· bulandshahr police has arrested four persons for the murder of inspector subodh kumar singh...

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B ulandshahr Police has arrested four persons for the murder of Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh Rathor who was posted at Siana police station in the district. Subodh was murdered by a mob of Bajrang Dal activists who were protesting the pres- ence of a cow carcass in sugar- cane field of Mahav village under the jurisdiction of Siana police station on Monday. “It appears to be a cold- blooded murder as rioters had come fully armed with arms, iron rods, spears and wooden sticks and they specifically tar- geted Inspector Subodh,” a police officer said on the con- dition of anonymity. Circle Officer (CO) of Siana Satya Prakash Sharma escaped death as police force arrived on time and he was taken out to safety from a locked room. Inspector Subodh could not escape as rioters attacked with deadly sharp weapons and did not allow the rescue team to take him to hospital. By the time he was taken to hos- pital, he had succumbed to bul- let injuries in the head. Bajrang Dal district con- vener Yogesh Raj, main accused in the killing, is on the run, police officials said. According to sources in Bulandshahr Police, it appears that those behind the murder of Inspector Subodh Kumar had come prepared to bump him off as they did not heed to the continuous assurance given by him to lodge an FIR after a carcass of cow was found hang- ing in a sugar field on Monday morning. “Inspector Subodh Kumar, who had reached the spot immediately after getting the call, tried his best to assuage the irate crowd and he was joined by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Siyana who kept on announcing via a loudshailer that exemplary action was being taken against those found guilty of killing coes. However, there were cer- tain elements who were not in a mood to listen and they egged on the irate crowd to take revenge. Situation went out of hand and soon there was free of all as the police team led by Inspector Subodh Kumar was outnumbered. The mob, that was baying for his blood, tar- geted Inspector Subodh Kumar and snatched away his .32 bore licensed gun and three cell- phones, including the one with the CUG number of the Uttar Pradesh Police. They shot in the head with his revolver. As other policemen tried to take him to hospital, the mob attacked them,” said police. Police have named 27 per- sons in the FIR under various IPC Sections and Section 7 of the Criminal Amendment Act. According to the FIR lodged on the statement of Sub- Inspector Subhash Chand of the Siana Police station who witnessed the gory murder of his immediate superior Subodh Kumar, 27 accused who were identified have been named in the FIR. They are: Yogesh Raj, Vishal Tyagi, Satendra Rajput, Chaman, Devendra, Upendra Raghav, Ravi Saini, Ashish Chauhan, Shikhar Agrawal, former Pradhan Raj Kumar, Jeetu alias Fauzi, Sachin, Ramesh Joshi, Vineet, Saurabh, Sumit, Chhotu, Satish, Vikas Tyagi, Pawan, Vikrant Tyagi, Bablu, Ankur, Robin, Tinku, Guddu and Harendra. Names of about 60 persons have been mentioned as unidentified. T he Army is upset over the Government’s decision to reject a long-pending demand for enhanced Military Service Pay (MSP) for more than one lakh personnel and will seek a review. The MSP is given besides salary in recognition of the conditions and hardships faced by the armed forces while per- forming their duties. This con- cept was introduced in India in the Sixth Pay Commission. Many European countries have implemented MSP to boost the morale of its armed forces. The armed forces this time round had sought a hike from 5,500 as recommended by the Seventh Pay Commission in 2016 to 10,000 per month in MSP for Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO) and others below officer rank in the Army, IAF and Navy. The proposal was turned down by the Finance Ministry there- by impacting 1.12 lakh per- sonnel including 87,646 JCOs and 25,434 personnel of the same rank in the IAF and Navy, sources said here on Tuesday. If the proposal had gone through, the financial spending would have amount- ed to 610 crore, they added. The MSP has two cate- gories including one for officers and another for JCOs and jawans. The Seventh Pay Commission had fixed 5,200 as MSP per month for JCOs and jawans. This special allowance was fixed at 15,500 for officers between Lieutenant-rank and Brigadier- rank. Elaborating upon the Army’s anguish over the rejec- tion of hike in MSP for JCOs, sources said JCOs perform a crucial role in the overall com- mand structure and are link between officers and men. Appreciating their relevance, the Government had granted JCOs the status of gazetted offi- cers (Group B) last year. Officials said it was not the right thing to treat the JCOs on a par with the jawans as regards granting MSP since JCOs are gazetted officers with long years of service. Pointing out that the Army had taken up the issue strong- ly with the Defence Minister, they said the matter was dis- cussed also amongst the three services and the Defence Ministry were on the same page on the issue. On the rationale for MSP, they said the soldiers and their civilian counterparts in Central Government services cannot be compared given the fact the nature of duties performed by the jawans and JCOs. U nion Minister Uma Bharti on Tuesday said she won’t contest the next Lok Sabha elections. The senior BJP leader’s announcement came days after her Cabinet colleague Sushma Swaraj said she won’t contest the next general elec- tions. Bharti said she will instead concentrate on the issues of Ram temple in Ayodhya and cleanliness of the river Ganga for the next one-and-a half years. The Union Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister, however, clarified that she was not quitting politics. When asked about Sushma’s announcement, the Jhansi MP said, “I am so sorry. I have said so (won’t contest elections) one or two years ago. Sushmaji has said it now. Don’t link both these things which are same, but the time and reasons are different.” Bharti announced that she would set out on a 2,500-km yatra (pilgrimage) along the Ganga river on foot from Makar Sankranti in January next year for nearly one-and-a-half years by “leav- ing power”. “I believe that one has to go to the banks of the Ganga river by leaving power and I am doing so for next one- and-a-half years. But I will be campaigning and would do politics till my last and that too with energy,” Bharti told reporters at her official res- idence. T he son of the police inspec- tor killed in mob violence over alleged cow slaughter in Bulandshahr said his father wanted him to be a good citi- zen who doesn’t provoke vio- lence over religion. “My father has lost his life in this Hindu-Muslim dispute. Whose father is next?” Abhishek Singh said. Inspector Subodh Singh, who had initially probed the 2015 lynching of Dadri resident Mohammed Akhlaq over rumours about beef consump- tion, and a 20-year-old man were killed Monday during an attack on policemen. Detailed report on P7 Lucknow: Defending Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal in the Bulandshahr vio- lence on Monday, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Tuesday said that it would be premature to name a Hindu outfit for the fracas before the probe was completed. “I am deeply sad- dened by the incident in Bulandshahr. The State Government has constituted a SIT which is probing the mat- ter threadbare,” he said. Detailed report on P7 I n an effort to attract nation- al and international tourists the State government has planned a State of the Art Mud-house complex at Dumka, which will comprise mud houses, cafeteria, confer- ence hall etc. Chief Minister raghubar Das today asked to make the complex as per inter- national standards and announced that RS 2.5 to 3 crore would be granted from CSR funds for the complex. While holding a review meeting of district level devel- opment schemes in Dumka, Das watched the power-point presentation on the proposed mud-house complex present by DC Mukesh Kumar. The CM also instructed to make Massanjore Boat Club Tourist Complex an interna- tional level tourist site. He said that lighting arrangements should be such at the complex at night that it gets a grand look. Das also asked for branding of the complex by means of adver- tisement at State and national level so that more and more people could reach Massanjore. At the same time he asked offi- cials to run the tourist complex in a professional way and main- tain cleanliness at the place. Das also instructed to make Ambedkar Awas in mission mode during the meeting. He said that 900 Birsa Awas being constructed in the district must be completed with quality by February. He said that Sakhi madals can be given responsi- bilities for the same and they can be given Rs 1000 as incen- tive for each house. He also asked to complete the 1700 Ambedkar Awas for widows in the district in set time frame. He said that widow pension and Ambedkar Awas must be com- pleted with sensitivity. The CM asked the district administra- tion officials to complete works for providing drinking water facilities for primitive tribal groups in mission mode. He said that there was no dearth of funds for public welfare works and there should not be any involvement of middlemen in PMAY and other government schemes being run in the dis- trict. The CM asked to run Basuki incensed sticks enter- prise in a professional way so that production, demand of the product can be increased and at the same time the income of women making the sticks can increase. He also asked for setting up cocoon bank for production of 11 crore cocoons every year for Mayurakshi Silk production in Dumka. He said that Industry Secretary will visit the place and give a proposal at the earliest. Welfare Minister Louis Marandi, Dumka DC Mukesh Kumar, SP, DDC and other senior officers were present in the meeting. W orried over dip in revenue from liquor selling along with unfavourable inputs given by the Jharkhand State Beverages Corporation Limited (JSBCL) the Government is all set to go back to old prac- tice existed for liquor trade in Jharkhand. Top sources in the Excise and Prohibition Department and the Corporation told The Pioneer about the policy shift along with in-principal agree- ment given by Chief Minister Raghubar Das in that regard. It is most likely that the liquor sale would go to private hands positively from the next financial year. “The matter came on several occasions before the Board of Directors the JSBCL for discussion. There was unanimity in the Board that this is not the job of the Government or the Corporation to direct- ly sell the liquor in the State. Also, with time it was getting unmanageable since there was a third party involved with their own set of staffs. Keeping constant tab on the sale and resultant issues coming in have become a burden,” said an important functionary associated with the JSBCL. It is learnt that after repeated opinions given supporting the departure from the existing mechanism the Chief Minister has also approved the proposal. “The CM has provided his in-principal agreement to the proposal to go back to the old system. It is with the Board of Revenue and after get- ting passed by the Department finally it would be placed before the Cabinet approval. Chances are that from the begin- ning of the financial year 2019-20 liquor sell would be handed over to private players through auctioning,” he elaborated. Confirming this, Managing Director of JSBCL Bhor Singh Yadav said that right now new ways are being explored to attain dif- ferent other goals. “It is true that decision has been taken to adopt previous method of liquor sale in the State. We are deliber- ating upon whatever value added decisions can be taken so that the trade is managed in better ways and prohibition is attained,” said he. Sources in the Corporation are of the view that mismanaged system at present was causing revenue dent besides fueling the illegal trade. “Nearly Rs 500 crore of loss has been occurred. Though the sell is picking up this year in comparison to last year when the Government had decided to takeover but still lesser than what it was when pri- vate operators were in operation. We also found that it is becoming very difficult for the Corporation to manage the private man- power, who in many cases are reported to be indulged into black marketing of liquor. Larger opinion prevailed here is that the JSBCL is unable to concentrate on con- ducting the sell as well as prohibition prop- erly,” he added. He also questioned the very purpose of the exercise since inputs suggest that there has been no downward trend in liquor con- sumption that means the parallel elicit busi- ness is gaining from this controlled mech- anism in place. : T he annual ‘Kissing Competition’ being sup- ported by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Simon Marandi has yet again attracted wrath of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party as Agriculture Minister Randhir Singh and State BJP Spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo have threatened the leader of action if he organises the com- petition on December 15 in Pakur. While the Agriculture Minister gave the warning in a programme in Dhanbad on Sunday, Shahdeo issued a press Statement condemning Marandi for supporting the “vulgar” event. He said that Marandi has made it clear that his party is continuously harm- ing tribal traditions of the State. Warning Simon Marandi, Shahdeo said that the BJP gov- ernment this time will not let such a programme take place in the tribal region at any cost. “Supporting such an event shows the corrupt mindset of JMM leader. He (Marandi) had organ- ised such event last year also and it had attracted nationwide criticism. Looking at the pub- lic ire the JMM had issued show cause notice to Marandi last year, but no action was taken against him,” he said. “This clearly implies that the top leaders of JMM do not consider these competitions against the social norms of the State. Marandi forgets that this is not Rome or London, but the historic place of Jharkhand. Western culture cannot be adopted here,” he said seeking sincere apology from the JMM leader. While Marandi was unavailable for his comments on the issue, JMM General Secretary and Spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said that it was nothing, but BJP’s frus- tration that is coming out like this. “Can you change the cul- ture of the State? It is a tradi- tion among Paharia tribes liv- ing since centuries in Pakur,” he said. “There is nothing new in it. The competition has been hap- pening since long, but when Simon jee was in BJP they did not object to it. May I know why? This is nothing but jeal- ousy of the BJP leaders. They cannot do anything legally. It is just their attempt to hide their own sins,” said Bhattacharya. Notably, Simon Marandi had participated in the ‘Kissing Competition’ last year in Pakur and was served a show cause notice by the party. The BJP had then also sought suspension of the Littipara MLA from the Legislative Assembly alleging that he was corrupting the tribal youths.

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Bulandshahr Police hasarrested four persons for

the murder of InspectorSubodh Kumar Singh Rathorwho was posted at Siana policestation in the district.

Subodh was murdered bya mob of Bajrang Dal activistswho were protesting the pres-ence of a cow carcass in sugar-cane field of Mahav villageunder the jurisdiction of Sianapolice station on Monday.

“It appears to be a cold-blooded murder as rioters hadcome fully armed with arms,iron rods, spears and woodensticks and they specifically tar-geted Inspector Subodh,” apolice officer said on the con-dition of anonymity. CircleOfficer (CO) of Siana SatyaPrakash Sharma escaped deathas police force arrived on timeand he was taken out to safetyfrom a locked room.

Inspector Subodh couldnot escape as rioters attackedwith deadly sharp weaponsand did not allow the rescueteam to take him to hospital. By

the time he was taken to hos-pital, he had succumbed to bul-let injuries in the head.

Bajrang Dal district con-vener Yogesh Raj, main accused

in the killing, is on the run,police officials said.

According to sources inBulandshahr Police, it appearsthat those behind the murder

of Inspector Subodh Kumarhad come prepared to bumphim off as they did not heed tothe continuous assurance givenby him to lodge an FIR after a

carcass of cow was found hang-ing in a sugar field on Mondaymorning.

“Inspector Subodh Kumar,who had reached the spotimmediately after getting thecall, tried his best to assuage theirate crowd and he was joinedby the Sub-DivisionalMagistrate (SDM) of Siyanawho kept on announcing via aloudshailer that exemplaryaction was being taken againstthose found guilty of killingcoes. However, there were cer-tain elements who were not ina mood to listen and theyegged on the irate crowd to takerevenge. Situation went out ofhand and soon there was freeof all as the police team led byInspector Subodh Kumar wasoutnumbered. The mob, thatwas baying for his blood, tar-geted Inspector Subodh Kumarand snatched away his .32 borelicensed gun and three cell-phones, including the one withthe CUG number of the UttarPradesh Police. They shot inthe head with his revolver. Asother policemen tried to takehim to hospital, the mobattacked them,” said police.

Police have named 27 per-sons in the FIR under variousIPC Sections and Section 7 ofthe Criminal Amendment Act.

According to the FIRlodged on the statement of Sub-Inspector Subhash Chand ofthe Siana Police station whowitnessed the gory murder of

his immediate superior SubodhKumar, 27 accused who wereidentified have been named inthe FIR. They are: Yogesh Raj,Vishal Tyagi, Satendra Rajput,Chaman, Devendra, Upendra Raghav, Ravi Saini,Ashish Chauhan, ShikharAgrawal, former Pradhan Raj

Kumar, Jeetu alias Fauzi,Sachin, Ramesh Joshi, Vineet,Saurabh, Sumit, Chhotu, Satish,Vikas Tyagi, Pawan, VikrantTyagi, Bablu, Ankur, Robin,Tinku, Guddu and Harendra.Names of about 60 personshave been mentioned asunidentified.

� ��� ��� ����

The Army is upset over theGovernment’s decision to

reject a long-pending demandfor enhanced Military ServicePay (MSP) for more than onelakh personnel and will seek areview.

The MSP is given besidessalary in recognition of theconditions and hardships facedby the armed forces while per-forming their duties. This con-cept was introduced in India inthe Sixth Pay Commission.

Many European countrieshave implemented MSP toboost the morale of its armedforces.

The armed forces this timeround had sought a hike from�5,500 as recommended bythe Seventh Pay Commissionin 2016 to �10,000 per monthin MSP for JuniorCommissioned Officers (JCO)and others below officer rankin the Army, IAF and Navy.The proposal was turned downby the Finance Ministry there-by impacting 1.12 lakh per-sonnel including 87,646 JCOsand 25,434 personnel of thesame rank in the IAF andNavy, sources said here onTuesday. If the proposal hadgone through, the financialspending would have amount-ed to �610 crore, they added.

The MSP has two cate-gories including one for officersand another for JCOs and

jawans. The Seventh PayCommission had fixed �5,200as MSP per month for JCOsand jawans. This specialallowance was fixed at �15,500for officers betweenLieutenant-rank and Brigadier-rank.

Elaborating upon theArmy’s anguish over the rejec-tion of hike in MSP for JCOs,sources said JCOs perform acrucial role in the overall com-mand structure and are linkbetween officers and men.Appreciating their relevance,the Government had grantedJCOs the status of gazetted offi-cers (Group B) last year.Officials said it was not theright thing to treat the JCOs ona par with the jawans as regardsgranting MSP since JCOs aregazetted officers with longyears of service.

Pointing out that the Armyhad taken up the issue strong-ly with the Defence Minister,

they said the matter was dis-cussed also amongst the threeservices and the DefenceMinistry were on the samepage on the issue.

On the rationale for MSP,they said the soldiers and theircivilian counterparts in CentralGovernment services cannot becompared given the fact thenature of duties performed bythe jawans and JCOs.

����� �����

Union Minister Uma Bhartion Tuesday said she won’t

contest the next Lok Sabhaelections. The senior BJPleader’s announcement camedays after her Cabinet colleagueSushma Swaraj said she won’tcontest the next general elec-tions. Bharti said she will insteadconcentrate on the issues ofRam temple in Ayodhya andcleanliness of the river Gangafor the next one-and-a halfyears. The Union DrinkingWater and Sanitation Minister,however, clarified that she wasnot quitting politics.

When asked aboutSushma’s announcement, theJhansi MP said, “I am so sorry.I have said so (won’t contestelections) one or two years ago.Sushmaji has said it now. Don’tlink both these things which aresame, but the time and reasonsare different.” Bharti announcedthat she would set out on a2,500-km yatra (pilgrimage)along the Ganga river on footfrom Makar Sankranti inJanuary next year for nearlyone-and-a-half years by “leav-ing power”. “I believe that onehas to go to the banks of theGanga river by leaving powerand I am doing so for next one-and-a-half years.

But I will be campaigningand would do politics till my lastand that too with energy,” Bhartitold reporters at her official res-idence.

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The son of the police inspec-tor killed in mob violence

over alleged cow slaughter inBulandshahr said his fatherwanted him to be a good citi-zen who doesn’t provoke vio-lence over religion.

“My father has lost his lifein this Hindu-Muslim dispute.Whose father is next?”Abhishek Singh said.

Inspector Subodh Singh,who had initially probed the2015 lynching of Dadri residentMohammed Akhlaq overrumours about beef consump-

tion, and a 20-year-old manwere killed Monday during anattack on policemen.

Detailed report on P7

Lucknow: Defending VishwaHindu Parishad and BajrangDal in the Bulandshahr vio-lence on Monday, DeputyChief Minister Keshav PrasadMaurya on Tuesday said thatit would be premature toname a Hindu outfit for thefracas before the probe wascompleted. “I am deeply sad-dened by the incident inBulandshahr. The StateGovernment has constituted aSIT which is probing the mat-ter threadbare,” he said.

Detailed report on P7

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In an effort to attract nation-al and international tourists

the State government hasplanned a State of the ArtMud-house complex atDumka, which will comprisemud houses, cafeteria, confer-ence hall etc. Chief Ministerraghubar Das today asked tomake the complex as per inter-national standards andannounced that RS 2.5 to 3crore would be granted fromCSR funds for the complex.

While holding a reviewmeeting of district level devel-opment schemes in Dumka,Das watched the power-pointpresentation on the proposedmud-house complex present byDC Mukesh Kumar.

The CM also instructed tomake Massanjore Boat ClubTourist Complex an interna-tional level tourist site. He saidthat lighting arrangementsshould be such at the complexat night that it gets a grand look.Das also asked for branding ofthe complex by means of adver-tisement at State and nationallevel so that more and morepeople could reach Massanjore.At the same time he asked offi-cials to run the tourist complexin a professional way and main-tain cleanliness at the place.

Das also instructed to makeAmbedkar Awas in missionmode during the meeting. Hesaid that 900 Birsa Awas beingconstructed in the district mustbe completed with quality byFebruary. He said that Sakhimadals can be given responsi-

bilities for the same and theycan be given Rs 1000 as incen-tive for each house. He alsoasked to complete the 1700Ambedkar Awas for widows inthe district in set time frame. Hesaid that widow pension andAmbedkar Awas must be com-pleted with sensitivity. The CMasked the district administra-tion officials to complete worksfor providing drinking waterfacilities for primitive tribalgroups in mission mode. Hesaid that there was no dearth offunds for public welfare worksand there should not be anyinvolvement of middlemen inPMAY and other governmentschemes being run in the dis-trict.

The CM asked to runBasuki incensed sticks enter-prise in a professional way sothat production, demand ofthe product can be increasedand at the same time theincome of women making thesticks can increase. He alsoasked for setting up cocoonbank for production of 11 crore

cocoons every year forMayurakshi Silk production inDumka. He said that IndustrySecretary will visit the place andgive a proposal at the earliest.

Welfare Minister LouisMarandi, Dumka DC MukeshKumar, SP, DDC and othersenior officers were present inthe meeting.

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Worried over dip in revenue from liquorselling along with unfavourable inputs

given by the Jharkhand State BeveragesCorporation Limited (JSBCL) theGovernment is all set to go back to old prac-tice existed for liquor trade in Jharkhand.

Top sources in the Excise andProhibition Department and theCorporation told The Pioneer about thepolicy shift along with in-principal agree-ment given by Chief Minister Raghubar Dasin that regard. It is most likely that the liquorsale would go to private hands positivelyfrom the next financial year.

“The matter came on several occasionsbefore the Board of Directors the JSBCL fordiscussion. There was unanimity in theBoard that this is not the job of theGovernment or the Corporation to direct-ly sell the liquor in the State. Also, with timeit was getting unmanageable since there wasa third party involved with their own set ofstaffs. Keeping constant tab on the sale andresultant issues coming in have become aburden,” said an important functionary

associated with the JSBCL.It is learnt that after repeated opinions

given supporting the departure from theexisting mechanism the Chief Minister hasalso approved the proposal. “The CM hasprovided his in-principal agreement to theproposal to go back to the old system. It iswith the Board of Revenue and after get-ting passed by the Department finally itwould be placed before the Cabinetapproval. Chances are that from the begin-ning of the financial year 2019-20 liquor sellwould be handed over to private playersthrough auctioning,” he elaborated.

Confirming this, Managing Director ofJSBCL Bhor Singh Yadav said that right now

new ways are being explored to attain dif-ferent other goals. “It is true that decisionhas been taken to adopt previous methodof liquor sale in the State. We are deliber-ating upon whatever value added decisionscan be taken so that the trade is managedin better ways and prohibition is attained,”said he.

Sources in the Corporation are of theview that mismanaged system at presentwas causing revenue dent besides fueling theillegal trade. “Nearly Rs 500 crore of loss hasbeen occurred. Though the sell is pickingup this year in comparison to last year whenthe Government had decided to takeoverbut still lesser than what it was when pri-vate operators were in operation. We alsofound that it is becoming very difficult forthe Corporation to manage the private man-power, who in many cases are reported tobe indulged into black marketing of liquor.Larger opinion prevailed here is that theJSBCL is unable to concentrate on con-ducting the sell as well as prohibition prop-erly,” he added.

He also questioned the very purpose ofthe exercise since inputs suggest that therehas been no downward trend in liquor con-sumption that means the parallel elicit busi-ness is gaining from this controlled mech-anism in place.

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The annual ‘KissingCompetition’ being sup-

ported by Jharkhand MuktiMorcha leader Simon Marandihas yet again attracted wrath ofthe ruling Bharatiya Janta Partyas Agriculture MinisterRandhir Singh and State BJPSpokesperson Pratul Shahdeohave threatened the leader ofaction if he organises the com-petition on December 15 inPakur.

While the AgricultureMinister gave the warning in aprogramme in Dhanbad onSunday, Shahdeo issued a pressStatement condemningMarandi for supporting the“vulgar” event. He said thatMarandi has made it clear that

his party is continuously harm-ing tribal traditions of theState.

Warning Simon Marandi,Shahdeo said that the BJP gov-ernment this time will not letsuch a programme take place inthe tribal region at any cost.“Supporting such an eventshows the corrupt mindset ofJMM leader.

He (Marandi) had organ-ised such event last year alsoand it had attracted nationwidecriticism. Looking at the pub-lic ire the JMM had issued

show cause notice to Marandilast year, but no action wastaken against him,” he said.

“This clearly implies thatthe top leaders of JMM do notconsider these competitionsagainst the social norms of theState. Marandi forgets that thisis not Rome or London, but thehistoric place of Jharkhand.Western culture cannot beadopted here,” he said seekingsincere apology from the JMMleader.

While Marandi wasunavailable for his comments

on the issue, JMM GeneralSecretary and SpokespersonSupriyo Bhattacharya said thatit was nothing, but BJP’s frus-tration that is coming out likethis. “Can you change the cul-ture of the State? It is a tradi-tion among Paharia tribes liv-ing since centuries in Pakur,” hesaid.

“There is nothing new in it.The competition has been hap-pening since long, but whenSimon jee was in BJP they didnot object to it. May I knowwhy? This is nothing but jeal-ousy of the BJP leaders. Theycannot do anything legally. It isjust their attempt to hide theirown sins,” said Bhattacharya.

Notably, Simon Marandihad participated in the ‘KissingCompetition’ last year in Pakurand was served a show causenotice by the party.

The BJP had then alsosought suspension of theLittipara MLA from theLegislative Assembly allegingthat he was corrupting thetribal youths.

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There is no resurgence of anysplinter group of naxals in

Latehar district, where in thepast two weeks there has beensome ‘disturbances’ by ‘crimi-nals’ who ‘assemble together’and walk down with evildesign, said State DGP D KPandey.

Reiterating his stand DGPsaid, “It is no resurgence ofsplinter group of naxals (readJJMP or PLFI) in Latehar inrecent weeks. All the distur-bances created there are thehandiwork of the criminals.These bunch of criminals justfour or five or six in numbersget together, do arson andleave behind leaflets at the sitewhere they have created dis-turbances all for extraction oflevy and extortion.”

The DGP responded to aquery from the Pioneer as towhether naxal outfits like thesplinter group of CPI Maoiststhe JJMP and the PLFI are onceagain rearing its head since fourpolice stations of Latehar dis-trict namely Mahuadarn,Netarhat, Chandwa, Balumathsaw a spate of naxal violence injust two to three weeks therewherein property crime wascommitted by way of puttingafire bikes, trucks, tractor,generator sets, road makingequipments etc. Trucks wereeven burnt at Bukru checkpost in Latehar district.

Sources said it was notonly Latehar which saw con-vulsions like this but theadjoining district Garhwa’sRamkanda police station toohas seen a couple of naxal vio-lence by way of arson of prop-erty there too. There wereidentical disturbances on theaxis of Gumla – Simdega toorecently said sources.

The DGP went on to say,“There has been incidents ofarson here in these districts butthe cases have been detected injust 24 hours. Police have evenidentified the criminals. Manyhave been put behind the bars.I will ask DIG Palamu VipulShukla to give details of policecrackdown against these viola-tors of law.”

The DGP conceded thatrailway coal siding and coal

transportation here in Latehardistrict has led to this spurt inviolence saying, “Railway coalsiding and transportation inBalumath areas are now beingeyed with greed and lust bythese people who form a groupand create disturbance.”

“We will eliminate themtoo. This is a new fight overopportunity by the criminals tomake space for them” said theDGP.

Functional components arebeing set up and things will sta-bilize soon here. There wouldcome up 5 more security campshere in this district said DGP.

Asked if drought wouldcause aberration from the sideof the extremists here in thisrange where two districts ofPalamu police range Garhwaand Palamu are a notifieddrought hit district while justone block of Latehar has beendeclared drought hit by thegovernment DGP said, “ Thegovernment is too pro active. Itis handling the situation quitemeticulously.

To say that drought willimpact extremism too is to beseen and watched.”

DIG Palamu Vipul Shuklasaid, “The two coal blocksAmarpali and Magadh inLatehar are the cynosure ofthose elements who vie for levyfrom coal. There have beennoticeable incidents inChandwa and Balumath policestations. It is primarily forextortion. Police will neutralizethem soon.”

Shukla further said JJMP,PLFI and CPI Maoists knowfull well the strategic advancesof security forces on them andhence resurgence of them orany of them has just no chanceand corroborating the versionof his DGP Pandey, DIGShukla reiterated that coalblocks, coal extraction andcoal transportation are theissues that matter to these peo-ple.

The DIG claimed thatpolice have tightened the noosearound those who used toextract money from the truckdrivers here. The curbs oneconomy are set to triggersuch problems he admitted.Four such property destroyershave been jailed only last weekadded the DIG.

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Following Niti Ayog’s pushfor rural connectivity in

left wing extremist districts,which have been categorized as‘aspirational’ (read potentialdistrict) a seven kilometerstretch of road is to come upbetween Kanti - Loha Bandhaunder Pandu block in Palamu.

DC, Palamu, ShantanuKumar Agrahari today saidthat Rural EngineeringOrganization has been direct-ed to approve technical sanction for this seven Kmstretch of road. Once technicalsanction is approved thenadministrative sanction isassured.

Sources said DC inspectedthis road site on Sundayaccompanied by Romil Raviaspirational district fellow inPalamu and officials of therural engineering organiza-tion.

Sources said Sundays arealmost working days here as forlast five weeks DC Palamu hasbeen off to distant locations in Palamu on Sundaysto oversee the pace of devel-opment in times like droughthere.

The DC said this stretch ofroad between Kanti - lohaBandha is of high strategicvalue as it connects Mahudandwhich was once upon a timethe impregnable fort of theMaoists.

Agrahari said, “Residentsof Kanti village face enormoushardships for want of road upto Loha Bandha. Now this willbe constructed. There is aPMGSY road between Kanti

and Pandu but not up to LohaBandha.”

He said, “This road will bebuilt with fund from SCA (spe-cial central assistance). Oncompletion of this road accessto Mahudand will be too easi-er.”

DC explained, “This roadwill give a fillip to rural econ-omy here besides securityforces reaching its logistics forits camp as well at Mahudand.”

Niti Ayog’s aspirational dis-trict fellow in Palamu RomilRavi said the estimated cost ofthis seven km stretch of road isexpected to be around Rs 5crore.

As many as115 districts inthe country have been brand-ed as aspirational districts andPalamu is one among 115 dis-tricts.

As Palamu is an aspira-tional district its focus is healthand nutrition, education, agri-culture &water resources, basicinfrastructure, financial inclu-sion and skill development.

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Over hundreds of local res-idents of Kalapather village

united to protest against theerection a waste treatmentplant near the village here onTuesday. Irked villagers residentof Pupunki Village came out onroad and staged a demonstra-tion, carrying banners andsoughing slogans in protest.

“We are against the erec-tion of waste treatment planthere. Though the proposedunit is on GM land but the dis-tance of the unit is merely 300meters from our locality. Theplant will emit poisonous gasesand our life would be in dan-ger,” said Yashoda Devi the vil-lage head.

“It would also spread var-ious kinds of diseases,” saidAnand a local resident.

“This is the only illusionamong the villagers that thistreatment plant is hazardous for

their health,” said BholuPaswan Mayor Chas MunicipalCorporation (CMC) adding,“This plant will prove a boonfor the village and a steptowards the development”.

“Very soon we will sched-ule a meeting with the villagersto eliminate their illusions. Wewill also try to make themaware about the benefits of theunit,” said the Mayor.

“About 60 tonnes of wasteis proposed to be processed atthis unit every day. After sep-

arating the solid wastes organ-ic fertilizer will be produced,while we have a plan to preparebricks from the solid wastewhich will be used in makingroads and other works,” headded.

Definitely, the unit willcome up at its proposed site,DPR is ready, he said. With anestimated cost of Rs 225 coreunit will be come-up by the endof 2019. The tender for con-struction work would beopened on 10 December. “Theunit would be erected with aninvestment of Rs 21 Crore andthe company who will get thetender, will manage the plantfor next 20 years, he saidadding “CMC will provide Rs204 core funds to the compa-ny to manage the plant,” addedMayor.

The Management of solidwaste includes door-to-doorcollection, dumping and pro-cessing of the waste, he said.

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Principal Secretary to ChiefMinister Sunil Kumar

Barnwal reviewed the cases inthe weekly review programmeof Jansamvad Kendra at SuchnaBhawan on Tuesday.

During the review a mat-ter came in which ChitkariKoylari area of Deoghar is fac-ing serious water crisis. In2012 work of pipeline startedand continued till 2014, afterthat it was stopped withoutcompleting the work. On thisthe secretary instructed tocomplete the work of pipelineon priority basis.

Indradev Tiwari workingin Forest Department diedduring service in August 2015.After his death his dependentwife has not been given com-pensation. On this it wasinformed that it was demand-ed to DFO twice but noresponse came.

On this the secretaryordered departmental pro-ceedings against him and alsoinstructed to grant payment tothe dependent.

In the year 1954, the thenBihar government, in order toconnect the Pahariya tribe withthe mainstream, settled themon forest land and given Pattain 1975-76.

In 2016 they were givenresidential and caste certificateon the basis of that but nowthey are not being given cer-tificate due to which they aredeprived of governmentschemes.

On this, AdditionalSecretary Shri Ramakant Singh,in consultation with thePersonnel Department, direct-

ed the alternate arrangementsfor issuing caste certificates.

House of DevanandMahto, Sudi village, Ramgarhwas damaged due to rain inSeptember 2017 with 10 otherfamilies.

On this the nodal officer ofthe department informed thatthe application of all affected isapproved and they will be paidtill December 10, 2018.

In a case in Palamu district,in the financial year 2011-12construction of State MiddleSchool was started which isincomplete till now.

On this, the secretaryshowed displeasure and

ordered the department toupload the details of the devel-opment work on the portalwith the photograph eachweek.

In Saraikela-Kharsawan in1985, the land of 20 otherraiyats, including Sonu Manjhiof Heben village, was acquiredunder the SwarnrekhaMultipurpose Dam Project butthey are not being given com-pensation till now. On this theSecretary directed to form aspecial investigation team toinvestigate the matter throughDC.

On the complaint fromKhunti about water supply, thesecretary issues show-causenotice through the DeputyCommissioner against theNodal Officer of Departmentof Drinking Water andSanitation.

Although 10 years havepassed in lieu of DDT spray-work by 210 workers, includ-ing Ganeshwar Chaudhary ofGarhwa district, wages has notbeen paid till date.

On this, the secretarydirected the department to paythe pending payment of all theworkers till Tuesday.

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Chief Minister RaghubarDas today said that a strong

Government at the Centre andState has resulted in excellentwork on the path of develop-ment in the last four years, andresultantly, Jharkhand is beingrecognised for becoming one ofthe leading States in econom-ic progress. The CM was inter-acting with people at the JanChaupal programme organizedin Bansbona village of BilkandiPanchayat in Ranswar block inDumka on Tuesday.

“You gave a strong gov-ernment and your governmentgave Jharkhand a new identityin the nation through devel-opment in just four years. Thegovernment wants your opin-ion on every step. The govern-ment will welcome every sug-gestion. This programme hasbeen organized today to lessenthe distance between the gov-ernment and the people,” hesaid.

“Due to political instabili-ty for 14 years, development inJharkhand was not visible tothe people. You created a stronggovernment that resulted in theestablishment of new recordsfor development in almost allareas in only four years. Today,

Jharkhand is being recognizedas an excellent State in theentire country. In the WorldBank and many other surveys,Jharkhand has emerged in thelist of top ten states. 3.25 crorepeople of Jharkhand want notonly development but also fastdevelopment,” said the CM.

Das said that the govern-ment has been working direct-ly on the suggestions of ruralpeople in remote areas. “Thegovernment is working on yourplans. There are still manymore development works to bedone in the State. The sugges-

tion and cooperation of all ofyou is important for the devel-opment of the State,” he said.

Talking about ChiefMinister Sukanya Yojna hesaid that the scheme will beimplemented in the State,which is very simple in imple-mentation and on the birth ofthe daughter directly, the incen-tive money will be deposited inthe mother's account. In thefirst 5th and 9th and 11thgrade and also on remainingunmarried, the incentivemoney will be given directly tothe beneficiary through the

account.Das said that the farmers

have made a great leap in thefield of agriculture. Jharkhandis the second State in the coun-try after Gujarat, where theGlobal Agriculture and FoodSummit was organized. Inwhich the representatives ofother countries also joined.Jharkhand can only strengthenagriculture based economy. Toenrich Jharkhand, the villagewill also be enriched. The gov-ernment is working for the allround development of the vil-lage.

The CM said, “No matterhow misguided you have beenin the past 4 years, nobody sawthat your land has not beentaken off. I want to believe thatno one will snatch your landfrom you. Be cautious of themisleading. Be self-aware andmake people aware. The gov-ernment is working in publicinterest,” he said.

The CM said that to savethe Santhal Paragana, inter-mediaries and middlemenneed to be removed becausethey are like a termite for thesociety. “If someone asks youfor any kind of amount to availthe benefits of the govern-ment's plans then call on 181without hesitation and inform

it and take action against theconcerned person and will besent to jail. Cooperate in mak-ing corruption free Jharkhand,”he appealed to the people.

Das said that keeping inmind the drought like situationin the State, demand has beenmade for the amount of Rs. 800crore. Under Sujalam Sufalamscheme 5,000 ponds will be dugup across the State. Deep bor-ing will also be done. For theaffected people, a camp will beheld in blocks. Under thePrime Minister's CropInsurance Scheme, 17,809farmers of Shikaripada havebeen insured. Farmers will beprovided the amount of insur-ance through DBT.

Social Welfare Minister Dr.Louis Marandi also accompa-nied the CM on the occasionwhere the CM handed over theamount of Rs. 14.96 croreunder the credit linkage to theSakhi Mandal and Rs 24.75lakh under the RevolvingFund. Das also gave away assetsto beneficiaries from the Pumpset supplied by the LandConservation Department,Golden Card under AyushmanIndia, Gas Connection underUjjwala Plan, Mini Rice Mill,and Prime Minister HousingScheme, Soil Health Card.

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The ‘Direct election’ proce-dure for the academic ses-

sion 2018-19 came to an end onTuesday. Akhil BharatiyaVidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) -the youth wing of BhartiyaJanta Party (BJP) emerged asthe biggest Students’ Union towin posts in the direct poll ofRanchi University (RU). Withoverall 27 per cent voting, aslight increase in voters’turnout at the college includingPost-Graduate (PG) level elec-tion was witnessed this year.

The statistics of ‘DirectElection’ suggest that out of 80seats, more than 35 seats havebeen bagged by ABVP. “Afterregistering a historic win in2016-17 students’ union pollyet again ABVP has registeredits dominance in youth politics.Continuing its legacy at theState biggest varsity, ABVP hasgot more than 35 seats here.ABVP has won all the five seatsat SS Memorial College, fourseats at Doranda College, threeseats at Ranchi Women’sCollege (RWC), four seats atGumla College, one seat atKhunti College, three seats atMarwari College and so on,”said, ABVP State Convener,Atal Pandey during the votecounting.

“Also, the president seat of

RU PG Students’ Union is cap-tured by ABVP candidate –Neha Maiti, who defeated thecandidate of All JharkhandStudents Union (AJSU) by 19votes. ABVP is followed byAdivasi Chhatra Sangh (ACS),”added the State Convener ofABVP.

The vote counting processwill be followed by submis-sion/intimation of completelist of the elected members tothe office of Dean StudentsWelfare (DSW), RU today. Asper the RU Officer (PR), Dr. PKJha, the submission of com-piled list of elected memberswill be accepted till 3 PM.

Further, as per the electionschedule for ‘Indirect Election’,the process for publication offinal electoral at the universi-ty level, date of filing the nom-inations, scrutiny, withdrawalof nominations, publication oflist of final contestants includ-ing end of campaign will becompleted between December6 to December 11.

The university level elec-tion which will be carried outthrough ‘Indirect Method’ isscheduled on December 13 atMultipurpose ExaminationHall (MPEH) followed bycounting and oath taking cer-emony.

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The newly constitutedDr. Shyama Prasad

Mukherjee University(DSPMU) conductedthe first students’ unionpoll 2018-19 smoothlyhere on Tuesday. Quite anumber of students werepresent on the universi-ty premises for voting.As per the universityofficials, over 32.67 percent voting is recordedin the first students’union poll. The univer-sity founded in 2017 isone of the oldest con-stituent units of RanchiUniversity (RU).

The communiquéreleased by the universi-ty suggests, “Out of 7,980electors registered with therespective university, approxi-mately 2,550 voters cast theirballot in a box at the 29 pollingstations on the universitypremises.”

Following the recommen-dations of Lyngdoh Committee,the student union poll 2018-19was conducted through ‘DirectMethod’ here for electing theoffice-bearers for the currentacademic session.

The election was held forfive posts – president, vice-pres-ident, general secretary, jointsecretary cum treasurer and

deputy secretary. As many as 29 contestants

were in the students’ union elec-tion fray. In accordance to theuniversity records, six candi-dates, each contested the elec-tion for the posts of presidentand vice-president while for theposts of general secretary, jointsecretary cum treasurer anddeputy secretary, eight, six andthree candidates respectivelyrubbed their shoulders.

“The voting beganfrom10:30 AM onwards at thespecified polling boothsdemarcated within the varsity

campus. Thepolling procedurewas carried out inthe hassle free envi-ronment followingall necessary guide-lines. The volun-teers have been toldto report at the uni-versity campus 9AM for carryingout the countingprocedure,” saidRajesh Kumar ofDSPMU.

Further, as perthe communiquéreleased by the var-sity, activities likecounting of votes,declaration ofresults includingcertificate distribu-tion ceremony will

be held on the premises ofDSPMU from 10:30 AMonwards on Wednesday.

The submission, intima-tion of complete list of electedmembers to the office of DeanStudent Welfare (DSW) will beover on December 6 followedby the oath taking ceremonyprogramme of the newlyappointed office-bearers forall five posts. The oath takingceremony will be organised inthe presence of faculty mem-bers, students and non-teach-ing staffs at Open Air Theatre,DSPMU from 2 PM onwards.

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It is very much in theOpposition Grand Alliance

yet not in talking terms with‘de-facto’ leader Hemant Sorenof the JMM. It will support thecandidate announced by theCongress for Kolebira consid-ering him the nominee of thealliance but not the candidatewho has secured backing of theJMM. This is Jharkhand VikashMorcha (JVM) that finds itselfsailing on two different boats atthe same time.

Following both the majorfactions of the Grand Alliance,which is building up against theBJP by pulling togetherOpposition parties in the formof JMM, Congress, JVM, RJDand the Left parties, decided toback two different candidatesfor the Kolebira bypoll, whichis being considered a litmus testfor the bloc ahead of the mainbattle ahead, the JVM made itclear that it would put its weightbehind Congress’ nomineeNaman V Kongari.

“Our stand is that the JVMwould support the GrandAlliance candidate that theCongress has given. Since noneother than Congress from thealliance partners has fielded anycandidate, he is the only officialcandidate for us. Jharkhand

Party is not the part of the orig-inal Grand Alliance,” said JVMprincipal general secretaryPradeep Yadav.

When asked whether hisparty consider the JMM exec-utive president Hemant Sorenas the face of the alliance,Yadav felt it difficult to answer.“Mukhia selection to ongoingprocess hai… (Selection onface is an ongoing process).Whatever the Congress hassaid about him has not saidbefore us. Ultimately this is thepeople who would be choosinganyone as leader and he will bethe leader of the State; be itBabulal Marandi or Hemant

Soren or Ajoy Kumar,” respond-ed the JVM legislator, clearlydistancing from the Congress’one sided declaration aboutnaming Hemant Soren unitedOpposition leader post poll.

Nevertheless he quicklywished that existence of theGrand Alliance would remainintact till the Assembly polls inorder to put the ruling BJP onmat. “Kolebira is a small elec-tion. We wish that the buildinghealth of the Grand Alliancedoes not deteriorate due to thisand our claim is maintained till2019,” added the JVM leader.

However it is learnt thatearlier the party was support-

ive to Jharkhand Party’s nom-inee Menon Ekka but laterchanged its mind when she gotdirect backing of the JMM.Officially the party maintainsthat consultation with JMM on

this issue took place involvingJVM supremo Babulal Marandiand Hemant Soren. Thoughthe effort either may not be trueor could have ended in a dead-lock.

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The fourth Industrial Revolution has broughtso many possibilities for Jharkhand, said

Rajya Sabha Member from Jharkhand MaheshPoddar on Tuesday. He said that Prime Mister(PM) Narendra Modi has also said that withthe help of fourth industrial revolution pover-ty could be minimised, improvement in the lifeof farmers and life of handicapped can be madeeasy.

Poddar was speaking as a representative ofBhartiya Janata Party at a conclave today inPretoria, South Africa organised by BRICS - agroup of five nations including India, China,South Africa, Brazil and Russia. ‘FourthIndustrial Revolution’ is theme of present ver-sion of the conclave.

Speaking on the occasion Poddar said,“There is goal to get 100 million extra jobs withthe help of the PM’s ambitious program -Makein India.” He added Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence satyagrah strengthened relation withSouth Africa and India. Unity under diversi-ty is India’s biggest power and humanity ourbiggest identity.

The MP said, “For the development andprosperity for whole society fourth industrialrevolution is very necessary. There is need tomake such kind of administrative system andpolicies that can fetch desired results. We haveto accept it that technological development isrelated to social issues also not only with busi-ness issues. Through industrial revolutionIndia can compete with developed countries.New technologies should be used properly toimprove basic infrastructure and resources andwhich could make possible with better quali-ty and reliable development.”

Poddar further said, “Artificial Intelligenceshould be used in all areas in which medicalto justice, production and financial. The

World Economic Forum has accepted India’scapability to give leadership to fourth indus-trial revolution. This is the reason the forumhas inked partnership with India to open a cen-tre in Mumbai. This centre will provide speedongoing development in the area of science andtechnology. Related with fourth industrialrevolution this centre with the help of state gov-ernments, private sector and civil societies willtry to manufacture equipments which willspeed up government’s technological basedworks.

The MP said that the Indian governmenthas already positively started in this directionwith the launching of Start-up India and AtalInnovation Mission. The PM’s famous slogan‘Sabka sath sabka vikas’ with development onlarge scale is taking shape at present

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Work for piped supplywater under Atal Mission

for Rejuvenation and UrbanTransformation scheme called‘AMRUT’ will begin soon infour cities including Ranchi,Dhanbaad, Hazaribagh andAdityapur said Secretary UrbanDevelopment and Housing andCMD JUDCO, Ajoy KumarSingh on Tuesday.

On the occasion JUIDCOinked a MoUs with variouscompanies for the projects.Singh directed the representa-tives of the companies thatthey should complete theirwork within two years in 2020for the common man. Earlierthe completion time of thework was 36 months.

The secretary clearly saidthat it is their duty and foremostpriority to provide clean waterto the urban people accordingto the requirements so that thecompanies should completethe work before stipulated time.Singh assured that if the com-panies will complete the workwithin stipulated time withrequiring quality they will berewarded by the department.He further said that thedepartment will provide allsupport including mobiliza-tion. The secretary asked theofficials of JUDCO that theyshould sort out issues related toland, Railway tracks andNational highways. Theyshould start getting no-objec-tions certificates from con-cerned agencies because thework should not be prevented.

While directing to the com-panies Singh said, “The watersupply plan should be com-pleted within stipulated timeperiod so that the work couldcomplete till December 2020.The companies have special-ization in the field so that theircreativity should be visible.The department will also helpin fund releasing. Where thecompanies are not getting landto build water tanks they shouldstart the work by setup a sump.”

As ‘AMRUT’ scheme is oneof the most important plans ofincumbent Central govern-ment. The total investment inall four cities under the projectis worth Rs 1370 crore. Thetotal investment for Ranchi isworth Rs. 299.88 crore and asmany as 1 lakh families of theState Capital will be benefitedfrom it. The total investment forDhanbad is worth Rs. 517.53crore and as many as 57, 000families will be benefited fromit. The total investment forAdityapur is worth Rs.395.15

crore and 50,000 family will bebenefited from it and totalinvestment for Hajaribagh isworth Rs.166.16 crore and40,000 families will be benefit-ed from it. Larsen and Toubrohas get the contract to completethe work for Ranchi andHajaribagh, Jindal SMPL get thework for Adityapur and SriRam EPC for Dhanbad.

Speaking on the occasionDirector State UrbanDevelopment Agency, AmeetKumar said the agency wouldprovide all facilities to the com-panies working with the plan.The agency have available thelist of households. It is work ofthe companies to ensure thathow they could link waterpipeline to these households. Tosort out any problem a team ofSUDA will be available to com-plete the work.

On the occasion of signingthe work Chief Engineer RajivKumar Vasudeva and DirectorJUDCO SK Sahu were presentwith other senior officials.

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Garhwa MLA SatyendranathTiwari today laid the foun-

dation stone of renovation ofdam and canal clamping at acost of Rs. 10 crore inChecheria village under Meralpolice station.

Addressing the gatheringthe MLA said that FulwariaIrrigation Yajna is the lifelinefor the people of the sur-rounding villages. On villagers’demand for renovation of thisscheme, he made it sure thatthe work begins at the earliest.Tiwari said that the wideningof road is also being done inChecheria and Khadihi

Panchayat. This will help the people to

come from the side of Rehlaand towards Garhwa, he said.

Tiwari said that Chechariavillage is a historic village.

“In this village alone, therewere 17 freedom fightersfought with the British. Severalschemes are being run by thegovernment for the people ofthe village including AyushmanBharat Scheme, Ujjavla yojna,PM Awas Yojna etc.

People of the village whosename is missed from the list ofold age pension, will be takenin vehicles and will be provid-ed food to get approval fromSDO Garhwa.,” he said.

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Maoist rebels todaylaunched a poster cam-

paign at Mayapur village ofPeterwar block of Bermo sub-division to condemn the ongo-ing dispute between RameshGanju and Dina Kamar.Maoists warmed Dina Kumarto withdraw rape case of hisdaughter, which was lodgedagainst Ramesh Ganju.

The CPI (Maoist) rebelsput up posters in Hindi, at pub-lic places, trees and house wallof Rohar village under Peterwarpolice station area. Someposters were also strewn on theground at Mayapur panchayatvillages.

Superintendent of police ofBokaro Karthik S said a villager

informed police about theposters this morning. “It came

to our notice after I havereceived a call from Peterwar

police in- Charge .We laterfound that the rebels had actu-ally stuck the posters and seizedthem,” he said.

Meanwhile, the posterstriggered panic in the businessclass and local transporterscomplaining that the area wasno longer safe for them in viewof the frequent movement ofrebels.

The SP added that thepolice and paramilitary forceshave launched a joint combingoperation, which is still on, atMayapur panchayat areas andits adjoining areas to trace therebels.

The joint combing opera-tion, which is also being seenas an area domination exercise,is aimed at flushing out rebelsfrom their holds.

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Ahardcore Maoist wanted infour cases was arrested by

Giridih police here on Tuesdaymorning at Bandh village forestarea. The arrested rebel hasbeen identified as JageshwarTuri, belonging to Nunuchandsquad under Pirtand police sta-tion, said Giridih superintendentof police Surendra Kumar Jha.ASP Deepak Kumar said thatthe arrested naxal JageshwarTuri has admitted his involve-ment in four cases related tonaxal activities in and around

Giridih and Dhanbad. Policeclaimed that it was a majorbreakthrough for the districtpolice. The naxal was evadingarrest from Giridih andDhanbad police for last 14 years.Police also recovered one .303rifle and 118 cartridges fromhim. Kumar said that JageshwarTuri gradually became a dread-ed name in the district and sur-rounding area and his influencewas gradually growing. Hisname was enough to run shiv-ers down the spine for busi-nessmen in the area and wasinvolved and wanted in around

four big cases including in theyear 2004 he had blown up a vankilling six people under Pirtandpolice station. He had also trig-gered an IED on a truck on NH-2 near Topchachi area inDhanbad district.

Police said that Turi was alsoinvolved in two major Naxalincidents. The arrest was madeon Tuesday morning from a hillnear Bandh village by a team ofGiridih police and the CRPFpersonnel led by ASP DeepakKumar and AssistantCommandant Sanjay Kumar ofCRPF

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Ateam of Garhwa police andCRPF arrested three mem-

bers of banned Maoist organ-isation Jharkhand Jan MuktiParishad (JJMP) underRamkanda police station areahere on late Monday evening.Police also recovered one coun-try-made pistol, five live car-tridges, three bikes and leafletsfrom them.

Arrested members of JJMPhave been identified as SheobratKumar Singh, KameshwarSingh and Muslim Mansoori.

SDPO Om Prakash Tiwari said,“The arrested extremists haveconfessed their involvement inrecently carried out of tworoad roller burnt incidents tookplace in Bhandariya andRamkanda police station area.The rollers were engaged inroad construction in naxal-affected area."

Acting on secret informa-tion a team of police and CRPFarrested the ultras onDaltonganj - Ramkanda roadunder Ramkanda police stationarea, on Monday night,” theSDPO stated.

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Four people were injuredafter a spare parts-carrying

car fell off a bridge on theChanderpura-Phusro highwayat Rajabera on Monday night.The car was heading towardsPhusro and was loaded withspare parts, said a police offi-cer.

Four people, includingChintu, Golu, Uday andMujamil, were injured in theaccident when their car fell offthe bridge on the Chandrapura-Phusro road at Rajabera areaon Monday night.

Police said that the incidenttook place at around 11pm onMonday when the driver lostcontrol of the vehicle.

The driver of the car andthree other staffs of KDSTransport Company wereamong the injured.

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Expressing dissatisfactionover the sitting arrange-

ment Divyang persons boy-cotted the Sub Divisional Levelprogramme held at the NagarUntari Sub Division office cam-pus on the occasion of WorldDisability Day, on Monday.

Speaking about the arrange-ment president of DivyangSangh sub-divisional commit-tee, Rakesh Kumar Gupta, saidthat arrangements for the seat-ing and food were not doneunder the prescribed time.

He said that, informationregarding the programme wasnot given to the members ofVishunpura, Nagar Untari andRamna blocks. “When Divyangpersons reached here on theirown, there was no arrangementfor sitting. Later we asked onesupervisor of child develop-ment project about thisarrangement. And, she told usto take out the chair from theSubdivision and sit at thevenue,” he said.

Later, all Divyangs sat onthe Subdivision officer’s officewhile boycotting the pro-gramme from there. Membersof Divyang Sangh includingthe Renu Kumari, UrmilaKhalkho, Sabina Biwi, MahfuzAlam, Kamla Singh, KrishnaKumar, Sakur Ansari, SanjayMehta, Rajkumar Chaudhary,Shivam Kumar Paswan, RajanPaswan, Sarita Kumari werepresent. After being convincedby BJP leader Vikas Swadeshi,Divyang persons reached thevenue and the programmestarted after four hours.

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Following the complain ofHealth Minister, Garhwa

SDO Pradeep Kumar removedpara teachers, who had stageda protest in front of Health andFamily Welfare Minister's res-idence at Garhwa and has alsoimposed 144 Cr PC at the dis-tance of around 100 metersradius of his residence.

In this regard after issuing aletter, the SDO said that on

December 3, para teachers

blocked the main gate of theresidence of Health and FamilyWelfare Minister RamchandraChandravanshi, due to whichthe members of the house wereunable to come out. This isunconstitutional and the per-mission of the said dharna hasnot been granted by the author-ities. After vacating the resi-dence of the Minister, the SDOimposed section144 of Cr. PCnear the Minister's residenceand Garhwa MLA SatyendraNath Tiwari’s residence.

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The artists and artisans ofnational and internation-

al repute will participate in theInternational Crafts and SarasMela to be organised as a partof International GitaMahotsav-2018 fromDecember 7 to 23 inKurukshetra.

“This year, Mauritiuswould be the partner countryand Gujarat would be thepartner state in the celebra-tions of the festive. TheMahotsav is an annual eventwhich is organized every year

in collaboration withKurukshetra DevelopmentBoard (KDB) inKurukshetra,” said an officialspokesman.

He said that the pro-gramme of Gita Jayanti start-ed in the year 1989.

He said that the mainevents would be organizedfrom December 13 toDecember 18.

The major attractionsincluded International GitaSeminar from December 13-15, Sant Sammelan would beorganised on December 16 inwhich renowned saints from

country and abroad wouldparticipate, the completerecital of Srimad BhagwadGita by devotees would beorganised on December 17,cultural programmes fromDecember 13-18, light and

sound show in evening atBrahma Sarovar fromDecember 13-18, AshtadashShloki Gita to be recited by18,000 students, Global Gitachanting on December 18 andMaha Aarti to be held everyevening at 6 pm fromDecember 7-28 at BrahmaSarovar and Grand MahaAarti and Deepdan to be heldon December 18, said thespokesman.

He further said that thecultural programmes byIndian and foreign artistswould be organised fromDecember 13-18. The festival

would witness the perfor-mance by actress Gracy Singh,Sufi singer Satinder Sartajand internationally acclaimedsinger Hemant Brijwasi, headded.

The spokesman said thatwall painting competitionwould be held on December8-9, exhibitions by Spiritual,Cultural, Educational, andSocial organizations, rangoli,painters camp andPhotography competition,Gita Book Fair and exhibitionon development and progressof Haryana would be organ-ised from December 13-18

and state level competitionson Gita Shaloka recital, Gitaquiz, Gita declamation andessay writing from December13-15. Apart from this,Haryana Pavilion would be setup showcasing the culture ofHaryana, he added.

This year, the nationalBJP President Amit Shahwould be the chief guest oninaugural programme onDecember 13 while ExternalAffairs Minister SushmaSwaraj and former PresidentPranab Mukherjee wouldremain present on December 18.

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Business and farming needto go together so that the

farmer can be given his due,”said the experts as curtainscame down on the 13th CIIAgro Tech India 2018, onTuesday here.

Over the four days,around 30,000 farmers visit-ed the event and saw 195 stalls(37 of these were interna-tional), 10 concurrent showsand a number of KisanGoshthees and conferences toenhance their s practicalknowledge.

Stalls like tyres, smallagri-equipment and the spe-cial Innovators’ pavilion werea huge hit. The stall for prod-ucts made by Burail jailinmates was also successful.

At the valedictory ses-sion, chief guest, HimachalGovernor Acharya Devvratemphasised the importance ofgoing natural for farmers.

Tript Rajinder SinghBajwa, Minister for RuralDevelopment and Panchayat,and Housing and UrbanDevelopment, Punjab said,“We need to ensure that

affordable machines are avail-able for a farmer with 2.5-acreland holding like in my areaof Gurdaspur. Marketing alsoneeds attention. The farmercannot wait for his produce tobe sold.”

Speaking on the occa-sion, Navraj Sandhu,Additional Chief Secretary,Agri and Farmers Welfare,Haryana, said, “Agricultureand business are not anti-thetical. We need to reducethe proportion of people whotake to agriculture.Technology needs to be costeffective. Farmers can only geta better price if they have vol-ume and access to better mar-kets. Better post-harvest man-agement is the key.”

In addition to the KisanGhosthees, there were con-current conferences on cru-cially relevant topics for timesof today like post harvestingmanagement, stubble burn-ing, and enhancing shelf-lifeof commodities. In these, 112experts from many countrieslike Canada, Belgium, theUK shared their experiencewith around 1,300 partici-pants.

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Procurement of pulses andoilseeds by the Government

from farmers shot up by 13times during the four-and-half-year rule of the Modiregime as compared to theprocurement done during theUPA period. This benefitted asmany as 54 lakh farmers whoseannual income registered anincrease of �80,000 on an aver-age, the Government hasclaimed.

According to theAgriculture Ministry, between2009-10 and 2013-14 — whenthe Congress — led UPA wasin power-only 7.28 lakh met-ric tonnes of pulses andoilseeds valuing �3,117.38crore was procured at theminimum support price(MSP) whereas from 2014-15to 2018-19, a quantity of 93.97lakh MT of pulses and oilseedsvaluing �44,142.50 crore wasprocured. Of these, procure-ment of 78.84 Lakh MTamounting to �35,800 crorealone has been contributed bythe States of Madhya Pradesh,

Gujarat, Rajasthan, UttarPradesh, Maharashtra,Telangana and AndhraPradesh.

"The country has reportedproduction of 25.23 MT ofpulses during 2017-18 againstproduction of 14.66 MillionTonnes in the year 2009-10, anincrease of 72.10 per cent.Similarly, the production ofoilseeds has increased from24.88 Million Tonnes to 31.3Million Tonnes during thesame period, registering anincrease of 25.80 per cent," thenote said. For the procurement,the Cabinet has already sanc-

tioned an additional guaranteeof �15,053 crore, it said.

As against a Governmentguarantee of �2,500 crore up tothe year 2013-14, aGovernment guarantee of�18,250 crore for the Years2018-20 has been made avail-able for smooth conduct ofPrivate Procurement andStockist Scheme (PPSS)."Besides, this is the first timethat Food Corporation of India(FCI) is participating in theseoperations for ensuring MSPfor pulses and oilseeds growingfarmers," it said.

In 2017-18, prices of most

crops including pulses andoilseeds fell below Governmentannounced support prices fol-lowing a record harvest. Part ofthe reason for the plunge inprices to levels significantlylower than MSP is the missingtrader-the key price maker inthe market.

Food Corporation of Indiaand National AgriculturalCooperative MarketingFederation of India Ltd(NAFED) will procure 44 lakhtonne of oilseeds and pulsesunder the new scheme —Pradhan Mantri Annadata AaySanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AAASHA) — aimed at ensur-ing assured and better returnsto farmers.

The NABARD All IndiaRural Financial InclusionSurvey (NAFIS) shows thataverage agriculture householdincome has increased from�6,426 to �8,931 per month in2016-17. Apart from a paltryincome, farmers are facing ris-ing indebtedness, lesser finan-cial inclusion, and absence ofinsurance facility, accordingto the report.

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New Delhi: Blaming the Congress foragrarian distress, Finance MinisterArun Jaitley on Tuesday said the poli-cy of the NDA Government to pump inmore resources into rural areas hasimproved agricultural productivity andthe quality of lives of the people in vil-lages.

Jaitley said with the current level of investment in the nexttwo decades, the infrastructure in rural areas will come at parwith that in the cities.

The Minister's remarks came in the backdrop of Oppositionparty's allegations of ignoring rural India and agriculture sec-tor and the last week's massive protest in the national Capitalby farmers across the country. "The NDA Government haspumped in resources into the rural areas, which have improvedinfrastructure, the quality of life of people living therein andincreased agricultural productivity, Jaitley wrote in a blog titled''India's rural sector'.

The Government, he noted, has increased expenditure on ruralroads, housing and healthcare as well as launched schemes likeSwachh Bharat, rural electrification, JanDhan, Ujjwala Yojana andMudra Yojana with an aim to improve the agrarian sector. PTI

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has

attached movable and immov-able properties worth �117crores of Prakash Industries ina money laundering case inconnection with coal blockallocation scam.

The CBI had registered anFIR against Prakash IndustriesLtd., alleging that the compa-ny had applied for allocation ofCoal Block vide an applicationdated January 12, 2007 to theMinistry of Coal in response toan advertisement issues onNovember 13, 2006.

According to the CBI FIR,the application was found to becontaining false net-worthdetails and on the basis of suchmisrepresentation, the com-pany got allocated FatehpurCoal Block on February 6,2008. The block was subse-quently de-allocated in theyear 2014 after the coal scamwas unearthed. Taking cog-nizance of the CBI FIR, the EDregistered a case underPrevention of MoneyLaundering Act August 30,2014.

The ED probe revealedthat the company filed falsedeclaration with the BombayStock Exchange (BSE) onNovember 17, 2007 intimatingallocation of the coal blockwhich was actually awarded on

February 6. 2008 jointly toPrakash Industries Ltd. andSKS Ispat Power Ltd.

"As a result of filing of thisfalse declaration, the shares ofM/s Prakash Industries record-ed an astronomical rise intheir value. At one point intime i.e. on 02.04.2007, theshare price was �31 per sharewhereas on 04.01.2008, theshare price was �351 pershare," the ED said in a state-ment.

In order to encash the arti-ficially created rise in the sharevalue, the company issued62,50,000 preferential shares ata premium of �180 per shareand sold these shares to fiveselected companies. In theprocess, the company generat-ed �118.75 crores in the formof share capital.

The amount of �118.75crores, which was generated asa result of the offence underPMLA and amounted to "pro-ceeds of crime".

"On investigation to theeffect, it was found that theabove said proceeds of crimehad been generated and used inthe continuous expansion relat-ed to manufacturing activi-ties, therefore the value of�117.09 crores was attached inthe form of movable andimmovable properties of thecompany under the provisionsof PMLA," the agency state-ment added.

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The Congress on Tuesdayurged the Election

Commission (EC) to issue anotice to BJP chief Amit Shah fora statement he had made inTelangana, which the Oppositionparty alleged was aimed at cre-ating a communal atmosphere inthe poll-bound State.

Senior Congress leadersAhmed Patel, Kamal Nath andKapil Sibal met EC officials andraised a number of issues, rang-ing from EVM-related com-plaints in Madhya Pradesh andShah's statement to the arrest ofthe Opposition party's workingpresident in Telangana.

Shah's statement inTelangana was absolutely falseand misrepresented some pointsof the Congress's poll manifestoin the southern State, Sibal told

reporters after meeting the ECofficials. The statement of theBJP chief was aimed at creatinga communal atmosphere, healleged, adding that the Congresshad urged the poll watchdog to

issue a notice to Shah for hisremarks.

Sibal said the other issuethey raised with the EC was ofthe arrest of Telangana Congressworking president A Revanth

Reddy, who had called a "bandh"to protest against TelanganaRashtra Samithi (TRS) chief andthe state's caretaker ChiefMinister K Chandrasekhar Rao'spublic meeting in the Kodangal

Assembly constituency. "He (Reddy) was arrested at

3 am and was not told why washe arrested. We requested (theEC officials) that such arrestsshould not be made during thetime of elections," he added.Reddy was taken into preventivecustody early Tuesday. The otherissue that was raised with the ECwas of the Telangana ChiefMinister calling a Cabinet meet-ing and giving directions, Sibalsaid.

Sibal also criticised UttarPradesh Chief Minister YogiAditynath for choosing to attendelection campaigns in Telanganainstead of looking after the sit-uation in his State where seniorpolice official was killed by amob identified from right winggroup.

Nath said the issue of com-plaints related to electronic vot-

ing machines (EVMs)at variousplaces in Madhya Pradesh wasalso raised with the EC officials."We have demanded that actionbe taken against the officials atthese places, from where suchcomplaints are coming," theMadhya Pradesh Congress chiefsaid. Sibal said they cited exam-ples such as EVMs being trans-ported in private school buseswithout registration numbers.Another issue that was raisedwas that the second round ofcounting of votes should startonly after the process for the firstround was over, he said.

While Assembly electionshave already been held inChhattisgarh, Madhya Pradeshand Mizoram, Rajasthan andTelangana will go to polls onDecember 7 and the results forall the five States will beannounced on December 11.

New Delhi: Foreign SecretaryVijay Gokhale on Tuesday heldtalks with Chinese Vice ForeignMinister Kong Xuanyou andreviewed the progress made inthe bilateral ties since theWuhan summit between PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andPresident Xi Jinping.

The External AffairsMinistry said the two sides alsoexchanged views on regionaland international issues ofcommon interest.

"The two sides reviewedthe progress made in India-China bilateral relations sincethe Informal Summit betweenthe Prime Minister andPresident Xi Jinping in Apriland discussed the agenda forbilateral engagement in thecoming months," it said.

The meeting betweenKong and Gokhale took place10 days after border talksbetween National SecurityAdvisor Ajit Doval and ChineseState Councillor Wang Yi atDujiangyan in China's south-western Sichuan province.

In their informal summitin Chinese city of Wuhan,Modi and Xi decided to issue"strategic guidance" to theirmilitaries to strengthen com-munications so that they canbuild trust and understanding.

The informal summit hadtaken place seven months afterthe Doklam standoff.

Troops of India and Chinawere locked in a 73-day face-off in Doklam from June 16 lastyear after the Indian sidestopped the building of a roadin the disputed area by theChinese Army. The impasseended on August 28. PTI

New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Tuesday asked Biharand Kerala to set up specialcourts in each of their districtsfor the trial of pending crimi-nal cases against present andformer MPs and MLAs.

Earlier in the day, the topcourt was informed that therewere 4,122 criminal cases pend-ing, some for over threedecades, against present andformer members of Parliamentand legislative assemblies.

A bench of Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi and Justices S KKaul and K M Joseph passedthe directions for setting upspecial courts in every districtof the two states and alsosought compliance reports fromthe Patna and Kerala highcourts by December 14.

The apex court directed thehigh courts to send back casesfrom special courts, which werealready constituted, to juris-dictional district courts.

The Supreme Court hasgiven the liberty of constitutingas many courts as required inthe districts of these two statesfor trial of cases against the leg-islators.

The apex court also said thespecial courts would take up lifeterm cases on a priority whilehearing pending matters againstMPs and MLAs.

The court was hearing a PILfiled by lawyer and BJP leaderAshwini Upadhyay seeking a lifetime ban on politicians con-victed in criminal cases besidesthe setting up of special courtsto expeditiously try cases involv-ing elected representatives.

The apex court had soughtdetailed data on the pendingcriminal cases against the pre-sent and former legislators fromthe states and various highcourts so as to enable the set-ting up of adequate number ofspecial courts for expedited

trial in these cases.Senior advocate Vijay

Hansaria who is assisting thecourt as amicus curiae in thematter along with advocateSneha Kalita had filed the datareceived from states and highcourts and submitted it to theapex court.

The data compiled hadstated that in 264 cases, trial hasbeen stayed by high courts.Further, the report said in sev-eral cases which have beenpending since 1991, chargeshave not yet been framed.

In a previous hearing, theapex court had considered thesubmission of Hansaria thatearmarking a particular court ineach district both at sessionsand magisterial level and direct-ing them to treat the cases ona priority basis could be aviable option to ensure timelycompletion of proceedings.

The top court was alsoinformed that 12 special courtsset up to try lawmakers exclu-sively have not been constitut-ed on a uniform pattern, andtheir number needs to be raisedto 19 for trying cases at the ses-sions level. PTI

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Against the backdrop of therow it generated, the HRD

Ministry has withdrawn theKashmiri translations of cer-tain sentences under its“Bhasha Sangam” initiative.

Last week, the Ministry'sDepartment of SchoolEducation and Literacy hadinitiated the “Bhasha Sangam”,a celebration of linguisticdiversity, with an aim to famil-iarise every child with simpledialogues in all the 22 lan-guages under Schedule 8 of theConstitution.

The row erupted over thewrong translations of sen-tences from English toKashmiri, from Kashmiri toRoman and from Kashmiri toDevanagari.

"Sentence translations inKashmiri under BhashaSangam were prepared by NCERT in association with language experts fromDept of Education, J&K &University of Kashmir.@HRDMinistry is sensitive tothe comments raised & hastherefore decided to withdrawthem," the Ministry said in atweet.

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With an aim to build a con-sensus for a smooth con-

duct of the proceedings in theUpper House, Rajya SabhaChairman M Venkaiah Naiduhas called an all-party meetingon December 10, a day beforethe commencement ofParliament's winter session.

The Rajya Sabha chair-man has called the meeting ofthe floor leaders of all the par-ties in the Upper House at hisresidence. Among others, themeeting is expected to beattended by Leader ofOpposition Ghulam Nabi Azadand the Leader of the House,Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

This will be the last full-fledged Parliament sessionbefore the 2019 Lok Sabhapolls and the Bharatiya JanataParty-led Government will bekeen to make it productive. Forthe Opposition, it will be thelast chance to take on theGovernment in the House.

The Government will pushfor the passage of the "tripletalaq" bill pending in the RajyaSabha in the upcoming session.

It had earlier promulgated anordinance to make the practiceof instant triple talaq a penaloffence.

The results of the Assemblyelections in five states, in whichboth the ruling BJP and theCongress have high stakes, arebound to cast a shadow on theparliamentary proceedings. Theresults of the Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh,Telangana and MizoramAssembly polls will beannounced on December 11.

On several occasions,Naidu has expressed concernover the deadlock between theruling and the opposition sidesthat has halted the smoothfunctioning of the House.

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Jaipur: Stepping up his attackagainst the Congress, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onTuesday alleged Kartarpurwent to Pakistan at the time ofindependence because theparty leaders of that time hadno vision and did not respectSikh sentiments.

Referring to the recentopening of the Kartarpur Sahibcorridor across the India-Pakistan border, Modi said,"Correcting Congress's mis-takes was my destiny."

As electioneering forDecember 7 assembly polls inRajasthan nears its end, theprime minister addressed ral-lies in Hanumangarh, Sikarand Jaipur.

Congress president RahulGandhi also held a series of

public meetings in the state.At one rally, Modi took on

Gandhi for mocking him forchanting ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai' atevery meeting. The prime min-ister said he will continue to doso despite Gandhi's ‘fatwa' on it.

Gandhi had taunted inAlwar that Modi should beginhis meetings by saying 'AnilAmbani ki Jai', 'Mehul Choksiki Jai', 'Nirav Modi ki Jai' and'Lalit Modi ki Jai'.

Modi suggested that theCongress leadership had bun-

gled during Partition."They could not see any-

thing beyond the 'Rajgaddi'(power), so Kartarpur went toPakistan,” he said.

"The then policy makers ofthe Congress in the countrywere in a hurry to come topower. Partition happened andin that too several mistakeswere made because of whichKartarpur Sahib went toPakistan," he said.

"A little bit of wisdom andsensitivity at that time wouldhave ensured that Kartarpur,which is just 3 km away (fromIndia), would not have beentaken away from us. It was theirlack of vision and sensitivitythat they did not respect thesentiments of the Sikh com-munity," Modi claimed. PTI

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Farrukhabad (UP): Tibetanspiritual leader the Dalai Lamaon Tuesday said Muslim coun-tries like Bangladesh, Pakistanand Syria should learn aboutreligion from India so thatthere is peace in the world.

"There are various religionsand traditions in India havingpopulation of over 125 crore.Muslim countries should learnfrom India. So that there ispeace. There is coordinationamong all the religions here anddue to non-violence principle,modern India is developing,"the Dalai Lama told reportersduring a brief interaction here.Asked about Doklam dispute,the spiritual guru only said,"Both the countries should sitand resolve the issue. The slo-gan of 'Hindi-Chini bhai bhai'should be relevant." PTI

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An international conspiracyto subvert the proposed

Container Trans — ShipmentTerminal has come to light fol-lowing the detention andrelease of two local journalistsof Kanyakumari district inTamil Nadu. D Anandakumarand M Sriram were detainedand released by Tamil NaduPolice to interrogate them fol-lowing reports that they hadassisted two French citizens,claiming to be accredited jour-nalists of that country.

“The French citizens whowere accompanied by the localjournalists visitedKanyakumari and surroundingareas and videographed pic-tures of various locationsincluding the proposed sitefor the international port. Laterthey held a secret meeting atthe residence of a retiredGovernment servant who isactively campaigning againstany kind of development worksin Kanyakumari,” said Sundar,who is in charge of theKanyakumari office of UnionMinister of State for Financeand Shipping PonRadhakrishnan.

Sundar said the meetingheld at the residence of theretired Government official onNovember 24, was attendedamong others by eight to tenCatholic Church priests and theFrench citizens. “I do not knowwhat happened in the meetingand it is the responsibility of theintelligence wing of the policeto find the same. But the wholeoperation of the French citizens

was enmeshed in mystery,”said Sundar.

Pon Radhakrishnan, whilespeaking to The Pioneer toldthat he suspects of some kindof subversion with regard to theInternational Trans-ShipmentContainer Terminal in the dis-trict. “There are many forcesworking against this project. Iwas told by media persons inKanyakumari about the visit ofthe French citizens and theiractivities which has arousedsuspicions in their minds,” saidthe Minister who expressedhis shock over the participationof activists who were opposedto the Kudankulam NuclearPower Plant in theKanyakumari meeting.

He pointed out that theFrench citizens checked into thehotel at Kanyakumari under theguise of Indian journalists.“What is the need for them tocheck-in under fake names if itis for honest work?. There issomething which misses theordinary eyes,” said PonRadhakrishnan. He said thereare some forces inKanyakumari district whichopposed any kind of develop-mental activities under the pre-text of environmental destruc-tion. “We have alreadyannounced that the port project

in no way would affect the ecol-ogy and environment in the dis-trict. But the activists havesome hidden agenda,” he said

M Ravinson, president,Kumari Maha Sabha , anorganisation of professionalsfrom various fields in the dis-trict said that any developmentof Kanyakumari would be pos-sible only if the Trans ShipmentTerminal project was imple-mented without delay. “Peoplewith ulterior motives are caus-ing roadblocks for all kind ofdevelopmental works in thedistrict,” alleged Ravinson,himself a lawyer.

An organisation by nameAlliance For Media Freedomhas questioned the logic behindthe police detaining the TamilNadu journalists M Sriram andD Ananthakumar who hadaccompanied the French citi-zens. “The French citizens hadcome to Kanyakumari to studythe impact of beach sand min-ing and also about the threatsto the safety of the journalists,”said the proprietor of a dailypublished from Chennai. Butno explanation was forthcom-ing about the trips made by theFrench citizens to the port siteas well as Indian Rare Earths,which come under the pro-tected areas list.

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BJP legislators here onTuesday accused JD(U)

National vice-presidentPrashant Kishor of meddling inthe Patna University Students’Union (PUSU) elections, forwhich voting is scheduled onWednesday.

BJP MLAs Nitin Nabin,Sanjiv Chaurasia and ArunSinha, along with other partyleaders, sat on a dharna outsidethe Pirbahore police stationhere, protesting the arrest ofAkhil Bharatiya VidyarthiParishad (ABVP) activists forvandalising the vehicle ofKishor on Monday night, afterhe came out of the universityVice Chancellor’s residence.

The ABVP activists hadalleged that Kishor’s visit to theVC’s residence violated themodel code of conduct that wasin force in view of the PUSUelections, and pelted his vehi-cle with stones.

Kishor later tweeted,addressing the ABVP, an affil-iate of the BJP’s parent bodythe RSS - “You need to do bet-ter than let a few hooligans andanti-social elements becomeyour face in Bihar. The ner-vousness over the possibility ofa defeat in PUSU polls will notgo away by hurling stones atmy vehicle”.

The BJP legislators saidthat the poll strategist- turned-politician was “flouting” allnorms to boost the prospects ofChhatra JD(U) and the admin-istration, and police is “vic-timising” the ABVP to remainin the good books of the ruling

party.“We urge Bihar Chief

Minister Nitish Kumar to takenote... We demand all theABVP activists be released andthat Kishor hand himself overto the police by way of‘prayashchit’ (repentance),” thelegislators added.

Asked about their ownmeeting with Governor LaljiTandon late on Monday nighton the issue, the MLAs toldreporters that they wanted todraw his attention to the allegedbreach of regulations.

“The Governor is also thechancellor of all State univer-sities. So, we had visited the RajBhavan to draw his attentiontowards the flouting of normsin Students’ Union polls, whichseems to have the tacitapproval of the ViceChancellor. The Governor hastaken note of our complaintand assured that he will lookinto the matter,” they said.However, JD(U) spokesmanSanjay Singh said Kishor was atthe VC’s residence when ameeting on setting up of a dis-aster management centre at thePatna Science College wasunderway.

“He was accompanying arelative who was taking part inthe meeting. Those jittery overthe growing support base of theJD(U) are coming up withbaseless allegations,” Singh said.

Trouble has been brewingbetween the alliance partnersever since some ChhatraJD(U) candidates wereroughed up near the PatnaWomen’s College last week,leading to a police raid on theABVP office in the city, whichwas strongly condemned byBJP legislators staging thedharna in a joint statementissued on Sunday.

The BJP lawmakers had atthat time refrained from men-tioning Kishor’s name, refer-ring to him in an obliquemanner.

Meanwhile, the episodehas also drawn criticism fromthe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP),which alleged that members ofits students’ wing CYSS wererounded up as well on Mondaynight, for staging a protestoutside the VC’s residence.

RJD heir apparentTejashwi Yadav attacked NitishKumar in a series of tweets andtook potshots at Deputy CMSushil Kumar Modi, a seniorBJP leader, for keeping mumover the issue, even as MLAsof the party were staging ademonstration.

Rashtriya Lok SamataParty chief and UnionMinister Upendra Kushwaha,too, slammed the CM and hisparty, alleging blatant violationof Lyngdoh Committee rec-ommendations for Students’Union elections.

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The Panaji bench of theBombay High Court on

Tuesday directed Goa ChiefSecretary to file an affidavitspecifying the health status ofChief Minister ManoharParrikar on Wednesday.

The direction by JusticeRM Borde follows a petition bylocal politician TrajanoD’Mello, who had sought toknow the health status ofParrikar, who is suffering fromadvanced pancreatic cancerand has not attended any official meeting or functionoutside his private residence for more than a month now.

D’Mello in his petitionfiled earlier this month hadasked the court to direct StateChief Secretary DharmendraSharma to evaluate the formerDefence Minister’s health by apanel of expert doctors andrelease a medical report in

public domain.Parrikar has been in and

out of hospitals in Goa,Mumbai, New York and Delhifor nearly nine months.

He returned from NewDelhi’s All India Institute ofMedical Sciences on October14 and has not moved out of hisprivate residence for any offi-cial event since then.

The Opposition as wellruling coalition allies havebeen demanding the resigna-tion of the Chief Minister,

claiming that the administra-tion has come to a standstilldue to Parrikar’s absence.

Ever since Parrikar’shealth started deteriorating,there has been no health bul-letin, as demanded by theOpposition, from the ChiefMinister’s Office, barring sev-eral informal intimations tothe media from Parrikar’soffice, which suggested thathe was suffering from “indi-gestion” and “mild pancreatitis”.

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Ruling BJP ally, IPFT, willrestart its agitation from

Wednesday to press for itsdecade-old demand for a sep-arate State for the tribals inTripura, a party leader said hereon Tuesday.

The Indigenous People’sFront of Tripura (IPFT) aspart of its agitations wouldobserve a 12-hour shutdown inthe Tripura Tribal AreasAutonomous District Council(TTAADC) region onWednesday.

It will also hold a sit-indemonstration in Delhi onDecember 11 and submit amemorandum to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andHome Minister Rajnath Singhdetailing the party’s demands,the tribal leader said.

“The IPFT and its sevenfrontal organisations havecalled for the strike onWednesday in the TTAADCareas in support of the party’slong pending demands,” IPFT’sspokesman and AssistantGeneral Secretary MangalDebbarma told the media.

The other demands includeintroduction of the NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC) inTripura, withdrawal of theCitizenship (Amendment) Bill,2016, introduction of inner-linepermit in the TTAADC areasand inclusion of tribals’Kokborok language in the 8thSchedule of the Constitution.

The IPFT has been agitat-ing since 2009 for a separateState to be carved out byupgrading the TTAADC,which has a jurisdiction overtwo-thirds of the State’s 10,491sqkm area, home to over12,16,000 people.

In the nine-memberCouncil of Ministers, there aretwo IPFT Ministers — RevenueMinister Narendra ChandraDebbarma (IPFT President)and Tribal Welfare and ForestMinister Mevar Kumar Jamatia(General Secretary).

Meanwhile, another tribalbased party — IndigenousNationalist Party of Tripura(INPT) — has also called aroad and rail blockade inTripura on December 10 onalmost the same lines.

The State’s oldest tribal-based political party, INPT, aswell as the ruling BJP, opposi-tion Congress and CommunistParty of India-Marxist-led LeftFront have, however, beenopposed to IPFT’s separatestatehood demand.

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All is not too well in theKarnataka Congress. At

the time former Chief Ministerand chairman of the coordina-tion committee Siddaramaiahis fighting hard to finalise thelist of some of the Congresscandidates to be included in theexpansion of the four monthsold fragile coalition, the rebel-lion hit century old party is onthe defensive and shaken.

Siddaramaiah has said theparty will take a decision ofinclusion of candidates andexpansion on Thursday, alreadywaves of dissent has started hit-ting them, making them morecautious in their entire opera-tion. Kumaraswamy has beeninvited to attend the meeting.

In a significant politicaldevelopment on Tuesday apowerful Congress leader fromthe Belagavi and MLA SatishJarkhiholi who turned a rebelto the Congress leadership hasopenly said that many MLAs inthe party are unhappy andparty leadership is trying toconvince them. This has sentshock waves and the Congressand JD(S) leaders whichinclude Chief Minister HDKumaraswamy, powerful lob-byist and Congress strongmanDK Shivakumar and formerChief Minister Siddaramaiah inconsultation with JD(S) supre-mo HD Devegowda have beentrying to douse the fire.

“Some of them are nothappy. They may not be 25 to30 in numbers but there are 6to 7 of them. MLAs are unhap-

py and our leadership is con-vincing them,” Jarkiholi said.

“The opposition party istrying since the beginning toform the government by thesupport of Congress legislatorsby horse-trading the MLAs, butas of now, there are only 6-7MLAs who are unhappy and wewill convince them.” He added.

Jarkiholi also said that he,however, is not leaving theparty and claimed to be morepowerful than many ministers.

“I had a word with our pres-ident Dinesh Gundu Rao onthis issue. The high commandis active and our State leadershipis working on it,” he said. “Theyare not going anywhere andespecially I am not going to anyparty or anywhere else. I ammuch powerful than some min-isters but I have asked for onemore ministerial post forBelgaum district. Let us wait andsee, everything will be clearedsoon,” he added.

Meanwhile BJP chief BSYeddyurappa has got into a reju-venating centre in Kerala for hispain in the hand amidst allthese developments. Even if BJPpoaches 7 to 8 MLAs can desta-bilise the present coalition gov-ernment ahead of 2019 elections.

In May this year, the elec-tion result for 222 out of 224assembly constituencies ofKarnataka had resulted in afractured mandate, with theBharatiya Janata Party emergingas the single largest party with104 seats, only nine seats shortof the simple majority mark of113. However, the Congressparty with 78 seats and JD(S)

with 37 seats, along with twoindependent candidates,stitched up a post-poll alliancewith a total of 117 MLAs.

In another related politicaldevelopment an audio-clip con-taining an alleged conversationbetween a confidant of a formerBallari BJP MP B Sriramulu anda Dubai-based businessman hastriggered allegations of attemptsbeing made by the BJP to top-ple the Congress-JD(S) coalitionGovernment in Karnataka.However Sriramulu stronglyrefuted the charges and blamedthe Congress hatching a con-spiracy to defame the BJP.

In the audio, which hasgone viral, the confidant isallegedly saying at least 10 to 11lawmakers from the Congressand JD(S) were ready to switchsides with specific names beingmentioned.

“They have been offered�20 crore to �25 crore and min-istership. By the second week ithas to happen,” the confidant isallegedly saying in the audio.

Former Karnataka ChiefMinister and the convener of theCongress-JD(S) coordinationcommittee Siddaramaiah hit outat the BJP for its alleged attemptsto dislodge the Government.

Slamming the BJP,Siddaramaiah said, “Where willthey get the money if they aresaying that they will pay �25crore (to each MLA)? Whosemoney it is? It is corruptmoney. Aren’t they ashamed fortrying to topple theGovernment? ThisGovernment will continuedespite their attempts.”

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Aday after the murder ofBulandshahr police inspec-

tor West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Tuesdayalerted her own police officersagainst getting lynched by “riot-mongers” and asked them tokeep strict vigil along the bor-ders of Jharkhand and Odisha.

“We are running throughbad times when riot-mongersare on the prowl,” she warnedadding “they are out to set onecommunity against the other,”so as to polarise the electoratebefore the next year’s elections.

“You have to remain cau-tious. All the inspectors in-charge and other police offi-cials should watch out for sus-picious elements and move-ments. Keep a strict vigil alongthe borders of Jharkhand andOdisha. Employ CCTV cam-eras at vantage points if needbe because these people go toany extent,” Banerjee said.

“Only yesterday an honestpolice officer was murdered fordischarging his duties without

bias,” Banerjee said. “I am toldthis officer was investigating alynching case,” she addedwarning her own police brassto take supreme care againstmischief mongers.

“We will have to be extracautious because festival seasonis round the corner. We havethe Ganga Sagar Mela andChristmas coming. It is uponyou to see that no untowardincident like the one in UPtakes place here,” Banerjeesaid. The Chief Minister wasaddressing officials during hertwo-day visit of Midnapore.

Upping the ante on theUttar Pradesh Governmentanother senior Bengal Ministerand new Kolkata Mayor Firhad

Hakim said, “Today UP is intotal chaos and the Governmentthere has miserable failed totame the situation.”

Attacking UP ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath for hisalleged ‘communal ways’ Hakimsaid, “There are two kinds ofsadhus. Like the genuine saffronclad monks there also those fakeand communal ones. The pre-sent UP Government is ruled bythese fake sadhus.”

Attacking Yogi he said “heis a communal person who hasruined the law and order situ-ation of the State. Today the UPGovernment is run by uncul-tured, uncivilised gang of peo-ple who have no regard for theConstitution.”

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Kolkata: The BJP has onceagain rescheduled PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’sBengal tour. Now the PrimeMinister who was supposed tobegin his Bengal tour onDecember 24 with a rally atKrishnagar, will not start hiscampaign from Siliguri instead.

Modi’s rally at the NorthBengal city will take place onDecember 16, State BJP sourcessaid adding the reschedulinghad been done following arequest from the PrimeMinister’s office. Modi hadexpressed his wishes to start thecampaigns from North Bengal.

The Prime Minister willaddress four mass meetingsduring the course of RathYatras in the State. The pro-posed rallies would be inaddition to the fifth and finalone at the historic BrigadeParade Ground in Kolkatapresumably on January 23.

“The Prime Minister him-self has expressed his willing-ness to address these rallies inthe course of the Yatras,” BengalBJP president Dilip Ghoshearlier said adding the Stateparty was elated and was intouch with the Prime Minister’soffice for the purpose.

The rallies were likely to beheld at Durgapur, Birbhum,Siliguri and most probablyCoochbehar in North Bengal.The State BJP will take outthree Rath (chariot) Yatrasfrom Ganga Sagar, Birbhumand Coochbehar. The threeYatras will commence onDecember 5, 7 and 9 and willbe inaugurated by BJP presi-dent Amit Shah.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday alleged

that the Congress party wastrying to stop him from raising‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ slogan inelection rallies.

Addressing a rally here,Modi said that the Congressparty’s ‘naamdar’ (an allusionto Congress President RahulGandhi) had issued a ‘fatwa’against him to stop him fromsaying ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.

Modi raised the slogansmultiple times before he beganhis speech.

“Who are they (Congress)to stop the youth of this coun-try from hailing Bharat Mata?This is a slogan jawans raisewhile conducting surgicalstrikes (across LoC),” Modisaid.

He claimed that somesenior Congress leaders stoppeople from raising such slo-gans in their meetings andinstead ask people to say ‘SoniaGandhi Ki Jai’.

Rajasthan is due to vote fora new Assembly on December7.

Earlier, addressing an elec-tion rally at Jhunjhunu inRajasthan, Rahul Gandhi saidModi shouts “Bharat Mata KiJai’ in every rally but it sounds‘hollow’ coming from him.

He said Modi did not talkabout issues of farmers, womenand youth — who comprise‘Bharat Mata’ — and onlyraised slogans.

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Amid freezing cold and sepa-ratist sponsored shutdown in

several poll bound areas, theauthorities on Tuesday conduct-ed seventh phase of panchayatpolls in Jammu & Kashmirrecording anoverall poll per-centage of 75. 3 per cent turnout.

According to the ChiefElectoral Officer J&K ShaleenKabra an impressive 84.8 per-cent polling was witnessed inJammu division and 30.3% inKashmir division.

Giving district-wise details,Kabra said that Bandipora wit-nessed 25.2% polling , Kupwara45%, Baramulla 17.8%,Ganderbal 30.9%, Budgam13.1%, Anantnag 15.5%,Ramban 83%, Reasi 86.7%,Samba 85.5%, Jammu 83.7%,Rajouri 84% and Poonch 86.6%.

The polling was held at2714 polling stations across theState including 576 in Kashmirdivision and 2138 in Jammudivision.

At the end of 6 Phases ofPanchayat Polls, an overallvoter turnout of 73.6% wasrecorded across the State, witha poll percentage of 46.1% inthe Kashmir division includingLeh & Kargil and 82.8% in theJammu division for the first 6phases.

Pertinently in phase 6 ofpanchayat polls held onDecember 1, overall poll per-centage of 76.9% was wit-nessed across the State includ-ing 84.6% in Jammu divisionand 17.3% in Kashmir division.In Phase-5 which went to pollson November 29, the Statewitnessed a polling percentageof 71.1% including 33.7% inKashmir division and 85.2% in

Jammu division. In Phase-4,the state witnessed a pollingpercentage of 71.3%, including

82.4% polling was witnessed inJammu division and 32.3% inKashmir division.

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Nagapattinam: More than 1.77lakh people, including 29,000children, are staying in 252 reliefcamps in cyclone-Gaja hit areasof Nagapattinam district, TamilNadu Handlooms Minister OSManian said Tuesday.

Relief works have beentaken up on a war footing inthe district, he said.

“A total of 2.32 lakh treeshad been uprooted in thecyclonic storm and we havecleared 1.99 lakh trees. Of the46,000 electric poles that weredamaged, 28,600 poles havebeen re-erected. Over 440transformers have beenreplaced,” the Minister said.

“About 6,200 personnel ofthe electricity department areworking on power restorationworks,” he said. More than12,000 workers from otherdepartments such as PWD,agriculture, horticulture, localadministration, animal hus-bandry and health departmentswere engaged in relief works inthe district, Manian said.

Rural development minis-ter SP Velumani, senior IASofficers J Radhakrishnan andGagandeep Singh Bedi wereamong those present at thereview meeting.

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Defending Vishwa HinduParishad and Bajrang Dal

in the Bulandshahr violence onMonday, Deputy ChiefMinister Keshav PrasadMaurya said that it would bepremature to name a Hinduoutfit for the fracas before theprobe was completed. “I amdeeply saddened by the inci-dent in Bulandshahr where aninspector and a youth werekilled. The State Governmenthas constituted a SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) whichis probing the matter thread-bare and will submit its find-ings in the next two days.Hence, it will be hasty to holda Hindu outfit responsible forthe incident," said Maurya inLucknow on Tuesday.

“We should wait for the SITfindings and until the probe iscompleted it will not be properto draw conclusions,” he assert-ed. “What happened inBulandshahr was deeply tragicand we are saddened by the inci-dent. The locals should haveshown restraint and the police

should also have been careful indealing with the development.Tragedy has struck the famliesof inspector Subodh KumarSingh and 20-year-old Sumit,who died in the incident. I wantto assure that those responsiblefor the incident will be broughtto justice,” said the DeputyCM.

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The son of the policeinspector killed in mob

violence over alleged cowslaughter in Bulandshahr saidhis father wanted him to be agood citizen who doesn’t pro-voke violence over religion.

“My father has lost his lifein this Hindu-Muslim dis-pute. Whose father is next?"Abhishek Singh said.

Inspector Subodh Singh,who had initially probed the2015 lynching of Dadri resi-

dent Mohammed Akhlaq overrumours about beef con-sumption, and a 20-year-oldman were killed Monday dur-ing an attack on policemen.

The Inspector’s sisteralleged the killing was a “con-spiracy” by the police.

“My brother was killed ina conspiracy by the police ashe was probing a cow slaugh-ter case (the Akhlaq lynchingcase),” Sunita Singh toldreporters Tuesday.

“He should be given amartyr’s status and a memor-

ial should be constructed inhis name in our native place,"she said.

“The cow is our mother, Iaccept that. My brother hasgiven his life for her. The CMused to chant ‘gau, gau, gau’.Why can’t he come for cowprotection?” she said in anemotional outburst againstChief Minister YogiAdityanath.

Abhishek Singh said thelast time his father called heasked about his studies and ifhe had eaten.

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Samajwadi Party leaderAzam Khan on Tuesday

questioned the circumstancesleading to the slaying of inspec-tor Subodh Kumar inBulandshahr on Monday andasserted that if carcasses foundin the vicinity were indeed ofcattle, it must be probed as tohow the remains were broughtthere.

Khan also questioned thecredibility of SpecialInvestigation Team set up bythe State Government to probethe violence in Bulandshahr.

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James Baldwin, a renowned novel-ist and one of the most recognisedand respected voices of the civilrights movement in the UnitedStates of America, famously said,

“Not everything that is faced can bechanged but nothing can be changed untilit is faced.” Baldwin’s quote eloquentlyexplains that while dealing with any formof exploitation or injustice, it is nearimpossible to move forward from itwithout exposing it in its barest and mostbrutish form. In this week’s article, I willfocus on how we as a country need toexamine the state of tribals in India anddiscuss the historical injustice that hasbeen meted out to them to enable us tomove forward and actually begin to healthe wounds of the past.

The tribal population in India hap-pens to live in States that are extremelyrich in minerals and other resources, suchas the State of Jharkhand. Though it maybe difficult for many to appreciate, therelationship of tribals with their land is notone of mere ownership or possession buta relationship with significant cultural sig-nificance. Since land is considered to besacred to a number of tribes who view thepreservation of their land as preservationof their culture, each tribe has its own cus-tomary laws that typically govern theirland and these customary laws have beenin existence even prior to British rule. Thenature of this unique relationship oftribals with their land was recognised bythe British as well as the IndianConstitution, as is evident from the FifthSchedule of our Constitution.

Over time, however, these rights havebeen increasingly diminished as the rightsof the tribals to their land were weighedagainst the need to develop such areas andthe demand for the resources in this land.This led to a systematic diminishing ofrights, which has now made the tribalsamong the most exploited communities inthe country, where even though tribalsaccount for less than 10 per cent of the totalpopulation of the country, they account forover 40 per cent of the total population thathas been displaced due to infrastructureprojects in India since Independence.

What is worse is that more than 75 percent of the tribals who have been displacedare estimated not to have been rehabili-tated in any way, leaving them without ahome, any means of earning a livelihoodand devoid of their cultural heritage. Tomake matters worse in Jharkhand, theRaghubar Das-led BJP Government hasthrough its tenure pushed amendments tothe Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act, 1908 andthe Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act, 1949and introduced the Right to FairCompensation and Transparency in LandAcquisition, Rehabilitation andResettlement (Jharkhand Amendment)

Act, 2017, all of which are anti-tribal and have madethe displacement of tribalsmuch easier.

We, therefore, as a coun-try must take a moment andintrospect. The question ishow do we try to move for-ward and exhibit sincerityand commitment in address-ing these wrongs? One way inwhich atrocities of the pasthave been dealt with in othercountries is through a truthcommission that examinesand documents the extent ofinjustices that has been suffered.

The Truth andReconciliation Commissionin South Africa is probably themost well-known commissionwhich sought to heal SouthAfrica by uncovering the truthabout the human rights viola-tions that occurred during theperiod of apartheid. While allsuch truth commissions seemto have a common threadrunning through them, that oflaying bare the truth of theexploitation suffered by a com-munity, an examination of theTruth and Justice Commissionin Mauritius may be especial-ly instructive.

The Mauritian Truth andJustice Commission exam-ined a system of deprivationof land that extended to over300 years and the mandate ofthis Commission was to gath-er information and enquireinto the legitimate claims ofpersons and families whowere dispossessed of theirland, among other things.

The Commission as part of itsmandate examined socio-eco-nomic class abuses and thepossibility of reparations forthe community.

While arguing for the cre-ation of the Commission, thePrime Minister of Mauritius,Navin Chandra Ramgoolam,stated: “This Commission willpave the way to reconciliation,social justice and nationalunity through the process ofre-establishing the historicaltruth. It is the legitimate expec-tation of everyone to know ourtrue history. It is only after wehave been faced with this real-ity that we can consolidateunity in our country. It isimportant, therefore, that werecognise our past history andlay that past to rest so that wecan move on to reconciliation,justice and national unity.”

As part of its report, theCommission recommendedcertain steps to heal the coun-try, including memorialisingslavery and encouraging abetter and more inclusiveaccount of Mauritian historyand culture.

A similar approach is nec-essary and called for in thecontext of tribals in India inrelation to the displacementthat has been suffered bythem. It is imperative for us toknow our entire historyincluding this one. Only aftersuch recognition and docu-mentation can we begin toheal the wounds of the pastand start a constructive dia-logue with those who havebeen displaced. Without it, we

will remain in the dark and beleft prodding at the problemwith willful ignorance ratherthan illuminating knowledge.

Critics of such anapproach may state that estab-lishing such a commissionand conducting an enquiry todetermine the displacement oftribals will require resources,commitment and a stomachfor uncomfortable questions. Itmay also be argued that anexamination of TruthCommissions around theworld, including the MauritianTruth and Justice Commission,suggests that a number of rec-ommendations of theseCommissions have not beenincorporated as yet and, there-fore, the results are far fromsatisfactory.

To these critics, I wouldlike to draw their attention tothe words of MahatmaGandhi: “Truth stands, evenif there be no public support.It is self sustaining.” Therefore,while there will be hurdles, wemust strive to improve thestate of tribals and put ourbest foot forward in imple-menting the recommenda-tions of such a commission; itis important to rememberthat the pursuit, determina-tion and documentation ofthe displacement and abusesuffered by tribals in ourcountry are in itself a goalworth striving for and an endworth achieving.

(The writer is JharkhandPCC president, former MPand IPS officer. Views are per-sonal)

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“A curious case” ( December 3).No one is indispensable in anyfield and that includes sports.There is no iota of doubt thatMithali Raj’s contribution toIndian women’s cricket has beenimmense.

In fact, she brought glory tothe nation on several occasions bymemorable knocks at the interna-tional tournaments. It is unfortu-nate that due to politics taking anupper hand, Mithali was sidelinedin a crucial match in an interna-tional tournament. Even thoughshe is at the fag end of her longillustrious cricketing career, thetreatment meted out to her bycoach, Ramesh Powar, and amember of BCCI, Diana Edulji, isdeplorable.

Careers of many eminentIndian cricketers were cut shortdue to ego clashes. Hence, MithaliRaj should consider that aspect inthis profession and continue toconcentrate on her career. She hasstill got a few more years leftbefore hanging up her boots andexit gracefully in style.

KR SrinivasanSecundèrabad

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Farmers’ plank” (December 3). Itis ironical that our farmers haveto work hard in fields under allweather conditions to feed ourmouths but themselves go to bedon an empty stomach. At timesthey even take extreme stepsunder mental stress following

outstanding bank loans and debts.This burning problem cannot

be afforded to be tackled by wayof waiving short-term loans aloneunless and until farmers areallowed to retrieve their costs andcontrol over resources, like land,water for irrigation, insurance,knowledge management andmarket, and are also facilitated bythe state-of-the-art agriculturaltechnologies in terms of the cli-

mate resistant measures. A per-manent solution to this perenni-al agrarian crisis is not only in thefarmers’ interest but in the nation-al interest as well. Aggrieved overthis very sorry state of affairs, therevolutionary Urdu poet DrMohd Iqbal had said: “Jis khet sedehqan ko mayassar nahi rozi uskhet k har khosayen gandum kojalado” (fire should be set toevery corner of the field that can-

not provide two square meals tothe farmers themselves).

Azhar A KhanRampur

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Sir — The recent claim of JusticeKurian Joseph drew the attentionof the entire nation creating anew controversy. He claimedthat the previous Chief Justice ofIndia, Dipak Misra, was workingunder the influence of an “exter-nal source”, and this had impact-ed the delivery of justice.

Of course, it is a matter ofconcern that even our country’sjudiciary system is not sparedfrom external interference. It istrue that the entire nation blind-ly trusts the apex court but thiskind of controversial remarkserodes the trust factor. Everyinstitution, be it the CBI, RBIand now the Supreme Court, isgetting tainted by allegations.The authorities must protecttheir autonomy.

Mohd UsmaniMumbai

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Farm distress refuses to go away.This time around, the steeprise in prices of fertilisers — a

key input used in crop production— during the current year hasincreased farmers’ miseries. DuringKharif (April-September) 2018, theprice of di-ammonium phosphate(DAP), a major source of phosphateor ‘P’ nutrient supply, increased by30 per cent over Kharif (April-September) 2017. Likewise, theprice of complexes and muriate ofpotash (MoP) — main source of ‘P’and ‘potash’ or ‘K’ nutrient —increased by 15-60 per cent duringKharif 2018 over Kharif 2017.

The escalating trend continuedduring Rabi (October 2018-March2019) season as well. The price of

DAP had increased by a further 12-13 per cent during Rabi (October18-March 19) over the level prevail-ing during Kharif 2018. The priceof MoP during Rabi (Oct 18-March19) is higher by 25-30 per cent overthe Kharif 2018. This has affectedfarmers as minimum support price(MSP) for crops do not capture theimpact of higher fertiliser price.

According to rating agencyICRA, whatever benefit they got onaccount of implementing the Dr MSSwaminathan Commission recom-mendation by the ModiGovernment (it allows them 50per cent profit over the productioncost), has been nullified by higherfertiliser price.

Under the Nutrient BasedSubsidy (NBS), the Centre fixes uni-form subsidy on per nutrient basisfor all manufacturers/importers ofcomplex fertilisers/MoP. The latterin turn arrives at the MRP of thesefertilisers after deducting the sub-sidy amount from the cost of pro-duction/import and distribution.

The Government determines

the subsidy keeping in mind itsoverall budgetary position and noti-fies the rates well before com-mencement of the year. Given theoverarching need to maintain fiscaldeficit within the target, it eitherkeeps the subsidy unchanged oreven reduce it. Rarely in the past, ithas sanctioned any hike.

For the current fiscal (April2018-March 2019), the Governmentkept the subsidy rates unchangedeven as there was increase in thecost of raw materials viz phos-phoric acid, ammonia and MoPused in the production of complexfertilisers. This left the manufactur-ers/ importers with no other optionbut to increase the MRP.

Meanwhile, the MRP of urea —a major source of nitrogen or ‘N’ —has remained unchanged despitesignificant increase in the price ofgas, the fuel used in its productionas well as increase in cost of import-ed urea (this contributes over 20 percent of its consumption). TheGovernment controls its MRP at alow level and excess of the cost over

it is reimbursed as subsidy to man-ufacturer/importer.

Given its enormous appeal tovote bank politics, the urea MRP isalmost cast in stone. The currentprice is more or less the same as itwas one-and-a-half decades ago. Itwon’t be hiked till March 31, 2019 asper the decision taken by theNarendra Modi dispensation in 2015to freeze it at the prevailing level. Thisimplies ever increasing subsidy butgives no jolts to the mandarinstasked with reining in fiscal deficit.

While handing out step-moth-erly treatment to P and K, policy-makers often forget that these nutri-ents are as much important as N toincreasing yield and crop quality. Yet, for close to threedecades, successive Governmentspursued discriminatory policiesresulting in excessive use of ‘N’ vis-à-vis ‘P’ and ‘K’. Diminishing returnsto fertiliser use, deteriorating soilhealth and adverse impact on theenvironment and human health —seen in most parts of the country —are the inevitable consequence of

the increasing imbalance in fertiliser use.

It is not as if they are unawareof these problems (read theEconomic Survey presented on theeve of Union Budget). Yet, anycredible action to alter the course isstymied by sheer populism. But thiscannot be postponed indefinitely.

There is an urgent need forincreasing urea MRP and reducingthe price of DAP/complex fertilis-ers/MoP. One way is to reduce sub-sidy on the former and increase onthe latter even as the Governmentcontinues with extant controls andsubsidy regime. But this stereotypedapproach is not sustainable.

A preferred course would be todecontrol urea (non-urea fertilisersare already decontrolled) and stoprouting subsidy through fertilisermanufacturers/importers. The sub-sidy — computed as per kg nutri-ent rate multiplied by quantity ofnutrient N, P, K used per hectare —should be directly transferred tofarmers’ account.

Sans subsidy, the manufactur-

ers/importers will set prices under amarket-driven environment. Thecompetition will force them to keepprice low. The farmer will be able toput subsidy to better use by buyingmore of P&K fertilisers and less urea.There can’t be a better way of com-bating the problem of imbalance infertiliser use. This will also entailhuge saving in subsidy by curbinginefficient use and inflated pay-ments to manufacturers/importersgermane to existing cost-based dis-pensation.

India is overwhelmingly depen-dent on import for meeting its fer-tiliser requirements viz 100 percent in ‘K’, 90 per cent in ‘P’ andnearly two-third in ‘N’. That makesus vulnerable to changing globaldemand-supply scenario. Theindustry will, therefore, need toexplore innovative ways to increaseself-reliance. A market-driven envi-ronment will give a big push to theseefforts as well. Is the governmentlistening?

(The writer is a freelance jour-nalist)

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While corporate social responsibility(CSR) was for a long time consid-ered a voluntary matter to be exer-cised by companies in the interestsof stakeholders, it is increasingly

acquiring legal status in different countries, partic-ularly like India, whereby, with the passage ofCompanies Act 2013, every company of a certain sizehas to offer a CSR policy. Following this amendment,India is the first country in the world to make CSRmandatory. Businesses can invest their profits in areassuch as education, poverty, gender equality and foodsecurity. Large companies are required to spend astipulated amount, ie, at least two per cent of theiraverage net profits made during the three immedi-ately preceding financial years, in pursuance of theirCSR policy towards specified activities.

Over the past few years, CSR as a concept hasbeen the focus of many deliberations and research.It has grown in importance both academically as wellas in the business sense. It captures a spectrum ofvalues and criteria for measuring a company’s con-tribution to social development. As the term CSR isused continually, many complementary and over-lapping concepts, such as corporate citizenship, busi-ness ethics, stakeholder management and sustain-ability have emerged. These extensive ranges of syn-onymously used terms indicate that multiple defi-nitions have been devised for CSR, mostly from per-spectives and by those in facilitating roles like the cor-porate sector, Government agencies, academics andthe public sector.

Worldwide, there are enough examples of com-panies that have incorporated CSR in their opera-tions. The New York-based natural foods company,KIND Snacks, which in its first 10 years has grownfrom zero to over 450 million units sold and withits famous rainbow-wrapped bars found in over150,000 retail stores, believes in both “making prof-it and making a difference” by achieving mass dis-tribution and making healthy products. There areseveral companies from start-ups to huge conglom-erates that are increasingly incorporating social andenvironmental initiatives in their strategies. Microsoftpartners with the non-profit NetHope to create ITapprenticeships in Kenya. The Disney Company isproviding $ 3 million in conservation grants this yearto protect wildlife. Gap Inc. has a programme thatteaches health awareness and literacy to women gar-ment workers in Cambodia and India. JPMorganChase has The Fellowship Initiative, a programmedesigned to help American Black young menachieve academic and professional success. Mattelis committed to using sustainably sourced paper andwood fibre in its packaging and products.

Although good to achieve, initiating and sustain-ing social initiatives takes time, talent and resources.But increasingly, it is what investors, customers,employees and other stakeholders have come toexpect and demand, particularly the young gener-ation which makes for the industry’s new and futurecustomers and casts a particularly keen eye on com-panies’ commitment to social impact. So how are thecompanies from emerging countries, who are fight-ing for survival and success in the global economy,paying attention to CSR? There are some high-pro-file examples of emerging multinational companiesengaged in socially or environmentally impactfulactivities. Chinese battery maker BYD brought outthe first mass-market electric plug-in car in 2008 and

despite a rocky entry into the US market,it has built more than 1,000 electric busesand sold them in Asia, South America andEurope. Natura Cosmeticos, one ofBrazil’s top cosmetics manufacturers,focusses on sustainability and socialresponsibility and is serving as a found-ing member of the Union for EthicalBioTrade, which promotes biodiversityconservation and uses only natural ingre-dients in its formula. It has forgedalliances with indigenous Amazon Basincommunities to source herbal raw mate-rials. India’s Tata Group, one of India’slargest conglomerates with revenues ofover $100 billion, as a company, is longrenowned for its commitment to socialpurpose and carries out various CSR pro-jects, most of which are communityimprovement and poverty alleviationprogrammes. Through self-help groups,it is engaged in women empowermentactivities, income generation, rural com-munity development, and other socialwelfare programmes.

In the field of education, the TataGroup provides scholarships and endow-ments for numerous institutions. Thegroup also engages in healthcare projectssuch as facilitation of child education,immunisation and creation of awarenesson AIDS. In some cases, CSR should bedesigned to address the concerns ofstakeholders and are strategic, not justphilanthropic. For example, CSR pro-grammes of big soda companies such asCoke and Pepsi are often focussed onissues such as obesity and water usage indeveloping nations. These are pro-grammes addressing issues that people areconcerned about with those companies.By addressing them, they reduce the like-lihood of protest and aggressive regula-tion, and they also build relations withstakeholders who could otherwise beattacking them.

An ongoing project by Coke, in whichthe company is investing in numeroussmall African mango plantations, is help-ing small farmers in Africa to grow theirlivelihoods beside also creating a muchbigger stock of mangoes for Coke to cre-ate a mango-based beverage globally.Through this the company is achieving theultimate metric of CSR success of driving

shareholder value and accomplishinglong-term sustainable performance.

However, when it comes to socialimpact, there are some differencesbetween developed-world firms andemerging multinationals. In the developedcountries, more companies have beendragged into this and they now realise thebenefits whereas emerging markets dis-play much more polarised strategies withsome companies embracing corporatesocial responsibility from the beginningwhile other companies are reluctant or failto see the value of it.

It is seen that Chinese companies inparticular are slow in adopting sociallypurposeful activities overseas because oftheir own political system. They are of theopinion that the Government shouldundertake CSR activities as that is whathappens in China and social developmentin the country is the Communist Party’sresponsibility. Businesses do not getinvolved. In other countries whereChinese multinationals operate, theyhave begun to build up CSR after a lot ofprotests for not being more responsibleand for not doing the kind of things thatWestern companies do.

This clearly shows that an emergingmultinational’s attitude toward socialpurpose may stem from the way itachieved its original business success. Itmight have had to “survive in a very dif-ficult, fraught environment” and hencemight be more inclined towards socialresponsibility. On the other hand, thecompanies that have been successful intaking advantage of a gap in the marketand, therefore, built monopoly, throughcorruption or any Government kickbacks,don’t think at all about CSR.

Odebrecht, a Brazilian conglomer-ate with a large construction subsidiary,is an example of a business that surviveda difficult situation and nearly wentbankrupt when the CEO reached out tosuppliers and buyers for financial back-up. The company survived the crisis, andas a result, the CEO has always had thisreally strong relationship with his stake-holders — with the people in the supplychain and all around his facilities. Thecompany, which does business in Africa,is involved not just in big construction

projects but is also trying to win the heartsof the people. For example, while compet-ing for a large construction contract inLuanda, Angola, Odebrecht took theunusual step of taking on a street-sweep-ing contract, which gave them some veryvisible PR — the employees, sportingorange Odebrecht vests, were seen tack-ling one of downtown Luanda’s funda-mental problems by cleaning up itsstreets. Another bonus was that many ofthese individuals, who would eventuallywork on Odebrecht’s construction sites,were acquiring basic job skills such as fol-lowing processes and arriving on time.Odebrecht projects itself as a company thatknows what it means to come from a poorcountry with a clear understanding of thebasic problems and as a result, an abilityto make a connection with the people.

By contrast, Brazil’s EBX is a multi-national that ignored CSR. Its chairman,Eike Batista, had a net worth of $30 bil-lion in 2012 but his wealth sank to $200million due to debts and his company’splummeting stock prices. His mines hadnothing in terms of socially responsiblebehaviour and his company wasn’t basedon success in the community, which ulti-mately led to bankruptcy.

An emerging multinational in thehealthcare space and the one very muchfocussed on social purpose is NarayanaHrudayalaya in India. This not-for-prof-it company, founded in 2000 and nowwith 56 facilities in India and one in theCayman Islands, was started by heart sur-geon Devi Shetty to provide low-cost orfree cardiac procedures to the poor. It hassince expanded to treat other medical con-ditions as well.

For any company, profit-making isthe most important agent for its sur-vival. At the same time, it should notturn a blind eye towards social oblig-ation. Worldwide, businesses havemoved from a shareholder model to themore encompassing stakeholder model.And to stay in tune with the times, com-panies have to recognise their respon-sibilities towards employees, customers,neighbourhoods and regions in whichthey operate.

(The writer is Assistant Professor,Amity University)

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The new simplified GSTreturn forms will be rolled

out from April 1, 2019,Revenue Secretary AjayBhushan Pandey said onTuesday.

He exuded confidence thatthe Government will achievethe budgeted target for Goodsand Services Tax (GST) col-lection and said the revenuedepartment is getting inputsabout entities which are evad-ing taxes.

In the first eight months(April-November) of the cur-rent fiscal, the government hasmopped up over �7.76 lakhcrore from GST. The 2018-19budget had estimated annualGST collection at �13.48 lakhcrore, which means a month-ly target of �1.12 lakh crore.

“We are short by �4,000crore this month (November).To arrive at any conclusion wehave to have some moremonths’ data. But we are con-fident that we will be able toachieve our target. Our month-ly target is around �1 lakhcrore. This we want to increaseto �1.10 lakh crore,” Pandey

said. GST collection inNovember was �97,637 crore.

Speaking to reporters onthe sidelines of the Directorateof Revenue Intelligence (DRI)Foundation Day, the secretarysaid the refund process is beingfurther streamlined to make itcompletely online and taxpay-er friendly.

When asked about the roll-out of the simplified returnforms, Pandey said, “we are tar-geting from April 1”.

In July, the Central Board

of Indirect Taxes and Customs(CBIC) had put up in publicdomain draft GST return forms‘Sahaj’ and ‘Sugam’ and soughtpublic comments. These formswould replace GSTR-3B (sum-mary sales return form) andGSTR-1 (final sales returnsform).

Pandey further said thenext meeting of the GSTCouncil, chaired by UnionFinance Minister and com-prising state counterparts, willbe held this month.

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The dispute settlement bodyof World Trade

Organisation (WTO) hasagreed to set up a panel toassess if high customs dutiesimposed by the US on certainsteel and aluminium productsinfringes global trade norms,an official said.

India had approachedGeneva-based WTO for settingup of the dispute panel as boththe countries failed to resolve theissue in a bilateral consultationprocess under the dispute set-

tlement mechanism of the WTO.“The dispute settlement

body has agreed to establish apanel to rule whether additionalduties imposed by the US onimports of certain steel and alu-minum products comply withWTO rules,” the official added.

Consultation is the first stepof the dispute settlement processat the WTO. If the two countriesare not able to reach a mutual-ly agreed solution through con-sultation, a country can requestfor a WTO dispute settlementpanel to review the matter.

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Market benchmark indicesbroke their six-session

rising streak on Tuesday as cau-tious investors weighed a hostof factors like depreciatingrupee, rising crude prices andweak global cues.

Besides, a caution ahead ofRBI policy meet outcome anduncertainty over the longevityof recently enforced US-Chinatrade truce impacted marketsentiments.

The BSE Sensex endedlower by 106.69 points, or 0.29per cent, to close at 36,134.31.Similarly, the broader NSENifty edged up by 14.25 points,or 0.13 per cent, to end at10,869.50.

Pharma major Sun Pharmaremaind the worst loser in theSensex pack for the second dayin a row after report that reg-ulator Sebi may reopen theinsider trading case againstthe company.

HDFC twins were theother major laggards in the 30-share index.

The Indian rupee Tuesdayfurthered losses by 19 paise to

70.65 (intra-day) against the USdollar amid strengthening ofthe US dollar and rising crudeprices.

Brent crude, the interna-tional benchmark, was trading2.40 per cent up at $63.17 perbarrel.

Meanwhile, market par-ticipants are keenly awaitingthe Reserve Bank’s bi-month-ly policy meet outcome, to beannounced Wednesday after-noon, which is expected to setthe tone for the markets in thenear term.

Analysts said market trad-ed range-bound with somenegative bias amid cautionahead of RBI policy meetresults and rebound in oilprices.

“Rupee gave up some gainswhile the fall in India’s 10 yearbond yield to 7.5 is giving a signof dovish policy from the RBI,”they added.

Investor sentiment was alsocautious on weak cues fromglobal markets after the eupho-ria over US-China trade settledand uncertainty over negotia-tions between the two countriesresurfaced.

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Ahigh-level panel on Tuesdayrecommended market reg-

ulator Sebi to allow direct list-ing of Indian companies onoverseas bourses and of foreignfirms on Indian exchanges.

Currently, Indian compa-nies can list their sharesthrough depository receiptsabroad, while foreign compa-nies need to go through theIndian Depository Receiptroute for listing of equities.

Moreover, Indian firms canlist their debt securities directlyon international exchangesthrough a security instrumentknown as ‘Masala Bonds’.

In its 26-page report, thecommittee has suggested fordirect listing of Indian companiesoverseas and vice versa. It hasrecommended that the frame-work should allow listing only onspecified stock exchanges in‘Permissible Jurisdictions’.

Permissible Jurisdiction,includes a jurisdiction whichhas treaty obligations to shareinformation and cooperatewith Indian authorities in theevent of any investigation.

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Weeks after public bicker-ing between two top CBI

officials, Finance MinisterArun Jaitley on Tuesday laidout cardinal principles forinvestigative agencies rangingfrom maintaining the utmostlevel of professionalism toremaining faceless and resist-ing the temptation of rushingto media when a probe starts.

He said the Directorate ofRevenue Intelligence (DRI),which is the apex intelligenceand investigative agency formatters relating to violation ofthe Customs Act and smug-gling, should maintain highestintegrity and professional stan-dards and endeavour tobecome a “near perfect organ-isation”.

“If I look at the cross sec-tion of various investigativeagencies, including the policewhich is the basic investigativeagency with largest network inthe country, it goes to thecredit of DRI that by and largeit has remained free from anycollateral controversies,” hesaid.

DRI has concentrated in itscore area of competence anddeveloping expertise in areawhere it is primarily supposedto check the economic harmbeing done to the country and

national security, he added. Speaking at the 61st foun-

dation day of DRI, the minis-ter laid out “few cardinal prin-ciples” which every investiga-tive agency should follow toachieve the utmost level ofperfection.

These principles includethe need for investigative agen-cies to maintain utmost level ofprofessionalism and be guidedby one sole purpose, which isdetection of crime.

The investigating officers,Jaitley said, have to make surethat no innocent is harmed orharassed, but at the same timethey have to ensure that noguilty gets away.

“They have to resist thetemptation of making a lot ofsong and dance when the ini-tial investigation starts andthen rushing to the media.They must, as professionals,concentrate on strengtheningthe investigative processes andevidence,” he said.

“The lesser it is in mediacontroversy or news, the betterit is for them. No news is goodnews as far as investigativeagencies are concerned.Therefore, tom-toming suc-cesses (of initial probe) andthen the cases not being estab-lished do not add to the statureof the investigative agencies,”the Minister said.

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Petrol and diesel may soonagain become cheaper in

Delhi as compared to adjoiningcities of Uttar Pradesh as advalorem duty structure hastranslated into a bigger reduc-tion in daily prices in thenational capital.

While petrol and dieseltraditionally have been cheap-er in Delhi than most States inthe country, due to lower localsales tax or VAT, the October5 cut in the VAT by BJP-ruledStates led to fuel being availableat cheaper rates in places suchas Ghaziabad and Noida - theUP towns that adjoin thenational capital.

However, the differencethat had peaked to over �3 perlitre in case of petrol and about�2.3 in diesel on October 5, hasnow come down to just 44-57paisa in petrol and about �1 indiesel, an analysis of the dailyprice revision notificationissued by State-owned oil firmsshowed.

Petrol prices in Delhi onTuesday stood at �71.72 a litreas compared to �71.15 inGhaziabad and �71.28 inNoida. A litre of diesel in thenational capital is priced at�66.39 as opposed to �65.31 inGhaziabad and �65.44 inNoida.

Industry sources said thegap will extinguish in the nextfew days if the falling trend

continues. Fuel in Delhi may bynext week turn cheaper in thenational capital when com-pared with adjoining towns,they said.

While the slump in inter-national oil prices has led to analmost equal reduction in baseprice of petrol and diesel acrossthe country, the actual cut inrates differs from State to Statedepending on local VAT.

Retail pump price is cal-culated after adding centralexcise duty, dealers commissionand VAT to the base price.While excise duty is fixed at�17.98 per litre in case ofpetrol and �13.83 a litre indiesel and do not change withany variation in base price, theincidence of VAT in most stateschanges as the levy is ad val-orem or a percentage of thetotal of the base price plus cen-tral excise duty.

According to price notifi-cations, Delhi levies a VAT of27 per cent on petrol. The sameon diesel is 16.75 per cent plus�250 per kl air ambiencecharge.

VAT on petrol in UttarPradesh is 23.78 per cent or�14.41 a litre, whichever ishigher. In case of diesel, VAT is14.05 per cent or �8.43 a litre,whichever is higher.

Sources said when rates arefalling, VAT in Uttar Pradesh islevied on fixed per litre termbecause that is higher than advalorem rate. And so the reduc-

tions in the States have beensmaller when compared withDelhi.

The Union Governmenton October 4, slashed thepetrol and diesel price by �2.50by reducing excise duty andasking State-owned oil firms tobear subsidy. This was matchedby several States which reducedlocal sales tax or VAT.

BJP-ruled UP too followedsuit. Prior to the cut, it levied26.80 per cent or �16.74 alitre, whichever is higher asVAT on petrol and 17.48 percent or �9.41 a litre on diesel.

Since Haryana too cut VAT,petrol in Gurugram costs�70.51 a lire and diesel �65.51Tuesday.Petrol price has beencut by �11.11 per litre anddiesel by �9.3 in Delhi in thepast six weeks in step with thereduction in international oilrates.

Rates have been on thedecline since October 18. Thishas wiped off all of the pricehike on petrol and diesel in twomonths beginning August 16.

Petrol price had touched arecord high of �84 per litre inDelhi and �91.34 in Mumbaion October 4. Diesel on thatday had peaked to an all-timehigh of �75.45 a litre in Delhiand �80.10 in Mumbai.

Prices had started to climbfrom August 16. Petrol in Delhiwas priced at �77.14 per litreand in Mumbai, it cost � 84.58on August 15.

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The Gems andJ e w e l l e r y

Export PromotionCouncil (GJEPC)on Tuesday said itwas struggling toretain the creditlimit for theindustry.

The gems andjewellery sector has alreadyseen a credit squeeze afterbanks imposed extra caution-ary measures in the aftermathof the $2-billion PNB fraudcase.

“We will be happy if thecurrent total credit limit for thesector is retained at about�60,000 crore for 2019-20 giventhe circumstances,” GJEPCexecutive director SabyasachiRay said.

“GJEPC is urging to offerthe credit in dollar terms as atleast 80 per cent of our creditis used to import diamond andgold meant for exports,” hesaid.

Ray said the industry wasalso facing credit crunch withthe banking system not dis-bursing the ‘standby credit’,despite the sector losing 10-15per cent of its limit due todepreciation of the rupee.

In the last six months, theIndian currency has depreci-ated by 15 per cent, he said.

“The sector wants that col-lateral demand from banksshould be restricted at about 30per cent and not beyond,” Raysaid, adding, the council has ascheduled meeting with financeministry officials next week.

The gems and jewellerysector has witnessed a dip inexports, with April-Octobershipments contracting by 4.35per cent in dollar terms, hesaid.

Ray, however, expects thatthe Christmas season willimprove trade, led by theUnited States.

The US is the largest mar-ket for diamonds from India,GJEPC chairman P K Agarwalsaid. It accounted for 19-20 percent of total industry exports ofaround $33 billion in 2017-18.

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The telecom industry woesaccording to ICRA is

expected to persist amidintense competition and pric-ing pressures. A recovery,backed by restoration of pric-ing power with the telcos, is stillnot in sight.

The recovery, which wasanticipated on the back of aconsolidated industry struc-ture and data usage withgreater price-inelasticity, hasbeen prolonged. To add tothese, the recent rupee depre-ciation and increase in dieselprices would hurt the industryfurther.

The sector has been goingthrough a phase of turbulenceduring the last few years, withintense competition and pric-ing pressures leading to adecline in revenues and prof-itability.

Consistent downward revi-sion in prices has resulted inone of the steepest falls in theindustry average revenue peruser (ARPU) levels with theestimated blended ARPUfalling from �169 in Q1FY2017 to �116 in Q1 FY2019– with the industry adjustedgross revenue (AGR) fallingfrom �44,570 crore to �25,580crore in the same period.

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Iran’s President HassanRouhani struck a defiant

stance against US sanctions onTuesday, renewing his threat tocut off international oil salesfrom the Gulf.

“America should know... itis not capable of preventing theexport of Iran’s oil,” Rouhanisaid at a televised rally inSemnan province.

“If it ever tries to do so... nooil will be exported from thePersian Gulf,” he added.

Since the 1980s, Iran hassaid repeatedly it would block-ade the Gulf in response tointernational pressure but hasnever carried out the threat.

Washington has reimposedsanctions, including an oilembargo, since withdrawingfrom a landmark 2015 nucleardeal between Tehran and majorpowers in May.

It has vowed to reduceIran’s oil sales to zero, but hasgranted temporary waivers toeight countries.

Rouhani last threatened toclose the Gulf in July when hewarned the US “should not playwith the lion’s tail.” The presi-dent downplayed the econom-ic impact of sanctions, accus-ing the media of exaggeratingthe country’s problems.

“No hyperinflation, nomassive unemployment willthreaten us. People should stopsaying such things in thepapers,” he told the crowd.

The latest inflation report

from Iran’s central bank saysfood prices rose 56 percentyear-on-year in October.

Rouhani acknowledgedthere were “some problems”,but said these would beaddressed in the new budgetplan to be presented onDecember 16.

He said the governmentwould maintain subsidies onessential goods and increasepublic sector wages and pen-sions by 20 per cent.

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The French Government’sdecision to suspend fuel tax

and utility hikes on Tuesday didlittle to appease protesters, whocalled it a “first step” and vowedto fight on after large-scalerioting in Paris last weekend.

In a major U-turn for thegovernment, Prime MinisterEdouard Philippe announcedin a live televised address thatthe planned increases, whichwere set to be introduced inJanuary, were now being post-poned until the summer.

The backpedalingappeared to be designed tocalm the nation, coming threedays after the worst unrest onthe streets of Paris in decades.

“No tax is worth puttingthe nation’s unity in danger,”

said Philippe, just three weeksafter insisting that the govern-ment wouldn’t change courseand remained determined tohelp wean French consumersoff polluting fossils fuels.

Protesters wearing theirsignature fluorescent yellowvests kept blocking several fueldepots Tuesday and manyinsisted their fight wasn’t over.

“It’s a first step, but we willnot settle for a crumb,”Benjamin Cauchy, a protestleader.

More than 100 people wereinjured in the French capitaland 412 arrested over the week-end in Paris, with dozens ofcars torched. Shops were loot-ed and cars torched in plushneighborhoods around thefamed Champs-ElyseesAvenue.

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The world needs a “realitycheck” on the threat posed

by climate change, NASA astro-naut Mae Jemison said Tuesdayat a UN summit to chartmankind’s path away fromrunaway global warming.

Jemison, the first African-American woman in space,brought a little galactic per-spective to the COP24 talks inPoland, calling on delegatesfrom nearly 200 countries totackle “the most difficult prob-lem we’ve ever faced.”

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British Prime MinisterTheresa May on Tuesday

prepared to open a debate inthe House of Commons on herBrexit deal, setting the stage fora showdown with MPs acrossparty lines opposed to the pro-posals on offer.

The marathon debate is setto last five days before a crunchvote on the WithdrawalAgreement struck with theEuropean Union on December11. An embattled May hasbeen combatting pressure fromdifferent sides of the House,including the Northern IrishDemocratic Unionist Party(DUP) which props up herConservative Party govern-ment by providing crucial 10MPs for a majority in theCommons. The deal negotiat-ed by her and the EU has to bebacked by a majority of MPs ifit is to come into force.

While the prospects of itpassing through Parliamentremain in doubt, the govern-ment faced a rare a contempt-of-Parliament challenge over itsdecision not to release the fulllegal advice on the Brexit deal.

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Embattled MahindaRajapaksa on Tuesday filed

an appeal in Sri Lanka’sSupreme Court against a courtorder that barred him from act-ing as Prime Minister.

The Court of Appeal in aninterim order Monday tempo-rary halted Rajapaksa and hisCabinet from functioning intheir positions in response to acase filed by 122 legislatorsagainst his disputed govern-ment. The court set the hear-ing of the case for December 12and 13.

MP Gamini Lokuge saidthe appeal was filed in theSupreme Court against the

interim order issued by theCourt of Appeal, Daily Mirrorreported.

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In a strong message toPakistan, US Defence

Secretary Jim Mattis has said itis time for “every responsiblenation” to support the efforts ofthe UN, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and all thosewho are trying to maintainpeace in South Asia.

Pakistan must take on asubstantive role in peace talkswith the Taliban if the war inneighbouring Afghanistan is tobe ended, he said.

Mattis was responding to aquestion from reporters abouta letter written by PresidentDonald Trump to PakistanPrime Minister Imran Khan.

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The humanitarian crisis inYemen, already the world’s

worst, will deteriorate in 2019,the UN said on Tuesday, warn-ing that the number of peopleneeding food aid is set to jumpby four million.

The grim forecast for theembattled country came as theUnited Nations humanitarianoffice OCHA released its pro-jected needs assessments fornext year.

“The country with thebiggest problem in 2019 isgoing to be Yemen,” OCHA chief MarkLowcock told reporters inGeneva.

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Colombo: Likening Sri LankanPresident Maithripala Sirisenato Adolf Hitler, the country’stoppled Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe on Tuesdaysaid he was not afraid of snappolls but was against the use ofreferendums by “dictators”. OnMonday a lower court tem-porarily barred Sirisena-appointed PM Rajapaksa fromperforming his duties. PTI

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.� ����The Strathclyde Business

School, Glasgow, is invitingapplications for MSc FinancialTechnology course starting inSeptember 2019. The course is12 months full-time, with twosemesters of classes followed byprojects during the summer.

Financial Technology(FinTech) is the future. It com-bines the theory and knowl-edge behind capital marketswith the technology thatmakes financial transactionsmore efficient. The courseteaches the big data techniques,computer programing and ana-lytics that banks and insurancecompanies prize.

The MSc FinTech is joint-ly provided by the top rankeddepartments of Accounting,Finance and ManagementScience.

Students will gain a com-prehensive skill set using ablended learning approach thatcombines theory, intensivepractice and engagement withFinTech start-ups.

Eligibility: An honoursdegree, or equivalent, inaccounting, economics, busi-ness studies or a subject areawith a strong quantitative bias.The programme requires noprior knowledge of finance.IELTS (Academic): 6.5 overall(no individual band less than5.5)

Fee: The fee for overseasstudents is £21150 for 2019/20.For more information email [email protected] log on tohttps://www.strath.ac.uk/cours-es/postgraduatetaught/finan-cialtechnology/

(����The NIIT University (NU),

a not-for-profit, announcesearly admissions for its BTechprogrammes in ComputerScience Engineering;Electronics andCommunication Engineeringand Biotechnology along withfour-year Integrated MBA andfive-year Integrated MTechprogrammes.

Integrated MBA pro-gramme offers specialisation inMarketing & MarketingAnalytics, Family Business andEntrepreneurship, Finance,Banking & Fintech, BusinessAnalytics, Communication &Media Studies, and Digital &Social Media Marketing.

Students applying for earlyadmissions will get a provi-sional admission to the pro-gramme of their choice, evenbefore their Class XII exam.They will also get an opportu-nity to experience campus lifeat NU before joining the uni-versity through Camp Future –a unique two-day programmeat NIIT University for Class XIIStudents to experience the uni-versity life.

Selection process:Admissions are processedthrough a unique AdmissionInteraction Process (AIP).AIP consists of three parts—questionnaire, a test basedon Class XII subjects andPersonal Counsell ingInteraction (PCI). The PCIbetween the applicants andtheir parents/ guardians withdesignated officials from NUis an important prerequisite.AIP can be scheduled as perthe student’s preferred time,online or at any nearest AIPlocation.

Scholarship: To encourageand support meritorious can-didates, NU has implementedvery distinctive merit scholar-ship programme — NUScholar Search Programme.Merit scholarships are availableon first-come-first-servedbasis.

Deadline: The last date toapply for round one of earlyadmissions is December 22,2018. Students can apply onlineat www.niituniversity.in.

The annual South Zone InterUniversity Women’s

Badminton began at VelloreInstitute of Technology havebegun. Kondi Mani, Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of Togo,inaugurated the tournamentthat will be held over five days.CA Bhavani Devi, winner ofthe Gold Medal for fencing atthe Commonwealth Games,was the guest of honour.

More than 400 playersfrom 82 universities from allover South India are takingpart in the tournament.

Speaking on the occa-sion, Mani said that the twocountries had great ties witheach other and wished stu-dents to perform to the best oftheir abilities and earn laurelsfor their excellent perfor-mance.

Bhavani Devi, who wonthe Gold in Fencing at theCommonwealth Games heldin Sydney, hoisted the tour-nament flag and said thatwomen athletes were beinglaurels to the country, whenonce upon a time, they wereonly looked at as being deco-rative objects. For women totake part in sports and gamesand to excel, it required the

support of the family andsociety. She said that it wasimportant for women ath-letes to possess a burningdesire to excel and win inwhichever sports they take up.Bhavani Devi said that athletescould win only if they practicevery hard every day andadded that she was an exam-ple. “The Government hadmade arrangements for fundsand has also created the nec-essary sports infrastructureand young athletes shouldmake proper use of thesefacilities, practice well and winin tournaments,” she said.

S Narayanan, Pro Vice-Chancellor, hoisted the tour-nament flag and formallydeclared open the tourna-ment. He also handed overmementoes to the guests whotook part in the inauguralfunction. The first four teamsin the South Zone InterUniversity Tournament will betaking part in the All IndiaWomen's BadmintonTournament, to be held at VITfrom December 10, 2018.

Sixteen teams fromNorth, East, West and Southwill be competing in the four-day tournament.

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Following the success of Hindi Word of theYear in 2017 which declared Aadhaar the

word of the Year, Oxford Dictionaries is nowcalling on Hindi speakers from across thecountry to help choose a Hindi Word of theYear for 2018. The 2018 Word of the Year willbe announced in January 2019 at the JaipurLiterary Festival.

It will be a word or expression that hasattracted a great deal of interest over the last12 months. The chosen word should reflectthe ethos, mood, or preoccupations of theyear. It is not necessarily a new word, butshould be one that is strongly linked some-how to 2018. Following the public sugges-tions, the Word of the Year will be chosen bythe Hindi Dictionaries team at OxfordUniversity Press along with an advisory panelof language experts who each bring a uniqueperspective.

The panel includes Ashok KumarSharma, Hindi Language Champion, advi-sor, Public Relation Society of India; KritikaAgrawal, Hindi Language Champion, lawyer(Oxford), polyglot, and Indian languageexpert; Namita Gokhale, writer, publisherand festival director; Randhir Thakur, asso-ciate commissioning editor, Hindi, OxfordUniversity Press India and many others.

How to apply: People are invited to sub-mit suggestions on the Hindi LivingDictionaries website at https://hi.oxforddic-tionaries.com/hindi-word-of-the-year.

Deadline: The last date to apply isDecember 9, 2018.

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The Election Commissioner CertifiedEducational Consultant (CEC) des-

ignate Sunil Arora recently gave awaydiplomas to 24 scholars from 16 devel-oping countries at the valedictory sessionof the 70th diploma course in develop-ment journalism at IIMC, Delhi.

While appreciating the effort of theIIMC in designing and implementingsuch courses, Arora, said: “Impartingknowledge of positive and negative sideof social media among the journalism stu-dents is very crucial.”

Farhod Arziev, Amabassador ofUzbekistan to India and an alumnus of

IIMC was the guest of honour. Speakingon the occasion, Arziev emphasised on theclose relation with India in the field ofeducational diplomacy. He also men-tioned about the proposed MoU betweenIIMC and the Uzbekistan NationalUniversity of journalism countries for stu-dent exchange programme.

DG KG Suresh of IIMC, ADGManish Desai, course director Prof MukulSharma, faculty members, members of thediplomatic corps and students partici-pated in the event. In his address Suresh,said: “IIMC has trained 1600 journalistsfrom 128 countries since 1969.” Hedescribed them as India’s unofficialambassadors.

Sports in India is one of the fastestgrowing sectors thanks to thecommercial growth of sports

sector in our country. The commer-cial part of it has opened floodgatesfor various skilled professionalsincluding the growth of professionalsports management companies, eventorganisers, sports and physical edu-cation curriculum providers, andnonprofessional sports teams andleagues in India.

According to reports, India con-tributes a mere 0.35% of the $700 bil-lion global sports industry. However,with the increase of professionalcourses in India, the numbers are seento improve. India is now investing inmillion dollar deals and is organisingevents worth crores.

Considering the fact that mostsports enterprises are driving towardsthe data driven model where theystudy the game and players on thebasis of the data analytics available,shows the huge opportunity that pro-fessionals have today.

While many people dream ofrepresenting their country at nation-al and international tournaments,playing a sport is not the only part ofit. People who have the exquisiteknowledge and understanding of thegame are much needed in the market.This can be done by gaining theknowledge of the same at the educa-tional level.

A proper course in sports man-agement helps a student analyse theintricacies of every aspect of a sport,

starting from the rules of the game tothe rules of the business.

'������������ ����� �FApart from the packages and

excitement that sports managementoffers, there is a whole array ofopportunities that it opens up for anindividual. �Widens career opportunities fora person: The profession offershandsome packages as and when youbecome expert in this domain. Indiais a country which is crazy about itssports and teams, and hence this isone field which can never go intodepression. �Converts your sports passioninto a career choice:

Someone who is passionateabout sports but could not manageto be part of any team or leagues, stillgets an option to work closely withthe game. �Gain skills relevant to the busi-ness world: Ones love for sports cannever go in vain. No matter whicharea of sports management oneworks in, they have great opportu-nities to build their network, improvetheir communication skills, build aportfolio of their professional workand be of huge demand in theindustry.

In order to choose this field, oneneeds to do a bachelors degree insports management and/or pursuean MBA degree/ Masters in SportsManagement. Post this, there are var-ious job opportunities to choose

from. Some of the interesting jobs tochoose from are listed below:

������ ��������1���A sports marketing specialist is

responsible for handling the mar-keting/ public relations for a partic-ular event/ game/ brand. They areresponsible for deciding on the tac-tics of the game, coordinating activ-ities for the event, planning thepromotions for the event and every-thing from media partners to spon-sorship partners.

���������� ��Sports agents are responsible

for negotiating the contracts andproduct endorsement deals.Successful sports agents are bestnegotiators and are best at network-ing to find the best deals for theirclients. Apart from being on theirtoes, they have the perfect knowledgeand expertise in marketing, financeand legal sectors. An MBA degreecomes a lot handy because it preparesthe students for this.

� .������� ���������A sports information director is

responsible for being the channelbetween the teams and the media.They are responsible for creating thepress releases and maintaining rela-tions with the media on behalf of thecompany. They also organize pressconferences for the players and thecoaches. They are also responsiblefor ensuring that the company has a

positive light in the minds of people.The entire content that goes out inthe media is handled by the sportsinformation director.

��1� ���� ����A degree in Sports Management

gives you a podium to become a tal-ent manager. Let’s tell you the funpart: You will be able to get your fairshare of tickets for sporting events.A lot of the job will involve the per-son making sure that the players areselected and trained and hence oneneeds to keep his ears and eyesalways open on the ground. Talentmanager generally spends a lot oftime at sporting events, not onlykeeping an eye on their currentclient, but scouting for others.

1������A person with a degree in Sports

Management, can become a lectur-er. Apart from imparting the knowl-edge about every sport and its prac-tices, they can teach about the legaland ethical part of sports manage-ment. It is really an interesting pro-fession for a person who is interest-ed in being a lecturer and also is pas-sionate about sports.

Thus, by getting a degree insports management, an individualcan not only turn his passion ofsports into a career option, but canalso earn a lot of respect and revenuein this domain. ����������������������2�� ����������������

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The Institute of CompanySecretaries of India (ICSI) has

signed an MoU with LovelyProfessional University (LPU),Jalandhar, for mutual cooperation —recognition to Company Secretaryqualification as equivalent to PGdegree for admission to PhD inManagement or Commerce or Lawon November 28, 2018 at Jalandhar.

Under this partnership, the ICSI

will conduct specialised training pro-grammes at the university for the fac-ulty, research scholars and students inareas of mutual interest. The univer-sity will nominate ICSI members foracademic Board/syllabus reviewBoard of colleges/university. Exchangeof faculty members will allow sharingof expertise for training programmesor workshops organised by ICSI.

Joint organise workshops, semi-nars, continuing education and train-ing programmes like training of

trainers (ToT) for professionals, cor-porate executives and faculty mem-bers, research scholars and studentsof LPU will be organised as well. TheICSI and university will work jointlyfor teacher congruence by organisingspecialised programmes together.

Moreover, regularly an exchangejournals published by the partieswill also get featured in each other’spublications. There will be exchangeof course materials, case studies,research publications and other aca-

demic and research inputs. With theJoint Meeting of CurriculumDevelopment Committees, both willalso extend help and co-operation indeveloping each other’s academiccurriculum and education pro-grammes.

The ICSI and the university willalso undertake joint research projectsand will reciprocate participation intheir National and International con-ferences.

The university will be providingan exemption in university subjectsfor the students of ICSI in topics suchas Corporate Governance. The ICSImay also assist LPU in devising up aGovernance Code for the university.

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The EuroSchool, a network of K-12 schools, has announced the

launch of its new campus in Pune —EuroSchool West Campus in Wakad.This will be the third school in Puneand the 11th across the country.

EuroSchool’s unique engage-ment programmes focus on buildinglateral and critical thinking, creativ-ity, logical reasoning and essential lifeskills that help in holistic develop-ment and building 21st-century cit-izens.

The campus will follow the cur-riculum in accordance with the

ICSE Board, providing the best inclass learning for students fromJunior KG to Class X. The new cam-pus has been envisioned in a 2.25acre plot with state-of-the-art edu-cational and co-curricular facilities.The well-equipped campus will con-sist of a football field, swimmingpool, skating rink, squash court, 300-seater auditorium, indoor sportsarena and fully functional labs as wellas activity rooms for dance, musicand art, to provide a holistic learn-ing experience for students.

The campus aims to provide anenvironment that stimulates, inspiresand promotes learning with class-

rooms that feature the latest audio-visual systems for tech enabled cur-riculum delivery.

The seating arrangements areergonomically planned to promotegood posture and comfort for stu-dents. EuroSchool has been recog-nised as India’s first certified safeschool network and thus safety andwellness of the students is of top pri-ority.

The campus will also look intothe wellness of its students byemploying the Student Bag Weightloss programme, which mandatesthat children carry school bagsweighing only 10 per cent of their

body weight.“Our new school marks a sig-

nificant milestone and reinstatesour position as a leading education-al brand in India. We have a proventrack record of adopting best prac-tices and innovative learningmethodology for Delivering the Joyof Learning. Through our philoso-phy of Discover Yourself, we encour-age children to recognise their latenttalent, certain areas of interest andhone individual skills so that theydiscover varied facets of their per-sonality,” said Prajodh Rajan, co-founder and group CEO, EuroKidsInternational.

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The IIT Delhi, in partnershipwith IBM, will join the AI

Horizons Network as part of amulti-year research collaborationon artificial intelligence (AI). Theaim is to discover novel AI tech-niques which can help organisa-tions take informed decisions bybeing able to logically reason withtheir AI systems.

The solutions will be trained tocomprehend complex questionsusing natural language techniquesand derive new insights usingdomain knowledge.

Today, an AI system is nottrained to explain its decisionmaking process. The IBMresearchers will partner with stu-

dents and professors from theDepartment of Computer Scienceand Engineering at IIT Delhi toaddress this issue and conductjoint research to inculcate in AIsystems some key traits like rea-soning, comprehension and infer-encing. The research will benefitsectors like healthcare and medi-cine, finance, and customer sup-port which deal with complex setof questions and require reasoning.

“While working with AI sys-tems, organisations require explic-it reasoning and comprehension toreach a particular conclusion. Webelieve advancement in AI can

tackle such problems. We areexcited to collaborate with IITDelhi to focus on this area ofresearch and empower organiza-tions to make informed decisionsby infusing key characteristics likereasoning, comprehension andtransparency in their AI systems,”said Michael Karasick, VP, GlobalLabs, IBM Research.

The teams plan to publishtheir research in peer-reviewedacademic journals and releasedatasets and open challenges to theresearch community to identifynew areas in making AI decisionsbetter.

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The Commonwealthof Learning (COL)

announces the appoint-ment of DrVenkataraman Balaji asthe next vice presidentof COL. He will take up theappointment on January 1,2019.

Since joining COL, Dr Balajihas contributed to its reputationas an innovative organisationthrough various initiatives,including Aptus, MOOC forDevelopment, as well as a num-

ber of publications andcutting-edge knowl-edge management andtechnology services.

Prior to joiningCOL in 2010 as direc-tor, technology andknowledge manage-

ment, he worked at theInternational Crops ResearchInstitute for the Semi-AridTropics (ICRISAT) as the glob-al leader for knowledge man-agement and sharing. Beforethen, he was director ofInformatics at MS SwaminathanResearch Foundation.

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The University ofWarwick is offering WMGExcellence Scholarships forUK and international stu-dents. Scholarships will beawarded to students com-mencing full-time MSc pro-gramme beginning inSeptember 2019.

Eligibility: Applicantsmust hold an offer to study ona WMG full-time MSc coursestarting September 2019.Should have an excellent aca-demic track-record and/orstrong professional profile inorder to qualify. Scholarshipsare for self-funded studentsonly. Scholarships are paidtowards tuition fees only andcan’t be paid in cash ortowards accommodation ormaintenance costs. Englishlanguage requirement:Applicants must have IELTS6.5 (or IELTS 6.0 + pre-ses-sional).

How to apply: A complet-ed application form & applica-tion fee. A personal state-ment, which can be includedin the online application. Ascan of your transcript ofmarks awarded so far (if youare currently studying) or anoriginal copy of final tran-script/degree certificate.English test result (if applica-ble). One reference. If youcompleted studies less thantwo years back, this should beacademic references. If you

grad-uated more than two

years back, we will acceptprofessional references. Thereference must be submitteddirectly to us by the referee.

Application deadline:The last date to apply is April1, 2019.

Imperial CollegeBusiness School is pleased tooffer Riley FamilyScholarship for the full-timeMBA commencing inSeptember 2019. Internationalstudents are eligible to apply.

Eligibility: A very strongacademic background and anexcellent track record of pro-fessional achievement, A highand well-balanced GMATscore, which must also be sub-mitted by 25 January 2019,Your performance during theadmissions process, whereacademic and professionalmerit will be judged, Yourprofessional references.English language require-ment: IELTS (academic): Ascore of 7.0 with minimumscores of 6.5 in all elements,TOEFL iBT: A score of 100overall with minimum scoresof 22 in all elements. Degreestudied in and awarded by anEnglish-speaking country.

How to apply: As essayon: What life experiences haveshaped who you are today andhow have you overcomeadversity to excel in educa-tion? How do you think theseexperiences will help you intoday’s rapidly changingworld? (700 words max).

Application deadline:January 25, 2019.

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The biggest challenge of educationsystem today is to maintain highquality standards and to develop

institutional capacity to meet the demandof current industry. To this end the qual-ity of education and compliances aresupervised by the Ministry of HumanResources Development through its reg-ulatory body-UGC. Apart from this AllIndia Council for Technical Educationand National Assessment andAccreditation Council has played amajor role in enriching the quality of edu-cation. Under privatisation of higher edu-cation a number of institutes have grownrapidly in last three decades. Some ofthem have shown excellence in provid-ing quality education and developing rel-evant skills, however many of them havebecome centre for selling degrees. Suchinstitutions are more in professionalcourses like Engineering, Pharmacy,Education and Management. This hasreflected in employment statistics,according to McKinsey almost 75% ofIndian engineering graduates are notemployable and the reason is substandardeducation which is outdated and irrele-vant, not meeting the current demand ofthe industry. This has led higher educa-tion governing bodies to bring in radi-cal reforms.

Students look for better optionsrather than taking admission in sub-standard institutes. For last two decadesmany students have preferred westernuniversities. The various reasons are easeof admission, high quality education andimmigration. However, for last five years,the west is going through a number ofissues. Their economic and politicalscenarios are in trouble. Their own cit-izens are unemployed due to lack of jobopportunities. Industries in the UK andthe US are not creating enough jobs fortheir locals. This has made theirGovernments to enforce stringent visarules for foreigners to work in their owncountries. Such initiatives by theirGovernment have put Indian students introuble as most of them choose to studyabroad expecting jobs there after com-pletion of the studies. Non-availability ofjobs and difficulty in obtaining work visacompel Indian students with foreigndegrees to return home. However,

although they spend huge amount ontheir study many of them feel that thereare better opportunities in their homecountry due to economic growth andimproved job prospects.

Looking at the pace with which Indiais moving forward in creating world classinfrastructure and urban development toboost the national economy is excep-tional. I am of an opinion that the younggeneration must capture this opportu-nity to make career in this sector whichwill become world’s third largest con-struction market by 2025. TheGovernment has realised the require-ment of human resources to meet thedemand supply gap and skills required.

Huge spending by the IndianGovernment in construction sector,demand supply and skill gap. SkillIndia has attracted local and well-known foreign institutes in built envi-ronment to collaborate with Indianuniversities. Such collaborations havebrought in good pedagogy practices,thus developing students with requiredskill sets and standards to serve the con-struction industry which is at par withwell-known foreign institutions.Constant monitoring from higher edu-cation governing bodies enforcing high-er pedagogy standards has raised thelevel of Indian education.

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The Indian Institute of ForeignTrade (IIFT) 2018 exam wason December 2 for admis-

sion to the institutes located inDelhi, Kolkata, and Kakinada (AP).The test was conducted acrossvarious centres in the country.The two hour exam had no sec-tional time limit. However, therewere six sections this time —Verbal Ability (VA) and ReadingComprehension (RC) as separatesections along with LogicalReasoning (LR) and DataInterpretation (DI). Students need-ed to manage their time across sec-tions deftly to ensure that they gopast the sectional cut-offs.

There were six sections thisyear as against four last year. Eachof the sections had sectional cut-offs applicable. Below is the snap-shot of various sections (Set — A).

Section 1: The RC passages,though fairly lengthy, were defi-nitely readable. A person withmoderate to good reading skillsshould not have faced much of aproblem in reading the passages.However, most of the questions thatfollowed the passages were difficultin nature owing to the ambiguityof the options. The big change isthat there were five passages, withfour having three questions eachand one having four questions. Thepassages were from similar areas.While one was on Culture, anoth-er one was on Sociology. There wasone on economics. The remainingtwo were on Information (Science)

and Liberal Arts. The cut-off in thissection could be around three-fourmarks. Around seven-nineattempts can be considered verygood in this section. The cut-off inthis section is expected to be in therange 2.33 to 3.

Section 2: The questions in theVA were predominantly on vocab-ulary — jumbled words, origin, Fillin the blanks, and word-analogies.English Grammar did have a pres-ence but in the form of two differ-ent models of sentence-correctionquestions — both reasonably sim-ple. The vocabulary part was rea-sonably challenging, with quite afew unfamiliar words making anappearance.

The questions based on originwere challenging. The two para-jumbles could be worked out moreby elimination than by actuallysolving. Overall the section waschallenging barring a couple ofgrammar questions, and onlysomeone who understands wordswell would have been able to get agood score. 10-12 would be agood number of attempts in thissection. The cut-off is expected tobe around 3-3.5.

Section 3: The difficulty levelof QA this section was higher ascompared to that from last year onaccount of lengthier and tougherquestions. There were only aboutfive questions which could be clas-sified as relatively easier ones —two from Logarithms, one fromSimple Equations, one from Time

& Work, one from Time &Distance. The remaining questionswere either moderate or difficult tohandle during the test. A good can-didate would’ve been able to attemptaround seven-nine questions in QA.The cut-off in this section is expect-ed to be three-four marks.

Section 4: Another of thenever-ending difficult sections inthe test, DI was a definite tough nutto crack. With large quantum ofdata/graphs to work with, there wasno relief to the students.

There were a total of five setsof four questions each. All the setswere based on Tables and or LineGraph/Bar Graph. Almost all thequestions were calculation intensiveand were very lengthy. However,there was one set (related to LPIindicators) where the calculationswere easier.

Section 5: The LR questions onInput-output were time-consumingand would have needed a goodamount of concentration. Thequestions based on ‘distribution’ —job fair, though a little time con-suming were relatively easier tosolve. The missing number ques-tion might have seemed slightlytrickier in the first glance; howev-er, it was actually pretty simple.

The case-let on VennDiagrams, which had a minorerror was on the tougher side (if themistake is not identified). Theselections based question needed agood grasp of basic concepts.Compared to last year, this year’s LR

section was relatively much moredifficult. The overall difficulty levelof this section can be classified asmoderate-difficult. A good num-ber of attempts in this section canbe considered to be 6- 8 questionswhile the cut-off is expected to bearound 4 to 4.67 marks.

Section 6: (GeneralAwareness): This section, thougheasier than last year, still was onthe tougher side. The questionswere from diverse topics likePersonalities, sports, corporatelogos, corporate entities,International trade organisationsand currencies. This implies thatthe students needed to beextremely well prepared to clearthe cut-off in this section.

Unlike last year, the questionswere not lengthy in nature. Thiswould have enabled students toattempt the section in five-10minutes. Some very difficult ques-tions like the one on ‘SouthIndian sea ports’ must have baf-fled the students. Historically,the sectional cutoff for this sectionhas been very low, though thisyear there may be a tiny move-ment northward.

The cut-off in this section lastyear was 0.82 marks and is expect-ed to be little higher this year —to around one-two marks. Six-eight questions could be consid-ered to be a good number ofattempts in this section.

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Delhi Daredevils was renamed asDelhi Capitals on Tuesday with a

hope that it would bring a change in for-tunes of the franchise after a poor trackrecord over the past 11 IPL seasons.

Co-owners Parth Jindal, represent-ing JSW Sport, and KiranKumar Grandhi of GMR,unveiled the new name ofthe team.

Jindal, whose JSWsport acquired a 50 percent stake in the Delhifranchise last year, alsoannounced that ShreyasIyer will continue to leadthe team despite the presence of ShikharDhawan.

Dhawan returns to Delhi for the2019 season after being traded bySunrisers Hyderabad. Australian greatRicky Ponting will continue to coach theteam.

Jindal explained why his team zeroedin on the new name of the team.

"Delhi is the power centre of thecountry, it is the capital, therefore thename Delhi Capitals," he said.

The team has retained the old redand blue colour in the new team logo.

"Our logo has been inspired by the

design of Parliament House. Tiger is ournational animal and the three tigers ideais derived from the Ashok Chakra," saidJindal.

Delhi have � 25 crore to spend at theIPL auction on December 18 and Jindalsaid the team has its plans in place.

"We obviously can't share them withyou. The core of the teamhas remained the same forthe last couple of years. Weneed to invest more in theyouth and going forward,that is something we willcontinue to focus on," saidJindal.

"With Dhawan, wehave got more solidity at

the top. And the young guys who havebeen with us (Prithvi Shaw and RishabhPant) are doing well for India. The cap-tain and coach are the same, there is con-tinuity there," said the JSW Director,when asked about the team's dismal runseason after season.

Pravin Amre remains a part of thesupport staff and joining him next sea-son will be Mohammad Kaif.

The team had finished at the bottomof the standings last year when GautamGambhir stepped down as captain mid-way into the IPL. Iyer was then given theleadership role.

����� ��� ����

Veteran Indian opener Gautam Gambhir,who played a pivotal role in India's two

World Cup triumphs, on Tuesday announcedretirement from cricket, saying the "irritablenoise of 'It's over Gauti'" has triumphed overhis will to continue.

The 37-year-old, in a video message onhis social media pages, said the Ranji Trophygame against Andhra Pradesh startingThursday will be his last competitive match.

The aggressive opener was India'stop-scorer in the finals of the 2007 WorldT20 in South Africa and the 2011 ODIWorld Cup, both of which the country won.

"The next Ranji Trophy game againstAndhra will be my last day in the sun. It iscoming to an end where it all started at theFeroz Shah Kotla ground," Gambhir saidin the more than 11-minute long video post.

Gambhir, one of the most successfulbatsmen for India, has been out of favourwith the national team for a while now aftera dip in form and last played a Test backin 2016 against England.

"The thought has been with me day andnight. It has travelled with me on flights likean irritable excess baggage; it has accompa-nied me to practice sessions, mocking at melike a menacing bowler. On certain otherdays, it has made my dinner taste horrible,"

Gambhir said, elaborating on his thoughtprocess leading up to Tuesday's decision.

Gambhir made 58 Test appearances forIndia, accumulating 4154 runs at an averageof 41.95. His 147 ODI games fetched 5238runs, while in 37 T20 Internationals, hescored 932 runs.

The capricious left-hander, whocourted controversy of late for his out-spoken views on political issues as well, hada prolific first-class career, which spanned197 matches and produced 15,041 runs. HisList A run count stands at 10,077.

Gambhir, who recently drew criticism forcherrypicking his Delhi Ranji appearances,said he tried hard to make a comeback in thisyear's IPL but could not make it count.

"After a decent 2017 domestic season, Ientered this year's IPL with confidence as my

best buddy. I thought all those negativenoises were dead. But I was wrong. Sixgames of IPL for Delhi Daredevils it wasback. And this time it was louder thanbefore. Perhaps, my time was up. Yes, mytime was up," he said.

"So, here I am, after more than 15years of cricket for my country I want toretire from playing this beautiful game,"he added.

He refused to call his internationalcareer, which began in 2003 with an ODIagainst Bangladesh, completely satisfactory

but certainly the kind he would look back atfondly.

"I feel I was good enough for a lot more,"he said.

In the video, Gambhir thanked hiscoaches, teammates and family members forstanding by him.

����� ��������

Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahaneon Tuesday tagged Australia as thefavourites ahead of the first Test and

said the visitors will have to come upwith long partnerships to win theirmaiden series Down Under.

Rahane cited the example of his262-run partnership with Virat Kohli atMelbourne in 2014-15 and said that theAustralian focus on the India's star bats-man helps other batsmen do their jobsilently at the other end.

"Each and every batsman's role willbe to contribute for the team and I thinkfor us it is important to get those longpartnerships together (like last time).That will be really helpful in (winningthe series) in Australia," said Rahane.

"Last time both of us really enjoyedthat partnership at the MCG. MitchellJohnson was going after Virat Kohli andI was enjoying from the end as well asplaying my own game. Virat at the otherend was really aggressive and going afterthe bowlers, verbally as well.

"That really helped me focus on mygame and I played my natural attackinggame at the other end. But I was still bat-ting completely opposite to Virat. As anindividual you have to understand thateveryone's role is completely different.This is a team sport and Virat alsounderstands that."

The Indian batting line-up hascome under immense criticism fortheir twin failures in South Africa andEngland, wherein Kohli was the only

one to defy the opposition."People will criticise or appreciate,

but for us it matters to stay together indifficult times. In England conditionswere really challenging and even Englishbatsmen struggled a lot. Apart fromAlastair Cook's last Test innings, no onescored (big runs) for them. So it isimportant not to focus on criticism oreven on people who appreciate," saidRahane.

"It is important to start fresh in eachand every series. In England and SouthAfrica, we learnt a lot and there are def-initely areas to improve. When you tour

abroad, in countries like England, SouthAfrica and Australia, it is important tostart well." When asked about his per-sonal growth as a batsman since he firstcame here as part of the 2014-15 tour-ing party, Rahane said, "As a batsmanin 2014, personally I thought I did real-ly well but what the team's performancematters more. When you do well as ateam, you feel really good."

His focus is on playing long."Personally I learnt a lot from last

tour (in Australia). In South Africa,Johannesburg match was really crucialfor me. I thought I did well.

"In England I got a couple goodstarts - 80-odd in Nottingham andanother half-century in Southampton.For me as a number five batsman, it isimportant to convert those starts intobig hundreds rather than thinkingabout targets."

There is also intense spotlight on theAustralian batting line-up and how theywill cope in the absence of Steve Smithand David Warner. Rahane said thatplaying at home, Australia start asfavourites.

"I feel any team that plays at homeis really good and Australia are stillfavourites to win the series. Yes they willmiss Smith and Warner but I don't thinkthey are vulnerable. Look at their bowl-ing attack - they have really goodbowlers. When you have to win Testmatches and Test series you have to havea good bowling attack.

"Definitely Smith and Warner are

quality players, and I will not take any-thing away from them. But on a givenday anyone can score runs. UsmanKhawaja and Aaron Finch are equallydangerous in their conditions. Theyknow how the wicket behaves and it isall about intent as batsmen."

After enjoying a day off on Monday,India got down to business in a bid toprepare for the first Test. All top-orderbatsmen had an intense work out in thenets, with the team management like-ly to go in with six full-time batsmen.

The new-ball bowlers —Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrahand Ishant Sharma — worked upintense pace in the nets and troubled thelikes of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay.

Rahane said that irrespective ofwhether there is another specialist bats-man after him or not, his role in the sideis to bat as long as possible and converthis starts/half-centuries into tall scores.

"When you bat at number four orfive, it is important to give yourself sometime, first 15-20 minutes, and youshould visualise the situation fromdressing room.

"Then, when you bat with lower-order batsmen, you perhaps knowwhether to attack or play a defensivegame and have a partnership withthose guys.

"Kookaburra ball, after 30-35 overs,is relatively easy to bat against. Whenyou bat in England against Duke's ball,you know you are never set in those con-ditions. You have to go with a positivemindset,” he said.

����� ��������

The talk is all about Virat Kohli right now but the Australianbowlers' preparation for other Indian batsmen is as detailed

and anyone who thinks otherwise is plain "silly", all-rounderMitchell Marsh said on Tuesday.

Gearing up for the four-match Test series that startsThursday here, Marsh said his team's bowlers have strategiesin place and would be aiming for perfect execution when theaction begins.

"We all know Virat is a great player. We'll have our plansfor him and hopefully we can execute them. But if people thinkwe're not prepared for the other batsmen in the Indian team,who are all very good players, then they'd be pretty silly," saidMarsh.

Marsh said thenew faces and inex-perience in theAustralian battingline-up should beseen as an opportu-nity, rather than asign of weaknessfor the hosts.

"There's obvi-ously been a lot oftalk about that andit's been a big buildup to this Testmatch but there's agreat feeling aroundthis group...Now it'sabout going out there and hopefully putting it together as abatting unit. But we all feel really good at the moment," hesaid.

The Australian vice-captain was also asked about the spinchallenge that India poses and the fact that the visiting tweak-ers have never had a particularly good run in this country.

"We know R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadejda and Kuldeep Yadavare all world-class spinners. History shows that Indian spin-ners haven't had as much impact over here as they have inIndia. But they're world-class bowlers and we're very preparedfor them. It will be a great contest," he replied.

Marsh is expected to return to the Australian middle-orderdespite a poor outing in the UAE against Pakistan.

He and brother Shaun Marsh will form the backbone ofthe home team's middle-order and look to replicate their formfrom the Ashes last summer.

"He's my brother and my best mate. I look up to him inevery single way... Hopefully people respect him for the facthe's never given up. He keeps coming back, keeps workinghard. Hopefully he can keep proving a few people wrong. Ijust want him to have a great summer," he said.

The all-rounder said he is also fully fit to bowl and hopesto be a vital fifth cog in the Australian attack, comprising ofthree pacers and Nathan Lyon.

"I have got some good overs under my belt the last cou-ple of weeks for Western Australia. My goal for this summeris to start chipping in with the ball and get a few more wick-ets for the team.

"I love coming on in the graveyard shift, 70 to 80 overswhen the ball's doing nothing and trying to sneak in a wick-et. I really want to take my bowling to the next level in thisteam," he said.

"I think number six is a great position to bat especially ifyou've bowled a few overs. I'm doing my best to make the num-ber six position my own in this team, so that's all I can do,"he added.

�.��� ��� ����

Azhar Ali struck a fighting half cen-tury to help Pakistan recover to 139-

3 at close on the second day of the thirdand final Test against New Zealand inAbu Dhabi on Tuesday.

It marked a good recovery from 17-2 after Kiwi pace bowler Trent Boultripped out openers Imam-ul-Haq andMohammed Hafeez.

Azhar was unbeaten on 62 at theclose having shared a dogged, unbrokenfourth wicket partnership of 54 withAsad Shafiq who will resume on 26.

Pakistan are still 135 runs adrift ofNew Zealand's first innings total of 274in which BJ Watling made a gutsy andvital 77 not out.

Azhar remains key for Pakistan ifthey are to build any kind of firstinnings lead.

The 33-year-old dropped anchor andfound the boundary just four times as hecrawled through to his 32nd Test half

century. His 62 not out was carvedpainstakingly from 169 deliveries as thePakistan scoring rate struggled to riseabove two an over.

The equally-experienced Shafiq hitthe same number of fours in his 26 whichhas so far occupied 85 balls.

However, Pakistan's top order wasjolted by Boult's double strike either sideof lunch.

Hafeez has been struggling for form

for a while, having made just 66 runs inseven innings since scoring a hundredagainst Australia in Dubai in October,following his recall to the Test side aftera two-year absence.

It was no surprise when Boult hadhim caught low down at second slip byTim Southee for a fourth-ball duck in hisfirst over, right before the lunch inter-val.

In the fourth full over after the break,Imam-ul-Haq took his eye off a Trentbouncer and was hit on the back of thehelmet. Next ball, he edged to Southeeat third slip and was on his way for justnine.

It was Watling, with an unbeaten 77,who carried New Zealand's overnighttotal from 229-7 and added an invalu-able 45 runs over the last three wicketsto frustrate Pakistan.

During his five-and-a-half-hourknock in his 56th Test Watling becamethe 14th New Zealander to pass 3,000runs.

����� �����

Pakistan's seasoned batsmanMuhammad Hafeez on

Tuesday announced his retire-ment from Test cricket after fail-ing again in the first innings of thethird and final match against NewZealand in Abu Dhabi.

Hafeez, who wasplaying in his 55th Test,fell for a duck on thesecond day andannounced his retire-ment, insisting that hehad been ponderingover the decision for thelast two weeks. He, how-ever, said that he willcontinue to play limited-over cricket.

"It is a personal decisionand I have not taken it underany pressure. I have no regretstaking this decision," he toldreporters after the day's playin Abu Dhabi.

The 38-year-old Hafeezmade his Test debut in 2003

against Bangladesh andsince then has

appeared in 54matches, besides

playing in 203 ODIsand 89 T20

Internationals.Before this Test, Hafeez

has scored 3644 runs at anaverage of 38.35, with 10

hundreds to his kitty. Hehas also taken 53 wickets.

����� ���������

Two-time champions Australia firm-ly remained on course for a hat-trick

of titles by becoming the first team toqualify for the quarterfinals of themen's hockey World Cup with a com-fortable 3-0 win over England in a PoolB match here on Tuesday.

World number 1 Australia scoredthree goals in the final quarter to regis-ter their second consecutive win in PoolB at the Kalinga Stadium.

The win took Australia to the top ofPool B with six points from two gamesand secured their place in the quarter-finals of the 16-team event.

The Kookaburras became the firstto seal a direct quarterfinal berth afterChina sprang yet another surprise byholding higher-ranked Ireland to ahard-fought 1-1 draw in the other PoolB match.

Jin Guo scored from a penalty cor-ner for China in the 43rd minute before

Ireland's Alan Sothern drew parity in thevery next minute.

The Kookaburras had earlier defeat-ed Ireland 2-1 in their tournament open-er, while China drew 2-2 with England.

While Australia will finish at the topof the pool, world number 17 China areplaced second ahead of Ireland (1

point) and England (1).Australia play China in their last

pool match on December 7, whileEngland will be up against neighboursIreland.

The battle between world's numberone side Australia and number 7England witnessed a dull first quarter

with both the teams struggling to makeinroads into the rival citadel.

It took Australia 21 minutes to cre-ate a real scoring chance in the form ofback-to-back penalty corners but analert George Pinner in front of Englandgoal averted danger on both occa-sions.

England got their first penalty cor-ner a minute away from half-time butwasted the chance as both the teamsfailed to break the deadlock in the open-

ing two quarters.The game continued in the same

vein after the change of ends as the thirdquarter witnessed just a penalty cornerawarded to Australia, which went abeg-ging.

After the barren three quarters, theKookaburras looked a completely dif-ferent side in the final 15 minutes of thegame as they pumped in two goals in aspan of four minutes to race to a 2-0lead.

Whetton finally broke the deadlockin the 47th minute when he scored afterreceiving a pass from Tom Craig. Threeminutes later, Govers dou-bled Australia's lead byslamming from the top ofthe circle past England goal-keeper George Pinner.

Four minutes from the final hoot-er, Australia pumped in another goalthrough Corey Weyer whose reverse hitcrashed into the England goal pastPinner.

(�(� ��'��5�Olympic Silver medallist Belgiumand Canada were on Tuesday forced to make achange each in their squads due to injuries at theongoing men's hockey World Cup here.

Belgium's Emmanuel Stockbroek has beenwithdrawn from the squad due to a hamstring

injury sustained in hisside's 2-2 draw againstIndia on Sunday. He willbe replaced by AntoineKina, a 22-year-old with 29caps to his name.

Canada too wereforced to make a changeafter Brandon Pereira waswithdrawn because of an

injury. Forward Floris van Son will replacePereira in the 18-member squad.

The replacements were made afterboth Belgium and Canada sought approval

from the International Hockey Federation (FIH).Both the players will be involved in their team's

final Pool C matches on Saturday. While Belgiumwill take on South Africa, Canada will play hostsIndia. PTI

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Luka Modric saw off competitionfrom a host of French World Cupstars as the Real Madrid and Croatia

midfielder won the 2018 Ballon d'Or onMonday, ending the 10-year strangleholdon the award by Cristiano Ronaldo andLionel Messi.

Modric, 33, was announced as thewinner of the prestigious prize in a glitzyceremony held in Paris. Ronaldo was sec-ond, with France and Atletico Madridstriker Antoine Griezmann completingthe podium.

Paris Saint-Germain's teenage for-ward Kylian Mbappe came fourth, leav-ing Messi to settle for fifth position.Another Frenchman, Modric's Madridteammate Raphael Varane, was sev-enth, just behind Liverpool's Egyptianforward Mohamed Salah.

"As a kid we all have dreams. Mydream was to play for a big club and winimportant trophies," Modric said.

"The Ballon d'Or was more than justa dream for me and it is really an hon-our and a privilege to hold this trophy."Mbappe, who does not turn 20 until laterthis month, picked up the consolationprize of the Kopa Trophy for the bestyoung player.

The gala ceremony also saw awomen's Ballon d'Or named for the firsttime, with Lyon's prolific Norwegianstriker Ada Hegerberg taking that award.Modric — the oldest winner since Italy'sFabio Cannavaro, also 33, in 2006 — wascrowned after an outstanding year inwhich he starred in the Real side thatretained the Champions League beforeheroically helping drag his country to thefinal of the World Cup for the first timein their history.

The prize comes after Modricclaimed the Golden Ball for the best play-er at the World Cup before picking upUEFA's prize for player of the season andFIFA's best player award in September.

Ronaldo and Messi were among 30nominees for the Ballon d'Or, organisedby France Football magazine and whichtakes votes from 180 journalists fromaround the world.

The Portuguese star played withModric in the Madrid side that won theChampions League before moving toJuventus in a typically prolific year, whileMessi has again been outstanding withBarcelona.

The pair had won the prize fivetimes each in the last decade but bothare now in their 30s and neither stampedtheir authority on the World Cup. Messi

finishes outside the top three in the vot-ing for the first time since 2006.

The World Cup was always likely toplay a key role, and France had hopedto see one of their stars take the awardon home soil.

E��������A�The last time a Frenchman won the

Ballon d'Or came in 1998, whenZinedine Zidane was rewarded for star-ring as Les Bleus won that year's WorldCup. But perhaps the lack of a singlestandout French candidate cleared thepath for Modric — Hugo Lloris, Paul

Pogba and N'Golo Kante had also beenin the running, as had TottenhamHotspur and England striker HarryKane, the World Cup's top scorer.

"I won the Europa League and theWorld Cup, so it's been a great year, butit is true that it was a little bit disap-pointing after I was told what the podi-um was," said Griezmann.

Modric has won 14 trophies sincejoining Real in 2012, including fourChampions Leagues. He could add tothat as Real take part in the Club WorldCup later this month.

Hegerberg, 23, won the women'sprize after starring for French side Lyonas they successfully defended theChampions League title and won a 12thconsecutive French title.

"I want to say thanks to my team-mates because this would not havebeen possible without them, my coachor our president Jean-Michel Aulas," Adasaid. "I also want to thank FranceFootball. This is a huge step for women'sfootball."

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Inter Milan's Argentina striker Mauro Icardi won theSerie A Footballer of the Year award at the Gran Gala

del Calcio ceremony in Milan on Monday night.The 25-year-old becomes the first player outside

Juventus to win the Italian Players' Association award,voted for by his peers, since Zlatan Ibrahimovic with ACMilan in 2011.

Icardi was joint top scorer with Lazio's CiroImmobile in Serie A last season with 29 goals.

The Argentine also won the best goal award for hisspectacular backheel during a four-goal haul againstSampdoria last March.

Icardi disagreed with the choice, insisting his "one(goal) at AC Milan was more beautiful".

Juventus were voted top team with MassimilianoAllegri winning coach of the year after the Turin sidewon a league and Cup double for the fourth consecu-tive year.

"It's a group of great men, with a great club behindus," said Allegri, who has won the award four times.

"I'm fortunate to have worked with so many mar-vellous players and tonight I see the maestro Andrea Pirlotoo." Allegri's side are on track for an eighth straight SerieA title, with Allegri hailing the impact of five-time Ballond'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo who arrived last sum-mer.

"Ronaldo has brought professionalism, competi-tiveness and is a humble guy," said Allegri.

Fiorentina's Italian international defender AliaGuagni won the Serie A women's Player of the Yearaward.

Roma legend Francesco Totti and former AC Milanand Juventus great Pirlo both received LifetimeAchievement Awards.

Meanwhile, Gianluca Rocchi won the award for thebest referee 24 hours after being whistled off the pitchat the Stadio Olimpico over his decision not to awardRoma a penalty in a 2-2 draw against Inter Milan.

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Jose Mourinho needs to liftManchester United's morale

quickly as a deflating run of per-formances threatens to throwtheir season off track completelybut he faces a daunting taskagainst a revitalised Arsenal.

Mourinho's team have notlooked themselves at Old Traffordfor much of the season, with theirpast two matchesproducing aninsipid goallessdraw against CrystalPalace and anunconvincing late ChampionsLeague victory over Swiss sideYoung Boys.

On their travels, they hadlooked as if they were getting backto form as October turned toNovember, with the side produc-ing fine displays in drawing atChelsea and beating Juventus.

Yet perhaps those perfor-mances were just papering over thecracks. United recovered from atwo-goal deficit to draw atSouthampton on Saturday andRomelu Lukaku scored his firstclub goal since September 15 butthere was much to be alarmedabout.

Mourinho claimed his players,with the exception of MarcusRashford, were meek, lacking thespirit of what he called "maddogs".

According to Duncan Castles,a British journalist with close

links to Mourinho'sagent Jorge Mendes,the United managercompared midfielder

Paul Pogba to "a virus" afteranother poor performance atSouthampton, saying the Franceinternational lacked respect forboth his teammates and fans.

The manager's frustra-tion at not being able to signa top-class centre-back hasbeen raked over repeatedlybut his defensive team selec-tion at Southampton baffledeven his most loyal sup-porters.

With Chris Smalling and EricBailly unfit, Mourinho elected toplay two midfielders — ScottMcTominay and Nemanja Matic— in a three-man central defenceagainst a team that had not wonat home all season. It did not work.

Failure to win on the southcoast further damaged United'schances of finishing in the top four— the ticket to Champions Leaguequalification — and Mourinho

himself appears to believethat is now a long shotwith his team lagging eightpoints behind fourth-placed Arsenal.

Asked by Braziliantelevision what his aims

were for the remainder of the sea-son, he said: "Try to win as manypoints as possible and try (toachieve) almost the miracle of fin-ishing fourth.

Arsenal, like United, spent rel-atively little in the close-season,bringing in Bernd Leno, SokratisPapastathopoulos, Lucas Torreiraand Matteo Guendouzi for rela-tively modest sums, yet look revi-talised under Unai Emery's man-

agement.They have gone 19 games

unbeaten in all competitions sincelosing their first two matches of theseason, and are playing a thrillingbrand of aggressive, high-pressingfootball.

According to Uruguay mid-fielder Torreira, the manager'swords are making as much of animpact as his actions — as evi-denced by his half-time team talkon Sunday before the Gunnersrecovered to beat Tottenham 4-2.

"He told us to be calm,"Torreira said. "We listened to themanager and we improved manythings. That worked for us to getthe victory."

�.��� �������

Arkadiusz Milik came off thebench to snatch a late 2-1 win

for Napoli over Atalanta onMonday that consolidated secondplace in Serie A and reduced thegap on leaders Juventus toeight points.

Polish forward Milikscored the winner five min-utes from time shortly aftercoming on after Fabian Ruizhad put the visitors aheadjust two minutes into theclash in Bergamo and for-mer Napoli man Duvan Zapata hadpulled Atalanta level 11 minutesafter the break.

Napoli close the gap onJuventus, who pulled 11 pointsclear with a 3-0 win at Fiorentinaon Saturday.

"It's a very, very important goalfor all of us," said Napoli coachAncelotti.

"Milik went through a difficultperiod because he didn't play con-sistently, but he remained moti-vated and focused, so deservesthis."

Ancelotti's side came out fir-ing on all cylinders after their titlehopes took a serious hit with a

goalless draw against bot-tom club Chievo last week-end.

The coach stuck withthe same starting line-upthat beat Red Star Belgrade3-1 in the ChampionsLeague midweek.

Captain Marek Hamsikstarted the move that led to theopener with just a minute on theclock, passing to Lorenzo Insignewho crossed for Spaniard Ruiz totap in his third goal since joiningNapoli from Real Betis.

Insigne was ruled offside earlyas his volley rattled the bar with alob shortly after the Italian inter-national forward shot wide as he

slipped.Zapata tested Napoli goal-

keeper David Ospina in the firsthalf with defender Raul Albiol alsoclearing off the Colombian afterthe break.

But the former Napoli forwardbroke though on 56 minutes whenHans Hateboer headed the balldown and he blasted in from closerange.

Milik came on for DriesMertens after 81 minutes and fourminutes later picked up a MarioRui cross to fire in the winner forhis fifth goal this season.

And the Polish striker said thewin gaves his side confidenceahead of next week's decisiveChampions League clash againstLiverpool at Anfield.

"Before the ChampionsLeague, we have another toughSerie A game against Frosinone. Ofcourse we want to beat Liverpool,we know it won't be easy, but webelieve in ourselves," said Milik.

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Pep Guardiola is confident thatwinger Leroy Sane will sign a

new long-term deal with ManchesterCity despite delays in ongoing con-tract negotiations between the twoparties.

The 22-year-old has recoveredwell from the disappointment of asummer in which he was not select-ed in Germany's World Cup squadand then returned to England to dis-cover he had lost his starting placeunder Guardiola.

Sane has still only started sevenof City's 14 league games this seasonbut four goals in his past fivePremier League games suggests heis rediscovering his impressive formof the past two seasons.

And even though Sane is yet tojoin a list of senior stars such asSergio Aguero, David Silva, KevinDe Bruyne, Raheem Sterling,Ederson, Gabriel Jesus and NicolasOtamendi in signing new long-term contracts with the club,Guardiola is convinced that will hap-pen.

"I don't have any info about theclub, about being in trouble withLeroy," said the City manager, whoseside travel to Watford on Tuesday.

"The last info I had was that it'sgoing well but the process is not oneday — Raheem Sterling it was notone day. Except Kevin De Bruyne,it was in one or two days done, theother ones sometimes take longerbut hopefully he can stay here formany, many years." Sane's task atCity this season has been further

complicated by the summer club-record signing of $76 millionLeicester winger Riyad Mahrez.

The pair have been effectivelyengaged in a straight fight for thewide left position in Guardiola'sattack, with Mahrez having madeone less start than Sane but havingbeen involved in one more leaguegame when substitute appearancesare factored in.

Pep has not ruled De Bruyne,who has played just 81 minutes ofleague football this season due to twoknee injuries, out of the weekendvisit to Chelsea. "He's started train-ing. It's day by day," he said.

"This kind of situation, if theplayer himself decides it feels good,he will train with the team. We willsee."

�.��� ������

Spanish international CesarAzpilicueta, one of the longest-

serving players at Chelsea, signed anew four-year contract on Tuesdaywhich if he sees it out will take himto 10 years with the Premier Leagueclub.

The 29-year-old defender —who joined the Blues in 2012 fromFrench outfit Marseille and has wonthe Premier League title twice as wellas captained them this season in the

league — says his desire to fight forthe club is stronger than ever.

Azpilicueta, who is two appear-ances short of 300 for the club, hasbeen a pivotal player in the brightstart to the Maurizio Sarri reignwhich sees them lying in third spot.

"Delighted to be a blue until2022," the 25-times capped Spaniardsaid on his Twitter account.

"Since I arrived in 2012, mydesire has been always to give my bestand fight for this club, and now morethan ever, I feel the responsibility tobring more success to this family."

Azpilicueta's previous deal wasdue to expire in 2020 after he signeda three-and-a-half-year contractextension in 2016.

Club director Maria Granovskaiasaid Azpilicueta's new contract wasreward not only for his loyalty butalso his consistently high-level dis-plays.

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