KHURSHEED WANI n SRINAGAR

Large-scale violence marredthe first day of bypoll for

two Lok Sabha seats inKashmir as eight anti-poll pro-testers were killed and scores ofothers injured during massiveclashes. The officials said that7.14 per cent voter turnout wasrecorded in the Srinagar-Budgam Lok Sabha segment,the lowest in the recent poll his-tory in Kashmir. The separatistshave lauded “resilience andsteadfastness” of people andcalled for two-day shutdownagainst the killings.

Many polling stations drewa blank and poll staff windedup much before the stipulatedtime while protesters attackedseveral booths, mostly in cen-tral district Budgam, damagedEVMs and attempted to takethe poll staff hostage. The inci-dents occurred in spite of heavydeployment of police and para-military forces in the poll-bound area and snapping ofinternet services from Saturday

midnight to prevent flow ofnews and rumours on the sen-sitive day.

The separatists, who hadcalled for 2016-like protests onthe poll day, have appealed fortwo-day shutdown startingMonday. The lower turnoutand violence is likely to impactthe conduct of second leg of thebypoll in south Kashmir’s

Anantnag-Pulwama segmentscheduled for April 12.

Observers say that this isthe first time when such large-scale violence occurred on apolling day since the inceptionof militancy in Kashmir in1989. “The Lok Sabha poll hasrecorded the lowest turnout in1996 when the poll percentagewas 41 per cent. However, the1996 turnout was largely attrib-uted to coercion by the securi-ty forces and the pro-Government militia calledIkhwanis,” said a seniorKahsmir analyst.

Chief Electoral OfficerShantmanu said, “It was not agood day for us” as 200 inci-dents of stone-pelting, petrolbombing on polling stations andattacks on EVMs occurred. Hesaid 17 civilians and more thana hundred police and paramil-itary personnel were injured inthe violence. However, sourcessaid that more than three dozencivilians have been admitted tovarious hospitals with pelletand bullet injuries.

Chief Minister MehboobaMufti expressed anguish overthe loss of lives saying thosekilled were young boys whowere yet to understand theintricacies of the issues.

The violence began soonafter the polling started at 7 am.At many places the polling staffreached the stations in the weehours but they faced stiff resis-tance from locals. At severalplaces, the protesters snatchedEVMs and set them ablaze.

Continued on Page 5

PNS n PATNA

In an unprecedented inci-dent of luggage lifting in the

premium 12310 down NewDelhi-Patna Rajdhani Express,a gang stormed into threecoaches and decamped withsuitcases and hand baggage,including ladies purses, with-out any resistance and theknowledge of the passengers inthe wee hours of Sunday.

Following the incident thattook place between Gahmarand Badhaura close toMughalsarai in Uttar Pradeshbefore the train entered Bihar’sBuxar, the entire escort party,comprising one ASI and sixconstables of RailwayProtection Force, has been sus-pended and coach attendants ofthe affected coaches detained.

According to railwaysources, the gang members,numbering about five, board-ed the train at Mughalsaraijunction and soon they carriedout their operation in coaches

A4, B7 and B8, one AC2 andtwo AC3, lifting whatever theyfound and got down betweenGahmar and Badhaura.

What is surprising is thatthe train had stopped after thered signal between Gahmarand Badhaura even though ithad no stoppage anywherebetween Mughalsarai and Patna.

After Railway MinisterSuresh Prabhu took a seriousview of the incident, action hasbeen taken against officials.Sources said a departmentalenquiry has also been orderedagainst the train superintendent.

Never before in thisRajdhani train such incidentstook place even though the lug-gage-lifter gangs are activebetween Ara and Buxar, Buxarand Mughalsarai, and targetseveral trains running on thisroute, said sources.

Prabhu reportedly askedDG of RPF to speak to theBihar DGP and other author-ities and probe the incident.

Most of the affected pas-sengers came to know aboutthe theft when they reachedPatna junction in the morningand filed FIRs. They foughtwith the railway authoritiesand accused the escort partyand coach attendants of laxityin duty.

RAHUL DUTTA/TN RAGHUNATHAn NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI

In a well-coordinated opera-tion on Sunday morning,

Indian and Chinese warshipsrescued a merchant ship frompirates in the Gulf of Aden. Thetwo Navies are part of an inter-national effort to secure thepiracy-prone Gulf of Aden andescort merchant ships throughthe 490-km long sea lane in theArabian Sea.

Incidentally, the joint res-cue operation came days afterChina protested against theDalai Lama’s visit to ArunachalPradesh and blocked India’seffort to get Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chiefMasood Azhar declared asglobal terrorist by the UN.

The joint mission began inthe wee hours of Sunday whenthe Indian Navy responded to

a distress call from a foreignmerchant ship MV OS 35(Tuvalu-registered vessel),which came under attack fromthe pirates in the Gulf of Adenon Saturday night.

Incidentally, the repulsionof attack on merchant vessel“MV OS-35” came less than aweek of a Dhow from Mumbai,‘Al Kausar’, said to be carryinga cargo of edible items and dry

foodstuffs from Dubai toYemen’s Al Mukala Port, washijacked.

Indian Navy ships — INSMumbai, INS Tarkash, INSTrishul and INS Aditya — pro-

ceeding on deployment to theMediterranean and passingthrough the Gulf of Aden,responded to the call andrushed towards the merchantvessel and closed in by the earlyhours of Sunday, said Navyspokesman DK Sharma.

The Indian Navy swunginto action after getting a callfrom Dubai office of the UK’sMaritime Trade Organisation,which acts as the primarypoint of contact for merchantvessels and liaison with militaryforces in the region.

The Indian warships estab-lished contact with the Captainof the merchant vessel, whoalong with the crew had locked

themselves up in a strong roomon board (citadel) as per stan-dard operating procedure.

“An Indian Navy helicopterundertook aerial reconnais-sance of the merchant vessel atnight, and at sunrise, to sanitisethe upper decks of the merchantship and ascertain the locationof pirates, if still on board,” anIndian Navy spokesperson said.

Emboldened by IndianNavy’s helicopter cover, and onreceiving the ‘all clear signal’ thatno pirates were visible on theupper decks, crew membersgradually emerged from thestrong room and found that thepirates had fled the ship at night.

Continued on Page 5

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi’s pet project to pro-

vide mobile connectivity inmore than 4,000 villages ofArunachal Pradesh and Assamhas been significantly delayeddue to constant interference byone of the bidders — VihanNetworks Limited (VNL), aGurugram-based company.

As part of Prime Minister’sdigital India initiative to makeIndia a digitally empoweredcountry, an ambitious projectwas conceived in 2014 with thevision to establish mobile con-nectivity in 4,118 remote vil-lages in the States of ArunachalPradesh and Assam byinstalling 2G GSM BSS net-work at 2,817 sites.

Subsequently, the processto implement the project wasinitiated and tenders for thesame were floated in April2016 by Bharat Sanchar NigamLimited (BSNL). However, it isalmost a year since then andthe financial bids for the pro-ject are yet to be opened.

According to DoT sources,even though BSNL had dulyfloated the tenders in 2016, con-stant interference and com-plaints about the biddingprocess by VNL resulted in con-troversies and delays as it forcedBSNL to waste valuable time inaddressing their queries.

According to sources, thereis an urgent need to providemobile connectivity to morethan 40,000 remote villages allover the country. In addition,there is a strong demand from

various security agencies underthe Ministry of Home Affairs forsimilar services in the borderareas of the States. Expenditureon these projects runs into tensof thousands of crores.

Sources allege that since thebeginning, VNL has been con-stantly writing letters of com-plaints to BSNL not only beforethe tenders were issued buteven after the bids have beensubmitted. This is a gimmick onthe company’s part to delay theprocess so that the tenders getcancelled. If this happens, theBSNL would have no choice butto award the work to VNL,which had executed the similarproject in 2014 without the ten-der. At that time, VNL was theonly technology supplier forthis kind of projects. Because of

VNL’s incessant interferencesince 2015, the financial bidshave failed to open even thoughBSNL has carried out the qual-ity tests twice in a row, theyadded.

VNL, when contacted byThe Pioneer, said the companydoes not respond to what thesources allege. After the tenderswere first floated in April 2016,only two bidders, HFCL andVNL, had successfully passedthe pre-bid testing. Ideally,after the initial step of testingwas over, BSNL should haveopened the financial bids.However, on December 5,2016, VNL again wrote toBSNL, criticising their processof testing and questioning thequality of the test reports.

Continued on Page 5

New Delhi: RSS chief MohanBhagwat on Sunday con-demned violence by cow pro-tection groups, saying it“defames” the cause but madeit clear that the Hindutva organ-isation wants a law banning cowslaughter across India.

Calling cow slaughter a“vice” that must be removed, hepitched for stepping-up of cowprotection efforts by bringingmore people in the drive while“completely obeying the lawand the Constitution”.

His remarks at an event toobserve the birth anniversary ofLord Mahavir came against thebackdrop of the lynching of aMuslim man by cow vigilantesin Alwar in BJP-ruled Rajasthanthat sparked protests fromOpposition parties and put thesaffron party on the defensive.

“Nothing should be donewhile protecting cows thathurts the belief of some people.Nothing should be done that isviolent. It only defames theefforts of cow protectors... Thework of cow conservationshould be carried out whileobeying laws and theConstitution,” Bhagwat said.

Continued on Page 5

Guwahati: The Assam Govern-ment on Sunday announced adraft population policy whichsuggested denial of Govern-ment jobs to people with morethan two children and makingeducation up to university levelfree for all girls in the State.

“This is a draft populationpolicy. We have suggested thatpeople having more than twochildren will not be eligible forany Government jobs,” AssamHealth Minister HimantaBiswa Sarma said.

Any person getting a jobafter meeting this condition willhave to maintain it till end of hisservice, he added. “For employ-ment generation schemes likegiving tractors, offering homesand others Government bene-fits, this two-children normwill be applicable.

Continued on Page 5

8 killed in police firing as anti-election protesters stormpolling booths; Srinagar records 21-yr low voting of 7.14%

Goons decamp

with luggage;

6 heads roll as

Rly orders probe

RSS chief condemns

vigilantes’ excesses

but seeks national

ban on cows’ killing

No Govt job for

those with more

than 2 children!

Pirates take to heels as Tiger, Dragon team up

Gurugram firm holds Modi’sdigital N-E project to ransom

The joint mission by Indian and Chinese Navies began in the weehours of Sunday when the Indian Navy responded to a distresscall from a foreign merchant ship MV OS 35, which came underattack from the pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday night

RAJOURI: 47% CAST VOTE AS VVPAT, EVM SNAGS KEEP EC BUSYNew Delhi: West Delhi’s Rajouri Garden voters on Sunday sealed the fateof the AAP, the BJP and the Congress candidates in the city’s sole bypollmarked by low turnout of 47 per cent and snags in VVPAT machines atseveral booths, and in one EVM. P2

80% TURNOUT IN DHOLPURJaipur: Around 80 per cent turnout was witnessed in the polling for theDholpur Assembly constituency where the ruling BJP is engaged in afierce fight with the Opposition Congress.

MADHYA PRADESH: 58.9% IN ATER, 67% IN BANDHAVGARHBhopal: Moderate to high voter turnout was recorded on Sunday in thebypolls for two Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh. In Ater, the finalvoter turnout stood at 58.90 per cent, while in Bandhavgarh, the figurewas at 67.16 per cent, an EC official said.

82% PEACEFUL POLLING IN BENGALKolkata: An estimated 82 per cent polling was recorded in the bypoll toKanthi Dakshin Assembly in East Midnapore district on Sunday in apeaceful election, an election commission official said. P7

67% EXERCISE FRANCHISE IN DHEMAJIGuwahati: Around 67 per cent polling was registered in the by-election toDhemaji Assembly constituency on Sunday, much lower than the turnoutof the Assembly poll held last year.

68% TURNOUT IN LITTIPARA ASSEMBLYDumka: Altogether 68 per cent polling was registered in by-election toLittipara Assembly constituency amid tight security, officials said.

45% POLLING TILL 2.30 PM IN KARNATAKABengaluru: An estimated 45 per cent of the voters exercised theirfranchise till 2.30 pm on in the bypolls to two Assembly constituencies inKarnataka. Officials said Nanjanagud and Gundlupet each reportedaround 45 per cent voting. P7

Bad blood mars Kashmir bypoll

BY-ELECTIONS IN OTHER STATES

A SPANNERin the works

r The process to implementthe project was initiatedand tenders for the samewere floated in April 2016by BSNL

r However, it is almost a yearsince then and the financialbids for the project are yet tobe opened

r VNL, when contacted byThe Pioneer, said thecompany does not respondto what the sources allege

Robbers targetPatna Rajdhani

EVMs seen in a river after protestersattack a polling station at Kanihammain Srinagar on Sunday PTI

Youths throw stones onsecurity forces during clashesin Srinagar on Sunday PTI

EC ‘CANCELS’ RK NAGARBYPOLL AMID GRAFTNew Delhi: The EC on Sundaycancelled the bypoll in Chennai’sRK Nagar constituency, a dayafter Income-Tax officialsclaimed that they have unearthedevidence of bribery from theregion, according to a report inNDTV. However, the report couldnot be confirmed by the EC.

PROF, WIFE, DAUGHTERDEAD; SON SUSPECTED Thiruvananthapuram: A retiredcollege professor, his wife,daughter and a relative werefound dead at their home inKerala, police said on Sunday.The son is reportedly missing.Police are treating him as asuspect.

AIR INDIA PILOT DRUNK,GROUNDED FOR 3 MONTHSNew Delhi: An Air India pilot hasbeen grounded for three monthsafter he was tested positive inthe pre-flight alcohol test,minutes before operating a flight.

AADHAAR OR PASSPORTMUST FOR FLYING SOONNew Delhi: The Government isin the process of makingAadhaar number or passportmandatory for booking domesticflight tickets amid its plans tocreate a no-fly list to deal withunruly passengers.

RAINWATER HARVESTINGHOUSES ONLY TO GET NOD Lucknow: The clearance forconstruction of a house in UttarPradesh will be given only ifthere is a provision of rainwaterharvesting facility in the map.

2 COPS MARTYRED IN PLFIMILITANTS’ ENCOUNTER Simdega: Two cops were killedin an encounter with PLFImilitants in Girijatoli.

CAPSULE

A CORRECTION A news report was published

in the issue of 8th April 2000under the caption “BETTINGMAFIA CHAINS SPAN SYDNEYTO SHARJAH”. The said newsitem was published in respect ofinterrogation carried out by theJoint Team of Crime Branch,Ahmedabad, and Special TaskForce of one Mr Dharmesh NitinShah and Mr Sandeep NarainBendre who were arrested inAhmedabad. Due totypographical error in subsequentpart of the said news item, thename Dharmesh Nitin Shah cameto be erroneously referred asNitin Shah. Therefore, the saidnews item be read as correctedi.e. wherever the name of NitinShah is appearing be read as“Dharmesh Nitin Shah”.

We sincerely apologise forthe said error and clarify thatNitin Shah had nothing to do withthe said news item except hebeing father of Dharmesh NitinShah. The said error wasunintended and we convey ourunconditional apology if thesentiment of Nitin Shah or hisfamily members are hurt. Dated: APRIL 9, 2017.Rajiv N Narula

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

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Published From DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL

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Established 1864

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‘PEOPLE WILL

CONNECT WITH

BEGUM JAAN’

16 VIVACITY

VNL’s complaints impede plan to establish mobileconnectivity in 4,118 Arunachal, Assam villages

PTI n NEW DELHI

Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterAditya Nath Yogi on

Sunday sought more funds fromthe Centre for the developmentof his State’s backward regionslike Bundelkhand andPurvanchal.

Addressing a meeting of theStanding Committee of theInter-State Council, the ChiefMinister said all States should getmore funds for various devel-opment activities. Sources saidYogi urged the CentralGovernment to provide morefunds for the development ofPurvanchal, a region comprisingparts of eastern UP and westernBihar, and Bundelkhand, aregion infamous for droughtswhich the State shares withMadhya Pradesh.

The Chief Minister spoke inthe presence of Union FinanceMinister Arun Jaitley and UnionHome Minister Rajnath Singh,who chaired the meeting. Yogi'sremarks came days after hisannouncement of loan waiver toState’s 2.1 crore small and mar-ginal farmers totaling `36,359crore.

The meeting discussed on

Centre-State relations on financeas recommended by the MMPunchhi Commission.

The recommendations inVolume III of the PunchhiCommission report are relatedto Centre-State financial rela-tions and cover the subjects offiscal transfers to States, theGoods and Services Tax and theCentre-State fiscal relations. Thediscussions centred around var-ious aspects of Centre-Staterelations having implicationsfor governance and flowingfrom Constit-tional provisions.

This was for the first time thenew Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister spoke at a meetingwhich was attended by CentralMinisters and Chief Ministers ofStates. Apart from Jaitley, Singhand Adityanath, the meeting wasattended by Odisha ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik,besides his Tripura andChhattisgarh counterpartsManik Sarkar and Raman Singh.Chief Ministers of Rajasthan,Punjab and Andhra Pradesh didnot attend the meeting and senttheir representatives.

Yogi seeks more funds forBundelkhand, Purvanchal

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Aditya Nath Yogi calls on Prime Minister NarendraModi in New Delhi on Sunday Pioneer photo

city 02LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017

Meerut: A local BJP leaderand his supporters clashedwith policemen here after theystopped the SUV of the leader’sson for using a hooter.

According to police, AnkitTyagi was on Saturday eveningtravelling towards Delhi in hisSUV with a hooter on thevehicle and was asked to stopby Inspector Sushil Dubey atPartapur tiraha here.

Angry over being stopped,Ankit allegedly misbehavedwith the inspector followingwhich policemen forced himinto an official jeep to take himto police station, they said.

Soon afterwards SanjayTyagi, in-charge of BJP’s southAssembly constituency,reached the spot with his sup-porters and tried to pull Ankit

out of the police jeep duringwhich they had a scuffle withthe policemen, police officerssaid.

The policemen alleged thatthe BJP leader and his support-ers slapped the inspector andtore his uniform and that ofanother officer. The police per-sonnel claimed that they havea video of the incident.

However, the BJP leaderclaimed that the police inspec-tor and other personnel on thename of vehicle checking firstmisbehaved with his son andthen with him.

Later hundreds of BJPworkers reached Partapurpolice station and protestedagainst the force.

On getting informationabout the incident, senior

police officers reached the spotand pacified both sides.

The BJP leader and policepersonnel lodged cross com-plaints against each other.However, Ankit was later let off.

No FIR has been registeredin the matter and a probe isunderway in it.

Congress state secretaryChowdhury Yashpal Singh saidreleasing a person who hadallegedly assaulted policemenshows that the force actingunder the pressure of rulingBJP.

Ram Kumar Sangwan,RLD’s west Uttar Pradesh in-charge, said the incidentrevealed the true face of the BJPwhich used to attack theSamajwadi Party on similarincidents. PTI

PNS n LUCKNOW

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat said the ongo-ing property dispute between Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand

would be resolved in the meeting with UP Chief Minister YogiAdityanath.

“I will be meeting Yogiji on Monday and will discuss the ongo-ing property dispute between the two states. I am sure that wewill be able to resolve this issue amicably as both of us do notbelieve in keeping any issue pending for long,” Rawat toldreporters here on Sunday.

Rawat is in the state capital to attend a private function.“The property dispute between the two states is pending for

many years. I am sorry to say that the previous governments havedone nothing to resolve this issue. This issue should not lingerone any more. I along with Yogiji will find a solution to this issue,”he said.

The Uttarakhand CM is expected to meet Yogi Adityanathat the latter’s 5, Kalidas Marg official residence on Monday morn-ing.

He is expected to leave for Dehradun in the afternoon.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Union Textiles MinisterSmriti Irani said that

Amethi was facing an acuteshortage of community andprimary health centres andasked UP’s Health MinisterSiddharthnath Singh toimprove health services there.

Irani met Singh in thestate capital on her returnfrom Amethi and apprisedthe Health Minister of theproblems that the region wasfacing.

“The problem withAmethi is that its Member ofParliament has no time for thepeople of the constituency.The political family which iswinning elections there formany years has no visionabout Amethi,” Irani toldreporters in Lucknow aftermeeting Siddharthnath Singh.

“The health services inthe region is in tatters. Thereare not sufficient numbers ofCHCs and PHCs in thatregion. People have to travel along distance to get treatmentfor minor diseases or they haveto depend on quacks,” shesaid.

“I have apprised the stateHealth Minister of the prob-lems that Amethi is facing andhope that the situation willimprove in the near future,”she said.

Smriti Irani had contestedthe last Lok Sabha electionfrom Amethi and since thenshe has been nurturing thisconstituency.

Earlier in the day, Iranihad an interaction with thepeople of Amethi. Addressingpeople at a bakery training

programme on the campus ofDr Bhimrao AmbedkarUniversity, Irani said Congressvice-president Rahul Gandhihad no time for the people ofhis constituency.

Attacking Rahul, she saidthe Congress ‘yuvraj’ was an“insult” to democracy becausehe did not have any time forhis constituency and its peo-ple.

Addressing the gathering,Minister of State forVocational Education and SkillDevelopment, Suresh Pasi,said that very soon fourIndustrial Training Institutes(ITIs) would come up inAmethi and they had beenapproved by the

government.“The buildings of the ITIs

will be ready by June this

year,” Pasi added.Referring to Pasi, Irani

tweeted, “A moment of pridefor me to witness a samanyakaryakarta of Amethi SureshPasi giving his first publicaddress as Minister of State,GoUP.”

Earlier in the day, Iraniheld meetings with officials ofAmethi district administrationto ensure that schemes, includ-ing those related to education,water, health and irrigation,were implemented in a time-bound manner.

The Union minister alsotweeted that she facilitatedinteraction of citizens withthe district magistrate anddistrict police chief of Amethi and both assuredspeedy redressal of people’sgrievances.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Taking up the challenge toeducate youth about Prime

Minister Narendra Modi’s dig-ital initiative, the BharatiyaJanata Yuva Morcha will trainaround 15 lakh youth in the useof BHIM App in one week.

An announcement to thiseffect was made by BJYMnational general secretarySaurabh Chaudhry.

He said the training pro-gramme had begun on April 8and would continue till April14 and during this one week,the Bharatiya Janata YuvaMorcha would train about 15lakh youth in use of BHIMApp.

“This is an initiative of thePM to increase digital pay-ments and this App will speedup money transaction digital-ly. We have set a target to edu-cate 15 lakh people in use ofBHIM App, which is easy todownload and operate,”Chaudhry told reporters hereon Sunday.

BHIM (Bharat Interfacefor Money) is a mobile phoneapplication developed byNational PaymentsCorporation of India (NPCI),based on the Unified PaymentInterface (UPI).

“It can be used on allmobile devices and having asmartphone is not necessary forits operation,” the BJYM leadersaid

“The Bharat Interface forMoney App supports Aadhaar-based payments, where trans-actions are possible with justfingerprint impression,” theBharatiya Janata Yuva Morchaleader said.

PNS n LUCKNOW

With the aim to decon-gest the city roads, theYogi Adityanath gov-

ernment plans to introduce anew hawker policy underwhich hawkers and roadsidevendors will be registered anda new rehabilitation policy willbe introduced for them.

This was announced byChief Minister Yogi Adityanathduring a late-night meeting ofUrban Development depart-ment.

“The time has come to endencroachments on city roads byhawkers and roadside vendors.We cannot throw them out.Instead, our government willbring a new hawker policy tocheck mushrooming of pave-ment hawkers,” Yogi said.

All the city roads across thestate are facing huge trafficjams because of hawkers andpavement vendors. Directiveshave been issued from time totime to regulate movement ofhawkers but nothing concretehas come out so far.

The officials concernedhave been asked to formulate apolicy in this regard at the ear-

liest. “The need of the hour isto rehabilitate the hawkers. So,the first step will be to starttheir registration. The officialsconcerned should have a database to know the exact numberof hawkers. Once we know it,the next step will start imme-diately,” the Chief Ministersaid.

The CM has given 100days’ time to officials to makethe city clean. They have beenasked to start solid waste man-agement with right earnest.

“Officials should carry outa survey to find out the num-ber of public dry latrines incities and the status of con-struction of latrines underGovernment of India’s SwachhBharat Mission,” Yogi said.

He even suggested thattemple cities of Ayodhya-Faizabad and Mathura-Vrindavan be given nagarnigam status.

In another review meetingof IT and Electronic depart-ment, Yogi asked the officials toprepare plan to establish thelargest business incubator inthe country near Lucknow air-port.

“Efforts should be made

through IT Parks and start-upincubators to ensure that 70lakh people get opportunitiesfor employment and self-employment in the next fiveyears,” he said.

Yogi Adityanath has alsoissued orders to all the depart-ments to ensure that e-tender-ing is implemented whileawarding government con-tracts.

“This will also ensuretransparency,” he said.

The Chief Minister alsowarned that the serviceproviders at various Jan SevaKendras in UP who are notproviding proper facilities andservice to the public will facestringent action from the gov-ernment.

Adityanath also told thedepartment officials to holdspecial awareness programmeon e-transactions on April 14to mark the birth anniversaryof Babasaheb BhimraoAmbedkar.

In the review meeting ofHousing department, the CMsought status report of formerChief Minister AkhileshYadav’s dream projects like JaiPrakash Narain InternationalCentre, Hussainabad beautifi-cation project and under con-struction international cricketstadium in Lucknow.

International cricketer andSports Minister ChetanChauhan has been asked topersonally visit the cricket sta-dium and submit his reportwithin a week.

The CM has also askedofficials to start commercialoperation of Metro rail inLucknow at the earliest.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Samajwadi Party’s Member ofParliament, Dimple Yadav,

has slammed the BharatiyaJanata Party government inUP and has asked the partycadre to remain cautious of theantics and the rhetoric of thesaffron party.

Dimple Yadav, the LokSabha member from Kannaujand wife of SP national presi-dent Akhilesh Yadav, hadactively campaigned duringthe recent state Assembly elec-tions.

Addressing a meeting ofSamajwadi Party Mahila Sabhahere on Sunday, Dimple saidthe SP had a glorious record ofundertaking developmentworks in the state yet the partylost the elections as the voterswere swayed by the falsepromises and the machina-tions of the BJP.

She alleged that the nega-tive campaign by the BJPagainst the SP during the elec-tions turned the tide in itsfavour.

The SP MP told thewomen leaders of the party thatthere was no need to be dis-heartened by the poll debacleas victory and defeat in elec-tions was an integral part ofdemocratic politics.

She said the challengebefore the party was the nextLok Sabha elections in 2019and the rank and file of theparty should work for the success of the Samajwadi Party in the next parliamentary elections.

Dimple also asked the rankand file of the party to workhard for enrolling new mem-bers of the party during themembership drive to belaunched from April 15.

She said the SP wanted topromote girls at the grassrootslevel to work at polling boothlevel.

SP state president NareshUttam and leader of oppositionin state Assembly, RamgovindChowdhary also addressed themeeting. Akhilesh Yadav wasexpected to attend the meetingbut he did not turn up.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Mystery shrouds the deathof a prominent jeweller’s

son whose charred body wasfound in the driver’s seat of aburning car near Tenuwa tollplaza at Sahjanwa four-laneroad in Gorakhpur on Sundaynoon.

The incident came to lightaround 12:30 pm when somecommuters spotted the burn-ing Maruti Balino and alertedthe Gorakhpur police.

Before the police reachedthe scene, some commuterswent close to the car and sawa youth tied with a rope insideit. They tried to open thedoors to rescue the youth butthe doors were locked frominside.

In the meantime, a firetender reached the spot anddoused the fire. Later, thecops broke open Balino’sdoors and pulled out thecharred man sitting in the dri-ver’s seat.

The victim was later iden-tified as Nitin Agrawal (35) ofGhantaghar locality underRajghat police station ofGorakhpur. The family is inthe gold and silver ornamentbusiness and one of theprominent jewellers of thearea.

It surfaced that Nitin hadleft the house after a heatedargument with the familymembers over some domesticissue.

The SeniorSuperintendent of Police ofGorakhpur termed it as a caseof accidental fire. He said notraces of foul play were detect-ed during the investigation.

The SSP said that Nitinhad borrowed the Balino fromhis friend Vishnu Agrahari ofGorakhpur and left forSahjanwa for some work.

“Traces of burnt seat beltwere found on victim’s body,suggesting that he had put onthe seat belt while driving thecar. The upper half of the bodywas charred completely whilelower half was not burnt,” hesaid.

The SSP said the com-muters may have suspectedfoul play after seeing the burntseat belt on the victim’s body.

ASP (Rural) Gyan Prakash

Chaturvedi said the body hadbeen sent for post-mortemand further investigation wason.

“The police will secure thecall detail records of victim’sphone to find out whether hehad talked to anyone whiledriving the car,” he said,adding that the cause of firewas yet to be ascertained.

Nitin’s father GovindAgrawal, a prominent jewellerof Gorakhpur, said his son hadleft the house for routinework around 10:30 am onSunday.

“Later, we got a messageon WhatsApp about a car inwhich a youth was burnt alive.By noon we came to knowthat it was Nitin who wasburnt alive. We do not knowAgrahari to whom the carbelongs and by which Nitinwas travelling,” he said.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Deputy Chief Minister andBharatiya Janata Party state

president Keshav PrasadMaurya said that the YogiAdityanath government wascommitted to making pothole-free roads as well as double thefarm income within the stipu-lated time frame.

“Every point in our SankalpPatra will be implemented. TheSankalp Patra is as sacred for usas Ramayan and Gita. So, we arecommitted to implementingevery word of the Sankalp Patrain letter and spirit,” Mauryasaid while addressing reportershere on Sunday.

Maurya, who completedone year as party state presidenton Sunday, said that the one-yeartenure had taught him differentshades of life. “This one year hastaught me the nuances of organ-isation skill. In the last oneyear, I won love and affection ofpeople and party workers alike.This affection helped the BJP towin the UP elections with sucha huge majority,” Maurya said.

“This victory has given usan additional responsibility. TheChief Minister has madeannouncements about making

state highways pothole-free andon implementing pro-farmerpolicies. The work has started inright earnest . All the state high-ways will be pothole-free by June15 while purchase of potato atthe rate of Rs 487 per quintal willstart soon,” the BJP state presi-dent said.

He said Uttar Pradesh hadhigh potential for developingfood processing units so bumpercrops of potato and wheat wouldhelp farmers in getting betterprices for their crop.

“The wheat purchase will befree of middlemen. The pur-chase centres have started oper-ation. Similarly, potato purchasecentres will be set up soon,” hesaid.

“This government will endcorruption in government work-ing and help in improving lawand order in the state,” he added.

Printed and Published by Vijay Prakash Singh for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow-226016 and Printed at Tin Tin Printech Pvt Ltd., C-33 Amausi Industrial Area, Nadarganj, Lucknow. Tel: (0522) 2438656 / 9336266608.

Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: Vijay Prakash Singh. RNI No. 2016/57. Lucknow Telephones: EPABX: 4036600 Fax: 2345582. Allahabad Office: (95532) 2420818, 2421018, 3290460. Kanpur Office: (95512) 2304006, 2304416. Varanasi Office: (95542) 2414294, 2414295. Delhi

Office: Link House, II Floor, 3 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110 002. Tel: (011) 23755271-274, 41509074.

Yogi govt plans to introduce

a new hawker policy

Govt will make roads pothole-free: DyCM

Mystery shrouds

death of Gkp

jeweller’s son

Charred body found in car

Smriti: Health services

in tatters in Amethi

Demands more CHCs and PHCs

Uttar Pradesh’s Health Minister Siddharthnath Singh presenting buquet to UnionTextiles Minister Smriti Irani in Lucknow on Sunday Pioneer

BJYM totrain 15 Lyouths inBHIM use

Dimple asks party

cadre to gear up

for LS elections

SP Member of Parliament Dimple Yadav addressing members of Samajwadi PartyMahila Sabha at party office in Lucknow on Sunday Pioneer

7 killed

as SUV

collides

with bus

Azamgarh: Seven per-sons were on Sunday killedand four others were serious-ly injured when a SUV collid-ed with a roadways bus nearBheera Rajadepur village inBardah area here, the police said.

The incident occurredaround 5:40 am when a SUVcarrying passengers fromBallia to Vidhyachal Dham inMirzapur collided with thebus, they said.

Those killed were identi-fied as Seema Yadav (40),Happy (1), Chhoti Yadav (4),Asha Rani (42), Yusuf (29),Anita (18) and Shivdulari,police said.

The injured have beenrushed to a hospital wheretheir condition was stated tobe stable, they said.

A probe is on in the mat-ter, police said, adding bod-ies had been sent for post-mortem. PTI

U’khand CM hopes

to resolve property

dispute with UP

BJP leader, supportersclash with policemen

03LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017the pioneer

city 04LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017

Lucknow (PNS): A dayafter ‘Mowgli girl’ named Ehsaswas shifted to a rehabilitationcentre in the state capital, shewas visited by a person, whoclaims to be his paternal uncle,on Sunday. However, the girlfailed to recognise him.

“Bhullar Ali, who claims tobe the paternal uncle of Ehsas,visited her in our shelter homealong with a poster. The girlstayed at a distance from himand did not recognise him. We

have asked him to send the par-ents of Ehsas to us so that wecan have a word with them,”Nirvan Shelter Home presidentSS Dhapola said.

Meanwhile, the girl startedsocialising as she stayed andslept with other children at therehab. She has also learnt howto hold the glass and drinkwater from it. But due to herpossible companionship withmonkeys in the forests ofBahraich from where she was

recovered, Ehsas complains ofitching. The staff members of

the shelter comforted the girland played some games withher to pamper her like family.The doctors also conductedclinical tests and found herhaemoglobin to be abnormal-ly low. “Her pathological inves-tigations were conducted andher haemoglobin reading was5.8, which is very low. Also, shehas itching problems. OurDoctors have prescribed ironand leo cetrizine tablets for theproblem,” Dhapola said.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Unidentified miscreantskilled a Dalit security

guard, who worked for a pri-vate firm at its office inTransport Nagar under SarojiniNagar police station, onSaturday night and decampedwith cash and valuables. Theincident jolted the traders asthe area houses a number ofbusiness establishments and isknown to be an industrial area.

However, police denied thereports of loot, claiming thatthe firm owner did not men-tion anything of that sort in hiscomplaint. As per reports,Brijendra Ram of Siwan (Bihar)worked with a firm owned byGunjan Sinha of Akash Enclavein Vrindavan Colony underPGI police station. He used tostay in a room on the first floorof the office. The firm deals insale of batteries.

On Sunday, Gunjan askedhis manager Sushil Verma tocall Brijendra for some work.

Sushil called Birjendra but hiscall went unanswered.

As Sushil became appre-hensive, he went to the officeand noticed that the doors ofthe room were open. Sushilfound Brijendra lying on thefloor and covered with a blan-ket. As Sushil pulled the blan-ket to wake him up, he sawBrijendra’s legs and hands tiedwith ropes and clothes stuffedin his mouth. A piece of clothwas also tied around his throat.

Sushil raised an alarm andinformed his employer aboutthe same. Gunjan reached thespot and later called police.

SHO, Sarojini Nagar,Sudhakar Pandey denied thereports of loot. “It was only acase of murder. No articles werelooted either form the room oroffice,” he claimed. However,the SHO had no answers whenasked about the motive formurder. He said that furtherinvestigations were on.

Police department sourcessaid the attackers were appar-ently acquainted with the vic-tim and they did enter theusing force. There were signsthat attackers spent some timewith the victim in his room andlater killed him.

“They stuffed victim’sclothes into his mouth and alsoused the ropes,” they said.They further disclosed thatthe miscreants either killedhim for resisting loot or over awoman-related issue.

“Police are investigatingthe case on these lines,” theysaid, adding that role of ownerand manager of the firm wasalso under scanner.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

There is a Gujarati stall forthe first time at the ongo-

ing Lucknow Book Fair at theMoti Mahal Lawns whichhighlights the book ‘FromGandhi to Modi.’ The inchargeat the stall, Bhousar, whiletalking to The Pioneer, saidthat the book had been gettinga good response from thebook fairs across the country.

The book has been writtenby Dr Rajesh Kumar Acharyaand Girish Chandra Tanna.The convener of the BookFair, Manoj Chandel, said thatthe book was getting a warmresponse. “This is primarilybecause of its title whichimmediately catches the atten-tion of the reader. The bookis trying to bring two individ-uals on the same platform-one,Mahatma Gandhi who gotIndia Independence, and theother Prime Minister,Narendra Modi, who is trans-forming India,” said Chandel.

The author, Dr Acharya, isa lawyer based in Ahmedabadwho specialises in intellectu-al property laws, and GirishChandra Tanna is a retiredgovernment officer and aresearch lawyer who hasauthored several books onintellectual property laws.

The official brochure ofthe book while giving its con-tents says that the attempt ofwriting the book tit ledMahatma Gandhi to Modi isto highlight the ideologicalsimilarities between the twoleaders for the overall develop-ment of the society, elimina-tion of poverty and arousing asense of nationalism amongthe people.

It says that one of theunique aspects of the Fatherof the Nation, MahatmaGandhi, is that he has not leftany subject untouched in his

speeches and writings. Histhoughts and ideology abouteducation, health, rural devel-opment and female empower-ment have relevance eventoday. His charkha and khadihave provided livelihood tomillions. These issues havebeen discussed in detail in thechapters of this book. It furtherpoints out that Narendra Modihas been a great admirer ofMahatma Gandhi and hisdevelopment model is rootedin the Gandhian ideology.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Over two dozen womenorganisations have writ-ten an open letter to

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathexpressing their concern overthe activities of the anti-Romeosquad which they say werebeing used for harassment ofgirls and boys.

“We, as representatives ofwomen and youth groupsworking in UP for around twodecades, are writing to you thisopen letter to show our deepconcern and objection on theformation and functioning ofthe anti-Romeo squad as thesame is being used openly as atool by the police and vigilantesto harass young boys and girlsbesides men and women,” theletter reads.

A woman activist said:“These squads are engaging invigilantism and scaringwomen, men and children onthe streets of our state. Thereports of such harassment aretoo numerous for us to list inone letter. But we trust you areaware of this. This is not theroute to ensure women’s safe-ty and security. In fact thesesquads are curbing women’s

and girls right to mobility,consent and decision-making.Boys and men are beingharassed, beaten up and humil-iated even when they are beingwith girls with their open con-sent. These Anti-RomeoSquads are indulging in moralpolicing and deciding whichcouple is acceptable to them

and whose behaviour they willsanction. These squads aredetermining which boys arepotential Romeos and whichare not,” she said.

She further pointed outthat in the name of protectionthe squads were now invadingprivate spaces and relationships.

“This kind of vigilantemoral policing outside theframework of law and outsidethe framework of theConstitution is being used tohumiliate and disrespectwomen. We want to makeUttar Pradesh the safest state inIndia – safe for all its citizens,women, girls, men, children,young people, Hindu, Muslim,Dalit, tribals and OBCs, indeedfor the people from all castes,creeds, religious communitiesand sexual orientations. Weurge you to immediately dis-band these anti-Romeo squads.

They further said that whatthey wanted was that thepolice should become account-able to law and lodge FIRsagainst vigilantes harassingmen and women in the nameof `anti-Romeo squads.’

“What we need is that thepolice should treat all womenwith respect and act proactive-ly on any complaint made bythem to ensure their safety andsecurity. What we demand isimmediate disbanding of the`Anti-Romeo’ squad and sternaction against vigilantes and thepolice who are violating therights of the young boys andgirls,” he said.

Women bodies urge CM to

disband anti-Romeo squad

“These squads are engaging in

vigilantism and scaring women, men and

children on the streets of our state. The

reports of such harassment are too

numerous for us to list in one letter”

A shobha yatra being taken out on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti in Old City on Sunday Pioneer

Security guard of private

firm killed during lootPIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Aman was shot at allegedlyby his father-in-law to

avenge the death of his daugh-ter over a dowry dispute inMaal on Sunday. Shivram (25)of Mall had married VedKumari of Sitapur six years agobut the couple had no issuefrom their marriage. In 2015,Shivram had differences withhis wife over a dowry issue andhe allegedly started torturingher.

Fed up with the alleged tor-ture, Ved Kumari consumedpoison on September 15 (2015)and died. Chetram was nursinga grudge with Shivram over thedeath of his daughter and hadthreatened him with dire con-sequences.

On Sunday morning,Shivram and his brother-in-lawPappu were returning homewhen Chetram, his brotherShambhu, and an unidenti-fied aide, opened fire atShivram. SO, Maal, AmberSingh said Shivram worked asa labourer. He said the victimwas recuperating and the police

were raiding the hideouts of theaccused.

Meanwhile, in a caseexposing lawlessness in thestate capital, unidentified SUV-borne miscreants shot at a cabdriver and looted his vehicle inPGI police area on Sundaymorning. Police initially triedto hush up the case but swunginto action later when residentsinformed mediapersons.

As per reports, the victimidentified as Ajay Kumar Patelof Indira Nagar, is the driver ofan Uber cab owned byRajendra Kumar Tripathi, alsoof Indira Nagar. Around 6.50

am, Tripathi got a call fromAjay who informed him aboutthe loot and fatal attack on him.Tripathi rushed to the hospitalwhere Ajay was admitted.

Ajay suffered firearminjuries on his thigh and hiscondition is improving. Thepolice initially denied thereports and later and said thecar was looted over some per-sonal enmity.

However, the police laterclarified that the cab was loot-ed near SGPGI on Rae Bareliroad. A case of loot was regis-tered as the police said Ajay didnot suffer any fatal injuries andno case was lodged in that con-nection. Ajay told newspersonsthat the miscreants were in aScorpio and they overtook hiscar near SGPGI.

“They forced me to stopthe car. As soon as I stoppedthe vehicle, some men alight-ed from the SUV and forcedme to open the door. They triedto pull me out of the car andwhen I offered resistance, oneof them shot at me. They spedoff towards Rae Bareli,” Ajaysaid. The SHO said police were

investigating the case. “Wepassed the information to thecops of neighbouring districtsand also informed them aboutthe registration number of thelooted cab,” he said.

BODY FOUNDThe mutilated body of an

unidentified man was recov-ered from rail tracks nearAlambagh diesel shed onSunday morning. Police initial-ly claimed that the victim wasa Railway employee but whenno one from the staff failed toidentify the deceased, the bodywas sent to the mortuary. Apolice spokesman said thedeceased was aged around 30years. Shop owners and ven-dors claimed that the manjumped on the tracks and wasknocked down by a trainengine. Meanwhile, a motorcy-cle, three mobile phones and Rs5,000 in cash were stolen fromthe house of Samadhan Singhin Sarojini Nagar on Saturdaynight. Singh said he and hisfamily members were asleepwhen the thieves targeted hishouse.

Man shot at by father-in-law

Lucknow (PNS): A girlaccused a youth of makingamorous advances towards herafter promising to marry her inAshiyana on Sunday. Reportssaid the accused, identified asNishat, is the son of a lecturerat a technical education college.His marriage was fixed with agirl of Ashiyana (sector I). Thegirl alleged that Nishat luredher into go with him on an out-ing after their marriage was set-tled. She alleged that Nishatcopped a feel during their stayat a place and tried to forcehimself upon her. “I refused tooblige and this irked him somuch that he refused to marryme,” she alleged.

Meanwhile, miscreantswithdraw cash from the bankaccount of a retired armyman,Ram Niwas of Azad Nagar,Krishna Nagar. Ram Niwashad gone to withdraw cashfrom an ATM booth inAshiyana and had a disputewith some youths in the booth.“I returned home and got amessage of withdrawal of Rs12,000,” he said.

‘From Gandhi to Modi’ attracts book lovers

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

While delivering the inau-gural lecture at the two-

day-long national workshopon ‘Basics of Advocacy Skillsand Client Counselling’ organ-ised at the Shakuntala MishraNational University, JusticeShabihul Hasnain, a judge ofthe Allahabad High Court,said that the profession of alawyer was noble.

“This profession com-mands prestige and glory.Ethics and morality havealways been the guiding forcefor lawyers. In fact the idea ofjustice is basically of divinenature. Hence the role of alawyer also involves an elementof divinity,” he said. JusticeHasnain observed that he wasoverwhelmingly happy to visitthis University which wasunique because it engaged inproviding quality education toboth the differently abled andother students in the same set-ting. Quoting a shloka inSanskrit, Justice Hasnain saidthat persons with disabilitiespossessed special abilities.

The workshop is being

organised by the Faculty of Lawof Dr Shakuntala MishraNational RehabilitationUniversity in collaborationwith Nexus Legal Associates.

In this workshop about230 law students from WestBengal, Maharashtra, Delhi,Rajasthan, Bihar, Haryana andUttar Pradesh are participating.The aim of the workshop is toenhancing the advocacy andclient counselling skills of theprospective lawyers.

Speaking on the occasion,Prashant Chandra, a SeniorAdvocate of the AllahabadHigh Court, said that the sub-ject of advocacy skill was veryvast. “Skill for good advocacyis never taught rather it isacquired by experience. Agood lawyer must have certainvirtues and values. Some of themain attributes of a goodlawyer are command over lan-guage, fearlessness and regularstudy of good journals. Heshould be well-dressed andhave self-confidence, clarity ofthought and should patientlyhear the problems of clientsand give suitable advice tothem,” he said. In his presiden-

tial address, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof (Dr) NishithRai, said that in a country witha population of 131-crore thecommon man needed promptdelivery of justice at a reason-able cost. He said that thethree pillars of Indian democ-racy were legislature, executiveand judiciary. “For good func-tioning of democracy a balanceis needed in these three facetsof power. But any imbalance inthese make the judiciary dom-inant,” he said. Prof Raiexpressed concern about thelarge number of pending casesin the court. He averred thatthis was basically due to thelarge number of posts of judgeslying vacant. He favoured rapidand time-bound disposal of thepending cases. Prof Rai saidthat as compared to medicaland technical education therewas a significant upsurge forlegal education.

“Law students need rigor-ous orientation and training forraising their advocacy andemployability. The recommen-dations of the workshop will besubmitted to the governmentand judiciary,” he added.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

DM GS Priyadarshi onSunday directed the police

and administration to checkillegal saw machines, electric-ity theft, unauthorised colonis-ers, illicit liquor shops andillegal mining. He issued sterndirective for effective control ofthe preparation and sale of illic-it liquor and removal of liquorshops as per Supreme Courtdirections.

He said law and orderwould have to be maintainedfor the upcoming festivals andstern action must be takenagainst mischief-mongers. TheDM was presiding over a meet-ing on law and order at APJauditorium, Collectorate. Themeeting was attended by SSPManzil Saini, ADM (adminis-tration) Avinash Singh, DFOAK Sonkar and other officials.He said that illegal slaughter-houses must not be allowed tofunction and the Anti-RomeoSquad be made more effective.

‘Mowgli girl’ fails to recognise ‘uncle’

Check sale

of illicit

liquor: DM

to officials

‘Ethics and morality guiding

force for lawyers’

Girl accuses youthof makingamorous advances

city 05LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

With the government’spush to the uplift of

AYUSH disciplines,Tudiaganj-based StateAyurveda College is gearingup to provide better healthcareto patients and improved facil-ities to students.

The government hasreleased funds to the tune ofcrores recently for buildingnew out-patient and in-patientdepartment blocks in the hos-pital. The old and dilapidatedbuilding of Ayurveda Collegewas demolished to pave wayfor construction of the new

building. The 4-storeyedbuilding, which is being con-structed at the cost of Rs 47crore by Rajkiya NirmanNigam, is likely to be handedover to the college administra-tion in July.

Moreover, the governmenthas given nod to the construc-tion of hostel for students onthe campus. The new hostelhas been designed to providebetter amenities and recreationfacilities to the students.

The existing ‘Dhanwantri’hostel, spacious enough toaccommodate as many as 150students, was in a dilapidatedstate. The college houses other

nursing hostels as well andmost of them are in a sham-bles. But the reconstruction ofthese hostels has still not beenplanned. Revamping the hos-pital pathology is also on thecards. It will be upgraded withnew equipment. The soleultrasound machine, which islying defunct, is likely to bereplaced while a radiologistwill also be appointed.

Principal Dr RRChowdhary said: “There are220 beds and at present, a totalof six departments operate inthe OPD. All the beds will beshifted to the new buildingonce it is handed over to us.”

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The new norms under theClinical Establishments

(Central Government) rules ondiagnostic laboratories denyany role to MSc teachers inclinical diagnostics, includingsigning the reports, NationalMSc Medical Teachers’Association (NMMTA) said onSunday.

The NMMTA membersalso protested to highlighttheir important role in diag-nostic centres. “While manycorporate hospitals and privatediagnostic laboratories in thecountry have medical MScpost-graduates interpretingand signing laboratory testreports, the new norms makeit mandatory that all diagnos-tic laboratories have doctors(registered with MedicalCouncil of India or StateMedical Council) signing testreports,” NMMTA president

Sridhar Rao said.He added that earlier, pro-

visions accorded greaterresponsibility to the MScteachers. “Since medical MScis included in the first sched-ule of Indian Medical CouncilAct, 1956, we request theHealth Ministry that medicalMSc degree holders should beregistered under the Central orState Medical Council.Laboratory testing services arenot the practice of medicineand therefore, the ministrymust not restrict the role ofinterpretation and signing lab-oratory reports to doctorsonly,” Rao said.

There are around 60,000pathology labs and 6,000 diag-nostic centres in the country.While ten states and six UnionTerritories, except Delhi,adopted the ClinicalEstablishments (CentralGovernment) Rules, they arebeing implemented in

Rajasthan and Jharkhand as ofnow. “The MSc degree holderslearn at length about the phys-iological functions of body, thedisease process and variousparameters in health and dis-ease, which enable them tointerpret the diagnostic tests,”NMMTA secretary ArjunMaitra said.

The Association also tookto the existing rules to asserttheir demands. “The MedicalCouncil of India had in 2005clarified that an MSc (MedicalBiochemistry) with or withoutPhD was entitled to indepen-dently or solely sign a medicalbiochemistry report in a clin-ical laboratory. Moreover,National Accreditation Boardfor Testing and CalibrationLaboratories has recognisedMSc degree holders as signa-tories for laboratory reports,”Maitra added, urging the gov-ernment to set right theanomaly.

DEMANDEDSharab Bandi Sangharsh

Samiti demanded that thewomen sent to jail for stagingdemonstration in front ofliquor shops be released at theearliest. Senior office-bearermet leaders of the prominentpolitical parties and urgedthem to come forward to

oppose police action on thewomen and support their cam-paign in public interest.

OATH CEREMONYThe oath ceremony of

Lucknow Vyapar Mandal willbe held at 12 pm on Monday atScientific Convention Centre.UP Udyog Vypar Pratinidhi

Mandal president Banwari LalKanchhal will be the chiefguest on the occasion.

MINISTER MEETS GUVNational president of the

Republican Party and ministerRamdas Athawale called onGovernor Ram Naik on Sunday.The Governor made the minis-

ter aware of the work done inthree years. He appreciated thework done by the Chief Ministerfor farmers. The minister toldthe Governor that his ministryhad initiated two major schemesrelated to social justice.

PATHSHALASAdarsh Vypar Mandal has

decided to hold a ‘pathshalas’for traders to make them awareof the GST scheme. The firstpathshala will be held onWednesday. An expert on GSTscheme, Rajendra Tripathi willdeliver the lecture.

MEAT SELLERS' MEETA meeting was held under

the banner of Lucknow MeatSellers’ Association. It waspresided over by presidentAbdul Hamid Qureshi. Themeeting discussed the newlicence policy and other issuesrelated to slaughterhouses.

ANNUAL FUNCTIONUP Cooperative Minister

Mukut Bihari Verma was thechief guest at the annual func-tion of pensioners held underthe banner of RetiredEmployees and PensionerAssociation, UP. Prominentretired state employee leadersand teachers took part in thefunction. The minister saidboth the Centre and state gov-ernment were committed totheir welfare.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

“Educational movies buildthe character of children,

increase their will power andinspire them to do great thingsin life. A child's mind is a cleanslate and it will absorb whatev-er is written upon it." Theseviews were expressed by theDeputy Chief Minister of UP,Keshav Prasad Maurya, at theInternational Children's FilmFestival (ICFF-2017) beingorganised by the CityMontessori School at CMSKanpur Road auditorium hereon Sunday as the chief guest.

Maurya said that educa-tional films played an impor-tant role in the all-round devel-opment of children. “The edu-cational entertainment beingprovided to the children at thisfestival will deeply impact theirpsyche,” he said.

The chief guest, KeshavPrasad Maurya, Deputy ChiefMinister, UP, inaugurated thefifth day of the 9-day-longInternational Children's FilmFestival (ICFF-2017) by light-ing the lamp of learning. The

occasion witnessed the pres-ence of child actors, Bhavesh(Bal Krishna), Saloni Dang(Gangubai) and the actress,Manisha Thakkar (Balveer)added a special lustre to the

whole show. The fifth day ofChildren's Film Fest wasmarked by the bubbling enthu-siasm of the students and theoverwhelming support of theirparents and teachers for this

healthy edutainment that thefilms provided. The FilmFestival is significant as the par-ents and teachers also seemedimpressed by it. On the fifthday of ICFF-2017 on Sunday

several students. The fifth day'sfest on Sunday opened with thechildren's film of India, 'DrPaws' directed by Pooja Iyengar.Besides, children enjoyed var-ious educational children'sfilms from India and abroad,including Jyoti, Yeh KaisaJahaan, When Waters Rise, MyBirth Certificate, Blackboard,Social Window, A Letter toLight, A Lamp, Ravi, Maa,Roshni, Ek Yatra, The MilkyWay, Aao Dosti Karein,Pachhtava, Naukari Ya Vyavsay,Good and Smart, Gauraiyya,The Other Line, Flowers ForMy Father, The Moon & theStars, A Special Guest, TheLying Stars etc. Films of vari-ous languages are screenedwith English and Hindi sub-titles so that the people canunderstand them easily. Childartistes, Bhavesh and SaloniDang, and the actress, ManishaThakkar, were present on theoccasion. Addressing the presspersonnel, they said that edu-cational films were less innumber and this festival was agreat effort to overcome thisproblem.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The Central Institute ofSubtropical Horticulture

(CISH) is working on the wasteof bael, mulberry, aonla andguava. Principal scientistNeelima Garg, while talking toThe Pioneer, said that it waschurning products out of thewastes of these fruits.

She said that bael was usedas a medicine to cure a num-ber of diseases in India.

“Its medicinal propertieshave been listed within‘Charaka Samhita,’ an earlymedical treatise. Bael pulp isoften processed as nectar or‘squash’ (diluted nectar).During processing of bael forpulp, 15-20 per cent of thewaste consisting of pulp, fibreand seeds is generated. Anintegrated approach has beenworked out wherein good qual-ity vinegar having 4.5 per centacetic acid and prominent baelflavour is extracted and thefibre and the seeds are used forgermination purpose,” he said.

She said that the mulberrycrop was primarily grown formultiplication of silkworms onits leaves. “The juice from thered-purple mulberry varietyhas significant medicinal value

owing to the presence of antho-cyanin, which has high antiox-idant properties and is a poten-tial and natural food colorant.Though a lot of work has beenreported on mulberry juiceand leaves no report is availableon the utilisation of processingwaste left after juice extractioncomprising pomace and seeds(around 50 per cent of fruitweight). We have developed aprotocol to extract pigment,fibre, pectin and oil from mul-berry pomace,” she added.

She pointed out that aonlawas another important fruit.“Its fruits are not good for freshconsumption because of astrin-gency and its acidic taste. These

fruits are used in huge quanti-ties for making and extractingjuice, murabba, pickle etc.Aonla processing waste hasbeen utilised for developingaonla dietary fibre , Vitamin Cand antioxidant-enriched bis-cuits, aonla tea, RTS, jam,cider and mouth freshener.”

Similarly she said that thepink pulp guava (Psidium gua-java L) was used for the extrac-tion of pectin, fibre andlycopene. She further pointedout that jamun was an impor-tant medicinal fruit. “Jamunpomace left after juice extrac-tion has been used for pectin,fibre and anthocyanin pig-ment,” she added.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The international confer-ence organised by the

Department of AppliedEconomics, LucknowUniversity, concluded with amega valedictory function atthe Malviya Hall on Sundaywith over 800 delegates from allover the country and overseasparticipating in it.

Dr Karuna ShankarKannaujia welcomed the chiefguest, Hriday Narayan Dikshit,Speaker, Uttar Pradesh, and allthe other dignitaries. Theguest of honour was Prof PKChaubey, President, IEA, ChiefAdviser, IGNOU, the specialguests were Anil Singh, founderchairperson, Lok AdhikarManch, and Prof RS Yadav, for-mer head of the Department,Applied Economics, and Dean,Faculty of Commerce.

The chief guest, HridayNarayan Dikshit, spoke howIndia experienced tough timesin the economy and how itovercame those challengespost-1991 with the acceptanceand introduction of liberalisa-

tion, privatisation and global-isation in the economy.

He was of the view that itwas important to have fre-quent discussions about theeconomy, be they on a smallplatform or a large one. “Onlywhen we have economic dis-cussions through differentforums across various levelsthen only we can come up withideas and arguments to makeour country an economicallyprosperous one.”

Dr Madhurima Lal spokeabout the sub-themes whichwere part of the theme-‘Emerging India and secondgeneration reforms: Initiativesand implications’ of the conference.

Prof Anil Kumar Singhthanked all the dignitaries onthe dais. He spoke on Indiachasing the cashless dreams.Moreover, he also emphasisedon the importance of primaryeducation. He opined that ifhigher education had to growin the economy it could only bemade possible by focusing ourefforts on primary educationcovering all the aspects that

were otherwise required by thenation to emerge rapidly and ata galloping pace. He also gavehis valuable insights on SwachhBharat Abhiyan and digitalIndia to name a few.

Prof PK Chaubey talkedabout the economic health ofIndia in the post-industrialisa-tion era. He said that changestook place everyday but areform was a change which wasdiscernible and significant andIndia should go in wholeheart-edly to witness such reformspersonally. He talked aboutthe development and welfareinitiatives. He stressed thatthere was a dearth of policiesin India which were now get-ting overcome gradually withthe realisation of different gov-ernment initiatives vis-a-visdigital India, skill India, etc.

The session was presidedover by Prof RS Yadav. Hethanked the dignitaries forsparing their time for the con-ference. Dr Nagendra KumarMaurya thanked all the digni-taries on the dais and all thedelegates for their sincere aca-demic efforts.

Lucknow (PNS):Production House Limelightdirector Daniel Joshua gavedetails of a singing talent huntwhich will be organised at thestate level and auditions forwhich will be held in May. Hesaid that in the past a numberof singing reality shows hadtaken place. “Many talentedcontestants from the state arerejected just because of limitedseats and the selection criteriafrom a particular zone. This dis-heartens them and leaves themwith lack of confidence”.

He said that the LimelightProduction wanted to ensurethat such talents from the stateof Uttar Pradesh did not haveto compromise anymore andtherefore this singing talenthunt was being organised. Theauditions for it would be heldin the month of May, 2017, inall the major cities of UttarPradesh, including Kanpur,Agra, Jhansi, Ghaziabad,Allahabad, Faizabad, Sultanpur,Gorakhpur, Maharajganj,Varanasi, Sitapur and Lucknow,he said.In all 50 contestantsfrom all over the state will beselected and brought toLucknow for the episodes to beshot here. The top three final-ists will be awarded attractiveprizes.

CITYBRIEFS

Global meet at LU ends Educational films inspire kids: Maurya

Awadh Gaurav Yatra by third gender on Sunday Pioneer

Auditions forsinging talenthunt in May

CISH making products from

fruit waste, says scientist

NMMTA members protest to

highlight their importance

State Ayurveda College gearing

up for better healthcare

BAD BLOOD MARS...The first fatal casualties

took place at Hardu Dulwan vil-lage in Char-e-Sharief pocket ofBudgam, which was famousfor recording longest queues ofvoters in past elections. Theparamilitary deployed in thearea opened fire wounding atleast four protesters, eyewitness-es said. Two of them later suc-cumbed to injuries. The slainwere identified as 15-year-oldFaizan Dar and JanMohammad. The violence con-tinued throughout the day asanti-poll protesters engagedthe police and paramilitaries inpitched battles. During theretaliation, five more protesterswere killed. They have beenidentified as Nissar Ahmed ofBeerwa, Shabir Ahmed ofDaulatpora, Chadoora, AdilFarooq Sheikh of ChakKawoosa, Aqib Wani ofChurmura Beerwa and AmirMalla of Sogum Chadoora.

Late in the evening, whenthe poll parties were withdraw-ing from Ganderbal area, secu-rity forces opened fire on pro-testers at Barsoo village injur-ing a youngster Omar Ganai,18. He was shifted to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of MedicalSciences where doctorsdeclared him dead on arrival.

In Srinagar, former ChiefMinisters Farooq Abdullah andhis son Omar Abdullah werethe first to cast their votes atBurn Hall school polling booth.Senior Abdullah is the jointcandidates of the NationalConference (NC) and theCongress, fighting against rul-ing PDP candidate Nazir Khanbesides seven other candidates.

Omar Abdullah expressedanguish over the violence.“Have contested 6 electionsover 20 years & have never seenthis level of violence in electionsin Kashmir,” Omar write ontwitter. Most of the polling sta-tions in old Srinagar wore adeserted look, a traditionalscene observed in the areassince past more than twodecades. Even as the old cityremained by and large peaceful,the impact of boycott call in

Budgam and pockets ofGanderbal district has baffledobservers. Shantmanu saidcompared to around 26 per centturnout in 2014 elections in thesegment, the turnout is quitelow. He said the by-poll in southKashmir scheduled on April 12is a bigger challenge as the areais prone to violence and militantpresence is higher. He said asmany as 1,559 polling stationswere set up and 6,236 poll per-sonnel were deployed for12,61,395 electorate of SrinagarParliamentary Constituency.He said in Srinagar district24,574 votes were polled ineight Assembly segments ofSrinagar parliamentaryConstituency with Hazratbalrecording 3,483 votes, Zadibal3,280, Eidgah 383, Khanyar2587, Habba Kadal 2,058,Amira Kadal 3,331, Sonwar4777 and Batamaloo 4,675. Hesaid 3.84 per cent polling wasrecorded in Srinagar, 8.82 percent in Budgam and 14.71 percent in Ganderbal districts.

Meanwhile, Chairman ofthe moderate faction ofHurriyat Conference MirwaizUmar Farooq said that “jointresistance leadership”, includingSyed Ali Geelani and YasinMalik, has decided to call forshutdown in Kashmir onMonday and Tuesday. “Theonly way for us to express ourcollective grief at their deathand share the sorrow with thebereaved family is to observeshutdown and register our sol-idarity with the martyrs and thecause for which they werekilled,” Mirwaiz said.

RSS CHIEF...He said many States where

RSS functionaries, a referenceto BJP leaders with RSS back-ground, have been in powerhave enacted such a law andexpressed confidence that otherGovernments will follow suit bydealing with local “complexi-ties”. In several northeasternStates, including some whereBJP is in power, cow slaughteris not banned while beef is con-sumed widely in States likeKerala and West Bengal where

the party is working to emergeas a strong political force.

The RSS chief suggestedthat enactment of such a laweverywhere will take time dueto the complexities of politics.If there is a law, it will be forpromoting non-violence notviolence, he said, noting, “Therecannot be a law that says you doviolence. It is impossible.”

“I am confident that wher-ever RSS workers are in power,they will deal with local com-plexities and work in that direc-tion,” he said. Cow protectionshould be promoted in such away that it wins over more andmore people to the cause andbrings praise for those doing it,Bhagwat said. Non-violentefforts will only help change thelaw accordingly, he said.Whether there is a law or notif the society’s behaviourchanges, cow slaughter willstop, he said. Bhagwat said as aveterinary doctor he is aware ofa ‘desi’ cow’s utility, includingthe usefulness of its urine anddung, and claimed that evenscientific bodies have come toaccept this. Underlining thatnon-violence was an essentialpart to Mahavir’s teachings, hesaid these can unite a societythat has people of differentfaiths and behaviour. PTI

NO GOVT JOB...Besides, all elections such

as panchayats, municipal bod-ies and autonomous councilsheld under the State ElectionCommission will also havethis norm for candidates,”Sarma said. Sarma, who isalso the Education Minister,said the policy also aims to givefree education to all girls up touniversity level. “We want tomake all facilities free, includ-ing fees, transportation, booksand mess dues in hostels. Thisstep is also likely to arrest theschool dropout rate,” he added.

Sarma added the proposedpopulation policy will seek todebate on increasing the legalage of marriage from 18 years

for girls and 21 years for boys.If anybody has child mar-

riage then he will be ineligiblefor Government job, theMinister said. The policy willalso seek stringent laws toprevent violence and sexualabuse of women, he added.

“Besides, a proposal forproviding incentives is alsoincluded for poor persons,who take care of their elderlyparents. The policy will alsocare for the adolescents. Wewill work for public awarenessand reach out through reli-gious leaders, NGOs, parlia-mentarians and media in thisregard,” Sarma said. The poli-cy proposes to set up a StatePopulation Council and a StatePopulation Research Centre,he added. The Minister alsosaid he will consider includinga provision for giving 50 percent reservation to women inGovernment jobs and elec-tions. “Till July, we will seekpublic suggestions. Then itwill go to the Assembly fordebate and adopting a resolu-tion. We have to go step by stepand we are in no hurry. This isthe long-term thing that BJPhad promised in the VisionDocument,” Sarma said. PTI

GURUGRAM FIRM...The company also pointed

out deficiencies in the processof bidding and sought actionagainst the other bidders.

However, BSNL and thecommittee formed to addressthe issue did not find any dis-crepancies in the process. But,since VNL had cried foul,BSNL decided to again go fora re-test in January 2017. Evenwhile the retesting was beingcarried out, VNL continued towrite to BSNL, advising themon how the testing should bedone. The re-tests were com-pleted in February, 2017 andthe report for the same wassubmitted to the authorities.Ironically, once again thefinancial bids have failed toopen despite repeated tests

and re-tests. Mobile coverageis urgently needed in theremote areas of these twoStates not only for the purposeof connectivity but also for rea-sons of security. TheGovernment cannot afford todelay the project any furtherand seems to be left with thechoice of either floating freshtenders for the project or savetime and give it to VNL. Thechoices seem limited andskewed keeping in mind thatVNL holds the reputation ofbeing the sole technologyprovider way back in 2014 andwould immensely benefit ifroped in yet again to do thisproject in 2017 at the rates thatprevailed three years ago.

Arunachal Pradesh MPshave also been writing to theGovernment for speedy con-clusion of tender process.According to Ninong Ering,Lok Sabha member fromAndhra Pradesh, since mostpopulation of the State is inhilly areas, no private telecomoperator has taken initiative insetting up and developing tele-com network facility. Even theHome Ministry has been press-ing for several border villagesbut has to wait until the presenttender is decided.

PIRATES TAKE TO...Subsequently, in a show of

international maritime cooper-ation against piracy, a board-ing party from the nearbyChinese Navy missile frigateYulin went on board the 178-metre long merchant ship,while the Indian Naval heli-copter provided air cover forthe operation. The 19 Filipinocrew member team was safe,Sharma added. Pakistani andItalian warships had alsoresponded to calls for help andreached the spot.

At least one Indian war-ship is deployed in the Gulf ofAden on regular basis since2008 to provide cover to mer-chant ships passing throughthis sea lane. Till last year, theIndian Navy s successfullythwarted 40 attempts by piratesand safely escorted 3,000 ships.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

nation 06LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017

PNS n PATNA

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad onSunday came out with

explanations on the allegationshurled at him and his familyregarding soil scam and shop-ping mall scam and said thecharges were fictitious andmade with malafide intentions.

After keeping silence for afew days, Lalu, accompanied byhis trusted aide and MP PremChand Gupta, refuted the alle-gations that he and his familymembers purchased land or itwas gifted by someone, whomhe had allegedly favoured asRailway Minister.

Both the soil and mallscams were levelled against athim by senior BJP leader SushilKumar Modi. Modi allegedthat soil dug out of the 2 acresof land on which Bihar’s biggestmall was under constructionwas sold to Patna zoo withoutany tender for ̀ 90 lakh and theshopping mall involved a scan-dal of `750 crore.

“All these baseless allega-tions have been levelled to tar-get our alliance Government inbid to create bad blood. We arein the Government and knowtheir game plan,” said Laluwithout naming Modi. Headded, gadaha kabhyi ghora

nahi ban sakta (a donkey can-not become a horse). He alsoclaimed that he knew about thescandals in which Modi and hiskin were involved, but he wasnot in the habit of hurling accu-sations.

Lalu said Modi stooped solow to accuse his wife and chil-dren.

Referring to the allegedsale of railway hotels toKochhar brothers in lieu of agift of 2 acres of land on BailyRoad in Patna, Lalu said thehotels were leased out to thebrothers by the IRCTC undera scheme approved during theNDA Government headed byAtal Bihari Vajpayee and theland was purchased in 2005 byDelite Marketing Company,almost two years before thelease.

In Delite Marketing, estab-lished in 1981 owned by Guptaand his family, Rabri Devi had

bought shares at a face value of`100 when she was not hold-ing any post. Later on, she gift-ed shares of to her sons TejPratap and Tejashwi Yadavand the information were sub-mitted to the ElectionCommission in the electionaffidavit.

Gupta said this companyunder the Limited LiabilityPartnership Act, 2012 was con-verted into LaRa company.“Our family transferred sharesto Rabri Devi, Tej Pratap andTejashwi Yadav after 2008when allegations were levelledon the company (by then StateJD(U) president Rajiv RanjanSingh Lalan, who is now aMinister in the Nitish KumarCabinet and intrusions weremade on the land,” he said.

Lalu however, refused tofile a defamation case againstModi saying he was not amukadma-baaz (litigant).

PNS n KOCHI

Four members of a familywere found dead early

Sunday morning inside theirhouse in a posh locality in theKerala capital, Thiruvananth-apuram. While three bodieswere found in a burnt state, thefourth was cut into pieces andkept in a bag at a multi-storeyhouse near Cliff House, theKerala Chief Minister’s officialresidence, at Nanthancode inThiruvananthapuram.

Preliminary investigationssuggested that this was a caseof mass murder, said the police.Inspector General of Police(Thiruvananthapuram range)Manoj Abraham said the bod-ies were two-three days old andthat three of them were charredbeyond recognition.

“A clear picture will emergeonly after forensic examina-tions and investigations,” hesaid.

The deceased were identi-fied as Dr Jean Padma, a retiredRegional Medical Officer, herhusband Raja Thankam, aretired professor in history,their daughter Caroline, a med-ical student in a ChineseUniversity, and Lalitha, a rela-tive. The deceased couple’s son,Cadell Jeansen Raja, said to beworking in Australia, was miss-

ing after the incident.The incident came to light

after locals noticed thick smokeemanating from the doctor’shouse in the wee hours ofSunday and alerted fire forcepersonnel and the police,whose search led to the findingof the four bodies. Neighbourssaid that Caroline had reachedhome on vacation a few daysago.

Police have launched amanhunt for Cadell, issued alook-out notice for him andstepped up surveillance at theairport and the Central RailwayStation in Thiruvananthap-uram.

Some of the neighbourshad reportedly seen Cadellfleeing the house by jumping

over the compound wall.However, the police were yet toget any clue on the exact rea-son behind the murders.

The police, who had recov-ered machetes and axes fromthe house’s compound, believethat the quartret was mur-dered two or three days agoand the attempt was to destroythe bodies by burning downthe entire house.

Neighbours said thatCadell had come home fromAustralia recently and hisbehavior did not seem normalin the last few days.

Police also found a half-burnt dummy with measurescorresponding to the bodymeasures of Cadell from thehouse. Police officials said that Cadell could have delib-erately put it there to generatethe feeling that all the fivemembers of the family hadbeen dead.

Meanwhile, Prof RajaThankam’s brother said that hehad not been able to contact thefamily over the phone for thepast three days.

“Cadell said the other fam-ily members had gone on a tourto Kanyakumari and would beback in a couple of days. I hadnoticed some burn injury onhis leg, but he gave me somereason for that,” he said.

PNS n GANDHINAGAR\

Union Minister for UrbanDevelopment Venkaiah

Naidu on Sunday said thatMuslims should abolish tripletalaq to give justice to theirwomen.

Speaking on the sensitiveissue during his visit to Gujarat,Naidu said that the minoritycommunity should take cuesfrom Hindus, who have by andlarge adopted progressiveapproach by putting aside prac-tices of sati, child marriage anddowry. It is high time Muslimsshould adopt a change, headded.

Advocating healthy dis-cussion within the minoritycommunity over the triple talaqissue, Naidu asserted thatMuslim leaders should comeout with a solution. "It is worthmentioning that the ApexCourt would hear pleas chal-lenging triple talaq, nikahhalala and polygamy practiceson May 11. However, the AllIndia Muslim Personal LawBoard reacted that the issuesraised in the pleas were beyondthe jurisdiction of the judicia-ry.

Answering a question onRam temple issue, the Ministersaid that the BJP-ruledGovernment would go as perthe Apex Court order.

KESTUR VASUKI n BANGALURU

AChristian prayer meetorganised in the IT city

was cancelled on Saturday afterright wing groups lodged policecomplaints alleging that itcould facilitate forced conver-sions. Due to the protest byBajrang Dal, the two-dayprayer meet was cancelled just12 hours before the com-mencement. According toorganisers, 1,000 people wereexpected to attend the prayermeeting on Saturday andSunday.

A compliant was lodged byVHP leader Girish Bhardwaj

who wrote to the Foreigners’Regional Registration Office —a police wing that tracks for-eigners visiting Karnataka —that two American evangelistswere in India for ‘religiousconversion’, in violation of theirvisa norms. In his complaint,he alleged that two foreignershad applied for Indian visa onlyto attend religious campaigns.Clearly, they are misleading theIndian Consulate, he said in thecomplaint.

Meanwhile, Bajrang Dalconvenor Keshav Nayak alsofiled a complaint with theBengaluru police. In his com-plaint he alleged that the evan-

gelist programme was aimed atconverting innocent Hindus.

“At the programme, cashwould be offered to the con-verts. As such, it hurts the reli-gious sentiments of theHindus,” he said in his com-plaint. He demanded that theorganisers be arrested and suit-able legal action be taken.

The programme which iscalled Power and Reality of theKingdom - was to be held in achurch in east Bengaluru.Comments on social mediaby the two preachers who post-ed pictures of their visit to aplace in interior Maharashtra -where over 8,000 people are

said to have attended - wereobjected to by Hindutvaactivists. The event was to beheld at the St Joseph’s ConventGirls High School Auditoriumby the Holy Spirit GenerationChurch and its pastor PSRambabu. The Pulikeshi Nagarpolice said the event was can-celled by the organisers andmanagement of the school.

A senior police official said“We will verify if the allegationsof visa violation. But if there areonly Christians attending it,where is the issue of conver-sion? That too an event insidethe premises of their own audi-torium of a local church.”

Lalu refutes SuMo’s charges

RJD Chief Lalu Prasad addressing a press conference with Deputy Chief MinisterTejashwi Yadav in Patna on Sunday PTI Photo

Says allegations of soil, mall scamsfictitious, made withmalafide intentions

Anna Salai in Chennai where the US Consulate is situated saw a portion of the road caving in on Sunday as a tunnel boring was being carried out by the Metro Railworks. Though a bus and car were trapped in the cave, all the passengers were evacuated and there were no causalities Pioneer photo

Four of family found deadnear Kerala CM’s house

While threebodies were

found in a burntstate, the fourth

was cut intopieces and keptin a bag at the

house. Son of thedeceased coupleis missing after

the incident

Muslims mustabolish tripletalaq: Naidu

Conversion row leads to church event cancellation

PNS n PATNA

Reacting to the clarificationsby the RJD chief Lalu

Prasad on the allegations lev-elled against him, formerDeputy Chief Minister SushilKumar Modi on Sunday said it was nothing but an admis-sion that the former CM com-mitted scandal. He demandedthat Chief Minister NitishKumar should drop his DeputyCM Tejashwi Prasad Yadavand Health and Forest MinisterTej Pratap from the Ministryand the inquiry into the scan-dal be ordered by the CBI, EDand IT.

“He has accepted whatev-er allegations I had madeagainst him. He also admittedthat he became owner of `500crore property by investingjust `4 lakh. This is a rags toriches story and a film could bemade on this,” said Modi afterLalu's press conference.

The BJP leader said therewas no mention of this land inthe affidavits filed by Lalu’s sons— Tej Pratap and TejashwiYadav. The former Deputy Chief Minister said DeliteMarketing company had beenused by Lalu to make legal hisbenami properties.

BJP wants CMto drop RJDchief’s sonsfrom Ministry

PNS n PANAJI

Top BJP leaders, includingparty president Amit

Shah and Union MinisterNitin Gadkari, on Sundaytrained their guns on theCongress, while accusing theparty of misusing Article 365of the Indian Constitutionand unnecessarily crying foulover the formation of theBJP-led coal it ionGovernment in Goa.

Addressing a well-attend-ed rally organised in the Statecapital to felicitate formerDefence Minister and currentChief Minister ManoharParrikar and Shah for beingsuccessful in forming thecoalition government in theState despite winning fewerseats than the Congress party,Parr ikar said that theCongress was on its way tobecoming an ‘extinct species’

in the State as well as nation-al politics.

“In the country’s democ-ratic history, no one hasabused Article 365 to over-throw Governments morethan the Congress,” Shah saidin his address at the meetingwhich was attended byaround 25,000 party mem-bers.

Shah also did not minceany words, when it came totaking on All India CongressCommittee General Secretaryin-charge of Goa and RajyaSabha MP Digvijaya Singh,over the latter’s accusationthat the BJP had ‘murderedthe Constitution’ in its bid toform a Hovernment in Goa.

“I want to ask Digvijayaji, when BJP leaders withNitin Gadkari went to meetthe Governor, by then wereyou even able to elect itsleader? They (Congress) were

not even able to close theirlegislative leader,” Shah said.

The BJP had won 13seats, four less seats than theCongress party, in the 40-member State LegislativeAssembly. But while theCongress leadership squab-bled over the choice ofCongress Legislative Partyleader, the BJP acted swiftlycobbling together an alliancewith two regional parties andtwo Independent MLAs beinginvited by the Goa Governorto form government.

Union Minister forRoads, Transport, Highwaysand Shipping Nitin Gadkaritook on Singh. “It was easi-er for the Congress to formthe Government. We had 13,they had 17. It would havebeen easy for them to getthree and it would have beentough for us to get six. Butthey squabbled over who will

become the CM. Some toldme that phone calls made tothe High Command couldnot get through. Thereforethey could not go ahead toform Government,” Gadkarisaid. “We did not do anythingwrong. In the Lok Sabha andthe Legislative Assembly elec-tions, those who have themajority are invited to formthe Government,” Gadkarisaid.

Parrikar claimed that theCongress would soon becomean extinct species, the kindwhich the forest departmentgoes hunting for, when a par-ticular species becomes rare.

“Congress is like a rarespecies like the wild specieswhich the forest departmenttracks down when it is on itsway to become extinct. It(Congress) is there inKarnataka, but next year itwill disappear,” Parrikar said.

Shah, Gadkari chide Cong over Goa fiasco

PNS n CHENNAI

Cordial relations, if any,between the AIADMK

(Amma) and the BJP, hasbecome a thing of the pastgoing by the statements madeby the leaders of the two par-ties over the last two days.

Following the two-daymassive income tax raids atthe residences and businesspremises of Tamil NaduHealth Minister CVijayabhaskar and hisfriends, the official mouth-piece of the AIADMK(Amma) had lambasted theBJP for vindictive politics.

Though TTV Dinakaran,deputy general secretary ofthe AIADMK (Amma) fac-tion was soft on his attacks onthe BJP, Saturday and Sundaysaw him upping the ante anddeclaring that the BJP wouldnot be able to gain footholdin Tamil Nadu for the next 25years.

He was kind enough toaccept the fact that the BJPmay be able to get a fewMLAs or MPs in the State ifthe party forges alliance withsome other parties. Even asDinakaran intensified hisattacks on the BJP, the DMKtoo came out in the open withparty leader MK Stalin warn-

ing of a massive agitation ifefforts to make Hindi com-pulsory were not put on hold.

While addressing cam-paigns in RK Nagar constit-uency, Stalin drew the atten-tion of the people towards theCentre’s efforts to installHindi hoardings along thehighways in Tamil Nadu.

However, VanathiSriniva- san, BJP general sec-retary, pointed out that boththe Dravidian majors wereupset over the growth of theBJP in Tamil Nadu. “Stalinand other DMK leaders knowwell that the good worksbeing done by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi have started

paying off and the youth inthe countr y are drawntowards the BJP. Situation inTamil Nadu is not different,”said Vanathay, an aspirant forthe State President’s post.

Stalin in his campaignspeeches reminds the Centrethat the DMK would not hes-itate to launch an anti-Hindiagitation in the lines of thegeneral strikes and hartalsheld in the State in 1960s.Vijayakanth, leader of theDMDK is the only leader ofa regional party in the Statewho had asked his cadres tolearn Hindi so that they couldget employment all over thecountry.

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

Sunday saw a near-peacefulpolling for the South Contai

Assembly seat in East Midna-pore barring some stray inci-dents of clashes between theruling Trinamool Congressand Opposition Left and BJP.Election Commission sourcessaid the constituency witnessedabout 66 per cent polling till 5pm0. The rate was likely to goup by about 10percent.

The by-polls assumes sig-nificance against the backdropof BJP’s risingaspirations tograb the place of first runner-up displacing the Left Front —ahead of the 2019 general polls— so that it can pose achallengeto Mamata Banerjee.

A good percentage in BJP’s

favour will help large sectionsof TMC andLeft leaders, will-ing to quit their respectiveoutfits to decide ontheir futurecourse of choice, saffron lead-ership feels. In East Midnaporethe BJP had polled about 10 percent votes in the 2016 Assemblyelections.

According to past pollrecords of South Contai the LeftFront hadretained the secondposition in 2011, Assemblyelections, 2014 generalpolls and2016 State elections. In 2011 theBJP polled little morethan 5,000votes (3.29 percent) while in2014 it garnered 22,000 vote-sand in 2016 it got 15,000(about 8.7 percent) votes.

However, the bigger factorfor the BJP in 2016 was it cameseconddisplacing the Left in

Nandigram seat known forMamata’s land struggle. “TheBJP’s performance in Nandi-gram proves that the peoplearegradually disillusioned by boththe Left and the TMC and nowtheyare looking towards theBJP as an alternative” Contai’sBJP candidate SM Jana said.

However, fresh from thelandslide victory in UP elec-tions things are abit differentfor a buoyed up saffron brigadewhich is taking 2017 byelec-tions as a launching pad for2019. “The BJP will definite-lyproject itself as an alternativeforce of the Trinamool by dis-placingthe Left,” said DilipGhosh State party chief.

The second and most dom-inating factor that could workin BJP’s favour is the contro-

versial armed rallies of the saf-fron brigade on the Ramnavamiand thereafter. “Positive or neg-ative the armed rallies havegiven the BJP a definite pub-licity in the run-up to thebypolls,” said BN Chakrabarty,a political analyst, adding, “itremains to be seen whether thepeople too conduct themselveslike their UP counterparts.”

A third factor that may goin BJP’s favour is the active par-ticipationfrom its side of fivetime CPI(M) MP and strong-man Laxman Seth who wasex-pelled from the party in 2015.

TMC has fielded formerState Minister ChandrimaBhattacharya who hadlost tothe Left in 2016 from SouthDum Dum seat while CPI(M)hasfielded Uttam Pradhan.

War of words intensifiesbetween BJP, ADMK(A)

Bengal BJP expects good show in South Contai by-elections CRPF personnel stand guard at a roadside in the RK Nagar constituency, which goes to bypolls on April 12, in Chennai on Sunday. PTI

nation 07LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017

GRAPEVINE

Captain vs Tewari

Congress Spokesperson Manish Tewari’sembarrassments are unending. While he

was denied a seat in the Punjab Assemblypolls, he has also been downgraded in list-ing of Advocates in the panel by ChiefMinister Captain Amarinder Singh. As manyas 50 Advocates were empanelled by the StateGovernment into three categories. All themain lawyers were put in Category-1 whileTewari was empanelled in Category-3 lawyerswith very junior Advocates.

Laughter moment in House

The Rajya Sabha had its moments of comicrelief last week when two Ministers look-

ing after the same Ministry got up time andagain to respond to queries raised by the mem-bers during the questions hour. WhenAgriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh andhis Deputy Parshottam Rupala repeatedly rosein tandem to field supplemantaries, severalMPs besides Chairman Hamid Ansari havehad a good laugh.

Troubled pitch

The strained relations between the ArvindKejriwal Government and the Centre

found played out in the Supreme Court lastweek when Solicitor General Ranjit Kumarappeared for the Delhi Government, replac-ing the earlier counsel picked by Kejriwal. Thematter related to Delhi’s pollution whereKejriwal Government promised to purchasevacuum cleaners to dust off Delhi roads.Kumar distanced himself from this standthough he appeared for the Delhi Government.Justice Madan Lokur realised the “sticky” posi-tion of the SG and remarked, “Solicitor, youare on a dangerous wicket.”

All praise for Gadkari

Speaking on the MotorVehicle (amendment) Bill,

2016, senior BJD leaderTathagata Satpathy talkedless on the legislation and

more on the “virtue” ofUnion Minister for sur-face transport NitinGadkari who piloted the

Bill. Satpathy went tothe extent of comparingGadkari with a star.“Even in the darkest

hours, a twinkling star

inspires”, he said as the Minister broke into asmile.

Law above you

Narendra ModiGovernment’s is

going all out againstthe corrupt babus.Around 35 IAS andIPS officers are acingprosecution in var-ious charges. While

prosecution sanctionis pending against 21

IAS officers, eight IPSofficers have beeneither booked or

chargesheeted oncriminal charges. Asper the DoPT

records six IAS offi-cers have also been

convicted duringthe Modi regime.

Deepika or not?

Union Health Ministry is undecided onnaming Bollywood actress Deepika

Padukone as its brand Ambassador to spreadawareness about mental illness and the stig-ma associated with it. While a section of offi-cials support the case of roping in the actressas an Ambassador, another section hasopposed her name cautioning that it would bedifficult to handle bouncers surrounding theactress and overzealous media every timeDeepika is invited to events related with themental health. Incidentally, Deepika herselfbattled depression not long ago.

Prabhu applauds Raju

So far tagged as elite Ministry, the CivilAviation Ministry received all-round

praise from aam admi recently for backing AirIndia and other airliners over their stand toban Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad fromflying. Last week, while the matter was debat-ed whether to lift the ban against the MP ornot, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok GajapatiRaju visited Rail Bhawan to flag off a trainfrom Delhi to his home State AndhraPradesh. During the speech, Raju receivedgenerous applause from Railway MinisterSuresh Prabhu who said “Raju is giving very stiff competition to us”. He was obviously referring to the price war betweenthe national carrier and national transporter.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n

NEW DELHI

After a gap of 12 years, theStanding Committee of

Inter-State Council (ISC) met onSunday here to debate on thePunchhi Commission recom-mendations on better Centre-State coordination. The meetingchaired by Home MinisterRajnath Singh discussed variousrecommendations includingpower of Governor and appoint-ment of Chief Minister, Sanctionfor Prosecution powers, powersand restructuring of Rajya Sabha.

Finance Minister ArunJaitley, Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath andhis Odisha, Tripura andChhattisgarh counterpartsNaveen Patnaik, Manik Sarkar

and Raman Singh attendedthe Standing Committee meet-ing of the Inter State Council(ISC). The MM PunchhiCommission submitted itsreport suggesting several rec-ommendations on the Centre-State relations and powers ofGovernor in 2010. Many Stateshave sent their opinions on thisregard for the past decade andthis is the first time the matterhas come for discussion in theISC and the Home Ministerwould appraise Prime MinisterNarendra Modi about the

Sunday’s deliberations.Chief Ministers of

Rajasthan, Punjab and AndhraPradesh, who are also membersof the committee, did notattend the meeting and senttheir representatives.

According to the MMPunchhi Commission’s rec-ommendations on the Centre-State relations, which werecame up for consideration atthe Standing Committee’smeeting, the Governor shouldfollow clear guidelines in theappointment of Chief Minister

by sticking to “clear order ofpreference”. The commissionhas recommended that a ChiefMinister should be asked toprove his majority within aclear time limit before he is dis-missed. In such a scenario, theChief Minister should prove hismajority within 5 days to max-imum 30 days, it has said.

As many as 19 States havegiven their suggestions on theeligibility criteria for the post ofGovernor. Bihar has opined forabolishing Governor’s post andmany States suggested for fixing

criteria for selection of the post. Home Minister Singh is

believed to have told the meet-ing that the powers of Governor,criteria for selection and hisimpeachment should largely beleft untouched. FinanceMinister Jaitley is learnt to havesupported Singh’s position.

The Punchhi Commission,which was notified in 2005,submitted its report in 2010.The recommendations of theCommission, which are con-tained in seven volumes, per-tain to the history of Centre-State relations in India;Constitutional Governance andManagement of Centre-State

Relations; Centre-StateFinancial Relations andPlanning, besides other issues.

Various Union Ministriesand all State Governmentsresponded to the recommen-dations made in the report byproviding detailed comments.The Standing Committeeexamined in detail various rec-ommendations of the PunchhiCommission contained inVolume II & III.

New Delhi: A crack team ofcounter-terror NSG comman-dos has been permanentlybased at its newest hub inGujarat by the CentralGovernment.

This is the fifth hub of theNational Security Guard (NSG)in the country after four suchbases were operationalised inMumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabadand Chennai post the 2008Mumbai terror attacks.

Officials said the new hub,operationalised recently nearcapital Gandhinagar, has beentasked with securing the entirewestern flank of the countryfrom Gujarat to Rajasthan.

About 100 commandos ofthe counter-terror and counter-hijack squads of the NSG havebeen based at the hub, officials

said. The commandos are cur-rently operating from a GujaratPolice facility.

They were first sent toGujarat last year in Marchafter Intelligence inputs indi-cated a possible terror strike inthe State and now, the officialssaid, they have been basedpermanently there.

The facilities at the per-manent hub, on a 1.33 lakh sqm land near the Randesan vil-lage in Gandhinagar, will beenhanced soon and a propos-al to equip the centre with com-mando training facilities, livingbarracks and other logistics isin progress, they said.

The Centre, a few yearsago, had proposed to create thelatest hub of the elite black catcommandos force in Gujarat as

it shares a 512-km-long landborder with Pakistan and has1,640-km-long coastline.

It is foreseen that in case ofa terror threat or attack to loca-tions in Gujarat and Rajasthan,the commandos can be airlift-ed or deployed for action inquick time from here.

The nearby hub inMumbai could supplement itsefforts in case the challengeerupts at two-three differentlocations at one given point oftime.

The Gujarat Government,after handing over the land tothe NSG for the hub last year,had said while the marketvalue of the plot is more than`470 crore it is giving it to theCentre at a token cost of just ̀ 1.

PTI

Gujarat gets new NSGhub, fifth in country

PNS n NEW DELHI

Facing allegations that elec-tronic voting machines can

be tampered with, the ElectionCommission of India (ECI) hascome out with a list of ‘fre-quently asked questions’(FAQs) to put across its viewsin public domain explaininghow the Indian Model ofEVMs are tamper proof.

Among other things, theECI has also claimed that Indiais the only country using stand-alone EVMs not connected tonetworks because of which themachines cannot be compro-mised.

Rejecting the possibility oftampering of EVMs used inlocal body polls, the ECI has saidthose machines are producedand used by the State ElectionCommissions and the ECI bearsno responsibility in producing,managing or securing them.

The ECI said, “There is amisunderstanding in thisregard due to lack of knowledgeabout jurisdiction. In case ofelections to Municipal bodiesor Rural bodies like PanchayatElections, the EVMs used donot belong to the ElectionCommission of India”.

Recently, the Commissionhad issued two statementsdefending the machines. TheFAQs are the third attempt bythe poll watchdog to counterthe doubts on the machines’reliability.

One of the first questionsthe FAQ addresses is whetherthe machine can be hacked?No, asserts the Commission.

The M1 (model one) ofEVM was manufactured till2006 and had all necessarytechnical features. it is non-hackable contrary to claimsmade by some activists”, it said.

The M2 model of EVMs

were produced between 2006and 2012 and incorporatedadditional safety features. It candetect malicious sequencedkey presses.

“Further, the ECI-EVMsare not computer controlled,are stand alone machines andnot connected to the Internetor any other network. Hence,there is no chance of hackingby remote devices... also do nothave any frequency receiver ordecoder for data for wireless orany external hardware port forconnection to any other non-EVM accessory or device.Hence no tampering is possi-ble,” the ECI said.

The Commission alsorejected suggestions that themachines can be manipulatedby the manufacturer itself.

“Not possible,” it said. The EVMs have been man-

ufactured in different yearssince 2006 and sent to differ-

ent States.The manufacturers —

ECIL and BEL — would notknow several years aheadwhich candidate will contestfrom a particular constituencyand what will be the sequenceof the candidates on the ballotunit,” it said.

It also asserted that no‘trojan horse’ can be injectedinto the EVM in the field. Infact, the new M3 EVIN pro-duced after 2013 have addi-tional features like tamperdetection and self-diagnostics.

The tamper detection fea-ture makes an EVM inoperativethe moment anyone tries toopen the machine. The self-diag-nostic feature checks the EVMfully every time it is switched on.Any change in its hardware orsoftware will be detected.

It said contrary to “misin-formation and as alleged bysome”, India does not use any

EVMs produced abroad.The EVMs are produced

indigenously and the softwareprogramme code is written in-house and not outsourced.

“The programme is con-verted into machine code andonly then given to the chipmanufacturer abroad becausewe don’t have the capability ofproducing semiconductormicrochips within the country.

“Every microchip has anidentification number embed-ded in memory and the pro-ducers have their digital signa-tures on them. So, the questionof their replacement does notarise at all because microchipsare subjected to functional testswith regard to the software. Anyattempt to replace microchip isdetectable and can make EVMin-operative,” it said.

Ruling out the possibility ofmanipulation of the machines atthe place of storage, the

Commission said security mea-sures and double checks thatsuch a possibility does not arise.

It said due to the differentlevel of stringent checks andbalances, neither ‘ECI-EVMs’can leave the EC system norany outside machine — non-ECI EVM — can be inductedinto the system.

On why developed nationssuch as the US and theEuropean Union have notadopted EVMs and some havediscontinued, the Commissionsaid the problem faced with themachines in these countrieswas that they were computercontrolled and connected to thenetwork, which in turn, madethem prone to hacking.

Moreover, adequate secu-rity measures and safeguards intheir corresponding laws werenot present. Hence the use ofEVMs was struck down bytheir courts.

ECI lists FAQs to counter doubts on EVMs’ reliability

Punchhi panel’s suggestions discussed

Chaired by Rajnath Singh, meet debates key pointsincluding power of Guv,appointment of CM et al

AFTER A GAP OF 12 YEARS

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chairing the 11th Standing Committee meeting of theInter-State Council in New Delhi on Sunday PTI

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n

NEW DELHI

The railways has crossed amajor hurdle in rolling out

the ambitious bullet train pro-ject as the MaharashtraGovernment has agreed to giveland at the Bandra-Kurla com-plex (BKC). The starting pointof the Mumbai-Ahmedabadhigh speed corridor at BKC wasa bone of contention betweenthe railways and the MumbaiMetropolitan RegionDevelopment Authority(MMRDA) as the latter wasstrongly opposed to givingland to the public transporter.

The proposed bullet trainwill start underground fromBKC and travel 21 km in a tun-nel passing through the seabefore emerging overground atThane. The MRDA had want-ed to use the BKC land for theproposed InternationalFinancial Services Centre(IFSC) at BKC. The StateUrban DevelopmentDepartment had also askedthe railways to explore alter-natives near Bandra Terminusand Kurla.

However, the railways hadrejected the suggestion and

managed to convince theMMRDA that India’s first highspeed rail project should beconstructed at an undergroundterminus at BKC, a seniorRailway Ministry official said.Since the station is planned tobe built underground, the abovespace can be utilised for IFSCconstruction, the official said.

There are a total of 12 sta-tions on the 508-km route —four of which are inMaharashtra and eight inGujarat. A formal announce-ment is likely to be made by therailways and Maharashtra soonending the uncertainities overlocation of the starting point ofIndia’s first bullet train project,the official said.

The total land available atBKC is about 67 acres and theproject needs about 10 acreland. Passenger area, platforms,escalators, lifts among others willbe constructed underground at

BKC. Estimated to cost about`97,636 crore, 81 per cent of thefunding for the project willcome by way of a loan fromJapan. The project cost includespossible cost escalation, interestduring construction and importduties. Maharashtra and Gujaratwill also share 25 per cent costeach for the project.

Currently geo-technicalsurvey is going on to be fol-lowed by the final location sur-vey to mark the alignment andexact spots for the pillars onwhich trains will run at higherspeed to reduce the travellingtime between Mumbai andAhmedabad drastically.

It takes about seven hoursto travel between the twocities and the bullet train aimsto reduce it to about twohours. Construction of thecorridor is expected to start in2018 and is estimated to becompleted by 2023.

Bullet train to roll as Maha

agrees to give land at BKC

New Delhi: To challenge the“anti-India” narrative in foreignmedia and to report eventsfrom the country’s perspectiveto global audiences, publicbroadcaster Prasar Bharati hasset its eyes on a high-tech dig-ital platform.

The Prasar Bharati boardrecently approved a report forthe creation of a new web-based platform in addition toAll India Radio (AIR) andDoordarshan, whose primaryfocus is domestic audience.

The report has now beenforwarded to Information andBroadcasting Minister MVenkaiah Naidu.

The panel, which washeaded by Prasar Bharati chair-man A Surya Prakash, in itsreport has advocated creatinga “globally respected digitalnews platform advocatingIndian national interest”.

“India is the fastest grow-ing economy and there havebeen extraordinary steps takenin the area of governance.These can act as a template formany governments. But thewestern media portrays a pic-ture as if it is a conflict zone

which is absolutely bogus. Weneed to set it right,” SuryaPrakash told PTI.

According to the report ofthe panel, the new platformwould aim to have global opin-ion-makers, global influencers,Indian diaspora, global acade-mia and think tanks among itsaudience.

According to the report ofthe committee, the digital plat-form would focus on SouthAsia, North America, Europe,Middle East, Africa, Chinaand Asia-Pacific.

It would provide in-depthcommentary on areas like glob-al economy, geo-politics, terror,global crises and soft power.

The high-level committeehas recommended that thenew digital body should be cre-ated under the Companies Actand has estimated that its annu-al operating costs would bearound ̀ 75 crore. According tothe ambitious targets being setby the panel, the web-basedplatform would have a trafficgoal of 10 million by its thirdyear of operations which wouldbe taken to 100 million by itsfifth year. PTI

To counter ‘anti-India’narrative, pubcaster plansglobal digital platform

ARCHANA JYOTI n NEW DELHI

Asevere water crisis is loom-ing large over most part of

the country with four moreStates — Punjab, Uttarakhand,Himachal Pradesh and Kerala— likely to be included in thelist of drought-prone States for2017, taking the total to 12.

Last year, eight States weredeclared drought hit and theycontinue to retain the tag forthis year, too.

These are Chhattisgarh,Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.Though Haryana was notdeclared to be drought hit, ithad reported severe water cri-sis from various parts acrossthe districts.

The Union Water andSanitation Ministry has calledfor a video conference with the13 States on Monday to discussways to brace the water short-age situation prepare to handlethe situation as some forecastssay India is heading to a yearof below normal monsoon,said sources in the Ministry.The meeting is likely to focuson the 3R’s — Reduce,

Recharge and Recycle — whichare the critical success factorsfor ensuring water security.

In January this year, theTamil Nadu Governmentdeclared its all 32 districtsdrought-affected with the rain-fall deficit ranging from 35 percent to 81 per cent. Fifteen irri-gation reservoirs in the stateare said to be at 13 per cent lev-els at the end of 2016.

In the absence of both thesouthwest and northeast mon-soons except for a few occa-sional showers, Kerala is fore-cast to witness its hardestdrought in 115 years, and theworst since the State’s forma-

tion in 1956.Karnataka, which saw suc-

cessive drought during the lasttwo years, is heading for thesame this year too. Variousestimates say that 136 of the175 talukas in the Southernstate are drought-hit and expe-riencing severe drinking watershortage.

In 2016, at least 40 per centof the 1,600 people who dieddue to extreme weather con-ditions across the country lastyear was due to severe heatwave, as per the IMD. The2016 was the warmest yearever recorded, globally as wellas in India. Gujarat andMaharashtra registered 87 and43 deaths due to heat wavesrespectively.

In the wake of drought-likesituation, the RuralDevelopment Ministry hasalready allowed eight States —Kerala, Rajasthan, MadhyaPradesh, Karnataka,Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh,Andhra Pradesh and TamilNadu — to provide 150 days ofmanual work per householdunder the rural job scheme ofthe Centre in the fiscal 2017-18.

4 more may be added in

drought-prone State list

Rajnath Singh, along with actor Akshay Kumar, presents special award to Commandant(Retd) BSF, BS Tyagi during the launch of web portal and mobile application ‘Bharat Ke Veer’during ‘Shaurya Diwas’ celebration at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Sunday PTI

New Delhi: A parliamentarypanel has asked the HealthMinistry to put in additionalefforts to reduce the number ofvacancies at AIIMS in NewDelhi so that it can maintainthe status of institute of nation-al importance.

The panel noted that thehealth department shouldstrive to plug the gaps in med-ical and paramedical sanc-tioned posts by expeditiousfilling up of vacancies in dif-ferent categories at the AllIndia Institutes of MedicalSciences (AIIMS).

The department relatedparliamentary standing com-mittee for demands for grants2017-18 of the department ofhealth and family welfare sug-gested taking up a collaborativeapproach with the ministry ofskill development and entre-

preneurship for manpowerrequirements.

“The committee notes thatthough the number of vacantfaculty posts has reduced from232 to 179 as compared to lastyear, the department needs toput in additional efforts forfurther reducing the numberof vacancies keeping in viewthe increasing workload atthe institute (AIIMS),” thepanel chaired by SamajwadiParty MP Ram Gopal Yadavsaid.

A complete team of para-medical professionals includingtechnical staff is “sine-qua-non” for the efficient func-tioning of any hospital setup, itsaid, adding that for a premierinstitute like AIIMS, gaps in theworkforce would definitelyaffect the smooth running ofthe hospital. PTI

Fill up vacancies at AIIMS:

Parliamentary panel to Govt

The most interestingnews items related tothe Supreme Court’sverdict on preventingdeaths on the high-

ways by drunk drivers, is the storyof several highway pubs thatcome within the limits set by thehonourable court to skirt roundthe 500 metres and still carry ontheir popular trade.

Some have shifted their estab-lishment just a few metres over thelimit. Others simply built a newentrance beyond the limit andinvited their patrons to enterthrough the new opening to reachout to their peg!

The most interesting part ofthis story is the StateGovernments’ reactions. Fearingloss of crores of rupees of revenuefrom the sales of liquor to high-way travellers, they have simplydeclared some popular Statehighways as district roads. Theverdict applies only to nationaland State highways.

Surely the courts cannothang so many wrongdoers whenlegally they are not on the high-ways at all from now on whilecontinuing to be on their exist-ing highway sites. So here is aconundrum, like what is attrib-uted to quantum scientistSchrodinger — the cat is bothdead and alive at the same time.In effect, here is an instance ofthe State and the guilty collud-ing to mock at the judiciary!

The State has its justificationfor the trick it is playing on thejudiciary. Over `65,000 crores isthe level of revenue from high-way liquor sales all the Statestogether receive; Kerala alone hasclaimed the loss for it would be`15,000 crore.

But the loss of revenue for theStates is not the only issue involvedin this controversial verdict. Thecriticism has come on the groundthat it is an instance of judicialover-reach. The verdict is alsoimposing on the Government avirtually impractical rule.

There has also been a mix-upof objectives. What exactly is thepublic interest the judiciary want-ed to serve? Was it to stop drunk-driving on the main arteries oftransportation as it leads to high-way accidents and deaths?

The national record of crimeshas been quoted by the critics ofthe verdict to expose that high-way accidents due to drunk dri-vers is only 1.5 per cent of allhighway accidents. If even onedeath takes place out of a million,that is certainly not desirable andshould be prevented.

But the main criticism is thatno such desirable goal could beachieved by this verdict becausethose who ignore the risk to thepublic by drunk driving would notbe deterred by the limitation of500 metres from the highway.

Another 100 metres would beno big deal for a highway truckdriver who daily takes 1,000km oreven more a day or to the occa-sional holiday-maker who wantsa pleasurable 500km drive withhis family if the pub gets shiftedfurther away.

There is considerable sub-stance in the criticism that theverdict has failed to distinguishbetween drunk driving andenjoying a drink or more by pas-sengers who are not driving atransport vehicle.

Those who drink and drivedo pose a threat to other road-users including themselves, butthat does not apply to those whoare not assigned or do not evenintend to drive the vehicle.

The court itself would cometo be mocked around as nothingprevents a person intending todrive a vehicle load up someliquor in the vehicle and drink in

a secluded spot on the way. Evenwithout a pub on the way, drink-ing is freely possible. The courtorder seems to have ignored thisevident alternative at its own cost.

The Government’s move toget the court to re-visit the orderbecause of the widespread diffi-culties it has posed to authoritiesacross the country may relieve thelogjam the order has presented toseveral officials and the publiceverywhere, in addition to wide-spread revenue loss, job loss andundue intrusion by enforcementbodies into privacy everywhere.

More than this specific setof problems, we do need to lookat the more fundamental issues.This particular order hasexposed a number of basicissues regarding privacy, wherethe state’s intrusion should endand where a private citizen’sright to enjoy his life accordingto his choice, begins. Should thestate be a perpetual killjoy?

Recall the Jallikattu ban inTamil Nadu and how under pub-lic pressure and the StateGovernment’s submission, thecourt let the sport be resumed.There are several other issues in

which the court might ultimate-ly cave in and let what seemswrong at first sight be allowed dueto tradition, public enjoyment andsocial pressure.

We all are learning that whatis certainly desirable cannot nec-essarily be imposed from above.Prohibition, for instance, is onesuch issue. Recall also how inAndhra Pradesh, in 1985, wildlypopular Chief Minister NT RamaRao imposed prohibition andthen had to withdraw it, as itbecame a huge joke after illicithooch began flood the State whilethe treasury of the Governmentbegan to dry up, holding severalsocial welfare schemes back.

Prohibition was a prime causeof the downfall of the Congressled UDF in Kerala. The huge lossof jobs in the local tapping indus-try, the widespread fear that theprohibition was a conspiracy ofthe Bishops against the Hindus,the allegation that the liquormafia had paid a huge bribe to thethen Finance Minister who toowas a Christian, all put togetherworked against the UDF.

The apex court had okayedthe ban on liquor and on thebars. The successor Ministry ofthe Left Front (the LDF) had tomoderate the ban under publicpressure while outwardly pre-tending to stand by the ban.

While dealing with the vexedissue of drunk driving on roads,the Supreme Court has ignoredseveral important points. One,drunk driving is dangerous notonly on highways but on anyroad or street. Two, the crux ofthe problem is not about theavailability of liquor but its con-sumption by the driver while onthe wheel. Three, does movingthe liquor vends 500 metresaway from a highway discouragethe driver from driving withalcohol in his blood in any tan-gible manner?

There is a two-step possiblesolution to this menace. Makechecking by the law enforcementagencies for drunk driving (on ahighway or otherwise) strict. Andthose who get caught should bepunished in an exemplary man-ner — impound and auctiontheir vehicles and send the offend-ers to prison.

The right course for the courtwould have been to order the cen-tre and states to come out with afool proof plan to deal with thisevil, and legislate accordingly.

(The writer is a former RajyaSabha MP from the BJP and aDelhi-based social and politicalcommentator)P

rasar Bharati's proposal to float a digital channel to take the real India storyto the world is not without merit. The anti-India narrative pervades muchof the global media, fuelled both by partisan commentators who have lit-

tle understanding or appreciation of the nuances that shape India and make ittick, and by those within this country who believe that only negatives sell andwho then pass their wisdom on to the foreign media. In many cases, the for-eign media, having little inclination to get a first-hand understanding, are easi-ly influenced by the inputs from these so-called pundits and form their opin-ions. Such negative perception has got nothing to do with this Government orthe previous Governments. It's a mindset that existed, exists, and will continueto exist. While it is true that no official effort can completely obliterate these neg-ativities, there is certainly a case for the public broadcaster to make an effort toat the very least dilute the perception through an alternative narrative. Many promi-nent countries have outlets, especially in electronic media, which are used toconvey their message. The US has the backing of global media channels; and

so does the UK and Russia. EvenChina has an international televisionchannel that beams its message. It'snot that these channels, especiallyoperating out of democratic countries,are not critical of the Government inpower, but they are neverthelesseffective means of communicating thecountry's achievements and positionson regional and global issues. It wouldbe thus wrong to assume that, if thedigital channel which Prasar Bharatihas suggested, takes off, it will be amere propaganda arm of theGovernment. There is much beyondpolitics in India which is being mis-interpreted globally, leading to aquestioning of the country's image. Ofcourse, the situation is not as bad asit may have been earlier, given that the

Indian diaspora across the globe is today in a strong position to offer a counternarrative and set right prejudices. But even so, the diaspora can do only so much.

It's not just the positives in the Indian story that need to be delivered to theglobal audience, but also the happenings the world over have to be brought hometo the India audience in a manner that does not carry the biases of the West.For instance, the West-centric media channel has a nearly common take on theSyrian crisis and the US's latest response. The media outlets are unanimous indemonising Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. On Iran too, the West-dominat-ed media has a template and there is little scope for a revised outlook. Audiencesin India, exposed to such media, will naturally never have the occasion to seethe flip side. There had earlier been talk of Doordarshan, on its own or in a tie-up with a private player, floating an international news channel. That would havebeen too expensive. It now remains to be seen whether the Union Information& Broadcasting Ministry will clear the proposal for a global digital platform.

The sudden US strike against Syria has complicated an already vexatious sit-uation, pushing an acceptable resolution to the internal conflict there evenfurther out of reach. There is no doubt that the tragic chemical weapons attacks

which killed dozens of innocent Syrians, many of them children, should not gounpunished. But when there are conflicting opinions on the identity of the attack-er, it would have been better for the truth to have been fully established beforeany action was taken. While the US-led West holds the Syrian Government account-able, the Government on its part has blamed the rebels who are engaged in awar with the establishment. It appears that the US almost overnight concludedthat the Bashar al-Assad regime was responsible for it and launched the mili-tary retribution. It is unclear what the US has sought to convey through its action.If President Donald Trump wanted to send out the message that he would notsit back and watch as his predecessor did even if the ‘red line' was crossed, per-haps he has managed to impress his constituents back home. President Trump'sanger over the poison gas attack is not misplaced, but he must remember thatthe Syrian conflict does not lend itself to simple militaristic solutions. Had airraids been the answer, the issue would have been resolved a long time back.

Even the Assad Government's armedaggression has not been able to con-tain the conflict. At the end of the day,a solution that takes everyone onboard has to be found. Of course,those who are responsible for theunrest over the years, that has claimedthousands of Syrian lives, have to beeventually brought to book. But thereare many who have become part of thecivil war out of a lack of choice —been caught in the crossfire and takensides out of compulsion. It had beenexpected that with the coming of theTrump Administration, US-Russia tieswould improve and that would havea salutatory impact on the Syrian cri-sis as well. But the recent US militarystrike has dashed the latter hopes tothe ground — at least for now. The

Trump Administration may have refrained from directly targeting Russia for itssupport to the Assad regime, but the inference is there. It can only be hopedthat even at this stage, the two countries get together for the sake of the Syrianpeople and find a solution.

Meanwhile, questions are going to be raised over the propriety of the USstrike. Neither the US Congress nor the United Nations was taken into confidence.The Americans can say they had given adequate warning when US envoy to theUnited Nations Nikki Haley had earlier indicated that her country would take aunilateral decision if it deemed necessary. This fits in well with the earlier actionsof the US in other conflicts across the globe — for instance, in the matter ofdislodging Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The West has not been able to cogent-ly justify its action to date, with its accusation that the Iraqi leader had been stock-piling weapons of mass destruction, not proven. The latest American action hasnot just been condemned by Russia but also by Iran with which the US had overthe recent years sought to rebuild relations following the nuclear deal. There is,therefore, more at stake here than just the Syrian issue.

Syrian crisis worsens

US strikes won’t resolve issue; world unity will

opinion 08LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017

Court judgement that’swhimsical, impracticalThe loss of revenue for the States is not the only issue involved in the apex court's controversial verdicton highway pubs. The criticism has come on the ground that it is an instance of judicial over-reach

Selling India Story abroad

Global Indian digital channel is a good idea

Double standards

Sir — As a law-abiding citizen ofthis country, on whose tax moneyour MLAs and MPs enjoy perksand facilities, I want to ask themone question: If an ordinary cit-izen slapped an airline staff, willthe MPs, who went soft towardsthe Shiv Sena MP, RavindraGaikwad, and rushed to protecthim, behave in the same mannerfor the common man? Will theypacify the offended and allow himto go scot-free, after accepting apublic apology read out by him?

I am sure, the very moment acommon man is found misbehav-ing with an airline staff, he will bearrested and put behind bars. Butin the case of Gaikwad, who notonly slapped a 60-year-old AirIndia staffer with his footwear, butalso had the audacity to proclaimwith pride that he had slapped thestaff 25 times with his slippers, andhas not even apologised to the staff,it is shocking that no action hasbeen initiated against him.

We understand that Air Indiahas been directed to lift the banimposed on the MP from flying intheir aircraft, which is nothing butadding insult to injury. What dou-ble standards and blatant hypocrisy!

Shalini Gerald Chennai

Racist leader

Sir — This refers to the report,“Tarun kicks up racism row”(April 8). Unfortunate is toomild a word to describe theloathsome comment of formerRajya Sabha MP, Tarun Vijay,who asked, “If Indians wereracist, why would they live withthose from the south who areblacks”? Vijay’s attitude is notonly highly patronising towardssouth Indians and degrading tothem, but it appears he is com-pletely ignorant of the fact thatin the West, many Indians areblacks, including those fromhis own region. His feebleattempt to repair his outrageouscomment has only worsenedhis initial blunder.

NS Rajan Bengaluru

Changing colours

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Outrageous comment”(April 7). There is little differ-ence between the separatistsand the so-called mainstreamparties in Jammu & Kashmir.When out of power, the parties,which then are in theOpposition, speak the same lan-

guage as that of the separatists.They even forget the fact that asMinisters, they had taken oathto protect the interests of theState. It’s high time we ponder ifsuch people really deserve theperks and allowances that theyenjoy at the cost of the taxpayers’ money.

Arun Via web

Divided opinion

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Outrageous comment” (April7). National Conference presi-dent Farooq Abdullah’s com-ments are unfortunate, to say theleast. It is nothing but a desper-ate attempt to be in the limelight.If, as per him, stone-pelters in thevalley are engaging in the nation-al interest, then what are theIndian Army and Kashmir policedoing at the borders?

Only few days ago, whenheavy rains and snow made lifetough for the Kashmiri people,the Army came to their rescue.At the very least, Abdullah mustapologise for his remarks.

Bal GovindNoida

www.dailypioneer.com

p a p e r w i t h p a s s i o n

BALBIR PUNJ

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Kejriwal has dashed

all my hopes. I am

pained by the

Shunglu report

because Arvind was

with me in the fight

against corruption.

Social activist

—Anna Hazare

I absolutely want to

have children. But how

do you do it? The only

way you can is if you

have a brilliant partner.

Actor

—Gemma Arterton

We were fully justi-

fied in launching air

strike in Syria. The

moral stain of the

Assad regime could

no longer go unan-

swered.

US envoy to UN

—Nikki Haley

THERE ISCONSIDERABLE

SUBSTANCE IN THECRITICISM THAT THE

VERDICT HASFAILED TO

DISTINGUISHBETWEEN DRUNKDRIVING AND A

DRINK BY THOSENOT DRIVING A

TRANSPORTVEHICLE

SOUNDBITE

China never cared about

bilateral ties with India

This refers to the article, “The Chinese and their bogus tall assertions” (April6) by Claude Arpi. In a protest lodged with India’s Ambassador in Beijing,Vijay Gokhale, China said that it would take “necessary measures” to defend

its “sovereignty interests” and that the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradeshwould cause “serious damage” to bilateral ties. But, has China ever cared forbilateral ties? It is in illegal occupation of Indian territory of approximately 38,000sq km in Aksai Chin region of Jammu & Kashmir and 5,180 sq km in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), illegally ceded by Pakistan in 1963.

It is developing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor going over the PoKterritory of Gilgit-Baltistan. It has been aiding and supporting Pakistan whichshelters anti-India terrorists. It has been opposing India’s membership of theNuclear Suppliers Group and India’s moves in the UN to ban Jaish-e-Mohammedchief Masood Azhar as a terrorist. Arunachal is an integral part of India andChina has no right to object to Lama’s visit to the region.

MC JoshiLucknow

Send your feedback to: letterstopioneer@gmail.com

DEEPAK SINHA

SANJU VERMA

Taxes are what we pay forcivilised society, includingthe chance to insure,” said

liver Wendell Holmes Jr. TheGoods and Services Tax (GST)Bill is one indirect tax for theentire nation which will makeIndia a unified common mar-ket. It is a single destination-based tax on the supply ofgoods and services, from themanufacturer to the consumer.

Credits of input taxes, paidat each stage, will be available inthe subsequent stage of valueaddition, which makes the GSTessentially a tax only on valueaddition at each stage. The finalconsumer will thus bear only theGST charged by the last dealerin the supply chain, with set-offbenefits at all previous stages.

Of late, there have been alle-gations by a defunct Congressand its poll-weary leaders, whohave been struggling with oneelectoral humiliation afteranother, that the GST was their

idea, that had been usurped bythe BJP-led NDA Government.

The truth, however is, theopposite. After initial recom-mendations on GST by theKelkar committee in 2003, theUPA failed miserably in forginga consensus for 10 long years ontwo important issues. First per-tains to the compensation to theStates. And second involves thedispute resolution mechanismunder the GST.

Former Finance Minister PChidambaram, is singularlyresponsible for ensuring that theGST remained an idea andnever came up for any seriousdeliberations in Parliamentunder the Congress regime, somuch so that even veteranCongressman like former ChiefMinister of Maharashtra,Prithviraj Chavan, openlyrevolted against Chidambaram’snotion of GST, as the formerFinance Minister had summar-ily replaced the central sales tax

with State value-added tax bybulldozing his way through,leaving States high and dry,sans any compensation.

On the contrary, under theModi Government, there is pro-vision for 100 per cent compen-sation to States for the first fiveyears of losses incurred. It is notsurprising, therefore, that afterAssam, the first State to ratify theGST Bill last year was Bihar,which is a non-BJP ruled State.

Again, under the Congress,the dispute settlement authori-ty was always a non-starter.But the Modi Government hasensured that the GST Council,the adjudicating authority incase of any disputes, has one-third weightage/representationby the Union, and all States puttogether will have a two-thirdsweightage, with the UnionFinance Minister being theChairman of the GST Council,and all State Finance Ministersshall be a part of the Council too.

Any decision by the GSTCouncil will need a three-fourths majority for approval.

Congress vice presidentRahul Gandhi and his coterie ofsycophants can keep vacillatingbetween false bravado and sheerdesperation at what they couldhave done but did not do onGST. Well, it’s time for theCongress to stop playing the‘martyr’, and blame the BJP for‘snatching’ their idea.

An idea is only as good asits implementation. So, while theCongress builds flaky castles inthe air, kudos to the ModiGovernment that it walked thetalk, and sorted out thornyissues and also made the neces-sary alterations. For instance, itgave up on the proposed one percent entry tax by manufacturingStates that was on the table.

Also, rather than gettingcaught in a bind on the revenueneutral rate, the ModiGovernment, keeping in mind

the complexities, has presenteda four-tier tax slab in place — atfive per cent, 12 per cent,18 percent and 28 per cent, withenabling provisions for cappingtax rate and cess at 40 per centand 15 per cent respectively.

The best thing about theGST is that there are no hiddentaxes and what you see is whatyou get. Efficiency gains andprevention of leakages will bringdown the overall tax burden forconsumers. For businesses, thebiggest benefit is uniformity intax rates throughout the coun-try, which will not only enhanceease of doing business, but alsomake doing business in thecountry tax neutral, irrespective of the choice ofplace of doing business.

For Central and StateGovernments, the GST willensure better tax complianceand enhance revenue efficiencyas all tax payer services, such asregistrations, returns, payments

etc, would be available online. To cut to the chase, if

demonetisation has been agame-changer, the GST is atransformational tax reformthat will boost ‘Make in India’ bybolstering India’s competitive-ness, both locally and in exportmarkets. This in-turn, will havea salubrious impact on virtual-ly every economic parameter.

Whether GST will add twoper cent or four per cent moreto India’s gross domestic prod-uct in the medium-term, is nota matter of debate anymore.That is a given. What matters isthat with this masterstrokereform, the Government hasgiven wings to its agenda of ‘Ekbharat shrestha bharat, ‘Sabkasaath sabka vikas, which is notmere euphesim. It is somethingthat the Government abides by,both in letter and spirit.

(The writer is chiefspokesperson for the BJP, Mumbai)

While the Congress builds flaky castles in the air that the GST was their idea, the Modi Government must becomplimented for having walked the talk, to sort out the many thorny issues, to make a unified tax dream come true

Old war with no gains in sight

3rdeye 09LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017

In many parts of the nation, we have

different people in colour and never ever we

had any discrimination against them.

—Former Rajya Sabha MP

TARUN VIJAY

I want to ask him (Tarun Vijay): Who is

‘we’? Was he referring to BJP/RSS

members as the only Indians?

—Congress leader

P CHIDAMBARAM

It's easy to be

a hardliner and

not look for

compromise if one

has nothing to lose.

Thus, President

Trump's amateurish

and unconventional

approach must be

welcomed and

unlike those

involved in our

policy-making

establishment, we

must hope that he

does not lose steam

or focus and follows

through. Maybe

then, things might

just change

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

By all accounts, it’s going to be awarm summer this year, espe-cially in the Kashmir valley, notleast because climate change isupon us. We are slowly, but

surely, moving towards violent con-frontation there, once again, as we havedone repeatedly every few years.

Whatever be the tactics that the mil-itants and their supporters may employ,there is absolutely no doubt that thesecurity forces, especially the Army, willbe able to neutralise them and contin-ue to hold the initiative in the comingsummer months, as action shifts to thesurrounding hills and forests in the val-ley. That said, however, the Army willhave to rethink tactics to tackle localsattempting to disrupt the conduct ofoperations against militants.

There is no gainsaying the fact thatdespite whatever be the directions of theArmy chief in this matter, there is littledoubt left that the vast majority of thoseinvolved in such acts are motivated moreby cash than ideology. Investigations bysome news channels, which are now inpublic domain, make this abundantlyclear. It, therefore, stands to reason thatno democratic Government, either in theState or at the Centre, can countenanceindiscriminate use of force to quell the ‘dis-ruptionists’, for want of a better word, espe-cially if it continues to lead to large num-ber of casualties among them. The Armyhas little choice but to go in for targetedneutralisation, especially of those who areinvolved in organising such acts.

For that, the security forces need tonotch up their intelligence gatheringcapabilities substantially and focus on

identifying such individuals, gathering suf-ficient evidence against them and ensur-ing that they face the full brunt of the lawfor their illegal and unethical activities.

Simultaneously, the Army shouldconsider deploying special forces snipersto provide a protective screen whencounter-terrorist operations arelaunched, in addition to the police ban-dobust that now appears to have becomestandard practice. It seems reasonableto expect that the organisers of theprotests will be in the close vicinity toensure they get their money’s worthfrom those they have employed, as alsoto control and motivate them.

Though they may ‘lead from therear’, it remains a vulnerability that canand must be exploited. Once they findthemselves targeted, they will attempt todistance themselves from the mob,which will result in loss of control. Oncethey are not there to personally witnessthe performance of the paid protesters,there is a likelihood that the protesterswill disperse after token protests. Lackof accountability, as we are all aware,always leads to laxness among the paidminions. Our humongous Governmentand public establishments are clearexamples of this phenomenon.

This brings us to the more impor-tant issue of US President DonaldTrump considering the option of pro-active mediation to resolve issuesbetween India and Pakistan. While theGovernment has lost little time in ask-ing the Americans to mind their ownbusiness, put more diplomatically offcourse, there can be little doubt that thishas set the cat among the pigeons

among our foreign service mandarins. While Ministry of External Affairs

spokesperson, Gopal Bagley, has parrot-ed the Governments’ oft enunciatedviews on the importance of bilateral dia-logue being the only way forward, the factcannot be overlooked that we haven’t beengoing anywhere with it, let alone forward,for decades now. One cannot help but bereminded of the battles of the great warat Somme and Flanders, where millionsof people were sacrificed for the captureof a few yards of really unimportantground. One cannot help but ask the ques-tion as to what exactly has the bilateralnature of our dialogue achieved over theyears? An unending tango of one step for-ward and two back, hardly counts as suc-cess. Doubts also arise as to the abilitiesand competence of those who have beenresponsible for policy formulations andnegotiations with Pakistan.

While the Tashkent pact may havebeen mediated by the Soviets, the dia-logue was between both the protago-nists and we are yet not aware as to whowas responsible for the folly of suggest-ing such vitally important positions likethe Haji Pir Pass and Point-13620, over-looking Kargil, captured at great cost,be handed back, despite Prime MinisterLal Bahadur Shastri having to obvious-ly shoulder the blame.

That foolishness costs us even tothis day. One wonders what sort ofnegotiations took place at Simla in 1972,where despite holding 93,000 Pakistaniprisoners of war we were unable toresolve Kashmir or the Line of Controlissue. What better bargaining chips didour negotiators need to have resolved

these issues? Which individual suggest-ed the return of those Pakistani prison-ers of war without arranging for theexchange of our own unfortunate sol-diers who had been taken prisoner?

We are, therefore, today forced to con-front the tragic fact that 57 of our soldierscontinue to languish as prisoners of war.This tragedy is compounded by the factthat this Government and those before itare shameless enough to have washedtheir hands off the issue forcing the kinof the prisoners of war to approach theSupreme Court and requesting them todirect the Government to initiate actionto get them back.

We really need to face the fact thatcompetence in negotiations isn’t exact-ly the forte of those responsible forresolving issues that confront us. For thevast majority involved, it is just anoth-er job that if perceived to be done wellwill give their career the required bal-last. It certainly is not an emotive issueas only a miniscule number may actu-ally have family in harms’ way, impact-ed by the outcome of all that is discussed.

It’s easy to be a hardliner and not lookfor compromise if one has nothing to lose.Thus, President Trump’s amateurish andunconventional approach must be wel-comed and unlike those involved in ourpolicy making establishment, we musthope that he does not lose steam or focusand follows through. Maybe then, thingsmight just change and we will be sparedthe body bags of colleagues and comradestoo young to die for nothing.

(The writer is a military veteranand consultant with the ObserverResearch Foundation)

Debunking false claims on GST thinknowL

aziness and cowardice are

the reasons why so great a

portion of mankind, after

nature has long since

discharged them from external

direction, nevertheless remains

under lifelong tutelage, and

why it is so easy for others to

set themselves up as their

guardians. If I have a book

which understands for me, a

pastor who has a conscience

for me, a physician who

decides my diet, and so forth, I

need not trouble myself. I need

not think, if I can only pay —

others will easily undertake

the irksome work for me.

—Immanuel Kant

Debutant politician’s

aim to revamp J&K

Tassaduq H Mufti, who has great interest in environmentand heritage, has just taken the plunge into politics. Onewishes that his passion and optimism will guide him

New Delhi was quick to highlight the importance of bilateral dialogue being the only way forward to resolve issues between India andPakistan when President Trump sought to pro-actively mediate between the two. But the fact is, we haven't been going anywhere with itJAVAID TRALI

FIRSTCOLUMN

Late in 2014, Kashmir's scenic beauty was revampedthrough a hauntingly beautiful video which went viral par-ticularly among the Kashmiri youth owing to it’s new per-

spective on Kashmir. Years later, the man behind the video intendsto revamp the State's politics, steering it clear of run-of-the-millpolitics that has been espoused for decades.

In the course of filming across the valley, he got more thanwhat he had imagined. The degradation of environment and thedistinct problems faced by diverse people of the State hit a nervewith the calm, bespectacled man. The first hand exposure to suchissues gave Tassaduq Hussain Mufti, the cinematographer, anedge — a hallmark of the party: Insight into the nuances at grass-roots. It is a fact that over the years, enough damage has beendone to Kashmir's environment and difficulties have been piledup on the people.

Those, Tassaduq Hussain Mufti believes, can only be undonewhen the people of the State realise the importance of ecological restoration and its sustainability. His firm belief is thatwhether it is the spread of industry or the construction of build-ings, a sensible approach has to be adopted without disturbing the ecology.

On the first death anniversary of his father, Mufti MohammadSayeed, Tassaduq Hussain Mufti reluctantly ventured into pol-itics to “make some kind of a change” on the ground, primari-ly for ecological, urban restoration, create dignified job oppor-tunities for the youth.

This at a time when Kashmir is seeing resurgence in mili-tancy, violence, and widespread disenchantment, TassaduqHussain Mufti's emergence on the political scene is, therefore,a significant development. His astute views on matters of pub-lic interest have given strong signals that he is someone whowould challenge the traditional way of doing politics.

Driven by a clean image and no baggage behind his back,Tassaduq Hussain Mufti's mission is sustainable and planneddevelopment, preservation of cultural heritage, rural and reli-gious tourism, besides a host of other issues. He believes thatthe real empowerment of people lies in stability and sustainabil-ity of the State's natural systems. He wants a common goal foreconomic and social empowerment. He understands the psy-che and aspirations of Kashmir's youth and wants to engage themin productive and meaningful activities.

His focus areas are development of horticulture, sericultureand rural tourism. He has been working to bring in new meth-ods and expertise to promote these potential sectors so thateveryone can reap its socio-economic benefits. He has been mak-ing all out efforts to preserve Srinagar's silk factory, an archi-tectural marvel, set up in the 1860s, which was in total ruin.

Going by his recent public speeches and interactions withthe cross section of the society, one can easily understand whathe is up to: He is different, straight, unconventional, blunt andprecise. No false hopes, no beating around the bush. By urg-ing the people not to risk their lives for his victory, he made aloud statement that differentiates him from our run-of-the-millpoliticians. He said he will fight for truthfulness, irrespective ofthe outcome of the upcoming by polls.

Tassaduq Hussain Mufti never took advantage of his sur-name and his father's stature; he already was set on a path tomake a difference in his own way. Together with a few of hisclose friends in Kashmir, he registered an NGO — Arasta andbegan working tirelessly to dispose-off solid waste material atSrinagar's Achan dumping site and Pahalgam tourist spot. Topscientists from across the country were called to help deal withthe waste. Keeping up with his commitment towards civic issues,sanitation drives were carried out in Srinagar, Bijbehara and invarious hospitals across the summer capital.

Tassaduq Hussain Mufti has just begun his political jour-ney and he has his work cut out for him but his passion, opti-mism and grassroots experience will surely guide him through.

(The writer is media analyst in Jammu & KashmirGovernment. Views expressed are personal)

OPEN-ENDED

(GROWTH)

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India Opportunities Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 128.6

India Opportunities Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 125.33

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BNP PARIBAS MUTUAL FUND

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ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND-DIRECT PLAN-GROWTH OPTION 10.234

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND-REGULAR PLAN-DIVIDEND OPTION 10.218

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Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 15.21

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Quarterly Dividend 15.02

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Regular Dividend 14.48

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Growth 14.49

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Quarterly Dividend 13.08

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Regular Dividend 13.44

MID CAP EQUITY & DEBT FUND - DIRECT PLAN DIVIDEND 11.37

MID CAP EQUITY & DEBT FUND - DIRECT PLAN GROWTH 11.41

MID CAP EQUITY & DEBT FUND - REGULAR PLAN DIVIDEND 11.32

MID CAP EQUITY & DEBT FUND - REGULAR PLAN GROWTH 11.32

CANARA ROBECO MUTUAL FUND

Emerging Equities - Regular Plan - GROWTH 80.04

Emerging Equities-Direct Plan-Dividend Option 56.11

Emerging Equities-Direct Plan-Growth Option 83.26

Emerging Equities-Regular Plan - DIVIDEND 42.15

Equity Diversified - Regular Plan - Dividend 33.47

Equity Diversified - Regular Plan - Growth 105.87

Equity Diversified-Direct Plan -Growth Option 108.37

Equity Diversified-Direct Plan-Dividend Option 46.06

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 30.09

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 32.39

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Institutional Plan - Growth Option 24.57

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 23.06

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 31.32

Infrastructure - Regular Plan - DIVIDEND 27.82

Infrastructure - Regular Plan - GROWTH 45.47

Infrastructure-Direct Plan - Dividend 33.64

Infrastructure-Direct Plan - Growth 46.76

Large Cap+ Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 20.55

Large Cap+ Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 20.68

Large Cap+ Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 15.58

Large Cap+ Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 19.93

DHFL PRAMERICA MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Annual Dividend 11.07

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 12.1235

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.6627

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 10.8216

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Regular Dividend 11.5743

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Annual Dividend 10.9051

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 11.9509

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.5523

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Quarterly Dividend 10.7028

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Regular Dividend 11.3111

Balanced Advantage Fund - BONUS OPTION 16.6

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 23.73

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 65.98

Balanced Advantage Fund - Dividend Option 15.05

Balanced Advantage Fund - Growth Option 62.92

Balanced Advantage Fund Wealth Plan- Dividend Option 20.29

Balanced Advantage Fund Wealth Plan- Growth Option 28.46

Balanced Advantage Fund-Direct Plan-Monthly Dividend Option 23.97

Balanced Advantage Fund-Direct Plan-Quarterly Divdend Option 16.07

Balanced Advantage Fund-Monthly Dividend Option 23.8

Balanced Advantage Fund-Quarterly Dividend Option 15.99

Diversified Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 11.99

Diversified Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 11.99

Diversified Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 11.82

Diversified Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 11.82

Equity Income Fund - Annual Dividend option 15.0655

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Annual Dividend 15.9686

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 29.3865

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 12.1688

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 12.064

Equity Income Fund - Growth Option 28.2331

Equity Income Fund - Monthly Dividend option 11.8324

Equity Income Fund - Quarterly Dividend 11.557

Large Cap Fund - BONUS OPTION 19.33

Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Bonus 20.06

Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 21.08

Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 150.57

Large Cap Fund - Dividend 18.36

Large Cap Fund - Growth 143.54

Large Cap Fund Wealth Plan - Growth Option 29.95

Large Cap Fund Wealth Plan -Dividend Option 13.71

Midcap Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option - Payout 16.22

Midcap Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 18.6

Midcap Opportunities Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option - Payout 14.73

Midcap Opportunities Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 18.26

DSP BLACKROCK MUTUAL FUND

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 69.494

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 33.677

Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 55.833

Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 32.813

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 11.006

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 11.571

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 11.039

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 11.338

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Quarterly Dividend 10.911

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 10.82

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 11.444

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.91

Focus 25 Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 20.98

Focus 25 Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 20.98

Focus 25 Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 13.908

Focus 25 Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 20.423

India T.I.G.E.R. Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 31.49

India T.I.G.E.R. Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 87.51

India T.I.G.E.R. Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 85.623

India T.I.G.E.R. Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 18.269

Micro Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 36.534

Micro Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 60.174

Micro Cap Fund - Regular - Dividend 35.496

Micro Cap Fund - Regular - Growth 58.459

Natural Resources and New Energy Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 18.944

Natural Resources and New Energy Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 31.398

Natural Resources And New Energy Fund - Regular - Growth 30.661

Natural Resources And New Energy Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 18.546

Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 47.1

Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 197.049

Opportunities Fund-Regular Plan - Dividend 27.283

Opportunities Fund-Regular Plan - Growth 191.521

Small and Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 39.811

Small and Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 51.097

Small and Mid Cap Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 23.298

Small and Mid Cap Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 49.632

Technology.com Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 22.93

Technology.com Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 49.293

Technology.com Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 29.113

Technology.com Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 50.475

Top 100 Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 23.146

Top 100 Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 184.717

Top 100 Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 21.395

Top 100 Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 180.057

Top 100 Equity Fund - Institutional Plan - Dividend 14.341

EDELWEISS MUTUAL FUND

Absolute Return Fund - Direct Plan-Dividend Option 14.64

Absolute Return Fund - Dividend Option 12.94

Absolute Return Fund - Growth Option 20.14

Absolute Return Fund -Direct Plan-Growth Option 20.63

Arbitrage Fund- Direct Plan- Dividend Option 10.6229

Arbitrage Fund- Direct Plan- Growth Option 12.383

Arbitrage Fund- Regular Plan -Bonus Option 12.2186

Arbitrage Fund- Regular Plan- Dividend Option 10.5235

Arbitrage Fund- Regular Plan- Growth Option 12.2185

Economic Resurgence Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 11.884

Economic Resurgence Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 12.003

Economic Resurgence Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 11.779

Economic Resurgence Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 11.779

Equity Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 16.142

Equity Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 26.673

Equity Opportunities Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 15.483

Equity Opportunities Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 25.508

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Bonus Option 12.031

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 11.1595

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 12.0329

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Regular Plan - Bonus Option 11.9234

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 10.5538

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 11.9229

Mid and Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 23.307

Mid and Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 24.223

Mid and Small Cap Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 21.457

Mid and Small Cap Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 23.275

Prudent Advantage Fund - Growth Option 21.81

Prudent Advantage Fund- Plan B-Growth Option 21.52

Prudent Advantage Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend Option 18.23

Prudent Advantage Fund-Direct Plan-Growth Option 22.16

Prudent Advantage Fund-Dividend 17.88

Prudent Advantage Fund-Plan B- Dividend Option 21.94

Top 100 Fund - Direct Plan-Dividend Option 21.4

Top 100 Fund - Direct Plan-Growth option 29.25

Top 100 Fund - Dividend option 19.24

Top 100 Fund - Growth option 28.53

Top 100 Fund -Plan B - Dividend option 29.02

Top 100 Fund -Plan B - Growth option 28.68

Top 100 Fund -Plan C - Dividend option 23.13

Top 100 Fund -Plan C - Growth option 28.3

ESCORTS MUTUAL FUND

Growth Plan-DIVIDEND OPTION 18.1125

Growth Plan-DIVIDEND OPTION-Direct Plan 18.284

Growth Plan-GROWTH OPTION 147.6013

Growth Plan-GROWTH OPTION-Direct Plan 148.2438

High Yield Equity Plan - Bonus Option 35.1817

High Yield Equity Plan - Bonus Option-Direct Plan 35.1817

High Yield Equity Plan - Dividend Option 23.7275

High Yield Equity Plan - Dividend Option-Direct Plan 18.8495

High Yield Equity Plan - Growth Option 35.1573

High Yield Equity Plan - Growth Option-Direct Plan 35.51

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend 7.5981

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend Option-Direct Plan 7.6539

Infrastructure Fund - Growth Option 7.6235

Infrastructure Fund - Growth Option-Direct Plan 7.6381

Leading Sectors Fund - Dividend Option 22.4744

Leading Sectors Fund - Dividend Option-Direct Plan 17.9389

Leading Sectors Fund - Growth Option 28.003

Leading Sectors Fund - Growth Option-Direct Plan 27.7027

Opportunities Fund-Dividend 17.1397

Opportunities Fund-Dividend Option-Direct Plan 17.1398

Opportunities Fund-Growth 48.4244

Opportunities Fund-Growth Option-Direct Plan 48.6746

Power & Energy Fund - Dividend Option 17.0963

Power & Energy Fund - Dividend Option-Direct Plan 16.798

Power & Energy Fund - Growth Option 23.8742

Power & Energy Fund - Growth Option-Direct Plan 24.6135

FRANKLIN TEMPLETON MF

Asian Equity Fund - Direct - Dividend 12.8247

Asian Equity Fund - Direct - Growth 18.4754

Asian Equity Fund - Dividend Plan 12.4687

Asian Equity Fund - Growth Plan 17.9733

Build India Fund - Direct - Dividend 23.7899

Build India Fund - Direct - Growth 37.9022

Build India Fund Dividend Plan 22.4463

Build India Fund Growth Plan 36.1112

India Bluechip Fund- Direct - Growth 424.4344

India Bluechip Fund- Direct -Dividend 41.7253

India Bluechip Fund-Dividend 39.9089

India Bluechip Fund-Growth 409.7182

India FLEXI CAP FUND - Direct - Dividend 17.1242

India FLEXI CAP FUND - Direct - Growth 72.2595

India Flexi Cap Fund-Dividend Plan 16.4892

India Flexi Cap Fund-Growth Plan 70.1183

India High Growth Companies Fund - Direct - Dividend 25.6234

India High Growth Companies Fund - Direct - Growth 36.4403

India High Growth Companies Fund - Dividend Plan 24.3323

India High Growth Companies Fund - Growth Plan 34.8334

India INDEX FUND NIFTY PLAN - Direct - Dividend 73.9139

India INDEX FUND NIFTY PLAN - Direct - Growth 73.9139

India Index Fund- Nifty Plan - Dividend Plan 72.8038

India Index Fund- Nifty Plan - Growth Plan 72.8038

INDIA OPPORTUNITIES FUND - Direct - Dividend 20.4069

India Opportunities Fund-Dividend 19.8235

INDIA OPPORTUNITIES FUND - Direct - Growth 67.0931

India Opportunities Fund - Growth 65.4096

India PRIMA FUND - Direct - Dividend 70.0781

India PRIMA FUND - Direct - Growth 903.8047

India Prima Fund-Dividend 66.4821

India Prima Fund-Growth 864.4013

India PRIMA PLUS - Direct - Dividend 39.1319

India PRIMA PLUS - Direct - Growth 540.3833

India Prima Plus-Dividend 37.3764

India Prima Plus-Growth 519.6857

India Smaller Companies Fund - Direct - Dividend 29.7205

India Smaller Companies Fund - Direct - Growth 54.6255

India Smaller Companies Fund-Dividend 28.1175

India Smaller Companies Fund-Growth 52.1806

INFOTECH FUND - Direct - Dividend 22.208

INFOTECH FUND - Direct - Growth 117.1943

Infotech Fund-Dividend 21.6634

Infotech Fund-Growth 114.436

India EQUITY INCOME FUND - Direct - Dividend 16.1148

India EQUITY INCOME FUND - Direct - Growth 41.6089

India Equity Income Fund-Dividend Plan 15.6448

India Equity Income Fund-Growth Plan 40.5878

India Growth Fund - Direct - Growth 238.2371

India Growth Fund-Direct - Dividend 69.43

India Growth Fund-Dividend Plan 67.1771

India Growth Fund-Growth Plan 231.651

HDFC MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 19.702

ARBITRAGE FUND RETAIL PLAN DIVIDEND OPTION 14.368

ARBITRAGE FUND RETAIL PLAN GROWTH OPTION 19.347

ARBITRAGE FUND RETAIL PLAN QUARTERLY DIVIDEND OPTION 13.75

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE PLAN DIV OPTION DIRECT PLAN 10.762

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE PLAN GROWTH OPTION 19.719

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE - GROWTH OPTION DIRECT PLAN 12.428

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE PLAN MONTHLY DIVIDEND OPTION 10.906

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE - MONTHLY DIV OPTION DIRECT PLAN 10.514

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE PLAN NORMAL DIVIDEND OPTION 10.531

Arbitrage Fund-Direct Plan - Dividend Quarterly Option 14.929

Capital Builder Fund - Dividend Option 27.308

Capital Builder Fund - Growth Option 250.418

Capital Builder Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 28.429

Capital Builder Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 258.105

Core & Satellite Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 20.446

Core & Satellite Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 74.788

Core and Satellite Fund - DIVIDEND 19.36

Core and Satellite Fund - GROWTH 72.351

Equity Fund - Dividend Option 51.66

Equity Fund - Growth Option 550.213

Equity Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 53.842

Equity Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 568.365

Equity Savings Fund - DIVIDEND 11.782

Equity Savings Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 12.188

Equity Savings Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 33.758

Equity Savings Fund -GROWTH 32.796

Growth Fund - Dividend Option 29.822

Growth Fund - Growth Option 160.737

Growth Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 30.68

Growth Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 164.373

Index Fund Nifty Plan-Direct Plan 82.4694

Index Fund-Nifty Plan(FV Rs 10.326) 81.8729

Index Fund Sensex Plus Plan-Direct Plan 407.5192

Index Fund-Sensex Plus( FV-Rs32.161) 402.387

Index Fund Sensex Plan-Direct Plan 260.9739

Index FundSensex Plan( FV Rs 32.161) 258.6289

Infrastructure Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 17.232

Infrastructure Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 18.802

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND-DIVIDEND OPTION 13.679

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND-GROWTH OPTION 18.16

Large Cap Fund - Direct Dividend Plan 23.396

Large Cap Fund - Direct Growth Plan 99.666

Large Cap Fund - Regular Dividend Plan 20.751

Large Cap Fund - Regular Growth Plan 98.858

Mid Cap Opportunities Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 35.876

Mid Cap Opportunities Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 51.739

MID-CAP OPPORTUNITIES FUND - Dividend Option 30.689

MID-CAP OPPORTUNITIES FUND - Growth Option 50.054

Premier Multi-Cap Fund-Dividend 13.729

Premier Multi-Cap Fund-Growth 49.734

Premier Multicap -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 14.176

Premier Multicap -Direct Plan - Growth Option 50.98

Retirement Savings Fund - Equity Plan - Direct Plan 14.714

Retirement Savings Fund - Equity Plan - Regular Plan 14.442

Small Cap Fund - Direct Dividend Plan 23.552

Small Cap Fund - Direct Growth Plan 35.566

Small Cap Fund - Regular Dividend Plan 22.3

Small Cap Fund - Regular Growth Plan 34.143

Top 200 Fund - Dividend Option 50.408

Top 200 Fund - Growth Option 405.099

Top 200 Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 52.137

12.36084532

Arbitrage Plus Fund -B-GROWTH 16.0114

Arbitrage Plus Fund- Regular Plan- Annual Dividend 10.6035

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Direct Plan- Annual Dividend 10.8791

Classic Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 16.0173

Classic Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 41.2534

Classic Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 14.5547

Classic Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 39.2947

Classic Equity Fund-Plan B- Dividend 14.49790104

Classic Equity Fund-Plan B- Growth 29.49102237

DEF_Direct Plan_Dividend 10.9338

DEF_Direct Plan_Growth 11.8448

DEF_Regular Plan_Dividend 10.6186

DEF_Regular Plan_Growth 11.4852

Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 16.1705

Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 28.2702

Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 13.4416

Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 26.9549

Equity Fund -Plan B- Dividend 13.7189908

Equity Fund -Plan B-Growth 21.45998959

Imperial Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 15.2717

Imperial Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 32.4915

Imperial Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 12.6068

Imperial Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 30.974

Imperial Equity Fund-Plan B - Dividend 12.36902351

Imperial Equity Fund-Plan B - Growth 25.02172287

Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 15.8434

Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 15.8524

Infrastructure Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 15.0733

Infrastructure Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 15.0669

Nifty Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 18.8159

Nifty Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 18.6568

Nifty Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 18.7436

Nifty Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 18.5974

Premier Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 33.4005

Premier Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 85.2066

Premier Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 32.5021

Premier Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 82.6715

Premier Equity Fund-Plan B - Dividend 26.12841142

Premier Equity Fund_Plan B - Growth 57.52899532

Sterling Equity Fund -Regular Plan-Dividend 18.7508

Sterling Equity Fund -Regular Plan-Growth 45.0356

Sterling Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 19.5387

Sterling Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 46.6399

IIFL MUTUAL FUND

India Growth Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 13.3514

India Growth Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 11.6769

India Growth Fund -Regular Plan - Growth 13.2004

India Growth Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 13.5242

INDIABULLS MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 11.9707

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.0704

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend Option 10.5983

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 11.7874

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.0638

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend Option 10.4323

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Quarterly Dividend Option 10.0648

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Yearly Dividend Option 10.0648

Blue Chip Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 15.98

Blue Chip Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 18.86

Blue Chip Fund - Direct Plan - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.61

Blue Chip Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend Option 10.62

Blue Chip Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend Option 10.62

Blue Chip Fund - Dividend Option 15.24

Blue Chip Fund - Growth Option 17.71

Blue Chip Fund - Regular Plan - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.61

Blue Chip Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend option 10.54

Blue Chip Fund - Regular Plan - Quarterly Dividend Option 10.58

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 13.3147

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 13.335

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.7577

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend Option 10.7574

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend Option 10.7572

Value Discovery Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 12.847

Value Discovery Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 12.8467

Value Discovery Fund - Regular Plan - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.6816

INVESCO INDIA MUTUAL FUNDI

Arbitrage Fund - Annual Bonus 20.1821

Arbitrage Fund - Bonus Option 13.4548

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Annual Bonus 20.6897

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Bonus Option 13.7931

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 13.3141

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 20.6902

Arbitrage Fund - Dividend Option 12.8695

Arbitrage Fund - Growth Option 20.1811

Banking Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 26.29

Banking Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 46.05

Banking Fund - Retail Dividend 24.63

Banking Fund - Retail Growth 43.3

Business Leaders Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 17.73

Business Leaders Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 25.03

Business Leaders Fund - Dividend 16.84

Business Leaders Fund - Growth 23.57

Contra Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 28.98

Contra Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 40.29

Contra Fund - Dividend 26.01

Contra Fund - Growth 38.09

Dynamic Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 19.85

Dynamic Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 26.55

Dynamic Equity Fund - Dividend 19.38

Dynamic Equity Fund - Growth 24.98

Growth Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 15.75

Growth Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 28.62

Growth Fund - Dividend 14.68

Growth Fund - Growth 26.91

Infrastructure Fund - Direct Pan - Dividend Option 16.4

Infrastructure Fund - Direct Pan - Growth Option 16.46

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend Option 15.48

Infrastructure Fund - Growth Option 15.47

Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 29.63

Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 44.84

Mid Cap Fund - Dividend Option 27.65

Mid Cap Fund - Growth Option 42.11

MID N SMALL CAP Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 41.55

MID N SMALL CAP Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 45.87

MID N SMALL CAP Fund - Dividend Option 39.22

MID N SMALL CAP Fund - Growth Option 43.25

PSU Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 15.8

PSU Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 19.5

PSU Equity Fund - Dividend 14.91

PSU Equity Fund - Growth 18.41

JM FINANCIAL MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Advantage Fund (Direct) - Annual Bonus Op - Principal Units 11.5267

Arbitrage Advantage Fund (Direct) - Annual Dividend Option 10.2126

Arbitrage Advantage Fund (Direct) - Bonus Option - Principal Units 12.0093

Arbitrage Advantage Fund (Direct) - Dividend Option 10.9073

Arbitrage Advantage Fund (Direct) - Growth Option 22.4408

Arbitrage Advantage Fund (Direct) - Half Yearly Bonus Op - Principal Units 22.4855

Arbitrage Advantage Fund (Direct) - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.4283

Arbitrage Advantage Fund (Direct) - Monthly Dividend Option 12.0671

Arbitrage Advantage Fund (Direct) - Quarterly Bonus Op - Principal Units 22.492

Arbitrage Advantage Fund (Direct) - Quarterly Dividend Option 10.7123

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Annual Bonus Option 22.1766

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Annual Dividend Option 11.7507

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Bonus Option - Principal Units 11.9357

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Half Yearly Bonus Op - Principal Units 22.2142

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Half Yearly Dividend Option 11.7229

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Monthly Dividend Option 11.686

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Quarterly Bonus Option - Principal Units 22.2142

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Quarterly Dividend Option 11.7372

ARBITRAGE ADVANTAGE FUND-Dividend 10.5226

ARBITRAGE ADVANTAGE FUND-Growth 21.9544

Basic Fund (Direct) - Dividend Option 20.2116

Basic Fund (Direct) - Growth Option 29.6637

Basic Fund - Dividend Option 19.6772

Basic Fund - Growth Option 28.1795

Core 11 Fund (Direct) - Growth Option 7.9238

Core 11 Fund (Direct) - Dividend Option 7.7657

Core 11 Fund - Dividend option 7.5143

Core 11 Fund - Growth option 7.5146

Equity Fund (Direct) - Annual Dividend Option 25.394

Equity Fund (Direct) - Dividend Option 24.749

Equity Fund (Direct) - Growth Option 61.4531

Equity Fund (Direct) - Half Yearly Dividend Option 25.2131

Equity Fund (Direct) - Monthly Dividend Option 25.394

Equity Fund (Direct) - Quarterly Dividend Option 25.394

Equity Fund - Annual Dividend Option 24.4635

Equity Fund - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.6159

Equity Fund - Monthly Dividend Option 24.2386

Equity Fund - Quarterly Dividend Option 23.6705

Equity Fund-Dividend 23.8206

Equity Fund-Growth 58.5186

Multi Strategy Fund (Direct) - Dividend Option 26.0618

Multi Strategy Fund (Direct) - Growth Option 28.6725

Multi Strategy Fund - Dividend option 25.3314

Multi Strategy Fund - Growth option 27.2364

Top 200 Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 416.136

HSBC MUTUAL FUND

Dividend Yield Equity Fund - Dividend 19.3919

Dividend Yield Equity Fund - Growth 19.3919

Dividend Yield Equity Fund-Dividend Direct 19.9865

Dividend Yield Equity Fund-Growth Direct 19.9865

Dynamic Fund - Dividend 15.6331

Dynamic Fund - Growth 15.6331

Dynamic Fund-Dividend Direct 16.1164

Dynamic Fund-Growth Direct 16.1164

Equity Fund - Dividend 29.1713

Equity Fund - Dividend Direct 30.349

Equity Fund - Growth 177.2162

Equity Fund - Growth Direct 182.9114

India Opportunities Fund - Dividend 24.4962

India Opportunities Fund - Dividend Direct 26.8451

India Opportunities Fund - Growth 76.9245

India Opportunities Fund - Growth Direct 79.3897

Infrastructure Equity Fund - Dividend Direct 18.7243

Infrastructure Equity Fund - Growth 21.342

Infrastructure Equity Fund - Growth Direct 22.011

Infrastructure Equity Fund- Dividend 18.1535

Midcap Equity Fund - Dividend 21.3843

Midcap Equity Fund - Dividend Direct 25.536

Midcap Equity Fund - Growth 49.7252

Midcap Equity Fund - Growth Direct 51.3389

ICICI PRUDENTIAL MUTUAL FUND

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 19.23

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 31.81

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 15.05

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 12.29

Balanced Advantage Fund - Dividend 16.15

Balanced Advantage Fund - Growth 30.33

Balanced Advantage Fund - Monthly Dividend 14.29

Balanced Advantage Fund - Quarterly Dividend 11.81

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Dividend 34.25

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Growth 51.64

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 48.04

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 53.81

Blended Plan A - Dividend 13.5898

Blended Plan A - Direct Plan Bonus 10.9152

Blended Plan A - Growth 22.7587

Blended Plan A-Direct Plan - Dividend 13.6408

Blended Plan A-Direct Plan - Growth 23.0933

Child Care Plan Gift - Cumulative 125.34

Child Care Plan Gift - Direct Plan - Cumulative 129.41

Dividend Yield Equity Fund Direct Plan Dividend Option 14.51

Dividend Yield Equity Fund Direct Plan Growth Option 15.66

Dividend Yield Equity Fund Dividend Option 14.22

Dividend Yield Equity Fund Growth Option 15.36

Dynamic - Direct Plan - Dividend 26.5067

Dynamic - Direct Plan - Growth 236.5092

Dynamic - Dividend 23.2819

Dynamic - Growth 228.9786

Dynamic Plan- Institutional Growth Option 22.3061

Dynamic Plan-Institutional Option - I 37.9465

Equity - Arbritrage Fund-Institutional Growth Option 22.037

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Bonus 11.808

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 14.6099

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 22.2806

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan Bonus 12.1225

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Dividend 13.7617

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Growth 21.7821

Equity Income Fund - Cumulative option 12.09

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Cumulative option 12.34

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Half Yearly Dividend 11.78

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 11.78

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 11.55

Equity Income Fund - Half Yearly Dividend 11.57

Equity Income Fund - Monthly Dividend 11.2

Equity Income Fund - Quarterly Dividend 11.39

Exports and Other Services Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 38.56

Exports and Other Services Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 53.62

Exports and Other Services Fund - Dividend 27.87

Exports and Other Services Fund - Growth 52.05

FMCG Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 91

FMCG Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 193

FMCG Fund - Dividend 67.55

FMCG Fund - Growth 187.72

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 30.2

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 35.85

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Dividend 21.75

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Growth 34.56

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Institutional Option - I - Growth 37.38

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Dividend 17.55

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Growth 24.96

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 25.51

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 25.52

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Institutional Growth 24.97

Infrastructure Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 17.07

Infrastructure Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 48.81

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend 14.63

Infrastructure Fund - Growth 47.52

MidCap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 31.39

MidCap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 90.98

MidCap Fund - Dividend 26.48

MidCap Fund - Growth 87.89

Multicap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 31.66

Multicap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 264.15

Multicap Fund - Dividend 24.83

Multicap Fund - Growth 255.7

Nifty Index Fund - Cumulative Option 88.2701

Nifty Index Fund - Direct Plan Cumulative Option 89.7353

Nifty Index Fund - Direct Plan Dividend Option 12.0661

Nifty Index Fund - Dividend Option 11.7533

Nifty Next 50 Index Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 22.9835

Nifty Next 50 Index Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 22.9884

Nifty Next 50 Index Fund - Growth 22.5428

Nifty Next 50 Index Fund -Dividend 22.5428

Select Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 26.59

Select Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 27.45

Select Large Cap Fund - Dividend 18.76

Select Large Cap Fund -Growth 26.35

Technology Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 38.17

Technology Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 40.84

Technology Fund - Dividend 26.63

Technology Fund - Growth 39.59

Top 100 Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 24.84

Top 100 Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 303.71

Top 100 Fund - Dividend 19.63

Top 100 Fund - Growth 293.11

US Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 20.82

US Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 20.82

US Bluechip Equity Fund - Dividend 20.1

US Bluechip Equity Fund - Growth 20.1

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 50.14

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 137.79

Value Discovery Fund - Dividend 31.29

Value Discovery Fund - Growth 132.22

IDBI MUTUAL FUND

DIVERSIFIED EQUITY FUND Dividend - Direct Plan 16.83

DIVERSIFIED EQUITY FUND Dividend - Regular Plan 16.41

DIVERSIFIED EQUITY FUND Growth Direct 19

DIVERSIFIED EQUITY FUND Growth Regular 18.55

India Top 100 Equity Fund Dividend 18.04

India Top 100 Equity Fund Dividend Direct 18.65

India Top 100 Equity Fund Growth 21.78

India Top 100 Equity Fund Growth Direct 22.45

Midcap Fund Dividend Direct 10.59

Midcap Fund Dividend Regular 10.54

Midcap Fund Growth Direct 10.59

Midcap Fund Growth Regular 10.54

Nifty Index Fund Dividend 16.311

Nifty Index Fund Dividend Direct 16.8089

NIFTY Index Fund Growth 17.1043

NIFTY Index Fund Growth Direct 17.6249

Nifty Junior Index Fund Dividend 19.5178

Nifty Junior Index Fund Dividend Direct 20.2011

Nifty Junior Index Fund Growth 19.5178

Nifty Junior Index Fund Growth Direct 20.2011

IDFC MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund-Direct Plan- Growth 21.2084

Arbitrage Fund-Direct Plan-Monthly Dividend 13.0296

Arbitrage Fund-Regular Plan- Growth 20.7572

Arbitrage Fund-Regular Plan-Monthly Dividend 12.6655

Arbitrage Fund - Plan B - Dividend

14.86269632

Arbitrage Fund - Plan B - Growth

21.25167644

Arbitrage Fund-Direct Plan- Annual Dividend 11.4231

Arbitrage Fund-Regular Plan- Annual Dividend 10.4491

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 18.6736

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Direct Plan-Monthly Dividend 12.3671

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 18.2792

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Regular Plan-Monthly Dividend 12.0572

Arbitrage Plus Fund -B-DIVIDEND

Scheme NAV

funds 10LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017 money 11

Logistics is something on whichIndia has to develop its own model ...You have logistics developedaccording to Western economies andtheir model, the Chinese havedeveloped their own but do we havean idea of how we are going to haveefficient logistics in this country. Ithink that is one area where there islot of research waiting to be done

COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY MINISTER NIRMALA SITHARAMAN

Last year despite the challengesin the market we were among the

only two brands (in the luxurysegment) to have grown...This

year we are targeting doubledigits growth

JAGUAR LAND ROVER INDIA LTD MANAGING DIRECTOR AND

PRESIDENT ROHIT SURIGOVT & CORP

FROM

BUZZ

NEW DELHI: All cash payments ofover ̀ 2 lakh for paying loans andcredit card bills during the 50-dayperiod post demonetisation willhave to be disclosed in the newone-page Income Tax return form.

The tax department a fewdays back notified new IncomeTax Return (ITR) forms for filingof returns for the AssessmentYear 2017-18 (financial year 2016-17).

Besides providing for declar-ing income, exemption claimedand tax paid, the forms have a newcolumn providing for declarationfor any deposit of over `2 lakh inbank accounts made duringNovember 9 and December 30,2016 after the old 500 and 1,000rupee notes were demonetised.

This column is also to be usedfor declaring cash payments inexcess of ̀ 2 lakh for repayment ofany loan or settlement of creditcard bills during this 50-day peri-od, a senior official told the newsagency here.

“The column is an attempt tomatch the cash deposits made postdemonetisation with the annualincome,” he said.

While all credit cards arelinked to permanent accountnumber (PAN) of the holder,almost all loans by scheduledbanks are also provided on fur-nishing of PAN.

The tax department will col-late the data it has of cash paymentsmade in excess of ̀ 2 lakh with thereturns filed. “We want to see if theincome profile matches with thecash payments made,” he said.

The move comes amid con-cerns of unaccounted cash or blackmoney being used to settle billsafter credit cards were used tomake heavy purchases. It couldalso be that black money couldhave been used to repay loans.

Post-demonetisation, the gov-

ernment had provided a 50-daywindow beginning November 9,2016 to deposit the junked notesin bank accounts.

For those with unaccountedcash, it gave them one last oppor-tunity to come clean by deposit-ing 50 per cent of it as tax and park-ing another 25 per cent in a zero-interest bearing deposit for fouryears.

The changes made in ITR arean attempt to catch tax evaders, theofficial said.

Revenue Secretary HasmukhAdhia had last week told the newsagency that the new column ofcash deposits made duringNovember 9, 2016 and December30, 2016 was a one-time feature inthe ITR and would not be there inthe ITR from next year onwards.

The ITR, he had said, wouldevolve or change every yeardepending on the need.

While coming out with newITRs, the CBDT had also ratio-nalised them and cut down thenumber of forms to seven fromearlier nine.

While all taxpayers will haveto now mandatorily link Aadhaarwith their PAN cards, ITR1 (Sahaj)form has been shortened from 7page to 1 page to enable filing ofreturns by people with income upto `50 lakh by July 31.

ITR2 is to be filed by indi-viduals and HUFs who do nothave income from business or pro-fession and ITR3 is filed by indi-viduals and HUFs having incomefrom a proprietary business or pro-fession. Also ITR 2 and ITR 3 alsohave a Schedule AL which requireassessees to declare their assets andliabilities at the end of the fiscal.

ITR4 (Sugam) is filed bythose individuals who have optedfor income calculation under pre-sumptive income from businessand profession. PTI

NEW DELHI: Within weeks oftax tribunal ITAT uphold-ing levy of retrospectivet a x , t h e In c om e Ta xDepartment has slapped af re s h d e m a n d n o t e o f`10,247 crore on Britishexplorer Cairn Energy Plc.

ITAT in its March 9ord e r h e l d t h at C a i r nEnergy was liable to pay taxon the 2006 transfer ofIndia assets to newly creat-ed Cairn India, prior to itslisting. It, however, heldthat interest cannot becharged on it as the demandwas raised using retrospec-tive tax legislation.

T h e In c om e Ta xDepartment had raised atax demand of `10,247crore and another `18,800crore in interest for 10years.

“Following the rulingof the ITAT, an amendedtax demand, received onMarch 31, 2017, noted that

late payment interest wouldn ow b e c h a r g e d f ro mFebruary 2016, i.E. From 30days following the date ofthe or ig ina l 2016 f ina lassessment order,” Cairnsaid in a notice to share-holders.

Cairn said the decisionof the ITAT is “potentiallysubject to appeal.”

The company had onJanuary 24, 2014 received adraft assessment order forthe alleged capital gains itmade in 2006. The orderrestrained the companyfrom selling the residual 9.8per cent stake it holds inCairn India.

Cairn Energy had in2011 sold Cairn India toVedanta.

“Then, on February 4,2016... A final assessmentorder in respect of theIndian fiscal year endedMa rc h 3 1 2 0 0 7 , ( w a s )i s s u e d by t h e In d i a n

Income Tax Department(IITD) in the amount of`10,247 crore plus interestback dated to 2007 totalling`18,800 crore,” Cairn said.

The f inal assessmentorder did not include anypenalties which may also be

applied to the final assess-ment (potentially up to 300per cent of any tax finallyagreed).

“The final assessmentorder was appealed to theIn c om e Ta x Ap p e l l a t eTribunal, Delhi which ruled

on March 9, 2017 that taxin the amount of `10,247crore remained payable butthat the company could notbe required to pay interest,”it said.

This is because the taxdemand was raised on thebasis of a retrospectiveamendment done to theincome tax act in 2012 andCairn could not have antic-ipated that payment of taxwould be required.

Stating that it stronglycontests the final assess-ment order, Cairn saidenforcement of any tax lia-bility deemed due by thetax department will be lim-ited to India assets, whichhad a value of about $750million as of December 31,2016.

These assets comprisedprincipally Cairn's residualshareholding in Cairn India.

Cairn said it had onMarch 11, 2015 filed a Notice

of Dispute under The UK-India Investment Treaty inorder to protect its legalposition and shareholderinterests.

“The international arbi-tration proceedings formal-ly commenced in January2016 following the agree-ment between Cairn and theGovernment of India on theappointment of a panel ofthree international arbitra-tors under the terms of theTreaty,” it said.

“However, supported bydetailed legal advice on thestrength of the legal protec-tions available to it underinternational law, Cairnstrongly contests the actionsof the IITD in these matters.

“In addition to the reso-lution of the tax dispute,Cairn also seeks full recom-pense for the loss of valueresulting from the restrictionon its Cairn India shares,”the notice added. PTI

Tax department slaps fresh demand

note of `10,247 cr on Cairn Energy

PNS n NEW DELHI

As companies are opti-mistic that economic

activities will gather pacethis year, the CII BusinessConfidence Index soared toan all-time high in the Jan-March quarter.

“A sharp uptick in busi-ness outlook, at the onset of2017, underpins the hopethat the reform initiatives ofthe government wouldunravel a host of investmentopportunities for f irms,going forward,” industrybody CII said on the surge inthe index.

The significant rise inthe index this quarter couldbe attributed to the distinctimprovement in the'Expectations Index' even asthere is a marginal uptick inthe 'Current Situation Index',indicating that business sen-

timent is strong and firms areparticularly upbeat aboutactivity in their sectors in thefuture, the industry bodyobserved.

However, asked to ranktheir concerns in the comingsix months, a majority of thefirms stated low domesticdemand followed by fragileglobal economic recoveryand rise in commodity pricesas their key concerns.

“The turnaround in busi-ness expectations, as indi-cated in the survey, givescredence to the belief that anew growth narrative isbeing scripted for the coun-try based on improved busi-ness sentiment and investorconfidence,” CII DirectorGeneral Chandrajit Banerjeesaid.

The CII BusinessConfidence (BCI) Indexrecorded an all-time high of

64.1 during the January-March period against 56.5recorded in the previousquarter. There has been asharp rise in the index afterit remained subdued in thelast few quarters.

The findings are a part ofCII's 98th edition of quar-ter ly Business Out lookSurvey, which was based onaround 200 responses fromlarge, medium, small andmicro firms, covering allregions of the country.

Business conditions areexpected to improve as over

63 per cent of the firmsexpect an increase in sales inJan-Mar 2017, as comparedto only 39 per cent whoexperienced the same inOctober-December 2016.

On similar lines, 60 percent of the respondents antic-ipate an increase in neworders during Jan-Mar 2017as compared to 41 per centwho witnessed the same inthe preceding quarter.

Much of the recovery inbusiness condit ions i sexpected to be domesticallydriven as a large proportionof firms (61.8 per cent)expect to maintain statusquo on their export orders inJan-Mar 2017.

In an indication that theturn of the investment cycleis now imminent, f irmsexpect an improvement incapacity utilisation in thefourth quarter of FY 2016-17.

This is borne out fromthe fact that around 65 percent of respondents expectcapacity utilisation levels tobe above 75 per cent whileonly 36 per cent of respon-dents experienced the samein the October-December2016 quarter.

However, despite the risein capacity utilisation, major-ity of the firms expect nochange in their domestic andinternational investment plansin January-March 2017. Morethan half of the firms expect tomaintain status quo on theirplans about investing in thedomestic economy during thequarter.

Firms are keeping invest-ment plans on hold despite theexpectation of an improve-ment in sales and new ordersin the January-March quarterowing to the existing excesscapacity in the economy.

Biz confidence hits record high with cos upbeat on economy: CII

Loans, card paymentsabove `2 lakh in cash to be shown in ITR

NEW DELHI: India's goldimport witnessed a fall ofabout 24 per cent to $23.22billion in April- Februaryperiod of the last fiscal,which is expected to keepa l id on the currentaccount deficit.

Total import of theprecious metal in the cor-responding period of2015-16 stood at $30.71billion.

According to industryexperts, softening prices ofgold in the domestic andworld markets could be thereason for the same.

The contraction inimport helped in narrow-ing the trade deficit to$95.2 billion during the11-month period of 2016-17 as against $114.3 billionin the same period of theprevious fiscal. PTI

NEW DELHI: The finance ministryis likely to set up a full-fledgedindependent public debt man-agement agency by the end of nextyear to manage government bor-rowing programme that runsinto lakhs of crore.

At present, the governmentdebt, including market borrow-ings, is managed by the ReserveBank.

As an interim arrangementfor a full-fledged agency for man-aging public debt to be called asPublic Debt Management Agency(PDMA), the government lastyear set up Public DebtManagement Cell (PDMC) atRBI's Delhi office last year.

PDMA should hopefully befunctional in the last quarter of2018, sources said.

The aim of setting up thePublic Debt Management Agency

(PDMA) is to resolve issues relat-ing to conflict of interest as RBIdecides on the key interest ratesas well as undertakes buying andselling of Government bonds.

It was agreed to initially set upa PDMC as an interim arrange-ment before setting up of an inde-pendent and statutory PDMA indue course and it was decided thatthe work for moving towardsPDMA would be taken up in aphased manner, as per the financeministry document.

Currently, the PDMC hasonly advisory functions to avoidany conflict with the statutoryfunctions of the RBI. The JointSecretary (Budget) inDepartment of Economic Affairsis the overall in-charge of thePDMC.

The PDMC has been taskedto plan government borrowings,

including market borrowingsand other borrowings, likeSovereign Gold Bond issuance.Other functions of PDMC are tomanage government's liabilities,monitor cash balances, improvecash forecasting and foster a liq-uid and efficient market forGovernment securities.

The government has decid-ed to borrow ̀ 3.5 lakh crore fromthe market in 2017-18, around`75,000 crore lower than the cur-rent fiscal.

However, gross borrowinghas been pegged at ̀ 5.8 lakh crorefor 2017-18, marginally lowerfrom Budget estimate of `6 lakhcrore for the last fiscal.

In his February 2015 Budgetspeech, Finance Minister ArunJaitley had proposed to set up aPDMA to deepen Indian Bondmarket. PTI

Independent public debtmanagement agency by 2018-end

NEW DELHI: The FinanceMinistry may request capitalmarket regulator Sebi toextend the August deadlinefor PSBs to meet 25 per centpublic float norm as it mullsvarious options to pareGovernment stake in state-runbanks.

There are seven publicsector banks (PSBs), includingUnited Bank of India, IndianBank, Bank of Maharashtraand Central Bank of India,where the Government hold-ing is above 75 per cent.

Post second round of cap-ital infusion in March, thegovernment stake in somemore banks could go beyond75 per cent.

As per guidelines of theSecurities and ExchangeBoard of India (Sebi), gov-ernment stake in PSUs should

be 75 per cent or less byAugust 2017.

“Effort is there to meet theSebi’s public float guidelinesbut in case some banks areunable due to market condi-tion, then we will approachthe regulator seeking exemp-tion from minimum publicshareholding (MPS) require-ment of 25 per cent in thosecases,” a Finance Ministryofficial said.

There are still five monthsto go and various options areon the table, like public offerand selling stake to LIC, theofficial added.

There are four PSU bankswhere government holding ismore than 80 per cent, while itis between 75-80 per cent inthree lenders as of December2016.

Government holding in

United Bank of India is at88.72 per cent, followed byIndian Bank (82.10 per cent),Bank of Maharashtra (81.61per cent), Central Bank ofIndia (81 .28 per cent) ,Punjab and Sind Bank (79.62per cent), Indian OverseasBank (79.56 per cent) andUco Bank (76.67 per cent).

There is also the optionof creating a structure likethe Specia l Nat ionalInvestment Fund (SNIF),another official said, addingthis is not under considera-tion at present but if need be,it could be looked at to meetthe MPS norm.

The Government hasapproved setting up of SpecialNational Investment Fund tohelp sick PSUs. The fund ismaintained outside theConsolidated Fund of India.

FinMin may seek relaxation ofpublic float deadline for PSBs

NEW DELHI: Users of Airtel,Vodafone and Idea mobileservices filed maximumbill ing complaints inOctober-December of 2016,as per the latest report ofTrai.

The complaints in thecase of Bharti Airtel mostlycame from 2G pre-paid sub-scribers in Tamil Nadu(including Chennai),Kolkata, Har yana andJammu and Kashmir, wherethe benchmark violationranged between 0.11 percent and 0.12 per cent.

According to quality ofservice norms, the com-plaint level should not bemore than 0.1 per cent per100 bills issued in one quar-ter.

The maximum viola-tions are found in the case ofVodafone, where 0.15 per

cent and 0.13 per cent ofbills were disputed by itsusers in Andhra Pradeshand Karnataka, respectively.

Vodafone is the onlycompany during the report-ed quarter whose post-paidcustomers in the Mumbaicircle also raised a numberof quality issues.

Complaints against Ideain the north-east telecomcircle pertained to 0.13 percent of disputed bills.

As for other qualityparameters, Trai found per-formance of Aircel belowpar for call drops in mosttelecom circles.

Trai has set a penalty ofup to `2 lakh for poormobile service, includingcall drops. The penalty kicksin for more than 2 per centcall drops in a quarter in onetelecom circle. PTI

NEW DELHI: Tata Motors-ownedJaguar Land Rover plans tolaunch 10 new products inIndia this year as it looks toaccelerate sales growth.

The company will alsoconsider assembling moremodels in India as part of itsstrategy to enhance operationshere.

“Last year despite the chal-lenges in the market we wereamong the only two brands (inthe luxury segment) to havegrown...This year we are tar-geting double digits growth,”Jaguar Land Rover India LtdManaging Director and

President Rohit Suri told thenews agebcy.

In order to achieve thegrowth, he said this year thecompany is “looking at tenproducts action to beannounced as we go along”.

By the end of this month,it will launch the diesel versionof Jaguar XE sedan, he said.

“We will also have the newLand Rover Discovery and thenew Velar that is expectedtowards the end of the year,”Suri said.

On the Jaguar XE diesel, hesaid: “We already have thepetrol variant of the model. We

wanted to be present in dieselas well as we don't want to missout demand for it.”

Commenting on marketconditions, he said after thestruggles in November andDecember post demonetisa-tion, growth has picked upagain in January to March.

When asked about thecompany's plans to locallyassemble more models in India,Suri said the company keeps onassessing the situation.

“Currently we have fivemodels which are assembled inIndia. If we can do more, it willbe beneficial,” Suri said without

elaborating.Asked if Velar could be

among the models planned tobe assembled in India, he said:“It will definitely be in the longterm but not in the near future.”

He said the company willfirst have to assess the marketresponse to the model once itis launched in India.

JLR is also conducting its'Art of Performance Tour', aseries of drive experienceevents that provides anopportunity to its customersto experience its vehiclesunder the guidance of expertinstructors. PTI

Ten new products in India, including Velar this year: JLRNEW DELHI: The finance min-istry has asked the heads of pub-lic sector banks to finalise themodalities for timely imple-mentation of the next pay revi-sion from November.

There are 21 public sectorbanks, post merger of sixlenders with SBI, in the coun-try. They together employ about8 lakh people.

In a communication toCEOs and MDs of the state-owned banks, the ministryadvised them to initiate the stepsfor smooth conclusion of nextwage revision of the employeewithin the time-frame.

“However, it is seen thatseveral banks are yet to proceedin the matter,” it said, request-ing the PSBs to “look into thematter and conclude the nextwage revision prior to the effec-tive date of November 1, 2017”.

The wage revision of pub-lic sector bank employeestakes place every five year. Thelast revision was effected inNovember 2012. In the lastwage negotiation betweenPSU banks employee unionsand bank management,Indian Banks' Association(IBA) had settled at 15 percent hike. PTI

PTI n BEIJING

China's economy, which isreeling under continued

slowdown, is likely at grow at 6.8per cent in the first quarter thisyear, according to a GoldmanSachs forecast.

The world's second largesteconomy slowed down to 6.9 per cent last year and the gov-ernment has cut down thegrowth to 6.5 per cent this year.

The bank said in a researchreport that purchasing man-agers' index (PMI) readingsfrom both official and private

surveys have implied firm activ-ity growth overall.

It expected China's GDPgrowth to reach 6.6 per cent for2017. Goldman Sachs expectedChina's industrial production torise 6.4 per cent in March,slightly higher than the 6.3 percent growth for January andFebruary.

Fixed asset investmentgrowth is likely to remain strong,expanding 8.9 per cent in thefirst three months of the year,unchanged from that in thefirst two months, the GoldmanSachs forecast said.

Airtel, Voda, Idea saw mostbilling complaints in Oct-Dec

Chinese economy likely togrow at 6.8 per cent in Q 1

Govt asks PSBs to finalise nextwage revision before November 1

Gold import shrinks

24 % to $23 bn

in April-Feb FY17

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017 money 12

MUMBAI: Looking to bring inmore liquidity in derivatives,leading stock exchange NSEhas significantly loweredtransaction charges in equi-ty options and currencyderivatives.

Trading members willnow have to pay a flat `2,500transaction fee for a monthon a bi l lable monthlyturnover or premium value ofup to `3 crore in equityoptions.

The move fol lowschanges in transact ioncharges by rival BSE, whichhas started charging on pertrade basis in certain seg-ments. Besides, the BSE hasbeen gaining market share inthe currency derivativesspace.

Furthermore, the NSEhas introduced a slab-basedstructure for turnover above`3 crore. Under the structure,transaction charges per lakhof premium value will fall asturnover increases.

So far, the NSE levied a

transaction fee of `5,000 onbillable turnover of up to `1crore in equity options andgave incentives for tradesover `1 crore.

At the same time, theNSE has also lowered trans-action charges for currencyderivatives trades and hasput in place a slab-basedmechanism, a move whichwill help reduce trading andhedging costs for variousentities, including small andmedium enterprises.

The fee starts at `110per crore of traded value forincremental monthlyturnover of up to `1,000crore in the currency deriv-atives and comes down asturnover rises.

The transaction chargesfor currency derivatives hadbeen linked to traded valueand compliance points.

The NSE’s move, whichwas announced through sep-arate circulars, is based onmarket feedback and isexpected to benefit small and

big market players as well asencourage more investor par-ticipation.

“The reduction in thetransact ions charges inresponse to feedback frommarkets will encourage moreparticipation and is veryinclusive as it would benefitboth small and large investorsand members ,” an NSE

spokesperson told the newsagency.

“This reduction will makeIndian markets more com-petitive and would encouragewider participation, therebyinfusing more liquidity.”

As per the new slab struc-ture in the equity optionssegment, incremental billablemonthly turnover or premi-

um value between `3 croreand `100 crore will attract`50 per lakh as transactioncharges.

Similarly, transactioncharges will be `47.50 forturnover between `100 croreand `750 crore, `42.50 for`750-1,500 crore, `37.50 for`1,500-2,000 crore and `30for over `2,000 crore.

Under the slab-basedmechanism for currencyfutures, incremental month-ly turnover of up to `1,000crore will attract `110 forevery one crore of tradedvalue.

The transaction chargesfor currency futures rangefrom `110 to as low as `30as the trading value goes up.

For currency options, thetransaction fee has been fixedat `4,000 per crore of tradevalue for incremental month-ly premium turnover of up to`50 crore. As trade valuerises above `50 crore, thetransaction fee is lowered by`500 for each slab. PTI

PTI n NEW DELHI

Awhopping `5,400 croreworth of “undisclosed

income” has been detectedby law-enforcing agenciestill January 10 since demon-etisation came into force lastNovember, the Governmenthas told the Supreme Court.

It also made referencesto “various malpractices”which came to fore postdemonetisation, includingthe use of old currency notesfor buying gold.

Giving details about theraids and recoveries by thelaw -enforcing agencies, itsaid that after the demon-et isat ion per iod ofNovember 9 to December30, 2016, the Income Taxdepartment had initiated“Operation Clean Money”on January 31 to leveragetechnology and data analysisfor e-verification of the cashdeposits made during thatperiod.

The Ministry of Financein an affidavit said thatbetween November 9, 2016and January 10, 2017 alone,

there were more than 1,100raids/surveys conducted byIncome Tax Department onvarious persons.

During this period, over5,100 notices were issuedfor verification of “highva lue suspic ious cashdep os it s made in bankaccounts”, it said.

“As a result of the raidsand other strict measuresenforced, more than `610

crore in cash (including cashof `513 crore out of which`110 crore was in new cur-rency) and valuables wereseized by the IT Departmentand other government agen-cies.

“ The undisc losedincome detected in the aboveactions was more than Rs5,400 crore,” the affidavitsaid.

It said that out of 1,100

raids and surveys, more than400 cases were referred tothe Enforcement Directorateand the CBI for furtheraction in accordance withlaw.

“ The exerc ises haveresulted in the identificationof approximately 18 lakhpersons for such online ver-ification, who appeared to benot in line with tax-payers’profile. At present, morethan 12 lakh online respons-es from 8.38 lakh distinctPANs/persons have alreadybeen received.

“It is submitted that incase there has been dueexplanation, the verificationsare being closed after properanalysis and examination.Similarly, where there havebeen deposits made inPradhan Mantri Garib KalyanYojna (PMGKY), then alsothe verifications are beingclosed.

“It is further submittedmore than 3.78 lakh out of theapproximately 18 lakh high-risk cases have been detectedand taken up for assessmentand investigation,” it said.

`5,400 cr worth of undisclosed

income detected: Government to SCPTI n NEW DELHI

No deadline has been setfor int ro duc t ion of

Sharia or interest-free bank-ing in India, the ReserveBank of India (RBI) hassaid.

Islamic or Sharia bank-ing is a finance system basedon the principles of notcharging interest, which isprohibited under Islam.

The RBI had earlier pro-posed opening of “Islamicwindow” in conventionalbanks for gradual introduc-tion of Sharia- compliantbanking.

Responding to an RTIapplication, the RBI said ithas not taken any step tointroduce Islamic window inbanks for gradual introduc-tion of Sharia-compliantinterest-free banking inIndia.

“RBI has not set anydeadline for introduction ofinterest-free banking,” thecentra l bank s a id inresponse to the RTI queryfiled by the news agency.

However, on the instruc-tion of the central govern-

ment , an Inter-Departmental Group (IDG)set up in RBI has examinedthe legal, technical and reg-ulatory issues for introduc-ing interest-free banking inIndia and has submitted itsreport to the government, itsaid.

The RBI had in Februarylast year sent a copy of theIDG to the Finance Ministry.

“In our considered opin-ion, given the complexities ofIslamic finance and variousregulatory and supervisorychallenges involved in thematter and also due to the factthat Indian banks have noexperience in this field,Islamic banking may be intro-duced in India in a gradual

manner,” the central bank hadtold the Ministry in a letter.

In late 2008, a committeeon Financial Sector Reforms,headed by former RBI gover-nor Raghuram Rajan, hadstressed on the need for a clos-er look at the issue of interest-free banking in the country.

“Certain faiths prohibitthe use of financial instru-ments that pay interest. Thenon-availability of interest-f ree banking pro duc tsresults in some Indians,including those in the eco-nomically disadvantagedstrata of society, not beingable to access banking prod-ucts and services due toreasons of faith,” the com-mittee had said.

No deadline for introductionof Sharia banking in India: RBI

NEW DELHI: ReligareEnterprises will sell its entire80 per cent stake in ReligareHealth Insurance to a con-sortium of investors led byprivate equity fund TrueNorth Managers for an esti-mated `1,040 crore.

“The company hasentered into definitive agree-ments with a consortium ofinvestors led by True NorthManagers, an India based pri-vate equity fund, to divest itsentire stake in Religare HealthInsurance Company Ltd(RHI),” Religare EnterprisesLtd (REL) said in a BSE filingon Sunday.

“This transaction valuesReligare Health Insurance at`1,300 crore and ReligareEnterprises currently has 80per cent shareholding on afully diluted basis in the com-pany,” it said further. UnionBank of India andCorporation Bank also hold 5per cent stake each in RHI.The consortium of buyersincludes domestic investorssuch as Gaurav Dalmia andFaering Capital. PTI

Religare to exit

Religare Health

Insurance for

`1,040 crore

NSE cuts fee on options, currencyderivatives to deepen market

NEW DELHI: Air cooler makersare relying on innovation tomake their products feature-rich in an effort to make themost of the early onset ofsummer.

Features like anti-bacter-ial water tanks, touch screenpanel, voice assist, mosquitorepellent and remote controlare finding their way into aircoolers this year.

The segment, which isexpected to grow to aroundRs 1,800 crore this fiscal, isalso seeing entry of new play-ers like Blue Star, intensifyingcompetition with existingplayers l ike Symphony,Kenstar, Usha International,Maharaja and Voltas.

With the summer arrivingearly, the companies areexpecting sales to grow byover 30 per cent during theseason.

As the air cooler segment

evolves over the years, GroupeSEB, which owns brandMaharaja Whitel ine, isputting a high priority on newproducts with innovative fea-tures.

“Innovation includes newfeatures added this year likeanti-bacterial material ,increased air flows and robustdesign,” Groupe SEB IndiaCEO Sunil Wadhwa told thenews agency.

Bullish on good sales thisseason, he said: “Suddenincrease in temperatures hasled to a spurt in room coolersales in the market.”

Usha International LtdAVP - Marketing (fans andhome comfort) BharatKharbanda said that this year,the industry is expected togrow in double digits, espe-cially on the back of con-sumers shifting from unor-ganised sector to the organ-

ised.“Further, this is driven by

regular launches of new mod-els by players with focus onproduct aesthetics and shiftfrom metal body to plasticbody to create value,” headded.

Considered among thepioneers of branded air cool-ers in India, Kenstar said it istrying to customise productsto suit requirements of dif-ferent regions in India.

“Focused distribution foreach region being the keystrategy for the brand, weaim to provide a correctmodel mix and placement ofproducts specif ic to theregion,” Kenstar COO RajivKenue said.

He also expressed hopethat the “early onset of sum-mer and predictions of awarmer year ahead” wouldresult in good sales this year.

“The aftermath of demon-etisation is also almost overand we are expecting the aircooler market to further growby 22 per cent,” Kenue added.

Currently, branded aircoolers are available in themarket priced between `3,200and `18,500 in various rangesuch as window, desert, towerand personal coolers.

Market leader Symphonyhas introduced a range ofcoolers in the market with fea-

tures such as digital touchscreen, voice assist and mos-quito repellent.

Sensing a good opportu-nity, traditional air-condi-tioner makers Blue Star andVoltas have also jumped intothe segment.

“We have just launchedthis season and we will bebuilding our presence now.Our goal is to have 10 per centmarket share in the premiumcategory/branded air coolersin next three years,” Blue StarJoint Managing Director BThiagarajan said.

The company did a pilotlaunch last year with somemodels last season and is nowconfident that it would do wellwith its range of air coolers.

“We would do at least`50 crore of sales from aircooler this quarter,” he saidadding the company has start-ed distribution in February

using its traditional channels.Thiagarajan said that for

Blue Star, air coolers are stepstowards upgrading its cus-tomers to air conditioners infuture.

Tata group firm Voltas, arelatively new entrant in thesegment, is confident of giv-ing a tough competition toestablished players in the seg-ment.

“People are sensing thatthere is a vacuum in the seg-ment for quality products,”said Voltas President andChief Operating OfficerPradeep Bakshi.

He said that earlier therewere very few branded play-ers and in the last 12-18months, at least 10 new brandshave been added in this cate-gory.

“I see this category growup to 30 per cent this year,”Bakshi said. PTI

Air coolers don cool features to lure customers this summerNEW DELHI: Samsung R&D Institute India filed the maximumnumber of patent applications in the IT sector in 2015-16, fol-lowed by home-grown TCS and Wipro.

According to the annual report of Office of the ControllerGeneral of patents, designs, trademarks and geographical indi-cations, the other top applicants include premier Indian Instituteof Technologies (IITs) and HCL Technologies.

In common parlance, this office is called Indian Patent Office,which comes under the Commerce and Industry Ministry.

Samsung R&D Institute India, TCS, Wipro, IITs and HCLhave filed 229, 213, 149, 60 and 49 applications, respectively.

In the scientific and research and development organisationscategory, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)has topped the chart.

Further, among foreign applicants, US-based chip makerQualcomm has filed the maximum number of 1,884 patent appli-cations, followed by Koninklijke Philips (949), SamsungElectronics (905), Huawei Technologies (648) and GeneralElectric Company (446).

IP includes patents, design, trademark and geographical indi-cations.Samsung India’s R&D unit tops chart of IT patentapplicantsWith the Indian Patent Office strengthening the cul-ture of transparency, accountability and efficiency in its man-agement, filing of intellectual property (IP) applicationsincreased by about 30 per cent to 3,41,086 in 2015-16 as against2,62,638 in the previous fiscal. PTI

NEW DELHI: Mother Dairy’sturnover grew by 9 percent in the last fiscal toabout `7,850 crore helpedby better sales in value-added dairy products andedible oils businesses.

Mother Dairy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of theNat i o n a l D a i r yD e v e l o p m e nt B o a r d(NDDB) , had p os ted aturnover of `7,186 crore in2015-16.

“O u r t u r n ov e r h a sincreased by over 9 percent to about `7,850 croreduring 2016-17 fiscal. Invalue-added dairy prod-ucts and edible oils, ourgrowth was nearly 20 perc e nt ,” Mo t h e r D a i r yMa n a g i n g D i r e c t o r SNagarajan told the newsagency.

T h e c o mp a ny s e l l svalue-added dairy prod-ucts like ice cream, curd,paneer and ghee.

Howe ve r, Na g ar aj ansaid the company’s sales infruits and vegetables seg-ment remained muted.

About 75-80 per cent ofthe company’s sales comefrom dairy business, hesaid. The edible oil busi-n e ss c ont r i bute s ab out`1,000 crore, while fruitsand vegetables add about`600-700 crore.

Mother Dairy plans tolaunch new flavours of ice-cream soon as it targetshigher growth this fiscal.

The company is a majorsupplier of milk in thenational capital region withsales of about 30 lakh litresper day through 800 milkbooths. In other cities like

Mu mb ai , Hyd e r ab a d ,Kolkata and UP, it sellsanother 5 lakh litres perday.

It sells fresh as well asfrozen fruits and vegeta-bles under ‘Safal’ brand,while edible oi ls under‘Dhara’ brand.

The company also has400 Safal outlets in Delhi-NCR. Safal outlets are beingoperated on the franchisemodel, where the companyprovidesbasic infrastruc-ture.

Mot h e r D ai r y h a sre c e nt ly e s t ab l i s h e d a25,000 tonnes per year inte-grated food and vegetableprocessing plant in Ranchiwith an estimated invest-ment of `75 crore.

Last month, the compa-ny announced up to `3 perlitre increase in milk pricesin Delhi-NCR and othercities, citing significant risein procurement rates.

Mother Dairy had lastincreased the prices of polypack in July 2016 and that oftoken milk in May 2014. PTI

Mother Dairy turnover up9 pc at `7,850 crore in FY17

AHMEDABAD: Realtors’ apex bodyCREDAI on Sunday announcedthat its members will develop over375 affordable housing projectsacross the country at a cost of`70,000 crore.

The projects were inaugu-rated by Minister for Housing andUrban Poverty Alleviation MVenkaiah Naidu here.

CREDAI’s newly electedPresident Jaxay Shah announcedcommitment of an investment ofover ̀ 70,000 crore in 375 plus newaffordable housing projectsthrough its member developersunder its various state and cityChapters, it said in a statement.

Shah said the Credai’s initia-tive would contribute towards theCentral Government’s ambitiousprogramme of ‘Housing For All’

by 2022.These projects are spread

across all over India and involvedevelopment of over 2,37,000

houses.“The investment involved in

these projects is 70,000 pluscrores,” the statement said.

CREDAI is in dialogue withState Bank of India (SBI), itsnational banking partner, to cre-ate special financial package bothfor home loans and for construc-tion finance.

“India has a record shortageof 20 million homes and ourendeavour is to ensure that weovercome this shortage by plac-ing consumers at the center of allour efforts. Our 375 housingschemes will realise the dreams ofmillions of Indians who are wait-ing to own a house,” Shah said.

“I would like to congratu-late CREDAI on the initiativebeing taken to align the realestate industry with the objec-tive of Housing for All of theGovernment of India,” Naidusaid. PTI

CREDAI members to developover 375 affordable home projects

NEW DELHI: Much to the dis-comfort of home buyers, asmany as 826 housing projects inthe country are facing longdelays of about three to fouryears, a study said.

Over 2,300 real estate pro-jects were being developed atthe end of December 2016 andout of that 826 housing and 60commercial projects were fac-ing significant delays, according

to a study by industry bodyAssocham.

The maximum delay hasbeen witnessed in Punjab at 48months, followed by Telangana(45 months), West Bengal (44months), Odisha (44 months)and Haryana (44 months).

There is a delay of 42months each in MadhyaPradesh, Andhra Pradesh andUttar Pradesh. PNS

‘826 housing projs in Indiafacing delay of up to 4 yrs’

NEW DELHI: Footwear and appar-el firm Woodland plans to add upto 120 exclusive outlets acrossIndia by the end of 2018 as it alsogears up to enter Japan andSouth Korea.

Currently, the company has600 exclusive outlets apart frompresence in 5,000 multi-brandstores in India.

“We plan to open up to 120exclusive company-operated out-lets across India by end of 2018apart from growing our presencein multi-brand outlets,”Woodland Managing DirectorHarkirat Singh told the newsagency. The company is alsoplanning to foray into Japan andKorea as part of the expansionplans, he added.

“We are planning to go toJapan and Korea in a year’s time.We are already present in South

East Asian countries, in CIScountries and in the Middle-Eastand African countries,” Singhsaid.

When asked about revenues,Singh said: “We clocked revenueof `1,200 crore in the last fiscalyear and we are looking for agrowth of 15 to 20 per cent goingforward.”

The company, which pro-duces most of its products in-house, is also looking to add to itsemployees strength as part of itsgrowth plans. “As we grow withopening of more stores andstrengthening the segments thatwe are in, we will also be addingto our workforce,” Singh saidwithout sharing details.

At present, footwear consti-tutes the biggest segment for thecompany followed by apparelsand accessories. PTI

NEW DELHI: A clutch of macrodata points, start of the fourthquarter results season and geo-political dynamics post USmissile attack on Syria willdetermine market movementthis week, experts said.

Release of a handful ofkey data is due, includingindustrial production (IIP) forFebruary and consumer priceindex-based (CPI) inflationfor March on Wednesday.

“Q4 FY17 earnings, macro-economic data and trend inglobal markets will drive mar-ket sentiment in the truncatedtrading session this week,” saidVijay Singhania, founderDirector, Trade Smart Online.

IT heavyweight Infosys willkick off the earnings season asit gets ready to announce its

fourth quarter and annualresults on Thursday.

“Any major confrontationin Syria is likely to impact theglobal markets,” said VinodNair, Head of Research, GeojitFinancial Services.

“The next big trigger forthe markets will be the annualand fourth quarter results start-ing this week,” said JimeetModi, CEO, SAMCOSecurities.

The stock market will beclosed on Friday for BabaSaheb Ambedkar Jayanti andGood Friday.

The Sensex and Niftyrecorded their second straightweekly gain by rising 86.11points, or 0.29 per cent, and24.55 points, or 0.26 per cent,respectively. PTI

Macro data, Q4 shownext triggers for market

Woodland to add up to 120exclusive outlets by 2018-end

Samsung India’s R&D unit tops chart of IT patent applicants

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017 world 13

TROTTINGTROTTINGGLOBE

3 KILLED IN TOURISTBUS ACCIDENT IN CHINABeijing: Three people have beenkilled and many others injured ina tourist bus accident in China'snorth Hebei province.

CHINA'S TAMILSCELEBRATE NEW YEARBeijing: Over 100 members ofthe first Tamil association inChina have celebrated the TamilNew Year in Beijing.

PAK BANS BOLLYWOODFLICK ‘NAAM SHABANA'Islamabad: Pakistan censorboard has banned the screeningof Bollywood action thriller "NaamShabana" over objectionablecontent after initially allowing itsrelease with some cuts.

UK NEWS PRESENTERSON ISIS HIT LIST: REPORTLondon: A number of prominentBritish television journalists fromthe British BroadcastingCorporation (BBC) and SkyNews are reportedly on an ISIShit-list.

INDIAN HATE CRIMESURVIVOR HAPPY TO BE ALIVEHouston: "I am just grateful to bealive". This is how AlokMadasani, an Indian engineerwho was critically injured in a"hate crime" incident in Kansascity in which his colleagueSrinivas Kuchibhotla was killedby a white American, describedthe chilling episode.

FRANCE EXPELS SWISSISLAMISTParis: France expelled SwissIslamist preacher Hani Ramadanwho posed ‘a serious threat topublic order’, the interior ministryhas said. Ramadan, whosebrother is the intellectual TariqRamadan and whose grandfatherfounded Egypt's radical MuslimBrotherhood, was arrested inColmar, eastern France, whileattending a conference.

VENEZUELAN PROTESTERSCLASH WITH POLICECaracas: Protesters hurlingrocks clashed with police firingtear gas in Venezuela's fourthdemonstration in a week againstPresident Nicolas Maduro andhis government. The rally wasmarked by anger over a rulingfrom the leftist governmentbanning opposition leaderHenrique Capriles from office for15 years.

US SOLDIER KILLED INAFGHANISTANKabul: An American soldier waskilled during operations againstthe ISIS group in Afghanistan,the US military said in a statement posted on Twitter.

ISRAEL WILL TREATSYRIA’S WAR WOUNDEDJerusalem: Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu said onSunday that Israel remainedcommitted to treating warwounded from Syria andreaffirmed his support for lastweek's US air strike in theneighbouring country.

5 TERRORISTS KILLEDIN MILITARY OPS IN PAKLahore: Pakistan Rangers andintelligence agencies on Sundaylaunched a joint operationagainst wanted terrorists in thePunjab province, killing fivemilitants in a gun-battle in whicha soldier also died.

AP nPARIS

Violentclash-

es brokeout bothinside andoutside avenue in the Corsican city ofAjaccio that was supposed tohold a rally by French far-rightpresidential candidate MarineLe Pen.

According to French tele-vision BFM TV, Corsicannationalists arrived at Le Pen'srally yesterday and clashedwith her far-right supportersbefore being evacuated bysecurity.

The disturbance delayedthe start of Le Pen's programby an hour after it was movedto another venue.

David Rachline, Le Pen'scampaign manager, latertweeted that a separate grouphad clashed with police out-side the venue. He was criti-cal of the security arrange-ments.

Le Pen is among the lead-ing contenders in France'stwo-round presidential vote.The top two-vote getters onApril 23 will go into a presi-dential runoff on May 7

Washington: A US Navy strikegroup was moving toward theKorean Peninsula, the US mil-itary confirmed, as the UnitedStates boosts its defensesagainst North Korea's growingnuclear ambitions.

"US Pacific Commandordered the Carl Vinson StrikeGroup north as a prudentmeasure to maintain readinessand presence in the WesternPacific," said CommanderDave Benham yesterday, a USPacific Command spokesman.

AFP

AP n PALM BEACH (US)

The United States is vowingto keep up the pressure

on Syria after the intensenighttime wave of missilestrikes from US ships, despitethe prospect of escalatingRussian ill will that could fur-ther inf lame one of theworld's most vexing conflicts.

Standing firm, the Trumpadministration on Friday sig-naled new sanctions wouldsoon follow the missile attack,and the Pentagon was evenprobing whether Russia itselfwas involved in the chemicalweapons assault that com-pelled President DonaldTrump to action.

The attack against aSyrian air base was the firstUS assault against the gov-ernment of President BasharAssad.

Much of the internation-al community rallied behindTrump's decision to fire thecruise missiles in reaction tothis week's chemical weaponsattack that killed dozens ofmen, women and children inSyria.

But a spokesman forRussian President VladimirPutin warned that the strikesdealt "a significant blow" torelations between Moscowand Washington.

A key test of whether therelationship can be salvagedcomes next week whenSecretar y of State RexTillerson becomes the firstTrump Cabinet member tovisit Russia.

Tillerson said he sees noreason for retaliation fromRussia for the US missilestrikes. Russia maintains aclose political and military

alliance with the Assad gov-ernment and has been impli-cated in many of the attacksagainst Syrians opposed toAssad's rule, though Moscowadamant ly denies suchclaims.

In an interview to airSunday on CBS' "Face theNation," Ti l lerson saidRussians were not targeted bythe strikes. He also said thetop US priority in the regionhasn't changed and remainedthe defeat of Islamic Statemilitants.

British Foreign MinisterBoris Johnson also hadplanned to visit Russia thiscoming week, but decidedyesterday to cancel the tripbecause of the fast movingevents in Syria. Johnson, whocondemned Moscow's con-tinued defense of Assad, saidTillerson will be able to givea "clear and coordinated mes-sage to the Russians."

At the United Nations onFriday, Russia 's deputyambassador, VladimirSafronkov, strongly criticisedwhat he called the US "fla-grant violation of interna-tional law and an act ofaggression" whose "conse-quences for regional andinternational security couldbe extremely serious."

He called the Assad gov-ernment a main force againstterrorism and said it deservedthe presumption of inno-cence in the chemicalweapons attack.

The US ambassador tothe UN, Nikki Haley, said theworld is waiting for theRussian government "to actresponsibly in Syria" and "toreconsider its misplacedalliance with Bashar Assad."

PTI n LONDON

Outdated divorce law is caus-ing needlessly painful and

destructive breakups and exac-erbating conflict between couplesin the UK, according to the firstmajor study of divorce law in 30years.

Spouses feel they have noalternative but to give inaccurateaccounts of how their marriagebroke down, stretching the truthto meet legal requirements,researchers said.

The half a century-old leg-islation for England and Walesshould be scrapped in favour ofa no-fault, modern system, sim-ilar to those currently operatingin many other countries,researchers said.

Researchers from theUniversity of Exeter Law Schoolin the UK interviewed 75 peo-ple going through the divorceprocess over the course of a year,and conducted focus groupsand interviews with familylawyers.

They are examined the courtfiles of 300 routine or unde-fended divorce cases and 100 fileswhere the divorce was contest-ed.

They also surveyed 2,000adults in England and Wales and1,000 divorced adults about theirattitudes to the current law ondivorce and civil partnershipdissolution and views on lawreform.

Findings showed that near-ly half of all divorces are nowbased on 'unreasonable' behav-iour, and having to make alle-gations to support this can cre-ate conflict between the divorc-ing couple, or make existing con-flict much worse.

The law can make it harderfor couples to try to sort out theirfinances and parenting arrange-ments, and does not protect chil-dren from conflict.

To get a divorce, the peti-tioner must fit their circum-stances into one of five legalfacts available: adultery, behav-iour, desertion, two years sep-aration with consent or fiveyears separation.

In practice most couples arehaving cite unreasonable behav-iour to gain a divorce, and stretchthe truth so their reasons are law-ful. Except in the very raredefended cases, the court gener-ally has to take the petitioner'sallegations at face value, evenwhere the respondent casts doubtupon or rejects the allegations.

"The study really highlightsthe need for law reform. We needa law that helps families look for-ward rather than back," said LizTrinder from University ofExeter.

"The current law encouragesspouses to blame each other forthe breakdown, but then oncethey've done that, it expects themto work together as parents to puttheir children first," she said

PTI n COLOMBO

Sri Lankan PresidentMaithripala Sirisena's party

is opposed to holding a nation-al referendum on the proposeddraft Constitution, a seniorminister has said.

"We can't agree to holdinga referendum. We will onlyback a reform which will notrequire a referendum," SBDissanayake, the Minister ofSocial Empowerment, said.

Dissanayake, who is amember of Sirisena's Sri LankaFreedom Party (SLFP), saidPrime Minister RanilWickremesinghe's UnitedNational Party (UNP) was notin agreement with the electoralreform proposed by the SLFPin the Constitution.

"They do not want to goback to the first past the postsystem (from the current pro-portional representation)."

Meanwhile, Rauff Hakeem,the leader of Sri Lanka MuslimCongress, said holding anational referendum was amust to implement a newConstitution.

Hakeem said certain par-ties were trying to change thecurrent proportional repre-sentation system with ulteriorpolitical motives.

PTI n CAIRO

At least 45 people were killedand nearly 120 others

injured in powerful blasts trig-gered by ISIS in two churchespacked with worshippers cele-brating Palm Sunday in Egypt'sTanta and Alexandria cities, thedeadliest attacks on the minor-ity Coptic Christians in recentyears.

The first blast took place inthe Coptic church of MarGirgis, also known as StGeorge, in the Nile delta city ofTanta, about 120 kilometresfrom Cairo, killing 27 peopleand injuring 78, the HealthMinistry said in a statement.

Security sources said theprimary investigations suggestthat a person put an explosivedevice inside the church dur-ing the Christian prayers cele-brating the Palm Sunday.However, others said the attackwas carried out by a suicidebomber.

The explosion targeted thefront rows in the church hall.Among those killed is SamuelGeorge, the head of TantaCourt.

Hours later, a suicidebomber struck the Saint Mark'sCoptic Orthodox Cathedral inAlexandria's Manshyia district,police said.

Citing Health MinisterAhmed Emad, ON TV newschannel said at least 18 people,including police personnel,were killed while 41 othersinjured in Alexandria's sui-cide attack.

The latest figure puts thecombined death toll from theTanta and Alexandria attacks at45.

The ISIS group claimedresponsibility for the twinattacks on churches on PalmSunday, one of the holiest days

of the Christian calendar."Islamic State squads car-

ried out the attacks on twochurches in Tanta andAlexandria," said the group'spropaganda news agency'Amaq' on its social mediaaccounts.

Egyptian President AbdelFattah al-Sisi ordered militarydeployments to protect "vitaland important infrastructure"after the bombings.

"President Sisi... Has decid-ed to order the military todeploy protection units to

guard vital and importantinfrastructure in all the repub-lic's provinces," a statementfrom the presidency said.

In a statement, the Interiorministry said a suicide bomberhad planned to blow up him-self using an explosive beltinside the church inAlexandria, but the securityforces stopped him.

A police officer and apolicewoman, as well a low-ranking police officer, werekilled while preventing the sui-cide bomber from entering the

cathedral, the ministry said.It said Pope Tawadros II

was inside the cathedral lead-ing Palm Sunday Mass, but hewas not harmed in the attack.

However, Egypt's Copticchurch said Pope Tawadros II,Pope of Alexandria, had left thechurch just before the blast.

Saint Mark's Cathedral isthe historical seat of the Popeof Alexandria, the head of theCoptic Orthodox Church.

Meanwhile, security forcesdismantled two explosivedevices at Sidi Abdel RahimMosque in Tanta city. Themosque, which includes a Sufishrine, is considered the secondmost important mosque in city,Al-Ahram Arabic reported.

Sisi condemned the attackand said such terrorist acts willnot terrify Egyptians. He alsophoned Pope Tawadros II tooffer his condolences. Heordered the opening of militaryhospitals to receive the injured.

The president called for aNational Defence Councilmeeting in response to theattack. The National DefenceCouncil is made up of theprime minister, the speaker ofparliament, the minister ofdefence and the commandersof the Egyptian armed forces,and is chaired by the president.Egypt also announced threedays of mourning.

Al-Azhar, the world's high-est seat of Sunni Islam, strong-ly condemned the attacks, call-ing it an "outrageous crime"against all Egyptians.

"This terrorist attack isdevoid of all the principles ofhumanity and civilisation," itsaid in a statement.

Al-Azhar Grand ImamAhmed El-Tayyeb stressed Al-Azhar's solidarity with theEgyptian Church in the wakeof attacks.

Kabul: Insurgents have killed atleast 13 Afghan security forcesin separate attacks, officialssaid on Sunday, as the countrystruggles to contain a long-run-ning Taliban insurgency andcombat a growing threat froma local ISIS affiliate.

Munir Ahmad Farhad,spokesman for the governor ofthe northern Balkh province,said a roadside bomb killednine security forces andwounded several others thenight before in the Chimtal dis-trict, where they were wagingan ongoing operation againstthe Taliban. He said five insur-gents have been killed anddozens wounded.

In a separate incident,Islamic State militants attackedthe Darzab district headquar-ters in the neighboring Jawzjanprovince Saturday night, andthat gun battles were stillunderway, said MohammadReza Ghafori, spokesman forthe provincial governor. AP

PTI n DHAKA

Bangladesh's opposition leaderKhaleda Zia has accused

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of"selling out" the country to Indiato translate into reality her"dream of staying in power forlife", hours after New Delhi andDhaka signed 22 pacts in keysectors including defence.

"Hasina dreams of remain-ing in power for life. She hasdone many things for this. Shekept nothing for the country, soldeverything," Zia, former prime

minister and the chief of mainopposition outside parliamentBangladesh Nationalist Party(BNP) said in a party pro-gramme last night.

Zia's comments came hoursafter Hasina, who is in India ona four-day visit, and her Indiancounterpart Narendra Modi wit-nessed signing of 22 pacts in keysectors including defence and civilnuclear. Though the long-pend-ing Teesta waters sharing agree-ment remained elusive, Modiconveyed his government's com-mitment for an "early solution".

AFP n HABBANIYAH

Iraqi forces on Sunday foileda double suicide car bomb

attack by the Islamic Stategroup on a remote bordercrossing with Syria, officersand local officials said.

"The attack was launchedfrom the desert on the Iraqi sideof the border," said a senior mil-itary officer with an army divi-sion stationed in Rutba, thenearest town.

The Al-Walid crossing,which lies 515 kilometres westof Baghdad, was attacked short-ly after midnight.

"The attack was repelled bythe tribal forces manning thecrossing, with the aerial supportof the international coalition,"the officer told.

The officer and a local offi-cial from Anbar - the vastwestern province which hasborders with Syria, Jordan andSaudi Arabia -- said the tribal

fighters neutralised the twovehicles before they could reachthe border position.

The Iraqi border guard hasa presence at the Trebil bordercrossing with Jordan furthersouth but the Al-Walid post isguarded by a local tribal forceknown as the Desert Hawks.

AFP n YANGON

The UN children's agencyUNICEF has called on

Myanmar's government torelease Rohingya childrendetained as part of a sweepingmilitary campaign in Rakhinestate.

More than 600 people werearrested in an army crack-down on Rohingya Muslims inthe north of the restive state.The operation was launchedafter deadly attacks by militantson police posts in October.Rohingya escapees in neigh-bouring Bangladesh, wheremore than 70,000 have fled,gave UN investigators accountsof beatings, torture and fooddeprivation inside the jails.

Minors are among thosedetained.

UNICEF's deputy execu-tive director Justin Forsythsaid he had given the country'sde facto civilian leader AungSan Suu Kyi details of arounda dozen youngsters being heldin Buthidaung prison.

"There are some childrenthat are detained in prison, sothose are the cases that we'reraising," he told AFP late onSaturday at the end of a brieftrip to Myanmar.

"Any child that's detainedis an issue for us."

AFP nMOSCOW

Russia slammed Londontoday after British Foreign

Secretary Boris Johnson can-celled a scheduled visit toMoscow over its support for theSyrian regime, claiming Britainhas "no real influence" interna-tionally.

The cancellation "once againconfirms doubts about the addedvalue of dialogue with the British,who don't have their own posi-tion on the majority of currentissues," the foreign ministry saidin a statement. The British have"no real influence on the courseof international affairs, remain-ing 'in the shadow' of theirstrategic partners," it added.

"We don't believe we needdialogue with London morethan (London) needs it (withus)," it said.

AFP n TEHRAN

Iran's President HassanRouhani called Bashar al-

Assad to reaffirm his support forthe Syrian leader in the wake ofa US missile strike, Rouhani'soffice said on Sunday.

"The nation of Iran willremain alongside the Syriannation in fighting terrorism andsafeguarding Syria's territorialintegrity," Rouhani said in the calllast evening, according to astatement on the presidencywebsite.

He said Western allegationsthat Assad's regime was behinda chemical weapons attack lastweek were "baseless" and sug-gested it was carried out by rebelgroups to influence global pub-lic opinion.

"Terrorists must not beallowed to use such weapons toaccuse others and pave the wayfor actions that are contrary tointernational law," said Rouhani.

Assad said the US missilestrikes on a Syrian air base,launched in response to thechemical weapons attack, onlymade him more determined.

"The United States failed toachieve its goal with this aggres-sion, which was to raise themorale of the terrorist groups itsupports after the victoriesachieved by the Syrian army,"Assad told Rouhani, according toSyrian state news agency SANA.

"The Syrian people andarmy are determined to crushterrorism in every part of Syrianterritory." Iran and Russia havebeen the key backers of Assadand refer to all Syrian oppositiongroups as "terrorists".

"Greater coordinationbetween Iran, Syria and Russiacan be very effective in the fightagainst terrorism. Those whothink that by supporting terror-ists, they can change Syria'sfuture in their interest, areabsolutely wrong," Rouhani said.

Meroe (Sudan): President Omaral-Bashir said a joint Saudi-Sudanese air force drill thatended on Sunay had boostedrelations between the countries,two years after Khartoum broketies with Iran.

For years, Khartoum'sIslamist regime maintained closerelations with Riyadh's arch-rivals in Tehran. But as sectari-an divisions in the region esca-lated with the conflict in Syria,Khartoum allied with Riyadh. In2015 it said it would take part ina Saudi-led military interventionin nearby Yemen against Houthis.

"The air force drill showedthat relations between Sudan andSaudi Arabia are progressing,"Bashir said during a ceremony atthe Meroe air base, 350 kilome-tres north of Khartoum, to markthe end of 12-day drill. AFP

Tehran: Iran's official IRNAnews agency is reporting thata hard-line cleric and close allyof the country's SupremeLeader has announced he willrun in the May presidential

election.T h e

Sunday reportsaid EbrahimR a i s iannounced hisreadiness in astatement in

which he said the country issuffering from ‘structuralchronic illness and incorrectmanagerial traditions.’

Iranian hardliners hadhope Raisi would challengeincumbent President HassanRouhani, who is eligible to runfor a second term.

The statement says: "Thefirst step for change is to forma powerful and aware admin-istration for serving peopleand fighting discrimination,poverty and corruption."

In 2016, Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khameneiappointed Raisi as head ofImam Reza charity foundationin Mashhad that owns hugebusiness conglomerate andendowments in Iran. AP

Relatives and onlookers gather outside a church after a bomb attack in the NileDelta town of Tanta in Egypt on Sunday. The attack took place on Palm Sunday, thestart of the Holy Week leading up to Easter, when the church in the Nile Delta townof Tanta was packed with worshippers AP

ISIS massacres Egypt's ChristiansUS vows to keep uppressure on Syriaafter missile strikes

Insurgents kill 13

Afghan forces in

separate attacks

US Navy strike

group heads

toward Korean

Peninsula: Official

Hard-line clericsays he'll runin Iran election

Iran's Prez calls Assad,

affirms full support

An Iranian soldier hands a bottle of water to a British runnerduring the Tehran Marathon in Tehran, Iran on Friday. AP

Sudan andSaudi boostties with jointair force drill

Moscow slams

London after

British FM

cancels visit

Tehran: Iran’s Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khamenei has saidthe United States made a "strate-gic mistake" by attacking Syria,Iran's state news agency IRNAreported on Sunday.

The onslaught of 59 cruisemissiles followed a suspectedchemical attack on the rebel-heldtown of Khan Sheikhun innorthern Syria that killed 87civilians, including many chil-dren. Tehran has been a keybacker of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's six-year civil war,referring to all rebel groups in thecountry as "terrorists".

"The US made a strategicmistake," Khamenei said.

"The Islamic Republic ofIran will not leave the field (...)in the face of threats," he said,alluding to suspicions that theUnited States intended the attackas a sign it was willing to attackother countries including Iran.

Iraq forces foil double carbomb attack at Syria border

Qaraqosh: Members of Iraq'sChristian minority celebrated PalmSunday in the country's mainChristian town of Qaraqosh for thefirst time since it was retakenfrom the ISIS group.Hundreds of faithful gatheredinside the town's burnt outImmaculate Conception church formass before starting thetraditional Palm Sunday march, aprocession during which palmsare carried to commemorateJesus's entry to Jerusalem.

CHRISTIANS CELEBRATEFIRST PALM SUNDAYAFTER ISIS OUSTER

America madestrategic mistakeby attackingSyria: Khamenei

Hasina ‘selling' Bangladesh

to India to stay in power: Zia

‘Party of Lankan

Prez doesn't want

referendum on

draft Constitution'

Outdated UK divorce law causingdestructive breakups: Study

Violent clashes

break out ahead

of rally by

far-right Le Pen

UN pushes

Myanmar to

release detained

Rohingya children

45 dead, 119 injured in Church during Palm Sunday mass

sport 14LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017

LIN DAN GRABS FIRST EVER MALAYSIA TITLEKUCHING (MALAYSIA): China's Lin Dan, atwo-time Olympic champion, on Sundayengineered a brilliantly ruthless strategyagainst arch-rival Malaysian world numberone Lee Chong Wei to win his first everMalaysia Open badminton title. Showingno sign of fatigue, 33-year-old Lin pushedLee, one year his senior, from back tofront, forcing the recent All England Openwinner into unforced errors to bag a win21-19, 21-14 in 55 minutes. The two bad-minton veterans started cautiously, andLee, the favourite in the tournament,began securing points with his killercross-court smashes. But Lin kept hiscalm, resorting to long rallies, swiftreturns and precision net play to defeatLee. With the unexpected victory, Lin hasnow won every major title the sport has tooffer. Meanwhile, Taiwan's Tai Tzu Yingemerged champion in the women's sin-gles. The world number one was, howev-er, made to work hard for her win, defeat-ing Spain's Carolina Marin 23-25, 22-20,21-13 in a 85-minute triumph.

SONY POWERS BAGAN TO 2-1 WIN SILIGURI: Sony Norde's precision free-kick brillianly complemented byAzharuddin Mullick's terrific strike sawMohun Bagan beat arch-rivals East Bengal2-1 to take a giant leap towards winningthe I-League title. In a packedKanchenjunga Stadium boasting of parti-san East Bengal supporters, Norde bend-ed one like Beckham in the 36th minute togive his team the lead. Eighteen-year oldAzharuddin then doubled the lead in the43rd minute when he saw TP Reheneshout of his charge. He kept a nice swingingfloater that swerved hitting the post andwent into the net. East Bengal pulled oneback in the stoppage time through RowllinBorges (90+2nd) but that was too late.Coming on a day Aizawl FC (30 points)lost to Bengaluru FC 0-1, the derby winhas put the 2014-15 champions right inthe hunt as they are just a point behindthe leaders Aizawl with a match in hand.

RODRIGUES WINS INDIA BAJA RALLY JAISALMER: Hero MotoSports TeamRally's rider Joaquim Rodrigues won theIndia Baja rally here on Sunday. JRod —as he is popularly called — blazed throughthe second leg of the rally to finish in firstplace in the overall general classifications.This is also the first win for HeroMotoSports Team Rally, since its inceptionin April last year. Following a decent debutat the Dakar Rally earlier this year, theHero squad has achieved back to backpodiums in India, the first being at theDesert Storm in February. The final leg ofthe Rally on Sunday, comprised shorterrun of about 286 kms, out of which 140kms made up the timed sections. The twospecial sections of the day ran for 88 and52 kms respectively. Agencies

S I N G L E S

PTI n BENGALURU

Aclean-sweep could not come through but Indiastamped their authority over Uzbekistan bywinning the Davis Cup tie 4-1 to advance to

the World Group Play-offs, here on Sunday.India's place in the World Group Play-offs, to be

held in September, was secured once a 3-0 lead wasgrabbed yesterday in the Asia/Oceania Group I sec-ond round tie.

The team was eyeing a whitewash but fell shortin the second reverse singles' match.

Ramkumar Ramnathan continued India's dom-ination of the home tie by outclassing Sanjar Fayziev6-3, 6-2 in just 67 minutes in the first reverse singlesat the KSLTA stadium.

Left-handed Prajnesh Gunneswaran, though, hada hard battle at hand against the big-serving 406thranked Ismailov.

Ismailov negotiated the conditions much betterthan Fayziev and emerged a deserving 7-5, 6-3 win-ner in the second reverse singles.

Both the players served big but debutant Prajneshbuckled under pressure in crucial moments and thatmade a difference to the outcome of the match.

Ismailov's victory meant that India could not forcea whitewash.

The last time India enjoyed a clean-sweep wasin February 2014 when they hammered ChineseTaipei in Indore.

However, it was a brilliant start for new captainMahesh Bhupathi, who has introduced a few rulesfor the players and has his own style of carrying outbusiness.

Fayziev struggled to adjust to the bounce andspeed of the court while Ramkumar turned it intohis advantage.

He consistently sent down bouncy serves, entic-ing errors from his opponent.

In his first service game, Fayziev was down 0-40and was broken when he smashed an overhead vol-ley long and wide on the second breakpoint.

Ramkumar quickly ran away with a 3-0 leadwith an easy hold and could have been 4-0 upwhen Fayziev committed three consecutive dou-ble faults but the Uzbek managed to hold.

A backhand passing winner handedRamkumar a breakpoint in the sixth game but theUzbek served well to save that.

The Indian also approached the net better in

the opening set, easily putting away Fayziev's fee-ble returns from the baseline.

He served out the set in the ninth game.After squandering two break chances in the

opening game of the second set, Ramkumarearned a third with a brilliant lob and converted

when Fayziev fluffed a volley.Fayziev served better in the following games and

returned well but Ramkumar still managed to getanother break in the seventh game to open up a 5-2 lead and served out the match in the next game.

In the final match of the tie, both Prajnesh and

Ismailov served extremely well and it was on servebefore Prajnesh made three unusual forehand errorsthat put him down by three breakpoints in the 12thgame. A nervous Prajnesh saved the first chance butsent a forehand long on the second to hand Ismailovthe set and the Uzbek ended up winning the match.

PAES SHOULD NOT SULK: BHUPATHILeander Paes has no reason to "sulk" after being

excluded from India's playing squad since he was con-veyed in advance that his place was not confirmedin final four, non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathisaid on Sunday.

"He deserves the respect after what he's achievedfor the country to be given the option to be in thesix. We gave him the option and he readily took it.So after that, to sulk about not being in the four wasa bit unprofessional," Bhupathi said after India wonthe tie 4-1. Bhupathi said when there was space foronly one doubles, player, Rohan Bopanna was a bet-ter choice. "Like I said in the press conference onThursday, I am a big believer that we don't requirea doubles specialist for the Davis Cup team. As oftoday, Rohan Bopanna is India's number one dou-bles player by far," he said.

"I had asked Leander to do fitness test. I meanI am extremely proud of the fact that he won theChallenger. But in the same breath Rohan also com-peted at highest level, he played against Novak(Djokovic). So, my criteria was not of one or twothings, but five, and that included fitness, of course,"Bhupathi said. "The six-man squad is to build ateam," he added.

AUSTRALIA BEAT US TO ENTER SEMIFINALSBRISBANE: Australia advanced to the Davis Cupsemifinals after Nick Kyrgios beat late substitute SamQuerrey of the United States 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-4 in thefirst reverse singles match on Sunday, clinching thequarterfinal 3-1 with a match to spare.

On a hard court at Pat Rafter Arena, Kyrgiosand his singles partner Jordan Thompson gaveAustralia a 2-0 lead on Friday before the Americansstaved off elimination on Saturday when Jack Sock,who lost to Thompson on Friday, and partner SteveJohnson beat Sam Groth and John Peers 3-6, 6-3,6-2, 2-6, 6-3.

Querrey was supposed to be Johnson's doublespartner, but American captain Jim Courier, who saidit would take "monstrous effort" for the Americansto win the tie, pulled a swap, putting Sock into dou-bles and allowing Querrey to be fresh for Kyrgios.

That worked for a while Sunday during an even-ly-played first set, but Kyrgios gradually overpow-ered the American with his strong serves and back-hand.

PTI n WEST VANCOUVER

The Indian women's team stormed into the Final of HockeyWorld League Round 2 after a 4-0 thrashing of Belarus

in the semifinals here.India now play Chile in the summit clash. Chile had beat-

en Uruguay 2-1 in the second semifinal. With this semifi-nal victory, India won a berth to take part in the Women'sHockey World League Semi-Final to be held in June/July,which is a qualifier for the FIH Women's World Cup 2018.

India were dominant the side right from the start. Eventhough Belarus won two early penalty corners in the fourthand the ninth minutes, the Indian team's defence was impres-sive as they denied an early lead to their opponents.

India were quick to earn their first penalty corner in the13th minute and it was Gurjit Kaur whose stunning goal gaveIndia a 1-0 lead in the first quarter. India took 2-0 lead inthe 20th minute through skipper Rani when she successfullyconverted a penalty stroke. Both teams traded penalty cor-ners in the third quarter with India winning one in the 33rdminute but the strike was wide. Belarus, on the other hand,won a penalty corner in the 40th minute but YuliyaMikheichyk's hard-struck drag flick was saved by India's goal-keeper Savita.

The Indians played fast-paced hockey, breaching into theopposition striking circle often. Rani made a solo attemptand scored a brilliant field goal that took India's lead to 3-0 in the 40th minute. Belarus were awarded a penalty cor-ner in the 42nd minute, their attempt to score was deniedyet again by Savita, who continued to be impressive at theIndian goal to ensure her side stayed on course to victory.

AP n SHANGHAI

With Lewis Hamilton and SebastianVettel starting side-by-side on the front

row at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, thestage was set for a wheel-to-wheel duelbetween long-dominant Mercedes and anewly competitive Ferrari.

A chaotic start to the race on a wet track,however, scuttled the highly anticipatedshowdown as Hamilton coasted to victory forhis fifth title in Shanghai and first of the newFormula One season.

Starting from pole position, Hamilton ledfrom beginning to end to capture the race in1 hour, 37 minutes, 36.158 seconds and pulleven with Vettel atop the driver's standingswith 43 points.

Two weeks after beating Hamilton at theseason-opening Australian GP, Vettel had tosettle for second place this time, finishing 6.2seconds behind his rival.

With both teams showing equal pace atthe top, there will likely be plenty of otheropportunities for close races this season.

"I'm fighting up against a four-timeworld champion (and) he is at his best andhe is phenomenally quick. And Ferrari are attheir best in years," Hamilton said. "And we'reat our best as a team and I feel like I'm at mybest. The ultimate fighter always wants to goup against the best battle you can have.Because then when you come out on top, it'sso much more satisfying."

Red Bull's Max Verstappen drove a mas-terful race through traffic to move up from16th position on the starting grid to thirdplace, fighting off a spirited challenge fromteammate Daniel Ricciardo on the final lap.

Ricciardo finished fourth, followed byFerrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes'Valtteri Bottas in sixth. The drama-filled startafter a rainy morning set the stage forHamilton's victory and Mercedes' recoveryafter Vettel surprisingly triumphed inAustralia and signaled that Ferrari had thepace this year to challenge the silver cars.

The drivers had barely left the starting

grid when Williams' Lance Stroll bumpedagainst Sergio Perez of Force India and spunoff the track into a bed of gravel. A short timelater, on the fourth lap, Antonio Giovinazzihit a wet patch and slammed into the wall,severely damaging his Sauber car and bring-ing the race to a halt again.

During the safety-car slowdowns toremove both cars from the track, the top dri-vers pitted to change to softer tires, reshuf-fling the starting order. Hamilton emergedfrom the fray with a hold on the lead, butVettel and Bottas slipped back several placesand had to fight to catch up.

BOTH FORCE INDIA DRIVERS AMONG POINTS Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon secured

another double points finish for Force Indiawith fighting drives in tricky conditions at theFormula One Chinese Grand Prix here onSunday. Perez, who started eighth on the grid,finished ninth after being passed by KevinMagnussen towards the end of the 56-lap race.

Ocon did well to finish 10th after start-ing from as back as 17th on the grid.

Force India collected three points fromthe race but remained in fifth spot in the teamstandings with 10 points in two races.

Perez and Ocon had finished seventh and10th respectively at the season opener inAustralia.

Toro Rosso are fourth with 12 pointswhile Williams are sixth with eight points.

"It feels great to come away from an enter-taining race with some more points," saidPerez.

AFP n MADRID

Neymar was sent-off as Barcelona lost furtherground on Real Madrid at the top of La Liga

in a shock 2-0 defeat to Malaga.Neymar picked up the first red card of his

Barcelona career for two bookable offences as theCatalans were left to rue letting Sandro Ramirezjoin Malaga for free last summer.

Sandro exposed some awful defending fromJeremy Mathieu to sprint clear on goal and slotpast Marc-Andre ter Stegen at his near post.

Neymar had been shown his first booking fordelaying a Malaga free-kick whilst tying hisshoelaces and stupidly charged into DiegoLlorente 25 minutes from time to see red.

Malaga finally picked off the 10 men in thefinal minute when Pablo Fornals unselfishlysquared for Jony to smash home from close range.

Sandro exposed some awful defending fromJeremy Mathieu to sprint clear on goal and slotpast Marc-Andre ter Stegen at his near post.

UNITED THRASH SUNDERLAND 3-0SUNDERLAND: Manchester United kept pace withits Champions League qualification rivals as itpushed 10-man Sunderland closer to relegationfrom the Premier League with a 3-0 victory onSunday.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic sparked United into lifewith a superb opener before Sebastian Larsson wassent off for a dangerous tackle, leaving space forHenrikh Mkhitaryan and substitute MarcusRashford to seal the three points after the break.

The result took Jose Mourinho's side aboveArsenal into fifth and within four points of fourth-placed Manchester City, which has played onemore game. Sunderland remains bottom, 10points adrift of safety.

INDIA TROUNCE UZBEKISTAN 4-1

Ramnathan wins, but Gunneswaran loses Davis Cup reverse singles tie

India’s Ramkumar Ramnathan is congratulated by Leander Paes after his victory in Davis Cup revers singles PTI

Neymar sees red in Barca’s defeat

India enter Final ofwomen's HWL rnd 2

Hamilton coasts to

5th Chinese GP title

Lewis Hamilton (C) on the podium after his win AP

Messi (L) & Neymar during Barcelona’s match AP

MORADABAD EMERGE CHAMP

Sonu Singh slammed a ton to help Moradabad CricketAssociation win the 3rd JKP Memorial State Prizemoney CricketTournament at Ekna International stadium, beating Akhil InfraCricket Club by 66 runs. MOradabad walked away with Rs 1 lakhwhile runners-up took home Rs 60 thousand. Mohsin Khanbagged the man of the series for his allround show. UP OlympicAssociation general secretary Anandeshwar Pandey gave awaythe prizes.

LUCKNOW PREMIER LEAGUE NDBG will take on TCS in the opening match of the sec-

ond edition of Lucknow Premier League will begin at PaarthStadium from April 15. The tournament will be played on T20format and the winner will take home hefty amount of Rs 2 lakhs.TEAMS: Tata Consultancy Services, NDBG Group, SPMHospital Kanpur, SIPS Hospital, STPL IT Solutions, Aptico RealEstate, Annapurna Group, Kriative Incorporation, SkyDevelopers, 777 Group..

LION’S CLUB BEAT SEVEN FIELD Lion’s Club blanked Seven Field FC 3-0 in a league match

of the 1st Kishan Lal Memorial Football Tournament at LaMartinier ground on Sunday. Divanshu, Sahil and Kuldeep scoredfor the winner in the 14th, 27th and 54th minute respectively.

ASHOK WINS CHESS TOURNEY

Ashok Kumar Shah of Uttar Pradesh remained unbeaten towin the 7th Lucknow International Rating All-India OpenPrizemoney Chess Tournament at Bengali Club on Sunday.Sunbeam School bagged the best school trophy. Maj Iqbal wonthe special award in Under-7 while Indrav, Priyansh Sahu, Sumitand Sarthak Dutta got the top prizes in U-9, U-13, U-15 and U-19 category respectively. MLA Neeraj Bora gave away the prizes.

ADMISSIONSOver 1100 aspirants for 254 places in 11 games in Guru

Gobind Singh Sports College (Lucknow), Sports College (Safai)and Veer Bahadur Singh Sports College (Gorakhpur) have beenselected for main selection exam. Names of the selected can-didates along with other informations will be displayed at sports-collegelko.in on April 10. Aspirants may also call on 950684789,9794637709 or 9412673959 for further assistance.

LOCAL EVENTS

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017 15

The fact that it's T20, against thewhite ball and on very good

pitches that you get in India. I amsure he will have another good

tournament— Former Australia Captain

Ricky Ponting on David Warner

Q U O T E U N Q U O T E

S U N R I S E S

PTI n MUMBAI

Mumbai Indians pulled off athrilling four wicket win over

Kolkata Knight Riders for their firstwin in the Indian Premier League hereon Sunday.

Manish Pandey smashed 81 off 47balls to help Kolkata post 178 for sevenin 20 overs.

Needing 60 runs off the last 24balls, Nitish Rana came up with fight-ing 50 off 29 balls before HardikPandya finished the job in dramaticfashion, smashing 29 off 11 balls.

Mumbai made a promising startthrough openers Parthiv Patel (30) andJos Buttler (28), who shared a 65 runstand to set the tone for the chase.

It was the first win of the seasonfor Mumbai while Kolkata suffered apainful loss after their 10-wicket winover Gujarat Lions.

Earlier, Manish Pandey smashed anunbeaten 81 off 47 balls to help KolkataKnight Riders recover from a mini col-lapse and reach 178 for seven againstMumbai Indians in the Indian PremierLeague here on Sunday.

The visitors, asked to bat first,made a brisk start when openers ChrisLynn (32) and captain Gautam Gambhir(19) put on 44 runs in four overs beforelosing their way against left-arm spin-ner Krunal Pandya.

Krunal's twin strike in the fifth overreduced the Knight Riders from 44 forno loss to 48 for two and then 87 for fourbefore the innings was revived byPandey.

The Karnataka batsman struckMitchell McClenaghan for two sixes andas many fours in the last over of theinnings that produced 23 runs.

It was mainly due to the Karnatakabatsman's clean hitting that the totalcrossed the 150 mark.

But apart from his superb knock,the KKR innings lacked character.

Krunal finished with fine figures of3 for 24 while Malinga got 2 for 36 while

McClenaghan finished with 1 for 51.Kolkata were off to a flyer with Lynn

and Gambhir scoring freely against themedium-pacers so that after four overs

the score was an impressive 44 withoutloss. The duo had come into the gameafter powering the Knight Riders to acomprehensive ten-wicket win over

Gujarat Lions at Rajkot two nights agoafter putting up a first wicket all-timehigh record of 184 with Lynn crackinga 41-ball 93.

He again looked in good touch andalso smacked a short ball fromMcClenaghan over the mid-wicket areainto the stands when the left armbowler from New Zealand pitchedshort.

Lasith Malinga, the IPL's highestwicket taker who had missed the last IPLedition, was off target initially and gaveaway runs.

Jasprit Bumrah was hit for two suc-cessive fours by Gambhir whileMcClenaghan too was expensive and itwas Krunal who arrested the KnightRiders' progress with a double strike inthe fifth over of the innings that packedoff Gambhir (19) and one-down RobinUthappa (4).

Bumrah came back into the attackand dismissed the dangerous-lookingLynn, trapping the batsman leg beforewhen he played across the line.

The early momentum gone,Harbhajan Singh was brought into theattack after eight overs and the offie, whowas surprisingly omitted for 'tactical'reasons in the away lung-opener againstRising Pune Supergiant, kept the bats-men quiet in his first two overs.

Krunal picked up his third wicketlater by inducing his Baroda teammateYusuf Pathan to loft the ball to long offfor his brother Hardik to accept astraight-forward catch which left KKRat 87 for four after 12 overs.

The 100 came up in the 14th overbefore Surya Yadav struck Harbhajan fortwo fours in the bowler's last over tospoil his figures a bit.

The well-set Pandey lofted Bumrahover long on for his second six and thenhit him for a four too in the 16th overbefore Malinga returned to the attackand picked up Yadav with his first ball,caught by Kieron Pollard at long on, andfollowed it up with a similar dismissalof Chris Woakes in his final over.

But Pandey remained till the endand smacked the ball around especial-ly in the final over bowled byMcClenaghan.

PTI n HYDERABAD

David Warner roared back to form with a blister-ing 76 after rookie Afghan spinner Rashid Khan

weaved a mesmerising spell as Sunrisers Hyderabadoverpowered Gujarat Lions by nine wickets in an IPLencounter, here on Sunday.

It was Rashid's 3 for 19 that helped Sunrisersrestrict Lions to a paltry 135 for 7 in 20 overs andthen Warner blasted his way to an unbeaten 76 off45 balls to finish the match in 15.3 overs.

All-rounder Moises Henriques (52 not out) onceagain proved his worth with the willow as the duoadded 108 runs for the unbeaten second wicket.

While this was Hyderabad's second win in asmany matches, last year's top-four finisher Lions nowhave had two defeats in a row. Warner, who had a poorTest series against India, would be happy as he wasin his elements, hitting six boundaries and four hugesixes.

The mayhem started in the third over when rivalskipper Suresh Raina introduced himself into theattack. Warner lofted him straight into the sight screenand hit another one into the long-on region to breakthe shackles.

Leg-spinner Tejas Baroka — an inexplicablechoice with no experience of playing any match atthe senior level — was given a lesson of what to expectin top-flight cricket. The youngster who has not been

considered good enough to be a part of senior Delhistate side was handed a harsh lesson by the starAustralian opener. Warner dispatched his half-trackers to the boundary and lofted him for a hugesix. Kerala quick Basil Thampi was driven throughthe covers and cut for good measure as Warner pickedthe runs at will. The match finished when Warner loft-ed Baroka into long-on stands.

Earlier, after an impressive debut, Rashid onceagain finished with superb figures of 3 for 19 in four

overs. He rattled the Lions top-order with wickets ofBrendon McCullum (5), Aaron Finch (3) and skip-per Suresh Raina (5) in the 5th, 7th and 9th over ofthe innings.

Lions never recovered from the setbacks eventhough Dinesh Karthik (30) and Dwayne Smith (37)added 56 runs for the fifth wicket to stem the rot.

But it was the damage done by the Afghan'Wonderkid' that spelt doom for Raina and his men.

McCullum was gone trying to sweep a googlywhile Raina played for the wrong 'un only to be fooledby an orthodox leg-break. The hard-hitting Finch alsofailed to read a googly and in the process, was trappedplumb in front.

He looked dangerous during his entire spell bowl-ing as many 11 dot balls in four overs.

Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/21 in 4 overs)and Ashish Nehra (1/27 in 4 overs) also bowled well.

Credit should be given to Warner as he gaugedthe slowness of the pitch and introduced orthodoxleft-arm spinner Bipul Sharma into the attack withBhuvneshwar Kumar. Jason Roy (31 off 21 balls) hita few boundaries before a mistimed pull shot offBhuvneshwar brought his downfall.

BRIEF SCORESGL: 135/7 (D Smith 37, J Roy 31; R Khan 3/19) lostto SRH: 140/1 (D Warner 76, M Henriques 52; PKumar 1/16) by 9 wickets.

PTI n INDORE

Having notched up a morale-boosting win over DelhiDaredevils without some of their star players, Royal

Challengers Bangalore face another test of character when theyface Kings XI Punjab in their third IPL match here on Monday.

RCB began their campaign without skipper and star bats-man Virat Kohli as well as another key player A B de Villiersdue to injuries and lost their opening match against defend-ing champions Sunrisers Hyderabad.

RCB have also lost India batsman Lokesh Rahul for theentire tournament owing to an injury and the talented SarfarazKhan will most likely be unavailable for the season after hurt-ing himself on the field during a practice match.

Kohli is almost certain to miss tomorrow's match as therehas not been any word on his status since the BCCI's advi-sory on April 2 which said that his fitness will be assessed inthe second week of this month.

Explosive South African batsman de Villiers is once againa doubtful starter for and in his absence Shane Watson wouldcontinue to lead the side as an interim captain.

Watson had marshalled his bowling resources well in RCB's15-run win over Delhi at home, himself taking one wicket andbowling economically by conceding just 21 runs from his quotaof four overs.

Watson choked Delhi's Amit Mishra for runs at the clos-ing stages of the match and that contributed to RCB's first winof the tournament. He also contributed a run-a-ball 24, thesecond highest score, in RCB's total of 157 for 8.

Billy Stanlake and Yuzvendra Chahal grabbed two wick-ets apiece but it was PawanNegi, picked by Watson tobowl the final over, who didthe trick for RCB by dis-missing Rishabh Pant, theonly Delhi batsman whocould have won the matchfor his side.

On the batting front,RCB surely missed Kohliand de Villiers though Kedar Jadhav once again showed hisutility by smashing a 37-ball 69 to single-handedly take hisside to 157 for 8. 'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle failed to get goingas he scored just 6 yesterday after his 32 in RCB's first match.

Kings XI Punjab will come into tomorrow's match witha lot of confidence after a comfortable victory over Rising PuneSupergiant in their opening match.

Australian Glenn Maxwell led from the front with a quick-fire 44 off just 20 balls to chase down the target with six ballsto spare. Maxwell was making his captaincy debut in the matchagainst RPS and he would look to continue against RCB tomor-row also at the Holkar Stadium which is KXIP's second homevenue along with Mohali. Though they have retained their coregroup, Kings XI bought eight players in the IPL auction includ-ing well known names like Morgan, Darren Sammy, MartinGuptill and Varun Aaron.

PTI n MELBOURNE

Former Australia captain RickyPonting has tipped David

Warner to be one of the contendersfor IPL's 'Player of the Tournament'award as he feels extra responsi-bility always gets the best out of thedashing opener.

Warner didn't have a good Testtour of India and will be aiming toget back to form with some goodscores for defending championsSunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.

"On the back of a slightly dis-appointing Test series, he's back ata championship-winning teamand he's captain," Ponting toldcricket.com.au.

"I think he loves that respon-sibility. And he's an opening bats-man. You'd think the Player of theTournament is going to be a spin-ner or an opening batsman.

“That's the way the T20 gameis right now, so I think Davey will

be Player of the Tournament," theAussie legend said.

Ponting is confident thatWarner will not be affected by hisdry spell during Test series as heremains in a happy space whileplaying for the Sunrisers.

"You always like to go into any

tournament with a lot of runsunder your belt, but to me Daveyis the sort of guy that it won't both-er too much.

“He's back into a really com-fortable environment."

The flat tracks in India is idealto get back into form, especially

while playing white ball cricket."And I think the fact that it's

T20 cricket, against the white balland on very good pitches that youget in India. I am sure he will haveanother good tournament,"Ponting said.

Warner had a terrific IPL lastyear scoring nine half-centuries in17 games.

It takes a strong character to bean IPL captain and Ponting reck-ons that Warner can bring in theoverseas and Indian players onsame page.

"You need those Indian play-ers and everyone else to be on thesame page and heading in the samedirection and I'm pretty sureDavey would have demanded thatof his players last year.

“And if he gets more of anopportunity to captain Australialike he has done, I'm sure he'll doa good job as well," Ponting sound-ed confident.

IANS n HYDERABAD

Sunrisers Hyderabad leg-spinnerRashid Khan, who bagged the pur-

ple cap for taking most number ofwickets so far in this edition of IndianPremier League (IPL), on Sunday saidhe will try to top the list till the end ofthe Twenty20 cricket tournament.

The Afghan teenager, whoreturned with figures of 3/19 againstGujarat Lions, has taken five wicketsin two matches, thus becoming theleading wicket-taker.

"It's a wonderful moment for meto take this purple cap. Hopefully I'lltry to keep this with me right till theend," said Rashid, who is featuring inhis maiden IPL.

Commenting on his bowling,Rashid, who bamboozled Gujarat'stop order said: "The way I'm bowling,it's quite difficult for the batsmen topick it. This is a tough track to bat onif you bowl wicket-to-wicket. I'menjoying the experience here. I alwaystry to bowl dots and build pressure on

the batsmen."Happy to be a part of the

Sunrisers. The coach and the captainasked me to bowl whenever I'm com-fortable. I told them I'm happy to bowlat any stage. I thought batsmen weren'tgoing to read my googlies and tried it,and it worked," Rashid said after thematch.

Rashid was picked up by

Hyderabad for `4 crore in the auctionsheld in February.

It seems, so far, the 18-year-old isturning out to be the surprise of thetournament.

Apart from the Afghan spinner,pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar took twowickets while veteran pacer AshishNehra chipped in with one wicket torestrict Gujarat to 135/7.

MI pull of thrilling win over KKR

Warner, Rashid star in Hyderabad’s win

IPL captaincy will help Warner: Ponting

FULLTIME

expertopinion

For me Rashid Khan proved to be thedifference between the two sides. Witha good wrist action he maintained hisline well throughout the match torestrict Gujarat to a modest score.Apart from Rashid, BhuvaneshwarKumar also made an importantcontribution by picking up 2 crucialwickets. Ultimately it was Sunrisers'disciplined bowling performancewhich won them the match.

SLEDGEHAMMER

PACE FOUNDATION

PRADEEPMOHANTYPRESIDENTSLEDGEHAMMER

PACE FOUNDATION

Rashid keen to hold on to Purple Cap

RCB, KXIP look to

sustain momentum

25CHRIS GAYLE WILL ENTER THE THIRDMATCH OF THE IPL, KNOWING WELLENOUGH THAT HE NEEDS JUST 25 RUNS

TO BECOME THE FIRST PLAYER TO SCORE10,000 RUNS IN TWENTY-20 FORMAT. THE WESTINDIAN OPENER WHO NEEDED 63 RUNS BEFORETHE START OF THE TOURNAMENT, SCORED 32AND 6 IN FIRST TWO MATCHES

FAISEL FEATURES

S T A T P I C K

Live on Sony Six

INDORE

KXIP vs RCB

MONDAY | 8:00 PM

HEADTO

HEADM 18

KXIP 10

RCB 8

T O D A Y I N A C T I O N

Mumbai Indians batsman Nitish Rana, right, raises his bat after score 50 runs with his team player Hardik Pandya, left, during their Indian Premier League(IPL) cricket match against Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai, on Sunday

Former Spice Girls memberVICTORIA BECKHAM, now adesigner, says she was never thebest singer or dancer in thegroup, which also consisted ofMel B, Emma Bunton,Geri Horner andMelanie C.Talking on why workingin fashion makes herhappier than hercareer pop, shesaid, “Being in theSpice Girls was somuch fun, but Iwas never the bestsinger or dancer.“I learned anenormous amountduring that time.But I love fashion,this is what I'mgenuinelyinterested in.“When I look backat my past self,(the way I dressedand behaved) wasprobably a sign ofmy insecurities. Ifeel quite confidentin myself now -getting olderdoesn't bother me.”

‘People willconnect with it’

Actress VIDYA BALAN hopes theaudience connects with her newfilm Begum Jaan.“The film's trailer and songs havegot overwhelming response fromthe audience and they areeagerly waiting to watchthe film. I hope peoplewill connect with thefilm”, Vidya said.“Every time I makean attempt to pre-sent new andunusual stories forthe audience. Andwhen this filmcame to me, Iwas so excitedthat I thought tostart shootingfor the film onthat day itself.The characterand dia-logues areso strong thatI just couldn'tstop myself fromdoing this film,”she added.

Supermodel BELLA

HADID hasunfollowed her fomerbeau The Weeknd ona photo sharing app.She was reportedlywaiting for a quietmoment and trying tounfollow the Starboy crooner,though fans were quick to noticeher action.The fact that Hadid decided tounfollow The Weeknd came afterthe Canadian heartthrob and hiscurrent girlfriend Selena Gomezboth unfollowed Hadid, who hadposted a slew of her photos inbikini, on March 23.

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | APRIL 10, 2017vivacity 16

Was never SpiceGirls' best singer

Here are a few innovations that willenhance your listening experience

TECH

TAKE

GOOGLE PLAY MUSIC LAUNCHES IN INDIA Music lovers have something to rejoice about as Google

Play Music subscriptions have gone live in India for a veryattractive `89 monthly fee. This subscription gives you access

to over 40 million songs with unlim-ited streaming, downloads, person-alised recommendations and noadvertisements. Google is offering aone month trial of the service for freepost which the monthly fee will beapplicable. You can even upload upto 50,000 songs from your own col-lection to the library for free.

Elias Roman, Lead ProductManager, Google Play Music said,“With Google Play Music subscrip-tion, Indian subscribers can listen totheir favourite music across a vari-ety of languages, including Hindi,English, Tamil and more. This musiccan be accessed from any device withyour Google Account. To make theexperience deeply personalised, we’veplugged into Google’s understandingof context and machine learning to

recommend the right music at the right moment based on eachlistener’s preference, place and activity.”

Apple has been offering a similar product called AppleMusic for quite some time now for `120/month. It recentlyupdated the Apple Music app on Android to match its iOScounterpart.

NEW LAUNCHES MOTO G5

Motorola haslaunched the Moto G5in India on Amazon.inand it packs a 5.5 inchFull HD display,Snapdragon 430 proces-sor, 13MP/5MPCameras and a fingerprint sensor. It featuresdedicated dual SIM cardslots, microSD card slotand a removable2800mAh battery withsupport for rapid charg-ing. It comes in greyand gold colours, is priced at `11,999.

SAMSUNG GALAXY C7 PROSamsung has launched the Galaxy

C7 Pro and it packs a 5.7 inch 1080pSuper AMOLED display, Snapdragon626 processor, 4GB of RAM, 16-megapixel rear and front-facing cam-eras. It has a unibody metal design, fin-gerprint sensor on the front embeddedinto the home button and a 3300mAhbattery with support for fast charging.Itis priced at `27,990 and will be exclu-sively available on Amazon.in.

SONY XPERIA XZSSony launched Xperia XZs and it

comes with a new 19-megapixel Motion Eye camera with imagestabilization for shake-free videos. It features IP65/68 ratingsfor dust and water resistance. It is priced at `49,990 and is avail-able at all sony centers, select retail outlets and online onFlipkart.

Music lovers

rejoiceVarun Krishnan

In a world where the attention-span has become shorter andeverything has to be fast, the

idea of a short 10-minute play isappreciable and that’s exactlywhat Vriksh Theatre is bringingto its audiences.

The format is simple, therewill be 25 micro drama talescomposed with duration of 10minutes. The nano dramas will bebased on different themes andtitles. Out of 40, 25 plays havebeen shortlisted for the finalday.

As the audience’s attentionspan gets shorter, micro playsemerge as a creative alternative.According to Ajith, people don’thave time or desire to see a two-hour play anymore. The formathas to be fast. “Everybody is busyin life. If you are watching a play,even if you don’t like it you haveto watch it. Here it is for 10 min-utes, if you find it boring, it willchange in 10 minutes. Also everydrama starts with the micro ideaor a point,” he said.

Where did the idea of microdrama come from?

“A few years back, we stageda drama titled, Heart that wroteHistory. There were total 82artists and 20 technicians and itwas a two and a half hour play.We were trying to bring that playto Delhi but didn’t have thatmuch of money. I was friendswith a Malayali director and hewas in Delhi then. We thought tomeet him but couldn’t reach ontime because we were busy infund collection. He was veryupset with us and said, ‘why doyou have to stage a drama thatlong. Work on a 10 minutes playinstead.’ He said all of this angri-ly. And I took it seriously. Hislight-hearted remark got methinking. Knowing that audi-ence would not spend time ormoney to watch one mini play, wedecided to host a festival byinviting scripts of which theselected ones will be staged at the

event.“The specialty of the micro

drama festival is that any individ-ual can participate if he has thetalent, no funds are required. Theonly restriction in the duration,”he told us.

About his play,Chamaeleonidae, which is of 42seconds, Ajith said, “Initiallypeople mocked us. Instead ofentries, we received questionsabout the duration. This play isthe answer to all of it.”

He further added, “Change isthe only thing that doesn’tchange... But now-a-days eventhat has an abnormal change...Chamaeleonidae is a one manshow and shows what chameleonhas to say to people. With everydrama, there is a conclusion buthere we will let the audiencethink according to their visions.The play has just one dialogue.The show starts with thechameleon walking slowly onthe stage and as he sees theaudience, he gets irritated andsays that one dialogue and thenleaves the stage after changing thecolour.”

The event is dedicated to theveteran actor Om Puri and willalso be covered by Limca Book ofRecords

‘I'm soexcited,happy andproud. Ourfirst MarathimovieVentilator

won not one,not two, but

three National Awards.We made this film formy dad and I couldn'thave done it withoutMadhu Chopra and myproduction team. 75speaking actors! Welldone team.’—PRIYANKA CHOPRA

Brevity is the key

These short dramas nurture new talent and help create theatre audiences, says theorganiser and director of the inaugural play AJITH G MANIYAN. By TEAM VIVA

LIGHT AS A FEATHER

Soft, fluttery and deli-cate, ruffle a few

feathers with this eye-catching detailing donemeticulously on thesleeve hems andextended trains ofopulent skirts com-prising a stunning fallpalette. A touch ofvintage glamour iswhat every brideneeds.

THE MODERN CUT

Our summer favourite is here - thecrop top. In an innovative twist,

sexy off shoulder blouses paired withlehengas are as flirty and flattering asthe cold shoulder blouse.

THE TWENTIES

Breezy, flowing silhouettes andshimmery sequined dresses,

hit rewind to the fearless 1920sflapper trend. Paper-shredfringes on blouses, dresses,saris and lehengas should beon your wish list.

COLOURED CHIKANKARI

This season, the designeralso introduces chikan

embroidered cigarettepants for women, addinga subtle, elegant state-ment to the ensemble.The menswearrange further high-lights f loral,chikankari embroi-dery in bright huesof mustard, blue,sunset orange, yel-low, steel grey andblack for kurtas and sher-wanis . Quirky f loralfootwear provide a perfecttouch to elevate the sum-mer style.

RUFFLES & PLEATS

From a structuredflounce to all-over

cascading feminineruffles, spring’s state-ment pieces comewith a license to frill.After so many sea-sons of pleatsarrives the fairestof them all: Micro-pleats - delicate

and whisper-thin.

SPRING ROMANCE

De l i c a t etulle and

and sheer fab-rics in pastelshades let youdare to bare.Also trendingthis season isf l o r a l

applique, in anexotic array ofcolours.

Flavours of the seasonA celebratory amalgamation of classic chikankari embroidery and MANISH MALHOTRA’s signature contemporary touch, the designer predicts summer trends

Through a beautiful play of pastel hues of white, grey, beige, lilac, aqua and baby pink, Manish Malhotrashowcases an intricate design story of feathers, sequins, tassels, fringes, cold-shoulders and off-shoul-

der styles reminiscent of the fearless flapper trend of Spring 2017.Meticulously crafted, the range offers elaborately detailed jackets, dresses, saris and embroidered blous-

es, crop tops and opulent skirts along with flowing gowns replete with sheer breezy romance.For the modern man, the designer yet again, showcases an enchanting fusion of urban and tradition.

The new Menswear line is a classic compilation of well tailored and embroidered kurta-salwars, bandh galas,kurta-bandis along with drape-and- layer kurtas, replete with Indian Botanical Prints and skilful wovenelegance of chikankari in fresh hues.