follow us:

friday, march 24, 2017

Delhi City Edition

thehindu.com facebook.com/thehindu twitter.com/the_hindu

Printed at

.

C he n na i

36 pages 앫 ₹ 10.00

.

SC defers CBI appeal against dropping of charges against Advani

India faults Pakistan Ambassador’s remarks on Kashmir

Taliban capture Sangin district in Helmand province of Afghanistan

Pujara says Kohli is a great ambassador for the game

page 10

page 10

page 12

page 15

C o i m b ator e

.

B en g a lu ru

.

Hy d e r a b a d

.

Madurai

.

N o i da

.

V i s a k h a patn a m

.

T h i ru va na nt h a p u r a m

.

Ko c h i

.

V i j ayawada

.

M a n g a lu ru

.

T i ru c h i r a pa l l i

.

Ko l k ata

IS claims responsibility for U.K. attack

NEARBY

British-born Khalid Masood named as the assailant, had been arrested earlier for violent crimes

Man held in Antwerp for car-attack bid

Vidya Ram London

U.P. CM’s photo lands man in trouble DANKAUR

The UP police have arrested a man for allegedly posting an objectionable photograph and comment on Facebook against UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The accused has been identiied as Rahat Khan, who lives in Dankaur police station area in Greater Noida. The accused told the police that he didn't know who had posted the photo from his account. NATION 쑺 PAGE 6 DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

FRIDAY REVIEW 쑺 12 PAGES (TABLOID) DELHI METRO 쑺 6 PAGES

Khalid Masood, a lone, British-born attacker, who was known to police and had a string of convictions, was named as responsible for the attack on Westminster on Wednesday. The attack left four persons, including the alleged assailant dead, and around 40 others injured. Details of the 52-year-old attacker, who had been known by a number of aliases, emerged on Thursday, as reports suggested that the Islamic State (IS) had claimed responsibility, describing the assailant, who was shot dead just within the parliamentary security cordon, as one of its soldiers.

‘No prior intelligence’ Masood was known for a range of offences dating back as early as 1983, when he was convicted for criminal damage, the Metropolitan Police said on Thursday. “Masood was not the subject of any current investigation, and there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack.”

Reuters Antwerp

For the fallen: Police oicers look on as a colleague lays lowers at the National Police Memorial beneath a list of those who were killed in the terror attack, in London on Thursday. AFP *

intelligence picture… There was no prior intelligence of his intent, or of the plot,” she said. Masood was born in the county of Kent, south-east of London, but had most recently lived in the West Midlands, a U.K. region which in-

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Theresa May described Masood as a “peripheral figure,” who had been investigated several years ago in connection to concerns about violent extremism. “The case is historic. He was not part of the current

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Seeking a cure

cludes the city of Birmingham. The claim of responsibility from the IS was made via Amaq, the group’s news agency, according to Associated Press. BRITONS STAND UNITED; LONDON MOURNS VICTIMS 쑺 PAGE 12

*

No pay, 500 Indians sufer in Bahrain

Hubballi

.

Mohali

.

Allahabad

.

Malappuram

.

Mumbai

AIADMK factions get new names, symbols To contest under ‘hat’, ‘electric pole’ Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

The Election Commission on Thursday allotted new names and symbols to the V.K. Sasikala and O. Panneerselvam factions of the AIADMK after freezing the party symbol and name ahead of the R.K. Nagar byelection in Chennai scheduled for April 12. As directed by the EC, the rival groups submitted their proposals for new names and symbols on Thursday morning. The Sasikala camp requested the name ‘All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Amma)’ and the ‘Hat’ as its election symbol. The Panneerselvam group requested ‘All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma)’ and the ‘Electric Pole’ as its symbol. Armed with the EC order, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, sporting a hat, filed his nomination. “I will definitely win in the by-election by a margin of several thousand votes,” he told journalists and reiterated that the AIADMK

T.T.V. Dhinakaran before iling his nomination in Chennai. M. VEDHAN *

(Amma) would eventually be identified as the real AIADMK and retrieve the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol. Mr. Madhusudhanan, who filed his papers as the AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) candidate, said: “People of R.K. Nagar love O. Panneerselvam and me. They see him as a righteous and simple man. Since I am contesting as his candidate, I definitely have the chances to emerge victorious.” POWER OF A SYMBOL 쑺 EDITORIAL

Shiv Sena MP beats up AI employee

Meat traders shut shop across western U.P.

Staff Reporter

Protest follows govt.’s sealing of slaughter houses, shops

New Delhi

United front: Doctors and members of the medical teachers association protest at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai on Thursday, the fourth day of their strike to condemn the violence against doctors. While the Bombay HC asked them to return to work immediately, CM Devendra Phadnavis mooted a panel to resolve security issues in hospitals. VIVEK BENDRE (REPORT ON PAGE 4)

A man drove a car into a pedestrian street in Antwerp on Thursday, forcing people to jump out of its path, a day after an assailant rammed a vehicle into crowds in central London, police said. The car sped away leaving no one injured, but prosecutors said police later arrested a man suspected of being the driver, naming him as Mohamed R., a 39-yearold French national of North African origin. Officers found knives in the vehicle and a canister containing an unknown substance that bomb disposal officers were currently checking. Federal prosecutors, who typically handle cases of Islamist violence, did not give details but said they had been called in “based on all these elements and the events in London.”

.

New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport witnessed dramatic scenes on Thursday morning after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad reportedly hit an Air India employee repeatedly with his footwear as he was not allotted a business class seat on an all economy flight. The employee has since lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police. The airline is now “examining the creation of nofly list of unruly passengers on the lines of other carriers.” Mr Gaikwad, a Shiv Sena Member of Parliament from Maharashtra's Osmanabad constituency, was travelling from Pune to Delhi by AI 852. In a statement, Air India said that the flight landed at Delhi airport at 9.35 am from Pune. CONTINUED ON 쑺 PAGE 10

Mohammad Ali Meerut

Meat traders in western Uttar Pradesh announced a strike on Thursday, hours after the State government sealed over 36 slaughterhouses and hundreds of retail meat shops across the State in its continued crackdown. Police said 43 persons had been arrested from various districts for alleged cattle smuggling, adding that 27 FIRs had been registered against 60 persons for the same. On the action against illegal slaughterhouses, Additional Superintendent of Police, DGP headquarters, Rahul Srivastav said eight FIRs had been lodged in Meerut, Varanasi and Bareilly, and two illegal slaughterhouses each closed in Varanasi and Bareilly. The strike move has led to

Policemen raid an abattoir in Moradabad. PTI *

panic buying, with mutton vanishing from shop shelves and the price of chicken rising sharply. Former Mayor of Meerut and meat exporter Shahid Akhlaq told The Hindu that the State administration was acting “under tremendous pressure from the BJP government to shut down all the slaughter houses — even those func-

tioning with proper papers and records.” The BSP leader said that as a mark of protest on the illegal and illogical way of treating meat traders, the Association of Meat Traders had held a panchayat and decided to go on a complete strike till the administration repealed the “draconian approach of treating legal and illegal meat establishments with the same brush.” “The government talks about ‘sabka saath sabka vikas‘. But the manner in which the Yogi Adityanath government is going about shutting down every establishment which deals with meat clearly shows the prejudice,” said Mr Akhlaq owner of Al Yasir exports Private Limited, located on the Meerut-Hapur road. (With inputs from PTI) CONTINUED ON 쑺 PAGE 10

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

With no beef, Tunday customers chicken out Famous food joints of Lucknow have been hit by the crackdown on slaughterhouses

Kallol Bhattacherjee

Omar Rashid

NEW DELHI

A large number of Indian workers in Bahrain have sought the support of the Ministry of External Affairs, continuing the trend of difficulties faced by labourers from India in Gulf countries. The problem came to light when a group of workers employed with a Bahraini private company appealed to the government for help through social media networks. They said at least 500 workers had not received salary for months and were living on food handouts. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday instructed the Indian Embassy in Manama to help them. “Indian embassy in Bahrain is seized of the matter and will help them,” she said after followers on her Twitter page sought her intervention. Subsequently, the Indian embassy in Bahrain said in a message: “The matter has been taken up with the local Govt. Mission is working for a speedy resolution to the issue.” CONTINUED ON 쑺 PAGE 10

CM YK

LUCKNOW

For more than a century, Tunday Kababi, Lucknow’s iconic kebab shop, has satisfied connoisseurs with its delicious galawati kebabs made from buffalo meat. On any given day, the restaurant in the heart of old Lucknow’s Chowk locality bustles with customers, who do not mind waiting in long queues for a bite of their favourite kebabs. But all that had changed on Thursday with only a couple of tables occupied and most waiters sitting idle. There was an unusual calm at the place, a far cry from its daily business. “Aap khud hi dekh sakte hai, kaisa sannata hai. Aaram se baithe hai hum, aam dino mein baithne ki fursat nahi hoti. (You can see for yourself how deserted the place is. Under normal conditions, we would not have a moment to rest),” says Tunday’s caretaker Mohammad Farooq. The iconic restaurant has been hit hard by a shortage of buffalo meat following the State government’s crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses. As buffalo meat is no

Business woes: Dip in sales as favourite items go missing from the menu of Lucknow’s iconic kebab shop. RAJEEV BHATT *

longer available, Tunday Kababi’s Chowk outlet was forced to shut down on Wednesday. It reopened on Thursday but with the USP of its menu missing. For the first time since its inception, the restaurant served mutton and chicken kebabs, instead of its mainstay, beef. Stickers pasted on the walls of the outlet informed customers of the change.

Chicken kebab “This is for the first time in my 62 years of life that this joint is selling chicken kebabs. We have always sold beef. The customers come here especially for bade ka kebab (beef kebabs) and do

not care much about other meat,” says Mr. Farooq. As their favourite items go missing from the menu, the flow of customers has also dipped. Mohammad Tauqeer, a retired government official, arrived at the outlet to purchase his favourite beef kebabs and paranthe but was disappointed. Would he try the chicken or mutton kebabs? “I am not interested [in mutton and chicken]. I just don’t get the same taste,” Mr. Tauqeer said, as he walked off emptyhanded. Abbas (29), arrived to encounter the same dilemma. He, was, however, ready to give the new items a

try. “I am a foodie. It is difficult to replace the taste [of beef kebabs]. It is not the same,” he said. In its election manifesto, the BJP promised to shut down all mechanised abattoirs and illegal slaughterhouses in U.P. Within a couple of days after coming to power, the Adityanath government swung into action, sealing slaughterhouses allegedly running without licence. “We welcome the move to shut illegal slaughterhouses. We request the government to ensure that those slaughterhouses with licence be allowed to run,” said Mr. Farooq. A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

2 EAST

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI

Timings

Friday, March 24

RISE 06:20 SET 18:35 RISE 03:40 SET 14:54 Saturday, March 25

RISE 06:19 SET 18:35 RISE 04:23 SET 15:52 Sunday, March 26

RISE 06:18 SET 18:36 RISE 05:05 SET 16:52

AAI land acquired to create bufer around CM’s house Important road to be diverted to beef up Naveen Patnaik’s security

Strike in Imphal hospital over demand for regular director There hasn’t been a regular director at RIMS since Aug 2014 Iboyaima Laithangbam Imphal

Satyasundar Barik BHUBANESWAR

IN BRIEF

Concern over border fencing by Myanmar KOHIMA

The Nagaland Assembly on Thursday expressed serious concern over the reported construction of a fence on the international border by Myanmar at Pangsha in Tuensang district of Nagaland. The legislators said that fencing of the border has the potential to affect free movement. - PTI

Mega cultural event in Tawang ITANAGAR

A nine-day mega cultural event, ‘Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsava’, showcasing traditional folk dance and music was inaugurated in Tawang by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday. About 100 artistes representing different tribes of Arunachal and 500 artistes from across the country will showcase their traditional dance and music during the event. - PTI

The Odisha government has acquired land belonging to the Airports Authority of India to divert a public road adjacent to Naveen Nivas, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s house. The decision has been taken to create a buffer zone in front of Naveen Nivas for strengthening the CM’s security. The State government has swapped three acres belonging to Biju Patnaik Airport with two acres of government land for the purpose. The proposed diversion of an important public road in the city has raised eyebrows as the house Mr. Patnaik is residing in was built by his father, late Biju Patnaik. The necessity of acquiring land from the sensitive AAI boundary to create a buffer zone around private property has not gone down well with the opposition political parties. “It is utter misuse of power. The CM’s security is paramount, but why is land being acquired to create a buffer zone around private property,” asked Sameer Mohanty, senior BJP leader. “We would not have had any objection if road diversion was carried out to provide security cover around a CM’s designated government quarter. After

End of the road: A policeman stands on the road in front of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s residence. The road is proposed to be diverted due to security reasons. BISWARANJAN ROUT *

the diversion, residents residing just behind Naveen Nivas would have to take circuitous route to reach their homes,” Mr. Mohanty said.

‘Wrong signal’ Similarly, Suresh Panigrahi, a senior CPM leader, pointed out that a permanent road diversion undertaken to carve out additional space in front of Mr. Patnaik’s parental property sends a wrong signal. It has, however, not been confirmed by the General Administration department if the buffer zone that will be created would remain permanently out of bounds for the public

in the future. Deputy Commissioner of Police Satyabrata Bhoi said the proposed diversion would not cause any inconvenience to the general public as diversion would not be more than 100 metres long and the AAI land, which has been acquired for the buffer zone, was not part of core operation of the airport. Security around Mr. Patnaik had been strengthened after student Congress activists hurled eggs at the CM’s convoy in 2015. Close to 150 police personnel have been engaged for the CM’s security. The city police had come under pressure after some

agitators managed to reach and stage a demonstration outside Mr. Patnaik’s residence in the recent past. The government had carried out a detailed survey on who had taken formal building permission for erecting high rises on the backside of Naveen Nivas and the antecedents of the people residing in private houses closer to the CM’s residence were also checked. The Intelligence wing of the city police had also recommended installation of a net to prevent scaling of the boundary wall or throwing of stones from the backside of the residence.

Senior CPI(M) leader killed in West Bengal Special Correspondent Kolkata

A zonal committee member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), Salauddin Haldar, was killed in South 24 Paraganas district on Wednesday night. Mr. Haldar, 55, was attached to the Mathurapur 1 zonal committee of the CPI-M. Party leaders have al-

leged that Trinamool Congress (TMC) cadres have killed Mr. Haldar, a popular leader in the area. Local TMC leaders could not be reached for comments. Mr. Haldar, who was also secretary of the party’s local committee in Mathurapur East in South 24 Paraganas, was attacked on his way to a

local mosque around 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Shot from close range Locals said “at least four or five” men shot him from close range. CPI-M South 24 Paraganas district secretary Samik Lahiri said Mr. Haldar tried to file a complaint earlier with the police but officers

of the Mathurapur police station refused to take the complaint or provide security to Mr. Haldar. “About a week ago he told the police in Mathurapur that a few miscreants of the TMC were threatening him. But the local police refused to take his complaint seriously,” Mr. Lahiri told journalists.

400 TMC members join BJP in Tripura Press trust of India Agartala

Four hundred Trinamool Congress members, including 16 of the total 65 State committee members of the TMC, have joined the BJP in Tripura on Thursday. The TMC members who joined the saffron party also include former chairman of the Tripura unit of Trinamool Congress, Ratan

Chakraborty. The president of Tripura unit of BJP Biplab Deb and Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain jointly handed over the saffron party flag to Mr Chakraborty. “The BJP is the only party which attached maximum importance to develop the backward northeastern region, Mr Chakraborty said.

The college and hospital at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Imphal were affected due to a strike on Thursday over the demand for appointment of a regular director. The strike was jointly called by the Teachers and Medical Officers’ Association, the RIMS Nurses’ Association Lamphel and the RIMS Non-Teaching Employees’ Association. There hasn’t been a regular director at RIMS since August 26, 2014. There were two directorsin-charge, but the last one retired on February 28, 2017, on superannuation. The post of the deputy director of administration too has been vacant since November 15, 2016. A source at RIMS said: “A walk-in interview for appointment of a director was

held on January 13, 2017. Eleven candidates appeared for the interview.” However, the results haven’t been declared so far. The source attributed the delay to four candidates going to court. A Manipur High Court ruling on February 28, 2017, had said that an interim director on the basis of the interview can be appointed. An earlier by the court had said that no appointment should be made without its orders.

‘Strike to intensify’ The striking doctors, nurses and other employees warned that the strike will intensify gradually if there’s no positive response on their demands. This will be done by closing down of the emergency services and operation theatres, followed by total shutdown on Sunday. The strike forced patients to seek medical help else-

where, mostly at expensive private hospitals. RIMS was set up in 1972 to provide quality treatment to the people and medical education to the students of the north-east. The annual intake capacity of students from the north-east at the institute is 100 MBBS and 147 postgraduate students. Of late, some seats were being set aside for the all-India quota students as well. The striking employees claimed they’d submitted memorandums to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for regular appointments since there have been financial and administrative problems. During his election campaign in Manipur in the last week of February, Union Health Minister J. P. Nada had announced that a regular director would be appointed soon.

Gang of juveniles involved in temple thefts smashed Two thefts in Berhampur on March 15 led police to them Staff Reporter BERHAMPUR

A gang of burglars comprising six juveniles and an adult has been smashed by the police in Berhampur. According to sources, gang leader Kanti Das (40) was using the small and frail bodies of the juveniles for commiting thefts. Das, who is a rickshaw puller, has also been arrested, said Ajay Mishra, inspector in charge of the Baidyanathpur police station. The nabbed juveniles have been sent to the Government Special Observation Home for Boys in Berhampur. Two temple thefts on March 15 night and two other major burglaries later in the city had led the police to the gang. Sources said the delinquent children were from poor families and were lured by Das.

Ornaments stolen On March 15 night, the gang had broken into the premises of Jagannath temple on Courtpeta square and escaped with ornaments and valuables from the Ganesh temple. The same night, the gang stuck at Nrusimha temple on Kamapalli square and stole ornaments and valuables. When the police scanned the CCTV footage, they were suprised

Recovered: Stolen items seized from the gang on display at the Baidynathpur police station in Berhampur. LINGARAJ PANDA *

to find that small children were involved in the crimes. Similar thefts were also reported from Brahmanagar and Jyotinagar. The thieves had managed to enter the premises through small ventilators. Investigations revealed that the gang of juveniles was involved in these thefts also. According to sources, the gang would assemble at some place in the city around 9 p.m. and Das would identify the target. He would then take the juveniles to the spot late at night in his rickshaw for the thefts. The police patrols usually ignored the rickshaw as it was transporting small children.

Berhampur Childline director Sudhir Sabat said misuse of small children by criminals was continuing in the city and the recent incident was just the tip of the iceberg. He alleged that small children were being used in illicit liquor trade also.

‘Poor kids being lured’ “Criminal gangs use small children from poor families as they can be motivated easily through cheap lures. As juvenile delinquents get bail easily and the law is slack towards them, they are fast becoming key elements of criminal gangs,” he alleged.

₹207 cr to be spent on Majuli island Press Trust of India Guwahati

The Brahmaputra Board will spend ₹207 crore for the protection of the world’s largest river island Majuli by employing antierosion and flood prevention measures. “Brahmaputra Board will implement projects worth ₹207 crore for protection of Majuli from recurrent flood and erosion,” an official release said on Thursday. Brahmaputra Board Chairman Sanjay Kundu informed Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal during a meeting in the National Capital on Thursday, it added. “Taking a strong view of the performance of the Board, the Chief Minister stated that due to absence of Board officials in the field, anti-erosion and flood protection works carried out in Majuli were severely affected,” the statement said. Mr. Sonowal also stressed for setting up of a permanent office at Majuli saying that otherwise a sense of alienation would always prevail in the minds of the people there.

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). Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. TNENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 7 No. 71 ●

CM YK

●

●

●

A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU

NORTH 3

NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Aseemanand gets bail, will soon walk free

IN BRIEF

Probe into BJP lag in Bihar school

After a Hyderabad court granted him bail in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case, NIA says it will challenge the order

Press Trust of India

NIA is yet to firm up its decision on challenging Aseemanand’s acquittal in the case. Two other RSS workersBhavesh Patel and Devendra Gupta were convicted.

Vijaita Singh New Delhi

Armed with broom, UP Minister cleans oice

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist Aseemanand, accused of planning terror attacks, will walk a free man in a couple of days after a Hyderabad court granted him bail in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case on Thursday. A senior National Investigation Agency official said it had opposed the bail in the special NIA court and would examine the order to see if it could be challenged in a higher court. “We objected to his bail petition in court. However, the court deemed it appropriate to grant him bail. We will take a call on challenging the bail when we get a certified copy of the order this week,” the NIA official said. The official said Aseemanand moved the bail plea after he was acquitted in the Ajmer Dargah blast case earlier this month. Nine persons were killed and 58 injured when an explosion occurred inside the Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad, during Friday prayers on

LUCKNOW

A day after UP Chief Minister Aditya Nath Yogi emphasised cleanliness, his Cabinet colleague Upendra Tewari on Thursday picked up a broom to clean his office in the State legislature here, pictures of which went viral on the social media. Armed with a broom and a mop, the minister swept the floor of his office and the corridor leading to it in the Vidhan Bhawan here, which houses the State legislature. PTI

Man kills daughters, hangs himself JODHPUR

A 35-year-old man allegedly killed his two minor daughters and then hung himself from the ceiling fan of his house here on Thursday afternoon, the police said. They said the incident took place when the girls’ mother had gone to attend a religious function in the neighbourhood.PTI

Four persons, including two cops, injured in clash JAIPUR

Four persons, including two policemen, were injured in a clash between cops and local residents in Adarsh Nagar here late on Wednesday night. The incident occurred when some of the policemen posted in the wireless wing allegedly threw empty beer bottles at a house in Adarsh Nagar and broke windscreens of some vehicles parked outside the houses. PTI

Ajmer Dargah blast case Earlier this month, Aseemanand was acquitted of all terror charges in the Ajmer Dargah blast case of 2007 where three people were killed. The

Demand to rename Chandigarh airport after Bhagat Singh

Bank will be forced to forfeit their securities, says oicial

Special Correspondent

Haryana wants to name the airport after Mangal Sein

JAIPUR

SHIMLA

JAMMU

other right-wing leaders like Sadhvi Pragya were an outcome of the then UPA government's ‘political prejudice’ as it coined ‘Hindutva terror’ and ‘saffron terror’ for vote bank politics.

Looking at their plight, the government has now decided to approach the court with a request to regularise the small encroachments as the farmers are finding it difficult to make ends meet. But the farmers, who have become hopeful after the government’s promise in the election year, are now being threatened by the banks which have given them an ultimatum to repay the loans by March 31. The Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank has issued notices to more than 4,000 for defaulting on repayment of loans and threatened to auction

their remaining holdings.

land

To pay ₹75-100 crore According to an estimate, the small farmers have to pay around ₹75-100 crore in loans to banks against their securities. Despite repeated warnings, the farmers are not repaying the loans and the bank will be forced to forfeit their securities, said a bank official. The farmers, on the other hand, say that they have lost their source of income after the government ordered them to cut their apple trees in the name of encroachment.

The Rajasthan government has affirmed that the D.C. Samant Committee would remove anomalies in the salaries of employees while giving its report for implementation of the 7th Paycommission's recommendations.

No cut No salary would be reduced in the exercise, said the government. Industries Minister Rajpal Singh Shekhawat said in the State Assembly that there was no need to make Budgetary allocation for implementing the recommendations, as they could be accommodated with the supplementary demands.

Punjab Cabinet expansion likely before budget session: CM Amarinder says seniority, experience and regional parity will be the main criteria

Sidhu can work in TV shows: Punjab A-G

Press Trust of India Chandigarh

The first expansion of Punjab Cabinet is likely before the State’s budget session slated for June, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh indicated on Thursday. Capt. Amarinder had taken oath as chief minister on March 16 alongwith nine ministers. The Chief Minister said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had given him full freedom in choosing the council of ministers, and he had identified seniority, experience and regional parity as the main criteria in the selection process, according to an official release. Capt. Amarinder said he would ensure that all regions are given due representation in the Cabinet to enable the holistic progress of the State, with no region left out from the development process. The Cabinet expansion

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT CHANDIGARH

Greetings: Chief Minister Amarinder Singh greets former DGP KPS Gill in Chandigarh on Thursday. PTI

Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu can heave a sigh of relief. The State AdvocateGeneral Atul Nanda said on Thursday that he found no conflict of interest between Mr. Sidhu’s office as Cabinet Minister and his work on television shows.

*

will be undertaken before the presentation of the budget for fiscal 2017-18, said he said, pointing out that the government would only be going in for vote-on-account next week. The maiden session of the newly-constituted State Assembly is scheduled to com-

mence on Friday. He said experience and professionalism would be given due importance in all government appointments. The Chief Minister said his government had decided to continue with DGP Suresh Arora as he was a professional man.

24-hour power supply during ‘Navratras’ in key UP districts Press Trust of India Lucknow

The Uttar Pradesh government has directed top officials to ensure a 24 hour electricity supply during ‘Navratras’ in Balrampur and Mirzapur districts which have famous temples of Godess Durga besides Ayodhya, Varanasi, Mathura and Gorakhpur. The State’s Power Minister Srikant Sharma gave this direct-

Trucks collide, 2 burnt alive Press Trust of India Kurukshetra

Two truck drivers were on Thursday burnt to death after their vehicles collided near Badshami village on the KurukshetraYamunanagar road here. CM YK

Party’s victory When students and teachers were leaving the school on March 18, some BJP workers barged into the campus and hoisted the party’s flag there to celebrate the party’s victory in UP, the school’s headmaster told District Education Officer Faizul Rahman. Headmaster Jagdish Mehta said he tried to stop them but they hoisted the flag, Mr. Rahman said. The DEO said he has instructed the Block Education Officer to investigate the matter.

‘Anomalies in pay will be removed’

At a time when small and marginal peasants in the hill State are pressing the government to regularise their small encroachments, banks are tightening the noose around them and declaring them defaulters for non-repayment of loans. Following a court order sometime ago, the government had reclaimed hundreds of hectares of agricultural lands from the illegal possession of a large number of farmers. The government action had impacted the small and marginal farmers with less than five bighas of land.

A man was arrested on Thursday in Samba district for allegedly carrying 4 kg of poppy straw,the police said. During a checking drive, the police intercepted Mohan Singh, who was riding a motorcycle, and recovered 4 kg of poppy straw from his possession. A case has been registered and investigation in going on, he added.PTI

Madhav’s tweet Soon after Aseeemanand got bail, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav tweeted

that he was a free man now. “Swami Aseemanandji secured bail in Hyderabad case also. Of the three cases, he was acquitted in one, secured bail in two others. He is a free man now,” Mr. Madhav tweeted. Aseemanand was first arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Mecca Masjid case in 2010. The BJP has often said that charges against Aseemanand and

Araria (Bihar)

A probe has been ordered into the hoisting of a BJP flag by a group of party workers at a government school in Araria district of Bihar to celebrate the party’s win in the U.P. Assembly elections. The incident took place at the Dak Haripur Kanya Madhya Vidyalaya in Forebesganj on March 18, while the results of UP elections were announced on March 11.

4,000 farmers receive bank notice over loan repayment Kanwar Yogendra

Man arrested with poppy straw in Samba

May 18, 2007. Seven persons, including Aseemanand, have been charge-sheeted in the case by the NIA. There are 304 witnesses in the case and 166 have been examined so far. An official said 26 witnesses have turned hostile.

Another case He is facing trial in another case -- the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast. A powerful explosion took place in two coaches of the Samjhauta Express on February 19, 2007, where 68 people, mostly Pakistanis, were killed when the train was on its way to Lahore from Delhi. Aseemanand and five others have been chargesheeted by the NIA, but he was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in August 2014, months after the NDA government came to power. The NIA did not challenge the bail within the stipulated 90-day period in the Supreme Court but he continued to be in jail as he was wanted in two more cases. An NIA official said that with Thursday’s bail order, he would soon walk free

from the Hyderabad prison, where he is currently lodged. “The acquittal of Swami Aseemanand in Ajmer Dargah blast case will also impact the outcome in the other two terror cases. He is only accused of conspiring the bomb blasts and not executing them. Since, he has been acquitted in the Ajmer case, where the court did not take cognisance of a confessional statement given by him, the charges will not hold in the Samjhauta and the Mecca Masjid case as the investigating agency is also dependent on confessional statements here,” said Manbir Rathi, Aseemanand’s lawyer on phone from Panchkula. From 2006 to 2008, extreme right-wing groups were accused of explosions in at least six cases. Blasts were carried out by a group led by Swami Aseemanand with an intention to give a befitting reply to the perceived persecution of Hindus by the Muslim “terrorists” and they propounded a "bomb ka badla (revenge) bomb’ theory.”

ive to officials in his first meeting after taking charge here. “During Navratras there should be 24 hour power supply in districts having famous Shakti-peeths (temples) like Mirzapur, Balrampur besides in Mathura, Kashi, Ayodhya and Gorakhpur”, the minister said. Significantly, the issue of power supply had become a contentious election issue during the recently held Assembly polls.

CM gets report Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has received the Advocate-General’s report. “There is no hindrance now to Mr. Sidhu’s continuation on TV shows, nor is there any need to change his Culture port-

Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

On the death anniversary of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, the Rajya Sabha on Thursday witnessed a brief uproar, with the Opposition charging the BJP-led Haryana government with not wanting to name the Chandigarh airport after the martyr. “The Punjab Government had agreed that the airport will be named after Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh, (but) the Haryana Government, the Haryana Chief Minister said 'no'. They want to name the airport after Mangal Sein," CPI (M)'s Ritabrata Banerjee said during Zero Hour. He added there were agitations on Wednesday over the demand. Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa also demanded that the airport be named after Bhagat Singh. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar

CPI-M members and Aam Aadmi Party MP Dharamvira Gandhi staging a demonstration demanding naming the Chandigarh airport after Bhagat Singh on his martyrdom day, at Parliament in New Delhi on Thursday. PTI *

Abbas Naqvi, however, sought to clear the air. “We have never said it and nobody has said it. It's not proper to make such sweeping statements,” he said. He added that the late Bhagat Singh was respected by everyone as a martyr. As the uproar continued, Deputy Chairman P. J. Kur-

ien asked Mr. Naqvi to take note of the suggestion, something to which Mr. Naqvi readily agreed. Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad sought to know from the Centre whether or not it has decided to name the airport after Bhagat Singh. (with inputs from PTI)

folio,” said Raveen Thukral, Media Adviser to the Chief Minister. “There was, in the opinion of the Advocate-General, no violation of the Constitution of India, the Representation of the People Act, 1951 or code of conduct in this case.” According to the A-G, Mr. Sidhu faces no legal bar in continuing with his work on the show, he said. The Punjab Chief Minister had asked the A-G to give his legal opinion whether there was any prohibition or restriction in the continuation of Mr. Sidhu appearing as a celebrity guest on a comedy show.

OBITUARY & REMEMBRANCE DEATH

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

A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

4 WEST

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Doctors’ strike enters fourth day, health services of track IMA demands 1,100 security guards across State-run medical colleges and hospitals Shoumojit Banerjee Pune

Medical services in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad were affected for the fourth consecutive day as doctors remained on strike against assaults on their colleagues by kin of patients, throwing treatment for the needy off balance. Speaking to The Hindu, Dr. Mohan Joshi, president of the Pune unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said, “Unless we have a written assurance from the State government, providing us with the requisite security personnel, we will not withdraw the strike. If our strike is said to be in contempt of court, then the State government’s failure to provide security to our doctors also amounts to contempt of court.”

Assurances given Dr. Joshi said verbal assurances had been given by the State government in the past, but they did not yield any help to medical personnel. “When around 4,000 resident doctors under the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD)

Not backing down: Doctors of Sassoon Hospital in Pune during a protest. FILE PHOTO *

protested in 2014 against the beating of a colleague in Solapur, we were promised that security would be provided. It appears that these promises promise nothing.” The IMA has urged the government to provide 1,100 security guards immediately across State-run medical colleges and hospitals to ensure that the number of relatives per patient were limited to two. In Pimpri-Chinchwad,

more than 50 doctors from the Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH) joined the IMA in their protest on Thursday, along with several other doctors, said Dr. Dilip Kamat, president of the IMA’s PimpriChinchwad unit. Patients, with their kin, were seen crowding in the lobbies of government college hospitals where doctors were on mass casual leave.

Notices served

On Wednesday, authorities at the city’s B.J. Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital had served notices to as many as 272 resident doctors, ‘expelling’ them for their failure to resume duty. In response, the IMA had called for a shutdown of all out patient department (OPD) services at all clinical establishments, with the exception of emergency ones. Nearly 500 doctors, including resident doctors, medical interns, and undergraduate students participated in the mass strike. Dr. Joshi said, “I spoke to the Dean of B.J. Medical College on the matter and apprised him of our stance. These notices serve no practical purpose as this manpower is needed and we will not withdraw the strike until our security concerns have been duly addressed.” In July last year, relatives of a deceased patient assaulted two resident doctors at the Sassoon General Hospital with office equipment, resulting in the doctors being compelled to undergo treatment for their injuries at the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU).

Family of worker compensated, GSHRC told Sheikh was burnt to death on Dec. 26 at construction site of third Mandovi Bridge Special Correspondent PANAJI

State Chief Secretary Dharmendra Sharma told the Goa State Human Rights Commission (GSHRC) on Thursday that a compensation of ₹8,39,680 has been paid to the dependants of welder Saharul Sheikh, who was burnt to death on December 26 last year at the construction site of the third Mandovi Bridge. In a reply to the complaint filed by activist and

lawyer Aires Rodrigues, Mr. Sharma said the management of Larsen & Tourbo, the construction company, has been directed to be more vigilant, in order to avoid such mishaps. Mr. Rodrigues had drawn the commission’s attention to the case of 29-year-old Saharul, a native of West Bengal, and had expressed his apprehension that the authorities, taking advantage the victim’s economically poor background, could

hush up the matter.

Contract basis He had stated that he was employed on a contract basis with the construction firm, which had been given the work by Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC). Safety standards Mr. Rodrigues had also pointed out in his complaint that the authorities need to probe whether all the re-

EDUCATIONAL

quired safety standards were in place at the construction site, as Saharul reportedly fell into a deep trench containing hot tar while he was trying to do some welding work without wearing the appropriate safety gear. He had also said that the authorities need to give details about what measures they intend to take to avoid such mishaps, which are in violation of human and fundamental rights.

Goa Congress legislators stage walkout

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Walk in the park

Special correspondent Panaji

The Congress legislators staged a walkout on the second day of the Assembly’s Budget Session on Thursday, condemning Governor Mridula Sinha’s decision to not invite the party to form a government, even after it had emerged as the single largest party in the recent elections. All 16 MLAs of the Congress were wearing black armbands as a mark of protest. When the Governor began her customary address to the members of the Assembly, Congress Legislative Party leader Babu Kavlekar stood up and said Ms. Sinha’s decision to invite the BJP to form a government, despite the party coming second in the elections with 13 MLAs in the 40-member House, was against the spirit of the constitution, and also a condemnable act. Some of the Congress’s MLAs backed Mr. Kavlekar and staged a walkout. However, the Nationalist Congress Party MLA Churchill Alemao remained seated during the walkout. Mr. Alemaon has been served a show-cause notice by his party for backing the BJP-led coalition government in the confidence motion in the House last week. In her address, the governor said that her government was committed to eliminating open defacation in Goa by October 2, 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Mopa airport Ms. Sinha said the Greenfield international airport project at Mopa, North Goa, will have a potential of 28 million passengers per annum. She said the government will also ensure that the Dabolim airport remain functional for civilians.

EDUCATIONAL

Oh dear: A herd of spotted deer at Bor Tiger Reserve, nearly 50 km from Nagpur.

*

S. SUDARSHAN

Budgetary allocation sought for Children’s Act provisions Childrights Network says incidents of abuse on the rise Prakash Kamat Panaji

Organisations working for the rights of children, came together on Thursday under Childrights Network, to urge the State government to ensure that Goa becomes a safe haven for children. Nishtha Desai of Children’s Rights in Goa (CRG), said, “Make budgetary allocation to implement various provisions of the Goa Children’s Act (GCA), 2003.” “The Act is held up in national and international forums as a unique law. But most of its provisions are yet to be implemented as governments have failed to make any budgetary allocation for it,” Ms. Desai told The Hindu. She said the Act provides for health cards to children, early intervention for development disorders, gender sensitisation and rights awareness in schools, a child friendly tourism code, municipal and village child committees, and plans to ad-

Lost childhood: As many as 324 cases of abuse were reported between April 2014 and July 2015. ATISH POMBURFEKAR *

dress child labour, children in difficult circumstances, and rescuing children from sexual exploitation. The child rights network said the Act came into force 14 years ago. They also said that incidents of child abuse have risen in Goa, with as many as 324 cases reported between April 2014 and July

EDUCATIONAL

2015. “Only a handful of village child committees have been set up, but implementation of the GCA could build safety nets to prevent children from being abused or exploited in any way.” The 2017-18 State Budget will be presented in the Assembly by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday.

EDUCATIONAL

EDUCATIONAL

SITUATIONS VACANT

SITUATIONS VACANT

GENERAL

GENERAL

TENDERS

SITUATIONS VACANT TECHNICAL

LEGAL NOTICE

BUSINESS OFFERS T−SHIRT & KNIT WEAR We are Delhi Representative of Leading T−Shirt & Knitwear Manufacturer. For Business Contact: 08870011551, 09894145575.

CM YK

A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU

SOUTH 5

NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

IN BRIEF

Tamil writer Ashokamitran dead Satire and subtle humour were the trademark of the Sahitya Akademi award winner B. Kolappan CHENNAI

Bail for accused in Kerala student assault case KOCHI

The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted bail to P. Krishnadas, chairman of Nehru Group of Educational Institutions, an accused in a case relating to assaulting a student of the Nehru Academy of Law, Palakkad. The court ordered that he be released forthwith on bail on his executing a bond for ₹1 lakh with two solvent sureties to the like sum.

₹1.28 crore seized from duo in old notes BENGALURU

A team attached to the Central Crime Branch arrested a 26-year-old realtor and his chartered accountant friend for allegedly trying to exchange banned currency notes through Non-Resident Indians. The police seized old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes amounting to ₹1.28 crore from real estate agent Ajay and Jimmy Rahul, a CA. According to the police, the duo were in the habit of stashing their earnings in their houses.

Beer, wine parlour licences get 3-month extension THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The Kerala Cabinet has extended the licence of beer and wine parlours, toddy shops, and bar permit holders for three months from April 1. The Cabinet on Thursday decided to extend the licences in view of the fact that the new excise policy of the Left Democratic Front government had not been announced so far. The toddy shop licences would be extended after collecting a fee proportionate to the existing rates and in compliance with the norms in force.

Prominent Tamil writer and Sahitya Akademi winner Ashokamitran, who powerfully portrayed the lives and struggles of the urban middle-class life in his literary works, died, aged 86, on Thursday night. He collapsed at home. He is survived by wife and three sons. Born Tyagarajan on September 22, 1931, he later assumed the pen name, Ashokamitran. He was one of the few writers who wrote fluently in both Tamil and English and was also known outside Tamil Nadu as most of his works were translated into English and other Indian languages. In a career spanning over six decades, he wrote eight novels, 20 novellas, hundreds of short stories, commentaries on a wide range of issues, and profiles of personalities. He was given the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1996 for his work Appavin Snegidhar, a collection of short stories. Twice, he was awarded the creative writing

Ashokamitran fellowship at the University of Iowa.

Full-time profession He took on writing as a fulltime profession at a time when it was ‘unviable’. “I have witnessed all kinds of difficulties that a full-time writer will face,” he said in an interview to the now defunct magazine Subhamangala. Satire and, sometimes, subtle humour were the trademark of his writings. Tamil writer Jeyamohan said: “Without any doubt, Ashokamitran and Pudumaipithan are the two geniuses of modern Tamil lit-

Karnataka anganwadi workers call of 4-day stir Govt. to hold talks on April 10

erature. And in the case of Ashokamitran, he has been writing for almost 40 years, and retained the fire right through.” Journalist and writer Gnani called Ashokamitran a friend, philosopher and guide to all his associates. Talking about his prose, Gnani said, “It was shorn of all adornments, but was very profound. He used to say that the reader would doubt if he was indeed a good writer, going just by the prose.” He went on to add that Ashokamitran’s women characters were very strong and sustained life despite several odds. Amsan Kumar who made a documentary on Ashokamitran in 2003 said it was admirable that he never considered himself the celebrity he actually was. He was grounded, humble, and friendly. As the editor of Tamil literary magazine Kanaiyaazhi for almost 25 years, Ashokamitran always maintained close links with the mainstream media and his works were published in all

BENGALURU

Anganwadi workers from across Karnataka, who had been camping on the streets in thousands demanding a wage hike, ended their protest on Thursday after the government promised to hold talks on April 10. The Karnataka State Anganwadi Workers’ Association withdrew the strike after a meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The April 10 meeting will

discuss the workers’ demand for an increase in honorarium to ₹10,000 and ₹7,500 for anganwadi workers and helpers, respectively. Minister for Women and Child Development Umashree said the State government could not make any announcement now as the model code of conduct was in place in view of the by-polls to the Nanjangud and Gundlupet Assembly constituencies on April 9.

Authority on films He also wrote with authority on films. His novel, Karaindha Nizhalgal, was an insider's fictionalised account of the Tamil film world. Everyone involved in film-making, from drivers, light men, choreographers, to assistants found a place in his book. He gained intimate knowledge of the film world and the making of films during his stint as an employee in the public relations department of Gemini Studios. Later, he wrote on his association with S.S. Vasan of Gemini Studios, My Years with Boss, in which he recalls an incident when Vasan asked him to perform some menial task. He resisted and quit. “Even though P.S. Ramaiah and Pudhumaipithan also worked closely with the film world, their literary works hardly touched upon the film world,” said S. Ramakrishnan, Tamil writer. Ashokamitran also wrote

about classical music. It was a strange coincidence that he spent his childhood days in Polagam, a small village in Thanjavur where Papanasam Sivan lived. Though his family belonged to Mayiladuthurai, his parents lived in Secunderabad until Ashokamitran was 20. He based his novel Pathinetaavathu Atchakodu on the city. His father was a friend of S.S. Vasan who published Ananda Vikatan. Later in life, he developed a great fondness for American writing and films, and was a regular at the library in the American Consulate. He kept himself abreast of the latest writings in English and Tamil, and had a good relationship with other writers. He was close friends with T. Janakiraman, Ka. Naa. Subramaniam, Indira Parthasarathy, Sundara Ramasamy and Nakulan, and has even written about their works and his relationship with them. His youngest son T. Ramakrishnan is an Associate Editor with The Hindu.

Government says it’s a closed chapter Staff Reporter VIJAYAWADA

The Special Category Status (SCS) issue rocked the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Thursday with Opposition YSR Congress stalling proceedings demanding a discussion. The House could not transact any business for about two-and-a-half hours as the Opposition did not relent even as the treasury benches and alliance partner BJP asserted that it was “a closed chapter.”

Podium stormed The YSRC members, who served an adjournment motion seeking a discussion on the issue by suspending the Question Hour, stormed the Speaker’s podium, holding placards and raising slogans “Pratyeka Hoda Andhrula Hakku” (special status is Andhra’s right). To counter the Opposition attack, the ruling Telugu Desam

Kodela Sivaprasada Rao

brought in the AgriGold victims’ issue to the fore saying Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu would make a statement on it. But the YSRC members continued their protest. At one point, Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao said he would refer the suggestion made by Legislative Affairs Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu for the ‘automatic suspension of members who disrupt the proceedings repeatedly’ to the Rules Committee. It, however, did not deter the MLAs. They raised their pitch, forcing the Chair to adjourn the House.

Dalits speak in diferent voices on Hassan ritual Some want Karnataka government to stop ‘Sidi’, others say participation in ‘risky’ event is voluntary Sathish G.T.

Staff Reporter

the leading journals and newspapers.

Row in Andhra House over SCS

Hassan

The Hassan district administration has failed to convince a section of Dalits in Chakenahalli of the Holenarsipur taluk against participating in the risky ritual of ‘Sidi’ during the two-day annual fair of Udusalamma temple beginning Friday. Dalits, who take part in the ritual regularly, have told the administration that they take part in it “voluntarily” to fulfil a religious vow. The ritual involves men being tied to a wooden pole

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Ripe and ready

with hooks inserted in their bodies and women walking with their mouths locked with iron hooks. A controversy broke out after some members of the family refused to participate this year and wanted the district administration to intervene and stop the ritual. After the Hassan district unit of the Dalit Hakkugala Samiti appealed to the administration to stop the ritual, H.L. Nagaraj, Assistant Commissioner, Renukumar, tahsildar of Holenarsipur, and senior po-

lice officers held meetings with representatives of the villages. “We told them that the government would not allow such rituals. But four persons (Dalits) have given a statement that they would take part voluntarily,” Mr. Renukumar said. The Dalits believe that their forefathers stole paddy from a rich farmer’s house and were saved from his wrath by deity Udusalamma. They believe the deity saved them after they promised to take part in the ritual.

Getting ready: Preparations for the Sidi ritual are under way at Hariharapura in Holenarasipur taluk. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *

Naidu promises justice to AgriGold victims Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister announces ex gratia of ₹3 lakh each to next of kin Staff Reporter VIJAYAWADA

Feast for the eyes: Harvest of the ‘nendran’ variety of banana has been brisk at Tiruvalarcholai, near Tiruchi.

*

M. MOORTHY

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu declared in the Assembly on Thursday that all the accused in the AgriGold scam would be brought to book. Making a statement on the much-debated issue, Mr. Naidu said seven persons had so far been arrested out of the 18 accused and that the CB-CID was trying its best to trace those at large and that he was prepared to get the scandal probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Three companies — AgriGold Farm Estates Pvt. Ltd., AgriGold Constructions Pvt. Ltd., and Dream Land Ventures and several other fictitious companies floated by the prime accused A.V. Rama Rao and his brothers collected approximately ₹6,300 crore, which was diverted to 87 ‘suitcase companies.’ The auction of AgriGold properties, which started in April 2016, had

Chandrababu Naidu

yielded ₹16.05 crore till date. Mr. Naidu said the government was willing to post details of all the 32 lakh-plus victims (belonging to all States) online with court permission subject to the conduct of a forensic audit, and added that the government was in favour of paying a compensation of ₹3 lakh to kin of each victim and if necessary raise it to ₹5 lakh.

Special cell The government has also announced an incentive of ₹10 lakh to those providing in-

formation leading to the arrest of the remaining accused and decided to set up a special cell to deal with white-collar crimes like the one committed by AgriGold. The number of depositors in Andhra Pradesh stood around 19 lakh with sums invested amounting to ₹4,000 crore. The value of movable and immovable properties of AgriGold in A.P., Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha is about ₹2,500 crore.

Association ends stir The 18-day agitation by members of the AgriGold Customers and Agents Welfare Association at Velidandla Hanumantharaya Grandhalayam Hall ended on Thursday following assurances made by the State government, but the ‘political’ speech of YSR Congress Party president Jaganmohan Reddy created unrest among the victims. The victims were taken aback at the emergence of

‘Not releasing notorious prisoners’

‘Centre bailing out Reddy to fund polls’

Television channels misread RTI reply, says Kerala govt.

Kumaraswamy lays Karnataka, Central BJP govts for harming farmers’ interests

Girish Menon Thiruvananthapuram

The Kerala government on Thursday scrambled to deny the politically damaging allegation that it had “brazenly” recommended the “release” of “notorious law breakers” convicted of grave crimes. Television news channels raked up the issue by airing a Right to Information (RTI) reply from the Prisons Department which stated that jail inmates approved for “remission” included those convicted for highly sensational and emotive crimes.

Chandrasekharan murder The RTI reply listed CPI(M) men serving life-term for the murder of T.P. Chandrasekharan among those eligible for “cancellation of penalty.” The list also included the names of millionaire Nizam convicted of running down a security guard with his expensive car CM YK

and “gang leader” Om Prakash serving time for murder. The RTI query was specific about the names of convicts. At least three Malayalam channels aired the controversial RTI reply simultaneously in the morning and capped the “breaking news” with live political debates. Opposition leaders said on TV that they would raise the “impending release” of prisoners as an election issue in the Malappuram Parliamentary byelection campaign. Director General of Prisons R. Sreelekha told The Hindu that the RTI reply had been grossly misread. Some quarters had misinterpreted it as early release of convicts. In fact, prisoners could earn a few days remission of their sentence if they conducted themselves properly, obeyed jail rules, and worked productively. “For instance, a convict serving a

three-month term can be given a maximum remission of 15 days,” Ms. Sreelekha said.

‘Remission is not release’ It was the prerogative of the jail superintendent concerned to make the recommendation. The Prisons Department would sent it to the Home Department for further approval after a preliminary vetting. Remission of sentence should not be equated with outright release of the convict, she said. Home Department officials said the list of those serving time for grave crimes had been struck of the list of those eligible for reduction of sentence time. They said there was no wrongdoing on the part of the Prisons Department in this regard. The list has been sent to the Governor for approval.

Mr. Jagan, who went to the venue from the Assembly. “We invited leaders like K. Parthasaradhy (YSRCP) and N. Tulasi Reddy (Congress), but we never expected Mr. Jagan. He made some comments which did not go down well with the victims,” said association president M. Nageswara Rao. Mr. Jagan, in his speech, said that his party would certainly come to power in the 2019 elections and he would enhance the ex gratia to kin of suicide victims to ₹10 lakh each.

Apolitical forum “This association is an apolitical forum fighting for a cause of lakhs of common people duped by a family. The association is having members of all political parties and his speech is against the tradition of an all-party forum,” he felt. He said the association had agreed to all the promises made by the State government.

HC poser to Vigilance Bureau

Special Correspondent Special Correspondent

BENGALURU

Kochi

Alleging that mining baron and former Minister G. Janardhan Reddy was being “bailed out” by the Centre from illegal mining-related cases in view of the 2018 Assembly elections in Karnataka, JD(S) State president H.D. Kumaraswamy said it was being done on the condition of “meeting the election expenses of ₹500 crore”. At the JD(S) State convention here on Thursday, which marked the start of preparations for the Assembly elections, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the Congress, on the other hand, had failed to take the former Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde’s report on illegal mining to a logical end. Noting that the next 10 months were crucial for the JD(S), he said the BJP national president Amit Shah

Frontal attack: JD(S) supremo H. D. Deve Gowda and other leaders at the party’s convention at Palace Grounds in Bengaluru on Thursday SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *

and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would turn their focus on Karnataka. “It is the JD(S) which has the capacity to stop the Ashwamedha horse of the BJP as the Congress has no strength to do it.” He came down heavily on the State and Central BJP leadership for “harming” the interests of State farm-

ers, and listed out burning issues such as waiver of crop loans, and Cauvery and Mahadayi water disputes. Mr. Kumaraswamy asked people to seek an explanation from the BJP and its State president B.S. Yeddyurappa on why the Centre was not ready waive of crop loans.

JD(S) national president H.D. Deve Gowda harped on his pet issue of reunification of the Janata Parivar. He insisted that the process should begin first at the State level, before experimenting it at the national level. “People in the State have to decide whether Karnataka needs a regional party or not,” he said.

The Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the State government to explain whether the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had any exclusive power of investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act. If so, how and under what circumstances had such power been given. Justice P. Ubaid issued the directive when Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala’s plea challenging a case registered against him in connection with the promotion and appointment of N. Shankar Reddy as Director, Vigilance, during the UDF regime came up for hearing. A plea by P.K. Sudheer, relative of former Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan, against an FIR against him, was also heard. A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

6 NATION

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

IN BRIEF

CM’s photo lands man in trouble The 22-year-old was arrested for Facebook post; FIR lodged on complaint iled by ‘Hindu Yuva Vahini’

‘Action taken against negligent medical staf’ Toddler died due to lack of proper care

Purusharth Aradhak

ABVP seeks action against AMU prof

Dankaur

Ranthambore reserve now home to 62 tigers JAIPUR

The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district is now home to 62 tigers, which is the highest ever in the park’s history. In a written reply to an unstarred question in the Assembly, the State government said the number of tigers in the reserve has increased over the years. However, the number of big cats is more than the reserve’s capacity, leading to migration and territorial adjustment of weak and adult tigers. PTI

MP govt blacklists writer of MA textbook BHOPAL

The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday told the Assembly that writer and publisher of a MA geography textbook, which is alleged to have “derogatory” references to Gond tribals, are “blacklisted” and will face legal action. The Leader of the Opposition, Ajay Singh, said a chapter in the book wrongly described the Gond tribal community as “cow killers” and “beef eaters.” He had dubbed the book “derogatory” to the tribe. PTI

The UP police have arrested a 22-year-old man for allegedly posting an objectionable photograph and comment on Facebook against UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The accused has been identified as Rahat Khan, who lives in Dankaur police station area in Greater Noida. The accused told the police that he didn't know who had posted the photo from his account. “Acting on the complaint of Hindu Yuva Vahini, an FIR has been lodged against him. We have arrested him under the IT act and he will be produced in the city court on Friday,” said Dankaur police station incharge Rajpal Tomar.

Area still tense A controversial comment had also allegedly been posted with the photograph that was posted on March 19. One Naveen Sharma and other workers of Hindu Yuva Vahini had lodged the complaint. The area has remained tense following the incident and

Press Trust of India Aligarh

Cracking the whip: The police had earlier arrested three person on similar charges. SANDEEP SAXENA *

senior police officers said they would keep a close tab on the situation.

IT probe soon Mr. Tomar said Rahat Khan runs a Jan Suvidha Kendra (a facilitation centre for faster assistance of various government works) in Dankaur. The police said that it will seek the help of IT experts to establish whether Rahat Khan himself had posted the picture or not. “We will examine from which terminal

the photograph and comment was posted. We will try to locate that machine as well,” a senior police officer said. The police also said that it appears screenshots were taken from a controversial video and Yogi Adiyanath’s face was morphed into it. The police had, on March 21, arrested three people in Bareilly, Amethi and Ghazipur on three separate incidents on charges of posting “objectionable” pictures of the CM.

The ABVP staged a protest here demanding action against an Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) professor for allegedly making anti-Modi statements and fuelling resentment against the present government’s Kashmir policy.

Effigy burnt The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists burnt an effigy of AMU Vice Chancellor Lt Gen (retd) Zameer Uddin Shah on Wednesday and issued a “72—hour ultimatum” to the university authorities for taking punitive action against the professor, failing which they threatened to launch an agitation.

The ABVP has demanded the district administration’s intervention in the matter if the university authorities do not take any action, ABVP spokesman Dhiraj Choudhary said on Thursday. They also accused the AMU authorities of “shielding” Prof Majid Khan of the department of Islamic Studies instead of taking action on the basis of the complaint against him by his own students. When contacted, AMU Vice Chancellor told PTI, “We have zero tolerance for any sort of anti-national activity and the allegation that we are trying to shield anyone is totally baseless. There is no evidence whatsoever against the Professor.”

Staff Reporter NEW DELHI

Three doctors, three nurses and a sweeper of a government hospital in Uttar Pradesh have faced disciplinary action for their role in the death of a toddler due to negligence, the National Human Rights Commission said on Thursday.

NHRC intervention Acting on the intervention of the NHRC in the matter, the Uttar Pradesh Government initiated disciplinary proceedings against the three doctors, including the chief medical officer, of the District Government Hospital in Bahraich for negligence leading to the death of a 10-month-old child on August 9, 2016. In addition, the government terminated the services of a staff nurse and sweeper. Another nurse was suspended and department action was started against her and another nurse. The NHRC observed that the incident was a “clear

case of violation of human rights of the child” and recommended monetary relief of ₹1 lakh to be paid be paid to the victim’s family by the government.

Staff demanded bribe Running a temperature, the toddler had been brought to the hospital’s children’s ward, where a nurse allegedly demanded a bribe from the family to help. The demands for money continued throughout the hospital stay, with a sweeper asking for money to put the child on a bed. A medical assistant asked for money the next morning to give an injection that was crucial for the child’s treatment. After the staff and the child’s family argued, the injection was brought, but it was too late for the boy who died before it was administered. The NHRC had taken suo motu cognisance of the case on August 11, 2016 based on media reports.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Rajasthan’s move to provide therapeutic food helps tackle malnutrition As many as 9,117 malnourished children aged below 5 years in the State are now leading healthy lives

Firearms seized ahead of bypoll in Bhind; 2 held BHIND (MP)

A large number of firearms being allegedly carried illegally were seized from two men in the district, ahead of the bypoll to the Ater Assembly seat here, the police said on Thursday. The two persons, identified as Mohar Singh (35) and Maan Singh (22) have been held, they said. The seized firearms included four 315 bore rifles, one 12 bore rifle, four 12 bore hand guns, two country-made pistols and 20 cartridges. PTI

CM YK

Mohammed Iqbal KARAULI (RAJASTHAN)

The State government’s move to provide vitamin-enriched and ready-to-use therapeutic food to malnourished children has borne fruit, with a large number of youngsters now leading healthy lives. The Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM)— a project undertaken by the government in December 2015— has helped in treating 9,117 children below 5 years who were suffering from

severe acute malnutrition (SAM). UNICEF, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, and Action Against Hunger are the project partners.

Nutrition kit Karauli in eastern Rajasthan is among the 13 districts where the initiative was launched in its first phase. Here, doctors at the primary health centres and accredited social health activists (ASHA) have been working to identify and

provide the nutrition kit to children. The kit usually consists of an energy-dense nutrition supplement, locally known as Poshan Amrit, antibiotics and de-worming tablets. Three-and-a-half-year-old Vishakha, a resident of Fatehpur village situated 18 km away from Karauli, survived after the intervention of village ASHA Bebi Devi. A year ago, she was suffering from diarrhoea and fever and was not eating anything for several days at a

stretch. Vishakha’s father Ramdayal Koli, a construction labourer, told The Hindu that the girl was first admitted to the Malnutrition Treatment Centre in Karauli for 15 days, after which Ms. Devi gave the kit to the family.

Survivor's stories For the next two months, the activists visited Mr. Koli’s home every day to review the girl’s health condition. Vishakha has now recovered and gained weight. She also

regularly attends the Anganwadi centre in the village. Similarly, four-year-old Radhika and three-year-old Kanha in Fatehpur have overcome the risk of mortality after regularly consuming the ready-to-use food. Karauli Chief Medical and Health Officer, Ramroop Meena, said the CMAM had turned out to be “very successful” in the district and the Todabhim block had been recently felicitated for its achievements.

In the pink: Vishakha (3), who was earlier sufering from malnutrition, with her father Ramdayal Koli. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *

A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU

NATION 7

NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

IN BRIEF

Jumbo rescue efort, spread over two days, has happy ending Bandh against killing of Cong leader DHANBAD

Normal life was on Thursday affected in the coal city of Dhanbad following a bandh called by the Congress to protest against the killing of party leader Neeraj Singh and three others. Railway passengers were stranded at Dhanbad station as private and public vehicles were off the road. - PTI

A 10-year-old male elephant that fell into a 65-feet dry well in Coimbatore was lifted to safety in a six-hour-long operation on Thursday.

Navy Everest expedition team flagged off NEW DELHI

Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Thursday formally flagged off the 28-member expedition team to Mount Everest, which will attempt to summit the peak in May this year. The members were selected from a pool of 100 personnel from various ships, submarines, aircraft Squadrons and establishments of the Navy, Vice Admiral R. Hari Kumar, Controller Personnel Services told the media.

Ordeal begins: (Top right) The male elephant crying out in pain after slipping into an abandoned well at Kovanur, near Periyanaickenpalayam, on Tuesday. Though it fell from a height of 65 feet, it was active. (Right) Forest oicials started the rescue operations around 5.30 a.m. on Thursday.

Out of the woods: Around 8.30 a.m., the jumbo was sedated. It was pulled out successfully by the Fire and Rescue Services personnel who were assisted by Forest Department oicials.

2 Bihar entrepreneurs detained They raised questions of transparency with CM Nitish Kumar at start-up meet Amarnath Tewary Patna

Two entrepreneurs were detained by the police for six hours for posing questions to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at a start-up summit held in Patna on Tuesday. The two entrepreneurs — Nemi Kumar Saraf (43), and Suresh Kumar Sharma (46), — were among hundreds of entrepreneurs invited to the “4th Bihar Entrepreneurship Summit-Start-up”, organised by the Bihar Entrepreneurs Association. Mr. Kumar was the chief guest, and State Industries Minister Jai Kumar Singh and top officials were also present. But when the two entrepreneurs rose to pitch their ideas while raising issues of transparency in government approval of start-up projects and on the harassment from banks for loans, they invited the ire of the police. Though the CM in his speech acknowledged their suggestions and instructed

Nitish Kumar with Industries Minister Jay Kumar Singh during the entrepreneurship summit in Patna. RANJEET KUMAR *

officials to pay heed to their complaints, the police officials detained the duo after Mr. Kumar left the venue.

‘Not allowed to eat’ Speaking of the ensuing traumatic ordeal, Mr. Saraf told The Hindu, “I, along with Suresh Kumar, was taken to

the local Gandhi Maidan police station where police officials questioned us like criminals and forced us to sit there for six hours. We were not allowed to eat, drink water or even go to toilet…our mobile phones were seized.” Mr. Saraf, a known social figure from Madhubani and

an RTI activist, said when the police were quizzing him in Patna, the local police reached his house and interrogated his wife and ageing parents. Mr. Saraf said, “I also proposed that the government should disclose the names of approved projects and give reasons for rejecting others on its official website... to make the process transparent.” Mr Sharma from Chhaurahi village of Begusarai too spoke of his ordeal. “I was falsely implicated in a loan case by someone who had purchased a machine from me in 2013…when I failed to get any response from any quarter, I raised the issue before the Chief Minister while asking how an entrepreneur could do business in the State...but, the policemen took me under detention,” Mr Sharma told The Hindu. The two men who were taken into detention at

around 1 p.m. were released at 8:10 p.m. and were forced to state in writing that they had been treated well and were being released in good condition by the police. “We’d taken them under detention to get the details…name of one of them, Suresh Kumar Sharma, has come up in a case…But we released them after getting the details,” was all Patna Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj told journalists on Thursday. Responding to the incident, State Industries Minister Jai Kumar Singh said, “Whatever had happened with the two, should not have happened.”

CM’s response sought Opposition BJP leaders have demanded a response from the Chief Minister. “If somebody asks question to the Chief Minister, should he face such action,” asked senior State BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav.

Bribe taking video goes viral in Srinagar

Cops taking bribe caught on camera

SIT to probe charges against Trinamool MP

Traic police oicial suspended

Press Trust of India

Firm’s two directors too named in FIR

Chandigarh

Press Trust of India Srinagar

An officer of the Jammu and Kashmir traffic police was on Thursday suspended after a video, showing him taking bribe from a truck driver, went viral in social media here. The video, shot with a mobile phone, has garnered more than 80,000 views in about seven hours after it was uploaded on a social networking site. In the minute-long video, the police officer hints at the driver to pay a bribe to avoid getting fined for wearing a ‘pheran’ (traditional Kashmiri cloak worn during winter). The driver had ques-

tioned the police officer detaining his vehicle as he claimed to have all the documents in order. “I will photograph you and send it to the judge along with the challan. I will tell him ( Judge) that he (driver) is driving an LP (long platform) truck wearing a pheran,” the officer tells the driver before striking an amiable chord with the driver. “We have friendship with you (drivers). Why should we fine you?” the officer says as the driver pulls out a currency note and hands it to him. The police officer then let the driver go without imposing any fine.

Two police men taking bribe were on Thursday caught on camera by Punjab Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who was travelling in a private car without the red beacon on it, the police said.

Doraha incident The incident took place at Doraha near Ludhiana. Badal, who was returning from Ferozepur after attending a function without any escort, saw two policemen taking bribe and shot a video of the act, police said. Later, the Bathinda Urban MLA brought it to the notice of senior police officials.

Special Correspondent Kolkata

The Kolkata police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the cheating charges against Trinamool Congress MP K.D. Singh’s chit fund company, Alchemist. Two directors of the company are also named in the FIR by the city police. The directors, including Mr. Singh’s son, have been accused of raising ₹2.53 crore from small investors and usurping the money. Though the news of the FIR emerged only on Wednesday, it was actually registered on March 16, a day before the Calcutta High Court ordered the CBI in-

vestigation into the Narada cash-on-camera scam.

Heading home: (Top) After a wash, the jumbo is administered medicines. Antibiotics and other drugs mixed with fruits were given to it. It joined its ive-member herd after being released into the forest. M. PERIASAMY *

Court dismisses bail plea of Stayzilla co-founder Vasupal Judge grants one-day custody of accused to CCB Sureshkumar Chennai

Nine days after Yogendra Vasupal, co-founder of online home stay aggregator Stayzilla, was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB), a special court for CCB-CBCID cases in Chennai on Thursday dismissed the bail application moved by the start-up entrepreneur. Dismissing his bail plea, Special Metropolitan Magistrate M.M. Kabir granted one-day custody of Mr. Vasupal to the CCB. “The CCB is granted custody of the accused from 3 p.m. today [Thursday] till 3 p.m. Friday,” the judge said. On Wednesday, during the arguments on his bail plea, Mr. Vasupal contended that the criminal charges “foisted” against him were part of pressure tactics to settle a civil dispute between him and the complainant,

C.S. Aditya of Jigsaw Advertising and Solutions Private Limited.

Criminal proceedings On March 14, the CCB initiated criminal proceedings against Mr. Vasupal based on a complaint from Mr. Aditya, alleging that Stayzilla had failed to make payments for the advertising services rendered by his company since February 2016 and has defrauded him of ₹1.69 crore. A case was registered by the CCB against Mr. Vasupal and his partner Sarjit Singhi (absconding) for offences under Sections 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust), 420 (Cheating), 506 (i) (Criminal Intimidation) of the IPC. Moving the bail application on behalf of the accused, senior counsel B. Kumar said, “There is no written contract for the ser-

vices rendered. It was all an understanding between the parties.” Contending that the whole dispute was of a civil nature, Mr. Kumar said the least police should have done was to have enquired the petitioner about what the dispute was actually about. Opposing the application, Additional Public Prosecutor S. Manual Arasu said, “Prima facie this is a clear case of cheating. The other accused is absconding and is yet to be arrested and it is too early to allow the application considering the gravity of the offence.” Pointing out that the CCB is receiving several other complaints against the accused, Mr. Manual argued that there are high chances of the accused tampering with witness and evidence if enlarged on bail.

Bail rejected Kolkata Press Trust of India

The Calcutta HC on Thursday rejected the bail prayer by former Union Minister Matang Sinh, an accused in Saradha scam

A mistake, says Mamata West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday that she regretted her decision to send Mr. Singh to the Rajya Sabha. “Making K.D. Singh an MP was a blunder. What can I do now?” she said in an interview. “People learn from their mistakes,” she said. Ms. Banerjee, however, said she had had no contact with Mr. Singh for a very long time. “He is in the Rajya Sabha, so we need to be in touch occasionally for issuing whip and that is done by Derek [O’Brien]. Otherwise we are not in touch.”

TB diagnosis, treatment sub-optimal in prisons Researchers diagnosed 80 new cases by screening nearly 5,100 prisoners R. Prasad CHENNAI

Screening, diagnosis and treatment of people with tuberculosis is “sub-optimal” in Indian prisons, says a study published recently. Only 79 prisons (50%) screened new inmates at the time of entry, and 92 prisons (59%) carried out periodic or regular screening. As a result, the researchers from the Delhi-based International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) were able to diagnose 80 new TB cases by screening nearly 5,100 prisoners. CM YK

These people “could have been missed in the existing [TB testing] system” in Indian prisons.

157 prisons studied The study was conducted in 157 prisons — central, district and sub-district — that housed 0.2 million inmates. There were 342 inmates with TB in 92 prisons when the study was carried out. The results were published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. The study found an association between periodic screening and TB patients

but no such association between the entry-level screening and TB patients. “Entry-level screening helps to identify TB patients among those prisoners/inmates who are new in the prison. Regular screening identifies TB patients among those who have been in the prison for certain duration and are at higher risk [owing to prison conditions]. Our study indicates that entrylevel screening alone is not sufficient to diagnose all TB patients in prisons and needs to be supplemented with regular screening,” Ba-

nuru Muralidhara Prasad from The Union and the first author of the study says in an email. The WHO and The Union advocate regular screening. “In this study, regular screening was limited to a few central and district prisons,” the paper notes.

Diagnostic facility Entry-level screening is more in prisons which had a doctor and was the least in subdistrict prisons. Though doctors are available in 129 (89%) prisons, only 65% were trained under the na-

tional tuberculosis programme. Though the availability of diagnostic facility in prisons ensures early diagnosis of TB, the study found the availability of diagnostic and treatment services had “no significant” relation to TB diagnosis. Central prisons, where inmates serve more than two years of imprisonment, had better facilities — doctors trained in TB programme (90%), periodic screening (73%) and availability of TB services (65%) — compared with district and sub-district prisons. A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

8 EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Decoding the Modi efect

Arc to West Asia Beijing hosts Saudi and Israeli leaders, signalling a deepening regional engagement

B

y hosting the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Israel, the two heavyweights in West Asia that do not have formal diplomatic relations, in consecutive weeks, Beijing has sent yet another signal on its growing appetite to deepen ties with the region. During the visit of King Salman last week, China and Saudi Arabia announced an investment cooperation deal worth $65 billion that will boost partnerships in ields such as energy, inance and aerospace. Days later, Chinese President Xi Jinping met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Beijing, where both leaders vowed to strengthen cooperation in the technology and agriculture sectors. Over the years China has built strong economic ties with countries in West Asia, while staying clear of the region’s several crises and hostilities. It is one of the top buyers of oil from Saudi Arabia and a key trading partner of Israel. For Iran, Beijing remained a trusted ally even during the time of sanctions. China was one of the few countries that continued to buy oil from Iran when most others, including India, either halted trade or implemented massive cuts in imports under American pressure. China’s economic ties with West Asia assumed greater signiicance after Mr. Xi unveiled the One Belt, One Road initiative. West Asia plays a major role in this Silk Road revival plan, which the Chinese believe will fortify their global standing. Of late, China has shown a greater interest in expanding its engagement with the region beyond the economic sphere. Its relationship with Iran has already acquired strategic dimensions. It is one of the supporters of the Bashar al-Assad regime in civil war-stricken Syria. In the UN Security Council, China, along with Russia, has consistently vetoed U.S.-backed resolutions on Syria, while at the same time ofering to broker peace between rival factions. China has also recognised Palestine as a state and ofered support for the Palestinians. During his meeting with Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Xi said peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine would be good for both parties and the region. The Chinese have also urged Saudi Arabia and Israel to work together to attain peace. All this indicates that China is ready to end its strategic reluctance in dealing with West Asia and to adopt a gradualist proactive policy that suits its proile as a fast-rising global power. But there are risks as well. Unlike the U.S. and Russia, China has traditionally played a risk-free global role, staying focussed on economic development. It lacks experience in navigating the political, religious, sectarian and tribal tensions in West Asia, both among states and within countries. The three major pillars of China’s West Asia policy — Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel — are rival powers. The challenge before Beijing, if it wants to enter the troubled political waters of West Asia, is to maintain a perfect balancing act. CM YK

uring the general election of 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had convincingly demonstrated his extraordinary skill in crafting an election campaign that was unlike any other — and not only by the standard of Indian elections. The victory was a personal triumph for campaigner Modi. In the course of the electoral campaign he had demonstrated a total disdain for the kind of tactics previously adopted by the Bharatiya Janata Party, and had led the party to a spectacular victory. An issue uppermost in people’s minds at the time was whether the momentum could be sustained to achieve similar victories in future elections to various State Assemblies and the general election due in 2019. Some wrinkles did occur soon thereafter, with the party losing out to rivals in Bihar and Delhi (2015), and displaying an inability to breach regional bastions in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala (2016). It seemed to indicate that the BJP might not be able to repeat its 2014 success. The highly creditable victory in Assam (2016) and the party’s performance in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa (February-March, 2017) have removed such doubts. Most commentators seem reconciled to a Modi victory in the 2019 general election.

D

Overwhelming victory U.P. was seen by many analysts as the BJP’s likely ‘Achilles heel’, the one most likely to derail its election dynamic. By winning 325 seats, the BJP alliance has put paid to all such prognostications. Further, it has effectively consigned rival parties

Political disruption Decoding the Modi Efect hence becomes an objective necessity. The campaign seemed to involve both a penchant for political disruption as also a reliance on certain unusual skills. These, far more than his ‘can do’ image, appear to be the key to BJP’s success. Mr. Modi himself revealed an unerring instinct for ‘voter sentiment’, especially where it related to class and caste issues, followed by an ability to convert defeat into victory. For instance, and despite the pain of demonetisation, Mr. Modi could convince the common man that he was representing his interests against ‘hoarders’ of ‘black money’. Further, that he stood for a ‘developmental model’, impli-

citly distancing himself from any role either in weaving a ‘majoritarian’ Indian ethos, or in endorsing religious intolerance. Strong leadership accompanied by powerful oratory, often verging on demagogy, and steering his own political ecosystem seemed to account for the Prime Minister’s personal appeal. This ‘leadership mantra’ rather than the development agenda appeared to tilt the balance, with Mr. Modi skilfully projecting an image of a ‘conviction’ politician in the line of powerful leaders like Margaret Thatcher, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Complementing his mass appeal was the crucial importance the Prime Minister attached to messaging and propaganda. Linked to this was also the skilful use of social media, and utilisation of Twitter and other forms for sending short pithy messages, including at times unveriied facts. Mr. Modi’s command and mastery over the political narrative clearly helped to outmanoeuvre the Opposition, which was unable to ofer any counter-intuitive narrative. He also communicated with the electorate more efectively, and could convince them — rightly or wrongly — that whatever he was doing was for their beneit. It helped sidestep contentious issues such as the exclusion of the entire

Muslim minority from the BJP’s electoral calculus. Notwithstanding the latest electoral success, it would be prudent to hoist certain danger signals. For one, identiication of the Prime Minister as the biggest votecatcher, leading to an image of being bigger than the party, could have a long-term adverse political fallout. A comparison could be made with the current fate of the Congress, which was led at one time by giants such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, leaders with great ideas and a deep commitment to certain fundamental principles and beliefs. With the passage of time and over-centralisation of power, however, the Congress seems to have lost much of its past élan. The message is that no one can ignore the reality that as individuals gain wider salience over the organisation and its ideology, it often leads to a party’s decline. For another, the rise of the centre-right narrative on nationalism, secularism and social justice has the potential to damage India’s most precious legacy, one which has stood the test of time, viz. India’s commitment to certain fundamental principles, beliefs and precepts. It is this which had enabled India to not only negotiate its way through some of the most diicult periods in its history, but also to hold its own in the comity of nations. For a third, the habit of ‘contriving’ majorities can prove extremely shortsighted. Narrowing of the social base to achieve winning combinations can be highly deleterious in the medium and the longer, and perhaps even in the short, term. One should not also overlook the fact that the U.P. outcome was the result mainly of the ‘reinvention of electoral mobilisation’. It should not lead ‘believers’ to think that the nation is in sync with some of the more disruptive policies and

programmes that were highlighted during the course of these elections. Mastery over the narrative may have helped create ‘alternative ideologies’, but this can prove to be as dangerous as ‘alternative facts’. Exclusion of the Muslim minority from the BJP’s electoral calculus on this occasion may have helped the BJP, but the fallout can be serious. Closing the mind to other possibilities can only lead to a widening of the fault lines in society and in the nation, whatever be the temporary beneit. Ignoring the larger picture could have disastrous results.

Heed the lessons of history ‘Winners’ must also heed the lessons of history. Spectacular victories do not come without their share of concerns. Demonstration of leadership, with the Prime Minister scoring over rival leaders on this occasion, paved the way for victory in U.P. Yet, in the ultimate analysis, there is no one single template for leadership, nor any winning formula for all time. This time around, the Prime Minister and the BJP leadership succeeded in shaping the agenda around issues best suited to them, and could inveigle the electorate to back them. This may not always be possible. Conventional wisdom today is that the Prime Minister represents a new model of change-related aspirational India. Strong populist leaders may succeed for a time, but it may be a mistake to think that democracy would reject Establishment leaders over populist ones over the longer haul. Many a leader in the past has confronted this reality sooner rather than later. In the ultimate analysis, rooting for Prime Minister Modi at this time may be understandable, but rooting for him as the ‘Platonic ideal’ may be inadvisable. M.K. Narayanan is a former National Security Adviser and former Governor of West Bengal

The compulsive patent hoarding disorder The current model of commercialisation does not work for publicly funded research Feroz Ali & Shweta Mohandas

I

t takes money to make money. CSIR-Tech, the commercialisation arm of the Council of Scientiic and Industrial Research (CSIR), realised this the hard way when it had to shut down its operations for lack of funds. CSIR has iled more than 13,000 patents — 4,500 in India and 8,800 abroad — at a cost of ₹50 crore over the last three years. Across years, that’s a lot of taxpayers’ money, which in turn means that the closing of CSIR-Tech is a tacit admission that its work has been an expensive mistake — a mistake that we tax-paying citizens have paid for. Recently, CSIR’s Director-General Girish Sahni claimed that most of CSIR’s patents were “bio-data patents”, iled solely to enhance the value of a scientist’s resume and that the extensive expenditure of public funds spent in iling and maintaining patents was unviable. CSIR claims to have licensed a percentage of its patents, but has so far failed to show any revenue earned from the licences. This compulsive hoarding of patents has come at a huge cost. If CSIR-Tech was privately run, it would have been shut down long ago. Acquiring Intel-

GETTY IMAGES

I

n the face of competing claims from the two factions of the AIADMK, the Election Commission did the right thing in denying both the use of the party name and the election symbol. While a majority of its members of Parliament and the Tamil Nadu Assembly have stayed with the group headed by V.K. Sasikala, friend of former Chief Minister and former party general secretary Jayalalithaa, the EC deferred a inal decision on this issue, and passed an interim order freezing the ‘Two Leaves’ symbol for the purpose of the by-election in the R.K. Nagar constituency in Chennai. In a way, this is a signiicant victory for the faction led by E. Madhusudhanan and O. Panneerselvam, who have been maintaining that the Sasikala faction does not enjoy the support of party leaders and workers at diferent levels of the organisation. The decision, in efect, formalises the split in the party after the death of Jayalalithaa, and provides a level playing ield to both factions in the by-election. The order wrote itself: to favour one faction over the other without examining in detail the veracity of the rival claims of support within the organisation across the State would have been unfair. This way, both factions are equally disadvantaged. Strangely, the two parties have been allowed similar names: the Sasikala faction opted for AIADMK (Amma), and the other faction AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma). Ideally, to avoid confusion among voters, the names of the respective leaders should have been given to the factions. The by-election is critical for the future of both factions; in the event they both lose, the one that gets more votes is likely to be legitimised in the public eye as the true AIADMK. Both factions know that they will have to best the other before they can be ready to take on the bigger enemy, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The Sasikala faction raised the stakes by ielding T.T.V. Dhinakaran, a nephew of Ms. Sasikala who was nominated the party’s deputy general secretary. This high-risk strategy can make or break the Sasikala family’s hold on the party. A victory for Mr. Dhinakaran would give him greater moral and political legitimacy within the party, and, maybe, prepare the ground for a shot at the chief ministership. It is no secret that Ms. Sasikala nominated him to lead the party in her absence so that her family could control both the party and the government led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami. A victory for Mr. Dhinakaran would be a setback not only to the Panneerselvam faction, but also to the authority of Mr. Palaniswami in the government. The opposition DMK, which made an unseemly bid to thwart the conidence vote moved by Mr. Palaniswami last month, is well-placed in this election despite having little to lose or gain from it. The focus will be on the AIADMK factions locked in a ight for survival.

M.K. Narayanan

*

Given the rival claims, the EC had no choice but to freeze the AIADMK’s ‘Two Leaves’

*

Power of a symbol

such as the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress to near irrelevance in U.P. politics. The vote share of the BJP alliance in U.P. almost equals that of the next two parties, the SP and BSP, combined, conirming the scale of victory in the State. In Uttarakhand, the BJP humbled the Congress by increasing its vote share by over 13% to 46.5%, compared to 2012. The Congress vote remained stagnant at around 33.5%. In Manipur, the BJP made substantial inroads into the Congress vote bank. In Goa, the BJP by and large maintained its 2012 vote share. All this was indicative of a growing groundswell of support for the BJP, relected again in sub-State elections, including signiicant advances in recent zilla parishad elections in Odisha and a strong showing in Mumbai local elections against the Shiv Sena. Mr. Modi refrained this time from resorting to his 2014 hightech campaign. The emphasis was on mega rallies, specially in U.P., with him acting as the lead campaigner. No Prime Minister had previously campaigned so hard or so extensively in any State elections.

RAJEEV BHATT

Exclusion of the Muslim minority from its electoral calculus may have helped the BJP, but the fallout can be serious

lectual Property Rights (IPR) comes out of our blind adherence to the idea of patenting as an index of innovation. The private sector commercialises patents through the licensing of technology and the sale of patented products to recover the money spent in R&D. But when the funds for R&D come from public sources, mimicking the private sector may not be the best option.

Patents and moral hazard While it’s true that it costs lakhs of rupees to get a patent in India, government-funded research organisations are likely to spend more money on patents so long as they are not asked to bear the risk. Reck-

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PAN and Aadhaar The Finance Minister has taken an unwarranted and hasty decision to link the PAN card with the Aadhaar card when the issue is pending in the Supreme Court (“Jaitey strongly defends PAN-Aadhaar link”, March 23). The Aadhaar system is yet to stabilise and continues to have teething troubles. The data are not comprehensive and foolproof. If a person is able to get more than one PAN card or passport, it means that there are faults in the system which need to be rectiied. A PAN card does not contain the holder’s address and so this may result in issuing of many PAN cards. When the Aadhaar card was introduced, people thought it would serve all purposes. However, this does not seem to be the case. I.V. Prabhakara Rao,

It is clear that bitter inighting in the AIADMK

jectives that drive the private sector. The IPR policy of some publiclyfunded research institutions allows for 30-70% of the income generated through the commercialisation of the patent to be shared with the creators of the invention, i.e., scientists and professors on the payroll of the government. Such a policy could promote private aggrandisement and may work against public interest. In contrast, the IPR policy of private companies does not allow for a payback on the share of royalties earned by patents.

Possible solution The fate of CSIR-Tech is proof that the current model of commercialisation does not work with respect to publicly-funded research. So, how do we ensure that public-funded research reaches the masses and check the excessive iling of patents without due diligence? A possible solution to preserve the objective of publicly funded research is to devise an IPR policy wherein patents are initially ofered on an open royalty-free licence to startups. Once start-ups commercialise the inventions successfully, the royalty-free licence could be converted into a revenue-sharing model. It is predominantly taxpayers’

money that goes into public-funded research. When research is commercialised by private entities, it tends to be sold back to the public at a price. America is in the midst of such a conundrum, where talks are going on of granting French pharmaceutical company Sanoi exclusive licence for the drug against the Zika virus — a drug which has already cost the American exchequer $43 million in R&D. Granting Sanoi this would defeat the purpose of public funds expended on research as the company would charge the American public again for the life-saving drug. Putting granted patents on an open licence can be testimony to the commercial viability of the things we are patenting using public money. Not only would it bring a sense of accountability to the managers who run the system but it would also open up publicly-funded research to a whole lot of people, especially start-ups, who can now test, verify, work and put the patented technology into the market. Feroz Ali is the IPR Chair Professor at IIT-Madras and part of a Shuttleworth Foundation project on access to medicines. Shweta Mohandas is the Research Associate with the IPR Chair, IIT-M

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

has grievously hurt the prospects of both the factions (“‘Two leaves’ symbol frozen by EC for R.K. Nagar bypoll”, March 23). Neither the V.K. Sasikala faction nor the O. Panneerselvam faction can now face the electorate as the real AIADMK, the legacy of MGR and Jayalalithaa. When MGR split with the DMK and started his own party, he rode the wave to power thanks to his charisma and popularity. Jayalalithaa too was charismatic. Both T.T.V. Dinakaran and Mr. Panneerselvam lack the ability to attract votes like those leaders did, though Mr. Panneerselvam can claim that ‘Amma’ had always reposed faith in him. The Election Commission’s decision could work in favour of the DMK. C.V. Aravind, Chennai

Hyderabad

‘Two Leaves’ for none

less iling of patents using public funds may be explained by the economic concept of moral hazard. According to economist Paul Krugman, it happens in “any situation in which one person makes the decision about how much risk to take, while someone else bears the cost if things go badly”. In the case of public-funded research, the reckless iling of patents without due diligence results from the moral hazard of the government bearing the risk of patents that don’t generate revenue. In the insurance sector, moral hazard refers to the loss-increasing behaviour of the insured who acts recklessly when the loss is covered by another. Insurance companies check moral hazard by introducing copayment from the insured. Dr. Sahni’s statement that CSIR laboratories need to bear 25% of expenses for their patents acknowledges the moral hazard. The National IPR Policy released last year does not ofer any guideline on distinguishing IPR generated using public funds from private ones — it views every IPR with private objectives by insisting on commercialisation. Dissemination of technology to the masses, participation in nation-building and creating public goods are rarely ob-

The EC’s prudent decision deserves praise. That the ruling AIADMK is in dire straits now is an

indisputable fact. The R.K. Nagar bypoll will now be an acid test for both the rival factions of the party to prove their strength. As things stands now, it looks like Mr. Panneerselvam’s faction may stand to gain. M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Madurai

In pursuit of happiness Not many can deine ‘happiness’ in the way that the writer has in his piece (“The many shades of happiness”, March 23). Today morning, I was listening to a song called ‘Ye kisne geet chheda’ by S.D. Burman and sung by Mukesh and Suman Kalyanpur. It gave me goosebumps. I replayed it many times because it struck a chord. Happiness resides in small moments like these. It is not permanent, but a momentary feeling. It’s only because happy moments end that people say ‘live every moment’. Ironically, while craving for more happiness, one forgets to

live in the present. Vyom Bharadvaj, Kansal, Mohali

Tribute to Anil Divan Many years ago, I had the opportunity to interact with Anil Divan, who was our company’s legal counsel on matters pertaining to taxation (“Remembering Anil Divan”, March 23). Meetings with him gave me lessons on not only law but also on the economics of the marketplace in which we operated. On several occasions I have been overawed by the towering intellect of the man. Above all, Divan was kind. He treated me with respect and evaluated my points of view carefully. I should add that I had no qualiication in law and my position was not high in the hierarchy of our organisation. T.E. Kannan, Chennai

Switching loyalties Strange are the ways of our politicians. Seeing S.M. Krishna switch over to the

Bharatiya Janata Party after being a veteran Congressman for decades, I wonder about our politicians’ commitment to the ideologies they profess to follow (“After months of suspense, Krishna inally joins BJP”, March 24). The ideology of the BJP is diametrically opposite to that of the Congress. That Mr. Krishna suddenly went to the party which is anathema to the Congress is hard to digest.

slaughterhouses and meat shops in Uttar Pradesh is not a good move (“3 meat shops vandalised in western U.P.”, March 23). What will the poor, who are dependent on this for their livelihood, do? Won’t it afect the economy? The Chief Minister should focus on bringing down the crime rate against women and minorities in the State instead of indulging in measures that could polarise the population.

V. Subramanian,

Zaheeruddin,

Chennai

Sant Kabir Nagar, U.P.

Meat shops

more letters online:

Sealing several

www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

corrections & clarifications: >>Oversight: A report on the Supreme Court’s order cancelling admissions to two medical colleges in Kerala (March 23, 2017) was carried in the front page as well as an inside page in some editions. >>A sentence in the story headlined “India slips in human development index” (March 22, 2017) — quoting the 2016 Human Development Report — said 1.5 million people worldwide still lived in multidimensional poverty. It should have been 1.5 billion people. It is the policy of The Hindu to correct signiicant errors as soon as possible. Please specify the edition (place of publication), date and page. The Readers’ Editor’s office 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 A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU

OPED 9

NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

LEFT, RIGHT, CENTRE

Do we need a presidential system? The surrender to the authority of one individual, as in the presidential system, is dangerous for democracy Raju Ramachandran is a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India

This debate is academic. A switchover to the presidential system is not posLEFT sible under our present constitutional scheme because of the ‘basic structure’ doctrine propounded by the Supreme Court in 1973 which has been accepted by the political class without reservation, except for an abortive attempt during the Emergency by Indira Gandhi’s government to have it overturned. The Constituent Assembly had made an informed

choice after considering both the British model and the American model and after Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had drawn up a balance sheet of their merits and demerits. To alter the informed choice made by the Constituent Assembly would violate the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution. I must clarify that I have been a critic of the ‘basic structure’ doctrine.

Abuse of power worries A presidential system centralises

Changing to a presidential system is the best way of ensuring a democracy that works

Shashi Tharoor is a Congress MP, author, and a former United Nations oicial

Our parliamentary system is a perversity only the British could devised: to vote RIGHT have for a legislature in order to form the executive. It has created a unique breed of legislator, largely unqualified to legislate, who has sought election only in order to wield executive power. There is no genuine separation of powers: the legislature cannot truly hold the executive accountable since the government wields the majority in the House. The parliamentary system does not permit the existence of a legislature distinct from the executive, applying its collective mind freely to the nation’s laws.

For 25 years till 2014, our system has also produced coalition governments which have been obliged to focus more on politics than on policy or performance. It has forced governments to concentrate less on governing than on staying in office, and obliged them to cater to the lowest common denominator of their coalitions, since withdrawal of support can bring governments down. The parliamentary system has distorted the voting preferences of an electorate that knows which individuals it wants but not necessarily which parties or policies. Voters who want to see, say, Narendra Modi as Prime Minister or Mamata Banerjee as Chief Minister, have to vote for an MP

Rather than change the system, why not reform thoroughly and cleanse the electoral processes?

Upendra Baxi is a legal scholar and the former vice-chancellor of Delhi University

I think the debate has a life cycle of its own. It has been brought up discussed CENTRE and whenever there has been a super-majority government. From Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi to the present, the presidential system has been debated extensively around two aspects: is it desirable, and second, is it feasible? To tackle the second aspect first, unless the Supreme Court changes its mind, any such amendment would violate the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution as was decided with, and since, the Kesavnanda

Bharti case. There is no way to get around this unless the Supreme Court now takes a wholly different view.

Different models On the desirability aspect, which presidential system are we talking about when we pit the American presidential system against the Westminster model? In the American system, the President appoints his officers; they have limited tenure and their offices are confirmed by the Senate (Upper House). Then, we have the Latin American model, where some Constitutions give

sequence of the presidential system, is likely to lead to a situation where the views of an individual can ride roughshod over the interests of different segments.

power in one individual unlike the parliamentary system, where the Prime Minister is the first among equals. The surrender to the authority of one individual, as in the presidential system, is dangerous for democracy. The overcentralisation of power in one individual is something we have to guard against. Those who argue in favour of a presidential system often state that the safeguards and checks are in place: that a powerful President can be stalled by a powerful legislature. But if the legislature is dominated by the same party to

which the President belongs, a charismatic President or a “strong President” may prevent any move from the legislature. On the other hand, if the legislature is dominated by a party opposed to the President’s party and decides to checkmate him, it could lead to a stalemate in governance because both the President and the legislature would have democratic legitimacy. A diverse country like India cannot function without consensusbuilding. This “winner takes it all” approach, which is a necessary con-

they may not care for, merely because he belongs to Mr. Modi’s or Ms. Banerjee’s party.

is not the result of a particular type of governmental system.

Failures in the system India’s many challenges require political arrangements that permit decisive action, whereas ours increasingly promote drift and indecision. We must have a system of government whose leaders can focus on governance rather than on staying in power. A system of directly elected chief executives at all levels – panchayat chiefs, town mayors, Chief Ministers (or Governors) and a national President – elected for a fixed term of office, invulnerable to the whims of the legislature, and with clearly defined authority in their respective domains – would permit India to deal more efficiently with its crit-

ical economic and social challenges. Cabinet posts would not be limited to those who are electable rather than those who are able. At the end of a fixed period of time — say the same five years we currently accord to our Lok Sabha — the public would be able to judge the individual on performance in improving the lives of Indians, rather than on political skill at keeping a government in office. The fear that an elected President could become a Caesar is illfounded since the President’s power would be balanced by directly elected chief executives in the States. In any case, the Emergency demonstrated that even a parliamentary system can be distorted to permit autocratic rule. Dictatorship

Presidents a term often amounting to a life tenure like in Cuba. There are plenty of models to choose from and there are arguments against each. So, which system is being argued for when the votaries of change seek a shift to the presidential system? Our Rajya Sabha cannot be compared to the U.S. Senate where each state has its own Constitution and has the power to change it. The relationship between the states and the federal government is extraordinary; as is the status of their courts and the manner of appointment of judges. I do not think people have thought about it. Merely stating that a change to the

presidential system is needed does not mean much. The Indian debate currently is not focussed on the kind of presidential system envisaged. What is the term we are seeking for the President? Should he/she be re-elected? If so, for how many terms? Then, who decides the change? Parliament? All this requires a massive amendment to the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution. The Supreme Court has spelt its view on the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution. Giving an opinion is one thing. A judgment is a more carefully considered conclusion. Those who support the presidential system

should do their homework when they argue against the parliamentary system. There is also the matter of separation of powers. In the U.S., the President, who is also the Supreme Commander, has the power to veto the Congress. Does India need this? The manner of removing the U.S. President through impeachment is a very complex process. There is also the possibility of aggregating more powers to the President. One could argue that the parliamentary system too runs a similar risk. I do not think it has been thought over. It is not on the table yet.

What about the States? The other argument, that it is easier to bring talent to governance in a presidential system, is specious. You can get ‘outside’ talent in a parliamentary system too. Right from C.D. Deshmukh to T.A. Pai to Manmohan Singh to M.G.K. Menon to Raja Ramanna, talent has been coming into the parliamentary system with the added safeguard of democratic accountability, because the

Direct accountability Indeed, the President would have to work with Parliament to get his budget through or to pass specific Bills. India’s fragmented polity, with dozens of political parties in the fray, makes a U.S.-style twoparty gridlock in Parliament impossible. An Indian presidency, instead of facing a monolithic opposition, would have the opportunity to build issue-based coalitions on different issues, mobilising different temporary alliances of different smaller parties from one policy to the next – the opposite of the dictatorial steamroller some fear a presidential system could produce. Any politician with aspirations to rule India as President will have to win the support of people beyond

Reform the process On the other hand, there are ideas

‘outsiders’ have to get elected after assuming office. On the other hand, bringing ‘outside’ talent in a presidential system without people being democratically elected would deter people from giving independent advice to the chief executive because they owe their appointment to him/her. Those who speak in favour of a presidential system have only the Centre in mind. They have not thought of the logical consequence, which is that we will have to move simultaneously to a “gubernatorial” form in the States. A switch at the Centre will also require a change in the States. Are we ready for that?

his or her home turf; he or she will have to reach out to different groups, interests, and minorities. And since the directly elected President will not have coalition partners to blame for his or her inaction, a presidential term will have to be justified in terms of results, and accountability will be direct and personal. Democracy, as I have long argued, is vital for India’s survival: we are right to be proud of it. But few Indians are proud of the kind of politics our democracy has inflicted upon us. With the needs and challenges of one-sixth of humanity before our leaders, we must have a democracy that delivers progress to our people. Changing to a presidential system is the best way of ensuring a democracy that works. It is time for a change.

going around about reforming the electoral processes to make democracy more robust. From limiting expenditure of political parties and deciding the ceiling on the expenditure, to holding simultaneous elections, declaring the results for a combination of booths instead of constituencies — I think it is advisable to debate this and ensure that the gaping loopholes in the electoral processes are speedily plugged. The present parliamentary system has been tried and tested for nearly 70 years. Rather than change the system, why not reform thoroughly and cleanse the electoral processes? As told to Anuradha Raman

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

SINGLE FILE

FROM

Sherry-picking

FIFTY YEARS AGO MARCH 24, 1967

Morarji: purpose of devaluation not achieved

Far from making a laughing stock out of governance, Navjot Singh Sidhu has opened up new imaginings

The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Morarji Desai, admitted in the Lok Sabha to-day [March 23, New Delhi] that devaluation had not done the good “it was supposed to do”. Mr. Desai, who faced a volley of questions on the effects of devaluation on the country’s economy, categorically ruled out any possibility of a further devaluation. “As long as it lies in my power, there will be no further devaluation,” he said. Mr. Desai made it clear there was no proposal for devaluation before the Government. Asked if the Government would consider revaluation of the rupee, Mr. Desai said it could be done only by strengthening the economy of the country. “We are considering what is to be done about this and we shall do that”.

ABDUS SALAM

*

PTI

For someone who sputtered onto the national stage as a “strokeless wonder” debuting for India against a West Indies in its prime in 1983, Navjot Singh Sidhu has certainly metamorphosed into a strokemaker par excellence in the worlds he has inhabited over a storied career — cricket, where he emerged as India’s inest Test opener in the intervening period between Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag; as a cricket commentator and entertainment personality whose wisecracks and turns of phrase even prompted the coining of the term ‘Sidhuisms’; and politics, transitioning from a trophy acquisition for the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2004 to incumbent Minister in Punjab. Yet Mr. Sidhu has always worn his weighty political resume lightly. The three-time parliamentarian thought nothing of conining himself to the Bigg Boss house in 2012, or playing second iddle in comedian Kapil Sharma’s eponymous television shows. It shouldn’t surprise, then, that days into assuming oice as Minister of Local Government, Tourism, Cultural Afairs, Archives and Museums, Mr. Sidhu has insisted that he’d continue appearing alongside Sharma.

ARCHIVES

The quirks of power The Advocate General of Punjab’s opinion will eventually determine if the minister can indeed take the evening light out of Chandigarh to Mumbai every Saturday. But whether his laughter escapades constitute a breach of ‘oice of proit’ or not, Mr. Sidhu’s “what I do after 6 p.m. is nobody’s business” outburst throws up essential questions for our public sphere. It punctures the hubris around politics being a 24x7x365 vocation, something that has forced its practitioners to wrap a veil of secrecy around their downtime. At any rate, what’s ‘fulltime ministership’ when the politician in power constantly alternates between governance agent and partyman caught in a permanent campaign? Mr. Sidhu has also pitched the gig as an economic imperative, claiming his only earnings now were from this show. Given how ‘full-timers’ have made politics an avenue for personal aggrandisement and turned public oice into a byword for rentseeking, lassoing him with the ‘oice of proit’ clause is just the kind of rule-book hypocrisy we could do without. Our politics needs space for entirely new imaginings, for mavericks who see it not from the lofty heights of public service but as a job to be done and be held to account at the hustings. Critics, however, argue that Mr. Sidhu’s insistence is mere posturing for weightier portfolios. Having overplayed his hand with the Aam Aadmi Party after exiting the BJP last year, he has had to settle for much less. In trademark Congress style, even the question of who is the number two in the Cabinet has been suitably obfuscated with Mr. Sidhu being sworn in after Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Health Minister Brahm Mohindra. If this is indeed a bargaining chip from Sherry, here’s a Sidhuism for solace: “Boss, make hay while things are going haywire.” CM YK

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO MARCH 24, 1917

Hospital Ship “Madras” CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

CONCEPTUAL

ACT ONE

Domino theory/ Political Science

For a formula for Ayodhya

This theory gained currency during the height of the Cold War to argue for and justify American interventionism across the globe, especially in Southeast Asia, and Central America in the 1980s. It held that the communist advance has to be resisted, because the fall of one nation to communism creates congenial conditions for a similar replication in the neighbourhood. The verdict on the theory’s robustness is mixed, with critics pointing to Thailand, Indonesia, and other large Southeast Asian countries not succumbing to communist takeovers as a case in point, and others arguing that it was American involvement that stemmed a wider spread.

The SC has advised out-of-court settlements before

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

MORE ON THE WEB

3

The Hindu explains: ‘free’ election symbols http://bit.ly/2o8RleY

Krishnadas Rajagopal

The Ram JanmabhoomiBabri Masjid title dispute took a new turn in the Supreme Court with the Chief Justice of India, J.S. Khehar, advising the rival parties to have an out-ofcourt settlement. This is not the first time the court has given this advice in the dispute. In 1994, a Constitution Bench of the court in Dr. M. Ismail Faruqui v. Union of India had said the Ayodhya dispute cannot, in national interest, afford a loser. The Bench was hearing the constitutional validity of the Acquisition of Certain Area at Ayodhya Act, 1993 and the maintainability of the Special Reference made by the President. The court based its views on facts stated in the White Paper on Ayodhya of February 1993, issued by the Centre. The majority view of the Bench by Justice J.S. Verma for himself, then

Chief Justice of India M.N. Venkatachaliah, and Justice G.N. Ray quoted Jonathan Swift’s “we have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another” to convey the nation’s predicament. They advocated out-ofcourt negotiations while terming the demolition of the 16th century structure a “communal holocaust”. “This is a matter suited essentially to resolution by negotiations which does not end in a winner and a loser while adjudication leads to that end. It is in the national interest that there is no loser at the end of the process adopted for resolution of the dispute so that the final outcome does not leave behind any rancour in anyone. This can be achieved by a negotiated solution on the basis of which a decree can be obtained in terms of such solution in these suits. Unless a solution is found which leaves everyone happy, that cannot be the

beginning for continued harmony between ‘we the people of India’,” Justice Verma observed in the majority verdict. In their dissenting view, Justices S. Bharucha and A.M. Ahmadi on the Bench said the court should reject the Reference outright. A judicial opinion can be used as a springboard for favouring one community over the other. “Ayodhya is a storm that will pass. The dignity and honour of the Supreme Court cannot be compromised because of it,” Justice Bharucha wrote. In September 2010, a Bench of Justices R.V. Raveendran and H.L. Gokhale held divergent opinions on whether the Allahabad High Court should pronounce its judgment on the Ayodhya title dispute. Justice Gokhale suggested further negotiations, saying a judgment may trigger passions and destroy communal harmony, but Justice Raveendran was sceptical.

A member of the staff writes: The Hospital Ship “Madras” left Bombay on the 27th February at 11 A.M. As passengers to Basra, the following were taken on board at Bombay:- 105 Stretcher Bearers, 5 British Hospital Orderlies, one Nursing Sister and One Red Cross Depot Clerk. A quite uneventful passage was made to Basra which was reached on the 5th March about noon. Here we found everyone in a state of great jubilation over our overwhelmingly decisive victory at Shamran and the air was full of rumours, which were later to be confirmed, that our troops had entered Baghdad. A cinema show was given in the evening and we had a very gratifying attendance from the shore.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

DATA POINT

A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

10 NEWS

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

FROM PAGE ONE

Shiv Sena MP hits AI staf with footwear It was then supposed to be operated to Goa at 10.55 a.m. “After arrival of the flight, all passengers disembarked except the MP. The MP was holding an open business class ticket and wanted to travel on this flight,” the statement said. The airline said the MP’s PA had been in touch with its Pune Airport manager from Wednesday regarding the MP’s travel to Delhi. “The airport manager told the PA this is an all economy flight operated regularly. Since the MP wanted to travel on this flight he was allotted the seat in the first row itself since there is no business class on this flight,” the statement said. Air India said after the MP refused to leave the aircraft for almost an hour, the airline's shift manager requested Mr. Gaikwad to deplane since 115 passengers were waiting to board the flight to Goa. “While the staff was requesting, the MP became abusive and started hitting AI employee with slippers. Mr. Gaikwad also tried to throw him out from the aircraft and was stopped by other AI staff,” the statement said. The 60-year-old employee, R. Sukumar is a duty manager with Air India.

MP admits hitting While talking to TV channels, Mr. Gaikwad admitted that he did hit the Air India employee and said it is the airline that should apologise to him instead because its staff had first misbehaved with him. “Yes, I beat him with my sandal 25 times. Should I tolerate abuses just because I'm an MP?” Mr Gaikwad told TV channels. “I can try to make someone understand something 10 times but if they don't, then I will beat them. It is the airline that is at mistake and they should apologise to me,” he said. In the complaint given to the police, Mr. Sukumar explained the turns of events that took place on the flight. He alleged that the Shiv Sena MP had refused to de-

File written submissions before April 6, court tells parties NEW DELHI

Ravindra Gaikwad

board the aircraft after repeated requests.

Demands meeting According to the complaint, Mr. Gaikwad wanted to meet the top management, to which Mr. Sukumar, Duty Manager and in-charge of the flight, told him that it was not possible and explaied that he and his team would have to dispatch the flight to Goa on time for which 115 passengers were waiting. Mr. Sukumar alleged that upon hearing this, Mr Gaikwad abused him and forced him to speak in Hindi. “He used foul language and bad words against me and abused me with all bad words against me and he started beating me and took out his slippers and started hitting me,” wrote Mr. Sukumar. He also wrote that in the process, Mr Gaikwad broke his spectacles and “tore away the button” of his cardigan. “I can only say God save our country if this is the culture and behaviour of our MPs,” he added. Medical examination Mr. Sukumar was sent for medical examination after the results of which the police decided against lodging an FIR based on the complaint at the moment. “We have got the medical report. There is no cognizable offence made as per the report. We are seeking legal opinion and according to that, action will be taken,” DCP (Airport) Sanjay Bhatia told The Hindu.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Ms. Swaraj had to intervene in July 2016 to help nearly 800 Indian workers who had been starving because of lack of money and resources in Saudi Arabia. The GCC countries account for the largest number of overseas Indian workers and remain a steady source of foreign remittances to the Indian economy.

Meat traders shut shop across western U.P. “How can you seal a slaughter house which has all the required NOCs and papers like mine? If this meat establishment was functioning illegally and flouting rules then why did you not question the NOC that my factory has got from seven departments,” said Mr. Akhlaq. Highlighting that meat would not be available in the market as the State government has virtually declared every slaughter house to be “illegal”, Mr. Akhlaq said, “We will meet the District Magistrate (DM) and the Commissioner and ask them to provide livelihood to thousands of people. Then what kind of rule of law is this which looks more like an emergency?” He said that the “preju-

diced way in which BJP government was shutting down all meat establishments, it would not only affect a bulk of India’s meat export but it will also render several lakh people, who are associated with the meat trade directly or indirectly, unemployed. What kind of vikas (development) is this as this is going to cost the leather industry, which is one of the biggest exporting industries in India, very badly”. Meanwhile the BJP Mayor of Meerut Harikant Ahluwalia doesn't want meat to be sold in open market even legally. Mr. Ahluwalia and other BJP leaders on Thursday approached the DM against selling of meat in the open market, especially in places which also have temples in its vicinity.

Man held for assaulting minor Press Trust of India Muzaffarnagar

The police have arrested a man involved in a relationship with a 15-year-old girl, who was killed allegedly by her father for honour, in CM YK

No credible alternative to the Gandhis, feel partymen Smita Gupta

among others, to file written submissions before the next hearing on April 6. “You all file your written submissions, so we can focus on the issues in the matter,” Mr. Nariman said.

Legal Correspondent

500 Indians in crisis in Bahrain The news from Bahrain came even as the Telangana government urged Ms. Swaraj to free 29 Indian workers employed in a company in Saudi Arabia. Ms. Swaraj had instructed the Indian Embassy in Riyadh to look into the case. The cases from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are the latest in a series of incidents involving a large number of Indian workers from the

SC defers Babri case Clamour for Rahul for detailed hearing takeover set to mount

Charthawal town here. In a suspected case of honour killing, the minor girl was murdered on Wednesday allegedly by her father who was against her relationship with the man.

A Supreme Court Bench of Justices P.C. Ghose and Rohinton Nariman on Thursday posted the CBI appeal against dropping criminal conspiracy charge against top BJP leaders, including veteran L.K. Advani, for detailed hearing after two weeks. The Bench reassembled on Thursday with Justice Nariman returning as puisne judge, but Mr. Advani’s counsel, senior advocate K.K. Venugopal, told the Bench that he was on his legs in another part-heard dispute between two factions of a Kerala church. “We will adjourn it

L.K. Advani

then...” Mr. Ghose said. Mr. Nariman asked the lawyers present, Additional Solicitor General N.K. Kaul for the CBI and senior advocate Kapil Sibal for another party,

Conspiracy charge Mr. Nariman, who made cutting remarks at the March 6 hearing that the conspiracy charge against the leaders should be revived, was absent at the hearing on Wednesday. Mr. Ghose was sitting with Justice Deepak Gupta, while Mr. Nariman was heading another Bench. Mr. Ghose had adjourned the hearing by 24 hours for Mr. Nariman to return to the Bench.

Police probing FIR against poet: Mamata Press Trust of India Kolkata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday stood beside poet Srijato Bandyopadhyay against whom a Hindutva group has lodged an FIR for writing a poem allegedly hurting Hindu sentiments. “There will be no problem and I will take full care. I

have asked the police to conduct an investigation into the matter and submit the report to me. Do not worry,” Ms. Banerjee said during an interview to a local news channel here this evening. She said that a particular political party, which has taken up “saffronising”, was behind lodging the complaint and threatening the

poet on a social networking site. Ms. Banerjee said: “They are threatening him [Srijato]. He has been threatened in a worst manner. A particular political party is threatening him. I will take the names of those who are up to saffronising. They are threatening everybody.”

New Delhi

The clamour in the Congress for vice-president Rahul Gandhi to take over as president of the party will increase as soon as he returns from abroad with ailing mother Sonia Gandhi, a party functionary told The Hindu. He said senior leaders would impress on Mr. Gandhi that time is running out for him and the party, and that he needs to take charge immediately, and form his team — and formulate his strategy — for 2019. Party sources said that Mr. Gandhi was likely to return late on Thursday night. Though Congress members, reeling between anger and despair ever since the results of the Assembly elections came in on March 11, seem to be running out of patience, they are still united in their understanding that Mr. Gandhi should continue to be their leader, as Ms. Gandhi is now too frail to play an active role. Conversations with a cross section reveal that party members feel there is still no credible alternative in the party to the Gandhis who, they say, act as the glue

Work hard, U.P. BJP MPs told But they should not interfere in functioning of State government, says Modi

Waiting for a new dawn: Outside the AICC headquarters in New Delhi. FILE PHOTO *

that is holding the party together.

Growing pressure Given this understanding, there is growing pressure for a clean sweep of all the current functionaries who have been at the helm for the last two decades and more. They point particularly to the manner in which the BJP upstaged the Congress in Manipur and Goa, even though the party had emerged as the single largest in both States. Meanwhile, the debate in the party over the need to form a coalition of opposition parties to take on the BJP ahead of the 2019 fed-

eral elections is also gaining momentum. While some are opposed to it, pointing to the disastrous results in Uttar Pradesh, many others — from Mani Shankar Aiyar to C.P. Joshi — are pushing for it. There is a third group of old-timers — who currently do not hold any posts — who say it will be acceptable only if the Congress has a central role in any coalition that is formed. When Mr. Gandhi returns, he will have his plate full: but if he does not embark on the task of restructuring the party — as he had promised in the immediate aftermath of the poll results — it will be another opportunity lost.

Pak. told to maintain diplomatic decorum India faults envoy’s remarks

Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday briefed BJP members of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh, days after the Yogi Adityanath government was sworn in after the party won absolute majority in the State in the recent elections. Mr. Modi told the members to work hard in their constituencies and regions to ensure that development work progressed there and the schemes of the Centre were communicated to the people.

Assessing situation: U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath makes a surprise visit to the Hazratganj police station, in Lucknow, on Thursday. RAJEEV BHATT

Sounds caution The meeting comes after Mr. Modi pulled up BJP MPs for skipping Parliament, saying he could not attend the House for them. Sources say the Thursday

meeting saw the Prime Minister sounding a note of caution for the MPs. Now, with the BJP itself in power in Uttar Pradesh, MPs from the State should not interfere in the functioning of

Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

*

Over 100 policemen suspended in U.P. Adityanath govt. cracks the whip Press Trust of India Lucknow

Seeking to send a strong message that laxity in enforcing law and order will not be tolerated, the Uttar Pradesh police have suspended over 100 policemen since the Yogi Adityanath government assumed office. Most of these suspensions were in Ghaziabad, Meerut and Noida. In Lucknow, seven inspectors have been suspended. The crackdown followed directives issued

by DGP Javeed Ahmed a few days ago to identify the “black sheep” among the policemen. U.P. Police PRO Rahul Srivastava said, “More than 100 policemen, mostly constables, have been suspended as per the directives of the DGP to identify the black sheep and take exemplary action against them.” The order was issued to all the superintendents of police after Mr. Adityanath assumed office.

the State government, Mr. Modi is said to have stated. Mr. Modi’s words are being seen as an attempt to make the party pick up efficiently from here in the State.

Uttar Pradesh being India’s most populous State, it is very crucial for Mr. Modi’s 2019 campaign, for which the recent elections have provided him the perfect launchpad.

India on Thursday advised Pakistan to control terrorism emanating from its territory and maintain diplomatic decorum. The official comment came on Thursday after the High Commissioner of Pakistan Abdul Basit raised the issue of Kashmir during his speech that he delivered to mark Pakistan Day that was observed on Thursday. “We have seen media reports about Pakistan High Commissioner’s remarks today regarding the State of Jammu and Kashmir. They are not in keeping with diplomatic niceties and are tantamount to interference in our internal affairs,” said official spokesperson of the

Odisha govt. seeks more forces to ight Maoists Demands two more units of Central Armed Police Force Staff Reporter BHUBANESWAR

Odisha has sought additional two more battalions of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) to intensify its anti-Maoist operation in the State. Director General of Police K.B. Singh on Thursday held discussions with Special DG (Central Zone) of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and raised the issue for more forces to deal with

left-wing extremists sneaking into the State from neighbouring States. At present, 16 battalions of Central forces have been deployed in Odisha in comparison to more than over 100 battalions each in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, government sources said.

Planning strategy “We discussed redeployment of paramilitary forces, joint combing operation in

Naxal-hit areas and activities of LWEs in the neighbouring States. Our focus is to combat extremist groups in Kalahandi, Rayagada and Malkanagiri districts,” said Mr. Singh. On Naxalites targeting public after branding them as police informers, police DG said, “We are trying to identify as to who are the potential targets of extremists. They will be cautioned in advance,” he said.

Abdul Basit Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Gopal Baglay. He further added, “Pakistan would be well-advised to effectively address the challenge of terrorism emanating from that country, which has adversely affected peace and stability in the entire neighbourhood as well as Pakistan’s relations with other countries.”

Power cuts during board exams alleged Press Trust of India Bhopal

The Congress on Thursday staged a walkout in the Assembly, claiming that Class X and XII students were writing their Board examinations in darkness due to power cuts. Congress MLAs Kamleshwar Patel and Rampal Singh raised the issue of power cuts in Sidhi, Singrauli, Rewa, Satna, Shahdol, Bhopal, Indore and some other districts through a calling attention motion.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

With no funds, ancient knowledge hub faces a grim future Most of its workforce has been removed and the stafers are litigating against the Council of Scientiic and Industrial Research Jacob Koshy NEW DELHI

The Traditional Knowledge Database Library (TKDL), a marquee organisation of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research that has fought biopiracy for decades, will cease to exist in its current form. It has no committed funds beyond March, most of its workforce has been removed and these staffers are litigating against CSIR. It will no longer be an organisation that once proactively scouted for intellectual property infringements by Indian and foreign companies on traditional knowledge in areas. TKDL is an online

Natural remedies: Herbs, seen here at an ayurveda expo in New Delhi, are documented by the CSIR database. AFP repository of about 300,000 made searchable, allowing formulations from Ayurveda, patent offices in India, Siddha and Unani systems. Europe, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Over two decades, the body Australia and Japan to check translated, scanned and if patent applicants of herbal digitised texts from their concoctions, creams and Sanskrit, Arabic and Urdu drugs were basing their originals. This was then *

claims on available traditional knowledge. Even before TKDL opened, India overturned patents in the U.S. and Europe on neem and turmeric products. Between 2009 and 2015, 219 patents were denied to Indian and foreign companies based on TKDL’s challenges, including Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive, Avesthagen, the government’s Central Council For Research in Unani Medicine, and Yale University in the U.S. Yet, the organisation was seen in pharmaceutical circles as a “patent blocker,” a person familiar with TKDL activities until 2012 said. “Over the years, it made it hard for companies, many

Indian, to develop formulations and naturally there was lobbying against it,” the source said.

Challenges end Since 2016 there have been no patent challenges by TKDL. The 100-odd employees — on project contracts — including Ayurveda experts, intellectual-property analysts and IT staff are down to about 50. Even they are likely to be terminated by March 31 and have launched a dispute with CSIR in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). The dispute began in late 2015 but CSIR told CAT that funds for CSIR-TKDL were sanctioned between

April 2012 and March 31, 2017. There would be no “budgetary provisions for salary of staff beyond this date,” documents viewed by The Hindu show. Staffers, requesting anonymity, said salaries were not raised for five years, and they were told projects would end in March. This, in spite of only 60% of the digitisation of traditional texts being completed and a project to integrate 1,500 yoga asanas (with video) only 25% done. Girish Sahni, DirectorGeneral, CSIR denied reports that TKDL was dying. It would be “fully supported in an expanded, advanced way.” A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU

NEWS 11

NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

IN BRIEF

Sushma backs Tamil cause Says Sri Lankan ‘war crimes’ have caused pain and anguish for India Kallol Bhattacherjee NEW DELHI

Engage all stakeholders, says Farooq Abdullah SRINAGAR

NC leader Farooq Abdullah said here on Thursday that the Centre could not resolve the Kashmir issue unilaterally and all stakeholders, including separatists, should be engaged. “I want to remind Home Minister Rajnath Singh that the issues in Kashmir cannot be resolved unilaterally. PTI

Three more Ministers inducted in Manipur IMPHAL

Three more Ministers were inducted into the BJP-led Biren Singh Cabinet in Manipur on Thursday. Governor Najma Heptullah administered the oath of office and secrecy to Nemcha Haokip, T. Radheshyam and V. Hankhalian from Kangpokpi, Thoubal and Churachandpur, respectively.

Power supply to SP leader’s plants snapped MUZAFFARNAGAR

Power connections of three chilling plants of a local Samajwadi Party leader have been snapped by officials over dues of ₹ 1.35 crore here. SP Muzaffarnagar city president Rashid Siddiqui owns the three plants. PTI

The Government of India felt anguish and pain over the Sri Lankan military’s alleged war crimes against unarmed Tamils in the 2009 war, said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in an unusually strong observation on the nation’s human rights record. Ms. Swaraj said India was committed to the protection of the rights of the Tamils in the Island nation, even as the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) appeared set to take up a crucial resolution on the issue on Friday. “The anguish with which the members have raised the issue [of crimes committed during the war of 2009], the government associates itself with the same pain,” Ms Swaraj said. “Our aim is to protect the interests of Tamils in Sri Lanka. You can achieve this through two means: by either doing it forcefully or through persuasion with the friendly country,” she said answering a question from D. Raja of the Communist Party of India (CPI).

HRC session The Minister’s comments came in the backdrop of the 34th Session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC), where the report of the Of-

Firm stand: Sushma Swaraj says India is committed to the protection of the rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka. PTI *

fice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR) on Sri Lanka was presented. The report assessed the progress made in the implementation of UNHRC resolution 30/1, on human rights and reconciliation between October 2015 and January 2017, and suggested that more efforts were needed for the improvement of the human rights situation of Sri Lanka. The HRC’s session is coming to an end on Friday and, despite criticism of Colombo’s human rights record,

the resolution is expected to get another extension.

Raja’s poser Ms. Swaraj said India’s role in the HRC had been guided by the belief that human rights concerns of the Sri Lankan Tamils could be addressed in a “constructive and inclusive” manner. However, Mr. Raja sought clarification on how long India could wait for Colombo to act on human rights concerns. “The war in Sri Lanka was over in 2009, but the government of Sri Lanka has not

done anything to punish those accused of war crimes against unarmed Tamils. There have been similar violence in other parts of the world, but reconciliation and accountability have been practised following the war. But in the case of Sri Lanka, the government has shown total disrespect to international concerns,” said Mr. Raja. He urged the government to work with Sri Lanka for greater human rights accountability. Ms. Swaraj, however, said India had adopted a consensus-based approach on Sri Lanka and would ensure that the pluralistic identity of the country was preserved. “As Sri Lanka’s closest neighbour, India cannot remain untouched by the developments in that country. We hope that with the sagacity and political will of its leadership and the support of its people, Sri Lanka will achieve genuine reconciliation and development,”, she said. But Mr. Raja said India should not appear like a party which was also helping Sri Lanka in skirting accountability in human rights violations. “India helped Sri Lanka fight the Tamil Tigers. Is there a guilt conscience that India is trying to hide by not exposing Sri Lanka’s inaction,” he asked.

U.S. lawmakers urge India to lift curbs on NGO

Missing Indian found in Serbia

Call for lifting sanctions on Compassion International

Press Trust of India

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

NEW DELHI

An Indian who went missing in Serbia has been found, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Thursday, holding the agent who sent him there responsible for the hardship caused and recommending “exemplary punishment” for the guilty person. “Vinay Mahajan has been found and is in safe custody of Serbian authorities. “Mr. Luther — This is because of the agent who sent him there. This agent deserves exemplary punishment. @ProtectorGenGOI (sic),” she said in a series of tweets.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said the U.S. Congress had not passed any Bills that could put curbs on issuing H-1B visas for Indian IT professionals. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Ms. Swaraj said that there was no “hanging sword” over Indian com-

Varghese K George Washington:

A group of 107 members of U.S. Congress have written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to temporarily lift the restrictions on the American Christian charity, Compassion International (CI), until a permanent solution can be found. The Union government has ordered banks in India to stop processing wire transfers from CI to its Indian partners, bringing the charity’s operations to halt. CI supports 1,45,000 children in India with donations raised in the U.S. The U.S lawmakers said they were “long time supporters of U.S. –India partnership” but the Indian government’s treatment of CI has “caused serious concern within the U.S. Congress.”

Deep concern “It is with this in mind that we write to express our deep concern over the lack of transparency and consistency in your government’s enforcement of the Foreign Contributions Regulations Act,” the members wrote. The Indian government

Rajnath Singh

has put CI on a Priority Watch list, accusing the charity of carrying out religious conversion in the country. However, no case has been filed against the organisation. American lawmakers, most of them staunch supporters of India, have raised the issue with the Prime Minister’s Office earlier, but the Indian government has not budged. The letter to the Home Minister has been organised by the Republican Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce and Democrat Ranking Member Eliot Engel. “As long time supporters of the U.S.-India partner-

ship, we have worked diligently to deepen ties between our two countries. As the largest and oldest democracies in the world, India and the United States share bonds rooted in political pluralism and respect for the rule of law. It is with this in mind that we write to express our deep concern over the lack of transparency and consistency in your government’s enforcement of the Foreign Contributions Regulations Act. “The ongoing case of U.S.based Compassion International, which will have harmful consequences for many Indian children, has caused serious concern within the U.S. Congress. As you may know, Compassion International has worked in India since 1968, and today, its programs support over 1,45,000 Indian children, providing critical tutoring, health and nutrition, and medical services,” they said in the letter to Mr. Singh. The U.S lawmakers said: “We want to be clear with you that we expect all U.S. entities operating within India to respect India’s laws, including Compassion.

‘Help speed up resolution of commercial disputes’

Special Correspondent

Centre seeks SC’s assistance for efective delivery of justice

The Defence Ministry will look into the possibility of having a separate fast-track procurement process in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), said Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre on Thursday. “The suggestion from the Signal Officer-in-Chief [SO-in-C] to create a separate category of fast track procurement for ICT equipment which are very severely and rapidly effected by technological obsolescence is a very good suggestion … I will follow it up with the staff in the ministry,” he said speaking at the Defcom India 2017 conference jointly organised by the Army’s Corps of Signals and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said that in addition to keeping pace with the fast changing technology, the same technology should be made flexible to be used in both conventional and sub-conventional conflicts. CM YK

Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

The Central government has urged the Supreme Court to provide the necessary leadership for expeditious and effective resolution of commercial disputes in Delhi and Mumbai lower courts, through e-filing and e-service of summons and adherence to time lines. In a letter to Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said there were certain issues that could be addressed by the judiciary through its initiatives in the larger interest of efficient and effective delivery of justice. He said the Supreme Court could provide the necessary leadership for the proper implementation of the existing provisions of the Civil Procedure Code relating to the grant of adjournments, adherence to time lines and electronic filing and electronic service of summons in city courts of Delhi (11) and Mumbai (60) immediately.

Ravishankar Prasad

“Doing so will go a long way in providing timely and effective enforcement of contracts and this will undoubtedly ensure a marked improvement in our ranking. I would request you to kindly take steps to share this information with the Delhi and the Bombay High Courts and seek their assistance in implementing these measures with utmost priority,” said Mr. Prasad.

Ease of doing business He said the government accorded high priority to improving the ease of doing business and making India a favourable investment des-

‘It ensures integration of their land’

Mamata makes choice clear Special Correspondent Kolkata

Special Correspondent Kolkata

The framework agreement, signed between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak Muivah) in August 2015, will give Nagas “maximum sovereign power”, NSCN (IM) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah said, even as he pointed out that the agreement talks about “co-existence” and shared sovereignty of “two entities.” “The ‘Framework Agreement’ will give the Nagas maximum sovereign power to grow into a developed political people and it will also strengthen the security of India,” Mr Muivah told a council meeting of the NSCN (IM) at its headquarters in Hebron near Dimapur in Nagaland on Wednesday.

Unique identity Reflecting on the terms of the agreement, which have been kept under wraps, Mr. Muivah, who was re-elected as general secretary for six years at the council meeting, said, “The historic ‘Framework Agreement’ recognises the unique history, the identity, the sovereignty, [and] the territories of the Nagas.” He pointed out that the

Thuingaleng Muivah agreement “also recognises the legitimate right of the Nagas to integration of all Naga territories”. But, in the same breath, he also said the agreement talks about ‘co-existence of the two entities and sharesovereignty of the two entities’.

Particulars revealed This is the first time since the agreement was signed that the NSCN (IM) has spoken about the crux of the agreement. Expressing the hope that talks with the Government of India will conclude soon, Mr. Muivah said the NSCN (IM) is now fully “engaged in political talks with the Government of India for working out an honourable political solution”.

With only months to go before the Presidential election, Trinamool Congress chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that she would be happy to see L.K. Advani, Sushma Swaraj or Pranab Mukherjee, persons she shared a cordial relation with, occupy the post. “I will be happy if any of them gets to become the next President,” she said in an interview to a Bengali television channel on Thursday. To a separate question, she said she shared a good relationship with Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh too. Asked if she would support any of the leaders, Ms. Banerjee chose to be diplomatic. “It will depend on what is good for the country,” she said. The Trinamool has a formidable presence in both Houses of Parliament and the State Assembly and can therefore play a significant role. Ms. Banerjee’s comment has come at a time when the relationship between the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre and TMC in the State is at its nadir.

No cause for worry over H-1B visa There is no ‘hanging sword’ over Indian community members, says Minister munity members employed under H-1B visa or L1 visa categories.

Dialogue with U.S. “Four Bills have certainly come to the U.S. Congress but they have not been passed so far. We are conducting a dialogue with the U.S. at a very high level regarding this ... We are making all efforts (through diplo-

matic channels) to ensure these Bills are not passed,” Ms. Swaraj said. “So there is no reason to worry about it as of now,” she said explaining that the visa policy of the U.S. had always varied. The Minister pointed out that even before Donald Trump became President, the U.S. had “flip-flopped” on the H1B visa policy. “In 1990, when H-1B visas

were first introduced, only 65,000 visas were issued. In 2000, it was raised to 1,95,000, which was called the Visa Reform Act. In 2004 the number of these visas was again reversed to 65,000 by the U.S. under another Visa Reform Act. So there has been a flip-flop on this policy even before Donald Trump government,” she said.

Tweet appeal Ms. Swaraj’s response came after she was approached by a netizen who tweeted, “@SushmaSwaraj please help my brother his life in big trouble...” Reacting to a separate complaint of nearly 500 Indian workers being deprived of their salary in Bahrain, she tweeted, “Indian Embassy in Bahrain is seized of this matter and will help them.”

Faster ICT upgrade for armed forces NEW DELHI

Muivah says deal with Centre helps Nagas

tination for the domestic as well as global investors. Efficient and effective delivery of justice played a key role. “The World Bank publishes a report on “Doing Business” on annual basis, which compares the business regulations across 190 economies. As per the report published by the World Bank in September 2016, India’s overall ranking improved from 131 in 2016 to 130 in 2017. The overall ranking is an average of the various sub-indicators on the basis of which the countries have been ranked. These sub-indicators include the time taken to start a business, time taken to get construction permits, paying taxes and enforcing contracts,” said the letter. The “Enforcing Contract” indicator in the report measures the time and cost for resolving a standardised commercial dispute through a local court of first instance, which for the purpose of the ranking is the Delhi district court and Mumbai city civil court as of now. A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

12 WORLD

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

ELSEWHERE

‘H-1B is not for replacing American workers’ WASHINGTON

Asserting that replacement of U.S. workers is not the intent of H-1B visa, Labor Secretary-nominee Alexander Acosta also acknowledged the labour shortage. “[A]mericans are being asked to train their foreign replacements. That is not the intent of the H-1B,” he said. PTI

4 killed in Wisconsin shooting WESTON

Four people including a police oicer are dead and a suspect is in custody after shootings at a bank and a law irm in northern Wisconsin, followed by a stand-of at an apartment complex that ended in a volley of gunire. Police characterised the initial shooting at the Marathon Savings Bank in Rothschild on Wednesday afternoon as a domestic dispute, but have provided no further details. AP

10 Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai fighting CAIRO

Ten members of Egypt’s security forces were killed when their vehicles were hit by two improvised bombs during a military operation against suspected militants in the Sinai peninsula, the army said on Thursday. REUTERS

Chinese troops join Pakistan Day parade ISLAMABAD

Chinese, Saudi and Turkish troops for the first time joined the Pakistan Day parade in the capital Islamabad on Thursday, in a sign of deepening ties. Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain said it was the first time Chinese troops participated in a parade in a foreign country. REUTERS

#WeStandTogether, say Britons after terror attack From Prime Minister May to Opposition leader Corbyn, leaders urge calm and unity; far-right elements link attack to immigration said Prime Minister Theresa May. Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn called for communities to unite following the “appalling atrocity.” While the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Rowley said: “It is still our belief — which continues to be borne out by our investigation — that this attacker acted alone yesterday and was inspired by international terrorism,” said .

Vidya Ram LONDON

Politicians and community leaders from around London and the U.K. appealed for calm and unity, as the country contends with the aftermath of a terrorist attack at the heart of its democracy, yards from where members of both the House of Commons and Lords had gathered for parliamentary business on Wednesday. Setting the tone of how London would not be cowed was the resumption of normal business at the Houses of Parliament. ”Beyond these walls today, in scenes repeated in towns and cities across the country, millions of people are going about their days and getting on with their lives… the streets are as busy as ever… the offices are full… it is these actions — millions of acts of normality — that we find the best response to terrorism,”

wards any religion or faith as a result of this attack…Tonight there will be many fearing reprisals.” The Sikh Federation also issued a statement called for unity. “We join other peace loving people to condemn this attack.”

Union lags ly at half-mast in London. AFP *

No to divisions “We stand together in the face of those who seek to harm us and seek to destroy our way of life,” said London Mayor Sadiq Khan. The attacker who ran an SUV into pedestrians on a crowded London bridge and then stabbed a police officer to death on the grounds of Britain’s Parliament was earlier identified as Britishborn Khalid Masood (52).

Locals are shocked at Birmingham’s link to attack

Religious groups have also swiftly condemned the events, and called for unity. “The best response to this outrage is to make sure we come together in solidarity and not allow the terrorists to divide us,” said Harun Khan, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain while the Hindu Council U.K. warned that it would be “wrong to stir up hatred to-

Right-wing rhetoric While most individuals and organisations refrained from political points in the aftermath of the tragic events in London, Tommy Robinson, a former far-right, anti-Islam leader was widely condemned on social media for attempting to gain political capital at the scene of the attack, after launching into a verbal tirade, and an attack against Muslims in Britain online. However, those voices appeared in the minority, as Twitter was flooded with messages of a commitment to unity and hashtags such as

London mourns victims of incident Special correspondent London

A minute’s silence was held in Parliament and at Scotland Yard on Thursday morning, and a vigil was set to take place in central London for the victims. The attack on London came exactly a year after the terrorist attack on Brussels, in which 32-people were killed in bomb attacks at the city’s airport and at a sub-

#WeStandTogether. Virendra Sharma, the Labour MP for the ethnically diverse London constituency of Ealing Southall, who was one of those parliamentarians caught up in lockdown in the House of Commons chamber on Wednesday, told The Hindu that he had re-

Agence France-Presse Birmingham

In the well-heeled district of Edgbaston, residents are struggling to understand how their quiet corner of Britain’s second city Birmingham could be linked to the deadly terror attack in London. Overnight, armed police stormed an apartment on Hagley Road, wedged between restaurants selling pizza and Persian food, one of six locations raided just hours after a car and knife rampage outside the Houses of Parliament in Central London.

A cricket-loving area The road is in the wellheeled district of Edgbaston — a cricket-loving corner of Britain’s second largest city that is unused to the sight of armed police blocking off streets. A police cordon surrounded the flat on Hagley Road,

Iwona Romek, a neighbour of Khalid Masood, the attacker, in Birmingham. AP *

with two local police officers standing guard outside the brown front door while detectives from London went inside. The flat’s owner, Farhad Makanvand, turned up to collect the mail from the Shiraz restaurant next door, but he said he knew little about his tenants. “I do own the flat but it is run by an agent. I have nothing to do with the tenants,”

Mr. Makanvand told AFP, without giving his name. The extent of Birmingham’s links to the attack has yet to become clear, but a car hire firm in Solihull on the city outskirts has confirmed that the Hyundai vehicle used in the attack was rented there. The attacker was identified Thursday as 52-year-old Khalid Masood, who was known by “a number of aliases” and had a range of convictions including grievous bodily harm and possession of offensive weapons, according to London’s Metropolitan police. Birmingham is home to large South Asian and Muslim communities, last year hosting Europe’s largest celebrations for the Eid festival. The proportion of Muslims in Birmingham is 21.8% of the population — compared to a national average of 4.5%, according to the latest census figures.

Defence Secretary admits that lone wolf attacks are ‘diicult to forestall’ ichael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, has said that security in Parliament will be reviewed by the authorities, as he said it was extremely difficult to prevent “lone wolf ” terror attacks involving simply a car and knife. Mr. Fallon paid tribute to police officer Keith Palmer, who was killed in the incident at Westminster on Wednesday, saying “he gave his life to protect democracy”. Speaking before Theresa May addressed the House of Commons, he stressed that Mr. Palmer had ensured the terrorist was unable to breach the security of the House of Commons. Nevertheless, Mr. Fallon suggested it was important to look again at any potential weak spots on the parliamentary estate. “Parliament cannot be hermetically sealed, people are coming and going all the time,” he said, pointing out that MPs had been called at

M

UNHRC gives Colombo 2 more years Geneva resolution asks Sri Lanka to implement measures identiied in 2015 Press Trust of India Colombo

Sri Lanka was on Thursday given two more years to set up its accountability mechanism to probe alleged war crimes committed during the 37-year civil war in the UNHRC resolution adopted in Geneva. The Foreign Ministry here said that 36 more countries had co-sponsored the resolution which was adopted without a vote. This was in addition to the original sponsors — the U.S., U.K., Montenegro and Macedonia.

Transitional justice Titled “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka” the resolution gives Sri Lanka two years to show more progress on the transitional CM YK

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena. AP *

justice process. Sri Lanka was granted 18 months by a UNHRC resolution in October 2015 to initiate a credible investigation into the nearly three-decades long civil war. The new resolution requests the government to fully implement the measures identified in the resolution of 2015. This includes

engagement with special procedure mandate holders in protecting human rights, asking the UNHRC to provide advice and technical assistance. The two-year time has been allowed despite strong opposition from the Tamil lobby which cited inaction by the government in show-

ceived messages of support from people and organisations across communities within his constituency. “London communities are wise and strong and are committed to equality and unity… I have full confidence the general public will not listen to the right wing reac-

Parliament security to be reviewed Anushka Asthana

The vehicle used was rented from a hire irm on the outskirts

way station in the Maelbeek area. Senior security figures have warned for a while that Britain had a number of factors that could limit terrorists’ abilities to inflict damage — such as strong gun control laws. But the use of tools such as vehicles pose new threats. Last year it emerged that 12 attacks had been thwarted in the past two years alone, and hundreds

ing genuine commitment to the resolution. UN rights council had called for international judges to help investigate possible war crimes to guarantee impartiality. Sri Lankan government has resisted the call by UN Human Rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein to set up an international hybrid court. Speaking at the sessions, the Sri Lankan Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha de Silva said, “It is always work-inprogress. The people of Sri Lanka have been through extremely difficult and painful times, and although much has been done, there is much still left to do, including strengthening our institutions and achieving economic progress. There are multiple challenges that we face.”

For peace: People holding up a banner ahead of a candlelit vigil at Trafalgar Square on in London on Thursday. GETTY IMAGES *

and elsewhere, where terrorists used vehicles to murder people. Asked about the bravery of MP Tobias Ellwood , who tried to help Palmer, Mr. Fallon said colleagues had commented on his bravery. “We should also comment on the bravery of all those other police officers in Westminster who ran forwards into the danger and dealt with the attacker as quickly as they could.” Mr. Fallon said a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee, chaired by Theresa May, had reviewed whether the Met police had the resources they needed, including military backup. He said there had been budget increases for the security services in recent years, but that was under constant review. “I want to reassure you that the police and security sources will have resources they need,” he said, adding that it was not yet known whether the individual had associates . THE GUARDIAN

of “live” cases were ongoing at any moment in time. The Soufan Group, a U.S.-based intelligence services company, said that while recent attacks in Europe lacked the “formal command and control” previously associated with terrorism, “most attackers have engaged in some level of communication, [with] members of groups such as the Islamic State or al Qaeda“.

tionaries — we cannot deny there is a threat from terrorism in our society but when we are united we can send a message that we don’t endorse their ideology or their message of hatred. That is the history of the people of London and I am sure they will carry on this tradition.”

Utah man was among those killed Reuters New York

A Utah man was killed and his wife badly injured during Wednesday’s attack, relatives of the couple said on Thursday. Kurt Cochran (54) and his wife, Melissa, were in Europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary and had been due to return to the U.S. on Thursday, according to his brother-in-law, Clinton Payne. Mr. Cochran’s wife was hospitalised for treatment after suffering a broken leg and rib, and a cut to her head, Payne said. She was expected to recover. U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his condolences. “A great American, Kurt Cochran, was killed in the London terror attack,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. “My prayers and condolences are with his family and friends.” The couple were visiting Melissa Cochran's parents, who are missionaries in London.

that time for a vote in the chamber so people were coming and going through the main gates in cars or on foot. “Obviously this is something that will be reviewed by the house authorities”, he added, arguing that Londoners were getting back to work as they took the attack “on the chin”. Mr. Fallon told BBC Radio 4 that police and security agencies had stopped more than a dozen attacks that were being planned from going ahead in Britain last year,

but said Wednesday’s incident in Westminster was the kind of thing that was very difficult to see coming. “Of course this kind of attack, this lone wolf attack, with things from daily life — a vehicle, a knife — are much more difficult to forestall,” he said. “And we are dealing with a terrorist enemy that is not making demands or holding people hostage but just to kill as many people as possible.” The Defence Secretary compared the attack to others, including in Berlin

U.S. Army veteran kills black man

Taliban take key Afghan district in south Helmand

Associated Press

The fall of Sangin comes after a year-long battle

New York

A white U.S. Army veteran from Baltimore bent on making a racist attack took a bus to New York, randomly picked out a black man who was collecting bottles on the street and killed him with a sword, police said on Wednesday. James Harris Jackson turned himself in at a Times Square police station early on Wednesday, about 25 hours after Timothy Caughman staggered into a police precinct bleeding to death. Jackson, who was arrested on suspicion of murder, told police he’d harbored feelings of hatred toward black men for at least 10 years, authorities said. He travelled to New York on March 17.

Sangin centre early on Thursday morning. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, also issued a statement claiming the Taliban capture of Sangin.

Associated Press Kabul

The Taliban captured a key district centre in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province on Thursday while in the country’s north, an officer turned his rifle on sleeping colleagues, killing nine policemen, officials said. The fall of Sangin district, once considered the deadliest battlefield for British and U.S. troops in Afghanistan, comes amid the insurgents’ year-long push to expand their footprint in the Taliban heartland of Helmand. The British who took over southern Helmand in 2006 were headquartered at Camp Sebastian, which at its peak was the centre for 137

An Afghan Army soldier in Sangin in a ile photo. AP *

bases in Helmand. Most of Britain’s more than 400 military deaths occurred in Helmand province in Sangin alone, Britain lost 104 soldiers. The district’s police chief, Mohammad Rasoul, said the Taliban overran

Poorly protected Mr. Rasoul said the district headquarters had been poorly protected and that at the time of the Taliban siege, only eight policemen and 30 Afghan soldiers were on duty. Afghan security forces were now amassing nearby for a full-scale counter-attack in a bid to retake Sangin, Mr. Rasoul added, though he did not say when the assault would occur and how many forces would be involved. A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU

BUSINESS 13

NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

market watch 23-03-2017

% CHANGE

Sensex ddddddddddd 29,332 dddddddddddddddddddddddddd 0.56 US Dollarddddddddd 65.52 dddddddddddddddddddddddddd 0.08 Gold dddddddddddddddd 29,000 dddddddddddddddddddddddd -1.19 Brent oil dddddddddd 50.36 dddddddddddddddddddddddd -0.19

Airtel to buy Tikona’s 4G vertical for ₹1,600 cr. Telecom major plans to roll out high-speed services on newly acquired spectrum in ive regions after closing deal

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NIFTY 50

Special Correspondent PRICE CHANGE

ACC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1400.75. . . . . . . 14.35 Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325.60. . . . . . . . . 1.95 Ambuja Cements. . . .. . . . . . 232.65. . . . . . . . -0.35 Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1061.60. . . . . . . . . 3.75 Aurobindo Pharma . . . . . . 686.80. . . . . . . . . 6.25 Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488.25. . . . . . . . . 2.80 Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2865.95. . . . . . . 12.15 Bank of Baroda . . . . . .. . . . . . 162.20. . . . . . . . . 0.60 Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 338.50. . . . . . . . . 0.30 BHEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167.95. . . . . . . . . 2.10 Bosch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22982.20. . . . . . . . -5.00 BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 655.05. . . . . . . 10.05 Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596.25. . . . . . . . . 1.05 Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295.90. . . . . . . . . 3.75 Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 2631.20. . . . . . . . . 1.55 Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. 24373.55. . . -167.45 GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 376.90. . . . . . . . . 7.90 Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1091.90. . . . . . . 11.80 HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876.65. . . . . . . . . 3.90 HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1456.65. . . . . . . 14.35 HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1430.90. . . . . . . . . 0.00 Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 3367.40. . . . . . . 52.80 Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193.70. . . . . . . . . 0.30 Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 902.00. . . . . . . . -2.95 ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266.95. . . . . . . . . 1.95 Idea Cellular . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 91.60. . . . . . . . . 0.30 IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1383.90. . . . . . . . . 7.30 Bharti Infratel . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 313.55. . . . . . . . . 0.60 Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1040.45. . . . . . . 12.75 ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277.60. . . . . . . . -2.25 Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868.15. . . . . . . . . 5.95 L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1543.90. . . . . . . 14.05 Lupin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1490.25. . . . . . . 22.10 M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1274.55. . . . . . . . . 3.70 Maurti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 6034.80. . . . . . . 29.00 NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164.40. . . . . . . . . 3.65 ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193.60. . . . . . . . . 1.10 PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 193.05. . . . . . . . . 0.95 Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1273.30. . . . . . . 13.60 State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268.50. . . . . . . . . 1.00 Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 703.15. . . . . . . . . 1.70 Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 472.90. . . . . . . 13.00 Tata Motors DVR. . . .. . . . . . 281.60. . . . . . . . . 4.15 Tata Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87.10. . . . . . . . . 0.15 Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495.50. . . . . . . . . 7.40 TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2460.35. . . . . . -18.60 Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 482.15. . . . . . . . . 6.75 UltraTech Cement . .. . . . 3974.25. . . . . . . . . 4.00 Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510.00. . . . . . . . . 9.45 YES Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1518.60. . . . . . . 47.75 Zee Entertainment . . . . . . 523.60. . . . . . . . . 2.80

NEW DELHI

Bharti Airtel said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Tikona Digital Networks’ 4G business for ₹1,600 crore, including spectrum and 350 sites in five telecom circles. Tikona has 20 MHz spectrum in the 2300 MHz band in Gujarat, U.P. (East), U.P. (West), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh circles. With this acquisition, Bharti Airtel will have spectrum in 2300 MHz band across all circles. Airtel plans to roll out high-speed 4G services on the newly acquired spectrum in the five circles immediately after the closure of the transaction, according to a company statement.

Telecom consolidation After the entry of Reliance Jio’s 4G services, mergers and acquisitions have gathered pace in the country’s telecommunications industry. Idea Cellular on

Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4 p.m. on March 23 TT BUY

TT SELL

US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 65.32. . . . . . . 65.64 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 70.48. . . . . . . 70.82 British Pound . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 81.63. . . . . . . 82.03 Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 58.82. . . . . . . 59.11 Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 9.48. . . . . . . . . 9.53 Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 65.82. . . . . . . 66.15 Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 46.68. . . . . . . 46.92 Canadian Dollar . . . . . . . . .. . 49.04. . . . . . . 49.29 Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 14.74. . . . . . . 14.83 Source:Indian Bank

BULLION RATES

CHENNAI

March 23 rates in rupees with previous rates in parentheses Retail Silver (1g) . . . . . . . . . . . 44.30. . . . . (44.20) 22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . . . . . . . . . . 2,780. . . . . (2,784)

Bankers to meet FinMin on liquidity SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI

The Finance Ministry will meet select bankers on Friday to discuss a new facility to drain surplus liquidity from the banking system arising out of the Centre’s demonetisation move, bankers who are aware of the development told The Hindu. The new Standing Deposit Facility allows banks to park their excess funds with the RBI at a rate which is lower than the repo rate but without any collateral, a letter from the Department of Economic Affairs, which called the meeting, indicated. The repo rate is 6.25%. Currently, banks can get funds through the repo window from the RBI by using government securities as collateral.

*

March 20 agreed to merge with the Indian unit of the U.K.-headquartered Vodafone Plc, making it a $23 billion giant and creating the country’s largest mobile operator, displacing Bharti Airtel. Reliance, with an investment of $25 billion offering free voice and data service for six months, has disrupted the industry’s pricing struc-

ture. Rajan Mathews, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India had said the current tariff war in the market may not be sustainable for long He had also said that in contrast to 13 operators a few years ago, the Indian mobile telecom market is down to “four or five operators.” Bharti Airtel had last month announced the ac-

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday approved the metals and mining firm Vedanta’s merger with its cashrich oil subsidiary Cairn India, paving the way for the formation of the fourthlargest resource company in the world after BHP Billiton, RioTinto and Glencore Plc. The initial deal terms, announced in June 2015, were revised in July 2016 in order to address the concerns of the minority shareholders in Cairn India. According to the revised deal, minority shareholders in Cairn India will receive,

April 2016 and synergies of the merger will be seen in FY2017-18, Anil Agarwal, chairman of Vedanta Resources had told The Hindu in an earlier interview.

Anil Agarwal “It’s just a matter of days when the deal will be completed. It’s more [to do with] procedural issues,” a source in the know of the development told The Hindu. The effective date of merger will be

Ownership pattern Following the merger, Vedanta Plc.’s ownership in Vedanta Limited is expected to fall to 50.1% from its current 62.9%. Cairn India minority shareholders will own 20.2% and Vedanta Limited minority shareholders will own a 29.7% stake in the enlarged entity. Speaking about the deal in July 2016, Tom Albanese, CEO of Vedanta Limited, had

said: “The strategic rationale for merging Vedanta Limited and Cairn India remains highly compelling. Diversified resources companies have delivered superior returns for shareholders historically. The transaction consolidates our portfolio of attractive Tier-I assets and simplifies the group structure, better positioning the group to deliver superior value to all shareholders over the longer term.” Shares of Vedanta Limited rose 1.78% to ₹265.7, valuing the resources firm at ₹78,771 crore. Cairn India shares gained 2.68% at ₹298.9 in a firm Mumbai market on Thursday.

MUMBAI

Private sector lender YES Bank on Thursday came out with a qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue for raising $650 million, with a $100-million greenshoe option. In a notification to the exchanges, the bank said it had set a floor price at ₹1,498.95 and the bank may offer a discount of 5% on the floor price. YES Bank shares rose 3.12% to ₹1516.05 on the BSE. Motilal Oswal, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, IIFL and CLSA are the merchant bankers for the issue. Earlier, in September 2016, the bank had come out with a QIP to raise $1 billion but then withdrew the proposal citing ‘volatile market conditions’ because of ‘misinterpretation of QIP guidelines.’ Goldman Sachs was one of the merchant bankers for that issue.

CCI approves sale of RCom tower division MUMBAI

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved a ₹11,000 crore proposed transaction involving the sale of the tower division of Reliance Infratel Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Communications Ltd. (RCom), to Brookfield Infrastructure Group. Billionaire Anil Ambaniled-Reliance Communications last year agreed to sell its tower assets to Brookfield to help pare its debt. The tower division of Reliance Infratel will be demerged into Towercom Infrastructure Private Limited (Towerco) and Rapid Holdings 2 Pte. Ltd., a part of the

Brookfield Infrastructure Group, will acquire 100% of Towercom Infrastructure. The deal is subject to completion of the demerger, through a scheme of arrangement, and the completion of certain other conditions and approvals, said a company statement adding that the company had already filed an application with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench, for approval of the scheme of arrangement. Post closing, the company will receive ‘B’ class non-voting shares in Towerco providing 49% future economic upside from the business based on certain conditions.

GST will make exports competitive: Sitharaman There will soon be no barriers between States, she says Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, when implemented, will result in eliminating barriers between states and make exports more competitive, according to Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. “GST gives a feeling that market in India is one now and there are no barriers between regions or provinces. Even within the country, the value chains – which will get integrated – will have a simpler and straightforward flow (of goods) and therefore, it should make exports more

Nirmala Sitharaman

competitive rather than expensive,” Ms. Sitharaman told reporters. The Union Cabinet on Monday approved four GST legislations – the Central GST Bill, Integrated GST Bill, Union Territory GST Bill,

and the Compensation Bill – which had earlier been approved by the GST Council over 12 meetings spanning about six months. The Bills now need to be passed by Parliament, while the State GST Bill needs to be passed by the legislative assemblies of each state. Responding to a query on the status of talks between India and the U.S. on H-1B visa-related issues, the minister said, “The new U.S. administration is focusing on the larger issue of immigration and the notification which they have given for H-1B for 2018 says there is no change in position and we find no change.”

Current account gap widens in Q3

Accord favours portability of social security contributions

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

CM YK

‘Healthy competition’ “Overall things are heading in the right direction for a healthy competition. The Indian telecom sector is under pressure and the future expansion and growth will depend on the quantum of spectrum held and the quality of services offered. Such acquisitions help operators to address the above highlighted issues,” he said. As per the agreement announced on Thursday, the acquisition of the 4G business in Gujarat, U.P. (East), U.P. (West) and Himachal

Pradesh will be undertaken by Airtel, while in the Rajasthan circle, it will be accomplished through Airtel’s subsidiary Bharti Hexacom Limited. “The proposed acquisition will enable Airtel to fill BWA [broadband wireless access] spectrum gaps in the 2300 MHz band in Rajasthan, UP (East) and UP (West), thereby securing a pan India-footprint in the band. The deal will significantly bolster Airtel’s spectrum position in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, taking its overall BWA spectrum holding to 30 MHz each in these circles,” according to the company. Post-completion of the deal, Airtel will have 30 MHz in the 2300 MHz band in 13 circles giving it an advantage in handling the surging data demand, according to the statement. Tikona’s Wobro business will continue to be held by shareholders of Tikona.

Special Correspondent

for each equity share held, one equity share, and four redeemable preference shares with a face value of ₹10 in Vedanta Limited. The preference shares will carry a coupon of 7.5% and a tenure of 18 months. “The National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench, has today approved the Scheme of Arrangement between Cairn India Limited and Vedanta Limited, and their respective shareholders and creditors,” according to a statement from Cairn India. “The certified copy of the order is awaited from the Tribunal,” it added. Both companies declined comment.

India wants to hasten talks on proposed global services pact India on Thursday pressed for expediting the negotiation process for a global services pact, that among other things, aims to ease norms for movement of skilled workers across borders. India had, in February, submitted to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) a legally-vetted proposal for a Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement. The proposal was taken up by an expert committee at the WTO headquarters in Geneva recently, and it will be considered for discussion by all the WTO members. “I hope it (negotiations on TFS) will not take too long because the disillusion that multilateral institutions are delivering slowly cannot be afforded any longer in the political reality of the globe today,” Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala

for the surging data demands on 4G. In addition, this will also help Airtel to improve the quality of service with additional spectrum, he added. TDD-LTE and FDD LTE are two different standards for offering 4G LTE services. Mr. Tejpal said after the Vodafone-Idea deal, the Airtel acquisition is another step towards consolidation in the Indian telecom sector.

Merged entity will be fourth-largest resource company after BHP Billiton, RioTinto and Glencore NEW DELHI

EXCHANGE RATES

Firm footing: Bharti Airtel says it will have an edge in handling a surge in demand for data, after the deal closes. REUTERS

quisition of the local unit of Norway’s Telenor. Though the companies didn’t disclose the deal size, a Deutsche Bank Market Research report pegged the value of the transaction at about $300 million, or more than ₹2,000 crore. “Airtel’s continued focus on strengthening its 4G capabilities across multiple spectrum bands will be complemented with the BWA spectrum acquisition from Tikona,” Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel, said. Rishi Tejpal, principal research analyst at Gartner said that Airtel’s acquisition of Tikona filled the gap that it had in the TDD-LTE band mainly in U.P. East, U.P. West and Rajasthan circles. “With this acquisition, Airtel will have nationwide TDD-LTE spectrum,” He added that combined with FDD-LTE, this additional spectrum holding will help Airtel to be future ready

NCLT gives nod for Cairn-Vedanta merger Special Correspondent

CURRENCY

YES Bank’s QIP to raise $650 mn.

Global mobility: The agreement will ease norms for movement of skilled workers. Above, the entrance to the WTO. AFP *

Sitharaman said at a TFS workshop organised by her ministry along with the World Bank Group. The proposed TFS, among other things, aims to ensure portability of social security contributions and cross-border insurance coverage to boost medical tourism. According to India, the proposed pact is similar to the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in Goods, that recently came into force, and aims to ease cus-

toms norms to boost global goods trade. India had specified that the proposed TFS pact is also about ‘facilitation,’ that is “making market access ‘effective’ and commercially meaningful and not about ‘new’ (or greater) market access.” She said the lessons learnt from the discussions on TFA in Goods were very critical, and wanted the World Bank to closely engage with the WTO on TFS to help it gain traction.

Mumbai

The country’s current account deficit (CAD) widened to $7.9 billion in the Oct.-Dec. quarter of the current financial year, which was 1.4% of GDP as compared with $3.4 billion, or 0.6%, recorded in the preceding quarter, Reserve Bank of India data showed. CAD was $7.1 billion in the third quarter of the fiscal 2015-16. RBI said the CAD widened primarily on account of a decline in net invisibles receipts despite a slightly lower trade deficit on a year-on-year basis. “Net services receipts moderated on a y-o-y basis, primarily owing to the fall in earnings from software, financial services and charges for intellectual property rights. Private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, amounted to $15.2 billion, having declined by 3.8% from ... a year ago.” A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

14 BUSINESS

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

IN BRIEF

Jobs impact of ‘Make In India’ under review

Central bank puts 4 PSBs under watch

CUMI commissions 3 plants at its Kochi minerals complex

Press Trust of India

Firm invested ₹80 crore, funded via internal accruals

NEW DELHI

Centre working on report assessing compliance by agencies ARUN S New Delhi

Oppo unveils F3 Plus with dual front cameras NEW DELHI

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo on Thursday introduced F3 Plus with dual front cameras with a price tag of ₹30,990 in India. “Our brand has been growing rapidly across South-east Asia and other regions around the world. As per the GFK data, we became the No.2 smartphone brand in India oline market last year,” said Sky Li, global VP & president of OPPO India.

With SPICE, cost of incorporating irms cut NEW DELHI

As part of ease of doing business initiatives, the Centre on Thursday said that the cost of incorporating a company with Simpliied Proforma for Incorporating a Company Electronically (SPICE) has been reduced to ₹500 from ₹2,000. SPICE is an e-form which does away with the requirement to ill up multiple forms by business entities operating in India.

Repco Home Finance ties up with NHB CHENNAI

Chennai-based housing inance company, Repco Home Finance Ltd., has tied-up with National Housing Bank for implementation of creditlinked subsidy scheme for the middle income group (CLSS for MIG). The scheme will be implemented for a period of one year from January 2017 in all statutory towns under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Mission.

CM YK

The Centre is working on a ‘compliance report” of its flagship ‘Make In India’ (MII) initiative that attempts to transform India into a global design and manufacturing hub as well as generate large-scale employment. The objective of the exercise, among other things, is to find out whether the government departments and agencies implementing the MII programme are meeting the deadlines envisaged in the ‘MII Action Plan’ of December 2014.

MII initiative The MII initiative covers 25 focus sectors ranging from automobiles to wellness. The ‘MII Action Plan’ had set short-term (one year) and medium-term (three years) targets “to boost investments in the 25 sectors” and to “raise the contribution of the manufacturing sector to 25% of the GDP by 2020.” At a national workshop held in December 2014 on these 25 sectors, an Action Plan was finalised with the help of Secretaries to the Indian Government as well as industry leaders. As per the National Manufacturing Policy, “the share of manufacturing in India’s GDP has stagnated at 15%16% since 1980 while the share of comparable economies in Asia is much higher at 25%-34%.” Government sources said a detailed study is also being undertaken on the impact of the MII initiative including a sector-wise assessment regarding job creation and foreign direct investment inflows using the National

Roaring potential: The manufacturing sector has the potential to create up to 90 million domestic jobs by 2025. Industrial Code.

Classification

RBI, CSO data Data from the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Statistics Office are also being looked into in this regard, they said, adding that inputs are being sought from the State governments as well. The compliance report is being monitored and evaluated at the highest level, including by the Prime Minister’s Office, the sources said. Recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce wanted an assessment to be done on how the MII initiative has helped the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises. It recommended that dedicated steps should be taken to ensure that FDI promotes the MSME sector, and sought to know the factors behind the Foreign Portfolio Investments turning negative and its impact on the Indian industry. The panel also wanted to learn if the

MII initiative has seized the opportunity of demographic dividend in the country.

$1 trillion by 2025 According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), “India’s manufacturing sector has the potential to touch $1 trillion by 2025. There is potential for the sector to account for 25-30% of the country’s GDP and create up to 90 million domestic jobs by 2025.” “FDI inflows in India’s manufacturing sector grew by 82% year-on-year to $16.13 billion during AprilNovember 2016,” according to the IBEF, a trust formed by the Commerce Ministry to promote of the ‘Made in India’ label overseas. It said, “The government has an ambitious plan to locally manufacture as many as 181 products. The move could help infrastructure sectors … that require large capital expenditure and revive the $27.75 billion Indian capital goods business.”

The Reserve Bank of India has put four public sector lenders, including IDBI Bank and Indian Overseas Bank, under watch and advised them to stay off risky assets so that their financial health is not stressed further. While UCO Bank also figured in the list, the name of the fourth lender could not be immediately ascertained. Sources said these lenders were on the RBI’s radar as their financial health may not improve after the central bank’s asset quality review ends on March 31. These banks have been advised by both the Finance Ministry and the RBI to improve their financials, look for avenues for capital infusion and create a selfsustaining model by selling assets, they added.

Special Correspondent CHENNAI

Carborundum Universal (CUMI), part of the ₹29,500 crore Murugappa Group, commissioned three new fusion plants at its electromineral complex in Kochi on Thursday. With the new facilities — a zirconia bubble fusion plant and two alumina fusion plants — CUMI’s complex here has become one of the most advanced and integrated electro-mineral complexes in the world, said A. Vellayan, executive chairman, Murugappa Group, who inaugurated the plant. An investment of ₹80 crore, funded through internal accruals, has been made in the new facilities. At full capacity, it will add about 25,000 tonnes of fused minerals generation,

A.Vellayan

with potential sales of about $30 million, said K. Srinivasan, managing director, CUMI. The direct job creation from this project will be primarily in technology and in the application side. It is also expected to create more than 300 indirect jobs in the front- and back-end of the supply chain, he said. Zirconia bubble is claimed to be a first-of-its

kind material produced in not more than three countries in the world. It is extensively used in ceramics, refractories, pigments and in the nuclear industry. The zirconia bubble fusion plant has a modern tilt furnace while the two alumina fusion plants have modern pot furnaces and tilt furnaces of large capacities, Mr. Srinivasan said.

Exports CUMI’s products are exported to 43 countries in North America, Europe, Australia, South Africa and Asia. Close to 75% of the division’s revenue comes from exports and overseas operations. CUMI might end the current fiscal with net sales of ₹2,200 crore of which electro-minerals would account for 35%, Mr. Srinivasan said.

Mother Dairy eyes nutrition products They will help overcome vitamin and micronutrient deiciencies Special Correspondent KOLKATA

Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable., a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), is planning a foray into the nutrition products segment, managing director S. Nagarajan said. Lifestyle changes and the “gender-specific” needs of people in the 11 to 59 years age-group, has created the need for products which will help overcome deficiencies in calcium, iron, vitamins and micronutrients, Mr. Nagarajan said after unveiling the company’s milk port-

S. Nagarajan

folio here, under a new brand ‘Dailycious.’ Although a three- to fiveyear timeline was being

looked at for entering the nutrition product segment, no firm dates had been fixed yet, he said. Indications are that fibrepacked vegetable juices may be among the initial offerings. Mother Dairy has an innovation centre near Delhi, where a ₹15 crore investment was made this year, he said. The firm, eyeing a ₹10,000 turnover in 2019 (from about ₹8,000 crore estimated this fiscal), has four product segments – milk, value-added products, edible oil (Dhara brand) and fruits and vegetables.“The

fastest growth is from valueadded segment of ice cream, dahi, butter milk, followed by edible oil, fruits and vegetables, and milk” Mr. Nagarajan said. Sandeep Ghosh, Business Head, said that the introduction of the milk portfolio will strengthen the company’s position in Kolkata. NDDB ran the ‘Operation Flood’ project in West Bengal till the ‘90s when it handed over the brand to the state government, on the understanding that the latter would have exclusive rights to the Mother Dairy brand for milk products.

A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU

SPORT 15

NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

IN BRIEF

Time to exorcise the sledging ghost

Pujara jumps to skipper’s defence

It is Dharamshala’s turn to put the game back on track

Shreyas called in as cover for Kohli DHARAMSHALA

Mumbai middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer has been called up as cover for Virat Kohli for the fourth Test against Australia. Kohli, nursing an injured right shoulder, is a doubtful starter and did not bat in the nets. Fast bowler Mohammed Shami, not part of the original squad, took part in the nets session and bowled to a few batsmen. The decision to play him rests with the team management.

Bangar and Sridhar get another pay hike MUMBAI

The BCCI Committee of Administrators (CoA) has further raised the professional fee of the Indian team’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar and fielding coach R. Sridhar by ₹25 lakh. They will now receive ₹1.5 crore. At their meeting on February 25, the CoA had given the two a 25% increase (₹1 crore to ₹1.25 crore).

Yu keeps China’s WC hopes alive CHANGSHA (CHINA)

Marcello Lippi’s China stunned South Korea 1-0 in a politically-charged World Cup qualifier on Thursday to give itself a glimmer of hope of reaching next year’s tournament in Russia. The unmarked Yu Dabao headed in the game’s only goal in the 34th minute. The results: Group A: China 1 bt South Korea 0; Syria 1 bt Uzbekistan 0; Qatar 0 lost to Iran 1. Group B: Thailand 0 lost to Saudi Arabia 3; Iraq 1 drew with Australia 1; UAE 0 lost to Japan 2. AGENCIES

Test cricket has come to the tranquil environs of the Dhauladhar range, riding on the acrimonious background of a few off-the-field incidents that have come to mar the spirit of the game in the ongoing India-Australia series. Decisive wins in two of the three Tests thus far have raised hopes of a biting contest in the final encounter but much depends on the tactical acumen of the rival thinktanks. The camps were busy preparing for the decider, if one may term it so.

Aggressive intent Modern cricket demands professionalism and commitment of the highest grade. The emphasis, sometimes, can be overwhelmingly influenced by aggressive intent aimed at disturbing the concentration of the opponent. Some succumb. Those who don’t best illustrate the quality of doggedness in adverse circumstances. Sledging in cricket is not new. The trend to constantly use it as a tool to target the best in the opposite camp is perhaps a legacy of the intense contests that came to attract the attention during the 1970s. Of course, cricket, since its inception, has witnessed some incredible finishes that became fascinating mainly due to the desire to fight and win. Players with a tough mental attitude were the ones who emerged unscathed. Australia has employed pressure tactics, better known as sledging, because it suited the team’s profile. The difference between friendly banter and sledging was thin since it depended on the one at the receiving end. India and Australia have had a series of incident-filled combats. The most striking being the 1981 series when Sunil

SYDNEY

Let’s see more women in the paddock: Hamilton MELBOURNE

Three-time champion Lewis Hamilton, if granted a wish, wants to see more women in the paddock at Formula One Grands Prix. “A Miami race and more ladies in the paddock,” the 32-year-old said at a media conference ahead of the season-opening Australian GP. “More access for the women, there’s too many dudes in the paddock.”

Mind games: Australia has employed pressure tactics against Virat Kohli in the ongoing Test series. V.V. KRISHNAN *

Gavaskar nearly forfeited the Melbourne Test following a distasteful remark by Dennis Lillee. It is another matter that better sense prevailed, India continued, and went on to win the match in dramatic

Waugh sees a bit of himself in Kohli IANS

Former Australia captain Steve Waugh on Thursday complimented Virat Kohli, saying he sees a bit of Ricky Ponting and himself in the way the Indian skipper goes about his business. “There’s probably elements of Ricky and myself in his captaincy, but having said that he’s his own man,” Waugh was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. “He’s the new face of India, he can get in your face, he’s aggressive, he’s

positive, and he leads in a certain way so the other guys know how he wants the team to play. I’m glad he’s got a bit of me in his captaincy,” he added. “He’s a very aggressive captain, encourages a lot of talk amongst his troops and got positive body language. They’re all the traits that I liked in my sides,” he said. He compared Kohli’s on-field conduct to Ponting saying both take charge and step up to lead by example when the situation demands.

AGENCIES

A pitch with true bounce: curator Special Correspondent DHARAMSHALA

Having monitored the preparations from close quarters, Daljit Singh and Sunil Chauhan, the two experienced curators involved in the making of the pitch here, relaxed in the cool confines at one end of the ground — reflecting on the job done. In recent times, the pitch has often come under scrutiny in the run-up to a game as India has fallen back on the trusted policy of spinner-friendly pitches. But this

one could well be different. Chauhan has always taken pride in laying out a surface that encourages pace and bounce. How would it be this time? “I can’t change the nature of the soil. I expect the bounce to be true. The skills of the bowlers do count too,” he said. The Dharamshala pitch is now 14 seasons old and traditionally has not been a happy hunting ground for slow bowlers. “There are many factors involved in pitch making and

‘He’s a great ambassador of the game’

lore — Lillee taking evasive action with the Pakistani charging with his bat raised. Miandad, however, had an effective response that won him a legion of fans. In one fiercely-contested match, Miandad reportedly made it a point to send the helmet back to the dressing room when Lillee came on to bowl and asked for it when the spinners joined the attack. It was Miandad’s way of showing in what esteem he held Lillee’s bowling. For someone like Gavaskar and Mohinder Amarnath, it hardly mattered what the close-in fielders said. In fact, sledging would evoke a determined response from them. In effect, a big innings to drive home their point.

Vijay Lokapally DHARAMSHALA

soil is the most important. We should have a decent game,” added Daljit, who prefers the playing surface to be slightly inclined towards the bowlers. Many experts had erred in their reading of the pitch in the last Test at Ranchi. The brown surface did not deteriorate and saw Cheteshwar Pujara construct a diligent double century. The pitch here does promise an intense contest with Daljit and Chauhan committed to providing a true surface.

conditions. Gavaskar was to return four years later to win the World championship of cricket and acknowledge wicketkeeper Sadanand Viswanath’s chirping as a significant contribution to unsettle the opponents.

Lillee portrayed Australian aggression along with Jeff Thompson by peppering the batsmen with unrelenting missiles, verbal and off the pitch. His clash with Javed Miandad is part of cricket folk-

Gunning for victory: Cheteshwar Pujara says India will be keen to end the Test series against Steve Smith’s men on a positive note. V.V. KRISHNAN

Focal point In recent times, incidents of sledging, especially the current series, have become the focal point of the competition because the target is the captain of the Indian team. The squad has rallied around Virat Kohli, who loves such intense attention from the opposition. He is only re-living the times when Sourav Ganguly encouraged his players to play tough. Ganguly epitomised aggression on the field by backing his players and taking the lead role, sometimes in sledging too. “Come on guys, Australian tail has begun,” he would greet Steve Waugh’s arrival at the crease. But never did they cross the line of decency. Their demeanour was a key factor in aggression in the middle not going out of hands. An India-Australia fixture holds a place of pride in international cricket. That it has deteriorated into a slanging match between the players has taken away the sheen off some glorious cricket at Pune, Bengaluru and Ranchi. It is Dharamshala’s turn to continue the trend, and, certainly not by way of sledging.

*

Special Correspondent Dharamshala

Cheteshwar Pujara jumped to the defence of skipper Virat Kohli in the ongoing war of words between India and Australia. Asked to comment on Kohli being termed the Donald Trump of world sports, Pujara said, “It’s really sad to hear such comments. We fully support Virat and he is one of the great ambassadors of this game. “I think the focus has shifted somewhere else, which shouldn’t have happened. We are very much focused on the game. “He is a great leader. We are looking forward to the next game rather than worrying about anything else.” He did not give much thought about the state of the pitch. “We will just try and focus on things rather than worry about how the wicket will play. “We have played enough cricket on different pitches throughout the season. So I don’t think the wicket will matter a lot to us.” Was fatigue a factor? “See, we have worked really hard on our fitness since the

last one-and-a-half years. I think it is the mental battle we’ve to win and we’re mentally up for it. “We are quite motivated because we want to win this series. “I think fatigue shouldn’t come into play because playing for India is the most important thing for any cricketer and now winning the series is very important, because we’ve had a fantastic season so far. We want to finish on a good note.” Did he agree that momentum was with the Australians? “I think we’ve bowled well, and as I mentioned earlier, they scored 450 and we were able to score more than 600. And at one stage they were four down at lunch. “The session where we didn’t get a wicket was between lunch and tea. But, overall they were six down, and I think we definitely had the upper hand in the last game. “Although we didn’t win the game, we just had to bat once and they had to bat twice and that credit I think goes to the bowlers.”

Delay may have beneited Vijay, Pujara The promotion-clinching performances came after the usual evaluation period for annual contracts Amol Karhadkar

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

MUMBAI

The hike in annual retainer and match-fee for the Indian cricketers that was announced on Wednesday was, no doubt, long overdue. However, the fact is that some players may have benefited from the the delay in chalking out the 2016-17 annual contracts, thanks to their performances in the ongoing contract cycle. Had it not been for the deferred finalisation of the annual contracts — thanks to BCCI being embroiled in a plethora of legal tangles — Cheteshwar Pujara and M. Vijay might not have been elevated to the top tier, while veteran Yuvraj Singh, now included in grade-B, would have found it difficult to even make the list. Since the introduction of the system of annual contracts in 2004-05, the practice was to award these for the October-September calendar cycle. The contracts, finalised by the gradation committee comprising the BCCI president, secretary and the chief selector, used to be announced, after ratification by the Board’s working committee, in early November or December.

B

Contracts usually issued in November or December for October-September cycle

B

In that period for the 201516 season, Vijay had scored 374 @34, and Pujara 495 @41.25, both well below their overall average

B

Raina, who had played in the 3 T20Is v England, fulilled the criteria to earn an annual retainer, but has been omitted

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

The norm was followed when the 2015-16 contracts were announced on November 9, 2015. Even in 2010, the last time the BCCI had hiked annual retainers and match-fee, the contracts were declared on November 11. All along, the BCCI had stressed that the contracts are based primarily on the players’ performance during the preceding contract cycle. The brief was to also factor in the selectors’ plans for the upcoming cycle.

If the 2015-16 performance was the yardstick, Pujara and Vijay would have found it difficult to earn a promotion from grade-B to grade-A. Pujara scored 495 runs in nine Tests at 41.25 — well below his usual career average that has hovered between the high 40s and low 50s. He was even, albeit controversially, dropped for a Test in the West Indies last year, with the team management doubting his ability to rotate strike. Similarly, Vijay featured in

eight of India’s 10 Tests during the cycle, tallying 374 runs at 34. However, the fact both have been on song during India’s long home season — combined with the growing demand for the Test specialists’ compensation to match at least the base price of top IPL players — played to their advantage when the Committee of Administrators (CoA) sat down on Wednesday to prepare the contracts.

Yuvraj gets lucky too Yuvraj had lost his place after a forgettable World Twenty20 last year, but made a dazzling comeback with a hundred in an ODI against England this January. Would the promotions have been so smooth had the

contracts been issued as per schedule? The most prominent omission from the list of 32 contracted players is that of Suresh Raina. Until last year, the BCCI had a rule that any non-contracted player who features in an India XI in any of the three formats would earn the lowest-grade retainer on a pro-rata basis for the remainder of the cycle. In November 2015, the BCCI had raised the eligibility from one to three caps. Considering the fact that Raina has fulfilled the criteria to earn an annual retainer, his omission from the list poses a question on whether it is a matter of oversight by the CoA. Raina, who has had an ailment-plagued domestic season, featured in all three Twenty20 Internationals against England earlier in the year. Yet, his name was missing from the list announced on Wednesday. The Hindu understands that the message from the selectors to the CoA was that Raina no longer “fits into the scheme of things”. Even if that is the case, should there have been a deviation from the existing rule in Raina’s case?

We are interested in hosting the under-20 World Cup, says Praful Patel Shyam Thapa replaces Bhaichung Bhutia as the chairman of AIFF technical committee Uthra Ganesan NEW DELHI

With preparations for the upcoming Under-17 FIFA World Cup in its final stages, the All India Football Federation’s next target is the Under-20 World Cup with president Praful Patel declaring the country was ready for it. “The Under-20 World Cup is our next mission. We have already spoken to FIFA and told them that we are interested. The AIFF is ready to host it next year itself if possible but it isn’t that simple. CM YK

We have to see how to go about it and how, when we get it is something we cannot decide,” Patel told The Hindu following the AIFF Executive Committee meeting here on Thursday.

Motivating youngsters Asked about how he fancied India’s chances at the U-17 World Cup — the first ever FIFA event in the country — Patel admitted that while performance was important, the key objective for the federation was to get Indian

youngsters motivated to take up football. “It’s a big moment for us and we should not miss it. We know that, eventually, Indian football’s future lies in this youth group, not the present lot. The current team is playing well and good for them but if you want to see India at the next level in Asia and the world, you have to see the next generation of youth,” he said. He, however, refused to comment on the long-drawn issue of merging the I-League

and the ISL, saying nothing had been finalised yet while insisting that the I-League would continue to exist regardless of the proposed restructuring of domestic football. Meanwhile, former India striker Shyam Thapa replaced Bhaichung Bhutia as chairman of the AIFF technical committee even as several of the other sub-committees of the federation were revamped at the executive committee meeting. The EC also included

former players Abhishek Yadav and Ishfaq Ahmed as members of the technical committee, taking the number of footballers in the body to five including Pradip Dutta, Prosanto Banerjee and Henry Menezes, who has been named its new vice-chairman. Bhutia’s deputy Savio Messias has been been omitted but the Goan is now part of the Ethics Committee of the AIFF. Yadav, incidentally, is also the AIFF’s talent scouting director and also the

chief operating officer for the Indian Under-17 team. Thapa was last part of the AIFF as coach of the Indian under-16 and under-19 teams in the late 1980s. Ahmed, who is part of the Kerala Blasters team in the ISL, would have to quit that role.

Benevolent fund The committee also decided to set up a Players’ Benevolent Fund with Patel contributing $200,000 for the same. The amount is part of the TA/

DA allowances provided to be part of the AFC meetings which Patel apparently never claimed. An amount of $100,000 would also be given to the AFC Social Development Reform Programme. The EC also approved the next three-year calendar including the Federation Cup in Cuttack (May 7-21) with the season’s top eight I-League teams participating. The AIFF also decided to implement a ranking system for the State associations.

Praful Patel. A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

16 SPORT

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Shamim grabs the lead

IN BRIEF

Knee injury hits Rohit

Overnight leader Mukesh manages a par, after a bad start, to lie second Y.B. Sarangi

Rules him out of Deodhar Trophy

KOLKATA

Shamim Khan’s excellent short game made up for his below par driving as the Delhi golfer’s second successive round of four-under 68 fetched him a three-shot lead in the Kolkata Classic championship at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club here on Thursday. Going into the final round, Shamim has a 10-under 206 and is sole professional to record three consecutive under-par rounds. Overnight leader Mukesh Kumar recovered from a disastrous start to card an even par round and take the second spot. Local golfer Shankar Das and Sri Lankan Mithun Perera were tied for the third spots, six strokes adrift.

Collina for action against abuse of referees LONDON

Pierluigi Collina, FIFA Referees Committee chairman, has warned of a global shortage of match officials if efforts are not made to tackle abuse and violence towards referees. Collina said it is a “real threat” when match officials face verbal and physical abuse in amateur football. REUTERS

Harikrishna begins with a draw SHENZHEN

P. Harikrishna started his campaign in the Shenzhen Longgang Grandmaster chess tournament with a draw against Peter Svidler on Thursday. Both decided to share the point after 30 moves. PTI

Few under-par scores With the course playing harder and the wind getting stronger, the going was tough as only 11 players could shoot under-par scores. Shamim, who had been struggling with his driving through the week, found the fairways only on six occa-

Sarthak scores century NEW DELHI:

Sarthak Ranjan (104) helped Hindu College to an eightwicket win over Arya Bhatt College to enter the semifinals of the intercollege tournament. The scores: ABC 199 for nine in 45 overs (Manish Tehlan 81, Rajesh Sharma 47, Gaurav Kumar five for 36) lost to Hindu College 203 for two in 26.2 overs (Sarthak Ranjan 104, Himmat Singh 57 not out, Pragam Sharma 36).

Special Correspondent VISAKHAPATNAM

Star batsman Rohit Sharma suffered yet another injury — this time a minor knee injury — which will see him out of action from the Paytm-Deodhar Trophy limited-over cricket tournament to be held here from March 25. According to a BCCI media release on Thursday, the all-India Senior Selection Committee has named replacements for Rohit Sharma and Kedar Jadhav who have been ruled out.

Pulling ahead: Shamim Khan’s short game skills put him three shots in front after day three. sions. However, his fine putting skills saved the day for him. A 20-footer birdie putt on the second hole, a 25-footer on 12th and a three-footer on 15th boosted Shamim, who also benefited by holing his third shot for an eagle from about 110 yards on par-five fourth. The 38-year-old, who had a bogey on the seventh,

saved valuable pars on the sixth, 17th and 18th. Four birdies, including three in the later half, saved Mukesh from further embarrassment. Shankar, who had three birdies and an eagle on 15th, matched Shamim in returning the best card of the day. The scores: 206: Shamim Khan (70, 68, 68); 209: Mukesh Ku-

mar (69, 68, 72); 212: Shankar Das (71, 73, 68) and Mithun Perera (70, 72, 70); 213: Sanjeev Kumar (70, 73, 70), Gaurav Pratap Singh (70, 72, 71) and S.S.P. Chowrasia (71, 70, 72); 214: Om Prakash Chouhan (69, 74, 71) and Sujjan Singh (70, 71, 73). 215: Harendra Gupta (70, 74, 71), Feroz Singh Garewal (69, 73, 73) and S. Chikkarangappa (68, 71, 76).

Bouchard’s poor run of form continues with a irst-round exit Agence France-Presse MIAMI

Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka saved 11 of 14 break points to secure a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Australia’s Jordan Thompson in the first round of the Miami Open on Wednesday. There was an unusual stoppage during Tommy Haas’s narrow 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5 loss to Czech Jiri Vesely when the game was halted due to an iguana on top of the scoreboard. The creature

NEW DELHI

Kushank Rastogi (three for 28, 75 n.o.) helped Uttaranchal Academy beat DC Academy by three wickets in the Swastik Cup. The scores: DCA 142 in 31.3 overs (Rahul Mathur 39, Kushank Rastogi three for 28, Abhishek Kathuria three for 34) lost to USA 146 for seven in 30 overs (Kushank Rastogi 75 not out, Rahul Mathur four for 41).

was eventually taken away by officials, but not before it scampered across the court.

What a start In another match, young American Ernesto Escobedo pulled off a surprise victory in three sets over Britain’s Dan Evans. Meanwhile in the women’s section, Eugenie Bouchard’s poor run of form continued as the Canadian suffered a first-round exit at the hands of Australia’s Ash-

leigh Barty, losing 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.

“Ruturaj Gaikwad of Maharashtra has been included in India-Blue while Hyderabad’s left-arm fast bowler

The teams: India Blue: Harbhajan Singh (Capt.), Mandeep Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Shahbaz Nadeem, Siddarth Kaul, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Pankaj Rao and Ruturaj Gaikwad. India Red: Parthiv Patel (Capt. & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Mayank Agarwal, Ishank Jaggi, Gurkeerat Mann, Axar Patel, Akshay Karnewar, Ashoke Dinda, Kulwant Khejroliya, Dhawal Kulkarni, Govinda Poddar, Sreevats Goswami and C.V. Milind.

Press Trust of India MARGAO

Goa’s chances of hosting marquee matches in the FIFA U-17 World Cup appears to have taken a hit owing to low attendance in the AFC under-16 event last year. “We have always said that for marquee matches, the criteria would be readiness and willingness. “In terms of readiness, Goa had the advantage of hosting the AFC u-16 championship “For the willingness, we had a test on the AFC under-16 and we have analysed the attendance data, which was certainly not too encouraging,” said tournament director Javier Ceppi after a FIFA delegation, along with the local organising committee, visited the Nehru Stadium in Fatorda and the training sites to take a comprehensive look at the facilities.

Ankur wins double trap The Indian equals World record in the inal

Nishioka prevails over Thompson

All-round show by Kushank

“Rohit suffered a minor knee injury and has been advised rest by the BCCI medical team while Kedar Jadhav has been rested due to stomach related ailment.

Chama Milind has been named in India-Red. Bengal’s Sreevats Goswami has been added to the IndiaRed team,” it stated. Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will now lead IndiaBlue team in the tournament.

Goa unlikely to get big matches

Important results (first round):

Monaco 7-5, 7-6(4). Ernesto Escobedo bt Daniel Evans 7-5, 0-6, 6-3.

Men: Dudi Sela bt Christian Harrison 6-1, 6-1; Nicolas Mahut bt Michael Mmoh 6-3, 6-2; Yoshihito Nishioka bt Jordan Thompson 1-6, 6-4, 6-3; Jiri Vesely bt Tommy Haas 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5; Viktor Troicki bt Thiago Monteiro 5-7, 6-3, 6-1; Jeremy Chardy bt Facundo Bagnis 6-2, 6-2; Fabio Fognini bt Ryan Harrison 6-4, 7-5; Benoit Paire bt Martin Klizan 7-6(4), 6-3; Federico Del Bonis bt Juan

Women: Patricia Tig bt Heather Watson 7-6(4), 6-1; Ashleigh Barty bt Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 5-7, 6-3; Lucie Safarova bt Yanina Wickmayer 7-6(2), 6-4; Yaroslava Shvedova bt Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(3); Bethanie Mattek-Sands bt Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4; Aliaksandra Sasnovich bt Alize Cornet 6-4, 1-6, 6-4; Julia Goerges bt Alison Riske 7-5, 6-3; Sorana Cirstea bt Monica Puig 6-2, 6-4.

Sports Bureau Acapulco

Ankur Mittal clinched the double trap gold in the final of the shotgun World Cup here on Wednesday. He also equalled the World record of 75 out of 80 in the final, to beat James Willett (73) of Australia who had set the record while winning the World Cup last month in Delhi. Incidentally, Ankur won silver then. “I wouldn’t call it revenge. Winning and being defeated are all part of the game. The conditions in the final range were perfect. “The wind affected the qualification rounds, but in the afternoon it was not so

Ankur Mittal.

strong,” Ankur was quoted as saying by ISSF. Ankur qualified in second place with 138 following a series of 26, 29, 27, 29 and 27. For being ranked before the final, he beat Qi Ying of

China 6-5 after the two were tied on 138. With the new rules, whenever there is a tie in the knockout phase, the ranking of the shooters in the qualification will prevail. But, in case of a tie for a medal, there will be a shoot-off. The qualification topper Andreas Loew of Germany missed a medal by one point to Qi Ying. The second Indian in the competition, the young Shapath Bharadwaj shot 128 following a series of 25, 24, 25, 26 and 28. The results: 1. Ankur Mittal 75 (EWR) 138(6); 2. James Willett (Aus) 73 (135); 3. Qi Ying (Chn) 52 (138)5; 12. Shapath Bharadwaj 128.

ITF Futures: a day of one-sided matches

‘Paes-Bhupathi reconciliation is a good sign’

Parikshit in last four

Naresh Kumar says new breed of Indian players need inancial support

Yubrani makes girls’ semiinals

Dalwinder among semiinalists

KOLKATA

Special Correspondent

Special Correspondent THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

With the seeded players pressing hard to stay on course, the script of the fourth day’s play in the Indian Oil-ITF Futures tournament was on expected lines at the TTC courts here on Thursday. Consequently, it was also a day of one-sided matches as the top-seeded Prajnesh Gunneswaran, No. 2 Sriram Balaji and the third seed Vishnu Vardhan expectedly took their places in the men’s semifinals while the fourth slot was taken by Dalwinder Singh, benefiting from the early exit of No. 4 Sasikumar Mukund. With the sixth seed Vijay

Sundar Prashanth having already built up a reputation of being a dogged fighter, it was anticipated that he would provide a close fight against top-ranked Prajnesh. But as things turned out, Prajnesh came up with a fine all-round display to canter home 6-2, 6-2. The results: Quarterfinals: Prajnesh Gunneswaran bt Vijay Sundar Prashanth 6-2, 6-2; N. Sriram Balaji bt V.M. Ranjeet 6-4, 6-2; Vishnu Vardhan bt Haadin Bava 6-3, 7-6(3); Dalwinder Singh bt Jayesh Pungliya 6-3, 6-3. Doubles: Semifinals: Sriram Balaji & Vishnu Vardhan bt Kunal Anand & Anvit Bendre 6-3, 7-5; Jui Chen-Hung (Tpe) & Hong Kit Wong (HKG) bt Aryan Goveas & Dhruv Suresh 6-3, 6-0.

Former India captain and Davis Cupper Naresh Kumar feels Indian tennis will gain a lot with Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi agreeing to work together again. Naresh Kumar, one of the oldest tennis legends of the country, said it was nice to see the two agreeing to a truce after a “Mahabharata” of differences. “If they can get together it will be better for us. The news of their fight a few years ago was not nice. Let us hope that with Bhupathi coming back to the Indian Davis Cup team, there is reconciliation. It is good that the Mahabharata is over,” said Naresh Kumar here on Thursday. “Whether they are really at peace or not, I cannot say.

But it is a good sign if they are going to come together,” he said. When asked how long Paes could continue playing, Naresh Kumar said the 1996 Olympic bronze medallist still has the class to win crucial points.

British system and are gaining a lot from the American Collegiate system now. This is a good development, but our young players need enough money to keep playing on the European and American circuits,” he said.

Playing crucial points “It is a very difficult question. If you watch closely at Leander's doubles or mixed doubles matches, he is the one winning the crucial points. “ You have to have that confidence and the panache to be still doing that. “The other boys maybe better players, but on the crucial occasion this fellow is putting his neck forward. So that is his greatest quality,” said Naresh Kumar, endorsing Paes’ decision to con-

He had special appreciation for Roger Federer, who made a comeback to win the Australian Open.

Praise for Federer

Naresh Kumar.

*

PTI

tinue playing. The 88-year-old, who played both at Wimbledon and Roland Garros, said Indian tennis could grow only if there was enough funds to help the new breed of Indian players trying out on the international circuits. “We have opted out of the

“The secret is his backhand. And you know how that backhand came? Because most of his opponents were attacking his backhand all the time and with practice that became strong. “I think he has balance and balance is the essence of life. Otherwise it is not easy to win a Grand Slam at the age of 35,” he said.

Special Correspondent KOLKATA

Top seed Parikshit Somani beat Dipin Wadhwa 6-1, 6-3 to make the boys’ semifinals in the Rendezvous A Roland Garros-BTA-AITA National Series tennis tournament here on Thursday. In the girls’ section, Yubrani Banerjee defeated Prerna Vichare 6-3, 6-3 to make the last four. The tournament is the first qualifier in a series of three to identify two players from the country who will play the final qualifying round at Roland Garros, the winner of which gets to play the junior section if the Grand Slam event on a wild-card. The second qualifier will be played in Pune next week before the ‘masters’ event in the third week of April in

New Delhi where those qualifying from Kolkata and Pune will play. The winners from both the girls’ and boys’ sections, will play against a selection of players from countries like Japan, China, Brazil, South Korea and the USA in the final stage of qualifying in France. The results: Boys: Parikshit Somani (Asm) bt Dipin Wadhwa (Del) 6-1, 6-3; Rishabh Sharda (Chd) bt Yugal Bansal (Del) 6-3, 6-0; Rithvik Choudhary Bollipalli (Tel) bt Ashutosh Tiwari (UP) 6-3, 6-1; Abhimanyu Vannemreddy (Kar) bt Atharva Sharma (Mah) 6-4, 6-2. Girls: Smriti Singh (Har) bt Janvi Patel (Guj) 6-4, 6-3; Pratibha Prasad Narayan (Kar) bt Radhika Yadav (Har) 6-2, 7-5; Yubrani Banerjee (Ben) bt Prerna Vichare (Mah) 6-3, 6-3, G.S. Vasavi (TN) bt Bhakti Bharat Parwani (Guj) 6-1, 6-2.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11963 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

11

12

18 Ultramodern directions on tooth by the French dentist initiated (10)

13 14

15

16

20 Questions Tamil leader abandoning jobs to be done (4)

17 18

recall by nobleman (4) 16 What an accident on the road may well bring about — how a ight in a movie can be described (5,5)

9 10

(set by Gridman)

19

20

21

22 23

24 25

26

27

23 Someone who cares for earth organises force to take on each kind, to begin with (8) 24 Dust settles on India's top old workroom (6) 26 With a bit of rice, Olivia cooked an Italian dish (7)

28

29

27 Left, as a large number came in with feelings roused (7) ■ ACROSS 1 Ram's ready for sweet-talk (6,2) 5 Get a bit of commercial tax (6) 10 Proclaim: U.S. President meets alien (7) 11 Garment in general (7) 12 Charge our country almost going to court (6) 13 Time for an event (8) 15 Almost whimsical

CM YK

28 Thin light falling over sport official (6) 29 Give conidence to old men — be barmy (8) ■ DOWN 1 How one may get a thing done even if it means bumbling through (2,5,3,5) 2 Cry loudly — sometimes it's stolen from others (7)

FAITH

SUDOKU

Envoy extraordinary

3 Look for the answer! (6) 4 Solving this clue is __ __ you! (2,2) 6 Crack Chennai's top investor retreating with heads of school education (8) 7 Woman holding up entry form is dodgy (7) 8 You may be silver-tongued but not speaking might help better (7,2,6) 9 Strenuous musical performance by boy (9) 14 Puzzling to have giant mice running about (9) 17 What old women liked to do in the past decades with daughters and sons in the mating game (5,3) 19 Any woman, though, opts herself out (7) 21 Under the inluence of drugs, son and sweetheart went out together (7) 22 Strips put up on company's decorative material (6) 25 Wave made by each man (4)

Solution to puzzle 11962 C O N T R A C E P T I V E S

O F R A I A O B L H E Y R E L L A X P S L E

F E R S C R E E J E A M V E D E S P E R C U T R O T I C E L A S O T L E R I N C I D E O H OMA N I A S I A R Y I C I T L UMB A I A P E D I E N T T E A I A O GMA N N E M E

P H A E T O N D R A W E R S

Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku Y C D O N I C R C E T L E H G O U N S E I S

In the Sundara Kanda, Valmiki captures Hanuman’s greatness as an envoy, showing how might and prowess is matched by astute alertness to the delicate mission that has devolved on him. On this is superimposed his absolute humility and devotion in the undertaking on behalf of the divine couple, pointed out Damal Sri Ramakrishnan and Srimati Perundevi in a discourse. After conveying to Sita news of Rama and handing over Rama’s signet ring, he obtains from her a token to be given to Rama. But he feels his mission is not over and he decides to show Ravana and the people of Lanka a taste of what is in store for them for the adharma perpetrated on Sita. He destroys Asoka Vana and hearing this news Ravana sends his men to fight Hanuman. He is brought to Ravana’s court when he submits to Indrajit’s Brahmastra with profound respect. Fearlessly, he warns Ravana that his atrocities only beckon impending doom to Lanka. Ravana orders the rakshasas to set fire to Hanuman’s tail and have him flogged. When Sita hears this news, she prays to Agni to keep his tail cool. Hanuman realises that the fire blazing onhis tail does not burn his body. He understands that it is the grace of Rama and Sita and, extricating himself from the ropes binding his body, he sets on fire the whole city of Lanks. . He soon regrets his hasty act of foolishness, for would not the fire have destroyed Asoka Vana where Sita has been imprisoned ? But he hears that Asoka Vana alone has miraculously escaped the fire. Rama is overwhelmed by Hanuman's achievements and, by way of gratitude, graces him with an embrace which confers all His Sarvatva to him. Hanuman cherishes this gift that has left an indelible mark on his sharira and would not give it up at any cost, not even when Rama offers salvation. A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU

SPORT 17

NOIDA/DELHI

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

IN BRIEF

Sankar Roy does the star turn for Bengal Liston Colaco sparkles in Goa’s 2-1 victory over Kerala in the semiinals

Indian girls get past Kazakhstan Special Correspondent

M.R. Praveen Chandran Panaji

Westbrook nets ‘perfect’ triple-double WASHINGTON

NBA scoring leader Russell Westbrook unleashed his 35th triple-double of the season on Wednesday, making NBA history and powering Oklahoma City Thunder over visiting Philadelphia 76ers 122-97. Other results: Nuggets 126 bt Cavaliers 113; Hornets 109 bt Orlando 102; Bulls 117 bt Detroit 95; Wizards 104 bt Atlanta 100; Hornets 109 bt Magic 102; Celtics 109 bt Pacers 100; Bucks 116 bt Kings 98; Jazz 108 bt Knicks 101. AGENCIES

Joshna bows out of British Open squash

Goa punished Kerala for its frailties in defence to score a 2-1 win and enter the final of the 71st Santosh Trophy National football championship at the GMC stadium here on Thursday. Striker Liston Colaco struck a brace to shut out Kerala whose weak defence was exposed by Goa. In the final on Sunday, Goa will meet Bengal which beat Mizoram 6-5 in sudden death in another semifinal match. Though Kerala had the better of ball possession Goans stung in counter attacks and scored both the goals in the same manner. Kerala attacked from the start but it was Goa which

went ahead and off the first chance it created. Peter Carvalho pushed a long ball to Brian Mascarenhas on the right flank. Brian entered the box and squared the ball to Liston who beat the goalkeeper with a right footer in the 13th minute. The Kerala goal fell again in the 36th minute when Leander Cunha found Liston with a through ball and the striker easily beat his marker to bury the ball into far corner of the net. After surviving an early scare in the second half when Aaren D’Silva failed to connect a cross from Brian, Kerala went on to dominate its opponent. It created several chances and Rahul Raj pulled one back in the 61st minute

SANTOSH TROPHY when he found the net with a header in a goal mouth melee following a corner. Goa survived the Kerala attacks in the final minutes to move into the final. Earlier, 31-time champion West Bengal entered the final for the first time in six years after defeating Mizoram 6-5 in sudden death. Goalkeeper Sankar Roy turned out to be the Bengal’s hero as he made two saves in tie-breaker. Roy stopped penalties taken by his counterpart Muanawma and Lalbaikhula as West Bengal won 6-5 in sudden death. The teams failed to score during the regular time and

30 minutes of extra-time. The Bengal defence kept a clean slate again and so far Bengal has not conceded a goal during regular play. Mizoram must be ruing the chances it missed including the two chances the team got in the dying minutes of extra time. During regular play, the defensive wall put up by West Bengal’s back four was hard to penetrate. The result: Semifinals: Bengal 6 (Rana Gharami, Manvir Singh, Samad Ali Mallick, Mumtaz Akthar, S.K. Faiz, Moirangthem Basanta Singh) bt Mizoram 5 (Lalrammawia, Ramfangzauva, Lalrammuanpuia, Lalrinchhana, Lalchhuanawma). Goa 2 (Liston Colaco 13, 36) bt Kerala 1 (Rahul Raj 61).

Second straight win for ONGC Income Tax (Gujarat) goes down ighting

New Delhi

Salsa Aher and Humera Shaik got India past Kazakhstan 2-1 in the play-off match for the ninth place in the Asia Oceania junior Fed Cup under-16 girls’ tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex here on Thursday. India will next play Korea. The winner will play the winner of the match between Indonesia and Malaysia for the ninth place.

Duel: Mizoram’s Laldinliana (right) and Bengal’s Moirangthem Basanta Singh ight for possession. PTI *

TENNIS

Bhambri crashes out Special Correspondent Quanzhou

HULL

India’s campaign ended in the British Open squash championship with the exit of Joshna Chinappa here in the second round late on Wednesday. Joshna lost 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 to Raneem El Welily of Egypt, a former World champion, in 27 minutes.

India loses to Australia BANGKOK

Australia beat India 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Asia Oceania World Junior (u-14) tennis tournament on Thursday. The results: Australia bt India 3-0 [Casey Hoole bt Divesh Gahlot 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-5; Philip Sekulic bt V.M. Sandeep 6-2, 6-1; Philip Sekulic & Edward Vo bt Nishant Dabas & V.M. Sandeep 7-6(3), 6-2].

TV PICKS WC Qualifier: Spain vs Israel, Sony Six & Sony Six HD, 1 a.m. (Saturday) NBA: Sony Six & Sony Six HD, 5.30 a.m. (Saturday)

CM YK

toms and Central Excise (Kerala) held its nerves to clinch a 78-77 thriller over a fighting Ludhiana BA.

Rayan Rozario Coimbatore

ONGC Dehradun scored its second straight win defeating Income Tax (Gujarat) 8871 in men’s Group B league of the 31st Federation Cup basketball championship here on Thursday. The IT boys knew they were up against one of the best teams in the country. But they displayed guts of steel, dribbling boldly and confidently into the rival area for precious points, in the first quarter. ONGC, the championship favourite, meanwhile, played in a much relaxed manner. The idea was to exercise its strategies for the final league against a strong Indian Overseas Bank on Friday. It was, in fact, a rehearsal of sorts for the team. After its main players secured a good 15-point lead in the first session, ONGC tested its bench strength. Income Tax, on the other

Dominating: ONGC’s Yadwinder Singh called the shots against Income Tax (Gujarat). M. PERIASAMY *

hand, continued to work hard at the flanks. Dishanth V. Shah, the only tall star in the team, who looked smooth and easy beating the defence in the first half, suddenly could not find the space to move around as he was completely checked by the big men from Uttarakhand. Income Tax could have

FEDERATION CUP still made a match of it had its bench been strong enough. It had just three to boast of as against ONGC’s eight. They tried their level best in the final quarter but the damage had already been done. Late on Wednesday, Cus-

The results: Men: ONGC (Uttarakhand) 88 (Yadwinder Singh 21, Vishesh Briguvanshi 20) bt Income Tax (Gujarat) 71 (Dishant V. Shah 20, Indravijay Singh 16); Army Service Corps & Centre (Karnataka) 87 (Issac T. Thomas 28, Vivekananda 16) bt Ludhiana BA 64 (Arshpreet Singh 19, Rajveer Singh 18); IOB 75 bt Central Railway 58. On Wednesday: IOB 82 (G. Sivabalan 20, Hareesh Koroth 19) bt Income Tax (Gujarat) 71 (Dhaval P. Ulva 20, Dishan V. Shaji 19); Customs & Central Excise (Kerala) 78 (R. Manoj 30, K.R. Nikhil 23) bt Ludhiana BA 77 (Arshpreet Bhullar 21, Rahul Mehla 16). Women: West Bengal 76 (Madhu Kumari 25, Sitamani Tudu 19) bt Kerala 55 (P.G. Anjana 11, Nimmi George 9); Chhattisgarh 105 (Poonam Chaturvedi 42, Riya Verma 18) bt Punjab 75 (Nicha Netam 15, Mahima Bharadwaj 11).

The results (play-off): India bt Kazakhstan 2-1 (Salsa Aher bt Takhmina Zhanatova 6-3, 6-2; Humera Shaik bt Anastasia Astakhova 0-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3); Salsa Aher & Sai Dedeepya lost to Kamilya Shalina & Takhmina Zhanatova 6-3, 7-5).

Yuki Bhambri lost 6-3, 6-2 to fifth seed Maximilian Marterer of Belgium in the quarterfinals of the $50,000 Challenger tennis tournament here on Thursday. The results: $50,000 Challenger: Quanzhou (China): Quarterfinals: Maximilian Marterer (Bel) bt Yuki Bhambri 6-3, 6-2; Second round: Bhambri bt Blaz Kavcic (Slo) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles: Quarterfinals: Christopher Rungkat (Ina) & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt Ruan Roelofse (RSA) & Chu-Huan Yi (Tpe) 4-6, 7-6(3), [10-8]. $15,000 ITF women, Heraklion (Greece): First round: Mira Antonitsch (Aut) & Karman Kaur Thandi bt Almudena Sanz-Llaneza Fernandez (Esp) & Maya Tahan (Isr) 7-5, 6-3. $15,000 ITF women, Sharm El Sheikh: Julia Wachaczyk (Ger) bt Ramya Natarajan 6-2, 6-3.

A ND-ND

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

18 LIFE

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

IN BRIEF

Sea ice hits record winter low Stroll in Emperor Nero’s Scientists are alarmed at the rapid pace of melting of the earth’s polar caps formation got a late start and everything lagged behind — it was hard for the sea ice cover to catch up.” The ice in the Antarctic also follows a seasonal cycle but its maximum comes in September and its minimum around February.

Agence France-Presse Miami

WWF to undertake dolphin survey KOLKATA

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) will start its Ganges river dolphin count in November, after witnessing a dip in the number of the endangered species earlier this year. The survey will cover a 534-km stretch in West Bengal. Earlier surveys were based on sightings. The new exercise will be undertaken with equipment that will help accurate imaging. PTI

Damage detected in Mars rover wheels WASHINGTON

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has developed small breaks in its aluminium wheels, say scientists who have detected the latest signs of wear and tear on the probe. “All six wheels have more than enough working lifespan remaining to get the vehicle to all destinations planned for the mission,” said project manager Jim Erickson. PTI

The sea ice cover in the Arctic and the Antarctic hit new record lows for this time of year, marking the smallest polar ice caps in the 38-year satellite record, U.S. government scientists said on Wednesday. In March, the Arctic ice sheet should be at its biggest, but on March 7 the ice cover reached “a record low wintertime maximum extent,” said a statement by NASA. Data from the NASA-supported National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado, also showed that on March 3, “sea ice around Antarctica hit its lowest extent ever recorded by satellites at the end of summer in the Southern Hemisphere”.

Deep trouble: Image shows how low Arctic sea ice levels were in March 2017, compared to median ice edge (thin yellow line) of 1981 - 2010. NATIONAL SNOW AND ICE DATA CENTER/NASA/AP

Seasonal cycle The disappearing sea ice comes as the planet has marked three years in a row of record-breaking heat, raising new concerns about the accelerating pace of global warming and the need to curb burning of fossil fuels which spew heat-trapping greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. The ice floating in the Arctic Ocean grows and shrinks on a seasonal cycle, reaching

its largest size in March and its smallest at the end of the summer melt in September. This year’s Arctic maximum spanned 14.42 million sq.km. That is 95,829 sq.km. below the previous record low in 2015. When scientists take account of the average sea ice extent for 1981-2010, this year’s ice cover is 12,19,884 sq.km. smaller. The Arctic sea ice maximum has dropped by an average of 2.8% per decade

*

since 1979, NASA said. “We started from a low September minimum extent,” said Walt Meier, a sea ice scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “There was a lot of open ocean water and we saw periods of very slow ice growth in late October and into November, because the water had a lot of accumulated heat that had to be dissipated before ice could grow,” he added. “The ice

Antarctic worries In the Antarctic, this year’s record low annual sea ice minimum was 21,10,840 sq.km. That was 1,83,889 sq.km. below the previous lowest minimum extent in the satellite record, which occurred in 1997, said NASA. “Since November, daily Antarctic sea ice extent has continuously been at its lowest levels in the satellite record,” said the U.S. space agency. For the past two years, however, Antarctica saw record high sea ice extents. “There’s a lot of year-toyear variability in both Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, but overall, until last year, the trends in the Antarctic for every single month were toward more sea ice,” said Claire Parkinson, a senior sea ice researcher at NASA Goddard. “Last year was stunningly different, with prominent sea ice decreases in the Antarctic.”

Solar-powered ‘skin’ for prosthetic limbs It ofers a better sense of touch, temperature and texture, say researchers Reuters LONDON

Street art lourishes at ‘India by the Nile’ CAIRO

As part of the ongoing ‘India by the Nile’ exposition in Egypt, artists shared their thoughts through street art. Egyptian painter Mohamed Abla teamed up with Indian artist Yogesh Saini to paint a wall in Cairo. IANS

Amputees with prosthetic limbs may soon get a better sense of touch, temperature and texture, thanks to the energy-saving power of the sun, British researchers said on Thursday. While prosthetics are usually fully powered using batteries, a new prototype from University of Glasgow researchers opens up the pos-

Ravinder Dahiya.

*

UNIVERSITY

OF GLASGOW

sibility for solar-powered skin, which would include better sense capabilities than current technology.

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Going minimalistic

Ravinder Dahiya, a research fellow at the university, said the technology involves installing a thin layer of pure carbon around a prosthetic arm, hand or leg. This allows light to pass through it and be easily used as solar energy, the researchers said. The sun can provide up to 15 times more energy than is usually needed to power a prosthetic limb, Mr. Dahiya told

the Thomson Reuters Foundation. This extra and renewable energy can be used to power sensors that increase sense and feeling in a limb, so much so that the prosthetic can feel pressure, temperature and texture like natural skin. The technology could also increase the functionality of robots, allowing them to have a better understanding of what they touch.

garden with a virtual tour

The ‘Golden House’ in central Rome has new attractions Agence France-Presse Rome

It’s a breathtaking view and you can almost smell the lavender: visitors to Rome can now stroll through Emperor Nero’s Golden House and sumptuous gardens thanks to a new virtual tour. Only a section remains of the vast landscaped palace, which once stood in the middle of the ancient city, its walls decorated with gold-leaf, ivory and gemstones, among gardens boasting vineyards, pastures, woods and an artificial lake. Treasures looted in Eastern cities were displayed in the complex of porticoes and rooms built by Nero after the great fire of Rome in 64 C.E. had razed the aristocratic dwellings in the area. On his death, Nero’s successors did not take long to scrap the palace, building the Colosseum for gladiator battles on his ornamental lake in 70 C.E., filling the Golden House with earth, and erecting the Baths of Trajan on top in 109 C.E. The complex was lost for centuries, before being rediscovered in the Renaissance by accident and becoming a must-see for artists from Raphael to Michelangelo, who were lowered into one of the rooms by a window in the ceiling to study the frescoes by candlelight. Strapping on virtual reality headsets, visitors can now see that room as it was when it was filled near to the roof with earth and as it would have looked in Nero’s time, its marble walls gleaming in the sunlight. “It’s called the Domus Aurea (Golden House) not only for the gold leaf in the frescoes but because it was designed so that the rays of the sun would bounce off the marble and waterfalls to

Awe inspiring: Visitors walk through one of the rooms of the Domus Aurea, a large palace built by the Roman Emperor Nero in the irst century. AFP *

glimmer like jewels,” architect Gabriella Strano said. The viewer steps, virtually, past the columns and into the garden, crossing lavender beds and the lawn to look out across Rome. Visitors, who must book in advance to join groups of up to 25 people, can also look behind and above them with the 360 degree technology viewers.

A place to relax “There were no kitchens here, or bathrooms or heating. The rooms were all open onto the gardens or the view of the lake. It was probably a place to take walks and relax,” said architect Elisabetta Segala. The complex officially opened to tourists in 1999, but was forced to close again when water damage lead to partial roof collapses. The fault lay with the public gardens on top of the buried palace, and in 2010 it was decided the area would have to be redesigned. Not only is the garden soil four-metres thick in parts and porous — weighing 30% more in heavy rains — but oaks and pines have stretched roots down over 25 metres to feed on the mineral salts in the mortar

between the ancient bricks below, weakening the structure. “We need to treat the frescoes to stop them going green, but as even the smallest intervention removes a layer of the original work we are first resolving the problem with the gardens before doing a final restoration,” Ms. Strano said. Part of the new tour shows visitors how architects and archaeologists plan to save the complex — if funds can be found. The government has so far stumped up 13 million euros of the 31 million needed to shore up the walls and transform the land above. Fifty trees will be uprooted, with smaller potted fruit and olive trees put in their place. The flower beds, which will echo the layout of the palace and baths below, will feature plants grown in Roman times, from rosemary to irises. The beds will be shallow and placed over a system of thermal insulation and drainage which will protect the frescoed rooms below by maintaining the climate underground at exactly 16 degrees Centigrade and the 90% humidity to which it has long been acclimatised.

Spider-Man spin-of in the works Press Trust of India Los Angeles

Classic and contemporary: A model displays a creation by designer Tokuko Maeda during the 2017 Autumn/Winter Collection at the Tokyo Fashion Week on Thursday. AP *

Sony is working on a new Spider-Man spin-off based on female characters Black Cat and Silver Sable. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the script will be penned by Thor: Ragnarok writer Chris Yost, while a previous draft was written by Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy. Matt Tolmach and Amy Pascal will serve as executive producers. Black Cat, whose real name is Felicia Hardy, is a reformed burglar who has a long and tangled romantic relationship with Spider-Man in the comics. Silver Sable, who runs a firm that hunts war criminals, is depicted as both antagonist and ally to SpiderMan in the comics.

Desert X exhibition relects the world A mirrored house and a wall of optical efects are among the installations Agence France-Presse Los Angeles

A house clad in mirrors pops out of the California desert. It blends into the landscape, reflecting a kaleidoscope of the urban grid and arid valley of Palm Springs — to the delight of photographers and selfie-seekers. This is Doug Aitken’s “Mirage”, one of the showstoppers of Desert X, an exhibition of 16 site-specific monumental works by international artists that spans southern California’s Coachella Valley. The works are mostly “land art,” massive installations in nature. The exhibition includes a replica of assassinated president John F. Kennedy’s nuclear shelter, a mirrored fence, a wall of optical effects, a traditional earthen shelter... and an antisocial robot. The show has attracted tens of thousands of people since its opening four weeks ago, including hipsters, art CM YK

Think piece: Doug Aitken’s ‘Mirage’ house at the Desert X land art exhibition in the Coachella Valley of California. AFP *

lovers and residents of the region not normally attracted to museums. “We had 5,000 people per weekend,” close to twice the number expected, Desert X artistic director Neville Wakefield said. The success of the exhibition highlights the growing creative clout of Los Angeles and Palm Springs, where new galleries and museums, prestigious fashion shows and trendy tourism destinations offer a counterweight

to New York on the other side of the country.

Moving to the west “There’s been a steady drift west, away from Manhattan,” Wakefield said. Economic factors are driving the shift, with many artists fleeing the exorbitant rents of New York. “Mirage”, which is shaped like an ordinary ranch-style suburban house, symbolises the cult of real estate, a central tenet of the American

Dream. It is also a nod to the “mid-century modern” architectural masterpieces of Palm Springs. “I’m interested in seeing artwork as something that can be alive on its own and continuously in flux,” Aitken, a top contemporary American artist, said in an email to AFP. The location of “Mirage”, which reflects the surrounding sky and landscape, was “very important.” The organisers of Desert X give only the latitude and longitude coordinates of the works and not their addresses, forcing visitors to search for them and discover little-known places along the way, like the Whitewater Preserve where art-seekers can find “One I Call.” Sherin Guirguis’s sculpture, an ode to migration, is built from bags of earth and is modelled after traditional homing pigeon towers in the desert villages of her native Egypt. A ND-ND