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Ultras hit J&K Army camp, kill three
NEARBY
Two militants also shot dead in gun battle, civilian dies in clashes that followed
All-woman battalion for J&K
Peerzada Ashiq Srinagar
Veteran actor-MP Vinod Khanna no more MUMBAI
Veteran actor and Member of Parliament Vinod Khanna the dashing Bollywood star best known for his roles in ilms such as “Amar Akbar Anthony”, “Qurbaani” and “Insaaf” - died of cancer at a hospital here on Thursday morning. He was 70. NATION
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A Captain and two soldiers were killed in a pre-dawn attack on an Army camp in Kupwara on Thursday. Two militants were also killed while a third is suspected to have escaped under cover of darkness in the 35-minute gun battle in the Panzgam Army installation, about 10 km from the Line of Control. A 75-year-old civilian was later killed as civilians clashed with security forces, demanding that the bodies of the militants be handed over for last rites.
The Centre has decided to raise an all-woman India Reserve Battalion (IRB) in Jammu and Kashmir to tackle women stone throwers, a Home Ministry official said. The decision comes days after girl students were seen throwing stones at security forces in Srinagar on April 24. RAJNATH HOLDS MEET 쑺 PAGE 10
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Udaipur boy scores 100% in JEE main JAIPUR
Kalpit Veerval, a student of MDS Senior Secondary School, Udaipur, has topped the prestigious JEE main, 2017, with a perfect 100%, or 360 marks, clinching the All India Rank 1. He is the irst student to score full marks in the JEE main competition. The second and third ranks were bagged by Vasu Jain and Ananye Agarwal from Delhi respectively NATION
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Indiscriminate firing The three militants managed to cross the second security layer of the camp located in a mountainous terrain, and were firing indiscriminately, officials said. “They came from the rear side using the ridges and tried to reach the living area but this attempt was repulsed. They were cornered near the exit point and killed,” said Colonel Saurabh Sharma of the Army. The three deceased Army personnel were identified as Captain Ayush Yadav (26), Subedar Bhoop Singh Gujjar (46) and Naik Bhoota Venkataramana (38). Five other soldiers were injured and
Another stand-of: Villagers shout slogans against security personnel near the site of a gun battle in Panzgam village of Kupwara, north of Srinagar, on Thursday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *
were airlifted to Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar. The troops recovered three AK rifles, indicating that there was a third terrorist, Col. Sharma said, adding that a search was on. “We recovered three AK rifles, nine magazines, 156 AK rounds, one Chinese pistol, three UBGL grenades, three hand grenades, two radio sets, two GPS devices and a smartphone,” another official said. “They seem all foreigners. However, we are trying to establish their identities,” said the Army spokesman.
According to the Army, Gunner Rishi Kumar of Field Artillery Regiment displayed presence of mind and “waited for terrorists to come within range”. “Mr. Kumar was hit on his head but was saved by a bulletproof patka (headgear). He ran out of ammunition and tried to pick up the weapons of the two slain terrorists. However, the third terrorist managed to escape after injuring Kumar,” said the spokesman. Even as the encounter was on, local people came onto
the streets and started pelting stones at the forces. Students of a local school joined the protesters and blocked the main road leading to the Army camp, officials said. Deputy Commissioner, Kupwara, G. M. Dar said a civilian, identified as Muhammad Yousuf Bhat, was killed during these protests, apparently hit by bullets. “The matter is being investigated,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kupwara, Shamsher Hussain. (With PTI inputs)
Casualties among forces rising As many as 88 security personnel were killed in J&K in 2016, the highest since 2008, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal. This year, at least 15 personnel have been killed and the Army anticipates a flare-up in attacks as summer sets in. Both 2015 and 2016 saw six major attacks each on military installations. NO INTEL INPUTS 쑺 PAGE 10
No barrier to naming Lokpal: SC ‘Opposition leader’s absence no hurdle’ Krishnadas Rajagopal NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court on Thursday found the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013 an “eminently workable piece of legislation”, which provides for the appointment of Lokpal Chairperson and Members even in the absence of a recognised Leader of Opposition (LoP). The judgment goes against the very logic of the government's argument that appointment of Lokpal Chairperson and Members
is not currently possible, and would have to wait till the 2013 Act is amended to replace the LoP with the single largest opposition party leader. The fact that the 16th Lok Sabha does not have a recognised LoP — the Congress could not get the required 10% membership in the Lok Sabha in the 2014 parliamentary elections — had stalled the implementation of the Lokpal Act. CONTINUED ON 쑺 PAGE 10
PM launches low-cost regional lights Now pay hospital bills from PF FRIDAY REVIEW 쑺 12 PAGES
Shimla-Delhi, Kadapa-Hyderabad lights lagged of under UDAN programme Special Correspondent
Dry Days
NEW DELHI/SHIMLA
The second of the seven-part series on persistent water scarcity in South Indian States highlights the long distances that residents of rural areas must traverse to obtain water for basic purposes, such as drinking, bathing and for lushing toilets. Given the paucity of options, daily life becomes an ordeal when these water sources fall short.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the lives of the middle class were being transformed, while inaugurating the first flight under the UDAN —Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik — scheme for regional connectivity. The Prime Minister inaugurated the first UDAN flight on the Shimla-Delhi route and simultaneously flagged off flights on the Kadapa-Hyderabad and Nanded-Hyderabad sectors through a video conference from Shimla.
For the common man: Narendra Modi lags of the irst UDAN light from Shimla on Thursday. Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh are seen. PTI/PIB *
“I had always wanted the man in streets wearing hawai chappals (slippers) to do a hawai yatra (plane jour-
ney),” said the PM at Shimla’s Jubbarhatti airport. The Shimla-Delhi flight is operated by Alliance Air
which has deployed its 42seater ATR plane on this sector. The fare for 24 seats onteh flight has been fixed at ₹2,036. However, the Shimla-Delhi flight can accommodate a maximum of 15 passengers, while the Delhi-Shimla flight can carry 35 passengers due to height and temperature factors, according to Air India. Air India will receive a subsidy of ₹3,340 per passenger from the government for capping the fare.
Somesh Jha NEW DELHI
Now, you can withdraw your provident fund savings to pay hospital bills in case of serious illness by submitting a self-declaration form to the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The Labour Ministry has
issued a notification on April 25 doing away with the requirement of EPF subscribers to get their employer’s approval or submit doctor’s certificate to withdraw provident fund savings for medical purposes. “The move is in line with the government’s policy of
moving towards a self-declaration regime. Employees will no longer be required to produce any certificate for taking all kinds of advance from their provident fund accounts,” EPFO central provident fund commissioner V.P. Joy said. CONTINUED ON 쑺 PAGE 10
CONTINUED ON 쑺 PAGE 10 DEFEAT CORRUPT FORCES: PM 쑺 PAGE 6
Move to rename Teen Murti Marg deferred There was disagreement during meet Damini Nath New Delhi
A proposal to change the name of Teen Murti Marg and Teen Murti Chowk to include the word Haifa was deferred at the last-minute during a meeting of the New Delhi Municipal Council on Thursday evening. The name of the busy road and the roundabout in Lutyens’ Delhi was proposed to be changed to Teen Murti Haifa Marg and Teen Murti Haifa Chowk, a reference to the Israeli city where Indian soldiers fought during the First World War. The renaming was supposed to happen ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel later this summer.
Confusion prevailed But, sources said confusion prevailed during the meeting as there was a disagreement between certain members of the council, which includes Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi, NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar and NDMC vice-chairperson and BJP leader Karan Singh Tanwar. All four were present during CM YK
Teen Murti Chowk
the meeting. While the NDMC issued a statement after the meeting that the decision had been “deferred,” the office of the vice-chairperson sent a press release while the meeting was on, saying the proposal had been passed. Mr. Tanwar’s statement said the names had “been changed” to honour the three Indian regiments that fought at Haifa. The three statues, or murtis, at the roundabout represent the three regiments of the princely states that fought in the battle. While Mr. Tanwar could not be reached for comment, Ms. Lekhi said in a text message that she “had left” the meeting and declined to comment further. A ND-ND
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DELHI
Timings
Friday, April 28
RISE 05:43 SET 18:55 RISE 07:19 SET 21:02
BJP trying to ‘intimidate’ TMC: Mamata
Saturday, April 29
RISE 05:43 SET 18:55 RISE 08:12 SET 22:08
They cannot handle Gujarat, but are eyeing Bengal, says CM; Bengal has ‘failed to grow like other States’: Shah Special Correspondent
Sunday, April 30
RISE 05:42 SET 18:56 RISE 09:10 SET 23:09
Kolkata
While they were located in two different ends of the State– one in north and the other in south Bengal– Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BJP chief Amit Shah continued with their war of words on Thursday, third day in a row, accusing each other of intimidation and failure respectively. Ms Banerjee alleged that the BJP president was trying to “intimidate” the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), while Mr Shah argued that Bengal has “failed” to grow over the years.
“They (BJP) are afraid of TMC and are trying to intimidate us. But, the TMC cannot be browbeaten. Those who challenge me, I accept the challenge. We will capture Delhi,” Ms Banerjee said at a public meeting in Siliguri in north Bengal. On the other hand, asserting that Bengal was “next” on the (BJP's) radar, Mr Shah said the State has “failed to grow like other States.”
Poverty-stricken “It (Bengal) is the most poverty-stricken State in the country and if our party comes to power, it would
Mamata Banerjee flourish like Maharashtra and Gujarat,” Mr Shah said. He said under BJP rule in Bengal, no one would have to “approach the court” for the immersion of Durga idols and the people would
be free to observe religious festivals such as Saraswati puja. Earlier, the BJP chief visited three houses at Gouranganagar, on the outskirts of the city, as part of a mass contact programme aimed at expanding the saffron party's base in the State. Mr. Shah had on Wednesday visited a slum in Ms Banerjee’s Bhawanipur Assembly constituency. In an apparent reference to BJP president's visit to a slum in her constituency in Kolkata, Ms Banerjee said: “They come from Delhi and spread lies. They are in a
hurry (to capture power in Bengal). They are threatening to unleash the CBI on TMC leaders. They cannot handle Gujarat, but they are eyeing Bengal." “Before the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP had promised to bring back black money but nothing has happened. It is easy to talk big at the time of elections,” she said. Referring to the BJP's promise to take over (sick) tea gardens, Banerjee reminded the gathering that over a year had passed since the promise was made, but nothing had happened. (With agency inputs)
HC dismisses poll plea against BJD MP He was accused of filing false affidavit Correspondent CUTTACK
In a significant ruling, the Orissa High Court has dismissed an election petition filed against BJD leader and Rajya Sabha member N. Bhaskar Rao and imposed a cost on petitioner Bhujabal Majhi, who is a Congress legislator of the Odisha Assembly. The judgment on the election petition, which was kept reserved by the High Court after completion of hearing on March 28, was pronounced by Justice
Biswanath Rath on Wednesday. The petition was rejected on the ground that the respondent (Rao) was not served with the exact copy of the petition by the petitioner (Majhi). The court also imposed a fine of ₹ 20,000 on the petitioner. The Congress legislator had urged the High Court to declare Mr. Bhaskar Rao’s election “null and void” for allegedly submitting a false affidavit along with his nomination papers.
Incessant rain floods Itanagar Landslips, roadblocks reported Press India
Trust
of
Itanagar
Incessant rainfall for the past one week has flooded large areas of the capital town of Arunachal Pradesh and has caused landslides and road blocks at many points. The PWD took swift action to clear the debris caused by the landslide at Senki View and Donyi Polo Road here, an official report said. The Naharlagun extra assistant commissioner said the house of one Tadar Tarish in Pachin Colony was on the
verge of collapse due to river diversion forcing the family to vacate and relocate elsewhere.
Preventive measure The people of Pachin Colony have voluntarily undertaken temporary flood preventive measure by constructing bund with bamboo and filling empty cement bags with sand, the report said. Meanwhile, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has put the Emergency Operation Centre on high alert.
Jetty collapse death toll five 4 held, booked for mishap Special Correspondent Kolkata
The death toll in the jetty collapse at Bhadreswar in Hooghly district rose to five with the recovery of two women bodies on Thursday. Meanwhile, the police have arrested four persons in connection with the tragedy. Three persons had died and around 12 gone missing after a portion of a bamboo jetty in the Hooghly river gave way under the impact of a high tide yesterday. Superintendent of Police Sukesh Jain said four persons, all lease holders of the jetty, were arrested and booked under various sections of the IPC.
Meanwhile, 20 boats of disaster management department searched both banks of the river from Serampore to Tribeni, a stretch of around 30 km, for bodies.
Camp opened The Hooghly district administration has opened a camp at the affected Telenipara ghat where missing complaint of 12 persons were registered. The accident occurred when the passengers were waiting at the bamboo jetty at Telenipara for boarding a launch to cross the river and reach Shyamnagar in North 24 Parganas district. (With agency inputs)
Arms, ammunition recovered in Manipur Belonged to militant outfit of
the Heiroklen area, the police said.
The Manipur police on Thursday recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from a house in Kangpokpi district and arrested its owner.
Joint raid Police and Assam Rifles personnel jointly raided the house following specific information in the small hours of Thursday. It was suspected that the seized arms and ammunition belonged to the newly floated militant outfit United Socialist Revolutionary Army, the police said. The owner of the house was arrested.
Press India
Trust
Imphal
Live rounds Two AK-47 rifles, one MA-3 assault rifle, one pistol, seven magazines, 215 live rounds and three camouflaged pouches were seized from the house in
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IN BRIEF
High Court orders sealing of EVMs
Punjab government considering open-door policy for bus permits
Cong flayed over police transfers
Amarinder Singh for rationalisation of inter-State routes
Special Correspondent Chandigarh
President to visit Punjab on May 2
Petition alleges tampering in Dehradun constituency Staff Reporter
PHAGWARA
President Pranab Mukherjee will go on a one-day visit to Punjab on May 2. He will be the Chief Guest at the 8th Convocation of Lovely Professional University, Chaheru, in Kapurthala district, an official spokesman said. - PTI
Twenty child labourers rescued from brick kiln MUZAFFARNAGAR
As many as 20 children were rescued from a brick kiln in the district during a raid, an official said on Thursday. During the raid conducted on Wednesday, the children were found to be working in sordid conditions, Assistant Labourer Commissioner Anil Singh said. . - PTI
Dehradun
While hearing a petition alleging tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the Vikasnagar constituency here, the Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday ordered that the EVMs of the constituency be sealed. The Court ordered that the EVMs pertaining to Vikasnagar be “preserved” and kept in a sealed room. “The process of sealing shall be carried out in the presence of Judicial Magistrate, Vikasnagar,” the order stated. Former Cabinet Minister and Congress leader, Navprabhat, had approached the High Court over alleged
The High Court also issued notices to the Election Commission, the Centre and the State govt. FILE PHOTO *
tampering of EVMs in Vikasnagar constituency from where he had contested as a Congress candidate. Mr Navprabhat lost to the BJP candidate Munna Singh Chauhan by over 6,418 votes. On Thursday, the single
Bench of Justice S. K. Gupta ordered that notices must also be served to the State government, the Centre and the Election Commission of India, among others, on the issue. According to the Order, the respondents would need to file their response within six weeks.
registration numbers of buses mentioned thereon for plying and also to have GPS systems installed in all buses to ensure their effective tracking in order to prevent misuse of permits,” said the spokesperson.
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT CHANDIGARH
In a move aimed at improving the transport system in the State, Punjab government is considering an open-door policy for bus permits, except on national highway routes. Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh on Thursday suggested rationalisation of inter-State routes to make them more competitive at a preliminary meeting of the Transport Department that was held here to draft the new transport policy. “It was decided at the meeting to go for e-tendering on lucrative routes to make the business more viable and profitable, while providing a level-playing field to all parties,” said an official spokesperson, adding that the Chief Minis-
Amarinder Singh
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ter directed the concerned officials to explore the modalities for inter-State route rationalisation. The draft policy being prepared by the department, which is being prepared on the lines of directives and observations of the Supreme Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court, will be put before the State Cabinet for approval soon. “To eliminate the transport mafia, the Chief Minister suggested permits to have
Replacement of buses The Chief Minister also directed the department officials to come up with a comprehensive plan to replace the outdated Punjab roadways buses besides asking them to coordinate and work closely with the Home Department on a unified emergency redressal system. In a bid to generate employment, deliberations were held on the measures to augment the intra-city transport system by introducing permits for small and mini buses to youth.
The Aam Aadmi Party has hit out at the ruling Congress government in Punjab, saying that the frequent transfers of senior police officers in the State is frustrating and demoralising for the force. Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly H.S. Phoolka has accused the State government of going back on its poll promise about giving the police a free hand. “It was one of Congress’ poll promises that the police would be given a free hand in dealing with law and order problems, and that their tenure would be ensured and fixed,” said Mr. Phoolka. He added that it was quite surprising that some police officers had been transferred thrice since the new govt took over. Capt.
BJP MP, MLA accused of misbehaving with officials Bank manager thrashed and kept hostage Press Trust of India Bareilly/Barabanki
BJP MLA Kesar Singh and MP Priyanka Rawat have been accused of misbehaving with officials in UP, police said on Thursday. Mr Singh, the BJP MLA from Nawabganj in Bareilly district, allegedly thrashed and kept hostage a bank manager, while Ms Rawat, the party’s MP from Barabanki, has been accused of threatening an ASP during a press conference on Wednesday. The manager of Dalernager branch of Baroda Gramin Bank Harish Singh lodged a complaint at Nawabganj police station, alleging that Mr Singh arrived in his office along with his supporters to enquire about a farmer’s bank account, police said.
The MLA then allegedly thrashed the manager, and took him to an undisclosed destination where he was kept hostage for one hour and allowed to go only after being given a written assurance to make the payment related to the bank account.
Foul language In Barabanki, local MP Priyanka Rawat allegedly used foul language against ASP Kunwar Gyananjay Singh during a press conference on Wednesday, saying she would make him pay for all the clout he enjoyed during the previous SP government. Alleging that Mr Singh was shielding a murder accused, Ms Rawat threatened to make him pay for the arbitrary manner in which he worked.
B.S. Sandhu new DGP of Haryana SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT CHANDIGARH
Haryana government on Thursday appointed senior IPS officer B.S. Sandhu as State’s Director General of Police (DGP). He would replace K.P. Singh who has now been posted as DGP (Prisons). Mr. Sandhu, a 1984 batch IPS officer, was holding the post of Chairman and MD Haryana Police Housing Corporation at Panchkula. The government has also transferred some IPS officers. K. Selvaraj, who has been now posted as DGP Railways and OSD Rules at Panchkula while Rajwant Pal Singh has been posed as Commandant General, Home Guard and Director Civil Defence, Chandigarh. Mr. P.R. Deo, who has been awaiting posting has been posted as MD Haryana Police Housing Corporation at Panchkula while Desh Raj has been posted as ADGP Sunaria Complex.
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BJP to embark on Samvad Yatra to counter Opposition
‘Nanded-Hyd flight will boost development’ Munde says Marathawada will benefit Press Trust of India
Chief Minister blames Congress, NCP for plight of farmers Shoumojit Banerjee Pune
Replying to the remarks of the Opposition, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said it was the erstwhile coalition government of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress that was responsible for the plight farmers are facing in Maharashtra today. Speaking on the closing day of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s two-day State executive meet in Pimpri, the CM lambasted the Opposition’s Sangharsh Yatra and denounced allegations that the BJP was responsible for the ongoing tur dal (pigeon pea) crisis. “15 lakh tonnes of tur dal was procured when the Congress-NCP government was in power in Maharashtra,” Mr. Fadnavis claimed. “However, the coalition government only purchased a mere 20,000 tonnes from the farmers despite this bumper crop. Even the money [following the purchase of 20,000 tonnes] to the distressed farmers was paid after a delay of nine months.” The CM said the State BJP would soon embark on a
Agricultural distress: Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, and State BJP chief Raosaheb Danve at the BJP State Executive meet in Pimpri on Wednesday. DEEPAK SALVI *
Samvad Yatra to connect with farmers and rebuff the allegedly false accusations made by the Opposition parties.
‘Will expose lies’ “We will be raising awareness about the efforts [being taken by] our government to resolve issues afflicting the farmers and expose the lies being perpetrated by the Congress and NCP leaders.” Mr. Fadnavis said that during the tenure of the NCP’s and the Congress’s coalition government, not a single department, be it irrigation or agriculture, was free from scandals — hinting
at a multi-crore irrigation scam in which top NCP leaders, like Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare, are involved.
Attacks Opposition leaders “The leaders spearheading the so-called Sangharsh Yatra are shameless and have no right to pose as champions of farmers as they are responsible for their plight today,” Mr. Fadnavis said, adding that his government has taken measures to bring relief to farmers hit by the tur dal crisis, namely a provision of ₹1,000 crore to buy the tur stock at the minimum support price (MSP) of ₹5,050
Mumbai
per quintal. Earlier this week, the Opposition had criticised the State BJP and had demanded resignations of State Cooperation Minister Subhash Deshmukh and Agriculture Minister Pandurang Fundkar for failing to provide relief to farmers reeling from the crisis engendered by falling prices of tur dal. Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who is also the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the State Assembly, had alleged that despite the State government announcing extension of tur dal procurement process from farmers, several centres of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) remained shut across Maharashtra 24 hours after the announcement. Despite a five-fold increase in tur dal production in the State, farmers, especially those in the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, are being forced to sell their produce to private traders at throwaway prices. Mr. Fadnavis, in his address, said cases would be lodged against the private traders is they purchase the produce below the MSP.
9 held for robbery, murder
Farmers affected by Sumruddhi project will be compensated: Nashik collector
Press Trust of India
Farmers in Sinnar and Igatpuri talukas, who parted with their lands for the proposed 702-km-long Sumruddhi Expressway project (from Mumbai to Nagpur), will be compensated adequately, according to Nashik Collector B. Radhakrishna.
Raigarh
A former Sarpanch was arrested along with eight members of a gang of dacoits on Thursday in connection with the murder of a jeweller in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh district, police said.
CM YK
Press Trust of India Nashik
The measurement survey is presently underway in 10 districts falling under the project. Farmers and locals of Sinnar and Shahapur taluka in Thane and some other districts in the State have been protesting against the expressway. Last week, a group of farmers in Shivade village in Sinnar had held a
protest against the measurement exercise. On Wednesday, a large number of farmers and locals had staged a rasta-roko in Thane. “The government will take care of the farmers affected by project. They will get proper compensation for their land, [and] would be provided alternative land,” Mr. Radhakrishna said.
Maharashtra Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde on Thursday said Nanded-Hyderabad flight services will give a boost to tourism and development in the the State’s Marathawada region. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated the maiden ShimlaNew Delhi flight, under a government scheme, to boost regional air connectivity. He also flagged off flights on Kadapa-Hyderabad and Nanded-Hyderabad sectors under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) through video-conferencing. With the RCS scheme, also called UDAN or Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik, the government aims at connecting 45 unserved and under-served airports, and
Pankaja Munde make flying affordable by capping fares at ₹2,500 per seat/hour. Ms. Munde, speaking at the Guru Govind Singhji airport in Nanded, said, “Due to cheap air tickets, the common man will be able to use the UDAN services. To give a boost to development of the [Marathawada] region, good connectivity is important,” she said, adding that the PM has also provided adequate funds for railway infrastructure-related work in Beed district.
Forest officials and villagers exhuming the carcass of tiger Shriniwas at a village in Chandrapur district in Maharashtra on Thursday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *
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HC asks Goa to ensure Tiger electrocuted, clean water to Sonshi farmer arrested Asks for solution to iron ore dust pollution Special Correspondent Panaji
The Bombay High Court at Goa on Thursday directed the State government to ensure supply of potable water to residents of Sonshi village in North Goa’s Sattari taluk, which has been in the news for villagers’ protest against dust pollution caused by transportation of iron ore. The court also directed the State government to come up with a solution to the pollution issue.
Police had held 45 The HC had taken up the matter sou moto earlier
this month, after media reports highlighted the plight of villagers, 45 of whom were arrested after their protest against dust pollution resulting from unregulated transport of iron ore. Trucks from mining leases around the village carry the iron ore to the river jetties nearby, from where it is shipped for exports. The State had witnessed a major outrage after 45 villagers, including 23 women, were arrested by the police on April 11, following their protest. They were released more than a week later.
Press Trust of India Nagpur
A sub-adult tiger that went missing from Umred-Karhandala Wildlife Sanctuary last week, has died of electrocution in Kothurna village in Chandrapur district, a top State forest official said on Thursday. The tiger died after it came in contact with an electric fence that was put up by a farmer in the village. The farmer was arrested on Thursday by the forest department, the official said. “The tiger, identified as T-10 and named Shriniwas, was missing since April 20. The forest department had launched a search operation, in which his radio collar was found in Kothurna
village on the same day,” Maharashtra principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Shree Bhagwan, said. He added that the forest authorities started scanning the area afterwards. “The forest team [on Thursday] came across tiger droppings in the area. The officials grew suspicious and questioned a farmer, who owns a farm nearby,” the official said. “During the questioning, the farmer — Mahadev Irpate — admitted that the tiger had died last week after it came in contact with the electric fence he put up around his farm. He told the officials that he removed the tiger’s collar and threw it and buried the carcass nearby.”
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IN BRIEF
Reinstate Senkumar, Kerala government told
BJP leaders revolt against Yeddyurappa Cracks widen with rebels seeking central intervention
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
The Kerala government has been legally advised to reinstate T.P. Senkumar as State Police Chief. The quintessence of the detailed opinion conveyed by Principal Secretary, Law, B.G. Harindranath, reportedly is that any further dithering could be perceived as stalling for time to implement the momentous Supreme Court order.
Udupi youths attacked for slaughtering oxen UDUPI
A group of 13 persons allegedly thrashed three youths belonging to the Koraga community (Scheduled Tribe) accusing them of slaughtering two oxen for a beef meal at Trasi village in Udupi. Later, the police took the three into custody.
Special Correspondent BENGALURU
Differences within the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka became louder on Thursday with camps led by party old guards and the State president B.S. Yeddyurappa publicly taking on each other and seeking the intervention of central leaders. The old guards flexed their muscles close on the heels of Mr. Yeddyurappa losing the prestige battle in the Assembly by-elections, by holding a public meeting of about 1,250 workers from across the State.
Demand for expulsion The Yeddyurappa camp retaliated by demanding the expulsion of prominent leaders, including Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative
B.S. Yeddyurappa Council K.S. Eshwarappa. The public meeting, attended by Mr. Eshwarappa, State vice-presidents Bhanuprakash and Nirmal Kumar Surana, besides Somanna Bevinamarad, MLC, and several former legislators, saw Mr. Yeddyurappa come under sharp attack. The old guards, who strongly expressed displeas-
Janardhan Reddy adopts elephant calf Names the 6-month-old after his aide and MP Sriramulu
ure over Mr. Yeddyurappa’s style of functioning, sought the intervention of party president Amit Shah. They resolved to take a delegation to meet central leaders to apprise them of the issue. They set a deadline of May 10 for the State leadership to resolve the row. If nothing came out by then, they would hold a bigger convention, they warned.
History of infighting Infighting has pushed the erstwhile BJP government in Karnataka to the brink many times. In fact, Mr. Yeddyurappa quit the party to launch the Karnataka Janata Party just ahead of the last Assembly polls. He returned after both the BJP and his new political outfit failed to do well in the elections.
When friends and foes spoke in one voice A day of nostalgia for Kerala’s legislators at Assembly’s 60th anniversary N.J. Nair THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
It was not just a peep into the past for Kerala legislators on Thursday but a memorable journey down six decades. A special session, held at the old Legislature Complex to mark the 60th anniversary of the State Assembly, saw members of the ruling party and the Opposition turning self-critical and talking of the need to focus on legislative matters rather than pursue frivolous issues. From nonagenarian V.S. Achuthanandan to debutant Vijayan Pillai, the members voiced their concern over the waning quality of debates and dwindling focus on legislation. Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan reminded the lawmakers that the lower echelons of the police had not yet got over their colonial overhang — the common man was still scared to seek their assistance. It was time for an attitudinal shift, he said.
Momentous occasion: Kerala Assembly in session at the old Assembly Hall on Thursday. C. RATHEESH KUMAR *
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recalled how the legislature acquired a representative nature and the State set the course for revolutionary legislation such as those on land reforms, education, health and decentralised governance.
Need for consensus Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala went a step further and pointed out
that the need of the hour was consensus, not confrontation, on development. Time had come for political parties to think of changing their style of functioning, he said. He reminded the members how Parliament took a cue from the Subject Committees of the Assembly to form Standing Committees for budget scrutiny. The State had many firsts to its credit, he said.
For Mr. Achuthanandan, the session was not just nostalgic but a reminder to be more alert in framing laws to meet fresh challenges. Senior member C.K. Nanu recalled the instance when Kerala’s first Chief Minister E.M.S. Namboodiripad took part in an anti-Emergency protest along with him before the Secretariat. K.M. Mani stressed on the need to frame laws and scrap obsolete laws. Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy wanted the House to meet at the hall at least once a year. The limited space and huddled seats reduced the distance between members and helped them to develop camaraderie, he said.
Dissenting note The only dissenting note was from O. Rajagopal, who accused Mr. Vijayan of blaming the RSS for the death of Gandhiji. This drew mild protests from members in a feel-good milieu.
A new lease of life for antique instruments A valuable collection of musical instruments in Kalpathy will open to the public soon
Staff Reporter Bengaluru
K.A. Shaji
For perhaps the first time in the country, an elephant calf has been named after a Member of Parliament. Former Tourism Minister and Ballari mining baron G. Janardhan Reddy decided to adopt and name an elephant calf at the Bannerghatta Biological Park after his close aide, B. Sriramulu, Member of Parliament from Ballari. Unlike his namesake who has to straddle his constituency, politics of the party and parliamentary affairs, six-month-old Sriramulu seems to have no care in the world as he tails his mother, 10-year-old Nisarga. On a
Palakkad
Cute & cuddly: Janardhan Reddy, extreme left, with the elephant and its calf on Thursday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *
visit to the zoo on Thursday, Mr. Reddy offered to adopt the elephant calf by paying ₹1.75 lakh for the year.
The zoo saw Infosys cofounder Narayana Murthy and JD(S) MLC T.A. Sarvana adopting animals recently.
In Chathapuram, near Kalpathy, a collection of more than 2,000 traditional instruments has been languishing in neglect. This invaluable collection, housed in Kerala’s lone museum for music instruments, will now get a new lease of life, courtesy the State Archaeological Department. The Palakkad Mani Iyer Memorial was set up in 2009. It is the lone memorial to the legacy of the mridangam maestro, who was born in the nearby Kalpathy agraharam. The
proposal had been in the pipeline ever since his demise in 1981, but had been delayed by bureaucratic hurdles. In 2011, with a ₹30 lakh sanction from the State Budget, it purchased a rare collection of instruments — most of them more than 150 years old, from England, Australia, China, Sri Lanka, and some parts of the African continent — from Thiruvananthapuram-based collector Joseph V. Fernandez. But the collection has spent the years since then gathering dust in the building, closed to the public.
Garbage mounds pose a risk to HAL airport Regulating the presence of birds in the area is important for safe operation of flights, says official Mohit M. Rao Bengaluru
With a cesspool that is Bellandur sprawled behind the airport, and garbage mounds popping up everywhere near it, the skies over HAL Airport play host to more kites and birds than man-made machines. The black kite that flew into the helicopter carrying Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others on Monday was just one among more than 2,500 that are spotted on every day at the airfield. “HAL Airport is the most affected airport when it comes to birds and bird strikes in the country,” says Wing Commander (Rtd.) S.S. Mahesh, an expert with the National Bird Control Committee, DGCA who also runs Grus Ecosciences in the city. In comparison, the Yelahanka Air Force Base — where birds come under immense scrutiny during the biennial Aero India Show —
Growing vulnerability: The HAL airport sees over 30 bird strikes a year. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *
which is surrounded by some of the city’s largest waste processing plants sees an average of around 800 black kites a day; while Kempegowda International Airport is believed to have over 340 kites crossing the premises of the airport daily. Consequently, experts be-
lieve that the Yelahanka Air Force base sees up to 25 bird strikes annually; HAL sees over 30 bird strikes a year. This is an increasing risk for HAL, and relatively recent occurrence. In 1982, when the airport was still surrounded by verdant agricultural fields and few townships, or-
nithologists from the Bombay Natural History Society recorded just 251 black kites in a day. This increase — say HAL officials and birders — is primarily because of garbage being illegally dumped around the key air base, close to Bellandur Lake, and in nearby residential areas. Mr. Mahesh says more than 73 garbage dumps were spotted close to the base, while at least 26 dumpsites have come in and around the severely-polluted Bellandur lake. Adding to this are the clogged drains and flowing sewage into the lake. Offal and animal waste are dumped into the drains, further attracting a huge population of birds. While an HAL official said its operations were not “affected directly” by the bird population, they have remained in touch with the Bruhat Bengaluru Ma-
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Crowning glory
hanagara Palike (BBMP) in clearing out clogged Storm Water Drains (leading to Bellandur) and clearing garbage mounds. “We are also distributing pamphlets and spreading awareness on keeping the nearby areas clean. Currently, various military aircraft and helicopters, VVIP and private jets operate from HAL airport. Regulating the presence of birds in the area is important for safe operation of these flights and hence this request to clean up the area on regular basis,” said the official.
Translocating birds? With fire crackers and tackling insects within the airport premises turning ineffective, birders have suggested the radical idea of relocation of thousands of black kites from the city. Though HAL has around 83 species of birds, seven are considered high-risk species for bird strikes.
The Archaeological Department, which took over of the memorial from the Kerala State Folklore Academy, is now refurbishing the structure. The department’s director, J. Reji Kumar, says that amenities will be added to the building to make it more attractive to music lovers from all over Kerala and beyond. Mr. Kumar adds that the instruments will be properly taken care of and displayed in a manner that protects them. The museum will be opened to the public in a couple of months.
Legacy of sound: The memorial for Mridangam maestro Palakkad Mani Iyer. K.K. MUSTAFAH *
Pinarayi should admit that Mani was wrong, says BJP Kummanam, Tamilisai visit Pengal Otrumai strike venue Staff Reporter IDUKKI
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should admit to the public that Electricity Minister M.M. Mani was wrong in making derogatory comments against Pengal Otrumai, a women’s collective, Bharatiya Janata Party State president Kummanam Rajasekharan has said. At a public meeting in support of the hunger agitation by Pengal Otrumai in Munnar on Thursday, Mr. Rajasekharan said the Chief Minister had informed the Assembly that Mr. Mani had spoken in the local dialect and had not used derogatory words.
Different stand However, CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had taken a different stand
M.M. Mani
and the party decided to publicly chastise him. The BJP’s Tamil Nadu Chief Tamilisai Soundararajan delivered the keynote address. Ms. Soundararajan and Mr. Rajasekharan visited the venue of agitation by Pengal Otrumai which completed its third day on Thursday. The agitation was launched demanding the resignation
of and a public apology by Mr. Mani for his comments against the women collective. Leader of Pengal Otrumai,Gomathy, said the agitation would not be withdrawn till their demands were met. The collective was not concerned about the action taken by the party against the Minister. More Congress leaders also reached the venue. Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala is scheduled to visit the venue on Friday.
Rally turns violent Earlier, a rally taken out by Yuva Morcha activists in Munnar, demanding the demolition of encroachments in Devikulam taluk, turned violent. The police fired water cannons to disperse them.
KCR announces ₹500-cr. fund for ryots I’ll continue my fight against forces inimical to Telangana, says CM Special Correspondent WARANGAL
Glow and glitter: The Rock Fort in Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu, is one of the oldest rock formations in the world. The Uchipillaiyar temple on top is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. A. MURALITHARAN CM YK *
Telangana Rashtra Samiti president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday announced his resolve to constitute a special fund for mitigating the problems faced by farmers. The special fund, amounting to ₹500 crore, would be operated by the State level farmers’ federation. This would, in turn, consist of representatives from district level farmers bodies. Once constituted, the State level body would hold negotiations with buyers/ traders to fix remunerative prices for agricultural produce without the involvement of middlemen/brokers. “Farmers will be given freedom to sell their produce anywhere across the country if they are not satisfied with the price offered by traders/buyers. This will be an effort to ensure that farmers secure more than minimum support price an-
Pink brigade: K. Chandrasekhar Rao addressing a public meeting in Warangal on Thursday. M. MURALI *
nounced for them from time to time,” he said.
Massive gathering He was addressing a massive gathering at Warangal on the eve of the party’s 17th foundation day on Thursday. He lamented that while people in other professions had associations to represent their problems, farmers lacked such a body that could bring
their problems to the notice of the concerned. “KCR is determined to organise the farmers,” he said, amid loud cheer from the gathering. Thursday saw Warangal, Hanamkonda and Kazipet turning into a sea of humanity for the meeting. The Chief Minister outlined various initiatives of his government to alleviate the
problems faced by different sections of society, farmers in particular. The government had resolved problems pertaining to power supply within six months of taking over the reins and initiated projects like Mission Bhagiratha and Kakatiya to ensure adequate water for them. “The Congress is the cause of the sufferings of the Telangana farmers. They are now securing stay on the project works as they are apprehensive of their political survival if the State develops on its own,” he said. The TRS was determined to carry out the struggle for ensuring that the State witnessed accelerated development on all fronts as this was the only solution to the seven-decade struggle the people had faced under the united Andhra Pradesh. “I will continue my struggle against the forces inimical to Telangana, come what may,” Mr. Rao said. A ND-ND
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IN BRIEF
Defeat corrupt forces: Modi At Shimla rally, PM takes dig at Himachal CM Virbhadra accused of corruption Kanwar Yogendra Shimla
Construct walls around holy spots: Adityanath LUCKNOW
Amid Intelligence warning that an ISI—trained group in the garb of Hindu seers might strike prominent religious sites in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has called for construction of boundary walls around the holy spots. ASP (Security), Mathura, Siddharth Verma said they had information that terrorists dressed as ‘sadhus’ could enter the state to carry out attacks. The CM has also ordered laying of a 4-lane road connecting famous temples. PTI
Dalit writer threatened with death over new book JAIPUR
Dalit writer Kusum Meghwal has alleged she has been receiving death threats from a few groups over her new book on Rajput warrior king Maharana Pratap. In the book, she claims the king belonged to the Bhil community and was elevated as Rana of Mewar later. She said she received threats from Karni Sena, which was also involved in the ransacking of the sets of “Padmavati” and the attack on its director Sanjay Leela Bhansali in January. PTI
Six of a family killed in road accident
Virtually launching the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign for the Assembly elections in the State later this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday appealed to the crowd to defeat and oust dishonest and corrupt forces. Reminding the people of the recent demonetisation move against black money hoarders and the support the BJP got in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and now in Delhi, he said the country’s youth had decided to oppose dishonest politicians.
Tough decisions Without naming Himachal Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Mr Modi said “there is possibly no other Chief Minister in this country who is running after lawyers to save his skin in one court or another.” But the people, he said, had decided not to compromise with the corrupt. Despite heavy showers
since morning, thousands of people and BJP workers waited patiently on the historic Ridge Maidan to hear the Prime Minister. Mr Modi said his tough decisions had annoyed a section of the society that favoured status quo but nobody was questioning them. “Though they are after my blood I have made up my mind to tighten the system”, he said. Giving examples of phar-
*
PTI
maceutical companies and heart stent manufacturers, he said after much effort he had been successful in reducing prices.
Previous rally “Now the poor also can afford these and live longer,” he said while claiming that he had also seen and felt poverty from close quarters. Connecting with the locals, the Prime Minister said he had addressed a rally 20
Rubbishes claims made by Home Ministry in annual report Special Correspondent Kolkata
Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan (VVJVA) has issued a statement denying the Home Ministry’s allegation that the organisation was a “front of the CPI (Maoist)”. “VVJVA is by no means a frontal organisation of the CPI (Maoist) as claimed in the recent Annual Report [2016-‘17] of the Union Home Ministry,” said social activist Father Stan Swamy, about his organisation. Mr. Swamy is also one of the popular faces of Jharkhand’s anti-displacement movement. The Home Ministry report claimed that VVJVA is “a front of the CPI (Maoist)” that has tried to “take up pro-tribal issues and opposed amendments” to the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act [CNT] and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act’s [SPT] “modifications in Domicile Policy.” In his two-page statement, Mr. Swamy has argued
that VVJVA is targeted as it has taken up the causes of the indigenous people of Jharkhand and has “succeeded in sending several industrialists away [from Jharkhand] empty handed.” One of the key reasons for targeting VVJVA, he said, is their opposition to CNT and SPT Amendments, which is “hanging precariously” as the Governor Draupadi Murmu is yet to give her assent to the Bills. The CNT [1908] and SPT [1876] amendments “may facilitate” access to outsiders – especially the big companies – to the land of the indigenous population, the activists argued. “The amendments… [were] vehemently opposed by VVJVA,” Mr. Swamy said.
Encounter killings Arguing that VVJVA’s robust and routine fact finding reports exposing staged “encounter killings” is the other reason to target the non-violent organisation, Father
Swamy said that in 2011 VVJVA met the family members of those killed in so called encounters. “[We] met the local police officers, got their version and write our report… which were mostly in variance with what the police said.” “Around 2005, we put in an RTI petition and got the details of the 74 MoUs and publicised the information to several activists in different parts of the State. Once people realised that their land was being given away without their knowledge and consent to industrialists, resistance movements against displacement and land-alienation took shape,” Father Swamy said. He said the VVJVA is targeted for these systematic campaigns against land acquisition and displacement of the local populace; for providing legal protection to the poor tribals – charged as Maoists – and are thus facing the ire of the Home Ministry.
‘Kolkata key transit point for Rohingya Muslims’
Wedding called off over no meat
60% of illegal immigrants in India are also Rohingyas
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
NEEMUCH
Kolkata
Six members of a family, including three women, were killed when their car collided with a lorry near Keshpura area in the district, the police said. The family was returning from Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district to Bhilwara in Rajasthan after meeting a relative when their vehicle’s driver lost control of the car. The car collided with a lorry after hitting a road divider, the polce said, adding that all the six persons died on the spot, he said. PTI
Kolkata has become a key transit point for Rohingya refugees, claims a UK-based international human rights group. The 10-year-old organisation – Restless Beings – also says that about 60% of the illegal immigrants in India are Rohingyas, a majority of whom pass through Kolkata. Widespread violence Rohingyas are predominantly a Muslim ethnic group concentrated in Myanmar. Violence engineered in the
CM YK
Wooing voters: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the BJP’s Parivartan Rally at the Ridge in Shimla on Thursday.
years ago on the same maidan during the Vajpayee government when he was working for the organisation. He recollected the long hours he spent in the Mall Road Coffee House with local journalists. Mr. Modi said the State should tap the hydel potential, increase fruit production and encourage tourism in order to bring development. Striking a cord with a large number of ex-servicemen in Himachal, the Prime Minister explained how successive governments had cheated them on the onerank one-pension scheme. “Now we have earmarked Rs 15,000 crore for it and are releasing it in four instalments,” he said. Senior BJP leaders Shanta Kumar, Prem Kumar Dhumal and J.P. Nadda were present on the dais. Mr Nadda said Mr Virbhadra Singh had shamed the people of the State because of the corruption cases against him.
Civil rights body denies being a Maoist front
country by nearly 970 radical Buddhist movements since 2012 have led to the emigration of a large number of Rohingyas, also referred to as “illegal Bengalis” by India.
Two main routes While more than 100,000 of them moved to south-eastern Bangladesh, tens of thousands moved to Malaysia. Thousands more moved to Thailand and Indonesia using sea routes. To enter India, the Rohingyas use two routes— one
is from Manipur to Kolkata via Siliguri in North Bengal; the other is when they cross the Naf river to enter Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh— says MabrurAhmed, founder-director of Restless Beings. From Cox’s Bazar, they head to Kolkata by trains or buses. “The advantage of coming to India is that the risk of sailing can be averted, even though the land border has check posts,” says Mr. Ahmed. From Kolkata, they travel to Jammu and Kashmir and Hyderabad, which have camps for the community.
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Groom’s family objected to the bride’s side not serving non-vegetarian food Meerut
A wedding in a Muzaffarnagar village was called off at the eleventh hour, all because the bride’s family couldn’t provide non-vegetarian food. In a complaint to the police, the family of Naghma, the bride, said they had informed the groom, Rizwan, that they may not be able to serve nonvegetarian food because of the unavailability of buffalo meat, a fallout of the crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses. But Rizwan got irritated
when he found that the bride’s side was serving only vegetarian food to his friends and relatives, claimed the complaint filed at the Bhopa police station.
Meat unavailable He claimed that it had been agreed to serve nonvegetarian food, including kebab, korma and biryani. “Rizwan’s family has been consistently pressuring me to serve them a nonvegetarian dish of their choice. Buffalo meat is not available because of which I have been telling them that I will not be able to fulfil their
demand,” the complaint said. Rizwan’s friend also wanted to know why the motorcycle promised by Naghma’s family in dowry was not being provided, leading to a clash between the two sides. The village panchayat was called in and even as it tried resolving the matter, Naghma called off the marriage.
Youth proposes However, in a bizarre twist, a local youth, Asif, said he was willing to marry Naghma without any nonvegetarian food and dowry,
which she accepted. According to Sukshma Prakash, the circle officer of the Bhopa Police station: “Naghma’s family called the police when the two families fought, but the matter was sorted by the village panchayat.” He said Naghma’s father Ishtiyaq registered a formal complaint. Meat, especially buffalo meat, has been in short supply in UP ever since the Yogi Adityanath government banned and sealed almost 90% of the slaughterhouses as they were allegedly functioning without proper licence.
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IN BRIEF
Singer Ankit Tiwari acquitted of rape charges MUMBAI
A special court on Thursday acquitted Bollywood singer Ankit Tiwari in a rape case filed in 2014 for the alleged rape of a woman on the pretext of marriage. During the trial, the victim was deemed hostile.
IIM-Ahmedabad director resigns AHMEDABAD
Director of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) Prof. Ashish Nanda resigned on Thursday, a year before the end of his contract, citing “personal reasons.” His resignation has been accepted and he has been asked him to continue till September. Prof. Nanda said living far away from his wife and son had been a challenge and he wanted to be with them.
Judicial performance index proposed
IITs as accreditation agency under study
NITI Aayog for outsourcing non-core functions of police
NEW DELHI
Meet today to discuss suicides too Vikas Pathak
Vikas Dhoot Yuthika Bhargava NEW DELHI
The NITI Aayog has proposed the introduction of a judicial performance index to reduce delays and the outsourcing of non-core functions of the police to private agencies or other government departments, in a bid to fix justice system that is in ‘dire need of reform.’ The government’s think tank has also mooted changes in criminal justice and procedural laws, a repeal of all irrelevant legislation by March 2019 and reforms in land ownership laws — which account for 67% of litigants in civil suits. The creation of a judicial performance index that could help High Courts and their chief justices keep track of the performance and pro-
Gangotri, Gaya, Assisi church on Swachh list 10 iconic places to get better amenities
cesses at district courts and subordinate levels for reducing delay, should be ‘the first step’ in judicial system reforms, the Aayog has said in its draft three-year action plan discussed with Chief Ministers on Sunday.
Bid to end delays The performance index for courts will entail fixing of ‘non-mandatory time frames for different types of cases to benchmark when a case has been delayed.’ The index can also include certain progress on process steps already approved by High Courts and such an annual evaluation should give judges in High Courts ‘a sense of where they are failing and what they need to fix.’ “Since the subordinate judiciary is largely within the domain of the High Courts,
this could also spur competitive reform of the judiciary in those States,” the Aayog reckons. To improve the quality of policing, the think tank has asked the Home Ministry to create a task force to identify ‘non-core functions’ that can be outsourced to private agents or government departments in order to reduce the workload of the police. “Functions such as serving court summons and antecedents and address verification for passport applications or job verifications can be outsourced…” the Aayog said in a chapter on improving the rule of law. India’s police to population ratio should reach the United Nations norms of 222 per lakh population, over the next seven years, from the current level of 137.
The Indian Institutes of Technology are likely to have the additional role of accreditation and assessing agency soon, with the IIT Council meet in Mumbai on Friday expected to discuss the possibility. Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar threw ample hints about this at an event here a few days back. “On 28th the IIT Council will meet. We told the IITs you too can become accreditation agencies. There is NAAC... If there are four-five agencies for accreditation, it is good. There will automatically be a competition and that will be good,” he had said at the consultation meet of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council. “I don’t know how much NAAC people accept it. But
New Delhi
The Centre has decided to bring 10 iconic places in India under phase-II of the Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) initiative, to ensure better cleanliness and improved amenities for visitors. The 10 places are: Gangotri, Yamunotri, Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, Char Minar in Hyderabad, Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assisi in Goa, Adi Shankaracharya’s abode Kaladi in Ernakulam, Gomateshwar in Shravanabelagola, Baijnath Dham in Devghar, Gaya Tirth in Bihar and the Somnath temple in Gujarat. Union Minister for Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water and Sanitation, Narendra Singh Tomar, made the announcement at the second quarterly review meeting on the Swachh Iconic Places under the Swachh Bharat Mission CM YK
The Charminar in Hyderabad at the Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir, on Thursday. The 10 iconic places already in Phase-I are: Ajmer Sharif Dargah, CST Mumbai, the Golden temple in Amritsar, Kamakhya temple in Assam, Maikarnika Ghat in Varanasi, Meenakshi temple in Madurai, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi in Katra, Shree Jagannath temple in Puri, Taj Mahal and the Venkateswara temple in Tirupati.
Centre’s guidelines The IIT Council meet comes at a time when there is concern over suicides in the institutes. This, too, may come up for discussion at the meet. The Centre had, after the Rohith Vemula suicide at the Hyderabad University, sought to create a set of guidelines to ensure that students are not driven to the extreme step.
17-year-old Kalpit creates history Special Correspondent JAIPUR
Kalpit Veerval, a student of MDS Senior Secondary School, Udaipur, has topped the IIT-JEE main examination of 2017 with a perfect 100%, or 360 marks, clinching the All India Rank 1. The results were announced on Thursday. He is the first student to score full marks in the JEE main exam. He has topped in the general as well as the Scheduled Caste category. Kalpit's father Pushkar Lal Veerwal is a compounder at Udaipur’s Maharana Bhupal Government Hospital and his mother Pushpa is a government school teacher. His elder brother is a student in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur.
Vinod Khanna, the suave actor who had it all A heartthrob with a swagger like none other, the handsome man narrowly missed becoming a superstar Namrata Joshi MUMBAI
Special Correspondent
it is not a bad thought. If we want to reach each institute and assess them properly, we need more wherewithal and therefore [we should] build three-four more institutes which will also become assessing agencies.” “There should be a new system of accreditation [and] that is our effort. Inspection is important as we get to know looking at data what is the truth,” the Minister had said minutes earlier.
Udaipur boy scores 100% in IIT JEE main
There is no place to hide even in your weakest and most vulnerable of moments. This fact about social media was reiterated yet again, just a few weeks ago, when late actor Vinod Khanna’s pictures, taken during treatment for bladder carcinoma at Sir H. N. Reliance Hospital in Mumbai, were widely circulated and shared online across several platforms. The invasion of his privacy came with an associated poignancy. The frail, fragile, enervated presence of Khanna was shockingly remote from how we have always held him: a tall, suave, extremely handsome man with intense eyes and a conspicuous cleft chin. The Bollywood actorturned politician passed away on Thursday at the age of 70. A sitting Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur in Punjab, he was suffering from advanced bladder car-
A file photo of Vinod Khanna and wife Kavitha
cinoma and had been hospitalised since April 5. There was the Dev AnandDilip Kumar-Raj Kapoor trinity of superstars in the 1950s, now there’s the Khan trio of Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh. Then there is the Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna team, which would easily qualify as the best looking triumvirate in Hindi cinema ever. Even after his early departure, and des-
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pite the infamous hospital picture, Khanna will remain part of that team, forever, in our imagination.
Standing apart Ironically, for someone gifted with such conventional, fitfor-a-hero good looks, Khanna started off as a villain in Hindi cinema in Sunil Dutt’s Man Ka Meet (1968). But even in shades of black, he gave the hero a run for his
money. Like when he played the antagonist to Rajesh Khanna in Aan Milo Sajna (1970). He is hard to forget as the deadly dacoit Jabbar Singh in Raj Khosla’s Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971). Such was the popularity of the film that Khosla went back to the ravines in Kuchhe Dhaage (1973) with Khanna, in the anti-hero mode, locking horns with Kabir Bedi. He turned a rugged dacoit yet again in Rajput (1982). Even as he graduated from villain to hero, Khanna got trapped in the two-hero/ multi-hero films — like The Burning Train (1980), Ek Aur Ek Gyarah (1981) — the trend of the time. Despite his charismatic presence, quite often the other hero walked away with the limelight while Khanna got relegated to the “supporting” hero category — in films like Haath Ki Safai (1974), Muqaddar Ka Sikander (1978), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Hera Pheri (1976) and Khoon Pasina
(1977). But in Bollywood, your fine looks can often override your talent. It happened to a large extent with Khanna as well. Khanna had all the qualities of a superstar but never got his due, wasn’t properly exploited by the film-makers. He never became the legend he could have been. Two of his finest performances came with Gulzar at the helm. In Mere Apne (1971), Gulzar’s directorial debut on youth unrest, he was all fiery, angry and simmering within. Khanna as Shyam matched Shatrughan Sinha’s Chhenu. They played the leaders of two warring gangs. In Achanak (1973), a film based on the Nanavati murder case, he was superb as a man riddled with both betrayal from his wife and the guilt of having killed her. It was a complex performance that brought out the nuanced performer in him. SEE ALSO A DELHI METRO PAGE 4
Kalpit Veerval
The 17-year-old is considered a bright student at both his school and coaching institute. He topped the Indian Junior Science Olympiad while studying in Class 9 and cracked the National Talent Search Examination with the top position in the 10th grade. Kalpit said he would now focus on the JEE advanced exam to be held next month.
Freedom fighter’s kin rescued Staff Reporter BHUBANESWAR
Babula Panda, grandson of freedom fighter Laxmi Indira Panda, who had been missing for more than 10 days, was rescued from the Mancheswar area here in a critical condition on Thursday. Around 1.30 p.m. the city police received information that a youth was lying near a canal in the Mancheswar area here. A police vehicle spotted the youth and admitted him to a private medical college hospital. “Mr. Babula Panda was severely dehydrated. He was incoherent and hardly able to speak. Subsequently, we rushed him to the SCB Medical College Hospital, Cuttack, where senior doctors were attending on him,” Satyabrata Bhoi, Deputy Commissioner of Police, told The Hindu. A ND-ND
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8 EDITORIAL
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THE HINDU
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Learning to run twice as fast The challenge of the States in achieving a debt ceiling of 20% by 2023 threatens overall fiscal responsibility targets
What’s cricket? t is no mean achievement that the daunting fiscal deficit target of 3.5% of GDP for the past year was met. Beyond the 3.2% fiscal deficit target for the current year, the government has accepted a 3% target thereafter. Continuing this trend in the future will enable the realisation of the preferred 60% debt-GDP ratio by 2023. The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Review Committee report, now in the public domain, has preferred a debt to GDP ratio of 60% for the general government by 2023, comprising 40% for the Central government and 20% for the State governments. Given the recent track record, there is a reasonable probability of the Central government achieving the 40% debt to GDP ratio. The focus now is on the States. Can they, in partnership with the Central government, enable the near optimum of 60% to be achieved by the terminal date? For international investors and rating agencies, what matters is the fiscal position of the country as a whole. The challenge of States achieving a debt ceiling of 20% by 2023 is undoubtedly Herculean for more reasons than one.
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Drag factors for States First, the best of times, so to say, on fiscal issues may be somewhat behind us. As a 2013 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development paper by David Turner and Francesca Spinelli points out, “A key issue in assessing long-run fiscal sustainability is the future trend of the differential between the interest paid to service government debt (r) and the growth rate of the economy (g). For highly indebted countries, an increase in this differential of a couple of percentage points, if sustained, could lead to a change from a declining to an explosive path for the debt-to-
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CM YK
The way forward Given these complexities, what is the way forward? What are the instrumentalities available with the Central government to ensure greater convergence? The most obvious one is the prudent use of powers defined in the Constitution of India under Clause (3) of Article 293. This makes it mandatory for a State to take the Central government’s consent for raising any loan if the former owes any outstanding liabilities to the latter. One or two States may indeed reach that position, endangering this constitutional instrumentality of the Central government. It would be interesting to see what happens when States cease to have any outstanding liabilities to the Central government. Recently, the Union
N.K. Singh is a former Member of Parliament and Chairman, FRBM Committee. The views expressed are personal
Indians cannot convincingly complain about others’ racism while keeping quiet about the racism within
The first malaria vaccine is cleared for pilot tests, raising hopes about wider use
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ferentiate the fiscal correction due to improved management and fiscal discipline. Third, the recent marked deterioration in fiscal health of the States. The Fourteenth FC enhanced the borrowing limits up to 0.5% of GSDP for the States. This was conditional on debt to GSDP ratio being less than or equal to 25% and/or interest payments being less than or equal to 10% of the revenue receipts in the preceding year. The fact that only six States in FY17 were eligible for enhanced borrowing is indicative of States’ decaying fiscal prudence. The recent spate of farm loan waivers is episodic and symptomatic of deteriorating State finances.
notes that “quality of state spending (proxied by the ratio of capital to current spending) has been gradually worsening over the past few years”. The share of States’ revenue expenditure in total expenditure has remained around 80% and States’ non-developmental expenditure has risen by over 50% from FY2013 to FY2016. The RBI’s latest assessment of State Budgets with the theme, ‘Quality of Sub-national Public Expenditure’, raises the concerns about dominance of revenue expenditure in the States. While the quantum of “untied funds” from the Centre to the States has increased owing to the recommendations of the FFC, expenditure on physical and social infrastructure by the States has remained stagnant. These very concerns were expressed a few days ago at the NITI Aayog meeting of Chief Ministers. While according permission to States to undertake fresh borrowings, their expenditure quality should be a prime condition. Four, encapsulating ‘Fiscal Discipline’ in determining inter se tax shares of different States. Fiscal discipline as a criterion for tax devolution was used by Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirteenth Finance Commissions for incentivising the States in prudent management of its finances. However, the FFC dropped this indicator and accommodated ‘Population (2011)’ and ‘Forest Cover’ in its devolution formula. Given the deteriorating condition of State finances, the Fifteenth Finance Commission could consider restoring fiscal discipline as a determinant for horizontal devolution of funds. Borrowing today to pay tomorrow is by no means financially viable for long-term growth. After all Thomas Jefferson had said, “The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is swindling futurity on a large scale.”
We need to question ourselves
In four doses eginning next year, the World Health Organisation will begin pilot tests of the injectable malaria vaccine RTS,S (or Mosquirix) on 750,000 children aged 5-17 months in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. The vaccine has been successfully put through a Phase III trial, in which the drug is tested for safety and efficacy. Any decision on wider use will be taken based on the results of the pilot tests in the three countries. If the vaccine does indeed prove to be ready for large-scale use, it will be a milestone in the fight against malaria. Although the number of cases globally and in the African region came down by 21% between 2010 and 2015, in 2015 itself the number of deaths worldwide on account of the disease was as high as 429,000. According to WHO estimates, Africa accounted for 92% of these deaths, and 90% of the 212 million new cases that year. In such a scenario, even a vaccine with limited benefits could yield a substantial improvement. The vaccine, given in four doses, protects against Plasmodium falciparum, which is the most prevalent malaria parasite in Africa. The three countries have been chosen as they have settings with moderate-to-high transmission of malaria and already have in place malaria control programmes such as the use of bed-nets, rapid diagnostic tests and combination therapy. Each country is to decide where precisely to run the pilots. The first three doses of the vaccine will be administered with a minimum interval of one month between each dose, followed by the fourth dose 15 to 18 months after the third dose. The first dose will be administered at about five months of age and the third dose has to be completed by nine months of age. While the drop-out rate increases as the number of doses increases, the biggest challenge is the fourth dose, which warrants a new immunisation contact to be made 15 to 18 months after the last dose. In Phase III trials, the efficacy of the vaccine was around 30% when children received all the four doses; the vaccine also reduced the most severe cases by a third. But there was a significant drop in these benefits when children did not receive the fourth dose. Given the low protection efficacy of the vaccine even in tightly controlled clinical settings, the pilot tests will be useful in evaluating the likelihood of replicating the immunisation schedule in the context of routine health-care settings. Also, the extent to which the vaccine reduces the all-cause mortality has to be evaluated as this was not “adequately addressed” during the trial. There is, specifically, a need to ascertain if excess cases of meningitis and cerebral malaria seen during the trials are causally related to the vaccination. Unlike other vaccines, the less-than-optimum protection offered by this vaccine would mean that existing malaria intervention measures will have to be used in conjunction to reduce the incidence of the disease.
GDP ratio.” A negative interest rategrowth differential (i.e. r-g, growth rate greater than the interest rate) causes debt to GDP to decline over time. However, the advantages on account of a favourable r-g depend primarily on the level of debt stock. In this context, the Union government, which has larger domestic liabilities of 49.23% of GDP as compared to that of the States (21% of GDP), benefits more due to a negative interest rate-growth differential. The combined debt dynamics necessitate States to run successively lower primary and fiscal deficits just to maintain their combined debt to GDP ratio at the current level. This is a classic case of the Red Queen in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass saying, “If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” Second, the role of exogenous factors in fiscal corrections of the States. Till FY13, fiscal conduct of the States was exemplary, strictly adhering to and even outperforming the targets of the Fiscal Responsibility Legislations (FRLs). No doubt positive externalities facilitated this outcome. Consolidation of Central loans and debt waiver to States based on their fiscal performance effectively reduced their interest payments to about 0.9% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). Given the debt-restructuring scheme of the Twelfth Finance Commission (FC), Central relief packages and positive economic scenario, it is difficult to dif-
I wonder if Harbhajan Singh knows the English proverb ‘a case of the pot calling the kettle black’. I ask because that’s the first thought that occurred to me when I read his tweets and heard his interviews criticising a Jet Airways pilot Bernd Hoesslin for allegedly calling an Indian passenger “you bloody Indian” and, reportedly, physically assaulting a lady and a disabled man. The English aphorism raises the question, what gives you the right to criticise someone when you’ve been guilty of something similar? By equating the critic with the person being criticised, it suggests he’s no better. It also alludes to a certain hypocrisy or double standard.
The Monkeygate saga In 2008, during a cricket tour of Australia, Harbhajan Singh was ac-
cused of calling Andrew Symonds a “monkey”. Even if not in Indian eyes, in Australian this is undoubtedly racist abuse. After a gap of several days, the Indian side claimed Singh had used a similarsounding Punjabi swear word. The International Cricket Council (ICC) accepted this. At the time, Sharad Pawar, who was president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, was quoted to have said that “if the charges are not dropped, the team would come back to India”. Many saw this as an attempt to blackmail the ICC into dropping charges. Mr. Pawar also said the Indian side would not accept new evidence against Singh. Not only was Mr. Pawar roundly criticised for these two statements, it also led some to believe India was using its cricketing muscle and, perhaps, throwing its financial weight to rescue the player. Justice John Hansen, who wrote the report that settled the matter, said that this had done “serious disservice to the game”. As The Hindu bluntly put it, Indian cricket “lost goodwill”. That the Indian establishment
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR AAP’s debacle The Aam Aadmi Party’s defeat in the Delhi municipal polls is a blow to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who has been dreaming of expanding the party’s base to all parts of the country (“BJP sweeps broom out in Delhi municipal polls”, April 27). Mr. Kejriwal should stay put in Delhi and concentrate on governance. Citing electronic voting machines as the reason for losing polls is not good enough. This illusion has obviated the necessity on the part of the party to indulge in introspection, which is what political parties normally do after losses. K.R. Jayaprakash Rao, Mysuru
Regulating funds I wish to draw a parallel between the role of political parties and that of nongovernmental and religious organisations, now that the Supreme Court has
would defend an erring cricket player is, I suppose, not surprising even if it’s regrettable. When cricketers are considered national ambassadors, this is bound to happen. But what was truly surprising, utterly wrong, and certainly inexplicable was Mr. Pawar’s insistence that “generally Hindustani racist kabhi nahin ho sakta (Indians can’t be racist).” I’m sorry, but that’s simply not true. We are, sadly, amongst the most racist people in the world.
Living in denial
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he last few months have been a chastening spell for the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The Justice R.M. Lodha reforms punctured the bubble of entitlements that some BCCI officials lived in. Even as the sport’s administrators struggled to come to terms with the diktats of the Supreme Court, a big shock wave has emanated from Dubai with the International Cricket Council voting overwhelmingly in favour of changes to its governance and revenue model. All that remains is a formal ratification at the ICC’s annual general body meeting in London in June. The decisions of the Dubai meeting effectively negate the BCCI’s ambitious move initiated by its then president, N. Srinivasan, in 2014. The proposal had envisaged a “Big Three” governance and revenue-sharing structure that co-opted Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board. It offered a maximum of 21% of the ICC’s revenue share to the BCCI, contingent on the parent body earning $3.5 billion. It was mooted against the will of other cricket-playing nations, who are equally dedicated to the game and reluctantly resigned to playing second fiddle on account of their poor finances. In an ironic twist, it was an Indian who broke the monopoly mindset and set the wheels of change in motion. ICC chairperson Shashank Manohar had first told this newspaper in November 2015, “I don’t agree with the three major countries bullying the ICC.” The latest episode in Dubai is a validation of his position that cricket cannot be held to ransom by a select few. Many years ago, social theorist Ashis Nandy wrote, “Cricket is an Indian game accidentally discovered by the British.” Since then cricket has been recast as a yet more Indian sport. There is no denying that India, its fans and diaspora power the sport’s commercial heart. Yet that is no excuse for the BCCI to demand an inordinately large share of the pie or to ram through its own version of the Future Tours Programme. The BCCI’s was a lone dissenting voice, and it is a matter of regret that it remains narrowly obsessed with fattening its treasure chest. India needs to strengthen cricket globally, not enfeeble it. For all the talk about the phenomenal popularity of the game in India, cricket is also periodically convulsed with anxiety about the very survival of the Test and oneday international formats. Being cricket’s powerhouse may give India more leverage to call the shots — but this clout comes with the responsibility to play a greater role in nurturing and spreading the game worldwide. Even a scaled-down revenue model will yield $293 million to the BCCI over an eight-year cycle. This is in addition to the Board’s other revenue streams, including the profitable Indian Premier League. Dubai has offered a mirror. The BCCI must have a hard think and coursecorrect its approach to cricket.
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The BCCI must take the message from the ICC’s course correction on revenue-sharing
Cabinet has permitted State government entities to directly borrow from bilateral partners for vital infrastructure projects. Incentivising prudent fiscal management is a welcome initiative. Looking beyond, there must be symmetry between the cost of borrowing and the quality of financial governance. Combined market borrowings have been rising consistently from 18% in FY11 to 28% in FY16. The gross market borrowing of States through State Development Loans (SDLs) increased by a sharp 27% in FY17 from ₹2.9 trillion in FY16. Markets expect this to rise even further by 22% in FY18 consequent upon pay revisions, implementation of Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) and exclusion of State governments from the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF). Risk variations across States are not reflected adequately in the cost of borrowings. This is a major concern. Fiscally healthy States should be enabled to attract higher investments at lower costs. Two, ushering in transparent accounting practices. It is being increasingly acknowledged that the current stock of State debt at 21% of GDP could be underestimated owing to fallacious budgetary practices and operational intricacies. Off-budget expenditures through State Public Sector Undertakings’ (PSUs) borrowings and explicit guarantees offered by the States do not form a part of State government liabilities. Private researchers and public auditors alike have been pointing out the growing trend of off-budget public spending and mis-categorisation of budget data. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), while appraising States’ finances, has repeatedly censured such practices. The Fourteenth Finance Commission’s (FFC) recommendation of adopting “a template for collating, analysing and annually reporting the total extended public debt in their respective budgets as a supplement to the budget document” must be implemented. Three, emphasising quality of expenditure. A recent HSBC report
As a society we simply don’t understand how despicable racism is. Colour consciousness pervades our attitudes, determines our behaviour and has, possibly, become part of our tradition. We see nothing wrong in advertising for fair brides, calling our own citizens from the Northeast and south India names. When challenged, we claim we do not mean to be offensive, that it’s only lighthearted banter! This, no doubt, is why our government refuses to recognise the repeated attacks on Africans as racism. Whilst the African Heads of
Mission called the recent episode in Greater Noida “xenophobic and racial”, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson insisted it was “a criminal act triggered following the untimely death of a young student under suspicious circumstances”. Not only was the government in denial but, worse, it tried to create a link and, therefore, an explanation between the mysterious death of an Indian student and the appalling attack on innocent Africans. Recently, when Indians in the U.S. were victims of racial assaults,
we angrily questioned President Donald Trump’s silence whilst deprecating the rise of racist sentiment in that country. Shortly thereafter, when Africans were attacked in India, we refused to accept it was racism and few complained about the Prime Minister’s silence. How conveniently we forget our own behaviour when we become victims of racism. Not for a moment am I defending the Jet Airways pilot. His alleged behaviour was indefensible and, if proven, must be strongly punished. But this is also a moment to raise questions about ourselves. Can we really complain about other people’s racism while continuing to be racist ourselves? At the least it’s moral hypocrisy to complain about the mote in another’s eyes while blithely ignoring the beam in your own. This, in a nutshell, is my comment on Harbhajan Singh. Of course, he has the right to draw the Prime Minister’s attention to Bernd Hoesslin’s alleged behaviour. In fact, we all do. But does he have the moral standing to do so? Karan Thapar is a veteran broadcast journalist.
Letters emailed to
[email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.
suggested that the government frame a statutory law to regulate the flow of public money to NGOs (“SC seeks law to regulate NGO funds”, April 27). All NGOs and religious organisations work for some cause; similarly, political parties have an ideology. Just as there is a need to monitor the sources of funds for NGOs, the funds of parties should also be scrutinised. The government gives approval to NGOs and religious organisations after ensuring the legitimacy of the cause. At the time of registration, the government could provide a seed fund, open the NGO’s account in a chosen bank, and announce that the NGO is free to seek funds from anyone who wishes to support the cause. Funds would be routed only through this account. Can’t transparency be ensured this way? The Finance Minister recently said that he supports crowdfunding
of parties. It is high time political parties, NGOs and religious organisations were made accountable. R. Swarnalatha, New Delhi
PAN and Aadhaar Aadhaar is a wellintentioned scheme to plug leakages in welfare schemes, but the concerns associated with it are legitimate and cannot be ignored (“Aadhaar-PAN linkage meant to plug tax leaks, says SC”, April 27). Recent instances in several parts of the country point to how leakages have taken place (for instance, with M.S. Dhoni) and show the need to usher in measures that will ensure that Aadhaar data remain secure and free from hacking. The unbridled enthusiasm with which the BJP government at the Centre is promoting Aadhaar without lending its ears to genuine apprehensions raised from several quarters lends
credence to the criticism of it trying to create a surveillance state. While regulating access to welfare schemes through Aadhaar, the government cannot afford to ignore the link between Aadhaar leaks and the emergence of possible frauds in welfare schemes. M. Jeyaram, Sholavandan, Tamil Nadu
The procedure for linking Aadhaar with PAN online has several glitches at the moment. First, there is a mismatch between names. The sequence of the first, second, and third names in PAN may be in a specific order and that in Aadhaar in another. Aadhaar may contain the initials instead of the expanded names. Sometimes, a message pops up asking for the valid 12-digit Aadhaar number even after it is entered. In all such cases, it would be impossible to link PAN with Aadhaar. The income tax department has to resolve
such issues before declaring and the police”, April 27). The court thought it could any deadline. P.G. Mathew, transform the functioning Kochi of the police when it urged the States to implement the An inhuman practice Model Act circulated by it in 2006. To its chagrin, no It is really unfortunate that despite several such State has implemented the reported deaths, the reforms in letter and spirit. authorities and contractors For the States, compliance continue to engage manual with the court’s orders scavengers (“Manual meant changes to the Police scavenger dies due to Act but without insulating asphyxiation”, April 27). the police from the control Are not sewage blocks of the ruling party/ supposed to be cleared by dispensation, thereby jetting and suction defeating the very purpose machines as per the law? the court’s intervention. Why are manual scavengers It is not far-fetched to deployed despite the assume that political parties Supreme Court directing all have conspired to sabotage the States in 2014 to abolish police reforms as they want manual scavenging? the police to function as per R. Sampath, the diktats of the ruling Chennai parties. Collaborative political opportunism has Protecting the police trumped judicial farThe Supreme Court’s sightedness. reinstatement of T.P. V.N. Mukundarajan, Thiruvananthapuram Senkumar as Kerala’s Director General of Police more letters online: has brought back the focus on police reforms (“Politics www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/ A ND-ND
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LEFT, RIGHT, CENTRE
Are we a nation of pseudo-secularists? The staunch secular nationalism of India has forced communalists to pretend to be secular and nationalist
Mridula Mukherjee is professor of modern Indian history, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Aswini K Mohapatra is professor, Centre for West Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
To answer this question, we first need to understand the meaning and LEFT context of the term ‘pseudo-secular’. It is a term propounded by the ideologues of Hindu communalism to delegitimise and deny the genuineness of secularism. The subtext is that secularism is only a veneer, or a cloak, put on to hide the reality, which is that of minority appeasement, or even more simply, of being pro-Muslim and anti-Hindu. The next question that arises is, why do Hindu communalists have to resort to such circuitous arguments to critique those with a secu-
lar world view? Why don’t they criticise secular ideas frontally, and unabashedly advance their own communal framework? The answer is to be found in the history of the contest between secular and communal forces during the course of the Indian freedom struggle.
Secular versus sectarian Undoubtedly, the hegemonic idea which gripped millions of Indians was that of secular nationalism. From Naoroji to Gokhale, Tilak to Mahatma Gandhi, Sarojini Naidu to Aruna Asaf Ali, Rash Behari Bose to Bhagat Singh, Rajaji to Sardar Patel, Nehru to Subhas Bose; and from
Pseudo-secularists’ attempt to posit Hinduism and secularism as binary opposites betrays their ignorance
functions are not differentiated but rest with a single structure.
I do not think the term ‘secular’ is applicable to Hindus for more one reason. DeRIGHT than rived from the Latin ‘saeculum’, which meant ‘the temporal world’, the term ‘secular’ was used in mid-19th century Western Europe to refer to a specific policy of separating Church from State. The Church represented the highest authority over the spiritual sphere and the State, the highest authority over temporal matters. The meaning of the word secular, therefore, is to be understood in conjunction with the historical con-
Meaning of Hindu Trained in Western ideas and ideologies, pseudosecularists predictably have difficulty in appreciating the distinctive characteristic of Hinduism and its positive attributes compatible with and not antithetical to liberal democracy. The word Hindu is more geographic than religious. It originally denoted the land on the other side of the river Sindhu. The inhabitants of the region were called Hindus by successive invaders, and the dominant religious strain was codified as an ‘ism’ by the British more for polit-
text peculiar to Christianity. In Hinduism, there is no such structural and role differentiation between the religious and political spheres. In fact, Hinduism has no central authority, no founding figure, no single creed or canonical doctrine, and many holy books rather than one. Hence, it does not fit into the category of ‘church religions’, wherein the complex and competitive nature of State-Church relationship need to be addressed by secularism. Nor does it have any resemblance to an ‘organic religion’ like Islam where religious and political
India with its magnificent diversities is innately a genuinely secular society, if the political class lets it be
Harbans Mukhia taught medieval history at Jawaharlal Nehru University
Champaran to Bardoli and Tebhaga, from Ghadar to the INA, from the Swadeshi movement to Quit India, the inspiring and ennobling vision was of an inclusive, pluralistic, democratic, secular nation, embodying the most advanced ideas. Clearly, the narrow, sectarian, exclusivist, backward-looking, antidemocratic world view advanced by Hindu communal groups and parties such as the RSS and its political partner, the Hindu Mahasabha, found little support. After Partition, the accompanying communal violence and the massive transfers of population created a volatile situation, and the formation of Pakistan led to loud demands for a matching
The secularism/communalism dichotomy which took centre during the freeCENTRE stage dom struggle makes it essentially a mode of political mobilisation. Even as secularism and communalism remain each other’s negation historically, with the Congress embodying the former and the Muslim League the latter, conceptually they shared much. For, the category deployed by each was the community.
A continuum If the Congress sought to blend its nationalism with protecting the interests of all communities, in the
League’s ‘two-nation theory’, nationalism coincided with the interests of a single community, at complete variance with those of the other community — a view also strongly propounded by V.D. Savarkar and M.S. Golwalkar. This conception of secularism was just about half a step ahead of communalism. Secularism/communalism thus comprised not alternatives but a continuum in which positions were different but frequently interchangeable, demonstrated in the easy crossover of eminent leaders from one political grouping to its opposite, then as now. With Independence and the institution of an electoral polity, mo-
bilisation of votes was central to its functioning, and space remained open for deployment of the same old categories by political parties in power and in opposition with varying success in each election. The role of the political party in power, directing the state, was crucial. It would often set the agenda until the next election, challenged by parties in the opposition. It was an extraordinarily modern polity with universal adult franchise and multiparty elections. Universal adult franchise, which also gave women the vote, came to France in 1945, just five years ahead of India, and Swiss women had to wait for it until 1971. Yet, the functioning of this polity was largely based on the mo-
Hindu Rashtra. However, Indians, in the first general election of 1951-52, based on adult franchise, which Nehru turned into a referendum on whether India was to be secular or communal, gave a resounding defeat to the votaries of a Hindu Rashtra. They got only 10 seats in a House of 489, and about 6% of the vote.
Rejecting communalism It is this overwhelming support among the people for secularism as a foundational principle of the Indian nation, that is also enshrined in the Constitution, which makes the communalist wary of revealing his true colours. By doing so, he recognises the reality of people’s beical and administrative reasons than theological. It is not merely polytheistic; it is plural in terms of beliefs, traditions and practices. It is otherworldly and its message is meant for the entire humankind. Calling India secular is to question the very essence of the Sanatana Dharma, commonly translated as ‘eternal path’ or ‘eternal way.’ I see secularism more as a ploy to deny an alternative perspective to emerge that would provide a framework drawn on our historical experiences, philosophical traditions, and spirituality to contest the hegemonic secularist discourse and the dominant modes of knowledge.
bilisation of “pre-modern” identities of community, caste, region, etc. Nehru’s hope that given the experience of a modern polity where the individual was left alone at the polling booth to decide whom to vote, and new “modern” education and the process of industrialisation where a worker is a worker and not a Hindu or Muslim or north or south Indian, the consciousness of “pre-modern” identities would recede. What happened is the converse: the electoral success has reinforced the identities. We see the result now.
Dual surrender Over the decades since Independence, the Congress practised its sec-
lief in the secular world view. Therefore, it is he who pretends to be truly secular, and brands the others as pseudo-secularists. He does so by claiming that Hinduism is by its very nature secular, and a Hindu can therefore never be communal. He does so by claiming that secular forces indulge in minority appeasement to create vote banks, and are therefore not genuine in their secularism. The freedom struggle had succeeded in making communalism a dirty word, in delegitimising it by showing it to be anti-national. This was relatively easy since communalists did not participate in the struggle for freedom and often took loyalist positions, and this was visible to the people at that time. However, with the passage of time, and
on the assumption that public memory is short, the Hindu communal or Hindutva forces are working overtime to stitch nationalist cloaks to assume their new roles. One way this is being done is to appropriate the icons of the freedom struggle. Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Subhas Bose, and even Bhagat Singh are appropriated so brazenly in the hope that people will begin to believe that these iconic leaders, whose ideology and politics was far removed from that espoused by Hindutvavadis, are their ancestors. It is the staunch secular nationalism of the Indian people which has forced communalists to pretend to be secular and nationalist, thus making them the true claimants to the terms pseudo-secularist and pseudo-nationalist.
The pseudo-secularists’ attempt to posit Hinduism and secularism as binary opposites, for instance, betrays their ignorance or lack of interest or simply their colonised mindset.
Appeasement issues Some of them have even gone to the extent of resisting the introduction of Yoga and Surya Namaskar in schools on the grounds that they are of Hindu origins. In response, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of the Isha Foundation, said: “If Yoga and Surya Namaskar are Hindu, then the law of gravity is Christian.” As the policy of appeasement pursued for so long by pseudo-secularists no longer yields desired results electorally, their desperation in the
wake of the political ascendancy of the cultural nationalist forces represented by the BJP is understandable. Their so-called anti-Hindutva narrative is nothing but a part of the well-organised and coordinated propaganda based on distorted facts and convoluted logic unleashed from time to time to mislead people and whip up fear against the nationalist government. Hindus are born secular and they do not require others to issue certificates with regard to their secular credentials. If there are episodic instances of coercion and use of violence, such acts have nothing to do with its philosophical core encapsulated in Aham Brahmasmi which explains the unity of macrocosm and microcosm.
ularism by largely ignoring minority communalism as well as succumbing to majority communalism without ever positing that the two are inseparable. Matters came to a head when the locks on the Babri Masjid were opened and the very humane judgment of the Supreme Court in the Shah Bano case was overthrown through a regressive legislation. It is this dual surrender that gave a spurt to the BJP’s challenge to the Congress’s secularism and to the recentring of communal antagonism in the polity. Secularism, pseudo-secularism, communalism, etc in India are essentially political constructs. Today, the Sangh Parivar and the BJP government have sought to forge a connection between nationalism and Hindutva emulating the Jinnah-Savarkar two-nation theory.
The State remains a major player in this game. After Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Lahore visit, Indian flags were waved by Pakistani visitors in the Mohali cricket field and vice versa and a remarkable bonhomie marked relations between the people of the two countries as reported by almost all press people who visited Pakistan. When the government of the day, irrespective of the party, finds tensions raising its vote percentage, bonhomie is sent out on a holiday. The story is the same within the country. However, much more is at stake today, where societal polarisation is more than an electoral tactic but a long-term vision of transforming the world’s most diverse multicultural, multireligious, multieverything India into a singular entity much like Pakistan.
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India’s population story
FIFTY YEARS AGO APRIL 28, 1967
Small-pox vaccine by ‘Jet-Guns’
Even after fertility rates drop to replacement levels, the total population will still grow
Small-pox vaccine is to be administered in India on a massive scale by modern jet-gun injectors, instead of through the traditional prick of the needle method for the first time. Ten million doses of vaccine to meet the small-pox emergency in parts of India, being flown from America, are arriving in New Delhi on Sunday morning [April 30]. One American doctor and two vaccine injector technicians are also arriving along with the vaccine consignment. The automatic injectors, powered by air pressure generated by a foot pedal, are said to be painless. They employ no needle either to prick or scratch the skin. They are economical because no vaccine is wasted. They are especially adapted to epidemic situations where as many people as possible have to be handled rapidly.
DIEGO PALACIOS
GETTY IMAGES
Evidence from India’s last Census in 2011, confirmed by data from the recent National Family Health Survey 2017 (NFHS-4), shows that fertility in India is fast approaching replacement levels. This means that couples will have children who will essentially replace their number, to stabilise population growth. The NFHS-4 shows that in the past decade, the average number of children per family has come down from 2.7 to 2.2. With replacement fertility being 2.1 children per woman, this is good news for the land and the people. Even after fertility rates drop to replacement levels, the total population will still grow, and is likely to reach 1.7 billion by 2050. The thrust of this growth will come from the youth bulge, with 365 million (10-24 years old) already in, or soon to enter, their reproductive ages. Even if they have children only in numbers that replace themselves, the resultant growth due to such a large base of young people will drive the growth momentum for population. For India as a whole, 75% of population growth in the coming decade will be due to this momentum. In States like Assam, Gujarat and Haryana, which are about to reach replacement levels, it would be more effective to adopt policies for delaying childbearing rather than limiting births. Fertility reduction, where it still needs to take place, must come from increased availability and use of quality family planning services.
Demand-supply of working population When States are clustered in terms of fertility levels, one foresees a predominantly youthful north and an ageing south. Most of the current and future demographic potential is locked in the northern States and largely located in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. In the south, there will be a dearth of young working people to keep up and expand the level of economic development. Investing in young people in the north to realise the demographic dividend will be a win-win situation for all India, north and south. From the policy perspective, this means that for India as a whole, it is time for the emphasis to be on momentum-focussed policies and programmes. Several newspapers reported that the Prime Minister will soon chair a meeting of the National Population Commission, in order to take stock of the situation and chart out the path ahead, especially keeping population stabilisation in mind. This is welcome news indeed. The National Health Policy 2017 emphasises quality of care and commitment to sustainable development, and positions improved access, education and empowerment as the basis for population stabilisation. It is now for States to align their own health and population policies to the national ones. Diego Palacios is country representative, India, and country director, Bhutan, for the United Nations Population Fund
CM YK
ARCHIVES
A HUNDRED YEARS AGO APRIL 28, 1917
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CONCEPTUAL
ACT ONE
The Flynn Effect
A new chapter for the disabled
psychology In his study of IQ test scores for different populations over 60 years, James R. Flynn discovered that the scores increased from one generation to the next for all of them. This is the Flynn Effect. The gains were mixed across the 20 countries studied, but in general the generational increases were between five and 25 points. The largest gains appeared to occur on tests that measured fluid intelligence rather than crystallised intelligence. In some cases the gains were highly correlated to increased years spent in formal education. It has also been hypothesised that the gains are the result of better nutrition.
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The long wait for a Lokpal http://bit.ly/waitforlokpal
The 2016 Act will give full effect to the UN Convention Krishnadas Rajagopal
The Supreme Court observed that “employment is a key factor in the empowerment and inclusion of people with disabilities” in its judgment in the Union of India v. National Federation of the Blind case (2013). The verdict registered the “alarming reality” of disabled persons out of jobs, not because of their disabilities but due to social and physical barriers that prevent them from joining the workforce. This is despite India ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007 and passing the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. Repeated orders of the court to give disabled persons their due have been breached continuously. However, a new chapter has begun with the introduction of a new law by
the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on April 19, 2017. Parliament repealed the 1995 Act and brought in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the Preamble of which marks respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one’s own choices, and independence of disabled persons, among other goals. The 2016 Act is expected to give full effect to the United Nations Convention. When the government brought the new Act to the notice of a three-judge Supreme Court Bench led by Justice Dipak Misra, the court responded with a 32page judgment on April 25, highlighting that “immediacy of action is the warrant”. The court gave State governments and Union Territories a 12-week deadline to comply with the provisions of the new law and file compliance reports in the court.
In its judgment, the court noted that the 2016 Act provides “more rights to disabled persons”. This includes access to justice, free education, role of local authorities as providers of employment and opportunity, and National and State funds. Notably, the Act emphasises the creation of special courts, and speedy trials and special public prosecutors for offences committed against disabled persons under the Act. The law also makes private companies equally liable for violating the Act. “The 2016 Act is noticeably a sea change in perception and marches ahead with regard to (rights of ) persons with disabilities and the role of the States, local authorities, educational institutions and companies. The statute operates in a broad spectrum and the stress is laid to protect the rights and provide punishment for its violation,” Justice Misra wrote.
In the Lords, Lord Lytton stated that the building of standardised ships was proceeding as satisfactorily as the material available allowed. Loading and discharging of ships was proceeding as well as could be expected and the rate compared favourably with the piece rate. The increase in freight and insurance facilities had already induced a number of neutral ships to recommence running. He admitted that coastal steamships were included in the weekly returns of arrivals and departures, but declared that that was not misleading and that no essential facts were withheld. Government’s objects were to curtail non-essential imports and ensure fair distribution of essential commodities. More stringent measures might be necessary to attain these objects, but he was sure that they would be cheerfully borne. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
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FROM PAGE ONE
No barrier to naming Lokpal, says SC Under the 2013 Act, the appointments to Lokpal are made by a high-level selection committee of the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, LoP, Chief Justice of India and an eminent jurist chosen by them. But the judgment authored by Justice Ranjan Gogoi differs with the government’s viewpoint. Highlighting India’s commitment to ‘zero tolerance against corruption’, the court said an existing law cannot be put on hold merely because the parliament is working on a better law. Instead, the court pointed to sub-section (2) of Section 4 of the original 2013 Lokpal Act, which makes it clear that an appointment of the Chairperson or Members of Lokpal will not be invalidated merely because one of the members of the Selection Committee is missing. Thus, the available members of the Selection Committee could recommend suitable persons to the President for appointment to the Lokpal. If an appointment process done by a “trun-
cated” Lokpal Selection Committee is already recognised under the 2013 Act, why should the government wait for any amendments at all, asked the Supreme Court. Quoting Justice Krishna Iyer, the judgment described the Lokpal Act 2013 as “an eminently workable piece of legislation and there is no justification to keep the enforcement of the Act under suspension till the amendments, as proposed, are carried out”. Justice Gogoi wrote that bettering a legislation is “a perpetual and ongoing exercise dictated by the experiences gained on the working of the Act”, but that does not mean the existing Act of Parliament should come to a halt. But having said that, the Supreme Court added that it could not push the issue any further. It said no matter how strongly the populace feels about the imminent need for the Lokpal law and its beneficial effects on the citizenry, it cannot overstep its jurisdiction and encroach into the legislative domain.
PM launches low-cost regional flights The government will collect 80% of the subsidy by charging a levy of up to ₹50 per ticket on flights deployed on the national route. The remaining 20% will come from respective State governments. Mr. Modi said air travel under the UDAN scheme would cost less than even taxi fare on a per kilometre basis. Five airlines —SpiceJet, Alliance Air, TruJet, Air Deccan and Air Odisha Aviation — recently won bids to fly 128 routes connecting 70 airports under the regional connectivity scheme. The Prime Minister said 30 new airports will start commercial operations in Tier II and Tier III city routes within a year. Otherwise, Mr. Modi said, there were just 70-75 operational airports so far in the
country. “I had raised the issue of replacing the Maharaja logo of Air India with that of the common man image of cartoonist (R.K.) Laxman during the previous Atal Bihari Vajpayee government also,” he said, adding that flying was only meant for the "Raja-Maharaja and elite class". The Prime Minister advised airlines to immediately start a “Sikh pilgrimage circuit” connecting these sites to Amritsar. “It would sell and I won’t charge the idea fee.” The resumption of flights from Shimla airport, which has been unused for several years, would double the hill State’s tourism potential in the coming days, he said. (With inputs from Kanwar Yogendra)
PF can be withdrawn for medical emergencies He said the EPFO had introduced a composite claim form which needed to be submitted by employees to avail themselves of provident fund advance. Employees with EPF accounts are allowed to withdraw provident fund savings up to six months’ salary in cases of hospitalisation for at least a month, major surgical operation or in case they are suffering from tuberculosis, leprosy, paralysis, cancer, heart ailment. Earlier, employees were required to produce a certificate from employer stating that the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme facility is not provided to them along
with a doctor’s certificate of serious illness. Moreover, physically challenged employees will also not be required to produce a certificate from a medical practitioner to withdraw their EPF savings for purchasing equipment or aids. In February, the EPFO had made withdrawing provident fund savings simpler by introducing a composite single page form. EPF subscribers were no longer required to submit evidential documents for withdrawing PF for grant of advances in case of factory closure, marriage, higher education of children, among other things.
All-woman force to take on stone pelters Centre to raise special India Reserve Battalion for the purpose; Special Police Officers won’t be used for duty as guards Special Correspondent New Delhi
In a bid to counter women stone throwers, the Centre plans to raise an all-woman India Reserve Battalion (IRB) in Jammu and Kashmir, a Home Ministry official said on Thursday. The Centre has also given directions to the State government to not use Special Police Officers as “chowkidaars (guards)” at the houses of politicians and other government officials and to use them in active policing instead. The decisions were taken at a marathon meeting, chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday, to review various developmental and infrastructure projects in the State. Centre also asked the J&K government to build as many
football fields and sports facilities as possible in rural Kashmir to engage the youth, a senior Home Ministry official added.
Development package As part of the ₹80,000 crore development package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, around ₹19,500 crore has already been released for various projects. The package has been sanctioned for 63 projects concerning 15 central ministries, the official said. The decision to raise an all women battalion comes days after girl students were seen throwing stones at security forces in Srinagar. The all women contingent will be among the five IRBs sanctioned by the Centre for the State last year. The women battalion
The IRBs are being raised to provide jobs to the local youths with 60% of the vacancies to be filled with candidates from the border districts.
Concrete steps: Rajnath Singh at a review meeting on development projects in J&K, in New Delhi on Thursday. would also be assigned other law and order duties but its personnel will be primarily deployed for tackling protesters, the official said. An official said that as soon as they advertised for
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PTI
the 5,000 posts in the IRBs, more than 1.4 lakh people from J&K had applied including 6,000 women. An official claimed that nearly 40% of the applicants were from the Kashmir valley.
Cost to Centre The cost of raising each battalion is around ₹61 crore, and 75% of the expenditure will be borne by the Centre. IRB personnel are normally deployed in their respective States but they can be sent elsewhere if required. Last year, the Centre sanctioned recruitment of 10,000 additional SPOs in addition to 25,000 existing ones. “The Sstate government was told that SPOs should not be recruited on the basis of political recommendations and they should not be used for VIP duties,” said an official.
Separatist leader Asiya Anrabi arrested SRINAGAR
Separatist leader Asiya Andrabi, the chief of the all-female Dukhtaran-eMillat (DeM), was arrested from her residence in Srinagar on Wednesday night. A heavy contingent of police arrested Ms. Andrabi around 11p.m. Her arrest, condemned by militant outfits, comes just a day after she launched a scathing attack on a local principal, alleging she was “harassing and beating the students” and “disallowing protests on the campus” in Srinagar. LeT chief Mahmood Shah also slammed the action against students. Last year, Ms. Andrabi was slapped with Public Safety Act.
EC seeks deployment of large forces in Anantnag NEW DELHI
The Election Commission has asked the Home Ministry to arrange for 74,000 Central forces personnel for the May 25 Anantnag by-elections in J&K. The request comes after the April 9 by-poll in the Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency was marred by violence and seven civilians were killed. “During the recently-concluded Assembly elections in other States, we had sanctioned 70,000 Central forces personnel for more than five States. Here they want 74,000. There is not much time and it will be a difficult exercise logistically,” said a senior Home Ministry official.
Lack of intelligence inputs hurting Army Constant protests, deployment of local police for election duty said to have stymied information flow Dinakar Peri New Delhi
The pre-dawn attack on an Army camp in Panzgam village near Kupwara in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday is the latest among a string of attacks on military installations over the last two years, and symbolic of a dramatic turnaround in the nature of violence in the Valley. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, 88 security forces personnel were killed in the State in 2016, the highest since 2008. This year, at least 15 personnel have already been killed and the Army anticipates a flareup in attacks as summer sets in. Both 2015 and 2016 saw six major attacks each on military installations. In comparison, there were just three attacks in 2014 and even less the year before. Sources in the Army say this is due to a combination of factors — from an increase in number of terrorists in the Valley to limited intelligence inputs to conduct operations. “Ascendency establishment of the terrorists is happening now,” an officer said, adding that two years back there were 150-200 ter-
Social networking sites up and running SRINAGAR
rorists while now there are about 250 to 300. To stop that, kinetic operations by the Army should go on, and for that intelligence should keep coming in, the officer said. The Army gets specific intelligence from local police and then conducts targeted operations. But with elections scheduled, the police were deployed for law-andorder duties, stymieing the flow of information, the officer said. The constant protests in the Valley over
the past year also affected this information flow.
Why Panzgam The Panzgam camp functions as a rear administrative area for over nine Army units, including artillery and infantry. Officials said that it was likely that terrorists chose the camp assuming that the response would be much higher as several different units function there. On fatalities suffered by security forces, the officer
Lokpal panel: CJI among equals His opinion need not always get primacy, says apex court Legal Correspondent NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the provision of the Lokpal law giving no primacy to the Chief Justice of India's opinion on who should be appointed as Lokpal Chairperson and Members.
Legislature’s prerogative The Chief Justice of India's opinion need not always get primacy. It is the prerogative of the legislature to decide whether the opinion of the Chief Justice of India should get primacy. It is not the mandate of
the Constitution that in all matters concerning the appointment to various offices in different bodies, primacy must be accorded to the opinion of the Chief Justice or his nominee, the court held.
‘Not questionable’ A Bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi made these conclusions in a separate judgment dealing with a petition filed by an NGO — Just Society — against the Lokpal Act of 2013 not giving any primacy to the opinion of the CJI or his nominee judge in the matter of selection of
Chairperson and Members of the Lokpal. “If the Legislature in its wisdom had thought it proper not to accord primacy to the opinion of the Chief Justice or his nominee and accord equal status to the opinion rendered by the Chief Justice or his nominee and treat such opinion at par with the opinion rendered by other members of the Selection Committee, we do not see how such legislative wisdom can be questioned on the ground of constitutional infirmity,” Justice Gogoi wrote in the judgment.
said that terrorists always have the element of surprise during which most of the casualties actually occur. “The first round is always to them. After that they are quickly localised and eliminated.” In the aftermath of the terror attack on Pathankot Air Force station in January 2016, a high-level committee chaired by the former Army Vice Chief, Lt. Gen. Philip Campose, was constituted by the government to review
the security in place at major military installations and recommend measures to strengthen it. However, officials said, given the large number of Army camps along the Line of Control and International Boundary, it is not possible to upgrade each and every one to the same level. Then there are issues such as terrain and location. “If a person is determined, he can always come in,” the officer noted.
Despite the government orders to all telecom service providers to halt 22 social media networking sites in Kashmir Valley, the companies, including BSNL, failed to shut these sites on Thursday. Sources in the companies told The Hindu that “it was a difficult task to shut these sites within 24 hours.” Many companies have hired services of technicians outside J&K to enforce the ban. The authorities on Wednesday invoked Indian Telegraph Act 1885 to suspended services to all major social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp.
Supreme Court contradicts itself on Lokpal verdict Krishnadas Rajagopal NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court judgment on Thursday holding that appointments to the Lokpal can be made in the absence of the Leader of Opposition in the selection panel is in stark contrast to what the court had said in 2014. Hearing the case filed by Common Cause, a threejudge Bench led by then Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha had observed that the LoP held a significant position in House of People and is a “voice representing
views contrary government”.
to
Legal problems “The very position of selection committee will create legal problems in the absence of LoP,” the Supreme Court had noted. However, the final judgment in the case says that even a “truncated” selection committee of the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, Chief Justice of India and an eminent jurist can make the appointments to Lokpal without the Leader of the Opposition.
The 16th Lok Sabha does not a have recognised LoP. The issue of LoP is relevant not only in Lokpal law but also in other existing legislations and it cannot be prolonged,” the Supreme Court had noted orally. The court’s final position in the judgment — that the proposed amendments of Parliamentary Standing Committee to replace the LoP with the single largest Opposition party leader is not “sacrosanct” — contradicts the earlier observations made in the same case in 2014.
‘Revenge for assaults on tribal women’ Kerala ‘IS man’ denies India asks for Jadhav’s Maoists allege sexual violence by security forces in Chhattisgarh’s conflict zone Pavan Dahat SUKMA (CHHATTISGARH)
The Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DSZC) of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) on Thursday claimed responsibility for the two back-to-back attacks on security forces in Sukma district of south Chhattisgarh in the last 50 days, resulting in the death of 37 CRPF personnel. The outfit said the attacks were in retaliation for the alleged sexual violence by security forces against tribal women in the conflict zone. “The PLGA (CPI Maoist’s military wing People’s Liberations Guerrila Army) launched the ChintagufaBurkapal attack (on the security forces on April 24) to give an answer to (the government’s) Mission 2017 and the fake (Maoist) surrender campaign. We congratulate CM YK
Jawans’ bodies were not mutilated: Centre Special Correspondent New Delhi
The Home Ministry on Thursday denied reports that bodies of CRPF jawans who were ambushed by Maoists in Sukma earlier this week had been mutilated. Acting CRPF DG Sudeep Lakhtakia, who visited Sukma after the
the PLGA, its leadership, commanders and the people of Dandakaranya for their active support. This attack (Burkapal attack) was just an extension of the Bhejji attack (on the CRPF in March
incident, is learnt to have told the Home Ministry that post-mortem reports did not support the mutilation claims. The probe into the ambush could be handed over to National Investigation Agency (NIA). NIA chief Sharad Kumar visited Sukma to analyse the ground situation.
2017),” said the DSZC spokesperson ‘Vikalp’ in an audio clip. “These attacks should be seen as retaliation against the sexual atrocities that are being committed by the security forces against the tri-
bal women and girls in the conflict zone,” Vikalp said. Reiterating his party’s opposition to road construction in the conflict zone, the DSZC spokesperson said, “The roads, railway lines, and mobile towers are being constructed in the protection of paramilitary forces and the police in these areas in the garb of providing relief to the common public, but it is being done to loot natural resources, to exploit common masses and to make sure easy transport of security forces.” Denying that the bodies of CRPF jawans had been mutilated, the Maoist spokesperson said, “We don’t treat the bodies of the jawans with disrespect. It is the corporate media which is falsely propagating that private parts of some jawans were mutilated by the PLGA.”
Indian casualties
health certificate
Majeed terms reports of 13 deaths fake
New Delhi
Staff Reporter KASARAGOD
Ashfak Majeed, 27, one among the 21 youth from the State who was reported to have joined the Islamic State nearly a year ago, has in a recent communication termed “fake” media reports suggesting that at least 13 Indians were killed in the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) in Afghanistan. The intermittent communications were purportedly made between April 13 and 17 by Mr. Majeed with activist-writer B.C.A.
Telegram App message Rahman, a resident of Padanna, on “Telegram App” messages, he has justified the stance adopted by them — 17 from Padanna and Thrikkaripur localities and
four from Palakkad — maintaining that they did not intend to return home and are content in their anonymous location where the terror group is engaged in a fierce fight with the U.S. headed allied forces.
Press Trust of India
India has sought from Pakistan a certificate on the health condition of Kulbhushan Jadhav, sentenced to death by a military court there, the External Affairs Ministry said on Thursday. MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay said that the well being and state of Mr. Jadhav’s
health is a “matter of great concern” to India. “We haven’t seen, we haven’t met [ Jadhav]. He has been in Pakistan’s custody for more than a year. So the well being and state of health of Jadhav is a matter of great concern,” Mr. Baglay said, adding that Pakistan’s response to the request is awaited.
Drone strike kills one? He, however, confirmed that Murshid, 25, son of Muhamed, a resident of Vadakkepuram locality in Padanna, was killed in the U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan Mr. Majeed said they had resolved to become “shaheed” (martyrs) in the IS fight against the U.S. forces. He asked Mr. Rahman to show the message to his father and inform him that he would love to “meet him in paradise”. A ND-ND
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IN BRIEF
‘UID-PAN linking a Faustian bargain’ Linking Aadhaar with essential activities will turn the nation into a concentration camp, SC told Krishnadas Rajagopal NEW DELHI
One-way traffic on NH-1A for four days JAMMU
As part of the biannual Darbar move, Jammu and Kashmir government offices will start functioning in the summer capital Srinagar from May 8, for which one-way traffic has been ordered on the NH-1A for four days. One-way traffic was ordered to ensure hassle-free movement of vehicles carrying employees and official records. - PTI
‘Woman rescued in Saudi to reach India today’ NEW DELHI
A Hyderabadi woman, who was rescued from her sponsor in Saudi Arabia, will reach India on Friday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said. “Indian national Salma Begum has been rescued. She is reaching Mumbai by flight G9406 at 04.15 am on 28 April 2017. I appreciate the efforts of the Indian embassy in Riyadh for resolving this in just 72 hours,” she said. Ms. Salma was allegedly harassed mentally and physically by her sponsor there. PTI
Lashing out at the move to link Aadhaar to the permanent account number and filing of income tax returns, senior advocate Shyam Divan told the Supreme Court on Thursday that the Constitution was not a charter of servitude. “We are independent citizens who cannot be forced by the State to part with our fingerprints in exchange for being able to file our income tax returns,” Mr. Divan added. He termed the newly inserted Section 139AA in the Income Tax Act, which mandates the linking of Aadhaar with PAN, a “Faustian bargain”. Linking Aadhaar with essential activities of life, such as opening a bank account, filing returns and buying property or a vehicle, would turn the “entire nation into
one large concentration camp where citizens are under State surveillance round-the-clock.”
Limited authority A Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan assured him that the court was still alive to its past orders that Aadhaar should be “purely voluntary” and not forced on citizens. “In our Constitution, we have given ourselves the right to govern through our elected representatives. Government has limited authority over us. You [State] don’t want to give me benefits, that’s all right. But you cannot, for your tax-efficiency purposes, force me to part with my fingerprints without my free, informed and voluntary consent,” Mr. Divan argued. At this point, Justice Bhushan wondered why people should have a prob-
cannot, for < > You your tax-efficiency purposes, force me to part with my fingerprints shyam Divan Counsel
lem parting with their biometric particulars for getting Aadhaar when they have none whatsoever for procuring a passport to go abroad. “State has a legitimate interest in getting a citizen’s biometric details for a passport,” responded Mr. Divan, who represents petitioners, including the former Army officer S.G. Vombatkere. “For one, God forbid, if something happens to him
Legal Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Days of freedom: Sahara chief Subrata Roy at the Supreme Court, in New Delhi on Thursday. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *
Bhutan out of vehicle pact
Centre for online data protection
Worry over environmental pollution
Legal Correspondent
Suhasini Haidar NEW DELHI
Domestic concerns Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay’s decision to step out of the BBIN process comes on the back of severe domestic opposition to the motor vehicles agreement, primarily on fears of vehicular pollution and environmental degradation if trucks
Meera Srinivasan COLOMBO
Following Wednesday’s overarching Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Sri Lanka, both sides will collaborate in a host of energy and infrastructure projects across the island, The Hindu learns. The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi says the MoU provides a road map that will require further discussions. “Our vision to promote connectivity and development takes Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas to our external environment, and naturally to neighbourhood first,” said the MEA spokesperson on Thursday. The MoU — signed in New Delhi during Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s
visit — includes the setting up of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant in suburban Colombo and a solar power plant in Sampur in Trincomalee; Indian assistance to enhanced use of natural gas in Sri Lanka; joint investment in the petroleum sector and partnerships in highways and transportation, the spotlight remains on the proposed joint venture to develop a World War-era oil storage facility in Trincomalee, the strategically located port town on the island’s east coast. As per the MoU, the countries will also jointly set up Industrial Zones and Special Economic Zones in Sri Lanka. Colombo has been keen on attracting Indian investment into the island. (With inputs from Kallol Bhattacherjee)
Sahara chief gives an undertaking to deposit an instalment of ₹1,500 crore in the SEBI account by June 15 and hands over post-dated cheques
3,192 Tata vehicles to join military fleet
India’s plan for a sub-regional motor vehicle agreement faced a setback on Thursday, as the Bhutan government said it was not ready, and asked the other members of the ‘BBIN’ grouping — India, Bangladesh and Nepal — to go ahead. “The Royal government has decided to give its consent for the entry into force of the agreement among the 3 member-states without any obligation to Bhutan. The agreement will enter into force for Bhutan after its ratification process is completed,” an official statement issued by the Foreign Ministry in Thimphu said.
Privacy of the body The law had stopped considering the physical body as a domain of the state ever since the time slavery was abolished. “I am a law-abiding person. I am a tax-payer. Every man has a property in his own person. The philosoph-
Respect for privacy Mr. Divan said the State had respected the privacy of the body of its citizens even in the pre-constitutional times. He referred to the Identification of Prisoners Act of 1920 in this context. “The Act allowed authorities to take finger and foot impressions of the inmates. These were used to identify them in case of a prison break, etc. However, these records were to be destroyed immediately at the end of their prison term. Collection of biometric details had always been for narrowly-limited purposes even in times before the Constitution was framed,” Mr. Divan told the Bench.
Spotlight on Trincomalee projects
If you don’t pay, you will go to Tihar, SC warns Subrata New Delhi
The Tata Safari Storme SUV will soon replace Maruti Gypsy on the military fleet. Tata Motors signed a ₹375crore contract with the Defence Ministry on Thursday to supply 3,192 of these specially built vehicles to the Army and Navy. The vehicles have been customised to the requirements stated in the request for proposal for a new category of four-wheeldrive vehicles, called General Service 800, with a minimum payload capacity of 800 kg, hard roof and airconditioning.
when he is abroad, the State needs these particulars to identify him. These are permitted and legitimate purposes for collecting biometric data. Besides, if you go to another country, you have to abide by the laws of that country. But Aadhaar is being insisted in every walk of life.”
ical foundation of the ‘body’ is that it is my self-authenticated source of valid claims. They are collecting biometric details of even children,” he said.
India, Sri Lanka sign energy pact
Tshering Tobgay
from neighbouring countries are given access to Bhutan, a country that prides itself on its “carbon neutrality” and preserving the environment. Despite the fact that the MVA agreement was signed on June 15, 2015, and ratified on its second attempt in the lower house in July 2016, the upper house in Bhutan voted it down in November 2016. Mr. Tobgay decided not to call a joint session of Parliament to push through the ratification.
Sahara chief Subrata Roy narrowly escaped going back to the Tihar jail straight from the Supreme Court on Thursday after he gave an undertaking to deposit an instalment of ₹1,500 crore in the SEBI-Sahara account by June 15. Mr. Roy, who was present in the Supreme Court, gave an undertaking to the court that he will pay a second instalment of ₹552 crore on July 15. He handed over two post-dated cheques for ₹1,500 crore and ₹500 crore as proof of his bona fide. He filed an affidavit that to pay a third instalment of ₹3,000 crore by October.
In a packed courtroom, a Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi and A.K. Sikri called out to Mr. Roy sitting in the second row behind his battery of lawyers, led by senior counsel Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid. “Mr. Roy, so you don’t intend to pay up,” Justice Misra asked directly. Up on his feet, Mr. Roy replied, “I am paying ... I am committed.” “We are warning you, if the amounts don’t come, we will send you to Tihar jail straight from right here, you understand,” Justice Misra cautioned him. Mr. Roy was summoned after the court learnt in the
previous hearing on April 17 that he had failed to keep his assurance to pay a little over ₹5,000 crore within the time fixed by the court. According to SEBI, Sahara owes its investors ₹11,169 crore. The market regulator said the total principal amount was ₹25,781 crore, and ₹14,612 crore, including interest, has been received so far.
Property auction The court had in the last hearing ordered the Aamby Valley property to be auctioned and directed the Bombay High Court Official Liquidator to conduct a valuation of the asset located at Lonavala in Maharashtra.
The Liquidator, who was present in the court, handed over the property valuation report in a sealed cover, which was opened by the court. The valuation had fixed the offset reserve price for the property at ₹37,392 crore. Despite Mr. Roy’s undertaking to pay up by June, the court accepted the advice of Shekhar Naphade, amicus curiae and senior counsel, that the auction process should continue. The court ordered Mr. Roy to be present on June 19.
Contempt of court The Bench sent the Chennaibased power-of-attorney holder of a U.S.-based entity,
which backed out of its offer to buy Sahara’s Plaza Hotel, to a month’s imprisonment in the Tihar jail for contempt of court. The court refused the entreaties of Prakash Swami, who was standing in the court, for clemency. The court found that he had not complied with its April 17 order to pay ₹10 crore as costs in his capacity as power-of-attorney holder for the aborted offer. As Mr. Swami was led outside the courtroom by a police escort, Justice Misra turned to Mr. Roy, who was watching the proceedings, and said this would happen to him if he did not pay up on time.
INTERVIEW | SULKHAN SINGH
‘Cow vigilantism is a public order issue’ The new DGP of Uttar Pradesh says tackling the problem requires no particular plan of action
NEW DELHI
The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was working on a new regulatory regime to ensure online data protection and the government fully supported the freedom of choice and privacy of individuals. The government, represented by Additional Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, submitted before a five-judge Constitution Bench led by Justice Dipak Misra that a person’s freedom of choice to share online his personal details or keep them private should not be scuttled. The Constitution Bench was hearing a challenge against the 2016 contract entered into between WhatsApp and Facebook to share information and personal details of millions of its users. K.K. Venugopal, counsel for Facebook, submitted that users had a choice to stop using the service. But the court disagreed with this submission.
Omar Rashid
From the increasing incidents of terror-related activity to attacks against the police themselves, the new DGP of Uttar Pradesh, Sulkhan Singh lists the challenges facing the force and measures to combat them. Excerpts: What are the challenges that confront the DGP of a State like Uttar Pradesh?
Being a populous State, it has all the problems multiplied by a large factor. Since it is densely populated, it has a lot of public order issues. Then, of late, it has been sort of sensitive from the point of view of terrorist activities. Talking of crimes, there have been many crimes
against, and attacks on, policemen in U.P. For instance, the recent case in Saharanpur where the SSP himself was targeted. Is the safety of police personnel a concern?
That is a challenge to police. Public order is a serious issue. But police are adequately safe here. They are trained to be tactically intelligent. We are equipped to face such situations and we
take reasonable care. We have taken strong action in Saharanpur.
sections, in particular Muslims and Dalits.
I have assured everybody that whatever groups or organisations there are, they will not be allowed to take law into their hands. I can assure people strict action will be taken on all issues.
You have instructed your officers to ensure that anti-Romeo squads use body cameras.
Not only anti-Romeo squads, I have asked them to ensure that they use body cameras during all public activities in particular while dealing with sensitive groups. It saves you from so many human rights issues and wild allegations. Observers feel that groups affiliated to the
one will be < > No allowed to take law into their hands ideology of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party are emboldened after the elections and that has created a sense of insecurity among certain
Any plan of action to tackle vigilantism in the name of gau rakshaks and groups engaging in moral policing?
No particular plan of action is required. If it is a crime, it will be dealt with. It is a public order issue.
‘Make pharmacists stock generic drugs’ Special Correspondent New Delhi
A week after the Medical Council of India asked doctors to prescribe medicines by their generic names, activists say the decision will have no impact unless pharmacists are made to fall in line. The idea behind the move was to ensure that patients did not have to purchase more expensive, branded drugs when cheaper, generic options were available. The amendment was prompted after it was found that doctors were often unnecessarily prescribing expensive brands, making patients shell out more. CM YK
Public health activists, however, said that the new rule was inadequate for the purpose it was introduced — to ensure patients get the cheapest generic drugs. “It will require behaviour change from the medical fraternity, which mistakenly associates expensive brands with quality,” said Leena Menghaney, a lawyer working on public health and access to treatment. “The government will also have to address the issue of high trade margins that retail chemist shops enjoy. They stock the branded medicines of companies which offer them the biggest mark-ups.” A ND-ND
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ELSEWHERE
Now, Trump flips on NAFTA Says he will renegotiate the deal instead of pulling out of it as threatened earlier cratic lawmakers had warned the President against launching a trade war against the neighbours. Earlier, the White House said Mr. Trump “agreed not to terminate NAFTA at this time and the leaders would proceed swiftly to enable the renegotiation to the benefit of all three countries”.
Varghese K. George Washington
Putin, Abe discuss disputed islands MOSCOW
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday to discuss a dispute over four islands that has kept the two countries from signing a peace treaty ending Second World War. Japan and Russia both claim four islands north of Japan’s island of Hokkaido that came under Russian control at the end of the war. AP
North Korea seeks support from ASEAN MANILA
North Korea has appealed to Southeast Asian countries for support in its row with the United States to prevent what it warned could be a “nuclear holocaust”, according to a letter obtained by AFP. In the letter to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) secretary general, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho warned the situation on the Korean Peninsula was “reaching the brink of war” because of Washington's actions. AFP
Suspected Islamist arrested on French island PARIS
A man suspected of links to radical Islam and of glorifying terrorism shot two police officers on the French island of Reunion during an arrest on Thursday, officials said. Police detained the man and his mother, and found weapons and material for making explosives in their apartment, according to the Interior Ministry. AP
Venezuela to withdraw from OAS CARACAS
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government announced its decision to withdraw from the Organization of American States (OAS) after a brief but contentious meeting at the group’s Washington headquarters in which representatives voted to convene a special meeting of Foreign Ministers to evaluate Venezuela’s crisis. AP
U.K. police arrest man under terror law LONDON
British police said on Thursday a man carrying knives had been arrested on Whitehall and was being detained under anti-terrorism laws. “A man has been arrested in Whitehall this afternoon, at approximately 14:22, following a stop and search as part of an ongoing operation,” London's Metropolitan Police said. REUTERS
Tempering yet another of his campaign promises, U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will not withdraw the country from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico. Mr. Trump presented his mellowed position — earlier he had threatened to terminate the treaty — as a response to pleas from the leaders of the northern and southern neighbours of the U.S. “I received calls from the President of Mexico and the Prime Minister of Canada asking to renegotiate NAFTA rather than terminate. I agreed, subject to the fact that if we do not reach a fair deal for all, we will then terminate NAFTA. Relationships are good-deal very possible!” Mr. Trump tweeted on Thursday morning. Earlier, when he abandoned his attempt to open up the U.S.’s ‘one-China’ policy for negotiation, he
Cross-border trade: A truck near the border between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. REUTERS *
presented that too as in response to a request from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
‘Worst deal’ As an intense stocktaking is under way in the U.S. on the first 100 days of Mr. Trump’s presidency, his promise with regard to NAFTA has been in sharp focus. Mr. Trump had described NAFTA as the worst trade
U.K. govt. flayed over anti-caste consultation Organisations term the move ‘biased’ Vidya Ram London
Seven U.K. organisations backing efforts to bring caste discrimination within equality law have written to the government criticising the decision to hold a consultation on the issue. They have also pointed to the “serious shortfalls” in the structure of the consultation, which they warn is “biased” against bringing in legislation. The organisations, which include the Anti-Caste Discrimination Alliance, Dalit Solidarity Network and National Secular Society, said there is “clear evidence of caste discrimination amongst the South Asian diaspora in the U.K”.
‘Pretext to not act’ The letter to the Education Secretary Justine Greening warns that the consultation in its current form “substantially disadvantaged those taking the stance that legislation is necessary to protect the rights of actual and potential victims of discrimination”. It also criticises the consultation for being so technical that only specialist lawyers and campaigners would be able to contribute to it. “Parliament has directed that legislation against caste discrimination be enacted and the UN has declared that the government has a treaty
obligation to legislate,” Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society, told The Hindu. “A consultation on whether to legislate is therefore illegitimate and it is a pretext to give opponents an opportunity to express their views, which the government will seize on to justify not legislating,” he said. “The consultation is shamelessly biased to encourage a response opposing legislation.” At the end of March, the government published details of a long-awaited 16-week public consultation on whether caste should be introduced as an aspect of race in anti-discrimination legislation. The government said that while there was “no place” for any form of prejudice and discrimination based on a person’s origins, it wanted to be careful ‘not to create or entrench any notion of caste consciousness or caste-based practices into British society, which may prove counterproductive or divisive.” Section 9 of the Equality Act 2010, amended by Parliament in 2013, requires the government to introduce secondary legislation to make caste an aspect of race, and caste discrimination a form of race discrimination but allows for further consultation.
deal, and had blamed former President Bill Clinton for it. Though it was Mr. Clinton who signed the deal, his predecessor George W. Bush had concluded the negotiations. Some reports last week speculated that an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from NAFTA was on the anvil ahead of the 100 days mark on April 29. Republican and Demo-
Possible impact In a written statement, the President said: “It is my privilege to bring NAFTA up to date through renegotiation... It is an honour to deal with both President Peña Nieto and Prime Minister [ Justin] Trudeau, and I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better.” Any unilateral measures by the U.S. against NAFTA could have a cascading impact on the economy of all the three countries. The trade among these three is now $1.1 trillion, up from the 1993 levels of $290 billion, when the treaty was signed.
Sri Lanka’s north and east shut down on Thursday following a hartal call by protesters demanding an answer from the government to questions about their missing relatives. Shops remained closed all day and transport services were minimal, media reports said. Over the last few months, families have been protesting in different places across Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority areas, voicing concern over the allegedly enforced disappearances of their relatives during the three-decade war and the years that followed. Amnesty International estimates that since the 1980s, there have been at least
Israel struck an arms supply hub operated by the Lebanese group Hezbollah near Damascus airport on Thursday, Syrian rebel and regional intelligence sources said, targeting weapons sent from Iran via commercial and military cargo planes. Video carried on Lebanese TV and shared on social media showed the predawn airstrikes caused a fire around the airport east of the Syrian capital, suggesting fuel sources or weapons containing explosives were hit.
‘Israeli aggression’ Syrian state media said Israeli missiles hit a military position southwest of the airport, but did not mention arms or fuel. It said “Israeli aggression” had caused explosions and some material losses, but did not expand
.S. President Donald Trump’s tweet reacting to public conversations about his first 100 days in office was symbolic: it had his customary disparagement of a well-worn tradition, of assessing the President’s early progress, and it was sandwiched between two tweets on U.S. foreign policy that reflected, respectively, his failing game of cat-and-mouse with a belligerent, nucleararmed North Korea and his not-so-subtle apparent cheer for Marine Le Pen, the farright candidate in the French presidential election.
U
Evasive tweet After multiple polls across the U.S. gave Mr. Trump the lowest marks in recent history for any President’s first-100-days performance, the milestone he will achieve on April 29, he tweeted, “No matter how much I accomplish during the ridiculous standard of the first 100 days, & it has been a lot (including S.C.), media will kill!” Mr. Trump may have a cause for complaint, particularly given that a recent CNN/ ORC poll found that 44% respondents said that they approve of his handling of the presidency, while 54% disapproved, and that nearly twothirds of Americans give him poor or middling marks in
Search still on: A protest outside the UN’s Colombo office in March 2013. AFP *
progress has been made, families point out. Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran said protesters demonstrated for over 50 days, with no response from the government.
Amman/Beirut
Narayan Lakshman
60,000 and as many as 1,00,000 cases of enforced disappearance in Sri Lanka, including those of Tamils, who went missing during and after the war, and Sinhalese, who were disappeared around the time of the JVP youth uprisings.
Support from parties For thousands of Tamil and Muslim families in the north, who are trying to resettle after the war ended in May 2009, questions over enforced disappearances loom large. Almost all political parties in the north supported Thursday’s hartal. Nearly eight months after the Sri Lankan Parliament voted to set up the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), little
Reuters
on the damage. Israel does not usually comment on action it takes in Syria. But Intelligence Minister Israel Katz, speaking to Army Radio from the United States, appeared to confirm involvement. “The incident in Syria corresponds completely with Israel’s policy to act to prevent Iran’s smuggling of advanced weapons via Syria to Hezbollah,” he said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “said that whenever we receive intelligence that indicates an intention to transfer advanced weapons to Hezbollah, we will act”, he added. An Israeli military spokeswoman said: “We can’t comment on such reports.” Two senior rebel sources in the Damascus area, citing monitors in the eastern outskirts of the capital, said five strikes hit an ammunition depot used by Iran-backed
President set to complete 100 days in office with lowest ratings in recent history
Upping the ante: Activists from Amnesty International take part in a protest in London to mark the first 100 days of U.S. President Donald Trump in office. AFP *
an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, including a plurality who feel that he is off to a “poor start.” The surprise result from among these 100-day assessments, however, would have to be the poll by Fox News, the favourite news channel of American conservatives, which found that only 36% of respondents would vote to re-elect Mr. Trump after his first 100 days, compared to a 52% figure for former U.S. President Barack Obama.
At what cost? Returning to the matter of Mr. Trump’s tweet on this subject, it is true that the American President successfully pushed through the nomination of Neil Gorsuch
Protesters in north and east Sri Lanka seek answers to questions about their missing relatives Meera Srinivasan
Attack targeted at weapons sent from Iran via planes
Donald Trump’s many challenges
Hartal forces shutdown in Tamil-majority provinces Colombo
Israel strikes Syria arms depot operated by Hezbollah
“Out of sheer frustration, they have asked the public to support them by staging a hartal. We have obliged,” he told The Hindu. However, Mr. Wigneswaran added, certain
sections in Colombo had a distorted view of the problem and read their protest as being politically against the government. “That is not true. It is a reaction to the lethargy and indifference on the part of the powers that be in dealing with the people’s problems,” he said. Mr. Wigneswaran has written to President Maithripala Sirisena, raising the matter. Observing that demonstrators were not protesting “emptily”, he said there was reason to believe that many missing persons were somewhere ascertainable. Unless the government responded positively, with an independent investigation, a durable solution for the ethnic question “would be a mirage”.
NEWS ANALYSIS as his nominee to fill the sole vacant spot on the U.S. Supreme Court, thereby firmly tilting the apex judiciary body toward the conservative side. Yet that accomplishment was made relatively easy because the U.S. Congress, which is responsible for confirmation hearings, was happy to play along with Mr. Trump’s plan so long as he offered them a generous dollop of quid pro quo. As it turned out Mr. Trump did exactly that — with unexpected consequences — when he agreed to push forward with the plan to repeal and replace
“Obamacare”, as per proposals backed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan. A significant swathe of Americans must have welcomed the news that the plan to rescind the Affordable Care Act, the landmark health care reform which brought insurance coverage to millions of poorer individuals and broke the stranglehold restrictions of deep-pocketed insurance companies on ordinary citizens, could not survive a vote in Congress, in part because it lacked support even from Republicans.
Defending plans With the clock ticking down the final hours to the 100-day mark, the 45th U.S. President has been taking to Twitter to defend his intention to #BuildTheWall along the Mexican border, and attacking the Ninth Circuit court for repeatedly knocking down his attempts to curtail sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants or immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries. Between these setbacks and foreign policy flip-flopping on China, Russia, Iran, NATO, and Syria among others, if 100 days could be this embattled, what will 365 days, or 1,460 days bring?
militias. Lebanon’s al-Manar television, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, said early indications were that the strikes hit warehouses and fuel tanks. It said there no casualties.
Russia objects to strikes Reacting to the incident, the Kremlin strongly criticised Israeli air strikes, saying Israel and other countries should avoid any action that heightened tension in the region. “We consider that all countries should avoid any actions that lead to higher tensions in such a troubled region and call for Syrian sovereignty to be respected,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, when asked about the attack. Russia and Israel were in constant contact about the situation in Syria through various channels, said Mr. Peskov.
‘Tax plan lacks the hard details’ Associated Press Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to overhaul the tax code leaves much of the heavy lifting to Congress, while ignoring years of hard work by the guy who will have to do a lot of that lifting — House Speaker Paul Ryan. The one-page proposal outlined by the Trump administration Wednesday has something for everyone — massive tax cuts for businesses and a bigger standard tax deduction for middle-income families, lower investment taxes for the wealthy, and an end to the federal estate tax for the super-rich. “He understands that there are a lot people who work hard and feel like they’re not getting ahead,” said Gary Cohn, director of the White House National Economic Council. But Mr. Trump’s proposal lacks the hard details about making the tax code simpler and more efficient in ways that don’t add to the federal government’s mounting debt. These are key Republican goals that would require lawmakers to eliminate or reduce precious tax breaks enjoyed by millions of Americans. “That’s the heavy lift,” said Rep. Dave Brat (RepublicanVirginia).
U.S. defence personnel killed by IS Reuters Washington
Two U.S. service members were killed during an operation against Islamic State militants in eastern Afghanistan overnight on Wednesday, officials said. U.S. forces in Afghanistan said on Thursday in a statement that a third U.S. service member was wounded in the raid, carried out with Afghan National Defense and Security Forces against the militants. A spokesman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, Captain William Salvin, said the deaths occurred in the same valley where the U.S. had dropped a massive bomb on a complex of fortified tunnel being used by the IS.
‘Pak. using Ehsan for propaganda’ Associated Press Islamabad
The Pakistani Taliban say the country’s top intelligence service is using a captured senior militant to spread propaganda that the militant group is beholden to spy agencies in India and Afghanistan. Pakistan’s Army released a video late on Wednesday showing Ahsanullah Ahsan, a longtime media spokesman for the Taliban saying he surrendered to Pakistani forces after he saw militant leaders receiving aid from CM YK
the two neighbouring countries. It was unclear if the confessional video released by the Army was made under duress. Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, denied the claims, saying Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence was using a “prisoner” for propaganda against the group. Pakistan’s Geo TV is the only media outlet to have been granted access to Ahsan, and ran promos of an exclusive interview
that was to air on Thursday. But Pakistan’s media regulator banned the airing, saying parts of the interview glorify terrorism and that it would be disturbing for those who have lost loved ones in attacks. Ahsan, whose real name is Liaquat Ali, was the public face of the Pakistani Taliban for several years, and claimed a number of high-profile attacks on their behalf, including the near-fatal shooting in 2012 of Malala Yousafzai. A ND-ND
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market watch 27-04-2017
% CHANGE
Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 30,030 ddddddddddddd -0.34 US Dollar dddddddddddddddddddd 64.16 ddddddddddddd -0.07 Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 29,450 ddddddddddddddd0.34 Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 50.68 ddddddddddddd -2.55
Direct tax base to soar in 3 years Demonetisation, steps to curb black money to spur increase: NITI Aayog Yuthika Bhargava NEW DELHI
NIFTY 50 PRICE CHANGE
ACC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1636.00. . . . . . . 34.40 Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322.50. . . . . . . . -1.00 Ambuja Cements. . . .. . . . . . 249.50. . . . . . . . . 3.50 Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1105.35. . . . . . . . . 0.70 Aurobindo Pharma . . . . . . 607.05. . . . . . -17.60 Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506.60. . . . . . -10.55 Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2866.05. . . . . . -19.40 Bank of Baroda . . . . . .. . . . . . 181.40. . . . . . . . -0.25 Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 357.90. . . . . . . . . 0.35 Bosch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22523.60. . . -103.80 BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736.00. . . . . . . . . 4.25 Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561.70. . . . . . . . . 4.95 Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274.15. . . . . . . . -2.50 Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 2596.55. . . . . . -14.10 Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. 25973.90. . . . . . -67.25 GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 418.40. . . . . . . . . 5.15 Grasim Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1152.20. . . . . . -13.40 HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809.70. . . . . . . . . 9.45 HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1566.50. . . . . . -19.50 HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1568.60. . . . . . . 17.95 Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 3300.80. . . . . . -12.25 Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194.85. . . . . . . . -2.15 Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 947.30. . . . . . . . . 5.95 Indiabulls HFL . . . . . . . .. . . . 1004.40. . . . . . . . -6.50 ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274.15. . . . . . . . -2.75 IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1470.65. . . . . . . . . 6.00 Bharti Infratel . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 366.80. . . . . . . . -0.50 Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925.25. . . . . . . 11.00 Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 443.30. . . . . . . . . 9.55 ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285.80. . . . . . . . -5.10 Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 916.65. . . . . . . 16.30 L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1766.75. . . . . . . 15.45 Lupin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1336.20. . . . . . -34.85 M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1337.20. . . . . . -15.55 Maurti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 6374.05. . . . . . -32.25 NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164.10. . . . . . . . -1.50 ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179.10. . . . . . . . -1.00 PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 207.75. . . . . . . . . 2.05 Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1409.50. . . . . . . . -6.95 State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282.05. . . . . . . . -4.40 Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 637.00. . . . . . . . -5.80 Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 455.35. . . . . . . . . 4.55 Tata Motors DVR. . . .. . . . . . 276.30. . . . . . . . . 1.25 Tata Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84.65. . . . . . . . -0.35 Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445.85. . . . . . . . -7.95 TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2302.65. . . . . . . . -7.70 Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 424.95. . . . . . . . -2.10 UltraTech Cement . .. . . . 4237.10. . . . . . . . . 6.20 Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496.05. . . . . . . . . 5.20 YES Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1642.40. . . . . . . 60.35 Zee Entertainment . . . . . . 530.75. . . . . . . . . 3.00
EXCHANGE RATES Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4 p.m. on April 27 CURRENCY
TT BUY
TT SELL
US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 63.95. . . . . . . 64.27 Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 69.65. . . . . . . 70.00 British Pound . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 82.41. . . . . . . 82.82 Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 57.40. . . . . . . 57.68 Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 9.28. . . . . . . . . 9.32 Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 64.35. . . . . . . 64.68 Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 45.78. . . . . . . 46.02 Canadian Dollar . . . . . . . . .. . 47.11. . . . . . . 47.35 Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 14.70. . . . . . . 14.79 Source:Indian Bank
BULLION RATES
CHENNAI
April 27 rates in rupees with previous rates in parentheses Retail Silver (1g) . . . . . . . . . . . 43.10. . . . . (43.40) 22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . . . . . . . . . . 2,769. . . . . (2,780)
CM YK
The NITI Aayog expects India’s direct tax base to rise significantly over the next three years, due to demonetisation and steps taken to curb black money by the government, pegging the direct tax to GDP ratio at 6.3% in 2019-20 from 5.6% in 2016-17. “The forecasted direct tax to GDP ratio is 5.8%, 6% and 6.3% in 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20, respectively,” the government think tank estimated in its draft threeyear action plan for the economy, where it has also recommended measures to increase the tax base, such as phasing out myriad exemptions.
Demonetisation windfall Demonetisation, it noted, had led to a significant increase in bank deposits which is likely to result in disclosure of “a significant
Pushing reforms: The Centre’s think tank has recommended measures to increase the tax base. GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK *
amount of income that would not have been done otherwise.” Therefore, it has argued that there could be a significant one-time increase in the direct tax revenues for 2017-18, although such an increase has not been factored into its estimates. As per its estimates, gross tax revenue (total tax re-
ceipts before deducting the tax share of States) will rise from ₹17.03 lakh crore to ₹19.49 lakh crore this year and rise further to ₹25.81 lakh crore in 2019-20 at an annual growth rate ranging between 12%-17%. Citing the recent steps to curb black money generation and the drive to replace
‘Jobs jumped during Oct.-Dec.’ Labour survey shows employment rose despite note ban quarter. The bureau’s survey showed highest job creation in manufacturing with new jobs for 83,000 workers compared with 24,000 workers in the previous quarter. The construction sector saw a decline by 1,000 workers in October-December.
Somesh Jha NEW DELHI
The October-December period saw an almost fourfold jump in job creation — a time frame coinciding with the Centre’s demonetisation move, according to the latest quarterly survey conducted by the Labour Bureau. However, casual workers suffered the most even as more regular workers were added to the workforce, the survey showed. In October-December, 1.22 lakh jobs were created compared with 32,000 jobs in July-September and 77,000 jobs in April-June last year. The the Labour and Employment Ministry’s Labour Bureau conducted the fourth round of quarterly
Highest job creation was in the manufacturing sector.
survey in eight sectors — manufacturing, construction, trade, transport, education, health, accommodation and restaurants and information technology. Employment increased in all sectors except construction. Compared to this, jobs had declined in four out of eight sectors in the previous
‘Statistical aberration’ “This looks like a statistical aberration since demonetisation led to job losses in the short-term,” said Alakh N Sharma, Director, Institute of Human Development, “There is no possibility that job creation shot up three times during OctoberDecember period.” Casual workers lost the most number of jobs — 1.52 lakh — last quarter.
cash transactions along with simplification of tax norms that are being considered, the Aayog said: “The cumulative result of these measures would be increased tax compliance and an expansion in the tax base. Going forward, this will lead to increase in direct-tax to GDP ratio.” The Aayog has recommended a massive increase in outlays on healthcare and railways and road sectors over the next three years, with the share of healthcare spending in total government expenditure expected to rise from 1.7% in 2015-16 to 3.6% by 2019-20. “Health expenditures contribute directly to enhancing the social welfare of people and in developing human capital. The increased allocation should be utilised towards public health, state level grants, fiscal incentives and human resources for health to states to improve health outcomes,” it said.
‘Revival of fertilizer plants can make India an exporter’ The restart of four plants can add 75 lakh metric tonnes Special Correspondent NEW DELHI
The Centre’s revival of four fertilizer plants at a total cost of ₹50,000 crore has the potential to turn India into a fertilizer exporting country from an importing one, Chemicals and Fertilizer Minister Ananth Kumar said. “When all these plants (at Barauni, Singhri, Gorakhpur, and Talcher) start, they will add about 75 lakh metric tonnes to the output, taking the total capacity to about 320 lakh metric tonnes,” Mr. Kumar told reporters following a joint review meeting with Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Power Minister Piyush Goyal. “From a fertilizer importing country, we will be capable of exporting.” “In agriculture, one of the most important issue is that
of fertilizer,” Mr. Pradhan, who was also present at the press conference, said. “The expenditure and the construction activities for all four plants will begin in calendar year 2017 after the monsoon, and depending on the availability of the Prime Minister, he will lay the foundation stones at that time,” he said.
Eastern region Mr. Pradhan also emphasised the Centre’s plan to improve development in the eastern region of the country, adding that massive infrastructure investment in the region would be a boost to a ‘Second Green Revolution’ in the region. “A massive investment of ₹50,000 crore is being undertaken for the revival of the closed fertilizer plants and setting up of a gas
pipeline network to connect Eastern India to the national gas grid,” Mr. Pradhan said. “Of this, ₹20,000 crore would be invested to revive the plants at Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Barauni (Bihar) and Sindri ( Jharkhand).” The government will be investing ₹8,000 crore in the Talcher fertilizer plant in Odisha through a consortium comprising Fertilizer Corporation of India, Gas Authority of India Limited, Rashtriya Chemical and Fertilizer Limited, and Coal India Limited. The Talcher facility will also be the first plant to deploy a coal gasification system. “We have already improved the capacity of the existing fertilizer plants from 225 lakh metric tonnes to 245 lakh metric tonnes at no additional cost,” Mr. Kumar said.
Kotak Bank’s margins lift profit by 40%
Maruti Q4 net profit climbs 16%
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI
MUMBAI
Maruti Suzuki reported a 16% increase in fourthquarter net profit to ₹1,709 crore buoyed by higher sales and a bid to cut costs. Net sales at the country’s largest carmaker grew 20% to ₹18,005 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2017. For the full year, the revenue growth was 18.5% and net profit increased by about 37% to ₹7,337 crore. The company said the profit growth was “driven by growth in volumes, increase in share of the company’s higher segment models, benefits due to full capacity utilization and cost reduction efforts.” At the same time, in-
Top-end models contributed to higher sales of vehicles pany’s vehicle sales grew 10% to 15,68,603 units, of which 1,24,062 units were exported.
Special Correspondent
Kotak Mahindra Bank’s standalone net profit grew 40% to ₹976 crore during the fourth quarter, aided by healthier margins. The net interest income — the difference between interest earned and interest expended — grew by 16% to ₹2,161 crore on the back of a 15% growth in advances. The net interest margin swelled 20 bps to 4.6% in January-March compared with the same period of the previous year. The fourth largest private sector lender’s gross non-performing assets rose to ₹3,579 crore as on March 31, 2017, from ₹3,178 crore a year earlier.
Suzuki Motror chairman Osamu Suzuki.
crease in commodity prices and adverse forex movement partially impacted the annual financial performance, it added. Maruti sold 4,14,439 vehicles in Q4, a growth of 15%. Of this, exports were at 31,771 units. For the full year, the com-
Dividend jumps The company’s Board of Directors has recommended a dividend of ₹75 per share of face value ₹5 for 2016-17. The dividend in 2015-16 was at ₹35 per share of face value ₹5. Shrikant Akolkar, Research Analyst (Auto & Auto Ancillary) at Angel Broking said: “Overall, there is no negative surprise in the quarterly results. The Gujarat plant is addressing Maruti’s capacity constraints and it has lined up new models over next couple of years which is likely to benefit the company going ahead.”
A ND-ND
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IN BRIEF
Service charge on online train tickets may return from July
Gems and jewellery exports rise Special Correspondent
Kia to invest $2 billion in Penukonda car unit Production from second half of 2019
MUMBAI
IRCTC had to forgo ₹219 cr. of revenue on e-bookings following demonetisation Somesh Jha
TVS Motor profit falls on account of discounts CHENNAI
TVS Motor Company, the flagship of the $7 billion TVS Group, has reported a decline of 6.8% in its standalone net profit to ₹126.77 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2017, due to one-time provision on account of discounts offered on BS-III products sold by the dealers.
Gaming start-up Mech Mocha raises ₹32 crore BENGALURU
Mech Mocha, an Indiafocused mobile gaming start-up, said that it had raised $5 million (₹32 crore) from Series A funding led by Accel Partners and China's venture capital fund Shunwei Capital. Existing investor Blume Ventures also participated in the round. The Bengalurubased firm will deploy the funds to develop and launch new mobile-gaming titles.
Dr. Reddy’s unveils cholestrol drug in U.S.
NEW DELHI
The Railway Ministry has sought the Finance Ministry’s permission to resume levying service charge on online tickets from July. “We have written a letter to Finance Ministry seeking resumption of service charge on online tickets beginning July,” a senior Railway Ministry official said, on condition of anonymity. “We have informed the Finance Ministry that the service charge on e-tickets and i-tickets was withdrawn in November to promote digital transactions during demonetisation.” The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) levied service charges of ₹20 on each sleeper class e-ticket and ₹40 on each AC class e-ticket booked on its website, till it was instructed to withdraw the charges from November 23, a fortnight after the de-
Cost of cashless: IRCTC may end up having to forgo about ₹600 cr. if service charge remains withdrawn, an official says. monetisation of high-value currency notes. The service charge of ₹80 on each i-ticket for sleeper class and ₹120 on each iticket for all other classes was also withdrawn. The move by the Railways was aimed at promoting online booking of tickets in the wake of a cash crunch that followed the ban on use of old ₹500 and ₹1,000 bank-
notes. The service charge was initially discontinued till December 31 and later extended till March 31. Recently, the service charge waiver was extended till June 30 on the Finance Ministry’s advice.
Mounting losses While cashless reservation rose to 68% from 58% in the previous year, the revenue
loss mounted as IRCTC shares half the service charge receipts with the Indian Railways. From November 23-March 31, 7.89 crore tickets were booked online which led to a revenue loss of ₹219.05 crore to the IRCTC, a senior Railway Ministry official said. “We have projected a 5% increase in e-ticket booking in the current financial year,” another Railway Ministry official said. “The expected loss of revenue to IRCTC on account of noncollection of service charge may be about ₹600 crore if it remains withdrawn.” IRCTC, which earned ₹551.49 crore — or 36% of revenue — from service charge in 2015-16, had sought compensation from the Railway Ministry. The Centre is, however, yet to compensate IRCTC for the losses incurred from the waiver of service charge.
Gems & jewellery exports from India grew 10% yearon-year to $43,156.21 million in the financial year 2016-17, according to figures released by Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). Gross exports of cut and polished diamonds in FY17 increased to $ 22,783.81 million, up 10.24%, compared with $ 20,667.79 million in the previous year. Exports of gold jewellery rose 1.92% to $ 8721.81 million as compared with $ 8557.26 million in 2015-16 while exports of silver jewellery climbed 35.83% to $ 4 020.62 million. However, exports of coloured gemstones dropped 3.08% to $ 419.9 million in 2016-17 as compared with $ 433.18 million in the previous year. The gems & jewellery exports of 2016-17 accounted for 15.72% of the country’s cumulative exports of $274.65 billion.
Subba Rao G V R VIJAYAWADA
South Korean automobile manufacturer Kia Motors has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State government for setting up a car manufacturing unit at Penukonda in Anantapur district.
First in India Kia Motors, headquartered in Seoul, will invest $2 billion on this plant, which will be first unit in India and seventh in the world. Kia plans to produce a ‘strategic’ compact sedan and compact SUV, especially for the Indian market, at the new plant and produce three lakh cars per annum. The plant capacity can be enhanced to 4 lakh units per annum, and the company is targeting to sell 90% of its cars produced from this plant in domestic market. Kia Motors President Han Woo Park signed the MoU with Andhra Pradesh Indus-
tries Secretary Solomon Arokia Raj in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Industries Minister N Amarnath Reddy, at Secretariat on Thursday. Mr. Park said this was an exciting and mutually-beneficial project and a next major step in Kia's global expansion plans. Work on the plant would commence in September and production of cars would start in the second half of 2019, he said. Assuring that the State government will extend all possible cooperation, Mr. Naidu asked Kia Motors to start trial production by at least first quarter of 2019.
South markets lead recovery in residential real estate sector
Funds to be used for expanding banking and financial services
Demand goes up in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru
NEW DELHI
Paytm to invest ₹10,000 cr. over 3 years
HYDERABAD
Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. has introduced Ezetimibe and Simvastatin tablets in the U.S. market, a product used in treatments to lower total cholesterol. The product is a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Vytorin (Ezetimibe and Simvastatin) tablets, which is a registered trademark of MSD International GmbH. Dr. Reddy’s is among the first companies to introduce the generic product in the U.S. market.
Special Correspondent MUMBAI
Even though demonetisation dealt a blow to the real estate sector, the year 2017 is expected to bring stability and growth to the market, according to real estate consulting firm CBRE South East Asia. It its outlook for 2017 the firm said the revival has been led by markets in South India.
“The impact of demonetisation was expected to to be catastrophic for the economy, however, the reality on the ground is quite encouraging, indicative of the fact that the economy is already on its way to fully absorb the impact of the policy.” In its outlook for the residential market CBRE said a revival has already been
seen in the January-March quarter. “India residential supply has jumped by 70% quarter on quarter. Compared to only 18,000 units introduced in the October to December quarter, we have seen more than 30,000 units introduced in the January to March quarter. The biggest jump was in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Bengaluru.”
Special Correspondent
Fintech firm Paytm, which is backed by Chinese major Alibaba, on Thursday said it plans to invest ₹10,000 crore over the next three years in its banking and financial services business. “We will invest at least ₹10,000 crore in our banking and financial services in the next three years. We hope to get the final approval for our payments bank operations soon, so
that we can roll out services,” Paytm founder and CEO Vishal Shekhar Sharma said. These will include Paytm Banks, wallet and financial services. He added that till now the company has invested more than ₹3,200 crore for its operations. The Noida-based company, which had 218 million mobile wallet users at the end of March 2017, is also learnt to be in talks to raise funds. Paytm on Thursday also
announced partnership with MMTC-PAMP to allow consumers to purchase 24K 999.9 purity gold on its platform and store it in MMTCPAMP's secure vaults free of charge.
Low investment The company said customers can invest as low as one rupee. Customers will have the option of getting gold accumulated over one gram to their homes or sell it back online.
Asked about the issue of capital dumping, which has been raised by firms such as Flipkart and Ola in the past, Mr. Shekhar said that “risk appetite” foreign investors is different from domestic investors. “I am all for domestic investments. I want every domestic rich person to start putting money in start-ups. I truly call upon on them. India's old economy companies should bring that capital back to put money in start-ups.”
Rejigged cotton project on the Flexible pension for informal staff mooted anvil: Textile Commissioner Draft of the plan will be sent to the ministry soon
They face disasters, irregular incomes Special Correspondent
M. Soundariya Preetha COIMBATORE
In an effort to give a thrust to the cotton sector, the Textile Ministry is looking to introduce a revamped Technology Mission on Cotton, Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta told The Hindu. The office of the Textile Commissioner would send a draft on the revamped project to the Textile Ministry in a couple of months. “We have had a series of meetings with stakeholders and researchers,” Ms. Gupta said.
Renewed strategy: The mission will have two parts on cotton productivity.
Four parts “We will propose it to the Ministry. The mission will have four parts. The first two will deal with cotton productivity and will come under the Agriculture Ministry. The third and fourth missions will be under the Textile Ministry.” A Technology Mission on Cotton was implemented
by the Union Government from 2000 to 2012 and it had four “mini missions.” India is now the largest producer of cotton globally. “There is a need for a revamped Technology Mission on Cotton as the country needs to adopt global standards and focus on quality,” said J. Thulasidharan, president of Indian
Cotton Federation. Ms. Gupta added that apart from this, in order to get a clear picture on production and capacity of various segments in the textile value chain, the Ministry has now made annual and monthly filing of data mandatory. All units from ginning to garmenting will have to file data on quality and quantity. Till October, this can be done manually or online and from October it can be done only online. The annual data will give the profile of the unit and the monthly information will give a clear picture on production of various textile products. “This is filed by the industry and for its benefit. It will help the Government come out with the right policy interventions,” she said. The system is simplified for the MSMEs and for the very small units, a survey will be done, she added.
NEW DELHI
Workers from the informal economy and the agricultural sector should be allowed flexible contributions and withdrawals from pension plans due to the vagaries of their incomes and the risk of disasters, a report by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority said.
Specific scheme The ‘Financial Security for India’s Elderly’ report by PFRDA and Crisil also recommended a specific pension scheme for young women along the lines of the government’s Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme for young girls. “There are labourers who work on a daily basis and are unsure of whether they would be employed the next day,” the report stated. “Also, agriculture sector employs the highest population in India and is highly dependent on monsoons. In
Italy sees red-tape, taxes as hurdles Corruption is another concern in India, says ITA president Scannavini aRUN S New Delhi
The main challenges Italian companies face while doing business in India include red tapism and a complex tax structure, according to Italian Trade Agency (ITA) President Michele Scannavini.
Complex taxation “(The challenges) are (dealing with) bureaucracy, complex taxation, permissions for doing business taking a long time, (and) procedures relating to starting companies (being) complex… Also, there are some barriers (including measures) that protect local production compared to foreign production.” Mr. Scannavini, who is in India with a 150-member delegation comprising representatives from 60 Italian companies, six industry associations, CM YK
Tied up: Bureaucracy and complex procedures related to starting companies are among the challenges.
seven banks, and four universities and research centres, told The Hindu. The ITA is the Italian government body promoting the internationalisation of Italian firms in line with their Economic Development Ministry’s strategies. Asked about corruption in India, he said, “Obviously, there is a concern (regarding that).” However, he said
Italy is keen to boost its exports and investments to India. Asked about the impact of the protracted negotiations on the proposed India-European Union Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) as well as India unilaterally terminating the Bilateral Investment Treaties (BIT) with European Union member countries including Italy,
Mr. Scannavini said, “We don’t see them as big negatives.” “So far, we have not seen a big slowdown (in investments and exports from Italy to India). We are not seeing a decline or a paralysis of activity because of these. However, if we have a BIT and BTIA in place soon, they can definitely boost investment and trade,” he said. India-Italy trade declined from $10 billion in 2011-12 to $8.28 billion in 2015-16, according to Indian government’s data. Italy’s exports to India fell from $5.1 billion in FY’12 to $4 billion in FY’16. Italy is the 13th largest source of FDI inflows into India with FDI worth $2.23 billion from April 2000 to December 2016 but accounted for a minuscule 0.69% of the total FDI inflows of $324.4 billion during that period.
a year of bad monsoons, the earnings of many of the farmers are very low even to suffice their basic needs, let alone put something aside for pension in later years.” “Given such irregularities in income, flexible contributions could be allowed,” the report added. “Similarly, in case of extreme events such as floods, drought or severe financial hardships, the subscriber could be allowed to make flexible withdrawals.” Since women, who account for 70% of non-workers in India, are financially dependent on their male counterparts, and generally outlive men, the ‘feminisation’ of the elderly is going to be increasingly evident in the years to come, and could bring with it huge fiscal burdens. “Similar to a Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme, where parents are incentivised to save for their young daughters, a scheme can be provided for the young ladies.”
Bandhan Bank posts ₹112 cr. profit Special Correspondent KOLKATA
Bandhan Bank reported a ₹111.95 crore post-tax profit in 2016-17, its first full year of operation. The Current Account and Savings Account (CASA) balance stood at ₹6,837.3 crore which was 29.4% of the total deposits, Bandhan Founder Managing Director and CEO, Chandra Sekhar Ghosh said. He reiterated that the bank will not go for large corporate portfolios. “The small micro and MSME sector will continue to be our focus area”, he said. Bandhan closed the year with a net non-performing asset of 0.26 %. Its net interest income stood at ₹2,403.5 crore with a net non interest income of ₹411.4 crore. The bank started its operations on August 23, 2015. A ND-ND
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THE HINDU
SPORT 15
NOIDA/DELHI
FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2017
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Walk in the park for Lions
KKR high on confidence
Royal Challengers’ playoff hopes almost extinguished
Delhi Daredevils will look to bounce back
Vital phase ahead of us, says Zaheer
IPL 10 Shreedutta Chidananda Bengaluru
Royal Challengers Bangalore's playoff hopes were virtually extinguished on Thursday after defeat to Gujarat Lions at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The home side could only scramble together a score of 134, before Gujarat sailed home in 13.5 overs. Aaron Finch clobbered a 34-ball 72 as Suresh Raina's men completed a sevenwicket victory to claim their third win of the IPL season. Finch arrived after two early wickets. The Australian announced his arrival with two fierce sixes off Samuel Badree, RCB spirits sinking no sooner than they had risen. Finch hammered six sixes in all; Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi and Aniket Choudhary all feeling the force of his bat. Raina and he added 92 runs for the third wicket in eight overs. It did not help RCB that Raina was caught off a no-ball. Earlier, having been asked to bat, RCB lost its first three wickets in the space of four deliveries, Andrew Tye causing much damage. Virat Kohli sent Basil Thampi soaring into the legside boundary with a flick of his wrists in the second over, but this was an evening on which the batsman did not look himself. Soon after, Kohli pulled the same bowler into the hands of short fine-leg. Two balls later, Tye struck with his opening delivery, having Chris Gayle edge behind. Travis Head fell next ball, surprised by a rising delivery from Tye to be caught at slip. The Australian bowler found himself on a hat-trick for the
Demolition man: Andrew Tye virtually broke RCB’s back with two quick strikes and fantastic figures of three for 12 from his four overs. V. SREENIVASA MURTHY *
SCOREBOARD
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGLORE VS GUJARAT LIONS
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Chris Gayle c Karthik b Tye 8 (11b, 1x4), Virat Kohli c Finch b Thampi 10 (13b, 1x6), A.B. de Villiers run out 5 (11b), Travis Head c Raina b Tye 0 (1b), Kedar Jadhav b Jadeja 31 (18b, 4x4, 1x6), Mandeep Singh c Jadeja b Tye 8 (14b), Pawan Negi c Thampi b Soni 32 (19b, 3x4, 2x6), Samuel Badree c Kishan b Jadeja 3 (3b), S. Arvind c McCullum b Faulkner 9 (16b), Aniket Choudhary (not out) 15 (12b, 1x4), Yuzvendra Chahal run out 1 (2b); Extras (lb-9, w-3): 12; Total (in 20 overs): 134. Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Kohli, 3.5 overs), 2-22 (Gayle, 4.1), 3-22
(Head, 4.2), 4-58 (Jadhav, 8.4), 5-60 (de Villiers, 9.3), 6-100 (Negi, 13.4), 7-105 (Badree, 14.3), 8-110 (Mandeep, 15.5), 9133 (Arvind, 19.4). Gujarat Lions bowling: Nathu Singh 2-0-8-0, Basil Thampi 40-34-1, Andrew Tye 4-0-12-3, Ravindra Jadeja 4-0-28-2, Ankit Soni 3-0-28-1, James Faulkner 3-0-15-1. Gujarat Lions: Ishan Kishan lbw b Badree 16 (11b, 4x4), Brendon McCullum c de Villiers b Badree 3 (6b), Suresh Raina (not out) 34 (30b, 4x4, 1x6); Aaron Finch c de Villiers b Negi 72 (34b, 5x4, 6x6), Ravindra Jadeja (not out) 2 (4b); Extras (lb-2, w-4, nb-2):
8; Total (for three wkts. in 13.5 overs): 135.
second time this season, and although he could not complete it on this occasion, his job had been done. Tye finished with figures of three for 12 from his four overs. Only Kedar Jadhav and Negi made contributions of any significance; both fell in
their thirties, playing needless shots. Jadhav was castled by a flat, quick ball from Ravindra Jadeja, trying to steer the bowler through third man. A.B. de Villiers was run out for five, owing to a misunderstanding with Mandeep Singh. Kohli watched from
the dug-out, face like thunder. Negi struck two sixes off Ankit Soni in the 14th over; he attempted a third but was held on the mid-wicket boundary. It was unnecessary and wasteful; it symbolised RCB's effort on the night.
Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Kishan, 2.3), 2-23 (McCullum, 4.1), 3115 (Finch, 12.1). Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling: Samuel Badree 3-029-2, S. Arvind 3-0-19-0, Aniket Choudhary 2-0-21-0, Yuzvendra Chahal 3-0-29-0, Pawan Negi 2-0-24-1, Travis Head 0.5-0-11-0. Toss: Gujarat Lions. Man-of-the-match: Tye.
Andrew
Gujarat Lions won by seven wickets with 37 balls to spare.
Sunrisers wary of Kings’ backlash Kings XI will be happy to return to its home stadium. It plays two back-to-back matches twice in 12 days. After losing four matches on the trot, the team turned it around against Gujarat Lions and will be on a high after beating topper KKR. Unlike Sunrisers, Kings XI lacks the variety in bowling. So far, its ploy to invest in overseas batsmen and
Rakesh Rao MOHALI
With revenge on its mind, Kings XI Punjab will host defending champion Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Friday. Sunrisers, the more balanced of the two teams, will look to repeat the result of the first meeting between the teams this year. That five-run victory had helped Sunrisers escape a hat-trick of defeats. With three of four victories coming fielding second, Sunrisers bowlers have reasons to feel upbeat. Bhuvneshwar Kumar tops the charts with 16 wickets. Rashid Khan has 10 scalps, and is followed by Ashish Nehra with five. However, the batsmen are yet to perform to potential. Though David Warner (282 runs), Shikhar Dhawan
POINTS TABLE
In good touch... Amla.
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AFP
(235) and Moises Henriques (193) have done the bulk of scoring, Yuvraj Singh’s form is a worrying factor. Kane Williamson looks in good touch but Deepak Hooda’s big hitting abilities are yet to come to the fore.
M TEAM Kolkata Knight Riders 8 Mumbai Indians 8 Sunrisers Hyderabad 8 8 Rising Pune Supergiant 7 Kings XI Punjab 8 Gujarat Lions Royal Challengers Bangalore 9 6 Delhi Daredevils
Has ICC called BCCI’s bluff? Vijay Lokapally NEW DELHI
The Board of Control for Cricket in India today stands embarrassed after the ICC effectively reversed a move to grant control of the World body to the Big Three. The question now is whether the BCCI can force the ICC to rethink its recent decisions. “Too far-fetched,” a top Board official had told The Hindu when asked whether India would pull out of the Champions Trophy in England to protest the ICC’s decisions to cut India’s share of the revenue earnings. India has not only missed the deadline of submitting the names of its 15-member squad but the uncertainty the Board officials have deliberately created around the team’s participation does not augur well. “The BCCI looks like an undisciplined unit now,” said a veteran official. “The BCCI tried to bully the ICC but it did not work. It was never going to work because the BCCI was not willing to see reason. Look at the situation now.” Privately, most Board officials are reportedly against a Champions Trophy pull-out because that would lead to an unprecedented confrontation between the ICC and the BCCI. “Who are the main protagonists of this game?” asked a former India CM YK
home-grown bowlers has brought limited dividends. Though Hashim Amla’s form is the biggest gain, and Glenn Maxwell and Manan Vohra have had their moments, Shaun Marsh, David Miller, Eoin Morgan and Wriddhiman Saha have not shown match-winning form. Axar Patel (122 runs and eight wickets) is clearly the one who contributes a lot.
captain. “The players are the key and not the officials. Have you asked the players if they would support the idea of not playing in the Champions Trophy?” It is learnt the Board may not go ahead with the idea for fear of inviting sanctions. In the event of a pull-out if the ICC slaps a ban on India, the veteran official said the National side stands to miss out on all ICC tournaments of this cycle (until 2023), and the IPL might also miss out on the participation of foreign stars. As a former India cricketer pointed out, the BCCI would never have entertained the idea of a pull-out had there been a Players’ Association in place. “The PA would have protected the interests of the players since it affects their careers. Many among the current lot may not get another chance to play the Champions Trophy. Why should the players be made to pay for the follies of the officials?” he asked. The BCCI may take time to recover, even though a final decision on participation would depend on an SGM to be held soon. “The BCCI has to behave like a leader and not a spoilt brat. This is like the boy who brought the bat to the neighbourhood game,” the veteran official said. “The BCCI would cut a sorry figure if it is isolated in world cricket.”
Y.B. Sarangi
Special Correspondent
KOLKATA
KOLKATA
Led by an aggressive Gautam Gambhir, Kolkata Knight Riders recorded emphatic wins in its last two outings of the Indian Premier League and would love to carry on its good form against Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens on Friday. Gambhir’s captaincy skills came to the fore in KKR’s astonishing 84-run victory over Bangalore Royal Challengers in a low-scoring thriller at home and then a comprehensive seven-wicket away win over Rising Pune Supergiant on Wednesday. Gambhir deserves a major share of the credit for his team’s tactical excellence. He has handled several key aspects — such as fielding spinner-dominated and pacer-dominated attacks according to conditions, rotation of bowlers and field placement — exceedingly well to control key moments on the field and guide KKR to favourable results. Lax KKR has suffered occasionally due to its lax bowling, against Gujarat Lions, or below par batting, against RCB, but has bounced back from difficult situations with a show of character. The two-time champion owes most of its success to the destructive batsmen, including Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan and Manish Pandey, in its line-up. It has
Delhi Daredevils captain Zaheer Khan on Thursday said that his team must regain its momentum over the next nine days, when it would play five matches. Ahead of DD’s clash against table topper Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Friday, Zaheer said his team should have a bigger goal instead of focusing on just one match. “We need a winning momentum. We are playing five matches in next nine days. “It’s an important phase for our campaign in this IPL. “If we achieve a winning momentum, many things will fall in place by May 6,” said Zaheer. “It is important to look at matches in bunches. That’s exactly is the key.
L 2 2 3 4 4 5 6 4
NR 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Khanna to seek report from Board officials G. Viswanath Mumbai
C.K. Khanna, the BCCI senior vicepresident who is discharging the duties of the President, told The Hindu that he would ask for reports from officials who were in Dubai for the ICC meetings and discuss matters with the joint secretary (Amitabh Choudhary), treasurer (Anirudh Chaudhary) and other members of the Board before convening a Special General Meeting (SGM). Rahul Johri, BCCI CEO, attended the CEC meeting, while Prof. Ratnakar Shetty (GM-Game Development) and M.V. Sridhar (GM-Cricket Operations) were deputed for other committee meetings. The BCCI, at the adjourned SGM in New Delhi on April 18, proposed a resolution that only authorised Choudhary (named by the Supreme Court for the ICC board meeting) to ask the ICC to defer taking decisions on the administrative structure until after the annual conference in June, and vote against the constitution and financial models as agreed upon by the ICC on February 4. “It’s a very sensitive matter. I have to discuss it with my colleagues. I can call for an SGM at short notice. But all that will happen only after I discuss the outcome of the meetings in Dubai with the Board members,’’ said Khanna.
PTS 12 12 9 8 6 6 5 4
NRR +1.153 +0.514 +0.481 -0.666 -0.319 -0.360 -1.401 +0.848
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got further boost due to Gambhir’s fine knock against RPS. KKR’s balanced attack — decorated with match-winners such as Umesh Yadav, Chris Woakes and Nathan Coulter-Nile in the pace department and Narine, Kuldeep Yadav (who made a huge impact in Pune by claiming two important wickets in the 18th over) and Piyush Chawla in spin — has served the side well and helped it reach the top with six wins. Having outsmarted DD in a nail-biting affair at the Ferozeshah Kotla, KKR will be confident of another memorable performance. DD has displayed some dashing batting performances with significant contributions from youngsters like Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson.
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KXIP vs SRH Sony Six, Sony ESPN & Sony Max (SD & HD), 8 p.m.
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It also has a sound pace attack, including Chris Morris, Pat Cummins, Zaheer Khan and Mohammed Shami, and a few experienced spinners, such as Amit Mishra and Shahbaz Nadeem. DD, which has lost a bit of momentum after defeats in three consecutive matches, needs to make the optimum use of its resources to climb up the ladder.
Samuels’ inclusion Zaheer said the inclusion of Marlon Samuels (from April 29 onwards) would help. Terming KKR a ‘stable side’ under Gautam Gambhir’s good leadership, the DD skipper said Friday’s match would be “a very good challenge. They have been good at chasing, batting really well.” Zaheer said his faster bowlers were “excited” to perform well on the Eden Gardens pitch.
Uthappa — the Mr. Reliable At his nonchalant best, he would do a world of good for Knight Riders Amol Karhadkar PUNE
While Gautam Gambhir and Darren Bravo were punishing the Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers at will during the team’s pre-match training on Tuesday, Robin Uthappa didn’t even pick up the bat at the MCA stadium. Instead he preferred to do his sprints. Come Wednesday, however, the Bangalorean blasted the Rising Pune Supergiant bowlers to hog the limelight. No doubt he was fortunate to have been dropped on the boundary line early on in his innings. But the manner in which he exploded thereafter — scor-
ing a 47-ball 87 — to help Knight Riders overhaul a target of 183 with no trouble was an exhibition of Uthappa at his best. No doubt that young chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, who combined with Uthappa to see the back of M.S. Dhoni and Manoj Tiwary in the same over, lavished praise on his senior teammate. “85-plus is a very good score in T20. When compared to the Test level, it would be around 150. In T20 if someone scores around 85, you have almost won the match,” said Kuldeep. Uthappa may have had a quiet season of domestic
cricket, losing his place in the Karnataka Ranji Trophy squad for the first time in a decade. But when it comes to the IPL, the 31-year-old is one of the most reliable batsmen. However, despite having entered the list of top-5 rungetters in the IPL, Uthappa is often not given his due as the backbone of the squad. Over 10 editions of the IPL — representing four different teams — he has put in impressive performances on a consistent basis. No wonder then that Matthew Hayden called him an under-rated batsman in Twenty20 cricket.
Uthappa... impressive
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PTI
Yuvraj Singh doubtful for ‘home’ game SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
W 6 6 4 4 3 3 2 2
Key planners: Delhi Daredevils captain Zaheer Khan and coach Rahul Dravid will have to ensure the team makes the optimum use of its resources to climb up the ladder. PTI
MOHALI
Yuvraj Singh, down with a bout of flu, is a doubtful starter for Sunrisers Hyderabad in its match against Kings XI Punjab, a team he has led in the past. On Thursday, coach Tom Moody neither confirmed nor ruled out Yuvraj for the ‘home’ game on Friday.
“I am pretty pleased with Yuvraj. He’s has been striking the ball well (but) unfortunately he is suffering from flu and had to miss a couple of games. Apart from that, he looks in good shape. There are plenty of
runs left in his bat in this tournament.” Meanwhile, former West Indies skipper Darren Sammy had a full session of
practice a day after joining the squad. It remains to be seen whether the team management deems it fit to include him in the XI.
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THE HINDU
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Barcelona swamps Osasuna
IN BRIEF
Real hammers Deportivo; Tottenham and Arsenal register 1-0 wins in the EPL Agencies BARCELONA
Real Madrid thrashed Deportivo La Coruna 6-2 to stay level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga after the Catalans crushed Osasuna 7-1, condemning the minnow to relegation. Lionel Messi, Andre Gomes and Paco Alcacer scored twice each and Javier Mascherano netted his first goal for the club from the penalty spot as Barcelona built on Sunday’s Clasico victory. Zinedine Zidane made nine changes for the trip to the Riazor but Madrid’s reserves still made light work of Depor, with Isco running the show and finding the net along with James Rodriguez, who hit a brace, Alvaro Morata, Lucas Vazquez and substitute Casemiro. Madrid has 78 points from 33 games, while Barcelona has the same tally from one game more. Osasuna, rooted in 20th place, was relegated after 17th-placed Leganes beat Las Palmas 3-0 to move 12 points clear of the bottom club, an insurmountable total with four games to go because of its inferior head-to-head record. Messi opened the scoring with a mazy dribble capped with a neat chip over goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu before Gomes volleyed home Ivan Rakitics cross to double
Advani assured of a medal DOHA
Top Indian cueist Pankaj Advani was on Thursday assured of a medal after he reached the semifinals of the Asian snooker championship here.Advani was in full flow as he beat UAE’s leading player Mohammed Al-Joaker 5-1 in the quarterfinals to assure India’s only medal in the event. The result: Pankaj Advani bt Mohammed Al-Joaker 5-1 (58-52, 102 (102)-0, 12-60, 60-31, 5620, 71-59). PTI
Sindhu in quarterfinals WUHAN
P.V. Sindhu sailed into the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Championships, beating Japanese Aya Ohori 21-14, 21-15 in the second round. However, Ajay Jayaram crashed out in the men’s second round. The results: Second round: Men: Hsu Jen Hao (Tpe) bt Ajay Jayaram 21-19, 21-10. Women: P.V. Sindhu bt Aya Ohori (Jpn) 21-14, 21-15. Women’s doubles: Chae Yoo Jung & Kim So Yeong (Kor) bt Sikki Reddy & Ashwini Ponnappa 22-20, 21-16. Mixed doubles: Zheng Siwei & Chen Qingchen (Chn) bt Pranaav Jerry Chopra & Sikki Reddy 21-15, 14-21, 21-16. PTI
Anwar improving, to be discharged soon KOLKATA
Former India defender Anwar Ali, who suffered a heart attack on Tuesday, is improving and will be discharged in a couple of days, according to the hospital. “We are keeping him under observation as he’s being administered some medicines. His condition has improved and we are hopeful that he will be released in a couple of days,” said cardiologist Dr. Banerjee. The East Bengal defender was returning from practice when he suffered a heart attack. PTI
Tridev Singh Siddhu’s fine all-round performance (five for 18 & 31) went in vain as Kolkata Kings lost to Pargana Panthers by 15 runs in the inaugural match of the under-16 Futures school championship at the F.C. Ground, Salt Lake, on Thursday. The scores: Pargana Panthers 142 for eight in 20 overs (Ayush Pandey 49, Tridev Singh Siddhu five for 18) bt Kolkata Kings 127 for seven in 20 overs (Tridev Singh Siddhu 31, Amit Pandey three for 28). Hooghly Hurricanes 89 in 19.3 overs (Abhishek Porel 18) lost to Darjeeling Dazzlers 90 for four in 15.4 overs (Dipangshu Sarkar 30).
Celtics take lead over Bulls
BENGALURU
Namdhari XI drubbed over Hockey Puducherry 15-0 in the Hockey India sub-junior Nationals here on Thursday. In another match, Hockey Coorg notched up a 9-0 win over Telangana Hockey.
Agence France-Presse Washington
Finally! Javier Mascherano scored his first goal for Barcelona from the penalty spot.
the lead. Roberto Torres whipped in a free kick just after halftime to drag his team back into the match before Barcelona ran riot with a flurry of goals.
Close shave On a subdued night at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal went closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half with an Alexis Sanchez shot that cannoned back off the crossbar. Arsene Wenger threw in Danny Welbeck, Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey in the second half, ditching the back-three system he has
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Washington Wizards regained control of its first round NBA playoff series, defeating Atlanta Hawks 103-99 on Wednesday riding on a 27-point performance by Bradley Beal. John Wall delivered 20 points and 14 assists as the fourth-seeded Wizards lead the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series 3-2. In the later game, Boston Celtics used a fourthquarter run to defeat Chicago Bulls 109-97 and take a 3-2 lead in their series. Otto Porter scored 17 points and sank nine of 10 free throws for Wizards, who offset another poor shooting night from the three-point line by making 22 of 27 free throws. Hawks, who won games three and four at home by an average margin of 14 points, host game six on Sunday. Wizards are seeking to become the first road team to win a game this series. Dennis Schroder had 29 points and 11 assists for the fifth-seeded Hawks. Paul Millsap finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds and Tim Hardaway scored 15 points for Hawks, who shot 41 per cent from the field and 14 of 21 from the free-
REUTERS
EUROPEAN LEAGUES been using of late. Victory looked likely to elude the host until five minutes from time when Nacho Monreal’s shot took a huge deflection off Robert Huth and looped over Kasper Schmeichel in the Leicester goal. The win lifted Arsenal to sixth, four points behind fourth-placed Manchester City and three below fifthplaced Manchester United. The results: Premier League: Arsenal 1 (Huth 85-og) bt Leicester 0; Middlesbrough 1
(de Roon 8) Sunderland 0; Crystal Palace 0 lost to Tottenham 1 (Eriksen 78). La Liga: Barcelona 7 (Messi 12, 61, Gomes 30, 57, Alcacer 64, 86, Mascherano 67-pen) bt Osasuna 1 (Roberto Torres 48); Leganes 3 (Neves 55, 61-pen, Guerrero 59) bt Las Palmas 0; Valencia 2 (Nani 68-pen, Zaza 72) lost to Real Sociedad 3 (Alves 1-og, Willian Jose 30pen, Oyarzabal 65); Deportivo la Coruna 2 (Andone 35, Joselu 84) lost to Real Madrid 6 (Morata 1, Rodriguez 14, 66, Vazquez 44, Isco 77, Casemiro 87).
John Wall.
Principal Correspondent
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AP
NBA throw line. Wizards’ game plan was to double-team Millsap, who still managed to score at least 19 points for the fifth straight game. Schroder’s fifth threepointer cut Wizards’ lead to 101-99 with 70 seconds remaining, but Wall answered with a jump shot on Washington’s next possession. Hawks missed their final two attempts from the field. The results: Eastern Conference: Washington Wizards 103 bt Atlanta Hawks 99; Boston Celtics 108 bt Chicago Bulls 97.
The results: Pool B: Namdhari XI 15 (Hanspal Singh 4, 22, 29, 35, 44, 45, 59; Hardeep Singh 41, 49, 58; Princepal Singh 34, 69; Jaskaran Singh 63, 65; Surpreet Singh 8) bt Hockey Puducherry 0. SAG, Gujarat 5 (Nikhil Jamboktkar 33, 52; Sahil Katiyar 46, 51; Sunny Ubre 34) bt Mumbai Hockey Association 1 (Mohd. Tauseef Qureshi 4). Hockey Madhya Bharat 5 (Abhishek Yadav 9, 68; Mohit Tatawat 6; Irbaz Khan 65; Mudassar Qureshi 69) bt Goans Hockey 2 (Sunil Chari 32, 63). Pool C: Bengal HA 1 (Lorik Pal 15) drew with Citizen XI 1 (Zainul Samar 58). Hockey Coorg 9 (N.T. Tarun 23, 25, 33; Ashik Uthappa 47, 66, 70; K.M. Yaswan 53, 59; Rakshi Kariappa 62) bt Telangana Hockey 0. Hockey Himachal 5 (Pankaj 28, 66, 68; Suraj Singh 24; Charanjit Singh 51) bt Vidarbha HA 2 (Rehan Khan 54; Shiv Borkar 62).
TV PICKS Bundesliga: SS Select HD 2, 12 a.m. (Saturday)
NBA: Sony Six & Sony Six HD, 5.30 a.m. (Saturday)
‘We need our girls to be faster, not bigger’
Preventive and curative measures for necessary deterrence essential, says Goel
New HPD aims to get Indian women’s side into top-8
NEW DELHI
India’s consistent performance as one of the worst offenders in terms of doping has led to the sports ministry deliberating on making doping a criminal offence with both the athlete and coaches liable for conviction. “We are deliberating if athletes can be sent to jail by introducing a new legislation which will make doping a criminal offence,” sports minister Vijay Goel confirmed on the sidelines of a consultation meeting for drafting anti-doping legislation. Adding that there would
KOLKATA
Big win for Namdhari XI
Sports ministry looking to make doping a criminal offence Uthra Ganesan
Pargana Panthers begins with a win
Wizards regain hold over Hawks
be ‘zero tolerance’ for doping and a need to encourage clean sports, Goel said that preventive and curative measures for necessary deterrence was essential. He, however, admitted that talks were still on with all the stakeholders, including sports federations, before a final decision could be taken. Any such legislation would have to first get vetted by the law ministry before being presented to the cabinet for deliberation. Goel admitted there was no time frame for the same becoming a reality but hoped a Bill criminalising
doping could be presented to the parliament by the winter session later this year. He claimed that the doping menace was fast spreading to the lower levels of competitions. “Earlier it was only restricted to the national level but it may soon spread to Universities and school competitions. “Not only athletes but coaches and the rest of the support staff, whoever is involved, could be jailed. Everyone who aids doping would be covered in the new law,” Goel added. National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) director gen-
eral Navin Agarwal said that with no clear labelling on the supplements available in the open market and the absence of any mandatory prescriptions for the same, it was easy for athletes to make mistakes. Sports secretary Injeti Srinivas agreed, saying that while athletes are punished for the presence of prohibited substances in their body, there was need to regulate the activities of their support personnel as well. India was ranked third in terms of dope offenders, behind Russia and Italy, for the third straight year in the WADA’s report for 2015.
UTHRA GANESAN NEW DELHI
David John first came to India in 2011 as scientific advisor to the Indian men’s hockey team, and changed both the perception and the understanding of player fitness. Now he is back, this time as Indian hockey’s high-performance director, with the brief of raising the level of the game across all age groups among men and women. His first few months in the new role saw him concentrate completely on the women’s team, knowing well that there was a lot more work to be done there. “As HPD, I wanted to learn more about the women since I did not spend any time with them when I was here in 2011-12. So most of my time so far has been with the women because they were preparing for the Hockey World League’s second round in Vancouver. I have a good idea now of what we have. I have also followed the players at the ongoing Nationals trying to increase the depth of the available pool, find some more talent here and develop the base,” John said, speaking from Rohtak on the sidelines of the A-division
Delhi Tussauds to feature Kapil Press Trust of India New Delhi
Kapil Dev is set to join the line-up of sports icons at Madame Tussauds Delhi. The cricketing great who led India to the 1983 World Cup triumph had a sitting with the team of artists from Madame Tussauds who took over 300 measurements to begin the intricate process of
casting his lifelike wax figure. During the sizing session, Kapil said: “I am thankful to my fans who have paved my way into Madame Tussauds. “I am honoured to be part of the attraction, and to be positioned among legends. The sitting session was an unforgettable experience and I am looking forward to
seeing my figure. “I have lived and breathed cricket all my life, and today I wish every cricketer a successful journey.” The former India allrounder’s figure will be presented among other sports heroes in a dedicated area where fans will also have a chance to test their cricket skills.
Kapil Dev.
David John.
National championships. “The target is to move up from the present 12th rank to top-8 at the earliest,” he added. With several national team players participating in the tournament for their domestic teams, performance at the Nationals will be one of the criteria to select the team for the upcoming New Zealand tour. During his stint with the men’s team, John was credited with raising the players’ strength and fitness, and the Australian is planning to continue doing the same. A hard taskmaster with little patience for indiscipline, John has been constantly
travelling across the country to various national championships. Refuting the perception that the women need to bulk up to match the top teams in the world, John said: “I want the Indian women to be among the top-4 or 5 in the world in terms of fitness. It is a myth that you need to be muscular to be successful. If you see some of the top teams like Holland or Argentina, they are not big or bulky. Since the new fourquarter system has come in, the game has got a lot faster, and it is more important to have tall, lean, fast girls in the side than the bulky ones. It suits the Indian body structure better and that’s what we have to train the girls for,” John said. His target for the coming year is to develop a strong junior and sub-junior group of players among both men and women since they, he said, would form the core group of the senior team over the next four to eight years. “I have already seen the junior boys and girls in Bhopal. The skills are clearly there but we need to work on their physical development over the next 12 months,” he said.
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11993 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
(set by Arden) 8
9
10
16 At risk only when most of it is well covered (2,4,3)
11
12
dictionary (5)
19 "Live wire will gain altitude", says Spooner (9)
13
20 Throw fish outside one of the Windows (5) 14
15
16
18
17
22 Bandicoot will shed its coat over a period (4,3) 19
20
21
25 Not overcome by experience (7) 22
23
24
25
26
27 Blackball Brown- meaning bring Tom in (9) 27
28
29
■ ACROSS 1 Room for tourist- one's out of this world... (5,9) 10 ...sore with filthy lucre (5) 11 Passed a law on ladies accommodation (9) 12 It took four of them to win over the French (7) 13 Trilled a tune, rejected a drink (7) 14 Bull- meaning found in the
CM YK
7 Change of heart- afterwards becomes light (5) 8 Issue price assumes a small dimension (7) 9 Mutter and grope as male goes for female (6) 15 They prevent you falling overboard when rafts fail to function (9) 17 Fierce, tense, turn blue mysteriously (9) 18 Just an admission, but it's contradictory (9)
29 Correct if royalists act in an acceptable way (14)
19 It's in hand, the drone will definitely go up (7)
2 Promo for a girl getting ready to travel outside... (9) 3 ...girl to sing? (5)
Focussed worship
6 It grows in a gentle fashion (9)
28 New song, "Return the money" (5)
■ DOWN
FAITH
SUDOKU
21 Brush can retrace 50%, not 50 (6)
Solution to puzzle 11992 S O
23 Inclination to include an unknown composer (5)
B
A
4 Stop a politician like in 19, it's unbelievable (4,5)
24 Starts training in April, racing ahead for the crown (5)
5 Protection for American soldier as water rises around him (5)
26 He pays for entrance, anonymously (5)
C O M P O U N D
I N U AM B T E R
G S Q N N E T U N E A A T I O N A L I D S R S T I N T O Y N S M I R A L N W S S E V E N T H R I E T H I C A K D G R A B Y T E R L S
T S B E A T S L P R E N S F L AM I I T U D I T H E A V E V B L E C N I L E G A E L
Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku D E N L U P X E S
E L E G A N C E
D N R
Y
Those who worship the Lord without desiring anything but the Lord Himself, they will have yogakshema, says Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. The Lord uses the word ‘ananyAh’ when He talks of those who think of nothing except the Lord. Such people are to be respected. What is the use of a life that is wasted in worldly thoughts? Of what use are prayers for material possessions? Furthermore, these great people are the ones who worship every one of the Lord’s auspicious qualities. It is not hasty or careless worship. Theirs is focused worship, said Valayapet Ramachariar in a discourse. Their thoughts do not go astray; they do not seek favours from other gods. Even when they perform yagas, where gods like Indra are given offerings, they do not think of Indra as the Supreme One. They know it is Lord Narayana who is the Supreme One and that He ensures even Indra’s position. Indra’s position as king of the celestials is not a permanent one. It is only because the Lord has decided to give Indra and other gods a role in yagas that their names are invoked. When a person is physically hurt, the hurt is experienced by the self. If the body is decorated with flowers, it is again the self that experiences happiness. So when Indra’s name is invoked through a yaga, the Lord who is the self of everyone is pleased. A person who understands this and performs rituals properly will get both yoga and kshema. Yoga is getting something one has not had so far. Kshema is not letting it go and keeping it. Moksha is what those who surrender to the Lord get. It is something they have never had before. So it is yoga. Moksha is also something they are never going to lose. So moksha is kshema too. A ND-ND
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THE HINDU
SPORT 17
NOIDA/DELHI
FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2017
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Ramkumar overcomes McGee Sports Bureau Tallahassee (USA)
Ramkumar Ramanathan defeated James McGee 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals of the $75,000 Challenger here on Wednesday. In doubles, top seeds Leander Paes and American Scott Lipsky made the quarterfinals. In the $100,000 ITF women’s event in Anning, China, Prarthana Thombare and Fang Ying Xun made the doubles final. The results: $75,000 Challenger, Tallahassee, USA: Second round: Ramkumar Ramanathan bt James McGee (Irl) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Doubles: First round: Scott Lipsky (USA) & Leander Paes bt Ryan Shane & Wil Spencer (USA) 6-4, 6-4. $25,000 Futures, Karshi, Uzbekistan: Quarterfinals: Nikola Cacic (Srb) bt Vishnu Vardhan 6-2, 6-4. Doubles: Semifinals: Sriram Balaji & Vishnu bt Vladimir Ivanov (Est) & Dzmitry Zhyrmont (Blr) 4-6, 7-6(2), [10-5]. $100,000 ITF women, Anning, China: Semifinals: Fang Ying Xun (Chn) & Prarthana Thombare bt Sun Xu Liu & Wang Yan (Chn) 6-4, 6-3. $25,000 ITF women, Karshi, Uzbekistan: Quarterfinals: Olga Doroshina (Rus) bt Ankita Raina 6-2, 6-2. Doubles: Semifinals: Olga Doroshina & Polona Monova (Rus) bt Veronika Kapshay (Ukr) & Ankita Raina 7-5, 6-4. $15,000 ITF women, Cairo: Second round: Camila Giangreco Campiz (Par) bt Riya Bhatia 6-3, 7-5. Doubles quarterfinals: Mariam Bolkvadze (Geo) & Margaux Bovy (Bel) bt Anastasiya Klymenko (Ukr) & Swara Kulkarni 6-4, 6-3. $15,000 ITF women, Hua Hin: Quarterfinals: Nudnida Luangnam (Tha) bt Prerna Bhambri 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-4; Patcharin Cheapchandej (Tha) bt Karman Kaur Thandi 6-1, 6-4.
Harinder upsets Abdullah, enters quarterfinals
Neeraj qualifies for Worlds Gold for Neena; Manpreet Kaur, Dutee and Tintu bag silver Sports Bureau Jiaxing (China)
Joshna cruises past Jemyca; Velavan and Sunayna fall by the wayside K. Keerthivasan CHENNAI
Harinder Pal Sandhu defeated Abdullah Al-Tamimi of Qatar, the sixth seed, 4-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 to enter the quarterfinals of the Jio-19th Asian squash championship at the Express Avenue Mall here on Thursday. Joining Harinder in the quarterfinals was another Indian, Vikram Malhotra. The 27-year-old had an easy 11-1, 11-4, 11-9 win over Muhammad Addeen Idrakie of Malaysia. Joshna Chinappa, the women’s second seed, beat Jemyca Aribado of Philippines 11-7, 11-9, 11-7 to reach the last eight.
Entertaining The Harinder-Al-Tamimi contest was entertaining with both players stretching their sinews for every point. Al-Tamimi, though not a quick mover as Harinder, played smart with deft placements in the first and third games. Harinder fought back in the fourth and fifth games. Harinder raced away to a 9-6 lead in the decider, and never looked back. “I’ve had hamstring injuries and back problems. My results have come in patches. Consistency has been my problem. I have to stay strong and injury-free to reach my goal of top 50 in the world,” said Harinder, a winner of five PSA titles. Leo Au, the fifth seed of Hong Kong, shut out Ng Eain Yow, the reigning World junior champion from Malaysia 11-7, 14-12, 11-7, to enter the last eight. India’s Velavan Senthilkumar (men) and Sunayna Kuruvilla (women) bowed out in the pre-quarterfinals. While
Tough outing: Harinder Pal Sandhu quelled the challenge of sixth seed Abdullah Al-Tamimi to advance in the Asian squash championship. V. GANESAN *
ASIAN SQUASH Velavan lost to Malaysia’s Ivan Yuen 11-1, 11-1, 11-8, Sunayna went down to Tong Tsz Wing of Hong Kong 11-6, 11-4, 11-6. The results (pre-quarterfinals): Men: 2-Saurav Ghosal bt 16-Mohammad Alsarraj (Jor) 11-8, 11-5, 11-2; 1-Max Lee (Hkg) bt 13-Wang Chi Him (Hkg) 11-3, 11-6, 11-6. 3-Mohd. Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas) bt Ahmad Alsaraj (Jor) 11-3, 11-2, 11-1; 5-Leo Au (Hkg) bt 14-Ng Eain Yow (Mas) 11-7, 14-12, 11-7; 7-Yuen Chee Wern (Mas) bt Velavan Senthilkumar 11-1, 11-1, 11-8; 4-Yip Tsz Fung (Hkg) bt 11-Mahesh Mangaonkar 12-10, 8-11, 11-8, 11-3; 15-Harinder Pal Sandhu bt 6-Abdullah AlTamimi (Qat) 4-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6; 10-Vikram Malhotra bt Muhamman Addeen Idraikie (Mas) 11-1, 11-4, 11-9. Women: 4-Dipika Pallikal bt 10Lee Andrea Jia Qi (Mas) 14-12, 11-5, 11-5; 1-Annie Au (HKg) bt
Matches shifted due to court damage Special Correspondent Chennai
A slight damage to a part of the wooden flooring at the backcourt forced the organisers to shift the remaining matches to ISA on Thursday evening. Joshna Chinappa was the first one to point out the damage during the second game. After deliberations with the officials, Joshna continued to play and went on to win the match. But, the officials Lee Jihyun (Kor) 11-3, 11-5, 11-3. 16-Satomi Watanabe (Jpn) bt 8-Rachel Mae Arnold (Mas) 10-12, 11-7, 5-11, 11-5, 11-4; 5Liu Tsz Ling (Hkg) bt Eum Hwayeong (Kor) 11-6, 11-6,
decided not to proceed further on that court. Tournament director Cyrus Poncha said: “This is a temporary glitch. We are hopeful of the issue getting sorted out as soon as possible. We will make sure we come back and play here tomorrow. In the worst case scenario, we can also move all the matches to the Indian Squash Academy. The matches will go on as scheduled,” he said. 11-4; Tong Tsz Wing (Hkg) bt Sunayna Kuruvilla 11-6, 11-4, 11-6. 7-Misaki Kobayashi (Jpn) bt Aifa Azman (Mas) 11-6, 12-10, 211, 11-4.
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, the under-20 World record-holder, qualified for the World championships with an impressive 83.32m effort that fetched him the silver at the Asian Grand Prix’s second leg here on Thursday. With Taipei national record-holder Chao-Tsun Cheng opening with a massive effort of 86.92m — the world’s second-best throw this season — Neeraj appeared inspired as he produced his season’s best effort that was better than the entry standard of 83m for the Worlds which will be held in London in August. The silver was Neeraj’s second in the Asian Grand Prix this year after a similar finish in the opening leg in Jinhua three days ago. Meanwhile, Kerala’s V. Neena won the women’s long jump gold with a mediocre 6.37m. Women’s shot putter Manpreet Kaur bagged a silver with an effort of 17.44m. Dutee Chand, the country’s fastest woman, and Asian 800m champion Tintu Luka also picked up silvers.
Jinson eighth Jinson Johnson, the Asian championship silver medallist who took a silver in Jinhua, placed eighth in the men’s two-lapper.
Good show: Neeraj Chopra bagged the javelin silver in the Asian Grand Prix’s second leg in Jiaxing. FILE PHOTO *
ASIAN GP India finished with one gold, four silvers and one bronze which came from Om Prakash Singh (18.73m) in the men’s shot put. The results: Men: 100m: 1. Mi Hong (Chn) 10.40s, 2. W. Himasha Eashan (Sri) 10.47, 3. Boby Yaspi (Ina) 10.50. 8. S. Vidya Sagar (Ind) 11.29. 800m: Ebrahim Alzofairi (Kuw) 1:50.06s, 2. Dashan Zhang (Chn) 1:50.80, 3. Taichi Ichino (Jpn) 1:50.89, 8. Jinson Johnson (Ind) 1:53.76. 110m hurdles: 1. Xie Wenjun (Chn) 13.52s, 2. Al Youha Yaqoub (Kuw) 13.55, 3. Yang Wei Ting (Tpe) 13.98. High jump: 1. Gazal Majed Aldin (Syr) 2.30m, 2. Sun Zhao (Chn) 2.24, 3. G. Kevyan (Irn) 2.20. Triple jump: 1. Cao Shuo (Chn) 16.59m, 2. Roman Valiyev (Kaz) 15.98, 3. Pratchaya Tepparak (Tha) 15.95. 5. Rakesh Babu (Ind) 15.73. Javelin throw: 1. Chao-Tsun Cheng (Tpe)
86.92m, 2. Neeraj Chopra (Ind) 83.32, Huang Shih Feng (Tpe) 78.55, 4. Ravinder Singh Kheira (Ind) 75.22. Shot put: 1. Wu Jiaxiang (Chn) 19.09m, 2. Samari Ali (Iri) 18.99, 3. Om Prakash Singh (18.73). Women: 100m: 1. Zyabkina Viktoriya (Kaz) 11.36s, 2. Dutee Chand (Ind) 11.57, 3. Le Tu Chinh (Vie) 11.67. 9. Reena George (Ind) 12.20. 400m: 1. Mikhina Elina (Kaz) 52.79s, 2. Quach Thi Lan (Vie) 53.85, 3. Fu Na (Chn) 54.34. 800m: 1. Wang Chun Yu (Chn) 2:05.86s, 2. Tintu Luka (Ind) 2:06.32, 3. Liyanarachchi Nimali (Sri) 2:07.51. 100m hurdles: 1. Shynazbekova Algerim (Kaz) 13.43s, 2. Pilipenko Anastassiya (Kaz) 13.45, 3. Shimura Hitomi (Jpn) 13.56. Long jump: 1. V. Neena (Ind) 6.37m, 2. Xu Xiao Ling (Chn) 6.37, 3. Jiang Yan Fei (Chn) 6.25. Shot put: 1. Bian Ka (Chn) 18.08m, 2. Manpreet Kaur (Ind) 17.44, 3. Song Jia Yuan (Chn) 17.39.
Sharapova downs Makarova Agence France-Presse STUTTGART
Maria Sharapova advanced to the quarterfinals of the WTA Porsche Grand Prix by beating Ekaterina Makarova 7-5, 6-1 here on Thursday. The results: At Barcelona: ATP Barcelona Open: Third round: Andy Murray bt Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4;
Dominic Thiem bt Daniel Evans 7-6(5), 6-2; Yuichi Sugita bt Pablo Carreũo-Busta 6-3, 6-3; Hyeon Chung bt Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-4; Rafael Nadal bt Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4. Second round: Feliciano Lopez bt Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-2; Roberto Bautista Agut bt JanLennard Struff 6-1, 6-3; Hyeon Chung bt Philipp Kohlschreiber
6-3, 6-4; David Goffin bt Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-5, 6-0; Rafael Nadal bt Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-1, 6-2. At Stuttgart: WTA Porsche GP: Second round: Maria Sharapova bt Ekaterina Makarova 7-5, 6-1; Laura Siegemund bt Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-3; Carla Suarez-Navarro bt Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-4.
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18 LIFE
NOIDA/DELHI
THE HINDU
FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 2017
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IN BRIEF
A poser to New World history Fossils, tools unearthed in California show humans reached the Americas about 1,30,000 years ago marks and the way in which mastodon limb bones and molars were broken, apparently in a deliberate manner shortly after the animal’s death, convinced the researchers humans were responsible. They performed experiments using comparable tools on elephant bones and produced similar fracture patterns.
Reuters Washington
Simpsons needle Trump ahead of 100-day mark WASHINGTON
The Simpsons is taking on President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office in a short animation clip released online. It shows an animated Trump in bed at the White House counting up accomplishments as President. The video also imagines the President’s daughter, Ivanka, taking Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s seat in the Supreme Court. AP
Cassini finishes first dive between Saturn rings WASHINGTON
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has successfully executed its historic first-ever dive through the narrow gap between the planet Saturn and its rings, marking the beginning of the ‘Grand Finale’ of the 20-year-long journey. The spacecraft is in the process of beaming back science data collected during its passage. PTI
In what may be one of the most significant discoveries ever in archaeology in the Americas, researchers on Wednesday said stone tools and broken mastodon bones unearthed in California show humans had reached the Americas by about 1,30,000 years ago, far earlier than previously known. The researchers called five rudimentary tools — hammerstones and anvils — discovered in San Diego County alongside fossil bones from the prehistoric elephant relative compelling evidence, though circumstantial, for the presence of either our species or an extinct cousin like Neanderthals. San Diego Natural History Museum palaeontologist Tom Demşrş said until now, the oldest widely accepted date for human presence in the New World was 14,000 to 15,000 years ago, making the San Diego site nearly 10 times older.
Boston
NEW YORK
In a first, a malaria therapy made only from the dried leaves of an Asian plant has successfully cured 18 critically ill patients who did not respond to standard treatments, scientists said. The findings suggest that the treatment may help fight the growing problem of drugresistant malaria. PTI
*
The finding would radically rewrite the understanding of when humans reached the New World, through some scientists not involved in the study voiced scepticism.
A robotic system that 3D prints buildings Press Trust of India
Drug-resistant malaria cured by plant therapy
Compelling evidence: A paleontologist examines rock fragments near a large mastodon tusk fossil at the San Diego Natural History Museum in California. REUTERS
MIT scientists have designed a new robotic system that can 3D print the basic structure of an entire building, an advance that would make building houses a faster, less expensive process. The building could be completely customised to the needs of a particular site and the desires of its maker. Even the internal structure could be modified in new ways, researchers said. Different materials could be incorporated as the process goes along, and material density could be varied for optimum combinations
of strength, insulation, or other properties.
Precision-motion arm “Ultimately, this approach could enable the design and construction of new kinds of buildings that would not be feasible with traditional building methods, according to Steven Keating, from the MIT. The system consists of a tracked vehicle that carries a large, industrial robotic arm, which has a smaller, precision-motion robotic arm at its end. This highly controllable arm can then be used to direct any construction nozzle.
Stolen Second World War painting put on job rotation
“If the date of 1,30,000 years old is genuine, then this is one of the biggest discoveries in American archaeology,” acoording to University of Southampton palaeolithic archaeologist
John McNabb, who was not involved in the research He called himself “still a little sceptical.” No human skeletal remains were found. But the stone tools’ wear and impact
State-of-the-art methods “People were here breaking up the limb bones of this mastodon, removing some of the big, thick pieces of mastodon limb bones, probably to make tools out of, and they may have also been extracting some of the marrow for food,” said archaeologist Steven Holen of the Centre for American Paleolithic Research in South Dakota. U.S. Geological Survey geologist James Paces used state-of-the-art dating methods to determine the mastodon bones, tooth enamel and tusks were 131,000 years old, plus or minus about 9,000 years.
Vinegar to the rescue of Great Barrier Reef? Study shows it can kill coral-eating fish Press Trust of India Melbourne
Common household vinegar may help protect Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef by effectively and quickly killing the coral-munching crown-of-thorns starfish, scientists said on Thursday. The innovative method of killing crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS) is safe to other marine life and will now be introduced on the reef. The Great Barrier Reef has been exposed to multiple disturbances in recent years, including the 2016 and 2017 mass coral bleaching, three tropical cyclones in the past three years, and the ongoing CoTS outbreak.
Epidemic levels CoTS are breeding at epidemic levels and are one of the primary reasons for the decline in live coral. Researchers at James Cook University in Australia led a large-scale assessment using vinegar to inject CoTS at four sites on the reef over
Australia’s iconic reef system has been exposed to multiple disturbances. six weeks. They had previously shown that the simple household chemical was just as effective at killing the reef-eating starfish as much more expensive chemicals with complicated processes. “We recorded live coral cover, abundance of coral disease, fish abundance and diversity, fish diseases and the abundance of closely related invertebrates before, during and after the sixweek study period and found no detrimental effects,” said Lisa BostromEinarsson from James Cook University.
Himalayan rocks may up flood risk, finds study Earthquakes and landslides can potentially affect millions in India and neighbouring countries Press Trust of India London
Earthquakes and landslides in the Himalayas — that lead to large volume of hard rocks being dumped into rivers — can increase flood risk up to hundreds of kilometres downstream, potentially affecting millions of people in India and neighbouring countries, a new study warns. The findings could help researchers improve flood risk maps for the Ganga plain, a low-lying region covering parts of India, Nepal and Pakistan — one of Earth’s most densely populated areas.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the U.K., could also provide fresh insight into the long-term impacts of earthquakes and storms in the region.
Little known yet Until now, little was known about how landslides in the Himalayas may affect flood risk downstream on the Ganga plain. For the first time, scientists have traced the path of rocks washed down from the Himalayan mountains onto the Ganga plain. They found that large landslides in the southern,
rock — such as quartzite — reaches the Ganga plain as gravel or pebbles, which can build up in rivers, altering the natural path of the water, the research team said.
Downstream danger: The findings could help researchers improve flood risk maps for the Ganga plain. K.R. DEEPAK *
lower elevation ranges of the Himalayas are more likely to increase flood risk than those in the high mountains further north.
Rocks in the south are extremely hard and travel only a short distance — less than 20 km — to reach the Plain. This means much of this
Broken down into sand Rocks from more northerly regions of the Himalayas tend to be softer, and the team found they often travel at least 100 km to reach the plain. These types of rock, including limestone and gneiss, are gradually broken down into sand which, unlike gravel and pebbles, is dispersed widely as it travels downstream.
Amazon app helps you pick dress Reuters
1886 work looted by Nazis to flit between Paris, U.S. varsity tory behind the painting as well as the families involved,” University of Oklahoma President David Boren said.
Associated Press Norman
An 1886 painting that was stolen as part of a Nazi looting campaign that stretched across Europe during the Second World War has been transferred to Paris from the University of Oklahoma. The painting, Shepherdess Bringing in Sheep, will be on display at the French museum, Musee d’Orsay, for five years before returning to the university in alternating three-year intervals, The Oklahoman reported. The rotating display arrangement is part of an agreement between the university and Leone Meyer, whose father, Raoul Meyer, owned the painting during the German occupation of
The painting will stay at the French museum for five years first. AP *
Paris during the Second World War. “Decisions made on behalf of the university throughout this detailed process have maintained great sensitivity to the his-
Part of collection Leone Meyer sued the university to recover the painting, which has been with the university since 2000. The varsity acquired the painting as part of a collection left to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art by Clara Weitzenhoffer, the widow of Oklahoma oilman Aaron Weitzenhoffer. The settlement reached acknowledges Leone Meyer’s inheritance rights and determined the Weitzenhoffer family acted in good faith in acquiring the painting and sending it to the university.
Amazon.com Inc wants to help you choose what to wear. The technology and retailing behemoth has unveiled a voice-controlled camera, the Echo Look, and an app that recommends which of two outfits is best, using fashion specialists’ advice and algorithms that check for the latest trends. The new product underscores Amazon’s ambitions to be a top player in fashion and voice-powered computing. Amazon is working to make its voice assistant Alexa, which competes with Apple Inc's Siri, an indispensable feature of people's lives: from playing music to helping someone cook, and now to helping someone dress.
When Guernica went up in flames Spanish town marks 80th anniversary of its bombing by Nazis during civil war remember for future generations, so that this sort of thing doesn’t happen again,” she added. Rosi Nebreda, 88, hid in a shelter with her sisters and mother on the day of the bombing. “When we came out, all of Guernica was burning,” Ms. Nebreda said.
Agence France-Presse Guernica
Some 200 people gathered at a cemetery in the northern Spanish town of Guernica on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of its bombing by Nazi warplanes during the Spanish civil war. At 4:30 p.m. local time, the moment the bombing began 80 years ago, representatives of victims associations laid floral wreaths at a monument in the Zollo cemetery dedicated to those killed in an attack that inspired Pablo Picasso’s famed Guernica painting. “A rain of fire, blood and death fell upon us,” Luis Iriondo, a 94-year-old survivor of the air raid, told the gathering. He also appealed for the end of bombings in Syria and other war zones around the world. Aircraft from Adolf Hitler’s ‘Condor Legion’ sent to Spain to support General Francisco Franco’s nationalCM YK
Sombre picture: People gather near a copy of Pablo Picasso's painting El Guernica, in Guernica, on Wednesday. AP *
ist forces carpet-bombed the town on the afternoon of April 26, 1937 for over three hours.
150-300 killed Historians estimate the air raid killed between 150 and 300 people, many of them attending a weekly market in the centre of the town. It was one of the first-ever
carpet bombing raids on a civilian centre, an atrocity that shocked the world and was immortalised in Picasso’s haunting anti-war painting that year. “I think it is a duty to come for those who live here,” Nieves Onaindia, a 63year-old teacher from a nearby village, said. “It is important that we
Air raid sirens Earlier on Wednesday, air raid sirens sounded across Guernica, now home to 17,000 people, at the same time that the first planes were spotted over the town 80 years ago. Guernica’s city hall has organised a week of activities to mark the anniversary of the bombing, including conferences on the topic of peace and refugees. The town also awarded a peace prize to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC rebel leader Rodrigo Londono. A ND-ND
