9 parties oppose proposal for simultaneous elections

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Giriraj Singh visits the

family of a man accused

in the Nawada clashes

page 10

Union Home Ministry

upgrading policy to

secure govt. data

page 11

Vijay Mallya shrugs off

threat of seizure of

his British assets

page 12

Rohit and Hardik star

in India’s T20I series

win over England

page 15

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DELHI METRO A 6 PAGES

Political parties were dividedon the issue of holding simultaneous Lok Sabha andAssembly elections duringconsultations with the LawCommission of India.

As many as nine partiesexpressed their reservationswhile four parties supportedthe move.

The two major nationalparties — the BJP and theCongress — stayed away fromthe Law Commission’s deliberations. The BJP has, however, written to the LawCommission Chairman, Justice B.S. Chauhan, statingthat Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always arguedin favour of simultaneouspolls and sought time to submit their detailed responselater.

Justice Chauhan is learntto have asked that all representations be submitted byJuly 31.

The Congress said itwould firm up its stand onthe issue only after talking toallies and other political parties.

Among the parties thatmet the Commission on Sunday, the Dravida MunnetraKazagham (DMK), Janata Dal(Secular), and Aam Admiparty (AAP) were stronglyopposed to simultaneouselections and argued that

the move was against “basictenets of the Constitution.”

Impractical, says TDPThe Telugu Desam Party(TDP) said while the One NationOne Poll may be a “goodidea”, it was “incompatiblewith the Constitution andimpracticable.”

DMK Working PresidentM.K. Stalin’s letter, submitted by party MP Tiruchi Siva,pointed out, “The WorkingPaper does not seem to haveconsidered that the Lok Sabha is also capable of beingdissolved before its five yeartenure. If such a situation

were to happen, it is unclearwhether all Legislative Assemblies will also be dissolved to synchronise theelectoral process again.”

“In a federal democracyyou cannot think of simultaneous elections. This is a futile exercise. First and foremost poll reform should beto put a ceiling on expenditure but no one's talkingabout it,” senior JD (S) leaderDanish Ali told The Hinduand added that the proposalwas aimed against smallerregional players.

9 parties oppose proposal for simultaneous elections Four parties support move; BJP, Congress stay away from consultations

SANDEEP PHUKAN

NEW DELHI

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10

If things go according toplan, you could be sippingyour drink using a bamboostraw by next year. Ascientist from the BotanicalSurvey of India (BSI) in theAndaman and NicobarIslands, has come out with agreen alternative to useandthrow plastic drinkingstraws, by tapping bamboo.

The bamboo speciesSchizostachyumandamanicum, endemic tothe islands looks ideal forthe purpose.

Discovered on the islandabout two decades ago, thisbamboo is characterised bythin large hollow erect culm(stem) with long internodes.

Lal Ji Singh, scientist andhead of office at BSI’sAndaman and NicobarRegional Centre in Port

Blair, said that in its naturalform, the bamboo speciescannot be used as a strawbut after observing theplant’s appearance andstructure, he found that itwas ideal to be turned into a

drinking straw.Here’s how it’s done.

First, the sections of theculm between the nodes arecut into small pieces, to thelength of a drinking straw.This can be done either bymachine or manually, andthen the culm sheath andsolid nodes are removed.

The work to make abamboo straw at DhanikhariExperimental GardencumArboretum, at the BSIRegional Centre has gone onsince 2011.

“After I registered theinvention with the patentoffice under the titleReusable Straw and ItsManufacturing, I took 5,000sample straws anddistributed it during theWorld Environment DayCelebrations held in NewDelhi earlier this year,” Dr.Singh said.

Not only is a bamboostraw biodegradable, it canbe reused for years. Peoplecan keep one in their homesand use it multiple times liketooth brushes, avoidingplastic straws. And the cost?Just 50 paise per piece. Itslongevity makes it cheaperthan plastic.

BSI Director ParamjitSingh said that the inventionis timely in the campaignagainst plastic pollution.

Go natural“If the per capitaconsumption of plastic hasto be brought down, it canbe done by promotingnatural products likebamboo and jute and othersuch innovations,” he said.

Dr. Singh said the ‘strawbamboo’ is found all overthe islands and can becultivated by farmers.

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Chuck that plastic for a bamboo sipper

Shiv Sahay Singh

Kolkata

The campaign for reusable straws can look at this innovation from the Andamans

Grass winner: Bamboo thrivesin the Andamans. * SPECIAL

ARRANGEMENT

As many as 11 out of 30 samples of fish species purchased from Chinthadripetand Kasimedu, the two major fish markets in Chennai,on two different days, havetested positive for formalin,a cancerinducing chemicalused illegally to preservefish.

The fish were tested byscientists of the Tamil NaduDr. J. Jayalalithaa FisheriesUniversity exclusively forThe Hindu.

A lowcost formalin detection kit developed by researchers of the Staterununiversity was used to testthe samples purchased byThe Hindu for ascertainingif they contained the carcinogen that is used widely asa preservative and disinfec

tant. The tests were conducted on July 4 and July 8,the days when the fish werepurchased.

Only one of 13 samples offish purchased last Wednesday from the Chinthadripet,Velachery and Neelankarai

markets tested positive atthe university’s referral laboratory in Madhavaram.

However on Sunday asmany as 10 of the 17 fishsamples purchased fromChinthadripet and Kasimedu markets tested positive

for the carcinogen, causingalarm.

Formalin causes irritation in the eyes, throat, skinand stomach. In the longrun continued exposurecauses harm to the kidneys,liver and can even causecancers. This is the firsttime samples of fish in TamilNadu have tested positivefor formalin.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) officials have beenundertaking tests at fishmarkets and harboursacross the State to test forformalin following a scare inneighbouring Kerala thatfish sourced from here werechemically contaminated.

Tamil Nadu Minister promises action against those using carcinogen

Deepa H. Ramakrishnan

CHENNAI

Fish samples test positive for formalin


EXCLUSIVE

Amid uneasiness over seatadjustment talks betweenthe Janata Dal (United) andits partner, the BJP, theformer announced that itwould be fighting in limitedseats on its own in theupcoming Assembly polls inMizoram, Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh.

The party’s nationalexecutive took this decisionat its meeting in New Delhion Sunday.

“The Janata Dal (United)will contest the elections onits own in selected seats inMizoram, Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh,” partyspokesperson K.C. Tyagisaid after the meeting.

The party won one seat inNagaland in the recentelections there and is part ofthe NDA alliance ruling theState. “Some people say wehelp the BJP, some say wedon’t. We are a separatepolitical entity and takedecisions for ourselves,”said Mr. Tyagi.

JD(U) to go it alone in four States

NITISH TO TAKE CALL A PAGE 10

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI

Four boys among a group of13 trapped in a flooded Thaicave for more than a fortnight were rescued on Sunday, authorities said.

Rescue chief NarongsakOsottanakorn said the fourhad been taken to hospitaland were “safe”. A DefenceMinistry official had earliertold AFP six boys had “comeout”. But Mr. Narongsak andthe Thai Navy SEALS reported that only four were out ofthe cave. Later, he said thatefforts to bring out the remaining boys were pausedfor at least 10 hours.

The first two boysemerged at nightfall from

the Tham Luang cave complex after navigating atreacherous escape route ofmore than four km.

Racing against timeForeign divers and Thai Navy SEALS began the complex operation in the morning as they raced against

time, with imminent monsoon rains threatening moreflooding. “Today is the Dday. The boys are ready toface any challenges,” saidMr. Narongsak on Sundaymorning.

Four Thai boys rescued on ‘Dday’ of tunnel operationEfforts paused late at night for at least 10 hours

Agence France-Presse

Mae Sai

Tough work: An ambulance carrying one of the rescued boysheads towards a hospital on Sunday evening. * GETTY IMAGES

‘RESCUE TEAMS HAD REHEARSED

FOR SEVERAL DAYS’ A PAGE 12

CMYK

A ND-NDE

In a setback to the NarendraModi government’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat National Health ProtectionScheme (ABNHPS), two ofthe BJPruled States — Rajasthan and Maharashtra —have expressed “reluctance”to implement theprogramme.

According to a government official, the Rajasthanand Maharashtra govern

ments are running similarprojects catering to a muchlarger population in theirStates.

The ABNHPS is aimed atproviding a coverage of ₹5lakh per family annually andbenefiting more than 10crore poor families in thecountry.

The official said thoughthe Rajasthan governmenthas welcomed the Centre’sscheme, “they are not surehow to implement it, as they

already have the ongoingBhamashah Swasthya BimaYojana, under which cashless health care services areprovided to around 4.5 crorepeople.”

“Moreover, the contractwith the insurance companyis till next year. So they arethinking of finding a way toconverge the two schemesso that the ongoing schemeis not disturbed,” the officialsaid.

2 BJPruled States resist health plan Press Trust of India

New Delhi


Street battle: CRPF jawans chase protesters in Srinagar on Sunday, a day after three civilians died in firing by security forces in Kulgam. A strike by separatists to mark the death anniversary of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani hit normal life. * PTI

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In lockdown

Raising the issue of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’sremarks at his farewellfunction almost a year ago,former VicePresident Hamid Ansari says many considered the comments to bea departure from acceptedpractices on suchoccasions.

Mr. Ansari addresses thisin his new book, Dare IQuestion? Reflections onContemporary Challenges,a collection of his speechesand writings.

The Prime Minister,while being fulsome in hiscompliments, also hinted atwhat he perceived to be acertain inclination in myapproach on account of myhaving spent, as he put it,both a good part of my professional tenure as a diplomat in Muslim lands and inpostretirement period on

minorityrelated questions,Mr. Ansari says.

In his last interview before demitting office, Mr.Ansari had pointed out thatMuslims were experiencinga “feeling of unease”. Thesubsequent furore by the‘faithful’ on social mediatended to lend credence tothis. On the other hand, agood many serious writingsconsidered Mr. Modi’s remarks to be a departurefrom accepted practice onsuch occasions, he says.

Pluralist view He also feels that the widelyaccepted pluralist view ofnationalism and Indiannessis now being challenged bya viewpoint depicting purifying exclusiviness throughthe idea of cultural nationalism.

The idea of ‘cultural nationalism’ is premised principally on a shared culture

narrowly defined, he says.According to Mr. Ansari,

who had the distinction ofbeing the only second VicePresident after S. Radhakrishnan to serve for twoconsecutive terms, the debate on nationalism haswider ramifications for Indian democracy.

“In the typology of democracy; ours is a liberalone based on universal suffrage, tolerance, respect fordiversity, a comprehensivecharter of rights and Rule ofLaw that brings togetherthe notions of rights, development, governance andjustice,” he says.

Their attainment is premised on equality and fraternity. Any dilution of thisprinciple will take it in thedirection of an ethnic democracy, implicitly or otherwise, and would bringforth an illiberal structure,he says.

PM made unusual remarks: Ansari

‘Widely accepted pluralist view of nationalism being challenged’

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

CM’s residence trespass:7 policemen suspendedPATNA

Seven policemen, including

two inspectors, have been

suspended over reports of

‘security lapses’ at Bihar Chief

Minister Nitish Kumar’s 1

Anne Marg residence earlier

this week. The Special Branch

of the Bihar Police, which is

responsible for security at the

CM’s house, cracked the whip

on seven personnel on

Saturday in connection with

the ‘lapse’, sources said

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An Assam police constablewho went missing fromduty 15 years ago has beenfound ‘awaiting death’ at acrematorium in Guwahati.

Police officials said constable Gowresh Bhattacharjee went missing afterhe was transferred to Karbi Anglong district fromthe 1st Assam Police Battalion in eastern Assam’s Sivasagar district. He wasfound at the city’s Bhootnath crematorium onFriday.

Officials of the Bharalumukh police station, saidMr. Bhattacharjee, foundlying at the crematoriumfor “the god of death totake him away”, appearedto be mentally unstable.

Cop found‘awaiting death’15 years afterdisappearance

Special correspondent

Guwahati

DETAILS ON A PAGE 7

Couple ‘waylaid’ bydrunk men in Gurugram GURUGRAM

A social media post by a

couple, who were allegedly

waylaid by a group of drunk

men near a liquor vend on

PataudiGurugram Road,

caught the attention of local

residents on Sunday who

took to Twitter to demand

more security in the area.

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DELHI Timings

Monday, July 09

RISE 05:31 SET 19:23

RISE 01:56 SET 15:22

Tuesday, July 10

RISE 05:31 SET 19:22

RISE 02:40 SET 16:27

Wednesday, July 11

RISE 05:32 SET 19:22

RISE 03:32 SET 17:33

Eleven persons were killed and 42 injured inthree separate road accidents in Rajasthan’s Ajmer, Bikaner and Sirohi districts on Sunday.

Eight persons, including a minor, were killedand 20 others injured when a bus collided with adumper on Beawar road in Ajmer, the police said.The accident occurred near Tabiji area underMangaliawas police station area, Ajmer SP Rajendra Singh said, adding the State roadways bus wason its way to Jaipur from Pali when the collisionoccurred.

Four of the deceased were identified as Tarachand (29), Dilip Singh (18), Nayra (1), Jishan (18),the police control room said.

Another State roadways bus rammed a truck inJamsar area in Bikaner in which three persons, including two girls, were killed and 10 others injured, the police said.

In Sirohi, the driver of a bus lost control overthe vehicle due to drowsiness. The bus went offroad in which 12 passengers received injuries,they said.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje expressed condolence on the deaths and directed the officers toprovide proper treatment to the injured.

11 killed, 40 hurt in roadaccidents in Rajasthan


Jaipur

Sixteen members of an organisation with allegedlinks to Christian missionaries have been arrested forallegedly trying “religiousconversions” in Jharkhand’sDumka district, a seniorpolice officer said onSunday.

The arrests were madeon Saturday, two days after25 “preachers”, includingthe 16 accused, were rescued by the police from theclutches of “enraged” tribalvillagers in the area and detained for questioning, Superintendent of Police Kishore Kaushal said.

All 25 of them were heldhostage on Thursday nightby locals in the Shikariparapolice station area of thedistrict for alleged derogatory remarks against tribalplaces of worship, he said.

Based on a complaint registered by Phoolpahari village gram pradhan RameshHembrom, 16 of the 25“preachers”, detained onFriday, were arrested andsent to jail, Mr. Kaushalsaid, adding that seven of

those arrested werewomen.

Asked about the organisation they were workingfor, Mr. Kaushal said theywere “associated” withChristian missionaries.

“We are investigating intothe allegations. It is a sensitive issue. Mr. Hembrom, inhis complaint, had said hehad been objecting to theattempt of these missionaries to convince villagers toembrace Christianity overthe past few months,” he explained. The SP also saidthat posters and copies ofreligious texts have beenseized from the accused.

In violation of Act

Manoj Kumar Thakur, theofficerincharge of Shikaripara police station, saidthe police were trying to unearth the “channel” behindthe conversion attempts, inviolation of the JharkhandFreedom of Religion Act,which came into force inthe State in September 2017.

It is the first major arrestmade by the police sincethe Act was implementedlast year, he added.

16 held for attemptingreligious conversionsIncident reported from Jharkhand


Dumka (Jharkhand)

Mild intensity quake hits Rajasthan JAIPUR

A mild intensity earthquake

jolted Jaipur and nearby areas

on Sunday though no loss of

life was reported. The

epicentre of the earthquake,

measuring 4.3 on the Richter

scale, was Jaipur and the

tremors were felt at 9.43

a.m., according to the Met

Department. PTI

Seven policemen, includingtwo inspectors, have beensuspended over reports of‘security lapses’ at BiharChief Minister Nitish Kumar’s 1 Anne Marg residenceearlier this week.

The Special Branch of theBihar Police, which is responsible for security at theCM’s house, cracked thewhip on seven personnel onSaturday in connection withthe ‘lapse’, sources said.

Though police officials refused to comment on the

matter, sources said that Deputy Superintendent of Police Roop Ranjan Hargave,posted with the State Vigilance Bureau, had enteredthe VIP area of the CM’s offi

cial residence three days agowithout an appointment.

Mr. Hargave allegedly engaged in a tiff with an onduty policeman at the CM’s residence during his visit, theysaid.

The CM, who was at his 7,Circular Road home at thattime, took serious note ofthe incident and expressedannoyance over the ‘securitybreach’, they added.

Media reports, corroborated by sources in the CM’shouse, said those suspendedinclude two inspectors, asmany subinspectors, one

havildar and two constables.ADG Headquarters S.K.

Singhal, however, said hewould be able to talk on thematter only when a report inthat connection reaches hisoffice.

Inspector General of Police (Special Branch) B.S.Meena, too, refused to talkon the issue, saying he wasnot authorised to brief themedia.

Nitish Kumar enjoys Zplus security cover. He iscurrently in Delhi in connection with a JD(U) programme.

7 cops suspended in BiharOver security breach at Nitish Kumar’s 1 Anne Marg residence


Patna

Nitish Kumar * FILE PHOTO

Fortytwo prisoners of Bhopal Central Jail, several ofthem serving life sentencesfor murders, are undergoinga paramedical course withthe authorities claiming thatit might be a firstofitskindinitiative for any jail in thecountry.

“Fortytwo prisoners, in

cluding four women inmates,are taking a threemonth paramedical course which started on June 1. I haven’t everheard of prisoners doing thiscourse in any other jail in India,” Bhopal Central Jail Superintendent Dinesh Nargavasaid on Sunday.

He said that as part of theparamedical course beingconducted for free by Bho

palbased People’s University, the 42 prisoners were being trained to dress woundsand administer intravenoustherapies among other lifesaving measures.

“Most of these trainees aremurder convicts, serving lifeimprisonment. Only thosewho had cleared Class X, hadserved at least five years oftheir sentence and had

shown good behaviour in jailwere chosen for the course,”he informed.

Classes twice a week

The group of 42 convicts attend classes twice a week andget practical training on theother days under the supervision of Premendra Sharma ofthe Bhopal Central Jail Hospital, Mr. Nargava said.

42 convicts being trained as paramedics First-of-its-kind initiative in the country, says Bhopal Central Jail Superintendent


Bhopal

A 14yearold girl was rapedallegedly by three minorboys, two of whom are hercousins, in Khajuraho, thepolice said on Sunday.

The incident took placeon the intervening night ofFriday and Saturday, Khajuraho SubDivisional Officer of Police Irshad Mansurisaid.

“The three accused, inthe age group of 1416years, two of whom are hercousins, raped the minorgirl,” the officer said.

“One of the accused entered the girl’s aunt’shouse, where she was staying, and lured her outside.Then they raped her at adeserted area,” he said.

The girl was living withher aunt as her father, aconstruction labourer, hadgone to Delhi in connection with some work, Mr.Mansuri said.

He said they have beenalso booked under relevantprovision of the Protectionof Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The girl is undergoing amedical test.

Three teensbooked forraping minor


Khajuraho Chhatarpur (M.P.)


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EAST

An actor has been arrestedfor allegedly threateningan actress by stopping hercar in the middle of theroad, the police said onSunday.

TV actor Sanjay Mukherjee, popular in the industryas Joy Mukherjee, was arrested by the police fromthe Tollygunge police station area on Saturday afteractress Sayantika Banerjee

lodged a complaint alleging that she was threatenedby the actor and her carwas stopped in the middleof the road.

‘Assistant assaulted’She also alleged that her assistant was assaulted byJoy, they said.

According to Sayantika’scomplaint, the incidenthappened on Friday afternoon when Joy overtookher and blocked the road

when she was heading towards Southern Avenue inher chauffeurdriven car.

She has alleged that Joy,after alighting from his car,walked up to Sayantika’svehicle and tried to forciblyopen the door, the policeofficer said quoting the actress’ complaint.

Door handle damaged Joy could not open thedoor but his yanking damaged the door’s handle, he

said.When Sayantika’s assis

tant stepped out and triedto pacify Joy, he was hit bythe actor, the police said.

Only after the passersbyintervened, Sayantikamanaged to leave the spot.Later in the evening, shelodged a complaint withthe Tollygunge police station in this connection.

Joy has been booked under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public

way), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongfulrestraint), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (word,gesture or act intended toinsult the modesty of a woman) and 427 (mischief ) ofthe Indian Penal Code(IPC). “We are collectingevidence and goingthrough the CCTV footages,” the police officer said.

Sayantika and Joy pairedin films like ‘Target’ and’Shooter’

Actor arrested for threatening co-star Sanjay Mukherjee stopped actress’ car in the middle of the road; tried to forcibly open the door


Kolkata

Floodaffected villagers heading towards a safer place at a village in Morigaon district of Assam on Sunday. * REUTERS


Flood fury

Adaylong cultural festival ofthe transgender communitywas held in Odisha’s Berhampur on Sunday to increase their acceptance insociety.

Transgenders from different parts of the State tookpart in the cultural festivalorganised by the AnweshaKala Kendra, a cultural organisation of the city.

The festival started withscreening of a documentaryon a group of emancipatedthird genders of Berhampurcity. The documentary wasmade by Anwesha Brahma.It was followed by a seminaron the state of the transgen

der society in the State.Transgenders like Lovelyand Bindiya, who werefilmed in the documentary,described their own experiences and turmoil beforethe audience.

Realising their travailThe afternoon session of thefestival started with songand dance competitionsamong school students ofBerhampur. Transgenders,who are adept in dancingand singing, judged the performances of these children.Children also mingled withthem and asked questionsabout their life and livelihood.

“This was an attempt to

make youngsters realise thatthird genders are also part ofour society and day to daylife,” said Usharani Mohapatra of the Anwesha KalaKendra.

The evening at the transgender festival was colourfulas it included their performances. Mihir Kumar Tripathy, the coordinator of thefestival, said they tried toshowcase the talent of thethird gender before a general audience. These includedsolo and group dances,small skits and a fashionshow. In the fashion show,the transgenders wore handloom fabrics prepared indifferent parts of Odisha fortheir catwalk.

Cultural fest held to increase their acceptance in society

Staff Reporter

BERHAMPUR

Insight into a transgender’s life

Despite the Odisha government’s order to waive allacademic fees for physicallychallenged students, severalgovernment and governmentaided higher secondary schools are collectingadmission fee from them.

As per an order of the Department of School andMass Education of Odishadated May 25, 2018, ‘all academic fees, except messcharges, will be waived inrespect of students with disabilities of 40% or more’.But due to ignorance ofauthorities of some higher

secondary schools, physically challenged studentsare being pressed to pay upadmission fee during admission to +2 courses.

Immediate declaration Retired principal of RedCross School for the Blind inBerhampur, Nabin ChandraSatapathy, has brought thisto the notice of the StateCommissioner for Personswith Disbilities, Odisha.

Mr. Satapathy, who is actively involved in issues related to bind students, demanded that thegovernment make some immediate declaration so that

higher secondary schoolsstop collecting admissionfee from blind students during admissions.

In his representation, Mr.Satapathy has cited exampleof three visually impairedstudents who have passedthe tenth board examination from Red Cross Schoolfor the Blind, Berhampur,and have got admitted in different higher secondaryschools of the State. Receipts of these studentsclearly state that admissionfee was collected fromthem.

This error has happenedin top higher secondary in

stitutions of the State likeRavenshaw Higher Secondary School, Cuttack, andKhallikote Higher Secondary School, Berhampur.

“Dutikrushna Jena had topay over ₹4000 to get admitted in +2 first year of artscourse in Muniguda JuniorCollege of Rayagada district.Similarly S.Nahak had to pay₹961 for admission to highersecondary arts course of Ravenshaw Higher SecondarySchool, Cuttack. PrabhakarSethi paid ₹1,062 for +2 artsadmission in KhallikoteHigher Secondary School,Berhampur,” said Mr. Satapathy.

Despite govt. order, Odisha schools charging fees from disabled students Staff Reporter

BERHAMPUR

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) hasseized 10 kg of gold, whichwas smuggled into Indiafrom Bhutan, in West Bengal’s Siliguri area.

Acting on inputs, theDRI officials intercepted acar at Fulbari in Siliguri onSaturday and arrested twopersons, a statement issued by the DRI on Sundaysaid.

Of foreign origin The officials recovered 10foreignorigin gold bars —of one kilogram each —from them, it said.

The interception tookplace when the smuggledgold bars were being carried by the duo from Bhutan to Muzaffarpur, Bihar,the DRI said.

Interrogation of the twointercepted persons revealed that they had smuggled the gold bars of foreign origin from Bhutaninto India through JaigaonPhuentsholling border, itsaid.

The total seizure was valued at ₹3.18 crore.

10 kg goldsmuggled intoIndia fromBhutan seized

press trust of india

New Delhi

All jails in Odisha will havevideoconferencing facilitiesby this year end as part of theState government’s commitment to improve the criminal justice system, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik saidon Sunday.

“I am glad that videoconferencing facilities have beenestablished in most of thejails with the correspondingcourts for speedy trial,” hesaid.

“By the end of currentyear, all Odisha jails will havevideoconferencing facilities,” the Chief Minister said,asking jails to follow the bestpractices in prison administration and adopt the goodpractices of other States totransform the jails. Mr. Patnaik was speaking afterhanding over appointmentletters to 238 newly recruitedwarders here.

He advised the Prisons Directorate to take full measures in imparting qualitytraining to warders in prisonadministration and correctional services so that theyperform their service oriented duties responsibly.

Correctional servicesPrison management and correctional services, being important and integral part ofthe criminal justice system,assume great significance inreformation and rehabilitation of inmates lodged in dif

ferent jails, he said.Mr. Patnaik said there was

no overcrowding in Odishajails because of efforts madein the direction of providinglegal aid to the inmates, periodical reviews made by district level judicial, civil andjail administration for undertrial prisoners and biannualreview by State Sentence Review Board.

“I would expect that allthe guidelines and instructions on modern day jail administration are followed inletter and spirit,” the ChiefMinister said.

He said continuous endeavour was under way to improve the facilities insidejails such as construction ofnew wards for spacious accommodation of inmates, renovation of kitchens, drainage, lighting, provision ofpurified and cold drinkingwater, telephones and otherinfrastructure.

Videoconferencing facilities inOdisha jails by year-end: Naveen

‘Part of govt. bid to improve the criminal justice system’


Bhubaneswar

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik


CMYK

A ND-NDE




SOUTH

M.M. Jacob, Congressleader, passes away KOTTAYAM

Senior Congress leader,

former Union Minister and

former Governor of

Meghalaya M.M. Jacob has

passed away at the age of 91.

Jacob, who was leading a

retired life at his residence at

Ramapuram, had complained

of uneasiness early on

Sunday and was soon taken

to a private hospital nearby

where he breathed his last.

A widower, Jacob leaves

behind four daughters.

IN BRIEF

For the lorry crew, the giant pipes are a temporary shelter. The men, who even cook food in these pipes, are waiting as the lorries stop temporarily at a petrolbunk on the Nirmal-Mancherial road on Sunday. * S. HARPAL SINGH

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Second home

Prostitution racketbusted, actor rescued HYDERABAD

A 24-year-old budding

female actor was rescued by

the Hyderabad police after

they busted a high-profile

prostitution racket being

organised in a star hotel at

Banjara Hills here. The west

zone task force team led by

inspector K. Nageswar Rao

raided the hotel and

apprehended an organiser

and a customer. Two persons

were arrested in this

connection.

Karnataka Chief MinisterH.D. Kumaraswamy is expected to cut at least 1% hikein taxes proposed on fueland electricity consumptionas the coalition partner Congress appears to be peevedwith the budget proposal,which would be a burden onthe common people.

Congress sources told The

Hindu that the fuel price bythe State government wouldgo against the party’s national narrative, though the fuelprices in the State are lowestin comparison with southern States.

With elections to the LokSabha less than a year away,the party would ask theChief Minister either to scrapthe entire proposal or reduce the hike in taxes by50%, a Congress leader said.In fact, Congress presidentRahul Gandhi had repeatedly targeted Prime Minister

Narendra Modi over fuelprices, including the timewhen he accepted India captain Virat Kohli’s fitnesschallenge.

To mobilise resources towrite off the ₹34,000 croreloans from cooperative andnationalised banks, the budget increased tax on petrolfrom the present 30% to 32%and diesel from 19% to 21%.Tax on liquor has been increased by 4% and consumption of electricity from 6% to

9%. The party leader saidthe Chief Minister had notdiscussed the fuel hike proposal in detail in the StateCabinet. The Congress hadnot anticipated budgetaryproposal on hike in fuel prices. Since the proposed hikeswere against the stance taken by the party at the national level, senior leaders ofthe party might ask the ChiefMinister to scrap the proposal or reduce the taxes, theleader said.

Karnataka may cut tax on fuelState’s hike in price is against the party’s national narrative, says Congress leader


BENGALURU

The budget had increased tax on petrol from the present 30%to 32% and on diesel from 19% to 21%. * FILE PHOTO

Dinesh Gundu Rao,Congress leader and MLA,who has been appointedthe president of theKarnataka PradeshCongress Committee(KPCC), will take chargeon Wednesday at PalaceGrounds here.

Along with Mr. Rao,Eshwar B. Khandre, MLAfor Bhalki and formerMinister, will assume officeas the working presidentof the KPCC.

Deputy Chief MinisterG. Parameshwara, whohas been serving as theKPCC president, will handover the party’s baton toMr. Rao.

KPCC chief totake over onWednesday


BENGALURU

Even in his wildest dreamsK. Ram Mohan did not imagine that the phone call fromhis son Sharath Koppu onFriday morning would bethe last.

An hour after he spoke tohis father here, Mr. Sharathwas shot dead by an unknown robber in a restaurant in Kansas city of Missouri in the U.S., where hehad taken a parttime job.Mr. Sharath, who moved toKansas City in January, waspursuing his master’s incomputer science from theUniversity of Missouri.

A few days ago, the victiminformed his father that hehad got a parttime job at arestaurant owned by a Pakistan national and said theowner was a gentleman.“Recently, he finished hisfirst semester and startedworking at a restaurant tillthe end of his academic holidays,” said Mr. Sharath’suncle Koppu Prasad, addingthat he worked on the university campus after college hours.

Mr. Sharath had promised his parents and family members that he wouldvisit India during Christmasvacations this year.

‘Hard to believe’Speaking to The Hindu hereon Sunday, Mr. Prasad saidthey got to know about theincident on Saturday morning and everyone was indeep shock and having ahard time to believe thenews. “We are unable to believe that he is no more. Sharath was a meritorious student, and relatives alwayssought his advice on mattersof career planning,” he said.

Mr. Ram Mohan, whoworks with the BSNL in Hyd

erabad, said he was averse tosending his son to the U.S.,but relented. “He was happyworking here. He told abouthis U.S. plans only after getting the visa in Decemberlast year,” said Mr. Ram Mohan who was inconsolable.

He requested the Indian

Consulate in Chicago andthe U.S. government to repatriate his son’s body at theearliest. Earlier, Mr. Prasadsaid that around 9.30 p.m.on Saturday they got officialconfirmation that Mr. Sharath was shot and succumbed to his injuries.

Sharath spoke to his fatherhours before the shootingHe was working at a U.S. restaurant owned by a Pakistani

Abhinay Deshpande

Hyderabad

Sharing grief: Telangana's IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao visitsthe family of Sharath Koppu in Hyderabad on Sunday. * PTI

Passion fruit is the new passion for farmers of the highranges here who were facinga crisis following drop inprices of cash crops.

The easytogrow fruitnow gets good prices and thehillproduce merchants atKattappana procure the fruitcommercially grown by thefarmers. The price per kilogram of the fruit at the Kattappana market is ₹45 andthe companies that makejuice, jam and syrup collectthe fruits on a daily basis.

Farmers grow both theyellow and purple varietieswith the latter having an

edge in the market. K.V. Francis, a farmer

from Kanchiyar, said that hehad been growing passionfruit for the past three years.

He cultivates it organically

without pesticide or fertilizers. The only requirement isa pandal for the vines tospread. The soil and climaticconditions of the high rangeswere most suitable, though s

commercial cultivation began in the area only recently,he said.

Rich in mineralsSince the fruit was rich inminerals and vitamins andcould be grown without pesticides, it had become a favourite of juice manufacturers. Last year, prices rangedfrom ₹20 to ₹25. The high demand this season is said tobe due to the increase in thenumber of firms engaged inmanufacturing valueaddedproducts. The fruit can beharvested in eight to ninemonths from sowing theseeds. The harvesting seasonis from June to August.

Ryots strike gold with passion fruitThe price per kilogram of the fruit in Kerala market is ₹45 this season

Passion fruit cultivated on a house premises at Ayyappancoilvillage, near Kattappana, in Idukki.

Giji K. Raman

IDUKKI

The district administrationhere has started preliminarypreparations for convertingSabarimala into a SwachhIconic Place as part of theSwachh Bharat Mission ofthe Union government.

A meeting of the heads ofvarious government departments chaired by DistrictCollector P.B. Noohu theother day decided to prepare a detailed project report and estimate in this regard. The project envisageddevelopment of the basic facilities at Sabarimala in anecofriendly manner so as tomake the pilgrim centre

clean and hygienic. The Union Ministry of

Drinking Water and Sanitation is the implementingagency of the project in 100major places across thecountry.

Work to make SabarimalaSwachh Iconic Place begins

Detailed project report to be prepared


PATHANAMTHITTA

A view of SabarimalaSannidhanam. * LEJU KAMAL

The Kerala government willroll out a mobile app fortransgenders in the State.

The decision comes in thewake of few registrations forthe transgender ID cardscheme. So far, only 300 orso transgenders have registered for the ID cards, manybeing reluctant to revealtheir identity.

The cards, which were issued so far, had also drawnflak for not carrying the emblem of the government andmentioning only the SocialJustice Department’s nameand for identifying their gender as ‘transgenders.’

Also, the department has

no clear data on the numberof transgenders in the State.This is perceived to be a hurdle in the way of benefits ofwelfare and other schemesreaching them.

To address these issues,the community membersmooted the development ofa mobile app where theycould register themselves.

With mobile phone penetration going up by leaps and

bounds, the app will obviatethe need for transgenders tovisit any government officefor registration; they coulddo it on the app without anyapprehension of their gender identity being revealed.

Verification processOnce they register on theapp, the information willreach communitybased organisations of transgendersfor verification that the applicants are indeed transgenders. The rationale behindCBOs being entrusted withthe verification is their grassroot level connections withthe community members.

Once the verification iscomplete, the data will be re

gistered on the app. SocialJustice Director Jafar Maliksaid the app, to be named‘Mazhavillu’ after the government’s comprehensiveproject for the transgendercommunity, would be developed by the Centre for Development of ImagingTechnology.

Shortstay homesThe Social Justice Department is also pressing aheadwith setting up shortstayhomes for transgenders inthe districts. The homes willaid rehabilitation of transgenders, a chunk of whomhave been thrown out oftheir homes or have strainedties with their families.

Using virtual world to solve identity crisis Kerala government will introduce a mobile app to help transgenders

R.K. Roshni

Thiruvananthapuram<> App will be named

‘Mazhavillu’ after the

comprehensive

project for

transgender

community

Jafar Malik

Social Justice Director

External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj on Sundaycondoled the killing of anIndian student in KansasCity in the U.S. and assuredall required assistance tothe family of the deceased.

According to authoritiesin Kansas, Sharath Koppuwas fatally shot during asuspected incident ofrobbery at a restaurantwhere he worked.

He died shortly afterbeing taken to a hospital onFriday.

“Kansas incident Myheartfelt condolences to thebereaved family. We willfollow this up with thepolice and provide allassistance to the family,”Ms. Swaraj tweeted.

“We have offered that incase a family memberwishes to go to Kansas, wewill facilitate the U.S. visa,”she said in another tweet.

Sushma offers all helpto bereaved family Press Trust of India

New Delhi

A court here has sentenceda 75yearold man to life imprisonment for killing hiswife just 11 days after thecrime took place. Chitradurga District and SessionsCourt Judge S.B. Vastramutton Saturday sentenced Parameshwaraswamy to life andslapped a fine of ₹5,000 onhim.

According to prosecution, the man had killed his63yearold wife, Puttamma, suspecting her fidelity,in Valse village on June 27.

“This is the first time inKarnataka that a man hasbeen convicted for murderjust 11 days after the crime

was committed,” Chitradurga Superintendent of PoliceSrinath Joshi said.

Parameshwaraswamywas arrested within sixhours of the crime, the investigating officer crackedthe case within two daysand submitted the chargesheet before the court, hesaid, adding the convict’sson Girish provided gave vital leads to crack the casequickly.

“Girish told us that hisfather often picked quarrelswith his mother and constantly accused her of having affairs with other men.In one such case, he lost histemper and killed her,” thepolice said.

Man gets life term 11days after murder Press Trust of India

Chitradurga

The Revenue Department isgrappling with the hugenumber of cheques issuedunder the Rythu Bandhu,that remained undistributed.

A significant number ofthe cheques, a whopping1.17 lakh, were issued in thename of beneficiaries whodied and they remained undistributed. Of these, Nalgonda stood on top with9,180 cheques issued in thename of persons followedclosely by Jagtial (8,980),Kamareddy (8,922) andMahbubnagar (7,931).

The prime reason behindthis, according to senior officials, is the beneficiaries didnot inform the authoritiesconcerned about the deathof the landowner/pattadarin time as a result of whichthe names of the deceasedinstead of the legal heirscontinued in the official records.

Similar was the case withthe landowners who are residing in other parts of the

State and the country as alsothose who left the countryin search of employment. Asmany as 2.54 lakh chequeshad been issued in the nameof beneficiaries who are notresiding in the respectivevillages while 60,900 beneficiaries on whose names thecheques were issued werefound to be residing outsidethe country.

According to the detailsprepared by the department, 47.59 lakh chequesout of the 57.88 lakh targeted were distributed according to the records availableunder the management information system, leavingaround 9 lakh cheques yetto be distributed.

A little over 3.2 lakhcheques remained undistributed owing to revenuerelated issues while another2.7 lakh cheques pertainedto other reasons. Nalgondawith little over one lakhcheques that remained undistributed as of Juneendtopped the list followed bySangareddy with 62,911 andSuryapet with 52,972.

Rythu Bandhu givenin the name of dead1.17 lakh such cheques undistributed

M. RAJEEV

HYDERABAD As many as 76 red sanderslogs, weighing nearly 2.25tonnes, were seized by theTirupati urban police asthey raided a saw mill inRamnagar district of Karnataka. Tirupati Urban Superintendent of PoliceAbhishek Mohanty said onSunday that the raid wasdone based on the information given by the accused L. Madhu, 35, whowas arrested by Gajulamandyam Police on July 7.

Further investigation revealed that the accusedwas regularly involved inred sanders smuggling andpointed out to the facility,which was being used as agodown by interStatesmuggler Afsar alias Afroz.

The latter is wanted insix red sanders smugglingcases registered acrossChittoor district.

In another incident, Gajulamandyam police arrested a smuggler S. Kumar,34, and recovered 22 logs,weighing 631.7 kg, alongside a truck.

76 redsanders logsrecovered

Staff Reporter

TIRUPATI

Naidu showcases A.P. asinvestors’ destinationVIJAYAWADA

Participating in the World

Cities Summit Mayors’ Forum

in Singapore on Sunday, Chief

Minister N. Chandrababu

Naidu showcased Andhra

Pradesh as investors’

destination. He began his

three-day visit with a meeting

with Minister of National

Development Lawrence

Wong, who said Singapore

was extremely selective in

choosing their country-to-

country collaborations. “The

only partnership we have in

India is with Andhra Pradesh,”

he said. The greenfield city

Amaravati would provide a

golden opportunity for well-

planned growth, he said.





NATION

A view of the 105yearold Britishmade steam engine that was installed in front of Darbhanga railway station on Sunday. * PTI


Vintage beauty

A former cook of the Indian Air Force officers’mess has been booked bythe police under the Official Secrets Act for possessing confidential information, including the takeoffschedule of the IAF’s fighter planes.

A native of Banka district in Bihar, ShashikantJha was initially detainedby the IAF and was laterhanded over to the policeon being found in possession of sensitive information about the Air Force,said Inspector PradeepShukla of the Shahpur police station on Sunday.

“The Air Force officialshad detained Jha on Saturday after finding him having information pertainingto takeoff schedule offighter planes inside theIAF station campus,” saidMr. Shukla.

Ex-cook ofIAF messdetained


Gorakhpur

Drawing a parallel betweenthe U.S. and Madhya Pradesh once again, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that hisgovernment would make cities in the State better thanthose in the U.S.

Addressing a function inSagar on Saturday, the ChiefMinister also said that citiesin the central State wouldemerge as the ‘cleanest,prettiest and developed cities,’ in the country in thenext five years.

Madhya Pradesh is goingto polls later this year.

“We are going to makeMadhya Pradesh cities better than the U.S. Our government has been continuouslytrying to make the citiesmodern and we will continue to do so,” Mr. Chouhan

said while inaugurating urban development projectsworth more than ₹14,000crore.

To be cleanest

He said: “Cities in MadhyaPradesh would become thecleanest, prettiest and developed in the country in thenext five years”.

This is not the first timethat Mr. Chouhan had compared the infrastructure inMadhya Pradesh with that inthe U.S.

Addressing a businessroundtable organised bythe Confederation of IndianIndustry and the U.S.India

Strategic Partnership Forumin Washington on October24 last year, Mr. Chouhanhad said that condition ofroads in Madhya Pradeshwas better than those in theU.S.

“When I got down at theWashington airport and travelled on the road, I felt theroads in Madhya Pradeshare better than in United States....I am saying this notjust for the sake of saying,”Mr. Chouhan had said.

Subsequently, Mr. Chouhan had cited a report toclaim that 92% of the roadsin Washington are in “poor”shape.

Will make M.P. cities betterthan those in U.S.: ChouhanInaugurates urban development projects worth more than ₹14,000 crore


Sagar

Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Yogi to felicitate dairyfarmers next week MATHURA

In order to encourage milk

farmers, Uttar Pradesh Chief

Minister Yogi Adityanath

would give out the ‘Gokul

Puruskar’ in Lucknow on July

11, Minister for Dairying,

Minority Welfare, Wakf and

Culture, Laxmi Narain

Chaudhary said. PTI

IN BRIEF

Youth shot deadover altercationBALLIA (UP)

A youth was shot dead in

Pakdi village when he entered

into an altercation with a rival

group over playing of a song

during a programme here, the

police said on Sunday. The

incident took place on

Saturday when some persons

opened fire at Dinesh

Prajapati (24) during a

marriage function, they said.PTI

Man thrashed forharassing girl students MUZAFFARNAGAR

A 23yearold man was

thrashed by locals for

allegedly harassing girl

students in the Aryapuri area

here, the police said on

Sunday. The accused,

Shaukeen, was beaten up by

locals on Saturday evening

when they found him

allegedly harassing girls who

were returning from schools,

the policesaid. PTI

A lecturer of a private engineering college and an employee of an Regional RuralBank (RRB), who were involved in making threatsand extortion posing asMaoists, were arrested inOdisha’s Koraput district.

According to policesources, they were arrested on Saturday while trying to extort ₹10 lakh fromSantish Kumar Swain, a senior lecturer of the sameprivate engineering collegeat Phampuni near Koraputtown.

The other person wasidentified as Amir KumarBehera.

Lecturer heldon extortioncharge

Staff Reporter

BERHAMPUR

₹9.80 lakh looted fromATM in RajasthanJAIPUR

Five unidentified men

allegedly looted ₹9.80 lakh

from an ATM machine in Pali

district late on Saturday

night, the police said. They

also tried to damage another

ATM by a gas cutter when ₹15

lakh in the machine caught

fire. PTI

Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)

Forecast for Monday: Heavy to very heavy rains likely at a few/isolated places over the Konkan, Vidarbha, south Chhattisgarh,Gujarat, central Maharashtra, Marathwada, Telangana,Karnataka, Kerala, Uttarakhand, east Uttar Pradesh, MadhyaPradesh, subHimalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Odisha, Assamand Meghalaya.

city rain max min city rain max min

Agartala...............0.8.... 32.4.... 27.0 Kozhikode ...........14.2.... 29.0.... 23.4

Ahmedabad............ —.... 35.6.... 27.9 Kurnool ....................1.... 32.1.... 24.6

Aizwal ..................16.... 30.2.... 13.1 Lucknow.................. —.... 39.4.... 30.0

Allahabad .............. —.... 42.5.... 31.2 Madurai................... —.... 36.2.... 27.7

Bengaluru .............. —.... 26.4.... 20.3 Mangaluru.........115.4.... 28.0.... 22.5

Bhopal....................1.... 34.3.... 24.0 Mumbai.............131.1.... 26.2.... 22.6

Bhubaneswar .....14.8.... 33.6.... 24.9 Mysuru.....................3.... 24.0.... 19.3

Chandigarh ............ —.... 37.7.... 27.2 New Delhi ............... —.... 40.1.... 28.5

Chennai ................. —.... 33.1.... 28.2 Patna ...................... —.... 37.7.... 28.6

Coimbatore.............1.... 29.6.... 22.3 Port Blair ................ —.... 30.3.... 26.3

Dehradun.............1.2.... 34.5.... 26.6 Puducherry.............. —.... 34.4.... 26.2

Gangtok.............15.2.... 23.2.... 17.8 Pune .....................8.6.... 27.1.... 21.3

Goa .....................6.4.... 31.0.... 25.5 Raipur .................37.5.... 33.7.... 26.2

Guwahati ............... —.... 34.1.... 27.5 Ranchi..................... —.... 31.3.... 23.0

Hubballi................. —.... 24.0.... 21.0 Shillong.................2.9.... 26.0.... 18.9

Hyderabad .........15.8.... 26.3.... 21.7 Shimla..................... —.... 23.9.... 17.5

Imphal...............20.8.... 30.0.... 20.8 Srinagar .................. —.... 32.5.... 17.3

Jaipur .................... —.... 42.1.... 30.6 Trivandrum ...........9.9.... 30.7.... 24.0

Kochi.................13.4.... 30.2.... 23.6 Tiruchi .................... —.... 35.0.... 27.0

Kohima..............45.8.... 24.4.... 17.2 Vijayawada ..........33.2.... 29.0.... 28.0

Kolkata................6.6.... 33.1.... 27.6 Visakhapatnam ......... —.... 32.9.... 26.2

(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)

Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday

CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE

In observation made at4.00 p.m.,Muzaffarnagar,UttarPradesh recorded anoverall air quality index(AQI) score of 286indicating an unhealthylevel of pollution. Incontrast, Haldia, WestBengal recorded a healthyAQI score of 30

Ahmedabad ...... 33 197 92 ..137 .....— ....*

Bengaluru......... ..4 .22 39 ....91 .....— ....*

Chennai ............ ..9 .30 51 ..114 .....— ....*

Delhi ................ 17 .74 24 ..121 .154 ....*

Hyderabad ........ ..3 .80 20 ....26 ...34 ....*

Kolkata............. ..2 .27 15 ....16 ...27 ....*

Lucknow........... ..5 .11 50 ..190 .....— ....*

Mumbai ............ ..— ...— .— ..... — .....— ....—

Pune................. 37 .14 50 ....34 ...30 ....*

Vishakhapatnam 14 .48 35 ....53 ...74 ....*

Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI)

SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system,

making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air

particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues

and monuments.

NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by

reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.

CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to

critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause

dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.

PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes,

nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced

lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and

premature death in people with heart or lung disease


The Uttar Pradeshgovernment iscontemplating “compulsoryretirement” for employeesaged 50 and above if theyare found neglecting theirduty — an order that has notgone down well with theworkforce.

Around four lakhemployees out of a total of16 lakh working with theState government wouldcome under the ambit of thenew order and a detailedreport of their work andperformance would have tobe submitted by department

heads by July 31, a seniorgovernment official said.

“You all (departmentalheads) should completescreening of all theemployees above 50years of age forcompulsory retirementby July 31. Forconsidering 50 years ofage, the cut off date willbe March 31, 2018,” agovernment order issued byAdditional Chief SecretaryMukul Singhal read.

It also said according torules, any governmentemployee can opt forretirement.

The order has, however,not gone down well with theemployees, with President

of the U.P. SecretariatEmployees’ AssociationYadavendra Mishra, sayingsuch attempts were aimedat harassing governmentservants.

“It will not betolerated,” he said,adding that a meetingwould be held here onMonday to decide the

future course of action,which might include goingon strike. While such ordershave been in vogue since1986, they were not beingimplemented in letter andspirit by severaldepartments, officials said.

To make sure that theorder is implemented, alldepartments have beenasked to complete screeningof employees for thepurpose of compulsoryretirement by July 31., theorder said.

The order, dated July 6,has been marked to theadditional chief secretary,the principal secretaries andthe secretaries in thegovernment.

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath had ordered asimilar exercise last year toscreen IAS and IPS officerswho had crossed 50.

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50 and out: U.P. to dump nonperforming officials


Lucknow

Adityanath govt. for ‘compulsory retirement’ of staff found negligent; order sparks protests

ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN




CMYK

NATION

N.D. Tiwari’s conditionextremely serious: son NEW DELHI

The condition of former

Uttarakhand chief minister

N.D. Tiwari, who was shifted

on Saturday to the ICU of a

private hospital here, is

“extremely serious”, his son

Rohit Shekhar Tiwari said on

Sunday. According to Rohit

Shekhar, his father has been

put on dialysis “due to failure

of his kidneys”. PTI

IN BRIEF

Dhule lynching case: onemore suspect arrestedPUNE

The local crime branch on

Sunday arrested one more

person in connection with the

lynchings in the Dhule

district, where five persons of

a nomadic community were

bludgeoned to death on July

1 on rumours of child-lifting.

This takes the number of

arrests in the case to 26.

Authorities at the Pimpalner

police station in Dhule

confirmed the arrest.

Fire breaks out onManipur varsity campusIMPHAL

The office of the Assistant

Director of Sports, Manipur

University, was gutted in fire

late on Saturday night, police

sources said. The initial

suspicion was that the fire was

connected to the 40-day-old

agitations demanding removal

of the Vice-Chancellor.

However, the Manipur

University Students Union said

it had nothing to do with it.

Most of the Mumbai regionwoke up to heavy rainfall onSunday morning, which continued through the day, causing waterlogging at severalplaces and submerging railtracks on some routes. Therewere delays in suburbantrains, and over 70 busroutes had to be diverted.

Of the 26 weather stationsin Mumbai and its suburbs,14 recorded more than 100mm rainfall since Saturday,the India Meteorological Department (IMD) here said,adding the city’s Chemburarea received the highest184.2 mm rainfall followedby Goregaon (162.2 mm).

Mumbai Traffic Policeclosed a road overbridge inGhatkopar area for vehiculartraffic as a precautionarymeasure after a crack wasspotted in one of its pillars.Since longdistance and localtrains pass under the Ghatkopar bridge, the decision toclose it was taken to avoid anincident like the bridge collapse in Andheri last week,an official of the Central Railway said.

No breaksThe suburbs reported incessant rainfall through thenight and morning, but postnoon, the island city received more rain. In the 24hours ending 8.30 am onSunday, the IMD’s Santacruzobservatory recorded131.1mm rainfall and the Colaba observatory recorded33mm. As of 8.30 p.m, Colaba recorded 140.4 mm andSantacruz 66 mm. IMD hasforecast similar weather conditions until Wednesday.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation received

complaints of waterloggingat several places, includingParel, Sion, Kurla, Khar, andBandra. 18 pump sets wereoperated in six major pumping stations, apart from 111dewatering pumps used locally.

The BMC’s Disaster management cell received 20complaints of trees orbranches collapsing untilSunday morning. A portionof a threestorey building’sbalcony collapsed in Kurla,but no injury was reported.

The city reported a total of 12other incidents of slabs collapsing due to the rain.

The lowlying areas of Parel, Dharavi, Matunga andKing’s Circle in Mumbai andtowns in the neighbouringThane district, including Di

va, Dombivali, Kalyan andAmbernath, were floodeddue to the rain.

Unusually, parts of southMumbai, including HutatmaSmarak, Churchgate, CuffeParade, experienced waterlogging, with the BMC blaming ongoing Mumbai Metroexcavation. The civic bodyhad pointed out irregularities to Metro III contractoron June 29, but until Sunday,there was no complianceleading to waterlogging.

Over 100 picnickers werestranded at the Chinchotiwaterfall, near the Tungareshwar hill range at Vasai,Palghar district. The localpolice, fire brigade, disastermanagement cell and National Disaster ResponseForce (NDRF) personnelswung into action and rescued 97 people. The denseforest and hilly terrain madesome areas inaccessible, sothe IAF was also called in aswell; the crew of an IAF helicopter spotted five strandedpeople, an official of thestate disaster managementcell said. All five were rescued and flown to the Mumbai airport.

The IMD has forecast similar weather conditions untilWednesday. “The cloudmass is the most towardsnorthern side of Mumbai.Northwest winds over coastare giving rainfall over Mumbai,” a senior IMD officialsaid. Monday’s forecast is“Heavy rainfall at isolatedplaces in Greater Mumbai,Thane and Palghar.”

With 1240.8mm rainfall,Mumbai has already received 49.34% of the season’s average. The figurestood at 28.6% this time lastyear.

(With PTI inputs)

No end to monsoon woes asMumbai braces for more rainBrihanmumbai Municipal Corporation flooded with complaints of waterlogging, rescue calls

Staff Reporter

Mumbai

(Top) A woman walks on the footpath in a water-logged street in Siddharth Colony, Chembur;and people push a bus at Hindmata in Dadar, on Sunday. * PRASHANT WAYDANDE

Arunachal Pradesh is staring at scarcity of water, thevery resource that is expected to make the frontier StateIndia’s hydroelectricpowerhouse.

On Saturday, the State’sMinister for Environmentand Forests Nabam Rebiasaid more than 200 riversand streams across Arunachal Pradesh have dried up.This, he felt, would soonmake the State faceshortage.

The scenario, he indicated, could be as grim asShimla, the capital of another “presumably waterabundant” Himalayan State thatunderwent a severe watercrisis recently.

Mr. Rebia attributed thedrying up of water bodies torampant destruction of forests besides thinning glaciers in the Eastern Himalayas due to climate change.

Forest cover“The State’s forest cover hasdecreased from 82% to 79%and catchment areas of many rivers are under threatbecause of jhum (slashandburn) cultivation and landslides,” he said at an officialfunction in the Papum Paredistrict. Largescale hunting

of animals, too, has been afactor in the depletion of theState’s natural resources,Mr. Rebia said. He addedthat the State governmentwould ban hunting of wildlife.

Many communities huntbirds and animals for foodand adornment of traditional headgear. Wild animalssuch as Asiatic black bear,leaf deer and Mishmi takinare considered delicacies.

M. Surya Prakash, theState’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, said public cooperation was imperative for conservation offorests and wildlife in a Statewhere much of the land iscommunityowned.

All, however, is not lost,officials said. They cited examples of Hyer Habia Catchment Area Welfare Committee in Papum Pare district,and the Bugun communityof the Singchung village inWest Kameng, whose members take turns to protect a17 sq. km. biodiversity hotspot. The water scarcity hasundermined the State’smuchvaunted hydropowerpotential, which the Parliament’s Standing Committeeon Energy said is 25,962MW. But only about 405 MWhad been commissioned till2017.

Arunachal staresat water scarcity ‘Situation could be as grim as Shimla’

Rahul Karmakar

GUWAHATI

A peasant leader at the forefront of a movement in Assam against the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill, 2016, hasbeen served an eviction notice for encroachment on government land close to theKaziranga National Park(KNP).

On Sunday, Deputy Commissioner of eastern Assam’s Golaghat district directed Bokakhat’s civilSubDivisional Officer to“take necessary steps immediately for removal of encroachment”. This was withreference to 6.1 bighas(about 14,500 sq. ft.) of government land “illegally encroached for Orchid Park byAkhil Gogoi”. Bokakhat isthe headquarters of theEastern Assam Wildlife Division that lords over the KNP.Mr. Gogoi is a Right to Infor

mation (RTI) activist andleader of the Krishak MuktiSangram Samiti (KMSS).

The eviction notice wasserved to the Kaziranga National Orchid and Biodiversity Park on June 5 by theCircle Officer of the Bokakhat Revenue Circle. The notice came with a sevendaydeadline for vacating thepark. Mr. Gogoi, whoopened the park at the Durgapur village in Kohorarange of the KNP in October2015, said he had applied forpermission to set up a museum on the piece of landthe district authorities wantto be vacated.

“This is a political conspiracy by the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) government inAssam that nurses grudgesagainst me because of thetouchy issues the KMSStakes up. I will go to court, ifnecessary,” he said.

RTI activist servedeviction notice ‘Political conspiracy by the BJP govt.’

Special correspondent

GUWAHATI

With Odisha placed at thebottom of Individual Household Latrines (IHHL) coverage in the country, theCentre has urged the Stategovernment to use the forthcoming Shree JagannathRath Yatra festival in Puri as aplatform to spread the message on twinpit toilet access

and usage. “Given the slowprogress of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in Odisha,which is our common concern, this could be a significant opportunity to providemuchneeded accelerationto the programme,” wroteParameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Ministry of DrinkingWater and Sanitation, in aletter addressed to Odisha

Chief Secretary A. P. Padhirecently.

“Utilising the auspiciousoccasion with the twinpittoilet usage messaging willgo a long way in helping Odisha reach ODF statusthrough behavioural changeof millions of rural citizensattending the festivities,”said Mr Iyer. The Ministrysuggested the State govern

ment declare the 2018 RathYatra as the Swachh Rath Yatra.

Worst performerOdisha has been the worstperformer in executing theSBM in the country. SinceOctober 2, 2014, when themission was launched, only38.08 lakh household toiletshave been constructed, and

IHHL coverage in Odisha hasbeen estimated at 57.82%.

Bihar has slightly bettercoverage than Odisha with58.9%. As many as 18 Statesand Union Territories havealready achieved 100% coverage. Uttar Pradesh, a bigger State, has achieved79.14% coverage of households with IHHL.

As far as Open Defecation

Free (ODF) villages are concerned, Odisha figuresamong five lowest performing States. Only 23.42% villages in Odisha have qualified for the ODF tag.

While neighbouringChhattisgarh has alreadyachieved the 100% milestone, only two of Odisha’s 30districts have been been declared ODF.

Rath Yatra to showcase Swachh Bharat Mission in OdishaCentre urges the ‘worst performer’ in the country to spread the message at the famous Shree Jagannath festival

Staff Reporter

BHUBANESWAR

Over ₹29.41 crore was spenton using the Indian Air Force’s ultramodern transportaircraft — the C17 and theC130J Super Hercules — toferry the new ₹2,000 and₹500 currency notes postdemonetisation, accordingto an RTI reply.

According to the res

ponse provided by the IAF,the C17 and the C130J Super Hercules, undertook 91sorties to transport bundlesof currency from securityprinting presses and mintsto various destinationsacross the country after the₹1,000 and the ₹500 noteswere demonetised by thegovernment on November8, 2016.

₹29.41 cr. spent onferrying new notes IAF flew 91 sorties to fetch bundles


New Delhi

An Assam police constablewho went missing from duty15 years ago has been found‘awaiting death’ at a crematorium in Guwahati.

Police officials said constable Gowresh Bhattacharjee went missing after hewas transferred to Karbi Anglong district from the 1st As

sam Police Battalion in eastern Assam’s Sivasagardistrict.

He was found at the city’sBhootnath crematorium onFriday.

Officials of the Bharalumukh police station, said Mr.Bhattacharjee, found lyingat the crematorium for “thegod of death to take himaway”, appeared to be men

tally unstable.Officials of the police sta

tion concerned took him to aMissionaries of Charitycentre in the locality. A police officer said Mr. Bhattacharjee denied being eitheran alcoholic or sufferingfrom any psychiatric complication.

“He seemed convinced hewas dying,” the officer said.

He was found at Guwahati’s Bhootnath crematorium


GUWAHATI

Assam constable found ‘awaitingdeath’ 15 years after disappearance

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board(AIMPLB), the highest decisionmaking body on Muslim affairs, plans to openDarulQaza or Shariatcourts in all districts of thecountry to resolves issuesin line with Islamic laws.The proposal will come upfor discussion at a meetingof the AIMPLB in New Delhi on July 15.

“At present there are 40such courts in Uttar Pradesh. We plan to open onesuch court in all districts ofthe country. The objectiveof DarulQaza is to resolvematters in light of Shariatlaws instead of going toother courts,” senior member AIMPLB, Zafaryab Zilani said.

AIMPLB forShariat courtsin all districts


Lucknow

No entry for non-Hindusinto shrine, say servitors BHUBANESWAR

Servitors of the 12th century

Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri,

have opposed the entry of

non-Hindus into the shrine

suggested by the Supreme

Court. A team on Sunday met

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to

apprise him of the situation.

Recently, a SC Bench had asked

the temple management to

consider if non-Hindus can be

allowed to enter the shrine.





CMYK

A ND-NDE

EDITORIAL

Neha Sinha

The ongoing protests in someof India’s largest cities (theseinclude Delhi and Mumbai)

to save natural and not built entities — trees in urban spaces (seepicture) — are remarkable, eventhough we understand that citiesare centres of construction; spacescurated and created mainly by thehuman hand.

Hundreds of Delhi residentstook to the streets in protestagainst a plan to have 14,000 treescut for the “redevelopment” of government colonies in South Delhi.In Mumbai, citizens have beenfighting for years to save over2,000 trees in Aarey, slated to befelled for another kind of development — to make way for a metroline car shed.

The idea of an urban tree, onethat is outside of a lush forest,does not resonate ecologically asmuch as a forest or a ‘pristine’ na

tional park. Yet for urban activistsprotesting for their trees to besaved, the fight is for the tree theycan see near their front porch; notone that has been marked for transplantation in unreachable partsof the city. For them, it is the treethat situates a particular part ofthe city by becoming an immutable part of the integrity of the landscape.

Trees outside a forestIt is well known that forests are invaluable as ecological entities. TheUN’s REDD, or Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in DevelopingCountries, programme lays emphasis on planting and maintaining forests as a means to counterclimate change. In India, forestsare governed under the Forest(Conservation) Act, 1980, Statelaws, and the Indian Forest Act,1927, which lay down elaboraterules for the conservation and diversion of forests. Despite this, forests are the first targets when itcomes to projects such as mining,dams, highways, industrial projects and so on, to be offset bycompensatory afforestation.Former Minister of Environment,

Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar once remarkedthat diversion of forest should beseen as ‘reforestation’. As far asthe issue of trees outside forestareas is concerned — city trees —the situation is much worse.

Trees in cities usually come under State Tree Acts; they can havevariable descriptions. In Delhi, forexample, these are usually avenueor colony trees. In the case of Aarey, it is a green belt or greenpatch. The monikers of ‘greenbelts’ or ‘green cover’ suggest atransferable quality in management — that the city would not beworse off if another tree or greenbelt comes up elsewhere, as longas it is green. Therefore, it is important that urban citizens arefighting to keep city trees where

they are. They argue that the ageand very place of the tree is an important fulcrum for their activism.In a sense then, a mature treecreates a sense of civilisation.

Shared habitatAs India moves towards more urbanisation, can cities be looked atmore as shared habitats betweenhumans and biodiversity, ratherthan a jungle of buildings? Thequestion, even if not consciouslyfaced through planning strategies,will need to be tackled in one formor the other as cities become progressively more unliveable. Withits yearround hazardous air quality and an increase in cars and inhabitants, Delhi is a tough city tolive in. Trees in Delhi do not justpurify the air; they are also visualrelief.

The fact that cities need openspaces and greenery is clear fromthe number of people crowdingparks, be it Central Park in NewYork or Lodhi Gardens in New Delhi. The earlier wave of tree plantation in Delhi which included Sarojini Nagar, Nauroji Nagar, andNetaji Nagar, marked for redevelopment, have trees beneficial forbiodiversity — native and natural

ised trees such as neem, banyan,peepal, semal, arjuna, and siris.These large, old trees have become markers for Delhi. Yet, several new constructions in the citiesbelie these values even thoughthey look green or have greenbelts. Buildings with basementsare made in ways that allow onlyshallow beds which would notwithstand deeprooted, nativetrees. In sum, many new apartment complexes have green beltsthat do very little for biodiversityor the ecological idea of greenery.

Thus the fight for Delhi’s trees isalso a fight for the right kind ofspecies to be allowed to grow tothe right size; this flies in the faceof quickly manicured or manufactured ‘green belts’. It outlines astruggle for cities which have a civilisation of shared meaning andrelationships between people andnature. And clearly this relationship comes through size, age andthe tree as an optic for a lived, native habitat for birds and wildlife.Urban biodiversity then can be itsown form of civilisation — one thatour air as well as our urban identity needs desperately.

Neha Sinha is a wildlife conservationist

The tree as an urban coordinate Amature tree creates a sense of civilisation in a way that a manicured green belt cannot

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more letters online:

www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

“Nations fail when institutions of governance fail.The working of a demo

cratic institution is impacted bythe statesmanship (or the lack ofit) shown by those in whom theelectorate vests the trust to govern,” writes Justice D.Y. Chandrachud in his concurrence to the Supreme Court’s judgment inGovernment of NCT of Delhi v. Un-ion of India. A story from acrossthe border illustrates preciselywhat the judge means.

A cautionary taleThe Indian company Mahindra &Mahindra is today wellknown forits rugged vehicles. The enterprisebegan when two brothers with engineering backgrounds and bureaucratic careers quit to form acompany to manufacture theAmerican Willys jeep on license inIndia. That jeep has had severalavatars and its descendants, theScorpios and the XUVs, still ruleIndian roads. The company however began as Mahindra and Mohammed.

The Mohammed in questionwas Sir Malik Ghulam Muhammed. A chartered accountantwho looked after the financial sideof the enterprise, he was formerlya civil servant of the Indian Railway Accounts Service. After Partition he left the company for Pakistan and became its first FinanceMinister under Liaquat Ali Khan.When Liaquat was assassinated,Pakistan’s Governor General, Khawaja Nazimuddin, became PrimeMinister and Mohammed, Pakistan’s next Governor General.

Unlike India, which had adopt

ed its Constitution in 1950, Pakistan had not succeeded in framinga Constitution. The Government ofIndia Act 1935 and the Indian Independence Act 1947 continued tooperate. When language riotsbroke out in East Pakistan in the1950s, Governor General GhulamMohammed dismissed Prime Minister Nazimuddin, resorting to reserve powers under the colonialscheme of the Government of India Act of 1935. When the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan soughtto limit the Governor General’spowers, he dismissed the Assembly in 1954.

The Assembly petitioned theSindh High Court, which ruled inits favour, but the decision wasoverruled by a split decision in thePakistan Supreme Court by abench headed by Chief Justice Muhammad Munir. Justice Munir hadheld that it was necessary to gobeyond the constitution to thecommon law, to general legal maxims, and to English historical precedent. He had relied on Bracton’smaxim, “that which is otherwisenot lawful is made lawful bynecessity”.

An appointed Governor Generalthus effectively became the rulerof Pakistan. Ghulam Muhammedhowever fell ill, and appointedanother former bureaucrat, Iskander Mirza, as acting Governor General. In 1955 Mirza dismissed Ghulam Muhammed, to becomeGovernor General himself. Laterwhen Pakistan’s Constitution wasfinally adopted in 1956, Mirza became President. In 1958 he wasoverthrown by his own handpicked army commander, GeneralAyub Khan. When martial law waschallenged in the Supreme Courtin 1958, the doctrine of necessitywas again used to repel the challenge. Judicial interpretation thusmade necessity the mother of martial law.

In recent times, Najeeb Jungand Anil Baijal, as Lieutenant Go

vernors of Delhi, seemed to playGovernor General. They overruledthe elected government of ArvindKejriwal (himself another formerbureaucrat) on almost every issueof administration. They relied on aproviso to Article 239AA of theConstitution, which provides that“in the case of difference of opinion between the Lieutenant Governor and his Ministers on anymatter, the Lieutenant Governorshall refer it to the President fordecision and act according to thedecision given thereon by the President and pending such decisionit shall be competent for the Lieutenant Governor in any casewhere the matter, in his opinion, isso urgent that it is necessary forhim to take immediate action, totake such action or to give such direction in the matter as he deemsnecessary.”

Sealed by the courtThus in almost all administrativematters of consequence, the Lieutenant Governor acted as thoughhe was the final word and that itwas not necessary for him to seekthe aid and advice of the electedgovernment. A government for 20million residents of Delhi was toldthat it could not govern if the Lieutenant Governor chose to not letthem govern. Last week’s Supreme Court judgment in the Go-vernment of the NCT of Delhi has finally put an end to such

constitutional coups. Cutting tothe heart of all the political andconstitutional wrangling, the judgment unanimously affirms theprinciple of an elected representative being vested with the power toadminister democratically. It negates the bureaucratic usurpationof power that sought to operate inconstitutional interstices, at the instance of an inimical central government.

The majority judgment of ChiefJustice Dipak Misra says: “There isno room for absolutism. There isno space for anarchy… Ours is aparliamentary form of government guided by the principle ofcollective responsibility of the Cabinet. The Cabinet owes a duty towards the legislature for every action taken in any of the Ministriesand every individual Minister isresponsible for every act of the Ministry… This principle of collectiveresponsibility is of immense significance in the context of ‘aid andadvice’. If a well deliberated legitimate decision of the Council of Ministers is not given effect to due toan attitude to differ on the part ofthe Lieutenant Governor, then theconcept of collective responsibility would stand negated.”

Justice Chandrachud in his concurrence holds that, “In a cabinetform of government, the substantive power of decision makingvests in the Council of Ministerswith the Chief Minister as its head.The aid and advice provision contained in the substantive part ofArticle 239AA(4) recognises thisprinciple. When the LieutenantGovernor acts on the basis of theaid and advise of the Council of Ministers, this recognises that realdecisionmaking authority in a democratic form of governmentvests in the executive. Even whenthe Lieutenant Governor makes areference to the President underthe terms of the proviso, he has toabide by the decision which is arrived at by the President.”

Justice Ashok Bhushan whilebroadly concurring with the othertwo judgments holds that the “LGhas to be kept informed of all proposals, agendas of meeting and decisions taken. The purpose ofcommunication of all decisions isto keep him posted with the administration of Delhi. The communication of all decisions is necessaryto enable him to go through theproposals and decisions so as toenable him to exercise the powersas conceded to him under 1991 Actand Rules 1993… the purpose ofcommunication is not to obtain hisconcurrence….”

Three and a half years of a fiveyear term have been lost in a constitutional wrangle, caused asmuch by the bureaucracy as by thepoliticians. Apart from administration, what has suffered is the reputation of the bureaucracy for impartial, apolitical governance.Bureaucrats have picked sides inthe political battle and have lost, incourt and in public esteem. Administrative paralysis has been usedfor political chokeholds.

A telling pun I leave you with one last story ofPakistan. In 1958 the President responded to a state of political chaosby declaring martial law, and calling out the army. A section of thepublic punned on the term ‘martial law’, saying, “Pakistan mein abtoh mashallah ho gaya (by thegrace of God, things in Pakistanare well now).” We in India are fortunate that our courts have nothad to resort to the doctrine of necessity. Our politicians and bureaucrats may have in this instance failed, but the SupremeCourt has, for the moment, delivered us from mischief. Amen tothat, and may our quasifederalUnion long endure as a democratic polity.

Sanjay Hegde is a senior advocate of the

Supreme Court

The democratic mandate in DelhiIndia is fortunate that its courts have not had to resort to the doctrine of necessity

Sanjay Hegde

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ControversialNothing can be morebewildering than having aHarvardeducated UnionMinister to claim that bywelcoming those convictedin a case of lynching, he,the Minister, was only“honouring the due processof law” (“Honoured legalprocess: Jayant Sinha”, July8). The killing of a Muslimtrader was barbaric. TheMinister’s defence of hisown reprehensible conductis even more condemnable.The Jharkhand High Courthas only suspended theirsentence while granting themen bail. In the eyes of thelaw, they continue to beguilty. It is unfortunate that thereare a few members of theruling party who haveindicated their support forhate speech and expresssolidarity with those whohave been accused oflynching. These are clearsigns of the kind of viciouspolarising the BJP may bepreparing us for in therunup to 2019. It isworrying that the Prime

Minister has chosen not toact against such partymembers, which onlystrengthens the perceptionthat there is somethinghidden in his silence.S.K. Choudhury,

Bengaluru

■ Whether the BJP likes it ornot, it is already on the backfoot as far as incidents oflynching are concerned. Mr.Sinha’s despicable gesturehas put not only him but alsothe BJP in a tight spot. He hasgiven the Opposition enoughammunition to attack thegovernment with. It is timethe BJP takes firm stepsbefore the ground beneathits feet slips away.N. Mahadevan,

Chennai

Big changeThe government’s decisionto entrust the NationalTesting Agency withconducting the JointEntrance Examination(Mains) and NEET twice ayear is a move that will leavestudents less stressedCurrently, many students are

unable to manage theirboard examinations andthese entrance examinationssimultaneously. It will alsogive more space for theCentral Board of SecondaryEducation to improve itsstandards. Involving the NTAwill help ensure that theexaminations are conductedin a fair manner (“JEE(Mains), NEET to be heldtwice a year”, July 8). Asif Ali,

Roorkee, Uttarakhand

Humble postcardOldtimers will recall theeminence the Post andTelegraphs Department onceoccupied in thecommunication network.Heavy postal bags beinghandled by the Railway MailService on platforms were acommon sight. It was a timewhen people took pride inwriting. Though mobile postoffices may have beenrevived, the fact is that veryfew people buy letter formsand post cards. The might ofthe postal department haseroded after the advent ofprivate couriers.

Letter writing aided ourthinking skills and sharpenedour communication. It is sadthat the digital world isslowly obfuscating theimportance of letter writing.The joy of waiting for andreceiving post cards andinland letters and readingtheir contents have become athing of the past (“Post cardsstill around, but nothing towrite home about”, July 8).R. Sridharan,

Chennai

■ That the post card is fastdisappearing is a big lossfrom an aesthetic andemotional point of view.Nothing can equal ahandwritten letter. Recently,while looking for old recordsI came across a post cardwritten by my father decadesago that reflected hisaffection and concern.Though I am old, it instantlybrought tears to my eyes.The current generation doesnot know what it is missing.In their twilight years, theywill only have an emptyscreen on their smartphonesand have to rely solely on

Stunned, at WimbledonThe difficulty of a highlyranked player playing arelatively unknownopponent is that the latterhas nothing to lose andeverything to gain (‘Sport’page, “Hsieh casts spell onHalep, causes biggest shockof the day”, July 8). With noexpectation to win, there isno pressure on suchopponents whereas anestablished player needs towin and move on to the nextround. When seeded playersmake an unexpected exit, itis not as though they haveplayed below their potential;it is because the carefreeopponent had played withunrestricted freedom whichsometimes clicks. The onlyway for the favourites to winis to ensure that they take thebull by the horns withoutwaiting for the opponent tocommit mistakes. SimonaHalep paid a price for notdoing this and it is as simpleas that. V. Lakshmanan,

Tirupur, Tamil Nadu

their fading memory torecollect the past.S. Rajagopalan,

Chennai

■ Living in a digital era, weseem to think thatsmartphones and theInternet have replacedpopular and longstandingmeans of communication.But we seem to be wrong, asthe humble yellow post cardand the blue inland letterpaper still hold their own.There is still a demand forpost cards and inland lettersin rural India. Both are brilliant tools ofcommunication and helpone recall the whole systemof communication builtaround them — iconic redpostboxes that were onceclose to our hearts and stoodmajestically at the entranceto many a street. A handwritten post card or inlandletter not only helps onedevelop a special bondingwith others, but such a formcan be preserved for yearsfor nostalgia.R. Sivakumar,

Chennai

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters emailed to [email protected] must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

The trade wars have finally begun. After exchang

ing several threats over the last few months, both

the United States and China implemented a tariff

of 25% on imports worth $34 billion last Friday. This

marks the official beginning of what China dubs as “the

biggest trade war in economic history”. While this

trade war is far from the biggest the world has seen, it

has the potential to cause some significant damage to

the world economy. U.S. President Donald Trump, who

began the year by imposing tariffs on imported solar

panels and washing machines, has vowed to possibly

tax all Chinese imports into the U.S., which last year ad

ded up to a little over $500 billion. Mr. Trump’s tariffs

against China will likely resonate with voters who be

lieve in his “America First” campaign and perceive the

trade deficit with China as a loss to the U.S. economy.

China, not surprisingly, has responded by targeting

American exports like soybean and automobiles, a

move that could cause job losses in American states

that accommodate Mr. Trump’s voter base. Other major

U.S. trading partners such as the European Union, Mex

ico, and Canada have also slapped retaliatory tariffs on

various U.S. goods.

In a globalised world, no country can hope to impose

tariffs without affecting its own economic interests.

Apart from disadvantaging its consumers, who will

have to pay higher prices for certain goods, tariffs will

also disrupt the supply chain of producers who rely on

foreign imports. So both the U.S. and China, which have

blamed each other for the ongoing trade war, are doing

no good to their own economic fortunes by engaging in

this titfortat tariff battle. The minutes of the U.S. Fed

eral Reserve June policy meeting show that economic

uncertainty due to the trade war is already affecting

private investment in the U.S., with many investors de

ciding to scale back or delay their investment plans.

China, which is fighting an economic slowdown, will be

equally affected. The ongoing trade war also threatens

the rulesbased global trade order which has managed

to amicably handle trade disputes between countries

for decades. It could also isolate the U.S., which has re

fused to settle differences through serious negotiations,

as other global economies strike trade deals on their

own. In March, for instance, 11 AsiaPacific countries

went ahead to sign a transPacific trade deal while leav

ing out the U.S., which had pulled out of the TransPac

ific Partnership in early 2017. If global trade tensions

continue to simmer, however, it may not be too long be

fore countries resort to other destructive measures

such as devaluing their currencies to support domestic

exporters. The world economy, which is on a slow path

to recovery, can do without such unnecessary shocks.

No one winsThe U.S.China trade war is on; unless saner

counsel prevails, it will affect others too

Everyone is entitled to presumptions of the guilt or

innocence of a convict. And this applies equally

to those who hold high public office as it does to

ordinary citizens. But it is one thing for Jayant Sinha,

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, to have se

rious reservations about the verdict of the fast track

court in Jharkhand that convicted, and sentenced, a

bunch of people to life imprisonment in a cow vigilan

tism case. It is quite another to felicitate those convict

ed merely because they were let out on bail by the

Jharkhand High Court. A release on bail, as Mr. Sinha

surely knows, is not an acquittal. The eight garlanded

men he posed with for celebratory photos are still con

victs, who were tried in a case in which a meat trader

was savagely beaten to death on suspicion of transport

ing beef. That a Central Minister could have hobnobbed

in such a public fashion with those convicted of murder

is inexcusable. As a lawmaker, he ought to have known

that doing so would raise inevitable questions in the pu

blic mind about his commitment to the rule of law and

his lack of faith in the criminal justice system. In doing

what he did, he allowed his personal beliefs to trump

his public responsibilities. Mr. Sinha has declared that

he is against any kind of vigilantism and all forms of vio

lence. His defence for his grave lapse lies in a fine dis

tinction. He believes there is a difference between the

eight who were let out on bail and some others who

participated in the murderous assault. While it is true

that the group of eight was released from prison on the

ground that the available visual evidence showed them

only as onlookers as opposed to assaulters, the Jhark

hand High Court’s order is not a proclamation of inno

cence. This depends on the outcome of the appeal —

something that Mr. Sinha did not care to wait for.

From the string of statements he made on social me

dia, it is far from clear whether Mr. Sinha has so much

as paused to consider, leave alone care about, what the

eight were doing at the scene of the crime. This streng

thens the charge that narrow political considerations,

as opposed to a presumed miscarriage of justice, played

a role in his action — to first champion their innocence

and then to celebrate their release. His clarifications

notwithstanding, Mr. Sinha has lent the impression he

has been guided by the political exigencies that prevail

in his Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency, where the

murder took place. Wittingly or unwittingly, he has

opened himself up to the charge that he is indulging

cow vigilantism and taking sides on the basis of the par

ty affiliation of the convicts. One of the convicts, Nitya

nand Mahto, is a local leader of the BJP, and is known to

Mr. Sinha. For him to claim he did nothing more than

wish the eight well when they came to see him on their

release on bail is neither convincing nor acceptable.

No, MinisterJayant Sinha does his office a disservice by

felicitating cow vigilantism convicts on bail


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DATA POINT

A group of students who invaded the Pakistani High Commission last night [ July 7, London] as a protest against PresidentAyub Khan were cleared out early today [ July 8] by police. AScotland Yard spokesman said the students — all Pakistanis —carried out a peaceful demonstration and there were no arrests. There was some confusion about the number of students who entered the building — some reports said as manyas 100 took part. But police said they herded out only 30. Thetwohour takeover followed a meeting of the Pakistani Students Federation which held a protest meeting on behalf ofpolitical prisoners in Pakistan.

FIFTY YEARS AGO JULY 9, 1968

Anti-Ayub protest by Pakistani students

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FROM ARCHIVES

It is a general belief among wellinformed Indian circles in thiscountry that, during his stay here, Mr. Montagu utilised his opportunities by adroit means to obtain from some of the Indianleaders a friendly reception and support for his Reform proposals as soon as they may be published. The opinions of the English Press wired by Reuter today [ July 9], as well as those ofMr. Ramsay Macdonald and others which we have alreadybeen acquainted with by the same agency, show that forceshave been industriously set to work in England to secure forthe Reform proposals, a degree of enthusiastic approval and astate of public opinion which will preclude a critical examination of the scheme on its merits, and will be calculated to discount in advance all adverse criticism regarding it.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO JULY 9, 1918.

The Reform Report.(From an Editorial)

Westermarck

effectSociology

Also known as reverse sexual imprinting, this refersto a scientific hypothesiswhich states that peoplebecome desensitised sexually towards other peoplewith whom they are inclose contact during thefirst few years of their life.It is named after Finnishscientist Edvard Westermarck who proposed it inhis 1891 book The Historyof Human Marriage. TheWestermarck effect is usedas a possible explanationfor why incest is considered to be taboo in mostsocieties. However, theprevalence of first cousinmarriages in certain cultures has been used to argue that other cultural factors could offset theinfluence of the effect.

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CONCEPTUAL

What’s the deal with sex?

http://bit.ly/dealwithsex

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MORE ON

THE WEB 3

Former Prime Minister ManmohanSingh claims that India’s economyhas been “systematically dismantled” by the BJP government. Heshould know that every nation’s economy is only a glass half full. Two ofthe world’s biggest economies, theU.S. and the U.K., are both facing uncertain economic times.

Economic woesBy next summer, U.S. President Donald Trump could claim to have beaten the 10year growth period of 1991to 2001. Cutting interest rates, injecting billions of dollars into the economy, cleansing the financial system sothat banks can resume lending, taxcuts by the Barack Obama administration, and spending increaseshelped the U.S. economy recover.But average growth is still only 2.2%without a single annual increase ofover 3% over the past 10 years. Halfthe growth benefits during Mr. Obama’s tenure went to the top 1% ofhouseholds, and the lack of real income growth for society’s lower levels led to the discontent that pushedMr. Trump to the top position. Problems are likely to start with the financial sector, tightening policy bycentral banks, and overvalued assetprices. The U.S. Federal Reserve hasthe difficult task of raising interestrates without precipitating a downward slide when the impact of the fiscal boost is fading. If this happens,Mr. Trump will be seeking a secondterm when the U.S. economy is in thedoldrums.

Brexit troublesIn the U.K., the situation is worse.Leaving the European Union (EU)means getting into uncharted waters.Much of the acrimony is within theruling Conservative Party over theexit plan, leaving Prime MinisterTheresa May to negotiate both withthe EU and her party simultaneously.Britain’s growth rate over the pastyear is half its average over the past25 years, investment is stagnating,mortgage approvals are down bynearly a quarter, and almost half of

EU businesses have cut back on theirinvestment since Britain decided toleave the EU.

In the first quarter of this calendaryear, the growth rate was slowest forfive years. An expected interest raterise has been deferred amidst talk ofpossible recession. Over the pastyear, inward investment hasdropped by $181 billion, outward investment has risen by $120 billionand real income has fallen by 10% asemployers resort to lowpaid, lowskilled casual work. The services sector has become dependent on lowend EU labour. If visas are requiredfor these people after Brexit, the outcome will be devastating. The onlybright sign is that hightech companies that threatened to leave Britainwith the prospect of leaving the EUhave not yet shown signs of doing so.

There is disagreement among theConservatives over future links withthe EU’s single market and customsunion. To summarise, a country likeNorway can be in the single marketbut not the EU: this involves eliminating tariffs, quotas and taxes ontrade, and allowing free movementof goods, services, capital and people against payments towards theEU’s budget, and accepting the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. The EU is not only a single market, it is also a customs union. Thus acountry like Turkey is in the customsunion, which does not cover food,agriculture or services, but not in thesingle market or the EU. This optionwould solve the border problem bet

ween the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, which would remainopen, but the U.K. would not be ableto strike free trade agreements withother countries, which remains theexclusive mandate of the EU. A FreeTrade Area is one where there are notariffs or taxes or quotas on specifiedgoods and/or services from onecountry entering another. The negotiations to establish it can take yearsand there are normally exceptions,so agriculture and fisheries might beexempted, certain industries protected, and some goods not coveredat all.

The Theresa May government confronts the painful truth that leavingthe single market and the customsunion will introduce barriers to buying and selling with Europe. Ms. Mayattempts to solve this dilemma bypromoting her plan for a hybrid arrangement called a customs partnership, wherein on behalf of the EU,Britain would collect tariffs set by thecustoms union on goods entering theU.K., and if those goods do not leavethe U.K., and British tariffs on themare lower, companies could claim thedifference. This project has been criticised by hard line members of hercabinet who prefer a clean breakwith the EU. They had put forwardan alternative ‘maximum facilitation’plan by which goods would betracked electronically and precleared with tax authorities. Thisprocedure would work with an established ‘trusted trader’ scheme to remove the need for physical customs

checks and enable companies to payduties every few months rather thaneach time they crossed the border.Both schemes are complex and lackclarity. More importantly, there is noindication that the EU will agree toeither option, which in any casewould not be ready by 2020 whenthe transitional period expires.

The EU wants the formalities completed by October this year while Ms.May is apparently counting on Brussels caving in at the eleventh hourrather than precipitating the mutualdamage arising from the absence ofany deal. But the EU can afford awaiting game while the U.K. cannot.With a succession of defeats in theUpper House, an uncertain majorityin the commons and the deadline ofMarch 2019 for the U.K.’s exit fromthe EU fast approaching, the publicwhich voted to leave the EU mightwell ponder how prepared they arefor a future outside Europe. Ms. Maydepends on the erratic tolerance ofher own party to survive. Discussions and divisions have centred,with considerable ambiguity, onwhat constitutes a meaningful say forParliament on any future Brexit deal.Ms. May argues that Parliament cannot tie her hands in the negotiationsand should not act against the will ofthe majority that voted for Brexit.

Consequences of leaving the EULeaving the EU will affect Britain inmany ways. It will be excluded fromthe EU space project Galileo, andlose access to the EU global positioning system that will challenge theAmerican GPS as a market leader. Itwill lose EU funding for scientific research. The U.S. is likely to drive a very hard bargain for rights for Britishairlines. Britain will also lose its placeas a leading country in the EU’s customs union. This asset is to be replaced by new trading relationshipsthat will have to be painfully negotiated by Britain one by one. Thegrowth model of inward investmentbased on Britain’s technology and access to the world’s biggest free tradearea will disappear, and what will remain is an overpriced housing market in danger of collapse. Both theU.S. and the U.K. have reason to regard India’s economic prospects andpolitical stability with some envy.

Krishnan Srinivasan is a former foreignsecretary

With slow growth and Brexit problems, the U.S. and the U.K. have reason to regard India with some envy

“The Theresa May government confronts the painful truth that leaving thesingle market and the customs union will introduce barriers to buying andselling with Europe.” Protestors take part in the People's Vote demonstrationagainst Brexit on June 23, 2018 in London. * GETTY IMAGES

A tale of two economies

Krishnan Srinivasan

One of the ways to learn new tools for credible investigative journalism is to read thescholarly reflections in the opinion pages ofthis newspaper. For a generation of journalists who came into this profession before thespread of journalism schools, one way was toscan for methodologies deployed by economists and statisticians, and then dig into themass of published data to uncover the truth.Journalism textbooks tell us that the role ofjournalism is not only about finding and reporting facts, but also the truth about facts.Journalist Bill Kovach and author Tom Rosenstiel have repeatedly said that verificationis what differentiates journalism from otherforms of communication. Reliable data havebeen the bedrock for verification.

A challenge for data journalistsA recent lead article, “The paradox of jobgrowth” ( July 5, 2018), by R.Nagaraj, who works for the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research in Mumbai,shows that this method is alsounder severe strain. It underlines the difficulties of datajournalists in India. India is acountry of paradoxes. TheConstitution guarantees fundamental rights and ensuresseparation of powers of various estates of thestate. Legislation like the Right to Information Act is supposed to empower people toaccess information without being subjectedto opaque bureaucracy and obsolete laws.However, it seems that the state machineryhas become sloppy in producing, collatingand processing data. As the country is celebrating the 125th anniversary of PrasantaChandra Mahalanobis, the founder of the Indian Statistical Institute, the irony of not ofhaving a Chief Statistician for nearly sixmonths is disturbing.

Two statements by Prime Minister Narendra Modi underpin the crisis in general, andas a corollary, its impact on journalism. In arecent interview to Swarajya magazine, hesaid that the state of the economy in 2014was much worse than expected and even theBudget figures were suspicious. He assertedthat a White Paper on the state of economy

at that stage would not have been a “mollifier” but a “multiplier of the distress”. Aboutthe lack of jobs, Mr. Modi said that the issuewas more to do with a lack of data on jobs,and said that “our traditional matrix of measuring jobs is simply not good enough tomeasure new jobs in the new economy ofNew India.”

Professor Nagaraj asks, “Are the latest employment estimates by the Central StatisticsOffice (CSO) factually correct?” He findsthem to be off the mark and confined to theeconomy’s organised sector, accounting atbest for 15% of the workforce. He says thereis probably no paradox in high outputgrowth rates and the marginal effect on employment if one acknowledges that GDP estimates (after the latest revision a few yearsago) have “apparently overstated domesticoutput growth on account of the infirmitiesin the methods applied and datasets used”.

Providing the contextOn cursory reading, it may look like Mr. Nagaraj and Mr. Modi are on the same page. Buta closer reading reveals that the economistpushes us to examine the numbers given bythe government with caution and scepti

cism. In my earlier columns,“Making sense of metadata”(August 29, 2015) and “The dataconundrum” (May 21, 2018), Iargued for the centrality of context in interpreting data. Now itis clear that the term contextwith reference to governmentgenerated data should first explain the changes in the methodologies and parameters used

by the state agencies to put the numbers together. It is now impossible to compare someof the old data, including the Budget figures,with the new data to arrive at any meaningful conclusion. The creation of NITI Aayogand the abolition of plan expenditure poseda huge challenge to a meaningful comparison of the allocation of funds for various sectors as there are no corresponding figureswith the same parameters.

Many economists see that the numbersflowing from the new methodology deployed by the CSO are no longer illuminatingbut misleading. The data conundrum is notrestricted to the CSO alone but extends toother economic wings of the government.We need a new investigative series to look athow numbers are computed and what it really means to the people of India.

[email protected]

The numbers don’t add upWe need a new investigative series to look at how numbersare computed and what it really means to the people of India

A.S. PANNEERSELVAN

FROM THE READERS’ EDITOR

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Reports suggest that Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi may havebeen in violation of disability reservation provisions in student selection and faculty recruitment. Thematter came to light when the aspirants who appeared for the M.Phil/PhD entrance examination did not

get their final results, even though results for other degreecourses were out around two months ago. In May, the JNUadministration put up a notice on its website that stated,“This is for information of all that declaration of results ofJNUEE 201819 for M.Phil/Ph.D. programme has been delayed, as the matter is sub judice.”

The reason it is sub judice is that a writ petition was filedby the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) challengingthe nonfulfilment of reservation requirements for the differently abled in admissions to M.Phil. and PhD courses. Similarly, in the latest advertisement for faculty recruitment bythe university, not a single post was reserved for differentlyabled persons. This matter too went to the Delhi High Courtafter a plea was made by an NGO, Sambhavna.

This is not just one case relating to a single institution; it isthe proverbial tip of the iceberg. Pervasive violations of disability reservation in the last two decades show a lack ofprogressive intent on the part of the authorities. This flies inthe face of Parliament passing the Rights of Persons withDisabilities (RPwD) Bill and enacting it as a law in 2016.

On paper, the RPwD Act appears commendable as it hasincreased the quota of reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities from 3% to 4% in government jobs andfrom 3% to 5% in higher educational institutions. Since theAct came into force, there have been multiple instances ofpersons with disabilities having to fight their cases in courtsto ensure that government and educational institutionscomply with the disability reservation provisions.

In government jobs and higher educational institutions,where the total seats offered are fewer, disability reservationtakes a back seat. The argument often given by authorities isthat due to the paucity of seats, the disability reservationcannot even be calculated. Many premier educational institutions and various State governments have been in violation of the prior Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995 and ofthe RPwD Act, 2016. The system is designed such that disability is seen as the inability of a person and therefore many differently abled candidates are not recruited, additionally contributing to the mounting huge backlog of vacancies.

Many think that persons selected under reserved categories, especially under the differently abled category, are notmeritorious candidates and their selection brings down thequality of institutions in which they are selected. If thismindset prevails, we must expect the systemic violation ofdisability reservation to continue.

The writer is a Junior Research Fellow at the School of InternationalStudies, JNU

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Discriminatory practice There is a gap between the mandatedreservation percentage for disabledpersons and the actual numbers Martand Jha

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the violence of the chemical attack.

Writes Murakami:“Whatever the reason, hiscolleagues had singled outthis young salaryman —‘Hey, here’s the guy fromthat weird attack — itcouldn't have made anysense to him… I grew curious to learn more aboutthe woman who wrote inabout her husband. Iwanted to probe deeperinto how Japanese societycould perpetrate such adouble violence. Soon after that I decided to interview the survivors of theattack.”

The interviews revealthe different ways inwhich individuals respondto, variously, the traumaof the day, loss, incapacity. Together the interviews yield a pixellatedpicture of the humanpsyche, and even two decades after the event makefor a very disturbing, yetilluminating read. As forhimself, Murakami writesabout how these inter

Last week, seven members of the Aum Shinrikyocult were executed in Japan for, among otherthings, their role in a saringas attack in the Tokyo underground on March 20,1995. That attack, in which13 persons died, becamethe subject of writer Haruki Murakami’s nonfictionstudy, Underground: TheTokyo Gas Attack and theJapanese Psyche.

Soon after the attack bythe doomsday cult, writesMurakami in the preface,he saw a letter in a magazine from a woman whosehusband resigned fromhis job after failing to fallback into his work routine. The trigger to quitwas not the injury in theattack or the incompleterecovery. It was his coworkers’ “snide remarks”at his condition. Murakami kept thinking aboutthis “secondary victimisation”, of a man being compelled to leave his job after

views were also a way forhim to “understand Japanat a deeper level” after living abroad for years.

We all know Murakamibetter now given the manynovels that came after Un-derground, but even thenhe confessed: “Anotherpersonal motive for my interest in the Tokyo gas attack is that it took placeunderground. Subterranean worlds… have alwaysfascinated me and are animportant motif in mynovels.”

The mysteries of the Tokyo underground are alsohighlighted in a recent travel book, Beyond the Map:Unruly Enclaves, GhostlyPlaces, Emerging Landsand Our Search for NewUtopias, by Alastair Bonnett. Among the places hemaps is Tokyo’s busy Shinjuku train station, withmany levels, 36 platforms,200 exits, and any number of stories (hearsay)about commuters who gotlost in its staircases andnever made it back out.

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SHELF HELP

Tokyo, underground Memories of the 1995 attack, rumours of disappearances

Mini Kapoor


CMYK




NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

the State Legislatures. Theentire State and District level administrative and security machinery is very busy with the conduct ofelections twice in a periodfive years as per the currentpractice. Likewise, imposition of model code of conduct for such a long time ishampering developmentaland welfare activities undertaken by the Stategovernment.”

During deliberations onSaturday, the TrinamoolCongress and CPI stronglyargued against the movewhile NDA member Shiromani Akali Dal and theAIADMK backed the move.The AIADMK, however,qualified its support sayingthat the move should be implemented from the 2024 LSpolls.

On the other hand, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) and the SamajwadiParty (SP) supported themove though the latter qualified it’s stand by saying thatmove should be implemented from the 2019 Lok Sabhapolls. BJP ally, Janata Dal(United), too expressed support for simultaneous pollsand mentioned that the proposal was part of the political resolution adopted atthe party’s national executive meet on Sunday.

Always in poll modeTRS chief and TelanganaChief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao’s letter tothe Commission said: “Weknow that four to sixmonths of time is spent inconducting elections eachtime to the Lok Sabha and

9 parties oppose planfor simultaneous polls

octopus (pei kanava), pacu(eri vavvaal), cuttle fish (ot-tu kanava), and cat fish (ke-lithi) had formalin of around5 ppm.

For the test, a two grampiece of meat from the fishwas taken and put insidefour ml of diluent and shaken so that the formalinwould get into it. Then thisdiluent was poured into thebottle containing the reagent that turned yellow revealing that it had testedpositive.

“It is a very sensitive reagent and can detect up to 5ppm per kilo. The actualtest takes only 10 minutes,”explained S. Felix, ViceChancellor of the University.

R. Rajaraman, SeniorConsultant in Surgical Oncology, Apollo SpecialityHospitals said: “Formaldehyde has the potential tocause blood cancer in human beings.”

Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar said use of formalin as apreservative cannot be allowed at any cost. He saidtests had been conducted inThoothukudi and otherplaces based on informationreceived by the departmentbut none of those sampleshad any formalin.

Samples to be lifted “Since The Hindu hasbrought the [Chennai] testresults to our notice, we willlift samples [from fish markets] and conduct tests. Wewill not hesitate to takestrict action against thoseindulging in such acts,” Mr.Jayakumar said.

Both big lizard fish (kez-hanga or panna) and smalllizard fish (paarai) werefound to have formalin content of above 20 ppm (partsper million).

Other varieties such ashammer head shark (sura),

Fish samples testpositive for formalin

come on board and givetheir approval to the ABNHPS. However, despitedisagreements, the WestBengal government hasagreed to adopt thescheme, the official said.

So far, 25 States and UTshave signed MoUs with theHealth Ministry for implementing the scheme.

Meanwhile, the NationalHealth Agency (NHA), theapex body for implementation of the ABNHPS, haslaunched a formal processto empanel public and private hospitals to achieve universal health coverage.

The Modi government iseager to roll out the schemeacross India on August 15.

The Maharashtra government has cited lack offunds as the reason for notimplementing the scheme.The State government already runs the MahatmaJyotiba Phule Jan ArogyaYojana, a flagship health insurance scheme, underwhich 2.2 crore people areprovided a cover up to ₹2lakh.

Odisha has already refused to implement theCentre’s flagship healthprogramme, saying it already has the Biju SwasthyaKalyan Yojana with morebeneficiaries compared tothe ABNHPS.

Two other States — Punjab and Delhi — are yet to

Two BJPruled Statesresist health plan

Ahead of BJP president AmitShah’s visit to Patna to meetBihar Chief Minister NitishKumar, the Janata Dal(U) national executive on Sundayempowered Mr. Kumar totake all decisions on seat adjustment with the BJP for the2019 Lok Sabha election.

The move is aimed at pressuring the BJP to come outwith a firm offer to the JD(U)on seats. The JD(U) had earlier contested 15 Lok Sabhaseats in Bihar under an oldarrangement in the NDA before it walked out of the alliance prior to the 2014 polls.The NDA won 31 seats in 2014along with its new allies, theLok Jan Shakti Party (LJP)and the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP). Mr. Shah willbe visiting Patna on July 12.

‘No stance yet’Briefing the press after themeeting, party spokesperson K.C. Tyagi said Mr. Kumar, in his address to the national executive, said that“no firm offer had yet beenforthcoming” from the BJPand therefore, no stance

could be taken with regard toit.

“We are in the NDA and inBihar, Nitish Kumar will beits face,” Mr. Tyagi said.

Significantly, the partyroundly condemned Union

Minister Giriraj Singh’s visitto Nawada jail to meet Bajrang Dal and Vishwa HinduParishad activists who havebeen lodged there for casesrelated to communal violence.

“There is no question ofany compromise with corruption, crime and communalism. Our governmentdoes not believe in shieldingor framing anyone,” Mr. Kumar was reported to have

said in the closeddoor meeting to his party men.

Later Mr. Tyagi too reiterated that position. “We areagainst communalism andMinisters going to meet theaccused is completely unac

ceptable. We are against theNawada incident and wedon’t think it is right that aCabinet Minister met the accused.”

He said the JD(U) was aseparate political entity andhad independent views fromthe BJP.

Mr. Tyagi recalled that theJanata Dal(U) had pulled outof the Mahagathbandhanbecause of the Congress’s intransigence over allegationsof corruption against thenDeputy Chief Minister andRashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)leader Tejashwi Yadav.

Interestingly, he addedthat till the Congress clarified its position with regardto the RJD and the allegations of corruption againstMr. Yadav, there could be notalks on a return to the old alliance. Two resolutions werealso passed by the Janata Dal(U) national executive onSunday, one supporting simultaneous polls and the second opposing the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016.

The party’s resolutionsaid providing citizenshipshould be done without taking religion into account.

Nitish to meet Amit Shah for crucial talksJD(U) empowers Bihar Chief Minister to take all decisions on seat adjustment, says BJP has made no firm offer


NEW DELHI

In focus: Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar garlanded by party workers in New Delhi. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Last week’s meeting between Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) president Mayawatiand former Congress leaderAjit Jogi was at best a courtesy call; ‘theoretically’ the alliance between the Congressand the BSP is still possible,Leader of the Opposition inChattisgarh T.S. Singh Deosaid on Sunday.

Ms. Mayawati had visitedthe ailing leader last Wednesday. Mr. Jogi has floatedhis own party — the JanataCongress — giving the Congress reasons to worry as itlooks for allies ahead of crucial Assembly and Lok Sabhaelections.

“They have known eachother for a long time andhave been in touch. So Ithink it is a courtesy call. Idoubt whether the BSPwould decide to ally with Mr.Ajit Jogi’s party,” Mr. Deotold The Hindu.

He said “theoretically”,

there could be an alliancebetween the BSP and Congress in the State. “At a timewhen all the Opposition parties are talking about building a larger alliance at the national level, there is scopefor alliance between the BSPand the Congress in the Statetoo. At this moment, therehave been no formal talksbetween the two parties,” hesaid.

‘Committed vote bank’ Mr. Deo said that even if theBSP and the Janata Congresswere to come together, theCongress’s own electoral fortunes will not be affected.“The BSP has a committedvote bank. Their voters do

not vote for the Congress orthe BJP; so it doesn’t affectus. And if at all, it will impactthe BJP more than us, because they won nine out of10 reserved constituencies,”he said.

The Congress is hopeful oftrouncing Chief Minister Raman Singh, who has wonthree consecutive terms, inthe Assembly polls later thisyear. The difference in voteshare between the two parties in the 2013 Assemblyelections was a mere 0.7%.An alliance with the BSP iscrucial for the Congress tobridge the narrow gap. Theparty has already initiatedinformal talks with the CPI,which got over 86,000 votes.

Can ally with BSP, says CongressParty leader discounts Mayawati’s meeting with Jogi ahead of Chhattisgarh polls

Mayawati

Sobhana K. Nair

New Delhi

Even a united Oppositionwould not be able to defeatthe BJP in the Lok Sabhaelection, BJP president AmitShah said on Sunday, whileexpressing confidence thatPrime Minister NarendraModi would win a secondterm as Prime Minister.

“Rahul Gandhi’s Congressparty, which ruled the country for seven decades, nowdemands an account of theBJP’s rule of fourandahalfyears... but we are cleansing

the Congress’s dirt of 70years and will continue to remain in power for the next50 years,” Mr. Shah claimed.

He was addressing a gathering of the party’s socialmedia cell members at thecity’s BalgandharvaRangmandir.

Mr. Shah exhorted theparty’s social media cell togird up for the poll, and combat the spread of “false newsagainst the BJP government”with the vigour of a “socialmedia warrior”.

“Henceforth, electionswill be fought through themedium of social media. It isnot enough merely to beable to use social media. The

party’s aims and objectivesmust be clearly deliveredthrough crisp and sharpposts,” he said.

‘Obtaining results’He stressed that “obtainingresults” and not frivolous entertainment was the realpurpose of social media.

The BJP president alsocalled for the creation of a‘Smartphone Swayamsevak’at the booth level in order tomaintain the BJP’s rule fromthe ‘Panchayat to theParliament’.

‘Combat fake news against govt.’ Amit Shah asks BJP members to use social media to publicise its achievements

Amit Shah

Staff Correspondent

Pune

Six global aircraft manufacturers have responded to aRequest for Information(RFI) from the Indian AirForce to supply 110 fighteraircraft. The deadline for theRFI was July 6. All six manufacturers have earlier bid forthe Medium MultiRole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), whichwas cancelled in 2015.

Officials confirmed thatsix bids have been received,of which Lockheed MartinF16 and SAAB Gripen aresingleengine fighters, whileBoeing F18, Dassault Rafale,Eurofighter Typhoon andUnited Aircraft CorporationMiG35 are twinengine ones.

“The bids will be evaluated after which the IAF will issue the Request For Proposal(RFP) with the exact specifications of the aircraft to beprocured. The RFP is expected by early next year,” an official source said.

The RFI, issued on April 6,states that the government

plans to buy 110 fighters jets,of which 85% will have to bebuilt in India under the‘Make in India’ programmein partnership with a “Strategic Partner/Indian Production Agency.”

The procurement will beprocessed through the Strategic Partnership (SP) modelunder the Defence Procurement Procedure. However,the SP model itself needssome clarification whichcould delay the process.

Air Force sources ex

pressed confidence that thetechnical evaluation andtrials can be completed veryquickly, as all the aircrafthave been extensively testedearlier.

“Once the process starts,from the technical evaluation to the down select ofone aircraft, can be completed in less than two years. After that, it depends on howfast the contract negotiationscan be completed,” a sourcesaid.

Earlier, the IAF was look

ing for a singleengine jet toreplace the MiG21s andMiG27s being phased out ofservice, but the RFI did notspecify it, opening up thecontest to both singleandtwinengine jets. Officialssaid both configurationswere equally competent andthe final choice would depend on the price and extentof technology transfer.

According to informal estimates, the entire cost couldbe worth over $15 billion.Singleengine aircraft will

cost lower than the twinengine jets, both in unit and operational costs.

The move comes almosttwo decades after the IAF began the last major effort toacquire fighters in large numbers. The effort culminatedin the global tender for 126fighters under the MMRCAdeal which was cancelled in2015 after the Modi government decided to buy 36 Rafale fighters from France under a governmenttogovernment deal.

Six bids to supply 110 fighters for IAFF16, Gripen, Boeing F18, Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and MiG35 enter the contest

New jets: The IAF is looking to replace the MiG-21s (in pic)and MiG-27s, which are being phased out. * V.V. KRISHNAN

Dinakar Peri

NEW DELHI

India has conveyed to Russiaits unwillingness to go aheadwith the joint developmentof a fifthgeneration fighteraircraft, primarily because ofthe high costs involved in theproject, official sources saidhere.

They, however, said the

negotiations between thetwo sides have not yet beenshelved as India was ready tohave a relook at codevelopment of the jet if an appropriate cost sharing formulawas arrived at.

Sources said the cost ofthe project has been estimated at around $30 billion or ₹2lakh crore.

India rethinks Russia dealPress Trust of India

New Delhi

At least 21 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLAs onSunday pledged support toparty president MehboobaMufti just days after fourMLAs and one MLC publicly revolted against her.

Speaking to The Hindu,senior PDP leader and Ms.Mufti’s loyalist Naeem Akhtar said several MLAs hadcalled on Ms. Mufti “to discuss the political scenarioassuming shape in J&K” after the fall of the PDPBJPgovernment on June 20.

“It was an informal consultation. The MLAs cameforward with their suggestions,” he said. Sourcessaid the MLAs pledged support to Ms. Mufti as shesought “a frank discussion”. At least eight PDPMLAs met Ms. Mufti at herresidence and pledged support. They advised Ms.Mufti “to explore all possibilities” to reconcile withthe dissident MLAs.

PDP MLAsrally behindMehbooba

special correspondent

Srinagar

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Union Minister Giriraj Singhon Sunday paid a visit to thefamily of a man accused inNawada clashes that tookplace earlier this year.

In March, tension hadgripped Bihar after communal clashes hit several partsof the State, including Bhagalpur, Aurangabad and Nawada, after an idol wasfound vandalised.

After meeting the family,Mr. Singh was of the viewthat the accused had alwaysremained calm at the timeof crises in the region. He also urged the administrationto conduct a thorough in

vestigation in the matterand called for speedy justiceat the earliest.

“They have alwayshelped in maintaining peacein all situations. How canyou call them rioters? Theadministration should see ifthey really incited violence,”said Mr. Singh.

Giriraj Singh meetskin of clash accusedAsian News International

Nawada

Giriraj Singh

Despite being the fastestgrowing economy, India hastaken a “quantum jump inthe wrong direction” since2014, and because of thebackward movement, it isnow the second worst in theregion, eminent economistAmartya Sen has said.

He was speaking at thelaunch of Bharat Aur UskeVirodhabhas, the Hindi edition of his book, An Uncer-tain Glory: India and itsContradiction, which he coauthored with development

economist Jean Dreze.Twenty years ago, of the

six countries, — India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,Nepal and Bhutan — Indiawas the second best after SriLanka. “Now, it is the second worst. Pakistan hasmanaged to shield us frombeing the worst.”

He said the governmentdeflected attention from theissues of inequalities andthe caste system. The needsof a whole group of people,who cleaned lavatories orsewerage with their hands,were neglected.

India’s jump in wrongdirection: Amartya ‘Country is second worst in the region’

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI

Stringent security measuresand a separatist shutdownmarked the second deathanniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen ‘commander’ Burhan Wani in Jammu andKashmir on Sunday.

The authorities decidedagainst any movement ofAmarnath pilgrims from theValley for security reasons.However, pilgrims stationedin the twin base camps ofBaltal and Pahalgam wereallowed to trek towards the

cave temple.A curfew was imposed at

Tral, the hometown of Wani, who was killed in an encounter at Kokernag in2016.

The area witnessed sporadic stonethrowing by local youth.

Mobile Internet servicewas suspended and trainservice was stopped. Separatist leaders, includingSyed Ali Geelani, AshrafSehrai, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, weredetained.

Yatra suspended on Wani’s death anniversary

Peerzada Ashiq

Srinagar


CMYK




NEWS

Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Communications andGhazipur MP, says a ‘mismatched’ Opposition alliance can-not provide an alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

How do you look at

Opposition unity,

specifically the challenge

posed by the Samajwadi

Party (SP) and the Bahujan

Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar

Pradesh?

■ It is clear that the Opposition parties have acknowledged that the country’sagenda is being set by theBJP, and others are merelyreacting to it. The BJP is themost powerful political forcenow and a single politicalparty will not be able to combat us. That is why the onlyalternative that people canthink up is an agglomerationof forces, otherwise inimicalto each other, to combat the

BJP. It is for the people of thecountry to decide whetherthey want the effective leadership of Prime MinisterModi or this bemail [mismatched] alliance. I believethe SPBSP alliance, once ithappens, will, of course, be abig alliance but by the timethe Lok Sabha electionscome around, people willstart to feel that it is a mismatch and cannot really provide an alternative. Peoplewill give us a second chanceon the basis of the Modi government’s work.

The alliance seemed to work

well in the recent bypolls in

Gorakhpur, Phulpur and

Kairana though.

■ The bypoll results cannotbe a pointer to what will happen in the Lok Sabha polls.Our support base, especiallyamong the poor, is intact.Some people, of course, areupset that the BJP — whichused to count on a specificsupport base — is now usurping their space among thepoor and the indigent, overwhom they (Opposition parties) used to think they hadthekedaari (contractualrights). That is why thesethings are being said.

But it is being said that the

U.P. government has

engendered an upper caste

assertion that has alienated

the Dalits and weaker

sections; at least four Dalit

MPs from your party in U.P.

have protested this.

■ None of these MPs haveraised questions on the go

vernment on the basis ofcaste discrimination. UttarPradesh cannot be understood from the perspective ofDelhi. Those who do knowU.P., know that farmers formthe bulk of the populationthere, and they do not hailfrom only one caste — theyhave upper, lower and middleranging castes in thegrouping. I do not recall in

the last 2530 years that electricity for irrigation wasavailable during daylighthours. I have seen those dayswhen farmers used to waitlate into the night that a bulbwould light up and powerwould be available for turning on motors to pump waterinto the fields. The Yogi government has made it possible for irrigation to be donein the daytime.

Secondly, there has been arecordbreaking procurement of wheat this year, andwithin five days, paymentshave been made to farmers.Sugar mills had to run overtime to process the sugarcane. It is true that we lostthe bypolls in Kairana, andwe have taken the lessons ofthat election on board. Itmay have been some organisational issues, but we willapply our selves to correction.

But four BJP MPs, all from

Uttar Pradesh and belonging

to the Dalit community, have

openly spoken out against

the government run by your

party.

■ I had answered you, thatnone of these MPs had saidthe government was discriminating on the basis of caste.They may have been upsetover other things, and I believe that it is to the credit ofthe party that these kind ofcomplaints can be madepublicly.

In most other parties, ifyou complain against theparty’s own government,you cannot remain in theparty. It is a positive thing infavour of the BJP and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi thatwe believe in this kind of internal democracy.

Why is the BJP and the

government going over

board in marking the

anniversary of the

Emergency this year?

■ From the time of Morarjibhai’s (former Prime MinisterMorarji Desai) government,we have been marking theanniversary of the Emergency, I do not see anything unusual in the way it wasmarked this year. What is different is the way others areperceiving it, and hopingthat the country forgets. I believe that it should bemarked with fervour so thatwe don’t forget how democracy was murdered in thiscountry and who was behindit.

Now that there is a BJPled

government at the Centre

and in U.P., what is the road

ahead for the construction

of a Ram Mandir in

Ayodhya; how will you

explain the delay to your

voter base?

■ The BJP has clarified itsstand in its various manifestos and on various occasions.There are two ways that theconstruction of the templecan take place — either by theorder of the court or by mutual talks and agreement.The Constitution is supremein this country, and we believe in it and our government will not do anythingunconstitutional.

As a party, we want thatthe temple should be constructed, not unconstitutionally though. It is our job to explain to our voters about theissue and our voter knowsthat the BJP believes in theConstitution and will not goabove that. The governmentis making efforts in the direction of resolving the issue.

INTERVIEW | MANOJ SINHA

‘BJP sets the country’s agenda, and others merely react to it’Union Minister says the defeat of the party in various bypolls in Uttar Pradesh cannot be a pointer to what will happen in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019

Nistula Hebbar

Yuthika Bhargava

<> As a party, we want

the [Ram} temple to

be constructed

constitutionally

Fuel prices hiked for fourth consecutive dayMUMBAI

The prices of petrol and

diesel were raised for the

fourth consecutive day on

Sunday in the wake of

increasing crude oil prices

and weakening Indian rupee

against the U.S. dollar. Petrol

prices in Delhi rose to ₹76.13

per litre from ₹75.98. The

price of diesel rose to ₹67.86

per litre from ₹67.76 in Delhi.

IN BRIEF

‘Even Lord Ram cannotcurb incidents of rape’BALLIA

BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh’s

Bairia, Surendra Singh, who is

known for making

controversial comments, has

said that even if Lord Ram

descended on earth,

instances of rape cannot be

curbed. “Bhagwan Ram bhi aa

jaayenge tab bhi balaatkaar ki

ghatna per niyantran nahi ho

paayegaa (Even if Lord Ram

descends, instance of rapes

cannot be curbed),” Mr. Singh

said here on Saturday. PTI

Worried about sensitive information making its way tothe Internet, the Home Ministry is upgrading policy tosecure government data andcontrol access to it.

A senior Ministry officialsaid earlier the files werelocked in a cupboard and accountability could be fixed,but with the advent of DigitalIndia, there was ambiguityover a number of issues.

Home Minister RajnathSingh, who recently presided over a meeting to reviewthe evolving cyberthreats,directed that the National Information Security Policyand Guidelines (NISPG) beupgraded and updated forthe government sector.

In 2013, cybersecurity,which was the sole preserveof the Home Ministry, wasmoved to the National Security Council Secretariat

(NSCS) under the Prime Minister’s Office. The criticalinfrastructure was moved tothe National Technical Research Organisation and thenoncritical part to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

An official said the newpolicy would cover issuespertaining to the Official Secrets Act.

Hardware issues“There are issues relating tophysical security of a computer. Like what happens ifthe device becomes obsolete? What about the harddisk, will it be destroyed before the computer is discarded? Then there are issues relating to the network as well.If information is riding onown cybercable, then everything can be encrypted,but if it is riding on a commercially available one, thenyou will have to make sure

that guidelines are compliedwith,” the official said. HomeMinistry spokesperson Ashok Prasad said the consultation process to revise theguidelines was on.

“Basically, the whole policing system in India that began in 1860 is now being replicated in cyberspace. Itwill evolve gradually. Thenew guidelines will also takecare of that,” the officialsaid.

“If 50 people are accessing some data, it requires awider security network. Audit trail has to be left, redflags should be raised,” theofficial said.

Gulshan Rai, Chief Information Security Officer inthe Prime Minister’s Office,said there were at least fourversions of NISPG. “We needto take cognisance of thethreats and accordingly upgrade the measures,” Mr. Raitold The Hindu.

Centre plans strongerdefences for key dataInformation Security Policy and Guidelines to be updated

Vijaita Singh

New Delhi

India has not shifted pillarsdemarcating the international border with Myanmar,the External Affairs Ministrysaid here on Sunday.

The statement came aftermedia reports suggestedthat India had given up landto Myanmar while carryingout a survey.

“We have come acrossmedia reports stating thatcertain boundary pillars inthe Manipur sector of the IndiaMyanmar internationalboundary have been allegedly shifted. These reports arecompletely baseless and unsubstantiated. This sector ofthe international boundaryis settled and there is no confusion as to its alignment,”the official spokesperson ofthe Ministry said.

The Hindu had reportedearlier that Manipur ChiefMinister N. Biren Singh hadsaid that the border surveywith Myanmar had not led tosurrender of Indian territoryto Nay Pyi Taw. The spokes

person explained that bilateral border surveys wereconducted in keeping withthe IndiaMyanmar Boundary Agreement of 1967.

Routine survey“Recently, routine surveywork has been carried outjointly by the Indian andMyanmar survey departments during which work onconstruction of subsidiarypillars in between alreadysettled main boundary pillars 81 and 82 along zeroline, that is, agreed and set

tled international boundary,has also been undertaken.This has been done with theobjective of apprising the local residents on both sides ofthe border of the exact alignment of the internationalboundary,” the spokesperson said. Some reports hadsuggested that India surrendered tracts of land to Myanmar to please the country’sproChina government. Butboth the Chief Minister ofManipur and the ExternalAffairs Ministry denied thesame.

India denies shifting pillarsalong Myanmar borderReports baseless, no confusion about alignment: MEA official


NEW DELHI

The divider: A file photo of a pillar along the IndoMyanmarborder at Moreh in Manipur. * RITU RAJ KONWAR

A special court here has issued bailable warrantsagainst Ravi Krishna, director of Ziqitza Health CarePvt. Ltd. and son of formerUnion Minister Vayalar Ravi, and two others in connection with alleged corruption in the running ofambulance services inRajasthan.

The CBI had named Mr.Krishna, Mumbaibasedcompany’s CEO SwetaMangal, employee AmitAntony Alex and the Ziqitza Health Care as accusedin the chargesheet filed onJune 4. “The CBI court hasnow summoned all thenamed accused and thecompany through its authorised representative toface trial by way of bailablewarrants taking cognisance of the chargesheetagainst the accused. All theaccused have been directed to appear before thecourt on August 23,” Jogender Singh Rajawat, counselfor Jaipur Deputy MayorPankaj Joshi, who had filedthe complaint, said.

Ex-Minister’sson underCBI scanner


Jaipur

Malaysian Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad on Saturday met controversialMuslim preacher Zakir Naik,who is wanted in India foralleged terror activities andmoney laundering, Malaysian media reported onSunday.

The meeting, which maynot go down well in NewDelhi, comes a day after Mr.Mohamad gave clear indication that the Malaysian government would not deportNaik.

“I can confirm that Naikwent to see Tun (Mahathir)this morning (Saturday),”Free Malaysia Today reported, quoting a source assaying.

It is unclear as to whatNaik discussed with Mr. Mohamad, the report said. Themeeting, which was unscheduled, was said to be brief.

There had been intensemedia speculation in Indiathat the Malaysian government would act on an extradition request made in January. The Ministry of ExternalAffairs had confirmed onWednesday that an officialrequest had been made.

Party defends decisionBut on Friday, Mr. Mohamad said that the government would not deportNaik, who has been grantedMalaysian permanent resident status, unless he causes trouble in the country.

Meanwhile, a strategist ofMalaysia’s ruling Parti Pri

bumi Bersatu Malaysia(PPBM) has defended Mr.Mohamad’s decision, sayingdoing so would be akin todeporting Uighur Muslimsto China.

PPBM strategist Rais Hussin was referring to Chinapressing Malaysia for the extradition of 11 Uighur menwho entered Malaysia illegally last year after their dramatic escape from a jail inThailand.

He said he personallycould see no wrong in Naik’sactivities and speeches.

Mr. Rais also took issuewith criticism of Naik on social media. He said the Indian Islamic preacher hadhis own way of articulatinghis views through debates.

Naik’s detractors — thosewith “a mob mentality” —should debate with himrather than asking for him tobe deported to India, hesaid. He also questioned themotives of the Indian authorities whose action, hesaid, might not be groundedin justice.

Malaysian PMmeets Zakir NaikA brief, unscheduled meeting: report


Kuala Lumpur

People protest against theMalaysian PM in Delhi onSunday. * PTI

Hardik sounds the buglefor ‘last fight’ for quotaAHMEDABAD

Patidar quota agitation leader

Hardik Patel on Sunday

announced that he will sit on

an indefinite fast from August

25 to press for reservation to

the community members in

government jobs and

education. In a video message

posted on Facebook, Mr.

Patel said: “This is our last

fight. Either I will give my life

or we will get reservation. I

need your support for this.

The fight has come to the last

phase. PTI

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will chair a twoday plenary meeting of theNorth Eastern Council(NEC) in Shillong on Monday. The Governors and theChief Ministers of the northeastern States will participate.

For the first time since itwas established in 1971, theNEC would discuss topicsrelated to security in the region. An official said theArmed Forces (Special Powers) Act and the proposedNaga accord were on theagenda.

The NEC is the nodalagency for the development

of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya,Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkimand Tripura. Its chairmanship was recently transferred to the Home Minister.It was earlier held by the Ministry of Development ofNorth Eastern Region, headed by Jitendra Singh.


New Delhi

Rajnath Singh

Rajnath Singh to chair NEC plenary


CMYK

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‘Johnson was critical ofMay’s Brexit proposal’LONDON

U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris

Johnson strongly criticised

Prime Minister Theresa May’s

latest Brexit proposal in

typically colourful terms

before agreeing with his

colleagues to back the

compromise on Friday,

reports said. Reuters

ELSEWHERE

Trump admin. freezesObamacare paymentsWASHINGTON

The Donald Trump

administration says it’s

freezing payments under an

‘Obamacare’ programme that

protects insurers with sicker

patients from financial losses.

Making the announcement on

Saturday, officials said the

administration is acting

because of conflicting rulings

in lawsuits filed by some

smaller insurers. AP

Death toll from Japanrains rises to 57SAKA

The death toll from record

rains that have devastated

parts of Japan rose on Sunday

to at least 57, officials said, as

rescue workers and troops

struggled in the mud and

water to save lives. The toll is

expected to rise significantly,

with local media already

putting the number of

fatalities at 73, and dozens of

people still unaccounted for

in the disaster. AFP

Turkey sacks 18,500state employeesANKARA

Turkish authorities on Sunday

ordered the dismissal of more

than 18,500 state

employees, including police

officers, soldiers and

academics, ahead of the

expected end of a twoyear

state of emergency this

month. The Official Gazette

said 18,632 people had been

sacked over suspected links

to terror organisations that

“act against national

security”. AFP

Vijay Mallya said on Sundaythat he will comply fullywith court enforcement officers seeking to seize hisBritish assets, but there wasnot much for them to take ashis family’s residences werenot in his name.

Speaking at the BritishFormula One Grand Prix,where he is principal andcoowner of the Force Indiateam, Mr. Mallya said thathe would hand over Britishassets held in his name. Buta luxury country residencebelonged to his children anda house in London belongedto his mother.

“I have given the U.K.court on affidavit a statement of my U.K. assets.Which, pursuant to thefreezing order, they are entitled to take and hand overto the banks,” he said.

“There are a few cars, afew items of jewellery and Isaid ‘OK, fine. You don’t

have to bother to come tomy house to seize them. I’llphysically hand them over.Tell me the time, date andplace’.”

“I think the overridingconsideration that everybody seems to be missing isthat I have put $2 billionworth of assets in front ofthe Karnataka High Courtwhich is more than sufficient to repay the banks andindeed everybody else,”said Mr. Mallya.

Mallya shrugs offthreat of asset seizureReuters

Silverstone

Vijay Mallya at Silverstoneon Sunday. * GETTY IMAGES

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ’s soninlaw was arrested on Sundayas he dramatically resurfaced in Rawalpindi to lead arally of supporters, two daysafter being sentenced to jailin a corruption case. Captain (retired) MuhammadSafdar, his wife Maryam andSharif were given jail termson Friday in the Avenfieldproperties case.

The Islamabad Accountability Court had sentencedSharif to 10 years in jail forowning assets beyond income and one year for notcooperating with the anticorruption authority, theNational Accountability Bureau (NAB). The sentenceswill run concurrently.

His daughter Maryamwas given seven years forabetment, and one year fornoncooperation with theNAB. Safdar was given aoneyear rigorous imprison

ment sentence for noncooperation with the NAB.

Officials from the NABtook Safdar into custody after he appeared at a partyrally in Rawalpindi. Around3,000 people were aroundthe vehicle in which theNAB officials took him away.

Earlier on Sunday, in anaudio message, Safdar saidthat he would surrenderhimself to authorities because “honour demands it”.Safdar, who was to contestthe upcoming polls, standsdisqualified following hisconviction.

Sharif ’s son-in-lawSafdar arrestedPress Trust of India

Islamabad

Captain (retired)Muhammad Safdar.

Ten people were killed and73 injured on Sunday whena train derailed in northwest Turkey, the Health Ministry said.

The train, with over 360people on board, was travelling from the Edirne region on the Greek and Bulgarian borders to Istanbul’sHalkali station when six ofits carriages derailed in theTekirdag region.

Muddy due to rainsReports said the surrounding area was muddy due torecent rains and theground beneath the railsmay have subsided away,causing the train to derail.

The train derailed outside the village of Sarilar inthe Corlu district of Tekirdag, reports said.

10 killed inTurkey trainderailment


Istanbul

Iran has detained a teenagerwho posted dance videos onInstagram and attracted tensof thousands of followers.

State TV broadcast a video on Friday in which gymnast Maedeh Hojabri, 18,acknowledged breaking moral norms while insistingthat it was not her intention,and that she was only tryingto gain more followers. Itwas unclear whether herstatement was made underduress.

Shabooneh, a local newswebsite, said Ms. Hojabriand three other individualshad been detained on similar charges in recent weeksbefore being released onbail. She had posted around300 videos on her account,

many of which showed herdancing in both Iranian andWestern styles. She also appeared in videos withoutwearing the obligatory Islamic headscarf.

Iranian police have saidthey plan to shut down similar accounts on Instagram,and the judiciary is consider

ing blocking access to thesite.

Iran has already blockedaccess to many social mediasites, including Facebook,Twitter, YouTube and theTelegram messaging app.But millions of Iranians continue to use the sites throughproxies and VPNs.

Iran’s judiciary and security forces are dominated byhardliners who launch periodic crackdowns on behaviour deemed unIslamic.The latest arrests came amida series of protests againstthe government’s handlingof the economy.

In 2014, authorities sentenced six young men andwomen to suspended prisonterms after they appeared ina video dancing to PharrellWilliams’ song “Happy”.

Maedeh Hojabri acknowledged ‘breaking moral norms’

Associated Press

Tehran

Iranian gymnast Maedeh Hojabri.

Iran detains teenager overInstagram dance videos

Four of 12 Thai schoolboyswere rescued from a floodedcave on Sunday as diverslaunched a daring anddangerous mission to freethe children and their soccercoach who have beentrapped underground formore than two weeks, officials said.

As night fell, the operationto rescue the remaining eightboys — some as young as 11and weak swimmers — andtheir coach was called off until Monday morning.

‘A big success’“[I]t’s a big success of allteams. We have thousands ofpeople helping us with theoperation,” said NarongsakOsottanakorn, the head ofthe rescue operation.

The rescue teams nowneeded at least 10 hours toprepare for their next operation, involving about 90 divers in total, 50 of them from

foreign countries, he said. Ahelicopter flew the four boysto the nearby city of ChiangRai, where they were takenby ambulance to hospital.

Their ordeal has drawnhuge media attention in Thailand and abroad, and gettingthe boys out safely could be aboost for Thailand’s juntaahead of a general electionnext year.

Bursts of heavy monsoonrain soaked the Tham Luangcave area in northern ChiangRai province on Sunday andstorms were expected in thecoming weeks, increasingthe risks in what has beencalled a “war with water andtime” to save the team.

The rescue teams had rehearsed the plan for severaldays, Mr. Narongsak said,and had managed to drainthe water level in the caveconsiderably, but needed tomove fast.

“If we wait and the raincomes in the next few days,we will be tired again from

pumping and our readinesswould drop. If that’s thecase, then we have to reassess the situation,” he said.

“We can only carry on theoperation once we are readyand this will be done soon,because the air tank and other systems have to be reinstalled,” he told reporters later. “We have used it all...Once the team are ready,they will do so immediately. Ican’t give you an exact number but it should be morethan 10 hours but not exceeding 20 hours. The conditions must be stable like today before we can continuethe operation.”

An Australian doctor whois part of the rescue missionchecked the health of theboys on Saturday night andgave the allclear for the operation to proceed.

The boys were discoveredby British divers RichardStanton and John Volanthenlast Monday.

Of the 13strong foreign

divers team — mainly fromEurope — three escorted thechildren, while the remainder were positioned alongthe dangerous firstkilometrestretch, where theboys had to navigate through

submerged passageways insome places no more thantwo feet (0.6 metre) wide.

Prime Minister PrayuthChanocha planned to visitthe cave site on Monday, agovernment spokesman said.

Thai rescue teams had rehearsed for several daysRescue chief Narongsak Osottanakorn says conditions must be stable for the operation to continue on Monday

Reuters

Chiang Rai

Hope and prayers: A collage of photos showing the boys andtheir soccer coach at a church in Chiang Rai. * REUTERS

The boys sounded calm andcomposed in handwrittennotes to their families thatwere made public on Saturday. The notes were sent outwith divers who made an 11hour, backandforth journey to act as postmen.

One of the boys, identified as Tun, wrote: “Momand Dad, please don’t worry,I am fine. I’ve told Yod to getready to take me out forfried chicken. With love.”

‘I’m happy here’“Don’t be worried, I misseveryone. Grandpa, Uncle,Mom, Dad and siblings, Ilove you all. I’m happy beinghere inside, the navy SEALShave taken good care. Loveyou all,” wrote Mick.

“Night loves Dad andMom and brother, don’tworry about me. Night loves

you all,” wrote Night, in theThai manner of referring toone’s self in the third person.

The most touching notecame from one whose namewas not clear: “I’m doingfine, but the air is a littlecold, but don’t worry. Although, don’t forget to set upmy birthday party.”

Another, of indistinct origin, asked their teacher not

to give them a lot of homework.

In a letter of his own, thecoach, Ekapol Chanthawong, apologised to theboys’ parents for the ordeal.

An update earlier on Saturday from the Thai Navysaid three navy SEALs werewith the boys and theircoach, one a doctor. The 13were having health evaluations and rehabilitation, andwere being taught divingskills. Food, electrolytedrinks, drinking water, medicine and oxygen canistershave been delivered tothem. A major concern ofthe rescuers is that oxygenlevels in their safe spacecould fall dangerously low.

Rescuers have been unable to extend a hose pumping oxygen all the way towhere the boys are, but havebrought them some oxygentanks.

‘Mom and Dad, please don’t worry, I am fine’Associated Press

Mae Sai

A letter that was handedover to divers by the childrenon Saturday. * GETTY IMAGES


CMYK




BUSINESS

Govt. may defer sops forGST digital payments NEW DELHI

A ministerial panel will

recommend to the GST

Council to defer by a year the

proposal to incentivise

digital payments under GST,

citing revenue implications

of doling out a concessional

tax rate. The panel has

decided to wait for

stabilisation of revenues

under GST in the current

fiscal before considering

differential GST rates for

people making payments

using the digital mode. PTI

IMPS fund transfersdouble to ₹3.23 lakh cr. NEW DELHI

Transfer of funds through

Immediate Payment Service

(IMPS) crossed ₹3.23 lakh

crore in the AprilJune

quarter of 201819, which is

almost double the amount

recorded in the yearearlier

period. Different banks have

different limits for daily and

monthly fund transfers

through IMPS. The IMPS

offers an instant, roundthe

clock, interbank electronic

fund transfer service that can

be accessed through multiple

channels. PTI

GST Council to discussreturns’ forms on July 21NEW DELHI

The format for annual

returns and audits is likely to

be approved by the GST

Council at its meeting on July

21 and industry expects that

there could be some

reconciliation with annual IT

returns as the government

aims to check tax evasion.

The Goods and Services Tax

(GST) was rolled out on July

1, 2017, and this is the first

year when businesses will

have to file annual returns

(GSTR9) for fiscal 201718

by December 31, 2018. PTI

IN BRIEF

The Indian rupee is likely totouch 70 a U.S. dollar asweakness in the currencymarket is continuing withthe upward trend in crudeoil prices and strengtheningof the U.S. dollar index, aided by a widening current account deficit (CAD) and steady capital outflows whichhave weighed on the rupee,according to experts.

The outlook for the Indian rupee, in the near term,would be dominated by thesentiment towards the U.S.dollar, the risk of trade wars,movements in yuan, as wellas the trend charted bycrude oil prices, said AditiNayar, principal economist,ICRA.

While the yuan movement would affect manyemerging market currencies, crude oil prices wouldhave a substantial impact onthe currencies of oil importing nations such as India. Ifcrude oil prices chart a sustained uptrend, the negativesentiment related to a risingcurrent account deficit aswell as inflationary concernsmay spur the rupee to intermittently test the previousalltime lows.

‘Swift reversal’“In the near term, the dollarrupee cross rate temporarilybreaching 70 can’t be ruledout, although it would likelyrecord a swift reversal,”Ms.Nayar added.

“The 70 level could continue beckoning Indian rupeeand U.S. dollar exchangerate. Surging oil price is amajor worry,” said AnandJames, chief market strategist, Geojit Financial Services Ltd. Brent crude price ishovering at about $78 perbarrel in the internationalmarket.

“It’s hardly surprisingthat Indian rupee is on an accelerated depreciation

phase against U.S. dollar.Probably, this trend mightcontinue until May 2019,”said Bhaskar Panda, seniorregional head — treasury advisory group, HDFC Bank.

“Commodity prices havehad a sharp rally in the previous two to thee years alongwith global crude prices. Wehave seen the 10year dollarbenchmark yield going past3% mark this year and U.S.Fed still on the way to getmore rate hikes,” Mr. Pandaadded.

Lately, the sentiment inthe foreign exchange markethad been further weakenedby the reported commentsof government officials thatthe rupee needs to retaintradeweighted parityagainst competing exporternations, especially in theface of a likely global tradeconflict.

Private investmentGiven the present scenario,said Mr. James, the prospects of rupee hinges on theextent of private investmentthat can come in, for whichthe debt overhang had beena cause of big worry.

Forecast for normal monsoon may cool inflation expectations for now, but thepace of resolution of debtridden companies as well asrevival of capital expenditure cycle and lending

growth would be closelywatched.

“We believe that, for now,given the strength in oil anddollar, 70 is a fair possibility,” Mr. James added. FIIshave become more reluctantin Indian equities lately. CADis also projected to edgehigher, while inflation atboth consumer and wholesale level has reversed thedeclining trend. “All of theseput pressure on rupee,” saidMr. James.

Looking at current scenario, IFA Global research advises traders that the pairhas higher chances to moveabove the 69mark by Julyend, but upside can becapped below 70.

Index trading highThe U.S. Dollar Index is moving in a band of 93.80 support level and the 95.20 resistance barrier.

The price jumped to an almost fresh oneyear high of95.22 on June 28, 2018. Thedollar internationally hasclearly broken the downtrend and now the index istrading high, said AbhishekGoenka, founder and CEO,IFA Global.

Furthermore, rate hikesin the U.S. are very much onthe cards and according toMr. Singhvi, “the possibilityof the rupee hitting 70 soonis increasing.”

Rupee may fall to 70against dollar on oil, CAD‘Capital outflow, stronger dollar index also to impact rupee’

Oommen A. Ninan

Mumbai

Losing vigour: The accelerated depreciation of the rupee maycontinue till May 2019, says Bhaskar Panda * V.SUDERSHAN

The government’s decisionto hike MSP for kharifcrops is expected to impactGDP by by 0.10.2% besidesadding to inflationary pressures, says a DBS report.

According to the globalfinancial services major,higher MSPs carry inflationas well as fiscal costs.

“For the fiscal math, impact is likely to be in thetune of 0.10.2% of GDP,which might necessitatehigher revenue support orlower capex spending to limit any risk to the 201819deficit targets,” DBS said.

Seeking to address farmdistress ahead of generalelections, the Centre on July 4 hiked price paid tofarmers for paddy by a record ₹200 per quintal andby up to 52% for other summersown crops.

The move is expected tolead to higher inflation andwiden fiscal deficit becauseof increase in food subsidybill to over ₹2 lakh crorefrom ₹1.70 lakh crore provided in the Budget for201819, experts said.

As per the report, forthe rest of this financialyear, the impact on inflation will be in the range ofaround 2530 bps.

‘Signal for rate hikes’Regarding RBI’s policystance, the report saidhigher MSPs will add to inflationary pressures, fiscalslippage and this mightprompt the central bank togo for another rate hike.

“For RBI, MSP increaseposes an additional risk totheir inflation view, besides fiscal slippage worries and higher oil prices,”the report said adding “August rate hike risks remainon the table“.

In June, the ReserveBank of India had upped itsretail inflation projectionby 0.30%.

‘Higher MSPmay spurinflation,fiscal costs’


NEW DELHI

In a move aimed at wideningthe crackdown on black money and following the moneytrail flowing in and out ofthousands of shell companies, the Centre is planningto set up an informationtechnology (IT)based mechanism to keep a tab on allnoncash financial transactions in the country.

Highlyplaced government sources involved in devising the initiative said theReserve Bank of India (RBI)had been asked to developthe IT infrastructure for thispurpose.

RBI as sole repository There have been a series ofinteractions over the pastone month to discuss the issue, with these parleys attended by top government

officials from the Ministriesof Finance and Corporate Affairs as well as RBI officials.Currently, the idea is to makethe RBI the sole repository ofsuch information, which willnot be made available to other agencies such as the income tax department and

the enforcement directorateas a default. Such agenciesmay be required to makespecific requests to the central bank if they want information on a particular set ofentities.

An official aware of the development said that alth

ough the data will be captured for all transactionsirrespective of the size of thetransactions, the large oneswould be relevant for enforcement purposes.

Under the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act,banks and financial institutions are already required toalert the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), under theFinance Ministry, to any suspicious transactions, cash orotherwise. Cash transactionsof more than ₹10 lakh (including a series of transactions integrally connected toeach other and exceeding₹10 lakh in a month), need tobe reported to the FIU.

All suspicious transactions need to reported to theunit within seven days afterit is concluded that those aresuspicious in nature.

The move to track all fi

nancial transactions is thelatest in a series to curb blackmoney and identify shellcompanies, sources said.Following the 2016 demonetisation exercise that rendered more than 86% of thecurrency in circulation invalid, it was found there hadbeen a significant spurt inthe operations of shell firmsthat typically have no assetsor active businesses.

The Centre has shut downmore than two lakh such entities. More than two lakhother firms that have notbeen carrying out operationshave been sent notices. Depending on their responses,a decision would be taken onhow many would be deregistered. In FY17, the FIU hadreceived more than 15.9 million Cash Transaction Reports and 4.73 lakh Suspicious Transaction Reports.

Govt. taps RBI to track all transactionsCentral bank asked to devise infotech framework to keep tabs on noncash financial transactions

Manojit Saha

Mumbai

Fragile status: Cash transactions of more than ₹10 lakh arealready required to be reported to the FIU. * GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has asked thecapital markets regulator tolook into the manner inwhich merchant bankersand brokers market sales ofshares, especially by listedcompanies, to select investors before an issue opens.

The tribunal said it couldlead to sharing of inside information giving such investors an unfair advantage over others and hence theSecurities and ExchangeBoard of India (SEBI) mustexamine whether there is aneed to bar such investorsfrom trading before the issue opens.

This assumes significanceas popular fundraisingroutes such as offer for sale(OFS) and qualified institutional placement (QIP) usedby listed firms are oftenpitched to select potentialinvestors before the issueopens.

“We would like to bring itto the notice of SEBI that thequestion as to whether investors participating in themarketgauging exerciseshould be allowed to tradein all segments of the market prior to the [opening ofthe] issue needs to belooked into,” said the SAT.

The tribunal’s directioncame while hearing a matterrelated to Factorial MasterFund, which, as per SEBI,indulged in “unusual andaggressive trading” in theshares of L&T Finance Holdings ahead of its OFS.

According to SEBI, thefund allegedly traded in derivatives contracts of L&T Finance Holdings before theOFS on the basis of unpublished price sensitive information that it received during a marketgauging

exercise done by CreditSuisse Securities, which wasthe merchant banker for theOFS.

While SEBI found thefund guilty of unfair practices and ordered it to disgorgemore than ₹20 crore of alleged unlawful gains, SATquashed the order sayingthat the entity needs to begiven the ‘benefit of doubt.’

Conflict of interest?Legal consultants said SAThas nudged SEBI to look atpotential conflict betweenmarketgauging exercises bymerchant bankers and communication of inside information, which is prohibited.

“While SAT seems to haveconsidered the businessneed of merchant bankers[for] market gauging, itquestions if investors [towhom an issue is pitched toget an idea about valuation]be allowed to trade in derivatives prior to the openingof the issue,” said SumitAgrawal, a regulatory lawyer and a former law officer at SEBI.

“In most jurisdictions,such activities by investment bankers are considered legitimate, not constituting insider trading orimproper disclosure of inside information since it is abusiness need,” he added.

SAT seeks review onpractice of share salesto select investorsAims to nip unfair edge that buyers get

ASHISH RUKHAIYAR

Mumbai

Public sector banks areplanning to tap the marketsto raise more than ₹ 50,000crore this fiscal to shore uptheir capital base for business growth and meetingregulatory global risknorms.

Capital is very much required for these banks asthey are saddled with nonperforming assets (NPAs) ofabout ₹10 lakh crore.

NPA clean upAccording to analysts, theirfirst quarter results may notbe very encouraging despiteheavy cleaning up of booksas the dust has not settledon the NPA front. Out of 21public sector banks, 13 have

already taken the approvalof their boards or shareholders for raising capitalthrough the equity market,as per the data compiled byPTI.

The combined value ofthe share sale of these banksis upwards of ₹50,000crore.

Leading the pack is theCentral Bank of India, whichhas already got shareholders’ approval for raising₹8,000 crore equity capitalthrough various means, including a followon publicoffer, rights issue or a qualified institutional placement(QIP). Canara Bank also proposes to raise up to ₹7,000crore through variousmeans, including rights issue and QIP.

PSU banks mull raising₹50,000 cr. in equityTo shore up capital, meet risk norms


NEW DELHI

Telecom operators have opposed public WiFi model recommended by the sectorregulator TRAI, saying it willadversely impact debt ridden industry and compromise national security.

Based on existing rulesfor cyber cafes, the TelecomRegulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommendedthat a new set of players tobe called Pubic Data OfficeAggregator (PDOA) shouldbe allowed to resell Internetservices through yesteryearPCO type of setup that willbe called Public Data Offices.

“...the proposal to sell internet services without a li

cence, will be a complete bypass of present licensingframework, detrimental tomassive investments alreadymade in spectrum, telecominfrastructure...,” COAI DGRajan S. Mathews said in aletter to Telecom SecretaryAruna Sundararajan.

However, a report said

proliferation of public WiFican provide $3 billion potential revenue opportunity fortelecom operators between20172019, as it will help adding new customers and increasing data consumptionby existing users.

User interestThe study by Analysys Mason, commissioned by Google, found “a significant fraction of users” saying theywould be interested in purchasing a new mobile broadband SIM card to continueaccessing high speed Internet, after having experienced high speed Internetthrough highspeed wifi services from GoogleRailtel.

Telecom firms opposeTRAI’s public WiFi model‘Move may impact debtladen sector, compromise security’


NEW DELHI





CMYK

A ND-NDE

BUSINESS REVIEW

Rolling out innovative, premium and, at times, firsttomarket products is now a keygrowth driver for FMCG foodcompanies.

These firms are increasingly discovering that playingamere volume game may fatten their topline, but a boostto profitability comesthrough highvalue productstargeted at the upwardlymobile ‘global desi’, or Indianswho are exposed to international trends and are not satisfied with runofthemillproducts.

‘Premiumisation’ of theproduct portfolio and deeperpenetration are the mainprongs of the strategy ofthese companies as they eyea bigger share of the customer’s wallet in the fragmentedFMCG sector. The trend ofrising incomes of customershas accelerated the movepremium products.

Take the case of Britannia.Premiumisation, combined

with innovation, is one focusareas, BIL said in a recent investor presentation. Besidesbiscuits, it is innovating insegments such as rusk, cakeand snacks resting on thehealth or the convenienceplatforms when offering millennials foodonthego as inthe case of croissants — a newsegment.

‘Excel across dimensions’“In the coming years, companies will need to excel acrossmultidimensions such asproduct development, brandequity, distribution reach tosucceed in a competitivemarket,” the food major saidin a report to shareholders.In an earlier interview VarunBerry MD, had told The Hin-du that mixing value withpremium has helped BIL enter markets in the Hindi belt.

Although the recall of ITCis first as a cigarette company, the diversified conglomerate is pursuing its policy ofgrowing its noncigaretteFMCG business (which it

calls FMCGOthers). Expansion of its product portfolioand deeper penetration arekey aspects of its strategy. Itis increasing focus on premiumisation to improveprofitability.

Its noncigarette segmentclosed 201718 with a revenuegrowth of almost 8% to

₹11,328.6 crore. Profitsjumped almost six times to₹164.1 crore, with the fourthquarter alone contributing₹91 crore.

Eyeing upmarket usersIn 201718, ITC unveiled 30products, following it up inQ1 this fiscal with more new

products, many of which target upmarket consumers.“The strategy has been tolaunch new products in existing categories while forayinginto newer ones... there is increasing focus on premiumisation to improve profitability,” said B. Sumant,president, FMCG business,ITC.

This fiscal, ITC entered thecake segment with some premium products and introduced new confectioneryvariants at higher prices. “Inconfectionery, we have recently launched many newvariants which are priced at₹1 and is a part of ITC’s overall premiumisation strategy,”he said.

Fabelle, ITC’s premiumchocolate, is available at luxuryend retail outlets, at prices comparable with imported ones. Its multigrain attaandMaster Chef spices are allsimilarly positioned.

In an analysis of four foodFMCGs — Britannia, ITC, Nestle and GSK — Nirmal Bang

Institutional Equities Research said the trend willcontinue and products withstrong brands will continueto enjoy a premium over others. “Food companies havebeen spending a lot on R&Dto innovate...

Innovation from R&D“Britannia set up a new R&Dcentre at Bengaluru and hassystematically ramped up itsR&D spending over the pastfew years and its performance is reflective of its strategy. GSK Consumer Healthcare’s entire product profileis researchbased.”

Nestle, the report noted,has planned new launcheskeeping in mind the healthand the wellness theme.

The premiumisation storyis no longer just linked tobrand equity, it said. Thecore focus has shifted to ‘valueup’ as well as mainstream, for most firms. Ahigher share of these, analysts said, would help improve margins.

Food firms seek firsttomarket, premium tagsHighvalue products for the upwardly mobile help increase margins; R&Dled products bring in healthconscious users

Indrani Dutta

KOLKATA

Rich tastes: Mixing the concepts of value and premium hashelped Britannia, says Varun Berry. * ASHOKE CHAKRABARTY

The limited success of the currentNPA resolution framework and itsmechanisms calls for new forms ofinstitutions which will be effectivein dealing with the current NPAcrisis.

The need for a new institution iswarranted due to two basic reasons. The first is to do with theprinciple of separation of goodand bad assets. The separation ofbad assets helps banks to focus ontheir business expansion. The second relates to maximum recov

ery and hence minimum burdenor cost to the banks or the government. These are the principlesaround which a new institutionshould be framed.

International experience showsthat a ‘bad bank’ or ‘Asset Management Company (AMC)’ has the potential to fulfil the above vital principles and can possibly addressthe NPA resolution challenge moreeffectively.

It is possible to conceptualiseand set up an institution in Indiaon similar lines.

Countries that have gonethrough banking crises at differenttimes have adopted the above twoprinciples and have created specific institutions to deal with theirNPA problem. While the essenceof the institution remained same,the operational structure, howev

er, varied from country to country.And, so also the outcome. Countries have had a variety of experiences in outcomes or grades ofsuccess in NPA resolution.

Governance and financingThe new institution should be independent and transparent in itsoperation with high emphasis onprofessionalism.

While the government needs toown and oversee governance atthe institution, the managerialstaff, however, can be outsourcedto strengthen operational and

managerial efficiency. The experience in other countries offerstwo key commonalities that wereinherent in their respective institutions — accountability to the government or its agencies and managerial efficiency.

As to financing, broadly, therecan be four ways of financing anasset management company asseen in several countries. Theseinclude equity injection by the government, special loans from thecentral bank, AMC bonds and public offering of shares.

Issuance of AMC bonds hasbeen the major source of financein a majority of the countries.Ideally, the government must invest first for the creation of suchan institution.

Mere creation of a new institution in the form of either a ‘bad

bank’ or an ‘AMC’ does not guarantee automatic success. International experience suggests that thesuccess of the AMCwill depend onthree critical conditions: first,there should be a clear distinctionbetween the bad and good assets(in other words, the definition of abad asset has to be followed strictly; second, over time, the economy should bounce back to highgrowth trajectory; third, preventive measures must be in place sothat every new loan that is disbursed does not become an NPAtoo soon.

The fulfilment of the above conditions will determine the degreeof success of the ‘bad bank’ or theasset management company.

(The writer is Assistant Profes-sor, Institute for Studies in Indus-trial Development, New Delhi)

GUEST COLUMN

‘Bad bank’ can help improve NPA resolutionSeparating bad assets from good ones and maximum recovery at the lowest cost are the tenets on which the ‘bank’ must be built

Santosh Kumar Das

<> Critical to the success of

‘bad banks’, globally, were

accountability to the

government and

managerial efficiency

For M. Kari, a farmer at Kookalthorai area in the Nilgiris, cultivation of broccoliand iceberg lettuce for thepast 10 years has meant anassured income from agriculture. On his fouracrefarm, he grows carrot, beetroot and also some varieties of exotic vegetables.

More than 100 farmers inthis village of Tamil Naduare into cultivation of exoticvegetables such as broccoli,zucchini, iceberg lettuce,brussels sprout, red cabbage and leek.

These are available at departmental stores andserved cooked at starhotels.

The weather conditionsat Kookalthorai are conducive for cultivation of theseexotic vegetable varieties.Hence, the yield is bettercompared with other partsof the Nilgiris, Mr. Kari said.

“The duration of the cropis a maximum of 6070 daysand we are able to grow

three crops a year. Farmersget seedlings from Udhagamandalam or Bengaluru.There are also large companies that supply the seedlings and have entered intobuyback agreements withthe growers. This gives anassured price and market,”he added.

‘Low investment’P. Ganesan, who cultivatesbroccoli at Kappachi, saidfarmers sell their produce atthe wholesale markets andto traders as well.

The investment is nothigh compared with othervegetables and farmers

mostly do not incur losses.As a result, exotic varietiesare increasingly finding favour with farmers.

The areas under exoticvegetable cultivation are increasing across the Nilgirisevery year and the growth issteady, said Shiva Subramaniam Samraj, Joint Director— Horticulture (in charge),in the Nilgiris.

Premchand, director,Samberry Exotics Pvt. Ltd.,an integrated grower andmarketer of exotic vegetables, said farmers wereswitching over from tea andother vegetables to exoticvegetable varieties.

The buyers are from cities such as Mumbai andKolkata and also includesome wellknown foodchains. Though there aresupplies from places such asPune, Shimla, and Nashik,the demand from the Nilgiris is high, especially between May and October.

The government shouldsupport cultivation of exoticvegetables, he said.

For a slice of exoticaFrom broccoli to zucchini, exotic crops charm farmers

M. Soundariya Preetha

COIMBATORE

The current structure ofthe advance ruling mechanism on GSTrelatedissues is not only discouraging assessees fromapproaching the authorities, but the rulingsthemselves are alsocausing confusionamong industry players,according to tax analystsand lawyers.

Recently, a spate ofseemingly contradictoryrulings by different Advance Ruling authoritiesin various States haveled to confusion in respective sectors, especially for firms operatingacross States.

“The Karnataka Authority for Advance Ruling(AAR) recently held thata contract for construction of a solar powerplant is not a compositesupply and hence photovoltaic modules shouldbe taxable at 5% and other items at their respective GST rates,” said Abhishek Jain, tax partner,EY India.

“For the same taxpayer applicant, recently the Maharashtra AARhad held the contract tobe a works contract of

immovable propertyand taxable at 18%.”Another example iswhen the Andhra Pradesh AAR recently refused to comment ontransitioning clean energy cess on the premisethat the issue is not covered in the scope ofAAR. However, the Maharashtra AAR hadpassed an order holdingthat Krishi Kalyan Cesscredit cannot be transitioned, thereby rulingon an issue the A.P. AARsaid was out of the scopeof such an authority.

“Such decisionsamong AARs of differentStates opens a Pandora’sbox for businesses withmultiState presence onwhat final tax position totake, vindicating a requirement for a NationalAdvance Ruling Authority,” he added.

The advance rulingmechanism was set upto bring clarity on tax is

sues where there is ambiguity in the law.

For example, a bottlecan be classified as astorage container, or as awater bottle, among others, each of which couldbe taxed at differentrates. It is in cases ofsuch ambiguity that assessees approach theAARs.

Another major issuewith the current set upof the AARs, accordingto analysts, is their composition since the officials passing the ordersare from the taxdepartment.

“The major problemis that you have peoplefrom the tax departmentsitting on the advanceruling authorities,” L.Badri Narayanan, partner, Lakshmikumaran &Sridharan Attorneys,said. “The AARs consistof one Joint Commissioner each from theCGST and SGST.

“Appeals are sent tothe appellate AAR,which has one chiefcommissioner eachfrom CGST and SGST.”

‘Not objective’“Effectively, it is only adepartmental opinionthat is being given, andthe general trend in India is that the departmental opinion will bein favour of the department,” he added.

Among solutions suggested are the inclusionof a judicial member inthe AARs to lend an objective view on the issue.Others include the setting up of a nationalAAR, or the creation of asimilar body within theGST Council that cantake a holistic view.

The Centre seems tobe considering a nationallevel authority. Lastmonth, Dheeraj Rastogi,Joint Secretary in theGST Council, acknowledged the problems dueto contradictory rulingsand said a policy decision is likely on a centralised authority.

“People are nowchoosing not to file anadvance ruling sincethey feel it will anywaybe decided againstthem,” Mr. Narayanansaid. “If 8090% of rulings are against the assessee, then peoplewon’t go; that defeatsthe entire purpose of theset up.”

‘Current set up forAdvance Rulingdefeats its purpose’

‘State AARs give opposite views’

TCA Sharad Raghavan

NEW DELHI

<> If 8090% of

rulings are against

assessees, people

won’t appeal

L. Badri Narayanan

Partner, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

Currency derivatives are con-sidered to be one of the bestoptions to manage any riskagainst foreign currency ex-change rate volatility. Here isa low-down on this hedginginstrument:

What are currency

derivatives?

J Currency derivatives areexchangebased futures andoptions contracts that allowone to hedge against currency movements. Simply put,one can use a currency future contract to exchangeone currency for an anotherat a future date at a price decided on the day of the purchase of the contract. In India, one can use suchderivative contracts to hedgeagainst currencies like dollar,euro, U.K. pound and yen.Corporates, especially thosewith a significant exposure toimports or exports, use thesecontracts to hedge againsttheir exposure to a certaincurrency.

While all such currency

contracts are cashsettled inrupees, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI),early this year, gave a goahead to start cross currencycontracts as well on eurodollar, pounddollar anddollaryen.

How can one trade in curren-

cy derivatives?

J The two nationallevelstock exchanges, BSE and theNational Stock Exchange(NSE), have currency derivatives segments. The Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India (MSEI) also has such asegment but the volumes area fraction of that witnessedon the BSE or the NSE. Onecan trade in currency derivatives through brokers. Incidentally, all the leading stockbrokers offer currency trading services too.

It is just like trading inequity or equity derivativessegment and can be donethrough the trading app ofthe broker. While a dollarrupee contract size is $1,000,one can trade by just providing the 23% margin.

Why were such derivatives

introduced on exchange

platforms?

J Prior to the introductionof currency derivatives on exchanges, there was only theOTC – over the counter – market to hedge currency risksand where forward contractswere negotiated and enteredinto. It was kind of an opaqueand closed market wheremostly banks and financialinstitutions traded. Exchangebased currency derivatives segment is a regulated and transparent marketthat can be used by small businesses and even individualsto hedge their currency risks.

Are the derivatives popular?

J The currency segmentwas unveiled in 2008 andsince then, the volumes hadregistered a steady rise. InJune, BSE reported an average daily turnover of ₹33,961crore on its currency derivatives platform while NSEclocked ₹29,161 crore. MSEIreported a daily average turnover of only ₹239 crore inJune.

EXPLAINERCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Get to know currency derivatives Ashish Rukhaiyar

Mumbai

Raison d’etre: The advance ruling mechanism was tobring clarity on issues where there is ambiguity. * PTI


CMYK

A ND-NDE




SPORT

Luka Modric admitted Croatia was worn out after it ended Russia’s World Cup hopesin another penalty shootouton Saturday and advance toits first World Cup semifinalsince 1998, against Englandin Moscow on Wednesday.

Ivan Rakitic scored thewinning spotkick at the endof a draining and rollercoaster lasteight clash that finished 22 after extra time.

Brazilianborn Mario Fernandes kept Russia’s dreamalive when he headed homein the 115th minute to levelthe scores and force penalties, but he and Fedor Smolov both failed to converttheir spotkicks and Croatiawon the shootout 43.

Denis Cheryshev had putRussia in front in the first halfbut Andrej Kramaric and Domagoj Vida scored for Croatia before the late levellerfrom Fernandes.

Strenuous effortBut it remains to be seen howquickly the team — with President Kolinda GrabarKitarovic watching from thestands — can recover from itsefforts, having also been taken to extratime and penalties by Denmark in the lastround.

“At certain moments welacked power but that’s twicein six days that we haveplayed 120 minutes,” saidskipper Modric.

“Of course this will leave amark on you. You have to paya price for such exertions.”

Croatia will now look to goone step further than thegreat side of 20 years ago,which lost to France in thelast four. “It makes us extremely proud and happy tohave reached the semifinalsagain,” Modric added.

“We took a difficult route.We were unlucky at previoustournaments but now we arecollecting those debts thisyear, and hopefully we willgo a step further than in1998.”

While Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic shed tears of joy atthe end, for Russiathere washeartbreak.

But it can beproud of its efforts, with a run tothe last eight exceeding expectations for a sidewritten off as nohopers before the tournament.

“We just wanted to proveourselves,” said coach Stanis

lav Cherchesov. “The entire country is in

love with us, theyknow what theRussian nationalteam is worth.”

The Russians,riding a wave ofeuphoria after unexpectedly knocking out Spain in

the previous round, came tothe Black Sea beach resortdetermined to carry on to afirst World Cup semifinal

since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

But Croatia was the favourite. It dominated the match,even if Russia contributed toanother fantastic occasion inwhat has been an outstanding World Cup.

The host went aheadthanks to a bolt from the bluejust after the halfhour mark.Cheryshev, back in the starting lineup, cut in from theleft, exchanged passes withArtem Dzyuba and skipped

away from a Modric challenge before firing home asuperb shot from 25 yards.

Croatia was stunned. Butthe Russian lead lasted onlyeight minutes before it drewlevel, Mario Mandzukic cutting the ball back for Kramaric to head home.

Ivan Perisic hit the post forCroatia in a second half itcontrolled but it had to waituntil the 101st minute to go infront, defender Vida headingin a corner before removing

his shirt as he ran away in celebration.

However, Russia dug deepto make it 22, substitute AlanDzagoev curling in a freekickfor Fernandes to head homein the 115th minute.

“For Croatia being in thesemis is a great success,” saidDalic. “Of course there issome power left for the English. We do not want tostop.”

Croatia gives Russia penalty shootout heartbreakHosts come off second best in a rollercoaster quarterfinal that saw the teams deadlocked 11 in regulation time and 22 at the end of extratime


SOCHI

Yayyy! The Croatian players are an ecstatic lot after making it to the semifinals. * AFP

Rohit Sharma backed up theheroics of allrounder HardikPandya by hitting 100 notout as India clinched the T20international series onSunday.

Rohit became only the second Indian batsman to pass2,000 runs in this format asIndia chased down its targetof 199 with eight balls and seven wickets to spare.

England, which was putin, threatened to post a hugescore before stuttering at theend and finished on 198 fornine after its 20 overs.

Dhoni snares fiveHardik took four for 38, hisbest figures in T20 cricketand wicketkeeper M.S. Dhoni became the first player totake five catches in international T20 and ran out ChrisJordan on the last ball of England's innings for goodmeasure.

Then Hardik was promoted up the order and hisquickfire, unbeaten 33 gotIndia home in front of acrowd that was mostly fans

supporting the visitors.Rohit produced his best

batting of the series and puton 89 with his captain Kohli(43), the other Indian batsman with 2,000 T20I runs,for the third wicket as Indiamade the task look easy.

Rohit also became the second man, after Colin Munroof New Zealand, to scorethree international T20centuries.

Earlier, England hadthreatened to run away withthe game and post a massive

total until Hardik and Dhoniintervened and kept thechase total, on a smallground, realistic.

Explosive startThe host got off to a flierthanks to Joss Buttler and Jason Roy.

Deepak Chahar’s first overin international T20 cricket,and the first of the innings,cost 13 and England was 43

for no loss within four overs.Roy hit 67 from 31 balls,

including seven sixes, whichequalled the most by an England batsman in T20. England looked set for score ofover 240 before Hardik applied the brakes.

He dismissed Alex Hales,Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokesand Jonny Bairstow afterconceding 22 off his first over.

Rohit’s brilliance to the fore as India wins series-decider with a bangHardik excels with a fourwicket haul and a delightful cameo; wicketkeeper Dhoni sets a new mark


BRISTOL

We did it! The Men in Blue are joy personified after claiming their sixth consecutive T20I series win. * GARETH COPLEY/GETTY IMAGES

INDIA IN ENGLAND <> “Guys came up with

the goods. You saw

the kind of energy

and attitude we had

on the field. It’s a

great way to start the

tour.”

Virat Kohli

FROM THE TOUCHLINE

France will go into its WorldCup semifinal against neighbour Belgium with a “hunger to win” and a desire toshow its 1998 World Cupwinner Thierry Henry thathe picked the wrong side,forward Olivier Giroud saidon Sunday.

Retired French strikerHenry is now a member ofthe Belgian coaching staff.The two sides will meet onTuesday.

“It is bizarre to haveThierry against us in thismatch,” said Giroud. “Iwould be very proud toshow Thierry that he chosethe wrong camp.”

“I would have preferredto have Henry on our side,to give me and the otherFrench forwards advice, butI am not too jealous,” the 31

yearold Giroud said.The forward has been

criticised by Henry in thepast, but he said there wereno hard feelings — just hishunger to win.

“It has been a few yearssince he said what he saidabout me. My job is to begood on the pitch, to represent France as well as possible. It is also a particularmatch for him.

“I really want to communicate (to France teammates) my hunger to win.”

Giroud said his teammates knew Belgium verywell with many players fromboth teams competing inthe English Premier League,including himself. But hesaid France was talentedand experienced enough tobreak down Belgium’s defensive “wall” around keeper Thibaut Courtois.

Giroud keen to proveHenry wrongSays its bizarre to have a French

legend in the opposition camp

Reuters

ISTRA

‘Scapegoat’ Ozil should quit German team, says father

The father of Mesut Ozil said on Sunday hisson should quit Germany’s national squadafter he was “made the scapegoat” for DieMannschaft’s shock firstround exit.On Thursday, Germany’s team boss OliverBierhoff sparked a new round of outcryover a statement suggesting Ozil, who hasTurkish roots, should have been droppedafter his failure to publicly clear up thePresident Erdogan meeting.“This statement is insolent. In my opinion,it is aimed at saving one’s own skin,” saidthe midfielder’s father Mustafa Ozil.“But when we lose, we lose because ofOzil? He is now getting whistled at andmade a scapegoat. I can understand if hefeels insulted,” said the midfielder’s father.“The hurt has grown too strong. And whoknows what’ll happen at the next match. InMesut’s place, I would step down. But that’sjust my very personal opinion,” he said.

Russia record holder Ignashevich retires

Russia’s mostcapped player SergeiIgnashevich announced his retirement onSunday after the hosts were eliminated byCroatia.The 38yearold defender, who spent hisentire club career at Russian clubs, was a keymember of Russia’s run to the last eight.He earned a total of127 caps, scoringnine goals, andholding the recordfor mostinternationalappearances byany Russian player.Ignashevich alsocaptained CSKAMoscow to the2005 UEFA Cuptitle.“This was my lastWorld Cup, my lasttournament and the last match of my soccercareer. If it wasn’t for the World Cup, I thinkI would have ended (my career) earlier,” hesaid in a video posted on social media.“The World Cup was a strong motivation.

“I feel joy, a feeling of peace because I amending on a high note. I am playing at theWorld Cup. I am playing in the quarterfinals.I am playing on a great team with a realcoach and with players who give themselvesfully to the game.”

England: J. Roy c Dhoni bChahar 67 (31b, 4x4, 7x6), J.Buttler b Kaul 34 (21b, 7x4), A.Hales c Dhoni b Hardik 30 (24b,3x4, 2x6), E. Morgan c Dhoni bHardik 6 (9b), B. Stokes c Kohli bHardik 14 (10b, 2x4), J. Bairstowc Dhoni b Hardik 25 (14b, 2x4,2x6), D. Willey b Umesh 1 (2b),C. Jordan run out 3 (3b), L. Plunkett c Dhoni b Kaul 9 (4b, 1x6),A. Rashid (not out) 4 (3b, 1x4);Extras (lb4, nb1): 5; Total (fornine wkts. in 20 overs): 198.

Fall of wickets: 194 (Buttler,7.5 overs), 2103 (Roy, 9.2), 3134 (Morgan, 13.2), 4140(Hales, 13.6), 5177 (Stokes,17.4), 6181 (Bairstow, 17.6), 7183 (Willey, 18.3), 8194 (Plunkett, 19.3), 9198 (Jordan, 19.6).

India bowling: Chahar 40431,Umesh 40481, Kaul 40352, Hardik 40384, Chahal

40300.

India: Rohit Sharma (not out)100 (56b, 11x4, 5x6), S. Dhawanc Ball b Willey 5 (3b, 1x4), K.L.Rahul c Jordan b Ball 19 (10b,1x4, 2x6), V. Kohli c & b Jordan43 (29b, 2x4, 2x6), HardikPandya (not out) 33 (14b, 4x4,2x6); Extras (w1): 1; Total (forthree wkts. in 18.4 overs): 201.

Fall of wickets: 121 (Dhawan,2.1), 262 (Rahul, 5.2), 3151(Kohli, 14.5).

England bowling: Willey 30371, Ball 30391, Jordan 3.40401, Plunkett 30420,Stokes 20110, Rashid40320.

Toss: India.

Man-of-the-match: RohitSharma.

India won by seven wicketswith eight balls to spare to takethe series 2-1.

SCOREBOARD ENGLAND VS INDIA, THIRD T20I





SPORT

SUDOKU

Solution to puzzle 12363 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Arjuna was known as Savyasachi, because he could shoot arrows with his left hand just as well as he did with his righthand, and with the same accuracy. The name Savyasachi isused by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, chapter eleven,said V.S. Karunakarachariar, in a discourse. Arjuna was Dhananjaya, because when he vanquished enemies, he tooktheir gold from them. Agni is prayed to for wealth, and onewho pleases Agni with his worship, is rewarded with wealth.Arjuna gave a plentiful supply of gold for his brother Yudhishthira’s yaga. Agni is called Dhananjaya, and by providinggold to Yudhishthira, Arjuna earned the name Dhananjaya.He was Partha, because he was Kunti’s son. While Kunti hadother sons too, it was only when Arjuna was born, that a divine voice was heard saying that this son would bring fameto Kunti. Arjuna was called Krishna too. This name came tohim because of Lord Siva. The latter, when He gave Arjunathe Pasupatastra, addressed him as “Krishna.” He said thatsince Arjuna was Krishna’s favourite, seeing him remindedone of Krishna. Lord Siva blessed Arjuna and said that nonebut Lord Krishna Himself could defeat Arjuna. Arjuna givessome of his names in the Virata Parva. But he has othernames too. One of them is Gudakesa. This was a name heearned by conquering laziness and sleep. In other words,Arjuna reached the pinnacle of fame through hard work.Lord Krishna uses this name in the Bhagavad Gita in chapters ten and eleven. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna addresses Arjuna as anagha, the sinless one. In chapter eighteen, verse four of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna uses twomore names for Arjuna, Purushavyaghra and Bharatasattama. He is also called Mahabhaho, for Arjuna is a broadshouldered, mighty armed man.

FAITH

Reasons for the names3 Started to plead with

international organisation (5)

4 Soldiers drank rum in cup (7)

6 Blue force in action (9)

7 After death, get extremely

unique gift (5)

8 Appeal accepted by noble

European singer (8)

11 Girl leaves magnificent

African capital (4)

15 Veronica is in good health

after race (9)

17 She gets a gift now — coat of

ermine (9)

18 A horse hits Ramon and

Norma, say (8)

20 Instrument is excessively long

at the tip (4)

21 Pull fish up, away from the

wind (7)

22 Traipse around, exuding a zest

for life (6)

24 Overall, chairperson forced to

give away riches, perhaps (5)

25 In Madras, I, a politician,

refund money (5)

12 Any long stocking material (5)

13 A puzzle, reportedly intended

to create awe (9)

14 New dune buggy to go around

America (6)

16 Vessel and ship at sea (7)

19 Auditor enters home, very

close (7)

21 Both sides hold an advantage

— records could be created

here (6)

23 Organised sloppily, but

magnificent! (9)

25 Looks and counts, say (5)

26 Accepted old clothes again (6)

27 A stepbystep guide? (8)

28 Leg twisted, chasing wrong

one (6)

29 Touching look finally leaves

sailor in a depression (8)

■ DOWN

1 Country to the south of India is

Sri Lanka, perhaps (6)

2 Agents to guard a chess

champion, playing in region of

Spain (9)

(set by KrisKross)

■ ACROSS

1 Naked, skinny baby had to get

nurse (8)

5 Perhaps quite brave, starting to

dress differently (6)

9 Criminal tailing model to party

(8)

10 Agent in conversation with the

German Web architect (6)

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12364

German fourth seed Alexander Zverev wilted in 33degree heat and crashed out inthe third round on Saturday.

Zverev, playing for thethird day in succession, wasshocked by Latvian qualifierErnests Gulbis, ranked 138,in a gruelling five sets, 76(2),46, 57, 63, 60.

Threetime winner NovakDjokovic made the last 16 of aSlam for the 44th time with a46, 63, 62, 64 win overKyle Edmund, the last remaining Briton.

Despite being widelytipped to be a Grand Slamthreat, it was another letdown for Zverev whose runto the quarterfinals at RolandGarros last month remainshis best performance at theMajors.

Gulbis, a former WorldNo. 10 who famously defeated Roger Federer on his wayto the French Open semifinals in 2014, will be playingin the last 16 at Wimbledonfor the first time at the 11thattempt.

The 29yearold will takeon Japan’s Kei Nishikori whoregistered his 350th careerwin with a 61, 76(3), 64 victory over AustralianNick Kyrgios.

Gulbis’ win on Saturday was his thirdsuccessive fivesetterhaving also playedthree matches inqualifying.

Meanwhile, Roger Federerand Serena Williams will beexpected to maintain theirflawless progress as title favourites head into the fourthround on Monday looking to

survive the tournament’sgiantkilling carnage.

The status quo has beenchallenged like never beforein the women’s singles, withnine of the top 10 seedscrashing out before the Wimbledon last 16 for the firsttime in the Open area.

Federer’s 175th win from200 career grasscourtmatches has seen him over

take Jimmy Connorsas the most successful male player onthe surface. Next,the Swiss star facesFrench 22nd seedAdrian Mannarinofor a place in the

quarterfinals. Federer’s tie is one of 16

fourth round matches acrossthe men’s and women’sevents in a frenetic day of action at the All England Club.

The 36yearold Serenafaces Russian qualifier — andfellow mother — Evgeniya Rodina in the last 16.

Karolina Pliskova, the seventh seed, is the only top 10ranked player remaining, butshe has never won a Major.The Czech faces Dutch 20thseed Kiki Bertens, whostunned fivetime Wimbledon winner Venus in thethird round.

Gulbis outlasts Zverev, Djokovic takes out EdmundFederer and Serena expected to maintain flawless progress

Agence France-PresseLONDON

Marathon man: Ernests Gulbis played his third successive fivesetter to eliminate fourth seed Alexander Zverev. * AP

BENGALURU: Dancing Dragon(Trevor up) won the Maharaja’sGold Cup, the chief event of theraces held here on Sunday ( July8). The winner is owned byManjri Horse Breed Farm Pvt Ltdrep by. Mr & Mrs. S.P. Mistry &Mrs. Anneka Darashah andtrainer by G. Nityanand. THE RESULTS:

1 DIVINE LIGHT PLATE (1,200m),maiden 3yo only, (Terms):

LADY LEGEND (Sandesh) 1, WingsOf Desire (Trevor) 2, Candlelightqueen (Sai Kiran) 3 and TioRico (Zervan) 4. 3/4, 1/2 and 41/2.1m, 12.48s. ₹38 (w), 12, 11 and 17(p), SHP: 39, THP: 33, FP: 53, Q:23, Trinella: 275 and 177, Exacta:552 and 145. Favourite: Wings OfDesire. Owners: Mr. P. PrabhakarReddy, Dr. Peddi ReddyPrabhakar Reddy & Mr. Rama Seshu Eyunni. Trainer: S. Attaollahi.

2 PENDRAGON PLATE (1,400m),rated 15 to 35: LOOK OUT (S.

Imran) 1, Touch Your Destiny (T.S.Jodha) 2, Noble Splendor (A. Imran) 3 and Able Master (VinodShinde) 4. Not run: Memoriter. 13/4, 3/4 and 11/2. 1m, 26.76s. ₹708(w), 109, 16 and 12 (p), SHP: 45,THP: 49, FP: 2,905, Q: 2,348.Trinella: 13,323 and 2,855, Exacta: 1,47,090 (carried over). Favourite: Noble Splendor. Owner:

Mr. Dinesh Kumar K. Trainer: G.Sandhu.

3 R.M. PUTTANNA MEMORIALTROPHY (DIV. I), (1,100m),

rated 30 to 50, 4yo & over: BORABORA (Trevor) 1, Lady Barrington(Suraj) 2, Tarini (N. Rawal) 3 andPrinceazeem (Koushik) 4. Nose,1/2 and 1/2. 1m, 06.35s. ₹18 (w),12, 12 and 42 (p), SHP: 29, THP:96, FP: 34, Q: 16, Trinella: 458and 328, Exacta: 2,691 and 782.Favourite: Bora Bora. Owner: Mr.Aditya P. Thackersey. Trainer: S.Dominic.

4 MAHARAJA’S GOLD CUP(2,200m), 4yo & over,

(Terms): DANCING DRAGON (Trevor) 1, Lady In Lace (Suraj) 2,Sana (Sandesh) 3 and Temerity(Neeraj) 4. 3/4, 13/4 and 21/2.2m, 15.40s. ₹28 (w), 14, 11 and 30(p), SHP: 32, THP: 68, FP: 54, Q:21, Trinella: 307 and 285, Exacta:666 and 186. Favourite: Lady InLace. Owners: Manjri HorseBreed Farm Pvt Ltd rep by. Mr &Mrs. S.P. Mistry & Mrs. AnnekaDarashah. Trainer: G. Nityanand.

5 P.V. SHETTY MEMORIAL CUP(1,200m), rated 45 to 65: MAN-

SUETUDE (Trevor) 1, Gypsy (Suraj)2, Tamara (T.S. Jodha) 3 andAeisir ( Jagadeesh) 4. Nk, 4 and 11/4. 1m, 12.73s. ₹22 (w), 12, 15 and22 (p), SHP: 46, THP: 55, FP: 94,

Q: 45, Trinella: 236 and 81, Exacta: 787 and 332. Favourite:Mansuetude. Owner: Mr. Hiro G.Matai. Trainer: Prasanna Kumar.

6 GUINDY PLATE (1,200m),rated 00 to 20: SMILE OF

PEACE (Md. Asif Khan) 1, Rhapsodyein Queen (Irvan) 2, Ramon (A.Ramu) 3 and Indian Brahmos(P.S. Chouhan) 4. Shd, 3 and 11/4.1m, 14.02s. ₹54 (w), 17, 13 and 66(p), SHP: 37, THP: 118, FP: 126, Q:56, Trinella: 2,975 and 3,643, Exacta: 8,720 and 2,803. Favourite:Rhapsodyein Queen. Owner: Mr.Sanjay Rai. Trainer: S. Dominic.

7 R.M. PUTTANNA MEMORIALTROPHY (DIV. II), (1,100m),

rated 30 to 50, 4yo & over:MALAWI (Sandesh) 1, Helenka (S.Shiva K) 2, Alberetta (Suraj) 3 andMint (Koushik) 4. 11/4, 13/4 and2. 1m, 06.33s. ₹30 (w), 14, 14 and18 (p), SHP: 42, THP: 44, FP: 83,Q: 41, Trinella: 175 and 92, Exacta:400 and 217. Favourite: Helenka.Owners: Five Stars Shipping Co.Pvt Ltd rep by. Mr & Mrs. K.N.Dhunjibhoy and Mr & Mrs. Z.K.Dhunjibhoy & Mr. Vispi R. Patel.Trainer: S. Attaollahi.

Jackpot: ₹1,690 (520 tkts); Runnerup: 240 (1,568 tkts); Treble(i): 1,888 (15 tkts); (ii): 374 (100tkts).

Dancing Dragon clinches feature

Rajiv Sethu of Honda Ten10Racing emerged winner ofthe second race in the SuperSport 165 class on day two ofthe second round of the Indian National motorcycleracing championship hereon Sunday.

Familiarising himself withthe new slick tyres, Rajivcreated a new fastest laptime (1:55.392 minutes) forthe second time on the weekend. Rajiv leads the championship with two wins inthe second round.

Naresh Babu of RACRemerged winner of the second race of the Pro Stock165 class. Anish D. Shetty,who finished second in the

Pro Stock 165, won the Honda India Talent Cup (CBR250R class).The results (round two, daytwo): Super Sport 165 class: 1.Rajiv Sethu [Honda Ten10 Racing] 00:15:37.026s; 2. JaganKumar [TVS Racing]00:15:40.465; 3. Sarath Kumar[Honda Ten10 Racing]00:15:57.911.

Pro Stock 165: 1. Naresh Babu[RACR] 00:16:57.586; 2. AnishD. Shetty [Honda Ten10 Racing] 00:17:03.115; 3. Senthil Kumar [Honda Ten10 Racing]00:17:07.286.

Honda CBR 150: 1. MohamedMikail (Chennai) 00:13:23.224;2. Krithik Vasan Habib (Karnataka) 00:13:34.011; 3. Akshay V.Murali (Kerala) 00:13:47.298.

Honda CBR 250: 1. Anish D.Shetty (Hubli) 00:16:48.671; 2.V. Abhishek (Bengaluru)00:16:49.460; 3. Amit RichardToppo (Ranchi) 00:16:49.692.

Rajiv Sethu sets fastest lap time yet again

Leads championship with two titles in the second round

MOTORSPORTSSports ReporterCHENNAI

On the podium: Rajiv Sethu, centre, with Jagan, left, andSarath, right, who took the top three spots in the Super Sport 165 class. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Sebastian Vettel opened up aclear lead at the top of thedrivers’ World Championship on Sunday when hewrecked Lewis Hamilton’shome race party andclaimed an impressive victory for Ferrari in a thrillingBritish Grand Prix. It wasFerrari’s first win in Britainsince 2011.

The fourtime championseized the lead at the startand fought back after losingthe initiative during two safety car periods to registerhis second win at Silverstoneand the 51st of his career.

Vettel’s win dashed Hamilton’s hopes of taking a record fifth win in successionand a record sixth overall,but the Englishman — who

was last after a collision withKimi Raikkonen on theopening lap — produced aheroic drive to finish secondfor Mercedes.

His teammate ValtteriBottas, on older tyres, ledthe closing laps, but was unable to resist Vettel or his

Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen, who finished third.Bottas was fourth.

“The safety car spiced itup,” said Vettel, wearing supporting tapes on his stiffneck.

“I had the advantage ofthe tyres, but it was not easy

to find a way through.”

The results: 1. Sebastian Vettel(Ferrari) 1hr 27min 29.784s, 2.Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) at2.264s, 3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 3.652, 4. Valtteri Bottas(Mercedes) 8.883, 5. DanielRicciardo (Red Bull) 9.500, 6.Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)28.220, 7. Esteban Ocon (ForceIndia) 29.930, 8. FernandoAlonso (McLaren) 31.115, 9. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) 33.188,10. Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)34.129, 11. Sergio Perez (ForceIndia) 34.708, 12. Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren) 35.774, 13.Lance Stroll (Williams) 38.106,14. Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)48.113, 15. Max Verstappen(Red Bull) 6 laps.

Drivers’ standings (top-5): 1.Vettel 171 pts, 2. Hamilton 163,3. Raikkonen 116, 4. Ricciardo106, 5. Bottas 104.

Constructors’ standings(top-5): 1. Ferrari 287 pts, 2.Mercedes 267, 3. Red Bull 199,4. Renault 70, 5. Haas 51.

Vettel drives Ferrari to an emphatic winHamilton’s quest for fifth straight victory at home wrecked, finishes second

Triumphant ride: Vettel celebrates his victory. * REUTERS

BRITISH GP

Agence France-PresseSILVERSTONE Ace gymnast Dipa Karma

kar, who missed the RioOlympics bronze medal by awhisker, took the women’svault gold medal andclaimed the fourth place inbalance beam in the MersinWorld Challenge Cup hereon Sunday.

The performance shouldpropel Dipa, who was out ofaction for about two yearsdue to a leg injury, to workharder for the upcomingAsian Games.

Topping qualificationDipa, who topped the vaultqualification with 13.4, improved her performance bya few notches to garner 14.15points and secure the tophonour in her pet event.

Later, she finished a cred

itable fourth in balancebeam after tying on 12.1 withAzerbaijan’s Yuliya Inshina.In the qualification, Dipawas third with 11.85.

Turkey’s Goksu Sanlibagged the gold with a scoreof 12.55.

Patra does well

Rakesh Patra, another gymnast who has been selectedfor the Asiad, placed fourthin Roman Rings finals afterscoring 13.65.

Ibrahim Colak of Turkeygot the gold with 15.1.

Patra was sixth in parallelbars with 14 points. Canadian Samuel Zakutney alsoscored 14 to take the fifthspot.

Andrei Vasile Muntean ofRomania won the event with14.9.

A golden return for DipaShe takes the top honour in thewomen’s vault Sports BureauMERSIN

Dipa Karmakar and coach B.S. Nandi.

* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

World champion Peter Sagan won stage two andtook the overall leader’syellow jersey on the Tourde France on Sunday afteredging Sonny Colbrelli in areduced sprint finish aftera late crash in the peloton.

Overnight leader Fernando Gaviria came downin a mass high speed crashjust 1.3km from the line,which Sagan and around 15other riders avoided to setup a frantic finish.

Champion ChrisFroome avoided a repeat ofhis first stage tumble, theTeam Sky leader stayingout of trouble as he goes inpursuit of a recordequalling fifth Tour triumph.

“Fernando won yesterday and now I’m the onewith the yellow jersey. It’sbeen exciting,” said Sagan.

Sagan takessecond stage

Agence France-PresseLa Roche-sur-Yon

A splendid batting performance from IndiaA raisedvisions of victory beforeWest IndiesA managed tohold on to a draw in thefourday ‘Test’ that concluded here on Saturday.India’s batsmen posted amassive 609 for six decl. inthe second innings. ridingon a splendid careerbest188 from Prithvi Shaw, a 137by Ravikumar Samarth andan equally useful 93 byskipper Karun Nair.

Needing 360 to win in 76overs, West Indies was never in contention, managingjust 245 for seven.The scores: IndiaA 133 &609/6 decl. drew with WestIndiesA 383 & 245 for seven.

Windies-Aholds on for a draw

Press Trust of IndiaBeckenham

Men: Third round: KarenKhachanov (Rus) bt FrancesTiafoe (USA) 46, 46, 76(3),62, 61; 12Novak Djokovic(Srb) bt 21Kyle Edmund (GBr)46, 63, 62, 64; 24KeiNishikori (Jpn) bt 15Nick Kyrgios (Aus) 61, 76(3), 64;Ernests Gulbis (Lat) bt 4Alexander Zverev (Ger) 76(2), 46,57, 63, 60.

THE RESULTS

CMYK

A ND-NDE

SPORT





SPORT

Tour de France: DSport,6.30 p.m.

TV PICKS

Sri Lanka’s Bryan Perera didnot do anything big the other day. But he came backstrongly to score a deservingdouble in the Euro JK 18 classin the 21st JK Tyre NationalRacing Championship at theKari Motor Speedway hereon Sunday.

The second race of EuroJK 18, rescheduled for Sunday, saw Bryan making thebest use of the grid positionto forge ahead. Chennai’sKarthik Tharani, the firstrace winner, forced the paceas well from the back andspun a bit in the first corner.He recovered quicklyenough but could not build itup from there.

Mumbai’s Nayan S. Chatterjee and Chennai’s AshwinDatta looked determined totrouble Bryan, who kept acool head to take the chequered flag with a timing of15:22.568s. Nayan and Ashwin finished second andthird respectively.

The situation was prettymuch the same in the thirdrace with Bryan, Nayan and

Ashwin, after an excitingtussle, finishing in thatorder.

Later in the day, Karthikreplied in a fitting mannerwith a stunning win in the final race that went to thewire. It was probably theclosest finish that one got tosee in a long time.The results (provisional):

Euro JK 18: Race 2: 1. Bryan

Perera (Sri Lanka) 15:22.568; 2.Nayan Chatterjee (Mumbai); 3.Ashwin Datta (Chennai). Race3: 1. Bryan Perera 14:15.491; 2.Nayan Chatterjee; 3. AshwinDatta. Race 4: 1. Karthik Tharani (Chennai) 15:33.789; 2. Ashwin Datta; 3, Nayan Chatterjee.

LGB Formula 4: Race 2: 1. RohitKhanna (Dark Don) 16:56.965;2. Chittesh Mandody (Avalanche); 3. Vishnu Prasad(Msport). Race 3: 1. Raghul

Rangasamy (MSport)21:56.544; 2. Chittesh Mandody; 3. Vishnu Prasad.

Suzuki Gixxer Cup: Race 2: 1.Joseph Matthew (Chennai)14:16.799; 2. Syed Muzamil Ali(Bengaluru); 3. Malsawmdawngliana (Aizawl).

Red Bull Rookie, Race 2: 1.Zothanmawia (Aizawl)14:36.129; 2. Jerome Vanlalrengpuia (Mizoram); 3. AndyLalhmangaihsang (Aizawl).

Double delight for Bryan Impressive performance by Karthik Tharani

Rayan Rozario

Coimbatore

Speeding away: Raghul Rangasamy of Chennai, left, powers to victory in Race 3 of the LGB Formula 4 in the JK Tyre National Racing Championship. * M. PERIASAMY

Opener Fakhar Zamancracked a careerbest 91(46b, 12x4, 3x6) to help setup Pakistan’s sixwicketwin over Australia in the final of the T20I triserieshere on Sunday.The scores: Australia 183 foreight in 20 overs (D’ArcyShort 76, Aaron Finch 47,Amir three for 33, Shadab twofor 38) lost to Pakistan 187for four in 19.2 overs (FakharZaman 91, Shoaib Malik 43n.o., Sarfraz Ahmed 28).

Zaman starsfor Pakistan Agence France-Presse

HARARE

Anirban Lahiri staged a terrific fightback after a disappointing front nine to bringhome a card of oneover 71in the third round of theGreenbrier Classic golfhere on Saturday.

Lahiri who bogeyed thefirst, second, seventh andninth on front nine,stopped the leakage ofshots in the back nine as hebirdied 12th, 14th and 17thto take his total to 11under199 and lied tied sixth.

Lahiri slipsbut stays in contention


White Sulphur Springs (USA)

The Delhi High Court has directed the Indian OlympicAssociation (IOA) to take acall on the selection of the49er FX sailing team for theAsian Games in Jakarta, following a petition by VarshaGautham who had won thesilver ahead of Ekta Yadav,selected by the Yachting Association of India (YAI).

While admitting that thefailure to include externalselectors from the UnionSports Ministry, SportsAuthority of India and IOA,“does not vitiate the selection process”, Justice VibhuBakhru said: “this court iscertainly not equipped toevaluate the merits of theirdecision and the same isbeyond the scope of judicialreview”.

Varsha’s (Sweta Shervegar as crew) petition was theselection policy had categorically mentioned that theteam would be selectedbased on the regatta inChennai and the AsianChampionship in Jakarta.

“It is apparent from therecord — and it is also notdisputed — that the selectioncommittee had consideredonly the selection event (regatta in Chennai) for selecting the sportsperson to represent India. It is also exfacie apparent that the saidcriteria was not in conformity with the selection policy...” the court noted.

However, the selectioncommittee was of the viewthat Ekta and Shaila Charleswere more consistent, thecourt noted.

Varsha case: Delhi HCleaves it to IOA ‘Beyond the scope of judicial review’


NEW DELHI

Varsha Gautham.

Three days before turning18, S. Snehit gave himself abirthday gift by stunningeighttime National champion A. Sharath Kamal in asevenset thriller to reachthe men’s prequarterfinalsof the Nationalranking tabletennis championship (NorthZone) here on Sunday.

The Telangana teenager,guided from the courtsideby former National champion S. Raman, scripted amemorable 1210, 911, 113,119, 511, 1214, 118 triumph.

Gracious in defeat“Snehit really played welland landed some very good

balls. He deserved to win,”acknowledged a graciousSharath.

Snehit did look vulnerable after Sharath won thefifth and sixth sets to make it33.

But the youngster seizedhis chance in the decider,jumped to an 83 lead andwon the last two points asSharath pushed long.

Amalraj pips KunduSecond seed Anthony Amalraj twice bounced back froma set down to pip Raja Kundu 1012, 116, 117, 511, 1012,117, 114 in the second round.

Former National champion K. Shamini, returningto the circuit following thebirth of her child, escapedSharath’s fate.

She survived multiplematchpoints in the fourthset to halt Frenaz Chipia 1113, 711, 711, 1917, 117, 117,117.

Snehit shocks Sharath in thrillerRakesh Rao

PANCHKULA

S. Snehit. * AKHILESH KUMAR

Jhantu Prasad scored abrace as East Bengal defeated ATK 30 in a GroupA quarterfinal league clashof the IFA Shield on Sunday. Lalchhanhima completed the tally.

Steel Authority of IndiaLtd. (SAIL), Burnpur, outsmarted MohammedanSporting 40. Israfil Dewan(2), Sheikh Mohammadand Avijit Mondal were thescorers.

Brace byJhantu Special Correspondent

Kolkata

The Ahura Racing womentook everybody by stormwith their steely show in theLGB Formula 4 class of the JKTyre championship here onSunday. In their maiden outing, the ‘Women in Red’ handled their machines withaplomb to earn a big applause from the crowd.

They showed good speedand a strong race sense butthe big boys of racing hadthem trailing right through.It was still a great show considering the fact that theyhad minimal trackexperience.

The girls were thrilled aswell. “I was really nervous at

the start but that was onlyfor a while,” said Coimbatore’s K.S. Megaa, whoclocked the fastest timingamong the girls on all threedays. “We drove on the wetas well for the first time and

now have started to believethat we can do even better,”she added.

Lea Daran said that shehad lots of fun. “The feelingwas great. I was a bit morecautious on the first day but

mixed it up with some aggression today. The passingwas a lot easy as well.”

“We are getting betterwith each passing day anddon’t be surprised if we beatthe boys. We will beat themfor sure with some properplanning and training,” saidactor Manisha Kelkar.

“Motorsport in a real bigcommunity and I was happyto be a part of it. I liked theway they helped each one ofus. It was like being in onebig family,” said Hansuja, theyoungest in the team.

“We could feel the adrenalin rush in us. It was a uniqueexperience that we will remember for our life time,”said Dr. Ritika Oberoi.

A strong maiden impression by Ahura

Here we go: The Ahura Racing team members strike a happypose. * RAYAN ROZARIO

Rayan Rozario

Coimbatore

Sankalp bats wellNEW DELHI: Sankalp Negitopscored with anunbeaten 60 and pickedup four wickets as VRAcademy beat Blaster XIby two wickets in the ShriRam memorial crickettournament.The scores: Blaster XI 163 in32.2 overs (Suraj Gupta 52,Tanish Singh 41, Sankalp Negifour for 26, Piyush Durejathree for 38) lost to VRA 166for eight in 34.5 overs(Sankalp Negi 60 n.o., NitishSaini 37 n.o.; Zafir Khan threefor 40, Karan Kumar three for33).

Varun, Dev shineVarun Chauhan picked upfive wickets for just 17 runsand Dev Chaudhary tookthree for 26 as CPSAcademy beat SB YouthClub by four wickets in the3rd Indian Sports StarPremier League.The scores: SBYC 154 in 29.4overs (Priyanshu Kumar 46,Damanjeet 42, VarunChauhan five for 17, DevChaudhary three for 26) lostto CPSA 157 for six in 29.2overs (Sushant Kumar 49).

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\ ROUND-UP \


CMYK

A ND-NDE




LIFE

Polanski’s wife rejectsinvite to join Oscars body PARIS

The wife of Roman Polanski,

French actress Emmanuelle

Seigner, said on Sunday she

had rejected an invitation to

join the body that awards the

Oscars in protest at its

decision to expel her husband

over his historic statutory

rape conviction in the U.S.

The Academy of Motion

Picture Arts and Sciences last

month announced that it had

swelled its ranks by more

than 900 members. “How

can I pretend to ignore that

the Academy a few weeks

ago kicked out my husband

to satisfy the zeitgeist,” she

said. AFP

IN BRIEF

Car vibrations makedrivers sleepy: study MELBOURNE

Vibrations of cars make

people sleepier, affecting

their concentration and

alertness levels just 15

minutes after they get behind

the wheel, a study has found.

With about 20% of fatal road

crashes involving driver

fatigue, researchers hope that

their findings can be used by

manufacturers to improve car

seat designs to help keep

drivers awake. “We’ve found

that the gentle vibrations

made by car seats as you

drive can lull your brain and

body,” said Stephen Robinson,

RMIT University, Australia. PTI

53-year-old Bahl eyeingmount McKinley in U.S.JAMMU

Sangeeta Sindhi Bahl, the

oldest woman from India to

conquer Mount Everest, is

now eyeing Mount McKinley

in Alaska. She aims to realise

her dream of scaling summits

across the seven continents.

“I am looking forward to

make it to Mount McKinley in

June next year,” Ms. Bahl, 53,

said. PTI

Driver Topias Uusipere hasbeen giving rides to musicfestival goers in the Finnishcity of Turku since Friday —for a song.

A pilot taxi service in Turku during the July 68 Ruisrock festival lets riders“pay” for their trips in electric cars by singing karaoke.

“The car does not movewithout singing,” Mr. Uusipere said. Users can make a

playlist before the start ofthe ride, which takes 10 minutes one way, he said. Ifthe singing stops, so doesthe engine.

Around 1,00,000 peopleare expected to attend theRuisrock music festival.

Fortum, a Finnish powercompany which is sponsoring the singalong shuttle,says the aim is to draw attention to electric cars, whichcan help reduce emissionsthat cause global warming.

Reuters

HELSINKI

Non-stop: Natalie Pekonen and Salli Degerman singingduring a ride to Turku. * REUTERS

Sing or the enginestops in Finnish taxi

Southeast Asians derive ancestry from at least four different ancient populations,say scientists who analysedDNA extracted from 8,000yearold skeletons and debunked two existing theories about the origin of humans in the area.

Southeast Asia is one ofthe most genetically diverseregions in the world, but formore than 100 years, scientists have disagreed aboutwhich theory of the originsof the population of the areawas correct.

One theory believed theindigenous Hoabinhian huntergatherers, who populated Southeast Asia some44,000 years ago, adoptedagricultural practices independently, without the inputfrom early farmers from EastAsia. Another theory, referred to as the ‘twolayer

model’, favours the view thatmigrating rice farmers fromwhat is now China replacedthe indigenous Hoabinhianhuntergatherers.

A study, published in thejournal Science, shows thatneither theory is completelyaccurate. Researchers discovered that presentdaySoutheast Asian populationsderive ancestry from at leastfour ancient populations.

DNA from human skeletal

remains from Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos and Japan dating back as far as8,000 years ago was extracted for the study.

Scientists had previouslyonly been successful in sequencing 4,000yearoldsamples from the region.

The samples also includedDNA from Hoabinhian huntergatherers and a Jomonfrom Japan — a scientific

first, revealing a long suspected genetic link betweenthe two populations.

In total, 26 ancient humangenome sequences were studied by the group and theywere compared with modern DNA samples from people living in Southeast Asiatoday.

“We put a huge amount ofeffort into retrieving ancientDNA from tropical SoutheastAsia that could shed newlight on this area of rich human genetics,” said Eske Willerslev, who holds positionsUniversity of Cambridge inthe U.K. and the Universityof Copenhagen in Denmark.

“The human occupationhistory of Southeast Asia remains heavily debated. Ourresearch spanned from theHoabinhian to the Iron Ageand found that presentdaySoutheast Asian populationsderive ancestry from at leastfour ancient populations.

Southeast Asians descendedfrom four ancient populations DNA analysis of 8,000yearold skeletons shows new linkages, debunks earlier theories


London

Poser to history: Samples included DNA from Hoabinhianhuntergatherers. * GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

Growing up in Minnesota,Helen Hoang suffered fromcrippling social anxiety andstruggled to make friends.She found refuge in romancenovels, frothy stories that allowed her to experience intense feelings that wereclearly spelled out on thepage, always with the promise of a happy ending. “Itwas like I found a pure, undiluted drug,” she said.

Many years later, as amother of two in her 30s,Ms. Hoang began researching autism and realised she’son the spectrum, a condition that makes it difficult forher to hold casual conversations, read emotional cues,have an office job and meetnew people. She once againturned to romance. But thistime, she wrote the storyherself. So far, romance fanshave swooned over Ms.Hoang’s debut novel, TheKiss Quotient, a multicultural love story centred on anautistic woman who hastrouble navigating thenuances of dating and courtship. Readers have floodedthe website Goodreads withmore than 7,000 positiveratings, and the book, whichwas published in June, is already in its fourth printing.

Breaking into the genreThe novel’s unexpected success is all the more astonishing given the striking lack ofdiversity within the romance genre. Romance novels released by big publishing houses tend to centre onwhite characters, and rarelyfeature gay, lesbian, bisexualor transgender people inleading roles, or heroineswith disabilities.

“Publishers aren’t puttingout books by many people ofcolour and they’re giving uslimited space at the table,”said romance writer Rebekah Weatherspoon, who haspublished some novels withsmall presses and selfpublished others, includingSated, which features ablack heroine and a disabled, bisexual KoreanAmerican hero. “It’s definitely not a level playingfield.”

The landscape is slowly

starting to change, as morediverse writers break intothe genre, and publisherstake chances on love storiesthat reflect a broader rangeof experiences and don’t always fit the stereotypicalgirlmeetsboy mold. Forever Yours, an imprint atGrand Central, publishes Karelia StetzWaters, whowrites romances about lesbian couples. Uzma Jalaluddin’s debut novel, Ayesha atLast, takes place in a closeknit immigrant Muslim community in Canada, and features an outspoken Muslimheroine who falls for a moreconservative Muslim man, aDarcy to her Lizzie Bennett.

Alisha Rai and Sonali Devhave expanded the genrewith love stories that featureIndian and IndianAmericanprotagonists. Priscilla Oliveras, who is published byKensington, writes romances with Latino characters.Jeannie Lin has publishedhistorical romances withHarlequin that are set in China during the Tang dynastyera. And Mindy Hung, writing under the pen name Ruby Lang, has a series of contemporary romances

starring AsianAmerican female doctors in a grouppractice.

“Readers want books thatreflect the world they live in,and they won’t settle for abook about a small townwhere every single person iswhite,” said Leah Koch, coowner of the romancebookstore The Ripped Bodice in California. Last year,six of her store’s top 10 bestselling novels were writtenby authors of colour, Ms.Koch said. For the past twoyears, Ms. Koch and her sister Bea have conducted astudy of leading romancepublishers, and found thatout of the 3,752 romance novels released by 20 majorimprints in 2017, onlyaround 6% were written bynonwhite authors. “Somepublishers are showingmore interest in acquiringbooks from marginalizedgroups, but there are stillbarriers,” said Alyssa Cole,who has published romances set during the Civil Warwith AfricanAmerican protagonists. “Part of the problem is some publishers say,ok, we need more diversity,we’ll just have white authorswrite more diversely.”

“We hear that readerswant more diversity, but it’sstill the case that the mostpopular books are the leastdiverse,” said Cindy Hwang,an editorial director of Berkley, a Penguin RandomHouse imprint. NY TIMES

The Kiss Quotient is centred on an autistic woman’s love life

Alexandra Alter

Diversifying books: Helen Hoang, a romance novelist, at herhome in San Diego on June 28. * NYT

The changing face of romance novels

<> Publishers aren’t

putting out books by

many people of

colour and they’re

giving us limited

space at the table

Rebekah Weatherspoon

Romance writer

Fiftythree men slung theirwives or partners over theirshoulders and hurtled off onan hourlong race in thesmall Finnish town of Sonkajarvi on Saturday, as thousands of fans cheered fromthe stands.

The World WifeCarryingChampionship, now in its23rd year, draws thousandsof visitors to the town of4,200 and has gained followers across the world.

There are official qualifying competitions in countries, including the U.S, theU.K., Sweden and Estonia.On Saturday, 53 couplesfrom 13 countries joined thecompetition, organiserssaid. The idea of wifecarrying as a sport was inspiredby the 19th century legend ofRonkainen the Robber, whotested aspiring members ofhis gang by forcing them to

carry sacks of grain or livepigs over a similar course.

On Saturday, LithuanianVytautas Kirkliauskas andNeringa Kirkliauskiene wonthe race, which involvedrunning, wading through aslippery pool and gettingthrough an obstacle course.The two defeated six timesworld champion Taisto Miettinen, a Finn.

“It’s my wife,” Mr. Kir

kliauskas shouted happily after the race, “She’s the best.”

The couple first competedin Sonkajarvi in 2005.

Finland, which straddlesthe Arctic Circle and goesthrough long, dark winters,is no stranger to strangesports. It has also given theworld the world boot throwing, air guitar and mobilephone throwing competitions, to name just a few.

53 couples from 13 countries joined the competition

Reuters

SONKAJARVI

We’re the best: Vytautas Kirkliauskas of Lithuania and his wifeNeringa Kirkliauskiene after winning the contest. * REUTERS

Lithuanian couple win wifecarrying championship

If you work in shiftbasedjobs and easily get exhausted, then you may be at ahigh risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later, saysa study.

It could be becauseworking in shifts often disrupts the circadianrhythm, which can lead tosleep disorders and daytime fatigue. This disruption causes the brain to deteriorate resulting inmemory disorder or Alzheimer’s disease.

In the recent study, published in the journalSleep, scientists showedthat a variation in the receptor 1A (MTNR1A) genecombined with a lifestylethat disrupts the circadianrhythm — caused by shiftjob — can increase the riskof Alzheimer’s disease.

The results showed thatthe link was only found inelderly but not in the younger patients.

Alzheimer’srisk high forshift workers

Indo-Asian News Service

London

The restoration of a 1934blackandwhite action movie, famed for highoctanestunts including a hotair balloon escape and a jungleshootout against teakwoodthieves, has energised effortsto salvage more of Myanmar’s decaying cinematicheritage.

The survival of Myanmar’searliest film still in existence,

Mya Ga Naing (The EmeraldJungle), and its rise to international acclaim is perhapsas unlikely a feat as its leadrole’s triumph over pythonsand bandits with his barehands.

The Southeast Asian country’s once flourishing filmscene hit a major setbackwith the arrival of a militaryjunta in 1962 that enforcedstringent censorship andgutted the economy during a

screenings at home in Myanmar. While nearly all the earliest movies have been lost,the successful revival of MyaGa Naing is spurring a movement to preserve whatremains.

The next film to be restored in 2017 was Pyo ChitLin (My Darling), a 1950 comedy shot on such a tightbudget that director Tin Myint had to choose betweensound or colour.

progressed, it was like a newbirth for the film,” said Severine Wemaere, cofounder ofMEMORY! Cinema, whichoversaw the restoration andraised funds from donors forthe $1,00,000 price tag. “Itwas very moving because wecould tell that we were in acountry of cinema.”

The classic has also playedat festivals in Singapore,Thailand and Switzerland aswell as enjoying regular

blackandwhite pictures remain. Mya Ga Naing, originally a silent movie that laterhad music and printed titlecards added, is the oldest tohave been found so far.

It languished in the Statearchives for decades beforespecialists in Italy spent oneyear painstakingly retouching the film framebyframe,screening the restored version in 2016.

“Each time the restoration

50year reign. As the creativeclimate withered, Myanmar’s merciless heat, torrential rains and stifling humidity took its toll on delicatefilm reels in a country thathad neither the resourcesnor knowhow to store themproperly.

Only a few remainSome reels were recycled tosave money and now only adozen of the country’s early

Race to restore Myanmar’s film classics for a second screening

New birth: Actor Grace Swe Zin Htaik viewing the storage ofold films, in this file photo, at the State archive, Yangon. * AFP


Yangon

A moment to remember: Newlyweds posing on a zebra crossing for wedding photographers during the 2018 World Cup atSamara in Russia on Sunday. * AP


Showstoppers

Abu Dhabi is fast becominga prime destination forshooting Bollywood moviesas the support given is not a“onesizefitsall” one, buttailored according to theneeds of every production,says CEO of the UAE capital’s Media Zone AuthorityMaryam Eid Al Mheiri.

Movies like Race 3, TigerZinda Hai, Saaho and Duv-vada Jagannadham (DJ) besides Hollywood’s War Ma-chine and Mission:Impossible — Fallout havebeen shot in Abu Dhabi.

Ms. Al Mheiri, who alsoheads twofour54, which ishome to the city’s mediaand entertainment industry,said the ease of filming inAbu Dhabi is attracting bigstudios of India.

“And of course, the 30%rebate on production andpostproduction spend inthe Emirates is a huge incentive for Indian filmmakers.

Among those that have taken advantage of it are fiveBollywood hits — Baby(2014), Bang Bang (2014),Dishoom (2016), Tiger Zin-da Hai (2017) and Race 3(2018) — which togetherspent $31 million on production and postproduction inAbu Dhabi,” she said.

“The support offered bythe UAE Armed Forces is unparalleled, and benefitednumerous productions,such as Tiger Zinda Hai,Race 3, War Machine, andMission: Impossible — Fallout.

“Not only do the ArmedForces supply hardware,such as Blackhawk helicopters, Oshkosh trucks, NIMRmilitary vehicles, and Humvees, but also the expertisefor productions to get themost out of them,” she said.

“Production companiesbenefit from having accessto talented local crews, including our pool of 580plusfreelancers.”

Abu Dhabi a big drawfor Indian film studios Press Trust of India

New Delhi


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