, Ms. Judd said: “There was some sort of chatter about what my antique pearls would cost and I said: “You know, mom, if I experienced pay equality, my pearls would be even more expensive and I would be dripping in diamonds”.

If I experienced pay equality, my pearls would be even more expensive and I would be dripping in diamonds

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NO MINCING WORDS: American actor Ashley Judd with founder of NGO Apne Aap, Ruchira Gupta, at a press conference during the World Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Women and Girls on Monday. PHOTO: V. SUDERSHAN The actor added that her “lifetime earnings” would be 40% less compared to her male counterparts. Ms. Judd said that when it came to violence against women, too, there was a diferent kind of inequality. Rapists had paternity rights over any children born as a consequence of the attacks in 22 of the 50 American States, said Ms. Judd. She added that in Kentucky, a Bill was recently introduced giving the rapist an option to press charges against the medical practitioner who performed a termination of the pregnancy caused by the crime. Vulnerable sections Earlier, Ms. Judd gave the keynote address on the first day of the congress on Sunday. She spoke about her experience with online abuse, as well as how it reminded her of being assaulted as a child. Speaking about the event

on Monday, Ms. Judd said: “There has been an appropriate emphasis at this world congress about putting the onus on the perpetrator, where it belongs, and the person who thinks that girls and women's bodies are purchasable”. The founder of Apne Aap, Ruchira Gupta, said that the aim of the programme was to

highlight the vulnerability of the “last girl, who is the most vulnerable of all human beings to prostitution because she is poor, female, teenager, low-caste in India, black in USA, indigenous in Australia and Canada, of a minority religion or ethnicity, perhaps a refugee in Africa and Europe, and is therefore preyed upon by traickers”.

Ad-hoc hiring Since 2009, Delhi Universty has been employing teachers on ad-hoc basis to ensure that classes and learning are not hampered, a move that the DU teachers have been protesting against for a long time. They have submitted memorandums to the HRD ministry and have even conducted strikes and protested on the streets against the terms of employment of the ad-hoc staf. Javadekar’s promise A university oicial informed that the university has invited online applications for 378 posts of assistant professors across 41 departments and centres, which include 187 general category posts, 100 OBC, 55 SC, 29 ST and seven posts for persons with disabilities. When he took over last year, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar had said that his Ministry would ensure that all vacant positions in central universities would be filled by 2018.

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Out for justice

UNYIELDING: Missing student Najeeb Ahmed’s mother Fatima Nafees joins the JNUSU members protesting outside Delhi police headquarters on Monday. PHOTO: SANDEEP SAXENA

JNUSU goes on hunger strike STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union on Monday carried out a march from Ganga Dhaba on the campus that culminated in a hunger strike at the Administration Block against the imposition of the University Grants Commission's May 2016 notification. The union said that the notification not only changes the admission criteria for MPhil and Phd courses by increasing the dependence on the interview but will also ensure that there are no admissions into these programmes at the university for the next few years. They said that “pathbreaking research does not happen in a 'one fit for all' system”. The union will join the hunger strike being organised by the United OBC Forum and the ABVP at the same venue.

Lalit Pandey, president, ABVP-JNU and Saurabh Sharma, former joint sectretary, JNUSU have been sitting on an Indefinite hunger strike against the anti-student notification of the UGC for the past week. More programmes The union has announced a string of programmes over the next few days that includes a protest in front of the Standing Committee meeting on January 31, a march to the Ministry of Humar Resource Development on February 2, a public hearing on the issue on February 3 and a student-referendum on February 7. The university in a statement said that the Vice-Chancellor and other senior oicials have held a detailed meeting with the students who are on the hunger strike and assured them that the administration would look into all their concerns regarding the

JNU admission policy. “They were intimated that the Standing Committee on Admissions would meet and discuss all their concerns, including marks for written test and vivavoce, deprivation points and intake of students, etc within the framework of UGC regulations related to M.Phil/Ph.D admissions,” the university said in a statement. ‘Call of strike’ The JNU administration added that the university stands by social justice and reservation policy, and has been seeking to bring more transparency in the admission procedure. The administration also assured to look into their concerns about the new M.Phil/Ph.D Admission Policy by bringing the matter to the notice of the UGC. The students have been asked by the administration to immediately call of their strike.

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Gang wars: high security in Najafgarh Police anticipate retaliatory attacks after murder of gangster Manjeet Mahal’s father

Twist in the tale Manjeet, one Nafe Singh alias Mantri and their associates had allegedly murdered

DELHI TODAY Talk: “India and the Western Liberal Democratic Order” by Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri, former Permanent Representative of India to UN, at Seminar Room, Library Building, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML), Teen Murti House, Teen Murti Marg, 3 p.m. Talk: “Reimagining ‘New Democracy’, Rethinking Radical Politics” by Bernard D’Mello; Chair: Uma Chakravarty, at Seminar Rooms - II & III, Kamaladevi Complex, IIC, 6:30 p.m. Talk: “North East and Act East” by Ambassador Gautam Mukhopadhaya, at Conference Room I, IIC, 6:30 p.m. Music & Dance: “Basant Nazrana-ekhusrau”, a musical weaved with poetry on Amir Khusrau’s Rene Singh, Syeda Hameed, Begum Zakia Zaheer, Shivani Verma and Lokesh Jain participating, at The Stein Auditorium, IHC, 7 p.m. Exhibition: “Down the Ages”, a painting exhibition, at Delhi ‘o’ Delhi Foyer, IHC, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Exhibition: “Cryptic Thoughts” by Rangoli Garg: A journey of the Indian woman into the world of her dreams, at IHC, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Paintings: A painting exhibition by Joyanto Deb at Open Palm Court Gallery, IHC, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Art: Recent works of artist Ram Kumar, at Vadehra Art Gallery, D-40 Defence Colony, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. (Mail your listings for this column at [email protected])

STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: After battling for

life for two weeks, the 21year-old teacher who was stabbed by her alleged stalker and his cousin over a dozen times in outer Delhi’s Najafgarh died on Monday. The incident was reported on January 18. The main accused, Amit, and his cousin, Basant, had gone to the woman’s resid-

STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Following the murder of gangster Manjeet Mahal’s father outside their residence in Najafgarh, the police have carried out a threat assessment exercise and might take measures to avert a repeat of such incidents in the area. “We have combed the infamous Mitraon and Dichao Kalan villages and have identified the families of jailed gangsters there who are at risk. We have also deployed additional policemen in the area,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (SouthWest) Dependra Pathak. The police also claimed to have identified one of the four assailants and detained six suspects in the case. The motive, they said, was to avenge the killing of one Sunil alias Doctor, an associate of Manjeet’s rival Balraj, in December 2015.

Teacher succumbs to stab wounds ence and allegedly stabbed her in front of her three-yearold niece. The victim’s family members had claimed that Amit had been pressuring her to marry him despite he being married to someone else. “Before the attack, she would mostly cry and not tell us much. Once when she broke down, I could not help her enough. Amit stayed at our place most of the time.

Not even once did we have an inkling of his evil plans,” said the victim’s sister. Family protests Meanwhile, as the news of the woman’s death broke out, her family members and neighbours launched a protest in the area. The mob dispersed only after policemen reached the spot and assured them that accused was behind bars.

Thieves decamp with watches worth ₨1.3 cr.

HEADWAY: The police have identified one of the assailants who allegedly gunned down Shri Kishan outside his residence on Sunday. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Doctor, brother-in-law of notorious gangsters Jyoti and Nandu, in south-west Delhi’s Chhawla. According to the police, the gang had gone there to

kill Balraj. Shower of bullets The same day, brothers of Jyoti and Nandu, along with their associates, had attacked

at Mantri’s house. They fired at Mantri’s father, wife and mother but spared the children. While Mantri’s father, Hari Kishan, a retired Delhi Police con-

Gang of wedding thieves busted STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: A gang of

thieves that struck at weddings in the National Capital Region and neighbouring States was busted by the Delhi Police on Monday. The accused have been identified as Gokul Prasad, Sawant Sisodiya, Lakhan Sisodiya, Abhishek Sisodiya and Vikas Sisodiya. A juvenile is also a part of the gang. All six hail from Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh. They are suspected to have targeted around 100 upscale weddings in Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Modus operandi Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ishwar Singh said the accused were able to keep staf at banquet halls and

The gang had allegedly targeted around 100 weddings in Delhi, nearby States farmhouses on their payroll to collect information about the events lined up. The juvenile and another accused would gatecrash a wedding and identify the bag where cash and other gifts would be kept. They would then escape with the goods. “The thieves would never be in a hurry to leave the venues. They would mingle with the crowd and gain proximity to the families. The juvenile, who eventually did the bag-lifting, remained inconspicuous even while seated next to the bride or the groom,”

said the DCP. On how the gang was busted, the oicer said they had scanned CCTV camera footage at the weddings where thefts had been reported. Finally, on the basis of a tip-of, the police managed to apprehend the accused near the Chhatarpur metro station. At the time of their arrest, the accused were travelling in a stolen car, said the police. Firearms seized The police also seized a stolen Czech-made pistol with seven live cartridges, two illegal Indian-made firearms with four live cartridges, two stolen cars (Santro and Maruti Swift), a contract that was executed by the gang and the mother of the juvenile, and seven mobile phones from the accused.

stable, died, the women are reported to be critical. “After this incident, they were looking to harm Mahal and his family members, but he was arrested,” said Mr. Pathak.

BSF jawan dies of heart attack NEW DELHI: A 35-year-old BSF

constable allegedly died of a heart attack at the Netaji Subhash Place metro station here on Sunday. The victim, identified as Vinay Kumar, fell unconscious at the metro station around 11 a.m.. Subsequently, the police were informed. Kumar was rushed to BSA Hospital where he was declared brought dead. The post-mortem examination indicated the cause of death as heart attack. —PTI

NEW DELHI: Thieves allegedly decamped with watches worth ₨1.3 crore from a showroom in Connaught Place on January 28. According to the police, the showroom is located in Regal Building. Complainant Mayank Barodia said, “Around 680 watches of brands like Seiko, Casio, Guess, Fossil, Titan, Omega, Longines, Rado, etc.

were stolen. They also took away ₨1.5-2 lakh in cash.” Mr. Barodia further said that the guard was not on duty that night since he was not feeling well. No CCTV inputs “The CCTV cameras in our shop are not kept switched on at night since the wiring is weak,” he said. Meanwhile, the police are

trying to scan the CCTV footage of nearby shops and ATMs. The police are also questioning the employees of the showroom. “The accused haven’t been identified yet, but we are investigating the matter,” said a senior police oicer. The role of a gang that had struck at an electronics showroom recently is suspected.—PTI

Missing teeth allow accused to walk free NEW DELHI: A woman’s plea, challenging the acquittal of seven persons accused of allegedly beating her and breaking her teeth, has been dismissed by a court here on the grounds that not even a single tooth was produced as evidence before it. Additional Sessions Judge Lokesh Kumar Sharma also noted that there were pending litigations between the woman and the accused persons, and “hence, probability

of false implication by her to grab their properties cannot be ruled out”. ‘No witnesses’ It also said the police did not examine any neighbour or witness, despite the woman claiming that several people had gathered when she was being beaten up. The court said that despite living in a crowded neighbourhood,the woman’s cries were not heard by any neighbour.—PTI

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

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

‘Makes sense for IndiGo to shift to T2’ SpiceJet head says shifting to revamped terminal will be tough for his airline, which has just recovered from bad situation

‘Take action against Parrikar, Amarinder’ DEVESH K. PANDEY

from Terminal-3. DIAL had received the goahead from the Civil Aviation Ministry to expand T-1D, following which it decided to use T2 as a temporary facility for IndiGo, SpiceJet and Go Air.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: SpiceJet chairman

and managing director Ajay Singh said on Monday that it would make “some sense” for low-cost airline IndiGo to shift its domestic operations to Terminal-2 (T2) of the Delhi airport. “There are news report that IndiGo wants to shift [to T2]. They have the size and scale to be able to do it. If they operate large number of flights, it makes some sense for them. For us, it doesn’t fit. We have just recovered from a pretty bad situation and to undergo this shift would make it diicult for us,” Mr. Singh said at the sidelines of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Budget AajTak event here. The GMR-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) recently asked lowcost airlines IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir to shift their flight

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operations, serving Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, from Terminal-1D to T2. DIAL wants the airlines to split their operations beginning February 15 so that expansion work of Terminal-1D can begin.

Mr. Singh, said that the airline is ready to share the burden of shifting to another terminal with all the other airlines, but will not go it alone. “DIAL had asked SpiceJet to shift to T2, which is a bit

out of the way. So we told them that it’s not fair that only one airline be asked to shift its operations. Now, they have asked all airlines to shift some part of its operations to T2. It’s not the most eicient way, but is certainly better

than forcibly asking only one airline to shift,” the SpiceJet chief said. While low-cost domestic airlines IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir operate from T1D; Jet Airways, Vistara, AirAsia India and Air India operate

Won’t split service: IndiGo However, low-cost airline IndiGo has rejected DIAL’s proposal to split operations. “We will support all eforts that make things better without splitting our domestic operations out of Delhi and thereby creating inconvenience to our customers,” said IndiGo spokesman Ajay Jasra. The airline, however, has conveyed to the airport operator that it is ready to shift its entire domestic operations to T2, a senior IndiGo executive said. DIAL is set to meet the three airlines to break the stalemate on February 3.

Dense fog afects 150 flights, 60 trains STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Dense fog severely

disrupted air and rail traic in the Capital on Monday with the airport witnessing near zero visibility early in the morning. Nearly 150 flights and more than 60 trains were affected due to dense fog. While 139 flights got delayed due to poor visibility conditions at Indira Gandhi International Airport here, eight flights were cancelled and two arrivals had to be diverted to nearby airports. Rail traic was also affected with 35 Delhi-bound trains running late, 28 trains

had to be rescheduled and one was cancelled. Visibility started dropping at the Delhi airport from the early hours of Monday with visibility dipping below 50 metres by 4 a.m. Relief by noon Visibility started improving only after 9.30 a.m, and by noon low visibility procedures were lifted at the IGI airport. The visibility was recorded at 300 metres at 5.30 a.m. at Safdarjung, which after three hours dropped to around 50 metres before significantly improving to 1,500 metres at 11.30 a.m.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 9.5 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal, while the maximum temperature was recorded at 22.5 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year. Humidity oscillated between 100 and 52 per cent. Forecast The MeT department has forecast clear skies for Tuesday with the likelihood of moderate to dense fog in the morning. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 23 and 10 degrees Celsius, respectively.

WHITE BLANKET: Heavy fog engulfed the Capital on Monday. PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Railways’ green track to Capital STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Very soon, people

arriving in Delhi via train will be greeted by lush greenery and colourful flowers. Taking a leaf out of the South Beijing railway station in China, the Delhi Division of Indian Railways is developing green patches on approaches to the Capital and at Delhi Main and New Delhi railway stations. “This will ensure that passengers do not see filth or open defecation while approaching Delhi, apart from curbing encroachment of public land where we are growing the shrubs,” said Arun Arora, Divisional Railway Manager of Delhi. “We have planted green patches at approaches to Delhi Main and New Delhi railway stations wherever it was feasible, both along the tracks and between tracks,” Mr. Arora said, adding: “We had to ensure that the patches would not afect train operations and we also didn’t plant trees as these could fall during storms and disrupt operations. We have

Budget must focus on farmers: Swaraj Abhiyan

We have planted green patches at approaches to Delhi Main and New Delhi railway stations wherever it was feasible, both along the tracks and between tracks CHANGING COLOURS: A green patch along the tracks near Pragati Maidan. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT gone only for small plants”. ‘Like South Beijing station’ The planting exercise began in late 2016 and will be finished by April this year. “Our aim is to move in the direction of Beijing and Shanghai,” Mr. Arora said. “The entry into Delhi, be it to the New Delhi station, Delhi station or Nizammuddin station, is not a pleasing sight. To mitigate this problem, we developed green pathches along the tracks,” a railway spokesperson said.

The plan has been developed in two phases, beginning with special drives to clean up the garbage spread along the tracks. “Mixed success was seen in these eforts. In areas where there were no big JJ cluster, the cleaning was maintained on a sustainable basis. However, in areas close to big JJ clusters, the garbage re-accumulated just a few days after the drive,” the spokesperson said. In the next phase, ‘good earth’ was spread on the va-

cant land near the tracks and the area was protected with fences and shrubs. JJ clusters “However, in the areas close to big JJ clusters, the scheme couldn’t succeed as there was continuous human defecation and disturbance of the planted area,” he said. “The yards, however, will be developed on the lines of the South Beijing station in China. The vacant land in the yards of Delhi and New Delhi railway station will be planted with shrubs and grass and maintained as a green patch,” he said.

EDMC budget aimed at polls STAFF REPORTER

Land allotted to police to park impounded cars, DDA tells NGT NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) was informed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Monday that it has allotted land on temporary basis to the Delhi Police for parking impounded vehicles. The DDA told a five-judge Bench, headed by NGT chairperson Swatanter Kumar, that as per orders land has been allotted at two sites: Narela and Rohini, for two years or till the area is designed as per policy. Appearing for the DDA, advocate Kush Sharma said that no permanent structure will be constructed at these sites and environmental compensation has already been identified as ₨5,000 for each violation. “The DDA will be entitled to 50% of the parking share from the Delhi Police,” Mr. Sharma said.

Registration Meanwhile, the NGT allowed the Delhi Jal Board’s plea seeking direction to the Delhi government’s Transport Department to allow registration of its new diesel vehicle, a truck required for maintenance of the sewage system. — PTI

NEW DELHI: Exemption from

STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The Jai Kisan An-

dolan of Swaraj Abhiyan and other farmers’ organisations on Monday came together to discuss the concerns and issues of farmers in India. Demanding that the Budget should focus on farmers, Swaraj Abhiyan has decided to hold a ‘Kisan Sansad’ (Farmers’ Parliament), parallel to the presentation of the Union Budget, at Jantar Mantar. The leaders said that the government had forgotten about the farmers and despite two back-to-back droughts, the Centre chose not to correctly assess the accumulated impact on rural lives, livelihoods and livestock. “The GDP growth in agriculture is in free-fall for the last three years of the NDA government. Going by the last two Budgets and the string of anti-farmer legislations, farmers’ movements have held that this is the most farmer unfriendly government of independent India,” read the oicial statement. CM YK

property tax for small properties, reduction in conversion charges and other sops will be featured in the cashstrapped East Delhi Municipal Corporation’s (EDMC) budget for the upcoming financial year. With civic polls slated for April, the EDMC is in the process of finalising its budget for 2017-18. On Monday, the chairperson of the Standing Committee of the EDMC, Jitender Chaudhary, presented his budget to the House. ‘Best services’ “Since the Delhi government has refused to cooperate, we have been facing a financial crisis. The government owes us thousands of crores of rupees. Despite this, the EDMC has tried to provide the best possible civic services,” said Mr. Chaudhary. The speech comprised of many old promises that were repeated, as well as some sops that could be seen as crowd-pleasers in the election campaign. For instance, Mr. Chaud-

Meeting held to review air quality STAFF REPORTER

hary proposed waiving of property tax for residential properties that are up to 41.81 square metres in area. While this may sound like a big relief, most of these small houses don’t pay property tax anyway as many of them are in illegal colonies. Another proposal is to reduce the conversion charges paid by commercial properties from ₨192 per square metre to ₨per square metre and to decrease the penalty from 10 times to three times. However, since the conversion charges are a require-

ment under the Masterplan of Delhi-2021, the EDMC may have to get the proposal cleared by the Urban Development Ministry. Mr. Chaudhary also proposed making the process of property mutation online from next year. The budget also reiterated many old promises, from installing CCTV cameras in schools to setting up teaching centres for parents of EDMC school students. The budget will be finalised and passed by the House later this month.

NEW DELHI: Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain on Monday called a meeting to review the present air quality status and implementation of the recent directions issued by the courts. The concentration of different pollutants, especially particulates, and their trend along with the fog was discussed. The concentration of particulate matter is lower than the values observed in 2016 during the period between January 1 to January 29 this year, the government said in a statement. Mr. Hussain stressed on the need for surveillance and vigil by agencies in order to control Ambient Air Quality. The Minister also observed that since the night temperature is going down, garbage and biomass burning must be curbed.

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Monday asked the Election Commission of India to seek permission from the Prime Minister’s Oice to take legal action against Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Congress chief ministerial candidate in Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh for allegedly abetting the ofence of bribery. “The Election Commission of India should, at the earliest, get an approval from the PMO and FIRs [should] be registered against the BJP and Congress leaders,” said Mr. Kejriwal in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Nasim Zaidi. He appealed to the EC that it should display the same level of urgency and promptness in getting FIRs registered against Mr. Manohar Parrikar and Mr. Singh as it had shown his case.

‘ECI ignored verdict’ He said that while issuing the orders for an FIR against him, the ECI had ignored a Delhi court’s verdict in January 2016, which rejected the same charges against him and also denied the request for the registration of a case against him. Poll authorities had filed an FIR in Mapusa, north Goa, against Mr.Kejriwal for his remarks at a speech at a rally, where he reportedly asked voters to accept money from rival parties but vote for the AAP. Citing repeated violations, the ECI had last week directed registration of an FIR against Mr. Kejriwal for asking voters in Goa to accept money from other parties

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. FILE PHOTO but vote for the AAP. Mr. Kejriwal quoted media reports to allege that both the political leaders had also asked voters to accept money from other parties. “On January 29, at a rally in Punjab’s Lambi, Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh asked voters to accept money from any leader, but vote for Congress,” said Mr. Kejriwal’s letter. On the same day, according to Mr. Kejriwal, Defence Minister and former Goa Chief Minister had said at a public meeting that some parties were ofering Rs. 500 for people to attend their rallies, and he [Mr. Parrikar] had no problems with their accepting the money, although they should vote for the BJP. In its order to the Goa Chief Election Oicer, the ECI had said: “Being the Chief Minister of Delhi and a star campaigner of the AAP in Goa, he is expected to conduct himself in an exemplary manner in election campaigns, in a law-abiding manner, so as to be a role model for others to emulate, but he has on several occasions violated provisions of the Model Code of Conduct by breaking his assurance to the ECI given during the Delhi Assembly elections in 2015,” said the order.

AAP may drop plan to cut DTC fare STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi

Party (AAP) government is understood to be thinking of dropping its ambitious plan to reduce fares of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses by 75% after Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal returned the file and asked the government to rethink the proposal. The proposal was aimed at encouraging people to use public transport to combat air pollution in the Capital and had, in fact,

been suggested by Mr. Baijal’s predecessor Najeeb Jung. “The government wanted to implement the proposal to slash bus fares by 75%, but the L-G had returned the proposal to the government for

reconsideration. Additionally, pollution has so far not reached ‘severe level’ in the Capital, there is no need to reduce bus fares aimed at bringing it [the pollution level] down,” said a senior government oicial. The decision to introduce a flat rate of ₨5 for non-AC buses and ₨10 for AC buses had been announced by Transport Minister Satyendar Jain in December. The file was returned by the L-G in view of its financial implications.

HC stays JJB order declaring rape accused a minor AKANKSHA JAIN NEW DELHI: A 14-year-old rape victim has knocked on the doors of the Delhi High Court challenging the order of the Juvenile Justice Board which has declared the accused, a boy she had befriended on Facebook, a minor without any cogent evidence. The Investigating Oicer of Delhi Police and the JJB declared the accused a minor, but the girl and her mother claimed he was at least 20 years old at the time of the crime. On their petition, the High Court has stayed the JJB’s order declaring the accused a minor. “Let notice be issued to respondent no. 2 (accused). The operation of the impugned order dated December 8, 2016, shall remain stayed till the next date of hearing,” said Justice I.S. Mehta, who also asked the State to verify the age of the accused.

Friendship on FB In her petition the girl said she and the accused became friends on Facebook and decided to meet on November 8, 2016. When she went to meet him, he kidnapped her, forcibly intoxicated her and then raped her in a car. The incident happened in Bawana in northwest Delhi. The girl was also

Victim has alleged that the accused was at least 20 years old at the time of the crime beaten up while she was being raped, she alleged. She was then “dumped” by the accused and somehow she managed to reach her home. Though a complaint was lodged at the Bawana police station, the Investigating Oicer kept changing her stand on the age of the accused. Major-minor flip-flop On November 10, the accused was produced in JJB and the IO claimed that the principal of the school he had attended said he was a major. In subsequent hearings, however, she did a complete "volte-face" and told the Board that the accused was a minor on the basis of photocopied documents from another school attended by him. Prashant Manchanda, the girl’s advocate, shared how the IO did not bother to procure age proof from the first school attended by the accused or his birth certificate from the municipal corporation even though the same is mandatory under the Juvenile Justice Act. The JJB on December 8 declared him a minor despite the victim

claiming that he was about 20 years old. Birth certificate mystery “The IO produced some photocopied documents from a private school in Haryana once attended by the accused. The JJB and the Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Board, without giving any intimation notice or any opportunity whatsoever to the prosecutrix or her family members, treated the cryptic and designedly superficial report of the IO on the respondent No.2 (accused) age as the gospel truth without calling on or making any inquiry,” he said. With no faith in the police, the girl moved a lower court for monitoring of investigation. It was before the lower court that the IO confessed to have made no move to collect the certificate from the school first attended by the accused. “What is shocking is that the IO says the certificate was not available with the school. She does not get a birth certificate from the municipal corporation, but the mother of the victim procures the same and produces it in the court. The lower court supplies its copy to the IO asking her to verify the age of the accused,” states the petition before the High Court. ND-ND

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

Low turnout worries Jat leaders Protesters cautioned against ‘fake’ leaders, asked to stay loyal to Yashpal Malik ASHOK KUMAR

Justice Sen appointed DDCA administrator AKANKSHA JAIN

ROHTAK: “The (Haryana) gov-

ernment has deployed 55 para-military companies in the State, but we are equal to a division. We are all for peace, but we are also prepared to make the supreme sacrifice. It is a do-or-die battle for us,” declared one speaker from a makeshift stage at the ‘Jat Naya Dharna’ in Jassia village here on Monday. The audience, which included a handful of women in the front, raised their hands in airmation. But even as the speaker raised his pitch and tried to evoke the community pride, members of the audience at the back, which included both young and old, remained preoccupied with playing cards and hookahs. A round-the-clock community kitchen has been setup at the site on National Highway 71-A and beddings made available for those staying overnight, but the small number of protesters has left the organisers worried. As several speakers conceded that the turnout was less compared to last year, Akhil Bharatiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (ABJASS) general secretary Ashok Balhara made a passionate appeal to the crowd. ‘Turn up on February 1’ Asking them to turn up in large numbers on the occasion of Basant Panchami on February 1, Mr. Balhara said, “Raise your hands and promise me that each one will bring along at least 10 people on February 1. Finish your chores early on Wednesday, and bring your children too. We will hold a cultural pro-

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High

HOT SPOT: Members of the Jat community during a dharna in Rohtak’s Jassia village on Monday; security personnel at the spot. PHOTOS: ASHOK KUMAR gramme, distribute prizes to winners and our leader Yashpal Malik will also be present.” However, the ABJASS leader also sounded a word of caution against “fake” leaders playing into the hands of the government. Urging protesters to remain loyal to Yashpal Malik, who is national president of the ABJASS, Mr. Balhara said, “The real Khap leaders are with us. Those enjoying the hospitality of the Khattar government in Chandigarh are fake.” This was in reference to a faction of the Jat leaders who are not supporting the agitation. “The BJP will fail to even open its account in the Saharanpur-Agra belt, which will be dominated by Jats in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections. The Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party can win with support of the Muslims, Yadavs and Dalits, but the BJP cannot win without support from Jats,” said Mr. Balhara as he re-

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ceived a loud applause from the crowd. He added that after the agitation for reservation, the community would teach ‘Ministers in the Khattar government a lesson’. “We will not allow them to enter villages,” said Mr. Balhara. The dharna at Jassia village in Rohtak, which was the epicentre of the protest last year, and another at Mayyar in Hisar are the two major protest sites and co-ordination points for the ongoing agitation in Haryana. Sitting next to a board displaying pictures of those killed during the agitation last year is Ram Kumar, the father

of Rahul Dangi who died of a bullet injury. ‘Will take battle to an end’ “My son was among the first to be killed. He was not even part of the agitation. But the government labelled him as a rioter and refused any help. Out of the 18 killed, only 10 families have got the exgratia, but no jobs. The government has failed to keep its promises. I have lost my son and am ready to sacrifice the other two as well, but I will take this battle to a logical end this time,” sighed Ram Kumar, betraying the prevailing mood of the crowd at the site.

Court on Monday announced Justice (Retd.) Vikramajit Sen as administrator of the controversy-ridden Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA), besides passed a string of other directions in this regard. A Bench of Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and Deepa Sharma appointed Justice Sen, who will relieve Justice (Retd.) Mukul Mugdal. The Bench also announced amendments to the Articles of Association of the DDCA to ensure reconstitution of the Sports Working Committee (SWC), besides abolishing the proxy system. The court also ordered audits of accounts of the years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, besides deciding that Justice Sen would convene a meeting of DDCA members to reconstitute the SWC, which was severely criticised in a report presented by Justice Mudgal before the high court last year. On Monday, the court said Justice Sen would meet the Registrar of Companies before the new DDCA oice-bearers are elected. The appointment of an administrator, meanwhile, has come as contrary to the DDCA plea’s, according to which no administrator should govern its functioning as

such an arrangement is made only for sick companies. The Bench has now fixed April 21 as the next date. Proxy system abolished Advocate Nitin Mishra said the verdict took care of one of Justice Mudgal’s basic recommendations, which called the proxy system a bane for Delhi cricket. The court had acted in the matter after the South Delhi Municipal Corporation refused to grant an occupancy certificate to allow

matches at the Ferozshah Kotla Stadium. In his report, Justice Mudgal had pointed out lack of proper accountkeeping, prior permissions and clearances for matches leading to last-minute provisional certificates, and no proper tendering of various works. He had added that several oicebearers and executive members of the DDCA acted for their personal gains at the expense of the cricket body. Justice Mudgal had also “advised” that the DDCA have a full-time CEO.

Man kills wife, calls up cops STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: A 30-year-old woman was allegedly bludgeoned to death by her husband in outer Delhi’s Mangolpuri on Monday. According to the police, the man himself called up the PCR and told them of his crime. However, he is yet to be arrested. Police said the deceased, Aarti, knew Rahul for over an year. They got married a month ago. The police said they received a call around 7.30 p.m., allegedly from Rahul, who told them that he had killed Aarti with stones. He even said that he was coming to the police station.

Summons to Kejriwal, Azad NIRNIMESH KUMAR NEW DELHI: A Delhi court

has summoned Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad in a defamation case filed by the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) and its vicepresident Chetan Chauhan. The complainants alleged that they were aggrieved by Mr. Kejriwal’s statement during an interview with a TV channel in 2015. “...a very senior journalist told me over phone that he got a call saying his son was selected (for playing cricket), but when the list came out his name was not there. Next day, his wife got an

SMS that you come to my oice (oicial’s house) at night and your son’s name will be there,” Mr. Kejriwal allegedly said. ‘Defamatory remark’ Summoning Mr. Kejriwal, Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra said: “It is clear that Mr. Kejriwal made a defamatory remark on the basis of hearsay information,” the Magistrate said. Against Mr. Azad, the Magistrate said “Mr. Azad has levelled disparaging allegations against the DDCA and its oicials. “Both the accused are summoned for the ofence of defamation under sections 499, 500 of the IPC,” the Magistrate said.

Five killed in road accidents PURUSHARTH ARADHAK GREATER NOIDA: Five persons

were killed in four diferent accidents in Dankaur and Jewar areas due to dense fog on Monday. A 25-year old youth was killed when a pick-up truck hit his motorbike in Kanarsi village. In the second incident, two youths were killed on the Jewar-Jhajjar Road when their motorcycle crashed into a tractor. In the other two accidents, a 35year-old biker was killed near the Jewar interchange while a truck driver died after his loaded truck fell of the Yamuna Expressway.

CM YK

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

Medical audits will check stent prices, say activists NPPA data suggests that the price of a stent increases nearly 2000% by the time a patient gets the implant SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: Demanding that the

government introduce medical audits, where doctors will have to account for drugs and devices used, health activists on Monday said they were ‘alarmed’ that doctors and hospitals were taking ‘cuts’ for recommending use of coronary stents, which may not be necessary, in heart patients. After seeing that massive margins charged at each step in the distribution and supply of stents, activists have demanded that the government

CM YK

develop standard treatment guidelines for cardiovascular interventions with the help of expert doctors, free from conflict of interest, and implement medical audits of procedures. Pushing people into debt “We have consistently highlighted the unconscionable prices that patients across the country are paying for stents that are pushing patients and their families into increasing indebtedness or leaving them without lifesaving treatment,” said Dr. Mira Shiva of the All India

Drug Action Network (AIDAN). “The pricing data which was submitted by the industry to the NPPA has made it clear beyond doubt,” she said. The recommendations come after data published by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) showed that the price of a stent increases nearly 2000% by the time the patient gets the implant. The NPPA data also shows that the largest cut goes to the hospitals, which can be as high as 650% more than the price at which the hospital

‘Doctors and hospitals are taking cuts for unnecessarily recommending coronary stents’ purchases the stents from the distributor. Coronary stents were included in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) after a petition was filed before the Delhi High Court by advocate Birender Sangwan. In a second petition, also filed by Mr. Sangwan, which is pending before the same

court, the Government has been directed to report to the Court after the ceiling prices have been notified. Even as the NPPA is examining diferent formulas to fix an afordable price for stents, industry lobbying to thwart these efforts appears to have increased in recent weeks. ‘Govt. must act now’ “With the evidence of over-pricing now crystal clear, the government must act immediately to control the prices of these life saving devices” said Mr. Sangwan. “There is a clear obligation

under the Constitution for the government to fulfil the fundamental right to health and ensure the afordability of devices such as stents.” “Reports indicate that companies and industry associations are lobbying intensely for a ceiling price based on a simple average of hospital prices which will ensure that the profiteering continues and hospitals can take huge cuts on the stents. There is an urgent need to fix the price at an afordable price that does not expose people to exploitation,” said Malini Aisola of AIDAN.

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Principal booked under SC/ST Act Kerala law college says there is no merit in the case; students ask Lekshmi Nair to step down

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

Krishna heads home; BJP, JD(S) follow him with invite SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

“public humiliation” was Ms. Nair’s thinking that he was responsible for some adverse reports that appeared in the media against the college. Media reports, repudiated by Ms. Nair, had strongly hinted at the management’s suspected prejudice against Dalit students as “evidenced by the denial of SC/ST grants.” Vivek cited three students as eyewitnesses in the case.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Ker-

ala police have registered a case against P. Lekshmi Nair, Kerala Law Academy Law College principal, on the suspicion that she intentionally insulted a Dalit student in public view. The principal has been booked under The Scheduled Castes and The Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), 1989. The college management said the case had no factual or legal basis. However, agitating students interpreted the development as one which made Ms. Nair’s continuation as principal untenable. Severe criticism by the State Human Rights Commission prompted the police to act on Dalit student V.G. Vivek’s complaint on Monday, though a year has elapsed since he filed it. The delay in registering

RESTIVE CAMPUS: Police stand guard at the Kerala Law Academy Law College premises in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. — PHOTO: S. MAHINSHA the case exposed the State police to harsh public criticism that it was biased against Dalit petitioners. It had also raised questions about a possible conflict of interest between the local

law-enforcers and the private college in which some of them were enrolled as management quota students. Public attention was focussed on police negligence of Vivek’s complaint

Ola, Uber to stop ride-share in Bengaluru from Friday ply, we will recommend to the Karnataka government that ride-sharing be allowed,” Mr. Aiyappa added.

STAFF REPORTER BENGALURU: Starting this Friday, commuters will not be able to share a ride to work through taxi aggregators Ola and Uber in Bengaluru. After a two-hour-long meeting with the Transport Commissioner on Monday, both app-based aggregators agreed to halt ride-sharing services ofered under the brands ‘UberPOOL’ and ‘OlaShare’, as they have been termed illegal. “The companies have asked for three days to modify their software. If they do not comply, we will have to take action against them,” said Transport Commissioner M.K. Aiyappa. Thousands of commuters rely on ride-sharing to get to

CM YK

The app-based aggregators agreed to halt services offered under the brands ‘UberPOOL’ and ‘OlaShare’ work as it is afordable. But it is unlikely for the ban to remain permanent, as the Transport Department is in favour of the service. “Ride-sharing is beneficial to the environment and reduces the number of cars on the road. If they submit a request seeking permission to

No legal framework The service was ofered without a legal framework. Transport Department oicials said cabs could be detained for permit violations of the contract carriage conditions, which only allow for multiple passengers to be picked up from one point and dropped at a specific point. But, under the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Rules, the permit conditions can be modified in the public interest. This is most likely the method by which ride-share services will be made legal in the coming weeks.

after the student agitation seeking Ms. Nair’s removal gathered momentum. Vivek’s grievance was that Ms. Nair openly berated his caste status in January last. He felt the cause for his

Conciliatory talks fail Two rounds of conciliatory discussions the college management held with the students on Monday failed to break the deadlock. All students’ organisations, barring the Students Federation of India, termed the talks a failure. However, leaders of the CPI(M)-feeder organisation claimed that an understanding had been reached on most issues, except the resignation of the principal.

BENGALURU: While top leaders of the Congress tried in vain to convince former Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna to withdraw his resignation, the Opposition BJP made overtures to draw him to its fold. Some Janata Dal (Secular) leaders too made their pitch. However, Mr. Krishna left for his hometown Maddur saying his association with the Congress was a “closed chapter.” He was yet to firm up his future plans. Sources said Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, called up Mr. Krishna inviting him for talks with Ms. Gandhi. Dismissing this, Mr. Krishna told reporters in Maddur that he could speak to her any time without intermediaries. BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa said he would

WARM WELCOME: Janata Dal (S) MP C.S. Puttaraju, left, and MLA D.C. Thammanna, centre, with S.M. Krishna in Mandya on Monday. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT soon meet Mr. Krishna and invite him to join the party. Ofer of seat Interestingly, while JD(S) president H.D. Deve Gowda said he would not go to Mr. Krishna’s doorstep to invite him, some party leaders in Mandya launched an exercise to get the former Chief Minister to join the party. D.C. Thammanna, Maddur

Karnataka’s roaring tiger story threatened by snares MOHIT M. RAO BENGALURU: The death of six tigers in the new year on the fringes of Karnataka’s Nagarahole and Bandipur Tiger Reserves, both conservation success stories, has thrown up tough questions for conservators. On Sunday, when a six-year-old tigress was found dead with its spine snapped, near Srimangala in Kodagu, on the periphery of Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, it highlighted the growing challenge. The animal had got trapped in a snare set for wild boar in a cofee estate, the second such incident in a fortnight. The rest of the tiger casualties arose from natural causes or

A tigress that was found dead at Kummatur. unsuccessful attempts to tranquillise and capture. The Forest Department went into a huddle and drew up a plan to comb the bufer zones of the reserves for snares as well as tigers that have ventured out. While Karnataka has an estimated 406 tigers, 221 were recorded in

Nagarahole and adjoining Bandipur forests, among the highest densities of tiger populations anywhere. The conservation strategies now include placing camera traps on forest fringes and deploying elephants for combing operations. “Our priority is to track tiger movements, map the areas and prevent any harm to them,” said Conservator of Forests Manoj Kumar. National Tiger Conservation Authority oicials inspected the spots of deaths. Since core forest areas have benefited from protection, oicials are now trying to reduce the spillover impact of the tiger population on bufer zones.

This follows an increase in cattle kills and presence of older tigers ejected from their territories by younger males. A total of 21 tigers have died since January 2016 around Nagarahole and Bandipur, many of them in territorial fights. With the big cat’s population in the core areas reaching saturation point, oicials and activists think there is bound to be higher mortality and man-tiger conflict. Conservation scientist K. Ullas Karanth from the Centre for Wildlife Studies says camera traps recorded over 100 tigers in the area aged over one year. “This indicates a strong upswing in the population, and with this, tiger deaths naturally rise.”

MLA, even said he was ready to give up his seat for Mr. Krishna. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who maintained a silence so far, requested Mr. Krishna on Monday to withdraw his resignation. “My Cabinet colleagues are talking to him. I will also speak to him,” he said. (With inputs from Mysuru and Mandya)

Hearing on kambala plea only after decision on jallikattu: HC SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The Karnataka High Court on Monday said it would hear a plea to lift the ban imposed by the court on kambala (bufalo race) in the coastal districts only after the Supreme Court decided on the pleas related to jallikattu. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Subro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice Budihal R.B. declined to hear petitions related to kambala for now. The court in November last year passed an interim order restraining kambala citing the Supreme Court verdict which banned jallikattu.

BENGALURU:

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

Clamour to rename Padmavati Rajput groups now demand preview of the historical film MOHAMMED IQBAL JAIPUR: Even as filmmaker

Asaram Bapu

Supreme Court denies bail to Asaram Bapu LEGAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: Self-styled godman

and rape accused Asaram Bapu found no relief in the Supreme Court, which dismissed both his plea for interim bail on medical grounds and a second application for regular bail on the basis of his advanced age and prolonged incarceration as an undertrial for about 3.5 years. Hearing the applications on the top of the list of Monday’s cases, a Bench of Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar and Justice N.V. Ramana found no justification in his plea for modification of an earlier order to enlarge him on interim bail to access superior medical care. The Bench concluded that the 78-year-old Asaram was getting expert care for an alleged prostate problem and he was treated at a Jodhpur hospital where even “persons holding the highest positions obtain treatment”. ‘Bid to delay proceedings’ Additional Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, for the State of Rajasthan, submitted that the defence was doing its best to prolong the trial proceedings. Similarly, two star prosecution witnesses had been killed, he said. The Bench also ordered an FIR to be registered against all those behind the filing of “fictitious documents” in the Supreme Court seeking Asaram’s bail. Asaram was arrested by the Jodhpur police on August 31, 2013.

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NATION

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Sanjay Leela Bhansali and the Karni Sena reached an agreement that there would be no “romantic dream sequence” in the historical film Padmavati, Rajput groups here on Monday demanded that the movie’s title be changed to something more appropriate and a preview arranged before its release. Mr. Bhansali has cancelled shooting for the movie at Jaigarh Fort here following last week’s attack on the film’s crew and vandalisation of sets. However, his production house’s attempts to soothe the frayed tempers succeeded with its ofer to remove any objectionable scenes. Producer’s assurance Bhansali Productions CEO Shobha Sant said the film was being produced after a careful research and sought the support of all social organisations while affirming that nobody’s sentiments would be hurt and no romantic scenes would be filmed. Activists of Rajput groups had resorted to violence al-

Welcome to Bihar, Tejashwi tells Bhansali AMARNATH TEWARY

VOCIFEROUS PROTESTS: Karni Sena activists disrupting the shooting of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film ‘Padmavati’ at the Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur last week. — PHOTO: PTI leging that the Padmavati filmmaker was distorting historical facts by incorporating a dream sequence of love scenes between Delhi ruler Alauddin Khilji and Queen Padmini of Chittorgarh in the movie. After reaching an understanding, Rajputa Sabha and other groups of the community said at a press conference here that a screening committee should be formed by Bhansali Productions before its release. The Karni Sena, accused of leading the attack on Mr. Bhansali and his crew, said the film’s title should be changed. Bhansali Productions,

which is yet to respond to the new demands, has requested Rajput Sabha president Giriraj Singh in a formal communication to ensure that there is no untoward action against the production unit, crew and cast if the shooting resumes in Rajasthan. Padmavati features Deepika Padukone in the queen’s role along with Ranveer Singh, who is essaying the role of the second ruler of the 14th century Khilji dynasty. Mr. Bhansali was roughed up in an attack on the movie sets on Friday, drawing sharp reactions from the film industry in his support.

PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and his son and Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Monday slammed the “pro-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) media” for remaining silent over the attack on Bollywood filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali while shooting for his film Padmavati in Rajasthan last week. Mr. Tejashwi Yadav also invited Mr. Bhansali to shoot his film in the “historical, glorified, culturally rich and developing Bihar”. “Bihar hota to Bha-Ja-Payi mediawale jatiwad aur jungle raj ka aphvaah faila kar Bihar ko badnaam kar rahe hote...BJP-shashit pradesh hai to ye sab chup hain. (Had it been Bihar, the pro-BJP media would have spread rumours of casteism and jungle raj to defame Bihar...they are keeping quiet as it happened in a BJP-ruled State),” tweeted Mr. Lalu Prasad.

We were not raped, tribal girls tell HC PAVAN DAHAT NAGPUR: Refuting claims by

some activists that two tribal girls of Chhattisgarh were gang raped by C-60 commandos in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, the girls appeared before the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday and denied any such incident. The girls, who belonged to the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh bordering Gadchiroli, were “detained” for a night by a team of C-60 commandos on January 20 in Hiddur and Murewada

forests of Gadchiroli after an encounter between Maoists and the C-60 team. However, some activists from Gadchiroli had launched a campaign against the police alleging that the girls were “gang raped” by C-60 commandos that night. The girls, who were lodged in a correction home on Sunday after a special sitting of the High Court, were brought to the court on Monday. Advocate Gayatri Singh, who appeared for the brother of one of the girls, alleged that the two girls were

“under tremendous pressure” from the police and would not speak the truth. Testify in judges’ chamber The Bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and Indira Jain, however, asked both the girls to come to the judges’ chamber to testify. Both “emphatically denied any such act by the police”. The court also held that the girls were “compelled” by the sarpanch of Jambia Gatta village, Sheela Gota, to inform the petitioner, Gillu Ram Gota, about “the incident which never took place”.

The High Court permitted both the girls to go home with their relatives. Mrs. Gota and her husband were arrested by the police on Saturday from the oice of advocate Nihal Singh Rathod in Nagpur. Some more activists, who were part of the campaign against the police, were also arrested in the last two days. They were granted bail by a Gadchiroli court on Monday. The police have called the allegations of rape against the C-60 commandos “the handiwork of some Maoist sympathisers.”

Bengaluru Infosys staf alerted Pune campus SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT PUNE: Police say Rasila Raju

(25), the Infosys software engineer, murdered allegedly by a security guard, was found dead on the company’s premises at Hinjewadi IT Park on Sunday night. She was probably murdered between 5 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. Though Sunday is normally her day of, she was working on a project in the 2 p.m.-11 p.m. shift. When her supervisor and her team in Bengaluru stopped receiving her calls, they sensed something was amiss and alerted the security staf on the Pune campus. It was late in the evening when the police reached the Infosys premises. The security guard, Bhaben Saikiya (26) of Assam, prime suspect in the murder, was then trying to make his way to his home State via Mumbai. He was nabbed at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus early on Monday. He was later produced before a local court, which sent him to fiveday police custody. A statement issued by the company said it was saddened and shocked by the incident.

Police escort Bhaben Saikiya, the security guard at the Infosys campus in Hinjewadi, Pune, held for allegedly murdering software engineer Rasila Raju. — PHOTO: DATTATRAYA ADHALGE

Village mourns victim STAFF REPORTER KOZHIKODE: The death of 25-year-

old Rasila Raju in Pune has left her family members shellshocked. They said Rasila was an enterprising student. She graduated from a prominent engineering college in Coimbatore and was recruited by Infosys two years ago through a campus interview. She then moved to Bengaluru and from there to Pune.

Rasila’s father O. Raju hails from Kuruvattur, a village in Kozhikode. He works as a Home Guard at the Kunnamangalam police station. Her mother died of cancer a few years ago. Manoj, a relative, said Rasila had been in touch with her family online just a few hours before the tragedy. “We were not aware of the seriousness of the situation when Infosys authorities requested us to rush to Pune. In fact, they asked us to fly down,” he said.

ED secures first-ever conviction under money laundering law DEVESH K. PANDEY NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday secured the first-ever conviction under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which came into force in 2005, with a Ranchi special court sentencing former Jharkhand Minister Hari Narayan Rai to seven years imprisonment in a corruption case. The court also levied a fine of ₨5 lakh on him, besides confirming the attach-

Former Jharkhand Minister Hari Narayan Rai gets seven-year imprisonment in a corruption case ment of his assets, currently worth about ₨3 crore. Last year, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ranchi had sentenced Mr. Rai for owning assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. His wife Sushila Devi and brother

Sanjay Rai were convicted for abetment. The State Vigilance Department had initially registered a case against Mr. Rai and filed a charge-sheet in 2008. He was later arrested. The ED also launched a money laundering probe into the allegations of corruption and disproportionate assets. The CBI took over the probe in 2009 and filed another charge-sheet in 2012. He has been accused of misappropriating public funds for personal benefit.

Students skip mid-day Trinamool to boycott meal cooked by Dalit budget presentation TIKAMGARH (M.P.): Over 60 stu-

dents of a government primary school in Madhya Pradesh, 16 of them from the Scheduled Caste category, have been skipping their mid-day meal cooked by a Dalit woman for the last few months. The shocking issue came to light after the school’s headmaster Ramgopal Gupta wrote to the CEO of the local body at Jatara (tehsil place) in Tikamgargh district. Mr Gupta said he had written to his superiors about the issue in the past as well but there had been no follow-up action. The primary school is situated at Madkheda village, 19 km of the district headquarters. Among the children who

have refused to take meal are 16 belonging to a community under the SC category. They have been refusing food saying the cook belonged to a diferent Dalit community. The headmaster’s letter mentioned that a student who is not taking the meal said his parents had asked him to not eat the food prepared by the Dalit woman. Others too echoed the same reason, the letter said. “Sixty-seven students, including 16 students of the SC category, are not eating the mid-day meal. They aren’t taking the food as it is cooked by a Dalit woman,” Mr Gupta said. The contract for providing the meal was bagged by a self-help group of the Dalit woman (of which she is the president). - PTI

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress MPs will not be present in Parliament on the first two days of the Budget session on January 31 and February 1, a statement issued by the party said here on Monday. The decision was taken after a meeting of the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party at the residence of West Bengal Chief Minister and party chairperson Mamata Banerjee. TMC’s chief whip in Lok Sabha Kalyan Banerjee told journalists that the decision had been taken on “ two counts” — in protest against demonetisation and the “illegal arrest of its Lok Sabha leader” Sudip Banerjee and another MP Tapas Paul in connection with the Rose

Valley chit fund scam. The party described the arrest as a clear case of “political vendetta by the ruling party at the Centre by misusing the CBI and abusing its power”. “From February 2, the party will protest against the Centre both inside and outside Parliament,” Mr. Banerjee said. A few days ago, the Trinamool chairperson had given clear hints of her party MPs abstaining from the budget presentation. “Why don’t we celebrate Saraswati Pujo in a big way instead of presenting Union Budget on Feb. 1,” Ms. Banerjee asked on January 21. Earlier in the day, TMC national spokesperson and MP Derek O’Brien also cited Saraswati Puja as one of the reasons for the decision.

Defreeze accounts of Indira Jaising’s NGO: HC

SC junks petition against President, calls it ‘malicious’

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

LEGAL CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI: In what may come as a huge relief to

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation petition filed by a “disgruntled litigant” against President Pranab Mukherjee, calling it an “assault on the Constitution.” Noting that PIL petition is not a free-for-all to file whatever one pleases against who ever one pleases, a Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and R. Banumathi said a “litigant cannot assume that he is the monarch of all he surveys.” The order came on a petition filed by one Ms. Aninidita against three persons, the first of whom is the President of India.

former Additional Solicitor-General of India, Indira Jaising, the Bombay High Court on Monday ordered the domestic accounts of her NGO, The Lawyers Collective, be de-freezed. While giving the order, the single bench of Justice M.S. Sonak said the “Centre’s allegations are quite vague”. Justice Sonak was hearing the appeal filed by the NGO against the Charity Commissioner’s order passed on November 27, 2016, which said that “the money in bank accounts be frozen with immediate efect and shall be in custody of the bank in accordance with Foreign Contribution Regulation Act Rules”. ‘Vague allegations’ The court said on Monday that “the Central Government cannot stifle the very functioning and the activities of individuals or associations, provided, such activities and such functioning is not otherwise in breach of any legal provisions. There is no allegation of siphoning of amounts from the FCRA Accounts. The allegations of mixing or flow from out of foreign contributions, are quite vague and bereft of details or reasoning.” The Bench said, “As noted earlier, at least prima facie, the allegations are quite vague, when it comes to the charge of mixing of foreign contribution with local/domestic funds. The parameters of sections of the FCRA are not attracted to the facts and circumstances of the present case,” read the order. CM YK

The petition was filed, the Supreme Court learnt, after the litigant’s appeals filed earlier in the Supreme Court. 2006 verdict Citing its 2006 judgment in Rameshwar Prasad and Others versus Union of India, the Bench observed that it has been clearly held that the President cannot be arrayed as a party to a litigation. The court said individual grievances of a litigant could not be a ground for launching a “malicious” attack on the “system,” especially when high constitutional authorities like the President were involved.

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EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

The hidden agenda of benevolence The growing chorus for a universal basic income is a ruse to eliminate or roll back significantly the public distribution system and signature welfare programmes T U E S D AY , J A N U A RY 3 1 , 2 0 1 7

G. SAMPATH

The enemy within

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ot ideological ainity, but prospects of power and pelf determine the making and unmaking of political alliances. The Shiv Sena is the closest to the Bharatiya Janata Party in terms of ideology and policies, but a parting of ways of the two parties was always just around the corner. Diferences over seat-sharing for the polls to the urban local bodies in Maharashtra were inevitable as each party was seeking to expand its influence at the expense of the other. Quite understandably, the Sena is yet to reconcile itself to its situation as a junior partner of the BJP after the 2014 Assembly election, when it won fewer seats than the BJP did after contesting alone following a similar breakdown in seat-sharing negotiations. Having headed the government in 1995, the first time the alliance tasted power in the State, the Sena greatly resents the role of a minor partner of the BJP in the government. If the party does not win back its support base, ceded mostly to the BJP, it will not be able to reverse the power equation within the alliance. The results of the local body elections are significant in determining this equation. They will in all probability lay the basis for seat negotiations for battles with higher stakes: the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in 2019. But embarrassingly for the two parties, the campaign is at a pitch that cannot be brought down. Both have indulged in name-calling and traded corruption charges, even while remaining partners in government. It is therefore diicult to imagine there will be no long-term consequences for the alliance in the run-up to the 2019 general election. The Sena, which played down the strident Marathi chauvinism of its early years in favour of Hindutva nationalism, knows its support base is vulnerable to poaching by the BJP. In alliance or out of it, the Sena is always under the threat of being subsumed within the BJP’s own political stream. Its eforts to expand beyond the cities and major towns of the State had put the Sena more in direct competition with the BJP than in conflict with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. Unsurprisingly, the Sena campaign for the civic bodies has grown to include attacks on not only the failings of the Devendra Fadnavis government but also the record of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre and its flip-flops on demonetisation. However, the real test for the Sena and the BJP will emerge after the dust settles, when they will have to resume work as partners in government following weeks of this hostile campaign. And also possibly, deal with a changed power equation within the alliance.

The idea of a universal basic income (UBI) has been gaining ground globally. While Switzerland held a referendum on it last year (it was voted down), Finland introduced it earlier this month. Media reports suggest that the government of India’s flagship Economic Survey this year is likely to endorse the UBI, setting the stage for its introduction. On the face of it, an unconditional basic income for everyone seems a great idea. In the West, the UBI is being discussed as a solution to two problems: unemployment due to automation; and growing social unrest caused by extreme inequality and precarity. It is expected to solve the unemployment problem by decoupling subsistence from jobs, freeing human beings to realise their true potential, preferably through entrepreneurship. It would address the second by supplying monetary resources to access the necessities of life. This, in a nutshell, is the popular understanding of the UBI. The reality, however, is not so rosy. The UBI debate in India has been a narrow one — restricted, for the most part, to financial viability. Its advocates argue that it is a more eicient way of delivering welfare, while its opponents hold that the fiscal burden would be too much. What hasn’t received adequate attention is the politics behind the UBI: who is pushing the idea? To what end? And why?

ducted so far ofer a clue. Invariably, they all present the same conclusion: giving cash to the poor is better than traditional welfare. Of course, it would be wonderful if the problem of inequality and poverty were solved for us by a sudden moral awakening of the rich. Unfortunately, the current enthusiasm for the UBI is not the product of such a momentous development.

The UBI evangelists The most eloquent advocates of UBI today are free-market enthusiasts — the same lot branded as neo-liberals for their advocacy of deregulation, privatisation, and cuts in welfare spending. Their guru, Milton Friedman, was an early advocate of basic income. Outside the academic realm, the biggest champion of UBI is the global tech sector. Silicon Valley billionaires such as Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla Motors, and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes have publicly backed the idea. Could it be possible that the global financial elite have finally sprouted a conscience? The reports of the UBI pilot projects con-

Not an add-on benefit The biggest myth about the UBI, partly responsible for sections of the Left endorsing it, is that it is a redistributive policy that would reduce inequality. It is indeed possible to have a redistributive UBI. But it would need to fulfil two conditions: it must be funded by taxing the wealthy; and the existing entitlements to the poor must not be taken away. Such a UBI would actually be a socialist measure that would increase the bargaining power of the working classes by giving them an income cushion. But neither of these conditions is met by any of the UBI designs being promoted today, either globally or in India. The much-

ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN

If the UBI is about reducing inequality and poverty, then there are many things the state could do at a fraction of what it would cost

touted Finnish experiment is restricted to the unemployed. It does not cover all working individuals. And it only replaces the already existing basic unemployment allowance and labour market subsidy — it is not an add-on benefit. In India, too, the UBI is not an add-on. On the contrary, it is about giving in a diferent form (cash), and under one umbrella, what is already being given (in-kind and cash benefits) via diferent channels. Back in 2008, in an influential paper in the Economic and Political Weekly titled ‘The case for direct cash transfers to the poor’, Arvind Subramanian, the present Chief Economic Adviser of the government, along with economists Devesh Kapur and Partha Mukhopadhyay, argued that the ₨1,80,000 crore spent annually on centrally sponsored schemes and assorted subsidies should instead be distributed as cash directly to 70 million households below the poverty line. Put simply, the UBI in India is nothing but the old wine of direct cash transfer in a fancy new bottle. Its objective remains the same: to eliminate the public distribution system (PDS) and with it, the food, fuel, and fertiliser subsidies. The same old arguments for replacing the PDS with cash transfers are now being trotted out in favour of the UBI. The addition of the word ‘universal’ signals greater ambition but alters neither the substance nor the motive. But let us take the arguments in favour at face value. What constitutes a basic income? Common sense dictates that it should be whatever is required to take care of basic life needs. A logical equivalent for this figure would be the minimum wage. The central government’s move last year to raise the minimum wage for non-skilled, non-agricultural workers to ₨9,100 per month was set aside following opposition from industry. Perhaps ₨9,100 per month is too luxurious an income to qualify as ‘basic’. The actual minimum wage in India is around ₨4,800 per month. Could we then expect at least this amount from our UBI? While diferent numbers have been bandied about, there seems to be a broad consensus around the Tendulkar committee poverty line of ₨33 a day. This works out to a basic income of ₨1,000-₨1,250 a month or ₨12,000-₨15,000 a year. But even this modest figure is estimated to cost 11-12% of the GDP.

CARTOONSCAPE

As bigotry becomes policy

A

merican President Donald Trump implemented his campaign promise of “extreme vetting” on Friday when he announced that his administration had banned, for 90 days via executive order, travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan were not on the list, perhaps owing to the close economic and strategic ties that Washington, and indeed the Trump Organization, have with some of these nations — although White House Chief of Staf Reince Priebus indicated that Pakistan may be put on the list, going forward. Mr. Trump has placed on hold indefinitely the U.S.’s asylum programme for refugees from Syria, and suspended entry of all refugees to the U.S. for 120 days. While he may have enthused his core constituency of predominantly white, bluecollar workers, beset with economic and racial insecurities, his order sent shock waves at home and abroad, and sparked fears that it could create a recruitment bonanza for terrorists. Leading the liberal counterattack, the American Civil Liberties Union argued that Mr. Trump’s order represented constitutional and legal overreach. In response, a federal judge in New York ruled that sending back the travellers detained in airports may cause them “irreparable harm”, and that the government was “enjoined and restrained from, in any manner and by any means, removing individuals” with valid papers. Similar rulings came in Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington State. Mr. Trump’s shock therapy for controlling immigration begs the question whether the order is constitutional. In 1965, Congress had deliberately circumscribed presidential power in this regard by stating that no one could be “discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the person’s race, sex, nationality, place of birth...” The order will probably have a wider fallout in the economic sphere — already Silicon Valley firms have scrambled to bring back their staf deployed in affected countries, and CEOs including Google’s Sundar Pichai, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, have expressed concern that the ban will afect their talent pools. More broadly, Mr. Trump’s order has done irreparable damage to America’s reputation as a melting pot of immigrants, a beacon for bright minds and a humane force against authoritarian excess abroad. No major attack has taken place on U.S. soil in the past eight years. Ultimately, Mr. Trump’s insistence on preferential treatment for Christian refugees makes a bogeyman of Muslims, a retrograde action that will exacerbate anti-Americanism worldwide. CM YK

In contrast, all the government’s subsidies put together account for only 4-4.5% of the GDP. This presents three options: one, the government makes up the deficit through additional tax revenue; two, it limits the fiscal burden by shrinking the UBI coverage from ‘universal’ to those below the poverty line; and three, it further shrinks the amount being doled out. Given India’s narrow tax base, and a policy mindset hostile to the idea of extracting more tax revenue from the wealthy, we can rule out option one. So the UBI we get, if we get one, would be derived from a combination of the second and third options, which means both ‘U’ and ‘B’ are out of UBI, leaving us efectively with what we already have: cash transfers. Most critically, one aspect is taken for granted by all the three options: the UBI will be funded primarily by the money allocated for CSS and subsidies. In other words, a basic income, however paltry, would help strengthen the case for the elimination or a significant roll-back of programmes such as the PDS, midday meal schemes, and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Why a UBI now? There is no point reprising here the case against direct cash transfers, which economists such as Jean Dreze have made convincingly. It is nonetheless fascinating to see the emerging contours of a distinctive political project. The Jan-Dhan Yojana set out to make every Indian accessible to global finance. The Aadhaar card set out to make every Indian identifiable and enumerable as data — the currency of global tech. The high mobile penetration has connected every Indian to the global digital network. An element that was missing was consumer behaviour, which the recent demonetisation sought to address, by force-feeding ‘cashless’ to a cash-dependent population. The UBI fits perfectly in this scheme of things, as it seeks to compress the whole gamut of welfare benefits into one, and mount it on a singular JAM (Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) platform. But why a UBI now? One explanation could be the immense pressure on India in secretive free trade negotiations. The developed nations have for long wanted India to wind up its food security-related provisions — both state procurement of foodgrains, and their subsidised distribution via PDS. A UBI would pave the way for the elimination of these measures, dealing a death blow to food security and deepening farm distress. Another is that the Indian state is stuck with welfare commitments it cannot renege on without political and legal consequences. The eiciency/ineiciency argument for scraping PDS and MGNREGS never acknowledges that these are rightsbased social entitlements with specified outcomes — and that is not accidental. Shifting the welfare paradigm to UBI would loosen the bonds of legal and social accountability. Under the PDS, for instance, the state must provide a specified quantity of foodgrains to the poor no matter what. With UBI, it has the option letting the payout slide behind inflation, as has already happened with the old age and widow pensions. In the final analysis, we need to answer a simple question: is the UBI about reducing inequality and poverty? If the answer is yes, then there are many things the state could do at a fraction of what the UBI would cost — from enforcing the minimum wage law, to releasing funds on time for MGNREGS. But if a dispensation hostile to these tried and tested anti-poverty measures develops a sudden zeal to eliminate poverty through UBI, a measure of scepticism is in order. [email protected]

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

Trump’s pause button Though Donald Trump may have won the U.S. presidency, his kneejerk actions betray a lack of trust in humanity as a whole as he wants to tar everyone with the same brush (“Court stops Trump’s travel ban order”, Jan.30). There is no explicable reason why the U.S. needs to be overreacting to “terror threats”. Americans, their leaders and the foreign policy draftsmen need to concede that much of the world’s terror has its genesis in the U.S.’s extra-interventionist role across the world. Playing big brother and assuming the role of the world’s self-appointed policeman will come with its own costs. Pushpa Dorai, Nurani, Kerala

red carpet to talented immigrants. Mr. Trump’s unbridled enthusiasm to go ahead with his protective trade measures and restrictive immigration policies will only do harm to the U.S. M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu

It is understandable that Trump wants to ban illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. But the selective ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries is unacceptable. The U.S. has always been the proverbial land of opportunities and flourished only because of immigrant labour. Rather than have a blanket ban, the U.S. should focus on a stronger vetting process for U.S. visa applicants. Viplav Jain, Islamabad, Pakistan

Donald Trump has sent out a clear and unequivocal message to the international community that his controversial election promises are not empty rhetoric and that he is determined to walk the extra mile to translate all his draconian visions into reality. He cannot be faulted for his intention to make America great and safe from terror but the weapon he seeks to deploy now militates against the liberal, secular and democratic ethos and values that define the very character of American society. The U.S.’s rise as a global superpower can be attributed to its liberal, democratic framework and for rolling out the

American jingoism has been responsible for civil disorder, terrorism and an exodus from several Muslim countries. Iraq was a prosperous nation till 1991. Two wars foisted on it by the U.S. devastated it and impoverished its people, eventually leading to the emergence of the Islamic State and ethnic tensions. Peace, harmony and prosperity are a far cry in “democratic Iraq” today which a “despotic Saddam” ensured during his years. Not to be forgotten is the U.S.’s role in helping the germination of Taliban fanatics. Oppressive regimes in the oil-

producing GCC emirates, sheikhdoms and kingdoms are still being propped up by the U.S. The U.S. came into being only after the persecuted from Europe gathered there and vowed to ofer liberty — social, political, economic — to immigrants. It is galling that Mr. Trump refuses to recognise America’s founding principles. M.A. Siraj, Bengaluru

The obsession this daily has towards America and its afairs rather than our national interests/ news is strange. I am afraid most readers like me are not interested in Mr. Trump’s team or what is going on at the White House. Our Prime Minister has taken over this job as he literally functions as the U.S. Ambassador to India. I wish the daily concentrated more on national news. Tilak Subramanian V., Bailakere, Udupi, Karnataka

Worth the risk? Taking on an irate and agitated animal endowed with sharp horns and brute strength is extremely risky (“Jallikattu in Tiruchi leaves 35 injured”, “Mishap lands bullhandler in hospital” and “32 hurt in Sivaganga”, all Jan.30). It was only recently that two persons were killed in a jallikattu event. When wearing protective gear has become a legal norm wherever there is anticipated danger, how is there no

law to protect participants from danger given that it has been argued that jallikattu is a “sport”? Can we allow the injuries sufered and the loss of lives to be a part of sport? Who will compensate the families for injuries sustained or death? Given the series of incidents, what have those who vigorously canvassed for the “sport” got to say now? There is a litany of questions that need to be immediately addressed. V. Lakshmanan, Tirupur, Tamil Nadu

Print still rules It appears that nearly two decades of screen-based reading have convinced readers that there is a world of diference between “consuming” news and “reading” news (“Is past the key to future”, Jan.30). The experience of television news should have forewarned media managers about the dangers of jumping onto the digital news bandwagon solely on the basis of the alluring narratives propagated by technology czars. A consumer of news mainly looks at the headlines. He is least interested in pausing and reflecting on the stories to understand their significance. A reader, on the other hand, wants to delve into the news to try to grasp its wider meaning and ramifications for which they need to rely on the print. It is no wonder, therefore, that print media

continues to find favour with the public including the younger generation. Study after study has confirmed the shallow nature of digital reading. In fact, the technological controllers of the Internet thrive on dispersing our attention as they would lose heavily if viewers spent too much time on a page or site. V.N. Mukundarajan, Thiruvananthapuram

The older generation is for the survival of the print media at any cost, though we do admit that news reports reach much earlier nowadays with the help of better communication and technology. But nothing can replace the pleasure of reading a newspaper. P.U. Krishnan, Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris

A stirring duel There might have been many thrilling and pulsating Major tennis finals, but the men’s singles of the Australian Open final, between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, was “Simply the best” (Editorial, Jan.30). It was a final devoid of any tantrums and aggressive gestures by the two veterans. Nadal’s fighting spirit and Federer’s classic display were of a high quality. The mutual respect and admiration by both was something to be cherished for a long time. V. Mahalingam, Chennai ND-ND

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

ECOLOGY

How land use affects climate change The interaction between people and land is as old as human evolution. When early hunter-gatherers started to settle down in the Neolithic transition and practise agriculture, they began to change their relationship with land in a major way. Starting with the Holocene, approximately 11,500 years ago, many plants were domesticated for agriculture. These SUJATHA BYRAVAN and the associated social and technological changes led to dense human settlements that then paved the way for the formation of early cities. As is evident, even now human interventions transform land, water and local ecologies, and in doing so deeply afect the availability of resources. Over the past half-century or so, it has become clear that these changes have so profoundly modified the earth that a geological transformation to the Anthropocene is now firmly in place. Land use change lock-in Land-use change takes place through human activity in several ways. For example, in Indonesia, about 500 sq km of forest area are cleared each year, much of which is replaced with oil palm plantations. Another pattern of changing land use is seen in expanding cities. In many countries, including India, cities are expanding well beyond their formal limits, either along inter-city corridors or in other directions. Various forces shape these patterns of urbanisation, transforming land use from agriculture and forests into industry, residential and commercial buildings and associated infrastructure, and horticulture. Often the contested spaces of peri-urban areas (outside city limits but not quite part of the rural hinterland) beInterventions like converting come sites from which groundwaagricultural land for housing ter is pumped and transported to or industry and filling up the city, where new industrial zones are developed, where urban ponds impact waste is dumped, and where vegetecosystem services ables and other high-value crops are grown for nearby urban centres. These land-use changes are alarming for climate change because they tell us how deeply locked into semi-permanence they can be, just by proliferating at a rapid pace. Cars are replaced on average every decade or so and new breakthrough vehicle technology may spread and change the fleet in one to two decades. Coal power plants may be replaced every four to five decades. However, cities and urban ‘tissue’ last over 500 years. Urbanising areas grow and expand in diferent ways, parts of them planned, with other portions of informality containing infrastructure, homes, slums and industries, waterbodies and marshlands. In India, there are multiple patterns of urban and peri-urban growth resulting in diferent consequences for each region. For example, whether infrastructure is able to guarantee some degree of equity of access to services in cities varies depending on both history and geography. The suburban trains and excellent network of BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking) buses, for instance, defined Mumbai early on in its growth. But in some cities such as Hyderabad and Bengaluru, expansion and infrastructure development took place primarily outside the core areas with the view to establishing and supporting public sector companies such as HMT, Bharat Electronics Limited, and the Defence Research and Development Organisation, and later Information Technology companies. They also serviced an auto-led transport network and associated land-use change. In fact, Chennai, quite intentionally, set up industrial hubs for automotive and parts suppliers. Gurugram, south of Delhi, is a privatised Mecca for several kinds of industries and has developed into a financial and industrial hub. Similarly, the peri-urban areas of many other cities — New Town in Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, and so on — have each had their own version of sprawl, or vast planned or unplanned spaces, that have together extended a large footprint across India. Implications The specific patterns of urban growth of a city and its periphery have implications for poverty, food, water, health, jobs and access to services. A city can, therefore, based on its pattern of growth and expansion, lead to particular lifestyles and circumscribe a quality of life for its many residents. Interventions like converting agricultural land for housing or industry, filling up ponds and building housing complexes on lake beds, etc. impact ecosystem services and climate adaptation. These especially afect the poor who are largely reliant on ecosystems for their livelihoods. Keeping water in the ground, in tanks and waterbodies is regarded as a precaution for dry spells or irregularity in precipitation. These measures can improve resilience towards the possible efects of climate change. According to some scientists, unlike carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas whose efects last for hundreds of years, land cover and land management generate drivers in climate systems that influence local and regional weather patterns. This is largely due to changes in aerosols, carbon, nitrogen and other gases along with the moisture in the air, heat and light. The urban heat island efect is understood readily, but this also afects periurban regions of expansion. This subject clearly requires more research to provide guidance to policymakers. But we already know that protecting waterbodies, conserving groundwater, reducing our ecological footprint and living in more compact communities are good ways to address both climate change mitigation and adaptation, which are about reducing greenhouse gases and preparing to live in a warmer world. Sujatha Byravan is Principal Research Scientist at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy, Bengaluru.

FROM THE ARCHIVES dated January 31, 1967

India wants total ban on nuclear weapons The Government of India will sign the treaty banning nuclear weapons in outer space. From India’s view point, the treaty is not of any great significance. What India would like is a ban on the use of nuclear weapons and steps which would lead to the destruction of the stockpile of nuclear weapons. The present

treaty allows members to suggest amendments. India will in due course consider whether suitable amendments can be suggested to the treaty. At the same time India is watching the outcome of the disarmament talks in Geneva with interest. Here what is important is for the nuclear powers to indicate in some form or other that they would go to the assistance of non-nuclear powers if they were attacked by a nuclear power.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS The fifth paragraph of “India holds its nerve in a thriller” (Sport, Jan. 30, 2017) erroneously said that Eoin Morgan won the toss and had no hesitation to bat first. It should have been field first. It is the policy of The Hindu to correct significant errors as soon as possible. Please specify the edition (place of publication), date and page. The Readers’ Editor’s oice can be contacted by Telephone: +91-44-28418297/28576300 (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday); Fax: +91-44-28552963; E-mail:[email protected] Mail: Readers’ Editor, The Hindu, Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860 Anna Salai, Chennai 600 002, India. All communication must carry the full postal address and telephone number. No personal visits. The Terms of Reference for the Readers’ Editor are on www.thehindu.com CM YK

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PERSPECTIVE

Don’t speak, don’t tell The RBI’s continuance of the cash withdrawal limits, along with the thrust on digital banking, is aimed at averting the possibility of a bank run working capital limits. The tests show that only 49 out of the 60 banks in the sample will remain resilient (by using their SLR and High Quality Liquid Assets) in such a scenario. In case of incremental shocks in an extreme crises, banks will be able to withstand withdrawals of 15% of deposits using their remaining SLR investments. In other words, 11 out of the 60 banks will fail the liquidity test! The report does not disclose the names of these 11 banks.

MEERA NANGIA

“Do you fear a run on the banks?” This was the question posed by some MPs in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance to Urjit Patel, Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Before he could respond, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh intervened by saying, “No, you don’t have to answer this question.” Had the Governor answered the question, he would probably have listed out scenarios that could result in a bank run. Since the 2008 global financial crises, central bankers are actively engaged in the issue of financial stability and pre-emption of bank runs. The RBI too has been bringing out half-yearly Financial Stability Reports (FSR) since 2010, in which one section is devoted exclusively to the commercial banking sector. The reports contain sophisticated stress tests that gauge the risk to the banking system based on liquidity-cuminsolvency contagion scenarios. These reports are reviewed by a subcommittee of the Financial Stability Development Council that functions under the Finance Ministry. Any professional banker would never deny the possibility of a bank run. Banking is a risky business. A bank lends out money received from its depositors. The presumption is that all depositors will not demand all their money back at the same time. There is liquidity risk if the bank is unable to repay on demand the money it has accepted from the depositors. There is credit risk if the bank is unable to recover its loans. The central bank, as a regulator, ensures that a bank is prepared to meet liquidity and credit risks. The capital to risk (weighted) assets ratio (CRAR) is a safeguard that the capital base of a bank is not eroded. The statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) is a safeguard that a bank is able to return deposits of customers on demand. Credit and liquidity risks In order to further mitigate these risks, the RBI is adopting international standards prescribed by the Basel Com-

RISKY BUSINESS: “There is liquidity risk if a bank is unable to repay on demand the money it has accepted from the depositors.” SBI unveiling its digital banking initiative ‘sbiINTOUCH' in Chennai. PHOTO: R. RAGU mittee on Bank Supervision and the Financial Stability Board. It has directed banks to give up forbearance in the classification and reporting of non-performing assets (NPA) from April 1, 2015. In simple terms, this means that as banks stop playing ‘pretend’, the loans that were earlier classified as ‘standard’ assets will now be downgraded, leading to an increase in the loan defaults. Excess provisioning will lead to a decline in profits; in some cases even chipping away bank capital. This declining trend is discernible in the bank performance during 2015-16. The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances increased sharply from 5.26% to 10.69% for nationalised banks and marginally from 2.10% to 2.83% for private banks from March 2015 to March 2016. According to the December 2016 FSR, as of September 30, 2016, the return on assets for public sector banks was -0.1%, and 1.5% for private sector banks. Similarly, the return on equity for public sector banks was -1.5%, and 13.4% for private sector banks. Credit risk covers possibilities of defaults by individual borrowers and borrower groups. For example, if because of borrower default, one bank fails, it is likely to trigger a domino efect across banks — since banks have financial linkages with each other besides exposure

Quantitative tests indicate that the banking system is apparently not even prepared for the withdrawal of 10% of depositors’ funds to the same big borrower groups. However, a bank with adequate CRAR would be able to withstand this credit shock. The December 2016 FSR reveals interesting results of stress tests conducted using 10 diferent scenarios based on the information of group borrowers. The tests show that CRAR would fall below 9% for two banks if there is default of the top 1 borrower group; five banks if the top two borrower groups default; 12 banks if the top five borrower groups default and as many as 22 banks if the 10 top borrower groups default. A typical liquidity risk scenario covers unexpected deposit withdrawals (10% withdrawal in 10 days or a 15% withdrawal in 5 days) in banks on account of loss of depositor confidence. The December 2016 FSR analyses the liquidity risk to the banking system on the assumption of increased withdrawals of the uninsured 10% deposits (presently these are 69% of total deposits) and unutilised portions of 75% sanctioned

Banks on the precipice Incidentally, Viral Acharya, the new RBI Deputy Governor, in a study titled ‘State intervention in banking: the relative health of Indian public sector and private sector banks’, concludes that the Indian banking system needs radical reform and recommends repealing the SBI Act, SBI (Subsidiary Banks) Act, and Nationalisation Acts 1970, 1980. One of the scenarios studied assumes the absence of regulatory forbearance on restructured assets (as directed by the RBI with efect from April 1, 2015). The results show that in such a scenario the tier I capital of all public sector banks slips below the mandatory 6.5% level and four public sector banks become insolvent. As anyone familiar with quantitative tests would know that the stress tests are based on certain assumptions and not foolproof in their replication of reality. However, these tests do indicate that the banking system is apparently not even prepared for the withdrawal of 10% of depositors funds. Perhaps, a more appropriate question for the RBI Governor would have been, “How are you planning to prevent a bank run?” It is therefore not surprising that the RBI is continuing with its cash withdrawal limit of ₨24,000 and managing perceptions by allowing minor concessions to current account holders (while ATMs continue to run dry). This, along with the thrust on digital banking, is ensuring that a large portion of the uninsured deposits remains within the banking system, thus precluding the possibility of a bank run. Meera Nangia is an Associate Professor in commerce at the University of Delhi. Her doctorate was on the Indian banking system.

Can Trump reset ties with Russia? With Russia’s bargaining capacity much higher now, it will demand greater compromises from the U.S. for a potential détente Russia’s immediate interests and capabilities, it actually drove a wedge between Berlin and Moscow. Till the Ukraine crisis, German-Russian relations were on a high trajectory which Mr. Putin wanted to convert into a strategic alliance. A German-Russian-Eurasian alliance could potentially have threatened the foundations of the unipolar world. Mr. Trump would like to do to the China-Russia partnership exactly what Mr. Obama did to the Russian-German partnership.

STANLY JOHNY

“When I am President, Russia will respect us far more than they do now and both countries will, perhaps, work together to solve some of the many great and pressing problems and issues of the WORLD!” Donald Trump tweeted on January 7, weeks before he took over as the 45th President of the United States. Throughout his campaign, Mr. Trump praised Russian President Vladimir Putin for his leadership. Mr. Putin was one of the first leaders he reached out to after taking oice. In a telephone conversation on January 28, both leaders promised cooperation in fighting terrorism. Interestingly, Mr. Trump’s ofer to rescript ties with the former Cold War rival comes at a time when bilateral relations are at the lowest level since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia for its military intervention in Crimea and alleged interference in the U.S. election. The U.S. intelligence community has repeatedly slammed Moscow over a number of issues, from “spreading instability” in the world to killing civilians in Syria. So Mr. Trump’s outreach stands in sharp contrast with the policies pursued by his predecessor (s). Why should he promise a reset in the first place? Why reach out? One explanation, which gained currency in the weeks after the presidential election, is that the Russians have some leverage over the new U.S. President. According to American media reports, the Central Intelligence Agency has concluded that Russia interfered in the U.S. election to help Mr. Trump win. Another allegation is that Russia possesses some compromising personal information about Mr. Trump which it could use to blackmail him. Irrespective of the merit of these allegations, it’s hard to believe that the President of the world’s most powerful country would be loyal to a foreign government just because it leaked information about his rival, or he could be blackmailed over some secret information. For a logical explanation, one has to set aside these theories of loyalty and blackmail and look into the broader ideological and strategic contexts. Mr. Trump’s foreign policy-related statements from his early campaign days can be divided into three broad themes: an ideological opposition towards what he calls “radical Islamic terrorism”, improving ties with Russia, and taking on China. These three themes are some-

U.S.-RUSSIA BONHOMIE: “Donald Trump believes Russia is no longer the U.S.’s principal global rival.” A billboard in Danilovgrad, Montenegro, showing U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. PHOTO: REUTERS how interlinked. Mr. Trump has never shied away from asserting his own, or his country’s, religious identity. During the campaign, he had said he would fight to bring Americans together as “one people under one god saluting one American flag”. In the words of Steve Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist and one of the most powerful voices in the administration, the Judeo-Christian West is “in an outright war against jihadist Islamic fascism”. The early decisions of President Trump, including a complete ban on visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries, indicate that the administration’s world view and Mr. Bannon’s are not entirely diferent. On the other side, in Mr. Putin’s Russia, the Orthodox Church, sidelined by the godless communists for decades, has made a big comeback. So when Mr. Trump promises to win over the Russian leadership in the fight against the Islamic State, he’s actually referring to a possible ideological alliance between two predominantly Christian countries against a common enemy. By doing so, Mr. Trump may be hoping to make advances in another direction — tackling China. Mr. Trump believes Russia is no longer the U.S.’s principal global rival. In his world view, China is rising to that stature. To be sure, Russia, with its enormous land and natural resources and strategically important geography and military might, remains a key geopolitical power. But its economy is inherently weak, a shadow of the Soviet economic power. Though Russia retains

Donald Trump would like to use his overtures to Russia to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing huge influence in its backyard, it’s doubtful whether it alone could pose a long-term strategic threat to the U.S. On the other side, China is an economic powerhouse that wields enormous influence around the world. But China’s force-projection capabilities are limited as its seafront remains vulnerable. The U.S. has massive military presence in the Chinese sphere of influence. But if Russia and China come together — which has actually been taking place in recent years, be it in trade and economic ties or the collaboration at the United Nations on global conflicts — that would pose a potential threat to longterm American interests. Mr. Trump would like to use his overtures to Russia to drive a wedge between Moscow and Beijing. This is a strategy his predecessors used several times in the history of American foreign policy. In the 1970s, President Richard Nixon wanted to exploit the diferences in the Communist world and overhauled America’s policy towards China. In recent years, President Barack Obama seized the opportunity in Ukraine to mobilise European opinion against Russia and open a joint front against Moscow. While his sanctions regime didn’t necessarily weaken

Three hurdles But there are three key problems: political, geopolitical and strategic. One, Mr. Obama has created enough hurdles for Mr. Trump in dealing with the Russians. Mr. Trump already sufers from a credibility problem after all the allegations of his campaign’s links with Russia. True, he could lift the sanctions through executive orders, but that will further alienate the powerful Russophobic elements in the Washington establishment from his administration. Two, Russian foreign policy is historically shaped by its deep insecurity. Its long border with European and Caucasian sides has no physical protection and is exposed to potential aggressions. NATO keeps expanding to these areas, which explains Russia’s adventures in Georgia and Ukraine. Mr. Trump cannot win a sustainable deal with Moscow unless he assures the Russians over NATO. This means, Mr. Trump will have to either give up on or rein in NATO. Both will have consequences from Europe. Third, today’s Russia is not the Russia of 2009 when Mr. Obama became the President and promised a “reset”. Russia then was largely confined to its backyard — Eastern Europe, Caucuses and Central Asia. But now Russia has already spread its influence to other regions. It’s the dominant player in Syria, a strong ally of Iran (one of the countries targeted by Mr. Trump’s Muslim ban order), and a shadow force in Afghanistan where the Americans are fighting an unwinnable war for over 15 years. Moscow’s bargaining capacity is much higher now. It will demand greater compromises from the U.S. for a potential détente. And how is Mr. Trump, who has promised to put “America first”— a euphemism to restore the U.S.’s slipped glory as the world’s pre-eminent superpower — going to address this? Both sides may be testing the waters for now, but ideological intentions, as history shows, are unlikely to trump geopolitical realities. The fault lines will start emerging as soon as they get down to business. [email protected] ND-ND

12 |

NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

4-member panel to oversee BCCI’s afairs At another instance during the hearing, Mr. Sibal pointed out that Mr. Rai was the Chairman of the Banking Board and a ‘government appointee.’ “Under the Lodha rules, government servants cannot be oice-bearers, is it not?” Mr. Sibal asked. But the court cut him short after amicus curiae and senior advocate Gopal Subramanium said the position occupied by Mr. Rai was not a government job and he had once held a high constitutional oice. Mr. Rai’s name had been proposed by the amicus and senior advocate Anil Divan. During the hearing, Mr. Sankaranarayanan said ‘zero per cent’ of the Lodha reforms have been complied with by the BCCI and its members so far. He objected to the State associations and the current BCCI oice-bearers’ insistence that they should be heard before the CoA is appointed. The Supreme Court order said present office-bearers are to ‘cease and desist’ from functioning. That meant they had no authority, Mr. Sankaranarayanan said. “The minute Your Lordships appoint the Committee of Administrators, they will become the BCCI,” he

submitted. Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for three BCCI members (railways, armed forces and Indian Association of Varsities), submitted that appointment of a CoA would “disturb the electoral college of the BCCI and change the fabric of the organisation.” “We have a fundamental right to be heard first,” Mr. Sibal submitted. “My three votes have gone and been given to Nagaland, Mizoram and Tripura, where there is no cricket. On the other hand, I have been propagating cricket for 70 years,” Mr. Rohatgi said. “All this has been argued before... All this is old wine in a new bottle,” Mr. Subramanium said. “Let the report come and we will see,” Justice Misra said. Meanwhile, the Bench appointed Amitabh Choudhary and Anirudh Choudhary — both BCCI nominees — and Mr. Limaye to represent the BCCI at the crucial ICC meet due in the first week of February. When contacted by The Hindu, Mr. Ramachandra Guha said he was “honoured to be part of this panel”, and refrained from making any further comments.

Economy not in good shape: Manmohan Mr. Gowda said job creation had shrunk 90% from 11 lakh new jobs in 2010 to less than 1.5 lakh new jobs in 2016 as against a promise of two crore jobs per year; the “real” road construction was just about six kilometres a day; while there was talk of bullet trains, many railway accidents were taking place; private investment was going down; 800 start-ups, founded after 2011, had shut shop; and exports were stagnating. He added that demonetisation came on top of these and tractor and twowheeler sales had shrunk after it. Mr. Gowda said some assessments maintained that the slowdown would last a few years. Stating that while every government must be optimistic, Mr. Chidambaram said optimism must stem from a realistic assessment of situation. “Yet, if the government presents tomorrow a rosy picture of the economy, people of India are entitled

to question that.” “The BJP is hiding behind a GDP number which is being challenged. People are not dazzled by it, but are asking where are the jobs? The NDA government tends to believe in an exaggerated version of the economy; this research document is closer to truth than what government will say tomorrow,” he said. Urging the govermnent to focus on fiscal consolidation, the former Finance Minister said, “There are serious question marks on this government’s ability to follow fiscal prudence.” He dismissed suggestions that the 2008 farm loan waiver was a populist measure, saying, “It was based on the response to a demand from the farming community and was a very wise decision...This was especially so as the international financial crisis hit in September 2008, which crippled even major economies but did not afect India much,” he said. (With inputs from PTI)

SC refuses govt. plea on judicial vacancies He read out from his petiton seeking even to “double the number of judges” in the courts to combat pendency. But here, Chief Justice Khehar favoured the government's line that existing vacancies for judges should be first filled up rather doubling their numbers. Chief Justice Khehar, however, sought to distance the Supreme Court from the causes for the delay in filling up vacancies, saying "In a federal structure, the high court is the highest court in a State and is not either in the control of the government or the Supreme Court." But Chief Justice Khehar

agreed to consider the petitions in detail, ordering them to be posted for hearing after a month. The petitions were taken up by the Justice Thakur Court last year and have been at the centre of various stinging remarks aimed at the the government for deating judges' appointments. In one unprecedented moment, then Chief Justice Thakur had accused the government of trying to "grind the judiciary to a halt" by stymyeing judicial appointments process. Chief Justice Khehar, the author of the NJAC judgment in October 2016, is hearing these petitions for the first time.

RBI eases curbs on cash withdrawals “Limits placed on cash withdrawals from current accounts, cash credit accounts, overdraft accounts stand withdrawn with immediate efect,” the RBI said in a circular. The move is expected to ease fund availability for small businesses and traders. The central bank said banks could set their own limits on cash withdrawals from ATMs, as was the case CM YK

before November 8. Banks typically cap ATM cash withdrawals at ₨20,000– ₨25,000 per transaction, though some banks ofer higher limits for high net worth individuals. “Banks are urged to encourage their constituents to sustain the movement towards digitisation of payments and switching over of payments from cash mode to non-cash mode,” the RBI said.

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

Centre to hold talks to end Manipur crisis Tripartite dialogue mooted with United Naga Council and State government over the ongoing highway blockade VIJAITA SINGH NEW DELHI: The Centre has decided to hold tripartite talks with the United Naga Council (UNC) and the Manipur government to end the ongoing blockade of two national highways in Manipur, which has disrupted normal life and led to a shortage of essential commodities in the State. The economic blockade imposed by the UNC, an umbrella body of Naga groups under the patronage of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), against the Manipur government’s decision to carve out seven new districts, has continued for over four months now. The UNC sees the move as an attempt to truncate the concept of a greater Nagalim.

The Centre has been accused of turning a blind eye to the activities of the UNC, with which the Union government had signed a framework agreement in 2015 to resolve the decades-old Naga issue. “We will soon send a notice for holding talks with the UNC and the Manipur government. Let’s see, if they respond to the notice. Last time, on 15 November, 2016, when such meeting was held, no representative of the Manipur government showed up,” said a senior government oicial. The official added that the meeting has been proposed to be held in Delhi on February 5. Last week, the Centre pressed into service two C-17 Globemaster cargo aircrafts to airlift six fuel tankers to Imphal. An oicial said that

NAGA CRISIS: Normal life in the State has been disrupted after an economic blockade was imposed by Naga groups. A policeman is seen near a charred bus in Manipur. — FILE PHOTO: 96 kilolitres of petrol was airlifted to ease oil shortage in the State. State subject The Union government even sought Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi’s opinion

to end the economic blockade. After consultation, it was concluded that no law permitted the Centre to interfere in the matter, as law and order was a State subject. “We have been sending Central forces and are doing

our bit. The State government has not been forthcoming to end the deadlock as the current situation would help them in the upcoming elections,” said the oicial. Manipur is going to the polls on March 4 and 8 and due to the ongoing economic blockade, it has been kept in the most sensitive category, an oicial said, adding that elections were being held in two phases for the first time in the State. Around 17,500 Central forces are deployed in Manipur currently and another 50,000 would reach in March after elections in the other four States are over. The Centre has even kept choppers and aircraft on standby, in case forces need to be airlifted. Home Minister Rajnath Singh had earlier sent a

5 rescued soldiers succumb to injuries

tough message to Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh that if the State government failed in discharging its constitutional duties, the Centre “may have to explore other measures under the provisions of the Constitution of India to ensure that the diiculties of the people of Manipur are alleviated.” Home Ministry’s worry The Home Ministry had earlier written a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding the “ongoing tension and grave law and order situation” and requested it to defer the elections in the State in the wake of shortage of security forces. The EC overruled the Ministry’s apprehensions and announced that polls will be held in the State in two phases on March 4 and 8.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

BJP, Congress fight it out over loans to Mallya

SRINAGAR: Five soldiers, who

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

were rescued after a snow sheath caved in on them in Kupwara’s Macchil sector, died of their wounds on Monday. A Srinagar-based Army spokesman said they were shifted from Kupwara to an Army hospital in Srinagar “despite persistent poor weather conditions” for specialist medical care, but this did not help save their lives. It was on January 28 that the five were trapped under snow for several hours after the pathway leading to their picket caved in. It took one hour for the

rescue team to pull them out of the snow sheath. Since then they were being treated locally as they could not be airlifted by copters due to the inclement

weather. Meanwhile, the bodies of 14 soldiers killed in twin avalanches in Bandipora’s Gurez sector, were flown in here. “The bodies will be taken to their native

Opposition questions timing of Union Budget SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: Opposition parties put on record their diferences with the government on tabling the Union Budget on February 1, not just because of the coming Assembly polls in five States but also because economic data for the third quarter will not be factored into the document.

Rise above party lines: PM At an all-party meet called by the government, Opposition leaders were united in questioning the timing of the Union Budget, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked for Parliament to rise above party lines and come forward for discussion on various issues.

I-T notices to 87 under Benami Transactions Act NEW DELHI: Initiating stringent

action against black money holders, the Income-Tax department on Monday said it had issued 87 notices and attached bank deposits worth crores in 42 cases nationwide under the newly enforced Benami Transactions Act, which attracts a heavy penalty and rigorous jail term of a maximum 7 years. After the demonetisation order of the government last year, the department had carried out public advertisements and had warned people against depositing their unaccounted old notes in someone else’s bank account saying such an act would attract criminal charges under the Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, applicable on both movable and immovable property, that has been enforced from November 1, 2016. “After in-depth investigations, the I-T department has issued 87 notices under section 24 of the said Act (notice and attachment of property involved in benami transaction). A total of 42 properties, largely monies worth crores in bank accounts and an immovable property, of benamidars have been attached,” oicials said citing an analysis report. — PTI.

“Parliament is a Mahapanchayat and I would request all parties to allow the House to run,” Mr. Modi is reported to have said, according to Parliamentary Afairs Minister Ananth Kumar. Trinamool Congress and NDA ally Shiv Sena kept away from the meet. “Some parties could not attend not just due to the Assembly polls, but also local body polls in some States,” said Mr. Kumar explaining the absence of these parties. Mr. Kumar added that three ordinances re-promulgated recently, including the Enemy Property Ordinance will be tabled in Parliament and Business Advisory Committees of both Houses will schedule discussions on them.

“The presentation of the Budget on February 1 is not just unseemly in view of the polls in five States but also that the economic data from the third quarter will not be factored in. The Budget exercise is therefore not scientific,” said CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury. TMC to skip budget The TMC released a statement saying that it would be absent from the presentation of the Budget as part of its protest against demonetisation. The decision was taken after a meeting of the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party at the residence of West Bengal Chief Minister and party chairperson Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata.

places on Tuesday for last rites,” said the spokesman. The soldiers died between January 25 and 26 in Bandipora’s Gurez valley. The bodies remained stuck in the val-

ley due to fresh snowfall. A total of 26 people, including 20 soldiers, have died in avalanches in the Kashmir Valley since January 25.

Ex-CBI chief’s plea on probe order rejected KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL NEW DELHI: Invoking the Supreme Court’s recent dismissal of documentary material produced in the Sahara-Birla pay-ofs case, former CBI chief Ranjit Sinha on Monday sought the court to modify its order directing a probe against him for allegedly attempting to scuttle investigation into the multi-crore coal scam cases. A Bench of Justices — Madan B. Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A.K. Sikri — had last week constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by the present CBI Director to look into the allegations against Mr. Sinha whom the court found prima facie liable. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Mr. Sinha, made a reference to how the Supreme Court

Ranjit Sinha has referred to the SC’s dismissal of SaharaBirla pay-offs case to stress his point refused to even direct the registration of an FIR into the Sahara-Birla pay-ofs case in which top politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were accused of receiving kickbacks from Sahara and Birla companies for favours. The court had declined to order probe into the pay-ofs case after concluding that the documentary evidence, including diary entries, found in raids conducted at the oice premises of the two companies were not credible and too flimsy to kick-start a court-ordered investigation.

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday took the Congress to task on the issue of loans extended to industrialist Vijay Mallya during the UPA’s tenure, allegedly at the behest of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, even as the Congress denied there was any such irregularity and questioned why Mr. Mallya was allowed to escape by the present government. At a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, party spokesperson Sambit Patra quoted from letters purportedly written by Mr. Mallya to Dr. Singh seeking his intervention, after which the now-defunct Kingfisher Airline had received loans. “The hands which pulled the strings to ensure that Mallya received loans are visible now. It belonged to [former Finance Minister] Chidambaram and [former Prime Minister] Singh,” Mr. Patra said. Mr. Patra cited another letter the absconding liquor baron allegedly wrote to Mr. Chidambaram in March 2013 for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the SBI.

Leaders deny charge Dr. Singh, addressing another press conference in Delhi, refuted the allegations. “Its an ordinary piece of letter which any government in my place would have dealt with,” he said. Mr. Chidambaram too refuted allegations that the then UPA government extended any favour to Mr. Mallya.

Uddhav shuts the door on alliance with MNS ALOK DESHPANDE MUMBAI: A day after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray sent his key man, Bala Nandgaonkar, to the Shiv Sena with a proposal for an alliance in the Mumbai civic polls, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday clarified that his party will go it alone. “We have not received any alliance proposal from any party. We do not have any intention to join hands with anyone,” said Mr. Thackeray,

adding that the Sena will be contesting all 10 municipal corporations and 25 zilla parishads on its own. “The entire State will be painted in safron.” Mr. Thackeray said the preparation of the Sena’s candidate list is in the final stage and meetings are on. “How is it possible to discuss an alliance at this stage?” Mr. Nandgaonkar on Sunday evening held a meeting with Sena leaders at the residence of the party chief. Reacting to the Sena chief’s statement that he did not re-

Uddhav Thackeray ceive any proposal whatsoever, Mr. Nandgaonkar on Monday evening said the proposal was of an alliance without conditions. “Our

proposal was that we wanted our seats and that was it. We did not want anything else. If he wants to prove me wrong, I have nothing to say. But even now I feel that we have time for announcement of an alliance.” Three weeks ago, the MNS chief had said that his party will consider an alliance with any party if he gets a proposal. After Mr. Thackeray’s announcement on January 26 to snap electoral ties with the BJP, MNS leaders had indicated that both parties could come together. While none

of the Sena leaders had responded to those statements, the MNS seems to be determined on continuing with its eforts. Hits out at Amit Shah Earlier, the Sena chief took a dig at BJP national president Amit Shah’s remarks about friendly fights with his party in Maharashtra. “Was the issue of friendly fights raised during the State assembly polls? Why is it being raised now? Are they (BJP) behaving in a manner to have friendly fights?”

Sushma’s help sought for businessman’s release SUHASINI HAIDAR MAHESH LANGA NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD: Congress leader Ahmed Patel and independent Rajya Sabha member Parimal Nathwani have sought the intervention of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for the release of Baroda-based businessman Paraman Radhakrishnan, who has been held in the U.S. for “terrorising”. Ms. Swaraj tweeted on Monday that she had asked for a report from the Indian Ambassador in the U.S. “Swaraj should look into the matter of Radhakrishnan

and take steps for his early release,” Mr. Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, told reporters in Vadodara. Mr. Nathwani also sought the Union Minister’s intervention. “I have raised the issue in the U.S. and requested the authorities to take it up,” he told The Hindu, which had on Monday reported the arrest of the 53-year-old businessmen from Gujarat for alleged bomb threat. Wife’s plea When contacted, Mr. Radhakrishnan’s wife Renu Radhakrishnan told The Hindu that she was “not in a

been arrested in Grand Forks. He is just a simple honest resident of Vadodara,” she tweeted. She said her husband was passionate about energy conservation and had even won a national award.

Sushma Swaraj position to comment.” On Sunday, Ms. Renu had tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ms. Swaraj urging them to help get Mr. Radhakrishnan back from the U.S. “Modiji, my husband has

In the dark However, even on Monday, the Gujarat government appeared to be unaware of the issue. “We are yet to get any details from anyone,” Pradipsinh Jadeja, Minister of State for Home and Non-Resident Gujarati Afairs, told The Hindu. Paraman Radhakrishnan was on a week-long business

trip to the U.S., and preparing to return home when he was arrested. He had checked in for a flight from Grand Forks to Minneapolis, Minnesota, early on Saturday. He then allegedly entered into an altercation with the airlines’ staf and was accused of threatening them. He said there was a bomb in his bag, local newspapers reported. “Police say the suspect may have said that because he was upset with the airport staf. But threats of this nature at an airport is taken seriously,” Grand Forks police spokesperson Jay Middleton said. ND-ND

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UTTAR PRADESH, UTTARAKHAND, PUNJAB, MANIPUR, GOA

SP rift continues, rivals smell blood BJP and BSP attempt to take advantage of disquiet between Akhilesh and Mulayam, who has refused to campaign for the alliance OMAR RASHID LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief

Minister Akhilesh Yadav may have snatched the leadership of the Samajwadi Party and firmed up an alliance with the Congress, but the primary obstacle to his campaign continues to be his father, Mulayam Singh. And this was clear in his cautious responses to the Yadav patriarch’s threat that he would not campaign for the alliance as he was opposed to

INFOCUS aligning with the Congress in principle. A day after Congress vicepresident Rahul Gandhi and he took out a collective road show in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav on Monday stressed on the winning prospects of the tie-up. Speaking at a rally in Etah, not too far from the Yadav bastion of Etawah-Mainpuri, Mr. Yadav said he was “sure” his father would campaign

for the alliance. “He [Mulayam] will be most happy and most honoured if SP and Congress come to power in the State,” the CM said. Mr. Mulayam Singh is already listed among the SP’s star campaigners while his brother, and Akhilesh’s bête noire, Shivpal is not. Mr. Yadav also said the bicycle (the SP’s symbol) had been strengthened by the cooperation of the hand (the Congress’s symbol). Later, Mr. Yadav told a television channel that though he was confident that his party would win the elections on its own, the alliance with the Congress would ensure a bigger margin of victory. Hours after Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Yadav on Sunday held a joint press conference as a show of unity, Mr. Mulayam Singh went on air to declare that he was against the alliance, putting the SP in a spot of bother. “The SP is completely capable of fighting elections on its own. When we fought alone, we got a majority. There was no need for

Akhilesh Yadav says the ‘bicycle’ has been strengthened by the cooperation of ‘the hand’. — PHOTO: AFP an alliance. I am against this electoral alliance. I will not campaign for this alliance.” He also tried to press hard his past eforts for Muslims and his long-held struggle against the Congress. “There were many issues on which we had to struggle against them [Congress]. Be it the [Babri] Masjid issue or issues like fake encounters — there were many such deaths at one time. Congress ruled for so long and that’s why our coun-

try lagged behind,” Mr. Singh said. Significantly, he also said he would appeal his supporters to campaign against the Congress on the 105 seats it was fighting on as part of the alliance with the SP. SP leaders were left to explain the worth of Mr. Mulayam Singh’s comments as any defiance by the senior Yadav could play a spoiler in Akhilesh Yadav’s game. SP spokesperson Juhi Singh

played it safe. “We have full respect in our hearts for Netaji. We understand his ideology and views. But the alliance is done and the alliance will fight the elections,” she said. This came at a time when the defections from the SP continued. Sharda Pratap Shukla, a minister from Lucknow, rebelled against Mr. Yadav and filed his nomination from the RLD. This came a day after another senior Mulayam aide and former minister Narad Rai, who was shunted out by the U.P. Chief Minister, shifted to the BSP and will now fight on its ticket from Ballia. He joins Ambika Chaudhary, another member of the old guard who recently defected to the BSP alleging that Mr. Yadav had disrespected his father. Mr. Rai, who is close to Shivpal Singh too, also said that he took the decision in view of the “insult” meted out to his father.

SP minister Rajendra Chaudhary, who is close to Akhilesh Yadav, however said that defections of a few MLAs would not harm the party, as the party was “overall on top.” The BJP, meanwhile, attempted to take advantage of the apparent disquiet between Mulayam and Akhilesh. Union Minister Mahesh Sharma, while terming the alliance “unbalanced,” backed Mulayam’s remarks saying the Yadav patriarch had spoken the “truth.” “Akhilesh Yadav should be asked the reason behind the alliance with a party that has lost its ground not only in the State but also the country,” Mr. Sharma told a news agency. BSP chief Mayawati had on Sunday termed the SP-Congress alliance a “conspiracy” hatched under the instructions of the BJP to “stop the BSP from coming to power at any cost.”

SP-Congress alliance frontrunner in U.P.: Poll SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance has emerged as the frontrunner in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls with 35% of the votes, says an opinion poll conducted in January by CSDS-Lokniti for ABP News. The survey finds the BJP at the second position with 29% of the vote share and the BSP in third place with 23% of the votes. The survey also says that Akhilesh Yadav is the most popular Chief Ministerial candidate in the State, with 26% of the respondents wanting him in the top post, followed by BSP chief Mayawati, who got the support of 21% of those polled. Based on the CSDS-Lokniti figures, ABP News has estimated a tally of 187 to 197 seats for the SP-Congress alliance, 118 to 128 for the BJP and 76-86 for the BSP. In 2012, the SP had swept the polls with 29% of the votes, leaving the BSP far behind though the party garnered 26% votes. Significantly, the poll shows the SP-Congress leading in all regions of the state, except the areas close to

Delhi, where the BJP leads. The poll also suggests that the internal feud in the Samajwadi Party has not affected Mr. Yadav's chances and in fact, shows that Shivpal Yadav is being blamed most for it.

POLLDIARY Mayawati trains guns on Akalis, BJP CHANDIGARH: Ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Monday launched an offensive against the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine and the Congress in Punjab. “Due to the anti-poor and antireservation agenda of successive governments of the BJP and the Congress at the Centre, and in many States where they have ruled, the problem of unemployment and poverty is on the rise,” said Ms. Mayawati at a rally at Phagwara. She said that Punjab has been marred by large-scale corruption under the current regime but once the BSP assumed power, employment opportunities would be created for the State’s youth and the drug menace would be eliminated. “We will create means of livelihood by generating jobs in public and private sectors,” she said, adding that corruption, coupled with wrong policies of SADBJP combine and the Congress, were responsible for unemployment in Punjab. Ms. Mayawati asserted that elimination of drugs would be a priority for the BSP. — Special Correspondent

Open current accounts, says EC NEW DELHI: Hours after the Reserve Bank of India

(RBI) lifted restrictions on cash withdrawal from current accounts on Monday, the Election Commission (EC) issued fresh orders directing candidates for the elections in five States to open current accounts for receipt of funds and pollrelated expenditures. The RBI’s order comes a day after the EC took a serious note of its refusal to increase the weekly savings account withdrawal limit of ₨24,000 to ₨2 lakh for the candidates and asked the regulatory body to reconsider its decision. A majority of the candidates used to open savings accounts. “The RBI would have been accused of bias, had it enhanced the cash withdrawal limit only for election candidates. The removal of restrictions on withdrawals from current accounts now resolves the issue and will help the candidates meet poll-related expenses. Accordingly, a fresh order is being issued asking them to open current accounts,” said an official. — Special Correspondent

BJP leader booked for hate speech THANA BHAWAN (U.P.): Controversial BJP leader Suresh Rana was booked for hate speech on Monday after he said that curfew would be imposed in Kairana, Moradabad and Deoband if he won in the Assembly elections. Mr. Rana, a riot-accused, is a sitting candidate from the Thana Bhawan seat. The Uttar Pradesh police registered a case against him under Sections 505 (making a statement with intent to incite) and 125 (promoting enmity between classes in connection with election) of the IPC for his alleged hate speech. “It was found that Rana’s statement violated the model code of conduct for elections. We have filed a case against him under relevant sections,” said Sunil Kumar Tyagi, circle officer of Thana Bhawan. Addressing a public gathering in Thana Bhawan on Sunday, Mr. Rana had said, “If I lose, they will celebrate my defeat in Deoband. But if I win, then the next thing to happen would be imposition of curfew in Deoband and Moradabad,” amid loud cheers and chants of “Bharat Mata ki jai” from the crowd. Mr. Rana’s remarks were criticised by Dr. Sudhir Panwar and Abdul Rao Waris, the Samajwadi Party and BSP candidates contesting from Thana Bhawan. — Staff Reporter

Modi still popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, remains popular in the State with a 70% approval rating. When respondents were asked to

The CSDS-Lokniti survey puts the BJP second with 29% votes and the BSP third with 23% choose between the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister was four percentage points behind at 33%. Recently, a The WeekHansa poll had predicted a hung assembly, with the BJP just ahead of the SP-Congress alliance and BSP a poor third. The survey put the BJP tally at 192-196 seats and the SP-Congress at 178-182 seats. The BSP was shown getting just 20-24 seats.

‘Those who switched sides were greedy’

No bridge, no vote, say Kedarnath villagers

‘BJP remote-controlling Goa’

KAVITA UPADHYAY

Rahul Gandhi accuses Modi of lying to the people on jobs, corruption

CHANDRAPURI

PRAKASH KAMAT

(UTTARAKHAND):

“We have decided to boycott the upcoming elections… This is the last thing we can do to get ourselves heard,” said Virendra Lal as the villagers of Chandrapuri gathered for a “poll boycott meeting”. Three-and-a-half years after the Mandakini river gushed through the Kedarnath Valley, devastating all in its path, the residents of Chandrapuri, which falls in the Kedarnath Assembly constituency, wait for a bridge to replace the one that was washed away in the June 2013 deluge. The rampaging river shifted its course, sweeping away houses and shops, inundated fields and claimed about 4,000 lives. In Chandrapuri alone, 57 houses were damaged. The village is home to around 300 families. The residents of Chandrapuri are not alone in their protest. Six gram sabhas that have been afected due to the delay in reconstructing another bridge, have also decided to boycott the upcoming polls, according to Sulochna Devi, Chandrapuri village head. When the bridge was washed away, the villagers expected the Public Works Department (PWD) would build another bridge soon. CM YK

JUST GETTING BY: After the makeshift bridge was washed away in 2014, the PWD got a cable car for the villagers, who say it is managed badly. — PHOTO: KAVITA UPADHYAY “Shaila Rani Rawat [the then Congress MLA] visited the village two months after the disaster,” Ashish Joshi from the village complained. Ms. Rawat is among the nine Congress “rebel” MLAs, who supported the BJP, leading to the imposition of President’s Rule in Uttarakhand. She is now the BJP’s candidate from the Kedarnath seat. Given the inaction of the authorities, the villagers constructed a makeshift bridge themselves. But that

Villagers cut off after 2013 deluge are still waiting for a bridge across the Mandakini

too got washed away in the 2014 monsoon. “The PWD got a cable car for us, but it is managed so badly that a few children have cut their fingers while operating it and a 24-year-old from the village died [in August, 2016] in an accident near the river,” Ms. Sulochana said. The present makeshift bridge, which ofers a lifeline to the village, will have to be dismantled ahead of the monsoons. “The candidates have been approaching us for votes, but we have no faith in anyone. We will visit the concerned authorities with our decision to boycott the polls. This is our last resort to get a bridge constructed before the monsoon season arrives,” Ms. Sulochna said.

PANAJI: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the BJP of giving Goa a government which is “remote-controlled” from Delhi, and promised that his party would provide a corruption-free government, which will focus on employment for youth. In his 20-minute speech at Bodgesdhwar grounds in Mapusa Mr. Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had lied to Goans on employment and corruption during his public meeting last week. “The BJP government in Goa is run from Delhi. It is remote controlled from Delhi. We will not give such a dictatorial government but a government which will take collective decisions by listening to people,” said Mr. Gandhi.

‘Failed to deliver’ “BJP had promised 50,000 jobs in five years but it failed to deliver. So is the case with corruption. Goan beaches have remained dirty because of corruption in (beach cleaning) contracts,” he said and added, “We will give Goa a government with new faces and corruption free and employment generation will be our

Congress leaders welcome party vice-president Rahul Gandhi at a rally in Mapusa, Goa, on Monday. — PHOTO: ATISH POMBURFEKAR focus.” Arriving in Goa after appearing before a magistrate in Bhiwandi in Thane in connection with the defamation case filed against him by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Mr Gandhi said Congress leaders in the courtroom were all smiles, while members of the RSS group who had filed the defamation case against him were glum and grumpy. Mr. Gandhi also said the problem with those who subscribe to the BJP and RSS ideology, including Prime Minister Modi, was that they believe they know everything and never ask others about their ideas and thoughts or listen to others. “In Parliament, when there is discussion they say ‘you do not understand this’.

They believe they know everything. And when the truth emerges to be something else, they get angry,” Mr. Gandhi said and went on to accuse Prime Minister Modi of sufering from the same problem. ‘He does not listen’ “Modi asks people to listen to his Mann ki baat. Has Modi told anyone to speak about their Mann ki Baat and ofered to listen?” he asked. “Modi came to Goa, made claims of changing Goa, of having wiped out corruption in Goa. Did Modiji ask anyone in Goa: Tell me what is in your heart. This is not Modiji or RSS or BJP style, but this is the Congress style,” Mr. Gandhi said and promised to give a government in Goa, which will listen to people and take collective decisions.

SAHASPUR (UTTARAKHAND): With over a dozen prominent faces of the Congress in Uttarakhand switching sides to the BJP since last year, State Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay said those who have joined the saffron party ahead of polls were “greedy.” He described them as “Bhasmasur” who would burn themselves as well as the BJP. On reports of differences with Chief Minister Harish Rawat over some of the seat allotments and the formation of the alliance with the Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), Mr. Upadhyay said he and Rawat are like a pair of bulls working together to plough the field for the Congress. He claimed the party will form the government with two-thirds majority. “Those people who were greedy went to BJP. As many as 13 people have switched sides, it will not affect the Congress but will have a negative impact on the BJP which has no [chief ministerial] face.” — PTI ILLUSTRATION: SATHEESH P. VELLINEZHI

TONGUE IN CHEEK Surendra

I will vote for you. Just tell me exactly what promises you made last time! ND-ND

14 |

WORLD

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

Adviser Bannon expands influence in White House VARGHESE K. GEORGE WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump’s chief strategist Stephen Bannon has emerged as the key force behind White House decision-making in the last few days. He, along with another adviser Stephen Miller, overruled career oicials at the Department of Homeland Security to include U.S. green card holders in the ambit of the travel ban for people from seven Muslimmajority countries, according to the CNN. The White House has since excluded green card holders from the ban, but Mr. Bannon — who ran the right-wing news portal Breitbart and calls himself an “economic nationalist” — is only expanding his influence.

My priority is to protect U.S.: Trump President says his travel ban is not about religion but about terror and ‘keeping our country safe’ VARGHESE K. GEORGE WASHINGTON: As legal chal-

lenge and political resistance grow against the curbs he put on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries to the U.S., President Donald Trump ofered conciliatory and confrontational responses within the span of a day. Democrats are planning to move legislation to overturn the presidential order while civil rights groups are preparing to challenge its constitutionality in courts. The American Civil Liberties Union has raked in more than $24 million over the weekend in contributions. On Sunday evening, Mr. Trump issued a statement that said his policy was similar to that of his predecessor Barack Obama who had stalled the entry of Iraqi refugees to the U.S. for six months and that visas and travel would be open to citizens of all countries as soon as the review was over. On Monday morning, the President sent out a series of tweets in which questioned the critics of his policy and responded to some of the specific criticisms. “If the ban were announced with a

one-week notice, the “bad” would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad ‘dudes’ out there!” Mr. Trump said in response to the specific point. The President singled out Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer who has vowed to introduce legislation to overturn his order. “Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage, protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer… MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!” he tweeted, in reference to Mr. Schumer’s remarks that “tears were running down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty”. “This executive order was mean-spirited and un-American,” Mr. Schumer said in New York on Sunday, his voice choking and flanked by a Muslim family that had members stranded abroad. Campaign promise “There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country. This was a big part of my campaign. Study the world!” Mr. Trump said. “Where was all the outrage

A rally against President Donald Trump’s order on Sunday. — PHOTO: AP from Democrats and the opposition party (the media) when our jobs were fleeing our country?” On Sunday evening — only hours after he took on senior members of his own party, Senators Lindsay Graham and John McCain — Mr. Trump had issued a statement that sounded conciliatory. “America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border. America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave,” Mr. Trump said.

“We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows, but refuses to say. My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months. The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror. To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting…” Review process “This is not about religion — this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 diferent countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not afected by this order. We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days... “I have tremendous feeling for the people involved in this horrific humanitarian crisis in Syria. My first priority will always be to protect and serve our country, but as President I will find ways to help all those who are sufering,” he said.

A ban will help Pakistan: Imran LAHORE: Cricketer-turnedpolitician Imran Khan on Monday said he hopes U.S. President Donald Trump imposes visa restrictions on Pakistan as it would help Pakistanis develop their own country. “I believe that it will help us develop our own country. Besides, we will also give him [Trump] Iran-like response... [not allowing Americans here in Pakistan],” he said while addressing a party rally in Sahiwal. Taunting Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif , Mr. Imran Khan said, “Nawaz Sharif goes abroad even for the treatment of headache. If the U.S. imposes ban [on Pakistanis] he too will focus Pakistan and develop it.”

Message to Modi

Talking about India-Pakistan ties, he said, “I want to remind [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi that every Pakistani is not coward like Nawaz Sharif. We are peaceful nation and even in India majority does not want war with Pakistan.” He also criticised Mr. Sharif for hiding behind his children to cover up his own corrupt dealings. — PTI

Seat in NSC Mr. Trump has given him a permanent seat at the principals committee meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), the highest interagency forum on security and defence. While the Chief of Staf has sat on this committee always, Mr. Bannon is a political adviser without a clearly defined role. Moreover, the new structure of the NSC meetings relegates the role of the Director of National Intelligence(DNI), and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staf, who will be attending only when matters directly pertaining to them are

Stephen Bannon, chief strategist for U.S. President Donald Trump. discussed. Both were permanent attendees during the Obama years. Former Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who recommended Rex Tillerson to Mr. Trump as Secretary of State, said in a TV interview that “pushing them out of the National Security Council meetings, except when their specific issues are at stake, is a big mistake”. Mr. Bannon is the ideologue of the Trump movement. He, in fact, shaped the thinking of the President as they moved along together, arguing with Mr. Trump that the “country is more than an economy”, during an interview in 2015. The topic of that discussion was H-1B visas. The H-1B visa programme allows companies to temporarily employ foreign workers in the U.S. in skilled jobs. Mr. Bannon argued for “tougher” measures against the H-1B visa programme when Mr. Trump was a Republican primary candidate

Six killed in shooting at Canada mosque QUEBEC CITY (CANADA): A shoot-

ing at a Quebec City mosque during evening prayers left six people dead and eight others wounded in an attack that Canada’s Prime Minister called an act of terrorism. Police initially arrested two men but later said just one remains a suspect. More than 50 people were at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre when the shooting erupted on Sunday night. Some of the wounded were gravely injured, Quebec provincial police spokeswoman Christine Coulombe said early on Monday. The dead ranged in age from age 35 to 70, she said.

One suspect was arrested at the scene and another nearby in d’Orleans, and police said they did not believe there were other suspects. Quebec City court clerk Isabelle Ferland identified Alexandre Bissonnette and Mohamed el Khadir as the suspects. Police later said one of them was just a witness, though they did not say which one. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard both characterised the attack as a terrorist act, which came amid heightened tensions worldwide over U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban. — AP

in November 2015. “Well. I got to be tougher… when two thirds or more of the CEOS in Silicon Valley are from South Asia or Asia… A country is more than an economy. We are a civic society,” Mr, Bannon told Mr. Trump. “We have to keep them legally,” responded Mr. Trump. “When people come in, they have to come in legally. I want people to come in, Steve. And I have said many times. I am building a wall. Like Israel did. When these characters say the wall does not work... The wall in Israel works. I still want people to come in. Those people who are waiting in queue for years to get in are being bypassed by illegal people,” he said. Political revolt Mr. Bannon believed the victory of Narendra Modi in 2014 was the start of a global revolt against the capitalist order that had turned against the interest of the common people. Capitalism has lost its moral moorings as it got detached from the JudeoChristian values, Mr. Bannon believes. “And that centre-right revolt is really a global revolt. I think you’re going to see it in Latin America, I think you’re going to see it in Asia, I think you’ve already seen it in India. Modi’s great victory was very much based on these Reagan-esque principles, so I think this is a global revolt,” he said a month after the 2014 Indian election.

‘Sufi mystic’ found dead DHAKA: An elderly woman believed by followers to be a Sufi mystic has been found with her throat slit in Bangladesh, police said on Monday, amid a wave of religiously motivated attacks. The body of 72-year-old Nurjahan Begum was found in her shanty home in the capital Dhaka late on Sunday, said local police chief Faruqul Alam. The woman was considered a “pir”, or Sufi leader, by her followers, the Englishlanguage Daily Star newspaper reported. However, police said she was a mentally unstable woman, attracting followers who believed she had supernatural powers. — AFP

A million people sign U.K. petition opposing Trump’s visit VIDYA RAM LONDON: A parliamentary petition opposing the planned state visit of U.S. President Donald Trump to the U.K. later this year hit over 1 million signatures on Monday, highlighting the strength of feeling in the country about the British government’s plans to ally itself with the U.S. as it extricates itself from the EU. The petition, which was set up last year following Mr. Trump’s election, had gained over 1.1 million signatures from U.K. citizens and residents by Monday morning. It calls on the government to prevent Mr. Trump from making an oicial state visit because it would “cause embarrassment to” the Queen.

Will require response “Donald Trump’s well documented misogyny and vulgarity disqualifies him from being received by Her Majesty the Queen or the Prince of Wales,” the petition reads. Having hit over 100,000

A number of protests are due to take place in the U.K. in the coming days and weeks against Trump signatures, the petition will require not only a response from the government but a parliamentary debate. Support for the petition gathered pace after Mr. Trump’s inauguration, and the visit of Prime Minister Theresa May to Washington, and Philadelphia, where she promised to work with Mr. Trump to “stand strong together to defend our values, interests and ideas”. During the visit, Ms. May said that Queen Elizabeth had extended an invitation for a state visit to Mr. Trump. “The invitation has been extended and accepted,” said a spokesperson for Downing Street on Monday, who declined to comment further on the petition itself. Travel ban While Ms. May’s visit attracted criticism at home at

the time, the outcry mounted after Mr. Trump signed the executive order that banned the citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from travelling to the U.S. and suspended its refugee programme for four months. Ms. May was slow to criticise his actions, sparking concern that the government’s eagerness to maintain close ties with the U.S. would prevent it from even protecting its citizens. ‘Let’s stand in solidarity’ A number of protests are due to take place in the coming days and weeks against Mr. Trump, and the planned visit. Over 30,000 people had signed up to take part in a demonstration outside Downing Street on Monday evening, with politicians across the political spectrum due to attend. “Let’s stand in solidarity with those targeted by Donald Trump’s hateful government, including the people of this country, outside Downing Street, and all over Britain,” wrote organiser Owen Jones.

Turkey opens trial against Gulen ANKARA: Turkey on Monday opened the biggest trial yet over the failed July coup aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, trying 270 suspects including, in absentia, the alleged mastermind Fethullah Gulen. The suspects, 152 of whom are in pre-trial detention, include ex high-ranking military oicials like former Aegean Army Command Chief of Staf Major General Mem-

CM YK

duh Hakbilen, the state news agency Anadolu reported. The “number one” suspect is the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Gulen who is charged with ordering the failed July 15 coup, an accusation he strongly denies. Ankara also accuses the movement Mr. Gulen leads of being a “terror organisation” although the group insists it is a peaceful organisation promoting moderate

Islam. Those on trial in the western city of Izmir face multiple charges including being a member of the “armed terror group”. Turkey has repeatedly asked the U.S. to extradite Mr. Gulen, who has been living in exile there since 1999. The suspects face life imprisonment if convicted, in a trial expected to take two months, the Hurriyet newspaper reported. — AFP ND-ND

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

Demonetisation will bring about desired changes in the economy Chaudhary Birender Singh, Steel Minister

BRIEFLY Grasim Industries posts 14% jump in Q3 net MUMBAI: Grasim Industries Ltd.

of the Aditya Birla Group has reported 13.75% growth in net profit at ₨728 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2016 as against ₨640 crore in the same period last year backed on better performance of it’s VSF and cement businesses, the company said. The firm’s total revenue for the quarter was ₨8,601 crore as compared to ₨8,520 crore in the same period last year. VSF reported revenue growth of 10% at ₨1,762 crore and EBITDA increased by 31% at ₨402 crore led by operating efficiencies and better realisation. —Special Correspondent

Demonetisation dents Emami’s turnover KOLKATA: FMCG company Emami

Ltd. reported a growth of 6.8 % in its standalone net profit which rose to ₨140 crore during the third quarter ended December 2016, against ₨131 crore a year ago. Demonetisation impacted the company’s standalone turnover during the quarter under review which remained at ₨682 crore against ₨674.6 crore a year ago. Emami manufactures and markets over 300 diverse personal care and healthcare products including Zandu, Navrtana and Kesh King. Its consolidated sales too remained flat during the quarter with a turnover of ₨725.9 crore. — Special Correspondent

Tech Mahindra’s reports 14% increase in profit NEW DELHI: IT major Tech

Mahindra on Monday posted about 14% jump in consolidated net profit to ₨856 crore for the third quarter ended December. Its income from operations (net) increased by 12.7% to ₨7,557.5 crore in the reported quarter, from ₨6,701.1 crore in the year-ago period, according to the company’s BSE filing. “The strong deal wins and business momentum during the quarter reaffirm that we are on the right track, capitalising on opportunities from the global digital transformation and see measurable benefits from that,” Tech Mahindra Vice Chairman Vineet Nayyar said. — PTI

Reliance Defence bags order for patrol vessels NEW DELHI: Reliance Defence and

Engineering Ltd (RDEL) has signed ₨916 crore contract with the Defence Ministry for design and construction of 14 fast patrol vessels for Indian Coast Guard. RDEL is a wholly-owned arm of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra). RDEL emerged winner through a competitive bidding process undertaken by Ministry of Defence with participation from almost all the private sector and public sector shipyards namely, Larsen and Toubro, Cochin Shipyard Ltd, Goa Shipyard Ltd, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), the company said in a statement. — PTI

Exchange Rates Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4 p.m on January 30

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

TT TT Buying Selling 67.75 68.07 72.22 72.57 84.80 85.21 59.07 59.35 9.85 9.90 67.62 67.95 47.49 47.72 51.06 51.30 51.47 51.71 7.64 7.68 9.71 9.76 49.08 49.32 8.73 8.77 15.29 15.38 220.96 223.46 18.44 18.53 179.65 180.59 18.66 18.66 18.12 18.12 175.96 176.88

Source:Indian Bank

Bullion Rates January 30 rates in rupees with previous rates in brackets

Chennai Bar Silver (1 kg) Retail (1 g) 24 ct gold (10 g) 22 ct gold (1 g) Delhi Silver Standard Gold Sovereign

41,780 44.70 29,310 2,784

(41,075) (44.00) (29,340) (2,787)

41,750 (41,800) 29,400 (29,380) 24,300 (24,300)

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SENSEX

30-01-2017 27-01-2017

GOLD 29,850 29,882

32

points

Vodafone in merger talks with Idea Cellular Combined entity would be India’s largest telecom player SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI: Vodafone Group Plc.,

the British telecommunications giant, on Monday confirmed that it is in talks with Aditya Birla Group for an allshare merger of its Indian unit Vodafone India with Idea Cellular, ending months of speculation about the proposed alliance. If the talks end in a merger, the combined entity would become India’s largest telecom player, ahead of current market leader Bharti Airtel. As a reaction to the announcement, the shares of Idea rose 26% to ₨97.96 in a flat Mumbai market on Monday valuing the company at ₨35,279 crore. Indus stake excluded “Any merger would be effected through the issue of new shares in Idea to Vodafone and would result in Vodafone deconsolidating Vodafone India,” according to a statement from the British major adding that there is no certainty that any transaction will be agreed on, nor as to the terms or timing of any transaction. If the talks end in a merger, it would exclude Vodafone’s 42% stake in Indus Towers. Kumar Mangalam Birlaled Idea Cellular, in a clarification to the stock exchanges, said, “As part of the exercise, the company has been in preliminary discussions with Vodafone. In view of the fact that the discussions are at preliminary stage, the company is not in a position to share any further details.” The statement added that it was important to mention that the fundamental

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JOINING FORCES: The talks signal the difficulty that Jio’s entry has caused in the telecom market, says an analyst. — FILE PHOTO premise of the preliminary discussion was based upon equal rights between Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone in the combined entity. Amresh Nandan, research director at Gartner is not surprised by the merger talks and expects consolidation to continue in the telecom sector in 2017. “Both Vodafone India and Idea have to figure out their long-term business strategy and a merger could well be the path, given current industry competitiveness and dynamics. If they decide to do so, one can hope for a long-term strategy behind it (beyond) just gaining market share and subscriber share. It would be very important for the merging entities to realise the transformation required in their operations,” said Mr. Nandan. He added that firms in the telecommunications industry would need to transform themselves even as they consider consolidation even though

“it may not be an easy one.” Allan C. Nichols, Equity Analyst at Morningstar said he liked the idea of the merger, as there were far too many operators in the country and that this trend had prevented good returns. “We think this merger also demonstrates the diiculty that [Reliance] Jio’s entrance has caused for the Indian wireless telecom market,” Mr. Nichols said. “Reliance Jio has been giving its voice service away for free, as well as some free data, which has attracted millions of subscribers.” The analyst from Morningstar added that the firm’s promotions had extended beyond the time allowed by regulations and that it had complained that other operators had intentionally dropped voice call connections. “Reliance Jio’s network is built for data and the voice problems may very well be coming from its own network,” said Mr. Nichols.

30-01-2017 28-01-2017

BRENT OIL

RUPEE 29,400 29,380

20

₨/10gms

HDFC net rises 12% to ₨1,701 cr.

30-01-2017 27-01-2017

67.95 68.03

0.08 ₨/$

SBI Life may opt for IPO in first quarter next fiscal

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Mortgage lender Housing Finance Development Corporation (HDFC) reported a 12% increase in its standalone net profit to ₨1,701 crore for the quarter ended December 31 – which is in line with street expectations – despite an increase in provisions. Provisions went up to ₨117 crore from ₨68 crore in the same period last yearand from ₨95 crore in the second quarter. Gross non-performing loans stood at ₨2,341 crore as on December 31, which was 0.81% of the loan portfolio. The non-performing loans of the individual portfolio stood at 0.65% while that of the non-individual portfolio stood at 1.16%, the mortgage lender said. HDFC also said it proposed to raise ₨35,000 crore through NCDs to fund business expansion.

MUMBAI:

HYDERABAD: SBI Life Insurance

will decide on going for Initial Public Ofering (IPO) in the first quarter of next fiscal, according to its managing director and chief executive oicer Arijit Basu. Mr. Basu said there was a “strong possibility” of the State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardif joint venture coming out with an IPO in 2017-18, he said. The details, however, were yet to be worked out. While it “can purely be divestment,” there is a possibility of SBI alone shedding a part of its stake or BNP Paribas Cardif doing the same. Last month, when SBI sold 3.9% in the joint venture to Singapore sovereign fund Temasek and PE major KKR for ₨1,794 crore, the company was valued at ₨46,000 crore. The stake sale brought down SBI’s holding to a little over

70% and according to reports, the country’s leading bank had also ofered to sell 10% to its French partner in the insurance company. A decision on the possibility of raising the paid-up capital of the private life insurer had not been taken, Mr.Basu said adding the company had not raised capital since 2008. Mr.Basu was speaking to the media after inauguration of SBI Life’s new regional oice premises here. To queries on IPO and valuation, he said the firm would be appointing a leading agency for the purpose in the coming financial year. He said SBI Life was experiencing “a high growth phase” and of the targeted ₨9,500 crore, total new business premium in current fiscal crossed the ₨8,000 crore-mark.Individual new business premium rose 39% till December as against an industry average of 20-22%.

Postmen to deliver banking services SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The USP of India

Post Payments Bank (IPPB) will be its ability to ofer door-to-door banking service through postmen and Grameen Dak sevaks, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. “Once all branches are operational by September this year…that will have a multiplier impact as far as banking in India is concerned. Banking at the doorstep will no longer remain a mere slogan but will become a reality due to huge postal network in the country,” Mr. Jaitley said after inaugurating the bank’s pilot operations in Raipur and Ranchi.The bank aims to have 650 branches – one in each district – to be opera-

COVERING INDIA: The USP of India Posts Payments Bank will be its doorstep banking service, says Arun Jaitley. — PHOTO: PTI tional by September 2017. Each branch will be connected to the post oices in the district. IPPB will ofer 4.5% interest on deposits up to ₨25,000, 5% on ₨25,000₨50,000 and 5.5% on ₨50,000₨1,00,000, much lower than 7.25% announced by competitor Airtel Payment Banks.

“The main objective of IPPB will be public service rather than promoting commercial interests,” Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said. Stating that their role is to “broaden” the market not “skim” it, IPPB CEO A.P. Singh said the bank will ofer services with “no conditions apply” tag.

30-01-2017 27-01-2017

55.06 55.40

0.34 $/bbl

Excise oicials protest GST Council’s decisions SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: Days after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sought to allay the concerns of tax oicers over the decisions of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, about 70,000 oicials of the Central Board of Excise and Customs registered their protest against the decisions by wearing black bands on January 30, which is Martyrs’ Day. This came after the Indian Revenue Service Association, along with the service associations of Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax called for a boycott of the International Customs Day celebrations to be held on Friday. According to them, the GST Council’s decision to give jurisdictional control of 90% of the tax assessees having an annual turnover below ₨1.5 crore to the States would lead to depletion of the taxpayer base with the Centre. In its statement, the revenue service association pointed out several operational problems with the way the GST had been structured across the Centre and the States, and also took issue with the administrative appointments made to the GST support structure.

Piramal to buy pain drugs Banks’ ‘Gyan Sangam’ to discuss Suryoday ofers 9% on from U.K.’s Mallinckrodt digitisation, consolidation at PSBs 1-2 year fixed deposits SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

ARUN S MUMBAI: The U.K.-based, wholly-owned critical care subsidiary of Piramal Enterprises Ltd. has entered into an agreement to acquire a portfolio of intrathecal spasticity and pain management drugs from Mallinckrodt LLC for $171 million in an allcash deal.

Additional payment The deal, announced by Piramal Enterprises on Monday, also involves an additional payment of $32 million depending on the financial performance of the acquired assets over the next three years. “We will continue to invest in the growth of our pharmaceutical businesses. All these acquisitions are expected to be value accretive and will improve our pharmaceutical segment’s growth and EBITDA in percentage and in absolute terms,” said Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Enter-

NEW DELHI: The push for digit-

Ajay Piramal prises Ltd. “This transaction is a step further in our strategy to make investments, in both internal developments and acquisitions, to expand our presence in the global generic hospital drug market, which is greater than $20 billion in size. Through this strategy, our focus continues to be on the creation of long-term value for shareholders,” he said. Mr. Ajay Piramal said the company would pursue both organic and inorganic growth in overseas and domestic markets.

isation in the wake of demonetisation and the proposal for public sector bank (PSB) consolidation are likely to top the agenda for Gyan Sangam which is the retreat for PSBs, governmentowned Financial Institutions (FI) and insurance companies, slated for March. The sessions on digitisation will include presentations on increasing the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and big data analytics in the banking & financial services industry in India. Credit growth slowdown The major slowdown in credit growth – to a more than six-decade low of 5.1% for the fortnight ended December 23 – and ways to revitalise it, as well as measures to efectively tackle bad loans will also be among the main discussion topics during the Gyan Sangam, oi-

cial sources told The Hindu. The third edition of the retreat – which will be attended by senior finance ministry oicials as well as heads of PSBs, state-run FIs and insurance firms – is likely to be held in Hyderabad or Bengaluru, they added. Referring to the manpower shortage, especially in middle management in PSBs, the sources said the retreat would have discussions on automating many of these functions to ensure productivity improvement. Strategies for strengthening the ‘banking correspondent’-network and increasing the usage of micro ATMs and Point of Sale machines will also be discussed. The high-profile meeting will also deliberate upon the need for the autonomous Banks Board Bureau (BBB) to expedite banking reforms including PSB consolidation. The BBB was set up to help select heads of public sector banks and financial institu-

tions as well as assist banks with strategies and capitalraising plans. Bad loans On bad loans, the discussions are likely to be centred on the pros and cons of the proposed National Asset Management Company (or a ‘bad bank’) - a special category asset reconstruction company with stakeholders including the government and the private sector for takeover and turnaround of bad loans, stressed assets and restructured assets. On the issue of low credit growth, Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Chief Economic Advisor, State Bank of India, said the 5.1% growth for the fortnight ended December 23, 2016, was the lowest since 1.7% in 1954-55, adding that the recovery will be gradual and will be more pronounced only in the second half of 2017-18 provided the forthcoming Budget has measures to boost demand.

MUMBAI: Suryoday, a small finance bank that started banking operations last week, will ofer 9% on fixed deposits with a maturity of 1 to 2 years, said a top oicial. Senior citizens will get 75 basis points (bps) more on such deposits, R.Baskar Babu, managing director and chief executive oicer of Suryoday, informed the media. The announcement comes at a time when interest rates are falling with large universal banks ofering no more than 7% on deposits of similar tenure. These banks typically offer 50 bps more to senior citizens. “Our objective is to replace the existing borrowing for which the weighted average cost is 12.5%,” Mr.Babu said. Suryoday, which was a micro finance institution (MFI), has converted into a small finance bank. As an

R. Baskar Babu MFI, it did not have access to public deposits. The lender also said it will ofer 6.25% on savings bank deposits of up to ₨1 lakh. Deposit target “We plan to mobilise ₨500 crore of deposits in the first year of operations and ₨1000 crore by the end of March 2019,” he said. As an MFI, it had a net interest margin of 11% which will reduce to and stabilise at about 8–9% in one year, Mr. Babu said.

Clues from the previous post-demonetisation Union Budget of 1978 Sluggish private investment was an issue that Finance Minister Patel too had to grapple with TCA SHARAD RAGHAVAN NEW DELHI: With just a day left

for the presentation of the Union Budget, a look at the one presented in 1978, immediately after the demonetisation exercise undertaken that year, yields some insight into a few of the problems that the Indian economy currently faces. Similar objectives The stated objectives of the demonetisation efort in 1978 were more or less the same as what Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on November 8, 2016 — not counting the subsequent steady change in the government’s message from ‘eliminating black money’ to mov-

ing towards a ‘less cash’ economy. “The demonetisation of high denomination bank notes was a step primarily aimed at controlling illegal transactions,” the then Finance Minister H.M. Patel said in his Budget speech a month after the demonetisation exercise. “It is a part of a series of measures which Government has taken and is determined to take against anti-social elements.” While the difering scales of the economy and relative prevalence of high-value currency notes ensure that there can be no comparison between the demonetisation efort undertaken in November 2016 and the similar exercise conducted in 1978, some of the economic conditions prevalent at that time were indeed quite similar to what exist now. Take for example, the poor state of private investment in the economy at the moment. Back in 1978, Mr. Patel said

DIFFERENT STROKES: Finance Minister H.M. Patel had in his budget speech, in 1978, stressed the “urgent need to increase individual and corporate savings.” — PHOTO: THE HINDU ARCHIVES that “there is also an urgent need to increase individual and corporate savings if increased investment expenditure is to take place without any adverse pressures on prices. This would require greater simplicity in the lifestyle of those individuals who can save, and a greater eiciency and a re-

duction in inessential expenditure on the part of corporations.” This sounds quite similar to the current situation, where private investment is languishing and the government is encouraging people to put their money in banks. The government had in 1974 enacted the Compuls-

ory Deposit Scheme (Income Tax Payers) Act which mandated that all those earning more than ₨15,000 a year would compulsorily have to deposit a certain percentage of that amount in banks. Mr. Patel, in his 1978 Budget speech, increased these limits significantly in a drive to force people to save. So, those earning between ₨15,000 and ₨25,000 would have to deposit 41% of their income, up from the previous 4%. Those earning between ₨25,001 and ₨35,000 would have to deposit 11%, between ₨35,001 and ₨70,000 12% and those earning more than ₨70,000 would have to deposit 15%. This, Mr. Patel had said at the time, would earn the government ₨25 crore in that year itself. The demonetisation exercise of 2016 has basically been a compulsory deposit scheme, with the government forcing people to place their cash in banks and set-

ting curbs on how much they can withdraw. While increasing financial savings is desirable, the sudden influx of funds is causing problems for banks, according to economists and bankers. Swelling bank deposits “Already bank deposits post-demonetisation have swelled and banks are finding it diicult to deploy these resources as there is no demand,” said D.K. Srivastava, Chief Policy Advisor at EY India. “Unless there is a policy initiative to boost demand, it would actually become a burden.” The lack of demand was a problem even Mr. Patel had recognised at the time. One method he had employed to increase private investment was to encourage people to buy equity stake in new companies so as to provide them with the funds to invest further. “In order to stimulate such investment, I propose to give

a deduction in the computation of taxable income of 50% of the amount invested in equity shares of new industrial companies,” Mr. Patel had said in his speech. “The maximum investment in a year qualifying for this deduction will be limited to ₨10,000.” While this would entail a loss to the exchequer, the then Finance Minister candidly said that he would “cheerfully accept a much larger loss if it results in stimulating larger investments.” The current government too could maybe consider taking a similar view, accepting losses to itself in an efort to stimulate private investment. “This could work in the current scenario, where there is a need to encourage equity investments,” Mr. Srivastava added. “But this must also be accompanied by suitable policy measures to reduce the cost of borrowing for companies.” ND-ND

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

Celebrate woman power, and feminity How to make sure that gender justice always prevails

wishes every once in a while. Times are a-changing, and many Indian mothers who believe their sons are veritable gods need to realise that they are only human. And they should be raised in such a manner that they grow up into good human beings.

VIDULA CHOPRA RASTOGI

O

n January 21, 2017, tens of thousands of women got together in Washington D.C. to march in support of women’s rights. It was the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration as President of the United States, to send a message to the new administration that women were not going to tolerate their rights being trampled on. Women in other parts of the world came out on the streets in other marches, Sister Marches, to show solidarity with American women. But the future of women’s status doesn’t just rest on the shoulders of a few people — or a few million in this case. All of us have a role to play, so our daughters can grow up in a safer world, with more rights, freedom and safety than we as women have had. So here’s a quick list of dos and don’ts: Men and women are equals: Never doubt this. Never say anything that contradicts this premise. The only inequality lies in the diferent ways we treat men and women. Don’t encourage dependence: Women are largely raised to be dependent — on their parents, or on their husbands. There is even a widely held belief that a woman who is ‘too independent’ does not a good

Housewives are not secondclass: Hard-working home-makers are often looked down upon by women with successful careers. As a woman, support other women no matter what they do or whether or not they earn. Every woman is deserving of respect, irrespective of how much money she makes.

ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN

wife make. She is less able to ‘adjust’ — code for ‘put up with abuse’. I know friends who tolerate abusive husbands because neither were their parents willing to support them if they walked out, nor did their parents provide them with the tools they require to be independent. When parents teach their girls how to be tolerant, submissive, sacrificial wives and daughters-in-law, instead of teaching them how to stand up for themselves, to give and demand respect, to succeed professionally, they

have failed at parenting. Teach sons to be respectful: WeIndians sometimes believe ourselves to be morally superior to westerners when we compare divorce rates. A reality check lets us know the only reason divorce rates are not that high here is because women are conditioned to stay in a marriage even if they are miserable. They tolerate abuse, verbal and physical, and in doing so teach their daughters that this is what they must

accept and put up with, and teach their sons that it is okay to ill-treat wives. Instead of teaching our daughters to be more tolerant, how about teaching sons to be more respectful of their wives? How about teaching them to treat wives as partners, where both look out for each other? This is what makes a far happier, healthier family. It’s not rocket science! In our country it almost seems scandalous to suggest that a mother teach her son to bow to his wife’s

Save up for her education, not marriage: Why do so many women choose to stay on in abusive marriages? The reason is largely financial. If her parents don’t want her back, or if they cannot provide her with the lifestyle her husband can, she will be very hesitant to leave. The best gift you can give your daughter is a good education, so save up for her education, not for her marriage. Because her marriage may fail her, but her education seldom will. Feminism is not about whether or not you keep your last name. It’s not about whether you fast for your husband on karva chauth. It’s not about how you dress or wear your hair. You can celebrate your femininity and still be a feminist. You are a feminist if you believe you deserve the same respect, the same opportunities, as a man, because of who you are as a person — irrespective of your gender. [email protected]

Cashless after tea and snacks

Beyond those emoticons

How demonetisation played out during a three-week trip in India

It’s tough to depend on technology to build trust. Bring the “human” in you to the table

SABITH KHAN

W

e are now back in Washington after a threeweek trip to India. I was visiting after two years; my wife was there for the first time. As an non-resident Indian with strong roots in India, I followed the demonetisation developments closely, but what we faced during our travels shows the disconnect between government rhetoric and reality. Leaving the U.S., we were nervous about not having Indian currency notes. It was perhaps the first time that I felt that the mighty dollar may not be worth much, in reality. Even though the exchange rate was close to a historic high of Rs.68 to a dollar, there were warning signs that it wouldn’t translate into real conversion rates anywhere close to this. We tried to change money in the U.S. and were promptly told it wasn’t possible. During our short stay in Doha we tried the same. Trips to money exchanges were fruitless, and one of the cashiers actually laughed me of, saying I should read the newspapers. On landing in the New Delhi airport we were told we could both get Rs.4,000 each. The sign that had this amount written on was badly deformed, with three or four scratch marks with Rs.5,000 written over it; with a final ‘4’ replacing the ‘5’, showing just how many times the rules had changed, over a short period of time. The Reserve Bank of India gave a record number of dir-

ectives to banks starting November 8, I was informed. In Agra we heard sad stories from tour operators, who claimed that tourism had been decimated. We read of tourists doing menial jobs and dancing and singing in certain parts of India, just to pay their bills. While we didn’t have to do any of this, we could sense the tension in the air. The stash of rupee notes in my wallet reassured me much more than the smaller stash of dollars I had alongside it. The country seemed to be on edge, with front-page reports of people in queues, and someone having a heart attack. Jugaad at work I was witnessing the ‘jugaad’ mentality at play all over again, with autorickshaw drivers and even vegetable vendors resorting to cashless means of payment. But what about those who can’t aford a phone, I often kept asking myself. How can Prime Minister Narendra Modi assume that everyone will have a bank account,

much less a smartphone? Isn’t this bourgeois middleclass thinking, to assume that the whole country will leap-frog to online and digital banking, without even having basic banking infrastructure, such as bank accounts? Nothing illustrates the situation better than our experience at a popular café in Bangalore, my hometown. One evening after cofee and snacks, when I paid the Rs.650 bill with a Rs.2,000 note, the cashier replied he didn’t have change. “I need change, sir” he said. I opened my wallet before him and told him that I didn’t have any change and that it was his duty, or responsibility, to make sure they had change, given it was a business establishment. This didn’t fly well, and we went back and forth for a while. Ultimately we agreed amicably that I would come pick up the change the following day — after he wrote the balance amount on my bill. As with most things in India, it boiled down to having a ‘well-connected’ friend, who sent us enough money to manage. This experience demonstrated to me once again that even though a democracy, India operates by rules that are often unwritten. The ones who sufered the most were those who were outside the system and had no way of ‘getting in’. The real pain was felt by those who earn their living in cash, have no bank accounts and are in fact ‘invisible’ in India’s economy. [email protected]

RATHINDRA NATH DAS

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ankind’s advancement in life by claiming the coveted top spot in the animal pyramid can be linked to how far it has stretched the fabric of science and technology. The times we live in today demand that we take the hand of technology and walk with it everywhere. It’s almost omnipresent; you can deny this but sure as hell can’t avoid. Okay, cool, we live in the 21st century, what’s the big deal, you may say. Truly, no big deal actually. But I’m not here to just say something that is already known widely. What I really wanted to say here is for people and especially children of our generation, like you, to take an insight into it from a diferent angle, a diferent perspective. While I was writing this in a cofee shop, I noticed something incredible. No, it’s not the price of my already cold, boring cofee. Instead, it’s the people around. I observed that most of them were not really interested in the menu at the swank eatery. Much worse, they weren’t totally interested in the people they came to hang out with either. Most of them were busy texting, status-updating, and so on. If not for the ceremonial selfies, and the parliamentary debates on who pays the bill, I would have reported them as entities living in the sixth dimension, completely unaware of our regular three-dimensional surroundings. This is a major problem. We humans have been filtered through eons of evolu-

tion, beating all odds. But one thing that remained a constant was that we were not just animals but social animals. Highly social, and intelligent species with almost no match. Our mutual exchange of thoughts and ideas culminate in our code for survival. But this is slowly changing, for better or for worse. We have started shifting from a joint big family to small nuclear groups. We are spending more time behind closed walls in front of an electronic screen than meeting with people. We are depending more on artificial intelligence (AI) than our very own intelligence. As when we want to know the answer to a question, it’s become a tradition to do it the Google way rather than just burning some grey matter. The way we interact I am not anti-AI, I am against anti-human. What I mean is, when something completely deletes the very essence of who we are and what we do, it should automatically raise an alarm. I am not going to dwell on the rise of the Terminators or Skynet. That would be another story altogether. All I want is to shed light on the fact

that we are changing so much in the way we interact. Yes, social networking is awesome, you can connect with someone who is on the other corner of the world. We’re always connected, so near, yet so far. But it doesn’t have a remedy to one thing, in building trust, yes my friend, trust. You can easily talk to one person, hear and see, etc., using this medium, but you can’t build the basics of the things in any relationship through this. Trust is the brick and mortar to any interaction. And there’s no quick fix to this. It takes time to earn one’s trust. And for that we shouldn’t completely depend on technology. You should get out of your room, have a face-to-face and express yourself without the help of mere emoticons. Bring the “human” in you, to the table. There’s no edit button in real life, so don’t worry if you make mistakes. In fact, take pride in learning from them. Fred Flintstone too had problems, and so did George Jetson and his family. They all had to face tough times. But they learnt to embrace them and endure them. [email protected]

Break the mould PREETHIKA SEBASTIAN

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n a hot morning, my friends and I were waiting for a taxi outside Ernakulam Junction railway station in Kerala when we witnessed that. A woman resplendent in colours — a violet ankle-length kurta with shades of colours in their darker versions forming varied patterns adorned her body — and carrying a bag the colour of sunlight with patterns of triangles in orange, red and mustard yellow, with a scarf in brown covering her hair, was hurling insults in Hindi at a few street-side vendors. The first thing that crossed my mind was, “Now here’s a woman migrant worker, the first I’ve seen since the beginning of the migrant wave in Kerala.” We couldn’t take our eyes off her: she had an aura of colours splashed upon each other, each trying to dominante, succeeding for a few seconds until the next one came along. She abruptly turned her head towards us — it was our staring that did it — and as I was the one who was closest to her, she looked at me in the eye and started speaking in fluent English. I was dumbfounded, and the gasps by my friends would have woken up the drivers in the nearby taxi bay. At first glance I had assumed her age to be around 40 but as I looked into her eyes brimming with indignation, I could see the whiteness Women insulted that around the iris that for standing out, comes with age had but stand up to caught up with her too. story, as much as I it bravely: India Her could gather with the needs them now few disjointed sentences she threw at me, went like this: She’s a designer-cum-writer who is mildly famous. Hindi magazines and newspapers have featured articles about her applauding her originality. She never asked them to write her story, she says, but from that point, wherever she goes people seem to assume that she is a streetwalker. “Bhaiyya, mujhe ek glass doodh deejiye,” was what she said, extending a 10-rupee note to the 20something shopkeeper. He called her a ‘ho’, and his friends, along with him, had tried their best to touch her body. “Don’t they have shame?” she asks me. “After all, I’m 61.” I don’t know what my eyes tell, maybe a little of the disgust I feel for them and a lot more sympathy for the woman. “You’re an educated woman. Will you stand still if they misbehave with you?” A question for me, and I promptly shake my head to say ‘no’. My head says, “Beware, you want no part in this,” while my heart goes, “Raze them to the ground. Let there be no more of them.” I can hear my friends’ whispers. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” “Ma’am, may I know your name?” I ask her, and promptly a name both long and unheard of comes out of her mouth which no part of me could catch even for the length of a heartbeat. It suits her: a name as unique as her. The moment she turns her head away to glare at them again with the newfound strength offered by our numbers, we turn and walk away quickly. As the coward in me gloats with victory, my heart grows heavy with the thought that I couldn’t even catch her name. I wonder, aren’t there women like her in every locality in India, women insulted for standing out, as they are breaking the mould, set upon since the beginning of civilisation? India needs them right now, and to stand up for what they wish to be, for in them lies the salvation of the future generations. [email protected]

The jallikattu ban and the day forbearance and patience died For a people who showed decades of tolerance, did it have to come to this? G.S. SIMHANJANA

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atience can be used to defeat a person who by his arrogance indulges in excesses and causes harm. So advised the grandmaster of Tamil literature, Thiruvalluvar, in Thirukkural. The people of Tamil Nadu live by the advice of the Kural and have taken in their stride the conduct of successive governments and administrations and their apathy to even the basic requirements of life. A seemingly sparse sport of ancient origin was first banned a decade back by a court before which permission to conduct a bullock cart race was sought. The applicant for judicial permission must have had the shock of his life, faced with the order banning not only what was prayed for but

also other heretofore traditional sports using bulls and horses. From then on, an ancient and annual rural event became an issue before the court. There is now so much talk of the PCA Act. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Rules framed thereunder, as with all legislation, have the standard format. It consists of a Title, Preamble, Definitions, constitution, ofences, penal provisions and on its part, adding yet another Authority empowering it with constituents, appointment of members and their powers of creating Rules, Notifications and Enforcement procedures. The Objects and Reasons are also standard. The PCA Act, the Rules, etc., is also another statute of interesting academic value, especially on the rationale of legislative drafting.

The discipline of legislative drafting wields the magic wand, puppeteering and nourishing the voracious gluttony of the field of interpretation of legislation. The PCA is well-heeled for interpretation. While cruelty is not defined under the definitions clause, Chapter III Section 11 describes 15 instances of “Treating animals cruelly”, and proceeds to state the punishment to anyone committing such acts. Of these, the mischief lies in the usage of the phrase and words, “or otherwise treats any animal so as to subject it to unnecessary pain or sufering”, and “unreasonably cause”, respectively. What would amount to “unnecessary pain or sufering” and “unreasonably cause” is left to academic and judicial interpreta-

tion. Dehorning, castration, branding and destruction of stray dogs are justified by the Act. The PCA Act advocates what is called “destruction” of stray dogs and sufering animals. “Destruction” is not defined or described in the Act, and the dictionary meanings

and synonyms are anything but humane. Experiments on animals are allowed and “ordinarily destroyed” if injured during such experiments. “Performing animals” is a term that is not defined in the Act, but Chapter V deals with performing animals on an assumption, and training or exhibition for military, police and educational purpose are exempted from the PCA Act. The definition of performing animal is an afterthought under the Performing Animals Rules, 1973 and amended in Performing Animals (Registration) Rules, 2001. Killing an animal by the members of a religion or community is exempted, but Section 30 presumes cruel killing if a person has an animal skin with the head attached to it. The standof over jallikattu arose due to a Notification in 2011 listing six animals that should not

be exhibited or trained. These are: bears, monkeys, tigers, panthers, lions and bulls. Look at the odd one out. How and why are bulls included , while even elephants are not? Starting from drinking water, each basic necessity is an issue, juggled, shuled, thrown around and pending for decades before one forum or the other with no glimpse of a practicable conclusion, the game of passing the buck, played to the gallery with decades of practised ease. Any and all forms of protest or questioning are quelled and buried under the “democratic bait” of “talks”. Persistent questions are softened by other “democratic peace processes” individually. So, what happened now? By now it would seem that people were immune to the apathy of it all. But something stirred a hornet’s nest. What could it have

been? Could it have been the culmination of decades of tested tolerance of a beguiled people? Whatever is said of this movement, call it an agitation, campaign, struggle or a crusade, it has achieved what no other cause has done to Chennai in particular. That is a sense of camaraderie, a sense of responsibility, a sense of orderly behaviour among a large section. It has also taught the people how the government and its machinery can be, whenever people demand their rights. Shouts of Vande Mataram may have worked against the British, but not an elected government of independent India. There was Michael O’Dwyer and a General Dyer then, but we have had many since who do not even have to face a Hunter Commission. Are there amicable solutions for people’s “issues”? [email protected]

Contributions to this page may be e-mailed to [email protected] to a length of up to 700 words. Please provide the postal address and a brief description of the writer. An e-mail id that is provided could be considered for publication. Certify in writing that it is original material; The Hindu views plagiarism as a serious issue. Also confirm that the submission is exclusive to this page. Taking into account the volume of material being received, we regret our inability to acknowledge receipt, or to entertain telephonic or other queries on the status of a submission. If a submission is not published within eight weeks, consider it to be out of the reckoning — in most cases owing to dearth of space. The publication of an article is not to be seen as The Hindu endorsing the viewpoint in any way.

CM YK

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Earnest wish

Telecast schedule I-League: TEN 2, 4.30 p.m.; HIL: STAR Sports 2, 3 & HD 2, 3, 7 p.m.; EPL: STAR Sports HD1, & HD2, SS Select HD 1 & 2, 1 a.m. (Wednesday); NBA: Sony Six & Sony Six HD, 6 a.m. (Wednesday)

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Marseille signs Payet

I have always been a huge fan of Roger Federer. Unfortunately, I had some prior commitments, so as and when I got time, I was watching. I was one of those guys who did not want the match to get over — Sachin Tendulkar on the Australian Open final

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Dimitri Payet made a record-breaking return to Olympique Marseille on Monday leaving a bitter taste at West Ham United after going on strike to force a transfer. The acrimonious divorce ended on Sunday when the French international signed a five season contract in a deal worth €30 million

Federer drops hints that the end may be near MELBOURNE: Roger Federer dropped hints that his great career may be drawing to a close after his age-defying win over his Grand Slam nemesis Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open. The 35-year-old Swiss admitted his return to Melbourne wasn’t guaranteed after he ended a five-year wait for his 18th major title by beating Nadal in a thrilling five-setter. He told the Rod Laver Arena crowd: “I hope to see you next year, but if not, then it was a wonderful year here and I couldn’t be happier tonight.” Federer has been rebutting suggestions of retirement for several years, but he said he was now aware injuries could force him of the scene. The Australian Open marked his comeback from a six-month injury break, the longest of his career, after he underwent surgery for the first time last February. “This is all about, you know, knowing that I have only so much tennis left in me,” he told reporters, when asked about the comment in his acceptance speech. “If I do get injured, you know, maybe if I miss next year, who knows what happens... You never know when your next Grand Slam is going to be, if ever. “You never know if you’re going to have an opportunity at this stage.” Federer added: “Look, I’ve had a tough year last year. Three five-setters are not going to help. I just meant it the way I meant it. There wasn’t something planned behind it, that this is my last Australian Open. “I hope I can come back, of course. That’s my hope right now.” Federer, now four titles clear of Nadal and Pete Sampras on the all-time majorwinners’ list, was troubled by injury during the tournament and he said he had been carrying an upper leg problem since the second round. “I think this one will take more time to sink in. When I go back to Switzerland, I’ll think, ‘Wow’. The magnitude of this match is going to feel different,” he said. — AFP

Batting-friendly surface expected BENGALURU: After two games of

not very big totals, India and England are likely to encounter a pitch full of runs when they meet at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday. “It will be a good batting track. My expectation is that the scores will be around 160170,” the KSCA curator K. Sriram said. “I have rolled and prepared it in the way that I prepare the IPL pitches. I have not done anything diferent. I have not got phone calls from anybody.” — Special Correspondent

G. VISWANATH PUNE: The first task of the four-member Committee of Administrators (COA) — comprising former CAG Vinod Rai, writer and historian Ramachandra Guha , IDFC MD Vikram Limaye and former India women’s captain Diana Edulji — will be to get the BCCI to fall in line with the terms of the Justice Lodha Committee report and the Supreme Court judgement. The Board will have to adopt the MoA and Rules and Regulations as specified

in Annexure-A of the Lodha panel’s report. The State and member associations will need to amend their Constitutions/By-laws suitably. The BCCI is a registered body under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, and its members — other than the Railways, Services, All India Universities (all recommended to be relegated as associate members) — are registered under the Companies Act or its State Registrar of Societies. The BCCI’s full members

have long held that they function as per the direction given by clubs and individual members around which their associations’ foundation is based. To amend the by-laws, therefore, a two-third or three-fourth majority is required.

back into the ATP top 10 on the strength of his epic 18th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. The 35-year-old Swiss great defied old rival Rafael Nadal on Sunday in a thrilling five-setter in Melbourne to move up seven spots to 10th in the latest rankings released on Monday. Nadal, beaten 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, moved up three places to sixth in the list still dominated by early Australian Open victims Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Stan Wawrinka, defeated in the semis last week by Federer, is up one in third. Germany’s Mischa Zverev, who upset Murray in the fourth round in Melbourne, soared 15 places to 35th, his best ever ranking. Meanwhile Serena Williams replaced Angelique Kerber as the World No. 1 in the latest WTA rankings released on Monday. The rankings: Men :1. Andy Murray (GBR) 11,540 pts.; 2. Novak Djokovic (Srb) 9,825; 3. Stan Wawrinka (Sui) 5,695 (+1); 4. Milos Raonic (Can) 4,930 (-1); 5. Kei Nishikori (Jpn) 4,830; 6. Rafael Nadal (Esp) 4,385 (+3); 7. Marin Cilic (Cro) 3,560; 8. Dominic Thiem (Aut) 3,505; 9. Gael Monfils (Fra) 3,445 (-3); 10. Roger Federer (Sui) 3,260 (+7). Women : 1. Serena Williams (USA) 7,780 pts. (+1); 2. Angelique Kerber (Ger) 7,115 (-1); 3. Karolina Pliskova (Cze) 5,270 (+2); 4. Simona Halep (Rom) 5,073; 5. Dominika Cibulkova (Svk) 4,985 (+1); 6. Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) 4,915 (-3); 7. Garbine Muguruza (Esp) 4,720; 8. Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 3,915 (+2); 9. Madison Keys (USA) 3,897; 10. Johanna Konta (GBR) 3,705 (-1). — AFP

The full members feel bitter about a number of aspects of the recommendations, particularly those related to term and tenure of elected oice bearers, restrictions on eligibility, the formation of player associations,

replacing the working committee with an apex council, reconstituting the selection committee and empowering the CEO. BCCI CEO Rahul Johri will soon submit a list of recommendations the BCCI has complied with; it will be just a handful and that’s the reason the Supreme Court removed Anurag Thakur and Ajay Shirke from their posts as president and secretary. The COA is likely to find impediments in its path as it attempts to enforce the Lodha Committee recommendations.

CUESPORTS

Yousuf stars for Dabang Mumbai

Amee clinches billiards title G. VISWANATH

NANDAKUMAR MARAR MUMBAI:

CM YK

Back in top ten PARIS: Roger Federer has climbed

Panel to supervise BCCI has its task cut out

HOCKEY INDIA LEAGUE

Man-marking or zonal-marking matters little when Afan Yousuf is on the prowl. Two clever goals from the small-made forward had a telling efect in Dabang Mumbai’s success. Leading 3-1 after three quarters, the home team survived a Delhi Waveriders’s fightback in the fourth quarter, to win 3-2 and retain top place in Coal India-Hockey India League 2017. Creating room for strikes at target and finding his own angles to outwit the goalkeeper, Afan built on his reputation, first, with a spectacular field goal. He moved away from defender Pardeep covering the first angle and flicked across and alotted inside the left post. The second strike was a backhander, twisting body into position and reacting instinctively. Waveriders punched in two direct penalty corner goals, two from five corners forced,

I told myself to play free. Be free in your head, be free in your shots, go for it. The brave will be rewarded here. I could have left disappointed. [But] I kept on fighting. I kept on believing — Federer

CRUCIAL STRIKE: Dabang Mumbai’s Affan Yousuf came up with a field goal which proved decisive in the end, against Delhi Waveriders. — PHOTO: VIVEK BENDRE via Justin Reid and Rupinderpal Singh, both clinical eforts. Dabang Mumbai remained unbeaten in four games on the trot, with one draw and three wins, and firmly entrenched at the top of the six-team table. Harmanpreet Singh had a hand in the host going three goals up by half-time. He moved up in support of a move on the right and swept the ball

into the goalmouth. Afan trapped and tapped in. Then, Waveriders defenders sufered his second blow via a penalty corner. The drag came of the post, the opportunist was at hand to reverse hit. The result: Dabang Mumbai HC 3 (Affan Yousuf 28 FG, 30) bt Delhi Waveriders 2 (Austin Reid 43 PC, Rupinderpal Singh 53 PC).

PUNE: Madhya Pradesh’s Amee Kamani defeated Karnataka’s Varsha Sanjeev 75-46, 75-45, 2876, 21-75, 76(48)-58 to win the women’s billiards competition at the 84th National billiards and snooker championship on Monday. Keerath Bhandaal of Delhi beat Telangana’s I. Lahari to clinch the juniors girls’ snooker final 28-50, 52-36, 48-45. In the semifinals, Keerath had accounted for Tamil Nadu’s Anupama Ramachandran and Lahari got past Varsha. Tamil Nadu junior S. Shrikrishna, after leading 3-2 in the first elimination contest set to seven frames, lost 4-3 to Maharashtra’s Hasan Badami. He had registered a win against Rafath Habib on Sunday to qualify for the knock-outs. Other important results: Women: Billiards (semifinals): Amee Kamani bt Uma Devi (Kar) 76-44, 7510; Varsha Sanjeev bt Meenal Thakur (Mah) 76-73, 68-76, 77-58. Men: Snooker (round-of-32): Pankaj Ad-

vani (PSPB) bt Sourav Kothari (PSPB) 84(68)-1, 58-55, 86(77)-0, 79-30; Dhvaj Haria (PSPB) bt Nitesh Madaan (Rlys) 89-44, 75-47, 73-37, 74-28; Manan Chandra (PSPB) bt Dhruv Verma 34-73, 69-25, 89(89)-17, 4637, 22-80, 58-6; Panduranga (Rlys) bt Himanshu Jain (TS) 69-24, 69-50, 2867, 58-77, 74-26, 60-29; Anurag Giri (MP) bt Anmoldeep Singh (PNB) 1853, 70-33, 42-81, 59-0, 69-21, 53-43; Laxman Rawat (Rlys) bt Rafath Habib (Rlys) 75-35, 74-38, 17-71, 43-81, 6360, 98-11. Lucky Vatnani (TS) bt Shabaaz Adil Khan (PSPB) 17-62, 17-91, 63-27, 70-1, 12-75, 82-55, 62-44; Anuj Uppal (Del) bt Pushpinder Singh (Rlys) 20-67, 59-8, 76-1, 50-21, 31-67, 23-61, 73-34; Sundeep Gulati (Del) bt Benay Agarwal (WB) 81-28, 58-62, 73-19, 71-1, 42-74, 62-37; Dharminder Lilly (PNB) bt Alok Kumar (PSPB) 74-27, 73-36, 112-2, 53-52; Akshay Kumar (UP) bt Brijesh Damani (PSPB) 35-74, 79-18, 66-19, 75-26, 73-34; Yasin Merchant (Mah) bt Johnson Narsidani (Guj) 6217, 72-69, 33-58, 70-10, 69-22; Arvind Rlys) bt Faisal Khan (Rlys) 25-69, 6418, 59-27, 67-24, 72-41; Siddharth Parikh (Rlys) by Kamal Chawla (Rlys) 58-67, 25-75, 41-87, 59-32, 56-47, 67-44, 64-9. ND-ND

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

NZ scrapes home in first one-dayer

NRAI makes minor changes in team for WC

CRICKET / Marcus Stoinis’s valiant century goes in vain

NEW DELHI: Skeet coach Ennio

Falco had his say as Sheeraz Sheikh was drafted into the Indian team for the shooting World Cup to be staged at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, from February 24 to March 3. The change was made from the original list of entries for the World Cup which has been published by the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF). Sheeraz Sheikh comes in place of Amrinder Singh Cheema, who would now be shooting in the MQS section in the first World Cup of the season. It was on the request of Falco, who had guided Mairaj Ahmad Khan to impressive performances in the last season among others that the NRAI had agreed to keep a slot in the national team at the discretion of the national coach. In women’s sports pistol team, World Cup gold medallist Rahi Sarnobat has come in place of Shreya Gawande who has been moved to the MQS section. In men’s air rifle, there will be three shooters for India as against the two mentioned by the ISSF list for the World Cup. It will be Deepak Kumar along with Ravi Kumar and Satyendra Singh. The Indian team will have a preparatory camp at the same venue from February 7. — Special Correspondent

New Zealand scraped home in the first onedayer against Australia on Monday, but only after rookie all-rounder Marcus Stoinis fell agonisingly short of dragging his team to victory with an unbeaten 146. In just his second ODI, Stoinis took three wickets and then flayed the New Zealand attack as the Australians chased a target of 287 runs at

AUCKLAND:

Eden Park. He came to the crease with Australia reeling at 54 for five and calmly set about rebuilding after his more experienced teammates had squandered their wickets. His 146 was a record ODI score for an Australian No. 7 batsman and included 11 sixes and nine fours. The second ODI will be in Napier on Thursday. — AFP

SCOREBOARD New Zealand: M. Guptill b Stoinis 61, T. Latham c Handscomb b Starc 7, K. Williamson c Maxwell b Stoinis 24, R. Taylor b Head 16, N. Broom c Starc b Faulkner 73, C. Munro c Finch b Stoinis 2, J. Neesham c Head b Hazlewood 48, M. Santner c Maxwell b Cummins 7, T. Southee c Faulkner b Cummins 0, L. Ferguson (not out) 3, T. Boult (not out) 16, Extras (b-8, lb-5, w-16): 29; Total (for nine wkts. in 50 overs) 286. Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-87, 3-128, 4-130, 5-134, 6-210, 7-246, 8-251, 9-269. Australia bowling: Starc 10-059-1, Hazlewood 10-0-48-1, Cummins 9-0-67-2, Faulkner 6-0-29-1, Stoinis 10-0-49-3, Head 5-0-21-1. Australia: A. Finch c Neesham b

Boult 4, T. Head c Munro b Boult 5, S. Marsh st. Latham b Santner 16, P. Handscomb c Latham b Southee 7, G. Maxwell c Latham b Ferguson 20, S. Heazlett c Latham b Ferguson 4, M. Stoinis (not out) 146, J. Faulkner b Munro 25, P. Cummins st. Latham b Santner 36, M. Starc c Neesham b Santner 3, J. Hazlewood (run out) 0, Extras (lb-2, w-12): 14; Total (in 47 overs) 280. Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-10, 3-18, 448, 5-54, 6-67, 7-148, 8-196, 9-226. New Zealand bowling: Southee 10-0-63-1, Boult 9-0-58-2, Ferguson 10-0-44-2, Santner 10-1-44-3, Neesham 5-0-49-0, Munro 3-0-20-1. Result: New Zealand won by six runs. Man-of-the-Match: Stoinis.

SWASHBUCKLING KNOCK: Marcus Stoinis’s unbeaten 146 was a record ODI score for an Australian No. 7 batsman and included 11 sixes and nine fours. — PHOTO: AFP

Punjab ekes out a win UTHRA GANESAN DHARAMSHALA: It was a game both teams seemed determined to lose before Punjab managed to eke out a twowicket win against Delhi in a low-scoring match of the North Zone T20 league here on Monday. Chasing a meagre 104, Punjab reached 106 for eight in 19.2 overs, kept alive only by some heavy hitting by the middleorder and sloppy fielding by Delhi. Three of the top-four Punjab batsmen failed to open their accounts, along with captain Harbhajan Singh, who didn't score for the second time in as many games.

Dushyant Chautala is new TTFI chief Dushyant Chautala was elected as president of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) at the annual general body meeting held at Gurugram on Monday. M.P. Singh and Arun Kumar Banerjee will be the new secretary general and treasurer respectively, according to a release from TTFI. The office-bearers: President: Dushyant Chautala; Secretary General: M.P. Singh; Treasurer: Arun Kumar Banerjee; Vice-Presidents: Milind Torwane, M.S. Sirsa, Chiranjib Choudhary, P. Karunakaran, Vero Nunes, Sharad Shukla, R.K. Parida and Haresh Sangtani; Joint Secretaries: Mantu Ghosh, Jayesh Acharya, Tridip Duvarah, Prakash Raju; Executive Members: Yatin K. Tipnis, Manjit Singh Dua, S. Halder, T.K. Vijay Rangam and Ajay Sharma. — Special Correspondent VIJAYAWADA:

Lumba shines It took a mix of caution and aggression from Sharad Lumba (36) to turn around the team’s fortunes. It could have been all over in the next couple of overs, but Shikhar Dhawan picked that brief period to turn into ‘Mr. Butterfingers’, adding to his batting woes that continued. He dropped a sitter from Manpreet Grewal at first slip of Pradeep Sangwan, then two balls later let an edge from Lumba sneak through his fin-

Nadal pulls out of Davis Cup clash with Croatia

gers even though wicketkeeper Unmukt Chand was in position. In the next over by Ishant Sharma, Manan Sharma dropped Lumba on the boundary and Lumba ensured Delhi pay the price for the reprieves, with sixes all around. Opener Pargat Singh was out in the first over and Navdeep Saini struck of consecutive deliveries to reduce Punjab to three for three in the second over before Vohra and Anmolpreet Singh rebuilt the innings. However, it was the long handle from Lumba that took Punjab close to the target. Using the long handle His consecutive sixes of Pawan Negi in the 17th over — over long-on and deep midwicket — and then another over square of Saini in the next brought Punjab within five runs of victory before he was run out going for a second run. It became 99 for eight when Harbhajan was caught and bowled by Saini before Nikhil Chaudhary struck Negi for a six over mid-wicket to seal the issue. Earlier, the Delhi batsmen struggled to score against the

Punjab pace trio of Sandeep Sharma, Grewal and Siddharth Kaul, who took full advantage of the seaming conditions after deciding to bowl first. In the other match here, Himachal rode on an unbeaten half-century by Sumeet Verma — the first of the tournament here — to to win by five wickets, scoring two runs of the last ball of the innings even as Haryana failed to effect a run out from close range. The scores: Delhi 103 for nine in 20 overs (Milind Kumar 26, Manpreet Grewal three for 26, Sandeep Sharma two for 16, Nikhil Chaudhary two for 28) lost to Punjab 106 for eight in 19.2 overs (Sharad Lumba 36, Anmolpreet Singh 28, Navdeep Saini three for 28, Ishant Sharma two for 12). Points: Punjab 4, Delhi 0 . Haryana 133 in 20 overs (Rajat Paliwal 27, Akshay Chauhan three for 20, Mayank Dagar three for 28, Rishi Dhawan two for 23) lost to Himachal 134 for five in 20 overs (Sumeet Verma 54 not out, Paras Dogra 32). Himachal 4, Haryana 0 . Services 145 in 19.4 overs (Amit Pachhara 42, Hardik Sethi 34, Umar Nazir three for 26, Ram Dayal two for 16, Abid Nabi two for 35) bt J&K 140 in 19.5 overs (Shubham Khajuria 46, Manzoor Dar 27, Nishan Singh four for 24, Diwesh Pathania two for 23). Services 4, J&K 0 .

I-LEAGUE

Artificial turf and cool weather welcome CCFC AMITABHA DAS SHARMA SHILLONG: Debutant Chennai

City FC will have to overcome a host of issues ranging from artificial turf and chill weather to stop home favourite Shillong Lajong, which has been on a high after winning its two previous matches. But the visitors head coach Robin Charles Raja put up a brave face. “We have not played on artificial turf. But once we get to the field it is going to be just another match,” Robin said. Except goalkeeper Karanjit Singh, Robin has a fully fit squad. His replacement, Abhra Mondal, is well accustomed to the conditions and is expected to make up for the Karanjit’s absence under the bar. Defender and captain D. Ravanan, who missed the last match with injury, attended the training but is yet to regain full fitness. Robin has built his team around two Brazilians, Marcos Tank and Charles de Souza,

who have found their feet despite joining the team just two days before the season. Both scored in the team’s 2-0 win over Aizawl FC last week. On the other hand, Shillong Lajong will seek another win to climb up the table. “The team needed some time to gel and I think it has finally started to show on the field,” was how head coach Thangboi Singto assessed Lajong’s latest success. “We have to now continue with this style of play. We started with the first home game against Minerva and we have progressed from there. We played much better against Mumbai in terms of creating chances and we need to carry the momentum forward,” he added. Singto said the tournament scheduling could have been better. “I think I-League should be longer. If they conduct a match a week for each side, it will give players more rest. If they rest better, definitely their performance on the pitch will go up,” Singo added.

TENNIS

Bengal to clash with Tripura in opening contest

MADRID: Rafael Nadal on Monday pulled out of Spain’s Davis Cup clash with Croatia this weekend as he recovers from his Australian Open exertions. Nadal will be replaced in the World Group first-round tie by Feliciano Lopez. The Spanish tennis federation said its medical staf preferred that Nadal sat out of the trip to Osijek given “the little recovery time” available to the world No. 6.” The federation noted that Nadal “had played in a lot of matches after four months out of action” in January, which at 30 years of age was hard to recover from. — AFP

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT A well-prepared Bengal will look forward to start its campaign on a winning note when it takes on Tripura in the East Zone interstate T20 league at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday. Bengal had a meaningful camp under the watchful eyes of V.V.S. Laxman and T.A. Sekar at the same venue, where they had practice sessions in match situations.

KOLKATA:

Even though Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary skipped Monday’s nets session at the Jadavpur University ground here due to minor health issues, he is likely to lead the side against Tripura. Relying on pacers Taking into account the 9.30 a.m. start, Bengal will rely on its pacers, including Ashoke Dinda and Veer Pratap Singh, to restrict Tripura. Besides, spinner Pragyan

Ojha will be available with all his experience to contribute for the team. Tripura, which sufered a 10-run defeat against Odisha in its first match, would like to make amends to its faults in batting and put up a decent total against a top team like Bengal. The visiting side has got some nippy seamers in Manisankar Murasingh and Sanjay Majumder who can trouble any opposition on their day.

Good day for Indians NEW DELHI: All the three Indian boys — V.M. Sandeep, Nishant Dabas and Divesh Gahlot — sailed into the second round of the Asian under-14 tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex here on Monday. The results (first round): Boys: Azmi Januarsyah (Ina) bt Artur Khairutdinov (Kaz) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3; Chathurya Nilaweera (Sri) bt Mohd. Noor Ariffin (Mas); Divesh Gahlot bt Shisanupong Pokinsagethasiri (Tha) 6-2, 6-2; Nishant Dabas bt M. Gunawan Trismuantara (Ina) 6-0, 6-0; Guntinun Sootinun-Opart bt Timofei Goloshchapov (Kgz) 6-0, 6-0; Tim Thomas Gauntlett (Hkg) bt Pierre Djaroueh (Syr) 6-0, 6-2; Imran Daniel Hazli (Mas) bt Timur Chsherbakov

(Kaz) 6-2, 6-2; V.M. Sandeep bt Amangeldi Zhumabaev (Kgz) 6-0, 6-0; Nauvaldo Jati Agatara (Ina) bt Nelaka Dissanayake (Sri) 6-2, 6-1; Samandar Abdumalikov (Uzb) bt Chak Lam Coleman Wong (Hkg) 6-4, 6-3; Tanapatt Nirundorn (Tha) bt Mohammad Alkotop (Jor) 6-2, 6-1; Azizbek NIyazov (Uzb) bt Sidorov Nikita (Kaz) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; Tamir Ankhbayar (Mgl) bt Rodion Nyshchuk (Kgz) 6-0, 6-0; Hon Chun Lee (Hkg) bt Christian Andre Sheng Liew (Mas) 6-0, 6-4; Taym Alazmeh (Syr) bt Sebastien Lhuillier (Phi) 6-1, 6-1. Girls: Makhira Alimova (Uzb) bt V. Andreevskaya (Kgz) 6-3, 6-2; J. Wirahadipoernomo (Ina) bt Ma Carmenata Isabela Carlos (Phi) 7-5, 6-4. — Special Correspondent

Rahuls Pet triumphs HYDERABAD: Rahuls Pet (Imran Chisty up) won the Don Micheletto Plate, the main event of the races held here on Monday. The winner is trained by D. Netto and owned by M/s. Rahul Rachupalli, G. Krishnamohan Rao and T.N. Mehta. 1. CAPACHINO PLATE (D. II), (1,200m), Cat. II, maiden 3-y-o only (Terms): Moondancer (Mukesh Kumar) 1, Arc Of History (Akshay Kumar) 2, Destined Dynamite (Neeraj Rawal) 3, New State (Imran Chisty) 4. 9, 1/2, 2- 3/4. 1m 11.75s. Rs. 7 (w), 6, 7, 12 (p), SHP: Rs. 15, FP: Rs. 19, Q: Rs. 15, Tanala: Rs. 82. Favourite: Moondancer. Owners: M/s. Thimmaraja Yelamarthi & Chitturi Krishna Kannaiah. Trainer: M. Satyanarayana. 2. CAPACHINO PLATE (D. I), (1,200m), Cat. II, maiden 3-y-o only (Terms): Celtic Queen (P. Sai Kumar) 1, Thundering (Suraj Narredu) 2, Takisha (Neeraj Rawal) 3, Jasmine Garden (P. Trevor) 4. Not run: Desert Moon. Nk, shd, 6. 1m 13.01s. Rs. 37 (w), 6, 5, 11 (p), SHP: Rs. 15, FP: Rs. 98, Q: Rs. 27, Tanala: Rs. 651. Favourite: Thundering. Owners: M/s. K.S.N. Murthy, B.S. Reddy, Gudur Narayan Reddy & C.V. Krishna Rao. Trainer: K.S.V. Prasad Raju. 3. RAJA SITHARAM BHUPAL OF DOMAKONDA SAMSTHAN MEMORIAL CUP (D. II), (1,200m), Cat. II, 5-y-o & over, rated 46 to 70: Fair and Squre (Koushik) 1, Aston Doulton (Md. Sameeruddin) 2, Catherine (B.R. Kumar) 3, Perfection (Akshay Kumar) 4. 3/4, hd, hd. 1m 12.96s. Rs. 31 (w), 10, 29, 31 (p), SHP: Rs. 102, FP: Rs. 939, Q: Rs. 459, Tanala: Rs. 3103. Favourite: Perfection. Owner: M.A.M. Ramaswamy Chettiar of Chettinad Charitable Trust rep by Dr.A.C.Muthiah. Trainer: K. Satheesh. 4. ILLUSTRIOUS REIGN PLATE (1,400m), Cat. II, maiden 3-y-o only (Terms): Creator (Suraj Narredu) 1, Somerset (P. Trevor) 2, Exclusive Symbol (Mukesh Kumar) 3, You Can I Can (S. Sreekant) 4. 5-1/4, 2-1/4, 1-1/2. 1m 26.31s. Rs. 9 (w), 6, 12, 8 (p), SHP: Rs. 35, FP: Rs. 50, Q: Rs. 50, Tanala: Rs. 255. Favourite: Creator. Owner: Mr. Mukund Kakani. Trainer: K.S.V. Prasad Raju. 5. TWIN CITIES CUP (1,400m), Cat. III, 4-y-o & over rated 26 to 50: Raja Hindustani (P. Trevor) 1, Darakhshan Setarah (Akshay Kumar) 2, Samba (Neeraj Rawal) 3, Magnum (G. Naresh) 4. 1-1/2, 1-3/4,

1/2. 1m 26.31s. Rs. 46 (w), 14, 7, 7 (p), SHP: Rs. 22, FP: Rs. 186, Q: Rs. 85, Tanala: Rs. 384. Favourite: Samba. Owner: Mr. Md. Junaid Ali Khan. Trainer: N. Ravinder Singh. 6. HUSSAIN SAGAR CUP (1,200m), Cat. III, 5-y-o & over rated 26 to 50: Rapidest (Praveen Gaddam) 1, Act in Time (B.R. Kumar) 2, Military Cross (Imran Chisty) 3, Western Express (P. Trevor) 4. 1m 12.29 s. Rs. 18 (w), 7, 6, 19 (p), SHP: Rs. 20, FP: Rs. 39, Q: Rs. 15, Tanala: Rs. 272. Favourite: Act In Time. Owners: M/s. Pratap Racecitement Private Limited represented by the estate of late Mr. D. Pratap Chander Reddy & Mr. Ashish Bajaj & M/s. Vijay Racing & Farms Private Limited represented by M/s. Vijay Kumar Gupta & Susheel Kumar Gupta. Trainer: L.V.R. Deshmukh 7. RAJA SITHARAM BHUPAL OF DOMAKONDA SAMSTHAN MEMORIAL CUP (D. I), (1,200m), Cat. II, 5-y-o & over, rated 46 to 70: Aakash Vani (B.R. Kumar) 1, Legend (P. Sai Kumar) 2, Picture Perfect (Imran Chisty) 3, Kohinoor (G. Naresh) 4. 3/4, hd., 3. 1m 12.04s. Rs. 23 (w), 10, 7, 13 (p), SHP: Rs. 17, FP: Rs. 71, Q: Rs. 25, Tanala: Rs. 259. Favourite: Legend. Owners: M/s. K.T. Raidu, Premanand Sugandhi & Rammohan Belde.Trainer: Anupam Sharma. 8. DON MICHELETTO PLATE (1,400m), Cat. II, 4-y-o & over, rated 66 to 90: Rahuls Pet (Imran Chisty) 1, Preciosa (Beuzelin Louis) 2, Ashwa Raftar (Suraj Narredu) 3, Movie Moghual (Praveen Gaddam) 4. 3, 3/4, 1-3/4. 1m 24.56s. Rs. 28 (w), 9, 9, 6 (p), SHP: Rs. 21, FP: Rs. 167, Q: Rs. 92, Tanala: Rs. 402. Favourite: Aragonda Princess. Owners: M/s. Rahul Rachupalli, G. Krishnamohan Rao & T.N. Mehta. Trainer: D. Netto. 9. CHILLI GIRL PLATE (1100 m), Cat. III, 4-y-o & over, rated upto 30: Supurinto (Akshay Kumar) 1, Yes Baby (Deepak Singh) 2, Divine Heights (N. Rawal) 3, War Lady (G. Naresh) 4. Not run: Proud Princess. 2-3/4, 1/4, hd.. 1m 07.32 s. Rs. 19 (w), 7, 12, 32 (p), SHP: Rs. 30, FP: Rs. 105, Q: Rs. 67, Tanala: Rs. 8174. Favourite: Pentheselia. Owner: Mr. Chandrasekhar Reddy Challuri. Trainer: M. Srinivas Reddy. Treble (i): Rs. 326 (145 tkts.), (ii): Rs. 349 (172 tkts.), (iii): Rs. 385 (342tkts.) Consolation: Rs. 1563 (163 tkts.) Jackpot: Rs. 13,510 (44 tkts.)

GENERAL

Task force to prepare action plan for three Olympics

Gopi Chand, Abhinav Bindra. SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: P. Gopi Chand and

Abhinav Bindra will spearhead a “Task Force’’ that has been entrusted the responsibility to prepare an action plan for the next three Olympics by the Union Sports Ministry. The Sports Minister Vijay Goel stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved the constitution of the committee which would be in operation for three months or till it prepares its report. Former hockey captain Viren Rasquinha, hockey coach Bladev Singh, the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of Manav Rachna International University, Prof. G.L. Khanna, Chief Editor of Times Group online, Rajesh Kalra, Om Pathak of the School Sports Promotion Foundation, the Director General of the Sports Authority of Gujarat and Sandeep

Pradhan, will be the other members of the committee. The committee is expected to suggest various measures for the identification of core group of athletes and efective preparation for the Olympics in 2020, 2024 and 2028. It will address all areas of sports excellence and suggest mechanisms within the country to form a world class sports system and also recommend the method of preparation in terms of international competition and foreign training wherever required. Meanwhile, the Union Sports Ministry had also recently reinforced its Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) with Abhinav Bindra as the Chairman. Renowned sports stars Prakash Padukone, Karnam Malleswari, P.T. Usha and Anjali Bhagwat will be part of the committee.

VARIETY 4

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9 10

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27

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SU | DO | KU ACROSS

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2 Not here to grab money on the wagon (9) 3 Two boys meet a Prince (5) 4 Take down order — old Koreans perfected it (3,4,2) 5 Attack, sacrifice bishop and polish it off (3,2) 6 Sure, until they turn out to be extremely boisterous (9) 7 Foolish to keep CM YK

head splitting (7) 14 Move slowly, after hundred count will be rejected (5) 16 Magnus Larsen, perhaps dressed in own gear (9) 19 Timber cut around metal ring — work over (9) 20 Supports model to come out on top sporting hairdo (5)

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1 Reynard Butcher's free to take responsibility (5,3,6) 10 Try out clothes, we are out of practice (5) 11 Host will compete with coach right away (9) 12 Sick and without a permit, receives help (4,3) 13 Board will allow

reading the text (5) 8 Material named — one's interested (7) 9 Play — play for fifty and one hundred (6) 15 Metal parts thrusting hard (9) 17 Wine and beer in the past — not a whiff (9) 18 Sex two times, one on repeat performance (9)

DOWN

19 Put up notices, taking a small amount of drugs (7) 21 Refuse to stay in Sicily after vacation — there's hardly anything (6) 23 The total amount involved in a siege here (5) 24 Strange to see one covering a story (5) 26 Worried about transport (5)

22 Stiff drink in the Middle East? (4,3) 25 Music on the run? Wrong answer (7) 27 Time and energy — no American convention (9) 28 Portray smart shirt (5) 29 Feudal lord takes time, joining an event held perforce (7,7)

Qualified non-dualism King Janaka performed a sacrifice. He assembled thousand cows, with gold tied to their horns. He said that the best Vedic scholar could take all the cows. Yajnavalkya asked his disciple to drive away the cows, said M.K. Srinivasan in a discourse. Asvala, a hotr priest in Janaka’s kingdom, asked Yajnavalkya if he were indeed the best Vedic scholar. Yajnavalkya taunted him, saying: “We salute you, the most learned of the Vedic scholars. I took the cows because I need them.” An angry Asvala then began to question Yajnavalkya. He asked how a sacrificer would be freed from death. What Asvala’s question meant was this: “Everything in the universe is pervaded by death. How then can a person who performs sacrifices with a view to attaining Brahma Vidya be liberated?” Yajnavalkya replied: “The hotr priest should be seen as Agni; speech as fire itself. When Karma is performed with this view, then when the sacrificer dies, he attains liberation.” Asvala then asked, “Everything is overtaken by day and night. So how can the sacrificer get beyond this?” Yajnavalkya replied: “The adhvaryu priest should be seen as the eye, and as presided over by Aditya.” Asvala had many more questions for Yajnavalkya, all of which the sage answered convincingly. Svetaketu then asked Yajnavalkya two questions: “By what are the three worlds strung together and who is the internal ruler, if any, of the Universe?” Yajnavalkya replied: “Vaayu brings together the three worlds.” Yajnavalkya listed as many as 21 items — sun, moon, the five elements, indriyas, mind and soul in each of which Brahman resides, and controls each of them without their knowledge. This passage is known as Antaryami Brahmana. It is the basis for Visishtadvaita, which propagates qualified non-dualism.

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TODAY'S SOLUTIONS C A R R Y T H B O A U S T Y E N T A K A I D L OW N O R E E P N O N U D A T I NWO O I E A D S E A L H L R A D I T I O M N E H O T G U NW

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FAITH

(set by Arden)

S E D A T E S

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11918

Sudoku is a mind game and a puzzle that you solve with reasoning and logic. Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row, every column and every 3x3 box accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any.

ND-ND

THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

India U-19 goes down despite Rana’s century Opener Himanshu Rana’s impressive 101 went in vain as England U-19 defeated India U-19 by 23 runs in the first game of the five-match series here on Monday. Batting first, Delray Rawlins (107) and Harry Brook (51) helped England to 256 for seven in 50 overs. In reply, India U-19 was dismissed for 233 in 42.5 overs. Apart from Rana, Kamlesh Nagarkoti contributed 37 while Matthew Fisher took four for 41 for the visitor. The scores: England U-19 256 for seven in 50 overs (Delray Rawlins 107, Harry Brook 51) bt India U-19 233 in 42.5 overs (Himanshu Rana 101, Kamlesh Nagarkoti 37, Matthew Fisher four for 41). — PTI

MUMBAI:

Holder India starts with a win NEW DELHI: Defending champion India thrashed Bangladesh by 129 runs in the opening match of the T20 cricket World Cup for the blind here on Monday. Electing to bat, India scored a mammoth 279 for five with openers J. Prakash (96) and Ketan Patel (98) scoring halfcenturies. In reply, Bangladesh made only 150 for seven with Deepak Malik taking two wickets. In the second match, Pakistan defeated New Zealand by 10 wickets. Put in, New Zealand scored 112 in its 20 overs and in reply, Pakistan reached 117 in just 7.2 overs. — PTI

AP and WB are champions PUDUCHERRY: Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal won the boys’ and girls’ titles in the 39th sub-junior National volleyball championship on Sunday. In the boys’ final Andhra Pradesh defeated Gujarat 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-21) while in the girls’ final West Bengal got the better of Gujarat 3-0 (25-21, 2518, 25-9).

James’s distinction

‘Bumrah can improve with the new ball too’ CRICKET / Nehra all praise for partner’s wiles with old ball AMOL KARHADKAR NAGPUR: Ashish Nehra and Jas-

prit Bumrah hardly have anything in common. Nehra, 37, is the oldest member of India’s T20 squad, while 23-year-old Bumrah is one of the youngest. Nehra bowls left-arm pace with one of the most conventional actions, while Bumrah’s right-arm style is uncanny, which Nehra describes as “awkward”. But when it comes to making the white ball talk, the duo has been combining really well in India’s Blues in the shortest format. This was vividly on display during India’s humdinger of a match against England in Nagpur on Sunday. The starkest diference in their bowling abilities was at the fore in the second T20I which has kept the series in the balance, going into the decider in Bengaluru. Nehra got rid of both the openers to keep India in the game while defending a subpar total of 144 for eight. Bumrah then showed his prowess at the death by conceding just 14 runs of the 16th, 18th and the 20th overs he bowled. “It is not the first time that Jasprit and me are bowling together at the death. It’s always diicult for a bowler to bowl four overs at that stage with a wet ball. When I came, they needed 32 of four overs, and I knew this has to be the over where we have to pull it of. Luckily, as it happened that over went for five or six and Ben Stokes got out,” said Nehra. Mental toughness is the key Nehra termed Bumrah as a bowler whose “strength is bowling with the old ball” and said, “As a bowler, you have to keep backing yourself mentally at the death. You practise the skills in the nets, but I personally feel as a bowler, it is mental toughness that counts.” Ever since he earned India’s

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NOIDA/DELHI

LIKE CHALK AND CHEESE: Jasprit Bumrah and Ashish Nehra... diverse styles and skillsets. — PHOTOS: K.R. DEEPAK ODI and T20 caps in Australia at the start of 2016, Bumrah has been a reliable bowler at the death. But Nehra was confident Bumrah can improve even at the start of the innings. “I have always seen in Indian cricket a bowler being tagged as a new-ball bowler or only a death bowler. Everyone is diferent. If you ask an opener to bat at No. 6, he won’t

really succeed,” said Nehra. “I am not saying Bumrah can’t bowl with the new ball, he will improve over time, but his strength is bowling with the old ball. In 50-over games, he bowls at least four overs at the death. Even today he bowled three overs after the 15th, which is a big task. It’s never easy, especially in such games.”

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

Madrid blanks Sociedad, extends lead MADRID: Real Madrid extended its La Liga lead to four points and still has a game in hand over its title rivals as Cristiano Ronaldo was on target in a 3-0 win over Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid had won only one of its previous five games and was dumped out of the Copa del Rey by Celta Vigo in midweek. However, even without six first-team regulars through injury, Real took a huge step towards a first La Liga title for five years against an in-form Sociedad, which remains just one point of the top four in fifth. Mateo Kovacic opened the scoring with the only real chance of the first-half as he timed his late run from midfield perfectly for Ronaldo’s through ball and slotted low beyond Geronimo Rulli. The roles were reversed six minutes into the second-half as this time Kovacic’s pass split

STAR STRIKE: Ronaldo scores Real’s second goal as goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli makes a valiant attempt to stop him. — PHOTO: AFP the Sociedad defence and Ronaldo coolly chipped the onrushing Rulli for his 20th goal of the season. Sociedad’s uphill task was made impossible 15 minutes from time when Inigo Martinez was sent of for a second bookable ofence. And Alvaro Morata made the 10 men pay as he bulleted

home Lucas Vazquez’s cross for the third seven minutes from time. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund conceded a late goal in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s low-key Bundesliga return in a 1-1 draw at Mainz. Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel had lamented its shaky

defence after last Saturday’s scrappy 2-1 win at Werder Bremen and it again looked unstable at the back. This was Dortmund’s fourth draw in its last five league games. “If you don’t want to defend consistently, then something like that can happen,” said Dortmund’s frustrated captain Marcel Schmelzer. The results: On Sunday: La Liga: Real Madrid 3 (Kovacic 38, Ronaldo 51, Morata 83) bt Real Sociedad 0; Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 50, Aduriz 71-pen) bt Sporting Gijon 1 (Cop 27-pen). Serie A: Napoli 1 (Mertens 66) drew with Palermo 1 (Nestorovski 6). Bundesliga: Mainz 1 (Latza 83) drew with Borussia Dortmund 1 (Reus 3). FA Cup: Fourth round: Sutton 1 (Collins 53-pen) bt Leeds 0; Millwall 1 (Morison 85) bt Watford 0. Fulham 4 (Aluko 17, Martin 54, Sessegnon 66, Johansen 78) bt Hull 1 (Goebel 49). — AFP

England to raise umpiring concerns with match referee NAGPUR: As much as the second T20I will be remembered for K.L. Rahul’s stunning knock and bowlers from both sides showing their prowess, it will also go down in the records for umpire C. Shamshuddin’s mistake which had a severe impact on the outcome of the game. At the start of the last over, England required eight runs to win. Joe Root had anchored the England innings till then. The first ball of the over came in sharply after pitching just short of good length. Root got a thick inside edge before the ball rapped the pads. To the batsman’s bemusement, Shamshuddin upheld the lbw appeal. Stunned by the decision, England wilted under Jasprit Bumrah’s onslaught with the ball, scoring just two runs off the last over. “There is extreme frustration, absolutely,” England captain Eoin

Morgan said, referring to the umpiring mistake. “It shifted momentum, first ball of the 20th over, losing a batsman who’s faced (almost) 40 balls on a wicket that’s not that easy to time, it is quite a hammer blow. It’s proved very costly, all things considered. A couple of decisions didn’t go our way.” That wasn’t the only error by Shamshuddin, considered to be one of the better umpires in domestic cricket. In the third over of India’s batting essay, Chris Jordan had found Virat Kohli plumb in front, but Shamshuddin inexplicably didn’t raise his finger. He also turned down a close lbw shout against Morgan off Suresh Raina in England’s chase. Morgan stressed that England will “absolutely” raise the issue of umpiring standards with the match referee. — Special Correspondent

LOS ANGELES: Cleveland super-

star LeBron James became the first player to score 20,000 points in a Cavaliers jersey on Sunday, pouring in 25 in the NBA champions’ 107-91 victory over Oklahoma City Thunder. James has nearly twice as many points as anyone else in a Cleveland uniform. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is second on the team’s scoring list with 10,616 points. The results: Cavaliers 107 bt Thunder 91, Hawks 142 bt Knicks 139 (4OT), Mavericks 105 bt Spurs 101, Warriors 113 bt Trail Blazers 111, Magic 114 bt Raptors 113, Pacers 120 bt Rockets 101, Wizards 107 bt Pelicans 94, Bulls 121 bt 76ers 108. — Agencies

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LIFE

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THE HINDU TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017

Nazi propaganda chief’s secretary dies at 106

NASA space radio system can track flights

‘Father of Pac-Man’ no more

Brunhilde Pomsel, the former secretary of Nazi Germany’s propaganda boss Joseph Goebbels, died aged 106 on Friday, her documentary maker said.

NASA’s new space-based radio system can track aircraft in real time across the globe, an advance that is believed to make air travel safer.

Masaya Nakamura, the ‘Father of Pac-Man’ who founded the Japanese video game firm behind the hit creature-gobbling game, has died. He was 91.

‘Spiderman’ thief on trial over Paris art haul PARIS: A burglar known as ‘Spiderman’, notorious for daring acrobatic heists, went on trial on Monday for the 2010 theft of a $100-million haul that included works by Picasso and Matisse from a Paris gallery. Vjeran Tomic (49), who is facing 14 charges, stood trial along with two accomplices charged with handling stolen goods. The three were charged over the May 2010 robbery at the Modern Art Museum of five paintings by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Ferdinand Leger and Amedeo Modigliani. On May 19, 2010, a thief cut through a padlocked gate and broke a window to get into the gallery, one of the most-visited museums in Paris.

Stolen works The museum’s alarms had been awaiting repair for several weeks and the thief somehow managed to knock out a security camera. Three guards were on duty that night, but the paintings were only found to be missing the next day. When police arrested the Serb in May 2011, Mr. Tomic

told them he had initially broken into the museum for Leger’s Still Life with Candlestick from 1922, not thinking he would also be able to steal another four. Besides the Leger canvas, the other works stolen were Picasso’s cubist Dove with Green Peas from 1912 — worth an estimated 25 million euros ($26.8 million) alone — French contemporary Matisse’s Pastoral from 1905, Braque’s Olive Tree near Estaque from 1906, and Modigliani’s Woman with a Fan from 1919. All but the Modigliani were hung in the same room in the museum. which is run by the city and is home to more than 8,000 works of 20th-century art. The authorities put the total value of the haul at 100 million euros ($107 million), but some experts said they were worth twice that, while admitting it would be totally impossible to sell them in the open market. Tomic, an athletic 1.90 metre rock climbing enthusiast, earned his nickname for clambering into posh Parisian apartments and museums alike, to steal valuables. — AFP

Fences , The Crown win big at Screen Actors Guild Awards Many celebrities register protest against Trump

Iranian director pulls out of Oscars

LOS ANGELES: Fences, Hidden

Figures, and TV drama The Crown emerged as big winners at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which saw many celebrities taking on to the stage to register their protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration ban. Fences and The Crown picked up two acting honours, while the stars of Hidden Figures claimed the prize for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture. Denzel Washington was named outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role for his role in Fences, while his co-star Viola Davis took home the outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role. Outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series went to The Crown star John Lithgow and Claire

CLASS ACT: Actors Denzel Washington, left, and Viola Davis pose during the SAG awards in Los Angeles. — PHOTOS: AFP Foy topped category.

the

female

Lone win of ‘La La Land’ The outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role went to Emma Stone for La La Land, which was the film’s lone win at the ceremony. Moonlight star Mahershala Ali was named outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role. Mr. Ali indirectly addressed the immigration ban as he said. “And what I was so grateful about in having the oppor-

tunity to play Juan was playing a gentlemen who saw a young man folding into himself as a result of the persecution of his community, and taking the opportunity to uplift him and tell him that he mattered, that he was okay, and accept him. I hope that we do a better job of that,” he said. Mel Gibson-directed Hacksaw Ridge starring Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey and Teresa Palmer was named outstanding action performance by a stunt ensemble in a motion picture. — PTI

LOS ANGELES: Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, whose film The Salesman” is nominated for the foreign language film Oscar, has said he will not attend the Oscars even if exceptions are made to allow him entry to the U.S. This comes after President Donald Trump signed the executive order on Friday to suspend entry of refugees to the U.S. for 120 days, and imposed an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria. A 90-day ban was also placed on citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. “I regret to announce via this statement that I have decided to not attend the Academy Awards Ceremony alongside my fellow members of the cinematic community,” Farhadi said in a statement, according to Variety. While he had considered attending, the director said the uncertainty around him getting a visa was in no way acceptable to him even if exceptions were made for his trip. — AFP

Meet Tao, 98-year-old poster child for yoga and wellness HARTSDALE (UNITED STATES): She is the ‘World’s Oldest Yoga Teacher’ who, at age 98, still teaches five classes a week. But above all, Tao PorchonLynch is a poster child for health and positivity in a world obsessed by wellness and longevity.

STRETCHING THE LIMITS: Tao Porchon-Lynch gives instructions during a yoga class in Hartsdale, New York. — PHOTO: AFP

Boron may be the next wonder material Move over graphene! Boron may become the nanomaterial of the century as scientists have found that two-atom-wide ribbons and single-atom chains of the element possess unique properties. For example, if metallic ribbons of boron are stretched, they morph into antiferromagnetic semiconducting chains, and when released they fold back into ribbons. Experimental labs are making progress in synthesising atom-thin and fullerene-type boron, which led Boris Yakobson, researcher at Rice University in the U.S. to think 1-D boron may eventually become real as well. Mr. Yakobson’s lab creates atom-level computer simulations of materials that do not necessarily exist yet. Simulating and testing their energetic properties helps guide experimentalists working to create real-world materials. Carbon-atom chains known as carbyne, boron fullerenes and two-dimensional films called borophene, all predicted by the Rice group, have since been created by labs.

Grew up in India The former model and Hollywood contract actor, who earned her title from Guinness World Records,

still has a delicate, slender physique. Tao, as everyone calls her, grew up in India and lives in the New York suburbs, travelling the world attending yoga retreats. Stylish and fashionable, she zips from her Hartsdale home in Westchester County to the studio in a Smart car. Once in the studio, she happily demonstrates yoga poses, even if she sometimes calls on one of her dedicated

students to show of others. But more than yoga, she imparts a zest for life that has sustained her through nearly a century of existence, marked by encounters with the likes of Mahatma Gandhi and Marlene Dietrich. “Don’t be afraid,” she tells her class. “Don’t let others tell you what you can’t do.” She cautions her pupils against giving in to fatigue. “Breathe, feel this life force within you.”

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You mobs don’t scare me: Kashyap on trolls

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ilmmaker Anurag Kashyap has attacked online bullies in an emotional Facebook post, saying he has “zero political affiliation” but does not see anything wrong in posing questions to the government. Kashyap is one of the most vocal celebrities and he recently came out in support of Sanjay Leela Bhansali after the Bollywood director was attacked by a fringe Rajput group on the set of Padmavati in Jaipur. In the Facebook post, the 44-year-old director wrote that he had always taken a stand for issues he strongly believed in and that he would continue to raise his voice for what he felt was right. “It does not matter what you say or do, attack me physically or verbally, I will voice what I feel. You mobs don’t scare me, my voice will always rise over your screaming and shouting, I embrace my truth and I do not fear accusations,” Kashyap wrote. The Raman Raghav 2.0 director said factions that employ violence in order to express their disapproval had no entitlement to the work he did. — PTI

Grey’s Anatomy actor to make directorial debut

A

fter starring in Grey’s Anatomy for 13 years, actor Ellen Pompeo is finally following in the footsteps of several of her co-stars by directing an episode of the ABC medical drama. Pompeo, who has toplined the Shonda Rhimes soap as Dr. Meredith Grey for more than 280 episodes, will step behind the camera for the first time in February. The episode will air later this year as part of Grey’s Anatomy 13th season. An air date has yet to be determined, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Grey’s episode not only marks Pompeo helming the series in which she stars for the first time but also marks her first-ever direction. Pompeo joins fellow Grey’s co-stars Kevin McKidd (Owen) and Chandra Wilson (Bailey), who each directed multiple episodes of the drama from Rhimes and Shondaland partner Betsy Beers. Grey’s executive producer and recurring star Debbie Allen (Catherine) also has been a frequent director as well, as has Tom Verica, who has frequently pulled double duty helming Scandal while recurring on How to Get Away With Murder. — PTI

Banderas rushed to hospital with chest pain

A

ctor Antonio Banderas was taken to a hospital near his home in Surrey, London, after he suffered chest pain. The 56-year-old star was working out when he suddenly experienced chest pain, reported Mirror. According to reports, the doctors kept the actor under observation but decided to release him after being satisfied that he was safe to go home. Banderas, who is now recovering, later confirmed that he had an “episode”. He also praised the medics who helped him during his health crisis. The veteran actor moved to Britain two years ago and lives in a €2.4 million mansion in Cobham. — PTI

French beauty crowned Miss Universe, first since 1953

Dance of well-being

WASHINGTON:

Changing forms “Our work on carbyne and with planar boron got us thinking that a one-dimensional chain of boron atoms is also a possible and intriguing structure,” said Mr. Yakobson. One-dimensional boron forms two welldefined phases — chains and ribbons — which are linked by a “reversible phase transition,” meaning they can turn from one form to the other and back. To demonstrate these interesting chemomechanics, the researchers used a computer to “pull” the ends of a simulated boron ribbon with 64 atoms. This forced the atoms to rearrange into a single carbyne-like chain. In the simulation, researchers left a fragment of the ribbon to serve as a seed, and when the tension was released, the atoms neatly returned to ribbon form. — PTI

Students of all ages quickly become devotees. “I am doing things that I never thought possible,” says Julie Ann Ulbrich (52), who has been coming to Tao’s classes for eight years. In a Western society increasingly determined to ward of the onset of aging, Tao’s bracing cocktail of longevity and practical spirituality has made her a celebrity with an avid online following. — AFP

STAR TREK

IN STEP: A dancer, known as ‘Kukeri’, performs during the International Festival of the Masquerade Games in Pernik, Bulgaria, on Sunday. The three-day gala, which started on Friday, saw participants sporting multi-coloured masks with beads, ribbons and woolen tassels. The main dancer uses bells “to drive away sickness and evil spirits.” — PHOTO: REUTERS

MANILA: France won its first Miss Universe crown in 64 years on Monday in a madefor-television spectacle where finalists spoke out on the refugee crisis and other hot-button global issues. Iris Mittenaere, a dental surgery student from Lille in the north of France, beat 85 of the world’s most beautiful women at the event in the Philippines scheduled for primetime viewing in the United States. Ms. Mittenaere (24) edged out Miss Haiti, the first runner-up, and Miss Colombia, the second runner-up, to win France’s first Miss Universe title since 1953. “I was very surprised. I am always touching the crown and saying ‘Oh my God. I have the crown on my head. I don’t believe it,’” Ms. Mittenaere said in a post-pageant news conference. “French people love beauty pageants but they don’t really know Miss Universe because never [did] our country win,” she said.

BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL: Miss France Iris Mittenaere is crowned the Miss Universe 2016 by last year’s winner Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines, in Manila on Monday. — PHOTO: AP In the final question round, the six remaining contestants were each asked questions relating to various political issues in their own countries or abroad. Asked

about the refugee crisis, Ms. Mittenaere said France had the right to close its borders to refugees if it wanted but she also spoke about the benefits of migration. — AFP

Mumbai fashion week set for first transgender model Rare lion-tiger hybrid MUMBAI: A Nepali, who will become the first transgender model to walk the runway at a fashion show in the country, hopes to inspire other victims of gender identity discrimination across conservative South Asia. Anjali Lama, who was born a man in rural Nepal, was ostracised by members of her own family after telling them 12years ago that she wanted to live as a woman. She overcame abuse and prejudice to become the Himalayan country’s first transgender model and is now preparing to strut the catwalk at Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai next month. “Growing up in Nepal as a transgender was extremely diicult,” Ms. Lama (32) said in an email interview ahead of the fashion extravaganza, which runs from February 1 to February 5. “In South Asian countries,

people still aren’t that accepting, they treat it like an illness. The public looks at you diferently and treats you in a diferent manner” she said. “One has to stay strong and reach out for their dreams,” she added. Ms. Lama was born Nabin Waiba to a family of poor farmers in remote Nuwakot in mountainous Nepal. But she always knew that she had been born in the wrong body and in 2005 took the decision to dress as a woman for the first time. “I knew I couldn’t feel like another person living in someone else’s body. Hence, I was ready to face the cruel words that people threw at me,” said the model. “Most of the people, including my own brothers, weren’t ready to accept me for who I was. I had to stay strong and believe in myself. My mother and sisters were the only ones who supported me throughout.”

following year when she was pictured on the front cover of a magazine featuring an article about transgender people. It spurred her to pursue a career in modelling fulltime. She enrolled in classes but initially found work hard to come by.

Anjali Lama Ms. Lama found some acceptance in Kathmandu, where she moved to study, and later became an activist for an LGBT rights group called Blue Diamond Society. She underwent partial sex reassignment surgery in 2009 and her interest in modelling was piqued the

‘Extremely disheartening’ “I was getting rejected because of my identity and that was extremely disheartening,” said Ms. Lama, who has established herself as a successful model in Nepal over the past couple of years. In 2014, she featured in a documentary titled Anjali: Living Inside Someone Else’s Skin in which she said she hoped to become completely female one day — an operation that is financially out of reach for most Nepalis. Her recent success has come as Nepal has increased its recognition of transgender people. In 2015 the

country, which allows citizens to choose their sex, started issuing third gender category passports for those who identify themselves as transgender. “With the changing times, people have become more accepting,” explained Mr. Lama. Manisha Dhakal, one of the founders of the Blue Diamond Society, said Nepal’s government needed to do more to provide equal opportunities in education and employment for transgender people. “To get the acceptance in society, we need to be economically empowered,” she said. Ms. Lama, who said it would be a “dream come true” to follow other transgender models onto major catwalks such as New York, Milan and Paris, hopes her turn at Lakme Fashion Week will make a diference in the battle for acceptance. — AFP

born in Russian zoo ROSTOV-ON-DON (RUSSIA): An extremely rare cross between a tiger and a lion has been born in a travelling zoo in southern Russia, one of only a few dozen of the animals believed to exist. Named Tsar, the twomonth-old liger cub, is the ofspring of a tigress Princess and lion Caesar, zoo director Erik Airapetyan said.

Fed on goat milk “They have lived together for a long time and know each other well. When the tigress was on heat, she didn’t have any other choice,” he said. The cub has the beige fur of a lion and the stripes of a tiger and is currently being fed on milk from one of the zoo’s goats.

The two-month-old liger cub Tsar. — PHOTO: AFP Ligers can grow to be the biggest cat in the animal kingdom, weighing more than 400 kilograms. A liger called Hercules in the U.S. is currently listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the biggest feline in the world, at a weight of 418 kilograms and length of 3.33 metres. — AFP ND-ND