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I ndian pilgrims visiting Kartarpur Sahib will have to carry their passports even as Pakistan is yet to confirm the list of inaugural jatha to visit the holy site on Saturday. After the Pakistan Army overturned Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision that the Indian pilgrims will not need passport and said it is com- pulsory, the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said on Thursday that as per the bilateral agreement the devotees will need to carry their passports. Making this assertion here, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said conflicting reports are coming from Pakistan on whether Indian pilgrims will require passports to visit the shrine through the Kartarpur corridor. Kumar said an agreement was signed between the two countries finalising the modal- ities for visits by Indian pil- grims and India will stick to it. “As of now we are aware that there is a bilateral docu- ment which has been signed between India and Pakistan which very clearly specifies the documents which are require to undertake the visit. Any amendment to the exist- ing MoU can’t be done unilat- erally. It requires consent of both parties,” he said. The corridor will be inau- gurated on Saturday and scores of Indian VIPs, including for- mer Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, Union Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Hardeep Puri besides 150 parliamentarians, will pass through the corridor. Earlier, the Pakistan Army has said Indian Sikh pilgrims visiting the Kartarpur Sahib will need passports to use the Kartarpur Corridor, accord- ing to a media report on Thursday, days after Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that Indian devo- tees would only need a valid ID to visit the revered Gurdwara Darbar Sahib. The comments by Pakistan Army spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor came a day after India asked Pakistan to clarify whether passports will be required by the Sikh pilgrims to visit the Gurdwara in Kartarpur. The Kartarpur Corridor, which provides a visa-free access to Indian Sikhs to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, will be inaugurated on Saturday by Prime Minister Imran Khan to mark Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev’s 550th birth anniversary. Maj Gen Ghafoor on Wednesday said that Indian Sikh pilgrims would require a passport to use Kartarpur Corridor, Dawn News quoted Hum News channel as saying. “As we have a security link, the entry would be a legal one under a permit on a passport- based identity. There will be no compromise on security or sovereignty,” Ghafoor said. On November 1, Prime Minister Khan, while announc- ing the completion of Kartarpur Corridor on Twitter, said he had waived two require- ments relating to passport and registering 10 days in advance for Indian Sikhs coming for pil- grimage to Kartarpur. He said that Sikh pilgrims from India would only need a valid ID and not a passport to travel to Kartarpur. The service fee of USD 20 for those com- ing for the inaugural ceremo- ny and on the 550th birth anniversary of the Sikh Guru on November 12 has been waived. The year 2019 marks the 550th birth anniversary year of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, whose birthplace is Sri Nankana Sahib in Pakistan. The corridor has been estab- lished to commemorate his birth anniversary. W ith just 24 hours to go for the expiry of the current State Assembly’s term, Maharashtra on Thursday evening appeared to be head- ing towards a Constitutional crisis as the single largest party — BJP — suo motu sought more time from Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to stake claim to form a Government in the State, thus forcing the lat- ter to explore ways to deal with the emerging political situation. Meanwhile, after a meeting with party chief Uddhav Thackeray, a Shiv Sena MLA announced that all Sena MLAs will stay at the Hotel Rangsharda in Mumbai till the formation of a Government in Maharashtra. Given that 14 days have passed since the Assembly poll results were declared, the BJP being the single largest party should by now have staked claim to form a Government in the State. It has not done so, since it does not have numbers with it. Alternatively, in the absence of a formal claim by the single largest party, the Governor in the normal course should have invited the single largest party to form the Government. Having failed to hammer out power-sharing deal with its pre-poll ally Shiv Sena mainly over the issue of sharing the Chief Minister’s post on a rota- tional basis and equal sharing of Ministries, a BJP delegation, led by State party president Chandrakant Patil and Sudhir Mungantiwar, met the Governor and discussed the relevant Constitutional provi- sions what would help provide a “stable” Government. “The people have given a clear mandate to Mahayuti for forming the Government. The Government should have been formed by now...Since the Government formation is tak- ing time, we met the Governor to discuss legal issues relating to the Government formation. Based on the discussion we had with the Governor, our party leadership will decide on what to do next,” Patil said. Since Mungantiwar had clearly stated ahead of his party leaders’ meeting with the Governor that the party would not attempt to form a “minority” Government, it is unlikely that the BJP, in the absence of support from the Shiv Sena, will stake a claim to form a Government before the expiry of the term of the cur- rent Assembly which ends at the midnight of November 8. (The BJP is at least 25 MLAs short of a majority of 145 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly). That being the case, will the Governor — before the expiry of the current Assembly’s term — use his dis- cretion and invite the BJP’s newly elected Legislature Party leader Devendra Fadnavis to form the Government and ask the latter to prove his Government’s majority within a stipulated time frame? B oth India and Pakistan on Thursday cleared the decks for cricketer-turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu to attend the inauguration of the much- awaited Kartarpur Corridor on November 9. While the Centre on Thursday gave clearance to Sidhu to take part in the Kartarpur Corridor inaugura- tion ceremony, Pakistan on Thursday issued him the required visa. Sidhu on Thursday wrote to the Centre, asking it to make it clear if it had any inhi- bition on his attending the opening ceremony of the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan. He has said if he receives no response to the lat- est letter — the third one writ- ten by him — he will go to the shrine across the border like “any other pilgrim”. Earlier, MEA spokesperson Ravish Kumar said the inau- gural event is a “very historic event” as India has been trying for the last 20 years that this can fructify. “I feel the event on November 9 is a very big event and it would not do justice to that event to highlight just one individual,” he said. Sidhu had come under fire after he hugged Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa during Prime Minister Imran’s swearing in ceremony. A youth was shot dead and his father was injured in firing by three bike-borne mis- creants at Sarkantara under the Khandagiri police station on Thursday evening. The deceased was identi- fied as Anil Jena (26). His father Abhimanyu is admitted to the AIIMS Bhubaneswar. Though the exact motive behind the incident was yet to be ascertained, family members of the victims alleged that the duo was targeted as they opposed drug trade in the area by a group of peddlers. “A peddler had threatened them of dire consequences on Wednesday night. A group of youths reached the house today and fired a number of rounds. Both victims were rushed to the AIIMS, where Anil suc- cumbed to his injuries,” said a family member. Sources said that one of the assailants was identified as a brown sugar peddler, Bapi, and the other two were his associates. The Khandagiri police rushed to the firing spot and started an investigation. Following the incident, palpa- ble tension prevailed in the area. T he Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) here achieved another world record on Thursday when as many as 26,382 tribal students of the institute promoted oral hygiene through brushing their teeth simultaneously at a single venue. The event was organised in partnership with the Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry (IAPHD) and the Colgate Palmolive India. The KISS broke the previous world record held by the DPS, Delhi in which 16,414 students had participated in mass brushing on January 7, 2016. Odisha Ministers Sudam Marndi and Raghunandan Das, Guinness World Records rep- resentative Rishi Nath, Colgate Palmolive MD Ram Raghaban, IAPHD general secretary Sabyasachi Saha and KIIT & KISS founder Dr Achyuta Samanta witnessed the colour- ful event. Notably also, the KISS stu- dents celebrated the National Tooth Brushing Day coinciding with the silver jubilee of IAPHD. This is the fourth Guinness World Record created by the KISS. Earlier, it had set the dou- ble world record in 'largest human sentence’ reading "We urge for world peace” and 'Most simultaneous high-fives’ at the same event on a single day in December 2015. In August 2017, it created a world record for the ‘Largest Laughter Yoga Class’. J udicial officer Bibhu Prasad Routray would be sworn in as a new judge of the Orissa High Court on Friday. Chief Justice KS Jhaveri would administer the oath of office to him in the afternoon, said a release issued by the High Court Registry on Thursday. A notification issued by the Department of Justice under the Union Ministry of Law and Justice on Thursday said the President of India has appoint- ed Routray as the judge of the High Court from the date he assumes charge. Soon after the notification, the HC Registry began preparations for the swearing-in ceremony. It may be recalled that the Supreme Court Collegium on October 3 this year had endorsed a resolution to elevate Routray and New Delhi-based Odia advocate Sanjib Kumar Panigrahi to the Bench of the High Court. But the Thursday’s notification was silent on Panigrahi’s appointment. C hief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday launched a District Palliative Care Programme (DPCP) at a function at the Lok Seva Bhawan through a videocon- ferencing with district Collectors and CDMOs. As per the programme, facility-based palliative care services will be provided at dis- trict level health institutions, including the Capital Hospital here and the RGH at Rourkela. Several in-patient and out- patient services would be pro- vided under the programme. The in-patient services include free specialist consultation, training to the care giver, free drugs and consumables, free physiotherapy, counselling, spiritual healing, emergency care services, nutrition support, patient follow-up etc. Out-patient services include regular consultation by trained medical staff, train- ing to the car givers, free drugs and consumables, free physio- therapy services, counselling to patient and family, referrals to higher health facilities (Palliative Care Centre) “Palliative Care Programme will play a signif- icant role in realisation of the motto of our Government Sustha Odisha Sukhi Odisha,” said the Chief Minister. According to the decision, six-bedded Palliative Care units would be established in each DHH. Ten districts have already been provided with Rs 10.25 lakh each for infrastruc- ture development. As many as 39 Medical Officers and 42 staff nurses have already been trained. Induction and refresher training of Medical Officers and Staff Nurses and Counselors will be taken up regularly. “It has also been decided to start home- based Palliative Care in Nabarangpur district within the next two months, which will be scaled up to all the districts. Subsequently, pal- liative care services will also be available for terminally ill patients suffering from chron- ic kidney diseases, stroke, car- dio vascular diseases, hemi- plegia, paralysis, HIV/AIDS etc,” said the Chief Minister. Expressing happiness over the programme, Adivsor to State Government on Cancer Care Dr Dinesh Pendarkar said that Odisha would soon find its glorious place in glob- al map of cancer care. The Chief Minister unveiled the Logo of Palliative Care for branding of the facil- ities. Among others, Health Minister Naba Kishore Das and Health Secretary PK Meherda were present. T he deep depression formed over the Bay of Bengal intensified into the cyclonic storm ‘Bulbul’ on Thursday. Under its influence, several districts in north coastal Odisha may experience rainfall and gusty winds for next cou- ple of days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the cyclonic storm ‘Bulbul’ over the east central Bay of Bengal is very likely to move north- northwestwards towards Bengal and Bangladesh coasts. Even though the cyclonic storm would not affect Odisha much, light to moderate rain- fall is on the cards for several north coastal Odisha districts. Heavy to very heavy rain- fall over Puri, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur districts is like- ly and heavy falls at isolated places in the remaining districts on November 8, said the Regional Office of the IMD here. Similarly, light to moderate rainfall at most places likely over north coastal districts of Odisha with isolated heavy to very heavy falls over Baleswar, Bhadrak, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur districts and heavy falls at isolated places over Mayurbhanj, Cuttack and Jajpur districts on November 9. The fishermen were advised not to venture into the sea during next two days from November 8 onwards over Odisha-West Bengal coasts as the seas would reamin rough. Keeping in view the likely heavy rainfall and strong winds, SRC Pradeep Jena held a videoconference with the district Collectors of the dis- tricts likely to be affected and asked them to remain alert. ODRAF and NDRF teams have also been kept in readiness to combat any eventuality. The SRC has asked the administra- tion to evacuate the people from thatched houses and other vulnerable areas, who are likely to be affected by water- logging and strong winds. As a precautionary mea- sure, all the schools and Anganwadi centres in Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada districts would remain closed on Friday and Saturday. T he Centre on Thursday asked all States to remain alert ahead of the Supreme Court verdict on Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute. In an advisory, the Union Home Ministry asked all States to keep vigil at sensitive areas. The Ministry has also dispatched around 4,000 paramilitary personnel for deployment in Uttar Pradesh, particularly in Ayodhya, and is likely to dispatch more forces soon, said officials. The politically sensitive judgment is expected to be delivered on any day from November 11 to November 15, which is the last working day of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who headed the five-member Bench which heard the arguments in the Ayodhya case. The general advisory asked the States and Union Territories to deploy adequate security personnel in all sensitive places and ensure that no untoward incident takes place anywhere in the country, a Home Ministry official said. Also, the Railway Police issued a seven-page advisory to all its zones giving them a slew of directions on securi- ty preparedness ahead the much awaited sensitive verdict. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) advisory also said leaves of all its personnel have been cancelled and they will be engaged in escorting trains, they said. The advisory, which covers aspects like security at platforms, railway stations, yards, parking space, bridges and tunnels besides produc- tion units and workshops, has earmarked all potential hotspots which could either be a site for any violence or could be used to hide explosives. RPF personnel will escort all trains and they will be armed with modern gadgets and intensive checks will be done including with sniffer dogs, they said, adding all sensitive points on tracks, bridges and tunnels will be patrolled.

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Indian pilgrims visitingKartarpur Sahib will have to

carry their passports even asPakistan is yet to confirm thelist of inaugural jatha to visitthe holy site on Saturday.

After the Pakistan Armyoverturned Prime MinisterImran Khan’s decision that theIndian pilgrims will not needpassport and said it is com-pulsory, the Ministry ofExternal Affairs in New Delhisaid on Thursday that as perthe bilateral agreement thedevotees will need to carrytheir passports.

Making this assertion here,External Affairs MinistrySpokesperson Raveesh Kumarsaid conflicting reports arecoming from Pakistan onwhether Indian pilgrims willrequire passports to visit theshrine through the Kartarpurcorridor.

Kumar said an agreementwas signed between the twocountries finalising the modal-ities for visits by Indian pil-grims and India will stick to it.

“As of now we are awarethat there is a bilateral docu-ment which has been signedbetween India and Pakistanwhich very clearly specifiesthe documents which arerequire to undertake the visit.Any amendment to the exist-ing MoU can’t be done unilat-erally. It requires consent ofboth parties,” he said.

The corridor will be inau-gurated on Saturday and scoresof Indian VIPs, including for-

mer Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, PunjabChief Minister CaptainAmarinder Singh, UnionMinisters Harsimrat KaurBadal and Hardeep Puribesides 150 parliamentarians,will pass through the corridor.

Earlier, the Pakistan Armyhas said Indian Sikh pilgrimsvisiting the Kartarpur Sahibwill need passports to use theKartarpur Corridor, accord-ing to a media report onThursday, days after PrimeMinister Imran Khanannounced that Indian devo-tees would only need a valid IDto visit the revered GurdwaraDarbar Sahib.

The comments by PakistanArmy spokesman Maj GenAsif Ghafoor came a day afterIndia asked Pakistan to clarifywhether passports will berequired by the Sikh pilgrimsto visit the Gurdwara inKartarpur.

The Kartarpur Corridor,which provides a visa-freeaccess to Indian Sikhs toGurdwara Darbar Sahib, will beinaugurated on Saturday byPrime Minister Imran Khan tomark Sikhism founder GuruNanak Dev’s 550th birthanniversary.

Maj Gen Ghafoor onWednesday said that IndianSikh pilgrims would require apassport to use KartarpurCorridor, Dawn News quotedHum News channel as saying.

“As we have a security link,the entry would be a legal oneunder a permit on a passport-based identity. There will be no

compromise on security orsovereignty,” Ghafoor said.

On November 1, PrimeMinister Khan, while announc-ing the completion ofKartarpur Corridor on Twitter,said he had waived two require-ments relating to passport andregistering 10 days in advancefor Indian Sikhs coming for pil-grimage to Kartarpur.

He said that Sikh pilgrimsfrom India would only need avalid ID and not a passport totravel to Kartarpur. The servicefee of USD 20 for those com-ing for the inaugural ceremo-ny and on the 550th birthanniversary of the Sikh Guruon November 12 has been waived.

The year 2019 marks the550th birth anniversary year ofSikhism founder Guru NanakDev, whose birthplace is SriNankana Sahib in Pakistan.The corridor has been estab-lished to commemorate hisbirth anniversary.

��������������� � ��

With just 24 hours to go forthe expiry of the current

State Assembly’s term,Maharashtra on Thursdayevening appeared to be head-ing towards a Constitutionalcrisis as the single largest party— BJP — suo motu soughtmore time from GovernorBhagat Singh Koshyari to stakeclaim to form a Government inthe State, thus forcing the lat-ter to explore ways to deal withthe emerging political situation.

Meanwhile, after a meetingwith party chief UddhavThackeray, a Shiv Sena MLAannounced that all Sena MLAswill stay at the HotelRangsharda in Mumbai till theformation of a Government inMaharashtra.

Given that 14 days havepassed since the Assembly pollresults were declared, the BJPbeing the single largest partyshould by now have stakedclaim to form a Government inthe State. It has not done so,since it does not have numberswith it. Alternatively, in theabsence of a formal claim bythe single largest party, theGovernor in the normal courseshould have invited the singlelargest party to form theGovernment.

Having failed to hammerout power-sharing deal with itspre-poll ally Shiv Sena mainlyover the issue of sharing theChief Minister’s post on a rota-tional basis and equal sharingof Ministries, a BJP delegation,led by State party presidentChandrakant Patil and Sudhir

Mungantiwar, met theGovernor and discussed therelevant Constitutional provi-sions what would help providea “stable” Government.

“The people have given aclear mandate to Mahayuti forforming the Government. TheGovernment should have beenformed by now...Since theGovernment formation is tak-ing time, we met the Governorto discuss legal issues relatingto the Government formation.Based on the discussion we hadwith the Governor, our partyleadership will decide on whatto do next,” Patil said.

Since Mungantiwar hadclearly stated ahead of hisparty leaders’ meeting withthe Governor that the partywould not attempt to form a

“minority” Government, it isunlikely that the BJP, in theabsence of support from theShiv Sena, will stake a claim toform a Government before theexpiry of the term of the cur-rent Assembly which ends atthe midnight of November 8.(The BJP is at least 25 MLAsshort of a majority of 145MLAs in the 288-memberAssembly).

That being the case, willthe Governor — before theexpiry of the currentAssembly’s term — use his dis-cretion and invite the BJP’snewly elected Legislature Partyleader Devendra Fadnavis toform the Government and askthe latter to prove hisGovernment’s majority withina stipulated time frame?

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Both India and Pakistan onThursday cleared the decks

for cricketer-turned politicianNavjot Singh Sidhu to attendthe inauguration of the much-awaited Kartarpur Corridoron November 9.

While the Centre onThursday gave clearance toSidhu to take part in theKartarpur Corridor inaugura-tion ceremony, Pakistan onThursday issued him therequired visa.

Sidhu on Thursday wroteto the Centre, asking it tomake it clear if it had any inhi-bition on his attending theopening ceremony of theKartarpur Corridor in

Pakistan. He has said if hereceives no response to the lat-est letter — the third one writ-ten by him — he will go to theshrine across the border like“any other pilgrim”.

Earlier, MEA spokespersonRavish Kumar said the inau-gural event is a “very historicevent” as India has been tryingfor the last 20 years that this canfructify. “I feel the event onNovember 9 is a very big eventand it would not do justice tothat event to highlight just oneindividual,” he said.

Sidhu had come underfire after he hugged PakistanArmy chief General QamarJaved Bajwa during PrimeMinister Imran’s swearing inceremony.

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Ayouth was shot dead andhis father was injured in

firing by three bike-borne mis-creants at Sarkantara underthe Khandagiri police stationon Thursday evening.

The deceased was identi-fied as Anil Jena (26). Hisfather Abhimanyu is admittedto the AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

Though the exact motivebehind the incident was yet tobe ascertained, family membersof the victims alleged that theduo was targeted as they

opposed drug trade in the areaby a group of peddlers.

“A peddler had threatenedthem of dire consequences onWednesday night. A group ofyouths reached the house todayand fired a number of rounds.Both victims were rushed tothe AIIMS, where Anil suc-cumbed to his injuries,” said afamily member.

Sources said that one of theassailants was identified as abrown sugar peddler, Bapi,and the other two were hisassociates.

The Khandagiri policerushed to the firing spot andstarted an investigation.Following the incident, palpa-ble tension prevailed in thearea.

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The Kalinga Institute ofSocial Sciences (KISS) here

achieved another world recordon Thursday when as many as26,382 tribal students of theinstitute promoted oral hygienethrough brushing their teethsimultaneously at a singlevenue.

The event was organised inpartnership with the IndianAssociation of Public HealthDentistry (IAPHD) and theColgate Palmolive India. TheKISS broke the previous worldrecord held by the DPS, Delhiin which 16,414 students hadparticipated in mass brushing

on January 7, 2016.Odisha Ministers Sudam

Marndi and Raghunandan Das,Guinness World Records rep-resentative Rishi Nath, ColgatePalmolive MD Ram Raghaban,IAPHD general secretarySabyasachi Saha and KIIT &KISS founder Dr AchyutaSamanta witnessed the colour-ful event.

Notably also, the KISS stu-dents celebrated the NationalTooth Brushing Day coinciding

with the silver jubilee ofIAPHD.

This is the fourth GuinnessWorld Record created by theKISS. Earlier, it had set the dou-ble world record in 'largesthuman sentence’ reading "Weurge for world peace” and'Most simultaneous high-fives’at the same event on a singleday in December 2015. InAugust 2017, it created a worldrecord for the ‘Largest LaughterYoga Class’.

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Judicial officer Bibhu PrasadRoutray would be sworn in as

a new judge of the Orissa HighCourt on Friday. Chief JusticeKS Jhaveri would administerthe oath of office to him in theafternoon, said a release issuedby the High Court Registry onThursday.

A notification issued by theDepartment of Justice underthe Union Ministry of Law andJustice on Thursday said thePresident of India has appoint-ed Routray as the judge of theHigh Court from the date heassumes charge. Soon after thenotification, the HC Registrybegan preparations for theswearing-in ceremony.

It may be recalled that theSupreme Court Collegium onOctober 3 this year hadendorsed a resolution to elevateRoutray and New Delhi-basedOdia advocate Sanjib KumarPanigrahi to the Bench of theHigh Court. But the Thursday’snotification was silent onPanigrahi’s appointment.

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Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Thursday

launched a District PalliativeCare Programme (DPCP) at afunction at the Lok SevaBhawan through a videocon-ferencing with districtCollectors and CDMOs.

As per the programme,facility-based palliative careservices will be provided at dis-trict level health institutions,including the Capital Hospitalhere and the RGH at Rourkela.

Several in-patient and out-patient services would be pro-vided under the programme.The in-patient services includefree specialist consultation,training to the care giver, freedrugs and consumables, freephysiotherapy, counselling,spiritual healing, emergencycare services, nutrition support,patient follow-up etc.

Out-patient servicesinclude regular consultationby trained medical staff, train-ing to the car givers, free drugsand consumables, free physio-therapy services, counselling topatient and family, referrals tohigher health facilities(Palliative Care Centre)

“Palliative Care

Programme will play a signif-icant role in realisation of themotto of our GovernmentSustha Odisha Sukhi Odisha,”said the Chief Minister.

According to the decision,six-bedded Palliative Care unitswould be established in eachDHH. Ten districts havealready been provided with Rs10.25 lakh each for infrastruc-ture development. As many as39 Medical Officers and 42 staffnurses have already beentrained.

Induction and refresher

training of Medical Officersand Staff Nurses andCounselors will be taken upregularly.

“It has also been decided tostart home- based PalliativeCare in Nabarangpur districtwithin the next two months,which will be scaled up to allthe districts. Subsequently, pal-liative care services will also beavailable for terminally illpatients suffering from chron-ic kidney diseases, stroke, car-dio vascular diseases, hemi-plegia, paralysis, HIV/AIDS

etc,” said the Chief Minister.Expressing happiness over

the programme, Adivsor toState Government on CancerCare Dr Dinesh Pendarkarsaid that Odisha would soonfind its glorious place in glob-al map of cancer care.

The Chief Ministerunveiled the Logo of PalliativeCare for branding of the facil-ities.

Among others, HealthMinister Naba Kishore Dasand Health Secretary PKMeherda were present.

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The deep depression formedover the Bay of Bengal

intensified into the cyclonicstorm ‘Bulbul’ on Thursday.Under its influence, severaldistricts in north coastalOdisha may experience rainfalland gusty winds for next cou-ple of days.

The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) said thecyclonic storm ‘Bulbul’ over theeast central Bay of Bengal isvery likely to move north-northwestwards towardsBengal and Bangladesh coasts.

Even though the cyclonicstorm would not affect Odishamuch, light to moderate rain-fall is on the cards for severalnorth coastal Odisha districts.

Heavy to very heavy rain-fall over Puri, Kendrapada andJagatsinghpur districts is like-ly and heavy falls at isolatedplaces in the remaining districtson November 8, said theRegional Office of the IMD

here.Similarly, light to moderate

rainfall at most places likelyover north coastal districts ofOdisha with isolated heavy tovery heavy falls over Baleswar,Bhadrak, Kendrapada andJagatsinghpur districts andheavy falls at isolated placesover Mayurbhanj, Cuttack andJajpur districts on November 9.

The fishermen wereadvised not to venture into thesea during next two days fromNovember 8 onwards overOdisha-West Bengal coasts asthe seas would reamin rough.

Keeping in view the likelyheavy rainfall and strongwinds, SRC Pradeep Jena helda videoconference with thedistrict Collectors of the dis-tricts likely to be affected andasked them to remain alert.

ODRAF and NDRF teamshave also been kept in readinessto combat any eventuality. TheSRC has asked the administra-tion to evacuate the peoplefrom thatched houses andother vulnerable areas, who arelikely to be affected by water-logging and strong winds.

As a precautionary mea-sure, all the schools andAnganwadi centres in Puri,Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapadadistricts would remain closedon Friday and Saturday.

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The Centre on Thursdayasked all States to remain

alert ahead of the SupremeCourt verdict on RamJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjidtitle dispute.

In an advisory, the UnionHome Ministry asked allStates to keep vigil at sensitiveareas. The Ministry has alsodispatched around 4,000paramilitary personnel fordeployment in Uttar Pradesh,particularly in Ayodhya, andis likely to dispatch moreforces soon, said officials.

The politically sensitivejudgment is expected to bedelivered on any day fromNovember 11 to November15, which is the last workingday of Chief Justice of IndiaRanjan Gogoi, who headedthe five-member Bench whichheard the arguments in theAyodhya case.

The general advisory askedthe States and Union Territoriesto deploy adequate securitypersonnel in all sensitive placesand ensure that no untowardincident takes place anywherein the country, a HomeMinistry official said.

Also, the Railway Policeissued a seven-page advisoryto all its zones giving them aslew of directions on securi-

ty preparedness ahead themuch awaited sensit ive verdict.

The Railway ProtectionForce (RPF) advisory also saidleaves of all its personnel havebeen cancelled and they will beengaged in escorting trains,they said. The advisory, whichcovers aspects like security atplatforms, railway stations,yards, parking space, bridgesand tunnels besides produc-tion units and workshops, hasearmarked all potentialhotspots which could either bea site for any violence or couldbe used to hide explosives.

RPF personnel will escortall trains and they will bearmed with modern gadgetsand intensive checks will bedone including with snifferdogs, they said, adding allsensitive points on tracks,bridges and tunnels will bepatrolled.

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The Akhil Bhartiya RashtriyaShaikshik Mahasangh

(ABRSM) on Thursday sug-gested to the State Governmentto develop infrastructure facil-ities and various amenities forteachers in colleges so thattheir seven-hour stay would bemore productive and beneficialto students.

In a letter to HigherEducation Secretary SaswatMishra, ABRSM national exec-utive council member DrNarayan Mohanty made anumber of suggestions to theGovernment in response tothe latter’s directive to teachersof Government and aided non-Government colleges to do 7-hour duty every day.

“College teachers havebeen asked to perform duty forat least 7 hours on every work-ing day. This prolonged stay,though not impossible, willhardly promote the best inter-ests of either the students or theteachers given the infrastruc-ture or rather the absence of itto make their stay meaningful.It is a fact that the teachers stayin colleges for 7 hours or morewhen occasion arises in emer-gent situations. Hence therewas no need of issuing such acircular,” read the letter.

Pointing out that a

teacher's duty is not aboutstaying long hours rather it isabout meeting the academic/intellectual needs of his wardsand helping their growth, hesaid wow the number of gen-eral classes sans tutorial class-es would help run the collegewhen large vacancies are exist-ing in almost all teachingdepartments across the State.

Giving his suggestion onthe biometric attendancerecording system, Mohantynoted that in a college derelic-tion of duty stands out in starkrelief as the students, being thedirect beneficiaries, bring it tothe administration’s notice.

“It is a fact that a collegeteacher has traditionallyenjoyed flexi-timings owingto the nature and burden of hisjob. He should not be dissipat-ing his focus by doing nothingor on the contrary by doing allkind of sundry work prior tohis class. Our colleges do nothave the right kind of atmos-

phere conducive for academicpursuit. Reading rooms areeither not there or woefullyinadequate for the studentsand scholars. Insisting that theteacher stays in college forseven hours and ensuring itthrough biometric attendancewill strike at the roofs of hisself-worth, individualism andhonor,” he noted.

Stating that the State's edu-cational institutions are beg-gared by comparison with pri-vate ones where modernamenities are available to all thestudents and members of fac-ulty, Mohanty suggested to theGovernment to start operatingone model college in every dis-trict equipped with a spaciousstate-of-the-art reading room,a subsidised canteen, a gym-nasium, a swimming pool witha yoga centre, an audio-visualunit and an indoor sports facil-ity. These are add-ones whicheven the NAAC gives credenceto, he mentioned.

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Union Petroleum & NaturalGas and Steel Minister

Dharmendra Pradhan hasurged theCentre for adirect flightb e t w e e nJharsugudaa n dM u m b a iunder theU D A Nscheme.

W i t hthe hugecommercialsuccess offlight operation by the SpiceJetfrom Jharsuguda to New Delhi,Pradhan has demanded anoth-er another direct flight servicebetween Jharsuguda and thecountry’s business capitalMumbai.

“The SpiceJet has com-menced air operations fromJharsuguda with a direct flightto New Delhi. The route hasbeen a great commercial suc-cess and has also massivelybenefitted the people of west-ern Odisha, who can now fly

directly to the national capital.Besides, SpiceJet has also intro-duced flights to Hyderabadand Kolkata from Jharsugudawhich is giving more connec-tivity for the passengers trav-elling to northeast and south-ern part of the country.However, there is a lack ofdirect air connectivity betweenwestern Odisha and India’scommercial capital Mumbai,”

Pradhan has written to UnionCivil Aviation MinisterHardeep S Puri.

In the letter sent onWednesday, he pointed outthat there is a strong demandfrom air passengers for a directflight on this route.

Pradhan requested Purifor his personal intervention incommencement of a directflight between Jharsuguda andMumbai at the earliest to ben-efit people of western Odisha.

���� ���

Devotees of LordJagannath felt

outraged whenMahaprasad (offeringto the lord) was foundin a garbage bin hereon Wednesday duringthe holy month ofKartik.

Earthen pots con-taining the lord’sMahaprasad wereconsigned into thedustbins installed bythe Puri Municipalityat the railway camp set up forHabisyalis.

Notably, the districtadministration providesaccommodation facility for

Habisyalis visiting theJagannath Temple for amonth-long ‘Habisa’ startingfrom the first day of Kartik.Under the Habisyali pro-

gramme, three camps havebeen set up for the devotees atdifferent locations where theyare offered Mahaprasad free ofcost.

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Notwithstanding the restric-tion on mobile phones

inside the Lingaraj Templehere, a photograph of the deityhas surfaced on social mediasite Facebook.

One Pradipta Patra, a local,had visited the temple onOctober 14 and uploaded LordLingaraj’s Damodar Besha onhis Facebook profile. Soonafter the report spread, theLingaraj police began a probeinto the incidence. However,the photograph was deleted bythe user when the last reportcame in.

Notably, Lord Shiva donsthe Damodar Besha everydayduring the month of Kartik.

Thousands of devotes fromacross the country throng the

temple to witness the divineattire.

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To strengthen the youthwing of Armed Forces in

educational institutions, theState Government has decid-ed to set up three newNational Cadet Corps (NCC)units, including one inBhubaneswar.

This was revealed at ameeting of the HigherEducation Department’s StateAdvisory Committee heldhere. The Ministry of Defencehas also approved a proposal

to open an NCC unit inKoraput and another inJharsuguda.

The move follows theDefence Ministry’s approvalfor establishment of NCCunits in various locations inOdisha. The units would be setup on a 25:75 cost sharingbasis with the Centre. Theprocess has begun to fill up123 posts lying vacant at theNCC units. Notably, the stu-dents enrolled in the NCC incolleges and universities usedto face difficulties to attend the

examinations. At the meeting,Higher Education MinisterArun Sahoo stressed on mak-ing special arrangements forthe NCC cadets to appear inclasses and examinations.

As per the decision, theNCC cadets would be provid-ed shooting training at theKalinga Stadium inBhubaneswar. The authoritieswould collect Rs 2 and Rs 5each from the NCC cadetstowards fee during admissionin schools and colleges, respec-tively.

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Police on Thursday arrestedan accused in the

Wednesday night’s incident inwhich a woman was raped bya group of men in a moving carand later dumped near thePrananath AutonomousCollege here.

Police also seized the car,

which was used in the crime,from the possession of thearrested criminal.

“Regarding alleged rape ofa lady in a car reported inKhordha, a case has been reg-istered on transfer on point ofjurisdiction from Khurda inKhandagiri PS. Accused hasbeen apprehended and carseized. Investigation is on.

Senior officers are monitoringinvestigation.@cpbbsrctc”tweeted Bhubaneswar DCPAnup Sahoo on Thursdaymorning.

Notably, the victim hadbeen kidnapped by a group of

men from Kalinga Vihar inBhubaneswar while she waswaiting for a bus on the pretextof a lift in evening. She was latersexually assaulted inside thesame car and dumped near PNCollege in an unconsciousstate.

Some locals rescued thevictim in and helped to regainsense. She was shifted to the

District Headquarters Hospital.Based on the statement of

the victim, a case was lodged atthe Khandagiri police station inconnection with the incidentand senior officers are investi-gating the case.

���� ��7��

Amajor mishap in theAjmer-Puri Express was

averted after its engine caughtfire near the Handapa stationin Angul district on Thursday.

The incident took place ataround 2 pm when the trainwas en route to Puri. The train

was halted for a while near theHandapa station following themishap. The exact cause of thefire was yet to be ascertained.

Soon after, a firefightingteam was pressed into serviceto douse the flames. The trainservice resumed after anotherengine was attached with thetrain.

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The Centre for theSustainable use of Natural

and Social Resources (CSNR)and the CommonwealthHuman Rights Initiative(CHRI) jointly released a studyon “State of Crime and Policingin Odisha” undertaken in fourareas (Bhubaneswar andCuttack and Jajpur andKandhamal districts) here onThursday to provide actionabledata and findings that canspur initiatives to improvepolicing in the State.

MLA Soumya RanjanPatnaik, National LawUniversity, Odisha Vice-Chancellor Srikrishna DevaRao, CSNR secretaryDhirendra Panda and

Chandranath Dani attended asguests and released the report.

The report revealed thatbetween January 2017 andMay 2018, as many as 24,081complaints were registered inthese four regions. In 2017, asmany as 17,082 cases were reg-istered while between January2018 and May 2018, a total of6,999 cases were registered.

Of these, the highest num-ber of crimes was registered inBhubaneswar, followed byJajpur, Cuttack andKandhamal. The most fre-quently registered complaintsacross the districts were mis-cellaneous cases (12,418), theft(3,761), motor-vehicle (MV)accidents (2,773) and swin-dling (1,208).

As per the report, thehighest number of murderand attempt-to-murder casestogether was registered in theMalgodown police station (24)in Cuttack followed byBaliguda PS (23) inKandhamal, Barang PS (20) inCuttack and Jajpur Sadar (20)in Jajpur.

While the highest numberof dacoity, robbery, burglaryand theft cases together wereregistered in Capital PS (344)

in Bhubaneswar followed byKhandagiri PS (263) andSaheed Nagar PS (263) inBhubaneswar. The highestnumber of swindling caseswere registered in Badagada PS(105) followed by SaheedNagar PS (81) and Capital PS

(74).The highest number of

riot cases were registered inCapital PS (46) followed byJatni PS (19) andChandrasekharpur (15). Whilein rape cases, the highest num-ber was registered in Panikoili

PS (36) in Jajpur followed byMahila Bhubaneswar PS (35)and Chandrasekharpur PS(27).

Coming to crimes againstwomen, Bhubaneswar regis-tered the highest number ofcomplaints of kidnapping (79),

dowry-related offences (70)and rapes (61), followed byJajpur and Kandhamal.

In 2017, a total of 1,875crimes against women wereregistered in the four regionswith the highest number underthe Dowry Prohibition Act(600), followed by rapes (432)and kidnapping (367).

The dowry-relatedoffences were the highest inJajpur (207), followed byBhubaneswar (184). Cases ofrape and kidnapping weremost registered inBhubaneswar (171), followedby Jajpur (131) andBhubaneswar (153) and Jajpur(74), respectively.

Between January 2018 andMay 2018, a total of 692 crimesagainst women were regis-tered in the four regions withthe highest number of kid-napping (183), dowry-relatedoffences (178) and rapes (159).

The organisations haverecommended to the Statepolice to recruit 33 per centwomen, setting up of separatecells and toilets for women,display of the Supreme Courtguidelines on arrest and instal-lation of CCTVs in everypolice station.

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Di r e c t o rGeneral of

National CadetCorps (NCC) LtGen RajeevChopra visitedthe JaganathTemple and paidobeisance to thedeities here onT h u r s d a y .Accompanied byNCC and templeofficials, Chopraalso movedround the shrinepremises and haddarshan of godsand goddesses inthe side temples.Earlier on theday, he went toRaghurajpur her-itage village nearChandanpur andviewed fine artsand crafts prepared by villagers.

Chopra also visited theNCC battalion located atTalabania in the city. He spenta few minutes there by inter-acting with officials and takingstock of the ongoing projects.

However, he could not a

Media interaction programmescheduled at 1 pm as hereached Puri battalion late byone and a half hour. The bat-talion sent invitation to thereporters through DIPRO. Butdue to delay of his arrival, thePress meet was cancelled.

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Awoman Maoist,who was carrying a

cash reward of Rs 1 lakhon her head, surren-dered before policealong with her two-month-old daughter inRayagada district onThursday.

The 27-year-oldParvati alias Rinki, aresident of Bijapur ofChhattisgarh, was amember of the outlawedCPI(Maoist). She wasalso a member of theIndravati Dalam andGhumsara Dalam ofB a n s a d h a r a - G hu m s a r a -Nagavali Division ofCPI(Maoist).

In her statement, Rinkialleged that the other Maoistsabandoned her in a forest whenshe became pregnant. She fur-ther said that she chose to breakher eight-year-long associa-tion with the Maoist movementafter she realised that the Redrebels neither do anythinggood for tribals nor for theirown comrades. Besides, shealleged gender discrimination

by the ultras. Police said thatRinki was involved the killingof two civilians and a DistrictVoluntary Force (DVF) Jawan

in Kalahandi and Rayagada dis-tricts in 2018 and 2019. She wasalso involved in three firingincidents in Rayagada andanother in Kalahandi districtbetween 2013 and 2019.

“Rinki was also involved inthe killing of a civilian atBabupadar in Kalahandi dis-trict on July 22 this year. Shewas also involved in the killingof a DVF Jawan in the

Muniguda police station area ofRayagada district on April9,2018,” said a release issued bythe Rayagada police.

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Union Minister of Coal andMines Pralhad Joshi on

Thursday announced a 300%hike in the ex-gratia amountfor fatal coalmines accidentsfrom Rs five lakh to Rs 15 lakh,a welfare measure that willcover over 3.5 lakh families ofminers working under theCoal India and its subsidiaries.

After undertaking an aer-ial inspection of mining oper-ations of the Talcher Coalfieldsunder the MahanadiCoalfields Limited (MCL), theMinister addressed villagersand coalminers after layingfoundation-stone of an MCLDAV School, Lingaraj Area.

Joshi said the Governmentof India is “steadily working tocreate more jobs and entre-preneurship opportunities foryouths”. He announced thatthe MCL, which has given over16,000 permanent jobs in lieuof land since its inception,would offer employment tomore than 4,000 more land

oustees in Odisha by the year2024-25.

He further announcedthat the MCL would investover Rs 9,000 crore in years tocome for creation of railwayinfrastructure enabling seam-less transportation of coalfrom across its mines. This

would include modernisationof Jharsuguda railway station,doubling of Saradega-Barpali-Jharsuguda railway line, con-struction of a double-leg fly-over and construction of a204-km-long rail network inTalcher under two phases ofconstruction.

Joshi added that the MCLwould also run mobile medicalunits (MMUs) in the periph-eral villages for brining freehealthcare to the doorsteps ofthe needy.

The proposed state-of-the-art MCL DAV School,Lingaraj Area would be built

at a cost of Rs 45crore with an ini-tial studentintake of 1,300to be extendedup to 3,000. Itwould be one ofthe best schoolsin India.

The MCLalready has nineDAV schools inA n g u l ,S a m b a l p u r ,Jharsuguda andSundargarh dis-tricts with totalstudent strengthof 13,425 in thecurrent academ-ic session.

Coal IndiaChairman AKJha and MCLCMD BN Shuklawere also presenton the occasion.

Notably, theMCL, which pro-duced a record

144 million tonnes of coal in2018-19, is the Coal India’ssecond biggest subsidiary andcontributes about 25% to itstotal coal production. In thecurrent fiscal, the MCL has toproduce 160 million tonnesout of 660 million tonnes ofthe Coal India’s target.

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Vacant land should be uti-lized for farming and nec-

essary measures be taken sothat they bring profit to localfarmers and people, said chair-person of Deogaon block ReenaMeher at the third annual gen-eral body meeting ofBhimpahad Krushak Producers

Company Limited (BKPCL)held at Ratanpur village, 10 kmfrom here on Tuesday. TheBhimpahad Krushak ProducersCompany Limited is a privatecompany having 1,668 farmersas its shareholders, promoted byReliance Foundation and finan-cially supported by the Nabard.

District DevelopmentManager (DDM) Nabard,

Balangir Laxman Soy, givingdetails on tbe programme byNabard for farmers develop-ment, appreciated the growthof BKPCL.

"The BKPCL last yearalthough carried out transac-tion of Rs 33 lakh ,it earned aprofit of Rs 4,086 only. Keepingin view, we are diversifying andexpanding business in six

areas," said chairman ofBKPCL Lalit Rout. Amongothers, members of civil soci-ety organization who are pro-moting various farmers pro-ducer companies participated.Pradeep Mahapatra (Udyaam)and Shrabani Mohanty(Samannati), representativesfrom YCDA, also shared theirviews.

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Unidentified miscreants lateon Wednesday night shot

at and critically injured a man-ager of a stone crusher unit atSilipandi under Nandapurblock of the district. The victimwas identified as Prasad Rao.

Sources said the unidenti-fied miscreants entered thestone crusher unit located atSilipandi and suddenly firedsome rounds at Rao and fledfrom the spot.

On being informed aboutthe matter, police rushed to thespot and sent Rao to a localhospital.

Later, he was shifted toVisakhapatnam hospital as hishealth condition deteriorated.

While the exact motivebehind firing is yet to be ascer-tained, police have detainedone person in connection withthe case and interrogating himto unearth more information.

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The Banki police have arrest-ed two persons and are on

the lookout of three others,who had allegedly kidnappedand raped a dalit girl ofGopalpur village on Sunday.

Cuttack (Rural) SP RBPanigrahi informed about thisand assured that he is person-ally looking into the incident asthe victim has alleged that shewas also tortured by the policeand was forced to change herstatements.

“I have recorded the state-ments of the victim; and I havetaken serious note of her alle-gations that she was apparent-ly tortured by the Banki policeand was forced to change herstatements,” Panigrahi said,adding that a senior DSP of thedistrict police is investigatinginto the incident from allangles, including the allegationsmade by the victim against thelocal police.

The victim was reportedlyenticed by a youth of her villageon Sunday evening from nearher house and was dragged toa nearby deserted paddy field,where she was raped. Laterwith the help of four others, theyouth was trying to traffic herto Surat in Gujarat. But the girlmanaged to flee from the clawsof her abductors midway andescaped to a relative’s house atKhordha, from where thepolice rescued her.

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Accompanied by ChiefSecretary Asit Tripathy, 5T

Secretary VK Pandian alongwith NRHM Director ShaliniPandit visited the Bhima BhoiMedical College Hospital(MCH) here on Thursday.

Besides the Mother andChild Healthcare unit, Pandianalso visited some other wardsof the hospital and interactedwith patients and hospital offi-cial briefly.

“We received the ChiefSecretary, the 5T Secretary andthe NRHM Director at theTusura Airstrip,30 km fromhere in the morning. They vis-ited the MCH and interactedwith patients. The team also vis-

ited some other wards. Later, in the Conference

Hall of NRHM, a brief discus-sion was held with doctors. Anew building would come up,which would ease the problemof bed shortage in the hospital,”said district Collector ArindumDakua to reporters at the hos-pital.

Pandian was the majorattraction for mediapersonnel,who scrambled to get a pho-tographs and video clips of his.As the officials’ team movedfast from one ward to another,the journalists had to keepquick pace with them to takephotos, leaving one of thescribes to fall down.

���� ����8����

As many as 30 passengerswere injured when a

Bhubaneswar-bound bus over-turned at Pada Chhak underthe Hindol police station in thedistrict early on Thursdaymorning.

The injured persons wereadmitted to the Hindol, Rasoland Khajuriakata Governmenthospitals.

The incident took place ataround 4 am when the bus wason its way to Bhubaneswarfrom Sambalpur district.Reports said the speeding bus

turned turtle as the driver lostcontrol over the vehicle. Out ofthe 30 injured passengers, anelderly person sustained frac-tures in his legs and hands.

Later, all the injured wererescued and admitted to hos-pitals, an eyewitness said.

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Since the district adminis-tration has opened an app

for e-filing of grievances, 1,174cases have been receivedregarding various problems ofthe people. And 508 cases havebeen successfully disposed of,while 337 cases are underprocess. 46 cases were disposedof on Thursday, informedDistrict Emergency Officer(DEO) Subhasmita Mishrawhile narrating the success ofthe new portal.

“The disposal rate is 73 percent so far,” Mishra said further.

“With a novel intention ofusing modern technology andsave valuable time of the peo-ple, the app was started onAugust 28 and the response ofthe people within just 66 daysis tremendous. People from far-off places are seen putting theirgrievances through the appinstead of running hundreds ofkm to reach the Collectorate,”the DEO said further. There arealso so many other gateways forfiling of grievances including atoll free number that is availablein the portal and website. “Onan average, we are receiving 12-15 grievances every day and weexpect it to increase furthersince people are getting instantbenefit,” the DEO said.

“I am personally monitor-

ing the speedy disposal andtracking system. A joint meet-ing is held every Monday toreview the progress of the casesand find out the bottleneck onthe way of redressal,” saidCollector Subham Saxena.

“People can use the app,portal, website and a toll freenumber, whichever is conve-nient to them, for registrationof their grievances. Thereafter,the grievance is forwarded tothe concerned department andthe person gets a message.Adequate attention is given tosee that all the problems men-tioned in the grievance areredressed in a stipulated timelimit with information to theperson seeking redressal,” theCollector said further.

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Shreeman Das, a Class-XIstudent of the Jawahar

Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) atMundali, was denied entry tothe school on November 3merely because his father hadnot submitted a copy of an affi-davit pertaining to discipline.

Principal Ramraj Singhgave his father a sample copy ofthe affidavit and asked him tobring his child with the affi-davit.

On Thursday, his fathercame to the school with theaffidavit but found that thePrincipal was absent. His fathermet Vice-Principal who senthim to meet the Housemaster.The Housemaster asked him tocome on Monday as thePrincipal was out of the station.

Subsequently, the parent con-tacted the Principal overmobile phone. The Principalsaid his ward won't be allowedto school today (Thursday).

As the student wasdeprived of education for thelast four days, his father wentto the Godisahi police outpostand lodged a written com-plaint against the arbitrary

decision of the School author-ities and subsequently sat on adharna at the main gate of theschool, demanding entry of hisson to the school.

Police, local Sarpanch andmedia persons reached theschool. After they held discus-sions with the authorities, thestudent was given entry to thestudent and his father asked to

submit the affidavit.Sources said

school authoritiesturned hostile to somestudents and theirparents as they hadearlier demandedbefore the Principal todevelop quality ofteaching with provi-sion of smart classesand made allegationsof poor performanceby some teachers. Thisis not the lone case. Atleast other four stu-dents of Class XI inScience stream were

not given permission to enterthe School whose parents areyet to come to defend.

Meanwhile, some localshave demanded that the schoolPresident and district Collectorinteract with the students, whohave been denied entry to theschool and deprived of class-room teaching and take actionaccordingly.

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Under thechairman-

ship of Anguldistrict CollectorManoj KumarMohanty, agrievance hear-ing meeting washeld in Pallaharaon Wednesday.

It was start-ed on 11am and continued upto 3 pm. Education, land,health, water, road and electri-fication problems were putbefore the authorities fromdifferent corners of Pallaharaand Kaniha blocks. A total of58 cases were finalised in themeeting.

Angul SP Jagamohan

Meena, CDMO Dr AmarendraMohanty, DRDA PD AtulyaKumar Champatray, Sub-Collector Ajit Kumar Pradhan,BDO Tribrikram Kumura,Tehsildar Swagat Das, DeputyCollector Bercius Dungdung,Kisani Panda and blockChairman Naba Naik werepresent.

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Ateacher’s sonallegedly thrashed

a number of students ofthe Dalit community inthe SC ResidentialPrimary School atKaleswar village in theButupali area in Boudhdistrict.

The school is run by NGOVishwa Jeevan Seva Sangha.Reports said the children wereassaulted physically by theteacher’s son when he sawthem urinating on the bound-ary wall of the school.

The accused was identifiedas Sibunath Sarangi, son of ateacher Krupasindhu Sarangi.

Later, the victims werefound crying in the school. On

getting information, the Boudhpolice arrested the Sibunath forthe alleged offence. Sourcessaid the accused used to regu-larly beat up the students ondifferent pretexts.

Notably, hundreds of Dalitstudents from various districtsare lodged at the residentialschool funded by the Ministryof Social Justice andEmpowerment.

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ACardiac Centre ofExcellence would soon be

set up at the Capital Hospitalhere as part of the extensivereforms in healthcare servicesin the State under the ‘MoSarkar and 5’T programmes,said Health and Family WelfareMinister Naba Kishore Das onWednesday.

Das said efforts havealready started to begin withmodernisation of the hospital’scardiology department. Anupdated cathlab and moderninfrastructure would also beavailable in the hospital.

“There will be no spacecrunch and very soon the oper-ation theatres for heart surgerywould come up. Besides, mod-ern equipments, specialIntensive Care Unit (ICU),additional beds would be pro-cured where provisions of

complex angiography, deviceclosure, electro-physiologicalstudies will be available,” hesaid, adding, “Measures arebeing taken to rope in moredoctors and associates.”

Besides, eminent cardiolo-gist, Prof Prabhat Kumar Dashad visited the hospital onTuesday and taken stock of thefacility. Dr Das will join thehospital leaving his presentassignment as HoD,

Cardiology Department of theSatya Sai Institute of HigherMedical Sciences, Bangalore.

“After seeing the places,present infrastructure, outdoortreatment etc. I feel quite surethat there will be no delay inmaking the hospital’sCardiology Department aCentre of Excellence,” said ProfDas. He also appreciated theefforts of the State Governmentin health sector.

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The Ganjam districtEducation Department on

Thursday directed for actionagainst three teachers workingat different schools underDharakote block in the districtfor allegedly submitting forgededucational qualification cer-tificates.

Reports said the SarvaShiksha Abhiyan ProjectCoordinator and DharakoteCommunity Education Officerhave been asked to take strin-gent action against the threeteachers.

Binod, who works atThurathura Primary School,had submitted his Class-Xmark sheet mentioning that hesecured 529 marks while pass-ing out from AthagadapatnaKabisurya High School. But

during a probe carried out bythe department, it was foundthat he had secured 380 marksand a Second Division in ClassX.

Similarly, Junior TeacherSantosh of Ghodamba ProjectUpper Primary School hadsubmitted the mark sheet ofClass X stating that he hadsecured 529 marks while pass-ing out from AthagadapatnaKabisurya High School. Butlater it was found out that hehad secured 252 and a ThirdDivision in Matriculation.

A teacher ofChancharapalli Primary SchoolBalaram Bisoi also mentionedin his Class X mark sheet thathe had secured 544 marks andpassed out fromKabisuryanagar SM HighSchool. But the probe revealedthat he had got 355 marks.

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School and Mass EducationMinister Samir Ranjan Dash

on Thursday said the sexualharassment allegation by awoman Sanskrit teacher ofBaleswar district’s Baliapal-based Jathia Upper PrimaryHigh School against theHeadmaster is baseless andfabricated.

Dash said, “As per theinquiry report, the allegationsof sexual harassment levelledby the woman teacher againstHeadmaster Ratikanta Jena ofthe school were false and fab-ricated.” The charges levelledagainst the Headmaster arereported to have been a resultof past enmity between both.The Assistant Headmaster ofthe school was also involved inthe unhealthy rivalry in theschool that ultimately turned

ugly. The woman had allegedthat the Headmaster was sex-ually harassing her for the lastone year. She alleged that Jenaused to call her frequently andtook her pictures without herconsent. She also said that Jenaused to threaten her of direconsequences when sheopposed his advances.

She further alleged thateven though she brought thematter to the notice of theDistrict Education Officer(DEO) and the Collector seek-ing help, they turned a deaf earto her complaints. On theother hand, Jena had refutedthe allegation terming it as falseand baseless.

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The Vigilance police onThursday arrested

Kandhamal District LabourOff icer (DLO) R anjanKishore Behera while he wastaking bribe of Rs 15,000from Babuja Pradhan, presi-dent of the Anchal ikaBiswakarma ShramikaSangha, Tikabali to processdeath relief files of four per-sons, including his father’s,for release of Rs 1,00,000each in favour of their legalheirs.

“A trap was laid andBehera was caught red-hand-ed in his office chamber whiledemanding and acceptingbribe of Rs.15,000 fromPradhan,” said an officialrelease.

Behera’s office room andresidentia l quarter atPhulbani and residentialbuilding at Cuttack werebeing searched, added therelease.

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A12-day -longs e l f - d e fe n c e

programme of girlsorganised at theKhariar Women'sDegree College con-cluded on Tuesdaywith a meeting heldin the college.Above 100 studentsparticipated in theprogramme.

The guests onthe occasion werep r e s i d e n t ,Governing Body, DrFanindam Deo, sec-retary Dr PL Barma,journalists AjitPanda and TapanDash and police ASIPurna Chandra Pradhan.

"We feel confident afterthe training; we are thankful tothe trainers, who trained andmotivated us in last twelvedays," said the trainees. Dr Deoshared his experience of organ-ising the first self-defence train-

ing programme of girls stu-dents in 2013 when he was thePrincipal of Khariar College.Itishri Rout and Krishna Routwere the master trainers of theprogramme who are the thirdyear students of the college.College Principal Leeza

Acharya and Odia lecturerPriyanka Mund also spoke onthe occasion. Lecturers ArpitaPanda, Afroz Begum, RaniKumar, Rituparna Dharua,Pankajini Bishi and PankajaPatel alongwith all staff mem-bers of the college were present.

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The Odisha ShramajeebeeManch and the Mahila

Shramajeebee Manch havelaunched a month-long State-wide campaign on educationand health.

As part of it, the memberswould undertake a study of1,000 elementary schools of in17 districts and the findings ofthe study will be shared to theGovernment to take actions.

Notably, as per the reportof National RTE Forum, 6.6%of schools of the State arecompliant with RTE normsafter 10 years of implementa-tion of Right to Education(RTE) Act 2009. There are 306schools where there is no

school building. The StateGovernment has also closeddown 966 schools where thestudent strength is less than10 in the current academicsession which is a gross vio-lation of the RTE Act.

Even though the State

Government has further noti-fied to re-open schools in geo-graphically inaccessible areas,the people have resented overthe decision as the step wastaken without consulting withthe people, said SumitraKulesika, a member of Mahila

Jana Jagarana Manch,Rayagada.

According to the NitiAyog’s School EducationQuality Index (SEQI) report,not a single school in Odishahas adopted the transparentonline transfer system forschool teachers. Nearly 25 percent elementary schools in theState failed to meet the teachernorms mandated under the(RTE) Act.

Besides, the ‘equity’ standsgreatly hampered as not a sin-gle school in the State has pro-vided aids and appliances toChildren with Special Needs(CWSN).

The State Government hasalso a Multi-lingual Policyfrom 2007 but it fails to coverall the schools of tribal areaseven after 12 years of the for-mulation of the policy.

"If this trend goes on, wefear that we cannot meet targetsof Goals 4 of SDG 2030," saidinternational child rightsactivist and country convener,National Coalition forEducation, New Delhi, DrRamakant Rai.

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Food Safety and StandardsAuthority of India (FSSAI)

Chairperson Rita Teaotia is ona visit to Odisha to take stockof efforts for ensuring foodsafety compliance in the State.

Teaotia is on a three-daytour from Thursday as theFSSAI has started a specialdrive for licensing and regis-tration of food businesses oper-ators (FBO).

The FSSAI has directedthe State food safety authoritiesto take it up to ensure foodsafety compliance under theirjurisdiction. There is a specialdrive started from October 1will continue till December31.

During the visit, she willmeet Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik and Chief SecretaryAsit Tripathy as well asSecretary Health and FamilyWelfare PK Meherda.

Teaotia will discuss issueswith the Commissioner FoodSafety and Food SafetyEnforcement Officer regardingfood safety measures being

taken up in the State.She will be meeting FBOs

representing various food sec-tors at various levels alongwith Food SafetyCommissioners.

Teaotia will also visit Statefood safety laboratory and willguide the authorities about thelatest steps to be taken forimprovement.

She will guide the Stateauthorities for strengtheningthe laboratory infrastructure inthe State.

The FSSAI Chairperson isvisiting various States as FSSAIhas started a special drive toaddress various non-compli-ances for food safety norms.

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Aworkshop on “Role of her-itage in urban develop-

ment of Bhubaneswar’’ wasorganised here on Thursday for27 architecture students andfaculty members of an Indo-Franco-German team.

The students and facultymembers belong to theNational School ofArchitecture, France, theArchitecture of the KarlsruheInstitute of Technology,Germany and the KamlaRaheja Vidyanidhi Institutefor Architecture andEnvironmental Studies,Mumbai.

Organised jointly by theKIIT School of Architectureand Planning, the HeritageCell of BDA, the Bhubaneswar

Urban Knowledge Centre andthe French Embassy, the work-shop discussed various heritageaspects of the Old Town area ofthe city, which is dotted with361 beautiful monuments andhow the conservation and otherplans are being taken up by theBDA.

BDA Vice-Chairman Prem

Chandra Chaudhary advisedthe participating architecturestudents to give their frankopinion regarding its develop-ment and help in the planningprocess for BDA.

BDA Planning MemberGouri Shankar Bhuyan andDirector KIIT School ofArchitecture and Planning

Professor SS Ray also tookpart in the discussion.

The Faculty and Studentsof French and GermanUniversities are associated inthe project to study ``Role ofHeritage in the Smart Cityand urban development of thecities of Bhubaneswar andChandigarh.’’

“Integral part of the city,heritage offers the opportuni-ty to question, through ourreading of the past, the com-plexity of contemporary soci-eties as the collective choices tooperate today. Thus, the projectwe propose focuses on howheritage is integrated into thesmart city development plansof Indian cities,” said Prof Ray.

The final phase of theworkshop under the collabo-ration will be in New Delhi inMarch will involve a joint pre-sentation to Government ofIndia to give a proposal for thecities.

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AMardal Utsav, the first-ever exclusive festival for

Odisha’s indigenous percus-sion instrument that has beenintegral to Odishi dance andmusic, was launched here onWednesday as the most befit-ting tribute to legendarymardal maestro BanamaliMaharana on his first deathanniversary.

A recipient of Odisha’sGovernment’s highest honourfor contribution to performingarts – Kabi Samrat UpendraBhanja Puraskar – apart fromthe coveted Sangeet NatakAkademi Award of theGovernment of India,Maharana was instrumentalin establishing mardal as aclassical musical instrument.

He is also known world-wideas the guru of all mardal gurusaround the world. A cousin ofOdissi legend KelucharanMohapatra, he was born inOdisha’s unique artists’ village ofRaghurajpur near Puri. The fes-

tival that went on non-stop for 12hours at Bhanja Kala Mandap,witnessed gathering of a largenumber of eminent musiciansand dancers apart from thelargest number of mardal artistes.

Led by Mardal Academy –an umbrella organization for allmaradal artistes founded byGuru Banamali Maharana –several institutions and indi-viduals engaged in teaching ofmusic and dance like GuruRamahari Das Odishi Gurukulstaged the festival collectively.

Since its inauguration inthe forenoon with a Ghanta-Mardal group recital, eachmardal recital – be it solo, duetor group presentation – wasfollowed by brief talks by anumber of well-known artisteswho worked with the late Guru.

Among them were mardalexponents Dhaneswar Swainand Sachidananda Das; Odishimusic exponents ShyamamaniDevi, Ramahari Das, BinapaniNayak, Sangita Gosain; Veenaexponent K Ramarao Patra;violin exponent RameshChandra Das; harmonium

e x p o n e n tPurusottam Parida;Odishi exponentsSudhakar Sahoo,Gobinda Pal,P r i y a m b a d aMohanty Hejmadi,Aruna Mohanty,Chapala Mishraand MeenakshiBehera.

The most emo-tionally movingoffering was fromthe legend’s grand-daughter SilpikaMaharana, the firstOdia girl to be aprofessional mardalplayer groomed bythe Guru. Similarly, the mosttouching performance was pre-sented by five kids of GuruRamarhari Das OdishiGurukul who are trained byGuru Dhaneswar Swain. Thefestival further featured a talkon the Odishi mardal traditionby Dhaneswar Swain andSachidananda Das, screening ofa documentary on the latemaestro, exhibition of pho-

tographs on him and release ofa souvenir on his life and work.

Signed by a large numberof artists, a memorandum waspresented to the OdishaGovernment through Director,Culture, Bijay Kumar Nayakwho attended the festivaldemanding celebration of thebirth anniversary of GuruBanamali Maharana by theGovernment.

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The Supreme Courton Thursday said it

will hear on November13 the issue related toimplementation of thedecision of the apex court Collegium bythe Centre on elevation of Bombay HighCourt judge Justice Akil Kureshi as theChief Justice of the Tripura High Court.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice ofIndia Ranjan Gogoi and Justices DeepakGupta and Sanjeev Khanna said the mat-ter will be listed on Wednesday and thechief justice-designate Justice S A Bobdewould be a part of the two-memberbench headed by the outgoing CJI.

“Post the matter November 13, 2019,before a Bench comprising of The ChiefJustice and Justice S A Bobde,” the benchsaid.

The apex court Monday posted thematter for today after the Centre

informed that “adminis-trative formalities” arerequired to be completedto implement theCollegium’s decision onelevation of JusticeKureshi.

A lawyers’ body of Gujarat HighCourt, which has filed a petition on theissue of “non-compliance” with theCollegium’s recommendation on JusticeKureshi, has been opposing the delay bythe Centre.

The Gujarat High Court AdvocatesAssociation (GHCAA) has alleged thatthe Centre is yet to comply with theCollegium’s subsequent decision of ele-vating justice Kureshi.The Collegiumhad initially recommended elevation ofJustice Kureshi as Chief Justice (CJ) ofthe Madhya Pradesh High Court, andlater, after taking note of the Centre’scommunication, it transferred him to theTripura Hight Court as the CJ.

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The Supreme Court on Thursdayreaffirmed the death penalty of a

convict for “horribly” gang-raping a10-year-old girl and killing her alongwith her brother in Coimbatore in2010 saying the is crime so grave thatit shocks the conscience of the courtand of society.

“It was not in the spur of themoment or a crime of passion; butcraftily planned, meticulously exe-cuted and with multiple opportunitiesto cease and desist,” the top court said.

It rejected all grounds seeking thereview of its earlier verdict and said:“The present case is essentially onewhere two accused misused societal

trust to hold as captive two innocentschool-going children, one of whomwas brutally raped and sodomised,and thereupon administered poisonand finally, drowned by throwingthem into a canal.”

In a majority judgment of 2:1, abench of Justice R F Nariman andSurya Kant dismissed the plea filed bythe convict Manoharan and said thereare no grounds to review the verdictof August 1. Justice Sanjiv Khanna,who was third judge of the bench con-curred with the conviction of the con-vict but differed on the question ofsentence and said “I do not see anygood ground and reasons to reviewmy observations and findings in theminority judgment”.

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Vice President MV e n k a i a h

Naidu on Thursdaycalled for the inclu-sion of emergencymedicine and trau-ma care in the cur-riculum of under-graduate medicalcourses.

He urged allstakeholders in thehealth sector to develop pro-grammes and manuals to traincitizens in emergency first aidprocedures such as cardiopul-monary resuscitation (CPR)as they would help in savinglives while waiting for emer-gency services.

He was speaking at the10th Asian Conference ofEmergency Medicine (ACEM).

Pointing to the over 3,700deaths in accidents on world’sroads every day and tens ofmillions getting injured or dis-abled every year, Naidu calledfor stepping up investments toprovide timely and high-qual-ity emergency health servicesin India.

“Apart from upgrading theinfrastructure in all major hos-

pitals to meet the require-ments of this emerging spe-cialty, there is also a need toinclude emergency medicineand trauma care in curriculumof undergraduate courses.

“Medical students must betrained to deal with wholegamut of situations relating toemergency medicine. There isalso a need to provide simula-tion training in emergencymedicine for undergraduatesand develop the necessary mod-ules in this regard,” Naidu said.

He said he was glad thatthe Government has made itmandatory for all medical college hospitals to have full-f ledged EmergencyDepartments by 2022 with anaim to improve trauma care.

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Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra on

Thursday said Uttar PradeshPower Corporation employ-ees’ demand for bringing allfacts pertaining to the EPFscam was justified andthe BJP Government shouldgive an account of everypenny.

A controversy has eruptedover parking of EPF money ofUttar Pradesh PowerCorporation Ltd (UPPCL) staffto the tune of over � 2,600 crorein scam-hit DHFL, whose pro-moters were recently grilled bythe Enforcement Directoratefor their links with a front com-

pany of Iqbal Mirchi, a formeraide of fugitive gangsterDawood Ibrahim.

“Employees of UttarPradesh power departmenthave called for bringing all factsforward with regard to the PFscam. This demand of theirs isabsolutely justified. Duringelections, employees of sever-al UP departments had raisedconcerns over the new pensionscheme. The Congress party iswith them. The BJPGovernment will have to givean account of every penny oftheirs,” she said in a tweet inHindi. Priyanka who isincharge of UP has been tar-geting the BJP Government ofthe State on the issue.

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After conducting cadrereview of paramedical staff

of the Medical Branch of theCRPF, the paramilitary hasabolished 433 posts and creat-ed new 397 posts with the netabolition of the post being 36,marginally reducing the over-all strength of such staff.

Now the revised strength ofthe Medical Directorate will be1943 against the earlier strengthof 1979.

As many as 58 posts of SubInspector /Staff Nurse havebeen abolished out of the totalstrength of 365. The revisedstrength now stands at 307.However, 21 posts have beencreated in the rank ofInspector/Sister taking the totalstrength to 50.

A significant 201 posts ofAssistant Inspector/Pharmacisthave been abolished bringingdown the total strength to 442as against earlier sanctionedstrength of 643. However, 122

posts of SubInspector/Pharmacist havebeen created taking the tally to154.

As many as 90 post ofInspector pharmacist have alsobeen created, taking the revisedtally to 98 against the earliersanctioned strength of justeight posts.

A total of 116 posts ofConstable Ward (Boy/Girl) andConstable 158 in number havebeen reduced to make therevised tally to 180.

The move is expected tomake the Medical Directoratetop heavy with lesser number

of staff at the lower level, offi-cials said.

Sources said a number ofCRPF personnel are taking thecashless route to private hos-pitals for treatment of even nor-mal disease like fever andstomach upset which is againstthe norms.

Faced with an alarmingtrend of casualties due to car-diac arrests, the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF)had earlier decided to counterthe new adversary with anadvisory for keeping life savingspills handy on a 24X7 basiswith each and every personnel

of the force.Amid the “unacceptable”

number of deaths due to heartattacks in the world’s biggestparamilitary, the medicalbranch of the CRPF has direct-ed all the formations across thecountry that all personnelunder their command willcarry two tablets of Disprin(300 mg) and four tablets ofSorbitrate (5 mg) in theirpurse/pocket (two doses thatcan be used on two occasions)to mitigate any possible casu-alty from cardiac failure.

Only one tablet of Disprin(aspirin) to be chewed imme-diately when it appears a caseof heart attack and one tabletSorbitrate (sorbitol) be putunder the tongue which will bedissolved in the mouth on itsown. One tablet of Sorbitratecan be repeated after 10 min-utes, said the fresh guideline forprevention of deaths due toheart attacks. The move comesas 10 personnel died in Julyalone due to heart attacks.

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The CISF has written to theHome Ministry seeking

directions on a request fromthe Visva Bharati University todeploy a contingent of theparamilitary force on its cam-pus in Shantiniketan.

Currently, there is nodeployment of CISF or anyother paramilitary in any of thecentral universities’ campus.

The varsity’s vice chancel-lor Bidyut Chakrabarty hadrecently written to the CentralIndustrial Security Force(CISF) alleging that privatesecurity personnel employed bythe university owe their alle-giance to “TMC local bosses”.

The letter was also markedto the Human ResourceDevelopment (HRD) Ministry,which has forwarded it to theparamilitary force, officialssaid.

In its response to the Visva-Bharati University, the CISF

detailed its procedure fordeploying a contingent, includ-ing conducting required secu-rity audit.

“The CISF has written tothe university telling themabout the procedure followedbefore the force is deployed.The force has also forwardedthe request to us to seek furtherdirections in this regard,” aUnion Home Ministry sourcesaid.

The vice-chancellor hadcited incidents of confrontationbetween the university admin-istration, students and staff, inhis letter to request for CISFdeployment on the campus.

“The private security per-sonnel currently employed bythe university owe their alle-giance to the TMC local boss-es and, hence, disobey Visva-Bharati’s security officer withimpunity. “There have beeninstances of students stagingprotest and preventing facultymembers and officials from

leaving the campus when thesecurity guards remained silentonlookers and even createdenabling conditions for theprotesters,” the letter byChakrabarty had said.

Visva Bharati is not theonly university to have madesuch request.

In 2017, the BanarasHindu University (BHU) hadwritten to the HRD Ministryafter protests on its campusturned violent.

While the BHU vice-chan-cellor was sent on indefiniteleave, the request for CISFdeployment was not taken upfurther.

The BHU matter did notreach a conclusion as the homeministry gave no directions tothe force, sources said.

The CISF guards vitalinstallations in the country,including the Delhi Metro, 61civil airports and organisa-tions in the aerospace andnuclear domain.

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In the 2019 Lok Sabha andsimultaneous Assembly polls

in five States, the Congressspent �300 crore more thanwhat it expended in 2014. Butwhile it gained just eight moreLok Sabha seats — which stillfell three short of giving it theLeader of Opposition post inthe lower house — it lost awhopping 114 Assembly seatsthat it had won in the last elec-tions.

In 2014, as it spent ��516crore, the Congress’ Lok Sabhaseat tally plunged to an all-timelow of 44 seats but its perfor-mance in State polls in AndhraPradesh, Telengana, Sikkim,Odisha and Arunachal Pradeshsaw it winning 146 seats overall.

The grand old party, whichwas said to be grappling withshortage of funds, managed to

spent ��820 crore in 2019 forthe parliamentary andAssembly polls in five Statesdisbursing �� 370 crore to itscandidates to fight the polls.The Congress has listed outthese expenses in its submis-sion to the ElectionCommission.

The BJP is yet to submit itselection expenses to theElection Commission but isexpected to lead by a big mar-gin just it has been over the lastfive-six years.

Ahead of the Lok Sabhapolls, several Congress candi-dates claimed that they did notreceive party funds for theirelection campaigns.

Even senior party leadersadmitted that fund crisis hadhit them and to overcome thecrisis, the Congress had evenurged its members to step upcontributions even as it calledfor cutting down on

expenses. The BJP was on the top in

the list of receiving funds. Asper the Association ofDemocratic Reforms (ADR)report, BJP received the max-imum donations of ��915.596

crore, which forms 94 per centof the total donations to theparty above �� 20,000 in FY2016-17 and 2017-18 whilethe Congress declared a dona-tion of ��55.36 crore from var-ious corporate and business

houses, which forms 81 percent of the total donationsduring the same period.However, the party could raise��856 crore ahead of the LokSabha polls across the poll-bound States.

As per the expendituredetails, the Congress spent ��488 crore on general expen-diture while ��370 crore spenton candidates for their cam-paigning.

The Congress candidateswere given funds ranging from��5 lakh to �� 60 lakh each. Thethen Congress president RahulGandhi, Sonia Gandhi, SheilaDikshit, Jyotiraditya Scindiaand Pawan Kumar Bansal weregiven ��50 lakh each for cam-paigning during the Lok Sabhapolls.

While the party spent ��46crore on publicity materials, itspent �� 35 crore on mediaadvertisements and �� 86 croreon star campaigners’ campaignand their travel.

Despite spending hundredsof crore, the Congress perfor-mance in the five StatesAssembly polls was pathetic. Itlost 114 seats of the 146 seats

it held in 2014. In AndhraPradesh and Sikkim, the partyfailed to open its account. Itmanaged to win only 4 seats inArunachal Pradesh, 9 seats inOdisha and 19 seats inTelangana.

As per the Centre forMedia Studies (CMS), a not-for-profit multi-disciplinary

development research think-tank, overall, expenditure in thelast six Lok Sabha electionsbetween 1998 and 2019 hasseen a near six-fold jump from��9,000 crore in 1998 to over � 55,000 crore in 2019.

�� 30,000 crore is said tohave been spent on elections in2014.

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Khadi has once again comeout of its customary veil,

marking its presence in theexclusive HS code bracket,issued by the CentralGovernment on November 4to categorize its products inexport. In a long awaitedmove to make export of Khadi,exclusively categorised fromthe general league of textileproducts, the Ministry ofcommerce and industries hasallocated separate HS code forthis signature fabric of Indiathis week.

Khadi and VillageIndustries Commission(KVIC) Chairman VinaiKumar Saxena said that thisdecision of the ModiGovernment will open a newchapter in the field of Khadiexport.

“Earlier, Khadi did nothave its exclusive HS code. Asa result, all the data regardingexport of this signature fabricused to come as a normal fab-ric under the textile head. Now,we will be able to keep a con-stant eye not only on ourexport figures, but it will alsohelp us in planning our exportstrategies” he said.

Khadi and VillageIndustries products are eco-friendly and natural, andare in great demand in theInternational Markets.

Recognising its potential togenerate exports and its eco-friendly importance, theMinistry of Commerce hadaccorded deemed ExportPromotional CouncilStatus(EPCS) to KVIC in 2006,to boost the export of Khadiproducts. However in theabsence of separate HS code,the export of Khadi productswas difficult to categorize andcalculate.

The Ministry ofCommerce and Industry in aletter dated November 4,KVIC Chairman said that,“The request for separate tar-iff lines for Khadi items wastaken up by the Ministry of

Commerce withthe departmentof revenue,Ministry ofFinance. Videtheir letter dated2 5 . 1 0 . 2 0 1 9 ,Ministry ofFinance had inti-mated that uponexamination ofp r o p o s a l s

received from the KVIC, 11items out of 22 items asrequested were found feasiblefor creation of tariff lines byCBIC. Accordingly videSection 88(b) of 5th scheduleof finance(No.2) Act 2019(23 of2019) separate tariff lines forKhadi products such as KhadiJackets, Khadi Ensembles etc.have been created. “.

In addition definition of‘Khadi’ has also been includedin the supplementary notes ofcustoms’ tariff.

Referring to the benefits ofthe move Saxena said, “Withthis new initiative of theMinistry of Commerce, notonly the Khadi products willget boost in exports, but it willalso open up livelihood oppor-tunities for the Khadi artisansengaged in development ofKhadi.”

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New Delhi: Anti-submarinewarfare corvette INS Kamortais jointly exercising withIndonesian warship KRI UsmanHarun, a multi-role corvette, inthe Bay of Bengal as part of anongoing bilateral exercise‘’Samudra Shakti’’, officials said.

The joint exercises include,manoeuvres, surface warfareexercises, air defence exercises,weapon firing drills, helicopteroperations and boarding oper-ations. “INS Kamorta, an anti-submarine warfare corvette, isjointly exercising withIndonesian warship KRI UsmanHarun, a multi-role corvette inthe Bay of Bengal as part of the

ongoing Indian Navy-Indonesian Navy bilateral exer-cise ‘’Samudra Shakti’’ fromNovember 6-7,” the Indian Navysaid in a statement.

KRI Usman Harun arrivedat Visakhapatnam onNovember 4 to participate in thesecond edition of Ex ‘’SamudraShakti’’.

The harbour phase, whichwas conducted on November 4-5, included professional inter-actions in the form of subjectmatter expert exchanges(SMEE), cross deck visits, sim-ulator drills, planning confer-ences, sports fixtures and socialinteractions, officials said. PTI

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Ayodhya: Outstation patientsat Dr Banerjee's clinic here askhim to prescribe extra medi-cines, just in case there istrouble after Supreme Courtpronounces its verdict on theRam Janmabhoomi-BabriMasjid dispute and they can’tvisit him sooner.

Indroneel Banerjee sayshe tells them to have faith. “Allis well. And God willing, allwill be well in future as well.”

“The atmosphere is byand large normal. People arefeeling a bit apprehensive, butthey are not afraid,” he told PTIon Thursday.

“People in Ayodhya,whether they are Hindus orMuslims, want peace anddevelopment in the city. Peopleof the temple city, Hindus andMuslims, are sure there will beno clashes between them,” hesaid.

I feel that a clash will takeplace only if external elements

arrive to disturb the peace ofthis place,” he said.

But some of his patientsare on edge.

"Patients come to me fromneighbouring districts andremote areas of Ayodhya. Allthey say is, doctor sahib, giveus extra 15 days' medicine sothat we come next onlytowards the end of the month,”he said.

The verdict on the temple-mosque land dispute is expect-

ed to be pronounced beforeChief Justice of India RanjanGogoi retires on November 17.

Banerjee hoped it will bean “amicable settlement”.

"People in Ayodhya wantthe dispute to be resolved at theearliest. This mandir issue hasdone more damage than goodto Ayodhya. Business hasmoved out of Faizabad, youngentrepreneurs do not want to setup their establishments in thetemple town," he said. PTI

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��&���)��%�)%�%���6�(%����(�%���%�7%�/'&� Nagpur: Union Minister Nitin

Gadkari on Thursday said RSSchief Mohan Bhagwat shouldnot be linked to theGovernment formation movesin Maharashtra.

He also said a decision willsoon be taken on governmentformation in the state, andsince the BJP won more num-ber of seats than the Sena, thechief minister will be from hisparty.

Speaking to reporters here,the Lok Sabha member fromNagpur also ruled out hisreturn to his home state toassume the top job.

"Devendra Fadnavis willhead the new government,"Gadkari said.

To another query, he said,"RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat orthe Sangh have no relationwith all this. It won't be appro-priate to link the RSS chief tothe goings on (over govern-ment formation)."

Amid the impasse overgovernment formation, farmactivist Kishore Tiwari, whojoined the Shiv Sena ahead of

the Assembly polls, recentlysaid Bhagwat should deputeGadkari to resolve the power-tussle between the BJP and theSena.

He said people were wor-ried over the Sangh's "silence"on the issue.

Gadkari said the BJP andShiv Sena have got people'smandate to form the new gov-ernment and very soon a deci-sion will be taken.

"The BJP has won 105seats, obviously the chief min-ister will be of the BJP. Theparty that has won more seatsin Assembly polls will have thechief minister's post," he said.

However, Gadkari said hewas hopeful that the deadlockbetween the BJP and Shiv Senawill get resolved. PTI

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Hyderabad: The man whoallegedly burnt a womantehsildar alive in her officenear here over some landdispute, succumbed to hisinjuries at a hospital here onThursday, police said.

On November 4,Tahsildar Vijaya Reddy diedafter she was allegedly set onfire by K Suresh.

"Suresh succumbed tohis injuries at around 3.25PM on Thursday at the hos-pital while undergoing treat-ment," a senior police officialtold PTI.

The assailant walkedinto the Tahsildar's chamberand poured petrol on herbefore setting her on fireusing a lighter.

He also suffered burnsin the daring attack thatsent shock waves across thestate. Police said a scientif-ic investigation was under-way and they were probingfrom all angles to ascertainthe exact reason that pro-voked Suresh to the extremestep of setting the Tahsildaron fire. PTI

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If the views expressed by securityexperts, especially professionals

who have put in decades of servicein the fields of internal security andintelligence, are any indication, theStates of Tamil Nadu and Kerala areas good as tinderboxes where ter-rorist activities could happen any-time.

The Ministry of Home Affairshas issued a security alert early thismonth to both the States pointingout the vulnerability of Tamil Naduand Kerala for terrorist activities.The porous coastline of Kerala andTamil Nadu is a matter of seriousconcern to the authorities as it hasbeen found that Islamic terroristsoperating out of Sri Lanka andMaldives could enter and exit theseStates without any hassles.

Intelligence officials told ThePioneer that the MHA has issued asecurity alert exclusively for thepolice force of the concerned Statesand the intelligence agencies oper-ating from these States. “There were

more than a dozen raids by theNational Investigation Agency invarious places of Tamil Nadu andKerala. The raids led to unearthinga number of discriminating docu-ments and the arrest of many youthwho were indoctrinated by organi-sations like the Islamic State, Jaiesh-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba.It is an open secret that there aremedia houses in these States fund-ed by the above mentioned organi-sations,” said an intelligence officialprivy to the MHA letter.

The MHA note is in the back-drop of the Republic Day celebra-tions of 2020 and warns of possibleterrorist activities in the run up tothe January 26 celebrations. “TheMinistry issues such directives andwarnings based on the prevailingsecurity situation. The MHA mighthave felt that the prevailing internalsecurity situation in these States arenot normal and require extra care tohandle it,” said N Gopalaswamy, for-mer Chief Election Commissionerwho was also the country’s homesecretary for considerable period.

But Dr TP Senkumar, formerState Police Chief of Kerala whowas also the director of StateIntelligence said that the situationin Kerala was grave. “Variousorganisations funded by interna-tional agencies have indoctrinatedyouth in the State and they haveinfiltrated into many major polit-ical parties in Kerala. I am aghastto understand that these terroristand extremist elements are the oneswho mould the policies and stancesof these political parties. Thoughwe have warned the StateGovernment many times, no actionhas been taken by the authorities,”Dr Senkumar told The Pioneer.

He said the recent shoot out in the State in which four Maoistswere gunned down by the police prove that the Left WingExtremist outfit too has been infil-trated by the Islamic youth. TheGovernment has to take urgent andeffective action to neutralise thisphenomenon lest South India turnsinto a region controlled by extrem-ists of all kind.

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Taking a cue from the death of a youngtechie when the unauthorised hoard-

ing put out by a local AIADMK leaderfell on her, the Madras High Court onWednesday ordered the removal of allhoardings, posters, banners, wall paint-ings and other forms of advertisementsput up by Southern Railway trade unionsin and around Madurai. The court askedthe trade unions of the Railways to imme-diately remove all such advertisementsand other displays from railway stations,trains, carrriages and station premises.

Trade unions of Southern Railwayhave been a law unto themselves and holdthe officials who refuse to dance to theirtunes to ransom, according to a seniorrailway official in Chennai. The entirerailway stations are full of posters andbanners eulogising the general secretaryof a union who issues frequent threats ofagitation and strikes by the employees.

A Bench comprising of Justices TSSivagnanam and R Tharani which pro-nounced the verdict said that railway sta-tion premises were for the general pub-

lic and no structures put up by the unionsshould come in the way of the people fre-quenting the Stations. They gave a timeframe of three weeks to the unions andthe railway officials to get the displaysremoved. The verdict was in response toa public interest litigation filed byPrabhakar, a local citizen of Maduraiwho sought a direction from the courtto remove all banners , hoardings anddisplays put up by trade unions from rail-way premises. The judges pointed outthat despite the ban imposed on flexboards in public places, the law has notbeen implemented on Southern Railwaypremises and properties. This led to dis-figurement of railway premises, com-pound walls and even railway carriagesby flex boards and flags featuring tradeunion leaders, while the railway author-ities remained mute spectators, theyadded. While lambasting the tradeunions for their ‘irresponsible attitude’,the judges opined that, "In our view, theseself-proclaimed leaders do not have anyrights to put up such structures in rail-way properties. Moreover, granting per-mission to such activities is also illegal."

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Jaipur: A court here onThursday sent a soldier, whowas honey-trapped by anagent of Pakistan's ISI intosharing confidential andstrategic information aboutthe Indian Army, to five-daypolice remand.

The soldier, VichitraBehra, was produced beforethe district and sessions courthere. Next hearing in the caseis scheduled for November 11,an intelligence officer said.

Behra, who was posted inRajasthan's Pokhran, wasdetained on Tuesday alongwith another soldier, Ravi Naik,on suspicion of espionage, hesaid. While Behra was arrest-ed on Wednesday by theRajasthan Police's intelligenceunit, no significant evidencewas found against Nayak andhe will now be a witness in thecase, he added. PTI

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Jodhpur: Thirty-seven demoiselle craneswere found dead at Khichan in Phalodi sub-division of Jodhpur on Thursday morning.

Three of the carcasses were sent to a vetdispensary at Machia Biological Park for amedical examination to ascertain the cause oftheir death.

According to Sevaram Mali, a bird lover,the migratory birds were found dead at dif-ferent places.

"We received information in the morningthat some birds have been spotted dead nearVijay Sagar. When we reached there, wefound 15 carcasses," said Mali.

Later, they received information about thedeath of more birds near Ratari Nadi. PTI

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Mamata Banerjee’s elec-toral points-man for the

2021 Assembly electionPrashant Kishore has asked theparty leaders to redeem to thehilt a general panic on a pos-sible implementation ofNational Register for Citizensin Bengal.

Credited with restoringsome other political parties totheir lost glories, Kishore’scompany has been assigned bythe Trinamool Congress torevive its electoral fortunes inBengal. The TMC suffered agreat deal at the hands of theBJP in this year’s parliamen-tary elections conceding 12

seats to the saffron outfit.Even as the Chief Minister

asked Kishore to address herelected representatives, headvised them to exploit thegeneral fright among the peo-ple over the implementation ofNRC. “He has asked the lead-ers to fan out at the lowest leveland tell the people how theBJP is planning not only tothrow out the infiltrators butalso those who do not fall inline with them,” a memberpresent in the meeting said.

He also has advised theMLAs to tell the people howNRC has been implemented asa vendetta weapon in Assam tothrow out the Hindu Bengalipopulation from that State.

“PK (Prashant Kishore)

has asked the leaders to pre-pare the workers with everyminute detail from Assamshowing how the Bengalishave been targeted by the BJPin that State,” an MLA saidadding “he wants us to use thestatements of Amit Shah andDilip Ghosh on bringing NRCin Bengal after getting theCitizen’s Amendment Billpassed in parliament.”

NRC panic has consumedabout a dozen people in theState while thousands of peo-ple have been crowding theGovernment offices for thepast couple of months to gettheir documents corrected.Incidentally both Hindus andMuslims have been among thevictims of the NRC fright.

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Following a weather officealert of cyclonic storm’s

possibility of developing into adeep depression, the BengalGovernment has announced ahigh alert in the coastal areasof the State.

The cyclonic storm Bulbulover Bay of Bengal onWednesday had already inten-sified into a deep depression,and was likely to travel north-westwards towards Bengal andOdisha coast line IndiaMetrological Department(IMD) has said.

The storm is likely to movetowards north-northwards andhit the coast of Odisha andBengal on Saturday onwards.Odisha and Bengal are likely toreceive light to heavy rainfallfrom November 9 whichwould continue for next cou-

ple of days. The district admin-istration of North and South 24Parganas and East Mindaporehave already issued high alertand directed the fishermennot to venture into deep sea.“The police have already beenasked to caution the tourists inD i g h a - M a n d a r m a n i -Shankarpur belt,” StateIrrigation Department offi-cials said.

Agartala/Aizawl: Followingassurance from TripuraDeputy Chief Minister JishnuDebverma that the StateGovernment would resumesupply of free ration to them,Bru refugees living in reliefcamps withdrew the roadblockade on Thursday, eightdays after they started it.

The displaced peoplelaunched an indefinite road-block at Anandabazar, knownfor a prominent market, atKanchanpur from October 31demanding resumption ofcash-dole and free ration tothem. The Centre has stoppedit from October after repatri-ation of the Brus to theirhomeland Mizoram started.

"The Bru people with-drew their road blockade aftermeeting the Deputy ChiefMinister and other Ministersand leaders. They werepromised that the StateGovernment would resumetheir free ration," Kanchanpursub-divisional magistrateAbhedananda Baidya said.

A team headed byDebverma met the displacedpeople on Thursday to findout an amicable solution asroad communication fromAnanda Bazar to Kanchapurvia Dasda in North Tripuradistrict has collapsed due tothe blockade.

"The people called off theroad blockade at around 2 PMafter the Deputy ChiefMinister announced that theTripura Government wouldresume the daily free rationfrom Friday," Mizoram BruDisplaced People's Forum(MBDPF) general secretaryBruno Msha said.

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Pune: The sessions court hereon Thursday reserved its judge-ment till November 12 on theanticipatory bail plea filed bycivil rights activist GautamNavlakha in the Elgar Parishadcase and asked the police not totake any action against him tillthen.

Additional Sessions Courtjudge S R Navandar heard theadvance bail application ofNavlakha, accused of havingMaoist links, and reserved hisjudgement for November 12.

He ordered the police notto take any action against himtill the judgement is pro-nounced. Navlakha, one of theaccused in the Elgar Parishadcaste violence case, had filed theanticipatory bail application inthe sessions court on Tuesday.

On Monday, the BombayHigh Court dismissed theDelhi-based activist's pre-arrestbail plea and asked him toapproach the sessions court inPune for relief.

Justice PD Naik, who dis-missed the plea, asked the ses-sions court to hear and decideNavlakha's plea expeditiously.

Navlakha had filed theapplication in the high courtwhich had, in September,declined to quash a police caselodged against him in Januarylast year, after which he hadmoved the SC. PTI

Srinagar: Four overgroundworkers (OGWs) of militantswere arrested on Thursday inBaramulla district of Jammy &Kashmir, officials said.

The Army's 32 RR(Rashtriya Rifles) unit appre-hended the OGWs during amotor vehicle checking atWatergam in Sopore area of the

district, the officials said.During the body search of

the suspects, one pistol andsome incriminating documentswere recovered from their pos-session, they said. They werelater on handed over to localpolice who have registered a caseand initiated legal proceedings,the officials added. PTI

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Guwahati: Union HomeMinister Amit Shah onThursday assured Assam ChiefMinister Sarbananda Sonowalthat nothing would be donewhich goes against the interestsof Assam and its people as faras the Naga talks are concerned.

The assurance came afterSonowal met Shah at the latter'sofficial residence and talked atlength on Naga Accord.

Along with the people ofManipur, the ongoing talksbetween the NSCN (IM) andthe Central government hasled to apprehension amongpeople in Assam and ArunachalPradesh about losing their ter-ritory. Sonowal requested Shahto take into consideration theinterests of the people of Assamwhile going for any accord.

He also drew Shah's atten-tion to the popular public

demand regarding NumaligarhRefinery Limited (NRL) andsought his cooperation for NRLto maintain its status quo aspublic sector undertaking.

The Chief Minister alsomet Prime Minister NarendraModi and spoke to him aboutthe mood of the people inAssam, particularly over the Naga talks and privatisationof NRL. PTI

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Imagine this. It’s winter time once again.Post-Diwali, people in the northernplains of India are expecting air pollution

to worsen from stubble burning in Punjab,Haryana and western UP. But nothing of thatsort happens. No stubble burning and so nospike in air pollution levels. Nobody knowswhy. Then a few months later, a scholar,researching on the issue, reveals it all in hisTED talk on good governance. He reportshow the Chief Ministers of Punjab, Haryana,Delhi and UP had come together and tookupon themselves to tackle this menace. Theyco-created a fund and entrusted it to anagency that would fast-track search for a solu-tion. The entrusted agency hired the best andthe brightest brains in the country and gotthem to focus on the issue. A few monthslater, a multi-disciplinary team came up witha few good uses of crop residue. They devel-oped a few applications of crop residue, stud-ied their market potential and also developeda business model around it. In doing so, theynot only created a value proposition but alsoa potential for employment. A few entrepre-neurs were roped in to produce and sell thoseproducts/applications. As a result, cropresidue now commands a price. Farmers havenow started selling crop residue for moneyinstead of burning it. All this sounds amaz-ing, isn’t it?

What’s even more amazing is that theState Governments did so quietly, away frompublic glare. Not seeking credit or scoring apoint over each other’s political parties. Comeelections and the incumbent political partieswill have a chance to narrate this “success”story to its people and “win” their hearts (andvotes too!). This may all sound surreal butthis is the spirit needed in solving any devel-opment problem. This is the spirit behindgood governance. In reality, however, whatwe are seeing is not good governance butdirty politics. Instead of finding a solutionto the problem at hand, State Governmentsare using this problem to show each otherin a bad light. Having failed to take any cor-rective action on time, they are now resort-ing to symbolism: the Punjab CM has writ-ten to the Centre asking for its intervention;the Delhi CM has played a “victim card”, dis-tributed masks and initiated the odd-evenscheme; the Haryana CM has announcedincentives for anybody reporting stubbleburning in the State and so forth.

Nothing stops State Governments fromjoining hands in finding an effective solutionahead of the problem that shows up everyyear with striking regularity. It’s well withinthe capacity of any State Government to finda solution, even if nobody is cooperating. ThePunjab Government, for example, could haveeasily taken the lead in cracking this prob-lem in its jurisdiction, one that didn’trequire huge resources. All it needed was alittle foresight and a commitment to findinga progressive solution. But it failed to seizethe opportunity. In doing so, it also misseda chance to contribute to uplifting the sag-

ging image of its political partyat the national level.

Seeing the lack of serious-ness of States, the SupremeCourt (SC) had to finally inter-vene. It announced, among othermeasures, a complete ban onstubble burning. It noted that incase of any violation of the ban,the entire administrativemachinery — from the top to thebottom — would be heldaccountable. With the SC ordercoming in, people can heave asigh of relief. They can be restassured that some meaningfulaction would happen. But thisrelief is only temporary as theproblem of stubble burning itselflasts for no more than a coupleof weeks. While the air pollutionis most acute during the periodof stubble burning, it remains asilent killer almost round theyear and, therefore, needsaddressing too.

It is a known fact that pol-lution levels in the NationalCapital Region (NCR) remainunsafe for the most part of a year.It’s created by a host of other fac-tors, notably vehicular emis-sion, dust from constructionand demolition of buildings,burning of garbage and dryleaves, and emissions fromindustrial activities. An effectivestrategy is needed to deal witheach of these sources of pollu-tion. In devising and implement-ing such a strategy, StateGovernments of Delhi, Haryanaand Uttar Pradesh need to workclosely with the national govern-ment and municipalities in anon-partisan manner. But thisisn’t happening.

What’s indeed happening isthat those in power want to beseen doing something about it

without necessarily dirtying theirhands. Controlling air pollutionis a messy affair. It also entailstaking some harsh measures.Some of those measures may notgo down well with the public andmay prove to be un-populist.Governments generally hate tak-

ing such measures. Theiremphasis is on seeking credit,scoring a point, even if they dealonly with a part of the probleminstead of the whole.Governments are happy “educat-ing” the people of what is with-in their control and what is not.Their conduct is not entirely sur-prising though. But StateGovernments need to realise thechanging political landscape inIndia and the rising expectationsof people from their electedrepresentatives. Governmentsare elected not only for “educat-ing” the public but also for find-ing an effective solution, regard-less of what it takes. Good gov-ernance is not just about absenceof corruption; it is also abouteffective decision-taking. Peopleare wanting to see examples ofgood governance from theirelected leaders and the politicalparties they represent.

Despite these underlyingchanges, it’s unlikely that the gov-ernments in the NCR region willfollow through all the measuresnecessary to control all thesources of air pollution. As amatter of fact, when administra-tions at different levels are affil-iated to different political parties,they start working at cross-pur-poses instead of working collec-tively in solving any problem.Nowhere is this seen as clearlyas in the NCR; and no otherproblem illuminates this so wellas the problem of air pollution.The SC needs to ensure that theadministrations in the NCRdeal with the problem of air pol-lution, comprehensively andeffectively.

It is worth reminding thatair pollution is not the only prob-lem affecting the NCR. It’s no

secret that NCR is a badly man-aged region. Examples aboundof glaring failures of the admin-istration at all levels: farm ani-mals meandering freely onroads, obstructing flow of traf-fic; huge parking space crises co-existing with mis-managed park-ing spaces; new encroachmentsand illegal structures gettingbuilt every day but the authori-ties refuse to take cognisance, letalone taking action; manage-ment of city traffic lacks appli-cation of even basic thinking oftraffic segregation and so forth.The reason for these, and a hostof other problems, is a systemicfailure of administrations towork in tandem with each other.Actually, this is what SC needsto address. How?

If the SC can provide aframework guidance on how theadministrative authorities at dif-ferent levels are supposed to con-duct and coordinate with eachother, it will have dealt with theroot cause of most problems fac-ing the city dwellers. This is par-ticularly needed when differentlevels of administration are ruledby different political parties.Further, any guidance toringfence technical issues frompolitical interference would be asignificant move forward. Afterall, cities are complex systemsthat need to be operated effi-ciently, which requires somedegree of technical sophistica-tion. Cities cannot become“smart” unless the administra-tions become “smart” – that is,unless they take decisions in aprofessional manner.

(The author is a Delhi-based development economist,

formerly with the GatesFoundation and World Bank)

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��������Sir — This refers to the editorial“For the sake of law” (November7). Lawyers are protectors of thelaws of the land while the policeensure implementation of thosevery laws on the ground. Bothhave a duty to uphold the sanc-tity of law. However, the ongoingbattle between these two arms ofthe justice system, not just in thenational Capital but in otherparts of the country likeRajasthan and Haryana, is shock-ing and embarrassing to watch.

Thousands of Delhi Policepersonnel, along with their fam-ilies, went on an unprecedentedprotest on Tuesday at the DelhiPolice headquarters against theassaults on them in variouscourts. There is something verywrong somewhere if the protec-tors of the people want protectionthemselves. Senior lawyers andpolice officers should cometogether and sort out this matteramicably as the reputation oflawyers and the police force is atstake here.

However, at the end of theday, it is the litigants who are thebiggest sufferers in this unbecom-ing tussle, as they have to wait formonths for their cases to be

heard in court. It was appallingthat lawyers locked litigants outof all six district courts as theycontinued their strike for the thirdconsecutive day on Wednesday.

The apex court should take cog-nisance of this mater immediate-ly and take action against allerring parties so that such embar-rassing sights of lawyers and

policemen brawling on the roadswhile the public looks on in hor-ror, are not seen again.

Ramesh JethwaniBengaluru

��� ����������Sir — This refers to the article“Act or will suspend you, SC tellsPunjab Chief Secretary”,(November 7). At last the coun-try’s strongest pillar of democra-cy, the Supreme Court (SC),intervened to improve the airquality of Delhi-NCR andordered every State Governmentto take measures to tackle stub-ble burning and not pass thebuck. “Why should there be cropburning?” the court asked. Buthave not the farmers of Haryanaand Punjab and western UttarPradesh been burning stubble foryears?

Hence, it is senseless to blamethem for the present pollution inDelhi that starts peaking fromDiwali night. Have the learnedjudges forgotten the geographicallocation of Delhi? It is a troughand there has been an explosiveincrease in the population andnumber of vehicles. So, fightingpollution will have to be a collec-tive effort. Not just the responsi-bility of the farmers.

Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeFaridabad

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India’s recent policy interventions in thehealthcare sector have grabbed eyeballsaround the globe. Be it the world’s largest

healthcare scheme, Ayushman Bharat, that waslaunched by the Narendra Modi Government inorder to ensure affordable medical care to theunderprivileged, or whether it is in the field ofbuilding a holistic ecosystem that rewards inno-vation and provides the latest diagnostic solutionsto patients, India has been in the news world-wide.

Hence, as the Central Government preparesthe draft of the Medical Devices Act, it is impor-tant to take a holistic view and consider bothincentivising innovation and keeping the risingdrug prices in check.

Holding price fairness as its priority, theGovernment maintains that an alleged mecha-nism of profiteering, through both hospital billsor drug costs, is fleecing a patient up to 1800 percent and needs intervention.

There is enough evidence of drug overpric-ing across the country. When the NationalPharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) led aninvestigation into billing by two hospitals in 2018it revealed mark-ups, ranging from 350-1700 percent, adversely impacting the high and rising out-of-pocket-expenditure (OOPE) of patients.

High trade margins — the difference betweenthe price at which the manufacturers sell thedrugs to distributors and the final MRP (maxi-mum retail price) — were held responsible for“mediflation” or rise in prices of medical care incancer treatment.

At the centre of any healthcare ecosystem, therealities of accessibility, quality and affordabili-ty exist. Whereas critics of imported medicaldevices have raised concern about the high-costburden and suggested imposing stringent mea-sures such as irrational price caps, other health-care experts and policymakers have pointed atpotential quality lapses as a result of price caps.

One such example is that of the unsuccess-ful case of capping prices of coronary stents.While the objective was to curb high treatmentcosts and increase accessibility, other issues haveoften been raised. It is not a hidden fact howmany of the global medical device companiesbegan withdrawing their superior quality prod-ucts from the market as price caps disincentivisedinnovation. They began skimming on researchand development (R&D) resources that aid inno-vation. Although there have been multiple dis-cussions between industry players and theGovernment to figure out a pragmatic solutionto the ever-increasing treatment costs and sus-taining innovation, nothing fruitful has beenachieved so far.

In 2013, while hearing a case againstRanbaxy for selling drugs at a mark-up of 900per cent, the Punjab and Haryana High Courthad maintained that there appears to be no legalprovision in force to save the consumers fromfleecing by the petitioner or other drug manu-facturers who over-price medicines to such anextent.

In a bid to end the burgeoning OOPE, theGovernment then developed an indigenousmodel called Trade Margin Rationalisation(TMR) in 2018. This distinctive Indian interven-tion aims to address the whole gamut of dissim-

ilar pressures that impact the final price.Through this the Government plans tomake the Indian healthcare pricingarchitecture free from external forceswhich support “mediflation.”

Hailing TMR as pilot for proof ofconcept, the Government implement-ed it and capped the trade margin of 42cancer drugs at 30 per cent. Throughthis proof of concept, the Governmentmade an attempt to better comprehendthe impact of this rationalisation on theend-user price of the identified cancerdrugs. The result?

In his written reply in Rajya Sabha,Minister of Chemical and Fertiliserssubmitted that “MRPs have beenreduced by up to 90 per cent and cal-culated annual savings for patients areapproximately around �984 crore,much more than a minimum saving of�200 crore per annum to cancerpatients on account of this interven-tion.” The NPPA also advocated thesame formula, for medical devices andconsumables, of 50 per cent trademargin, hoping the MRP would comedown by around 73 per cent.

But the Government needs to takea holistic approach while handlingTMR, as price capping mechanismshave been regularly hitting the pharma-ceutical and medical devices industry.A country that meets 80 per cent of itsdemand for medical devices throughimports cannot suddenly disregardthe innovative capabilities of theimported technology over cost. Hence,when adopting TMR as the best bet foraffordability, the Government shouldalso look at improving the overallhealth infrastructure. The strategyahead should factor the cost calculationside. The Government should not fol-low a narrow approach when calculat-ing margins. With a massive diseaseburden and disease profiles evolving bythe day, can India afford to keep

investors at bay? There exists in India’s TMR

approach a significant loophole, thatcan mar the inflow of optimum diag-nostic technologies into the country.Take, for instance, the case of landedcost. An overly narrow approach doesnot consider various expenses of aninvestor. These expenses include train-ing clinicians on technology, financingsales and collection costs, corporatetaxes, and other routine expenses fordeveloping and serving the market inIndia. After witnessing a sharp declinein the entry and sustenance of medicalinnovation, so much so that the bulkdrugs industry started vanishing, theGovernment decided to discontinuedisregarding an investor’s cost.(National Pharmaceutical PricingPolicy 2012)

Looking at the larger picture, thelegislative price controls advocated bythe Government might be a quick-fix.However, in the long run India will loseout on much-needed innovations andspecialised treatments necessary tomanage the complex and costly diseaseburden. This will also limit the accessof advanced technology products toIndian patients.

Legislating non-remunerative pric-ing is limiting the usefulness to a sin-gle dimension price. This may be lim-iting the opportunity to gain from theglobal enriching experience of theinnovator for the entire healthcarevalue chain.

In such a scenario, differentiationin pricing, with respect to the costinvolved would be a way to encourageinnovation and with it catalyse better,focussed solutions.

Medical devices have wide, demon-strable differentiation that makes thesame group of devices seem very het-erogeneous. Both the local and stand-alone importers focus on high volume,

low value and less technical medicaldevices such as syringe, needles,catheters and high-volume base levelimplants like stents. Local subsidiariesget supplies from their principals attransfer-price and local costs are borneby local subsidiary, which is addition-al costs like import duty, customscharges, clearance, warehousing, cost ofcapital, and so on.

The final price subsumes thesecosts and margins are calculated there-after. Standalone importers in effect buyand their requirement plus the seller’smargin are a part of the price.

Any high-end medical deviceswhich require sustainable training andquality assurance need direct involve-ment of subsidiaries of the parentcompanies. This complicates the mat-ter and the one-size-fits-all base TMRrate of 30 per cent comes up for a seri-ous debate. This also acts as a setbackto the idea of different patient, differ-ent needs.

While civil society groups insist ona price-fixation mechanism as a meansto affordable care, nuances of the med-ical device industry including innova-tive, knowledge-base, clinical and tech-nical support, storage, transportation —accounting for massive investments —cannot be ignored.

A holistic TMR should take intoconsideration the concerns of multiplestakeholders so that all the key stake-holders can function in coherencewith each other. Such a robust and bal-anced TMR would address the hard-ships of end-users, address the com-mercial and industrial concerns ofhospitals and providers, be remunera-tive to vendors and help theGovernment in its quest for universalhealthcare for all at affordable prices.TMR is a veritable win-win solution.

(The writer is a public healthcareconsultant with various industry bodies)

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Until the Partition of India,Urdu enjoyed tremendouscultural prestige among edu-

cated north Indian Muslims andHindus, as well as among the moreconscientious British administra-tors.

Urdu was also the first literarylanguage for many of those who alsowrote in Hindi. For instance,Upendranath Ashk and MunshiPremchand were famous Urduauthors before they even began towrite in Hindi.

In order to fully grasp the stateof Urdu in the post-Independenceperiod, an examination of the rootsof the language is required. Urduwithin India has faced many turbu-lent times, pressure brought upon

by the Government, Hindi chauvin-ists and sometimes the ineffective-ness of Urdu literary education.

In 1947, when the countrygained its independence fromBritish rule and Pakistan wasformed, a great shift was made inthe maintenance of Urdu in India.Many Urdu experts may argue thatwithin India during the periodimmediately followingIndependence, keeping the lan-guage alive was a difficult task inmany respects.

Many organisations and indi-viduals, with and without the sup-port of the Government, workedhard over the decades to preservethe language and educate theyounger generations.

However, there were and stillremain, many roadblocks toprogress in preserving and spread-ing the language in modern India.

Among the Urdu writers of the19th century, the most renownedwas Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797-1869) who was described byMuhammad Sadiq in his book A

History of Urdu Literature as avisionary who “broke away from thepast both in thought and style. Hestands at the threshold of the mod-ern world.” Other famous literaryfigures were poet Muhammad Iqbal(1878-1938) and short story writerSH Manto (1912-55).

Although, since the Partition,the use of Urdu has become moreand more restricted to Pakistan andamong Indian Muslims, it is still theprimary literary language of manyHindus and Sikhs in India.

In the early years ofIndependence, in the area whichone might call the heartland ofUrdu, Uttar Pradesh (UP) andBihar, the Governments of theseStates were working to discontinueits use. The somewhat twisted inter-pretation of the three-language for-mula devised by the Governmentwas the device by which the StateGovernments attacked it.

The Centre recommended thatthree tongues be taught in allschools, the language of the State, amodern Indian language and one

other tongue. In UP, Urdu shouldhave been chosen as one of the threelanguages as it was the most wide-ly used means of communicationthere after Hindi. However, theGovernment of UP and some otherHindi-Urdu speaking States choseSanskrit as the modern language,and so Urdu, which was taught inschools before Independence, wasdiscontinued.

However, from Indira Gandhi’stime onwards, the Governmenthad its own political reasons forsupporting Urdu literature. DuringIndira’s time, a committee was setup in 1972 headed by IK Gujral toconsider how the cause of the lan-guage could be advanced. Due tovigorous opposition the report wasput on the back burner. Later, in1990 when Ali Sardar Jafri investi-gated the committee report, hefound that 95 per cent of the recom-mendations made by the Gujralcommittee had not been adopted.

However, in 1989, the StateGovernments of Bihar and UPrecognised Urdu as an official lan-

guage. Warsi, in his paper titled,History and Prospects of Urdu PrintMedia, made an observation that,“in the early stages of the post-Independence period the Urduprint media was mainly beingaffected by the tragedy of Partition.Consequently, the Urdu Press suf-fered the most. However, the Urdumedia is still struggling for its sur-vival in different Indian cities.”

Many of the Urdu speakers inIndia, who are not limited to theMuslim community, do not knowthe its written script, thus givingthem access to literary works inRoman Urdu and in the Devanagariscript would further the cause of thelanguage.

Tariq Mansoor, Vice-Chancellorof Aligarh Muslim University oncevery rightly said that “knowledge ofmany languages is the doorway tosuccess.”

One of the great Urdu scholarsGopi Chand Narang, was quoted assaying that “Urdu is not the lan-guage of Muslims. If at all there isany language of Muslims, it should

be Arabic. Urdu belongs to the com-posite culture of India. Hindi andUrdu are supplementary and com-plementary. They are like sistersstrengthening each other.” Thisviewpoint must also be adopted bythe organisations created to preserveit. They should focus their resourcesand attention to the accurate writ-ing of Urdu classics and translationinto Devanagari script. Narang feelsthat the politicisation of the causehas harmed the language, whichshould function as a bridge betweenthe Hindu and Muslim subcul-tures within India.

If Government and State fund-ing went into the production of textsof important and popular Urduauthors in Devanagari script, thereading of Urdu literature wouldgrow tremendously.

Although many works havebeen reproduced in the Devanagariscript, major organisations havenot yet made it their duty to helppublish such works. The translationof classical Urdu texts into Englishis another venture, which has been

undertaken, but still needs to bedone on a larger scale.

The language has seen manyshifts in support throughout its longhistory, as the times change the peo-ple, led by their Government, fall inand out of favour of certain lan-guages.

The National Council forPromotion of Urdu has taken theinitiative and is bringing out pub-lications in and about Urdu lan-guage and literature.

Within India the use of the lan-guage is a cause which many peo-ple and organisations have beenworking to uphold. However, theseefforts are not without their flaws.It is the mix of these efforts alongwith popular interest developed byfilms and ongoing research, whichwill ensure that classical Urdu textswill be preserved and promoted inthe country so that the languagedoes not die and future generationsare not the poorer because of thislaxity on our part.

(The writer is a well-knownlinguist, author and columnist)

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Power Grid Corporation ofIndia Limited (POWER-

GRID), a ‘Maharatna’Enterprise under Ministry ofPower, Government of India,has posted a net profit of�2571.10 crore for the secondquarter of FY 2019-20 (Jul- Sep,2019), an increase of 9% against�2348.25 crore reported duringthe corresponding quarter

ended September 30, 2018.Total Income (Turnover)

for second quarter (Jul-Sep,2019) rose to �9260.46 crore,up by 6% from � 8718.20 crorein the corresponding quarterended September 30, 2018.

Total Income for first halfof financial year 2019 - 20 roseto �18622.18 crore, an increaseof 9% over �17094.68 Crorereported during the corre-sponding half year endedSeptember 30, 2018.

On a standalone basis,POWERGRID had registered anet profit of �4955.03 crore ona total Income (turnover) of�18411.55 Crore during the halfyear ended September 30, 2019.

POWERGRID’s physicalassets as on September 30,2019 include more than160,937 ckm TransmissionLines, 244 Sub-Stations withtransformation capacity ofmore than 383,273 MVA.

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Beijing and Washington haveagreed to reduce some

punitive tariffs on each other’sgoods as talks on ending theirtrade war progress, a Chinesespokesman said Thursday,removing a possible stumblingblock to a settlement.

The agreement came dur-ing talks aimed at working outdetails of a “Phase 1” dealannounced Oct. 12. Financialmarkets were rattled by reportsChina was pushing for tariffs tobe lifted, which raised the pos-sibility of a breakdown in talks.

Negotiators agreed to a“phased cancellation” of tariffhikes if talks progress, said aCommerce Ministryspokesman, Gao Feng.

“If the two sides achieve a‘Phase 1’ agreement, then basedon the content of that agree-ment, tariffs already increasedshould be canceled at the sametime and by the same rate,” Gaosaid at a news briefing.

As for the size of reduc-tions, Gao said that woulddepend on the agreement.

Governments of the twobiggest global economies have

raised tariffs on billions of dol-lars of each other’s goods in thefight over China’s trade surplusand technology ambitions.

That weighs on tradeworldwide and threatens todepress global economicgrowth that already is showingsigns of slowing.

The Oct. 12 agreementwas modest and details have yetto be put on paper but it waswelcomed as a sign of progresstoward ending the trade war.

President Donald Trumpagreed to postpone a plannedtariff hike while lower-levelofficials hammered out details.

Trump said China agreedto buy up to $50 billion ofAmerican farm goods. Beijinghas yet to confirm the scale ofits commitment.

News reports said Beijingwants 15% tariffs imposed inSeptember on $125 billion ofChinese imports removedbefore it will make a formalcommitment.

There had been no indica-tion whether Trump mightagree, which raised the possi-bility of another breakdown innegotiations.

China’s imports of

American soybeans and othergoods tumbled 26.4% in thefirst nine months of this yearfollowing tariff hikes andorders to importers to findother suppliers.

The Oct. 12 agreementhelped to ease financial marketjitters, but the two sides haveyet to report progress on majordisagreements over technologyand other irritants following 13rounds of talks.

Trump and Xi were due tomeet at this month’s gatheringof Asia-Pacific leaders in Chilebut that event was canceled dueto protests there.

That dampened hopes aface-to-face meeting might pro-duce progress. But U.S. officialssay the two governments arelooking for a different location.

U.S. Commerce SecretaryWilbur Ross said this week any“Phase 1” agreement would begeneral and cover trade in spe-cific areas such as soybeans andliquefied natural gas.

More complicated issueswould be tackled in later nego-tiations, Ross said. He gave noindication whether rolling backtariffs was a possibility at thisstage.

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New Delhi: Qatar Airways hasno interest in buying a stake inAir India, its CEO said onThursday as the governmentplans roadshows in Singaporeand London to entice investorsfor the Indian national carrier’sdisinvestment.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbaral-Baker added that he is inter-ested in buying a stake inIndiGo but this is not the righttime as issues among its pro-moters are yet to be resolved.

The differences betweenIndiGo promoters RahulBhatia and Rakesh Gangwalcame to the fore in July after thelatter sought market regulatorSebi’s intervention to addressalleged corporate governancelapses at the company.

While the Centre is plan-ning to invite bids for thenational carrier next month, itsemployee unions onWednesday decided to opposethe disinvestment process asthere is no clarity regardingsalary arrears and pensions.

Air India is sitting on adebt pile of around Rs 58,000crore, besides huge accumu-lated losses running into thou-

sands of crores.IndiGo on Thursday signed

a one-way codeshare agreementwith Qatar Airways, where thelatter will be able to book seatson the former’s flights on certainspecific destinations.

Baker, when asked if he isinterested in purchasing AirIndia, replied: “No. We areonly interested in IndiGo.”

He added, “We have nointerest in buying stake in AirIndia. We are interested inbuying stake in IndiGo, but thisis not the right time as issuesamong promoters are yet to beresolved.”

Baker said, “I know thereare some disagreements with-in the airline between thestakeholders so we would notlike to comment on our futureplans with IndiGo until theseissues are resolved”.

With around 48 per centshare in domestic air passengermarket, IndiGo is India’s largestairline. Bhatia, his relatives,and his family company ownaround 38 per cent of the low-cost carrier while Gangwal, hisrelatives, and his family trustown around 37 per cent. PTI

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Ratul Puri, nephew of MadhyaPradesh Chief Minister

Kamal Nath, “threatened” VVIPchoppers scam accused RajivSaxena not to share evidenceagainst an uncle of his andfather, the ED has alleged in itslatest charge sheet in the �3,600-crore defence scandal.

The ED has charged the47-year-old promoter ofHindustan Power Projects PvtLtd with “destruction of evi-dence” and said it had to go tothe extent of recovering “ashes”of burnt documents duringraids at the premises of RatulPuri’s close aide Niamat Singh.

The EnforcementDirectorate (ED), in its prose-cution complaint or chargesheet filed before a specialcourt here on November 2, hascharged Ratul Puri of usingcorporate structures “owned ormaintained” by Saxena to laun-der kickbacks in the scamreceived from the three allegedmiddlemen in the case --Christian Michel James, CarlosGerosa and Guido Haschke.

Saxena and James weredeported by probe agenciesfrom Dubai this year and in

2018, respectively, and at pre-sent, they are in judicial custody.

“Rajiv Saxena is anapprover in this case. He hasalso been threatened and pres-surised by Ratul Puri not togive documents/evidencesagainst Ratul’s father and uncle,the ED said.

Ratul Puri’s father DeepakPuri is the managing director ofoptical storage media firmMoser Baer, but the identity ofthe “uncle” has not been statedby the ED in the charge sheet.

“He (Saxena) was furtherasked to be selective in pro-viding details and to slow downthe process of giving data anddetails which have been admit-ted by him in a statement,” theagency said.

A statement made undersection 50 of the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act(PMLA) is admissible in court.

The ED recently moved acourt here seeking to revoke the‘approver’ status of Saxenaowing to non-cooperation andnon disclosure of full informa-tion privy to him in theAgustaWestland VVIP chop-pers purchase deal case that wasscrapped by India in 2014 onallegations of alleged kickbacks.

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The government is mulling aspecial window for resolu-

tion of stressed non-bankingfinance companies under theInsolvency and BankruptcyCode, a senior governmentofficial said.

A special window, is cer-tainly something which is beingexamined closely, the officialsaid.

The move also comesagainst the backdrop of finan-cial sector players like DewanHousing Finance CorporationLtd (DHFL) facing troubles.

Punjab and MaharashtraCo-operative (PMC) Bank is

also grappling with financialwoes.

The effort is to come outwith some mechanism to dealwith financial service providerswhich require some resolu-tion under an alternativeframework pending theFinancial Resolution andDeposit Insurance (FRDI) Billor some specific provisioncoming in place, the officialsaid.

A notification in thisregard will be issued soon, theofficial added.

Currently, resolution ofstressed financial institutionscannot take place under theIBC.

New Delhi: Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das onThursday said it is closely monitoring the situation atscam-hit PMC Bank and a forensic audit is underway.

Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMCBank), among the top 10 urban cooperative banks inthe country, was placed under an RBI administratoron September 23 for six months due to massive under-reporting of dud loans.

“PMC Bank situation is being closely monitored.Forensic audit is underway in PMC Bank case,” Dastold reporters after a meeting of the FinancialStability and Development Council (FSDC) here.

RBI had imposed withdrawal restrictions onaccount-holders after it found alleged irregularities tothe tune of Rs 4,355 crore due to diversion of moneyto infrastructure firm HDIL.

On Tuesday, the apex bank enhanced the cashwithdrawal limit to Rs 50,000 per account, which wasthe fourth such increase since PMC Bank was placedunder its direct control. PTI

New Delhi: Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman onThursday reviewed the state ofeconomy including stress in thefinancial sector at the meetingof the Financial Stability andDevelopment Council (FSDC).

The FSDC is the apex bodyof sectoral regulators, headedby the finance minister.

“The meeting was very con-structive and it took stock ofentire financial system and otherissues,” said Finance SecretaryRajiv Kumar after the meetingthat lasted nearly two hours.

RBI and other regulatorsare looking at financial at itholistically, he said when askedabout stress in the financial sec-tor. PTI

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The Sensex scaled yetanother lifetime peakwhile the Nifty closed

above the key 12,000-markafter five months on Thursdayas investors cheered the gov-ernment’s latest reforms pushand progress on US-Chinatrade negotiations.

After hitting an intra-dayrecord of 40,688.27, the BSESensex ended 183.96 points, or0.45 per cent up at its new all-time high of 40,653.74, track-ing gains in metal, energy andbanking stocks. Similarly, thebroader NSE Nifty ended witha gain of 46 points, or 0.38 percent, at 12,012.05. The indexlast closed above the 12,000-level on June 4 this year.

Trading sentiment wasbullish after the governmentlate on Wednesday approveda �25,000 crore fund for 1,600stalled housing projects, whichis expected to jumpstart con-sumption and give a boost toreal estate and allied sectors.

Strong corporate earningsand sustained foreign fundinflows also kept domesticmarket sentiment upbeat, ana-lysts said.

Further, global equitiesturned positive after theChinese commerce ministrysaid China and the US hadagreed on a plan to removeimport tariffs in stages, as nego-tiators try to craft a trade deal.

Sun Pharma was the topgainer in the Sensex pack,spurting 3.02 per cent, after thecompany swung back to blackin the September quarter witha net profit of �1,064.09 crore.

Other winners includedIndusInd Bank, RIL, ITC,Vedanta, Asian Paints, HDFCand Infosys, advancing up to2.88 per cent. On the otherhand, Yes Bank, HUL, ONGC,Tata Motors, Axis Bank, L&Tand NTPC retreated up to 3.27per cent.

“Reforms and earnings arethe market drivers, the mea-sures to support realty sectoraugers well for the sector to out-perform. The proposed mea-sure will help to start the recov-ery of stalled projects and cansee a ripple effect in NBFCs,banks and cement sector.

“On global front, Chinaagreed with US for phasedremoval of tariffs that hasbrightened hope for a tradedeal and bring some cheer formarkets across the globe,” saidVinod Nair, head of research atGeojit Financial Services.

Sectorally, BSE energy,metal, realty, consumer durables,

telecom and healthcare indicesrose up to 0.96 per cent.

On the other hand, oil andgas, capital goods, utilities andauto fell up to 0.26 per cent.

Broader BSE midcap andsmallcap indices followed thebenchmarks to end up to 0.69per cent higher.

Bourses in Shanghai, HongKong, Tokyo and Seoul settledin the positive terrain follow-ing positive news on the US-China trade front.

Markets in Europe toowere trading in the green intheir respective early deals.

Brent crude futures, the glob-al oil benchmark, rose 1.38 percent to USD 62.59 per barrel.

������������������Meanwhile, the Indian

rupee pared its initial losses tosettle flat at 70.97 against theUS dollar on Thursday.

Sustained foreign fundinflows supported the domes-tic unit though the gains werecapped by hardening crude oilprices that breached the USD62 per barrel mark, forex bro-kers said.

At the interbank foreignexchange market, the rupeeopened weak at 71.10 against theUS dollar and during the day, itfluctuated between a high of70.88 and a low of 71.11 to final-ly settle at 70.97, unchangedfrom its previous close.

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Aday after announcing a�25,000-crore stress fund

for stalled housing projects, thegovernment on Thursdayadvised homebuyers toapproach lenders for addition-al borrowing or revival of theirloans, while clarifying that pro-jects facing litigation in high-er courts will not be coveredunder the scheme.

The Finance Ministry alsosaid the maximum fundingwill be �400 crore for any sin-gle project that will be seekingassistance from the ‘specialwindow’ or the alternativeinvestment fund (AIF) forcompletion of the 1,508 pro-jects comprising about 4.58lakh units.

“Homebuyers are advisedto reach out to their respectivelending institutions to seeknecessary guidance for addi-tional borrowing or revival oftheir existing home loans with-in the existing legal and regu-latory framework and standardboard approved policies of thelending institutions,” said thefrequently asked questions(FAQs) issued by the FinanceMinistry in this regard.

The FAQs also said theproposed AIF will not invest inprojects that are facing litiga-

tion in the high courts or theSupreme Court.

“The focus of this specialwindow will be on the projectsthat are stalled for lack ofconstruction funding.

“It shall also look at pro-jects that are NPAs (non-per-forming assets) or undergoingNCLT (National CompanyLaw Tribunal) proceedings,that can commence construc-tion immediately after fundsare made available,” it said.

The fund will be set up asa Category-II AIF debt fundregistered with the Securitiesand Exchange Board of Indiaand would be professionallyrun. SBICAP Ventures Limitedwill be engaged as the invest-ment manager.

The FAQs further say thatfunding will be provided to theRERA-registered affordableand middle-income housingprojects that are stalled for lackof adequate funds, but their networth should be positive(including NPAs and projectsundergoing NCLT proceed-ings).

Projects that are “very closeto completion” will get priori-ty in funding.

Affordable and mid-income housing projects arethose wherein dwelling unitsdo not exceed 200 square

metre carpet area and arepriced up to �2 crore inMumbai Metropolitan Region,up to �1.5 crore in NationalCapital Region, Chennai,Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad,Bengaluru and Ahmedabad,and up to �1 crore in the restof the country.

The Union Cabinet had onWednesday approved theestablishment of a ‘special win-dow’ fund to provide prioritydebt financing for the comple-tion of stalled housing projects.

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on September 14had announced that a specialwindow for affordable andmiddle-income housing will becreated. The special windowwas to provide last-mile fund-ing for housing projects thatare stressed.

Subsequently, inter-min-isterial consultations and sev-eral stakeholder consultationswere held with the housingindustry including housingfinance companies, banks,non-banking financial compa-nies, investors and real estatedevelopers.

Problems being faced byhomebuyers, developers,lenders and investors wereascertained that could beaddressed through the specialwindow.

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Insurance sector regulatorIrdai has barred Anil

Ambani-led Reliance HealthInsurance Ltd (RHICL) fromselling new policies due to itsweak financial health. The reg-ulator has also asked RHICL totransfer the entire policyholders’liabilities along with financialassets to Reliance GeneralInsurance Co Ltd (RGICL),which in turn will settle claimsof the existing policyholders.

In an order, it said the“solvency of the RHICL is con-siderably” below the normsand, hence, “continuation oftransaction of health insur-ance business by RHICL atthis junction, will not be in theinterest of the policyholders”.

Solvency ratio loosely refersto the financial ability of aninsurer to service its obligations,including payment to claims.

“On and from the appoint-ed date (November 15, 2019),RHICL shall stop underwritinginsurance business and a com-munication to this effect shallbe displayed on the website ofRHICL and shall be promi-nently displayed at all itsbranches,” said the Irdai’s order.

Irdai has also asked RHICLto “ring fence” its residual assetsand not dispose them of with-out the insurance regulator’s

prior written approval. RGICL has been asked to

keep the assets and liabilities ofRHICL separate from the gen-eral insurance business.

“RGICL shall promptly set-tle claims arising out of RHICLportfolio...,” the order added.

Irdai had issued certificateof registration to RHICL tocarry out the business of healthinsurance in October last year.RHICL had reported a solven-cy ratio of 106 per cent for thequarter ended June 30. It wasbelow 150 per cent, which is thecontrol level of solvency.

In the backdrop, the Irdaihad asked the insurer to restorethe solvency margin to thecontrol level by September 30.RHICL had said it would sub-mit a “plan to ensure the emer-gence of a strong, well-capi-talised health insurance com-pany”. However, the responsedid not indicate the manner inwhich the control level of sol-vency would be restored, theIrdai order noted. RHICL wasasked to restore the requiredlevel of solvency margin.“However, despite repeated fol-low-up, this has not been car-ried out so far,” Irdai said.

Irdai assured RHICL poli-cyholders that their interests“have been adequately protect-ed” and all genuine claims willcontinue to be duly honoured.

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Script Open High Low LTPIBULHSGFIN 230 255.9 228 238.65YESBANK 68 69.5 66 66.5INFRATEL 221.2 230.85 221.2 229.3TATASTEEL 404.5 408.7 389 403.15NAUKRI 2560 2560 2461.05 2494FORTIS 150.55 154.45 148 150.9JINDALSTEL 138 150.4 135.4 148.7MARUTI 7345 7353.1 7243 7286.5SBIN 317.65 323.3 316.6 318.15HDFCAMC 2951 3038.65 2893.4 3020.5RELIANCE 1438 1462.9 1432.95 1458.8SUNPHARMA 432.1 444 423.45 440.45INFY 716 724 712.4 719.95TATAMOTORS 175 175 167.8 171.45DLF 197.3 197.85 188.45 192.45HINDALCO 203 207.3 199.25 205.35ICICIBANK 483 483 475.7 478.7HDFCBANK 1259.75 1269.6 1249.8 1263.25PEL 1793.7 1874 1785.1 1798.5TITAN 1163 1178.9 1157 1167.25HDFC 2236 2264.75 2236 2250.9MFSL 429.7 489.3 414.8 478.2INDUSINDBK 1359 1396.95 1352.75 1380.9AXISBANK 749.6 755.95 732.75 734.65CROMPTON 250.15 256.8 250.15 254.85ZEEL 287 292.75 282.3 285.75INDIGO 1475 1496.2 1456.55 1491.9POWERGRID 196.1 196.9 193.75 194.15RBLBANK 309 319.2 306.55 308.5NBCC 42.2 45 41.3 41.55BANKBARODA 99.8 100.7 95.7 96.1VEDL 159.4 162.9 155.4 160.95HDFCLIFE 588.9 589.85 576.35 580.05BAJFINANCE 4200.05 4238 4189.95 4227.25ADANIPORTS 391 391.75 388.15 390.4AVANTI 493.85 535 488.2 524.1ACC 1527.95 1545.95 1519.7 1525.45ULTRACEMCO 4210 4233.1 4170 4187.8JSWSTEEL 251 254.75 243.3 252.6LICHSGFIN 439.1 454.4 435.1 437.55BALKRISIND 869.35 876 859.45 865.9PNB 64.25 64.55 61.8 62ADANIENT 207.2 210.35 205.5 209.1ITC 263.5 266.2 261.9 265.9L&TFH 97.6 104.1 97.6 99.05VENKYS 1790 1888.7 1765 1874.6UPL 608.1 610.85 558 579.9IIFL 123.1 132.15 123.1 128.15IDEA 3.89 4.14 3.85 3.92HINDPETRO 317 317.1 307 310.3BHARTIARTL 375 375.65 369.05 371.65MOTHERSUMI 131.9 134.7 129.65 134.2ASIANPAINT 1804 1830.5 1798.15 1826.65JUBLFOOD 1565 1620.95 1560 1617BPCL 525.5 526.2 511.1 512.8APOLLOHOSP 1434.95 1469.05 1421 1463.75BIOCON 260.8 264.7 256.5 263.85SRF 3080 3166.75 3040 3151LT 1454 1458.6 1431.1 1435.4SAIL 39.3 40.7 38.5 39.95SIEMENS 1685.2 1699.75 1659.45 1664.55TCS 2196.1 2203.85 2176.05 2185.5JAICORPLTD 100.45 108.5 100.45 105.85HINDUNILVR 2181 2182.85 2128.7 2137.8BERGEPAINT 499 509.3 497 506.55LUPIN 748 754.05 735 737.4GPPL 89.65 89.65 83.95 85.7MARICO 368.5 370.5 365.6 369.65AUROPHARMA 454 454.5 442.8 452M&M 580 583.25 572.35 580.4COLPAL 1546 1610.9 1536.5 1601.6ONGC 144.8 144.95 140.45 142.1BAJAJ-AUTO 3248 3278 3222.45 3265.9KOTAKBANK 1577 1586.45 1559.75 1584.25RAYMOND 641.4 681 634.3 673.7JAMNAAUTO 45.4 46.1 44 44.4ASHOKLEY 76.8 77.15 75.2 76.7GRAPHITE 299.9 310 296.45 307.1AAVAS 1525 1565.2 1501.9 1542.3CANBK 213.9 215.1 208.45 209.5IEX 145.2 145.35 143.35 144.85TATAMTRDVR 80.35 80.55 77.15 78.9LTI 1649.7 1679.95 1637.9 1665.25CIPLA 481.05 487.2 470.25 471.7HAVELLS 692 714.85 690.6 710.45HCLTECH 1150 1153.5 1136.05 1148.6BAJAJFINSV 8823.7 8860.75 8761.65 8832.6ADANITRANS 285 304 283.75 298.9IPCALAB 1006.3 1103 1005.35 1062.65PCJEWELLER 35.25 36.75 35.1 36RNAM 337.8 346.45 331.1 335MANAPPURAM 172 172.45 165.6 166.8NCC 56.8 57.4 55.05 55.55NESTLEIND 14688.2 14784 14558 14719.6SPARC 153.8 167 149.35 164.5GMRINFRA 22.2 22.55 21.8 22.3BHEL 55.9 56.1 54.8 55.5VBL 763.9 788.75 750 755.65EICHERMOT 21636.4 21682.5 21183.1 21430.6SRTRANSFIN 1150 1182.3 1139.7 1151.8BEML 975.45 1007.35 975.45 980.3BASF 1011 1016.7 956 966.35PNBHOUSING 588.15 599 575.1 580.25HEG 1022 1037.4 1005 1026NMDC 113.5 113.5 106.1 107.5RECLTD 138.6 144.05 138.1 142.75SBILIFE 972.05 990 968.4 986.75EXIDEIND 190.15 192.2 188 188.65

BANKINDIA 70 70.6 68 68.5VOLTAS 674.6 681.2 658.35 666.55IOC 136.5 136.5 135.15 135.85HEROMOTOCO 2670.75 2670.8 2642.75 2659.55GLENMARK 307.9 307.9 287.7 293.55MCX 1126.95 1131 1086.65 1099.25BOSCHLTD 14910 15355.75 14601 15246.15ICICIPRULI 524 525 514.5 517.6TATAELXSI 812 823.8 801 813.7UNIONBANK 57.45 58 55.5 55.8TECHM 773 773.8 765.45 770.1DISHTV 14.34 14.58 13.86 14.22JUSTDIAL 569 577.6 564 569.25BEL 111.95 111.95 107.65 108.9ESCORTS 659 659 643.75 647.95BOMDYEING 84.95 87.4 84.95 85.4RAJESHEXPO 678 688.4 671.1 674.6FEDERALBNK 84.8 85.4 83.45 83.95ADANIPOWER 71.25 71.5 70.25 70.55PFC 110 114.95 110 113.4TATAPOWER 59.25 59.3 57.55 58.65DABUR 480 480.5 472.35 478BANDHANBNK 582.5 588.35 565.55 569IDFCFIRSTB 43 43.15 42.25 42.45GODREJCP 763.8 765 742.25 752.45DELTACORP 202.95 203 197 198.6GAIL 137.8 137.8 131.4 132.15OMAXE 187 188 181.75 183.15GODREJPROP 1022 1023 985.65 989.75TATAGLOBAL 300.05 302.55 296.6 300.95VIPIND 456.3 463.95 445 455.45UBL 1270 1270 1221 1236.05UJJIVAN 277.15 283.35 276.6 280.75BHARATFORG 465 474.25 460.7 469.35TORNTPOWER 292 297.4 290 296.05APOLLOTYRE 169 169.6 166 167.05BATAINDIA 1701.35 1729.6 1696 1725.8ICICIGI 1308.7 1335 1293.65 1319.45COALINDIA 213 213.65 210.95 212.5CADILAHC 244.75 244.75 232.25 234.8GRASIM 777.95 782.05 771.9 777.8KAJARIACER 534.9 538.75 525.75 529.45EQUITAS 99.8 103 99.05 99.4SPICEJET 115.95 115.95 114.1 114.6M&MFIN 348.15 356.5 339.45 340.6ABCAPITAL 83.9 85.5 83.85 84.65BRITANNIA 3252 3257.35 3210 3222.25NTPC 121.4 121.4 119.15 119.55MGL 977 983.5 954 958.8DMART 1990 1991.2 1977 1988.05DRREDDY 2890 2890 2829.5 2871.5TVSMOTOR 462.2 463.55 447.95 449.35SHANKARA 372.05 372.05 355.75 358.55ADANIGREEN 90.8 91.15 88.35 88.7WIPRO 258 260.45 256.8 259.6PHILIPCARB 123.4 128.6 122.55 127.05SUNTV 518.15 529 515 527.2WHIRLPOOL 2137.3 2218 2117.3 2185.9DEEPAKNI 349.7 363.75 349.3 355.9JSWENERGY 75.65 79.55 73.3 78.8NATIONALUM 46.75 47.45 46 47.15

PIDILITIND 1379.55 1385.35 1367.8 1383SUNTECK 438 445.25 430.75 434.6DIVISLAB 1706 1723 1683 1717.6WELCORP 141.9 143.5 140.4 141.95AMBUJACEM 205.85 205.85 199.4 203.1NOCIL 108.5 111.35 106.55 110.75PAGEIND 24014 24322 23758.75 24035.95BAJAJELEC 348.6 361.9 333 334.7WOCKPHARMA 302.2 304.5 297.5 300.8ENGINERSIN 113.25 115.2 110.65 111RVNL 23.85 24.45 23.75 23.9INFIBEAM 45.7 46.25 45.1 46STAR 395.65 402.5 390.45 398.25SUZLON 2.9 3.15 2.78 2.98CEATLTD 1000.2 1015.3 979 982.65HINDZINC 208.8 214 206.9 213.1HUDCO 42.65 43.4 41.9 42.2JMFINANCIL 84 91 84 89.6GODFRYPHLP 1123.5 1146.35 1120.55 1133.6RPOWER 4.56 4.65 4.56 4.65SOBHA 468 468 436.4 439.7RADICO 318.95 326.3 311 324.05PETRONET 284.2 285.3 283 284.55

KANSAINER 531.5 539 524 534.85VGUARD 254.1 255 240.2 242.7ADVENZYMES 176.95 183.7 173.25 178.55FORCEMOT 1129.05 1132.75 1090.05 1104.65PFIZER 4024.8 4076.95 4013 4032.8SUDARSCHEM 391.05 409.6 387.15 399.05IGL 395 395 389.85 392.85IDBI 33.3 34.05 33.3 33.6STRTECH 132.5 132.5 128.25 129.25INDIACEM 85.7 86.5 84.4 84.9FRETAIL 359 365.35 338 361.2GUJGAS 196.05 198.1 192 194.1HEXAWARE 344.8 347.8 339.25 344.95ITDC 361.6 375 355.05 371.9AUBANK 672.35 690.9 668.55 685.35INTELLECT 155.6 158.6 149.5 151.25SCI 59.35 59.75 57.15 57.45TATACHEM 651 651 642.25 643.65MOIL 142.4 148.65 141.3 145.8FSL 46.25 46.7 45.5 46.3DBL 424 433.9 414.15 416.8MEGH 59.1 59.1 55.6 56.5LTTS 1456.05 1477 1453.75 1463.3BALRAMCHIN 155.6 156.35 151.2 152.7GUJALKALI 455.95 459.45 411 414.6HFCL 17.1 17.35 17.05 17.1RAIN 102.45 104.5 101.1 104GICRE 289 292.95 277 280.8IRB 74.15 75.5 73.2 73.55RITES 282.65 289.25 282.5 286.3CONCOR 579.95 586.55 577.75 579.05GNFC 203.9 209.25 203 205.9KEI 534 545.55 529 541.3QUESS 513.4 535.8 512.7 516.45JBCHEPHARM 374 391.5 372 381.25RAMCOCEM 808.8 814.5 801 802.4CANFINHOME 411.3 422.2 407.6 408.6IBREALEST 69.6 70.05 68.3 70.05GODREJIND 430 433.35 422.25 425.55BAJAJCON 258.35 258.7 253.3 255.65BBTC 1190 1212.75 1183 1186.25RCF 53.5 53.75 52.6 53.15ASTRAL 1062 1107.45 1054.05 1090.5GLAXO 1625 1636 1603 1622.6POLYCAB 854.8 864 850.1 852.4DALBHARAT 825.55 829.75 800 826.6CUMMINSIND 551.1 553.6 545.75 552SWANENERGY 103 103.55 102 102.65INOXLEISUR 366.45 369 352 367.15HINDCOPPER 41.45 41.9 40.3 41.4DCAL 122.3 128.4 120.6 124.1MRF 63970.05 63970.05 63320.2 63474.05ADANIGAS 147.9 148.7 147.05 147.3GODREJAGRO 482.15 497.5 482.05 492.95OBEROIRLTY 521.8 521.9 507 509.35JUBILANT 538.55 544.7 527.75 538.5GILLETTE 7645 7645 7500 7510.55ITI 89.2 89.35 87.55 87.85CHOLAFIN 305.2 309.25 297.3 298.15MINDTREE 705.75 709.1 698 706.95TIINDIA 442.15 458.9 440 449.05TRENT 546.85 549.95 539.45 540.8AJANTPHARM 1012.35 1017.55 986 991.2IDFC 34.35 34.6 33.55 33.7PGHL 4681.6 4848 4640 4660.85RCOM 0.69 0.72 0.66 0.66FINOLEXIND 585 617.8 583.9 607.3BAJAJHLDNG 3745 3840 3735.6 3806.15CUB 209.7 212.4 208.5 211.8GSKCONS 9287.7 9387.7 9185 9239.1INDIANB 129 130.2 126 127.5MAXINDIA 75.4 81.3 70 78.7MUTHOOTFIN 700 700 683.5 684.95NIACL 159.5 160.5 151.4 152JINDALSAW 86.65 87.3 85.6 85.95BLISSGVS 144 144 139.5 140.6AMARAJABAT 661 667.45 658.2 662.15WESTLIFE 398 399.95 373.5 382.65UCOBANK 14.4 15.32 14 14.23IRCON 403 426.15 397.8 424.05MOTILALOFS 675.65 700.55 670.65 686.55ABB 1472.4 1491.75 1457 1485.75ABFRL 203 206.45 196.5 202.65KTKBANK 78.5 78.75 77.2 77.45CHAMBLFERT 164.55 172.1 163.85 164.6CASTROLIND 155 155.35 151.9 152.85EMAMILTD 325.5 328.05 322.65 326.6TORNTPHARM 1816 1825 1804.4 1819.05THOMASCOOK 127.45 137 125.55 132.85ENDURANCE 1119.9 1140 1113.45 1123.8

DCBBANK 184.8 186.9 182.25 182.8NIITTECH 1560 1579.05 1560 1574.3GHCL 214.95 215 209.85 210.35PERSISTENT 607.85 616.2 600.8 611.5RELAXO 574.7 575.95 555.25 560.65PVR 1755 1766.7 1749.6 1758.8EIDPARRY 170.5 171.8 164.9 168.6GRANULES 119.4 121.4 118.35 119.5GICHSGFIN 166.25 168.5 161.5 163.05THYROCARE 597 604 553 558.2NAVINFLUOR 857 862.8 825.55 849.73MINDIA 22585.1 22760 22346.7 22482.45LALPATHLAB 1494.6 1503 1490 1495.25VTL 887.8 900 881.35 890.95ASTRAZEN 2536.2 2570.4 2475.25 2493.35HEIDELBERG 204.85 204.85 195.35 197.05SOMANYCERA 189.65 195.3 182.6 184.45WELSPUNIND 57.45 58.2 56.75 57.65SREINFRA 8.95 9.88 8.95 9SJVN 24.6 24.9 24.45 24.55NATCOPHARM 585.35 585.35 575.2 581.15ORIENTBANK 53.9 54.3 53.4 53.55SHREECEM 19999.9 20134.45 19945.6 20073.65SUVEN 287.3 293.3 287.3 289.4VINATIORGA 2110 2113.3 2050 2081.6MAHSCOOTER 4843.8 4912 4816.15 4867.55PRESTIGE 318 320 304 311.95MMTC 18.7 19.8 18.7 19.15TV18BRDCST 24.1 24.7 23.8 24.2JSLHISAR 71 71.25 68.7 69.6HSCL 74.95 75 72.85 73.8HONAUT 28357.25 28480 28226.1 28319.15MAHLOG 378 410.55 378 398.6RELINFRA 44.85 44.85 44.85 44.85GSPL 219.15 219.2 210.35 214.8SCHNEIDER 69.95 71.65 68.55 69.15BIRLACORPN 628.55 638.35 626.7 634.95SOUTHBANK 11 11.19 10.95 11.12INDHOTEL 150.95 152 150.25 150.7GREAVESCOT 131 134.35 126.05 131.65ABBOTINDIA 11605.05 11730.5 11449.4 11708.5ANDHRABANK 18.45 19.5 18.45 18.7KEC 268 268.6 263.5 264.35PRSMJOHNSN 75 75.9 72 73.6NILKAMAL 1233.2 1296 1225 1239.6IBVENTURES 128.8 128.8 128.8 128.8GSFC 78.25 78.95 77.65 78CYIENT 391.2 391.2 384 385.85OIL 172.9 172.9 166.5 167RALLIS 170 170.05 167.25 168.1DEEPAKFERT 107.2 107.55 99.2 101.2SANOFI 6565.6 6635.25 6490 6497.3LAXMIMACH 3475 3484.8 3372.6 3416.75TRIDENT 65.75 65.9 64.25 64.55TIMKEN 883 900 873.25 892.6APARINDS 549.65 565 532 547.1ALKEM 2058 2061.65 1997.9 2006.5JKTYRE 72.8 72.85 71.3 71.5ASHOKA 99.5 99.7 96.7 97.1CENTURYPLY 169.8 169.8 165.25 168.05VSTIND 4039 4200 4039 4159.65TATACOFFEE 82.75 85 82.2 83.1PIIND 1390.25 1405 1385 1395.7COCHINSHIP 398.3 408.4 396 398.55PTC 57.5 58.6 57.35 58.15INDOSTAR 201.7 215 200 202.35UNITEDBNK 9.24 9.25 8.76 8.89JPASSOCIAT 2.18 2.31 2.05 2.24LAURUSLABS 370 378 366.4 369.8TNPL 188.7 198.7 188.7 193.55MHRIL 240 243 230 231.95CENTRALBK 21.25 21.25 20.25 20.7MINDAIND 366 366.85 353.3 359.35TATAMETALI 604.85 605 588.4 591.4MRPL 50.75 51.2 49.7 50HAL 767.45 775.35 753.1 755.1FCONSUMER 25.7 26.5 25.2 25.55SONATSOFTW 310 311 307 307.55BDL 321 333 320 326.4CGPOWER 16.8 16.94 16.8 16.94JISLJALEQS 15.5 15.7 15.15 15.35PGHH 11832.6 11832.6 11601 11660SUPREMEIND 1145 1162.3 1135.45 1151.45ZENSARTECH 189.7 192.55 184.1 191OFSS 3136.9 3146 3115 3126.25TAKE 109.9 111.45 105.45 108.45HIMATSEIDE 150.05 150.75 144.35 145.2CENTRUM 20.9 20.9 19.8 20.15SUNDRMFAST 469.9 473.9 457 469.25ALBK 27.05 27.15 26.75 27IOB 10.2 10.66 10.2 10.54GESHIP* 291.35 298 287 295.95CREDITACC 700 700 688 692.9BALMLAWRIE 199 200 197.1 198.55ERIS 414.4 430 407.4 425.6ASTERDM 138 145 138 141NH 283 283.4 268 272.7ISEC 298 304.3 296.1 297.1KNRCON 243 252.15 241.8 246.15J&KBANK 31.75 31.95 30.85 31.25IFCI 8.13 8.3 8.1 8.14WABAG 183.15 183.8 178.55 179.75CARERATING 520 538.35 504 535.5RELCAPITAL 24.5 24.55 24.3 24.55MAHLIFE 408.85 408.85 390.2 392.35METROPOLIS 1420.95 1420.95 1381 1386.55NLCINDIA 56.4 56.7 55.15 55.5PARAGMILK 138.4 138.4 133.7 134.05EDELWEISS 105.55 105.55 105.55 105.55

SYNGENE 327.1 330.1 316.45 323.8AEGISLOG 168 169.65 163.35 167.45ITDCEM 55.1 60.35 55.1 60.35LUXIND 1216.05 1222.7 1192.65 1200.25SYNDIBANK 29.6 29.7 28.75 29.15REPCOHOME 305.95 314.2 303.7 305.1JKCEMENT 1153 1187.25 1143.4 1166.65NHPC 23.4 23.65 23.3 23.55TIMETECHNO 65 65.45 63.65 63.9JSL 35.55 36.85 35.25 36.25FINEORG 1932.9 1939.1 1916.9 1932.25AKZOINDIA 2250 2250 2175.5 2188.05KRBL 210 213.55 208.25 209.95MINDACORP 98.2 99.15 95.3 97.75ORIENTELEC 189.7 191.35 185 187.35PHOENIXLTD 711.8 723.25 701.6 717.3ATUL 4201 4258 4201 4229.25TATAINVEST 827.15 839 827.15 831.1CORPBANK 18.5 18.6 17.6 17.7MPHASIS 911.7 920.4 901 905.15BLUESTARCO 798.3 805 786.15 803.3APLAPOLLO 1479.4 1481 1444.6 1454.45PNCINFRA 173.1 178.25 170.65 174.5LEMONTREE 59.9 59.9 58.7 59NETWORK18 24.05 24.7 23.15 23.65TRITURBINE 106 106 99.6 103.45COROMANDEL 473 474 465 470.1JAGRAN 54.4 55.1 54.2 54.4COFFEEDAY 39.1 39.1 39.1 39.1REDINGTON 115 115.05 112.9 113.65KALPATPOWR 442.7 442.7 432.5 439.4JKLAKSHMI 311.9 313.35 307 308.45CAPPL 397.25 397.6 390 392.7ORIENTCEM 83.45 83.45 79.5 79.8GULFOILLUB 856.05 856.05 850 851.05LINDEINDIA 554.4 559.75 546.95 553.15INOXWIND 35.9 36.5 34.3 35.45VARROC 484.2 489.95 465.35 471.1THERMAX 1126.7 1131.65 1095.7 1101DCMSHRIRAM 363.1 363.1 355.65 356.8SCHAEFFLER 4163.35 4331.8 4157.75 4310.1SHK 128.35 128.8 127 128.3CRISIL 1500 1507.7 1472.65 1494.25GDL 89.1 90.3 88.9 90.05GET&D 170 173.75 167.5 169.05RATNAMANI 947.6 972.5 943.35 959.7CHENNPETRO 155 156 153.9 154.95LAKSHVILAS 19.6 19.6 19.6 19.6JYOTHYLAB 173.05 173.05 168.95 170.85IBULISL 81.1 81.1 81.1 81.1EVEREADY 53.25 54.5 52.2 53.2ESSELPRO 116.35 119.65 116.35 118.35WABCOINDIA 6179.85 6199.9 6131 6184.15UFLEX 204.8 206.95 201.05 205.4MASFIN 720 720 706 709.25TTKPRESTIG 6219.75 6219.75 6102 6115.1BAYERCROP 3614.5 3614.5 3537.55 3545.2ZYDUSWELL 1674 1674 1640.65 1649.05ALLCARGO 106.4 107.5 105.7 106.5VMART 1745.1 1760.85 1740 1747MAHINDCIE 151.25 152 148.1 149.25DHFL 22.2 22.2 22.2 22.2NESCO 576.95 576.95 560.5 561.55GALAXYSURF 1477 1497.3 1477 1479.7APLLTD 579 579.3 575 576.05STARCEMENT 97.2 104.65 96 96.7EIHOTEL 158.95 160 157.75 158.2CHOLAHLDNG 487.7 487.7 456 473.9GRINDWELL 600 602.25 594.5 599.25GEPIL 691 693.5 677 681.8DBCORP 146.5 148.9 145.85 147.95FDC 178.35 179.55 177 177.7AIAENG 1695 1712.5 1680.5 1692.55SYMPHONY 1254.1 1263 1240 1248.25ECLERX 439 441.95 430 430.7FINCABLES 378.95 382.05 375.1 376.05HATHWAY 21.25 21.45 21.05 21.3CERA 2606.65 2640.45 2591 2617.8SHILPAMED 318 323 308.1 319.6NBVENTURES 72.9 72.95 71.55 71.8IFBIND 733.65 751 733.65 740.5CCL 204.55 205.9 202.55 203.05MAHABANK 12.26 12.37 12.1 12.14KPRMILL 660.25 665 648.95 656.25MAHSEAMLES 372.7 373.5 368.3 370.25SKFINDIA 2170.9 2196.8 2167 2178.2CARBORUNIV 306.8 310.9 306 307.85TCNSBRANDS 742.65 742.7 724.8 728.65SIS 940.95 967 906.6 911.05HERITGFOOD 336.95 344.85 330.55 339.6SOLARINDS 1060 1065 1050 1054.8TVSSRICHAK 1862.2 1867.25 1844.3 1856.6GMDCLTD 63.15 63.2 62.5 63.05BLUEDART 2295 2303 2278.3 2291.2TEJASNET 78.6 78.9 77.4 77.9SUPRAJIT 182.4 182.4 174.4 175.6TEAMLEASE 2846.25 2888.85 2824.1 2876.4TVTODAY 309.95 309.95 293.3 297.35SADBHAV 129.9 131.8 128.8 131.7MAGMA 51.3 51.3 47.95 49.25SHOPERSTOP 366.6 373.05 366.6 369.25DHANUKA 310.2 311 300.55 300.65SHRIRAMCIT 1341.25 1342 1331.65 1331.65GAYAPROJ 112.15 114.05 110.4 111.65LAOPALA 166.5 169 163 165JCHAC 1984 1989.3 1978.8 1989.3JSWHL 2555.05 2555.05 2555.05 2555.05SFL 1238 1238 1235 1235FLFL 394.05 399.05 392.45 395.9

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 12021.10 12021.40 11946.85 12012.05 46.00INFRATEL 223.00 230.95 222.50 229.00 7.85SUNPHARMA 431.70 444.00 423.40 442.50 14.60INDUSINDBK 1350.00 1397.85 1350.00 1380.00 37.00HINDALCO 202.90 207.30 199.25 205.95 4.45JSWSTEEL 250.20 254.80 243.10 253.10 4.85VEDL 158.95 163.00 155.35 160.85 2.90RELIANCE 1435.00 1463.00 1432.20 1461.00 26.10ITC 262.90 266.30 262.00 265.95 4.60ASIANPAINT 1810.00 1830.90 1798.20 1826.80 29.20HDFC 2247.40 2264.80 2236.20 2250.00 29.40WIPRO 257.00 260.50 256.60 260.15 3.30ULTRACEMCO 4160.00 4235.25 4160.00 4184.95 49.30INFY 717.00 724.35 712.10 720.25 7.95KOTAKBANK 1577.00 1587.00 1558.95 1585.90 14.85BAJFINANCE 4204.70 4239.20 4188.20 4225.00 36.85BAJAJ-AUTO 3244.00 3277.00 3222.95 3277.00 28.70TITAN 1161.00 1179.00 1156.45 1165.80 9.70NESTLEIND 14710.00 14790.05 14551.00 14750.45 100.80BAJAJFINSV 8798.00 8859.70 8762.05 8827.40 54.55GRASIM 778.00 782.00 771.40 777.90 4.65DRREDDY 2862.00 2883.20 2829.00 2877.75 15.05HDFCBANK 1261.00 1269.70 1250.00 1262.05 5.40BHARTIARTL 374.80 375.50 369.05 372.60 1.15COALINDIA 213.50 213.75 210.90 213.00 0.60IOC 136.70 136.80 135.10 135.95 0.35SBIN 318.25 323.30 316.80 318.05 0.50ZEEL 288.00 292.45 282.20 286.25 0.45HCLTECH 1149.00 1154.20 1136.10 1149.00 0.65M&M 579.80 583.50 572.00 580.05 0.25ADANIPORTS 390.50 392.00 388.05 391.15 0.15TCS 2204.50 2204.50 2175.20 2185.00 -3.50TECHM 775.00 775.00 765.05 770.65 -1.25BRITANNIA 3249.00 3256.60 3204.90 3222.10 -5.75POWERGRID 196.00 196.85 193.65 194.70 -0.40ICICIBANK 483.00 483.00 475.65 479.60 -1.10MARUTI 7357.00 7357.00 7241.00 7292.10 -19.05TATASTEEL 404.00 408.85 388.80 402.80 -1.65HEROMOTOCO2670.00 2673.50 2643.00 2661.75 -16.60EICHERMOT 21670.00 21700.00 21171.15 21420.00 -185.55NTPC 121.15 121.20 119.10 119.35 -1.30LT 1459.95 1459.95 1431.00 1437.20 -15.85AXISBANK 750.00 756.00 732.50 737.00 -10.25HINDUNILVR 2190.00 2190.00 2128.00 2140.95 -38.50ONGC 144.95 145.05 140.40 142.05 -2.60TATAMOTORS 174.70 174.70 167.60 171.35 -3.15CIPLA 482.00 487.40 470.00 471.80 -9.05BPCL 524.30 526.55 510.30 512.40 -11.50GAIL 137.25 137.35 131.30 131.85 -4.85YESBANK 68.00 69.30 66.00 66.25 -2.45UPL 612.00 612.00 557.10 559.05 -47.55

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 28673.15 28735.60 28579.20 28686.25 152.05IBULHSGFIN 230.00 262.40 229.30 238.30 18.90HAVELLS 694.80 714.60 690.80 713.90 24.65PEL 1790.00 1874.20 1784.65 1796.80 60.80COLPAL 1549.00 1611.00 1535.00 1600.20 52.90L&TFH 98.30 104.15 98.20 99.00 3.15HDFCAMC 2952.00 3039.00 2892.30 3018.00 84.05BAJAJHLDNG 3745.00 3850.00 3726.05 3835.00 106.30IDEA 3.90 4.15 3.80 3.95 0.10BERGEPAINT 495.65 509.50 495.65 507.80 12.15HINDZINC 209.20 214.00 206.70 213.25 5.05PFC 111.05 115.00 110.80 113.55 2.55ICICIGI 1298.40 1334.60 1293.05 1318.00 27.65SBILIFE 973.40 991.00 968.20 987.70 18.75INDIGO 1477.70 1497.90 1456.10 1495.00 26.35GODREJCP 760.00 764.00 742.00 753.55 12.00SHREECEM 19950.00 20157.65 19873.55 20100.00 299.00MCDOWELL-N 641.95 649.95 636.00 649.25 9.55MOTHERSUMI 131.35 134.85 129.60 133.65 1.85SRTRANSFIN 1152.50 1181.55 1138.00 1150.00 15.55BIOCON 260.10 264.85 256.05 263.90 3.15PIDILITIND 1380.00 1385.85 1366.40 1385.00 13.90PETRONET 283.50 285.45 282.75 285.25 2.50ACC 1527.00 1546.15 1520.00 1528.10 10.70DIVISLAB 1703.00 1723.55 1681.10 1717.25 11.90AMBUJACEM 203.50 205.00 201.75 203.65 1.40DABUR 478.55 480.80 472.00 479.70 3.15MARICO 369.00 370.75 365.30 370.00 2.20DMART 1995.00 1995.00 1976.00 1988.00 9.15AUROPHARMA 451.50 454.80 442.60 452.60 1.70DLF 197.00 197.80 188.30 192.00 0.50PAGEIND 23920.00 24343.45 23743.75 23950.00 53.35NHPC 23.45 23.60 23.30 23.50 0.05ASHOKLEY 76.50 77.15 75.15 76.80 0.00ICICIPRULI 525.00 526.70 514.20 519.00 -1.05BOSCHLTD 15100.00 15370.35 14590.55 15237.95 -60.90CONCOR 580.00 586.40 577.80 578.00 -2.40OFSS 3148.05 3148.05 3110.00 3111.10 -21.30PGHH 11894.70 11894.70 11575.00 11666.00 -89.40SIEMENS 1686.70 1699.95 1659.00 1669.50 -13.25HDFCLIFE 587.90 588.75 576.15 579.75 -5.20HINDPETRO 316.95 316.95 306.60 310.30 -3.65GICRE 287.05 292.05 278.05 281.20 -4.40UBL 1260.00 1265.30 1221.00 1237.00 -20.45CADILAHC 239.85 241.50 232.10 234.60 -5.25BANDHANBNK 589.70 589.70 565.40 569.20 -13.30BANKBARODA 99.90 100.65 95.65 96.40 -3.05NIACL 159.00 160.65 151.00 152.50 -5.55PNB 64.25 64.60 61.75 61.90 -2.35LUPIN 745.00 754.15 735.25 739.00 -32.45NMDC 113.10 113.45 106.00 107.70 -5.75

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Iran resumed uranium enrich-ment at its underground

Fordow plant south of Tehranon Thursday in a new step backfrom its commitments under alandmark 2015 nuclear deal.

Engineers began feedinguranium hexafluoride gas intothe plant’s mothballed enrich-ment centrifuges in “the firstminutes of Thursday”, the state-ment said.

The suspension of uraniumenrichment at the long secretplant was one of the restrictionsIran had agreed to on its nuclearprogramme in return for thelifting of UN sanctions.

Iran’s announcement onWednesday that it wouldresume enrichment at theFordow plant from midnight(2030 GMT) had drawn a cho-rus of concern from the remain-ing parties to the troubledagreement. Britain, China,France, Germany and Russiahave been trying to salvage thehard-won deal sinceWashington abandoned it inMay last year and reimposedcrippling unilateral sanctions.

They say Iran’s phased sus-pension of its obligations under

the deal since May makes thatmore difficult.

The resumption of enrich-ment at Fordow is Iran’s fourthmove away from the deal.Uranium enrichment is thesensitive process that producesfuel for nuclear power plants butalso, in highly extended form,the fissile core for a warhead.

Iran has always denied anymilitary dimension to its nuclearprogramme.

It has been at pains toemphasise that all of the stepsit has taken are transparent andswiftly reversible if the remain-ing parties to the agreementfind a way to get round USsanctions.

�����%��%�����'�%��'&)%�������/�� Washington: Undeterred by

the initiation of impeachmentproceedings against him,Donald Trump has warnedAmericans that the countrywill head towards unprece-dented “depression” if he is notre-elected in the 2020 US pres-idential elections.

Addressing a RepublicanParty rally in Louisiana onWednesday, Trump told thou-sands of his supporters that heis winning again.

“We are winning. We arewinning like neverbefore….The best is yet tocome,” Trump told his sup-porters at the rally ahead of theelection of the Louisiana gov-ernor, a day after his RepublicanParty received a drubbing inseveral state and local elections.

Trump asserted that

America’s economy under hispresidency is booming. Hewarned that the country will beheaded towards depression if heis not re-elected in the 2020polls. “You will have a depres-sion the likes of which you havenever seen before,” he warned.

While his administration isdelivering to the Americans,Trump alleged that the “radicalliberal Democrats are trying torip the nation apart.”

Describing it as a“impeachment witch-hunt,”Trump spent the initial part ofhis remarks to criticise theDemocrats and the impeach-ment inquiry. He also singledout the whistleblower who hesaid made a “horrible state-ment” about his phone callwith Ukraine’s PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskiy. PTI

Istanbul: The wife of slainIslamic State leader Abu Bakral-Baghdadi revealed “a lot ofinformation” about the jihadistgroup’s “inner workings” aftershe was captured last year, aTurkish official said.

The official said thatBaghdadi’s spouse identifiedherself as Rania Mahmoud butwas in fact Asma FawziMuhammad Al-Qubaysi.

She was said to be the“first wife” of the IS leader, whowas killed in a US specialforces raid in Syria last month.

The woman was arrestedon June 2, 2018 in the provinceof Hatay, near the Syrian bor-der, along with 10 others,including Baghdadi’s daughter,who identified herself as LeilaJabeer.

The official said the fami-ly links were confirmed usinga DNA sample of Baghdadiprovided by Iraqi authorities.

“We discovered (the wife’s)real identity pretty quickly. Atthat point, she volunteered a lotof information about Baghdadiand the inner workings ofISIS,” the official said. AP

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"�����)��������������"���!�!�����/���� ����"����'��!�"Tehran: Iran said on Thursdayit had cancelled the accreditationof a UN nuclear inspector aftershe triggered an alarm last weekat entrance to the Natanz urani-um enrichment plant.

The check at the entrancegate to the plant in central Iranhad “triggered an alarm” raisingconcern that she could be car-rying a “suspect product” on her,the Iranian Atomic EnergyOrganisation said in a statementposted online. Under a landmark2015 deal between Iran andmajor powers, its nuclear facili-ties are subject to continuousmonitoring by the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency. AFP

����'�8%&��-��'��%�&%���'��-%������'&/%������7%��Dubai: Iran injected uraniumgas into centrifuges at itsunderground Fordo nuclearcomplex early Thursday, takingits most-significant step awayfrom its 2015 nuclear deal withworld powers.

Tehran meanwhile alsoacknowledged blocking an offi-cial from the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency fromvisiting its nuclear site atNatanz last week, the firstknown case of a United Nationsinspector being blocked amidheightened tensions over itsatomic programme.

AP

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Ankara: Turkish policearrested 17 foreigners onThursday suspected of ties tothe Islamic State group, State news agency Anadolureported.

The 17, whose nationali-ties were not given, werearrested in Ankara and takenfor interrogation by counter-terrorism officers,Anadolu said.

Turkey has highlightedits efforts to crack down onthe Islamic State group. AFP

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London: The three anti-Brexitparties — Liberal Democrats,Plaid Cymru, Green Party —have formed an electoral pact,agreeing not to stand againsteach other in dozens of seatsduring the December 12 gen-eral elections.

The three parties willannounce details of the deal onThursday, but it is thought tocover between 60 and 70 con-stituencies, reports the BBC.

Such a pact means two ofthe parties would agree not tofield a candidate, boosting thethird candidate’s chances.

In Wales, the pact willcover 11 of its 40 seats. Outsideof Wales, the pact will simplybe a two-way agreementbetween the Liberal Democratsand the Greens. IANS

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UK Prime Minister BorisJohnson has officially

launched the rulingConservative Party’s pollcampaign for the December12 general elections, sayinghis Brexit deal “delivers everything I cam-paigned for”.

Ouagadougou: An ambush ona convoy transporting employ-ees of a Canadian mining com-pany in Burkina Faso has killed37 people in the deadliest attackin nearly five years of jihadist vio-lence in the West African coun-try. The impoverished and polit-ically fragile Sahel country hasbeen struggling to quell a risingjihadist revolt that has claimedhundreds of lives since early2015.

On Wednesday morning“unidentified armed individuals”ambushed five buses carryinglocal employees, contractors andsuppliers of the Samafo miningcompany, said Saidou Sanou, thegovernor of the country’s EstRegion. AFP

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Amitabh Bachchan’s jour-ney of five decades tobecome the Bollywood

Shahenshah was not always asmooth ride. Indeed, his life isnothing short of a brilliantbiopic material. Early rejectionswere followed by a phase whenhe made his mark as a promis-ing actor, which was soon over-shadowed by the kind of super-stardom Bollywood never sawbefore or after. When the super-star tried his hand at film entre-preneurship, he went bankrupt,only to bounce back and claimsupremacy as a super brand andrespectability as an icon.

The first reaction of theindustry all those years ago,however, was far from welcom-ing. His tall and lanky frame, andthe baritone of his voice, weredeemed unsuitable forBollywood’s image of a perfecthero back then. These factorswere pointed out as flaws andreasons why he wouldn’t be ableto make it big in the industry.

Today, he is the face of theIndian cinema all over the worldand for decades, he has beendrawing his USP from thosevery attributes that were consid-ered drawbacks previously.

Saat Hindustani (1969),marks the start of his saladphase. The son of celebratedpoet Dr Harivansh RaiBachchan started his journey asone of seven protagonists in thefilm, which didn’t exactly marka blockbuster debut.

The first time he was seri-ously noticed was when heessayed a supporting role inHrishikesh Mukherjee’s RajeshKhanna-starrer Anand (1971).Despite the presence of Khanna,the reigning superstar of thetimes, Bachchan grabbed atten-tion in the role of Dr BhaskarBanerjee.

Even though getting noticedin Anand, Bachchan had to seea phase of brief struggle, despitea long list of releases such asParwana, Ek Nazar, Bansi Birju,Raaste Kaa Patthar and Bandhe

Haath.If his career is to be divided

in phases, those early films,which also included ChupkeChupke and Abhimaan, could betermed as the HrishikeshMukherjee era. By the timeBachchan was co-starring withRajesh Khanna in Mukherjee’s1973 release Namak Haraam,people had already started talk-ing of the tall, dark and brood-ing actor as the man who wouldbe Bollywood’s next king.

It happened the same year,with Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer.Rooted deep in angst and emo-tions attached to middle-classIndia, and delving into complexaspects of human lives,Bollywood’s ‘angry young man’was born in Prakash Mehra’s1973 hit, Zanjeer.

The film, riding thepowerful writing by SalimKhan and Javed Akthar,went on to usher the eraof violence and intensedrama in Bollywoodcinema. AsBachchan beganrewriting cinemat-ic trends for theHindi film indus-try, RajeshKhanna’s romanticera became histo-ry. The Salim-Javed phase ofA m i t a b hBachchan’s careerbegan.

The Salim-Javed scripts thatwould go on todefine Bachchan’s ‘angryyoung man’ image wereDeewar, Sholay, Don andKaala Patthar. Thesefilms mark the zenith ofthe actor’s superstardom,cementing his permanentposition in the industry.

Bachchan also provedto a peerless comic heroand entertainer in theManmohan Desai films ofthe era, notably inParvarish, Suhaag, Amar Akbar

Anthony, Naseeb and DeshPremee. Besharam,Muqaddar KaSikandar, Mr.Natwarlal, Silsila,Satte Pe Satta andNamak Halaalwere a few otherfilms that highlighthis career asB o l l y w o o d ’ sbiggest commer-cial phenomenonin the 70s and the80s.

As he was busymaking his mark,

he met with an acci-dent on the sets ofCoolie. However, thatdidn’t deter him tolose focus. The filmwent on to be a hit in1983.

By the time hewon his firstNational Award forAgneepath (1990),Big B’s popularitywas sky-high. Theslowdown started

sometime in the mid 90s, afterhe launched his company,Amitabh Bachchan CorporationLimited (ABCL). Big B, as hewas being hailed by fans themedia alike by now, somehowcould not take to the world ofbusiness with the same effortlessbrilliance as acting. The failureof his entrepreneurial dreamsalso affected his box-office per-formances. Films such asMrityudaata, Sooryavansham,Major Saab, Lal Baadshah andKohram crashed in succession inthe mid to late 90s. In DavidDhawan’s much hyped 1998Diwali release Bade Miyan ChoteMiyan, fans felt he was overshad-owed by Govinda.

Big B needed reinventionand there begun a new phase inhis career. It happened at thesmall screen when he startedhosting the quiz show KaunBanega Crorepati in 2000.Entering the living rooms of fansevery weekday with a fresh setof questions for contestants,Amitabh Bachchan became aknowledge guru of sorts —perfectly in sync with hisadvancing age. The ‘angryyoung man’ of yore metamor-phosed into a ‘wise seasonedcelebrity,’ and the new-ageIndian television’s biggest phe-nomenon was born. The quizshow helped him find a solidcomeback as a big screen phe-nomenon, defying age andstereotypes.

Creditable projects of thatphase include films likeMohabbatein, Kabhi KhushiKabhie Gham, Kaante, Baghban,Khakee, Bunty Aur Babli,Bhoothnath, Bol Bachchan,Wazir, Pink, 102 Not Out andBadla.

He won three moreNational Awards during thisphase for Black (2005), Paa(2009) and Piku (2015). Thisyear he has been declared recip-ient of Dadasaheb Phalke Awardfor his contribution to theIndian cinema. Even at 77, hecontinues to inspire people andbe one of Bollywood’s busiestactors. His forthcoming projectsinclude Chehre, Gulabo Sitabo,Brahmastra, Jhund and Aankhen2.

Big B’s tryst with honing hiscraft continues, with the eager-ness of a newcomer — as is vis-ible in his every film. Perhapsthat is the secret of his excellenceand survival.

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Wow! What a grand wedding,’everyone praised. No one sawthe board ‘house for sale’ on their

home. Indeed, Indians are totally obsessedwith the idea of big fat weddings. Variousshows and films have held up a mirror ofthese too. One can easily recall the recentexamples Band Baaja Baaraat, Shaandaar,Veere Di Wedding and Made in Heaven. Allof the above have had a fair share ofinstances, where a wedding planner,months before the D-day, starts to makeendless arrangements with affluent dec-orations, manages the best of catering,exchanging of pricey gifts, weddingtrousseau, and of course, the never-end-ing ceremonies and functions. But all thisat what cost? Well, it’s beyond one canredeem. Some clients even put all their life’ssavings and acquisitions.

However, financial planners suggestthat more than making heavy expenditureon unnecessary arrangements and glitzand glam, it’s important to channelise theenergy and funds in the right direction.And amid the current economic slow-down, it’s better to distribute the ‘grandamount’ in various chunks for future ratherthan investing a lumpsum for marriage atonce.

Financial experts tell us that when youare married, you and your partner becomea single economic unit. His/her falloutfrom a bad financial decision lands on yourplate as well. So don’t let that all-impor-tant conversation about money get forgot-ten or postponed amid the excitement ofyour forthcoming wedding. It becomesquite evident with the above statement thatmore than depending on your weddingplanner, couples need to start looking fora financial planner, especially during thisperiod of recession.

Tanvi Goyal, founder of Wealth Aware,tells us that most parents in India spendapproximately 1/5th of their total wealthaccumulated over their lifetime (alsocalled the jamapoonji) on their kids’ wed-ding, which is quite huge. “And if the cou-ples are aligned towards the financial well-being of the family, creating a unifiedwealth management strategy with ade-quate communication about finances canwork wonders in future. Money alignmentcan happen gradually over the course oftime, with the security of family being inthe forefront for both husband and wife.However, these days individuals havestrong personalities and different viewpoints and this can become a big black holefor a marriage if not addressed amicablywith the help of a professional right in theinitial years of a marriage,” she says.

Experts feel that just as each individ-ual is unique, every couple has its ownchemistry. There can be a great differencein the way a husband and a wife think andfeel about money and that reflects in theirpattern of spending, investing and savinghabits.

With an economic slowdown, spend-ing blindly on weddings needs to changefor better. And the trends suggest thatincreasingly, working couples are realisingthat instead of looking for grandeur intheir weddings, they need to hire a finan-

cial planner to create a successful life plan.Also, trends indicate that the first wave

of change came with the advent of GST.“Initially, the wedding industry was high-ly impacted by the changes in the budgetof the country when GST was introduced.However, things have settled now. But withfrequent changes in its rates, mostlyreduction on various services such as cater-ing and hotel bills, the decrease hasallowed the couples to follow the same lim-ited budget, which simultaneously pro-vides them with many disparate options.The increased purchasing power alsoacts as an impetus for the economy.Overall, the reduction in the GST till datehas witnessed a positive impact on wed-ding budgets,” says CA Anuj Kakkar, co-founder, Vriddhi Advisors.

Tanvi explains that couples go throughthe initial ‘newly married’ phase, wherethere may not be many liabilities, twostreams of income and an aspiration-basedlifestyle fuelled by credit card spending.‘You Only Live Once’ (YOLO) becomes themotto for life and they save but not thatfrequently. It only becomes a once in awhile event. At this phase, the mostimportant advice is to map out the moneymindset and understand and appreciatethe differences.

The ‘parent’ phase follows. Here, thetwo might start feeling more responsibleas well as interdependent and want toactively save and invest. The two impor-tant things to note during this phase are,

“First, having a strong, unified familywealth strategy along with financial edu-cation at the same level for both husbandand wife. Here the family goals can beclearly defined. For instance, higher edu-cation for children, their marriage etc,”she says. The next phase is ‘emptynester,’ when the kids have left home forhigher education or work opportunities.“Now the couples no longer want to livea retired life. Instead, they may want tosearch for newer hobbies and discovertheir philanthropic side. Once again, theunity and readjustment of goals isimportant. They rediscover their person-alities. And working with an experiencedfinancial planner before marriage canhelp a couple voyage in this journey oflife more smoothly,” believes Tanvi.

To sum it up well, experts suggest

that a good financial plan for couplesmust include the following points —First, it’s important to keep a track of alltheir cash flows and expenditure. Thereare a number of apps nowadays whichcan help keep a track. Second, open andhonest communication about moneybetween the couple. Third, making surethat the asset creation and payment ofliabilities are being done equally by bothhusband and wife. Fourth, sticking toyour goals can be tough in a slowdownso automating saving and investing willbring in a discipline and also help youto stick to your budget. Lastly, have anabundant mindset with right executionof the plan. Remember, you can’t hit theball if you aren’t playing. Similarly, youcan’t achieve your goals if you aren’t wellinvested.

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Airbnb says it will spend the nextyear verifying that all seven

million of its listings are accurateand that the homes and roomsbeing offered for short-term staysmeet basic quality standards. It’sone of several moves the SanFrancisco-based company is mak-ing to improve user trust andmake it easier for guests, hosts andothers to report problems andobtain refunds when things goawry.

The changes come after arough week for Airbnb. LastThursday, a shooting at an unau-thorised Halloween party in anAirbnb rental in Orinda, California,left five people dead. A Vice story,meanwhile, revealed a scam byAirbnb hosts who put guests up atinferior properties after claimingthe ones they initially bookedweren’t available. Guests told Vicethey had trouble obtaining refundsfrom the company and were givenbad reviews by the shady hosts.And on Tuesday, voters in JerseyCity, New Jersey, approved restric-tions on short-term rental compa-nies in a referendum in one ofAirbnb’s most important markets.

In an e-mail sent to employeesWednesday, Airbnb Co-Founderand CEO Brian Chesky said thecompany will take its most signif-icant steps to improve trust sinceits founding in 2008. “People needto feel like they can trust our com-munity and that they can trustAirbnb when something goeswrong,” Chesky wrote.

Airbnb plans to:— Verify all listings on its plat-

form for accuracy of photos,address and other details. They will

also be verified for quality stan-dards, including cleanliness, safe-ty and basic amenities. Those thatmeet Airbnb’s quality expectationswill be labeled. Airbnb said everylisting will be reviewed byDecember 15, 2020.

— Beginning December 15,Airbnb said it will rebook guests toa new listing or refund their moneyif a property doesn’t meet its accu-racy standards.

— It will launch a 24-hour hot-line staffed by a rapid responseteam so neighbours, guests andothers can report a problem. Thecompany has asked CharlesRamsey, the former chief of policefor Philadelphia and Washington,and Ronald Davis, the formerchief of police for East Palo Alto,California, to act as advisers andhelp train the response team.

The company is under somepressure to improve its reputationas it eyes an initial public offeringof stock next year.

“Most hosts do a great job, butguests need to feel like Airbnb hastheir back, and we believe this com-mitment is a necessary step in giv-ing guests peace of mind,” Cheskywrote. But critics of the companysay its efforts don’t go far enough.If Airbnb really wants to be a goodneighbor, it would verify that list-ings are complying with local reg-ulations, said Jessica Black, wholeads a Texas group called MomsAgainst STRS, which backs regu-lation of short-term rentals.

“By not voluntarily removingillegal listings, Airbnb continues tooutsource the costs of their businessto cash-strapped cities,” Black said.

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As I savour one of my just-picked persimmons

(Diospyros virginiana), I amreminded how this fruit anda few other delectable fruitswould never sell. Why not?Because they’re ugly.

Although the persimmonshung from the branches ashandsome, plump, orange orbsup to a few weeks ago, by nowthey have shriveled and theirskins are darkening to brownand black. The texture andflavour have likewise changed.They once were like driedapricots that have beenplumped up in water and thendipped in honey with a dash ofspice. Now, they have becomemushier, with some addition-al caramel flavour. They aredelicious now in a new way.

These fruits are not justrun-of-the-mill persimmonseedlings, which often areunpleasantly puckery but oneof two dozen or so named vari-eties selected for their flavourand absence of puckeriness.My particular favorite is calledSzukis.

UGLY FRUIT (TO SOME),RICH FLAVOUR

Moving on to anotherunmarketable but delectablefruit, we come to medlar(Mesplilus germanica). Whenready to harvest, the golf-ball-size fruits resemble smallapples, except they are russet-ed and their calyx ends (oppo-site the stem ends) are flaredopen. This latter characteristicearned medlar the nickname“open-arse fruit” amongmedieval writers such asChaucer. The fruit is no beau-ty, having been described as “acrabby-looking, brownish-green, truncated, little spheroidof unsympathetic appearance.”

And things get worse,looks-wise, for medlar fromnow on. The fruit is rock-hardand inedible at harvest andmust be allowed to blet or soft-en, before being eaten. I bletmy fruits by putting them onthe cool shelf below my north-facing kitchen window. Afterabout two weeks, the hard,white flesh morphs into abrown mush that’s repulsive tolook at but has a refreshingbriskness with winy overtones,like old-fashioned applesaucelaced with cinnamon. Noneother than Charlemagneincluded medlar among themandatory plants for his royalestates.

THE BEST TASTINGSTRAWBERRY?

Let’s look at and taste onemore unmarketable fruit, the

musk strawberry (Fragariamoschata). Like medlar, thesefruits were popular hundredsof years ago. Musk strawberriesfell out of favour when the larg-er and more beautiful modern,garden strawberries came intobeing. (Modern, garden straw-berries originated as chancehybrids, in a European garden,of east coast and west coastAmerican strawberry species.)

When ripe, musk straw-berries have little visual appeal.Fruits are small, soft andcoloured a blotchy mix ofpink, red and purple, withsome parts remaining white.But the taste is heavenly. Mixtogether the flavours of straw-berry, raspberry and pineappleand you have an approxima-tion of musk strawberryflavour. To me, they have thebest flavour of any strawberry.

PRETTY PLANTS, ALLDespite being ugly fruits

unsuited for travel furtherthan arm’s length, persim-mons, medlars and muskstrawberries are borne onhandsome plants.

Persimmon trees have

interesting, checkered barkand slightly bluish leaves thatdroop languidly until turninga rich yellow in autumn.Following leaf drop, the orangefruits decorate the bare stems.

Medlar is a small treewhose single, large, white blos-soms are cradled in a whorl offorest-green leaves. In autumn,those leaves turn warm, richshades of yellow, orange andrusset.

Musk strawberries holdtheir flower stalks upright tolet the clusters of white blos-soms stare up from perchesabove the sea of green foliage.

Appearance helps sellfruits in markets but whocares how a backyard fruitlooks? Then, taste is importantand if a delicious fruit can beharvested from a plant that isalso attractive, so much thebetter. Another plus for thesethree ugly fruits is they areeasy to grow — neither spray-ing nor pruning is required.The best reason to grow them,though, is because there’s noother way you’ll get to savourtheir luscious flavours.

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Afghan cuisine. The veryword had me conjuringup images of dishes

rich in hardy meats, low inspices, sharing a commonali-ty of taste with Central Asiaand almost lacking in vegeta-bles. But I couldn’t have beenmore off the mark. For whenwe dined at the DEL, theworld cuisine bistro at RoseateHouse, which was celebratingthe 100th anniversary ofAfghanistan’s independencewith the flavours of the coun-try’s food curated by ChefFariba Alizada and SodabaSherazi, I was pleasantly dis-appointed. Not only were theflavours spot on but therewas an abundance of vegeta-bles. And incidentally, it wasthe Indian cuisine that thedishes came nearest to, interms of flavour.

We started with two soups— the vegetarian Afghani Aushand the non-vegetarian Murghyakhni. It seemed that at everystep the chef had decided tolay out a surprise for us. Moreoften than not, it is usually thenon-vegetarian dish whichtakes the proverbial cake asopposed to the vegetarian.But here it was the clear hotand sour Aush with chickpeas,red beans, potato, noodlesgarnished with dry mint thathad us slurping till we couldsee the bottom of the bowl.The tangy flavour of the toma-to, the slight bite added bynoodles, chickpeas and pota-toes created an amalgam thatwas familiar yet disparate fromanything that I’ve had before.

The flavours of the Murghyakhni, which had diced car-rot, marrow, green beans andchicken, were more in keepingwith the kind of nourishingchicken yakhni that is oftencooked in Muslim householdsof Delhi and UP during win-ters and is usually had withroti that is broken and soakedin its mild flavours. No sur-prises there.

We then moved on to thestarters and here the dishesreminded me of some Tibetanones. First up was BollaniGandana, which is flatteneddough filled with fresh leekthat is pan-fried. It was servedwith a mint chutney. The leekand the chutney added a burstof chlorophyll to everyscrumptious bite. As for theconnect, anyone who has hadSha-Bhak-Leb , f latteneddough, stuffed with vegetablesor meat and pan-fried, wouldknow that it was almost iden-tical.

Then there was Lambmontoo, which in appearanceresembled a Tibetan momoand tasted a bit like it too. Itwas laid out on a bed ofcooked chana dal. However,the filling and the accompani-ment was what gave it a slightdesi touch. The lamb, insteadof the usual chicken filing,made the dish robust though

it retained a certain lightnessas the dish had been steamed.The lamb mince was flavouredwith fresh coriander and blackpepper which gave it just theright hint of flavour. Dippinginto the accompaniment ele-vated the dish and made it anideal melange.

Next up was the maincourse. A bite into SholaGhurbandi and the word thatimmediately popped out of mymouth was “Haleem,” for thistoo was a mixture of thick rice,green lentil, beans and lambcooked till it was difficult totell each one apart. A sprin-kling of caramelised onions ontop rounded off the similari-ty down to the garnish. Butwhere it ended was what madethe dish worthwhile. Unlikethe Indian equivalent, this satlight on the palate and did notgive one the feeling of beingweighed down after it wasconsumed.

The Kabuli pulav, in whichlamb, carrots and raisins had

been added to the rice andcooked together, had a slight-ly sweet taste. Though therewas a gravy Lamb do pyazzawhich could be had as anaccompaniment, this dish withjust a hint of spices tasted good

on its own. For desserts, we had the

Firni, made of fresh milk,which was cooked over a slowflame for a long time to thick-en it. Garnished with pista-chios and almonds, the dish

had just a hint of sweetnessand no more. Just like theentire meal, the flavours werethere but not so much that theycould overpower. The lightnessof flavours and the feel madefor the perfect meal.

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Rodrygo scored a sensational hat-trick and the fastest two goals inChampions League history on

Wednesday as Real Madrid humiliatedGalatasaray 6-0.

The 18-year-old had his double afterjust six minutes and 14 seconds at theSantiago Bernabeu before teeing up KarimBenzema to make it four, after SergioRamos had chipped in a penalty.

Benzema then added a fifth late in thesecond half, leaving Rodrygo to completehis incredible treble in injury-time.

Madrid’s emphatic victory meansthey are virtually qualified from Group A,sitting five points ahead of Club Brugge,even if Paris Saint-Germain who are toplook certain to claim first place.

After scoring the fastest ever leaguegoal by a Real debutant in September— a sumptuous control and finish after94 seconds — Rodrygo now has hisname etched into the Europeanrecord books too.

“Today my dream came true,”Rodrygo said.

Benzema made his own pieceof history by equalling and then surpass-ing Alfred di Stefano’s 49 European Cupgoals but the way he hoisted Rodrygo tocelebrate his first suggested he knew thiswas the teenager’s night.

INJURY TIME WINNERDouglas Costa scored a dramatic

injury-time winner to send Juventus intothe knockout stages after a 2-1 win atLokomotiv Moscow, while Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich joined theItalian champions in the last 16.

Mauro Icardi’s first-half goal wasenough for PSG to edge past Club Brugge1-0 at the Parc des Princes, as Bayernlaboured to a 2-0 victory over Olympiakos.

Manchester City missed the chance to

progress from Group C after a dramatic1-1 draw at Atalanta which saw right-backKyle Walker end the game in goal.

Juventus knew three points in Russiawould be enough to secure their passageto the knockout rounds, and took afourth-minute lead through AaronRamsey.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s free-kick bouncedin front of Lokomotiv goalkeeper

Guilherme, who inexplicably allowed theball to squirm through his legs, withRamsey prodding in from on thegoalline.

Aleksei Miranchuk quickly lev-elled for the hosts by tapping inthe rebound after his own head-er had struck the post, with

Maurizio Sarri’s Juve then strugglingto break their hosts down.

But Brazilian winger Costa came offthe bench and netted a magnificent 93rd-minute winner, slipping the ball throughthe hapless Guilherme’s legs after a mazyrun.

ICARDI FIRES PSG THROUGHPSG reached the last 16 for the eighth

straight season, but a nervy display againstBrugge will not have boosted hopes of theFrench champions making the semis forthe first time since 1995.

Icardi swept Thomas Tuchel’s meninto the lead midway through the first halfwith his eighth goal since joining on loanfrom Inter Milan.

But Belgian outfit Brugge shouldhave grabbed a late equaliser, only forMbaye Diagne to see his penalty saved byPSG ‘keeper Keylor Navas.

Managerless Bayern Munich had ear-lier become the first side to go through,as late goals from Robert Lewandowskiand Ivan Perisic ended Olympiakos’ resis-tance at the Allianz Arena.

They leadTottenham at the top ofGroup B by five points,after last season’s run-ners-up thrashed RedStar Belgrade 4-0 inSerbia.

Son Heung-minscored twice just threedays after being left dev-astated by his tacklewhich caused a horrificinjury for Everton’s AndreGomes, with Giovani LoCelso and ChristianEriksen also finding thenet.

KEEPER WALKER AT RESCUEPremier League champi-

ons Man City were made towait after Atalanta’s second-half fightback at the San Siro.

Raheem Sterling, whoscored a hat-trick in City’s 5-1victory in the reverse fixture twoweeks ago, put Pep Guardiola’smen in front after only six min-utes, but Gabriel Jesus draggeda dreadful penalty well wideshortly before half-time.

City goalkeeper Ederson wasreplaced by Claudio Bravo at thebreak as a precaution ahead of theircrucial Sunday clash at PremierLeague leaders Liverpool.

Chilean Bravo saw Mario Pasalic’sheader fly past him in the 49thminute, but worse was to comewhen he was sent off with nine min-utes remaining for hacking downJosip Ilicic.

Walker was brought on toplay as ‘keeper, and despite almostfumbling Ruslan Malinovsky’s

effort fromthe result-ing free-kick intohis own net,helped PepGaurdiola’sCity secure apoint.

AtleticoMadrid alsomissed outon bookinga last-16place as they

slumped to a 2-1defeat at BayerLeverkusen.

A bizarre ThomasPartey own goal and

Kevin Volland’s sec-ond-half strike kept theGermans in contentionto finish second behindItalian championsJuventus in Group Ddespite Alvaro Morata’s

late consolation.Shakhtar Donetsk

snatched a thrilling 3-3draw at Dinamo Zagreb

thanks to two injury-timegoals, including a 98th-minute

penalty from Tete.Those two teams remain

level on five points in GroupC behind Man City, butShakhtar are second dueto having scored more

away goals in their head-to-head matches.

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Liverpool forward Sadio Manesays he will not change his style

of play despite Pep Guardiola’s“diving” accusation.

The Manchester City bossmade the claim at the weekend,when the Senegal internationalwas booked after going down inthe penalty area following a chal-lenge by Aston Villa’s FredericGuilbert.

Manager Jurgen Kloppjumped to his defence andGuardiola subsequently rowedback on the comments, sayingthey were part of a longer speechin which he praised the forward.

Mane, unaware of the subse-quent climbdown, was unmovedby Guardiola’s initial criticism ashe believes if there is contact he hasa right to go down.

And he offered a sarcasticresponse to the City boss ahead ofthe match between the two sidesat Anfield on Sunday, saying: “If itcould be a penalty for sure I will‘dive’ again.

“If the ‘dive’ will give me apenalty then I will do it. Why not?But what Jurgen said is correct. Ido not dive,” said Mane.

“There was contact (at Villa)for sure. Maybe it was not a penal-ty and he didn’t give it, and he gaveme a yellow card. To be honest Idon’t have any problem about it.

“It’s what I want to keep doing.If I get a penalty, yeah it’s a penal-ty. If no penalty, no penalty, but (it)

will never change the way I’m play-ing or the way I’m doing mythings.”

Guardiola’s criticism was seenas the start of mind games leadingup to Sunday’s Anfield encounterand Mane said the City boss hadbeen a “bit clever” to get theattention of the referee.

The defending Premier Leaguechampions trail Klopp’s side by sixpoints but City are the only teamto have beaten Liverpool in theirpast 50 league matches.

“I can say one of the biggesttests, for sure,” said Mane. “But ifyou ask me I would say not onlyCity because against Aston Villayou can see how the game was andLeicester also was really tough.

“So I think we played already

a few big games in this season andfor sure City as well will be a biggame.”

EDERSON DOUBTFULManchester City goalkeeper

Ederson could be a doubt for thisweekend’s Premier League clashagainst Liverpool after being sub-stituted at half-time in theirChampions League game againstAtalanta in Milan on Wednesday.

Claudio Bravo was introducedafter the break for the PremierLeague champions.

City are already withoutdefenders Aymeric Laporte andOleksandr Zinchenko, while DavidSilva is also struggling with athigh problem ahead of the week-end.

��� �����! India will make itsdebut in the second edition ofFIH Pro League in January andRupinder Pal Singh feels it willserve as an ideal preparation forthe Tokyo Olympics.

After opting out of the inau-gural tournament last year, theIndian men’s hockey team willopen its campaign in the FIH ProLeague against The Netherlands

at home in January next year.And Rupinder, who made a

comeback into the national teamin the Olympic Qualifiers lastweek, said the Pro League willgive India a fair idea about theirstrengths and weakness ahead of2020 Olympics.

“The FIH Pro League was agreat success in it’s first edition,and we are all very excited to be

<�����! Defending champi-ons Croatia will be withoutMarin Cilic in the Davis Cupfinals after the former USOpen winner announced hiswithdrawal because of a kneeinjury.

“My recurring knee injuryhas continued to give meproblems, and as the seasonprogressed it was becomingmore evident that surgerywas inevitable,” Cilic, worldnumber 39, wrote onFacebook.

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Paris Saint-Germainsporting director

Leonardo has hit out atReal Madrid coachZinedine Zidane for sug-gesting that KylianMbappe's dream was toplay for the Spanish club.

"Honestly, it's a bit irri-tating, it's annoying," theBrazilian said followingPSG's 1-0 win over ClubBrugge in the ChampionsLeague on Wednesday,adding that "it's not thefirst time this has hap-pened".

Zidane was askedabout a possible move forthe 20-year-old WorldCup-winning star in apress conference in Madridon Tuesday.

"We will see in thefuture. He hasalways said it washis dream to playfor Real Madrid,"Zidane replied.

A clearlyirked Leonardo,who returned toParis for a secondspell in the role ofsporting directorearlier this year,said thec o m -

ments were an attempt tounsettle the striker.

"I think that now is notthe time to talk about this.He is a player who has twoand a half years left on hiscontract with us, so totalk about what he wants,his 'dream', every time... Ifwe can just stop this, pausethis talk," he said.

"Kylian is a veryimportant player for us.Now is not the time todestabilise him."

Meanwhile, Leonardosaid PSG would not rushinto offering new con-tracts to veteran duoThiago Silva and EdinsonCavani, both of whom willbe free agents at the end ofthe current campaign.

"We will see what hap-pens as the season goes on.

We are not puttinga time limit onit, we willdecide togeth-er, one thing

or another. Ayear is an

eternity,"he said.

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Leicester City midfielderJames Maddison was includ-

ed on Thursday in GarethSouthgate’s squad for their Euro2020 qualifiers againstMontenegro and Kosovo despitehis controversial casino visitduring the last internationalbreak.

Maddison pulled out of thesquad to face the Czech Republicand Bulgaria last month becauseof illness but the uncapped 22-year-old was pictured in a casi-no during the 2-1 defeat inPrague.

Leicester boss BrendanRodgers defended his playerwhile Southgate said Maddisonwould have learned there was anincreased spotlight on him.

Defender John Stones, who

has started Manchester City’spast two Premier League games,and Liverpool midfielder AlexOxlade-Chamberlain have beenhanded England recalls.

Everton defender MichaelKeane has been dropped andthere is still no place for Dele Allibut Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi is back in.

Hudson-Odoi, who has twocaps, is promoted back from theunder-21 squad following hisreturn from the Achilles injuryhe suffered at the end of last sea-son.

Stamford Bridge teammateMason Mount is also includeddespite coming off against Ajaxwith an ankle problem.

Southgate said Kyle Walker’sinternational career is not overdespite omitting the Man Citydefender for a third successivesquad, with Kieran Trippier andTrent Alexander-Arnold thepreferred options at right-back.

“We’ve been very pleasedwith the form of Kieran andTrent,” said the England boss.“(Trent’s) form for Liverpool hasbeen really exceptional. It’s anarea of the pitch where we’ve gothigh competition for places.”

England need only onepoint from their last two qual-ifiers to reach the Euros, and willbe looking to secure qualifica-tion in the men’s 1,000th matchagainst Montenegro atWembley.

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Tottenham Hotspur captainHugo Lloris has had

surgery on his elbow injury andremains on course to returnearly in the New Year, the clubannounced on Thursday.

The 32-year-old goalkeep-er, who captained France toWorld Cup glory last year, suf-fered a dislocation to the jointwhen he landed awkwardly onhis left arm early in the 3-0defeat at Brighton on October5.

The club were monitoringthe problem but after special-ists said his elbow remained“unstable”, Lloris was put underthe knife.

The surgery is not expect-ed to lengthen his recoverytime, with the club saying he isdue to return to training earlynext year.

“Following further clinicaltesting and examination, HugoLloris has now undergonesurgery on his left elbow,”Spurs said in a statement ontheir website.

“Surgery was advised afterfurther reviews by specialistsfound the elbow remainedunstable.

“Our club captain remainson course to return to trainingin the early part of next year.”

/�*�3$�#�$�+����&$�����$���$�'*����)�����"�$�a part of it next year. Thesematches will be a great test for us,especially playing against the bestteams from around the world. Wewill be hosting as well as touringsome very strong teams in the nexteight months,” he said.

“Our aim was to qualify forthe Olympics, and now that wehave secured our place, it is nowtime to put everything into prepa-

ration for the Olympic Games. Wehave nine months to prepare forthe quadrennial event, and play-ing in the FIH Pro League willserve as good preparation for us.

“We will be able to determinewhere we stand against the topteams, and we will have enoughtime to make improvements andcorrections in our game leading upto the Olympics,” he added. PTI

������������������+��������The “rehab work was suc-

cessful enough that surgery isnot necessary at this stage,” hecontinued.

“However, I will need toundergo a few minor interven-tions which will keep me offthe tennis court for a longerperiod and unfortunatelymeans I will not be able to

compete at the Davis Cup thismonth.”

Adding that he was“extremely disappointed”, the31-year-old Croatian said hewould dedicate himself to get-ting back into shape to kick offthe 2020 season “healthier,more prepared, and moremotivated than ever”. AFP

Spurs goalkeeper Llorishas elbow surgery

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India’s men’s doubles pair ofSatwiksairaj Rankireddy and

Chirag Shetty on Thursday stunnedsixth seed Hiroyuki Endo and YutaWatanabe of Japan to enter thequarterfinals of the China Openhere.

Rankireddy and Shetty playedtheir hearts out to get the better oftheir Japanese opponents 21-18, 21-23, 21-11 in a pulsating secondround contest that lasted an hourand six minutes.

For Rankireddy and Shetty,who had reached the French Openfinal last month, the latest win istheir second straight over Endo andWatanabe. The Indians had defeat-ed the Japanese duo in straightgames in Paris last month.

Rankireddy and Shetty will faceLi Jun Hui and Liu Yu Chen ofChina in the quarterfinals today.

Rankireddy and Shetty were thelone Indians left in the tournamentafter the others bite the dust on

Thursday.Parupalli Kashyap and B Sai

Praneeth were both ousted in thesecond round of the men’s singlesevent.

World No 11 Praneeth foughthard for one hour 24 minutesagainst fourth seed AndersAntonsen of Denmark before goingdown 20-22, 22-20, 21-16.

Kashyap, ranked 25 in theworld, ran out of steam after adecent start against seventh seedVictor Axelsen and went down 13-21, 19-21 in a match that lasted 43minutes. Praneeth’s loss marked theend of India’s campaign in the sin-gles.

It was also the end of the roadfor the mixed doubles pair ofRankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa.The unseeded Indian duo lost 21-23, 16-21 to fifth seeds Seo SeungJae and Chae Yujung of SouthKorea.

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Mominul Haque was “notready at all” for Test cap-

taincy but the thought of lead-ing Bangladesh against ViratKohli’s India makes him feelgood.

Mominul said he wascompletely taken by surprise atthe Bangladesh Cricket Board’sdecision to hand him the Testcaptaincy in place of bannedShakib Al Hasan.

“I was not ready at all. Itwas completely unexpected. Inever thought even in mydreams that I will be the cap-tain of Bangladesh or I willcaptain the Test side,”Monimul told reporters.

The 28-years old has neverled a top domestic team buthas been entrusted with thebig responsibility to captainthe national side for a high-profile assignment startingnext week.

“I am very excited as Ithink Virat Kohli is the bestplayer in the world, the bestbatsman in all formats com-bined. Thinking about that

makes me feel good,” he said.The first Test of the series

will be played in Indore fromNovember 14 to 18, while thesecond match will mark theinaugural day-night Testbetween the two sides, inKolkata from November 22.

Talking about playing hismaiden day-night Test,Mominul said: “We have notplayed a Test under the flood-lights and with the pink ball. Itis a very good chance to playgood cricket.”

The left-handed batsman,who has played 36 Tests andscored 2,613 runs, however,said the innovation would notaffect his game.

“I never considered cap-taincy as pressure or responsi-bility. If I keep thinking that asa captain I have to take extraresponsibility to carry the teamforward then I will be undersome pressure,” said Mominul,who is not part of T20 squad.

“But if I play my naturalgame, and think that I am abatsman who needs to scorefor his team, then it will nothave any effect.”

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Chinki Yadav kept aliveIndia’s hopes of securing

the second Olympic quota inwomen’s 25m Pistol, clingingto fifth place in the firstround qualification of theAsian ShootingChampionship here onThursday.

Chinki shot an exception-al 292 and will be looking tomake the final today andtake a shot at clinching one ofthe four available Tokyoberths. Rahi Sarnobat hasalready secured the otherquota place for India in theevent in earlier competitions.Apart from Chinki, VivaanKapoor and Esha Singh wontwo Gold each as India dom-inated the junior competi-tions, where they haveaccounted for 18 of the 23medals won so far by thecountry.

The icing on the cake atthe Lusail Shooting complexwas the 1-2 finish in thejunior men’s trap competitionwhere Vivaan shot his way toan individual Gold with com-patriot BhowneeshMendiratta following himthrough the day to clinchSilver.

The pair also combinedwith Manavaditya SinghRathore to secure the teamGold in the event.

Teenager Esha also won adouble Gold on the day, cap-turing both the individual andteam titles in the 10m air pis-tol women junior competi-tion.

Esha topped the qualifi-cation with a 579 and thenwon the finals with a 242.2.Teammate Priya Raghav wasthird in qualification with574 and finished in the sameposition in the final, closingout with a 217.6.

Esha, Priya and YuvikaTomar claimed the team Goldwith a total of 1721, whicheclipsed both the Asian andworld junior records in thecategory.

Bhakti Bhaskar Khamkarwon India’s fifth Gold of theday, in 50m rifle 3 positionswomen junior, with a domi-nating 453.1 in the final.

Bhakti, Ayushi Podderand Nishchal also won theteam Silver in the event. Sodid the trio of Niraj Kumar,Harshrajsinhji Gohil andNitish Kumar in the 50m rifle3 positions men junior event.Niraj also picked up the indi-vidual Silver.

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Comeback-girl SmritiMandhana and Jemimah

Rodrigues hit contrasting half-centuries to lead the Indianwomen’s team to a 2-1 series vic-tory over the West Indies herewith a comfortable six-wicketwin in the deciding third ODI.

Mandhana, who missed thefirst two matches of the series dueto a toe injury, smashed a 63-ball74 and raised a match-winning141-run partnership with fellowopener Rodrigues (69 off 92) onWednesday night. A solid foun-dation in place, India cruised tothe 195-run target in 42.1 oversafter the Indian bowlers did acommendable job of bowling outthe hosts for a sub-par 194 inexact 50 overs.

During the course of herinnings, Mandhana became thefastest Indian woman to score2,000 runs in One-DayInternationals. The 23-year-oldreached the milestone in her 51stinnings.

Seasoned pacer JhulanGoswami (2/30) and leg-spinnerPoonam Yadav (2/35) shared fourwickets between them, troublingthe rival middle order after the

West Indies elected to bat.It was pacer Shikha Pandey

and leg-spinner RajeshwariGaekwad, who removed the top-order as five of the six Indianbowlers in action, were amongwickets.

Stafanie Taylor kept fightingfor the hosts with a combative 79-run knock but ran short of part-ners as other West Indies battersstruggled to negotiate India’sattack.

Apart from Taylor onlyAtacy-Ann King showed some

stomach for fight with a 45-ball38.

It was Mandhana’s first ODIsince the home series againstEngland in February and thirdhalf-century in a row, havingscored 63 and 66 against theBritish team in Mumbai.

Rodrigues, who had scored 41in India’s defeat in the openingODI, took 92 balls for her 69-runknock which had six boundaries.

The two teams will now playa five-match Twenty20 series,beginning Sunday at Gros Islet.

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Reigning and former world chesschampions Magnus Carlsen and

Viswanathan Anand in all likelihoodwould ring the customary Eden bell onone of the days during the historicday/night India-Bangladesh Test herefrom November 22-26.

The Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI, whichis organising the first ever day/night Testin India, is awaiting a confirmation fromthe Norwegian world champion, whowould be competing in the Tata SteelChess India — Rapid & Blitz 2019, thepenultimate leg of the Grand ChessTour.

“The BCCI has invited Carlsen to ringthe Eden bell and if time permits, healong with Anand will be seen at the sta-dium in one of the five days,” JeetBanerjee, director of Gameplan Sports, theofficial sponsors and branding partner ofthe tour, said on Thursday.

According to Cricket Association ofBengal (CAB) sources, Anand has alreadyaccepted the invitation and they are nowawaiting a nod from Carlsen, whichcould make it a double delight.

Working out the logistics could be aconcern as the timings of both the eventstoo are almost clashing, one of theorganisers said.

“While the Test will get underway at

1 pm, the GCT Kolkata circuit will startat 2 pm at the National Library,” he said.

The day one’s proceedings of the firstTest is slated to begin with BangladeshPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina ringing theEden Bell.

A galaxy of Indian sports stars includ-ing cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar,Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra, ten-nis star Sania Mirza, world badmintonchampion PV Sindhu and six-time box-ing world champion MC Mary Komamong others would be seen in the Test.

The CAB will felicitate the teammembers of Bangladesh-India first everTest in 2000, a game where SouravGanguly, the BCCI president, made hisdebut as Test captain.

The first day of the match could seea helicopter revolving around the EdenGardens from which a skydiver will comeflying into the ground with the trophy.

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Indian bowlers led by YuzvendraChahal made an impressivecomeback to restrict Bangladesh

to a sub-par 153 for 6 in their must-win second T20 game here onThursday.

Put into bat, Bangladesh couldnot capitalize on a good start asChahal's (2-28) double breakthroughin the 13th over pegged the visitorsback. A quick-fire 30 off 21 balls byskipper Mahmudullah Riyad helpedthem cross the 150-mark.

Openers Liton Das (29 off 21balls, 4x4) and Mohammad Naim(36 off 31 balls, 5x4) shared a 60 runopening stand.

Naim slammed profligate left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed (1-44from 4 overs) for three successiveboundaries to start on rousing note.

Seamer Deepak Chahar (1-25)

and off-spinner Washington Sundar(1-25) did manage to stem the flowof runs but Khaleel's poor show con-tinued.

Chahal, on his introduction,had almost removed a set Liton, butRishabh Pant's urge to completeglovework quickly gave the batsmanlifeline.

The TV replays showed thatwhile whipping the bails off, Pantcollected the ball in front of thestumps and hence it was declared no-ball. As per the law, every part ofwicket-keeper's gloves has to bebehind the stumps.

Das then hammered two succes-sive fours to add insult to injury.

He got another reprieve on 26after skipper Rohit Sharma droppedhim at square-leg following a mix-up with Shivam Dube and Pant. ButPant made up for his mistake and ranDas out, with a direct hit in the

eighth over, to break the openingstand.

Das's wicket slowed the scoringrate and that put Naim under pres-sure, who then gave a dolly toShreyas Iyer at deep-mid-wicket offWashington as Bangladesh slumpedwere 83 for 2 in the 11th over.

And then Yuzvendra picked twowickets in the 13th over —MushfiqurRahim (4 off 6 balls), who gave a sit-ter to Krunal Pandya and thenremoved a set Soumya Sarkar (30 off20 balls; 2x4, 1x6) — as Bangladeshwere struggling at 103/4. Sarkarwas stumped by Pant.

Mahmudullah and Afif Hossain(6) tried to steady the ship with a 25run-stand but Khaleel broke thestand dismissing Hossain to leaveBangladesh teetering at 128 for 5 andthen they just managed to cross the150-run-mark as the bowlers bowledin right areas.

�����! World number one AshleighBarty has enjoyed a career-changing sea-son and is “extremely hungry” to end iton a high by steering Australia to theirfirst Fed Cup in 45 years.

The seven-time champions have nottasted success in the tournament sincethe days of Evonne Goolagong in 1974,with two-time winners France standingin their way on the hardcourts at PerthArena starting tomorrow.

It will mark the last Fed Cup finalplayed under the current format, withan overhaul next year seeing 12 nationscompete in a six-day event in Budapest.

While there will be a huge boost inprize money, it spells an end to hometies, following a similar change to themen’s Davis Cup.

Barty, fresh from being crownedWTA Finals champion in Shenzhen onSunday, leads a team that boasts worldnumber 51 Ajla Tomljanovic making herdebut, veteran Samantha Stosur (96),Astra Sharma (108) and Priscilla Hon

(126). They are banking on passionatehome support to get them over the line.

“This was a week I circled at thebeginning of the year that I wanted totarget, and to be able to finish the yearplaying as a team for your nation is pret-ty special and I’ve been looking forwardto it for a long time,” said Barty.

“All of us are extremely hungry —it’s taken us probably two or three yearsto get into this position and now it’sabout coming out and enjoying it thisweekend.” AFP

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Stand-in skipper Rohit Sharmaon Thursday became the first

Indian man and second in worldcricket to complete 100 T20Internationals.

He reached the milestonewhen he led the team in the sec-ond match against Bangladesh atthe Saurashtra Cricket AssociationStadium here.

Shoaib Malik (111 games)from Pakistan is the only player tohave played more than 100 T20Internationals.

Rohit is currently the top-scor-er in this format with 2452 runswith regular skipper Virat Kohlisecond in the list with an aggregateof 2450 runs. Rohit has scored theruns at a strike-rate of 136.67 withfour hundreds and 17 half-cen-turies.

“It's been a long journey since2007, I made my debut in the T20World Cup. There has been a lotups and down in the last 12 yearsin this format particularly. This hastaught me so many lessons goingforward," Rohit had said in Delhi,when asked about the milestone.

"When you come into theteam as a youngster, you are try-ing to learn things which hap-pened quite smoothly at start.Then with few ups and few downs,I have become a stronger playerand understood my game reallywell."

The Mumbaikar made his T20debut against England in Durbanin 2007.

The captain of the nationalwomen's T20 team, HarmanpreetKaur is the only other Indian play-er to have played 100 matches inthe shortest format.

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