PUBLISHED FROM DELHI & KOLKATA VOL. 13, ISSUE 6 | Saturday, 6 January 2018 | New Delhi | Pages 16 | Rs 3.00

millenniumpost.in RNI NO.: DELENG/2005/15351REGD. NO.: DL(S)-01/3420/2015-17

NEW DELHI: Railways have received 9,804 complaints about quality of food in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains in the last three years till October 31, 2017.

Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain told the Rajya Sabha on Friday that since 2014 until October 2017, 9,804 complaints about quality of food served in the two premium trains was received by the national transporter.

The minister said that while 3,486 caterers have been fined in the last three years, 3,624 were warned, contracts of 10 were terminated and 1,134 caterers were suitably advised. MPOST

9k complaints about food in Rajdhani, Shatabdi: Rlys

NO HALF TRUTHS

In today’s paper

...CITY

3 HELD FOR SHALIMAR BAGH GANG-RAPE 4

NATION

LS ADJOURNED SINE DIE 5

EDIT

IGNITING TENSION 8

INTERNATIONAL

BOMB CYCLONE’ POUNDS EASTERN US 11

BUSINESS

PAR PANEL FOR CAPPING AIRFARES 13

SPORT

SA SHOT OUT FOR 286 14

US FREEZES OVER $1 BILLION MILITARY AID TO PAKISTAN PG10

SUSHIL GUPTA WILL HELP ACCOMPLISH ‘MISSION HARYANA’: GOPAL RAI PG3

WHY WAS NO CASE FILED FOR PHONE CALL TO JUDGE: RJD PG6

GST IMPACT AND SUBDUED FARM OUTPUT

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI: India’s economic growth is estimated to slow down to 4-year low of 6.5 percent this fiscal, the lowest under the NDA regime, mainly due to GST impact on manufacturing and subdued farm output.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 7.1 per cent in 2016-17 and 8 per cent in the preceding year. It was 7.5 per cent in 2014-15.

The Narendra Modi-led NDA gov-ernment had assumed office in May 2014.

The growth of gross value added (GVA) in manufacturing sector too is expected to decelerate to 4.6 percent this fiscal, down from 7.9 percent in 2016-17.

As regards the farm sector, the expan-sion in activities in agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors is likely to slow to 2.1 percent in the current fiscal from 4.9 per-cent in the preceding year.

“Is there an impact of the GST (Goods and Service Tax) on average growth? The answer is, to some extent, of course, and I explain why,” Chief Statistician T C A Anant told reporters after the Central Statistics Office released advance esti-mates of national accounts on Friday.

Elaborating further, he said, “When we did the first quarter estimates, we had explained this that because of the fact that the GST is going to be implemented from July 1, there will be a natural antic-ipation of GST...by the manufacturing sector. Since the first quarter is part of the whole year, the manufacturing includes

the first quarter as part of it. Yes, that impact is built into the exercise.”

Commenting on the CSO estimates, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said GDP growth fore-cast of 6.5 percent for 2017-18 implies growth of 7 percent for the second half of the fiscal.

“(This) confirms strong turnaround of the economy. Investment growth of almost twice of last years indicate invest-ment reviving,” he said in a tweet.

About the agriculture sector, Chief Statistician Anant said, “So far agri-culture is concerned, there is a certain amount of statistical base reversion to

mean, which is seen because last is very high growth rate after continuous years of drought.”

He further said, “Actual total produc-tion figure would be the second highest in a very long period of time. This is not unusual growth rate of agriculture in a good year.”

On recovery, Anant explained that the growth in the first and second quar-ters was estimated at 5.7 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively and for rest of year, it is worked out at 7 percent, indicating an increasing trend.

The growth of real Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2017-18 is anticipated at 6.1

per cent as against 6.6 per cent in the previous year.

Economic activities were affected by demonetization announced on Novem-ber 8, 2016, and subsequent implementa-tion of a new indirect tax regime (GST) from July 1 in the current financial year.

According to the CSO, the sectors which registered a growth rate of over 7 percent are public administration, defence and other services; trade, hotels, transport, communication, and services related to broadcasting; electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services; and financial, real estate and professional services.

Govt projects GDP to grow at 6.5 percent in 2017-18

Husband kills self after strangulating wife in Noida

RAHUL SINGH

NOIDA: In a tragic incident, a mid-dle-aged man allegedly committed suicide after murdering his wife at Sector 93, Noida on Friday morning.

The deceased, identified as Ravin-der, was found hanging from a tree located in a nearby park and his wife, Pinki, was found murdered inside her house. The body was dumped inside the bed after she was allegedly mur-dered, a police officer investigating the case said.

Police found injury marks on her neck while her nose was found bleed-ing. “The injury marks suggest that she had been strangulated to death,” police said.

Earlier, police recovered the wom-an’s body from her house after receiv-ing the information from her family that she was not answering the phone calls since evening. The police then reached the spot and broke the door of her house after which they recov-ered her body which was lying inside the bed.

Police then launched a probe into the matter and registered an FIR, based on the allegations of the deceased woman’s family that she had been murdered over not fulfilling her husband’s dowry demand.

“Following the information, a police team rushed to the spot and

found a body of a middle-aged man hanging from a tree. The body was brought down and it was later iden-tified as the husband of the deceased woman,” said a senior police officer.

“The body of both the deceased has been sent for post-mortem. We earlier registered an FIR against the husband but upon finding him dead we suspect some other angles behind the death of both. A probe has been launched and we are trying to cover all the possible angles” said Arun Kumar Singh, superintendent of police, Noida.

Triple talaq bill put in cold storage for now

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha was adjourned on Friday at the end of the win-ter session, ensuring the “triple talaq” bill is pushed to the budget session which begins later this month. The Congress and BJP had issued whips to all their MPs in the Rajya Sabha to be present in the house on Friday in the unlikely event that the bill was taken up. Though it was listed in the Rajya Sabha’s agenda Friday, with a deadlock between the government and opposition continuing, it did not come up.

The government was prepared for such an eventuality, having failed to convince the opposition to help pass the bill in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in the minority. A united opposition led by the Congress was steadfast in its demand that the bill, cleared by the Lok Sabha last week, be sent for review to a par-liamentary committee.

The Muslim Women Protection of Rights in Marriage Bill 2017 seeks to make the instant “triple talaq” a criminal offence and proposes up to three years in jail as punish-ment for a Muslim man who divorces his wife by saying “talaq” thrice. The govern-ment has said that after the Supreme Court held the practice unconstitutional last year, the bill must be passed to ensure justice to Muslim women. Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad urged MPs to pass the bill pointing out that despite the Supreme Court order, instant “triple talaqs” are happening every day.

The Congress and other parties - includ-ing BJP ally Telugu Desam Party and the AIADMK and Biju Janata Dal, called gov-ernment-friendly parties because they reg-ularly help it pass legislation in the Rajya Sabha - want further scrutiny of the bill by a select committee of the house, primarily voicing concern over the provision for a jail term. They have argued that if a man who abandons his family goes to jail, he will not be able to provide for them. They want the bill to include provisions for giving financial aid to Muslim women.

There are also concerns that if the law is passed, it could be misused as it gives anyone the right to complain to the police

about the “triple talaq” to register a case and arrest a man.

The government is clear it will not cede to the opposition and send the bill to a panel. It accused the Congress of double standards and insisted that the bill is debated in the Rajya Sabha so that it can “expose the Con-gress’ hypocrisy” for opposing it in the upper house after supporting it in the Lok Sabha, where it sailed through last week since the government has a significant majority.

The ruling BJP said any concerns on the bill could be raised on the floor of the house. “The Congress is indulging in diversion-ary tactics. They don’t have any intentions of helping Muslim women. They are hid-ing behind the idea of a select committee. Congress must learn from history,” minister Ananth Kumar said.

After attempts to bring other parties on board to evolve a consensus around the bill failed during the winter session, the BJP, sources said, hopes to try and bring them around between sessions. The budget session of par-liament will begin in less than a month. See P5

MPOST BUREAU

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday referred to a five-judge Constitution bench the plea chal-lenging the validity of a penal law on adultery which only punishes a mar-ried man for having extra-marital sexual relations with another mar-ried woman.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khan-wilkar and D Y Chandrachud took a prima facie view that though the criminal law proceeds on “gender neutrality”, the concept was absent in section 497 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deals with the offence of adultery and referred the matter to the larger bench.

Section 497 of the 158-year-old IPC says: whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason

to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or conniv-ance of that man, such sexual inter-course not amounting to the offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery, and shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both. In such case, the wife shall not be pun-ishable as an abettor.

The apex court also referred to its 1954 judgement, delivered by a four-judge bench, that had upheld the validity of Section 497 saying that it did not violate fundamental rights like the right to equality.

It referred to societal transforma-tion and concepts of “gender equity” and “gender sensitivity” and said that affirmative rights have to be conferred upon women and earlier judgements needed to be examined by a larger Constitution bench.

The bench then referred the PIL filed by Joseph Shine, an Indian who is living in Italy, to a Constitution bench which would be set up by the CJI in his administrative capacity.

Earlier, the apex court had issued notice on the PIL that alleged that only married men could be pun-ished for the offence of adultery for having consensual sex with the wife of another man.

It had also said if the husband

gives consent for sexual intercourse between his wife and another man, then it nullifies the offence of adul-tery and turns the woman into a commodity, which goes against the principle of gender justice and the constitutional mandate of the right to equality.

It had termed the provision “prima facie archaic” and said that it was “tantamount to the subordina-tion of a woman where the Constitu-

tion confers equal status”.“Time has come when the soci-

ety must realise that a woman is equal to a man in every field. This provision, prima facie, appears to be quite archaic.

“When the society progresses, and the rights are conferred, the new generation of thoughts spring, and that is why, we are inclined to issue a notice,” the bench had said.

The court had said it needed to examine why a married woman, who may have been an equal partner to the offence of adultery with a mar-ried man who is not her husband, should not be punished along with the man.

Secondly, the bench had said it would examine if the husband of a woman gives his consent or connives for sexual intercourse with another married man, then does it not turn her into a commodity.

SC bench to decide if women can be punished for adultery

MPOST BUREAU

NEW DELHI: Instead of jail term, celebrities endorsing mis-leading ads will have to pay a penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh and serve a ban of up to three years once the new Consumer Protec-tion Bill is cleared by Parliament.

The Consumer Protec-tion Bill, 2018 was introduced by Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in the Lok Sabha and it seeks to replace the 31-year-old law.

One of the major objectives of the bill is to crack down on misleading advertisements.

If the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), proposed to be set up under the bill, is satisfied that an adver-tisement is false or mislead-ing, it may issue directions to endorsers, advertiser, publisher as well traders and manufactur-ers to discontinue or modify such an ad.

The CCPA will have the powers to impose a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh on endorsers and manufacturers. For a subse-quent violation, the penalty will be of up to Rs 50 lakh.

Celebs face up to 3-yr ban for misleading ads

VALIDITY OF A PENAL LAW ON ADULTERY WHICH ONLY PUNISHES A MARRIED MAN CHALLENGEDCyber crimes rose between 2014 and 2017: Govt

MPOST BUREAU

NEW DELHI: Cyber crime cases registered in the country have grown in the last three years, with the number rising from 9,622 and 11,592 to 12,317 during 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively, the government said on Friday.

During the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, members expressed concern over the safety of digital transactions, to which the Minis-ter of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government was alert to the challenges.

He also said the government was working with the Interpol and CBI to identify sites that had child pornographic material, something which is “totally condemnable”.

A large number of sites have also been blocked, he said.

He also quoted data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and said as per incidents reported to the Indian Computer Emergency Report Team (CERT-In), 79 phishing incidents affect-ing 22 financial organisations, 13 incidents affecting ATMs, Point of Sales (POS) systems and Uni-fied Payment Interface (UPI) were reported.

The RBI has registered a total of 13083, 16468, 13653 and 12520 cases of frauds involving credit cards in 2014-15, 2015 -16, 2016-17 and quarter April-September 2017 respectively, he said.

Prasad said that labs had been established in several states and hundreds of officers deployed.

“We don’t have a report of any fraud as far as the BHIM app is concerned, but the government is alert,” he added.

SONAM WANTS MORE FEMALE-ORIENTED FILMS TO BE MADE IN INDIA PG16

OLDER NOTES WILL CONTINUE TO BE VALID

New `10 notes in chocolate brown colour coming soon

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank will soon bring into circulation new Rs 10 denomination banknotes in chocolate brown color, which will have India’s cul-tural heritage Konark Sun Temple as a motif on the reverse side.

The central bank will shortly issue Rs 10 denom-ination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (new) series, bearing signature of

Urjit R Patel, Governor, RBI, it said in a release. The base colour of the note is choco-late brown, it said.

“The new denomina-tion has motif of Sun Tem-ple, Konark on the reverse, depicting the country’s cul-tural heritage,” RBI said.

Among the salient fea-tures of the banknotes, on the obverse (front) the note will bear portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre, the

Ashoka Pillar emblem on the right, watermarks and number panel with numerals growing from small to big on the top left side and bottom right side.

On the reverse (back), it will carry the year of printing on the left, a Swachh Bharat logo with slogan, language panel, motif of Sun Tem-ple and denominational numeral 10 in Hindi script Devnagari. MPOST

Highlights » CSO on Friday estimated GDP growth rate for 2017-18 at 6.5 per cent

» The GVA, or Gross Value Added for the current fiscal was projected at 6.1 per cent

» The annual growth rate for the fiscal 2016-17 was 7.1 per cent

Budget session to begin on Jan 29, Budget on Feb 1

pNIFTY 10,558.85 (+54.05) pSENSEX 34,153.85 (+184.21) pDOW JONES 25,075.13 (+152.45) pNASDAQ 7,077.92 (+12.38) pRUPEE/DOLLAR 63.37 (+0.04) pRUPEE/EURO 76.38 (+0.14) pGOLD/10GM 30,500 (+135.00) pSILVER/K 40,000 (+360.00)

NEW DELHI: The Budget session of Parliament will commence from January 29, and the Union Budget will be presented on February one, the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs recommended on Friday.President Ramnath Kovind will address the joint sitting of the two Houses on January 29, and the Economic Survey will be tabled on the same day, Parliamentary Affairs minister Ananth Kumar told reporters here.The first phase of the session will be from January 29 to February 9. After a recess, Parliament will meet again from March 5 to April 6, Kumar said.The Recommendation of the session dates was made by the CCPA which met here. MPOST

GDPGROWTH

The deceased Pinki

2013-14 2014-15

r`11

3810

02 c

r

`121

8985

4 cr

`129

8536

3 cr Annual at constant

(2011-12) prices

2015-16 2016-17

%3.0 (PE) (1st Est.)2017-18 Source: CSO

Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that infromation given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for any damage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only

Printed & Published by Jaiyendra Kumar Sharma on behalf of Front Row Media Pvt. Ltd. and printed at The Indian Express Pvt. Ltd., A-8, Sector-7, Noida-201 301 (U.P.) and published from First Floor, Pratap Bhawan, 5 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110 002. Editor: Durbar Ganguly, Executive Editor: Arya Rudra. Email: durbarganguly@gmail.com, Tel. No. 011-47777500

2MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Saturday, 6 January, 2018

ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD

Director: Ridley Scott; Cast: Christopher Plummer, Michelle Williams and Mark Wahlberg; Rating:

A saga of greed

A breathlessness that has nothing to do with the film’s two chief archi-tects being over 80,

defines the narrative momentum of “All The Money In The World”, an uplifting, sometimes sickening saga of greed and lust for power and money, not necessarily in that order.

We all know how Christopher Plummer overnight replaced the disgraced Kevin Spacey in the role of J Paul Getty, the Amer-ican billionaire known to be notoriously miserly even when his own grandson was kidnapped.

The morality tale sucks us into its vortex of avarice and retribution with such virile fluency that we never notice how deviously the narrative flirts with our sense of moral propriety. Is the film laughing at the twisted morality of ‘billionaire-ship’ when Getty refuses to pay up a hefty ransom to get his grand-son back arguing that once he pays, all his other grandchildren’s safety would compromised? Or is the narrative mocking the desperate anguish of the kidnapped boy’s mother, played with ravishing restrain by Michelle Williams?

I would have looked a more confrontational screenplay pitching Plummer and his screen-bahu Williams. But we are denied the pleasure of high drama for something far more dis-turbing: a film that questions not limitless wealth but our judg-ment of the power and danger that such wealth brings.

Take it as you wish. But finally this is a film that pays a wink-ing homage to the veteran Christopher Plummer’s propensity to project moral ambivalence without letting his performance dither or wobble for even a second. Watching Plummer own every second of his playing time appropriated from Kevin Spacey, all we can say is, what a journey it has been from the sonorous “The Sound Of Music” to the vulgar sound of money.

Plummer’s character and the way he shuns negotiation with the kidnappers, initially reminded me of Dilip Kumar in Ramesh Sippy’s “Shakti” who had refused to negotiate with his little son’s kidnappers.

That boy had grown up to be a smouldering Amitabh Bach-chan. I can envisage a similar seething destiny for young Charlie Plummer if the film allows his character the luxury of a sequel.

Take a bow, Mr Plummer. And you too, Ridley Scott.At 80, Scott directs this kidnapping tale with a swishing

delight, hunting down the plot’s moral centre without compro-mising on the quotient of fun that the characters have in getting here. Barring Mark Wahlberg whose role as a ransom negotiator remains, perhaps by its very definition, ill-defined every actor from the senior Plummer to the junior Plummer (Charlie who plays Getty’s kidnapped grandson) seems to get the point that the plot makes about obscene wealth: it kills the conscience.

It can also kill your loved ones in more obvious ways.Either way, Christopher Plummer’s Getty remains unmoved.

Wealth has deprived Getty of feeling real emotions. Plummer expresses the dryness of affluence.

“All The Money In The World” shows us how absolute power corrupts absolutely and often that power comes from limitless wealth. IANS

mp around town

Does your boss switch between being friendly and nasty at the drop of a hat? It may make you more

anxious than having an employer who is in a bad mood all the time, a study conducted in India and the UK has found.

Not being able to predict how their boss is going to act towards them has a detrimental effect on the productivity of workers, researchers said.

Far from the stereotypical view that ruthless and unsympathetic managers cause the greatest issues for employees, researchers from the University of Exeter in the UK showed that bosses who switch between being friendly and severe at the drop of a hat are actually most damaging.

Experts found even a poor but consistent relationship with manag-ers was better for workers than one that was influenced by mood swings.

The impact is worse when col-leagues don’t have a supportive rela-tionship with their co-workers.

Academics measured how “ambiv-alent” staff felt about their manager to what extent they had both positive and negative views about them.

“The focus is usually on trying to work out if relationships between staff and bosses are good or bad, but they can sometimes be both, and it is important to measure that,” said Allan Lee, from University of Exeter in the UK.

“Bosses reward and punish their workers, and this has an impact on self-esteem. If their staff have to adopt different roles at different times because they have a manager who can be both nasty and nice they view him or her in an ambivalent way,” Lee said.

“If your boss is both pleasant and unpleasant to be around it is hard to know what they think about you, and

if you can’t predict how they will act,” he said. “This makes it hard to trust them. This creates negative emotions and makes staff feel anxious, causing poor performance at work,” he added.

The study shows employees can compensate for an ambivalent relationship with their boss if they

have a good relationship with other colleagues.

Researchers carried out four sur-veys in three companies two in the UK and one in India, asking what they thought about their bosses and how they performed in different tasks.

The 320 staff who took part

worked in a service centre, provid-ing telephone-based customer ser-vice support or outsourced human resources services and other business tasks. A total of 60 teams of staff were examined, they shared a single super-visor but worked independently of each other. PTI

Bosses with mood swingsmake workers anxiousUnpredictable behaviour of bosses can lead to the employees viewing him/her in an ambivalent way, which ultimately leads to poor performance at work

Weddings prepara-tions start months in adance and amidst all the running

around markets, the bride forgets to take care of herself. However this winter, make sure you are following some simple rules to shine even on a hectic day.

Celebrity makeup artist Nam-rata Soni and Dermatologist Rashmi Shetty has come to the res-cue of all brides-to-be with essen-tial beauty and skincare secrets for the best bridal look this wedding season.

4DON’T FORGET TO MOISTURIZE: Winter weather is not fun for skin. Cold weather and low humidity levels result in dry air, which then steals moisture leaving the skin dry and life-less. If you’re more prone to dry skin, using a good moisturizer suitable for your skin type is essential. Additionally, home-made hydrating masks can also provide moisture in the winter months.

Adding natural moisturis-ing ingredients like honey, avo-cado, yogurt, olive and jojoba oils, almond oil, bananas, and aloe to the mask will help you experience smooth and soft skin instantly. Also, make sure you remove all your make-up before going to bed and apply a hydrating cream as it helps the skin breathe and gives it some much-needed nourishment and rejuvenation.

4EXFOLIATION IS CRU-CIAL: During winters, our skin

tends to dry faster requiring reg-ular exfoliation, hence it’s recom-mended that one uses an “at-home” method for this. Take a product that is enriched with body butters and glycerin.

4STAY HYDRATED AND EAT HEALTHY: Every bride wants to look her best on her wed-ding day to get snapped in those picture-perfect moments. To get that healthy, dewy glow, drinking plenty of water is essential as it not only hydrates your body but also flushes away unwanted toxins.

Besides plenty of water, eating healthy food is also crucial. In addi-tion to this, ensure you layer your skin with proper hydrating prod-

ucts like a mist, serum and moistur-iser before applying makeup. Start with a hydrating mist to moisten the skin and allow your make-up

products to penetrate.

4FOR A PERFECT SMILE: With winters, your lips tend to

become dry and chapped. To get rid of dry skin, lightly exfoliate by rubbing your fingers on wet lips in circular motions. After you exfo-liate, use a lip balm or a healing cream as this will not only make your lips smooth, but also get the blood flowing and make your lips look a little fuller.

4GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP: Sleeping is one of the best rewards you can give your skin. During your sleep cycle, your body repairs each of its systems, includ-ing your skin. Deep breathing and meditation is also a very important part of skin cleansing as watching your breath flow in and out helps you become aware of your skin and thus rejuvenates it. IANS

CELEBRITY skincare secrets for WINTER BRIDES

OUR CORRESPONDENT

THE MAHINDRA Excellence in Theatre Awards (META), a week long national theatre festival and awards programme which stages the best in theatre from across the coun-try is all set for its 13th edition to be held in April. META confers awards across 13 categories, recognizing and celebrating various aspects of stagecraft including stage design, lighting and costumes apart from best play and best ensemble cast and best director. The flavour of META lies in its diversity in terms of both themes and regions represented and this edition seeks to continue this tradition.

Theatre groups from across the country are invited to partic-ipate in the festival and compete for the most comprehensive awards

in Indian theatre. The deadline for applications is January 20. An advi-sory committee representing var-ious regions of the country will recommend plays from their respec-tive states, comprising the best of regional theatre. These plays will get direct entry to the META selection committee’s screening. This com-mittee, comprising eminent per-forming arts personalities, will then select 10 plays that will ultimately be staged in Delhi and these chosen entries in 13 award categories will be invited to stage their productions before a distinguished jury and gen-eral audiences in the Capital. Entries can be submitted online at the offi-cial website of META awards..

Jay Shah, Head of Cultural Outreach, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. encouraging the efforts of the group said “The Mahindra Group

has always invested in the arts with the vision to nurture creativ-ity and encourage passion. It gives us immense satisfaction to see the results of over a decade. META is not just a festival but an ongoing movement to recognize and salute the best of Indian theatre.”

Sanjoy Roy, MD ofTeamwork Arts said, “The META journey has proved beyond doubt that there is an abundance of talent within the country. Over the years, META has served as a platform to showcase the best of Indian theatre, resulting in a significant contribution to the coun-try’s cultural landscape.”

The 13th META Festival which is scheduled from April 14 to 19 will be held at New Delhi’s Kamani Auditorium and Shri Ram Centre along with a red carpet awards night on April 2.

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ART LOVERS can witness a visual bonanza at ‘Kalabimb-18’, an expo-sition by 20 artists conceived with a view, to bring to the audience, a collection of artworks which in many ways provide insights into the contemporary art movement in India today.

The exhibition will take place from January 8 to 13 at India Hab-itat Centre. It traces a time-line of developments in style, themes and schools of what has emerged today as Indian contemporary art, in their visual languages as paint-ings, sculptures, photographs, and mix media.

The striking feature of the works of the participating artists is the manner in which they straddle diverse cultures whilst still voicing the present context of Indian social,

cultural and political life. The can-vases provide an introspective and sometimes, uneasy glimpse into modern India; yet are collectively global in their presentation. This exhibition is a recognition of and respect for the influential anteced-ents of this genre of art. Clearly, the

map has changed as these works demonstrate figurative, abstract, impatient yet unhurried, ancient spirituality fused with modern culture.

Finetouch has endeavoured to present this exhibition of Indian contemporary art, fusing together some of the finest works from well-established artists with a range of the most promising tal-ent across the country. Artists whose work will be displayed are Anita Goyal, Arup K. Biswas, Ash-ish Deshmukh, Balwinder Tanwar Chander Shekhar, Dalip Chan-doliya, Inderjeet Grover, Ravindra Kumar Tanwar and many more. Arvind Kumar (IAS), Saurabh Chaudhary, IIS (Deputy Direc-tor, DD News, Prasar Bharti), Mr. Suraj Prakash, Director, Bal Bharti Public School will be the guest of honour.

Tracing the movement of contemporary art

Calling out the best of Indian theatre groups

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

Anushka Sharma

Amrita PuriSamantha Akkineni

mp city 3MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Saturday, 6 January, 2018

SAYANTAN GHOSH

NEW DELHI: Leaders of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party have said that businessman Sushil Gupta, one of its Rajya Sabha candidates, will help the party expand and accomplish its “Mis-sion Haryana”.

On Friday, AAP Delhi convenor Gopal Rai took up to Facebook Live to justify the party’s decision of electing the two outsiders – Narain Dass Gupta and Sushil Gupta – as its candidates for Rajya Sabha seats, which triggered criticism from Opposition parties.

Rai dismissed allegations of buying the candidates and said that these are “tricks to put down the image of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.”

Rai said Sushil Gupta, a businessman and an ex-Congress politician, who runs charitable schools and hospitals in Delhi and Haryana, was picked due to “practical reasons” and ND Gupta for his expertise on the economy.

“We had formed the government in Delhi with a dream of eliminating corruption, estab-lishing Swaraj. But the Centre is not letting us work. They are doing this as Delhi is not a full state. The party needs a full state for bringing about the changes it desires.

“We tried that in Punjab, but Congress and BJP did not let us. We feel we can form the government in Haryana and have chosen him (Sushil Gupta) keeping our ‘Mission Haryana’ in mind,” Rai said.

Since the announcement of its Rajya Sabha candidates, AAP has been under attack from various political parties and people across India.

Founder member and senior party leader Kumar Vishvas also slammed the leadership,

while the BJP and Congress have said that the party has lost its own principals of clean politics.

However, AAP hit back at Vishwas’ allega-tions saying that he had tried to malign the par-ty’s image earlier.

Rai said that after the civic polls in April last year, “there were attempts to bring down the government and Vishwas was the principal mover and at the centre of those conspiracies”

“Most of the meetings in this regard involv-ing a few MLAs were held at Vishwas’ residence. Kapil Mishra was a part of it and later he was removed from the cabinet,” Rai said.

This is the first time that AAP, which has 66 members in the 70-member Delhi Assembly including some dissidents, will elect members to the upper house.

‘Sushil Gupta will help accomplish Mission Haryana’

BJP cries foul, says deal struck between AAP and Sushil Gupta

ND Gupta sent to Rajya Sabha at BJP’s behest, alleges Maken

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday attacked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for nominating busi-nessman Sushil Gupta as Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha candidate and asked if there was any “deal between them”.

“At a time, when the number of beds in government hospitals is falling, a pri-vate hospital owner has been nomi-nated. I want to ask the Chief Minister is there any link or any deal,” Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said.

Tiwari question came two days after AAP nominated Gupta, besides a char-tered accountant ND Gupta and party leader Sanjay Singh to the Rajya Sabha.

“Before coming to power in Delhi, AAP had said it would increase beds in government hospitals,” Tiwari told reporters, adding that an RTI query has revealed that GB Pant Hospital – which had a capacity of 758 beds – now has a lower bed-strength at 735.

On Thursday, all the three candi-dates filed their respective nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha.

“I am asking this because people in Delhi are questioning your decision to name businessman Sushil Gupta as the party’s candidate for Rajya Sabha,” Tiwari said.

The BJP MP from North East Delhi alleged that even in Delhi’s Janakpuri Super Speciality Hospital, only 100 beds were available for patients, while earlir it had a capacity of 250 beds.

“When we sent an RTI query to the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital in Khichri-pur area about the number of beds, the hospital said they have no information about the beds with them,” Tiwari said.

He also asked the AAP national con-venor why he was punishing the people of Delhi, questioned his motive behind giving 50 per cent reservation to the people of Delhi in GB Pant hospital, while referring to a December order of the Delhi government.

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Maken on Friday said the Aam Aadmi Party “the party with a difference, has nominated chartered accountant ND Gupta, who was close to Union Minister Arun Jait-ley, for Rajya Sabha elections”.

Addressing a press conference here, Maken said ever since AAP named its three Rajya Sabha candidates, turmoil has been brewing in the party.

Maken said Gupta had met him on November 28, 2017, to submit his res-ignation from Congress, as AAP had promised him a Rajya Sabha seat from Delhi. “Though I had my doubts and told him so, Gupta said that everything has been fixed,” Maken claimed.

Maken added that during its forma-tion five years ago, AAP had promised that his party would have transparency, internal democracy and no corruption.

“But these ideals are not seen in the

party now, and have become history,” the Congress leader said.

He further said that AAP had now become the “B team of the BJP”, and was acting at the directions of the BJP.

Maken also showcased a power-point slide presentation to prove Gup-ta’s proximity to the BJP

He said Gupta’s association with BJP was evident from the fact that a meeting of the chartered accountants was organ-ised by Gupta’s son Navin at the Indira Gandhi indoor stadium on July 2017 to extend support to the Goods and Ser-vices Tax, where Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi and Arun Jaitley were guests.

“Navin Gupta is the president-elect of the Institute of Chartered Accoun-tants of India and will take charge of the body in March this year,” Maken added.

Maken further said that The BJP Government at the Centre had appointed ND Gupta as chairman of the Rs 1,20,000-crore National Pension Sys-tem Trust (NPS) on September 18, 2015.

Political storm over AAP Rajya Sabha nominees

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari (right) at a press conference on Friday PIC/MPOST Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken at a press conference on Friday PIC/MPOST

AAP’s nomination of Sushil Gupta (left) and ND Gupta to the Rajya Sabha has drawn flak PIC/PTI

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), for the first time, has rolled out a proposal to commence a central-level campus placement, for the benefit of its students.

Recently, the JNU administration had written to all its schools to appoint one of their faculty members as placement coordinators, who will act as nodal officers for campus placements.

Responding to the direction, the School of Bio-technology has already appointed an assistant professor as coordinator.

“Everyone knows that JNU is the top university. But it is changing in every sector. In some months, the glimpse of a new JNU will be reflected,” said a JNU official.

He added that the varsity has 12 schools that provide courses in Arts, Science, Law, research and doctorate, which nurture the future of 8, 500 students.

“As soon we get the final nod, we will appoint a faculty member who will connect directly with students and companies. The procedure in the initial stage, but by March campus placements will start, where we are expecting big pharma companies and R&D

firms to participate.“Our students have to

cross many competitions to get admission in the varsity, so their hard work will get a fruitful result through the placements,” added the varisity official.

“It was need of the hour because JNU is a renowned university, but did not have an effective placement cell. We want this initiative to be successful and students to get good jobs. Not everyone wants to do PhD and M. Phil, so such placements will benefit students,” said a student of the School of Computational and Integrative Sciences at the University.

SAYANTAN GHOSH

NEW DELHI: Night shelters in Delhi will get mobile drug de-addic-tion centres to help people combat drug addiction and come to the shel-ters, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Friday, asserting that this will not only help people but also become a model of health and social development.

Sisodia inaugurated a mobile health van to help homeless in de-addiction at the Delhi government’s night shelter at Yamuna Bazaar.

Located near the Red Fort, Yamuna Bazar is home to a large community of slum dwellers and has a large population of drug abus-ers, ranging from children to age-ing adults.

“The biggest challenge for the homeless and the biggest inhibitor against their using of night shelters is addiction and its own set of chal-lenges. But the approach of the dan-daa works no more. Only gale se lagaanaa is the best approach,” the Deputy CM said.

Sisodia said that the mobile vans

are a step by the government to reduce and complete stop substance abuse, through detox, strategic inter-vention, restoration or rehabilitation

and behaviour modification of the city’s homeless addicts.

“It is part of the government’s larger strategy in rehabilitation and treatment of children and adult addict population, lining the Yamuna Bazaar and Yamuna banks, known as the Yamuna Pushta Project.

“In the coming months, the government seeks to make active therapeutic and skill-building inter-ventions in the area with the help of NGOs, Women and Child Welfare Department and experts to treat and rehabilitate the addicted children and

the young adult population of the region,” said Sisodia.

The Deputy CM also spoke on the successfully running over 250 night shelters in the city, which have a total housing capacity for more than 20000, and are replete with above average amenities such as blankets, TV, libraries, health facilities and food provision.

Among these night shelters, 83 are permanent buildings, 113 porta cabins and 55 temporary shelters.

At present, 83 shelters are equipped with geysers, while many

others are furnished with electricity and TV sets for the entertainment of the residents.

Recently, the Delhi gov-ernment had announced that different teams of four health staff, lead by a doctor, will visit all night shelters in the city from Monday, to check the basic health conditions of the people.

The government also has plans to connect the night shelters with mohalla clinics, so that people get easy access to the medicine and healthcare.

Night shelters to get mobile health van for de-addiction

Manish Sisodia at the launch of the mobile health van on Friday PIC/MPOST

NEW DELHI: The Delhi gov-ernment is mulling request-ing Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to hand over Kathputli Colony in the national Capital to the city government-admin-istered Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), for rehabilitation of the colony’s displaced residents, informed sources said.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA), of which Baijal is the Chairman, had demolished the colony in Octo-ber 2017, for redevelopment and the incident triggered vio-lence. DDA had handed over rehabilitation of the Kathputli Colony, spread over 13 acre in west Delhi, to a private com-pany, Raheja Developers, in 2007.

An official close to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejri-wal said that no work has been done in the colony in the past nine years and the Delhi gov-ernment proposes to ask Bai-jal to hand over the colony’s rehabilitation work to DUSIB.

“The 13 acres of land worth Rs 1,000 crore was handed over to Raheja Devel-opers for Rs 6 crore and they have not done anything in the past nine years. This is a scam,” the official said. MPOST

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: A moderate fog above the national Capital dis-rupted train and flight oper-ations on Friday, as visibility dropped to 300 metre.

Operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here were affected due to the low visibility and at least 15 flights were delayed.

Meanwhile, the Railways had to cancel 18 trains, delay 62 besides and reschedule 20 in several parts of northern India.

The minimum tempera-ture was recorded at 7.2 degrees Celsius, the season’s average. The maximum temperature hovered around 20 degrees.

The visibility, which had dropped to 300 metres at 5.30 am, improved to 600 metres at 8.30 am, while humidity was recorded at 97 per cent.

Meanwhile, air quality remained ‘very poor’ through-out Friday.

The Central Pollution Con-trol Board (CPCB) observed that the average AQI recorded was 360, with several experts expressed their concern on the continuity of this heavy pollution.

Delhi govt to ask LG to hand over Kathputli Colony devp

Fog grounds 15 flights, cancels 18 trains across

north IndiaROUSHAN ALI

NEW DELHI: Almost a decade has passed, but the 29,223 flats constructed in the national Capital under the Rajeev Ratan Awas Yojana – a housing scheme for the economically weaker sections (EWS) – have been lying vacant since 2008 and have fallen into disrepair.

This is because the Delhi Slum and Jhuggi Jhopri Reha-bilitation and Relocation Pol-icy, 2015, passed by the Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi govern-ment, has not yet been notified and remains caught up in the Centre-state stand-off.

The erstwhile Sheila Dik-shit-led Congress govern-ment had introduced the Rajeev Ratan Awas scheme to allot low-cost flats to the EWS population.

However, it was scrapped as less than 45 per cent of the total slum dwellers in the city had applied.

From the Union Housing Ministry’s promise to make Delhi slum-free by 2022, to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriw-al’s pre-2015 poll slogan ‘Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Makaan’, afford-able housing for the poor has been on the agenda of all politi-cal parties.

However, the failure of suc-cessive governments to for-mulate a uniform resettlement policy and reluctance of slum dwellers to shift to faraway places over livelihood con-cerns have ensured that find-ing a solution to resettlement of slum dwellers in the Capital remains an elusive quest.

The Congress-led Sheila Dikshit government had invited tenders before the Delhi Assembly elections in 2008 and had received 1.5 lakhs of appli-cations over the years.

Dikshit’s Cabinet had approved the criteria of equal sharing of the expenditure of construction of houses between the government and beneficia-ries. The beneficiaries would

have to contribute Rs 60,000 each, while the rest would be borne by the city and Central government.

As per the plan, the share of Scheduled Caste beneficiaries was to be borne by the Delhi SC/ST/OBC/Minorities Devel-opment Corporations, result-ing in SC allottees getting the flats for free.

However, the Aam Aadmi Party government did not announce for allotment of vacant flats.

During the President’s rule in Delhi between February 17, 2014, and January 31, 2015, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung had sanctioned around Rs 6 crore for repairing works all rickety flats.

In a first, JNU to start having campus placement from March

Since 2008, over 29,000 EWS flats lying vacant

The houses were built under the Rajeev Ratan Awas Yojana

mp city4MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi |Saturday, 6 January, 2018

INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADATION TOP PRIORITY FOR NOTHERN RAILWAYS

NEW DELHI: Following directives of Northern Railway General Manager Vishwesh Chaube, ten bridges were rehabilitated and repaired, without causing disruption to running trains, by Moradabad Division of Northern Railway within three months. “Well executed mainte-nance work can only be achieved by meticulous ad-vance planning,” said Chaube, adding that upgrading infrastructure is a top priority for the Northern Railway.

TWO WOMEN CRUSHED TO DEATH BY RUNNING TRAINGREATER NOIDA: In a tragic incident, two woman died after getting hit by a train at a railway track in Dadri area of Gautam Buddh Nagar district on late Thursday night. According to police, the deceased women have been identified as 35-years-old Roopvati and 40-years-old Vimladevi, both natives of Gautam-puri village in Dadri. The duo of woman was working with a private company in Greater Noida. The incident occured on Thursday night while they were returining from their office. “Both of them tried to cross the rail-way track in a hurry under the put down railway bars for the passage of train. The bars were closed but they tried to cross the railway track. The body have been recovered and sent for the post mortem” said a senior police officer. The women were crushed by a train carrying luggage. The bodies were found a few metres away from the spot near the railway track.

FORMER DEFENCE MINISTER ANTONY’S DRIVER COMMITS SUICIDENEW DELHI: Former Defence Minister AK Antony’s driver on Friday committed suicide at the official residence of the senior Congress leader near Jantar Mantar. Police said the deceased, Sanjay Singh, 35, a native of Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, worked as driver of A.K. Antony and his family. Singh was found hanging from a ceiling fan in the servant quarter of the Jantar Mantar Road residence around 12.15 p.m. and police were informed. “No suicide note was found from the spot. Prima facie, Singh committed suicide late at night after all staff members has gone to sleep. When he did not come out from his room till late in the morning, a staff member went to check on him. He saw Singh hanging from a ceiling fan,” Additional Commis-sioner of Police B.K. Singh said.

CITY BRIEFS

PIYUSH OHRIE

GURUGRAM: In a major achievement for Gurugram, the district has recorded a sex ratio figure of 900 females to 1000 males in 2017.

For a district that has reg-istered dismal figures in the previous year’s this can also be considered as major boost to the effort of public agencies to improve the situation. Even though Gurugram is the rich-est district in Haryana, it is a laggard in not having enough population of women as com-pared to men.

The poor state of affairs can be gauged from the fact that in 2014, there were 843 females to 1,000 males. While in 2012 there were 841 females to 1000 males.

From 2014, the district had shown a considerable improve-ment with 875 females to 1000

males in 2015, 883:1000 in 2016 and now 903:1000 in 2017. Even in 2017, there were a lot of public authorities to improve. Till August the data hovered between 880 to 892. However, in September the figures crossed the 900 figure mark with no decrease in the subsequent months.

Even though it is a success story for Gurugram district, it

still lags in comparison to the State average of 913 females to 1000 males. Various initiatives were taken by the government to have a people balance of males and females in the state.

While action against clin-ics that aborted female child continued, Women and Child Welfare Ministry of Haryana Government has roped in the services of more than thousand

aanganwadi workers in Guru-gram to register the pregnant women in the district.

The basic objective of this drive was to reduce the cases of female infanticide and aban-donment of girl child in the district. The problems, how-ever, remained unchaged. Not only in rural parts but even in urban areas there were inci-dents where girl child who were just few days old were found to murdered or abandoned.

“Though Gurugram is the most prosperous district of Haryana yet the challenge of female infanticide and parents abandoning girl child remains a big challenge in the district. Unfortunately it is not only the rural parts but also the urban parts which indulge in these shameful practices.” said a senior government official who is involved in saving girl child project.

In a first, Gurugram’s sex ratio crosses 900 mark in 2017

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: After almost 20 days of hunting, Delhi Police on Friday arrested three peo-ple including an auto-rickshaw driver for allegedly involved in a gangrape case that was reported in Delhi’s Shalimar Bhag area last year.

On December 16, 2017, a 16-year-old girl was gangraped by three people, who have been running since the incident.

Police sources said at the time of the incident the girl was sitting in a park with her male friend when three accused came and started an argu-ment with them and they were beaten up. The accused then allegedly raped the girl and also threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed the incident to anyone. The girl reported the incident to police

after which the investigation was taken up. The girl lives in the slum and works as a maid in the area.

The three accused have been identified as Shiv Prasad alias Babua, 33, Arun Yadav, 36, and Kamlesh alias Baba, 28.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (north-west) Aslam Khan told Millennium Post that Prasad is an auto driver, whereas Arun is a distributor of pesticides and Rajesh is a school dropout. All of them live in the clusters of Shalimar Bagh area.

The officer further informed that the arrest was made from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. After the incident two accused had fled to different State in order to save themselves from arresting but due to police pressure they were arrested.

“Kamlesh was arrested

from Varanasi whereas Shiv Prasad had fled to Jaunpur but he returned Delhi and the arrest was made,” said the DCP.

The other accused Arun was arrested from National Capital. Shiv Prasad was also involved in another rape case, he added.

Auto driver among 3 heldSHALIMAR BAGH GANGRAPE CASE

ZAFAR ABBAS

NEW DELHI: A 35-year-old man was brutally stabbed to death for ‘honour’ after he entered into a relationship with his own cousin girl in East Del-hi’s New Ashok Nagar.

Police said the two accused - one real brother of the girl, identified as Shankar, along with girl’s maternal uncle, Rinku, hatched a deadly con-spiracy to murder both the

girl and man to save family’s ‘honour’.

At around 5:17 pm on Fri-day evening, both Shankar and Rinku in their early twenties carried knives and followed an Ola cab which was taken by Dinesh and the girl. When Dinesh got down to answer nature’s call near Nahar at Mayur Vihar Phase-1, they repeatedly stabbed Dinesh with knives. Dinesh succumbed to his injuries on the spot.

Later, Shankar also tried to stab her sister but somehow an

alert Delhi Home guard who happened to pass by saw the

duo attacking the girl. Home Guard Sonu alerted the public after he raised alarm. The girl was eventually saved by Sonu

and general public. The police was informed immediately and the two accused were immedi-ately taken into custody.

“Both the accused Shankar and Rinku were looking for the girl and Dinesh as both had eloped four days back. Some-how, they managed to get their location and hatched a mur-derous plan to eliminate both, since they thought this rela-tionship was bringing bad name to the family.” said Joint

CP Eastern Range Ravinder Yadav.

Dinesh, who was married with three children, resided in Seemapuri of Delhi. Police said since the girl was into rela-tionship with her own married cousin, the family suspected that as soon as her marriage was fixed next month she eloped with Dinesh and also carried the jewellery and cash kept for her marriage.

This humiliation of his sis-

ter eloping with her married cousin did not get to well with the Shankar and his family.

“Both the accused Shankar and Rinku are gym trainers. They executed their plan after they somehow managed to get the location of the girl and Dinesh,” said Ravinder Yadav, Joint CP, Eastern Range.

Meanwhile, the girl is admitted to a Delhi hospital where her condition is said to be stable.

Brother kills cousin, injures sister to save family’s ‘honour’

Over 2000 people quizzed to get clue

ABHAY SINGH

NEW DELHI: It was not an easy job for police personnel of North West District to nab all the three accused involved in the gangrape case.

Police claimed that they had interrogated more than 2,000 persons to get the clue and also their personnel had to change their looks. They also continuously visited the areas where people like to drink just to get to know their whereabouts.

Police said a day after the incident it laid out a proper groundwork which bore fruit and led to the arrest of the accused. The police personnel including beat staff changed their looks and started going to places where people used to sit and drink. From there they got to know about few names of the criminals and then they interrogated. Dep-uty Commissioner of Police (North-West) Aslam Khan

said that they have interro-gated over 2000 individu-als and then they made the arrest.

The police officer further claimed the team also vis-ited different clusters to get the clues and from dawn to dark police personnel were there and keep a tab on the movement.

The police officer said safety of the women in the Capital remained top prior-ity of the city police as they have arrested more than 9,000 people involved in rape and molestation cases. The police data accessed by Millennium Post claimed that around 3,672 accused were arrested for their involvement in rape cases from 2016 to August 2017, whereas more than 6,000 people were arrested on the charges of molestation. The data stated in current year more than 89 per cent of rape cases were reported and it was 82.98 percent in 2016.

PIYUSH OHRIE

GURUGRAM: The recent survey by the state electricity department has revealed that it is government offices that are the biggest culprit of not paying their electricity bills.

The total electricity bill pending is Rs35 crore. With Rs 2 crore it is the deputy com-missioner officer that leads the pack. The other main depart-ments that have not paid their bills are the Gurugram police commissioner’s office, district health department and vari-ous public health centres that are functional in the city.

Even more shocking is that the electricity department within the district also has a

pending bill of Rs37 lakhs. Responding to the non-

payment of power bills a senior official from Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) said, “It is not that the govern-ment department wants to pay for the bills but there are vari-ous procedures and approvals that are required for clearing the payments. Maybe, this is the reason that there is delay in the payments.”

This is not for the first time when public officials have been found to in such a position. In April last, 17 Gurugram police officials have been found guilty of power theft in the city.

The illegal act of the city police officials was revealed after a surprise raid conducted

by the vigilance department of state electricity board in the Police lines area on Tues-day morning. In what can add to more shame for Guru-gram police department there are more police officials that are likely to be involved in the power theft.

Besides the seventeen Police officials, the electricity department officials had also taken possession of seven elec-tricity metres that were found tampered and have sent it for testing.

The report comes at a time when there been complaints by various residents of inadequate power infrastructure leading to frequent power cuts in their areas.

Forget common man, even Govt depts do not pay electricity bills

OUR CORRESPONDENT

GURUGRAM: In a city where there is constant challenge of law and order, the Gurugram police on Thursday night con-ducted a massive operation of nigh surveillance in various parts of the city.

The operation was con-ducted in around 243 locations of the city. There were around 257 police officials were pres-ent deputed on duty. In this operation there were total of 64 criminals were arrested. The law enforcement officials also seized over 16 cartons of ille-gal foreign liquor. One pistol and three live cartridges were also recovered.

During the drive over 590 vehicles were fined, 15 vehicles impounded.

“Even though our offi-cials are always on ground to improve the law and order sit-uation there are special days where we deploy more forces and conduct more stringent searches. In the past also we have received success in such operation in getting hold of the criminals who were carrying out nefarious activities on city streets,” said a police official.

City cops conduct massive checking drive; liquor and gun seized in Ggn

ZAFAR ABBAS

NEW DELHI: What would you feel if your Boss sends you a mail and secretly asks you to transfer some money to a given account number immediately through RTGS. The obvious reaction is that the employee might unknowingly fall for the trap, failing to realise that there is a slight modification in the official mail id of the boss. This was a tactic applied by a national and an international criminal to dupe several MNC’s employees of crores of rupees.

It was when one of the MNC employees in Nehru Place suspected it to be a dubi-ous account, the company alerted South East Delhi Police. The cops soon registered and FIR and unleashed its Cyber cell to get to the bottom of the racket. To start with the police teams reached the bank whose details were provided in the mail.

“During preliminary enquiry from the Bank at Badarpur it was revealed that the said account had been opened on fake ID in the name

of Prem Gupta and there are number of suspicious trans-actions in the account. Since, there was strong apprehension that the said account holder is using the said account for collecting the amount through fake emails by concealing his real identity to cheat the inno-cent people.” said Chinmoy Biswal. DCP South East.

On the basis of technical surveillance and information gathering, on January 3, an accused Amit Gupta, 31, a res-ident of Faridabad was appre-

hended from Nehru Place by the police.

He got fake PAN card, voter ID card and sales tax number etc made on those names and also in name of firms, enter-prises like AG Enterprises & Prem Associates etc. showing fake persons as their propri-etor. In this manner, he got several accounts opened in various banks in Delhi includ-ing current accounts and col-lected more than one crore rupees from innocent victims by online fraud.

Cyber fraud: Beware of your fake boss

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Rohini dis-trict police arrested four trans-genders who allegedly killed a youth by beating him to death. Police claimed that the deceased had stolen money from the accused house and they took the revenge from him.

Police said on December 17, an unidentified male dead body aged about 24-25 years was found dumped near CNG pump, Sec-22, Rohini who was later identified as Mohit. It came to know that the deceased used to stay with transgenders.

Several transgenders of vari-ous areas of Rohini District and Outer District were examined.

DCP (Rohini) Rajneesh Gupta said it was revealed that transgenders namely Kul-deep alias Kiran, Sandeep alias

Sandhya, Ajay alias Dolly, Anil alias Anamika were in search of deceased Mohit, as he has allegedly stolen the money of Kuldeep. All the suspected per-sons were apprehended and interrogated.

DCP said after sustained interrogation, it was disclosed that on December 15, accused persons nabbed the deceased and took him to the house of Sandeep where beat him till his death. They kept the dead body whole day of December 16, in their house and in the inter-vening night of 16/17 Decem-ber they dumped the body near CNG pump Sec-22, Rohini.

4 transgenders held for murder

ABHAY SINGH

NEW DELHI:Delhi Police on Friday questioned three senior doctors into the case of the twin babies, one of whom was wrongly declared dead by the Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh. Police sources sad the three doctors were questioned for more than four hours and separate questioning was done to know their versions of the incident.

DCP (Crime) Joy Tirkey confirmed the questioning but did not divulge the further details of the case. “We will cor-roborate the statements of three doctors for further investiga-tion,” said a police source add-ing that they were asked more than 10 questions regarding the incident. The three doctors were cooperative during the questioning. Earlier the doctors were served notice by police to join investigation in the case and the police team had vis-ited Max hospital to collect the necessary documents related

to the case.The case relates to the birth

of twins (a boy and a girl) on November 30. The parents alleged the babies were declared dead by Max Hospital in Shali-mar Bagh but they later dis-covered that the boy was alive.Earlier the local police have questioned them and the case was transferred from the dis-trict police to Crime Branch for a detailed probe“ Since the case was of medical negligence, they had to rely on experts’ opinion.

The Delhi Police has ear-lier written to the Delhi Medi-cal Council’s (DMC) seeking their opinion in a case,” police said . He further added that they have been doing their own probe and once they complete it they will share the details with police and inves-tigation will continue. In the FIR copy Ashish, father of the child alleged that the hospital said the bill for keeping the sur-viving baby in the nursery till it was out of danger would be Rs 50 lakh.

3 docs grilled for four hours in Max case

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court will pronounce on December 8 its order on granting bail to two persons arrested in a case of alleged corruption in the Rs 2,150 crore re- development project of ITPO Complex at Pragati Maidan, in which NBCC chairman-cum-man-aging director Anoop Mittal has been made an accused.

Special judge Arvind Kumar reserved order on the bail applications of Sanjay Kulkarni, managing director of Capacite Structures, and Ghaziabad-based middleman Rishabh Agrawal, after hearing arguments from defence advo-cates and the CBI.

In their applications, both the accused had submitted that no purpose will be served by keeping them in further cus-tody. Kulkarni’s advocate Vijay Aggarwal told the court that his client was not required for further custody. The probe agency opposed it saying that the accused might hamper the investigation. MPOST

Court reserves order on Pragati

Maidan case

This humiliation of his sister eloping with her married cousin did not get to well with his family

They kept the dead body whole day of December 16 and they dumped the body near CNG pump Sec-22, Rohini

CORRRESPONDENT

GREATER NOIDA: A 24-year-old man has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the abduction, gang-rape and mur-der of a Class XII girl in Dadri, whose body was found from a creek in Dankaur police here said on Friday.

Cops said that the accused, identified as Anil Sharma, and the teenage victim were report-edly neighbours in Dadri.

The accused, a resident of Bulandshahr, resides in a rented accommodation, while the girl lived with her parents nearby. Sharma would reportedly fre-quent the girl’s house, whom affectionately referred him as ‘uncle’. A senior police offi-cial from Dadri said that on December 12, the girl had gone to her school, but did not return home in the evening. Alarmed, her family began searching for her, but found no clues of her whereabouts.

The girl’s family suspected

Sharma’s involvement in her dis-appearance, as he used to often visited their house. After finding out that the accused was miss-ing as well, the girl’s family reg-istered a complaint against him at Dadri police station.

Cops mounted surveillance of the accused’s mobile phone and traced him to Ambala.

A police team reached Ambala and arrested the accused on Wednesday from his friend’s house. Police said he confessed to raping the minor several times in captivity in two weeks. On Friday, Dhanan-jay Singh, SHO, Bulandshahr City said that the girl’s body was found on Thursday near the creek in Dankaur by some locals, who informed the police.

Girl abducted, gang-raped found dead; one arrested

Cops said the accused and the teenage victim were neighbours

mp nation 5MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Saturday, 6 January, 2018

LS adjourned sine die; 12 bills passed in Winter Session

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha was on Friday adjourned sine die, bringing to an end the short Winter Session dur-ing which the House passed 12 bills, including the ‘triple talaq’ legislation that seeks to criminalise instant divorce in the Muslim community.

Announcing the adjourn-ment, Speaker Sumitra Maha-jan said the session, which commenced on December 15, had 13 sittings spread over 61 hours and 48 min-utes. The House lost about 15 hours due to disruptions and adjournments.

Important bills passed dur-ing the session included the central road fund (amend-ment) bill, the requisitioning and acquisition of immov-able property bill, the national capital territory of Delhi laws (special provisions) second (amendment) bill and the goods and services tax (com-pensation to states) amend-ment bill.

A bill to hike the salary of high court and Supreme Court judges was also passed.

The Speaker said 16 bills were introduced by the gov-ernment in the session.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the House

as she announced its adjourn-ment after briefing members on the proceedings during the winter session.

The discussion on supple-mentary demands for grants, second and third batch for 2017-18, lasted for more than six hours before the demands were voted and the related appropriation bills passed, she said.

“In this session, while we lost over 14 hours and 51 minutes of time due to inter-ruptions followed by forced adjournments, the House also sat late for 8 hours and 10 min-utes to discuss various impor-tant issues,” she said.

During the session, 280 starred questions were listed, of which 45 questions were answered orally. Written replies to the remaining starred ques-tions along with 3220 unstarred questions were tabled, she said.

About 198 matters of urgent public importance were raised by the members and by sitting late in the evening, while the members also raised 226 mat-ters under rule 377, she said.

Standing committees pre-sented 41 Reports to the House.

The Lok Sabha held a short duration discussion under rule 193 regarding natural calami-ties in various part of the coun-try, with special reference to

cyclone Ockhi in South India. The discussion was concluded with the reply by Home Minis-ter, she said.

During the session, as many

as 2255 papers were tabled by the ministers concerned, she said, adding that 98 Private Members’ bills on different subjects were also introduced.

Congress Leader Janardhan Dwivedi poses for photographers during the on-going winter session of Parliament, in New Delhi on Friday PTI

Rajya Sabha

Questions

Lok Sabha

Duration of the Session

Number of actual days of sitting

Actual time of sitting

Time lost due to interruptions/adjournments

Time made up by extra sittings

Dec 15, 2017 to Jan 5, 2018

Lok

Sabha

Rajya

SabhaSittings

Starred Questions admitted

Starred Questions answered orally

Unstarred Questions admitted

61 hrs. & 48 min.

14 hrs. & 51 min.

8 hrs. & 10 min.

280

45

3,220

13 13

33 hrs.+

3 hrs.+

41 hrs.+

210

46

2,239

Bills introduced

Government Bills

-

-

9

Bills withdrawn

Bills passed/returned

Private Members' Business

KBK graphicsInfo

Winter Session 2017: A Snapshot

Bills introduced 19

Bills withdrawn/negatived 1

Legislative Business

Bills introduced

Bills passed

Government Bills

16

12

Private Members' Business

Bills introduced 98

Rajya Sabha lost 34 hours due to disruptions: NaiduOUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha was on Friday adjourned sine die with Chairman M Ven-kaiah Naidu urging members to seriously introspect on their conduct in the House which lost almost 34 hours due to fre-quent disruptions.

The Rajya Sabha, which had 13 sittings during the winter session that started on Decem-ber 15, saw the passage of nine government bills.

Ahead of adjourning the House sine die at 1 pm in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Naidu said the session had its highs and lows, but lamented that it ended up losing some degree of esteem on account of disruptions.

“It is unfortunate that despite discharging its respon-sibilities to a great extent, the august House ends up losing some degree of the esteem of the people on account of dis-ruptions and substantial loss of functional time.

“Intense and passionate submissions and debates are the order of democracy, but disruptions are certainly not. I urge upon members to seri-ously introspect in this regard,” he said. Naidu also said it was “an opportunity for all of us to review, recall and introspect” about how the proceedings have been conducted in the House.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu speaks in the Rajya Sabha in New Delhi during the ongoing winter session of Parliament PTI

Naidu to soon decide on privilege notice against Rahul

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said he will take “necessary decision” at the earliest on a privilege notice served by BJP MP Bhupinder Yadav against Congress Presi-dent Rahul Gandhi. However, he said the matter fell under the purview of the Lok Sabha.

On December 28, Yadav had given notice under Rule 187 alleging that the Congress President had “intentionally, maliciously and disrespectfully twisted” the name of Leader of the House and Finance Minis-ter Arun Jaitley in a tweet.

Gandhi, a Lok Sabha mem-ber, had tweeted in connec-tion with Jaitley’s statement

after an agreement to end an impasse in the Upper House was reached between the trea-sury and opposition benches over Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi’s remarks against his predecessor Manmohan Singh during the Gujarat assembly election campaign.

During the Zero Hour on the last day of the Winter Ses-sion, Yadav wanted to know the fate of his privilege notice, to which Naidu said it was under his consideration.

“Your notice is under my consideration. I have already told you, I will be taking action immediately, but it’s not within the purview of Rajya Sabha, finally it has to go to Lok Sabha. I will take necessary decision at the earliest,” the Chairman said.

Tension during march to

‘Kurishumala’THIRUVANANTHA-PURAM: A march by the faithful to the ‘Kurishum-ala’ (Mount of the Cross) in nearby Bonacaud today alleg-edly turned violent leading to lathicharge, the police said.

Eight persons, including three police personnel, had been admitted to the Govern-ment Medical College Hospi-tal here, hospital sources said.

Priests and the faithful under the Neyyantinkara Latin Catholic Diocese took out a procession to instal a new holy cross in the place of one which got damaged a few months ago.

Authorities had yesterday itself informed the church that they would not be allowed to enter the forest land in viola-tion of rules. Trouble started as the participants in the march ‘broke’ the police barricade and a section started pelting stones at them, the police said. MPOST

CRPF SUV with JK licence plate stolen, triggers security alertOUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Security agen-cies have flashed an alert after an SUV with a “JK” number-plate belonging to the CRPF was stolen from outside a camp of the force late last month, offi-cial sources said.

The alert, warning against misuse by terrorists ahead of Republic Day celebrations on January 26, has been issued by multiple agencies, including the Delhi Police, the CRPF and central agencies.

Official sources said a white Sumo Victa of the Central Reserve Police Force was sto-len from outside a camp of the force in R K Puram area on the intervening night of Decem-ber 29-30.

The official number plate of the stolen four-wheeler is ‘JK 02A W5441’, they said.

The vehicle, with a ‘Police’ sticker, was stolen by at least three people that night, sources said, referring to CCTV foot-age of the incident.

The alert issued by security agencies, especially to agen-cies and forces based in Kash-mir, said the vehicle could be misused for a possible sabotage attack or fidayeen raid.

Intelligence inputs have already stated that “militants can use a vehicle laden with explosives to attack a camp (of security forces/agencies) in the run up to Republic Day cele-brations...”, it said.

The CRPF, too, issued an alert and asked all its units in Jammu and Kashmir and north India to be on heightened vigil and take extra precautionary measures.

“No unidentified vehicle should be allowed to enter in

the camp without proper iden-tification and anti-sabotage checks,” stated the alert, issued by the CRPF headquarters in Delhi.

The force has asked all its unit commanders to share the message with the “last man on ground” so that the possible misuse of the stolen vehicle does not impact their security.

It also asked all its units in the country to “review” and fortify camp security.

The threat of the stolen vehicle has been escalated to the level of “high alert” in the wake of the recent attack on the CRPF camp in Pulwama, sources said.

Four CRPF personnel were killed on December 31 when heavily armed terrorists launched a pre-dawn attack on a camp of the force in Pulwama district of south Kashmir.

Par panel asks FCI to relax norms & give SC/ST reservation in higher posts

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: A Parliamen-tary Panel on Friday asked state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) to relax norms and provide promotion to SC and ST employees in higher posts besides filling up 18,268 vacancies at the earliest.

The panel also suggested the FCI to undertake a spe-cial recruitment drive within three months to fill up the SC/ST vacancies.

“By not including these higher position in the ambit of reservation, the committee feels that the government has blocked all avenues of reserved category employees from hold-ing posts which require policy making and managerial skills,” the Parliamentary panel on the Welfare of SC/STs said in its latest report tabled in the Lok Sabha.

Stating that it fully under-stands that the government policy does not allow reserva-tion in promotion for higher posts, the panel however rec-ommended that “FCI under the constrained situation should chalk out a strategy to provide due representation in all cat-egories of service and posts to SC/ST employees.”

“If necessary, FCI may provide relaxation to SC and ST employees/officers as per the DoPT guidelines so that reserved category employees may not be deprived to go to

the higher positions,” the panel said in its report on ‘Reserva-tion for and employment of SC/STs in FCI’. On percent-age of reservation to SC/STs for higher posts, the panel strongly said that under no cir-cumstances the percentage of reservation should be less than the mandatory 15 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively.

In no way, the demography of a particular state should be the reason for reducing the pre-scribed percentage for SC/STs, it added.

Since most of the 18,268

vacant posts are those reserved for SC/STs, the panel asked the FCI to ensure there is no “backlog vacancies” from one recruitment drive to another.

Rather a special recruit-ment drive must be carried so that all SC/STs can be filled up since the 1997 revised roster.

The panel suggested the FCI to undertake a special recruit-ment drive within a period of three months so that SC/ST vacancies are filled up and are not carried forward years after year. The last special recruit-ment drive for filling up SC/STs backlog vacancies was under-taken in 2008-09. That apart, the panel also recommended that the recruitment for cate-gory I, II and II should be done by a government agency not by a private body. The SC/ST lai-son officers at different zonal and regional level should be full fledged officers.

Meghalaya CM says those booked by CBI in education scam will prove innocence

OUR CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said on Friday that those booked in alleged manipulation of score sheets in the recruitment of teachers in 2008-09, will prove innocence in the court of law and that he has faith in judiciary.

Acting on the orders of the Meghalaya High Court, the CBI had booked Meghala-ya’s PWD minister Ampareen Lyngdoh and state’s Additional Chief Secretary P S Thangkh-iew over alleged manipulation of score sheets in the recruit-ment of teachers in 2008-09.

The CBI registered the FIR under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, forg-ery, criminal breach of trust against Lyngdoh, who was the then education minister and Thangkhiew, a 1984-batch IAS officer, who was the then prin-cipal secretary education.

“(The) Law will take its own course. They (accused) will prove they are innocent,” Chief Minister Mukul Sangma told reporters at the sideline of

a program of the party.He said, “The concerned

officer and the minister will know how to defend for them-selves and proof to the world their innocence. We have to have faith in our judiciary system. 

The Chief Minister was attending a program of the Congress where the newly appointed state president took over the reign of the party from veteran Congress leader DD Lapang.

Ampareen Lyngdoh, who is PWD minister, on the other hand said the registering of the case by the CBI was a “well-calculated move” just when the polls are round the corner.

“It is a well-calculated move. I am ready to face any probe. I too want justice and it is my desire to see the clo-sure of the case (at the earli-est),” she said.

She also informed that the CBI did not interrogate even as the CBI had presented a 107-page report to the Court.

The additional chief sec-retary was not available for comments.

Govt planning to connect railways

with Asian nations: Gohain

AGARTALA: The Centre has plans to connect the Indian Railways with Asian countries for effective implementation of the BJP-led government’s Act East Policy, Union Minister Rajen Gohain said on Friday.

The North Eastern Region is being connected with neigh-bouring Bangladesh through the Agartala-Akhaura rail line, and survey was underway in Manipur for extension of rail-ways up to Moreh on the India-Myanmar border, he said.

Gohain, the Union Minis-ter of State for Railways, was speaking at the flagging-off cer-emony of the Agartala- Beng-aluru Cant Hamsafar Express from the Agartala railway sta-tion here. He said that the entire North Eastern Region was growing fast in terms of rail and road connectivity due to the Act East Policy.

Gohain, however, said rail works were progressing faster in Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, but progress in Sik-kim and Meghalaya was slow owing to land acquisition problems.

The Agartala-Bengaluru Cant Hamsafar Express, with 11 air-conditioned three-tier coaches, would initially run once a week, but the frequency would be increased within a short span, the minister said.

It would cover a distance of over 3,000 km in 64 hours.

The Rajdhani Express, which also runs once in a week, would be made more fre-quent, he said. Gohain added that work for electrification of 30,000 km tracks across the country is underway to make trains faster and modern.

Bill to set up global arbitration centre introduced in LSOUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: A bill to set up a new international arbitra-tion centre here to replace and take over the undertakings of its present ‘avatar’ - the Inter-national Centre for Alterna-tive Dispute Resolution which works under the aegis of the Supreme Court, was intro-duced in the Lok Sabha on

Friday.The New Delhi Interna-

tional Arbitration Centre bill, introduced by Minister of State for Law P P Chaudhary, says the centre will be an institution of national importance and work for developing mecha-nism of international arbitra-tion in the country.

The bill said the Interna-tional Centre for Alternative

Dispute Resolution (ICADR), which works under the aegis of the Supreme Court, has not been able to actively engage and embrace developments in the arbitration ecosystem.

The new body will take over the undertakings of the ICADR which was set up in 1995. The Chief Justice of India is the ex-officio chairperson of the ICADR, while former law

minister H R Bhardwaj is the patron of the institution.

According to the bill, with a view to promote institu-tional arbitration and make India a hub of international arbitration, a high-level com-mittee headed by Justice B N Srikrishna, a former Supreme Court judge, was constituted to identify the roadblocks in the development of institutional

arbitration.The committee had recom-

mended that ICADR should be taken over with complete revamp of its governance struc-ture to include only experts of repute who can lend credibility and respectability to the insti-tution and be re-branded as a centre of national importance to highlight its character as a flagship arbitral institution.

Modi walks up to Manmohan in Rajya Sabha, shakes hands

After CM sectt, Haj office wall gets saffron hue; SP, cleric fumes

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today shook hands with former Prime Min-ister Manmohan Singh soon after the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die.

The cordial “handshake” came barely weeks after the duo had been locked in a bitter war of words over Gujarat elections.

As soon as Chairman M Venkiah Naidu adjourned the House sine die and ‘Vande Mataram’ was rendered, Modi was seen moving towards the opposition benches shaking hands with some members, including his predecessor.

He reached the seat of the former premier, shook hands with him for quite some time and spoke to him.

Among others with whom the Prime Minister was seen

shaking hands were Deputy Chairman P J Kurien and vet-eran Congress leader Karan Singh, who was bid farewell by the Upper House today as his tenure ends on January 27.

The show of cordiality between the incumbent and the former premier follows a rare row that broke out last month after Modi insinuated that Manmohan Singh had colluded with Pakistan in the Gujarat polls and latter hit-ting back saying a “dangerous precedent” was being set by such accusations and seeking apology.

Both the Houses had wit-nessed stormy protests over the issue with an adamant oppo-sition seeking apology from Modi for his statement during Gujarat poll campaign and the BJP sticking to its point that PM would not apologise.

OUR CORRESPONDENT

LUCKNOW: The boundary wall of the Uttar Pradesh Haj office, opposite the state legis-lature building in the heart of the city, has got a saffron look overnight, days after the secre-tariat building facade was given the same coat.

The Haj office compound wall got a bright saffron shade within days of the BJP govern-ment reducing the number of holidays allotted to state-rec-ognised madrasas in the 2018 calendar.

The paint was carried out late last night by the Uttar Pradesh estates department and the Haj office staff was not immediately available for a reaction, Friday being a holiday.

The move prompted the opposition Samajwadi Party to accuse the BJP govern-ment of indulging in “blatant saffronisation”.

“The BJP is a party known for changing colours. It is indulging in these antics only to hide its faults and failures. If the BJP really considers the saffron colour as sacrosanct, it

should not indulge in politici-sation of the colour and indulge in blatant saffronisation,” SP spokesman Sunil Singh Sajan said.

All India Shia Personal Law Board spokesperson Yasoob Abbas took strong exception to the change in colour.

“What is this? The BJP will paint it saffron, the SP will choose green and the BSP blue...This is politics of colour and should be avoided,” he said.

When contacted, Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mohsin Raza said, “I fail to understand the problem of those having issues with the new colour. Is saffron an anti-national colour? Saffron is a

colour which symbolises ujala (brightness) and urja (energy).”

He said, “When the first rays of the Sun fall on the Earth, it comes with saffron light.”

Raza said, “Saffron is a colour, which is synonymous with positivity. It is a gift of God. I think those who are against the usage of saffron colour on the (boundary) wall of the UP Haj commit-tee office, may also object to saffron colour in the national tri-colour.”

He said, “This is peculiar politics. After all, only the outer wall of the government office has been painted and not the building or any personal prop-erty of any individual.”

mp nation6MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi |Saturday, 6 January, 2018

FOUR OF FAMILY CHARRED TO DEATHAZAMGARH: Four persons of a family including two children were charred to death as their hut caught fire early this morning, police said. The incident took place around 3 am in Bardiha where 52- year-old Ramsagar was staying with his family. Ramsagar’s wife Prabhavati (45), daughters Sangita (13) and Chandrashila (17) were burnt to death on the spot it-self. Ramsagar succumbed to injuries while he was be-ing taken to the district hospital for treatment. Almost a dozen cattle were also killed. District Magistrate Chandrabhushan Singh said the kin of the deceased will be given every possible help by the district administration. “How the hut actually caught fire will be probed. It was said (by locals) that in order to prevent cattle from being exposed to cold, a bonfire was lit in the hut. It is possible that the accident took place because of this,” Singh.

FIVE DIE DUE TO EXTREME COLD IN WESTERN UPMUZAFFARNAGAR: Four people have died due to intense cold wave conditions in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts, according to the administration. According to a report from the district headquar-ter, Kherati (70) died due to cold at Miranpur town. 40-year-old Kuldeep died due to hostile weather conditions at Jansath town. A 50-year-old labourer, Budh Singh Saini, died due to sweeping cold conditions at Biharighar village in the district last night. Papan (48) was found shuddering in cold near the Shamli railway station. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died. Muzaffarnagar recorded the lowest tempera-ture in Uttar Pradesh on several days this week. The mercury in the district plunged to 3.4 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

TWO NAXALS KILLED IN ENCOUNTERRAIPUR: Two Naxals, including a woman, were on Fri-day gunned down in an encounter with security forces in a dense forest of Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said. The encounter took place at around 7:30 am in Muduvandi-Kawadgaon forest axis when a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Maoist op-eration, Deputy Inspector General of Police (south Ba-star Range) Sundarraj P said. The operation, involving composite forces of CRPF’s elite unit Commando Bat-talion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) 204th battalion and District Reserve Guard (DRG), was launched last night in the interiors of Gangaloor, located around 450 kms away from here, he said. While combing operations were underway, Naxals opened fire on security forces this morning. Immediately security forces took position and launched retaliatory attack that forced Naxals to flee from the spot, the DIG said. During search, two Naxals clad in “uniform” were found dead at the spot. Besides, one .303 rifle, one 12 bore gun and one country-made pistol, were also recovered from there, the officer added. Further details are awaited as the operation was still underway, he added.

HAZARE TO GO ON FAST FROM MAR 23 IF LOKPAL BILL NOT PASSED BELAGAVI: Social activist Anna Hazare on Friday said he would undertake a fast from March 23 in Delhi if his demand for passing “proper” bills for Lokpal, Lokayukta and electoral reforms were not met. Hazare said this time it will be “aar-ya-paar” (final) till he gets the results he wished. Speaking to reporters here, he said he had hopes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who he thought would bring changes in the political system and usher in a corruption free state but they were belied. The Modi government has further diluted the Lokayukta and Lokpal bills, he alleged. It is “very unfortunate” that a provision making wife and children party to the property amassed illegally by an officer was removed, he said.

NATION BRIEFSPak man with Aadhaar tries to enter IAF station, arrested

OUR CORRESPONDENT

JAIPUR: A 50-year-old man was apprehended by Air Force personnel when he allegedly tried to enter the Air Force sta-tion in Jaisalmer, and a Pak-istani passport as well as an Aadhaar card found in his pos-session, police said on Friday.

The accused, identified as Purkha Ram, was nabbed yes-terday and was being interro-gated, Jaisalmer Kotwali SHO Derawar Singh said.

Ram was a displaced Paki-stani Hindu migrant and had been renewing his visa, Singh said, adding that the accused also had an Aadhaar card with a residential address in Sri Gan-ganagar district. Ram has been living in India for over a decade and investigators were looking into how he managed to get an Aadhaar card, the SHO said.

SHO Singh added that Pur-kha Ram was working at a farm and living with his family in Jaisalmer.

Coach booked under POSCO for

trying to rape minor athletesOUR CORRESPONDENT

BAREILLY: A coach has been booked on charges of rape and also under the POSCO Act for allegedly attempting to rape two minor women athletes.

Superintendent of Police (city) Rohit Sajwan on Friday said, a case under the POCSO Act and for committing rape has been registered against the absconding coach Sahibe Alam.

According to police, a woman athlete alleged that Alam had molested her and attempted to rape her during a tournament in Meeraganj. When the athlete resisted, the coach started harassing her.

Another woman athlete also complained that during the monsoon marathon held in Nainital last month, Alam first showed porn films and then tried to rape her.

After returning from Naini-tal, the athlete narrated her plight to family members.

After this family members of both athletes lodged a com-plaint against the coach, and on the orders of SSP Bareilly Jogendra Kumar, a case under the POCSO Act and for com-mitting rape was registered against the coach, police said.

HC raps Maha over delay in awarding compensationOUR CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government should cut down red tape and procedural tech-nicalities while awarding mon-etary compensation to rape and acid attack victims, the Bombay High Court said on Friday.

A division bench of Jus-tices R M Borde and R G Ket-kar was irked when it was informed that a girl, who was attacked with acid in 2012, has not been given compensation and her medical expenses have not been met with as mandated under the state government’s ‘Manodhairya’ scheme till date.

Under the ‘Manodhairya

Yojana’, rape and acid attack victims are to be compensated up to Rs 10 lakh. Besides, their medical expenses are also to be borne by the government.

The scheme also provides for counselling and vocational training of the victims.

The bench was informed by government lawyer Neha Bhide that an amount of Rs four lakh was kept towards the petitioner victim’s medical expenses.

“However, the amount could not be disbursed as the victim failed to submit the hos-pital bills. She (victim) submit-ted the bills later. Now we are unable to trace the victim to record her statement,” Bhide

said.Irked with this, the court

sought to know why the vic-tim’s statement needs to be recorded when she has already

submitted all the bills.The court said the gov-

ernment should have sent the money directly to the hospital concerned.

The bench also noted that under the scheme, the victim is to get compensation over and above the medical expenses.

“Shouldn’t the government cut down the bureaucratic and procedural technicalities and help the victim? You (govern-ment) are so insensitive. In this particular case, the petitioner has already suffered physi-cally...and now she is before this court for three years wait-ing for compensation,” Justice Borde said.

BJP using dirty tricks to destabilise Tripura govt: CPI(M)

OUR CORRESPONDENT

HYDERABAD: The CPI(M) on Friday alleged that the BJP was misusing power and resorting to “dirty tricks” to destabilise the Tripura govern-ment, led by the Left party.

The charge comes a day after the saffron party urged the Election Commission (EC) to appoint the micro-observ-ers in poll-bound Tripura from outside the state and deploy a maximum number of para-military forces, alleging that an atmosphere of fear was prevail-ing in the north-eastern state.

“The BJP-RSS is misusing power to destabilise the Tri-pura government through dirty tricks,” CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat said.

Tripura, she said, was a symbol of peace and harmony in a region which had a history of ethnic conflicts.

The CPI(M) government in Tripura had done better than the BJP-ruled states as far as the social and development indi-cators were concerned, Karat added.

“False charges, manufactur-ing lies and the abusive state-ments of BJP leaders will cost them heavily in the coming election (in Tripura), in which the Left Front will emerge even

stronger,” she claimed.The BJP had on Thursday

said only those government officials should be deployed on poll duty in Tripura, who gave a declaration that they were not members of any political party or any trade union, affiliated to a political outfit.

“The micro-observers should be appointed from outside the state, because the CPI(M) has started giving membership to the state gov-ernment employees. Polls can-not be held with the members of the Left party inside the booth,” BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma had said in New Delhi.

“We also request the EC to deploy a maximum number of paramilitary forces in the state to ensure a free-and-fair elec-tion,” he had said.

Sarma, a minister in the BJP government in Assam, is

also the convener of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), a coalition of the BJP and regional parties from the north-east.

The CPI(M) has been ruling Tripura since 1993 and elec-tions in the north-eastern state have traditionally been two-cornered contests between the Congress and the Left party.

The BJP’s bid to emerge as a force to reckon with in the state got a boost last year with seven MLAs -- six from the Tri-namool Congress (TMC) and one from the Congress -- join-ing the saffron camp.

Sarma had also claimed that the BJP would sweep the Tri-pura polls, following which the number of CPI(M) members would be reduced to less than 10 in the 60-member Assembly.

The current term of the Tri-pura Assembly is scheduled to come to an end on March 6.

Aadhaar helped identify 80k ‘ghost’ teachers in higher

education institutionsOUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Mandatory Aadhaar disclosure during the All India Survey on Higher Education 2016-17 (AISHE) revealed that there are over 80,000 teachers who are fac-ulty members of three or more higher education insti-tutions in the country. This was disclosed by the Human Resource Development min-ister Prakash Javadekar, at the release of the final AISHE 2016-17 report on Friday.

The HRD ministry has identified around 80,000 “ghost” teachers in various col-leges and universities across the country after the introduc-tion of Aadhaar. So far, 85 per cent of the teachers have given their Aadhaar numbers, and the ministry believes that the number would increase when all the teachers comply.

“There are certain ‘ghost’ teachers who use proxy meth-ods and are apparently teach-ing at multiple places as full-time employees. After the introduction of Aadhaar, 80,000 such teachers have been identified and action will be taken against them,” Javadekar said.

The minister, however, clarified that none of these teachers are from any central universities. “The ghost teach-ers have not been identified in

any central universities but in some state varsities and private ones,” he said.

The HRD ministry has asked all varsities to seek Aad-haar number from all employ-ees and students to ensure that there is no duplication.

“Sharing Aadhaar number is like sharing your mobile number or Email ID. Sharing your mobile number doesn’t mean the person you give it to can see your text messages. Aadhaar works the same way. It is protected,” Javadekar said.

The report also highlighted the growth in the sector as the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) now stands at 25.5 per cent as against 21.5 per cent, five years ago.

In last five years, the GER of the Muslims and other minor-ity communities has been slow. From 4.15 per cent GER of the Muslim youth (age group of 18-23 years) in 2012-13, it is just 4.90 per cent in 2016-17. Similarly, the GER growth for other minority groups has been 0.33 per cent in the same period. The survey also indi-cates that in last five years, the student population of higher education between the age of 18 and 23 has increased by 35 lakh. While there are just 9.3 per cent colleges exclusively for girls, there are 15 women exclusive universities across 10 states

24 years on, CBI arrests RSS Hq blast accused from Chennai

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: After a hunt that lasted 24 years, the CBI on Friday arrested Mush-taq Ahmed, one of the main accused in the 1993 bombing of RSS’ Chennai headquarters in which 11 persons were killed.

Ahmed, who had eluded the CBI for 24 years, was arrested on Friday morning from the outskirts of Chennai,

CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said here.

The blast on August 8, 1993 was triggered using RDX. It brought down the multi-sto-reyed RSS office at Chetput in Chennai, claiming 11 lives.

Ahmed had allegedly pro-cured the explosive material for assembling the bomb and provided shelter to the other accused, officials said.

The agency had announced

a reward of Rs 10 lakh for pro-viding credible information about Ahmed, one of the main accused in the case. The agency was entrusted with the probe in 1993 and filed a chargesheet against 18 persons under the stringent provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Explosive Substances Act and Terrorist and Destructive Activities (Pre-vention) Act (TADA).

In 2007, a TADA court in

Chennai in 2007 convicted 11 persons and awarded life terms to three after a 12-year trial.

The agency continued its hunt for Ahmed -- who did not face trial as he could not be arrested -- right through.

After the trial in 2007, the special court acquitted four persons, including S A Basha, founder of the banned Al Umma, for lack of evidence against them.

Adopt zero-tolerance policy on child marriage: NHRC

OUR CORRESPONDENT

BHUBANESWAR: With India recording around 3,600 child marriages every day, the National Human Rights Com-mission (NHRC) has asked states to adopt a zero-toler-ance policy to curb the social menace and strictly enforce the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

NHRC secretary general Ambuj Sharma told a regional conference on child marriage here yesterday: “Marriage of children below 18 years is a major national issue. The main objective of this conference is to come up with a national action plan.” 

Challenges faced by the enforcing agencies in effective implementation of the Act and modalities needed for track-ing, recording, reporting of child marriages would also be discussed at the meet, Sharma said.

More than 40 per cent of the child marriages in the world happen in India and 3,600 of them take place every day, a NHRC release said, cit-ing National Crime Records Bureau data.

But only few cases are reported.

In 2015 and 2016, only 293 and 326 child marriages were reported under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act accord-ing to the NCRB data, the state-

ment read.According to National

Family Health Survey-4, 40.7 per cent of the total marriages in West Bengal are child mar-riages. Bihar follows close behind with 39.1 per cent child marriages.

Jharkhand registered 38 per cent child marriages and Rajas-than 35.4 per cent.

Punjab and Kerala are placed at the bottom of the table with 7.6 per cent child marriages.

Punjab has reduced child marriages by 61.42 per cent and Kerala by 50.65 per cent in the last 10 years.

Godda in Jharkhand reported the highest number of such cases (63.5) followed by Garhwa (58.8) in the same state, Bhilwara (57.2) in Rajas-than and Malda (54.8) in West Bengal.

Odisha ranks 13th in the list with 21.3 per cent child mar-riages. The number of child marriages in Malkangiri, Naba-

rangpur, Mayurbhanj, Koraput, Rayagada, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Keonjhar are more than the national average of 26.8 per cent, the release read.

Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) chairperson Kas-turi Mohapatra said the Pro-hibition of Child Marriage Act should be amended to make all child marriages void, in the manner done by Karnataka.

Odisha’s Chief Secretary A P Padhi told the conference the government had been able to reduce the rate of child mar-riages in the state to 21.3 per cent in 2015-16 from 37.2 per cent in 2005-06.

“Most of the women and girl child development pro-grammes of the Odisha gov-ernment are aimed at curbing child marriages.

In tribal areas, hundreds of girls’ hostels have been opened to accommodate tribal girls so that they can continue their education,” Padhi said.

Why was no case filed for phone call to judge: RJDDHIRENDRA KUMAR

NEW DELHI: With Rash-triya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders asserting that none from the party made telephone calls to the special CBI judge at Ran-chi, it seems the remarks made by the judge may add to a fresh controversy into the high-pro-file matter.

Alleging that it’s the handi-work of opponents, RJD lead-ers said that why no FIR has been registered against the persons who made telephone calls by the CBI Judge Shiv Pal Singh, who is to pronounce the quantum of punishment to Lalu Prasad Yadav in a fod-der scam case.

Talking to the Millen-nium Post over the phone, RJD leader Shivanand Tiwary said, “Calling a judge to influ-ence the judgement is not a normal activity as it should be treated as a criminal offence and details of callers should have been immediately shared with police.”

In reply to whether any RJD leader has had telephonic interaction with the judge, Tiwary said, “As RJD lead-ers understand the gravity of the matter, I can say with cer-tainty that no leader of our party would resort to such a

step. The judge should have reported the matter to police. In the age of technology, the number of ‘the caller’ can be easily traced.”

Alleging that there are chances that opponents might have called the judge to malign the image of Lalu Prasad, Tiwary said, “The possibil-ity of our political opponents making such a call in the guise

of RJD supporters cannot be ruled out. They may indulge in such mischief to queer the pitch for Lalu. An investigation should be initiated to find out the ‘true callers.”

Echoing Tiwary’s views, senior RJD leader Jagdanand Singh said, “It is unlikely that any of Lalu’s well-wishers will do something like this. Unless the judge sheds more light on

the episode... discloses the identity of the callers, much cannot be said on the issue.”

Countering the allegations, JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, “As we came to know about such development through media reports only, so commenting on the issue is not justified. I would only say that allegations made by RJD lead-ers are totally baseless.”

I am being targeted by BJP, Sangh: Jignesh Mevani

NEW DELHI: Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani on Friday denied making any inflammatory speech in Pune and said he was being targeted by the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. An FIR was filed against the Gujarat MLA and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leader Umar Khalid yes-terday for their alleged provocative speeches during an event in Pune on December 31.“Neither did I make any inflamatory speech nor did I take part in the bandh in Maharashtra. “I am being targeted by the BJP and Sangh,” Mevani told reporters at the Press Club of India here. MPOST

ACID ATTACK VICTIMS

Ranchi-Heavy security deployed at Special CBI court during the announcement of the quantum of punishment to RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav via video conferencing in Ranchi on Friday PTI

Lalu seeks leniency,

sentencing todayRANCHI: Citing illness and old age, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, convicted in a fodder scam case along with 10 others, on Friday sought leniency from the CBI court which will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Saturday.

“The judge said he would pronounce the judgement at 2 pm tomorrow,” Chittaran-jan Prasad told reporters after emerging from the videocon-ferencing hall in Ranchi.

The court had convicted Lalu Prasad for offences of cheating with criminal con-spiracy under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Under the sections, Lalu Prasad can be sentenced to a minimum jail term of one year and maximum of seven years, according to Chittaran-jan Prasad. According to legal experts, Lalu Prasad would be able to apply for bail immedi-ately at the lower court itself if the quantum of sentence happens to be less than three years. MPOST

mp nation 7MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Saturday, 6 January, 2018

Focus on low-hanging fruits: Modi to backward dist officials

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Prime Minis-ter Narendra Modi on Friday asked officials in charge of 115 backward districts to focus on low hanging fruits and come up with pioneering innovations for development by April 14, the birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar.

He was addressing a con-ference on ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ at the Dr Ambedkar International Cen-tre here.

He also interacted with offi-cials in charge of transforma-tion of the districts.

“On April 14, we celebrate the jayanti of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Let us devote these coming three months to pio-neering innovation in the less developed districts and trans-form the lives of the poor,” the Prime Minister said.

The officials concerned should focus on “low hanging”

fruits to show results and cre-ate an atmosphere of optimism and positivity, he said, adding success stories are needed to change the psyche of people.

Modi said serving in less

developed districts “may not be glamorous but it will give an important platform to make a positive difference”.

Stressing that all round and inclusive development is

essential, the Prime Minister said that even in the states with strong development indicators there would be areas which would need greater push.

“Once the people of India

decide to do something, noth-ing is impossible,” he said, and citied the example of millions of Jan Dhan accounts opened in a record time.

He further said that the sys-tem and officials showed that “it is possible to electrify vil-lages at a record pace and it is possible to build toilets in our cities as well as villages at historic speed”. The event was organised keeping in view Modi’s vision of creating a ‘New India’ by 2022.

The Centre has embarked upon a major policy initiative for rapid transformation of dis-tricts that are lagging on spe-cific development parameters.

Senior government offi-cials of the rank of additional secretary and joint secretary have been designated as offi-cers in-charge to coordinate the efforts of the Centre and states in addressing the spe-cific developmental needs of these districts.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi addressing the Conference on Transformation of Aspirational Districts, at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre, in New Delhi on Friday PTI

Defence ministry withdraws note on status equivalence OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: In a major deci-sion, the defence ministry on Friday announced withdrawal of a controversial note it had issued over two years back on status equivalence between military officers and their civil-ian counterparts, which had triggered widespread anguish in the armed forces.

“The Ministry of Defence letter dated October 18, 2016 on the issue of equivalence between Armed Forces offi-cers and Armed Forces Head-quarters Civil Services (AFHQ CS) Officers is withdrawn,” the defence ministry said.

It said the letter has been withdrawn following direction by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The ministry further said the cadre restructuring of AFHQ CS as approved by the Union Cabinet shall be duly implemented.

“Designations to be created in consequence of the addi-

tional posts sanctioned by the Cabinet will be done in con-sultation with Service HQs,” it said.

There has been growing resentment among the military officers who have been insisting that the current status equiva-lence was flawed and that the government must address their concerns.

For example, according to current norms, director-level officers have been put on the same level with the directors of the Armed Forces Headquar-ters-cadre. The military offi-cials have been insisting that Lt

Colonel is equivalent to direc-tors of AFHQ cadre.

In the October 18, 2016, letter, the defence ministry, had made the rank equiva-lence between civilian officers and serving military officers on the basis of their functional responsibilities.

Following the order, for example, a Principal Director in AFHQ was made equivalent to a Major General, a Director was made equivalent to a Brig-adier and a Joint Director was made on par with a Colonel.

A Colonel earlier was equivalent to a Director.

Raid at HC judge’s house: SC quashes FIR

against CBI sleuthsOUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today granted breather to the premier investigating agency CBI as it quashed an FIR registered against its offi-cials for mistakenly raiding the house of a serving Orissa High Court judge, instead of a retired judge, in a case pertaining to alleged bribery.

The apex court said that the judge concerned and the chief justice of the Orissa High Court had accepted the apol-ogy of the CBI officials who were part of the raiding team.

A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said that since the unconditional apology tendered by the offi-cials had been accepted, the prosecution initiated against them should be dropped.

The top court had on December 4 last year criti-cised the CBI for the manner in which it “treated” a sitting high court judge during its attempted raid at his residence in connection with a case of alleged bribery in the name of judges.

The apex court made strong observations after the CBI said the agency had apologised to the chief justice of the high court as well as the judge con-cerned for the “mistake” and that both accepted the apology tendered by the agency.

It had said that the only problem was the way the sit-ting judge was treated and added “such mistakes are not expected from an agency like the CBI”.

The CBI has said that it was “inadvertent mistake” and this matter should be rested in a dignified manner as senior offi-cials of the CBI had explained to the chief justice the circum-

stances under which the inci-dent took place.

The issue had arisen after a CBI team had allegedly attempted to raid the official residence of the sitting judge in Cuttack on September 19-20 night this year.

A team of CBI officials had come looking for the house of a former judge of the high court. The sitting judge of the Orissa High Court had shifted at the former judge’s residence.

The probe agency had, however, maintained that the probe team had not entered the house of the judge and the CBI’s superintendent of police had also met the judge con-cerned and expressed regrets for the inconvenience caused to him.

The top court also observed that the CBI officials, who had gone to conduct the raid, should have seen the name-plate of the judge at his resi-dence before going ahead with the raid.

The CBI has approached the apex court seeking trans-fer of the matter pending before the Orissa High Court.

The high court had issued notices to the CBI and the state police on a plea seeking a judi-cial probe into the incident.

Irani holds meeting to improve organisational structure of IFFI

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Aiming to bring in more revisions and improv-ing the organisational structure for International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Union Minister for Information and Broadcast-ing (I&B) Smriti Irani held a meeting of Consultative Com-mittee of the ministry on the eve of the last day of the Winter session, on Thursday.

Various steps and initiatives taken for the last IFFI by the ministry were specified by the minister.

Parliamentarians and mem-bers of the Consultative Com-mittee of I&B Manoj Tiwari, Vivek Gupta, Dev Varma (Moon Moon Sen), Madhu-sudan Mistry, Sanjay Jaiswal attended the meeting along with Secretary in the minis-try NK Sinha and other senior officials.

Sources said that the mem-bers also suggested the I&B minister to keep changing the

venue of IIFI from Goa to other states in every year; however the official nod is awaited yet.

For IFFI, 2017 all commit-tees were re-constituted. The steering committee and the preview committee were also expanded by more members from the film fraternity, sources said.

On the last International Film Festival of India in Goa Nine Master classes were organised, 197 films were

screened and 493 delegates invited, the minister empha-sized further.

She also avouched for rep-resentation of more regional films in the international plat-form, while the members appreciated the choice of films for 2017. They also proposed to organise socially inclined film festivals like ‘Kisan film festival’.

For the first time IFFI offi-cially collaborated with Toronto and Venice Film Festivals.

OUR CORRESPONDENT

SHIMLA: In a second major administrative reshuffle, the Himachal Pradesh government on Friday shifted 36 IAS offi-cers, including Deputy Com-missioners of 10 districts, and a dozen heads of departments, an official release said.

Minorities Finance and Development Corporation Managing Director Amit Kashyap was posted as the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Shimla replacing Rohan Chand Thakur, who was reassigned as the Director of Urban Develop-ment, with additional charge of the Director of Town and Country Planning, it said.

HP State Electronics Devel-opment Corporation MD Hans Raj Sharma was posted as the DC of Solan, replacing Rakesh

Kanwar, who would take charge of the Director, Rural Development and Panchyati Raj, and ex-officio Special Sec-retary of the department, the statement said.

Chamba DC Sudesh Kumar Mokta was posted as Direc-tor of Tourism and Civil Avi-ation, and would hold the additional charge of MD, HP Tourism Corporation, in place of Dinesh Malhotra, who was appointed HPMC MD with additional charge of Commis-sioner, Departmental Enqui-ries. Harikesh Meena, Special Secretary, PWD, and Irriga-tion and Public Health Depart-ment, would replace Mokta as Chamba DC, it added.

Deva Singh Negi, DC of Lahaul and Spiti was trans-ferred as Settlement Officer, Shimla.

SC shocked over massive backlog of cases in MP, Allahabad HCs

OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday expressed “shock” over the fact that crim-inal appeals at Allahabad High Court are pending since 1980s while the Madhya Pradesh High Court has a pendency of over 70,000 cases since 1994.

Concerned over the figures on pending cases cited in the reports of Allahabad and Mad-hya Pradesh high courts, the top court said that “something needs to be done” to contain the alarming situation.

“We at present don’t know what could be done but cer-tainly we will try to do some-thing. This is very concerning situation. Some of the matters are taken up for hearing in two to three decades,” a bench of justices J Chelameswar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul said.

In its report, the Madhya Pradesh High Court said that it has total of 71,474 cases pending since 1994, in its three branches--Jabalpur, Indore and Gwalior.

The total number of appeals where the sentence is life imprisonment are 15,424.

As many as 21,662 appeals where the sentence is up to three years for petty offences are pending since 1995 while appeals where sentence is more than than three years and up to five years are 8,442.

Appeals of convicts, who have challenged their sentence of more than five years and less than life imprisonment are 15,040 which are pending since 1994.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has three pend-ing appeals challenging capital punishment including two at its principal bench at Jabalpur which are pending since 2017.

The total number of other criminal appeals including

state appeals are 10,903.The high court said that

last year till September 30, 2017, it had decided 4,118 such appeals and that now a dedicated bench sits on Satur-day of every week to adjudicate the criminal appeals.

“This Saturday benches has enabled for speedy disposal of 944 such appeals pending since decades. There is short-age of judges which has to some extent resulted in back-log of cases,” counsel appear-ing for the MP High Court said. The apex court, however, said that in some high courts the situation is better like in Madras and Andhra Pradesh high courts.

Alwar ‘cow smuggler’ killing:

Four arrestedOUR CORRESPONDENT

JAIPUR: Four people have been arrested in connection with the killing of an alleged cow smuggler, who was found dead near a railway track in Rajasthan’s Alwar district in November, the police said on Friday.

Dashrath Gurjar (24), Khushiram Gurjar (35), Rohtash Gurjar (24) and Bunty alias Surajbhan (50) have been arrested, Circle Officer, Alwar South, Anil Beniwal said.

The body of 35-year-old Umar Khan was found near a railway track on November 12 last year in the district’s Ram-pur area. With this, eight peo-ple have been arrested in the case, the police said.

Two country-made pistols were also seized from Bunty and Khushiram, Beniwal said.

Dashrath, Khushiram and Rohtash were arrested on Jan-uary 3 while Surajbhan was arrested on Friday. So far, eight people have been arrested in the case, he said.

Fadnavis requests HC acting CJ to name judge to probe Pune unrest

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has met the acting Chief Jus-tice of the Bombay High Court and made a formal request to name a sitting high court judge to head the probe into the caste violence in Pune district, offi-cial sources said on Friday.

Fadnavis met Acting Chief Justice Vijaya Tahilramani here and requested her on behalf of the state government to appoint a high court judge to lead the inquiry into the Jan-uary 1 violence near the war

memorial at Bhima-Koregaon in Pune district, they said.

The Fadnavis-led govern-ment had earlier announced a judicial probe into the vio-lent clashes and vandalism that resulted in the death of a local resident and destruction of property. Violence erupted when Dalit groups were cel-ebrating victory of East India Company forces over the Peshwa’s army in the battle of Bhima-Koregaon in 1818, as the British forces included Dalit Mahar soldiers. Some pro-Hin-

dutva outfits had opposed the celebration this time.

Dalits commemorate the British victory as it is believed soldiers from the Mahar com-munity were part of the East India Company’s forces. The Peshwas were Brahmins, and the victory is seen as a symbol of assertiveness by Dalits.

The New Year clashes at Bhima-Koregaon, blamed on the right-wing groups, had trig-gered violent protests by Dalits in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. MPOST

Himachal undertakes major administrative reshuffle

Par panel slams IndiGo for rude behaviour of

its employeesNEW DELHI: A Parlia-mentary panel has slammed low-cost carrier IndiGo for “discourteous and rude” behav-iour of its employees towards passengers, saying it was an “institutional” problem, and urged the ‘market leader’ to adopt a consumer-friendly approach.

The observations, made in the report by the Parliamen-tary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Cul-ture, follow a video that went viral last year showing IndiGo ground staff allegedly assault-ing a passenger.

“The Committee observes that the problem affecting the airlines are not personal, it is institutional. An institution like IndiGo has to develop a consumer-friendly approach in dealing with their passen-gers,” said the report tabled in Rajya Sabha.

Responding to media queries regarding the panel’s observations, Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju merely said, “everyone should behave properly”. MPOST

The apex court said that the judge concerned and the chief justice of the Orissa High Court had accepted the apology of the CBI officials who were part of the raiding team

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mp editorial8MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Saturday, 6 January, 2018

ANIRBAN GANGULY When Narendra Modi addressed workers of BJP on the day

Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh was won, he presciently cau-tioned them that in the days to come, serious efforts would be made by some sections to spread the poison of casteism and strife. “It has taken a life-time,” Modi noted, “for those like us, to cleanse and free the state of Gujarat from the poi-son of casteism. We fought this vicious cycle for three decades before ridding the state of it,” he reminded those who had gathered.

The recent Bhima-Koreg-aon incident clearly indicates that there is indeed a concerted and renewed effort at trying to divide Indian society and tear open its healing faultlines. The Bhima-Koregaon event has been celebrated over many years, why is it that this year, it was chosen to be hyped up, why were nefarious elements like Umar Khalid, a leading voice of the “breaking India” bri-gade, in whose support Rahul Gandhi had leapt across into the Jawaharlal Nehru Univer-sity, invited; why was Jignesh Mevani invited to give provoc-ative speeches inciting violence, spewing venom; from where did hoodlums with saffron flags suddenly descend and disrupt the gathering; how did Rahul Gandhi, within minutes of the incident put out a tweet accus-ing the RSS and BJP of being anti-Dalit and fascist?

Why saffron flags, was it to reinforce the false stereotype of “saffron terror” and “saffron intolerance”, a false stereotype that has been very carefully crafted and nurtured by a sec-tion of the “organised elite” with sympathies and active support from Naxalites and India break-ers? The entire script, the entire act seemed very well choreo-graphed with the objective of disrupting life in a non-Con-gress ruled state and to target

RSS and BJP by adding a pint of saffron in the act was a part of that larger design to deflect the blame to other quarters while the actual schemers would pass off as victims.

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi era has indeed come, and in that era, the party shall increasingly outsource its politics to extrane-ous elements, elements through which it will seek to disrupt societal balance, exacerbate faultlines, widen fissures and give the image of an India under siege. This time around, Rahul’s Congress has outsourced its politics to forces that are inim-ical to India and have at their heart the twin objectives of defeating Modi and of desta-bilising India. These two aspects are obviously linked; by weak-ening and eventually defeat-ing Modi, these forces hope to weaken the fabric of India.

Thus the JNU “breaking India” brigade, a section of communists, lapsed Marxists, Naxal sympathisers were active

in support of Mevani during the Gujarat elections, and in his victory, they perceive a new mascot who can further their agenda of sharpening faultlines in India.

On the other hand, defeat in Gujarat has made the Con-gress desperate for 2019; Rahul, therefore, plans to align with these groups that have been at the forefront of subterfuge and sabotage. With half-roots in a land that had a past politi-cal culture of fascism, Rahul is quick to identify these, align with them and then push for-ward his agenda. This knack for fascist action, this propensity to see and read every situation from the fascist lens, is what Rahul has specialised in.

His desperation to see Modi unseated goads Rahul to sup-port those elements in the aca-demia and intelligentsia who have been repeatedly calling for India’s disintegration. He is thus aligning with the Popular Front of India (PFI), which has

till date butchered more than 20 BJP workers in Karnataka and has worked to radicalise the western coast of the state. Rahul remains silent because he needs the support of such groups in order to try and unseat Modi or to hold on to his state. In Tripura, while the goons patronised by the com-munist regime go on a killing spree of BJP workers, most of whom belong to the Dalit sec-tions of society, Rahul remains silent for he needs the commu-nists as allies in his larger goal of unseating Modi.

The largest number of Dalit Members of Parliament belong to BJP, it is Modi’s governance vision which has seen initia-tives being undertaken that have a direct impact on uplift-ing the quality of life of the mar-ginalised and the oppressed. It is BJP which showed the determination to empower a Dalit, from the grassroots, with a humble background to adorn the office of the Presi-

dent of India. That Rahul Gan-dhi and his mother have not had the decency of calling on Ram Nath Kovind, even after more than hundred days have elapsed since the latter assumed the office of the President of the Indian Republic, speaks volume of their actual stance and attitude towards Dalit empowerment.

In his action of Dalit empowerment, in his deter-mination to achieve a larger pan-Indian unity beyond the barriers of caste and creed, Modi has displayed an unequiv-ocal and steely steadfastness. It is a steadfastness that gives strength to his vision of a new India while unsettling those whose politics thrive on divi-sion, disunity and debilitation, it is they who are trying to light bush fires of conflict and clash.

(The author is Director, Dr. Syama Prasad Mooker-

jee Research Foundation, New Delhi. The views expressed

are strictly personal.)

Igniting tensionEDITORIAL

The deliberate attempt by certain sections to ignite caste fury is an attempt to taint the empowering initiatives beckoned by the Centre

The entire act seemed very well choreographed with the objective of disrupting life in a non-Congress ruled state and to target the RSS and the BJP by adding a pint of saffron in the act was a part of that larger design to deflect the blame to other quarters while the actual schemers would pass off as victims

Indeed, matters have now snowballed into a situa-tion where the main concern circumscribes the very survival of the human being and all living creatures against the odds of fatal factors that, ironically, are

all manmade. There were appeals and warnings in recent times but they sadly fell on deaf ears. The environment is often talked about in relatively serious terms. Several governments have dedicated departments named after it. Work carries on at a leisurely pace from one day to the next, in routine fashion. But no policy has been framed or pushed on a war footing to wake everyone up. The criti-cality of the situation is yet to hit the targets, including the respective governments. Now, only a true conservationist or a naturalist can realise how critical matters are. There are conservationists and then there is a naturalist like Sir David Attenborough. Now all of 90, this remarkable human with so much energy, feels that the future of life on earth depends on our ability to take immediate action. Many indi-viduals are doing what they can, but real success can only come if there’s a change in our societies, in our economics and in our politics. He has been lucky in his lifetime to see some of the greatest spectacles that the natural world has to offer. Surely, there remains a responsibility to leave for future generations a planet that is healthy and inhabitable by all species. Three and a half million years separate the individual who left these footprints in the sands of Africa from the one who left them on the moon: a mere blink in the eye of evolution. Using his burgeoning intelligence, this most successful of all mammals has exploited the environ-ment to produce food for an ever-increasing population. In spite of disasters when civilisations have over-reached themselves that process has continued, indeed accelerated, even today. Now mankind is looking for food, not just on this planet but on others. “Perhaps the time has now come to put that process into reverse. Instead of controlling the environment for the benefit of the population, perhaps it’s time we control the population to allow the survival of the environment.” Attenborough has subsequently become more vocal in his support of environmental causes. In 2005, he backed a two-year project to stop the killing of the alba-tross by longline fishing boats. He gave public support to WWF’s campaign to have 220,000 square kilometres of Borneo’s rainforests designated a protected area. In 2003, he launched an appeal on behalf of the World Land Trust to create a rainforest reserve in Ecuador. The same year, he helped to launch a global project to gather together natu-ral history media into a digital library. In a 2005 interview, Attenborough said he considered President George W Bush to be the era’s top “environmental villain”. In 2007, he fur-ther elaborated on the consumption of energy in the US in relation to its population. When asked if he thought the US to be “the villain of the piece”, he responded:

“I don’t think whole populations are villainous, but Amer-icans are just extraordinarily unaware of all kinds of things. If you live in the middle of that vast continent, with appar-ently everything your heart could wish for just because you were born there, then why worry? If people lose knowledge, sympathy and understanding of the natural world, they’re going to mistreat it and will not ask their politicians to care for it.” A couple of years later he commented: “The growth in human numbers is frightening. I’ve seen wildlife under mounting human pressure all over the world, and it’s not just from human economy or technology. Behind every threat is the frightening explosion in human numbers. I’ve never seen a problem that wouldn’t be easier to solve with fewer people – or harder, and ultimately impossible, with more.”

He has written and spoken publicly about the fact that, despite past scepticism, he believes the Earth’s climate is warming in a way that is a real cause for concern, and that this can likely be attributed to human activity. He summed up his thoughts at the end of his 2006 documentary “Can We Save Planet Earth?” as follows: “In the past, we didn’t understand the effect of our actions. Unknowingly, we sowed the wind and now, literally, we are reaping the whirlwind. But we no longer have that excuse: now we do recognise the consequences of our behaviour. Now surely, we must act to reform it — individually and collectively, nationally and internationally — or we doom future generations to catastrophe.”

In 2012, Attenborough was quoted as saying that the planet has always and will always look after itself, but what worries him most about the future of the natural world is that people are out of touch with it ... “over half the world is urbanised; some people don’t see any real thing except a rat or a pigeon ... ecosystems are incredibly complex and you fiddle with them at your peril.” When David Attenbor-ough began his career, in 1950, the Earth’s human popu-lation was measured at just 2.5 billion people; in 2012 he said: “We cannot continue to deny the problem. People have pushed aside the question of population sustainability and not considered it because it is too awkward, embarrassing and difficult. But we have to talk about it.″

Later, he said that population is a plague on the Earth. It’s coming home to roost over the next 50 years or so. It’s not just Climate Change; it’s sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us, and the natural world is doing it for us right now. What are all these famines in Africa? What are they about? They’re about too many peo-ple for too little land. Even a day ago, he was intrigued that we are still burning so much carbon for energy. Nature has provided enough resources, including the sun and the sea, to meet all our energy needs. Why, then, are we still bank-ing on fossil fuels? True, some nations have had success with solar energy but what keeps us from rapid transformation the world over? There would, then, be no apprehensions of carbon emissions. If we come to think of it, nature has pro-vided us everything. The problem, however, is that we have taken everything for granted. Forget showing any gratitude in real terms, we seem to be doing precisely the opposite. The sea temperature has gone up by one degree. The worst ever hurricanes have struck with devastating consequences. Worse is feared even as unprecedented snowstorms have started. Large portions of Greenland have started melting. If sea levels increase by seven metres, as feared, all hell will let loose. So, let us act responsibly and conscientiously. At the end of the 18th century and not long after the French Revolution, William Wordsworth, who paved the way for other Romantics, had said, “The world is too much with us, late and soon. Getting and spending we lay waste our pow-ers, little we see in Nature that is ours, ‘tis a sordid boon.” His words rang true for more reasons than one. Today, we are bogged down by so many priorities that we fail to under-stand what requires immediate attention over and above all else. Three years ago, US President Barack Obama inter-viewed Attenborough at the White House in Washington DC. Together, they discussed the future of the planet, their passion for nature and what measures can be taken to pro-tect the environment. Under the current dispensation led by President Donald Trump, the US has turned away from the Paris Climate Control Treaty. Would that, too, remain “a blink in the eye of evolution”?

Survival of the wisest

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EDITOR

The Dalits commit rampage and almost vandalism in Maharastra on the issue of their being ignored and deprived given the arrogance and contumely shown by the upper cast for hundred years or more. From government service to social life, they are targeted by the people of so-called lower class and despite government’s making much of reservation facilities in service, education etc. they always make animosity of a particular class of people. All the political parties walk on the beaten track. Now, upper-class people become the victim of contempt. SAMIR CHAKRABORTY Via email

Jealousy is just love and hate at the same time

Quote martial

DRAKE

SHUTAPA PAUL

The Bhima-Koregaon fury was the outcome of deliberate hype

Age creeps up on you like a sly predator. It seems like yesterday that I was studying

to be a journalist. In a couple of months from now, I would have completed 12 years in journalism and media. Over a decade of on-field experi-ence leaves behind several indelible memories; stories of people and places, stories of history being made and hearts being broken. Stories that one excelled in as a journalist, sto-ries that one broke ahead of others; and then there are sto-ries that even years after they are done, come back to haunt.

Exactly six years ago, a tragedy struck Kolkata. A fire broke out in the basement of one of the city’s most famous hospitals, AMRI. There were no emergency exits, making it tougher for evacuation and rescue of patients. Almost 90 patients, many in the ICU, died. The terrified shrieks of people who were suffocating in that gas chamber resonate in my ears even today. A few hours later, the main entrance gate of gov-ernment-run SSKM Hospital, was full of dead bodies covered with sheets. The stench of the decomposing flesh, the wails of the bereaved relatives, the sight of the families left hopeless and distraught by lives snuffed out way before their time, can never be unseen again.

As 2017 was winding up, another fire killed 14 people at Mumbai’s Kamala Mills Com-pound, one of the current hubs

of corporates, media houses, and F&B in the city. The fire originated in a rooftop restobar and rapidly spread to the next one. Both restaurants had no working fire equipment and did not even have emergency exits. They had also used inflamma-ble materials in the décor. In fact, the toilet where the 14 suffocated to death was ille-gally built!

These incidents set apart by six years are not acci-dents. Stampedes, buildings and bridges collapsing, are all tragedies that could have been averted. These are cases of bla-tant negligence and in many cases, corruption. Awarding fire clearances where there should be none, giving gov-ernment permissions to busi-ness hubs which are hazardous,

are all reminders that someone, somewhere has been a crook while others have looked the other way.

All around us, there are tinderboxes ready to blaze up. Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, Hauz Khas Village, Munirka, and Shahpurjat, to name just a few; every mill that has been con-verted into an office and res-taurant space in Mumbai, old

Kolkata; all of these have one thing in common. Death can come suddenly and swiftly. To think that Mumbai’s Kamala Mills has businesses worth thousands of crores operat-ing out of a compound that is unsafe for its workers is shock-ing to me. Media houses that work out of such mills turn a blind eye. The fact that no one ever wonders about how openly fire safety has been flouted in almost every pub in Hauz Khas and even Khan Market, is unbe-lievable. These are places where a disaster is waiting to happen.

Our dereliction towards duty and being regulation-com-pliant is causing hundreds of innocent deaths in India. We should definitely make it easier to do business in India but no ease must come at the cost of flouting safety regulations. How many Uphaar Cinema-like incidents do we want? Jail the owners of the hospitals, pubs, cinema halls, all you want. But the government cannot shirk its own role in causing incidents like the Kamala Mills fire. If the businessmen flouted the law, the corrupt government authorities with their general lackadaisical attitude towards regular monitoring of safety rules, have aided and abetted them. And so has every one of us who never complain about the safety hazards at our favou-rite restaurant.

(The writer is a journalist and media entrepreneur.

The views expressed are strictly personal.)

Awarding fire clearances where there should be none, giving government permissions to business hubs which are hazardous are all reminders that someone, somewhere has been a crook while others have looked the other way

We should definitely make it easier to do business in India but no ease should come at the cost of flouting safety regulations

Playing with fire

Lessons are yet to be learnt after six years of the devastating fire at AMRI hospital, Kolkata

9mp in focusMILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Saturday, 6 January, 2018

ARUN MITRA

RAJ LIBERHAN

Despite ongoing tensions in various parts of the world, the year 2017 ended on a positive note. The Treaty

Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) passed by the UN General Assembly on July 7 would always be counted in red letters in history. It has raised many hopes for a better future of a world with-out nuclear weapons and impending humanitarian catastrophe. Good health is a basic urge of every individual. There-fore, each person yearns for a life free of violence and more so when it comes to a catastrophe like the one that happened at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the 1945 killing of over two hundred thousand people and the resulting genetic muta-tions affecting generations thereafter. Unfortunately, instead of working for nuclear disarmament the world moved towards an unending nuclear arms race, spending billions on it, which could have otherwise been utilised for heal-ing millions of people living in despair and sickness. That is why on December 10, 2017, Oslo, the capital of Norway, was filled with exciting events when the Nobel Peace Prize for this year was bestowed upon the International Cam-paign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). A large number of medical professionals from around the globe had gathered there to affirm their com-mitment for a healthy future through diversion of wasteful expenditure from nuclear arms race to health.

ICAN, formed at the initiative of International Physicians for the Pre-vention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in 2007 with 468 partners, has been consis-tently working since long for a nuclear-weapon-free world. The ICAN was officially launched in Vienna, Austria in April 2007 during the Non-Prolif-eration Treaty preparatory committee meeting. As a result of continuous work since then in the form of lobbying with governments in many countries and public opinion building by the ICAN partners in respective countries, the UN General Assembly passed a res-olution on July 7, 2017, by 122 votes in favour and only one against, which declared nuclear weapons illegal. This is indeed a big achievement, drawing global attention, and was recognised by the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, which announced ICAN as the recipi-ent of this year’s prize. The major thrust

of ICAN was the catastrophic humani-tarian impact of nuclear weapons and that it was necessary to prohibit and then abolish them.

When hundreds of millions of peo-ple across the globe go hungry, the nuclear-armed nations spend close to US$300 million (Rs. 2000 crores) a day on their nuclear forces. The pro-duction, maintenance and modernisa-tion of nuclear forces divert vast public resources away from health care, educa-tion, climate change mitigation, disas-ter relief, development assistance and other vital services. Globally, annual expenditure on nuclear weapons is esti-mated at US$ 105 billion – or $12 mil-lion an hour. The World Bank forecast in 2002 that an annual investment of just US$40–60 billion, or roughly half the amount currently spent on nuclear weapons, would be enough to meet the internationally agreed goals on poverty alleviation. Nuclear weapons spending in 2010 was more than twice the offi-cial development assistance provided to Africa and equal to the gross domes-tic product of Bangladesh, a nation of some 160 million people. The Office for Disarmament Affairs – the princi-pal UN body responsible for advanc-

ing a nuclear-weapon-free world – has an annual budget of $10 million, which is less than the amount spent on nuclear weapons every hour.

“The world is over-armed and peace is under-funded. The end of the cold war has led the world to expect a massive peace dividend. Yet, there are over 20,000 nuclear weapons around the world. Many of them are still on hair-trigger alert, threatening our own survival.” – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The annual global defence expen-diture is $1,699 billion (2.2 per cent of the global GDP). The US tops the defence expending – $611 billion. Chi-na’s defence expending is $215 billion. India is the biggest buyer of arms

India is the 5th largest military spender with an outlay of $55.9 billion, that is Rs.3,63,350 crores (Stockholm International Peace Research Insti-tute (SIPRI) annual report April 2017). India’s defense expenditure is equal to 1.62 per cent of GDP. The Central health budget of India is only 0.26 per cent of GDP, which is 6 times less than the arms budget.

These studies clearly indicate the threat looming large over mankind at

a time when several parts of the world have serious conflict zones and there is direct involvement of nuclear weapons states in many of these conflicts. Any use of nuclear weapons intentionally, unin-tentionally or by accident would have extremely grave ramifications on the life system as a whole. Even in the situ-ation of not using these weapons, their production and maintenance cost are depriving the large population of health, education and other basic needs. For countries like India and Pakistan, the situation is even more grave as we are already one among the most deprived regions in the world with poor human development and hunger indices.

It is unfortunate that the nuclear weapon-possessing countries have not joined the treaty. It is high time that we come forward to build strong pub-lic opinion in these countries to work for health instead of mutually assured destruction. IPA

(Dr. Arun Mitra is senior vice Presi-dent Indian Doctors for Peace and

Development, Former Chairman Ethi-cal Committee Punjab Medical Coun-cil & Member core committee Alliance of Doctors on Ethical Healthcare. The views expressed are strictly personal.)

If Kamala Mills is ever to be avoided, the criminal prosecution of the top hierarchy must happen. We failed in Upahaar, we failed Dabwali, as many others. If innocent people die merely because they were present in licensed premises, then those entrusted with the duty to properly license must be made to pay for their acts

Any use of nuclear weapons intentionally or unintentionally will have extremely grave ramifications on life system as a whole. Even in the situation of not using these weapons, their production and maintenance cost are depriving large population of health, education and other basic needs

Lip service and eyewashDespite the abysmal state of law enforcement causing public catastrophes, both

people and authorities continue to lack consciousness and compliance

Promote health, not nuclear weapons

Politics is about fooling all the people almost all the time; especially when there are monumental failures of governance, the best way to gloss

over them is by paying lip service to the need to improve things. Since this rarely cuts any ice with the media, an eyewash campaign is mounted to show determination to root out inefficiency, the corrupt, and enforce accountability; all in future tense, with no acceptance of responsibility for the present failures. Make no mistake, this is the man-tra for creating the illusion of performance by all political parties, irrespective of ideol-ogy. An illusion, where some politicians suc-ceed more than others, whose turn will also duly come. Why else should a fire accident in a Mumbai building have become such a disastrous sized consequence? It is fair to say that an accident can and does happen, but if fire and building safety norms had been observed, it would have been a mere short circuit instead of the many loss of lives that the accident took in its dreadful wake. All because we do not live by the rules we make. The Municipal authorities are willing to over-look any of their own rules for a price, we the people find the rules an unnecessary incon-venience and are willing to pay the price for erasing the inconvenience. The anomaly is noted only when it assumes fatal proportions.

There were eighteen restaurants function-ing after obtaining licenses from the Corpo-ration. None of the licensing conditions was complied with and all safety norms were out-rightly violated. It would not be a horrify-ing story if it were an isolated instance. Such things happen all over the country, in every city. All the bye-laws and safety requirements are essentially decorative and enabling of the exploitative city management. Hue and cries happen when a disaster of the size of Kamala Mills hits us. Life returns to its perilous nor-mal after the media induced condolence period is over. We wait, till the next accident or disaster—as it inevitably must happen. Except, all of us will keep going as if we are sure that it will not happen to us, but to the next person. Illogical though this thinking is, it nonetheless enables us to disregard all safety protocols, even where they exist.

Let us not mistake the fact, but we have laws and bye-laws for all manner of commer-cial activity. Licenses are prescribed before any business can be started. For hospital-ity businesses, we have the whole gamut of permissions—fire, pollution, excise, health, explosive, police permissions—name it and there is a license prescribed for it. To top it all, these are annually renewable and before you obtain the last one, they become due again. You need to have effluent treatment for facili-ties. To get all these licenses, one needs to have a completion certificate for the building

itself. And the irony of it all, we are supposed to have climbed a few rungs in the ranks of the ease of doing business! The only way, truly the only way to get these municipal and police clearances is through a well-connected middleman whose service is available for a fee. The only profession that does not need a license or a qualification is that of the ubiqui-tous middleman, the man who really makes the ease of doing business worth the weight in his fees. It needs no imagination to com-prehend that licenses or permissions when obtained through these ‘good’ offices and influence peddling, do not require any com-pliance, neither at the start nor in the con-tinuance of businesses. Questions get raised only when a Kamala Mills happens (Mum-bai), or Upahaar cinema strikes (Delhi) or a Dabwali (Sirsa) occurs, among many others. The Kamala story has been scripted several

times earlier and practically for the same reasons of negligence and non-enforcement of safety laws.

Like the famous Bourbons who learnt nothing from history, we too will learn noth-ing from the latest Mumbai accident. There is frantic demolition, registration of crimi-nal cases against owners and a multitude of lame excuses, supplemented by the copious crocodile tears from the political class, some accountability hooked into the lowest func-tionaries of the official apparatus topped with sympathy for the dead. All will be forgotten in a fortnight. And an orchestrated eyewash will be the management mantra to dilute the culpability of the guilty persons.

As a people, we are not safety conscious, nor are we ready to be willing to be regulated if the conditions of compliance are onerous or prove to be inconvenient. Look at the

use of any public space. Roads or highways, access to common facilities, queues to buy tickets or board planes, everywhere we seek to ‘adjust’, ‘arrange’, or ‘manage’. This has to be at the risk of bypassing the prescribed proto-cols and while every risk may not lead to an accident, there will be one that will lead to a mass disaster. A continued and consistent negligence will inherently have fatal conse-quences, be it today or tomorrow or another day, but it will, without doubt, have a telling one. We see it on the roads, we see it in our railways, we see it in our city structures and we see it in our rivers.

So, from where can we import a culture of honest law enforcement and willing com-pliance with prescribed regimen? It definitely will not permeate into our body politic, nor can this mutual exchange of favours with price tags work as a substitute for gover-

nance. No market in the world sells this cul-ture. What is more galling is that the one on the straight and narrow path has to pay a higher price to receive her legitimate due of public service. This is an extreme distortion of the political mandates and a grave breach of faith by public officials. If Kamala Mills is ever to be avoided, the criminal prosecution of the top hierarchy must happen. We failed in Upahaar, we failed Dabwali, as many oth-ers. If innocent people die merely because they were present in licensed premises, then those entrusted with the duty to properly license must be made to pay for their acts of omission. The tendency to short-circuit regu-lation is causing flagrant short circuits. Ease of doing business needs facilitation, yes but only legal ones, otherwise, the ease of living becomes hogwash!

(The views expressed are strictly personal.)

The world is over-armed while peace remains under-funded

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KAILASH SATYARTHI@k_satyarthi

RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE @Ra_THORe

KAVITA KRISHNAN@kavita_krishnan

IMRAN KHAN@ImranKhanPTI

Applaud commitment of judiciary to remove the blot of child trafficking from India. Unfortunately, draft Anti-Trafficking Bill is still pending with the Union Cabinet for last couple of years. Once again, I demand early passage of bill to protect innocent children, women and men.

All the best to the Compound #Archery Team leaving for a 14-day training module at world-renowned Sergio Pangi Training Center, Italy in preparation of upcoming #asiangames2018.Many thanks to @PMOIndia & @SushmaSwaraj ji for helping out the team with visas.

How to destroy a University? JNU VC shows us, by packing interview panels with people who have political rather than academic criteria for appointments

Sad to hear of the passing of Zubaida Apa - she introduced our rich culinary traditions to younger generations. She leaves a void that will be difficult to fill.

Killing 15 people, the Kamala Mills fire displayed a major lapse in regulation frameworks

The production, maintenance, and modernisation of nuclear forces divert vast public resources (Representational Image)

mp world10MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi |Saturday, 6 January, 2018

JAKARTA: India and Indone-sia, as close maritime neigh-bours, are "natural partners" in peace and prosperity, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Friday as she held talks with her Indonesian counter-part here.

"We are two major coun-tries in the Indo-Pacific region. This region is among the most dynamic regions in the world. We agreed to develop syner-getic relationship to harness the potential of Indo-Pacific region and to meet the challenges that the region faces," Swaraj said after co-chairing the fifth meet-ing of the Joint Commission with Indonesian Foreign Min-ister Retno Marsudi.

She said the meeting was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere and the two sides reviewed the whole gamut of bilateral relations.

"During our discussions, there was clear recognition that India and Indonesia, as two close maritime neighbours, are natural partners in peace and prosperity. We unequivo-cally condemned terrorism in all its forms, irrespective of its motivation and origin.

"We expressed our strong opposition to any selective approaches to deal with this global menace, and called upon all countries to stop providing state sponsorship of terror-ism and prevent their territo-ries being used for establishing terrorist safe havens.

"Overall, the meeting today was substantive, productive and future oriented. I believe

that the fifth meeting of the Joint Commission would lead to further deepening of the strategic partnership between our two countries," Swaraj said.

She said Indonesia, as one of the largest countries, the most diverse democracy, and the biggest economy in ASEAN, has a critical role to play in evolution of the new security architecture in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Foreign Minister Retno conveyed Indonesia's deter-mination to play its part and make due contributions to the ongoing efforts to strengthen rule and respect of law. I wel-comed it and conveyed India's commitment for peace, secu-rity and development in the region," she said.

"We agreed to enhance our consultations and cooperation on maritime issues including on UNCLOS with a view to strengthen rule of law and to ensure the freedom of naviga-tion and safety of sea lanes of communication.

"Foreign Minister Retno expressed appreciation for increase of Indian tourists to Indonesia. We agreed on expansion of civil aviation links to further enhance bilateral economic and tourism ties," Swaraj said.

"I expressed the importance of addressing the high trade deficit that India has with Indo-nesia and conveyed that the best way to address this issue is not to restrict trade but to increase it.

The two countries also agreed to work together for a balanced and sustainable trade by providing greater market access, both in goods and ser-vices, she said.

They also discussed the increasing demand for skill development in both coun-tries as both have a large pro-portion of young population. Swaraj conveyed that India will continue its skill development assistance in the form of short term training programmes and scholarships. AGENCIES

Swaraj discusses ways to strengthen ties with Indonesia

Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj talks with her Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi during their meeting in Jakarta, on Friday AP/PTI

WASHINGTON/ISLAM-ABAD: Putting Pakistan on notice, the US on Friday sus-pended over $1.15 billion in security aid and the deliv-ery of military equipment to it for failing to clamp down on the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network terror groups and dismantle their safe havens.

The freezing of all security assistance to Pakistan comes after President Donald Trump in a New Year's Day tweet accused the country of giv-ing nothing to the US but "lies and deceit" and providing "safe haven" to terrorists in return for $33 billion aid over the last 15 years.

The suspended amount also include $255 million in Foreign Military Funding (FMF) for the fiscal year 2016 as mandated by the Congress.

In addition, the Depart-ment of Defense has suspended the entire $900 million of the Coalition Support Funds (CSF) money to Pakistan for the fiscal year 2017 and other unspent money from previous fiscal years.

"Today we can confirm that we are suspending national security assistance only, to Pak-istan at this time until the Paki-stani government takes decisive action against groups, includ-

ing the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters.

"We consider them (terror groups) to be destabilising the region and also targeting US personnel. The US will suspend that kind of security assistance to Pakistan," she said.

The US, she said, will not be delivering military equipment or transfer security-related funds to Pakistan unless it is required by law.

Reacting to the Trump administration's move, Paki-stan said, "We are engaged with the US Administration on the issue of security cooperation and await further details."

"Arbitrary deadlines, uni-lateral pronouncements and shifting goalposts are coun-terproductive in addressing common threats," the Foreign Office said in a statement in Islamabad.

It said that Pakistan believed that its cooperation with US in fighting terrorism directly served US national security interests as well as the larger interests of the interna-tional community.

Historically, the US has pro-vided Pakistan over $1 billion in security assistance annually.

In August, while unveiling his new South Asia strategy,

Trump had accused Pakistan of giving "safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror," and said the time had come "for Pakistan to demonstrate its commitment to civilisation, order, and to peace".

Referring to Trump's new strategy, Nauert said despite a sustained high-level engage-ment by Trump administra-tion with the government of Pakistan, the Taliban and the Haqqani Network continue to find sanctuary inside Paki-stan as they plot to destabilise Afghanistan and also attack the US and allied personnel.

At the same time, Nauert made it clear that the US action has nothing to do with Paki-

stan not taking action against the Mumbai terror attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed.

"We have certainly expressed our concern about the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks being let out of house arrest in Pakistan. To my knowledge, that has noth-ing to do with that," she said in response to a question on Saeed, who was released by Pakistan on November last year.

"There is a $10 million reward out for information leading to his re-arrest, the per-son who is the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks who was let go in Pakistan," Nauert said.

Meanwhile, Department of Defence Spokesperson Lt Col Mike Andrews said that National Defense Authorisa-tion Act 2017 provides up to $900 million for Pakistan in the CSF.

Of these funds, $400 mil-lion can only be released if the Secretary of Defence Jim Mat-tis certifies that the Pakistan government has taken specific actions against the Haqqani Network.

"At this stage all Fiscal Year 17 CSF have been suspended, so that's the entire amount of $900 million," Andrews said.

During an interaction with Pentagon reporters, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis did not respond to question if he was in favour of cutting off the aid to Pakistan.

According to a senior State Department official, no deci-sion has been taken on the fate of $255 million security assis-tance to Pakistan for the fiscal year 2017.

The deadline for that is Sep-tember 30 this year.

Mattis along with the Sec-retary of State Rex Tillerson have travelled to Pakistan in recent months to deliver tough message to the country's lead-ership. So, this action should not come as a surprise to them, Nauert said. AGENCIES

US freezes over $1 billion military aid to Pakistan

TERROR INACTION

The freezing of all security assistance to Pakistan comes after President Donald Trump in a New Year’s Day tweet accused the country of giving nothing to the US but ‘lies and deceit’ and providing ‘safe haven’ to terrorists in return for $33 billion aid over the last 15 years

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Fri-day intercepted a ballistic missile over the kingdom's south near the border with Yemen, state media reported, hours after Yemeni reb-els said they launched an attack.

The Huthi rebels, locked in a war against Yemen's Saudi- backed government, said they had fired a missile at the king-dom's southwestern province of Najran in a statement tweeted by their Al-Masirah television channel. Saudi air defences inter-cepted the ballistic missile over Najran, according to the king-dom's state-owned Al Ekhbariya news channel.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led military alliance fighting the Huthis in Yemen did not imme-

diately respond to a request for further details.

Saudi Arabia, which has been targeted by multiple rocket attacks in recent weeks, has blamed its regional rival Iran for arming the Shiite Huthis in the Yemen war. The kingdom denounced the threat of "Iranian-manufac-tured ballistic weapons" after it intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen over Riyadh in December. No casualties have been reported in the attacks.

The Saudi-led coalition inter-vened in support of President Abedrabbo Mansur Hadi's gov-ernment in March 2015, after the Huthis took over the capital Sanaa and much of the rest of the country. AGENCIES

Saudi intercepts ballistic missile near Yemen border

BEIJING: China's underwater glider has successfully ended its mission to the Indian Ocean and South China Sea amid reports that the country has developed a new underwater surveillance network to help its submarines lock on to targets.

China's independently-developed underwater glider, Haiyi, which means "sea wings" in Chinese, has successfully completed a scientific obser-vation in the Indian Ocean, marking the first time that the country's indigenous under-water glider was used in this ocean, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The mission, between December 11 and January 2, was meant to observe the inter-action between global climate change and marine conditions, Yu Jiancheng, a research fel-low at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' (CAS) Shenyang Institute of Automation, the glider's developer, was quoted as saying. The underwater glider was used to monitor the deep-sea environment in vast areas, Yu said. After diving into the Indian Ocean on December 11, Haiyi obtained 190 pieces of data on its 705-kilometre jour-ney, Yu added.

The news of the glider fol-

lowed a recent report that China has developed a new underwater surveillance net-work to help its submarines lock on to targets while pro-tecting the nation's interests along the its Maritime Silk Road plan, which includes the Indian Ocean.

The system, which has already been launched, works by gathering information about the underwater environment, particularly water temperature and salinity, which the navy can then use to more accurately track and target vessels as well as improve navigation and positioning, the Hong Kong- based South China Morning Post reported on January 1.

The project, led by the

South China Sea Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), is part of an unprecedented military expansion fuelled by Beijing's desire to challenge the US in the world's oceans, the Post report said. Another report said China has success-fully tested a 'hypersonic glide vehicle' (HGV) twice last year which not only challenges the defences of the US but will also be able to more accurately hit military targets in Japan, India.

The Diplomat magazine reported that China's rocket forces conducted two tests late last year of a new hypersonic glide vehicle known as the DF-17, citing US intelligence sources. AGENCIES

PALEMBANG: At least 13 people died after a passenger boat capsized off the Indone-sian island of Sumatra, two days after another ferry acci-dent in the archipelago killed at least nine, police said on Friday.

The boat was carrying 55 people along the Musi river when it hit a large wave and sank amid bad weather Wednesday, South Sumatra water police chief Robinson Siregar said. He said the police were still searching for the cap-tain, who reportedly survived but went missing. "His assistant has been detained for question-ing to find out, for example, whether or not the boat was seaworthy or there was negli-gence by the crew," Siregar said.

Bodies were found along the riverbank, with one discov-ered by locals an hour's walk from the accident site.

It was the latest deadly mar-itime accident in the vast Indo-nesian archipelago, which relies heavily on boats to ferry peo-ple around its 17,000 islands, but has a patchy safety record. On New Year's Day, nine peo-ple died after a passenger boat capsized when traveling from the city of Tarakan to Tanjung Selor on Borneo island. AGENCIES

TOKYO: Millions of people in Tokyo received a loud alert on Friday that a "strong" earthquake was about to hit –but it proved to be a false alarm apparently triggered by geologi-cal chance.

Text messages and whooping alarms were sent to the phones of millions in and around the Japanese capital, warn-ing: "A quake has occurred off Ibaraki. Prepare for strong jolts."

But officials suspect the early alert, issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency, was triggered by two minor earth-quakes hitting the archipelago at nearly exactly the same time.

A 4.4-magnitude quake struck off Ibaraki, northeast of Tokyo, in the Pacific at 11:02 am (0202 GMT).

And nearly simultaneously, a 3.9-magnitude tremor hit Toyama prefecture, some 350 kilometres (217 miles) west of the one off Ibaraki.

Even Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was caught off-guard by the false alarm –with TV footage showing him checking his flip phone as alarms echoed in the prime minister's office ahead of a cabinet meeting. An alert also flashed on public broadcaster NHK as its announcer warned viewers: "Protect yourself. Stay away from unstable furniture."

The warning forced train and subway operators in the capi-tal to suspend services temporarily, while elevators –including those of Tokyo Tower –stopped, local media reported.

But any jolts were moderate with no injuries or dam-age reported. "We suspect that the system overestimated it by calculating the two separate quakes as one big quake," an official said, adding that the agency was further investigating the cause. AGENCIES

SEOUL: Nuclear-armed North Korea on Friday accepted the South's offer of talks next week, hours after Seoul and Washing-ton agreed to defer joint mil-itary exercises which always infuriate Pyongyang until after the Winter Olympics.

The meeting, the first since December 2015, will take place in Panmunjom, the truce vil-lage in the heavily forti-fied Demilitarised Zone that divides the peninsula.

Tensions have been high after the North carried out multiple missile launches in 2017, including a number of ICBMs, and its sixth atomic test, by far its most powerful to date.

The tentative rapproche-ment comes after the North's leader Kim Jong-Un warned in his New Year speech that he had a nuclear button on his desk, but at the same time offered Seoul an olive branch, saying Pyongyang could send a team to next month's Winter Olympics in the South.

Seoul responded with an offer of talks between the two, and earlier this week the hot-line between them was restored after being suspended for almost two years.

On Thursday, the South's President Moon Jae-In and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed to delay the giant Foal Eagle and Key Resolve joint military drills until after the Winter Olympics, which begin in Pyeongchang on February 9.

That announcement came hours after Trump said high-level talks between North and South would be "a good thing".

A unification ministry offi-cial told AFP that the North faxed a message to Seoul

accepting the proposal for talks on Tuesday.

Ministry spokesman Baek Tae-Hyun told journalists that the agenda would include the Pyeongchang Olympics "and the issue of improving inter-Korean relations".

Who would attend and the size of the delegations would be settled by fax, he said.

"I understand the North is also going to have talks with the International Olympic Com-mittee next week," he added.

Last year saw fears of conflict spike, with Kim and Trump trading personal insults and threats of war, and the US president responded to Kim's New Year message with a Tweet that his nuclear button was "much bigger and more pow-erful", prompting scorn and alarm from analysts.

Concerns over North Korea have overshadowed the Winter Games, which Seoul and the organisers have pro-claimed a "peace Olympics", urging Pyongyang to partici-pate, unlike the 1988 Summer Olympics in the South, which it boycotted. Tensions always rise during the annual drills, which Pyongyang condemns as preparations for invasion and often responds to with provo-cations. Beijing and Moscow both see the exercises as adding to regional tensions. But recent days have seen a rare softening of tone on both sides.

Announcing the delay to the drills, the White House said in a statement: "The two leaders agreed to de-conflict the Olympics and our military exercises so that United States and Republic of Korea forces can focus on ensuring the secu-rity of the Games." AGENCIES

North Korea accepts South’s offer of talks next week

Two minor quakes ‘wrongly trigger’

Japan’s alert system

A visitor walks by the banner of train route from Incheon airport to Gangneung train station, the site of the Gangneung Coastal Cluster for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games with a map of Korean peninsular at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, on Friday AP/PTI

13 dead in Indonesia’s 2nd

fatal boat accident within a week

China develops new underwater surveillance network

Cooch Behar Zilla Parishad Cooch Behar E-Notice Inviting Tender ( in brief)

Following E-Tender is herby invited on behalf of Cooch Behar Zilla Parishad for various work vide NIT No. WBZP/68/DE-ET/COB/2017-18 ( on or before 08.01.2018). WBZP/33/DE-ET/COB/2017-18 (2nd Call) (on or before 09.01.2018). WBZP/85/DE-ET/COB/2016-17 (5th Call) (on or before 09.01.2018 & WBZP/85/DE-ET/C0B/2016-17 (3rd Call) (on or before 10.01.2018) for which last date of Technical & Financial bid submission - 24.01.2018, 24.01.2018, 24.01.2018, & 25.01.2018, (up to 6.00 P.M.). For details the website https: // etender.wb.nic.in may be accessed Sd/-

Addl. Executive OfficerCooch Behar Zilla Parishad Cooch Behar

e-TenderExecutive Engineer, P.W.D., Nadia Division invites online tender for 7 Nos. (in which SI. 1 to 3 - 2nd Call & SI. 4 - 3rd Call) Civil Works amounting to Rs. 34,70,253.00, Rs. 14,71,028.00, Rs. 39,36,739.00, Rs. 12,11,056.00, Rs. 27,94,717.00, Rs. 6,58,110.00 & Rs. 39,36,150.00 Tender Ref. No.: WBPWD/EE/ND/NieT 17/2017-18 & Tender Id: 2018_WBPWD_146666_1 2018_WBPWD_146666_2, 2018_WBPWD_146666_3, 2018_WBPWD_146666_4, 2018_WBPWD_146666_5, 2018_WBPWD_146666_6, 2018_WBPWD_146666_7,Documents download/sale end date- 18/01/2018 upto 12:00 Noon. For datails log on to http://www.wbtenders.gov.in Sd.

Executive Engineer Nadia Division, Housing P.W.D.

ABRIDGED NOTICE INVITING e-TENDERe-N.I.T No - WBIW/EE/WMD/e-NIT- 22e/2017-18 Executive Engineer West Midnapore Division invites tender for the 4(Four).no works Maximum amount Put to Tender Rs.43,22,191.00 Minimum Rs36,17,678.00 Tender forms and other details can be obtained from the Departmental web site www.wbiwd.gov.in.http: //etender.wb.nic.in (Direct Site) Last date of submission of Bid 19/01/2018 Sd/-

[S/d Tapan Pal] Executive Engineer, I.&W.Dte.

West Midnapore DivisionMidnapore, Paschim Medinipur

GOVERNMENT OF WEST BENGALHEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT,

PPP cell SWASTHYA BHAWAN, SALT LAKE, KOLKATA-700091

Memo no. HF/PPP/25/2017/869 Date: 03.01.2018PPP/NIT/13/2018 dated 08.01.2018PPP/NIT/14/2018 dated 08.01.2018PPP/NIT/15/2018 dated 08.01.2018

Request of Proposal from eligible Organizations for Operation & Maintenance of Fair price Diagnostic Center through Public Private Partnership (PPP) at different Government

Hospitals

SI No Name of Hospital Service Mode

1 Kalimpong DH 16 Slice CT Scan O&M

2 Kalimpong DH 1.5 Tesla MRI O&M

3 Coochbehar DH 1.5 Tesla MRI O&M

All the details regarding e-Tender may be had from https://wbtenders.gov.in or from the departmental website www.wbhealth.gov.in under option ‘Tender’

Deputy Secretary. PPP

Bid submission closing date & time online: 21st February.2018. till 5 00 pm.

mp world 11MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Saturday, 6 January, 2018

WASHINGTON: A 34-year-old Indian national has been arrested in the US for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman sitting next to him while on a flight from Las Vegas to Detroit, according to a media report.

Prabhu Ramamoorthy was charged with aggravated sexual abuse and held without bail after an appearance in federal court in Michigan yesterday, Washington Post reported.

Ramamoorthy is accused of abusing a 22-year-old sitting in a window seat next to him, while his wife was on his other side, on a flight from Las Vegas to Detroit on Wednesday.

The victim told investiga-tors that she woke up to find her pants and shirt unbuttoned and the man s hand inside her pants. The victim went to the back of the plane to report the incident to a flight attendant, the criminal complaint was quoted as saying by the report.

Ramamoorthy was arrested after the plane landed, accord-ing to court documents.

He said in a written state-ment that he had taken a pill

and fallen into a deep sleep, and that he hadn't done anything.

Magistrate Judge R Steven Whalen, who said it was a "very unusual case", ordered Rama-moorthy to be held pending trial after the Federal prosecu-tor successfully argued that he was a flight risk and a potential danger to others around him.

The prosecutor said that Ramamoorthy's wife, who was also living in the United States on a temporary visa, would not make a suitable custodian for him.

"It seems that she s either colluding with the defendant to cover up his actions or she s completely oblivious to what he did," the prosecutor argued.

Ramamoorthy's lawyer, Richard O Neill, had offered to turn over his client's pass-port. He said Ramamoorthy had worked as a project man-ager at a technology group for about two and a half years.

Stephen Schuler, a spokes-man for Spirit Airlines, said that it was cooperating with law enforcement on the incident. AGENCIES

Indian national held for sexually assaulting passenger on US flight

BERLIN: A "debt clock" in Berlin, run by German tax lobbyists to shame the gov-ernment into reining in spending, is fall-ing for the first time in its 22-year history.

In a sign of Berlin's famously tight fiscal discipline, it shows public coffers moving into the black at a rate of 78 euros ($94) per second.

Granted, at this pace it would take some time –more than 800 years –for federal and state governments to pay off all of the massive two trillion euros ($2.4 trillion) they owe.

But the Federation of German Tax-payers (BdSt), the group that set up the digital clock, nonetheless hailed the turn-around as a good sign for Europe's big-gest economy.

"Only recently the federal and state governments bore responsibility for this policy of piling up debt," said its president Reiner Holznagel in a statement.

"This policy that harms future genera-tions has fortunately now been stopped."

Debt levels have in fact been falling since 2013 to around 23,827 euros per person now.

But Holznagel said the effect would only be reflected in national and regional budgets from this year.

The BdSt, famous for its annual "black book" listing absurd or questionable uses of public funds, set up the clock at the entrance to its central Berlin headquar-ters in 1995.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

and her fierce former finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble enshrined balanc-ing the books –a goal known as the "black zero" –at the heart of their programme from 2014.

In fact, the country has in recent years booked budget surpluses running into billions.

The bonanza is expected to continue over the four years ahead to the tune of 30 billion euros according to Peter Alt-maier, Merkel's factotum now running the finance ministry.

As coalition talks with the Social Dem-ocrats get under way, politicians see the cash as an opportunity to lavish gifts on their bases in the form of tax cuts, higher spending or public investments. AGENCIES

ANKARA: Turkish Presi-dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the United States and Israel on Friday of meddling in Iran after Turkey's neighbour was gripped by several days of deadly unrest.

A total of 21 people died and hundreds were arrested in the week-long protests which were the biggest challenge to the Islamic regime since the 2009 mass demonstrations.

"We cannot accept that some countries -- foremost the US, Israel -- to interfere in the internal affairs of Iran and Pakistan," Erdogan told report-ers before heading on a trip to France. "It is turning the peo-ple against each other in these countries. It's a shame that we have seen this done in many nations... We saw this in Iraq."

Erdogan did not expand on the nature of the alleged meddling in Pakistan but on Thursday the US announced a freeze in deliveries of military equipment and security fund-ing until Pakistan cracks down on the militants. The Turkish president then referred to prob-lems in "Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia" and in Afri-can countries including Sudan and Chad.

He claimed a "game was

being played" in certain coun-tries, which he noted were all Muslim-majority nations.

"They are taking steps towards making the plentiful underground riches in all these countries their own resources," he said. "Sorry, these realities should be known by our people and all people," he said.

Erdogan and Iranian Presi-dent Hassan Rouhani spoke on Wednesday in a call in which the Turkish leader gave his sup-port for the return of "peace and stability" to Iran.

Erdogan praised Rouhani's statements that the street pro-tests were the people's "demo-cratic right", saying this had helped normalise the situation.

Turkey's conservative media had previously accused the US and Israel of stoking the Iran protests as part of a pur-ported plot to transform the Middle East. AGENCIES

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump on Friday dismissed as "full of lies" a new explosive book about him, his family and his administration that has taken the White House by storm after the US president's lawyers failed to block its release.

Trump tweeted that he gave author Michael Wolff "zero access" to the White House for his book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House", which is set to be released today.

"I authorised Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book! I never spoke to him for book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don't exist," Trump tweeted.

"Look at this guy s past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve!" Trump wrote, apparently referring to his former chief strategist Steve Bannon, who is quoted exten-sively in the book.

The book which is sending shock waves to

the Trump administration is releasing today, two days ahead of the schedule after Trump s lawyers made a move to stop its release.

American journalist and author Wolff tweeted: Here we go. You can buy it (and read it) tomorrow. Thank you, Mr President.

The book, which is highly critical of Trump and his family, claims that president was "befuddled" by his election win, did not enjoy his inauguration and was scared of the White House.

Wolff says his work is based on more than 200 interviews and that he took up "some-thing like a semi-permanent seat on a couch in the West Wing" following the president's inauguration for a close-up insight into the fledgling administration. Trump’s attorney has sent a cease and desists letter to former White House Chief Strategist Bannon for making liable comments against the president and the first family. AGENCIES

TEHRAN: Pro-regime rallies were held around Tehran on Friday with authorities seek-ing to put the recent violent unrest to bed, as Washington slapped fresh sanctions on Iran and called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting.

Iranian officials blamed a plot by the CIA, Israel and Saudi Arabia for the unrest that convulsed much of the coun-try for five days –part of the increasing tensions playing out between Iran and its neigh-bours since President Donald Trump came to power.

For a third straight day, there were large pro-govern-ment rallies, this time in 40 locations around Tehran prov-ince and several cities including Tabriz and Kerman after Friday prayers, as authorities declared the unrest over.

“We are here to show that we can solve our problems ourselves, and will never allow Saudi Arabia, the USA and Israel to intervene... and we are behind the revolution until our last drop of blood,” Mohsen, an IT engineer in the crowd, told AFP.

The US imposed sanc-tions against five Iranian firms alleged to have been working on an illegal ballistic missile programme, linking the move to the protests.

On the streets of Tehran, a heavy police presence lingered though there were no reports of fresh protests overnight.

There were some reports of small anti-government demon-strations in provincial towns, but these could not be verified.

Police asked people to send photos and videos of “trouble-makers”, local media reported, and to identify a number of suspects already caught on camera. It remains difficult to gauge who was involved in the unrest that began December 28, claiming 21 lives –mostly protesters –and leading to hun-dreds of arrests.

President Hassan Rou-hani’s supporters have blamed conservative rivals for stoking anger over economic issues, which quickly grew out of con-trol and saw attacks on security forces, government buildings and symbols of the regime.

The conservatives deny the accusations and say Rouhani must do more to help the poor, with parliament already mov-ing to repeal an unpopular fuel tax hike in his recent budget.

The United Nations Secu-rity Council was set to hold an emergency meeting on the issue on Friday at the request of the United States. Chief prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri blamed the unrest on a plot dating back four years by the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia. “The main architect of this plan is Michael D’Andrea,” Montazeri said, referring to the head of the CIA’s Iran desk.

“They launched (social media) campaigns with the theme of ‘no to high prices’, ‘no to paying bills’,” he said, adding that the plan was to start unrest in the provinces before moving on Tehran. AGENCIES

NEW YORK: A giant winter "bomb cyclone" has walloped the US East Coast with heavy snow and freezing cold that made for treacherous travel conditions and bone-chilling misery.

Four people were reported killed in the southeastern states of North and South Carolina, where icy roads sent vehicles skittering.

The National Weather Service said early today that very cold tempera-tures and wind chills will follow for much of the eastern third of the US through the weekend.

A cold wave gripping a large sec-tion of the United States had already been blamed for a dozen deaths.

Thousands of flights were can-celled and schools closed in many localities as snow piled up and bliz-zard conditions began taking hold in the northeast. Officials closed the runways at La Guardia and Kennedy Airports in New York.

Temperatures were so low in northern New York that Niagara Falls –the giant waterfalls straddling the US- Canadian border –froze.

Snowfall eased by nightfall but temperatures were set to plunge to 8 Fahrenheit (minus 13 Celsius) and remain sub- freezing all weekend.

Weather forecasters dubbed the event a "bomb cyclone," their nick-name for a phenomenon known as "bombogenesis," in which a weather system experiences a sharp drop in atmospheric pressure and intensifies rapidly, unleashing hurricane-force winds.

Americans along the East Coast faced potential power outages in bit-terly cold sub-freezing temperatures.

About 30,000 customers in Virginia and North Carolina were deprived of electricity according to CNN.

Some 3,000 customers were hit in New York and about 10,000 in Boston, although service was partly restored at the end of the day.

In coastal Boston, the storm was accompanied by giant waves that led to what Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker described as "historic

flooding" that inundated the city's eastern streets as well as coastal areas of the state.

New York mobilised additional resources by declaring a state of emer-gency, while a Singapore Airlines A380 was forced to land at the Stewart Airport upstate after being diverted from the city's main JFK International.

The National Guard deployed about 500 personnel along the coast, according to a statement.

"Currently, the main focus is assist-ing with transportation support and vehicles," the statement said.

The southeast was the first to feel the storm's icy lash, when Florida on Wednesday saw its first snow in nearly three decades. North Carolina Gover-nor Roy Cooper lamented the deaths of three people in his state, including two killed when their pickup truck slid off a bridge and landed on its roof in a creek bed.

Roads were closed in northern Florida and southeastern Georgia, where Governor Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency in coastal areas.

With up to a foot of snow expected in parts of New York, accompanied by powerful wind gusts, schools were closed. More than a foot of the white

stuff was expected in Boston.Governor Andrew Cuomo

warned: "Frigid temperatures are expected overnight, which should fur-ther complicate the situation" adding there had been a number of serious accidents.

Wind gusts of up to 88.5 kilome-ters per hour were expected through Friday on Long Island and southeast-ern Connecticut, with wind chills as low as - 20 F (- 29 C), increasing the risk of frostbite and hypothermia from prolonged exposure.

The National Weather Service warned of "multiple hazards: mod-erate to heavy snow, low visibility, strong to damaging winds, coastal flooding, and hazardous seas," from the developing storm moving north-ward towards New England.

"Anticipate travel and economic impacts today and tonight with accu-mulating snow and white-out condi-tions. Expect downed trees and power lines resulting in scattered to wide-spread outages."

Airlines have scrapped more than 4,200 flights into and out of the United States so far due to the storm, and delayed 2,200 others, according to flight tracker FlightAware. AGENCIES

WASHINGTON: Some US lawmakers and advo-cacy groups have criticised the Trump adminisration's reported plan to curb H-1B visa extensions that could result in self- deportation of an estimated 500,000-750,000 Indian Americans, saying the move would drain America of talent.

The proposal, which was part of President Donald Trump's "Buy American, Hire American" initiative that he vowed to launch on the cam-paign trail, is being drafted by Department of Homeland Security leaders, according to reports.

The H-1B program offers temporary US visas that allow companies to hire highly skilled foreign professionals working in areas with short-ages of qualified American workers. But since taking office last January, the Trump administration has been crack-ing down on the scheme.

Influential Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gab-bard said: "Imposing these dra-conian restrictions on H-1B visa holders will tear families apart, drain our society of tal-ent and expertise, and dam-age our relationship with an important partner, India.

"This proposal could lead to the deportation of an esti-mated 500,000 to 750,000 Indian H-1B visa holders, many of whom are small busi-ness owners and job creators who are helping to build and strengthen our US economy. This brain drain will stifle innovation and decrease our ability to compete in the global 21st century economy," Gab-bard said.

In a statement the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) sounded alarm over the Trump administration s proposal to deny extensions of H-1B visas to green card applicants and leaving them with no choice but to return to the country of origin or be deported.

"It’s a baffling calculation. How would deporting hun-dreds of thousands of skilled workers, the very backbone of our STEM industries, in any way advance an 'America First' agenda?" Shukla asked.

Indian-American Con-gressman Raja Krishnamoor-thi said while priority must continue to be improving advanced training for domes-tic workforce, ending H-1B visa extensions would knee-cap American economy and encourage companies to fur-ther offshore jobs, instead of making those investments here. "I hope the administra-tion immediately rejects this proposal," he said. Congress-man Ro Khanna said the pro-posal was "anti- immigrant".

"My parents came here on green cards. So did @sundar-pichai, @elonmusk, @saty-anadella. Trump is saying to immigrants and their kids we don’t have a place in America.

It's not just wrong. It's dumb. Mr President, would America really be greater with-out us?" he asked in a tweet.

According to Aman Kapoor of Immigration Voice, H-1B extension change would be just wrong at every level.

"It will be a catastrophe of epic proportion for Indian- American community lead-ing to mass exodus of close to 1.5 million people (around 750,000 primary applicants on H-1B visa and another 750,000+ spouses and chil-dren)," he said.

‘Bomb cyclone’ pounds eastern US, four people reported dead

Snow falls over Times Square, in New York, on Thursday AP/PTI

Trump denounces Michael Wolff’s book as ‘full of lies’

Pro-regime rallies in Tehran as US imposes sanctions

Congressmen oppose changes in H1B visa rules

Erdogan accuses US, Israel of ‘meddling’

in Iran, Pakistan

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

German ‘debt clock’ counts down for first time in 22 yrs

millenniumpost NO H ALF TR U THS

millenniumpost.in

I, Suraj Bhan S/o Durga Prasad, R/o H.No. 775, D.D.A. Janta Flats, G.T.B. Enclave Delhi-110093. I have changed my name from Suraj Bhan to Suraj Bhan Gupta for all future purposes. That Suraj Bhan and Suraj Bhan Gupta is one and the same person.

CHANGE OF NAME

mp business12MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi |Saturday, 6 January, 2018

NEW DELHI: Bitcoins or cryp-tocurrencies are not a legal ten-der in the country and are not recognised as a medium of exchange, Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday.

"Bitcoin does not have a legal tender in India. However, it has presence in both in the public domain and in the unorganised markets," Jaitley said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Defining Bitcoin, Jaitley said it is a type of unregulated digital money that is issued and nor-mally controlled by its devel-opers and used and accepted among the members of the vir-tual community.

He said that there are num-ber of trading platforms for Bit-coins in India, but since its is not regulated, there is no cred-ible source of information with respect to the investment prod-ucts and volume of transaction.

According to him, the vir-tual currencies (VCs) including Bitcoins do not have any under-lying assets and their price is entirely speculative, which can expose the investors to height-ened risk. "...VCs have not been authorised by the government

or Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by way of licence nor it is recog-nised as a medium of exchange," the minister said.

On the actions being taken by the government to crack-down on the use of crypto-currencies, he said that the government has already con-stituted a committee under the chairmanship of Secretary

in Department of Economic Affairs to study all issues related with virtual currencies and rec-ommend specific measures to address the concerns.

Given the growing Bitcoin trade, RBI has issued caution-ary advice to the users, hold-ers and traders of VCs about the potential, financial, opera-tional, legal, customer protec-

tion and security related risks that they are exposing them-selves to by investing in Bitcoin and/ or other VCs.

Further, RBI has also clari-fied that it has not given any licence/ authorisation to any entity/ company to operate such schemes or deal with Bit-coin or any virtual currency, the minister said. PTI

NEW DELHI: The Credit Enhancement Fund, announced by Finance Minister Arun Jait-ley last Budget, is expected to be operational by the end of this fiscal, a senior Finance Minis-try official said.

The IIFCL-anchored fund will help raise credit rating of bonds floated by infrastructure companies and facilitate invest-ments from long-term investors.

"To ease flow of institutional credit to infrastructure projects, what the government has been thinking in this regard is credit enhancement. IIFCL is playing a lead role in that proposed insti-tution," Kumar V Pratap, Joint Secretary (Infrastructure Policy and Finance) in the Finance Ministry said.

"We had a meeting on Thursday with RBI and the credit rating agencies. So we hope to launch this fund within this financial year. Mechanics are being worked out," he said at an event organised by India

Infrastructure Finance Com-pany Ltd (IIFCL) on the occa-sion of its 12th foundation day.

Raising the credit rating of these companies would help eas-ier access to institutional financ-ing, he said. Jaitley in 2016-17 Budget speech had proposed that LIC will set up a dedicated fund to provide credit enhance-ment to infrastructure projects. However, LIC could not anchor the proposed company because of regulatory issues.

Some public sector banks, including SBI and Bank of Baroda, have evinced interest in picking up stake in the fund.

Public sector LIC, General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) also plans to pick up stake in the credit enhancement fund. IIFCL Deputy Managing Director Sanjeev Kaushik said the RBI has agreed to most of the suggestions and the final guidelines on Credit Enhance-ment Fund should come out soon. PTI

Bitcoin not a recognised medium of exchange, not a legal tender: FM

NEW DELHI: India's per cap-ita income, a gauge for measur-ing living standard, is likely to witness a slower growth of 8.3 per cent at Rs 1,11,782 in FY 2017-18.

In 2016-17, per capita income of Indians had grown by 9.7 per cent to to Rs 1,03,219.

"The per capita net national income during 2017-18 is esti-mated to be Rs 1,11,782 show-ing a rise of 8.3 per cent as compared to Rs 1,03,219 dur-ing 2016-17 with the growth rate of 9.7 per cent," said First Advance Estimates of National Income, 2017-18, released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The per capita income in real terms (at 2011-12 prices) during 2017-18 is likely to attain a level of Rs 86,660 as

compared to Rs 82,269 for the year 2016-17, it said.

The growth rate in per cap-ita income (real terms) is esti-mated at 5.3 per cent during 2017-18, as against 5.7 per cent in the previous year, it added.

The economic growth is expected to slow to a four-year low of 6.5 per cent in 2017-18, the lowest under the Modi-led government, mainly due to poor performance of agri-culture and manufacturing sectors.

The Gross Domestic Prod-uct (GDP) was 7.1 per cent in 2016-17 and 8 per cent in the preceding year. It was 7.5 per cent in 2014-15. The Naren-dra Modi-led NDA govern-ment had assumed office in May 2014. PTI

NEW DELHI: A new Con-sumer Protection Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday, seeking to set up an authority to safeguard consumer rights in view of current chal-lenges posed by e-commerce, direct selling, tele-marketing and misleading ads, among others.

The Consumer Protection Bill, 2018 was introduced by Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in the Lower House and it seeks to replace the 31-year-old law. The Bill has strong provisions to check adulteration and misleading ads and also provides for fine up to Rs 50 lakh and jail up to 5 years for manufacturers and service providers for false and mislead-ing ads. Against adulteration, the Bill has provisions for fine up to Rs 10 lakh and life term

imprisonment.The objective of the Bill is to

“provide for protection of inter-est of consumers and for the said purpose to establish authorities for timely and effective admin-istration and settlement of con-sumer disputes...”

The Bill aims to set up an executive agency ‘Central Con-sumer Protection Authority’ (CCPA) to make intervention when necessary to prevent con-sumer detriment arising from unfair trade practice and to initiate class action including enforcing recall, refund and return of products.

“This fills an institutional void in the regulatory regime extant. Currently, the task of prevention of or acting against unfair trade practices is not vested in any authority,” the bill said. PTI

Credit Enhancement Fund to be launched by March: Govt

Per capita income growth may fall 8.3%

to 1,11,782 in FY18

BEIJING: Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has come under fire over its handling of user data in an episode that underscores growing concerns for privacy in the hyper- digitised country.

Alibaba affiliate Ant Finan-cial was forced to apologise on Wednesday after users said they felt misled into allowing its Alipay service to share data on their spending habits with Ant's credit-scoring arm and other third-party services.

Controlled by Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, Ant Finan-cial provides mobile payment, lending, and credit services to millions of Chinese consumers, and the controversy has featured prominently in China's state-controlled media this week.

Consumers have come to expect a lack of privacy in a

country where the government collects a file of personal data on each person including financial, education and other informa-tion, and where video surveil-lance is widespread.

But many Chinese internet users reacted with unusual out-rage to learn that Alipay, which is used by millions daily to make mobile and online purchases on Alibaba's Taobao platform and elsewhere, had automatically checked a box and hidden lan-guage showing they agreed to share their data.

"It's just like Taobao profit-ing from selling our informa-tion, there's no way to refuse!" one user of China's Twitter-like Weibo service complained.

The sale of personal infor-mation is common in China, which last year implemented

a controversial cybersecurity law that among other things requires services to store user data in China and receive approval from users before shar-ing their details.

"Because lots of information is already out there, everyone thinks there is no way to protect

our personal information," said Yue Shenshan, the lawyer whose online posts helped highlight the Ant Financial issue.

"But if we don't focus on pro-tecting our private information right now, the situation will only worsen."

Ant Financial embedded

the new policy in a page Ali-pay users see when they click through to see their 2017 spend-ing activity.

Screenshots of the activity are frequently freely shared on social media by users who boast either about their purchasing power -- or frugality.

"So angry" wrote one execu-tive at a Beijing internet com-pany who this week posted a screenshot of his 9.6 million yuan ($1.48 million) Alipay tab for the year. The data also revealed he ranked 301 on a list of the largest spenders in one district of Beijing.

Ant Financial said in a state-ment that it has since changed the opt-in policy and showed users how to change their settings.

"We are deeply sorry to

everyone for the misunder-standing and panic this inci-dent caused," it said.

Privacy is a particularly high-profile issue now as the Chinese government is in the process of developing a national "social credit" scoring system that may rate people on every-thing from their credit-wor-thiness to their loyalty to the Communist Party.

Ant Financial's credit-scor-ing unit Sesame Credit may someday feed data into that system.

The Alipay controversy arose just as regulators in Wash-ington this week rejected Ant Financial's proposed acquisi-tion of US-based MoneyGram after concerns were raised over the security of American cus-tomers' data. PTI

China’s Alibaba under fire over use of customer data

SAN FRANCISCO: After tech firms rushed to fix security flaws in chips that hackers can exploit, reports surfaced that Intel CEO Brian Krzanich sold off $24 mil-lion worth of stock and options last year after the chip-maker became aware of security bugs.

According to a Sky News report late on Thursday, Intel was notified by Google in June last year of a flaw in its pro-cessor chips. "Regulatory fil-ings showed Krzanich pocketed about $25 million before tax from the sale of stocks and options in late November," the report added. Intel, however, said Krzanich's sale had noth-ing to do with chip vulnerability.

"Brian's sale is unrelated. He continues to hold shares in-line with corporate guidelines," the report said, citing an Intel statement.

The two security flaws, dubbed as "Spectre" and "Melt-down", reported by Google "Project Zero" and British tech website the Register, is not unique to Intel chips and also affect AMD and ARM proces-sors. In its latest statement, Intel said on Friday that it is rapidly issuing updates for all types of Intel-based computer systems -- including personal comput-ers and servers -- that render those systems immune from both exploits.

"Intel has already issued updates for the majority of processor products introduced within the past five years. By the end of next week, Intel expects to have issued updates for more than 90 percent of processor products introduced within the past five years," the com-pany said.

"Intel continues to believe that the performance impact of these updates is highly work-load-dependent and, for the average computer user, should not be significant and will be mitigated over time," the com-

pany said. Meanwhile, Apple broke the silence, admitting that all Mac systems and iOS devices were affected but are safe at the moment.

"These issues apply to all modern processors and affect nearly all computing devices and operating systems. All Mac systems and iOS devices are affected but there are no known exploits impacting customers at this time," Apple said in a blog post late on Thursday.

"Since exploiting many of these issues requires a mali-cious app to be loaded on your Mac or iOS device, we recom-mend downloading software only from trusted sources such as the App Store," the company added.

"Meltdown" and "Spectre" issues take advantage of a mod-ern CPU performance feature called "speculative execution".

"Speculative execution" improves speed by operating on multiple instructions at once - possibly in a different order than when they entered the CPU.

"Meltdown" and "Spectre" exploitation techniques abuse "speculative execution" to access privileged memory - including that of the kernel - from a less-privileged user process such as a malicious app running on a device, Apple said. IANS

Intel CEO made $24 million in stock sale before bug

disclosure, company deniesNEW YORK: Ousted Uber boss Travis Kalanick plans to sell 29 per cent of his stake in the US rideshar-ing giant for about $1.4 billion, Bloomberg re-ported, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter. Kalanick, who co-founded the company and owns 10 per cent of it, would sell the shares as part of the deal that will see a group of investors led by Japa-nese tech titan SoftBank acquire a major stake in Uber. The new investment, which will be finalised in January, was based on calculations valuing Uber at $48 billion, Bloomberg said on Thursday. Uber is seeking to move past a series of scandals and missteps and reform its board structure as it gears up for a 2019 public share offering. Kalanick was ousted as CEO in June, but retains a seat on Uber's board. Even as Uber has seen unprecedented growth by expanding to dozens of countries, it has been hurt by missteps including allegations of execu-tive misconduct, a toxic work atmosphere and potentially unethical competitive practices. PTI

Uber ex-boss wants to sell 29% of shares for $1.4 billion: report

Bill to protect consumers introduced in Lok Sabha

NEW DELHI: A high-pow-ered panel's suggestion on increasing the tenure for deferred spectrum payments for telcos has been "concurred" by the Telecom Commission and "is under process for final approval by Cabinet", the Rajya Sabha was informed on Friday.

"The recommendation has been concurred by Telecom Commission and is under pro-cess for final approval by Cabi-net," Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said in a written reply.

The minister noted that the Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) constituted in May last year to examine systemic issues affect-ing viability and repayment capacity in telecom sector had submitted its report on August 31, 2017.

"The IMG inter-alia rec-

ommended that regarding the tenure of deferred payment liability on spectrum, the tele-com service providers may be given a one-time opportunity to opt for higher number of instalments (16) instead of the currently permitted 10 instal-ments," he said.

The IMG did not recom-

mend any change in the mor-atorium period of two years which is given to companies as part of the overall time period for spectrum payments.

To another query, the min-ister said that with regard to BharatNet project for broad-band connectivity in gram pan-chayats, a tender to select the 'implementing agency' for pro-vision of last mile connectivity has been floated on December 26, 2017. The tender has been floated by Bharat Broadband Network Ltd (BBNL).

"Rs 4066 crore has been approved for providing last mile connectivity through Wi-fi or any suitable broad-band technology at all the Gram Panchayats in the coun-try under BharatNet project," the minister said. PTI

IMG telecom proposal under process for Cabinet final nod

NEW DELHI: Markets regula-tor Sebi on Friday made elec-tronic platform mandatory for all private placement issues on debt basis that have a threshold of Rs 200 crore.

Currently, the mechanism is mandatory for all private place-ments of debt securities with an issue size of Rs 500 crore or more. The new norms are aimed at achieving better and transpar-ent price discovery through the bidding process.

In a circular, Sebi said "all private placement of debt secu-rities shall be required to be made through EBP (electronic book platform) if it is a single issue, inclusive of green shoe option, if any, of Rs 200 crore or more".

Besides, a shelf issue, con-sisting of multiple tranches, which cumulatively amounts to Rs 200 crore or above in a financial year would have to opt for the electronic platform.

Further, a subsequent issue,

where aggregate of all previ-ous issues by an issuer in a fis-cal equals or exceeds Rs 200 crore would need to opt for the platform. Also, the regulator has come out with a standard operational guidelines per-taining to Know Your Client (KYC) and bidding hours for electronic book providers like stock exchanges.

The new norms would come into force from April 1 this year.

According to Sebi, eligible participants bidding on propri-etary basis, whose bid amount is at least Rs 15 crore or 5 per cent of the base issue size, which-

ever is lower, can bid directly. In order to ensure operational uniformity across various EBP platforms, the bidding on the such platform will take place between 0900 hours to 1700 hrs, on the working days of the exchanges.

The regulator said that participants, prior to entering into the bidding process will be required to enroll with EBP.

Such enrolment of a par-ticipant on an EBP will be one time exercise and will be valid till the time such enrolment is annulled or rescinded.

"An issuer, at its discre-

tion, may withdraw from the issue process at any time, how-ever subsequent to such with-drawal, the issuer shall not be allowed to access any of the EBP platform for a period of seven days from the date of such with-drawal," Sebi said. With respect to KYC, the regulator said that verification will be undertaken by obtaining existing KYCs of clients from KRAs registered with Sebi.

For QIB investors bidding directly or through arranger, KYCs and enrolment will be done by the EBP, while for non QIB investors bidding directly, KYCs will be done by the issuer and enrolment will be done by the EBP. Regarding the role of Electronic Book Providers (EBP), Sebi said that a recog-nised stock exchange can act as EBP and responsible for providing an on-line platform for placing bids and need to ensure safety, secrecy, integrity and retrievability of data. PTI

Electronic platform must for private debt issues of 200 crore, says Sebi

NEW DELHI: Digital payments to the tune of Rs 143 lakh crore were made in October 2017 through 153-crore transactions, Parliament was informed on Friday.

"The digital payment trans-actions have got a major boost and increased from 91 crore in November 2016 to 153 crore in the October 2017," Minister of State for Electronics and IT Alphons Kannanthanam said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. As per data shared by the minister, total value of digi-tal payments stood at Rs 143.1 lakh crore in October 2017. The thirteen-month data, starting October 2016, shared by Kan-nanthanam showed digital pay-ments spiked to Rs 172.6 lakh crore in March 2017 from Rs

108 lakh crore in February and then dipped to Rs 133.8 lakh crore in April last year.

Total value of transactions fluctuated in the range of Rs 133.8 lakh crore and 139.9 lakh crore during April-August 2017 and then moved up to Rs 155.2 lakh crore in September 2017.

“There has been a steady rise in the value of payment

transactions that are happen-ing through digital modes. This adds to more number of transactions being recorded and transparent thereby lead-ing to a less-cash economy. It is expected that the rising vol-ume and value of electronic transactions will play a role in reducing black economy," minister said. PTI

Digital payments hit 143 lakh cr in October 2017: IT Minister

mp business 13MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Saturday, 6 January, 2018

CORPORATE KALEIDOSCOPE

The Online Slag Detection System at the Basic Oxygen Furnace of Durgapur Steel Plant was inaugurated by DSP CEO A K Rath on Friday. H N Rai, Executive Director (Works) and other senior officials and a section of employees were also present during the inauguration

BHEL has been awarded the CBIP Award 2018 for ‘Best Power Equipment Manufacturing Organisation’. The award was received by BHEL CMD Atul Sobti from Dr Satya Pal Singh, Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation on CBIP Day 2018

REC Limited, the Navratna public sector enterprise, has been named the Best Power Financing Company by CBIP on 3rd January, 2018 in New Delhi. The award was received by SK Gupta, Director (Technical), REC from Dr. Satya Pal Singh, Ministers of State, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation

PFC Consulting Ltd. (PFCCL) has entered into a MoU with PTC India Ltd. for jointly exploring opportunities for procurement of power from the coal-based commissioned Thermal Power Projects for supply to Discoms and facilitate signing of Power Purchase Agreements. The MoU was executed in presence of Rajeev Sharma, CMD, PFC, Functional Directors of PFC, senior officials of PFCCL and Deepak Amitabh, CMD and other officials of PTC India Ltd. Subir Mulchandani, Chief Executive Officer, PFCCL and Rajib Kumar Mishra, Director, PTC India Ltd signed the Memorandum of Understanding

NEW DELHI: Capping airfares will push up ticket costs, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gaj-apathi Raju said on Friday after a Parliamentary panel recom-mended "fixing an upper limit" for air tickets and restricting cancellation charges to 50 per cent of the base fare.

The report by the Parliamen-tary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture noted that "airlines are charg-ing more than ten times of the advance booking fare" and that "deregulatory environment does not mean unlimited freedom of exploitation", while urging the government to intervene.

"The Ministry of Civil Avia-tion, though aware of the ram-pant exploitation is not showing any proactive role in regulating the airfares.

"The committee therefore recommends that Ministry of Civil Aviation to consider fixing an upper limit of the air ticket for every sector," says the report which was tabled in Rajya Sabha

on Thursday.The Aviation Minister told

reporters that there were only 1.7 per cent of cases where fares were higher than normal, and putting a cap on them will result in pushing up fares for 98 per cent of the cases.

"We did an analyses and we took up ticketing of an entire

year and we realised 1.7 per cent of the ticketing was a matter of concern and that was mostly on certain sectors. If we go into floors and caps, we will be push-ing up the cost for 98 per cent to reduce the cost for less than 2 per cent," Raju told reporters outside Parliament.

Junior avaiation minister

Jayant Sinha said that dynamic pricing practiced by Indian air-lines is a global practice.

"Dynamic pricing in our country is a global practice and we have not seen that our air-lines are doing anything apart from global practices," he said.

He added that if anyone had a complaint they could

approach the Directorate Gen-eral of Civil Aviation and the Competition Commission of India.

The Parliamentary panel has said that "pricing mechanisms applicable in the developed countries may not be suitable for India", adding that despite a fall in ATF prices, airlines have not passed on the benefits to the passengers.

The report has also high-lighted "arbitrary" cancellation charges.

"There is no uniformity or minimum standards to impose charges for rescheduling, can-cellation and no-show. Attrac-tive offers by private airlines veil the fact that passengers are charged the entire ticket amount if they want to cancel the tickets.

"The airlines must be restricted to charging not more than 50 per cent of the base fare as cancellation charges," said the report titled "Issues related to improving consumer satisfac-tion of airlines". PTI

NEW DELHI: India stood firm on basic principles of multilater-alism at the WTO's ministerial meeting last month in Argen-tina and would continue to work with other members to promote rule-based global trade, Com-merce Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Friday.

The minister also said that the country's coalition partners extended their support not only for a permanent solution on the food security matter but also on other issues of interest of devel-oping nations at the ministe-rial meet. Prabhu said this in a statement in the Rajya Sabha on India's stand at the ministe-rial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

"India stood firm on its stand on the fundamental principles of the WTO including multilat-eralism, rule-based consensual decision making, an indepen-dent and credible dispute reso-lution and appellate process, the centrality of development and special and differential treat-ment for all developing coun-tries," he added.

The talks at the WTO's 11th ministerial conference collapsed after the US went back on its

commitment to find a perma-nent solution to the public food stock holding issue, a key mat-ter for India.

The four-day conference in Argentina, which ended with-out a ministerial declaration or any substantive outcome, did manage to make some fee-ble progress on fisheries and e- commerce by agreeing to work programmes.

The minister said that in absence of a ministerial dec-laration, the existing mandates and decisions would remain valid and be carried forward.

"This ensures that the work will go forward and the WTO

would continue to work on issues such as the permanent solution on public stock hold-ing for food security purposes, agriculture subsidies and other issues," he said.

Prabhu said that India's pub-lic stock holding programme would continue to be protected due to the interim solution that the government negotiated in 2014, which is available in per-petuity. Under the global trade norms, a WTO member coun-try's food subsidy bill should not breach the limit of 10 per cent of the value of production based on the reference price of 1986-88. PTI

KOLKATA: Exide Industries Ltd has launched a new range of automotive batteries, the company said on Friday.

The 'Epiq' range of batteries come with a six-year warranty, "the highest" in the Indian mar-ket, it said in a release here.

The new batteries will be manufactured at Exide's fac-tories across India, and sold through its 1,500 premium Exide Care outlets.

Without detailing the price, the company said 'Epiq' will be positioned and targeted at the highest end of the automo-tive battery aftermarket, and will its most premium vehicu-lar battery.

'Epiq' will be the flagship sub-brand of Exide, the battery major said in the release.

"We sourced the best tech-nology in the world to make a battery that will last for a long time in the Indian conditions. Epiq takes the automotive bat-tery technology in the country to the next generation," Exide Managing Director and CEO Gautam Chatterjee said.

The lead acid storage bat-tery maker also launched a slew of other products targeted at different segments of the auto-motive battery aftermarket. PTI

NEW DELHI: Oil and Natu-ral Gas Corporation (ONGC) is organizing a symposium and photo-exhibition titled “The Mangalajodi Inheritance” at New Delhi on January 6, 2018, in association with The Bhu-baneswar Bird Walks (TBBW).

The objective of the sympo-sium is to promote the cause of the largest brackish water lake to obtain heritage status from UNESCO. Dharmendra Prad-han, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India will inaugurate the event.

ONGC has embarked on an ambitious project for conserva-tion and holistic development of Chilika Lake area in Odisha, and for accordance of status of UNESCO “World Heritage Site” for Chilika Lake, in line with its commitment towards environ-ment conservation and heritage protection.

Pradhan has taken the noble initiative to reach a tripartite agreement between ONGC, Govt. of Odisha and UNESCO.

ONGC has also charted out a systematic plan for development of Mangalajodi village in Chilika through CSR activities. MPOST

Par panel for capping airfares; Minister says it will backfire

India stood firm on its stand on fundamental principles of WTO

NEW DELHI: The govern-ment on Friday said it has col-lected over Rs 38,000 crore between July-November by levying cess on luxury and demerit goods under the GST regime.

Under the GST regime, a cess is levied on luxury, demerit and sin goods to make good the loss suffered by the states on account of roll out of the new indirect tax regime. This is levied on top of the highest tax rate of 28 per cent on these goods.

Goods and Services Tax (GST), which amalgam-ated over a dozen local taxes, including excise and service tax, was implemented from July 1, 2017. The government through GST compensation cess has collected a revenue of Rs 38,073 crore for July-November, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in a written

reply in the Lok Sabha.Of this, Rs 7,201 crore was

collected for the month of July, Rs 7,850 crore (August), Rs 8,014 crore (September), Rs 7,160 crore (October), Rs 7,848 crore (November).

Jaitley further said that the Centre has released Rs 24,500 crore to the states to compen-sate for losses suffered between July-October on account of the roll out of the new indirect tax

regime.Karnataka got maximum

compensation from the Cen-tre at Rs 3,271 crore, followed by Gujarat (Rs 2,282 crore) and Punjab (Rs 2,098 crore).

The other states that required hefty compensation include Rajasthan (Rs 1,911 crore), Bihar (Rs 1,746 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 1,520 crore), West Bengal (Rs 1,008 crore) and Odisha (Rs 1,020 crore). PTI

Collected 38K cr as compensation cess between July-November: Govt

Exide launches new automotive

battery range

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday said that the annual production target of state-owned CIL has been kept at 630 million tonnes (MT) for the upcoming fiscal.

"As per Annual Plan pro-posal for 2018-19, the produc-tion target of CIL (Coal India) has been kept at 630 MT (mil-lion tonnes) with five per cent growth over the target of 2017-18," Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. Against the target of 408.6 MT, CIL produced 385.6 MT of coal till January 1 in the ongoing fiscal, the minister said.

In the Annual Plan of CIL for 2017-18, the production target has been pegged at 600 million tonnes. From the pro-duction level of 554 million

tonnes in 2016- 17, the PSU has envisaged to enhance its coal output to one billion tonnes by FY'20.

CIL has identified mines with production capacity of 908 million tonnes so far.

Considering the demand of coal from various segments, while finalising the Annual Plan of 2017-18, CIL was given the offtake target of 600 MT by the coal ministry.

"In the period April 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017, offtake of 421.41 MT(provisionally) has been achieved," the minis-ter said. In a bid to achieve the annual target, CIL is required to increase its daily production to more than two MT during the remaining day of the ongoing financial year. PTI

Coal India annual production target at

630 MT in FY’19: Govt

ONGC to organise symposium and photo exhibition

in Delhi on Chilika

MUMBAI: Benchmarks rallied to record highs on Friday to end the first week of 2018 with gains as investors cranked up fresh purchases in tandem with bull-ish global cues.

The BSE Sensex surged over 184 points to close at its life-time high of 34,153.85, while the broader NSE Nifty ended at record 10,558.85.

Sentiment got a leg-up after the Lok Sabha on Thursday gave its approval for Rs 80,000 crore recapitalisation bonds for strengthening public sec-tor banks (PSBs), traders said.

Global cues were upbeat as well following a record- smash-ing run at the Wall Street over-night, with Dow Jones Industrial average going past the 25,000-mark for the first time.

The 30-share Sensex, after opening on a strong footing, continued its upward march to hit an all-time high of 34,188.85, breaking its previous (intra-day) record of 34,137.97 hit on December 27.

It lost some ground on

profit-booking, before finally ending 184.21 points, or 0.54 per cent higher at 34,153.85, smashing its previous record close of 34,056.83 reached on December 29 last year.

The gauge had gained 176.26 points in the previous session.

The NSE Nifty also hit a record intra-day high of 10,566.10 and closed at 10,558.85, up 54.05 points, or 0.51 per cent. It bettered its pre-vious closing high of 10,531.50 reached on December 26 last

year. This was the fifth straight week of gains for the markets. During the first week of 2018, the Sensex notched up a rise of 97.02 points, or 0.28 per cent. The Nifty gained 28.15 points, or 0.26 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign port-folio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 212.05 crore, while domestic institu-tional investors (DIIs) made purchases worth Rs 325.24 crore on Thursday, as per provisional exchange data. PTI

Markets race to record highs; post 5th weekly gains

MUMBAI: The rupee contin-ued its rise for the second day against the beleaguered dollar and ended at a 32- month high of 63.37 on Friday, up 4 paise on steady unwinding of the Ameri-can currency by exporters.

A record-setting spree on local bourses too bolstered sentiment on the forex trad-ing front.

This is the highest finish for the home currency since April 29, 2015 when it had settled at 63.30.

Overall forex sentiment got a leg-up ahead of the advanced gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimates for 2017-18, which was released after the market hours.

The projections are very cru-cial in view of upcoming Union Budget and also the first official

full-year growth estimates fore-cast after the GST regime.

Economic activity regained its footing in the second quar-ter of the current fiscal after GDP rebounded to 6.3 per cent July-September period, sending out a comfort sig-nals about bottoming out of economic slowdown. PTI

mounts to 32-month high of 63.37 against $

NEW DELHI: The govern-ment does not propose to introduce a system of single window clearance for indus-tries by relaxing the environ-mental protection laws, the Lok Sabha was told on Friday.

Minister of State for envi-ronment Mahesh Sharma said that the government also does not propose to amend the envi-ronment protection laws to promote major projects.

"The government does not proposes to amend the envi-ronment protection laws so as to promote major projects.

"The government does not propose to introduce a system for single window clearance for industries all over the country by relaxing the environmental protection laws," he said.

However, he maintained that to bring more transpar-ency in the environment, forest and wildlife approval processes for development projects, the ministry has rolled out a single window system for submission of application from July, 2014 at the central level.

It also rolled out a single window system for submis-sion of application from July 2015 at state level in the state Environment Impact Assess-

ment Authority (SEIAA) and on June 18, 2016 at district level in the District level Envi-ronment Impact Assessment Authority (DEIAA). Environ-ment ministry is the nodal ministry for implementation of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981 and the Water (Preven-tion and Control of Pollution) Act 1974 for enforcing envi-ronmental protection, he said.

Asked whether the govern-ment has conducted any study regarding the functioning of the green tribunal, he replied

in the negative.He said the structure, pro-

cedure and functioning of National Green Tribunal are governed by the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 and the National Green Tribunal (Manner of Appointment of Judicial and Expert Members Salaries, Allowances and other Terms and Conditions of Ser-vice of Chairperson and other Members and Procedure for Inquiry) Rules, 2010.

"There is no amendment proposed in the Constitution and functions of the National Green Tribunal.” he said. PTI

NEW DELHI: PFRDA-run Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has reached a subscriber base of 80 lakh, an official statement said on Friday.

"Now, the subscribers' base under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has reached more than 80 lakhs and growing at a good pace," the PFRDA said in a statement. Uttar Pradesh is the highest contributing state at 11.41 lakh APY subscribers, followed by Bihar and Tamil Nadu at 8.87 lakh and 6.60 lakh respectively.

PFRDA said it has taken various initiatives for expan-sion of outreach and easing operations under APY such as account statement view and e-PRAN (permanent retire-ment account number) so that customers can easily access their accounts.

The authority said it is pro-moting digital initiatives for the convenience of subscribers and they can register for the scheme online as well to eliminate the need for furnishing physical documents.

APY became operational from June 1, 2015 and is avail-able to all citizens of India. PTI

‘No proposal for single window clearance for industries by relaxing green norms’

Atal Pension Yojana subscriber base touches 80

lakh-mark

mp sport14MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi |Saturday, 6 January, 2018

FORGET ABOUT PLAYING INDIA IN NEAR FUTURE: MIANDAD TO PCB

KARACHI: Pakistan’s former captain and coach Javed Miandad has called on his country’s Cricket Board to forget about playing India in the near future and instead focus on improving the game’s structure here. The veteran of 124 Tests said there was no need for the PCB to “beg” the BCCI for bilateral matches.

DUTCH IOC MEMBER RESIGNS OVER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE

THE HAGUE: Former Dutch politician Camiel Eurlings on Friday announced his resignation as a member of the IOC after a fuss over domestic violence. “I deeply regret the whole course of events, and the discussion about whether or not to stay distracts on what it is all about right now: the sport and the athletes,” he said.

DIEGO FORLAN JOINS HONG KONG’S KITCHEE SC

MONTEVIDEO: Former Uruguay striker Diego Forlan, who has not played since ending a stint with Indian club Mumbai city in late 2016, has joined Hong Kong side Kitchee SC ahead of their debut appearance in the AFC Champions League. Kitchee posted an image on their official Instagram account on Thursday with the words “Welcome Forlan”.

IMPHAL: Neroca FC regis-tered a 2-1 win over the Indian Arrows to move up to second place in the I-League standings at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium here on Friday.

With this win, Neroca FC leap-frogged Minerva Pun-jab FC to the second spot with 14 points from seven matches while Indian Arrows will stay at the seventh position with as many points having played one match more.

A first-half brace by Singam Subash Singh (39th minute, 45th) helped Neroca outplay a young Indian Arrows side for the majority of the game.

Birthday boy Abhijit Sarkar (89th minute) scored a late goal to add some suspense towards the climax, but it couldn’t deter the Gift Raikhan-coached team from bagging all three points.

Young Prabshukhan Singh Gill continued to stand in between the sticks for Matos' Arrows. Up front, Rahim Ali was deployed centrally and had support from Nongdamba Naorem and Rahul Kannoly Praveen on the flanks.

Nigerian striker Felix Chidi lead the line for the home side, with Akhlidin Israilov tasked with conducting play as an attacking midfielder. Seasoned striker Singam Subash Singh

started the game on the left wing. Felix Chidi was at the forefront of most of Neroca’s forays forward. The Nigerian striker, at the half-hour mark, attempted an audacious over-head kick on Yumnam Singh’s cross from the right. He failed to connect properly and Prab-shukhan heaved a sigh of relief.

Neroca’s efforts paid off in the 39th minute. Akhlidin Israilov released a well-weighted through-ball into the path of Singam Subash Singh who chipped Prabshukhan with aplomb. Subash doubled his tally at the stroke of half-time with another confident finish and this time, it was Felix Chidi who turned provider. Chidi split the Arrows defence and the Manipur-born forward slotted the ball into the net to end the half with a two-goal lead for Neroca. Luis Norton de Matos replaced Sanjeev Stalin with Naorem Singh at the break. The change failed to influence pro-ceedings as NEROCA started the second half from where they left off at the break. Subash Singh sliced a cross into the box wide of goal in the 53rd minute as the home side kept trying to add to their goal difference.

Akhlidin Israilov, the play-maker from the Kyrgyz Repub-lic, almost made it 3-0 as his

piledriver from outside the box struck the crossbar soon after the hour-mark. The attacking midfielder was having a field day in Manipur against a strug-gling Arrows midfield.

Arrows full-back Boris Singh surged forward and chipped a cross into the centre of the box from the right flank in the 75th minute. But it failed to reach the intended target, much like most of the Arrows’ deliv-eries into the box on the day. Boris Singh’s late sliding tackle on substitute Nedo Turkovic in the 82nd minute resulted in a spot-kick for the home side. Jean Fabien Vorbe hit the net initially but was asked to take it again by the referee as Kal-lon crossed the line before the kick was taken. On the second go, he struck the bar preventing further misery for the Arrows.

Arrows substitute Sarkar tapped in Rahul Praveen's cross to conjure some hope for his side in the dying minutes but it was too late for a magical comeback as NEROCA sealed full points to make it six games without a win in the league.

Indian Arrows will now set off to Shillong deal with Shillong Lajong on January 8 and Neroca FC will travel to Coimbatore to clash the swords with Chennai City FC one day later. AGENCIES

I-League: Neroca defeat Arrows by slender margin

I-League: Kerala FC to take on Minerva Punjab FCKOZHIKODE: Debutants Gokulam Ker-ala FC will be aiming for an upset when they take on the in-form Minerva Pun-jab FC at the EMS Corporation Stadium here on Saturday. Gokulam Kerala FC’s were beaten by reigning champions Aizawl FC, thanks to double strikes by Daniel Addo and Andrei Ionescu, in their last home outing. Coach Bino George, during the pre-match press conference, explained that the cold plunge in foreigners’ form and injury

was to be blamed for the loss. “Ours is a new team. It will take time for us to settle down as a unit. The same applies to players as well. Foreigners are scor-ing goals for the other teams. We are not getting the same sort of services from ours. That is our problem,” he said. Meanwhile, he informed that the seasoned prolific striker Odafa Okolie is likely to debut on Saturday for the yellow outfit provided that the formali-ties are completed before that. AGENCIES

GUWAHATI: NorthEast United FC will aim for a fresh start under a new coaching set-up as they face FC Goa in a Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Sta-dium here on Saturday.

After earning only four points from seven matches, NE United sacked Joao de Deus Pires and roped in former Chelsea FC manager Avram Grant as technical advisor.

The Israeli, who took London-based Chel-sea to the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2008 has already joined the club and there is genuine belief that a turnaround is possible,

starting with their home tie against Goa.“The mood has changed (in the dressing

room) with arrival of the new (technical) advi-sor. The boys are geared up and ready for tomor-row’s match,” goalkeeping coach Joseph Siddy on Friday said during the pre-match media interaction.

With three home matches in a row against FC Goa (January 6), ATK (January 12) and Chennaiyin FC (January 19), the conditions are ideal for the former Ghana national team coach to turn things around.

“It will help the team with the new advisor.

His experience and coaching style will motivate us and will give us the confidence to do well in future matches,” said Siddy.

It may not be all that easy with FC Goa as their opposition on Saturday. The Goans showed remarkable spirit to snatch a point against ATK in their previous game which got delayed and started at 10.45 pm due to their late arrival. FC Goa are placed fourth with 13 points from seven matches and will return to the top of the table should they score a comfortable victory. “All the teams are well balanced. They are equal and it’s the small details which make

the difference in each game,” said FC Goa chief coach Sergio Lobera, unwilling to take their poorly-performing rivals lightly.

Much of FC Goa’s chances will depend on the form of Spanish striker Ferran Coromi-nas, who is now the leading goalscorer with nine goals.

Coach Lobera admitted that Corominas is a special player but continued to stress on the collective strength of his side. The young Span-ish coach once again fielded the same team in Kolkata as in previous matches with skipper Laxmikant Kattimani starting in goal. AGENCIES

ISL: Under Grant, NE United set to start afresh against Goa

Bhuvneshwar 4-for helps India bowl SA for 286

CAPE TOWN: Paceman Bhu-vneshwar Kumar scalped four wickets to help India bundle South Africa out for 286 shortly after tea on Day 1 of their open-ing Test at Newlands here on Friday.

Resuming the final session at 230/7, the South African lower middle order compris-ing Keshav Maharaj (35) and Kagiso Rabada (26) offered stiff resistance until off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin effected the run-out of Maharaj to end his 47-ball vigil at the crease.

Ashwin then packed back Rabada whose resolute 66-ball 26 was studded with a sixer (280/9).

The Chennai tweaker struck once again to dismiss tailender Morne Morkel (2) while Dale Steyn remained unbeaten on 16 as the South African innings folded for 286.

Earlier, Bhuvneshwar (4/87) ripped through the top order, taking the vital wick-ets of openers Dean Elgar (0) and Aiden Markram (5), and then Hashim Amla (3). He also accounted for the wicket of dangerman Quinton de Kock (43). For the Proteas, former captain Ab de Villiers (65) and skipper Faf du Plessis (62) got to their respective half centuries.

Debutant Jasprit Bumrah (1/60 in 13 overs) and young Hardik Pandya (1/37 in 9 overs) removed the danger-ous pair of AB de Villiers (65) and skipper Faf du Plessis (62) in quick succession after their whirlwind 114-run stand to give the visitors an upperhand after the second session.

The dangerous Quinton de Kock (43) was removed by Bhuvneshwar (4/68 in 14 overs) and the Proteas looked

uncomfortable despite main-taining a healthy run-rate of 4.33 across the 53 overs that has been bowled over two sessions.

Keshav Maharaj was unbeaten on 23 runs alongside Kagiso Rabada (0 not out) at the break. Post lunch, De Vil-liers and Du Plessis brought up their 100-partnership for the fourth wicket off 134 balls.

Bumrah got his maiden scalp in De Villiers as he angled one in which breached the defence of the former skipper after taking an inside edge of his bat. Three overs later, Pan-dya made it a double break-through as Du Plessis was

caught behind. It was payback for the all-rounder, who had trapped the batsman lbw off the previous delivery, only for DRS to overturn the decision on umpire’s call.

In between, Du Plessis had completed his 16th Test half- century off 98 balls.

De Kock and Vernon Phi-lander (23) continued with the attacking mode and put on 60 runs off only 54 balls for the sixth wicket. In doing so, they helped South Africa cross 200 in the 45th over. Bhuvneshwar returned for his third spell and immediately struck again get-ting De Kock caught behind.

Before tea, Mohammed Shami (1-43) bowled Philander with a delivery that reversed.

The hosts could have lost another wicket but Shikhar Dhawan dropped Keshav Maharaj (on 0 then) at third slip in the 47th over of what could have been Bhuvneshwar’s fifth scalp. Bhuvneshwar got India off to a rollicking start as he took three wickets in his first three overs.

He had Dean Elgar (0) caught behind off the third ball of the match. An over later, he trapped Aiden Markram (5) lbw with a sharp inswinger.

The ever-dependable

Hashim Amla (3) too was caught behind off the Meerut speedster as his first spell fig-ures read 3-1- 5-3.

De Villiers then led South Africa’s recovery as the duo bat-ted out the remainder of the challenging first hour. They looked to counter attack the bowling with the former taking 17 runs off one Bhuvneshwar over. In doing so, they brought up the 50-partnership for the 4th wicket off only 63 balls. BRIEF SCORES: South Africa 286 (Ab de Villiers 65, Faf du Plessis 62, Quinton de Kock 43; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4/87) vs India. AGENCIES

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and his teammates celebrate a wicket on the first day of their first Test against South Africa in Cape Town on Friday

Injured Mary Kom to skip Women’s Nationals,

Sarita top drawROHTAK: Five-time World Champion M C Mary Kom will be missing the Elite Wom-en’s National Boxing Cham-pionship starting on Saturday even as celebrated names like L Sarita Devi, Sarajubala Devi vying for top honours and berth in the Indian squad for this year’s Commonwealth and Asian Games.

The reigning Asian Cham-pion Mary Kom will be nurs-ing a few niggles.

Over 300 top boxers will be stepping into the ring dur-ing the second edition with the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) indicating that the week-long tournament will be seen as selection trials for the CWG and the Asian Games.

Most of the newly-crowned champions at the Youth World Championships from 36-member units have registered themselves for this competition.

Indian boxers have been on a roll in the year gone by and will be eager to make the new year equally rewarding for the country.

“This will be my first shot at the senior level and I am positive about doing well against the best boxers in the country,” Shashi Chora, gold medalist in the World Youth Championships in Guwahati

said. “I will be a little nervous but I know I can make the cut at the elite level too,” she added, echoing the thoughts of all the youth boxers who will be looking to graduate to the next level.

Recently elevated Perfor-mance Director for the Elite women’s team Raffael Berga-masco will be present their to keep a close watch on the women pugilists.

Bergamasco had played a crucial role in helping India clinch four gold, a silver and two bronze medals at the AIBA World Youth Boxing Championship.

Women’s team head coach Shiv Singh and a couple of other senior members from the selection panel will also be there to keep a tab on the performances. AGENCIES

4 INDIANS REACH QUARTERS OF BRITISH JUNIOR OPEN SQUASHBIRMINGHAM: As many as four Indians have reached the quarter-finals of the ongoing British Junior Open Squash here, with at least one semi-final spot assured. The Indian boys have made it to the last eight stage in two age cate-gories. India is assured of a semi-final spot in the boys U-17 section where Tushar Shahani and Saksham Choudhary, both seeded 9/16, will face each other later on Friday. AGENCIES

Directorate of Geology & Mining (DGM), Chhattisgarh

NOTICE INVITING TENDER N.I.T. Number_______ Dated ______

1. Director, Geology and Mining, Chhattisgarh invites Online bids from eligible consulting firms/agencies in accordance with the terms and conditions stated in the bid documents for the appointment of “Management Consultant cum Transaction Advisor” for transaction advisory services for auctioning of major and minor minerals in the state and for selection of exploration agencies together with management consultancy services for effective mineral administration in the Department of Mineral Resources, Government of Chhattisgarh.

2. The Bid documents can be viewed and downloaded from the website of MSTC Ltd namely www.mstcecommerce.com/eprochome/mstc Bid Processing fee of INR 29500/- (Rupees Twenty Nine Thousand five hundred only (Non Refundable). Bids of such bidders who do not pay the cost of Bid processing fee will not be considered. Bid notice can also be viewed free of cost on Director, Geology and Mining Chhattisgarh’s website www.chhattisgarhmines.gov.in from: 05.01.2018

3. For clarification of the issues related to the Bid, a pre bid conference will be held in Directorate Geology and Mining, Chhattisgarh, Indravati Bhawan Raipur on: 17.01.2018 at 3:00PM

4. Director, Geology and Mining, Chhattisgarh Raipur may be contacted at 0771-2221840, Fax: 0771- 2221841 or by e-mail for further clarifications.

5. Last date for submission of Bid: 12.02.2018 at 3:00 PM 6. Notice Inviting Bid is in brief. For further details, the Bidder shall

refer the Bid Document. Director

Geology and MiningG47034/2 Chhattisgarh

mp sport 15MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Saturday, 6 January, 2018

AUSTRALIAN OPEN Lajong, Chennai play out

goalless drawSHILLONG: Shillong Lajong and Chennai City FC played out a goalless draw in a Hero I-League match at the JN Sta-dium, here on Friday.

It was Lajong who had the upper hand in both the halves with some dominating foot-ball but failed to find the back of the net.

Lajong made two changes in their starting line-up as Alen Deory replaced captain Sam-uel Lalmuanpuia and Ken-star Kharsong was handed his I-League debut in place of experienced defender Juho Oh.

It was the home side who were dominating straight from the kick-off as they enjoyed most of the ball possession.

Ivory Coast striker Abdou-laye Koffi had the first chance of the game in the third minute mark when Alen’s through ball fell at his feet and he launched his shot, but the ball went straight into the hands of the Chennai City keeper.

Four minutes later Koffi was again in the thick of things as Redeem’s cross from the left found him, but the striker failed to connect well. The inclusion of Alen seemed to be the right move for the Reds as the striker was finding the majority of the ball on the right flank and was allowed to make his blistering runs. The hosts were enjoy-ing the majority of the posses-sion in the attacking half and were creating chances from set pieces but none of the efforts were threatening enough.

Hardy soon went for a long ranger on his own but the ball fell straight into the keeper’s hands. Lajong had some fol-low up corners, but the Chen-nai defence was strong enough to clear out the danger.

Laurence then received a yellow card and went into the referee’s book for a foul on Joachim. Lajong started the second half right where they left off. Substitute Samuel Lalmuanpuia shot one from distance but his shot went over the post without creating any trouble for the Chennai keeper. AGENCIES

Serena promises to return in 2019MELBOURNE: Serena Williams’ decision not to defend her Australian Open title four months after giving birth to her first child had nothing to do with merely being able to play at Melbourne Park.

The seven-time Australian Open champion confirmed yesterday she wouldn’t attempt to defend the title she won here last year, saying she wasn’t convinced she could win it.

Williams played in an exhibi-tion tournament last weekend in Abu Dhabi to test her match con-dition, and indicated after her loss to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko that she might not travel to Melbourne.

“After competing in Abu Dhabi I realised that although I am super close, I’m not where I personally want to be,” Williams said in a state-ment yesterday. “My coach and team always said ‘Only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way.’ I can compete — but I don’t want to just compete, I want to do far better than that and to do so, I will need a little more time.

“With that being said, and even though I am disappointed about it, I’ve decided not to compete in the Australian Open this year.”

Williams was pregnant when she won at Melbourne Park last year,

her Open-era record 23rd grand slam singles title. She gave birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia, in September.

Williams didn’t drop a set while winning last year’s title, and her vic-

tory helped her regain the world No 1 ranking.

The 36-year-old Williams needs only one more major title to equal the all-time record held by Margaret Court, who won 13 of her 24 grand

slam titles before the Open era began in 1968.

Three women have returned after having babies to win grand slam sin-gles titles in the Open era, including Court and fellow Australian Evonne

Goolagong Cawley, who won the 1977 Australian Open seven months after giving birth to daughter, Kelly.

Serena is promising to return in future. “The memory of last year’s Open is one that I will carry with me, and Olympia and I look forward to coming back again,” she said. “I appreciate the support and under-standing of my fans and everyone at the Australian Open.”

Tournament director Craig Tiley said Serena Williams waited as long as she could before letting organ-isers know she wouldn’t be able to compete. “I’ve been in constant con-tact with Serena and her team and know this is why she has pushed it and pushed it until the 11th hour to make her final decision,” he said.

Meanwhile, organisers have fore-cast a repeat of last year’s fast court conditions. The courts at Melbourne Park are resurfaced towards the end of each year and generally take a few weeks to reach their top speed once the acrylic has been applied.

This makes the timing of the pro-cess particularly important. Tiley last year admitted the show courts, which were resurfaced slightly ear-lier than the others, had been as fast at the start of 2017 as they were at the end of the 2016 tournament. But he says there has been no change to

the annual resurfacing process and players should expect the courts to be the same “medium-fast” pace of last year. Tiley also believes the pace on offer at Melbourne Park enhances the overall spectacle by catering to a variety of playing styles.

“The speed encourages that,” Tiley said. “It’s funny, because players say ‘Oh, the court is fast’ ... and then we had a clay-court player (Rafael Nadal) and a fast-court player (Roger Federer) in the final.

“The best players, no matter what the surfaces, figure out a way to get to the end.” The fact only some courts are exposed to the sun is another variable in the long and “very spe-cific” resurfacing process.

“There’s only a few people that know the technique because even the way you put the surface on and the angle at which you do the brush makes a difference,” Tiley said.

Officials tested court speeds daily throughout last year’s tournament and found that they had remained within the expected range. “I’ll walk down on the first day that Roger’s hitting or Rafa’s hitting and I’ll look them in the eye and know exactly what they’re going to tell me,” Tiley said. “We’ve done it exactly the same as last year, and (most players) liked the surface last year.” AGENCIES

Burden starts off on winning note

Anand wants to be part of India team for chess Olympiad

Svitolina stuns Pliskova to reach first Brisbane final

Aussies chip away at England lead as Smith joins Sobers as 2nd fastest

batsman to score 6,000 Test runs

KOLKATA: English pro Alfie Burden started off his cam-paign on a perfect note to down Ravi Goenka 3-0 with a quality break of 89 in the individual invitation category of Kolkata Open snooker championship at the Hindusthan Club here on Friday.

After winning the first frame against Goenka of Kol-kata, he started with fantastic long pot and went on for the red- black combination.

At times, he was off-track but showed great recovery with the aim to hit a 147 en route to winning in straight frames in a group A fixture. Multiple state

champion Manish Jain regis-tered an excellent win against former Asian billiards cham-pion Sourav Kothari, blank-ing him 3-0 in first league stage match. Manish domi-nated since the start and won first two frames one-sided. Though Sourav fought back in third frame but Manish held his nerve better and close the proceedings 3-0.

Kothari returned strongly in his second match to oust Shreevardhan Poddar with a third straight loss in a group C battle. Delhi’s Sundeep Gulati hit the first century break of this invitation meet. AGENCIES

CHENNAI: Six-time world champion Viswanathan Anand on Friday expressed interest to be part of the Indian team for the Chess Olympiad to be held in Georgia later this year.

He said this after being felicitated by All India Chess Federation (AICF) and Tamil Nadu State Chess Association (TNSCA) here for winning the World Rapid title in Riyadh recently.

He also claimed a bronze in the Blitz event at the tour-nament. The Chennai Grand Master, who has not played in the sport’s premier team event for a while now and his pres-ence could add strength to the national squad.

While AICF presented him a cheque for Rs 5 lakh, TNSCA gave away a specially designed

silver cascade.Speaking at the event,

Anand said it felt happy to be the world champion again after the tough time he had endured in the last year and more.

He said he had missed out for a few years the feeling of people calling him a world champion. His performance in the last two years on occa-sions has been ‘wobbly’, with good and bad results, he said.

“It has been a struggle. Part of it was getting used to all the new talents that are coming up and the way the chess world is changing. Anyway the last two rapid events that I played in did not go so well. I was looking forward to a podium finish, but this (winning the gold in rapid) was unexpected,” Anand said. AGENCIES

BRISBANE: Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina stunned second seed Karolina Pliskova on Friday to reach her first Brisbane Inter-national final in four attempts.

After falling at the semi-final stage in her previous two attempts — including a loss last year to eventual champion Pliskova — Svitolina recovered from 0-4 down in the first set to win 7-5, 7-5.

She mastered the huge Pliskova serve and outhit her Czech opponent from the back of the court.

Svitolina also showed admi-rable mental strength when after squandering a 5-2 second

set lead and allowing Pliskova to level at 5-5, she broke once more and held on to win on her fourth match point.

“Karolina plays very well here in Brisbane and playing against the defending cham-pion is always tough,” she said.

“I was playing very badly, I was making lots of mistakes so I just said to myself try to take time, just go for your shots, but one metre inside the court.”

Svitolina won five tour-naments on the WTA tour in 2017, the most of any player, and firmly established herself as a top 10 player.

She started the week two

places below Pliskova at num-ber six in the world but will end it ranked fourth, two places higher than her Czech oppo-nent, who will now drop to sixth.

The Ukrainian will also go into Saturday’s decider against Belarusian qualifier Aliaksan-dra Sasnovich as firm favourite to win her 10th title.

Sasnovich earlier became the first qualifier ever to reach the final in Brisbane when she beat seventh-seeded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova.

The 23-year-old Sasnovich outlasted Sevastova 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 in 93 minutes. AGENCIES

SYDNEY: Steve Smith racked up another milestone as he continued to torment England and Usman Khawaja neared a century to put Australia in a strong position after day two of the final Ashes Test here on Friday.

The Australian skipper became the second fastest bats-man to reach 6,000 Test runs in his 111th innings, second only to the legendary Don Bradman.

Smith, with three centuries in this five-match series, has been the bane of the England team and was potentially head-ing towards another ton.

At the close, Smith was on 44 with Khawaja reaching his highest score of the series on 91 in Australia’s 193 for two in reply to England’s 346 first innings.

“We’re stoked he’s on our team so we don’t have to bowl at him,” Australia paceman Pat Cummins said of Smith.

“Those big innings he has played have been really important. In Brisbane and Perth they were match-win-ning and in Melbourne it was match-saving.

“It’s just incredible and I think he’s been the difference

between the two sides.”So far in the series Smith

has scored 648 runs at 162.The pair shared in a 107-

run partnership after the loss of openers Cameron Bancroft and David Warner.

Khawaja raised his third fifty of the series with a six down the ground off Moeen Ali. “Great reception when he walked back in, all just really happy for him,” Cummins said of Khawaja’s knock.

“We know how well he’s been hitting them all summer, he just hasn’t got that big score to get him away.”

Debutant Mason Crane, the youngest specialist spinner at 20 to play for England in 90 years, troubled Smith and Kha-waja with his wrist spin, entic-ing some edges and false shots to finish with a creditable no wicket for 58 off 17 overs.

“It was awesome. Naturally I was a little bit nervous, but I was also really excited,” Crane said. “I had great fun out here and I can’t wait until tomorrow (Saturday). There were periods where we had a couple of inside edges that didn’t quite get to short leg or to slip, but that hap-pens and you keep plugging

away and hopefully they go my way tomorrow (Saturday).”

Warner reached his fourth half-century of the series before James Anderson coaxed an edge behind for 56 after Ban-croft was bowled by Stuart Broad for a seven-ball duck.

England’s maligned tail ear-lier piled on runs before the tourists were bowled out at lunch. Newcomer Tom Curran smacked 39 off 65 balls, Moeen Ali hit 30 and Broad clubbed two sixes in his 31 off 32 balls as England lashed out late in the extended morning session.

Smith pulled off a stunning one-handed catch to dismiss Dawid Malan for 62, but the Australians were guilty of two embarrassing dropped catches to give England a helping hand.

But Australia then dropped two regulation catches in the space of four balls.

Cummins put down Cur-ran on 21 at mid-on off Nathan Lyon then in Cummins’ next over Josh Hazlewood made a dreadful hash of a skied catch at mid-on from Moeen on 22.

It was the 11th dropped catch by Australia’s fielders in the series, with five coming off Lyon’s bowling. AGENCIES

Messi agreed no-fee Barcelona exit clause

LIONEL Messi could leave Barcelona with-

out a transfer fee if Catalo-nia ceded from Spain and the club did not compete in any of Europe’s top four leagues, El Mundo said on Friday, citing a clause in his new contract.

Barca’s all-time top scorer signed the contract in November, seven months before his old deal expired. It runs until June 2021 and contains a 700 million euro ($843 million) buy-out clause. But according to the Spanish daily, it would also allow the five-times world player of the year to leave the club where he has spent his entire career for free if Catalonia’s independence push resulted in Barca exit-ing Spain’s top flight and not joining either the Premier League, the Bundesliga or Serie A.

Barcelona and Messi’s management team could not immediately be reached for comment.

The political crisis trig-gered by Catalonia’s inde-pendence drive remains unresolved after separatists

won a slim parliamentary majority in a regional elec-tion last month.

Argentinian Messi’s latest contract was signed on Nov. 25, before that vote but after an autumn referendum on independence that authori-ties in Madrid declared ille-gal, dissolving the region’s political institutions after they ratified it.

The referendum had direct ramifications for Bar-celona who, on the day that it was held, chose to play their La Liga game against Las Pal-mas behind closed doors in response to police violence against would-be voters.

The president of La Liga, Javier Tebas, has repeatedly said Barcelona would be booted out of the Spanish league along with all other Catalan clubs in the event of independence, as only teams from Spain and Andorra are legally entitled to compete in the Spanish leagues.

Barca, who have won 24 Liga titles and lead this season’s standings by nine points, said after the referen-dum they would not specu-late on the future. AGENCIES

IN CASE OF CATALAN INDEPENDENCESharapova suffers semi-final loss SHENZHEN (China): Former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova was dumped out in the semi-finals of the Shenzhen Open, losing in three sets to holder Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic on Friday.The Russian will re-turn to the top 50 next week with the Austra-lian Open looming at the end of the month, but she failed to reach her second final since returning last April after a drugs ban.Siniakova, the sixth seed, beat the 30-year-old 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 and will face world number one Simona Halep in the final. She cruised into the decider in southern China with a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 victory over fellow Ro-manian Irina-Camelia Begu. AGENCIES

King’s Cup: Real spot on while Barcelona held to cup drawMADRID: Barcelona were held 1-1 by Celta Vigo while Real Madrid moved one step closer to secur-ing a King’s Cup quarter-final spot with a 3-0 vic-tory over Numancia on Thursday.

Gareth Bale, who started his first match in over three months, scored the first goal for Real against the second division side from the penalty spot in the 35 minute mark. The hosts remained in contention until they had midfielder Pape Diamanka sent off for a second booking on the hour.

The second division side still managed to trouble the current La Liga champions with 10 men but Real took the game away with two late strikes.

Isco converted from the penalty spot in the 88th minute and Borja Mayoral scored a header in stop-page time to give Numancia a near impossible task in the second leg at the Bernabeu on January 10.

“I’m happy we kept a clean sheet. We scored two goals from the penalty spot but they all count,” Real defender Nacho Fernandez told reporters.

“They hit the crossbar but overall we were strong in defence and didn’t suffer too much.”

But it was not rosy for Barcelona as they have to get their heads down and look do the job all over again to move into the next round when they host

Celta at the Nou Camp. They’ll have to win the match or at least get a goalless draw to progress into the next round.

Barca forward Jose Arnaiz poked in Andre Gomes’s low cross to complete a sweeping counter-attack and put Barca ahead in the 15th minute, scor-ing for the third Cup game in a row.

Denmark international Pione Sisto levelled for Celta in the 31st, smashing the ball into the roof of the net after Iago Aspas had hit the underside of the crossbar.

Barcelona’s record signing Ousmane Dembele made a second half appearance — his first since rupturing his hamstring in September. The French-man did it in style and almost won it for his side but his low shot was saved by Celta goalkeeper Ser-gio Alvarez.

Barca hit the woodwork twice, Sergio Busquets crashing a shot against the bar and Sergio Roberto striking the post in stoppage time while Turkish international Emre Mor went close to grabbing a winner for Celta.

Coach Ernesto Valverde made seven changes to the Barca side that beat Real Madrid 3-0 in their last game while Celta, coached by former Barca assis-

tant Juan Carlos Unzue, fielded a full-strength team.“When a coach makes changes you always run

a risk and if you lose people will say it’s because you made too many but I’m happy with the squad I have,” Valverde said.

“Celta pressed high and took risks, they were

dangerous on the counter-attack, but so were we. In the first 20 minutes after the break we could have won the game, but we didn’t take our chances. Despite that, I’m happy with our performance.”

Leganes beat Villarreal 1-0 at home and Levante won 2-1 at Espanyol. AGENCIES

It was not rosy for Barcelona (pic left) as they have to get their heads down and look do the job all over again to move into the next round while Gareth Bale, who started his first match in over three months, scored the first goal for Real against the second division side from the penalty spot in the 35 minute mark

16MILLENNIUM POST | New Delhi | Saturday, 6 January, 2018

mp Entertainment

Sonam wants more female-oriented films to be made in IndiaThe actor believes Hindi film industry

is 20 years behind when it comes to making female-led commercial stories

MUMBAI: Saif Ali Khan says not all commercial films are fluff and sometimes an actor gets an opportunity to explore oneself as an artiste. The actor said his upcoming film Baazaar is one such project. Directed by Gaurav Chawla, the movie is set in the world of stock mar-kets and trading.

The 47-year-old actor plays the antagonist in the film, a street-smart Gujarati business-man. Yesteryear actor Vinod Mehra’s son, Rohan is making his debut with the movie.

“I think commercial cin-ema can sometimes give you an opportunity to do good acting. Because it is strong and more dramatic. I really enjoyed that experience of making the com-mercial cinema more believ-able and play it like it is more real,” said Saif .

The actor said the intention of the team of Baazaar was to create a human drama against the backdrop of the stock mar-ket. “My character is like a nasty antagonist. Rohan Mehra is the hero. It is exciting to play strong and powerful roles. I don’t dis-tinguish (between roles), it is funny. The idea is even if you play bad, if it is well-written, people don’t think they (actors)

are being evil or nasty.“I hope the audience likes

it. The idea is to play something interesting. And grey is fun. I don’t like the idea of playing weak characters. When I was young, I played confused guys, (now I) want to play strong parts.”

There were reports the film is inspired by the Hollywood movie, The Wolf of Wall Street but the actor rubbished the claim. “The Wolf of Wall Street is a celebration and explora-tion of the extremes of money and capitalism. So you have a guy who is out of his mind on money and drugs, losing the plot in California, within the law, outside the law, nobody knows. We are nothing like The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Produced by Nikkhil

Advani, the film was scheduled to be released in December last year but was postponed. The release date is yet to be announced.

“I finished the shooting couple of weeks ago. There are rumours that it is not happen-ing (release), as Chef did not run but it is not like that,” Saif said. PTI

MUMBAI: For those awaiting to see how Ranbir Kapoor brings alive the story of Sanjay Dutt on the big screen, the wait has become a little longer. The biopic on the Khalnayak star will now release on June 29 instead of March 30.

The makers announced the news in a statement on Friday. Apart from Ran-bir, who even put on weight to fit Sanjay’s shoes for the biopic, the film stars Sonam Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Dia Mirza, Paresh Rawal, Manisha Koirala, Karishma Tanna, Vicky Kaushal and Jim Sarbh.

Presented by Fox Star, the untitled Dutt biopic is co-produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Hirani.

Sanjay, son of late actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis, has had a career full of ups and downs and a tumultuous personal life, which has seen him through a jail term and multiple marriages. IANS

Sanjay Dutt’s biopic to release on

June 29

Mainstream cinema sometimes offers scope

for good acting: Saif

LOS ANGELES: Director Ridley Scott has praised Michelle Williams, calling her “a many layered artiste” who takes her job seriously. The 80-year-old director, who is collaborating with the actor in his film All The Money In The World, said she added a “certain physicality” to the character of Gail Harris.

“Michelle is a rare bird, a many layered artiste who takes it very seriously. The material we found on Gail was limited. Press would raid her car, her doorways, get her on cam-era when she would have to address the press. You do see a certain physicality in her which Michelle incorporated,” Scott said in a statement.

Williams plays the mother of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III who gets kidnapped in the 1973-set film, which traces how his grandfa-ther, J Paul Getty, negoti-ates the ransom with the perpetrators.

Christopher Plummer, who replaced Kevin Spacey levelled against the actor, said he is a “huge fan” of Williams. PTI

LONDON: An old mini off-road motorcycle belonging to The Beatles star John Lennon is set to be auctioned for over 30,000 pounds.

The legendary singer’s Honda Monkey-Trail Z50A bike was due to be sold through H&H Classics at the National Motorcycle Museum in Soli-hull, West Midlands, on March 4, Express.co.uk reported.

Lennon used the now prized two-wheeler to move around his 72-acre Berkshire estate, where he put up during the time The Beatles disbanded.

He later sold the bike to Henry Graham nine years before he was shot to death out-side his home in New York in 1980, at the age of 40.

John Harington, the cur-rent owner of the motorcycle, bought it from Graham and

has taken care of it for the past 47 years.

Mark Bryan, head of sales for H&H Classics’ motorcycle department, said, “Naturally we are thrilled to be entrusted with the marketing and sale of this bike, given its extraordi-nary provenance.” PTI

LOS ANGELES: Actor Daisy Ridley says she received “won-derful” advice from late actor Carrie Fisher before she passed away in December 2016.

Ridley, 25, shared screen space with Fisher in both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. She says she was asked to not shrink away from the success by Fisher, reports dailymail.co.uk.

“Carrie Fisher said not to shrink away from the suc-cess but to enjoy it. And that was wonderful,” said Ridley. Fisher spoke to Ridley about

the way stardom would impact her search for love, telling the actor that her personal life was set to become much more complicated.

She also told Ridley that her love life would become more difficult “because you don’t want to give people the ability to say ‘I had sex with Princess Leia’”. IANS

John Lennon’s old motorbike to be sold for over £ 30,000

Fisher’s ‘wonderful’ advice to Ridley

Madonna to build more schools in Malawi

LOS ANGELES: Start-ing off the new year on a positive note, music icon Madonna has announced plans to building four new schools in Malawi. The 59-year-old artiste took to Instagram to share the news with her fans and followers.She also urged people to

help her in bringing the total number of schools to 14 in the African country, through her charity, Raising Malawi and non-profit organisation, Build On.

“Let’s start 2018 off right! I’m challenging you all to stand up, come together and be the change you want to see in the world!”

“This year we’ll begin by building four brand new schools in the Kasungu District of Malawi with Raising Malawi and buil-

dOn! That’s 14 schools in total that will help thousands

of kids get the education they so rightfully deserve! Now is the time! Join the revolution of love!” Madonna wrote alongside her picture with the Malawian children.

The “Papa don’t preach” hit-maker’s charity announced in January 2012 to build 10 pri-

mary schools to serve more than 1,000 children in rural Malawi with Build On.

Madonna adopted her chil-dren David Banda (12) and Mercy James (11) in 2006 and 2009 respectively, and twins Esther and Stella Mwale (five) earlier this year from Malawi. PTI

The “Papa don’t preach” hitmaker wants to open 14 schools in the African country

‘Michelle Williams is a many layered artiste’

MUMBAI: Actor Sonam Kapoor feels there is a need for more films that revolve around women. Her forthcoming film Veere Di Wedding, also starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania, is themed around a wedding. Kareena will play the part of a bride-to-be in the movie.

“Veere Di Wedding looks so different. There should be more such films, this should be the norm,” said Sonam. “In

Hollywood there are many female-oriented films that are such big blockbusters and are entertaining. We don’t have such films in India.” The actor believes Hindi film industry is 20 years behind when it comes to making female-led commer-cial stories.

“Julia Roberts was huge in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Here it was about my dad (Anil Kapoor) and the other actors.The ‘90s were about the Khans (Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman). With our generation, we are atleast getting the opportunity to do that, but we are 20 years behind,” she said.

Sonam, 32, said working alongside a top female actor like Kareena, who also hap-pens to be her good friend, for the first time in a movie was exciting.

“It is easy to communicate especially when it is a chem-istry-driven film with four women. Since we are friends, it was a fun experience work-ing with her.” Directed by Sha-shanka Ghosh, the film is set for release on May 18.

The Neerja actor also reunites with Saawariya co-star Ranbir Kapoor for Sanjay Dutt biopic. Sonam said the actor has not changed much over the years.

“I don’t think I have changed either. He is such a fine actor. We just have 10 years of experience. But it was fabulous working with him. We shot in ND studios for ‘Saawariya’ and for this film we shot at the same place. So it was deja vu.” Helmed by Rajkumar Hirani, the biopic on Dutt is scheduled for release in March. PTI