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POLAND FIRST LADY ‘SNUBS’ VIRAT BREAKS SACHIN’S TRUMP, GOES ON TO SHAKE RECORD, HITS 18TH TON IN A HANDS WITH MELANIA 22 CHASE AS INDIA BEAT WI 25

aharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis had a close shave when a helicopter he was to take started moving forward, flew 5 feet above the ground and tilted towards him seconds before he was to board it on his way back to Mumbai from Raigad. A month ago, the CM was on board a chopper that crashlanded in Latur. P 14

Larger bench for Aadhaar issues?

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three-member Supreme Court bench said on Friday it would be better if a larger five-member bench hears all applications on issues arising out of Aadhaar. P 12

92 pins removed from man’s body

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urgeons at a Faridabad hospital have removed 92 pins and needles from the body of a Kota resident who may have inserted the objects into his body. P 7

SC stays order on Ganga status

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he SC has stayed an Uttarakhand HC order declaring Ganga as a “living entity”. The state said the order was not implementable. P 12

HC acts on TOI report, raps rlys

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cting on a TOI report on a disabled student missing his exam as he couldn’t board a train, the HC has asked railways to explain. P 2

Praise Each Other BREAKING THE ICE In Speeches At BRICS Conclave

FULL COVERAGE: P 11 & 13 sues” on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg. The discussion is significant as it came a day after a top Chinese official was quoted saying that the “atmosp-

Patna: There was fresh trouble for RJD chief Lalu Prasad and more turbulence in the JD (U)-RJD-Congress coalition in Bihar on Friday with the CBI registering an FIR and conducting raids in connection with alleged corruption in hotel contracts and a land deal pay-

FULL COVERAGE: P 13 & 14 off when Lalu was railway minister in the UPA government. The CBI FIR for the suspected offence of “criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct” was re-

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➤ Modi extends Xi India’s full cooperation & best wishes for September’s BRICS Summit in Xiamen ➤ Xi lauds India’s resolve against terrorism and its success in economic and Modi with Xi in Hamburg on Friday social development

Trump confronts Putin on US poll hack

➤ Not clear if the Doklam face-off was touched on during the ‘meeting’ that lasted 5-7 minutes

ACTING EAST: 2018 R-DAY INVITE FOR ASEAN 10, P 10 here” was “not right” for a bilateral meeting. China, in fact, officially said no meaningful dialogue is possible till Indian forces withdraw from Bhutan’s Doklam pla-

teau which Beijing claims. Indian sources didn’t confirm whether the two leaders discussed the border impasse. No clarity on Doklam, P 13

CBI names Lalu, kin in ‘scam’; Bihar alliance strained further Debashish.Karmakar @timesgroup.com

G20 to crack down on terror safe havens 20 leaders on Friday pledged to eliminate “safe havens” of terrorism anywhere in the world while also vowing to choke terror funds. Earlier, PM Modi looked to take the lead on the terror issue, criticising Pakistan for “using terror for achieving political goals”. P 13

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: In the midst of the India-China standoff near the Sikkim-Tibet-Bhutan tri-junction, and contrary to expectations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping didn’t just exchange greetings but also discussed “a range of is-

➤ Modi & Xi exchange greetings, talk on ‘a range of issues’ on the sidelines of Hamburg G20 summit

WILL DEMOLISH MODI’S ARROGANCE: LALU ➤ Searches across 12 locations in Patna, Ranchi, Gurgaon and Bhubaneswar

➤ FIR names Lalu, Rabri, son Tejashwi, wife of a Lalu close aide, proprietors of a hotel group & IRCTC ex-official

➤ Case relates to award of maintenance contracts for two railway hotels in 2005 in lieu of prime land for Lalu & kin at less than circle rates when he was rly minister

Suno Modi, Shah, phaansi ke phande par latak jayenge lekin tumhara ahankaar choor choor kar denge (Listen Modi & Shah, I’m ready to be hanged, but LALU PRASAD | RJD CHIEF will demolish your arrogance) gistered on July 5 and names Lalu, his wife Rabri Devi, his son and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, Sarla Gupta, who is the wife of Lalu’s close associate Prem

Gupta, proprietors of a hotel group and a former IRCTC official. Raids were conducted in four cities. JD(U) mum on raids, P 13

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resident Donald Trump confronted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 US poll in their first face-to-face talks in Hamburg on Friday, US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said. P 22

Missing GST labels may get bizmen jailed

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he government has warned manufacturers, importers and sellers of prepackaged goods of penalties ranging from fines of up to Rs 1 lakh or prison terms up to a year for the repeat offence of not printing post-GST rates on product labels. The consumer affairs ministry came out with the new norms on Friday for affixing revised MRPs on stocks manufactured and packed before July 1. The first such offence may attract a fine up to Rs 25,000; for the second offence the fine may be up to Rs 50,000. The state governments are empowered to enforce this. P 11

33,000 KIDS ALREADY ADMITTED

Row May Force New Merit List

➤ SC questions validity of decision to award 18 bonus marks to all students for wrong and vague questions in JEE advanced, irrespective of whether a candidate attempted them

AmitAnand.Choudhary @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The Supreme Court stayed on Friday the ongoing counselling and admission process in IITs, NITs and IIITs, besides governmentfunded engineering colleges, questioning the validity of the decision to award 18 bonus marks to all students for wrong and vague questions in the joint entrance examination (advanced) paper. The court’s decision comes even though 33,000 candidates have already taken admission so far this year. Ahead of the next counselling session, scheduled to

➤ Apex court had held in 2005 that bonus marks for wrong questions could be given only to those students who attempted the question

start from Monday, a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and A M Khanwilkar restrained all engineering colleges from inducting students till it adjudicates on the controversy over the awarding of bonus marks. The bench is examining the decision of IITs to award 18

3am fire kills four of east Delhi family Somreet.Bhattacharya @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Hours after celebrating the birthday of a 12year-old girl, four members of her family, including her toddler brother, died in a devastating blaze that spread through their building in east Delhi’s Dilshad Colony early Friday morning.

FULL COVERAGE: P 5 The fire apparently started from a short-circuit in the meter box on the ground floor. Fed by 19 two-wheelers parked in the garage and other combustible material, the blaze quickly spread to

➤ IITs say more than 33,000 candidates have taken admission and the whole process would have to be restarted if merit list is revised ➤ The two petitioners said they had qualified in the exam, but their ranking was affected due to bonus marks ➤ The bench restrained HCs from taking up the issue and posted the case to July 10

PHOTOCOPIES EXPOSE EVALUATION MARKDOWNS, P 2

Anindya Chattopadhyay

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ICC CHIEF MANOHAR DICTATED OFFENDING PARA IN BCCI AFFIDAVIT: THAKUR TO SC 25

Amid border standoff, Modi SC stays admissions to IITs, NITs, govt engg colleges & Xi meet on sidelines of G20 Bonus Mark

Photo: PTI

Another close chopper call for Maha CM

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bonus marks to all candidates irrespective of whether a candidate attempted these questions. The bench said the SC had held in 2005 that bonus marks for wrong questions could be given only to students who attempted the question. 36,000 students, P 12

Flying in and out of Delhi gets cheaper

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The Verma family was trapped trying to flee to the terrace

the staircase around 3am. Nine other families escaped or shut themselves in but the Vermas on the second floor were trapped trying to flee. Faulty meters, P 5

assengers flying into Delhi will no longer pay the user development fee, while those flying out will pay just Rs 10 (domestic) or Rs 45 (international) as the aviation ministry rolled out a lower tariff regime at IGI Airport on Friday on SC orders, reports Saurabh Sinha. A Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi ticket will see the UDF component fall from Rs 1,068 (with taxes) to just Rs 12. While the SC order was applicable from July 3, aviation regulator DGCA is yet to decide if passengers who have already paid the old UDF for travel after July 3 will get a refund. P 8

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* THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI | SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017

13 & 15 CITYWEATHER

35.3° 25.2° HIGH CLOUDY SKY

HC asks railways why it’s insensitive to plight of disabled [email protected]

LOW

SUNRISESUN| 5.31 AM SUNSETSAT| 7.23 PM MOONRISESAT|6.40 PM MOONSETSUN| 5.32 AM

Saturday forecast: Generally cloudy sky. Minimum and Maximum temperature will be between 26° C and 37° C

HC: Don’t displace slum on NH 24 he Delhi high court on Friday asked the AAP government and the city police not to displace the residents of an east Delhi slum who have been served notice of eviction for widening of the National Hig hway (NH) 24. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar directed the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board to maintain status quo with regard to the slum-dwellers who have been served notices on January 13. PTI

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New Delhi: Friday’s TOI report on how a disabled student was unable to board the train and, as a result, missed his entrance examination at DU left the Delhi high court shocked as it questioned the railways over lack of facilities for the differently abled. A bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar took suo motu cognizance of the TOI report and asked the railways to explain why it was insensitive to plight of disabled in terms of ease of access and placement of coach-

es reserved for them. “This newspaper report highlights the difficulties that are being faced by the disabled persons in accessing even the coaches which are designated to be used by them. It also manifests that the railway authorities are not only not posting any personnel in the coaches earmarked for the disabled to ensure their rights and to assist them to board the train, but are also permitting able persons to occupy these reserved coaches which prevents them from being utilised for the benefit of the special persons for whom they are intended,”

90.9% men in Delhi were literate, according to 2011census Delhi Economic Survey

Woman accuses constable of rape 24-year-old woman has allegedly been raped by a Delhi Police constable on the pretext of marriage in central Delhi’s Deshbandhu Gupta Road. Though the incident happened in April, but an FIR was lodged at the Deshbandhu Gupta Road police station on Thursday, and an enquiry has been ordered. She had approached senior police officers for lodging an FIR against but no case was registered, lawyers for the complainant said. PTI

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‘Small group hurting JNU’ awaharlal Nehru University on Friday told HC that a small group of “so called scholars of eminence” are damaging the reputation of the “great university” by alleging that the Vice Chancellor has arrogated the power of faculty recruitment. The raking up of such issues by some faculty members “goes against the smooth functioning of an institution of higher learning and research,” JNU said. PTI

J

POLLUTION WATCH AVERAGE AQI ACROSS FOUR METROS Delhi

115 Mumbai

141 Chennai

89 Kolkata

102 Good

Moderate

Hazardous

Source: CPCB

AQI LEVELS IN NCR ITO 173 NSIT Dwarka 125 Punjabi Bagh 133 Anand Vihar 147 RK Puram 100 Shadipur 147 Mandir Marg 108 Siri Fort 78 Noida 107 Gurgaon

July 7 2017

not just climb in since the other coaches were very crowded and he could not have managed his way past them. The train left him on the platform, despairing about how he could get to Delhi in time for the entrance test. Once in Delhi, Shukla told the Delhi University authorities about his plight. “But the DU

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The errors in the CBSE Class XII answer sheets go beyond adding mistakes. TOI gave the scripts to teachers who pointed out glaring inconsistencies in scoring marks

Class XII student scored 90s in his elective subjects, but only 58 in English in the CBSE board exams. TOI, a copy of the English answer script in hand, conFile photo sulted three teachers independently, all of whom declared the student could not have got anything less than 80 even under “strict” evaluation. The student had asked for verification of marks, but it had yielded nothing. Had he not asked for the photocopy of his answer sheet, this discrepancy would not have been revealed. In a similar case, the photocopy of a political science answer script showed that the examiner had marked three answers as correct but given zero for each. These testify that all is not well with the evaluation process of the Central Board of Secondary Education. On June 28, the education board restricted re-evaluation to 12 subjects and a maximum of 10 questions per subject, an order that Delhi high court reversed on Thursday following a plea filed by four students against it. The court’s verdict was a relief for parents like Shalini Sundriyal, whose daughter scored 91 in English, 99 in economics, 89 in psychology and 62 in political science. Though RAISING QUESTIONS: CBSE restricted the number of subjects that could be re-evaluated she asked for verification and a copy of to 12, but Delhi high court extended the facility to all subjects on Thursday the political science answer sheet, she could not opt for re-evaluation because the subject was not included among the 12 mentioned in CBSE’s notice. “Thanks to the court’s order, we can now get it re-assessed,” said Sundriyal. The limit placed on the number of questions open for re-check too faced criticism after the photocopies I am Akshat Modha (name changed) showed all answers reand I recently sat for my Class XII board quiring a relook in exams. I worked hard for these exams for the past some cases. The stu24 months, during which I lost a lot of friends, lost touch dent who got 58 in with most of my cousins and close relatives and opted out of ➤ Three teachers English when his all family trips. I was naive enough to think that the sacrifices I observed that even if teachers said he was making today would secure for me my future. should have got the answer sheet was Imagine my shock, therefore, when I got 58% in English. This was at least 80, reevaluated by a strict quite weird because my marks through the year in that subject were vealed, “My teachteacher, the student 90, 80.5, 85 and 87. Ever since my result, I have been going through ers said I was givshould have got at least severe depression. I have had panic attacks, vomited frequently and en less marks for 80 instead of 58 felt a sense of inferiority. The only reason I have not harmed myself is all my 13 correct because of the constant support of my parents and a few friends. ➤ The student got 95 answers.” However, I still don’t know whom to blame: CBSE, my teachers in business studies, 95 There were also or myself. It hurts because I had worked hard on my English since in accountancy, 95 in complaints that stuthe beginning of the year and blindly followed whatever advice economics and 85 in dents were given the my teacher gave me, whether it was about buying a four-line mathematics photocopies on July notebook to improve my handwriting or working on the 5 when the last date extra questions that he suggested. I don’t know if I for applying for re-evalwill ever be able to move on from this disaster. uation was July 7, which All I know is that the education system required students to visit has broken my spirit and my the regional CBSE offices. confidence. Parents and students charged the board with “cheating”, saying that by delaying the photocopies, it had sought to prevent re-evaluation. Others are dismayed by the delay in publishing the corrected marks. “I applied for the verification of marks on June 24 and got an email on Expert view July 5 stating Got A four out of 10 there was a change 4 is unjustifi ed. in the marks. Why marks The student did it take 11 days should have just to total the marks got at least again?” fumed one stuseven marks. dent. “I have given back Expert view Got the original certificate so a Because of Expert view new can be issued. But by the the small All answers are correct. 2 Got time I get it, Delhi University marks The student should handwriting, The student should have 2 admissions could be over.” have scored fi ve out of the answer apmarks got full four marks instead six instead of two, even pears shorter of two. The same answer after deduction for than required has been given in the faulty expressions CBSE’s marking scheme

TEACHERS’ SPEAK

Pape r:

lis g n E Cl ass XII

c h(

o

TRAGEDY OF ERRORS

321 Readings taken at 6:30pm | Source: SAFAR Readings taken at 6:30pm

Manash.Gohain @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Perhaps it was the cussedness of the passengers on the train he was to have travelled on or of the officials at Delhi University, but Vaibhav Shukla has been left without hope of enrolling himself for the MPhil course this year. The visually impaired Shukla could not sit for the entrance exam on Wednesday after he missed his train at Unnao when the people in the coach reserved for people with disabilities did not open the door for him. Then, having missed the exam, DU officials told him there was nothing they could do to help him. Sharing his experience on Thursday after finally reaching the capital, Shukla told TOI that he had opted to travel

)

STAT & THE CITY

Train door shut, disabled misses MPhil test at DU

he appealed to them. “The placement of the coaches for the disabled itself does not appear to be fair. Indian passenger trains have several bogies and sometimes the first and the last coaches are way beyond the length of the small platforms. The height of the coach from the ground by itself at such end points would be such that it would be daunting even for any person to board it. The inaccessibility of the railways as a mode of transport for the disabled would thus be unimaginable,” HC further noted. Even placement of the

re

ailure to dispose of medical waste as per the new rules will attract a jail term of five years or a fine of Rs 1 lakh or both, the Delhi government said on Friday. The Biomedical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1998, has been superseded by the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia stressed on the need for creating awareness about the rule. IANS

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YOU READ IT HERE FIRST

coaches for disabled left much to be desired, the court pointed out, saying the railways have not addressed the special needs of persons with disabilities. “We are also not aware of any specially designated areas for waiting for the disabled or any special manpower assigned for such purpose. Perhaps, if the above aspects had been noted, Vaibhav Shukla would have been able to reach Delhi to participate in the examination,” it said. It added that since Shukla missed his exam in the peculiar facts and circumstances, DU can consider conducting an examination for him to

take a shot at securing admission. It also sought to know from the Railways ministry and the North-Eastern Railways about absence of railway officials, including the driver and the guard of the train, to open and have access to a compartment from outside the coach. “This would be essential in case any tragedy had befell the occupants of a railway coach and there were no person in the position of assisting opening of the coach from inside the train,” it underlined, stressing that if others encroach on seats meant for disabled they should be prosecuted.

Photocopies expose markdowns [email protected]

Govt crackdown on medical waste

the court noted in its order. It added that there were “special needs of every nature of disability which the railways has to take into consideration”, referring to the report that that a 100% blind youth reached Unnao railway station but couldn’t enter the coach as door of the special compartment for disabled was shut and those inside didn’t open it. It resulted in Vaibhav Shukla, the boy, missing the train and his MPhil entrance test at Delhi University. Terming the report as an eye opener, the bench lamented that even DU did not pay attention to Shukla when

NULL & VOID: These are three answers taken from an evaluated answer script for the political science paper where the examiner marked them as correct and yet gave each a zero

Quality of exams depends on quality of instruments used for evaluating answers

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brings transparency into here seem to be a the system. What is worth growing tendency considering, however, is that of late, both in the like all issues, this also has media and among another side. When higher certain quarters, to take a studies depend on marksswipe at the exam evaluabased elimination rather tion system. But we need than selection, allowing reto understand the very evaluation can create chancevaluation process so that es of malpractices and mathe pronouncedly aggresnipulation that will be difsive stance of the exam ficult to check in a large critics doesn’t reinforce ASHOK GANGULY system like board exams. tension and anxiety in the Educationist and former Extending the existing sysminds of students. chairman of Central tem of verification in which There was a hue and cry Board of Secondary totalling mistakes and unrecently when some stuEducation assessed omissions are takdents who had got very high en care of to re-evaluating marks in four subjects verified the poor marks they got in one and will create chaos and confusion in the sysended up with a 400% difference in the cor- tem. The environment in which the original rected total in that particular subject. These evaluation is carried out cannot be recreare aberrations and normal in a public ex- ated in the re-evaluation. For one, the reevaluator will begin with the notion that the amination where the number of variables (students) is very large. As the entire system answer script has been given inadequate of evaluation is based on human interven- marks in the original evaluation. We need to accept that examination is tion, research has proved that there is ‘standard error of measurement’ (SEM) of 5-7% part of the continuum of education. Why do we gleefully, and at times built into it. There could be sadistically, create an aura of wrong totalling, wrong transEvaluation is awe around exams? What does fer of assessed marks on the based on human this psychology suggest? If title page, non-assessed poris the body, then tions or supplementary intervention, and examination evaluation and assessment are sheets being omitted. research shows a the soul. In our pursuit of maThe problem arises when fulfilment, we have newe do not factor in such mis‘standard error of terial glected the soul for an ornahaps. The system blinks automeasurement’ of mented body. When so much matically when students get limelight is focused on the high marks in 3-4 subjects but 5-7% built into it of body, the young become oblivpoor marks in 1-2 subjects and ious to the more important vice-versa. The system then must take the pain to pull out the answer and more beautiful soul. Parents are geared scripts and have a relook at those copies to towards examinations, teaching is oriented towards examination, learning is condisort out the discrepancies, if any. In my extioned by examination and examination perience, around 70% of such discrepancies are found and the marks modified before the itself is determined by examination. It is an declaration of result. It’s when these dis- excellent case of the tail wagging the dog. The quality of examination is detercrepancies are corrected after the announcement of results that frenzy ensues. To en- mined by the quality of instruments used sure that evaluation process is not unfair to for evaluation. The validity and reliability a student, board officials need think of the quotients will improve if these instruments importance of 3 Is: Imagination, Investiga- are prepared and administered with great care. The designing of question papers, detion and Involvement. In today’s scenario, even if a student gets velopment of scoring procedures, training 94%, his family is not happy. They want a of examiners and, of course, effective adscrutiny or verification of the results, and, ministration are some areas that deserve a of late, a re-evaluation. The critics say this lot of attention.

Grievance redressal is key to regaining trust of students

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alies in the marks allocated here seems to be no and the marks deserved. end to the woes of Availability of commitCentral Board of ted, competent and childSecondary Educaisensitive examiners is a ton, with Delhi high court genuine concern. Examinnow junking its re-evaluaers need to be imbued with tion curbs. In the past two deep moral values, compasmonths, CBSE has been in sion and accountability. It is the news for all the wrong strange that despite knowreasons. Considering its past ing the answer scripts will reputation, trust and leaderreach the students, examinship, this sharp decline is all ASHOK PANDEY ers have not been deterred the more disappointing. Chairman of National from carrying out irresponThose who have worked Progressive Schools’ sible marking. The board’s with the system for decades Conference anxiety about copies being are even more intrigued. checked at any cost within What has gone wrong? It first began with CBSE’s firm no to a period of 10 days has forced it to dispatch moderation. CBSE failed to distinguish the the manuscripts of English-medium stuspiking of marks with the grant of grace dents to the Hindi-medium teachers and marks and statistical moderation in a pro- vice-versa. In many cases, time constraints verbial failure to separate wheat from the have compelled the authorities to deploy teachers not qualified otherwise to evaluate chaff. No one supports reckless increase of marks but a compensation to offset the va- the copies. The board has complained time again garies of the examination/evaluation systhat good teachers are not available for tem in the larger interest of the students shaping their future cannot be denied to evaluation work. In the massive exercise last them. Mercifully, the courts were not im- year, the board collected the entire data of pressed, at least for the current year. CBSE all affiliated schools. This exercise was was given clear directions to make a course touted as a gamechanger in ensuring transcorrection. The large number of discrepan- parency and using this data as a storehouse cies that have been unearthed during the of information to conduct examination and re-verification of marks has sent shock- evaluation with 100% efficiency. This, unfortunately, has not happened. waves through the entire community of If CBSE really has to regain its glory students, parents, and teachers. and the trust of students and parents, it In the meantime, CBSE came up with has to strengthen its internal decisionanother shocker by refusing to permit reevaluation, but had to on the court’s orders. making mechanism and focus its energies on conducting examinations and evaluatThe results of re-evaluation are eye-opening and raise serious questions on the entire ing efficiently. A robust grievance-redresprocess and on CBSE’s efficiency. It is high sal mechanism is key to building trust. Is time we visited the causes of rampant anom- it difficult to do?

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Day of reckoning for those taking ECA route to college Merit List To Be Out Today, Registration From Tuesday New Delhi: The ECA merit list, being decided after the final trials, is to be released on Saturday and registration to colleges and courses scheduled to start on Tuesday. The admissions to the colleges under the extra-curricular activity (ECA) quota is not centralised and a candidate will have to register himself individually with a college before the release of each admission list until he finds the college and course of his liking. A student may have to register himself five times as colleges will release

five ECA admission lists. An applicant will have to register himself at the colleges where his name appears in the merit list. A candidate is expected to bring the academic documents for computation of the best of four to decide eligibility. There is no need to bring ECA certificates as these have already been verified by the ECA panel. “The registration and verification processes have been given two-three days in each session, so that students have ample time to cover as many colleges as possible”, said Shalini, the head of ECA admissions at Delhi University.

3

TIMES CITY

THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017

Krittika.Sharma @timesgroup.com

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ECA ADMISSIONS OVER BY JULY 24

SCHEDULE

THINGS TO REMEMBER

JULY 8: First merit list

➤ There will be 5 such admission lists

JULY 11, 12, 13: Registration and verification of documents

➤ Registrations for the 5th list will be on August 5 and 7

JULY 14: First admission list by colleges JULY 15, 17: Admissions through first list JULY 18, 19, 20: Second registration and verification JULY 21: Second admission list by colleges JULY 22, 24: Admissions through second list

➤ After the admission is approved, the student will log on to the admission portal and pay the fees before 12pm of the next day ➤ The merit list to be released on Saturday will specify the activity and colleges that have that activity against every selected candidate’s name. ➤ At the time of registration, carry original marksheets and certificates ➤ If your name does not appear in the college admission list, go back and register for the next list ➤ If your name appears under more than one merit list, then register yourself separately for each ECA category, even if in the same college

Amrita Bajaj, deputy dean of students welfare, suggested that applicants go to colleges offering courses in percentages closest to their best of four to avoid any hassle.

Similar questions in MPhil and PhD entrance: Students TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi University witnessed another disturbance with an examination paper, a few days after an issue cropped up at the School of Open Learning (SOL) where students had complained of questions being “out of syllabus.” At DU’s Buddhist Studies entrance exam for MPhil and PhD, held on Wednesday, several students alleged that “a large number of questions were the same for both MPhil and PhD exams, despite the entrance test being for a different purpose.” The students have written to DU’s Dean of Student’s Welfare (DSW) office. The Buddhist Studies entrance test for both MPhil and PhD are of 50 marks each but students sitting for the exams alleged that they found several questions similar for both the tests. “How can they have questions that are similar? MPhil exam is not the same as that of PhD,” a student said. One MA student, however, said that questions can be similar as the subject is the same for both. However, many students complained of how “several portions of our syllabus wasn’t covered in the question paper as no question came from there,” he said. Students claimed they have approached the DSW with a complaint letter. A source in the DSW confirmed and said that “we have received the letters from the students and an inquiry will begin on this. We will investigate if there were in fact such a high number of similarities as students allege,” said the source. However, speaking to TOI, Head of the Buddhist department, KTS Sarao, clarified and said that “repetition is common as the syllabus is nearly the same. We ask varied questions to test the students and at times these questions turn out to be same. There is no truth to the claims that a majority of questions were same. There were hardly three to four questions which might be of similar pattern but the whole paper was varied,” he said. The HOD also alleged that “there is one particular professor in the department who is known to instigate students against the department and create false notions about us. He is obsessed with creating controversy and often students fall in his trap.” Buddhist Studies is a department which has sent a number of members to DUSU, including the members this year.

The admissions will start on the basis of the fourth cutoff list, though some colleges will give an exemption of up to 15% to ECA candidates. Colleges usually keep an

ECA quota to be able to get a pool of talent that will fuel its societies. Each college’s ECA seats and categories differ based on their societies and requirements. Not all colleges offer all ECA categories, said sources. Shalini said the colleges would have the merit list with them and keep a list of applicants approaching them for registration. After this process is completed, the college will release an admission list based on the registrations received. If a student finds that he is getting the course of his liking at the college of his choice, he must go back to the college and finish the process, which will include verification of his academic records and final formalities. He will be given two days to secure admission, and pay the fees online. In case, an applicant’s name doesn’t figure in the admission list, he will have to get himself registered at colleges again for the next round. Bajaj said the university would also allow applicants to withdraw their candidature from a college in case they get through some other college in a subsequent list. For withdrawal, the applicant will have to get a form from the university’s online portal and take it to the college that offered it admission, get the original documents back from it, and move to the college of his choice. The final admission list is expected to be out on August 8.

N Campus colleges wear deserted look TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Most colleges of North Campus remained deserted on Friday, barring a few students who lined up to withdraw their candidature. Though seats remain in many popular colleges, the number is getting less by the day, especially in Hindu, LSR and KMC. In contrast, SGTB Khalsa finally saw some life on the campus, as slashed cutoffs brought more applicants for enquiries and admissions. According to volunteers at Khalsa College, the number of admissions made on Friday were more than the number that registered first cutoff list onwards. Principal Jaswinder Singh confirmed that close to 110 admissions had taken place on Saturday itself, as com-

pared to around 40 in the previous cutoff lists. Economics and commerce remained the most popular courses. However, not all colleges saw robust admissions. Colleges like Gargi saw 100 withdrawals while colleges like ARSD and Maitreyi saw 70 withdrawals each on Friday. But Gargi also has very few seats to fill, 1,100 of 1,400 are already taken. In Hindu, while the number of seats is 752, up to 800 seats were filled till Friday. The admission committee, however, is not worried. A member said they have supernumerary seats that can be filled later, even if the number goes beyond the UGC number. KMC has filled 1,000 out of 1,348, while LSR has closed all courses but five.

Bus crushes 17-year-old girl New Delhi:A 17-year-old girl on a bike was killed on the spot in Najafgarh while the man riding the bike escaped narrowly after a bus belonging to Haryana Roadways rammed the vehicle they were travelling in. Police has arrested the accused driver. Police said that the accident took place on Thursday evening

around 5.45pm. The deceased girl who was riding pillion has been identified as Reema, a student of class XII. Police officers say that while the biker who is yet to be identified sustained minor injuries, the girl was crushed to death after she came under the wheels and died instantly. TNN

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How escape route turned into death trap Saris Used To AN HOUR OF Get Out Of WILD FURY Building Tore Somreet.Bhattacharya @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Even as firemen struggled to make their way past the gaggle of parked cars in Dilshad Colony, the people in the burning A-99 apartment in the fourstorey building in east Delhi tried to make their way to safety. But the panic-stricken people ended up suffering injuries when the saris they were using to lower themselves tore. Debashish Hota, who shifted to the building just 10 days ago, heard the sound of sparking in the meter box on his bedroom wall, but by this time his mother was already shouting for help. “The sparks had set wooden boxes aflame and molten plastic was falling down on the scooters parked below,” narrated Hota. “Suddenly, there was a

Pic: Anindya Chattopadhyay

2.45am | Fire starts in the meter box 2.55am | Spreads quickly as parked two-wheelers catch fire 3am | Family on first floor climbs down the balcony using a wooden ladder, two of them fall; fire brigade delayed due to haphazard parking 3.30am | Fire brigade finally reaches the site, douses flames 3.45am | Bodies recovered from second-floor staircase

2yrs

12yrs

45yrs

63yrs

fire ball, perhaps because of a leak in one of the motorbike’s fuel tank and the fire spread swiftly.” Hota managed to herd his elderly parents out through the rear exit. The Pandeys living on the first floor tried to climb down too. “Our neighbour literally hung from the balcony railings with his child clinging to him. We fortunately caught him when he fell,” said Hota. Binesh Rathee, a chemistry teacher, wasn’t so lucky. Though her husband and daughter managed to slide down using a sari, she fell from the first floor balcony when the makeshift rope broke. She suffered shoulder and hip injuries and had to be admitted to a hospital in Ghaziabad. Among the lucky survivors was Ishu Verma, though she lost four family members in the blaze. She was carried to safety by Shankar Durrani, who lived in the apartment opposite the Vermas on the second floor. Durrani said that he had rushed out into the thick smoke with a flashlight and managed to take Is-

hu to the lower floor. “But by the time I went back to help the others, the fire had spread,” said Durrani. Durrani went to second floor after the flames had been doused to find four of the Vermas lying dead, having been suffocated by the smoke. BB Sharma, a ground-floor resident, lost Rs 5 lakh cash that he had been saving for his daughter’s marriage. “The fire damaged a part of my house adjacent to the garage. I had kept the cash in a locker there, but the fire burnt everything,” sighed Sharma. A team of power supply officials inspected the building later in the day. A spokesperson of the power department said, “Preliminary reports suggest that the fire started at the waterpump motor in the house, spread quickly to engulf several two-wheelers parked close to the electricity meter board. Our condolences are with the family of the deceased.” As a safety measure, power supply was switched off in the area.

Faulty meters triggered similar fires in same locality Anindya Chattopadhyay

 Continued from P1

V

ijay Verma, 63, his son-in-law Sanjay and grandchildren Harshu, 12, and Chiku, 2, died trying to reach the terrace. Verma’s daughters, Monika and Happy, were rescued by their neighbour, Aman Sharma. While other families on the second floor survived the fire by locking themselves in their flats, the Vermas tried to escape. They first attempted to go down the smoke-filled stairs but failed. Then they tried to flee to the terrace but the door was locked from inside. Ironically, the key to the lock was in the Verma’s apartment. Fire officials said the bodies of Verma and the children were found at the entrance to their house, while Vijay’s corpse was found on the staircase. All of them were charred be-

Extortionist, aide held by Crime Branch

STARTING POINT: A fireman stands next to where the meter was installed

yond recognition. The bodies were sent for an autopsy at GTB hospital. “We have registered a case under the IPC and have called forensic teams

and fire experts to conduct a probe into the cause of the fire,” said Nupur Prasad, DCP, Shahdara “There was thick smoke coming

City exec dies in Gurgaon crash

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A notorious extortionist and carjacker, who made it to the list of top five criminals of Delhi with his serial extortion bids, was arrested by the Crime Branch on Wednesday. The 21-year-old accused, Dara Singh alias Dhara had opened fire at three businessmen’s houses in one night in Najafgarh area in the last week of June and had created a panic among residents. DCP (crime) Bhisham Singh confirmed his arrest. His associate, Kaptan Singh, has also been arrested. On June 28, the gang opened fire outside the house of an MCD contractor and also shot his dog. They were demanding Rs 20 lakh from the victim. The same night, they shot at the house of a jeweller for Rs 30 lakh. The incident was caught on a CCTV. An hour later, they shot at another businessman’s house and demanded Rs 25 lakh over telephone. “On July 5, ACP Jasbir Singh’s team received information that Singh and his aide would come to Najafgarh in a Verna car after which a trap was laid. The two were apprehended and a 9mm pistol and two cartridges were seized,” DCP Singh added.

Gurgaon: A 24-year-old woman returning home from a birthday party died in a road accident in the early hours of Friday after her car crashed into the back of truck near Rajiv Chowk on the Gurgaon-Delhi expressway. At the wheel was her friend and former colleague, Ashwini Bisht (29), who survived the crash and is being treated at Medanta. Yuganshi Sharma (24), a consultant

SPEED KILLS with Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) in Manesar, was in the passenger seat. She had died by the time passersby got her to the hospital in an auto. Considering that the truck was moving, and was ahead of the Swift that Bisht was driving, police believe it was a high-speed crash. Yuganshi’s father has alleged Bisht was drunk when he was driving, and had asked her for a lift in her Swift. Later, he alleged, Bisht had insisted on being allowed to drive. The accident happened around 2am near Naharpur. The truck driver managed to flee.

Yuganshi was from Keshavpuram in Delhi but lived in Manesar on the IICA campus. On Thursday night, she attended a birthday party in Gurgaon and was on her way back to Manesar. There, she met Bisht, who works with an Udyog Vihar-based company. He is from Dehradun. Eyewitness Amit Kumar, aresident of Shiv Nagar, was in an auto with some of his friends when the Swift ploughed into the truck. “We heard a loud noise so we stopped our auto on the service lane and ran to the main road. The car was badly damaged and both the woman and man were injured and unconscious. We rushed both to Medanta in our auto. We also informed the police, who reached the hospital. The woman was declared dead on arrival,” Kumar said. Yuganshi was identified with the help of her identity card. Her father Rajesh, who rushed to Medanta after being informed by the police, filed a complaint against Bisht, who has been booked under sections 279 (rash driving), 336 (endangering the lives of others), 427 (causing damage), 304A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC at Sadar police station.

up the stairs which had filled our apartments when we tried to save the Verma family. Toxic fumes from plastic burning downstairs choked us. We could hear them looking for us on the staircase but they soon fell silent. Then, a ball of fire engulfed the staircase and charred the bodies,” said Aman Sharma, who too lives on the second floor. “We could save Monika, her elder daughter Ishu and her sister Happy, 18, as we found them close to our flat,” said Sharma. Monika suffered major injuries as she had leaned against a heated wall. She was admitted to a private hospital with 40% burn injuries and has been kept under observation. Five other residents of the building were injured when they jumped from their balconies to save themselves. Residents said 10 families

Ggn to get 2 more pollution watch units [email protected]

Gurgaon:The city will soon get two more ambient air quality monitoring stations as part of Haryana State Pollution Control Board’s (HSPCB) plan to set up 19 stations across the state for real-time monitoring of pollution. Currently, there is only one pollution measuring station in Gurgaon, which is why HSPCB is unable to monitor PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels — both markers of ambient air quality — in the city in real time. The second air quality monitoring station will be set up near Manesar, while the third one is likely to be near Cyber City, the city’s commercial hub. “As there has been a concern over real-time evaluation of air quality in Gurgaon, due to its proximity to the national capital, the board has decided to have at least two more air quality monitoring stations in Gurgaon. One of them is most likely to be near Manesar as it is a base for a number of industries. This way, every zone will have stations to monitor ambient air quality,” said Jai Bhagwan, regional officer, HSPCB. Apart from Gurgaon, pollution measuring stations will be set up in Mewat, Sonipat, Rewari, Jhajjhar, Panipat, among others.

lived in the building across four floors. Aman’s father R K Sharma, a friend of Verma, said that they had celebrated Harshu’s birthday together and had slept late. “While the others managed to get out of their apartment, it seems the Vermas did not hear us. When they finally realised the building was on fire, the flames had spread. They panicked and tried to climb to the terrace,” he said. “A month back, Verma had kept a bag of sand under the meter box, hoping to put it to use in case of a fire. Unfortunately, it was of no help,” rued Aman Sharma. Neighbours said two other fires were reported in the colony, at A and B blocks, in the past 10 days. Fire officials said all three fires were due to sparks from the meter box. Police have requested the power supply company to conduct an enquiry into

the safety of meters in the locality. “We had complained about an overload on the meter box to the discom. Though they conducted a survey and raised bills against them, no physical steps were taken to remove the load,” said Sharma. Fire officials said though the blaze was controlled within 15 miniutes, a probe revealed that it had spread due to motorcycles parked at the garage. “Quite a few combustible items were dumped in the garage which helped spread the fire,” said a fire officer. “The entire building was heated due to an oven effect even as smoke spread to the upper floors through the stair-well shaft. The intensity was such that it melted bulbs and plastic ware kept on the terrace of the adjacent building,” the officer added.

Neighbour in net for minor’s rape, murder TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Ten days after the body of a seven-year-old girl was found stuffed inside a trunk in northeast Delhi, her neighbour has been arrested for the murder. Police claim the accused, Mohammed Ibral, had raped the girl before strangling her. They have added Section 376 (sexual assault) of IPC to the existing FIR. Cops said Ibral was an alcoholic and had shifted to the area just a few months ago. He had some dispute with the family of the victim. On June 21, the girl was passing by his house when he pulled her inside and raped her. He was alone at home that day, police said. The girl fell unconscious after the assault. In order to avoid suspicion and arrest, he strangled the girl and stuffed the body in a trunk. Later at night, he threw the trunk in a drain, hoping it will get washed away. However, the trunk did not move from the spot as the drain was clogged. DCP (northeast) A K Singla said that the they had received a complaint from the family of the girl after she did not return home. “An FIR was registered. The area she lived in was thoroughly checked but she could not be found,” he said. On June 28, police found the body which was identified by the victim’s family. A team led by additional DCP Devender Arya and SHO Vipin sharma tracked down the accused. “Our probe revealed that the girl disappeared from the stretch between her house and her aunt’s residence, which is hardly 500 metres. A door-todoor search was carried out. Some clothes and a blanket was recovered from the house, which were shown to the residents,” Singla added. Then, Ibral was found missing from his house. He remained at large for a few days but was finally arrested on a tipoff. He confessed to killing the minor girl.

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ST panel notice to Golf Club

MEET BADRI LAL, THE PIN MAN FROM KOTA WHAT KIND OF PINS? Stationery safety pins and hypodermic injection needles HOW DID THEY REACH THERE? No one knows for sure. Badri and his family deny any knowledge about them, but doctors opine that Badri suffers from psychiatric issues and had pushed them inside over a period of time as there are marks of healed entry points Pic: Sanjeev Rastogi WHEN DID THE FAMILY WHO? Badri Lal, (56), COME TO KNOW ABOUT No. of pins railway employee THE PINS? Badri, a inside body WHY PIN MAN? Pins diabetic, had swelling found all over the in his legs for 10 body: legs, abdomen months. Three months and critical places piercing ago, when the swollen leg through wind pipe (10), food wound developed puss, pipe (3) (esophagus), vocal doctors observed a needle cord (1), major blood vessels protruding from it. An X-Ray like carotid artery (which revealed that his carries blood to brain) body was full of them

150

Family went to 6 different hospitals across the country, but could not receive treatment due to complications involved in case

BEFORE

BADRI WAS ADMITTED TO ASIAN INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES (FARIDABAD) ON JUN 24

AFTER

6-hour procedure on June 29 (see before & after scans)

92 pins removed 95% of the pins taken out from neck through invasive surgery Pins from stomach to be removed on July 2 The case was dealt with by a multidisciplinary team comprising ENT, vascular surgeon, general surgery and anesthetics

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

WHY THE SURGERY WAS SO COMPLICATED Patient a diabetic with several internal injuries due to pins

HAVE ALL PINS BEEN REMOVED? No. Pins that posed threat to life have been taken out as there is a limit to which body tissues can be subjected to surgeries. Pins in legs and those near spinal cord stay

New Delhi: Almost a week after the official arrival of the southwest monsoon, the capital got some relief with the evening and overnight showers on Thursday and Friday. In the past 24 hours, the city has recorded 17.6mm of rainfall. Although the temperature came down a few notches, there was not much relief from humidity. Officials at Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC) in Delhi predicted that high humidity would continue this week and a fresh spell of monsoon showers was likely only from July 11. The Safdarjung observatory, which

Although the temperature came down a few notches, there was not much relief from humidity. High humidity is likely to continue this week, with a fresh spell of showers likely from July 11 is taken as the base for Delhi’s weather, recorded a maximum temperature of 35.3 degrees Celsius, a degree below normal for the season. The minimum temperature was 25.2 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal, with humidity oscillating between 66% and 95%, Met officials said. Safdarjung received 17.6mm of rain-

Goel seeks quota for city residents in DDA scheme is important as for the middle and low income group people this is the only source of fulfilling their dream of owning a flat in Delhi,” Goel said in the letter. Requesting for a review of the housing scheme, Goel said that in case the scheme can’t be reserved completely for Delhiites, then 20% may be offered to people from outside. TNN

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) issued a notice to Delhi Golf Club on Friday for discrimination in the premises of the club faced by a woman from Meghalaya. A government release said the woman from the north-east belongs to ST community. “NCST has asked the club to

Unable to eat for 3 months and had lost 30kgs

CURRENT STATUS Badri is under observation and receiving psychiatric treatment

Wind pipe was partially blocked with 10 pins perforating its way; so, general anesthesia could not be administered directly

fall and Lodhi Road 25mm in the past 24 hours till 8.30am on Friday. Ridge and Ayanagar recorded 9.4mm and 15mm during the same period. However, the weather became sunny late in the afternoon. “Delhi is seeing excess rainfall this season and the southwest monsoon is likely to bring more rain from July 11. Between July 8 and 10, there will not be much rainfall with light drizzle likely in some parts. From July 10, Punjab and Haryana will also see more rains and it will continue for a few days. Peak weather activity is expected on July 15,” said a RWFC official. However, sultry weather is likely to continue despite temperatures staying under control.

BJP team meets LG, says AAP govt hurting corps New Delhi: BJP MLAs met LG Anil Baijal on Friday to raise concerns about the functioning of the AAP government. They alleged that the government is deliberately paralysing the functioning of the newly-elected corporations by not notifying reorganisation of zones. Leader of the opposition, Vijender Gupta said, “The constitution of standing and wards committees is pending due to delay in notification of reorganisation of the zones.” TNN

Many pins were piercing critical arteries like carotid carrying blood to brain; removing them could lead to severe blood loss

For the first time in three months, I have eaten something (khichdi). I feel relieved

17.6mm rain in 24 hrs, more next week

New Delhi: Union sports minister Vijay Goel has written to lieutenant governor Anil Baijal requesting reservation for Delhiites in the recently launched housing scheme. “The flats/plots should be offered to people who have been staying in Delhi for at least three years and people who are working here. This

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NGT raps govt over landfill sites New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal on Friday slammed the Delhi government and the municipal corporations over dumps of waste lying at various landfill sites in the city and sought a status reports from them. A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar asked the AAP government and the civic bodies to submit the report by August 9 while warning them that in the event of failure, they would be liable to pay a cost of Rs 50,000. PTI

submit its reply, facts and information in the matter and action taken on the allegation to the Commission within seven days,” an official statement said. The commission issued the notice on the complaint received from chairperson of Meghalaya State Commission for Women and Civil Society of Assam. Tailin Lyngdoh, a governess, was asked to leave the club as she was dres-

sed in the traditional Khasi attire by club staffers sparking widespread outrage. Already the club has submitted an interim factual report on the alleged racial discrimination the Meghalaya woman faced inside the club to the urban development ministry. It has also informed the ministry that a final report will be provided after the three-member panel completes its investigation.

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Friend names landlord, sons in PG murder Dehradun: Two days after 20-year-old Ramesh Bisht was pushed to his death from the fifth floor balcony of a building in DLF-3, Gurgaon, where he stayed as a paying guest, his friend and roommate Kishan Singh Deopa said he saw the landlord and his sons pushing Bisht off the building. “I was there with Bisht but had hid myself in the balcony of another room when the landlord came charging at us along with his

A candlelight vigil was held in Gurgaon in protest

goons on Wednesday night. My friend didn’t deserve to die like this,” said Deopa who comes from Bisht’s native village Binduchatta in Haldwani. Bisht, who died of injuries he suffered in the fall, had come to Gurgaon along with four of his friends just a week ago and had joined a vocational course in food and beverages management at a private institute. Deopa said they had been complaining to the building’s owner, Satbir Singh, about acute water shortage and

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Yeshika.Budhwar @timesgroup.com

Time: 07-08-2017

power outages they had to face. “But instead of solving them, he beat us up and eventually pushed Bisht off the building during a scuffle.” Elaborating more on the events preceding the death of his friend, Deopa said, “We were 30 boys staying in the building with five in each room. After an argument with the landlord, he along with 15 of his accomplices entered the house and started beating us up with sticks. We all tried to save ourselves and I actually jumped from our balcony to another one, otherwise I would have also been dead. Bisht got cornered and was pushed off the building by the building’s owner.” Recounting the callous attitude of the landlord, Deopa said, “We were shocked. And when we pleaded with him to arrange for a vehicle so that we could take Bisht to hospital, he refused to help us.” Another friend who stayed in the building but didn’t want to be identified said, “We had all come to Gurgaon on June 28. Bisht was very much focused on his career and didn’t like going out much. I have come back to the village but couldn’t gather the courage to see his parents.” Bisht’s last rites were performed in his native village on Friday. The people of his village also held a candle march later demanding strict punishment for the main accused who is still on the run. The victim’s father, Havaldar (retd) Ratan Singh, said, “My son was not aggressive in nature. He largely kept to himself. It’s difficult for us to believe that he had to die like this.”

You’re being stalked: 1 held daily in Delhi in past 180 days Experts Say Law Lacks Teeth, ‘Name & Shame’ Database Need Of The Hour Rajshekhar.Jha @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: In the last 180 days, a stalker has been arrested every day in Delhi. Yet data show the numbers have gone down this year as compared to the corresponding period last year. However, cases like that of Riya Gautam’s murder show that Delhi Police needs to do much more. In Gautam’s case, her killer, Mohammed Adil, was a criminal since he was a teenager. When he was only 17, he had learnt to steal from his uncle and had actually stolen a motorcycle just for the heck of it. In the past one and a half years, he had been arrested four times. On one occasion, he had asked Gautam for help, and she had asked a friend to bail Adil out. She couldn’t have imagined that he would kill her. That’s why stalking should be taken seriously. Unfortunately, it is often not, until threats of violence are issued or women are actually attacked physically. Police say cases of stalking by strangers are fewer, and more often than not, the offender is someone known. In the first six months this year, 203 men have been arrested for stalking while 259 cases have been registered. In 2016, 835 such cases had been registered and 658 arrests made. A particularly horrifying murder had also taken place when a stalker had stabbed a woman 30 times at a busy area. Stalking was made an offence after rape laws were

COW RESCUED FROM OPEN DRAIN

Stalking a bailable offence in India The law ➤ Section 354 D of Indian Penal Code deals with stalking and covers harassment through phone and digital communication. It’s a bailable offence

Punishment First offence | Three years in jail and/or fine Subsequent offences | Five years’ imprisonment and/or fine

How stalking can be curbed ➤ Monitoring suspects after arrest through a registry ➤ Making a repeat offence non-bailable ➤ Making it mandatory for a convict to appear before the police regularly even after the prison term is over or if an accused is out on bail

STALKING CASES 2017 (till June)

2016

259 203

835 658

Cases Arrested

BEST PRACTICES AROUND THE WORLD ➤National Sex Offender Register keeps track of sex offenders who have been convicted of designated sex offences and ordered by the courts to report annually to police. The database is accessible to all accredited Canadian police agencies through a provincial/territorial registration centre

AUSTRALIA ➤There is a database for paedophiles called ANCOR—Australian National Child Offender Register. It is a web-based system which authorised policemen can use to monitor people convicted of child sex offences after they have served their sentence. Those convicted for eight years or more are monitored.

UNITED KINGDOM ➤ Individual police websites provide option to search for an offender ➤ Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR) is a “dangerous persons” database to keep track of sexual offenders and ‘registerable violent offenders’

UNITED STATES ➤ The National Sex Offender Public Website—coordinated by the Department of Justice— allows a person to search any offender in all 50 states. (https://www. nsopw.gov/). Individual state websites too have the offender list uploaded on them

Activists draft law against lynchings AlokKNMishra @timesgroup.com

TIMELY HELP: There was commotion near the staff quarters of Lady Hardinge Medical College on Friday when a cow fell into an open drain. Soon, a large crowd gathered to rescue the animal. But they soon found out that the bovine was heavily pregnant and unlikely to escape injury if a rescue was attempted without expert help. Someone had the good sense to alert the police and fire brigade. Soon, professional help arrived along with a team of veterinarians from NDMC. The area was cleared and the cow rescued. It was released after some basic health checks

By 2011, 12,596 people were in this database

CANADA

New Delhi: In the wake of rising number of lynching incidents, a group of lawyers, activists and student leaders has drafted a “legislation”—Manav Suraksha Kanoon (MASUKA)—which advocates stringent punishment for those involved in such cases and promises speedy justice for victims. Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of B R Ambedkar; entrepreneur Tehseen Poonawalla, student leader Shehla Rashid, among others, on Friday released, what they call, the draft law. The exercise is the result of a country-wide campaign against lynching, launched on June 5. The draft law proposes to make lynching a non-bailable offence, calls for immediate suspension of the SHO of an area, where such an incident takes place, until probe gets over and life imprisonment for those convicted for lynching. It says videographic evidence of survivor’s state-

ments should be considered as evidence, a time-bound judicial inquiry, which should not take more than six months besides creating provisions for compensation and rehabilitation for victim’s family. Lawyer Shehzad Poonawalla, who presented the draft law, said: “A special law against mob lynching is needed in line with the special law against domestic violence or atrocities on Dalits. IPC has provisions but the existing laws are not comprehensive. MASUKA is a comprehensive draft law and has provisions for judicial probe, witness protection and other provisions against lynching.” Senior lawyers Sanjay Hegde and Rebecca John, DU professor Apoorvanand, professor Manoj Jha and actor Swara Bhaskar were also part of the drafting committee. “I firmly believe the government will pass ‘MASUKA’ and make this law a reality soon. We have received tremendous support from all sections of society,” said Tehseen Poonawalla.

Civic officials lose pay for shoddy job New Delhi: Taking a tough stand against erring senior officials, east Delhi municipal commissioner has directed for deduction of salary of assistant director and deputy director of horticulture for redevelopment of Viswakarma Park in Geeta Colony. The park was booked for religious purpose, whereas on inspection it was found that commercial activities were going on rampantly there, which affected the greenery and the park as a whole. “They were responsible for negligence and lack of supervision due to which commercial activities were allowed in Viswakarma Park,” said an EDMC official. A makeshift entertainment zone was erected in the park. “The commercial activities damaged the park’s greenery,” said an official. According to municipal rules the park can be used only for religious activities. Besides deduction of salary, EDMC commissioner Mohanjeet Singh also ordered an inquiry into the role of the officers. TNN

amended. Section 354 (D) of IPC specifically deals with this crime. But since the offence is bailable, it’s hardly a deterrence. Police and legal experts say a registry of such offenders should be made and those people should be made to report to the police regularly. This, they say, could be a stronger deterrence. Many countries have such databases that law enforcers regularly consult. Delhi Police also has a system by which it publishes a list of sex offenders on its website. This ‘name and shame’ mechanism has been around since 2013. The details of 700 such convicts have been uploaded by the crime branch so far. “The police upload the names, pictures and conviction details for three offences—rape, molestation and outraging a woman's modesty,” said Dependra Pathak, chief spokesperson, Delhi Police. The initiative is in line with the Justice Verma commission recommendations on women’s safety and Union home ministry directives. The offenders listed are those convicted between 1983 and 2016. To access the registry, one needs to log on to Delhi Police’s website, www.delhipolice.nic.in, toggle down the “useful links” tab and click on the link named “sexual harassment”. But experts say the scope of the registry should be broadened. Centre is learnt to be working on a national sexual offender registry, which might kick in once all police stations are connected to a single network.

New Delhi: Not very far from where our TOI office in Delhi stands today raged the fierce Battle of Delhi on September 11, 1803. Maratha general Daulat Rao Scindia, as the Mughal subedar of Agra and Ajmer, held sway over most parts of northern India. He was also, in an Oliver Cromwellish way, the lord protector of Delhi and Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. Scindia’s formidable Fauj-iHind or Army of Hindustan clashed swords with a smaller Anglo-Indian army led by General Lord Gerard Lake, Commander-inchief of India. The Marathas were beaten, and on September 14, 1803, John Company’s forces took Delhi. Exactly 54 years later, on September 14, 1857, another Anglo-Indian army emerged victorious in the Siege of Delhi and retook the Mughal capital amid bloody fighting. History had repeated itself. But for Delhi, the Revolt of 1857, which had begun in Meerut on May 10, and had landed at its doorstep on May 11,

had effectively ended. And with it ended the Mughals and the East India Company. Delhi changed forever. Almost all the Muslims and those Hindus who sided with the rebels were banished from the Mughal capital even as the British bestowed favours on traders and merchants who supplied the British forces while they were stationed on the Ridge. “The refined and courtly culture of Delhi was eroded with the vanishing of the court and a significant chunk of its original population. Delhi that rose out of the ashes of the Revolt was markedly different,” says Rana Safvi, who has recently translated an Urdu eyewitness account of the Revolt called Dastan-eGadar by Zahir Dehlvi into English. After Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India at the Durbar of 1877, those banished from Delhi were allowed to return. Not many came back, though. One of the families that had left Delhi in 1857 was the Nehru family. Gangadhar Nehru was the Mughal kotwal of Delhi when the Revolt broke out. And though they either retai-

1857

@ 160

ned their ancestral haveli or got it back in 1877, they chose to settle down in Allahabad. Ninety years after the Revolt, as India became independent amid Partition in 1947, Delhi suffered again, this time irreversibly. Bloo-

dy communal riots gripped the capital even as a two-way exodus of people began. Watching over Delhi in this critical hour was Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of free India. The great grandson of the last kot-

wal of Delhi urged his mentor to come to the capital. And Mahatma Gandhi acceded to this request. In September 1947, Gandhi took up residence in the frenzied city for one last time. As history tells us, he would lay down Anindya Chattopadhyay

➤ Delhi was first captured by the British on September 14, 1803 during the Second Anglo-Maratha War ➤ The Revolt of 1857 reached Delhi's doorstep on May 11, 1857 ➤ Anglo-Indian troops retook the besieged city on September 14, 1857 ➤ Mahatma Gandhi came to Delhi for the last time on September 9, 1947 to try and stop the blood lust

his life in his fight to restore peace and communal amity. India paid a heavy price for peace, yet Gandhi’s ahimsa triumphed over hate. But back in 1857, it was hate that won: first when the rebel sepoys captured Delhi, and then again when the English won it back and unleashed their “retributive justice”. As this storm raged over Delhi, the sort of ‘garam hawa’ that Ismat Chughtai would write about in reference to the Partition, the Mughal emperor became a virtual prisoner, for life as later events would tell us. Indeed, Bahadur Shah Zafar was a tragic victim of circumstances. So powerless was he that he couldn’t even prevent the massacre of 52 European civilians he had sheltered in the fort. Yet Indians almost forgot 1857. But the British didn’t: it lived on in their collective consciousness. Arvind Sharma writes in his latest book The Ruler’s Edge: “It’s said that there were three things that every schoolboy in England knew about India: the Black Hole, Plassey and the Mutiny.” When the Iraq War was raging in 2007, General Sir Richard Shirreff of the British Army was in India. A source informed that the Bri-

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A year after his death sentence was converted into life, a gangster released on parole returned to head his gang. Ajay Barwala eliminated one of his rivals outside the latter’s house in Najafgarh. He was arrested on Thursday night near Lajpat Nagar while he was on his way to settle scores with another rival. Barwala, an associate of gangster Anil Bhagte who was shot during an encounter last year, was arrested in 2009 by the Special Cell for possession of an illegal pistol. One of his associates, Ajaybir, had personal rivalry with a gang in Bahadurgarh

Both Barwala and an associate, Ajaybir, were awarded capital punishment, which was later converted into life term that had killed his brother. Out on bail, Barwala, with Ajaybir, went to Bahadurgarh and killed four men in a day. Both Barwala and Ajaybir were awarded death, which was later converted into life sentence by the Punjab and Haryana high court. He got a parole in 2015 for his brother’s marriage and absconded. In 2016, he murdered his earlier business partner, Devender Rathi, and tried to kill his brother-in-law Manjeet who survived. A team was formed after the police were informed that Barwala would come to Lajpat Nagar to meet an associate, said Romil Baaniya, DCP, southeast. Barwala was wanted by the Delhi and Haryana police in several cases of murder, attempt to murder, extortion and kidnapping for ransom. Anil Bhagte was involved in the kidnapping case of Model Town in which he demanded Rs 2 crore. He used to extort the dealers at Azadpur Sabzi Mandi.

Gurgaon firm faces ransomware attack TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Gurgaon: A prominent citybased apparel company, which owns the popular formal wear brand Blackberrys, has suffered a ransomware attack — perpetuated by a virus that seeks to seize control of computers until the victim pays a ransom. IT officials of the firm, Mohan Clothing Company, discovered that there servers loca-

DATA LOST ted at Udyog Vihar had stopped working, on March 16. Probed further, they realised that they were unable to access most of their database, which included files and information related to customers, billing and delivery, among others. They also received a message on the company computers, demanding 15 bitcoins (a type of digital currency), which is equivalent to around Rs 24.5 lakh, to decrypt the data. Cyber security experts claim that thousands

Delhi 1857 to Mosul 2017: Lessons in war and peace Manimugdha.Sharma @timesgroup.com

Gangster out on parole murders rival

tish were trying to revisit the street-fighting, the urban warfare that their troops had experienced in Delhi in 1857 and take lessons for the fight for Mosul. Was it true? “There is no direct link. But the battle for Mosul highlights a fundamental fact of 21st-century conflict—it is fought among the people. This means that a commander has to ask the question: ‘What impact is my actions going to have on the minds of the people I’m operating amongst?’ Alienate the people and you gift the advantage to the adversary and this means people-centric campaign planning. In Mosul, look at how it is the humanitarian impact of Iraqi operations which has predominated in the media.” said General Shirreff, who was also the former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He added, “Of course, such considerations were the last thing on the minds of British commanders in Delhi in 1857, hence the terrible massacres which took place subsequently. But, of course, the past is another country.” The fight for Mosul is still on, but between Iraqi troops and ISIS fighters. And in India, on the 160th anniversary of 1857, hate seems to be winning again without a war.

companies, hospitals and government offices had come under similar virus assaults and lost control of their data to the malicious software across the world in recent months in one of the most widespread and damaging cyberattacks in history. After failing to recover the lost data, officials of Mohan Clothing, finally, lodged a formal complaint at Udyog Vihar police station on Thursday. In his complaint, Mrityunjay Kumar, the company’s IT manager, said he had received a call from IT officials at the company’s warehouse at Manesar on the night of March 16 who claimed that the company servers had become inaccessible. Kumar initially tried to log into the servers remotely, but in vain. He then rushed to the company’s corporate office at Udyog Vihar around 3am on March 17 and found that an “encrypted program was running on the servers”. “The case has been transferred to the cybercrime unit for further investigation,” police said.

Kejriwal seeks DDCA records TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday sought summoning of records and minutes of meetings of the DDCA conducted between 1999 and 2014 before the Delhi high court. On his application, joint registrar Pankaj Gupta sought Jaitley’s response by July 28. Kejriwal filed the application in connection with Rs 10 crore defamation suits filed against him and five other AAP leaders. In his plea, the Delhi CM has sought minutes of the meetings held by the general body and the executive committee or board of directors of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) between 1999 and 2014. Kejriwal said he wished to confront Jaitley with these documents during recording of evidence on July 28 and July 31. Counsel for Jaitley, on the other hand, objected to the plea where one of the prayers involve summoning of a witness from DDCA, pointing out that if a witness was being summoned, then a list of witnesses should be given prior to the hearing.

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WITHIN 3 MONTHS, MAHA CM FADNAVIS HAS A SECOND CLOSE SHAVE WITH HELICOPTERS | 14

UP GOVT TO REVIEW WORK OF EMPLOYEES OVER 50, RETIRE UNDER-PERFORMERS | 19

R-Day invites for Asean 10 as India acts East

STATOISTICS

Move Comes Amid Demands From SE Asia That Delhi Strengthen Its Profile To Counter Beijing Getty Images/File photo

January is expected to further underscore the point. According to the external affairs ministry, this year, India and Asean are marking 25 years of dialogue partnership, 15 years of summit-level interaction, and five years of strategic partnership, through a wide range of activities, both in India and through Indian missions in Asean member-states, including a commemorative summit on the theme, ‘Shared Values, Common Destiny’. It is also significant that Singapore and Vietnam have

Sachin.Parashar @timesgroup.com

What if only 100 families lived in India? (II) TYPE OF HOUSES As a majority of our population lives in villages, most Indians live in their own house. Houses are, however, very small and only a third have concrete roofs. More than half of the country lives in houses with either no exclusive room or with only one room

87 households would live in owned houses

Only 29 households would live in a house with a concrete roof

4 families would live in houses with no exclusive room

11 in rented accommodation

One family

would live under a plastic/polythene roof

13 would live

in houses with four or more rooms

2 would have

other living arrangements

37 families would live in one-room houses, while 32 and 15 would live in two- and three-room houses, respectively

37 32 15

Source: Census 2011

UP jewellers held for nexus with robbers

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long with a gang wanted for several robberies, police in Bareilly have arrested three city jewellers for allegedly buying stolen jewellery. This is the second incident in as many months where jewellers have been booked for allegedly buying looted ornaments. Last month, two jewellers were arrested in connection with a robbery involving gold worth Rs 2.5 crore. In this month’s case, police are trying to generate more leads to uncover what they describe as a nexus between robbers and jewellers. “We have arrested one Vicky who would broker deals between jewellers and criminal gangs,” SP (crime) Ramesh Piyush Rai TNN Kumar Bhartiya told TOI.

New Delhi: In perhaps the most significant exposition of its ‘Act East’ policy, India will invite the heads of state or government of all 10 Asean nations for the Republic Day parade and celebrations next year. Asean is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and has as members Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Republic Day 2018 will be the first time ever that so many leaders will together be chief guests at the parade which showcases India’s military might. Since it renamed ‘Look East’ as ‘Act East’ in 2014, the

ORIENT EXPRESS: A cultural performance at the 2014 Asean summit

Sikkim Stand-off, P 13

NDA government has sought a more “dynamic” and “action-oriented” approach in its relations with not just Asean, but also the wider

been exhorting India to increase its profile in the region. China’s increasing assertiveness, some would say belligerence, in the way it has handled

Asia-Pacific, with emphasis on Japan. However, Asean continues to be the central pillar of ‘Act East’, and the special summit next year in

maritime territorial disputes, particularly in the South China Sea, continues to spark fear and insecurity in the region. At least 4 Asean countries — Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei — are directly party to disputes involving Beijing in the South China Sea. Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong is likely to attend the function. India and Asean upgraded their relationship to a strategic partnership in 2012, and the government has of late sought to further impart strategic content to relations by focusing on stepping up defence and security ties, including with Vietnam. As foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said at the recent India-Asean Delhi Dialogue, India and Asean share a com-

mon geographical space where they face common traditional and non-traditional security challenges. “Freedom of navigation and respect for international law is therefore imperative in this context. Equally, we remain committed with Asean to enhance our maritime cooperation, to realise the full potential of our ocean economy. We will continue to step up cooperation in countering terrorism, piracy and other transnational crimes,” she had said. India and Asean are also “actively” engaged in negotiations on forging a ‘regional comprehensive economic partnership’, which is expected to emerge as the largest regional trading arrangement accounting for about 40% of world trade.

Red carpet for Burma Gen COUNTER-MOVES IN THE DRAGON’S BACKYARD overall plan to expand defence cooperation with New Delhi: India is going all Asean under the more actionout to make the Myanmar oriented ‘Act East’ policy. military chief ’s eight-day visIndia already provides it here a resounding success 105mm light artillery guns, with top-level meetings, vis- rocket launchers, rifles, raits to defence establishments, dars, mortars, bailey bridges, and a series of banquets, at a communication gear, nighttime when Indian and Chi- vision devices, war-gaming nese troops are locked in a software, and road construcstand-off near the tion equipment, as Sikkim-Bhutan-Tiwell as naval gunbet tri-junction. boats, sonars, acousThe commandertic domes and directin-chief of the Myaning gear to Myanmar. mar armed forces, A $37.9 million deal for the supply of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, is slatlightweight torpeed to meet PM Naren- Senior General does was also recentdra Modi, defence Min Aung Hlaing ly finalised. minister Arun JaitWhile Indian warley and national security ad- ships make regular port calls viser Ajit Doval on July 14, af- to Myanmar and undertake coter an extensive tour of India ordinated patrolling along the that began at Gaya on Friday. bilateral maritime boundary, Sources say India is ready the Indian Army too has to further crank up military stepped up cooperation with supplies to Myanmar to coun- the Myanmarese forces along ter Chinese strategic inroads the porous 1,643-km land borinto the country, as part of the der to turn the heat on Indian [email protected]

insurgent groups operating in the region. In June 2015, incidentally, Indian para-commandos conducted a “successful” crossborder raid against two insurgent camps inside Myanmar after 18 Indian soldiers were killed in an ambush in Manipur. It did lead to some heart-burn in Naypyidaw, but things are back on an even keel with New Delhi now. As a special gesture to the visiting Myanmar general, Army chief General Bipin Rawat flew to Gaya to host a banquet at the Officers’ Training Academy on Friday. India had earlier largely disregarded China’s expanding footprint in Myanmar, the only Asean member with whom it shares boundaries, but later switched gears to make amends. Since then, India has assiduously upgraded economic and military cooperation, apart from PM (Manmohan Singh and Modi) and other high-level visits to the country.

India has progressively ramped up military ties with Japan & Asean member states like Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia & Thailand JAPAN: Major thrust on

maritime security, joint exercises & technologysharing. Japan now a regular in annual India-US Malabar naval exercise, which has irked China

SINGAPORE: India provides military facilities for Singapore’s army & air force to train under special 5-year pacts. The two also regularly hold ‘Simbex’ naval wargames

INDONESIA: First joint air combat exercise on the anvil, apart from the upgrading of ‘Garuda Shakti’ army exercise. India has offered to train Indonesian navy in submarine

Indo-Thai ‘Maitree’ exercise at Bakloh (Himachal)

warfare. The two navies conduct coordinated patrols along the IMBL

VIETNAM: India provides military supplies, and trains its sailors in submarine warfare. Will also soon begin training its pilots on Sukhoi fighters. BrahMos & Akash missiles on offer to Vietnam

THAILAND: Two regularly hold ‘Maitree’ exercises between their armies &

coordinated naval patrols along the IMBL

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Print post-GST MRP or go to jail, warns govt J Jackson

‘Firms Taking Advantage Of Input Credit’ TIMES NEWS NETWORK

A dairy firm in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore has introduced GST-flavoured ice creams

the provisions in the law. However, officials admitted that they can’t recall a single case where a manufacturer, importer or seller has been sent to jail for such offence. The warning came a couple of days after some of the big companies had said that printing or stamping any price other than the MRP on packets is illegal and this is going to be a logistical nightmare since they have huge inventory. “We don’t want inspector raj, but they must follow what is legally correct. The companies are not going to release all the unsold items in one go. They can put the new prices in batches and that’s why we have given time till September 30 to

exhaust their stocks. After September 30, none will be allowed to sell pre-packaged items with such two MRPs. The industry must understand that we have issued the direction for the benefit of consumers. They need to inform consumers how much less or more they are paying,” food minister Ram Vilas Paswan told TOI. Officials said the companies are taking advantage of input credits under GST, which has brought down their manufacturing cost and hence they must pass on the benefits to consumers. Rule 33 of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules says the Centre can permit manufacturers or packers for sale of the packages for a reasonable period by “relaxing one or more provisions of the rules” with corrective measures. The consumer affairs ministry has also set up a committee to address consumer grievances on GST. The National Consumer Helpline is also addressing the concerns regarding GST. Paswan said more than 700 queries have been received by the consumer helplines.

India will implement Paris pact in letter & spirit: PM [email protected]

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t a time when the United States’ stand on climate change has pitted it against every other country, other major economies appear not to have given up hopes from the Paris Agreement with India on Friday reiterating its commitment to implement the global deal in “letter and spirit” while underlining the importance of its implementation to globally fight the menace of climate change. The country’s stand was articulated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi while speaking at the informal meeting of BRICS leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017

New Delhi: The government on Friday warned manufacturer, importer and sellers of pre-packaged goods of penalties ranging from fines of up to Rs 1lakh or prison terms up to a year for repeat offence of not printing the post-GST rates on product labels. The consumer affairs ministry has come out with the new norm for affixing the revised maximum retail price (MRP) on the old stocks, which were manufactured and packed before July 1. As per the Legal Metrology Act, the first such offence may attract fine up to Rs 25,000 and for second offence the fine may be up to Rs 50,000. The state governments are empowered to enforce this. Consumer affairs ministry sources said the direction for pasting additional stickers on unsold packaged items has been issued as per

User: soumyajit.majumder

Describing implementation of the Paris Agreement “globally” as essential to fight climate change, Modi noted that it was “mandatory” to implement the consensus reached at Paris. “India will implement the agreement in letter and spirit,” he said while Modi attacks Pak, equates LeT, JeM to IS, Qaida, P 13 highlighting important roles of other BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa — as well in achieving the goals under the global deal on climate change. Addressing the session on sustainable development, climate and energy at the G20 summit, the Prime Minister stressed on the need to be

forthcoming on climate change action and emphasised that the developing countries must have enough room to grow. The remarks come amid general disappointment over the US President Donald Trump's recent decision to withdraw from the deal. Though the US technically cannot withdraw from the deal before November, 2020, the move has already cast a shadow over the world's second biggest polluter’s (after China) pre-2020 climate action. Trump had last month announced his administration's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, saying the deal unfairly benefited countries like India and China.

11

Mangaluru on boil WHO: Superbugs making as RSS man killed gonorrhoea difficult to treat

Mangaluru: Mangaluru was on the boil on Friday yet again, with the death of a taluk-level RSS worker capping the tension over the stabbing of a Muslim student by three youths and a death threat on Facebook against a

COMMUNAL TENSION local saffron heavyweight. The district administration has extended prohibitory orders, barring assembly of five or more people, across Dakshina Kannada. The RSS worker, 28-yearold Sharath Madivala, operated a laundry service. He was stabbed by unidentified assailants as he was

about to leave from his workplace for home on July 4. Hospital sources said there was no improvement in his condition since then and he died on Friday night. BJP workers plan to carry out a funeral procession to Bantwal on Saturday and several Sangh Parivar heavyweights are expected to attend. On Friday morning, BJP MPs Shobha Karandlaje and Nalin Kumar Kateel led more than 800 BJP workers in a protest march, defying prohibitory orders Police said the protesters were arrested for violating Section 144. Police teams are currently tracing the attackers. TNN

[email protected]

New Delhi: Antibiotic resistance is making gonorrhoea – a common sexually-transmitted infection – much harder, and sometimes impossible, to treat, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported based on data from 77 countries. India is witnessing an alarming rise in antibiotic resistance, much of which has been triggered by over-prescription of the drugs by doctors and irrational over-the counter sale of antibiotics. The data, evaluated through two latest studies published in international journal PLOS, shows an esti-

ALARMING

mated 78 million people globally are infected with gonorrhea each year. “These cases may just be the tip of the iceberg, since systems to diagnose and report untreatable infections are lacking in lower-income countries where gonorrhoea is actually more common,”

said Dr Teodora Wi, medical officer, human reproduction, at WHO. “The bacteria that cause gonorrhoea are particularly smart. Every time we use a new class of antibiotics to treat the infection, the bacteria evolve to resist them,” he added. The government has already initiated steps to contain antibiotic resistance. Gonorrhoea can infect the genitals, rectum, and throat. Complications from gonorrhoea affect women more, including pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility, as well as an increased risk of HIV.

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Assam merges madrassa directorate with secondary education dept The Assam government merged on Friday the directorate of madrassa education with the state secondary education department with immediate effect. State education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said earlier that the academic affairs of madrassas would be handed over to the state board of secondary education to “bring madrassa education to the mainstream”.

Haryana braces for SYL stir: The Haryana government has sought around 1,000 paramilitary personnel from the Centre amid apprehensions of law and order problems in view of a protest called by INLD on Monday over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal issue. Home secretaries, DGPs and a few other senior officers of Haryana and Punjab held a meeting in Chandigarh on Friday to prepare a strategy to avoid any untoward situation. 7 killed in 2 accidents on Yamuna expressway: Seven people were killed and 10 seriously injured in two road accidents on Friday morning in Mathura and Agra. The first accident took place on Yamuna Expressway in Mathura when a speeding Ford Eco Sport rammed into a divider. All five occupants were killed. In the second accident, two persons were killed when a tractortrolley ferrying pilgrims to Govardhan turned turtle in Agra. Bodo militants held in Tamil Nadu Two terrorists of NDFB (Songbijit) were arrested in Coimbatore on Thursday. The duo attacked Army camps in Assam in 2010 and were facing more than eight cases there, sources said.

Fire in Raj cracker godown kills 3: At least three people were killed and 15 others injured when a firecracker godown caught fire in Rajasthan’s Bikaner on Friday.

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Larger bench to take up Aadhaar tagging? Tracking Akin To Nazi Tactics: Petitioners To SC TOI

Dhananjay.Mahapatra @timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The Centre on Friday reacted sharply to petitioners’ charge that tagging every citizen with Aadhaar to track their every activity was akin to putting them in “Nazi concentration camps” and told the Supreme Court that the noise was because it plugged pilferage of money meant for the poor. Seeking stay of government’s notification mandatorily linking Aadhaar to almost all public utility services despite the apex court’s categorical orders that no citizen could be forced to enrol for the UIDAI number, petitioners’ counsel Shyam Divan said the NDA government’s eagerness to monitor each activity of every citizen reminded him of the Emergency imposed by a “totalitarian government” in 1977. “Now, Aadhaar number is made mandatory for admission of children to schools, contrary to orders of a Constitution bench where the challenge to validity of Aadhaar is pending. This requires the court to intervene and stay the notifications that are forcing citizens to enrol for Aadhaar,” Divan said. Attorney general K K

The government argued that there was noise against Aadhaar because it plugged pilferage of money meant for the poor

Venugopal, who maintained a studied silence for most part of the background briefing of the case by Divan, reacted sharply when the counsel compared Aadhaar to putting citizens in a “concentration camp” by a “totalitarian government”. Venugopal said, “Nearly 350 million people below the poverty line have benefited from Aadhaar. The money is being directly transferred to their accounts. And the allegation is the government is converting the country into a concentration camp? Nothing can be farther from truth. Earlier, half of the money meant for these poor people was pilfered midway. Now that has stopped. That is why such noise against Aadhaar.” The sharp exchange between the AG and Divan

took place before a bench of Justices J Chelameswar, A M Khanwilkar and Navin Sinha even when the bench said it would be appropriate that the larger bench, which has been assigned to test the validity of Aadhaar, decide the interim applications seeking stay of government notifications. “It would not be proper for a three-judge bench to entertain the interim applications at present. Please request the Chief Justice for constituting the appropriate five-judge bench for urgent hearing on the interim applications. If he expresses inability, then we might take up these applications for hearing,” the bench said. On this point, there was unanimity between Divan and Venugopal. Both said they would make a joint request before the CJI on Monday or Tuesday seeking expeditious constitution of a larger bench for commencement of hearing to decide the validity of Aadhaar. A two-judge bench headed by Justice A K Sikri had on June 9 upheld the validity of an amendment to Income Tax Act making it mandatory for linking of Aadhaar with PAN card and quoting of Aadhaar for filing I-T returns.

* THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017

SC stays ‘living entity’ status of Ganga and Yamuna AmitAnand.Choudhary @timesgroup.com

EC to get 30,000 VVPAT machines by Sept 1st week The commission, which has an existing stock of 53,500 VVPAT machines, requires around 70,000 units for the Gujarat polls and around 14,000-15,000 units to conduct the elections in Himachal Pradesh

[email protected]

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a Uttarakhand high court order declaring Ganga and Yamuna as “living entities” after the state government approached the apex court, refusing to take up the responsibility as their legal guardian with the plea that it was not feasible to comply with the order as the rivers pass through several states over which it has no jurisdiction. In a first of its kind verdict, the high court had declared Ganga and Yamuna and all their tributaries as having the status of a legal person with all corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person in order to preserve and conserve the rivers. The court had declared the director of Namami Gange, chief secretary of Uttarakhand and the state’s advocate general as loco parentis (in the place of a parent ) of the rivers. Faced with difficulty in complying with the order on the ground, the state government challenged its validity. “If there arises any dispute in respect of any kind of different illegalities being committed in other states, how can the chief secretary pass any instruction against any other states or the Centre,” the state government said. Agreeing with their submission, the apex court stayed the HC order.

New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) is expected to get delivery of around 30,000 voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) voting machines by the first week of September, enabling it to hold 100% paper trail-based assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh this year-end. The commission, which has an existing stock of 53,500 VVPAT machines, requires around 70,000 units for the Gujarat polls and around 14,000-15,000 units to conduct the Himachal Pradesh elections. The additional 30,000 machines awaited by the EC will complete the requirement for the two state polls. At a commission meeting on Friday to review the status of procurement of EVMs needed for polls in the two states, the EC was informed that the two suppliers — Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) — were running slightly behind the delivery schedule. “It seems they are a week behind the August 31 deadline by which the EC wants all machines in... So the commission has decided to impress upon them to expedite things to make good the delay and deliver the VVPAT units earlier

than September 7 and preferably by August 31 itself. This will give us enough time to prepare the machines and hold the requisite training/familiarisation sessions for poll officials, parties and voters,” an EC functionary told TOI on Friday. The EC is expected to hold a major awareness exercise in the poll-bound states to educate voters on the use of VVPAT machines, with special emphasis on ensuring that the paper trail is reviewed by them after casting their vote within the sevensecond window for display. “There is no proposal to extend the seven-second display time as the machine settings cannot be altered,” the official said. While the term of the 182member Gujarat assembly ends on January 2, the term of the 68-member Himachal assembly ends on January 7.

IITs: Admission process of 36k pupils may have to be scrapped Continued from P 1

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he bench agreed to examine the plea of two students who challenged the IITs’ decision. The bench also restrained high courts from entertaining any petition on the issue and posted the case to July 10 to pass an order after examining all options. “It is a problem and it has to be solved at the earliest... We will think about the solution but don’t create further confusion by giving admission,” the bench said. Attorney general K K Venugopal, appearing for the IITs, ruled out re-evaluation of answer papers saying it was not possible as 2.5 lakh students had taken the examination. He said two wrong questions were there in only one of the 10 sets of question papers which were in Hindi and it was Photo for representation

FUTURE ON HOLD?

impossible to find students who opted to take the entrance examination in Hindi. He said there were only two practical options available — either to continue with the bonus marks or strike out the wrong questions. “We do not know who took the test in Hindi. It is very difficult to find out and that is why it was decided that bonus marks be given to all students. Till date, more than 33,000 candidates have already taken admission and the whole process would have to be started afresh if the merit list is revised,” Venugopal said. “It is respectfully submitted that the relief is entirely against equity since the process of seat allocation is going on and around 33,000 candidates have already accepted the allotted seat and reported for physical verification of the documents... It is submitted that in case the ongoing counselling and admission process is disturbed then the admission procedure of more than 36,000 students in 97 institutes under the joint seat allocation programme for IITs, NITs, IIITs and GFTIs (government-funded technical institutions) would be scrapped,” the IITs said in their affidavit. The bench, however, said that the apex court’s earlier order on the issue could not be overlooked. Senior advocate Vikas Singh and lawyer D K Devesh, appearing for the students, said the IITs’ decision to award bonus marks to all the candidates was arbitrary and illegal. They said although the petitioners had qualified in the exam, their ranking in the merit list was affected due to bonus marks. The students said their overall rank had gone down by several notches due to the controversial decision and pleaded the court to strike it down.

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TIMES NATION | Politics & Policy

THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017

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At G20, PM slams Pak export ‘1890 treaty, not 1962 war, counts’ Chinese govt hid facts of terror, tries to rally nations Saibal Dasgupta | TNN

PTI

Leaders Vow Crackdown On Safe Havens, Terror Funds TNN & Agencies

Hamburg/New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at Pakistan at the G20 summit on Friday as he named terror groups LeT and JeM along with global scourges IS and Boko Haram to drive home the point that some countries use terrorism as a tool and that the outfits are united by a common ideology despite different labels. Looking to take the lead on terrorism, Modi also presented a 11-point Action Agenda for fighting the global menace as he made a clear reference to Pakistan when he said “some nations are using terrorism for achieving political goals”. Modi named Lashkar and Jaish in the same vein as IS, alQaida and Boko Haram. “Their only ideology is to spread hatred and commit massacres,” he added. He said all these groups had the same basic ideology even if they went by different names. Modi emphasised that nations today are not as well networked as terrorists

UNITED THEY STAND: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday

are. The G20 leaders’ statement reflected the “safe havens” concern to some extent. “There should be no ‘safe spaces’ for terrorist financing anywhere in the world...In order to eliminate all such ‘safe spaces’, we commit to intensify capacity building and technical assistance, especially in relation to terrorist financing hot spots,” it said. The statement stressed the resolve to make the international financial system “entirely hostile” to terror financing. The statement also paid at-

tention to the Islamic State-inspired attacks that use heavy vehicles and knives to kill civilians. “Low-cost attacks by small cells and individuals funded by small amounts of money transferred through a wide range of payment means are an increasing challenge. We call on the private sector to continue to strengthen their efforts to identify and tackle terrorism financing,” it said. In the presence of leaders like US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese

President Xi Jinping, Modi regretted that the international response to terrorism had been weak and said more cooperation is needed to fight the menace. Modi’s 11-point Action Agenda included suggestions for exchange of lists of terrorists among G20 nations, easing and expediting of legal processes like extradition and concrete steps to choke funds and weapon supply to the terrorists. Modi urged leaders from BRICS nations to show leadership in fighting terror.

It is unclear how soon standoff over Doklam will be resolved TIMES NEWS NETWORK New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg on Friday, even after both sides having earlier ruled out a formal bilateral meeting. Despite the denials, however, there was always a chance that the leaders could end up in a pull aside. Indian government sources didn’t state if the confrontation over Chinese attempts to build a road in an area seen as Bhutanese territory figured in the talks. According to reports from Hamburg, the conversation lasted for about 5-7 minutes. The MEA spokesperson also tweeted a photograph of Modi and Xi shaking hands. Though it is unclear how soon the situation will be resolved, the brief interaction may set the stage for enhanced diplo-

Why’s PM silent ‘N Korea’s missile test security threat’ on China: Rahul escribing North Korea’s recent missile test as a matter of great concern, India called upon the country to refrain from such actions that undermined international peace and stability. In a strongly worded statement, the government also said these tests were a threat to India’s security. TNN

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ciated momentum in BRICS under the chairmanship of Xi and extended full cooperation and best wishes for the BRICS Xiamen Summit. Concluding the meeting after the PM’s remarks, Xi appreciated, according to Indian officials, India’s strong resolve against terrorism and the momentum in BRICS introduced

under India’s chairmanship and through the outcomes of the Goa Summit in 2016. “He also appreciated India’s success in economic and social development and wished India even bigger success,” said a press release. China and India have been engaged in a standoff in the Doklam area for the past three weeks .

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PM Modi with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday

macy. The Indian military intervention is based on the firm conviction that China’s attempts to realign the ground situation must be stalled to prevent the PLA from gaining an advantage over Indian defences at the tri-junction. Modi seemed to reach out to Xi at the informal BRICS leaders’ meeting as he appre-

ongress slammed the Centre over Chinese incursions even as party vice-president Rahul Gandhi questioned PM’s “silence” on the issue. “Why is our PM silent on China?” Rahul said in a tweet. Congress said the government's foreign policy is defined by “the PM’s search for holiday destinations...” TNN

Beijing: China claimed on Friday that the 1962 war had not altered the situation on the Sikkim border as the 1890 Sikkim-Tibet treaty (Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1890) was still applicable. India has “ulterior motives” in questioning China’s claim to the disputed Doklam area, where Chinese troops recently tried to build a road, the Chinese foreign ministry said. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang did not directly reply to a question about whether any Indian government had acknowledged Chinese claims to the Doklam area, which is claimed both by China and Bhutan. The ongoing standoff occurred after Chinese troops began building a road in the area and faced resistance from Indian and Bhutanese soldiers. “The Indian government has repeatedly recognised the effectiveness of the 1890 convention on the boundary between Tibet and Sikkim. It has nothing to do with the 1962 war since it has already been recognised by the Indian side. Once it has been recognised, the convention has been effective and it has nothing to do with the passing of time or changing of governments,” Geng said. China is insisting on the withdrawal of Indian troops

India delegation cancels trip as two members denied visa New Delhi: Even as India Foundation cancelled its delegation’s visit to China after denial of visa by Beijing to two of the researchers, its director and BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav clarified on Friday that he was neither denied visa nor was he to head the delegation. “I was not in the delegation. It was supposed to be an academic delegation. After the denial of visa to two researchers, the Foundation called off the visit,” clarified Madhav in a tweet. His office had earlier stated that Madhav wasn’t required to apply as his Chinese visa is valid till November, 2017. “Madhav had gone to attend the BRICS summit in China in June this year and he was given visa for six months,” said researcher at India Foundation, Priyang Pandey, who had accompanied Madhav during the visit. A delegation of five researchers was to leave for Fudan University in Sanghai on Monday under academic exchange programme with varsity. TNN

to buttress Doklam claim Saibal Dasgupta

TNN

Beijing: China has hidden the fact that the government of Tibet did not sign the very document — the Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1890 — that Beijing is showing to support its claim to the disputed Doklam plateau. Neither Tibet nor Sikkim was consulted and neither signed the 1890 document which was purely a Sino-British affair. The border standoff was triggered after Chinese troops started building a road in Doklam, also claimed by Bhutan, on June 6. Leave aside the convention of 1890, China had not agreed to a treaty on Bhutan-Tibet and Sikkim-Tibet borders as late as 1960. This is another fact China has not mentioned as it goes about using the 1890 document as the basis of its claim over Doklam, analysts said. from the Doklam area as a precondition for holding a dialogue on resolving the border problem. But India and Bhutan see the situation differently because road-building by

“The Tibetan government refused to acknowledge the 1890 convention because they were made a party to it,” Claude Arpi, historian and Tibetologist, told TNN. Tibetan and British troops had clashed a couple of years before, and this could be the reason why Tibetan government did not acknowledge treaty, Arpi said. China is pretending that there was no need to get the

treaty approved by the Tibetan government because the central government had sent its representative to sign it along with British officials. But this is not true because the Chinese government did not have control over Tibet and was merely represented by a resident in 1890. In fact, the British government sent the Younghusband expedition into Tibet in

1904 because of the Tibetan government’s refusal to accept the treaty, he said. China has remained silent about the fact that the disputed area remained unresolved until 1960, and continues to be a bone of contention between Beijing and Thimphu. “In 1960, during the Official’s Negotiations, China refused to discuss the Bhutan-Tibet border and the Sikkim-Tibet border,” Arpi said. The Chinese foreign ministry has produced partial excerpts from a letter by ex-PM Jawaharlal Nehru to show India had accepted the 1890 treaty covering areas that include Doklam. But it hid that the trijunction between India, Bhutan and China had not been resolved. India is worried the Chinese road-building activity is too close to the trijunction and will harm future efforts to resolve this part of the border.

China was already an attempt to change the ground situation and prejudice the claims of the two countries. Beijing claims the 1890 convention establishes the trijunction at Mount

Gipmochi (Gyemo Chen), south of where India and Bhutan see point near Batang La. India said it has not fully accepted the pointers in the 1890 convention.

TWISTING HISTORY

Hope Malabar drill not aimed at 3rd party: China File photo

Saibal Dasgupta

TNN

Beijing: China tried to give the impression on Friday that it was not very bothered by a naval drill involving India, the United States and Japan, called the Malabar exercise, which will take place in the Indian Ocean next week. “We have no objection to normal bilateral relations and cooperation among relevant countries,” foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said. The Chinese statement is significant because the Malabar exercise will include antisubmarine drills. China has been sending its submarines into Indian Ocean waters quite often in recent times. It also has been investing in port facilities and building a military relationship with Sri Lanka in the hope of using Colombo as a springboard for naval activity in the Indian Ocean area, analysts said. “We hope this kind of relations and cooperation (sic) is not directed at any third par-

WAR EXERCISE: The eight-day exercises, set to start on Monday, will involve more than 20 warships from India, Japan and USA

ty and conducive to regional peace and stability,” Geng said. The US is conducting naval drills in the South China Sea, causing some amount of anxiety in Beijing which has been building artificial islands in the area. The scope of this year’s Malabar exercise is very wide with the US deploying the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, India sending its carrier INS Vikramaditya and Japan dispatching helicopter carrier Izumo. China has also been

uneasy about participation in the Malabar exercise since 2014, but the foreign ministry chose to play down the importance of the exercise. The eight-day exercises, set to start on Monday, will involve more than 20 warships from the three countries. China had earlier opposed the inclusion of Singapore and Australia in the exercise. Beijing expressed its happiness last month after India rejected a request from Australia to join the exercise.

CBI case strengthens ED’s Lalu probe Pay revised allowances from July: Govt TIMES NEWS NETWORK

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The CBI action against RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his family members on Friday has further strengthened the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) ongoing investigation against the former Bihar chief minister, whose family members are already facing ED probe under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Besides Lalu, the CBI case mentioned his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi. The CBI FIR can serve as ground for the ED to register a PMLA case against Lalu and his wife along with their son who is deputy CM of Bihar. The other accused in the CBI case include former managing director of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation P K Goyal and Sujata, the wife of Lalu’s confidant and former Union minister Prem Chand Gupta. In May, the ED had arrested a Delhi-based chartered accountant who had allegedly provided “accommodation entries” to Lalu’s daughter Misa Bharti and her husband Shailesh. The CA was believed to have been behind cash transactions linked to some shell companies that owned benami properties in posh Delhi localities. The benami properties are under investigation by the ED and the income tax department. The I-T department has also attached some of these properties, including land in Patna, claiming that Lalu’s family members were beneficiaries of these properties. “CA Rajesh Agrawal has been associated with transactions involving Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd which owns a farmhouse in Palam Vihar,” the ED had said. A senior officer said Misha and her husband were the alleged beneficiaries of the property. The ED had seized documents from the CA which allegedly substantiated cash transactions of Rs 39 crore which was allegedly layered through several shell companies in 2009-10.

New Delhi: The finance ministry has urged various ministries and departments to ensure that revised rates of allowances approved by the Cabinet are paid in the current month’s salary. Last month the Cabinet approved recommendations of 7th central pay commission on allowances with 34 modifications and the revised rates were effective from July 1. The decision will benefit 34 lakh civilian employees and 14 lakh defence forces personnel. “Concerned ministries have now been advised to issue their orders on Allowances governed by them immediately so that the revised rates of allowances get reflected in the current month's salary bills of the government employees,” the finance ministry said in a statement. The 7th pay commission examined 197 allowances, recommending abolition of 53 allowances and subsuming 37 in others. The government decided not to abolish 12 allowances in view of specific functional requirements while three of the 37 subsumed allowances will continue as separate identities due to their unique nature. The combined additional financial implication as a result of the increase in allowances is estimated at Rs 30,478 crore annually. The pay panel had projected additional financial implication at Rs.29,300 crore per annum. The modifications will have additional implication of Rs 1,448.23 crore. The government has said that house rent allowance will be paid at the rate of 24%, 16% and 8% for X, Y & Z cities. It will not be less than Rs 5,400, 3,600 and 1,800 for X, Y and Z cities and is expected to benefit over 7.5 lakh employees. X category cities are those with a population of 50

JD(U) mum on CBI raids Continued from P 1

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he raids heated the simmering political cauldron in Bihar where a series of fresh graft charges against Lalu’s family has caused a severe strain in his relations with CM Nitish Kumar. As it happened, the JD (U) leader was out of Patna and resting due to a reported viral infection. JD(U) maintained a studied silence, refusing to come to Lalu’s aid, unlike the Congress which backed RJD’s More reports, P 14 allegation of political vendetta. The brewing crisis in the ruling coalition could turn more serious if Tejashwi faces a chargesheet in the corruption case. Nitish’s decision to leave Patna just as opposition presi-

No vendetta against Cong: CBI acting Lalu, says Venkaiah like govt’s puppet ismissing allegations of political vendetta, BJP on Friday justified action against RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s family with party leaders saying Lalu was known for corruption and enforcement agencies were acting as per law of the land. “After our government came, there is no interference and that is why CBI is free and acting as per the mandate given to it,” I&B minister Venkaiah Naidu told reporters. He said the government and the BJP had no role in CBI raids against Lalu and his family. TNN

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dential candidate Meira Kumar arrived to campaign has raised eyebrows and heightened uncertainty over whether JD(U) will support a nonNDA vice-president nominee. Interestingly, the graft charges in the railway contracts were

raised by JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav and Shivanand Tiwari in 2008 when they petitioned then PM Manmohan Singh to investigate improper award of contracts for maintenance of railway-run hotels and alleged benefits to Lalu in lieu of deal.

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ongress threw its weight behind RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his son, Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, and accused the CBI of acting like a puppet of the NDA government with no hope for an impartial inquiry. Saying that the law should take its own course, AICC spokesman Randeep Surjewala said, “When agencies like CBI and ED become captive puppets of BJP government, acting as dirty tricks department to seek revenge against political opponents, it doesn't bode well for democracy.” TNN

BONANZA FOR GOVT EMPLOYEES RAILWAYS

SPECIAL ALLOWANCE Child care for women with disabilities doubled from

1,500 to 3,000

➤Additional allowance raised from Rs 500 / 1,000 to Rs 1,125 / 2,250 and extended to loco pilot goods and senior passenger guards @ Rs 750 ➤Special Train controller’s allowance @5000 pm introduced for train controllers of railways

HOUSE RENT ALLOWANCE

ALLOWANCES TO PENSIONERS

➤ @24%, 16% & 8% for X, Y & Z cities ➤ HRA not to be less than 5,400, 3,600 & 1,800 for X, Y & Z cities, calculated @30, 20 & 10% of minimum pay of 18,000 - to benefit over 7.5 lakh employee ➤Pay panel recommended revision of HRA when DA reaches 50% & 100%, govt decided to revise rates when DA crosses 25% and 50% (X category is population of 50 lakh and above, Y 5 to 50 lakh population and Z below 5 lakh population)

➤ Medical allowance for pensioners increased from Rs 500 pm to Rs 1,000 Constant attendance allowance on 100% disability increased from Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,750 *All allowances / increases per month

Allowances for security and defence personnel revised. Some are

SIACHEN ALLOWANCE SOLDIER Earlier | 14,000 Now | 30,000 OFFICERS Earlier | 21,000 Now | 42, 500

Counter Insurgency Ops allowance | Up from 3,000 – 11,700 to 6,000 – 16,900 Chariot allowance paid to marine commandos (MARCOS) | Up from 10,500 – 15,750 to 17300 – 25,000 COBRA allowance granted to CRPF personnel in Naxal-hit areas | Up from 8,400 – 16,800 to 17,300 – 25,000

lakh and above, Y is between 5 and 50 lakh while Z category is below 5 lakh. The pay panel recommended revision of house rent allowance when dearness allowance (DA) reaches 50% and 100% but the government has decided to revise rates when DA crosses 25% and 50%.

Flying allowance (now also extended to BSF Air Wing) | Up from 10,500 – 15,750 to 17,300 – 25,000 High altitude allowance | Up from 810 – 16,800 to | 2,700 – 25,000 Higher qualification incentive for defence personnel | Up from 9,000 – 30,000 to 10,000 – 30,000

The government has raised the allowances for defence, security and paramilitary forces at various levels. The allowance paid to marine commandos has been increased from Rs 10,500 — Rs 15,750 per month o Rs.17,300 — Rs.25,000 per month The condition of 12 hours reduced to 4 hours for sea go-

ing allowance and rates raised from Rs.3,000 Rs.7,800 per month to Rs.6000 – Rs.10,500 per month. The COBRA allowance granted to CRPF personnel deployed in Naxal infested areas has been increased from Rs 8,400 — Rs 16,800 per month to Rs 17,300 — Rs 25,000 per month.

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TIMES NATION

THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017

Maha CM has close chopper call Paswan: Lalu must blame ally for probe TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Alibaug/Mumbai: A freak incident on Friday saw Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis scampering away from a helicopter that he was to board, after the aircraft, with two pilots aboard, moved forward seconds before the passengers could open its door to enter. The quick-thinking CM rushed out of harm’s way only to see the helicopter lift and tilt to one side before the pilots could bring it back to the ground safely. The state government will conduct an internal inquiry into the incident, which took place in Alibaug. This is the second instance of helicopter trouble for the CM. Just over a month ago he was on a state-owned helicopter when it crash-landed soon after takeoff

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis rushing off the helipad in Alibaug on Friday

from a temporary helipad in Latur. The CM was in Alibaug to attend a private function. Around 1.45pm, his convoy reached the JSW steel plant helipad, where he was to board a Bell 230 helicopter. “The helicopter started flying before the

CM could board it. The helicopter flew four to five feet above the ground and tilted. However, the CM escaped narrowly. The security staff escorted him about a hundred metres away from the flying machine,” said a Raigad policeman who witnessed the episode. The helicopter subsequently took off with the CM onboard around 2pm. Capt Sanjay Karve, director, Maharashtra civil aviation, said the helicopter landed safely in Juhu around 2.30pm. “There was nothing unusual to report,” he added. Later in the evening, the CM held a briefing to inform key officials about the incident. According to a source, Fadnavis said the pilot started the engine when he reached the helipad. The winds were strong, as the helipad happens to be located 500 metres from the sea.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK New Delhi: Taking a dig at RJD ally Janata Dal (United) and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan said if Lalu Prasad had to blame someone for the current investigations against him, it should be Nitish, who had been demanding action against benami properties. “When the PM had announced demonetisation of high-value currency notes, Nitish Kumar had said it was not a very big step. He had said the real test would be

Rly scam: IRCTC ex-MD’s house raided

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he CBI raided on Friday the house of former Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) managing director P K Goyal in Gurgaon, conducted searches, and detained him for further questioning, an official said. Sources said that during the search at Goyal’s upscale DLF-1 area house, which lasted nearly six hours, the CBI team took into possession some papers and a laptop. Goyal said to the media as he was being taken away by the CBI team, “I am innocent. I have done nothing wrong. It’s been a long time since I retired.” The raids centre on alleged irregularities in the leasing of two railway hotels to a private company when RJD chief Lalu Prasad was railway minister from 2004 to 2009. After the CBI registered a case on Friday, raids in this connection were also carried out at the residences of Lalu, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi. IANS

cracking down on benami properties. The present cases against Lalu Prasad are relat-

ed to benami properties,” he said, “If benami property cases are being investigated,

where is the politics? If there is politics, then it is Nitish Kumar behind it. Laluji must ask questions to Nitish.” He claimed that the central government had nothing to do with the CBI raids on the premises of Lalu. “He was already in jail over his involvement in the fodder scam. There was no NDA government at that time. The court had ordered it. Today’s (Friday’s) raids were in relation with the corruption charges against him. The charges are documented. Political parties or the NDA government has nothing to do with it,” he said.

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TIMES NATION

THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI * SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017

Facial recognition app helps trace over 100 lost children G Joy Theophilus

Techie-Led Team Creates Data Bank Of 3L Missing Kids [email protected]

100 rail stations to have space for nursing moms Ambika Pandit & Mahendra Singh TNN

New Delhi: Lactating mothers travelling by trains will now have the privacy of a dedicated space in 100 waiting rooms of railway stations across the country where they can breastfeed their babies. The railway ministry has informed the women and child development ministry that instructions were issued to all zonal railway authorities to create a private space in waiting rooms for women so that they can comfortably feed their babies. Earlier this year, WCD minister Maneka Gandhi had written to railway minister Suresh Prabhu on the need for private rooms for women who find it difficult to breastfeed their babies as there were no allocated spaces. Maneka cited the complaints of women travelling with babies and how they had been asking her to intervene. In a letter,the railway board informed the secretary of WCD ministry that, “Instructions have been issued to all zonal railways on June 8 to provide a segregated area within the waiting hall at important

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Earlier this year, Maneka Gandhi had written to the railway minister on the need for private space for women to breastfeed their babies comfortably stations for feeding babies by lactating mothers. This corner is provided with a small table and a chair with appropriate partition/screen around it. As of date, more than 100 waiting halls have been provided with this facility. ” Happy at the step, Maneka said, “Breastfeeding is extremely important for the health of a child. We stand for clean, safe and exclusive areas in public places where women can breastfeed their children peacefully. I hope this facility will be extended to all railway stations.” In her letter to Prabhu, Maneka had said, “When women passengers wait on stations for long hours, they cannot breastfeed their baby. They have no facilities to change their clothes as well. And this is due to lack of infrastructure at railway stations.”

Chennai: His muffled laugh is what usually gave ten-year-old S Venkatesan away while playing hide-and-seek. On a humid February afternoon in 1988, Krishnan knew something was amiss when even his holler of defeat in the game wasn’t met with the impish smile emerging from behind a wall or the victorious strut. His brother had vanished without a trace from their familiar East Tambaram neighbourhood. For 28 years Krishnan, who is now based in the US, has been distributing, uploading and sharing photos of his brother hoping for some leads. It was one such road that led him to an office in Adyar. The trail turned cold, but he discovered a team that had a rich repository of data of missing children and used facial recognition software to track them. For close to a year now, Vijay Gnanadesikan, an IT professional, and his

team have been surfing various central and state government websites and social networking sites to create a bank of photos of close to three lakh children in the country who have either gone missing or have been found by authorities. “If you feed in a photo, our software automatically links it to children who look similar in our database,” said Vijay, showing a photo of a 4-year-old child beggar in Allahabad, with matted curls and dirt-streaked cheeks, which he chanced upon in Facebook. The picture matched with another boy in the Central government’s Track Child portal who was reported missing from Haryana by his parents. At present, the closed application, Facetagr, has helped track more than 100 children in different parts of the country. The team is now in talks with the an-

Actor Vikram arrested for Kol model’s death Dwaipayan.Ghosh @timesgroup.com

Kolkata: Kolkata police arrested actor Vikram Chatterjee on Friday from near a city mall, not far from where he had hung out with model Sonika Singh before taking a drive that had allegedly killed the model. Vikram was arrested on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and produced in Alipore court after a night in the lock-up. The court later remanded him in police custody till July 10. A joint team of Tollygunge police and detective department arrested the actor from Kasba in the so-

IN THE DOCK: Vikram

uthern part of the city around 12.15am. Police had slapped the non-bailable culpable homicide charge (Section 304) against him on May 31, more than a month after Sonika died. Joint commissioner of police (crime) Vishal Garg said the high speed at which the car was being driven can be considered as a deliberate act that had caused death.

ti-child trafficking unit here and the directorate of social defence to incorporate facial recognition in their tracking system. The team is now working on a project to track the families of around 15,000 children from Nepal who were rescued while being trafficked into India. “We are giving 15 handsets with the app to volunteers there,” said Vijay. The Central government has two official web portals to register missing children — the ‘Khoya Paya’, or ‘Lost and Found’, a website for public use, and Track Child, which allows police, government and charities to coordinate repatriation. Sifting through more than two lakh photos is often laborious. “And sometimes the children’s spellings may differ in the lost and found pages, so they don’t link,” explained Vijay. In case families don’t have photos, a picture of a sibling can also help the team track the child. According to the Track Child portal 2.5lakh children have gone missing from between January 2012 to March 2017 – that roughly translates into five children vanishing every hour. It also shows that nearly 73,000 children continue to be missing despite various initiatives, including intensive public awareness campaigns undertaken by the government.

Maha cops to get portable kits for beef detection Mumbai: A Maharashtra forensic laboratory will develop and provide to police kits to determine whether a piece of meat is beef or not, officials said on Friday. The move comes amid several reports of lynchings carried out over suspicions the victims were in possession of beef. “These kits can detect meat proteins in a sample and provide test results within half an hour. If the report is positive that a sample is cow meat, it will then be sent for further forensic testing for confirmation through DNA

process,” said K Y Kulkarni, deputy director of the premier Forensics Science Laboratory at Kalina in Mumbai. Each of these portable kits is expected to cost around Rs 8,000. In the first phase, a total of 45 such kits are likely to be given to Mumbai police in August. Each would be capable of testing 100 samples. The move elicited a tweet from Congress MP Shashi Tharoor: “Awful case of misplaced priorities. We have nothing more important to spend state resources on? Beef detection kits!” IANS

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TIMES NATION Train mows down elephant in Assam A speeding train on Friday mowed down a wild elephant while it was trying to cross a railway track in north Lakhimpur district of Assam, a forest official said. PTI

On eve of Burhan anniv, curfew in Srinagar areas Srinagar: Internet and broadband services in the Kashmir Valley were blocked and curfew was imposed in areas under five police stations in old Srinagar on Friday, a day before Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani’s death anniversary. On Saturday, the entire city will be put under curfew to avert any law and order problem. Wani was killed last year in a gunfight with security forces in Kokernag area in Anantnag district.

The state government has deployed more than 21,000 additional central paramilitary forces across J&K. All separatist leaders have been either detained or placed under house arrest. The separatists have given a call for a strike on Saturday. J&K police directed internet service providers to block all social media sites in Kashmir for an indefinite period from Thursday 10pm. Saleem Pandit TNN

* THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017

‘Would’ve held talks had Wani been alive’ Soz’s Comment Sparks Controversy Mumbai: Senior Congress member and understand the pain of Kashmiris.” Saifuddin Soz said on Friday that he Soz said Wani was a “symbol” of milwould have held dialogue with Burhan itancy in the border state and called for Wani if the Hizbul Mujahideen com- starting talks with separatists to resolve mander had not been killed by security the Kashmir issue. “And how to deal with forces last year. “Burhani Wani should militancy? Through a dialogue. I want have stayed alive so that I could have the government to talk to the Hurriyat had a dialogue with him. I would Conference. If you can open a have explained to him that dialogue with us, open with the Kashmir can become a strong Hurriyat as well,” he said. bridge of friendship between InEarlier, speaking at the condia and Pakistan and he (Wani) ference, Soz said Kashmiris cancould also be of help (in achievnot be won over by military ing it). But he is dead now,” he force, asserting the youths of the told a TV news channel. Valley cannot be dubbed as Soz’s controversial com- Saifuddin Soz “stone pelters” as they have a ments came on the sidelines of a reason to revolt. “The problem conference on the situation in Jammu today is not in J&K but in the minds of & Kashmir in Mumbai. Wani was the people there, who feel alienated.” killed by security personnel on July 8 An embarrassed Congress dislast year. His killing had triggered vio- tanced itself from Soz’s comments, lent protests in the Kashmir Valley. saying Wani was a terrorist and had “Those who believe that he was a met his destined end. AICC spokesman martyr can continue to believe so and R P N Singh said, “We don’t support the those who believe he was murdered may comments of our Kashmir leader. Wado so. The incident has already taken ni was a terrorist who died attacking place. We should try and increase friend- the security forces. We are very clear ship between India and Pakistan now about who he was” TNN & AGENCIES

Anantnag bypoll may have to wait till October [email protected]

New Delhi: With the security situation in J&K still not assessed as conducive to hold an election, the bypoll to Anantnag assembly constituency may have to wait until October, when the end of summer usually sees a dip in terrorist activity. The bypoll, originally scheduled for April 12, was postponed by the Election Commission (EC) to May 25 due to security concerns, before being cancelled on May 2. “Though its been two months since the bypoll was cancelled, the situation is still not conducive in Anantnag constituency that covers four districts. It will possibly be a better idea to wait until October to hold the bypoll as not only are the levels of terrorist violence expected to ebb with the onset of winter but also the busy tourist season as well as religious events like Amarnath yatra would be over, sparing adequate central paramilitary

troops for poll deployment,” a senior EC functionary told TOI. Incidentally, the other postponed assembly bypoll — in R K Nagar constituency in Tamil Nadu, left vacant by the death of J Jayalalithaa — may be held earlier than the one in Anantnag. The EC will soon take a decision on scheduling the R K Nagar bypoll, cancelled in April on account to large-scale bribery of voters by the contesting parties. “The R K Nagar bypoll cannot be delayed indefinitely. We will discuss setting a fresh date,” the EC official said. According to EC sources, the warring factions of AIADMK — AlADMK Puratchi Thalaivi Amma (led by O Panneerselvam) and AIADMK Amma (led by T T V Dinakaran and Sasikala) —will contest on separate poll symbols allotted to them after AIADMK’s “two leaves” poll symbol was frozen. There was now a third claimant to AIADMK's legacy and symbol — Jayalalithaa's niece Deepa Jayakumar. “We now have to decide which of the three factions is the real AIADMK,” the EC official said.

25 cows die at govt cattle shelter in Kurukshetra Kurukshetra: At least 25 cows have died at a government shelter in Kurukshetra’s Mathana village, in Haryana, due to “incessant rains and nonavailability of fodder”. Continuous rains led to water-logging in the shelter. A number of cows got stuck in the swampy land and died. A few others starved to death and many have fallen sick, Kiran Bala, the village head, said. Haryana Gau Sewa Commission chairman Bhani Das Mangla and a few district administration officials visited the cow shelter on Thursday to take stock of the situation. Sub-divisional magistrate Narinder Pal Malik asked the officials to shift the sick cows to a cattle shelter in Karnal. PTI

Activist says UP shelter selling cattle for slaughter Keshav Agrawal

TNN

Pilibhit: A local RTI activist has sought to draw the attention of UP CM Yogi Aditya Nath as well as animal husbandry minister SP Singh Baghel to the plight of rescued cows lodged in a shelter at Devipura village. He alleges the shelter has been running without a licence since 2006. Activist Shiv Narayan Singh Chauhan has alleged mismanagement, including the sale of cattle by staff to slaughterers, and demanded a probe. He has also alleged starvation deaths among cattle at the shelter. Asked why rescued cattle were handed over to an unlicenced shelter, SP Dev Ranjan said there was none other in the district.

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THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI , SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017

CONSUMER CONNECT INITIATIVE

PLASTICS EXPO BECKONS MANUFACTURERS, ENTREPRENEURS T

B A Nazeer [email protected]

The event will have key industry players and decision-makers, making it an opportunity for business and strategic alliances strengths is the availability of raw materials in the country. Thus, plastics processors do not have to depend on imports. These raw materials, including polypropylene, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene and PVC, are manufactured here. During 2015-16, major importers of Indian plastic products were US (USD 898.45 million), China (USD 489.25 million), UAE (USD 422.74 million), Germany (USD 290.03 million), UK (USD 287.68 million), Italy (USD 286.9 million), Turkey (USD 285.23 million), Bangladesh (USD 184.33 million), Saudi Arabia (USD 169.1 million) and Nepal (USD 161.09 million) Domestic consumption of plastic is expected to touch 20 million metric tonnes by 2020.

© GETTY IMAGES

TECH STORY

Leena.Mudbidri @timesgroup.com s the sixth edition of Plastasia 2017 gets underway at New Delhi's Pragati Maidan from July 8 to 11, 2017, it reveals the innumerable vistas available for the business. India's plastics industry has been around for decades with plastic products emerging as a popular household entity. This industry is going through a dynamic transition with the impetus on

A

exports. The Indian plastics industry produces and exports a wide range of raw materials, plasticmoulded extruded goods, polyester films, moulded/soft luggage items, writing instruments, plastic woven sacks and bags, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), leather cloth and sheeting, packaging, consumer goods, sanitary fittings, electrical accessories, laboratory/medical surgical ware, tarpaulins, laminates, fishnets, travelware, and others,

states the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF). The total exports of plastic products stood at USD 7.64 billion in the financial year 201516. The Indian plastics industry offers excellent potential in terms of capacity, infrastructure and skilled manpower. It is supported by a large number of polymer producers, and plastic process machinery and mould manufacturers in the country, IBEF says. Among the industry's major

Having access to the best in technology and machinery for the manufacture of plastic ware is what new-age manufacturers are looking for. This is where an exclusive trade expo will prove beneficial. Plastasia 2017 will showcase the latest technology and machinery used in the manufacture of plastics and petrochemicals. With exhibits from all over the world, this is a good platform for exhibitors to display their innovations and services at one venue - Pragadi Maidan. The event will attract key industry players and decisionmakers from the corporate and public sectors providing a strategic setting to forge business tie-ups and contacts. International participants from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan are major highlights of Plastasia 2017.

he plastics industry in India has made great strides. Over the last few decades, the industry has grown to become a leading sector in the country with a sizable base. The per capita consumption is increasing at a fast pace. With the continuous advancements and developments in polymer technology, processing machineries, expertise and cost-effective manufacturing, the typical materials used in the different segments of plastics are being replaced rapidly. The exports of plastic products comprises more than one percent of the country's total exports. The sector has a large presence of small-scale companies, which account for more than 50 percent of the turnover of the industry, and provide employment to an estimated 0.40 million people in the country. Major plastic products exported by India: Raw materials: PVC, PP, PE, ABS master batches additives etc. Packaging: PP, HDPE woven sacks, bags, fabrics, poly-lined jute goods, box strapping, BOPP tapes, a range of plastic sheeting and films (PVC, PP, HDPE, nylon, FRP, PTFE, acrylic etc), pouches, crates, bottles, containers, barrels, cans, carboys, and shopping/carrier/garbage bags. Films: Polyester film, BOPP film, mesh, metalised/multilayer films and photo films. Consumer goods: Toothbrushes, cleaning brushes, hair brushes, cosmetic brushes, combs, molded furniture (chairs, tables etc) houseware, kitchenware, insulated molded houseware, microwave reheatable containers, mats and mattresses, water bottles,

Prospects high for investments in plastics THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY IN INDIA IS ALL SET TO CONTINUE ON A HIGH GROWTH PATH gifts and novelties, a range of stationery items such as files, folders, mathematical instruments etc. Writing instruments: Pens, ball pens, markers, sign pens, refills etc. Travelware: Molded luggage, soft luggage, a range of bags such as school bags, ladies handbags, wallets etc. Floor coverings: Vinyl floor coverings and linoleum Irrigation, storage systems: Foam boards drip irrigation systems and components, pipes and pipe fittings made of PVC, HDPE, PP, FRP and nylon, and water storage tanks. Others: Toys, games and engineering plastics. Auto components, parts for various machinery and equipment in telecommunications, railways, electronics etc. Electrical accessories, sanitary fittings such as cisterns, toilet seats, bathroom fittings etc. Tarpaulins, fishnets, fishing lines and ropes. Eyewear such as lenses, spectacle frames etc. laboratoryware, surgical and medical items such as disposable syringes, blood/urine bags, IV sets etc. Products from the plastics industry in India are exported to over 150 countries around the globe with the major trading

partners being the European Union, USA, Italy, UK, China, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Nigeria, Indonesia, Egypt and Singapore. In India, the Plastics Export Promotion

Council (popularly known as PLEXCONCIL) by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Commerce, Government of India, represents the exporting community in the plastics industry. The export promotion strategies of PLEXCONCIL have fetched rich dividends, which is exhibited in the form of high export growth rates. According to a PLEXCONCIL report, from a meager export turnover of 16.50 million US Dollars' worth of exports in 1955-56, the exports from the Indian plastics industry has reached over 7.70 billion USD in 2015-16 and has

targeted 10 billion USD by 2017-18. The Indian plastics industry has the potential to continue on its fast growth trend. However, over the next few years, competition in the industry is expected to increase considerably, as a result of global trends, which will become applicable to the liberalised domestic economy. Both polymer manufacturers and processors will need to adopt new methods and approaches to reduce costs, improve customer service, and management of performance. The per capita consumption of plastics in India is well below the world average. However, it reflects the many years of growth ahead, as the country's economy continues to grow and upgrade the usage of products. Translating the expected growth rate into incremental demand, it is obvious that the country will remain one of the largest sources of additional demand for all kinds of plastics. Hence, it is clear that plastics will continue to be a growth industry, boosting prospects for fresh investments in polymerisation and downstream processing capacity. (The author is President, Canara Plastic Manufacturers and Traders Association)

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BJP, Left, Cong prevented from visiting tense Basirhat Subhrajit Chandra

Bengal Govt Says Situation Under Control People in the troubled areas chose to stay indoors with shops and schools remaining closed and transportation badly hit

that they will not be allowed to proceed as per the decision of the administration. The situation is still tense. But they were adamant and said either they will court arrest or proceed,” a senior police officer said. They were subsequently brought to the air-

port police station. Earlier in the day, the police also prevented Left and Congress members from proceeding towards the riot-hit areas citing the law and order situation. “We were stopped near Ashoknagar area on the ground that it might create a

UP to retire non-performing officials aged over 50 Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government is set to review the performance of its employees who are over 50 years of age and recommend compulsory retirement of those who are not up to the mark. According to an order issued by chief secretary Rajive Kumar, additional chief secretaries, chief secretaries and secretaries of all departments have been asked to review the performance of the staff till July 31. The date for determining the age of

ED attaches more assets of Delhi lawyer, Kol bizman TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: In fresh action against Delhi-based lawyer Rohit Tandon and his associate and Kolkata businessman Paras Mal Lodha, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday provisionally attached moveable properties worth Rs 2.85 crore belonging to the two. The total attachment in this case has now gone up to Rs 9.70 crore. The ED had earlier attached immovable properties worth Rs 6.84 crore belonging to Lodha and Tandon. Now, in the second order, the ED has attached cash in banks and those seized by the income tax, a total of Rs 2.85 crore belonging to the two. Lodha and allegedly helped Tandon to convert demonetised currency notes with new currency notes soon

UNDER LENS after the government's announcement of the demonetisation in November last year. The ED’s probe revealed that Lodha had illegally exchanged more than Rs 20 crore of Rohit Tandon and others on commission basis. A joint search operation carried out by the I-T and the Delhi police resulted in the seizure of Rs 13.65 crore, including Rs 2.62 crore in new notes of Rs 2,000 from Tandon’s Greater Kailash-I office on December 10. Both Tandon and Lodha have been booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act case. A series of subsequent searches on hawala dealers revealed the duo’s involvement in several other cash transactions that further strengthened the ED's money laundering case. Lodha was arrested on December 21 and a chargesheet was filed against him in the Special PMLA court on February 17.

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TIMES NATION | Politics & Policy

THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017

Kolkata: BJP, Left and Congress delegations were on Friday prevented from visiting violence-hit areas in Basirhat, around 80 kms from here, by the police even as the situation there remained tense and internet services suspended. A BJP delegation, led by MP Roopa Ganguly, which was heading towards Baduria, was detained by the police at Michael Nagar near the airport here. “We told the BJP leaders

Time: 07-07-2017

50 years has been fixed for March 31. The directive cites the finance handbook rules which states that the appointing authority, at any given time, can retire the staff without giving any reason by a three months’ notice and government orders issued in this connection from time to time. A government spokesperson said there was nothing new in the order as there was already a provision for reviewing the performance of all staff who crossed 50 years.

law and order problem. But we were not going there with any political motive. We were going there to meet the people affected by the communal clashes,” CPM member Sujan Chakraborty said. The Congress team, led by WBPCC chief Adhir Chowdhury, was also stopped at Barasat. The state government said the situation was under control in Baduria, Swarupnagar, Deganga and Basirhat, which had witnessed violence. Prohibitory orders are in force there. People in the troubled areas chose to stay indoors with shops and schools remaining closed. Meanwhile, The police inspector in-charge of Basirhat, Nasim Akhtar, has been transferred. PTI

POLI

e-speak DEREK O’BRIEN

@quizderek Despite rumours and false propaganda, now all peaceful. Under control #BasirhatForPeace

VIJAY GOEL

@VijayGoelBJP #Bengal has been a peaceful & vibrant state but failure of state machinery due to vested interest has made things chaotic! Praying for peace

OMAR ABDULLAH

@abdullah_omar Confused J&K Govt restores mobile internet for a few hours only to shut it down again. Their cluelessness knows no bounds

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AN EPIPHANY We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

PM’s Israel visit puts people at the heart of bilateral ties

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rime Minister Narendra Modi’s Israel trip once again highlights his government’s penchant for bold decisionmaking on the foreign policy front. Not only has this trip brought India-Israel relations out of the closet, it has also elevated bilateral ties to a strategic partnership. There was quite notable personal chemistry between Modi and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. From describing the India-Israel partnership as a “marriage made in heaven” to taking a stroll together on the Olga beach, Netanyahu went the extra mile with the Indian premier. This personal bonhomie has translated into enhanced policy synergies. A slew of agreements have been signed in sectors such as agriculture, water conservation and satellite technologies. India is already Israel’s largest defence client, and transactions in this area are slated to further increase in the near future with New Delhi waiting to receive armed drones from Tel Aviv. On the business front, Indianand Israeli companies signed strategic pacts worth $4.3 billion. Around 30 CEOs from both sides promised to power the economic and investment relationship, commending the setting up of a $40 million innovation fund. Add to this the announcement of a new direct flight between India and Israel, and the simplification of rules for obtaining Overseas Citizen of India cards for Indian-origin people in Israel. Overall the visit garnered significant attention for people-to-people connections, with Netanyahu even stating that the two countries had a human bridge between them. This was bolstered by Modi meeting 26/11 survivor Moshe Holtzberg and visiting the Indian War Cemetery in Haifa. In that sense, Modi’s visit has put people at the centre of bilateral ties. This should not only hold the two countries in good stead but also put their partnership on a firm, independent track.

Chasing Fair Play Women’s cricket vs Waqar Younis

Right now it’s a giant black hole relentlessly sucking in taxpayer money Chetan Bhagat

Recently the Cabinet gave in-principle approval to sell Air India. It is an oft-repeated idea, but this time the resolve seems to be stronger. Government will really be doing our country a huge favour if it gets rid of this company, which is a giant black hole relentlessly sucking in taxpayer money. As an ex-distressed banker, i can say this: some companies can be rescued from the hole they have dug themselves in. Others have dug it so deep, they can never, ever get out. Air India is in the latter category. There is no point saying, “But last time i flew, the service was good.” It’s irrelevant. The hard truth is this: the company is a dud. Sorry. Here’s the math, as an example. Imagine your neighbour has a drinking problem because of which he racks up loans of over Rs 5 crore. But instead of earning money and paying back the loans, he continues to borrow even more and spends another Rs 70 lakh a year on his addiction. Over the decades you have rescued him several times. However, he refuses to change. Now the loans are too big. Even if he did try his best, he can’t make more than a couple of lakhs a year. Hence he can never repay his debts. To understand Air India, multiply the numbers in the example above by 10,000. It has over Rs 50,000 crore of debt and is cashflow negative, reportedly by over Rs 7,000 crore a year – the numbers could be worse, as the company hasn’t released recent data and CAG has raised issues even about the data it has released. Even in the best of scenarios, Air India can’t earn enough to repay its debt. So no new buyer can buy it as-is, with its mountain of debt. For there is no scope to repay it. Financially, right now Air India is the worst corporate in the country. There’s no point in casting blame. When sins have been done over decades,

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s the Women’s Cricket World Cup rolls on, the question is why it hasn’t merited the wall to wall coverage that the male version commands. After all, captain Mithali Raj is a cricketing legend, and could well become the all-time highest runscorer in the world. And yet, this cricket-mad nation has steadily ignored the women’s game. Why? Some say it is simply less fun to watch. Waqar Younis suggests restricting women’s ODIs to 30 overs to make them seem pacier. While individual women excelling at tennis or gymnastics draw attention, their team sports are dismissed as ‘boring’. Much of that bias lies in the coverage. Research has found that sports media outlets cover the women’s game less compellingly, with lazy camerawork, fewer cuts to short and instant replays, and lacklustre commentary. This is not to deny the difference in physical ability between women and men, but the extent to which it affects viewing pleasure. It’s a chicken and egg conundrum. Visibility matters, if female sportspersons are to draw larger audiences. Right now, fewer people care about or follow women’s sports. There are wide gaps in sponsorship and pay. The only way to tilt this field is to simply enter it in large numbers: the more women there are who play for fun and professionally, who have a say in the sponsorship, coverage and consumption of sports, the sooner this skew can be fixed. As the Dangal tagline has it, mhari chhoriyan chhoron se kum hain ke?

This Land Is Whose Land? We are not ordained for a national identity narrowly defined Gautam Adhikari

Provincetown, MA: This little town on the northern tip of Cape Cod is known for its distinctive, some would say quirky, character. I say ‘little town’ because its off-season population is around 4,000. But it swells to 2,00,000 every summer when people from all over the world come to visit. My friend Rajiv visited a couple of years ago and actually tumbled from a sidewalk swinging his head to look at the sheer numbers of Indians around, especially an elderly couple who were wearing wool scarves and jackets in stark contrast to the paucity of clothes everywhere. The rock symphony of languages and accents you hear is an ode to life in all its joyous variety. Hundreds of colourful flags flutter in the summer breeze. Three flags catch the eye: the rainbow banner, Portugal’s flag and the American stars and stripes. They reflect three faces of this town. Rainbow flags are common because Provincetown is known to many as the gay capital of the world. Being heterosexual here might make you feel you belong to a minority. Gay night clubs flourish, transgender folk wander unselfconsciously, even some cops are obviously gay. The Portuguese flag adorns housetops because a section of local inhabitants came originally from Portugal. I was initially surprised in a bar watching an international soccer match on TV to find numerous supporters of the Portuguese team even when they were playing against the US. They waved Portugal’s flag but spoke in American accents. Which brings us to the US flag in a symbolic week when Americans celebrated independence day on the fourth of July. Who exactly is an ‘American’ and therefore a rightful bearer of the stars and stripes? Or, who is an ‘Indian’? Are we all ordained from time immemorial to belong to a singular national identity narrowly defined? Or is national identity a recent entry in human discourse and may pass as a phase in history? Who are we in essence: American, Indian, Portuguese, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, atheist, black, white? All of the above? Such questions are at the heart of fierce arguments in both the world’s largest two democracies. In neither nation, in my careful opinion, is or has there ever been an airtight definition of national identity. Both are culturally dynamic. They have evolved into their current identities by absorbing elements from several cultures in a series of passing phases. And yet, that somewhat fluid state itself is a cause of raging debate, sometimes violent, in India and the US. In India, one side insists nationhood must be based on a Hindu identity; others disagree, pointing to the Constitution which deliberately avoids mentioning the primacy of any particular religion or culture to form the idea of India. Thus, one side insists that cows are sacred, so beef, and even other meats, must not be eaten because the Hindu identity would be sullied; others retort that such arguments sully the constitutionally-defined diverse Indian identity. In the US, a turmoil of argument over immigration’s impact on culture and national identity has boiled over in the months that Donald Trump has been president. Now, even a few progressive thinkers have begun to wonder whether liberals have ignored at a cost the problems caused by high rates of immigration. Peter Beinart, a liberal intellectual, argues in the current issue of the Atlantic that liberals in the past decade have emphasised diversity over unity and it is time to address Americans’ yearning for social cohesion. What Beinart doesn’t ask is why the current wave ought to be tackled differently than past waves of immigration which too caused misgivings for a generation or two among natives until a fairly rapid assimilation evolved into place. Is it because past influxes were of a different hue? Ah well, in my view the late Woody Guthrie had it right when he sang “This land is your land” before “This land is my land”, ending with the refrain “This land was made for you and me”...

THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017

Sell Air India For One Rupee

A thought for today

Shalom Namaste

OF IDEAS

Chad Crowe

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no one person or set of persons is to blame. One does feel bad for the 20,000 plus employees, who may even be working hard at running the company day to day. But the black hole is going to remain just that, and the taxpayer is paying for it. Air India’s annual cashflow loss is equal to what Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher owes banks. Air India costs us one Mallya a year, money that can be used to build hundreds of hospitals and schools. Many lame arguments are given to not sell Air India. These include arguing that it is the flag carrier. Well, many countries no longer have flag carriers (including America). In other cases they don’t cost government so much. Flag carrier pride for a passenger airline is stupid. Air India is not the Indian Air Force. Air India’s role in rescue efforts is also tom-tommed. Well, it beats all logic to keep such an expensive operation on

Beware opposing voices that will complain after the sale, “We sold Air India for nothing.” Tell them, we didn’t sell it, we got rid of it, and that has saved us a lot of money every year standby for occasional rescues. It’s better the Centre gives money to private airlines in an emergency. Do we really think if there is a rare, genuine calamity, and government wants to pay to hire a plane, IndiGo and SpiceJet are going to refuse? And isn’t this far more efficient than burning Rs 7,000 crore a year? These two noble arguments to keep Air India alive as-is hide the real reason. It is the neta’s and babu’s club in the sky.

Politicians and bureaucrats, along with their families, friends and neighbours, all abuse Air India to get free upgrades and slavish service from the staff. Getting Air India off the government’s hands will end these VVIP joys. Even if we want to pamper netas and babus, there are cheaper ways. Paying them money to fly business, or even first class, in private airlines will be cheaper than keeping the Air India monster alive. Government can buy upgrade vouchers for its senior functionaries. So how does one sell Air India? Its assets, office infrastructure, running operation and landing rights have some value – though well below its debt. Government should give it to the highest bidder amongst various private players. Of course the bid is unlikely to pay off the entire debt, so the winning bidder will probably be someone who wants the least discount on the loan. Employees may be retained or retrenched, something the new buyer will decide. But a decent retrenchment package (say three years’ salary) for the entire staff would cost around Rs 9,000 crore (given a salary bill of Rs 3,000 crore a year). The new buyers will take that into account in their bid. Even in the best case, government will have to give a discount on the loan. It may even have to give the company to the new buyer for one rupee. The process will not make government any money. But it will get rid of a part of the loan and all of the cash burning enterprise. To that extent, this entire exercise is not so much a sale of Air India as good riddance. This is something we need to understand going into the sale, so we don’t have unrealistic expectations from it. Beware opposing voices that will complain after the sale, “We sold Air India for nothing.” Tell them, we didn’t sell it, we got rid of it, and that has saved us a lot of money every year. Let’s all keep up the pressure to ensure that the Modi government sells Air India. We will be doing the country’s finances a big favour.

We are not in 1962 and we are militarily strong, but India can’t afford a piecemeal approach to Doklam style events Manmohan Bahadur

The ongoing ‘skirmishes’ in the Doklam plateau have been engaging India’s attention as a behaviour that is ‘different from normal’ on part of the Chinese – assertive, provocative and obdurate. That a third party, Bhutan, is involved adds to the murkiness. A closer look, however, shows it as no different from Sun Tzu’s principle of strategic deception. In 1999, two colonels of the People’s Liberation Army, Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui, wrote in their book, Unrestricted Warfare, how China should prosecute future wars. Stating that “the first rule of unrestricted warfare is that there are no rules, with nothing forbidden,” they suggested a multi-pronged approach to attack the target country’s vitals in all spheres – diplomatic, political, social and of course military. That this got an official sanction of sorts got indicated by the decision of the central military commission in 2003 to have a three warfare concept – psychological, media and legal; a development conveyed to the US Congress by their defence department in a 2011 report. It was further analysed and expanded to mean warfare in multiple spheres – like

financial, ecological, technological, trade, media, economic aid and international law. Did this gameplan play out at Chumar and Depsang earlier, and is it now driving events in Dokalam? The Depsang intrusions took place before the Indian foreign minister was to attend the ministerial conference on Afghanistan at Almaty, Kazakhstan. Thereafter, ever since an assertive government took office in Delhi, one can

China has fished in India’s troubled northeast since long and our internal governance has not helped matters discern continuation of this trend to keep it occupied with multiple pin pricks. The Chumar intrusions happened while President Xi Jinping was with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad. Reportedly, the Chinese withdrew after having achieved two objectives: first, a message that they would rake up the border issue as and when it suits them to keep our diplomatic and military establishments embroiled in expending energies and second, the intrusions played on

India’s sensitivities of the 1962 debacle to put a lingering doubt in the general public’s mind – all to psychologically dilute the muscular approach of the government in Delhi. The Doklam incident is following a similar pattern as earlier: create a controversy by an intrusion and milk the brouhaha created in the raucous Indian media to strike the general national mood through psychological warfare – that it has coincided with the PM’s trips to the US and Israel is also no coincidence. A new first has been added this time with the Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, stating that “Beijing should

reconsider its stance over the Sikkim issue” and “although China recognised India’s annexation in 2003, it can readjust its stance on the matter.” This has introduced a new element of subversive warfare as the editorial further adds that, “since some Chinese support Sikkim’s independence, the voices will spread and fuel pro-independence appeals in Sikkim.” This could represent an escalation showing intent but may not necessarily be true. However, a new front may have opened, and even if the Doklam situation gets diffused, this is an argument that the Chinese can reopen any time and address us through their three warfare concept – psychological, media

dilbert

and legal. China has fished in India’s troubled northeast since long and our internal governance has not helped matters. With the Gorkha agitation having restarted in the hills of Darjeeling, next door to Sikkim, the ‘Sikkim-independence’ statement by China should not be ignored. It also confirms the unrestricted warfare strategy of China to engage with an adversary in myriad forms of warfare listed earlier. So, as China tries to apply the geo-political squeeze by its strategy of drowning our neighbours through ‘loan warfare’ (Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, with Nepal to follow) and making them indebted to it, India’s political establishment has its work cut out. The defence minister has stated that we are not in 1962, and for sure we are militarily strong, but Doklam style events must be acknowledged for their long term effects and a ‘whole of government’ approach adopted – this involves planning at the strategic level and a coordinated implementation of an action plan by all arms of the government. A piecemeal approach, and feeling happy on termination of each individual crisis, would only be detrimental to India’s long term strategic interests. The writer is a retired Air Vice Marshal

Sacredspace Your Thoughts Thought is a tremendous force in the life of any individual. Thoughts shape our attitudes. Attitudes mould our character. Character influences our life. By changing our thought pattern, we can change our life. Dada JP Vaswani

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I Am Not Making Myself A Guru To You Interaction: J Krishnamurti

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n spite of your emphatic denial of the need for a guru, are you not yourself a guru? What is the difference? Krishnamurti: Sir, what do you mean by a guru? Why do you need a guru? Whether you make me one or not, I am not making myself a guru to you. That is why a follower is a curse. The follower is the destroyer; the follower is the exploiter. (Laughter.) Do not laugh it away, think about it very earnestly and see the consequence of it. Let us examine this question. Now, what do you mean by a guru? You generally mean, do you not, one who will lead you to reality? Your guru is not the man of whom you can ask the direction to the station. You would not

call the professor a guru, the man who teaches you the piano. Obviously, you mean by the guru one who will lead you to truth, give you a mode of conduct, one who will provide the key or open the door, give you nourishment, sustenance and encouragement – that is, one who will gratify you profoundly. You already know the superficial gratifications, and you want a deeper gratification, a deeper satisfaction, so you turn to someone who will assist you; you seek a guru because you yourself are confused, and you want direction, you want to be told how to act and what to do. So, all these things are involved in this; but by a guru we mean primarily one who will help us to unravel life’s

the

problems – not the technical problems, but the more subtle, the hidden, psychological problems. Now, has truth an abiding place? Has truth a fixed point? Has truth an abode, or is truth a dynamic, living thing, and therefore without a resting place? Truth is in constant movement; but if you say it is a fixed point, then you will have to find a guru who will lead you to it, and the guru becomes necessary as a pointer. That means that both you and the guru must know that truth is there, in a fixed place, like the station. Then you can ask the way, then you can approach the fixed point; and in order to achieve that, you need a guru who will direct and lead you to that fixed thing. But is truth a fixed thing? And if it is

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fixed, is it true? Also, if you want truth and you go to a guru, you must know what truth is, must you not? When you go to a guru you do not say, ‘I want to discover reality,’ on the contrary, you say, ‘Help me to realise truth.’ Therefore, you already have an idea of what it is, you already know its content, its beauty, its loveliness, its fragrance. Do you know what it is? How can a confused man know clarity? He can only know confusion, or think of clarity as the opposite of what is. (Poona India 6th Public Talk, 3rd October, 1948. Courtesy: KFI.) Post your comments at speakingtree.in Ask your vendor for your copy of The Speaking Tree newspaper on Sunday. Special feature in the issue of July 9, 2017: Astral Travel, an interview with Sri M; Swami Tejomayananda on Guru Mahima; and Prana, the force that operates the universe.

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Finally, a mobile that doesn’t need charging Claimed To Be First Of Its Type, The Handset Harvests Wi-Fi Signals And Light To Operate Thinkstock

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he first battery-free mobile phone has been invented, signalling the end of chargers and dying handsets. Engineers in the US say the phone can make and receive calls using only a few microwatts of power, which it gets from light or Wi-Fi signals. The inventors also made powerhungry Skype calls using the battery-free phone, demonstrating that the prototype, made of commercial, off-the-shelf components, can receive and transmit speech and communicate with a base station. Professor Shyam Gollakota, a member of the research team at the University of Washington, said: “We have built what we believe is the first

TALK UNINTERRUPTED: Researchers said the phone can make and receive calls using only a few microwatts of power

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reenland sharks, the longest living vertebrates on Earth that live for up to 400 years, could hold the secret to long life, geneticists mapping their DNA say. Researchers working with the University of Exeter in the UK believe that the Greenland shark’s extreme life span makes it so unique that there is a case for giving it a special conservation status. “We are currently sequencing its whole nuclear genome, which will help us discover why the Greenland shark not only lives longer than other shark species but other vertebrates,” Professor Kim Praebel said. When found, the ‘long-life’ genes could shed light on why all vertebrates have a limited life span, and what dictates the life expectancy of different species, including humans.

Setback for bid to find life on Mars: Hopes of finding life on Mars, at least on the surface, have been dealt a blow by a study’s conclusion that salt minerals present on the Red Planet kill bacteria. In lab tests on Earth, the compounds known as perchlorates killed cultures of the bacteria Bacillus subtilis, a basic life form, a research duo from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics & Astronomy reported. AFP

type has a power budget of 3.5 microwatts. The researchers demonstrated how they harvested this small amount of energy from two different sources. The battery-free phone prototype can operate on power gathered from ambient radio signals transmitted by a base station up to 31 feet away. They also got power from ambient light with a tiny solar cell — roughly the size of a grain of rice. Researcher Joshua Smith said: “The cellphone is the device we depend on most today. So if there were one device you’d want to be able to use without batteries, it is the cellphone. The proof of concept we’ve developed... could impact everyday devices in the future.” DAILY MIRROR

FOUR TYPES OF FACEBOOK USERS Bug shutting down THE Do you use Facebook reach out to distant Instagram accounts tocontacts, or just to show Aatif Sulleyman

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nstagram users are complaining that their accounts appear to have been deleted for no apparent reason. The photo-sharing app’s Twitter and Facebook pages are being bombarded with messages from users who have lost access to their accounts and are unable to log in to them. The affected users’ Instagram accounts look as if they’ve been deleted, with the message “Sorry, this page isn’t available” appearing on them. Instagram is aware of the problem, and says “a bug” is to blame. “We’re aware of a bug that's causing some users to be logged out of their accounts,” it announced on Twitter. “We’re working to resolve this as quickly as possible.” The company has also assured users that their accounts and pictures haven’t been lost. Some users say the app is telling them to enter their phone number and wait for a security code, which they then aren’t receiving. Others are reporting that the app says their account “has been disabled for violating (Instagram’s) terms”. THE INDEPENDENT

off your latest outfit? Researchers at Brigham Young University in the US have identified four distinct groups into which Facebook users can be classified. So, which one are you?

RELATIONSHIP BUILDERS: Relationship builders post, respond to others’ posts & use additional FB features primarily to fortify real-world relationships, for example, with family & friends

SELFIES: These people use FB to self-

promote, and to present an image of themselves that may or may not be true. Like relationship builders, they post pictures, videos and text updates— but unlike the former, they’re focused on getting attention, likes and comments

TOWN CRIERS: Users who experience a much larger gap between their real and virtual worlds. Unconcerned with sharing photos, stories or other information about themselves, they instead “want to inform everybody about what’s going on”, the researchers said. They repost news stories, announce events — but may otherwise neglect their profiles, preferring to update family and friends through alternative means

WINDOW SHOPPERS: Like the

town criers, these people feel a sense of social obligation to be on FB, and rarely post personal information. These users “want to see what other people are doing”; they want to be able to “look at the Facebook profile of someone they have a crush on and know their interests and relationship status” Source: Daily Mirror

Why women blame women when men cheat Sarah Young

Y A woman with a crown of flowers is seen during a celebration of the ‘Midsummer Night’, an ancient Slavic holiday still observed in Ukraine with rituals such as jumping over a fire, and tossing of garlands into water by women looking for love

phone uses vibrations from the device’s microphone to encode speech patterns in the reflected signals. To receive speech, it converts encoded radio signals into sound vibrations that that are picked up by the phone’s speaker. In the prototype device, the user presses a button to switch between these the “transmitting” and “listening” modes. Using components on a printed circuit board, the team demonstrated that the prototype can perform basic phone functions, such as transmitting speech and data and receiving user input via buttons. The battery-free phone still does require a small amount of energy to perform some operations. The proto-

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Greenland sharks could hold genetic secret to long life

functioning cellphone that consumes almost zero power.” “To achieve the really, really low power consumption that you need to run a phone by harvesting energy from the environment, we had to fundamentally rethink how these devices are designed,” he added. The team, involving computer scientists and electrical engineers, eliminated a power-hungry step in most modern cellular transmissions — converting analog signals which convey sound into digital data that a phone can understand. They said this process consumes so much energy that it’s been impossible to design a phone that can rely on ambient power sources. To transmit speech, the

ou might have suspected it for days but finally discovering that your partner has been unfaithful can be a devastating . And as you struggle to come to terms with it, it’s natural to ask questions. The most common of which — who is to blame? A new study has revealed that both sexes have very different ideas on who should take responsibility for two-timing. Researchers at Cardiff Metro-

politan University found that while women tend to blame ‘the other woman’, most men lay the guilt on their cheating wives. The data shows that women are more distressed by emotional chea-

ONE-WAY STREET? ting such as adulterous messages sent by a rival to their partner, than actual sex. On the other hand, men regard physical intimacy to be the worst type of betrayal. Researchers said that these findings

could be explained by our caveman past. “One explanation may be that women, because they are the choosier sex and bring up the children, are seen as the most important sex for childbearing,” said lead author Michael Dunn. “This is why they may be blamed for a relationship breaking down, by men or women, whether they are inside or outside of that relationship.” In the study, researchers asked 21 men and 23 women to look at eight messages on Face-

book which detailed different cheating situations. They were then asked to rate their response on a distress scale of one to 10. The studyalso showed that men were more affected by sexual interaction, while women showed more distress at emotional cheating. This could be because in the past it was difficult for women to raise a child on her own and as such, needed to secure resources from a man which, if he became emotionally connected to someone else, she would lose. THE INDEPENDENT

New particle with double dose of charm found S

cientists have found an ing pair, Wilkinson said. extra charming new “People have looked for it subatomic particle that for a long time,” Wilkinson they hope will help further said. He said this opens up a explain a key force that whole new “family” of babinds matter together. ryons for physicists to find Physicists at the Large and study. Hadron Collider in Europe “It gives us a very unique announced on Thursday the and interesting laboratory fleeting discovery of a long to give us an interesting new theorised but never-before- angle on the behaviour of seen type of baryon. the strong interaction (beBaryons are subatomic tween particles), which is particles made up of quarks. one of the key forces in naProtons and neutrons are the ture,” Wilkinson said. most common baryons. Chris Quigg, a theoretiQuarks are even AP smaller particles that come in six types, two common types that are light and four heavier types. The highspeed collisions at the world’s biggest atom smasher created for a fraction of a second a baryon particle called Xi cc A NEW ‘FAMILY’ TO STUDY: An artist’s (pronounced ka- conception of the new subatomic particle, sigh-see-see), said Xi cc, is seen in this image provided by CERN Oxford physicist Guy Wilkinson, who is part cal physicist at the Fermilab of the experiment. near Chicago, US, who The particle has two wasn’t part of the discovery heavy quarks — both of a type team, praised the discovery called ‘charm’ — and a light and said “it gives us a lot to one. In the natural world, ba- think about”. ryons have at most one heavy The Large Hadron Colquark. It may have been brief, lider, located in a 27-kilobut in particle physics it lived metre tunnel beneath the for “an appreciably long Swiss-French border, was time”, Wilkinson said. instrumental in the discovThe two heavy quarks are ery of the Higgs boson. It in a dance that’s just like the was built by the European interaction of a star system Organisation for Nuclear with two suns, and the third Research, known by its lighter quark circles the danc- French acronym CERN. AP

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TUPAC SHAKUR SPLIT WITH MADONNA 20 YEARS AGO FEARING THAT DATING A WHITE WOULD HURT IMAGE

ONE MUST NOT LET ONESELF BE OVERWHELMED BY SADNESS — JACKIE KENNEDY

EMMA STONE REVEALS HER MALE CO-STARS TOOK PAY CUTS TO MAKE SURE SHE GETS EQUAL PAY

Trump confronts Putin on poll hack

US bombers fly over S China Sea, Beijing sees red

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Protesters keep Melania from summit events

In First Face-To-Face Meet, US Prez Says An Honour To Be With Vladimir Hamburg: President Donald Trump voiced optimism that there are “very positive things” in store for the US and Russia as he sat down with President Vladimir Putin on Friday for an historic first meeting. Seated next to Putin in Germany, Trump said it was “an honour” to be with Putin. As journalists were briefly allowed in to witness part of the meeting, Trump said that he and Putin had already held “very, very good talks.” “We look forward to a lot of very positive things happening for Russia, for the United States and for everybody concerned,” Trump said. With secretary of state Rex Tillerson at his side, Trump sat in front of an American flag with his hands clasped together in triangle formation. Putin, slightly hunched in his chair, rubbed his fingers together as he listened to Trump address reporters. His foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, sat nearby. Putin described the fact that they were meeting as a positive sign in itself, and he said he hoped the meeting would “yield positive results.” “Phone conversations are never enough definitely,” Putin said. “If you want to have a positive outcome in bilaterals and be able to resolve most international policy issues, that will really need personal meetings.” Earlier scheduled for just 30 minutes, the faceto-face meeting lasted for more than two hours. Later talking to reporters, Tillerson said that the US president opened the meeting by raising US concerns about Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election. He said Putin denied being involved, adding that the Russians asked for evidence. Trump’s decision to confront Putin directly over elec-

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he US and Russia struck an agreement on a cease-fire in southwest Syria, crowning President Donald Trump’s first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is the first US-Russian effort under Trump’s presidency to stem Syria’s six-year civil war. The ceasefire goes into effect on Sunday at noon Damascus time, according to US officials and the Jordanian government, which is also involved in the deal. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson said the understanding is designed to reduce violence in an area of Syria near Jordan’s border and which is critical to the US ally’s security. It’s a “very complicated part of the Syrian battlefield,” Tillerson said. AP

tion interference fulfilled ardent demands by US lawmakers of both parties that the president not shy away from the issue in his highly anticipated meeting with Putin. Putin’s denial of culpability notwithstanding, he and Trump agreed that the issue has become a hindrance to better relations between the two powers, said Tillerson. He said the discussion about the election meddling was “robust and lengthy.” Tillerson said the two leaders agreed to continue the discussion, with an eye toward securing a commitment that Russia won’t interfere in US affairs in the future. In a prelude to their formal sit-down, Trump and Putin shook hands and exchanged broad grins earlier in the day. A brief video clip showed Trump outstretching his hand to Putin as officials gathered around a table, then patting Putin’s elbow as both men smiled. AGENCIES

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump

Pak is world’s 5th most prolific executioner

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akistan has executed 465 prisoners since lifting a moratorium on death penalty in 2014, becoming the “fifth most prolific executioner” in the world, says an organisation working for prisoners’ rights. Death penalty is exceedingly used as a political tool, sometimes even as a jail overcrowding solution, the report said.

May calls for Thatcher statue outside House: British PM Theresa May wants to put up a statue of “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher outside the British parliament despite concerns it could be vandalised.

nti-globalisation protesters are keeping US first lady Melania Trump from joining the spouses of world leaders attending an international summit in Germany. Her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, says Hamburg police haven’t cleared the first lady to leave the government guest house because of the protesters. Friday’s program for the spouses included a boat ride, lunch and a tour of a climate control center. Melania tweeted that she was thinking of those who were hurt during protests and hopes everyone stays safe.

US, Russia agree on Syria ceasefire

Reuters

WORLD DIGEST

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Flyer assaults crew member, forces U-turn Seattle: A Delta Air Lines flight bound for Beijing returned to Seattle on Thursday after a 23-year-old male passenger, from Florida, assaulted a flight attendant in the firstclass cabin before being subdued by other travellers, a SeattleTacoma International Airport spokesman said. The pilot decided to turn back and call for police, fire, and medical personnel to meet the plane after the incident. No further details have been released. The FBI interviewed passengers and had no information to suggest the incident was a threat to national security. The flight attendant and flyer were sent to hospital after the Boeing 767-300 landed safely. REUTERS

70 PROTESTERS HELD, 160 COPS HURT: Anti-globalisation activists clashed with police across Hamburg on Friday, setting cars ablaze and trying to enter the convention centre where G20 leaders are meeting. Police ordered 900 additional officers from across the country to get the clashes under control. Over 160 police officers were injured, dozens of activists had to be hospitalised and over 70 protesters were detained. Most of the demonstrations were peaceful and creative, but some rioters threw gasoline bombs, iron rods and cobble stones, forcing police to use water canons. German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the protests as ‘unacceptable’

World leaders pressure US prez for compromise on climate pact Hamburg: World leaders ratcheted up pressure on US President Donald Trump to compromise on climate and trade as a Group of 20 summit got underway in Germany amid clashes between police and protesters. In a joint communique issued as the leaders gathered in a vast convention centre in Hamburg, Brazil, Russia, India and China — the so-called BRICS countries — called on the G20 to push for implementation of the Paris climate deal despite Trump’s decision last month to pull the United States out of it.

“The Paris agreement on climate change is an important consensus that doesn’t come easily and must not be given up easily,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping. British PM Theresa May said G20 leaders would urge Trump to reconsider his decision on Paris. “We are not renegotiating the Paris agreement, that stays, but I want to see the US looking for ways to rejoin it,” she told the BBC. The meeting comes at a time of major shifts in the global geopolitical landscape, with Trump’s “America First” policies pushing Europe and Chi-

na closer together. Amid the big egos and seemingly intractable conflicts, the host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, faces the daunting task of steering leaders towards a consensus on trade, climate and migration — all issues that have become more contentious since Trump entered the White House half a year ago. She faces an election in a little more than two months and cannot appear to cave in to Trump, who is deeply unpopular in Germany. Nor will she be keen for an open confrontation that could deepen tensions with Washington. REUTERS

The Canadian-born Khadr was 15 when he was captured by US troops after a firefight at a suspected al-Qaida compound in Afghanistan that resulted in the death of an special forces medic. The ruling by the supreme court of Canada found that Canadian intelligence officials obtained evidence from Khadr under “oppressive circumstances,” at Guantanamo Bay in 2003, and then shared that evidence with US officials. AP

G20 seeks curbs on radicalisation via net, social media

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eaders from the G20 nations called for concrete steps to check radicalisation, hiring and arranging of funds for terror activities through misuse of internet and social media. They asked private sector communication service providers to do the needful for removing hate content from the web. Asserting that the rule of law applies online as well as offline, the G20 leaders issued a 21-point joint declaration on various steps needed to be taken to fight terrorism. AP

Arab states threaten more curbs on Qatar

DID MERKEL ROLL HER EYES? A media report claimed to have caught German Chancellor Angela Merkel rolling her eyes while talking to her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin

Dubai: Four Arab countries isolating Qatar vowed on Friday to take additional steps against the energy rich Gulf state after it refused to accept their demands over allegations that it supports extremist ideology. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain accused Qatar in a joint statement carried on Gulf state media of thwarting all efforts aimed at resolving the rift and said it intends to “continue its policy aimed at destabilising security of the region.” They vowed to “take all necessary political, economic and legal measures” against Qatar in a “timely manner”. They did not specify what those steps could

When Polish first lady left Trump hanging AP

Warsaw: In yet another awkward moment, US President Donald Trump thought the hand extended by Poland’s first lady was for him — and not for his wife, Melania. The US and Poland’s presidential couples were shaking hands on Thursday before Trump’s speech in front of a crowd in Warsaw, the Polish capital. Poland’s First Lady, Agata Kornhauser-Duda, shook hands with Trump and then all four of them lined up for a photograph. She then moved with an extended hand toward Melania, but Trump, standing nearer, thought the handshake was for him again and reached out to Kornhauser-Duda. He flashed a somewhat startled and disappointed look when the Polish president’s wife shook

Poland’s first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda (2nd from right) extends her hand to her US counterpart Melania, ‘ignoring’ President Trump who was preparing to shake her hand

Rape survivor jailed for ‘aborting’ fetus Andrew Buncombe

New York: A teenager has been jailed for 30 years after suffering what her lawyers said was a miscarriage, after she was raped a year ago. A court in El Salvador found that Evelyn Beatriz Hernández Cruz, 19, had killed her baby by throwing it into a latrine pit after she gave birth. It convicted her of aggravated homicide. Activists say the sentence is simply the latest in a series of cases in which women are sent to jail, frequently for 30 or 40 years, after suffering miscarriages. Lawyers for the teenager are to file an appeal. “The judgment senten-

cing Evelyn to 30 years in prison shows how in El Salvador justice is applied without direct proof, without sufficient evidence that clarifies what a woman has done,” said Morena Herrera, executive director of the Citizen’s Group for the Decri-

LEGAL TANGLE minalisation of Abortion. “In this case, Evelyn did not kill her newborn child. She simply experienced an obstetric emergency and the state prosecutor has badly interpreted the facts and unfortunately the judge hasn’t listened to the witnesses that told her there was no direct proof.” THE INDEPENDENT

Melania’s hand, not his. Quickly sizing up the situation, Kornhauser-Duda gave Trump a second handshake and he gave her a pardoning smile. The president’s handshake has become a defining characteristic of the first year of his White House reign as he has on numerous occasions made headlines for his awkward power shakes while meeting the world leaders. He drew international headlines for declining to shake the hand of German Chancellor Angela Merkel when she visited the White House earlier this year. French President Emmanuel Macron described their first encounter as a “moment of truth” after the pair met at a Nato summit in Brussels. AGENCIES

Shell told to pay $2.4m for Pak tanker fire Islamabad: A spokesman for Pakistan’s oil and gas regulatory body says the agency has ordered a local subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell to pay about 250 million rupees ($2.4 million) in compensation and damages for last month’s fuel truck fire that killed 215 people. Imran Ghazanvi said on Friday the probe has held Shell Pakistan Limited responsible for the June 25 accident when the oil tanker lost control and crashed in Punjab province. The fuel ignited when villagers rushed to the scene to collect the spilled oil, ignoring warnings from police. Ghazanvi said the tanker was not maintained and the driver’s licence was invalid. AP

Ex-Gitmo inmate gets China’s Baidu under lens after CEO millions from Canada tests driverless car on public roads Toronto: A former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who pleaded guilty to killing a US soldier in Afghanistan received an apology and a multimillion-dollar payment from the Canadian government after a court ruling said his rights were abused. An official familiar with the deal said the settlement reached last month was for $10.5 million Canadian dollars (US$8 million). The government released a statement apologising to Khadr.

Beijing: China on Friday ac- safeguard national soverecused the US of trying to ignty and security as well as “flaunt military force” to regional peace and stability.” China claims sovereignty harm its sovereignty in name of freedom of navigation over all of South China Sea. after two American bombers Vietnam, Malaysia, the Phiflew over the disputed South lippines, Brunei and Taiwan China Sea disregarding Be- have counter claims. China is engaged in hotly contested ijing’s claims over the area. The B-1B Lancer bombers territorial disputes in both from Guam airbase flew over the South China Sea and the South China Sea late on East China Sea. Beijing has Thursday as part of opera- built up and militarised mations intended to demonstra- ny of the islands and reefs it te the US commitment to free- controls in the region. Since Donald Trump took dom of navigation, the US air force said in a statement. As- over the presidency, US disked about the flight Reuters by the US bombers, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told media that there was no problem with freedom of navigation or overflight for the East and South China Seas. “But China reso- The B-1B Lancer bombers (above) flew from lutely opposes indi- Guam airbase over South China Sea on vidual countries Thursday. China accused US of ‘flaunting using the banner of military force’ to harm its sovereignty freedom of navigation and overflight to flaunt patched two warships close military force and harm Chi- to the artificial islands built na’s sovereignty and securi- by China to assert freedom of navigation. ty,” Geng said. The US flights over the SoChina and Japan have a dispute over the uninhabited uth China Sea came as islands in the East China Sea. Trump is due to meet his ChiIn a statement, the defence nese counterpart Xi Jinping ministry said China always on the sidelines of the G20 maintained its vigilance and summit in Hamburg to dis“effectively monitors rele- cuss among others the latest vant countries’ military acti- ICBM test by North Korea, vities next to China. The Chi- which could reach US state of nese military will resolutely Alaska. PTI

Beijing/Shanghai: Baidu Inc, China’s biggest search engine provider, is under investigation to determine whether it had broken any laws after its chief executive tested a driverless car on public roads, Beijing’s traffic police said on Thursday. The firm, China’s answer to Alphabet Inc’s Google, is taking a leading role in the development of self-driving cars in China and beyond. It unveiled a broad alliance for selfdriving cars on Wednesday as

Reuters

FLOUTING NORMS

it aims to get such vehicles on the road in China by 2019. But Baidu may now face

sanctions from local authorities after police said in a post on its official microblog that it was investigating whether there is any irregularity in using a driverless car on public roads. “The police support technology and innovation of autonomous driving, but it should be conducted legally, safely and scientifically,” Beijing traffic police said. Any violations of the law will lead to punishment, it said. Baidu declined to comment when contacted. REUTERS

include, though officials have previously suggested they could intensify efforts to isolate Qatar economically. The four countries cut diplomatic ties and severed air, land and sea links with Qatar last month. They later issued a 10-day ultimatum to a 13-point list of demands that included cutting ties with terrorist groups, curbing relations with Iran and shutting media outlets including Al-Jazeera. The United States state department said on Thursday that secretary of state Rex Tillerson will travel to the region to try to mediate a solution to the conflict. He is expected to visit Kuwait on Monday. AP

AROUND THE WORLD AFP

On the first day of the San Fermin bull run festival in Pamplona, Spain, two Americans and a Spaniard were gored, medical officials said and many runners were treated for bruises, a Red Cross spokesman said

Rape suspect taunts police on ‘wanted’ FB post

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28-year-old man, wanted in connection with a rape and kidnapping case in the US, taunted the police by commenting on their Facebook post. The Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina posted suspect Derek Helms’ mugshot and description on Facebook. After a colleague commented that he was a “great guy,” Helms responded to thank the man. “Thanks bud really appreciate it enjoyed working with y’all guys as well. truth coming out before long vindictive and spitfullness and some croked cops [sic],” Helms wrote.

100kg strawberries coated with ‘poison’ stolen in UK: Strawberries stolen from a Kent, England, farm could be poisonous, police said. The 100kg of berries, worth around £300, were probably taken in order to sell on. Prices are expected to rise making them attractive to thieves. A Kent Police statement said: “The fruit had recently been coated with a chemical to help growth which can cause poisoning to the stomach.”

Snake in substation causes power outage: Officials said a snake caused a power outage that left more than 4,000 customers without electricity in northwestern South Carolina. Duke Energy spokesman Ryan Mosier told media outlets a snake that

crawled into a substation disrupted service and left Greenville County residents in the dark. It took about 90 minutes to restore service.

Billboard welcomes family for first baby girl in 137 yrs: A baby girl has been born into a family in South Carolina for the first time in 137 years — and it was marked in a lessthan-understated way. The happy announcement was celebrated by co-workers of the father, Will Settle, surprising him by making a giant billboard on the state’s highway to broadcast the news. Will and his wife Kelen were astounded to see the billboard that stretched 24-foot-across and 12-foot-tall with the message: “Welcome to the World Carter Louise Settle.”

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OH HYUN KWON-LED SAMSUNG HITS RECORD PROFIT AS GALAXY S8 WINS OVER CUSTOMERS

Enforcing zero liability norms will be challenging: Banks Say Customers May Cry Fraud To Avoid Making Payments TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: Banks will have to develop tracking software which can “fingerprint” parties in a transaction to prevent some customers from trying to game the system. Bankers are worried that customers might cry fraud to avoid making payments. “The onus of proving that the customer was negligent rests with banks,” said A P Hota, MD & CEO, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), referring to the ReserveBank of India’s latest circular on customer liability in electronic payments. According to the chief of the payments body, the move will help promote electronic payments. “I view this regulation as a big step forward to provide confidence in the system on carrying out digital transactions. The regulation has balanced the rights and responsibilities of both the parties —banks and their customers,” said Hota. Banks agree that the new norms will provide greater comfort to customers and en-

TechMah staff sacking: Mahindra says sorry TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru: Mahindra Group executive chairman Anand Mahindra, Tech Mahindra vice-chairman Vineet Nayyar and CEO C P Gurnani, all individually apologised on Friday over the way an employee at Tech Mahindra was asked to resign with immediate effect, after the person’s recorded conversation with a HR personnel went viral online. “I want to add my personal apology. Our core value is to preserve the dignity of the individual & we’ll ensure this does not happen in future,” Mahindra tweeted on Friday. His tweet came in response to a tweet by Gurnani that expressed regret over the manner of the discussion and which assured that the company had “taken the right steps to ensure it doesn’t happen in future.” The employee, whose name is not known, was asked to resign, as part of the company’s restructuring plan, by 10am the next day. Despite repeated pleas for more time, the HR executive curtly tells the employee that it was not an option and referred several times to the employment contract that gives the employer the right to fire an employee instantly. “Cost optimisation is happening at the company and your name is part of that list. If you can put in papers we will be treating it as a normal exit with June 15 as last working day. If not, we will be sending you a termination letter and don’t expect anything from the company including an experience letter or basic salary,” the HR executive is heard saying on the call.

WHO WILL BEAR THE BRUNT? With the RBI’s new norms, the onus of proving that the customer is negligent rests with banks Lenders will have to develop tracking software to “fingerprint” parties in a transaction to prevent fraudsters from gaming the system If the transaction log shows that it has been authenticated by the customer, with a secret pin, it will be treated as negligence courage digital transactions. However, they are worried about dealing with fraudsters who might try to misuse regulations. While in the past banks simply avoided compensating customers for suspect transaction, the new rules require that banks prove the complicity of the customer. Bankers say that if the transaction log shows that it has been authenticated by the customer with a secret pin or password it is treated as negligence on the part of the

on the customer’s part In case there is a fraud where transactions are done without second-factor authentication (one-time password or PIN), the amount is reversed and a charge-back is made on the merchant within 45 days under the Visa or MasterCard agreement The RBI’s guidelines apply only to lenders and not to digital wallets customer. However, in case there is a fraud where transactions are done internationally without second factor authentication (one-time password or PIN), the amount is reversed and a charge-back is made on the merchant within 45 days under the Visa or MasterCard agreement. The RBI’s new norms require that on being notified by the customer, the bank shall credit the amount involved in the unauthorised electronic transaction to the customer’s acco-

unt within 10 working days of notification by the customer. The norms also state that where the loss is due to negligence by a customer, such as where he has shared the payment credentials, the customer will bear the entire loss until he reports the unauthorised transaction to the bank. Any loss occurring after the reporting of the unauthorised transaction shall be borne by the bank. “We have had cases where the customer swore he had never shared his credentials but it turned out that the electronic payment was made by family members using the customer’s credential,” said the retail head of a private bank. Another common grouse among bankers is that the guidelines apply to banks but not to digital wallets. One banker said that the new guidelines amount to providing free insurance cover to the customer. “Operations expenditure will take a big hit as we will have to invest more in SMS facilities and monitoring transactions,” said an executive director with a private bank.

Mastech buys Canadian co InfoTrellis’ biz for `357cr TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru: NYSE-listed Mastech Digital, promoted by Ashok Trivedi and Sunil Wadhwani who had also founded Igate, is acquiring the services division of Canada-based data management and analytics firm InfoTrellis for $55 million (Rs 357 crore). Mastech will pay $35.7 million in cash and the remaining $19.3 million as deferred payment over the next two years contingent on specified earnings targets. InfoTrellis, which counts Dell, Caterpillar, Lowe’s and JC Penney as customers, provides project and consulting services in master data management, data integration, and big data. It has over 200 employees across Toronto and Austin and a global delivery centre in Chennai. Mastech Digi-

tal will absorb all of InfoTrellis’s employees and the two founders, Mahmood Abbas and Sachin Wadhwa, will joining the executive team. Mastech was traditionally a staffing firm, but is now trying to move into digital transformation services with a focus on data management, analytics, artificial intelligence and implementation of Salesforce.com, SAP HANA and other solutions. Hence, the acquisition of InfoTrellis. “This is a great anchor investment for us,” Vivek Gupta, president and CEO of Mastech Digital, told TOI, indicating that more acquisitions will happen to build digital capabilities. “With InfoTrellis, our revenue from digital will be about 35% of overall revenue. It’s 21-22% now,” Gupta said. Mastech Digital had revenues of

$132 million in the financial year ended December 31, 2016. InfoTrellis posted revenues of $22 million for the year ended June 30, 2016. “Mastech Infotrellis under the Mastech Digital brand will have the ability to crosssell services in data management and analytics to the latter’s existing customers, while the latter will sell staffing and digital transformation services to Infotrellis’s customers,” said Gupta. Abbas, CEO and co-founder of InfoTrellis, said, “I am confident that our strengths in delivering project-based consulting services in data management & analytics, combined with Mastech Digital’s scale and proven experience in providing IT staffing and digital transformation services, will create a powerful go-to brand in the industry.”

Urban Ladder readies $10m push for offline stores TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru: Online furniture retailer Urban Ladder, which opened its first brickand-mortar store in Bengaluru on Friday, plans to invest $10 million over the next 12-18 months to set up offline stores in multiple formats across the country. Started five years ago as a pure e-commerce play, the company changed its positioning this year after a laggard few years clocking flat sales. Now it plans to open about 15 physical stores in the top Indian cities. “Our Bengaluru store is

the flagship one with 7,500 sq ft of space but we will experiment with smaller outlets of about 4,000-4,500 sq ft formats. We should be able to open a co-

The e-tailer plans to use augmented and virtual reality to enhance offline buying experience uple of more stores in Bengaluru before we expand to other Indian cities,” said Ashish Goel, co-founder & CEO, Urban Ladder. With the start of it’s physical outlets, the etailer expects to clock an addi-

tional growth of about 25% in the first year. The online retailer still generates majority of its revenue from its own site, but the company has been adding new revenue channels, including selling on third-party marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart. “Revenue is still going to be driven by the online platform but we are trying to get our omni-channel mix right over the next one year,” Goel added. The e-tailer also plans to use augmented reality and virtual reality to enhance the offline buying experience.

Amazon Prime plans web series on Rahul Yadav-Housing saga Digbijay.Mishra @timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: The public spat between former Housing.com founder and CEO Rahul Yadav and his company’s investors, which eventually led to his unceremonious exit, is likely to be chronicled into a web series by Amazon Prime in India, people aware of the plans said. Actor Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment, which is behind the first Amazon India original slated for launch next week, is working on the script, said people aware of the plans. A senior former employee of Housing.com was contacted for inputs to develop the script, sources said. “The meeting with former Housing executive was to get an insider’s view of how the core team was

STARTUP SCREENPLAY Founded in 2012, Housing. com was seen as one of the hottest emerging startups, disrupting the online property market with their tech-based focus Yadav’s public spat with Sequoia Capital’s MD Shailendra Singh was only the beginning of controversies surrounding Yadav and Housing.com

like in day-to-day affairs and what was going on when Yadav’s fight became public,” a person aware of the meeting said. Prime Video, the content business of Amazon Prime, is planning to launch at least 4-5

In July 2015, the board eventually fired Yadav The startup was later sold to rival PropTiger in an all-stock deal in January this year According to sources, Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment is working on the script to be launched on Amazon Prime

India originals this year, Nitesh Kripalani, head of Amazon Prime Video India, had told TOI recently. The Seattle-based technology giant has allocated about Rs 1,000 crore for the content

business here. Amazon is building up it’s portfolio of India originals to counter Netflix in India. The success of a series on startups developed by the web-based video content company The Viral Fever’s (TVF) named Pitchers also played a role in Amazon wanting to chronicle the Housing story, said sources. TVF Pitchers is about four people quitting their day jobs to turn entrepreneurs which has gained popularity among young viewers. When contacted, a spokesperson for Amazon India said, “Amazon does not comment on rumours or speculation.” Yadav told TOI he was not aware of such a development. He recently joined Anarock Property Consultants as its chief technology and product officer.

ELON MUSK’S TESLA WINS BID TO BUILD WORLD’S BIGGEST LITHIUM-ION BATTERY IN AUSTRALIA | 24

Tokio Marine raises stake in IFFCO JV to 49% TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Japanese insurance major Tokio Marine on Friday raised its stake in the general insurance firm IFFCO-Tokio to 49% after buying additional shares for Rs 2,530 crore. Cooperative fertiliser firm IFFCO entered the insurance sector in 2000, after it was opened up. Now, IFFCO wants to concentrate on agri-business and serve the farmers. IFFCO will divest its 21.6% stake in the joint venture to Tokio Marine Asia, while Indian Potash will sell its 1.4% stake as well. The decision to raise the stake comes against the backdrop of the government’s move to raise the foreign direct investment limit in the insurance sector to 49% from 26%. The insurance regulator has approved the stake increase.

The decision to raise the stake comes against the backdrop of the govt’s move to raise the FDI limit in the insurance sector to 49% from 26% “The additional share purchase is in line with Tokio Marine group’s international business strategy to achieve sustainable growth and profit expansion as well as enhance diversified business portfolio through capturing growth opportunities in emerging countries,” said Arthur Lee, chief executive of Tokio Marine, Asia. The transaction will help the cooperative raise capital to focus more on agri-businesses, said U S Awasthi, managing director, IFFCO. He said, “even after the divestment, IFFCO will continue to exercise control in the business affairs of the joint venture in compliance with the regulator’s guidelines.”

Not a specialist? Don’t worry, you are hired Cos Prefer Generalists At Entry Levels For Training Flexibility, Mis-Hiring Cost Cut Namrata.Singh @timesgroup.com

Mumbai: As a generalist standing at the threshold of your career, are you worried that while the world is talking about specialisations in fields like data science, machine learning and analytics, you don’t stand a chance? Well, this may come as a surprise but hiring experts said a large number of companies today are actually looking for generalists at entry levels. A generalist is a person who has the aptitude and skills which can be applied in a variety of different fields whereas a specialist is one who takes up a certain subject matter of a larger field and gains expertise in the same. Generalists, at some point, can become specialists by upgrading their skills and rise up the hierarchy, but companies are keen to bring on board generalists who can be moulded into specialists. Paul Dupuis, MD & CEO, Randstad India, said, “A decade ago, specialists were in demand, but today, companies want generalists. The liberal arts degree which was extremely unpopular is now in demand. This is because companies today are looking for trainable people.” Rituparna Chakraborty, executive VP & co-founder, TeamLease Services, said, “While earlier at the time of hiring one would lay emphasis on specific qualifications — at the entry level —employers are focusing more on cognitive abilities than on specialisation. Liberal arts students have an edge in this new world because they are taught not to conform — to challenge facts, to have divergent view points, to seek

solutions rather than prescribe one.” In some sectors like pharma, where there is a quality assurance requirement, specialists are in demand, but across retail, FMCG and infrastructure, Dupuis said companies are ready to hire generalists at entry level and even at the

mand entry-level jobs are sales, customer service and logistics. Each of these have a basic requirement of an undergraduate or a graduate in any stream so that the learnability quotient is high. “70% of all entry-level formal job growth at this point comes from these three functions. Over the past five

JACK OF NO TRADE A generalist has the aptitude and skills which can be applied in a variety of different fields, while a specialist gains expertise in a subject of a larger field Generalists can become specialists by upgrading their skills and rise up the hierarchy As a result, liberal arts students have an edge as they

second stage of hiring. “It’s easier to train generalists than specialists. Also, with mis-hiring costs rising to anywhere between 5-7 times annual salary, companies do not want to take that chance by hiring a wrong person,” said Dupuis. Chakraborty said an important trend that TeamLease has been noticing in the IT sector for almost over two years now has been around their reluctance towards hiring engineers while they remained open to hiring graduates at similar salary brackets. “At some level, I felt the industry was feeling restricted with the lack of flexibility that came in with hiring engineers. It was coming in the way of their adaptability as the business realities were changing around them,” said Chakraborty. The three most in-de-

are taught to challenge the status quo and seek solutions rather than prescribe one The 3 most in-demand entrylevel jobs are sales, customer service and logistics As these jobs have a basic requirement of an undergraduate or a graduate in any stream, the learnability quotient is high

years, the figure has moved from about 45-50% to 70%,” said Chakraborty. Some experts, however, believe while generalists may have wider array of jobs to choose from, these at times can be loosely defined roles. This may increase the job insecurity as replacing one generalist with another would be far easier. Also, the debate between generalists versus specialists is to a large extent dependent on the company. Thammaiah B N, MD, Kelly Services India, said: “A startup might require an HR person as a generalist as other than talent acquisition, they might be expected to look into aspects of payroll, employee engagement and organisational development. The need for a specialist also is dependent on the scale of work and the organisation’s intent.”

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Ahmedabad: The Gujarat HC on Friday prevented the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) from conducting any further proceeding against Essar Steel till July 12 under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. A bench of Justice S G Shah stopped the NCLT from proceeding further against the Essar Steel on the firm’s contention that the RBI’s direction to the banks to initiate action against it under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code was improper as its was in advanced stage of restructuring. On a plea by the Essar Steel, the bench had on July 4 sought the RBI’s reply as to why only certain cases, including that of Essar Steel, should be accorded priority by the National Company Law Tribunal. During an elaborate hearing on Friday, the RBI also assured the bench that it would correct a line in its June 13 circular about the classification of non performing asset (NPA) accounts.

UNDER CODE OF INSOLVENCY

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Has 100 Days To Make It Or It Will Have To Be Offered Free Sydney: Tesla Inc has won an Australian contract to install the world’s biggest grid-scale battery, in what experts say will be a litmus test for the reliability of large-scale renewable energy. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, known for his bold approach to cars, clean energy and space exploration, trumped dozens of competing proposals to build the gigantic lithium-ion battery that will serve as emergency back-up power for South Australia — a state racked by outages. But under the agreement, Tesla must deliver the 100-MW battery within 100 days of the contract being signed or it will be free — a commitment Musk made in a Tweet in March. “There will be a lot of people that will look at this — ‘Did they get it done within 100 days? Did it work?’” Musk told reporters in South Australia’s capital city of Adelaide. “We are going to make sure it does.” The battery, designed to light up 30,000 homes if there is a blackout, will be built on a wind farm operated by France’s Neoen — parts of which

There will be a lot of people that will look at this: ‘Did they get it done within 100 days? Did it work?’ … We are going to make sure it does ELON MUSK | CEO, TESLA are still under construction. Musk said failing to deliver the project in time would cost his company “$50 million or more”, without elaborating. It will be the largest lithium-ion battery storage project in the world, overtaking an 80 megawatt-hour facility in California, also built using Tesla batteries. Over the last three years, South Australia has decided to shut down its coal-fired power stations and instead rely on wind, solar and gas. In particular, it has raced ahead of the rest of the country in turning to wind power, which supplies 40% of its energy.

The move has been applauded by environmentalists but left the state prone to outages as there is no way to store enough energy when the wind doesn’t blow. In September, South Australia’s 1.7 million residents were left without power, some of them for up to two weeks, when the grid overloaded and collapsed. The battery is aimed at getting around the problem of inadequate storage. “Cost-effective storage of electrical energy is the only problem holding us back from getting all of our power from wind and solar,” said Ian Lowe a professor of science at Australia’s Griffith University. “This project is a significant innovation to demonstrate the feasibility of large-scale storage.” Dozens of companies from 10 countries, including privately owned Lyon Group, working with US power company AES Corp, expressed interest in the project. Now the sector is waiting to see if Musk can make good on his promise. “Tesla has been telling the world that it can and will fi-

Under GST, education won’t be expensive: Govt TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The Centre has denied reports that education will become expensive under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Stating that such reports are completely unsubstantiated, the finance ministry said there is no change in any item relating to education in the GST era, except tax rate reduction on certain products such as school bags. It said that services provided by an educational institution to students, faculty and staff are exempt. This includes pre-school

education and education up to higher secondary school or equivalent, education as a part of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognised by any law for the time being in force, education as a part of an approved vocational education course. Transportation of students, faculty and staff services provided to an educational institution (providing pre-school education and education up to higher secondary school or equivalent) are exempt from GST, a finance ministry statement said. “Similarly, catering, in-

cluding any mid-day meal schemes sponsored by the central government, state government or union territory, to an educational institution providing education up to higher secondary school or equivalent, are also exempt from GST,” the statement said. “Further, security or cleaning or housekeeping services performed in such educational institutions are also exempt from GST. Finally, services relating to admission to, or conducting of examination by, such institutions, upto higher secondary, too are exempt from GST,” it added.

Honor 8 Pro

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SING TO COMPOSE

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o you have a tune in your head, but don’t know how to lay down the track? Many of us might be musically inclined, but might not be able to read, play or write musical notations. Thankfully there are web and mobile apps that require you to sing out your tune into a mic and then, automatically converts it into notes or accompanying musical tracks.  ujam.com | Hum, whistle, or sing the tune into your microphone – you can even upload a voice recording – and this web software converts it into music for your song. You can choose what kind of instrument you would like for your playback – ranging from guitars, percussions, piano, an entire string section in an orchestra, or wind instruments. Of course, you can also make changes using its track editor. For your voice track, it gives you different effects, including large-hall acoustics, a bathroom, or choral arrangement. Finally, when you’re happy with the instrumentation, you can merge your vocals with it to create a full production. Beginners can use UJam to compose music even if they don’t have musical or technical knowledge, while trained musicians can use this digital studio to try out their ideas, edit chord progressions, song structure, the main melody, backing instruments and a lot more. After you save the file, you can access it on your UJam profile page. You can even click on ‘Save & Share’ and download it as an MP3. chordbuff.com | With this website, you can create guitar chord structures by humming your tune into your mic. The site analyses what you’ve sung and automatically generates a variety of complimentary chords from which you can select. This makes it easier for you to lay down multiple guitar chord options for your original composition with minimum fuss and little fine tuning. hum-on.com | The next time you get a fresh idea for a new tune, use this app on your Android device and sing your melody. HumOn will then convert that ditty or riff into music notations. You can playback that music and then enter the edit mode to modify unintended notes. You can also edit the pitch or duration of a note, time signature, and tempo of your song. The written notes that you get from HumOn can then be used to score your music on websites such as MuseScore, Flat and NoteFlight (see below).

SCORE YOUR MUSIC

* THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2017

Tesla wins bid to build world’s Mauritius signs tax pact to prevent treaty abuse biggest lithium-ion battery

The court had earlier expressed “shock” over the line which said ‘such cases will be accorded priority by the NCLT’ and had asked the RBI to explain it. Essar Steel’s lawyer Mihir Thakore contended that his client should have been given an opportunity to present its case before it was placed in the list of 12 accounts (firms) to be referred to NCLT under the provisions of IBC. Seeking a stay to NCLT proceedings against the company, Thakore contended that when the consortium of lender banks is considering the restructuring proposal, the Reserve Bank of India should not refer its case to NCLT just because the NPAs are above Rs 5,000 crore. Justice Shah adjourned the matter till July 12, when the the court would hear other parties, including RBI. The court also said its earlier directive to the NCLT not to conduct any hearing in this case would remain in effect till July 12. AGENCIES

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Don’t proceed against Essar Steel till Jul 12: HC to NCLT

G A D G E T S

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eing able to read music is one thing, but writing a musical score can still be a very demanding task. Thankfully, you can now use these free websites to help you write your tunes, engage with other musicians, and also draw inspiration from their oeuvre. musescore.com | Here you will find free software, MuseScore 2.1 for Windows, which will help you author music compositions. You can start writing fresh sheets from scratch, edit your existing composition, or use scores written by other composers. The software sup-

ports multiple formats including MusicXML files, MIDI, Guitar Pro format and Capella files. If you are a beginner, you can refer to its video tutorials that will help you understand the software and all its features. MuseScore lets you write pieces for multiple instruments, and it even has a playback feature to help you fine-tune your work. This website is also home to a database of music sheets that you can import, study, and use as a starting point to derive your own work. It is also home to a community where musicians can share their creations, privately or publicly, through downloads.

nish the project within three months,” said a source at a Korean competitor to Tesla, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. “It seems that confidence helped Tesla win, but typically this kind of project takes six months so we have to wait and see whether or not Tesla can do it,” the source said. Lithium-ion batteries have been in widespread use since about 1991, but mostly on a small scale, such as in laptops and cell phones. A typical lithium-ion battery can store 150 watt-hours of electricity in 1 kilogram of battery, representing more than double the capacity of nickel batteries. For their proponents who have long been pushing for grander use, the success of Musk’s big South Australian experiment will be key to greater acceptance. “For lithium technology to take off on a global scale, they clearly need the storage capacity to make sure renewables can deliver 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Adrian Griffin, a geologist who specialises in lithium extraction. REUTERS

Merc sales up 9%, BMW’s 12% in January-June New Delhi: Mercedes Benz on Friday reported its best ever quarterly sales in India at 3,521 units in April-June, a growth of 18% over the same period of previous fiscal. The company had sold 2,975 vehicles in April-June period of 2016. In JanuaryJune, the company sold record 7,171 units, a growth of 8.7% over 6,597 units sold in the same period of last year. BMW, on the other hand, witnessed 11.5% growth in volumes at 4,589 units for the January-June period. For 2016, BMW India had clipped at 14% at 7,861 units, while Mercedes sold over 13,231 units, a tad down from 13,502 units in 2015. AGENCIES

Mumbai: Mauritius on Wednesday signed the multilateral instrument (MLI) to mitigate tax avoidance through base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) tactics. However, it has not covered the tax treaty with India under the MLI signed by it. India, which signed this MLI earlier on June 7, had covered the India-Mauritius tax treaty. According to international tax experts, the main reason for excluding India under the MLI is to ensure that the existing investments in Indian securities, made prior to April 1, 2017, by residents of Mauritius, stand protected from anti-abuse (or treaty shopping clauses). This allays fears of existing investors. During 2016-17, Mauritius was the top source of foreign direct investments into India, with inflows of Rs 1,05,587 crore (or 33% of total inflows). MNCs tend to park profits in low tax jurisdictions to reduce their global tax outgo — a BEPS tactic. The OECD-led BEPS project had sought to curb such practices through the medium of an MLI, which enables the existing network of tax treaties entered into between countries to be updated. Countries that are signatories to the MLI do not have to renegotiate treaties bilaterally to strengthen anti-avoidance or treaty shopping provisions. An official statement from

New York: Technology giant Microsoft is undertaking a major reorganisation in its sales and marketing units that will likely see the company cutting about 4,000 jobs from its workforce, mostly outside the US. A Microsoft spokesperson said in an email on Thursday that the company is implementing changes to better serve its customers and partners. “Today, we are taking steps to notify some employees that their jobs are under

he N2 packs in a 5000mAh battery and runs a proprietary system optimisation app that conserves power for up to three days. The dual-SIM handset is fronted by a 5.5-inch (1280x720px) display and is equipped with a 13MP rear (with electronic image stabilisation) and 16MP front camera for blur-free portraits and selfies. The N2 comes with a 1.5GHz MediaTek MT6750 octa-core processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage (with a hybrid slot for a microSD card) and a fingerprint sensor for security.

`15,999 Soundation also has a Learn section where you can familiarise yourself with all its features. The free account does not come with online storage, but you get over 700 free sound samples and it allows you to save your work to your computer as a WAV or SNG file. www.audiotool.com | This web app is similar to Soundation, but it offers greater flexibility to create music and experiment with mixes that have been published by other Audio Tool users. You can even download the songs made by others in MP3 and OGG format. The user interface looks a little intimidating, with the multiple synth boxes and drum pads connected to the main 16-channel mixer. However, Audio Tool’s quick tour, online tutorials and video guides should help you cross this barrier. You get a searchable music library, the ability to save your project as a draft and you can even import your own samples into your composition.

COLLABORATE WITH OTHERS

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If you have a good sense of melody and have always dreamt of being a composer, you might want to try a few of these online tools that will help you write musical scores with notations, create your own DJ mixes, and even compose and arrange multiple instruments to your original tunes. Ashutosh Desai and Savio D’Souza tell you about…

10 WEB APPS FOR THE ASPIRING MUSICIAN Katerina_Andronchik, primo-piano\iStock\Getty Images

 flat.io | Unlike MuseScore, which takes the form of a downloadable software, Flat is a web app that allows you to write down notations and compose tunes in your browser. It lets you select multiple instruments and write individual parts for each. Note-after-note, your modifications are saved in your account. If you lose connection, the website synchronises your work once you are back online. When you’re done, Flat plays out your music for you. The website even has an active community of musicians. You can collaborate with others, and also study their work. If you see a melody you like, you can download the sheet, or the music in MP3 and WAV formats. Flat even lets you import scores in MXL, MIDI and XML formats.

CREATE YOUR OWN MIX

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f you are not comfortable composing music with notation then you could try your hand at mixing tracks with these online DJ services that let you create musical mash-ups with free samples and loops.  soundation.com | You start off with a basic two-panel layout which consists of a mixer and a music library. The mixer can contain any number of “channels”, one for each instrument or sound sample that you source from the library. You just have to drag-anddrop a file along the timeline, and hit the play the button to hear how it sounds. Each sample’s position and duration can be adjusted, and you can even add effects like reverb, distortion and tremolo.

MNCs tend to park profits in low tax jurisdictions to cut their global tax outgo, through base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) tactics The OECD-led BEPS project had sought to curb such practices through an MLI An MLI requires the existing network of tax treaties entered into between countries to be updated the Mauritius ministry of finance and economic development points out that 23 tax treaties entered into by Mauritius with various countries have been covered under the MLI signed on July 5. “For the remaining tax treaties not covered by the MLI, Mauritius will discuss bilaterally with the respective treaty partners to implement the BEPS minimum standards at latest by end of 2018.” The BEPS minimum standards include action point 6, relating to prevention of tax treaty abuse. After decades of negotiation India had signed a revised tax treaty (ie protocol) with Mauritius on May 10, 2016. This protocol gave India the right to tax capital gains on transfer of Indian shares acquired on or after April 1, 2017. The existing investments were grandfathered. Further, the

Countries that are signatories to the MLI then do not have to renegotiate tax treaties bilaterally According to experts, the main reason is to protect investments in Indian securities (prior to April 1, 2017) made by residents of Mauritius from antiabuse (or treaty shopping clauses) protocol provided for a two-year transition period up to March 31, 2018 during which the tax rates on capital gains would be half of India’s prevailing tax rate. A limitation of benefit clause was also introduced to prevent tax treaty abuse. A former bureaucrat from Mauritius said, “The main reason for not including India under the MLI appears to be to ensure that the beneficial provisions in the protocol stand. It also leaves the door open for future negotiation with India.” Girish Vanvari, national head of tax KPMG India, added, “The step taken by Mauritius indicates that the tax treaty related BEPS measures will not impact investments in India, routed through Mauritius, particularly grandfathering of investments provided in the protocol.”

Microsoft likely to cut up to 4k jobs, mostly outside US

TECHTONIC

noteflight.com | Similar to Flat, Note Flight lets you start writing your score from scratch, or import a MIDI or XML file. You also get access to a library of musical scores that you can browse through, or select from ‘recent’ and ‘all time’ favourites. Hit the play button after selecting, and you can hear the music being played as the onscreen marker moves over the notes. New users will find its Help Videos and User Guide (displayed on the top panel) extremely useful. These will teach you how to write and edit scores on Note Flight; add guitar tabs, text and lyrics to your compositions, and more.

CURBING BLACK MONEY

esides composing music online by yourself, you can also jam with other artists and musicians around the world. bandhub.com | You need to introduce yourself – while you sign up for this service – with a link to your YouTube channel (if you have one), along with information on your choice of instrument, how often you play, the artists that represent the type of music you are into and the bands you like. This helps Bandhub give you suggestions on the collabs that fit your style. All you need is a webcam and a mic to capture audio-video and Bandhub’s recording tool. You can start a jam from scratch, but as a new user, it is recommended you first build your network by joining open sessions. The “organiser” starts a jam session, invites members, organises the tracks and publishes the final song to the website. The compiled video appears with clickable tiles, each one leading to the individual artist’s profile. For each collab, you can configure everybody’s contributions – adjust equaliser, volume, mute, pan, etc – within the web browser itself. kompoz.com | Unlike Bandhub, this service does not provide any software to record your voice or instrument. Instead, all the recording (and mixing) takes place offline with Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software – like GarageBand, Pro Tools, Reaper, etc – of your choice. Also, you become a team member only when the collaboration “owner” approves of your initial contribution. The Kompoz community is a bit more professional as the intent is to work on original compositions, rather than covers. Also, when you start a new collaboration, you can upload your ideas, sample tracks and discuss the project with members so that they also understand your plan before pitching for the role of a bassist, lead vocalist, etc. A free account lets you publish three of your own collaborations, but you can still participate in an unlimited number of ensembles.

consideration or that their positions will be eliminated. Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from timeto-time, re-deployment in others,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. While the spokesperson declined to confirm any specifics, a report in the New York Times said the overhauling of technology giant

led by India-born Satya Nadella will cut 3,000 to 4,000 jobs, mostly outside the US. The report said the possible total of job cuts was described by a person familiar with Microsoft’s plans, who was not authorised to speak on the record about them. It added that Microsoft workers were notified on Thursday if their current job was affected. Some of the workers will get other jobs within the software company itself. AGENCIES

buyer’s guide I

am an avid trekker and lead an active “outdoorsy” lifestyle. I am now considering an action camera to record my travels and adventures. Please help me make an informed buying decision. —Kunal Chaudhri, Rukmini Jayaram, Kurt Pereira, R Shinde f you’re looking for something small and discrete you could opt for the… Polaroid Cube (`6,700) | This 6MP camera can shoot wide-angle Full HD videos with mono sound. Its single button interface lets you power it on or off and even toggle between video and photo mode. The shooter sports a shock- and splashproof build, and comes with a magnetic base, allowing you to attach it to any metal surface, including a motorcycle tank or helmet. To keep operations simple, the Cube comes with a single button: Long press to switch it on, then double press to start video recording, or press it once to capture a photo. Among accessories, you can expect to pick up a range of mounts as well as a waterproof case that lets you shoot underwater in depths of up to 10 metres (or 33 feet). It gives you well over an hour of video recording on a single charge. A newer version, the Polaroid Cube+ Live Streaming (`20,000) is equipped with an 8MP sensor, image stabilisation, Wi-Fi connectivity and comes with a free app that lets you shoot, view, save and share your captures with your mobile device; while also letting you live stream videos. GoPro Session 5 (`25,000) | Comparable to the Polaroid Cube+ Live Streaming, the Session 5 also comes with an 8MP sensor. Here, also – like the Cube+ – you can capture videos in 1440p at 30fps. You get better sound recording due to its dual mics, and at least two hours of video on a single charge when compared to the 1.5 hours of the Cube+ camera. Additionally, the Session 5 comes with a waterproof build that can survive dives of up to 33 feet without an external casing. You also get Wi-Fi connectivity and free apps to transfer videos and pictures to your smartphone, and even edit them into full presentations. On the downside, all the cameras mentioned above do not come with a screen that allows you to see what you’re capturing in real time. If you want a device with a display, look at the… SJCam SJ4000 (`6,200) and SJ5000X (`9,500) WiFi | The 4000 comes with 12MP sensor, while the 5000X is equipped with a 14MP sensor. Both come with ultrawide-angle lens along with wireless connectivity and an app for your smartphone. These shooters sport 2-inch LCD displays, and you can expect a wide range of bundled accessories (including a waterproof housing, a tripod and various mounts) that allow you to attach it to your bicycle handlebar, car dashboard, helmet, etc while you’re running, rappelling, trekking and biking. The SJ4000 lets you shoot Full HD videos at 30fps, while the SJ5000X can shoot up to 4K videos at 24fps. Both give you slightly over an hour of video recording on a single charge. Now if you can up your budget, look at the… GoPro Hero5 Black (`32,900) | This camera is equipped with a 2-inch touchscreen at the back, and a front-facing LCD that displays the shooting mode, available memory and battery status. It boasts of a waterproof build and can be taken for a dive without its casing. It is capable of videos ranging from 480p to 4K resolutions. You can expect slow-motion clips of up to 240fps in 720p HD videos, and up to 120fps in 4K. For audio capture, it uses three mics with a wind/noise reduction system. In photo mode, you get 12MP snapshots, and you can also choose between night and burst mode. You even get wireless connectivity allowing you to use the device with its apps on your phone to edit videos, transfer files, and even share them on social media. Garmin Virb Ultra 30 (`33,800) | Comparable to the Hero5 Black in almost every way, the Ultra 30 sports a 1.75-inch touchscreen, but relies on an external case (included in the box) for waterproofing. It can shoot 12MP photos, 4K videos at 60fps, and the camera also has a Slow-Mo mode that captures 1080p Full HD videos at 120fps and 720p HD videos at 240fps. It supports Wi-Fi connectivity and you get an app that turns your smartphone into a remote: you can preview live shots from the connected camera, start and stop shooting from the app, snap a photo, and even share your footage on Facebook and YouTube. Both cameras are at the top of their game, and regardless of what you choose, you’re really not losing out on the other. —Savio D’Souza

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