Visa-free year-long access for pilgrims to Kartarpur Sahib

monday, july 15, 2019 Delhi

City Edition

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Pakistan on Sunday agreed togive yearlong visafree access for Indian pilgrims to theholy Gurdwara of KartarpurSahib.

The Ministry of ExternalAff��airs said in a statementthat the agreement wasreached at the second formalmeeting held at Wagah, atwhich India took up the presence of Khalistan supportersin Pakistani territory. “It wasagreed to allow visafree travel for the Indian passportholders and OCI cardholdersseven days a week. Throughout the year, 5,000 pilgrimswill be allowed to visit theKartarpur Sahib Gurdwara

per day. The pilgrims will beallowed to travel as individuals or in groups and alsoon foot,” the statement said.

India proposed that theholy shrine be open to Indiancitizens of all faiths. However,

a message from the government of Pakistan reiteratedthat there will be provisionfor a permit system for thepilgrims travelling throughthe religious corridor.

India urged that at least

5,000 pilgrims be allowed tovisit the Gurdwara and insisted that 10,000 more be allowed to visit on special occasions and festivals.

India also asked Pakistanto prevent Khalistan supporters from misusing this historic initiative.

“Concerns regarding individuals or organisationsbased in Pakistan who maytry to disrupt the pilgrimageand misuse the opportunityto play with the sentiments ofthe pilgrims was shared. Adossier was handed over tothe Pakistan side to highlightconcerns in this regard,” saidthe statement, without naming the Khalistan supporters.

Visa-free year-long access forpilgrims to Kartarpur Sahib Pakistan agrees to proposal at Wagah meeting; India raises Khalistan issue

Kallol Bhattacherjee

NEW DELHI

Fruitful exercise: The Indian delegation on the Wagah bordernear Amritsar on Sunday. * PTI

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 12

In a policy shift, the IndianRailways is mulling the ideaof buying readymade trainsfrom private players insteadof making them at production units.

As of now, three production units — the IntegralCoach Factory (ICF), Chennai, Modern Coach Factory,Raebareli, and Rail CoachFactory, Kapurthala — rollout rakes for the Railways.

At a highlevel meeting ofUnion Minister of RailwaysPiyush Goyal and Minister ofState of Railways Suresh C.Angadi and top offi��cials andmanufacturers of trains/coach components held inNew Delhi recently, the ideaof procuring Trainsets, Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) andMainline Electric MultipleUnit (MEMU) from the industry was mooted, offi��cialsources said on Sunday.

It was concluded at the

meeting that a consideredview should be taken on procurement of complete trainsets from trade instead ofprocurement of propulsionequipment and manufactureof car body and equippingthe same in production units.

This would enable theRailways to procure the rightglobal technology available.

Referring to a requestfrom the industry, it was stated offi��cially that the Railwaysshould consider procuringcomplete rakes of EMU andMEMU as per past practice,by considering the requirement and capacity of production units.

2,000 rakes to roll out

It was revealed at the meeting that the Railways plannedto roll out over 2,000 rakes,including 320 Vande BharatExpress type of trains and124 rakes for Kolkata Metro inthe next three years.

Railways may buyreadymade trainsfrom private playersS. Vijay Kumar

CHENNAI

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 12

Leaders of the CongressJD(S) coalition in Karnatakawere left jittery, with theireff��orts to salvage the situation suff��ering setbacks onSunday as Congress MLAand Housing Minister N.Nagaraj fl��ew to Mumbai tojoin the rebel camp, a dayafter the Congress had “convinced” him to stay back.

Hours later, 12 rebelMLAs from the ruling coalition camping in Mumbaiheld a press conference todeclare that they would notretract their decision to resign, leaving the fate of thegovernment in balance.

Soon after Mr. Nagaraj,who was seen being accom

panied by former DeputyChief Minister R. Ashoka inthe airport, left Bengalurufor Mumbai, an upbeat BJPdemanded that Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamymove the confi��dence motion on Monday itself.

A confi��dent BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappasaid the party would get anopportunity to serve the people of the State in the nexttwo to three days. Mr. Yeddyurappa also said hewould attend the businessadvisory committee meeting of the Assembly on Monday morning to demandthat the trust vote be heldimmediately.

Embarrassed by Mr. Nagaraj’s ‘volte face’, the Congress quickly held out anolive branch to seventimelegislator Ramalinga Reddy.

Karnataka coalition in jittersas Minister is back with rebels Yeddyurappa demands vote of confi��dence today

Special Correspondent

Bengaluru

WILL FORM GOVERNMENT SOON,

SAYS YEDDYURAPPA A PAGE 8

CM H.D. Kumaraswamy and

Minister for Energy D.K.

Shivakumar coming out of a

meeting in Bengaluru on

Sunday. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

REPORTS ON PAGES 17 & 18

CMYK

Printed at . Chennai . Coimbatore . Bengaluru . Hyderabad . Madurai . Noida . Visakhapatnam . Thiruvananthapuram . Kochi . Vijayawada . Mangaluru . Tiruchirapalli . Kolkata . Hubballi . Mohali . Malappuram . Mumbai . Tirupati . lucknow . cuttack . patna

He grew up in Amritsar, butformer cricketer Madan Lalsays Delhi has given himeverything: love, aff��ectionand a career. His disciplineshines through, as heshows up on the fi��eld thricea week to coach a futuregeneration.

Now and Then

A PAGE 2

2 killed in building crashCHANDIGARH

Two persons, including an

Army man, died and 27 were

injured after a building

collapsed in Solan district of

Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.NEWSA PAGE 12

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

NEARBY

CricketerturnedpoliticianNavjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday announced his resignation from the Punjab Cabinet,amid an ongoing tussle withCM Amarinder Singh. Mr. Sidhu released a copy of his resignation letter on Twitter,

which he said was submittedto Congress leader RahulGandhi on June 10.

In the letter addressed toMr. Gandhi, Mr. Sidhu did notassign any reason for his quitting the Cabinet. “I hereby resign as Minister from the Punjab Cabinet,” he wrote.

Navjot Singh Sidhu quits Punjab CabinetVIKAS VASUDEVA

CHANDIGARH

DETAILS ON A PAGE 12

KARNATAKA CONUNDRUM

A EDITORIAL

CMYK

A ND-NDE

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DELHI THE HINDU

MONDAY, JULY 15, 20192EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

CITY

The rigours of cricket in Amritsar made Madan Lal thetireless performer that he is

best remembered for. His Delhistint gave him the mental toughness he tries to inculcate in hiswards as coach. “I came to Delhiin 1972 with just a train ticket inmy pocket,” he says.

Things are vastly diff��erent now,and at 68 today, Madan greets youwith that familiar, disarmingsmile. Life has given him reasonto be pleased. He retains a greatdeal of the physicality of youth,through his active lifestyle.

“I want to look smart andyoung. I love training and thebeads of sweat on my forehead inspire me.” He was always knownfor his fi��tness, and today it’s a passion: “Every day, I set aside 90 minutes in the morning for my workout. I love to train in the rain.You can’t imagine the joy itbrings,” says the man who had achequered international cricketcareer spanning 13 years.

Few remember that Madan’sdelivery to England’s John Jameson was the fi��rst ball of the inaugural World Cup in 1975. Most Indian fans recall hisgamechanging dismissal of Vivian Richards, caught brilliantlyby Kapil Dev, in the fi��nal of the1983 World Cup.

Woods and ironToday, he takes great pride in running his coaching academies, onein the Capital’s Siri Fort SportsComplex and the other in aschool at Rudrapur, in Uttarakhand. “I have a passion for coaching. I believe in character building. The stronger the character,the better you are as a player,” declares the man who has worn several hats — player, coach, selector,administrator and commentator.

Madan has the same commitment to coaching as he once hadfor playing. “I’ve always foundtime to do what I love doing. If myacademy has my name, and parents send their wards to me,then I am morally bound to bethere with the trainees. EveryThursday, Friday and Saturday

between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., youcan be sure of fi��nding me there,even if it’s 45 degrees.” He is anavid golfer too. “My handicap isaround 1011,” he says with pride.

This dedication comes fromyears of struggle. His fi��rst job waswith the State Bank of India, atLajpat Nagar. Madan stayed at different places with friends for thesix months that he endured Delhi.“The city did not suit me. I wouldfall ill frequently. So I went backto Amritsar, but returned aftertwo months. I wanted to fi��ght andmake my place.”

An off��er from Mohan Meakin(the breweries group) gave himhope, but it was still a dhaba roti-

subzi existence: dal was a luxury,he says. “I shared a room withanother cricketer [ Jasbir Singh] inMohan Nagar Sports Complex,and we’d travel to Delhi on a Yezdi, or sometimes by train. I struggled a lot.”

His fi��rst car, a Fiat, came in1983, after a great deal of scrimping and saving. “I would do oddjobs like whitewashing (whenplaying club cricket in England)to make extra money, work parttime at a centralheating company. In England, I learnt to cook,wash and iron clothes. I can do allthat even now if need be,” says

the man whose fi��rst house was atwobedroom fl��at in Mohan Nagar, after he married Anu Mohan.

Cricket and beyondBesides his commitment to a television news channel for cricketcommentary, Madan tries tospend as much time as possiblewith his family. “I travelled a lot

during my playing days and I stilllove travelling [Madan playedclub and county cricket in England for 22 seasons]. But thesedays, I have cut down on my travel by turning down outstationcoaching assignments. This givesme more time with family [wife,son, daughter, andgrandchildren].”

He does have his share of regrets though. “As a batsman, Istruggled with shortpitched deliveries. I was not scared of therising deliveries but had technicalfl��aws. When I went to my coach,Gyan Prakash, in Amritsar, hesorted it out quickly. By the time Imade a comeback to the Indianteam, I had slipped from 6 to 8 in

the batting order. I realised thedelay cost me a lot.”

His advice to the boys hecoaches is: “Once God hasblessed you with talent, go all outto make the most of it. Refi��neyour skills, work harder, stay focussed and be patient. Your process has to be correct.” His cautionary note to parents is to

remember how mentally andphysically strong their child is.“Temperament and attitudecount; skill alone doesn’t guarantee success.”

As for his relationship with Delhi? The traffi��c’s frightening, but“Delhi gave me everything: loveand aff��ection and a career tomake my life”.

Veteran cricketer Madan Lal isdedicated to fi��tness even today, doing a

90minute daily workout, and showing up tocoach at his Delhi academy thrice a week

RAKESH RAO

‘I LOVE TOTRAIN IN

THE RAIN’

NOW AND THEN

(Clockwise from left) Madan Lal's characteristic'bowling leap'; with a replica of the Prudential Cup;with wife Anu and children, Kunaal and Kanika.

* K.N. CHARI, R V MOORTHY, SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Students from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Economically Weaker Sections(EWS) have been admitted tofewer undergraduate courses at Delhi University (DU)compared to those from unreserved category, analysisof the number of studentsadmitted till Saturdayshowed.

Students from the unreserved category have beenadmitted to 1,313 coursesacross DU’s colleges. On theother hand, students fromthe ST category have beenadmitted to only 528 coursesand those belonging to theEWS category to only 664courses. Clearly, even afterthe release of the third list,colleges are yet to admit anyEWS or ST students for several courses. Prominentamong these include B.Com(Hons.) at Ramjas College, B.Com (Hons.) at Lady Sri RamCollege and several others.

Earlier, The Hindu had reported that up to 61.11% ofadmissions to DU under thesecond list belonged to unreserved category while thepercentage of students admitted under the EWS andST categories were onlyaround 3%. This trend conti

nued in the number of students admitted under thethird list with minor changes. The percentage of unreserved students has comedown to 59.83%, those belonging to the ST categoryhave gone up by 0.03% andthose belonging to the EWScategory have increased by0.05%.

Mandated numbersThe bulletin of informationstates that 7.5% of the students must belong to the STcategory and 10% must belong to the EWS category.Additionally, only 11.67%have been admitted underthe Scheduled Caste category, compared to a mandated

15% and 21.54% have beenadmitted under the OtherBackward Castes (OBC) category compared to a mandated 27%. The current calculation is based on the totalnumber of students admitted, excluding those belonging to supernumerary,which is over and above theallotted number of seats at acollege and sikh categories.

Preferred coursesMeanwhile, among courses,the most number of studentshave been admitted toB.Com with 5,579 admissions and B.Com (Honours)with 5,107 admissions, making commerce a clear favourite among students apply

ing to Delhi University. Thehighest number of studentshas been admitted to variouscombinations of B.A. programme, with about 11,532students. However, there arenearly 400 such combinations off��ered by collegescompared to about 40 courses each of B.Com and B.Com(Hons.).

But admissions are farfrom over with courses atseveral colleges remainingopen under the fourth list ofcutoff��s. University offi��cialshad earlier said that up to63,000 seats would be up forgrabs this year. Approvalsunder the fourth list willstart from Monday and willgo on till Wednesday.

DU colleges yet to admit reservedcategory students to various courses Scheduled Tribe and EWS students enrolled to only a few courses

Sidharth Ravi

New Delhi

Passenger held with 8bullets at Delhi airport NEW DELHI

An air passenger was

apprehended at the Delhi

airport for allegedly carrying

a loaded magazine with eight

bullets in his hand baggage,

an official said on Sunday.

Prajjwal V Tiwari, who was

bound for Mumbai on an Air

Asia flight, was caught by the

CISF, the official said. PTI

IN BRIEF

Drug suppliers held neareducational institutesNOIDA

Twenty people have been

arrested for their alleged

involvement in drug trade

near educational institutes in

Noida and Greater Noida, the

police said on Sunday. About

7.5 kg marijuana, 5.8 kg

low-quality heroin, 1.3 kg

hashish were recovered from

them, they said. PTI

Talk: Durgabai Deshmukh MemorialLecture 2019: “The Heritage andProspects of Democracy”, by Prof.Hiren Gohain, former Professor ofEnglish, Gauhati University, at C.D.Deshmukh Auditorium, India International Centre (IIC), 6:30 p.m.

Talk: Discussion on “National Consultation on Draft National Education Policy 2019: View from theMargins (SC,ST and Minorities)” byvarious speakers at Hall 1, HamdardConvention Centre, Jamia Hamdard,Mehrauli Badarpur Road, 9:30 a.m.

Music: “Guru Diksha”, an evening oftabla performances. The artistes aredisciples of tabla educator Ust. Rafi��uddin Sabri: Sabir Hussain, AshwinGopal, Ujit Uday, Vishal, KhushhalKhan, Shahedin Sabri, Asad Khan andSabir Ali. Accompanied by Ejaz Hussain on the sarangi at Amaltas Hall,India Habitat Centre (IHC), 7 p.m.

Exhibition: A solo painting show byJoydeb Bala at Convention CentreFoyer, India Habitat Centre (IHC), 11a.m. – 7 p.m.

(Mail your listings for this column [email protected])

DELHI TODAY

The fi��rst cutoff�� list for theB.A. Programme and B.Comcourses at the NonCollegiateWomen’s Education Board(NCWEB) were released byDelhi University on Sunday.

Combinations of B.A Programme (economics + political science and history + political science), and B.Comhave been off��ered at up to 26colleges, including MirandaHouse, Hansraj, Sri Aurobhindo and Jesus and MaryCollege among others. Apartfrom this, 12 other combina

tions of B.A. Programmehave been made available atdiff��erent colleges. Amongthese, the highest cutoff�� hasbeen declared for the B.A.(economics+politicalscience) and B.Com coursesat Hansraj and Mirandawhich have called for an 85%cutoff��. The cutoff��s are, however, lower than that of theregular courses at the samecolleges.

Started in 1944, NCWEBserves as a centre for womenstudents to get a degree without having to attend regularclasses.

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

Women’s educationboard releases fi��rst list

Delhi University TeachersAssociation (DUTA) hascalled for a twoday strike,starting Monday, to drawattention to issues faced byadhoc teachers with regard to university’s latestrecruitment drive.

“The hasty implementation of the EWS reservations is going to result inthe displacement of hundreds of adhoc teachers...” Rajib Ray, presidentof the teachers’ union saidin a letter to his colleagues.

To mitigate this, DUTAhad written to the University Grants Commission(UGC) as well as the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) callingfor the deferment of the reservations till additionalposts were sanctioned.Among other issues, theteachers association has also demanded that the contracts of all adhocs be renewed before the start ofthe academic session onJuly 20.

To draw attention totheir concerns, DUTA willhold a protest demonstration at the ViceChancellor’s offi��ce on Monday andat the UGC offi��ce on Tuesday.

All teaching staff�� of theuniversity has been askedto join the strike.

2-day strike byDUTA againsthiring drive

Staff Reporter

New Delhi

A large number of workers ofan automotive company inBinola held a daylong hunger strike at minisecretariathere on Sunday in support oftheir demands. The protestwas supported by variousworkers and trade unions aswell.

Inqlabi Mazdoor Kendracentral committee memberShyambir Shukla, who waspresent at the protest venue,

said, members of Shivam Auto Tech Limited had given acharter of demands to the

management in May lastyear. But there is no consensus on the issue.

Mr. Shukla alleged that themanagement, in a bid to putpressure on the workers’ union, sacked around 40 members on charges of misbehaviour without any substantialevidence and also initiatedinhouse probe. Four moreunion members were prevented from entering thecompany premises four daysago and pressure was beingmounted on the union to arrive at an agreement on thecharter of demands as per

the wishes of the management, said Mr. Shukla.

SATL Employees Uniongeneralsecretary Mukesh Yadav said the fi��ve major demands of the workers include reinstatement ofdismissed workers with wages, agreement on the charterof demands, implementationof labour laws and abolitionof contract system. The othermajor demand was not to allow the police to intervene inthe matters of the plant.

Workers of automotive company stage hunger strike Trade unions extend support; reinstatement of sacked employees is one of their prime demands

Workers staging a protest in Gurugram. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT


GURUGRAM

The Aam Aadmi Party government has decided togrant ownership rights toaround 7,200 families thatgot agricultural land in themid70s under a programme for landless people.

Under the “20point programme”, launched duringformer Prime Minister Indi

ra Gandhi’s tenure in 197576, around 12,500 landlessfamilies in Delhi got land forcultivation, according to offi��cials.

Recently, at a meetingconvened by the Ministerand Chief Secretary, DistrictMagistrates, Divisional Commissioners and the Principal Secretary (Revenue)were directed to dispose ofthe issue at the earliest.

Govt. to give ownershiprights to 7,200 families To benefi��ciaries of 20point programme

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

A member of the Delhi University’s academic councilhas alleged that an updatedsyllabus of English Journalism course contains chapters on Muzaff��arnagar riotsand lynching incidentswhich attempt to target theRSS and its affi��liate organisations.

Rasal Singh, university’sacademic council member,also said the source materialof such chapters has been taken from “biased” news portals which have often criticised the government.

“They are targeting theRSS and its affi��liate organisations, even our Prime Minister. I will raise the issue inthe Academic Council meeting on Monday and ensure itis not passed,” he said.

Meanwhile, Professor RajKumar, head of the Englishdepartment, said his department has taken a fi��rm standon not hurting the sentiments of any community.

Sources said the issue hasalready been fl��agged by theUndergraduate Syllabus Revision Committee of the university and the controversial portions will be revised.

Row over DU’s ‘antiRSS’journalism syllabusPress Trust of India

New Delhi

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THE HINDU DELHI

MONDAY, JULY 15, 2019 3EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Jhilmil Industrial Areafi��re: coowner arrested NEW DELHI

Another co-owner of the

factory has been arrested in

connection with the fire

tragedy in Delhi’s Jhilmil

Industrial Area on July 13, the

police said on Sunday. His

brother, who also owns the

factory was arrested on

Saturday. More arrests are

likely if anyone else is found

guilty, the police said. Two

women and a youth died in

the massive fire. PTI

IN BRIEF

Constable injured, robberarrested in encounterGHAZIABAD

A suspected robber has been

arrested after an encounter

here, the police said on

Sunday. Acting on a tip-off,

the police intercepted two

persons, who were on a

motorcycle that did not have

a registration number, near

Manan Dham on July 13.

When asked to stop, the

pillion rider opened fire on

the police and both fled. After

a chase, the police cornered

them who fired two shots at

the officers. Constable Sandip

Malik and one of the suspects

sustained injuries. PTI

The decomposed body of a 17yearold boy, who had been missing since July 12, was found onthe fi��rst fl��oor of an abandonedbuilding in west Delhi’s Basai Darapur on Sunday evening.

Two of his friends have beenheld in connection with thecase, said the police. A call wasmade to the PCR around 7 a.m.regarding a body in a building inBasai Darapur. A police team

reached the spot and sent thebody for postmortem.

The deceased has been identifi��ed as Vicky, a local and a schooldropout. He had gone missingfrom his home and could not betraced until his body was found.

Post-mortem report awaitedThe police are awaiting the postmortem report to ascertain theexact cause of death.

DCP (West) Monika Bhardwajsaid that a missing complaint in

the case was registered at MotiNagar police station on July 13.

The police had initiated asearch immediately, she said.

The family members of thedeceased said that Vicky had returned from his tuition classesaround 10.30 a.m. on July 12.

He, however, immediately leftfor “some work”, having promised to return in ten minutes.

When he did not return evenafter halfanhour, his fathercalled him on his mobile num

ber which, the family said, wasswitched off��. They searched forhim at all possible places andeven asked his friends about hiswhereabouts, but in vain. The family then approached the policethe next morning.

The boy was hit on the headwith a sharp object, the policesaid. The arrested accused, bothjuveniles, have confessed to being involved in a fi��ght with thevictim, the police added. An FIRhas been registered in the case.

Seventeen-year-old was hit on the head with a sharp object; had gone missing on July 12STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI

Decomposed body of missing boy found; two friends held

An IT professional was allegedly honeytrapped andmurdered during a robberyin west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden on Sunday, the policesaid.

The police said that somepatrolling staff�� noticed a carparked on the roadside onRaghubir Nagar canal road.They got suspicious andwhen they reached near it,they found four men and awoman inside.

“When the patrollingstaff�� in an Emergency Response Vehicle went near thecar, the driver sped off�� towards Raghubir Nagar mainroad. Head Constable Manjeet Singh and other staff��chased the car for about akm before they managed tointercept it,” said MonikaBhardwaj, DCP (West).

Ms. Bhardwaj said that

the patrolling staff�� managedto overpower two persons,identifi��ed as Himanshu aliasBillad, a resident of TagoreGarden and Deepak, a resident of Raghubir Nagar.

When asked as to whythey were fl��eeing after seeing the police, they couldnot give a satisfactory answer and were brought to thepolice station for further interrogation. The other occupants of the car, however,

managed to fl��ee.Himanshu and Deepak

tried to mislead the policeinitially, but broke downduring sustained interrogation and confessed to having committed a murderduring a robbery bid, thepolice said.

During interrogation,they disclosed that a femaleaccomplice had taken a manto Shivaji Enclave near a gasgodown. They then took hismobile phone and bag andwhen the person resisted,they stabbed him and fl��ed.

“A police team then wentto Shivaji Enclave, wherethey found a car parked anda person inside it lying unconscious on the front seat,in a pool of blood. He hadstab injuries on his rightthigh and his body was partly clothed,” said Ms.Bhardwaj

The DCP said that the

man was rushed to a hospital where he was declaredbrought dead. He has beenidentifi��ed as Bhupender Birdi (39), a resident of SaiyyadVillage in Paschim Vihar.

The family members ofthe deceased were informedafter which they reachedthe hospital. They told thepolice that he had left thehouse for an interview at anMNC in Gurugram, on July13.

“We have arrested all other accused, including a woman under Indian PenalCode Sections 302 [murder]and 397 [robbery with an attempt to cause grievous injury] and 411 [dishonestlyreceiving stolen property] atRajouri Garden police station. We have recovered thevictim’s phone and his bagfrom the possession of thearrested persons,” said Ms.Bhardwaj.

Honey-trapped man resists robbery, killed Victim found in own car; woman among accused arrested, say police

The deceased’s car.* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI

In a snatching attempt, a 22yearold chef of a south Delhi restaurant was stabbed todeath by two drug addicts atAndrews Ganj bus stop onthe Outer Ring Road opposite to Defence Colony police station on July 13 night,the police said on Sunday.

The victim, identifi��ed asShyam Bodh Sah, hailedfrom Madhubani. He was onhis way home in Zamrudpur on his cycle from a restaurant in Defence Colonywhere he used to work,when two youth killed him,the police said.

Vijay Kumar, DCP(South), said that the accused involved in the casewere arrested few hours after the incident, from a parknear Ansal Plaza, addingthat the knife used in thecommission of the crimehas been recovered fromtheir possession.

“We have held two youthin the case. One has beenidentifi��ed as Rahul (23) andthe other claims to be a minor, but we are verifying hisage. We have recovered the

knife and the bloodstainedclothes of the accused,” saidMr. Kumar.

The accused tried to mislead the police initially byclaiming it was an incidentof road rage where the victim’s bicycle brazed themafter which an altercationensued between the twosides and they killed him.

However, on cross questioning, one of them revealed that having failed tosnatch the victim’s mobilephone, they stabbed him,the police said

The PCR received a call at12.10 a.m. on Sunday regarding an “accident”. Before they reached the spot,a car driver had taken theinjured chef to AIIMS. Thepolice reached AIIMS wheredoctors had declared theman brought dead. He hadsustained stab injuries onthe chest.

The bus stop, which is located above a subway, turnsinto a den of drug addictsand other antisocial elements at night, said a localwho wished not to benamed.

Mr. Kumar said it seemsthat two youth had comeout from subway and heldthe victim who was ridinghis bicycle on the servicelane. They tried to snatchhis phone and when he resisted, they stabbed him onthe chest and fl��ed. Duringthe attack, the victim wascarrying a mobile phone,had ₹��450 in his wallet.

Ram Lakhan Sah, the deceased’s cousin, said thatShyam had bought thephone around two yearsback with the bonus he goton Diwali.

He used to earn ₹��12,000 amonth and was saving forthe medical treatment of hiselder brother who is mentally ill and also for the marriage of his younger sister.His parents are old and unemployed. He might havefought with the accusedsince he knew he could notaff��ord another phone.

Chef stabbed to deathfor resisting snatching Two accused, both drug addicts, have been held: police

The subway near the bus stop where the incident happened is said to be a den of drug addictsat night; (right) Shyam Bodh Sah. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI <> We have held two

youth in the case.

One of them claims

to be a minor. We

are verifying his age

Vijay Kumar

DCP (South)

Four women were targetedby bikeborne snatchers infour separate incidents reported in west Delhi on July11 and 12.

On July 11, in two separate incidents, two womenwere targeted by snatchersriding black bikes in Rajourigarden and Moti Nagar.

Neha Jolly, a resident ofMoti Nagar, was targetedjust outside her housearound 1.40 p.m.

“Someone slapped meon my neck very hard andmoments later I realised mychain was gone. Another

woman was targeted next tomy house a day before,”said Ms. Jolly.

A First Information Report was registered at MotiNagar police station.

On way to gymAnother woman, who wason her way to the gym, fellvictim to snatching in Rajouri Garden. Neetu Mittal,a resident of Subhash Nagar, said in her police complaint that she was headingtowards the gym on a rickshaw around 11.30 a.m.

As she was about to getoff�� the rickshaw, two menon a black motorcycle came

from behind and snatchedher gold chain.

She made a PCR call andan FIR was registered.

On July 12, PriyankaSethi, a resident of Mansarovar Garden, was going fora morning walk around6.30 a.m. in Tanki WalaPark, when two men on ablack bike — being driven onthe wrong side — came towards her.

They snatched her goldchain and sped away.

She made a PCR call andregistered an FIR at Kirti Nagar police station.

The last incident happened with Shreeshtha

Goyal, a resident of RameshNagar, who lives with her family and is doing researchwith SJ Hospital.

Her complaint states thatat 6.45 a.m. on July 12 shewas returning home afterdropping her child off�� at abus stop.

When she reached nearher house, two men on ablack motorcycle snatchedher gold chain and fl��ed.

FIRs lodged, probe onA police offi��cer said thatthey have registered FIRs inall of the cases and teamshave been formed to nabthe accused.

In all cases, the accused were riding black two-wheelers; all victims are women

STAFF REPORTER

NEW DELHI

West Delhi witnesses 4 cases of snatching in 2 days

Passengers on the Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line facedhardship on Sunday as services were disrupted fornearly two hours due totechnical issues.

Magenta Line connectsBotanical Garden in Noida toJanakpuri West stations inDelhi, both stations have interchange facilities.

Around 9.30 a.m., theDelhi Metro Rail Corporation tweeted about the snagand disruption in services.“Due to a technical issue,train services will be run infollowing loops temporarily:1) Between JanakpuriWest & R K Puram 2) Between Botanical Garden &Kalkaji [sic.],” the tweetread. The issue was resolvedby 11 a.m.

Services on Magenta Linedisrupted for two hoursPress Trust of India

New Delhi

Man with 100 cocainecapsules in stomach held NEW DELHI

The Narcotics Control Bureau

has apprehended a

Venezuelan man for allegedly

smuggling drugs into the

country by ingesting over 100

cocaine-filled capsules,

officials said on Sunday. He

arrived at the IGI Airport here

via the Ethiopian capital of

Addis Ababa on July 10 and

was intercepted by the

sleuths of the NCB’s Delhi

zonal unit on the basis of

prior information. PTI

After a trial run of its vehiclefreeinitiative in inner circle of Connaught Place on a weekend, theNew Delhi Municipal Council(NDMC) is now planning to testthe pedestrianfriendly schemeon a workday.

On June 30, a Sunday, theNDMC had banned the entry ofvehicles into CP’s inner circlebetween 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., in abid to improve visitor experienceat one of the most iconic shopping locations in the city.

People were seen strolling inthe inner circle, which is usuallypacked with vehicles.

The initiative has, however,been criticised by traders for affecting businesses; and receiveda mixed response from shoppers,with some welcoming the moveand others complaining aboutconfusion over where to park.

“We plan to go ahead with theinitiative to make inner circlevehiclefree and now we will holda trial run on a weekday to understand the diff��erence. After thatwe will conduct more trails,”NDMC Chairman Naresh Kumartold The Hindu.

The NDMC is holding meetingswith the traders’ association toresolve issues faced by shopkeepers, and is also in touch with volunteers and the police to ironout glitches that cropped up during the trial run.

The planConnaught Place is laid out overthree concentric circular roads(outer, middle and inner), whichare connected by seven radialroads. Under the vehiclefree initiative, traffi��c moment will be al

lowed on the outer and middlecircles. The seven radial roads,which connect to major roadssuch as Janpath and BarakhambaRoad, will also be open to traffi��c.

All parking lots, including theones in the inner circle, will befunctional. Vehicles will be ableto access the parking lots in theinner circle through a barricadedsection. Parking of vehicles onthe middle circle road, which isallowed on normal days, will notbe permitted during the trials.

There will be pickup anddropoff�� points for senior citizensand disabled people and theywill also have access to eight electric cars deployed in the area. Volunteers will also be deployed toguide people who come in vehicles and there will be signage.

Though conceptualised in2017, the NDMC carried out thefi��rst full day trial run on June 30this year.

In May, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation had made astretch of Karol Bagh market vehiclefree. The south and east corporations are also planning tomake portions of certain marketsin their area pedestrianfriendly.

free and systematic,” said AkankiSharma.

The next testIn preparation for a trial run on aweekday, the NDMC is holdingmeetings with its volunteers whowill be on the ground to assistshoppers. In a conference roomon the third fl��oor of the agency’sheadquarters, NDMC SecretaryRashmi Singh gave some helpfulpointers to over 50 ‘civic wardens’. “Do not say CP ‘bandh hai

(is closed)’, just say there is a different traffi��c fl��ow today. Lasttime, many people got the impression that CP is closed for vehicles,” she said.

Earlier in the day in the sameroom, Mr. Kumar held a meetingwith traders to fi��nd a solution totheir problems. He admitted thatdealing with the issues of theshopkeepers was a major challenge to the initiative.

During the next trial, volunteers will work in two shifts: onefrom 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and another from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. In thelast trial, there was only oneshift: from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

“The reports of the last trialare positive. We hope the traderswill also come around,” said a senior NDMC offi��cial.

Claiming that business had fallen by at least 30% on June 30,Mr. Sood said: “There was a lot ofcongestion in the outer and middle circles during the trial as entry of vehicles was restricted.When people see online thatthere is a lot of congestion in CP,they prefer to go to malls.”

The owner of a popular bookshop in CP said, “A lot of senioradvocates and diplomats are ourcustomers. Do you think they willpark their luxury cars somewhere else and walk to the store?They will just stop coming here.”He added that business had gonedown by 50% during the trial.

Shoppers, however, werequite happy with the scheme. “It[vehiclefree plan] will defi��nitelyhelp reduce traffi��c congestion inthe inner circle. But it will aff��ectpeople visiting CP in cars,” saidGaurav Sarkar.

“I do not think there is anyproblem with it [vehicle freeplan] ]and the plan is fi��ne as thewalk from the parking lots isbrief. But they [the authorities]have to make the parking hassle

The New Delhi Traders’ Association has strongly opposed theinitiative. “At 45 degrees Celsius,people will not park their cars somewhere else and walk to ourshops,” contended Atul Bhargava, president of the NDTA.

Traders upset“You cannot compare CP to KarolBagh. In CP, there is enoughspace to walk in the corridors,unlike other markets. So, what isthe need to make it vehicle free,”asked Arun Sood, who runs acloth store in ABlock.

Decongesting theconcentric circlesThe New Delhi Municipal Council is planning to hold another vehiclefree trial run in Connaught Place’s inner circle — this time on a weekday

Nikhil M Babu

New Delhi

<> There was a lot of

congestion in the outer

and middle circles during

the trial [on June 30] as

entry of vehicles was

restricted. When people

see online that there is a

lot of congestion in CP,

they prefer to go to

malls... business fell by at

least 30%

Arun Sood

a shopkeeper

From top: The inner circle of Connaught Place during the full day vehiclefree trial run on June 30; a protesting traders throws a traffi��c cone,meant for vehicle diversion, a day ahead of the trial; a volunteer standson the road to guide shoppers. * FILE PHOTOS: SANCHIT NAGPAL, R.V. MOORTHY

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


CITY

Fashion attracts eyeballsboth on the ramp and in themedia, but a huge gap existsbetween dreams of buddingdesigners and the grim reality of being a part of galafashion events.

To fi��ll in this gap, a threeday event “Textile Fairs India” is opening at PragatiMaidan on Monday. Thisnonticketing event seeks tomake an impact on thehearts of the Dilliwallas.

For the fi��rst time, “TFIFashion Design Awards”, organised by TFI in associationwith fashion guru Prasad Bidapa, will see 14 designersparticipate in a fashionshow, followed by an awardpresentation. The fi��rst andconcluding day will showcase latest developments infi��bres, yarns, trims and garments from Austria, China,Hong Kong, Japan and thehost nation.

Outlining the contours ofthis event, David Abraham,a veteran couturier, says:“My colleague Rakesh Thakore will be a part of the jury. Such platforms give a fi��llip to fl��edging designers.They get exposure to interact with those calling theshots in the textile industry.”

Both David and Rakeshgraduated from the NationalInstitute of Design, Ahmedabad, before setting up Abraham & Thakore, which isknown for blending Westernsilhouettes with traditionalcraft techniques.

Rakesh says: “I will like tosee the entire thing — talent,presentation, outofthe boxideas — put together. For us,it should be a mix of modernand traditional. Textiles is ahuge arena. There is handblock printing, Banarasi,

Kancheepuram, Ikat, Jamdani that hopefully will be presented in colourful clothesat this event.”

‘World of possibilities’Payal Jain, a seasoned designer and jury member,says TFI opens a world ofpossibilities for young, talented designers who haven’t been able to createtheir own label.

“The criteria for this competition is only three yearsof work experience in the industry. They [designers] aregiven a mystery bag of fabrics to work with and showtheir creativity.”

Padma Raj Keshri, a designer from Bengaluru, says:“I believe in working 360 degrees from fi��bre to fashion.”His textilebased garmentsrefl��ects the best of contemporary Indian fashion.

Prasad Bidapa says everydesigner needs the best offabrics. “This is the place tofi��nd it. Public can order inspecifi��c yarn combinations,weights and colours as ourexhibitors are willing to develop and innovate. Wemust maintain heritage textiles of India as we developthe best of technologicallysophisticated fabrics forworld markets, all of whichyou will see at TFI.”

‘Textile Fairs India’ opens today at Pragati Maidan

Madhur Tankha

new delhi

Democratisation of fashion

Designers David Abrahamand Rakesh Thakore.

The wife of a Army jawanhas moved the Delhi HighCourt seeking to trace herhusband, who has been missing since May last year.

Neethu fi��led a habeas corpus plea seeking to produceher husband before the HC.A habeas corpus plea is usedto secure release of a personfrom illegal detention.

She said her husband Havildar (Driver Special) Shijuof the 140 Air Defence Regiment has been missing sinceMay 29 last year.

Her petition said she hasreason to believe that herhusband has been wronglyconfi��ned to cover up allegedmalpractices spotted by Shiju in Airawat Canteen, Patiala. She said Shiju, who hasbeen serving in the Army for17 years, was one of the people in charge of the canteen.

In her petition, sheclaimed that her husbandwas on sick leave from April4 to May 1, 2018, after whichhe left for Command Hospital, Chandimandir, as perthe instructions recorded inthe movement order.

She said her husband wasin the Command Hospitalfrom May 1 to May 28. Thepetition said he was orderedto proceed to Base Hospital,Delhi Cantonment, accompanied by two guards.

On May 28, she received acall from her husband thatthey had reached New Delhirailway station and taken aroom nearby. The next day,the family received a callthat Shiju had run away.

The plea has contendedthat investigation into thecase has not progressedeven after a year.

Wife of ‘missing’ Army jawan movesHigh Court to trace husband Plea says Havildar Shiju has been missing since May last year

Staff Reporter

new delhi

Even as the authorities planto open 20 more multilevelparking lots across Delhi tofi��x parking woes, a scrutinyof some of the existing facilities reveal that most of themare operating below capacity.

These multicrore facilities,even with their advantagessuch as security and betterutilisation of space, havefound few takers with shoppers and market associationsciting high fares, and complaining that the process ofparking is not user friendlyand time consuming.

Hauz KhasThe multilevel parking lot atHauz Khas, which was completed in 2015, has a capacityto hold 300 vehicles. “But onaverage the facility hosts just100 cars per day,” said a supervisor. Most prefer the surface parking lot running parallel to the facility as it is‘less of a hassle’.

Abhay Prasad, a regular

visitor to the area, said hedoes not use the facility as itis not user friendly: “It ismore convenient to parkalong the road”. Anothershopper said: “The facilitydoes not feel secure, which iswhy I prefer the surface parking where an attendant is always on the lookout.”

KalkajiThe threefl��oor facility in Kalkaji can hold up to 385 cars

Sarojni Nagar Market hostsaround 500 cars per day. Unveiled in 2011, the facility haseight fl��oors and can hold upto 824 cars.

The ground and fi��rst fl��oorof the facility is being usedfor retail purposes.

A supervisor at the sitesaid that the multilevel parking facility is not suffi��cient forthe high footfall area.

Harnoor Kaur, a shopperwaiting to park her car in thesurface parking lot, said:“The [multilevel parking] facility charges a bit more compared to the surface parkingand it takes more time topark the car.” The facilitycharges ₹��14 per hour.

More facilitiesThe Standing Committee ofthe North Delhi MunicipalCorporation on July 3 approved the construction of amultilevel parking lot onBank street, Karol Bagh. It isexpected to be completed by2021. The 12fl��oor lot willhave a capacity of over 500

cars. Two fl��oors will be usedfor commercial purposes.

An eightfl��oor multilevelparking lot is being built inGandhi Maidan near ChandniChowk. It is expected to havea capacity of 2,400 vehicles.

Sanjay Bhargava, memberof the Chandni Chowk Traders’ Association, said the facility will benefi��t everyone,including shoppers and tourists visiting the Walled City.

The authorities say thatthe work will be completedby December 2020, addedMr. Bhargava.

Street parkingThe city government, in itsdraft policy: ‘Delhi Maintenance and Management ofParking Places Rules 2019’,has envisioned 20 more multilevel parking lots, whichcan hold up to 12,000 cars.

Besides the multilevelparking lots, the Delhi government is also consideringdiscouraging street parkingby hiking rates for suchfacilities.

tially resolved if car ownersused the multilevel parkingfacility.

When asked why the facility was not being used, ashopkeeper said: “I park mycar in the lane behind ourshop as there is space and itis free.” Parking at the facilitycosts ₹��20 per hour.

Sarojini Nagar MarketThe Capital’s fi��rstever automated multilevel car park in

but receives an average ofjust 5060 cars a day. The facility was aimed at reducingcongestion at Krishna Market.

Vineet Malik, owner of alocal bakery shop, said:“There is frequent jam in thearea due to parked motorcycles of food delivery boys.Countless complaints havebeen fi��led but no action hasbeen taken.” He added thatthe problem would be par

Slots empty at most multilevel parking lots in cityAuthorities are planning 20 more such facilities across Delhi even though existing ones are functioning far below capacity

Saurav Sinha

New Delhi

Fully automated multilevel parking at Sarojini Nagar Market. * SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

The Delhi High Court has relaxed the law governing termination of pregnancy to allow a 27yearold woman toabort her 25week foetusdiagnosed with a congenitalanomaly which made it “impossible for the child” to remain alive after birth.

A Bench of Chief Justiceand Justice C. Hari Shankartook the assistance of medical experts from All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) to determine thecondition of the foetus suf

fering from Bilateral Muticystic Kidney disease withOligohydramnios and Pulmonary Hypoplasia.

Dr. K. Aparna Sharma, assistant professor of Obstericand Gynaecology, said thecondition of the foetus was“incompatible with life andthat it would be impossiblefor the child to remain aliveafter birth”. To a queryabout possible danger to themother in case the pregnancy is terminated, Dr. Sharmasaid there was a very slimchance of the mother havingto undergo surgery for ter

minating her pregnancy.The mother, in her plea,

had challenged certain sections of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP)Act, including the stipulatedceiling of 20 weeks for termination of pregnancy, beyondwhich abortion of a foetus isstatutorily impermissible.

Noting her plea and thestand of the experts, theHigh Court said: “In a casewhere the condition of thefoetus is incompatible withlife, the rigour of Section3(2) of the MTP Act deservesto be relaxed.”

Court relaxes rules for woman to abortfoetus suff��ering from congenital anomalyAllows for termination of sixandahalf month pregnancy

Staff Reporter

new delhi

NORTH & EASTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU DELHI


0DISCLAIMER: Readers are requested toverify and make appropriate enquiries tosatisfy themselves about the veracity ofan advertisement before responding toany published in this newspaper. THGPUBLISHING PVT LTD., the Publisher &Owner of this newspaper, does not vouchfor the authenticity of any advertisementor advertiser or for any of the advertiser’sproducts and/or services. In no event canthe Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Dir-ector/s, Employees of this newspaper/company be held responsible/liable inany manner whatsoever for any claimsand/or damages for advertisements inthis newspaper.

DELHI Timings

Monday, July 15

RISE 05:33 SET 19:21

RISE 18:12 SET 03:59

Tuesday, July 16

RISE 05:34 SET 19:21

RISE 19:03 SET 04:49

Wednesday, July 17

RISE 05:34 SET 19:21

RISE 19:50 SET 05:42

The MLAs of the Congressled government in MadhyaPradesh are expected tomeet on Wednesday, for thethird time in 11 days, to ensure that the fl��ock stays together in the wake of eventsin Karnataka and Goa.

Sources said Chief Minister Kamal Nath is set to meethis MLAs, as well as thosefrom the allies — the Samajwadi Party and the BahujanSamaj Party — and Independents over dinner to ensurethat they remain united during the division (voting) onfi��nancial matters when themonsoon session of the Assembly resumes onWednesday.

Such meetings have beenheld earlier on July 7 and July 11, the latter being attended by senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia, a close aide of

Rahul Gandhi, as well,sources said.

“Yes, I have also been invited to the meeting on July17 at the CM’s house. I amwith the Congress and fullysupport Kamal Nath ji,” BSPMLA Ram Bai said onSunday.

Leader of the OppositionGopal Bhargava and StateBJP chief Rakesh Singh, at a

meeting on July 8, had already asked all its MLAs to bepresent in the House, a party leader said.

Mr. Bhargava had, in May,written a letter to the MP Governor requesting a specialsession for fl��oor test of thegovernment.

BJP sweepThis was shortly after theBJP swept the Lok Sabhapolls, winning 28 of the 29seats in the State.

He had said at the timethat the BJP would seek division on fi��nancial matters.

The Congress has 114MLAs in the 230memberHouse against the BJP’s 109(one having resigned afterwinning the LS polls).

The Kamal Nath government is supported by twoMLAs of the BSP and onefrom the SP. The House hasfour Independent MLAs.

Nath to meet MLAs again to ensure unityThird such meet in 11 days in wake of events in Karnataka

Press trust of india

Bhopal

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath *

Incessant rain and fl��oodingover the past eight days havedisrupted normal life innorth Bengal.

The district of Cooch Behar has received nearly 200mm of rainfall over the weekend. Floods have inundated100 tea gardens in Darjeeling

and tourists are stranded atmany places. The RegionalMeteorological Centre hasforecast light to moderaterain over the next week.

Highways fl��oodedConnectivity between Bengal and Assam has been disrupted. Floodwaters have inundated portions of National

Highway 31 at Maruganj inCooch Behar. National Highway 55, which connects Darjeeling and Siliguri, is closed.A landslide caused NH10,connecting Kalimpong toSikkim, to be closed again onSaturday after being reopened. A control room tomonitor the situation hasbeen set up in Kolkata.

The worstaff��ected districts are Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and NorthDinajpur, all in north Bengal.As many as 32 rivers inCooch Behar are overfl��owingincluding Torsa, Teesta, Raidak, Damodar and Kaljani.

The government has setup 43 shelters in the aff��ectedareas.

Heavy rain in north Bengal hits normal lifeBengalAssam road link cut off��; all rivers in Cooch Behar district in spate

Staff reporter

Kolkata

The Odisha government’s inabilityto acquire land has slowed downthe pace of railway projects in theState, Railway Minister PiyushGoyal has said.

In a letter addressed to OdishaChief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Mr.Goyal said nonavailability of landand forest clearances were the major hindrances in taking the projects forward.

More than 4,000 acres of priv

ate, government and forest landare to be acquired and handed over to the Railways for completionof the Khurda RoadBalangir line,which connects the coastal regionwith the western district of theState.

Similarly, in case of the TalcherBimlagarh project, 1,600 acres remain to be acquired.

The East Coast Railways has requested the Odisha government toexpedite land acquisition and forest land diversion process.

Odisha govt.’s inability to acquire

land delaying rly projects: GoyalStaff Reporter

BHUBANESWAR

Around half a dozen policemen, including a suspendedinspector, were booked on

Sunday for allegedly beating,torturing and gangraping awoman whose brotherinlawhad died in police custody inRajasthan’s Churu district on

gally detained by the thenStation House Offi��cer andother policemen of Sardarshahar police station inChuru.

July 6.The Dalit woman, who is

admitted at SMS Hospital inJaipur, alleged that she andher brotherinlaw were ille

Policemen booked for torturing and gang-raping woman Press trust of india

Jaipur


THE HINDU DELHI


WEST

The death of 21 labourers intwo wall collapse accidentshas come as a wakeup callfor the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The civicbody is planning to send aproposal to the State government recommending that labourers, most of whom aremigrants, be housed in rental accommodation that willbe built on government land.

Last week, Deputy MayorSiddharth Dhende tabledthe proposal which, if implemented by the State, will address the security hazard tolabourers and their familiesby housing them away fromthe construction sites.

“The idea is to identify vacant plots owned by theState and ask the developersto house their labour forcethere,” Mr. Dhende told TheHindu.

He said the funds forbuilding the labourers’ lodgings will be granted underthe Building and Other Construction Workers’ Cess Act.A whopping ₹��18,000 crore islying unutilised with theState. Mr. Dhende said untilnow, only ₹��535 crore of thisstaggering fund money hadbeen utilised.

“Nearly 80% of the developers in Pune district be

long to the ‘small builder’ category, constructing on plotsranging from 5 gunthas to 20gunthas. Invariably, thesedevelopers make no provision of basic amenities fortheir migrant labour forcenor are any safety standardsadhered to,” he said, addingof an estimated fi��ve lakhworkers in the district, barely 1.25 lakh have been registered so far.

“As these workers are never registered, they neveravail of the benefi��ts of the30odd governmentschemes. Moreover, there isno arrangement for theirmeals or education for theirchildren,” Mr. Dhende said.As per the proposal, the rental costs are to be borne bythe developers as are thecosts incurred to transport

labourers from these accommodation to the construction sites.

Labour activists have welcomed the PMC proposal,while urging that the proposed accommodation bewellmaintained.

However, the fulcrum inresolving the problem of thelabourer’s security is the Labour Welfare Board, said AjitAbhyankar, leader of theCommunist Party of India(Marxist) and president ofthe Bandhkam Kamgar Sanghatana, a citybased outfi��tworking for the welfare ofconstruction workers.

“The apparatus of the district Labour Welfare Board –or the lack of it – is chiefl��y toblame for this vicious cycle.The labour offi��ce is grosslyunderstaff��ed, headed by the

Labour Commissioner, whohas just one labour offi��cerand two clerks, usually on acontract basis, under him.The lack of an administrativesetup has led to poor enrolment of the unorganised labourers and as a result, theydo not avail of any benefi��ts,”Mr. Abhyankar said.

Mr. Abhyankar said anumber of other factorscomplicate the issue of workers not registering with thelabour offi��ce. “Typically, thecontractor gives a group oflabourers, who hail fromother States, an advance.This is advantageous for theworkers to meet their expenses in a new city while itensures that they are obligated to a particular builder forthe duration of their service,” he said.

In some cases, he said,lack of Aadhaar cards dissuades the worker from registering with the labourboard.

He said the ConstructionWorkers’ Welfare Cess Act,which was enacted by Parliament in 1996 to provideworkers protection, has imposed a cess at the rate of 1%on the construction cost incurred by builders on everynew project. Maharashtrahad approved of this Act in2007.

Pune corporation moots rentalaccommodation for labourers To send proposal to State in the aftermath of two wall collapse accidents

Tragic: The site of the wall collapse at Kondhwa in Pune where15 people died on June 29. * FILE PHOTO

Shoumojit Banerjee

Pune

Despite coastal areas receiving heavy rain in the last twoweeks, the fear of droughtstill looms in the rest of theState as water stock in damsin Marathwada has droppedto 0.8% of the total capacity,and the number of watertankers deployed in the region has reached 2,191.

As per the data from theIndia Meteorological Department, Mumbai and the Konkan region received excessrainfall from June 1 to July 14.The central region, including part of north Maharashtra and western Maharashtra, too has recorded normalrainfall.

Rainfall between 20% to59% is considered excesswhile ()19% to 19% is callednormal. Marathwada and Vidarbha have, however, received defi��cient rainfall —()59% to ()20%.

The uneven rainfall hasled to the State governmentprepare for cloud seedingproject on a war footing. According to sources in the water supply department, thepermissions for the experiment have been obtainedand the government is likelyto go ahead with the ₹��30crore project within a weekor two. As per the data fromthe water resources depart

ment, as on July 14, the Aurangabad division (Marathwada) is left with only 0.8%water storage in its dams oftheir total capacity, while itwas 13.72% last year. Waterstorage in dams of Amaravatiand Nagpur divisions is8.47% and 8.68%, respectively. Last year, the available water was 24.94% and27.54% respectively.

The situation in Nasik andPune has improved withnormal rainfall as dams inboth the divisions have15.72% and 32.33% waterrespectively. But despite ex

cess rainfall, the dams inKonkan are halffull, with53.83% water.

As a result of defi��cientrainfall, the number of watertankers deployed in Marathwada has increased to 2,191from 1,684, within a week.The number has decreasedin rest of the regions. The total number of water tankersdeployed in Maharashtra asof now is 4,798.

A total of 3,800 villagesand 9,422 hamlets are beingprovided water throughtankers, with majority ofthem in Marathwada.

Uneven rainfall compels government to try out cloud seedingAlok Deshpande

Mumbai

Marathwada dams have 0.8%water; 2,191 tankers deployed

The four new ministers inducted into the Goa cabinetwill be allotted portfolios onMonday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Sunday.Chandrakant Kavlekar, whowas the Leader of the Opposition, will be designated asDeputy Chief Minister, Mr.Sawant told reporters.

Days after 10 CongressMLAs in Goa joined the BJP,Mr. Sawant on Saturday reshuffl�ed his cabinet, droppingthree members of the ally,Goa Forward Party (GFP),and an Independent legislator as ministers.

Michael Lobo, who resigned as Deputy Speaker ofthe Goa Assembly, and threeof the 10 MLAs who joined theBJP — Chandrakant Kavlekar,

Jeniff��er Monserratte, PhilipNeri Rodrigues — were swornin as ministers on Saturday.

The monsoon session ofthe Assembly begins on

Monday. Asked how the newministers would handlequestions in the House, Mr.Sawant said, “I will be thereto help them.”

The 10 Congress MLAsjoined the BJP last Wednesday, increasing the saff��ronparty’s strength to 27 in the40member House.

Prior to the swearingin,Mr. Sawant issued a notifi��cation, dropping all three GFPleaders — Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai, WaterResources Minister VinodPalyekar, and Rural Development Minister Jayesh Salgaonkar — and IndependentMLA and Revenue MinisterRohan Khaunte from the cabinet to accommodate thenew members.

The GFP, which has threelegislators in the House, andMr. Khaunte withdrew theirsupport to the BJPled Stategovernment on Saturday. Mr.Sardesai said the inductionof the 10 Congress MLAs intothe BJP was the “death of thelegacy” of late chief ministerManohar Parrikar, who wasa towering fi��gure in politicsof the coastal State.


Panaji

Portfolios to new Goa Ministers: Kavlekar to be Deputy CM

The monsoon session ofthe Goa Assembly will begin on Monday, after aweek that saw signifi��cantpolitical developmentswith 10 Congress MLAsjoining the ruling BJP. Fourof these MLAs were inducted into the State Cabinet by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday.

Incidentally, several

questions to be asked during the session were submitted by the MLAs whoquit the Congress on Wednesday and joined the BJP.Speaker Rajesh Patnekartold reporters that thequestions raised by theMLAs, who have been nowsworn in as ministers, willbe withdrawn.

The election for the Deputy Speaker’s post,which has fallen vacant af

ter the resignation of Michael Lobo, will also beheld during the session,Mr. Patnekar said.

Mr. Patnekar said theHouse has received 2,328questions, including 725starred and 1,603 unstarred. He said the lawmakers still have time tillJuly 17 to submit theirquestions.

The session will conclude on August 9.

Monsoon session of Assembly from todayPress Trust of India

Panaji

A day after being appointed as the president of theMaharashtra CongressCommittee, BalasahebThorat on Sunday said thenext Chief Minister of theState will be from the CongressNationalist CongressParty (NCP) alliance.

“A number of peoplehave quit the Congress tojoin other parties, but thatwill not aff��ect us in the longterm. The vacant posts willbe fi��lled by younger generation who will get the opportunity to show theirmettle. The Congress hassuff��ered blows in the past,but it survived and cameback stronger. The oldguards and the fresh faceswill work together to ensure the Congress returnsto power,” he told reporters at his home town Sangamner in Ahmednagardistrict.

Amid speculation thatthe fi��rsttimeeverdecision to appoint fi��ve working presidents was takenunder threat of more leaders quitting the Congress,Mr Thorat rubbished thepossibility. “We are goingto face the polls in thenext twothree months. Itis important to have astructure and a team inplace.Those who stoodwith the party in diffi��culttimes will get the biggeropportunities.”

Next CM will befrom Cong.-NCPfront: ThoratAlok Deshpande

Mumbai

Road occupiers: A shepherd taking his goats and sheep for grazing along a road on theoutskirts of Nagpur on Sunday. * S. SUDARSHAN

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Animal march

Everyday needs: The total number of water tankers deployedin Maharashtra as of now is 4,798. * FILE PHOTO

CMYK

A ND-NDE

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DELHI THE HINDU


President off��ers prayersat Venkateswara templeTIRUMALA

President Ram Nath Kovind,

on a threeday visit to Andhra

Pradesh, offered prayers at

the Lord Venkateswara

temple here on Sunday. He

was accompanied by his wife

Savita and other family

members. Governor E.S.L.

Narasimhan and his wife were

with the President and his

wife during the entire

pilgrimage. The entourage

left for the Sriharikota space

centre in the evening for the

launch of Chandrayaan–2.

IN BRIEF

Four SFI activists held inKerala, five abscondingTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The Kerala police on Sunday

arrested four Students

Federation of India (SFI)

activists in connection with

the nearfatal knife attack on

their college mate and fellow

party member Akhil at the

University College here. The

victim suffered a heart injury

in the attack that took place

on Friday. The police

identified the accused as

Aromal, Adhil, Adwaith and

Ijab, all undergraduate

students and part of the SFI

college unit committee.

Another five SFI men wanted

in the case are absconding.

The authorities in India, instead of seeking to evict alarge number of the urbanpoor before implementingdevelopment projects, canadopt a new kind of socialcompact with the community concerned and real estatedevelopers, says Balakrishnan Rajagopal, an expert indisplacement and Professor

of Law and Development atthe Department of UrbanStudies and Planning, MIT,United States.

Referring to examples inColombia and Argentinawhere local governmentscame together with privatereal estate developers andthe respective communitiesfor improving housing forslum dwellers, Prof. Rajagopal told The Hindu on Saturday that under such an arrangement, the urban poorwere provided with betterhouses at the same placewhere they were living ear

lier while a portion of theland was released for redevelopment. This would be a“winwin” situation for all.“What is important here isgood faith and earning trustof the urban poor,” he said,calling upon the authoritiesto shed their “overbearing attitude” towards the poor.

Forcible displacement dueto development pressureswas “disruptive socially” andit would lead to a greater degree of poverty. “If India isconcerned about becomingricher, wealthier and moredeveloped, it should not

make its citizens poorer,” explained Prof. Rajagopal, whois founder of the Displacement Research and ActionNetwork at MIT, adding that

confl��ict and environmentalfactors too caused displacement.

Resettlement policyContending that the countrydid not have a resettlementpolicy, he called for a separate law on evictions on thelines of one in South Africa.“There is a better legal framework there to deal withevictions,” he pointed out.

In the absence of a law onevictions, the Right to FairCompensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,Rehabilitation and Resettle

ment Act, 2013, should beamended to include provisions stipulating “dos anddon’ts” for displacement andproviding a framework todeal with diff��erent types ofdisplacement.

Prof. Rajagopal, who ishere as part of an ongoingstudy on displacements inTamil Nadu and Kerala, saidthe study began with NewDelhi to cover the impact ofdisplacement of peoplewhich happened in the leadup to the CommonwealthGames in 2010. It was originally extended to Chennai

for the purpose of comparison and now to the centralparts of Kerala in the light ofthe 2018 fl��oods.

“Societal response to natural disasters is much morerobust in Kerala than in Tamil Nadu. It is because of thisfactor that Kerala has gotmore capacity and resourcesto deal with such situationsthan Tamil Nadu, wherethere is overreliance on theState to deliver,” he said, adding that the focus of the study on the two States covereddevelopmental justifi��cationand environmental risks.

Expert calls forseparate law on evictionsT. RAMAKRISHNAN

Chennai

Dr. Balakrishnan Rajagopal

‘Forcible eviction of urban poor will lead to greater poverty’

TirumalaTirupati is in for asevere shock, as the templecity, which attracts thousands of pilgrims every day,will run out of water in amonth, if the monsoon continues to remain elusive.

At present, residents receive water in their taps oncein three days. With Kalyanidam reaching the dead storage level, the city’s westernparts are also supplied theTeluguGanga water, whichis made available for theeastern and southern partsas well.

Dwindling fastWater is currently drawnfrom the dead storage inKandaleru reservoir (Nelloredistrict) and pumped intoKailasagiri storage tank nearSrikalahasti, from where it ispumped to Tirupati.

There is an off��take pointnear Gudur from where water is also shared to Gudur

town, making things worsefor Tirupati. Since the Guduroff��take point is nearly 80 kmaway, laying a fullfl��edged pipeline to Kailasagiri not onlycomes at an exorbitant cost,but also does not serve the

immediate purpose.Apart from the require

ments of the residents, it isthe steady fl��ow of pilgrimsthat necessitates dedicatedwater supply to the city. Water storage in projects atop

Tirumala hills is also dwindling fast, leaving no optionbut to pump water fromdownhill.

The demand for allocation of Srisailam water exclusively for Tirupati, as a spe

cial case, has been in the airfor quite some time, but never taken forward.

Unless the governmenttakes a serious view of thesituation, Tirupati is likely tobe in deep trouble.

Borewells being dugOn its part, the MunicipalCorporation of Tirupati(MCT) has written to theState government, seekingrelease of additional waterfrom Srisailam and also additional pumping from the Gudur off��take point.

“We are sinking more borewells to address the urgentissue and are keeping ourfi��ngers crossed for the monsoon to set in,” MCT Commissioner P.S. Girisha hastold The Hindu.

There appears to be no initiative to take forward theMallimadugu and Balaji reservoir projects. Mallimadugu is almost ready, while theBalaji project is mired in forest clearance hitch.

Tirupati may run out of water in a monthStorage atop Tirumala hills dwindling fast; offi��cials seek release of additional water from Srisailam

Grim scene: The Kalyani dam in Tirupati has hit dead storage level. * K.V. POORNACHANDRA KUMAR

A.D. RANGARAJAN

TIRUPATI

Citizens using plasticbags also to be finedBENGALURU

Traders, shopkeepers and

even citizens caught defying

the plastic ban in the city will

be in trouble as the Bruhat

Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike

(BBMP) is all set to strictly

enforce the ban from Monday

and impose fines. The ban

came into effect across

Karnataka in March 2016,

following which the BBMP

fixed a penalty on all those

found manufacturing,

supplying, storing, selling

and using plastic carry bags,

banners, buntings, cling films

and other banned items.

A buoyant BJP, which is confi��dent of the number gameafter Congress MLA N. Nagaraju joined the other rebelsin Mumbai, is now keen onforcing a trust vote beingsought by Karntaka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy inthe Assembly immediately.

BJP State president B.S.Yeddyurappa told mediapersons on Sunday he would attend the Assembly businessadvisory committee meetingon Monday and demand thatthe Chief Minister take thefl��oor test immediately, preferably on Monday itself.

Mr. Yeddyurappa told reporters that the political situation was in favour of theBJP. He indicated that theparty was inching towardsforming the government, bysaying that “the party will getan opportunity to serve thepeople of the State in thenext two to three days”.

“The Chief Minister nolonger enjoys a majority inthe House. He must resignimmediately,” he said.

While Mr. Kumaraswamyon Friday sought a trust votein the Assembly, Speaker

K.R. Ramesh Kumar said hewould fi��x a date for it afterconsulting Leader of the Opposition Mr. Yeddyurappa.The BJP caught unawares bythe Chief Minister’s move,however, did not attend thebusiness advisory committeemeeting on Friday. The partyappears to have gained confi��dence and is pushing for thetrust vote.

Monday’s Assembly session is likely to be stormy. Senior BJP leader K.S. Eshwarappa told reporters that theChief Minister had lost majority in the House and hisgovernment had no moralright to hold the session.“We will not let the Assemblyfunction till the Chief Minister accepts to seek a trustvote immediately or resigns,” he said.

The BJP on Sunday held itslegislature party meeting at aresort on the city’s outskirtswhere its MLAs have beenholed up.

“Mr. Yeddyurappa’s moodwas upbeat as he addressedthe meeting and assured usthat there would be a BJP government in the State bynext week,” said an MLAwho attended the meeting.

Will form govt. soon, says Yeddyurappa‘Karnataka Chief Minister no longer enjoys a majority in the House, he must resign immediately’

Staff Reporter

Bengaluru

Exactly 50 years after twoU.S. astronauts stepped onearth’s closest celestialneighbour leaving giantfootprints in human history,an Indian mission takes itsfi��rst step towards touchingthe moon, with a leggy lander and a sixwheeled rover.

The mission will hunt forminerals and water ice deposits that Chandrayaan1confi��rmed.

Chandrayaan2’s journey,beginning at 2.51 a.m. onMonday, will last about 52days. India can claim its second lunar trophy only afterlander Vikram touchesdown intact, followed by itsbaby rover Pragyan. Thattryst is slated for September6 or 7, said K. Sivan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Historic missionWhen it lands on the moon,Chandrayaan2 will make India the fourth country tosafely land on lunar terrain.No space agency has landed

on the south pole of themoon to date, making thelanding spot also historic.

Dr. Sivan earlier calledthe landerrover mission anew and the most complextechnology attempted bythe ISRO.

Referring to the lander’sdescent towards the lunarsurface on September 6, hesaid: “Those are going to bethe most terrifying 15 minutes of the mission.”

It will look for minerals, ice deposits


BENGALURU

GSLV MkIII that will carryChandrayaan2 ready forliftoff�� at Sriharikota. * ISRO

India set for newlunar trophy hunt

Fourteenyearold Ch Nandini reaches the Zilla ParishadHigh School in Kothapally, aquaint village about 75 kmfrom the city, with a population of around 2,500.

It is 9.30 in the morning.But instead of joining the assembly, she walks towardswhat is an unusual sight in agovernment school — an automatic weather station(AWS).

She notes down readings— temperature, rainfall, humidity and wind speed —from an electronic device atits heart, and with a piece ofchalk in her hand, reproduces them on a board outsidethe school for all to see. For avillage of about 550 farmers,this information is impor

tant. Nandini, the daughterof a farmer, is not the onlystudent trained to readweather conditions from the

AWS installed by the International Crops Research Institute for the SemiArid Tropics (ICRISAT). Her friends

from school, many of whomare children of farmers, studying in Class VIII and IX tootake turns.

“My father grows mokkajonna (maize). Since he hassowed seeds a few days ago,and this is the rainy season, Italk to him about daily rainfall which I note down inschool as it can be importantfor him,” Nandini says.

Guru Lingam, a Class VIIIstudent says, “I understandthat when it rains a lot, thereadings in millimetres willbe high. There has been norain today, so the reading is0.0,” he explains.

Kothapally, a semiarideco subregion in Shankarpally mandal, is a part of theagricultural research organisation’s Adarsha Watershedproject.

Here, farmers’ children read the skiesTo help others, they note down weather details on a board outside school

Students take down weather readings under the supervisionof ICRISAT scientist A.V.R. Kesava Rao at the Kothapally ZillaParishad High School in Telangana. * NAGARA GOPAL

Syed Mohammed

HYDERABAD

The Jalanjaneya Swamytemple here in Telanganareverberated with chantsof Vedic hymns as dozensof archakas and Vedic pundits performed a slew ofspecial rituals, includingRishyasringa Homam, fornearly 12 hours on Sundayfor rain and bumper harvest, temple sources said.

Most parts of the erstwhile composite Khammam district is in the gripof a severe dry spell.

Special pujas were alsoperformed by people inKonijerla, Wyra and Bonakal mandals on Sundayseeking the blessings ofMutyalamma and other village deities for rain.

Special pujasconductedfor rain


KHAMMAM

With the Janata Dal (Secular)Congress coalition government on the brink, leaders from both parties madelastditch attempts to woothe rebel legislators, whohave already tendered theirresignations.

The focus now has turned

towards senior Congressleader Ramalinga Reddywith almost the entire topleadership of the party,along with Chief MinisterH.D. Kumaraswamy, visitingMr. Reddy’s residence onSunday evening.

Sunday was a hectic dayas Congress leaders met atKumara Krupa Guest House

while Mr. Siddaramaiah,Congress Legislature Party(CLP) leader, met a bunch ofparty legislators at a privatehotel here. The CLP will bemeeting under the chairmanship of Mr. Siddaramaiah at 9 a.m. on Mondayat a hotel here. Incidentally,all the Congress legislatorsare now put up at the hotel.


Bengaluru

On tenterhooks: Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah meeting party MLAs at a hotel in Bengaluru on Sunday. * PTI

Hectic day in Congress camp

The opposition to the purchase of reactors for theKovvada Nuclear Power Project from America’s Westinghouse is growing with social activist and former IASoffi��cer E.A.S. Sarma askingthe Department of AtomicEnergy to drop theproposal.

Even as the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltdhas remitted ₹��500 crore towards the rehabilitation ofthe aff��ected families and theSrikakulam district administration has identifi��ed landnear Etcherla for construction of rehabilitation colony,the protests over the plantcontinue.

The NPCIL is of the viewthat by using generationIIIplus reactors with passivecooling system and inbuiltsafety mechanism for powershutdown and auto shutdown, there will be zerorisk. The reactors it says arequake and tsunamiresistant.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Sarma said “when the residentsaround Mithi Virdi in Gujarat protested against theWestinghouse setting up asimilar project, for reasonsbest known to your govern

ment, the company hasbeen permitted to shift itsoperations to Kovvada. It isa case of Gujarat gaining atthe cost of A.P., as nuclearpower is not only expensivebut also potentially risky.”

Though the Westinghouse team visited the areato reiterate its proposal tosupply nuclear reactors, Mr.Sarma said the DAE wasaware that the company hadplunged into bankruptcy asearly as in 2006. Till date,the company had not fullyemerged out of the crisis, hepointed out.

‘Fertile land acquired’PostFukushima, safety concerns have assumed greatimportance worldwide.Still, without disclosingthese facts to the public, theDAE had insisted on the A.P.government to forcibly acquire 2,080 acres of lushgreen and fertile agricultural land in and around Kovvada, displacing thousandsof farmers depriving themof their livelihoods.

“The pittance of compensation given to them couldnever cover the loss of dignity with which they had pursued agriculture for generations and the human rightsviolations in the rehabilitation process,” he said.

Former IAS offi��cer writes to PM

Concerns remain: Offi��cials conducting ‘bhumi puja’ for thenuclear plant at Kovvada in Srikakulam, A.P. * FILE PHOTO

Activist slams move toimport Westinghousereactors for Kovvada

Santosh Patnaik

VISAKHAPATNAM

Almaaya Munnettam, thecombine of lay people inthe SyroMalabar Archdiocese of ErnakulamAngamaly in Kerala, has congratulated parishes which“ignored” a circular sentout by Cardinal GeorgeAlencherry, Major Archbishop of the SyroMalabarChurch, to be read out during the Sunday mass.

The lay people’s combine has been demandingthat the Cardinal comeclean on a series of controversial land deals by thearchdiocese in 2017 and2018 which led to substantial fi��nancial losses.

More than a thousandlay leaders and faithful metlast Sunday in the city todeclare their opposition tothe way the Cardinal wasconducting the aff��airs ofthe archdiocese, one of thelargest of the CatholicChurches in India.

The circular from theCardinal expressed optimism that steps would betaken to appoint a bishopwith special administrativepowers for the archdiocesein consultation with thesynod of bishops and instructions from Rome. Hesaid the synod of bishopswould meet in August andtake decisions for betterpastoral care of thefaithful.

A statement issued byAlmaaya Munnettam congratulated more than 90%parish priests who did notcooperate with the Cardinal by not reading out thecircular during the mass.Of the 336 parishes in thearchdiocese, only 30 sawthe circular being read during the Sunday mass, thestatement said.

The lay people’s combine claimed that the Cardinal had hurt the sentiments of both the laypeople and priests.

Many parishes‘ignore’Cardinal’scircular


KOCHI


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

A ND-NDE

NATION

Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

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

Forecast for Monday: Heavy to very heavy rainfall likely overplaces like Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya,Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur,Mizoram, Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir, north Punjab, north Haryana, Chandigarh, north Uttar Pradesh, Goa, coastal Karnataka,Kerala, Mahe, Tamilnadu, Puducherry

city rain max min city rain max min

Agartala......... 119.0....27.6....23.3 Kozhikode............... 10.6....32.6....25.0

Ahmedabad...........—....38.8....28.1 Kurnool .......................—....37.1....27.2

Aizawl...................—....24.0........ — Lucknow......................—....36.3....28.5

Allahabad..............—....36.8....27.6 Madurai .......................—....37.4....26.0

Bengaluru .............—....30.8....21.3 Mangaluru ................ 6.3....28.5....23.4

Bhopal ..................—....33.2....25.0 Mumbai .................. 10.6....31.2....25.4

Bhubaneswar.........—....34.5....25.2 Mysuru ..................... 3.8....31.1....19.8

Chandigarh ...... 18.1....31.8....23.4 New Delhi ...................—....37.7....30.2

Chennai ................—....36.9....26.5 Patna ..................... 14.2....34.4....23.2

Coimbatore ...........—....33.2....23.7 Port Blair.....................—....30.7....25.4

Dehradun ........... 2.1....29.5....23.0 Puducherry ............... 0.3....31.7....24.2

Gangtok........... 27.0....18.9....17.5 Pune............................—....30.3....23.0

Goa.................. 12.4....29.8....25.3 Raipur .........................—....35.5....27.4

Guwahati ........... 1.9....28.8....26.0 Ranchi .........................—....34.4....24.6

Hubballi ................—....27.0....22.0 Shillong.................... 3.9....23.4....17.4

Hyderabad ........`5.0....34.7....23.0 Shimla...................... 9.0....21.6....16.2

Imphal ............... 8.7....27.4....25.6 Srinagar.......................—....31.8....17.3

Jaipur ...................—....36.8....28.1 Thiruvananthapuram.........—....32.2....25.2

Kochi ............... 17.0....31.0....24.4 Tiruchi.........................—....37.8....37.6

Kohima .................—....25.3....17.6 Vijayawada ........... 118.9....35.0....23.6

Kolkata .................—....37.1....28.6 Visakhapatnam ........ 13.2....34.5....26.6

(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)

Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday

CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE

In observation made at4.00 p.m., Sirsa, Haryanarecorded an overall airquality index (AQI) scoreof 352 indicating anunhealthy level ofpollution. In contrast,Vijayawada, AndhraPradesh recorded a healthyAQI score of 22

Ahmedabad..... ..— 124 .58 ....69 .....— ....*

Bengaluru ....... 28 .51 .62 ..... — .109 ....*

Chennai .......... ..8 .12 .54 ....86 .....— ....*

Delhi .............. 17 .24 .71 ..107 .333 ....*

Hyderabad ...... ..4 ...— .17 ....22 ...38 ....*

Kolkata........... ..8 .43 .13 ....96 .111 ....*

Lucknow ......... 10 .31 .41 ....98 .....— ....*

Mumbai .......... ..— .18 101 ....18 ...55 ....*

Pune............... 68 ...8 .68 ....56 ...55 ....*

Visakhapatnam ..— ...— ...— ..... — .....— ....*

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

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

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

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

and monuments.

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

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

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

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

dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.

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

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

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

death in people with heart or lung disease

Investigation into nearly halfthe sexual off��ences cases arenot being completed withinthe stipulated 60day period, according to an analysis of crime data of sevenStates accessed by The Hin-

du.

In many States, the fasttrack courts designated tohandle rape cases are alsohandling other criminal cases leading to delay in verdicts, an offi��cial said. As perthe government data, thereare already 664 dedicatedspecial courts with 2,021 public prosecutors and another1,023 courts are planned.

The Supreme Court notedlast week that trial had beencompleted in only 4% of the24,000 cases of sexual offences that were fi��led fromJanuary to June.

In February, the Home Ministry launched an analyticstool — Investigation TrackingSystem for Sexual Off��ences(ITSSO) to monitor and tracktimebound investigation. Itis part of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and

System (CCTNS) that connects over 15,000 police stations across the country.

ITSSO analysis According to the ITSSO analysis in the seven States — Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh.Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan andUttarakhand — fi��nal reportswere submitted only in26,343 of the 47,662 sexualassault cases within the mandatory period.

In Uttar Pradesh, 592 ofthe 3,420 pending caseswere pending for more thansix months.

To check sexual crimesagainst women and children, the Centre approvedthe Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 last year

which prescribed the timelimit for completion of investigation.

The law was initially promulgated as an Ordinanceon April 21, 2018 followingan outcry over the rape andmurder of a minor girl inKathua in Jammu and Kashmir and the rape of a womanin Unnao in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh DGP O.PSingh told The Hindu thatcases registered under theProtection of Children fromSexual Off��ences (POCSO)were being evaluated and reviewed and they were focussing on 180 “priority cases” where they expectedconviction within a month.

“We have prioritised 180cases, we are calling the witnesses, getting the forensic

tests done fast etc. But thetrial courts are taking time.Some of the districts do nothave separate fasttrackcourts though they havebeen identifi��ed as one. Theyare also discharging dutiesother than cases registeredunder the POCSO,” said Mr.Singh.

As the government plansto set up more courts, it willhave to address lacunae likespecial courts handling other criminal cases apart fromsexual off��ences.

The Empowered Committee on the Nirbhaya Fund approved ₹��767.25 crore for setting up 1,023 fasttrackcourts in November, but 10months later the fi��nal nodfrom the Expenditure Finance Committee is awaited.

Nearly half of sex off��ence casesnot being investigated in time60day deadline ismissed in manyStates, fi��nds ITSSO

Vijaita Singh

Jagriti Chandra

New Delhi

Eff��orts on to doublefarmers’ income: Giriraj AHMEDABAD

The government is putting all

efforts to double the farmers’

income, said Union Minister

for Fisheries, Giriraj Singh.

For the first time, animal

husbandry, fisheries and

dairying were separated from

the Agriculture department.

The Ministry is taking all

steps to help the farmers to

adopt livestock farming along

with traditional agriculture.

Agriculture with animal

husbandry was the key to

increase the farmers’ income,

the Minister told

mediapersons. ANI

IN BRIEF

Newly wed womanmurdered in Ghatkopar MUMBAI

In the second such incident in

Ghatkopar in the last two

days, a 20yearold newly

married woman was killed on

Sunday by unidentified

persons who attacked her

with sharp weapons. The

incident occurred on the

footpath of LBS Marg at

Narayan Nagar. Meenakshi

Chourasiya was found lying in

a pool of blood, following

which she was rushed to

hospital where she was

declared brought dead. Ms.

Chourasiya got married a few

months ago and was

expecting her first baby. PTI

Krishna, Additional Chief Secretary in charge of disastermanagement.

Western Assam’s Barpetadistrict continues to be theworstaff��ected district with7.35 lakh people stranded ordisplaced. Dhubri and SouthSalmara districts with 3.38lakh and 1.41 lakh aff��ectedpeople had overtaken northeastern Dhemaji district thatwas fi��rst hit in what is beingcalled the second wave offl��ood.

Dhemaji has 1.29 lakhfl��oodaff��ected people followed by eastern Assam’sGolaghat district with 1.19lakh.

Assam has been simultaneously grappling with AcuteEncephalitis Syndrome(AES) and Japanese Encephalitis ( JE).

A spokesperson of the National Health Mission saidfi��ve people died of AES andtwo of JE. The two forms ofthe vectorborne diseasehave claimed 177 lives sinceJanuary.

Flood and raininduced landslips have so far claimed 11lives in Assam with four persons drowning in three districts on Sunday. The disasters associated with a harshmonsoon killed at least ninepeople elsewhere in thenortheast, taking the toll to20.

Offi��cials of the State Disaster Management Authoritysaid 3,181 villages had beeninundated in 28 of the 33 districts, aff��ecting 26,45,533 people. The authorities had increased the number of reliefcamps to 327 where 16,596people, including 2,417 children, were taking shelter.

“Apart from deploying rescue teams with boats, we areensuring adequate distribution of relief material that include rice, pulses, salt andmustard oil. Baby food, tarpaulin, medicines, chlorinefor disinfecting and cattlefodder have also been provided,” said Kumar Sanjay

Assam fl��ood toll mounts to 11, more than 26 lakh hitState is simultaneously grappling withAES and Japanese Encephalitis

Rowing to safety: Animals and villagers take shelter in a high ground in the fl��oodaff��ected Morigaon district of Assam onSunday. * RITU RAJ KONWAR

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

GUWAHATI

Restricting the speeds of vessels and blowing sirens andhorns is how the Ministry ofShipping plans to safeguardthe population of the GangesRiver Dolphin, in the country’s one dolphin reservethrough which National Waterway1 connecting Haldiato Varanasi passes.

The response by the Ministry was tabled in Parliament on July 11 in responseto a question by CongressMP Shashi Tharoor.

Mr. Tharoor asked aboutsteps taken by the government to ensure that the dolphins will not be adverselyaff��ected by the National Waterways Project, among other questions on the subject.

The Vikramshila GangeticDolphin Sanctuary (VGDS),from Sultanganj to Kahalganjon the Ganga in Bihar is theonly dolphin sanctuary inthe country. The Ministry inits response admitted thatthe SultanganjKahalgaonstretch of National Waterway1 passes through it.

“Vessel speed would berestricted to 2.7 knots in Vik

ramshila Gangetic DolphinSanctuary (VGDS) area to reduce the noise generationfrom propeller… lf any aquatic mammal/dolphin isspotted, then the measureswill be taken to push it awaythrough sirens/signals,” theMinistry said.

The other mitigation measures, according to the Ministry, include fi��tting vesselswith propeller guards anddolphin defl��ectors to minimise dolphin accidents andusing nontoxic paints forpainting vessels.

The Ministry said the mitigations are based on Com

prehensive Environmentaland Social lmpact Assessment (ESIA) study on National WaterwayI including onstretches falling withinVGDS.

Offi��cials out of loopS. Sudharkar, Divisional Forest Offi��cer, Bhagalpur, who isdirectly responsible formaintenance of the sanctuary, said the forest department has neither got anyproposal about the plying ofvessels through the dolphinsanctuary nor on the mitigation measures.

Arvind Mishra, member

of IUCN Species SurvivalCommission said the Ministry’s response of blowing sirens after spotting dolphinsclearly brings to the fore thelimited understanding of behaviour and habitat of theGanges dolphin.

“Dolphins are diffi��cult tospot and even after they arespotted if sirens are soundedit will not only disturb themmore but also a number ofother migratory birds andaquatic fauna,” he said.

Mr. Mishra said that usingthe Ganga for navigation willbe detrimental to the biodiversity of the river.

Experts have pegged thepopulation of the Gangesdolphin in VGDS from 150 to200.

Samir Sinha, DivisionHead Species Recovery &Protected Area Recovery,Wildlife Trust of India, saidthe habitat of the Gangesdolphin is not limited to thesanctuary.

Experts also warned thatdredging the river bed willdisturb the ecosystem andriver geo morphology, something which the forest offi��cials also agree.

Speed restrictions and sound alertsmooted for protection of dolphinsCongress MP Shashi Tharoor had raised the issue in Parliament on July 11

Shiv Sahay Singh

Kolkata

Big challenge: The population of the Ganges dolphin hasbeen pegged between 150 and 200. * WWF

A 32yearold doctor hasbeen ordered by the Supreme Court to plant 100trees in the next one year aspunishment for attemptingto commit murder at the ageof 16.

Solemen S.K., a doctorpractising at Murshidabadin West Bengal, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for the crime. TheCalcutta High Court confi��rmed the sentence.

But things took an unexpected turn when Solemenapproached the Supremecourt saying he was a minorat the time of the incident inAugust 2004.

Intrigued by the doctor’splea, the Bench of JusticesL. Nageswara Rao and Hemant Gupta asked the District and Sessions Judge,Berhampore, Murshidabad,West Bengal on February 25to check out Solemen’sstory.

The District Judge confi��rmed that the doctor wasindeed a minor of 16 yearsseven months and 28 dayson the date of the off��ence.Solemen, the judge’s reportsaid, was born on February30, 1987. His school recordsfortify the evidence of hisage.

The court said the doctor,

under the law, would ideallybe considered as a “child inconfl��ict of law”, only he istoo old to be called that atthis age.

Again, there is no good insending the 32yearold doctor now before a JuvenileBoard, as is usual in the caseof juvenile off��enders.

“Instead, we are of theopinion that the ends of justice would be met by directing the petitioner who isnow a registered medicalpractitioner aged 32 years,practising in Murshidabadto perform community service,” the Supreme courtsuggested.

Punishment upheldThe Supreme Court’s suggestion was seconded by theState of Uttar Pradesh,which found the planting oftrees as an apt punishmentfor the doctor.

“The learned counsel forthe State suggested that thisobligation of performingcommunity service could bemet with by a direction tothe petitioner to plant trees.We accept the suggestionmade by the learned counsel for the petitioner and direct the petitioner to plant100 trees within a period ofone year,” the SupremeCourt concluded in its fi��vepage order recently.

Plant trees for juvenileoff��ence, SC tells doctorPunishment for murder attempt

Krishnadas Rajagopal

NEW DELHI The Union government willopen 82 medical collegesunder a scheme run by theMinistry of Health and Family Welfare to establishmedical colleges attachedto district and referralhospitals.

“The total cost of a medical college is ₹��189 crore,and ₹��7,507.70 crore hasbeen released to the Statesand the Union Territories...under the scheme. Thirtynine medical collegeshave become functional. ”Health Minister HarshVardhan said in the LokSabha, explaining how thegovernment planned totackle the shortage ofdoctors.

He said the Union government and the States inthe northeastern regionand the special categoryStates would share the cost90:10, and the other States60:40.

In the fi��rst phase, 58 districts in 20 States and Union Territories had beenapproved, and in the second phase, 24 collegeswere identifi��ed in 8 States.

The second phase, wasaimed at creating one medical college in every threeLok Sabha constituenciesand one government medical college in each State.

82 medicalcolleges to be opened


NEW DELHI

For decades, Hut Number224, located amid pine treesin Srinagar’s Chashmashahilocality, was like any othersenior bureaucrat’s home.But for many weeks now,the address has become ahub for Kashmiri studentslooking for a particular subject book that is otherwisehard to fi��nd or unaff��ordable.

The house’s current occupant is the Odishaborn, 45yearold Indian Police Service (IPS) offi��cer Basant Kumar Rath, who has initiateda novel campaign to reachout to the student community in Jammu and Kashmir.With help from anonymousdonors and adding his ownpurchases from Sundaymarkets, Mr. Rath has gathered a sizeable collection of2.5 lakh books.

The distribution model issimple. ‘Book baba’ is aGoogle docsbased form setup by the offi��cer, where astudent can tender her request for a book. Besides,availability of various booktitles is messaged on othersocial media platforms too.Timings to collect booksand the district names are

specifi��ed on Mr. Rath’s Twitter handle with a note: “Noquestions asked. No answers given”.

A medical student fromLadakh studying in Srinagar, an arts student from faroff�� Langate, a science student from remote Baramulla’s Boniyar and amanagement student fromBudgam’s Yusmarg — haveall come discreetly and returned with the bookssought by them, after a briefconversation with the offi��cer to establish their credentials. More than 1,500 bookshave been picked up in recent weeks.

“I have over 4,000 bookrequests pending on ‘BookBaba’ page,” Mr. Rath toldThe Hindu. “I seek students’coordinates for a fair distribution. In many cases, thebooks get delivered at theirhomes.”

It’s no surprise that aplace like volatile Nowhattain Srinagar, where a policeoffi��cer cannot move aroundfreely without a multilayersecurity, saw Mr. Rath receive a warm welcome during his recent visit to theGirls Higher SecondarySchool in the locality.

J&K police offi��cerreaches out with booksResidence becomes a hub for students

Peerzada Ashiq

Srinagar


DELHI THE HINDU


CMYK

A ND-NDE

EDITORIAL

Kalvakuntla Kavitha

In a report last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General ofIndia (CAG) called the Chennai

fl��oods of 2015 a “man made disaster”, a pointer to how the encroachment of lakes and riverfl��oodplains has driven India’s sixthlargest city to this ineluctable situation. The Chennai fl��oods are asymbol of consistent human failings and poor urban design whichare common to most urbancentres in India if not urbancentres across the world. Now,Chennai is in the midst of anothercrisis — one of water scarcity.

Unlike issues such as traffi��c congestion or crime which are visible,environmental degradation is notwhat most people can easily see orfeel in their every day lives. Therefore, when the consequences ofsuch degradation begin to wreakhavoc, it becomes diffi��cult to drawthe correlation between nature’svengeance with human failings. InChennai, more than 30 waterbo

dies of signifi��cance have disappeared in the past century. Concretisation or the increase inpaved surfaces has aff��ected thepercolation of rainwater into thesoil, thereby depleting groundwater levels to a point of no return.

Urbanisation without visionChennai, however, is not alone interms of suff��ering from the consequences of human folly. Urbanisation at the cost of reclaiming waterbodies is a panIndia if not worldwide phenomenon. There are examples in cities such as Bengaluru,Hyderabad and even Mexico city.In Bengaluru, 15 lakes have losttheir ecological character in lessthan fi��ve years according to a HighCourt notice to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, the city’sadministrative body responsiblefor civic amenities and some infrastructural assets. The lakes,which are now encroached areas,fi��nd use as a bus stand, a stadiumand, quite ironically, as an offi��ce ofthe Pollution Control Board. InMexico city, what was once a network of lakes built by the Aztecs inthe 11th and 12th centuries, has given way to a downtown citycentre. Parts of the city, especiallydowntown, sink a few metres every year causing immense damage

to buildings. In Telangana, the byzantine net

work of tanks and lakes built bythe Kakatiya dynasty has disappeared over the years. However,the question is not about what follies were committed in the past,but about what we can do in thepresent and, more importantly,for the future. In Telangana,“tanks have been the lifeline of theState because of its geographicalpositioning”. The State’s “topography and rainfall pattern havemade tank irrigation an ideal typeof irrigation by storing and regulating water fl��ow for agriculturaluse”.

The Telangana exampleThere are a number of lessons thatcan be learnt. The Chief Ministerof Telangana launched a massiverejuvenation movement in form of“Mission Kakatiya” which involvesthe restoration of irrigation tanksand lakes/minor irrigation sources

built by the Kakatiya dynasty.From the perspective of intergenerational justice, this is a move towards giving future generations inthe State their rightful share of water and, therefore, a life of dignity.The city of Hyderabad is now moving towards a sustainable hydraulic model with some of the bestminds in the country working onit. This model integrates six sources of water in a way that even themost underdeveloped areas of thecity can have equitable access towater resources and the groundwater levels restored in order toavoid a calamity of the kind thathas gripped Chennai now.

The larger question is: Can wenot take inspiration from the following examples? When Mexicocity can create a new executive position of a “resilience offi��cer” tosave its sinking urban sprawls,Bengaluru can reclaim Kundalahalli lake (once a landfi��ll) throughcorporate social responsibilityfunds in a Public Private Partnership model, and Hyderabad andthe larger state of Telangana rebuild its resilience through a combination of political will and welldesigned policies such as the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Schemeand Mission, what stops us fromlearning from each other?

Why should other urbancentres shy away from adopting,remodelling and implementingsome of the best water management practices to avoid disaster?The answer perhaps lies in the tendency of policymakers to discountthe future and of their obsessionof focussing on the here and now.

By 2050It is estimated that in just 30 yearsfrom now, half of India will be living in cities. If we truly envision agreat future for this country, howcan we possibly risk the lives ofhalf of our people and the nextgenerations who could be facing alife in cities parched by drought,stranded by fl��oods, mortifi��ed byearthquakes or torn by wars overfresh water? What has happenedin Chennai now or what happenedin Kerala last year in the form offl��oods are not a case of settingalarm bells ringing, but one of explosions. If we do not wake upnow, we have to be prepared toface the consequences of naturewreaking great havoc on humanity. We would not need nuclearbombs for our obliteration.

Kalvakuntla Kavitha is a former Member

of Parliament and the founding president

of the Telangana Jagruthi

Ecological perils of discounting the future With growing environmental distress, policymakers cannot shy away from adopting best ecomanagement practices

PT

I

more letters online:

www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

Prime Minister Narendra Modihas maintained a freneticpace, renewing contacts

with world leaders ever since theresults of general election 2019. Hewas the cynosure of all eyes at theG20 meeting in June, in Osaka. Atthe BRICs informal meeting, alsoin Osaka, he called for the strengthening of the World Trade Organisation and for a global conferenceon terrorism. He discussed counterterrorism and climate changeissues at separate meetings withChina’s President Xi Jinping andRussia’s President Vladimir Putin.He participated in the JapanIndiaU.S. trilateral grouping, arguingfor a “rules based order” in the IndoPacifi��c region. He met with U.S.President Donald Trump, to discuss the future of IndiaU.S. relations.

A vastly altered situationThis may convey an impressionthat everything bodes well for India in the external realm. What isoften overlooked is that while wewere fortunate in the past to beable to take advantage of a rarecombination of favourable conditions, this situation no longer exists. The 2019 election verdict wasa defi��nitive victory for Mr. Modi,but it hardly carries an assurancethat India can pursue the samepolicies as before. While it has become commonplace for most Indians to affi��rm that India has arrived, there are a host of issuesthat exist which need to be reconciled before we can achieve whatwe aspire for.

The past cannot be a guide tothe future. In the past, we didmanage a shift from nonalignment to multialignment, could

improve our relations with the United States without jeopardisingour longterm relationship withRussia, and paper over our pricklyrelations with China without conceding too much ground; all thewhile maintaining our strategic independence. This is too much tohope for at the present time.

The global situation that madeall this possible has altered. Rivalries among nations have intensifi��ed. There is virtual elimination ofthe middle ground in global politics, and it has become far more adversarial than at any time previously. Even the defi��nition of aliberal order seems to be undergoing changes. Several more countries today profess support fortheir kind of liberalism, includingRussia and China. At the otherend, western democracy appearsfar less liberal today.

China, U.S. and Asian realitiesIn this backdrop, India needs to rework many of its policies in thecoming fi��ve years. South Asia, inparticular, and the region of ourhighest priority, according to thenew External Aff��airs Minister, S.Jaishankar, needs close attention.The region is one of the most disturbed in the world and India haslittle or no say in any of the outcomes taking place. IndiaPakistanrelations are perhaps at their lowest point. Tarring Pakistan withthe terror brush is hardly policy,and stable relations continue to beelusive. India has no role in Afghanaff��airs and is also excluded fromcurrent talks involving the Taliban, the Afghan government, Pakistan, the U.S. and even Russiaand China. India might have recouped its position more recentlyin the Maldives, but its position inNepal and Sri Lanka remains tenuous. In West Asia again, India is nolonger a player to reckon with.

Across much of Asia, China isthe major challenge that India hasto contend with. Smaller countriesin the region are being inveigled to

participate in China’s programmessuch as the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI). India and Bhutan are the only two countries in this region thathave opted out of the BRI, andthey seem like the odd men out.The challenge in the coming yearsfor India is to check the slide, especially in Asia, and try and restoreIndia to the position it held previously. India cannot aff��ord to waittoo long to rectify the situation.

Deepening IndiaU.S. relationstoday again carry the danger of India becoming involved in a newkind of Cold War. This is anotherarea that needs our special focus.India must ensure that it does notbecome a party to the confl��ictsand rivalries between the U.S. anda rising China, the heightened tensions between the U.S. and Russia,and also avoid becoming a pawn inthe U.S.Iran confl��ict.

There is little doubt that currentIndiaU.S. relations provide Indiabetter access to stateoftheart defence items; the recent passage ofthe National Defence Authorisation Act in the U.S. makes India virtually a nonNATO ally. However,such close identifi��cation comeswith a price. It could entail estrangement of relations with Russia,which has been a steadfast ally anda defence partner of India’s for thebetter part of halfacentury. Closer relations with the U.S. also carries the risk of aggravating tensions between India and China,even as China and the U.S. engagein contesting every domain and

are involved in intense rivalry inmilitary matters as well as competition on technology issues.

The U.S.ChinaRussia confl��icthas another dimension whichcould aff��ect India adversely. Thestrategic axis forged between theMr. Putin’s Russia and Mr. Xi’s China will impact not only the U.S.but also India’s position in bothAsia and Eurasia, with India beingseen as increasingly aligned to theU.S. Hence, India needs to devise apolicy that does not leave it isolated in the region.

Again, notwithstanding the‘Wuhan spirit’, India cannot butbe concerned about China’s trueintentions, given the regional andglobal situation and its desire todominate the Asian region. Withinthe next decade, China will become a truly formidable militarypower, second only to the U.S. Theongoing IndiaU.S. entente couldwell provoke a belligerent China toact with greater impunity thanpreviously. As it is, China would beconcerned at the rise of a ‘nationalist’ India, which is perhaps notunwilling in the prevailing circumstances of today to become embroiled in a confl��ict over ‘freedomof navigation’ in the South andEast China seas.

The new buzzwordOn another plane, as India intensifi��es its search for stateoftheartmilitary equipment from diff��erentsources, it may be worthwhile forIndia to step back and reconsidersome of its options. Military poweris but one aspect of the confl��ictsthat rage today. Experts point outthat outright war, insurgenciesand terror attacks are fast becoming passé. Nations confront manyother and newer threats at present. Today, disruptive technologies have tremendous danger potential and nations that possessthese technologies have the abilityto become the dominant powersin the 21st and 22nd Centuries.

A major challenge for India will

hence be how to overcome ourcurrent inadequacies in the realmof disruptive technologies ratherthan remaining confi��ned to thepurely military domain. The U.S.,China, Russia, Israel and few othercountries dominate these spheresas also cyberspace and cybermethodologies. New policy parameters will need to be drawn upby India, and our capabilities enhanced in areas such as artifi��cialintelligence, biotechnology andcyber methodology, all of whichconstitute critical elements of thedisruptive technology matrix.

The economy needs attentionNone of this would, however, bepossible unless India pays greaterheed to its economy. Despite aplethora of offi��cial statements, thestate of the economy remains amatter of increasing concern.Even statistics regarding the economy are being questioned. Notwithstanding India’s ambition tobecome a $5trillion economy by202425, the reality today is thatthe economy appears to be in astate of decline. Jobs, speciallyskilled jobs, are not available insuffi��cient numbers and this shouldbe a matter for concern. The ability to sustain a rate of growth between 8.5% and 9.5% is again highlydoubtful. Neither the EconomicSurvey nor the Budget containuseful pointers to a more robusteconomy, one that is capable ofproviding a higher rate of growth,more opportunities for skilled labour, and greater potential forinvestments.

The looming challenge for Indiain the coming fi��ve years, therefore,would be how to build a strongeconomic foundation, one that iscapable of providing the kind ofpower structure needed for anemerging power, and also one possessing the best liberal credentials.

M.K. Narayanan is a former National

Security Adviser and a former Governor

of West Bengal

Looming challenges to India’s standing In the coming fi��ve years, a host of geopolitical and economic issues need to be reconciled

M.K. Narayanan

SH

ASH

AN

K

Deciphering the moonAs earthlings and Indians,we exult at the launch ofthe Chandrayaan2 missionto scan the moon’s surfaceand soil, map itstopography, study itsmineral and chemicalcomposition andunderstand its origin andevolution (Nation page,“Chandrayaan2 all set for3.84 lakh km voyage,” andFAQ page, both July 14). Theunmanned mission,undertaken days ahead ofthe 50th anniversary of thefi��rst successful moonlanding, has to be seen aspart of the wider scientifi��ceff��orts to push theboundaries of humanknowledge. Spaceexploration has bothtangible and intangiblebenefi��ts and it sometimestransforms the way we lookat ourselves and theuniverse. Surely, reachingout for the celestial bodiesis good for life on earth.The question of how a

povertystricken countrycan invest in spaceprogrammes is based onmisconception. The rightapproach is that we musthave the wherewithal to doboth poverty mitigationand space exploration.G. David Milton,

Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

■ Amid pessimistic newsitems related to politicaldefections, violence andscams, the report on ISRO’sambitious moon missionproject comes as a ray ofhope. Scientists are said tohave skipped holidays andworked hard for the successof the mission. Allgovernment departmentsshould take inspiration fromthe premier spaceorganisation and strive tobetter their work culture.Kshirasagara Balaji Rao,

Hyderabad

Undignifi��ed defectionsThis is with reference to theEditorial, “Aftershocks in

Goa” ( July 13). The defectionof MLAs, whether induced orvoluntary, is ugly. Thelegislators, having won theelection as a member of oneparty, have no moral right todefect to another. Antidefection laws are no longeracting as a deterrent. Thehidden hand of the BharatiyaJanata Party to gain controlof States where it has notbeen elected to power can besensed. Democracy needs tobe saved from suchdishonest manoeuvres. TheSupreme Court needs tointervene and force thedefecting legislators to forfeittheir membership, bar themfor life from contestingelections and make themineligible for pension.R.M. Manoharan,

Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu

Electoral reformsThe themes discussed byformer Chief ElectionCommissioner S.Y. Quraishi,while not irrelevant, lagbehind in priority for

ordinary voters. Reformsneed to be, fi��rst of all,targeted at keeping criminalsaway from the electoralscenario. If men and womenof integrity are elected asrepresentatives, issues likemoney power, method ofappointment of ElectionCommissioners and EVM usecan be addressed. Legislationis urgently required toempower voters with a rightto recall MPs/MLAs.Similarly, a 50%+1 rule, basedon voters’ list, is needed todeclare a winning candidate.Empowering the None of theAbove (NOTA) option isequally important. From thedemarcation ofconstituencies to theformation of Cabinets, asense of anarchy prevails atevery step. Parliament needsto take up such serious issuesto keep the spirit ofdemocracy alive (Editorialpage, “A welcome debate onelectoral reforms,” July 12).P.R.V. Raja,

Pandalam, Kerala

be the major reason forIndia’s exit from thequadrennial tournament.The selectors made a hugeblunder by not pickingtechnically equipped playerslike Ajinkya Rahane andCheteshwar Pujara, whohave performed well inEngland, to strengthen themiddle order. Also, it isbaffl��ing that despite beinggroomed for the last coupleof years for the crucial No. 4spot, Ambati Rayudu was notselected. These apart, when Indiawins a tournament, selectorsget fi��nancial rewards, butwhen the team loses, it isonly the players who bearthe brunt. While theCommittee of Administrators(CoA) has got into mostcricketing matters,surprisingly it has avoidedassessing the performance ofselectors.R. Sivakumar,

Chennai

Wielding the broomThe MPs’ act of ‘cleaning’Parliament premises, whichare already kept reasonablyclean, comes across as asupreme farce aimed atdrawing attention of citizensand making them believethat the lawmakers are aliveto the burning issue. Insteadof this, the VIPs should haveselected some remote city/town in the country to provetheir sincerity to the cause(News page, “Cleaning thehouse,” July 14).V. Padmanabhan,

Bengaluru

WC dream endsFrom a potential reality,India’s World Cup dreamturned illusory and blew intosmithereens. The ‘Men inBlue’, who were heroes of afrenzied cricket nation,suddenly turned villains withone bad game against NewZealand in the big semifi��nal.(Editorial, “The climax”, July13). As is widely perceived,the middle order proved to

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

The conviction of the Congolese warlord Bosco

Ntaganda is cause for cautious optimism that per

petrators of serious crimes cannot escape justice,

even where they have evaded domestic laws. Ntaganda,

known as “the terminator”, was pronounced guilty of

13 counts of war crimes and fi��ve of crimes against hu

manity by the International Criminal Court. These re

late to the 200203 ethnic confl��ict in the Democratic Re

public of Congo. After a 2006 indictment by the Hague

court, it took seven more years for him to surrender

and months more before the trial could start. The con

viction follows the ICC’s 2012 sentencing of Thomas Lu

banga, the fi��rst to be pronounced guilty under the

Rome Statute, also pertaining to atrocities during the

Congolese confl��ict. The verdict in this latest case is a

breakthrough for the prosecution, which has come un

der increasing scrutiny. It has even been forced to aban

don highprofi��le trials involving heads of government

owing to the intimidation of witnesses and tampering

with evidence. In 2014, the ICC dropped charges of

crimes against humanity on Kenyan President Uhuru

Kenyatta, the fi��rst sitting President to appear before it,

relating to the death of hundreds in the 2007 postelec

tion ethnic violence. The judges held that the Nairobi

government had not acted in good faith, as crucial evi

dence had been withheld from the prosecution. Fatou

Bensouda, the ICC chief prosecutor who has been in

the midst of some of these reversals, described as “re

grettable and troubling” a majority appeal decision last

year. That ruling acquitted JeanPierre Bemba, a former

DRC vice president, who was in 2016 convicted of war

crimes and handed an 18year sentence. In January,

Laurent Gbagbo, former President of Ivory Coast, was

acquitted of crimes against humanity. In the face of

strong resistance to prosecute crimes committed in the

wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, many African nations feel

they were being selectively targeted. In an unjustifi��ed

move, Burundi has quit the ICC, as also the Philippines.

Arguably the greatest challenge today to enforce ac

countability transcending domestic and regional bor

ders could be linked to the surge of nationalism around

the world. The genesis of the Rome Statute, adopted in

1998, made a modest beginning to ensure that serious

atrocities committed by elected representatives do not

go unpunished. The refusal of major states to bring

themselves under the court’s jurisdiction has dam

pened such hopes. It is an irony that countries this year

are marking the 75th anniversary of the Bretton Woods

institutions. But the new world order they sought to

usher in, underpinned by a rulesbased system of glo

bal governance, is facing its biggest challenge yet.

Warlord and war crimes The International Criminal Court verdict

against Bosco Ntaganda is a breakthrough

The Supreme Court’s decision to ask the parties to

the political crisis in Karnataka to maintain the

status quo until it examines the questions of law

involved, is pragmatic and expedient. The Speaker has

been asked not to decide the issue of MLAs’ resignation

or disqualifi��cation. An order has been passed when one

of the questions to be decided is whether the court can

give such a direction to the Speaker. It now transpires

that legislators can be prevented from resigning by

claiming that they have incurred disqualifi��cation. It was

argued in court that “the rebel MLAs are trying to avoid

disqualifi��cation by tendering resignations.” This is as

tounding, as the penalty for defection is loss of legisla

tive offi��ce. Quitting the current post before joining

another party is a legal and moral obligation. Defection

is condemnable, especially if it is to bring down one re

gime and form another. But politicians cannot be tied

down to parties against their will by not letting them

leave even their legislative positions. Even if it can be ar

gued that two MLAs had pending disqualifi��cation pro

ceedings against them, what about the rest? They say

they tried to meet the Speaker, but could not. They may

have been wrong to rush to the court without getting an

appointment with the Speaker, but in the few interven

ing days, their parties issued a whip to all MLAs to be

present in the House and vote for the government.

Converting resignation into a disqualifi��cation matter

is an attempt to deny a member’s right to quit his seat in

the legislature before joining another party, even if the

crossingover is a politically expedient measure. The

logic seems to be that a disqualifi��ed member cannot be

come a Minister without getting elected again, whereas

one who resigns can be inducted into an alternative Ca

binet without being a member. Accepting a resignation

is a simple function of being satisfi��ed if it is voluntary,

while disqualifi��cation is decided on evidence and inqui

ry. The two should not be mixed up. The ongoing pro

ceedings represent an increasingly common trend in li

tigation on constitutional issues: the propensity of the

political class to twist and stretch the law in their favour

and leave it to the court to set things right. The Speaker

already enjoys extraordinary powers under the Consti

tution. In addition to immunity from judicial scrutiny

for legislative matters, such as whether a Bill is a money

bill, presiding offi��cers get to decide whether a member

has incurred disqualifi��cation under the antidefection

law. Though the decision is subject to judicial review,

many Speakers have evaded judicial scrutiny by merely

not acting on disqualifi��cation matters. The question

whether the Speaker’s inaction can be challenged in

court is pending before another Constitution Bench.

Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have in

stances of Speakers not acting on disqualifi��cation ques

tions for years. The current crisis in Karnataka has ex

posed a new dimension to such partisan action.

Karnataka conundrumConverting resignation into a disqualifi��cation

matter adds new dimension to a political crisis


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

A ND-NDE

OPED

[In the Madras High Court on July 14, 1919,before Sadasiva Iyer and Burn J.J.] Dr. Swaminathan with Mr. S. Ranganatha Aiyar argueda referred trial and criminal appeal from theconviction and sentence of death passed bythe Sessions Judge of Ramnad on Tharasayya Thevan and four others for the murder ofS.P. Allapitchai Rowther, a wealthy merchant of Pudumadam, Ramnad district, anda member of the Taluk Board. The prosecution case was that the deceased was goingfrom Pudumadam to catch the Rameswaram Express at Butchupatti Railway Stationwhen the accused waylaid him, from his dogcart, took him to the Railway line, beat himand tied him to the rails and cut his neckwith a bill hook. Very soon the train passedover his body and cut it to pieces. The motive alleged was that the deceased in execution of a decree against the accused attachedall their properties and started criminal proceedings against them alleging that a forgeddocument had been fi��led by the accused inthe course of the suit. Mr. E.R. Osborne appeared in support of the conviction. TheirLordships acquitted the fi��fth accused asthere was not suffi��cient evidence to justifyhis conviction and confi��rmed the convictionof the fi��rst four accused.

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO JULY 15, 1919.

A Sensational Murder.

Caste plays an important role in every facet of life, writes Suraj Yengde,a fi��rstgeneration Dalit scholar, in hislatest book, Caste Matters. Mr.Yengde grew up in dire circumstances in a family where the “educationlevel did not go beyond tenth grade”.He talks about everyday humiliations and about the resilience of Dalits. Mr. Yengde questions Brahminical power as also divisions within theDalit community, the legacy of Ambedkar, and explains why Dalitsmust lay claim to power. An excerpt:

The Dalit movement in India is yetto be fully formed with a sizeableconsensus. It lives in various forms,sizes and shapes. It has not yet formulated a cogent programme to takein politically conservative Dalits bybringing them into the wider Indiandemocratic experience. Dalit scholars and politicians alike can be seenstruggling to formulate a workabletheory of Ambedkarism or Dalitismthat would be a manifesto for common liberation.

By exclusively relying on constitutionalism as a means of emancipation, this class of intellectuals arguesfor a utopian dream. The methods ofattaining Dalit emancipation, however, remain unknown. The sooner India’s oppressed realise this, the better. One cannot depend on thelimited conceptions of constitutionalism for deliverance. Owing to the limited control of this institution, theConstitution has become synonymous to a grievance cell off��ering noimmediate solutions.

Limited reachThe linguistic accessibility of theConstitution and its reach to the oppressed is extremely limited. Fewpeasants would consider the Constitution as a written word that wouldguarantee them protection from thelandlord’s real and fi��nancial whipcord. Similarly, beggars who are living on the mercy of donors’ charitywould think that this dossier guarantees them equality and access to freedom. The idea of the Constitution is

romantic. No one really knows itslimitations but lauds its profunditywithout testing it out. Many Dalits arerepeating the state’s narrative of constitutionalism as being the ultimatevirtue — a godsent panacea. It doesnothing more than apply a lotion tomassage one’s shattered ego. Butwhen it comes to exercising the enshrined codes in the Constitution,Dalits seem to be harming their selfworth. This is because not everybodyfeels this document is close to theirhearts as much as Dalits. Not everyone has similar expectations fromthe Constitution. Thus, it creates genuine gaps while considering constitutional morality as a common virtue. Hence, in such a situation ofonesided applicability, mutual cohabitation is a long shot. One has topierce through the devious agenda ofcasteist rogues by injecting a radicalantidote to set a tone of mutualityand respectability. Unless this is settled, no further conversation can beforeseen that will yield real results.

Secondclass citizensAs much as Dalits feel empowered ina constitutionally mandated democratic republic, any hope of their issues being redressed withers awaywhen reality comes knocking. Afterevery gruesome atrocity or everydayhumiliation they undergo at theworkplace or in their shared housing, the promise of constitutionalismshatters into pieces. Dalits are oftenaccorded secondclass citizenship. Atthe workplace, they do not get the requisite respect and attention from

their coworkers. A senior bureaucrat friend, Tushar (pseudonym),who has an advanced degree from anIvy League school, told me about hisunpleasant experience. Prior to hisdeparture to America, he was given aheavy workload with additional responsibilities by his immediate dominant caste supervisors. Tushar narrated the story of how he was taskedto work on projects that demandedhis extra involvement which in turnconsumed more time than required.His selection to an Ivy League institution made everyone at his workplaceinsecure. He was regularly tauntedwith disparaging comments. ‘Whatwill you do after studying economics, which is not your fi��eld and diff��erent from the work you currentlydo?’

One of the limitations of the Indian Constitution often echoed within Dalit circles is the absolute visionary absence of Dalit pride and theeruptive defi��nition of liberation.Constitutionalism has proved to bean unreliable doctrine to infl��uenceperpetrators of casteism. The landmark case of Surya Narayan Chaudhury v. State of Rajasthan in 1988 ex

poses one among its manylimitations. This case prohibited temples from discriminating against Dalits’ right to worship and enter the sacrosanct spaces as a rule of law.

The verdict delivered by the ChiefJustice of India, Justice J.S. Verma,pointed out the fact that ‘mere enactment of such a law or guaranteeing aright in the Constitution of India isnot enough and the change needed isreally in our hearts and not elsewhere. It is the willing acceptance of thesociety which alone is the sure guarantee of eradication of any socialevil.’

The Justice J.S. Verma verdict expressed the inadequacies of legalprovisions in the absence of society’swillingness to acknowledge its prejudices. This goes in line with Ambedkar’s comments on the uselessness of legislation in the face of socialsanction.

Using AmbedkarGuarding the elitism of the Constitution and selling it under Ambedkar’sname has come at the cost of Dalitradicalism. Ambedkar is now centralised as a sanctimonious fi��gurehead. And in a country like India, toworship someone is to kill any critical thoughts about the person. Various ideological and semisocial andpolitical circles play football withAmbedkar and enjoy the show puton by Dalits around his portraits.Ambedkar’s image is used to silenceDalit rage around any issue, to thebenefi��t of the oppressor, who is morethan happy to coopt Ambedkar intotheir vicious programme of hatredand violence. At the time of writing,every Dalit leader in the 2019 election campaign has spoken of protecting the Constitution. They found it amore appealing idea to attract thecommon mass towards ‘Samvidhaan’, as opposed to other traditional issues at hand, such as social justice, welfare programmes,education, health, taxation and theprotection of the working class. Theaff��ection of Dalits towards constitutionalism is a curious subject of inquiry. No mainstream Dalit leaderhas dared to critically engage withthe debate around the Constitutionand its encouragement of Dalit passivism.

Excerpted with permission from PenguinRandom House

For Dalits, the institution has become synonymous with a grievance cell off��ering no immediate solutions

Relying on the Constitution is not enough

Suraj Yengde

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■ Caste Matters

Suraj YengdeViking/Penguin₹��599

What are the issues that a Readers’ Editorcan address and what are the issues that arebeyond his remit? The fi��ne line between acting responsibly and overreach is clear to allthe three concerned parties: readers, the editorial staff��, and the Readers’ Editor. Readersrecognise that the Readers’ Editor’s role isstrictly limited to postpublication, but theyhave an ambiguous idea when it comes to hisright to reply.

Time for evaluationOn July 9, The Hindu published an article titled “Taking a myopic view of foreignmadegeneric drugs” by Srividhya Ragavan, Professor of Law at Texas A&M University School of Law, on theopinion page. The articlelooked at how the U.S. is using the Ranbaxy experienceas an excuse to deny accessto lifesaving medication toproductive workforces. Dinesh Thakur, a public healthactivist and blogger, wantedthe newspaper to publish a rebuttal. He marked it to both the editorialteam and the Readers’ Editor offi��ce on July10. However, he withdrew his rejoinder onJuly 12 saying he was disappointed that theeditorial team did not indicate whether hisarticle would be published or not. Mr. Thakur failed to recognise the fact that rebuttalsneed careful analysis. It takes time to examine the points made. Further, it is only fairto check with the original author for her response. The Readers’ Editor’s offi��ce only facilitates a dialogue between the reader and theeditorial team, it does not interfere in the editorial selection process. Mr. Thakur withdrew his submission without giving adequate time to the editorial team to eitherexamine his counterarguments or get Ms.Ragavan’s response. I request readers togrant us time to carry out due diligence inevaluating complaints. This request for timeshould not be interpreted as the lack of aproactive outlook.

The Readers’ Editor’s offi��ce acts as an ef

fective listening post and passes on every alert that comes from readers. There are moments when it acts as an early warningsystem.

Cause for fl��oodsWhen parts of north India were fl��ooded lastweek and this week, Kanak Mani Dixit,founding editor of Himal Southasian and aregular contributor to this newspaper, drewour attention to some very important facts.He pointed out that there are no signifi��cantdams in Nepal with ‘open sluice gates’ tosend fl��oodwaters to Bihar or Uttar Pradesh.He said that the two barrages on rivers Kosiand Gandaki near the IndiaNepal border areoperated by Indian authorities. And thatthere is only one relatively small reservoir inNepal, Kulekhani. For nearly three decades,Indian leaders have been blaming Nepal forfl��oods in north India, especially in Bihar andU.P. Even a statesman like Atal Bihari Vajpayee believed in this allegation. During his1998 tour of fl��ooded eastern U.P., Vajpayee

remarked in Lucknow that Nepal was responsible for thefl��oods. Most news channels reported that Nepal had released3,50,000 cusecs from its dams.Ajaya Dixit, a water resourcesexpert and a member of the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation based in Kathmandu, pointed out that the politics ofblaming Nepal began in the co

lonial era when Sir Claude Inglis, the director of the Central Irrigation and Hydrodynamic Research Station at Poona, attributedfl��oods in the Kosi river to hill farmers cuttingtrees, as early as 1941.

Mr. Dixit explained the causes for fl��oods inthe plains of Bihar. He meticulously explained that the real issue is not what isstored upstream but with the drainage congestion downstream. Bihar’s embankmentsstretching over 3,000 km have made moreland susceptible to fl��oods than what theywere meant to do — provide deliverancefrom the annual inundation.

Both the cases — one about Indianmadegeneric drugs and the other about the fl��oodsin north India — draw our attention to the actof verifi��cation amidst confl��icting claims. AReaders’ Editor’s verdict is an act of validation. It recognises that verifi��cation requiresnot only eff��ort and expertise but also time.

[email protected]

The act of verifi��cationrequires timeThe Readers’ Editor’s offi��ce requires eff��ort and expertise toverify arguments and counterarguments

a.s. pANNEERSELVAN

FROM THE READERS’ EDITOR

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DATA POINT

One popular trope in Hindi cinema isthat of a ‘good cop’. He regularly performs swashbuckling tricks, takes therowdies to task and doles out justice.Amitabh Bachchan played many ofthese angry cop roles in the 1970s. Infact, his angry young man image waslargely a creation of these fi��lms. Thecop character was angered by wrongdoings of various kinds but remainedoblivious to castebased injustice.

What has changed, I wonder?Look at Ajay Devgn’s cop character inthe Singham fi��lms or Salman Khan’sin Dabangg. Caste issues don’t seemto rattle our fi��lmmakers in Mumbai.

Taking caste head onIn such a scenario, Ayushmann Khurrana’s lead character in Article 15comes as a welcome change. I don’tremember the last time apoliceman took castehead on in Hindi cinema.There are very few instances of mainstreamHindi cinema exposingcastebased oppressionso eloquently withnuance.

A cop walking over aheap of garbage, entering the swamp with hissubordinates, visuals of manual scavenging on screen — it is rare to encounter these moments in Hindifi��lms.

The way director Anubhav Sinhadeals with caste issues is diff��erentfrom the approach of, say, Pa. Ranjith, and I think both can coexist.Hindi cinema is riddled with manyills. It can’t look beyond the urban,dishes out fi��lms that look like soapoperas and is lacking in social content. On the other hand, when a Hindi fi��lm deals with social issues andlacks a big mainstream lead actor, itis often dismissed as ‘art house’.

These distinctions are facile. Whycan’t these socalled ‘commercial’fi��lms also glimpse the times we livein? Why do we have to wait for a Fandry or a Court (both nonHindi fi��lms)to give us the wakeup call?

Nobody can deny the reach ofmainstream Hindi cinema and its desired impact. Thus, it becomes im

perative to widely discuss a fi��lm suchas Article 15, which uses the conventions of the mainstream to discussthe marginal and pushes these conversations into spaces where theymatter the most.

Set in rural Uttar Pradesh, Article15 takes a clear position on castebased crimes, untouchability andother associated social ostracisationpractices that keep Dalits invisibleand crush all their attempts at mobilising themselves and taking on thepowers that be.

The Ambedkar referenceThe fi��lm opens with a song which vocalises the wide chasm that exists.Immediately thereafter appears a familiar statue of B.R. Ambedkar in histrademark blue coat with his handraised and holding a copy of the Constitution. Some might dismiss this as

a tokenistic measure,but I believe it is of greatsignifi��cance. The songand the statue create aniconography that merewords cannot capture.

I still remember theconcluding scenes fromPa. Ranjith’s Kaala andhis eff��ective use of thecolour blue that takesover the screen. It is rife

with suggestions and cinema, afterall, is an imagebased medium. Theevents depicted in such fi��lms arecommon knowledge, but they attaina renewed vigour on screen. This iswhere cinema fulfi��ls its role as awatchkeeper in democracy.

In Article 15, the ‘good cop’ breaksbarriers and leads by example. He isnot merely sympathetic but also reminds us that any form of discrimination is anticonstitutional. At thesame time, he is acutely aware of hisown privilege and upbringing. Hefi��nds his own ignorance troubling.Lest we forget, a vulnerable malelead is not a Hindi cinema favourite.In these times of increasing jingoism,every attempt such as Article 15 inspires hope, because cinema mustprovoke us to think and act.

The writer teaches literary & cultural studies

at FLAME University, Pune

A valiant attempt tomainstream the marginalisedThe ‘good cop’ in ‘Article 15’ is aware of his privilege

Kunal Ray

The fl��ood situation in Upper Assam worsened today [ July 14] following a majorbreach in the embankment of the Desangriver. According to offi��cial informationreaching here [Gauhati], about 4,000 people in four villages have lost their homes as aresult of the breach. Road communicationbetween Dibrugarh and the rest of the Stateremained suspended for the fourth day today. The entire Sibsagar subdivision is inthe grip of fl��oods and about 6,00,000 people have been aff��ected, according to districtauthorities. Sali seedlings in about 8,000bighas of land and other crops in an area of10,000 bighas have been badly damaged.The swollen Desang has inundated parts ofthe Sibsagar town and nearby areas. The entire Wakati Mauja and a part of Thowra Mauja are under water. About a hundred granaries in Bakata have also been fl��ooded. In all,about 200 villages in the subdivision havebeen inundated. Train communication between Simaluguri and Moran has been suspended following the submersion of the railway track.

FIFTY YEARS AGO JULY 15, 1969

Six lakh people aff��ected by fl��oods

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FROM

ARCHIVES

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A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


NEWS

FROM PAGE ONE

However, Mr. Goyal made itclear that the procurementof propulsion equipment orcomplete trains should bedone in accordance withthe ‘Make in India’ policy.

The move follows a rowover India’s fi��rst semihighspeed Train 18 or VandeBharat Express and the decision to stop production ofthe train at the ICF here fora variety of reasons.

Though the concept ofbuying readymade trains instead of making them is at anascent stage, the very ideahas come as a shocker to asection of employees whofeel that the move wouldrender thousands of railwayemployees in productionand ancillary units joblessin the long run.

The ICF which is acclaimed as the world’s largest coach factory hasrolled out the Vande BharatExpress, Linke HofmannBusch (LHB) coaches basedon German technology andthe conventional blue ICFdesigned coaches that areoperated across thecountry.

“We also make coachesfor the Indian Army andseveral neighbouring countries. The manpower, infrastructure and technologyof ICF is among the best inthe world and the currenttarget is to roll out 4,000new coaches,” a senior ICFoffi��cial told The Hindu onSunday. Buying a readymade train from privatefi��rms is not new to the Railways. The trains run byChennai Metro Rail Limited(CMRL) were procured as acomplete set from Alstomthat has a facility in Sri City.

“But, procurement fromtrade, whether imported orindigenous, has alwaysbeen at exorbitant prices. Infact in all Metro tenders theproduction units of IndianRailways were kept out bycleverly making international experience one of thecriteria for consideration.Ironically, eff��orts for making Metro coaches underthe Make in India initiativeare being scuttled by specifying international experience as an eligibilitynorm. Now, with procurement of trainsets from tradeit looks like the end of theroad for Railways’ inhouseproduction units”, the offi��cial who preferred anonymity, added.

Replying to a question inParliament on Vande BharatExpress earlier this month,Mr. Goyal said modernisation of trains was a continuous process. Introductionof Vande Bharat train setswas a pathbreakingachievement. Action had also been initiated for acquiring technology for manufacture of aluminium bodycoaches in railway factories, he said.

Railways may buyreadymade trains

The work on India’s semihigh speed Train 18 has beenstopped. *

Bharatiya Janata Party national joint general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santosh has been elevated asnational general secretary(organisation), the secondmost important post in theparty’s national organisation after that of the national president.

Mr. Santosh, 49, whohails from Udupi district inKarnataka, will replace veteran functionary Ram Lalwho served for 13 years inthe post. Mr. Santosh, anRSS man, will be the mainlink between the BJP andthe RSS.

Mr. Santosh has been akey strategist for the partyboth in terms of strengthening the organisation andhandling polls in the southern region, especially Karnataka.

His elevation is beingseen as a reward for hiswork towards the party organisation, most importantly the role played by him inthe recently concluded LokSabha elections.

Known for his varied organisational skills, Mr. Santosh had been given the responsibility of overseeing theparty’s preparations for theLok Sabha polls in thesouthern region.

Gets second-most important post


BENGALURU

B.L. Santosh

BJP elevates keystrategist B.L. Santosh

CricketerturnedpoliticianNavjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday announced his resignation from the Punjab Cabinet, amid an ongoing tusslewith Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

Mr. Sidhu released a copyof his resignation letter onTwitter, which he said wassubmitted to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on June 10.

In the letter addressed toMr. Gandhi, Mr. Sidhu didnot assign any reason for hisquitting the Cabinet. “I hereby resign as Minister fromthe Punjab Cabinet,” Mr. Sidhu wrote.

In the following tweet, hesaid, “Will be sending my resignation to the Chief Minister, Punjab.”

After the Cabinet reshuffl��eon June 6, the Chief Ministerdivested Mr. Sidhu of the Local Bodies portfolio and allocated him the Power andNew and Renewable EnergySources portfolios.

However, Mr. Sidhu, instead of taking charge of thenew Ministry, approachedthe party’s Central leadership to express his displea

sure and apprised the “highcommand’’ of being singledout “unfairly’’ in the Cabinetrejig on the pretext of theparty’s “poor performance”in the urban areas of theState in the 2019 Lok Sabhaelection.

Capt. Amarinder and Mr.Sidhu have been at loggerheads since the 2019 LokSabha poll.

It started with Mr. Sidhu’swife Navjot Kaur Sidhu accusing Capt. Amarinder ofblocking her Lok Sabha ticket from Chandigarh.

Later, the Chief Minister

blamed Mr. Sidhu for nothandling his departmentwell, which he claimed hadresulted in the Congress’s“poor performance” in urban areas in the generalelection.

Meanwhile Punjab Cabinet Ministers Brahm Mohindra and Charanjit SinghChanni have termed Mr. Sidhu’s resignation as a ‘drama.’

Reacting to Mr. Sidhu’stweet on his resignation sentto Mr. Gandhi last month,and his subsequent remarkthat he would send his formal papers to the Punjab

Chief Minister, they said:“This is nothing but dramafrom the ‘king of theatrics’.If he had to resign he shouldhave followed protocol andsent it directly to the ChiefMinister.”

“Didn’t Mr. Sidhu knowthat the Cabinet Ministerpost was not a party post,and his resignation could notbe accepted by the Congresspresident,” they added.

Pointing out that he hadsent the socalled resignation to the Congress president on June 10, as per histweet, the Ministers askedwhy it took Mr. Sidhu 34 daysto announce it on Twitter.

Shiromani Akali Dal president and former deputyChief Minister Sukhbir Badalquestioned the rationale behind submitting the resignation letter to the partypresident.

Aam Aadmi Party leaderHarpal Cheema and SukhpalSingh Khaira president ofPunjab Ekta Party came outin Mr. Sidhu's support. “Sidhu enjoyed a clean and honest image. Anyone whowants to work for the State iswelcome in the party, evenMr. Sidhu,” said Mr. Cheema.

Sidhu quits Punjab CabinetTweets resignation letter sent to outgoing Congress president Rahul Gandhi

VIKAS VASUDEVA

CHANDIGARH

File photo of Navjot Singh Sidhu addressing a pressconference in Chandigarh.

The decision of Navjot SinghSidhu to go public about hisresignation as a Punjab Cabinet Minister on Sunday and asignature campaign againstDelhi Pradesh CongressCommittee (DPCC) chiefSheila Dikshit during theweekend seem to have added to the sense of disarraywithin the Congress party.

For over seven weeksnow, after outgoing partypresident Rahul Gandhi informed the Congress Working Committee (CWC) abouthis decision to step down,the party is yet to convene ameeting of the party’s highest decisionmaking body toappoint the next president.

A meeting of the CWC isexpected soon but there isno clarity on the date as thepolitical turmoil in Karnataka seems to have put everything else on the back burner.

And in the absence of aproactive leadership, fac

tionalism seems to have costthe party’s public image.

The fi��ght between Mr. Sidhu and Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh played outon social media as thecricketerturnedpoliticianput his resignation, addressed to Mr. Gandhi instead of the Chief Minister,on his Twitter handle.

On Saturday, factionalismwithin the party in Delhi,where elections are due inFebruary, also took an uglyturn with as many as 29 Congress leaders writing against

former Delhi Chief MinisterSheila Dikshit.

The letter of the All IndiaCongress Committee (AICC)in charge for Delhi, P.C.Chacko, admonishing Ms.Dikshit for making some“unauthorised” blocklevelappointments went viral onsocial media.

“I am sorry to say that asenior leader of your statureshould not have fl��outed thedirective of the AICC and taking decisions leading to diff��erences and unrest among therank and fi��le of the party,”read Mr. Chacko’s letter toMs. Dikshit.

Maharashtra sceneIn pollbound Maharashtra,to avoid bitter factionalismamong senior leaders, theCongress announced severalkey election panels like Strategy Committee, and Manifesto and Coordination Committee in the name of RahulGandhi.

And the appointmentswere clearly to accommo

date senior leaders like former Union Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, former ChiefMinisters Ashok Chavan andPrithviraj Chavan, apartfrom Maharashtra Congresschief Balasaheb Thorat.

In Haryana too, the partyis yet to settle the leadershipquestion as supporters ofBhupender Singh Hooda andthe State Congress chief Ashok Tanwar continue to be engaged in open factionalfi��ghts even as elections areexpected to be held threemonths away.

“This is a little bit of a confused run to the fi��nishing line.It should not take toolong because too long meanswe would be left without aclearcut programme that wehave for the next elections,”former Law Minister SalmanKhurshid had told The Hin-

du in an interview earlierthis week.

“Let’s fi��nd a way and courteously and nicely move forward on the next party president,” Mr. Khurshid said.

Public dissidence dents Congress imageSidhu episode and letter campaign against Sheila Dikshit expose party

Rahul Gandhi


NEW DELHI

The annual crime reportcompiled by the NationalCrime Records Bureau(NCRB) for 2017 will be published soon as requisite data from all States has been received, a senior offi��cial said.

The publication of “Crimein India” for 2018 will have towait a little longer as theNCRB plans to come out withthe 2017 report fi��rst, the offi��cial said.

The Opposition partieshave accused the government of withholding the report. On June 24, Congressleader Ghulam Nabi Azadsaid in the Rajya Sabha thatthe government had initiated a tradition that “if thefi��ndings of the report areagainst it, it will not be tabled at all”.

“A couple of States havenot given the required data.We cannot publish the report without getting infor

mation from all the 29 Statesand seven Union Territories,” the offi��cial said.

Another offi��cial said totide over dependence onStates to send information,they were developing software on the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network andSystems (CCTNS) to cull outthe data automatically andpublish the report. There are15,816 police stations acrossthe country and the CCTNS

connects almost 15,000 ofthem on a national platform.It has a database of allcrimes, photographs of criminals and missing childrenamong other things.

The report is used by theState and the Central governments for framing variouspolicies and initiatives andalso by various other stakeholders for research purposes.

On July 9, Hyderabad MP

Asaduddin Owaisi said onTwitter, “NCRB’s job is tomaintain crime records &produce reports. Since 2016,it hasn’t produced its twomain annual reports ‘Crimein India’ & ‘Prison StatisticsIndia’. And why is it not doing its job?”

On July 9, Villupuram MPD. Ravikumar asked in theLok Sabha whether theNCRB had submitted its 2017report. In a written reply, Minister of State for Home G.Kishan Reddy said the reporthad not been fi��nalised.

“To ensure that publisheddata suits the requirementsof various stakeholders, theNCRB has comprehensivelyrevised the proforma for collecting crime statistics. It hastrained personnel of Statesand Union Territories on thenew formats. The data in therevised proforma from allStates and Union Territorieshas not been received,” Mr.Reddy said.

NCRB’s annual reports to be out soonOpposition parties have accused the government of withholding it

Vijaita Singh

New Delhi

While the debate continuesover taxing disability pension for military personneland assurances by DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh tolook into the matter, information provided under theRight to Information (RTI)Act shows that between2013 and July 2018, the Defence Ministry paid about₹�7.85 crore as fee to the government counsel for various cases pending againstmilitary personnel in the Supreme Court, the HighCourts and the Armed Forces Tribunals (AFTs).

Most priceyOf the three services, theIAF had the highest numberof cases at 2,683 on which alittle over ₹�7 crore was spenton legal fees, show information obtained through theRTI query fi��led by advocateBrajesh Singh in August last.

The Army spent about₹�11.5 lakh, while the Navyabout ₹�69 lakh for cases inNorth India between 201314 and 201718.

The Defence Ministry hasoften faced criticism for

spending money on lawyersto appeal against soldierswho approached the AFTsfor disability benefi��ts orpension and was evenpulled up by the SupremeCourt on several occasionsfor excessive litigation.

Last year, the Ministrywithdrew several appealsagainst disability and as ofnow, 26 appeals were pending against grant of disability pension in the SupremeCourt, Mr. Singh said in awritten reply in Parliamentlast week. Last year, the Ministry withdrew 60 civil appeals in the apex court, ofwhich 17 were for disabilitypension.

Earns SC’s ire for excessive litigation

Dinakar Peri

NEW DELHI

The Army spent ₹��11.5 lakhwhile the Navy ₹��69 lakhbetween 201314 and 201718.

Defence Ministry spent₹��7.85 cr. on legal fee

Gunmen shot dead the security guard of a NationalConference leader in southKokernag on Sunday.

An offi��cial said armedgunmen opened fi��re on thesecurity offi��cer Reyaz Ah

mad in the Hiller area of Kokernag in Anantnag district.

“He succumbed to injuries in the hospital,” the police said. The deceased wasguarding NC leader PeerTauqeer Shah, a retiredjudge who joined politicsrecently.

Gunmen kill guard of NC leader in KashmirSpecial Correspondent

Srinagar

The journalistic fraternity inKashmir, where 19 scribeslost their lives to unknowngunmen since 1990, will getto elect its fi��rstever body forthe Kashmir Press Club(KPC) on Monday.

Around 252 working journalists and editors will vote

for four posts of offi��cebearers and a sevenmember executive committee. Thirtyone candidates are in thefray for the July 15 polls.

“Holding election for professional organisations is always a welcome step. Onehopefully looks forward toits promised positive outcome for the profession as

well as the larger publicgood,” said senior journalistMohammad Syed Malik.

He recalled that regularorganisational electionswere held prior to 1990 tochoose the offi��cebearers ofworking journalists’ Stateunit affi��liated to the IndianFederation of Working Journalists (IFWJ). “The onset of

turmoil (in 1990) disruptedall. The rest is history,” saidMr. Malik.

Kashmir may be a rareplace in the country wheresetting up a press club remained a nogo area. Successive governments identifi��edland and buildings but neverhanded them over to thejournalists.

Press club polls today in J&K after 3 decadesspecial correspondent

Srinagar

Two persons, including anArmy man, died and 27 others were injured after abuilding collapsed amidheavy rain in Solan districtof Himachal Pradesh onSunday. Eighteen Army personnel were among the injured. Many people arefeared trapped, offi��cialssaid.

The building, on the NahanKumarhatti road, camedown at 4 p.m.

“The top fl��oor had a restaurant, where people, including Army personnel,were dining. We have rescued 27 people. Two teamsof the National Disaster Response Force have taken overthe rescue,” Additional Superintendent of Police ShivKumar said. “The injuredhave been taken to nearbyhospitals,” he said.

Chief Minister Jai Ram

Thakur has ordered an inquiry. Solan Deputy Commissioner K.C. Chaman saidtwo bodies were pulled out.Eight were still trapped under the debris, he said. Initially, the Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Forceand police jointly carriedout the rescue operation.

Director cum Special Secretary Revenue and Disaster Management D.C. Ranasaid that two NDRF teamsreached the spot.

Two killed in Himachalbuilding collapse Army man among casualties; 27 rescued


CHANDIGARH

NDRF men undertake rescuework at the site of a buildingcollapse in Solan. * PTI

The Indian team, consistingof delegates from the Ministry of External Aff��airs andthe Ministry of Home Affairs, cautioned Pakistanagainst building an earthfi��lled embankment thatcould create fl��ooding problems at Dera Baba Nanakinside India.

Preparatory work Sunday’s discussion highlighted the preparatorywork under way on bothsides of the border for the550th birth anniversary ofGuru Nanak, the founder ofSikhism.

India claimed that signifi��cant progress had been

made in building the infrastructure needed to handlethe pilgrims from India andabroad and said infrastructure on the Indian sidewould be able to handle15,000 pilgrims a day.

The work is expected tobe completed by October 31,a week before the celebrations are expected to begin.

Plea for ‘Nagar Kirtan’ India also urged Pakistan toallow ‘Nagar Kirtan’ fromDelhi to Nankana Sahib inPakistan in July and duringOctoberNovember 2019 aspart of the celebrations tomark the birth of the fi��rstSikh Guru.

Visa-free year-long access forpilgrims to Kartarpur Sahib

A host of top coalition leaders, including Mr. Kumaraswamy, descended on hisfarmhouse on the outskirtsof the city, hoping that wooing him back would have animpact on the other rebelMLAs.

Parleys heldIndicating how critical he isnow to the government, adelegation that includedformer Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal andsenior Congressman Mallikarjun Kharge, besides theChief Minister, held parleyswith him for over threehours.

Mr. Reddy later said hewould reveal his stand onlyon Monday.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister himself led fi��refi��ghting measures, holding talkswith Congress leadersthrough the day. He evenmet Ballari Rural MLA B. Nagendra, admitted to a Bengaluru hospital, amid reports that the BJP wantedhim to abstain from thetrust vote.

Mr. Kumaraswamy islearnt to have said that hewas even willing to stepdown to make way for anyCongress leader if it couldsave the coalition government by bringing back therebel MLAs.

Off��er opposedHowever, a majority of theJD(S) MLAs opposed the off��er tooth and nail.

Coalition in jitters asMinister joins rebel camp

CMYK


THE HINDU DELHI


NEWS

It’s 2 a.m., and the stench ofsewage wafts in through theonly window of Aziza Jawahar’s crumbling house. Taking the cue that she is nowlong attuned to, she springsup from bed, dashes out towake up her neighbours,Geetabai Sen, Hanifa Bi andReshma, grabs a plastic hoseand plops it into a 300litredrum to fi��ll water.

Every alternate day, women in most of the 2,486houses in the Jeevan JyotiColony — a society built inthe 1990s to socially rehabilitate the kin of the Bhopalgas tragedy victims — followa similar routine with no decided hour or fi��xed duration, barely managing tostock drinking water supplied by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC).

But now, an overlookedand unfi��nished sewage network has added to the pro

blems in an area already beset by decrepit houses andbumpy roads. Broken pipes,choked sewage chambersand scum gurgling over dugout drains form the networkthat runs alongside drinkingwater pipelines. With no alternative sources, residentsare forced to drink toxic,contaminated water.

“For the fi��rst 20 minutesat least, we have to leave thetap open for all the yellowish, stinking water to drain,”says Ms. Jawahar, who hasbeen suff��ering from breathlessness and eye infectionsince December 2, 1984, theday the leaking gas from theUnion Carbide factory killedher mother. “Then, in aboutanother half an hour, we tryto fi��ll the fi��ve drums at myhouse,” she adds. She liveswith her fi��ve children andher husband in a oneroomhouse located in a block of16 quarters.

Wagging a conical sieve,

Ms. Bi says, “I bought this for₹��10. Every household usesone to fi��lter water for drinking. If we store tap water insteel utensils, a yellowishcoating develops in them thenext morning. For bathingand washing, we pump tapwater to overhead tanks.”Skin diseases and stys, especially among toddlers, arenow common in the colony.where water pipelines were

laid only in 2013.A choleraoutbreak in 1998 killed eightresidents.

In the summer, however,when the water supply getspatchy, residents rely on individually owned tubewellsin adjoining private coloniesfor drinking water. “We get a15litre can for ₹��2. We getsome help and they getsome money. It’s a winwinsituation,” Ms. Reshma says.

In June 2010, a CentralGroup of Ministers, comprising Kamal Nath, the then Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways,approved an action plan of₹��272.75 crore on a 75:25 basis for completing the remaining rehabilitation process.

Of the sanctionedamount, ₹��85.2 crore was allocated for social rehabilitation under which sewage got₹��4.92 crore and ₹��50 crorewas set aside for providingsafe drinking water.

Funds misappropriated“There has been misappropriation of funds in providing the basic amenities ofsanitation and drinking water to the most vulnerableamong the victims,” saysRachna Dhingra, coordinator of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal.“Sanitation has been an issue in the colony from day

one, as houses were builtwithout a sewage system ordrinking water pipelines.The State government hastold the Centre that the workhas been completed. Buteven today, sewage is spilling onto roads in the colonyand residents are forced todrink contaminated water,”she says.

Minutes of a review meeting with the Central Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals in February2017 reveal that the Statehad informed the Centrethat the “upgradation ofsewage system in existinggas victims’ colony” hadbeen completed at a cost of₹��4.92 crore. However, in autilisation certifi��cate, it saidonly ₹��2.06 crore had beenutilised and the remainingamount would be transferred to the BMC for the“execution of balancework”.

The BMC later said it had

utilised the remainingamount to complete thework. However, the StateBhopal Gas Tragedy Reliefand Rehabilitation Department stated in December2018 in its annual report thatthe work was under progress and had been handedover to the BMC for “technical reasons”.

Though the State did notspecify whether the workwas completed using theCentre’s share of funds orthe State’s, K.K. Dubey, Deputy Secretary in the department, says, “The State government had utilised theCentre’s share of funds andinformed it (the Centre)about it. There were no discrepancies in the report. Asfor the State’s funds, theyare still being utilised andwork is under progress. Wedon’t monitor work assignedto the BMC. We are only responsible for the allocation offunds. Yet, we’ve urged

them several times to complete it.”

Residents’ claims denied Denying the claims that polluted water was being supplied to the colony, A.R. Pawar, BMC’s Chief Engineerfor water supply says, “Narmada river’s water, whichdoesn’t need to be fi��ltered, isbeing supplied to at least90% of the houses in the colony. Yet, more work remains to be done.”

Meanwhile, Neeraj Pandey, Executive Engineer atthe Capital Project Administration, a planning and development body set up underthe Housing & EnvironmentDepartment, says that workon the sewage lines was leftincomplete as residentsstarted using the facilitieseven before the work wascompleted. The CPA managed infrastructure projectsin the colony before the BMCtook over.

Polluted water, overfl��owing sewage torment Bhopal gas tragedy survivorsFunds set aside under a 2010 action plan for resolving sanitation and drinking water issues were allegedly misappropriated by the State’s rehabilitation wing

Water woes: Sewage spilling out of dug-out drains at theJeevan Jyoti colony in Bhopal on Saturday. * A.M. FARUQUI

Sidharth Yadav

Bhopal

Ban ‘antinational’TikTok: RSS affi��liate NEW DELHI

Ashwani Mahajan, co-

convener of the Swadeshi

Jagran Manch, a Rashtriya

Swayamsevak Sangh affiliate,

has requested Prime Minister

Narendra Modi to ban TikTok

and Helo, alleging that the

two Chinese social media

applications are a hub of

“anti-national” content. He

also said TikTok was found

using morphed pictures of

senior politicians in ads. PTI

IN BRIEF

‘Victory Flame’ ignitedfor 20th Kargil DiwasNEW DELHI

Marking the 20th anniversary

of ‘Operation Vijay’, Defence

Minister Rajnath Singh on

Sunday ignited a ‘victory

flame’ at the National War

Memorial in New Delhi and

passed it on to a team of

motorcyclists, who will carry

it over 11 towns and cities to

merge with the eternal flame

at the Kargil War Memorial in

Drass, Jammu and Kashmir on

July 26. It will be received by

General Bipin Rawat, the

Chief of the Army Staff. PTI

12 youth booked forassaulting ImamBAGHPAT

The police have booked 12

youth for allegedly pulling

the beard of a Muslim cleric

and forcing him to chant “Jai

Shri Ram,” Superintendent of

Police Shailesh Kumar Pandey

said on Sunday. “Prima facie,

it seems to be a matter of

physical assault. Even then,

we have registered a case

against 12 youngsters on the

basis of the cleric’s complaint.

Action will be taken on the

basis of probe,” he said. The

Imam said he was also forced

to chant “Jai Shri Ram”, the SP

said. The cleric said he was

rescued by two persons when

he raised an alarm.

In the latest turn in the spatbetween the two IndiGo cofounders, Rahul Bhatia hassaid he had played a moresignifi��cant role, runninghuge fi��nancial risks and nurturing the airline in its initialyears with the presence ofhis company InterGlobe Enterprises (IGE).

Until IndiGo had a strongbalance sheet, it was left toMr. Bhatia’s IGE Group “tofend for IndiGo”, the groupsaid in a statement on Sunday. At the peak of the turbulence phase, Mr. Bhatiaand his father, Kapil Bhatia,“extended personal loans toIndiGo and personal guarantees to banks for diverse

fi��nancing needs of IndiGosuch as predelivery payments, payments for aircraftacquisition, and workingcapital requirements”, totalling ₹��1,100 crore, whichwas 80 times the ₹��15croreequity invested by RakeshGangwal, it said.

Took huge fi��nancial risks, says Bhatia


NEW DELHI

IndiGo co-founderscontinue spat

Rahul Bhatia

More than 900 childrenwere reported ill across thecountry with zero fatalitiesdue to the consumption ofmidday meals in the pastthree years, according to offi��cials of the Human Resource DevelopmentMinistry.

The Ministry had received35 complaints from 15 Statesand Union Territories (UTs)regarding substandard foodquality in the same period.

“A total number of 930children were reported illand none of them died aftereating such food in the country in the last three years andcurrent year. The overall responsibility for providingcooked and nutritious midday meals to eligible children lies with State govern

ments,” a senior HRDministry offi��cial said.

The Midday Meal Schemecomes under the HRD Ministry’s Department of School

Education and Literacy.Respective State govern

ments were requested to furnish actiontaken reports(ATRs) in the matter, he said.

“As per the reports received, actions such as issuing warning against the offi��cial responsible, terminatingthe contract of NGOs concerned and organisations,initiating criminal proceedings and imposing penaltiesagainst the defaulting persons (were taken),” the offi��cial said.

The HRD Ministry has alsoissued guidelines on quality,safety and hygiene in schoollevel kitchens.

“The guidelines provideinstructions on procuringAGMARK quality items forpreparation of middaymeals, tasting of meals bytwo or three adult membersof the school managementcommittee, including at leastone teacher, before servingto children,” the offi��cial said.

Midday meals left 900 children illThe HRD Ministry has received 35 complaints for substandard food since 2016

Food for thought: The HRD Ministry has issued guidelines toall States and UT’s for hygiene in school kitchens. * M.A. SRIRAM


New Delhi

The Central Public WorksDepartment (CPWD) hasset a March 2020 deadlinefor completing the “Museum on Prime Ministers ofIndia” in the Teen MurtiBhavan complex, whichhouses the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library(NMML), offi��cials said.

According to a senior offi��cial, the CPWD has chosen an agency for the facade works of the museumand its fi��nishing, installation of lifts, escalators,CCTVs and sewage treatment plants.

The iconic Teen MurtiBhavan was the offi��cial residence of Jawaharlal Nehru, the fi��rst Prime Minister,and the NMML was set upin his memory on its premises as an autonomousinstitution under the Union Culture Ministry.

“The construction workof the museum building isunder way,” the offi��cialsaid.

He added that theseworks would be carried outat a cost of ₹��66 crore.

“We have set the targetof March 2020 to constructthe museum on the PrimeMinisters of India. Once itis completed, the buildingwill be handed over to theUnion Culture Ministry toshape other works required for museum,” hesaid.

Some Congress leadershad opposed the government’s announcement forthe museum in 2018, accusing it to be an attemptto dilute the legacy ofNehru.

But Rajnath Singh, thethen Union Home Ministerhad said that the move wasnot an attempt to diluteNehru’s legacy.

PMs’ museumgets ready atTeen Murti


New Delhi

India must continue to pushfor Afghanistan elections,said former Afghanistan Ambassador to India and presidential contender ShaidaAbdali, cautioning against an“indiff��erent” attitude fromNew Delhi towards the progress being made in talkswith the Taliban.

The comments came justas diplomats from the U.S.,Russia China and Pakistanmet in Beijing to discuss thepeace process inAfghanistan.

Good neighbour“It is necessary that a goodneighbour like India remainengaged on major international and regional conferences that deal with Afghanistan and the peaceprocess. India must remainan active participant so as toensure that we don’t reversethe gains of the last 18 years,”Mr. Abdali told The Hindu

during a visit here.On July 10 and 11, the four

nation talks in Beijing agreedto step up eff��orts for an intraAfghan dialogue betweenthe Taliban and the Afghangovernment in the next fewweeks. It is being seen as thenext step in the reconciliation process.

The discussions were ledby U.S. special envoy ZalmayKhalilzad, who has just completed the eighth round oftalks with Taliban leaders inDoha, where he claimed“substantial progress” hadbeen made on issues like theintraAfghan dialogue, Taliban guarantees on terrorism, withdrawal of UStroops from Afghanistan,and a possible ceasefi��re. Ho

wever, there is still some uncertainty over whether Afghan presidential elections,scheduled at present forSeptember 28, will go aheadas planned.

Nation’s standIndia has publicly cautionedagainst postponing presidential polls, and has shownhesitation about joining talkswith the Taliban, given thegroup’s history as a terrorgroup and its links with Pakistan. It is also not offi��ciallyinvolved in any of the majorregional multilateral conferences held for discussingAfghanistan’s future.

The elections have alrea

dy been postponed twicethis year, and many of the 18candidates are worried thata further postponement tillnext year will jeopardise theentire process. Another issue is over the constitutionalvalidity of President Ghani’sgovernment postOctober,and the installation of an interim Afghan government inits place.

“One of the most criticalgains post2001 is our democratic process — which mustnot be aff��ected without fullinternational guaranteesthat Afghanistan will not reverse to pre2001 dark era …India should build on its democratic traditions to promote democratic processand elections in Afghanistan,” Mr. Abdali said, stressing that India must exert its“special” role in the process.

Mr. Abdali also appealedto the government to maintain its interest in Iran's Chabahar port as an alternativeroute for IndiaAfghanistantrade, despite the U.S.sanctions.

Former Ambassador says it has an ‘indiff��erent’ attitude towards peace process

Suhasini Haidar

New Delhi

‘India must push for Afghan polls’

In a relief to medical students aspiring to pursuepostgraduate courses, theUnion Health Ministry hasproposed to do away withNEETPG and use the fi��nalMBBS examination for admission to MD and MSprogrammes.

The amendment hasbeen incorporated in the revised draft National MedicalCommission (NMC) Bill,which will be sent to the Cabinet soon, offi��cial sourcessaid.

They said the changeshad been incorporated in

the Bill on the directions ofthe Prime Minister’s Offi��ce.

“According to the amendments in the fresh NMC Bill,entry into the PG programmes will be on the basis of the results of the National Exit Test, whichwould be held as a commonexam across the country. Sothe candidates would nothave to appear in a separateexam after clearing theMBBS fi��nal exam for admission to PG courses,” thesources explained.

The students would notbe required to appear in aseparate exam after MBBSto get a licence to practice.

Health Ministry Billproposes to axe NEETPG Press Trust of India

New Delhi

With the country left without a Law Commission sinceSeptember 2018, the Law Ministry has initiated the process of setting up the bodywhich gives advice to the government on complex legalissues.

The threeyear term of the21st Law Commission endedon August 31 last year. On atleast one occasion, the Ministry had moved the proposal to reconstitute the panel.

But the proposal couldnot move further, and thegovernment later went intoelection mode. Sources saidthat the proposal to reconstitute the panel would be before the Union Cabinet in thenext few days.

The 21st commission, under Justice B.S. Chauhan(retd), had submitted reports and working papers onkey issues such as simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabhaand the Assemblies and a uniform civil code.

While the Law Commission had supported simultaneous polls, it had said thatthe time was not ripe for acommon code.

The Cabinet approves reconstitution of the law panelfor a period of three years. Itis usually headed by a former Supreme Court judge or aformer Chief Justice of aHigh Court.

In 2015, a proposal wasmooted to make the law panel into a permanent bodyeither through an Act of Par

liament or an executive order (resolution of the UnionCabinet). The move wasshelved after the Prime Minister’s Offi��ce felt that thepresent system shouldcontinue.

In 2010 also, the then UPAgovernment had prepared adraft Cabinet note to givestatutory status to the LawCommission, and the LawMinistry had mooted tobring the Law Commissionof India Bill, 2010. But theidea was shelved.

Law Commission to be formed soonProposal to be placed before the Union Cabinet in the next few days


New Delhi

CMYK


DELHI THE HINDU


WORLD

Former military ruler andPresident of BangladeshHussain Muhammad Ershadpassed away on Sunday. Hewas 89.

From an offi��cer of the Pakistan Army to a military dictator who was later deposedin Bangladesh, the nattilydressed General Ershad wasa major witness to SouthAsia’s politics for sevendecades.

Born in West Bengal’sCooch Behar district (thenRangpur of undivided India)in 1930, Ershad was commissioned into the Pakistan Army, when Bangladesh waspart of Pakistan, as a SectorCommander. Following hisreturn to Bangladesh afterthe country’s independence, Ershad quickly rosethrough the ranks in theBangladesh Army.

He spent his formativeyears as an Army personnelin India — around the timeSheikh Mujibur Rahman wasassassinated in 1975 — in the

country’s Defence Collegeand developed deep linkswith India’s ruling elite. Hewas particlarly close tomembers of the deep state inmany countries in SouthAsia, including India.

Complex relationshipHe shared a complex professional relationship with General Ziaur Rahman, the latePresident of Bangladesh.Rahman brought Ershadback from India and promoted him in the Army. But Ershad later turned againstRahman.

Former Bangladesh PrimeMinister and wife of ZiaurRahman, Khaleda Zia, hadalleged that Ershad played arole in her husband’s assassination. Ershad was also accused of killing an Army offi��cer. The case is yet to bereopened by the currentAwami League government,

which was in a coalition withErshad’s Jatiya Party.

After Rahman’s death, Ershad usurped power in amilitary coup, replacing theelected government. Heruled the country fi��rst as amilitary dictator, staying behind the scene, and thentook over the presidency in1983. Ershad continued torule the country till 1990,when he was forced to quitin a prodemocracy massupsurge.

Despite being imprisonedsubsequently on severalcharges, Ershad emerged asone of the most powerfulpolitical leaders. He waselected to Parliament several times as his constituencyin north Bangladesh remained loyal to him.

Following the BangladeshNationalist Party’s decisionto boycott poll in 2014, Ershad’s Jatiya Party got thestatus of the Opposition party in Parliament, which it retained after the 2018election.

Ershad is often creditedfor the division of Bangladesh’s large districts, creating upazilas [subdistricts].He will also be rememberedfor introducing Islam as theState religion in a countrywith strong secular fabric.

Former Bangladesh militarydictator Ershad passes awayHe ran the countryfor nearly a decadebefore beingousted in 1990


Kolkata

Hussain Muhammad Ershad

Pakistan will have to pay almost $6 billion in damagesto a foreign gold mining fi��rmwhose dig was shut down bythe government in 2011, theWorld Bank said on Sunday.

The consortium TethyanCopper company is the largest Foreign Direct Investment mining project in thecountry.

More than a decade agothe group found vast gold

and copper deposits at RekoDiq, in the turbulent southwestern Baluchistan province, and had planned ahugely lucrative openpitmine. But the project cameto a standstill in 2011 afterthe local government refused to renew the consortium’s lease, and in 2013 Pakistan’s top court declared itinvalid.

On Friday, the WorldBank’s international arbitration tribunal committee

awarded $5.84 billion indamages to Tethyan, according to a statement from thecompany, because of the government’s decision to shutdown the mine.

Pakistan Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan saidin a statement they had noted the decision “with disappointment”. Legal expertswere “studying the awardand refl��ecting upon its fi��nancial and legal implications,”the statement continued.

‘Pak. should pay foreign fi��rm $6bn’Agence France-Presse

Islamabad

U.S. President DonaldTrump on Sunday told unnamed Democratic Congresswomen to “go back”where they came from,prompting senior membersof the party to brand him a“racist” and a xenophobe.

In a tweet, Mr. Trump referred to “‘Progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen,”which appeared to be a reference to a group of outspoken relatively young, liberalwomen, all fi��rsttime members of the House of Representatives. These includeAlexandria OcasioCortez ofNew York, Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar,and Rashida Tlaib ofMichigan.

Mr. Trump did not saywhom he was referring tobut said they “originallycame from countries whose

governments are a completeand total catastrophe, theworst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world.”

He accused the women of“viciously telling the peopleof the United States, thegreatest and most powerfulNation on earth, how our government is to be run.

“Why don’t they go backand help fi��x the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came?”

Ms. OcasioCortez, whowas born in New York, hasancestry from Puerto Rico, aU.S. territory. Ms. Tlaib, who

was born in Detroit, is thefi��rst American of Palestiniandescent elected to Congress.Ms. Omar, who as a childcame to the U.S. from Somalia, is the fi��rst black Muslimwoman in Congress.

“That’s a racist tweet,” Assistant House Speaker BenRay Lujan, the highestranking Latino member of Congress, said on Fox News Sunday. “These are Americancitizens elected by voters.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has warned her party toavoid the “menace” of liberal policies pushed by Ms.OcasioCortez and the otherprogressives, if the Democrats hope to beat Mr.Trump in the 2020 election.

But on Twitter on Sundayshe criticised Mr. Trump’s“attack.” “I reject @realDonaldTrump’s xenophobiccomments meant to divideour nation,” she said.

Leave the U.S., Trump tellsDemocratic CongresswomenAgence France-Presse

Washington

Alexandria OcasioCortez

It was just hours after BorisJohnson, then Britain’s Foreign Secretary, returned toLondon from a whirlwindtrip last year to try to persuade the White House toabide by the Iran nuclearaccord.

Kim Darroch, then theBritish Ambassador to theUnited States, fi��red off�� awithering assessment of President Donald Trump’s wishto quit the deal. Mr. Trump,he wrote in leaked diplomatic cables that were publishedon Saturday, was “set uponan act of diplomatic vandalism, seemingly for ideological and personality reasons— it was Obama’s deal.”

The VicePresident, theNational Security Adviserand the Secretary of Statehad all failed to “articulatewhy the President was determined to withdraw, beyondhis campaign promises,” SirKim wrote. And the U.S. government had no plan forwhat would follow.

“Even when you pressed,”Sir Kim wrote to Mr. Johnson, “none had anything

much to say about the day after, or a Plan B, beyond reimposition of U.S. sanctions.”

With Iran and the U.S.locked in an escalating standoff��, the leaked cables offered a window into Britain’sfrantic eff��ort to save the Irannuclear deal in May 2018 —and the Trump administration’s indiff��erence to its entreaties. Published by a British tabloid, The Mail onSunday, the cables are thesecond batch of leaked documents that led to Sir Kim’sresignation last week.

Sir Kim resigned after Mr.Trump vowed to stop dealing with the Ambassador,and after Mr. Johnson, now

the frontrunner to succeedPrime Minister Theresa May,refused to say he would keepSir Kim in his post. Mr. Johnson’s position drew fi��ercecriticism from his opponentin the Prime Minister race,Jeremy Hunt, the current Foreign Secretary, as well asfrom some of the Conservative Party members.

Johnson’s supportOn Friday night, Mr. Johnsonacknowledged in a BBC interview that his failure tostand behind Sir Kim hadbeen part of the reason theAmbassador decided to resign. Heckled that samenight at a campaign event,

Mr. Johnson said for the fi��rsttime that he wished he hadpublicly supported Sir Kim.

“I probably should havebeen more emphatic that[Sir] Kim personally had myfull support,” he said.

The leak has prompted aninvestigation by a counterterrorism unit of the Metropolitan Police, as well as abitter dispute over the rightof The Mail on Sunday to publish the fi��les. AssistantCommissioner Neil Basu, theleader of the counterterrorism unit, warned before thelatest release that publishingany further documents “mayalso be a criminal matter.”He asked newspapers to turnover any leaked documentsto the police.

Journalists, lawmakersand both candidates for PMleapt to the defence of TheMail on Sunday, saying thewarning from the police jeopardised the workings of afree press. “I defend to thehilt the right of the press topublish those leaks if they receive them & judge them tobe in the public interest: thatis their job,” Mr. Hunt said onTwitter. NY TIMES

British leaks say Trump ditchedIran nuclear deal to spite ObamaHe was ‘set upon an act of diplomatic vandalism’, says memo from former U.K. envoy

Benjamin Mueller

London

Signs of discord: The cables off��ered a window into Britain’sfrantic eff��ort to save the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 — andthe Trump administration’s indiff��erence to its entreaties.

Floods and landslips causedby incessant rains in Nepalhave till now claimed 60lives and left 38 others injured, the police said onSunday.

Thirty fi��ve people are reported missing in rainrelated incidents that havethrown normal life out ofgear in the central and eastern parts of the country.

Heavy rainfall sinceThursday has hit more than25 districts, aff��ecting 10,385households.

The Nepal Army and police personnel have so far rescued 1,104 people from several places across thecountry with 185 alone fromKathmandu. According tothe Nepal Police, a total of27,380 police personnelhave been deployed acrossthe country for search and

rescue operations.The Flood Forecasting

Section (FFS) said the rainfall would continue for twoto three days in most placesacross the country, The Hi-malayan Times reported.

The Meteorological Forecasting Division (MFD)warned the public to remain

on high alert and said thatair and road traffi��c could beaff��ected due to low visibility.

Heavy rainfall has led thewater level in the rivers torise. FFS said that water level in Bagmati, Kamala, Saptakoshi and its tributary, theSunkoshi, has crossed thedanger mark.

Heavy rainfall aff��ects central and eastern parts of the country


Kathmandu

Moving to safety: A man carrying a child on his back wades afl��ooded street in Kathmandu on Saturday. * PTI

60 dead in Nepal fl��oods

Trump can waivesanctions: ErdoganISTANBUL

U.S. President Donald Trump

has the authority to waive

sanctions on Turkey for its

purchase of the Russian

S400 air defence systems

and should find a “middle

ground” in the dispute,

President Tayyip Erdogan

was quoted as saying on

Sunday. REUTERS

IN BRIEF

Riot police and protestersfought running battles in aHong Kong shopping mallon Sunday night as unrestcaused by a widely loathedplan to allow extraditionsto mainland China showedno sign of abating.

The police used pepperspray and batons againstsmall groups of protesters,who responded by hurlingbottles and other projectiles, in a night of fresh violence in the internationalhub.

Sunday’s clashes tookplace at the end of anotherhuge rally — this time inSha Tin a district that liesbetween the main urbansprawl around the harbourand the Chinese border.Violence broke out briefl��yin the afternoon after therally as protesters seized ajunction and built barricades, causing an hourslong standoff�� with the riotpolice. But the worst clashes happened late eveninginside a shopping mallwhere hundreds of protesters fl��ed after the policemoved on the barricadesand then charged into theshopping complex. Onceinside, chaos erupted asprotesters launched a barrage of projectiles at thepolice from above.

At least one offi��cer wasseen knocked unconscious. The police withshields and batons chargedup to higher fl��oors andmade multiple arrests.

Hong Kong has beenrocked by more than amonth of huge, largelypeaceful protests — as wellas a series of separate violent confrontations withpolice — sparked by a lawthat would have allowedextraditions to mainlandChina. The bill has sincebeen suspended, but thathas done little to quell public anger which hasevolved into a wider movement calling for democratic reforms.

Clashes breakout after rallyin Hong Kong

Agence France-Presse

Hong Kong

selection should take placewithin the country based ona more than 200 yearoldhistorical process.

“The reincarnation of Dalai Lama is a historical, religious and political issue.There are established historical institutions and formalities for the reincarnation ofthe Dalai Lama,” Wang NengSheng, an offi��cial in the rankof ViceMinister in Tibet, tolda group of Indian journalists

The successor of the DalaiLama has to be decided within China and any interference by India will impact bilateral ties, Chineseauthorities have said.

In fi��rst clear assertion onthe sensitive issue, Chineseoffi��cials and experts said thereincarnation of the Dalai Lama must be approved by theChinese government and the

in Lhasa. The Dalai Lama is84 years old now and the issue of his successor hasgained prominence in the

and his successor must befound through the “draw oflots in golden urn process”within China.

Echoing Mr. Wang’s views,Zha Luo, director at Beijingbased China Tibetology Research Centre, a governmentrun infl��uential thinktank, said any refusal by India to recognise the next Dalai Lama to be chosen withinChina will impact bilateralties.

last couple of years in thewake of his health issues.

“The Dalai Lama’s reincarnation is not decided by hispersonal wish or by somegroup of people living in other countries,” he added.

‘Draw of lots’Mr. Wang, the Director General at the government of Tibet Autonomous Region,said the current Dalai Lamawas recognised by Beijing


Lhasa/ Beijing

‘Next Dalai Lama must be chosen within China’

Dalai Lama

U.S. grants visa to Iran'sZarif for UN meetingWASHINGTON

The U.S. has granted a visa to

Iranian Foreign Minister

Mohammad Javad Zarif to

attend a UN meeting in New

York this week, two sources

familiar with the matter said

on Sunday, saying Secretary

of State Mike Pompeo had

approved the decision. REUTERS

Small-aircraft crash kills nine in SwedenSTOCKHOLM

Nine people died on Sunday

when a small aircraft being

used for tourism crashed in

northwest Sweden, the

regional authority said.

According to Swedish media

reports, the plane was

carrying people for a

parachute jump. AFP

Of the estimated oneandahalf million graduates whopass out of India’s engineering schools every year, lessthan 1% land jobs in its top100 companies. That’s because, a vast majority ofthem are unemployable andlacking in skills such as creative thinking, problem solving, learnability, humancentred design, collaboration andcustomercentricity... all critical to new generation jobs.

Vikas Gupta, CMD of Wiley India, owned by the $2billion Jones Wiley & Sons inthe U.S., says: “What students acquire mostly is textual education, which has little relevance to jobs in thenew economy that requirescontextual skills.”

As per the HRD Ministry,India has 6,214 engineeringand technology institutionswhich admit 2.9 million students. Every year, 1.5 millionfresh engineers are releasedinto the job market.

But sadly, only graduateswho pass out of some 200top colleges in the countrycome with some level of jobready skills. Adds Neeti Sharma, senior vicepresidentTeamLease Services: “A majority of jobseekers don’t getjobs in line with their education or wage expectation, because of a yawning academiaindustry gap. Industryseeks people with 90% skill,but 90% of academic activities are still based on theoretical learning.”

However, for years, IT service companies in India havehad no option but to onboard masses of raw graduates and train them on theirpayrolls for many ‘unbillable’ months before being deployed, says Sridhar Raman,

director at Outsourced CMO,a Bengalurubased consulting fi��rm. “But this model hasbecome increasingly unsustainable given the growingpressure on bottomlinesand the life or death needto cut costs. The urgencyin reskilling and upskillingengineering graduates isnot merely a balancesheet imperative, it’s amatter of survival,”adds Mr. Raman.

The problemsolving approachis changing fromaddressing a hugeproblem head on,to breaking it downinto various problemsand solving them from multiple angles.

Most business problemsare openended and eachwould have fi��ve or up to a dozen answers, adds Mr. Gupta. Today’s businesses needfi��nance professionals, people managers and intelligentproblem solvers, not accountants, payroll assistants andcoders, say experts in thetraining, skilling and reskilling industry.

Enterprises are scoutingfor plugandplay professionals, billable from the startand ready to respond eff��ectively to fastchanging, realworld business challenges.Jayant Krishna, former CEO,National Skill India Mission,says if India has to reap richdemographic dividends, skilldevelopment needs to be taken up far more seriously.

“Our skill initiatives mustfocus on apprenticeships,full operationalisation of theNational Skill Qualifi��cationFramework (NSQF), mainstreaming of employabilityskills and greater industryparticipation.” Says Ms. Sharma of TeamLease Services:

“Many jobs that exist today won’t evenbe around 10 yearsfrom now. Skillsets are already getting broadbased, withfew takers for people with individual skills.”

Mushrooming schools The good news for the industry, particularly for techfi��rms, is the emergence ofplayers like Wiley, Upgrad,ABC and IIHT in the ‘eduployment’ (education + employment) space, with jobreadiness programmes designed to upskill engineeringgraduates with jobreadyand futureready expertise.

For example, Wiley Indiahas unveiled a 3month jobreadiness programme in India called WileyNXT, in consultation with CXOs of 35 global IT fi��rms and six topuniversities. According to

Mr. Gupta, theprogramme is co

created with CXOsand academic leaders withthe intent of upskilling engineering graduates and setting up a supply line of futureready professionals for industry. Manjunath Aradhya,founder and CEO of ABC, anedutech company focussedon skilling, training and upskilling, says: “Industry expectations from freshers hasdrastically changed. For example, mere frameworkawareness is no longerenough. IT companies nowwant to hire people who arewellversed with full stack ofJava and datascience.”

“The market has plenty ofjobs for candidates with problemsolving abilities, rightattitude and entrepreneurialmindset,” adds Mr. Aradhyaof ABC that trained over

pioneered the FutureSkillsinitiative for India’s ITITESindustries. Our goal is to getIndia accelerated on the pathto become the global hub fortalent development inemerging technologies suchas AI, ML, IoT, Cloud Computing, Blockchain, Big Dataand others.

“Through various partnerships and skilling programs,we aim to build a futureready workforce in IT and contribute meaningfully to thetech sector of the country.”

The apex body predictedthat going forward, the industry will face a shortage of2.3 lakh skilled techies asjobs in AI and Big Data are estimated to reach 7.8 lakh by2021. Wiley India has set up athinktank called Wiley Innovation Advisory Council withglobal industry leaders to cocreate curricula and teaching methodologies.

TeamLease Skill University has trained over 2.5 lakhfresh graduates in the lastfi��ve years. The latest entrantinto this space is ManipalGroup, through its strategicinvestment (close to ₹��20crore) in Jigsaw Academy.The company will off��er training in data science, digitalmarketing, cloud computingand cybersecurity.

Academia should act In the face of such tectonicchanges, academia faces thereal risk of being driven to irrelevance unless it marriescurricula and teaching methodologies that are designedaround current industryneeds, and are fl��exibleenough to respond to futurechallenges.

For industry, the dryingup of future ready professionals is an existentialthreat, experts caution.

30,000 fresh graduates in2018.

Training youth to breakdown problems and solvingthem from diff��erent angles

is both challenging andcritical — one, because theindustry needs it and two,because prospective em

ployees don’t come readymade with these skills.

“Though we normally associate youth

with exuberance,inventive abilityand positiveenergy, the application of know

ledge to work, lifeskills, and the hunger

to be curious and willingto learn and innovate, remain crucial challengingareas for us to tackle,” saysYeshasvini Ramaswamy, MD,e2e People Practices, a people development fi��rm.

Training and development is a $100 billion marketin the U.S., of which corporate training alone accountsfor $70 billion. In India, it isalready close to a $5 billionbusiness. Going ahead, theopportunity is huge as 90%of the jobs in the countrycurrently are skillbased,whereas only 6% of its workforce is skilltrained.

The market already hasdozens of players, rangingfrom the traditional NIIT andAptech to Simplilearn andUpgrad, off��ering offl��ine andonline jobready programmes. Upgrad, in partnership with University ofCambridge and BITS Pilani,promises to give careers a liftwith a range of immersive,industrycurated, online programmes in areas of datascience and machine learning and digital marketing.

Debjani Ghosh, president,Nasscom, said “Nasscom has

Making a killing from skilling raw gradsPost-campus training is catching up as 90% of jobs in India are skill-based, while only 6% of the workforce is skill-trained Mini Tejaswi

CMYK

A ND-NDE

BUSINESS REVIEWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU DELHI


As a turnaround specialist,Keshav Murugesh hashelped raise fortunes atboth Syntel and now WNS.In the 9 years he has servedas CEO of WNS, its shareshave risen 4-fold to $60. Inan interview, Mr. Muru-gesh, who is also the chair-man of industry body Nass-com, spoke on changingpricing models, need fornew skills, and how spur-ring exports can help in-crease employment in India.

With growth having slowed

these past few years, is there

anything signifi��cant coming

up for the ITITES industry?

■ Technology has become acore part of every business.It is impossible to separatetechnology from that core.

Then there are fi��rms looking at the next level of impact coming from analytics,robotics, all of these otherthings. As a result, I thinkthat demand trends for theforeseeable future look verypositive for the industry.

Anyone now looking tointegrate technology will ensure they are able to capturethe market leveraging technologybased solutions, orgain deeper appreciation ofcustomerspending habitsor behavioural habits;they’re integrating a lot ofanalytics into it.

Along with that, theyhave the opportunity to integrate much more advanced technologies like artifi��cial intelligence, machinelearning, robotic processesand the like. That augurswell, whether it is for IT services players or for businessprocess players.

Boutique players in the West

and insourcing trends were

tough to compete with, a

few years ago. How has that

played out?

■ Customers have becomeclear about what their corecompetency is. They arerealising they have to focuson what’s best for them andnot really try to do everything at the backend whenthere are others much better at doing it. What yousaw, maybe 23 years ago,has changed.

Talent shortage continues to

plague the system.

■ Even in the U.S., there is ashortfall of 6 million peopleannually and 37% of thoseare needed with technicalskills, as per the U.S. Department of Labor. Place that incontext with the noisearound the H1B visas,which comes to only 85,000people for a whole year.

We need to have the rightskills, the people who areprofi��cient in these new technology areas, in softskills and who canmake a presentation,make upgrades...

So, all companies have integrated very strong internal skillingand trainingprogrammesthat go beyondthe traditional

domainbased skilling. TheWNS Education platformoff��ers our over 40,000 people access to training in newgeneration digital skills, machine learning and the like,all right at your desk.

Nasscom’s target for lastyear was 110,000 jobs, butwe actually created 170,000in the country. In an era ofdisruption, we actually beata target.

Isn’t the IT industry still

absorbing fresh graduates

slower than earlier?

■ First and foremost,growth will continue to bestrong. The days of 3040%growth rates... that’s overbecause the base was small.

At the same time, I thinkthe future is going to beabout the right skills. If somebody comes out of someengineering college and expects a job automatically,that’s not going to happen.

The focus now is on curriculum, and of course development case studies, givingthe people the opportunitythrough internships.

The Government of Indiahas introduced very goodschemes that allow peopleto start experiencing jobs inthese companies beforethey’re actually absorbed.

The government’s mission of a $5 trillion economymeans exports have to continue to grow, and IT has always done well for Indianexports.

The government hasbeen very supportive; understanding the opportunities, appreciating the challenges the industry faces,taking inputs from Nasscomand individual companies interms of all the new generation changes in law thatthey’re looking at, such asdata protection and datalocalisation.

Aren’t industry profi��ts

growing faster than

revenues, indicating cost

control rather than new

business?

■ There are two reasons tothis: one is that we are leveraging technology andchanging the way we deliverprocesses. The second isthat in some of the olderprocesses, we change themodel with the customers.

You make it much moreof a variable costing modelwith the client. So the costdeclines.

INTERVIEW | KESHAV MURUGESH

‘In era of disruption,tech industry beat itsemployment target’Clients are eyeing next level of impactfrom new tech: Nasscom chairman

K. Bharat Kumar

The Union government’spush for electric vehicles(EV) in the Budget and theEconomic Survey may adversely impact the InternalCombustion Engine (ICE) auto industry, which is alreadyunder stress, in the mediumto long term. The two wheeler segment could be aff��ectedin the immediate future.

The tax benefi��ts, GST ratereduction and the mammothplan to make India the hubof EV manufacturing as wellas elaborate measures forcharging infrastructurethrough tax sops makes astrong case for EVs, but unless credible players comeout with viable products, theEVs will remain a distantdream.

“The government has provided benefi��ts to the EV industry both directly and indirectly. There is no importduty on components andbatteries. We all have to seehow it pans out,” said JineshGandhi, Auto Analyst, Motilal Oswal Financial ServicesLtd. None of the IndianOEMs [except Hyundai India] has developed any reliable solution. Currently, thecost diff��erence between anICE vehicle and an EV is very

high. The budgetary sopswill make it cheaper by₹��50,000, but that is not convincing enough for someoneto buy an EV at a time whenthere is no clarity on thecharging infrastructure, Mr.Gandhi added.

‘BS-VI will cut emissions’ Besides, one needs to consider the impact the traditional industry will have totake. “The whole ecosystemhas to be reviewed. The autoindustry is a large employerand job creator in India. Besides, emissions will reducemuch after BSVI is rolledout,” he added.

According to analysts, EVis a step in the right directionbut a policy should evolveover a period of years rather

than everything changingover night. To promote fl��eetservices, the governmentprovides subsidy underFAME, but at the same timeit is now promoting personaltransport through tax benefi��ts for purchase of personalEVs. “There is a confl��icthere. So there is ambiguityin terms of policy,” an analyst said.

The automotive industrymust restructure its businessand seriously rework its strategy right from the productplan to how supply chainsmust develop in order to cater to the government’s cleardirection on increasing EVpenetration, said Vinodkumar Ramachandran, partnerand head, automotive andindustrial manufacturing,

KPMG in India. “This is ahuge shift in technology andseveral component industries will be impacted. Therewill also be a fundamentalrethinking on the retail model since EVs are not maintenance intensive. The implications will be played out inthe next fi��ve years and winners will be ones who areable to adapt to this shift intechnology,” he said.

According to Mudasar Mohamed, COO, Ezyhaul whichprovides logistics solutionsto large companies, EVs willplay a big part in the future.“The traditional auto sectorwill need to develop clearstrategies on how it wants topartake in this impending revolution auto manufacturers will need to either adaptor fall behind.”

The EV may be the future,but the automotive sector iscurrently undergoing one ofits worst phases. Sales aredropping for the last six tonine months. As per June2019 sales data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), autocompanies sold 16.28% lesspassenger vehicles as compared to June 2018. Therehas been a 23.39% drop inthe same of commercial vehicles.

Centre’s push for EVs may makeinternal combustion engines stutterPolicy must evolve over years and not change things overnight, say analysts

Lalatendu Mishra

Wake-up call: Adapting to EVs is a huge technology shift andmany component industries will be impacted. * MONICA TIWARI

Even as organic agricultureis gaining momentum in thecountry, a selfhelp group oftribal women in Wayanaddistrict of Kerala is scriptinga success story in production of 13 diff��erent varietiesof bio agents to support organic farming.

Eight members of the Sabari Swasraya Sanghom ofNellarachal tribal hamletwere guided to biotechnology by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) under the KeralaAgricultural University(KAU) at Ambalavayal, a decade ago. They began theirventure with production oftrichoderma and pseudomonas, biocontrol agents tofi��ght quick wilt disease in various crops, and are producing 13 varieties of bio agentsnow. “When the Kendra metthem on a fi��eld visit, theywere facing a hard timesince their paddy fi��elds hadbeen submerged [in water]from the Karapuzha irrigation project,” said N.E. Safi��a,head of the KVK.

The Kendra gave themtraining for six months infungal and bacterial cultureand packing, she added.

Last year alone, the members produced nearly 183tonnes of bio agents, including 16 tonnes of bio fertilizers such as azospirillum,

azotobacter, rhizobium, biopotash and vesiculararbuscular mycorrhiza; 80 tonnesof biocontrol agents likepseudomonas and trichoderma as well as 20 tonnesof bio pesticides, includingbeauveria, verticillium, pochonia, paecilomyces andmetarhizium, said SruthiKrishnan, research assistant, microbiology, KVK.

The KVK’s income was inexcess of ₹��1.67 crore fromthe sale of the products lastyear. Under an MoU withKerala Agricultural University, group members will get35% of the income, Ms.Sruthi said. Now, the unit isgearing up to produce pseudomonas and trichoderma.

“When we started off��, thevarious scientifi��c processesin the lab posed a challenge,but now we are acquaintedwith them,” K. Sharmila,president of the SHG, said.

Now, each group member gets an average monthlyincome of ₹��8,500. A majorshare of the produce wasprocured by the AgricultureDepartment and the SpicesBoard for supply to farmers.“Our products have gooddemand in the market. Many times, we unable to meetthe demand,” she added.

Tribal SHG women createan organic agro revolutionReap rich dividends via bio agents

E.M. MANOJ

GREEN SHOOTS

Readers can send in queries on personal finance

and investing to [email protected].

Our experts who write on personal finance will

answer these queries. Moneywise will not give

specific recommendations for investment in a

particular mutual fund scheme, share or fixed

deposit.

How many advisers do youhave? If you think it’s oneor maybe none, thinkagain. Here’s a list: YourFacebook selfhelp groupadvisers, your half a dozeninvestmenttip advisers onTwitter, the online discussion groups that host topics from “How do I get ridof bed bugs” to “my stockis falling, should I sell orinvest more”; your favourite print and TV writer/anchor advisers, your insurance agentturnedadviser, your friendly bankrelationship manager, theneighbouradviser, ourtimetested parentadviserand needless to say, thegrandfather adviserGoogle!

Well, that’s a lot of advice and seemingly free!But can you imagine howyour portfolio would lookif you acted upon such assorted wisdom? All I cantell you is that it certainlywon’t be as enticing as anassorted sweet box!

Let’s look at some of

these common forms ofadvice that we consumeand why they can be moreharmful than useful.

Social media The Facebook investmentgroups or the online forums for discussions areessentially meant to bediscussion forums, not recommendation forums.

However, ‘stock tips’,‘taxsaving advice’, ‘whichinsurance policy is suitable’ are the most discussedtopics in these forums. Financial advice needs tostem from one’s fi��nancialsituation, aspiration andtime frame. This is notpossible for two reasons in

a group: one, you will notwant to reveal all sensitiveconfi��dential informationabout your fi��nancial situation publicly. Two, mostpeople think what worksfor them works for others.

It is like somebody asking you to take paracetamol as it works best whileanother says aspirin isbetter. It is the doctorwho will know whatsuits your constitution.The same applies to fi��nancial advice.

Advice coming fromother media, especially television, can be a diff��erentdevil. Such advice, if agendadriven, can be harmfulas it essentially tries tohook you into an investment product to artifi��cially hike its value. How is itpossible to have ‘5 stocksto invest in the market fall’or 5 stocks to invest in arallying market,’ every single week? It will probablycover half the universe oflisted stocks. Whether it is‘God’ speaking or ‘Guru’speaking, please questionyourself whether vested

interests speak.When your insurance

agent becomes your property planner or yourbanker becomes yourportfolio expert, they aretrying to extend their areaof specialisation.

A relative of minechecked with me aboutthe performance of hermutual fund. I told her tostop SIPs and move to abetter fund. She asked herrelationship manager(who sold this to her)whether she can stop SIPbut start in another fund.The RM agreed the performance has slippedand she should stop it,redeem it and start witha good performing

ULIP plan.Now, fi��rst, thisinvestor wasnot investingto save taxes. Shedidn’t need a lockinproduct. Second, it ispuzzling to think thatthe RM could not provideany alternative within thefund universe. Why? Simple. His sales target for themonth was ULIP. A fewmonths later, it may bePMS! Can a doctor play therole of a lawyer? Why viewthat professionals are capable of handling everything for you? Of course, thefriendly neighbourhooduncle and our dear

parents have the right toclaim they have the solution for all evils. Except,you have the right to entirely ignore them on thiscount!

I respect doityourselfinvestors who ‘research’not ‘search.’ And lest weforget, Google is a searchengine. Research needs alot more than searching. Itneeds

collation, turning information into knowledge andknowledge into wisdom.And Google does not knowyour personal fi��nancial requirements yet.

Of course, some of youmay be wondering what iswrong with looking atwebsites, spending sometime for analysing andthen coming to your own

conclusion. Nothing, except

that diff��erent research outfi��ts off��er diff��erent data anddiff��erent opinions. Howare you going to consumeall those? Besides, whatyou need in the fi��rst placeis fi��nancial advice, not investment advice. What doI mean by that? You needto know what you want;how much you want andwhen you want. You jumpthe gun most of the time togo to how you want. Thatis, to investing products.Should I invest in stocks ormutual funds or ULIPs orPMS, rather than fi��rstknowing what you seek toachieve and whetherthose products are suitable for you.

This is where your multichannel advisory process often fails, leadingyou to fi��nally, simply stacking up a lump sum in aproperty or land, notknowing again on whetherit is the right investment orwhether it goes well withthe rest of what you have.

Your investment portfolio should be a wholesomeentity. It will be poorlyserved by piecemeal advices from motley sources.What it really needs is anexpert who can take a holistic view and guide you

through the lifetime ofyour fi��nancial jour

ney. (The author isa fi��nancialanalyst)

CAUTIONMany advisers ahead!

Vidya Bala

Having too many advisers to help you select the rightinvestment channel need not necessarily be a good idea

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Underscore this

● Piecemeal advice

never works

● What is needed is an

expert who can guide

you during your fi��nancial

journey

● Search engines cannot

do research

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Personal fi��nance decisionsare based on your knowledge of needs and the intricacies of available solutions.

This enables you to carryout personal social responsibilities as well. You shouldguide, and even convince,your household staff��, support staff�� at offi��ce, or anyoneat all who is economicallyfragile, to secure their familyfi��nancially.

Mass insurance schemespresent attractive advantages to such people. The coverage is very standardised,premiums low and joining,very easy. Your talking tothem about it will help immensely since they trust youand look up to you.

Three such schemes administered through a simplesavings bank account are:Pradhan Mantri Jeevan JyotiBima Yojana (PMJJBY) whichprovides ₹��2 lakh in life insurance cover, Pradhan MantriSuraksha Bima Yojana(PMSBY) which provides acover of up to ₹��2 lakh in caseof accidental death and disability and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) which off��ers ₹��1,000to ₹��5,000 as monthly pension on attaining the age of60.

Taking the cover is as simple as walking into yourbank branch and fi��lling aonepage form with virtually

nothing more than your account number and signature. For those with access toInternet banking, this process can be done online atthe click of the mouse.

Tie-up with insurersDiff��erent banks have tied upwith diff��erent insurancecompanies and your only

point of contact is your ownbank.

The policy year is standardised as June 1 each year toMay 31 the next year and therenewal premium is autodebited in end May. The bankworks with the insurancecompany for everything, including claims settlement.

And the premiums?PMJJBY off��ers the ₹��2 lakh lifecover for ₹��330 per year.PMSBY’s ₹��2 lakh cover costsjust ₹��12 per year.

Members can join APYfrom age 18 to age 40. On attaining age 60, you can get amonthly pension of ₹��1,000for a monthly contributionof ₹��42 if you join the schemeat age 18. This contributionwill be ₹��291 per month if you

join at 40. For a pension of₹��5,000 the same memberswould have to contribute₹��210 and ₹��1,454.

The pension under APY isguaranteed by the Government of India which also cocontributes (for fi��ve years)50% of the subscriber’s contribution or ₹��1,000 per year,whichever is lower for thosewho are not covered by anystatutory social securityschemes and are not incometaxpayers.

Members can join PMJJBYfrom age 18 to 50 and thecoverage is until 55 years.The renewal premiums haveto be autodebited withoutfail for the policy to stay inforce. The risk cover willcommence only after completion of 45 days from thescheme enrolment date except death due to accident.

As for the PMSBY, members can join from age 18 to70 and the coverage isthrough the same period.The death benefi��t on thispolicy is ₹��2 lakh. In the caseof total disability, the insurance cover is up to ₹��2 lakhand in case of partial disability, the cover is ₹��1 lakh.

The schemes will terminate if there is insuffi��cientbalance on the date the premium has to be debited.

(The writer is a businessjournalist specialising in insurance & corporate history)

Mass insurance policies can be taken online; the claims are settled via banks

Keeping it simple: Taking the cover is as simple as walking intoyour bank and fi��lling a onepage form. * GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK

K. Nitya Kalyani

COVER NOTE: NO SWEAT, TEARS

Taking cover is a breeze

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

It can’t get any easier

● Mass insurance schemes

are advantageous for

economically fragile people

● Coverage is standardised

● Premiums are low

● Joining very easy

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

LOOSE CHANGE

Ravikanth

“ I want to plan early and start a SIP. It’s forbuying water after my retirement.”

Q. I am looking to invest about ₹��1.25 crorereceived from selling ancestral property. Ilive in Delhi in a rented apartment whichcosts me ₹��16,000 per month. I work with theMinistry of Commerce and my current CTC isaround ₹��10 lakh per annum. Where and howshould I invest this money for maximumreturns on my investment?

HARSH PRATHAP SINGH

A. You haven’t clarifi��ed if the ₹��1.25 crore isthe gain you will be left with after payingcapital gains tax or investing in property orspecial capital gains bonds. If not, you willneed to consult a tax adviser before youarrive at your investible surplus.

But whatever the size of the lump sum, it isimportant that you prioritise protecting thiscapital over maximising returns. High returnscannot be made without risking your capitalwhether in the debt or equity markets. Youneed to follow three tenets while investingthis amount.

One, start with an asset allocation plan —that is, how much of this money you mustpark in debt, equity and gold. The assetallocation depends on your risk appetite andwhen you need this money.

Assuming you don’t need it for the nextfi��ve years, a good way to decide your assetallocation is to think about how much capitalyou are comfortable with risking in themarkets. Suppose you are willing to risk 20%of your gains, you can aff��ord to invest thissum in equities, with the remaining 70%parked in various debt instruments. Invest asmall portion of your portfolio (say 510%) ingold to cushion you from any crises infi��nancial assets.

Two, diversify within each asset class toensure that you don’t put all your eggs in onebasket. Divide your debt allocation equallybetween fi��xed deposits in banks, smallfi��nance banks and 23 debt mutual funds.Corporate bond funds and PSU and bankingfunds, both of which invest in high qualitydebt, may be suitable fund options. Don’tchoose the top performing debt funds overshort periods but look for the ones with aconsistent record (with limited lossmakingmonths) over sixseven years.

Three, do not invest all your equity moneyat one go, as stock markets are presently atan expensive valuation. Park the money inliquid funds and invest through a systematictransfer plan. To create wealth, invest in thecumulative options of bank deposits and thegrowth plans of mutual funds. This helps youbenefi��t from the power of compoundingwithout frittering away your interest anddividend receipts.

However, protecting and growing such alarge sum of money is not a oneoff�� exercise.Your portfolio will require periodic reviewand both your asset allocation andinvestment choices may need to change withtime. If you cannot devote time to this, hire agood SEBIregistered fi��nancial adviser whocan monitor your portfolio for a fee.

Q. I am a student preparing for competitiveexams; I also undertake tuition classes. I save₹��5,000 a month. Where and how should Iinvest my savings to get maximum returns?

GULSHAN KUMAR

A. Equity mutual funds are a good option ifyou are looking to earn high returns, but forequity investing to pay off��, you need to bewilling to stay invested for a minimum of 57years. This is especially true in today’smarkets, where the indices are at lifetimehighs. Assuming you won’t need the moneywithin the next 5 years, you can start an SIPin either a multicap equity fund or anaggressive hybrid fund. The latter is slightlyless risky because it has a 3035% debtexposure. Choose funds that demonstrate aconsistent 10year record of beating theirbenchmarks, and do not go for topperformers over the last 1 or 3 years.

ASK US

Aarati Krishnan

CMYK

A ND-NDE

MONEYWISEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

DELHI THE HINDU


PERSONAL LOAN RATES AND CHARGES

Name of Lender Interest rate (%)

EMI (₹��)

Loan amount

5 lakh

Tenure 5 years

EMI (₹��)

Loan amount

1 lakh

Tenure 5 years

Processing fee

Indian Bank 10.7-11.4 10.796-10,971 2,159-2,194 0.512% of loan amount

South Indian Bank 11.6-14.7 11,021-11,816 2,204-2,363 2% of loan amount

HDFC Bank 11.25 - 21.50 10,933-13,667 2,186-2,733 Upto 2.5% of loan amount

Axis Bank 15.75 - 24 12,092-14,383 2,418-2,876 Upto 2% of loan amount

State Bank of India 10.9 - 15.3 10,846-11,973 2,169-2,394 Upto 1% of loan amount

Bank of Baroda 11.6-16.6* 11,021-12,319 2,204-2,463 Up to Rs.10,000

Oriental Bank of Commerce 10.9-12.4 10,846-11,223 2,169-2,244 Upto 1% of loan amount

Union Bank of India 10.55-14.55 10,759-11,777 2,151-2,355 Upto 0.5% of loan amount

Canara Bank 10.9-13.9 10,846-11,608 2,169-2,321 Rs 1,000-5,000

Punjab National Bank 9.4-14.95 10,476-11,881 2,095-2,376 Upto 1.8% of loan amount

UCO Bank 11.4-11.8 10,971-11,071 2,194-2,214 Upto 1% of loan amount

Bandhan Bank 15-15.86 11,894-12,121 2,378-2,424 1% of loan amount

Citi Bank 10.99-20 10,868-13,246 2,173-2,649 Upto 3% of loan amount

United Bank of India 11.75-13.40 11,059-11,479 2,211-2,295 1.18% of loan amount

Corporation Bank 12.85-13.85 11,338-11,595 2,267-2,319 1.5% of loan amount

Kotak Mahindra Bank 11.29-19.99 10,943-13244 2,188-2,648 Upto 2.5% of loan amount

ICICI Bank 11.50 -19.25 10,996-13,039 2,199-2,607 Upto 2.25% of loan amount

*Stategic premium in addition to the interest rate may be levied, which depends upon the customer's risk profi��le. Source: Paisabazaar.com

New Car Loan Rates and Charges

Name of Bank Interest rate (%)

EMI (₹��)

Loan amount

5 lakh

Tenure5 years

Processing fee (₹��)

Andhra Bank 9.45 10,489 1% of loan amount

South Indian Bank 9.5-10.75 10,500-10,808 1% of loan amount

State Bank of India 9.15-12.5 10,416-11,249 0.2% of loan amount*

Canara Bank 8.9-9.55 10,355-10,513 0.25% of loan amount

Dhanlaxmi Bank 9.9-10.15 10,598-10,660 1% of loan amount

Axis Bank 9.05 -11.3 10,391-10,946 3,500–5,500

HDFC Bank 9.5-10.6 10,501-10,772 3,000-10,000

Bank of Baroda 8.6-10.6** 10,282-10,772 0.5% of loan amount

Union Bank of India 8.8-9.05 10,331-10,391 Upto 0.5% of loan amount

Karur Vysya Bank 9.65-11.65 10,537-11,033 3,000-7,500

Indian Overseas Bank 9.15 10,416 Upto 0.6% of loan amount

Karnataka Bank 9.8-10.65 10,574-10,784 Upto 0.5% of loan amount

Punjab National Bank 9-9.45 10,379-10,489 Upto 1,500

Oriental Bank of Commerce 8.8-9.15 10,331-10,416 0.5% of loan amount

UCO Bank 8.8-9.05 10,331-10,391 1% of loan amount

RBL Bank 12-14 11,122-11,634 Upto 2% of loan amount

Bank of India 9.45 10,489 500

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank 10.45-11.7 10,734-11,046 1% of loan amount

Allahabad Bank 8.8-11.05 10,331-10,884 0.5% of loan amount

Federal Bank 9.15 10,416 1,500-2,500

*Valid till 31.07.2019

**Stategic premium in addition to the interest rate may be levied, which depends upon the customer's risk profi��le. Source: Paisabazaar.com

If you are looking for a safe havenwith reasonable returns, RBI Savings Bond is an option.

These bonds, known as 7.75%Savings (Taxable) Bonds, 2018 orRBI savings bonds (in general), havea tenure of seven years and comewith cumulative and noncumulative options.

If you are looking for periodic income, the noncumulative option,with its attractive interest rate andhalfyearly interest payments, is agood choice. If you are seeking cumulative investment, these bonds canbe considered after you have exhausted your Section 80C investment limit or if your income is within the taxexempt limit of ₹��5 lakh.With halfyearly compounding, theyield on the cumulative bond comesto 7.9%, comparable with the National Savings Certifi��cate (NSC) andthe 5year post offi��ce deposit without considering tax breaks.

In the present scenario where therepo rate and yield on the 10year GSec are heading downward, the interest rate of 7.75% per annum offered by the RBI bonds seems good.

On fi��xed deposits (FD) of 5yeartenure, while private sector banksoff��er 7.257.5%, public sector banksoff��er a lower 6.256.75% per annum.

Investment in the RBI bonds arecompletely guaranteed.

Individuals and Hindu UndividedFamilies are eligible to purchasethese bonds with minimum investment of ₹��1,000 and with no upper limits. NonResident Indians are notallowed to invest in these bonds butthey can be nominated to receive

the proceeds in case of death of theprimary owner.

The bonds will be issued in demat form and credited to the BondLedger Account (BLA) of the investors. But these bonds are neithertradeable in the secondary marketnor transferable. They are also noteligible to be used as collateral forgetting loans from banks, fi��nancialinstitutions and nonbanking fi��nancial companies.

Investments in these bonds arenot eligible for tax benefi��t undersection 80C of the Income Tax Act.Interest income, too, is taxable asper the investor’s income tax slabrate. A 10% TDS will be deducted atthe time of interest payment if thetotal interest income in a year exceeds ₹��40,000 in a year.

You should invest in these bondsonly if you can lockin your investment for 7 years. However, the lockin condition is relaxed for senior citizens. You can buy the bonds fromthe Stock Holding Corporation of India or any of the branches of the nationalised banks and few of the private sector banks. They can also bebought through demat accountsmaintained with your broker.

Get risk-free returns Instrument off��ers income packaged in safety

Satya Sontanam

INVESTMENT ZONE: RBI BONDS

ILLUSTRATION: DEEPAK HARICHANDAN

CMYK

A ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


SPORT

NEW ZEALANDMartin Guptill lbw b Woakes

19 (18b, 2x4, 1x6), Henry Nicholls b Plunkett 55 (77b, 4x4),Kane Williamson c Buttler bPlunkett 30 (53b, 2x4), RossTaylor lbw b Wood 15 (31b), TomLatham c sub (Vince) b Woakes47 (56b, 2x4, 1x6), James Neesham c Root b Plunkett 19 (25b,

3x4), Colin de Grandhomme c(sub) Vince b Woakes 16 (28b),Mitchell Santner (not out) 5(9b), Matt Henry b Archer 4 (2b,

1x4), Trent Boult (not out) 1(2b); Extras (lb12, w17, nb1):30; Total (for eight wkts. in 50overs): 241.

FALL OF WICKETS129 (Guptill, 6.2 overs), 2

103 (Williamson, 22.4), 3118(Nicholls, 26.5), 4141 (Taylor,33.1), 5173 (Neesham, 38.6), 6219 (de Grandhomme, 46.5), 7232 (Latham, 48.3), 8240(Henry, 49.3).

ENGLAND BOWLINGChris Woakes 90373, Jofra

Archer 100421, Liam Plunkett 100423, Mark Wood 101491, Adil Rashid 80390,Ben Stokes 30200.

ENGLANDJason Roy c Latham b Henry

17 (20b, 3x4), Jonny Bairstow bFerguson 36 (55b, 7x4), Joe

Root c Latham b de Grandhomme 7 (30b), Eoin Morgan cFerguson b Neesham 9 (22b),Ben Stokes (not out) 84 (98b,

5x4, 2x6), Jos Buttler c (sub)Southee b Ferguson 59 (60b,

6x4), Chris Woakes c Latham bFerguson 2 (4b), Liam Plunkett cBoult b Neesham 10 (10b, 1x4),Jofra Archer b Neesham 0 (1b),Adil Rashid (run out) 0 (0b),Mark Wood (run out) 0 (0b); Extras (b2, lb3, w12): 17; Total(in 50 overs): 241.

FALL OF WICKETS

128 (Roy, 5.4 overs), 259(Root, 16.3), 371 (Bairstow,19.3), 486 (Morgan, 23.1), 5196 (Buttler, 44.5), 6203(Woakes, 46.1), 7220 (Plunkett, 48.3), 8227 (Archer,48.6), 9240 (Rashid, 49.5).

NEW ZEALAND BOWLING

Trent Boult 100670, MattHenry 102401, Colin deGrandhomme 102251, LockieFerguson 100503, JamesNeesham 70433, MitchellSantner 30110.

Toss: New Zealand.

England won on boundariescount (2617).

Man-of-the-Match: Stokes.

Player-of-the-tournament:Williamson.

SCOREBOARD ENGLAND VS NEW ZEALAND

This wasn’t a fi��nal for thefainthearted. It was the kindthat threatened nails, fastened hearts and quadrupledpure pressure and left bothplayers and fansgobsmacked.

New Zealand scored 241for eight, England, afterthriving on Ben Stokes (84n.o.), was bowled out for 241.The World Cup’s summitclash was tied and a superover was needed to break thestalemate at Lord’s.

The mad overAs a tense Sunday eveningwaned, England scored 15with Stokes and Jos Buttlerhaving a biff�� against TrentBoult. And guess what? NewZealand replied with 15 too,with James Neesham cloutinga six off�� Jofra Archer in a madover that ended once MartinGuptill got runout while going for the winning run. Yet,England prevailed as it hadmore boundaries (26) thanwhat New Zealand (17) scoredthrough the pulsatingcontest.

England champions, NewZealand runnersup by ahair’s breadth. This was a

game for the ages, it was aglorious amalgamation ofthrills, heartbreak and tears,both from joy and soulnumbing grief.

In the afternoon, on apitch that wasn’t a featherbed, England needed itspowerful openers Jason Royand Jonny Bairstow to lay thebase. Nervous energy rippledas of his very fi��rst ball, Boultrapped Roy’s pad. The lbwclaim never materialised, butBoult and Matt Henry keptluring tentative willows. Onesuch endeavour from Henryforced Roy to nibble and England lost its marauder.

Bairstow, though, had themeasure of Boult and Colinde Grandhomme droppedthe burly opener on 18, failing to latch onto a stingingchance in his followthrough.The seamer, however, madeamends in an oblique way byfi��nding the edge of Joe Root’sbat. Bairstow soldiered onuntil he chopped Lockie Ferguson onto his stumps.

England moved to 73 forthree in 20 overs and it’s captain Eoin Morgan kept dancing down to unsettle the bowlers. Something had to crackand it did when Morgan triedto pound James Neesham onthe off��side. Ferguson ran infrom sweeper cover, his eyeslike those of a big cat’s, fi��rmlyon the prey. The ball dipped,Ferguson leapt forward andcaught inches off�� the grass.

New Zealand was a weebitahead when Buttler joinedforces with Stokes. Buttler(59) stayed calm, guidedStokes and a partnership

struck roots. The duo playedpercentage cricket, defending well, striking hard whenthe opportunity arose and attimes the umpires werethreatened with decapitationas some shots whizzed acrossquivering hats.

Score-board pressureIt boiled down to 72 from 10overs and Buttler with hisscoops and stunning squaredrives was in ominous form.But big games infl��ict biggerscoreboard pressure and intrying to free his arm againstFerguson (three for 50), Buttler couldn’t hoodwink TimSouthee on the fence. The110run (133b) fi��fthwicket

partnership had concludedbut Stokes had other ideas.He picked his spots on themidwicket fence and it trickled to 15 from the last six.

Boult steamed in, Stokesnot trusting a wilting tail,played two dot balls, thethird he smote for six, thenext he got a bonus six (rantwo and an overthrownfour), off�� the fi��fth ball AdilRashid was run out but a runwas eked and the fi��nal yardstick was two from one.Stokes creamed it to longoff��,Neesham fi��elded, rifl��ed in athrow and Mark Wood wasleft stranded. By then onerun was completed. Thescores level at 241 and it was

time for a super over.

Delayed startEarlier, the day stirred awaketo a drizzle’s whisper and inside the ground, Kane Williamson opted to bat and after a 15minute delayed start,Guptill attempted a mightyswipe off�� a wide bowled byChris Woakes.

Guptill soon punched afour off�� Woakes, survived afew closecalls and slashedand drilled for a six and fouroff�� Archer. However, Woakes(three for 37) nailed Guptillplumb in front and a needless review was taken andlost. Next man Williamsongingerly settled while there

and as the innings ebbedaway, the highlights wereArcher’s three wides, Latham’s six off�� Wood and threedismissals but New Zealandseemed to have had justabout enough to test thehome team. It did, just thatthe climax was a tie whichunderwent a metamorphosisthrough the super over.

the ball was missing the citadel but with Guptill havingwasted a review, no lifelineexisted.

Morgan’s men chokedtheir rivals in a 15over phaseand southpaws Neesham andTom Latham (47) broke thedry spell while Stokes andPlunkett felt the heat. Thelastnamed scalped Neesham

was swing in the air. WhileWilliamson tided past muffl��ed lbw appeals, Henry Nicholls (55) fl��icked and pulledLiam Plunkett and a 74runsecondwicket partnershiptook shape. Just as stabilityseeped in, Plunkett (three for42) prised out Williamsonand Nicholls.

At 118 for three in the 27thover, New Zealand neededRoss Taylor to drop anchorand he nearly did until MarkWood secured an lbw.

Later, it came to light that

Ecstasy for England, agony for New Zealand in a humdingerAfter 102 overs of intense cricket at Lord’s, it boils down to boundaries after the match and Super Over are tied

Thrills and spills: On a day of high drama, England emerged on top of the world, riding on moments like (from top right) the fortuitous overthrow four, defl��ecting off�� Ben Stokes’ bat, Boult stepping over the boundary after taking a catch off�� Stokes and Jos Buttler catching Martin Guptill short in the fi��nal ball of the Super Over. * REUTERS, AFP & AP

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

London

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


SPORT

SUDOKU

Solution to puzzle 12677 Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

A true preceptor illumines the disciple with the truths of lifeand death and of the purpose of human existence. Who better than the Lord incarnate to transform each spiritual seeker from a ‘listener’ of the eternal Truth He expounds to a‘seer’ in whom the goal becomes clear? Krishna as the Jagadguru clearly shows that the objective of spiritual quest is toseek Him and the greatest wonder is that He alone can guidethe seeker successfully to reach the goal, pointed out SrimatiPrema Pandurang in a discourse.

His incarnations are for establishing dharma, protectingthe good and for vanquishing evil. Interpreters have explored the far reaching implications of the famous Gita verse‘Ananayas chintayanto mam,’ as the Lord’s reassurance ofHis responsibility to be always with every one who seeks refuge in Him. The term ‘Yoga Kshemam’ in this verse isshown to signify that He grants all the daily needs of His devotees and also fi��rmly sustains what is granted. The story ofa poor couple who trust God for their living is often quotedto illustrate the subtle ways by which God reveals and fulfi��llsHis role as protector. The husband is inspired by this versewhich he chants daily with great fervour, believing implicitlythat his family is sustained by God alone. But once the familygoes hungry and unable to bear the taunts of his wife hegoes to the river bank and in a fi��t of disappointment andrage, scratches away this verse from the book with a sharpnail. In the meanwhile, food is brought to the family by ayoung man who claims that He is a servant of her husband.When the grateful wife wishes to know His name, He merelyputs out his tongue that is badly bruised. On coming toknow of the truth, the husband is ashamed of his lack offaith.

FAITH

Preceptor and Protector4 Special hat destroyed in

kingdoms (10)

5 Talk back to, somehow drag

Oriental of rank (8)

6 Limits direction of darts (7)

7 Discharging man in dining (9)

8 Convict, dear, loses sex appeal

on return (6)

13 Singlehandedly, doctor

sustains regular lead (10)

14 Negativist freethinker without

accomplishment (9)

17 Apartment supervisor has fi��sh

(8)

19 PartNordic people at US city

(7)

21 Shorten alien’s schedule (6)

22 Tycoon introduces tea into

farmyard (6)

25 Initially retreating from fi��ght?

Yell! (4)

12 Fall out, quarrel with bird (7)

15 Encounter, on return, swarm

(4)

16 Glow strangely since dance

(10)

18 At a loss due to unsold pens?

Dreadful! (10)

20 Olive Ridley somewhat inactive

(4)

23 Mind accepts levy in United

Kingdom (7)

24 Neckwear worn at English

racecourse (5)

26 Disguised at fi��rst, nun leaves

disciple (6)

27 Unbounded lacy hair of

thespian (7)

28 In a riot, saddled king escaping

(11)

■ DOWN

2 Sailor trio, regular, now

overseas (6)

3 Charge for ring (4)

(set by Anon)

■ ACROSS

1 Contestant to trip captain

perversely (11)

9 Substance belongs to me?

Really odd! (7)

10 Coats for decapitated actors

(6)

11 Antelope begins new year

amidst lazy asses (5)

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12678

Novak Djokovic, despite having been a fourtime champion, has never quite feltloved at Wimbledon. All hehad earned was grudging admiration. On Sunday, he gavethe crowd at SW19, and theworld at large, anotherchance to reassess that relationship with a performancefor the ages to defeat eighttime winner Roger Federer 76(5), 16, 76(4), 46, 1312(3)and clinch his fi��fth crownand 16th Major overall.

In the battle of wills thatlasted four hours and 55 minutes, Djokovic rose fromthe dead during the nearlytwohour fi��nal set, savingtwo match points with Federer serving at 87. The fi��rst wasa great forehand pass whilethe second was a Federer error off�� a deep Djokovicforehand.

Then at 1111, he fended off��two break points — the second with a daring charge tothe net — to drag the set tothe newly introduced fi��fthset tiebreaker. Once there, itseemed like familiar territory, for he had won the twoearlier tiebreakers, as hescampered home losing justthree points.

Line of the eveningDjokovic may have edged theoncourt duel, but Federerhad the line of the evening.“We will never forget thismatch,” he was told. “Iwould try and forget,” he replied. For Federer, the defeatwill surely hurt. For the fi��rstfour sets, the Swiss was clearly the better player. Yet, hewas magnanimous in hispraise for Djokovic.

“I had my chances. So didhe,” he said. “I am very happy with the level of my performance. Novak… Congratsman. That was crazy! Nowit’s back to being a dad andhusband. It’s all good.”

It was, however, a matchDjokovic should havewrapped up long beforewhen he had broken to 42 inthe fi��fth set. But Federerclawed his way back to 44and kept up the pressurethroughout. Once he had lostthe opportunity to serve itout at 87 though, there was asense of inevitability aboutthe tiebreak.

Cat and mouseEarlier in the afternoon, thefi��rst set was catandmouse.Federer was brave, hittingever so closer to the lines, especially on Djokovic’s backhand side, to take the ballwell beyond the Serb’s strikezone. Whenever under duress though, Djokovic came

up with some clutch serving.It required a tiebreak to

settle the opening set and Federer, who until then hadshaded the tennis, crackedfi��rst, missing two uncharacteristic forehands. But theSwiss was quick to shed thelethargy. He went 53 up andwith a serve still in the bag, itwas his to lose. But the 37yearold pulled two forehands wide, on both occasions trying to fi��nd the extreme angle.

An unforced error gaveDjokovic the fi��rst shy at theset and he duly forced a

backhand error to clinch it.

Switching off��The defending champion,however, switched off�� completely in the second, goingdown two breaks to lose 61.Djokovic took a break, as if toclear his thoughts. He didn’tnecessarily come out with aspring in his step, but composed himself enough to arrest the slide.

The contest was reset andfor the fi��rst eight games ofthe third set Djokovic and Federer seemed like two boxers feeling out each other in

the opening rounds of a heavyweight bout. In the ninth,however, the level lifted.

Federer earned a set pointwith a majestic pickup volley, which could have left thegreat John McEnroe tearyeyed. The crowd erupted,but by the time they settledDjokovic had fought his wayback in and eventually tookthe set in a tiebreak. Play inthe fourth vacillated beforeFederer broke in fi��fth and seventh games. Djokovic gotone break back but Federerheld on to drag it to a fi��fth.But it was not his day.

Djokovic leaves Federer heartbroken after epic fi��naleThe Swiss squanders two match points on his serve in the fi��fth set, loses for the third time to the Serbian in a summit clash at SW19

Baby, you’re mine: Novak Djokovic cradles the coveted trophy after his fantastic victory overRoger Federer. * REUTERS

N. Sudarshan

LONDON

Taste of success: Djokovic takes his customary sampling of the grass from the hallowed turf. * CLIVE BRUNSKILL/GETTY IMAGES

Despondent: Roger Federer ponders on what could have been. * MATTHIAS HANGST/GETTY IMAGES

<> I think that if this is

not the most exciting

fi��nal then it's

defi��nitely in the top

two or three of my

career against one of

the greatest players

of all time

Djokovic

Indian boxing star VijenderSingh remained an unstoppable force, clinching aTechnical Knockout overthe more experiencedMike Snider on his debuton the US professional circuit here on Saturday.

In what was to be aneightround super middleweight contest, the 33yearold from Haryana prevailed in four rounds forhis 11th consecutive victoryon the circuit.

Winning debut“It was excellent gettingback in the ring after a longtime off��. It’s great to behere in the USA and to getthe win. It was really exciting. I am really happy formy winning debut in USA,”Vijender said.

The triumph came inthe second minute of thefourth round when Vijender cornered Snider with afl��urry of straight punches,prompting the referee tostop the bout in the Indian’s favour.

“It took me about fourrounds to get back in theswing of things. I expectedit to take two or threerounds, but it took me four.I felt good,” said Vijender.

This was Vijender’seighth knockout overall.

The 38yearold Sniderwas fl��ailing his arms without any signifi��cant force inhis punches for most of thebout. Vijender, on the other hand, was sharp as everdespite fi��ghting his fi��rstbout in more than a year.

The Indian never lookedthreatened by the local favourite and thwarted hisfeeble attacks quite easily.Snider came into the fi��ghtwith a 1353 record.

Vijender would be aiming to compete in two morefi��ghts this year after signingup with Hall of Famer BobArum’s Top Rank Promotions.

“Top Rank has a biggerplan for me, and whateverthey say is next, I’m fi��newith it,” Vijender said.

Vijender’s British trainerLee Beard too lauded hiscommitment.

Good fi��ghterCommenting on his defeat,Snider said, “Vijender is agood boxer and I believe Iunderestimated his experience and technique. Itwas his day and he won. Ihad never thought that Iwould lose in earlyrounds.”

There is nostoppingVijender Singh


Newark

Vijender Singh. * FILE PHOTO:

DAVE THOMPSON/GETTY IMAGES

CMYK

A ND-NDE


THE HINDU DELHI


SPORT

Hero Intercontinental Cup:Star Sports 2 & 3 (SD & HD), 8p.m.

TV PICKS

Neymar says he is almost fully fitSAO PAULO

Neymar says he has

recovered “almost 100

percent” from the ankle

injury that ruled him out of

Brazil's victorious Copa

America campaign. The

world's most expensive

player was speaking here on

Saturday ahead of his belated

return to Paris Saint-Germain

on Monday. PSG was upset at

Neymar's no-show at the

resumption of training last

week, an absence that

fuelled speculation of his

possible return to Barcelona.

But both the player and his

father had insisted he had

prior agreement from PSG to

stay in Brazil to help his

foundation, the Neymar

Institute. AFP

IN BRIEF

Sourabh also bows out of US OpenFULLERTON (USA)

India’s campaign at the US

Open badminton tournament

ended after Sourabh Verma

lost his men’s singles

semifinal match to Tanongsak

Saensomboonsuk of Thailand

21-9, 21-18 here on Saturday.

Sourabh struggled in the first

game but put up a tough

fight in the second. Other

Indians in the fray — P.

Kashyap, H.S. Prannoy, Ajay

Jayaram and Lakshya Sen —

had bowed out earlier. PTI

LA Lakers unveilsAnthony DavisLOS ANGELES

Los Angeles Lakers is capable

of challenging for the NBA

championship next season,

said six-time All-Star Anthony

Davis as he was formally

unveiled on Saturday. The

26-year-old superstar is set

to form a potent strikeforce

alongside LeBron James after

joining Lakers following a

blockbuster trade deal with

New Orleans Pelicans last

month. Davis believes Lakers

can make an instant

impression as they attempt

to re-establish the team as a

force in the NBA. Lakers

general manager Rob Pelinka

said Davis’ acquisition could

be a “history-shifting”

chapter for the franchise. AFP

Ankita finishes runnerup in doublesVERSMOLD (GERMANY)

Ankita Raina and Bibiane

Schoofs of the Netherlands

were beaten 0-6, 6-3, [10-8]

by Amina Anshba and

Anastasia Detiuc in the

doubles final of the $60,000

ITF women’s tennis

tournament here on Sunday.

The Indo-Dutch pair had

beaten Serbia’s Natalija Kostic

& USA’s Chiara Scholl 6-2,

6-0 in the semifinal.

The Indian under19 football team will play againstJordan and Oman nationalu19 sides during an exposure tour to Turkey inpreparation for the AFCU19 Championship Qualifi��ers later this year.

India U19 will faceOman U19 and Jordan U19and also play a friendlyagainst local club Kocaelispor between July 19 and 27.

India u19 toplay Oman,JordanPress Trust of India

NEW DELHI

A week after producing hispersonal best (16.64m) at Almaty, Mohammed Salahuddin came up with anotherbig one on Sunday to win themen’s triple jump gold at theTatyana Kolpakova memorial international athleticsmeet here.

The 25yearold’s 16.53min the second round broughthim an easy gold. The silverwent to a Kazakh athletewho measured 15.06m.

Inderjeet Singh, the 2015Asian champion who hadrun into doping trouble ayear after that, took the shotput gold with 18.67m. He hasbeen in that range for a major part of this year thoughhe has a personal best of20.65m which came in 2015.Tunlay Narzary won the wo

men’s shot put with 13.83m.

Gajanand Mistry (200m,21.50s) and Mohammed Afsal (800m, 1:51.39s) also wongolds while Beant Singh,who had shown a lot of promise a couple of years ago,took a bronze in the twolapper.

Personal best

Vipin Kasana had a personalbest 82.51m as he won the

men’s javelin gold whileAsian and Asian Games shotput champion TajinderpalSingh Toor produced20.36m as he fi��nished thirdat the Kladno internationalmeet in the Czech Republicon Saturday. And Hima Dasclocked 23.43m for the women’s 200m gold.The results (Indians only):At Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan): Men,200m: 1. Gajanand Mistri(21.50s). 800m: 1. MohammedAfsal (1:51.39s), 3. Beant Singh(1:52.18). 5,000m: 2. Ajith(14:46.41s), 3. Rahul(14:49.61). Triple jump: 1. Mo-hammed Salahuddin (16.53m).Shot put: 1. Inderjeet Singh(18.67m). Women, shot put: 1. TunlayNarzary (13.83m). 200m: 2. Re-vathi (23.54s). At Kladno (Czech Republic):Men, javelin: 1. Vipin Kasana(82.51m), 2. Abishek Singh(77.32), 3. Davinder Singh Kang(76.58). Shot put: 3. Tajinder-pal Singh Toor (20.36m). Women: 1. Hima Das (23.43s).

Salahuddin takes the honourswith an impressive jumpInderjeet wins shot put; Indians come up with a rich haul

ATHLETICS

Sports Bureau

BISHKEK

Mohammed Salahuddin.* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Star India grappler VineshPhogat won her second consecutive gold in 53kg, winning the Yasar Dogu International with a commandingvictory over Russia’s Ekaterina Poleshchuk, here.

The Indian wrestler, whostood atop the podium atGrand Prix of Spain lastweek, beat her Russian opponent 95 in the fi��nal of theUWW rankingseriestournament.

Vinesh’s was third gold in

the women’s competition forIndia after Seema (50kg) andManju (59kg) triumphed intheir respective categories.

Divya Kakran (68kg), whowon a gold in Madrid, andPooja Dhanda (57kg), whowon a silver, did not reachthe medal rounds. While Divya could not clear the qualifi��cation round, Pooja lost inthe quarterfi��nals. Sakshi Malik, who was making a comeback after a minor injury, didnot reach the medal rounds.

In men’s freestyle, RahulAware (61kg) had clinchedhis fi��rst career rankingseriestitle with a tactical 41 victoryover Munir Aktas of Turkey.

Utkarsh Kale had wonbronze in the same category.

Deepak Punia settled forsilver in 86kg after losing thefi��nal to Azerbaijan’s Aleksandr Gostiyev 27. Sumit added to India’s tally by winning a bronze in the 125kg.

In the absence of BajrangPunia, it was Sonba TanajiGongane who competed inthe 65kg, but lost his bronzemedal bout to Turkey’s Cengizhan Erdogan by TechnicalSuperiority.

Rajneesh (70kg) and Viky(92kg) too lost their bronzemedal bout while AmitDhankar (74kg) and StyawartKadiyan (97kg) could noteven cross their qualifi��cationrounds.

Vinesh grapples to another goldWRESTLING


ISTANBUL

Vinesh Phogat. * FILE PHOTO

BENGALURU: Star Superior (Surajup) won with a record time theMaharaja’s Gold Cup, the chiefevent of the races held here onSunday ( July 14). The winner is owned by Poonawalla Racing & Breeding Pvt.Ltd rep. by. Mr. Zavaray S. Poonawalla and Mrs. Behroze Z. Poonawalla, Villoo Poonawalla Racing& Breeding Pvt. Ltd. rep by. Mr.Adar C. Poonawalla, Mr. RajeshNarredu and Mr. Sanjay KumarShinde and trained by RajeshNarredu.

1 SUPERVITE PLATE (1,100m),rated 00 to 20: CASHMERE (M.

Naveen) 1, Premier Premises (Arshad) 2, Have A Nice Day (Md.Asif Khan) 3 and Barog (Irvan) 4.Lnk, 13/4 and 11/4. 1m, 07.82s.₹��26 (w), 11, 12 and 21 (p), SHP: 29,THP: 47, FP: 49, Q: 22, Trinella:292 and 190, Exacta: 727 and 302.Favourite: Premier Premises.Owners: Mr. Anand Annamalai &Mr. Gautam Surender. Trainer:Samar Singh.

2 PARSIANA PLATE (DIV. I),(1,200m), rated 15 to 35, 4yo

& over: EMIDIO (Akshay K) 1,Amazonite (Zervan) 2, Princeazeem (T.S. Jodha) 3 and Stars InHis Eyes (M. Naveen) 4. 1/2, 21/2and 3. 1m, 12.39s. ₹��24 (w), 14, 16and 28 (p), SHP: 48, THP: 51, FP:113, Q: 82, Trinella: 1,231 and 897,Exacta: 5,655 and 2,423. Favourite: Emidio. Owners: Mr. N. Venkataswamy & Mr. S. VishwanathaReddy. Trainer: V. Dheeraj.

3 D. KUMAR SIDDANNA ME-

MORIAL CUP (1,400m),maiden 3yo only, (Terms): ON

THE TROT (Suraj) 1, Cuban Pete(Akshay K) 2, Sea Of Cortez (Trevor) 3 and Super Gladiator (RajaRao) 4. 51/4, 51/4 and 23/4. 1m,25.51s. ₹��35 (w), 12, 10 and 11 (p),SHP: 28, THP: 35, FP: 127, Q: 55,Trinella: 111 and 42, Exacta: 1,767and 2,612. Favourite: Cuban Pete.Owners: M/s. Cairnhill Stud FarmPvt Ltd & Mr. Chandrakanth

Kankaria. Trainer: ArjunMangalorkar.

4 MAHARAJA’S GOLD CUP

(2,200m), 4yo & over,(Terms): STAR SUPERIOR (Suraj)1, Salazaar (P.S. Chouhan) 2, Adjudicate (Sandesh) 3 and Roberta(Trevor) 4. Not run: Oomph. 21/4, 21/2 and 1/2. 2m, 14.93s (record time). ₹��30 (w), 12, 23 and 10(p), SHP: 71, THP: 70, FP: 249, Q:221, Trinella: 311 and 44, Exacta:1,701 and 1,034. Favourite: Adjudicate. Owners: Poonawalla Racing & Breeding Pvt. Ltd rep. by.Mr. Zavaray S. Poonawalla andMrs. Behroze Z. Poonawalla, Villoo Poonawalla Racing & Breeding Pvt. Ltd. rep by. Mr. Adar C.Poonawalla, Mr. Rajesh Narreduand Mr. Sanjay Kumar Shinde.Trainer: Rajesh Narredu.

5 YERAVADA STUD PLATE

(1,400m), rated 30 to 50:CONSTANTINOPLE (Trevor) 1,Renegade (P.S. Chouhan) 2,Karadeniz (A. Imran) 3 and Bluejack (A. Merchant) 4. 11/2, 4 and3/4. 1m, 25.46s. ₹��23 (w), 12, 12 and24 (p), SHP: 29, THP: 51, FP: 47,Q: 21, Trinella: 168 and 110, Exacta: 1,770 and 1,155. Favourite:Constantinople. Owners: Mr.Gaurav GopalKrishan Sethi & Mr.Abhimanyu J. Thackersey.Trainer: S. Attaollahi.

6 PARSIANA PLATE (DIV. II),(1,200m), rated 15 & 35, 4yo

& above: LOOK OUT (Dhebe) 1,Grecian Light (Zervan) 2, ZhuZhu Zest (Akshay) 3 and DesertAngel (P.S. Chouhan) 4. 43/4, Hdand 21/4. 1m, 13.86s. ₹��26 (w), 11,14 and 21 (p), SHP: 32, THP: 50,FP: 145, Q: 60, Trinella: 702 and424, Exacta: 817 and 228. Favourite: Desert Angel. Owner: MrNanda Kumar N. Trainer: KishanThomas.

Jackpot: ₹��2,847 (254 tkts); Runnerup: 234 (1,326 tkts); Treble(i): 271 (53 tkts); (ii): 217 (154 tkts).

Star Superior wins

Frank Williams enjoyedanother special event tocelebrate his 50th year as aFormula One team boss onSunday when he took partin the drivers' paradeahead of the British Gp.

In a classic MG sportscar driven by formerWilliams driver DavidCoulthard, Williams joinedall of the drivers' takingpart in Sunday's race,including defending fi��vetime World championLewis Hamilton.

‘Hot lap’Hamilton had been at thewheel on Thursday whenhe gave the veteran teamowner a 'hot lap' of theSilverstone track in aMercedes highspeed roadcar, the pair disobeyinginstructions from ClaireWilliams, his daughter anddeputy team chief, to doonly one lap.

Instead, they did twowith Williams, 77,admitting it was a thrillingexperience that would livelong in his memory.

On Sunday morning,however, Hamilton was apassenger during theparade in another classicsports car driven by hisfather Anthony with hisbrother Nic in thepassenger seat.

The parade was acentrepiece of the buildup

to the race, started by12yearold Justin Whiting,son of the sport's formerRace Director CharlieWhiting who diedsuddenly, aged 66, shortlybefore this year's seasonopening Australian GrandPrix in Melbourne.

Whiting wasremembered and his lifecelebrated on Thursdayevening at a ceremonyhere, where fourtimechampion Sebastian Vetteldelivered an emotional and

poetic speech on behalf ofall the drivers.

“In the name of all thecurrent drivers, and for thedrivers that worked withyou, we fi��nally want to say:You were a true racer. Youwere our Race Director.You were our guard. Youwere our friend.

“And you shall stayaround because one is aliveuntil the last one forgetsabout you. We willremember you. Take care,Charlie,” Vettel said.

Williams celebrates a special 50Former Race Director Charlie Whiting remembered

The patriarch: Sir Frank Williams in the Williams garageat Silverstone. * CHARLES COATES/GETTY IMAGES


Silverstone

Lewis Hamilton made themost of a favourable safetycar intervention on Sundayto claim a record sixth British Grand Prix victory at apacked Silverstone.

The defending fi��vetimeWorld champion clockingfastest lap on his fi��nal lap tofi��nish 25 seconds clear ofMercedes teammate andnearest titlerival ValtteriBottas after an actionpacked contest.

The Briton moved 39points clear of the Finn behind in the title race, butBottas was unlucky with thetiming of the safety carwhich eff��ectively gave Hamilton a free pit stop.

Unlucky VerstappenCharles Leclerc of Ferrariwas third. Pierre Gasly fi��nished fourth ahead of hisRed Bull teammate Max Verstappen, whose race wascompromised by a late collision when Sebastian Vettelof Ferrari drove into him,and Carlos Sainz of McLaren.

It was Hamilton’s seventhwin in 10 races this year andthe 80th win of his career.He had shared the BritishGrand Prix record of wins,on fi��ve, with fellowBritonJim Clark and FrenchmanAlain Prost.

Daniel Ricciardo was seventh for Renault ahead ofKimi Raikkonen of Alfa Ro

meo, Daniil Kvyat and his Toro Rosso teammate Alex Albon. “What a day,” saidHamilton. “To all the crowd,thankyou so much for coming out.”

Hamilton, who stoppedon his slowdown lap to collect a British ‘Union Jack’fl��ag, added: “I love you Sil

verstone. I appreciate everything and the opportunityto be a part of this. I couldn’thave done this without theseguys or without my team.”

A glum Bottas said: “Congrats to Lewis... It wasn’t myday.” A much happier Leclerc said “It’s probably therace I’ve enjoyed the most in

my career.”The safety car was de

ployed when Antonio Giovinazzi spun into a gravel trapin his Alfa Romeo — giftingHamilton a ‘free’ fi��rst, andonly, pit stop. The lucklessBottas, on a two stop strategy, had already pitted beforethe incident.

No place like home for Hamilton!Streaks to a recordbreaking sixth win as Mercedes notches up another 12 fi��nish

BRITISH GP


SILVERSTONE

Cashing in: Lewis Hamilton made good of a fortuitous pit stop to delight the locals. * REUTERS

Impey wins ninth stage,Alaphilippe still in leadBRIOUDE

South African Daryl Impey of

the Mitchelton-Scott team

won stage nine of the Tour de

France on Sunday as the

home fans had to settle for

Julian Alaphilippe staying in

the yellow jersey on Bastille

Day. The Frenchman kept

hold of the overall lead while

Thibaut Pinot, defending

champion Geraint Thomas

and the big guns all finished

together around 16 minutes

behind a mass breakaway. AFP

Kolkata Knight Riders onSunday decided to changeits head coach Jacques Kallis and assistant coach Simon Katich following a disappointing fi��fth placefi��nish in the Indian PremierLeague this season.

“Jacques Kallis has beenan integral part of the KKRfamily and will always remain so. We will be exploring ways of working withJacques as we pursue ourvision of establishing theKnight Rider brand as aglobal brand,” KKR CEOVenky Mysore said in astatement on its website.

Mysore also added thatthe changes included Simon Katich, who was theassistant coach. Their replacements will be namedshortly.

KKR partsways withKallis, Katich

Jacques Kallis. * K.V.S. GIRI


KOLKATA

India’s poor showing in theongoing IntercontinentalCup has not left coach IgorStimac disappointed.

Rather, the two matcheshave helped him fi��gure outthe National team for the future. With the 2022 FIFAWorld Cup qualifi��ers scheduled in September, theCroatian gaff��er is focused ongetting the balance right.

“Now it is very clear to meabout whom to count on andwhom not to consider. Everybody got a chance and nota single player can complainof being left out,” said Stimac after the team’s lossagainst DPR Korea.

The coach has tried out 27players for the King’s Cup inThailand and the Intercontinental Cup. In the course ofthe two tournaments, ninemade their debut.

The thought processRevealing the thinking be

hind the exercise, Stimacsaid, “It was essential to givethem minutes on the pitchas it not possible to judge aplayer properly in training.Some players are (Diego)Maradonas in training, butwhen the games come, theydisappear.”

“I wouldn’t be naming theplayers, as it is not my way.But you cannot hide thetruth and the evidence isthere for you to see.

“When I changed theplayers (after the fi��rst session), the new combinationstarted playing, started taking responsibility and start

ed creating chances,” saidthe coach.

Backing youngsters

Stimac is clearly backing theyounger crop of players —Anirudh Thapa, LallianzualaChhangte, Sahal Abdul Samad, Kuman Udanta Singh —who were secondhalf substitutes against DPR Korea.

“Of course, it is not possible to keep the shape and goup and down all the time,but I was proud by the waythey played. I won’t mindlosing a game if you play likethat,” said Stimac, referringto the two secondhalf goalsIndia scored in the 52reverse.

“I always have the selection of the fi��rst team in mymind, but fi��ve or six amongthem are in the postoperation treatment period or areinjured,” said Stimac.

He revealed that he wouldlove to get the likes of defenders E. Anas, Sandesh Jhingan (who limped off�� thepitch clutching his left thigh)and attackers like Ashique(Kuruniyan) and Jeje (Lalpekhlua) back in the squadin order to get the right balance.

‘Maradonas in training,but disappear in games’Stimac wants to get the balance right

Amitabha Das Sharma

AHMEDABAD

Stimac.

The Indian pistol shooterswere bang on target towarm up for the toughchallenges ahead, as theteam jumped to the top ofthe medals table with fourgold, fi��ve silver and twobronze medals on the second day of the JuniorWorld Cup here on Sunday.

Udhayveer Sidhu andGaurav Rana won the individual gold in the 25metrestandard pistol and the 50metre free pistol events.

The Indian shooters alsowon the team gold medalsto boost the tally.

In the rifl��e prone events,however, India was not atits best, except for KinnoriKonar shooting 621.6 forthe ninth place in the junior women’s section.

Russia and Norway followed India on the medalstable with two gold medalseach, while China andThailand were in the fourthand fi��fth spots with a goldmedal each.

In junior men’s trapevent, Khelo India YouthGames champion Manavaditya Singh Rathore shot72 following rounds of 25,22, 25, the third best scorebehind leader Thomas William Betts (74) of Britain.

Bhowneesh Mendiratta(70), Vishwa Kundu (68),Vivaan Kapoor (65) werethe other Indians in thefi��eld.

In junior women’s trap,

Kirti Gupta shot 68, following rounds of 24, 21 and 23.

Two more rounds willbe followed by the fi��nal forthe top six on the morrowin the trap competition.The results:

Junior men: 50m free pistol:1. Gaurav Rana 553; 2. ArjunSingh Cheema 551; 3. Ihor So-lovei (Ukr) 550; 4. VijayveerSidhu 547; 22. Sachin Bhati516.

Team: 1. India 1651; 2. Belarus1610; 3. Russia 1608.

25m standard pistol: 1. Ud-hayveer Sidhu 575; 2. AdarshSingh 568; 3. Anish Bhanwala566; 6. Vijayveer Sidhu 564;9. Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu560; 28. Dilshaan Kelley 560.

Team: 1. India 1707 WRJ; 2.India-A 1676; 3. Czech Repu-blic 1673.

50m rifl��e prone: 1. StefanWadlegger (Aut) 623.4; 2.Grigoril Shamakov (Rus)622.8; 3. Zhang Changhong(Chn) 622.3.

20. Abid Ali Khan 616.1; 24.Harshrajsinhji Gohil 615.3; 54.Fateh Singh Dhillon 606.3.

Team: 1. Germany 1861.7; 2.Norway 1852.5; 3. Austria1852.3.

Junior women: 50m rifl��eprone: 1. Jeanette Duestad(Nor) 627.9 WRJ; 2. Sara Kara-sova (Cze) 627.6; 3. SheileenWaibel (Aut) 627.2

9. Kinnori Konar 621.6; 23.Bhakti Bhaskar Khamkar618.1; 27. Ayushi Podder616.5; 43. Zenab HussainBandookwala 612.9; 55. Nis-chal 610.1; 73. Shirin Godara603.9.

Team: 1.Norway 1865.5 WRJ;2. China 1864.2; 3. Czech Re-public 1659.1; 8. India-A1847.5; 14. India 1835.6.

Indian teams off�� to a bright start

Go to the top of the medals table withfour gold, fi��ve silver and two bronze

JUNIOR WC

and Emotional Learning (SEL) intomainstream education. They had arocky start. Gupta remembers going from school to school with aproposal to address the ”moral crisis” in children today. It was shotdown by 79 schools. Learning andsharpening her proposal along theway, Gupta fi��nally landed an opportunity with the 80th attempt, at theOm Foundation School in Noida.

Today, Labhya is one of the feworganisations to be partnering withthe Delhi Government to formulateand implement the “HappinessCurriculum”. The curriculum,which launched in July last year,aims to also add on the concepts ofemotional intelligence, criticalthinking, selfawareness, and mindfulness in mainstream school education.

At the G(irls)20, Gupta met withFarah Mohamed, founder of thesummit and now CEO of the MalalaFund. They shared their backgrounds in the fi��eld of education interventions, and also of their grow

The last days of the Samvat calendar month of Asadha ( JuneJuly) are said to be marked byoptical illusions that sometimescharm and sometimes baffl��ethe viewer, especially at historical sites. The Mughal prince Rafi��ushhan out hunting, gotcaught in a thunderstorm in athicket beyond the Jamuna inthe 18th century and was accosted by a beautiful womanwith long fl��owing hair in aruined monument. He wascharmed by her sudden appearance, but she never reappeared though he made frequent visits to the place.

Some centuries earlier RajaUgar Sen had a similar expe

rience when an ‘apsara’ (angel)appeared before him at a ramshackle Shivalya (Shiva temple)while he was on a shikar (hunting) trip. She asked him to builda baoli (stepwell), which the raja did, and his creation is stillthere on Hailey Road. FirozShah Tughlak built Bhuli Bhatiyari ka Mahal in similar circumstances on the part of the DelhiRidge that now falls in the KarolBagh area.

Some years ago, the Delhipapers reported an incident inwhich two men taking shelterduring a stormy evening in lateJune at a deserted shrine in Nizamuddin saw images of people in medieval clothes rotatingon the walls as though somebody was operating a magic lantern. They ran out when theycould not stand the eff��ect of theeerie scene any longer.

At the Taj Mahal, accordingto gossip, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal can be seen at midnight sitting on the lotus pondseat when the Malhar, the rainy

season raga is sung in neighbouring Taj Ganj, originallybuilt for the artisans who erected the edifi��ce of love in a labourlasting more than 20 years.

The sudden death of an English lady during a moonlightparty at the monument in the19th century and the impulsivemurder (also at night) theretwo years later by a British Army major of an Irish womanand her lover are also probablypointers to the psychic eff��ectevident at historical sites.

Weird energy from thunderstorms can bring strange eventsfrom the past to life, say psychicists. On a monsoon night nearthe Qutub Minar in 1950, fi��vehistory buff��s sat in a BritisheraDak Bungalow attending aseance by Nawabzada FarooqurRahman Khan of Datoli.Among them were a thakur, adoctor, a noted shikari, a zamindar and my elder brother,Maxie. Dr Dayal wanted to establish contact with a medicalstudent who had committed

suicide and whose heart was later found missing from the body buried in the ITO graveyard.At the time, police investigationhad shown that the medicalstudent’s lover had approachedan Ustad, wellversed in the occult, with a request for herheart as a keepsake. Later thesame day, after dusk, the Ustad,the lover and two others madetheir way to the mud grave,exhumed the corpse and cutout the heart despite a chillingfeeling after their dastardly act,for which they were arrestedand tried. But the case failedfor lack of evidence, as theheart could not be recoveredfrom them. At the 1950s seancewhen the girl’s spirit was ‘conjured’, some years after herdeath, a thunderstorm brokeout. Lightning fl��ashed allaround the Dak Bungalow,there was a clap of thunder andan image became visible. Theassembled men looked out ofthe window and froze in theirseats, for there standing in thewaning moonlight was a girlwith a bleeding heart. Shemade a gesture of despair andvanished.

According to the late Sarfaraz Khan, tourist guide, prior tocertain monsoon nights, murdered Mughal princes can beseen at the Red Fort, KhooniDarwaza and Humayun’s Tombbut the ASI dismisses this asplain superstition.

The writer is a veteran chronicler of Delhi

DOWN MEMORY LANE

Bewitching angels or dead persons who lived years ago have had

psychic eff��ect on humans, even in modern times

r. v. Smith

Poltergeist on the prowl (left)Ugar Sen ki Baoli; sketch of aghost in the jungle * SANDEEP

SAXENA & SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTBringingthe past to life

Melvin Louis | 3 million subscribers

Melvin Louis’ students include wellknown names likeactress Sandeepa Dhar, so a collaboration was practicallyinevitable. His ‘Aankh Marey’ cover from Simmba inDecember last year saw singer Neha Kakkar (left)— aYouTube star herself — dancing, and it clocked in overnine million views.

He also believes that the informal tone of his videos —single camera setup and no “fl��ashy acessories”— helpsput celebrities at ease, not to forget the rapport he haswith his subscribers. In fact, his work is so popular that

fans are now making covers of hiscovers. Look up

#MelvinLouisChoreographyon Instagram, and you’ll see

dance routines performed inbedrooms, gardens and

terraces. “We don’t wantpeople to be bullied fortheir lowquality videosinspired by us. That’s whywe stick to low cost

productions,” says Louis,adding that dance should

not be limited to show business. Louis thinks that the rise in

fi��tness culture and internetaccessibility have helped boosthis popularity. But he also

admits that his switch fromhiphop to Bollywood in

2016, including his viralcover of ‘Kala Chashma’ iswhat landed him theviews. His real passion,though, lies with

choreographing songs thatdo not already have a danceroutine. One such videocovering ‘Rocket Saiyyan’

from the fi��lm Shubh MangalSaavdhan has almost asmany views as the original

music video.

Posters, television interviews and press meets are not the onlyway to promote a fi��lm today. Social media’s potential, afterall, feels limitless. Take Samantha Akkineni’s recent chal

lenge, where she encouraged fans to dress like it was the ’60s andtag her in their Instagram posts (to promote her recentlyreleasedTelugu fi��lm, Oh Baby!). Last year, the actress challenged her followers to post videos of them dancing to ‘The Karma Theme’, from U-Turn, zeroing in on music to make a connect with fans. Other starshave taken to collaborating with YouTube’s top dance channels,joining in for choreographed sequences from soontobereleasedfi��lms. Earlier this year, Sonam Kapoor appeared at the halfwaymark of Team Naach’s cover of ‘Gud Naal Ishq Mitha’ from her fi��lm,Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga. Similarly, Rakul Preet Singh madean appearance in Melvin Louis’ YouTube channel to promote herfi��lm De De Pyar De, with the song ‘Hauli Hauli’.

The collaborations are a winwin situation, admit these YouTubers, even though they do not get paid and production costs areusually split. With millions of followers, they help provide somebuzz around the fi��lm, while also upping their own subscribercount thanks to wider viewership. Louis, for example, has nearlydoubled his subscribers just in the past six months. We speakwith some of these ‘DanceTubers’ to fi��nd out how their collaborations kicked off��.

With millions of subscribers and a ready fan following,meet the ‘DanceTubers’ who are helping promoteBollywood’s new releases

DanceFit Live | 3.2 million subscribers

When Nasikbased Tejas Dhoke and Ishpreet Dang, theduo behind DanceFit Live, reached out to Sony lastyear for a No Objection Certifi��cate to use the song ‘KyaBaat Ay’ in one of their videos, the music label oneupped the deal. They suggested that the singer,Hardavinder Singh Sandhu (Harrdy Sandhu), performalongside them for a dance cover. Dhoke admits thatthey were stunned by the idea that one of India’s topsingers would want to work with them. “Hardy Sandhuhad said that he was a fan of ours,” says a stillincredulous Dhoke. The video resulted in morecollaborations coming in through music channels, andtoday, DanceFit has added names like Rakul PreetSingh (above) and Elli Avram (below)to its list of celebrity collabs.The duo started out as a local dancegroup, performing at shows withcrowds of around 1,000 people.But when they began postingregularly on YouTube in 2016,their early videos (like theircover of ‘Nashe si Chadh Gayi’)racked up as many as 4 lakhviews. Their covers often featurethem dancing alongside studentsfrom their workshops and classes,which they conduct regularly. Theyadmit that the channel’s popularityskyrocketed after they started makingcovers of Punjabi songs last year. “Wemade it a point to cover noncommercialsongs,” Dhoke explains. “That’s when ourviews shot up.” Their interpretation of‘Daru Badnaam’, for instance, has 126million views, one of the highest on theirchannel. But they are quick to point outthat they also work with Bollywood musicand sometimes, Tamil songs. “Everyvideo has its own unique audience,”adds Dang.

Team Naach | 2.2 million subscribers

Sonam Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Will Smith — these are some of the celebrities thatMumbaibased Sonal Devraj and Nicole Concessao have collaborated with. Theyreveal that the fi��rst move is often made by an actor’s PR team, a production houseor a music label. Typically, the star only has about 15 or 20 minutes, “so we try ourbest to create choreography that’s easy to remember and perform on the spot”,says Devraj. Perhaps that also explains why many collab videos see the starmagically appearing halfway through the song.

Often, these tieups are part of a larger plan. Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt’sdance collabs with Team Naach, for instance, were part of the#CreateTogetherwithKalank campaign on the Internet, to promote their thenupcoming fi��lm, Kalank (left). “Social media is much more dynamic, that’s whypublic relations companies have now warmed up to having collaborations,” saysConcessao, adding that TeamNaach’s following shot up after these celebrityappearances. “It’s defi��nitely an extra boost.” And of course, there’s the increaseddemand for the duo’s workshops, which are conducted across the country.

DANCEf o r p u b l i c i t y

Money talkWhile YouTube’smostsubscribedtocontent creators —like Ryan ToysReviewand the controversialPewDiePie — earnedmany millions inrevenue, thanks totheir largefollowings, therevenue model forthese dancers worksdiff��erently.Choreographedcovers, which featuresongs from popularfi��lms, do notgenerate any adrevenue because themusic is licensed to alabel. Instead, incomeis generated bypartnerships withbrands acrossverticals: fromproperty to tech toclothing. Thesedancers feature theirproducts or provideshoutouts in theirvideos. AdSense — YouTube’srevenue systembased on the numberof ads that areclicked — does applyto tutorialstylevideos. And in theoffl��ine world, thesedancers have theirwildlypopularworkshops.


DELHI THE HINDU


CMYK

A ND-NDE

SHOWCASE

A little ahead of this year’s G20Summit held in Japan, 24 youngwomen delegates from diff��erentparts of the world gathered together in a room. As they sat there,Heather Barnabe, a rights activistasked them to close their eyes for aminute: could those who thoughtthey had no chance of making it tothis gathering put their hand up?

They did, and when 24 girlsopened their eyes, they lookedaround and saw that each one ofthem had a hand in the air.

This was at one of the openingsessions of the G(irls)20 programme this year, and Barnabe, theprogramme’s CEO. The gatheringtakes place annually in the lead upto the G20, an international summit for 19 countries and the European Union to address issues concerning the global economy.Launched in 2009 by the ClintonGlobal Initiative, its purpose is tohear the voices of and get inputsfrom 1823 yearolds. from acrossthe world, making space for theirsuggestions in the G20’s decisionsfor the year.

None of the delegates were thereby chance. They’d arrived in Japanafter an intense sixmonth selectionprocess – each of them had alsoworked for community change,through activism or entrepreneurship. And yet for these leaders, impostor syndrome was real.

“This session was one of themost interesting ones for me,”says Richa Shivangi Gupta, aDelhibased 23yearold, theIndian who made it for thisyear’s edition. “This and theworkshop on negotiationwas super useful forme,” she adds.

Two yearsago, andright out ofcollege, Gupta had started a nonprofi��t calledthe LabhyaFoundation,which introduces Social

ing up years in Africa. “We had very good conversa

tions in terms of what kind of visionI want to develop for my organisation, and I could connect with,” recalls Gupta. Other G(irls)20 alumnafrom France are also now helpingher articulate Labhya’s programme, look at her grant applications and give her feedback fromtheir experiences.

Gupta might’ve learnt a greatdeal from women around the worldwith a similar purpose; but she canproudly claim contribution to: inthe months leading up to theirmeet in Japan, the delegates participated on calls, and worked onareas in which they could makepolicy recommendations. Theythen sharpened this in their sixdays in Japan, putting togethertheir offi��cial communique.

When the G20 Summit ended,and the leaders put out their declaration, the delegates found that oneof the recommendations from theircommunique, around women inSTEM fi��elds, was included.

“That was a good thing, we wereheard,” says Gupta, who was one ofthe three delegates chosen to present the group’s communique to Japan’s G20 Sherpa, Ambassador Koji Tomita.

Back home, Gupta says she is also in talks with Dr. Vikas Mahatme,an MP in the Rajya Sabha for intro

ducing a private member bill onSEL. Mahatme has been an ad

vocate for social and emotional awareness in academiceducation. In parallel, she isalso expanding her workwith Labhya to schools inother states like Uttarakhand as well.

To know more, or to donate:www.labhya.org/contribute

After making her voice heard at the G20 Summit, Delhi girl Richa Guptais reenergised in her eff��orts to make space for Social and EmotionalLearning in the Indian education system

Vangmayi Parakala

Intervening for SEL

For a holistic futureRicha Gupta duringthe 2019 G(irls)20Summit in Japanearlier this year

* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Miriam Alphonsus

■ Across

1 The Hunchback of

NotreDame author

(6,4)

7 Actually present (2,6)

8 Julius Caesar’s unlucky

day in March (4)

9 Glandular secretion

from a male deer, used

in making perfume (4)

10 Go away (like a

swarm?) (4,3)

12 Hot spot in the

Mojave Desert, some of

it 282ft below sea level

(5,6)

14 Obstreperous (7)

16 Shivering fi��t (4)

19 Where coins were

made (4)

20 Member of a former

confederacy of six

Native American peoples

(8)

21 In the fi��rst place (10)

■ Down

1 Malice (5)

2 London football club

(7)

3 Approximately (2,2)

4 Central American

country, capital

Tegucigalpa (8)

5 Garishness (5)

6 Interior of a steeple

(where bats hang

out?) (6)

11 Gigantic (8)

12 Particular (6)

13 Attempt, as a joke,

to make somebody

believe something

that is not true (34)

15 Freshwater

mammal with webbed

and clawed feet (5)

17 Enlighten (5)

18 Soft feathers (like

this clue) (4)

THE GUARDIAN QUICK CROSSWORD-13122

6Solution will appear in

The Hindu datedJuly 16, 2019.

Solution No. 13121

POOCH CAFE

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE

TIGER

PEANUTS

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

WUMO


THE HINDU DELHI


CMYK

A ND-NDE

SHOWCASE

Around a year ago, I consulted adermatologist regarding a persistent skin allergy. He told me in nouncertain terms that my ailmentwas related to stress and weight. Iwas instructed to practise meditation or yoga and walk every day forat least 45 minutes. I was also told tostop table sugar and follow ahealthy diet. I nodded solemnly andcame home all charged up. For aperson who’s only walking is to thefridge and back, I had no clue howto bring in all these alarming changes to my routine. Unsurprisingly, ittook four days for my enthusiasm todie a quiet and embarrassed death.My allergy though is more obstinateand rears its head now and then.

When it comes to implementinglifestyle changes suggested by doctors, my woefi��lled tale will resonatewith many. Doctors, especially specialists, routinely dole out advice topatients with lifestylerelateddiseases such as heart ailments, hypertension anddiabetes. They cannot be expected to do a followup ofevery person to check if theyhave tweaked their lifestyle. The problemis, no one is doingthis followup.

The fi��rst P:personalised“Ideally, lifestyle and dietary advicemust be customised according tothe individual’s job,where he stays, how hetravels, what he eats athome, the practical diffi��culties he faces, and

so on,” says Dr Gopi Aniyathodiyil,Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Fortis Hospital, Bengaluru. Weall know that rarely happens, if ever.

Dr Alpesh Jain, Consultant Diabetologist at Masina Hospitals and Lifespan Diabetes Clinic, Mumbai, recalls a case of an overweight womanin her 40s who had developed hypertension. He advised her to followa strict exercise programme. Shesaid she could not because she wasa single mother who had to takecare of her child as well as work inan offi��ce far from home, whichmeant she left home at 9 and returned only in the late evening,which left her with no time for exercise of any sort.

The second P: pauseEvidently, doctors too realise thereis a problem. “No one is really bridging this gap. Ideally, every hospitalshould have a dedicated rehabilitation and education department

with qualifi��ed nurses, physiotherapists, and dieticians working in tandem. This department should follow up oneach patient, customise advice and be there to answer

queries every time,” saysDr Aniyathodiyil.

However, since no such department exists, he feels doctors can only reinforce their message when theperson next visits them. Anotherproblem doctors face is resistance.“Sometimes, patients and theirwellwishers suspect the hospitalhas some moneymaking agenda ifwe insist on a followup… it is a delicate balance we have to maintain,”he rues.

What Dr Aniyathodiyil does notspell out loud, Dr Alpesh does.“This ‘advice gap’ is being fi��lled byWhatsApp forwards, internetquacks and selfdeclared health gurus. This ‘annoyance’ has nowreached epidemic proportions anddoctors are having to pit their professional knowledge against clickbait websites and unqualifi��ed infl��uencers.” He says he has had todeal with people who despite detailed instructions about their dietcome back after a few weeks armedwith WhatsApp forwards about howgood (or evil) a particular food isand demand to know why the doctor had advised them against eatingit. Patients routinely fall for marketdriven counsel (often with poorscientifi��c backing) such as eatingquinoa by the bucketful, shifting toolive oil, or replacing good old eggswith the latest infl��uencer favouritequail’s eggs!

The third P: preventiveOne assumes such situations arisebecause lifestyle and dietary changes are a matter of habit formationand willpower (or the lack of it). However, this is not always the case.People are, more often than not,simply clueless about how to implement the suggested changes, whereto fi��t in the exercise, how to formhabits that are viable and how not tofall back on comfortable and poten

tially dangerous lifestyle practices(such as bingeing and smoking).And most importantly, whom totrust when it comes to the nittygritty of following the doctors’ advicewithout having to run to his clinicfor every little doubt.

Chennaibased sports nutritionist and strength and conditioningcoach Rahul Gopal is one of the fewpeople trying to fi��ll this gap. Rahulis cofounder of The Formula, a lifestyle clinic that creates customisednutrition and exercise protocols forits clients. Rahul’s journey began after a few routine blood tests revealed he had prediabetes; his thyroid and cholesterol markers werenot great either. By overhauling hislifestyle, as he puts it, he managedto not only lose 16 kg over a periodof time but also ensure his prediabetes was reversed. “Expecting doctors to worry about implementationof their advice is unfair and is notgood use of their precious time. Wedesperately need qualifi��ed ‘middlemen’ who can do the necessary follow through,” says Rahul.

Having said that, Rahul believesultimately the motivation for anyoverhauling must come from within: “You cannot outsource yourhealth; you have to take control. Ifyou have to live well, you will haveto do it.”

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO BRIDGE THE GAP?

KEEP IT SUSTAINABLE: To fi��nd what works for you, you haveto take into account your environment, current lifestyle, workschedule, dietary practices and monetary circumstances. Asingle course of action that falls outside these parameters willeventually peter out.

TRY DIFFERENT THINGS: Diet and lifestyle changes will involvea whole lot of research as well as trial and error. Don’t get

disheartened in the process.

LOOK TO THE ‘BRIDGE’ PROFESSIONALS: Find a trustworthydietician or physiotherapist. Do not hesitate to ask for theirqualifi��cations.

INVOLVE YOUR FAMILY: Let them know of the dietary changesyou are planning to bring. Ask for their help to keep youmotivated while following an exercise programme.

(Inputs by Rahul Gopal and Dr Aniyathodiyil)AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Looking fora bridge So the doctor pronounced you

have a lifestyle condition andyou must change your ways.Now what?

TWITTER TWITCH

A week ago, American modelChrissy Teigen,posted a picture ofher arm twitching,after she said she"stretched funny".The video garnered2.07 million views.

Change takes time Let yourfamily help you in makinglifestyle changes

* GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCK

Rashmi Vasudeva

CMYK

A ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU


LIFE

Mediterranean sharksface risk of ‘disappearing’PARIS

Sharks are at risk of

disappearing from the

Mediterranean as overfishing

and plastic pollution choke

populations of the

endangered hunters, warns a

report by World Wildlife Fund

(WWF). More than half of

shark and ray species in the

Mediterranean are under

threat, it says. AFP

IN BRIEF

Bull festival in Spain ends with 3 gorings PAMPLONA

A bull broke from the pack

and gored two Australians

and a Spaniard during

Sunday’s final bull run of this

year’s San Fermin festival.

That took the number of

gorings to eight for the eight

bull runs. AP

Hundreds of people fromhome and abroad queued insteady rain in central PragueSunday to buy a “Zero Euro”souvenir banknote depictingCzech pop singer Karel Gottin honour of his 80 th

birthday.The fi��rst fans and collec

tors arrived on Thursday tobuy the zerodenominationbanknote for the equivalentof €2 from special ATMs inthe shop of a local recordcompany.

“We arrived at 6:00 a.m.on Saturday. We slept in asleeping bag on the pavement,” said Lukas Gandzala,

who came from the northernSlovak city of Poprad, some450 km from Prague.

“We collect the banknotes, the Zero Euro is a bigphenomenon in our country,

and so is Karel Gott,” he said,folding his umbrella to fi��nallyget inside the shop after hisraindrenched 26hour wait.

Unlike Slovakia, withwhich it formed a single Stateuntil 1993, the Czech Republic has not yet introducedthe euro and its governmenthas no plans to replace its koruna currency in the nearfuture.

Created by Frenchman Richard Faille in 2015 and authorised by the European Central Bank, the Zero Euronotes used solely as souvenirs have so far depictedwellknown sites, such as theEiff��el Tower and the Big Ben,and people like Dutch pain

when he sang in Germanyand the U.S. and representedAustria in the Eurovisionsong contest.

At the weekend, Czech Television fi��lled its prime timewith Gottrelated shows,while the topselling broadsheet DNES published recipes for Gott’s favouritemeals on its website.

At the front of the winding, bulky queue, Jana Vankova from Ricany nearPrague, who spent the nightin a folding chair, said shewould buy the banknote as abirthday tribute to Gott.“We’re all fans, not banknotedealers. We really love Gott,”she said.

ter Rembrandt van Rijn.Dubbed “Divine Karel,”

Gott has been voted the mostpopular singer 42 times inthe annual Golden Nightingale poll of Czech music fans.

Golden voiceVery popular also in neighbouring Germany, Gott hasreleased almost 300 LPs andCDs, selling dozens of millions of them.

Relishing the singer’s hitsas well as the title song forthe Maya the Bee children’sTV series, German fans havedubbed Gott “the GoldenVoice from Prague”.

Born on July 14, 1939, Gottrose to stardom in the 1960s

Czechs go crazy as pop singer Karel Gott turns 80 People queued to get their hands on ‘Zero Euro’, recognised by European Central Bank as souvenir banknote, depicting the pop icon

A man shows ‘Zero Euro’ souvenir banknotes depicting Czechpop singer Karel Gott at a shop, in Prague. * AFP


Prague

Disney’s blockbuster 3D remakes of classics have rampaged through box offi��ces inrecent years, but the studiois banking on its latest — TheLion King — to climb right tothe top of the food chain.

With a starstudded voicecast, including Beyonce,and estimated $250 millionbudget, Hollywood’s reigning hitmaker has spared noexpense bringing its beloved lion roaring to photorealistic life.

A trailer for the new LionKing was watched by 225million people in its fi��rst 24hours in November, shattering Disney’s record.

Almost every shot wasconjured from scratch usingcomputergenerated imagery. And yet The Lion King isnot strictly a 3D animationeither, in any conventionalsense.

It is instead something totally new, says director JonFavreau — a fi��lm shot by atraditional camera crew, butentirely inside a virtual real

ity 3D world.Filmmakers and actors at

the studio were able to dondigital headsets and “stepinto” a video gamestyleAfrican savannah to fi��lmrough computergeneratedversions of Simba and hispals cavorting through thePride Lands. “The crewwould be able to put on theheadsets, go in and scoutand actually set cameraswithin VR,” Mr. Favreausaid.

The novelty was not loston child actor JD McCrary,who voices the young Simbaearly in the fi��lm. “We saweverything, we saw thePride Lands, Pride Rock,the watering hole... We sawit all man, and it was socool!”

But this groundbreakingmethod had practical benefi��ts that shape the way thefi��lm actually appears, according to Mr. Favreau.

In another break fromtradition, the voice actorswere recorded together ontheatre stages, giving themfree rein to improvise.

Disney’s Lion King takesa break from traditionIt was fi��lmed in virtual reality


Los Angeles

Animation roars: Red-billed hornbill Zazu and young lionSimba, right, in a scene from The Lion King. * AP/DISNEY

Shattering boundaries: Members of LGBTQ community taking part in a Pride Parade in Bhopal on Sunday. * A.M. FARUQUI

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CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Rainbow wave

Services in the U.S. cities ofBaltimore and Marylandwere paralysed earlier thisyear when a ransomware attack locked up computernetworks and made it impossible for residents to makeproperty transactions or paytheir municipal bills.

Offi��cials refused to meethacker demands for a ransom of $76,000 to unlock thesystems, but have been saddled with an estimated $18million in costs of restoringand rebuilding the city’scomputer networks.

The dilemma in such cases highlight tough choices

faced by cities, hospitals andcorporations hit byransomware.

Two Florida cities reportedly paid a total of $1 millionin ransom this year, afterwhich a new attack by thesame group hit the Statecourt system in Georgia.

Globally, losses from ransomware rose by 60% lastyear to $8 billion, accordingto data compiled by the Internet Society’s Online TrustAlliance.

At least 170 county, city orState government systemshave been hit since 2013,with 22 incidents this year,according to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which

adopted a resolution opposing ransomware payments.

“We’re seeing more attacks against cities becauseit’s clear cities are illprepared,” said Gregory Falco, aresearcher at Stanford University.

Ransomware has been athorny cybersecurity issue

for several years globally,marked by global ransomware attacks known as“WannaCry” and“NotPetya.”

Pay or resist? While the FBI and otherswarn against paying ransoms, some analysts saythere is no clear answer forvictims when critical data islocked. “You have to dowhat’s right for your organisation,” Mr. Falco said.

Josh Zelonis at ForresterResearch off��ered a similarview, saying in a blog postthat victims need to considerpaying the ransom as a validoption, alongside other re

covery eff��orts.But Randy Marchany,

chief information security offi��cer for Virginia Tech University, said it’s best not topay.

Victims often fail to takepreventive measures such assoftware updates and databackups that would limit theimpact of ransomware.

“If the encryption in ransomware is implementedproperly, there is a zerochance of recovery unlessyou pay the ransom,” BrettCallow, of Emsisoft, said.“Often it isn’t implementedproperly, and we fi��nd weaknesses in the encryption andundo it.”

Globally, losses from malicious software rose by 60% last year to $8 bn, according to latest data


Washington

As ransomware rages, debate heats up on response

Bareilly shot to fame in1966 when the late Bollywood actress Sadhanadanced to the song Jhumkagira re, Bareilly ke bazaarmein in the movie MeraSaaya.

The city, however, hadno speciality in making orselling ‘jhumkas’ (ear danglers) and neither did itmake any eff��orts to cash inon the popularity of thesong. Finally, after over 53years, Bareilly will get its‘jhumka’, a symbolic replica of this piece of jewellery.

According to sources,the Bareilly DevelopmentAuthority (BDA) has soughtthe approval of the National Highways Authority ofIndia (NHAI) to install a‘jhumka’ at the Parsakherazero point.

The project was fi��rstconceived in the early 90s,but hit a roadblock due topaucity of funds and availability of a suitable location.

The BDA had even invited designs for the ‘jhumka’. The replica will nowcome up at the entrance ofthe city on the DelhiBareilly road at Parsakhera.

BDA sources said thatthe proposed jhumka willbe 2.43 m in diameter and1214 feet in height. Thelandscaping around the‘jhumka’ is estimated tocost around ₹��18 lakh. Therewill be three surma (kohl)bottles (inspired from theword ‘surme daani’ used inthe song) surrounding thestructure. Surma bottleswill be kept in parapetwalls, which will also havecolourful lights installedthere.

Besides, colourfulstones and zari work, forwhich the city is famous,would be used fordecoration.

53 years on,Bareilly to getits jhumka

Indo-Asian News Service

Bareilly

The Botanical Survey of India has come up with thefi��rst comprehensive censusof orchids of India puttingthe total number of orchidspecies or taxa to 1,256.

Orchids of India : A Picto-rial Guide, a publication detailing all the species of Indiawas unveiled earlier thismonth by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

The 1,256 species or taxaof orchids belong to 155 genera and 388 species are endemic to India. The publication, authored by ParamjitSingh, former director ofBSI, A.A. Mao the present director of the institute, scientists S.S. Dash, S.K. Singh,D.K. Agarwala and J.S. Jalal,also contains photographsof 775 species.

Three life formsOrchids can be broadly categorised into three life forms:epiphytic (plants growing onanother plants including

those growing on rock boulders and often termed lithophyte), terrestrial (plantsgrowing on land and climbers) and mycoheterotrophic (plants which derive nutrients from mycorrhizalfungi that are attached to theroots of a vascular plant).About 60% of all orchidsfound in the country, whichis 757 species, are epiphytic,447 are terrestrial and 43 aremycoheterotrophic.

The epiphytic orchids areabundant up to 1800 m

above the sea level and theiroccurrence decreases withthe increase in altitude. Terrestrial orchids, which growdirectly on soil, are found inlarge numbers in temperateand alpine region whereasmycoheterotrophic orchids,mostly associated with ectomycorrhizal fungi, are foundin temperate regions, or arefound growing with parasites in tropical regions.

A Statewise distributionof orchid species point outthat the Himalayas, North

East parts of the country andWestern Ghats are the hotspots of the beautiful plantspecies.

State-wise distributionThe highest number of orchid species is recordedfrom Arunachal Pradeshwith 612 species, followed bySikkim 560 species and WestBengal; Darjeeling Himalayas have also high speciesconcentration, with 479species.

While northeast India

rank at the top in speciesconcentration, the WesternGhats have high endemismof orchids.

There are 388 species oforchids, which are endemicto India of which about onethird (128) endemic speciesare found in Western Ghats.The publication points outthat Kerala has 111 of theseendemic species while TamilNadu has 92 of them. Amongthe 10 bio geographic zonesof India, the Himalayan zoneis the richest in terms of or

chid species followed byNortheast, Western Ghats,Deccan plateau and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. “Thepublication is the result ofyears of hard and methodical research through carefulexamination of protologues,literature and voucher herbarium specimens. Every record has been verifi��ed frompublished fl��oras, revisionaryworks, doctoral thesis andscientifi��c papers,” Mr. Maosaid.

Considering the impor

tance of orchids in fl��oriculture, the publication, whichhas photographs of 60% ofall species, is the fi��rst authentic inventory and will beuseful for researchers, growers, nature lovers and people with diff��erent backgrounds, Mr. Mao said.

Marked by extremelybeautiful fl��owers with unique shape and ornamentation, orchids have complexfl��oral structure that facilitates biotic crosspollinationand makes them evolutionarily superior to the otherplant groups.

Another interesting factoris that the entire orchid family is listed under appendix IIof CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Faunaand Flora) and hence anytrade of wild orchid isbanned globally.

“Some of the orchids likeDendrobium , Phalaenopsis,Oncidium and Cymbidiumare quite popular in fl��oriculture trade,” Mr. Dash, anauthor said.

India is home to 1,256 species of orchid, says fi��rst comprehensive surveyOrchids of India: A Pictorial Guide, which was published recently, puts the total number of species endemic to India at 388

(From left) Pleione maculata, an epiphytic orchid; Cymbidium lancifolium, a terristrial orchid; and Aerides odorata, an epiphytic orchid. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Shiv Sahay Singh

Kolkata

A healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of developingAlzheimer’s or other formsof dementia even in the presence of genes that raise therisk for these minddestroying diseases, says a study.

People with high geneticrisk and poor health habitswere about three times morelikely to develop dementiawhen compared to thosewith low genetic risk andgood habits, researchers reported on Sunday.

Regardless of how muchgenetic risk someone had, agood diet, adequate exercise, limiting alcohol and notsmoking made dementialess likely.

“I consider that goodnews,” said John Haaga ofthe U.S. National Institute onAgeing, one of the study’smany sponsors.

Results were discussed atthe Alzheimer’s AssociationInternational Conference inLos Angeles and publishedby the Journal of the Ameri-can Medical Association.

About 50 million peoplehave dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease is the mostcommon type.

Dr. Elzbieta Kuzma andcolleagues at the Universityof Exeter Medical School inEngland used the U.K. Biobank to study nearly2,00,000 people 60 or older

with no signs or symptomsof dementia at the start.Their genetic risk was classifi��ed as high, medium or lowbased on dozens of mutations known to aff��ect dementia. They also weregrouped by lifestyle factors.

After about eight years ofstudy, 1.8% of those withhigh genetic risk and poorlifestyles had developed dementia versus 0.6% of folkswith low genetic risk andhealthy habits.

Among those with thehighest genetic risk, just over 1% of those with favourable lifestyles developed dementia compared to 2% ofthose with poor lifestyles.

One limitation — Researchers only had information on mutations aff��ectingpeople of European ancestry, so it’s not known whether the same is true for otherracial or ethnic groups.

Healthy lifestyle may off��setgenetic risk for Alzheimer’s Good diet, adequate exercise could make a big diff��erence: study

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

Healthy habits includelimiting alcohol and notsmoking. * ISTOCKPHOTO

CM

YKA ND-NDE

0

EDGE::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

www.thehindu.com/education

www.facebook.com/thehinduedge

www.twitter.com/thehinduedge

Delhi

Monday • July 15, 2019

Robotics as a career choice isgaining popularity among today’s students. Robots are machines that can either independently, or on command, carryout a series of operations andfunctions. It is a branch of engineering that involves the design, construction and operation of robots. From movinggoods around on a productionfl��oor to performing complexmedical procedures, and beingon space exploration missions,robots are fast becoming an important part of our lives. Coupled with advancements in other areas such as artifi��cialintelligence, robotics will playan increasingly integral role inour way of life.

India is still at a nascent stagewhen it comes to the rise of robotics. As per a global report in2017, there are only three robots per 10,000 employees inIndia. This is clearly insuffi��cientto support the country’s industrial growth targets for sustained growth. Interventionstherefore must be made in oureducation system to prepareyounger students for the futureby introducing robotics earlyon. Learning through roboticscan be more eff��ective in engaging the students and also instilling scientifi��c temperament inthem. Technology is whatdrives the world today and students must be adept with thelatest developments to be a productive member of society.

Early startIn a job market that is dominated by STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), demand for candidates withqualifi��cations in robotics hasseen a near 200% growth. Thistrend is likely to sustain for the

foreseeable future as the demandsupply gap stabilises. Byintroducing robotics in schoolsas part of the educational curriculum, students’ interest in thefi��eld can be nurtured early on.Learning robotics also encourages the development of higherorder thinking capabilityand problemsolving skills toproduce highly qualifi��ed andproductive talents for thefuture.

Robots are being developedand deployed in an increasingnumber of roles across diff��erentindustries. With increasing sophistication of robots, roboticscalls for greater collaborationand communication in inference drawing, model construction, and testing and controlling of a robot. Withstudents exposed to roboticsfrom a young age, they alsolearn valuable life skills in teamwork, communication and evencommunity participation in theprocess.

Introduction of robotics inschools, will therefore deliverbenefi��ts on multiple fronts.Ironically, schools, despite being centres of learning and education, are startlingly resistantto change. Even today, schoolsare largely dependent on teacherled instruction despite thedemonstrated benefi��ts of practical learning. However, withrising awareness and inpartsdue to increasing demand,

schools are making headway inadopting new technology andintroducing new courses suchas robotics.

With the cost of acquiringstarter kits or advanced robotickits falling, aff��ordability concerns, which once was a stumbling block in the mass adoption on robotics in thecurriculum, is now resolved.Basic concepts of robotics canalso be taught cheap with a little creativity and DIY approach.Students propelled by their interest and aided by creativityand common sense have beenknown to assemble workingprototypes using nothing morethan cardboards and othersuch household items.

In this regard, the government has established Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATLs) inschools across India with anaim to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination in youngminds. It also helps in inculcating skills such as design mindset, computational thinking,adaptive learning, physicalcomputing and so on. Underthis initiative, young childrenget a chance to work with toolsand equipment to understandthe concepts of STEM. ATL contains educational and learning‘doityourself ’ kits and equipment on science, electronics,robotics, open source microcontroller boards, sensors, and3D printers and computers.

The writer is MD, MBD group.

b Monica Malhotra Kandhari

Get future ready Technology is what drives theworld today, and students needto be in tune with the latestdevelopments. Robotics inschools will give them a headstart

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

With increasingsophistication of robots,robotics calls for greatercollaboration andcommunication in inferencedrawing, modelconstruction, testing andcontrolling of a robot

● Robots are fast becomingan important part of ourlives.

● Learning through roboticscan be more eff��ective inengaging the students andalso instill scientifi��ctemperament in them.

● Introduction of robotics inschools, will therefore deliverbenefi��ts on multiple fronts

FR

EE

PIK

<>You cannot shake hands with aclenched fi��st.Indira Gandhi

UGAM Legrand ScholarshipProgramme

The scholarship is open for girlstudents who have cleared class XIIboard exam from the sciencebackground. Under this programme,meritorious students who areinterested in pursuing B.Tech/B.Archprogrammes or are already enrolled forthe same this year, will receive fi��nancialaid.Eligibility: Applicants must be a female,having cleared class X and XII with notless than 75%, and family income notmore than ₹��5lakh p.a. The applicantmust be intending to do graduation inB.Tech., B.E. or B.Arch. anywhere inIndia.Prizes and Rewards: Eligible applicants willget scholarship of ₹��60,000 p.a. or 60%of the fee (whichever is less).Application Mode: Online Deadline: July 25https://bit.ly/2YMyFET

SHDF ScholarshipsSikh Human Development Foundation(SHDF) and Nishkam Sikh WelfareCouncil are providing fi��nancialassistance to marginalised but brilliantstudents, who wish to pursueprofessional courses for highereducation.Eligibility: Students who have scored atleast 60% marks in two latest academic

exams, and are pursuing a professionalcourse at a recognised institution inIndia may apply for this scholarship iftheir family income is below ₹��1.80lakhp.a.Prizes and Rewards: Based on theirfi��nancial need and performance inscholarship test, selected scholars willbe provided scholarships worth up to₹��30,000 each.Application Mode: Offl�ineDeadline: July 27https://bit.ly/2ShIp7H

Global Youth Video Competitiontve (Television for Environment) isinviting applications from environmentconservation enthusiasts to submitshort videos of inspiring stories aboutsaving the planet from climate change.Selected top entries will get globalexposure and a chance to work withthe United Nations’ Climate ChangeConference.Eligibility: Indian citizens between theages of 18 to 30 yearsPrizes and Rewards: Winning entries willget global recognition at the UNSecretaryGeneral’s Climate Summit inNew York. Winners will also get thechance to interact with climate changeleaders during a round trip travel toUN Climate Conference COP 25 in Chilein December this year.Application Mode: OnlineDeadline: July 28https://bit.ly/2xFHLHl

Courtesy: www.buddy4study.com

SCHOLARSHIPS)

Anurag Bansal, Senior Director,Hughes Global Education, Gurugram

India’s education sector has witnessed a widening skill gap, and therefore, there is an urgent need totransform the country’s educationsystem.

Besides improving the infrastructure, the government needs to invest in training teachers who canaddress these gaps and work towards improving the quality of education.

But, until sustained eff��orts and investments are made, it is diffi��cult todeliver signifi��cant impact on learning outcomes.

Sandeep Pachpande, Chairman, ASMGroup, Pune

Faculty investment is a worldwide phenomenon, with Nordiccountries being the best example ofhow it can improve a nation’s progress.

Recently, Bhutan took an initiative to prioritise its teachers over civil servants.

High quality and committedteachers are critical for shaping thetalent of the youth. Combined withthe policy of ‘Study in India’ and theformation of ‘National ResearchFund’, the long pending demand forfocus on education can be achieved.Such initiatives will be more eff��ective if remuneration for teachers,across India is standardised.

Vamsi Krishna, CEO and co-founder,Vedantu, bengaluru

This initiative was launched at theright time as it provided educators apush towards staying relevant andbeing equipped to tackle today’slearning challenges. Such schemeshelp teachers expand their boundaries while providing them withthe knowhow for their roles in thenext stage of their career, throughnewage technology, training andrelevant course content. Therefore,this is a well thought out initiative bythe government to bolster the education system and demonstratemeasurable impact.

Yajulu Medury, Director, MahindraÉcole Centrale, Hyderabad

One of the pressing issues of higher education is the lack of qualityteachers. The government’s decision to set up an annual refreshercourse has been a step in the rightdirection as it will lead to betterteaching outcomes, subject to stringent implementation. Faculty development is an integral part of anyeducation system, and the quality ofeducation can only improve if morefaculty members are encouraged topursue research and are uptodatewith the developments in their respective fi��elds.

Voices)

Lead learnersLast November, the Ministry of Human Resource Development launched the Annual RefresherProgramme in Teaching (ARPIT) to improve the quality of higher education faculty. Has it beenuseful? Some expert comments

b Neha Rupeja

<> Besides improving the infrastructure, the government needs to invest in training teachers who can

address these gaps and work towards improving the quality of education.

Anurag Bansal

Amity University and PAMA Institute for the Advancement of Transdisciplinary Archaeological Sciences, Thiruvananthpuram, have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) to share research and academic resources in the fi��eld of archaeology, architecture, anthropology, history, civil engineering, geography, geoinformatics, remote sensing andcommunity development.

The collaboration aims to deliver advancements in Indian archaeological research. Thememorandum was signed following a meetingof the leadership of both institutions at the Amity University, Noida.

Archaeological beginning

The Animal Law Centre of NALSAR (NationalAcademy of Legal Studies and Research) University, Hyderabad, recently launched India’s fi��rstacademic course on animal protection laws. Theoneyear PG diploma course is brought in collaboration with the Humane Society International, India. This will be a distance learningcourse with few contact classes every semester.The main objective behind it is to deliver astrong foundation on the subject of animal protection and establish policy development andresearch in the fi��eld. The last date for admissionis August 10. The course details are available onhttps://bit.ly/2S0k461.

Diploma in animal law

EDGE

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YKA ND-NDE

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DELHI THE HINDU

MONDAY, JULY 15, 20192EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

While presenting her maiden budget, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made certainstatements on education whichdrew loud applause from rulingparty parliamentarians. When shementioned terms such as ‘NewEducation Policy’, ‘National Research Foundation’, ‘Study in India’ and ‘research fund’ in herbudget speech, the lawmakersthumped their desks and expressed their joy.

The Finance Minister proudlysaid that three Indian institutionsfi��gured in top 200 institutions inthe world. She proposed an allocation of ₹��400 crore for worldclasshigher education institutions andannounced setting up of the National Research Foundation. Yes, itis good news because every Indianwants their country to achievegreater heights. The bad news isthat Sitharaman did not say anything about improving the quality ofprimary and secondary educationin the country. Her budget speechon the education sector focusedmore on higher education than onschool education.

The budget earmarked for education is ₹��94,853 crore. Of the total, ₹��56,536 crore is for school education and ₹��38,317 crore is forhigher education. The budget allocation for teacher training andadult education is mere ₹��125 crore,which is quite insignifi��cant compared to the budget allocated forthis purpose in previous years. ₹��50crore has been earmarked for theappointment of language teachersthough it is not the need of thehour. These fi��gures make me raiseanother important question: What

are our top priorities?

WorrisomeThe plight of primary and se

condary education in the countryis tragic. The problems that plagueschool education in the countryare lack of infrastructure, unqualifi��ed and untrained teachers, poorteacherstudent ratio and an unhealthy education system. As a result, teaching and learning do nottake place. The Annual Status ofEducation Report (ASER) 2018states that only 50.3% of the Indianstudents in class V can read textsmeant for class II students. Thecondition is the same in most government and private schools. Itclearly indicates that the quality ofschool education is not up to themark.

Literacy rate Right to education is a fundamental right. Article 21A of the IndianConstitution states clearly that theall children between the ages of 614 years should be provided freeand compulsory education. Whatis the reality? India’s literacy rate isjust 74.04% and in Bihar it is only63.82%. Shocking, indeed! TheRight to Education (RTE) Act doesnot seem to be eff��ective. The Actstates that schools should keep a25% quota for students whose families earn less than ₹��1 lakh per annum. Such students’ educationcosts (fees, uniform, study material, transportation) should beborne by schools, which in turnwill get money from the government. As the government does notpay such schools adequately, theoutcome of RTE does not materialise. The Global Education Monitoring (GEM) 20172018 report alsostates that India has not been ableto provide even the basic elementary education to all children.

ExpenditureEvery year, during the prebudget and postbudget presentation, educationists lament that the country’s

spending on education constitutesan insignifi��cant part of the GrossDomestic Product (GDP). Indiaspends only 4% of the GDP on education whereas some developingcountries spend more on education. For example, South Africa’sexpenditure on education is 6.1%of its GDP.

It may sound pleasant to theears when our lawmakers talk ofsetting up institutes of excellence,achieving topranks in the worlduniversity rankings. But, what actually sounds pleasant to the earsare the sincere eff��orts taken to improve the quality of school education in the country. Though it is desirable to compete with globallywellknown and top higher education institutions in the world andfi��guring in the list of top 200 institutions in the world, what is moreimportant is to strengthen schooleducation.

RecommendationsIt is crucial that the government

sets its priorities and takes proactive steps to make India a truly developed nation in the fi��eld of education. Here are myrecommendations:

The focus should be more onschool education than on highereducation. Primary and secondaryeducation is the foundation for tertiary education. Strengthening thefoundation is the need of the hour.Setting a target of 90% literacy rateand achieving it should be a toppriority. As the schools of the future need qualifi��ed and welltrained teachers, teacher trainingshould be another top priority.Without focusing on the professional development of schoolteachers, the quality of school education cannot be improved. Tomake all these happen, it is important to allocate at least 6% of theGDP on education.

The writer is an academic, columnist

and freelance writer.

[email protected]

Set the priorities right

Focus on primary schoolingand teacher training would goa long way in strengtheningthe quality of education

wide angle )albert p’ Rayan

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EAR SHOT

ASHOK RAJAGOPALAN

The 16-year-oldcalling out globalleaders on climatechangeVICE follows thejourney of the globalclimate strike onMarch 15, acrossEurope. Students fromdifferent countriesshare their experiences and take us behindthescenes ofthese mass gatherings.

The video begins with the 16yearold Swedish climateactivist Greta Thunberg stating, “We are facing the biggestcrisis humanity has ever faced. If your house is on fire youdon’t sit down and talk. I want people to panic.”

It shows how her actions snowballed and made her smallstrikes into a global phenomenon — Students call out globalleaders to act immediately on the issue of climate change.The short documentary shows the students coming out onstreets, skipping school on Fridays, to mark their movement— “Fridays for Future”.

Greta’s efforts to gather students from all over the worldand make the movement visible have earned her anomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Watch more about what inspired her here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCVQdr9QFwY

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

VIDEO CAFE

b Kritika Rathore

Each time one hears theword “off��beat”, these arethe things that come tomind: passion, lesser pay,niche, convincing parents,good teachers to teach themand colleges to opt for. Thisyear, many colleges acrossIndia have introduced innovative courses for aspiringstudents, to bridge the gapbetween what they want todo and what is available.Watch this space as we feature new courses. Thisweek, we bring you coursesyou can choose from theArts stream.

HolisticThere is a dearth of mentalhealth professionals in Indiawhere the number of peoplewith mental health issues ison the rise. One factor thatcontributes to this is the lackof opportunities to gain highquality education in mentalhealth. To bridge this gap,the Department of Psychology, at Mumbai’s St. Xavier’sCollege, launched a newmaster’s degree course —M.A. Psychology: Lifespan Counselling lastmonth. Any student with abachelor’s degree. acrossdisciplines, having studiedat least one paper in psychology during the threeyears, can opt for thiscourse. On completion, youcould pursue an M.Phil inClinical Psychology, or workin this fi��eld.

In an endeavour to further the holistic understanding of ancient Indian culturein all its parameters, the MAin Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, off��ered by St. Xavier’s,Mumbai, provides a soundunderstanding of the various vistas of our historyand culture.

It helps in promoting theconservation of our herit

age, and in heritage management. It provides opportunities in the streams ofarchaeology, museology,conservation, social sciences and the humanities. Graduates have a wide range ofjob opportunities such as civil services, educational services, journalism, museums,tourism, research, and soon.

For details:http://xaviers.edu/main/

PUKAR, an independentresearch collective and urban knowledge producinginstitution, has collaboratedwith Tata Institute of SocialSciences (TISS), Mumbai, fora yearlong activitybasedweekend course which off��ers an avenue to identify, un

derstand and study the issues of local communities.The Diploma in Communitybased ParticipatoryResearch and Advocacyaims to nurture the knowledge, passion and talent ofyoungsters, and promotestheir right to research.

The knowledge and skillsthat the students gain provide them the confi��dence tobecome informed thinkersand leaders of their communities.

The course off��ers skillbased training, discussionsand participatory toolsthrough activitybasedlearning, where the youthbegins to examine their everyday lives through an alternative lens. The discussions

on social institutions andevents enable them to become more informedstakeholders.

Another course off��eredby TISS is an IntegratedBEdMEd. A fulltime threeyear integrated programmefor the preparation of faculty for teacher education, aswell as other professionalwork in education, this programme off��ers a uniquemultidisciplinary, appliedsocial science approach towards the study of teaching.With a strong research focus, intensive engagementwith schools and teachereducation institutions, thecourse includes a yearlonginternship and a choice ofspecialisation. It will enable

a critical understanding ofeducation studies and practices, and develop competencies to contribute to thesector.

For details:https://www.tiss.edu/

With an aim to focus onthe intersection of law andpolitics, and the importanceof shaping a better understanding of modern India,M.A in Law, Politics andSociety has been introduced in Ambedkar University, Delhi. This is a twoyeardegree on research and analysis.

There are four mandatorycourses on constitution andpublic law, criminal justicesystem, criminal imagery,and law and humanity. The

electives in this programmeare far ranging, which include law and literature, environmental justice, gender,sexuality and law, supremecourt and politics in India.On course completion, youcould either get into research, teaching, legal practices or work with nongovernmental organisationsand law fi��rms.

For details:http://aud.ac.in/

admissions/undergraduate_programmes5/Karampura_Campus/programmes

B.Voc. is a unique programme with multiple exitpoints. In addition to thenormal completion, students have the option of exiting the programme at theend of the fi��rst year afterearning a diploma, or at theend of the second year andearn an advanced diploma.Students will be trained inskill components, and willbe certifi��ed by the NationalSkill Development Corporation on successfulcompletion.

B.Voc. Tourism and hospitality is being off��ered in Stella Maris College, Chennai.The programme is designedin a manner that the syllabus meets the requirementsof the industry and the National Occupational Standards.

For details:http://stellamariscollege.

edu.in/ (With inputs from Neha

Rupeja and SaradhaUdayakumar)

Offbeat... arts)

b Archana Subramanian

What’snew?There’s too many fi��sh in thesea, and you don’t knowwhich one to hook? Here aresome exciting courses in theArts, launched across collegesin the country

: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

With a strongresearch focus,intensive engagementwith schools andteacher educationinstitutions, thecourse includes ayear-long internshipand a choice ofspecialisation.

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Surprising discoveries and insights happen when you are reallynot looking for them, when yourmind is relaxed and open, freefrom the many things that normally distract us. I recently listened tothe economist Sendhil Mullainathan, speak to podcast host EzraKlein (June 24) about scarcity,explaining how it can limit performance, particularly in thecontext of poverty, whichhe says can claim a hugecognitive load. If people are constantlyworried aboutmaking endsmeet, orwhere thenext meal iscomingfrom, they are unlikelyto have much mentalenergy to spend onplanning how to improve their situation.He says a similar situation occurs whenone is consumed bya sense of time scarcity. In other words,just thinking about howlittle time you have todo all the things youneed to do, can wearyou down, leaving youwith far less energy toactually begin doingsome of those things.

Confusion Imagine the state of mind of a student who goes into one class,thinking about the two others forwhich she has not completed herhomework, or the third in whichshe has a test later that week. Allthrough this class, her mind is only partially on the lecture, wandering frantically between all sheneeds to do to complete preparingfor the test and excusing herselffor the unfi��nished assignments.Her notes, if she takes them at all,are likely to be incomplete andconfused. She is consumed by thesense that there isn’t enough timeto do it all, and makes it true bydissipating attention — and therefore energy. Most of us know that if

we pay attention during a class, wehave to do less work (and therefore spend less time) in revision.You are more likely to grasp theconcepts if you are listening carefully, besides having the opportunity to clear doubts as they presentthemselves.

How then does one “clear” themind and conserve that energy foraction? How can you get past asense of scarcity to take the timeyou do have? The fi��rst step is to recognise your state of mind, andacknowledge that your attention isfractured. The next is to con

sciously tell yourself that thereis nothing you can achieve by

thinking about 10 diff��erentthings, when all you need

to do is to focus on theone thing you can do

at the present. Mullainathan talks

about how hemade the decision to notlook at hisphone fi��rst

thing in the morning,and avoid becoming distracted bythe notifi��cationsthat would inevitably pop up, demanding his attention. So many of usbegin our mornings by readingthrough messagesas we hit thesnooze button onour smartphonealarms. Even before we are fully

awake, we have givenin to these distant de

mands. When we obsess overtasks that haven’t been done, orthose yet to be done, we have lessmind space for tasks that can bedone — in the here and now.

Suppose you walk into thatclassroom with a mind as clearand open as you can make it,pushing away for the moment, theinvading regrets and anxieties ofpast and future. Suppose youmake space for listening and thinking and — hopefully — understanding that comes from giving attention to the present. It could makeall the diff��erence — after all, theonly time we really have is now.

The writer teaches at the University

of Hyderabad and edits Teacher Plus.

[email protected]

Focus on the presentPush away past regrets and go forward with aclear mind

backpacker’s guide )usha raman

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I completed my BE in 2010, joined an IT company,and quit the organisation in 2014. I tried to appearfor public sector exams, but I was not able to clearthem. So, I started taking math tuitions at home. I also joined as a teacher in a school for a short while. Today, I feel lost. At home, there is parental pressure toget married, but I am not interested. Kindly suggestwhat my next course of action should be. — PrashantKumar

Dear Prashant,What would one expect with no direction in one’s prime?

What would you want to do? Are you currently a fulltimemath tuition teacher? Does that make you happy? Why can’tyou get back to IT again? Marriage can wait till you and fi��ndyour identity. Please try and meet a good counsellor and getsome clarity.

I am a class XI PCM student and want to pursueB.Arch. However, I hear that architects are not paidmuch, despite working hard. Is it true? What should Ido to build a strong career in architecture? What arethe career prospects? — Shanthi Vijay

Dear Shanthi,I am not sure what the source of your information on archi

tects not making good money is. A beginner can expect toearn anything between ₹��3 lakh to ₹��4.5 lakh per annum; thesalary increases gradually with experience and further education. An experienced architect can command up to ₹��810 lper annum, in the current market. As with many industries,salaries vary based on your location, companies that youwork for and other factors. Please speak to a few architects inthe business and then make your fi��nal choice. NATA is thebasic eligibility test for admission into architecture. You needa minimum of 50% marks in 10+ 2 in any stream (Commerce/PCM) with math. You could start basic NATA coaching classesover the weekends, to get an edge to prepare for the entrance.

I am a B.E. mechanical engineer graduate. Iworked for seven months in a tier2 automotive company, but resigned and have been preparing for UPSCCSE for the last two months. I am interested in it andworking hard everyday. But my family’s condition isnot conducive. As I am the eldest, I don’t knowwhether to work, or pursue my interest at a laterstage. Please help. — Vasiq Riaz

Dear Vasiq,I understand your dilemma and the confl��ict it is creating

for you. Right now, focus completely on your exam and giveyour best for its preparation (two months is hardly any timeto be ready for it or give up). However, be mindful, realisticand practical of how long you are willing to give yourself tocrack this exam. Set a realistic time period and should you,for any unforeseen reason, not make it to this, move to plan Band take up a job again in your area of competence and expertise.

I am 23, and completed my B.Tech in chemical engineering in 2017. I was unable to fi��nd a suitable job.At present, I am preparing for government examssuch as banking, SSC, and so on. However, I am interested in space science, especially in the fi��eld of propulsion of rockets. Is there any PG course in India tofurther continue my studies in rocket science? — Vijay Simha

Dear Vijay,We are fortunate to have some of the fi��nest aerospace and

rocket engineering colleges in India. If you could balanceyour electives, IIT has a list of eligible courses for each specialisation. Visit the websites, go through the admission processes, look up the eligibility criteria, and start communication directly with the faculty through emails. All the best.

Disclaimer: This column is not a substitute forlongterm therapy. It is merely a guiding voice. Someissues may need medical intervention.

The writer is a practising counsellor and a trainer. She will answer

questions sent to [email protected]. The subject line

should be: ‘Off�� the edge’

Clarity is key

OFF THE EDGE )NANDINI RAMAN

EDGE

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THE HINDU DELHI

MONDAY, JULY 15, 2019 3EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

An impressive resume is your fi��rst step tolanding a fulltime position or even aninternship. You can build your resumewith these apps

Make an impact

b Arathi Mini

Bon app-etit )

photos to the resume. VisualCValso features options to convertyour resume to PDF or Word,and import resume data fromLinkedIn.(http://bit.ly/30nXwiy)

Resume Builder

This free app comes with 10preset templates that willhelp you create resumes andconvert them to PDFs orWord. There are also optionsto add signature or photos.Apart from personal hobbies,interests, and academicachievements, the templatesalso let you add job descriptions in case you already havesome work experience andwould like to elaborate on it.You can save your resume offl��ine in case you need to workmore on it. (http://bit.ly/2XCGWi4)

CV Engineer

The app comes with a set of professionallycreated CV templatesthat will help you add information and come with up a resume inminutes. It helps create cover letters and provides tips on how towrite each section of the resume. There are also examples of CVswith each template to see how it will look once completed. Onceyour CV is completed, you can save it to Google Drive or share itthrough your email. The app also features prep questions andanswers to help you ace interviews. (http://bit.ly/32g3h3s)

VisualCV

This app is userfriendly and convenient to create resumes, onlineportfolios and cover letters forjob applications. With the help ofprofessionally designed templates, you can create your resume and continue to edit it as many number of times as yourequire. Apart from the availabletemplates, you can create yourown template and add additionalinformation to existing ones. Thetemplates allow you to add your

This Spring I was one of thefour undergraduate studentswho came to India for theannual ‘Strathclyde IndiaProsthetics and OrthoticsProject’. The trip was a partof the Strathclyde Engineering for the Developmentprogramme, supported bythe Strathclyde AlumniFund. The aim was to createa longterm collaborationwith services in India. Thistrip included an internshipwith the Ottobock Artifi��cialLimb Centre and Jaipur Footclinic in Mumbai, a nonprofi��t social enterprise whichprovides artifi��cial limbs topeople below the povertyline.

Learning on the job One of the main purposes ofthis trip was to compare theprivately funded and thefree services in Indian clinics. At the privately fundedOttobock, I shadowed thelead clinician, as well as tookpart in patient care and assisted the technicians in theworkshops. Along with myfellow intern, we took belowand above knee casts of pa

tients, and then fi��lled them.Then, we adapted and modifi��ed them to fi��t the patientsusing a combination of features taught by Strathclydeand Ottobock. We alsoadapted several orthoticcasts for patients with cerebral palsy.

The Jaipur Foot clinic is aclinic run by technicianswho are trained on the jobto make prosthetic and orthotic devices free of charge.The clinic, where everythingis produced from scratch, issupported by the government and relies mainly ondonations. The Jaipur Foot,a rubberbased prostheticleg for people with bothabove and belowknee amputation, is made from recycled materials including cartyres and wood. Here all patients are prescribed a similar socket design which ismade from a drainpipematerial.

I also attended a Jaipurmobile foot camp in Mumbaiwhere we saw polio patientswho would typically be prescribed a longleg orthosiscalled a KAFO — KneeAnkle

Foot Orthosis — which aimsto stabilise the joints and assist the muscles of the leg.

My experiences here haveshown me that there are many ways to solve a problem.Many of the amputationswhich take place are due totraffi��c accidents and diabetes. Even though peopleare vaccinated against polionow, many are still aff��ectedby this, and also by cerebralpalsy. So, the need for theseservices is growing.

Organisations such as theJaipur Foot clinic are makinga big diff��erence in people’slives. Many patients are concerned with appearance anddo not want to come acrossas disabled. If it was not forthese services, many peoplewould not have the chanceto work and take care ofthemselves and their families. I felt a great spirit of unity working alongside thesetechnicians and clinicians.

The writer is a fi��nal year

student of BSc (Honours)

programme in Prosthetics and

Orthotics at the University of

Strathclyde.

In first person)

Internship with a causeFor Benjamin Jakob Torjesen, coming to Mumbai was agreat learning experience

As is common with studentstoday, Arun Kumar Thangavelu is planning to pursue hishigher education in a university abroad. He has completed his graduation in journalism from Madras ChristianCollege and has applied forthe MA Broadcast Journalismcourse at the University ofSheffi��eld, the U.K. And like itis for most students, studying abroad can be expensive.So, he has applied for a scholarship hoping to get a waiveroff�� the tuition fee.

“I have applied for the International Post GraduateTaught Merit Scholarship2019. If I qualify to avail it, Iwill get 25% off�� the tuitionfee. The course fee is approximately around £20,000 and25% of it is a big deal. I canuse the money for accommodation and living expenses,”he says — an opinion held bymany of his peers.

Moving to a new country,fi��nding suitable accommodation, settling into a diff��erentculture and starting a newacademic process can bestressful. And with a studentloan adding to the stress, anysort of monetary relief canbe a big stressbuster. This iswhy many students, besidesputting in the eff��ort tochoose the right university,also work towards qualifyingfor scholarships that canhelp ease the fi��nancial andmental strain.

OptionsMost universities off��er several types of scholarships tomake themselves attractivefor prospective students andhelp ease the transition.Broadly there are meansbased scholarships (based onincome or community criteria of students), meritbasedscholarships (based solely ona student’s academic performance), talentbased scholarships (on the basis of theiracademic or nonacademictalent such as sports or performing arts), and researchscholarships (specifi��cally forstudents pursuing researchstudies under independentor guided projects at research institutions).

There are also crisis scholarships provided to students

based on their vulnerabilityindices or situation such asthe state of being diff��erentlyabled or orphaned, and academic promotion scholarships are provided to students based on theirpromotion to next level ofeducation in the sameinstitution.

“There are scholarshipsavailable outside the university provided by few associations based on empoweringor uplifting women and students from lowincome families but they are rarely basedon academic credentials andare mostly availed by the locals at that particular localitywhereas scholarships thatcome from the university are

mostly the ones we (international students) consider,”adds Ramyaa Rathna Kumar,an engineering graduate whois off�� to pursue Masters’ inElectrical and Computer Engineering, from Texas A&MUniversity, the U.S.

With so many options,how does one go aboutchoosing a scholarship? Rutuja Dandgaval, a masters’student at the School of Public Health and a Future ofChange scholar at Universityof New South Wales, Australia, says: “Students must do athorough research about allavailable options. Present tothe scholarship team one unique quality of yours thatmakes you more deserving

than others.” While she is a recipient of

a partial scholarship, sheknows of students whoproved that inadequate fi��nancial support can be a barrier to their dreams and passion having received afulltuition scholarship.

AdvantagesRutuja sees even a scholarship that off��ers partial fi��nancial relief as a big advantage.“The reality is that most students from India take casualjobs to support their living inSydney which aff��ects theiracademic performances. Insuch cases, even a partialscholarship makes a diff��erence. You save on the tui

tion fee and support your living with it instead of takingcasual jobs. That’s how it hasbeen a privilege to me. Because of it, I have been ableto grab signifi��cant career opportunities such as unpaidinternships and internationalstudy trips without a secondthought about expenses,”she explains.

Besides fi��nancial advantages, scholarships also provide numerous academic,professional, and personalbenefi��ts. Ankur Gupta, Assistant Manager Content, Buddy4Study, a scholarship platform that connectsscholarship and educationloan providers with seekers,lists the benefi��ts: a vote of

credibility and achievementto one’s academic profi��le; added advantage during recruitment or while interviewing for otherscholarships; and an impetusto maintain their academicrecords as most runningscholarships (provided periodically) are based on scholars’ continued academicperformance.

“Some scholarships alsooff��er career guidance, mentorship, and exclusive accessto resources like researchlabs, elite community memberships and so on whichother students are not able tosecure,” he adds.

(With inputs from Sarad-ha Udayakumar)

Money matters)

Ease the

loadOpting for a scholarship — a right one atthat — can ease your education burden

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Many students, besidesputting in the eff��ort tochoose the rightuniversity, also worktowards qualifying forscholarships that canhelp ease the fi��nancialand mental strain.

Points to consider

while choosing

scholarships:

● Scholarships covering

both academic and non

academic expenses are

more benefi��cial.

● Generally, scholarship

programmes that allow

students to benefi��t from

multiple programmes or

do not restrict them to

just one programme

should be chosen.

● Some scholarships are

provided as interestfree

loans to students. Hence,

it is preferable to choose

scholarships which are

nonrefundable over loan

based scholarships.

● Students should try to

apply for scholarships

which are not bound to

partner academic

institutions of the

scholarship provider.

● Scholarships which pay

academic fees directly to

the institution and the

remainder to the scholar

for subsistence are

generally more

convenient to manage.

● Scholarships which

allow scholars to adjust

their education loan

payments help them to

manage their liabilities.

● Scholarship awards

which include a

contingency grant or fund

which is provided on

request help students to

manage the emergency

expenses.

● Other factors include

the fees of the

scholarship application,

level of match with the

applicant’s profi��le, the

fi��eld of specialisation and

so on.

Inputs: Buddy4Study

b Madhumitha Srinivasan

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b Global Excellence Scholarship

University of Dundee is awarding GlobalExcellence scholarships to studentswanting to pursue fulltime undergraduate and postgraduate programmes atthe University in the session startingthis September.Eligibility: Applicants must hold an academic off��er of entry for an undergraduate or postgraduate programme in anyof the academic schools for the September 2019 entry. Applicants must be classifi��ed as overseas fee status.Prizes and rewards: Selected students willbe provided a stipend of £5,000 peryear up to fi��ve years for undergraduateprogrammes and for one year for postgraduate programmes. Deadline: October 31Application: Onlinehttps://www.dundee.ac.uk/study/scholarships/sept2019/uodglobalexcellenceseptug/ (Undergraduateprogrammes)https://www.dundee.ac.uk/study/scholarships/sept2019/uodglobalexcellencepg/ (Postgraduate programmes)

b MBA Business Excellence Scholarship

Newcastle University is providing MBABusiness Excellence scholarships forMBA candidates.Eligibility: Applicants must hold a conditional or unconditional off��er of admission to the fulltime MBA programme ofthe 2019 entry. Applicants must hold anEnglish language qualifi��cation of IELTS6.5 or its equivalent with no subskill below 6.0. They must also have substantialmanagerial experience (minimum threeyears). Prizes and rewards: Selected students willbe awarded £ 7,000, payable towardsthe cost of tuition fees.Deadline: Application starts from THISSeptember, for one year of study.Application: OnlineEmail:

[email protected]

b Dean’s Indian Scholarship (Journalismand Communication)

The Faculty of Humanities and SocialSciences at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, is off��ering Indian students the scholarship for undergraduate and postgraduate courses inJournalism. This is applicable for thefulltime programmes beginning in September 2019. Eligibility: The applicants must be Indianresidents. They must be applying for afulltime undergraduate and postgraduate programme in journalism. Prizes and rewards: Selected students willbe awarded £3,000£4,000 towards thecost of their tuition fee for each year.Deadline: August 30Application: Onlinehasspg[email protected]

ECETERA)

b MSc Molecular and Cellular Basis ofHuman Disease

Institution: University of Sheffi��eld, the U.K.Duration: One yearEligibility: Threeyear bachelor’s degreewith a minimum of 65% in a biomedicalrelated subject. Medical students who wish tointercalate their studies are also accepted.Overall IELTS grade of 6.5 with a minimumof 6.0 in each component or equivalent.Commences: SeptemberFee: £24,600 for overseas students, for 2019https://www.sheffi��eld.ac.uk/bms/study/masters/mol_cell

ADMISSIONS)

Correction: In the Voices column (issue

dated June 08) the location of T.A. Pai

Management Institute was wrongly men

tioned as Manipur instead of Manipal. The

error is regretted.

EDGE

CM

YKA ND-NDE


DELHI THE HINDU

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the writer in the best possiblemanner.

Proper writing, leading tolaudable outcomes: During mythree decades of teaching, researchand administration, I have had thedistinct privilege of associating withoffi��cials and friends through manyinternational engagements, andused to be appreciative of the manner in which they have their presentations clearer and in a sharply focused manner. No wonder many ofthe overseas writings such as project proposals and reports, etc arewidely accepted with appreciationas they have been properly and systematically exposed to writing skillsin their formative and developingyears of the lives.

Nobel laureates and quality publications in globally acclaimed journals and magazines emerge fromsome of the world’s wellknown nations, and one of the secrets of suchsuccess would undoubtedly be thefocus on writing in the educationalsystems, in these countries. Hence,it would be worthwhile to considerthe portfolio of writing in our educational system both in schools andcolleges as that aspect is expectedto enhance and augur Indian education, which is undergoing, frequentchanges in the past few decades.

The writer is Principal and Secretary,

Madras Christian College.

Value Add)

Hone yourskills

On the‘write’ track

b Kartikeya Ladha

If you are aiming for a career as acreative writer, fi��nding the rightopportunity could be challenging,but not scarce

Identifying the potential of a student early, while in school or athome, is vital for his/her development. Further, the student needs tobe exposed and taught properly following right methodology so that allvirtues are honed and put to properuse, thereby benefi��ting and shapingthe individual’s future. Overall development in reading, comprehension, speaking and writing shouldbe given due attention while thestudent is in school or college. Oneof the key components essential forshaping the future of the studentbesides other virtues is the abilityto write.

Writing ignored: Though thereare eff��orts made to inculcate writinghabits in a preliminary way, there ishardly any focus on how to compose the contents to be written in asystematic and effi��cient way. As aresult, the child does not get thepractice to eff��ectively communicatehis/her thoughts through writing.Either the student ends up as apoor writer or a vague writer, anddoes not rise to higher levels because of this defi��ciency. Sometimesby the time the student developsthis habit or skill, it becomes toolate and doesn’t contribute adequately to one’s career progression inour educational system.

Writing, a portfolio amongteachers abroad: During my recent visit to US institutions, I foundmany of them had a portfolioknown as “Professor of Writing”and a department titled Writing,which baffl��ed me, as it is unheard

of here. In a detailed discussionwith the concerned faculty in theU.S., I came to know that there is aseparate portfolio in UG colleges, tohelp students, especially freshmen.

As a student joins the institutionin the U.S., proper orientation andscreening of students are carriedout in the fi��rst few days or weeks ofcommencement of an academicyear, in order to identify one’sstrengths and weaknesses or shortcomings, and if one needs specialattention, it is provided. Since writing constitutes a major componentin the academic journey of an individual irrespective of any fi��eld onepursues, this area, if properly channelised and groomed, for which aDepartment of Writing or a Unit isestablished in schools and colleges,it would help many students.

Application of writing in UGcourses: Through the involvementof professors focused on writing,the student receives due attentionand training as the student ought todo composition, presentation ofproject proposal (as independent orjoint project/research which is apart of UG education in the overseas institutions), project report ora research thesis and so on. Specialised focus on writing enables one toproperly put across one’s thoughtsin the right and proper perspectiveand not to mince words in the presentation. This method of approachwards off�� unwanted usage of wordsand expressions and makes the presentation crisp and tothepoint,thus making reading meaningfuland appropriate. This makes thereaderto capture the thoughts of

Inclusion of writing in school andcollege curricula will enhance thequality of the students’ thought process

When we consider people who are currently making a living through writing, we areusually just thinking about journalists orscriptwriters most of the times. However,there are other job opportunities you canconsider if you want to make a career out ofcreative writing.

The main job of a creative writer is toproduce work that is engrossing and appealing. You need to know exactly whatyou are writing, who you are writing for,and how you are going to get the materialout in the market for your target audience.You have to write as a creative individualbut also think like a marketer when gettingthe work out there.

Many people take pleasure in creativewriting as a pastime, and with the growinguse of social media and digital platforms,there already is an increasing demand forquality content creation. And for the content to be of prime quality, you need goodwriting.

So, it is essential that you do not restrictyourself in the possibilities of what you cando with your writing abilities. You can writenovels, short stories, journalistic articlesfor digital media platforms, and even workas a copywriter, content writer and otherfreelancing jobs.

Job prospects It is not mandatory to have a certifi��cate orany sort of degree in creative writing. Anybody with a good command over a particu

lar language can infi��ltrate this attractive buthighly demanding fi��eld. Though, in today’sworld, English is the primary language tofocus on as it is already the most established out of all the other languages, especially in the globalised business world.

Some of the existing opportunities for innovative writers are:

Copywriter: Mainly in the fi��eld of marketing/ advertising fi��eld. The job of a copywriter is to create content highlightingthe features of a particular product/servicein a compelling manner for the customer.These people are accountable for writingthe brochures, publicity letters, productcatalogues, circulars, and so on.

Article writer: Article writers canwrite a variety of articles on the subjectsranging from fashion, food, travel, health,trade, entertainment, sports, education,politics, etc. and can also decide to write forvarious platforms like dailies, magazines,and websites.

Author: One can become an author bypenning a story on a topic of interest. It canbe in the segment of fi��ction or nonfi��ction.But expecting to just write a book in thehopes its sales will automatically pick up after it is published is not how it works. Plenty of work goes into the marketing of thebook.

Scriptwriter: Scriptwriters write thecontent and stories for movies, plays, andtelevision shows. They do thorough research and have to put in a lot of work to fi��gure out a plot and the storyline of a giventheme or topic.

One can also get into the training profession, after acquiring a master’s degree increative writing.

Another alternative is to hunt for jobs infi��rms that are focussed on producing specialised content. The success in this fi��eldhighly depends on the quality of your work.

Groundwork Creating a portfolio of your best writtenwork with a focus on including your published work is essential in building yourreputation as a serious writer.

Just try to read and write as much as youcan. There is no limit to how much you canimprove.

Try to get your work out in the world.Don’t be afraid of facing criticism. Try andsubmit it wherever you can. Enter competitions. Approach local drama groups to seeif they will use your scripts.

To make yourself more employable, lookfor prospects of getting some solid work experience. Don’t just focus on building a resume, but put your energy in learning newskills and mastering the old ones. You couldwork as a paid managerial for a company orchoose to volunteer in an organisation youadmire. You could also associate yourselfwith a charity and try to get endorsementsfor them or write grant letters.

Formal trainingThe fi��eld of creative writing does not require formal education. An educationalbackground in English literature or journalism and communication will defi��nitely bean added advantage.

Few institutions in India do off��er shortterm courses in creative writing. The minimum educational qualifi��cation needed forapplying to a creative writing course isHigher Secondary or class X/ XII with humanities or arts as the main discipline. Theduration of these courses is usually for oneyear. Most universities off��er courses in creative writing as optional subjects in additionto the regular bachelor’ s and master’ s programmes.

The writer is the author the book Dream

Beyond Shadows.

b R. W. Alexander Jesudasan

FR

EE

PIK

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