˘ˇˆ˙˘˝˛˚˚˜ · bokaro superintendent of ... intervene in a prominent way. primarily...

��

��

��

��

�� !

�� !�"#��$%��$&��'�(�)��

��

��"�#��$ "��%�&��'()�'*+,

�� !��"�� #�� $��%��&�� '�� "��(��

�� !"�#��$�%��#��#��#��&' "!!'�(��!)* " !!* ��&��+��,-��.��/��0��.��1��-��#��#��23��45��+��#��5��+��#67#�-��38�569:*!!':**) !�#590�6��#6&;"*:*!!'��7#�<#�8�#95��#��;�!!5��+��%�� .��6��+��=��+�� >�� +%�-��>��+��$��0��?��+6��@�%��9�� %�.��%��A��-�6�.0��&;;!!!*��+!;;&"!;;!"BB��?��+C& ;��@�6?70��9��%��6-�&*!; !;�<��+!;*!&"'D)'!!>"'D))!!��.?��+"��C��-��C�E �#��.**@!;@�(��+!B**&* "@"" �* "@"""�* "@""B�

(��

Setting up of paddy pro-curement centres in

Palamu, which is a notifieddrought hit district, has raisedhopes that all is not lost onfood front here in this pover-ty stricken district.

Shantanu KumarAgrahari DC Palamu said,“We have set up 13 PPC (paddy procurement centres)in Palamu and these centreswill become operational byDecember 1.”

The 13 PPCs are atBishrampur, Chainpur,C h hate r pu r, D a l tong anj ,Haidernagar, Harihurganj,Hussainabad, Lesl iganj,Manatu, Pandu, Panki, Patonand Satbarwa blocks saidPalamu district civil suppliesofficer Neeraj Singh.

Agrahari said, “Althoughour district is a governmentdeclared drought hit districtthere are certain chunks herewhich have spectacular paddycrop and farmers have thisopportunity to bring theirpaddy to our PPC for a has-sle free trading of it.” The pro-

curement price of paddy is1,750 per quintal with incen-tive money of 200 rupees perquintal too said sources.

The DC, advising farm-ers, said, “We understandthere may be dubious peoplearound tel l ing farmersadverse things about PPC orthey may spread a canard oftoo many hardships in gettingthe price of paddy and so Iadvise our read farmers not tolend their ears to these dubi-ous people as buying price ofthe paddy will be sent to thebank accounts of the farmersthrough RTGS and not at allthrough cash or throughcheque.”

Sources said administra-tion has made a fool proofarrangement for paddy pro-curement as in the past threeor four years there had comecomplaints of farmers ofBihar living on the fringe ofthis district Palamu whichhas its porous borders withBihar, pushing their paddyhere at PPC by manipulatingland records, Aadhar cards,PAN cards and yield recordetc

�� (�� !�"#�

At least 15 to 20 peopleengaged in illegal mining in

abandoned coal mines ofRasberwa forest area ofUpparghat in Bokaro districtwere feared killed when a wall ofthe mine caved in on Tuesday.

Confirming the incident,local villagers said that two per-sons were killed and three oth-ers were seriously injured, while10 persons are still trapped.

Bokaro superintendent ofpolice Kartik S expressed hisinability to give the exact num-ber of people killed or trappedunder the debris and said that arescue operation had beenlaunched to extricate the trappedpersons, but they couldn't locatethe exact site of the accident. TheSP said that that the exact casu-alty figures could be available

only after the debris will beremoved.

Villagers said that the acci-dent occurred on Sunday nightat 11pm when two dozen vil-lagers from Tupkadih andNawadih entered the minethrough several holes that hadbeen dug to extract coal illegal-ly from an area.

Two hours after the vil-lagers entered the mine, themain path collapsed, perhapsdue to negligence. Those whowere outside raised an alarmdrawing several residents tojoin in rescue efforts.Eyewitnesses said thosetrapped could be heard shout-ing for help. Three villagerswho were badly injured man-aged to come put fled thescene fearing arrest for takingpart in what is essentially anillegal operation.

��

(�� "��$%

Indian Institute of NaturalResins and Gums (IINRG)

organized a lecture, whereinRajyogi Rajendra Ji deliveredtalk on “Kisan Sashaktikaranaur Yogic Kheti: RajayogaMeditation” here onWednesday. Rajendra ji isassociated with a sister con-cern of PrajapitaBrahmakumari IshwariyaVishwavidyalaya. He sharedhis experience of work he hascarried out in the field ofimprovised agriculture withunique techniques of incor-porating

The Rajyogi delivered talkon Yogic Agriculture andemphasized the need of yogicpractices in performing agri-culture activities. He suggest-ed that farmers should betrained to infuse positive atti-tude in carrying out farmactivities. He shared folkloreabout how dancing andsinging while performingfarm activites in the oldendays made our country flour-ish in agriculture. He also gave

information on instances ofhow Yogic practices haveimproved farm produce. Itwas informed that GBPUA&T,Pantnagar has taken up aresearch activity to studyeffect of yogic practices onagriculture production andproductivity. He shared howsome Indigenous organic for-mulation comprising cowdung, cow urine, asafetida,Neem oil etc. as organic sub-stitutes to insecticides, pesti-cides and fertilizers and/ormanure have shown actualresults on farm productionwhen they have been per-formed the Yogic way.

Five other members ofthe organization graced theevent along. Scientists andother staffs of the Instituteattended the same. LacProduction Division orga-nized the event with majorwork carried out by ShrutiSinha, Dr. S. Ghosal, Dr.Nirmal Kumar, Dr. N. K.Sinha and Dr. Anjesh. The lec-ture was one of its kind andgave a different thoughtdimension to agriculture.

��

(��)��*�

In a wake to the continued stirby Jharkhand Para teachers

Association, personnel of CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF) 172battalion have taken up chalksand dusters to educate kids inschools of the district. Para-teachers’ strike has severelyaffected education at govern-ment schools across the district.

CRPF Commandant SNMishra said, “In a bid to exem-plify that CRPF is always com-mitted to serving the people inevery possible way, securityforces are teaching the schoolstudents since their educationwas getting affected due to thestrike by the para teachers.”

“A dozen personnel of CRPFhave been deployed to teach thestudents in four schools includ-ing upgraded middle school,Barkol, primary school Bargarh, primary school Madgari Chand primary school Kalyanpurunder the district, “ Mishrainformed.

“Sensing the seriousness ofsituation, CRPF decided tointervene in a prominent way.Primarily dealing with gunsand explosives, they undertookan unfamiliar charter of penand chalk.

��

(�� "��$%

Prominent candidate overthe vacant Kolebira

Assembly seat and leader ofJharkhand Party Menon Ekkahas sought ‘blessings’ of JMMpatriarch Shibu Soren andclaimed to have got it as well.

Menon Ekka is the wife ofunseated MLA Enos Ekka whopaid a visit to Guruji onWednesday seeking support ofthe party that had earlierexpressed willingness to contestthe bypoll under the umbrellaof united coalition minus theJharkhand party.

“I came here to pay myrespect to Guruji and seek hisblessings. I got his blessings. Hehas assured to me that the JMM

would not field its candidate atKolebira,” said Menon Ekkaafter meeting the president ofthe JMM. She also expressedhope that she would be getting

backing from other parties inthe grand alliance comprisingCongress, JVM and the Left.

“Talks with all the partieswould take place after this. Win

of the Opposition can beensured if we all come togeth-er against the BJP,” added Ekkawho would file her nominationon Thursday. Moreover the

JMM officially distanced itselffrom the statement and insteadauthorised executive presidentof the party Hemant Soren fortaking any final call.

“There is no official wordon this until Hemant Sorentakes a call. He had been autho-rised by Guruji to decide can-didate at the seat,” said partyspokesperson Vinod KumarPandey. No word on this hascome from other parties in thecamp either.

On the other the BJP ridi-culing the development termed

the step cowardice on the partof the JMM. “The step isenough to suggest that theJMM has lost its ground inJharkhand and they knew itvery well. Menon Ekka meet-ing with Shibu Soren is not justa coincidence but it a wellthought out step to evade thesure defeat. The parties incoalition panicked looking atcertain defeat and at the lastmoment they brought theJharkhand Party candidate onthe front,” said State BJPspokesperson Pratul Shahdeo.

He, at the same time,expressed confidence that thestep would have no bearing onthe outcome of the byepoll. “Itis not a matter of concern forthe BJP whether they fighttogether or otherwise. BJPwould contest the electionwith full force and would winthis as well. But the suddenshift has exposed the JMMbefore the voters,” addedShahdeo.

�� !�

�� !�� " �

! &�"%�%�'�� ##�(�" $��)�!�*%��

(�� "��$%

Urban Development,Housing and Transport

Minister CP Singh todaytermed ‘Housing for All’ a rev-olutionary step taken byPrime Minister NarendraModi. Speaking at a confer-ence titled ‘Affordable housingsummit cum expo- housingthe future’ organized byIndian Chambers ofCommerce (ICC) in associa-tion with Pranami group and

Bank of Baroda (BoB) hementioned that the concept of‘Smart City’ will primarilyfocus on providing afford-able and cheap houses.

The primary motive of theconference was to provideaccess to housing for the eco-nomically deprived urbanpopulation under PradhanMantri Awas Yojna(PMAY).

Speaking as chief guest ofthe program Singh stressed onthe effort of the Governmentof India (GoI) for providingaffordable residence of thecitizens of the nation.

Stressing on the need ofaffordable housing, GeneralManager (GM), BoB RajendraKumar, said, “Statistics revealthat the nation requires twolakhs affordable houses, butwe still lag behind in this con-cern. We are working in closecoordination with the GoI to

fulfill the PM’s aspirations”. Herequested the builders to col-laborate with the BoB.

Bijay Kumar Agarwal,Managing Director, PranamiGroup discussed about theefforts taken by the PranamiGroup to support the govern-ment. “We have planned amassive range of affordablehouses”, added Agarwal.

Addressing the gathering,Secretar y of UrbanDevelopment and HousingDepartment, Ajay KumarSingh, said, “India is facingacute shortage of houses andalmost 45 per cent of thetotal population of the coun-try is compelled to live inslums.

The scheme envisionedby our PM is aimed at pro-viding affordable houses andwe are actively working in thisfield.” He praised the afford-

able housing policy planned inthe year 2016 by the state gov-ernment.

The event was concludedby the ‘Vote of thanks’ pre-sented by Bal Krishna Singh,Regional Director, ICCJharkhand. Singh acknowl-edged each and everyone whowere actively engaged in mak-ing this event a grand success.

�� !��"!��#

#��$�%� �� &�'�� ('�)&�*�*��+��&��$��&��'��*�+��,� ��-��.��(.��)��,��*��*��(*�*)�� !�� /�

(�� "��$%

Food, Civic Supplies andConsumer Affairs Minister

Saryu Roy today met GovernorDroupadi Murmu and discussedsome of the important issues ofthe State including the Parateachers issue and Shah Brothersissues apart from the worksbeing done under his depart-ment.

Speaking to media personsafter the meeting Roy said thathe apprised the Governor of theworks being done under hisdepartment. He said that theissue on MSP for paddy was alsodiscussed with the Governor.

“I also apprised her of mymeeting with Chief Secretaryand School EducationSecretary. I think that we shouldstart afresh leaving all prejudiceand make a new beginning onthe issue. Till now the talks wereon official level. If a Cabinet

level sub-committee is madeand talks begin then we may getpositive results,” he said.

“We can tell them aboutthe financial burden of the Stateand the technical issues aswell. They (para teachers) havebeen bearing for so long fromthe year 2000 to 2018 so theycan also bear for a couple ofmore years. I told the governorthat I am trying my best to geta Cabinet sub-committeeformed on the issue. It willsurely be sorted out,” addedRoy.

��

(�� "��$%

As many as 29 contestantsfrom Dr. Shyama Prasad

Mukherjee University(DSPMU) will contest the stu-dents’ union poll being con-ducted for the first time here.The university on Wednesdayreleased the final list of the con-testants gearing up to fight inthe upcoming poll. As per theuniversity officials, after thefinal scrutiny, nominations of11 candidates have been can-celled while four of them with-drew their names.

“After examining the doc-uments of all the candidates forfive posts, only 29 candidateshave been found fit for con-testing election. Earlier, asmany as 44 students have filedtheir nominations to contestelection for different posts –

president, vice-president, gen-eral secretary, joint secretarycum treasurer and deputy sec-retary,” said the DSPMUOfficer (PR).

Meanwhile, DSPMU gear-ing to conduct its first students’union election on December 4had completed its process of fil-ing the nominations on varsi-ty campus on November 26.“According to the final list, sixcandidates have been short-listed for the post of president.Similarly, for the post of vice-president also six contestantswill contest the election. For thepost of secretary, joint secretaryand deputy secretary as manyas eight, six and three contes-tants respectively will contestthe election,” said an official ofDSPMU.

Notably, more than 2000students will cast vote from the

newly constructed DSPMUthis year while approximately1.5 lakh voters of RanchiUniversity (RU) will choosetheir representatives in thethird students’ union poll.

Over 15,000 voters alonefrom Doranda College affiliat-ed under RU will cast vote. Asper the university senior offi-cials, if any student does havetheir respective college ID cardswith them, even then, he or shewill be allowed to cast vote.

Meanwhile, RU Officer(PR) stated that so far 13, 11and nine candidates have beenfound eligible to contest elec-tion for the post of president,vice-president and secretaryrespectively from RU. “Thefinal lists of the contestants willbe released on November 29 at4 PM,” said RU Officer (PR),Dr. Prakash Kumar Jha.

� ��

��(��)��,��%��0�� $ ��#��!�� 1��

(�� "��$%

Elaborate security arrange-ments would be in place to

ensure safety of thousands ofdelegates from India andabroad who would be arrivingin the State capital for theGlobal Agriculture and FoodSummit to be held at Khelgaonin Ranchi on November 29 and30.

“Five SP rank officerswould be deputed around thevenue for law and order duty.

The security ring would bemore officer-oriented with alarge part of the deployed per-sonnel being of the rank of sub-inspectors and above,” saidRanchi SSP Anish Gupta.

The officers would beresponsible for interacting withthe delegates and guiding them,he added.

The SSP informed that theparticipants would be frisked atthe entry gates adding severalmaterials would not be allowed.The district administrationwould also create a space fordepositing belongings of theentrants at the gate. The equip-ment to be taken inside by thejournalists would also be reg-ulated.

The administration said

that a special traffic plan wouldbe in place for the Khelgaonarea during the event. Thebusses carrying the farmersfrom distant places would bestationed at the JAP 10 ground.Passes would be issued for theparking of vehicles. The bypassroute would be the main routeused by the visitors.

Ranchi DC Rai MahimapatRay stated that elaboratearrangement has been maderegarding traffic and law andorder. “I request the framer notto bring items which could notbe kept safely,” he said. Citizensshould have ample time intheir hands while crossing theKhelgaon area in case they getcaught in atraffic congestion,the DC said.

��

#�+�,�� "-�.��,��-/��+-�

(�/�� &,��+0��,-++��-�� %��+1��+0��-/�0��-��0

��+!��#��(�!#��!#��,��!"��-��. �� ,�0��0��!%��-��-+0��-��+�-��-+,�-��,��,�-��+.��,��+��2�,��-.�,�+�!��3

��/��((!��(��+�-��4 ��/�+0� ��+��,��+��-�+��0��,��.�+�-��'+�-+�&�� /��-..�,,�-+3

01 �1!,��)��,��(��!��,��-��. ��,�/�+5��5-�0��6�,��0��0��7�/�+��+�-��8,��.�+�9��:�-��,��0�-+�)�0+�,0��3�$�+��,�-+��-�+��,�03

23��*�,��(��+!!��!""��!��-��. ��#�+�,��/�+0;�7��6��-+�)�0+�,0��-�0��0��,�,��+,�-+�-��8,��--0�+0�,��,��-..�,,�-+��-/��0��,��+��-+,�,��.3

��2��2��)�� )��$%�

The Government plans toappoint an Officer on

Special Duty (OSD) of aDirector General rank officerin the CBI if the SupremeCourt decides for a furtherprobe against incumbent AlokVerma against whom the CVChas recorded “very uncompli-mentary” findings with regardto allegations of corruption.

Sources said the move isbeing mulled amid a policyparalysis in the CBI that is nowheaded by Joint Director rank

officer M Nageswara Rao. TheSC has barred Rao from tak-ing any major policy decisiontill a decision is taken onVerma’s petition challengingthe Government’s move tosend him on forced leave anddivesting him of supervisoryrole in the agency in view ofthe CVC probe against him ona complaint from SpecialDirector Rakesh Asthana.

The appointment of anOSD does not require nod ofthe collegium headed by thePM and comprising the ChiefJustice of India and Leader ofOpposition in the Lok Sabha.

!"��+��!!4�� $<��"�!��

People’s Front, the grandalliance of Opposition in

Telangana, received a big shotin the arm on Wednesday asCongress president RahulGandhi and Andhra PradeshChief Minister and TeluguDesam Party president NChandrababu Naidu for thefirst time addressed a jointelection rally and vowed tothrow out the TelanganaRashtra Samiti Government inDecember 7 polls. Theyaccused TRS chief of failing todeliver the poll promises.

“This rally makes a historicbeginning of the Oppositionunity. First the Oppositionalliance would defeat the Bteam of BJP (TRS) inTelangana and then we willdefeat the A team in Delhi”,Rahul said.

�"�� #��$%��&'(

2�"��,,�((�� $��%

Twenty five years after hisdemise, a work detailing

the visionary zeal and far-sighted leadership qualities ofJRD Tata, the former chief ofthe Tata Group, will hit bookshelves on Friday.

It was on November 29,1993, JRD Tata, Jeh to friendsand close associates, breathedhis last at the age of 89. He isthe one who should bedescribed as a legend. It maysound sad, but the work is alsoan elegy to Air India, the air-line launched, nurtured andtook care of by JRD.

The Tata Group: FromTorchbearers to Trailblazers is

an account by Shashank Shah,fellow and project director atHarvard University’s SouthAsia Institute. Shah has nar-rated how the Tata Groupemerged as India’s largest andmost globalised business con-glomerate known for its prod-ucts ranging from salt, soft-ware, cars, communications,housing, hospitality, steel andgold with over 100 companiesoffering products and servicesacross 150 countries and7,00,000 employees contribut-ing a revenue of US$ 100 bil-lion. But what makes the vol-ume unique is his descriptionof how the policy makersgoofed up the opportunitiesoffered by the Tatas, especial-

ly JRD, make India the numerouno in global aviation industry.

JRD, who was the firstIndian to acquire a commercialpilot licence in the country, hada passion for flying and helaunched the Tata Airlines inApril 1932. The companyexcelled in the market withprofits shooting up from Rs66,000 to Rs 6 lakh in five years.

The Tata Sons established AirIndia International in October1947 for onternational air ser-vice to London. On June 8,1948, Malabar Princess, a 40-seater Lockheed Constellationaircraft purchased by Air IndiaInternational took off fromMumbai to London markingIndia’s arrival in the globalaviation map.

“Over the years, Air Indiadeveloped a fine reputationfor its high-class on-board ser-vice that was talked about withadmiration and envy by itsglobal competitiors. In the1950s, when British Airwaysintroduced a jet service that cuta few hours off the trip, pas-sengers still preferred to fly by

Air India’s slower propeller-dri-ven aircraft, simply because ofthe way they were pamperedon-board.

�� !�$�%��&�'��

�� '��"�� 2� �� !�� 2.

��"�"��(��'��)��

(��"��$%

The Global Agriculture andFood Summit will open

the doors of foreign shores forvegetables and other agricul-ture products which are pro-duced by the farmers ofJharkhand, said Chief MinisterRaghubar Das here onWednesday.

During the interaction withsenior journalists at ChiefMinister's residence he said thatJharkhand was the second Statein the country to host event ofsuch a magnitude as earlier it hasbeen held only in Gujarat. Hesaid that even in the undividedBihar there was no global sum-mit on agriculture and this is thefirst such summit being organ-ised in Jharkhand since theState came into existence.

Das said that in the era ofknowledge one must think ofways as to how the income ofthe farmers can be doubled, thecost of agriculture is reducedand productivity is maximizedand ultimately the income ofthe farmers is increased. Hesaid that the Global Agricultureand Food Summit was an eventfor the entire State and not forthe government alone andasked the people to extendtheir full cooperation to ensurethe event is a huge success.

The CM said that like theMomentum Jharkhand whichwas held in February last yearthe doors of Global Agricultureand Food Summit would alsobe opened for the commonpeople who can witness theexhibitions and the stalls whichhave been put up at the venuefrom 4pm to 8 pm and theirentry is free of cost.

Das said that his governmentwas committed to make thefarmers technologically advancedand as part of strengtheningtheir know how two batches ofthe farmers were sent to Israel tolearn the modern methods ofagriculture and again a batch of100 farmers including 50 womenwould be sent toIsrael/Philippines to learn themodern methods of agriculture.

He said that during histravel across the state he hascome to notice that it is the

women who are doing themost of the work in the agri-culture and animal husbandrysector especially the women inthe tribal areas therefore thewomen farmers needed to beencouraged further. Mr Dassaid that to remove poverty andunemployment the State gov-ernment has focused on layinga network of small and cottageindustries in the state.

Das recalled his visit toChina where he visited Henanprovince and interacted withthe farmers involved in coop-erative farming and also visit-ed food processing plants in thearea and said that the farmersin Jharkhand needed to adoptthose methods. He said that theevent was also an opportunityto open the eyes of youth whoare migrating in search of jobsthat they needed to take upagriculture and becomeemployers by using the modern

methods and technologies.Agriculture Secretary

Pooja Singhal earlier briefed

about the event and shared thedetails of the foreign partici-pants and the goals and objec-

tives behind organizing theevent. She said that tomorrowfoundation would be laid for 50

food processing companies inwhich over all an investment of271 crore would be made and

it would create direct and indi-rect employment for more than6000 people. Principal

Secretary to Chief MinisterSunil Kumar Barnwal was alsopresent on the occasion.

%�� &��*��!��+��,��"��&��-.�� "�� /0��

(�� "��$%

Stage is set for the first everGlobal Agriculture and

Food summit being organizedin the country at Khelgaon inRanchi on November 29 and30. More than 10,000 farmersand over 2,000 delegates along-with scores of national andinternational companies in thefield of agriculture and foodprocessing will participate inthe two-day mega event slatedto begin here on Thursday.

Union Minister forAgriculture Radha MohanSingh will inaugurate the sum-mit as the Chief Guest on theoccasion in the presence ofChief Minister Raghubar Das,Union Ministers from the Stateand Cabinet Ministers of theState government.

The government expectsthat the summit will provide ahuge platform to all stakehold-

ers of agri-ecosystem to show-case the vast agriculture andfood processing potential ofJharkhand and simultaneouslynetwork with policy makers,agri equipment manufactur-ers, academicians, agri star-tups, agri ecosystem companies.To develop a chain that makescontinuity of supply of products

from farm to market and theaim of the summit is to doublethe income farmer by 2022.

More than 50 delegatesfrom foreign countries willtake part in the programme.The delegates from five partnercountries including Israel,China, Philippines, Tunisia andMongolia will participate in the

event. Morocco will be thefocused country in the event.

After the inaugural sessionsix sectoral seminars will beheld on various themes such asagricultural equipments, organ-ic farming, agri startup and agriecosystem companies. Oneeach sectoral seminar will beheld by China and Israel.

(�� "��$%

Following the encouragingshow of the CM Laxmi

Ladli Yojna the StateGovernment has gone aheadintroducing new scheme for thegirl children of Jharkhand. Thenew scheme named as ChiefMinister Sukanya Yojna isexpected to be rolled out fromJanuary 1next year to provideperiodical encouragements forbetter upbringing to girl childtill the time of her marriage.

Announcing about thescheme on Wednesday ChiefMinister Raghubar Das saidthat 26 lakh families would bebenefitted by this. “CM SukanyaYojna would be started fromnew year in Jharkhand. We arepreparing for this. About 26lakh families enumerated underthe Social, Economic and Castecensus would be financiallybenefited so that girls are nottreated like a burden and theycan grow on equal footings,”said the CM during the launchof roadmap for eradication ofchild marriage in associationwith Unicef.

Terming the menace as ablot on the State the CM saidthat certain financial assis-tances would be provided tothe families beginning from thebirth of a girl child till her mar-riage at the age of 18 year.

“Financial assistances would becredited to the bank accountsof the beneficiaries throughDBT at the time of the birth,again when she goes into 11thclass. When she attains 18years of age, a pump sumamount would be given for hermarriage expenses,” said theCM explaining the model.

He also called on contribu-tions from all stakeholders whileunderlining poor performanceof five districts namely Godda,Deoghar, Koderma, Giridih andPalamu and directed officials tohold awareness programmesand rallies over there to gener-ate public awareness.

“Poverty, migration, mal-nutrition besides child mar-riage have been major concernsfor the State and it went up dur-ing 14 years of mismanage-ment. We took up all thesemenaces as challenge soonafter coming to power and I amhappy that figures of infantmortality rate, maternal mor-tality rate and other indicatorshave recorded considerableprogress in last four years,” saidthe CM while recalling the con-tribution of women in everywalk of life.

Also present on the occa-sion was Yasmin Ali Haquewho lauded the role played bythe State Government in mit-igating child marriage cases.

��$�&�!��3�� $�%� ��/��&�� 2��&�$�%� ��$��2�,��&�� *��,� &�&�$�� +��*�� !�� /�

� ��!"�� #��

��$�� ,�� ,�� !��%�� 2�� 45678��9��,�&�� !�� 1��

1��/-2��#��*3#��++��(!�� !$�&��

Amid Congress’ claim thatsome EVMs malfunc-

tioned, Madhya Pradesh onWednesday witnessed around75 per cent turnout in theAssembly polls — 3 per centhigher than that in the lastAssembly elections in 2013.

Chief Electoral Officer VLKantha Rao told the media,“Till 6 pm, the State has record-ed 75 per cent polling. Thismay increase, as polling inseveral areas was still on.”

He said 883 ballot unitswere replaced following snags,while 881 central units had tobe changed and 2,126 VVPATswere replaced across the State.In Bhopal, 53 ballot units, 74VVPATs and 45 control unitswere replaced, Rao said. Thereplacements were fewer thanthose in the recent Karnatakapolls.

The polling was delayed atseveral polling booths aftervoting machines could notfunction properly.

In Naxal-hit Balaghat, theLanjhi seat recorded 79 percent voting, Paraswada 80 percent while Baihar saw 78 percent voter turnout and thepolling concluded by 3pm in

the remote area.On the demands for re-

polling, Rao said candidatescould submit applications toReturning Officers and theywould be forwarding all thosepleas to the Election

Commission for the final deci-sion on the matter.

The commission receivedover 3,000 complaints throughCVigil app; out of these, 1,000were found fake and the rest ofthem are being looked into.

Rao said although thepolling was by and large peace-ful, Bhind district reportedmany cases of violent clashesduring polling as locals report-edly fired in the air and cap-tured a polling booth inMachhand village. The mis-creants damaged the EVMs inRaipura and polling was dis-rupted for a while.

However, Rao denied theseallegations and said no incidentof booth capturing was report-ed.

The polling in the morninghad started on a positive notebut the voters’ turnout wentdown as the day progressed butthe tempo somehow was main-tained till 5pm.

Poll boycott was witnessedat several places, includingSatna, but the ElectionCommission officers deniedhaving reports of these inci-dents. Close to 5.04 crore vot-ers voted to decide the fate of2,899 candidates onWednesday.

'�%��,��

�$%�(��"��((%��"�9��;��$�

"��$��#��%�:=�%��2�&#:��$�

��$� "��"��>?�&�"��&��%��3��$% #�<�%��"�� :��

&��%��%�� 9�"��"�� )� � �%��3@��$��&��%��)� ��<�� 9�"��&��%��!��$ ��(��"

9��%��#��$%�� '��('��%��

&"�&�"�<

��

A��&�-+�� --13�-.B0��-+��

�� !

)$*+��,

#! ��""%9� �(�"��C� '##%��#%��;$� $��%�#'"��"�('"�"�

$�(-($-�.D�"�� '#�

��#�

%�$*/��0 '9��' :�#��%�<

%�� 2

�+,��.3�-.B0��-+��B

��

�-.��/0��1��!��

��

��

�� !�"#��$%��$&��'�(�)��5

�!"��#!$��%�#%&'#(�)�*�+,!&-.�/(/!0(�1

�� !"#�!$%& ��$

(�� # $��&'"

The Singhbhum Chamberof Commerce and

Industry has written to PMNarendran Modi to takeimmediate steps to curbactivities of online tradingcompanies. Vijay AnandMoonka, hony general secre-tary has written to Modi thatthe online trading companiesare offering lucrative and dueto which the business of smalltraders is being hit.

“We want the govern-ment to pay attention to thisand get the solut ion.Otherwise, traders will beforced to close their business.This will harm the govern-ment revenue and unem-ployment will also increase,”he said.

He said that e commercecompanies attract customersto buy goods by offering dif-ferent types of discounts. Therates of goods sold by themare much lower than that oftraditional traders. There arealso reports of selling coun-terfeit products to consumers.With the growing trend of e-commerce companies, tradersfrom the traditional shopwill have to stop their busi-ness and unemployment willincrease in the country. Withthe arrival of e-commercecompanies in the market,there has been a significantreduction in the trade of tra-ditional shops.

��.�,��

�� "��"�#��$ "��%�&��'()�'*+,

%&�'()*,3(�*��6�!�!��#,7��1��)��-��.��-1� �+,��1��&��E� &F:��-+,��+��-��! &5��0��:�-+�)�0+�,0��,��0��6��+-��+�G0�,�-+-��G�,��5,��+��+��.�+��+�!��-��-1 ��-+,3� ��1�+�� &H,��I��-�+0��0��+��-+��:�&��.�+��!-��0��.�+�-��&�,6�+�,��0��6�� E'F7-�+�+��+��,��.�:��! &��+��,��+��6��/��-�.�1��.-��07�,�.�+�,�-��,��,3

��# ��!��+��-��.�� .��-��,��+�0��.��0��-/��+.�+��-+�)�0+�,0��-.��+,��+��0�,��-��-�-��,:�6��,�/��,-��,�-��+��6��-��-/��+��+��-��0-��/��+�,��0�6��-��-��H,��-��.�,,�-+3

��1�"��)��(��*��"��2�-��.�%+0��H,��.��-+��"�,��-��-�� %"5%+,��-��#��-��+-�-��E� %"5%#��$F��,�+1�0��6��#��1:��0�+��.�+�,��+��+0��+-�-��-.��+�:��-��,��,��J��5�+0,1��0�/��-�.�+��+��H��,��.�,�,��+��+0��3�%��6��,��+0��+�%+0��+,��0�+�,��+0��,��,��+��,��,��+��+-�-��,��+0.�1��.��+0�,��0�:�� %"�,��.�+��,��0��3�

)!��"� ��"(!��(��"��,��-��.��"�,��0��&��.��E"�&F:�6��-��0,��-��-.�/�,��+��-��0�-��-+,�6��-��.�,,�-+:.��.�-,�0��+��-�� +��+��,��+0�6��+�.��+�6�,�1��0��.�.��,-��-��0��+0��,�/��:�-��,�,��0�-+)�0+�,0��3

�)��!��!��2��,�� -��.�� .��-��-+�)�0+�,0��,��0��-+��+��+��E��F�0��-+��-6�+��,��-+�-��+��-��,�0�,��,��+;�,��:��-��-��,�0�,��+��-+��+�$�.��&��0�,�:��+��+/��-+.�+��-.��+,��-+3

(�� *��,��

The CBI on Wednesday con-ducted searches at 26 loca-

tions spread across 6 States at thepremises of officials working inthe National Institute of OpenSchooling (NIOS), ex-officials ofNIOS, study centres and privatepersons in an on-going investi-gation of a case relating to large-scale bungling in the conduct ofClass X and Class XII examina-tions.

The searches were con-ducted at Bhopal, Sehore,Ratlam, Umaria (all in MadhyaPradesh); in New Delhi;

Fatehabad and Faridabad(Haryana); Bhubaneswar andGanjam (Odisha); Guwahati,Kamrup and Lakhimpur(Assam) and Gangtok (Sikkim)

"During searches, around200 items such as hard disk dri-ves, mobile phones and variousincriminating documentsincluding admit cards, vouchers,passbooks, mark sheets, chequebooks, seals, diaries, answersheets of NIOS, paymentsreceived from candidates, feespayment made to NIOS andseating plan of examination hallamong others were recovered, aCBI spokesperson said.

CBI had registered the caseon July 23 this year under vari-ous Sections of the Indian PenalCode including criminal con-spiracy and cheating amongothers besides provisions of thePrevention of Corruption Act.

The case was registered onthe complaint of Ministry ofHuman Resource Developmenton the allegations that there wasmalpractices in the conduct ofexamination with respect tolarge number of students(around 1800) in the class X andXII examinations, conductedby National Institute of OpenSchooling (NIOS) in April, 2017.

(�� )��$%

Months after makingpremises of its headquar-

ters here, Nirman Bhawan, atobacco-free zone, the UnionHealth Ministry has now askedall the State Governments andother Central Governmentdepartments to initiate similarmove in all their buildings toprotect public health.

Union Health SecretaryPreeti Sudan in her recent let-ter to all the State Governmentpointed out the health threatsof tobacco, saying that its useis highly detrimental to health.It is a major risk factor for can-cer, cardiovascular diseases(CVD, diabetes, chronic lungdisease, stroke), infertility,blindness, tuberculosis (TB),oral cavity etc, she said. "Thus,in the interest of public healthand with a view to keep thebuilding clean, contributing

towards the "Swachh BharattSwasth Bharat" campaign ini-tiative was taken. As suchsmoking and spitting of tobac-co in the premise of NirmanBhawan is prohibited and is apunishable offence.

" In this regard, it would beappropriate that all governmentbuildings/offices of yourState/UT are made tobacco freein-order to protect publichealth," said the Health Secretaryto her counterparts in the States.

To protect non-users frominvoluntary exposure to tobac-co smoke, smoking in publicplace which includes all publicoffices, workplaces, canteenetc has been banned as perSection 4 of the Cigarettes andother Tobacco products(Prohibition of Advertisementand Regulations of Trade andCommerce Production, Supplyand Distribution) Act(COTPA),2003.

��3 !�� )��$%

With an eye to the LokSabha polls that are just

months away, the Union HealthMinistry is reaching out to thepeople to disseminate informa-tion about its schemes such asAyushmaan Bharat throughhealth melas to be organisedacross the country. The Ministryhas kept aside �150 crore for thepurpose.

The Ministry will be dolingout �12 lakh to every Memberof Parliament (MP) to hold thetwo-day fair in their con-stituencies. This is for the firsttime that the Modi Governmenthas kept separate allocation forthe purpose.

The Ministry has been inthe past holding health melas atvarious places, popularity ofwhich has prompted the elect-ed representatives of Parliament,Central Ministers and StateGovernments for such fairs in

their constituencies and States."The requests express

urgency in holding these melasin their areas. In view of this, theMinistry has decided to hold anannual health mela in all LokSabha and Rajya SabhaConstituencies across the coun-try. The aim is to create aware-ness among the people about itshealth programmes and provide

screening for non-communica-ble diseases," said a senior offi-cial from the Ministry.

"The melas will increasehealth awareness, make bene-ficieries aware of Governmenthealth schemes, provide screen-ing for non communicable dis-eases and also help people inadopting positive health behav-iour e.g quitting to smoke," headded.

The official reasoned thatholding health melas and fairswhere information on variousdiseases along with their pre-ventive measures can be pro-vided, along with other health-care services have been found tobe popular with the masses.They are also a potent vehiclefor creating awareness about dif-ferent schemes and programs ofthe Government, not just of theHealth Ministry, said the official.

According to the financialguidelines for health melasdrawn up by the Ministry, "The

support for each Health Melafrom National Health Missionshall be �12 lakh per con-stituency/nodal district ofMember of Parliament — LokSabha/Rajya Sabha respective-ly. The health melas shall beorganised under the flagshipprogramme of National HealthMission of the Health Ministry.The Centre state funding pat-tern will be 60:40 per cent fornon-hill States and 90:10 percentage for hill States."

These health melas envisageattracting lakhs of people desir-ing to avail quality health careservices with essential patho-logical tests and medicines. Themelas will also help in inform-ing people about the varioushealth programs being carriedout by the Central Government,State Government, NGOs etc.and the different systems ofmedicine (Allopathy,Homeopathy, Ayurveda andUnani etc), the official added.

��3��2�"�� )��$%

With farm fires in Delhi'sneighbouring States

causing severe air pollution inthe Capital, the Centre has setup a high-level committee tosuggest specific varieties ofcrops other than paddy inareas where crop burning ishigher. Additional SecretaryNagesh Singh of the Ministryof Rural Development willhead the committee.

"It has been observed thatdistricts having larger areaunder paddy have reportedfewer farm fire incidents andvice versa. Area-specificapproach needs to be imple-mented. This means the com-mittee should look into otheralternatives rather than paddy,"said officials on condition ofanonymity.

As per data, as many as60,792 incidents of farm firestook place till November 12this year as compared to 69,387during the same period in2017.

The high number of cropfires — 57,756 as per NASAdata till November 15 in Punjaband Haryana this year as com-pared with 55,404 last year.

The data says howeverthere was reduction in farmfires of 12.39 per cent despitespending over �557 crore inthree States. As per data, 49,398incidents reported of farmfires in Punjab; 6,817 inHaryana and 4,577 in UP.

Top sources said that thecommittee has been asked tomake assessments of the num-ber of agri machinery distrib-

uted in Haryana, Punjab andUttar Pradesh; assessment andimpact of the machinery usedby the farmers; assessment ofthe benefits accrued to thefarmers; suggesting alternativemore remunerative and advan-tageous scheme use of cropresidue in respective States andrecommendation of otherinputs for making long termpolicy.

The other members of thecommittee include DDG(Engg) ICAR, PrincipalSecretaries of agriculturedepartments of

Punjab,Haryana and UttarPradesh and Joint Secretary ofAgriculture Ministry.

NASA satellites show farmfires in Punjab was higher thisyear than in 2017. Just four dis-tricts in the state recorded analmost 30 per cent rise in cropfires while all the rest registereda decrease, eight districts bymore than 25 per cent, accord-ing to Indian satellite data withthe Government.

The four districts of Punjabwhere burning increased thisyear are Ferozepur ( up by 42per cent), Muktsar (38 percent),Moga (13 per cent) andBhatinda (12 per cent). Stubbleburning in neighbouringPunjab and Haryana is one ofthe major causes for poor airquality in Delhi. The air qual-ity index (AQI) was recordedat a high 642 this year.This yeartoo, the pollution level spikedto "severe-plus emergency"level due to rampant burning offirecrackers leading to the for-mation of blanket of smokeacross Delhi.

�� *(��)+,�)-,%)��

(�� )��$%

Only 25 lakh houses out ofthe 80 lakh houses sanc-

tioned in the last three yearsunder the Centre's flagshipPradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(Urban) are expected to becompleted by 2019, when theModi-led dispensation goes topeople presenting its reportcard seeking a return to power.

The Government has set atarget of 1 crore houses to beconstructed in urban areasfrom 2015 to 2022, whichmeans a whopping 75 lakhhouses will have to be built inthree years from 2019.

According to the Housingand Urban Affairs Ministry(HUA), 12 lakh houses, includ-ing 9 lakh green-based ones,have been so far handed overacross the country.

As per the Ministry's offi-cial figures, 35 lakh houses areunder construction under thePMAY (Urban). A senior offi-cial of HUA said that con-struction work is going on infull swing and it is exploringuse of new technologies toensure faster completion.

The PMAY (U), launchedby Prime Minister NarendraModi in June 2015, aims toensure "Housing for all by 2022"by providing financial assis-tance to beneficiary. HUAMinister Hardeep Singh Puriwill review PMAY (Urban)implementation in eight north-eastern states on December 1.The ministry has approved con-struction of 2,30,000 affordablehouses for urban poor in theeight States of north east regionduring the last about 4 years.

As per the official dataavailable, 4,320 cities and townshave been included in thePMAY (U) across the countryand 11,226 projects have beenapproved till July this year.PMAY (U) has four compo-nents — 'Credit Linked Subsidy

Scheme' (CLSS), In Situ SlumRedevelopment (ISSR),Affordable Housing inPartnership (AHP) andBeneficiary Led Construction(BLC) under which ministryprovide central assistance tobeneficiaries to construct theirown houses.

The scope of CLSS, initial-ly for EWS and Low IncomeGroup (LIG), was last yearextended to Middle IncomeGroup (MIG). The schemeapproved initially for one yearhas been extended up to March31, 2019. As per ministry'sdata, as many as 2.75 lakh ben-eficiaries have already availedthe subsidy to the tune of Rs6000 crore under the scheme.

Over 88,000 beneficiarieshave been disbursed CLSS inGujarat, while 74,000 peoplehave availed the subsidy inMadhya Pradesh in three cat-egories - economically weakersection (EWS), low incomegroup (LIG) and middleincome group (MIG) cate-gories under the PMAY (U). Asmany as 15,000 beneficiaries

have got CLSS in MadhyaPradesh and Uttar Pradesheach, followed by Tamil Naduwith 12,000 beneficiaries.Maharashtra and MadhyaPradesh had the most numberof beneficiaries under theCredit Linked Subsidy Scheme(CLSS) after Gujarat.

Under CLSS, Centre pro-vides interest subsidy of up toaround Rs. 2.67 lakh on homeloans to individuals, whichreduces the principal out-standing amount of the loan.The total estimated investmentunder the PMAY (Urban) is Rs.2,96,919 crore.

It has divided MIG in twocategories which cover annualhousehold income between Rs.6 lakh to 12 lakh and secondcategory covers Rs. 12 lakh to18 lakh.

The home loan borrowercan then opt for lower EMIs orrepay loan faster with originalEMI. Beneficiaries who areeligible for interest subsidyunder the CLSS scheme have toapply to their lenders for avail-ing the subsidy benefit.

�)�.'�&-�&*)%�/��0(1�&�2�)+�&3

'+0��,��.�:�KC��1��-�,�,�6��-��-.��0

:� ��5;/��567<

��3��2�"�� )��$%

Embarrassed over its earlierassessment on the adverse

impact of demonetisation onthe farm sector, the AgricultureMinistry has issued show-cause notices to those whowere involved in the prepara-tion of that report submitted tothe parliamentary StandingCommittee on Finance.

Top sources in theMinistry said that notices havebeen given to a joint secretaryrank officer and two director'slevel officers for reply in thisregard. They will have to sub-mit their reply within 15 days.Agriculture Secretary SanjayAgarwal told the parliamen-tary Standing Committee onFinance that two directors anda joint secretary in theMinistry have been issuedshow-cause notices for sub-mitting the earlier report.

He claimed he had not vet-ted the report before it wassubmitted as he was about totravel abroad and did not havetime.

After criticism, theMinistry has withdrawn thereport that said demonetisa-tion affected millions of farm-ers in the country. TheMinistry cited a "compilationerror" to justify the withdraw-

al and submitted a new reportthat says farmers did not faceany "adverse impact" as a resultof the note ban in 2016. Thelatest report also claims thatthe farm sector saw an"encouraging growth" in theinflow of agriculture credit,distribution of seeds, coverageof major rabi crops and cropproduction compared to pre-vious years.

The Ministry had in itsreport to the StandingCommittee of Finance hadsaid last week that many farm-ers were unable to buy fer-tiliser and seeds for winter-sown crops due to demoneti-ation of high value currencyin November 2016.

The earlier report wasbased on the statement of theChairman of the NationalSeeds Corporation which didnot take into account seed dis-tribution by various otherchannels.

Congress President RahulGandhi had on November 21targeted Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for "makingfun of our farmers' misfortune"following the reports of theAgriculture Ministry admit-ting that millions of farmerswere unable to buy seeds andfertilizers because of demon-etisation.

$��"�� 1 ��2��

%-��*(,.�-( (&,�)-�)�

*��4�� 4��!��5��4��6�#�� !

��#��7��8��5��

�� 7�� #�� 5��#��

9�� ,��'�%��

New Delhi: The Supreme Courton Wednesday directed the CBIto conduct a probe into the alle-gations of physical and sexualabuse of inmates in 16 shelterhomes in Bihar which wereflagged in a report of the TataInstitute of Social Sciences(TISS).

The report had highlightedrampant sexual and physicalabuse of inmates in several shel-ter homes in the State.

A bench of Justices MadanB Lokur, S A Nazeer and DeepakGupta transferred the investi-gation being conducted by BiharPolice to CBI and dismissed theState Government's ferventrequest not to do so and grantthem a week to rectify the prob-lems. The apex court said thereport of TISS, which was givento the Bihar government earli-er this year, had raised graveconcern about 17 shelter homesin Bihar and the CBI must lookinto all of them.

Out of these, the case ofMuzaffarpur shelter home,where several girls were alleged-ly raped and sexually abused, isalready being investigated by the

CBI. At the outset, the CBI'scounsel told the bench that hehas taken instructions onwhether the agency could probeall these matter.

"The interim director (ofCBI) has told me that courtnumber one (of the apex court)has asked him not to take anypolicy decision. Tomorrow, theCBI case is coming up in courtnumber one," he said.

The CBI counsel was refer-ring to a separate matter that ispending before a bench headedby Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi,in which CBI Director AlokKumar Verma has challengedthe Centre's decision to divesthim of his duties and sendinghim on leave.

The bench headed by JusticeGogoi had earlier directed acting CBI Director MNageswara Rao not to takemajor policy decisions. Duringthe hearing on Wednesday,when the CBI's counsel referredto the order asking acting CBIdirector not to take any policydecision, Justice Lokur observed,"This does not say that all inves-tigation should stop". PTI

+%'�)��9��+��

(�� )��$%

Union Home Ministry hasdecided to constitute a

high-level committee to chalkout plans on what to do withundocumented people afterthe final list of the NationalRegister of Citizens ( NRC) ispublished in Assam.

The decision to set up thecommittee, comprising repre-sentatives from the Central andAssam Governments, wastaken at a meeting convened byHome Minister Rajnath Singh

on Tuesday night and attend-ed by Assam Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal, among

others.As of now, just about six

lakh people, out of the total 40

lakh, who were excluded in thedraft NRC, have submittedapplications for inclusion oftheir names in the list ofAssam's citizens and have givenrelevant documents claimingthat they are Indian citizens.The proposed committee willexamine all available optionswhich can be worked out withall undocumented people inAssam, said officials.

With just about six lakhpeople submitting the appli-cations for inclusion in thefinal NRC, this means 34 lakh

people have not yet come for-ward to claim that they areIndians, probably they may nothave proper documents, theysaid.

Following a directive of theSupreme Court, the process offiling claims and objections tothe draft NRC began onSeptember 25 and it will cometo an end on December 15.Tuesday night's meeting wasalso attended by Union HomeSecretary Rajiv Gauba andDirector of Intelligence BureauRajiv Jain besides others.

New Delhi: The Delhi HighCourt on Wednesday allowedCBI Director Alok KumarVerma and Joint Director AKSharma to inspect in the CVC'soffice the case file relating to theFIR against the agency's SpecialDirector Rakesh Asthana.

Justice Najmi Waziri alsoextended till December 7 itsorder directing the CBI to main-tain status quo regarding pro-ceedings against Asthana, whohas sought quashing of the FIRagainst him in a bribery case.

The court permitted Vermato inspect the case file, stated tobe in the custody of CentralVigilance Commission, onThursday at 4:30 PM in the

CVC's office where CBI'sSuperintendent of Police SatishDagar will be present at the timeof inspection.

The case files and docu-ments have been sent to theCVC for scrutiny following theSupreme Court's order directingthe vigilance body to inquireagainst Verma.

The high court's order cameafter the counsel for Verma andSharma orally submitted that

they be allowed to inspect thefile to "refresh" their memoriesas there are allegations of malafide against them in Asthana'spetition.

Sharma has been asked togo to CVC's office to inspect thecase record on Friday.

During the hearing, thecourt allowed the plea ofSharma's counsel that he beallowed to placed in a sealedcover certain incriminatingmaterial to maintain the sanc-tity of the institution.

Advocate M A Niyazi, rep-resenting Sharma, said the doc-uments are not personal andthey are also with the CBI buthe just wanted to point out the

sensitive material which shouldbe looked into by the court andthe agency.

The court directed that thedocuments given by Sharma bekept in sealed cover till furtherorders.

Senior advocates AmrendraSharan and Dayan Krishnan,appearing for Asthana and CBIDeputy SP Devender Kumarrespectively, said Sharma shouldgive the material to the CBI andif reliance is placed on the doc-uments given by him in thecourt, they should also beallowed to go through the mate-rial.

The court also granted aweek's time to Verma to file his

response to the petitions ofAsthana and Kumar seekingquashing of FIR against them.

Advocate Rahul Sharma,appearing for Verma, said thereare allegations of mala fideagainst him in Asthana's peti-tion and he needs to rebut theaverments but did not havingaccess to the case file.

CBI's counsel RajdipaBehura said the case file was notin the possession of the agencyand they were with the CVC.

Asthana's counsel submit-ted that the Supreme Court hadgiven in sealed cover the CVC'sfindings of the probe againstVerma on corruption allegationsto the CBI chief. PTI

9�� ,�� 1��=��

'��04��5��

�5��6��7��

9�� >�� '�%��4��-��

9��4 �%� �� "��

(�� )��$%

ABJP delegation led byUnion Minister Mukhtar

Abbas Naqvi on Wednesdaymet top officials of the ElectionCommission and submitted amemorandum alleging thatnames of Rohingya Muslimshad been illegally included inthe voter lists of 15 Assemblyconstituencies in Hyderabad inTelangana as part of a "jointconspiracy" of the ruling TRSalong with AIMIM and theCongress.

The BJP demanded a probeby the Commission.

After the meeting, Naqvitold reporters that despite clearinstructions of the UnionHome Ministry that RohingyaMuslims are not Indian citi-

zens, they have been registeredas voters in Telangana. The del-egation also included generalsecretary Arun Singh and itsnational media head AnilBaluni .

"The registration ofRohingya Muslims as voters isa clear violation of laws of theland. The ElectionCommission may institute aspecial investigation team toprobe the matter," the BJP saidin its memorandum to theCommission.

Naqvi blamed the rulingTelangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS), the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen(AIMIM) and the Congress forinclusion of these names in theassembly constituencies inHyderabad.

! &��,��" ��+0��+"-��+��,8��+��,�-+�+�$�0��0�/-��,�,

��"�#��$ "��%�&��'()�'*+, �� :

(�� ##'�

The State AdministrativeCouncil (SAC) under the

chairmanship of Governor SatyaPal Malik on Wednesdayapproved repeal of the Jammu& Kashmir State Lands (Vestingof Ownership to the Occupants)Act, 2001, (commonly known asRoshni scheme).

Advisors B B Vyas, K VijayKumar, Khurshid AhmadGanai & KK Sharma, ChiefSecretary BVR Subrahmanyamand Principal Secretary to theGovernor, Umang Narulaattended the crucial meeting.

All pending proceedingsunder the Act shall stand can-celled immediately and abate.However, the SAC directedthat any action taken under theprovisions of the repealed Actshall not be invalid.

The Jammu & Kashmir StateLands (Vesting of Ownership tothe Occupants) Act, 2001 wasenacted in the year 2001 with thetwin objective of generatingresources for financing powerprojects and conferment of pro-prietary rights to the occupantsof the State Land.

The Act popularly called asRoshni Scheme was believed tobe a revolutionary step in theannals of history in Jammu &Kashmir after the AgrarianReforms Act.

It was hoped that the leg-islation would help to boost thefarming sector and in turngenerate substantial revenue for

funding power projects acrossthe State. The rules under theAct were also notified.

It is pertinent to mentionthat under the provisions of theAct, applications for confer-ment of ownership rights wereto be filed upto 31st March2007. Any application filedafter the said date was not to beconsidered under the provi-sions of the Act. This wouldlead to the inference that theprovisions of the Act had actu-ally become inoperable viz-a-viz conferment of ownershiprights on the State Land after31st March 2007.

The Scheme initially envis-aged conferment of propri-etary rights of around 20.55lakh Kanals to the occupants ofwhich only 15.85% land wasapproved for vesting of own-ership rights. Against theexpected/anticipated revenuefrom such occupants, the rev-enue actually generated hasbeen meager thereby failing torealize the objective of theScheme. There have also beenreports about the misuse ofsome provisions of legislation.

It is significant to high-light that the entire legislationwas challenged before theHigh Court of J&K, in aPublic Interest Litigation titledAnkur Sharma V/s State,wherein the High Courtbesides staying the proceed-ings under the said Act alsodirected that neither the occu-pants having been conferred

upon the ownership rightsshall sell these lands nor canraise constructions on suchlands. The said PIL is pendingbefore the High Court. TheCourt has also directed thatno further transaction of anykind in respect of the proper-ty covered under the Roshni

Act shall be affected till fur-ther orders of the High Court.

After careful considera-tion of all pros and cons of theScheme, SAC concluded thatthe scheme has not served thedesired purpose and is nolonger relevant in the present context.

2��2�� !��'"'

Amidst protest by the Stateof Tamil Nadu, the Central

Water Commission (CWC)has given its conditional nod toMekedatu drinking water pro-ject on river Cauvery inRamanagara district ofKarnataka. The decision by theCWC on Tuesday to give anadministrative approval byclearing the pre-feasibilityreport submitted by theKarnataka Government for theconstruction of a balancingreservoir at Mekedatu acrossthe Cauvery River.

The commission has askedthe State to prepare a detailedproject report (DPR) after theState revised its pre-feasibilityreport that was submitted inOctober 2017. It has also askedKarnataka to follow theSupreme Court’s directiveswhen it comes to water shar-ing, saying that ‘water supplyfrom Cauvery must not behampered with’.

Karnataka welcomed thedecision of the CWC in clear-ing long pending drinkingwater project to seven parcheddistricts of the State. A projectreport was submitted by thenSiddaramaiah Government in2017 and this will certainly helpsome of the districts which areaffected with severe drinking

water shortage. It was the then

Siddaramaiah Government haddecided to implement the�5,912 crore MekedatuMultipurpose (drinking andpower) project across theCauvery, which involves build-ing a balancing reservoir witha capacity of about 66 tmc ft,near Kanakapura inRamanagaram district.

Chief Minister HDKumaraswamy welcomed thedecision of the CWC and saidthey would go ahead with thedrinking water project atMekedatu. He said “ we are 100per cent sure of constructingthe dam for drinking watersupply to some of the parcheddistricts. We will go ahead withthe project. It is in the legalpurview.”

He said “no need to panic,Mekedatu project has to comeinto effect. The StateGovernment is within theframework of law....how it plansto implement the project bypetitioning the Central

Government... we will sharewith you in the days to come."

Kumaraswamy's com-ments come amid reports thatthe Central WaterCommission (CWC) has givenits go-ahead to Karnataka forpreparing a DPR.

Karnataka Water ResourceMinister DK Shivakumar wel-comed the CWC clearance toMekedatu project and said theState would take Tamil Nadu into confidence.

He said "We will take theproject forward in a way that itdoes not affect Tamil Nadu.The water supply to them (TN)will not be reduced because ofthis. We are ready for talks withTamil Nadu."

Opposition leader BSYeddyurappa of the BJPthanked Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, Union WaterResource Minister NitinGadkari and the CWC for theapproval. He also asked the rul-ing Government to stop givingexcuses and commence theconstruction work. He said

"Karnataka Government shouldconsider this as a special caseand allocate funds on prioritybasis to complete the project ina time-bound manner."

The �5,912-crore projectis a balancing reservoir-cum-drinking water project whichwill provide water to villagesin the southern districts ofBengaluru, Kolar and Ramnagara. It is alsoexpected to generate hydro-electricity.

in another developmentTamil Nadu Chief MinisterEK Palalniswami wrote a letterto the Prime Minister askinghim to direct the water resourceministry to withdraw the per-mission it has granted to theCauvery Neeravari Nigam.

"The Central WaterCommission without consid-ering the genuine and justifi-able objections of Tamil Naduhas given permission. The pro-posal for reservoir is not just fordrinking water alone asclaimed by Karnataka, but toincrease the extent of irrigationwhich is in clear violation of theCauvery Water DisputesTribunal Award as affirmed bythe Hon’ble Supreme Court.This action has caused greatalarm and apprehensionamong the people of TamilNadu," read the letter.

The project which wasannounced in 2013 has facedvarious hurdles over the yearsas the matter was sub judice.However, with the apex court’sverdict in February this yearand the formation of thescheme, the decade-long dis-pute seemed settled until now.

+��8��"�� &��

Aconfrontation between rul-ing NDA and Opposition

mahagathbandhan was immi-nent in Bihar legislative coun-cil on Wednesday when Leaderof Opposition Rabri Devi squat-ted in the Well of the Housealong with members of RJD andother allies for about threehours in retaliation of the sus-pension of five members of herparty for two days by the actingchairman Haroon Rasheed.

But Rasheed retreated andtook back his decision whenthe tension escalated as shecontinued sitting there evenafter the closure of the Counciland the Opposition MLAs ledby Leader of Opposition in theAssembly Tejashwi PrasadYadav also sat on dharna in theportico of the Upper House.

Rasheed had suspendedDilip Rai, Subodh Kumar,Qamar Alam, KhurshidMohsin and Radha CharanSah for continuously disruptingthe House and not heeding tothe chair’s order, first up to 5pmand then till Friday, the last dayof the five-day winter session.

Rabri Devi quickly retali-ated by sitting on dharna in theWell of the house and she wasjoined by members of all oppo-sition parties. The chairadjourned the house but sheand others continued sittingthere. “We want a debate on law

and order and misuse of CBIand we will not allow thehouse to run any businessunless our demands are met,”a combative former CMdeclared.

Rasheed who came back tomeet her and speak to Tejashwiand withdrew his decision ofsuspension and also assured tolook into their demands.Parliamentary affairs MinisterShrawan Kumar who was alsopresent during the talks said,“The Government is ready tohold debate on the issues oncethey are brought in any formatother than adjournmentnotice.” It gave indication thatfrom Thursday normalcymight return to the legislativebodies where hardly any busi-ness could be transacted dur-ing first three days and nowonly two days are remaining.

Throughout the day theopposition continued mount-ing harsh attack on theGovernment as the SupremeCourt’s critical observationsagainst Bihar Government incase related to Muzaffarpurshelter home horror gave themenough ammo to sharpentheir attack particularly onCM Nitish Kumar and hisdeputy Sushil Kumar Modi.The Assembly session wasalso adjourned during both sittings.

By 6 pm the two terms CMRabri Devi rose and came out

amid slogan shouting. TheMLAs sitting on staircases andportico also ended their dhar-na. She said, “This is the victoryof opposition and defeat ofGovernment. They must real-ize that without opposition theHouse cannot function.” AddedPrem Chandra Mishra ofCongress, “Attempt to muzzlethe voice of opposition willnever succeed in democracy.”

The Rabri Devi led dhar-na inside the House remindeda nightlong dharna byKarpoori Thakur in mid 80sover the problems in theRanchi based HEC which wascalled off next day.

Earlier in the day Tejashwi,who is hammering theGovernment for two days, saidthat CM Nitish should beashamed following the stingingremarks of the Supreme Courtas “entire Bihar is feelingashamed for the rape of minorgirls in shelter home andattempts to protect the perpe-trators of the crime.”

RJD’s Abdul Bari Siddiquisaid CBI at the behest of theCentre implicated Lalu Prasadbecause he was an icon ofanti-BJP campaign. “Thereports are coming out thatRakesh Asthana in connivanceof PMO, Nitish and SushilModi conspired to implicateour leader. And we want adebate on this issue in theHouse,” he said.

�"��*��3��&��

��+��!�� /��7��7��4� �4� �� ; ��4��

Nagapattinam(TN): TamilNadu Chief Minister EdappadiK Palaniswami on Wednesdayvisited Nagapattinam district,which was ravaged by cycloneGaja, and distributed reliefmaterials to the victims.

Accompanied by hisdeputy O Panneerselvam, min-isters and officials, Palaniswamivisited a relief camp inVailankanni area and inter-acted with the affected people.

The Chief Minister assuredthe victims of all possible assis-tance. Palaniswami alsoinspected the repair work of thedamaged TNEB sub-station inKameswaram village.

Earlier, he held a meetingwith District Collector CSureshkumar and other offi-cials to review the relief andrehabilitation works.

He distributed relief mate-rial, including rice, to over400 cyclone victims.

Palaniswami's visit wasoriginally scheduled for lastweek, but his chopper could notland due to inclement weather.

Cyclone Gaja crossed theTamil Nadu coast betweenNagapattinam and Vedaranyamon November 16. It claimed 63lives and left behind a trail ofdestruction. PTI

��%�� !�#��/��-��

%1&��456� �"��*��

(�� ##'�

An outfit claiming to rep-resent people displaced

from Pakistan-occupiedKashmir has urged theElection Commission to allowthe community to elect theirrepresentatives to eight of the24 Assembly seats designatedfor the area fal l ing under PoK which are kept vacant.

Rajiv Chuni, chairman ofSOS International, has sub-mitted a representation to theChief Election Commissionerin New Delhi with regard to"defreezing" the eight seats inthe assembly, a spokesman ofthe outfit said.

He said the representationhas also been forwarded to theCentre, state government andChief Electoral Officer ofJammu and Kashmir.

"The displaced personsfrom PoK who have a popula-tion of 13 lakh are given shel-ter at various places in thecountry. However, they arefacing apathy of governmentbecause they don't have polit-ical reservation," Chuni said,demanding that they should beallowed to vote to elect MLAsof constituencies under PoK.

?� �,�� :��%��3�� 0

Gangtok: Scotching rumoursthat the ruling Sikkim DemocraticFront would contest the nextpolls in alliance with the BJP, theSDF on Wednesday said it wouldgo it alone in the Assembly andLok Sabha elections in 2019.

Since the inception of theparty 27 years ago, the SDF hascontested all the elections on itsown and the people of Sikkimhave blessed the party in everypolls, party spokespersons BhimDahal, KT Gyaltsen and TNSharma said. "The SDF will con-test the assembly and parlia-mentary elections in 2019 on itsown under the able leadership ofthe party supremo and ChiefMinister Pawan KumarChamling," Dahal said.

He alleged that oppositionparties were spreading rumoursto create seeds of doubt aboutthe SDF among people.

On the SDF being con-stituent of the BJP-led NDAand the North-East DemocraticAlliance (NEDA), anotherspokesperson KT Gyaltsen saidthe party has always been a partof the coalition of the party rul-ing at the Centre. This isrequired to safeguard interests ofthe Himalayan state sharingborders with China, Nepal andBhutan, Gyaltsen said.Spokesperson TN Sharma saidthe party's long standing demandto increase the strength of Sikkimassembly from the existing 32 to40 has yet to be met.

The demand for reservationof assembly seats for the Limbooand Tamang communities,accorded Scheduled Tribes (ST)status in 2002, also remainedunfulfilled, he said. The SDF hasdecided to give five tickets toLimboo and Tamang commu-nities in the next assembly pollsfrom the 17 general seats, he said.

Of the remaining 15 seats, 12are reserved for Bhutia-Lepchacommunities, two for ScheduledCastes and one for the 'Sangha'.The 'Sangha' seat is the one of itskind in India which was creat-ed under Article 371 (F) of theConstitution to give monks' rep-resentation in governance aswas done during the rule of theerstwhile Chogyal kings. PTI

$��,��*��(�� ')�$��%�

Flags of the proscribed ULFA-I were found in different

parts of Assam, including inGuwahati and in three schoolcompounds during the outfit's'Pratibad Divas' (Protest Day)on Wednesday, police said.

The outfit has been observ-ing November 28 as Protest Dayever since ULFA was declareda banned outfit 21 years ago onthis date. The flags were spot-ted by locals and CRPF peson-nel and informed the police whoimmediately removed them.

Two flags of the outlawedUnited Liberation Front ofAsom-Independent were foundin Guwahati - one of them inthe compound of Borbari HighSchool and another on a near-by hillock, the police said.

The third flag of the mili-tant outfit was found hoisted inLakhimpur district in the com-pound of Dakhin DhalpurBalika Higher SecondarySchool at Kochua by CRPF per-sonnel, who informed thepolice about it. The fourth flagwas found hoisted atChamrajaan in Dhemaji dis-trict along NH 15, the sourcessaid adding a fifth one wasrecovered from the compound ofNagadhuli Janajati HS School atMariani in Jorhat district.

�� 7+�18(9��1��:��

Thiruvananthapuram: Takinga firm stand, Kerala ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan saidon Wednesday that Sabarimalawon't be allowed to become an Ayodhya.

Sabarimala town has wit-nessed protests ever since theSupreme Court ruled inSeptember that women of allages can enter the temple thathitherto banned girls andwomen aged 10-50.

As the Kerala Assemblyopened on Wednesday, legis-lators from the Congress-ledopposition came with plac-ards and banners demandingthat the prohibitory orders inthe temple town be lifted.

During the entire questionhour, the opposition was root-ed before the Speaker shoutingslogans. As former DevasomMinister VS Sivakumar allegedthat the Left government andthe Sangh parivar were collud-ing to destroy the sanctity ofthe Sabarimala temple, Vijayansaid that the prohibitory ordersnow in place at the temple townwill not be withdrawn.

"We are bound to adhere tothe apex court ruling even asthe Sangh parivar with thesupport of the Congress is outto create trouble in the temple,"the Chief Minister said.

"At no cost will we allowSabarimala to be turned into an

Ayodhya and there is no ques-tion of withdrawing the pro-hibitory orders," he said tothumping of desks by the trea-sury benches.

Vijayan said that even theKerala High Court had sup-ported the rules now in forceat Sabarimala. "The Congress istrying to make political capitalout of the Sabarimala issue."

Leader of OppositionRamesh Chennithala said thatnow it had become clear thatVijayan had only one agenda -- to weaken the Congress partyand for that he has given thefull support to the BJP/RSS.

"The decision of the policeto hand over the mike to RSSleader Valsan Thilenkery to con-trol the protesters at the temple

reveals everything... Vijayan isbehaving like those who built theTitanic who said the ship willnever sink. But it sank. Vijayanis also going to meet such an end.The way he is handling theSabarimala issue, devotees aredeeply pained," he said.

When the oppositionmembers trooped near SpeakerP. Sreeramakrishnan, he wentthrough the listed business ofthe day in a flash and adjournedthe House for the day.

The Assembly saw the loneBJP legislator O. Rajagopal andhis new found ally P.C. Georgeturn up in black shirts. Theysaid they were protestingagainst the Government forputting the Sabarimala pil-grims into difficulties. IANS

��"��8��"��9!��!��3�(�!��

��"�#��$ "��%�&��'()�'*+, �� <

��)��)�(�� ;��;��

The Trinamool Congress willnow venture out of Bengal

putting up candidates in neigh-bouring States of Jharkhand,Assam, Tripura and OdishaBengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee has said. But beforedoing so she would take up theissue of tricky Electronic VotingMachines with the ElectionCommission and raise it in theall-party meeting set to beheld before the Winter Sessionof Parliament in Delhi.

Launching a vitriolic attackon the BJP for trying to com-munalise Bengal by its “impureRavan Rath Yatras,” Mamata onWednesday told a massive

gathering in Purulia that thesaffron party that was day-dreaming of capturing thewhole India will go into obliv-ion after 2019 general electionsas it will be defeated in the LokSabha polls.

“You have heard ofJagannath’s Rath Yatra, SriKrishna’s Rath Yatra but haveyou ever heard of BJP RathYatra. They have planned RathYatras in Bengal. During theYatra their leaders will emergefrom the belly of the five-starRath to deliver speeches ignit-ing riots. I call this a RavanYatra which will make our landimpure,” Mamata said addingher Trinamool Congress will“purify the routes made impureby BJP’s Ravana Rath througha Pavitra Yatra the very next dayof their Rath Yatra.”

The BJP will take out threeRath Yatras from Ganga Sagar,Birbhum and Coochbehar —on December 5, 7 and 9 —with each one of them con-verging in a grand rally atKolkata’s Brigade ParadeGround, most likely on January

23. While BJP president AmitShah will inaugurate theseYatras, Prime MinisterNarendera Modi will hold fourrallies enroute and a fifth onein Kolkata.

Attacking the BJP for send-ing in activists from Jharkhandto “vitiate our people inBengal,” Mamata asked herparty men to “start working” inthe neighbouring State with aview to organise the people inthat State under the TMC ban-ner. “We will contest electionsin Jharkhand, Assam, Odisha

and even Tripura,” she said.Raising once again doubt

over the fidelity of EVMs as“even today I learnt about manyvoting machines going kaput inMadhya Pradesh,” Banerjee saidshe will raise the issue with theElection Commission of Indiaas also in the coming all-partymeeting in Delhi.

“I will demand VVPATmachines for all the boothsbecause only 2-3 per centVVPATs cannot ensure relia-bility of the election process,”she said.

Attacking the Centre fordoing nothing for Bengal butonly putting roadblocks in itspath of development, Banerjeesaid “this Government in theCentre is good for nothing. Itonly knows to criticize withouthelping the States.”

The Chief Minister said herparty was organising the anti-BJP forces in one platformand most national leaders hadagreed to join the Trinamool-sponsored all-party grand rallyto be held in Kolkata onJanuary 19.

“Most of the parties save twohave given their acquiescence tojoin the rally. All leaders fromDeve Gowda ji, ChandrababuNaidu Akhilesh Yadav, TejaswiYadav, Kumarsamy, ArvindKejriwal to Stalin have agreed tojoin the rally. Two parties are yet to give their confirmation butwe hope they too will,” Mamatasaid adding the BJP was set tolose in 2019.

“In 2019 they are losing theelections. In Bengal they willlose even the two seats that theypresently have.”

��;��&�#��-�/�+��-��-��!�+��-��1��-+! &��+�+��-��+� ��1��+0:��,,�.:��+0��0�,��

��)�� #'#!�%

The multi-thousand croreirrigation scam has returned

to haunt the ruling NCP in therun up to the Lok Sabha andAssembly elections inMaharashtra, with the StateAnti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)linking former deputy chiefminister and senior party leaderAjit Pawar him directly to themuch-discussed irrigation scam.

A day after the State ACBfiled an affidavit before theNagpur bench of the BombayHigh Court linking him to thescam, Ajitdada – as Ajit Pawaris known in the State politicalcircles – said on Wednesdaythat he would cooperativewith the investigating agencyin the probe, while the NCPcharged that the BJP-led saf-fron alliance Government wasindulging in “vindictive poli-tics” in the run-up to the gen-eral elections in the State.

Reacting to the affidavitfiled before the high court,Ajitdada said: “I have filed anaffidavit before the Nagpurbench of the high court. Sincethe matter is sub-judice, I do notwant to say anything in the mat-ter. However, I would like to saythat I co-operated with the ACBearlier, I am doing so now andwill continue to do so in future”.

Throwing their lot withAjitdada on the issue, leader ofthe Opposition in the StateLegislative Council DhananjayMunde and senior NCP leaderChhagan Bhyujbal hit out at theDevendra FadnavisGovernment for indulging in“vindictive politics” againsttheir senior party leader in therun-up to the LS and Assemblyelections in the State.

Talking to media personshere, Munde said: “In the affi-davit filed by the State ACBbefore the high court, there isnothing incriminating againstAjitdada... All Ajitdada had

done was to sign the files pre-sented to him by the secretaryof the Water ResourcesDepartment. He has not givenany approvals by violating rulesand norms. An attempt is beingmade to drawn wrong infer-ences from the affidavit filed bythe ACB before the high court”

Describing the scam as a"weird case of conspiracy" in thestate water resources depart-ment which has "defrauded thegovernment itself ", State ACBdirector General Sanjay Barve –in an affidavit filed before thehigh court on Tuesday — putthe onus on Ajitdada, who as aformer NCP looked after WaterResources Department (WRD)in which the scam took place.“The rule 10 of the MaharashtraGovernment Rules andInstructions makes Ajit Pawarresponsible for “all businessesand disposal thereof pertainingto his department,” Barve saidin his affidavit.

In his affidavit, Barve said:“The dramatis personae, whoput up this performance thatcost the Government dearly, aresimply trying to hide behindthe framework of rules andpass the buck"

Maintaining that severalprojects of the Vidarbha andKonkan irrigation developmentcorporations suffered delays,cost escalations and non-real-isation of projected goals of irri-gation during Pawar's stew-ardship as Minister for WaterResources Department, the affi-davit stated: "The ACB hasobserved that various irregu-larities have been committed inseveral of these tenders/workswith uncanny similarity.”

According to the affidavit,Pawar – during inquriesclaimed he took decisionsbased on recommendations ofsecretary-level officers and thatmost of the decisions weretaken at the field level, the affi-davit said. "It is observed thatthe minister in-charge of thewater resources departmentshoves the responsibility on tothe officers," it said.

Quoting a response fromthe State water resourcesdepartment's principal secre-

tary about Pawar's role as theMinister, the affidavit said:“The principal secretary, inhis reply to the ACB, said Rule10 of the MaharashtraGovernment Rules of Businessand Instructions was self-explanatory and that nothingmore needs to be added”.Among other things, the ACBsaid that officials of theVidarbha IrrigationDevelopment Corporation(VIDC) had obtained “severalmajor pecuniary advantagesfor contractors, contrary topublic interest”.

"The ACB has now filed 24FIRs against officers and con-tractors in relation to projectsof the VIDC and has closelyexamined the role of espondent7 (Pawar)..... The ACB hasobserved alleged that VIDC'sofficials bypassed procedures,acted against the Government'sinterest, favoured a select groupof contractors and ensured thatthey got pecuniary benefit. Theofficials allowed and acceptedsub-standard work and there-by caused a drain upon the pub-lic exchequer. These officialsacted in an orchestrated man-ner," the affidavit alleged.

"It was like an orchestrawhere players have done their bitto create symphony and no oneis ready to own up to the jarringnotes," the affidavit added

The Nagpur bench of thehigh court is hearing a PIL filedby NGO Janmanch about thealleged irregularities in theState irrigation scam that sur-faced in 2012 when theCongress-NCP alliance wasruling the State.

It may be recalled that themulti-thousand irrigation scamhad come to light in September2012. Ajitdada resigned from theDeputy Chief Minister’s post onSeptember 25, 2012, attributinghis decision to the media reportson the alleged irregularities inthe awarding of 38 irrigationcontracts worth �20,000 crore inVidarbha region during 2009,without seeking the mandatoryclearance from the governingcouncil of the VidarbhaIrrigation DevelopmentCorporation (VIDC).

#�� !��,��0�/��+�$�:��+1,�,�+�-��&��0��7��&�6��0��6��,��.� ��0��,��,��6��--��6��-��:��&��0��,��,��! &5��0�-/��-��+0��+��+J/�+0��/��-��,8

��)�� #'#!�%

Three days after theGovernment’s decision to

allow the State-run oil mar-keting companies to distributedealerships for 55,649 newpetrol pumps across the coun-try, the All India Petrol DealersAssociation (AIPDA) said onWednesday that the dealerswould move the court againstthe Centre’s latest move.

Expressing his strong dis-approval about the Centre’s lat-est move which went against itspetrol distribution policy,AIPDA President Ajay Bansalsaid that the aggrieved petrolpump dealers would contest theGovernment’s decision to allowdistribution of 55,649 new petrolpumps across the country.

“While on one hand, aUnion Minister announces thatthe Government would closedown all petrol pumps in thecountry and replace them withalternative fuel outlets by 2025,while on the other the PetroleumMinistry and oil companiespublish advertisements seekingbids for the dealerships of 55,849new petrol pumps second string

of new petrol pumps. TheCentre’s decision to allow State-run oil marketing companies todistribute dealerships for 55,649new petrol pumps across thecountry is contrary to its ownpolicy,” Bansal said.

The Centre had on Saturdayallowed the State-run oil mar-keting companies (OMCs) to gofor a massive expansion by dou-bling the number of fuel outletsover the next five years — a deci-sion that the State-run oil mar-keting PSUs — Indian OilCorporation, Bharat PetroleumCorporation and HindustanPetroleum Corporation — toinvite collectively bids for 55,649petrol pumps dealership acrossthe country. The Governmenthad said that an independentagency would carry out thebidding process for petrol pumpdealerships.

Currently, the three State-run oil marketing companieshave 56,000 retail outlets (petrolpumps), while 6,000 outlets areowned by private companies.The average monthly sales ofthese outlets are 120 to 130 kilo-grams (1000 litres = 1 kilo litres).

“There is a disturbing fact

that approximately 80% of thetotal retail outlets are under sales.A committee set up by the gov-ernment itself, which can getprofit after selling 170 kgs of anymonth in any retail outlet, hasdeclared in its report. Because ofthe limited sale standards, 80%of the dealers are losing finan-cially. The debt burden of thebank is increasing every year,Because of this a large numberof dealers are willing to opt outof this business,” Bansal said.

“But there is no provision toget out of this business accord-ing to the prevailing rules. If thecompany does not want to dobusiness, the oil companies donot return the possession of theland to the dealer by sending thedealer home,” he said.

“It is not possible to live inthis business and the amountof money immersion in theeffort to increase sales bymaking a lump sum for thesurvival is very large. There isan annual increase of 4% onpetrol and diesel demand.However, the government hasannounced 100% increase inthe cost of new pumps,”Bansal added.

�� %��=��;;��

Lucknow: The SamajwadiParty on Wednesday accusedUttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath of “payingvery little attention to the Stateand its problems” and insteadstirring up communal pas-sions for electoral gains.

Samajwadi Partyspokesman Abdul Hafiz Gandhisaid that it was sad that theChief Minister of the country'smost populous State was usinglanguage which was "directlyand brazenly communal".

Referring to an electionspeech of Adityanath, thespokesman said that polarizingpolitics were not good for the

state or the country."Look at the situation in

Uttar Pradesh. The law andorder has taken a hit, criminalsare having fun in jails, powercrisis continues, farmers con-tinue to be sidelines and roadsare in shambles," he said.

Gandhi said the BJP shouldrealize that itwas voted topower on theplank ofdevelopmentand not tostoke com-munal pas-sions and cre-ate a sense offear amongpeople, spe-cially minori-ties. IANS

%��<� ��

The list of individuals and organ-isations demanding a legislationfor the Ram Temple at Ayodhyais increasing by the day. OnNovember 3 and 4, more than

3,000 seers, including the likes of BabaRamdev, Jaggi Vasudev and Sri Sri RaviShankar, converged at New Delhi’s TalkatoraStadium where they passed a resolution ask-ing the Union Government to either bringan Ordinance or enact a law for the con-struction of the Ram Temple. On November25, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)chief Mohan Bhagwat, while speaking at aDharma Sabha organised by the VishvaHindu Parishad (VHP) in Nagpur, reiter-ated the demand. Prof Rakesh Sinha, RajyaSabha MP (Nominated), too, has said hemay move a private member’s Bill in theHouse for the construction of the RamTemple. Since Sinha is considered close tothe RSS top brass, it set off a speculation thatthe proposed Ram Temple legislation enjoysGovernment support. But the wording ofSinha’s tweet showed he was more interest-ed in exposing Congress chief RahulGandhi, Bahujan Samaj Party supremoMayawati, Communist Party of India(Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechuryand Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu PrasadYadav who have always taunted the RSS onkeeping the deadline for temple construc-tion open-ended. It would be a leap of faithto assume from Sinha’s statement that theproposed Bill enjoys the support of the BJPand the Government. But it is also true thatpeople do expect the BJP, and especiallyPrime Minister Narendra Modi and UttarPradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, totake the lead in building it. Perhaps Sinhawas also reflecting the views of the BJP sup-port base and trying to convey to theGovernment to come out in favour of a leg-islation which it has not done yet.

The Prime Minister and some of his elo-quent Ministers, who are also legal experts,are completely silent on the issue. Recently,BJP president Amit Shah, at an election rallyin Jaipur, said the party would prefer a judi-cial solution (nyayik samadhan). Shah, in anexclusive interview to Zee TV, said there wasno need for an Ordinance on Ram Templesince the Supreme Court has decided to hearthe case in January next year. Modi, whileaddressing a rally in Alwar, made a sensa-tional accusation against the Congress. Hesaid that some Congress members, who areRajya Sabha MPs, threatened SupremeCourt judges with impeachment if the casewas not deferred until the General Election.He, however, refrained from telling us whatthe Government proposed to do.

Thus, at present, pro-Temple organisa-tions are demanding a legislation/ordinance.The BJP, on the other hand, is hesitant todisappoint them completely by telling themits would be a zero sums game. It wants tokeep their hopes afloat without committing

itself to anything tangible. Butit’s time we looked at the limitsof legislative competence of theGovernment.

The Government cannotbuild any religious institution,for example, a temple, mosque,church or gurudwara in themanner it can build a centraluniversity, an institution ofeminence, an observatory, ahospital, a residential campus,a road or a bridge. This isbecause India isConstitutionally a secular state.A Bill, whether Government orprivate, submitted to the LokSabha or Rajya Sabha as the casemight be, will be first scruti-nised by the secretariat of therelevant House for itsConstitutional propriety. AnyMember of the House, while theBill is being introduced, canraise the issue of legislativecompetence. A Bill for RamTemple is unlikely to passmuster in Parliament.

The other proposal of pro-Temple forces is equally prob-lematic. It moots that theGovernment should acquirethe land currently subject tolegal dispute and hand it over tothe Hindus. At present, theUnion Government is thereceiver of around 71 acres,including 2.77 acres of the dis-puted site, by virtue ofAcquisition of Certain Areas atAyodhya Act, 1993. But sincethe Government is the receiv-

er and not the owner of thelegally disputed site, it cannotarbitrarily hand it over to oneparty in exclusion to the otherclaimant. To cite an example, ifMr A has a dispute with hisneighbour Mr B over a privatepiece of land, can theGovernment acquire it andhand it over wholly to Mr A?Think about it.

Any such law imagined bypro-Temple organisations islikely to be challenged on theground of legal competence orarbitrary and biased behaviourof the Government. Therefore,in that hypothetical situation, wewould once again be lookingtowards the Honourable Judgesof the Supreme Court ratherthan Honourable Members ofthe Cabinet. The PrimeMinister, who recently waxedeloquent on the virtues of theIndian Constitution in the 50thedition of his radio programmeMann Ki Baat, should havemade the position clear. It wouldbe ultra vires to the Constitutionto bring a piece of legislation onRam Temple. But perhaps it willnot be politically expedient forhim to tell this hard truth.

The Dharma Sabha atAyodhya has provided relief tohim by saying that the issuewould be taken up with thePrime Minister after December11. But December 11 is whenthe Winter Session ofParliament begins. Notifications

of Government business in theHouse would already have beenpublished by that time. Theforthcoming session is likely tobe the last of 16th Lok Sabhaunless a truncated session for avote-on-account is called. So,those who are harping on a leg-islation for the Ram Templeshould know that time is theirenemy.

The Ram Temple land dis-pute has dragged on since 1950in independent India not tospeak of the decades it was incourt in the colonial era. At thetime, the humble prayers of thepetitioners (Hindu sants) wereallowed to merely conductprayers before the deity, RamLalla. The deity mysteriously‘appeared’ inside the defunctBabri mosque in 1949. Therewas no demand to hand over thesite to the Hindus or to disman-tle the structure initially. Butafter the 1992 demolition, a newvista opened up before Hindusorganisations which startedpressing for the construction ofa grand Ram Temple on the site.That dream will only cometrue through a judicial processif the land dispute is settled intheir favour by the apex court.Pro-Temple organisationsshould realise that theGovernment’s hands are tied.

(The writer is an indepen-dent researcher based in NewDelhi. Views expressed here arepersonal.)

�� )��(��)��

�� *�� +�� ,�� - +� �� (��$��.�� /�� )��0��*��&1�� 2 �� 3��4��

�� )��/��5�� *��+�� ,�� #��/��

)��*��+��+��6��/��(�� +��/�� )�� (�� "�� "��#�"��)��1��7��$��2�� (��8+��"�� 3��9��39��)��+��:��*� ��%��

#��6'�� ,�� +��:�� #��"��(�� ,��(��(��,��$�� ;��+��<�� <��"(�� (�� +��=��/��*��+��

5��/�� )�� (�� 9��

/�� $�� <�� >?@(/�� <��9�� (�� :�� $�� A�� (��(�� +��(��+��9��/�� $��BCDE��

��A��/��!99��:��$�� /�� $��#��A��+��F��A��9��(��.��BB��/�� $��)=$:��/��9��9��:�� :��

9�� )=$��!��:��(��6��!��(��+�#�� :��(��.�� #�$�:$+��4:��!��14:!2��#��!��9�� !��(��+::��"��:�� (��:��(�� 9��/�G��5�� 5��:�� (��GG��)=$��!��9��&��(�� (�� 9�� F�� =��(/� ��

��/�� $��>C,��9��:��BD ��9��4�� 9��= �� 9�� (�� (��(�(��.�� +� �� :��&��&��+��&�� (��:��$��

&��%��'��:��#��!��;��:��5$��

=�� $��&��#��"��*��:��"��<��"��&

��

Sir — Pakistan’s decision toopen the Kartarpur Sahib corri-dor for Sikh pilgrims in Indiathat will allow them to travel tothat countr y to visit theGurudwara Kartarpur Sahibbodes well for better India-Pakistan ties that is otherwisemarked by accusations andcounter-accusations.

Confidence-building mea-sures such as this can lead tomore efforts on both sides toease tensions between the twocountries. The IndianGovernment has often beenhesitant to talk peace with Pakistan because New Delhifeels that Islamabad has notdone enough to stop terroractivities emanating from itssoil . The opening of theKartarpur Sahib corridor willinfuse fresh hopes for betterIndia- Pakistan ties.

Hereon, both countries mustmaintain the momentum. Bothnations have suffered longenough. Religious pilgrimagescan revive commerce and theeconomy.

Devendra Khurana Bhopal

��

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Easing the burden”(November 28). India’s educa-tion system is badly in need ofa total revamp so as to make thelearning process interesting forschool children. In this context,the Ministr y of HumanResource Development’s deci-

sion to do away with homeworkfor class I and II students, whilealso to make their school bagsmuch lighter is the first step inthe right direction.

Besides taking off the load,the new directive will also makethe students independent andinstill confidence in them. TheRight of Children to Free andCompulsory Education Act,which is undoubtedly a progres-

sive piece of legislat ion,remained silent on present aca-demic system as it laid toomuch emphasis on marksinstead of focusing on skilltraining for the overall develop-ment of children. Nevertheless,more reforms are required tomake education meaningful andfun loving for the students.

KR Srinivasan Secunderabad

��

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Easing the burden”(November 28). The fresh direc-tives issued by the Ministry ofHuman Resource Developmentto States and Union Territoriesacross the country to formulateguidelines to regulate the teach-ing of subjects and weight ofschoolbags in accordance withthe Government of Indiainstructions are indeed wel-come.

If each school is ready toprovide safe drinking water, theweight somewhat be reduced tothe joy of children, who are oth-erwise forced to carry water bot-tles along with the schoolbags.

Quite often we find schoolchildren fretting and fumingover the homeworks and assign-ments assigned to them by theirteachers. The joy of freedom isdeprived and divested of themat this tender age when they aresupposed to play and enjoytheir life.

MC JoshiLucknow

� 1 � � * � ) ( / = � � 1 % % ( $ -

��>��9��:��;9<=>��?�>�

222�� --13�-.B0��-+��L A��&�-+��L �+,��.3�-.B0��-+��B

��"�#��$ ��%�&��'()�'*+,

=

=��

�&(1!�!&�)( .�**�

�+��6��.��+�0��-5"�.��.��-��,��,�,��-��+��0��-�� .��-��3� -:�6��,��6��-�6��0M

�,��-+��,�%H.��:�%.��+-��-,��.��7-��,�+-��+�6��+�%�6��+,5��03��-��+,��,��3

3@2�)�A9;�9N ��&��#��1

;��-��0-��-��+5�+��0-�,+H��.��+��0��-��,��6��+�%+0��+0�&�1�,��+�6��,��3��-��+0��1,��+H��-�-��3��

B�9;��CC��9��"�;��9N �,�.�� 6��7

)��+0��-��-��,�.-��-+�,�O�:�,��+0��-66��6��+�-�0�,��+��-��,��+�-+�-��,��+��+�+�:��5��+0��+0��+��3

�?��9N ��

��-+�0�.-+��,��-+��++-��-��+�,�0��-��-�,��,��-+�-��"��+0��3�%��6-��0��0�,��,,�-+��,��,�0-+��+�-�.��-+3�

�;��;�"�;��9�N"�/�� +1��&��,�0

� ( � & . + % * �

� � * * � ) � * ( ** ' � � . % * ( )

��

��+��-��-�+0��-+�,�-+��-��;��-��0-��&�1�,��+��&��.��#�+�,��%.��+�;��+�,� �� +�6,� �-�� 1�,3� &��.�� -

;�� 06��6��+�1�,��+��,��,��K��,�6��,��+��-�� 1�,3%+0�� -��0� ��/�� -��0�&�1�,��+8,� ��,�� &��.��#�+�,��+0��#-0��-��,��+��,�#�+,�� ,�.�� 6��7��+��+��5��-+�-��-��0-�3��-��,�-+��P��0��,�+5��-+�� /��-��+��+�-+�.�+�,��,� ��1�$��,�.��;��!�0��+0�$��0��&��3�&�1�,��+��.��+��Q�.�� 6�0�!�76��1��,�6-�03�%��,�+�-��+��%+0��,��+�0�0-6+�&�1�,��+8,��+/�5��-+��-�&��.��#�+�,��+0��#-0��-��+0�� "�� ,�..��3� �� -�� -��0-�� 6�,-��+�0��-��0��+0��-5;��,��+��.�+�,��,��+�+0��-+�-��J��,��0��8��,�,��6��+��+��,�-��-��-�+��,3

��-��,��+0�,��+,��-�,-��-��,��1�+��-�+�,3� ��%+0��,��J��1,��+0��-��+5+-�� -� �-��83� !�� +� &�1�,��+� �-�0,� �� ;�,�.��0�,��,��6+,�.��+��3��+�6��:��0��,�-��-�� -�+��,�,�-��0�6-�1� �-6��0,�� -��3��

)��A��"��;��

�$�� %�'�%��

�� &�"#%��$�

�� !�% $��<

"��%�%�' %� �%�'�%��

�$�'�$%"��%��<�%��"��'��

��#&��!��"� %(�� "<

The Club of Rome’s ClimateEmergency Plan, unveiled onNovember 24, 2018, comes in

the wake of the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change’s SpecialReport on Climate Change of 1.5°C,released on October 7, 2018. It pro-vides yet another reminder thathumankind stands on the thresholdof disaster. Authored by SandrineDixson-Decleve, Ian Dunlop andAnders Wijkman with support fromMartin Hedberg and Till Kellerhoff,it gives an idea of the immediacy ofthe threat when it states with referenceto climate change, “Until recently, itwas seen as a future threat. Today, itis a reality affecting the lives of mil-lions. In the 21st Century, more thanany other issue, it will dictate the long-

term prosperity and security ofnations, and of the planet.”

The devastating consequencesof climate change are well-known andinclude flooding of coastal areas,destruction of coral reefs, extinctionand/or migration of marine species,drastically fluctuating weather pat-terns, floods, droughts, migrationand/or extinction of birds and animalsto escape climate conditions renderedinhospitable and drastic changes inagriculture as cropping patternschange in keeping with changing cli-mate conditions.

The migration inland of millionsof people from flooded coastal areaswould cause tension, and even vio-lent clashes, between locals and newcomers. Forest fires followingdroughts can wipe out towns, as inthe case of Paradise in California inthe United States, and cause seriousdamage to lives and livelihoods; socan the increasingly frequent flashfloods and cyclones. With the patternof agriculture affected, the problemof food security and sufficiencywould become acute.

All this is widely known. Thequestion is: What is to be done? TheClub of Rome’s report says, “Toavoid worst outcomes, global emis-sion [of Greenhouse Gases] must becut by half by 2030, and to zero by2050. This is an unprecedented task,requiring a reduction rate of at leastseven per cent annually; no countryhas achieved more than 1.5 per centpreviously. The only possibleresponse is emergency action totransform our social, economic andfinancial systems.” It also asks theindustrialised countries to implementtheir commitment at the Paris climatesummit to provide a minimum of US$100 billion annually to low incomecountries to support low-carbontechnology development and adap-tation-the chances of which happen-ing are clearly dim following theUnited State’s withdrawal from theParis Accord.

The Club of Rome’s is a compre-hensive multi-dimensional plan ofaction that calls for a transformationof the entire energy system. It calls forending new investments in coal, oil

and gas exploration after 2020, and atotal phasing out of the existing fos-sil fuel industry by 2050. It also callsfor a continuance of the doubling ofthe world’s capacity to generate windand solar energy every four years, anda tripling of investments in renewableenergy, energy efficiency and low-car-bon technologies for high GreenhouseGas emitting sectors before 2025

The plan calls for the “introduc-tion of realistic pricing and taxationto reflect the true cost of fossil fueluse” and materials and productswith embedded carbon, and thedirection of tax revenue to “research,development and innovation forlow-carbon solutions.” Humanprogress, it says, has to be measurednot in terms of production growthbut of a Genuine Progress Indicatorrelating to welfare and well-being.The Club of Rome calls for the accel-eration of the development and useof transformational technologies per-taining to the improved managementof refrigerants by 2020, and exponen-tial technology development to con-tain carbon emission in sectors like

agriculture, aviation, transport andthe production of carbon-intensivematerials like aluminum, steel andcement, which now account for 20per cent of carbon emissions global-ly. These could contribute, by 2040,up to 40 per cent of the global emis-sions unless controlled through,innovation, materials substitution,energy efficiency, renewable energysupply and circular material flows.

The broad sweep of the recom-mendations includes acceleratedimplementation of regenerative landuse policies including the protectionand maintenance of healthy forestsand a tripling of the annual invest-ment in Reforestation Initiatives inDeveloping (REDD) Countries.Particularly significant is its empha-sis on keeping population growthunder control by not only enabling120 million more women to use con-traceptives but transforming therelationship between men andwomen, empowering women tomake choices about reproduction,family size and timing. The impor-tance of this becomes clear on recall-

ing that human activity in all itsaspects is the defining cause of glob-al warming.

What the Climate EmergencyPlan calls for is a total transformationof the consumption-oriented way oflife that has evolved around an eco-nomic system involving productionfor profit on the one hand and esca-lating demand for both essentialitems and luxuries on the other.Integral to the process has been anincreasingly extravagant use of theearth’s resources and processes involv-ing high carbon emissions. The focushenceforth has to be on satisfactionof needs. This, in turn, would requirea fundamental change in economicgoals, means and processes of produc-tion, distribution systems, functionslike marketing and advertising, meansof global travel and transportation —to mention the easily recountableaspects. Both individuals and coun-tries have to extensively prioritise theirpreferences. The question is: Canhumankind do it?

(The writer is Consultant Editor,The Pioneer, and an author)

��&��

��"�#��$ "��%�&��'()�'*+,

�� !��2�!*��+��)��!��!+��)��+�"�, �#��!�!��2�!*��#!��"!��7� +��2��)�+!��!��!+�!��*!�2�

D�!�)��,��,��!�"��"*��

��,��" �,�+�3��,�2� !��(!(,�,��3��,�2� !��!�!��2�!*��#!��" ��!��!!�D(��"�"��"!��

�%($��(�&*�)�%($��

Since the submission of the Bhore committeereport in 1946, the Indian Government hasmade concerted efforts to provide healthcarethrough a country-wide network of three-tierhealthcare institutions, supplemented by var-

ious programmes. Success stories around eradicationof small pox and dracunculiasis, elimination of leprosy,neonatal tetanus, controlling vector-borne diseases, andreduction in maternal/infant mortality, have all rode onthis model. At the same time, the Government failedto establish comprehensive quality and provide cura-tive and rehabilitative care to the people, especially inremote areas. This bred inequality and inequity in accessto healthcare. This unfortunate reality manifests untiltoday. As the world changes, we are faced with a dou-ble burden of disease even as new health threats keepemerging. Disaggregating prevailing morbidity andmortality patterns exhibit our social gradients for healthoutcomes and the use of health systems. AyushmanBharat seeks to address all of these.

Imagine the prospect of a peasant walking in fora coronary stent without having to pay a rupee to thehospital. If at first an idea is not absurd, there is no hopein it. A grand idea should seem impossible. The world’slargest ever public health scheme for a country withwidely skewed social determinants of health is one suchgrand idea. Its sheer scale and scope is staggering: Ahundred billion rupees and half a billion people —neonates to young and old, cashless and nationallyportable access to seamless healthcare. This means two-third of India’s population is secured against catastroph-ic medical expenses. Like all grand ideas pursued withimagination, vigour and application, Ayushman Bharatis on the cusp of creating a paradigm shift in univer-sal healthcare. It rests on two essential vectors:Recognition of the fact that universal health insuranceis essential for universal healthcare delivery. And thatthis can be fulfilled by subsuming ongoing Governmentinitiatives while making the Ayushman Bharat propo-sition portable across the country.

Initiatives launched under the scheme will play acritical role in helping the country meet its social devel-opment goals. Much of this will rest on active collab-oration with State Governments and private healthcare.For better results, the scheme will need robust focuson operational and implementation aspects. We willhave to invest in capacity-building of resources at hand.The Government as well as the industry will have toforge partnerships with a focus on improving cover-age and providing access to quality healthcare services.All this while ensuring that money allocated is utilisedas intended. I see four critical success factors toAyushman Bharat:

i) Infrastructure access: With the exception of com-munity and primary health centres, the country hasabout 55,000 hospitals, that trots up to 1.6 million beds.This is an inadequate number compounded by wideswing across States. We have to build capacity as util-isation increases. At the same time, we must also increasecapacity utilisation of existing primary and communi-ty health centres. Meticulous implementation and robusthealthcare delivery in these centres can reduce the needfor secondary and tertiary care. Addressing problemsassociated with supply, logistics and spurious medica-tion is a challenge. Another issue is participation fromthe private sector. The Government must assureenough incentives to the private sector which is alreadyfaced with the problems of receivables and collectionfrom Government insurance schemes. We must havea strategy for negotiating/containing process forhealthcare services. All our States typically follow a pack-age rate model. Package rates are not a substitute for

arriving at actuarial rating. Without mar-ket intelligence, arbitrary pricing andunethical methods remain a risk.

ii) Skilled professionals: We havemore than a million doctors but theirdensity is skewed. Manpower optimisa-tion practices and creation of skilled man-power, including nurses, technicians andother support staff through short-termtraining courses, can increase resourceefficiency for doctors. The HealthcareSector Skill Council had initiated this.There are success stories from otherdeveloping countries. Costa Rica, forinstance, established multiple integratedprimary healthcare teams each lookingafter 5,000 people. These teams typical-ly comprise paramedics who visit patients;an executive who maintains records; anurse; a pharmacist; and a doctor.Similarly, Ethiopia has a concept ofhealth extension workers — rural highschool graduates, with a year-long train-ing. These health extension workershave played a key role in reducing childand maternal mortality by 32 per cent and38 per cent respectively. Our system ofAnganwadi and village healthcare work-ers like ASHA Didi can act as catalysts.

iii) Quality: In our country, the aver-age duration of medical consultation is lit-tle more than two minutes. Research con-ducted by the World Bank showed thatonly 30 per cent of consultations result incorrect diagnosis. Half a million of ourchildren die of diarrhoeal diseases everyyear. It also revealed that in Delhi, only25 per cent of medical practitioners askparents whether there was blood ormucous in the child’s stool (a definingsymptom). While we have quality stan-dards drafted by bodies such as theNational Accreditation Board forHospitals (NABH), compliance is a dif-ferent kettle of fish. And less than one percent of our hospitals have NABH accred-itation. Large-scale quality and patientexperience audit backed by implementa-tion and interventions is required to drivethe overall quality on multiple parameters.Infection control is especially important.

iv) Patients: We must pro-activelyevangelise patient education aroundhealth insurance. This includes educat-ing them on seeking healthcare from theright set of institutions. The Governmentshould take the lead in facilitating pub-lic health, focusing on awareness and

education. Pulse polio campaign was agreat success. We need a similar initia-tive for non-communicable diseasestoo. Increased penetration of smartphones is an opportunity. In Kenya, forexample, M-TIBA is a dedicated healthaccount on cell phones. It allows anyoneto send, save and spend funds for med-ical treatments. It uses internationallyrecognised ‘safe care’ standards to mon-itor quality of care at approved facilities.

Healthcare is a dynamic space sub-ject to change due to a variety of factors.One of the key drivers is the use of tech-nology. Relevance of technology and digi-tisation are imperatives as we look atnewer ways of healthcare delivery services.The Government must invest strongemphasis on adoption of technology bythe entire healthcare ecosystem. This mustprovide accessible and affordable patientcare to the last mile. As AyushmanBharat unfolds, an evidence-based strat-egy will have to address and resolve a slewof issues; many chronic.

Our primary healthcare hasfocused on reproductive and maternalhealth, neonatal and paediatric healthbesides communicable diseases. Ourneeds are greater than this. We needpreventive and/or promotive health:Prevention, early detection and treat-ment. A strong primary healthcare sys-tem will lead to a healthier India. Forinstance, detection and treatment ofdiabetes at 35 will avert kidney failureat 50 if the condition remains undetect-ed and untreated. In my estimation, wemust be careful of the following:

i) It must be mandatory for everyNHPS beneficiary to register with awellness and health centre. Medicines anddiagnostics can be provided at subsidisedprices or free to those who cannot affordit. Centres manned by primary carephysicians can provide out-patient care,including diagnostic facilities and medi-cines. They can be filters for NHPS.Polyclinics with specialists and higher levelof diagnostic facilities can be establishedfor referrals from primary centres. Everybeneficiary of NHPS must consult a pri-mary care physician. Treatment at thepolyclinic by a specialist should be onlyon referral from the primary centre.

ii) Ideally, all district hospitals shouldhave equipment at par with private ter-tiary care hospitals. Further up the value

chain, medical college hospitals should beequipped to be at par with private multi-super speciality hospitals. These can betweaked to demographics.

iii) Admission of any NHPS memberto a hospital should be only on referralfrom the primary care centre or the spe-cialist, except in emergencies such as acci-dents. Referral will be responsible for pre-venting unnecessary hospitalisations.

iv) Empanelled hospitals should begraded according to their infrastructureavailable and quality of care provided. TheGovernment should create a NationalHealth Regulatory Authority replicatedacross States. This would bring in unifor-mity in the healthcare sector.

v) Ambulatory surgery centres can beuseful in lightening the load on hospitals.

Rationalising treatment or surgicalprocedures and use of generic medicinesand diagnostics will reduce healthcarecosts. This will also stabilise premiumsof NHPS and ensure continuousimprovements in terms of coverage. Justlaunching NHPS without integratingwellness centres and Government infra-structure will not yield the desiredresult. We need strong planning, regu-lations, simple and efficient processes,and continuous monitoring throughadvanced technological platforms. Wemust prioritise critical initiatives essen-tial to realising goals; Ayushman Bharatmust be contextualised and synchro-nised. It must express itself with areform agenda hinging on improved gov-ernance and enforcement of regulations.

Success will depend upon focusingon health and not merely sickness.Reducing our disease burden throughrobust primary care, focus on allieddeterminants of health, quality outdoorand indoor services in public hospitalsand leveraging indigenous schools ofmedicine and technology will helpcheck farcical and wasteful expenditure.Instead of shrinking its role in health-care provision, participation of theGovernment system must be increasedprogressively. Everyone watches eager-ly as Ayushman Bharat takes wing.Everyone will have to ensure it soars andstays aloft, for it is the universal and over-arching umbrella of healthcare for all.

(The writer is Chairman, CII NationalHealthcare Council and Chairman andManaging Director, Medanta, Medicity)

�"��!��

1��9!��5��(��;� �� !��

��

�<' $#��!$�"��#' �

�*&"� �%� ��()%�$��"�(�"#

��$%��%��%#&"�9��

��9�"��(�"��#��("��'��%�� 3�)�

�� "��&��%��:

"��'��%�� :�((%�%��

&"�� %�'�' #��%��"%��

�$"�'�$��9��

��$��%��&��(�"#

�� >

'%�! �)%)�1

)(&!$�!1 �)�� )

)��,��,��+��,,��0�.�+0,��..�0��-+��-��-��:��--:��,��-,�3��,��.��,��,��+��0�0�-+��-��-/��+.�+��+0��O�+,

$!&3�) *)�'�&

,()�%6&�0�

(��)�)��(��!��

222��

��-��&��,��-�0��,��0��-��/��+��.-��+��0��0��-��C�C:��+0-��0��/��3��+0�,�.��-��,�.��+��,��-.�+��,��-.-��,��-��-��+�-+��+0��-/��+.�+�,�-��+0�,��,�0�+��-+,��+0��.3� ��

, % ) � * � ( � � - &

#�*��07��&��(� ��+�� #��%��5��/��'7��

5��,�� +�� ;��>@BC�� (�� .�� (��+��(�� (� ��

��+�� #�� #�� (��%��/�� $��4��9��$��!��A�� (*��#�� +9��<�39(��,��,�� :��<"��5��9�� +��/��159+/2�� (��.��>@BH��(��.��>@BH�

+9��5��9�� +��/��159+/2�� 59+/�� 59+/�� >@BB��(��"��#�� 9��(��3��(��9�� >@BH��=�� >@BC�

)��+��#��%��/�� $��#��!��4��#��<��/� ��=�� >@BC<�� +��#�B>(��(��=�� >@BC��I@ ��/��#��$��4��/�� $��#��(��%��(��

#�3�� 5��5��!��(�� >D(E@��+��&��(�� #�� (� ��(�� #��+��

%�� +�� *��(��(�� (�� +��#��(��+��>?@�� +��J@(H@��9��+��(��->@BC�� (��

��(�� (�� (��#�� %��+��(�� "�� #�� >@BC�

��

4��2��

��"�#��$ "��%�&��'()�'*+,

+�� "��(!��!��"�+!��+�$&�%%+0��0�&�-.-��-+��+�,��-+�E%�&�F��,��+��+��1��-��-��/��-��,��-��-.-��-+�-��0��+0��+0�,��3��-��,��+�.�0��-/��+.�+��-��1�J��,��-��-�+��!�,�+�,,8��+��/��-��0�,��/��,��,-��+��,��.��-��,,��--�,�6��+��-��+��+�6��/�+��,��-�J��,�+�,,��+0��.��-�.�+��+��-�+��8:��-�+��0�-�� ,�&��:�'+�-+�#�+�,��-��-..��R�%+0�,��:��-/��+.�+��-��%+0��6��0�&��,�+��-+��.-+��-��K��%+0��%+��+��-+��0�(��:��-+��0�0��&��#��0�+:��6��:�-+�)�0+�,0��3

��!��"��+�,, �!�#!��,��%+/-��.��:%+0��8,��0�+�0��+/-��0�,�-�+��+�.��1��,,��,,��-+�-��0�0��%+0��.��0E�-�.��/��+��-��-��-+��03F3��%��,��/��+��-/��+.�+��-��%+0��+��,�:�+0��0.�+�,��/��-+��-��-��#�+�,��-��-��3��& '��,��.�7-�,��-��+��-0��-+��+0�,-.��,��-��.��-6��+��-+��+��-�+��3��+�-��0�+��-��& '�-+��"�� -�.�6��-6�-/��CCC�# #�,��-��+�-��"�� -�.�%+/-��.��+0��+,��+/-��,��0�6��+�SK��,3�-��+��-�0�0��+0��-/�03

(�� )��$%

Shares of Yes Bank slumpednearly 12 per cent on

Wednesday after Moody’sInvestors Service downgrad-ed the company’s ratings tonon-investment grade andchanged outlook to negativefrom stable.

The stock fell sharply by11.71 per cent to end at�161.70 on the BSE. Duringthe day, it dived 12.55 percent to �160.15, its 52-weeklow.

On the NSE, shares of thecompany plunged 11.30 percent to close at �162.

The stock was the worsthit among the blue chips onboth the key indices duringthe day.

The company’s marketvaluat ion dropped by�4,909.72 crore to �37,384.28crore on the BSE.

In terms of equity vol-ume, 154.99 lakh shares ofthe company were traded onthe BSE and over 14 croreshares changed hands on theNSE during the day.

Moody’s Investors ServiceTuesday downgraded YesBank’s ratings to non-invest-ment grade and changed out-look to negative from stableon the back of various resig-nations from the board.

The resignations, whenseen in conjunction withRBI’s September directive torestrict the term of the bank’sMD and CEO Rana Kapoor,

till January 31, 2019, haveraised concerns over the cor-porate governance, it said.

“Although the bank’sreported credit fundamen-tals remain stable, the devel-opments surrounding thetransition in leadership aswell as the governance issuesare credit negative becausethey complicate manage-ment’s effective implementa-tion of the bank’s long-termstrategy,” it said.

Furthermore, these devel-opments could constrain thebank’s ability to raise newcapital, Moody’s said.

<��'��"��,>-8��7��$!>>�� 7��4�7��

(�� )��$%

Petrol price on Wednesdayfell below �74 per litre mark

for the first time since April asthe six-week long price reduc-tion spree wiped off all of themassive price hikes witnessedin petrol and diesel rates earli-er this year.

Petrol price in Delhi wascut by 50 paisa to �73.57 perlitre, according to a price noti-fication issued by State-ownedfuel retailers. This is the lowestpetrol price since April.

Diesel rates were cut by 40paisa to �68.89 a litre, thenotification said.

With this, the reduction inrates in last six weeks totals�9.26 per litre on petrol and�7.2 per litre on diesel.

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

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

Prices had started to climbfrom August 16. Petrol in Delhiwas priced at �77.14 per litreand in Mumbai it cost �84.58on August 15. Diesel on thatday was priced at �68.72 perlitre in Delhi and at �72.96 inMumbai.

Petrol price in Mumbai onWednesday stood at �79.12per litre and diesel was pricedat �71.71.

Between August 16 andOctober 4, petrol price washiked by �6.86 per litre anddiesel by �6.73.

On October 4, theGovernment decided to cutexcise duty on petrol and dieselby �1.50 per litre each and askedstate-owned fuel retailers tosubsidise prices by another �1a litre by reducing their margins.

Many states includingMaharashtra matched that witha reduction in local sales tax orVAT.

Subsequent to this, thepetrol price came down to�81.50 per litre in Delhi anddiesel to �72.95 a litre onOctober 5. In Mumbai rates fellto �86.97 per litre for petrol and�77.45 in case of diesel.

As the international oilprices continued to rise, priceof petrol and diesel in Delhiincreased to �82.83 and �75.69on October 17. In Mumbai,rates touched �88.29 a litre forpetrol and �79.35 for diesel.

But since then, interna-tional oil prices have beenfalling and rupee has alsoappreciated, resulting in declinein retail rates.

With international oilprices declining to $60 perbarrel, retail prices of petrol anddiesel may reign easy in thenext few days.

&��-��0��,��-6�>S�.��1:�0��,��6��,�-��1�

(�� #'#!�%

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) may have to conduct

open market operations(OMOs) of another �1,60,000crore in the fourth quarter ofthe current fiscal to tide overthe banking liquidity crisis,Bank of America Merrill Lynch(BofAML) said in a reportWednesday.

The global investment firmalso said the apex bank’s deci-sion on Tuesday to infuse�40,000 crore through OMOsin December may not be ade-quate to defuse the current liq-uidity shortfall, which is as highas �1,00,000 crore.

“Our liquidity modelestimates suggest that theRBI wi l l need to OMOanother �1,60,000 crore or$22 billion in the Marchquarter. This supports ourcall that the Governmentsecurities market will slip toexcess demand by March,”the report said.

The money market deficitis already running at a high

�1,00,000 crore, and afteradvance tax outflows, it couldclimb to �1,40,000 crore inDecember, it added.

BofAML said it does notrule out the possibility of theRBI cutting the cash reserveratio (CRR) by 1 per cent if for-eign portfolio investors (FPI)flows remain weak.

“This will release about�1,20,000 crore into the systemand bring the money market toneutral for now. This wouldthen reduce down RBI OMO to�40,000 crore for the Marchquarter,” the report said.

CRR, which is the mini-mum amount of deposit thatthe commercial banks have tokeep as reserves with theRBI, currently stands at 4 percent.

The investment bank saiddilution of prompt correctiveaction (PCA) norms, if finallydone, will restore credit flow toeven credit-worthy small andmedium size enterprises(SMEs) only if there is suffi-cient liquidity via RBI OMO orCRR cut.

�5��!��0;4>�� 7#7��5�9#>

(�� )��$%

Mars, Incorporated, and theTata Trusts, on

Wednesday signed a strategicpartnership to support India’sgoal of contributing towardshelping address nutritionalgaps for all population seg-ments. One of the ways theywill be working to deliverenhanced nutrition is in theform of protein-rich, nutri-tious products manufacturedlocally. The new collaborativeventure was inaugurated byStephen Badger, Chairman ofMars, Incorporated, and RVenkataramanan, ManagingTrustee of the Tata Trusts, aswell as senior officials from thetwo organisations.

Taxpayers having aggre-gate turnover of more than Rs1.5 crore and whose principalplace of business is in the 11specified districts of TamilNadu, they can file GSTR-1 forOctober by October 20, 2018.

Mars will be fulfilling thework through Mars Edge, itsdivision dedicated to humanhealth and wellness throughtargeted nutrition.

The Tata Trusts are imple-menting a three-prongedapproach in the area of malnu-trition. The work areas comprisehelping the Governmentstrengthen existing systems likethe Integrated ChildDevelopment Services (ICDS);working with the government onpolicy and advocacy on inter-ventions like food fortification;and supporting direct productionand distribution of affordablenutritious products, an exampleof which is the partnership withMars. In addition to nutrition-specific projects, the Trustsbelieve that achieving desirednutrition outcomes requiresmulti-sectoral interventions inpoverty alleviation, health, edu-cation and sanitation. The Trustssupport and implement large ini-tiatives on all these fronts.

��5��6�� 6�� 7�� ( ��

(�� )��$%

World Bank arm IFC saidWednesday it has

invested a record $2.6 billionin India in 2017-18, whichgrew by more than 100 percent over the previous twoyears.

“IFC invested a record$2.6 billion in India in FY2018— a rise of 136 per cent overthe figure two years ago — inthe key priority areas of infra-structure, logistics, inclusion,and sustainability,” IFC said ina release.

These investments are alllong-term, made over 40engagements with partnersranging from new-age start-ups, such as Coverfox andBizongo, to established namessuch as Mahindra &Mahindra and HDFC, it said.

“This is an all-time highand addresses key develop-ment gaps through select andsystemic interventions inaffordable housing, small andmedium enterprises, dis-tressed assets, technologystart-ups, logistics, agricul-ture, renewable energy, andsustainable mobility.”

These sectors will remainthe cornerstones of IFC’sinvestment and advisoryactivities in India in the yearsto come, said the World Bankgroup entity.

%(��+/�,�,��-�0�T32�+��+�%+0��,��,��

�+(�� )� $%��

The impact of escalating tradetensions on global growth

are worse than feared just onemonth ago, and threatened USauto tariffs could cut a largechunk out of the world econo-my, the IMF said Wednesday.Just last month, the InternationalMonetary Fund warned of thedangers of the trade frictions —notably between the UnitedStates and China, which haveexchanged tariffs on hundreds ofbillions in products. But IMFchief Christine Lagarde saidthose headwinds “could haveslowed momentum even morethan we had expected.”

In a report for the Group of20 leaders meeting in BuenosAires, the IMF said auto tariffs,if imposed, could cut threefourths of a per cent off theglobal economy.

Emerging market

economies, especially Chinaand the euro area, are alreadyseeing their economies slow,while a “no-deal Brexit couldfurther dent confidence,”Lagarde said in a blog post thataccompanied the report.

The report said trade andBrexit risks “remain acute,” andthe uncertainty itself createsdifficulties for companies bytightening credit conditions.

Investment would bereduced further if PresidentDonald Trump follows throughon his threat to impose steeptariffs on auto imports from allcountries except Canada andMexico, which would result inretaliation from trading part-ners on US exports.

An IMF calculation “sug-gests that the resulting short-term losses could lower globalGDP by about 3/4 per cent.” Trump has threatened to imposetariffs on autos as part of hisaggressive trade strategyfocused on preserving US jobs.

He also has hit half of USimports from China withsteep punitive tariffs, whichhas drawn retaliation fromBeijing. But he is due to meetin Buenos Aires with Chineseleader Xi Jinping, and a WhiteHouse official said Tuesdaythat Trump sees a “good pos-sibility” for a deal to defuse thetrade frictions.

Lagarde warned the G20gathering in Argentina that “theglobal economy faces a criticaljuncture.” “We have had a goodstretch of solid growth by his-torical standards, but now we arefacing a period where significantrisks are materialising and dark-er clouds are looming.”

.��0�/��,��,��

(�� )��$%

Ras Al Khaimah organisedthe 2nd Ras Al Khaimah

Economic Zone (RAKEZ)Business Investment Forum inNew Delhi on Wednesday.Held in collaboration withKPMG, the event was gearedtowards drawing more Indianmanufacturers to Ras AlKhaimah’s industrial ecosys-tem.

Addressing the forum,CEO of RAKEZ, Ramy Jalladsaid, India is deeply rooted inRAKEZ’s DNA. To put that intocontext, RAKEZ hosts over3,100 SMEs and over 230industrialists from India, mak-ing up to nearly a quarter of theeconomic zone’s total compa-ny population. Solely this year,RAKEZ has registered nearly700 companies out of the over11,000 enquiries it has receivedfrom Indian businessmen since

January.Speaking to The Pioneer on

taxation system in the region,he said, “When it comes taxes,it is federal Government issuebut if you talk about RAK, it isan economic zone. As an eco-nomic Zone — we provideincentives with our commercialincentive. We give special

incentives on the price of ourproducts and services depend-ing on the requirement of theclient. The UAE and GCChave introduced VAT in thebeginning of this year wheretaxes and VATs are applicableto all. We personally as RAKEZcannot influence that, but, Ibelieve that when it comes to

commercial business, Indianinvestors see benefit being inthe RAK because of cost effec-tiveness. RAK is around 25% to50% more cost effective com-pare to other part of the world,and that is what they want.”

RAKEZ saw interest frommanufacturing leaders in thefields of food and beverage,pharmaceuticals, and con-sumer care, among others. Theforum is expected to supportthe continuous growth ofRAKEZ’s industrial sectorwhich experienced a 28%increase this year, from 600manufacturing companies in2017 to now more than 770.

Among RAKEZ’s Indiansuccess stories are AshokLeyland, one of the leadingautomotive assembly company;Dabur, a personal care andproducts maker; and GKTechnologies, a steel structuremanufacturer.

(�� )��$%

The Government hasextended the date for filing

summary GST sales returnsfor October by a month toDecember 20 for taxpayersaffected by cyclones in AndhraPradesh and Tamil Nadu. Fortaxpayers whose principalplace of business is in the dis-trict of Srikakulam in AndhraPradesh, the due date for fil-ing GSTR-3B for the monthsof September and Octoberhas been extended ti l lNovember 30, 2018.

“In view of the distur-bances caused to daily life byCyclone Titli in the district ofSrikakulam, Andhra Pradesh,and by Cyclone Gaza in elevendistricts of Tamil Nadu viz.,

Cuddalore, Thiruvarur,Puddukottai, Dindigul,Nagapatinam, Theni,Thanjavur, Sivagangai,Tiruchirappalli, Karur andRamanathapuram, the com-petent authority has decided toextend the due dates for filingvarious GST returns,” a financeministry statement said.

The last date for filingGSTR-3B for a month, is the20th day of the subsequentmonth. Taxpayers havingaggregate turnover of morethan �1.5 crore and whoseprincipal place of business is inthe district of Srikakulam inAndhra Pradesh, final salesreturn or GSTR-1 forSeptember and October has tofiled by November 30.

)!��/��,��+!��)��+�,��)�+!�� ,!�1��

*16�?�'��("��(��

��"�#��$ "��%�&��'()�'*+,

��+�!*��,�!��)��!��(��(��++��(�1(��#�,��

New Delhi: Trai has directed operators not to immediately disconnectservices of customers with “sufficient” pre-paid balance as it took strong noteof telcos asking such users to go in for mandatory monthly recharge plan. The telecom regulator came down heavily on the operators after it receivedcomplaints from subscribers that they are being sent text messages to “manda-torily” recharge their prepaid accounts in order to continue to avail services.These subscribers rued that the messages are being sent despite their pre-paid accounts having “sufficient balance”. “Tariff and plans are under for-bearance and we don’t generally intervene. But if there is sufficient moneyin the account and despite that people are being told that the services willbe disconnected, it is not correct,” Trai chairman RS Sharma told reportershere. The directive in this regard has gone out to operators on Tuesday, headded. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) met operators ear-lier this week and is currently examining the issue in its entirety. In the mean-time, it has asked operators to “duly inform subscribers in a clear and trans-parent manner the date on which the current validity of existing plan wouldexpire and the manner in which the subscriber can opt for the available plansincluding minimum recharge plan using subscriber's available pre-paid accountbalance or otherwise”. It also asked operators to provide all this informationto subscribers through SMS immediately and “not later than 72 hours”. Traiin its directive to operators said, "till such time, services of such customerswho have balance in pre-paid accounts equal to minimum recharge amount,should not be discontinued”. The telecom sector has been bruised byfalling tariffs, eroding profitability, and mounting debt in the face of stiff com-petition triggered by disruptive offerings of Reliance Jio, owned by MukeshAmbani. Two of the largest operators — Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea -- are looking to boost their revenue realisation per user and have announcedminimum monthly recharge plans starting from �35.

��,��"��4��2��"��(��*3New Delhi: Reliance Industries arm has acquired substantial stake in media

startup New Emerging World of Journalism (NEWJ) with an initial investmentof �10.3 million. “As initial tranche, RIIHL (Reliance Industrial Investments andHoldings Limited) has subscribed to 30,000 equity shares and 125 compulso-ry convertible debentures for total cash aggregating to �10.3 million and con-sequently NEWJ has become subsidiary of RIIHL and the company,” RIL saidin a late regulatory filing on Tuesday. NEWJ is a tech-media startup focusedon curating and producing video content for the smartphone-obsessed youngIndians. RIIHL has acquired majority stake in NEWJ. “The recent exponen-tial growth of the video content market provides a huge opportunity for inno-vative visual storytelling in India. The company intends to fill this demand forquality content in the social and digital media space. The venture was found-ed by a team of young entrepreneurs led by Shalabh Upadhyay,” RIL said.

'7%(-�%%�&$*-�*%��@�� "��,AA��(�� #'#!�%

The BSE Sensex rose for thethird straight session

Wednesday, gaining over 200points on short-covering aheadof November derivatives expiryand positive global cues amidrising hopes of a trade dealbetween the US and China.

In similar movement, thebroader NSE Nifty reclaimedthe 10,700 level.

The 30-share Sensex settled203.81 points, or 0.57 per cent,higher at 35,716.95, while thebroader NSE Nifty jumped43.25 points, or 0.40 per cent,to finish at 10,728.85.

According to analysts, pos-

itive global market and short-covering ahead of Novemberfuture and options (F&O)expiry led the indices to extendtheir rally.

“Market has largely fac-tored the earnings downgradepost Q2 results and valuationhas got more rational due totailwinds in domestic macros,”they added. The rally was ledby IT stocks, with TCS andInfosys rising up to 5 per cent.

IndusInd Bank, RIL,PowerGrid, HDFC Bank,HDFC, ICICI Bank, HeroMotoCorp and Tata Steel wereamong the other gainers,advancing up to 2 per cent.

Yes Bank, on the other

hand, was the biggest loser onboth the bourses, crackingnearly 12 per cent, afterMoody’s Investors ServiceTuesday downgraded its ratingsto non-investment grade andchanged the bank's outlook tonegative from stable on theback of various resignationsfrom the board.

The bank, in a regulatoryfiling Wednesday, said its boardwill recommend names fornew chairman on December13, to be approved by the RBI,as well as consider appointmentof independent directors.

Other losers includedBharti Airtel, Tata Motors,ONGC, L&T, SBI, Coal India

and Sun Pharma, falling up to4 per cent. On a net basis, for-eign portfolio investors (FPIs)bought shares worth �811.52crore and domestic institu-tional investors (DIIs) werenet buyers to the tune of Rs31.21 crore Tuesday, provi-sional data available with BSEshowed. Elsewhere in Asia,Korea’s Kospi rose 0.42 percent, Japan’s Nikkei 1.02 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng1.33 per cent and ShanghaiComposite Index 1.05 per cent.

In Europe, Frankfurt'sDAX was up 0.11 per cent andParis CAC 40 0.18 per cent.London’s FTSE inched up 0.02per cent.

* ��,��%�� (�� )��$%

To make stock market listing attractive for star-tups, leading stock exchange BSE has

announced the creation of a new division with-in its SME segment to list new-age companies.

The platform will facilitate the listing of com-panies in sectors like IT, ITeS, bio-technology andlife sciences, 3D printing, space technology ande-commerce.

Besides, the platform will aid in listing of firmsfrom hi-tech defence, drones, nano technologies,artificial intelligence, big data, virtual reality, e-gaming, robotics, genetic engineering, amongother sectors.

“In order, to incentivise startup compa-nies...the exchange is pleased to announce the cre-ation of a new sub-segment within the existingSME (small and medium enterprise) segment,”BSE said in a circular.

Spelling out the criteria for listing on the BSEstartup platform, the exchange said the compa-ny should be registered as a startup with theMinistry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprisesor Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion.

In case the company is not registered as a start-up then its paid-up capital should be minimum�1 crore.

Among other criteria, the company should bein existence for a minimum period of two years,besides, qualified institutional buyer (QIB) orangel investor or any other accredited investorshould have invested in the firm for a minimumperiod of two years at the time of filing of draftprospectus with the BSE. The firm should havepositive net-worth and none of the promoter ordirectors of the company have been debarred byany regulatory agency. Further, the exchange saidthe firm seeking to list on the platform should nothave been referred to National Company LawTribunal (NCLT) under Insolvency andBankruptcy Code and there should be no wind-ing up petition against the company that has beenaccepted by NCLT.

'%-+�� "�� 4��(�� )��$%

Blaming Reliance Jio forfinancial woes of the tele-

com sector, employee unions ofBSNL on Wednesday allegedthat the government wasfavouring the latest entrantover other firms and said theywill go on an indefinite strikefrom December 3.

The employee unionsclaimed that the governmenthas not allotted spectrum for4G services to BSNL in orderto prevent it from competingagainst Reliance Jio.

Reliance Jio did notcomment on the allegations.

“As of now, the whole tele-com industry is gripped with acrisis...All these have happeneddue to the predatory pricing ofthe Mukesh Ambani ownedReliance Jio. The whole gameplane of Reliance Jio is to wipeout its competitors, whichincludes the state ownedBSNL,” BSNL unions said in ajoint statement.

All Unions andAssociations of BSNL (AUAB)alleged that with its huge finan-cial muscle, Reliance Jio isoffering services at 'below-cost'rates. It said that private tele-com companies like Aircel,Tata Teleservices, Anil

Ambani-owned RelianceCommunications and Telenorhave already closed theirmobile service businesses. Italleged that Reliance Jio willsteeply raise call and data tar-iffs once the entire competitionis wiped out. “It will loot thepeople by steeply raising thecall and data charges. It is amatter of deep concern that,Reliance Jio is being openlypatronised by the NarendraModi government,” the state-ment said. No immediatecomments were received fromthe Prime Minister’s Office.AUAB said the public sectorfirm has been demanding allot-

ment of 4G spectrum but “thegovernment has turned a deafear to this demand, with theulterior motive of preventingthe public sector companyfrom putting up an effectivecompetition to Reliance Jio”.

“Demands of the strikeinclude the immediate allot-ment of 4G spectrum to BSNLfor rolling out its 4G service,implementation of the gov-ernment rule in respect of pay-ment of pension contributionby BSNL, wage revision of theemployees and pension revi-sion of the retirees, fromJanuary 1, 2017,” the state-ment said.

Script Last Abs ChangeTraded Price Change %3MINDIA 20805.00 71.10 0.348KMILES 164.95 7.85 5.00AARTIIND 1472.50 -18.90 -1.27ABB 1398.35 44.60 3.29ABBOTINDIA 7153.35 -52.40 -0.73ABCAPITAL 103.25 -4.50 -4.18ABFRL 186.10 -1.50 -0.80ACC 1432.00 -11.85 -0.82ADANIPORTS 363.35 -5.25 -1.42ADANIPOWER 54.30 3.85 7.63ADANITRANS 239.90 -10.35 -4.14ADVENZYMES 182.05 -4.80 -2.57AEGISLOG 224.90 -1.90 -0.84AIAENG 1604.00 48.50 3.12AJANTPHARM 1103.25 -15.95 -1.43AKZOINDIA 1577.00 -8.35 -0.53ALBK 47.10 -0.35 -0.74ALKEM 1925.85 9.20 0.48ALLCARGO 108.50 0.75 0.70AMARAJABAT 732.00 -3.00 -0.41AMBUJACEM 214.30 -1.05 -0.49ANDHRABANK 28.15 -0.25 -0.88APARINDS 619.00 -2.50 -0.40APLAPOLLO 1267.00 -53.05 -4.02APLLTD 557.00 -5.15 -0.92APOLLOHOSP 1231.45 -1.40 -0.11APOLLOTYRE 234.90 5.25 2.29ASAHIINDIA 265.00 -1.15 -0.43ASHOKA 129.00 3.30 2.63ASHOKLEY 108.10 -1.80 -1.64ASIANPAINT 1321.80 -17.40 -1.30ASTERDM 142.20 -0.20 -0.14ASTRAL 1069.90 -15.15 -1.40ATUL 3548.95 -46.00 -1.28AUBANK 585.70 -21.35 -3.52AUROPHARMA 783.35 -4.50 -0.57AVANTI 350.40 -11.00 -3.04AXISBANK 627.65 2.45 0.39BAJAJ-AUTO 2599.80 1.20 0.05BAJAJCORP 353.00 3.35 0.96BAJAJELEC 470.50 14.90 3.27BAJAJFINSV 5812.05 -45.75 -0.78BAJAJHLDNG 2986.90 -18.85 -0.63BAJFINANCE 2411.20 -20.05 -0.82BALKRISIND 959.30 -28.95 -2.93BALMLAWRIE 187.55 -1.85 -0.98BALRAMCHIN 96.90 -4.45 -4.39BANDHANBNK 466.45 3.70 0.80BANKBARODA 104.70 -4.35 -3.99BANKINDIA 82.90 -2.85 -3.32BASF 1515.00 -13.70 -0.90BATAINDIA 994.00 -6.35 -0.63BAYERCROP 4080.00 63.30 1.58BBTC 1322.45 -19.00 -1.42BEL 88.85 -4.50 -4.82BEML 774.55 15.25 2.01BERGEPAINT 312.50 -3.80 -1.20BHARATFIN 1000.50 17.40 1.77BHARATFORG 565.50 -10.05 -1.75BHARTIARTL 316.00 -12.50 -3.81BHEL 66.70 -0.15 -0.22BIOCON 599.45 -9.75 -1.60BIRLACORPN 630.00 -17.30 -2.67BLISSGVS 161.55 -2.45 -1.49BLUEDART 3085.00 7.35 0.24BLUESTARCO 641.10 7.25 1.14BOMDYEING 104.65 3.20 3.15BOSCHLTD 18684.00 225.80 1.22BPCL 321.45 -12.85 -3.84BRITANNIA 5968.00 -46.60 -0.77CADILAHC 342.75 -2.30 -0.67CANBK 262.25 -5.25 -1.96CANFINHOME 257.00 -0.45 -0.17CAPF 530.20 -11.70 -2.16CAPPL 407.70 2.70 0.67CARBORUNIV 355.60 -5.20 -1.44CARERATING 957.45 -29.50 -2.99CASTROLIND 155.95 1.35 0.87CCL 269.45 0.10 0.04CEATLTD 1210.00 -32.95 -2.65CENTRALBK 29.85 -0.45 -1.49CENTRUM 38.50 -1.05 -2.65CENTURYPLY 172.60 2.65 1.56CENTURYTEX 898.00 -9.10 -1.00CERA 2380.00 -39.75 -1.64CGPOWER 37.75 -1.60 -4.07CHAMBLFERT 147.00 -2.50 -1.67CHENNPETRO 267.60 -0.20 -0.07CHOLAFIN 1292.20 -17.10 -1.31

CIPLA 515.00 -2.90 -0.56COALINDIA 247.85 -4.05 -1.61COCHINSHIP 378.15 -7.80 -2.02COFFEEDAY 264.35 -0.50 -0.19COLPAL 1220.00 -14.85 -1.20CONCOR 664.25 -2.45 -0.37COROMANDEL 406.00 1.30 0.32CORPBANK 27.10 -0.70 -2.52CRISIL 1499.90 20.15 1.36CROMPTON 211.00 6.85 3.36CUB 177.50 0.90 0.51CUMMINSIND 792.45 -8.10 -1.01CYIENT 620.70 3.35 0.54DABUR 415.05 -4.45 -1.06DBCORP 177.65 -3.20 -1.77DBL 449.75 0.05 0.01DCBBANK 154.10 -0.85 -0.55DCMSHRIRAM 356.25 -1.70 -0.47DEEPAKFERT 161.10 -7.95 -4.70DEEPAKNI 248.65 -6.85 -2.68DELTACORP 233.40 -5.80 -2.42DENABANK 16.20 -0.05 -0.31DHANUKA 437.00 -0.85 -0.19DHFL 208.85 -10.95 -4.98DISHTV 37.55 0.00 0.00DIVISLAB 1482.00 -38.30 -2.52DLF 176.05 -2.05 -1.15DMART 1440.90 38.10 2.72

DRREDDY 2570.40 -19.80 -0.76ECLERX 1056.00 -10.70 -1.00EDELWEISS 166.90 -0.60 -0.36EICHERMOT 23100.00 -648.30 -2.73EIDPARRY 213.00 -4.30 -1.98EIHOTEL 186.05 0.30 0.16ELGIEQUIP 232.50 5.50 2.42EMAMILTD 430.10 -10.85 -2.46ENDURANCE 1065.00 -14.60 -1.35ENGINERSIN 116.70 -0.80 -0.68ENIL 617.20 -10.30 -1.64EQUITAS 107.05 -2.40 -2.19ERIS 613.50 0.05 0.01ESCORTS 681.80 -6.60 -0.96ESSELPRO 87.00 1.50 1.75EVEREADY 200.80 -0.30 -0.15EXIDEIND 259.20 -0.10 -0.04FCONSUMER 49.15 -1.60 -3.15FDC 191.00 -1.30 -0.68FEDERALBNK 81.75 0.55 0.68FINCABLES 451.00 0.30 0.07FINOLEXIND 534.10 -6.70 -1.24FLFL 382.05 -4.20 -1.09FORBESCO 2455.95 7.70 0.31FORCEMOT 1690.20 -6.80 -0.40FORTIS 146.00 -0.15 -0.10FRETAIL 524.00 -1.90 -0.36FSL 51.95 4.10 8.57GAIL 339.40 -8.05 -2.32GDL 146.20 0.45 0.31GEPIL 797.00 4.30 0.54GESHIP 282.80 -0.35 -0.12GET&D 243.00 2.00 0.83GHCL 205.00 -3.85 -1.84GICHSGFIN 230.75 -2.05 -0.88GICRE 290.40 -11.30 -3.75GILLETTE 6481.00 -1.65 -0.03GLAXO 1315.15 -30.35 -2.26GLENMARK 646.85 0.55 0.09GMDCLTD 86.35 -0.30 -0.35GMRINFRA 16.05 -0.30 -1.83GNFC 338.50 1.20 0.36

GODFRYPHLP 935.85 51.45 5.82GODREJAGRO 502.00 -8.15 -1.60GODREJCP 745.50 -3.50 -0.47GODREJIND 519.00 -8.95 -1.70GODREJPROP 642.85 -34.30 -5.07GPPL 97.00 0.05 0.05GRANULES 85.50 -2.60 -2.95GRAPHITE 922.90 -21.00 -2.22GRASIM 843.15 -17.55 -2.04GREAVESCOT 124.00 2.00 1.64GREENPLY 132.00 -0.45 -0.34GRINDWELL 497.00 4.70 0.95GRUH 283.00 4.55 1.63GSFC 102.80 -1.95 -1.86GSKCONS 7234.90 119.35 1.68GSPL 188.00 8.25 4.59GUJALKALI 560.00 -5.05 -0.89GUJFLUORO 872.50 -7.40 -0.84GUJGAS 636.90 2.80 0.44GULFOILLUB 760.50 -2.80 -0.37HAL 796.00 -9.45 -1.17HATSUN 618.90 1.90 0.31HAVELLS 668.65 9.20 1.40HCC 12.21 -0.15 -1.21HCLTECH 1040.05 17.40 1.70HDFC 1925.00 23.35 1.23HDFCBANK 2084.65 25.70 1.25HDFCLIFE 393.55 1.00 0.25HDIL 20.45 -0.75 -3.54HEG 4172.75 -177.50 -4.08HEIDELBERG 146.85 0.25 0.17HERITGFOOD 514.95 -3.80 -0.73HEROMOTOCO2986.05 18.85 0.64HEXAWARE 310.95 3.25 1.06HFCL 18.85 -0.30 -1.57HIMATSEIDE 216.90 -5.70 -2.56HINDALCO 216.25 -3.45 -1.57HINDCOPPER 48.35 -0.60 -1.23HINDPETRO 238.25 -7.70 -3.13HINDUNILVR 1730.80 -1.85 -0.11HINDZINC 261.15 -3.70 -1.40HONAUT 21150.05 -214.75 -1.01HSCL 136.50 -4.65 -3.29HSIL 214.10 -6.35 -2.88HUDCO 43.05 -1.20 -2.71IBREALEST 77.35 -3.40 -4.21IBULHSGFIN 692.55 -5.30 -0.76IBVENTURES 408.00 -15.35 -3.63ICICIBANK 359.05 4.70 1.33ICICIGI 795.00 0.15 0.02ICICIPRULI 321.50 -4.50 -1.38ICIL 60.55 2.10 3.59IDBI 59.95 -0.25 -0.42IDEA 37.90 -0.90 -2.32IDFC 41.05 -0.20 -0.48IDFCBANK 38.65 -1.05 -2.64IEX 158.10 1.20 0.76IFBIND 864.90 3.35 0.39IFCI 13.62 -0.42 -2.99IGL 268.50 0.20 0.07IL&FSTRANS 17.30 -0.75 -4.16INDHOTEL 137.65 -0.10 -0.07INDIACEM 89.05 -1.90 -2.09INDIANB 222.65 -4.20 -1.85INDIGO 1038.90 3.40 0.33INDUSINDBK 1615.50 31.05 1.96INFIBEAM 40.15 -4.60 -10.28INFRATEL 259.75 -4.30 -1.63INFY 666.35 29.35 4.61INOXLEISUR 211.30 -0.75 -0.35INOXWIND 83.75 2.25 2.76INTELLECT 219.20 -7.25 -3.20IOB 14.65 0.05 0.34IOC 134.00 -4.25 -3.07IPCALAB 790.00 -4.35 -0.55IRB 152.15 -0.45 -0.29ISEC 266.50 -2.40 -0.89ISGEC 5301.00 0.80 0.02ITC 282.05 -2.70 -0.95ITDC 305.45 0.85 0.28ITDCEM 103.95 2.25 2.21ITI 90.45 -2.50 -2.69J&KBANK 36.50 -1.90 -4.95JAGRAN 115.00 1.80 1.59JAICORPLTD 105.75 -0.55 -0.52JAMNAAUTO 70.45 0.40 0.57JBCHEPHARM 289.20 -6.80 -2.30JCHAC 1760.10 -28.40 -1.59JETAIRWAYS 308.80 15.25 5.20JINDALSAW 80.90 -0.80 -0.98JINDALSTEL 151.75 -3.75 -2.41

ZYDUSWELL 1200.00 -23.95 -1.96KRBL 298.00 -24.10 -7.48KSCL 520.00 6.50 1.27KTKBANK 101.80 -1.95 -1.88KWALITY 11.17 0.53 4.98L&TFH 138.60 7.25 5.52LAKSHVILAS 87.90 0.45 0.51LALPATHLAB 878.00 0.55 0.06LAOPALA 233.40 3.25 1.41LAURUSLABS 372.00 -13.95 -3.61LAXMIMACH* 5798.00 -42.65 -0.73LICHSGFIN 465.60 4.75 1.03LINDEINDIA 647.90 -17.65 -2.65LT 1403.60 -27.90 -1.95LTI 1635.00 46.50 2.93LTTS 1570.00 47.75 3.14LUPIN 864.60 15.55 1.83LUXIND 1488.00 -5.15 -0.34M&M 748.35 -4.05 -0.54M&MFIN 419.00 -1.60 -0.38MAGMA 108.75 -1.55 -1.41MAHABANK 13.18 -0.05 -0.38MAHINDCIE 255.70 -5.80 -2.22MAHLIFE 393.00 -3.20 -0.81MANAPPURAM 82.95 -2.75 -3.21MANPASAND 96.10 1.00 1.05MARICO 359.15 -5.45 -1.49MARUTI 7565.50 -64.10 -0.84MAXINDIA 60.50 -1.15 -1.87MCX 703.30 -9.80 -1.37MEGH 60.75 -2.60 -4.10MFSL 429.00 3.65 0.86MGL 822.00 -6.85 -0.83MHRIL 207.05 -4.30 -2.03MINDACORP 134.05 -3.05 -2.22MINDAIND 321.50 0.50 0.16MINDTREE 874.05 49.10 5.95MMTC 28.80 -0.25 -0.86MOIL 166.55 -1.25 -0.74MONSANTO 2501.90 13.40 0.54MOTHERSUMI 158.95 -2.35 -1.46MOTILALOFS 620.00 -3.30 -0.53MPHASIS 954.10 48.40 5.34MRF 68671.00 73.75 0.11MRPL 73.05 -3.45 -4.51MUTHOOTFIN 451.10 -11.15 -2.41NATCOPHARM* 716.00 -1.55 -0.22NATIONALUM 64.70 -0.10 -0.15NAUKRI 1491.45 13.45 0.91NAVINFLUOR 721.35 7.20 1.01NAVKARCORP 60.00 -1.55 -2.52NAVNETEDUL 106.30 -2.70 -2.48NBCC 55.35 -1.45 -2.55NBVENTURES 119.05 -1.90 -1.57NCC 86.70 -1.40 -1.59NESTLEIND 10702.05 183.30 1.74NETWORK18 38.20 0.15 0.39NH 223.50 -3.40 -1.50NHPC 26.00 -0.05 -0.19NIACL 198.55 -0.75 -0.38NIITTECH 1094.40 -2.45 -0.22NILKAMAL 1555.00 -6.85 -0.44NLCINDIA 76.70 -3.45 -4.30NMDC 93.95 -0.70 -0.74NOCIL 169.65 6.40 3.92NTPC 143.50 -2.10 -1.44OBEROIRLTY 412.50 -13.35 -3.13OFSS 3451.00 48.65 1.43OIL 198.40 -1.80 -0.90OMAXE 210.50 0.55 0.26ONGC 142.65 -3.65 -2.49ORIENTBANK 86.10 -3.55 -3.96ORIENTCEM 81.25 -0.50 -0.61PAGEIND 26001.00 -383.20 -1.45PARAGMILK 246.00 3.45 1.42PCJEWELLER 68.05 -4.30 -5.94PEL 2100.25 49.55 2.42PERSISTENT 601.05 36.15 6.40PETRONET 215.00 -2.00 -0.92PFC 92.35 -9.45 -9.28PFIZER 2750.00 -39.45 -1.41PFS 15.80 -0.25 -1.56PGHH 9297.20 -43.25 -0.46PHILIPCARB 211.90 -3.70 -1.72PHOENIXLTD 594.65 -16.15 -2.64PIDILITIND 1157.10 -11.35 -0.97PIIND 822.95 -13.75 -1.64PNB 69.65 -2.80 -3.86PNBHOUSING 969.50 -60.15 -5.84PNCINFRA 149.40 -1.50 -0.99POWERGRID 184.05 2.35 1.29

PRESTIGE 186.95 11.20 6.37PRSMJOHNSN 86.10 1.00 1.18PTC 79.50 -2.55 -3.11PVR 1462.70 21.45 1.49QUESS 723.20 -10.05 -1.37RADICO 390.40 -8.05 -2.02RAIN 134.80 -12.15 -8.27RAJESHEXPO 571.90 1.45 0.25RALLIS 165.50 -0.20 -0.12RAMCOCEM 596.00 -3.55 -0.59RATNAMANI 894.30 0.05 0.01RAYMOND 812.25 -2.50 -0.31RBLBANK 543.30 -31.75 -5.52RCF 58.40 -1.10 -1.85RCOM 13.13 -0.19 -1.43RECLTD 110.75 -11.20 -9.18REDINGTON 87.35 -2.10 -2.35RELAXO 755.50 -4.00 -0.53RELCAPITAL 237.70 2.90 1.24RELIANCE 1146.25 18.75 1.66RELINFRA 360.35 4.85 1.36REPCOHOME 354.90 -29.65 -7.71RNAM 171.50 8.90 5.47RNAVAL 12.78 -0.12 -0.93RPOWER 29.75 -0.45 -1.49SADBHAV 203.05 0.40 0.20SAIL 55.50 -1.30 -2.29SANOFI 5980.00 -10.90 -0.18SBILIFE 568.00 -1.70 -0.30SBIN 284.15 -4.90 -1.70SCHAEFFLER 5424.00 -123.50 -2.23SCHNEIDER 107.10 -1.85 -1.70SCI 43.75 -0.85 -1.91SFL 1410.00 9.80 0.70SHANKARA 670.75 -69.45 -9.38SHARDACROP 295.30 -9.30 -3.05SHILPAMED 370.00 -4.40 -1.18SHK 190.00 1.15 0.61SHOPERSTOP 494.85 19.75 4.16SHREECEM 15850.15 -196.15 -1.22SHRIRAMCIT 1560.00 -14.95 -0.95SIEMENS 905.00 -1.25 -0.14SIS 820.00 33.35 4.24SJVN 26.80 -0.70 -2.55SKFINDIA 1862.00 -5.60 -0.30SOBHA 457.50 13.40 3.02SOLARINDS 1000.25 -16.20 -1.59SOMANYCERA 302.40 -3.80 -1.24SONATSOFTW 306.25 -4.65 -1.50SOUTHBANK 15.41 -0.05 -0.32SPARC 257.70 -9.05 -3.39SPICEJET 79.10 -2.75 -3.36SREINFRA 31.90 -1.55 -4.63SRF 2111.00 -1.60 -0.08SRTRANSFIN 1130.90 27.25 2.47STARCEMENT 97.40 -0.20 -0.20STRTECH 342.90 -2.10 -0.61SUDARSCHEM 349.70 -2.65 -0.75SUNCLAYLTD 3482.80 31.35 0.91SUNDRMFAST 506.00 -9.05 -1.76SUNPHARMA 486.35 -7.25 -1.47SUNTECK 346.10 -12.00 -3.35SUNTV 608.40 -1.80 -0.29SUPPETRO 203.00 -2.00 -0.98SUPRAJIT 211.40 -5.50 -2.54SUPREMEIND 975.00 -14.25 -1.44SUVEN 241.30 -5.20 -2.11SUZLON 5.43 -0.18 -3.21

SWANENERGY 101.90 -1.45 -1.40SYMPHONY 976.00 -7.25 -0.74SYNDIBANK 34.65 -0.80 -2.26SYNGENE 553.00 -10.70 -1.90TAKE 133.40 1.80 1.37TATACHEM 694.70 -14.20 -2.00TATACOFFEE 95.05 -0.70 -0.73TATACOMM 525.65 -7.85 -1.47TATAELXSI 1016.75 12.70 1.26TATAGLOBAL 215.45 -2.20 -1.01TATAINVEST 852.75 -1.25 -0.15TATAMETALI 632.00 0.60 0.10TATAMOTORS 174.35 -5.65 -3.14TATAMTRDVR 95.50 -2.65 -2.70TATAPOWER 74.35 -1.20 -1.59TATASTEEL 524.00 1.90 0.36TCS 1976.55 88.20 4.67TEAMLEASE 2715.00 -78.70 -2.82TECHM 698.35 4.80 0.69TEJASNET 236.00 -0.20 -0.08TEXRAIL 58.50 -0.90 -1.52THERMAX 1020.45 20.90 2.09THOMASCOOK 228.95 -2.65 -1.14THYROCARE 530.90 0.80 0.15TIFHL 495.30 12.75 2.64TIMETECHNO 110.40 -2.65 -2.34TIMKEN 515.30 -4.00 -0.77TITAN 920.55 6.55 0.72TNPL 246.50 -1.40 -0.56TORNTPHARM 1688.00 36.85 2.23TORNTPOWER 251.50 -4.00 -1.57TRENT 335.00 0.95 0.28TRIDENT 63.25 -1.30 -2.01TRITURBINE 114.55 -0.25 -0.22TTKPRESTIG 7192.70 359.60 5.26TV18BRDCST 34.85 -0.15 -0.43TVSMOTOR 536.10 -7.15 -1.32TVSSRICHAK 2490.00 18.40 0.74TVTODAY 365.95 -2.00 -0.54UBL 1242.95 -24.85 -1.96UCOBANK 18.90 -0.30 -1.56UFLEX 284.00 -1.15 -0.40UJJIVAN 218.70 -1.65 -0.75ULTRACEMCO 4004.80 -0.75 -0.02UNICHEMLAB 210.25 -3.30 -1.55UNIONBANK 79.40 -2.30 -2.82UPL 768.00 -1.05 -0.14VBL 762.25 -10.35 -1.34VEDL 192.95 -2.20 -1.13VENKYS 2329.30 -49.30 -2.07VGUARD 208.00 4.40 2.16VIJAYABANK 42.00 -0.25 -0.59VINATIORGA 1396.00 -33.55 -2.35VIPIND 522.20 -1.95 -0.37VMART 2710.65 86.55 3.30VOLTAS 536.45 -9.60 -1.76VTL 1069.00 4.00 0.38WABAG 271.65 -3.90 -1.42WABCOINDIA 6799.00 177.40 2.68WELCORP 159.45 0.40 0.25WELSPUNIND 59.80 -0.15 -0.25WHIRLPOOL 1376.50 -2.70 -0.20WIPRO 310.40 -1.50 -0.48WOCKPHARMA 516.90 -5.05 -0.97YESBANK 161.70 -21.45 -11.71ZEEL 477.75 18.35 3.99ZENSARTECH 227.00 3.10 1.38ZYDUSWELL 1200.00 -23.95 -1.96

��

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 10708.75 10757.80 10699.85 10728.85 43.25TCS 1889.00 1989.00 1882.50 1985.05 94.80INFY 640.95 668.70 640.00 664.50 25.60ZEEL 459.80 481.90 459.20 477.55 18.25RELIANCE 1132.45 1157.75 1126.30 1151.45 23.25INDUSINDBK 1596.00 1620.00 1592.20 1618.90 30.35HCLTECH 1023.20 1047.75 1012.35 1039.50 16.35HEROMOTOCO 2973.00 3015.00 2970.00 3002.05 43.90HDFCBANK 2065.00 2098.60 2060.10 2091.00 27.00HDFC 1909.00 1930.90 1907.15 1924.00 22.30POWERGRID 181.90 185.00 181.50 184.25 1.70ICICIBANK 356.95 361.55 353.25 357.55 2.90TATASTEEL 522.30 528.90 518.65 525.60 3.30TECHM 701.00 705.90 692.00 698.50 4.35TITAN 916.00 931.00 915.00 920.00 5.70UPL 766.00 779.65 765.50 771.85 3.30HINDUNILVR 1731.00 1748.00 1716.75 1737.45 4.15AXISBANK 630.00 631.80 622.50 626.60 1.35ULTRACEMCO 4005.20 4040.00 3982.20 4010.00 5.00BAJAJ-AUTO 2612.00 2625.00 2584.00 2600.00 0.35M&M 754.70 759.20 745.55 749.95 -1.80WIPRO 313.95 315.55 309.25 310.80 -1.25CIPLA 519.20 523.95 513.60 515.40 -2.25DRREDDY 2595.00 2595.35 2547.75 2572.35 -16.40IBULHSGFIN 689.60 703.85 678.00 694.00 -4.45BAJAJFINSV 5910.00 5917.10 5792.55 5830.00 -50.35KOTAKBANK 1172.15 1187.70 1157.60 1162.95 -10.60ITC 285.40 287.95 280.80 282.20 -2.65JSWSTEEL 312.40 314.75 306.20 308.05 -3.15BAJFINANCE 2445.95 2449.00 2396.25 2410.00 -25.45ASIANPAINT 1352.90 1354.55 1319.15 1325.50 -14.10VEDL 196.20 197.35 192.15 192.80 -2.20MARUTI 7658.00 7680.50 7549.60 7550.20 -97.40ADANIPORTS 368.20 369.00 362.25 363.50 -5.55NTPC 146.95 147.55 142.00 143.50 -2.25SUNPHARMA 489.00 502.40 481.50 485.60 -8.25COALINDIA 252.50 253.75 247.25 247.60 -4.30INFRATEL 266.00 266.30 257.60 259.40 -4.75SBIN 289.40 292.45 283.00 284.00 -5.40LT 1431.60 1434.00 1399.00 1400.90 -30.70HINDALCO 220.00 222.30 214.50 214.65 -5.25ONGC 146.80 148.20 142.05 142.30 -3.80TATAMOTORS 181.00 181.35 174.00 175.10 -4.95GRASIM 862.00 865.00 834.00 836.10 -24.50EICHERMOT 23780.00 24050.00 23040.00 23101.00 -706.55GAIL 349.00 353.45 336.00 336.75 -10.60HINDPETRO 246.50 247.35 235.80 238.40 -7.50IOC 137.30 138.25 133.45 134.00 -4.45BHARTIARTL 332.00 332.80 311.00 316.00 -12.15BPCL 334.70 335.30 318.60 320.20 -15.30YESBANK 180.40 181.00 160.30 162.00 -20.65

��

��

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 27265.50 27356.85 27146.30 27188.95 -71.00L&TFH 131.75 139.80 129.15 139.00 7.55SRTRANSFIN 1102.85 1139.70 1090.00 1138.00 37.60ABB 1356.05 1404.95 1345.00 1400.00 44.00PEL 2025.00 2114.40 2017.40 2105.00 56.65DMART 1406.00 1450.00 1397.90 1441.00 36.05LUPIN 832.00 870.00 830.00 866.80 15.80BOSCHLTD 18455.00 18728.95 18444.95 18673.00 325.35HAVELLS 656.05 673.85 656.05 669.00 9.75OFSS 3408.95 3606.50 3399.00 3434.40 38.40LICHSGFIN 462.30 466.90 457.20 466.00 4.90INDIGO 1031.80 1047.55 1026.00 1039.90 4.30MRF 68501.00 69340.00 68360.75 68769.30 194.05BANDHANBNK 465.00 471.95 456.40 465.90 0.95AUROPHARMA 785.25 791.50 778.70 788.30 0.85BHEL 67.10 67.25 66.35 67.00 0.00SIEMENS 909.00 916.60 901.10 905.85 0.00ICICIGI 790.10 798.85 786.20 795.05 -0.20SBILIFE 568.00 584.00 566.00 570.05 -0.45HDFCLIFE 393.95 396.00 390.95 392.60 -0.35SHREECEM 16001.00 16091.95 15899.55 16000.00 -22.25NHPC 26.00 26.10 25.80 26.00 -0.05SUNTV 614.90 618.50 605.25 610.00 -1.80PGHH 9395.00 9395.00 9252.70 9270.00 -38.40NIACL 198.25 200.40 198.00 198.00 -1.05CONCOR 671.00 674.00 656.00 664.00 -3.95AMBUJACEM 216.50 217.50 213.65 214.50 -1.35BRITANNIA 6070.00 6070.00 5950.50 5991.00 -44.05ACC 1449.95 1456.00 1433.15 1434.10 -11.05GODREJCP 750.00 764.00 741.05 742.00 -6.30PIDILITIND 1165.10 1186.30 1155.00 1160.05 -10.10CADILAHC 347.20 349.65 342.00 342.65 -3.10OIL 200.00 201.45 197.25 197.80 -2.00DLF 178.70 179.25 172.50 176.30 -1.85NMDC 95.50 95.50 93.20 93.65 -1.15PETRONET 218.10 219.40 214.00 214.90 -2.65DABUR 421.00 426.55 413.25 414.80 -6.05HINDZINC 263.00 264.50 260.05 260.40 -3.95MARICO 364.75 369.25 358.40 359.30 -5.60MOTHERSUMI 162.00 164.60 157.50 159.10 -2.50BIOCON 609.45 609.45 591.20 599.00 -9.70COLPAL 1239.80 1263.65 1215.00 1218.00 -20.65ICICIPRULI 327.45 330.50 320.05 320.80 -6.30ASHOKLEY 110.45 111.50 108.00 108.15 -2.15MCDOWELL-N 647.10 650.00 628.45 633.00 -13.70IDEA 38.75 39.20 37.50 37.80 -0.95SAIL 57.15 57.15 55.10 55.30 -1.50ABCAPITAL 107.10 108.20 103.25 103.90 -3.65BANKBARODA 109.00 110.25 103.60 104.35 -4.60GICRE 303.40 303.70 288.00 289.00 -13.00BEL 93.65 94.00 88.25 88.45 -4.70

4��"�#��$ "��%�&��'()�'*+,

*)(**%&6*)(**%&66�(+�

��!�)!��%��!+�#!,��+�� 2�;��. ��0��0��-��-��1�6��,��/��0��,��+��"��-+�-��-��+��-��.-+��,��,��.�0�+-��I��/�,��+�7�,��/�0��,:��$��#�+�,��,,��03��-��1:�6��+-+��,��:��,�+-6�1��0�S��-��:��.�+�,��,��0��+��,��.�+��-+��,0��3

**�� ,�,��"��%E,�;��;. !��,��)-��0�)��%%/��+��+0��-��/�,�$��,�� .��,�0��03�

�+(�� !'�� %"�

Saudi Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman

arrived in Buenos Aires onWednesday to join a Group of20 summit, media reported, ashe aims to shrug off the lin-gering stigma of journalistJamal Khashoggi’s murder.

The prince was received atthe airport by Argentina’sForeign Minister Jorge Faurie,according to Argentine press.

The Saudi foreign min-istry tweeted video footage ofthe crown prince getting off aplane in Buenos Aires.

“Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman arrivesto Argentina to head the dele-gation participating in the G20summit,” said a royal courtstatement carried by the officialSaudi Press Agency.

Officials said the princecould meet Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan on thesidelines of the summit.

That would be the firstmeeting of the two sinceKhashoggi’s brutal killing at theSaudi Arabian consulate inIstanbul on October 2.

“There could be” a meet-

ing, Turkish presidentialspokesman Ibrahim Kalin said.

Argentina was meanwhiledue to decide whether tolaunch an investigation intohim over the journalist’s mur-der and possible war crimes inYemen.

On Monday Kenneth Roth,the executive director ofHuman Rights Watch, aninternational rights group,asked Argentina to open theprobe.

“A decision by Argentineofficials to move toward inves-tigation would be a strong sig-nal that even powerful officials

like Mohammed bin Salmanare not beyond the reach of thelaw,” Roth said in a statement.

“And Mohammed binSalman should know that hemay face a criminal probe if heventures to Argentina.”

Saudi Arabia has facedsharp international criticismover the murder of WashingtonPost contributor Khashoggi.

The journalist was killedand dismembered in whatSaudi Arabia said was a “rogue”operation — though CIAanalysis leaked to the US mediaappeared to implicate PrinceMohammed.

�'%��"��1� �� ,A

�-%. '��'(66%-�).�),�)()�

�(�� )� $%��

Senators who have grownincreasingly uneasy with

the US response to SaudiArabia after the killing of jour-nalist Jamal Khashoggi are setto grill top administration offi-cials on Wednesday at a closed-door briefing that could deter-mine how far Congress goes inpunishing the longtime MiddleEast ally.

Senate Majority LeaderMitch McConnell says “somekind of response” is neededfrom the United States for theSaudis’ role in the gruesomedeath. While President DonaldTrump has equivocated overwho is to blame, the Senate isconsidering a vote as soon asthis week to halt US involve-ment in the Saudi-led war inYemen.

“What obviously hap-pened, as basically certified bythe CIA, is completely abhor-rent to everything the UnitedStates holds dear and stands forin the world,” McConnell saidTuesday.

“We’re discussing what theappropriate response wouldbe.” Much will depend on whatsenators hear from DefenseSecretary Jim Mattis andSecretary of State Mike

Pompeo. Administration offi-cials were able to stall a Senateeffort earlier this year againstthe Saudi-backed conflict inYemen. But senators are out-raged over the administration’sresponse to Khashoggi’s killing,and they’re particularly upsetthat no one from the intelli-gence community is attendingWednesday’s briefing.

Sen. Joe Manchin of WestVirginia, one of 10 Democratswho declined to join the earli-er effort against the Saudis, saidTuesday he was reconsideringhis position.

“Things changed,”Manchin said. “The wholething with Khashoggi is verymuch concerning. It’s not whowe are as a country. It’s not whowe should have as allies and notcondemn that.”

The top Democrat on theSenate Foreign RelationsCommittee, Sen. BobMenendez of New Jersey, willlikely be in favor of the Yemenresolution, and another keymember of the panel, Sen.Chris Coons, D-Del., said hewas “inclined” to support itnow if it came up for a vote.

Senators are getting ham-mered by outside groups run-ning ads and lobbying them foraction.

��?�� )��

�+(�� ;%�9

US President Donald Trumphas said he may cancel a

long-awaited summit with hisRussian counterpart VladimirPutin after a confrontation atsea between Russia andUkraine led Kiev to warn of thethreat of “full-scale war”.

Trump is scheduled tomeet Putin at the G20 summitin Buenos Aires at the end ofthis week, but warned it woulddepend on the results of areport being prepared by hisnational security advisers aboutRussia’s seizure of threeUkrainian ships.

“Maybe I won’t have themeeting. Maybe I won’t evenhave the meeting,” he told theWashington Post on Tuesday.

Ukrainian President PetroPoroshenko earlier warned thatthe standoff could herald moredrastic developments as ten-sions escalate between the ex-Soviet neighbours.

“I don’t want anyone tothink this is fun and games.Ukraine is under threat of full-scale war with Russia,”Poroshenko said.

The number of Russianunits deployed along theUkraine-Russian border has

“grown dramatically” while thenumber of Russian tanks hastripled, Poroshenko said, citingintelligence reports but givingno precise timescale for thebuildup.

He spoke after Russianforces seized three of Kiev’sships off the coast of Crimea onSunday and captured 24Ukrainian sailors.

On Tuesday, a court inSimferopol, the main city inRussian-annexed Crimea,ordered 12 of the sailors to beheld in pre-trial detention fortwo months. Three hospitalisedsailors were also formallydetained for two months. Therest are to appear in court onWednesday. The move stokedalready high tensions betweenMoscow and Kiev, as Russiacontinues to accuse the sailorsof crossing illegally into Russianwaters and of ignoring warn-ings from its border guards.

Kiev has demanded therelease of the sailors and urgedWestern allies to impose fur-ther sanctions on Moscow.

The US State Departmenthas termed Russia’s actions “adangerous escalation” and saidWashington wants to see “ourEuropean allies doing more toassist Ukraine.”

2�� #��&��

(�� #!�

Sri Lanka’s highest-rankingmilitary officer Admiral

Ravindra Wijegunaratne onWednesday surrendered beforea local court which remandedhim in custody for a week in acase of abduction of 11 youthsduring the last phase of thebloody civil war with the LTTEin 2009.

Chief of Defence StaffAdmiral Wijegunaratneappeared before the Fort mag-istrate court in full military uni-form and his army commandosecurity. The court wasinformed that Wijegunaratneshielded a naval intelligenceofficer accused of 11 murdersin the final stages of the civilwar with the Tamil rebels thatended in 2009.

The court remanded himin custody until December 5.

Admiral Wijeguneratnedenies the allegations.

Navy personnel had beenarrested for abductions and dis-

appearance of 11 youths in2009 apparently for ransom.

A special police teaminformed the court thatWijegunaratne had facilitatedthe main suspect ChandanaPrasad Hettiarachchi, a lieu-tenant commander of the Navy,to flee the country to avoidlegal proceedings.

Wijegunaratne had con-cealed information to the courtover Hettiarachchi’s where-abouts, the police team said.

The court wanted him toappear before it, butWijegunaratne avoided.

The Liberation Tigers ofTamil Eelam (LTTE), which ledthe separatist war for a separateTamil homeland for threedecades in the island nation,was finally crushed by theLankan military in 2009 withthe death of its leader VPrabhakaran. The UN HumanRights Council has called for aninternational probe into thealleged war crimes during themilitary conflict with the LTTE.

+��2�� #�� +(�� 9�

Afghanistan’s PresidentAshraf Ghani on

Wednesday announced a 12-person team for prospectivepeace talks with the Taliban, asthe UN renewed calls for directnegotiations between Kabuland the terrorists.

The Afghan Government,Western diplomats and UnitedNations officials have in recentweeks raised hopes of finallyreaching a deal to end the

Taliban’s 17-year insurgency. At an international con-

ference on Afghanistan inGeneva, Ghani said his gov-ernment had “formed a 12-per-son negotiating team, com-prised of both women andmen, and led by presidentialchief of staff (Abdul Salam)Rahimi”. Rahimi, a formerhumanitarian worker and ex-deputy Afghan finance minis-ter, is considered one of Ghani’sclosest aides.

The President also laid out

what he termed a “roadmap”for the talks and four principlesthat he said must form thebackbone of any agreement.

They include respectingAfghanistan’s constitution andthe total rejection of interfer-ence in domestic affairs byforeign “terrorist” and criminalgroups.

“We seek a peace agree-ment in which the AfghanTaliban would be included in ademocratic and inclusive soci-ety,” Ghani said.

!��8� �� 7�� 7��

�+(�� !"' ��

The European Union onWednesday urged

Government, businesses, citi-zens and regions to join it in anambitious plan to cut emissionsand make the bloc carbon neu-tral by 2050.

“True, there are many chal-lenges on the road,” warned EUclimate commissioner MiguelArias Canete said.

According to Canete, ifEurope retains its current tar-gets it will only reduce net car-bon emissions by 60 per cent bymid-century, not enough tomeet the bloc’s pledges underthe 2015 Paris climate accord.

Delegations from morethan 200 countries are due inPoland next week for the latestCOP24 climate summit, aimedat renewing and building onthe Paris deal and limitingglobal warming.

�7�� B��2��,ACA

(�� !�% %��

Atruck carrying hazardouschemicals exploded outside

a chemical plant in China’snorthern Hebei province onWednesday, killing at least 22people and leaving as manyothers injured, the secondmajor industrial disaster in thecountry in the last four days.

The blast occurred outsidethe Hebei Shenghua ChemicalIndustry in Zhangjiakou,Qiaodong district around 12:40am, igniting a fire that engulfednearby vehicles, the officials

were quoted as saying by thep-aper.Cn, a Shanghai-basedwebsite. An industrial safetyofficial, identified only as Wu,said that one of the trucks linedup outside the plant to deliverchemicals had exploded, settingoff a chain reaction thatengulfed other trucks.

Chinese news reports, andimages from the scene, indi-cated that a fiery explosion nearthe plant had set around 50vehicles ablaze, includingdozens of trucks, and sent adark plume of smoke into thenight sky.

�(�� )� $%��

The Kremlin said onWednesday it still expects

a meeting between PresidentVladimir Putin and PresidentDonald Trump to go ahead asplanned despite a suggestionfrom Trump that it could becanceled. Trump, in an inter-view with The WashingtonPost on Tuesday, said he maycancel the sit-down with Putinin Argentina following Russia’sseizure of three Ukrainiannaval ships last weekend.

Kremlin spokesmanDmitry Peskov told reporterson Wednesday that the meet-ing is on and that Russia hasnot received “any other infor-mation from our U.S. counter-parts.”

Putin’s foreign affairs advis-er, Yuri Ushakov, noted that themeeting, which is set forSaturday, has been preparedthrough official channels andMoscow expects Washington tonotify it of any changes in thesame way.

“This meeting is neces-sary for both sides,” Ushakovsaid. “It’s important in view ofthe developing situation in theworld.” The long-simmeringconflict between Russia andUkraine burst into the open onSunday.

��@�� /��2��

Jakarta: A crashed Lion Air jetshould have been groundedover a recurrent technical prob-lem before its fatal journey,Indonesian authorities said onWednesday, as details fromthe new jet’s flight data recordersuggested that pilots struggledto control its anti-stalling sys-

tem.The preliminary crash

report from Indonesia’s trans-port safety agency also tookaim at the budget carrier’spoor safety culture, but did notpinpoint a cause of the October29 accident, which killed all 189people on board. AFP

39�� 0��

/��+�� %�� &�.��

��"�#��$ "��%�&��'()�'*+,

��,,��#�:�6�-��,�6-�1�06��,�5�-��)��F�9��+��.,��1��+0��,��,��,��6�+�,��-�6-�16��.��+3=%��/��.�,,��-��O��3�&��,�.�1��.�,--+�+0��,��.��+��+0��-��0-+H�6�+��-��1��.��,��+��-�:��+��,��1��.��,��-��,,�,5��+�:@��,��0-+�I3>�!%�(#H,�� ,�-63��,��+��+��,��,,�-��+�� 3 ��,-��0�+��5��/��-��,��+��.,��1��+0!��+��3

?0�7�� 7� �� 5�� 8�� @%� �� !4�

��A�� 7�� 5�� 8�� !

� ��B�� 7� �� B��#��@+� ��5��!� ��B��7�� 4��@CD��

��-��*�,,��"��,��+��-6��,�-+��+��0��5��-+,��6��,�-�0�,��,-+��,��-.�3��,��:�,��0��+��.-5��-+��/�0�-�-��.,��-+�,-��.�0��-.��,��3= -�%H.��+��(�3�%��-��.��,-+��3�)�8/��+

��+��+��+0��,��%��1��.��1�0,�,��-+�,��7�,��,-��/��+0�/�0��

0�00��.�3 �00�+��.��6��:�J<-�1+-6�6��:�0�0M�%7�,��,�0�-�H��+-��7�,�.��0�03�!��-�H��.-��1�.��,��+0:8@� .��

,��03��-��-��.-��-+��,��,��0:�=%�6�,��1�:)�--3�<��:.�+3�&�-��3&�-��3@

��,,� �"��)��"��+�0��-�0��3� ��,��,�,-.��6-�1��,��-.�+��6��:�,-�,��6�+�,��-��-��,�-+��+/�+��+��5,��+��3=%��-/��.��0��

�-.�,��+0-��3�%�-/��-��--1��1�+0��-��-+��+0�.�1��.��+,��0�-�6��+�6��6��/��+

,�-��-��.�3� -.��6-�1��,�-.�+��-+��+0��+�,�6��%��/�+H��0-+��-��:�,-�%��+1�.��-��,��-��+��6��+5/�+��+��.�,��:@�,��,��03

*�5�4�� 4��4� �6��E��7��

�� 7� � ��5��

When you walkdown the greenpathways of theItalian Embassyyou realise that a

beautifully manicured garden lit upwith carefully designed lights cantransport you to different moodswithin one space. From VibhorSogani’s swans to Kaza, inspiredfrom the Weaver bird’s nest, to theterracotta lamps hanging from atree looking like Jugnoo or firefliesby another artist, the garden at theItalian Ambassador, LorenzoAngeloni’s residence opened up alarge canvas for lighting designersto play with.

“It was a dark canvas. If you seethe old lights it was nothing.There’s an old structure, there aregreens, pathways, avenue of trees,olive trees and they all lend char-acter to the space. The elements arebeautiful and there is everything adesigner would want to light up. It’sa perfect canvas. Apart from theelements, you think about theambience you want to create whenyou design. This is the perfectexample of what lighting designerscan do to a place. This is a consor-tium of designers who have cometogether and are painting with light.Literally, we’re having fun usingvisual arts as a medium. There’s adining space, a band will set upunder a tree, and the lighting thereis named Jugnoo, for fireflies thatcome from the tree,” said designerKanchan Puri Shetty, who broughtit all together.

Italian lighting brand, IGuzzinihas brought Vibhor Sogani,Harmeet Singh Issar, SarvdeepBasur, Kanchan Puri Shetty, ManavBhargava and Linus Lopez togeth-er along with The LuxurySymposium to show the playbetween light and dark.

“We have requested the ItalianEmbassy for Vespas for an instal-lation. We have named that instal-lation ‘Hamara Vespa’. When youwalk down the pathway, the instal-lation is like the Coldplay songLights will guide you home so wenamed it Shepherd. We can show-case here what lighting design cando. We are a fraternity which is veryindependent but also dependent on

architects. It came by organically.We walked around and decided toadd lights to the columns and more.It was a narrative of how we wantthe guests to experience spaces dif-ferently. How you change the ambi-ence and mood, it’s a visualonslaught. Yet, each one has a view-ing angle. You see something froma distance, it attracts you to go nearit and you see all its intricacies.That’s how art should be,” saidShetty.

There is no theme for the lightinstallations but everything comestogether seamlessly.

“Lighting is a lot about dark-ness as well. The sun, the moon andthe way nature is, so is my designphilosophy that it should be mean-ingful. I also believe in being ener-gy conscious. It’s not just about agrid of lights, you’re sculpting withit,” she added.

The evening is expected to bea showcase for architects and peo-ple who have a vision of transform-ing their homes apart from beinganother step forward towards theIndo-Italian friendship.

“I think it is known that Italyis a leader in industrial design. Thecooperation and collaborationbetween design in Italy and indus-try in India is important.Architecture, fashion and lightingdesign are our forte too, apart frommanufacturing.

“In the last 20 years, lightingdesign — external and internal —has become prominent in mycountry. At the recent TechSummit, cultural heritage was oneof the talking points. Why? Thereis a huge heritage reservoir inIndia and Italy. There are 57UNESCO recognised sites in India.IGuzzini was one of the first com-panies that became famous in theworld for lighting monuments andthis can be a huge space for collab-oration between the two countries,”said Ambassador Angeloni.

When Tchaikovsky’s SwanLake premiered at theBolshoi theatre, Moscow,

in 1875, there was thrill and amoment of absolute happiness.“But only a moment,” or so wroteTchaikovsky in his diary.

With numerous adaptations ofthe iconic ballet, there havealso been a number of ver-sions of the same story —where the dancers’breathless skil l ispiqued by exquisitepain — however, noother version of the ballethad ever carried a culturalchange in Swan Lake.

Odishi dancer andfounder of Sanjali ,Sharmila Mukerjee’sadaptation brings acomplete cultural trans-formation presentingHansika, the f irstOdishi adaptation ofthe Russian ballet. Itshowcases a westernclassical theme throughan Indian classical one.

It is a compellingtale of romance anddeception, an intimate por-trait of a love affair betweenPrince Siegfried and Odette, aprincess turned into a swan by anevil sorceress.

Through fluid Odishi move-ments, Mukerjee presents theclassic through poses that makethe artists look like sculptures and

intricate footwork to lend itselfinto the fabric of ballet. Shenamed it Hansika to “Indianise”the Russian folktale.

However, how challenging isit to transform a ballet story intoa classical dance performancewithout any dialogues or narra-tion?

Sharmila says that eventhough very explicit expressionsare given to each sequence tomake the feelings obvious andreachable to the audience, she hasalso used dialogues at three placesin the whole act “otherwise itwould have been impossible to tellthe audience certain things. Youcan’t just enact a scene where thefeelings do not have a large say. Ifthe scene has a set up you have tobring in dialogues even in a danceperformance.”

She adds that the major chal-lenge was that she “had to edit thescript in a way that the Indianaudience could relate to it as well.I didn’t want to show just a story.”

While various other versionssimply follow the plot, where an

evil sorceress transforms theprotagonist into a swan,Mukerjee’s adaptation alsoquestions, why the sorceresssuddenly becomes evil andwhy she curses? Why onlyswan and not any otheranimal? What could be theother things that lead to theevents?

The dancer, whose firstdance lessons in her

childhood were in bal-let, says that she has

been highlyinspired by balletdancer AnnaPavalova. AndSwan Lake hasbeen one of herfavourite ballet

creations. “There was not enough

courage, preparation, financialstability, funding or dancers thatI could have done it before. But Ihave always wanted to recreate it.It was a long-held dream for me,”says Mukerjee.

It is after they had a got theapproval from the Ministry of

Culture that the performancecould be planned and staged.

So how was the performancestructured? As the original tale hasmany acts and scenes, there wasan ensemble of 25 artists. Sheexplains that classical dances havealways been colourful and visual-ly bright, unlike ballet that gener-ally uses light colours and most-ly whites. “There were costumes,formations and expressions topresent all the twists and turns inthe Russian folktale,” says she.

The dancer has taught danceand movement therapy to deafchildren in Kolkata andBengaluru. She tells us that teach-ing them dance was really diffi-cult. “We had to plan strategies asthey need a lot of time and ener-gy to channelise. I worked withtherapists and attended work-shops to figure a plan to teachthem. We had a mega productionin Kolkata comprising of 50 stu-dents. It turned out to be good.The children were very good atusing facial expressions. Indeedchallenging, but worth it,” shesays.

She believes that for an artist,the path is never smooth. “It’salways a struggle. Emotionally,physically and mentally, there arethings that are always drainingyou. There’s a lot of work and chal-lenges, especially on financialnotes. There’s no time for anartist to sit back and relax. Evennow that I just completedHansika, I am back to thinkingabout my next performance andproduction. So it’s a never-endingprocess.”

Talking about how socialmedia has been taking over youngminds and increasing competitionamong talents, she says, “Socialmedia can be very deceptive andnot everyone is doing good workthere. This way, competition hasindeed increased but no matterhow much a person is doing, theyare putting everything on socialmedia, every bit of their work.They become overnight sesnsa-tions but only for a short span. It’sdifficult to be noticed so easily forgood work but it doesn’t needsocial media to find recognition.”

The wedding ceremonyof actress PriyankaChopra and her

American singer beau NickJonas has officially startedwith a puja ceremony.

The two stepped outsideto meet and greet the fansand media. The couple wasseen waving at the fans andhappily smiling for the cam-era crew.

The bride-to-bePriyanka Chopra, who wasseen wearing a heavilyembellished aqua green suit,was spotted entering hermother Madhu Chopra’shome for the puja, whilemingling with Nick’s broth-er Joe Jonas and his fianceSophie Turner.

The actress was alsosporting sunglasses, shoul-der-grazing earrings and thewedding diamond ring,which Nick gave her duringthe proposal.

Nick was also seensporting traditional Indianoutfit, an embroidered pinkkurta paired with creampajamas and sunglasses.

Nick’s brother Joe Jonasand his fiance Sophie Turnerwere also seen at the venue

wearing traditional Indianoutfits.

The wedding will takeplace at Umaid BhawanPalace in Jodhpur. The cou-ple has hired few helicoptersto take them straight to thevenue from the airport.

There will be two differ-ent-styled weddings, a Hinduand Christian one. The cer-emony and festivities will bea private affair with only thefamily and some close friendspresent at the palace.

The mehendi andsangeet ceremony will beheld on Wednesday at theUmaid Bhawan, where Nickwill perform a medley of hissongs and Priyanka will beperforming a few of her hitdance numbers.

The pre-wedding cere-monies will continue with ahaldi ceremony on November30. A cocktail party has alsobeen organised for the twofamilies, relatives and friendsbefore the big day.

The royal palace —Umaid Bhawan — will beshut down for tourists tillDecember 3 for “securityreasons.”

@.�"

��-�,�&"%<��;��$�&"��+0��%�;� �� 8,�6�00�+��.-+��,��/��-��+�6��0��-+��

$��-.�,�+-��,��

7��!��!

��

��,��--�,��+��+,��0��1��+/�,��+�-��/��.��+��

��+��6��+��.�+�,:�,��,�;��$��&'"%

$��<3�!�� #%�� ";�"

J�%�$�%��% ��!�'��";�� 3

�$�� '�:��$�#��$�

)�<��'"��% :� �% �#<�� %��&$%�� &$<:#��%��('�3�

%�!��%�9��%��!�%��"�<5�� %�' 3

%�8 �� ' ��!�'��"%��(�%�$� :�<�'8"�

�'�&�%��)%�$�%�8

��+�� $�"#%��#';�" ��-+��-6��0��-+�-��"�,,��+��:�"#��$��:��,��0��+��-��,��P��,��-+,��-��0��1��3�!��$�$�; #%��

�!�"#��

#�#�� F

The renowned Italian smallappliances brand, theDe’Longhi Group, has

announced a strategic partner-ship with the Orient ElectricLimited, which is a part of thediversified $1.8 billion, CK BirlaGroup, to bring its internationalpremium range of small appli-ances to the Indian market. TheOrient Electric will have exclu-sive rights to market and sell themarquee brands of De’Longhi,Kenwood and Braun in India.

Orient Electric is a leadinghome electrical player in thedomestic market while havingstrong presence in 35 countriesglobally, which made it a suitablepartner for this partnership. Inthe domestic market, the compa-ny has a well-organised distribu-tion network, covering over100,000 retail outlets and a strongservice network with a reach in320 cities.

Commenting on the partner-ship, the managing director andthe CEO of the Orient ElectricLimited, Rakesh Khanna, said,“Premiumisation is gatheringpace in India. The Indians are

travelling abroad, experiencingglobal food and culture and thisbeing coupled with the risingincomes, is leading to anincreased inclination towards anaspirational lifestyle. The part-nership with De’Longhi will helpus mutually expand our appli-ances portfolio and tap into theemerging trends in the consumerappliances space in India. Ourassociation will help us offer theinternationally acclaimed prod-ucts to the Indian consumers,which they have been eagerlywaiting for.” He further explainedthat the De’Longhi Group isknown for its quality, innovationand design and with the strengthof distribution, marketing andservice of the Orient Electric, thecompany is confident that thisassociation will unlock manyopportunities for both the com-panies.

The Middle East, India andAfrica vice president commercialand Turkey managing director ofthe De’Longhi Group, TuncGencoglu, added, “We are look-ing forward to this business part-nership as we share similar values

and an approach based on con-sumer-led insights. The appli-ances market in India is poisedfor a significant growth. Webelieve that our brands and thecurrent product selection willcater to a wide spectrum of con-sumers and create an enjoyableexperience. We have a clear strat-egy to position our threebrands—De’Longhi, to deliverthe true ‘bean to cup’ coffeeexperience, the Kenwood brandis positioned at the ‘joy of home-made food’ through its range ofkitchen machines, food proces-sors and blenders while theBraun brand will bring in world-class technology and innovationin hand blenders and irons.”

The senior vice president andthe business head for appliancesdivision of the Orient Electric,Saurabh Baishakhia, said “OrientElectric always strives to unraveland surface the latent consumerneeds and meet them with aptsolutions which make life simplerand experiences better.Therefore, it was natural for us topartner with the De’LonghiGroup which is known for its,

innovatively engineered catego-ry-defining differentiated prod-ucts. We are confident that thepartnership will help us capturesignificant market share in thepremium appliances segment inthe next few years.”

Orient Electric has alreadydone a soft launch of these prod-ucts in Delhi and the feedbackreceived from their dealers hasbeen encouraging. Now, thecompany will launch the same ina phased manner, starting fromthe Tier-I cities in India. Talkingabout the marketing strategy ofthe company, Baishakhiaexplained that since these appli-ances are experiential, the com-pany has trained its distributionnetwork across the country tooffer a personalised, in-store ser-vice to the customers. “Weunderstand that the appliancemarket demands a strong after-sales service as well. We have alsoput in place, a robust serviceinfrastructure to cater to thedemand of servicing. We havetrained our staff across the net-work to meet the needs whenev-er necessary.”

��"�#��$ "��%�&��'()�'*+, ��$

)%�3:*&%#$�3�*3

How many product specificdivisions and factories doesOFB have at present?

Today, there are 41 ordnancefactories organised in five divisionsaccording to products and technolo-gy. These operating divisions areAmmunition and Explosives (A&E),Weapons, Vehicles and Equipment(WV&E), Material and Components(M&C), Armoured Vehicle (AV)and the Ordnance EquipmentGroup of Factories (OEF). Each ofthese is headed by a Member. WhileOFB has a total of nine Members,the remaining Members are respon-sible for staff functions namely per-sonnel, finance, planning and mater-ial management, technical servicesand engineering. This year, oneMember has been specificallyassigned for the marketing andexport function.How effectively have you imple-mented the ‘Make in India’ initia-tive?The Ordnance Factories have alwaysbeen a shining example of ‘Make inIndia’ and have been at the forefrontof indigenisation. The indigenouscontent of the products of the ord-nance factories is more than 90 percent. Moreover, the OFB has devel-oped the indigenous, defence indus-trial complex in the country by nur-turing domestic vendors. To takethese efforts further, the OFB hasoffered more than 20 critical itemsfor indigenisation during theDefence-Industry DevelopmentMeet in January this year.What is the update on upgradingthe 130mm field guns of theRussian make? The OFB has successfully upgradedthe old 130-mm field gun, acquiredfrom the erstwhile Soviet Union to155 mm capability and has recentlysigned a contract for up-gunning300 of these guns in a span of fouryears. The up-gunned, 155mm fieldgun is referred to as the ‘sharang’,named after the bow of LordVishnu, which was crafted by LordVishwakarma. The up-gunning iscost effective and also increases theperformance of the guns by enhanc-ing the range and lethality of theweapon.What is the ‘shoot to kill’ assaultrifle?The Defence Ministry had directedthe OFB to develop a prototype ofthe 7.62 x 51mm ‘shoot to kill’assault rifle in September 2016 andit is indeed a matter of pride that we

have successfully completed this taskin a record time with 100 per centindigenisation. The internal trialshave been completed and theweapons have been handed over tothe project management team,where the user trials of this rifle arepresently underway.What are the high power, multi-fuel engines which are used forbattle tanks?It was an immensely proud momentfor us when, in July this year, theUnion Minister of Defence NirmalaSitharaman, handed over the OFB-manufactured, 100 per cent indige-nous engines for T-72 and T-90tanks to the Indian Army. The OFBwill roll out the ‘V92S2’ engines forthe T-90 tanks and the ‘V46-6’engines for the T-72 tanks in accor-dance with the requirements of theIndian Army, which will result in atotal foreign exchange savings of�800 crore in the next 10 years.There are reports that you aremanufacturing MPVs. Can theyalso be effective in counter-insur-gency operations?The Mine Protected Vehicle (MPV)is an indigenous product developed

by the OFB. It is a mine-resistant,ambush protected-type vehicle, usedby the Indian Army, Central armedpolice force and the state policeforces, as an armoured personnelcarrier, to transport personnel withprotection from the explosives andsmall-arms fire. It is also used fortroops engaged in counter insur-gency operations to accord themprotection. Since it was felt that theMPVs are required to withstand athreat of greater intensity, theModernised Mine Protected Vehicle(MMPV 6X6) has been developedand manufactured by the OFB. TheMMPVs will be further effective incounter insurgency operations.Much is being heard aboutDhanush. How effective is that?Dhanush is a state-of-the-art gunsystem, with an effective range of38km in the plains and is equippedwith high performance sub-systemlike the inertial navigation system(INS)-based sighting system, auto-laying system, an on-board ballisticcomputation and an advanced dayand night direct firing system. Theself-propulsion unit allows the gunto negotiate and deploy itself in dif-

ficult, hilly and mountainous ter-rains with ease. Dhanush is the first-ever, indigenous, 155x45 Calartillery gun and a major successstory of the Make in India cam-paign. This gun aims to give a defi-nite, strategic and tactical advantageto the Indian Army. It has emergedas the most reliable and robust gunsystem which is on a par with inter-national standards. It is now readyfor induction in the Indian Army’sartillery brigade and has stirred aconsiderable interest in the globalmarket.Do you see FDI in defence as amajor challenge?Foreign Direct Investments (FDI)and the opening of up of defencemanufacturing to the private sector,have presented us with both chal-lenges and opportunities. The ord-nance factories are the repositoriesof immense technological strength.We should be able to leverage ourdomain expertise to occupy a domi-nant position in the defence produc-tion space in the country and makeour presence felt in the internationalmarkets as well. We have drawn up a‘Vision 2022’ plan and our focus will

be on research and development andtie-ups, quality and modernisation.The OFB is amongst the top defenceequipment producers in the worldhaving, end-to-end facilities cover-ing production, testing, logistics,research, development and market-ing. With a high degree of backwardand forward integration and anambitious modernisation plan, theOFB’s manufacturing capability ispoised to take up new challenges.What is your export plan?After meeting the demand of thearmed forces, the OFB has been ableto export some of its products. Werecorded a quantum jump in 2017-18, with exports over �200 crore. Wehave made sustained efforts to reachout to India’s extended neighboursin Central Asia, the Middle East,and the ASEAN countries and havealso tapped into the European andAmerican hubs. A gamut of prod-ucts, ranging from arms and ammu-nition, weapon spares to chemicals,explosives and troop comfort itemsare exported. It is important to men-tion that our strength lies in themedium and high calibre ammuni-tion.What steps have been taken to aug-ment your R&D wing?We have identified 17 growth dri-vers to nurture research and devel-opment (R&D). Though the man-date for R&D activities was assignedto OFB only during 2006, yet wehave achieved success in the devel-opment of many new products. Weare developing the FuturisticInfantry Combat Vehicle (FICV)and have come up with many otherproducts such as the Commander’sthermal imaging night sight for T-72, the driver night sight for BMP-II, the indigenous barrel for T-90tank, the MPVs, bullet proofing ofvehicles, water bowser (2 KL), basebleed for 155 mm ERFB, A-7ammunition for AK-47 for theIndian Army; the CRN-91 withOptronic sight, Chaff LauncherKavach MOD-I and II, anti-sub-marine Rocket RGB-60, RGB-12,Rocket 140 mm and Shell AK-100and the Sea King for the IndianNavy and the 100-120kg aerialbomb and the air-lifting apparatusfor MI-17 helicopters for theIndian Air Force among others.Besides catering to the forces, theOFB is also meeting the require-ments of advanced technologicalmaterials for the country’s researchestablishments.

� � � � � � # � + ) % � , �

��0+�+��(��-��,�!-��0�E�(!F��,�,��+��+�6��+��.��1,�6��,��+0��+-�,��-�0�,��+��+0��-0��.-0��+�0��+��,�,��.,3�%+��U��5V5�U��6��%��:��-��+��-��0+�+��(��-��,�E��(F��+0��.�+�-��(!:�(�2��: ,��,��+��0��-��-7��,��+0��6��+0��+,

The Union Minister for MinorityAffairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi,believes that the present government,

led by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi,has been working keeping in mind, thedevelopment of villages, farmers, womenand youth from the first day. He was speak-ing at a meeting with people belonging tothe minority community in New Delhi.

He said, “Today, every needy of thesociety has become an equal partner of thedevelopment process. The ModiGovernment has done record developmentwork, breaking all the barriers of cast,region and religion. Inclusive growth is‘rashtra niti’ and safety and prosperity ofIndia and its citizens is the ‘raj dharma’ ofthe BJP. We are taking the country forwardon the path of becoming ‘vishwa guru’.”Sharing statistics with the attendees, Naqviinformed that during the last four and ahalf years, 328,000,000 bank accounts havebeen opened under the Pradhan Mantri JanDhan Yojana; 141,600,000 loans worth �6lakh crore have been given under thePradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana; 86,700,000toilets have been built under the SwachhBharat Abhiyan and 158,700,000 soil healthcards have been distributed.

“Five crore and 58 lakh free, LPG gasconnection have been distributed amongthe poor people. In just month’s time,almost three lakh needy and poor peoplehave been given medical facilities under theAyushman Bharat Yojana, since its incep-tion. The needy, poor and the backwardsections including the minorities have beenbenefitted the most from these welfareschemes,” added Naqvi.

�#�+��,#��)��7��E&��#�� *��!",��,��-+��!��16��0��,,�(�+�+��/��-�.�+��-��-��-+E�!�(��F:��,��-��+0��1�+��+0��#�+�,��-�� -�� ,��+0��.�-6��.�+�:�-��+�,�0��JQ��O��+0��&�-��..�8:�6��0�.�+��++-/��/�:��+5��0��/��,��-��,��0��+H,�,��5�,��.��+0��-.-��/�-�:��,��.-+�,��,��+0��-.��,,��0��+�0��6+��-.��,��.��,-��5��"3��,��-��,�� "��+��/�:��!�(��0��?C��++�/��,��-��#��.��+0��+��-��-��-+�6��,��+��,�+�.��!��'.�+��,�� +,��E!'� F��:��-+��+0��#�,��.��+0��#��/��%+��+��-+��:��3

��)��*��1��!�+��+0��-+��+��-��)-��0��,,-��-+��-��9�0�� 0��,�E)�9� F5%+0��:��,��+��0��-.��-/�.��>5I��+��6��%+0��+0��-+��+��-��,:��+��-��-��-+�6��!��9�0��&��-7�+�:%��3��-+��+��,��+��+0�0��,-.��-.�+�+��0��+��,��1��,�0�+��-��)�9� 5%+0��:&�-�� ,��6��:��0��-�-��!��9�0��!��6�+:�,�-1�&��0��+:��,-+�-��%+0��+��-�+��-��&��-,-��"�,��:&�-�� "�!��+0��0��-�-��!��9�0��&��-7�+�:%��:�� 0��3

#�� !�+��(��!��"��2�"�#��!��-�%+0��+ ��+0��0,E! %F:�-+0��0��,��+0,��O��-��-+��+�&��:1��+0��0�#�+0��+��-+��-/�.��>:�6��,,�,��+��-��-��-��+0�-�+0�#�+��!��1��,E#�!,F�6��6��+�.�+��0��+�/��-�,��+0,6��,��-�,�% %�.��1��+/�-��-+�-�� -+,��:��SE2F�-��SEKF:��?:��>�-��!% ��:C�23��+��0:��P��+��,�-��#�!H,�6��,��-�,% %�.��1��+0��,-�6��-��.�+0��-��.��1�+��6��,��O�03

��+�$&�%�!��!+��!��)�#��.�+��+0�.�+��+��0��-��-��%+0��0��&�-.-��-+��+�,��-+�E%�&�F:��-��:��++-�+��0��.��-��+��%+0��%+��+��-+��0��(��NJ��,��-��-�+��!�,�+�,,H3��-��-��,��+��0��-+�-��/�+��6-��0��,��/��-.��-+�-��0�/��-�.�+��-7��-��&��#��0�+��+�-��6-��05��,,:�%+��+��-+��-+5��.5�-+/�+��-+��+��E%��F3$��+�-�.�0��,��:�%%�(��-�0�0�+��/��1��/�,��-�,3�$��-.��.�+��0��6��0�6�++��,��+�0��+��-��,��+0��0�0��-+��+��0��,�-6�0��+�,��+0�/�,��-�,��1�3

2�� +�� 2�� .��2�A�� &�*��,��&�(2.23 )&�,�� .�� 2�� (�.�2�)&�� &��B�:��&�2.23 �� &��B

�*�� +!��"!3�� /��.�+��-��,��+��0� �/��:%+0��H,��-.��-6+��.-7��/��+0�,��1��3��,��-+��,��+�0�,��+�0,��-��+�6��+��-+�-��%+0��+�-��:�6�-��1��-��,,��0�+��:��.-��-+,�+0��+�,�6��.��,3��+01��-��0��+��,��-��$�+0��+0��+��,��+��,3��/��,��+0�,��1��,��,�-.�,�0��-��,��,�0�-+�,��,-+,:�-��,�-.,:��+0��,��H,�0�,��+�-��/��3

)��,��!"��,��!++��,��+��-.��,��,��++-�+��0��,%+0��-��+��6��+0��,��-�+��0�&��,��+0��,��,0��-��-��%+0�� /��-�.�+�6��,�-+,��,��-��0��+��,�+�,,��+0�,��-��-��,�-��-.��+��+�%+0��3��-�

��+��-.��,��-+�� ,��.,�E��5� %F:��+0�+�&�!��:�,��0:=)��/��,�0��-�-��+�-��,��-��+�%+0��3�&��,�8,��,�:�6-�1�+��6��%+0��+��/��-/�0�,��,�6��+�+/��-��,-��-��0�/��-��+0�,��+��+�,��+0��-+�5��.��-+,��,�6��-/��+.�+��-��%+0��3�)��--1�-�6��0��-�+�6�-��-��+��,��-��-��-��-+��-��0/�+��,�,��.,��+0��+-�-��,��-��%+0��+�0��+��-+,3@

(��#��2��!*2��*��!�G"��H�!+��,��,�"��&��1��-61��,��,,�.�0��-��,�0��-��E#�+�,F�-��%+0��.��03�&��-��-�7-�+�+��%�:��0��-,��-+�-��+��.�+��-��%+0��.��0�E�%�F3�$��,��+��+��+��+��0��+�.�+�+��-.��,.�+��'+�/��,��+0��-�0,��,��,,��-��-.��+��E�-��F��+0��%+0��+�#�+�,��3�$��,��.�.��-��#�+�+�:��-�-��+0#��%+,��-��%+0��E#�#%F3$��-.�,�6��6-�1��+��:�,��++�+��?��,��+��0-��.�+��++�+�:��-0��-+:�.�+��.�+�:�,��/�,�-+:�0��-+��+0�-+��-��-��+0��-�+0��,�6��,�-��+��,��-��.�+�,3

2��%��,�� %��&��&��.�� 9�� ,��?��=B�2��4��,��%�� &�7<��.�� *��.�+��4. *.�5678&,�� "�%��C6��$��D��/�� %��&� ��$� ��B

��$��$��

;��

�"��"�#��$ "��%�&��'()�'*+,

��"�#��$ "��%�&��'()�'*+, �� :

�+(��#��$� ��"

Holders Real Madrid andCristiano Ronaldo'sJuventus were among

seven teams to reach the last 16of the Champions League onTuesday while Sergio Aguero'slate equaliser at Lyon also sentManchester City through.

Bayern Munich thumpedBenfica 5-1 to book their placeand ease the pressure on coachNiko Kovac.

"It's a convincing win andthat's exactly what we needed atthe moment," Arjen Robbensaid after he netted twice.

Arjen Robben and RobertLewandowski both scored twicebefore Franck Ribery complet-ed the rout at the Allianz Arenaafter Gedson Fernandes hadnetted Benfica's consolation.

Kovac's team shrugged offlacklustre league form — win-ning just two and losing three oftheir last seven Bundesligagames — with a convincing dis-play.

This is the 11th season insuccession Bayern have reachedthe last 16 of the ChampionsLeague. While Bayern sit justfifth in the Bundesliga, they areflying in Europe, having nowchalked up four wins and a drawin the Champions League'sgroup stage.

They need just a point atAjax in a fortnight to win GroupA, while the best Benfica canhope for is third and a place inthe Europa League knock-outphase.

Bayern went ahead afterjust 13 minutes when Robbenproduced a stunning piece ofskill for his 30th ChampionsLeague goal.

The 34-year-old doubledBayern's lead by wrong-footingBenfica defenders GermanConti and crashing his shotpast Odysseas Vlachodimos on30 minutes.

The third goal followed sixminutes later whenLewandowski rose highest for acorner and steered his headerinto the net via the post. It wasthe Polish star striker's 50thChampions League goal.

It was 3-0 to Bayern at thebreak, but it could have been 5-0 as Vlachodimos had to twicepalm shots away by ThomasMueller and Lewandowski.

However, they restored theirthree-goal cushion just after sixminutes in second half whenLewandowski again headedhome another Kimmich corner.

Ribery capped a gala nightwith an exchange of passes withDavid Alaba to slam homeBayern's fifth 13 minutes fromtime and claim his firstChampions League goal formore than three years.

Roma will also play in theknockout phase despite losing 2-0 to Real while former Europeanchampions Ajax won 2-0 in aviolence-hit game against AEKAthens to book their last-16 tick-et after riot police clashed withDutch fans.

Marouane Fellaini's 91stminute winner against YoungBoys saw Manchester Unitedsqueak through after they hadlaboured against the Swiss at OldTrafford.

After Fellaini's low shotwent in, United manager JoseMourinho picked up and threwover a pack of bottles in relief toa result that lifts some of thegloom over the club.

��,�#!��#��2�Real and Roma secured

their spot in the knockout stageseven before the Spaniards' 2-0victory in the Italian capitalafter Group G rivals CSKAMoscow fell to a 2-1 defeat athome to Viktoria Plzen.

Gareth Bale scored one andsupplied the cross that led toanother as Lucas Vazquezwrapped up a clinical 2-0 win atthe Stadio Olimpico that was aworld away from Real's 3-0Liga defeat to Eibar at the week-end.

"It was important to bounceback quickly," said Real coachSantiago Solari. "We are veryhappy."

Real are three points clear ofRoma going into their finalGroup G match against CSKAMoscow next month.

Mario Mandzukic bookedJuventus' ticket for the knockoutphase with a simple tap-in aftera sublime piece of skill and crossfrom Ronaldo as Juventus beatValencia 1-0.

The Italians have 12 points,two more than United but bothare home and dry becauseValencia only have five.

In Lyon, City took a pointfrom a pulsating match afterDavid Cornet scored two sec-ond-half goals including an out-standing long-range effort onlyfor the French side to be pinnedback each time.

City's French defenderAymeric Laporte equalised firstand then Aguero outjumpedtaller defenders to head home

?�>�5��*��9�>��'7��04and spark wild celebrationsfrom manager Pep Guardiola.

Lyon are left needing a drawagainst Shakhtar Donetsk intheir final Group F game next

month to go through after theUkrainian club stunnedHoffenheim 3-2 away to stay incontention.

Greek riot police wielding

batons entered the stands at theAthens Olympic Stadium toseparate fighting fans, leaving 11Ajax supporters injured, policesaid.

��&�/�,��,��0�;47�,��E��%��&�� &�#��,��%��A��

˘ˇˆ˙˘˝˛˚˚˜ · bokaro superintendent of ... intervene in a prominent way. primarily...

Documents