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PNS n AMARAVATI

Fulfilling another electionpromise, Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy onWednesday decided to imple-ment a new scheme to providefinancial assistance of Rs 24,000to each handloom weaver everyyear. The Cabinet approved the'YSR Nethanna Hastham'scheme, which will be imple-mented from December 21 thisyear. The scheme will benefit90,000 families and will cost Rs216 crore to the State exchequer.

The Chief Minister, whochaired the Cabinet meeting,said the YSR Congress Party(YSRCP) government will notneglect anyone in the State.

Information and PublicRelations Minister Perni Nanitold a news conference that theCabinet took many key deci-sions. It approved a proposal ofthe RTC to take Rs 1,000 croreterm loan for replacing 3,677 oldbuses. The government willstand guarantee for the loan.The normal limit for anyAPSRTC bus is 10 lakh km and3,677 buses have reached thelimit and need replacement. Asthe electricity distribution com-

panies (Discoms) are facingfinancial crisis, theC approvedrelease of bonds worth Rs 4,741crore. Permission has been

issued to the Andhra PradeshPower Finance Corporation(APFC) for the same. In view ofthe ban on fishing from April 15

to June 14, the Cabinet hasdecided to provide financialhelp of Rs 10,000 to fishermen.The families that own mecha-nised, motorised, non-motorised boats and even raftswill be covered under thescheme. The CMdecided toincrease the supply of diesel sub-sidized by 50 per cent that isbeing provided to fishermen torun their boats. Perni Nani saidthe Cabinet approved increasein the honorarium for mid-daymeal workers from Rs 1,000 toRs 3,000. This move will bene-fit 88,296 people. The Cabinetalso gave its nod to increasedaily allowance of the homeguards from Rs 600 to Rs 710.

PNS n SRIKAKULAM

One person was killed and fourothers sustained injuries whenclashes erupted between twomain political parties YSRCPand TDP in Kuntibhadra areaunder Kotturu mandal inSrikakulam district on Tuesdaynight.

It was a row over sharing ofnaturally grown mushroomsthat led to political clashbetween two groups and laterended in the murder of theman. The deceased was iden-tified as Kamaka Jangam (55),who was an activist of theYSRCP.

Sources said that TDPactivists attacked KamakaJangam and Kamaka Himagariwith a halberd during thegroup clash. Jangam wasadmitted to the GovernmentHospital at Palakonda in thedistrict, where he died whileundergoing treatment onTuesday night.

Sources said K Yerrayya ofTDP made an attempt to takemushrooms from the field.

However, Jangam of YSRCPhad an argument withYerrayya over the share ofmushrooms citing that mush-rooms are being grown intheir land.

The dispute later turnedinto a political clash in the vil-lage. Yerrayya with halberdattacked Jangam and Himagri.The YSRCP activists alsoattacked on TDP activists withsticks.

A total of five persons suf-fered injuries in the clash andall were admitted to thePalakonda Area Hospital.

Jangam died in the incidentand the condition of theremaining (two TDP activistsand two YSRCP activists) issaid to be out of danger.

Suspecting that the death ofJangam may lead to anotherbig political clash in the village,Srikakulam Police Chief RNAmmi Reddy deployed policepersonnel in the village andimposed Section 144 of theCode of Criminal Procedure(CrPC) in the village.

"We registered a murdercase under Section 302 of IPCagainst Yerrayya and investiga-tion is on to nab the accused.We are taking all the measuresto prevent the possible clash-es and unrest in the village,'' theSP said.

Govt to provide financialaid for handloom weavers

l The Cabinet approved aproposal of the APRTC to

take Rs 1,000 cr term loanfor replacing 3,677 old

buses. The government willstand guarantee for the loan.

The normal limit for anyAPSRTC bus is 10 lakh km

and 3,677 buses havereached the limit and need

replacement

l As the electricitydistributioncompanies(Discoms) are facingfinancial crisis, theCabinet approvedrelease of bondsworth Rs 4,741 cr.Permission has beenissued to the APFCfor the same

l Dispute led to politicalgroup clash

l One died, four injured inthe incident

l Police impose Section 144

Row over mushrooms leadsto murder in Srikakulam

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The popular online market-place for selling and buyinggoods and services, OLX, getsa severe blow as the Cybercrimepolice of Vizag has booked acase against the company as theaccused party in more than 10frauds that took place on theplatform. The cases werebooked under Section 420, 419of IPC and Section 66C and66D of IT Act. There is a spurtin the number of cheatingcases involving OLX platform.

According to the availablestatistics of the cases with thelocal Cyber Police Station,fraudsters are cheating theusers of OLX platform mostlythrough posting classified ofbikes and cars.

The number of cases regis-

tered this year till date hasjumped to 40 from 28 of lastyear. In some of the big fraudsstarting from Rs 4 lakh to a casewherein a person lost Rs 18lakh to the online fraudstershows the gravity of the fraudson the platform. In the recentpast, 35 cases, the total net

worth lost is around Rs 25 lakh.In the exceptional case, thefraudster cheated the victimsaying that he was an army offi-cer.

The Cybercrime police ear-lier warned the OLX and thusthe alert pop-ups and othertools were installed to make

users aware of fraudsters. Thisare the cases registered in VizagCybercrime Police Stationalone. The innocence of thepeople should also be blamedfor frauds. In some cases, thefraudsters are cashing the fool-ishness of the victims. A personhas credited more than thricethe amount to the fraudsteraccount to purchase a car andexpected that he would returnthe rest of the amount whiledelivering the vehicle.

Commenting on the market-place frauds, CybercrimeInspector V Gopinath said,"The fraudsters are displayingthe car pictures that are regis-tered with Visakhapatnam reg-istration and thus, the victimsare contacting them to get avehicle at a low price. We havemade the OLX accused in more

than 10 cases. We are soonserving them the notices too.The cases were booked underSection 420, 419 of IPC andSection 66C and 66D of IT Act.The cases related to the OLXfrauds are rising every year.They should come up with analternative as they are indirect-ly giving a platform for fraud-sters."

He added, "Earlier we hadtalks with the OLX and theyhave changed their interface.But, they are unable to controlfraudsters. They have to collectthe KYC from the users andshould maintain a record.People should be cautious,while dealing with these kindsof transactions. There are sev-eral cases where the victims areeasily being fooled by the fraud-sters."

OLX booked as accused party in 10 fraud casesl Visakhapatnam cyber police station to serve notice on the popular online market place

Rs 450 crore GST fraudunearthed in Visakhapatnam

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The officers of the DirectorateGeneral of GST Intelligence(DGGI), Visakhapatnam, arrest-ed 45-year-old ManagingDirector of a company engagedin infrastructure projects andgovernment contracts here onWednesday.

The company received andissued fake invoices withoutactual supply of services to thetune of Rs 450 crore. This is oneof the biggest GST frauds detect-ed in recent times by DGGI,Visakhapatnam, an official said.He said in coordinated search-es conducted in various parts ofAndhra Pradesh, Telangana andTamil Nadu, incriminating doc-

uments were recovered andupon interrogation, the accusedconfessed to having received andalso raising fake invoices with-out actual supply of services.Besides artificially boosting theturnover of the company, inputtax credit so availed on the basisof fake invoices was also passedon for further utilisation byother major infrastructure com-

panies. This same modusoperandi was followed usingmultiple GST registrations of thecompany. Preliminary quantifi-cation revealed that fromSeptember 2018 to August 2019,almost Rs 450 crore worth offake invoices were generatedinvolving ineligible ITC worthRs 67 crore.

The accused was arrestedunder the provisions of GSTlaws and remanded in judicialcustody till October 30. Sinceinception of GST regime, theVisakhapatnam zonal unit ofDGGI has made similar detec-tion of fake invoices of aroundRs 50 crore out of which Rs 40crore has been realised, the offi-cial said.

l MD of top infra company arrested

Nitin Gadkari for policymeasures tocreate jobs

3 terroristskilled inencounter insouth KashmirSRINAGAR: Three local mil-itants, who had joined terrorgroups recently, were killedon Wednesday in anencounter with securityforces in Jammu andKashmir's Anantnag district,officials said.

The encounter broke out atPazalpora area in Anantnagon the intervening night ofTuesday and Wednesday ona specific intelligence provid-ed by the district police.

All the three militants havebeen neutralised, the officialssaid. A police team, alongwith other security forces,laid a cordon and search inthe area. It had a pinpointedinformation where the threemilitants were holed up, offi-cials said.

NEW DELHI: Union minis-ter Nitin Gadkari onWednesday highlighted theneed for policy measures tocreate jobs in rural areas andcheck migration to cities foremployment. The ministeralso called for a detailedstudy to find out ways to skillpeople in tribal, agricultureand rural sectors, pointingout that skilled manpowerwas the biggest requirementin the country.

Gadkari, who handledportfolios of MSME, Roads,Highways and Transport, wasspeaking at an industry eventhere. "Our country's biggestproblem is unemploy-ment...Another issue in frontof us is migration. People aremoving from villages to citiesin search of jobs. Once(Mahatma) Gandhi said 85per cent of the population isin villages.

CM YS Jaganmohan Reddy giving a memento to one of the delegates of HongKong-based Intelligent SEZ Development Limited in Amaravati on Wednesday

Hong Kong ‘Intelligent’team meets CM JaganPNSn AMARAVATI

A delegation of Hong Kong-based Intelligent SEZ develop-ment Limited (Intelligent) metChief Minister YS Jagan MohanReddy at camp office inTadepalli. Tim Kau To, CFO,Min Hsiu Tsai, Chairman, HsiaoYun Lee, Internal ControlDirector, APACHE and MuthuGovinda Swamy,Administration Director(APACHE), met the ChiefMinister and proposed to estab-lish a sector-specific SEZ forfootwear manufacturing in AP

with total investment of Rs 700crore with a potential to provide10,000 jobs mostly consisting ofwomen. Intelligent also plans tostart the first phase of investmentwith approximately Rs 350 crithin five years from the date ofobtaining SEZ approval. Balanceinvestment will be made to setup additional facilities.Intelligent is a 100% subsidiaryowned by Intelligent InvestmentLtd, which is an associate part-ner of APACHE footwear, andclaims to be an exclusive suppli-er of footwear to global footwearbrand ADIDAS.

Chiru invites PM, Shah towatch ‘Sye Raa'PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former Union minister andMegastar Chiranjeevi isaggressively promoting hislatest flick 'Sye Raa'. He, alongwith BJP National SecretaryRam Madhav and Rajya SabhaMP CM Ramesh, went toDelhi on Wednesday to inviteVice-President M VenkaiahNaidu, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and HomeMinister Amit Shah to watchhis first historical movie. Thefilm was later screened atVenkaiah Naidu's residence.

Chiranjeevi's Delhi tourcomes close on the heels of hismeeting with Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy inTadepalli. The film is based onthe life of freedom fighterUyyalawada NarasimhaReddy, who had waged one ofthe earliest battles with theBritish, for harassing locals topay tax. Chiranjeevi's lobbyingwith VIPs will surely drawcrowds to the film, which hasalready received an over-whelming public response.

PNS n NEW YORK

India's public sector bankshad the "worst phase" underthe "combination" of formerprime minister ManmohanSingh and ex-RBI governorRaghuram Rajan, and givingthe ailing banks a "lifeline" washer primary duty now, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanhas said.

The public sector bankshave been grappling with badloans and the government hasbeen taking measures toaddress the issue. In August,the government announcedupfront capital infusion to thetune of Rs 70,000 crore intothe public sector banks.Besides, 10 public sector banksare being consolidated intofour.

Delivering a lecture at theprestigious ColumbiaUniversity's School ofInternational and PublicAffairs here on Tuesday,Sitharaman said: "While econ-omists can take a view ofwhat prevails today or pre-vailed years ago, but I will alsowant answers for the timewhen Rajan was in theGovernor's post speakingabout the Indian banks, forwhich today to give a lifelineis the primary duty of theFinance Minister of India.And the lifeline-kind of anemergency has not come

overnight. "I do respectRaghuram Rajan as a greatscholar who chose to be in thecentral bank in India at a timewhen the Indian economywas all buoyant, she said dur-ing the lecture organised bythe Deepak and Neera RajCentre on Indian EconomicPolicies of the ColumbiaUniversity.

While economists cantake a view of what

prevails today or prevailedyears ago, but I will also wantanswers for the time when Rajanwas in the Governor's postspeaking about the Indianbanks, for which today to give alifeline is the primary duty of theFinance Minister of India. Andthe lifeline-kind of an emergencyhas not come overnight

— SITHARAMAN, Union Finance Minister

Banks had ‘worstphase’ underManmohan , Rajan: FM

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court Wednesdayconcluded hearing in the polit-ically sensitive case of RamJanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid landdispute in Ayodhya andreserved the judgement.

The bench heard for 40 daysthe arguments of the Hindu andthe Muslim sides. A 5-judgeConstitution bench, headed byChief Justice Ranjan Gogoi,granted three days to contestingparties to file written notes on'moulding of relief ' or narrow-

ing down the issues on whichthe court is required to adjudi-cate. The other members of thebench are justices S A Bobde, DY Chandrachud, AshokBhushan and S A Nazeer.

The protracted hearing in the

Ayodhya dispute had enteredthe crucial final leg on October14 when the apex courtresumed proceedings on the38th day after the week-longDussehra break. TheConstitution bench, whichstarted the day-to-day proceed-ings on August 6 after media-tion proceedings failed to findan amicable solution to the vex-atious dispute, had revised thedeadline for wrapping up theproceedings.

Fourteen appeals have beenfiled in the apex court against

the 2010 Allahabad High Courtjudgment, delivered in fourcivil suits, that the 2.77-acreland in Ayodhya be partitionedequally among the three parties— the Sunni Waqf Board, theNirmohi Akhara and RamLalla.

Initially, as many as five law-suits were filed in the lowercourt. The first one was filed byGopal Singh Visharad, a devo-tee of ''Ram Lalla'', in 1950 toseek enforcement of the right toworship of Hindus at the dis-puted site.

Lawyer tears mapshowing Ram's birthplacePNS n NEW DELHI

There was drama and rancourin the Supreme Court onWednesday. Rajeev Dhavan,the advocate representing theMuslim parties, tore apart a mapthat purportedly showed thatthe birthplace of Lord Ramwould have been located in thecentre of the now-demolishedBabri Masjid. Dhavan got agi-

tated when Vikas Singh, thecounsel for the HinduMahasabha, sought to present abook to the SC bench hearingthe arguments. Singh sought topresent Ayodhya Revisited, abook written by ex-IPS officerKishore Kunal, which claimedto have evidence that correlat-ed the location of the‘Janmasthan' of Lord Ram at thecentre of the Babri Masjid.

ED arrestsChidambaramin TiharPNS n NEW DELHI

The Enforcement Directorate(ED) arrested former financeminister P Chidambaram inTihar Jail on Wednesday inconnection with its probe inthe INX Media money laun-dering case as it now preparesto put him through extensivegrilling sessions, officials said.

The investigating team fol-lowed procedure after a courthere on Tuesday had allowedthe agency to interrogate thesenior Congress leader, lodgedin the jail in the CBI case, andarrest him, if necessary, in thiscase, they said. A three-mem-ber team of investigators of thecentral agency who arrived atthe prison at 8:15 am duringwhich they briefly questionedChidambaram after which hewas placed under arrest.

Supreme Court reserves order on Ayodhya

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy addressing the Cabinet meeting in Amaravati on Wednesday

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated October 16, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Ashwini& krishna PakshaPanchangamTithi : Tritiya : 06:48 am Nakshatram: Kritika: 03:52 pmTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 01:28 pm – 02:55 pmYamagandam: 06:12 am – 07:40 am

Varjyam: NIL

Gulika: 09:07 am - 10:34 amGood Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 01:19 am - 03:01 pmAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:38 am - 12:24 pm

VIJAYAWADAWEATHERForecast: CloudyTemp: 30/24Humidity: 84%Sunrise: 06.09Sunset: 05.53

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VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019 vijayawada 02

CAPSULE

EO TAKES PART INACHARYA RUTWIKVARANAMTirupati: TTD EO Anil KumarSinghal took part in AcharyaRutwik Varanam as a part of thereligious ritual of AstottaraSatakundatmaka Srinivasa MahaYagam which commenced withAnkurarpanam in the famousSrinivasa Mangapuram templeon Wednesday. RUTWIK VARANAMRutwik varanam is a prelude toAnkurarpanam where in Rutwikswho are going to perform thehomams will be givenplacements and positions atHomagundams. There are over108 Rutwiks, who will performyagam at 108 homagundams onOctober 17 and 18. Earlierduring the day, these Rutwikswere given Deeksha clothes,which are prepared by dippingthem in turmeric water, which isconsidered sacred and will beworn by the Rutwiks only whileperforming rituals during thesethree days. The EO alsoobserved the arrangements forthe Maha Yagam. Later, Rutwiksperformed Kalasa Sthapana,Kalasa Puja, Punyahavachanam. ANKURARPANAMIn the evening, Ankurarpanamwas performed with ViswaksenaAradhana, Medini Puja,Mritsangrahanam ritualsbetween 4 pm and 8 pm.Tirumala temple chief priestVenugopala Deekshitulu, Agamaadvisors i SundaravadanaBhattacharylu,Mohanarangacharyulu,Anantasayana Deekshitulu,Kalyana Venkateswara Swamytemple Chief Priest BalajiDeekshitulu, temple Deputy EOEllappa and others were alsopresent.

SCR SPECIAL TRAINSTO CLEAR RUSHVIJAYAWADA: In order to clearextra rush of passengers, SCRwill three Special Trains betweenNarsapur - Tirupati - Narsapurand Narsapur - Secunderabad. Train No. 07247 Narsapur -Tirupati special train will departNarsapur at 19.30 hrs on 18thOctober, 2019 (Friday) and arriveTirupati at 06.30 hrs on next day.In the return direction, Train No.07248 Tirupati - Narsapurspecial train will depart Tirupatiat 20.45 hrs on 19th October,2019 (Saturday) and arriveNarsapur at 06.30 hrs on thenext day. En route, these specialtrains will stop at Palakollu,Bhimavaram Town, Kaikaluru,Gudivada, Vijayawada, Tenali,Chirala, Ongole, Kavali, Nellore,Gudur and Renigunta stations inboth the directions. The specialtrains will consist of AC II Tier,AC III Tier and Sleeper Classcoaches. Train No. 07255Narsapur - Secunderabad specialtrain will depart Narsapur at19.30 hrs on 20th October, 2019(Sunday) and arriveSecunderabad at 05.50 hrs onnext day. En route, the specialtrain will stop at Palakollu,Bhimavaram Town, Kaikaluru,

Time for restoring facilities toreach Sagara Giri Durga templeSUMIT ONKA n VISAKHAPATNAM

The security reasons on theVizag sea water is preventingdevotees to visit some templeslocated in the beautiful locationson the hills along the coast.Owing to lack of proper trans-portation facilities, people areunable to reach there. As thenumber of devotees and touristswas less, the public transport wasnot improved.

For instance, after the suspen-sion of boat way to Sagara GiriKanakadurga temple, the num-ber of devotees decreased dras-tically over a period of 10 years.The temple was constructednear Durga Beach on YaradaHills in 1977. Till 2009, a ferryboat was used to make severaltrips a day. Owing to somesecurity reasons, the boat tripwas cancelled in 2010.

Since then, the number ofdevotees reduced from 300 to50-60 persons a day now.Located in a serene hilly area, thetemple was a famous touristattraction in the city. The devo-tees from other States likeOdisha and West Bengal visit,but the local people rarely gothere as they need to travel a longroute instead of the boat way.

Sarannavaratri Mahotsavamwas celebrated on the templepremises every year ahead ofDasara. This year, the celebra-tions were held from September29 to October 8. Though devo-tees' strength was high duringthese nine days of the festival, thetemple remains vacant on the

rest of the days in a year.The temple committee has

arranged a boat to ferry thedevotees to the temple ghatduring Sarannavaratri. Float fes-tival (Teppotsavam) was organ-ised, along with special puja onOctober 9, as part of celebra-tions. Devotees urged the portauthorities to allow the boat rideregularly, or improve the publictransport facilities.

When asked about restric-tions, Visakhapatnam Port Trustdeputy chairman PL Harnadhand a patron of SagaragiriKanakadurga temple said:"There is high security alert onVisakhapatnam seawaters. It isnot possible to allow across thechannel movement due to secu-rity and safety issues. Except oneor two days, we cannot allow theboat way regularly."

Earlier, the AP State RoadTransport Corporation(APSRTC) used to ply 18 bustrips a day to Sagaragiri temple.However, there are only four

trips a day now. Similarly, tem-ples at Appikonda,Padmanabham, Bhairavakonawere also being neglected due tolack of enough public transportfacilities.

APSRTC Visakhapatnamregional manager MY Danamsaid that they review the busoccupancy in every six months."The authorities will add morenumber of buses in the routes,where the bus occupancy ismore than 80 per cent," he saidadding the occupancy of exist-ing bus in these routes was very less.

VPT deputy chairman PL Harnadh and a patron of SagaragiriKanakadurga temple said: "There ishigh security alert on Visakhapatnamseawaters. It is not possible to allowacross the channel movement due tosecurity and safety issues”

l After the suspension ofboat way to Sagara GiriKanaka Durga temple, thenumber of devoteesdecreased drastically over aperiod of 10 years

l The temple wasconstructed near DurgaBeach on Yarada Hills in1977. Till 2009, a ferry boatwas used to make severaltrips a day. Owing to somesecurity reasons, the boattrip was cancelled in 2010

Singapore team call on MekapatiPNS n VIJAYAWADA

A six-member Singaporeandelegation met Minister forIndustries, Commerce andInformation TechnologyMekapati Goutham Reddyon Wednesday at theSecretariat and discussedskill development trainingprogrammes.

The Minister discussedsett ing up of Ski l lDevelopment TrainingCentres in ever yParliamentary constituencyin the State. "Soon, we willset up 25 Skill DevelopmentCentres and train the unem-ployed so that they will becapable of establishing indus-tries on their own. And, weare heading towards it," said

the Minister to Singaporeofficials.

He briefed Singaporeanofficials about Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy'sdecision on 75 per cent jobreservation to locals and it isgiven utmost priority.

"By using sea port andairport facilities, the Stategovernment will create great

opportunities to provideinfrastructure. We are striv-ing to create maximumemployment for the youth inthe State," the Minister said.Industries Department advi-sor Krishna GV Gir i ,Singaporean officials KSIan, Cheng Hong Siang, TioChee Howe, Valerie Tio andEsther Tan were present.

Minister for Industries, Commerce and Information Technology Mekapati Goutham Reddy in a meeting with Singaporeanteam over skill development programmes in Amaravati on Wednesday

The Minister briefedSingaporean officials about the Chief Minister’s decision on 75 per cent jobreservation to locals and itis given utmost priority

n The Ministerdiscussed settingup of SkillDevelopmentTraining Centres ineveryParliamentaryconstituency in theState

Green crackers seem unlikely to sparkle this DiwaliIANS n CHENNAI

Not all the fire crackers that peo-ple would burst this Diwali willbe 'green', as the sector regulator,the Petroleum and ExplosivesSafety Organisation (PESO), hasapproved only one such productfor manufacture, a fire crackermaker in Tamil Nadu's Sivakasisaid.

"Out of the 400 odd items thatthe industry makes, only oneitem - a single sound cracker - hasbeen approved by PESO till dateas the 'green' cracker for manu-facture," the fire cracker maker,speaking on condition ofanonymity, told IANS.

'Green' crackers are thosewhere the minimum particulatematter emissions are reduced byabout 30 per cent as compared tothe conventional fire crackers.

"All other fire crackers havenot got the PESO's approval.During the last one year, CSIR-National EnvironmentalEngineering Research Institute(NEERI) has come out with for-mulations for green crackers foronly nine products while theindustry makes about 400 items,"he added.

According to him, the PESO-approved single sound crackercan be made only by 28 units in

the country. Tamil NaduFireworks and AmorcesManufacturers Association(TANFAMA) President GanesanPanjurajan told IANS that therewere nearly 350 such units.

"I cannot say anything aboutPESO's approval process. A totalof 348 units have been approvedby CSIR-NEERI to make greencrackers. The units are makingonly green crackers," he said.

Sivakasi accounts for nearly 90per cent of the country's firecracker production, and has1,070 fire cracker units located inand around it.

According to an industry offi-cial, NEERI, tasked by theSupreme Court to come up withnew formulations for fire crack-ers that are less polluting, pre-pared nine - four single soundcrackers, one flower pot and foursparklers, of which three areimproved formulations.

The formulations are uploadedon NEERI's website with a riderthat only those units that havesigned a non-disclosure agree-ment (NDA) can manufacturethem.

Industry officials are also of theview that the stability of the firecrackers made with new formu-lations is not known as it takes atleast a year to know their behav-

iour under various climatic andstorage conditions.

Curiously, NEERI had evencome out with formulations con-taining barium nitrate as an oxi-dizer, despite the Supreme Courtbanned this chemical in firecrackers. The court also bannedjoint crackers as it results in hugenoise and smoke.

However, without bariumnitrate, 60 per cent of the firecrackers can't be made.

"Barium nitrate is the safestoxidizer," Panjurajan ofTANFAMA said.

Citing Rule 13 of Environment(Protection) Rules, 1986, anindustry official said that a prod-uct cannot be banned whenthere is no substitute and even ifthere is any, a gestation period fortransfer of technology should begiven.

Industry officials also wonderhow NEERI would have tested

the products made by severalunits as it has only one emissionchamber.

It would take four hours to testa cracker and in effect, only twofire crackers can be tested in eighthours.

Whether NEERI tested someproducts made by select manu-facturer(s) and has certified otherunits with similar product com-positions is not known.

On the role of NEERI, indus-

try officials said that it has tocome out with formulations, testthe fire crackers for emissions,and certify them as 'green' crack-ers. Some of the CSIR-NEERIformulations include its ownadditives giving rise to the ques-tion of conflict of interest.

As per scheme of things, thefire cracker manufacturers haveto enter into a memorandum ofunderstanding with CSIR-NEERI and also sign a non-dis-closure agreement (NDA) andpay a fee that depends on theirproduction capacity and thus,ranges from Rs 10,000 to Rs20,000. The MoU/NDA is validfor two years and can be renewed.

Panjurajan, however, says thereis no conflict of interest as themanufacturers are free to useother additives or ingredients thatreduces emissions.

"There is no compulsion onthe part of the manufacturers torenew their agreement withCSIR-NEERI. The manufactur-

ers can come to NEERI withproducts made with their ownformulations to be certified asgreen crackers," he said.

"We are planning to develop aflower pot that is almost smoke-less," Panjurajan added.

According to officials, the firecracker industry in Sivakasi inTamil Nadu's Virudhunagar dis-trict would have lost about Rs 800crore as they had downed theirshutters for four months -December 2018 to January-March 2019. The factories wereshut as the industry did not haveanything to make since theSupreme Court had orderedonly the sale of green crackers,banned use of barium nitrate andthe sale of joint crackers even asCSIR-NEERI was tasked to comeout with new formulations.

However, with pressure fromthe state government as severallakhs of workers were withoutwork for months, the units werereopened, industry officials said.

‘Green' crackers are those where theminimum particulate matter emissions arereduced by about 30 per cent as compared tothe conventional fire crackers

Naval Community Day celebrated PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Panel discussion on 'BuildingHealthy Parent-ChildRelationship' was conductedat Samudrika Auditorium,Visakhapatnam, in two ses-sions comprising officers andfamilies in the forenoon andsailors and families in theafternoon on Wednesday.

The event was coordinatedby INS Eksila under the aegisof HQENC as part of Navalcommunity day activities.

Rear Adm K Srinivas NM,VSM Project Director ShipBuilding Centre, graced theevent, which was attended byover 900 personnel consistingof officers, sailors and fami-lies. Four panellists, CdrAmrendra Kumar, Cd IWOfficer, Surg Cdr ManishaThakur, Classified specialPaediatrician, A Neelima,nutrit ionist , and SisterMadhuri f rom BrahmaKumari organisation deliv-ered lectures and participat-ed in the discussion, whichwas moderated by CdrManikandan, SEDO,HQENC and Saniya Mathurfrom INS Eksila.

The discussion impressed

upon developing a strongbonding with children whichacts as a positive platform forthem to take on all kinds of

challenges. Critical inputswere provided on nutrition,paediatric, IW aspects andspir itual uplif t ing by speakers.

Discussions were summedup by Surg Rear Adm SheilaS Mathai, Command MedicalOfficer in the forenoon ses-sion and by Cmde KS Noor,Command Education Officerin the afternoon session.

The event concluded withthe presentation of memen-toes to the panellists andmoderators by Rear Adm KSrinivas, PD SBC(V).

The discussionimpressed upondeveloping a strongbonding with childrenwhich acts as apositive platform forthem to take on allkinds of challenges

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

An autonomous, empoweredpolice authority in the countrywould give a chance to policedepartment to function in a fairand impartial manner andwould totally insulate themfrom political and bureaucrat-ic interference, experts opined.

An interaction programmewith judiciary and police wasconducted at a city-based pri-vate university. Speaking aboutraising medico legal cases,Damodaram SanjivayyaNational Law University Vice-Chancellor Prof S SuryaPrakash said that after theConsumer Protection Act,1986, came into effect, a largenumber of patients filed casesagainst doctors many casespending in various consumercourts in the country.

He said that a number oflegal decisions have been madeon what constitutes negligenceand what is required to proveit. He advised that the physi-cians should practice methodsof healing founded on scientif-ic basis and should not associ-ate professionally with anyonewho violates this principle to

avoid medico legal cases.GITAM School of Law

Director Prof Anitha Rao men-tioned that doctors shouldmerit the confidence of patientsentrusted to their care, render-ing to each a full measure of ser-vice and devotion. She advisedthat the every physician shallmaintain the medical recordspertaining to his / her patientsto face the medico legal cases.

GITAM Dental College andHospital Principal Prof KGangadhara Prasad said thatthe principal objective of themedical profession is to renderservice to humanity with fullrespect for the dignity of pro-fession and man.

US officialvisits St JosephCollegePNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

St Joseph's College for Womenorganised a round-table facul-ty interactive session with USConsul General fromHyderabad Joel Reifman onWednesday. He was accompa-nied by the Public AffairsChief John Drew Giblin andSenthil and Siba from PublicAffairs Department of theConsulate. The objective of thevisit and interaction was to cre-ate better career opportunitiesfor the students through inno-vative learning courses.

Earlier in the day they hada campus tour of the college,the 150 year old heritagechurch and the communitycollege. They were impressedby the grandeur of the archi-tecture and the beautiful greencampus.

The Principal Dr Sr Shyjithanked the high profile guestsfor many reasons because thecollege has run two microaccess programs in EnglishLanguages Learning for social-ly disadvantaged girls. The col-lege has been part of the SUSIStudent exchanges in the USand three students went in2015, 2016 and 2017. FacultyExchange Program in CriticalThinking too happened in2018.

Onion, tomatoes,garlic stolen in LucknowPNS n LACKNOW

Bizarre though it may soundbut a man in Lucknow hasbeen robbed of onions, garlicand tomatoes. The soaringprices of these vegetables appar-ently have a lot to do with thetheft. The man targeted wasPappu Chaurasia, a vegetablevendor in Manas Enclave inIndira Nagar area here. OnMonday night, Chaurasiawrapped up his business andshut his wayside shop byputting tarpaulin on the vegeta-bles.

When he returned the nextmorning, he was aghast to seehis vegetable strewn aroundand found that the bags ofonions, garlic and tomatoeskept under the wooden plankswere missing. Chaurasiainformed his friends and theymade inquiries all around.Finally, on Tuesday night,Chaurasia lodged a formalcomplaint with the Ghazipurpolice station. "I have suffereda loss of about Rs 10-12,000. Itis surprising that the thieves didnot touch other vegetables”.

GITAM Dental Collegeand Hospital Principalsaid that the principalobjective of themedical profession isto render service tohumanity with fullrespect for the dignityof profession and man

Autonomouspolice authority need of the hour

EGGRATES

` 38,570 (10 gm)

` 333

GOLD

` 44,900(1kg)

` 6665

HYDERABAD 411VIJAYAWADA 405VISAKHAPATNAM 420RETAIL PPRICE `4.05

SILVER

VIJAYAWADABULLION RATES

`/100

CHICKENRATES

Dressed/With Skin `137

Without Skin `149

Broiler at Farm `90

`/KG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019 vijayawada 03

CAPSULE

PERNI NANI HAILS POLICEVijayawada: Army is protectingthe country at the border, whilepolice are protecting peopleinside the country, said Ministerfor Transport Perni VenkataRamaiah (Nani). He was thechief guest at the PoliceCommemoration Week inMachilipatnam conducted by theKrishna district police.A blood donation camp andOpen House were conductedahead of Police CommemorationWeek. Police personnel, collegestudents and other peopledonated blood on the occasion.The Minister appreciated blooddonors and organisers forconducing the camp.

ABANDONED SENIORCITIZEN DIES, PIGSEAT AWAY BODYNagarkurnool: An octogenarianpassed away after years ofneglect and abandoned by hischildren but was denied even anhounourable death as pigsgnawed away at his body whichlay in the shed where he hadspent the last few months.According to Bijinapally sub-inspector, Chinthigari Kondaiah(80), a resident of NandiVaddeman village of Bijinapallymandal had been ill for the pastfew months. His son, who worksin the electricity department,allegedly didn't care for him andhad put him up in a shed-likestructure which didn't havedoors. Kondaiah, who wasseriously ill for the past few days,was not fed properly. OnWednesday, neighbours foundKondaiah's body in the shed andpigs eating at it. The animals toreaway part of his head and his armand were seen running aroundthe village with body parts. Policewho reached the spot found pigscoming out of the shed. Theincident has left local residentsaghast at the way the old manwas treated by his children. Theyalso felt revolted at the sight ofdomestic pigs, not known to eathuman flesh, devouring a humanbody. Animal activists said it ispossible for pigs with piglets getextremely ferocious and couldseek abnormal diet to feed theiryoung. This rare case hasshocked the villagers of NandiVaddeman, which has beenrocked by strange deaths in thepast like children being struck bylightning dying and drowning inirrigation tanks in the past coupleof years.

Women taking a selfie prior to fashion show organised by Rajastani Samskrutika Mahila Mandali members at Sindhubhavanin Visakhapatnam on Wednesday

GREEN RROOM SSELFIE

CURBS ON WINE SHOPS TIMINGS

BAR OWNERS LAUGHINGALL THE WAY TO BANKSG RAVI KIRANn VIJAYAWADA

Bar owners are laughing all theway to banks, thanks to curbsimposed by the government onwine shops. Bars are makinghay as tipplers, who want tohave a sip of their favouritebrand, are making a beeline tobars.

With the government intro-ducing new liquor policy andthe Excise Department takingover the running of wine shopsand putting curbs on sales,wine lovers are not shyingaway in spending money onboozing.

In this backdrop, bars areminting money across theState. As wine shops are beingrun by the Excise Departmentand they are supplying liquorup to 8 pm. Therefore, rush inbars has been increased in thepast 15 days. Almost businesswas doubled at bars, accordingto sources.

New excise policy hasbecome a boon for owners ofbars. Upper middle and mid-dle-class, who hesitate to standin front of wine shop for con-suming liquor, are reportedlychoosing bars.

M Kalyan, a private employ-ee, said "We used to send boys,or attendants for purchasingliquor. But, after wine shopsbeing converted into govern-ment shops, boys are demand-

ing more money to bring winefrom the shops. We, generallysit at friends' homes, or any

another place. Now, we areforced to go to a bar. Similarly,wine shops are being closed

after 8 pm, hence, we are goingto bars." "We can witness morecars being parked in front ofbars," said M Manoj Kumar, aresident of Tadepalli. He fur-ther stated "I stay in a flat adja-cent to Durga Bar. I used to seeonly four to five cars in theparking lot earlier. But now, inthe last 15 days, I have seenmore than 20 cars. Parking lotis being flooded with cars by 9pm."

Owners of bars are report-edly planning to renovatetheir bars to attract more cus-tomers. P Ramesh, the man-ager of a bar in Governorpetsaid "In our bar there is no letout for smoke, as there is nosmoking area. Hence, ourowner instructed us to give afacelift to bar to make cus-tomers comfortable. Withelite, too, making frequentvisits to bars, it seems ownerswanted their bars to be moreattractive to woo more cus-tomers."

One of the officials of theexcise department disclosedthat the bars business wasalmost doubled in the newscenario.

He said "We are gettinghuge indents from bars now.Their sales were doubledalmost. But, bars, which arelocated in open places, arereaping the benefits, whilethose, which are in congestedareas, are unable to cash in on

Home Minister wants copsto focus on rural areasPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Home Minister MekathotiSucharitha suggested to policeto focus on problems of ruralpeople. She participated inpassing out parade of DSPs atPolice Headquarters inMangalagiri on Wednesday.DGP Gautam Sawang opinedthat police are playing a keyrole in society and they shouldtake stringent action againstanti-social elements.

Home Minister MekathotiSucharitha and DGP GautamSawang inspected the passingout parade of DSPs belongingto 2018 batch. Later, the HomeMinister and the DGP receivedthe guard of honour from theDSPs.

"It's a proud moment for meas 11 DSPs out of 25 DSPs arewomen," the Home Ministerstated. As this is the first DSPspassing out parade in the State,she felt happy and thankedChief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy for providing her theopportunity.

She suggested to police tostudy the problems of ruralpeople and should stand insupport of them. She men-tioned that problems ofwomen are sensitive and policehave to give moral support tothem. "By keeping regularmonitoring, we have to controlCybercrimes, white collarcrimes and drug mafia," sheadded.

DGP Gautam Sawang sug-gested to police to focus onphysical fitness. Policingshould be nearer to people andshould be helpful to them, headded.

He suggested to them tokeep abreast with technology,so that they can investigateproperly. He ordered them tocurb Cybercrime and whitecollar crimes.

n Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra are the top 3Indian states leading with requestsn P Ramesh, the manager ofa bar in Governorpet said "Inour bar there is no let out forsmoke, as there is nosmoking area. Hence, ourowner instructed us to givea facelift to bar to makecustomers comfortable.With elite, too,making frequentvisits to bars, itseems ownerswanted their bars to bemore attractive to woomore customers."

n One of the officials of theexcise departmentdisclosed that the barsbusiness was almostdoubled in the newscenario. He said "We aregetting huge indents frombars now. Their sales weredoubled almost. But, bars,which are located in openplaces, are reaping thebenefits, while those,which are in congestedareas, are unable to cashin on the boom."

u She suggested to police tostudy the problems of ruralpeople and should stand insupport of them. Shementioned that problems ofwomen are sensitive andpolice have to give moralsupport to them. "By keepingregular monitoring, we haveto control Cybercrimes, whitecollar crimes and drug mafia,"she added

u Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharitha and DGP GautamSawang inspected the passing out parade of DSPs belonging to2018 batch. Later, the Home Minister and the DGP received theguard of honour from the DSPs

Ex-MLA Alluri, KSNRaju rejoin YSRCPPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former Razole MLA AlluriKrishnam Raju and Jana Senaleader KSN Raju joinedYSRCP in the presence ofparty President YSJaganmohan Reddy atTadepalli on Wednesday.

Later, speaking toreporters, Krishnam Raju saidhe, along with KSN Raju,would strengthen YSRCP inRazole. "We rejoined the

YSRCP as the government isimplementing good schemesfor the welfare of the people.The government is renderingjustice to all sections of soci-ety," he added.

Praising JaganmohanReddy is pursuing people-friendly policies like his fatherand former Chief Minister thelate YS Rajasekhara Reddy,Krishnam Raju said his gov-ernment is taking all servicesto the doorstep of people.

India, Bangladesh naval exercise endsPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The maiden Indian Navy -Bangladesh Navy bilateral exer-cise successfully concluded withEastern Fleet personnel biddingfarewell to Bangladesh NavyShips Ali Haider andShadhinota here on Wednesday.

The four-day Harbour Phasesaw professional interaction andsharing of best practices in theform of Subject Matter ExpertExchange (SMEE) lectures andvisits to various facilities of theIndian Navy at Visakhapatnam.

As a part of the Harbourphase, Bangladesh naval person-nel visited Naval Dockyard,Naval Air Station INS Dega,Submarine Rescue Unit, ShipHandling Simulator and theIntegrated Underwater HarbourDefence and Surveillance sys-tem. As part of cross visits, theywere given a guided tour of INSRanvijay and personnel fromEastern Fleet visited BangladeshNaval Ship Ali Haider . Brief onrole and capabilities of shipswere carried out.

SMEE lectures on varied top-ics ranging from HumanitarianAssistance and Disaster Relief(HADR) to aviation emergen-cies were undertaken as a partof professional interaction.Apart from professional interac-tions, personnel from both theNavies participated in friendlysports fixtures during volleyballand football matches. Visits to

TU Aircraft Museum andKursura Submarine Museumwere organised for visiting navalpersonnel.

Bangladesh Navy delegationled by Commodore SayedMohammad Moniruzzaman,COMFLOT (West), along withBrigadier General Abul KalamMohammad Ziaur Rahman,Defence Attache, Captain

Mirza Ali Akbar Shirazi,Commanding Officer, BNSShadhinota and Captain KaziShah Alam, CommandingOfficer, BNS Ali Haider calledon Vice Admiral Atul KumarJain, flag officer, commanding-in-chief, Eastern NavalCommand, discussed theimportance of mutual cooper-ation and partnership on mar-itime security in the Bay ofBengal region.

Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, flag officer, commanding-in-chief, Eastern NavalCommand discussing with Commodore Sayed Mohammad Moniruzzaman ofBangladesh Navy in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

SMEE lectures onvaried topics rangingfrom HumanitarianAssistance andDisaster Relief(HADR) to aviationemergencies wereundertaken as a partof professionalinteraction

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Left parties staged rasta rokosat all the important junctions inthe city on Wednesday protest-ing against the anti-workerspolicies of the BJP govern-ment.

The dharnas and rasta rokoswere held at Maddilapalem,Dwarakanagar, Poorna Marketand Madhuravada. The mainprogramme was held atMaddilapalem Junction wherethe traffic was disrupted for afew hours. CPM State Secretariatmember Ch Narsinga Rao andCPI district secretary JVSatyanarayana Murthy werepresent at the MaddilapalemJunction, while addressing par-ticipants and the public, both theleaders took on Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, who has beenshowering sops on the corporatebodies at the expense of the pub-lic sector undertakings.

Narsinga Rao reminded thatafter Narendra Modi took officefor the second time, more than20 lakh lost their jobs in the

automotive sector and somegovernment organisations. Hesaid public sector banks weremerged only to help the erringcorporate companies and not forthe benefit of the economy.

"Modi is taking advantage ofBritish era laws, which have beenfavouring managements andnot the workers,'' he said.

CPI leader SatyanarayanaMurthy said those questioningthe government on anti-work-ers policies, they were beingbooked under sedition charges.

Left parties warned the Modigovernment that GST anddemonetisation would harmthe Indian economy, but he wentahead and destroyed the eco-nomic structure of the country.

Left parties stagerasta roko againstBJP policies

Left party leaders and workers stage a rasta roko against BJP’s anti-workerspolicies at Maddilapalem Junction in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday

"Modi is taking advantageof British era laws, which have been favouringmanagements and not theworkers'': Left

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Good news for youngsters andpeople, who are interested inworkouts. VMCCommissioner of V PrasannaVenkatesh instructed officialsto renovate gyms located in theDandamudi Rajagopala RaoIndoor Stadium, SingnagarMakineni BasavapunnaiahStadium and at Sir VijjiSwimming pool.

For a long period, thesegyms were neglected and run-ning with old equipment. TheCommissioner visited themon Wednesday and opinedthat they have to be renovatedimmediately. He interactedwith the maintenance in-charges of gyms and decided torefurbish them by allocatingfunds.

People, who cannot affordprivate gyms, will come toVMC owned gyms in thesestadia. But, with no propermaintenance due to lack offunds, they are not serving thepurpose. Now, with the deci-

sion of the VMC Chief, thesegyms will be renovated andwill be useful to the people,who are interested in workouts.Now, the VMC has to maintaingyms properly to accommo-date more people.

VMC gyms will berenovated: Commissioner

VMC Commissioner Prasanna Venkatesh at one of the gyms of Corporation inVijayawada on Wednesday

Spurned lover attacks girlPNS n VIJAYAWADA

A youth attacked a girl with aknife in broad daylight. The girlwas injured severely and under-going treatment at a hospital.Later, the attacker consumedpesticide and undergoing treat-ment at a hospital. According todoctors' report, the condition ofboth is stable.

The incident took place atKavitam village in Poduru man-dal of West Godavari district.The girl was studying MSc firstyear in Penugonda SVKPCollege and staying with hergrandmother at Kavitam village

and going to college from there. Medapati Sudhakar Reddy

was staying in the same villageand was stalking her. When thekin of the girl complained to theelders of the village, they repri-manded him, and in turn, hepromised to mend his ways.

But, from the past twomonths, again he started follow-ing her and exerted pressure onher to accept his love. OnWednesday, when the girl wasgoing to the college on her bicy-cle, Sudhakar Reddy attackedher with a knife. Locals, whowitnessed the incident, caughthim, but immediately, he con-sumed and fell unconsicious.

On receiving information,police rushed to the spot andshifted them to a hospital fortreatment. According to police,condition of the duo is stated tobe stable. Police registered a caseand took up investigation.

Vishuvardhanlambasts Varla Guntur: Parties would be sur-prised soon as prominent lead-ers would join the BJP, said BJPState Vice-President Vishnuvardhan Reddy. Speaking to themedia here on Wednesday, helambasted Varla Ramaiah formaking unsavoury remarksagainst police.

u The incident took place atKavitam village in Podurumandal of WG district

u The girl was studying MScfirst year in Penugonda SVKP College and staying with her grandmother at Kavitam village

IANS n WELLINGTON

New Zealand Minister of CivilDefence Peeni Henare said onWednesday that hundreds ofthousands of New Zealanderswill join about 65 millionpeople around the globe inShakeOut, the world's biggestearthquake drill on Thursday.

The annual drill is toremind people of the rightaction to be taken during anearthquake which is to drop,cover, hold, and to practisetheir tsunami evacuation ifthey are in a coastal area,reported Xinhua news agency.

"All of New Zealand is atrisk of earthquakes and all ofour coastline is at risk oftsunami. We can't predictwhen one will happen, orwhere we will be, but we canprotect ourselves by practisingwhat to do," Henare said.

Henare stressed recentevents have reinforced theimportance of knowing whatto do in an earthquake orwhen there is a tsunamithreat.

"Since 2016, we've experi-enced one massive earthquakeand two local source tsunami-- The Kaikoura earthquakeand tsunami in November2016, and the East Capetsunami, two months prior inSeptember 2016)."

"We've also learned even

more about seismic risks suchas the Alpine Fault, theHikurangi Fault, and theKermadec Trench."

"The ShakeOut drill willhelp make the Drop, CoverHold actions second nature,while giving us a chance topractise our tsunami evacua-tion routes," Henare said.

Henare will be doing thedrill Thursday at 13:30 p.m.local time with students atEvans Bay IntermediateSchool in Wellington.

“New Zealand isat risk ofearthquakesand all of ourcoastline is atrisk of tsunami.We can't predictwhen one willhappen, orwhere we willbe, but we canprotectourselves bypractising whatto do," theMinister said

Kiwis to take part inworld's biggestearthquake drill

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019 vijayawada 04

BJP leaders complain to Guvagainst TRS govt over RTC strikeCLAIM GOVT DOLING OUT RTC'S PRIME LAND TO PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana BJP leaders metGovernor TamilisaiSoundararajan on Wednesdayand submitted a representationrequesting her to take suo motocognizance of the observationsof the High Court and advise thegovernment to follow its advice.

BJP state president KLaxman, MLC N RamchandarRao, along with a delegation ofparty leaders, met the Governor.

The BJP leaders brought tothe notice of the Governor thatmany believe the governmenthas been doing this with an ulte-rior motive of handing overthe prime properties of RTCat vantage locations acrossTelangana to private indi-viduals, individuals whohave close proximity withthe ruling party.

"BJP would want to sub-mit to you that the RTC hasprime properties all across thestate to the extent of 1,500acres of land and other assetswhich are worth Rs.80,000crores. The employees unionsallege that the government slow-ly and steadily is trying to handover these prime lands to theprivate parties. Surprisingly, theprocess of handing over to theprivate properties is being donewithout following any norms or

procedure," they said.They cited few examples in

support of their allegations.There have been attempts by

the state government to leaseout 10 acres of prime land at

RTC Cross-roads, Hyderabadfor 33 years. There are reportsthat the government has alreadyfloated notification seekingexpression of interest, which hasbeen designed to meet the

interests of certain individualsexclusively.

On Hunter Road inHanumakonda (Warangal) 4acres of land which is worthRs.76 crores has been handed

over to a ruling party politician.Close to Ramnagar Old Bus-stand of Warangal, Rs 25 croreworth land has been given toprivate parties.

Similarly, 7,000 sqyd of landin the prime area of Armoortown has been given to politi-cians belonging to the rulingparty. In Karimnagar townprime land of RTC has beengiven to private parties 66 acreson a 100-year lease.

"It is reliably learnt that RTChas established over 100 petrolpumps in agreement withPetroleum Corporations on itslands at prime locations in dif-ferent parts of Telangana.However, thus secured petrolpumps have been leased out toprivate individuals who havebeen making huge profit out ofsale of petrol and diesel. It islearnt that one individual hasbeen given over 54 petrolpumps. The profit which theRTC should have got is nowbeing pocketed by these privateindividuals," they said.

It is evident that the primeRTC land is being doled out tothe private individuals and thecurrent aggression that the gov-ernment has been showingagainst the RTC employees isonly a subterfuge to handoverprime lands to private individ-uals, they alleged.

Leaders descend on Huzurnagaras electioneering peaksBAKKA TENNYSON n NALGONDA

Leaders of almost all politicalparties from Nalgonda districthave descended on villages of theHuzurnagar assembly segmentfor the past five days as the cam-paign for the byelection began topeak on Wednesday.

The Congress has roped in allits senior leaders for campaign-ing. Former Dy CM DamodaraRajanarsimha along with someother leaders held public meet-ings in Huzurnagar segment.The MLA of Mulugu Seethakkaand her supporters have taken upthe task of visiting the villagesand in the Nereducharla andMellacheruvu mandal even aslocals felt 'mobbed' and outnum-bered by political leaders inmany parts.

The ruling TRS has deployed15-odd MLAs representing allneighbouring districts who havetasked with round-the-clockelectioneering.

The TRS has done door-to-door campaigning in the seg-ment thrice over for what it con-siders a very crucial by-election.TRS leaders expressed confi-dence that the party would wrestthe seat from Congress with easethis time.

Warangal East MLANannapaneni Narender, whohas camped at Nereducharlamandal along with his support-ers, told PNS that his campaignwas picking up with more andmore people extending supportto the ruling party nominee.

Independent nomineeTeenmar Mallanna is also givingit a serious run, enthused by thesupport he is drawing fromyouths who employing novelmethods in his campaign. Hissupporters are coming downheavily on the TRS-Congressand BJP without mincing words.

The BJP leaders brought to the notice ofthe Governor that many believe thegovernment has been doing this with an

ulterior motive of handing over the primeproperties of RTC at vantage locations

across Telangana to private individuals

The ruling TRShas deployed15-odd MLAs

representing allneighbouringdistricts whohave taskedwith round-the-clock

electioneering

CAPSULE

LIGHTNING STRIKESCLAIM TWO LIVESWarangal: In two separateincidents, two persons were killedin lightning strikes in the district inthe past 24 hours. One of themwas identified as Pulamma, 40,was a resident of Akkampet villagein Atmakur mandal, and another afarmer Dudaiah, 45, a resident ofMachchapur in Geesukondamandal. The district has beenexperiencing thunder showersaccompanied by lightning for thepast few days. The Met office hasadvised the people to not ventureout and confine themselves tohomes as much as possible.

FARMER COLLAPSES,DIES IN TAHSIL OFFICESANGAREDDY: A farmer ofManair Palli Thanda in Kohirmandal succumbed in the Tahsiloffice premises on Wednesdayafter suffering a cardiac arrest.According to locals, the tribalfarmer, Tulja Naik, 55 , had cameto the office for to get a pattedarpassbook for which he had beendoing the rounds for the last fewmonths. Sources said Naik's pleasfor his pattadar passbook weren'tbeing heard at the Tahsil office forlong, leaving him anxious andfrustrated. On Wednesday heagain made a visit to the officewhere officials still hadn't arrived.Naik complained chest pain andcollapsed soon thereafter in theoffice premises. Locals rushedhim to a hospital in Kohir, butdoctors there declared himbrought-dead. Family members ofthe farmer allege that the officialswithout reason delayed theprocess of the issuance ofpassbook for their land which wascausing Naik extreme anxiety. Hehad reportedly often complainedabout officials' apathy in the matter.

IIT-H develops ‘bio-bricks' from agri waste

PNS n HYDERABAD

Researchers from IIT-Hyderabad and KIIT School ofArchitecture of Bhubaneshwarhave developed 'bio-bricks' fromagricultural waste products thatcan uses in the constructionindustry. The development willhelp manage waste better anddevelopment of eco-friendly,sustainable building materials.

The research was undertak-en by Priyabrata Rautray, PhDscholar at IIT Hyderabad andAvik Roy, assistant professor atKIIT School of Architecture,Bhubaneshwar.

Speaking about the uses of'bio-bricks,' Priyabrata said,"Twenty-two per cent of India'stotal annual Co2 emissions aregenerated by the constructionsector. Clay bricks not only useup fertile topsoil, but their man-ufacturing process also emitssignificant amounts of carbondioxide into the atmosphere.Recognising this problem, theBuilding Materials and

Technology Promotion Council(BMTPC) was set up in the1990's to develop eco-friendlyand energy-efficient buildingmaterials, providing impetusinto repurposing agriculturaland industrial waste items intoconstruction materials."

Repurposing of agriculturalwastes is particularly importantin India. More than 500 milliontons of agricultural waste isproduced in the country everyyear. While some of this is

reused as fodder, 84 to 141 mil-lion-tons are burnt, whichresults in severe air pollution.Priyabrata Rautray and AvikRoy have found a new way torepurpose agricultural wastematerials. They use it to man-ufacture bricks, a commonlyused construction item.

Talking about the research,Avik Roy said, "Bio-bricks arenot only more sustainable thanclay bricks, but are also carbonsinks because they fix more car-

bon dioxide than they produceduring their lifecycle."

The process of making bio-bricks starts with careful selec-tion of the dry agro-waste likepaddy straws, wheat straws,sugarcane residue or bagasseand cotton plant. The teamdecided to use dry sugarcanebagasse for the first sample. Thebagasse is first chopped to thedesired size. A lime-based slur-ry is prepared, and the choppedagro-waste is added to the slur-ry and mixed thoroughly byhand or mechanical mixer, tocreate a homogenous mixture.

This mixture is poured intomoulds and rammed with a

wooden block to make a com-pact brick. These moulds are leftto dry for a day or two, afterwhich the sides of the mouldsare removed, and the brick isallowed to dry for fifteen totwenty days. It takes approxi-mately a month's time for thesebio-bricks to attain its workingstrength by air drying.

The team's bio-brick receiveda 'Special Recognition Trophy'for sustainable housing at RuralInnovators Start-Up Conclave2019 organised recently byNational Institute of RuralDevelopment and PanchayatiRaj (NIRDPR) in Hyderabadrecently.

Bio-bricks can provide affordable, eco-friendly construction materials

The team's bio-brick received a ‘SpecialRecognition Trophy' for sustainable housing atRural Innovators Start-Up Conclave 2019organised recently by National Institute ofRural Development and Panchayati Raj(NIRDPR) in Hyderabad recently. TKHH's

Suryapet: Former Dy-CMand senior Congress leader CDamodar Raja Narsimha onWednesday said the publicmandate in the by-election toHuzurnagar Assembly con-stituency would be a slap onthe face of the TRS govern-ment which he alleged wastaking unilateral decisions.

Speaking at a media confer-ence here, Raja Narsimhasaid the people of Huzurnagar"were eagerly waiting to teacha lesson to the TRS govern-ment by ensuring the defeatof its candidate in the by-elec-tion". He alleged that a therewas a huge scam in the exe-cution of KaleshwaramProject and MissionBhagiratha, which are presti-gious projects implementedby the state government. "Theby-election comes as anopportunity to the people ofHuzurnagar to put an end tofamily rule in the state, andthey have a great role to playin this regard," he said.

He asked the voters ofHuzurnagar to teach a lesson

to Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao, who, healleged, was behaving like adictator in the last six months,by defeating TRS candidate.He exuded confidence thatCongress candidate UttamPadmavathi would enjoy alandslide victory in the by-election.Stating that Congresswas supporting the TSRTCemployees' strike, he said thatCongress would stand by theRTC employees till theirissues are resolved. He heldthe Chief Minister responsi-ble for the debt burden of thepublic transport systemTSRTC.

Suryapet District CongressCommittee president ChevitiVenkanna and others werealso present.

KCR govt which wastaking unilateraldecisions will bestung, says RajaNarsimha

CONG SAYS HUZURNAGARWILL TEACH TRS A LESSON

1.20 lakh fish released inNalla Cheruvu reservoir

TS govt striving to boost fisheries sector: Niranjan Reddy PNS n WANAPARTHY

Agriculture Minister SNiranjan Reddy onWednesday said the state gov-ernment has not only given afillip to agriculture and itsallied sectors by extendingirrigation to farm lands acrossthe State, but has alsoenriched the lives of fisher-men by giving fishlings free ofcost to the Mudiraju commu-nity.

"Fishermen who had beenneglected for more than threedecades in Telangana, had tosettle for alternate livelihoodslike selling fruits on roadside.With the schemes launched inthe interest of fishermen afterthe formation of Telangana,not only aquatic wealth hasincreased, fishermen haveregained their original sourceof livelihood, which hasboosted their economic con-dition across the State,"Minister Niranjan Reddy said,after releasing 1.20 lakh fishin Nalla Cheruvu minor irri-gation tank in Wanaparthytown.

He said that 1.41 crorefishlings were released in 290tanks this year and thatrestoration of irrigation tanksthrough Mission Kakatiya notonly helped assuring the aya-cut under the tanks of irriga-tion, but also created anopportunity to develop fish-eries like never before.

He thanked Chief MinisterK Chandrashekar Rao for

sanctioning funds for devel-oping Nalla Cheruvu as amini tank bund, works forwhich were almost complet-ed and Krishna water was alsoreleased into the tank recent-ly, after the tank was lyingneglected for decades.

"Nalla Cheruvu hasregained its lost glory and wewill ensure all tanks across thedistrict would soon berestored back to their originalstate," he said.

Pointing-out that the Stategovernment was distributingtwo-wheelers, four-wheelers,mobile-vans, fishnets, boxesand also allotting space for

fishermen to sell their pro-duce in markets, he said thatthe government has been tak-ing care of the entire supply-chain and logistics of thefisheries sector.

Farmers, artisans and fish-ermen have all thanked theState government by electingTRS back to power, heobserved.

ZP Chairperson R LoknathReddy, District LibrariesChairman B Lakshmaiah,MPP Kicha Reddy and otherleaders and officials of thefisheries department partici-pated in the fishlings releaseevent.

The Ministerthanked ChiefMinister KCR forsanctioningfunds fordeveloping NallaCheruvu as amini tank bund,works for whichwere almostcompleted andKrishna waterwas alsoreleased into thetank recently

Five withMaoist linksarrested

AVINASH DEEPAK PULIn GADWAL

In what is being seen as amajor breakthrough, theGadwal district policenabbed five outlawed Maoistparty sympathisers inJogulamba Gadwal districton Wednesday. The districtin-charge SP Apoorva Raoproduced the arrested beforethe media after they werearrested in connection witha case registered in August.

The in-charge SP told themedia that one PuligaNagaraju alias Naganna ofElkur village in Maldhakalmandal was nabbed inAugust when he was tryingto escape from a vehiclecheck post on theMellacheruvu cross road.Naganna was chased downby police, who, later recov-ered a bag which he pos-sessed containing outlawedliterature of CPI Maoists.

On interrogation, thearrested youth revealed pur-ported links of certain sym-pathisers, the SP said andadded that TelanganaVidyarthi Vedika , a studentwing of Maoist frontal units,was motivating the studentsto join the Maoist partybesides mobilising the fundsfor the outlawed organisa-tion.

Accused nabbed inGadwal district, whilemobilising funds forbanned outfits

PNS n HYDERABAD

The state Financeand Planningd e p a r t m e n t ssigned a tripar-tite MoU withthe Centre forE f f e c t i v eGovernance of IndianStates (CEGIS) on Wednesdaywith the aim of improvingsocio-economic outcomes andthe quality of public expendi-ture in Telangana.

The MoU was signed byPrincipal Finance SecretaryK Ramakrishna Rao andCEGIS founder and scientificdirector Prof KarthikMuralidharan in the presenceof state Finance Minister THarish Rao, State PlanningBoard vice-chairman B VinodKumar and Finance Advisor tothe government GR Reddy.

The partnership proposes toadopt a four-prongedapproach to improve socio-economic outcomes. Theseinclude ensuring regular andindependent data collectionon key outcomes and process-es across multiple sectors andusing the data to improveperformance and personnelmanagement.

It also envisages strategicbudgeting and planning to

improve the qualityof public expendi-

ture, besides creatingevidence based policy-

roadmaps for reform in keysectors and tracking theimpact of these reforms onoutcomes.

CEGIS head ProfMuralidharan is the TataChancellor's professor of eco-nomics at University ofCalifornia in San Diego, USand an honorary adviser to thecentral government's NITIAayog.

He is also a Board memberand Global Chair of Educationof J-PAL's education sector -the organisation co-foundedby Economics Nobel Prizewinners Abhijit Banerjee andEsther Duflo.

The measures undertakenby the state PlanningDepartment and the CEGISwill an extension of the workdone by the state governmentin improving developmentoutcomes, and is aimed atachieving a BangaruTelangana, and improving thelives of common people.

n MoU signedbetween statePlanningdept and CEGIS

State signs pact forsocio-economic uplift

Hyderabad leads the demandfor overseas educationK RAMYA SREEn HYDERABAD

A recent study undertaken byone of India's leading tech-AIplatform, has unveiled thatHyderabad is among the topthree cities in India that is lead-ing demand for overseas edu-cation.

This study is based on vis-its and searches by nearly32,000 consumers acrossIndian cities that landed onSulekha in the last one year.

According to the study, asmany as 32,000 requests havebeen generated by Tier I citiesand they contribute to 60 percent of the online searches.Tier II and Tier III cities havegenerated 11,000 and 10,000online requests respectively.Tier I cities are well informedand the searches peak duringadmission season i.e.September -December.

The top threeIndian states that are

leading with requests are:Tamil Nadu with 7,127requests followed by Telanganawith 6,228 requests andMaharashtra with 6,218.

Among the above men-tioned states, Hyderabad,Chennai and Delhi are the topthree Indian cities that areleading the requests for over-seas education, with their topcourses of choice beingEngineering, MBA, Medicine/

M B B S ,

Journalism, HotelManagement and Aviation andtop countries of choice for peo-ple from Telangana are:Canada, Australia, USA,Germany and UK.

The highest number ofrequests has been received forCanada with over 19,849requests followed by Germany(12,979) and USA (11,961).

Satya Prabhakar, Founder &CEO, Sulekha, said, "This studyshows that the number ofIndian aspirants who are look-ing at pursuing higher educa-tion abroad is increasing year

on year by approximately20%. Canada has emerged asthe most preferred destinationfor overseas education, owingto the visa restrictions imposedon students in USA and UK in

the last few years. We areseeing more interest from

the Indian metros ascompared to Tier II andIII cities. However, TierII cities are also fastcatching up."

Resume busservices beforeschoolsreopen: MinisterPNS n HYDERABAD

Transport Minister PuvvadaAjay Kumar has asked RTCofficials to run buses 100 percent in the state capital sinceschools are going to reopen onMonday.

Addressing the RTC divi-sional managers, regional man-agers and DVMs from theoffice of the transport depart-ment here on Wednesday, theminister asked the officials tobe on the alert since the schoolsare reopening after Dasaravacation on Monday. Theytold the minister that buses areplying full strength in districts,while the resumption of busservices in the city was only 40per cent. However, the minis-ter wanted all RTC buses toresume operations in the cap-ital city.

In view of the heavy trafficin the city, the inexperiencedprivate drivers are hesitating torun the RTC buses. The newlyrecruited RTC drivers are fre-quently skipping duty becauseof their hesitation to driveRTC buses in heavy traffic con-ditions. The minister asked theofficials to implement alterna-tive measures before theschools reopen.

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS

Mamata pays visit toNobel laureate AbhijitBanerjee's homeKOLKATA: West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onWednesday paid a visit toNobel laureate Abhijit VinayakBanerjee's house in SouthKolkata and congratulated hermother on her son's success.The chief minister who wasaccompanied by senior officialsalso exchanged pleasantrieswith Nirmala Banerjee, Abhijit'smother. Abhijit Banerjee, anIndian-American, has jointlywon the Nobel prize ineconomics along with his wifeEsther Duflo and MichaelKremer. He bagged the awardfor his "experimental approachto alleviating global poverty".West Bengal government isalso planning to organise agrand felicitation for the Nobellaureate, senior minister ParthaChatterjee said on Tuesday.Abhijit Banerjee is scheduled toarrive in the city on the night ofOctober 22.

Congress leader shotdead in UP's Aligarh:Police

Body of truck drivershot dead in Kashmirarrives in RajasthanBHARATPUR: The body of atruck driver shot dead byterrorists in Jammu andKashmir arrived here in theearly hours of Wednesday buthis family refused to accept itunless their demands forcompensation of Rs 50 lakhand the status of martyr forhim were met, officials said.The body of Sharief Khanarrived from New Delhi in anambulance at 1 am but agitatedfamily members and locals didnot let it enter the village,saying their demands shouldbe met first. The body was thenshifted to a mortuary at ahospital in Pahadi town, anofficial said. "The familymembers have refused toaccept to body and aredemanding the status ofmartyr, a compensation of Rs50 lakh and pension to hisfamily. Talks are going on withthem," Tehsildar (Pahadi)Ramkumar Kanwar, said.

ALIGARH (UP): A localCongress leader has been shotdead in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarhdistrict over an alleged propertydispute, police said onWednesday. The men, who areyet to be identified, reachedMohamed Farouk's office nearShamshad market under CivilLines police station limits ontwo motorcycles around 8 pmon Tuesday, said.Superintendent of Police (City)Abhishek Kumar. The attackersthen barged into the office andfired several shots at Farouk, hesaid. A crowd gathered outsideFarouk's office, which is locatedin a busy area, after hearing thegunshots and nabbed one ofthe assailants. However, hisassociates opened fire, freedhim and fled, the officer said.Farouk was rushed to a hospitalwhere he was declared dead, headded. According to initialreports, Farouk was apparentlykilled over a property dispute,police said.

ANTS FOUND ON DEAD PATIENT'S EYES

Civil surgeon, fourothers suspendedPNS n SHIVPURI

Ants were found crawling onthe eyes of a dead patient at astate-run hospital in MadhyaPradesh's Shivpuri district,prompting the government tosuspend a civil surgeon, anoth-er doctor and three nurses.

Chief Minister Kamal Nathon Wednesday expressedshock annd anger over theincident, which came to lightafter some photos purported-ly showing ants on the eyes ofthe deceased, BalchandraLodhi (50), went viral onsocial media.

The civil surgeon and fourothers have been suspended in

this connection, state HealthMinister Tulsi Silawat said.

"Chief Minister Kamal Nathand senior Congress leaderJyotiraditya Scindia expressedanger over the incident. Idirected the officials con-cerned to suspend thoseresponsible for the incident.This is serious negligence,"Silawat said.

Shivpuri's chief medicaland health officer Dr A LSharma told PTI that afterthe initial inquiry, the civilsurgeon, P K Khare, dutydoctor Dinesh Rajput andthree nurses have been sus-pended for alleged derelic-tion of duty.

Kartarpur corridor gets ready;work on Pak side very slow

Dera Baba Nanak (Punjab),Oct 16 (PTI) The online reg-istration for pilgrims visitingGurdwara Darbar SahibKartarpur is expected to com-mence on October 20 as afour-lane highway connectingthe 'zero point' for onwardjourney to Pakistan is gettingready, but work across theborder is very slow.

A state-of-the-art passengerterminal with facilitation cen-tre to host government officialsresponsible for ensuring has-sle-free travel of pilgrims, foodkiosks, parking areas and secu-rity points will also come up byNovember 8 when PrimeMinister Narendra Modi willformally inaugurate the much-awaited Kartarpur corridor.

"The online registration forthe pilgrims visiting GurdwaraDarbar Sahib Kartarpur isexpected to commence onOctober 20," Chairman of theLand Port Authority of Indiaand Additional Secretary in theMinistry of Home AffairsGovind Mohan told a group ofreporters here.

The total area of the pas-senger terminal is 2.5 lakh sqfeet which is being construct-ed on a 20-acre land. Total landacquired for the project is 50acres.

India has proposed that thefirst group of pilgrims shouldcross over to Pakistan onNovember 8.

Mohan said the work on thefour-lane highway and the

state-of-the-art passenger ter-minal, which can accommo-date 5,000 pilgrims, will becompleted by October end.

However, the slow progressof the work in Pakistan isclearly visible from the Indianside as there is no work on theroad as well as the bridgewhich will connect the four-lane road constructed by India.

"Pakistan has deferred the

construction but it has assuredthat it will complete the workin good time," Mohan said.

Gurdwara Darbar SahibKartarpur is one of the holiestSikh shrines located in theneighbouring country.

Mohan said an alternativeroad is being constructed up toto the zero point due to theunavailability of the bridgeand the road on the Pakistanside.

Pakistan will provide trans-port up to the zero point topick up pilgrims to their sideof the facilitation centre and todrop them back.

He said India and Pakistanare still negotiating onIslamabad's insistence ofcharging USD 20 from eachpilgrim and timing of the pil-grimage every day (first entryand last exit time).

A total of 55 immigrationcounters are being set up at thepassenger terminal.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The National Council ofEducational Research andTraining (NCERT) is planningto review the 14-year-oldNational CurriculumFramework (NCF) in accor-dance with new national edu-cation policy and set up a com-mittee for the purpose.According to NCERT DirectorHrushikesh Senapaty, the coun-cil is going to announce a com-mittee by the end of this monthwhich will revisit the NCF tobring it on lines of the NEP.

The NCF has been revisedfour times so far - in 1975, 1988,2000 and 2005. The new pro-

posed revision will be the fifthof the framework. "We are justwaiting for the new educationpolicy to be finalised and a com-mittee for reviewing the NCFwill be announced by month-end. The committee, however,will keep NEP as the base of revi-sion. Ultimately the textbookswill be revised as per the newframework."

Kashmiri students to boycottSir Syed fete in AMUPNS n ALIGARH (UP)

Kashmiri students in AMU onWednesday said they will boy-cott the annual Sir Syed daycelebrations, including a tra-ditional dinner on Thursday, toexpress their anguish over thesituation in the valley follow-ing the revocation of the state'sspecial status.

There are about 1,300Kashmiri students studying inthe Aligarh Muslim University(AMU) currently.

Talking to reporters here,Sajad Rathar, a Kashmiri stu-dent leader and former vicepresident of the AMU students'union, said, "When the rest ofthe world is celebrating the202nd birth anniversary of Sir

Syed Khan, we are living inpain."

He claimed that contrary tomedia reports and officialclaims "only 5 per cent of thepostpaid cell phones have beenactivated in the Kashmir val-ley till now".

Rather said how could thestudents think of celebrationswhen their families were livingin "acute distress".

PNS n KOLKATA

CBI officers visited the WestBengal secretariat onWednesday as part of its ongo-ing probe into the multi croreRose Valley chit fund scam.

This is the first time that theinvestigating agency personnelhave visited the state secretariatin connection with the RoseValley scam.

Sources said that the CBIpersonnel reached the statesecretariat in the morninghours and submitted two let-ters - one for chief secretaryRajiva Sinha and the other forthe officer on special duty tothe land department.

The probe agency has askedthe state government to submitall files related to the RoseValley scam and summonedthe OSD of the land depart-ment to appear before it by

October 18."CBI is seeking details about

land dealings which took placebetween the state governmentand the Rose Valley group," asenior official at the secretari-at said on condition ofanonymity.

"This is a routine visit to thestate secretariat for the pur-poses of investigation", CBIsources said and sought coop-eration from the state govern-ment.

The central probe agencyhas also asked the state gov-

ernment to provide detailsabout the nature of dealingswith the ponzi scheme com-pany and also about the loca-tion of the lands, governmentofficials said.

Thousands of common peo-ple were defrauded of theirhard-earned money onpromises of high returns in theRose Valley case like theSaradha ponzi scheme scam.

Rose Valley had collectedmore than Rs 10,000 crorefrom the public through illegalschemes.

Rose Valley: CBI officialsvisit state secretariat

PNS n NAGPUR

Justifying the Bharat Ratnademand for V D Savarkar raisedby the Maharashtra BJP in itspoll manifesto, Union LawMinister Ravishankar Prasadon Wednesday attacked theCongress for opposing the high-est civilian honour for such"rashtra bhaktas" (patriots).

Addressing a press conferencehere in Maharashtra, he alsoaccused the Congress of ensur-ing that only the "family mem-bers" get the highest civilianhonour.

Releasing its manifesto for theOctober 21 Maharashtra assem-bly elections on Tuesday, thestate BJP raised the demand forBharat ratna for the Hindutvaicon along with 19th Centurysocial reformists Jyotiba Phuleand his wife Savitribai Phule.

Prasad alleged that Congressdid not bestow the Bharat Ratnato 'Sardar' Vallabhbhai Patel, thefirst Home Minister of thecountry, andDalit iconBabasaheb Ambedkar earlier.

"Both these leaders weregiven the highest civilian hon-our (posthumously) whenNarasimha Rao, who didn'tbelong to the family, was primeminister of the country," headded.

"Why the Congress is trou-bled with the BJP's demand for

Bharat Ratna for Savarkar in itsmanifesto? The Congress alwaysgathered 'Bharat Ratna' amongthe family only (sic)," he said.

Reacting to the MaharashtraBJP's poll manifesto, theCongress had said: "If the BJPgovernment was consideringthe Bharat Ratna demand, thenGod save this country."

Justifying the highest civilianhonour for Savarkar, Prasad

said the former was a "rash-trabhakta" (patriot) who hadspent 11 years of his life in theAndaman jail. "Savarkar hadnever asked anything in returnfrom the country," he added.

"Veer Savarkar, as V DSavarkar is popularly known,Mahatma Jyotiba Phule andSavitribai Phule have given somuch to the Society. Suchnationalists should certainly get

Bharat Ratnas," Prasad said.He alleged the Congress

always tried to keep the BharatRatna honour in the "family"only, an apparent reference tothe Gandhis.

"Vallabhbhai Patel died in1950 but Bharat Ratna wasannounced for him only in1991 when Narasimha Rao wasprime minister. If not Rao, thiswork (honouring Patel) wouldhave been done by the NDAgovernment of Atal BihariVajpayee.

"It is good that former PMsJawaharlal Nehru and RajivGandhi, and Zakir Hussian (thethird president of India) weregiven 'Bharat Ratna'. But why didPatel not given the honour ear-lier? It was because he used tooppose Nehru," Prasad alleged.

ROW OVER BHARAT RATNA DEMAND FOR SARVARKAR

PNS n PUNE

Bajaj Housing Finance Limited(BHFL) has made affordablehousing a reality by offeringcredit linked subsidy scheme(CLSS) known as PradhanMantri Awas Yojana (Urban) or(PMAY-U) to the tune of Rs. 50crore. Till date, a whoppinggreater than 4,000 applicationsfor the Credit Linked SubsidyScheme (CLSS) have beenprocessed.

The interest subsidy comesas a boon to first-time home-buyers, helping them reducetheir loan EMIs and thereby,own a flat or a home withoutexceeding their budget. Thecompany's offerings are in linewith the Government of India'svision of providing affordablehousing to every citizen by

2022.How much subsidy can a

customer claim? The extent ofsubsidy that a beneficiary fam-ily is allowed to claim dependson the household income andother conditions levied by gov-

ernment. Households withannual income of up toRs.3,00,000 are considered tobe a part of the EconomicallyWeaker Section (EWS) andthose with incomes betweenRs.3,00,001 and Rs.6,00,000

are part of the Lower IncomeGroup (LIG). Both categoriesenjoy interest subsidies of up toRs.2,67,280, at the rate of6.50%, on a maximum loanamount of Rs.6,00,000.

Families with incomesbetween Rs.6,00,001 andRs.12,00,000 qualify under theMiddle-Income Group 1 (MIGI) and those with incomes

between Rs.12,00,001 andRs.18,00,000 are part of theMiddle-Income Group 2 (MIG2) category. MIG 1 beneficia-ries get up to Rs.2,35,068 andMIG 2 can obtain up toRs.2,30,156 as subsidy. Theinterest subsidy rates are 4%and 3%, calculated on maxi-mum loan amounts ofRs.9,00,000 and 12,00,000,

respectively.Particulars EWS LIG MIG-

I MIG-II Household income(rupees per annum) 0-3,00,0003,00,001-6,00,000 6,00,001-12,00,000 12,00,001-18,00,000Eligible housing loan amountfor interest subsidy (in rupees)Up to 6,00,000 Up to 6,00,000Up to 9,00,000 Up to 12,00,000Interest subsidy (% per annum)6.50% 6.50% 4.00% 3.00%Maximum loan tenor (in years)20 20 20 20 Maximum carpetarea of the dwelling unit 30 sq.m. 60 sq. m. 160 sq. m. 200 sq.m.

Discount rate for net presentvalue (NPV) calculation ofinterest subsidy (%) 9.00%9.00% 9.00% 9.00% Maximuminterest subsidy amount (inrupees) 2,67,280 2,67,2802,35,068 2,30,156 Applicability

of no pucca house Not for ren-ovation/upgradation Yes YesOwnership/co-ownership of awoman Mandatory for newacquisition, Not mandatoryfor existing property Notmandatory Not mandatoryHow PMAY CLSS makes homeloan EMIs smaller Since CLSSreduces interest repayments,PMAY beneficiaries pay lowerEMIs as compared to regularhome loan borrowers. Forinstance, an MIG II beneficia-ry taking a loan of Rs.18 lakhat a 10% interest will pay EMIsof Rs.17,370 over 20 yearstowards a regular home loan.When availing a home loanunder PMAY, such a benefi-ciary can claim a subsidy of upto Rs.2.30 lakh and reduceEMIs to Rs.15,149 for the entiretenor.

Bajaj Housing Fin provides Rs. 50 crore subsidy under PMAY

PNS n PHAGWARA

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)president Sukhbir Singh Badalsaid he respect the Punjab gov-ernment's offer to celebrate 550thParkash Purb function of GuruNanak Dev at Sultanpur Lodhiunder the patronage of AkalTakht and with the support ofSGPC.

Chief Minister AmarinderSingh on Tuesday had sent a let-ter through his two cabinet min-isters and later spoke to AkalTakht Jathedar to resolve theongoing deadlock over holdingthe main event.

Badal claimed that his partyhas been batting for it from thebeginning.

"But what pained me is the factthat barely two hours after hisministers had presented the let-ter to Akal Takht Jathedar,Captain (Amarinder Singh) told

media that SGPC could take careof religious events inside the gur-dwara, while the state govern-ment would look after the func-tion outside it," he said.

"The entire Sikh Sangat allover the world want joint cele-bration of Guru Nanak's ParkashPurb as the guru preached 'SarbatDa Bhala' (welfare of all) andCaptain should not put any

rider or condition on his offer forcelebrating it under the com-mand of Akal Takht Sahib," headded.

The former Punjab deputychief minister was talking toreporters after addressing a pollrally for BJP-SAD nomineeRajesh Bagha here.

On the government's decisionto release five cops convicted offake encounters during militan-cy, Badal said, "One cannotcompare remission of sentenceof Sikhs who had completed theirterm in jails with the humanrights violation by men in uni-

form." He said those who per-petrated human rights violationshould be made to complete theirsentences.

Earlier, addressing the rally,Badal said that SAD-BJP alliancewas so rock-solid that "we willlive and die together".

"It is not a political alliance. Itis an alliance for peace, amity andcommunal harmony in Punjab.Anti-Punjab forces were spread-ing rumours to the contrary," hesaid. Calling Amarinder"ahankari raja" (arrogant king),he said the bypolls will teach hima lesson.

The interest subsidy comes as a boon tofirst-time homebuyers, helping themreduce their loan EMIs and thereby, owna flat or a home without exceeding theirbudget. The company's offerings are inline with the Government of India's visionof providing affordable housing to everycitizen by 2022

Releasing its manifesto for the October 21Maharashtra assembly elections onTuesday, the state BJP raised the demandfor Bharat ratna for the Hindutva icon alongwith 19th Century social reformists JyotibaPhule and his wife Savitribai Phule

The slow progress ofthe work in Pakistan isclearly visible from theIndian side as there isno work on the road aswell as the bridgewhich will connect thefour-lane roadconstructed by India

Prasad hits back at Congwith family jibe

Tributes to studentskilled in 1966agitationJAMMU: Various studentorganisations including RSS-affiliate ABVP on Wednesdaypaid tributes to students wholost their lives in 1966 duringa protest to demand a separateuniversity for Jammu. TheAkhil Bharatiya VidyarthiParishad (ABVP), Jammu JointStudents Front (JSSF) and theNational Panthers StudentsUnion (NPSU) organisedprogrammes to mark theoccasion at a memorialoutside GGM Science Collegehere.

Respect Amarinder's offer to hold ParkashPurb celebrations jointly: Sukhbir

Sukhbir Singh Badal

UP to conductspecial audit ofpower discomsPNS n LUCKNOW

The Uttar Pradesh govern-ment on Wednesday decided toconduct special audit of financedepartments of all power dis-tribution companies in thestate after it received numerouscomplaints of corruption fromconsumers. State Power min-ister Shrikant Sharma saidstrict action will be taken if anyfinancial anomalies were found.

"We have decided to conductspecial audit of financedepartments of all the powerdistribution companies. Thiswill be done at the level of UttarPradesh Power CorporationLimited (UPPCL) in which vig-ilance officials will also beinvolved," he said.

On the government's decision to release five copsconvicted of fake encounters during militancy, Badalsaid, "One cannot compare remission of sentence ofSikhs who had completed their term in jails with thehuman rights violation by men in uniform."

NCERT panel to revise14-yr-old curriculumframework

Come November, India is about toenter key negotiations on theInternational Treaty on PlantGenetic Resources for Food andAgriculture (ITPGRFA) at its

eighth general body meeting in Rome. Butwhat is at stake? All of India’s future as thesetalks may impact the country’s biodiversityand germplasm relating to food and agricul-ture. In the delegates’ own words, “The ITP-GRFA, adopted in 2001, is a global responseto promote the conservation of plant genet-ic resources and to protect farmers’ rights toaccess and have fair and equitable sharing ofbenefits arising out of their use.” But let usexamine the agenda behind this treaty.

As per ITPFRA/Food and AgricultureOrganisation (FAO) data, India is the top des-tination for plant genetic resources for foodand agriculture (PGFRA), numbering725,117. Briefly put, these negotiations areabout how other countries can access all thesePGFRAs at the minimum price possible. Itis also to be kept in mind that India is a sig-natory to the Convention of BiologicalDiversity (CBD) and Nagoya Protocol, whichcover all of its biodiversity already. These twotreaties protect bio-piracy and have workedfavourably for a biodiversity/germplasm richcountry as ours.

The first issue in the discussion comesfrom Switzerland, which has been advocat-ing a “Multilateral System (MLS) to cover allother plant genetic resources for food andagriculture in accordance with Article 3 of theinternational treaty.” One should consider thatSwitzerland has only 39,953 accessions storedwith it. Given that India has one of the high-est stored ascensions in the world — 395,001— we would legally be bound to contributeall of them to the treaty. In this sense, we willbecome one of the biggest donors, too. Butis this economically sound and in the inter-est of the nation? After the emergence of cli-mate crisis, Brexit and Trumpism, it may notbe the best option.

Regarding the Swiss proposal to cover allother PGRs for food and agriculture, Indiashould think of its national interest first andonly those crop species should be includedand PGR accessions designated, which arealready available in the public domain (ieaccessible to everyone). Article 1 of the treatyshould also explicitly declare the crop species,which we do not want to make available underthe MLS. In fact, all crops, for which we havegeographical indication (GI) for now or forthe future, should be excluded from the treaty.China is currently not part of this treaty andis negotiating on its terms to make inroads.India should do the same. Our only bargain-ing chip is our vast plant genetic resource(PGR), let’s not allow it to be taken withoutany benefit to our country. The US recentlyjoined on the insistence of the private sectorand in a matter of years, it is the chairperson.So the treaty is heavily influenced by big glob-al agricultural corporations and geopolitics.

India has held a conservative position

until now and given only 26,530accessions to the MLS. But we arenot the only ones. A cold and wetisland off the north-west coast ofEurope, the United Kingdom, hasa total of 834,451 accessions, outof which it has put only 44,069accessions in the MLS. Beforeconsidering the inclusion of allPGRs in Annexure 1, theGovernment of India and theIndian Council of AgriculturalResearch (ICAR)-NationalBureau of Plant GeneticResources (NBPGR) mustanalyse how many PGRs havebeen accessed by Indian firmsthrough MLS and how much wehave contributed to other nations.A policy paper needs to be pub-lished on this so that citizens areaware of the benefits.

NBPGR must also work outthe economic, agricultural andsocial benefits of Indian seedcompanies under MLS. It mustalso make sure there is no vague-ness or secrecy regarding thesenegotiations. We need a clearplan of how if we contribute ourPGRs, the MLS will reciprocatein nation-building.

The MNCs and foreigncompanies, which will accessthe PGRs from the Indian collec-tion, should maintain strict com-pliance with national legisla-tions, especially related to theProtection of Plant Varieties andFarmers’ Rights Authority,Convention on Biological

Diversity (CBD), Seed Act, seedrules and other prevailing legis-lations. Otherwise we will see asituation where Indian farmersare growing cotton and the millsof Manchester are making thecloth. Ultimately, Indians will buytheir own cotton at 400 per centtimes the actual price. Thismodel will be emulated for seeds,too. In this case, especially assome nations allow for patents onseeds, our germplasm can bepatented as part of a foreign prod-uct. Then the same seed must besold to Indian farmers. We mustthink carefully and ensure Indianlegislations go with all ourgermplasm, too.

There is also an attempt tointroduce international unionfor the Protection of NewVarieties of Plants (UPOV) con-vention through this treaty. Indiashould advocate farmers’ rightsin ITPGFRA in accordance withprovisions of their rights availableunder the Protection of PlantVarieties and Farmers’ Rights Act,2001. Any dilution of farmers’and breeders rights must not benegotiated/accepted, especiallywhen we are not signatories of theUPOV.

India must seek an expan-sion of the MLS in such a waythat PGR-rich countries getappropriate benefits and advan-tage for conserving and preserv-ing germplasm. This can bedone through capacity-building,

development and expansion ofResearch and development(R&D) activities in India and inother PGR-rich nations. We canpropose that every State shouldhave ex-situ and in-situ PGR con-servation project funded by thistreaty.

Speaking of funds, the othercritical issue is of the corpus(FAO trust fund) created for shar-ing benefits. India must firststrongly urge to be on the boardcommittee of this fund and alsoensure that there is adequate rep-resentation from PGR donorcountries. This can be doneaccording to the availability/con-tribution of PGR resources. Theproject allotted for conservationand R&D should be commensu-rate with the PGR donations. TheGovernment of India andNBPGR must also analyse thatduring the last seven to eightyears how many projects forPGR activities have been fund-ed under the ITPGRFRA trustfund versus other countries.

We have to stress on the factthat monetary benefits arisingafter the commercialisation ofPGR should be made directly tothe PGR donor country. In addi-tion, the product developed usingthe PGR should be made avail-able to the donor country, espe-cially to the farmers, at relative-ly lower costs. There should berelaxations for public instituteslike ICAR and small and medi-

um companies of India, too. The meeting in Rome will

also discuss the dematerialiseduse of PGR. With advancementsin technology such as gene edit-ing, Digital SequenceInformation (DSI), physical plantmaterial may not be required todevelop new varieties. Genesequences will be enough. Whilethe world and organisation suchas the CBD are doing expert stud-ies on them, India should supportthat DSI and other future tech-nologies (CRISPR) should beadded under the benefit-sharingscheme so that our efforts in con-serving PGR are not left out.

But perhaps the biggest ele-phant in the room is: Who isIndia really negotiating with? Isit the developed countries ortrans-national big agriculturalcorporations in the garb of coun-tries? Such corporations are pre-sent in each country today,including India, and are lobbyingto have access to PGR through asecond channel. In fact, throughtheir Indian subsidiaries, they areeven consulting with theGovernment for a softer stanceon ITPGRFA. And why wouldthey do that? Because nationssuch as India expressed sovereignright over their PGR and havemany restrictions for foreignMNCs to access Indian biodiver-sity under the Biological DiversityAct. If the Swiss proposal isaccepted, Indian legislations willbe bypassed and all doors to PGRwill be opened to them withoutrestrictions — all for a nominalpercentage of profits.

Once they have Indian PGRavailable to them in any part ofthe world, we will see the emer-gence of “seed sweat shops”,much like clothes sweat shops incountries like Bangladesh. Thedesign is European or American,raw material is Indian and clothesare made in Bangladesh for a fewcents an hour and then sold inboutique stores for thousands ofdollars. Countries with the cheap-est farm labour costs will beselected to mass produce seedsand then the produce will beexported to nations which canpay higher prices. Indian farm-ers and women, who have pre-served seeds and biodiversity,may be alienated and all of theirbiodiversity commercialised bybig agricultural companies of thedeveloped world.

Given the threat of climatechange, we cannot allow forrampant exploitation of ourPGRs only to participate in for-eign treaties. We should learnfrom China and be more conser-vative and nationalistic in ourapproach towards our biologicalheritage.

(The writer is ProgrammeDirector for Policy and Outreachat the National Seed Associationof India)

Though the BJP seems all set to win a sec-ond stint in the Haryana polls, it is leav-ing no stone unturned to ensure its vic-

tory and has harnessed the star power ofsportspersons in a State that accounted forevery third medal India brought home at the2018 Commonwealth Games. The party hard-ly faces any impediment — what with theCongress riven with faction fights and the OmPrakash Chautala-led INLD still reeling froma split — but this move seems essentiallyaimed at shining up the Manohar Lal Khattar

regime’s own achievements and making a breakthrough in seats the party hasnever won. Haryana has traditionally been a successful model of sports nurs-eries and the Khattar government has encouraged them further, particularly withregard to women’s participation. The BJP is also hoping that the three interna-tional sports stars will take the voters away from the deep caste divide, set aneutral context and pull crowds during campaigning. Commonwealth Games gold-winning wrestler Babita Phogat is contesting from Dadri seat in Bhiwani Lok Sabhaconstituency, former Indian hockey captain Sandeep Singh has been fielded fromPehowa in Kurukshetra and 2012 London Olympics bronze winning wrestlerYogeshwar Dutt from Sonepat’s Baroda Assembly segment. BJP has not wonin any of these seats before, which have been with the Congress. While Singhand Dutt have already emerged as star attractions, Babita is expected to be thebrahmastra. Apart from her credentials as a sportswoman, what adds to hercrowd appeal is that sports-obsessed Bhiwani has 12 wrestling and eight box-ing clubs. It is the only district in the country to have four Dronacharya and 24Arjuna awardees.The fact that the Bollywood blockbuster Dangal was inspiredby Babita’s life story is just gold dust as her tale finds consonance with the“beti bachao, beti padhao” campaign of the Narendra Modi Government at theCentre and also tugs at the heartstrings of a State where many households havefemale wrestlers.

Will this gamble work? Electing a sportsperson does not necessarily meanjobs and prosperity on the ground. For instance, Madhya Pradesh’s hockey infra-structure did not see any development despite Aslam Sher Khan becoming aUnion Minister, nor did Navjot Singh Sidhu’s electoral victory do anything for crick-et or the youth of Punjab. Also, Haryana’s poster boy Vijender Singh contestedthe recent Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket and lost.

The extent of a crisis is not felt until itimpacts human lives. And the stress feltby account-holders of the now collapsed

Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC)Bank became all too evident when three depos-itors died, two out of anxiety-induced cardiacarrests and one committing suicide. The des-peration becomes palpable as cooperativebanks have ordinary individuals parking theirsavings of a lifetime with them, usually smallbusinessmen, farmers, retired professionalsand even cooperative group housing societies.

Basically, honest people, who want to make sure that they get by life on a rainyday under the safety net of a bank and breathe easy risk-free. Now they’ve foundtheir lives and trust completely overturned. While unscrupulous businessmenand scamsters — who have made good by defrauding big banks and fled tosafe havens — have left public banks red-faced, the `4,355 crore PMC scamhas been more intensely felt simply because the neighbourhood bank sudden-ly doesn’t seem at all trustworthy. It has shaken what welds a community, faith.Of course, the Government has stepped in to assure account holders and a reg-ulatory mechanism is kicking in with fury. But why were signs being ignored forsuch a long time and actionable triggers allowed to pile up? According to ReserveBank of India’s (RBI’s) own data till March 31, 46 of the 1,542 urban coopera-tive banks had built up liabilities and 26 were ticked off. Also, RBI itself had beenputting some of these banks under severe restrictions all too frequently, indicat-ing a cascading malaise that ought to have been acted upon strictly. This yearitself, RBI had red circled four cooperative banks and restricted them betweenJanuary and September, PMC included. The bank had a deposit base of over`11,000 crore, reported a net profit of nearly `100 crore even though its non-performing assets (NPAs) more than doubled. Yet nobody considered the lastas a travesty or had foreseen the precipice. With the alert mode off, officials con-tinued their dubious lendings to one group, HDIL, despite its falling fortune.

What is alarming is that the fraud actually began from 2008 with many ofthe bank’s senior employees involved in creating fictitious accounts to loan moneywithout scrutiny. PMC chairman Waryam Singh was a board member of HDILand even though RBI sought his removal in October 2018, there was no follow-up crackdown. Such oversights and laxity led to a sharp rise in NPAs that erod-ed a small bank’s profits. Even the State Government wasn’t aware though thecrony capitalism between banks, politicians and businessmen is not new andthis nexus, too, is expected to reveal some important beneficiaries. Clearly, thereis a need for an incisive regulatory mechanism that doesn’t allow for the slight-est oversight and becomes a trigger for corrective action. Even if a regulatorycheck is in place, poor governance and professionalism and an aversion to tech-nological processes that guarantee transparency have kept smaller banks outof a codified protocol. That carelessness needs to be done away with right nowat the micro level. A phased withdrawal quota, so that depositors can take theirmoney out, or cancellation of licence when the damage has been done, cannotbe the solution. Investors, too, need to watch out for the fundamentals of suchbanks than just falling for the relatively higher rates on deposits offered by themover commercial ones. They should remain vigilant about a bank’s capital base,see that it hasn’t dipped to negative. Other safety nets, of course, include theDeposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India scheme. But theinsurance limit here is only up to `1 lakh. There is no guarantee for the rest ofthe depositor money in case of failures. Of course, the government of the dayhas predictably resorted to a blame game with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamanadmitting that all public banks were allowed to continue fraudulent practices becauseof “phone call” recommendations in the UPA regime. The issue has further gainedtraction with Nobel-winning economist Abhijit Banerjee predicting that PMC wasjust the “tip of the iceberg”, that the government simply does not have the band-width to write off loans and rescue ailing banks and that it should, therefore, sellthem off. But cooperative banks by their very nature are not meant to look likea corporate behemoth but inculcate a habit of banking among unserved sec-tors. There will always be a social dimension to look into and, therefore, greateraccountability must not be just monitored but embedded and made systemic.

Economic takeaways

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Bangla pride” (October 15).Sheer information or official dec-laration may testify that AbhijitBanerjee, along with Esther Dufloand Michael Kremer, has won theNobel Prize for Economics justlike Amartya Sen was honouredwith the same in the similarfield. But the underlying factremains that the NobelCommittee has actually hon-oured the embedded humanitywithin the trio and previouslySen. After all, the economicspursued by them wasn’t related tostock market with an inclinedpro-rich growth story. Rather,they pursued economics with ahumanitarian approach. Theirsole focus was on exploringstrategies to alleviate poverty,improving children’s educationand expand access to healthcare.

Since education and healthform the two most important pil-lars upon which a society thrivesand prospers, indifference tothese two can never eradicate thecurse of poverty from society. Allthe fight against it can be initiat-ed only through an able healthynutritious body, enriched with

basic academic/vocational educa-tion and skills. Also, quality edu-cation and health can be ensuredin this commercialised societyonly when people are upliftedfrom poverty.

So it is seen that poverty, edu-cation and health are intertwined

and all these three subjects needto be pursued at one go.

India and the developingnations must take cue from thehumanitarian approach of thethree and learn to accord utmostpriority towards alleviating pover-ty and ensuring education and

health to the deprived by investingmaximum resource, energy andtime. Nothing is more crucialthan human capital. Proper nurtur-ing and utilisation of it will ensurethe achievement of all other goals.

Kajal ChatterjeeKolkata

Time to course-correct

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Bengal pride” (October 15). Thepolicy adopted by Abhijit Banerjeemust inspire our policymakers totake a leaf out of his randomisedcontrolled field trials (RCTs) modeland propel them to course-correct.Instead of working towards reduc-ing the burden of the corporateclass, our lawmakers will do wellto increase the purchasing powerof the poor, minimise incomeinequalities and enhance the qual-ity of life of the people.

YashVia email

Brewing trouble

Sir — The number of deals signedbetween China and Nepal havemade it clear that Kathmandu nolonger wants to be dependent onIndia nor will it encourage anyIndian dominance. New Delhineeds to be wary of the growingNepal-China cooperation.

ShambhaviVia email

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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op nionVIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019

06

Rescue biodiversity first

INDRA SHEKHAR SINGH

India has a crucial decision to make. Should it conserve its biodiversity and germplasmfor future generations or surrender its heritage to corporations and foreign treaties?

I strongly believe that theChinese students shouldcome to India and theIndian institutes shouldalso welcome them.

Spiritual leader —Dalai Lama

If we talk about the misuseof freedom in the absence ofcensorship, we are allbecoming Right-wing. Weare trying to ban everything.

Actor—Radhika Apte

India should opt for furthermonetary policy easing andbroad-based structuralreforms to reverse a cyclicaldemand slowdown.

IMF chief economist—Gita Gopinath

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

Tradition or superstition?

Politicians wedded to the Hindutva ideology are adeptat converting every event as an opportunity todeclare their commitment to the beliefs, rituals and

superstitions associated with the new breed of Hindureligion, shaped to implement a certain political agen-da. Recently, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was inFrance to receive the first Rafale fighter aircraft fromDassault Aviation. An amused French audience watchedhim perform “Shastra Puja” before the delivery of thejet. To create a protective charm, to repel evil eyes andward off evil spirits, he placed lemons under its wheelsalong with a strategic placement of Indian chillies. A fewdays later, in Mamallapuram, Brahmin priests clad inwhite dhotis welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping withtraditional music and poorna kumbam. The image of aNew India is clearer as our leaders seem inclined tobelieve in lemons and red chillies as protective shieldsfor astras (weapons). Astrology and pseudo-science arebeing referred to as “Vedic astrology” to determine datesand destiny.

However, these deeds and words became fodder forthe troll army, as they are fondly referred to in socialmedia. Trolls that went “viral” recently were about the

Chandrayan-II mission being under the spell of an evileye that doomed the lander and the rover. If only lemonsand red chillies had been attached to the spacecraft, itwould not have hurtled off the lunar surface. The trollarmy also wondered why coconuts were not brokenbefore the lift-off. It’’s high time we ponder over howclose we have come in prototyping the future of a much-anticipated Hindu rashtra.

Haridasan RajanKozhikode

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Sports to poll iconsI have been slammed with IPC307. My self-respect proved toocostly for me. Now, the accusa-tion that I have stolen goats andhens will also remain with me!

Samajwadi Party leader—Azam Khan

Considering the impact on savings of ordinary mortals,cooperative banks need to be part of the RBI’s strictest vigil

BJP is relying on international medal-winners tobreak through in constituencies it has never won

Lessons from PMC

Mind barriers in M&As

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

It is well-known that 70-90 per cent of merg-ers and acquisitions (M&As) fail to createvalue for shareholders, yet the deals are get-

ting bigger by the year. According to the IndiaM&A Report 2019 by Bain & Company, M&Aactivity has remained buoyant from 2015 wellinto 2019 with more than 3,600 deals with anaggregate value of more than $310 billion.During this period, several developments led toan unprecedented re-organisation of asset own-ership in corporate India. The present landscapeoffers a tremendous opportunity for well-man-aged businesses with a strong deal thesis, look-ing for new avenues of growth and/or improv-ing profitability. Large deals doubled in valuebetween 2015 and 2016 to $23 billion. Over 2017to 2018, large deal value doubled again, to $56billion. Deal size also grew during this period,averaging $0.7 billion in 2015 to more than $2.6billion in 2017 and 2018. Deal volume has beenrobust across sectors, with industrial goods, ener-gy and telecom and media representing morethan 60 per cent deals by volume and value.

Although deal values and volumes increaseevery year, most of them eventually fail to cre-ate synergy. Among other reasons, like nasty sur-prises due to poor due-diligence, poor gover-nance, poor communication channels, weakleadership, paying a high price for acquisitionand non-integration of culture, are the main rea-son why M&As fail. There are many examplesof companies that have destroyed shareholdervalue by overpaying to acquire other companies.Quaker Oats’ acquisition of Snapple for $1.7 bil-lion in 1994 still rings a bell as it sold Snappleto Triarc for $300 million 27 months after buy-ing it, losing a whopping $1.4 billion, makingit one of the worst flops in corporate-merger his-tory. India Inc also has countless examples ofoverpriced purchases. Subex, once a fairy well-known, Bengaluru-based telecom softwaremaker, tipped into bankruptcy by the disastrousacquisition of Canadian telecom software com-pany Syndesis for $164 million in 2007, whichwas four times its annual revenue. This dealturned out to be overpriced as the revenue ofSyndesis in the following year halved.

Overpriced acquisitions are not a new phe-nomenon. But what makes a company ignoreevidence and overpay for acquisitions? Theanswer lies mostly in behavioural theories.Agency problem is one of the main reasons forthis, as in most of the cases, senior executivesearn bonuses and stock grants based on metricsthat have no real connect to value. Corporategovernance and activist shareholders take a back-seat as executives have a higher influence on theprocess. So, they push the deals where they canmake more money. Second, when valuations aregenerally high, as in India, companies fall intothe overvaluation trap and end up making flashyacquisitions. Proposed by Michael Jensen ofHarvard Business School, it is a behavioural trap,where managers try to generate the expected per-formance in the short run, all the way knowing,that maintaining higher performance is not pos-sible, and in turn making investments that willultimately fall short. By making such invest-ments, companies postpone the consequencesof their bad investment decision. Too muchmoney chasing relatively scarce investmentopportunities, is also one of the reasons whycompanies end up paying more for their acqui-sitions. Ego, the driving force that helps individ-

uals reach the top of any organisation,is at play, when it comes to acquisitionsas well. It pushes executives to overpayfor acquisitions so they can get biggerand bigger, or so that they can stop acompetitor from getting bigger thanthem. In addition, managers are alsosusceptible to the Pollyanna Principle,a psychological bias that overratespositive memories and discounts neg-ative ones. This means that executivestake a cue from a few overpriced dealsthat were successful — like buying ofPayPal by eBay for $1.5 billion orGoogle paying $1.6 billion for YouTube— and turn a blind eye towards scoresof overpriced deals that went kaputsuch as the disastrous AOL/TimeWarner merger that led to a $45 billionwrite-down.

Even experienced managers, some-times, get attached to a deal, makingthem susceptible to bad decisions. Inthis situation, how should managersdecide how much to pay or when towalk away? In this flashy corporateworld, executives routinely get caughtup in the excitement of the race, fallprey to it and offer more than theyshould. So the first criterion is to be dis-ciplined and detached and the key tosuccess in buying another company isknowing the maximum price one canpay and then having the discipline notto pay a penny more. A companyshould be able to walk way from a dealif the synergy value is not being creat-ed. In addition to overpriced acquisi-tions, culture has also emerged as oneof the dominant barriers to effectiveintegrations and more than half of themergers fail due to lack of cultural inte-gration. Culture is the long-standing,largely implicit shared values, beliefs,and assumptions that influence behav-iour, attitudes and meaning in a com-pany or society. Since, it is a soft con-cept having a set of implicit influences,and it is difficult to account for com-pletely or accurately, therefore, itbecomes the responsibility of the topmanagement to stop culture clashes

from undermining their desired goals. History is replete with examples of

well-analysed and thought-of mergershaving failed due to cultural clashes asthey play a role in preventing post-inte-gration plans from being properlyexecuted. January happens to be the18th anniversary of one of the worstmergers in corporate history — TimeWarner and AOL. Merging the culturesof these two companies was problem-atic from the word go. The aggressiveand, apparently “arrogant” AOL peo-ple shocked the sober and corporateTime Warner side. Cooperation andpromised synergies failed to materialiseas mutual disrespect came to colourtheir relationships. When GermanDaimler (the makers of Mercedes-Benz) merged with American compa-ny Chrysler in the late 1990s, it wascalled a “merger of equals.” A few yearslater, due to discordant company cul-tures like differences in the level of for-mality, philosophy on issues such as payand expenses, and operating styles, themerger turned into a fiasco. After majorlosses and layoffs, in 2007, Daimler soldChrysler to Cerberus CapitalManagement for $6 billion. Taking anexample from India, the mergerbetween Kingfisher Airlines and AirDeccan failed due to their cultural dif-ferences with Kingfisher being a full-flight service catering to premiumsegment and Air Deccan’s vision toempower every Indian to fly.

Meanwhile, some mergers enduredthe cultural challenges to turn failuresinto success stories. One such exampleis that of Hewlett Packard and Compaq.In 2001, struggling computing giantHewlett Packard acquired similarlystruggling competitor Compaq. Therewere major cultural differences asHP’s engineering-driven culture wasbased on consensus and the sales-dri-ven Compaq culture on rapid decisionmaking. This poor cultural fit result-ed in years of bitter infighting in thenew company, and resulted in a loss ofan estimated $13 billion in market cap-

italisation. However, the companyhung on, and by making significantcultural and leadership changes, result-ed in long-term success.

Since integrating and redefiningthe culture and corporate values andreconciling the differences is essentialfor success of mergers, companiesshould avoid the “bear hug” i.e. toimpose their culture on the acquiredfirm. To integrate cultures, the first stepis to define the cultural objectivebased on where the deal’s greatest valuelies. An acquirer can assimilate theacquired company and continue withits own organisational values or it caneven use the merger to import theacquired company’s beliefs into its ownorganisation. In some cases, it can cre-ate a blend.

The next step is to diagnose thecultural differences between the twocompanies to identify and measure thedifferences among people, units, geo-graphical regions and functions usinga variety of tools like process flow maps,customer interviews and employeesurveys. The third step after setting theagenda and diagnosing the gaps is tocreate an actionable plan that is muchmore than the vision and values state-ments, and is concrete enough to beexecuted by managers. Finally, seniorleadership should take the responsibil-ity for communicating regularly andfrequently using all new technologicalinnovations and techniques such associal media, online platforms andweb-based employee forums, so thatthe new defined cultural objectives per-colate to all the departments andemployees.

To summarise, although successfulmergers and acquisitions must be pri-marily based on strategic, financial andother objective criteria, it should bemore than just numbers and cash flowanalysis; it has to be more human forit to survive and in turn create valueand synergies for all stakeholders.

(The writer is Assistant Professor,Amity University)

Overpriced acquisitions are not a new phenomenon. But what makes a firm ignoreevidence and overpay for acquisitions? The answer lies mostly in behavioural theories

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

Cruelty in shiftingelephants

HIRANMAY KARLEKAR

Allegations against forest officials, of mishandlingthe pachyderms while removing them from their

homes, need to be probed thoroughly

HIMA BINDU KOTA

IN THIS FLASHYCORPORATE

WORLD,EXECUTIVES

ROUTINELY GETCAUGHT UP IN

THE EXCITEMENTOF THE RACE,

FALL PREY TO ITAND OFFER MORE

THAN THEYSHOULD. SO THEFIRST CRITERION

IS TO BEDISCIPLINED AND

DETACHED ANDTHE KEY TOSUCCESS IN

BUYING ANOTHERCOMPANY IS

KNOWING THEMAXIMUM PRICE

ONE CAN PAY ANDTHEN HAVING THE

DISCIPLINE NOTTO PAY A PENNY

MORE

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEFCC) needs to order an inquiry into the circumstances inwhich three elephants — Sandhya (45), Indumati (35) and Jayanti

(21) — were shifted on September 26 evening from the facility in whichthey had been living, to the State-run Elephant Care Facility at the MRPalayam Elephant Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, Trichy, Tamil Nadu.According to a petition addressed to the Union Minister forEnvironment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, by theFederation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), and host-ed by Change.Org, “forest department officers along with six mahoutswho were called in from Anamalai Tiger Reserve, brutally and inhu-manely transferred these gentle animals into a truck — shoving themwith an earth-mover, dragging them with ropes, beating them and usingbullhooks (also known as ankush) in the process.”

That the allegation cannot be dismissed off-hand is clear from areport by Nandalal published in The New Indian Express onSeptember 27 under the heading, “Tamil Nadu: Forest officials accusedof beating elephants, using JCB to shift them.” A paragraph in the reportreads, “According to sources at the EleFriends101 elephant care facil-ity, these men, who were in a tearing hurry, resorted to hitting themwith bamboo sticks. The youngest elephant, Jayanthi, even had toendure beatings with a bullhook for putting up a resistance.” The reportadded, “The officers were having a tough time trying to get the ele-phants into the trucks. They even used a JCB to push them into thetrucks,” said a staff member at the centre, who did not want to benamed.

Are the allegations correct? The newspaper report further stat-ed, “When contacted, the forest officer denied the use of bamboo sticksand bullhooks to make the elephants climb the trucks. But the videossent from the site and what we witnessed tell an entirely different tale.”If there is an iota of truth in the allegations, the conduct of the forestdepartment officials involved clearly violated the provisions of thePrevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. The latter refers in Section 11.(1) (a), to any person who “beats, kicks, over-rides, over-drives, over-loads, tortures or otherwise treats any animal so as to subject it tounnecessary pain or suffering or causes, or being the owner permits,any animal to be so treated.” It then states later in the same sectionthat such a person would be punishable by fine “or with imprison-ment for a term which may extend, to three months, or with both.”

It should also be investigated whether the manner of transport-ing the three elephants violated any provision of the “Guidelines forthe Care and Management of Captive Elephants” issued on January8, 2008 by Project Elephant under what was then the Union Ministryof Environment and Forests (MoEF). Particular attention should be paidto two aspects. The first is the provision under the heading “Normsand Standard for Transportation” which reads, “The elephant shouldbe fed and given water before loading.” Was this done? Second, aprovision under the heading “Transportation of Elephants” reads, “Avalid health certificate from a veterinary doctor to the effect that theelephant is fit to travel by road or rail, as the case may be, and is notshowing any sign of infection or contagious disease shall be obtained.”Was such a certificate obtained? If so, when were the three elephantsin question examined? It is imperative to ask another question in thiscontext: Did any veterinary doctor from the forest department visit thefacility to examine them prior to September 26? If not, the health cer-tificate had to be issued by a veterinary doctor accompanying the teamforcibly removing the three elephants. Even if such a doctor had accom-panied the team, could he/she have done an adequate job of med-ically examining them in the midst of the hurry and forcible removalthat, by all accounts, had occurred?

What is particularly horrifying is that the allegations, which, primafacie, can by no means be dismissed, have been levelled against for-est department officials who are supposed to adhere to and enforcelaws and guidelines and not violate these blatantly. Not only shoulda credible and thorough investigation, covering all aspects of the inci-dent, be held but exemplary punishment given to those, if any, foundguilty. Violations of laws and guidelines will tend to become routinethroughout India if those guilty go unpunished. More, the pronenessto perpetrate illegal acts reflects a certain tendency. If not counteredat every step, it will grow and in the case of wildlife, come to includeoffences like complicity with poachers, allegations of which are notunknown. In fact, the entire approach of the officials shows total unfa-miliarity with the psyche of elephants, who are highly intelligent ani-mals, sensitive to human attitudes and capable of understanding thethrust of human speech. Instead of just arriving one evening to takethe elephants away from a place where they had lived for three-and-a-half years, the officials should have visited them several times ear-lier to win their trust and friendship. It might have been a very differ-ent story then. India has over 2,400 captive elephants. Should suchofficials have anything to do with their fates?

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

The second informal summit atMamallapuram between PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and

the Chinese President Xi Jinping, inthe wake of the abrogation of Article370 in Jammu & Kashmir andChina’s reaction towards it, had gen-erated apprehension.

Most analysts were speculatingthe cancellation of this summitbecause of bilateral tensions due toXi’s statements on the Kashmir issueand Beijing’s open tilt in favour ofPakistan even before the start of hisvisit, but the continuation of the“Chennai Connect” proved themwrong. This summit indicated a

new form of diplomacy meant tobreak the impasse between India andChina despite Beijing’s close ties withPakistan, insistence on resolution ofthe Kashmir problem as per the UNresolution and hosting of PakistanPrime Minister Imran Khan justbefore Xi’s India visit.

The non-cancellation of the visitby either side despite other irritants,like undermining New Delhi’s role ininternational institutions, China’sreluctance to support India’s entryinto the Nuclear Suppliers Group andtrapping India’s neighbours throughaid and connectivity, has signalled thegrowing maturity of both the pow-erful leaders of Asia. This alsoreflects that both have understoodthat dialogue is better than a dead-lock as it will lead nowhere. Thoughthe terse body language of Xithroughout the visit was alsoanalysed but the agreement to hostthe next summit in China has madethe “Chennai Connect” more inter-esting for assessing the impact and

relevance of such summits in theemerging global scenario whereinChina is trying to redefine a newglobal order with its money, infra-structure development, connectivi-ty and expansion of trade.

This becomes more importantwhen one sees it in connection withthe US, which is aiming not only tochange the Chinese-promoted glob-al order through protectionism oftrade but also such measures whichhave resulted in trade wars withChina and India. This tit-for-tatapproach of countries, in way of rec-iprocal tariffs, is a bad omen for notonly the world economy but globalharmony. The narrow approach ofthe US and China signals not onlythe geo-economical aspects of theUS-China competition but also anti-multilateralism, which India views asnecessary for spreading its power andinfluence, especially in the Indo-Pacific and Asia.

The US understands China’stactics and its greedy geo-economic

and geo-political initiatives, whichare aimed at replacing and challeng-ing America as a key securityprovider and stabiliser in the Indo-Pacific. However, its obsession withIran, Turkey, North Korea, non-clar-ity on global issues and isolationisttendencies reflected through the“America First” policy have madeChina bold enough to expand itsreach and influence in all continents,including Europe, Asia, Africa,Southeast and South Asia. This issomething that India is dreading, asin New Delhi’s perception, an eco-nomically and geo-politically pow-erful China is an obstacle to its dreamof becoming a leading power of Asia.China’s constant moral, economic,military and infrastructural supportto its all-weather friend Pakistan, Xi’svisit to Nepal after India and cement-ing of many agreements, including atrans-Himalayan corridor betweenChina and Nepal (CNEC), a railwayline to connect Tibet andKathmandu, Chinese engagement in

Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,expansion of naval power across theIndian Ocean Region, connectivityand infrastructure developmentthrough Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) confirm India’s apprehen-sions.

On the one hand it shows thatIndia’s encirclement from all direc-tions by China is complete, but on theother hand it also signals the desireof neighbouring countries to ventureout of India’s ambit. In view of this,the expanding connectivity throughBRI is becoming a very serious issuefor India as some BRI-funded pro-jects are in the China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC) inPakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK)and in the absence of transparency,sustainability and rule of law, theneighbours are being trapped in aChinese debt-trap. Although duringthe second Belt and Road Forum, inApril, Xi had promised to take careof India’s concerns, nothing concreteis visible.

However, despite showing firm-ness not to support BRI and attemptsto save the neighbours from a debttrap, the complex world order hasforced India to play its role careful-ly and engage with China wisely. InBangkok, during the Quad meeting,while supporting the idea of partner-ships to promote a transparent, rule-based approach to trans-boundarychallenges, India avoided any state-ments, which could offend China.

India is also collaborating withVietnam, Japan and other regionalpowers, but without annoying China.The unresolved border dispute, fre-quent scuffles with Indian troops,trade imbalance, the growing powerdisparity between India and Chinaand unpredictability of US supporthave also forced India to play its cardwith precision. Despite knowingabout China eating into Indian ter-ritory in Ladakh and Pakistan’s aidto various terrorist outfits, a face-sav-ing exit from Afghanistan has forcedthe US to ignore Islamabad’s activi-

ties and support it even at the cost ofIndia’s national interests. The help-lessness of New Delhi has made thechallenge more serious for India.Therefore, while working closelywith like-minded countries andexposing the Pakistan-China connec-tion at all international forums,engaging with China through suchsummits is a good policy, though itmay not bring the desired results. Butas the choices are very limited,India’s move of not unnecessarilyengaging in acrimonious matters isbeing seen as the gains of this meet-ing which has paved the way for thenext summit.

Although it is not a game-chang-ing move but if India plans it well andalso tries to explore opportunities tohit China where it can, then in future,the maturity shown by both leadersand strength and weakness of oneanother will prove that dialogue isbetter than deadlock.

(The writer is professor of PoliticalScience at HNB Garhwal University)

Dialogue is better than deadlockThe non-cancellation of the visit by either side despite other irritants like undermining New Delhi’s role in international institutions and China’sreluctance to support India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, has signalled the growing maturity of both the powerful leaders of Asia

ANNPURNA NAUTIYAL

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

IF ON THE 150TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF GANDHIJI,THIS GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS GIVING BHARAT

RATNA TO SAVARKAR, THEN GOD SAVE US.—CONGRESS SPOKESPERSON

MANISH TEWARI

IT IS DUE TO SAVARKAR’S SANSKARS (VALUES)THAT WE PUT NATIONALISM AS THE BASIS FOR NATION-BUILDING.—PRIME MINISTERNARENDRA MODI

VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019 money 08

CAPSULE

Airtel selectsEricsson for 5Gready core networkNEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel hasselected Swedish telecom gearmaker Ericsson to deploy 5G-ready cloud technology on itscore network across India, thetwo companies announced onWednesday. "Ericsson is oneof our key network partnersand this deployment will helpus enhance our packet corenetwork which will not justscale up data capacity, butalso make us edge cloudready," Randeep Sekhon, CTO,Bharti Airtel said in astatement. The Swedish firmclaimed that would enhancecapacity in Airtel's networkand enable to address therapidly growing demand forhigh speed data services. "Thetechnologies and solutionsthat we are providing Airtel area key part of Ericsson's 5GCore offering. The deploymentof these technologies will helpAirtel in meeting the rapidlyevolving demands ofcustomers and also enableswift deployment of new usecases and innovative servicesfor SMEs and Internet ofThings (IoT)," Nunzio Mirtillo,Head of Ericsson South EastAsia, Oceania and India atEricsson, said.

JSW Paintslaunched inHyderabadHYDERABAD: The USD 14-billion JSW Group onWednesday announced roll-outof its paints business inHyderabad by offering'anycolour-one price' offer. JSWPaints, Joint Managing Directorand Chief Executive Officer A SSundaresan told reporters: "Ourcolour-one price ensuresconsumers great value, ushersprice transparency and makesthem free to choose colours fortheir homes." He said thecompany set up two paintmanufacturing facilities with aninvestment of over Rs 600crorea 25,000 kilolitre perannum coil coatings plant inMaharashtra and 1,00,000kilolitre per annum water-baseddecorative paints plant inKarnataka. JSW Paints istargeting a revenue of over Rs2,000 crore (when it achievesfull capacity utilisation) by FY22.

India's Sept fuel demanddips to lowest in over 2 yrsPTI n NEW DELHI

India's fuel demand slipped toits lowest in over two years inSeptember after a fall in dieseland industrial fuel consump-tion negated the rise in petroland LPG consumption.

Consumption of petroleumproducts in Septemberdropped to 16.01 milliontonnes, its lowest since July2017, from 16.06 milliontonnes in the same month lastyear, according to data fromthe Petroleum Planning andAnalysis Cell (PPAC).

Diesel, the most used fuel inthe country, saw demand dropby 3.2 per cent to 5.8 milliontonnes, while naphtha saleswere down by a quarter to844,000 tonnes.

Bitumen, used in road con-struction, too saw consump-tion drop by 7.3 per cent to343,000 tonnes. Fuel oil salesedged 3.8 per cent lower inSeptember to 525,000 tonnes.

These downward trendsnegated the rise in cooking gas(LPG) and petrol demand.

The sale of petrol rose 6.2per cent to 2.37 million tonnes,but sale of jet fuel or ATF fell1.6 per cent to 666,000 tonnes.

LPG consumption surged 6per cent to 2.18 million tonneson the back of government'spush for the use of cleaner fuelin household kitchens in rural

areas in place of firewood tocheck pollution and safeguardthe health of women.

Kerosene, which is fast beingreplaced by LPG and naturalgas as a cooking medium, sawdemand fall almost 38 percent to 176,000 tonnes.

Petroleum coke consump-tion was however 18 per centhigher at 1.73 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, Fitch Solutionsrevised downward its Indiaoil demand forecast, reflectinga deteriorating macroeconomic

backdrop and rising risks togrowth.

"We now fore-cast demandgrowth to average3.8 per cent y-o-yover the threeyears to 2021,down from 4.6 percent previously," itsaid, adding soft-ening of Indianfuel demand adds to anincreasingly bearish outlookfor fuel demand globally.

"We had previously flaggedIndia as the outperformer,forecast to overtake China asthe global engine for growth.While the view still holds in thelonger term, the near-termprospects have weakened," itsaid.

More diversified demandgrowth will offer a level ofresilience moving forward, butstructurally lower demandgrowth in China and commonAsian emerging markets' expo-sure to a weaker external envi-ronment will drag to the down-side.

"We have revised down ourIndia oil demand forecast,reflecting a deterioratingmacroeconomic backdrop andrising risks to growth. In partthis reflects the downwardrevision to the country's GDPgrowth forecast," Fitch said.

"Growth has disappointedexpectations, dragged downby slowing private consump-

tion, weakenedinvestment andunderperformance inthe services sector," itadded.

In response, thegovernment hasunleashed a raft ofstimulus measures,including tax cuts, a

liquidity boost for the bankingsector and higher spending onautos.

Fitch Solutions revised downward itsIndia oil demand forecast, reflecting adeteriorating macroeconomicbackdrop and rising risks to growth

Bajaj's iconic ‘Chetak’ makes a comeback in electric avatarPTI n NEW DELHI

Iconic scooter brand of yester-years, Chetak is making acomeback in an electric avatarwith Bajaj Auto on Wednesdayannouncing that it will sell elec-tric scooters under the label asa premium offering.

The company, which hadvehemently opposed a propos-al of Niti Aayog to go for 100 percent electric vehicles (EVs) forthree-wheelers by 2023 andtwo-wheelers with an enginecapacity less than 150 cc by2025, said its entry into the EVspace is to get the first moveradvantage in the segment.

Bajaj Auto said it plans tostart selling e-scooter Chetakfrom January onwards in Puneand then move to Bengaluruand after gauging the response,expand operations to otherlocations.

While unveiling the Chetak

e-scooter the company did notdisclose the price but said itwould not be more than Rs 1.5lakh. The vehicle gives a dri-ving range of 95 km on ecomode and 85 km on sportsmode on a single charge of

around 5 hours.The e-scooter was unveiled

by Union Road Transport andHighways Minister NitinGadkari in presence of NitiAayog CEO Amitabh Kantand Bajaj Auto Managing

Director Rajiv Bajaj.Explaining why the compa-

ny has decided to enter the EVspace, Bajaj cited Alibaba ChiefJack Ma's remarks of not wait-ing for the environment andthe policies to be ready because

"when everything is ready thereis no opportunity for you".

"If you are not the first to themarket, at worst second to themarket, you lose the marketfurther. It is with this attitudethat we decided to move intoour 'kal' with our electric vehi-cle," he said.

Bajaj said the company isentering the EV space with aproven record over the decadesas a credible manufacturer oftwo and three wheelers unlikeothers which have entered thespace either as start-ups orassemblers.

Company Auto ExecutiveDirector Rakesh Sharma said a

few years ago when the compa-ny was looking at future direc-tions and everybody could seethat there is a huge storm build-ing up about the arrival of EVs.

"Nobody knew when butwere sure that the storm wouldmake landfall and we wouldhave to deal with it. So once thatwas decided we felt that theobvious choice was to presentit in the scooter format becausestrategically for us it was a noconflict situation for us....there-fore an obvious choice to startour electric initiative with ascooter format," he said.

On choosing the Chetakbrand, Sharma said,"Once we

opted for scooter the choice ofbrand was very very obvious."

Launched in the early 70's,the Chetak scooter had soldover a crore units in its heydays. Its waiting period ran intonot just months but years andit became a household namewith its popular campaign'Hamara Bajaj'.

However, at the turn of themillennium, sales of the branddwindled as the two-wheelermarket moved towards motor-cycles and the company decid-ed to stop production of thebrand in mid-2000s.

In its new electric version,Bajaj said the company alsoplans to export the Chetak tovarious relevant markets inEurope from next year itself.The e-scooter would be rolledout from the company'sChakan plant and would beretailed from its Pro-Bikingdealerships.

The e-scooter was unveiled by UnionRoad Transport and Highways MinisterNitin Gadkari inthe presence of NitiAayog CEO Amitabh Kant and BajajAuto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj

Mastercard, Dhoni launchdrive to push digital paymentsPTI n NEW DELHI

Payment technology majorMastercard and its brandambassador M S Dhoni onWednesday kicked-off cam-paign to bring more mer-chants and customers on boardwith an aim to boost digitalpayments in India.

The campaign - TeamCashless India - brings con-sumers and merchants to fore-front of the digital paymentsdialogue, Mastercard said.

It encourages all Indians tonominate one or more mer-chants who currently do notaccept digital payments.

Mastercard will worktogether with Confederation ofAll India Traders (CAIT),acquirer banks and financetechnology companies to sup-port nominated merchants todeploy digital payments accep-tance infrastructure.

This is in line withMastercard's endeavour to cre-ate an ecosystem which encour-ages people to use digital pay-ments for their day-to-day pur-chases, the company said.

Under Team Cashless India,

anyone can either nominatemerchants online or give amissed call to 9016861000.

To garner support for thecampaign, Dhoni will interactwith merchants and encouragethem to 'bat' for a cashlessIndia by accepting digital pay-ments.

Mastercard will provideselect nominated merchantsand consumers with a chanceto join Mahendra SinghDhoni's Team Cashless India.

It will also conduct an out-reach programme across mul-tiple cities to educate mer-chants on the benefits ofaccepting digital payments andprovide a platform for con-sumers to nominate mer-chants.

Ari Sarker, Co-President,Asia Pacific, Mastercard said,"Over the years, Mastercard

has invested continuously andworked tirelessly to strength-en acceptance of digital pay-ments amongst merchants,especially those in tier 2 and 3cities, as they are the real dri-vers of India's economicgrowth".

Mastercard believes TeamCashless India will play a vitalrole in engaging consumersand merchants to propelIndia's transformation as acashless economy, Sarkar said.

Dhoni urged consumers aswell as merchants to become apart of his team and play a partin India's evolution as a digi-tally empowered cashless soci-ety.

With this, Mastercard envis-ages to equip 10 million mer-chants in the country with dig-ital payments acceptance capa-bilities by 2020.

Dhoni urged consumers as well asmerchants to become a part of histeam and play a part in India'sevolution as a digitally empoweredcashless society

Worldsteel elects SajjanJindal as vice chairmanPTI n NEW DELHI

Global body World SteelAssociation (worldsteel) onWednesday said it has electedJSW Steel Chairman andManaging Director (CMD)Sajjan Jindal as its vice chair-man.

The association has alsoappointed Tata Steel CEO andMD T V Narendran andArcelorMittal Chief L N Mittalas its members.

"The Board of Directors ofthe World Steel Association(worldsteel) yesterday onTuesday elected...new officersfor 2019/2020 at the worldsteelGeneral Assembly inMonterrey. The new officersare elected for a one-year peri-od," it said in a statement.

The board has elected HBISGroup Co Chairman Yu Yongas its chairman, the body said.

Sajjan Jindal and AndreJohannpeter, executive vicechairman, Gerdau S.A. have

been elected to the post of vicechairman.

Roger Newport, CEO, AKSteel, has been elected as trea-surer of worldsteel, the state-ment said.

The board also elected a 14-member Executive Committee.

Jindal, Newport, Yong andJohannpeter were also electedas members of the committee.

Tata Steel's T V Narendranand NRI steel baron LakshmiNiwas Mittal were elected asmembers.

The body further said that itwelcomes RL Steels andEnergy Limited (India) as reg-ular members and the SteelMinistry's Joint PlantCommittee (JPC) as an affili-ated member.

worldsteel members repre-sent approximately 85 percent of the world's steel pro-duction, including over 160steel producers, national andregional steel industry asso-ciations and steel researchinstitutes.

The associationhas alsoappointed TataSteel CEO andMD T VNarendran andArcelorMittalChief L N Mittalas its members

PTI n NEW DELHI

Homegrown luxury hospitali-ty chain The Postcard Hotel onWednesday said it is looking toown or manage a billion dollarsof hotel assets in five years.

"With over Rs 1,000 crore ofassets under managementtoday and projects underwayacross South Asia, ThePostcard Hotel is looking atowning or managing USD 1billion (over Rs 7,100 crore) ofassets globally in 5 years,"The Postcard Hotelfounder and CEOKapil Chopratold reportershere.

The company isalso on track to open50 hotels in five years acrossthe world, he added.

The Postcard Hotel alsosaid it is soon foraying into SriLanka and Bhutan as part of itsinternational expansion plans.

"Opening of two signaturehotels, one each in Sri Lankaand Bhutan is our first steptowards building a global lux-ury hotel brand inspired byIndia," Chopra told PTI.

"The Postcard Hotel only

wants to be in one of the fivelocations in the mountains, by

the sea, in wild life loca-tions, in wine estates

and in historicalpalaces andmonuments,"

Chopra said.On being asked

about the company's busi-ness model, he said it is large-ly a mix of management con-tract , taking a long termlease of the asset and in somecases it will be buying theassets.

The upcoming hotels will bein Uttarakhand, Karnataka,Andaman and Nicobar,Darjeeling, and Kanha TigerReserve in Madhya Pradesh,he added.

The Postcard Hoteltargets USD 1 billionof hotel assets in 5 yrs

Mindtree Jul-Sep net profitdown 34.6 pcto Rs 135 crPTI n NEW DELHI

IT firm Mindtree onWednesday reported a 34.6per cent decline in consoli-dated net profit at Rs 135crore for the quarter endedSeptember 30, 2019.

The company had posted anet profit of Rs 206.3 crore inthe same period last year,Mindtree said in a regulato-ry filing.

The Bengaluru-basedcompany saw its revenuegrow 9.1 per cent to Rs1,914.3 crore in the quarterunder review from Rs 1,755.4crore in the year-ago period,it added.

In dollar terms, the netprofit declined 34.1 per centto USD 19.2 million, whilerevenue increased 10 percent to USD 271 million inthe said quarter over theyear-ago period.

In constant currency terms(eliminating currency fluc-tuation from financial per-formance), revenue was up3.2 per cent sequentially and11.1 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y).

Mindtree's second quarterperformance of double digity-o-y revenue growth reflectsthe company's client centric-ity, employees' winning spir-it and innovation, MindtreeCEO Debashis Chatterjeesaid.

"We stay committed instrengthening our executionto invest in growth and driveshareholder value," he added.

In July this year, Mindtree,in a regulatory filing, had saidthat Larsen and Toubro(L&T) had "acquired control"of the company with a 60.06per cent stake and had beencategorised as promoter.

At the end of theSeptember quarter, the com-pany's active client base stoodat 343. It had 21,267 employ-ees at the end of the secondquarter with trailing 12-months attrition at 16.5 percent.

Wipro sharesclose over 2pc higher afterQ2 earningsPTI n NEW DELHI

Shares of Wipro onWednesday closed over 2 percent higher after the compa-ny posted 35 per cent rise inconsolidated net profit for thesecond quarter endedSeptember 30.

Wipro scrip closed at Rs248.85, a gain of 2.11 per centon the BSE. During the day,it jumped 3.32 per cent to Rs251.80.

On the NSE, it rose by 2.15per cent to close at Rs 248.90.

"Wipro's September 2019quarter results are broadly inline with our estimates,"according to a report byEmkay Global FinancialServices.

In terms of traded volume,5.81 lakh shares of the com-pany were traded on the BSEand 1.62 crore shares on theNSE during the day.

Wipro on Tuesday posted35 per cent rise in consoli-dated net profit to Rs 2,552.7crore for the second quarterended September 30.

The company had regis-tered a net profit of Rs 1,889crore in the year-ago period.

Its total income forSeptember quarter stood atRs 15,875.4 crore comparedto Rs 15,203.2 crore a yearago.

The PostcardHotel also said itis soon forayinginto Sri Lankaand Bhutan aspart of itsinternationalexpansion plans

PTI n NEW DELHI

Reliance Industries in 24months can become the firstIndian company to reachUSD 200 billion market capon the back of its new com-merce venture and fixedbroadband business, Bank ofAmerica Merrill Lynch saidon Wednesday.

In a report, the brokeragesaid the key drivers necessaryfor Reliance to breach USD200 billion market cap in 24months from current USD122 billion market cap are

new commerce initiative ofempowering Kiranas in unor-ganised retail market by offer-ing MPoS (mobile point-of-sale), entry into SME enter-prise space with Microsoft,Jio's fiber broadband businessand digital initiatives like

advertising."We think the market is giv-

ing little credit to these initia-tives given limited visibility,"it said. "We expect near-termmomentum to be strong."

Its bull case scenario thattakes m-cap to USD 200 bil-lion assumed Jio's per mobilephone user revenue increas-ing to Rs 177 in FY22 from Rs151, 10 million Kirana's pay-ing the company Rs 750 amonth for installing M-PoS,and broadband users reaching12 million by FY22 with 60per cent of them paying an

average of Rs 840 a month."In our bull-case, we look at

a 24-month fair-value of thecompany as we believe mostof the new businesses whichare in gestation period willtake around 24 months toacquire scale and contributemeaningfully to RIL's fairvalue," it said.

Reliance Industries (RIL) isIndia's largest petrochemicaland second-largest oil refin-ing company. It has significantinvestments in telecom, con-sumer retail and media busi-nesses in India.

RIL soon to be 1st Indian firm to hit $200 bn m-cap

shwin Sanghi —the author of sev-eral immenselypopular crimethrillers such asThe Rozabal line,

Chanakya’s Chant and TheKrishna Key (also called theBharat series) — started hissession with an eager audi-ence narrating a personal taleabout his childhood. Hespoke about how his nanaji(maternal grandfather) hadacted as a gateway betweenthe Ashwin who would learnthe family trade to become abusinessman, and the Ashwin

who would eventually turnhis passion for writing into acareer and reach enviouslydizzying heights.

Thus began the interactivesession organised recently bythe FICCI Ladies Organi-sation (FLO) who enjoyedthe talk by ‘the Indian DanBrown’ who opened up theworld of commercial Indianliterature for them.

“The problem with the ratrace is that even if you dowin, it doesn’t change the factthat you’re still a rat,” heexplained, talking about howhe would answer people qu-estioning his inclinationtowards become a writer.

He also said how he does-n’t let rejection bog himdown. Ashwin first book wasrejected 47 times. He thenself-published the Rozaballine under the pseudonymand ‘Shawn Haigins’ in 2007.In 2009, the book was pickedup by the Tata-owned Westl-and and was published underhis real name that went on tobecome a bestseller.

“For writers rejection is away of life,” he said mention-ing a list of famous writerssuch as J.K. Rowling, Marg-aret Mitchell and StephenKing who faced similar issuesin their career. Ashwin’s lad-der of success boasts collabo-ration with internationallyacclaimed James Patterson,author of the Women’s

Murder Club series.He was remarkably candid

in an exclusive interview withThe Pioneer. When askedabout whether even afterpublishing several bestsellershe still faces the nervousnessand anxiety that new writersface, he replied with a defini-tive ‘Yes’. “The process ofwriting itself is beautiful. It isthe most fulfilling part of thewhole journey. But, the mar-keting part of this businesswill always remain a mysteryto me. So, this contributes tothe uncertainty factor andthus the nervousness.”

Talking about feedback hegot for the characters in hisbooks, especially his Bharatseries which come under theconspiracy fiction genre, hesaid, “When I write, whatmatters is the character andhis story. The representationof the character as part of themythology is only secondary.I write about a ‘what if ’ sce-nario which strikes me assomething of an after-thought. I believe that inorder to keep controversies atbay, while at the same timeholding the attention of theaudience, requires animmense amount of researchcombined with the art ofgood storytelling,” he said.

Sona Chatwani, the chair-person of FLO, along withother executive members ofthe organisation, expressed

joy and gratitude for havingAshwin in their midst.

The event concluded witha Q&A session during whichhe presented several sugges-tions on writing. “Writing isnot an art, it is a craft. I con-sistently mail myself ideas. Iwrite everyday between 5 amto 9 am. I research for fifteenmonths, plan, plot and thenwrite.” he shared. In responseto one of the questions, hesaid, “It is not the characterthat matters or to be honesteven the plot. What mattersis one’s skill to manoeuvrethe plot and the characterstogether in such a mannerthat the audience is hookedon to the story. Because atthe end of the day, it doesn’tmatter whether you’re a goodwriter or nor, it only mattersif you are good storyteller.”

The process ofwriting itself is

beautiful. It is the mostfulfilling part of the wholejourney. But, the marketingpart of this business willalways remain a mystery tome. So, this contributes to theuncertainty factor and thusbrings about the nervousnessthat most writers face

ASHWIN SANGHI, WRITER

‘WRITING ISNOT AN ART

IT IS ACRAFT'

Trust an acclaimed author likeAshwin Sanghi to demystify thewriting process and throw light

upon what sells and what doesn't,reports ANUSHKA PRADEEP

The EDM scene in India is atits nascent stage. Artistes like

Zaeden who has receivedinternational acclaim shares

with ARUN DANIELYELLAMATTY how to take

music to the next level

A

Let The

BEATahil Sharma akaZaeden, one of themost popularnames in theIndian EDM(Electronic Dance

Music) scene who is baskingin his latest hit Tere Bina thathas secured him unprece-dented chart dominance withover 1,00,000 plays and 1.1million views on streamingsites. The artist had also per-formed at Tomorrowland ear-lier this year alongside LostStories, and last year he hadopened for the Justin BieberPurpose World Tour inMumbai.

Sahil began his music

career at the age of fourteen.He was an average studentbut his mind was tunedtowards creating music. “Thefirst instrument that I experi-mented on was tabla. I sawmy tabla teacher playing atmy school assembly and sud-denly it became a big deal forme. So I started learning it. Ina month, I took his place atthe assembly. That was myfirst interaction with music,”the artist shares whose remix-es on the radio captured theimagination of hundreds oflisteners.

“Then gradually my par-ents and also my sister sup-ported the idea of me trying

to make career in music.When I was in my eleventhgrade, I used to listen to a lotof dance music. What actual-ly got me into it was this pod-cast I heard on the radio. Itwas performed by DJ NYKwho used to mix a lot ofBollywood songs with trans-progressive tracks. After that,I started following a few moredance artists and that’s howthings started off.” Sahil saysbands like Coldplay were aninspiration for him.

“I have been toTomorrowland thrice. Themost memorable thing thathappened there was me play-ing my first hindi song Tera

Bina. When I started playingpeople joined me by singing‘Naa-Na-Naa’ which I foundto be pretty inspiring. I ammotivated to take Hindi lan-guage to the world,” he says.

Giving advice to upcomingmusicians about makingmusic, he says, “Whatever Ihave learned, I picked upfrom YouTube. Even today, Ikeep watching a lot of tutori-als and videos. I am alwayshungry for knowledge. Sim-ilarly, if someone is interestedthey need to give it a lot oftime because most of themonly pick this as a hobby. Butthis requires a lot of time andeffort, just as any other art. I

think it is very important forus to be original.”

Speaking about his visit tothe city, he says, “I thinkHyderabadis are really opento everything. In some cities,you see that the crowd isinclined towards only onetype of music genre, be itBollywood or Hip Hop, butin Hyderabad there is a mas-sive crowd for every genre.This helps a musician seekbetter feedback from his/heraudience and that is exactlywhat I am going to do at myevent here.”

S

Whatever I havelearned, I picked upfrom YouTube. Eventoday, I keep watchinga lot of tutorials andvideos. I am alwayshungry forknowledge.Similarly, ifsomeone isinterested theyneed to give it a lot oftime because most ofthem only pick this asa hobby. But thisrequires a lot of timeand effort, just as anyother art

SAHIL SHARMA, EDM ARTIST

TAKECONTROL

ThursdayOctober 17, 2019

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/

dailypioneer

ollywood actress

Katrina Kaif has

come out with her

own beauty line called

Kay by Katrina.

On Wednesday, the

actress shared a sneak-peek of her

beauty line on Instagram and cap-

tioned the video, “It’s finally ready...

Arriving October 22, 2019.”

Katrina said she dreamt about the

beauty line two years ago.

“Two years ago I dreamt of creat-

ing a beauty line. So excited to final-

ly share it with you... Can’t wait.

And it’s all on @kaybykatrina #kay-

bykatrina #kayxnykaa,” she added.

The actress, who was last seen on

screen in Bharat shared a letter. She

wrote, “For as long as I can remem-

ber, makeup has been an innate part

of my journey- from the

runway to the big screen,

and now I have rendered

my love for it to Kay

Beauty, my first ever

Beauty Brand!”

Katrina says she cre-

ated a brand that

truly stands for

what she

believes in.

“I’m always

on theclock,always on

the run,

with end-

less shoots

that involve me

wearing make-up

all the time. As much

as I love the look and feel

of it, I do wish my skin felt as

comfortable, as I did wearing it.”

Katrina says her Kay Beauty is “a

bridge between high glamour and

care”.On the acting front, she will be

next seen in Rohit Shetty’s upcom-

ing cop film Sooryavanshi.

ollywood star JenniferAniston finally joinedInstagram on Tuesdays, andshe had nearly 5.4 million fol-lowers within hours of joiningthe social media app. Aniston

is known to be fiercely private about herlife, so her decision to join Insta haspleasantly surprised many of her fans.

Quite in sync with what fans haveloved most about her, the first pictureshe posted on the social media app is aa reunion photo that celebrates hercareer-defining show, Friends. In thesnapshot, the star is seen posing withher Friends co-stars Matt LaBlanc,Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, LisaKudrow and David Schwimmer,according to a report in goss.ie. “Andnow we’re Instagram FRIENDS too. HIINSTAGRAM,” wrote Aniston, whobecame a global star thanks to theshow. The caption she wrote for her

Insta page reads, “My friends call meJen.” The picture already has 7,300,773likes.

Many fans took the post as a hint thatFriends, which ran for a successful 10seasons from September 1994 to May2004, might just be up for a return. Soonafter Aniston posted her first snap, sev-eral celebrities joined in to post welcomemessages, too. Reese Witherspoon wrote,“YASSSS!!! Welcome to Insta Jen!!!”“Oh, yeah tushy!!” went ChelseaHandler’s comment. Celebs whojoined Aniston’s Insta page includeher telly Friends, of course pals.

On her part, Aniston is followingLeonardo DiCaprio, Selena Gomez,Katy Perry, Oprah Winfrey, EllenDeGeneres, Eva Mendes, JessicaBiel, Reese Witherspoon, JustinTimberlake, Orlando Bloom,Michelle Obama, and her ex,Justin Theroux.

H

Vijayawada Thursday October 17, 2019

10

celeb talks

NEIL PATRICK HARRISJOINS MATRIX 4 CAST

n news that may be evenmore out of left fieldthan his casting in GoneGirl, Emmy winner NeilPatrick Harris is set tojoin the cast of The

Matrix 4, Collider has confirmed.Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne

Moss will reprise their roles as Neoand Trinity, while Aquaman villainYahya Abdul-Mateen II is joiningthe franchise as a lead, thoughreports that he’ll play a youngMorpheus remain unconfirmed.

Lana Wachowski is returning todirect the sequel for Warner Bros.and Village Roadshow. AleksandarHemon and David Mitchell co-wrote the script with Wachowski,who is producing alongside GrantHill. Production is slated to startearly next year.

Harris’ role is being kept underwraps, but there are only two possibilities here. He’s either playinga brand new character we've neverseen before, or he’s playing a charac-ter we have seen. As much as I wishhe was playing the older version ofSpoon Boy, I happen to think thatHarris would be good as a youngerversion of the Architect. Isn’t that acharacter you’d like to spend moretime with, and get to know his ori-gins?

Harris recently starred as CountOlaf in Netflix’s adaptation A Seriesof Unfortunate Events, and he alsoappeared alongside Matt Damon inAlexander Payne’s Downsizing.Though Harris felt a bit out of placein Gone Girl, he did a solid jobdelivering exactly what directorDavid Fincher asked of him, and Ialso enjoyed his more comedicwork in the Harold and Kumarfranchise. He has also done big-budget sci-fi before, having starredin Starship Troopers back in theday. With 27 million followers onTwitter, Harris has a huge fanbase,so he’s certainly bringing addedvalue to the project. He’s repre-sented by CAA andUntitledEntertainment,and his castingwas firstreported byVariety.

I

SCIENCE SAYS,

BELLA HADID IS

THE WORLD'SMOSTBEAUTIFULWOMAN!

upermodel Bella Hadid is the most

beautiful woman in the world. At

least, that’s what Greek mathematics

says.Scientists determining the most beau-

tiful woman on the planet according to the

“Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi Standards” have picked

the Victoria’s Secret model's face as the one that comes

closest to perfection, reports goss.ie.

The “Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi” defines beauty

in accordance to classic Greek calculations.

Measurements of facial proportions are done going

by standards that Greek scholars applied while try-

ing to define beauty with scientific formula.

According to the “Golden Ratio” measure-

ments, the 23-year-old Bella has a face that is

94.35 per cent perfect.

Also, going by the parameters of the

“Golden Ratio of Beauty Phi”, pop diva

Beyoncà finished at the second spot. She

has a face that is 92.44 per cent perfect.

Actress Amber Heard is at number

three with a ratio of 91.85 per cent

while pop star Ariana Grande is

placed fourth with 91.81 per cent.

The measurements were con-

ducted by Dr Julian De Silva, an

emminent facial cosmetic sur-

geon at London’s famous

Harley Street.

“Bella Hadid was the clear

winner when all elements of

the face were measured for

physical perfection. She

had the highest overall

reading for her chin

which, with a score of

99.7 per cent, is only

0.3 per cent away

from being the per-

fect shape,” Dr Julian

told The Daily Mail.

B

JENNIFER ANISTONBREAKS INTERNET WITHFRIENDS REUNION POSTAS SHE JOINS INSTAGRAM

KAT LAUNCHESHER OWN

BEAUTY LINE

ctor Willem Dafoe is joining filmmakerGuillermo del Toros Nightmare Alley.

Bradley Cooper is headlining the FoxSearchlight production, which also countsToni Collette, Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett andDavid Strathairn among its cast.

Nightmare Alley is an adaptation of the 1946 noirnovel by William Lindsay. Its first big screen adap-tation came out in 1947.

Nightmare Alley is set in a world of carnival hus-tlers and con men and tells the story of a men-talist (Cooper), who teams with a psychologist inorder to swindle the rich. Dafoe will play a headbarker at a travelling carnival.

Del Toro is directing the thriller and wrote thescript with Kim Morgan. The filmmaker is aim-ing for an early 2020 shoot in Toronto.

Dafoe, a four-time Oscar nominee, hasEdward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn comingout next month.

A

WILLEM DAFOEJOINING DELTORO'SNIGHTMAREALLEY

S

ilmmaker Ohmkar, who is awaiting the release of RajuGari Gadhi 3, which he produced and directed, attrib-uted his standing in the industry to his brothersAshwin and Kalyan. “They’ve been my support system

ever since my anchoring days. They’ve done Bachelorsof physiotherapy like me. The film’s production

duties were taken care by them. My dream hasalways been to make Ashwin a hero and Kalyan a

producer. I’ve realised that with this film. Theydon’t have any other backing than me in theindustry. Last year, our father passed away andever since I’ve been seen only in whites. If Idon white, I’m reminded of my father. I wantto change the color if Ashwin gets accepted asa hero on Friday (the film release day),” hesaid. He was speaking at a promotional eventof the film in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

The filmmaker has also heaped high praiseon the film’s cinematographer Chota K Naidu.“Dad sent Chota anna to me as my elderbrother. They don’t make humans like him

anymore. I haven’t spoken to him about his feefor the film yet. Generally cinematographers

dispatch DI prints to overseas market only if theyare paid but he hasn’t uttered a word about his

remuneration,” Ohmkar raved.

esha Sindhu Rao,who is debuting asa director withChoosiChoodangaane,was crazy about

movies since childhood. Sheknew that she would get intofilmmaking one day or theother. “I was born in the UAEas my dad worked there forthe Central government. Igrew up watching a lot ofShah Rukh films and he hada great influence on me nurs-ing my filmmaking dream.So when my dad told me thatwe would be moving to Indiafrom Dubai, I was keen onstaying in Hyderabad orMumbai as both of the citieswere a filmmaking hub,” shesays in an exclusive conversa-

tion with The Pioneer. Sesha later completed her

B.Tech in Hyderabad andeven contemplated Mastersbut when her admission inAustralia got delayed by acouple of months, she founda chance to get into theindustry. “After learningabout the requirement for anassistant director post for afilm by Prakash Kovelamudi,I met him. Although I could-n’t get the post, I managed todevelop some contacts. Theyintroduced me to a couple ofcinematographers. I usedsocial media as a tool to landopportunities to hone myskills. I started off my jour-ney in the industry by assist-ing camera department for afilm directed by J.D.Chakravarthy. Two days later,I told my parents about what

I was up to. Initially, theywere shocked, but they laterunderstood what I wanted todo with my life,” she explains.

With little more experienceit became easier for her to getprojects as an assistant direc-tor. “When I joined theindustry, there were notmany women in the directiondepartment. The film unitswere looking for female assis-tant directors and I had theprivilege to choose from thefilms on offer,” she smiles,adding that now, the numberof women working in thetechnical arena has increased.After assisting the unit ofKrishnam Vande Jagadgurum,she soon made it to the cre-ative team of Sukumar’sKumari 21F and was associ-ated with the film fromideation stage to end. Shebelieves the place (SukumarWritings) like Krish’s had alot of scope for creativeexchanges.

She stopped assisting afterKumari 21F and began todevelop her own scripts.Towards the end of 2016, shewas ready with the first draftof Choosi Choodangaane. “Ibegan to approach producers,who were keen to know my

experience in direction. Shortfilms boom caught uparound that time and myexperience as an assistantdirector didn’t count any-more. I made a four-minutevideo as a pitch for my film. Istarted showing it to produc-ers in 2018 and although amajority of them liked, theyhad doubts whether I canhandle a feature film being awoman. Around this time, Ishowed the video to RajKandukuri sir and narratedthe story to him. He wasimpressed with it in the firstattempt itself,” she shares.

It was Raj who proposedthe name of his son ShivaKandukuri to Sesha. “Thenext day we initiated pre-production. We did a coupleof auditions and intenseworkshops with Shiva. Myfriend Padma, who is thewriter of the film, helped me.The good thing about Shivais that he is hardworking andalso is capable of remember-ing pages of dialogue alto-gether,” Sesha adds.

Talking about the film,which was wrapped up in flat35 days, she mentions it as alove story of a wedding pho-tographer (played by Shiva)and a drummer (VarshaBollamma) who wants to getinto the industry as a com-poser. “We broke a lot ofstereotypes, like we have anunconventional mother-sonrelationship and an male-female buddy’s story. It’s avery urban film about fragilerelationships,” she says,adding that her inspirationsinclude K. Viswanath, ManiRatnam and David Fincher.

Vijayawada Thursday October 17, 2019

When I joined the industry, there were notmany women in the direction department.The film units were looking for femaleassistant directors and I had the privilege tochoose from the films on offer

SESHA SINDHU RAODIRECTOR

OHMKAR SAYS IT HAS ALWAYS BEENHIS DREAM TO SEE HIS BROTHERASHWIN AS A HERO

S

11

tollywoodFROM ASSISTING CAMERADEPT TO DIRECTION

Sesha Sindhu who is debuting as adirector with Choosi Choodangane,

speaks to NAGARAJ GOUDabout her journey and her passion

for movies since childhood among others

ctor Vijay Deverakondaunveiled the Telugu trail-er of Terminator: DarkFate in Hyderabad on

Wednesday. Produced by JamesCameron and directed by Tim Miller of

Deadpool fame, the film starsSchwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton,

as an older Sarah Connor. Herson John will once again be

played by Edward Furlong.Fox star India is releasingthe film on November inEnglish, Hindi, Tamil,Telugu, Kannada andMalayalam. AlthoughDark Fate is the sixthinstalment in the fran-chise, it is being touted asa direct sequel to 1991’sTerminator 2: JudgementDay. The film ignores theevents of the three films

that have come since.Speaking at the event,

Deverakonda dubbed JamesCameron as a genius film-

maker. “I watched hisJudgement Day in school when

we used to have a movie nightevery Sunday. As kids back then,

we desperately wanted the villain todie. He would never die… The charac-

ters that James Cameron created… thecomputer graphics were magnificent

back then. Watching the Dark Fate trail-er took me back to my school days. After

Judgement Day this is the best trailer thatI’ve liked of the Terminator franchise. Thequality of dubbing has increased from whatit was sometime back and I would watch theTelugu version,” the actor, who has returned

to city on Tuesday after a 15-day break, said.When asked whether he sees himself in a

similar kind of sci-fi action spectacle, he said,“I don’t see gun culture here. If a directorcomes and narrates a story on it, I wouldn’tconnect to it. May be an army film… Prabhasanna is the best fit for such stories. I’m still aboy to attempt such films.”

The actor recently was spotted at multipleevents in Mumbai, triggering speculations abouta looming Hindi debut. Setting the record

straight, he declared, “I haven’t been offered anyHindi film. When they are ready to give me a

mainstream film, I would take it up.” — NG

No Bollywood offers:DEVERAKONDA

A

hooting inHyderabad for thepast 17 days, the unitof Romantic, starring

Akash Puri and KetikaSharma, have added a majorstar attraction to their film.The film’s makers on Wedn-esday announced thatactress Ramya Krishna willbe playing a key role in thelove story laced with action.

While the nature of her rolehasn’t been disclosed yet, wehear that she will be playinga strong supporting role andher presence will be felt allthroughout the film. She has joined the film setson Tuesday in Hyderabad.

Romantic is a joint ven-ture between PuriJagannadh and CharmeeKaur under Puri Jagannadh’s

banners Touring Talkies andPuri Connects.

Anil Paduri, a noted VFXsupervisor, who has alsoworked with the writingteam of Puri in the past, ismaking his directorial debutwith the project.

Puri has penned the film’sstory and dialogues, whileSunil Kashyap is the com-poser.

S

ROMANTIC GETSRAMYA'S BOOST

Akhil bonds withSivakarthikeyan

amil actor Sivakarthikeyan, who is shooting inHyderabad for Hero for the past many days, wastreated to dinner by Akhil Akkineni on Tuesday

evening. Film’s director P.S. Mithran and cameramanGeorge too were present at the party.

T

OHMKARgets

emotional

F

PTI n NEW DELHI

Spin great Anil Kumble saysone of the biggest learnings

from his previous coachingstints, including the contro-versial one with the Indianteam, is to "back off and helpthe players relax".

Kumble resigned as Indiahead coach after the 2017Champions Trophy final dueto an "untenable relationship"with skipper Virat Kohlithough the team did wellunder his tutelage.

The 48-year-old is back tocoaching again, this time asdirector of cricket operationsat Kings XI Punjab. He alsoheld mentorship roles at RoyalChallengers Bangalore andMumbai Indians.

"With RCB we did not winthe title but we came close acouple of t imes. WithMumbai, we had wonderful

success those three years I wasthere. It is nice to have theexperience of crossing theline. It certainly helps (you asa coach)," Kumble told PTI onWednesday.

"It is all about a game ofcricket at the end of it. If yousimplify like that the jobbecomes a lot easier. Themoment you start puttingimportance to result, wins,trophies then it puts morepressure on the players. So thelearning is just to back off andhelp the players relax andwhen they are relaxed theytend to perform better."

At an event here onWednesday, EbixCash wasannounced as Kings XIPunjab's title sponsor for three

years.Kings XI Punjab have

never won the IPL andKumble has come on board toend the title drought. Kumble,who wants to add more expe-

rience to the Punjab squad,will soon start strategisingfor the IPL auction inDecember.

"You learn from the previ-ous experiences you have had

as a player, as a coach but IPLis a rollercoaster ride. Youneed to be patient and thenback the players you have.

"Generally because of cer-tain results you tend to startlooking at other teams andthat starts influencing yourdecision and that is the lastthing you want."

Earlier this week, Kings XIPunjab co-owner Ness Wadiatold PTI that the franchsieboard had a rethink onRavichandran Ashwin and ithas decided to retain him.Ashwin captained the side inthe previous two seasons butfailed to take them to the play-offs. Kumble said it is not cer-tain that Aswhin will captainthe side again.

"We have not decided thatyet. Some decisions need tome made but we don't need todecide at this moment. IPL isstill five months away. Thereis an auction coming up, wewill start to build a squadaround that as well.

"Ashwin had a wonderfultwo years but of course we didnot get the right results but wehave not made any decisionwho the captain will be."

Kumble conceded that anydecision will not be an easyone as he is a senior player.Ashwin has also done well forIndia in Tests of late, havingmade a comeback into theplaying eleven in the ongoinghome series against SouthAfrica.

AFP n STOCKHOLM

Rodrigo Moreno fired Spaininto Euro 2020 with a last-gaspequaliser in Sweden while the

Republic of Ireland’s chances ofreaching the finals are still in the bal-ance after they fell 2-0 in Switzerland.

Spain became the sixth team toqualify for next summer’s tourna-ment thanks to Rodrigo, who cameoff the bench to score a dramaticinjury-time leveller in a 1-1 draw inStockholm, sparking wild celebra-tions on the touchline.

“Qualification is a must for ateam like Spain but achieving it stillhas value,” said Moreno. “It releasesthe pressure and gives us time towork.”

Robert Moreno’s side are top ofGroup F on 20 points after drawingtheir last two matches. They are fiveahead of Sweden and six aboveRomania, who missed the chance totake second spot when Norway’sAlexander Sorloth snatched a late 1-1 draw in Bucharest.

However it was a far from vintagedisplay from Spain, who startedbrightly but faded as the match woreon against the lively hosts, who weredistraught after missing out on afamous victory right at the death.

A celebratory night was tem-pered slightly by the loss of goalkeep-er David de Gea to a thigh injury inthe second half, although that willworry his club Manchester Unitedmore ahead their meeting withPremier League leaders Liverpoolthis weekend.

Ireland left sweatingIn Group D, Haris Seferovic’s

early strike and Shane Duffy’s lateown goal kept Switzerland’s hopes ofautomatic qualification alive with a2-0 victory over the Republic ofIreland.

The win in Geneva means theSwiss are just a point behind groupleaders Ireland and Denmark withtwo matches remaining in their cam-

paign, compared to just the one forthe Irish, who host the Danes onNovember 18 needing a win to guar-antee qualification.

“It’s a cup final. Beat Denmark toreach Euro 2020. I would have takenthat at the start and I’ll take it now,”said the Republic’s coach MickMcCarthy.

The Swiss, who also have the bet-ter of the head-to-head record withthe Irish as the two teams drew 1-1in September, take on group min-nows Georgia and Gibraltar in theirfinal two games.

“The result doesn’t mean a lot inthe group, we still need to get resultsin our next two games. If we get the

points we need against Georgia andGibraltar we can turn our attentionsto Euro 2020,” said Switzerland coachVladimir Petkovic.

Finland towards historyFinland inched closer to qualify-

ing for their first ever EuropeanChampionships after Teemu Pukkitook his qualifying tally to seven ineight matches with a double thathelped Finland sweep aside Armenia3-0 in Turku.

Fredrik Jensen gave the Finns a31th minute lead. Norwich Citystriker Pukki then scored just afterthe hour and got his second two min-utes from the end with a neat dinkedfinish.

Markku Kanerva’s side stay ninepoints behind Group J winners Italy,

who maintained their 100 percentrecord with an eighth straight win, 5-0 against Liechtenstein.

Finland need a win over rock-bottom Liechtenstein to qualify fortheir first major tournament afterfourth-placed Bosnia & Herzegovinalost 2-1 in Greece with an 88th-minute own goal from AdnanKovacevic.

Israel kept their hopes of quali-fying from Group G alive after see-ing off Latvia 3-1 as Eran Zahaviscored his 11th goal of the qualify-ing campaign.

Andi Herzog’s side are level on 11points with North Macedonia andSlovenia and five behind second-place Austria, meaning they stillhave a chance with two gamesremaining.

sport 12VIJAYAWADA | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 17, 2019

PNS n NEW DELHI

She may have just wonSilver medal in her World

Championship debut butIndian boxer Manju Rani hasno plans to rejig her weightcategory and give it a shot tocompete in the Tokyo 2020Olympics. Instead, the youngchampion wants to developher skills and prepare herselffor 2024.

The 20-year old won herfirst World’s medal in therecently concluded Women’schampionship in Ulan-Udebut since she competes in 48

IANS n KOLKATA

Asian Championships Bronzemedallist Nikhat Zareen

cried foul on Wednesday afterthe Boxing Federation of India(BFI) hinted that there would notrial between her and MaryKom in the 51kg category forparticipating in the TokyoOlympic qualifiers in Wuhanfrom February 3 to 14.

BFI president Ajay Singhtold reporters that Mary Kom,could possibly be their automat-ic choice for the China event.And that hasn’t pleased theyoungster looking to make amark.

“Today morning I got toknow that the President had toldthe media that there would be notrials,” Nikhat said.

“Anyone can win any day. It’sboxing. I am not saying send me,but give me a fair chance. I willtry to talk to them (BFI). Theysaid before that only Gold andSilver medallist at the Worldswill automatically be selected forthe Olympic qualifiers but nowthey are changing that rule foreven women,” she said.

Six-time champion MaryKom settled for the Bronze in theWomen’s World BoxingChampionships after losing hersemi-final bout of the 51-kg fly-weight category to second-seedBusenaz Cakiroglu of Turkey ina split 1:4 verdict.

Ahead of the Worlds, BFIhad a selection policy for boththe men and women boxerswhich said all the medal winners(Gold, Silver and Bronze) in the

men’s section at the Worlds willautomatically be picked for theOlympic qualifiers, without hav-ing to undergo trials.

However, for the Eves, thecriteria was only applicable forGold and Silver medallist win-ners at the Worlds.

“Now in December we haveNationals, again I have to gothrough the grind. Then if thereare no trials, what is the use ofall these competitions. No useright?” questioned the 23-yearold boxer.

Asked about her next courseof action, Nikhar said she willapproach sports minister KirenRijiju after trying to contact BFIPresident Singh several times.

“Everything is in President’s(Ajay Singh) hands. I am tryingto contact him but he is notresponding. I tried so manytimes. I will try to contact ourSports Minister and ministryalso, then let’s see what happens.If all this happens I cannotfocus on my game,” she said.

The BFI did not let Nikhatparticipate against Mary Kom atthe trials for the Worlds, back inAugust also. Chairman of selec-tors Rajesh Bhandari had saidthat her bout wouldn’t takeplace just to ensure that she isprotected for the future and notexposed at a young age in theWorld Championships.

The move had come as arude shock for both the boxerand her father who had travelledfrom Hyderabad to the nation-al capital for the trials for thechampionship to be held inRussia in October.

IANS n KOLKATA

Former India captainBhaichung Bhutia on

Wednesday said India’s 1-1 drawagainst Bangladesh in the GroupE World Cup qualifiers was“unfortunate”, adding that theteam needs to learn from theirmistakes and move on.

A last-gasp Adil Khan goalsaved India the blushes as theyheld a spirited Bangaldesh,ranked 83 places below them, toa draw.

“I could not watch thematch so I won’t be able to com-ment much on it, but it’s unfor-tunate,” Bhutia said.

India held Asian championsQatar to a 0-0 draw last monthand were hot favourites to winagainst Bangladesh who lost toQatar 0-2 at home before thismatch.

“They are a young side.They have talented players and

they will only learn from this.Yes it’s not a great result but theseboys and the team needs to con-tinue the work they are doing.They will get better,” Bhutia said.

India captain Sunil Chhetrialso expressed his disappoint-ment as he and other playerscame close to scoring but justcould not get the ball past thegoalpost until the 88th minutewhen Adil scored off a corner todraw level.

Taking to Twitter, Chhetriexpressed gratitude to the fanswho turned up in large numbersto support the Indian team.

“We couldn’t deliver a per-formance to match the atmos-phere at the Salt Lake last night,and the dressing room is verydisappointed about it. We could-n’t capitalise on the chances wegot, but this is a process on thepitch and in the stands. Youturned up, we’ll keep attemptingto,” Chhetri tweeted.

PTI n AHMEDABAD

Naveen Kumar was the star as DabangDelhi on Wednesday beat defending

champions Bengaluru Bulls 44-38 to booktheir maiden summit clash berth in the ProKabaddi League here.

The Delhi team produced an all-roundperformance, with Naveen Kumar impress-ing with his raids (15 raid points) and AnilKumar dominating with his tackles (4points) to win in front of a packed stadiumat the EKA Arena by TransStadia.

This was the first time Debanag Delhihas qualified for the PKL final.

The Bulls, just like in the Eliminatoragainst UP Yoddha, had a slow start, withDelhi dominating the first few plays.Ravinder Pahal seemed keen to maintainhis dominance in duels against PawanSehrawat and started the match with a cleanankle hold of the ‘High flyer’.

Delhi dominated in all departments,with Naveen Kumar spearheading theattack, and inflicted the first All-Out of thematch in the fifth minute to open up a 6-point lead.

Pawan secured a three-point Super Raidin the seventh minute to reduce the mar-gin but Delhi maintained their momentumthanks to an unstoppable Naveen Kumar.They inflicted another All-Out in the 13thminute to open up an 11-point lead asNaveen Kumar secured another Super 10(his 20th consecutive).

Naveen did make a rookie error as hefailed to complete a raid on time which gavethe Bulls some hope going into the break.Delhi led Bulls 26-18 at half time.

The Bulls opted for a more aggressiveapproach in the second half with thedefenders consistently getting better of theDelhi raiders in do-or-die situations.

But what makes Delhi a complete unitis the presence of versatile all-rounders andthe likes of Chandran Ranjit and Vijaystepped up with valuable raid and tacklepoints to always maintain a healthy lead ofsix or seven points.

Delhi were aware of what PawanSehrawat could do on the mat and werekeen on keeping the league’s best raider inthe dugout as much as possible. Bulls’ starraider spent more than 20 minutes awayfrom the mat as they struggled to reduceDelhi’s lead.

At the other end, Delhi ensured NaveenKumar spent very little time on the bench,and that helped them sure another All-Outwith three minutes left in the match.

Despite Pawan’s attempts in the last fewminutes, Delhi defenders held firm to clincha berth in the grand finale on Saturday.

AFP n PARIS

Argentina striker MauroIcardi said Wednesday he

was enjoying the focus beingback on football and away fromhis private life at French clubParis Saint-Germain.

The former Inter Milancaptain arrived in the Frenchcapital on loan this season andafter recovering from injury hasscored two goals in theChampions League and Ligue 1.

"In Italy a vicious circle hadbeen created in certain journal-istic circles where we alwaysended up talking a little toomuch about anything concern-ing me," Icardi said in an inter-view with Italian sports dailyGazzetta Dello Sport.

"Here in Paris it's not likethis."

Icardi was the joint top-scorer in Serie A in 2017-18with 29 goals. But last season,he was stripped of the club cap-taincy amid a long contract dis-pute and later barred from fulltraining.

The 26-year-old's life withhis television host wife WandaNara, who is also his agent, hadalso become the focus of manyreports.

Despite parting on badterms the forward said he hadno hard feelings towards theItalian club he joined in 2013and scored 120 goals in just over220 matches.

"I can only wish the best forInter in every competition,"said Icardi.

"I'm good now, I'm up andrunning again even if I have tokeep working because I had acomplicated summer and Iwasn't one hundred percentwhen I arrived in Paris."

PSG are unbeaten on top ofLigue 1, and are also leadingtheir Champions League group

which includes Real Madrid."I've always been used to

pressure but I think it helps thatwe've almost always won so far,"said the former Sampdoriaplayer.

"It's a little different thanInter even though I don't havea real yardstick to comparebecause I haven't played inother great teams in the past.

"PSG has the right playersto do well but the Championsis a trophy coveted by all thegreat teams."

Icardi said he had settled into life in France even if he stillconsidered Milan his home.

"I didn't expect so muchsupport from the fans.

"They welcomed me rightfrom my first warm-up at Parcdes Princes. I then had the goodfortune of playing right awayagainst Real Madrid, beforepicking up a slight injury.

"(PSG coach Thomas)Tuchel is very friendly with theplayers. He talks a lot, jokes,tried to put me at ease from dayone.

"I think I made a goodimpression on him.

"Neymar, (Kylian) Mbappé,(Edinson) Cavani, are all strongplayers.

"It is nice to play with starplayers who change matcheseven at the last minute, likeNeymar does."

Icardi added that he had ahealthy competition withUruguayan striker Cavani.

"With Edy I have a greatrelationship. It's not rivalry,just healthy competition," saidIcardi.

"In this period Edy wasinjured so I had the chance toplay immediately.

"When he comes back, itwill be up to the coach tochoose the best one to sendonto the pitch."

Sunil Chhetri is surrounded by Bangladeshi defenders during WC qualifiers IFT

Team will learn fromB’desh draw: Bhutia

Icardi relieved focusback on football

Nikhat to approachRijiju as BFI backsMary for Oly qualifier

Nikhat to approachRijiju as BFI backsMary for Oly qualifier

Last minute successRodrigo’s injury time equaliser takes Spain to Euro 2020; Italy maintainperfect record

Italy players celebrate after scoring fifth goal against Liechtenstein during Euro 2020 qualifiers AP

Rodrigo Moreno celebrates with his Spain teammates after scoring equaliser against Sweden AP

Delhi, Bengal to play PKL final

Manju has no plans for 2020 Olympics

Manju Rani poses with World C’ship Silver PTI

kg, which is not Olympicweight category. She cannotparticipate in the Tokyogames.

The only situation inwhich she can play in Japanesecapital was if she switches to 51kg or higher. But since 2012Olympic Bronze medallist MCMary Kom is expected to rep-resent India in that, Manju did-n’t even want to think aboutchallenging her and insteadfocus on the future events.

“I have a dream to com-pete in the Olympics since dayone of my introduction tothis sport. But right now I am

focused on preparing myselffor 2024 Paris games. Franklyspeaking, I have no plans for2020. For Tokyo, Mary didi haivo jayengi (Mary Kom is there,she will go). I want to preparemyself for the games afterthat,” she responded clearlywhen asked about 2020 games.

“At present, I aim to estab-lish myself in the 48kg catego-ry and perform. And with timeI will think about switching tohigher weight category andplay in the Olympics,” shesaid during the felicitationceremony organized by BoxingFederation of India.

‘No decision yet on Ashwin KXIP future’

Anil Kumble poses for photo with Kings XI Punjab new jersey