Terror via sea, cautions Navy chief - Daily Pioneer

INDIA GAVE BEFITTINGREPLY TO PULWAMA: PMDhar: India gave a befittingreply to the Pulwama attack byentering the den of terrorists inPakistan, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said onTuesday. Pakistan has beenconveyed the message that if it doesn’t improve, itknows the consequences it willhave to face, Modi said at arally in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh.

STEM CELL TRANSPLANTKILLS HIV IN UK PATIENTLondon: A UK-based malepatient’s HIV has become“undetectable” following a stemcell transplant — only thesecond case of its kind in theworld — scientists led by anIndian-origin researcher reportedon Tuesday in a study publishedin the journal Nature.

3 SMALL BOMBS FOUNDIN LONDON: POLICELondon: Britain’s counter-terrorism police are investigatingafter three padded mailing bagswith what appears to be smallexplosive devices inside werefound in London. The CounterTerrorism Command “is treatingthe incidents as a linked series.”

CAPSULE

PNS n NEW DELHI

Navy chief Admiral SunilLanba on Tuesday said

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

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

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

Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), whohijacked an Indian fishingtrawler to reach Mumbai andunleash mayhem.

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

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

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

He added, “We have seenhow quickly terror groups

evolve across the globe. A par-ticular brand of terror can wellbecome a global problem innear future.”

The Indian security estab-lishment is continuously work-ing to address this menace, theNavy chief said, noting that “itis imperative that the globalcommunity works in concert toeliminate terrorism”.

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

Meanwhile, India andPakistan on Tuesday tradedcharges with the latter claiming

that an Indian Navy submarinewas forced to return fromPakistani waters after it wasdetected on Monday. New Delhitermed it as “false propagandaand spread of misinformation”besides rubbishing Islamabad’sclaim that its air force had shotdown a SU-30 fighter plane.

On the submarine issue,the Pakistan Navy said it had

identified an Indian submarinein its maritime zone. The offi-cial message said it “success-fully detected and thwartedan attempt by the submarine toenter Pakistani waters. The Pakistani Navy spokesper-son also said, “The Indian submarine was not targetedkeeping in view Pakistan’s pol-icy of peace.”

The Pakistan Navy alsoreleased a video, shot from air,supposedly of the Indian sub-marine’s mast above water.

Brushing aside thePakistan claim, the IndianNavy termed it as “false pro-paganda.” The brief statementalso said the Navy does not“take cognisance of such pro-paganda” adding “our deploy-ments remain undeterred.”

PTI n ISLAMABAD

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

and brother were among 44members of the banned ter-rorist outfit arrested by author-ities in Pakistan on Tuesday,amid mounting pressure fromthe global community onIslamabad to rein in the terrorgroups operating on its soil.

Meanwhile, Mumbai terrorattack mastermind HafizSaeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa(JuD) and its wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation were for-mally placed in the list ofbanned organisations byPakistan on Tuesday.

“We have taken 44 peoplein custody as part of crackdownon militant groups,” Minister ofState for Interior ShehryarKhan Afridi said at a Press con-ference here.

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

Khan said a dossier sharedby India with Pakistan con-tained names of Rauf andHammad. “It does not meanthat action is being takenagainst only those individualswho are mentioned in thedossier,” he added. The crack-down came amid tensions withIndia following a suicide attackin Pulwama on February 14that martyred 44 CRPF men.

India last week handedover the dossier to Pakistan totake action against the JeM, aspressure mounted onIslamabad to take actionagainst individual and organi-

sation listed by the UN SecurityCouncil as terrorists.

Foreign Minister ShahMehmood Qureshi last weekadmitted the JeM chief is inPakistan and is “very unwell”,but said the Government canact against him only if Indiapresents “solid” and “inalien-able” evidence that can stand ina court of law.

“He is in Pakistan, accord-ing to my information. He isunwell to the extent that hecan’t leave his house, becausehe’s really unwell,” Qureshitold CNN in an interview.

Afridi, however, said theaction was not taken due to anypressure. “This is our own ini-tiative...We won’t allow the useof our soil against any country,”he said.

Interior Secretary Khansaid the action would be takenagainst all the proscribedorganisations under theNational Action Plan, whichwas formulated after an attackon an army school in Peshawarin 2014 that killed nearly 150people, mostly children.

“This is across the board -we don’t want to give theimpression that we are againstone organisation,” he said.

He said the crackdown willcontinue for two weeks andactions against the arrestedmembers will be taken on thebasis of evidence.

J GOPIKRISHNAN n NEW DELHI

Indian origin British Parliamentariansare organising a function on April 13

at House of Lords to commemorate cen-tenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacreamid indication that the BritishGovernment could offer a “formalapology” for the massacre of more than1,600 persons.

An email invitation sent byLoomba, Member of House of Lords, toSanjay Dalmia, noted industrialist andformer Rajya Sabha member, said thehorrific event was debated in the Houseof Lords on February 19, 2019 to raiseawareness.

“In this context I initiated thedebate, supported by many members ofthe House of Lords, including LordDesai, Lord Bilimoria, Baroness Verma,Lord Suri, Baroness Northover, Lord

Alton, Earl of Sandwich, Lord Morgan,Lord Collins of Highbury and LordMawson. They wholeheartedly agreedthat the British Government should ten-der an apology,” the invite read.

“The noble Minister, Rt HonBaroness Goldie summarised and agreedthat it was a deeply shameful episode inBritish History. “We should never forgetwhat took place 100 years ago. The chairof the Foreign Affairs committee feelsthat this year may constitute an appro-priate moment for her Majesty’sGovernment to formally apologise. TheForeign Secretary is currently reflectingon the situation. I can say that the viewsexpressed in this debate are certainlynoted and will be conveyed back to thedepartment,” said the email invite.

In the email, Lord Loomba said heand Lord Desai had already written toBritish Prime Minister Theresa May,requesting for an apology for the dread-ful act on Indians and the subsequentattempts for a cover-up. The JallianwalaBagh Centenary CommemorationCommittee (JBCCC) comprises dis-tinguished people, including BalbirSingh Kakar (Chair), AmbassadorNavtej Sarna, Virendra Sharma, MP,Lord and Lady Desai and Lord Loomba.

“We are inviting community leadersboth from India and the UK to attendthe event at the House of Lords and hopethat after a century, especially on thisvery day, the British Government willtender an apology to close this unfor-tunate episode,” said the email. TheJBCCC is also organising an exhibition“Punjab under Siege — the JallianwalaBagh Centenary” with the help ofManchester Museum at different placesat the cities of Manchester, Birmingham,London and Glasgow in April.

STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committeepresident Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday

categorically ruled out any alliancewith the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) forthe seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi.

“Congress has unanimously takena decision that there will be no alliancewith AAP. The decision was taken inRahul’s presence and it is final,” Dikshitsaid after the meeting.

Dikshit’s reiteration about noalliance with the AAP evoked a sharpresponse from Delhi Chief Minister andAAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, who said,“At a time when the whole countrywants to defeat Modi-Shah duo, theCongress is helping the BJP by splittinganti-BJP vote. Rumours are thatCongress has some secret understand-ing with BJP. Delhi is ready to fightagainst Congress-BJP alliance. Peoplewill defeat this unholy alliance.”

Before the meeting could begin onthe subject, Rahul stated that he wouldhonour the sentiments of the PCC andthe local leaders. The one-hour-longCongress discussion conclusivelyexpressed the predominant feeling thatKejriwal was not a reliable ally.

“The State leaders feel that it is moreimportant to counter Kejriwal as onlyby cornering him the party can survivein Delhi. And there is logic in what theysay,” said the Congress sources.

Haroon Yusuf, Rajesh Lilothia andformer Delhi Congress chiefs AjayMaken, JP Aggarwal, Arvinder SinghLovely, and Subash Chopra were presentin the meeting.

All were of the view that the

Congress ruled the national Capital for15 years and during this Delhi hadappreciable numbers of Congress rep-resentatives in the Lok Sabha. AICCgeneral secretary in-charge of Delhi PCChacko, who attended the meeting,favoured alliance with the AAP but theproposal was vehemently resented byothers led by Dikshit.

“Dikshit and others conveyed thatthe Congress needs to look beyond theLok Sabha elections and take intoaccount the Assembly polls scheduledfor 2020. Kejriwal will be the main rivalin the Assembly elections and thus it willnot be wise to give it a helping hand inthe LS polls,” sources in the party said.

The Congress high command so farwas inclined to consider a pre-poll tieswith the AAP in the Lok Sabha electionskeeping in view the Opposition unity todefeat Prime Minister Narendra Modiand ensure that the anti-BJP votes donot get split.

PTI n WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI

US President Donald Trumphas announced plans to

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

The move to end theGeneralized System ofPreferences (GSP) for India andTurkey is the latest push by theTrump Administration toredress what it considers to beunfair trading relationshipswith other countries like China.Trump has pledged to reduceUS trade deficits, and hasrepeatedly called out India forhigh tariffs.

On Monday, PresidentTrump notified Congress in let-

ters of his “intent to terminate”trade benefits for both coun-tries under the GSP eligibilitycriteria.

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

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

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

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

“I will continue to assess

whether the Government ofIndia is providing equitable andreasonable access to its mar-kets, in accordance with theGSP eligibility criteria,” Trumpsaid in his letter. In New Delhi,Commerce Secretary AnupWadhawan, while reacting tothe US move, said India exportsgoods worth $5.6 billion underthe GSP, and the duty benefitis only $190 million annually.

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

“GSP withdrawal will nothave a significant impact onIndia’s exports to the US,” hetold journalists. He said “thebenefits in absolute sense anda percentage of trade involvedare very minimal and moder-ate”. The US TradeRepresentative’s Office has saidthat removing India from theGSP programme would nottake effect for at least 60 daysafter notifications to Congressand the Indian Government,and it will be enacted by a pres-idential proclamation.

■ Also see 3

Terror via sea, cautions Navy chief

Terrorists being trained, may take sea route to attack India, says Lanba in address to global experts

Pak succumbs topressure, arrestsAzhar’s son, bro42 other JeM ultras

taken into custody;

26/11 mastermind’s

JuD banned in Pak

GSP termination

not to impact

much, says India

Trump plans to end trade privilege to India

100 yrs after Jallianwala, UK Lords to apologise for carnage on April 13

India will have all

options in case

of another terror

strike: Officials

PNS n NEW DELHI

As tension persists withPakistan, India on Tuesday

said it will have “all options”available in case there is anoth-er terror strike while main-taining that New Delhi willpersist with its efforts to reachout to international communi-ty to put pressure on Islamabadto show concrete steps taken indismantling terror infrastruc-ture.

Asserting this point here,official sources also said theIndian Air Force (IAF) has keptall its bases in western sector onmaximum alert after India car-ried out a strike on the biggestterrorist training camp of JeMin Pakistan’s Balakot onFebruary 26.

As to preparedness of theIAF, a SU-30 fighter jet onMonday shot down a Pakistanimilitary drone in Bikaner sector of the India-Pakistanborder.

Kejriwal accuses Congress of ‘secret understanding’ with BJP

No truck with AAP,

reiterates Sheila

New Delhi refutedPakistan’s claims ofpresence of anIndian Navysubmarine inPakistan waters inthe Arabian sea

Lanba said thePulwama attack wasperpetrated byextremists that were“aided by a State”that seeks todestabilise India

Pakistani Minister of State for InteriorShehryar Afridi, right, and Pakistan’sInterior Secretary Azam Suleman Khanaddress a Press conference inIslamabad on Tuesday AP

q India was the largest beneficiary of the programme in 2017 with$5.7 billion in imports to the US given duty-free status

q Under the GSP programme, nearly 2,000 products, including autocomponents and textile materials, can enter the US duty-free if thebeneficiary developing countries meet the eligibility criteria

yx Dikshit says Rahulhas agreed to thedecision againstallying with AAP forLok Sabha polls dueby May

yx Chacko and Makenfavoured alliance between Cong andAAP to defeat BJP,but others opposed

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Be it known to all that my Son ArnavSrivastava, Student of La MartiniereCollege Lucknow, Class 8-D, PersonalNo. 17158 in his School record myname mentioned as S. K. Srivastava& mother name Sangeeta instead offull Name Satish Kumar Srivastava& Mother name Sangeeta Srivastava.In School record our full nameshould be mentioned - Satish KumarSrivastava (Father) SangeetaSrivastava (Mother) R/o- 2/474, Vivekkhand, Gomtinagar, Lucknow.

Pension scheme a gift

for people: Naik

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

While inaugurating thepension scheme for

workers of unorganised sector,Governor Ram Naik said thatPradhan Mantri Shram YogiMan Dhan (PMSYM) schemewas a gift for the people whoslogged their whole lives butsaved nothing for old age..

“This scheme will trans-form the lives of people whowork in the unorganised sectorand do not get the benefit ofpension or other retirementbenefits. After 60 years a per-son depends on others forbasic necessities. The PMSYMscheme is an attempt to restorethe pride of the person,” Naiksaid while launching thescheme in Lucknow.

The scheme was launchedacross country on Tuesday byPrime Minister NarendraModi. In Gorakhpur, thescheme was launched by ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath.

As per governmentrecords, there are around 5crore people working in the

unorganised sector of whichthere are 3.5 crore peoplebetween the age group of 18and 40 years who are workingin this sector. People who haveincome less than `15,000 permonth are entitled for the ben-efit of this scheme.

He said that the schemewould assure a monthly pen-sion of `3,000 for the enrolledunorganised sector workersduring their old age. It is for thefirst time since independencethat such a scheme is envisaged

for crores of workers engagedin the informal sector.

Deputy Chief MinisterKeshav Prasad Maurya saidthat the scheme was set torestore the pride of the peopleof the unorganised sector.“Prime Minister NarendraModi has been taking steps forthe welfare of the people, par-ticularly farmers and labour-ers,” he said.

Maurya said that UttarPradesh was the first state ofthe country which had imple-

mented all schemes of theUnion government in letter andspirit because they were aimedat benefiting the last man. Thiswas the vision of Deen DayalUpadhaya which is beingimplemented for the benefit ofthe poor, he added.

Assuring that there wouldnot be any hassles with theenrollment process, Mauryatold the gathering that only aform needed to be filled withAadhaar number and bankdetails. The cost incurred bythe Common Service Centrefor enrolling a beneficiary willbe borne by the UnionGovernment. “This is the mir-acle of Digital India," he said.

The Deputy Chief Ministersaid that various schemes ini-tiated by the Union govern-ment like Ayushman Bharat,Pradhan Mantri Jeevan JyotiBima Yojana, Pradhan MantriSuraksha Bima Yojana, PMAwas Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana,Saubhagya Yojana, and SwachhBharat specifically targetedthose working in the unorgan-ised sector.

Governor Ram Naik launching pension scheme in Lucknow on Tuesday Pioneer

Terror suspectsrevealsinister planningPIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The terror suspects, arrestedby ATS, admitted before

interrogators that they were inthe process of recruiting youthsfor Jaish-e-Mohammed. Their10-day-long police custodyremand ended on Tuesdayafter which they were sent tojail.

Both the terror suspects,Shahnawaz Hasan Teli ofKulgam in Jammu andKashmir and Aquib AhmadMalik of Pulwama, were arrest-ed by Anti-Terror Squad froma madarsa in Deoband inSaharanpur district onFebruary 22 night. Both werestaying in the madarsa hostelwithout enrolment and thepolice had recovered arms,chats suggesting jihad mis-sion, videos, photographs andother objectionable items.

On the next day, the ATSpresented both in a court inSaharanpur and got transitremand. Later, they were pre-sented before the special CJMcourt in Lucknow, who hadgranted permission to ATS totake the suspects on PCR.

The suspects owned thatthey were in contact withdreaded terrorists workingfor Jaish-e-Mohammed andHizbul. They provided theinterrogators the virtual num-ber being used by terroristsand the ATS was doing a tech-nical examination of thesame. They provided evi-dence of the visit of a seniorofficer-bearers of Jaish-e-Mohammed to them and hisvisit to other places in UP.The interrogators extractedthe data of BBM chat andWhatsApp GB chat duringthe PCR too.

RLD joins SP-BSP alliance


Terming the SP-BSP-RLDalliance as a sangam of the

opposition and also sangam ofan ideology against the BJP, theRashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) onTuesday officially joined theSamajwadi Party-BahujanSamaj Party (SP-BSP) maha-gathbandhan in Uttar Pradeshfor of the Lok Sabha election2019. It was also announcedthat the RLD had got three seatsunder the seat-sharing arrange-ments.

“We had a very old rela-tionship with our alliance part-ners and it is a sangam of theopposition,” RLD vice-presi-dent Jayant Choudhury said.

"We have the blessings ofChoudhury Ajit Singh andMulayam Singh Yadav for thiselection to win all the 80 seats.Our workers will work with fullstrength to defeat the BJP," hesaid.

The formal announcementof the seat-sharing formula wasmade in a press conference held

by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav andRLD's Jayant Chaudhary.

SP president AkhileshYadav also claimed that it wasan ideological alliance whichhad been made for the cause of

farmers, youths, traders and thecommon people. However, SPpresident made it clear that theCongress is also with thealliance as we have left two seatsfor them. He said the grand

alliance would gain success inLok Sabha election and thecountry would get a new PrimeMinister after the electionswere concluded.

When his attention wasdrawn on any backdoor seatadjustment with the Congressby giving them 9 seats, he justsaid: "Congress is with us andthere is no backdoor talk withthem."

RLD has been given threeLok Sabha seat, namely,Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar andMathura in the alliance. While2 seats have been left out by theSP-BSP alliance and one seathas been given by the SP fromits quota of 38 seats.

On February 21, Akhilesh,along with BSP supremoMayawati, had announced theallocation of seats to each part-ner with the SP contesting on37 seats and the BSP on 38 outof 80 seats in UP.

In the meeting, RLD lead-ers Anil Dubey and state pres-ident RLD Masood Ahmadwere also present.

RLD vice-president Jayant Choudhury shaking hand with SP national presidentAkhilesh Yadav on Tuesday Pioneer

Senior BJP leader resigns


Senior BJP leader and three-time MP from Chandauli

Anand Ratan Maurya resignedfrom the primary member-ship of the party on Tuesdayciting lack of democracy as thereason for quitting the party.

He sent his resignation tostate president Mahendra NathPandey.

“I was forced to resignbecause there is lack ofdemocracy in the party andI was feeling stifled. There isarrogance in the attitude ofsenior leaders who neglectdedicated party workers,”Maurya told The Pioneer ontelephone from Chandauli.

Though he said that hehad not made up his mindfrom where he would contestelection but politicalgrapevine is ripe with spec-ulation that he might join theCongress as BJP leadershiphad informed him that hewould not get ticket thistime. In 2014 too, he did notget a ticket from the BJP,instead the party gave theticket to Mahendra Nath

Pandey.“This is true that I was

indirectly told that I will notget ticket this time. We areactive politicians who love tocontest elections. If we are notallowed to contest, this willobviously have an impact onour political career,” he said.

He ruled out that hewould be joining theCongress. I have not spokento anyone in Congress tilldate but will take a call with-in a day or two.

Maurya had contestedfive Lok Sabha elections andwon three times as the BJPcandidate. He lost one elec-tion as the BJP candidate in1999 and other as the SP can-didate in 2004.

Maya questions

PM on airstrikes


After making a frontal attackon Prime minister over

not procuring a single Rafalefighter jet during NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA)five-year regime, BahujanSamaj Party (BSP) chiefMayawati fired a fresh salvo onTuesday asking why NarendraModi is "silent" over BharatiyaJanta Party (BJP) presidentAmit Shah’s claim that 250 ter-rorists were killed in the Indianairstrikes in Pakistan.

“BJP chief Amit Shah isarduously making claim thatIAF strike had killed over 250terrorists in Pakistan but whyhis guru PM Modi who is

always keen to take credit foreverything is silent over it?Terrorists killed is good news,but what is the secret behinddeep silence of the PM over it?”Mayawati posted on Twitter. Atan event in Ahmedabad onSunday, Shah had said theIndian Air Force (IAF)airstrikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp inPakistan's Balakot last Tuesday“killed more than 250 terror-ists”.

Mayawati also hit out atthe economic policies of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)government, saying that ben-efits of economic growth werenot reaching to most of thepoor, labourer, farmers.

Akhilesh seeks martyred statusfor CRPF jawans

Lucknow (PNS):Demanding that the govern-ment should reveal the truthabout the airstrikes afterPulwama attack, SamajwadiParty president Akhilesh Yadavsaid on Tuesday that the govern-ment should declare martyredstatus to all the jawans died inthe Pulwama attack and givethem `1 crore compensationeach to the family of the mar-tyred jawans.

“Every countryman wantsto know the truth about theairstrikes but the governmentwas diverting the issue and justtrying to take a political mileageof the incident," he said.

Addressing a press confer-ence at Samajwadi Party officeon Tuesday, Yadav said theentire country was with thearmy and there is no denying.“But the truth should come tothe fore,” he stressed.

“I have studied in the mili-tary (sainik) school and severalof my friends are in the defence.Some of them are even postedon the border and some areholding big position in theArmy too. I know them well andthey are patriot, fighting for thecountry,” he said while refusingto engage in the debate on thematter.

“If the BJP is really con-cerned about martyrs, then whythey are hesitant in giving themmartyred status to CRPFjawans,” he demanded.

The SP president said thatthe government was takingcredit for the surgical strike butit would have been better if thegovernment had gone for a sur-gical strike on unemploymentand farmers' problem.



Two trigger-happy men shotat a constable when

stopped during a checkingdrive in Naka on Mondaynight. However, the constableshowed courage and chased themiscreants before he slumpedowing to gunshot wounds. Hewas admitted to the KGMUTrauma Centre where his con-dition was said to be improv-ing. DGP OP Singh, alongwith SSP Kalanidhi Naithaniand other senior officials,reached the Trauma Centre topay a visit to the injured con-stable. As per reports, consta-ble Ajeet Yadav was the part ofthe team that was conductinga vehicle checking drive nearCharbagh Metro station onMonday night. In the mean-time, the bike-borne miscreantswhizzed past the check pointand Ajeet stopped them as hegrew suspicious.

“One of the men got downfrom the bike and whipped outa pistol tucked in his waist. Heopened fire and the bullet hitAjeet,” a police spokesman

said. He added that Ajeet waslucky that the bullet did not getlodged deep in the stomach butonly tore the skin. The bulletwas later removed.

The police spokesman saidAjeet chased the miscreantsoverlooking his pain. “He wasassisted by other constablesand they nabbed the miscre-ants,” he said.

Those arrested were iden-tified as Vishal Sharma of Paraand Ranu Pasi of Kakori. Thepolice recovered a country-made pistol, a used bullet shell,a motorcycle and one mobilephone from the miscreants’possession. The accused dis-closed that they were drug

addicts and did menial jobs likewhitewashing the houses.

Senior officials hailed Ajeetfor his bravery and said hewould be honoured.

Meanwhile, a Hindi dailyscribe, Gautam KumarKashyap, alleged that a localleader of PragatisheelSamajwadi Party and his menattacked his wife and childrenin Thakurganj on Tuesday.Police were yet to register a casein this connection. Accordingto Gautam, Sunil Singh alongwith his aides, one of whom heidentified as Kuldeep Mishra,stormed his house whilesearching for him. “As they didnot find me, they started abus-ing me at which my wife triedto call the police. Theysnatched the mobile phonefrom her and smashed it. Theyalso misbehaved with my wife.My children are terrified,” healleged. He also alleged that thepolice reached the scene threehours after being informed. Aspokesman said theThakurganj police were askedto investigate the incident andregister a case accordingly.

Trigger-happy men shoot

at constable, nabbed


The Lucknow police are nowtaking into consideration

the enmity angle in the KrishnaNagar dacoity case. Armedmiscreants had raided a jew-ellery shop and gunned downtwo men and shot at two oth-ers, including shop ownerRajeev, who is recuperating atthe KGMU Trauma Centre.

The police have detainedsome suspects whose move-ment was found in the area.The cops are also seeking helpfrom their informers in theunderworld. Initial findingssuggest that the dacoits had aclear plan to eliminate the jew-eler and shoot at everyonewho came in their way.

“The modus operandi ofthe dacoits did not match withthat opted by miscreants dur-ing loot or dacoity with thefocus only on collecting thebooty. In this case, the dacoitsexecuted the crime very quick-ly and shot whoever cametheir way,” sources said.

They said the police wereinterrogating some of the sus-pects but got nothing concreteas of now. The puzzled copshave yet to get any hint aboutthe suspects or any lead aboutthe case despite several teamshaving been pressed into ser-

vice. “The cops suspect thecrime was executed by sharp-shooters handled by their men-tor/s. It could well be a case ofrivalry,” the sources said.

Meanwhile, scores of jew-elers met the SSP and reiterat-ed their demand for immedi-ate arrest of the miscreants. TheSSP assured them that the casewould be worked out soon.

On Tuesday, Sarrafa traderssigned an MoU with theLucknow police. A spokesmansaid that a police picket eachwould be set up in the Sarrafamarkets across the city. TheSarrafa traders will meet thepolice once in a month to

apprise the cops of their prob-lems and the same will beaddressed. ‘UP 100’ vehicleswill be used for patrolling.

The jewellers have beenasked to install high-qualityCCTV cameras at their shopsand ensure that the devices

remain functional and thefootages can be made available,as and when required.

The traders will also beensuring proper lightingarrangements outside theirshops. They will have to ensurepolice verification of their ser-

vants, employees and hire secu-rity guards for the shops. Theywill be closing their shops at afixed time from now. Thetraders will inform the policeif they spot any suspect orcriminal loitering around theirshops.

Dacoity case: Police looking into enmity angle

Initial findings

suggest that the

dacoits had a clear

plan to eliminate the

jeweler and shoot at

everyone who

came in their way


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Janeshwar Mishra Park will bere-designed so that it can

have better facilities and lookmore attractive in order todraw more visitors. The pro-posal with a plan has been sentto the government for approval.The estimated cost of the pro-ject is said to be Rs 3 crore.

Deputy director (gardens),Lucknow DevelopmentAuthority, SS Sisodia said hewas optimistic that the projectwould be given a nod soon,however, it would be launchedby July due to the Lok Sabhaelection. The project will alsoinclude a toy train called ‘ChildMetro’. It will consist of sixcoaches with slogans written inHindi and English, to makechildren aware of environmen-tal issues. An NGO engaged inenvironment conservation willalso sponsor the project. Anurban forest will be set up in a

100 acre area. Sisodia said ithad not been decided as towhether the entry will be freeor not. He added it would becalculated later. However, the‘Child Metro’ ride will not befree. It will be free of cosy onlyfor senior citizens above 62years and children below 5.

The artificial lake will alsobe re-designed. Besides, therewill also be a rose garden.Sisodia said the garden wouldalso help generate revenue asrose buds and saplings wouldbe sold and the money wouldbe used for maintenance. A val-ley will also be developed withdifferent varieties of flowers.


King George’s MedicalCollege got its first milk

bank on Tuesday with Ministerfor Medical EducationAshutosh Tandon and HealthMinister Sidharth Nath Singhlaunching UP’s firstComprehensive LactationManagement Centre (CLMC)on Tuesday.

Doctors said people couldtake mother’s milk from thisbank which will be collectedwith the help of donors. “Wewill motivate mothers to givetheir milk when they come tothe hospital for delivery and itwill be pasteurised and storedin the bank,” he added.

Dr Shikha Tripathi fromthe Paediatrics department saidthat a lactation managementcentre would also be opened atQueen Mary’s Hospital to serveas a breastfeeding support andcollection centre for donorhuman milk. Over 15,000 to20,000 mother-baby pairs areexpected to benefit annually

once both the centres becomeoperational. The NationalHealth Mission is providingfinancial support to establishthese centres.

The milk bank at KGMUwill serve as a centre of excel-lence which will mentor andguide the establishment of lac-tation management centresacross the state, thus increasing

access to human milk for allbabies. The lactation manage-ment centres support breast-feeding and milk expression forvulnerable babies and collect,pasteurise, test, and store safe,donated milk from lactatingmothers and provide the sameto infants in need.

UP has recorded the high-est infant and under-five mor-

tality rates in the country. In thestate, only one-fourth of thebabies are put to breast withinfirst hour (popularly calledearly initiation) which has apotential to prevent 33 percent of neonatal deaths. Thesecentres are expected to aidefforts by the government toimprove newborn and child health.

Tandon said it was thefirst step in the government’sendeavour to help mothersand babies in the state leadhealthy lives. “We hope toestablish more such centresacross the state, thereby ensureour children get the best pos-sible start in life,” he added.

A health radar system hasalso been inaugurated atKGMU with the help of whichpeople residing in far-flungareas can avail of the medicalhealth facilities. The radar sys-tem will help in showing theprevious history of the patientswhich can go a long way inmaking the provision for healthservices.

Lucknow (PNS): Threeunidentified youths abducted awoman working as a waitressfor a caterer and took her to theforest cover in Thakurganjwhere they gangraped her.Considering her dead, theythe woman at the crime sceneand fled. The critically injuredwoman regained conscious-ness and reached the mainroad where she sought thehelp of some commuters anddialled police control room.This was how the incidentcame to light. The policerushed the woman to a govern-ment hospital where she wasbeing medically examined.

The Thakurganj SHOclaimed only one person wasinvolved in the crime, as perwoman’s allegation. He said thepolice were raiding the proba-ble hideouts of the suspectswhile investigations were on. Hesaid the woman was going toBasant Kunj locality inThakurganj in an autorickshaw.

STRIKEThe contractual staff of

Balrampur Hospital and Civilhospital remained on strike onTuesday. Over 80 workers atBalrampur Hospital and nearly 50per cent of Civil hospital staffremained on strike. Director ofBalrampur Hospital Dr RajeevLochan said the contractual staffon strike were from UttarPradesh Health SystemStrengthening Project. “UPHSSPcomes under the National HealthMission, which is the reason thestaffers are protesting. Half of theprotesters returned after Irequested them,” he said. Hepointed out that he had beennegotiating with the state govern-ment for their welfare for the last15 days. Director of Civil hospi-tal Ashutosh Dubey said theycancelled the holiday of halftheir staff so that work could becarried out in a smooth manner.

MoU SIGNEDBabu Banarasi Das College of

Dental Sciences, Babu BanarasiDas University, signed a mem-orandum of understanding withSaveetha Dental College,Saveetha University (Chennai) onTuesday. The MoU will enableexchange of clinical, academicand research expertise between

the two institutes in an effort toprovide better education andtraining to dental students.BBDU Vice-Chancellor AKMittal, BBDCODS principal RajKumar and director of SaveethaDental College DeepakNallaswamy, along with otherdignitaries, were present on theoccasion.

ASH WEDNESDAYThe holy season of Lent for

the Christian community willbegin with Ash Wednesday andwill end with Easter (April 21).This 40-day period will be a timefor prayers, fasting, and almsgiv-ing. On Ash Wednesday (March6), ashes will be put on the heads

of people during divine servicesin churches.

SAFETY WEEKLucknow Metro Rail

Corporation is observing NationalSafety Week from March 4 to 10.All LMRC officers and staff onTuesday took a a safety pledge atthe administrative office (GomtiNagar) and Metro depot to adoptand follow safety measures andpractices at workplace. Seniorofficials and other LMRC staffalso shared and wrote their quoteson the message board. Special‘Safety Week’ badges were alsodistributed among the employees.LMRC will be organising sever-al events during the week.


The Lucknow division ofNorthern Railway will be

going for redevelopment of sta-tions in the time to come. Thework will be done by NationalBuilding ConstructionCorporation (NBCC).

“The ticketing, train oper-ations and other passenger-related issues will be taken bythe railways. NBCC will devel-op facilities like food courts,plaza and other amenitiesaround the stations for whichthe railway will take fee fromNBCC,” NR general managerTP Singh said on Tuesday whileinteracting with mediapersonsat the DRM office after his visitto different railway stations,including Charbagh. Singh clar-ified that it was not privatisationof railways. “In fact, we are plan-ning to use the assets of railwaysto the fullest to enhance publicfacilities,” he said.

Singh was all praise forDRM (NR) Satish Kumar andhis subordinates for their ded-ication in terms of train opera-tions during the Kumbh Mela

and passenger amenities at rail-way stations. “The performanceof the team remained best andthey deserve a word of praise.The team led by the DRM(NR) worked round the clock.For their work, they were alsoapplauded by the ChiefMinister,” Singh said. The NRgeneral manager said the rail-ways was constantly working foraugmenting passenger ameni-ties and a plan to ensure theavailability of trains for passen-gers. “In the time to come, therailways will be equipped withnearly all the modern gadgetsrequired,” Singh said. He addedthat NBCC would completeredevelopment of the railwaystations of NR in 24 months.

Earlier, Singh inspected therailway track betweenAlamnagar and Uthretiya bywindow trailing. He alsoinspected Charbagh,Alamnagar and TransportNagar stations. He also visitedthe flower exhibition at NRStadium in Charbagh. ADRMAmit and senior DCM JagtoshShukla were also present on theoccasion.

Shahjahan’s Urs

from April 2

Lucknow (PNS): TheUrs of Mughal emperorShahjahan will be observedat the historic Taj Mahal forthree days from April 2next. Entry into Taj Mahalwill be free for visitors afternoon on April 2 and 3 whileit will be free for the entireday on April 4. Lakhs ofdevotees will throng the17th century monumentduring the three-day eventand will pay homage at thegraves of Shahjahan and hiswife Mumtaz, in whosememory the Taj Mahal wasbuilt.

On the last day, a ‘sap-trangi chadar’ will be offeredat the graves as part of a rit-ual. Sandalwood powderwill be sprinkled on thegrave too. The Urs ofMughal king Shahjahan iscelebrated on the 25th, 26thand 27th day of Rajab(Islamic month), which fallsof April 2, 3 and 4.

Lucknow (PNS): Awoman ended her life after shewas allegedly torture for dowryin Banthra. Reports said Kajal(19) was married to MohitChaudhary of Banthra. Herfather Medi Lal alleged thatMohit and his parents used totorture Kajal for dowry eversince she got married. “OnMarch 4, I got a call fromMohit and I went to his house.

I counselled both Mohit andKajal. An hour after I returned,I got another call from Mohitwho told me that Kajal hadlocked herself in a room andwas not opening the door.When I reached her house, Ifound Kajal lying dead on thefloor,” Medi Lal told the police.A case of dowry death was reg-istered against Mohit and hisparents.

SCHOLARSHIPYashvi Srivastava, a student

of City Montessori School,K a n p u rRoad, hasbeen offeredadmissionby sevenfamed uni-versities ofUSA, UKand Spainwith schol-a r s h i p .Yashvi hasbeen awarded scholarships ofUS$ 94,000 by QuinnipiacUniversity (USA), US$ 40,000by University of Cincinnatiand US$ 52,000 by Saint LouisUniversity (Spain). All thesescholarships are for the entirestudy period of four years.Besides, four universities ofEngland — University ofGlasgow, University of Leeds,University of Nottingham andUniversity of Sheffield — havealso offered admission to herfor higher studies.


Lucknow has been rankedthe ninth most polluted

city among more than 3,000cities across in the world in thelatest air pollution reportreleased on Tuesday. Thisreport is based on 2018 airquality data from public mon-itoring sources, with a focus ondata which has been publishedin real-time or near real-time.

The data highlights thatout of 20 most polluted citiesin the world, 18 are in India,Pakistan and Bangladesh. Thereport is based on 2018 airquality data from public mon-itoring sources, with a focus ondata which has been publishedin real time or near real time.The latest data compiled in theIQAir AirVisual 2018 WorldAir Quality Report and inter-active World’s Most PollutedCities ranking, prepared incollaboration with GreenpeaceSoutheast Asia, reveals thestate of particulate matter(PM2.5) pollution in 2018.

SCHOOLSCAN

CITYBRIEFS

A child returns from school on a relatively warm day on Tuesday. The maximum temperature in Lucknow touched 27.2 degreeCelsius, which was still a couple of notches below normal Pioneer

Lko ninth most polluted cityKGMU gets its first milk bank


Aspecial package has beenworked out by Lucknow

Development Authority tochange the status of existingillegal residential colonies intoauthorised ones by completinglegal and administrative for-malities. Under this plan,there will be no penaltyimposed for regularisation.The package will come intoexistence from April 1.

The aim is to generate rev-enue as LDA is presently facingacute finance crisis. There are4.5 lakh shelters existing in 241illegal colonies all over thecity with over 10 lakh resi-dents. LDA Vice-ChairmanPN Singh said the illegalcolonies would be regularisedimmediately after completingofficial procedures and someformalities. He added that itwould be compulsory for the

residents to submit blueprintsof their accommodations forapproval to assess their costs.

No shelter or structure willbe demolished but clearancewill be given by the mappingdepartment. The Vice-Chairman said it was the onlythe way to regularise the unau-thorised colonies. The moneygenerated through completingformalities and service chargeswill be deposited in the exche-quer. The Vice-Chairman saidthere would be an audit by gov-

ernment authorities to ensurethere was transparency andno misuse. He said such stepswere a must when huge moneywas involved. The LDA admin-istration had been trying to reg-ularise the unauthorisedcolonies for the past threeyears but there was lack ofcoordination with other gov-ernment agencies.

Sources said there wouldbe no problem in regularisationas residents were getting ade-quate power supply while thecivic administration was ensur-ing proper cleanliness in theunauthorised colonies. Whatthe LDA administration needsto do is lay metallic roads andservice lanes, install street lightsand provide potable water andrepair the drainage system tosome extent. The project will befunded by the UrbanDevelopment Ministry at anestimated cost of Rs 240 crore.

Janeshwar Mishra Park

to be re-designed

Unauthorised colonies to beregularised to boost revenue

THE AIM IS TO GENERATE

REVENUE AS LDA IS

PRESENTLY FACING ACUTE

FINANCE CRISIS. THERE

ARE 4.5 LAKH SHELTERS

IN 241 ILLEGAL COLONIES

ALL OVER THE CITY WITH

OVER 10 LAKH RESIDENTS

NR to use assets to

fullest to enhance

facilities at stations

Woman gangraped

in Thakurganj

A national conference on transforming from developing to a developing economy washeld at School of Management Sciences in Lucknow on March 2 and 3.

Woman tortured for dowry ends life

Bollywood producer/director Boney Kapoor and his daughters Janhvi Kapoor &Khushi Kapoor paid a visit to Sahara Shaher and met managing worker andchairman of Sahara India Pariwar Subrata Roy

LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 6, 2019 nation 05

PNS n NEW DELHI

The political sniping thatstarted after the IAF air

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joining the debate Unionhome minister Rajnath Singh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE nNEW DELHI

Top Congress leadersDigvijay Singh and Kapil

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

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

of politicising terror. Senior Congress leader

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

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

about Union Minister SSAhluwalia in this regard.

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

PNS n NEW DELHI

Former Defence MinisterAK Antony on Tuesday

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

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

“No other leader but ourprime minister is touring the

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

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

PTI n NEW DELHI

Petroleum and ExplosivesSafety Organisation (PESO)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PNS n NEW DELHI

An Election Commissionproposal to ban political

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onTuesday said it would con-

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

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

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

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

New Delhi: The Supreme CourtTuesday asked the Centre toexamine the feasibility of settingup Motor Accident MediationAuthority (MAMA) in every districtby making necessary amendmentsin the Motor Vehicles Act so thatroad accident claims can be settledamicably at the earliest.The top court, which observed thatroad accident is a “harsh reality” inIndia, said large number ofaccidents is giving “rise tophenomenal quantum jump” inclaim cases, and methods likemediation is needed to be adoptedfor quick resolution of suchdisputes.“Time is ripe now to have similar(mediation) mechanism for settlingaccident claims as well. Werecommend to the Government toexamine the feasibility of settingup MAMA by making necessaryamendments in the Motor VehiclesAct itself,” a bench of Justices AKSikri and SA Nazeer said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

With the political temper-ature heating up over

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

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

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

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

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

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


Suggesting that the world’slargest sanitation pro-

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

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

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

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

found to have minimal litterand minimal stagnant water.

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

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

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


As tension persists withPakistan, India on Tuesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

was confident that the US isinvestigating the matter.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All options open if terror strikes: India

TENSION WITH PAKISTAN

Members of the Delhi University Teacher’s Association (DUTA), along with students from several universities, stage a protestagainst the ‘13-point roster system’ at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Tuesday PTI

Digvijay, Sibal accuse

Modi of politicising terror

TERRORISTS KILLED IN BALAKOT Political ads onpoll day awaitsLaw Min’s nod

Number would be known 1 day: RajnathAntony says PM sacrificednational interests, urgeshim not to politicise Army

PTI n NEW DELHI

Asenior advocate, assistingthe apex court as an ami-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SC TO CONSIDER

HEARING FRESH PLEA

FOR NOT EVICTING

FOREST DWELLERS

IMPROVED FORMULATION

FOR PRODUCING GREEN

CRACKERS FINALISED,

PESO TELLS SC

EXAMINE FEASIBILITY OFSETTING UP MOTORACCIDENT MEDIATIONAUTHORITY: SC TO GOVT

93% rural households haveaccess to toilets, of them96.5% use them: Survey

Puri’s JagannathTemple: Amicusfiles detailedreport in SC

TDP accuses rival

TRS over data theft

SC refers to 3-judge Bench

plea seeking striking down of

provisions on conjugal rights

OFFICIAL SOURCESALSO SAID THE

INDIAN AIR FORCE(IAF) HAS KEPT

ALL ITS BASES INWESTERN SECTOR

ON MAXIMUMALERT

“NTRO systemshowed there

were 300 mobilephones active atBalakot attack

site; were theseused by trees ifnot terrorists”


KUMAR CHELLAPPAN n

CHENNAI

The DMK-led UnitedProgressive Alliance in

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

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

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

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

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

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

With the DMK choosing to

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

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

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

DMK finalises seat sharing

LOK SABHA POLLS

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

Congress president RahulGandhi is likely to start his

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In 2014 general elections

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

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

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

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

WB PCC president writes toRahul for early seat-sharing

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

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

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

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

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

Maha CPM neta

suspended from

key party panel

for praising Modi

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

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

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

party, told reporters.As Shah did not respond to

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

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

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

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

BJP's Tripura allyIPFT to go italone in LS polls

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

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

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

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

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

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

The announcement cameafter the MDA partners failed

to decide consensus candidateon both the constituencies,Hek said.

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

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

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

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

BJP decides to contestboth LS seats fromMeghalaya on its own

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

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

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

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

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

"Our attempt is (to ensure)

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

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

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

"Who started the AmulDairy? For our understanding,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

der and was subsequentlyadmitted to a hospital.

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

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

sector around 6pm, thespokesman said.

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

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

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

Pak violates ceasefire at 2places along LoC in J&K

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

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

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

‘Asking Govt to account for its work a new trend’

BJP leaders felicitate Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the launch of ‘PradhanMantri Shram Yogi Pension Yojana' (PM-SYM Scheme 2019) for unorganisedworkers in Ahmedabad on Tuesday PTI

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MNS chief to clear air on poll pact on March 9

Congress MLA

disqualified

after conviction

ILLEGAL MINING CASE

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

"...Deve Gowda has himself

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

JD(S) wants Gowda to contestfrom Mysore-Kodagu seat

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

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

An unspecified numberof BJP workers and policemen

were injured in clashes in sev-eral districts of the stateSunday after the authoritiesprevented the rallies sayingthey had not been granted per-mission because of the ongo-ing school board examina-tions.

Addressing a press meethere, BJP state president DilipGhosh said, "The TMC gov-ernment has throttled alldemocratic principles and tra-ditions by preventing our ral-lies in recent times. The inci-dents happened during theSankalp Yatra rallies is themost recent example."

The Sankalp Yatra bike rally is part of the BJP's

countrywide pre-poll exerciseto establish contact with thepeople.

Ghosh claimed that around 60-70 BJP activistswere injured in the attack bythe TMC's goons and police-men as party workers were"peacefully" bringing out therallies in different parts of Stateon March 3.

"This shows the frustra-tion and desperation of theTMC and how scared theyhave become of the BJP," hesaid.

Asked about report of afarmer's death in the state on Monday, Ghosh said, "TheState Government wants to

suppress the unnatural deathof a farmer. It wants to pass offthe suicide of a farmer as dueto ailments. It does not wantto face the truth."

He claimed that 5 lakhmetric tonnes of potatoremained unsold in the State, but the TMCGovernment is doing nothingto address the issue and helpthe potato growers.

To a question aboutreports of WBCS officers to begiven flats by the Government,Ghosh said, "The decision hadbeen made two years back, butthe Government is announc-ing it only now, just before theelections." PTI

TMC throttlingdemocracy,accuses BJP

Farmer kills selfby jumping intoburning crop

Jaipur: Rajasthan Congresschief Sachin Pilot said on onTuesday the party will contestall 25 Lok Sabha seats in theState in the upcoming elec-tions.

"Selection of nominees isin the final stage and a lot willbe clear after the screeningcommittee meeting on March8 in New Delhi," Pilot toldreporters.

He said the selection ofcandidate would be done onthe basis of feedback of partyworkers, hard work andwinnability.

The party is of the opin-ion to find nominees otherthan the family members of

leaders, sitting MPs andMLAs and those who lostelections in the past.

However, the choice ofparty workers and peopleand winnability of the candi-dates would be considered, headded.

He said the Congress hasbeen contesting on all seats inthe state and will do so thistime as well to secure a winin the upcoming Lok Sabhaelections.

A panel of three candi-dates will be sent to theparty's central committee tofinalise the names, he said.

Pilot attacked the incum-bent BJP-led government at

the Centre, saying theCongress is contesting theelection to defeat the "forcesthat have weakened and hol-lowed democratic institutionsin the past five years".

"So, it is an importantelection for us," he said.

The BJP won all 25 seatsin Rajasthan in the 2014 gen-eral elections.

On the Indian Air Forceair strike at a Jaish terrorcamp in Balakot of Pakistan,Pilot said the action on ter-rorist facility was a matter ofpride for India and "it is notright to raise question on val-our of the security forces". PTI

Cong to contest all seats in Rajasthan

Over 3,500 detained during Sankalp Yatra rallies in WB

Nagpur: An 85-year-oldfarmer from Nagpur district inMaharashtra allegedly com-mitted suicide last week by set-ting his crop on fire and jump-ing into it, police said onTuesday. Police suspect thefarmer, Gopal Jaane took theextreme step due to recurringhealth issues.

The incident occurred onMarch 1 evening when Jaaneallegedly set the pigeon pea cropon fire at his farm in Madna vil-lage, and jumped into it, an offi-cial release stated.


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

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

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

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

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

know in their hearts how manyperished in the IAF attack,"Singh told a public gathering

after inaugurating an electron-ic border guarding project ofthe BSF on the Indo-

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

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

BALAKOT AIR STRIKE

Go to Pak and count bodies: Rajnath

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh addresses the media at Indo-Bangladeshborder in Dhubri district of Assam on Tuesday PTI

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

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

"For those coming to India

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

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

will be treated with "humanbehaviour".

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

‘Illegal immigrants won't be treated inhumanly’

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

Mahendra Singh of Khejadka Par village here was tomarry Chagan Kanwar of Sinoivillage in Amarkot district ofSindh province in Pakistan onMarch 8. The groom and hisfamily members were to take atrain to Pakistan on March 2itself, but the tickets had to be

cancelled amid the lingeringIndo-Pak-tension.

"Considering the tensionbetween India and Pakistan,the family decided to call offthe marriage for now andcancelled the train tickets.My Pakistani in-laws tooagreed to the decision. Thefamily is waiting for the situ-ation to normalise,” saidMahendra. He said six familymembers had got visa forPakistan for three months inJanuary after lot of hitches andpreparations were on for thewedding ceremony for whicheven the invitation cards hadbeen distributed. PTI

An aerial view of snow-covered mountains of Kashmir after recent snowfall near Srinagar on Tuesday PTI

Indian's marriage with Pakistani

woman deferred amid tension

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

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

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

Sitharaman's remarks comeamid some Opposition leaderdemanding evidence about thenumber of terrorists killed in theair strike.

The IAF, which carried outthe strike on February 26, saidon Monday that governmentwould provide details on thecasualty figures as the Air Forceonly sees if a target has been hit

or not.On Tuesday, the defence

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

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

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

On February 14, a suicidebomber of the Pakistan-basedJeM group rammed an explo-sives-laden vehicle into a busin Jammu and Kashmir'sPulwama district, killing 40Central Reserve Police Forcepersonnel. PTI

Balakot air strike ‘non-military action' as no civilian casualtycaused: Sitharaman

Agartala: Union Minister VijayGoel on Tuesday said the airstrike by the IAF on the train-ing camp of Jaish-e-Mohammedin Pakistan’s Balakot was inresponse to the Pulwama terrorattack.

“This for the first time theCentre has responded to terrorstrikes by giving a befittingreply which was possible due tothe will power and vision ofPrime Minister NarendraModi,” he told reporters here.

The Union Minister of Statefor Statistics and ProgrammeImplementation claimed thatPrime Minister Narendra Modiwould return to power andform the government for thesecond time. PTI

IAF air strike a

befitting reply to

Pulwama terror

attack: BJP Min

PTI n KOLKATA

Hitting out at the BJP forallegedly politicising the

air strike in Pakistan, theTrinamool Congress onTuesday said it was trying toreplace the Ashoka emblemon the uniform of armedforces with party logo.

The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) should stop taking cred-it for the preemptive strike onterror camps in Pakistan asarmed forces belong to India,not to the saffron party,Trinamool Congress nationalspokesperson Derek O'Briensaid.

"The BJP is shamelesslytrying to replace the AshokStambh (emblem) on thearmed forces' uniform, withtheir party logo. Not a singleopposition leader has politi-cised the airstrike, it was justthe BJP who did it.

"The armed forces areIndia's pride. We are alwayswith them, but we will opposethe incumbent government,whose expiry date is over,"O'Brien, who is also the TMCparliamentary party leader inRajya Sabha, said.

BJP national presidentAmit Shah said on Saturdaythat those who did not havecourage to avenge the killingof soldiers, when in power,were raising doubts on therecent air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed camps for "cheappolit ics" and their statements have madePakistan happy.

Two days before Shah'sassertion, West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeehad demanded evidence ofthe Indian Air Force (IAF) airstrike. She also said that theopposition parties wanted toknow the details of the operation.

A view of the wholesale flower market in Kolkata on Tuesday PTI

‘BJP trying to

replace military

uniform emblem

with party logo’

PTI n JAMMU

Representatives of differentpolitical parties here met

the visiting team of ElectionCommission of India onTuesday and advocated holdingstate assembly polls simulta-neously with the Lok Sabhaelections. The team, headed byChief Election CommissionerSunil Arora, reached Jammu onthe second leg of the two-daytour and held discussions withthe representatives of variouspolitical parties, including theBJP, Congress, NationalConference, PDP, CPI(M) andthe National Panthers Party(NPP), officials said.

A similar exercise was con-ducted by the ElectionCommission of India (ECI) in

Srinagar on Monday as part ofits efforts to assess the feasibilityof holding the Lok Sabha andthe assembly polls together.

Cutting across party affil-iations, the representatives ofalmost all parties impressedupon the commission to holdassembly elections in the statesimultaneously with the LokSahba polls.

“The Ladakh region alongwith Jammu and many districtsin Kashmir are peaceful andelections could be held in aphased manner to restore pop-ular government in the state.We are in favour of both elec-tions simultaneously,” seniorBJP leader and former J-Kdeputy chief minister KavinderGupta told reporters after theparty delegation met the ECI

team here. State Congress vicepresident and former ministerRaman Bhalla, who led theparty delegation, said theCongress never escaped formthe democratic exercise and itis the responsibility of the ECIto restore democracy in thestate by holding the elections.

“If general elections couldbe held, there is no justificationof deferring assembly polls,” hesaid, adding that the people ofthe state want popular govern-ment in place without any fur-ther delay.

However, he demandedadequate security for the can-didates.

National Conferenceprovincial president DevenderSingh Rana said restoration ofdemocracy is in the interest of

the state and a popular gov-ernment is the need of the hourin view of the emerging situa-tion. “The governor with fouradvisors and chief secretarycannot be an alternative to thepopular government. The peo-ple are facing a lot of problemsand only their representativescan reach out to them to mit-igate their sufferings,” Ranasaid.

“We believe restoration ofthe popular government willhelp in improving the securitysituation in the state,” he said.

Senior PDP leader and for-mer minister ChoudharyZulfikar Ali said the delegationput forth the viewpoint of theparty which wants early elec-tions to restore basic rights ofthe people.

Political parties in Jammu advocatesimultaneous assembly, LS polls

Malda (PTI): A 35-year-old man was burnt to death inWest Bengal’s Malda districtafter a woman he allegedlyraped and set on fire, grabbedhim while still ablaze, policesaid on Tuesday. The woman isnow under treatment at theMalda Medical College andHospital with burn injuries inher face and hands, officialssaid. She claimed that theaccused used to disturb her andentered her house on Mondayevening when no one wasthere. The woman, a widow,said that he then raped her andset her on fire, and she thengrabbed him tightly. Policesaid locals rushed to her houseafter noticing smoke emanat-ing from there and found bothof them on fire inside a room.

Man burnt to deathafter woman heraped and set ablaze grabs him

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

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

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

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

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

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

The knowledge about cli-

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

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

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

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

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

Work sites across the country are

buzzing with activity, particular-

ly those projects that were under-

taken by the Central Government agen-

cies and State public works departments.

From flyovers to metro projects and even

small electricity sub-stations, work is con-

tinuing at a frenetic pace. With elections

to the 17th Lok Sabha set to be

announced by this weekend, politicians

across the country are on an inaugura-

tion spree. And when there are no pro-

jects to inaugurate, they are laying foun-

dation stones for future projects that will invariably be finished before

the next major election.

It seems bizarre that construction activity for Government projects,

that sometimes continues at a glacial pace for years, suddenly star ts

speeding up before the polls. Fund allocation for even small neighbour-

hood projects that get stalled or caught in a web of corruption miracu-

lously appear out of nowhere. Maybe India would have far better infra-

structure if elections happened on a biennial basis what with our politi-

cians being in perpetual campaign mode. However, in the rush for build-

ing projects, the public should be wary that large amounts of spending

on white elephants, expensive but pointless projects, are avoided. But

unfortunately, these often go through with few questions asked right now.

At the same time, huge sums of money are being spent on advertising

the highlights of these projects; the sums being spent could easily fund

many more useful infrastructure projects.

India has a massive infrastructure deficit and despite huge progress

over the past few years in improving rural and urban infrastructure, much

more needs to be done. The rush of inaugurations and foundations is

welcome because it will take decades for India to catch up even with

China when it comes to infrastructure-building. However, as pleased as

our politicians might be with these projects, they should realise that these

are not enough if they want to improve the lives of millions of Indians

who are either below or straddling the poverty line. And while develop-

ment works should be celebrated, let us not forget whose money goes

into those advertisements — the Indian taxpayer, paying both direct and

indirect taxes. And they do deserve a bit better.

There is no doubt a nationalist narra-

tive and sentiment that the polity is

awash with post Pulwama and the

second wave of surgical airstrikes target-

ting terror will impact the General Elections.

And if what George Orwell said was true,

that nationalism is power hunger tempered

by self-deception, then it will be used by all

parties concerned and the poll parameters

might just be reduced to a simple test of

who is the better or more loyal Indian. With

such a complex voter profile as we have in

India, the overt simplification may not work

alright but definitely gives a pivot to spin a

tale. Clearly, by virtue of being an incumbent, the BJP-led government is going

to town with its muscular approach to the terror factory bred in Pakistan and

prioritising national security. Even though it dodges questions on specifics of

the strike, there is no doubt that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has forever

changed the rules of engagement with our recalcitrant neighbour, showing

how counter-terrorism could be efficacious while staying way below the esca-

latory pyramid, calling Pakistan’s nuclear bluff and turning the tide of world

opinion. But, of course, he would talk big on this achievement in his cam-

paign speeches; anybody in that position would. Particularly when it drowns

out the discomfort of explaining what went wrong with the economy, job-

lessness and farmers and dilutes the cogent challenge posed by the Opposition

mahagathbandhan on these issues.

But if Modi has a booster shot, the Opposition, for all its initial josh, is

fumbling and floundering over a counter-strategy. Rather than engaging in a

slanging match of barbs, knowing that questioning national security measures,

especially regarding Pakistan, could be counter-productive now, it could focus

on intelligence lapses that led to a Pulwama in the first place and the drift in

Kashmir that has seen a spike in terror attacks over the Modi years. And if it

has to ask questions, then all its leaders should do so unitedly and pointed-

ly, rather than shooting their mouths off in isolation and on social media. That

would at least be an aggressive platform approach and deny Modi the space

to go solo. Or it could very well set off a counter-narrative, remembering that

past governments, be it of the Congress post 1971 or the BJP’s post Kargil,

did not get sweeping mandates. Or that the Congress won despite a 26/11.

So if the Opposition posits real livelihood issues that play on the voters’ mind,

saying they matter more in strengthening a nation’s identity than hiding behind

an airstrike, they could stabilise the see-saw yet. But it seems the airstrikes

have paralysed them, too. And they seem a jumble of confused priorities. First,

there are no signs of the common minimum programme that mahagathband-

han leaders like TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and TDP’s

Chandrababu Naidu had decided to fork out. Second, the Congress contin-

ues to be intransigent on seat-sharing — its talks with AAP have broken down

despite reconciliatory efforts — and one wonders how a triangular fight can

ever jolt an emboldened NDA. Even the Congress-JD(S) alliance in

Karnataka, that was a winning proposition some time ago, is under severe

stress as seat-sharing talks aren’t going the way they should have. The grand

old party may have its own imperatives, not risk a decimation of its own vote-

base while adjusting seats for others and choose to consolidate its roots —

now that both Gandhi scions are on the ground — but then 2019 doesn’t

seem to be its goalpost. Perhaps, the Congress is in a dilemma, whether to

be a B-team of the federal front or take the lead on its own. Besides, its soft

Hindutva, stand on cow politics and failure to build a strong post-Pulwama

narrative have cost it the perception game. The most important question is

why it is not unleashing its charismatic general secretary Priyanka Gandhi in

word games. If the Congress and the federal front do not rewire their alliance

strategy, then they could lose what would perhaps be an opportune moment

to wrest the narrative. They may never get that again soon.

Opposition blues

The mahagathbandhan is floundering in mounting a counter-attack as the BJP runs away with nationalist agenda

Nation should come first

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

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

KR SrinivasanSecunderabad

Lacking will

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

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

Muhammad ZaidRamanagara

Say no to war

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

Government. Dhanoa is absolutely right to

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

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

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

TK NandananChennai

Put home State in order

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

ShivanshVia email

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


facebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

op nionLUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 6, 2019

08

Can we end the oil era?

RK PACHAURI

It is questionable whether we should, like ending the stone age, stop using fuel. Or

should we continue with its exploitation for the comfort of a select few?

Superstars are sufferingas all their films have thesame ingredients.Cinema is being lostbecause of them.

Filmmaker—Shaji N Karun

I'm not running (forPresidentship), but I'm goingto keep on working, speak-ing and standing up for whatI believe.

Former US President—Hillary Clinton

S O U N D B I T E

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

Samjhauta bodes well for India, Pakistan

Samjhauta means agreement and compromise. Whenthe Samjhauta Express train service started betweenAttari on the Indian side to Pakistan's Lahore, hopes

swelled on either side. Also known as ‘friendship express’,the train covered a small distance but more importantly, itcarried hope, love and affection of both countries to cementa tangible bond between New Delhi and Islamabad. Startingits operation in 1976, following the sealing of the ShimlaAgreement, the train ran into ‘track blocks’ following the2001 terrorist attack on Parliament and Benazir Bhutto'sassassination in 2007. Again, in February 2007, bombs wentoff in the train on the Indian side, resulting in 68 deaths.Despite reports of the train proving to be a white elephantfor the exchequer, it chugged on.

The maintenance of the train was overseen by bothcountries through a six-monthly rotation. The present stale-mate between India and Pakistan saw the train being sus-pended. Finally, the services have resumed after the releaseof Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. The Delhi-

Attari-Wagah-Lahore train may not attract much patronageunder the changed circumstances but the symbolic gestureof resumption of services cannot be ignored. Earlier, theoccupancy rate was put at a poor 70 per cent. Past inci-dents and travel restrictions could have acted as a deter-rent. It may further nosedive but as long as the train tra-verses between the two countries, it bodes well for the com-mon man who has relatives on either side.

Ganapathi BhatAkola

INDIA IS NOEXCEPTION WHEN IT

COMES TORESISTING CARBONUSE BECAUSE OUR

TRANSPORT POLICY,WHICH IS MOVING

RAPIDLY TOWARDSVEHICULAR

TRANSPORTATION,IS TOTALLY

DEPENDENT ON OILIMPORTS, WHICHJEOPARDISE OUR

ECONOMY ANDFOREIGN EXCHANGE

OUTFLOW

Send your feedback to:[email protected]

Infrastructure rush

If Congress wants to knowhow many terrorists werekilled, they should go toPakistan or count bodiesthemselves.

Union Minister—Rajnath Singh

Contractors are working overtime to ensure politicians caninaugurate projects before code of conduct comes into force

Opposition parties need toswitch tracks and deny thePrime Minister the spaceto politicise the recent ter-ror attack/airstrikes.

NC leader—Omar Abdullah

Win long-term stock pick

AIR STRIKES CARRIED OUT IN RESPONSE TO THE PULWAMA

ACCIDENT ARE BEING QUESTIONED BY INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

WHICH IS IMPACTING OUR GOVERNMENT’S CREDIBILITY.

—CONGRESS LEADER

DIGVIJAYA SINGH

WITH DUE RESPECT, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK DIGVIJAYA

SINGHJI, WAS RAJIV GANDHI’S ASSASSINATION AN

ACCIDENT OR A TERROR INCIDENT?

—UNION MINISTER

V K SINGH

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(The writer is Assistant Professor, Amity University)

While quantitative factors help give a ratio analysis of a stock, a qualitativeanalysis helps an investor take an informed decision based on its quality

analysis 09F I R S T C O L U M N

We cannot ignore

farm crisis

RANJEET MEHTA

Doubling farmers’ income cannot happen withoutincreasing sales and market rate of their produce.

Cold chains can certainly make this happen

HIMA BINDU KOTA

Around 60 per cent of the population in India lives in

rural areas and is mostly engaged in agriculture. The

Indian Government has committed to double the farm-

ers’ income by 2022. The real issue, however, is not the

level of productivity but how the produce can create value.

This is what can decide the farmers’ income. It is a fact that

today, no industrialised nation can survive without agricul-

ture. Globally, 60 to 80 per cent of the movement of goods

happen around agriculture or its produce. The rich get the

spending scales up on fresh and organic food.

It is here that logistics can be one of the solutions to

enhance the backbone of agriculture trade. The architecture

behind it has to be marketing. Recently, in Karnataka, toma-

toes were sold at `4 per kg. To the contrary, in Delhi, they

were sold at `40 per kg. Tomatoes did not undertake any

change to its essential characteristics or value but were mere-

ly prepared to make it marketable over a scheduled period

of time. The value-add to the farmer comes from him being

able to access destinations, where demand dynamics offer

higher price than the collective cost of production and logis-

tics. Integrated logistics can play a pivotal role in achiev-

ing this vision.

To meet the end, for the first time, a senior bureaucrat

has been given the charge to streamline and integrate logis-

tics in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Further, the

need is to ensure that the farmers are able to capture the

maximum value for every grain, every drop and every ounce

of what they produce. And for this to happen, there is a need

to connect a large number of agricultural households with

mass consumption markets, both domestic and global.

This will also help the consumers. To cite an example,

if a customer is sitting in Delhi, he can order half a kg of

Darjeeling tea from a grower in West Bengal or maybe a con-

sumer from Kerala can order 5 kg of basmati rice from

Punjab. The day India achieves this, our farmer’s income

will increase multi-fold. The focus must shift from increas-

ing per acre productivity to gainfully employ farm house-

holds in other farm-related activities and post-production,

focus must be on improving value-addition by way of pool-

ing of land and aggregation of farmers’ produce to give the

growers a better bargaining power in the market.

This can be possible by upgrading and harmonising agri-

logistics, agro-processing and agri-marketing. And for this,

the focus must be on the development of sustainable and

efficient cold-chain infrastructure in India, which can also

offer huge business opportunities to entrepreneurs.

Further, there has been a steady growth on the cold stor-

age front — more than 10 million metric tonnes of capac-

ity has been developed in the last 10 years. In and all, the

country has witnessed the commissioning of around 30.4

million metric tonnes of cold storage capacity. However, there

is an essential link between stored products and markets

in the refrigerated transport sector that has not developed

at the same pace as the storage industry. As per the National

Center for Cold Chain Development (NCCD) study in 2015,

there is a shortage of 69,831 integrated pack-houses, 52,826

reefer transport, 8,319 ripening units in India.

We must protect those, who provide food for the nation.

The doubling of farmers’ income cannot happen without

increasing sales and market rate of their agricultural pro-

duce. Cold chain can, certainly, be a key enabler to make

this a reality. One needs to find solutions for crop-specific

agriculture logistics and leverage the multi-modal transporta-

tion system.

What we need in India is to create an effective cold-chain

solution that will integrate the supply chains for agricultur-

al produce from its respective production centres to con-

sumption centres, thereby reducing physical waste and loss

of value of perishable commodities.

With cold chains, many gaps in improper post-harvest

handling and storage, packaging, inappropriate handling dur-

ing transportation and storage, absence of grading or sort-

ing and multiple handling points due to a large number of

intermediaries can be bridged.

Connecting Indian villages with global markets is

absolutely essential not only for doubling farmers’ income

but to also understand that whoever has the agrarian power,

will rule the world in the times to come.

(The writer is Principal Director, PHD Chamber of

Commerce and Industry, New Delhi)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now, it is the turn of Prime

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(The writer is a senior politicalcommentator and syndicated columnist)

Cross hurdles to win the raceThe Pulwama terror attack has certainly diverted the attention from earlier issues like Rafale, jobs and agriculture crisis. The

Opposition faces the challenge of not only changing the national security narrative but also the BJP’s communicative strategy

KALYANI SHANKAR

LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 6, 2019


F O R E I G N E Y E

In some ways thescientific publishingmodel resembles theeconomy of the socialinternet: labor isprovided free inexchange for the hope ofstatus, while huge profitsare made by a few bigfirms who run the marketplaces. In both cases, weneed a rebalancing ofpower.(The Guardian editorial)

ACADEMIC PUBLISHING:DISASTROUSCAPITALISM

QUALITATIVEFACTORS CAN BE

INTERNAL(COMPANY-

RELATED) OREXTERNAL

(INDUSTRY-RELATED). THEREARE DIFFERENT

WAYS TO MAKE ANANALYSIS THAT

HAS A SIGNIFICANTBEARING ON THEFUNDAMENTALANALYSIS: THE

BUSINESS MODEL,COMPETITIVEADVANTAGE,

CUSTOMER BASEAND MANAGEMENT

AS WELL ASCORPORATE

GOVERNANCE

LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 6, 2019 avenues 10

QUOTE OF THE DAY

I believe that education is all

about being excited about

something. Seeing passion and

enthusiasm helps push an

educational message

— Steve Irwin

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

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

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

BETTER ACCESSWith dual specialisation in their

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

GET HIGHER JOB SECURITYToday’s business world operates in

a volatile, uncertain and dynamiceconomy. Organisations require

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

BENEFITSWho doesn’t expect promotions

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

want to make a career transition,you can do it smoothly

because you can lookfor opportunitiesbeyond yourcomfort zone.

The fact that youhave expertise in

two business func-tions works to your

a d v a n t a g ewhen it comesto advancingyour career.

NETWORKING SKILLSWhen you have dual specialisa-

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

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

SAVE TIMEWhen you pursue dual speciali-

sation simultaneously, you can savehalf the time of what you would takeby doing two courses one after anoth-er. The time which you save can beutilized to master other hard or softskills to bridge the skill gaps in yourcareer. This way, you earn not onlydual specialisation but also add othernew skill-sets on your resume in thesame time frame.

ENTREPRENEURSHIPIf you aspire to become an entre-

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

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

The writer is Dean, Calcutta Business School

With an increase indemand of

candidates with dualspecialisation,

DR TAMAL DATTACHAUDHURI tells

students the reasonswhy they should

opt for it

Annual Junior fest held at Ryan InternationalThe Ryan International School, Rohini

aims at all round development of stu-dents’ personality by providing quality edu-cation in a pollution free and friendly envi-ronment. With strong pedigree, constitu-tion of the institution epitomises imbibingand assimilating the social, moral, ethicaland spiritual values among the students.

The dignitaries of the event who gracedthe occasion with their presence were RitaGangwani, Entrepreneur, Gangwani'sSashes and Crowns Pageantversity, RadhikaSuri, Director of Environment EducationWWF, India, Shamel Hans, Gospel Singer,Supriya Nagpal, Mrs Gurgaon, 2014, PallaviLuthra, Consultant, IT, Central SurveillanceUnit, Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare, Anil Kumar Mudgal Zonal Head,

Bhartiya Yoga Sansthan and RachnaMalik, Social Worker.

The programme was based on a special

theme, Be the Change. This auspicious daywas adorned with rhythmic action that gen-erated quality, creativity and execution high-lighting One Nation — One Heart.

A musical feast was presented by theschool voice-overs under the play Piratesv/s Mermaids — depicting the story ofpirates and mermaids in the form of anorchestral train journeying through variousstates of India.

The Galaxy of guests gave the prizes tothe meritorious students who had excelledin academics and various competitions heldat school. He urged the students to honetheir talents and potentials to not only carvea niche for themselves or bring laurels toschool but also aim to bring glory to theirstate as well as their nation.

LBSIM foundation day Convocation ceremonyPNS n NEW DELHI

The Lal Bahadur ShastriInstitute of Management

(LBSIM) observed its 24thFoundation Day Lecture onSecure India — Challengesfor Future Leaders. The eventtook place at LBSIM’sCampus at Dwarka, Delhi.

The guest speakers forthe lecture were Lt GenDeependra Singh Hooda,former General OfficerCommanding-in-Chief ofNorthern Command.

The event started with a

short screening on Shastrijiwhich commemorated hispraiseworthy deeds for thenation.

This was followed by awelcome address by DKSrivastava, director, LBSIMafter which the chief guest, LtGen Deependra SinghHooda took over.

The event ended by analumni prize distributionwhich awarded five esteemedalumni’s who have been shin-ing bright over the years. Itwas definitely a moment offeather in the cap.

MSC GENDER STUDIESThe University of

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

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

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

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

Fee: £14,650 for interna-tional students

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

DEGREE IN FASHION DESIGNInternational School of

Design invites application forBachelors, Masters & DiplomaProgrammes in FashionDesign.

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

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

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

BANKING & FINANCETKWs Institute of

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

cialisa-tion in International TradeFinance.

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

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

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

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

Last date to apply: March19, 2019.

UG-PG PROGRAMMESKIIT Group of Colleges

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

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

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

Deadline: June 30, 2019.

Blended learning is the answerthat addresses the problem

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

ISSUEFace to face lectures lack het-

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

SOLUTIONBlended learning is a harmo-

nious arrangement that combinesboth the kinds of teaching meth-ods and their individual benefitswhile circumventing their indi-vidual associated drawbacks. Thisis why it is described as integrat-ed or hybrid learning. BlendedLearning allows for immenseopportunity for immersive learn-ing.

nWhat is immersive learning?The concept and term of

immersive learning is very popu-lar in the new age academic field.It includes several environmentsincluding game-based learning

scenarios where course partici-pants are involved deeply in a sub-ject that is expected to give resultsin an intensified learning experi-ence that increases learning out-come. This refers to early peda-gogical strategies of learning thesubject directly by diving into it onthe deep end. Immersive learninggives course participants a strongsense of ‘being there’ (live inter-active video classes) even if direct-ly attending is not possible –whether it is because of conflict-ing schedules or inaccessible situ-ations.

nImmersive learning in a blend-ed environment: In the modernera of blended learning, immersivelearning includes closed interwo-ven possibilities where this is ahigh degree of involvement withsubmerging different scenarios orenvironments. This is done inmany ways, few being:nLive interactive classes where stu-dents can attend classes and askqueries and get answers real time.They can also request Mentor ondemand.nGamification feature where stu-dents compete with each other in

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

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

In addition to the above, peerinteraction and group projectshelps a great deal in learning thesubject thoroughly. Blended learn-ing has proven to be the best chan-nel for immersive learning inmodern times. The elements areconstantly evolving basis industrydemands. It is a collaborative ecosystem that will evolve with inputsand insights from learners, cor-porate stake holders and the train-ing industry. Immersive learningis not an innovation, but a manda-tory requisite in today’s dynamicskilling environment.

The writer is CEO & Founder, IndianInstitute of Hardware Technology,

Bangalore

KESHAV RAJU talks about how one can make learning immersive for better efficiency

TIPTOP Blended learning is the newage field ‘Consistency is essential’

Board exam is the first formallyorganised examination taken by

students.It sets the tone for a student'sacademic future as board resultsdefine the career path. Meritoriousresult in the board exam is com-mendable and boosts one’s confi-dence. Hence, it creates a lot of pres-sure on students to perform well andmake their parents, teachers, friendsand well-wishers proud.

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

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

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

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

The writer is MD, MBD Group

Ryan International School’s dignataries with the children

TAKE THE

DUAL WAY

A DUALSPECIALISATION WILL

ENABLE YOU TOCLIMB THE

CORPORATE LADDERFASTER. AS AND

WHEN YOU WANT TOMAKE A CAREER

TRANSITION, YOUCAN DO IT SMOOTHLY

BECAUSE YOU CANLOOK FOR

OPPORTUNITIESBEYOND YOURCOMFORT ZONE

Board exams are going on. MONICA MALHOTRA KANDHARI shares last

minute tips which can help students to remain stress-free and well-prepared

The Department of Information Technology, Government ofMeghalaya in association with NIIT, felicitated students from

across Meghalaya who successfully cleared NIIT’s cutting-edgecertification programs as part of ‘Sponsored IT program ofDepartment of Information Technology, Government ofMeghalaya’, over the last one year.

The chief guest for the convocation ceremony MR Synrem,IAS, Commissioner & Secretary, Information & TechnologyDepartment felicitated the students. The function was also gracedby Shakera Roy, regional head – East, general manager, NIIT Ltd.

Speaking on the occasion MR Synrem said, “I take this oppor-tunity to congratulate all candidates who have successfully clearedthe training program. The training program was conceptualisedwith the objective to enhance the employability of youth inMeghalaya. This initiative will help us to develop industry-readyprofessionals who will contribute towards the development ofIT sector in Meghalaya.

As a leader, you should look inward andfocus on your own abilities andshortcomings, and ask yourself how you

can find ways to empower and inspire yourteam. Here are some ways to turn theconversation inward and focus on developingleadership skills:

Be passionate: When you displayauthentic enthusiasm and passion for the endresult, your people will keep moving towardtheir goals. Employees respond to those whoare eager to help them learn and grow. Showpassion for everything you do, including inyour pursuit in learning how to developleadership skills. Your desire will be clear toyour employees, and inspire them to improve

leadership skills, too.

Be a role model: People respectsomeone who walks the walk. Show thosearound you exactly what you'd like to seethem do. The strongest message you cansend to your team is to model the behaviorsyou'd like to see.

Recognise your strength: No leader isborn with all necessary skills to succeed. Ittakes time and effort to improve leadershipskills, and it begins with a thoroughexamination of your strengths andweaknesses. A strong knowledge of yourinnate gifts and abilities means you can putthem to work for you, while anunderstanding of your weaknesses providesyou with areas you know you can improve.

Set goals and execute them: Even the

most formidable leaders don't come up withsuccess out of nowhere. The grandest visionwill never get off the ground if you don't plota path to get there. Invest time in clarifyingyour goals and solidifying them. Formulatingthe right plan and setting meaningfulbenchmarks along the way gives you a mapto follow, a methodology that will guide yourbusiness through the next week, month, yearand decade. Once you achieve a goal, looktowards another; constant striving to meetthat next benchmark will give you and youremployees a sense of meaning and pride.

Admit your failure: Even the most

powerful, inspiring leaders make mistakes.When you recognise an error, admit it openlyand take action to correct it. Be open aboutyour failures; discuss them and learn fromthem. Learning from your failures sends apowerful message to those around you. Theyunderstand that you will lead well even whenyou make a mistake. Those wondering howto improve leadership skills should learn howto recognize successes and failures.

Motivate others: If you're complainingabout every little detail and can only see theworst-case scenario at the end of every plan,you have little chance of inspiring others. An

employee who feels you do not believe inthem will not perform well, and can evencreate a domino effect of poor morale acrossthe business. Instead, believe in others andwhat they are capable of. Inspire andmotivate them to work harder and reachgreater heights. Improve leadership skillsthroughout your business by generating andfocusing positive energy, even when thingsaren't going according to plan.

Find your purpose: When developingleadership skills, it's essential that you knowwhy you're putting time and effort into yourchosen goal. What drives you? Yourimmediate response may be simple: A largerpaycheck from a job well done or theprestige that comes from higher rank. But

step back for a moment. Why do you wantthat larger paycheck? Is it so your familyfeels more secure? Perhaps you want to leadbecause you feel you can help others bydeveloping products and services that theyneed, or you see a place where you cancause positive change in your industry. Theseare all higher purposes, and by identifyingyour own, you can better operate as aconfident and knowledgeable leader.

As you sharpen effectiveness as a leader— whether that's in a professional orpersonal capacity — you'll strengthen theefforts you put into your own goals.

The writer is Pallavi Prakash, Founder-CEO ofKnowledge Seed Learning Center &

a Motivational Speaker

LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 6, 2019 avenues 11

M I N D I T

TheFaculty of

Science at theUniversity of

Strathclyde, Glasgow isoffering scholarships

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

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

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

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

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

For more information visit: [email protected]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Application deadline: Open for 2019

Speech pathology and audiologyare allied health careers. The pro-fessionals are qualified by special

training, education, skills and experienceto provide healthcare service. However,the practitioners are not physicians butare called speech pathologists and audiol-ogists and work with people who havespeech disorders due to problems likecleft palate or other medical conditions.The job involves examining and cleaningthe ear canal, fitting hearing aids, counsel-ing on adjusting to hearing loss and train-ing on the use of hearing instruments. Topractice one need to haveBachelors/Masters degree in Audiologyand be registered with Indian Speech andHearing Association or RehabilitationCouncil of India. A few colleges to study:nSri Ramachandra College ofPhysiotherapy, Chennai. Course: BScHearing, Language and Speechn Indian Institute of Health Educationand Research, Patna. Course: BScHearing, Language and Speechn Institute of Speech and Hearing,Bengaluru. Course: BSc Hearing,Language and Speechn Institute of Health Sciences,Mangalore. Course: BSc Hearing,Language and SpeechnAli Yavar Jung National Institute forthe Hearing Handicapped, Mumbai.Course: BSc Hearing, Language andSpeechnTopiwala National Medical College and

BYL Nair CharitableHospital, Mumbai.

Course: BScHearing,Languageand Speech

STUDY CENTRES PROJECT MANAGEMENT AT MAKEMYTRIP Location: GurugramStipend: `5,000 per monthLink: internshala.com/i/84912Application deadline: March 14, 2019

CONTENT WRITING AT WORK LABSLocation: Patiala, Zirakpur, Panchkula, Chandigarh,Mohali Stipend: `5,000-`7,000 per monthLink: internshala.com/i/84910Application deadline: March15, 2019

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT(SALES) AT OYO ROOMSLocation: BhubaneswarStipend:`10,000 per monthLink:internshala.com/i/84909Application deadline: March 14, 2019

WEB DEVELOPMENT AT XIAOMITECHNOLOGYLocation: BengaluruStipend:`15,000 per monthLink: internshala.com/i/84911Application deadline: March 14,2019

CORPORATE SALES AT BOOKMYSHOWLocation: Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur,Mumbai Stipend: `5,000 per monthLink: internshala.com/i/84913Application deadline: March 14, 2019

CONSULTING AT ERNST AND YOUNG Location: GurugramStipend: `21,200 per monthLink: internshala.com/i/84914Application deadline: March 14, 2019

CONTENT WRITING AT SPORTSKEEDALocation: Work from HomeStipend: `3,000-`5,000 per monthLink: internshala.com/i/84915Application deadline: March 14, 2019

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)Roorkee is hosted a TrainingCourse on Energy Efficiency and

Conservation for African Nationalsunder the India Africa ForumSummit-III.

The training course involved 50participants from 12 Africancountries which were identified andselected by Indian Missions inrespective countries and sponsoredby Ministry of External Affairs. Theparticipants were from differentGovernment organisations who areresponsible for energy conservationand efficiency programmes in theirown country.

Experts from IIT Roorkee,Bureau of Energy Efficiency, EnergyEfficiency Services Limited, stateelectricity regulator, nationalproductivity council, Indianrenewable energy developmentagency, UREDA and UPES sharedtheir expertise and experiences.

Smartivity Labs has introduced14 new unique learning-based,engagement-driven toys. These

products range from the insightfulconcepts of its three core segments— STEM Learning to BlendedLearning and Augmented Reality —which are designed to thrill, delight

and impartfundamentallearning(s)for children inthe agebracket of 3 to14 years.

These

products encourage kids toexperience joy and pride of makingtheir own toys and the inspire themto take interest in STEM fields.

By creating cutting-edgeengagement activities for youngminds, the products enables theperfect amalgamation of thephysical and digital world to beenjoyed by children across thecountry. One can choose learning-based and engagement-driven toysand activities which strengthen achild’s cognitive and social skills.The products are crafted to makelearning more fun and experiential.

OP Jindal Global University (JGU),India and the University of

Wollongong (UoW), Australia havesigned a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) for strategicpartnership through which studentsand faculty members from eachuniversity may spend some time atthe other in short or longer termexchange programmes.

The objective is not only tobegin a solid partnership betweenJGU and UoW but also to provide a

strong platform for engagementbetween the two universities thatwould qualitatively impact thelearning and growth of studentsand faculty alike.

The partnership allows JGUand UoW students to undertakeexchange opportunities at the otherinstitution. For faculty andresearchers, it allows for jointresearch and joint teaching, whileencouraging collaboration ininternational publications.

MahatmaEducation Society’sPillai Group ofInstitutions, a Mumbaibased not for profittrust that managesover organised aFIFA/CIES/Pillai sportssummit — Sport andthe Development of aNation — to launchFIFA/CIES executive

programme in SportsManagement inpartnership with CIES(The InternationalCentre for SportsStudies, Switzerland),a body for SportsManagementEducation.

A Memorandumof Understanding(MoU) was signed by

Pierre Cornu,President, CIES and DrKM Vasudevan Pillai,Chairman-Pillai Groupin the presence ofMinister for Educationand Sports,Government ofMaharashtra, VinodTawde and otherprofessionals from thesports industry. K

IIT College of Education andWorld Citizen Science Instituteorganised a workshop — Hindi

an International language — inwhich Professor LiudhimlaKhokholoa of the Indian PhilologyDepartment of Moscow UniversityRussia gave a lecture on Hindilanguage. The aim of the workshopwas to make children aware of thegrowing level of Hindi and to tellthem that it is popular like Hindi,English, German, French and Chineselanguages.

SS Agarwal, Director, KIITCollege said: “Due to its simplicityand ease Hindi language has becomean international language today, it isgetting involved in the popularlanguage of the world.”

INDO-AFRO SUMMIT-IIIFUN AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FOR KIDS

MOU FOR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

SPORTS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME

WORKSHOP ON HINDI

IN BRIEF

nWhat is the programme about?We are one of the largest poverty

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘Strong academics

need of the hour’

Jayant RastogiGlobal CEO, Magic Bus

SHALINI SAKSENA speaks withJAYANT RASTOGI about theimportance of activity-basedcurriculum today

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

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

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

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

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

The second reason is, that

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

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

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

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

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

at least a month.nIn the last month before your

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

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

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

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

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

nDid you have no idea how tosolve the question?

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

nMake short notes and flash-cards of formulae, diagrams, and

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

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

nClarify your doubts immedi-ately.

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

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

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

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

nKeep your mind calm, stayfocused, and give it your best shot.

The writer is VP, EducationalContent Head, Toppr

NEET and clean tips

Only two months are left for NEET exam that is tough with a vast syllabus, trickyquestions and negative marking. RAJSHEKHAR RATREY shares tips on how onecan get that perfect score

GET YOURDOUBTS SOLVEDIMMEDIATELY, ORELSE YOU WILL

KEEP REPEATINGTHE SAME

MISTAKES INEVERY MOCK TEST

THAT YOU TAKE.YOU CAN

DOWNLOAD ANAPP TO CLARIFY

THEM

money 12LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 6, 2018

BUSINESS CORNER

RBI FINES THREE BANKS FOR NON-COMPLIANCE OF NORMSNew Delhi: The Reserve Bank has imposed a fine of `2 crore on Allahabad

Bank for non-compliance of directions with regard to Nostro accounts, the state-owned lender said on Tuesday. A Nostro account is an account that a bank holdsin a foreign currency in another bank. Private sector lender ICICI Bank too hasbeen slapped with a fine of Rs 1 crore for delay in compliance with directionsrelated to global messaging software Swift. Allahabad Bank was fined for non-compliance of RBI directions dated February 20, 2018 pertaining to reconcili-ation of Nostro on real time basis with immediate effect, as per a BSE filing.According to RBI directions, banks have to interpret real time as T+1 for Nostrodebits and T+5 for Nostro credits. The amount of penalty is not material con-sidering the size of the bank, and necessary measures for compliance with thesaid RBI directions have been taken, Allahabad Bank added. In a separate fil-ing to exchanges, ICICI Bank said: “The Banking Regulation Act, 1949, leviedan aggregate penalty of Rs 10 million vide its order dated February 25, 2019. Thepenalty has been levied for delay in compliance with RBI's directives on 'Time-bound implementation and strengthening of Swift related controls.” Yes Bankalso informed Tuesday about a fine of Rs 1 crore for non-compliance of direc-tions on Swift. Stock of Allahabad Bank was trading 4.10 per cent up at Rs 52on BSE; ICICI Bank was at `362.45, up 2.53 per cent. Yes Bank was trading down0.21 per cent at `236.90. On Monday, a number of private as well as public sec-tor banks informed about penalties levied on them by RBI for failing to com-ply with Swift software operating requirements.

AUDI INDIA LAUNCHES A6 LIFESTYLE EDITION PRICED AT `49.99L New Delhi: German luxury car makerAudi Tuesday launched its A6 sedanLifestyle Edition in India, priced at `49.99lakh. The A6 Lifestyle Edition is equippedwith new added features and accessoriessuch as rear seat entertainment, mobilecoffee machine Espresso Mobil and entryexit lights with Audi logo projection,among others, Audi India said in astatement. hese features are meant for thenew age customers who like to movearound impressively and with style, AudiIndia Head Rahil Ansari said. “With theintroduction of the Audi A6 LifestyleEdition, we have further increased the luxury quotient of the already favouriteAudi A6 amongst the luxury car buyers," he said. With the rear seatentertainment, rear seat passengers can enjoy infotainment throughnetworked tablets with 25.65 cm touch screen that also works outside the car,the company said. Currently, the A6 sedan is available with 1.8 litre petrolengine and 2 litre diesel engine options.

India's import duties

not high: Govt

PTI n NEW DELHI

Rejecting the US claims ofimposing "tremendously

high" tariffs, India on Tuesdaysaid its import duties are nothigh and are within the normsof the World TradeOrganisation (WTO).

“We do not agree with thatat all. Our tariffs (importduties) are very consistent withthe bound rates that we areentitled to in theWTO,”Commerce SecretaryAnup Wadhawan toldreporters here.

“Our tariffs are very com-parable to more liberal devel-oping economies and somedeveloped economies,” headded.

He said India’s tariffs arewithin the bound rates underthe WTO commitments, andon the average are well belowthose rates.

Duties which are imposedon imported goods are calledapplied rates and the extent towhich a country can increasethose duties are known asbound rates.

India’s trade weightedaverage tariff is 7.6 per cent,which is comparable with themost open developingeconomies, and some devel-oped economies.

The commerce ministry,in a statement, said on devel-opmental considerations,there may be a few tariffpeaks, which is true for almostall economies.

US President DonaldTrump had claimed that Indiais a “tariff king” and imposes"tremendously high" tariffson American products likeHarley Davidson motorcy-cles.

Trump has said he intendsto end the preferential tradestatus granted to India, assert-ing that New Delhi has failedto assure America of "equi-table and reasonable" access toits markets.

The US has also beenraising the issue of tradedeficit with India. The bilat-eral trade was USD 74.5 bil-lion in 2017-18 against USD64.5 billion in 2016-17.

The commerce ministrymentioned that due to variousinitiat ives resulting inenhanced purchase of USgoods like oil and natural gasand coal, the US trade deficitwith India has substantiallyreduced in 2017 and 2018.

“The reduction is esti-mated to be over USD 4 bil-lion in 2018, with furtherreduction expected in futureyears on account of factors like

the growing demand for ener-gy and civilian aircraft inIndia,” it said.

This reduction, it added,has happened in the face of arising overall US trade deficit,including with some othermajor economies.

“India is also a thrivingmarket for US services and e-commerce companies likeAmazon, Uber, Google andFacebook with billions of dol-lars of revenue,” it said.

The commerce ministrysaid that on the US demand toreduce import duties on cer-tain IT products, the countryhas conveyed that its dutiesare moderate and not importstopping.“Any MFN (mostfavoured nation) duty reduc-tion would almost entirelybenefit third countries.Accordingly, India conveyedwillingness to extend dutyconcessions on specific itemsin which there is a clear USinterest,” it said.

On telecom testing, Indiawas willing to consider dis-cussions for a MutualRecognition Agreement, itadded. It said that acceptabil-ity of the US market accessrequests related to productslike alfalfa hay, cherries andpork was also conveyed tothem.

UP to get 40 paise/unit cheaper power from plantPTI n NEW DELHI

Uttar Pradesh Power Corporationwill get 40 paise per unit cheaper

electricity from Prayagraj PowerGeneration Company's plant at Bara inPrayagraj district, which will translateinto savings to the tune of Rs 500 croreannually.

An arm of Tata Power-backedResurgent Power Ventures, RenascentPower Ventures -- which has acquired75.01 per cent stake in the Bara powerplant -- will be offering 40 paise per unitcheaper electricity to Uttar PradeshPower Corporation Ltd (UPPCL)under revised terms of power purchaseagreement, a source said.

UPPCL is the company responsi-ble for electricity transmission and dis-tribution within the Indian state ofUttar Pradesh.

The revised PPA would also beapproved by the state power regulatorwhile disposing off the plea.

A plea for change in ownership ofPrayagraj Power Genreation CompanyLtd (PPGCL) is under consideration ofUttar Pradesh Electricity RegulatoryCommission (UPERC), which isexpected to be decided this month. Thenext hearing is scheduled onWednesday. The source further saidthat since the acquisition is at deep dis-count, UPPCL is keen on passing thebenefits to consumers reeling underhigh energy tariffs. The average pooledpower purchase cost of the UPPCL isaround Rs 4.40 per unit. The UPERChas also asked UPPCL to explain thebenefit that would accrue to con-

sumers, with takeover of the PPGCL byResurgent Power.

Industry experts believe the aver-age pooled power purchase cost isexpected to increase in the comingmonths owing to increase in varioustaxes and duties during the last threeyears.

In such a situation, the discount of40 paise per unit comes as as a relief forUPPCL since this discount will lead tosavings of Rs 500 crore annually for theUPPCL, they said.

Besides, UPPCL would be buying100 per cent power from plant to caterto the upcoming summer powerdemand surge, which wold further leadto savings for UPCCL, the sourcesaid.

The Renascent Power Ventureshad announced acquisition of 75.01 percent stake in PPGCL last year inNovember.

PPGCL was incorporated as a spe-cial purpose vehicle (SPV) on February27, 2007, by UPPCL for setting up 1,980MW (660X3) coal-based thermalpower plant at Bara.

Uttar Pradesh power discoms hadentered into a 25-year PPA for supplyof 90 per cent of power output from theplant. The Uttar Pradesh govermenthad awarded the project to JaiprakashPower Ventures Ltd (JPVL) on March2, 2009. The power plant was to be fullycommissioned in June 2015.

However, owing to various issuesfaced by the project firm, the plant wasdelayed for more than two years lead-ing to escalation in capital cost of theproject.

Script Open High Low LTPSUZLON 6.00 7.60 5.95 7.44TATAMOTORS 183.95 198.00 181.50 194.00JPASSOCIAT 6.26 6.95 6.19 6.76IBULHSGFIN 671.00 752.95 664.55 739.25RPOWER 12.50 13.25 12.40 12.74YESBANK 236.70 240.65 234.25 237.30RELINFRA 125.80 133.20 125.00 130.30DHFL 129.50 135.30 129.45 134.00GRAPHITE 424.00 466.30 424.00 466.30RELCAPITAL 181.00 193.75 179.05 192.80HEG 2100.00 2302.20 2092.95 2270.35IOC 146.95 154.25 146.80 153.70RELIANCE 1226.70 1239.40 1218.20 1236.95TATASTEEL 509.00 522.80 505.20 521.50AXISBANK 704.60 734.20 701.05 732.10JETAIRWAYS 225.70 242.00 224.90 238.50FORCEMOT 1609.00 1724.80 1599.65 1677.75PNB 77.00 83.20 76.60 82.55PCJEWELLER 72.45 81.15 71.70 79.70ASHOKLEY 87.00 92.95 86.00 90.65ONGC 148.60 155.60 148.20 154.95ICICIBANK 355.00 363.35 352.85 362.35WIPRO 376.00 376.00 361.20 363.60DBL 448.00 537.80 448.00 516.95SBIN 271.90 277.50 271.20 276.05IDFCFIRSTB 47.60 51.50 47.40 50.90TECHM 821.00 824.80 807.00 809.55BEL 86.00 90.80 85.20 90.05NCC 89.50 99.00 88.80 98.00LT 1309.00 1312.00 1276.35 1306.65NATIONALUM 55.00 56.40 54.40 56.15ITC 279.10 283.60 276.20 282.65EICHERMOT 19550.00 21786.95 19340.20 21507.70HINDPETRO 233.00 248.00 232.05 246.70REPCOHOME 356.45 450.10 356.45 427.75INFY 742.00 742.55 730.00 732.60PHILIPCARB 168.00 184.65 166.50 181.35SUNPHARMA 449.50 456.85 445.55 455.75TATAMTRDVR 93.00 97.70 91.20 95.95BANKBARODA 108.00 113.50 107.60 112.20CGPOWER 36.50 39.15 35.90 38.05ADANIPOWER 48.90 52.20 48.90 51.10MARUTI 6941.00 7155.00 6895.25 7114.50JSWSTEEL 284.90 292.00 281.85 291.10L&TFH 128.00 136.10 127.60 135.35VEDL 173.50 176.30 172.50 174.95RECLTD 135.60 144.80 135.60 143.95EDELWEISS 139.75 155.70 138.55 153.80ICICIGI 952.00 1012.00 950.00 971.20TCS 2002.00 2005.00 1978.05 1987.85

COALINDIA 233.05 241.40 233.05 240.30IDEA 30.00 30.50 29.50 29.90JINDALSTEL 161.90 168.75 160.60 167.95M&M 650.00 657.95 642.50 656.45DISHTV 41.75 42.35 40.45 41.00JAICORPLTD 93.80 103.65 93.75 101.35HDFC 1864.00 1867.95 1840.05 1860.55JKTYRE 88.00 94.15 87.30 92.95KEC 269.00 275.30 268.95 273.45KOTAKBANK 1226.90 1245.35 1218.70 1240.20STRTECH 248.95 268.90 248.95 267.40M&MFIN 411.35 437.60 410.25 433.60ACC 1488.60 1535.00 1472.95 1530.80BOMDYEING 114.15 121.40 114.10 117.95ESCORTS 675.00 716.00 671.05 713.35BANKINDIA 88.90 91.40 87.80 90.55INFIBEAM 36.20 39.85 35.85 39.35SPARC 186.10 191.80 185.50 187.50SAIL 52.45 55.40 52.30 54.95RADICO 382.00 403.25 382.00 400.35RAIN 95.10 102.95 94.00 102.95WOCKPHARMA 424.00 431.75 420.05 425.80HDFCBANK 2094.00 2110.60 2070.25 2107.50SPICEJET 81.20 84.00 81.15 83.40IBREALEST 71.15 76.05 71.15 74.80JSLHISAR 88.80 98.75 88.80 95.20BHARTIARTL 308.00 309.50 304.00 308.05IBVENTURES 277.00 299.70 276.20 294.65AUROPHARMA 728.00 740.70 720.60 735.90BPCL 345.05 366.00 345.05 362.70ZEEL 487.00 487.00 479.80 484.65UJJIVAN 286.40 314.45 283.95 312.25EQUITAS 117.05 130.65 116.60 128.30HEROMOTOCO 2675.00 2819.00 2653.10 2796.70LAKSHVILAS 64.95 72.70 64.95 71.45VIPIND 418.85 430.80 408.00 422.10MEGH 56.10 63.45 56.05 62.10

MCX 673.00 732.30 673.00 729.80VGUARD 212.70 218.15 208.80 216.70ABCAPITAL 95.90 100.30 95.90 99.65RCOM 6.57 6.70 6.44 6.64UNIONBANK 77.00 80.95 76.55 80.65MOTHERSUMI 161.55 164.50 159.55 164.10HINDUNILVR 1735.50 1739.00 1717.80 1724.20CANBK 246.00 256.90 242.10 253.00MUTHOOTFIN 535.40 578.35 529.10 570.15BEML 857.80 920.00 852.00 908.20JUSTDIAL 530.00 544.85 525.00 539.80SBILIFE 600.80 616.95 598.00 606.95MANAPPURAM 115.05 123.55 115.00 120.20DLF 167.25 176.55 167.25 175.25IDBI 44.50 48.10 44.15 46.40GNFC 274.90 294.95 274.15 291.35TITAN 1022.05 1036.00 1017.35 1033.35PEL 2372.15 2480.00 2372.15 2461.85TATAPOWER 67.50 69.60 67.35 69.00INDIACEM 92.60 97.75 92.25 97.20VOLTAS 573.90 598.45 572.85 596.05BHARATFORG 514.95 528.00 505.15 525.70SUNTV 615.00 630.30 612.90 626.95DELTACORP 248.00 263.00 248.00 261.05TVSMOTOR 470.50 495.10 470.00 490.35KSCL 408.80 428.20 407.15 420.15TATACHEM 565.20 582.20 565.20 578.65HINDALCO 196.85 199.35 192.30 198.70IRB 140.90 152.00 140.40 151.05CHENNPETRO 239.50 257.55 239.50 255.30CANFINHOME 278.00 296.45 276.10 293.30VENKYS 2188.00 2264.00 2165.00 2240.35FEDERALBNK 86.15 89.40 85.25 89.00DRREDDY 2654.30 2659.95 2601.55 2651.00SRTRANSFIN 1167.10 1236.75 1166.05 1230.75ADANIPORTS 333.35 341.00 330.70 339.50LUPIN 788.10 790.00 778.25 784.75BAJAJ-AUTO 2833.00 2923.80 2820.00 2906.60UPL 875.00 876.05 862.75 873.80ISEC 202.80 225.90 202.80 220.20BAJFINANCE 2664.95 2707.00 2646.80 2694.20DMART 1457.00 1500.00 1457.00 1472.05RCF 56.25 59.20 55.55 58.65INTELLECT 191.00 209.45 191.00 202.95ALBK 50.00 52.60 49.50 52.15BHEL 67.55 68.00 66.50 67.40LINDEINDIA 499.95 542.75 494.45 538.00MINDTREE 933.55 939.10 912.05 916.50SYMPHONY 1306.00 1387.60 1306.00 1353.45RBLBANK 591.60 610.00 591.60 607.00NTPC 144.00 147.80 143.00 146.95SADBHAV 216.90 225.00 210.50 223.65SOUTHBANK 13.90 14.50 13.55 14.35BIOCON 633.40 633.40 624.00 627.25PFC 113.90 116.95 113.05 116.30HAVELLS 707.35 724.00 706.00 721.55SREINFRA 28.55 30.10 27.35 29.80NBCC 55.40 57.85 55.05 57.50LICHSGFIN 473.75 490.50 473.60 484.95BBTC 1238.90 1284.95 1218.00 1278.80HFCL 21.95 23.30 21.95 22.85GRUH 252.00 254.80 250.30 253.65ASIANPAINT 1394.50 1409.00 1384.80 1401.20HDFCLIFE 363.95 378.90 360.00 375.75DCBBANK 183.10 193.75 182.75 191.15MMTC 26.65 29.05 26.35 28.90LTI 1739.00 1739.00 1670.00 1676.80INDIGO 1122.50 1194.90 1119.00 1184.10BATAINDIA 1280.20 1311.55 1276.85 1306.45IGL 292.95 300.80 292.95 299.50JSL 36.50 42.70 36.25 41.35JUBLFOOD 1280.00 1286.95 1262.00 1274.70HINDCOPPER 47.20 50.60 47.10 49.95GRANULES 103.50 107.50 103.50 106.20NMDC 102.40 105.75 102.40 105.30WELCORP 118.90 122.50 114.45 120.05ITI 93.20 97.65 92.65 96.20EIDPARRY 187.55 204.95 186.35 201.45ORIENTBANK 91.20 95.50 91.20 94.85CENTURYTEX 827.90 863.00 827.55 859.40NOCIL 142.00 143.45 140.30 142.00BAJAJFINSV 6543.00 6648.30 6393.50 6569.10CASTROLIND 161.40 164.10 158.70 159.90ULTRACEMCO 3878.00 3975.00 3878.00 3963.85JAMNAAUTO 60.50 61.95 58.70 61.00APOLLOTYRE 222.00 224.00 219.00 223.50TV18BRDCST 36.35 37.25 35.40 37.00POWERGRID 183.30 185.40 182.85 182.95JINDALSAW 86.00 91.35 86.00 90.95MARICO 335.35 337.50 332.15 335.95EXIDEIND 219.00 224.60 218.40 222.70MANPASAND 78.70 87.80 75.95 86.25STAR 426.15 439.50 426.15 437.00INDUSINDBK 1515.00 1545.30 1510.00 1539.70DCMSHRIRAM 410.10 463.00 410.10 451.50ENGINERSIN 110.55 115.00 109.65 114.15MGL 906.55 914.00 894.50 898.95AVANTI 338.25 363.00 338.20 358.55FSL 44.80 47.60 44.80 46.60TATAELXSI 918.00 929.90 918.00 924.30CADILAHC 321.00 332.50 321.00 331.20NAVINFLUOR 595.00 656.00 595.00 645.50BALKRISIND 895.30 916.60 885.55 909.90NAVKARCORP 40.95 44.10 40.60 43.10SUVEN 245.90 254.40 245.90 252.90OMAXE 207.50 209.95 201.70 205.65HEXAWARE 359.90 363.00 355.65 359.00COLPAL 1240.10 1258.50 1235.50 1239.95APOLLOHOSP 1158.35 1194.95 1148.70 1190.60

WELSPUNIND 54.65 57.85 54.40 57.50TEJASNET 165.05 186.00 163.35 183.05QUESS 730.00 754.80 717.05 727.30JSWENERGY 67.95 69.15 66.05 68.10CONCOR 479.40 487.50 476.55 485.00OIL 179.25 181.85 178.30 181.45GODREJAGRO 483.90 512.60 482.30 506.20NAUKRI 1827.00 1831.00 1753.05 1767.55NHPC 23.15 23.70 23.15 23.60UFLEX 201.40 223.00 201.40 219.40APLAPOLLO 1296.50 1397.80 1296.50 1372.65HUDCO 41.85 43.95 41.60 43.55GRASIM 792.00 811.60 791.40 808.35BAJAJELEC 454.40 481.00 452.00 478.10HINDZINC 270.05 274.40 270.00 271.55SUNTECK 348.45 362.05 346.00 358.35GUJFLUORO 916.15 975.00 916.15 950.75AMBUJACEM 218.05 223.20 217.80 221.85IDFC 40.45 41.75 40.15 41.60SRF 2294.00 2332.20 2294.00 2319.80JISLJALEQS 60.50 63.00 60.30 62.65HCLTECH 1054.00 1059.45 1045.60 1053.20PRSMJOHNSN 80.20 89.90 80.00 89.05HEIDELBERG 157.65 171.00 157.65 170.00ABFRL 223.45 226.60 221.65 225.50DABUR 445.30 445.35 440.30 442.80PAGEIND 22299.85 23154.20 22129.65 22863.15GUJALKALI 499.70 523.90 496.50 518.15WHIRLPOOL 1439.00 1570.00 1425.00 1547.90UBL 1350.05 1395.00 1350.05 1379.50GAIL 341.00 347.45 341.00 346.45TRIDENT 62.85 65.00 62.65 64.40JMFINANCIL 81.00 85.15 79.60 83.85IPCALAB 856.90 886.15 853.45 870.95GODREJCP 680.55 701.30 680.00 694.25NESTLEIND 10400.00 10550.00 10300.00 10507.95IFCI 13.35 14.58 13.30 14.08GODREJIND 500.00 503.90 490.75 502.05PIIND 934.00 985.05 930.70 947.75FRETAIL 438.80 438.80 428.05 435.75FCONSUMER 47.25 49.25 47.25 47.95ABB 1244.00 1253.20 1224.30 1233.85BANDHANBNK 480.00 488.00 480.00 484.95ISGEC 4879.00 4879.00 4650.00 4698.00KTKBANK 113.15 119.85 113.15 119.45SIEMENS 999.95 1033.10 998.50 1027.80PETRONET 224.40 227.20 223.00 226.20HSIL 226.05 241.10 226.05 239.70HSCL 124.65 124.65 121.70 123.40RAMCOCEM 695.25 719.95 688.95 717.30MPHASIS 1026.25 1026.25 1005.00 1007.30MRPL 67.50 70.95 67.20 70.05NETWORK18 32.90 35.00 32.90 34.40ICICIPRULI 325.15 331.80 325.00 327.20INDHOTEL 139.00 140.00 137.00 138.75CUMMINSIND 703.10 724.95 701.75 718.65TAKE 131.10 136.50 130.55 134.75WESTLIFE 352.00 368.50 348.50 366.15CIPLA 552.00 552.00 546.75 548.55TATAGLOBAL 197.45 199.90 196.60 197.60BRITANNIA 3050.00 3101.80 3050.00 3067.40CEATLTD 1114.00 1142.00 1102.00 1132.75AUBANK 570.10 594.00 570.10 579.25TATAMETALI 621.00 641.00 620.00 631.00GUJGAS 126.00 126.00 121.50 122.50ASHOKA 122.35 132.00 121.45 130.30MOIL 151.35 161.00 151.35 159.45KEI 355.00 378.20 355.00 375.65INDIANB 231.30 238.50 228.75 237.25ASTRAZEN 2000.65 2081.65 2000.65 2065.15BDL 286.10 291.55 278.05 288.25GSFC 98.10 98.10 94.10 97.80CHOLAFIN 1268.30 1297.10 1268.30 1288.10ADANITRANS 206.05 211.50 203.75 208.35PNBHOUSING 913.15 928.35 912.70 921.00SYNDIBANK 35.80 37.75 35.80 37.40CROMPTON 210.00 217.50 210.00 216.30RAYMOND 795.70 795.70 783.30 790.75MFSL 405.10 411.00 398.25 407.90ADANIGREEN 34.65 37.40 34.25 36.40INFRATEL 293.00 297.45 291.85 296.60DEEPAKFERT 129.95 135.85 129.35 134.05TTKPRESTIG 8000.00 8675.00 8000.00 8586.85EIHOTEL 186.20 193.00 185.70 187.45AJANTPHARM 994.50 1001.95 988.00 994.10RNAM 186.65 192.90 184.95 188.90MAGMA 109.40 115.50 109.40 114.45MAXINDIA 69.95 69.95 68.25 68.70MERCK 3255.05 3400.00 3255.05 3356.75PIDILITIND 1143.90 1154.00 1137.00 1142.30GMRINFRA 16.65 17.00 16.45 16.95THOMASCOOK 215.10 215.55 211.80 213.85SOMANYCERA 347.85 368.15 334.00 360.55TATACOMM 590.00 604.10 590.00 600.45NLCINDIA 64.70 66.60 64.45 66.30ITDCEM 111.80 118.55 109.65 117.40KAJARIACER 557.95 565.00 556.60 562.75CENTURYPLY 183.00 187.00 180.40 185.55RALLIS 153.50 159.70 151.80 157.20COCHINSHIP 370.00 378.50 370.00 376.75WABAG 313.00 323.40 312.00 317.05KRBL 368.00 386.65 368.00 381.95HIMATSEIDE 176.00 181.00 171.00 177.95SCI 36.50 38.20 36.20 37.75NILKAMAL 1325.00 1390.00 1325.00 1377.90GODFRYPHLP 901.50 961.75 898.75 956.20NBVENTURES 104.75 110.20 104.20 108.25TATACOFFEE 87.25 90.00 85.95 89.25VINATIORGA 1499.80 1595.00 1499.80 1581.75

BIRLACORPN 509.50 539.75 509.50 535.10REDINGTON 89.00 93.50 89.00 91.25BALMLAWRIE 181.50 188.35 181.50 186.55PFIZER 3300.00 3351.00 3260.00 3316.40GICRE 225.00 249.60 223.90 246.35DCAL 189.00 202.50 189.00 197.70AARTIIND 1406.40 1465.00 1406.40 1458.80GDL 108.00 120.40 107.80 118.30LTTS 1549.45 1565.00 1527.10 1532.80KNRCON 225.00 225.00 187.00 219.50JUBILANT 778.75 785.65 770.05 779.65CENTRALBK 32.00 32.60 31.75 32.05ITDC 274.00 288.80 273.65 281.45TORNTPOWER 247.40 251.40 247.40 248.85LAOPALA 197.00 212.50 195.85 208.10TNPL 198.00 210.50 198.00 205.85DIVISLAB 1670.00 1681.45 1657.35 1662.00MAHINDCIE 237.45 245.65 237.05 243.15GLENMARK 599.40 607.85 598.20 603.45HAL 670.00 694.00 669.00 682.90RELAXO 826.05 826.05 718.00 750.70COROMANDEL 442.75 463.00 442.00 461.75J&KBANK 39.85 42.90 39.15 41.80MINDAIND 325.00 335.40 324.70 329.00PARAGMILK 237.40 244.25 237.20 241.75CHAMBLFERT 161.00 166.10 161.00 165.15NIITTECH 1322.05 1329.60 1309.00 1313.40SWANENERGY 114.05 115.50 113.00 114.65DEEPAKNI 233.75 244.75 233.75 240.95PVR 1491.65 1545.00 1487.05 1522.55MOTILALOFS 569.90 584.00 565.05 579.50OBEROIRLTY 493.75 493.75 485.00 487.25EMAMILTD 394.00 401.80 394.00 399.25BERGEPAINT 303.00 306.25 301.60 304.95GHCL 230.05 236.95 230.00 234.70AMARAJABAT 727.00 739.40 727.00 734.90JAGRAN 97.00 100.50 95.35 98.75LUXIND 1186.65 1251.00 1170.00 1240.90TRENT 342.00 351.55 338.25 345.75INOXLEISUR 284.00 287.00 283.10 285.75BLISSGVS 178.90 179.90 175.20 176.75PGHH 10916.00 11178.95 10842.05 10976.05OFSS 3518.80 3590.85 3501.60 3570.05NATCOPHARM* 571.20 576.65 565.00 568.10MINDACORP 150.40 153.80 147.95 151.40PNCINFRA 129.75 139.70 129.30 135.00GPPL 88.45 88.90 84.00 87.60GREAVESCOT 128.90 130.45 128.80 129.60GICHSGFIN 239.00 251.90 238.50 250.40FORTIS 134.15 135.30 131.00 134.70CAPPL 389.00 410.00 384.00 403.55TIMETECHNO 90.00 97.90 90.00 97.15DENABANK 11.91 12.42 11.91 12.37INOXWIND 71.35 79.55 70.50 76.40BASF 1349.50 1411.00 1332.45 1389.65VIJAYABANK 44.80 45.30 43.30 44.95CARBORUNIV 382.25 386.90 378.50 385.20KANSAINER 452.65 452.65 436.50 440.55GSPL 160.85 164.80 158.00 163.75LAXMIMACH 5950.00 6100.00 5919.10 6067.40BHARATFIN 950.40 968.30 948.40 964.30ANDHRABANK 25.50 26.60 25.10 26.30SCHNEIDER 96.75 105.20 96.10 104.80SHREECEM 16805.00 17419.60 16721.80 17232.25JYOTHYLAB 181.85 186.75 181.85 184.90GODREJPROP 711.45 720.00 707.85 711.80GREENPLY 145.70 149.00 143.15 147.85CUB 190.00 191.50 185.95 187.00MRF 57476.00 57921.00 57253.50 57622.95SOBHA 439.00 446.70 436.10 443.50MHRIL 206.00 213.70 204.30 212.60TIINDIA 370.00 383.40 368.05 377.95COFFEEDAY 274.80 287.65 273.65 282.90IFBIND 857.00 904.80 846.55 899.55ADVENZYMES 153.00 153.00 150.00 151.95THYROCARE 524.00 547.10 523.50 540.25APLLTD 549.65 551.55 545.85 549.80CENTRUM 32.95 34.80 32.70 34.40HERITGFOOD 454.70 490.70 454.70 482.25CORPBANK 30.50 30.85 30.20 30.60BOSCHLTD 18749.30 18957.50 18690.15 18877.10SUDARSCHEM 342.45 346.05 338.00 341.90RAJESHEXPO 569.95 577.70 567.60 574.15TORNTPHARM 1786.00 1789.05 1767.05 1774.20SANOFI 5914.05 5970.05 5780.00 5792.95ALKEM 1789.00 1789.00 1750.00 1754.45JBCHEPHARM 333.00 345.00 333.00 342.00

ELGIEQUIP 261.20 263.85 259.90 261.15SOLARINDS 985.00 1072.00 984.20 1042.95PERSISTENT* 670.00 685.00 668.35 679.70UCOBANK 19.20 19.50 19.15 19.40ENDURANCE 1275.50 1301.80 1255.20 1263.50LALPATHLAB 1014.00 1021.45 1003.00 1014.85KALPATPOWR 397.00 402.40 389.15 395.10BAYERCROP 4279.00 4364.95 4264.25 4301.05SYNGENE 591.50 596.00 586.05 589.25SUPREMEIND 1122.00 1132.00 1094.80 1104.60SHARDACROP 357.85 369.65 355.45 367.25SONATSOFTW 340.50 346.95 339.00 340.50TEAMLEASE 2900.00 2900.00 2782.45 2849.25TATAINVEST 831.00 856.00 831.00 846.60FINCABLES 422.05 438.00 421.80 435.25DBCORP 180.00 181.65 178.60 179.40PTC 78.30 80.90 78.20 80.30ALLCARGO 102.75 106.25 102.75 105.65ZENSARTECH 197.00 206.50 197.00 205.55ORIENTCEM 74.40 82.00 74.40 81.05AEGISLOG 206.45 208.00 203.90 206.05STARCEMENT 97.50 105.30 97.50 99.30FORBESCO 2200.00 2274.00 2199.00 2229.35GET&D 299.00 308.00 287.55 307.10MAHABANK 13.00 13.49 12.96 13.38GLAXO 1365.00 1365.00 1321.00 1328.20AIAENG 1770.00 1790.05 1739.75 1779.10CYIENT* 650.65 653.00 650.00 650.15JKLAKSHMI 327.45 335.00 327.45 333.10SJVN 24.00 24.20 23.70 24.15SHK 150.15 155.00 150.00 154.30IOB 13.61 14.15 13.37 13.90BLUESTARCO 625.65 652.75 625.55 647.10FINOLEXIND 492.00 524.90 484.00 519.15IEX 156.40 160.00 156.35 159.00SHILPAMED 351.60 373.55 351.60 368.45INDOSTAR 345.10 349.80 342.10 344.65NIACL 175.00 186.65 175.00 184.30PRESTIGE 204.00 207.10 204.00 205.75GMDCLTD 79.40 82.95 78.50 82.50THERMAX 995.00 1019.00 994.95 1010.05IBULISL 286.65 300.95 284.00 300.95NESCO 440.05 462.00 440.05 460.95TRITURBINE 103.95 114.45 103.40 112.75ATUL 3388.00 3416.90 3370.00 3410.00VBL 800.05 823.80 799.80 820.60SUNDRMFAST 524.55 531.85 524.50 528.75JCHAC 1780.00 1887.40 1740.00 1869.90SHANKARA 437.00 453.45 435.40 453.45GSKCONS 7299.00 7299.00 7163.10 7179.95EVEREADY 197.45 197.45 195.45 196.35MAHLIFE 375.00 377.00 373.00 376.503MINDIA 23450.00 24005.00 23000.00 23595.85WABCOINDIA 6480.65 6584.95 6370.00 6444.65MAHLOG 452.00 474.70 452.00 470.05AKZOINDIA 1789.30 1809.00 1757.65 1786.25ASTRAL 1087.90 1115.80 1085.00 1109.80GESHIP 278.00 285.00 276.40 283.25ABBOTINDIA 7331.00 7402.35 7250.00 7285.40TVSSRICHAK 2321.50 2343.00 2182.00 2287.30DHANUKA 416.50 430.00 399.00 418.90ASAHIINDIA 263.90 280.55 263.90 276.15TIFHL 454.85 491.00 454.00 480.15VMART 2620.00 2625.45 2548.00 2552.45PHOENIXLTD 616.70 637.80 614.55 626.90GRINDWELL 549.60 559.00 530.35 554.25CRISIL 1474.20 1501.20 1474.20 1479.90KIOCL 131.90 140.10 131.90 136.65FLFL 427.00 432.45 427.00 431.10VTL 1043.05 1062.50 1033.70 1043.05SUPPETRO 208.00 219.35 208.00 216.90ASTERDM 160.00 160.00 152.00 153.70ZYDUSWELL 1240.00 1270.00 1234.00 1268.55CARERATING 966.95 981.15 952.00 979.90APARINDS 649.30 669.00 635.00 663.05FDC 164.10 174.55 163.95 173.90SUPRAJIT 197.15 204.70 197.15 203.75TVTODAY 330.40 338.90 328.25 335.55KPRMILL 552.00 577.30 552.00 571.25ECLERX 1053.10 1053.10 1022.45 1034.60NAVNETEDUL 106.00 107.90 105.50 107.25BAJAJCON 352.20 352.95 349.05 350.40SKFINDIA 1950.00 1977.40 1935.05 1956.80TIMKEN 565.65 584.90 565.65 580.70ESSELPRO 112.75 115.00 112.40 112.70GALAXYSURF 1025.00 1080.00 1025.00 1078.65SCHAEFFLER 5434.75 5499.00 5389.10 5456.25SIS 785.15 843.40 785.00 820.20JKCEMENT 732.40 755.65 732.40 751.75CERA 2491.20 2517.50 2450.55 2499.20SUNCLAYLTD 2868.00 2929.95 2839.80 2910.00LAURUSLABS 341.05 348.95 340.45 347.45LEMONTREE 76.00 76.30 75.35 76.15CCL 277.20 289.45 277.20 287.15GILLETTE 6890.00 6890.00 6480.00 6501.45GAYAPROJ 161.40 173.95 161.40 170.05BAJAJHLDNG 3166.90 3210.00 3156.05 3176.90SHRIRAMCIT 1671.80 1710.00 1643.95 1695.70GEPIL 810.65 822.00 809.60 814.95NH 220.00 230.00 219.00 227.90MONSANTO 2569.15 2580.00 2548.80 2562.25BLUEDART 3120.00 3142.65 3104.00 3131.25GULFOILLUB 874.10 874.10 864.00 871.10HONAUT 22000.00 22273.45 22000.00 22235.95RATNAMANI 860.00 879.00 859.90 870.65HATSUN 660.00 665.00 660.00 665.00ERIS 621.15 621.15 610.75 615.75SHOPERSTOP 481.90 482.00 478.20 481.30SFL 1400.00 1400.00 1355.00 1366.65

NIFTY 50

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 10864.85 10994.90 10817.00 10987.45 123.95IBULHSGFIN 669.30 753.60 663.95 739.15 67.25EICHERMOT 19500.00 21877.00 19320.00 21510.00 1561.35TATAMOTORS 183.80 198.35 181.40 193.40 13.10HINDPETRO 232.35 248.20 231.35 248.00 15.30BPCL 346.05 365.45 345.45 363.00 16.95AXISBANK 705.70 733.90 700.70 733.85 31.45HEROMOTOCO 2669.95 2822.00 2652.05 2794.00 118.40IOC 146.80 154.25 146.70 154.00 5.95ONGC 148.75 155.65 147.85 155.10 6.00COALINDIA 233.40 242.00 232.70 240.25 7.60JSWSTEEL 284.95 292.10 282.00 290.65 8.55NTPC 143.00 148.20 143.00 147.10 4.10MARUTI 6950.00 7158.15 6894.45 7130.00 194.85BAJAJFINSV 6440.00 6650.00 6386.00 6610.00 169.40TATASTEEL 508.40 522.90 505.20 520.20 12.60GRASIM 791.50 813.45 789.45 810.50 18.75ICICIBANK 355.00 364.15 352.80 361.75 7.50ITC 280.00 284.00 276.05 284.00 5.80ADANIPORTS 333.25 340.50 330.50 339.55 6.35SUNPHARMA 447.85 456.90 445.35 455.70 8.35INDUSINDBK 1510.00 1547.00 1510.00 1538.70 24.60TITAN 1023.60 1039.95 1016.20 1037.00 15.65ULTRACEMCO 3893.90 3978.70 3870.05 3937.25 58.90BAJFINANCE 2655.00 2708.35 2644.60 2696.00 35.25KOTAKBANK 1223.90 1246.30 1217.80 1240.00 14.05HDFCBANK 2088.90 2111.10 2070.00 2107.00 23.65BAJAJ-AUTO 2835.05 2917.40 2814.80 2895.65 32.15SBIN 271.70 277.85 271.20 275.95 3.00HINDALCO 195.00 199.45 194.50 198.20 2.05M&M 649.85 657.90 642.05 656.00 6.30RELIANCE 1223.40 1239.80 1218.60 1237.45 11.40GAIL 343.00 347.40 341.25 346.60 2.75INFRATEL 295.00 297.00 291.60 295.55 2.30UPL 872.80 878.50 865.55 875.60 5.85ASIANPAINT 1393.50 1409.75 1382.70 1401.10 8.75VEDL 172.95 176.40 172.40 174.50 1.05DRREDDY 2635.00 2668.80 2604.60 2660.00 14.00BHARTIARTL 308.00 309.20 303.60 308.00 0.35HDFC 1856.80 1868.40 1838.55 1860.05 0.60HCLTECH 1057.70 1059.80 1045.20 1052.05 -0.55POWERGRID 184.00 185.45 182.60 182.85 -0.35YESBANK 236.00 240.75 234.50 237.10 -0.50LT 1302.00 1310.40 1277.05 1305.00 -3.55TCS 2005.00 2007.00 1976.60 1985.05 -10.35HINDUNILVR 1739.80 1739.80 1717.50 1725.00 -9.65CIPLA 550.00 551.50 546.55 547.65 -3.90ZEEL 484.90 487.30 479.55 482.40 -3.95INFY 740.50 742.50 730.25 732.75 -9.15TECHM 822.50 824.70 808.05 810.80 -21.00WIPRO 374.00 374.65 362.00 362.85 -12.85

SE 500B

NIFTY NEXT 50

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 26884.00 27378.60 26867.15 27347.05 499.15GICRE 225.00 249.80 223.15 249.10 23.80L&TFH 128.00 136.15 127.50 135.75 7.75INDIGO 1117.40 1198.90 1117.00 1190.00 67.85BEL 85.80 91.15 85.15 90.05 5.05SRTRANSFIN 1165.00 1237.70 1164.05 1226.50 66.60SAIL 52.50 55.35 52.25 55.15 2.80ASHOKLEY 86.70 91.00 85.80 90.65 4.05DLF 167.50 177.00 167.50 174.85 7.60PEL 2371.50 2475.00 2364.95 2469.35 97.35BANKBARODA 108.50 113.70 107.60 112.50 4.40ACC 1481.70 1536.40 1472.00 1525.00 57.30ABCAPITAL 96.70 100.40 96.10 99.60 3.65HDFCLIFE 360.10 379.00 360.10 376.40 13.45NIACL 177.75 185.30 177.75 184.00 6.25SHREECEM 16759.00 17377.00 16687.35 17215.00 527.65NMDC 103.00 106.00 102.60 105.75 3.00GODREJCP 680.00 701.50 679.05 697.20 18.05LICHSGFIN 473.50 491.00 473.15 486.30 11.70CADILAHC 320.00 332.75 320.00 331.10 7.90OFSS 3490.00 3609.85 3490.00 3589.15 84.35MOTHERSUMI 162.45 165.00 159.50 164.00 3.50NHPC 23.20 23.75 23.15 23.60 0.50BANDHANBNK 483.00 492.05 480.00 490.00 9.95ICICIGI 953.00 1014.80 953.00 968.40 18.15AMBUJACEM 218.00 223.35 217.65 221.55 4.10SIEMENS 1005.65 1036.40 998.50 1028.05 18.70HAVELLS 707.55 723.90 705.10 719.50 11.95OIL 179.65 181.75 178.25 181.35 2.95PETRONET 223.40 227.45 222.80 227.00 3.60SUNTV 617.00 627.90 613.10 625.75 9.85BHEL 67.75 68.00 66.40 67.20 1.05CONCOR 479.30 487.00 477.70 485.30 7.15AUROPHARMA 729.00 740.75 720.00 734.00 9.05DMART 1457.00 1502.95 1457.00 1472.00 15.45PGHH 10950.85 11199.00 10821.00 11060.00 109.15BOSCHLTD 18700.00 18991.00 18665.20 18930.00 180.25MRF 57397.00 58000.00 57218.50 57566.10 437.00ICICIPRULI 326.60 332.25 323.05 327.15 2.05MARICO 335.90 337.00 332.10 336.40 1.55MCDOWELL-N 566.10 572.45 558.30 566.15 1.55HINDZINC 270.85 275.10 270.10 271.00 0.15LUPIN 791.55 791.60 778.10 785.20 -1.40COLPAL 1236.10 1258.80 1235.15 1243.00 -2.95BRITANNIA 3065.20 3100.25 3060.00 3070.00 -7.25SBILIFE 599.00 617.00 596.10 606.10 -1.80PIDILITIND 1150.00 1154.50 1136.20 1140.70 -3.45DABUR 445.50 445.85 440.05 443.00 -2.30IDEA 29.90 30.50 29.60 29.65 -0.25BIOCON 633.20 633.25 623.50 626.00 -6.90ABB 1250.30 1254.40 1222.25 1230.00 -14.50

world 13LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 6, 2019

US President to scrap GSP

benefits to India, Turkey

PTI n WASHINGTON

US President DonaldTrump, who once

described India as the “tariffking”, has said that he intendsto end the preferential tradetreatment to India and Turkey,asserting that New Delhi hasfailed to assure America of“equitable and reasonable”access to its markets, a movethat could be seen as a majorsetback to bilateral ties. Themove is the latest push by theTrump administration toredress what it considers to beunfair trading relationshipswith other countries like China.Trump has pledged to reduceUS trade deficits, and hasrepeatedly called out India forhigh tariffs. On Monday,President Trump notifiedCongress in letters of his“intent to terminate” tradebenefits for both countriesunder the Generalized Systemof Preferences (GSP) eligibili-ty criteria.

Under the United StatesGSP programme, nearly 2,000products including auto com-ponents and textile materialscan enter the US duty-free ifthe beneficiary developingcountries meet the eligibilitycriteria established byCongress.

India was the largest ben-eficiary of the programme in2017 with USD 5.7 billion inimports to the US given duty-free status and Turkey the fifthlargest with USD 1.7 billion incovered imports, according toa Congressional ResearchService report issued inJanuary.

In a letter to Speaker of theUS House of RepresentativesNancy Pelosi, Trump said hewas determined that New Delhihad “not assured” the US thatit would “provide equitableand reasonable access” to themarkets of India. “I am takingthis step because, after intensiveengagement between theUnited States and theGovernment of India, I havedetermined that India has notassured the United States thatit will provide equitable andreasonable access to the mar-kets of India,” Trump said inthe letter to congressional lead-ers.

“I will continue to assesswhether the Government ofIndia is providing equitable andreasonable access to its mar-kets, in accordance with theGeneralized System ofPreferences (GSP) eligibility

criteria,” Trump said in his let-ter, a copy of which wasreleased to the press. Trump,who has vowed to reduce UStrade deficits, has repeatedlycalled out India for its high tar-iffs.

At a White House newsconference on October 1, theUS President described India asa “tariff king” as he reiteratedhis allegations that New Delhihas a high tariff rate on variousAmerican products. OnSaturday, while addressing afour-day annual ConservativePolitical Action Conference(CPAC) in Maryland, he againaccused India of being a “hightariff nation” and threatened toimpose “a reciprocal tax” tomatch the heavy duties thatNew Delhi imposes on goodsimported from the US.

The GSP criteria include,among others, respecting arbi-tral awards in favour of US cit-izens or corporations, combat-ting child labour, respectinginternationally recognisedworker rights, providing ade-quate and effective intellectu-al property protection and pro-viding the US with equitableand reasonable market access.Countries can also be gradu-ated from the GSP programme,depending on factors related toeconomic development.

In New Delhi, CommerceSecretary Anup Wadhawansaid India exports goods worthUSD 5.6 billion under the GSP,and the duty benefit is onlyUSD 190 million annually.India mainly exports raw mate-rials and intermediate goodssuch as organic chemicals tothe US, he said.

“GSP withdrawal will nothave a significant impact onIndia’s exports to the US,” thesecretary told journalists. In aseparate letter, Trump alsoinformed the Congress of his

intent to terminate the GSPbeneficiary designation ofTurkey.

Trump’s letter to Pelosicould be seen as a major set-back to India-US bilateral rela-tionship, in particular in thearena of trade and economy. Ina separate statement, the USTrade Representative (USTR)said India’s termination fromGSP followed its failure to pro-vide the US with assurancesthat it would provide equitableand reasonable access to itsmarkets in numerous sectors.

Turkey’s termination fromGSP followed a finding that itwas sufficiently economicallydeveloped and should nolonger benefit from preferentialmarket access to the US mar-ket, the statement said.

“By statute, these changesmay not take effect until at least60 days after the notificationsto Congress and the govern-ments of India and Turkey, andwill be enacted by a PresidentialProclamation,” the USTR said.

The Trump administrationhad launched an eligibilityreview of India’s compliancewith the GSP market access cri-terion in April 2018.

“India has implemented awide array of trade barriers thatcreate serious negative effectson United States commerce.Despite intensive engagement,India has failed to take the nec-essary steps to meet the GSPcriterion,” the USTR said. TheUS had designated Turkey as aGSP beneficiary developingcountry in 1975.

Reacting to the Trumpadministration’s move, the US-India Business Council urgedit to continue the GSP benefitsfor India. Despite a number ofserious bilateral trade issues,both India and the US havegained from trade under theGSP programme, it said.

Turkey lambasts US move to end special trade statusAFP n ANKARA

Turkey’s trade minister onTuesday said US plans to

end the preferential trade statusgranted to Turkey conflictedwith the NATO allies’ push toincrease commercial exchanges.“This decision contradicts ourmutual objective of reachingbilateral trade volume of $75 bil-lion... The decision will also neg-atively affect US small and

medium-sized enterprises andmanufacturers,” Ruhsar Pekcansaid on Twitter.

“We still would like to pur-sue our target of increasing ourbilateral trade with the US whowe see as our strategic partner,without losing any momen-tum,” she said.

The United States TradeRepresentative’s Office saidMonday that Washingtonintended to end “India’s and

Turkey’s designations as bene-ficiary developing countriesunder the Generalized Systemof Preferences (GSP) program.”The office made the decision atUS President Donald Trump’sdirection, saying that it wasbecause the countries no longercomplied with eligibility crite-ria.

Under the GSP pro-gramme, some products mayenter the US duty-free if coun-

tries meet criteria which includeoffering the US “equitable” mar-ket access. Turkey was made aGSP beneficiary in 1975 and theoffice said Turkey had shown a“higher level of economic devel-opment” meaning that it couldbe “graduated” from the pro-gramme.

Relations between the USand Turkey have been strained,especially following the 2016failed coup and Washington’s

support for a Syrian Kurdishmilitia viewed by Ankara as a“terrorist offshoot” of Kurdishinsurgents within its borders.Last summer ties worsenedover the detention of anAmerican pastor, during whichTrump doubled tariffs onTurkish steel and aluminium,and sanctioned two seniorTurkish officials. Pastor AndrewBrunson was later released andrelations improved.

UK patient ‘free’ of HIV after stem cell treatment London: A UK-based malepatient’s HIV has become“undetectable” following a stemcell transplant — in only thesecond case of its kind in theworld, scientists led by anIndian-origin researcher report-ed Tuesday in a study publishedin the journal Nature. The‘London patient’, who has notbeen named, was diagnosedwith HIV in 2003 and advancedHodgkin’s lymphoma in 2012.

Professor Ravindra Guptasaid the patient was treated withstem cell transplants fromdonors carrying a genetic muta-tion that prevents expression ofan HIV receptor CCR5. Thesubject of the new study hasbeen in remission for 18months after his antiretroviral

therapy (ARV) was discontin-ued, he said. “At the momentthe only way to treat HIV iswith medications that suppressthe virus, which people need totake for their entire lives, pos-ing a particular challenge indeveloping countries,” said

Gupta from University CollegeLondon (UCL), the study’s leadauthor

“Finding a way to eliminatethe virus entirely is an urgentglobal priority, but is particu-larly difficult because the virusintegrates into the white bloodcells of its host,” he said in astatement. The team, whichcomprised of researchers atUCL and Imperial CollegeLondon as well as partners atthe University of Cambridgeand the University of Oxford,said the latest case is a proof ofthe concept that scientists willone day be able to end AIDS,caused by HIV, but does notmean a cure for HIV has beenfound. The case report comes10 years after the first such case

known as the “Berlin Patient”.“By achieving remission in asecond patient using a similarapproach, we have shown thatthe Berlin Patient was not ananomaly, and that it really wasthe treatment approaches thateliminated HIV in these twopeople,” said Gupta.“Continuing our research, weneed to understand if we couldknock out this receptor in peo-ple with HIV, which may bepossible with gene therapy,” headded.

Close to 37 million peopleare living with HIV world-wide, but only 59 per cent arereceiving ARV, and drug-resis-tant HIV is a growing concern.Almost one million people dieannually from HIV-related

causes, researchers said. Thereport describes a male patientin the UK, who prefers toremain anonymous, and wasdiagnosed with HIV infectionin 2003 and on antiretroviraltherapy since 2012. In 2012, hewas diagnosed with advancedHodgkin’s Lymphoma. In addi-tion to chemotherapy, heunderwent a haematopoieticstem cell transplant from adonor with two copies of theCCR5 allele in 2016.

CCR5 is the most com-monly used receptor by HIV-1.People who have two mutatedcopies of the CCR5 allele areresistant to the HIV-1 virusstrain that uses this receptor, asthe virus cannot enter hostcells. Chemotherapy can be

effective against HIV as it killscells that are dividing. Replacingimmune cells with those that donot have the CCR5 receptorappears to be key in preventingHIV from rebounding afterthe treatment.

The transplant was rela-tively uncomplicated, but withsome side effects includingmild graft-versus-host disease,a complication of transplantswherein the donor immunecells attack the recipient’simmune cells.

The patient remained onARV for 16 months after thetransplant, at which point theclinical team and the patientdecided to interrupt ARV ther-apy to test if the patient wastruly in HIV-1 remission.

PTI n BEIJING

China, the world’s secondlargest military spender

after the US, Tuesdayannounced a 7.5 per centincrease in its defence budgetfor this year, hiking it to awhopping USD 177.61 billion,over three times that of India.The 2019 defence budget willbe 1.19 trillion yuan (aboutUSD 177.61 billion), accordingto a draft budget report sub-mitted by Chinese Premier LiKeqiang at the opening of theannual session of China’sParliament, the NationalPeople’s Congress (NPC), onTuesday.

The increase this year islower than that of last year’s 8.1per cent which amounted toUSD 175 billion. Last year inyuan terms China had allocat-ed 1.11 trillion yuan. China,which increased its defencebudget in double digits till2015, has been lowering it tosingle digit hikes since 2016.

China’s budgeted defencespending growth rate stood at7.6 per cent in 2016, 7 per centin 2017 and 8.1 per cent in2018 as its economy too hasbeen steadily slowing downafter a double-digit growth in2010.

With this year’s increase,China’s defence spendingmoved closer to the USD 200billion mark, making it thehighest spender on defenceafter the United States. India’sdefence budget this year wasincreased by 6.87 per cent to Rs3.18 lakh crore against lastyear’s allocation of Rs 2.98lakh crore, notwithstandingexpectations of a major hikewhen China and Pakistan werebolstering their military capa-bilities.

Premier Li, who readout a40-page work report of his gov-ernment during the inauguralsession of the NPC on Tuesdayspoke about continued effortsof China to strengthen the

military in terms of weaponryand training besides empha-sising on “political loyalty” ofthe armed forces to PresidentXi Jinping and the rulingCommunist Party of China(CPC).

“Our work to developnational defence and armedforces guided by Xi Jinping’sthinking on strengthening themilitary. We will further doefforts to ensure the politicalloyalty of the armed forces,strengthen through reform,science and technology andrun them in accordance withlaw,” he said.

“We will observefundamental principle and sys-tem of absolute party leader-ship over the armed forcesand fully enforce the system ofultimate responsibility restingwith the chairman of theCentral Military Commission(CMC),” he said.

Xi regarded as the mostpowerful leader after MaoZedong heads the CPC, theCMC is the overall militaryhigh command of the People’sLiberation Army (PLA) andthe Presidency.

The Chinese militaryworks under the command ofthe party not the government.In recent years, China hasresorted to major reforms of itsmilitary, which included givingpriority to expand its navyand air force to enhance itsinfluence abroad, while cutting

down three lakh troops of thePeople’s Liberation Army(PLA). Even after the cuts, thePLA is the world’s biggest mil-itary with two million person-nel in its ranks. ChinesePresident Xi, who has vowed toturn the PLA into a “worldclass” military by mid-century,has repeatedly called on theArmy to be combat-ready.

The hike in the militaryspending comes as Beijingsteps up its efforts to assert itsvast territorial claims in the dis-puted South China Sea.Describing China’s defencebudget increases in recent yearsas reasonable and appropriate,NPC spokesman Zhang Yesuisaid on Monday that the raiseaimed to “meet the country’sdemand in safeguardingnational security and militaryreform with Chinese charac-teristics”.

“Whether a country is amilitary threat to others or notis not determined by itsincrease in defence expendi-ture, but by the foreign andnational defence policies itadopts,” he said.Compared toother countries, China’s defencebudget accounted for 1.3 percent of the GDP, while majordeveloping countries spent twoper cent GDP on their defence,Zhang added. As part of thenew policy, China now has oneaircraft carrier, another under-going trial and the third oneunder construction.

Kim Jong returns homeafter failed nucleardiplomacy with TrumpAP n SEOUL

North Korean leader KimJong Un returned home on

Tuesday after travelling twoand a half days by train fromVietnam, where his high-stakesnuclear summit with PresidentDonald Trump ended withoutany agreement. The Kim-Trump summit broke downmainly because of disputesover the extent of sanctionsrelief the North could win inreturn for its nuclear disarma-ment steps.

Both Washington andPyongyang blame each otherfor the summit’s breakdown,but neither side says theywould pull out of diplomacy.The crowd welcoming Kim atPyongyang’s railway stationgave shouts of joy and loudhurrahs upon his return, theKorean Central News Agencyreported.

Kim received a salute fromthe head of the army’s honorguards and was presented withflowers from children. Seniorofficials also greeted Kim with“their ardent congratulations,”KCNA reported. The reportbriefly mentioned Kim’s sum-mit with Trump but didn’t saythe meeting failed to produceany agreement.

The North’s main RodongSinmun newspaper previouslyreported that Kim and Trumphad agreed to continue talks toresolve issues discussed in theirHanoi summit, but it also did-n’t mention the lack of agree-ment in the summit. Someobservers say the North’s pro-paganda services won’t reportabout the summit’s collapse toprevent Kim from suffering anydamage in his leadership athome.

They say Kim is desperateto win sanctions relief to try toresolve his country’s moribund

economy and improve publiclivelihoods. After his summitwith Trump, Kim had a two-day official visit to Vietnamthat included a meeting withVietnamese Nguyen Phu Trongand paying his respects at theembalmed body of nationalhero Ho Chi Minh.

It was the first Vietnamvisit by a North Korean leadersince his late grandfather andNorth Korea founder Kim IlSung went in 1964. The KCNAdispatch Tuesday called KimJong Un’s Vietnam visit “suc-cessful.”

The Hanoi summitbetween Trump and Kim fol-lowed their meeting inSingapore last June that endedwith Kim’s vaguely wordedpromise to work toward “com-plete denuclearisation of theKorean Peninsula.”This storyhas been corrected to showKim’s travel time by train wastwo and a half days, not oneand a half.

Tokyo (AFP): Former autoindustry titan Carlos Ghosnmoved a step closer to freedomTuesday as a Tokyo court unex-pectedly granted him bail aftermore than three months in adetention cell. It was the latesttwist in a case that has keptJapan and the business worldgripped since the tycoon’sshock arrest on November 19over suspicions of financialmisconduct. The court set bailat one billion yen (USD 9 mil-lion), but prosecutors are like-ly to appeal the decision andcould even file additional alle-gations against the 64-year-oldto keep him from leavingdetention.

Under his bail terms,Ghosn is banned from leavingJapan and must adhere to con-ditions aimed at preventinghim from fleeing or destroyingevidence.

The shock decision came aday after Ghosn’s new leaddefence lawyer, JunichiroHironaka, told reporters hehad filed a “convincing” appli-cation for bail that containedfresh elements. Hironaka, whohas a reputation for securingacquittals for high-profileclients in a country wherealmost all court cases end inconviction, offered greater sur-veillance of Ghosn and a limiton his electronic communica-tions.

The court has previouslysaid Ghosn’s continued deten-tion was justified because heposed a flight risk and couldseek to tamper with evidence.It had already rejected twoofficial bail bids and otherattempts to win freedom.

However, his prolongedstay behind bars has comeunder fire internationally andfrom rights groups. Speaking toAFP and French daily LesEchos in January — his only

interview with foreign media sofar — Ghosn himself said thathis continued detention “wouldnot be normal in any otherdemocracy”. “Why am I beingpunished before being foundguilty?” Ghosn asked.

The former head of Nissan,Mitsubishi Motors and Renaultfaces three charges — twoinvolving alleged under-report-ing of his salary and a thirdover a complex scheme inwhich Ghosn allegedly soughtto transfer his losses to Nissan’sbooks. Further claims of finan-cial misconduct have been lev-elled against him and prose-cutors may yet slap him withadditional allegations to keephim in detention.

Under Japanese law, pros-ecutors can hold a suspect forup to 22 days while they inves-tigate an allegation, and thencan apply for repeated one-month stretches of pre-trialdetention for each charge even-tually levelled. That meansprosecutors could effectivelyprevent Ghosn from leavingdetention despite today’s baildecision if they level new alle-gations against him, startingthe 22-day detention clock.

Ghosn has denied all theallegations against him In ashake-up of his legal team last

Including your partner in social postshealthy for relationship: StudyPTI n WASHINGTON

If you often share details ofyour personal life on social

media, include your better halfin the post to counter its neg-ative effects on your romanticrelationship, a study suggests.Researchers at Carnegie MellonUniversity and the Universityof Kansas (KU) in the US alsofound that sharing informationonline can do more harm toromantic relationships thangood. The study, published inthe journal PLOS ONE, is thefirst of its kind to systematicallyexamine how different cir-cumstances can affect whethera partner perceives their lovedone’s online disclosure to bepositive or negative.

“Prior research has shownthat self-disclosure positivelyaffects offline relationships,”said Juwon Lee, a post-doctor-al researcher at CarnegieMellon University. “We want-

ed to explore whether thatwould remain the case in anonline context, where userscan share detailed informationwith large audiences — a phe-nomenon that typically wouldnot be possible in person,” Leesaid in a statement. Theresearchers found underlyingconditions driving the negativeeffects of online disclosure.

They compared how post-

ing personal informationonline affected intimacy andsatisfaction in online andoffline contexts, romantic rela-tionships and friendships, andwhen the partner posted aboutthemselves versus the rela-tionship as a whole. The teamfound when one person fre-quently shares personal infor-mation with large groups onsocial media, it negatively

impacts their partner’s satis-faction and feelings of intima-cy in the relationship.

The research suggests aromantic partner could feelleft out or see themselves as lessspecial. “On the other hand,when you include a significantother in your post, perhaps asconfirming a relationship sta-tus online or posting a phototogether, we found that it coun-ters the negative effects ofonline disclosure, increasingthe feelings of intimacy and sat-isfaction,” said Omri Gillath, aprofessor at KU.

“This validates the rela-tionship, and a partner likelywould see their significantother’s post as caring and inclu-sive,” Gillath said.

The researchers found oneinstance when sharing infor-mation with large audiencesdid not have negative effects.Friendships were not affectedby overly personal posts.

Israeli airlines to launch directflights to Goa and KochiTel Aviv (PTI): Israel’s ArkiaAirlines will introduce directflights to two Indian cities —Goa and Kochi, considered“dream destinations” by manyJews in this country, tappingthe huge tourism potentialbetween India and Israel. Arkiawill operate the new flightsfrom September 2019, compa-ny officials said.

“Arkia will operate the newflights from September 2019onward using recently acquiredAirbus 321neoLR. Flights willtake about seven hours and willoperate throughout the year,except during the monsoonseason in India,” Orly Peleg-Mizrahi, spokesperson for theIsraeli airline, told PTI. TheIsraeli airlines’ decision cameafter India’s national-carrierAir India last year introduceddirect flights between Delhiand Tel Aviv.

The launch was marked bysignificant increase in the num-ber of people travellingbetween the two countries

leading to rise in number offlights per week from three tofive, which may even further goup given the enthusiasticresponse.

“The launch of direct flightfrom Delhi to Tel Aviv has beena massive success with anincrease of almost 60 per centin the number of tourists vis-iting Israel from India in thelast two years. The direct flightusing Saudi and Omanese air-space has cut short the flyingtime and also made travel cost-effective,” Lydia Weitzman,Foreign Press Adviser to theMinistry of Tourism, said.

Israeli national carrier ElAl has been operating directflights between Mumbai andTel Aviv but takes a longerroute as it cannot fly over theGulf Countries’ airspace. Israeldoes not have diplomatic rela-tions with Saudi Arabia andOman but its “warming rela-tions” with these countrieshave recently been widely pub-licised.

China hikes defence budget

Ex-Nissan chiefwins bail in Japan

world 14LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 6, 2019

China slashes GDP target

to 6-6.5% amid slowdown

PTI n BEIJING

China will face a “graver andmore complicated” envi-

ronment to development,Premier Li Keqiang warnedTuesday as the world’s secondlargest economy slashed itsGDP target to 6 to 6.5 per centthis year, amid an ongoingtrade war with the US and con-tinued economic slowdown.The lowered growth rate fromthe 2018 target of 6.5 per centwas proposed by Premier Li inhis work report for this year atthe annual session of the rub-ber-stamp Parliament, theNational People’s Congress(NPC).

Nearly 3,000 delegatesfrom across China gathered inBeijing on Tuesday for thestart of the annual session ofthe NPC. Besides the trade warwith the US, China is alsohaunted by the spectre of a con-tinued economic slowdown.Last year, the economy, whichis largely dependent on exports,slowed down to 6.6 per cent,the lowest in about threedecades.

“A full analysis of devel-opments in and outside Chinashows that in pursuing devel-opment this year, we will facea graver and more complicat-ed environment as well as risksand challenges, foreseeable andotherwise, that are greater innumber and size,” Li said in thereport.

“What we faced were

severe challenges caused bythe growing pains of econom-ic transformation,” he said, inan apparent reference toChina’s efforts to rejig its econ-omy from export dependent torelying more on consumption.Downward pressure on theChinese economy continuesto increase, growth in con-sumption is slowing andgrowth in effective investmentlacks momentum, Li said, out-lining the reasons for China’sdownward trend from the hey-day of double digit growth in2010.

“The real economy facesmany difficulties,” he said,adding that the issues related toproviding accessible, afford-able financing to small andmicro business have not yetbeen effectively solved. Li saidthe business environment stillfell short of market entities.

“Our capacity for innova-tion is not strong and weakness

in terms of core technologiesfor key fields remains a salientproblem. There are many risksand hidden dangers in thefinancial and other sectors,” hesaid in a frank assessment. Lialso spoke about the public dis-satisfaction.

“There is still public dis-satisfaction in many areas, suchas education, healthcare, elder-ly care, housing, food and drugsafety and income distribu-tion,” he said, referring to foodand work safety scandals. “Thelessons these incidents left uswith should never be forgot-ten,” he said.

In order to rejig its econ-omy, China is all set to pass anew foreign investment law ina hurry, providing an equalfooting to investors abroadwith that of local business withlegal safeguards for IPR andtechnology transfer. The draftlaw is aimed to meet the maindemands of US President

Donald Trump to end thetrade war. The draft foreigninvestment law will be sub-mitted to the NPC, whichbegan here on Tuesday, forreview on March 8 and put forvote on March 15, NPCspokesman Zhang Yesui saidon Monday.

The NPC is often regard-ed as a rubber-stamp parlia-ment for its routine approval ofthe proposals of the rulingCommunist Party of China(CPC). The NPC, with over2,900 deputies and the adviso-ry body - the Chinese People’sPolitical Consultative (CPPCC)- is holding its annual sessionsin Beijing. The sessions wouldgo on for the next 10 days. Thenew investment law providinga level-playing field to investorsabroad with local investorswith all rights is being passedby China in record time towork a deal with Trump’s tradewar which is badly affectingBeijing.

Trump, who declared thetrade war last year, is demand-ing China to reduce the USD375-billion trade deficit, pro-vide legal protection for intel-lectual property rights (IPR),technology transfer and moreaccess for American goods toChinese markets. He hasalready increased the tariffs onover USD 250 billion Chineseexports to the US and threat-ened to extend tariffs on USD200 billion Chinese imports to25 per cent.

‘Brexit talks yield positive signals’AP n BRUSSELS/LONDON

Asenior British governmentminister insists that Brexit

talks with the European Unionare making progress, as nego-tiators meet in Brussels seekinga way to break the logjam.Foreign Secretary Jeremy Huntsays “the signals we are gettingare relatively positive.” EU chiefnegotiator Michel Barnier ismeeting UK Brexit SecretaryStephen Barclay and AttorneyGeneral Geoffrey Cox onTuesday, as Britain seekschanges to a Brexit deal that hasbeen rejected by UK lawmak-ers. Their objections center ona provision to guarantee thereare no barriers along the cur-rently invisible Irish border.Britain wants reassurances themechanism will be temporary.

EU leaders insist that thelegally binding withdrawalagreement can’t be reopened.But Hunt told the BBC thatBritain is “prepared to be flex-ible” about how changes areachieved.Bank of England warns of Europe-wide finance risks on Brexit

Europe’s financial systemfaces “potential risks” to its sta-bility arising from a no-dealBrexit, the Bank of Englandwarned Tuesday, as it extend-ed its weekly lending facilitiesto include euros. With just 24days to go until Britain is set toleave the European Union, theBoE said businesses and house-holds across Britain and the EUwere vulnerable.

The BoE said it had acti-vated a swap line with theEuropean Central Bank, whichwill provide euros in exchangefor British pounds.

Brussels and London are

furiously trying to steer awayfrom a dreaded “no-deal”divorce that could wreak havocon global markets.

The BoE warned Tuesdaythat “some disruption to cross-border services is possible and,in the absence of other actionsby EU authorities, some poten-tial risks to financial stabilityremain. “Although these wouldprimarily affect EU house-holds and businesses, theycould also be expected to spillback to the UK in ways thatcannot be fully anticipated andmitigated,” it added in a state-ment.

The British central bankmade the remarks in minutesfrom its Financial PolicyCommittee (FPC) meeting thatwas held on February 26. TheBoE also said it was furtherstepping up its lending facilitiesfor commercial banks over thenext few months. A week afterthe bank said it would increasethe frequency of existing mar-ket-wide sterling cash loansfrom monthly to weekly, the

BoE on Tuesday added that thiswould be extended to euros.

“The FPC welcomes therecent Bank decision toincrease the frequency of theBank’s sterling liquidity oper-ations and to initiate a newweekly Liquidity Facility inEuros (LiFE), alongside theexisting weekly dollar lendingfacility,” it said. The EuropeanCentral Bank said in a separatestatement that the BoE’s eurofacility was a “prudent and pre-cautionary step” aimed at sup-porting the smooth function-ing of markets that servehouseholds and businesses.

Eurozone central bankswould also be ready to lendBritish pounds to commerciallenders in the single currencyzone, the ECB said. Bank ofEngland governor MarkCarney last week said thatsuch liquidity measures were“part of normal contingencyplanning” and that commercialbanks were functioning well.The central bank carried outthe same measure ahead of and

following Britain’s referendumon leaving the EU in June2016.

This helps banks and thewider financial industry keepticking over during periods ofmarket turbulence. Similarlending was also carried out in2008 during the global finan-cial crisis.

Britain is on course toleave the EU on March 29,although there has beenincreasing talk of a possibledelay. Ahead of Brexit, author-ities in Britain, including theBank of England, have alsoagreed with the United Statesto maintain how multi-tril-lion-dollar financial transac-tions are carried out betweenthe two countries.

The agreement concernstrades of derivatives — securi-ties whose value is based on anasset such as currencies, stocksand commodities. The EU’schief Brexit negotiator MichelBarnier meets Britain’s negoti-ating team on Tuesday as bothsides seek a breakthrough.

The sitdown comes afterBarnier said on Saturday thatthe EU was ready to giveLondon further guarantees tohelp push a troubled divorcedeal through British parlia-ment.

Barnier also suggestedEuropean leaders would beamenable to a short “technical”delay in Britain’s departurefrom the EU, in order to giveparliament time to formally rat-ify a final divorce deal. Hissmall overture to Britain hasraised hopes that both sides canfind a solution, including to theso-called “backstop” plan forthe Irish border, a major stick-ing point for pro-Brexit MPs.

PTI n WASHINGTON

The United States is tryingto find a common ground

between India and Pakistan,US Secretary of State MikePompeo has said, describingKashmir as a long-standingbattle between the two SouthAsian neighbours. Pompeocited the India-Pak disputeand the Israeli conflict asrecent examples of America’snegotiating diplomatic skills,about which he was asked atthe “Future Farmers ofAmerica” event in Iowa onMonday.

“How do you try to find acommon ground, negotiateon behalf of the UnitedStates?,” the top Americandiplomat was asked.

“So if you take a look atthe most complex problems —what’s a good example? Thedebate to try to figure out howto get Middle East peacebetween the Israelis and thePalestinians, or in the newsrecently, the longstanding bat-tle in Kashmir between theIndians and the Pakistanis.The work that we do as diplo-mats is to try and find placeswhere there’s commonground,” Pompeo told farmers.

“There are places wherethere’s — you all do this too inyour everyday life. There areclearly things that are different.In some cases, you see valuesets that are different. In somecases, there are territorial dis-putes. In some cases, thearguments arise out of faith.Sometimes they’re fightingover resources, right, not justland, but wealth, whether that’soil underground or natural gasor water, whatever it may be,”he said. America’s effort, hesaid, was to figure out theplaces where there was a realoverlap.

“And then it is to convincethose — sometimes we’re inthe middle of it, sometimeswe’re just trying to help bringresolution to a problem or to

reduce violence in a particu-lar conflict — it’s to make thecase that nobody’s going to geteverything,” he said.

“This is — was my joke atthe beginning — in thatindeed each party’s going tohave to accept something lessthan perfection, somethingthat frankly they think theydeserve and just not going toend up with, but convincethem that over some extend-ed period of time, that the out-come that everyone’s lookingfor — if they can find a way towork together to achieve it —will deliver better outcomes foreach of them. May not be per-fection, but it will be better,”Pompeo said, offering aninsight into his diplomaticnegotiating skills.

US trying to find common ground between India and Pak: Pompeo

Pak’s Punjab province minister asked to quit over his anti-Hindu remarksPTI n LAHORE

Pakistan’s Punjab provinceInformation and Culture

Minister Fayyazul HassanChohan was on Tuesday askedto resign over his anti-Hinduremarks that invited intensecriticism by senior party leadersand the minority community,according to a media report.Punjab Chief Minister UsmanBuzdar summoned Chohan atthe CM House and asked him totender his resignation, Geo TVreported, quoting sources.

“The Punjab Chief Ministersought an explanation fromChohan regarding his anti-Hindu remarks,” the sourcessaid. “There were complaintsagainst Chohan earlier as wellowing to which he was sentwarnings,” the sources furthersaid.

Earlier in the day, Chohanapologised for his remarks fol-lowing intense criticism fromsenior members of his PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf party’s govern-ment and social media users. “Iwas addressing Indian PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, Indianarmed forces and their medianot the Hindu community inPakistan,” he said. “I apologise ifmy remarks hurt the Hindu

community in Pakistan,”Chohan said. “My remarks werein no way directed at Pakistan’sHindu community.”

He had come under severecriticism from senior membersof his party, ministers and socialmedia users with#SackFayazChohan trending onTwitter for his controversialremarks while addressing a gath-ering on February 24 in theaftermath of the Pulwama terrorattack. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government “will nottolerate this nonsense”, partyleader Naeemul Haque, who isspecial assistant to PrimeMinister Imran Khan, said onMonday night in response toChohan’s remarks. “The deroga-tory and insulting remarksagainst the Hindu community byFayyaz Chohan the Punjab InfoMinister demand strict action.PTI govt will not tolerate thisnonsense from a senior memberof the govt or from anyone.Action will be taken after con-sulting the Chief Minister,”Haque tweeted.

Haque’s tweet was followedby condemnation from ShireenMazari and Asad Umar, thefederal ministers of humanrights and finance, respectively.“Absolutely condemn this. Noone has the right to attack any-

one else’s religion. Our Hinducitizens have given sacrificesfor their country,” Mazari tweet-ed. “Our PM’s msg is always oftolerance & respect & we cannotcondone any form of bigotry orspread of religious hatred,” sheadded. Financer Minister Umartweeted, “Hindus of Pakistan areas much a part of the fabric ofthe nation as I am. Rememberthe flag of Pakistan is not justgreen...its not complete withoutthe white which represents theminorities.”

Foreign Office spokespersonMohammad Faisal also took toTwitter and said, “Pakistanproudly owns the white in theflag as much as the green, valuescontributions of the Hinducommunity and honours themas our own.” Several members ofthe Hindu community inPakistan also took to Twitter tocondemn the minister’sremarks.Hindus form the biggestminority community inPakistan. According to officialestimates, 75 lakh Hindus live inPakistan. However, according tothe community, over 90 lakhHindus are living in the country.Majority of Pakistan’s Hindupopulation is settled in Sindhprovince where they share cul-ture, traditions and languagewith their Muslim fellows.

Pakistan SC bars private channelsfrom airing Indian films, TV showsPTI n ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s Supreme Court onTuesday barred private

channels from airing Indianfilms and television shows,amid escalating tensionsbetween the two countries fol-lowing the Pulwama terrorattack. A three-member benchof the apex court, headed byJustice Gulzar Ahmad, heardthe case pertaining to the tele-cast of Indian material onPakistani channels.

The apex court has barredprivate channels from airingIndian material,” state-run

Radio Pakistan reported. The hearing of the case has

been adjourned for an indefi-nite period. The move came aweek after Pakistan’sInformation and Broadcasting

Minister Chaudhry FawadHussain said Pakistan filmexhibitors association will beboycotting the Indian filmsfollowing Indian air strikes ona Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorcamp in Balakot in Pakistan’srestive Khyber Pakhtunkhwaprovince last month.

Hussain also said that hehas instructed the PakistanElectronic Media RegulatoryAuthority (PEMRA) to crackdown on “made-in-Indiaadvertisements”.

The apex court last instat-ed a ban on Indian material inOctober 2018.

PTI n WASHINGTON

Pakistan’s ambassador to theUS Asad Majeed Khan has

said he is not aware of anyrequest made by the US aboutthe use of F-16 fighter jets by hiscountry in the recent aerialconfrontation with India. TheIndian Air Force on Thursdaydisplayed parts of anAMRAAM beyond visual rangeair-to-air missile as evidence to“conclusively” prove thatPakistan deployed US-manu-factured F-16 fighter jets duringan aerial raid targeting Indianmilitary installations in Kashmirafter India’s anti-terror operationin Balakot.

Pakistan on Wednesdaycategorically said that no F-16fighter jets were used anddenied that one of its planes hadbeen downed by the Indian AirForce. The US State Departmenthas said that America is seekingmore information fromPakistan on the potential mis-use of American-made F-16fighter jets by it against India inviolation of the end-user agree-ment.

“On F-16, I don’t know,India has been alleging so manyother things. We don’t get intoevery single one of them. I amnot aware of request from theUS side about the F 16,” Khantold a Washington audience atthe US Institute of Peace, aCongress-funded think-tank,on Monday.

Asked about the mediareports saying that US is seek-ing more information on thealleged misuse of F-16 againstIndia in a potential violation ofthe end-user agreement, hesaid: “I think the question iswhether the Pakistan is pre-vented by (end-user-agree-ment)”. “I have not seen thoseend user agreements. I am nota position to comment on that,”the top Pakistani diplomat said.The US, which is the largest sell-er of high-tech defence equip-

ment globally and has a strongend-user monitoring agree-ment, as a matter of practicetakes all allegations of misuse ofdefence articles very seriously.

AMRAAM missiles allow afighter pilot to target an enemyaircraft that is beyond visualrange, in day or night, and in all-weather conditions. They havean autonomous guidance capa-bility, which allows the pilot tomanoeuvre immediately afterthe missile’s launch. Khan saidthat the US of late had played animportant role in counsellingrestraint between the two coun-tries. “In terms of chemistry, Idon’t know if there was anychemistry to begin with(between Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and hisPakistani counterpart ImranKhan),” he replied when askedabout the relationship betweenthe two leaders.

As leaders of two big coun-tries, it is not the chemistry thatshould determine, but the need,he said.

Tensions between India andPakistan flared up after a suicidebomber of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 40Central Reserve Police Forcepersonnel in Kashmir’sPulwama district on February14. India launched a counter-terror operation in Balakot onFebruary 26. The next day,Pakistan Air Force retaliatedand downed a MiG-21 andcaptured its pilot WingCommander AbhinandanVarthaman, who was handedover to India on Friday.

‘Talks with Taliban incredibly complicated’Washington(PTI) :Describingthe ongoing talks with theTal iban in Doha as an“incredibly complicated”negotiation, US Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo hashoped that there is sufficientprogress in the deliberationsfor him to travel in the nextcouple of weeks to move itfurther.

The United States wastrying to “find pockets”where there was “sufficientagreement” that everyonecould begin to move for-

ward, Pompeo told a farmers’gathering in Iowa on Monday,at a time when Special USEnvoy Zalmay Khalilzad andhis team was holding talkswith the Taliban in Qatar’scapital.

“I have a team on theground right now trying tonegotiate with the Talibanterrorists in Afghanistan, try-ing to find a way to achievean Afghanistan that’s not atwar, that’s not engaged in vio-lence, that doesn’t present athreat to the United States of

America, that will respectthe fundamental basic rightsfor every Afghan citizen —women, children — acrossthe full spectrum,” he said.

Pompeo was respondingto a question from farmersafter his address at the“Future Farmers of America”event in Iowa. “That is acomplicated problem, and ifyou add in the regional play-ers — Afghanistan, Pakistan,India, China, Russia, all whohave an interest inAfghanistan — it’s an incred-

ibly complicated negotiation,”he asserted.

At the same time, he saidKhalilzad, who was leadingAmerican efforts in thisregard, was on the ground,trying to “find pockets wherethere’s sufficient agreementthat everyone can begin tomove forward, take all thevarious complex pieces andbring them together” tohopefully get an agreement.

Pompeo said the Afghanagreement would be “basedon fundamental understand-

ings about different interestsand incentives” that the par-ties had so that this agree-ment would hold and stay.“Inthis case, if we could do this,if we could pull off a resolu-tion in Afghanistan, boy, thegood that we could do for theworld. I hope AmbassadorKhalilzad makes progress,”he said. “I am hoping he(Khalilzad) makes enoughprogress and I can travelthere in a couple weeks andhelp move it along a little bitmyself,” Pompeo said.

KFC dedicates China restaurant

in memory of Communist hero

AP nBEIJING

Fast-food chain KFC is memo-rializing a popular Chinese

Communist hero with restaurantdecor extolling his deeds, in a rarematching of an iconic Americanbrand with Communist propa-ganda. The official Xinhua NewsAgency said the company launchedits first “Lei Feng Spirit” restaurantin Lei’s home province of Hunan onTuesday, the official remembranceday for the soldier who died in 1962at the age of 21.

Lei’s example of selfless serviceto the Communist Party and hiscomrades was popularized in 1963by former leader Mao Zedong andremains a rallying point for partyunity and public service. Criticsquestion the facts surrounding hisalleged good deeds, saying mostwere based on accounts in a diaryreportedly found after his death.

The KFC restaurant in theprovincial capital of Changsha isdecorated with Lei’s writings andimage. The company did notimmediately respond to requests forcomment.

Lets Feng has been the rolemodel for generations of Chinese.As the KFC (outlet) in his home-town, we will spare no effort to pro-mote his spirit,” He Min, generalmanager for KFC’s Hunan region,was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

In addition to opening the

themed restaurant, KFC plans to“promote the Lei Feng spirit in itsover 250 outlets in the province andencourage its staff to learn from therole model,” Xinhua said. Lei Fengday is marked annually by acts ofpublic service such as clearinggarbage and visiting the elderly.Communist leaders revived hismemory more than a decade agoin a bid to stir support for the partyamong the younger generation

born after the abandonment oforthodox Marxism in the 1980sand the crushing of pro-democra-cy protests centered on Beijing’sTiananmen Square in 1989.Recentyears have seen renewed efforts toupdate his image, includingthrough television specials andsmartphone apps. KFC in China isrun by Yum China, which splitfrom its parent company YumBrands in 2016.

In this July 31, 2014, file photo, a woman looks at a menu with words "everydayhalf-price" in front of a KFC fast food restaurant in Beijing. The official XinhuaNews Agency said the company launched its first “Lei Feng Spirit” restaurant inLei’s home province of Hunan on Sunday, ahead of Tuesday’s official remembranceday for the soldier who died in 1962 at the age of 21. AP

Not aware of anyrequest from the USon F 16: Pak envoy

sport 15LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 6, 2019

AFP n MUNICH

Germany winger Serge Gnabry hasextended his Bayern Munich contract

until 2023, adding three more years to hisdeal, as the defending Bundesliga cham-pions continue to rejuvenate their squad.

The 23-year-old is being groomed toreplace Bayern's ageing wingers ArjenRobben and Franck Ribery, who are both35 and out of contract at the end of the sea-son.

Gnabry, Canadian wunderkindAlphonso Davies, 18, and FrenchmanKingsley Coman, 22, are the next gener-ation of Bayern wingers.

"We are happy that we at FC Bayernhave tied ourselves to Serge for the longterm," said Bayern's sports director HasanSalihamidzic.

"He has taken a big step forward with

us this year."Bayern paid Werder Bremen eight mil-

lion euros ($9m) for Stuttgart-born Gnabryin 2017, but loaned him out to Hoffenheimlast season, so this is his first year at Bayern.

Having scored eight goals in 29 gamesfor Bayern, Gnabry, who can play on eitherwing, has been a key factor in slashingDortmund's lead at the top of the

Bundesliga in recent weeks.Defending champions Bayern have

eroded Dortmund's nine-point lead inDecember and draw level on 54 points lastweekend with only a goal difference of justtwo separating the clubs.

"Sportingly, things are going verywell for me personally right now," Gnabrysaid, who spent five years at Arsenal from2011 until 2016 having initially joined theGunners' academy.

"I know that I still have potential andneed to develop further."

Gnabry was part of the Germany teamwhich won Silver in the men's footballtournament at the 2016 Olympic Games.

He scored a hat-trick in an 8-0 thrash-ing of minnows San Marino on his seniorinternational debut in November 2016 inthe first of his five appearances forGermany.

AFP n MANCHESTER

Ashley Young has warnedthat Manchester United

should not be written off as theyattempt to mount an improba-ble comeback against ParisSaint-Germain in the last 16.

Solskjaer's men head toFrance for the second leg oftheir last-16 tie on Wednesdaytrailing 2-0 after a humblingexperience at Old Trafford lastmonth in what remains the onlydefeat they have suffered to dateunder interim manager.

PSG are favourites toprogress to the quarter-finals,but 33-year-old Young hasadvised them to take nothingfor granted after seeing Unitedrevive their season since theNorwegian's arrival.

"We know what we're capa-ble of," he said. "People canwrite us off. People were writ-ing us off at the start of the sea-son and people are writing usoff now. It's no different.

"Obviously it's going to betough. It's not going to be easy.We've got to go over there, winthe game and score goals.

"I've got every faith if wedefend well and if we create thechances that I know we can do,we can win the game."

Paul Pogba's red card in the

first game means he is unavail-able for the return while fellowmidfielders Nemanja Matic,Ander Herrera, Juan Mata andJesse Lingard appear on a casu-alty list that also includes PhilJones, Matteo Darmian,Antonio Valencia, AnthonyMartial and Alexis Sanchez.

However, Young is confi-dent the spirit that fuelledSaturday's 3-2 fightback victo-ry over lowly Southamptonwill serve his team well onceagain.

He said: "That's the club'sway, the United way. Never saydie."

The odds are stackedagainst United but Solskjaer atleast has striker Romelu Lukakuback in lethal form in front ofgoal after he claimed a fine dou-ble to help see off the Saints.

"I wouldn't want to playagainst him," said Young. "Hedoes give us a different pres-ence. "It's good to see all thestrikers in form, the wholeteam. It's not just 11 men on thepitch, it's a squad game.

"Everyone has got to beready. Everyone has got to beprepared and ready to playwhen the manager calls onyou. When you've got compe-tition for places, it can onlyhelp."

AFP n PARIS

Dani Alves jokes that ParisSaint-Germain are stillChampions League "virgins",

but the presence of players like thedecorated Brazilian only helps makethem more credible contenders towin the coveted trophy.

In a glittering career, Alves haswon the Champions League threetimes with Barcelona and reachedanother final with Juventus.

He is a veteran now, his 36thbirthday falling several weeks beforethis season's final, and he is consciousof what players like him and goal-keeper Gianluigi Buffon, now 41, canadd to a PSG squad already featur-ing Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

"We know how to win and howto lose. What we try to transmit tothe others is that either we all gotogether in the same direction, or weleave the doors open to a defeat,"Alves said.

He is speaking at the club's train-ing ground, 48 hours before their last16, second leg at home to ManchesterUnited.

The mood is relaxed, with con-fidence high in Paris that ThomasTuchel's side will make good their 2-0 first-leg win last month, achievedwithout Neymar and EdinsonCavani, the two superstars both outinjured.

"This is not a competition thatdepends only on one player havinga spectacular day," he insists.

"When you have experiencedplayers, you don't tremble when itcomes to playing in a hostile atmos-phere, or under pressure."

‘THE RIGHT SIDE DISHES'In his first campaign at PSG last

season, they were knocked out at thisstage by Real Madrid, the first timeAlves had not been involved in thequarter-finals of the ChampionsLeague in a decade.

It was an enormous disappoint-ment for Paris and their Qatari own-ers, who had just paid the twobiggest transfer fees in history for

Neymar and Mbappe."I always talk about how we

have special players here, like 'Ney',like Kylian, like 'Edi', who at some

point can make the difference, andwe have to help them," Alves says.

"Otherwise it would be like hav-ing a big meal without the right sidedishes, and it wouldn't have thesame flavour." But what dish wouldhe be?

Alves, a brilliant full-back withlimitless energy, has recently beenreinvented as a midfielder, fullyrecovered from the knee injurywhich saw him miss last year's WorldCup.

A GREAT YEAR?He is happy in Paris, and the hap-

piness is infectious. "I like to get onwith everyone. I ask myself how I canget on with this guy, with that guy.Because what happens on the pitchsort of reflects how things are off it,"he says as he discusses getting alongwith a squad full of big names.

"We spend more time here thanwe do with our families, so you need

to get on with people, have fun, andthat is reflected on the pitch. We tryto put the egos to one side — becauselike it or not people have egos.

"We need to not let that showthrough, because then you stopthinking about being happy, and lifeis not about being right, it's aboutbeing happy!"

It is certainly easy to see how hemight be happier now in Paris underTuchel, a warmer, more charismaticcoach than his predecessor, UnaiEmery.

PSG don't just want to get pastUnited — they want to go beyond thelast eight, something they have notmanaged since the Qatari takeover in2011.

"We are lucky this year to have amanagement team that is liked,respected by everyone, that there isan incredible atmosphere," he says."Everything has been put in place tomake this a great year for us."

PTI n KOLKATA

Having impressed in theFIFA Under-17 World

Cup, Jamshedpur FC for-ward Aniket Jadhav is set totake his next big step — athree-month training stint atEnglish Championship foot-ball club Blackburn Rovers.

The Kolhapur-basedfootballer will become thefirst Indian professional play-er to train in England whenhe joins the BlackburnRovers Academy atBrockhall village, Lancashire.

"For someone comingfrom a small place inKolhapur, it's a dream cometrue for me," Jadhav, whoplayed in all the three match-es for hosts India at theUnder-17 World Cup saidbefore leaving for Lancashire.

"I'm looking forward tothis stint. The World Cupwas a big experience and thisis equally big and it keeps meon track with the missionwhen I left home as a nine-year-old kid," the left-footedstriker said.

Having started his foot-ball journey under JaideepAngiwal of Krida Prabodhinischool in Pune, the strikerwas picked by Pune FCwhere he joined the Under-15 side before progressing tothe Under-17s.

He was spotted byNicolai Adam during an U-17 World Cup trial in

Mumbai and since then hehas been a constant memberof the youth side.

"I would like to thankBlackburn Rovers FC forbelieving in me and my abil-ity, and inviting me to trainat their world class academy."

Jadhav also thankedBalaji Rao, owner ofBlackburn Rovers FootballClub, his agent JehanKothary of KSMN sports,and Jamshedpur FC for thesupport.

Blackburn Rovers — oneof only six champions of thePremier League alongsideManchester United, Chelsea,Arsenal, Manchester Cityand Leicester City — areowned by Venkys LondonLtd, a wholly owned sub-sidiary of Pune-based poul-try conglomerate

Venkateshwara HatcheriesGroup.

Owner of BlackburnRovers Rao said the clubwants to help young Indiantalent.

"Our Academy atBlackburn Rovers is one ofthe finest Category 1Academy in the UK. Thistraining stint will definitelyhelp Aniket to develop tech-nically as a player, which willin turn contribute to theimprovement of his perfor-mances on the pitch.

"We want to supportyoung talented footballers inthe best way possible tohelp improve the Indiannational team's perfor-mances and FIFA rankingon the world stage," Raosaid.

Mukul Choudari ofJamshedpur FC also hailedJadhav's achievement .

"We are very happy forAniket. In fact, very rarelydo Indian football playersget such an opportunity andif they get it at this age, it isjust fantastic, as this willonly help him grow andenhance his skills further.

"It is going to be a win-win for everybody. AsJamshedpur FC, we congrat-ulate Aniket for his talentand the opportunity thathe's got, which we are surehe will make the best of andcome back as a much betterplayer and make us proud."

PTI n LONDON/NEW DELHI

English Premier League giantsManchester City's owners City Football

Group (CFG) are planning to invest in anIndian football team by the end of this year,said chief executive Ferran Soriano.

An official of a reputed club, who hasbeen tracking the development, said thePremier League champions are at an"advanced stage of discussions" with IndianSuper League (ISL) franchise Mumbai CityFC. They have also had preliminary discus-sions with Jamshedpur FC.

"Last year, they visited India andwatched a match between Jamshedpur andMumbai City. Talks are on for sure," the offi-cial, close to Mumbai City FC, said.

Another official in the know of things,said:"City owners have been talking toMumbai for the past eight months and talksare at an advanced stage."

City owner Sheikh Mansour of AbuDhabi Royal Family, has recently pur-chased a Chinese third division clubSichuan Jiuniu, a seventh addition to theirbouquet of clubs, which also include NewYork City, Melbourne City, Japan'sYokohama F Marinos, Atletico Torque andGirona.

"We have some interest in some mar-kets and countries where there is a genuinefootball passion and opportunities, likeChina, but also India. So there might beother opportunities in Asia," Sorianio wasquoted by www.Skysports.Com.

The CEO said that City, currently on topof EPL points table, have been exploring theIndian market for the past two years now.

"With all these developments, we haveto be patient. We have been looking at Indiafor nearly two years now. I would say thisyear we'll end up doing an investment inIndia," he said.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Defending champions MinervaPunjab FC, who pulled out of their

I-League clash against Real Kashmir inSrinagar citing security concerns, willget a re-match, the All India FootballFederation has ruled but the debutantside has decided to challenge theorder.

The February 18 game did not takeplace after Minerva refused to travel toSrinagar, insisting that their foreignplayers had been advised against it bytheir respective embassies in the after-math of the Pulwama terror attack.

"With the current situation inKashmir not conducive to conduct amatch, and keeping in mind the cur-rent extraordinary situation as well asthe desire of teams to play football onthe field, the match stands rescheduledto be held after March 6, 2019, at a timeand location feasible for AIFF, and theparticipating teams," the AIFF said ina statement.

It is learnt, the match could be heldin Delhi on March 12.

Officials in Real Kashmir said theclub is likely to file an appeal againstthe decision and called it "against thelaid down norms of FIFA".

The club, which is at presentfourth in the I-League points table,cited a 2006 national Football Leaguematch between Air India and Fransa-Pax. Fransa-Pax had not turned up forthe match, citing poor refereeing in aprevious game. The AIFF called for are-match but Air India challenged thecall before a jury and were awardedthree points.

The AIFF Emergency Committee,comprising president Praful Patel, fivevice-presidents and general secretary,ruled on Monday that the match berescheduled to or after March 6 at atime and location feasible for AIFF andthe participating teams.

I-League Committee CEOSunando Dhar said the AIFF will waitfor a reply from Real Kashmir on thedecision of the AIFF EmergencyCommittee before deciding on the dateand venue of the re-match.

"We have communicated this toReal Kashmir (since they are the hostteam) and we will take a decision (onthe venue and date) after they give areply. The plan is to have the matchbefore the Super Cup preliminaryround starts (on March 15)," Dhar said.

"I don't want to say anything ondate and venue now," he added.

Asked if there was still a chance ofthe match being held in Srinagar, Dharsaid, "Let us wait for what RealKashmir wants, in their reply."

PTI n COLOMBO

Indian Super League champi-ons Chennaiyin FC will make

their AFC Cup debut whenthey take on Sri Lanka'sColombo FC in a qualifyingplay-off round match onWednesday.

Chennaiyin, the first ISLoutfit to participate in the AFCCup, are vying for a place in thegroup stage of the AFC Cup inthe South Asian Zone.

The Chennai-based side arecoming in the first-leg tie at theColombo Race Course Groundafter concluding their 2018-19ISL campaign with a 0-1 defeatto FC Goa last week.

"The boys are in good spir-its, ahead of what is a very biggame for us against ColomboFC. We are honoured to be thefirst Indian Super League teamto have qualified for the AFCCup, and are hopeful of secur-ing a victory that puts us in acommanding position in the sec-ond leg," said Chennaiyin FCHead Coach John Gregoryahead of the match.

"We are aware of the quali-ty Colombo FC possess andexpect a good fight from themtomorrow (on Wednesday)," headded.

Nine players from the 25-man Chennaiyin squad have fea-tured in the competition onprevious occasions with otherclubs. Star India striker JejeLalpekhlua is the most seniorplayer in the squad.

The Mizo striker has playedagainst Colombo FC in the past,having turned out for MohunBagan in the 2017 AFC Cup pre-liminary round.

"This is a historic match inthe club's history, and we areoptimistic about taking home agood result for the second leg. Iremember facing Colombo FCwith Mohun Bagan two yearsback and they are a very toughside. It is not going to be an easygame," said Jeje.

Chennaiyin will be bol-stered by the comeback of Indianmidfielder Dhanpal Ganesh forthe qualifying play-off againstColombo, after he missed out onthe 2018-19 ISL season with aknee injury.

Australian Chris Herd, who

joined CFC in the January trans-fer window, will be the club'sAsian player in the qualifier withthe Brazilian trio of MailsonAlves, Eli Sabia and RaphaelAugusto being the other threeforeigners.

Four youth team players —defenders Hendry Antonay (U-18 and B team) andReamsochung Aimol (B team),midfielder Zonunmawia (Bteam) and forward BawlteRohmingthanga (B team) havealso been included in the squad.

Colombo FC defeatedBhutan's Transport United 9-2on aggregate in the preliminaryround to set up the clash withChennaiyin.

Colombo have five differentplayers who found the back of

the net so far in their qualifyingcampaign, but Tagne Dimitriwould be the man to watch afterscoring a hat-trick againstTransport United.

This is Colombo's secondappearance in the AFC Cup,having lost 2-4 on aggregate toIndian side Mohun Bagan in the2017 edition's preliminaryround.

Colombo qualified for the2019 edition's preliminary roundon the back of their third succes-sive Sri Lankan top flight (DialogChampions League) title in2017-18. They finished as run-ners-up in the 2018-19 edition,which concluded recently.

The second leg of the qual-ifying play-off will be played inAhmedabad on March 13.

Don't write off Man Utdagainst PSG, says Young

AFP n BARCELONA

Injury deprived him of whatlooked like a last chance at World

Cup glory last year, but Dani Alvesis now spurred on by the dream oflifting the trophy with Brazil inQatar in 2022.

"I don't have an expiry date. Mybody is my answer — when I seethat I can no longer compete, whenmy head is not in it anymore, it willbe the time to stop," Alves said.

"What I do know is that I amgoing to try to get to the World Cupin 2022. My objective is to fight toget there — I don't hold the key, butI will try."

The World Cup is the one tro-phy missing from his CV, so it is lit-tle wonder he is driven on by theprospect of finally winning it withBrazil, even if he will be 39 by thetime the next tournament comesaround.

"That is why the challenge sortof gets me going. It's like saying I'vemet the girl of my dreams. What doI say to her? I am going to try every-thing. Imagine ending your careeras a world champion."

While many players youngerthan Alves have struggled to recov-er from serious knee injuries, theBrazilian says he "never doubted" hewould be back.

I don't have anexpiry date: Dani

PSG vs Man Utd

Live from 1:30am IST

SON TEN 2 NETWORK

‘PUT THE EGOS TO ONE SIDE' —ALVES & PSG'S DRIVE FOR CL GLORY

CHENNAIYIN FACE COLOMBO

FC IN AFC CUP DEBUT

Jadhav set for training stint at Blackburn MINERVA TO

GET RE-MATCH

AGAINST REAL

KASHMIR

Man City owners likely to

invest in Indian club this yearBayern extend Gnabry's contract

sport 16LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 6, 2019

AFP n LONDON

Andy Murray will put his "heart and soul" into trying toreturn to professional tennis, his mother Judy has said,

although she admitted the player's future is unclear.The 31-year-old underwent hip resurfacing surgery at

the end of January in a final throw of the dice to try to over-come the problem that first became a serious issue in 2017.

The operation was performed primarily to improve hisquality of life, with Murray revealing that he struggled sim-ply to put on his socks and shoes, but also offered a poten-tial route back to the sport.

"He is doing pretty well. It is not that long since he hadthe operation and time will tell," Judy Murray told Sky Sports.

"Nobody knows how he is going to recover in the longerterm. He is in a good place mentally and we just keep ourfingers crossed. "But I tell you, if anybody can do it he canbecause he will put his heart and soul into it like he does witheverything." The former world number one announced atan emotional press conference ahead of the Australian Openin January that he planned to retire after Wimbledon but wasmore hopeful following a remarkable five-set defeat byRoberto Bautista Agut in the first round.

No player has come back from the same operation to playsingles but American Bob Bryan recently returned in dou-bles and won an ATP Tour title in Delray Beach last monthwith his brother Mike. Bryan said in Australia that he nolonger felt any pain and backed Murray to follow him by mak-ing a comeback.

PTI n BIRMINGHAM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

After a poor 2018, Srikanth had a decent outing in

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AFP n MUNICH

Germany head coachJoachim Loew

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

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

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

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

"2019 is the year of anew start for the German

national football team,"said Loew.

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

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

Loew's decision her-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PTI n NEW DELHI

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

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

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

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

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

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

GFI had also sent the entries of Yogeshwar

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

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

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

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

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

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

PTI n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PTI n NAGPUR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Indian skipper was ingood touch and played somedelightful drives whenever theball was pitched up. In conditionswhich tested the fitness of each andevery player, Kohli struck only 10

boundaries and ran a lot of singlesand two's in his 116-run knock.

He was at the crease till the

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

Sindhu, Saina aim tobreak 18-year-old jinx

SAI clears Dipa's participation in two WCs

Hummels, Boateng and

Mueller out of Germany picture

Murray will put ‘heart andsoul' into return

India A, B make winning startVirat, Vijay seal thriller

Skipper Kohli smashes 40th ODI ton while Shankar defends 11 runs inlast over to help India beat Aus by 8 runs and register 500th ODI win

in recent times.Australia were off to a fluent

start with openers Aaron Finch(37) and Usman Khawaja (38)adding 83 runs at a decent pace butthe spinners led by ChinamanKuldeep Yadav (3/54) not only putthe brakes on run-rate but also hurtthe visitors by taking wickets inter-mittently.

Kuldeep broke the openingstand by trapping Finch and latersent back dangerous GlennMaxwell (4) and Carey whileJadhav and Jadeja accounted forKhawaja and Shaun Marsh respec-tively.

Stoinis and Carey took theAussie chase deep with theirdogged batting but Kuldeep turnedthe tide in India's favour by dis-missing the latter.

After the first innings, it wasclear that spinners will shape theoutcome of the match and Kuldeepalong with Ravindra Jadeja andKedar Jadhav did strangulate theAustralian innings.

Between overs 13 and 33 theIndian bowlers conceded just oneboundary.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vijay Shankarscalped thelast twoAustralianbatsmen inthe final overin whichAustralianeeded toscore 11 runsfor a series-levelling win

Virat Kohli celebrates his hundred during the second ODI in Nagpur on Tuesday AP

HOCKEY TOURNEYNER will take on Varanasi in the opening match of the

3rd State Senior Prizemoney Women’s HockeyChampionship at Mohd Shahid Stadium on Tuesday. 12teams are taking part in the championship, which are divid-ed in to four groups.POOLS:Pool A: NCR Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Ballia; Pool B: SSB, SAILucknow, Ghaziabad; Pool C: Lucknow Sports Hostel,Meerut, Prayagraj; Pool D: 1-NER, Varanasi, Rai Bareli

STATE UNITED BLANK RFFCState United blanked RFFC 3-0 in a league match of the

2nd Grace Loggerheads Football League at La Martiniereground on Tuesday. In another match, Milani FC defeatedDiamond FC 4-1.

BADMINTON TRIALSRegional sports office is organising sub-junior district-

level badminton trials at KD Singh ‘Babu’ Stadium onWednesday. Interested may reach the venue at 2PM alongwith their age-proof certificates.

AKHIL INFRA ENTER FINALAkhil Infra Cricket Club beat LDACC by 13 runs to enter

the final of the 3rd Subodh Srivastava Memorial CricketTournament at LDA Stadium on Tuesday.BRIEF SCORES:AICC: 186 (Vikasdeep 50, Mohit 30, Chandresh, Anshul 30;Vivek 37/2)LDACC: 173 (Zeeshan 39, Prathul 29, Tejaswa 27; Atul 33/3,Sandeep 27/3, Chandresh 31/2).

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