EVcc`c gZR dVR TRfeZ`_d ?Rgj TYZVW - Daily Pioneer

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N avy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Tuesday said there are reports about terror- ists being trained to carry out operations through the sea against India even as New Delhi refuted Pakistan’s claims of presence of an Indian Navy submarine in Pakistani waters in the Arabian sea. Addressing a gathering of global experts at the Indo- Pacific Regional Dialogue here, Lanba said the Pulwama attack was perpetrated by extremists that were “aided by a State” that seeks to destabilise India. But he did not name Pakistan. “We have reports of ter- rorists being trained to carry out operations in various modus operandi, including through the medium of the sea,” he said. His warning came days after the Pulwama attack. The 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008 was carried out by 10 sea-borne terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), who hijacked an Indian fishing trawler to reach Mumbai and unleash mayhem. While sounding a note of caution about the possibility of terrorists using the sea route for their actions, the Navy chief said this part of the world had witnessed multiple forms of terrorism in recent years and few countries in the region had been spared. The global nature that ter- rorism has acquired in the recent times has further enhanced the scope of this threat, Lanba said. India, how- ever, faces a “far more serious” version of “State-sponsored” terrorism, he said. “We recently saw the hor- rific scale of the extremist attack in J&K about three weeks ago. This violence was perpetrated by extremists aided and abetted by a State that seeks to desta- bilise India,” he said. He added, “We have seen how quickly terror groups evolve across the globe. A par- ticular brand of terror can well become a global problem in near future.” The Indian security estab- lishment is continuously work- ing to address this menace, the Navy chief said, noting that “it is imperative that the global community works in concert to eliminate terrorism”. Lanba also emphasised the importance of the Indo-Pacific Region. “There is a renewed focus of the world on the seas. This is principally due to the geoeconomic and geopolitical significance of the maritime domain.” Meanwhile, India and Pakistan on Tuesday traded charges with the latter claiming that an Indian Navy submarine was forced to return from Pakistani waters after it was detected on Monday. New Delhi termed it as “false propaganda and spread of misinformation” besides rubbishing Islamabad’s claim that its air force had shot down a SU-30 fighter plane. On the submarine issue, the Pakistan Navy said it had identified an Indian submarine in its maritime zone. The offi- cial message said it “success- fully detected and thwarted an attempt by the submarine to enter Pakistani waters. The Pakistani Navy spokesperson also said, “The Indian subma- rine was not targeted keeping in view Pakistan’s policy of peace.” J aish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar’s son and brother were among 44 mem- bers of the banned terrorist outfit arrested by authorities in Pakistan on Tuesday, amid mounting pressure from the global community on Islamabad to rein in the terror groups oper- ating on its soil. Meanwhile, Mumbai ter- ror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its wing Falah-e- Insaniat Foundation were for- mally placed in the list of banned organisations by Pakistan on Tuesday. “We have taken 44 people in custody as part of crackdown on militant groups,” Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi said at a press conference here. Ministry of Interior Secretary Azam Suleman Khan said Hammad Azhar and Mufti Abdur Rauf were among those arrested on Tuesday. Hammad is the son of Masood Azhar while Rauf is his brother. Khan said a dossier shared by India with Pakistan contained names of Rauf and Hammad. “It does not mean that action is being taken against only those individuals who are mentioned in the dossier,” he added. The crackdown came amid tensions with India following a suicide attack in Pulwama on February 14 that martyred 44 CRPF men. India last week handed over the dossier to Pakistan to take action against the JeM, as pres- sure mounted on Islamabad to take action against individual and organisation listed by the UN Security Council as terror- ists. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi last week admitted the JeM chief is in Pakistan and is “very unwell”, but said the Government can act against him only if India pre- sents “solid” and “inalienable” evidence that can stand in a court of law. “He is in Pakistan, accord- ing to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can’t leave his house, because he’s real- ly unwell,” Qureshi told CNN in an interview. Afridi, however, said the action was not taken due to any pressure. “This is our own ini- tiative...We won’t allow the use of our soil against any country,” he said. Interior Secretary Khan said the action would be taken against all the proscribed organ- isations under the National Action Plan, which was formu- lated after an attack on an army school in Peshawar in 2014 that killed nearly 150 people, most- ly children. D elhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday cat- egorically ruled out any alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. “Congress has unani- mously taken a decision that there will be no alliance with AAP. The decision was taken in Rahul’s presence and it is final,” Dikshit said after the meeting. Dikshit’s reiteration about no alliance with the AAP evoked a sharp response from Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who said, “At a time when the whole country wants to defeat Modi- Shah duo, the Congress is help- ing the BJP by splitting anti-BJP vote. Rumours are that Congress has some secret understanding with BJP. Delhi is ready to fight against Congress-BJP alliance. People will defeat this unholy alliance.” Before the meeting could begin on the subject, Rahul stated that he would honour the sentiments of the PCC and the local leaders. U S President Donald Trump has announced plans to scrap the preferential trade treatment to India, claiming that New Delhi has failed to assure the US of “equitable and reasonable” access to its mar- kets, a move India said will not have a “significant impact” on its exports to America. The move to end the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for India and Turkey is the latest push by the Trump Administration to redress what it considers to be unfair trading relationships with other countries like China. Trump has pledged to reduce US trade deficits, and has repeatedly called out India for high tariffs. On Monday, President Trump notified Congress in let- ters of his “intent to terminate” trade benefits for both coun- tries under the GSP eligibility criteria. Under the United States GSP programme, nearly 2,000 products, including auto com- ponents and textile materials, can enter the US duty-free if the beneficiary developing coun- tries meet the eligibility criteria established by Congress. India was the largest ben- eficiary of the programme in 2017 with $5.7 billion in imports to the US given duty- free status and Turkey the fifth largest with $1.7 billion in cov- ered imports, according to a Congressional Research Service report issued in January. In a letter to Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Trump said, “I am taking this step because, after intensive engagement between the United States and the Government of India, I have determined that India has not assured the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets of India,” Trump said. “I will continue to assess whether the Government of India is providing equitable and reasonable access to its mar- kets, in accordance with the GSP eligibility criteria,” Trump said in his letter. In New Delhi, Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan, while reacting to the US move, said India exports goods worth $5.6 billion under the GSP, and the duty benefit is only $190 million annually. India mainly exports raw materials and intermediate goods such as organic chemi- cals to the US, he said. “GSP withdrawal will not have a significant impact on India’s exports to the US,” he told journalists. He said “the benefits in absolute sense and a percent- age of trade involved are very minimal and moderate”. The US Trade Representative’s Office has said that removing India from the GSP programme would not take effect for at least 60 days after notifications to Congress and the Indian Government, and it will be enacted by a pres- idential proclamation. New Delhi: As tension persists with Pakistan, India on Tuesday said it will have “all options” available in case there is anoth- er terror strike while maintain- ing that New Delhi will persist with its efforts to reach out to international community to put pressure on Islamabad to show concrete steps taken in disman- tling terror infrastructure. Asserting this point here, official sources also said the Indian Air Force (IAF) has kept all its bases in western sector on maximum alert after India car- ried out a strike on the biggest terrorist training camp of JeM in Pakistan’s Balakot on February 26. Detailed report on P5 C hief Minister Kamal Nath has said that farmers are not required to worry about receiving the low price of wheat owing to the bumper produc- tion of wheat in this season in the State. Nath has informed that the support price of 1840 per quintal has been declared for wheat by the Union Government but the State Government will procure wheat from the farmers at the rate of 2,000 per quintal. This increased amount of 160 per quintal will be given by the state government from its own budget. This incentive will also be given to those farmers, who will sell their wheat in mandis. There is no restriction for the farmers to sell their wheat to the government agencies to receive incentives. The Chief Minister further stated that the Union and State Government both contribute under the Bhavantar Yojana. Therefore, the Madhya Pradesh government is making effort that difference amount of 1,000 crore approximately of soybean, stopped by the Union Government should be released so that the state gov- ernment could pay the same by adding its share immediately to the farmers. He mentioned that in case the Union Government does not pay that amount, even then the state government will ensure full payment of difference amount to the farmers. Kamal Nath said that before the Vidhan Sabha elec- tions, the previous govern- ment of the Bharatiya Janata Party had announced for giv- ing flat difference amount of 500 per quintal on soybean and maize without making any provision in the budget. The previous BJP government had been making announcements in a hope of getting fund from the Union Government. Not only this, announcement was made by the BJP Government for payment of 500 per quin- tal on soybean, whereas the order was issued for ‘Upto 500 per quintal’. By such action, the farmers had been misled by the previous gov- ernment. The Chief Minister has said that the announcement was also made as regard to the difference amount on maize by the previous BJP government but it has not been approved by the Union Government yet. The farmers of the state are unable to get full benefit owing to the adversary behavior of the Union Government towards the farmers. Nath mentioned that we will ensure full benefit to the farmers, despite this behavior of the Union Government. The Chief Minister further stated that the difference amount of maize which had been calculated as 219 per quintal as the difference of average model selling rate and minimum support price will be paid by increasing the amount to 250 per quintal to the farmers. The Chief Minister further said that the state government is a government of farmers. The state government has freed the farmers from the debt first to strengthen agriculture based economy of the state. The state government has started giving loan waiver certificates and citations to the farmers by waiving off the total loan of 50,000 crore approximately, loan of 55 lakh farmers of upto Rs 2 lakh has been waived off. Apart from this, to facilitate farmers to obtain maximum production, arrangements have been made for free soil and seed testing facility, 50 per cent subsidy on agriculture equipments upto 2 lakh and interest free loans. Besides expansion of irrigation projects, the electricity bills of farmers of upto 10 HP pumps has also been reduced to half under the Indira Kisan Jyoti Yojana. Now the farmers are required to pay 700 per HP per annum in place of 1400 per annum upto 10 HP According to the Chief Minister, the state government is working with an objective to provide reasonable price to the farmers by increasing agri- culture production after the loan waiver to ensure prosper- ity and happiness of the farm- ers. Agriculture produces are being procured by the state government on the support price. The state government is working rapidly to fulfill all the promises made to the farmers. He expressed confidence that the pro-farmers decisions will bring positive change in the life of the farmers. The Chief Minister said that the protection of farmers’ rights is a major target for the government. Any kind of obstacle will be removed to achieve this target. Works in the welfare of the farmers will be continued. RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008

Transcript of EVcc`c gZR dVR TRfeZ`_d ?Rgj TYZVW - Daily Pioneer

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Navy chief Admiral SunilLanba on Tuesday said

there are reports about terror-ists being trained to carry outoperations through the seaagainst India even as NewDelhi refuted Pakistan’s claimsof presence of an Indian Navysubmarine in Pakistani watersin the Arabian sea.

Addressing a gathering ofglobal experts at the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue here,Lanba said the Pulwama attackwas perpetrated by extremiststhat were “aided by a State” thatseeks to destabilise India. Buthe did not name Pakistan.

“We have reports of ter-rorists being trained to carryout operations in variousmodus operandi, includingthrough the medium of the sea,”he said. His warning came daysafter the Pulwama attack. The26/11 Mumbai terrorist attackin 2008 was carried out by 10

sea-borne terrorists of theLashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), whohijacked an Indian fishingtrawler to reach Mumbai andunleash mayhem.

While sounding a note ofcaution about the possibility ofterrorists using the sea route fortheir actions, the Navy chiefsaid this part of the world hadwitnessed multiple forms ofterrorism in recent years andfew countries in the region hadbeen spared.

The global nature that ter-rorism has acquired in therecent times has furtherenhanced the scope of thisthreat, Lanba said. India, how-ever, faces a “far more serious”version of “State-sponsored”terrorism, he said.

“We recently saw the hor-rific scale of the extremist attackin J&K about three weeks ago.This violence was perpetratedby extremists aided and abettedby a State that seeks to desta-bilise India,” he said.

He added, “We have seenhow quickly terror groupsevolve across the globe. A par-ticular brand of terror can wellbecome a global problem innear future.”

The Indian security estab-lishment is continuously work-ing to address this menace, theNavy chief said, noting that “it

is imperative that the globalcommunity works in concert toeliminate terrorism”.

Lanba also emphasised theimportance of the Indo-PacificRegion. “There is a renewedfocus of the world on the seas.This is principally due to thegeoeconomic and geopoliticalsignificance of the maritime

domain.” Meanwhile, India and

Pakistan on Tuesday tradedcharges with the latter claimingthat an Indian Navy submarinewas forced to return fromPakistani waters after it wasdetected on Monday. New Delhitermed it as “false propagandaand spread of misinformation”

besides rubbishing Islamabad’sclaim that its air force had shotdown a SU-30 fighter plane.

On the submarine issue,the Pakistan Navy said it hadidentified an Indian submarinein its maritime zone. The offi-cial message said it “success-fully detected and thwartedan attempt by the submarine toenter Pakistani waters. ThePakistani Navy spokespersonalso said, “The Indian subma-rine was not targeted keepingin view Pakistan’s policy ofpeace.”

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Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)chief Masood Azhar’s son and

brother were among 44 mem-bers of the banned terroristoutfit arrested by authorities inPakistan on Tuesday, amidmounting pressure from theglobal community on Islamabadto rein in the terror groups oper-ating on its soil.

Meanwhile, Mumbai ter-ror attack mastermind HafizSaeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa(JuD) and its wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation were for-mally placed in the list of bannedorganisations by Pakistan onTuesday.

“We have taken 44 people incustody as part of crackdown onmilitant groups,” Minister ofState for Interior Shehryar KhanAfridi said at a press conferencehere.

Ministry of InteriorSecretary Azam Suleman Khansaid Hammad Azhar and MuftiAbdur Rauf were among thosearrested on Tuesday. Hammadis the son of Masood Azharwhile Rauf is his brother.

Khan said a dossier sharedby India with Pakistan containednames of Rauf and Hammad. “It

does not mean that action isbeing taken against only thoseindividuals who are mentionedin the dossier,” he added. Thecrackdown came amid tensionswith India following a suicideattack in Pulwama on February14 that martyred 44 CRPF men.

India last week handed overthe dossier to Pakistan to takeaction against the JeM, as pres-sure mounted on Islamabad totake action against individualand organisation listed by theUN Security Council as terror-ists. Foreign Minister ShahMehmood Qureshi last weekadmitted the JeM chief is inPakistan and is “very unwell”, butsaid the Government can actagainst him only if India pre-sents “solid” and “inalienable”evidence that can stand in acourt of law.

“He is in Pakistan, accord-ing to my information. He isunwell to the extent that he can’tleave his house, because he’s real-ly unwell,” Qureshi told CNN inan interview.

Afridi, however, said theaction was not taken due to anypressure. “This is our own ini-tiative...We won’t allow the useof our soil against any country,”he said. Interior Secretary Khansaid the action would be takenagainst all the proscribed organ-isations under the NationalAction Plan, which was formu-lated after an attack on an armyschool in Peshawar in 2014 thatkilled nearly 150 people, most-ly children.

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Delhi Pradesh CongressCommittee president

Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday cat-egorically ruled out any alliancewith the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) for the seven Lok Sabhaseats in Delhi.

“Congress has unani-mously taken a decision thatthere will be no alliance withAAP. The decision was taken inRahul’s presence and it is final,”Dikshit said after the meeting.

Dikshit’s reiteration aboutno alliance with the AAPevoked a sharp response fromDelhi Chief Minister and AAPchief Arvind Kejriwal, whosaid, “At a time when the wholecountry wants to defeat Modi-Shah duo, the Congress is help-ing the BJP by splitting anti-BJPvote. Rumours are thatCongress has some secretunderstanding with BJP. Delhiis ready to fight againstCongress-BJP alliance. Peoplewill defeat this unholy alliance.”

Before the meeting couldbegin on the subject, Rahulstated that he would honourthe sentiments of the PCC andthe local leaders.

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US President Donald Trumphas announced plans to

scrap the preferential tradetreatment to India, claimingthat New Delhi has failed toassure the US of “equitable andreasonable” access to its mar-kets, a move India said will nothave a “significant impact” onits exports to America.

The move to end theGeneralized System ofPreferences (GSP) for India andTurkey is the latest push by theTrump Administration toredress what it considers to be

unfair trading relationshipswith other countries like China.Trump has pledged to reduceUS trade deficits, and hasrepeatedly called out India forhigh tariffs.

On Monday, PresidentTrump notified Congress in let-ters of his “intent to terminate”trade benefits for both coun-tries under the GSP eligibilitycriteria.

Under the United StatesGSP programme, nearly 2,000products, including auto com-ponents and textile materials,can enter the US duty-free if thebeneficiary developing coun-tries meet the eligibility criteriaestablished by Congress.

India was the largest ben-eficiary of the programme in2017 with $5.7 billion inimports to the US given duty-free status and Turkey the fifth

largest with $1.7 billion in cov-ered imports, according to aCongressional Research Servicereport issued in January.

In a letter to Speaker of theUS House of RepresentativesNancy Pelosi, Trump said, “Iam taking this step because,after intensive engagementbetween the United States andthe Government of India, Ihave determined that India hasnot assured the United Statesthat it will provide equitable andreasonable access to the marketsof India,” Trump said.

“I will continue to assesswhether the Government ofIndia is providing equitable andreasonable access to its mar-kets, in accordance with theGSP eligibility criteria,” Trumpsaid in his letter. In New Delhi,Commerce Secretary AnupWadhawan, while reacting to

the US move, said India exportsgoods worth $5.6 billion underthe GSP, and the duty benefitis only $190 million annually.

India mainly exports rawmaterials and intermediategoods such as organic chemi-cals to the US, he said.

“GSP withdrawal will nothave a significant impact onIndia’s exports to the US,” hetold journalists.

He said “the benefits inabsolute sense and a percent-age of trade involved are veryminimal and moderate”.

The US TradeRepresentative’s Office has saidthat removing India from theGSP programme would nottake effect for at least 60 daysafter notifications to Congressand the Indian Government,and it will be enacted by a pres-idential proclamation.

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'����(�����������&�������������������������������)�*������New Delhi: As tension persistswith Pakistan, India on Tuesdaysaid it will have “all options”available in case there is anoth-er terror strike while maintain-ing that New Delhi will persistwith its efforts to reach out tointernational community to putpressure on Islamabad to showconcrete steps taken in disman-tling terror infrastructure.

Asserting this point here,official sources also said theIndian Air Force (IAF) has keptall its bases in western sector onmaximum alert after India car-ried out a strike on the biggestterrorist training camp of JeM inPakistan’s Balakot on February26. Detailed report on P5

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Chief Minister Kamal Nathhas said that farmers are

not required to worry aboutreceiving the low price of wheatowing to the bumper produc-tion of wheat in this season inthe State.

Nath has informed thatthe support price of �1840 perquintal has been declared forwheat by the UnionGovernment but the StateGovernment will procurewheat from the farmers at therate of �2,000 per quintal. Thisincreased amount of �160 perquintal will be given by thestate government from its ownbudget. This incentive will alsobe given to those farmers, whowill sell their wheat in mandis.There is no restriction for thefarmers to sell their wheat tothe government agencies toreceive incentives.

The Chief Minister furtherstated that the Union and StateGovernment both contributeunder the Bhavantar Yojana.Therefore, the Madhya Pradeshgovernment is making effortthat difference amount of�1,000 crore approximately ofsoybean, stopped by the UnionGovernment should bereleased so that the state gov-ernment could pay the same byadding its share immediately tothe farmers. He mentionedthat in case the UnionGovernment does not pay that

amount, even then the stategovernment will ensure fullpayment of difference amountto the farmers.

Kamal Nath said thatbefore the Vidhan Sabha elec-tions, the previous govern-ment of the Bharatiya JanataParty had announced for giv-ing flat difference amount of�500 per quintal on soybeanand maize without making anyprovision in the budget. Theprevious BJP government hadbeen making announcementsin a hope of getting fund fromthe Union Government. Notonly this, announcement wasmade by the BJP Governmentfor payment of �500 per quin-tal on soybean, whereas theorder was issued for ‘Upto�500 per quintal’. By such

action, the farmers had beenmisled by the previous gov-ernment.

The Chief Minister hassaid that the announcementwas also made as regard to thedifference amount on maize bythe previous BJP governmentbut it has not been approved bythe Union Government yet.The farmers of the state areunable to get full benefit owingto the adversary behavior of theUnion Government towardsthe farmers. Nath mentionedthat we will ensure full benefitto the farmers, despite thisbehavior of the UnionGovernment.

The Chief Minister furtherstated that the differenceamount of maize which hadbeen calculated as �219 perquintal as the difference ofaverage model selling rate andminimum support price will bepaid by increasing the amountto �250 per quintal to thefarmers.

The Chief Minister furthersaid that the state governmentis a government of farmers. Thestate government has freed thefarmers from the debt first tostrengthen agriculture basedeconomy of the state. The stategovernment has started givingloan waiver certificates andcitations to the farmers bywaiving off the total loan of�50,000 crore approximately,loan of 55 lakh farmers ofupto Rs 2 lakh has been waived

off. Apart from this, to facilitatefarmers to obtain maximumproduction, arrangements havebeen made for free soil andseed testing facility, 50 percent subsidy on agricultureequipments upto �2 lakh andinterest free loans. Besidesexpansion of irrigation projects,the electricity bills of farmers ofupto 10 HP pumps has alsobeen reduced to half under theIndira Kisan Jyoti Yojana. Nowthe farmers are required to pay�700 per HP per annum inplace of �1400 per annumupto 10 HP

According to the ChiefMinister, the state governmentis working with an objective toprovide reasonable price tothe farmers by increasing agri-culture production after theloan waiver to ensure prosper-ity and happiness of the farm-ers. Agriculture produces arebeing procured by the stategovernment on the supportprice. The state government isworking rapidly to fulfill all thepromises made to the farmers.He expressed confidence thatthe pro-farmers decisions willbring positive change in the lifeof the farmers.

The Chief Minister saidthat the protection of farmers’rights is a major target for thegovernment. Any kind ofobstacle will be removed toachieve this target. Works inthe welfare of the farmers willbe continued.

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MP Urja Vikas Nigam LtdMNRE as designated

agency organised Two DaysTraining Workshop forFinancial Institutions onEnergy Efficiency financingfrom 5-6 March 2019 at HotelLake View Ashok, Bhopal.

First Day session onTuesday was inaugurated byBK Patel, CE, MPUVNL andSurendra Bajpai, MPUVNL.After greeting participantsand Guest, Surendra Bajpaihighlighted benefits forfinancing designated con-sumer in deploying for largescale EE projects.

Besides, BK Patel briefedabout various Energy effi-ciency activities taken up byMPUVNL in MadhyaPradesh.

During technical session,Participants were introducedto Energy Efficiency and

Market Opportunity by MalviMehrotra, BEE. FurtherHarigovind Rajan, World

Bank Group highlightedabout World bank pro-grammes on EnergyEfficiency. Participants werealso sensitized about CARERated EE business models.Post Lunch,

Participants were accom-panied to visited M/s OswalWoollen Mills Ltd site atIndustrial Area, Philukhedi,Rajgrah, where they observedabout various energy conser-vational measures undertakenin the plant.

M/s Oswal also explainedabout loans and Financialarrangements sourced toimplement Energy EfficientProjects in their plant, thushelping participants to under-stand that payback wasachieved in mere 3 to 5 yearswhereas technical life of thefinanced EE equipment was 10

years and some appliance even20 years.

Notably, Government ofIndia launched EnergyEfficiency Financing Platform(EEFP) as one of its initiativesunder National Mission forEnhanced Energy Efficiencywith an objective to provide aninteraction platform for StateDesignated Agency, FinancialInstitutions (FIs) and projectdevelopers for implementa-tion of energy efficiency pro-jects.

Under NMEEE, the PATscheme is in operation for Bigindustries (DesignatedConsumers) as target of ener-gy savings is given by Bureauof Energy Efficiency to allDCs to bring down there ener-gy consumption For sensitiz-ing Financial Institutions,Project developers, designatedconsumers about financingoption available for energyefficiency projects.

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India gave a befitting reply to thePulwama attack by entering the den

of terrorists in Pakistan, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi said Tuesday.

Pakistan has been conveyed themessage that if it doesn't improve, itknows the consequences it will have toface, Modi said at a rally in Dhar dis-trict of Madhya Pradesh.

"India gave a befitting reply toPulwama attack by entering den of ter-rorists. We have told them (Pakistan),if they don't improve, they know whatwill happen to them," he said.

Calling the opposition as 'poster

boys' of Pakistan for seeking proof ofIndian Air Force's action on Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror camp last week,

Modi said the air strike happened in theneighbouring country, but "some ofthose sitting in India were hit by it".

"Though the air strike took placein Pakistan, it has pained some peoplesitting in India," Modi said, adding,

“People world over feel that we havedone the right thing by replying toPulwana terror attack.”

Taking a swipe at attempts to cob-ble up a mahagathbandhan (grandalliance) against the BJP, Modi said theopposition leaders are doing'mahamilavat' (high adulteration) inPakistan's favour.

"These 'mahamilavati' persons havebecome poster boys of Pakistan byterming it as an ambassador of peace.They are misleading people of the coun-try and trying to demoralise our armedforces by asking for proofs of the IAFair strike," Modi said.

Without naming senior Congressleader Digvijay Singh, he said a leadertermed the Pulwama attack as an acci-dent and dubbed slain al-Qaeda ter-rorist Osama bin Laden as an "ambas-sador of peace". "A leader close to theCongress' naamdar (Rahul Gandhi)family has termed the Pulwama attacka mere accident. He also considersOsama Bin Laden a shantidoot (ambas-sador of peace). He is the same personwho gave Pakistan a clean chit after the(26/11) Mumbai terror attack andtried to mislead the investigation (intoit)," Modi said.

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Chief Minister Kamal Nathhas said that the state gov-

ernment is preparing newschemes to revolutionize agri-culture sector. He further men-tioned that the farmers andagriculture sector will not beallowed to become weak inMadhya Pradesh.

Nath was distributing theloan waiver certificates andcitations to the farmers underthe Jai Kisan Fasal Rin MaafiYojana in Vidisha on Tuesday.

The Chief Minister saidthat in order to give relief to thefarmers, loans of 25 lakh farm-ers will be waived off within thenext 3 days. Revolutionarydecisions have been taken inthe interest of farmers, youthand elderly people within 70days after the formation of thegovernment. It was our prior-ity to ensure that the farmersshould be freed first from thedebt. We want to make thefarmers economically strong,who lead their entire life underthe debt. The StateGovernment is waiving off theloans upto Rs 2 lakh of both thedefaulters and active accountholders. We will make suc-cessful efforts for the prosper-ity of the farmers by facingevery challenge, he added.

Nath has said that the gov-ernment has geared up to pro-

vide new facilities to the farm-ers shortly in the field of wheatproduction. He will ensurethat the trust expressed by thefarmers will not be broken.Each and every promise of themanifesto will be fulfilled bythe government.

The Chief Minister dis-tributed loan waiver certificatesand citations in a symbolicform to 12 farmers. He alsopresented cheques of MukhyaMantri Kanya Vivah/NikahYojana to the beneficiaries.Besides, Kamal Nath laid foun-dation of 36 Gou-Shalas inVidisha district. Total 124.57hectare land has been keptreserved for grazing land forthese Gou-Shalas. The Gou-Shalas will be made at a cost ofRs 30 lakh each on 160.84hectare land and each Gou-Shala will accommodate 100cows. The Chief Minister alsodedicated 42 km long asphaltroad costing Rs 79.36 lakhfrom Basoda to Sironj.

Loans of 2.37 lakh farmershave been waived off under theJai Kisan Fasal Rin MaafiYojana in Vidisha district.Under the first phase, a sum ofRs 122.52 crore in activeaccounts of 57,885 farmers hasbeen deposited. Similarly, anamount of Rs 162.14 crore hasbeen deposited in the timebarred accounts of 27,263farmers.

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State-level Annual FestVihan 2019 of

Radharaman Group beganhere on Tuesday. The three-day fest was inaugurated bythe Public Relations andLegislat ive Minister PCSharma.

Surendra Shukla, YouthCoordinator of Nehru YuvaKendra, was the special guestof the inauguration ceremo-ny. In this three-day event,various technical competi-tions including colorful cul-tural events will be organizedand various students of thegroup will be honored fortheir different accomplish-ments.

P.C. Sharma addressingthe students said that he is anengineer himself and he hasdone his studies from Manit,Bhopal. He was pleased withthe presence of GayatriAgnihotri, who was workingas senior director in thegroup. He was happy with thefact that students are won-derfully performing well and

are getting campus selection.A student shared that he

has been selection at one ofthe two big companies of thecountr y, Shri Sharmaexpressed his happiness againand said that it definitelygives a g l impse of theRamadharan group's com-mitment to its students. . Inaddition, he also honoredacademic toppers and atten-dance tops.

On the first day of Vihan2019, the program of 16events, such as programming,technical quiz, paper presen-tation, robo race, blind cod-ing, extempore, debate andinformal public speech, washeld throughout the day.

On this occasion, RRSaxena, chairman of theRamadharan Group, said thatthe Vihan Festival is taking abigger shape every year. Thisevent provides students witha platform to express their tal-ents.

They look forward to thisevent throughout the yearand participate in it with a lotof preparation.

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Indian origin BritishParliamentarians are organ-

ising a function on April 13 atHouse of Lords to commemo-rate centenary of the JallianwalaBagh massacre amid indicationthat the British Governmentcould offer a “formal apology”for the massacre of more than1,600 persons.

An email invitation sent byLoomba, Member of House ofLords, to Sanjay Dalmia, notedindustrialist and former RajyaSabha member, said the hor-rific event was debated in theHouse of Lords on February 19,2019 to raise awareness.

“In this context I initiatedthe debate, supported by manymembers of the House ofLords, including Lord Desai,Lord Bilimoria, BaronessVerma, Lord Suri, BaronessNorthover, Lord Alton, Earl ofSandwich, Lord Morgan, LordCollins of Highbury and LordMawson. They wholehearted-ly agreed that the BritishGovernment should tender anapology,” the invite read.

“The noble Minister, Rt

Hon Baroness Goldie sum-marised and agreed that it wasa deeply shameful episode inBritish History. “We shouldnever forget what took place 100years ago. The chair of theForeign Affairs committee feelsthat this year may constitute anappropriate moment for herMajesty’s Government to for-mally apologise. The ForeignSecretary is currently reflectingon the situation. I can say thatthe views expressed in thisdebate are certainly noted andwill be conveyed back to thedepartment,” said the email

invite. In the email, Lord Loomba

said he and Lord Desai hadalready written to British PrimeMinister Theresa May, request-ing for an apology for thedreadful act on Indians and thesubsequent attempts for acover-up. The Jallianwala BaghCentenary CommemorationCommittee (JBCCC) compris-es distinguished people, includ-ing Balbir Singh Kakar (Chair),Ambassador Navtej Sarna,Virendra Sharma, MP, Lordand Lady Desai and LordLoomba.

“We are inviting commu-nity leaders both from India andthe UK to attend the event at theHouse of Lords and hope thatafter a century, especially on thisvery day, the BritishGovernment will tender anapology to close this unfortu-nate episode,” said the email.The JBCCC is also organisingan exhibition “Punjab underSiege — the Jallianwala BaghCentenary” with the help ofManchester Museum at differ-ent places at the cities ofManchester, Birmingham,London and Glasgow in April.

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Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel on

Tuesday promised to upgradePendra-Marwahi as revenuedistrict during his tenure.

The process will com-mence soon, he said whileaddressing a public felicitationand meeting organised atLohari area under Marwahiassembly constituency.

While addressing the gath-ering, he made the people ofPendra-Marwahi to give assur-ance that they would not fightover the issue.

“It was from the Marwahiassembly constituency thatCongress national presidentRahul Gandhi had announcedthat the farmers’ loan will be

waived off if Congress formsgovernment in the state,” theCM recalled.

He added, “Within two

hours of the formation of thegovernment and even beforeRahul Gandhi had reachedNew Delhi, the loan waiver

was announced by the gov-ernment.”

Taking a dig at PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,Baghel said, “It is not like the

promises made by the primeminister—Rs 15 lakh will becredited in each bank account--which have not yet been ful-filled.”

It is reported that duringthe tenure of the previous BJPgovernment, when revenuedistricts were formed, resi-dents of different regions hadopposed the move and starteddemanding separate districtstatus. Following suchdemands, a few places weregiven the status jointly, likeBaloda Bazar-Bhatapara andJanjgir-Champa.

The demand for creationof Pendra-Marwahi districthad been doing the rounds forsome time now as people arefinding it difficult to travel toBilaspur for their works.

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Bharat Heavy ElectricalsLimited (BHEL) is setting

up a network of Solar-basedElectric Vehicle Chargers(SEVC) on the Delhi-Chandigarh Highway.

The first in the series ofCharging Stations was inaugu-rated by AR Sihag, Secretary,Department of Heavy Industry(DHI), in the presence of AtulSobti, Chairman & ManagingDirector, BHEL, at Ethnic IndiaResort, Rai, District Sonepat,Haryana. Senior officials ofBHEL and Haryana Tourismwere also present on this occa-sion.

The project is coveredunder the FAME scheme[Faster Adoption andManufacturing of (Hybrid)and Electric Vehicles in India]

of the Department of HeavyIndustry (DHI), Governmentof India. The establishment ofEV chargers at regular inter-vals over the entire 250 kmsstretch between Delhi andChandigarh would allay range-anxiety among the ElectricVehicle users and bolster theirconfidence for inter-city trav-el. As part of the project,BHEL has also developed aCentral Monitoring System(CMS) for EV Chargers witha user friendly Mobile App.

BHEL’s scope of work inthe project includes design,engineering, manufacturing,supply and installation of theEV charging stations alongwith a Central MonitoringSystem. Each SEVC stationwill be equipped with arooftop solar power plant tosupply green energy and EV

chargers. As part of its diver-sification initiative, BHEL hasbeen expanding its footprintsin the e-mobility business.Notably, the company hasalready installed DC chargersat Udyog Bhawan in NewDelhi. BHEL is also executinganother commercial order forinstallation of DC chargersacross various locations in thecountry. BHEL is extending itsoffering in the e-mobility seg-ment and has equipped itselfto foray into manufacturing ofEV chargers, electric busesand related critical compo-nents. As part of the ‘Make inIndia’ initiative of theGovernment of India, in-house development of EVmotors, propulsion systemsand fast chargers has alsobeen undertaken by the com-pany.

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Bilkharia police have nabbeda person involved in trans-

porting liquor illegally andrecovered liquor worth �34lakh and seized truck worth Rs16 lakh used to transport liquorillegally near Bilkharia policeoutpost late in the night onMonday. Acting on a tip off atruck moving from 11 Mill areaMandideep towards Bilkhariabypass was traced and stopped.One of the accused in thetruck managed to escape whilepolice managed to nab onewho was identified asDharmendra Rathod.

The police recovered 479boxes of liquor worth �34lakh. The nabbed accused pro-vided information of escapedaccused as Suresh and based onthe information search of theabsconding accused.

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Chaotic scenes were wit-nessed near Saifia College

after locals enraged over beat-ing of shopkeepers startedprotest at road and demandedaction against the traffic policepersonnel involved in the act.

The whole incident wascaptured in a CCTV camerainstalled near the spot andwhich spread to fuel the protestand hundreds gathered toprotest the beating by trafficpolice personnel.

Incident which went out ofproportion started after amechanic Nasir was assaultedby six policemen who request-ed to lessen the penaltyimposed to one of his cus-tomers who parked his two-wheeler near the shop.

The road was blocked fromPeer gate to Bhopal Talkies and

massive traffic jams was wit-nessed in the area. The pro-testers were pacified after MLAArif Masood intervened andassured of action to theirdemand.

According to a shopkeep-er Arif the victim Nasir Ullah

Khan who runs an auto mobilemechanic shop in the arearequested police personnel whoarrive in police van to chargeless penalty as it would detercustomers to repair their vehi-cle in the area but the policepersonnel engaged in verbalspate and later assaulted Nasirbrutally. Locals came out inprotest of Nasir and shopswere closed and huge numberof people gathered blocking theroad.

Senior police officials haveassured that action would betaken against the police per-sonnel who were engaged inthe act assaulting the shop-keeper.

The protesters were raisingdemand of action against thepolice personnel involved. Theprotesters blocked the trafficmovement causing difficultyfor the commuters.

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A24-year- youth was robbedof his wallet and bike near

Danapani restaurant underShahpura police station area onlate in the night on Monday.

According to the policethe victim Shivam Chouhanwas robbed by two miscreantswhile he was on his way tohome after meeting his friendin Misrod.

The victim lodged a com-plaint with the police and inhis complaint he stated thatthe incident took place at 11pm when he was on his way tohome after meeting his friendat Misrod and when hereached near Danapanirestaurant two miscreantsstopped him and attackedhim and tried to snatch the

belongings and when he twoopposed the miscreants tooka knife and robbed him atknife point.

The miscreants escapedwith purse and motorbikebefore the victim wouldunderstand and raise alert.

The total loss in the rob-ber y is around �50,000claimed the victim.

The police have registereda case under section 392 of theIPC and have started furtherinvestigation.

The victim is a resident ofChunabhatti and is preparingfor competition exams. Policehave intensified the search forthe miscreants. The nearbyareas of the spot would besearched and habitual criminalsof the area would be quizzedduring the investigation.

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A30-year-old marriedwoman was sexually

assaulted on February 17 by herex-employer at Sabri Nagarunder Kamla Nagar police sta-tion area; a case of rape wasregistered after victim lodgedcomplaint.

According to the police, thevictim lodged a complaint onMonday regarding sexualassault by her former employ-er Shambu Singh Sikarwar.

In her complaint victim hasstated that the accused came toher rented room on February17 on the pretext of providingjob and sexually assaulted herand later threatened her of life.The accused sexually assaultedher thrice by threatening her inthe next few days. The victimapproached police and lodgedcomplaint.

The victim used to workwith the accused in his hotel asreceptionist and left the job fewmonths ago. The victim is a res-ident of Jabalpur and afterseparation from her husbandshe came to Bhopal in searchof job and had worked at hotelowned by accused.

The police have registereda case under sections 376 and506 of the IPC and have start-ed further investigation into thematter.

Meanwhile, a 22-year-oldgirl was captivated and sexual-ly assaulted in the name ofmarrying her at Nishaptura; acomplaint was lodged by victim

on Tuesday.The police have registered

a case under sections 366 and376 of the IPC and started fur-ther investigation.

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Chief Minister Kamal Nathhas said that Government

is run by panchayats not bymantralaya. Panchayat systemserves as a nucleus for imple-mentation of schemes and pro-grammes. Implementation ofgood schemes should be vir-tuous, otherwise they will fail.He further mentioned that theprocedure of the implementa-tion of schemes will bereviewed to make the schemesmore result oriented.

The Chief Minister told theChief Executive Officers of thedistrict and Janpad Panchayatsthat they should provide sug-gestions in context to the pre-sent time by reviewing themethod of the implementationof schemes. Do not act as par-ticipants in the Governmentbut work as associates. Nathwas addressing the meeting ofthe Chief Executive Officers ofthe Jila and Janpad Panchayatsat Academy of Administrationhere today.

Nath stated that the econ-omy of our country and state

is linked to the villages.Therefore, rural area is in

focus. Panchayaraj is an axis ofthis and hence the responsi-

bility for the successful imple-mentation of government’sschemes lies with the CEOs ofthe Janpad Panchayats andPanchayat Secretaries. Heasserted that there are severalschemes, which had been pre-pared 15 to 20 years back. Theycannot be implemented todayas it is. There is a need to bringchanges in those schemes.Referring to the MNREGAand Prime Minister Rural RoadScheme, Nath said he himselfhad been connected with theseschemes.

Several improvements weremade as regard to the executionof these schemes, when theywere prepared by him duringthe UPA government. He fur-ther mentioned that the timehas changed; hence they shouldalso suggest the governmentwhat kind of changes should be

brought in the procedure ofimplementation to ensure max-imum benefit to the rural areas.

Nath has said that theimplementation systems ofgovernment’s schemes and pro-grammes will be reviewed andsurveyed. Points like whatchanges could be brought inthe old schemes, how we couldbenefit maximum number ofpeople by the schemes will bethe base of the Survey.Describing the Janpad CEOs asa link between the people andthe government, Nath said thatthey are responsible to ensurechanges in the execution ofschemes.

The Chief Minister men-tioned that whether it is abudget of the state or country,a major part of the budget isspent on rural development.The main profession of therural areas is agriculture. Wehave to contemplate too onhow to increase the purchasingpower of the farmers.

Loan waiver is not a per-manent solution, it is a relief.

We have to think how to utilizethe excess production of thefarmers because with this alonewe can double their incomeand can enhance the purchas-ing power. Several small eco-nomic activities are linked withthe purchasing power of thefarmers, which providesemployment to the people.You all will have to dischargethis significant responsibility toensure transformation of thischallenge into success.

Nath has said that theavailability of water will be themajor challenge in the next 10years.

There is a need to makespecial efforts in this regard.We will have to bolster waterharvesting system, he added.

Kamal Nath further men-tioned that roads of rural areasnot only facilitate convenienttransportation. Roads facili-tate several kinds of invest-ments and become medium ofemployment for the people. Weshould derive benefits out ofthese opportunities.

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Cold winds were witnessedin the evening making the

weather conditions cold in thestate capital. The weather con-ditions turned cold but not asintense as warning issued byMet department in the past twodays.

Rainfall faded away as onlyChambal division recordedlight rainfall in the past 24hours while remaining divi-sions remained dry.

Cold weather conditionswhich were witnessed in thenight and prevailed in the weehours, faded during the day on

Tuesday in the State capital.In the changed weather

conditions temperatures werenot changed and recordedaround same level. Shahdol

division recorded significantdip in the day temperatureswhile reverse trend was wit-nessed in Rewa and Jabalpurdivisions.

The Gwalior divisionrecorded significant dip intemperatures while Chambal,Ujjain, Indore andHoshangabad divisions record-ed around normal temperature.

The night temperature wasrecorded at 13.8 degree Celsiuson Tuesday in the state capitalwhile day temperature wasrecorded at 27.3 degree Celsiuswhich witnessed a 3 degree dipin the past 24 hours.

The State capital recordedintense weather conditions inthe early morning hours stillthe day temperature witnessedan increase of 4.9 degreeCelsius in the past 24 hours.

The temperatures whichsoared around a week ago havestarted to settle and day tem-peratures have been recordedbelow 30 degree Celsius onTuesday. The lowest tempera-ture was recorded at 9 degreeCelsius in Shivpuri while thehighest day temperature wasrecorded at 35 degree Celsiusin Khargone.

The day temperatures haverecorded dip on Tuesday.Indore and Rajgarh recordedday temperature at 27.5 and27.8 degree Celsius whererecorded 5 degree Celsius and4.5 degree Celsius below nor-mal temperature.

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Aworkshop on how to pre-scribe non-invasive venti-

lation (NIV) to home and hos-pitalised patients was held onTuesdaay.

The workshop was organ-ised by ResMed, a digital healthcompany whose cloud-con-nectable devices help treatsleep apnea and other respira-tory diseases in more than 120countries. A number of physi-cians attended the workshop.

This workshop coveredboth theoretical and hands-onlearning on the application ofNon-invasive ventilation invarious respiratory diseasesincluding acute hypercapincrespiratory failure, acutehypoxemic respiratory failure,chronic respiratory failure.

The symposium was kickstarted by Dr Milind Badla,MBBS, MD, DM, Bombay, fol-lowed by Dr Anil Agrawal,Senior Consultant, CurewellHospital Indore, Dr SalilBhargava, Head ofDepartment, MGM MedicalCollege, Dr AbhijeetKhandelwal, Chest Physician,Index Medical College Indoreand moderated by Dr Vivek

Joshi, ICU Head, ShalbyHospital Indore. All are expertsin the field of Non – Invasiveventilation.

Dr Badla gave introductionto NIV –Indications and Goalsand shared the aspects ofdevice, settings and interfaces,whereas Dr. Agrawal and DrBhargava discussed acutehypoxemic failure. In order tospur this application, for thepatient benefit or end users,training was followed by expe-riential learning on NIV appli-cation, monitoring and trou-bleshooting by Dr.Khandelalalong with rotational workshopand chronic care by Dr. JaydeepKhalpada, Clinical Specialist,ResMed India. Further,Dr.Bhaskar Azad, ClinicalHead, ResMed Academy,shared newer modes of NIVdevices and interface.

The workshop offered allthe doctors from different spe-cialty in the healthcare systema platform to learn, share andconnect. The workshop bringstogether a multi-disciplinaryaudience from across thehealthcare spectrum to sharetheir experiences, ideas andbreak the conventional silosthat exist in this field.

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The Communist Party ofIndia (CPI-M) would not

enter into an alliance with theCongress in Odisha but wouldhave limited seat-sharing withit.

This was stated by CPI(M)general secretary SitaramYechury to media here onTuesday. The CPI(M), in fact,would not have electoral tie-upwith any other party and go italone everywhere in the coun-try, he informed.

He said that in Odisha, theCongress would support theCPI(M)’s candidate in theBonei Assembly constituencyin Sundargarh district while theCPI(M) would back theCongress nominee in theSudargarh Lok Sabha seat.

Notably, the CPI(M) has itslone MLA from Bonei in thepresent Assembly.

Meanwhile, the talksbetween the Congress Stateunit and the Communist Partyof India (CPI) held here onSaturday last on seat-sharingfor the forthcoming electionsremained inconclusive.

The CPI asked theCongress to spare sevenAssembly seats and the AskaLok Sabha seat as part of seatadjustments.

Sources said the CPIdemanded Chhatrapur, Boudh,Brajarajnagar, Ersama-Balikuda, Sundargarh,Chitrakonda and JunagarhAssembly seats and the AskaLok Sabha seat

Later, CPI State secretaryDibakar Nayak said, “It hasbeen tentatively decided thatour party would get the AskaLS seat as part of seat-sharing.But the seat-sharing for theAssembly seats has not yetbeen finalised.”

Senior Congress leaderNarasingha Mishra said, “Wehad open discussion with ourCPI friends today. Whateverdiscussed here would be putbefore the respective competentforums of the two parties.Then, the seat sharing would befinalised.”

Sources said a State CPIexecutive meeting would beheld on Sunday and thePradesh Congress ElectionCommittee is scheduled tomeet on March 6 and 7. Theseat-sharing between the twoparties is expected to befinalised after that.

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The State Bank of India (SBI)and the SBI Mutual Fund in

collaboration with theVrindavan Gurukul and theSOA University organised agala classical cultural pro-

gramme “VrindavanMahostav” at the SOA audito-rium here on Tuesday.

Padma Vibhushan flutistPandit Hariprasad Chourasiaand SBI Bhubaneswar circleCGM Praveena Kala inaugu-rated the fest in presence of SBI

GMs DeviShankar Mishra,G o u t a mBhattachar yaand AvaniKumar Gupta.

The magicalperformance byworld renowneddancer, masterof the Kathakdance andP a d m aV i b h u s h a nPandit BirjuMaharaj andrenowned Tablaplayer PanditYo g e s h S a m s i

enthralled the audience.The instrumental extrava-

ganza by the Sitar maestroPurbayan Chatterjee alsoadded luster to the musicalevening attended by seniorofficials, staffs, dignitaries,senior bureaucrats of Odisha.

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Three teachers, including aHeadmaster, were arrested

on Tuesday in connection withthe missing of Optical MarkRecognition (OMR) answersheets of HSC examinations inthe SSD High School in the dis-trict. Sources said the Padiapolice arrested AssistantSuperintendent ShatrughanSwain, Gathanpali SchoolHeadmaster Jalandhar Beheraand a teacher Sandeep Sahu ofSSD High School examinationcentre.

Behera had entered theexamination centre withouttaking prior permission, forwhich the police took actionagainst him, sources said.Besides, the cops have detainedtwo other teachers for interro-gation in the connection.

In another related devel-opment, SSD High SchoolPeon Suprit Sethi was sus-pended by the district Collector

on the day.On Monday, the Collector

had suspended the four teach-ers for their alleged involve-ment in the case.

Acting on the directions ofthe Board of SecondaryEducation (BSE), the con-cerned BEO had on Mondaylodged complaint with thePadia police against theSuperintendent, AssistantSuperintendent, Observer anda Peon of the examinationcentre.

OMR answer sheets of asmany as 108 students, who hadappeared for the annual HSCexaminations, have gone miss-ing from the examination cen-tre. The missing sheets are ofMathematics, examination ofwhich was held on March 2.

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Adistrict-level PanchayatiRaj (PR) Diwas function

was organised in the OdishaLivelihood Mission officepremises here on Tuesday.

District Collector NirmalChandra Mishra, Zilla Parishadpresident Prafulla Kumar Dalei,DRDA PD Saroj Kumar Mishraand members of the Biju Yuva

Vahini, women self-helpgroups and civil society par-ticipated.

Awareness was createdabout various Governmentschemes though cultural pro-grammes on the occasion.Chief Minister Naveen Patnaikspeech was shown throughdigital mode on the occasion.Over one thousand peoplegathered.

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The India Day was celebrat-ed at the world’s biggest

mineral, mining and manu-facturing conference and exhi-bition - Prospectors andDevelopers Association ofCanada (PDAC 2019) whichhas kicked off at Toronto,Canada from March 3.

Speaking on the occasionon Tuesday, Nalco CMD DrTapan Kumar Chand deliv-ered a high-spirited presenta-tion on Indian aluminium

industry before the global audi-ence.

Giving business insightson growth potential of alu-minium as the metal of thefuture, Dr Chand highlightedon the world class facilities

being offered by Odisha’s AngulAluminium Park (AAI) andinvited the potential investors,technology suppliers & equip-ment manufacturers to Odisha.

Besides, Dr Chand alsoinformed regarding overseasacquisition, exploration andprocessing of strategic miner-als through Khanij BideshIndia Ltd. (KABIL), a joint ven-ture company of Nalco, HCLand MECL. Worth mention-ing the company is exploringcollaboration for strategic min-erals like lithium assets abroadto help Indian companiesincluding Nalco to manufac-ture lithium ion batteries.

“With Electric Vehicles

coming up in big way in nearfuture, lithium ion batterieshave a huge business potentialand Odisha would be hugelybenefited to be amongst fewdestinations having lithiumion plants,” Dr Chand added,hinting that the Nalco’s lithiumion battery plant may come upin Odisha.

It may be mentioned thatthe Indian mining industriesare participating in this con-vention under the India pavil-ion, which was inauguratedearlier by the Secretary, Mines,Anil Mukim. Nalco is the nodalagency of Government of Indiaand CPSUs to showcase India’smining power.

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The Commissionerate policehave arrested nine persons,

including seven minor boys, inconnection with the murder ofa youth, Shiba Gouda, of theTapobana slum of the city onSaturday last.

The accused were arrestedon the basis of statement ofdeceased Shiva Gouda’s friendLinga Reddy, who sufferedgrievous injuries in the attack,DCP Anup Sahoo said.

According to police,Gouda along with his friendReddy was returning home ona motorcycle when a group of

miscreants waylaid them neara pond in Baramunda villageunder the Khandagiri policestation. As they resisted themiscreants, they were beatenup severely with iron rods andattacked with sharp weapons.

As a result, Gouda died onthe spot while his friend wasrescued and was admitted to aprivate hospital here.

During the investigation, itwas ascertained that as manyas 10 persons were found to beinvolved in the crime. Whilepolice have arrested nine sus-pects, another accusedinvolved in the crime is stillabsconding.

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Union Petroleum andNatural Gas Minister

Dharmendra Pradhan, inau-gurating the academic block ofthe Mahanadi Institute ofMedical Science and Research(MISCR) Medical College andHospital here on Tuesday, saidthe State Government hasstood in the way of establish-ment of the hospital.

Pradhan alleged that theState Government has not pro-vided the requisites to theMedical Council of India(MCI) for establishment of thehospital even though the

Central Government hasrepeatedly appraised the StateGovernment about it.

He also said that even if thework of the hospital buildings,built at a cost of Rs 500 croreby the Mahanadi CoalfieldsLimited (MCL), has been com-pleted about six months ago,the hospital is yet to be opera-tional.

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With an objective to check-ing the preparedness of

the state police force for theensuing Lok Sabha election, thedirector general of police(DGP) Anil Kumar Raturi helda video conferencing sessionwith all the senior police offi-cers of the state on Tuesday.

He stressed that the use ofpolice forces should be donejudiciously during the polls. Hedirected the district in -chargesto thoroughly understand theguidelines of the election com-mission and ensure theirimplementation. He furthersaid that the district in- charges

should ensure that everypoliceman under them exer-cises his voting right. Headded that an election cell inevery district with a nodalofficer would be constituted.The DGP also directed the offi-cers to assess vulnerability ofthe sensitive and the- hypersensitive polling stations.

Expressing concern on thenumber of verification of armlicenses not satisfactory, DGPsaid that things shouldimprove. He said that actionunder provisions of CRPC,Gunda and Gangster act shouldbe taken against the mischie-vous elements active in thestate. He also said that the

proper staying arrangementsfor the personnel of CentralArmed Police Force (CASF),home guards and PAC shouldbe made. The DGP added thatborder meetings with the stateshaving boundaries withUttarakhand would be held andfast transfer of relevant infor-mation would be ensured.

The meeting was attendedamong others by director gen-eral, Crime, law and orderAshok Kumar, additional direc-tor general (ADG) adminis-tration, intelligence V VinayKumar, inspector general (IG)Law and Order Deepam Sethand IG Crime, law and orderSanjay Gunjyal.

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The World Bank,Government of India and

Government of Uttarakhandsigned a $96 million agreementto provide additionalfunds tothe state in its post disasterrecovery plans, ongoing sincethe floods of 2013, as well asstrengthen its capacity for dis-aster risk management.

The World Bank, throughthe Uttarakhand DisasterRecovery Project, has beensupporting the state govern-ment since 2014 to restorehousing and rural connectivi-ty, and to build resilience ofcommunities. So far, the pro-ject has completed more than2,000 permanent houses and 23public buildings and restoredover 1,300 kilometers of roadsand 16 bridges.

The additional financing of$96 million will further help inthe reconstruction of bridges,road and river bank protectionworks, and in the constructionof a training facility for the StateDisaster Response Force(SDRF). The project will alsohelp to increase the technicalcapacity of the state entities torespond promptly and moreeffectively to such crises in thefuture.

“India is vulnerable, in vary-ing degrees, to many natural aswell as man-made disasters.The Government of India iscommitted to develop a holistic,proactive, multi-disaster-ori-ented strategy, using technolo-gy effectively to build a safe anddisaster resilient India,” saidSameer Kumar Khare,Additional Secretary,Department of EconomicAffairs, Ministry of Finance.“The Uttarakhand DisasterRecovery Project has been deliv-ering on these objectives and theadditional finance will helpexpand its impact,” he added.

The loan agreement wassigned by Sameer Khare onbehalf of the Government of

India; Uttarakhand secretary ofFinance and DisasterManagement, Amit Singh Negion behalf of the StateGovernment and HishamAbdo, the acting country direc-tor of World Bank India, onbehalf of the World Bank

“Natural disasters cost thecountry an average of $9.8 bil-lion annually. The Governmentof India has made great stridesin moving from reactive emer-gency response to proactivelyimplement disaster prepared-ness and risk reduction initia-tives. We are committed to sup-porting Uttarakhand in itsefforts towards a resilientrecovery and rehabilitation,”said Abdo.

In June 2013, a heavy del-uge caused devastating floodsand landslides in Uttarakhand.The disaster hit more than4,200 villages, damaged 2,500houses, and killed 4,000 people.

The disaster recovery pro-ject has helped in strengthen-ing the state’s disaster riskmanagement capacity whichhas led to enhanced investmentin long-term resilience throughpolicies and institutions. Thecapacity of the State DisasterResponse Force (SDRF) meantto be at the forefront duringemergency situations of thestate, has also been significantlystrengthened and it has so farconducted over 250 operationsrescuing over 3,500 people,during the high pilgrimageseason. The extent and pace ofrecovery since 2013 has beensignificant, however, connec-tivity remains a challenge.Landslides and river bank ero-sion are common and contin-ue to disrupt movement andcause accidents, affecting thelivelihood and access to ser-vices of the local community.

The $96 million loan fromthe International Bank forReconstruction andDevelopment (IBRD) has afive-year grace period, and afinal maturity of 15 years.

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Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawatpresented the allotment letters for

homes of economically weaker section atTransport Nagar phase II to 221 benefi-ciaries selected through lottery.

Congratulating the beneficiaries, thechief minister said that the lottery systemwas used to keep the selection processtransparent. Asking them to shift to theirnew homes at the earliest, Rawat said thaton this Holi he would also visit them intheir new homes. He said, “When thedevelopment of everyone is ensured, onlythen will all be able to take the nation for-ward. The new India envisioned by primeminister Narendra Modi will be free frompoverty with homes for all along withdrinking water and electricity supply. Toensure that the poor get the entire fundsthey are entitled to, Jan Dhan accountswere opened for them and the money isbeing transferred directly to their accounts.Now there is no middleman between thegovernment and the poor. Further, Rs6,000 is also being provided to farmersunder Kisan Samman Nidhi.”

He further said that the governmenthas started various schemes for the poor,labourers and farmers. What is needed isto ensure that the information about suchscheme reaches the intended beneficia-ries.The people also need to be awarethemselves in order to benefit from theschemes, said the chief minister.

Speaking on the occasion, the Haridwar

MP Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said thatthe Central and State Governments havestarted various schemes for the benefit ofthe poor, farmers and general public.

The Mussoorie DehradunDevelopment Authority (MDDA) vicechairman Ashish Kumar Srivastav said thatbeneficiaries had been selecte through lot-tery in December 2018. After their veri-fication by the Municipal Corporation ofDehradun, 221 persons have now beenpresented with allotment letters for homesconstructed in Transport Nagar phase II.The total cost of each unit is about Rs ninelakh. In this, the MDDA has provided Rs

three lakh as subsidy. Out of the remain-ing Rs six lakh, Rs 1.5 lakh was providedunder Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana by theCentral Government while Rs one lakhwas provided under Uttarakhand JanAwas Yojana by the state government. Asa result, the beneficiary will have to payonly Rs 3.5 lakh for the home. For this too,home loan facility has been arranged forthrough banks.

Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal ‘Gama’,MLA Khajan Das, Garhwal commission-er BVRC Purushottam, officials con-cerned and public representatives were alsopresent on the occasion.

Dehradun: The new building ofOut Patient Department (OPD)block of Government DoonMedical College (GDMC) hos-pital was inaugurated by the chiefminister Trivendra Singh Rawaton Tuesday. Speaking to themedia persons shortly after inau-gurating the new OPD buildingwhich will help in removingpressure on the old campus of thebiggest government hospital of

the state, CM said that thepatients would get more facilitiesin the new building. He said thatthe state government is com-mitted to providing the bestpossible health care facilities tothe people of the state.

Rawat said that the state gov-ernment has provided free med-ical care facilities to all 23 lakhfamilies of the state under AtalAyushman Uttarakhand Yojana.

Under the scheme, all the fami-lies of the state are eligible forhealth cover worth Rs 5 lakh ina year. Rawat said that 83 new fac-ulty members have been recruit-ed for the government medicalcolleges of the state. The CM alsoreleased a newsletter, ‘ GDMCTimes’ of the medical college onthe occasion. Conceptualised bythe principal and MS of theGDMC, the newsletter would

feature the activities of the collegeand information about the treat-ment and other facilities of theGDMC hospital. The director,medical health services and mis-sion director National HealthMission ( NHM) Yugal KishorePant said that OPDs of ophthal-mology, psychiatry, ENT, Skinand Venereal Diseases wouldstart functioning in the newbuilding in next ten days. PNS

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The political sniping thatstarted after the IAF air

strike against terrorists inPakistan again led the BJP andthe Modi-Government onTuesday to attack the Congressfor doubting the effectivenessof the operation and accusedit of lowering the morale ofarmed forces as several seniorcentral ministers defendedGovernment stand with UnionHome Minister Rajnath Singhcryptically maintaining thatthe number of terrorists killedin Balakot would be “ knownone day.”

While Union MinisterRavishankar Prasad speakingon behalf of the BJP here atParty headquarters lashed outat the Congress for allegedlyechoing Pakistan’s view pointson the air strike, DefenceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanat Chennai sought to say thatthe IAF strike that destroyed aJaish-e-Mohammad terrorcamp in Pakistan’s Balakot areawas “not a military action” asthere was no civilian casualty.

She also said ForeignSecretary Vijay Gokhale hadnot given any casualty figure inhis media briefing after the airstrike and only gave a statementwhich is the government’s“position”.

Gokha lehad said thenon-militaryand preemp-tive strike onthe Jaish-e-Mohammedtraining campkilled a “verylarge number”of terrorists,trainers andsenior com-manders.

Sitharaman said, “Therewas no need to analyse more onBalakot strike” as she declinedto link the air strike on terrorcamp with the coming LokSabha election.

“After Pulwama attack, wewere waiting patiently fordays... When we got informa-tion the terrorist attacks wereoriginating from that region(Pakistan), without militaryaction, we carried out the strikepointedly,” she told reporterson the sidelines of the launchof Pradhan Mantri Shram YogiMaandhan , a pension scheme.

“Civilians in the vicinity orsurrounding areas were notaffected in any way, so wehave been saying the strike wecarried out after Pulwama sui-cide bombing was not a mili-tary action,” she added.

Joining the debate Unionhome minister Rajnath Singh

who wasspeaking atD h u b r i ,Assam, stated“It will beknown oneday how manyterrorists werekilled inBalakot”. “IfC o n g r e s swants to knowhow many ter-

rorists were killed, they shouldgo to Pakistan and ask there orcount bodies,” said Rajnathtaking a swipe at the oppositionparty.

“NTRO system showedthere were 300 mobile phonesactive at Balakot attack site;were these used by trees if notterrorists,” quipped HomeMinister.

BJP leader Prasad seized onCongress leader DigvijaySingh’s tweet, terming thePulwama terror attack a“durghatna” (accident), tomount a stinging attack on theopposition party and allegethat its senior leaders are speak-ing the language of Pakistan.

Prasad also referred tocomments of Congress’ formerministers Kapil Sibal and PChidambaram to claim they donot trust the Indian Army andthe Air Force. No foreign coun-try has sought evidence of the

air strike, the BJP leader said,adding that Congress leadersdo not believe in Indian mediareports.

“It is part of a design withblessings of (Congress presi-dent) Rahul Gandhi and (UPAchairperson) Sonia Gandhi.Let the country ask them ques-tions,” the Union Minister said.

He also asked the Congressnot to “reduce the morale,courage and prestige of ourforces” for “petty extraneouspolitical gains”.

Prasad also attackedChidambaram for asking whohad made the claim of 300-350terrorists being killed inBalakot when neither the AirForce nor MEA gave out anyfigure.

“There is voluminous con-temporaneous evidence avail-able that entire attack was veryeffective and caused extensivedamage to terrorist network”,he said.

Prasad cited news reports,including one that spoke aboutpresence of many ambulanceson the site in Balakot, origi-nating from Pakistan to assertthat the air strike hit terrorcamps.

His colleague PrakashJavadekar lashed out at theCongress for “rubbishing thearmed forces’ claims and ques-tioning their strength”.

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Top Congress leadersDigvijay Singh and Kapil

Sibal have sought proof ofIndian Air Force’s strikedestroying the biggest camp ofJaish-e-Mohammad inPakistan and accused PrimeMinister Narendra Modi ofpoliticising terror. Congressalso asked the prime ministerto clear the doubt as one of theUnion Minister was denyingTV news that 300 terroristswere killed in the air strike onFeb 26. (Jha)

“Modi ji must answer as theinternational media like NewYork Times, Washington Post,London-based Jane Informationgroup, Daily Telegraph, theGuardian and Reuters, arereporting that there is no proofof militant losses at Balakot inPakistan,” Sibal said on Twitterholding the government guilty

of politicising terror. Senior Congress leader

Digvijaya Singh, termed thePulawama attack an accidentand questioned the air strike inPakistan demanding proof.

Sharp reactions also camein the wake of Union MinisterS S Ahluwalia’s statement thatneither Modi nor any govern-ment spokesperson had givenany figure on the casualty of airstrikes. Congress chiefspokesman Randeep Surjewalaalso put out a news report

about Union Minister SSAhluwalia in this regard.

Punjab minister andCongress leader Navjot SinghSidhu said, “300 terrorist dead,Yes or No? What was the pur-pose then? Were you uprootingterrorist or trees? Was it anelection gimmick? Deceit pos-sesses our land in guise of fight-ing a foreign enemy. Stop politi-cising the Army, it is as sacredas the State,” he said, adding“Oonchi Dukaan, PheekaPakwan” (big talk, no delivery).

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Former Defence MinisterAK Antony on Tuesday

accused Prime MinisterNarendra Modi of sacrificingnational interests and urgedhim “not to politicise” theArmed forces. The Congressleader also accused the PrimeMinister of “ignoring” thereport of a committee that hadsaid there were irregularities inthe selection of L-1 in theRafale deal and had called forits withdrawal.

At a time when the securi-ty forces were still fighting at theborders, the BJP president wasgiving out operational details ofthe armed forces action, whichwas very unfortunate, Antonysaid. “Even now our soldiersdied, that details only Army andCRPF can explain, not BJPspokesman or BJP president. Itis very very unfortunate. Don’tpoliticise the armed forces.Don’t bring the military in thepolitics. I request the BJP pres-ident, I request the prime min-ister don’t politicise the Army.As a former defence minister, Iam telling them,” Antony saidat AICC Press conference.

“No other leader but ourprime minister is touring the

country and is spreading mis-information. Yesterday, he hasgone to the extent of sayingCongress compromised thenational security, accusedCongress of delaying the Rafaledeal for commission,” he said.

The former defence min-ister accused the prime minis-ter of ignoring the report of thecommittee instituted by him tolook into alleged irregularitiespointed out by SubramanianSwamy and Yashwant Sinha,who was then in the BJP. Afterthe complaint of Swamy andSinha, and some members ofthe Contract NegotiatingCommittee, “a committee ofexperts found irregularity inthe process of L-1. So, they cat-egorically recommended thatthis must be withdrawn,” healleged.

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Petroleum and ExplosivesSafety Organisation (PESO)

told the Supreme Court onTuesday that it has finalised“improved formulations” formaking green firecrackers andproduct approvals will be givento manufacturers by March 21.

The apex court wasinformed that joint work wasundertaken by Council ofScientific and IndustrialResearch (CSIR), NationalEnvironmental EngineeringResearch Institute (NEERI), andother fireworks manufacturersrelated to formulation and pro-duction of green firecrackers.

Trial of some samples wasalso conducted, PESO said,adding that the developmentwould reduce the emission ofpollutants PM 2.5 at least by 25-30 per cent.

As per the CSIR-NEERIminutes of meeting placedbefore a bench of Justices A KSikri and S Abdul Nazeer, theauthority would proceed withproduct approval documents ofmakers of fireworks by March 7.

New Delhi: The SupremeCourt Tuesday referred to athree-judge bench a plea chal-lenging the Constitutionalvalidity of provisions in matri-monial laws empoweringcourts to ask estranged spous-es to “cohabit” and “take part insexual intercourse”.

The plea said that theselaws treat women as “chattel”and are violative of funda-mental rights including theright to privacy.

Ojaswa Pathak andMayank Gupta, the students ofGujarat National LawUniversity at Gandhinagar,have challenged the validity ofsection 9 of the HinduMarriage Act (HMA), Section22 of the Special Marriage Act(SMA) and certain provisionsof the Code of Civil Procedure(CPC). They empower courtsto pass a decree of restitutionof conjugal rights to anestranged couple. PTI

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An Election Commissionproposal to ban political

advertisements in newspaperson election day will not beimplemented in the comingLok Sabha polls as it is pend-ing with the Ministry of Lawand Law Ministry.

Sources said that the movewill require changes in theRepresentation of the PeopleAct and it is now up to the nextLok Sabha to take a call.

“The Law Ministry did notconsider moving the Cabinet topropose amendments in thestatutes as the Budget session wastoo brief and it required politi-cal consensus. Now the 17th LokSabha will take a call on the pro-posal,” sources explained.

A 10-member committeeof the EC suggested thatFacebook, WhatsApp ,Twitteror any other social media plat-forms should not be allowed tocirculate any election cam-paign related material for 48hours till polling is over duringelections in a constituency.

“The period of 48 hoursbefore closing time of pollingin India is “sacrosanct” and vot-ers are provided a period ofsilence to “independently con-

sider their decision” of whichcandidate to vote for on the pollday”, the Committee said in itsrecommendations.

As of now, only the elec-tronic media is barred fromshowing election publicitymaterial during the last 48hours before conclusion ofpolling. But the committeerecommended bringing theprint media under the ambit ofSection 126 of theRepresentation of the PeopleAct 1951. It would, in effect,mean that political parties can-not publish campaigningadvertisements on election day.

In 2016, the EC urged thegovernment to amend the elec-toral law to bar political adver-tisements in newspapers 48hours before the day of pollingon the lines of the restriction onelectronic media.

The move came in thewake of the poll panel using itsconstitutional powers to bansuch newspaper advertisementson a case-by-case basis duringthe Bihar assembly election inOctober-November of 2015.Elections are due in April-May. The term of the 16th LokSabha ends on June 3 and anew Lok Sabha has to be con-stituted before that.

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The Supreme Court onTuesday said it would con-

sider listing of a fresh plea seek-ing direction to the authoritiesnot to evict any forest dwellerand to set up an SIT to lookinto illegal acquisition of trib-als’ land.

A bench comprising ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi andJustice Sanjiv Khanna tookcognisance of the plea, filed byChhattisgarh-based TarikaTarangini Larka, seeking direc-tion to the Centre not to allotpossession of any forest landbelonging to tribals to anyoneother than ‘Adivasis’ residing inthat particular area.

“We will see to it (listing ofplea). We will not assure that itwill be come on Monday,” thebench said when lawyer MLSharma sought urgent listing ofthe plea.

Sharma had mentioned theplea for urgent hearing onFriday before a bench headedby Justice A K Sikri and wastold to mention it before thebench headed by the CJI.

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With the political temper-ature heating up over

the issue of alleged data theft ofAndhra Pradesh voters, theTelugu Desam Party (TDP)on Tuesday accused Telangana’sruling Telangana RashtraSamithi (TRS) of misusingpower to help its rival YSRCongress. A Hyderabad-basedfirm is embroiled in a row overthe alleged data theft.

TDP national spokesper-son Kambhampati RammohanRao said the 70 lakh people,said to be hit by the data leak,are party cadres. In a statement,Rao said misinformation overthe episode has created confu-sion among people and “causeddamage” to the party. He urgedthe TRS and YSR Congress tonot spread “misguided infor-

mation” on the issue. The TDPis also “seeking advice” forlegal action, he said.

The issue has gained polit-ical traction in the two statesafter Telangana police booked aHyderabad-based firm forallegedly stealing voters’ datathrough “Seva Mitra” mobileapplication, used by TDP to con-nect with its registered cadres.

On Monday, TDP chiefand Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister N ChandrababuNaidu alleged it was part of aconspiracy to help oppositionYSR Congress headed byJaganmohan Reddy.

However, YSR Congresshas questioned how confiden-tial data went into private hands,claiming the data theft is “partof a plan to remove names ofthose against the (TDP) gov-ernment from electors’ list.”

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Suggesting that the world’slargest sanitation pro-

gramme has managed tochange the behaviour of peoplewith respect to toilet usage, aGovernment survey has foundthat of 93.1 per cent of house-holds who had access to toilets,96.5 per cent used it.

The National Annual RuralSanitation Survey (NARSS)2018-19 survey was conductedbetween November 2018 andFebruary 2019, covering 92040households in 6136 villagesacross the country by an inde-pendent verification agencyunder the World Bank supportproject to the Swachh BharatMission Grameen (SBM-G).

The survey has also recon-firmed the Open DefecationFree (ODF) status of 90.7 percent of villages which were pre-viously declared and verified asODF by various districts andstates, as per a statement hereby the Union Ministry of Waterand Sanitation on Tuesday.

The remaining villages alsohad sanitation coverage ofabout 93 per cent while 95.4per cent of the villages surveyed

found to have minimal litterand minimal stagnant water.

The IVA presented theirfindings to the Expert WorkingGroup (EWG) constituted foroversight of NARSS, compris-ing representatives from orga-nizations including the WorldBank, UNICEF, Water Aid,Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation, India SanitationCoalition, NITI Aayog, andMinistry of Statistics andProgram Implementation.

The survey also coveredschools, anganwadis and pub-lic/community toilets in thesevillages. Launched by PrimeMinister Modi, the goal of themission is to make India OpenDefecation Free (ODF) byOctober 2019.

According to the state-ment, five hundred millionpeople have stopped defecatingin the open since the SBMbegan, down from 550 millionat the beginning of the pro-gramme to less than 50 milliontoday. Over 9 crore toilets havebeen built across rural Indiaunder the Mission. Over 5.5lakh villages and 615 districtshave been declared ODF, alongwith 30 ODF States and UnionTerritories, said the statement.

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As tension persists withPakistan, India on Tuesday

said it will have “all options”available in case there is anoth-er terror strike while maintain-ing that New Delhi will persistwith its efforts to reach out tointernational community to putpressure on Islamabad to showconcrete steps taken in dis-mantling terror infrastructure.

Asserting this point here,official sources also said theIndian Air Force (IAF) has keptall its bases in Western sectoron maximum alert after Indiacarried out a strike on thebiggest terrorist training campof JeM in Pakistan’s Balakot onFebruary 26.

As regards to preparednessof the IAF, a SU-30 fighter jeton Monday shot down aPakistani military drone inBikaner sector of the India-

Pakistan border. The dronewas trying to gather intelligencefrom air about India’s militarystrength in Rajasthan when anair to air missile fired by theSU-30 brought it down. Thedrone fell on the Pakistani sideafter getting hit at about 11.30am. It was the second unsuc-cessful attempt by Pakistan touse drones for spying in the lastseven days.

Besides its military pre-paredness, India has launcheda fresh initiative to get Jaish-eMohammed (JeM) chiefMasood Azhar blacklisted bythe UN Security Council. NewDelhi is also approaching othercountries outside UNSC tocompel Pakistan to take con-crete action against terror out-fits operating from its soil.

Sources said as parts of itseffort India has shared with theUS the evidence of use of F-16fighter jet by Pakistan duringretaliatory aerial combat and

was confident that the US isinvestigating the matter.

Since Balakot punitivestrikes against terrorist campsby the IAF, India is trying tobuild maximum pressure onPakistan on the issue of ter-rorism, they said.

Pakistan has gone to allcountries seeking mediationbut there is greater under-standing of India’s position,

sources said, adding India hastold the international commu-nity that it is not an India-Pakistan issue, but about ter-rorism. If JeM chief Azhar getsbanned by the UN, Pakistan willget into a difficult situation as hehas been residing there as perthe Pakistan Foreign Minister’sadmission, said sources.

Sources said on Mondaythe IAF has kept all its basesin Western sector on maxi-mum alert after India carriedout a strike on the biggest ter-rorist training camp of JeM inPakistan’s Balakot on February26.

Pakistan had attempted toretaliate by unsuccessfully tar-geting a number of militaryinstallations in Rajouri sectorthe next day. In the ensuingaerial combat after somePakistan fighter jets intrudedinto India, a jet each of twocountries were downed andIAF pilot Wing Commander

Abhinandan Varthaman wascaptured by the Pakistanis afterhis MIG-21 Bison was hit byPakistan’s air defence. Heejected from the plane beforeit crashed and was taken pris-oner in Pakistan OccupiedKashmir (POK). The Indianpilot was released two days laterand returned to India on Fridaynight and now undergoingmedical tests and debriefing bythe IAF.

India’s air strike which thegovernment had termed a“non-military” action, followeda terror attack on a CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF)convoy in Pulwama, Jammu &Kashmir on February 14, inwhich 40 personnel were killed.The JeM had claimed respon-sibility for the attack. NewDelhi called the air strikesnon-military as the targetswere terrorists and their infra-structure and not militaryinstallations or assets.

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Asenior advocate, assistingthe apex court as an ami-

cus curiae in a matter related toadministration of Jagannathtemple in Puri, Tuesday filed inthe Supreme Court a “detailedreport” after his recent visit tothe shrine.

The top court is dealingwith a petition which has high-lighted the difficulties faced bythe devotees at the Jagannathtemple and their alleged harass-ment and exploitation by the‘sevaks’ (staff).

Senior advocate RanjitKumar, who was earlier askedby the top court to visit thetemple to assess the groundrealities there, told a bench ofjustices A K Sikri and S AbdulNazeer that he has given detailsof his interaction with the tem-ple management committee,‘sewaks’ and others in hisreport.

“I am filing my report. Ihave made a detailed report.This is required to be goneinto,” he told the bench, addingthat he would assist the courton the basis of his report.

The counsel appearing forOdisha said that the report filedby the amicus should be givento them also.

The bench said the reportbe given to advocates appear-ing for all the parties in thecase.

The court also said thatparties can file their responseon the report within four weeksand posted the matter for hear-ing on April 2.

On February 5, the coun-sel appearing for Odisha hadtold the top court that the ami-cus should visit the temple totake stock of the situationthere.

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It was way back in October, 1973, thatmembers of the Organisation of ArabPetroleum Exporting Countries(OAPEC) imposed an embargo on oilsupplies to certain nations, which was

in retaliation against the Yom Kippur War.This caused enormous turmoil in the glob-al oil market and the US, which was heavilydependent on oil imports, was particularlybadly affected. Its production declined rapid-ly in earlier years, to compensate for which,imports grew substantially. In 1973, forinstance, the US imported 6.2 million barrelsper day of oil (mbd), compared to 3.2 mbdin 1970. While there was considerable panicamong these major importers of oil, leadingto a serious economic crisis, most of thesecountries were able to recover within a rea-sonable period of time. For instance, PresidentRichard Nixon introduced the CorporateAverage Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards forautomobiles in the US, which in the short runincreased their average fuel efficiency and withincrease in petro-dollars, countries like SaudiArabia imported large quantities of capitalequipment and services from the US at inflat-ed prices, thereby leading to a balance in trade.

What is now ironic is the fact that theUS has emerged as the largest producer ofoil in the world. There are serious issuesrelated to the production of shale oil butwhat has contributed to this phenomenalincrease in the US’ oil production is theincrease in shale, which during the mid-dle of 2018, reached a total of 11 mbd,including both conventional and shale pro-duction. When Saudi Arabia was thelargest producer of oil in the past, thatcountry and, in general, the OPEC nations,had regularly dictated terms to the rest ofthe world in respect of oil prices. Ironically,it is now the US which has enhanced itsinfluence. US President Donald Trumpstated recently, “Oil prices are getting toohigh. OPEC, please relax and take it easy.World cannot take a price hike — fragile!”How much this warning will be heeded isanother matter. Indeed, a country like Indiais very vulnerable to the impacts of highoil prices on its economy, and in recentmonths, the decline in the value of theIndian rupee is a direct reflection of glob-al oil prices. There are, of course, majorissues related to India’s hydrocarbon poli-cies, which need detailed discussion andserious reflection, but we may first dealwith alarming trends at the global level.Historically, there has never been a trad-ed commodity which has influenced theglobal economy and its distribution as thecase of oil.

What is particularly disturbing is the factthat the global demand for oil in October,2018, was 101.1 mbd, which is substantiallyhigher than projections made in the past. Thisfigure clearly exceeds consumption of oil asfossil fuels committed by nationalGovernments in their Nationally DeterminedContributions (NDCs) under the Paris agree-

ment. Since the last century,there has been a huge increase inthe consumption of fossil fuelsand allied economic activities.The result is, therefore, a signif-icant increase in the emissions ofgreenhouse gases (GHGs) dur-ing 2018. Clearly, there are vest-ed interests that would want toprolong the era of oil and max-imise profits from existingreserves and new discoveries.

Curiously, it was a formerSaudi oil Minister, SheikhYamani, who is reported to havesaid that “the stone age did notend because there were nostones”. Yet, in the case of oil,clearly, the oil age is not endingbecause there is still the lure ofoil under the ground and withthe oil industry, the automobileindustry, the highway lobby andothers benefitting perpetuallyfrom the consumption of oil.They, thus, resist any move tolower carbon sources of energywith all the power and moneythat they have. India, unfortu-nately, is no exception to thistrend because our transport pol-icy, which is moving rapidlytowards vehicular transporta-tion, is totally dependent on oilimports, which jeopardise oureconomy and foreign exchangeoutflow. And our efforts to dealwith climate change are, there-fore, unlikely to succeed fully.

The knowledge about cli-

mate change has been around fora long time now, including oneof the earliest efforts by SvanteArrhenius, a Swedish scientistwho won the Nobel Prize in1903, but the euphoria andromance with the internal com-bustion engine has completelyignored the warning of scientistsover the years.

The IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change (IPCC)was established in 1988. It notonly gets the best scientists of theworld mobilised to provide theirtime and talent on a voluntarybasis, but their reports areapproved and accepted by all theGovernments of the world. Yet,the fossil fuel lobby in most coun-tries continues to look the otherway when it comes to assessingthe risks and damage from thegrowing impacts of climatechange. Efforts to convert thosein power and involved in ener-gy decisions have generallyproved futile.

This writer was the presidentof the International Associationfor Energy Economics in 1988,when during the annual interna-tional conference of that body, asix-point programme of actionwas proposed to reduce thegrowing burden on the environ-ment due to the use of fossil fuelslike coal, thereby saving theworld from excessive levels ofcarbon dioxide. It was also pro-

posed in this conference that aglobal dialogue between northand south be held to reduce lev-els of carbon dioxide on an equi-table basis. Indeed, such a dia-logue commenced in 1992 withthe acceptance of the UNFramework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC) byall the countries of the world.Yet, it is unfortunate that after aquarter century of the existenceof this convention, GHG emis-sions continue to grow.Technology, which should havebeen directed to the develop-ment of low carbon energy sup-ply and possibly intensive devel-opment of carbon capture andstorage technologies, has gonetowards production of shale oiland fracking technologies forproduction of natural gas. Someof these not only have seriousenvironmental problems at thelocal level but contribute signif-icantly to emissions of GHGs.The question remains whetherlike the stone age ending, weneed to end the era of oil evenif there are reserves under theground. Or do we continue witheconomic disruption, inequitabledistribution of income andwealth and dangerous levels ofclimate change for the comfortand prosperity of a few?

(The writer is former chair-man, Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change, 2002-15)

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Sir — It is a sorry spectacle to wit-ness that both the BJP and theOpposition have been tradingcharges against each other topoliticise the Pulwama terrorattack and the subsequent hero-ic act by our Air Force. All of thisto score brownie points ahead ofthe Lok Sabha poll. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hasbeen attacking the Nehru-Gandhifamily at almost every platformwith choicest slogans and words.

Both parties are just interest-ed in catching votes, caring littlefor national security, which isunder threat from India’s enemies.It is high time that they maintainrestraint during their campaigns.

KR SrinivasanSecunderabad

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Sir — It is distressing that a newstudy has found that seven of thetop 10 most polluted cities in theworld are in India. It is a matter ofconcern that Gurugram, locatedsouthwest of India’s capital NewDelhi, led all cities in pollution lev-els in 2018, even as its score

improved from the previous year,according to data released by IQAirAirVisual and Greenpeace. Threeother Indian cities joined Faisalabadand Pakistan in the top five. The ill-effects of pollution are grave. It isalso known that only a healthy gen-eration can make a nation healthy.But when will India’s war on air pol-lution finally begin?

Muhammad ZaidRamanagara

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Sir — Indian Air Force (IAF)chief BS Dhanoa has made itamply clear that the Air Force’sduty is to only see if a target hasbeen hit or not. That it isn’t itsresponsibility to provide thedetails on the number of terror-ists killed during an operation.That is the job of the

Government. Dhanoa is absolutely right to

say so but it is a reality that in awar, there is no a feeling of com-passion and nobody wins at all.War is a battle waged betweentwo or more nations where rag-ing revenge prevails. Can a nationreally win a war? Certainly not.War always kills people, which isnot a happy thing. So, in the inter-est of the mankind, nations must

stop using force to kill people. As human beings march for-

ward from barbarianism to acivilised world, war is sure toelude us and ultimately, perfectpeace and harmony would cometo stay. Once we stop earmarkingthe budgetary allocation of astro-nomical amount for defence, wewill have the sure chance ofspending a whopping amount forthe welfare of people. Let us alllook forward to such a peacefuland prosperous world sans war.

TK NandananChennai

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Sir — The air strikes betweenIndia and Pakistan and the con-sequent capture and release of theIndian pilot may just have post-poned a war between the twocountries. It will, however, benaive to think that Islamabad willdesist from performing anti-India activities. It will be inIndia’s best interest to co-opt thelocal populace in Kashmir.

ShivanshVia email

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Picking undervalued stocks requires bothquantitative and qualitative analysis.Quantitative factors use more of numbers

and can be analysed through a ratio analysisor other valuation methods. On the otherhand, qualitative factors are important to iden-tify fundamentally strong companies and thequality of the stock, beyond numbers.Although these factors are very crucial for busi-ness valuation, they are very difficult toquantify. However, no company can ignorethem as they are, sometimes, tangible. At thesame time, they can be intangible, too, as theyare the imperatives for valuation of a compa-ny. They provide a range of important infor-mation that factors both the financial statementanalysis and valuation process. They also oftenidentify important catalysts for the upward ordownward movement of stocks in the future.

Qualitative factors can be internal (com-pany-related) or external (industry-related).There are different ways to make an analysisthat has a significant bearing on the fundamen-tal analysis: The business model, competitiveadvantage, customer base and management aswell as corporate governance.

The core business model: It is importantto understand what the company does and howit generates value for its customers. For somefirms this is easy because they sell food or man-ufacture something simple. For example, if youlook at the business model of KFC, one willnotice that it sells delicious chicken burgers,chicken roasts, many varieties of mouth-lick-ing chicken and veg recipes. Their businessmodel is very easy to follow. An investor knowsthat this is how KFC makes money. Othertimes, it is more complicated. Therefore, it isimperative to first know the business modelof a company and then conduct due diligence— find out its history, revenue generationmodel, how it got started, how long the com-pany has been in the market, what is the rev-enue and profit margin maintained by them.

Customers and Geographic exposure: Aninvestor must identify if the firm has a few largecustomers or a very fragmented customer base.It is also essential to know how the firm isviewed by the customers — as a value or pre-mium brand? Is it consistent with the qualityof its product? Does it deliver on time? And arethe products fairly priced? Some companiesserve only a handful of customers while oth-ers serve millions. In general, it’s a red flag (anegative) if a business relies on a small num-ber of customers for a large portion of its salesbecause the loss of each customer could dra-matically affect revenues. Further one mustknow the geographic sales breakdown — eacheconomy has different growth rates and criti-cal factors that may require additional research.

Competitive advantage: Before an investorevaluates a company in quantitative terms andjudges it on the basis of figures, he/she needsto find out what’s the competitive advantage ofthe firm? This is important because withoutcompetitive advantage, competition increasesand profit margins decrease or disappear. Forexample, if a company sells online, its logisticscan be its competitive advantage, which can help

it reach its customers superfast and delivergoods/products faster than its competitors. Asan investor, one needs to think about the com-petitive advantage or lack of it before investing.Because competitive advantage is the soleingredient of producing astounding or mediocreresults. For example, while for Intel, Research& Development and size maybe advantageous,for Wal-Mart, it’s their industry leading logis-tics along with size that provide them leverageover suppliers.

Quality of management: One of themost important factors of any business is thequality of management in the company. If themanagement is motivated enough to steer thecompany toward its summit, it would be agigantic force and it would always find a wayeven amid greatest economic turndowns. Agood management team can make a big dif-ference, especially when a business is in a chal-lenging environment or still developing indus-try. Checking management comments in thefinancials can reveal if a team is hitting tar-gets and has had successful strategy in the past.So before investing in a company, having acheck on management quality is of utmostimportance.

Corporate governance: In simple terms,corporate governance is the holy grail of a sus-tainable business. If corporate governance ofa business is not in order, the entire businesswill crumble sooner or later. So, an investorshould check out the corporate governance ofa company and look out for three things: Arethe rules of the company aligned with the firm’smission and vision?; is the company servingeach and every stakeholder well?; and is itlegally compliant with the Government’s poli-cies? If the answer to these questions is a ‘yes’,usually, the company is pretty good at corpo-rate governance.

Externally, industry related factors that aninvestor should look out for are:

Industry growth trends: If an industry isexpected to decline by five per cent, it is hardto forecast a company in it to grow at 10 percent. Knowing the industry trends and cycleis critical factors in modelling companygrowth. Look at the historic data along withforecasts from competitors and trade groups.

Market share: A company can be thelargest player in an industry, a small, up andcoming firm or a niche player. Gaining or los-ing market share is a growth factor to consid-er, know what trends are driving the stocksgains or losses. Good market research helpuncover these trends.

Competition: Identifying the closest com-petitor is very important. Often times, thecompetitive position determines pricing powerand margins. Also, conduct market researchto track competitors and search for actions thatare disruptive such as a new product launch,discounting or strategic shift.

Regulatory authorities: External regula-tors are impactful for some firms. Knowingwho plays key roles and issues critical legis-lation or rulings is critical.

Disruptive Technologies: Technologiescan shape or break a company. Look for dis-ruptive technologies that have shaped theindustry altogether. And then see whether thecompany you are evaluating is using thosetechnologies or not. In this age of continuousadvancement of technologies, only disruptiveones make any progress.

These are the ten mantras that can help aninvestor look more than just numbers like prof-its and sales that can help them make aninformed decision based on the quality of stock.

(The writer is Assistant Professor, Amity University)

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After the Pulwama terrorattack on February 14 andIndia’s subsequent retalia-

tion to it, poll issues seem to havechanged overnight. It is clear nowthat issues like the Rafale scam, job-lessness, rural and farm crisis,among others have taken a back seatas the terror narrative is giving anadvantage to the ruling BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. Whetherthe issue will help them garner votesor not is a different question alto-gether.

However, the party at the helmoften stands benefited when deal-ing with a war-like situation because

of the surcharged atmosphere in thecountry. A muscular policy is whatthey want. This happened duringthe 1971 Bangladesh war when thethen Prime Minister Indira Gandhiwon kudos all around.

The planning for the coup tookalmost from April to December,1971. It was such a closely keptsecret that even US Secretary ofState Henry Kissinger did not get ahint about it when he met IndiraGandhi in July 1971. US PresidentRichard Nixon was so upset that hecalled Indira Gandhi “a witch anda bitch”.

Former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee, too, got the nation’ssupport during the Kargil war andhis party, the BJP, won the LokSabha poll in 1999; although it didnot increase the party’s seat tally.The BJP went all-out to propagatethe Kargil victory; though it wasknown that de-escalation cameonly after the intervention of thethen US President, Bill Clinton, whowas keen to avert a war between thetwo nuclear powers.

Now, it is the turn of Prime

Minister Modi to claim victory;although it is clear that both Indiaand Pakistan have cooled downafter pressure from the US andother international powers, whoadvised both countries to avertany kind of escalation. The BJPbelieves that Modi’s chances ofreturning to power are much moreafter the Balakot airstrikes as he hasbeen able to send an effective sig-nal to the country that he is a strongleader.

Prior to Pulwama, Modi was ina vulnerable position politically,particularly after the major debaclein the three Hindi heartland Statesof Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh last December. Theelection results sent the messageclear that people were slowly gettingdisenchanted with the ModiGovernment for not fulfilling thetall promises on job creation andagrarian crisis. Anti-incumbencyhad to be countered.

However, all of these havechanged after Pulwama. Earlier,the BJP was thinking of making thebuilding of Ram Mandir in

Ayodhya as the main poll issue. TheRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS), which had been banking on‘temple’ plus ‘cow’ narrative to lurethe voters, has now changed itsfocus to prioritise terrorism.

On February 22, at an RSSinternal meeting, it re-designedthe campaign to focus on the needfor a stable Government to dealwith terror.

Second, the BJP is attempting atinvoking nationalism after theattack, making use of the simmer-ing anger against Pakistan withinthe country. With the Balakotairstrikes, Prime Minister Modihas locked his political script for the2019 polls. He had used the ‘MiaMusharraf ’ narrative even duringhis 2002 Gujarat campaign success-fully to polarise the electorate. Theparty is propagating the achieve-ments of the strong Prime Ministerand his muscular policy.

Third, though the Opposition,including the Congress, came out insupport of the Government soonafter the Pulwama attack, theybegan to criticise Prime Minister

Modi within days. Now, both theBJP and the Opposition have beenaccusing each other of politicisingthe Pulwama issue in view of theelections. Around 21 oppositionparties last week issued a statementthat: “National security must tran-scend narrow political considera-tions.”

The Opposition has beenstumped by the BJP’s security nar-rative and has planned its own strat-egy to counter it. Congress insidersclaim that the Opposition has moreammunition to fire, most of themcreated by the BJP itself.

The first step is to raise doubtsabout the airstrike itself. TheCongress’ narrative is to shredModi’s claims into pieces and ques-tion the intelligence failure, asacknowledged by Jammu &Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik.

Already, multiple voices havequestioned Modi’s security strate-gy. West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee has questionedthe timing of the Pulwama attack,asking whether the Governmentwanted to go to war when the Lok

Sabha election was round the cor-ner. Other Opposition leaders havejoined the chorus.

The Opposition believes that itwould be difficult for PrimeMinister Modi and the BJP to sus-tain the momentum for the nexttwo months and it will have enoughtime to hit out.

Therefore, other issues likeRafale could come to the forefrontsooner than later. But it is a chal-lenge for the Opposition how tochange the national security narra-tive so soon and bring back the localand domestic issues and failures ofthe Modi Government.

The point is: Questioning theBJP’s national security narrativewould be risky. The Opposition hasto find other ways of restoring theprimacy of other issues like jobs.Whose narrative works will best beknown when the ballot boxes open.But the Opposition faces a toughchallenge of countering the com-municative strategy of the BJP.

(The writer is a senior politicalcommentator and syndicated columnist)

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The DMK-led UnitedProgressive Alliance in

Tamil Nadu on Tuesday suc-cessfully finalised and for-malised the seat sharingprocess for the upcoming LokSabha elections. MK Stalin,who turned 66 on March 1 (hisfirst birth day since getting ele-vated as party chief in August2017), told reporters at theparty headquarters that hisparty would contest 20 seatswhile the alliance partnershave been allocated 20 seats outof the total 40 seats at stake (39seats from Tamil Nadu and thelone seat from Puducherry).

Though the AIADMK-ledfront has almost finalised theseat sharing talks with its part-ners, a final announcementabout the composition of theline-up would be made only bylate Tuesday night orWednesday morning, accord-ing to AIADMK leaders. Aclear picture would beannounced by Wednesdaybecause Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is flying downto Chennai to address the elec-tion rally convened by the

AIADMK-led front.Stalin said that the CPI, the

CPI(M) and VCK have beenallocated two seats each whilethe MDMK, KMDK , MuslimLeague and Indian JananayakaKatchi were given one seateach. The DMK had allocatedten seats to the Congress (ninein Tamil Nadu and the lonePuducherry seat). ManithaneyaMakkal Katchi, an Islamic out-fit which had been with theDMK for the last three yearscould not be accommodatedthis time because of shortage ofseats. “They will be given dueconsideration in the next elec-tion,” said Stalin while M HJawahirullah of the MMK leftthe DMK headquarters with asheepish smile.

Stalin also announced thatthe DMK-led front wouldlaunch its election campaign onMarch 13 from Kanyakumariwhere Rahul Gandhi, theyoung president of theCongress would address amammoth rally.

Though Vaiko of theMDMK had demanded threeLok Sabha seats, Stalin boughtpeace with him with one seat.“Vaiko would be nominated tothe Rajya Sabha in June 2019,when the next vacancy from theState is due,” said Stalin. He alsodisclosed that Vaiko, who waswith the BJP-led NDA in the2014 Lok Sabha election wouldlead the propaganda for theUPA all over Tamil Nadu.

With the DMK choosing to

content with 20 seats, it hasbecome clear that some hardbargaining took place in theparty head- quarters with therepresentatives of the Lefts andthe VCK. Leaders of the DMKhad made it known earlierthat they would keep aside 15seats for the alliance partnerswhile the party itself wouldcontest a minimum of 25 seatsto make its presence felt in NewDelhi during the Governmentformation.

All eyes are now onDMDK leader Vijayakanth ,who is expected to announcehis course of action lateTuesday or Wednesday morn-ing. The DMDK was the leadalliance partner of the NDA inTamil Nadu during the 2014Lok Sabha election when it hadcontested 14 seats. This time itmay have to be satisfied withtwo or three seats to be allo-cated by the AIADMK.

In the AIADMK-led front,the PMK and the BJP havebeen allocated seven and fiveLok Sabha seats while smallerparties like the PT, and IJP weregiven one seat each. The TamilManila Congress too is expect-ed to cast with the AIADMK-led front.

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Congress president RahulGandhi is likely to start his

election campaign in Bengalsometime later this month,Pradesh Congress sources said.

The new move comes inthe wake of two parallel but notunconnected developments:Firstly, the proffering by theCPI(M) of a “no mutual con-test” formula in at least six par-liamentary seats and second, aletter from PCC presidentSomen Mitra to Gandhi advo-cating early decision on anagreeable seat-sharing formu-la with the Left Front which stillenjoys an appreciable vote basenotwithstanding BJP’s recentmeteoric rise in the State.

In his letter sent onTuesday Mitra has “expressedthe opinion of the rank and file”underlining the need for a“seat-sharing or alliance” for-mula with the CPI(M) so as to“stop the march of the BJP inthe State and dethrone theTMC in 2021 Assembly elec-tions.”

Mitra told reporters that hehad “written to Rahulji with myassessment. Now it is for ourparty president and the AICCto take a call on the matter.”

About his assessment he said hehad only written about the“aspirations of party workersand leaders.”

Though a major section ofboth the Congress and theLeft Front have been asking foran alliance or “in the least aseat-sharing arrangement,” thetwo parties have failed to agreeon two seats of Raiganj andMurshidabad where both theparties have a good presenceand their workers are againstleaving the seats.

According to insidesources both in the CPI(M)and the Congress “the mood issuch that if the seats are sacri-ficed for the alliance to standthen the workers who havebeen cultivating the con-stituencies might go towardsthe BJP.”

In 2014 general elections

when all the parties contestedseparately the Congress wonfour seats of: Malda North andMalda South, Behrampore andJangipur. In multi-corneredcontests Deepa Dasmunshi ofthe Congress lost Raiganj toLeft’s Md Salim by about 3,000votes whereas the CPI(M)defeated the tri-colour party inMurshidabad by about 25,000votes.

After several rounds ofdeliberations the State com-mittees of both the partieshave refused to leave thesetwo closely contested seats.

“Raiganj which was theconstituency of PR Dasmunshiand subsequently DeepaDasmunshi and Murshidabadare our traditional bastionsand cannot be left,” a seniorPCC leader said admittinghowever that “if the two partiesfought separately then the BJPwill gain an advantage.”

As for Malda North afterthe sitting Congress MPMausam Benazir Noor joinedthe Trinamool Congress the tri-colour party is planning to fieldhis cousin a local MLA IshaKhan Chowdhury. SouthMalda seat is currently held byCongress MP Abu HasemKhan Chowdhury.

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Mumbai: A CPI(M) leaderfrom Maharashtra has beensuspended from the party'sCentral Committee, days afterhe publicly praised PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

The BJP responded to thisaction by the communist partyas "shameless display of intol-erance."

At a rally in Solapur onJanuary 9, former CPI(M) MLANarsaiyya Adam praised andthanked Modi and MaharashtraChief Minister DevendraFadnavis for speedy clearance toa housing project in Solapurdistrict. Adam, a former MLAfrom Solapur district, had saidModi should get another termas Prime Minister.

"Such praise is against thepolicy of our party, so a decisionhas been taken to suspend himfor three months from theCentral Committee," a partyofficial said on Tuesday.

The Committee is a keydecision-making body of thecommunist party. While Adamwas unavailable for comments,state BJP spokesperson MadhavBhandari said the CPI(M) deci-sion is "a shameless display ofintolerance." PTI

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Agartala: The IndigenousPeoples Front of Tripura (IPFT),an ally of the ruling BJP inTripura, said on Tuesday itwould go it alone in the upcom-ing Lok Sabha polls.

Mangal Debbarma, thespokesperson of the party, saidthe decision to field candidatesin the two Lok Sabha seats in thestate was taken on March 3, fol-lowing the IPFT central com-mittee meeting here.

"When BJP national presi-dent Amit Shah visited Agartalaon January 5, we submitted amemorandum to him, demand-ing that the IPFT be allowed tofield candidate in East Tripuraconstituency, reserved forScheduled Tribe. He told us thathe would get back to us on thematter, but never did,"Debbarma, who is also theassistant general secretary of the

party, told reporters.As Shah did not respond to

the IPFT request, the party wascompelled to take this decision,he said.

A five-member committeehas been formed with IPFTpresident NC Debbarma as thechairman to select candidatesfor the two seats and discuss themodalities of election cam-paign, he added.

BJP spokesperson AshokSinha, when asked about hisreaction to the IPFT move,said every political party has thefreedom to make a choice.

"It is up to the IPFT todecide what it wants to do forthe Lok Sabha polls. Everypolitical party is free to take itsown decision. However, when itcomes to the BJP, such decisionsare taken by the senior leadersin Delhi," Sinha added. PTI

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Shillong: BJP, which is backingthe NPP-led DemocraticAlliance Government inMeghalaya, on Tuesdayannounced that it will go alonein the upcoming Lok Sabhapolls and field candidates onthe two Parliamentary seats—Tura and Shillong.

The decision was taken ata meeting chaired by BJP gen-eral secretary in-charge ofNorth East, Ajay Jamuwal andattended by State party's lead-ers and workers here.

"We have decided in prin-ciple to contest the Lok Sabhaelections from both the parlia-mentary seats in Meghalaya,"BJP state leader and Cabinetminister AL Hek told reporters.

Hek said the election com-mittee will be constituted soonfor inviting application fromaspiring candidates for the twoseats.

According to BJP minister,a delegation of the state partywill also be meeting the nation-al president Amit Shah toinform him about the Tuesday'sdecision.

He said that so far aroundfour-five candidates havealready approached the partyfor tickets, but the decision onthe matter will be taken by thestate election committee.

The announcement cameafter the MDA partners failed

to decide consensus candidateon both the constituencies,Hek said.

The UDP, the leadingregional party supporting theMDA Government, hadannounced its general secretaryJemino Mawthoh as the can-didate. However, other region-al parties like the HSPDP, PDFand the KHNAM are yet tomake public if they support theidea or not.

"We are confident to winboth the seats. The BJP washaving only two MPs in 1984but now it is the biggest partyin the country," he said, whilereacting to a query on poorperformance of the party in the2018 Assembly polls.

BJP state president ShibunLyngdoh said that the partyearlier thought of supportingand had waited for the MDA topropose the consensus candi-dates but nothing happened tillTuesday.

Facing tough questionsfrom natives on CitizenshipAmendment Bill and the beefban politics, the BJP did notfield candidates in the February27 tribal council elections.

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Adalaj (Guj): Asking theGovernment to account for itswork has now become a trendin the country, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said here onTuesday.

The BJP-led Governmentaims to empower society toconduct more social works, hesaid, after the 'pran-pratistha'(idol installation) ceremony atthe newly-built AnnapurnaDham temple here.

"There is a recent trend ofpeople expecting that every-thing has to be done by theGovernment. They also seekanswers from the Governmentfor the works that are notdone. This was not a traditionin our country," he said.

The society used to builddharmshalas (guest houses),gaushala (cow shelters), waterponds and libraries, he said.

"All these used to be con-structed by society's strength.Slowly, knowingly or unknow-ingly, this activity of the soci-ety was suppressed and thestate took the role of carryingout social work," Modi said.

"Our attempt is (to ensure)

that the state should do theadministrative work, and soci-ety should be empowered so itcan carry out such socialworks beneficial for people atlarge," he said after the cere-mony at the temple set up byLeuva Patels, a sub-caste of thePatidar community. The primeminister said it was the LeuvaPatel community, led byIndia's first Home ministerSardar Vallabhbhai Patel,which started the Amul move-

ment and benefited peoplecoming from all castes andclasses in the villages ofGujarat.

"Sardar Patel should not beseen from the prism of caste.He was a tall world leader. His'Statue of Unity' (in Gujarat'sNarmada district) is theworld's tallest statue, and Idon't think we can break thisrecord," he said.

"Who started the AmulDairy? For our understanding,

they were all Leuva Patels...Theleaders of our communitywho founded Amul benefitedpeople from all communi-ties," he said.

Modi said he would likethis trust (of the AnnapurnaDham) to set up food pro-cessing units and develop ascientific method of food pro-cessing.

"We should work on foodprocessing on a large scale andconduct research in the sector.I would like people from theindustry to think in this direc-tion," he said.

He suggested the templetrust to gift plants to devoteesso they stay like "God's bless-ings" after growing up.

After the birth of a daugh-ter in a Leuva Patel family, itsmembers should be encour-aged to visit the AnnapurnaDham to seek the Goddess'blessings, he said.

The family should begiven five plants of best woodquality for making furniture,and government's help shouldbe sought for land to growthem, he said. PTI

Jammu: A soldier was injuredon Tuesday as Pakistan againviolated ceasefire by resortingto unprovoked mortar shellingand firing of small arms on for-ward posts and villages at twoplaces along the Line of Controlin Jammu & Kashmir, officialssaid.

The unprovoked firingfrom across the border tookplace in Nowshera sector inRajouri district and KrishnaGhati in Poonch district,prompting effective retaliationby the Indian Army, a defencespokesman said.

Official sources said asepoy, guarding a forward postin Kalal area of Nowshera sec-tor, suffered a bullet injury inthe firing from across the bor-

der and was subsequentlyadmitted to a hospital.

The defence spokesmansaid Pakistani troopers firsttargeted forward posts and vil-lages in Nowshera around11:30 am and the cross-borderskirmishes continued for sometime.

Pakistani army also initi-ated shelling with mortars andsmall arms in Krishna Ghati

sector around 6pm, thespokesman said.

He said the Indian Armyretaliated strongly but the casu-alties on the Pakistani sidecould not be known immedi-ately.

There has been a spurt inceasefire violation by Pakistanafter India's air strike at Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist campin Balakot on February 26 in apreemptive action followingthe February 14 suicide bomb-ing in Pulwama in which 40CRPF personnel were killed.

Four civilians, includingthree members of a family, werekilled and several othersinjured in over 60 ceasefire vio-lations by Pakistan along theLoC last week. PTI

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Ahmedabad: Congress law-maker from Gujarat BhagvanBarad has been disqualified asan MLA following his convic-tion in an illegal mining case,state Assembly Speaker RajendraTrivedi said on Tuesday.

The Opposition Congresshas termed the move "political-ly motivated" and said it wouldapproach court over theSpeaker's move and also holdprotests. A court in Gir-Somnath district last Fridayawarded Barad a jail term of twoyears and nine months in a 24-year-old case of illegal mining.

The 60-year-old Congressleader won from Talala seat inGir-Somnath in the 2017Assembly polls. PTI

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Still to find a berth, theO p p o s i t i o n

“Mahaghatbandhan” in theState, Maharashtra NavnirmanSena (MNS) chief RajThackeray may spell out hisparty’s stand whether it will bea part of the Opposition front orgo it alone in the polls, at hisparty’s 13th foundation dayhere on March 9.

Raj — whose party has notso far come to an electoralunderstanding with any politi-cal party despite his desperateefforts to hitch a ride on theOpposition bandwagon for theforthcoming Lok Sabha polls –will unveil the MNS' road mapfor the forthcoming Lok Sabhapolls and the subsequent StateAssembly polls at the partyrally on Saturday. In its effort towhip up enthusiasm amongthe cadres ahead of the party’s

foundation day rally to be heldat the Rangsharda auditorium atBandra in north-west Mumbai,the MNS has gone to town withteasers in the social media,exhorting the party workers tobe ready for a “surgical strike”from its president, at Saturday’srally. Notwithstanding theefforts made by Raj to jumponto the Opposition bandwag-on ahead of the Lok Sabha polls,there is still uncertainty onwhether the MNS will be admit-ted into the Opposition“Mahaghatbandhan”.

Between the two main con-stituents of the“Mahaghatbandhan”, the NCPhas evinced interest in takingthe MNS into the Oppositionfold, while the Congressstaunchly opposed the RajThackeray-led party’s inclusionin the Opposition front.

It may be recalled that for-mer deputy chief minister andsenior NCP leader Ajit Pawarhad on February 12 made astrong case for MNS’ inclusionin the “Mahaghatbandhan” toensure consolidation of theOpposition votes.

Subsequently, MaharashtraCongress president AshokChavan said that his party hadconveyed to its ally NCP that itcould not come to an under-standing “covertly or overtly”with the MNS to include it inthe “Mahaghatbandhan” cob-bled up for the forthcoming LokSabha polls. Chavan’s statement

came in the backdrop of thehints thrown by the NCP thatit would offer the Kalyan LokSabha seat to the MNS.

Talking to media persons,Chavan had said that theCongress would not “tolerate”any move by the NCP to forgea seat-sharing arrangementwith the MNS “either overtly orcovertly”.

The Congress’ hesitationto take the MNS into the“Mahaghatbandhan” stemsfrom the fact it fears that thepresence of the Raj Thackeray-led party in the Oppositionfront might erode its north-Indian vote bank.

Though he sought to mendhis ways by participating in anorth-Indian conventionrecently, Raj has been targetingthe north-Indians settled inMumbai ever since he quit theShiv Sena and founded theMNS on March 9, 2006.

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Brexit talks with theEuropean Union are mak-

ing progress, a senior BritishGovernment Minister said onTuesday, as Prime MinisterTheresa May seeks conces-sions from Brussels to help per-suade lawmakers to back herdeal in a series of crucial votesnext week.

Britain is due to leave theEU on March 29 — the firstcountry ever to do so — butBritish lawmakers have reject-ed a draft deal sealed by Mayand her EU counterparts inNovember. Both they and EUlawmakers must endorse anyagreement.

“I think the signals we are getting are reasonably pos-itive,” Foreign Secretary JeremyHunt told the BBC. “I don’twant to overstate them becauseI still think there’s a lot of workto do, but I think they dounderstand that we are being

sincere.”EU chief negotiator Michel

Barnier was due to meet U.K.Brexit Secretary StephenBarclay and Attorney GeneralGeoffrey Cox in Brussels lateron Tuesday seeking to breakthe deadlock.

The objections in Londoncenter on a provision demand-ed by Brussels to guaranteethere are no barriers along thecurrently invisible borderbetween EU member stateIreland and Northern Ireland,which is part of the U.K. Britainwants reassurances that thismechanism would be tempo-rary.

EU leaders insist that thelegally binding divorce agreement governing Britain’sdeparture can’t be reopened.But Hunt told the BBC that hiscountry is “prepared to beflexible” about how changes areachieved, and argued that theEuropeans are coming aroundto the idea that May “can get a

majority in Parliament.”With time running out, the

chances of Britain crashingout without any deal at all aregrowing, although Hunt saidhis government wants to avoidsuch a potentially devastatingscenario. EU leaders want toavoid that too.

In Poland, leaders werediscussing Tuesday a plan toprepare for that eventuality.

Prime Minister MateuszMorawiecki and his Cabinetwere taking up the draft legis-lation during their regularweekly meeting Tuesday.Konrad Szymanski, a deputyForeign Minister responsiblefor European issues, told Polishnews agency PAP that the planshould help alleviate the mostacute consequences of a no-deal Brexit.

Also hanging in the balance is the fate of hundredsof thousands of Poles who have settled in the UKsince Poland joined the EU in

2004.The Bank of England has

warned that “significant mar-ket volatility” is likely ifBritain crashes out.

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Malaysian prosecutors hereon Tuesday charged a

former ally of former PrimeMinister Najib Razak withmultiple counts of money laun-dering.

Musa Aman, former ChiefMinister of Sabah, was chargedat a Kuala Lumpur court with16 counts of money launderingamounting to $37 million,Xinhua news agency reported.The offences were committedbetween 2006 and 2008, reportssay.

Musa was accused of indi-rect involvement in allegedmoney laundering activitiesby instructing a bank accountto be opened at a Singaporeanbank to receive proceeds froman illicit transaction.

He was also accused ofindirect involvement in moneylaundering through receivingillicit funds from various com-panies and individuals througha foreign bank between 2006and 2008.

The largest recorded sumfor a single transactionamounted to $16.15 million,the report said.

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China plans to complete the construction of the

artificial sun this year, achiev-ing an ion temperature of 100million degrees Celsius, anofficial has said.

The HL-2M Tokamakdevice is designed to replicatethe nuclear fusion process that occurs naturally in the sunand stars to provide almost infinite clean energy throughcontrolled nuclear fusion,which is often dubbed as the“artificial sun.”

Achieving an ion temper-ature above 100 million degreesCelsius is one of the threechallenges to reach the goal ofharnessing the nuclear fusion,and the core of the sun is wide-ly believed to be 15 milliondegree Celsius, meaning thatthe ion at the device’s core willbe seven times higher than thatof the Sun, Duan Xuru, an offi-cial of the China NationalNuclear Corporation (CNNC)was quoted as saying by thestate-run Global Times.

The other two challengesare containing the fusion with-

in a limited space in the longterm, and providing a suffi-ciently high density profile,Science and Technology Dailyreported on Monday.

“The artificial sun’s plasmais mainly composed of elec-trons and ions, and the coun-try’s existing Tokamak deviceshave achieved an electron tem-perature of over 100 milliondegrees Celsius in its core plasma, and an ion temperatureof 50 million degrees Celsius, and it is the ion thatgenerates energy in the device,”Duan said.

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Tehran: Iran says its ForeignMinister wanted to resign lastmonth after being kept in thedark about a surprise visit bySyrian President Bashar Assad toTehran.

President Hassan Rouhaniultimately rejected MohammadJavad Zarif ’s resignation, throw-ing his full support behind thediplomat who negotiated thecountry’s nuclear deal withworld powers.

Zarif later returned to hisjob. Both men face growingpressure from Iranian hard-lin-ers as the nuclear accord unrav-els under American pressure.

Foreign Ministry spok-esman Bahram Ghasemi said onTuesday that “one of the reasonsfor Zarif ’s resignation was thistype of lack of coordination withthe Foreign Ministry.” Assadwas warmly received bySupreme Leader Ayatollah AliKhamenei, Rouhani and alsoGen. Qassem Soleimani, thecommander of an elite unit ofthe Revolutionary Guard. AP

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AVietnamese womanaccused of murdering the

half-brother of North Korea’sleader will testify in court for thefirst time next week, when thelong-running trial over the ColdWar-style hit resumes, herlawyer said on Tuesday.

In a brazen killing thatshocked the world, Doan ThiHuong from Vietnam and SitiAisyah from Indonesia areaccused of assassinating KimJong Nam by smearing VXnerve agent on his face at KualaLumpur airport in February2017. The women have deniedmurder, saying they believedthey were taking part in a prankand were tricked by NorthKorean agents.

Salim Bashir, one of Huong’slawyers, said she will testify onMonday when the trial resumeswith the defence stage of pro-ceedings after a break of sever-al months.

“Huong is in good health,confident and is ready to take thestand,” he told AFP, adding thatthe thrust of the defence

remained that the women weretricked into carrying out thekilling.

“Huong had no... Intentionto commit murder.” The pairhave been on trial since October2017 but proceedings have beenhit by repeated delays, andAisyah’s defence — which wasoriginally due to start last year— is currently on hold due to arow over witness statements.

Prosecutors presented theircase in the first stage of the trial,with witnesses describing howthe victim — the estranged rel-ative of Kim Jong Un and onceseen as heir apparent to theNorth Korean leadership —died in agony shortly after beingattacked.

In August, a judge ruledthere was sufficient evidence thesuspects had engaged in a “well-planned conspiracy” with fourNorth Koreans to murder Kim,and ordered that the trial con-tinue to the defence stage.

The four, who are accusedof having recruited the pair andbeing the masterminds of theplot, are also formally accusedover the killing.

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AUK-based male patient’sHIV has become “unde-

tectable” following a stem celltransplant — in only the sec-ond case of its kind in theworld, scientists led by anIndian-origin researcherreported Tuesday in a studypublished in the journalNature.

The ‘London patient’, whohas not been named, was diag-nosed with HIV in 2003 andadvanced Hodgkin’s lymphomain 2012. Professor RavindraGupta said the patient was treat-ed with stem cell transplantsfrom donors carrying a geneticmutation that prevents expres-sion of an HIV receptor CCR5.

The subject of the newstudy has been in remission for18 months after his antiretro-viral therapy (ARV) was dis-continued, he said.

“At the moment the only

way to treat HIV is with med-ications that suppress the virus,which people need to take fortheir entire lives, posing a par-ticular challenge in developing countries,” saidGupta from University CollegeLondon (UCL), the study’slead author

“Finding a way to eliminatethe virus entirely is an urgentglobal priority, but is particu-larly difficult because the virusintegrates into the white bloodcells of its host,” he said in astatement.

The team, which com-prised of researchers at UCLand Imperial College Londonas well as partners at theUniversity of Cambridge andthe University of Oxford, saidthe latest case is a proof of theconcept that scientists will oneday be able to end AIDS,caused by HIV, but does notmean a cure for HIV has beenfound.

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Tasked with cleaning up ofmammoth financial mess at

embattled IL&FS, itsGovernment-appointed boardhas charged 14 former directorsof group firm IL&FS FinancialServices Ltd (IFIN) of facili-tating money laundering, sanc-tioning loans in violation ofrules and causing “huge finan-cial stress and losses” to thecompany.

In show-cause noticesissued to the 14 former direc-tors, the new management hascharged them of having “sanc-tioned loans deceptively toexternal and group companieswith sole objective to infringeRBI guidelines of excessiveexposure of IFIN to intra-group companies.”

They have also beenaccused of extending loans for“criminal intent of falsificationof repayment by a number ofborrowers, including someentities associated with largecorporate groups.

The notices, datedFebruary 27, have asked former

directors to reply within sevendays upon receipt as to whydepartmental and legal actionsshould not be taken againstthem for their “misconduct,dereliction of duties, gross neg-ligence and acts of conspiracyand getting unlawful gains foroneself and others.”

Officials said no reply hasbeen received from any of the14 noticees and the board is setto follow up the notices withstern action, which mayinclude filing of cases.

When contacted, IL&FS(Infrastructure Leasing andFinancial Services Ltd)spokesperson Sharad Goeldeclined to comment.

The notices follow anextensive special audit orderedby the new board and con-ducted by Grant Thornton ofcrisis-hit IL&FS Group, whichidentified numerous financialirregularities in deals withfinancial implications of over�13,000 crore.

IL&FS Group, which oper-ates at least 24 direct sub-sidiaries, 135 indirect sub-sidiaries, six joint ventures and

four associate companies, is sit-ting on debt of �94,000 croreand landed in a major contro-versy last year following mul-tiple defaults, prompting thegovernment to supercede itsboard.

The audit report has iden-tified at least 29 instanceswhere loans disbursed to bor-rowers appeared to have beenutilised by their group compa-nies to repay the existing debtobligations with IL&FSFinancial Services Limited(IFIN). LIC is the single largestshareholder with over 25 percent stake in IL&FS and Japan’sOrix Corp owns a little over 23per cent.

IL&FS Employees WelfareTrust holds 12 per cent in thecompany. The Abu DhabiInvestment Authority, HDFCand Central Bank of Indiahold 12.56 per cent, 9.02 percent and 7.67 per cent, respec-tively, in the cash-strappedcompany. SBI has the loweststake, at around 7 per cent, inthe company.

In the show-cause notice,former IFIN directors havebeen accused of sanctioningloans worth thousands ofcrores to certain entities by“overlooking negative assess-ment by the credit risk assess-ment group” and withoutrecording any cogent justifi-cation, despite having fullknowledge that the assets ofthe borrower entities werestressed.

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Indian equities benchmarkSensex on Tuesday surged

by nearly 379 points to closeat 36,442 on intense buyingmainly in auto, financial andenergy stocks amid easinggeo-political tensions andpositive macroeconomic out-look.

The NSE Nifty too rosenearly 124 points to close a tadbelow the psychological11,000-level.

Among the Sensex con-stituents, 23 stocks rose andseven counters fell.

Tata Motors led the Sensexchart with a rise of 7.72 percent, followed by HeromotoCorp 5.28 per cent and Axisbank 4.12 per cent.

The key BSE index was fur-ther lifted by ONGC, CoalIndia, Tata Steel, NTPC, Marutiand ICICI Bank — rising asmuch as 3.96 per cent.

Among the major Sensexlaggards, Infosys slipped 1.15per cent, HUL dropped 0.62per cent and TCS fell 0.19 percent. PowerGrid, LT, Yes Bankand HCL Tech were the otherlosers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, the country’sservices sector activity gatheredmomentum in February, drivenby a quicker expansion in newwork orders that supported afaster increase in output andjob creation, a monthly surveyshowed Tuesday.

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The rupee rebounded by 43paise to close at 70.49 against

the US dollar on Tuesday large-ly driven by positive macrodata and easing crude prices.

Forex traders said heavybuying in domestic equities andsustained foreign fund inflowsalso propped up the local unit.

At the Interbank ForeignExchange (forex) market, thedomestic unit opened slightlydown at 70.95.

During the day, the localunit, however, gathered momen-tum and rose to an intra-dayhigh of 70.43 before finally end-ing at 70.49, showing a gain of 43paise. The local unit had weak-ened by 20 paise to close at 70.92against the US dollar Friday.

The domestic forex marketand equity market were closedMonday on account ofMahashivratri.

Commenting on the appre-ciation in rupee, Sunil Sharma,Chief Investment Officer,Sanctum Wealth Managementsaid, “Over last one month theIndian rupee has appreciated1.5 per cent and is the best per-forming emerging market cur-rency”.

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IIFL Finance, India’s non-banking finance company, is

bringing exciting offers onGold Loan schemes by launch-ing its Gola Loan Mela from 1stMarch to 11th March 2019.

Gold Loan Mela offersattractive interest rate of 1% permonth along with commit-ment of quick processing ofloan in just 5 minutes, maxi-mum Loan value on Gold andeasy digital payment options.

This Mela also offersattractive prizes for customersunder the ‘Refer & Win’scheme. The Gold Loan Melais being held at more than 480IIFL branches in AndhraPradesh, Telangana, Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,Maharashtra and Goa.

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The World Bank will providea $250-million loan for the

National Rural EconomicTransformation Project(NRETP) to help women inrural households develop viableenterprises for farm and non-farm products.

An agreement in thisregard was signed between theWorld Bank and theGovernment of India onTuesday.

“A key focus of the projectwill be to promote women-owned and women-led farmand non-farm enterprisesacross value chains; enablethem to build businesses thathelp them access finance, mar-kets and networks; and gener-ate employment,” Wold Banksaid in a statement.

NRETP is an additionalfinancing to the $500-millionNational Rural LivelihoodsProject (NRLP) approved bythe World Bank in July 2011.

The $250 million loan hasa 5-year grace period, and afinal maturity of 20 years.

The NRLP, which is cur-rently being implementedacross 13 states, 162 districts

and 575 blocks, has so farmobilised more than 8.8 mil-lion women from poor ruralhouseholds into 7.5 lakh self-help groups (SHGs).

These SHGs have beenfurther federated into 48,700village organisations and 2,900cluster or gram panchayat-level federations.

While the 13 states willcontinue to be supported underthe new project signed onTuesday, 125 new districts willbe added from within thesestates, the release said.

Since its launch in 2011, theNational Rural LivelihoodsMission (NRLM) has mobilised50 million poor rural womeninto self-help groups and theirhigher-level federations.

According to the release,these groups have leveragednearly $30 billion from com-mercial banks.

The World Bank furthersaid the NERTP would supportenterprise development pro-grammes for rural poor womenand youth by creating a plat-form to access finance includ-ing start-up financing optionsto build their individual and/orcollectively owned and man-aged enterprises.

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Kundan Gold Refinery, aprivate gold refinery in

India, is expanding and enter-ing into an affordable gold jew-ellery segment by launching itsnew brand ‘Zeya by Kundan’ incollaboration with Swarovski.The Company has invested �60Cr in its expansion.

Zeya by Kundan will befirst of its kind hand-craftedgold jewellery adorned withcubic Zirconia from Swarovski.The jewellery range includespendants, rings for men andwomen.

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Keeping in view of Holi, theCentre on Tuesday fixed

sugar sale quota at 24.5 lakhtonne for March in the openmarket. It has also allocatedsugar quota for sale to each ofthe 524 mills in the country.Recently, mills were alsoadvised to go for advancebooking of sugar sales to bulkconsumers.

According to the Ministryof Food and Consumers’Affairs, the increase (in quotafor March) is attributable tovarious factors.

“There is a pattern of highsales/dispatches around thistime of the Year. Mills areallowed to sell sugar at a min-imum selling price of �31 perkg. The rate was increasedrecently from �29 per kg tohelp mills realise maximumrevenue and clear cane pricearrears of farmers”, it said.

The Government has beenfixing sugar quota for millssince June 2018 and imple-menting the Sugar Price(Control) Order 2018 in orderto manage surplus produc-tion in the country and to sta-bilise sugar prices with a viewto clear cane price arrears offarmers.

Sugarcane arrears to farm-ers have crossed �20,000 crorein the current marketing year2018-19 (October-September).

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New Delhi: Aon, a global pro-fessional services firm provid-ing a broad range of risk,retirement and health solu-tions, on Tuesday released the23rd edition of its annual SalaryIncrease Survey in India. Thestudy, analysed data across1000+ companies from morethan 20 industries.

As per the results of thesurvey, companies in Indiagave an average pay increase of9.5% during 2018, reflectingimproved business sentimentcompared to 2017. PNS

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Andy Murray will put his "heart andsoul" into trying to return to pro-

fessional tennis, his mother Judy hassaid, although she admitted the player'sfuture is unclear.

The 31-year-old underwent hipresurfacing surgery at the end of Januaryin a final throw of the dice to try to over-come the problem that first became a serious issuein 2017.

The operation was performed primarily toimprove his quality of life, with Murray reveal-ing that he struggled simply to put on his socksand shoes, but also offered a potential route backto the sport.

"He is doing pretty well. It is not that longsince he had the operation and time will tell," JudyMurray told Sky Sports.

"Nobody knows how he is going to recover

in the longer term. He is in a goodplace mentally and we just keep ourfingers crossed.

"But I tell you, if anybody can doit he can because he will put his heartand soul into it like he does witheverything."

The former world number oneannounced at an emotional press con-ference ahead of the Australian Open

in January that he planned to retire afterWimbledon but was more hopeful following aremarkable five-set defeat by Roberto BautistaAgut in the first round.

No player has come back from the same oper-ation to play singles but American Bob Bryanrecently returned in doubles and won an ATPTour title in Delray Beach last month with hisbrother Mike. Bryan said in Australia that he nolonger felt any pain and backed Murray to followhim by making a comeback.

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Achallenging draw stands in the way but India's topshuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal will

nonetheless fancy their chances of ending a nearly two-decade old title jinx at the All England Championshipstarting on Wednesday.

It was Sindhu and Saina's mentor and current chiefnational coach P Gopichand, who was the last Indianto win the championship back in 2001.

Only the top 32 in the Badminton World Federation(BWF) rankings qualify for the tournament and out ofthem, only three Indians have been seeded — the thirdbeing Kidambi Srikanth (seeded seventh) in the men'sevent.

Fifth-seeded Olympic and world championshipSilver-medallist Sindhu will square off against formerworld No 2 Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea at the $ onemillion event.

London Olympics Bronze-medallist Saina, seededeighth, will start her campaign against Scotland's KristyGilmour.

The star shuttlers have had contrasting resultsagainst their first-round opponents.

While Saina enjoys a 6-0 overall record againstGilmour, Sindhu has been troubled by Sung Ji but leads8-6 in their previous 14 encounters.

Sung Ji defeated Sindhu twice in three meetings lastyear and if the Indian can put it past the Korean, shewill run into either Russian Evgeniya Kosetskaya orHong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi in the second round.

A favourable result will then pit Sindhu againstthird-seeded Chinese youngster, Chen Yufei in the quar-terfinals.

The Indian had lost to Chen at the 2018 ChinaOpen and will be wary of the Chinese despite enjoy-ing a 4-3 head-to-head record.

"Each round will be comparatively tough. Eachpoint is important to me. I am playing Sung Ji Hyunin the first round and it would be important for me tofocus from the first round," said the 23-year-old, whohad reached the semifinals in the last edition.

While Sindhu has been in red-hot form last sea-son, claiming Silver medals at all major events, formerworld No 1 Saina remains the only Indian to come closeto winning the prestigious title, finishing runners-upin 2015.

The seasoned Hyderabadi enjoyed a good start tothe year, winning the title at the Indonesia Masters inJanuary and getting the better of Sindhu in thenational finals to claim the crown.

Saina, who turns 29 on March 17, will face eitherDenmark's Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt or China's CaiYanyan if she happens to win the first round.

While Saina has an edge over the Dane, she hasnever faced the 19-year-old Chinese player before.

The vastly experienced Indian is expected to crossat least the second round and is likely to face her neme-sis Tai Tzu Ying, against whom she has lost 12 consec-utive times.

The Chinese Taipei shuttler enjoys an overall head-to-head record of 14-5 against Saina.

In the men's event, Srikanth will take on FrenchmanBrice Leverdez in the opening round while an in-formSameer Verma will start against former world cham-pion and world No 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.

After a poor 2018, Srikanth had a decent outing in

Malaysia and Indonesia, reaching the quarterfinals. Hewould look to find his best form during the week.

Sameer, who had reached the knockout stage of theWorld Tour Finals, will be playing his first BWF eventof the season.

Among others, B Sai Praneeth and HS Prannoy willface each other in the opening round.

While Praneeth would be hungry to put his SeniorNationals' disappointment behind him, Prannoy hasbeen battling with a breathing problem. He would beeager to put on a good show before leaving for his med-ical treatment in the US.

Chief coach Gopichand has already pinned hishopes on Saina, Sindhu and Srikanth. He feels the triohas what it takes to end the country's 18-year wait forthe prestigious trophy.

"We have had good performances from Saina,Sindhu and Srikanth has also been in good form. I doexpect that we will have a good performance at thisyear's All-England," Gopichand had said last month.

Three-time world champion Carolina Marin,who is undergoing physiotherapy after rupturing theAnterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in her right kneeduring the Indonesia Masters final, will be also amongthe ones to watch out for in the singles' draw.

In women's doubles, Ashwini Ponnapa & N SikkiReddy will play the seventh-seeded Japanese pair ShihoTanaka and Koharu Yonemoto, while MeghanaJakkampudi and Poorvisha S Ram will square offagainst Russia's Ekaterina Bolotova and AlinaDavletova.

In men's doubles, former National champion ManuAttri and B Sumeeth Reddy will face China's Ou Xuanyiand Ren Xiangyu in the first round.

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Germany head coachJoachim Loew

dropped a bombshell onTuesday by announcingthat 2014 World Cup win-ners Jerome Boateng, MatsHummels and ThomasMueller are no longer in hisplans.

Loew told the BayernMunich trio before henames the squad for thefriendly against Serbia inWolfsburg in two weeksand the Euro 2020 qualifi-er against the Netherlandsin Amsterdam on March24.

Between them,Hummels, Boateng, both30, and Mueller, still only29, boast 246 appearancesfor Germany and were atthe heart of the team whichwon the 2014 World Cupin Brazil.

However, last year'sdebacle at the World Cupfinals in Russia sawGermany crash out afterthe group stages due tobelow-par performancesfrom Loew's trusted stars,including the trio.

"2019 is the year of anew start for the German

national football team,"said Loew.

"It was important to mepersonally to explain mythoughts and plans to theplayers and managers of FCBayern," added Loew, whoflew to Munich to speak tothe trio.

The 59-year-old, whomasterminded Germany'sWorld Cup triumph inBrazil, thanked "Mats,Jerome and Thomas" for"many successful, extraor-dinary and unique yearstogether."

Loew's decision her-

alds the end of an impres-sive international careerfor Mueller, who brokethrough as a raw 20-year-old at the 2010 World Cupand went on to score 38goals in 100 appearances.

Hummels andBoateng, Germany's suc-cessful centre-back part-nership before the disasterat the finals in Russia, haveplayed in 70 and 76 inter-nationals respectively.

Others could also findthemselves surplus toLoew's requirements in thecoming weeks.

Germany captainManuel Neuer, 32, has abattle to keep his goal-keeping shirt fromBarcelona's Marc-Andreter Stegen, 26.

"I said last year thatManuel is number one rightnow, but this year we havesomething like a new startand Marc will get hischances too," said Loewbefore Tuesday's announce-ment.

With a year to go beforethe European champi-onships, Loew feels now isthe time to remove more of

his old guard having alreadylast year dropped SamiKhedira, another 2014World Cup winner.

Loew was heavily crit-icised in the wake of lastyear's debacle in Russia forfailing to give chances to thereserves, many of whomhad won the 2017Confederations Cup, whenhis World Cup plans fellapart.

"In the year of qualify-ing for the EuropeanChampionship 2020, we aresending out a clear signal:the young national teamplayers will have the spacethey need to fully develop,"said Loew. "They have totake responsibility now."

Loew's boss, GermanFootball Association presi-dent Reinhard Grindel, whoalso took flak last year whenMesut Ozil retired fromGermany duty amid claimsof racism, welcomed Loew'smove.

"I welcome the fact thathe is now making decisiveprogress in transformingour national team and start-ing the qualification forEURO 2020 is the righttime for personnelchanges," said Grindel.

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The Sports Authority of India (SAI) onTuesday cleared Dipa Karmakar's partic-

ipation in the upcoming World Cups at Bakuand Doha respectively but asked the gymnas-tics federation to conduct trials for men.

In a letter copied to the GymanasticFederation of India (GFI), SAI approved Dipaand her personal coach Bisweswar Nandi's par-ticipation at FIG World Cups in Baku andDoha respectively.

The GFI had registered Dipa for theback-to-back World Cups to be held fromMarch 14-17 and March 20-23 at Azerbaijanand Qatar respectively but clearance waspending with the event beginning in less thantwo weeks time.

"On taking notice of the pendency of clear-ance of Gymnastics team for the World Cups,SAI acted swiftly and immediately approval forclearance of the contingent for the OlympicQualification World Cup events," Riyaz Bhati,vice-president of GFI said.

"Now the gymnasts are clear in their mindand can focus exclusively on their training andpreparation."

GFI had also sent the entries of Yogeshwar

Singh and Ashish Kumar in the men's artis-tic event in Doha.

However, SAI has decided to conduct aselection trial for men gymnasts for DohaWorld Cup where two gymnasts will beselected to compete on Floor and Vault eventsrespectively. Apart from Ashish and Yogeshwar,there will be a number other gymnasts partic-ipating in the trials.

"The selection trial is likely to be conduct-ed on March 11. We can make a request to theworld body for replacement of gymnastsalready registered," Bhati said.

Bhati, who was selected by GFI to accom-pany the delegation at the two events, had ear-lier claimed that SAI Project Manager RajinderPathania was not clearing the team because hewanted to go for the two events.

SAI then had a meeting with Bhati onTuesday before clearing the tours for the twoOlympic qualifiers for the Tokyo Games.

Dipa, who finished fourth at the RioOlympics, had clinched the Bronze medal atWorld Cup at Cottbus, Germany last year.

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The India 'A' and 'B' teams started theircampaigns in the under-19 quadran-

gular ODI series on Tuesday with easywins over South Africa and Afghanistanrespectively.

In a match played at the GreenfieldInternational stadium here, India 'A'routed the Proteas colts by 157 runswhile the 'B' team hammeredAfghanistan by seven wickets at the StXavier's KCA ground.

The 'A' team won the toss and post-ed 251 all out in 50 overs, riding on half-centuries by opener Qamran Iqbal (60,65 balls, 3X4, 4X6) and Sashwat Rawat(64, 55 balls, 10X4).

For the Proteas, Marco Jansen tookfour wickets conceding 30 runs whileNonelela Yikha took 2 for 37.

In reply, the visiting South Africanswere bundled out for 94 in 35.4 overswith left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey shin-ing with figures of 3 for 7 from sevenovers while off-break bowler RaviBishnoi took 3 for 27.

Tail-ender Marco Jansen was thehighest scorer with 33 (57 balls 3X4, 1X6)while only one other batsmen reached

double figures.In the India 'B'-Afghanistan game,

fast bowler Purnank Tyagi (4 for 36 in9 overs) and leg-spinner Paras RayBarman with brilliant figures of 3 for 10helped the host team bundle out theAfghan colts for 106 in 47.3 overs.

Jamshid made the top score of 28 forthe Afghanistan team which struggledto get going on a track offering help tothe bowlers.

In reply, India 'B' was in trouble, los-ing three wickets for just five runs beforecaptain Rahul Chandrol (56 not out, 51

balls, 5X4, 1X6) and K Nitish KumarReddy (44, 70 balls, 4X4) saw the teamhome.

������ ��India under-19 'A' 251 all out in 50overs (Qamran Iqbal 60, Ravi Bishnoi64, Marco Jansen 4 for 30) beat SouthAfrica under-19 94 all out in 35.4overs (Marco Jansen 33, Harsh Dubey3 for 7, Ravi Bishnoi 3 for 27). Afghanistan under-19 106 all out in47.3 overs lost to India under-19 'B'107 for 3 in 22.3 overs.

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Indian bowlers delivered in aheart-stopping climax to fash-ion a narrow eight-run victo-

ry against Australia in the secondODI after skipper Virat Kohliconjured up a resolute hundred intesting conditions on Tuesday.

Pacer Vijay Shankar scalpedthe last two Australian batsmen inthe final over in which Australianeeded to score 11 runs for aseries-levelling win.

Handing the ball to mediumpacer Shankar at the make-or-break situation was a bold decisionby skipper Kohli, who had theoption of employing Kedar Jadhavas well.

Chasing 251, Australia was240 for eight when Shankar got ridof dangerous Marcus Stoinins (52)in the very first ball of the 50th overand castled Adam Zampa in thethird ball to trigger celebrations inthe Indian camp.

Before that, pacer JaspritBumrah (2/19), who is ever-reli-able in death overs, dismissedNathan Coulter-Nile and PatCummins in space of three balls inthe 46th over and conceded justone run in the 48th over, playinga crucial role in India's win afterthe spinners had choked theAustralians in the middle overs.

It was Stoinis who had kept thevisitors in hunt as he resisted theunrelenting Indian attack withaplomb and added 47-runs for thesixth wicket with Alex Carey (22).

Kohli's 40th ODI centurysteered India to a competitive 250after a middle-order collapse on adry surface at the VCA stadiumbut it proved to be just enough inthe end as India earned the winwith just three balls to spare.

India now lead the five-matchseries 2-0 with third match slatedfor Friday in Ranchi.

The Indian skipper was ingood touch and played somedelightful drives whenever theball was pitched up. In conditionswhich tested the fitness of each andevery player, Kohli struck only 10boundaries and ran a lot of singlesand two's in his 116-run knock.

He was at the crease till the

start of the 48th over, facing 120balls in an innings which will rankamong one of his top ODI knocksin recent times.

Australia were off to a fluentstart with openers Aaron Finch(37) and Usman Khawaja (38)adding 83 runs at a decent pace but

the spinners led by ChinamanKuldeep Yadav (3/54) not only putthe brakes on run-rate but alsohurt the visitors by taking wicketsintermittently.

Kuldeep broke the openingstand by trapping Finch and latersent back dangerous Glenn

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Maxwell (4) and Carey while Jadhav and Jadeja accountedfor Khawaja and Shaun Marsh respectively.

Stoinis and Carey took the Aussie chase deep with theirdogged batting but Kuldeep turned the tide in India's favourby dismissing the latter.

After the first innings, it was clear that spinners will shape

the outcome of the match andKuldeep along with RavindraJadeja and Kedar Jadhav did stran-gulate the Australian innings.

Between overs 13 and 33 theIndian bowlers conceded just oneboundary.

Earlier, Kohli steadily build theIndian innings even as he saw thefall of colleagues Shikhar Dhawan(21) and Ambati Rayudu (18).

Kohli got a good ally in VijayShankar (46 off 41) with whom headded 81 runs for the fourthwicket but the latter was unfortu-nately run out when he backed uptoo far at the non-striker's end toa Kohli straight drive.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampathen got rid of Kedar Jadhav (11)and M S Dhoni (0) off successiveballs but Kohli held one end up.

He completed his hundred bycutting one from Nathan Coulter-Nile to the square boundary.

The innings approaching theend, acceleration was requiredbut Ravindra Jadeja could onlymanage 21 off 40 balls and wassoon removed by Cummins. Kohliwas finally dismissed while tryingto pull Pat Cummins.

Kuldeep and Jasprit Bumrahtoo perished in a jiffy and Indiacould not even bat for full 50 overs.

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There is a new trend emerging inthe job market these days.Employers are looking for can-

didates with multiple skills. One areaof expertise among candidates is nolonger appealing to the organisationsfor the job. They believe that profes-sionals who are proficient in two ormore business domains can be betterperformers at jobs that are interdisci-plinary in nature.

An increasing number of studentshave realised that they need to com-bine their specialisations to meetemployer expectations. Here are somereasons why students prefer to enrolin dual specialisation PGDM degree.

�� ������With dual specialisation in their

skills kitty, you can widen the scopeof job opportunities. You can fit intodiversified roles effortlessly. Dualspecialisation gives you a competitiveedge over other candidatesarmed with only oneskill. It is akin todoubling the chancesof landing a job. Moreover,students with dual specialisa-tion have better access to jobprospects in both domestic andinternational markets.

������� �3����� ���Today’s business world operates in

a volatile, uncertain and dynamiceconomy. Organisations require

adapting their business objectivesand workforce to cater to the chang-ing market. Employees who do notreskill, upskill or cross-skill themselvesmay lose their jobs. On the contrary,employees with dual specialisationsare equipped to handle different andvaried roles single-handedly as per themarket changes. Hence, there is morejob security.

�����Who doesn’t expect promotions

and higher salaries in their career? Adual specialisation will enable you toclimb the corporate ladder fasterthan your peers. As and when you

want to make a career transi-tion, you can do it

smoothly becauseyou can look foropportunitiesbeyond your

comfort zone.The fact that you

have expertise in twobusiness functions

works to youra d v a n t a g ewhen it comesto advancing

your career.

���� �����������When you have dual specialisa-

tions, you come into contact withmany people during both academicand professional life. As you go on cul-tivating relationships with peoplefrom two different domains, morepeople know about your skills andqualifications. So, you again havetwice the chances of learning about

new openings in the job market andfast-track your career.

�������When you pursue dual specialisa-

tion simultaneously, you can save halfthe time of what you would take bydoing two courses one after another.The time which you save can be uti-lized to master other hard or soft skillsto bridge the skill gaps in your career.This way, you earn not only dual spe-cialisation but also add other newskill-sets on your resume in the sametime frame.

�� � �� ����If you aspire to become an entre-

preneur, dual specialisation PGDMdegree can come quite handy. As anentrepreneur, you need to possessknowledge of multiple business func-tions and sectors. Depending on thebusiness you are venturing into, youcan take up the specialisations that canprove useful in the future.

There is no doubt that dual spe-cialisation is a value-addition on yourresume as an amateur as well as anexperienced professional.

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������� �������The University of

Strathclyde is inviting appli-cations for MSc AppliedGender Studies course start-ing in September 2019.

The MSc Applied GenderStudies degree is a Master’slevel course for those whowish to study how gender‘works’ in relation to otherstructural inequalities suchas race, sexuality, class anddisability within society.

If students wish to pursuea career in the charitable,education, Government orcivil service or the heritagesectors then this course is ide-ally suited to them.

Eligibility: First class orupper second Honours degreein a relevant discipline, usu-ally in the Humanities andSocial Sciences.

Fee: £14,650 for interna-tional students

How to apply: Log on toh a s s - p g -e n qu i r i e s @ s t rat h . a c . u k ;https://www.strath.ac.uk/courses/postgraduatetaught/applied-genderstudies/.

�� �����������������International School of

Design invites application forBachelors, Masters & DiplomaProgrammes in FashionDesign.

Eligibility: Class X passfor diploma, Class XII forbachelors & diploma andgraduates for masters degreeor diploma(any stream).

Deadline: March 20, 2019How to Apply: Log on to

http://www.insd.edu.in/apply-online.html or downloadapplication form website andapply or walk into the corpo-rate branch with all docu-ments to register.

�������B�������TKWs Institute of

Banking & Finance, NewDelhi invites applications forits new Academic Session ofPost graduate diploma inBanking & Finance with spe-

cialisa-tion in International TradeFinance.

This program starts byproviding fundamental clari-ty and then advances toexpose the participants to allessentials of banking &finance.

With certif icate inInternational Trade andFinance (CITF), a studentcan easily seek jobs in tradedepartment of a bank. Theexam for this certification isconducted by InternationalChamber of Commerce(ICC).

Eligibility : Minimumqualification for securingadmission to PG diplomacourse in Banking & Financeis graduate in any stream with50 per cent marks, studentsawaiting final year resultsmay also apply.

How to apply: Fill anonline application form andpay �1000 application fee,online or by visiting the insti-tute.

Last date to apply: March19, 2019.

��A���� �� ����KIIT Group of Colleges

invites applications for admis-sion to various courses in2019-2020 Session.

The courses offered areBTech. (CSE ECE, EEE, CivilEngineering & MechanicalEngineering), MTech (ECE &CSE), MBA, BBA & BCA.

Eligibility: Candidatesmust have appeared/passedClass XII examination forbachelors degree, andappeared/passed graduationfor masters degree pro-grammes.

Deadline: June 30, 2019.

Blended learning is the answerthat addresses the problem

that no single educational methodor arrangement might really beoptimal for any kind of education.While the typical, traditional faceto face training benefit from thesocial aspects like communicationand development of manual skills,digital forms of learning are gen-erally associated with higherdegrees of efficiency and flexibil-ity, based specifically on ensuringdemands of learnability.

����Face to face lectures lack het-

erogeneous pre-knowledge andhave a fixed place or time while e-learning on the other hand negatesgeo-spatial conditions and pro-vides flexibility of creating learn-er paths basis individual learners.

��������Blended learning is a harmo-

nious arrangement that combinesboth the kinds of teaching meth-ods and their individual benefitswhile circumventing their individ-ual associated drawbacks. This iswhy it is described as integrated orhybrid learning. Blended Learningallows for immense opportunityfor immersive learning.

�What is immersive learning?The concept and term of

immersive learning is very popu-lar in the new age academic field.It includes several environmentsincluding game-based learningscenarios where course partici-pants are involved deeply in a sub-ject that is expected to give results

in an intensified learning experi-ence that increases learning out-come. This refers to early pedagog-ical strategies of learning the sub-ject directly by diving into it on thedeep end. Immersive learninggives course participants a strongsense of ‘being there’ (live interac-tive video classes) even if directlyattending is not possible – whetherit is because of conflicting sched-ules or inaccessible situations.�Immersive learning in a blend-ed environment: In the modern

era of blended learning, immersivelearning includes closed interwo-ven possibilities where this is ahigh degree of involvement withsubmerging different scenarios orenvironments. This is done inmany ways, few being:�Live interactive classes where stu-dents can attend classes and askqueries and get answers real time.They can also request Mentor ondemand.�Gamification feature where stu-dents compete with each other in

a gaming environment to forge aspirit of competitiveness.�Close monitoring by mentorswith feedback on assignments andperformance.�Recorded sessions of classesmade available for future reference.�Technical courses with browseraccessed actual labs to practice andbuild applications on.

With blended learning comesthe collaboration of mentors andstudents from across demograph-ic regions, backgrounds and jobroles where each one brings to thecourse their experience, perspec-tives and approaches adding to anoverall rich and wholesome learn-ing experience. This could well belikened to studying in an interna-tional university and helps courseparticipants open up to diversemethods, and prepare them for aninternational work environment.

In addition to the above, peerinteraction and group projectshelps a great deal in learning thesubject thoroughly. Blended learn-ing has proven to be the best chan-nel for immersive learning inmodern times.

The elements are constantlyevolving basis industry demands.It is a collaborative eco system thatwill evolve with inputs and insightsfrom learners, corporate stakeholders and the training industry.Immersive learning is not an inno-vation, but a mandatory requisitein today’s dynamic skilling envi-ronment.

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Board exam is the first formallyorganised examination taken by

students.It sets the tone for a student'sacademic future as board resultsdefine the career path. Meritoriousresult in the board exam is commend-able and boosts one’s confidence.Hence, it creates a lot of pressure onstudents to perform well and maketheir parents, teachers, friends andwell-wishers proud.

With careful planning and disci-plined execution, students can pre-pare efficiently for their exams andachieve desirable outcomes. Hereare some practical tips which can helpstudents remain stress-free and pre-pare more efficiently for the upcom-ing board exam.�Prepare an agenda and time table:Studying too much may at times becounter-productive to the task athand, so it is healthy to pay attentionto what you are studying rather thanjust memorising it for hours. It helpsto first analyse and then chart out aHow To Study plan. �You will also have to make atimetable in order to maintain a bal-ance between study and rest, toavoid a burn out.�Identify the important sections andyour areas of weakness.�Be realistic about how much youcan achieve in a day or week or astudy session.�Prepare short notes: One of themost efficient ways to save time andenergy is to memorise by using shortnotes, charts and diagrams. Thatway, when there isn’t enough time torevise in a detailed manner yourmemory can be refreshed by consult-ing the easy-to-understand short

notes. �Solve previous years’ questionpapers: Solving previous years’ ques-tion papers can give you an under-standing of what to expect, and if youattempt them analytically, you will beable to find a way that helps you giveyour best in the exams. You get toknow the structure and level of dif-ficulty of the question papers. Youshould also look at the model testpaper and the marking scheme issuedby the board to get an idea of whatto expect in the exam. You will notfeel stressed as there will be no fearfor the examination. Consequently,your mind will stay calm andfocussed, which is conducive forperforming well in the exams. �Group study can help: Studying ina group helps in resolving doubts orquestions. However, it is important tokeep in mind that group study hoursshould be used for studying only. �Study regularly: Consistency is

essential in studies.That way one canbe exam ready without relying toomuch on last-minute cramming.Studying on a regular basis can helpyou complete the course early,leavingyou with ample time for revision. �Take care of your mind and body:You need a sound body and mind toperform to the best of your abilitiesin the examinations. Stress is likely toaffect your performance adversely. Sostaying healthy and calm is as impor-tant as it is to concentrate on stud-ies.

Board exams are arguably one ofthe most stressful times in a student'slife. It is important to accept the factthat stress is an unavoidable part oflife, and getting overwhelmed doesnot help in any way. So the best wayto approach the exams is by assess-ing one’s strengths and weaknessesand making a realistic plan and fol-lowing it sincerely.

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TheFaculty of

Science at theUniversity of

Strathclyde, Glasgow isoffering scholarships

towards course tuition fees in each year of study of afull-time undergraduate programme.

Eligible students must have excellent gradesfrom High School and strong English test results.

Value: £2000 per yearEligibility: To apply for a scholarship, candi-

dates must: Be available to commence their acade-mic studies in the UK by the start of the academicyear in September-October 2019. Hold an offer ofstudy on an Undergraduate course in the Faculty ofScience, University of Strathclyde. Be paying fullinternational fees.

Subject — Chemistry, Computer andInformation Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics,Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Physics,Forensic Science.

For more information visit: [email protected]

Application deadline: The last date to aply isSeptember 16, 2019.

The University of Melbourne invites applicationsfor the International Graduate Merit Scholarshipsfor all international students who apply to a course-work programme within the Faculty of Business &Economics, to receive a 25% -50% fee waivers forthe duration of the course.

Eligible Course or Subjects: Commerce, eco-nomics, and management courses are eligible forthis scholarship.

Numbers of Award: Approximately 15 scholar-ships are available.

Eligibility: To be eligible for this scholarship,you need to: Applicants must be an internationalstudent. Applicants must be applying to a course-work program within the Faculty of Business andEconomic.

How to apply: No application is required. Youwill be automatically considered for this award ifyou are applying to a coursework program withinthe Faculty of Business and Economic.

Application deadline: Open for 2019

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�What is the programme about?We are one of the largest poverty

alleviation programmes in India. Wehave impacted more than 10 lakh chil-dren and young people in the last 20years. The Childhood to Livelihoodprogramme works with children andyoung people living in poverty, in India,taking them from a childhood full ofchallenges to a life with meaningfullivelihoods. We equip children andyoung people in the age group of 12 to18, with the skills and knowledge theyneed to grow up and move out ofpoverty.

Through our sports activity-basedcurriculum, we equip children with lifeskills, making them confident, resilient.Our youth-centred livelihoods pro-gramme connects the aspirations andpotential of young people to availablemarket opportunities. We build theiremployability skills and map job poten-tial based on individual strengths andmobility.�What is the impact it has had?

There was a 28% point’s increase inthose attending school regularly, with81 per cent reporting attending schoolfive days a week at end line, as com-pared to 63% at baseline. In the pro-gramme, less than 5% of girls drop outof school by Class 8 (age 14). In India,40% of girls drop out of school by Class8 (age 14), 95% girls do not get mar-ried before the age of 18. In India, 30%of women were married before the ageof 18, 79% of young people trained inthe Magic Bus Livelihoods Programmeare placed in salaried work with anaverage income of �9700�What are the challenges the youthface?

The challenges faced by young peo-ple today are lack of a quality educa-tion and a lack of job opportunities.Lack of proper sanitation in schoolsalso leads to many girl children to dropoff from the education system.�What is the importance of activity-based curriculum today?

A sports activity based curriculumis important to equip children andyoung people with life skills they needto help them fight challenges in thecommunities they live in or to help

them earn a better livelihood. Througha sports activity based programme,engaging children becomes easier.They are able to understand how topractically impart these skills in theirreal life situations. �What role can parents play?

The most important roles areplayed by the parents as they are theimmediate support structures of thechildren. To ensure the change broughtto each child is transformational, par-ents are the biggest participants in theprogramme. �This not be balanced with theoret-ical studies as well?

It is indeed very important forevery child to have strong academics.We can then be assured that the childis engaged in class, is productive andwilling to regularly attend school andcomplete her secondary education.The Magic Bus programme ensures allparticipants complete their secondaryschooling. �What are some of the sectors wherethese kids find jobs?

Some of the sectors where theyoung people on our programme havebeen placed are: IT enabled Services;Retail; Quick Service Restaurants;Hospitality; Banking, Financial Servicesand Insurance and Healthcare.

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This year, over 15 lakh aspiringstudents have registered forthe NEET 2019 exam, which

will be held on the May 5, 2019. Thisis a record-breaking number andalmost 2 lakh more than last yearitself.

At present, the Governmentand private colleges in most Stateschoose their MBBS and BDS can-didates based on NEET score. Theexam is an extremely tough examwith its vast syllabus, tricky ques-tions, and negative marking schemefor incorrect answers.

In spite of this, the number ofapplicants has constantly been onthe rise. Why the sudden jump inthe number of applicants? There aretwo reasons for this 14 per cent risein applicants.

Hours before the applicationdeadline for the exam closed, theSupreme Court announced thatstudents above 25 years of age areeligible to take the exam. To helpthese students complete their appli-cation forms.

The second reason is, that

NEET is now a mandatory exam forall students who want to pursuetheir MBBS and BDS coursesabroad.

With this sudden rise in appli-cants, the number of students com-peting for a single rank has alsoincreased. This means, that studentswill have to learn better, aim high-er, and attempt as many questionsas they can while maintaining a highpercentage of accuracy. Practice isthe key to a high score. s a NEETaspirant, you only have two monthsbefore your final exam. Spend asmuch time practising as you can.

�Prioritise the chapters thatyou practice based on the weightagethat exam authorities have given inthe past.

�Download an app that givesyou adaptive practice. In simplerwords, these apps create uniquelearning paths for every studentdepending on their unique needs.If your basics are weak, it will cre-ate questions that build your fun-damentals. As you improve, it willkeep raising the level of questions

until you ace the tricky ones.�Take a mock test every day for

at least a month.�In the last month before your

exam, you should start taking mocktests at the same time of the day asyour final exam.

�Ensure that you take it in atime-bound, exam like environment

�Develop answer strategies -Which subject will you attempt first?What is the most amount of timethat you should spend answering aquestion?

�Keep evaluating your incor-rect answers. Make a note of con-cepts that you keep getting wrong.Moreover, categorise your incorrectanswers.

�Did you start solving it cor-rectly and then get confused?

�Did you have no idea how tosolve the question?

This will help you prioritiseyour revision. Since NEET hasnegative marking, accuracy is asimportant as volume.

�Make short notes and flash-cards of formulae, diagrams, and

other concepts that you keep gettingwrong. Have a look at these duringyour last minute revision.

�Ensure that you understandthe concepts instead of rote learn-ing them. There's no room fordoubts!

�Clarify your doubts immedi-ately.

�When you just have about 60days left before an extremely criti-cal exam, you cannot wait for yourteachers to free up time so that youcan clarify your doubts.

�Get your doubts solvedimmediately, or else you will keeprepeating the same mistakes inevery mock test that you take.

�You can download a doubtson chat app to clarify your doubtsinstantly, 24X7.

�Here, you can chat withexperts at any time of the day ornight and they will answer yourquestions.

�Keep your mind calm, stayfocused, and give it your best shot.

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Lucknow: The Rashtriya LokDal will contest three LokSabha seats as part of analliance with the SP and theBSP, Samajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav said onTuesday and asserted that theCongress was "very much" partof their "mahagatbandhan" inUttar Pradesh.

Addressing a press confer-ence with RLD leader JayantChaudhary, son of partyfounder Ajit Singh, Yadav saidthe RLD, which has politicalinfluence in western UttarPradesh, would contestMathura, Baghpat andMuzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seats.

After repeated questions byreporters at the press confer-ence, the SP chief said theCongress was "very much inthe alliance".

"We have left two seats(Amethi and Rae Bareli) for theparty (Congress)," he said.

Amethi is represented byCongress president RahulGandhi and Rae Bareli byUnited Progressive Alliance

chairperson Sonia Gandhi.Yadav said the alliance

partners will jointly take on theBJP in Lok Sabha polls inUttar Pradesh.

Chowdhury said that thisalliance is a "Sangam of ide-ologies and parties" and addedthat for him, "relations areimportant".

BSP chief Mayawati andSP's Yadav had jointlyannounced their alliance inJanuary, saying the SP and theBSP will contest 38 seats eachout of the total 80 in UttarPradesh.

However, according to a list

released later, the SPannounced it will contest 37seats and the BSP 38.

On Feb 21, over a monthafter the SP-BSP alliance wasannounced, Samajwadi Partyfounder Mulayam Singh Yadavmade it clear that he was upsetwith the tie-up, questioningwhy Akhilesh Yadav gave "half "of the total seats in UP toMayawati's party.

The remarks had comedays after the SP patriarch cre-ated a stir in Parliament, say-ing he wished that PrimeMinister Narendra Modireturns to power. PTI

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Dhubri (Assam): Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh onTuesday said the Governmentdoes not have the number ofJaish-e-Mohammed terroristskilled in the IAF strike inPakistan's Balakot and attackedthose questioning its veracity,insisting people who do that areindulging in politics over thevalour of the armed forces.

He said the number of fatal-ities at the JeM terror trainingcamp will be known some day.

Singh, however, claimedthat the National TechnicalResearch Organisation (NTRO)has informed the security estab-lishment about the presence ofaround 300 "active" mobilephones at the training camp sitebefore the IAF bombing.

Charging the oppositionwith doing politics over the"valour and sacrifice" of defencepersonnel, the minister advisedthe Congress, which beendemanding proof of the retal-iatory assault and casualties inthe aftermath of the Pulwamasuicide bombing that left 40CRPF men dead, to go toPakistan and count the bodiesif they indeed wanted to ascer-tain the number of fatalities.

"Some leaders of otherpolitical parties are asking usquestions about how many ter-rorists were killed in the IAFstrike. Some day, it will beknown that how many were

killed. Leaders in Pakistanknow in their hearts how manyperished in the IAF attack,"Singh told a public gathering

after inaugurating an electron-ic border guarding project ofthe BSF on the Indo-Bangladesh border here. He

mocked the opposition over itsdemand for the number offatalities, wondering why itsleaders were asking "kitnemare, kitne mare?" (how manywere killed?)" "Should our AirForce personnel count the bod-ies after the attack — 1, 2, 3, 4,5...? What is this joke," heasked. The Home Ministerreferred to Indian Air Forcechief B S Dhanoa's media inter-action on Monday where he saidthe force does not count bodiesand is concerned only aboutwhether the target was hit.

Sidestepping a ragingdebate on the number of casu-alties in the Balakot strike,Dhanoa had said it was for thegovernment to provide detailsof the terrorists. PTI

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Dhubri (Assam): Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh onTuesday said illegal immigrantswill not be treated inhumanlyand the Government will speakto the neighbouring country tofind a way out to handle theissue.

Singh said the governmentwill not treat anyone coming toIndia, whether legally or ille-gally, in an inhuman manner asit is not part of Indian culture.

"For those coming to India

illegally, we will talk to theneighbouring country and seewhat can be done humanly. Wedo not do inhuman treatmentto anyone," he said addressingthe public after inaugurating aborder project by the BSF,without naming the country.

Hinting his support to thecontentious citizenship bill,he said all people coming toIndia from Pakistan,Afghanistan and Bangladeshdue to religious persecution

will be treated with "humanbehaviour".

The Citizenship(Amendment) Bill, which waspassed by Lok Sabha on January8 but was not tabled in RajyaSabha, seeks to provide Indiancitizenship to Hindus, Jains,Christians, Sikhs, Buddhistsand Parsis from Bangladesh,Pakistan and Afghanistan aftersix years of residence in Indiaeven if they do not possess anydocument. PTI

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Barmer: The marriage of a 23-year-old Indian groom with aPakistani bride scheduled to beheld later this week has beendeferred due to the lingeringtension between the two coun-tries following the IAF's airstrike on a Jaish terror facilityat Balakot in KhyberPakhtunkhwa.

Mahendra Singh of Khejadka Par village here was tomarry Chagan Kanwar of Sinoivillage in Amarkot district ofSindh province in Pakistan onMarch 8.

The groom and his familymembers were to take a trainto Pakistan on March 2 itself,but the tickets had to be can-celled amid the lingering Indo-Pak-tension.

"Considering the tensionbetween India and Pakistan,the family decided to call offthe marriage for now andcancelled the train tickets.My Pakistani in-laws tooagreed to the decision. Thefamily is waiting for the situ-ation to normalise,” saidMahendra.

He said six family mem-bers had got visa for Pakistanfor three months in Januaryafter lot of hitches and prepa-rations were on for the weddingceremony for which even theinvitation cards had been dis-tributed. PTI

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Chennai: Defence MinisterNirmala Sitharaman said onTuesday the Indian Air Forcestrike that destroyed a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp inPakistan's Balakot area was "nota military action" as there wasno civilian casualty.

She also said ForeignSecretary Vijay Gokhale had notgiven any casualty figure in hismedia briefing after the airstrike and only gave a statementwhich is the government's "posi-tion".

Gokhale has said the non-military and preemptive strikeon the Jaish-e-Mohammedtraining camp killed a "verylarge number" of terrorists,trainers and senior comman-ders.

Sitharaman's remarks comeamid some Opposition leaderdemanding evidence about thenumber of terrorists killed in the

air strike.The IAF, which carried out

the strike on February 26, saidon Monday that governmentwould provide details on thecasualty figures as the Air Forceonly sees if a target has been hitor not.

On Tuesday, the defenceminister said, "There was noneed to analyse more on Balakotstrike" as she declined to link theair strike on terror camp withthe coming Lok Sabha election.

"After Pulwama attack, wewere waiting patiently for days...When we got information theterrorist attacks were originat-ing from that region (Pakistan),without military action, we car-ried out the strike pointedly," shetold reporters here on the side-lines of the launch of PradhanMantri Shram Yogi Maandhan(PMSYM), a pension scheme.

"Civilians in the vicinity or

surrounding areas were notaffected in any way, so we havebeen saying the strike we carriedout after Pulwama suicidebombing was not a militaryaction," she added.

On February 14, a suicidebomber of the Pakistan-basedJeM group rammed an explo-sives-laden vehicle into a bus inJammu and Kashmir's Pulwamadistrict, killing 40 CentralReserve Police Force personnel.

Sitharaman said Pakistanhas failed to take action againstterror groups despite India pro-viding details of terrorist train-ing camps.

"Pakistan has beeninformed about terrorist camps,with proof, by the present(NDA) and previous UPAGovernment. But they neithertook action, nor did theyremove the terrorist trainingcamps." PTI

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Agartala: Union Minister VijayGoel on Tuesday said the airstrike by the IAF on the train-ing camp of Jaish-e-Mohammedin Pakistan's Balakot was inresponse to the Pulwama terrorattack. "This for the first time theCentre has responded to terrorstrikes by giving a befittingreply which was possible due tothe will power and vision ofPrime Minister NarendraModi," he told reporters here.

The Union Minister of Statefor Statistics and ProgrammeImplementation claimed thatPrime Minister Narendra Modiwould return to power andform the government for thesecond time. "Modi is guidingall developmental activities inthe country in one hand andalso giving stern and promptreply to terrorism on the otherhand," Goel said. PTI

Bengaluru: Amid the continu-ing uncertainty about JD(S)patriarch HD Deve Gowda’schoice of constituency for thecoming Lok Sabha electrions,there is growing demand with-in the party that he contestfromMysore-Kodagu seat.

"...Deve Gowda has himselfsaid Prajwal will contest fromHassan and Nikhil will contestfrom Mandya. We want DeveGowda to contest fromMysuru.. We have said thisearlier also in public meeting,"Mysuru district in-chargeMinister and JD(S) leader G TDeve Gowda said.

Prajwal and Nikhil areDeve Gowda's grandsons.

Speaking to reporters, theMinister said, the former prime

Minister had an affectionaterelationship with the people ofMysuru, who have recognisedthe developments in the irriga-tion sector in the region ush-ered in by him.

"If there is alliance betweenCongress and JD(S), H D DeveGowda should be candidatethat's the wish of the people," hesaid adding there was no othername, and "we have requestedhim," the Minister said.

Demand for the JDSsupremo to contest from Mysore-Kodagu con-stituency resurfaced, with himindicating on Sunday thatCM Kumaraswamys sonNikhil Kumaraswamy waslikely to be the candidatefrom Mandya. PTI

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Kolkata: The BJP on Tuesdayaccused the TrinamoolCongress Government in WestBengal of unleashing atrocitiesduring motorbike rallies heldacross the State on Sunday aspart of the saffron party's pub-lic outreach programme.

Over 3,500 party workershave been detained for takingpart in the 'Sankalp Yatra'motor cycle rallies, he said.

An unspecified number ofBJP workers and policemenwere injured in clashes in sev-eral districts of the state Sundayafter the authorities preventedthe rallies saying they had notbeen granted permissionbecause of the ongoing school

board examinations.Addressing a press meet

here, BJP state president DilipGhosh said, "The TMC gov-ernment has throttled alldemocratic principles and tra-ditions by preventing our ral-lies in recent times. The inci-dents happened during theSankalp Yatra rallies is themost recent example."

The Sankalp Yatra bike rally is part of the BJP'scountrywide pre-poll exerciseto establish contact with thepeople.

Ghosh claimed that around 60-70 BJP activistswere injured in the attack bythe TMC's goons and police-men as party workers were"peacefully" bringing out therallies in different parts ofState on March 3.

"This shows the frustrationand desperation of the TMC

and how scared they havebecome of the BJP," he said.

Asked about report of afarmer's death in the state on Monday, Ghosh said, "TheState Government wants tosuppress the unnatural death ofa farmer. It wants to pass off thesuicide of a farmer as due to ail-ments. It does not want to facethe truth."

He claimed that 5 lakhmetric tonnes of potatoremained unsold in the State, but the TMCGovernment is doing nothingto address the issue and helpthe potato growers.

To a question about reportsof WBCS officers to be givenflats by the Government,Ghosh said, "The decision hadbeen made two years back, butthe Government is announcingit only now, just before the elec-tions." PTI

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6�#������5������&������������ ��������"����(����&������5�)�!�����*A6����Kolkata: Hitting out at the BJPfor allegedly politicising the airstrike in Pakistan, theTrinamool Congress onTuesday said it was trying toreplace the Ashoka emblem onthe uniform of armed forceswith party logo.

The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) should stop taking creditfor the preemptive strike on ter-ror camps in Pakistan as armedforces belong to India, not to thesaffron party, TrinamoolCongress national spokespersonDerek O'Brien said.

"The BJP is shamelesslytrying to replace the AshokStambh (emblem) on the armedforces' uniform, with their partylogo. Not a single opposition

leader has politicised theairstrike, it was just the BJP whodid it.

"The armed forces areIndia's pride. We are always withthem, but we will oppose theincumbent government, whoseexpiry date is over," O'Brien,who is also the TMC parlia-

mentary party leader in RajyaSabha, said.

BJP national presidentAmit Shah said on Saturdaythat those who did not havecourage to avenge the killing ofsoldiers, when in power, wereraising doubts on the recent airstrike on Jaish-e-Mohammedcamps for "cheap politics" andtheir statements have madePakistan happy.

Two days before Shah'sassertion, West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee haddemanded evidence of theIndian Air Force (IAF) airstrike.

She also said that the oppo-sition parties wanted to knowthe details of the operation. PTI

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Nagpur: An 85-year-oldfarmer from Nagpur district inMaharashtra allegedly com-mitted suicide last week by set-ting his crop on fire and jump-ing into it, police said onTuesday.

Police suspect the farmer,Gopal Jaane took the extremestep due to recurring healthissues.

The incident occurred onMarch 1 evening when Jaaneallegedly set the pigeon pea cropon fire at his farm in Madna vil-lage, and jumped into it, an offi-

cial release stated.When contacted,

Jalalkheda police stationinspector GR Tambe said, "Asper preliminary investigation,the deceased farmer had somehealth issues. He was sufferingfrom a kidney problem".

Quoting villagers and kinof Jaane, the police officer saidthe farmer had tried to killhimself in the past as well.

Police are awaiting post-mortem report, and have reg-istered a case of accidentaldeath. PTI

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0%� �����*�������������*������������ �������%� �Jaipur: Rajasthan Congress

chief Sachin Pilot said on onTuesday the party will contestall 25 Lok Sabha seats in theState in the upcoming elec-tions.

"Selection of nominees isin the final stage and a lot willbe clear after the screeningcommittee meeting on March8 in New Delhi," Pilot toldreporters.

He said the selection ofcandidate would be done onthe basis of feedback of partyworkers, hard work andwinnability. The party is of theopinion to find nominees otherthan the family members of

leaders, sitting MPs and MLAsand those who lost elections inthe past.

However, the choice ofparty workers and people andwinnability of the candidateswould be considered, he added.

He said the Congress hasbeen contesting on all seats inthe state and will do so thistime as well to secure a win inthe upcoming Lok Sabha elec-tions.

A panel of three candidateswill be sent to the party's cen-tral committee to finalise thenames, he said.

Pilot attacked the incum-bent BJP-led government at the

Centre, saying the Congress iscontesting the election todefeat the "forces that haveweakened and hollowed demo-cratic institutions in the pastfive years".

"So, it is an importantelection for us," he said.

The BJP won all 25 seats inRajasthan in the 2014 generalelections.

On the Indian Air Forceair strike at a Jaish terror campin Balakot of Pakistan, Pilotsaid the action on terroristfacility was a matter of pridefor India and "it is not right toraise question on valour of thesecurity forces". PTI

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Germany winger Serge Gnabry hasextended his Bayern Munich contract

until 2023, adding three more years to hisdeal, as the defending Bundesliga cham-pions continue to rejuvenate their squad.

The 23-year-old is being groomed toreplace Bayern's ageing wingers ArjenRobben and Franck Ribery, who are both35 and out of contract at the end of the sea-son.

Gnabry, Canadian wunderkindAlphonso Davies, 18, and FrenchmanKingsley Coman, 22, are the next gener-ation of Bayern wingers.

"We are happy that we at FC Bayernhave tied ourselves to Serge for the longterm," said Bayern's sports director HasanSalihamidzic.

"He has taken a big step forward with

us this year."Bayern paid Werder Bremen eight mil-

lion euros ($9m) for Stuttgart-born Gnabryin 2017, but loaned him out to Hoffenheimlast season, so this is his first year at Bayern.

Having scored eight goals in 29 gamesfor Bayern, Gnabry, who can play on eitherwing, has been a key factor in slashingDortmund's lead at the top of the

Bundesliga in recent weeks.Defending champions Bayern have

eroded Dortmund's nine-point lead inDecember and draw level on 54 points lastweekend with only a goal difference of justtwo separating the clubs.

"Sportingly, things are going verywell for me personally right now," Gnabrysaid, who spent five years at Arsenal from2011 until 2016 having initially joined theGunners' academy.

"I know that I still have potential andneed to develop further."

Gnabry was part of the Germany teamwhich won Silver in the men's footballtournament at the 2016 Olympic Games.

He scored a hat-trick in an 8-0 thrash-ing of minnows San Marino on his seniorinternational debut in November 2016 inthe first of his five appearances forGermany.

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Ashley Young has warnedthat Manchester United

should not be written off as theyattempt to mount an improba-ble comeback against ParisSaint-Germain in the last 16.

Solskjaer's men head toFrance for the second leg oftheir last-16 tie on Wednesdaytrailing 2-0 after a humblingexperience at Old Trafford lastmonth in what remains the onlydefeat they have suffered to dateunder interim manager.

PSG are favourites toprogress to the quarter-finals,but 33-year-old Young hasadvised them to take nothingfor granted after seeing Unitedrevive their season since theNorwegian's arrival.

"We know what we're capa-ble of," he said. "People canwrite us off. People were writ-ing us off at the start of the sea-son and people are writing usoff now. It's no different.

"Obviously it's going to betough. It's not going to be easy.We've got to go over there, winthe game and score goals.

"I've got every faith if wedefend well and if we create thechances that I know we can do,we can win the game."

Paul Pogba's red card in the

first game means he is unavail-able for the return while fellowmidfielders Nemanja Matic,Ander Herrera, Juan Mata andJesse Lingard appear on a casu-alty list that also includes PhilJones, Matteo Darmian,Antonio Valencia, AnthonyMartial and Alexis Sanchez.

However, Young is confi-dent the spirit that fuelledSaturday's 3-2 fightback victo-ry over lowly Southamptonwill serve his team well onceagain.

He said: "That's the club'sway, the United way. Never saydie."

The odds are stackedagainst United but Solskjaer atleast has striker Romelu Lukakuback in lethal form in front ofgoal after he claimed a fine dou-ble to help see off the Saints.

"I wouldn't want to playagainst him," said Young. "Hedoes give us a different pres-ence. "It's good to see all thestrikers in form, the wholeteam. It's not just 11 men on thepitch, it's a squad game.

"Everyone has got to beready. Everyone has got to beprepared and ready to playwhen the manager calls onyou. When you've got compe-tition for places, it can onlyhelp."

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Dani Alves jokes that ParisSaint-Germain are stillChampions League "vir-

gins", but the presence of players likethe decorated Brazilian only helpsmake them more credible contendersto win the coveted trophy.

In a glittering career, Alves haswon the Champions League threetimes with Barcelona and reachedanother final with Juventus.

He is a veteran now, his 36thbirthday falling several weeks beforethis season's final, and he is consciousof what players like him and goal-keeper Gianluigi Buffon, now 41, canadd to a PSG squad already featur-ing Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

"We know how to win and howto lose. What we try to transmit tothe others is that either we all gotogether in the same direction, or weleave the doors open to a defeat,"Alves said.

He is speaking at the club's train-ing ground, 48 hours before their last16, second leg at home to ManchesterUnited.

The mood is relaxed, with con-fidence high in Paris that ThomasTuchel's side will make good their 2-0 first-leg win last month, achievedwithout Neymar and EdinsonCavani, the two superstars both outinjured.

"This is not a competition thatdepends only on one player havinga spectacular day," he insists.

"When you have experiencedplayers, you don't tremble when itcomes to playing in a hostile atmos-phere, or under pressure."

I��� ��������������JIn his first campaign at PSG last

season, they were knocked out at thisstage by Real Madrid, the first timeAlves had not been involved in thequarter-finals of the ChampionsLeague in a decade.

It was an enormous disappoint-ment for Paris and their Qatari own-ers, who had just paid the twobiggest transfer fees in history for

Neymar and Mbappe."I always talk about how we

have special players here, like 'Ney',like Kylian, like 'Edi', who at some

point can make the difference, andwe have to help them," Alves says.

"Otherwise it would be like hav-ing a big meal without the right sidedishes, and it wouldn't have thesame flavour." But what dish wouldhe be?

Alves, a brilliant full-back withlimitless energy, has recently beenreinvented as a midfielder, fullyrecovered from the knee injurywhich saw him miss last year's WorldCup.

��� ����� ?He is happy in Paris, and the hap-

piness is infectious. "I like to get onwith everyone. I ask myself how I canget on with this guy, with that guy.Because what happens on the pitchsort of reflects how things are off it,"he says as he discusses getting alongwith a squad full of big names.

"We spend more time here thanwe do with our families, so you need

to get on with people, have fun, andthat is reflected on the pitch. We tryto put the egos to one side — becauselike it or not people have egos.

"We need to not let that showthrough, because then you stopthinking about being happy, and lifeis not about being right, it's aboutbeing happy!"

It is certainly easy to see how hemight be happier now in Paris underTuchel, a warmer, more charismaticcoach than his predecessor, UnaiEmery.

PSG don't just want to get pastUnited — they want to go beyond thelast eight, something they have notmanaged since the Qatari takeover in2011.

"We are lucky this year to have amanagement team that is liked,respected by everyone, that there isan incredible atmosphere," he says."Everything has been put in place tomake this a great year for us."

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Having impressed in theFIFA Under-17 World

Cup, Jamshedpur FC for-ward Aniket Jadhav is set totake his next big step — athree-month training stint atEnglish Championship foot-ball club Blackburn Rovers.

The Kolhapur-basedfootballer will become thefirst Indian professional play-er to train in England whenhe joins the BlackburnRovers Academy atBrockhall village, Lancashire.

"For someone comingfrom a small place inKolhapur, it's a dream cometrue for me," Jadhav, whoplayed in all the three match-es for hosts India at theUnder-17 World Cup saidbefore leaving for Lancashire.

"I'm looking forward tothis stint. The World Cupwas a big experience and thisis equally big and it keeps meon track with the missionwhen I left home as a nine-year-old kid," the left-footedstriker said.

Having started his foot-ball journey under JaideepAngiwal of Krida Prabodhinischool in Pune, the strikerwas picked by Pune FCwhere he joined the Under-15 side before progressing tothe Under-17s.

He was spotted byNicolai Adam during an U-17 World Cup trial in

Mumbai and since then hehas been a constant memberof the youth side.

"I would like to thankBlackburn Rovers FC forbelieving in me and my abil-ity, and inviting me to trainat their world class academy."

Jadhav also thankedBalaji Rao, owner ofBlackburn Rovers FootballClub, his agent JehanKothary of KSMN sports,and Jamshedpur FC for thesupport.

Blackburn Rovers — oneof only six champions of thePremier League alongsideManchester United, Chelsea,Arsenal, Manchester Cityand Leicester City — areowned by Venkys LondonLtd, a wholly owned sub-sidiary of Pune-based poul-try conglomerate

Venkateshwara HatcheriesGroup.

Owner of BlackburnRovers Rao said the clubwants to help young Indiantalent.

"Our Academy atBlackburn Rovers is one ofthe finest Category 1Academy in the UK. Thistraining stint will definitelyhelp Aniket to develop tech-nically as a player, which willin turn contribute to theimprovement of his perfor-mances on the pitch.

"We want to supportyoung talented footballers inthe best way possible tohelp improve the Indiannational team's perfor-mances and FIFA rankingon the world stage," Raosaid.

Mukul Choudari ofJamshedpur FC also hailedJadhav's achievement .

"We are very happy forAniket. In fact, very rarelydo Indian football playersget such an opportunity andif they get it at this age, it isjust fantastic, as this willonly help him grow andenhance his skills further.

"It is going to be a win-win for everybody. AsJamshedpur FC, we congrat-ulate Aniket for his talentand the opportunity thathe's got, which we are surehe will make the best of andcome back as a much betterplayer and make us proud."

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English Premier League giantsManchester City's owners City Football

Group (CFG) are planning to invest in anIndian football team by the end of this year,said chief executive Ferran Soriano.

An official of a reputed club, who hasbeen tracking the development, said thePremier League champions are at an"advanced stage of discussions" with IndianSuper League (ISL) franchise Mumbai CityFC. They have also had preliminary discus-sions with Jamshedpur FC.

"Last year, they visited India andwatched a match between Jamshedpur andMumbai City. Talks are on for sure," the offi-cial, close to Mumbai City FC, said.

Another official in the know of things,said:"City owners have been talking toMumbai for the past eight months and talksare at an advanced stage."

City owner Sheikh Mansour of AbuDhabi Royal Family, has recently pur-chased a Chinese third division clubSichuan Jiuniu, a seventh addition to theirbouquet of clubs, which also include NewYork City, Melbourne City, Japan'sYokohama F Marinos, Atletico Torque andGirona.

"We have some interest in some mar-kets and countries where there is a genuinefootball passion and opportunities, likeChina, but also India. So there might beother opportunities in Asia," Sorianio wasquoted by www.Skysports.Com.

The CEO said that City, currently on topof EPL points table, have been exploring theIndian market for the past two years now.

"With all these developments, we haveto be patient. We have been looking at Indiafor nearly two years now. I would say thisyear we'll end up doing an investment inIndia," he said.

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Defending champions MinervaPunjab FC, who pulled out of their

I-League clash against Real Kashmir inSrinagar citing security concerns, willget a re-match, the All India FootballFederation has ruled but the debutantside has decided to challenge theorder.

The February 18 game did not takeplace after Minerva refused to travel toSrinagar, insisting that their foreignplayers had been advised against it bytheir respective embassies in the after-math of the Pulwama terror attack.

"With the current situation inKashmir not conducive to conduct amatch, and keeping in mind the cur-rent extraordinary situation as well asthe desire of teams to play football onthe field, the match stands rescheduledto be held after March 6, 2019, at a timeand location feasible for AIFF, and theparticipating teams," the AIFF said ina statement.

It is learnt, the match could be heldin Delhi on March 12.

Officials in Real Kashmir said theclub is likely to file an appeal againstthe decision and called it "against thelaid down norms of FIFA".

The club, which is at presentfourth in the I-League points table,cited a 2006 national Football Leaguematch between Air India and Fransa-Pax. Fransa-Pax had not turned up forthe match, citing poor refereeing in aprevious game. The AIFF called for are-match but Air India challenged thecall before a jury and were awardedthree points.

The AIFF Emergency Committee,comprising president Praful Patel, fivevice-presidents and general secretary,ruled on Monday that the match berescheduled to or after March 6 at atime and location feasible for AIFF andthe participating teams.

I-League Committee CEOSunando Dhar said the AIFF will waitfor a reply from Real Kashmir on thedecision of the AIFF EmergencyCommittee before deciding on the dateand venue of the re-match.

"We have communicated this toReal Kashmir (since they are the hostteam) and we will take a decision (onthe venue and date) after they give areply. The plan is to have the matchbefore the Super Cup preliminaryround starts (on March 15)," Dhar said.

"I don't want to say anything ondate and venue now," he added.

Asked if there was still a chance ofthe match being held in Srinagar, Dharsaid, "Let us wait for what RealKashmir wants, in their reply."

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Indian Super League champi-ons Chennaiyin FC will make

their AFC Cup debut whenthey take on Sri Lanka'sColombo FC in a qualifyingplay-off round match onWednesday.

Chennaiyin, the first ISLoutfit to participate in the AFCCup, are vying for a place in thegroup stage of the AFC Cup inthe South Asian Zone.

The Chennai-based side arecoming in the first-leg tie at theColombo Race Course Groundafter concluding their 2018-19ISL campaign with a 0-1 defeatto FC Goa last week.

"The boys are in good spir-its, ahead of what is a very biggame for us against ColomboFC. We are honoured to be thefirst Indian Super League teamto have qualified for the AFCCup, and are hopeful of secur-ing a victory that puts us in acommanding position in the sec-ond leg," said Chennaiyin FCHead Coach John Gregoryahead of the match.

"We are aware of the quali-ty Colombo FC possess andexpect a good fight from themtomorrow (on Wednesday)," headded.

Nine players from the 25-man Chennaiyin squad have fea-tured in the competition onprevious occasions with otherclubs. Star India striker JejeLalpekhlua is the most seniorplayer in the squad.

The Mizo striker has playedagainst Colombo FC in the past,having turned out for MohunBagan in the 2017 AFC Cup pre-liminary round.

"This is a historic match inthe club's history, and we areoptimistic about taking home agood result for the second leg. Iremember facing Colombo FCwith Mohun Bagan two yearsback and they are a very toughside. It is not going to be an easygame," said Jeje.

Chennaiyin will be bol-stered by the comeback of Indianmidfielder Dhanpal Ganesh forthe qualifying play-off againstColombo, after he missed out onthe 2018-19 ISL season with aknee injury.

Australian Chris Herd, who

joined CFC in the January trans-fer window, will be the club'sAsian player in the qualifier withthe Brazilian trio of MailsonAlves, Eli Sabia and RaphaelAugusto being the other threeforeigners.

Four youth team players —defenders Hendry Antonay (U-18 and B team) andReamsochung Aimol (B team),midfielder Zonunmawia (Bteam) and forward BawlteRohmingthanga (B team) havealso been included in the squad.

Colombo FC defeatedBhutan's Transport United 9-2on aggregate in the preliminaryround to set up the clash withChennaiyin.

Colombo have five differentplayers who found the back of

the net so far in their qualifyingcampaign, but Tagne Dimitriwould be the man to watch afterscoring a hat-trick againstTransport United.

This is Colombo's secondappearance in the AFC Cup,having lost 2-4 on aggregate toIndian side Mohun Bagan in the2017 edition's preliminaryround.

Colombo qualified for the2019 edition's preliminary roundon the back of their third succes-sive Sri Lankan top flight (DialogChampions League) title in2017-18. They finished as run-ners-up in the 2018-19 edition,which concluded recently.

The second leg of the qual-ifying play-off will be played inAhmedabad on March 13.

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Injury deprived him of whatlooked like a last chance at World

Cup glory last year, but Dani Alvesis now spurred on by the dream oflifting the trophy with Brazil inQatar in 2022.

"I don't have an expiry date. Mybody is my answer — when I seethat I can no longer compete, whenmy head is not in it anymore, it willbe the time to stop," Alves said.

"What I do know is that I amgoing to try to get to the World Cupin 2022. My objective is to fight toget there — I don't hold the key, butI will try."

The World Cup is the one tro-phy missing from his CV, so it is lit-tle wonder he is driven on by theprospect of finally winning it withBrazil, even if he will be 39 by thetime the next tournament comesaround.

"That is why the challenge sortof gets me going. It's like saying I'vemet the girl of my dreams. What doI say to her? I am going to try every-thing. Imagine ending your careeras a world champion."

While many players youngerthan Alves have struggled to recov-er from serious knee injuries, theBrazilian says he "never doubted" hewould be back.

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