In FDI push, Centre allows 49% foreign ownership in AI

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The Centre on Wednesdayeased several foreign directinvestment norms, includingallowing overseas airlines toown up to 49% of Air Indiaand permitting 100% FDI insingle brand retail and construction development under the automatic route.

The Union Cabinet allowed foreign airlines to invest up to 49% under the approval route in Air India,“subject to the conditionsthat: (i) foreign investment(s)in Air India, including that offoreign airline(s), shall notexceed 49% either directlyor indirectly and (ii) substantial ownership and e�ectivecontrol of Air India shall continue to be vested in an Indian national.”

The move comes close onthe heels of Singapore Airlines and Tata Group evincing interest in bidding for thedebtladen national carrier.

As per the present policy,foreign airlines are allowedto invest under the government approval route in thecapital of Indian companiesoperating scheduled andnonscheduled air transportservices, up to the limit of49% of their paidup capital.

However, this provisionwas not applicable to Air In

dia. The government, therefore, decided to do awaywith this restriction.

“Now Air India is on a parwith other Indian airline operators with respect to FDInorms,” said Jatin Aneja,partner and national practice head — project & project�nance, Shardul AmarchandMangaldas & Co. “This wasmuch needed in light of theproposed privatisation of AirIndia and should hopefullybolster the prospects of AirIndia’s privatisation.”

More jobs The changes to the FDInorms would trigger signi�cant interest in the carrierfrom foreign airlines, KapilKaul, CEO, Indian subcontinent & Middle East, Centrefor Asia Paci�c Aviation (CA

PA), said, adding that the actual terms of the o�er andconditions attached woulddetermine the level of participation in the bids. “I seefour to six serious bids forAir India subject to bid conditions,” he added.

CAPA anticipates that thedivestment would help spurmore jobs and growth in AirIndia. “I don’t see any significant near term risks to employees and likely challengeswill be addressed by the government,” Mr. Kaul said.

CAPA India, in October2017, recommended that thegovernment exit Air Indiacompletely. “Any level ofequity retention will deterinvestors due to concernsabout the prospect of continued government interference postprivatisation,” it

had said at the time. “No major Indian corporation fromoutside of aviation will investin such a complex projectwithout an experienced strategic partner. Allowing foreign airlines to participatewill increase the number ofinterested bidders and thevaluation.”

The government may, however, have to face opposition to its plans to diveststake in Air India. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourismand Culture, in a draft report, is said to have described Air India as a “national pride” and urged thatthe airline be “given achance for at least �ve yearsto revive.”

In FDI push, Centre allows49% foreign ownership in AIEasing of norms puts national carrier on par with other Indian airline companies

Special Correspondent

New Delhi/Mumbai

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10

SC to hear plea for

SIT probe into murders

of rationalists

Page 5

K. Sivan appointed

Secretary of

Department of Space

Page 7

Steve Bannon leaves

Breitbart News in

post-book storm

2

French actor Catherine

Deneuve calls #MeToo

campaign a witch-hunt

Page 18

NEARBY

In some relief for the 1984Sikh riots victims who havewaited decades for justice,the Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to set up itsown Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) headed by aformer High Court judge toindependently probe 186cases not investigated further by the Centre’s SIT.

A Bench, led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said thethreemember SIT would also have two police o�cers,

one serving and one retired.On the government’s in

sistence, the Bench postedthe matter for January 11 sothat the Centre, representedby Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, and senior advocate H.S. Phoolka,who is appearing for the victims, could suggest namesfor the SIT.

“Regard being had to thenature of the cases, we thinkit appropriate that a freshSIT be constituted for carrying on further investigation,”the court said. It said that be

sides the retired HC judge,the members would be aformer IPS o�cer not belowor equivalent to the rank ofan IG and a serving IPS o�cer, all available in Delhi.

When the victims recalledthat such a SIT had earlierbeen quashed following objections raised that investigation was the police forteand not the court’s, ChiefJustice Misra replied categorically: “That is history.This is we [Supreme Court]who are doing it.”

Krishnadas Rajagopal

NEW DELHI

Supreme Court to form SIT toprobe 186 anti-Sikh riot cases


When director G. Aravindanreached Thirunavaya, onthe banks of theBharathapuzha, fourdecades ago with a group ofactors and circus artists, theriver was not on its deathbed. With its clear watersand stunning sandbanks, itformed a majestic setting forhis National Awardwinningdocumentary feature,Thampu (‘Circus Tent’). Buttoday, with the riverstruggling for survival, the�lm’s ageing crew areplanning a rescue.

“Now the Bharathapuzhahas shrunk to a trickle. Itdoesn’t even meet drinkingand irrigation needs. Thevillage, too, has lost itssheen,’’ says actor V.K.Sreeraman, who made his

debut with Thampu. It waswhile sharing his concernswith actor Nedumudi Venu,who also starred in the �lm,that an idea was born: toobserve the 40thanniversary of its release asan occasion to explore ways

of giving the river a newlease of life.

Revival planDuring March �rst week,artists and technicians whoworked on the �lm willthrong the banks of the

river, along withAravindan’s friends andrelatives, to discuss therevival. River protectionactivists also will take part inthe daylong event.

“Aravindan died 26 yearsago. Bharath Gopi, whoplayed a major role in the�lm, died nine years ago.Very few of the artists andtechnicians are now alive,and they include Jalaja,Nedumudi and me. We willall come,’’ Mr. Sreeramantold The Hindu.

Sreedharan Champad,the circus artistturnedwriter who has chronicledthe history of Indian circus,will be there. “He helpedAravindan understandcircus. Local residentKunhumohammed, whoarranged stay facilities forthe shooting, will attend.

Singer Kavalam Sreekumarwill organise a musicalevening in memory of hisfather, Kavalam NarayanaPanicker,” Mr. Sreeramansaid. Shaji N. Karun, whodid the camera work, andAravindan’s close friend,artist Namboodiri, are alsolikely to attend. The meetingwill also pay homage toenvironmentalist IndyanurGopi, who devoted his life toprotecting the river.

Released in 1978, Thampufollows the events thatunfold when a circus troupearrives in the (then) villageof Thirunavaya inMalappuram district.

“Many of the localchildren had acted in the�lm. Those who were agedten then are now 50. We willask them to come for thisevent,” Mr. Sreeraman said.

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After 40 years, ‘Thampu’ returns, to save a river

K.A. Shaji

Palakkad

Cast of G. Aravindan’s famous �lm will dedicate its 40th anniversary to the Bharathapuzha

Entranced: Aravindan, right, Nedumudi Venu and singerNjeralath Ramapoduval near the Bharathapuzha in 1978.

Hard times: Migratory Ruddy Shelducks hunt for food in the Brahmaputra in Morigaon district of Assam on Wednesday. Due tohigh silt deposit in the river, these ducks are having a tough time �nding food this year. * RITU RAJ KONWAR

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Desperate search

The Bar Council of India,the country’s apex lawyers’ body, on Wednesday asked Members of Parliament and StateAssembly legislators, whodouble up as advocates, torespond on why theyshould not be banned fromlegal practice.

An expert committee ofthe Bar Council of India(BCI) is considering a plea�led by Supreme Court advocate Ashwini Upadhyayto ban lawmakers — Members of Parliament andMembers of the State Legislative Assemblies — whopractise as advocates, saying they are salaried publicservants and cannot ridetwo horses at the sametime.

Comments sought“The committee, after considering the representationof the petitioner, has decided to issue notice to theMPs/MLAs and has invitedtheir comments with regard to the representation,” the BCI said.

“The Council hasthought it just and properto seek the comments ofthose MPs, MLAs or MLCswho are in legal practice,before taking any �nal decision in this matter,” theBCI said in a statement.

BCI notice toMPs, MLAs onlegal practice

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI


In the wake of reports of analleged breach of the Aadhaar database last week, theUnique Identi�cation Authority of India (UIDAI) hasrolled out a twotier securityprocess that will come intoe�ect from June 1.

Aimed at eliminating theneed to share and store Aadhaar numbers, the UIDAIhas introduced the conceptof a virtual ID, which anAadhaar holder can use inlieu of his/her Aadhaarnumber at the time of authentication, besides sharingof ‘limited KYC’ with certainagencies.

“While it is important toensure that Aadhaar number holders can use theiridentity information to availmany products and services, the collection and storage of Aadhaar numbers by

various agencies has heightened privacy concerns,” acircular from the Ministry ofElectronics and IT said.

The move follows a report in The Tribune newspaper that allegedly exposed a data breach inAadhaar records.

A Virtual ID (VID) will bea temporary 16digit random number mapped withthe Aadhaar number. Therecan only be one active andvalid VID for an Aadhaarnumber at any given timeand it will not be possible toderive the Aadhaar numberfrom VID, the circular said.

The VID authenticationwill be similar to using Aadhaar numbers.

However, since a VID istemporary, agencies will notbe able to use it for deduplication.

New UIDAI process from June 1

Two-tier shieldfor Aadhaar data


NEW DELHI

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 1O

The Supreme Court onWednesday questioned arevised education code followed by the 1,125 Centralgovernmentrun KendriyaVidyalayas (KVs), whichcompels students to reciteSanskrit and Hindi verseswith joined palms andclosed eyes during morning assembly or face humiliation in front of the entireschool.

Represented by advocates Satya Mitra and Pallavi Sharma, petitioner Veenayak Shah said therevised code violated Articles 19 (right to freedom ofspeech and expression)and Article 28 (1), whichprohibits the state fromproviding religious instruction in an educational institution run on public funds.

KVs asked to clarify onprayer verses

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI


DELHI METRO A 6 PAGES

While the Congress said thedecisions exposed PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s“doublespeak”, the CPI(M)saw disastrous consequences for domestic retailtraders and shopkeepers.

Cong., CPI(M)slam move

FULL REPORT A PAGE 10

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City Edition

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Red Fort attack suspectarrested from airportNEW DELHI

A suspected LeT militant,

Bilal Ahmad Kawa, allegedly

involved in the 2000 Red

Fort attack was arrested in a

joint operation of the Delhi

Police’s Special Cell and the

Gujarat ATS from the Indira

Gandhi International Airport

here on Wednesday.

DELHI METRO A PAGE 1

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THE HINDU NOIDA/DELHI

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DELHI Timings

Thursday, January 11

RISE 07:15 SET 17:43

RISE 02:11 SET 13:40

Friday, January 12

RISE 07:15 SET 17:44

RISE 03:05 SET 14:18

Saturday, January 13

RISE 07:15 SET 17:45

RISE 03:57 SET 14:58

The Rajasthan Pradesh Congress has revoked the suspension of in�uential Dalitleader Babulal Nagar, whowas a Minister in the previous Ashok Gehlot government, a year after he was acquitted by a sessions court ina rape case. Mr. Nagar waslodged in jail for three yearsduring trial of the case.

Mr. Nagar, 57, a threetimeCongress MLA, holds considerable clout in the Duduregion of Jaipur district,which falls under the AjmerLok Sabha constituency. Abyelection is due here laterthis month.

He was suspended fromthe party’s primary membership in October 2013 after he was arrested by theCBI in a rape case registeredby a married woman. The

34yearold woman had accused Mr. Nagar of sexuallyassaulting her on the pretextof getting her a governmentjob. Mr. Nagar, who failed tosecure bail during trial, resigned as Minister.

The sessions court acquitted him on January 30, 2017,holding that the prosecutionhad failed to prove its case“beyond reasonable doubt”.

The Congress has ostensi

bly decided to take him backin the party fold, a year afterhis acquittal, in view of hisutility in the Dudu Assemblyconstituency for the January29 byelection.

‘Not due to bypoll’While political observers believe that he has been inducted to improve the party’s electoral prospects, Mr.Nagar denied that the revocation of his suspension hadanything to do with the byelection. “I have been a committed Congress workerthroughout my life. Therewas no way I could be keptout of the party,” he told TheHindu on Wednesday.

Though Mr. Nagar is considered a loyalist of Mr. Gehlot, his relations with Pradesh Congress presidentSachin Pilot have improvedsince his acquittal.

Cong. revokes Dalitleader’s suspension Three-time MLA holds considerable clout in Dudu region


JAIPUR

Back in the party fold:Babulal Nagar *

The Punjab government onWednesday cleared 1.15 lakhmore farm loan waiver casesamounting to �580 crore, ano�cial spokesperson said.

The amount will be disbursed before January 31.

Chief Minister AmarinderSingh reviewed the progressof the scheme he hadlaunched in Mansa districton Sunday during a meetingwith the o�cials and Ministers, including Finance Minister Manpreet Badal.

After the waiver certi�

cates are given to the farmers, the State governmentwould cover 1.60 lakh smalland marginal farmers with aloan amount of �748 crore.

The spokesperson saidthe modalities for disbursing the amount were beingworked out.

The o�cials decided topublicly present the certi�cates to farmers to ensurethat they are not misled bythe Opposition parties or kisan unions seeking to promote “false propaganda”,according to thespokesperson.

Press Trust of India

Chandigarh

Punjab waives 1.15 lakhmore farm loans

The Uttar Pradesh police have arrested two criminals, Raja and Aditya Rana, in separate encounters inMeerut and Bijnor on Wednesday.

The police had announced a reward of �50,000 on Raja and �1 lakhon Aditya Rana.

Raja was arrested by the SpecialTask Force (STF) sleuths when hewas found riding a motorcycle onAbdullahpurBhimnagar road. During the encounter, he was hit by abullet in his leg and taken to the district hospital.

The other criminal, Aditya Rana,was involved in an encounter withthe police at Bijnor. However, hemanaged to escape and later surrendered at a local court.

Brijesh Singh, the Circle O�cer ofSTF Meerut, told the media that the

STF was looking for him in severalcases of robbery and loot.

“We got a tipo� that Raja wasseen on AbdullahpurBhimnagarroad. We reached there and askedhim to stop. But he �red. In retaliatory �ring, he got injured in his leg andfell o� the bike. We arrested him andadmitted him to a hospital. He iswanted in a petrol pump loot case,”Mr. Singh said.

According to Mr. Singh, there are30 FIRs for cases of loot, murder androbbery �led against Rana, who belongs to Rana Nagla village in Bijnor,at various police stations of westernUttar Pradesh. Rana had escapedfrom the custody of the Moradabadpolice in 2017 after which the STFand the State police were on the lookout for him but every time he managed to �ee after �ring at the police,said Mr. Singh.

Two criminals held afterseparate encounters Staff reporter

Meerut


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The unsolved murders ofKendriya Sahitya Akademiawardee and antisuperstition activist M.M. Kalburgiand activists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansarecame under the SupremeCourt’s scanner on Wednesday, with a plea saying thatthe same organisation andgunmen were behind allthree crimes.

The court agreed to examine a plea by Prof. Kalburgi’s widow, Umadevi, for acoordinated probe into hismurder by a special investigation team, supervised by aretired judge of the HighCourt or the Supreme Court.

Ms. Umadevi said her husband’s murder should be investigated taking into consideration the common links itshares with the killings of Dr.Dabholkar and Mr. Pansare.

A threejudge Bench, ledby Chief Justice of India Di

pak Misra, issued notice tothe Centre, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), theCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the State governments of Karnataka,Maharashtra and Goa, askingthem to respond in sixweeks. Dr. Dabholkar was

murdered on August 20,2013, in Pune. Pansare, whowas shot on February 16,2015 in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, died four days later, justa few months before themurder of Prof. Kalburgi onAugust 30, 2015. Ms. Umadevi believed the murder wea

pon used to kill Pansare andProf. Kalburgi were thesame.

“All three were abused,threatened by certain sections of the society,” Ms.Umadevi’s advocates Krishan Kumar and Abhya Nevagi,submitted.

‘Punish the killer’

Prof. Kalburgi was shot deadin Dharwad in broad daylight. The murder, she said,“left every rightminded person in society shellshocked”and should not gounpunished.

Ms. Umadevi argued thatinvestigation by the Karnataka Police had meandered over the past three years despite assurances from theState that the “biggest manhunt” by the State C.I.D. wasunderway. She alleged thesame shooters may be involved in the Goa bombblasts of 2009 and may have�ed the country.

In her writ petition, sheasked the Supreme Court touse its extraordinary constitutional powers to order aninvestigation by a specialteam of the Karnataka Police, supervised by a retiredSupreme Court or HighCourt judge.

Ms. Umadevi urged theSupreme Court to issue a direction to Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa governments,the CBI and the NIA for acoordinated probe. She expressed fears that the probeinto her husband’s murderwould “casually drift towards its conclusion with thepossibility of the o�endersgoing unpunished.”

The petition said the NIAhad sought the arrest of theshooters in the Dabholkarand Pansare murders andthe Goa bomb blasts case.The blasts were probed bythe NIA. Only some accusedwere tried, and the trial ended in their acquittal.

Rationalists’ killings: SC to hear pleaKalburgi’s wife says his murder was linked to Dhabolkar and Pansare incidents, seeks SIT probe

Krishnadas Rajagopal

New Delhi

Murders most foul: A �le picture of Umadevi Kalburgi, centre,leading a silent march in Dharwad to mark the �rst deathanniversary of Kalburgi.

The Ernakulam rural policehave arrested two personsin connection with the alleged forcible conversion ofa 25yearold woman withthe intention of taking herto Syria to join the IslamicState. The arrested havebeen identi�ed as Fawas Jamal and Siyad, both nativesof North Paravur. A policeo�cer said the duo hadbeen picked up for allegedlyaiding Muhammad Riyas,key accused in the case, inconverting the woman.

“Interrogation of the duois crucial in ascertainingwhether her conversion waspart of a deliberate attemptto take her to the IS. Thosearrested will be producedbefore a magistrate byThursday,” the o�cer said.

The police have con�rmed that Riyas, a native ofNew Mahe near Thalassery,had �ed the country. It was

alleged that Riyas hadlocked up the woman at ahouse in North Paravur forsome time before �eeing toSaudi Arabia.

The woman, a native ofPathanamthitta who grewup in Gujarat, had met Riyaswhile studying in Bengaluruin 2014. Later, he allegedlyforced her to have physicalrelationship with him. Herecorded the act and used itto threaten her into continuing sexual relations.

Later, he made the woman join a madrasa andforged documents, including her Aadhaar card, to re�ect her new Muslim name.The accused also allegedlyused these documents to gettheir marriage registered inMay 2016. After reachingSaudi Arabia, Riyaz allegedly made the woman watchvideos of Islamic preacherZakir Naik but a few monthslater, she contacted her family and �ew back to India.

Staff Reporter

KOCHI

2 held in Kerala

conversion case

On Tuesday, one hundredvillagers from Chowdadenahalli Dalit Colony in Chintamani taluk of Karnataka’sChickballapur district received the unusual quantumof 126 kg of rice each.

They had been strugglingto get their share of foodgrain from the public distribution system (PDS) for ayearandahalf. It had beendenied to them allegedly because their Aadhaar numbers were not linked to theirBPL cards. In desperation,the 22 Dalit families went ona peaceful protest on Monday, eating only roots andleaves to highlight the government’s apathy. As word

spread across the district,the authorities scrambled tocontrol the damage. In lessthan 48 hours, they not onlyreceived their rations — 7 kgof rice per head — but also arrears for 18 months. “This is

a huge victory for us, but wehad to eat leaves and roots todraw attention,” said Bhagyamma, a resident.

The Chowdadenahalli Dalit Colony is located around12 km from Chintamani, the

taluk headquarters. It houses 47 Scheduled Caste families and has a population of218.

C.N. Nagesh, a 24yearoldwho works for an NGO, said,“The families were deprivedof rations as their �ngerprints had not been authenticated by the pointofsaledevice at the ration shop.The authorities did not heedtheir pleas even though theygave memorandums to thetehsildar, the Deputy Director, Food and Civil Supplies,and the Food Inspector inthe Deputy Commissioner’so�ce.”

Two other families saidthey got no rations for threeyears. They had valid documents and Aadhaar cards.

With no PDS rice, Dalits eat roots, leavesDenied rations because Aadhaar numbers were not linked to BPL cards

Crippling disconnect: Residents of the Chowdadenahalli DalitColony display their Aadhaar and BPL cards. * VISHWA KUNDAPURA

Vishwa Kundapura

Chowdadenahalli

Continuing his line of attackon the governing Congressin Karnataka, Bharatiya Janata Party national president Amit Shah on Wednesday accused it of pursuing“antiHindu” policies.

“Congress leaders in Karnataka are obsessed with appeasing a section of peoplefor electoral gains. The votebank politics will lead to theCongress party’s debacle inthe forthcoming Assemblyelections,” he said at a rallyorganised at Holalkere inChitradurga district as part

of the BJP’s ParivartanaYatra.

Mr. Shah alleged that 23activists of the BJP and theSangh Parivar had beenmurdered in Karnataka bymembers of “antinationalorganisations” in the lastthree years. Expressing displeasure that the culpritsresponsible for these killingswere still at large, he said theState government had failedto conduct a proper probeinto these incidents and arrest the culprits.

Lashing out at the Stategovernment for withdrawingcases �led against the Social

Democratic Party of India,he alleged that for votebankgains, the Congress government had adopted a softstand towards organisationsthat promoted religiousfundamentalism.

After kickstarting the yatra in Bengaluru on November 2, this is the second programme being held as partof the prepoll campaign inthe State in which Mr. Shahparticipated.

Holalkere town wasdraped in sa�ron for theconvention, in which a largenumber of BJP activists participated.

‘It is appeasing a section of people in Karnataka for polls’

P.M. Veerendra

Holalkere

Congress has ‘anti-Hindu’policies, says Amit Shah

HC grants Suresh Gopianticipatory bailKOCHI

Actor and BJP MP Suresh

Gopi was granted

anticipatory bail on

Wednesday by the Kerala

High Court in a case filed

against him for allegedly

forging documents to

register his two luxury cars in

Puducherry with a view to

evading tax in Kerala. The

court ordered that he be

released on bail on executing

a bond for �1 lakh in the

event of his arrest.

IN BRIEF

SC adjourns hearing inLavalin caseNEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on

Wednesday adjourned the

hearing on a batch of appeals

in the SNC Lavalin corruption

case involving Kerala Chief

Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. A

Bench, led by Justice N.V.

Ramana, agreed to a plea for

adjournment made by

Additional Solicitor General

Pinky Anand, for the CBI. The

CBI has challenged the Kerala

High Court decision to

discharge Mr. Vijayan and two

others in the corruption case.

Bomb threat toSabarimala temple PATHANAMTHITTA

A bomb threat call received at

the police control room in

Sabarimala put the police on

their toes on Tuesday. The

police said they received a

phone call that “a nine

member team from Karnataka

carrying a bomb had set off to

Sabarimala”. Search

operations were conducted

and Thimmaraj, 29, was taken

into custody. The police

searched his team members

and found they were not

carrying any explosives.

Thimmaraj “identified” the

anonymous caller as his

father Umashankar, with

whom he was at loggerheads.


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NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU

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YKA ND-NDE

NATION

Banda Bahadur memorialto be spruced upMOHALI

Punjab’s Tourism and Cultural

Affairs Minister Navjot Singh

Sidhu on Wednesday

announced �24 lakh for the

development of Baba Banda

Singh Bahadur memorial in

Chappar Chiri here. Mr. Sidhu

said the fund would be used

for the development of the

site as well as to improve

facilities for tourists. PTI

IN BRIEF

Man attempts rape on 2minor girls, arrested MUZAFFARNAGAR

A 27yearold man allegedly

tried to rape two minor girls

after luring them to his

house, and was arrested. The

accused took the girls, both

78 years old, to his house in

Shamli district and tried to

rape them on Tuesday, the

police said. On hearing the

girls’ cries, neighbours rushed

to the house and beat up the

accused. PTI

300 cartons of liquorseized in dry Bihar GOPALGANJ

At least 300 cartons of liquor,

worth about �40 lakh, have

been seized in the district and

one person has been arrested

in this connection, an excise

department official said on

Wednesday. The liquor,

manufactured in Haryana, was

being brought in a container

truck bearing a fake Punjab

number. PTI

No hepatitis B death inKashmir: Health Minister JAMMU

There has been no death so

far due to hepatitis B in the

Kashmir division, State Health

Minister Bali Bhagat said on

Wednesday. Mr. Bhagat was

replying to a calling attention

motion moved by MLC Sajjad

Ahmad Kichloo in the

Legislative Assembly. “Two

deaths have been reported in

Jammu division so far and the

documentation process is

going on,” said Mr. Bhagat. PTI

Uttar Pradesh GovernorRam Naik has asked ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath toenact a new law to checkunauthorised use of the of�cial State emblem.

“The Governor has written a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath tobring a law, through thestate legislature, to checkthe use of state emblem byunauthorised persons,” aRaj Bhawan statement issued here on Wednesdaysaid.

“The emblem of thestate is an expression ofpride and authority and itsuse by unauthorised persons is wrong,” the statement said, adding that inthe absence of a law in thisregard it is unclear as towho all are authorised touse it.

The misuse of nationalemblem should be punishable but in the absence of arelevant law, people goscotfree, the statementsaid.

Governor Naik’s lettercomes days after theSpeaker of the State Assembly Hriday NarayanDixit issued directionsagainst the use of the o�cial State emblem by former legislators on theirletterheads.

‘Same rule applicable’ “Just as a person cannot

use the logo of a particularorganisation once he orshe leaves it, the same ruleis applicable here,” theSpeaker had said.

The U.P. Assembly Principal Secretary has informed former MLAs notto use the logo on their stationery materials.

U.P. Guv wants law to checkState emblem misusePRESS TRUST OF INDIA

lucknow

Madhya Pradesh District Collectors are performing a unique “duty” these days. During the ongoing EkatmaYatra, organised by the Stategovernment to collect metalto build a 108foot statue ofAdi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar in Khandwa district,the Collectors are seen welcoming the yatris by waving asa�ron �ag and carrying thecharan-paduka (symbolicfootwear) of Adi Shankaracharya on their head.

This act of the Collectorshas left the Opposition Congress fuming. Leader of theOpposition in the AssemblyAjay Singh has alleged thatthe Collectors are participating in the event to exhibitproximity to the ruling party,which is in violation of the civil services rules.

The Ekatma Yatra was

launched by Chief MinisterShivraj Singh Chouhan on December 19 in Ujjain district.On Tuesday, when the yatrawas beginning in Vidisha, District Collector Anil Suchariwas present at the venue, theBad Wale Mahadev temple,holding the sa�ron �ag.

As the administrative headof the district, the Collector

not only welcomed the yatra,but even did the puja of thecharan-paduka, along withseveral BJP leaders.

He walked several yardscarrying the charan-padukaof Adi Shankaracharya on hishead as a mark of respect forthe saint.

Mr. Suchari is not the onlyDistrict Collector to do so. Be

fore him, Damoh District Collector Srinivas Sharma wasseen holding the sa�ron �ag.Last week, Mandla DistrictCollector Su�a Faruqui welcomed the yatra, attendedthe puja with BJP leaders ofthe district and carried thecharan-paduka on her headfor nearly a kilometre.

The State BJP wasted notime in highlighting the act ofthe Collector. The party’sState media incharge, Lokendra Parashar, shared her pictures on Twitter, applaudingher gesture as an example ofcommunal harmony.

Angry OppositionThe incident, however, drewcriticism from the OppositionCongress whose Rajya SabhaMP Vivek Tankha tweeted:“Su�ya ji, this yatra is nothingbut pure politics. Collectorsand o�cers are best advisedto stay away from politics and

maintain a respectable distance from such over involvement. Not good for theircareers.”

The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly said hewould write to the Chief Secretary asking whether suchan act was allowed forbureaucrats.

‘Splurging public money’ “While misusing respectedAdi Shankaracharya ji’sname, the State governmentis splurging hardearned public money on the politicalcampaign,” Mr. Singh toldmedia persons.

Days after the yatra waslaunched, the Shankaracharya of the Dwarka Mutt,Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, had criticised the yatrasaying it was a governmentyatra which had nothing todo with the teachings of AdiShankaracharya.

M.P. yatra turns into Collectors’ editionOpposition fumes at DCs holding sa�ron �ags, participating in puja rituals during Ekatma Yatra


Bhopal

Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha Collector Anil Suchari carrying thecharan-paduka on his head during the Ekatma Yatra.

* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Eye-catching:: Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar on Wednesday hoisted a 100fthighnational �ag in front of the Ujjayanta Palace in Agartala. The Chief Minister made a switchfrom the regular white kurtapyjama, waistcoat and mu�er to a white ‘prince coat’ andKarakul hat for the event, thanks to the cold wave sweeping across the State. * ABHISEK SAHA

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Sarkar’s sartorial switch

Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

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

Forecast for Thursday: Dense to very dense fog at many/few/isolated places is likely over Bihar, east Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, west Uttar Pradesh, subHimalayan West Bengal,Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, north Rajasthan, Assam,Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura

city rain max min city rain max min

Agartala................. —.... 23.5...... 8.1 Kozhikode ............... —.... 34.2.... 24.2

Ahmedabad............ —.... 29.0.... 15.5 Kurnool ................... —.... 32.4.... 19.2

Aizawl ................... —.... 24.9...... 5.8 Lucknow.................. —.... 18.7...... 4.2

Allahabad .............. —.... 23.3...... 5.1 Madurai.................2.6.... 30.7.... 20.8

Bengaluru .............. —.... 28.3.... 18.2 Mangaluru............... —.... 35.5.... 20.6

Bhopal................... —.... 23.3...... 8.0 Mumbai................... —.... 33.0.... 17.2

Bhubaneswar ......... —.... 28.1.... 11.0 Mysuru.................... —.... 27.7.... 19.5

Chandigarh ............ —.... 22.0...... 4.8 New Delhi ............... —.... 23.4...... 6.8

Chennai ................. —.... 26.9.... 23.8 Patna ...................... —.... 13.6...... 6.9

Coimbatore..........0.4.... 27.5.... 19.8 Port Blair ................ —.... 30.4.... 24.7

Dehradun............... —.... 23.3...... 4.6 Puducherry.............. —.... 29.3.... 20.7

Gangtok................. —.... 13.3...... 4.0 Pune ....................... —.... 28.1.... 11.9

Goa ....................... —.... 31.7.... 20.0 Raipur ..................... —.... 28.1.... 13.0

Guwahati ............... —.... 24.8...... 8.5 Ranchi..................... —.... 24.8...... 6.2

Hubballi................. —.... 29.0.... 19.0 Shillong................... —.... 13.9...... 2.5

Hyderabad ............. —.... 29.7.... 14.8 Shimla..................... —.... 16.8...... 7.8

Imphal................... —.... 21.9...... 3.8 Srinagar .................. —.... 10.2.....-6.3

Jaipur .................... —.... 24.3...... 7.0 Trivandrum ............. —.... 34.7.... 23.6

Kochi..................... —.... 32.0.... 23.4 Tiruchi ................10.4.... 26.6.... 21.2

Kohima.................. —.... 20.2...... 4.7 Vijayawada .............. —.... 29.9.... 19.2

Kolkata.................. —.... 23.6.... 10.9 Visakhapatnam ......... —.... 29.3.... 19.4

Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday

CITIES SO2 NO2 COPM2.5PM10CODE

In observation made at 4.00 p.m.,Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh recorded anoverall air quality index (AQI)score of 436 indicating anunhealthy level of pollution. In contrast, Tirupati recorded a moderate AQI score of 105

Ahmedabad........58..6543 ..129 .....— ....*

Bengaluru ......... ..6..4949 ..... — ...84 ....*

Chennai .............32..2486 ..134 .....— ....*

Delhi..................3113996 ..407 .423 ....*

Hyderabad .........10..7550 ..165 .149 ....*

Kolkata ............. ..— ...— .— ..... — .....—.....—

Lucknow ........... ..7..5180 ..406 .....— ....*

Mumbai .............19..5272 ..... — .191 ....*

Pune ..................31..2361 ....75 .105 ....*

Vishakhapatnam.18..7046 ..209 .161 ....*

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

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

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

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

and monuments.

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

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

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

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

dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.

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

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

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

premature death in people with heart or lung disease

(Individual pollutant data for various cities are averages for the previous day)


#3 9 7 9 1 8




CMYK

A ND-NDE

NATION

The PSLV rocket, after a shocking falter four months ago, willreturn to the launch pad at Sriharikota on Friday.

A successful �ight of PSLVC40 is expected to put behindthe Indian light lift rocket’sfreak failure on August 31. During the forced hiatus, the Indian Space Research Organisation diagnosed why the nosecone of the previous C39 rocket did not release the satellite;it took necessary correctivesteps, o�cials said.

The launch is slated for 9.28a.m. from the Satish DhawanSpace Centre in Andhra Pradesh. The countdown is set tobegin Thursday morning.

Now among the world’s favourite and reliable commercial launchers for small satellites, the upcoming 42nd PSLVwill carry a total of 31 satellitesincluding 28 paid riders.

The main payload, the 710kg Cartosat2F, is the seventh

in the Cartosat2 series and isbuilt to work for �ve years.Said to have a high, submetreresolution, it is uno�ciallysaid to serve military surveillance purposes.

Small satellitesISRO is putting up two of itsown small satellites — a 100 kgmicro satellite and the 11kg nano satellite INS1C. There arealso 28 smaller customers.

The commercial satellitesinclude three 100kg class mi

cro satellites and 25 nanosats(110 kg) from Canada, Finland, France, Korea the U.K.and the U.S.

The PSLV has so farlaunched 209 small and medium satellites for foreign countries and earned revenue forthe commercial arm, AntrixCorporation Ltd.

ISRO will be trying a twoorbit feat with the PSLV for thesecond time. On Friday, just after 17 minutes from takeo�,the main satellite will be re

leased �rst into a 505km orbit, followed by 29 others.

Almost 1.5 hours later, microsat will be released into alower 359 km orbit. Betweenthe two orbits, the engine inthe fourth stage of the rocketwill be restarted twice duringthe course.

The �ight lasting 2 hoursand 21 minutes will be the longest of the PSLV, about six minutes longer than C35 whichwas launched in September2016.

PSLV all set to ferry 31 satellites tomorrow Cartosat-2F aimedat surveillance willbe main payload


Bengaluru

No problem screeningPadmavat in Goa: ParrikarPANAJI

If the film Padmavat has

been given a censor

certificate by the Central

Board of Film Certification

(CBFC), then the Goa

government does not have a

problem to screen it in

cinema halls, Chief Minister

Manohar Parrikar said here on

Wednesday.

IN BRIEF

Verdict in 3rd fodderscam case on Jan. 24 RANCHI

A special CBI court here will

pronounce its judgment in the

third of five fodder scam

cases against RJD chief Lalu

Prasad, who has been

convicted in two of them, on

January 24. The case relates

to the alleged fraudulent

withdrawal of �35.62 crore

from the Chaibasa treasury in

the 1990s. PTI

Minor fire onboardfrigate INS Shivalik

VISAKHAPATNAM

A minor fire occurred on INS

Shivalik, a stealth multirole

frigate, here in

Visakhapatnam on

Wednesday. According to

sources in the Eastern Naval

Command, the fire occurred

in the naval stores

compartment located in the

front side of the ship. It was

immediately put off and there

was not damage to

equipment and no one was

injured. INS Shivalik is the

lead ship in the Shivalik class

and is a multirole stealth

frigate, built by Mazagon

Dock, Mumbai. The ship is

undergoing refit at Naval

Dockyard.

CBSE, CISCE announceClass X, XII exam datesNEW DELHI

The Central Board of

Secondary Education has

announced the timetable for

Class X and Class XII

examinations. Both

examinations will begin on

March 5. The Class X

examination of Council for

the Indian School Certificate

Examinations begins on

February 26 and for Class XII

on February 7.

Rocket scientist K. Sivan, currently Directorof the Vikram SarabhaiSpace Centre, will bethe next Secretary ofthe Department ofSpace and Chairman ofthe Space Commissionand the Indian SpaceResearch Organisation,with a threeyear term.

Dr. Sivan will take over from A.S. Kiran Kumar as the ninth headof the country’s Spaceestablishment. Mr. Kiran Kumar ends histerm on January 14.

“Previous legendaryleaders such as VikramSarabhai and SatishDhawan have set highstandards for the department. It is a big responsibility and honouron me to take it forwardin their footsteps,” Dr.Sivan told The Hindu

from Sriharikota. Hisname was approved bythe AppointmentsCommittee of the Cabinet. An aeronauticalengineer from MadrasInstitute of Technologyand ME from Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, Dr. Sivan joinedISRO in 1982. He became Director of VSSCin June 2015.

He joined ISRO in1982 in the then youngPSLV project and hasbeen project director ofthe GSLV rocket.

K. Sivan will be newSpace SecretarySpecial Correspondent

BENGALURU

K. Sivan

One person was killed andat least four were injuredduring an Army recruitment drive in Rohtas district of Bihar on Wednesday. All the injured wereadmitted to Rohtas government hospital.

The drive has been going on for the past �ve daysat the Bihar Military Police(BMP) ground. A largenumber of aspirants fromneighbouring Gaya districthad come to the venue andwere asked to stand inqueue before the gate wasopened.

Eyewitnesses said thestampede occurred afterpolice canecharged aspirants who jostled to enterthe ground when it wasopened at 3.15 a.m. Five aspirants were injured. Mukesh Kumar, 20, from Gayadistrict died.

The angry aspirantsraised slogans against mismanagement at the recruitment centre but the situation was brought undercontrol and the recruitment drive was conducted.

Rush at Armyrecruitmentrally kills one

special correspondent

Patna

The IncomeTax Department on Wednesdaywarned people to “keepaway” from benami transactions, cautioning thatviolations under the newlyenacted law invites criminal prosecution and rigorous imprisonment up toseven years.

The department put outits alert in an advertisement published in leadingnational dailies.

Titled “Keep Away fromBenami Transactions,” itdescribed black money asa “crime against humanity” and urged “conscientious citizens to help thegovernment in eradicatingit.”

“Benamidar [in whosename benami property isstanding], bene�ciary[who actually paid consideration] and persons whoabet and induce benamitransactions are prosecutable and may face rigorousimprisonment up to 7years, besides being liableto pay �ne up to 25% of fairmarket value of benamiproperty,” the advertisement said.

7 years’ jailfor benamitransactions

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi

The Bombay High Court willhear on January 23 a plea�led by lawyers seeking aprobe by a retired SupremeCourt judge into the deathof judge B.H. Loya.

A Division Bench of Justices S.C. Dharmadhikariand B.H. Dangre was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition �led bythe Bombay Lawyers Association seeking an enquiryinto the events and circumstances surrounding thedeath of Loya in the light ofa news report.

Chronology of eventsThe PIL mentions the chronology of the events: deathof Sohrabuddin, his wifeKausar Bi, his aide TulsiramPrajapati, the transfer ofjudge J.T. Utpat and comingin of judge Loya. The PILthen quotes the article inThe Caravan magazine onNovember 21, 2017, aboutLoya’s sister Anuradha Biyani questioning her brother’sdeath.

The plea also points outhow Loya con�ded to his

sister that a senior judge had“o�ered him a bribe of �100crore in return for a favourable judgment,” as per thenews article.

The petition quotes thearticle in which Anuradhasays that she recounts theday when a BJP leader wasdischarged in the case and itwas soon after the newjudge came on board.

Counsel for the association told the court that thematter must be heard urgently as there are many rumours and versions behindthe death of Loya. TheBench will now hear thematter on January 23.

HC to hear PIL pleafor Loya death probe

Lawyers association cites media report


Mumbai

A �le picture of peopledemanding a probe intoJustice Loya’s death.

Gujarat, which houses a richpopulation of lions, will nowsee an exercise to �nd out iftigers also inhabit the State.

The last time a tiger wasspotted in Gujarat was wayback in 1985. Now, over threedecades later, a census hasbeen planned next month toascertain the presence of thestriped animal in the forestof Dang district.

The State forest department earlier sent a proposalto the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) forthe census after some mediareports suggested the presence of tigers in Dang.

The proposal was approved by the NTCA, a statutory body under the UnionMinistry of Environment and

Forests, Gujarat’s PrincipalChief Conservator of Forest(Wildlife), G.K. Sinha, said.

Till the early 1980s, therewere tigers in Gujarat, mainly inhabiting the forests ofDang, Narmada and Sabarkantha districts, he said.

“The last tiger died in aroad accident in Dang in1985. No tiger was seen in theState after that. Local peoplegenerally confuse hyenaswith tigers and that is how

they assume there are tigersin Gujarat forests,” Mr. Sinhasaid.

“We requested the NTCAto include Dang in the tigercensus because there are reports in the media about tigers having been sighted,” hesaid.

The forest departmentsent a team in July last yearto survey the area to ascertain the presence of tigers,but the report was negative.

Gujarat to count elusive tigersCensus to be held33 years after a bigcat was spotted

Numbers matter: The counting exercise in Dang will be part ofthe nationwide tiger census. * FILE PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK


Ahmedabad

A leopard mauled to deaththree children in di�erentvillages of Chhindwara district and ate one of them,an o�cial said.

Panic gripped the villages, all located in the fringearea of the district’s forestrange, following the attacks in the last three days.

“A leopard mauled todeath a 12yearold boy inJhirpani village last nightand ate half the body,” saiddivisional forest o�cer S.S.Udde. The feline also attacked a threeyearold girland a 10yearold boy onSunday. “Both the childrendied after su�ering criticalinjuries,” Mr. Udde said.

3 childrenmauled todeath in M.P.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Chhindwara

Gulberg case accusedheld after 16 years AHMEDABAD

An accused in the 2002

Gulberg Society massacre

case, absconding for almost

16 years, was arrested in the

city on Wednesday, police

said. Ashish Pandey, one of

the five absconding accused

in the case, was arrested from

Aslali locality by Crime Branch

sleuths, a police official said. PTI

The Andhra Pradesh wildlife authorities have prepared the ground for a safenesting season for Olive Ridley turtles along the 970km coastline from Srikakulam district to Nellore district.

An extensive plan to setup rookeries has been prepared under the in situ conservation method — collection of eggs and release ofhatchlings.

Olive Ridley’s conservation status is ‘Vulnerable’,according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red data. After a �eld study by the foreststa� in all districts to identify the locations, work on therookeries is in full swing. Baruva, Kalingapatnam, Kakinada, Machilipatnam, Hamsaladeevi and Nagayalankabeaches have been identi�ed as prime destinations ofthe turtles for nesting,which commences in January and ends in May.

“We have increased thenumber of rookeries from�ve in the last breeding season to 10 now, given thenesting grounds recordedalong the coastline in Krishna district last year. Fivenew locations have beenidenti�ed to set up the rookeries,” Divisional Forest Of

�cer (Wildlife – Eluru) V. Saibaba told The Hindu.

The �ve new places include Lankavenidibba, Nachugunta and Sorlagondiwhere mass nesting was observed in the previous seasons. In Krishna districtalone, including the KrishnaWildlife Sanctuary, morethan 88,500 eggs were conserved in the last season.The �sherfolk have alreadybeen alerted to be vigilantand urged to rescue the turtles from �shing nets.

Students will be educatedon the conservation methodand the need for care by thelocal communities.

“We are planning to openthe rookeries to studentsand local communities toshowcase our e�orts,” saidMr. Saibaba.

A.P. readies cosy nestsfor Olive RidleysT. Appala Naidu

MACHILIPATNAM

In safe hands: Wildlifeauthorities at a rookery inKrishna district.


#3 9 7 9 1 8




CMYK

A ND-NDE

EDITORIAL

faizan mustafa

There are striking similaritiesbetween the o�ence of‘theft’ and ‘adultery’ under

the Indian Penal Code. Encyclope-dia of Diderot & d’Alembert, Vol. 1(1751) also equated adultery withtheft: “adultery is, after homicide,the most punishable of all crimes,because it is the most cruel of allthefts.”

In 1707, English Lord Chief Justice John Holt stated that a manhaving sexual relations withanother man’s wife amounted to“the highest invasion of property.”Most societies abhor marital in�delity. Our Supreme Court tooheld that breaking a matrimonialhome is no less serious a crimethan breaking into a house and refused to strike down Section 497 ofthe Indian Penal Code (IPC), under which men can be prosecutedfor adultery.

On January 5, a threejudgebench headed by the Chief Justiceof India agreed to reexamine thevalidity of criminalising adultery

in the light of progress made bysociety.

The gender argumentUnder Section 497, a wife cannotprosecute her husband or his loverfor violating the socalled sanctityof a matrimonial home as the husband is not her exclusive propertybut a husband and only a husbandcan prosecute his wife’s paramourunder Section 198(2) of the Codeof Criminal Procedure, 1973. Moreover, if the husband has an a�airwith an unmarried woman, divorcee or widow, an o�ence of adultery is not made out againstanybody.

In e�ect, Section 497 of the IPCpunishes only the man for stealinganother man’s property, i.e. hiswife. The court treated Section497 as a special provision made bythe state in favour of women in exercise of its powers under Article15(3) of the Constitution (YusufAziz v. State of Bombay). The courtalso upheld the validity of theadultery provision by saying onlyan ‘outsider’ is liable and this exemption is basically a “reverse discrimination in favour of women”(Revathi v. Union of India). Sinceboth husband and wife cannotprosecute each other, an archaicadultery law was held as constitutionally valid.

Manu justi�ed heavy penaltiesfor adultery, including “death punishment… provided the convict isnot Brahmin.” What were the punishments prescribed for wiveswho violated conjugal �delity?The attitude towards erring wives,like the current law, was far moresympathetic than that towards unfaithful men. Islamic law too prescribes 100 lashes for adultery, de�ning it in extremely narrowterms, i.e. actual intercourse outside marriage.

It also has put the impossibleconditions of proof under whichfour witnesses of the act must testify. Moreover, if four witnesses donot testify, then the person making such an allegation againstanother person and witnesseswho testi�ed will be given 80 lashes and their evidence will never beaccepted in future. But both menand women are to be punished under Hindu and Islamic law. Judaism and Christianity too punished adultery with capital

punishment.Why did the British exempt wo

men while drafting the IPC? Infact, the �rst Law Commission thatdrafted the IPC, and under Thomas Babington Macaulay, did notinclude adultery as a crime andpreferred to have it only as a civilwrong. The second Law Commission headed by John Romilly didnot agree with Macaulay butspared women from punishmentfor adultery due to their deplorable condition. Much water has�owed under the bridge since1860, when the IPC came intoforce, with education, women empowerment and outlawing of polygamy.

Across the world Today, adultery is no more a criminal o�ence in most Europeancountries. In the U.S., adultery isgenerally punished in some statesonly if committed habitually orwith public notoriety. But in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Yemenand Pakistan, adultery continuesto be a capital o�ence.

The 42nd report of the LawCommission (1971), with some hesitation, recommended retentionof adultery provision as in its view,the time was not yet ripe to repealit but it did recommend makingthe law gender neutral and reduc

tion of punishment of imprisonment from �ve years to two years.In its 156th report, the Law Commission (1997) favoured the legislative initiative in reforming adultery law but, surprisingly, thecommission preferred retention of�ve years imprisonment.

The Justice Malimath Committee (2003) too strongly favouredpreservation of matrimonial sanctity and thus justi�ed retention ofa gender neutral adultery law. In2006, the National Commissionfor Women recommended thatadultery be decriminalised.

With individual autonomy andchoices being recognised as an integral part of the right to privacy,there is no justi�cation in retaining a dated adultery law.

Marriage being a civil contract,its breach either in adultery or divorce, including triple talaq,should have only civil consequences as no legitimate state interest isinvolved here which may justifythe use of the criminal justice system. The Supreme Court shouldremove adultery from the statutebook as living together is alreadylegal. Merely making it genderneutral will not su�ce.

Faizan Mustafa is Vice-Chancellor,

NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad

Not a criminal actMarriage is a civil contract — adultery or divorce should have only civil consequences

GE

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AG

ES/I

ST

OC

KP

HO

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more letters online:

www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

With the Union Budget tobe presented on February 1, it is hoped that the

Finance Minister will make a signi�cantly higher allocation for investment in infrastructure. It is vital for addressing rural distress.The Socio Economic and CasteCensus (SECC) informed us that‘landlessness and dependence onmanual casual labour for a livelihood are key deprivations facingrural families’, which make themfar more vulnerable toimpoverishment.

Based on indicatorsThe rural census, or SECC,mapped deprivation using sevenindicators: ‘households with akuchha house; without an adultmember in working age; headedby a woman and without an adultmale in working age; with a disabled member and without ablebodied adult; of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST); withoutliterate adults over 25 years; andthe landless engaged in manual labour. The more the number of parameters on which a household isdeprived, the worse its extent ofpoverty. Nearly 30% have two deprivations, 13% have three. Only0.01% su�er from all sevenhandicaps’.

While 48.5% of all rural households su�er from at least one deprivation indicator, “landless households engaged in manuallabour” are more vulnerable.

Nearly 54 million householdsare in the landlesslabourer category; assuming that each suchhousehold has �ve members, thatmakes 250 million of the nearly850900 million rural population.This number is almost certainly anunderestimate, since 84% of allthose who even hold agriculturalland are small and marginal

farmers.The intersection of any of the

six other handicaps with “landlesslabour” makes it more acute. TheSECC also said that ‘59% of households with kuchha houses arelandless labourers; similarly, 55%of those with no literate adultabove 25 years and 54% each ofSC/ST households and femaleheaded households without adultmale members are also landlesshouseholds. At the same time, 47%households without an adultmember of working age are landless labourers as are 45% of thosewith disabled members and noablebodied adult members’.

Farmer distressAlong with landless families, smalland marginal farmers are gettingpauperised and more engaged inmanual labour. The overall farmsize, which has been droppingsince the early 1970s, and downfrom the 2.25 hectares (ha) average to a 1.25 ha average in 2010,will continue to become evensmaller. For these farmers, agricultural incomes are also likely to fall,hastening the exodus from agriculture. In fact, farmer distress hasbeen growing, with the past yearwitnessing farmers protesting onthe streets in several States.

National Sample Survey (NSS)data show that there are two demographic groups which did reasonably well in labour market outcomes both in terms of job growthas well as wage growth between20045 and 201112; these were theyoung who were getting educated

at hitherto unheard of rates, andthe older, poorly educated cohortof landless labour in agriculture,who saw construction work risesharply.

However, the question is: doesthe economy have the capacity tocreate nonagricultural jobs forboth groups whose numbers willgrow over the next decade until2030? The young have been entering and remaining in education inunprecedented numbers for thelast two decades. Hence, as a result, while the young joining thelabour force has been just 2 million per annum between 20045and 201516, from this point onwards, the numbers of the youngwill indeed grow signi�cantly.

However, the numbers of landless and small and marginal farmers looking for nonagriculturalwork is an immediate and toppriority. Between 20045 and201112, the number of cultivatorsin rural areas fell from 160 millionto 141 million and the number oflandless labour from 85 million to69 million, both because theyfound nonagricultural work.

Construction employmentThe real net domestic product ofthe construction sector had onlyincreased at the annual rate of3.94% between 197071 and 199394. From 199394 to 200405 and200405 to 201112, the growthrate in the construction sector output accelerated to 7.92% and 11.5%,respectively. Consequently, theshare of the construction sector inrural output increased from 3.5%

in 197071 to 10.5% in 201112. Employment in the construction sector increased 13 times during thepast four decades, which led to itsshare in rural employment risingfrom 1.4% in 197273 to 10.7% in201112. This sector absorbed 74%of the new jobs created in nonfarm sectors in rural areas between 200405 and 201112. Thesetrends indicate that rural areaswitnessed a construction boom after 200405. Further, growth inemployment in the constructionsector was higher than outputgrowth during both periods underconsideration. One reason for themuch higher growth in the number of rural workers in construction over the manufacturing orservices sectors is that there arefewer skill and educational requirements in construction.

Construction employment grewat a remarkable rate from 19992000 onwards. While it employedonly 17 million in that year, thenumber jumped to 26 million by20045. However, what happenedafter that was totally unprecedented. It grew to 51 million by 201112,which is a doubling in seven yearsor a tripling in 12 years from theturn of the millennium.

This was possible because of thesustained growth in investment ininfrastructure, especially over the11th Five Year Plan period (200712) of $100 billion per annum, twothirds of which was public, andthe remainder private. In addition,there was a real boom in real estate, residential and commercial,throughout the country. However,private investment is now muchlower than earlier.

Construction is the main activity absorbing poorly educated rural labour in the rural and urbanareas. These workers are characterised, as noted above, by verylow levels of education. It is estimated from NSS and Labour Bureau data that the absolute number of those in construction whowere illiterate was 11 million in20045, but which rose to 19 million in 201112.

Construction jobs were growingso fast between 20045 and 20112

that the share of construction intotal jobs for 15 to 29 year olds inthe workforce doubled from 7.5%to 14%. Since then constructionjob growth has slowed, such thatthe share of construction in totalyouth employment fell to 13.3%.Construction jobs are growingmore slowly since 201112, as public investment has fallen. Andwith the rising nonperforming assets of banks, private investmenthas fallen as well. The result: fewerworkers have been leaving agriculture since 201112. From the 5 million leaving agriculture per annumbetween 20045 to 201112, thenumber is down to just over 1 million per annum between 201112 to201516.

This is hurting landless labourand small and marginal farmersthe most, since their householdshad bene�ted the most from thetightening of the labour marketthat had ensued in rural and urbanareas because of rising construction jobs. Rural demand in particular has risen, raising consumerdemand for simple manufacturedgoods, especially in the unorganised manufacturing sector, raisingemployment in those sectors especially in rural areas.

The Union government has sustained rural development expenditure for the last two years, especially for rural roads, under thePradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and rural housing under thePradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). The Surface Transport Ministry has also attempted to sustainpublic investment in infrastructure to generate construction jobsfor growing surplus rural labour.

The Budget for 201819 shouldsustain this public investment effort. The announcement that thegovernment plans to borrow anadditional �50,000 crore in this �nancial year, is welcome. Hopefully, the intention here is to raise public investment, especially forinfrastructure investment.

Santosh Mehrotra is professor of

economics and Chair of the Centre for

Labour, Jawaharlal Nehru University

The map of rural deprivationFor millions hit by agricultural distress, the escape to construction jobs is grinding to a halt

Santosh Mehrotra

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Now, an optionThe national anthem isbasically about patriotismand nationalism and is toinspire within all of usrespect and pride for thecountry. Playing it, even ina setting such as a cinemahall, is an opportunity tospread the message ofsacri�ce made by ourfreedom �ghters andinculcate a sense ofpatriotism within theyoung. Therefore, one isunable to digest theSupreme Court’s decisionof leaving the choice ofplaying the anthem or notto the discretion ofindividual cinema hallowners (“Playing ofnational anthem in cinemahalls made optional”,January 10).James Edwin Thomson,

Chennai

n After much debate,discussion and protest, thecourt’s decision on the issueis a welcome one. However,the top court should haveissued an order for all to singthe anthem instead of havingan instrumental rendition.Merely playing instrumentsmakes no sense. Singing itwill make people understandthe meaning of the song,invoking a sense of love fornational integrity andevoking patriotism.V.P. Dhananjayan,

Chennai

n As citizens of this greatland, it is our fundamentalduty to respect the anthem.But patriotism should become from within the heartand one cannot be forced toexpress this. It could havebeen made mandatory as it isnot a burden being imposed

on citizens. If a small issuesuch as this cannot beimplemented, it is certainly afailure of the system.Irrespective of the fact thatthe unity of the nation willalways be certain, there isstill a need to remind thepublic of the need to upholdthis and pay respect to thenation. Forming a 12member panel to take a callon the issue is just a waste oftime, energy and taxpayers’money. C.K. Subramaniam,

Navi Mumbai

n Patriotism can never bemixed with entertainment.However, if the governmentreally wants to keeppatriotism in focus, it shouldtake the initiative of ensuringthat playing the anthem ismade mandatory in allgovernment o�ces, public

transport systems and publicspaces. There should even bea rule about the time itshould be sung. It appears asif respect towards theanthem remains intact onlyin educational institutions.Navneet Seth,

Dhuri, Punjab

n There have been occasionswhere I have witnesseddisrespect being shown tothe anthem, two of thembeing international �lmfestivals. Imposing playing ofthe anthem should be limitedto government functions ofimportance so thatcontroversy can be avoided.Entertainment programmesand festivals must be keptout of its ambit. Imposing thecriterion of playing theanthem in all private andpublic functions will onlypave the way for intolerance.

electronic voting machine?Giri T.,

Bengaluru

Neutral venues Bilateral cricket Test serieshave become less interesting.Strengthened by unduehome advantages, the hostoften prevails over thevisitors. Except in rare cases,when the opponents show amarked di�erence in the Testranking, the host continuesto take a series win. It ispathetic to see a better teamstruggling against the host.Therefore, it is time Testmatches are played atneutral venues. Here, bereftof the “home advantage”,both teams will strive hard toplay their best cricket. P.R. Krishnan,

Thrissur, Kerala

Perhaps the 12memberinterministerial committeewill consider these points.B. Prabha,

Varkala, Kerala

Data lossWhen my personal data areavailable in the market, andfor a song, how safe is thesystem is the question(“Editorial – “Data theft”,January 9). And whenAadhaar is increasingly beinglinked to multiple sources ofdata, the issue assumes greatimportance. Can thegovernment give all citizensan undertaking that it willcompensate us for such aloss if there is proof ofAadhaar ID leaks? If the government is so surethat it has a foolproofsystem, why does it not letcitizens �nd breaches as itwas done in the case of the

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

The United States’ H1B visa has for decades been a

source of nailbiting tension in India. The latest

case in point was a scare that President Donald

Trump’s administration was toying with the idea of new

regulations that would restrict extension of the visa by

those awaiting a green card. Leaving aside technical

reasons why such regulations may not take o�, the con

tentious history of the H1B visa should have given

pause to alarmist claims between 500,000 and

750,000 Indians in the U.S. would have to “selfde

port”. The majority of the 65,000 H1B regularcap vi

sas and 20,000 H1B advanceddegree visas made avail

able each year are scooped up by Indian nationals,

many assimilated into the backbone of the U.S. tech in

dustry. Nevertheless, given the number of times that

protectionist rhetoric has identi�ed this visa category

as a soft target, and the relatively high frequency of

spikes in political pressure to protect American jobs,

one would expect a more nuanced reaction than unbri

dled panic. In the past, even during the Obama admi

nistration, the bipartisan Comprehensive Immigration

Reform plan called for the tightening of qualifying con

ditions for the H1B visa. As recently as 2017, four bills

were tabled in the U.S. Congress mooting new propo

sals to clamp down on H1B visas. None came to frui

tion. The last salvo was Mr. Trump’s executive order in

April, which was accompanied by much �stbanging

but ultimately only called for modest changes, mainly a

multiagency study on what reforms are required.

The apparently endless cycles of heartache over the

H1B visa stem from a fundamental reality: that the visa

itself is designed to be a nonimmigrant entry ticket into

the U.S. economy, but over time it has metamorphosed

into a virtual pathway to permanent residency and citi

zenship, particularly in the case of Indian nationals.

Themost important reason for this is that most of these

“speciality occupation” workers — primarily experts in

�elds such as IT, �nance, accounting, and STEM sub

jects — �ll a real void in the U.S. labour force. It is not on

ly Indian tech �rms whose employees get awarded H1B

visas, but it is to a great extent a visa that Silicon Valley

giants such as Microsoft, Intel, Amazon, Facebook and

Qualcomm rely on for their sta�ng needs. Thus, there

is a selflimiting dimension to any reform that purports

to slash H1B allocations, so that no President or law

maker would want to be seen as causing economic pain

to the companies on whose coattails the U.S.’s reputa

tion as a global tech leader rides. Indian policymakers,

who appear to be aware of this subtle truth, should fo

cus their e�orts on quiet backchannel lobbying, and

eschew kneejerk reactions every time the “Buy Amer

ican, Hire American” rhetoric echoes in Washington.

Visa heartacheFears of Indians being deported from

the U.S. over the H1B visa may be alarmist

By making it optional for cinema halls to play the

national anthem before every show, the Supreme

Court has at last removed the coercive element it

had unfortunately introduced by an interim order in

November 2016. Laying down a judicial rule that the an

them must be played on certain occasions in speci�c

places, in the absence of any statutory provision to this

e�ect, was unnecessary and opened the court to charg

es of overreach. With the Centre saying this directive

could be placed on hold, and that it would set up an in

terministerial committee to recommend regulations

for the presentation of the national anthem, the court

has said it is not mandatory to play it in cinema halls.

The panel will also suggest changes in the Prevention of

Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, or in the Orders re

lating to the anthem issued from time to time. Justice

D.Y. Chandrachud, one of the three judges on the

Bench, had at an earlier hearing doubted the wisdom of

asking patrons of cinema to visibly demonstrate their

patriotism each time they entered a theatre to watch a

�lm, remarking that there was no need for an Indian to

“wear his patriotism on his sleeve”. He had asked at

what point would such “moral policing” stop if it were

to be prescribed that some kinds of apparel should not

be worn at the movies as they could amount to showing

disrespect to the national anthem. The court’s order al

so had some unintended, but not unforeseen, conse

quences. The audience began looking for signs of ‘dis

respect’ and there were reports of vigilantism, with

people beaten up or harangued for not standing up.

Even those who contend that “constitutional patrio

tism” and the demonstration of respect for the national

anthem require the framing of such mandatory mea

sures cannot explain why cinema houses should be sin

gled out or why such rules shouldn’t apply to other

halls or enclosures where meetings and performances

take place. This is not to suggest that symbols of nation

al honour are undeserving of respect. Neither is it to

question the idea that citizens must show due respect

whenever the anthem is played or the �ag is displayed.

But as the Bench has pointed out, “the prescription of

the place or occasion has to be made by the executive

keeping in view the concept of fundamental duties pro

vided under the Constitution and the law.” In a mature

democracy, there is really no need for any special em

phasis, much less any judicial direction, on the occa

sion and manner in which citizens ought to display and

demonstrate their patriotism. If rules are needed for

the purpose, it is for Parliament to prescribe them by

law. As subscribers to common democratic ideals, citi

zens should be presumed to have a natural respect for

symbols of national honour, and should not have to be

made unwilling participants in a coercive project.

Not by diktat aloneSupreme Court does right to make playing

of the national anthem before a �lm optional


#3 9 7 9 1 8

The Gujjars in Rajasthan, the Jats inHaryana and the Patels in Gujarathave shown that politically powerful communities nurturing a senseof victimhood can mount a powerful challenge to the Indian state.One of India’s foremost politicalcommentators, Rajni Kothari, hadonce agonised over this, expressinghis concern at “our incapacity and

our growing powerlessness before vested interests that haveacted in concert to take the system in completely di�erentdirections”.

With half, and in some instances more, of all educationaland job opportunities in the public sector going to candidates coming under the reserved category, there is some resonance to Hardik Patel’s demand made in 2015 to “eitherfree the country from reservations or make everybody theslave of reservations”. This is a widely shared feeling acrossthe country by communities feeling marginalised because ofa policy of reservation which was once limited, focussed aswell as necessary but is now spiralling out of control.

What the young are looking for today is not more of thesame — admissions to courses that lead to nowhere and lowentry jobs in the government. By empowering them withskills the world needs today and tomorrow, the governmentwill be building the country’s human capital far more quickly than any more reservations ever can.

Vocational, technical trainingThere is a lot of ground to be covered. The vocational training schemes in the country are inadequate and woefully behind the times with many addressing yesterday’s needs.There are some good schemes like those o�ered by the Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF) in Bengaluru butthey are simply too few.

Technical training is also constrained by a small educational base — 70% of India’s workforce is without tertiaryeducation — and a crippling lack of wellquali�ed trainers.Does it then come as a surprise that India, despite its youngworkforce, has never been able to challenge China in manufacturing? This needs to be acknowledged upfront as a major national catastrophe and tackled as such.

We have lost more than a decade in not complementing amass welfare scheme like the the Mahatma Gandhi NationalRural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) with abigger programme to train the young for employment. Oneoutcome of such neglect is that there is a clamour for morereservations that is bringing India to its knees, often with devastating e�ects. The sooner our politicians acknowledgeaddress this, the better it will be for India.

Uday Balakrishnan is a visiting faculty at Centre for ContemporaryStudies, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru

Uday Balakrishnan

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Thinking beyondquotasWe need to complement programmeslike the MGNREGS to skill the youth

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DATA POINT

The Proclamation of Emergency which was issued on October26, 1962 was revoked today [ January 10, New Delhi] by thePresident. This has been done under Article 352 of the Constitution. All those detained under the Emergency will now haveto be set free. Though there are no detenus under orders of theCentral Government there are over 800 persons in detentionfollowing the Emergency in the States of Assam, Manipur andJammu and Kashmir but they have been arrested by the StateGovernments and therefore appropriate action will have to betaken by them for their release.

FIFTY YEARS AGO JANUARY 11, 1968

Emergency revoked

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FROM ARCHIVES

Public attention in Portuguese India, says a correspondent, isfocussed on the administration of its new Governor GeneralSir Kreitas Ribeiro. With the object of exchanging views withthe representatives of the press regarding some of the projectswhich he proposes to undertake, His Excellency invited theEditors of the leading journals of the capital to meet him at hispalace. In the course of interview he referred to the issue of aloan for improvement of roads and inland communicationswhich he hoped would be covered by private subscriptions sothat there would be no need for him to have recourse to thefunds of corporations, the resources of which he reserved forother projects such as irrigation, direct communication withPortugal and laying out of the new city of Marmagoa.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO JANUARY 11, 1918.

Portuguese India.

Small �rm

e�ectFinance

Also known as the smallcap e�ect, this refers to atheory which states thatshares of companies withsmaller market capitalisation usually o�er higherreturns to investors thanlargecap stocks. One ofthe reasons is that smaller�rms generally have greater growth opportunitiesahead of them, which inturn leads to a greater appreciation of their stockprices. The small �rm effect was famously studiedby Nobel laureate EugeneFama and Kenneth Frenchin their 1992 paper “TheCrossSection of ExpectedStock Returns”.

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CONCEPTUAL

What you need to know

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The National Medical CommissionBill, aimed at reforming Indian medical education and practice, is introuble. After countrywide protestsby the Indian Medical Association,the Bill was referred by the Lok Sabha to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for a relook. Whatever be theoutcome of this exercise, the alteredBill is unlikely to please everyone.

This is because the questions itseeks to address are knotty, with nostraightforward answers. First, howcan India produce enough competent doctors to meet its evolvinghealthcare challenges? Second, howcan it minimise opportunities forrentseeking in medical educationand practice? So poorly did India’scurrent medical regulator, the Medical Council of India (MCI), performon both counts that policymakers believed the only way to redeem the body was to replace it.

MCI’s failuresThe MCI’s failures are well known.For years, it was mired in allegationsof bribery and going soft on unethical doctors. Under its stewardship,the medical curriculum grew obsolete, resulting in a cadre of MBBSdoctors who frequently couldn’t perform basic procedures. This led to arush among MBBS doctors to specialise, competing for a small number ofpostgraduation seats. Today, Indianeither has enough basic doctors,nor specialists.

Enter the National Medical Commission (NMC), intended by policymakers to be a dynamic regulatorresponsive to India’s needs, unlikethe opaque MCI. In contrast with theMCI, which does everything from advising universities on curriculum todisciplining errant doctors, the NMCdistributes powers among four autonomous boards — those for undergraduate education, postgraduateeducation, medical assessment andrating, and ethics and registration.Also, unlike the MCI, the commissionincludes nondoctors like patientrights advocates and ethicists, in linewith the medical regulators of the

U.K., Australia and Canada. Theseare all steps in the right direction.

Where the NMC bill trips up is inhow it chooses the members of thenew regulator. The authors of theNMC bill, a committee headed by exvice chairman of Niti Aayog, ArvindPanagariya, argued that the electoralprocess through which MCI members were picked was fundamentally�awed, because conscientious doctors tended to avoid such elections.Because there was no bar on reelections, this had created a revolvingdoor through which the same groupof members controlled the MCI foryears. Sometime around 2008, Gujarati urologist Ketan Desai was electedMCI president, even though he hadbeen prosecuted in the Delhi HighCourt for abusing power as presidentin 2001. Further, corruption chargesagainst Dr. Desai and his team led tothe MCI being disbanded in 2010.

The NMC Bill’s solution to the pitfalls of the electoral process is for thecentral government to select most ofthe commission’s members. But thiswould tip the scales towards bureaucracy, say experts. “The babudom is now extreme,” says Rama Baru, a healthpolicy researcher whoserved on the ethics committee ofthe MCI between 2012 and 2014.Such political hold on the commission is especially problematic, sheadds, given the close ties that privatemedical colleges in southern Indiahave with politicians. Ms. Baru is infavour of more elected members inthe commission, but with limitedterms of o�ce, so that corrupt members aren’t reelected.

Another option to keep the NMCfree from political in�uence is for an

independent body like the Union Public Service Commission to select itsmembers, says Sujatha K. Rao, aformer Union Health Secretary. Sucha model is followed in the U.K.,where the Professional StandardsAuthority oversees the selection ofmembers to the General MedicalCouncil. Whatever route the NMCtakes, it is critical that its membersare professionals of high integrity,something that isn’t ensured in thecurrent Bill. “Any law will succeed ifit is implemented by good people.The best law, if implemented by corrupt people, can fail,” says Ms. Rao.

Shortage of doctorsThe NMC Bill also misses an opportunity to plan for India’s rural healthcare needs in the coming decades.While it eases regulations to set upprivate medical colleges, a move thatwill hopefully produce more doctors, this measure isn’t enough. As oftoday, India has one doctor for 1,700people, compared to the WHO normof 1:1,000. Most of these doctors arein urban regions, while close to 70%of Indians live in rural provinces.This gap isn’t going to close any timesoon. A 2015 Parliamentary StandingCommittee report mentioned thateven if India were to add 100 medicalcolleges per year for �ve years, itwould take till 2029 to achieve theWHO prescribed ratio.

Even in States like Tamil Nadu,which has successfully attracted doctors to rural primary health centres(PHCs), tribal regions like Sittilingiare underserved and rely heavily oninformal healthcare providers, saysMeenakshi Gautham, a health policyresearcher at the London School of

Hygiene and Tropical medicine. Thisis why India must think of quicker �xes to the doctor shortage instead ofwaiting for MBBS doctors to �ll thegap. “We can’t ask populations hereto wait for ten years till we produceenough doctors. Neither can we waitfor rural areas to become urbanised,” she reasons.

Training non-doctorsSeveral subSaharan countries havesuccessfully addressed this problemby training nondoctors in basicmedicine and even surgery. Suchnondoctors include nurses, or eveninformal healthcare providers, oftenreferred to as quacks. A 2016 studypublished in Science magazineshowed that nine months of trainingled to a marked improvement in theability of informal providers in WestBengal to correctly manage chestpain, respiratory distress and childhood diarrhoea. International organisations like Médecins Sans Frontières and Red Cross have endorsedtraining programmes for nondoctors to carry out critical surgical procedures like caesarians and intestinalresections. Evidence from countrieslike Mozambique and Thailandshows that such training can be asafe, e�ective and cheap way to provide lifesaving health care when nodoctors are available. This is whyeven Chhattisgarh attempted tocreate a cadre of rural doctors in2001, through a threeyear programme. Even though the IndianMedical Association has strongly opposed such ideas, they cannot be o�the table, given the evidence backingthem. Ms. Gautham says it is time torecognise that MBBS doctors maynot be the best means of healthcaredelivery in isolated parts of rural India. The NMC Bill should, at the veryleast, include a provision to debatethis idea.

The 1956 Indian Medical CouncilAct, under which the MCI in its current form came to life, set the agendafor nearly 60 years of medical education and practice. The NMC Bill coulddo the same for the next few decades. If policymakers do not address the many questions thathealthcare experts have raised overthe Bill today, they will miss theirchance at truly gamechangingreform.

[email protected]

The National Medical Commission Bill has to be �netuned, especially in planning for rural health care

Prescription for the future

Priyanka Pulla

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For Myanmar, 2018 may be crucial. The year2017 did not proceed favourably for eitherthe civilian government or the military establishment, which continues to hold considerable power over state institutions. Threeimportant issues attracted the attention ofthe international community — the threat topress freedom; the Rohingya refugee crisis;and the peace process with the country’sethnic armed groups. The civilian government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), which came to power after winning a majority in the 2015 elections,attracted severe criticism for its failure to acton these issues more e�ectively.

As regards the �rst issue, evidence on theground suggests that media freedom wasthreatened on several occasions. At least 11journalists — both Myanmarese and foreign —were arrested. Two journalists working forthe Turkish Radio and Television Corporation — Lau Hon Meng from Singapore andMok Choy Lin from Malaysia — were arrestedin late October, along with their local interpreter, Aung Naing Soe, and driver, HlaTin. They were charged under the country’sAntiAircraft Act and sentenced to twomonths in jail for trying to use a drone to record images of the Parliament building. Theywere subsequently released on December29. The issue here is not restrictions placedon the use of drones but the limited mediafreedom and the civilian government’s reluctance or inability to act in this regard.

Reporting on RakhineA more serious development has been thearrest of two Reuters reporters — Wa Loneand Kyaw Soe Oo — on December 12. The Ministry of Information accuses them of “illegally acquiring information with the intention of sharing it with foreign media”.Charges have been pressed against them under the colonialera O�cial Secrets Act andthey face up to 14 years in prison.

At this point, details on the informationthey received are not known. However, it issuspected that the documents given pertained to operations of security forces in theRakhine State. The details reportedly areabout the military’s investigation of a massgrave in a village called Inn Din, a mixed ethnic area, in Rakhine. Local newspapers havealso reported that days after the arrest of theReuters reporters, �ve ethnic Rakhine resi

dents of Inn Din were detained on suspicionof giving them information.

The United Nations has called the crackdown in Rakhine as “ethnic cleansing” whileAmnesty International has termed the operations as “crimes against humanity”. Up until now, the gruesome accounts of the actionsof the security forces are primarily comingfrom the Rohingya refugees who have �ed toneighbouring Bangladesh. But despite thecontinuing international condemnation, theMyanmar military leadership denies anywrongdoing and continues to maintain thatthey were only responding to attacks of theArakan Rohingya Salvation Army, whichthey o�cially label as terrorist.

The third important issue that made headlines was the country’s peace process withthe ethnic armed groups. NLD leader AungSan Suu Kyi had said on assuming power thatone of her government’s top priorities was tomake peace with the groups.

In May last year, the government convened the second session of the 21st CenturyPanglong Conference which brought together some 1,400 representatives from the government, the legislature, the military andethnic armed organisations. It discussed 41points and was able to reach agreement on37 of them. The groups agreed on recognising a ‘Union’ based on democracy and federalism, with the right to selfdetermination.The government agreed that no ethnic racewould be given special privileges. It was alsodecided that States and regions would be allowed to write their own Constitutions.

However, an agreement is yet to bereached on two of the most critical outstanding issues: formation of a ‘federal army’ and‘secession’. The military, which has played adominant role in the entire peace process,insists that there should be a single nationalarmy while the ethnic armed groups want tosee a federal army, which would allow themto retain their respective armed forces.

Concerning the issue of secession, whilethe ethnic armed groups are willing to subscribe to the principle of nondisintegrationof the Union, they would not like to see theterm ‘nonsecession’ inserted into the UnionPeace Accord. One other major concern isthat out of the more than 20 armed groups,only eight have signed the Nationwide Cease�re Agreement. The government is set toconvene the third round of the PanglongConference in the last week of January but itremains to be seen how much progress it canreally make.

Nehginpao Kipgen is assistant professor and executivedirector at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies,Jindal School of International A�airs, O.P. JindalGlobal University

A di�cult yearBesides the Rohingya crisis, Myanmar is under scrutiny onpress freedoms and the Panglong peace process

Nehginpao Kipgen

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FAQ

Who was Har Gobind

Khorana?

Nobel Laureate Har Gobind Khorana’s contributions to biology are of contemporary relevance forsome of the most excitingareas such as syntheticbiology and gene editing.A Google Doodle on Tuesday to mark the 96th birthanniversary of the Indianorigin American scientistthis week stoked much interest in his work.

What were his

contributions to biology?

After James Watson andFrancis Crick found thatDNA (Deoxy ribonucleicacid) had a doublehelixstructure, Khorana wasamong those who signi�cantly built on that knowledge and explained howthis sequence of nucleicacids (better known as thegenetic code) goes aboutmaking proteins, which is

critical to the functioningof cells. The Nobel Prize inPhysiology or Medicine for1968 was awarded jointlyto Robert W. Holley, HarGobind Khorana and Marshall W. Nirenberg “fortheir interpretation of thegenetic code and its function in protein synthesis.”Khorana was able to createnucleic acids in the laband did so by �guring outthe order in which nucleotides needed to be to makea suite of amino acids,which are the basic unitsof proteins. Khorana is credited withmaking the �rst syntheticgenes by cutting and pasting di�erent bits of DNAtogether. This is considered a forerunner to themethod called PolymeraseChain Reaction that isamong the methods usedto commercially read theunique genetic structuresof organisms today. Hefurther placed the lab

made gene in a living bacterium and was, in thatsense, a founding father ofbiotechnology. TheCRISPR/Cas9 system,which is the glitziest newtoy in genetics and is usedalter the functioning ofcertain genes, referencesthe work of Khorana as akey in�uence.

What was his connection

with India?

Khorana was born in 1922in Raipur, a village in Punjab now part of Pakistan.He was the youngest of sixsiblings and his father wasa ‘patwari’, a village agricultural taxation clerk inthe British Indian systemof government. He lived inIndia until 1945, when theaward of a Government ofIndia Fellowship made itpossible for him to go toEngland for a PhD at theUniversity of Liverpool.Khorana became a naturalised U.S. citizen in 1966.

A pioneer in biotechnology

Har Gobind Khorana is credited with making the �rstsynthetic genes by cutting and pasting DNA bits

Jacob Koshy


#3 9 7 9 1 8

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NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

On July 20, 2017, the CivilAviation Ministry in a statement, citing information given by the Minister of Statefor Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha in a written reply to LokSabha, said that to implement the decision of theCCEA, appointment of Transaction Adviser, Legal Adviser and Asset Valuer “shall betaken up as per terms andconditions and scope ofwork of Advisers/Valuer inaccordance with the modelRFPs (request for proposal)suggested by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management.”

The panel is said to haveopined that “it would belopsided to assess and evaluate the functioning of AirIndia solely from a businesspoint of view”, and reportedly recommended that theairline’s debt be written o�by the government.

The Cabinet Committeeon Economic A�airs(CCEA), at its meeting onJune 28, 2017, gave inprinciple approval for consideringstrategic disinvestment ofAir India and its �ve subsidiaries as well as the constitution of the Air India Speci�cAlternative Mechanism.

Centre allows 49%foreign equity in AI

haar number in their KYCs,will be categorised as globalAUAs and have access to fulleKYC and the ability tostore Aadhaar numberswithin their system.

“Once storage of Aadhaarnumber is restricted andsince VID is temporary,agencies need a mechanismto uniquely identify theircustomers within their system,” the circular said. Forthis, a 72character alphanumeric ‘UID Token’ will begenerated for “system use”.

“UID token allows anagency to ensure uniqueness of its bene�ciaries, customers etc. without havingto store Aadhaar number intheir databases,” the noti�cation stated.

Only the Aadhaar holderwill be able to generate aVID and no other entity, including authentication useragencies (AUAs), can do iton their behalf. “While VIDallows Aadhaar number holders to avoid sharing Aadhaar number, storage ofAadhaar number within various databases also needsto be further regulated,” thecircular said.

To address the issue, theUIDAI has brought in theconcept of limited KYC. Ithas categorised its AUAs into global AUAs and localAUAs wherein the latter willget access to only needbased or limited KYC details. The AUAs, which bylaw are required to use Aad

Twotier shield for Aadhaar data

vestigation records of the241 cases and con�rm thatthere was nothing more todo on them.

Of the 3,325 people killedin the riots, Delhi alone accounted for 2,733 deaths,while the rest occurred inUttar Pradesh, Haryana,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and other States.

The government SIT wasset up on February 12, 2015following a recommendation by the Home Ministryappointed Justice (retd) G.P.Mathur committee.

The decision to form the SITwas based on a con�dentialreport placed on record onDecember 11, 2017 by anapex courtappointed supervisory committee of twoformer SC judges, JusticesK.S. Radhakrishnan and J.M.Panchal. This committeewas tasked with vetting theinvestigation into 241 casesclosed by the government’sSIT. These 186 cases are partof the 241 cases.

On August 16 last year,the SC had decided to independently examine the in

SC to form SIT for 186antiSikh riot cases

this crucial issue.The threemember panel

of top BCI o�cebearers andadvocates B.C. Thakur, R.G.Shah and D.P. Dhal is examining the provisions of theAdvocates Act and the BarCouncil of India Rules onthe question.

Mr. Upadhyay has contended that MPs and MLAsdraw their salaries from theConsolidated Fund of India,hence, are “employees ofthe State”.

The BCI Rule 49 restrictsa salaried employee frompractising as advocate, thepetition points out. Many senior advocates practising inthe Supreme Court are alsoparty politicians and sittingMPs. He contended that itamounted to “professionalmisconduct” that MLAs andMPs appear against the government.

“The Council has thought itjust and proper to seek thecomments of those MPs,MLAs or MLCs who are in legal practice, before takingany �nal decision in thismatter,” the BCI said in astatement.

BCI Chairperson and senior advocate Manan KumarMishra told The Hindu overthe telephone that over 500lawmakers are practising asadvocates in various courts,including the SupremeCourt.

“It is a very important issue which may have farreaching e�ects. Therefore,it is necessary to invite theopinion, views and comments of the persons concerned,” the Bar council added.

The Council is scheduledto meet on January 21 fortaking a �nal decision on

BCI notice to MPs,MLAs on legal practice

The Opposition on Wednesday denounced the UnionCabinet’s decision allowing100% foreign direct investment in singlebrand retailand opening up of Air Indiafor foreign investment.

Congress communications incharge Randeep Surjewala alleged that by doingaway with the requirementof 30% sourcing through“Make in India” for singlebrand retail for �ve years,Prime Minister NarendraModi had exposed his “duplicity and doublespeak” onthe issue.

Senior Congress leaderAnand Sharma said that100% FDI in singlebrand retail was noti�ed during theprevious UPA governmentand the only change nowmade was to allow it entirelythrough the automatic route.

“The Prime Minister talks

of ‘Make in India’, but nowsays local sourcing is not required,” Mr. Sharma saidand asked the government toclarify its policy on retail.

Opposite stanceAt the party brie�ng, Congress spokesperson R.P.N.Singh said that when the BJPwas in the Opposition, it hadopposed the UPA government’s decision.

The CPI(M) said the new

policy for retail trade wouldhave “harmful consequences for domestic retail tradersand shopkeepers”.

The Opposition also criticised the government foropening Air India to foreigninvestments. “This is a de

parture from policy. Foreigncarriers cannot be allowedto take over the national carrier. You can allow equityparticipation. Clearly the government does not want toinfuse funds,” Mr. Sharmasaid.

He said when the Congressled UPA governmentintroduced FDI in airlines,they were careful to keep thenational carrier out of it.“We had allowed 49% inprivate airlines ... On ourpart, it was a cautious decision to keep our national carrier Air India out... Whathappens to the assets worthcrores belonging to Air India?” Mr. Sharma asked.

The CPI(M) criticised thedecision. “Having taken thedecision to privatise Air India, the Modi government isnow moving towards handing over Air India to a foreignairline,” party politburostatement said.

Opposition faults FDI move Says government is going against its ‘Make in India’ commitment


New Delhi

The Congress says foreign carriers cannot be allowed to takeover Air India. * AFP

<> The UPA govt. was

careful to keep Air

India out of FDI

R.P.N. Singh

Congress spokesperson

Prime Minister NarendraModi is not letting up onpreparations for the 2018electoral calendar, whichsees eight States going tothe polls, to be followed bythe Lok Sabha elections in2019.

He has invited nationalo�cebearers of the BJPand State election incharges for dinner to 7 LokKalyan Marg, the Prime Minister’s o�cial residence,for a discussion on how to�ght the elections takingplace in the next twoyears.

Top BJP sources con�rmed that all o�cebearers had been told not justto be up to date with information on their assignments, but also be prepared for questions on justhow the di�erent schemes

run by the Modi government are being perceivedby the people.

“This is a process ofcontinual feedback thatPrime Minister Modi does.If you recall, a yearandahalf ago, he met all national o�cebearers and headsof di�erent party cells andtaken their suggestions.The OBC Morcha askedthat the government pressfor constitutional status forthe Backward ClassesCommission and that wastaken forward by the government. Hopefully, something creative will comeout of this process too,”said a senior o�cebearer.

Modi to host BJPo�cebearers Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI <> They have been

asked to come

prepared for a

discussion on the

coming elections

At the Cabinet meeting onWednesday, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi told all Ministries to report on the initiatives taken up by them for 115backward districts and alsoto come up with an actionplan for these districts.

This is part of a concertede�ort by the government tofocus attention on these districts.

O�cials inchargeLast November, the NITIAayog had appointed o�cials of the ranks of Additional Secretary and Joint Secretary as prabhari or incharge

to coordinate the e�orts ofthe Centre and the States.

“The Prime Minister wascategorical that all Ministriesshould look into ways to contribute to development ofthese districts. He wants usto compile all the initiativeswe have taken in the pastand also what we plan to doin future,” a senior CabinetMinister said.

The Prime Minister will also start his visits to these districts from April 14.

Speaking on Friday at aconference organised by theNITI Aayog on the transformation of these 115 mostbackward districts in thecountry, Mr. Modi said that

they should not be seen asjust poor or backward but assites of potentialtransformation.

Among the 115 districts, 35are a�ected by Leftwing violence.

The districts were identi�ed on the basis of indicators of education, health, nutrition, basic infrastructure,rural household electri�cation, and access to potablewater and individual toilets.

Jharkhand on topJharkhand tops the list, with19 backward districts, followed by Bihar with 13 districts; Chhattisgarh is at thethird spot with 10 districts.NITI Ayog is developing arealtime monitoring mechanism of key performanceindicators and will rank the

districts on a continuousbasis.

While selecting the districts, maximum weight wasgiven to data of landless households dependent on manual labour.

The other criteria werenutritional level of childrenbelow �ve years of age andtheir dropout rate fromschools.

The government is alsoexpecting electoral bene�tfrom the plan because thesedistricts also have a highpopulation of tribes and Dalits, a section the BJP is hoping will stick with it in theLok Sabha elections to beheld in 2019.

PM sets targets for 115 backward districts Asks all Ministries to report on the initiatives taken up for them and come up with an action plan

Narendra Modi

Sobhana K. Nair

New Delhi

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) on Wednesdaycondemned the FIR �ledagainst a journalist of TheTribune who had reportedthe leak of Aadhaar dataand demanded that it bewithdrawn.

In a statement issued onbehalf of members, INSpresident Akila Urankar expressed serious concernabout the “attempt tobrowbeat the reporter ofThe Tribune who had courageously reported the leakof crucial Aadhaar data”.The report was in public interest, the statement read.

WithdrawFIR againstreporter: INS

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI

The Centre’s Special Representative on Jammu andKashmir, Dineshwar Sharma, has requested UnionHome Minister RajnathSingh to convene a meetingwith authorities of certain television news channels toask them to be carefulagainst spreading “viciouspropaganda” againstKashmiris.

A senior source said onWednesday that at least fournews channels routinelyaired stories exaggeratingevents in the Kashmir Valley,defeating the dialogue andpeace process initiated bythe Centre.

The meeting would beconvened shortly, the sourcesaid.

Another o�cial, however,said the Centre would treadcautiously on the subject asit did not want to impinge onthe “freedom of the press”.

“Sometimes these channels are just making a mountain out of a molehill. Manytimes, the debates are vi

triolic and are distant fromthe facts on the ground. Thisgives fodder to secessionistforces in the Kashmir Valleyto sow hatred against the government,” a senior HomeMinistry o�cial said.

Delegations’ protestsMr. Sharma, a former Intelligence Bureau chief, was appointed Special Representative by the Centre in October2017 for carrying forward adialogue with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir.As reported earlier, severaldelegations that met Mr.Sharma complained that a

few news channels were propagating a negative image ofKashmiris.

The o�cial said theywould share Mr. Sharma’sconcern with the televisionchannels, adding that ChiefMinister Mehbooba Muftihad, on several occasions,asked the Centre to addressthe issue of news channelsgoing overboard when itcomes to reporting events inthe Valley.

Delivering the keynote address at a seminar on “Understanding Kashmir” hosted by a Delhibased thinktank, BRIEF, last July, Ms.Mufti had hit out at television anchors based in the national capital for portrayingKashmir in a bad light.

“I am sorry to say that thisIndia that the [news] anchors are trying to project isnot what India is and not theIndia I know. A few channelsare showing Kashmiris in abad light.”

She said when she saw theretired beard-wallahs fromthe other side [Pakistan] andmooch-wallahs from this

side screaming at the top oftheir lungs on televisionnews channels, she felt theywere airing their “frustrations” about the many warsthat the two countries hadfought.

On stonethrowingThe J&K administration haveon previous occasions expressed similar concerns,and told the Centre that Delhibased news televisionchannels were portrayingthe State in a negative light.

On the issue of reports ofstonethrowing by students,o�cials posted in southKashmir had pointed outthat schoolchildren from only four or �ve institutionshad participated in the attacks on security forces.

However, the national media had reported the incidents as if all the 50,000school and college studentswere embroiled in violentacts in 2016 that erupted after Hizbul Mujahideen “commander” Burhan Wani waskilled in an encounter withsecurity forces.

Sharma �ags ‘propaganda’ on TVSpecial Representative says talk on some channels a�ects peace in Kashmir

Dineshwar Sharma

Vijaita Singh

New Delhi

The Indian Army killed 138Pakistan Army personnel in2017 in tactical operationsand retaliatory crossborder�rings along the Line ofControl (LoC) in Jammu andKashmir, government intelligence sources said onWednesday.

The Indian side lost 28soldiers during the periodalong the LoC, the sourcessaid.

The sources said the Pakistan Army usually did notacknowledge the deaths ofits personnel and showedthem as civilian casualties incertain cases.

The Indian Army hasbeen adopting a “tough” approach in dealing with cease�re violations and terrorist activities in Jammu andKashmir in the past year.

The Pakistan Army suffered 138 fatal and 155 nonfatal casualties in tacticaloperations and retaliatorycrossborder �rings alongthe LoC in 2017, the intelli

gence sources said.A total of 70 Indian Army

personnel were injured during crossborder �rings andother incidents.

Asked about the fatalitieson the Pakistani side, the Army refused to comment.However, Army spokesperson Colonel Aman Anandsaid India had been e�ectively retaliating against allcease�re violations by thePakistan Army and wouldcontinue to do so.

According to o�cial �gures, 860 incidents of cease�re violations by Pakistanitroops were reported in2017 as against 221 last year.

The intelligence sourcessaid Indian Army killed 27Pakistani soldiers in sniper�ring last year while sevenof its soldiers lost their livesin Pakistani sniper �ringalong the LoC.

As part of its policy of“hot pursuit”, the Indian Army has been carrying outtactical operations to foil Pakistan Army’s support toterrorists.

Army killed 138 Pak.soldiers in 2017In tactical operations, counterstrikes


New Delhi

The Opposition walked outof both Houses of the Jammu& Kashmir Assembly onWednesday over the killingof a civilian in Kulgam recently.

Raising the issue, OmarAbdullah, National Conference working president,sought a statement fromChief Minister MehboobaMufti over the “deterioratinglawandorder situation” andthe killing.

“The government has nomoral responsibility to rule ifit thinks civilian killings werenot an issue. The personkilled had not picked up anygun. He had bullet on histhroat. Even a Minister ack

nowledged it. Are bullets�red on the ground or in theair? We want to ask Ms. Mufti,” Mr. Abdullah said.

He said Ms. Mufti’s entirepolitical foundation wasbased on raising humanrights issues and excesses bysecurity forces.

“Today, she has done a

complete 180degree turn,”he said.

The legislators of the NC,the Congress and the CPI(M)and Independent MLA Engineer Rashid staged awalkout.

Earlier, Speaker KavinderGupta disallowed any debateas the Opposition moved anadjournment motion overthe Kulgam incident.

“The government is tryingto shy away from the debateto hide its failures,” NC legislator Ali Muhammad Sagarsaid.

Congress leader Rigzin Jora said, “The governmenthas failed to instil a sense ofsecurity among the peoplein all the three regions of theState and denies even a de

bate on innocent killings.”In a separate statement,

NC president Farooq Abdullah described the securitysituation in the State as “ofgrave concern”.

“A shadow of fear hasbeen cast over the panchayatelection process. It’s alarming and unfortunate. The security scenario is a matter ofserious concern and underlines the political vacuumthat has resulted in accentuating the alienation on theground, especially amongthe youth,” Dr. Abdullahsaid.

The government ordereda probe into the killing of thestudent, Khalid Ahmed Dar.The victim’s father allegedhis son was “targeted”.

Kulgam killing rocks J&K HousesOpposition members walk out as a debate on the incident was not allowed

Omar Abdullah

Peerzada Ashiq

SRINAGARPosters declaring Union Minister and BJP MP from Nawada in Bihar, Giriraj Singh,as “missing” sprung up onthe walls in his constituencyon Wednesday. The postersannounced a reward of�11,000 to those who wouldprovide information abouthim.

“Union Minister and MPfrom Nawada Giriraj Singhhas been missing for lastseveral years … the peopleof Rajauli are desperatelysearching him … whoeversees him or gets him arekindly requested to informthe people of Rajauli …those who will inform abouthim will be rewarded with�11,000,” said the poster

donning a largesize pictureof Mr. Singh, who is Ministerfor Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Narendra Modi Cabinet.

“The posters have beenpasted by antisocial elements of the Oppositionparties to defame our MP...everyone knows that our MPvisits di�erent parts of hisconstituency every month,”said Ranjit Kumar, BJP leader in Rajauli.

The BJP workers have removed the posters. “Onlyrecently our MP had visitedseveral villages in the Meskaur block of Rajauli…people must be aware of suchrumourmongers and mischief makers,” said districtBJP president Sashi Bhushan Kumar ‘Bablu’.

Row over ‘missingMinister’ posterAmarnath Tewary

Patna

threat of punishment andhumiliation in front of theentire school. The petitionsaid the common prayeramounted to “religious instruction”. The petition saidit was constitutionally impermissible to impose theprayer on students of otherfaiths and beliefs. Studentshave a fundamental right topray according to the practices of their religion or notpray at all.

A Bench led by Rohinton Nariman found the petitionraised an important issuewhere a secular State, whichis supposed to have no religion, was compelling students from diverse faiths,beliefs, minority communities and many who may becoming from agnostic, sceptic and rationalist familybackgrounds to recite aprayer which is “based onHindu religion”, under

KVs asked to clarifyon prayer verses


#3 9 7 9 1 8

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Ahead of the Assembly polls likely next month, Minister ofState for Home Kiren Rijiju, the BJP’s election in charge forNagaland, says the government does not want to link talkswith the NSCN(IM) to the elections.

As election in charge for

Nagaland, how do you

propose to shape the

campaign?

n This [election] is specialand challenging as talks aregoing on between the NSCNIM and our interlocutor [R.NRavi]. While talks are goingon, many people expect it toconclude fast and the election process to start thereafter. We don’t want to link thetalks with elections. Elections are a democratic process. There is an NDA government in Nagaland,where BJP is only a minorparty. We got only one MLAelected last elections. The

Naga People’s Front (NPF) also got into trouble because ofinternal con�icts and divisions. Even though Chief Ministers changed, the NDA government remained there.

What about seat

adjustment?

n We have not started thetalks on seat adjustment, butwe will de�nitely have a bigger share this time but wewill not be unreasonable.During the elections in 2012,the BJP fought in very fewseats, whereas in 2007 wewon seven seats. An NDA government is absolutely necessary in Nagaland because

the Congress that ruled theState for so long has failedmiserably.

The Naga people are aspiring for peace, and peace ispossible only if we go withthe plan adopted by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi,who, within �ve months ofassuming power, had signeda framework agreement withthe NSCNIM. Of course, notevery section of society andunderground groups are endorsing the talks, but since ithas been going on for longwith the NSCNIM, we cannot break it and have to continue with it.

In the framework agreement we have made onething clear —that sovereigntywhich the Naga rebels wereasking for, will not be granted nor is it part of the discussions. The talks will be within the framework of theIndian Constitution. The BJP

coming to power with a bigger share of seats in Nagaland is necessary for peaceand economic development.

What is the status of talks on

the Naga Accord?

n While talks are going on,

we cannot disclose the status.

When you had signed the

framework agreement, it

was said that only a few

things remained to be

stitched up.

n The process has been simpli�ed which is good, but sometimes, the whole issuewill focus on one point. Aswe say, the rope is as strongas the weakest point. Sowhile the talks are going on,it may get stuck on onepoint; its not like everythingis over and just one point isremaining, and that it wouldbe a small task. That is notnecessarily so.

U.P. Chief Minister Yogi

Adityanath has said that if

Karnataka Chief Minister

Siddharamaiah is a Hindu,

he should ban beef in the

State. These issues are

bound to have a resonance

in the three northeastern

States, where beef is part of

the cuisine and there are

large non-Hindu

populations. How will you

reconcile these positions?

n Even if they [Congress]raise these issues, we will notallow them to de�ect people’s minds from the real issues. India has di�erent regions with di�erentcharacteristics, habits, culture and background. Wemust be sensitive to the sentiments of people in di�erentregions. In Karnataka, a majority of the people have aparticular ingrained sentiment that is for that area andit must be respected. Youcannot replicate slogans forKarnataka in Nagaland. TheBJP is catering to the needsof all sections of society. How

can you compare apple andmango?

But Gau Mata (cow) is the

same...

n Yogiji has said what he didin Karnataka, not in Nagaland. As long as you care forthe sentiment of the particular region, how does it matter? The BJP has respectedthe sentiment of each section of society in each regionof States.

Your party has been

accused of homogenising

culture across the country

via language or eating

habits.

n Who has imposed anything? There are elements inthis country who would keeptrying to break India for theirelectoral bene�ts, but wewill not allow that.

INTERVIEW | KIREN RIJIJU

Big BJP victory vital for peace, development in NagalandMinister says Centre has made it clear that the Naga demand for sovereignty is not part of the discussions with the NSCN(IM) rebels

Nistula Hebbar

Vijaita Singh

<> You cannot replicate

slogans for

Karnataka in

Nagaland ... BJP is

catering to the needs

of all sections

Governors submitreport to KovindNEW DELHI

A group of Governors

submitted its report on the

role of Governors as agents

of change in society to

President Ram Nath Kovind

on Wednesday, a Rashtrapati

Bhavan statement said. The

committee comprises ESL

Narasimhan, Banwarilal

Purohit, Ram Naik, Tathagata

Roy and Acharya Devvrat. PTI

IN BRIEF

U.S. issues new travel advisoryWASHINGTON

The U.S. issued a travel

advisory on Wednesday for

Indian and other countries

which its officials said was

“user friendly” as it was based

on a ready-to-understand

level of advice ranging from

one to four. India has been

ranked Level 2 (exercise

increased caution), while

Pakistan has been placed in

Level 3 (reconsider travel). PTI

Woman alleges tripletalaq over phoneKAUSHAMBI

A 36-year-old woman, Rozi

Begum, in Manjhanpur

Kotwali area here has alleged

that her husband, Sohrab,

divorced her over the phone,

the police said on Wednesday.

A police official said he had

given her instant divorce over

the phone by uttering talaq

thrice and told her that he

would no longer live with her.

“Based on the woman’s

complaint, a case has been

filed against the man under

various Sections of the

Domestic Violence Act,”

Superintendent of Police

Pradip Kumar said. PTI

In a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi onWednesday, top economistsand experts in the countrystressed the need for creating new jobs, even as a NITIAayog task force has foundthat the statistics on lack ofemployment may be “overrated”. The data will be released “very soon”, NITIAayog ViceChairman RajivKumar said.

The economists suggested that the governmentneeded to improve the credibility of the budget by sticking to the targets set andmaking more realistic projections. They also highlighted the need for a “�scalcouncil” that would be incharge of evaluating budgetestimates and �scal targets,which would be answerableto Parliament and not justthe Finance Ministry.

The meeting follows theCentral Statistics O�ce’s forecast that GDP growth inthe current �nancial yearwill slow to a fouryear lowof 6.5%, from the provisional 7.1% seen in 201617,dragged down by deceleration in the agriculture andmanufacturing sectors.

The Prime Minister sug

gested that another meetingbe held again, two monthsafter the budget.

“The statistics we are getting on lack of employmentgeneration are probableoverrated. The task force onemployment has got numbers which will be releasedvery soon … these numbersare startling and quite incontrast with Labour Bureau numbers. You will seethere is much better newson the employment frontthan what people thought,”the NITI Aayog ViceChairman told presspersons.

The key sectors for discussion included macroeconomy, agriculture andrural development, employment, health and education, manufacturing andexports.

PM, economists takestock of economyAgree on the need for creating jobs

TCA Sharad Raghavan

Yuthika Bhargava

New Delhi

Rajiv Kumar

The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the government’s version of Aadhaar as a unique identi�erwhich will bene�t the poorto access welfare services,asking how will the lakhs ofhomeless people in thecountry get an Aadhaar cardwithout a permanentaddress.

The 2011 Census revealedthere are 1.77 million homeless people in the country.They constitute 0.15% of thetotal population.

“Does this mean that they[the homeless] do not existfor the Government of India,” Justice Madan B. Lokur,who heads the Social JusticeBench, asked.

The context arose duringa hearing on the lack of nightshelters for homeless peo

ple. The court had previously summoned the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary toexplain the lack of night shelters, especially with NorthIndia in the grip of a coldwave.

The Bench asked if a permanent address was mandatory for Aadhaar enrolmentand consequent welfare services. The Uttar Pradesh government replied in thea�rmative.

“So, how do homeless pe

ople get Aadhaar if they haveno home or a permanent address,” Justice Lokur shotback.

Additional SolicitorGeneral Tushar Mehta, for theU.P. government, said itwould be wrong to say thehomeless population did not“exist” for the Union. He saidthat he also appeared for theUIDAI, Aadhaar’s nodalagency, in the SupremeCourt.

Plight of migrantsMr. Mehta reasoned that theurban homeless were mostlymigrants from the ruralparts of the country.

They would have a permanent address in their nativevillages and would have, orcould apply for, Aadhaarthere.

The Additional SolicitorGeneral said he would get

further instructions from theUIDAI on this aspect.

The court criticised theUttar Pradesh governmentfor its poor implementationof the Deendayal AntyodayaYojanaNational Urban Livelihood Mission, which hadexisted since 2014.

“We are talking about human beings who have noplace to stay. Those whohave no place to stay have tobe given a place to live,” Justice Lokur observed orally.

Mr. Mehta said the Statewas alive to the situation andwas doing its best to provideshelter to the urban homeless. He referred to the visiondocument prepared by theUttar Pradesh government todeal with the issue of urbanhomeless, and said that asper 2011 census, there werearound 1.8 lakh urban homeless in the State.

How will homeless get Aadhaar: SC‘UID must for homeless, but number is issued only to those with address’

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI

The BJP government in Haryana spent close to �3.8lakh to buy 10 copies of theBhagavad Gita during the International Gita Mahotsavlast November.

The Opposition has demanded an investigation,terming the purchase a misuse of taxpayers’ money.

In a reply to an application �led under the Right toInformation Act by RahulSehrawat of Hisar, the Kurukshetra DevelopmentBoard has revealed that thegovernment had spent a total of �3,79,500 on the 10 copies.

Besides, �15 lakh was paidto Hema Malini, MP, and �10

lakh to Delhi BJP presidentand artist Manoj Tiwari fortheir performance at theevent, the reply said.

Sources said the copies ofthe Gita were printed on special paper to give it the look

of a manuscript, and hencethe high cost. The bookswere given to various dignitaries who attended theevent.

As per the RTI reply, �1.11crore was spent on repairs of

a pond at the site of theevent, which the Oppositionparties say was already ingood shape.

While Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar maintained that the money spenton the event was in “publicinterest”, Dushyant Chautala, MP from the Indian National Lok Dal, said it was ablatant misuse of taxpayers’money.

“I will be approaching theComptroller and AuditorGeneral (CAG) to seek an inquiry into the organising ofthe entire event. I fail to understand how the government can justify the purchase at such an exorbitantprice,” Mr. Chautala told TheHindu.

�3.8 lakh for 10 Bhagavad Gita copies

RTI reply on International Gita Mahotsav lands Haryana government in the dock

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at the Gita Mahotsav. * PTI

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHANDIGARH

The ASEANIndia Commemorative Summit here on January 25 is likely to focus onmaritime security for the region, a senior ASEAN diplomat said on Wednesday.

Speaking to The Hindu,Ambassador of ThailandChutintorn Sam Gongsakdisaid ASEAN expected Indiato highlight maritime security during the summit, evenas the External A�airs Ministry said that discussion on a“very important” memorandum of understanding onmaritime cooperation wasgoing on alongside plans forenhancement of airconnectivity.

“We expect India to highlight maritime security [inthe commemorative summit]. This meeting is important, and we hope that there

will be serious discussionson maritime security, including freedom of navigation,piracy, keeping sea tradinglanes clear. India attaches alot of importance to maritime security and ASEANcountries are preparing foran intense discussion onthat,” Mr. Gongsakdi said.

The envoy’s comment issigni�cant as Thailand willbe the coordinating countryin charge of ASEANIndia

ties from the middle of theyear. In view of Thailand’simportance, External A�airsMinister Sushma Swaraj visited the country last week.Preeti Saran, Secretary incharge of Eastern A�airs inthe Ministry, said that connectivity and maritimecooperation would form thebackdrop for the summit.

“We are discussing a veryimportant agreement onhow to enhance maritime

connectivity with the ASEANcountries. We will also holda Working Group meeting ofthe Civil Aviation Ministriesbefore the summit to discussair connectivity,” said Ms. Saran in a special brie�ng onIndia’s plans for the summitrelated celebrations on January 25 and 26.

Landmark meetMs. Saran described thesummit as “unprecedented”and a “landmark”, and saidthat all the 10 heads of statesof the ASEAN countrieswould be hosted as guests ofhonour for the Republic Dayparade.

The ASEAN leaders willhold bilateral discussionswith Prime Minister Narendra Modi and otherdignitaries.

“We expect the ASEANleaders will start arriving byJanuary 24. The summit it

self will begin with a banquetto be hosted by PresidentRam Nath Kovind followedby the Leaders’ Retreat forwhich our Prime Ministerhas invited all leaders. Thereafter, the leaders will moveon to the plenary of the summit followed by a gala dinnerto be hosted by our PrimeMinister,” Ms. Saran said.

The summit comes daysafter Ms. Swaraj returnedfrom a threenation trip toSoutheast Asia where shetook stock of the ties andconnectivity projects between India and the ASEANregion.

The ASEANIndia Commemorative Summit followsa yearlong series of activities that marked the 25th anniversary of ASEANIndia relation, 15nth anniversary ofsummit partnership and �veyears of strategic partnership. .

Maritime focus for India, ASEANDiscussions at summit to cover freedom of navigation, piracy, keeping sea trading lanes clear

Kallol Bhattacherjee

Suhasini Haidar

NEW DELHI

Thailand envoy Chutintorn Sam Gongsakdi. * V.V. KRISHNAN

The Calcutta High Court onWednesday granted permission to the Bharatiya JanataParty youth wing to hold‘Pratirodh Sankalp Avijan’across West Bengal to markthe birth anniversary of

Swami Vivekananda.The BJP’s youth wing had

approached the court afterthe police refused to grantpermission to the 1,600kmmotorbike rally from Contaiin Purba Medinipur toCooch Behar district innorth Bengal.

HC nod for BJP rallySpecial Correspondent

Kolkata

Rajiv Bindal electedHimachal SpeakerDHARAMSALA

Rajiv Bindal, a five-time MLA,

was unanimously elected

Speaker of the Himachal

Pradesh Assembly on

Wednesday. He was one of

the senior Ministers in the

Dhumal government of

2007-12. Mr. Bindal would be

the 16th Speaker. Hansraj

fileed papers for the Deputy

Speaker’s post.


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Colombian presidentsuspends cease�re talksBOGOTA

Colombian President Juan

Manuel Santos said he had

suspended peace talks with

the National Liberation Army

rebels in response to the

guerrilla attacks on

Wednesday. The cease�re

with rebels expired at

midnight without a deal to

extend it. AFP

ELSEWHERE

Trump open to talks with North Korea WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump

threw his weight behind the

Olympicsinspired diplomatic

opening with North Korea,

telling South Korea’s leader

on Wednesday that the U.S.

was open to talks with Kim

Jong Un’s government under

the right circumstances. AP

Saudiled boycott akin toeconomic warfare: Qatar DOHA

Qatar on Wednesday said a

Saudiled boycott, now in its

eighth month, amounted to

“economic warfare” as Doha

plans to seek compensation

for those hit by the sanctions.

A spokesperson said the

emirate would “not leave a

stone unturned” in pursuing

claims for businesses. PTI

Stephen K. Bannon steppeddown on Tuesday from hispost as executive chairmanof Breitbart News, ostracisedfor now from conservativecircles and the RepublicanParty he brazenly predictedhe would remake.

Mr. Bannon’s departure,which was initiated by an estranged �nancial patron andBreitbart investor, RebekahMercer, came as he remained unable to quell thefurore over remarks attributed to him in a new book inwhich he questions President Donald Trump’s mental�tness and disparages hisson Donald Trump Jr.

Mr. Bannon and Breitbartwill work together on asmooth transition, said astatement from the company’s chief executive, LarrySolov. Separately, SiriusXM,which broadcasts a radioshow on which Mr. Bannonwas a host, said it was alsocutting ties with him.

Mr. Bannon’s exit fromBreitbart, a platform forhardedge nationalist ideas,is the latest ignominiousturn in a career that wasonce one of the most prominent and improbable in

modern American politics.Though he was virtually

unknown outside his work atBreitbart, Mr. Bannon wasnamed chief executive of theTrump campaign two andahalf months before Election Day. And he helped instil the discipline and focusthat allowed Mr. Trump tonarrowly prevail in the threeMidwestern states that gavehim victory in the ElectoralCollege.

He accompanied Mr.Trump to the White Houseand became his chief strategist. With an o�ce in theWest Wing and a direct lineto the Oval O�ce, he seemedwell positioned to wreak havoc on the political institu

tions and leaders he railedagainst as corrupt andselfserving.

But after repeatedly clashing with Ivanka Trump, thePresident’s eldest daughter,and Jared Kushner, her husband and Mr. Trump’s senioradviser, Mr. Bannon waspushed out after less thaneight months with the administration. Five months later,a clash with another Trump— Mr. Bannon called DonaldTrump Jr.’s meeting withRussians last year at TrumpTower in Manhattan “treasonous” — cost him anotherjob.

Several people with knowledge of the dynamics atBreitbart said that Mr. Ban

non had lost the con�denceof executives and writerswho had been �ercely loyalto him as he helped transform the website from ascrappy startup to one of thebiggest and most antagonistic megaphones on theRight.

Detached from realityThat con�dence faded in recent days and weeks as theycame to believe he displayedserious lapses in judgment,according to interviews withhalf a dozen people close tothe situation. Some associates and friends describedMr. Bannon as being detached from reality, unableor unwilling to grasp the severity of his falling out withthe White House and its potential e�ect on Breitbart asa business.

Numerous people whohave worked with Mr. Bannon in the past few monthssaid that his attitude hadgrown more imperious andaloof than normal. And hisoutward lack of any emotionabout his messy publicbreach with the Presidentand the Mercer family strucksome not as the calloused indi�erence of a political operative but as nihilistic. NY TIMES

Under pressure, Bannonsteps down from Breitbart He lost support among conservatives over remarks on Trump and his son

JEREMY W. PETERS

WASHINGTON

Fall from grace: A �le photo of Steve Bannon during anelection meeting at Oak Hollow Farm in Alabama. * AFP

Unknown men on Wednesday tried to kidnap a Pakistani journalist known for hiscritical views on the powerful military. Taha Siddiqui,who is working for WIONTV, received minor injuriesas he resisted the kidnapping attempt and his phonewas snatched by theassailants.

Police con�rmed that thejournalist has �led a complaint. According to thecomplaint, Mr. Siddiqui wason his way to the Islamabadairport in a taxi when he wasintercepted. A car with fourmen holding pistols cameand tried to open the door ofthe car. It was also accompanied by a Toyota Vigo without a number plate. Theygrabbed him and tried totake him with them but Taharesisted and ran away. Hewent to the nearby policestation, according to thecomplaint.

Later, he tweeted from hisfriend and journalist CyrilAlmeida’s twitter handle.“This is Taha Siddiqui (@TahaSSiddiqui) using Cyrilsa/c. I was on my way to airport today at 8:20 am whn1012 armed men stopped

my cab & forcibly tried to abduct me. I managed to escape. Safe and with policenow. Looking for support inany way possible #StopEnforcedDisappearances.”

The RawalpindiIslamabad Union of Journalistsprotested the incident anddemanded the arrest of theculprits.

Mubarak Zeb Khan, president of the RIUJ, expressedconcern over the risingthreats to journalists in Pakistan. “We have appealedto Interior Minister AhsanIqbal to direct the concerned o�cials to investigate the incident. Freedomof press could not be suppressed through such actions. All the journalists ofthe country stand deter

mined to protect and defendall journalists,” he said.

Last year, Mr. Siddiquiwas summoned by the Federal Investigation Agency(FIA) over his “antimilitary”comments. Mr. Siddiqui �leda petition in the IslamabadHigh Court, challenging thesummons and won a reprieve as the court asked theFIA to stop harassing him.

Pattern in attacks Senior journalists immediately questioned the roleof intelligence agencies inthe ongoing attacks on journalists in Pakistan. “Such atedious pattern this: are ouragencies so incompetentthat they can’t kidnap/ kill?How did Hamid Mir survivesix bullets? Why didn’t theyjust kill Ahmed Noorani?You want to know how incompetent our agencies are?Just count our dead...,” tournalist and writer Mohammed Hanif tweeted.

Hamid Mir, who was attacked in Karachi in 2014,tweeted in support of Mr.Siddiqui. “They tried theirbest to kill me followed memany kilometers I receivedlast bullet close to hospitalbut they were not powerfulthan Allah.”

Siddiqui says he was attacked by armed men in Islamabad

Mubashir Zaidi

Karachi

Taha Siddiqui

Pak. journalist escapeskidnapping attempt

The Vatican has taken control of a Catholic movement in Peru whose founder is accused of sexualabuse, just days before theponti� visits the country.

Pope Francis has been“following with concern”developments at the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae(SCV) and the investigationinto its scandalhit founderLuis Fernando Figari, theVatican said.

Mr. Figari and severalother highranking �gureshave been accused ofpsychological and sexualabuse of minors and youngadults between 1975 and2002.

Vatican takesover Catholicgroup in Peru

Agence France-Presse

Vatican

President Donald Trumpcalled the U.S. courts system“broken and unfair” onWednesday, the morning after a federal judge’s rulingordered the administrationto restart a programme thatshields young immigrants inthe country illegally fromdeportation.

Republicans and Democrats are in the middle of alegislative battle over theprogram created by President Barack Obama, calledthe Deferred Action forChildhood Arrivals, or DACA. Lawmakers met with Mr.Trump on Tuesday to discuss the programme’sfuture.

“We �nd this decision tobe outrageous, especially inlight of the president’s successful bipartisan meetingwith House and Senatemembers at the White Houseon the same day,” SarahHuckabee Sanders, the

White House press secretary,said in a statement releasedWednesday morning.

Hours after the WhiteHouse meeting, Judge William Alsup of U.S. DistrictCourt in San Francisco wrotethat it was not proper to killthe programmme, and thatthe administration must“maintain the DACA program on a nationwide basis”as the legal challenge to thepresident’s decision in September to end the programme moves forward.

The federal judge wrotethat previous recipients ofthe DACA protections mustbe allowed to renew theirstatus in the programme.

Mr. Trump has previouslycriticised the courts system

after judges have halted orheld up many of his policyinitiatives.

Mr. Sanders said the fateof the program should be addressed by Congress.

“President Trump is committed to the rule of law, andwill work with members ofboth parties to reach a permanent solution that corrects the unconstitutionalactions taken by the last administration,” Mr. Sanderssaid.

Critics of President Donald Trump’s decision toend the DACA protectionsfor the Dreamers had suedthe administration, sayingthat the decision to end theObamaera programme wasarbitrary. NY TIMES

Court system is broken: TrumpAttacks judge’s order to restart programme protecting young immigrants

Donald Trump

EILEEN SULLIVAN

WASHINGTON

Tension prevailed in Sri Lankan Parliament on Wednesday, as lawmakers traded accusations while debating amajor bond scam in thecountry’s Central Bank.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriyaadjourned Parliament, evenas a heated exchange amongmembers began, following aprotest by Opposition forcesaligned to former PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa whenPrime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made a speech.

The House convened todebate a report of a Presi

dential Commission of Inquiry that held former Central Bank Governor ArjunaMahendran responsible foran LKR 11,145 millionloss topublic institutions, consequent to the illegal bond issue. Mr. Mahendran, whowas chosen by PM Wickremesinghe for the role of Governor, had leaked con�dential information to hissoninlaw on the bond issue, according to the report.

Opposition politicianscomplained that they hadnot received the report of arecent Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing the

bond issue. They walked into the middle of the chamber, carrying placards andshouting slogans. “About 50politicians from both sidesof the 225member Parliament took part in the scrum.It was unclear if anyone wasinjured, but some had theirshirts torn o�,” AP reported.

“Utter pandemonium inParliament . Apparently someone threw an object at@SriLanka PM while speaking in the Chamber. Didn’tsee. Disgraceful,” Deputy Minister of National Policiesand Economic A�airs Harsha De Silva tweeted.

Speaker adjourns House after Opposition MPs’ protest

Meera Srinivasan

Colombo

Tension in Sri LankanParliament over bond scam

A young Nepali womandied of suspected smokeinhalation while she wasbanished to a shed formenstruating under an ancient tradition bannedmore than a decade ago,police said on Wednesday.

Many communities inNepal view menstruatingwomen as impure and insome remote areas, theyare forced to sleep in a hutaway from home, a practice known as ‘chhaupadi’.

Gauri Bayak, 21, wasfound dead by her neighbours inside a smoke�lledhut on Monday morning ina village in the western district of Achham.

“She had lit a �re to keepherself warm and we suspect she su�ocated anddied of smoke inhalation,”local police chief DadhiRam Neupane said.

The autopsy report isawaited, sayid the police.

‘Chhaupadi’ is linked toHinduism and considerswomen untouchable whenthey menstruate, as well asafter childbirth.

Barred from touchingfood, religious icons, cattleand men, they are banished from the home andforced to sleep in basichuts.

The practice wasbanned in 2005 but is stillfollowed in many parts ofNepal.

Last year, a teenagerdied after being bitten by asnake while sleeping in ashed.

‘Menstruationhut’ claimslife in Nepal

Agence France-Presse

Kathmandu

China will fund the construction of an Afghan counterterrorism base in Badakhshanprovince to block crossborder in�ltration of ethnicUyghur militants.

Fergana News Agency(FNA) has quoted Gen. Dawlat Waziri of the Afghan Defence Ministry as saying thatChina will provide �nancialsupport to build the base,whose precise location inside Badakhshan, in northern Afghanistan, is yet to thedetermined.

Gen. Waziri said the Chi

nese side would cover all material and technical expensesfor this base — weaponry, uniforms for soldiers, militaryequipment and everythingelse necessary for its functioning. The decision tobuild the facility was takenduring last month’s visit toChina by Afghan Defence Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami.

Pragmatic cooperationDuring his visit, Mr. Bahramimet his Chinese counterpartChang Wanquan, and Xu Qiliang, ViceChairman of China’s Central MilitaryCommission.

According to China Military Online, a website a�liated with the People’s Liberation Army, Gen. Xu saidduring his meeting with Mr.Barhami that China was willing to “strengthen pragmaticcooperation in areas of military exchange and antiterrorism, and safeguard the security of the two countriesand the region, making contributions to the development of ChinaAfghanistanstrategic partnership ofcooperation”.

FNA said Mr. Bahrami andhis Chinese counterpartGen. Chang Wanquan

agreed that their counterterrorism focus should not onlybe con�ned to Badakhshan,but Afghanistan’s entirenorthern region.

Afghan analysts said thelargest group of Uyghur militants already resides in Badakhshan, from where theycan rapidly shift to China.The Afghan Defence Minister’s visit follows the �rstmeeting of the foreign ministers of China, Pakistan andAfghanistan last month.“China has been able to establish itself as an honest broker in the eyes of the Afghans,” a source said.

China to fund base in Afghanistan

Atul Aneja

Beijing

‘The counterterror facility in Badakhshan will check crossborder in�ltration’

Middleclass Afghans turnedjihadists have assisted the Islamic State group’s expansion from its stronghold inAfghanistan’s restive east toKabul, analysts say, helpingto make the capital one ofthe deadliest places in thecountry.

IS has claimed nearly 20attacks across Kabul in 18months, with cells includingstudents, professors andshopkeepers evading Afghanand US security forces tobring carnage to the highlyforti�ed city.

It is an alarming development for Kabul’s warwearycivilians and beleaguered se

curity forces, who are already struggling to beat backthe resurgent Taliban, aswell as for the U.S. counterterrorism mission inAfghanistan.

“This is not just a group

that has a rural bastion ineastern Afghanistan — it isstaging highcasualty, highvisibility attacks in the nation’s capital and I thinkthat’s something to be worried about,” said analyst Mi

chael Kugelman of the Wilson Center in Washington.

The Islamic StateKhorasan Province (ISK), the Middle East group’s a�liate inAfghanistan and Pakistan,emerged in the region in2014, largely made up of disa�ected �ghters from the Taliban and other jihadistgroups in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.

It claimed its �rst attack inKabul in the summer of2016.

The group’s resilience hasraised fears that Afghanistancould become a new base forIS �ghters �eeing the battle�elds of Syria and Iraq,where the group has lostswathes of territory.

IS cells evade security forces in Kabul Recruit middleclass Afghans, including students, professors and shopkeepers

At the ready: A �le photo of an Afghan policeman outside theulUloom mosque in Kabul. * AFP

Agence France-Press

Kabul


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BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE



NIFTY 50

PRICE CHANGE

Adani Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423.45. . . . . . . . . 2.35

Ambuja Cements. . . .. . . . . . 276.10. . . . . . . . -1.05

Asian Paints. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1177.40. . . . . . -15.65

Aurobindo Pharma . . . . . . 672.70. . . . . . . . -0.45

Axis Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562.80. . . . . . . . -2.50

Bajaj Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3207.40. . . . . . -36.10

Bajaj Finance . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1802.20. . . . . . -17.30

Bharti Airtel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506.40. . . . . . . . -3.40

Bosch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19811.15. . . . . . -18.95

BPCL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494.30. . . . . . . . -1.80

Cipla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619.75. . . . . . . . . 4.15

Coal India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308.30. . . . . . . . . 4.25

Dr Reddys Lab . . . . . . . .. . . . 2425.80. . . . . . -32.00

Eicher Motors. . . . . . . . .. 28097.50. . . -499.45

GAIL (India). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496.10. . . . . . . . -4.85

HCL Tech. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915.85. . . . . . . 22.00

HDFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1726.45. . . . . . . . -8.60

HDFC Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1864.20. . . . . . . . . 0.50

Hero MotoCorp . . . . . .. . . . 3736.90. . . . . . -12.55

Hindalco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268.80. . . . . . . . -2.70

HPCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424.55. . . . . . . . . 7.30

Hind Unilever . . . . . . . . .. . . . 1365.80. . . . . . . . . 4.50

Indiabulls HFL . . . . . . . .. . . . 1204.20. . . . . . -12.60

ICICI Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312.00. . . . . . . . -0.60

IndusInd Bank . . . . . . . .. . . . 1734.10. . . . . . . . . 9.05

Bharti Infratel . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 370.80. . . . . . . . . 2.40

Infosys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1052.25. . . . . . . 10.90

Indian OilCorp . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 389.55. . . . . . . . -2.85

ITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269.40. . . . . . . . -1.15

Kotak Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1002.25. . . . . . . . -7.50

L&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1323.75. . . . . . . . -9.00

Lupin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925.80. . . . . . . . . 2.55

M&M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759.85. . . . . . . . -2.60

Maurti Suzuki . . . . . . . . .. . . . 9375.85. . . . . . . . -7.70

NTPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173.95. . . . . . . . -2.75

ONGC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197.90. . . . . . . . . 0.90

PowerGrid Corp . . . . .. . . . . . 199.85. . . . . . . . -1.15

Reliance Ind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 942.35. . . . . . . . . 1.40

State Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301.10. . . . . . . . -3.20

Sun Pharma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585.10. . . . . . . . -1.40

Tata Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433.30. . . . . . . . -4.25

Tata Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 772.85. . . . . . . . . 0.55

TCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2806.60. . . . . . . 97.60

Tech Mahindra . . . . . . .. . . . . . 542.10. . . . . . . . . 8.25

UltraTech Cement. .. . . . 4403.20. . . . . . -23.65

UPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778.85. . . . . . -11.75

Vedanta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334.80. . . . . . . . -2.90

Wipro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326.70. . . . . . . . . 9.50

YES Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339.80. . . . . . . . -1.55

Zee Entertainment . . . . . . 580.50. . . . . . . . . 0.45

EXCHANGE RATES

Indicative direct rates in rupees a unitexcept yen at 4 p.m. on January 10

CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL

US Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 63.39. . . . . . . 63.71

Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 76.14. . . . . . . 76.53

British Pound. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 85.92. . . . . . . 86.37

Japanese Yen (100) . .. . 56.90. . . . . . . 57.20

Chinese Yuan . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 9.75. . . . . . . . . 9.80

Swiss Franc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 64.85. . . . . . . 65.18

Singapore Dollar . . . . . . .. . 47.61. . . . . . . 47.86

Canadian Dollar. . . . . . . . .. . 50.96. . . . . . . 51.22

Malaysian Ringitt . . . . . .. . 15.82. . . . . . . 15.94

Source:Indian Bank

BULLION RATES CHENNAI

January 10 rates in rupees with pre-vious rates in parentheses

Retail Silver (1g) . . . . . . . . . . . 41.80. . . . . (41.80)

22 ct gold (1 g) . .. . . . . . . . . . . 2,826. . . . . (2,821)

market watch

10-01-2018 % CHANGE

Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 34,433 ddddddddddddd-0.03

US Dollardddddddddddddddddddd 63.60 ddddddddddddddd0.17

Gold ddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 30,475 ddddddddddddd-0.08

Brent oil ddddddddddddddddddddd 69.02 ddddddddddddddd1.64

India’s growth rate in 2018 isprojected to hit 7.3% and7.5% in the next two years,according to the WorldBank, which said the country has “enormous growthpotential” compared to other emerging economies withthe implementation of comprehensive reforms. India isestimated to have grown at6.7% in 2017 despite initialsetbacks from demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), according tothe 2018 Global EconomicsProspect released by theWorld Bank here.

“In all likelihood, India isgoing to register highergrowth rate than other major emerging market economies in the next decade. So, Iwouldn’t focus on the shortterm numbers. I would lookat the big picture for Indiaand big picture is telling us

that it has enormous potential,” Ayhan Kose, director,Development ProspectsGroup at the World Bank,told PTI in an interview.

‘China, slow’He said in comparison withChina, which is slowing, theWorld Bank is expecting India to gradually accelerate.“The growth numbers of the

past three years were veryhealthy,” said Kose, authorof the report.

India’s economy is likelyto grow 7.3% in 2018 andthen accelerate to 7.5% in thenext two years, the banksaid. China grew at 6.8% in2017, 0.1% more than that ofIndia, while in 2018, itsgrowth rate is projected at6.4%. And in the next two

years, the country’s growthrate will drop marginally to6.3 and 6.2%, respectively.

To materialise its potential, India needed to takesteps to boost investmentprospects, Kose said.

There are measures underway to do in terms ofnon performing loans andproductivity, he said. “Onthe productivity side, Indiahas enormous potential withrespect to secondary education completion rate. All inall, improved labour marketreforms, education andhealth reforms as well as relaxing investment bottleneck will help improve India’s prospects,” Kose said.

India has a favourable demographic pro�le which israrely seen in other economies, he said.

“In that context, improving female labour force participation rate is going to beimportant,” he said.

World Bank projects 7.3% growth in 2018‘Enormous potential backed by reforms, when compared with other economies’

Concrete e�ort: Improved labour reforms will help improveIndia’s prospects, said Ayhan Khose. * REUTERS


Washington

The Union government onWednesday liberalised andsimpli�ed the Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) regime in ahost of sectors, includingSingle Brand Retail Trading(SBRT) and constructiondevelopment.

The Union Cabinet,chaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, gave its approval to a proposal permitting 100% FDI under the automatic route for SBRT.

Fiveyear windowThe Centre also eased‘sourcing norms’ in SBRT bypermitting companies to seto� their incremental sourcing of goods from India forglobal operations in the initial �ve years — beginningApril 1 of the year of theopening of the �rm’s �rststore — against the mandatory sourcing requirement of30% of purchases fromIndia.

After the completion ofthe �veyear period, SBRTentities would be required tomeet the 30% sourcingnorms directly towards itsIndia’s operation, on an annual basis, the governmentsaid in a statement.

The relaxation in sourcingnorms could help companies like Apple, which hadbeen seeking exemptionfrom the 30% local sourcingnorm, according to PankajMohindroo, national president, Indian Cellular Association (ICA). However, theICA is keen that companiesshould source entirely fromIndia, he said.

Apple is learnt to havesought the waiver on theground that it manufactures‘cuttingedge technology’products for which it is not

possible to source as muchfrom India due to the absence of or low capacity ofthe requisite supplychainitems.

‘Make in India’ gets �llip “The move will not only attract additional foreign capital into the country, but willalso provide an impetus tothe retail industry growth, ata time when organised retailis already seeing stronggrowth over the last 12months,” Rajat Wahi, Partner, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, said in a statement.

He added, “Global brandsacross di�erent categories,from apparel to electronicsto accessories will be aidedthrough this, providingfurther options to Indianconsumers and improvingIndia’s ranking in ease of doing business.”

The relaxation in localsourcing norms would allowthe SBRT entity adequatetime to set up their supplychain for local souring in India, Mr. Wahi said, addingthat it would also provide animpetus to the government’s“Make In India” initiative.

On its impact on consumers, Mr. Wahi said the movewould open up the Indian

retail markets, leading togreater number of brandsentering the Indian retailspace and thus increasingcompetition.

“This would providemore options to the consumers as well as competitivepricing,” he said, adding thatthe move would also indirectly support omnichannelapproach for companieswho wish to enter both online and o�ine trade.

Goldie Dhama, Partner Regulatory, PwC India, saidthe easier sourcing norms“will provide the singlebrand retail trading companies the �exibility and timeto align their retail andsourcing business.”

Break for brokingIn construction development, the Centre said thatreal estate broking servicedid not amount to ‘real estate business’ and was, therefore, eligible for 100% FDIunder the automatic route.

Bhairav Dalal, partner,Real Estate Tax, PwC India,said that the clari�cation onreal estate broking serviceswas a welcome move “giventhe number of startups inthis space o�ering innovative broking products.”

Centre opens arms tosingle brand retail FDISourcing norms eased, 100% FDI put on ‘automatic’ route

Choices galore: The new norms will bene�t consumers byproviding more options and competitive pricing, say analysts.


New Delhi

Indian Overseas Bank’s decision to dip into capital reserves to writeo� accumulated losses has helped thebank to avoid default on coupon payments to bonds holders, rating agency Fitchsaid on Wednesday.

Last week, the Chennaibased lender decided to utilise �7650.06 crore availablein its share premium account, which is a part of itscapital reserves, to write o�accumulated losses worth�6978.94 crore.

“The recent decision byIndian Overseas Bank (IOB)to set o� operational lossesagainst share premium reserves — part of its capital reserves — instead of revenuereserves, illustrates the di�

culties faced by some undercapitalised banks as they tryto avoid skipping couponpayments on lossabsorbinginstruments,” the ratingagency said.

Coupon due“Fitch estimates that IOBwould not have met the prerequisite of positive distrib

utable reserves for paying itscoupon due in February2018 if it had not dipped intocapital reserves,” it added.

The rating agency said thestaterun lender had set aprecedent for other weakbanks to clean up their balancesheet in the same way.

“The RBI’s apparent decision not to block the movealso adds to the series of regulatory forbearance that hashelped avoid the risk offailed coupon payment inthe previous few years,”Fitch said. Such a moveneeds the banking regulator’s approval. Fitch addedthat some small, weakerbanks are still likely to fall into the government’s consolidation agenda, despite support from fresh capital andregulatory forbearance.

‘IOB’s tapping of reservesstaves o� possible default’Precedent for other lenders to clean up balance sheet: Fitch


Mumbai

Indian mobile advertisingnetwork InMobi on Wednesday announced the acquisition of Los Angelesbased startup AerServ for$90 million in a cash andstock deal. AerServ helpsmobile publishers grow revenue through its ad mediation platform.

InMobi, which wasbacked by top investors including SoftBank, said theacquisition would help it tocreate world’s largest programmatic video platformfor mobile publishers.“This acquisition �ts inperfectly with our globalstrategy to bring bestinclass technology for premium publishers and drivemobile programmatic video revenues to them,”said Abhay Singhal, cofounder and CRO at InMobi, in a statement.

InMobi buysAerServ for$90 millionPeerzada Abrar

BENGALURU

A combination of lastminute�lers, glitches on the Goodsand Services Tax Networkportal, and confusion surrounding the �nal deadlinefor �ling the GSTR1 formmeant that people faced several hurdles in �ling their returns for the April to November period.

January 10 was the deadline for �ling GSTR1 formsfor the July to Septemberquarter for taxpayers with aturnover up to �1.5 crore andfor the July to November period for taxpayers with a turnover above �1.5 crore.

Fake noti�cationFollowing the circulation of afake noti�cation on socialmedia claiming that the government had extended thedeadline to January 15, the

government was forced to issue a clari�cation that theoriginal deadline stood.“The last date for �ling of return in form GSTR1, for different classes of taxpayersfor the relevant periods… remains January 10, 2018,” theFinance Ministry said in astatement. “There has been

no further extension of datefor �ling return in formGSTR1. Taxpayers may notethat there is a fake noti�cation regarding extension ofdate being circulated on social media.” “What is happening is that since today isthe last day for �ling GSTR1for quite a long period, thisis a very crucial date,” saidAditya Singhania, deputygeneral manager, Taxation atTaxmann, one of the o�cialGST Suvidha Providers. “Butat this juncture, with theGSTN portal not functioningproperly, with only three orfour successful logins out often attempts, people are unable to �le their returns.”

“In the midst of this,when a fake noti�cation getscirculated in the market,then the tax �lers naturallyget a�ected by this,” Mr.Singhania added. “This is

creating a big problem.”The other problem seems

to be the systemic issue oftax �lers waiting till the lastdate to �le their returns,which overloads the portal.While some said that thiswas a major problem, otherssaid the portal downtimewas not a signi�cant issue.“There have been two broadproblems with the GSTNportal,” Archit Gupta, founder and CEO of Cleartaxsaid. “The �rst is that peopleare having trouble loggingonto the portal, and the second is that the data, onceuploaded, is not re�ectingon the site.”

“For most of the taxpayers, the clients are sharing their information at thelast moment, so consultantsare �nding it very di�cult to�le their returns on the lastdate,” Mr. Singhania added.

Confusion reigns on GSTR1 �ling deadlineNo extension of Jan. 10 deadline, says govt; technical glitches dog online tax �lers

Consultants have tough timeas clients share details late,said Taxmann’s Singhania.

TCA Sharad Raghavan

NEW DELHI

Retail stocks on Wednesday rose by as much as 6%following the government’sdecision to relax the FDInorms in singlebrandretail.

While shares of IndianTerrain Fashions surged6.66%, Future Enterprisesclimbed 5.11%, Provogue(India) rose by 4.93%,Monte Carlo Fashionsgained 3.99% and VMartRetail went up by 3.68% onthe BSE. Among others,Future Consumer rose by2.25%, Shoppers Stop(2.01%) and Trent (1.15%).

Till date, 49% FDI was allowed under automaticroute, while beyond thatgovernment’s approvalwas required.

Retail stocksclimb as FDInorms eased

press Trust of India

New Delhi

International single brandretailers from Apple Inc. tofurniture giant IKEA, Nikeand Dell would �nd it attractive to set up shop or expandexisting operations in Indiain the wake of the government’s move to allow 100%foreign direct investment(FDI) in single brand retailvia the automatic route andease sourcing norms, according to analysts.

Rajesh Thakkar Tax &Regulatory Partner, BDO India said the Indian marketplace was likely to witness asti�er �ght between Indianand global brands.

“FDI in retail trading in In

dia shifts the pace to thenext level. With 100% FDIpermitted under automaticroute and relaxed sourcingrequirements, the markethas now opened up to a tugof war between Indian andglobal brands. Consumerswould have access to international products while theIndian sourcing requirements for single brand retailers have been pegged to cover global procurementmodels,” said Mr. Thakkar.

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEOof Retail Association of India(RAI) opined that the decision would ease the processfor foreign as well Indianbrands interested in beingpart of the ‘Great Indian Re

tail Story’. “It is known thatglobal companies take timeto develop good suppliers aspartners and hence the relaxed time frame for sourcing is conducive withoutcompromising India’s needto be a good sourcing hubfor global brands,” said Mr.Rajagopalan.

“This should also generate employment and give Indian consumers access toseveral internationalbrands,” said Aashish Kasad,India region tax leader, consumer products and retail,EY India.

However, there was alsoan expectation that FDInorms for multibrand retailwould be eased, he added.

Brands from Apple to IKEAseen gaining on retail �llipMarketplace to see sti�er �ght among foreign, local brands


MUMBAI


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BUSINESSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE



IN BRIEF

Tata Motors global salesrose 23% in DecemberNEW DELHI

Tata Motors reported a 23%

increase in total global sales

at 1,16,677 units for

December 2017. Global

wholesales of all Tata Motors

commercial vehicles and Tata

Daewoo range were at 47,182

units, an increase of 53%

over the same month

previous year, the company

said. The �rm’s British arm

Jaguar Land Rover clocked

total global sales of 55,066

units in December. In the

passenger vehicles segment,

total sales grew by 8% at

69,495 units last month. PTI

Fintech startup NiYOmops up �85 croreBENGALURU

NiYO Solutions Inc., a �ntech

startup focussed on salaried

employees, said it had raised

�85 crore in a Series A

funding. The investment was

made by Social Capital, JS

Capital LLC (the family o�ce

of Jonathan Soros), and

Horizons Ventures. Existing

investor Prime Venture

Partners participated in the

round. NiYO plans to expand

its product suite besides

taking the product to tier 2

and 3 towns.

Malaysiabased AirAsia Bhd.is considering an initial public o�ering (IPO) for its Indian unit and seeking apartner for its services business, the carrier’s groupchief executive Tony Fernandes said on Wednesday.

This is the latest in a seriesof asset monetisations beingundertaken by the budgetairline group, which thisweek received shareholdernod for a reorganisation tomake AirAsia Group Bhd. thelisted holding company forassets across Asia.

AirAsia has already completed a backdoor listing ofIndonesia AirAsia TBK PTand �nalised a S$119.3 million ($89.38 million) jointventure for its groundhandling business with Singapore’s SATS Ltd. Its Philip

pine unit is looking to raiseup to $250 million via an IPOin mid2018.

AirAsia will seek approvalat the next AirAsia Indiaboard meeting to pick abanker to start a preliminaryprocess for an IPO, Mr. Fernandes posted on Twitter onWednesday.

While analysts are “givingzero value to AirAsia India,”the unit is a “very valuableasset with huge growth potential,” he said in separatetweets, adding that the subsidiary “was not far from 20planes and a potential IPO.”

According to Indian regulations, airlines need to have

a �eet of at least 20 aircraft to�y on international routes.

AirAsia India, a joint venture with India’s Tata Sonsconglomerate, had 14 planesat end2017. Its revenue lastyear was expected to doubleto �12 billion ($188.44 million) and climb to �18 billionin 2018.

The fastgrowing Indianventure reported a net lossof �164 million in the quarterended September, accordingto AirAsia’s latest accounts.

‘Negative equity’“AirAsia India is still incurring startup losses and innegative equity, so it is challenging to ascribe much value to the business at thispoint,” said Corrine Png, theCEO of transport research�rm Crucial Perspective.

However, she said if theIndian venture grew its �eet

to 20 and turned pro�table,AirAsia’s 49% stake could beworth $200 million based onlisted Indian airline rivals.

Mr. Fernandes said AirAsia was also in the process ofappointing a banker to �nd apartner for its shared services centre business, AirAsiaGlobal Shared Services,which provides accountingservices and data management for its airlines.

But Ms. Png said the valueof that business would be insigni�cant, at about 1 millionringgit ($249,563).

AirAsia said it did not haveany additional informationto share on the plans announced by Mr. Fernandes.

The airline group’s strategy involves selling morestakes in the company’s non�ying businesses to helpfund special dividends, Mr.Fernandes said in October.

AirAsia explores IPO for India unitSeeks partner for services business; once pro�table, Indian stake can be worth $200 mn, says analyst

First step: AirAsia will seek nod at unit’s next board meeting topick a banker to start the process, said CEO Tony Fernandes.

Reuters

SINGAPORE

Country’s largest carmakerMaruti Suzuki India Ltd.(MSIL) said on Wednesdaythat it had increased pricesacross models by up to�17,000 in order to partiallyo�set rise in input costs.

In a regulatory �ling,MSIL said the increase willrange between �1,700 and�17,000, across models, owing to increase in commodity, administrative and distribution costs.

The company sells arange of models startingwith hatchback Alto 800 topremium crossover SCross,priced between �2.45 lakhand �11.29 lakh (exshowroom Delhi).

The automobile companyhad said last month that itwould take a price increase

from this month.Tata Motors has already

increased prices of its vehicles by up to �25,000 fromJanuary 1.

Various automobile makers including Hyundai Motor India, Honda Cars, Mahindra & Mahindra havealready announced price increases from this month.

Maruti raises vehicleprices by up to �17,000‘Move to help o�set rise in input costs’


New Delhi

MSI sells a range of modelsincluding the premiumcrossover SCross.

Bajaj Auto has unveiled twonew motorcycles of the Discover brand — the Discover110 and the Discover 125 — tosigni�cantly enhance itsmarket share in the executive commuter segment,which accounts for 51% of allmotorcycles sold in India,said a top companyexecutive.

While the 110 motorcycleis priced at �50,496, the Discover 125 will be available ata price of �53,491 and�56,314 (exshowroomMaharashtra).

“The new Discover 110and 125 bring �rst time everfeatures to customers in the100125 cc segment for a premium experience. The Discovers shall attract a whole

new set of customers whodesire the bene�ts of modern technology,” said EricVas, president (Motorcycles), Bajaj Auto Ltd.

“Currently, we are selling8,000 units of Discover amonth and with the two newintroductions, we are target

ing a monthly sales of70,000 units after one year,”Mr. Vas said.

“The old Discover will bediscontinued and the newintroductions will ‘completely revive the Discoverbrand which was not givendue attention in the last twoand half years,” Mr. Vas added.

‘Performance’ bikesBajaj Auto also showcasedthe new 2018 version of itsperformance motorcycles.These include the Dominars, which will come inthree new colours, the newAvenger Cruise 220 andStreet 220, that will nowcome with a more contemporary look while retainingit de�nitive classical familysilhouette.

‘New models 110 and 125 to help completely revive brand’


MUMBAI

These bikes are for thoseseeking modern technology,says Eric Vas. * PAUL NORONHA

Bajaj unveils two Discover bikes

Real estate developer Embassy Group will be making acapital expenditure of morethan �10,000 crore in itsthree verticals over the nextfour to �ve years, said a topexecutive.

“We will be investing a little over �10,000 crore in ourbusiness verticals in the next�ve years,” said Mike Holland, chief executive o�cer,Embassy O�ce Parks.

“It will be in commercialo�ce space, integrated residential developments and industrial parks.”

On the commercial o�cespace front, the group has

completed and upgraded 25million sq.ft, and another 15million sq.ft. is in the pipeline. Besides, 7.8 million sq.ftof residential blocks havebeen developed and 10 million sq.ft. are in various stag

es of development.Over the next four years,

the group plans to develop20 million sq.ft of largescaleand fully managed industrialand warehousing projects inseven cities namely NCR,Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune.

Mr. Holland said the �rstphase of 4.5 million sq.ft Embassy Splendid Tech Zonenear the Chennai Airportwould be completed by end2018. “It will take at leastthree to four years to complete the full project. Thecapital expenditure ispegged at �1,575 crore. Initially, it will be developed ona 30acre land,” he said.

Work on the second phaseof Embassy Residency, an integrated township near Sholinganallur, would commence soon and becompleted in four years. Itwill house 1,000 apartmentsof 2 and 3 BHK and the investment excluding land is�400 crore.

Warehouse project On the �900crore industrialand warehouse building project in Sriperumbudur, hesaid the work had startedand would be ready bymid2018.

“We will have a hotel ineach of the business parks,”Mr. Holland said.

Embassy Group to invest more than�10,000 crore in upcoming projectsCommercial o�ce space, integrated residential development priorities, says CEO


CHENNAI

Mike Holland. * BIJOY GHOSH

Lupin gets U.S. nod tomarket generic Tami�u NEW DELHI

Drug major Lupin said it had

received approval from the

U.S. Food and Drug

Administration (USFDA) to

market a generic version of

Tami�u capsules, used in

treating in�uenza. The �rm

has received �nal approval

from the U.S. drug regulator

to market oseltamivir

phosphate capsules, a

generic version of Ho�man

La Roche Inc.’s Tami�u

capsules, in strengths of 30

mg, 45 mg and 75 mg. PTI


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SPORT

The three South Africanspeedsters who demolishedthe Indian batting in the second innings at Newlandsbrought di�erent qualitieswith them.

Despite all of them beingrightarmers, there is varietyin this pace pack. Vernon Philander: On thepitches here, a batsman requires exceptional techniqueor loads of luck to surviveagainst Philander.

He’s a pure seam bowler,does not swing the ball. Thebatsmen cannot really gethints about what he is goingto bowl by watching the position of the seam; which waythe shiny side is facing orwhether it will be swingingaway or in. The theory is simple — if the ball swings oneway, it simply cannot seam

the other way after pitching.But then, with Philander,

the ball comes in on astraight line, just no swing.His wrist position, so welldisguised, gives little away.And he seams the ball awayas well as brings it in from asimilar wrist position.

The batsmen, strugglingto pick Philander, �nd it di�cult to play him o� the pitch.And the South African makesthings harder for them withhis control. He generallybowls a good length on orjust outside the o�stumpfrom a rather frontonrelease.

Gradually, Philander maypitch the ball a little up andget the batsman forward and�nd the edge. M. Vijay fell tothis ploy in the second innings. Philander is just mediumpace but bowls with laserguided precision andprobes footwork. The manner in which he kept taking

the ball away from a littlewider of the o�stump tofrustrate and choke ViratKohli before forcing him toplay across one that seamedin, was masterclass.

In the �rst 35 overs withthe Kookaburra ball, Philander represents the biggestdanger to India.

If the batsman can’t pickPhilander, he cannot a�ordto ‘leave’ him since the ballmight dart back to trap himlegbefore. So Philander forces the batsman play at theball and takes him out withthe one leaving him.Morne Morkel: He’s verydi�erent from Philander.Beanpole Morkel utilises hisheight fully, releases from ahigharm action. Unlike Philander, he relies more onbounce.

In fact, his bowling hasheaps of lift. He can regularlyhit the batsmen on theknuckles and ribs. His new

ball pairing with Philander isa combination of contrasts.

If he gets his length right —not the easiest of tasks for abowler who is 6’5” —Morkelcan be lethal. He can get theball to climb awkwardly froma length and produce just theright amount of seam movement from the fourth or the�fth stump to �nd the edge.

Morkel is a seam bowler,doesn’t rely on swing, andwon’t really pitch it up. Hislength generally veers between shortofagood lengthand good length dependingon the surface.

He can be quick if hewants to and given his speedand bounce, the batsmencan fend catches to gully orshortleg. Kagiso Rabada: The mostexciting young fast bowler incontemporary cricket. Rabada is athletic, fast and skilfuland he’s just 22.

Already ranked the No. 1

Test bowler, Rabada is a potent package. Unlike Philander or Morkel, his length canbe fuller and he actuallyswings the ball.

He can get the ball to movein the air, both away and in,at speeds of around 150kmph and has the skill to reverse it as well. His yorkerscan be deadly.

This said, Rabada canseam the ball too and possesses a nasty shortpitchedball. When things get roughfor South Africa, Rabada canput his foot on the gas.

The manner he wentroundthewicket and got theball to climb alarmingly intoHardik Pandya’s body — theIndian allrounder wasstruck a painful blow on themidri� — showed Rabadacould hurt. Soon, he sentback Pandya.

South Africa’s matchwinning pace trio — they are alldi�erent.

Three di�erent routes to destination demolition The South African pace trio — a varied combination of pace, bounce, seam and swing — is as lethal as it gets

INDIA IN SAS. Dinakar

Cape Town

Ripper of a seamer: Vernon Philander can be more than a handful by himself as he showed inIndia’s second innings at Cape Town with a sixfor. * CARL FOURIE/GETTY IMAGES

Former South African batsman Peter Kirsten wasscathing in his criticism ofthe Indian batting display inthe �rst Test here atNewlands.

Kirsten, the elder brotherof former India coach Garyand a �eetfooted righthander in his time, told The Hin-

du here on Wednesday, “Thelast time the Indians camehere, they were ‘leaving’ alot more deliveries. This timethey weren’t doing so and Iam surprised.”

The 62yearold Kirsten,now involved in a CricketSouth Africa programme forcoaching schoolboys, said,

“The Indians waved andpoked at deliveries outsidethe o�stump as if they wanted to nick it. You just cannotdo that.”

Use forceHe added, “If you decide toplay a shot, you should go atthe ball forcefully, throughthe line if it is possible, sothat even if you edge the ball,it �ies over the slip. Otherwise, just leave the ball.”

Kirsten was disappointedat the Indian shotmaking.“Kohli in the �rst innings, hejust poked at the ball outsideo�. And on pitches withbounce here, Dhawanshould realise that the hookand the pull shots are ex

tremely dangerous optionsagainst the new ball.”

No half-measuresThe South African said, “Youneed to be sure with yourfootwork. If you want to go

forward, go fully forward. Donot do so halfheartedly andget caught out at the crease.The Indian batsmen have toget their feet moving, eitherforward or back.

“Only Hardik Pandyashowed the way. There wereno half measures in his batting. He went for the ballhard. He was not in twominds.”

Talking about the SouthAfrican bowling, he said,“They are making pitches forPhilander. He is very di�cultto play in these conditions.Morkel and Rabada, they aretesting bowlers who can getbounce. In fact, I have neverseen such quick bounce atNewlands before.”

Looking at the pitch atCenturion, the venue for thesecond Test beginning Saturday, Kirsten noted, “It wouldbe similar to the one at Newlands. There will be movement but the bounce couldbe slower than what we sawat Newlands.”

Kirsten was appreciativeof the Indian pacemen andsaid, “They bowled well inthe second innings. Theybowled the right length. ButI thought their length wastoo short in the �rst innings,especially when they bowledat the tail.”

For India to �ght back inthe series, the batsmenneeded to put their handsup, concluded Kirsten.

Poking at the ball not the way: Peter Kirsten The former South African batsman surprised at the Indians’ approach outside the o�stump

S. Dinakar

Cape Town

Peter Kirsten. * FILE PHOTO

India will tour Ireland, its�rst visit to the countrysince 2007, for a couple ofT20Is in June before thefull series in England fromJuly to September

The T20 matches will beheld in Dublin on June 27and June 29, the BCCI announced on Wednesday.

India to playT20Is againstIreland


New Delhi

Kerala Blasters registeredits �rst win under newcoach David James withstriker Iain Hume �ring in ahattrick against Delhi Dynamos on Wednesday.

Blasters went ahead inthe 12th minute whenCourage Pekuson foundHume in the box who thenstabbed it home.

Dynamos drew levelwhen Kotal scored his �rstgoal in the 44th minute.

Post the interval, thingswere on an even keel tillHume raised his game. Hescored twice in the spaceof �ve minutes (78 & 83) toleave Delhi at the bottom ofthe table.

Hume’s hattrick liftsBlasters

sports bureau

New Delhi

Minerva Punjab FC createdan upset when it downedMohun Bagan 21 away tothe latter’s home in an ILeague �xture at the SaltLake Stadium on Wednesday. The win helped theyoung out�t from Ludhianareach the top of the currentstandings.

Bhutanese forward Chencho Gyeltshen struck twicein a span of seven minutesearly in the opening session.Despite making a good start,Bagan appeared to lapse into its old tentative form thatsaw it faltering repeatedlyagainst opponents at homein the previous rounds.

This was evident in theway its Liberian strikerAnusmana Kromah misseda penalty in the �rst half before Nigerian defender EzeKingsley went up to score alate consolation goal in added time. Bagan e�ected acouple of changes in thesquad against the academyside, which has been performing consistently well inthe last few rounds.

Gyeltshen, playing as the

lone striker, relished thegood support he got fromthe threeman attackingmid�eld as Minerva Punjabcame up with �necountero�ensives.

The striker, collecting afeeble clearance from Bagandefender Arijit Bagui, gotthe break in the 23rd minutewhen he found the net witha nice piledriver to beat Bagan goalkeeper K. Shibinraj.

Gyeltshen found the insurance goal at the halfhourmark producing a spectacular �nish when he was setup with a nice through passfrom Ghanaian mid�elderWilliam Asiedu.

Bagan earned a penaltyin the 35th but Kromah’s effort from the spot wasstopped by Minerva custodian Rakshit Dagar, whojudged it right. Bagan �nallyfound the target in thefourth minute of added timewhen Eze �red home a longranger.

The win helped MinervaPunjab tally 19 points andovertake East Bengal (on 18points) at the top.The result: Mohun Bagan 1(Kingsley Eze 90+4) lost toMinerva Punjab 2 (ChenchoGyeltshen 23, 30).

Minerva Punjabstuns Mohun BaganReaches top of the standings

I-LEAGUE

Amitabha Das Sharma

KOLKATA

Early goals: Chencho Gyeltshen struck twice in a span ofseven minutes to ensure Minerva Punjab’s win overMohun Bagan. * AIFF.COM

On a Sunday teeming withspectators at the Nehru Indoor Stadium here, Hyderabad Hunters took on AwadheWarriors in the VodafonePremier Badminton League.

The crowd enjoyed themen’s doubles with loudwhistles and cheers. Andone portly man regaledthose gathered with jumpingsmashes and razorsharp re�exes at the net.

Markis Kido of Indonesiaplaying for Hyderabad usedhis experience to good e�ectwith wonderful tactical playto guide his partner YooYoon Seong to win the �rstmatch.

The 33yearold is no ordinary player. He is a formerOlympic gold medallist (‘08Beijing) and World champion (‘07) in men’s doubleswith Hendra Setiawan. The

pair was ranked No.1 in 2007and their friendship is stillstrong even though theyhave split for six years. “Westill talk and there is no problem (with our friendship),”

said Setiawan, who plays forAwadhe Warriors.

Starting their careers fromthe same club, Jaya Raya BC,it was the coach at the Clubwho asked them to pair up in

1997. While Kido has 10 Super Series titles Hendra hasbagged 18. For all their triumphs, it was the Olympicgold that was the icing on thecake.

Winning the Beijing Olympic gold, said Hendra was adream come true that madethem one of the best pairs inthe world.

“We were thrilled. Winning in Beijing was special asthe competition was tougher, according to Hendra. “Werate it much higher than the2007 World championshipwin,” said Kido.

The failure of the pair toqualify for the 2012 LondonOlympics was one of themain reasons for the split,according to Setiawan.

“That time we didn’t qualify for London. I wantedsome new challenges with anew partner,” he said .

With new partners and

age catching up —Kido ispartnering Hendra Aprida(for the last three years)while Setiawan has pairedwith Boon Heong Tan for thelast one year —their rankingshave gone down. Kido isranked 59 while Setiawan is20.

Not botheredBut that doesn’t botherthem. “We are not worriedabout that. We will do ourbest. Also, you should understand we both are 33 yearsold,” said Setiawan.

Playing in PBL has givethem a new lease of life, respect and recognition. “Welike coming to India, and weshould say this: PBL is getting better and better withevery passing year,” said Setiawan, who has two wontwo more World championship titles (‘13 & ‘15) withMohd Ahsan.

Kido and Setiawan relive their glory days The former doubles pair rates Beijing gold higher than winning World championship

K. Keerthivasan

CHENNAI

Going strong: For Indonesians Hendra Setiawan, left, andMarkis Kido, who started their careers with the same club,an Olympic gold was their high point. * B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM

Delhi Dashers made it to thelast four of the Vodafone Premier Badminton Leaguechampionship with 41 winover NorthEastern Warriorsto �nish the league with 15points at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday night.

Warriors were o� to a winning start thanks to the e�cacy of the mixed doublescombination of Li Michelleand Shin BaekCheol, whoshocked the experiencedVladimir Ivanov and AshwiniPonnappa 1513, 1511 in frontof a sparse crowd.

Then, in the �rst men’ssingles, World No. 15 Wing KiWong Vincent of Delhi Dashers scored a 1513, 1015, 1512win over World No. 38 AjayJayaram of Warriors to keephis team in the hunt.

Vincent showed his allround skills in the �rst gamewith a perfect blend of

smashes and delectabledrops only to see the opponent change the pace of thegame in the second one — relying more on net dribbleswhich proved to be e�ective

as Jayaram took the issue into the decider.

After a sluggish start in the�nal game which saw thescores tied sevenall, Vincentwas a di�erent player getting

his strokes in and his job wasmade easier with Jayaramfumbling with net dribbles.

Then came the big turnaround for Delhi with WorldNo. 22 Tian Houwei shocking

World No. 11 Wang Tzu Weiin what was a Trump matchfor the Warriors.

In the �rst game, southpaw Houwei was in a hurrywith stunning smashes toboth �anks. But, in the second game, Wang, in a cleverchange of strategy, playedmostly from the centre tocover those gaps and sethimself well for a series ofstinging smashes.

In the decider, Houweishowed spirit after trailing29 to eventually win thegame and the match with aterri�c display of aggressionand great defence at the net.The results: Delhi Dashers btNorthEastern Warriors 41(Vladimir Ivanov & AshwiniPonnappa lost to Li Michelle &Shin BaekCheol 1315, 1115;Wing Ki Wong Vincent bt AjayJayaram 1513, 1015, 1512;Tian Houwei bt Wang Tzu Wei(T) 1510, 815, 1511; Sung JiHyun (T) bt Li Michelle 1315,1511, 1513; Ivan Sozonov& Vladimir Ivanov lost to Kim Gi Jung& Shin BaekCheol 915, 1510,159).

Delhi Dashers storms into the semi�nals Tian Houwei turns things around with a win over Wang Tzu Wei in Warriors’ Trump match

PBL

Prize scalp: Tian Houwei of Delhi Dashers was down 29 in the �nal game but bounced back toclinch it 1511 to upset Wang Tzu Wei. * K.V.S. GIRI

V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

Hyderabad

Prime Minister NarendraModi lauded skier AanchalThakur for her ‘historicaccomplishment.’

Aanchal clinched thebronze medal in the AlpineEjder 3200 Cup in Erzurum in Turkey. The eventwas organised by the Federation Internationale deSki (FIS). The 21yearoldsealed the medal in the slalom race category.

PM laudsskierAanchal

ANI

New Delhi


#3 9 7 9 1 8

CMYK

A ND-NDE




SPORT

SUDOKU

Solution to puzzle 12211 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

In the Vaishnava tradition, it is believed that prapatti becomes e�cacious when the jivatma propitiates the divinecouple together. The goal of the prapatti made by Andal andthe Gopis in the Tiruppavai Pasuram ‘Kutthu Villaku Eriya,’to Nappinnai and Krishna is to seek the privilege of Kainkarya to the divine couple, pointed out Kalyanapuram SriAravamudhachariar in a discourse. Krishna is seen to playfully prevent Nappinnai from opening the door; perhaps theLord wants to open the door before Nappinnai. This re�ectsthe truth that both of them are forever competing with eachother in their concern for the welfare of the jivatma. If theLord reaches out to His bhakta in many subtle ways such asinterpreting even a small act or o�ering as something precious and going out of the way to help him, the divine mother’s role as a sure refuge for all including sinners, is surely acut above the Lord’s. Her inherent power to grant protection to all beings is governed by her tremendous insight intohuman failings. Posterity is indebted to Sita’s classic statement when she asks if there is any one at all in this creationwho is free of faults. This is made when Hanuman wants tokill the rakshasis who had tormented her. Hanuman hadbeen a witness to the torture Sita had to put up with andnow he wishes to punish them for their cruel behaviour. Sitasees the rakshasis as merely following the orders of Ravanaand says that they could not be taken to task for that. Sheadds that noble souls should be compassionate to all, sinners as well as good people. No wonder acharyas such asAlavandar, Ramanuja, Parasara Bhattar, Vedanta Desika andothers hail the fame of divine mother as far exceeding thatof the Lord. Rama gives protection to Vibhishana and Kakasura who sought His feet while Sita’s is all inclusive.

FAITH

Divine mother’s role 2 One percent time spent to

snoop on others (9)

3 Fluid (doctor's �uid) (6)

5 Get to unwrap box here? (4)

6 Dandy having soda at home

with Juliet (8)

7 Wireless port has a drive at

one end plugged in (5)

8 Make out research institute is

close to hell (7)

11 Busy, having committed to

wedding (7)

14 Bachelor's tricked, your

Honour! (7)

17 Angry gossip or witty

conversation? (54)

18 Hot objects with sides

featuring a vase (8)

19 Turnover of hundred thousand

is... er... pleasing to the ear

(7)

21 Old rum tonic is a source of

energy (7)

22 Gun shot during accident

causes difficulty (42)

24 Tree mounted in botanical

illustration (5)

26 Changing hands to unrestrain

bolt (4)

12 Somersaultdoing model's

lungi dances about right (8)

13 Drop off tin with leak (6)

15 Blood pressure expands

partially — "That's a bad

word!" (4)

16 On return, �rst man needs

oxygen cylinder, possibly an

African (10)

19 He must be worried about

healthy old man (10)

20 Mood is re�ected being out

every so often (4)

23 Mum, the empty tummy

remains empty during this

time (6)

25 Japan and Russia at war about

150 million years back (8)

27 Reserved name as a sales tactic

(4,4)

28 Some gasbag has terrorists

stunned (6)

29 Hundred in place of one —

solitude badly destroyed (8)

30 Verbal from nosepoking

players (6)

n DOWN

1 Cricketing shot key for opener

(43)

(set by Scintillator)

n ACROSS 1 Dispersive elements in good

message blocked by religious

head (6)

4 Willing to cut breaks before

end of period (8)

9 Leave undisturbed and be late

to school (312)

10 Extremely pained

sympathisers, extremely

agitated (2,6)

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12212

Injured VillasBoas out of Dakar RallySAN JUAN DE MARCONA (PERU)

Portuguese football coach

Andre VillasBoas has been

forced out of the Dakar Rally

after hurting his back on

Tuesday’s fourth stage, his

team Toyota Overdrive said in

a statement. The former

Chelsea and Tottenham

coach jolted his back after his

car went airborne off a sand

dune and made a hard

landing. AFP

IN BRIEF

Djokovic makesresounding return MELBOURNE

Novak Djokovic made a

resounding return on

Wednesday after six months

out with an elbow injury,

declaring he felt “great” after

beating World No.5 Dominic

Thiem 61, 64 at the

Kooyong Classic. “I feel

great, I was eager to get onto

the court. I had a great

opponent, it was a test for

me to see where I am, how

the work we did pays off on

court. It worked pretty well,”

he said. AFP

NBA: Sony Ten 1 (SD & HD),6.30 & 9 a.m.Syed Mushtaq Ali T20: StarSports 1 (SD & HD), 9 a.m. & 1p.m.PBL: Star Sports 1 (SD & HD),7 p.m.ISL: Star Sports 2 (SD & HD),8 p.m.

TV PICKS

Delhi’s campaign in the SyedMushtaq Ali T20 Trophystayed on course as it scoredan easy sevenwicket victoryover Haryana for its �rst winof the tournament here onWednesday.

Chasing 153, Delhi managed to overhaul the target injust 17 overs.

With its selection policiesbeing questioned right tillthe tournament started, Delhi made just one change,bringing in mediumpacerSubodh Bhati in place ofyoung legspinner Tejas Baroka and it was the best decision.

Bhati, bowling a disciplined line that did not allowthe Haryana batsmen tobreak free, picked up threewickets in his four overs.

It was a far better displayfrom Delhi even as the Haryana batsmen threw theirbat at every ball but fell trying to accelerate.

Promoting Harshal Patelto open the innings did notwork a second time as Navdeep Saini dismissed himcheaply.

Thereafter, the toporderbatsmen all got starts but faltered. Shubham Rohilla (44)was caught short of thecrease after an accuratethrow by Lalit Yadav from

backward squareleg andChaitanya Bishnoi (65) survived a stumping but topedged Bhati for his �rst wicket, the ball going too high only to be caught by a waitingRishabh Pant, before thelowerorder failed.

Delhi did not have the bestof starts as Pant was cleanedup by Harshal and GautamGambhir, who su�ered a leginjury the day before but wascleared to play after a scanrevealed no major worries,missed the line from Ashish

Hooda to be rapped on hispads. But Dhruv Shorey andNitish Rana had no di�culties in dispatching the Haryana bowlers to all corners.Their 82run partnership o�54 balls set the tone for aneasy win in a competition

that will see the top twoteams from each zone advance to the Super League.

Grewal takes four

In the day’s other match,Punjab �rmed its claims toone of those slots with aneightwicket defeat of Services. Manpreet Grewal brokethe Services batting withfour wickets in his �rst threeovers, including two in thefourth, to ensure therewould be no big total tochase. Even though AmitPachhara and Vikas Hathwala tried to build a mini partnership, they could do littlein the face of a disciplinedPunjab bowling. Servicesmanaged just 140, a targetPunjab leisurely chaseddown in 19.1 overs. MandeepSingh showed signs of recovering his form after backsurgery with an unbeaten84.

The scores: Haryana 153 for sixin 20 overs (Chaitanya Bishnoi65, Shubham Rohilla 44, Subodh Bhati three for 25) lost toDelhi 154 for three in 17 overs(Dhruv Shorey 59 n.o., NitishRana 39). Points: Delhi 4, Haryana 0.

Services 140 for nine in 20overs (Amit Pachhara 37, VikasHathwala 25, Manpreet Grewalfour for 18) lost to Punjab 141for two in 19.1 overs (MandeepSingh 84 n.o., Yuvraj Singh 35n.o., Diwesh Pathania two for17). Points: Punjab 4, Services0.

Delhi’s campaign stays on courseBeats Haryana for its �rst win of the tournament

Uthra Ganesan

NEW DELHI

On song: Delhi’s Dhruv Shorey had no di�culty in dispatching the Haryana bowlers to allcorners during his unbeaten 59. * SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

MUSHTAQ ALI T20

MUMBAI: The threeyearold fillyOomph, who ran second in herlast start, should make amends inthe Assert The Right Plate, themain event of Thursday’s ( Jan.11)evening races.Rails will be placed 6 metres widefrom 1200m to 1000m and 9metres wide from 800m upto thewinning post.

1 GENERAL OBAIDULLAHKHAN TROPHY (2,400m), Cl.

II, rated 60 to 86, 4.30 p.m.: 1.Uncle Scrooge (3) Neeraj 59, 2.Frivolous (2) Yash 57.5, 3. Big Sur(1) Trevor 56 and 4. Vulcan (4) A.Imran Khan 54.5.1. FRIVOLOUS, 2. BIG SUR

2 TIGER TOPS PLATE (1,600m),Cl. III, rated 40 to 66, 5.00: 1.

Elegant Beauty (3) Yash 60, 2.Vice Admiral (5) Shahrukh 57, 3.Eternalinspiration (4) A. ImranKhan 54, 4. Grande Vitesse (2)Zervan 53.5, 5. Auburn (1) Neeraj52 and 6. Gloriosus (6) Trevor 52.1. GLORIOSUS, 2. AUBURN

3 ASSERT THE RIGHT PLATE(1,200m), Maiden, 3yo only,

5.30: 1. Chosen One (5) A. ImranKhan 55, 2. Gold Magic (withdrawn), 3. Perpetual Winning (2)

Neeraj 55, 4. Pioneer (3) Suraj 55,5. Spitfire (1) David Probert 55, 6.Truly Epic (4) Pereira 55, 7. Falconette (6) Dashrath 53.5, 8. KoraJade (9) C.S. Jodha 53.5 and 9.Oomph (8) Trevor 53.5.1. OOMPH, 2. PERPETUAL WIN-

NING, 3. PIONEER

4 PERCEIVED VALUE PLATE(1,600m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to

46, 6.00: 1. Sumaaq (13) C.S.Jodha 61.5, 2. Marvel (14) Ajinkya56.5, 3. Grand Accord (11) A. Imran Khan 55.5, 4. Khartoum (10)David Probert 55, 5. Olly Boy (3)Nirmal 55, 6. Samurai (5) Jaykumar 55, 7. Arrecife (2) Trevor 54.5,8. Faberge (9) Bhawani 54, 9. KissFrom A Rose (4) Raghuveer 54, 10.Bishop Of Derry (6) Kadam 53.5,11. Scion (12) Nikhil 53, 12. WabiSabi (1) S. Amit 53, 13. Jeena (7) S.J.Sunil 52.5 and 14. Gandalf (8)Nazil 49.1. ARRECIFE, 2. KHARTOUM, 3.

SUMAAQ

5 RAO SAHEB D.K. PARKARTROPHY DIV. II (1,200m), Cl.

IV, rated 20 to 46, 6.30: 1. CrystalBall (9) T.S. Jodha 59, 2. Gold Field(10) Daman 58.5, 3. Checkmate (1)Neeraj 54.5, 4. Huzzah’s Phoenix(8) Pereira 54, 5. Rain Dance (7)

Shubham 54, 6. Make It Shine (5)Prasad 53.5, 7. Lorraine (4) Zeeshan 53, 8. Angels Harmony (2)Nikhil 52.5, 9. Manzanita (3) Zervan 52.5 and 10. Dakota (6) Ayyar50.5.1. GOLD FIELD, 2. MANZANITA, 3.

LORRAINE

6 INDIAN AIR FORCE TROPHY(1,000m), Cl. III, rated 40 to

66, 7.00: 1. Double Nine (7) A. Imran Khan 59, 2. Gran Paradiso (5)Nazil 56.5, 3. Juggernaut (8) T.S.Jodha 56.5, 4. Angel Girl (4) S.K.Jadhav 55.5, 5. Flamboyant Flame(9) Yash 55.5, 6. Almost Magical(3) Prasad 54.5, 7. Oracle (2) Trevor 54.5, 8. Wise Child (6) S. Amit54.5, 9. Alpine Express (15) Ayyar54, 10. Glorious Land (14) Neeraj53.5, 11. Invictus Maneo (10)Dashrath 53.5, 12. Jarama (1)Ajinkya 53, 13. Fringe Benefit (12)Zeeshan 52.5, 14. Beneficial (11)C.S. Jodha 52 and 15. Cracklin’Rosie (13) Merchant 51.5.1. ORACLE, 2. WISE CHILD, 3. IN-

VICTUS MANEO

7 APRIL BLOSSOM PLATE(1,200m), Cl. V, rated 1 to 26,

7.30: 1. Epiphany (3) Trevor 61.5,2. Skysurfer (1) Raghuveer 61.5, 3.Night Fury (10) Bhawani 61, 4.

Star Anise (7) C.S. Jodha 60.5, 5.Golden Halo (5) Shubham 60, 6.Polyneices (6) Zeeshan 59.5, 7.Sweep Aside (4) Nikhil 59.5, 8.Cloudburst (2) Kuldeep 58, 9.Smoky Haze (8) Nirmal 54.5 and10. Western Lights (9) Nazil 50.

1. EPIPHANY, 2. SKYSURFER, 3.

STAR ANISE

8 RAO SAHEB D.K. PARKARTROPHY DIV. I (1,200m), Cl.

IV, rated 20 to 46, 8.00: 1. Backstreet Bay (5) Raghuveer 62, 2.Glorious Angel (6) C.S. Jodha 61.5,3. Roosevelt (7) David Probert 61,4. Charming (11) S. Sunil 60.5, 5.Philadelphia (4) Neeraj 59.5, 6.Knight’s Quest (10) Dashrath 59, 7.Blitzkrieg (1) Shubham 58, 8.Smart Choice (9) Merchant 57.5, 9.Nextstar (2) Yash 55, 10. AdamsBeginning (3) S. Amit 53.5 and 11.Cherry Blossom (8) Zervan 52.5.

1. ROOSEVELT, 2. CHARMING, 3.

BLITZKRIEG

Day’s Best: GLORIOSUS

Double: ORACLE – ROOSEVELT

Jackpot: 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8.

Treble: (i) 5, 6 & 7; (ii) 6, 7 & 8.

Tanala: All races.

Super Jackpot: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8.

Oomph should make amends

The favourites had it easy intheir opening group stagematches of the senior National men’s billiards championship, at KSBA here onWednesday.

Defending championPankaj Advani posted a facile 10033, 10315, 1005 victory over Bihar’s TusharShrestha. Pankaj recordedbreaks of 55, 29 and 100 in a28minute onesided a�air.

“The �rst few matches isall about getting settled in. Ihaven’t had much practice,so it was nice to get a goodstart,” Advani said.

The results: Group stage: M.L.Lakshman (Kar) bt Ankur Khetan (Guj) 10087, 10254, 10239; Sourav Kothari (PSPB) btUtsav Ramani (Guj) 10040,10217, 10135.

Durga Prasad (Rlys) bt Muneem (Tel) 10227, 10029,10220; Pankaj Advani (PSPB)bt Tushar Shrestha (Bih) 10033, 10315, 1005; RupeshShah (PSPB) bt Lakshay Sudi(Utk) 1000, 1006, 1000.

Vijay Nichani (TN) bt K.S.Naveen Kumar (Kar) 10232,10268, 84100, 10045; Rishab Kumar (Mah) bt NadeemAzeez (Kar) 10189, 10137,10092; Aamer Hussain (WB)bt Kaavya Bharath (TN) 10056, 49101, 52100, 1009,10275.

Brijesh Damani (PSPB) btKunal Agarwal (Odi) 10126,68101, 10019, 1000; DhruvSitwala (PSPB) bt Ketan Chawla (MP) 10419, 10030,10036.

Siddharth Parikh (Rlys) btI.S. Malki (UP) 1015, 10264,10168; B. Bhaskar (Kar) btSimhadri Reddy (AP) 10148,10036, 1025.

Easy for favourites Sports Reporter

Bengaluru

Former India captain DilipVengsarkar unveiled SanjayManjrekar’s autobiographyImperfect at a South Mumbai�ne dining restaurant onWednesday. “As the Indiacaptain, Dileep backed myselection for the tour of theWest Indies in 1989, probably I was selected as the 16thor 17th player,’’ said Manjrekar who played 37 Test

matches, scored 2043 runswith four centuries and ninehalf centuries.

Making an unusual presentation of his book, in theform of an audiovisual inwhich he interviews himself,Manjrekar said when he retired he got an opportunityto become a young commentator at the age of 32.

“I retired because playerslike Rahul Dravid and SouravGanguly had come in and I

Indian captain be like Imran?

Among Indian captains, Ihave lot of time for M.S. Dhoni. I always pick his brain forthree or four minutes beforethe toss.

“I am a Dhoni fan, I mustconfess. Virat Kohli is a person on the �eld with a lot ofenergy. You watch him andyou can say, he hates losing.I would have liked to playunder someone like him.’’

did not want to go throughthe Ranji Trophy grind,which is a nightmare for aTest cricketer.’’

Manjrekar also stated thathe would have liked to playunder Imran Khan.

“It’s a no brainer, I was afan of Imran Khan. For mehe was 10 out of 10. I havesaid a lot about Imran in thebook. He was my yardstickto judge Indian captains. Iwould ask: “Why cannot an

Vengsarkar unveils Manjrekar’s ‘Imperfect’Special Correspondent

Mumbai

Ashish, Karan star in DAV Academy’s win Ashish Suhag picked up a�vewicket haul and KaranBiduri topscored with 79 asDAV Academy beat CWC by82 runs to enter thequarter�nals of the 22ndSahibzada Ajit Singh crickettournament.The scores: Queta DAVAcademy 244 for eight in 40overs (Karan Biduri 79, YogeshSharma 37; Divyanshu Singh�ve for 55, Deepak Bansal twofor 43) bt CWC 162 in 34.2overs (Rahul Ahlawat 38;Ashish Suhag �ve for 44,Manoj Chauhan three for 32).

Sachin to take on Amit in finalSachin Rawat of Ministry ofFinance and Amit sharma ofMinistry of Communicationand InformationTechnology set up a title

clash with Amit Sharma inthe men’s section of theInterMinistry badmintontournament organised bythe Central Civil ServicesCultural and Sports Board atthe AIIMS Gymkhana hereon Wednesday.

In women’s veteransdoubles, MadhuGyanchandani and A VarshaKohli of Ministry of defencewon the title, beating RenuVerma and Savita of IndianMeteorological Departmentand Ministry of Law.

The results:

Men (semi�nals): SachinRawat bt Siddarth Nandal2115, 2114; Amit Sharma btVijay Sharma 2118, 2119.

Veterans (semi�nals): RajeevSharma bt Gulshan Kumar219, 210; Vijay Sharma bt AKJain 2111, 2110.

Veteran women doubles

(�nal):Madhu Gyanchandani& A Varsha Kohli bt RenuVerma & Savita 2110, 2110;

Third place: Priya Nalgundwar& Meenakshi Adhikari bt Annie& Sarita Kumari 2116, 2118.

Tejas and Mayank

slam centuries

Mayank Malik and TejasMalhotra both slammedunbeaten centuries asArush Cricket Foundationbeat MRV Academy by 74runs in the 11th KrishanSehwag memorial under11cricket tournament.

The scores:

Arush Cricket Foundation 233for one in 30 overs (MayankMalik 117 n.o., Tejas Malhotra102 n.o.) bt MRV Academy 159for six in 30 overs (DhruvPratap Singh 54, Sarthak Rai 47n.o.; Rudraksh Kumar three for13, Tejas Malhotra two for 28).

CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

\ NEW DELHI ROUND-UP \

The Boxing Federation ofIndia will host the IndiaOpen International boxingtournament from January28 at the Thyagraj Stadiumhere. The tournament willo�er a prize money of$100,000 and the announcement was made on thesidelines of the launch ofAnurag Kashyap’s movieMukkabaaz.

The India Open will seepugilists from 25 countriesparticipating according toBFI president Ajay Singh.He also said India will be�elding four teams whichwill include all the top boxers of the country like MaryKom, Shiva Thapa, SoniaLather and Manoj Kumar.The four teams will be classi�ed as India A, B, C andD. “This shall be great opportunity for our boxers as2018 will be full of high level competitions such asthe CommonwealthGames, Asian Games andmany others,” Ajay said.

Top boxersfor IndiaOpen


New Delhi

A goal in stoppage time bySergio Aguero saved Manchester City’s blushes as itwas enough to secure a 21win over Bristol City in itsLeague Cup semi�nal �rstleg clash on Tuesday.

The Argentine’s goal anda �ne e�ort by Kevin deBruyne cancelled out BobbyReid’s �rsthalf penalty.

The results: League Cup:(semi�nal, �rstleg): Manchester City 2 (de Bruyne 55,Aguero 90+2) bt Bristol City 1(Reid 44pen).

Copa del Rey: (quarter�nals,secondleg): Atletico Madrid 3(Carrasco 57, Gameiro 74, Vitolo 81) bt Lleida 0 (Atletico Ma-drid won 7-0 on aggregate);Valencia 4 (Vietto 30, 48, 66,Maksimovic 54) bt Las Palmas0(Valencia won 5-1 on aggre-gate).

Aguero rescues Man City Agence France-Presse

Manchester

Rohan Bopanna had a robust start to the season withhis new partner EdouardRogerVasselin of France asthe duo won back to backmatches o make the semi�nals of the $528,910 SydneyInternational ATP tennistournament on Wednesday.

In the Challengers inBangkok and Canberra, Jee

van Nedunchezhiyan and Divij Sharan made the doublesquarter�nals with their respective partners Christopher Rungkat of Indonesia andJonathan Erlich of Israel.

The results: $528,910 SydneyInternational, Doubles: (quarter�nals): Edouard RogerVasselin (Fra) & Rohan Bopanna btFabrice Martin (Fra) & NicholasMonroe (US) 76(5), 76(5).

Prequarter�nals: Edouard

RogerVasselin & Rohan Bopanna bt Ivan Dodig (Cro) & Fernando Verdasco (Esp) 64, 64.

$50,000 Challenger, Canberra: Doubles (prequarter�nals): Jonathan Erlich (Isr) &Divij Sharan bt Jeremy Beale &Thomas Fancutt (Aus) 63, 61.

$50,000 Challenger, Bangkok,Thailand: Doubles (prequarter�nals): Christopher Rungkat(Ina) & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyanbt Ti Chen (Tpe)& Flavio Cipolla(Ita) 60, 62.

Bopanna in semi�nals Sports bureau

Sydney


CMYK

A ND-NDE

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Shavinder Kaur Sidhu’s perseverance for over a year �nally helped her as the Punjab policewoman stunneddefending champion Shikhsha 32 in a keenlyfought54kg quarter�nal bout to enter the medal rounds in theNational women’s boxingchampionship at the RajivGandhi Sports Complexhere on Wednesday.

A twotime National junior champion, Shavinder —who lost to eventual goldmedallist Neeraj in a 51kg�rstround bout in the previous edition but was luckyto be included in the National camp — has emerged as abetter boxer in the last oneyear.

A product of a privateacademy, Shavinder usedher experience in the campto rely on her counterpunches while blocking theRailway boxer’s tough rightones.

“My inclusion in the National camp came as a blessing. Sparring with so manygood boxers and inputsfrom coaches really helped.Beating a defending champion has boosted my con�dence,” said Shavinder.

“We have a good bunch ofboxers in Punjab police,which facilitates good training when the National campdoes not happen,” saidShavinder.

Another Punjab girl, titleholder Simranjit Kaur, warded o� a strong challengefrom Lalbuatsiahi of Mizoram to record a 50 victoryand reach the 64kgsemi�nals.Important results (quarter�nals): 48kg: Monika (Har) btRebecca (Miz) 5-0, Bina Devi(Man) bt Archana Thapa (Utk)5-0, Rajesh Narwal (RSPB) btKhushboo Tokas (Del) 5-0, Var-sha Choudhery (UP) bt AarohiBirajdar (Mah) 5-0.

51kg: Meenakshi (RSPB) btVanlalduati (AIP) 3-2, SarjubalaDevi (Man) bt Deepa Kumari(MP) 5-0, Ritu (Har) bt Lalnun-feli (Miz) 5-0, Nikhat Zareen(Tel) bt Abha (Cht) 5-0.

54kg: Shavinder Kaur Sidhu(Pun) bt Shiksha (RSPB) 3-2,Manisha (Har) bt Purnima Raj-put (MP) 5-0, Jamuna Boro(Asm) bt Richa Sharma (WB)4-1, Meena Kumari (AIP) btKros Hmangaihsangi (Miz) 4-1.

57kg: Sonia Lather (RSPB) btKamla Bisht (Utk) 5-0, SandhyaRani (AIP) bt Sarita (MP) 5-0,Sonia (AP) bt Manjesh Singh(UP) 5-0, Shashi Chopra (Har)bt Dimple Tanwar (Raj) 5-0.

60kg: L. Sarita Devi (AIP) btAquillia Dupak (Aru) RSC-R1,Monika (Har) bt Priyanka Tha-kur (Pun) RSC-R2, PriyankaChoudhery (Utk) bt Bhagyash-ree Purohit (Mah) 5-0, Pavitra(RSPB) bt Chaoba Devi (Man)RSC-R2.

64kg: Pwilao Basumatary(RSPB) bt Stanzin Youthak (J-K) 5-0, Poonam (AIP) bt Poo-nam Kaithwas (Mah) 5-0, Prav-ish Chanu (Man) bt Nisha (Har)4-1, Simranjit Kaur (Pun) bt Lal-buatsiahi (Miz) 5-0.

69kg: Lovlina Borgohain (Asm)bt Priyanka Tewatia (D&D) 5-0,Heena Tokas (Del) bt SumanKumari (Raj) RSC-R1, MemthoiDevi (AIP) bt Nupur (Har) 4-1,Pooja (RSPB) bt GagandeepKaur (Pun) 5-0.

75kg: Pooja Rani (Har) bt Jyoti(Raj) 5-0, Indraja K.A. (Ker) btS. Marathamma (AP) 3-2, AlariBoro (Asm) bt Shobha (Del)5-0, Rumi Gogoi (RSPB) bt Av-neet Kaur (Chd) 5-0.

Credits her stint in the national campfor her showing

Shavinder Kaur Sidhu.* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

NATL. WOMEN’S BOXING

Y.B. Sarangi

ROHTAK

Shavinderstuns Shikhsha

Mumbai’s Jemimah Rodrigues, 17, has been namedin the Indian women’s squadfor the threematch ODI series against South Africa inKimberley (February 5 and7) and Potchefstroom (February 10).

The team will play awarmup game at Bloemfontein on February 2.

This series will be thestart of the ICC Women’sChampionship (201720) forIndia.

Jemimah has been in sublime form this season,amassing 1013 runs from 11

matches in the women’s under19 oneday league andknockout.

She has also scored sixcenturies.

A BCCI press release saidthat the Indian team for the�vematch Twenty20 seriesagainst South Africa will beselected later.

The team: Mithali Raj (capt.),Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-cap-tain), Sushma Verma (wk), EktaBisht, Smriti Mandhana, Poo-nam Yadav, Punam Raut, Ra-jeshwari Gayakwad, JemimahRodrigues, Jhulan Goswami,Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey,Mona Meshram, Pooja Vastra-kar, Veda Krishnamurthy, andTaniya Bhatia (wk).

Teenager Jemimah in Mithali-led squadThe Mumbai player, in sublime form this season, will travel to South AfricaSpecial Correspondent

Mumbai

ROHTAK: L. Sarita Devi waselected the women boxers’representative for the Boxing Federation of India’sExecutive Council here onWednesday.

Sarita, 35, received 22out of 31 votes in the election held on the sidelinesof the National women’sboxing championship.

Sarita in BFI body

Deepak Malik scored an unbeaten 179 o� 103 balls asIndia beat Sri Lanka by sixwickets in the ODI blindcricket World Cup in theUAE on Wednesday.The scores: Sri Lanka 357 foreight in 40 overs (SurangaSampath 68, K.A. Silva 64)lost to India 358 for four in 32overs (Deepak Malik 179, Pra-kash Jayaramiah 76).

Deepak shines


New Delhi

K. Ratnakaran is a man offew words. After all, this eversmiling 36yearold’schess playing abilities haveremained eloquent since2001 when he emerged asthe Asian junior bronzemedallist. Holder of two Grandmaster norms, the Kozhikodebased Railwayman hashad quite a rollercoasterride in his long career.

But, on Wednesday, Ratnakaran enjoyed a high likenever before. In whatturned out to be his biggestresult till date, Ratankaranproved equal to top seededAzerbaijani Arkadij Naiditsch and caused the surprise of the Delhi International Open chesstournament here.

Rated 2372, Ratnakaranstayed in control rightthrough his 34move topboard battle that ended witha threefold repetition ofmoves. “I have never playedanyone rated in excess of2700. So when I checked thedatabase for his games thisafternoon, I realised heplays a number of openings.So I simply closed my laptopand came to the tournamenthall,” was how the softspoken International Master explained his preparedness.

Naiditsch opted for theFrench Defence, an openingchoice that Ratnakaranfound “quite strange.”

Thereafter, Ratnakarancould develop his knight onthe kingside and slowly gotinto a position from wherehe could not lose.

He kept his calm andwithout getting too ambitious, settled for a draw.

“I am very happy with theresult. But I am also surprised at certain continuations that Naiditsch chose,”was Ratnakaran’s candidobservation.

On a doubleround day,when third seed AbhijeetGupta led a 11player pack atthree points, second seedFarrukh Amonatov and National champion M. R. LalitBabu were relieved to getdraws in inferior positionsagainst A. L. Muttaiah andAronyak Ghosh,respectively.

Twotime former National champion M. Karthikeyan, too, survived severalanxious moments beforeforcing a draw againstyoungster Mitrabha Guha.Important results (Indians unless stated): Third round: K.Ratnakaran (2.5) drew with Ar-kadij Naiditsch (Aze, 2.5); D.Gukesh (2) lost to AbhijeetGupta (3); Sammed Shete (3)bt Ivan Rozum (Rus, 2).

Kaustuv Kundu (2.5) drewwith Sergey Tiviakov (Ned,2.5); M. Karthikeyan (2.5) drewwith Mitrabha Guha (2.5); Aro-nyak Ghosh (2.5) drew with M.R. Lalit Babu (2.5); KoustavChatterjee (2.5) drew with P.Karthikeyan (2.5).

Ratnakaran holds NaiditschAbhijeet, 10 others in lead

RAKESH RAO

NEW DELHI

Big surprise: K. Ratnakaran stayed in control against topseed Arkadij Naiditsch before settling for a draw. * RAKESH RAO


CMYK

A ND-NDE




LIFE

Malaysia signed a deal onWednesday to pay a U.S.seabed exploration �rm upto $70 million if it �nds themissing Malaysia Airlines aircraft MH370 within 90 daysof embarking on a new

search in the southern Indian ocean.

The disappearance of theaircraft en route from KualaLumpur to Beijing in March2014 with 239 people aboardranks among the world’sgreatest aviation mysteries.

Australia, China and Ma

laysia ended a fruitless Australian $200million ($157million) search of a 1,20,000km2 area in January last year,despite investigators urgingthe search be extended to a25,000 km2 area further tothe north.

Malaysian Transport Mi

nister Liow Tiong Lai said aHoustonbased private �rm,Ocean In�nity, would searchfor MH370 in that 25,000km2 priority area on a “nocure, nofee” basis, meaningit will only get paid if it �ndsthe plane.

“As we speak, the vessel,

“They cannot take forever ordrag it on for another sixmonths or a year.” Ocean In�nity’s vessel carries eightautonomous underwatervehicles that will scour theseabed with scanning equipment for information to besent back for analysis.

area, Ocean In�nity will receive $70 million, Mr. Liowsaid.

Its priority is to locate thewreckage of the �ight orcockpit recorders, and present credible evidence tocon�rm their location within90 days, Mr. Liow added.

Plunkett, who attended thesigning event.

Ocean In�nity will be paid$20 million if the plane isfound within 5,000 km2, $30million if it is found within10,000 km2 and $50 millionif it is found within an area of25,000 km2. Beyond that

Seabed Constructor, is onher way to the search area,taking advantage of favourable weather conditions in theSouth Indian ocean,” Mr.Liow told reporters.

The search will begin onJanuary 17, said Ocean In�nity Chief Executive Oliver

Malaysia to pay U.S. �rm up to $70 mn if it �nds MH370 Reuters

Kuala Lumpur


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