16
A gainst the backdrop of the Pulwama terror attack last week in which 44 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers were martyred, visiting Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) said here on Wednesday terrorism and extremism are “common concerns” and his country will extend coopera- tion to India and neighbouring countries to deal with them. He held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called the attack a “cruel sym- bol” of the scourge of terrorism and sought punishment for terrorists and their backers. However, both the leaders refrained from naming Pakistan. Terrorism and extremism are “common concerns” and Saudi Arabia will extend all cooperation to India and other neighbouring countries to deal with them, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said. The talks between him and Modi took place a day after the influential Arab leader con- cluded a high-profile visit to Pakistan and agianst the back- drop of India’s escalating ten- sion with Islamabad following the Pulwama terror attack. The External Affairs Ministry later said the Saudi Crown Prince and Modi con- demned the Pulwama terror attack by JeM while “complic- ity” of Pakistan was underlined during the meeting between the two leaders. Briefing reporters on the Crown Prince’s visit and on the issues discussed during the talks, TS Tirumurti, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry said, the two leaders also called upon countries to renounce use of terrorism as a state policy. In his media statement, Modi called the attack a “cruel symbol” of the scourge of ter- rorism and sought punish- ment for the terrorists and their backers. The Crown Prince, however, did not men- tion the strike. “Last week’s barbaric Pulwama attack was a symbol of the shadow of the inhuman danger hovering over the world. To deal with the scourge, we have agreed there is a need to ramp up pressure on coun- tries extending any sort of support to terrorism,” Modi said, without naming Pakistan. He said dismantling terror infrastructure, eliminating sup- port to terrorism and punish- ing terrorists and their sup- porters are very necessary. In his address, Modi also called for a strong action plan to combat extremism so that powers spreading violence and terror cannot mislead the youth. The PM said both sides agreed that stronger bilateral cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, maritime security and cyber-security will be beneficial for the two countries. “Today, we held extensive and meaningful discussions on all subjects of our bilateral relations. We have decided to take our economic cooperation to new heights,” he said. In order to facilitate institutional investment from Saudi Arabia in India’s economy, the two countries have agreed to estab- lish a framework, Modi said. “As a result of our meeting in Argentina two months ago, the essence of our strategic partnership has expanded in the areas of security, trade and investment,” he said. It is time to turn energy relations into a strategic part- nership, he said. The Crown Prince arrived here on a less than 30-hour visit on Tuesday night, a day after concluding his high-profile tour of Pakistan where he said dialogue was the only way to resolve “outstanding issues” between India and Pakistan. In a joint statement, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Monday called for avoiding “politicisation” of the UN list- ing regime, at a time India is stepping up efforts to brand Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist. The joint statement said the Saudi Crown Prince stressed dialogue is the only way to ensure peace and sta- bility in the region. In a special gesture, Modi received MBS at the airport, sig- nifying the importance India attaches to the visit by the leader of the Gulf nation. The two sides inked five pacts to expand cooperation in a range of areas, including trade and investment. The two countries also agreed to establish a bien- nial summit and a strategic partnership council, Modi said. Meanwhile, after he was given a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday, the Crown Prince talked about historical linkages between the two countries and stressed on expanding the ties. “The relationship between India and Saudi Arabia is in our DNA... Today, we want to be ensured that the relationship is maintained and improved for sake of both the countries and with the leadership of Mr President and the Prime Minister, we can create good things for both the countries,” MBS told reporters. He also talked about the contribution of lakhs of Indians in the overall development of Saudi Arabia. A Pakistan national belong- ing to the terror group Lashkar-e-Tayyeba was alleged- ly murdered on Wednesday in a brawl with other prisoners at the Central Jail in Jaipur, jail officials said. A police official said the prisoners fought over the vol- ume of a TV set and hit Shakrullah (50) with a large stone. The police said “three or four” prisoners were responsi- ble for killing the life convict, who is from Sialkot in Pakistan’s Punjab. A murder case has been registered. The incident comes amid heightened tension between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama terror attack in which a car bomb killed 44 CRPF personnel. C ongress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will address her first public rally in Prime Minister Narendra Modi home State Gujarat along with sibling and party president Rahul Gandhi on February 28. Besides Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi, the rally will also be addressed by Sonia Gandhi, who last made a public speech in November last year in Telangana during the Assembly polls. The deci- sion of Priyanka to begin first public address from Trimandir Ground, Adalaj is to signal the intent to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah on their home turf. The rally will be followed by the Congress Working Committee meeting which is scheduled at Ahemdabad after 60 years. The Adalaj rally fol- lows Rahul Gandhi’s February 14 address in tribal Lal Dungri village in Valsad district. Continued on Page 4 T hree members of business- man’s family were crushed to death after a rashly driven dumper loaded with sand fell over their Audi car while tak- ing a U-turn at 1 am in Rohini near ESI Hospital on KN Katju Marg, police said on Wednesday, adding that a three-year child was injured. Sumit (29), his wife (27), his mother (65) and his toddler son were on their way back from an engagement ceremo- ny when the accident took place, said police. Sumit was driving the car. After reaching the spot, the police team found all the four members of the family injured and immediately rushed them to a nearby hospital. Sumit, his mother and his wife were declared brought dead by the doctors, said SD Mishra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini), adding that Sumit’s three-year old son was undergoing treatment and is out of danger. The driver of the dumper managed to run away from the spot but was later arrested by police from his village. “We are investigating whether the dumper overturned while making a U-turn at high speed,” police officials said. CCTV footage was scanned to ascertain the sequence of events and to identify the alleged dri- ver, police said. “Accused driver was iden- tified as Harpal, a resident of Udesipur village in neigh- bouring Sonipat district of Haryana. Harpal (48) was absconding after the incident. He was located by a police team and arrested on the charges of rash and negligent driving causing death”, the DCP said. Senior traffic police officials said dumpers have been a men- ace on city roads, especially during nights. Action is taking on erring drivers on regular basis. This incident is a serious one and corrective measures will be initiated, they said. New Delhi: The Saudi Arabia-Pakistan joint state- ment calling for avoiding “politicisation” of the UN list- ing regime was not directed at India’s efforts to get JeM chief Masood Azhar banned by the global body, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir said on Wednesday, asserting that anyone involved in terror should be proscribed and punished. C ongress MLA Deepak Saxena Wednesday resigned as Chhindwara MLA, clearing the way for Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath to contest the by-election from this assembly seat. Nath had taken oath as the chief minister of the state on December 17 last year. As per the rules, he has to get elected to the Assembly within six months. Talking to media persons here on Wednesday, Saxena said, "I have resigned as MLA from Chhindwara to make way for Nathji to fight the bypoll. I tendered by resigna- tion to the state assembly Speaker today.” Kamal Nath, the nine-time MP from Chhindwara, was earlier thinking of contesting the by-election from Sausar in Chhindwara district, his aide said on the condition of anonymity. However, the chief minis- ter changed his mind and decided to fight from Chhindwara as he thought that if he contests from Sausar, a lit- tle known assembly seat in his district, the BJP may run a campaign to defame him say- ing that he was running away from his home turf, he added. Nath has represented Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat nine times since 1980, except once. In the state elections held in November, the Congress had won all the seven assembly constituencies in Chhindwara district. C onstantly under attack from Bharatiya Janata Party over alleged delay in farm loan waiver, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath asked the opposition to wait till March 5 when he would make public details about the farm loan waiver scheme. The distribution of loan waiver certificates however starts from Feb 22 onwards. Nath’s reply came during a discussion on a debate in MP assembly under section 139 on Wednesday. The Congress had also got approval for vote-on- account on the day and the BJP persistently attacked the Congress saying the ruling party has provisioned measly amount for loan waiver claim- ing the state exchequer’s purse was empty. “The government has pro- visioned 6,000 cr for farmers while the loan waiver requires mammoth amount of 56,000 cr,” exCM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in the debate. “Whether the state govern- ment plans to waive off loans on paper offering certificates to farmers and not paying any- thing to banks,” questioned Chouhan adding the Congress government is repeatedly claiming that they are left with no funds. By March 5, we would waive off loans of 25 lakh farmers, he added. Responding to this, CM Kamal Nath said it was true that MP government has run out of funds and it was Chouhan’s ex-ministers who had pointed out this. “Loan waiver was no elec- tion promise, we had announced this utmost faith and feelings,” added Nath claiming the farmers would be offered no dues certificates to make them realize the loan if actually waived off and hope- fully the BJP would also then accept this. Please wait till March 5, said Nath when he plans to make public all the details of how the Congress government waived off farm loans. “I had made thorough researches into this and I had started prepar- ing on this almost six months ago before coming to power,” said the Chief Minister. Chouhan retorted claiming the BJP had left the state in rev- enue surplus and all the loans were under the permissible limit of 3.5% of the GDP. Responding to Chouhan’s allegations that CM Kamal Nath did not visit farmers in cases of hailstorm and low temperatures, Nath hit back saying visiting the farms and getting posing for cameras might not solve the issue and he believes in addressing the issue. RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008

˛0˘ ˝ $ ˚ years. The Adalaj rally fol- ˘ ˇ ˆ ˙ˇ ˝ ˛ ˚˜ ˚ !˛ " ˇ ˇ # ˝ ˚ ˚ ˜ ˝ ˇ ˚ ˚ $ ˘ˇˆ ˙ ˙ ˆˆ ˝˛ % &ˇ˘˜ ˇ # ˝ ˚ ’ˇ ˝() ˘ ˚ ˝ *+˝

  • Upload
    lydan

  • View
    228

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

��������������� �������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ������������������������������ ���������!� "�����������������������#������������������������������������������������ ���������������$

�������������������������� ����������������%���&��������������#��������������������������'��������()��������������������*��+������,������-�����������.�����/��0������������������$ ��

����������������� �!�"�����������������������# +��������������������������.������1���������2������������������������� �����������������������������������*��*����3����,����������� �����������������$

������$��������%��������������$�����������������%���43+ ��2��*������������������'��������56���������2����7��������������-89�7����� ���������������$%������������������������������������������������������*����������������������������2�����������66���7'���������������2����� ����43+���2������������������$� ��

�������

����� 4�#� �:;3

Against the backdrop of thePulwama terror attack last

week in which 44 CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF)soldiers were martyred, visitingSaudi Arabia Crown PrinceMohammed Bin Salman(MBS) said here on Wednesdayterrorism and extremism are“common concerns” and hiscountry will extend coopera-tion to India and neighbouringcountries to deal with them.

He held talks with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, whocalled the attack a “cruel sym-bol” of the scourge of terrorismand sought punishment forterrorists and their backers.However, both the leadersrefrained from namingPakistan.

Terrorism and extremismare “common concerns” andSaudi Arabia will extend allcooperation to India and otherneighbouring countries to dealwith them, Saudi Crown PrinceMohammed Bin Salman said.

The talks between him andModi took place a day after theinfluential Arab leader con-cluded a high-profile visit toPakistan and agianst the back-drop of India’s escalating ten-sion with Islamabad followingthe Pulwama terror attack.

The External AffairsMinistry later said the SaudiCrown Prince and Modi con-demned the Pulwama terrorattack by JeM while “complic-ity” of Pakistan was underlinedduring the meeting betweenthe two leaders.

Briefing reporters on theCrown Prince’s visit and on theissues discussed during thetalks, TS Tirumurti, Secretary(Economic Relations) in theExternal Affairs Ministry said,the two leaders also calledupon countries to renounce useof terrorism as a state policy.

In his media statement,Modi called the attack a “cruelsymbol” of the scourge of ter-rorism and sought punish-ment for the terrorists andtheir backers. The Crown

Prince, however, did not men-tion the strike.

“Last week’s barbaricPulwama attack was a symbolof the shadow of the inhumandanger hovering over theworld. To deal with the scourge,we have agreed there is a needto ramp up pressure on coun-tries extending any sort ofsupport to terrorism,” Modisaid, without naming Pakistan.

He said dismantling terrorinfrastructure, eliminating sup-port to terrorism and punish-ing terrorists and their sup-porters are very necessary.

In his address, Modi alsocalled for a strong action planto combat extremism so thatpowers spreading violence andterror cannot mislead theyouth. The PM said both sidesagreed that stronger bilateralcooperation in areas such ascounter-terrorism, maritimesecurity and cyber-security willbe beneficial for the two countries.

“Today, we held extensiveand meaningful discussions

on all subjects of our bilateralrelations. We have decided totake our economic cooperationto new heights,” he said. Inorder to facilitate institutionalinvestment from Saudi Arabiain India’s economy, the twocountries have agreed to estab-lish a framework, Modi said.“As a result of our meeting inArgentina two months ago,the essence of our strategicpartnership has expanded inthe areas of security, trade andinvestment,” he said.

It is time to turn energyrelations into a strategic part-nership, he said.

The Crown Prince arrivedhere on a less than 30-hour visiton Tuesday night, a day afterconcluding his high-profiletour of Pakistan where he saiddialogue was the only way toresolve “outstanding issues”between India and Pakistan.

In a joint statement,Pakistan and Saudi Arabia onMonday called for avoiding“politicisation” of the UN list-ing regime, at a time India is

stepping up efforts to brandJaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)chief Masood Azhar a globalterrorist. The joint statementsaid the Saudi Crown Princestressed dialogue is the onlyway to ensure peace and sta-bility in the region.

In a special gesture, Modireceived MBS at the airport, sig-nifying the importance Indiaattaches to the visit by theleader of the Gulf nation. Thetwo sides inked five pacts toexpand cooperation in a rangeof areas, including trade andinvestment. The two countriesalso agreed to establish a bien-nial summit and a strategicpartnership council, Modi said.

Meanwhile, after he wasgiven a ceremonial welcome atthe Rashtrapati Bhavan onWednesday, the Crown Princetalked about historical linkagesbetween the two countries andstressed on expanding the ties.

“The relationship betweenIndia and Saudi Arabia is in ourDNA... Today, we want to beensured that the relationship is

maintained and improved forsake of both the countries andwith the leadership of MrPresident and the PrimeMinister, we can create goodthings for both the countries,”MBS told reporters.

He also talked about thecontribution of lakhs of Indiansin the overall development ofSaudi Arabia.

����� -+37<�

APakistan national belong-ing to the terror group

Lashkar-e-Tayyeba was alleged-ly murdered on Wednesday ina brawl with other prisoners atthe Central Jail in Jaipur, jailofficials said.

A police official said theprisoners fought over the vol-ume of a TV set and hitShakrullah (50) with a largestone.

The police said “three orfour” prisoners were responsi-ble for killing the life convict,who is from Sialkot inPakistan’s Punjab. A murdercase has been registered.

The incident comes amidheightened tension betweenIndia and Pakistan after thePulwama terror attack in which a car bomb killed 44CRPF personnel.

����� 4�#� �:;3

Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra

will address her first public rallyin Prime Minister NarendraModi home State Gujarat alongwith sibling and party presidentRahul Gandhi on February 28.

Besides Priyanka GandhiVadra and Rahul Gandhi, therally will also be addressed bySonia Gandhi, who last madea public speech in Novemberlast year in Telangana duringthe Assembly polls. The deci-sion of Priyanka to begin firstpublic address from TrimandirGround, Adalaj is to signal theintent to take on PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andBJP chief Amit Shah on theirhome turf.

The rally will be followedby the Congress WorkingCommittee meeting which isscheduled at Ahemdabad after60 years. The Adalaj rally fol-lows Rahul Gandhi’s February14 address in tribal Lal Dungrivillage in Valsad district.

Continued on Page 4

��� ��������� 4�#� �:;3

Three members of business-man’s family were crushed

to death after a rashly drivendumper loaded with sand fellover their Audi car while tak-ing a U-turn at 1 am in Rohininear ESI Hospital on KN KatjuMarg, police said onWednesday, adding that athree-year child was injured.

Sumit (29), his wife (27),his mother (65) and his toddlerson were on their way backfrom an engagement ceremo-ny when the accident tookplace, said police. Sumit wasdriving the car.

After reaching the spot, thepolice team found all the four

members of the family injuredand immediately rushed themto a nearby hospital.

Sumit, his mother and hiswife were declared brought deadby the doctors, said SD Mishra,

Deputy Commissioner of Police(Rohini), adding that Sumit’s three-year old son wasundergoing treatment and is outof danger. The driver of thedumper managed to run

away from the spot but was laterarrested by police from his village.

“We are investigatingwhether the dumper overturnedwhile making a U-turn at highspeed,” police officials said.CCTV footage was scanned toascertain the sequence of eventsand to identify the alleged dri-ver, police said.

“Accused driver was iden-tified as Harpal, a resident ofUdesipur village in neigh-bouring Sonipat district ofHaryana. Harpal (48) wasabsconding after the incident.He was located by a police teamand arrested on the charges ofrash and negligent drivingcausing death”, the DCP said.

Senior traffic police officialssaid dumpers have been a men-ace on city roads, especiallyduring nights. Action is takingon erring drivers on regularbasis. This incident is a seriousone and corrective measureswill be initiated, they said.

���������� ��������������������������������������������������������� ��������

������������ ���� ������� ���������������� ���������������������� ��� �����

����� ����������������� �� ������������������

��������������������� ����������� ���� ��

������������� ������������ �����������

New Delhi: The SaudiArabia-Pakistan joint state-ment calling for avoiding“politicisation” of the UN list-ing regime was not directed atIndia’s efforts to get JeM chiefMasood Azhar banned bythe global body, Saudi ForeignMinister Adel bin AhmedAl-Jubeir said on Wednesday,asserting that anyone involvedin terror should be proscribedand punished.

���������������������������������� ��������������������

�������������� �����������������������������!����� ������������

����������������������������� ������(=5>�!-����� ��" -���5 �(=5>��� -���5 �(=5?���

'���5@ �(=5> '���5@ �(=5?5 A?@ 5)= @A

!� ���������������������������""����#������$��%���%�������$����$�� �!� ���&��������$������� �������������������������������� �����'����������������$�� ���������������$����$������������(!�"����)*�������� !� �������� ������������������������������������+���������������),"����$-� � !� ���&�������������������������� �(!�"������+�����������������.���������/�������� �*"

����� �������0������� ���������������!��0���1�'������������������2�3��������$� ����������������������$������������$�����0��4������/�������� ��

��� ��������� .;B7+:

Congress MLA DeepakSaxena Wednesday

resigned as Chhindwara MLA,clearing the way for MadhyaPradesh Chief Minister KamalNath to contest the by-electionfrom this assembly seat.

Nath had taken oath as thechief minister of the state onDecember 17 last year. As perthe rules, he has to get electedto the Assembly within sixmonths.

Talking to media personshere on Wednesday, Saxenasaid, "I have resigned as MLAfrom Chhindwara to makeway for Nathji to fight thebypoll. I tendered by resigna-tion to the state assemblySpeaker today.”

Kamal Nath, the nine-timeMP from Chhindwara, wasearlier thinking of contestingthe by-election from Sausar inChhindwara district, his aidesaid on the condition ofanonymity.

However, the chief minis-ter changed his mind and

decided to fight fromChhindwara as he thought thatif he contests from Sausar, a lit-tle known assembly seat in hisdistrict, the BJP may run acampaign to defame him say-ing that he was running awayfrom his home turf, he added.

Nath has representedChhindwara Lok Sabha seatnine times since 1980, exceptonce. In the state electionsheld in November, theCongress had won all the sevenassembly constituencies inChhindwara district.

�� ���� ������������ �� ������������� �������� �������� ������������ ��� !��������� ����

�"�� ����������

��������� ��� ������ �� ������������ �����!���!

���������� �� ��� ��������� �������� � ���

��� ��������� .;B7+:

Constantly under attackfrom Bharatiya Janata Party

over alleged delay in farm loanwaiver, Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Kamal Nath asked theopposition to wait till March 5when he would make publicdetails about the farm loanwaiver scheme.

The distribution of loanwaiver certificates howeverstarts from Feb 22 onwards.

Nath’s reply came during adiscussion on a debate in MPassembly under section 139 onWednesday. The Congress hadalso got approval for vote-on-account on the day and the BJPpersistently attacked theCongress saying the rulingparty has provisioned measlyamount for loan waiver claim-ing the state exchequer’s pursewas empty.

“The government has pro-visioned �6,000 cr for farmers

while the loan waiver requiresmammoth amount of �56,000cr,” exCM Shivraj SinghChouhan said in the debate.“Whether the state govern-ment plans to waive off loanson paper offering certificates tofarmers and not paying any-thing to banks,” questionedChouhan adding the Congressgovernment is repeatedlyclaiming that they are left withno funds.

By March 5, we wouldwaive off loans of 25 lakhfarmers, he added. Respondingto this, CM Kamal Nath said itwas true that MP governmenthas run out of funds and it wasChouhan’s ex-ministers whohad pointed out this.

“Loan waiver was no elec-tion promise, we hadannounced this utmost faithand feelings,” added Nathclaiming the farmers would beoffered no dues certificates tomake them realize the loan if

actually waived off and hope-fully the BJP would also thenaccept this.

Please wait till March 5,said Nath when he plans tomake public all the details ofhow the Congress governmentwaived off farm loans. “I hadmade thorough researches intothis and I had started prepar-ing on this almost six monthsago before coming to power,”said the Chief Minister.

Chouhan retorted claimingthe BJP had left the state in rev-enue surplus and all the loanswere under the permissiblelimit of 3.5% of the GDP.

Responding to Chouhan’sallegations that CM KamalNath did not visit farmers incases of hailstorm and lowtemperatures, Nath hit backsaying visiting the farms andgetting posing for camerasmight not solve the issue andhe believes in addressing theissue.

������������������������� ����!

#� �#�� $�%&�' (���)

���������� ��� ������������������� ���!���� ���� " RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008

����������������������� �!"#$ %�#��

%� %"��$& &"����&�� &��"�'&�����& "

&'()��&��*�+,�-

�����!���������� ��������+!��.+/0������+�1-��+2�.

�������� !" #$���$�%�!&'&��! ()*�#��!��

#�$%$#%�&�C7��%�%;��

#B�&%�34�+::�D

'#�()�**4B��<&;�%B�&���4�9B��+ �4<�:�+�3&���%�</7

��� �3�2�5)��&&4� @=E+���&����������1������+���������

���(� ��)�������(*��

+$+,-$�.�*/-B.�&+%3&'+�%3B4

3&�/<&%

�0��������$ ������ ���� �������

�*��� +,%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2

����������� ������ ����� ���������� ����������������������������������� �� !"#���$"�!"%&'!�( �������#�)�*����%�+,-*%�������������*#����./01,,2* 3�+�+4���� �������251���������6 71��8����*�+�+%��*9���2*#����7/01,22 3�+�4*&��������:,;557155,<;;*�� +:,<=<-2-,-0/+'�����:���������*!%"!���+%�+��'%>?1,,/?2-;,-*!���+%�+�71?#��@%?/2?1,,071,,=*�"!�A!� �!>'��!�+2+,,'��:������*!����*#�� ���)�*%�������B���:��� �C����� ������:#������C������+������:��D����*E����@�����:%�+0*#�����>�� #�)�* #�������9�����*%�)E����722,,,1* �����:,227/,22,/55*������������@�����:87-2*������0*%@"E�*>���#���%��71,2-,2*A+�+�����:,21,7/=;<=,,C/=;<<,,*��� �@�����:E�F��������G���� ���%�+:,<=0;5;5<--*,<=<1=1<15<* ���G��)@�����:/��8����*�����������������*8�H �!��*���G��)110,20+&���������:,51171-/0//-*1-/0///*1-/0//5+

���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

��� ��������� .;B7+:

The 37th foundationanniversary of Bharat

Bhavan concluded with theplay ‘Tughlaq’. A famous playby Girish Karnad was staged atBharat Bhavan here onWednesday, marking the grandclosure of foundation anniver-sary.

Directed by K Madhvane,the play was performed by theartists of Sriram CentreRepertory. The play capturesthe reign of a man who got toomuch power and couldn’tunderstand how to wield suchauthority on unwilling subjects.The play, which was initiallywritten in Kannada, was trans-

lated several times and is inter-preted by many.

The play is about a kingwho could not understand hissubjects and about subjectswho were not ready for theKing’s dream of a perfect king-dom.

The names that werepinned on him seemed appro-priate as he shifted his kingdom

from Delhi to Daulatabad – amove which brought his king-dom to its knees.

The further disillusion-ment that Tughlaq wentthrough led him to isolatehimself from his people asintolerance reached its peak.He is surrounded by peoplewho slander him, plot againsthim and murder each other

ruthlessly.The setting of the play

included a large movablewooden throne, brilliant sound,and lighting. The artists per-forming in the play made audi-ence glued to their seats. It wasa wonderful experience for allthe art lovers of the city.

It is to be noted thatTughlaq was first staged inUrdu in 1966 as part of aNational School of Drama stu-dent production directed byactor Om Shivpuri, then a stu-dent. Its more famous outingwas Ebrahim Alkazi’s grandset-piece at the Purana Qila,Delhi, in 1972; veteran actorManohar Singh played thelead.

/1��00��� ����� ���� ������ 3���%� �.D�9�/+ ;+4� �%;��7:+D�#+&7��'B�/� �.D�%;��+�%3&%&�B'�&�3�+/

��4%�����7��%B�D$�%;��7:+D��+7%<��&�%;���3�4�B'�+�/+4�#;B��B%�%BB�/<�;�7B#��+4 ��B<: 4,%�<4 ��&%+4 �;B#�%B�#3�: &<�;�+<%;B�3%D�B4�<4#3::34��&<.-��%&

��� ��������� .;B7+:

The sports coaches from GermanUniversity informed the players of

Madhya Pradesh about sports in Germany.An advanced sports training session wasorganised at TT Nagar stadium here onWednesday.

The trainers Petra Ballifen and StephenSnyder conducted the seminar for the Stateplayers. Director Sports and Youth WelfareSL Thoussen inaugurated the three-dayworkshop. During the three-day workshopsports instructors of sports department,physio therapist, Physiologist and theofficials took part.

In this three-day workshop, trainingof players in connection with the changesmade by the use of modern techniques insports was conducted by German sportspsychiatrist and Expert Petra Baliffeen andStephen Snider of Mumbai and by psy-chologist Mugdda Bavare of Mumbai.Practical texts were also given to traineesin the Fiji Center through modern equip-ment.

On the last day of workshop, DirectorSports and Youth Welfare S.L. Thoussenreached the trainees and guided them. Hesaid that the purpose of this training orga-nized under coach development programis to update the instructors with such infor-

mation which is absolutely essential for theperformance of the players. He expressedhis hope that this training program wouldprove to be useful for sports trainers to pro-duce good players.

The coaches said that this three-dayworkshop was very useful and explainedthe need to organize such training pro-grammes regularly. Roshan Lal, the coachof the Boxing Academy, said that theinformation gathered from this workshopwill be very useful in preparing the play-ers.

By using modern technology, we canlearn how to make a good player by rais-ing the morale of the players.

"��������������������������������������##�������������

Bhopal: A training and capac-ity building workshop for pan-chayat representatives underRashtriya Gram-Swaraj Yojanais being organised at DussehraMaidan, BHEL, Bhopal onFebruary 23 in which ChiefMinister Kamal Nath will bethe chief guest.

Panchayat and RuralDevelopment MinisterKamleshwar Patel will presideover the programme.Information will be given onthe minute details and workprocess of Panchayat Raj in theworkshop.

This information was givenby Additional Chief SecretaryPanchayat and RuralDevelopment Gauri Singhwhile reviewing the prepara-tions for the workshop.

Additional Chief SecretaryGauri Singh said thatsarpanchs, up sarpanchs,panchs of all gram panchayatsof Bhopal and Narmadapuramdivision, presidents and vice-presidents of district panchay-ats and Janpad Panchayats ofthe state will take part in theworkshop. Besides, presidentand secretary of self-helpgroups working under RuralLivelihood Mission in grampanchayats will take part.

An exhibition based onPanchayat Raj Vikas Yatra willbe held at the programmevenue.

She told that Director,Panchayat Raj and CEOMNREGA will provide train-ing module and material.Nearly 20,000 Panchayat rep-resentatives are likely to attendthe workshop.

Director Panchayat RajUrmila Shukla told that a filmbased on Gram Panchayat VikasYojana, Adarsh Gram Panchayatand Innovation will also bedisplayed at the workshop.Information will also be givenon community programmes.She said that this is the secondtraining workshop being organ-ised in the state. Earlier, similartraining workshop was organ-ised in Dhar district. SR

%������������������2�������������

Bhopal: The Congress gov-ernment in Madhya Pradeshtold the assembly onWednesday it has, in principle,agreed to provide 10 per centreservation in jobs and educa-tion to economically poor inthe general category.

Making an announcementof this effect, Chief MinisterKamal Nath said a Cabinet sub-committee will be constituted onthe issue.

The announcement cameafter main opposition BJPdemanded implementation of10 per cent quota in jobs andeducation for general categorypoor candidates. A law in thisregard was enacted by theCentre last month. BJP mem-bers alleged the ruling Congresshas been discriminating againstthe youths of unreserved cate-gory by not providing themreservation. Just after theQuestion Hour, Leader ofOpposition Gopal Bhargava

asked the state government toclarify its stand on the issue andsought implementation of thequota law for economicallypoor in accordance with the124th ConstitutionalAmendment Bill passed byParliament. Reacting toBhargava's demand, Nathannounced his government hasin principle agreed about givingreservation to the general cate-gory poor. Saying this was a partof the Congress manifesto, Nathsaid a Cabinet sub-committeewill be formed to look into theupper-caste quota law imple-mentation in the state. However,this announcement did not sat-isfy BJP members.

Narottam Mishra of BJPsaid this is an important issueassociated with the youths of thestate. He alleged the Congressgovernment has been discrim-inating against the general cat-egory youths under a conspiracy. SR

������������$%�&������������'(����)*�

Bhopal: The Public WorksDepartment is constructing atwo thousand-bedded multi-storey hospital at a cost of aboutRs 410 crore for the expansionof health facilities at HamidiaHospital, Bhopal premises.

The work of expansion ofthe facility will be completed byDecember this year. PublicWorks Minister Sajjan SinghVerma said that the departmenthas been instructed to completethe construction work of build-ings of health institutions in thestate on time with good qual-ity and on priority basis.

Total six buildings arebeing constructed in HamidiaHospital premises. Out of these,construction of multi-storeyvehicle parking building hasbeen completed. Constructionof hostel building is in its finalstage, which will be completedby March. The structure ofbuilding No; 1 and 2 which arehospital buildings have been

completed. Now the finishingwork is being done speedily.Work of building no-3 NursingCollege and hostel structureand finishing work is beingsimultaneously done at a fastpace. Foundation work ofbuilding no-5 multi-storeyedvehicle parking which is pro-posed near the Fatehgarh Gateis in progress. The work orderof tenders has been issued atthe rate of 2.61 per cent lessfrom the scheduled rate of thedepartment for the civil workof the multi-storey hospitalproject at Hamidia hospitalpremises.

Razing of old buildings,shifting of power-water lines,felling of trees posing obstruc-tion in work-site, streetlights,compensatory tree plantation,sewage line, water lines, exter-nal electrification, beautifica-tion and construction of inter-nal roads are included in thesanctioned tender amount. SR

7# ����2�����(9������� ������������������

��� ��������� .;B7+:�

Two miscreants who heldcaptive and robbed a 68-

year-old woman of �30,000cash at Indrapuri on Tuesdaystill out of police reach; Piplanipolice have intensified searchfor the accused.

Police said that the victimMeena Kapoor was robbed bytwo miscreants by keeping hercaptive in the afternoon at herresidence when she was alone.

The victim’s husbandretired from BHEL and hadgone to hospital while the vic-tim was alone at the time of therobbery.

A complaint was lodgedwith the Piplani police statingthat in the afternoon two per-sons came to her house andintroduced themselves atemployees of MPSEB and camefor noting usage of power by

checking electricity meter. Forentering the house they askedwomen that electricity meter isshowing higher reading thanthe actual consumption and

they have come to check theelectricity meter. The victimafter getting assured allowedentry of the accused and onentering the house they heldher captive and robbed her atknife point. They took keys andescaped with �30000 cash.After her husband returnedvictim reported the incidentand a case was lodged.

Based on the complaintafter the preliminary investi-gation the police have regis-tered a case under section 392of the IPC and started furtherinvestigation.

Police have checked theCCTV footages of the nearbyinstalled cameras and in theinvestigation domestic helpand security guards would bequizzed. The accused threat-ened not to report the incidentto the police before leaving thehouse.

5���������������������������������'��$���������������� �������$������**0�����������.�������/�������� ������������

+,-�-��������((���.�/%�%%%�����������(�0�����

-�� .�����/��"� ��

������� ����01�� ���� ���� �����*�������� ���.����� ������ � ������� �� ����� ��!

��� ��������� .;B7+:

The Tribal Sub Project onQuinoa began at Seed

Technology Research Centerhere from Wednesday.

The project is being organ-ised under Jawaharlal NehruAgricultural University. On theoccasion of this project, ChiefGuest Pradeep Kumar Bisenwas present.

While interacting with theaudience, Bisen said that thefood crop Quinoa is full ofmedicinal and nutritious prop-erties. T is noteworthy thatrecently, agricultural scientistsgave Madhya Pradesh the titleof Soya State and in comingdays in the guidance of agri-cultural scientists, the farmerswould get excellent profit gen-eration and in the future, Statewill be known by the name ofQuinoa. The ProjectCoordinator, Chief ScientistGG Kattu of Indian Council ofAgricultural Research, NewDelhi said that this new cropwill prove to be a boon forfarmers. This project has been

started in seven districts ofMadhya Pradesh whichincludes Krishi Vigyan KendraSeoni, Mandla, Umaria,Dindori, Anuppur, Shahdol,Agriculture College, Balaghat.On the occasion OP Dubey,DN Shrivas, NK Bisen, VishanMeshram, Vineeta Singh,Uttam Bissen, Nikhil Singh,Shekhar Singh Baghel, SharadBisen, SK Chaurasia, RMRamrikrishnan, Radhey ShyamSharma and Yogendra Singhwere present. The programmewas conducted by the ChiefScientist Kattu. Besides,Director Education SDUpadhyaya, Sharad Tiwari,

Faculty of AgriculturalEngineering, RK Nema, RMSahu, IPRO MA Khan, Head ofDepartment AS Gondia werealso present. Besides, NidhiPathak, K Monica and KMeghna Chaubey were present.Various delicious dishes pre-pared by Kanoba seed includ-ing Kheba Kheer, Yogurt,Pappad, Ladoo, Parate, Cheela,Pulao, Idli, Salad were exhibit-ed and the dishes were pre-pared by Shweta Tiwari,Shiwangi Rahgadale, RenukaShivvanshi, Deepika, Raginiand Nirmal Chhabda. Besides,products made up of Kanobaseed were also exhibited.

#;3:��34%��+�%34��#3%;�%;�+< 3�4�� �.3&�4�&+3 �%;+%%;��'BB ���B7�F<34B+�3&'<::�B'�/� 3�34+:�+4 4<%�3%3B<&�7�B7��%3�&

-�� � �" ���2����� 3"��� �����

������� +4%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2

��� ��������� .;B7+:

Governor Anandiben Patel saidthat change in oneself is need-

ed to bring change in the society. Inan initiative to transform contem-plation into action, contributions ofthinkers are must. Deliberationswill only become foundation ofchange.

Smt. Patel was addressing theInaugural session of the 50thNational Convention of IndianRegional Science Association organ-ised by the Madhya Pradesh PrivateUniversity Regulatory Commissionand Institute for Excellence in HigherEducation.

The Governor also released theIndian Journal of Regional Science.

She was also presented with a setof books for children by the institute.

The Governor mentioned thatefforts should be made by setting agoal for achievement. Works beginat an individual level take a bigshape.

She stated that the result of theinitiative taken for the sanitation isvisible everywhere.

About 98 percent constructionwork of toilets in the country hasalready been completed.

The Governor further said thatit is our responsibility to makeefforts for plantation and water con-

servation to ensure environmentconservation.

Smt. Patel gave advice for peealplantation and to use drip irrigationsystem in the campuses of the privateuniversities.

Moreover, She stressed on theneed for implementation on theconclusions of the conventionbesides its regular review.

Patel said that change does notcome in a day. It needs constantefforts.

Describing the role of women asimportant for the change in the soci-ety, she mentioned that womenspend more time with children.

They can only develop con-

sciousness in the children towardscleanliness, health and culture.

She laid special emphasis tostop wastage of water and food andencouraged to work in this directionwith commitment. Besides, Patelshed light on the gravity and impor-tance of plantation on barren land,issues related to the children accord-ing to their age like games, reading,food etc. and for establishing tourismcenters.

The Chairman of the PrivateUniversity Regulatory CommissionAkhilesh Kumar Pandey informedabout the objectives of the conven-tion.

The Secretary of the RegionalScience Association Prof CR Pathakshed light on the achievements of theassociation.

The Coordinator Prof ManishSharma informed in detail about theactivities of the convention.

2�"�-� ���� �� ������������ ���� ������������

��� ��������� .;B7+:�

The GRP Bhopal nabbed a37-year-old miscreant who

was absconding after he wasgranted parole in Lathha scamof Gujarat in which 23 peopledied of spurious liquor policerecovered stolen valuablesworth �5 lakh from his pos-session.

Acting on a tip off, a manwas nabbed from on February8 and recovered valuables fromhis possession and when heasked regarding details he failedto provide details and confessedthat have been stolen from ACcoaches of different trains.

The accused was identifiedas Yogendra alias Daddu aliasChhara Singh Sisodia ofIndore.

Initially when the accusedwas nabbed wrist watch, silvercoins, gold finger rings, gold earrings, gold bangles and cashwas recovered.

Later when he was quizzedit was revealed that he is anabsconding accused whoescaped after he got parole.

The accused was booked inLattha scam in which 23 peo-ple died after consuming spu-

rious liquor in the year 2009. The accused had obtained

parole earlier also but this timehe escaped and started living inIndore and started targetingwomen carrying purse in ACcoaches.

The accused was nabbedafter he was narrowed down assuspect of stealing goods afterinvestigating CCTV footagesby GRP.

Accused has been bookedfor eight theft cases and wasnabbed on February 8 duringinvestigation of cases of steal-ing.

Meanwhile, GRP Bhopalnabbed a 27-year-old manfrom Amarkantak Express atBhopal railway station andrecovered 3 kg of Cannabisfrom his possession onFebruary 16.

According to GRP Bhopalacting on a tip off a man wasdetained from AmarkantakExpress and when he wassearched drugs were recov-ered from his possession.

The miscreant was identi-fied as Sumnta Pradhan ofOdisha. The police have regis-tered a case under section 8 and20 of the NDPS Act.

��� ��������� .;B7+:

Governor Anandiben Patel urgedteachers to instill culture in stu-

dents for conservation of environmentand water.

Smt. Patel was addressing the Statelevel Felicitation Function of theSAM Group of Institution here today.

She paid tribute to the soldiers bylaying a wreath at the Shaheed Smarakand planted a sampling of peepal inthe campus of the institute.

The Governor said that life of anindividual is built by teachers.

Describing the importance ofteacher, she said that life becomesstruggle for a person, who fails toacquire knowledge from teachers.

Those who acquire knowledgefrom teachers, life become easy andcomfortable for them. People who suc-ceed make efforts for more.

Those who fail, make repeatedefforts to achieve success. Similarly, lifeof people become happy and satis-factory, who gain knowledge from theteachers and follow their path withdedication.

The Governor emphasised onthe need for setting separate parame-

ters in felicitation selection procedurefor the teachers of urban and ruralareas.

Patel further mentioned thatefforts only ensure results.

If we take a resolution that we willnot waste food and water then this willbe a meaningful effort in the directiontowards conservation of environ-ment.

She said that life is meaningfulwhen we live for others.

Everyone should contribute togive service to the nation and societyto lead a meaningful life, she added.

The Governor extended bestwishes to the honoured teachers fortheir bright future. She also got pic-ture clicked with the meritorious stu-dents of the school.

She also observed the tableau pre-pared by the students displayingdiversity of Indian culture.

The Chairman of the MadhyaPradesh Private University RegulatoryCommission Akhilesh Kumar Pandey,Deputy Commission of the KendriyaVidyalaya Sangathan SoumitraShrivastava and the Chairman of theSAM Group Harpreet Saluja were alsopresent at the function.

+, -.���/./��� �-./�� .-0

5�'���������������������������"�����6������ !��������$���$������������&�����$�� ����$�� !��������$���$�����$������� "������.�������/�������� ������������

��� ��������� .;B7+:

SBI YONO is an outstandingdigital banking product

which not only provides betterdigital experience to its cus-tomers but also makes variouslifestyle, entertainment, journeyand other shopping require-ments available in one App.

This was said by RajeshKumar, Chief GeneralManager, SBI, while launchingthe YONO Quiz Rath for pub-licity of All India Inter CollegeYONO Quiz ‘Numero YONO’in Bhopal on Wednesday.

The Circle level (MP andCG) Inter College Competitionwill be held on February 26,2019 in Samanvaya Bhawan,Bhopal.

To mobilise and motivatethe college students to partic-ipate in the event, these YONOQuiz Raths will organise ‘Onthe Spot Quiz’ in almost all thecolleges in Bhopal.

CGM Rajesh Kumarlaunched one such Rath in SBI,Local Head Office, Bhopal onWednesday.

Similar YONO Rath arebeing launched in other majorcities of Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh.

Speaking on the occasionRajesh Kumar, CGM, furthersaid that SBIs YONO DigitalBanking Platform providesbanking services, financialproducts, as well as a better

shopping and investment expe-rience.

Interested teams of col-lege students are required toregister online. Registrationfrom February 20, 2019 to 24on www.sbinumeroyono.com.Circle level winners will par-ticipate in National level quiz.

All winners will win schol-arships for one year.

Also present on the occa-sion were Kaushik Sinha andCR Powar, General Managers,other DGMs and senior func-tionaries along with staff mem-bers.

#�,�.������������������.�-��������

��� ��������� .;B7+:

Courtyard by Marriott,Bhopal is organising a 10-

day Mewari Royalty food fes-tival at its multi cuisine restau-rant –MoMo Café fromFebruary 21 to March 3between 7.30 pm to 11 pm, totake you on a culinary journeyof authentic Mewari cuisine.

To make it an authenticaffair, the hotel has flown inBhanwar Singh, a chef, fromRajasthan for this festival.Singh is an expert onRajasthani cuisine, especiallythe Mewari.

While talking to media,Ravish Mishra, Executive Chef,Courtyard by Marriott, Bhopalsaid, “The state of Rajasthanhas a rich heritage of exoticand scrumptious meals anddishes that are sure to delightthe taste buds of foodies.”

“The sweet, sour and spicyRajasthani cuisines reflect abeautiful combination of cul-ture, tradition and lifestyle of

Rajputs, Vaishnavs andMarwaris of this mostly vege-tarian State”.

Chef Ravish furtherinformed “To tantalise thefood lovers’ palates, MoMoCafé will offer specially curat-ed Mewari menu. A buffet hasbeen arranged for the vegetar-ians as well as the non-vege-tarians.

The vegetarians can savourdal-bati churma, ker-sangeri,papad mangodi, shahi gatte,khada desi palak, chakki kasaag, Jaipuri bhindi, sabjpanchmela to name a few”. Forthe non-vegetarians, they haveRajasthani culinary delightssuch as lal maans, ker sangerwadi, kaleji ka raayata, jungalimaans, maans ke sulle amongothers.

In dessert, one can havemakhanwada, kalakand,kesaria rasmalai, pede, mawakachori, ghewar, and malpua.

�����1�����.��.����������(�������� ����/

��� ��������� .;B7+:�

An 18-year-old girl com-mitted suicide by hanging

from the ceiling at her resi-dence in Bajpai Nagar underShahjehanabad police stationarea on Tuesday.

Police said that thedeceased Pooja Baman wasfound hanging and wasdeclared dead when taken tohospital. Police were informedand on the information policeteam reached and started inves-tigation.

In the initial investigation,police found that the deceasedwas alone at her house and ataround 3 pm when her broth-er came for lunch door wasfound locked from inside andwhen he asked to open he failedto get response and when hechecked inside from a windowhe found deceased hangingwith the ceiling.

Police have not found anysuicide note and family mem-

bers were not able to providereason behind the extremestep taken by the victim. Thebody was sent for the postmortem and a case under sec-tion 174 of CrPC was regis-tered.

Meanwhile, a 20-year-oldyouth died whose bike rammedinto a tree at Berasia road latein the evening on Tuesday.

Police said that an injuredyouth was rushed to Hamidiahospital where he died duringtreatment.

The deceased was identi-fied as Anil Singh of Sukalia vil-lage. After the preliminaryinvestigation the body was sentfor the post mortem and a caseunder section 174 of the CrPC.

Police have started furtherinvestigation and would inves-tigate the reason of the acci-dent.

The deceased was hit byanother vehicle or deceased losscontrol and rammed into treewould be investigated.

)1'���'���2���� 2-�-����.������-��� ��

����$�����������$�$�������.�������/�����������������$������ ������������������7������$��� ��������8����5&���� ������������

AIIMS-DM/M.Ch/MD (Hospital Administration) &Fellowship Programme JULY, 2019 SESSION

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi invites online applica-tions for Entrance Examinations leading to admission in Post-Doctoral[DM/M.Ch. (3 yenrs) MD (Hospital Administration) & FellowshipProgramme] of AIIMS, New Delhi for July, 2019 session

Online Registration for applications

Course Institutions Opens on Closes onDM/M.Ch.(3 years)/ AIIMS - New Delhi 02.03.2019 15.03.2019

& MD (Hospital and other AIIMS at 5:00 PMAdministration)

Fellowship AIIMS - New 07.03.2019 21.03.2019Programme Delhi only at 5:00 PM

Date of Entrance Examination

Course Date of Exams. Duration of Exam. Exam CentreDM M.Ch. (3 years) 06.04.2019 10:00 AM to 4 Metro cities

& MD (Hospital (Saturday) 11:30 AM in IndiaAdministration) (Delhi NCR,

Mumbai, Kolkata& Chennai)

Fellowship 13.04.2019 10:00 AM to Delhi/NCRProgramme (Saturday) 11:00 AM

Important For Prospectus, detailed information etc. please visit the websitewww.aiimsexams.org. All applicants are required to visit the website regularly.sinceall subsequent Corrigendum Addendum/Updates will only be uploaded on the web-site.davp/17112/11/0101/1819 ASSISTANT CONTROLLER (EXAMS.)

��� ����� ��������� ������� ����������������������������������������

������������ �!"���#��$%��&

������ �� ��* ���� ���� � �� ���� �� 5� �"�!6 �� ����.���� .�" ������� ��� *��������� ������ �� ���� �������������� �� ����� �� *��.��������� �� ��������� ����.� ��� ������ ���� �������� �� ��������� �����

2��������������3�"(�����������������((��

����� +7%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2

����� 34 B��

A21-year-old woman fromIndore has said her hus-

band gave her triple talaq onWhatsApp for not getting anautorickshaw in dowry.

Senior Superintendent ofPolice (SSP) Ruchi VardhanMishra said police received acomplaint from Afreen duringthe weekly public hearing onTuesday.

"We are trying to reconcile(the couple) after discussingthe issue with Afreen's parentsand in-laws so that her mar-riage can be saved," the SSPsaid, adding appropriate legalsteps will be initiated ifAfreen's in-laws do not agree

to take her back.The woman, Afreen Bi, a

resident of Sirpur Kankad areaof Indore, told media personsthat she will fight a legal bat-tle against this injustice.

"Angry over not getting anauto rickshaw in dowry, myhusband Shahrukh Ansari gaveme (triple) talaq by sending anaudio message on WhatsApp.I was also told that he is goingto marry again," she said.

The Union CabinetTuesday gave its nod to re-issuethe contentious Triple Talaqordinance that makes the prac-tice of instant triple talaq byMuslim men a penal offence.

Afreen said her parentswere extending financial help

to her family. "However, my in-laws were

saying that they should eitherbuy an autorickshaw for myhusband or make him a 'gharjamai' (the son-in-law wholives with his in-laws)," sheclaimed. Afreen said she gotmarried to her husband Ansarithree years ago. The couple hasa two-and-a-half-year-old son.She and her son have beenstaying with her parents sinceshe was allegedly given tripletalaq in the first week of thismonth.

"I want to live with myhusband. One cannot divorcethrough WhatsApp like this. Iwill fight a legal battle againstthis injustice," she said.

)� �������"�'��� ����������������3�� �'���,��

��� ��������� .;B7+:

Pandemonium was witnessedin the State Assembly on

Wednesday, when theOpposition members raised theissue of ministers giving state-ments in contrast with thereplies filed by them to theHouse.

At the outset of QuestionHour, Leader of the OppositionGopal Bhargava and NarottamMishra Mishra raised the mat-ter of ministers giving statementsin the media which were at vari-ance with their written replies inthe assembly.

Terming this as a‘Constitutional crisis’, Bhargavaclaimed ministers backtrackedfrom written statements given in

the House (on issues ofMandsaur firing, irregularities intree plantation drive and organ-isation of 2016 Simhastha or reli-gious fair in Ujjain).

He said Congress ministerscontradicted their own state-ments while talking to themedia.

Pointing at Nath's tweetabout the Mandsaur police fir-ing besides alleged scams in treeplantation and holding ofSimhastha, Mishra said the

CM's tweet contradicted minis-ters' written replies.

Claiming that nothingunconstitutional has happened,Nath said he is well aware ofconstitutional provisions anddoesn’t need a lesson on thisissue from the opposition.

In written replies in theassembly Monday, respectiveministers endorsed the previousBJP government's stand on theMandsaur police firing, in whichsix farmers were killed in June2017, besides alleged scams intree plantation carried out alongthe Narmada and constructionwork for Simhastha.

However, the ministers con-cerned later appeared to back-track from their statements inthe House.

"����(�������������������������������������

�.9��$��'������������������������������������������������ 5�'��������� ��������3����'���0�������:��'������� 6����������� ���3�����$�������.�������/�������� ������������

%�0'%�5��������������%��������������35(�#�%���4���3�����������������������������������������������������������*���������*�������������������������������9���������%���������.����������������&�����$�/��������)==���������������������������������;������ �9�������� ���������� ����������������������������*���������*�����������������������������$����������������������������������������������������������*����$:��� �������������������������*������������������������������������������������������������$����������������������������*���������������22������2 ����������������������������� ������2��������������������������������������������������������*��$�%�������������������������������*�������������*��������������������������������������������*���������*��������������$�+���������1��������G�������*������������������������*���������*�������������$

����������������������������������������35(�#�3���������.��������%�������������������������G�����+���������$�%������������1�����������������������������/��,�&������ �#����,��&������ �/��,�� ������ �/�1��� ������ �.���&�����������:��2�� �������!6@��������������*�"$�%�����������������������������:��2�� �������������������������������:��2� ���$�-�������+���� �������������&��������������������������.9&��2����������������������$�%���������*��������������������&�/����� �������&�����������/������7������$

������������������������� ���������35(�#�&���������&�����7������&����� ������4�������������������������������������������������������������/���������4����$%�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������*�����7������$&����������1�������������������������������������*����������������������������������������������*�������$�%�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������*��������*����$�%�����������1����������������������������������*�����������������������������������������������������$�%���;����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������$�%�����������������������������������������4������+����$

�����������������������%��6��������35(�#�������/�������9�����4��������1����������������������������������������������;�����������������������2�����������4�����&����$�4���������������&��������������;��������������������������������������������*�$�;�����������������������������������������;������������$�4����������������������������������������������������������*������������������������$

�������������������������� ��������������35(�#�%���3������%�1�������������#�������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������4�����-�������.�����H��+�����������$�+������������������1�������� ����5����������������������G����������������� ���I=���2����������2����2�������0�����������������I=���2�!�����1������"�������������������������������������������������%����������.�����$�%����1�����������������������*�������������������������������������������������$�+����������������� �������������������������������������*���������������������0���������/������7���������*����������������$

Bhopal: A contract was signedtoday in the presence ofMedical Education MinisterVijaylaxmi Sadho and Newand Renewable EnergyMinister Harsh Yadav for theestablishment of solar plants in8 Medical Colleges includingChhindwara, Indore, Bhopal,Vidisha, Shivpuri, Ratlam,Shahdol and Jabalpur in thestate.

The Department of Newand Renewable Energy has ini-tiated the process of establish-ing a Rooftop Solar Plant topopularize the project throughthe RESCO system. In thissystem, solar plant is estab-lished in buildings withoutcapital-based investment toprovide cheap power.

Sadho said that in view ofthe lack of availability of waterin the rivers and the high rates

of thermal power, the useful-ness of solar energy hasincreased. Therefore, in themedical colleges, initiativeshave been taken to get solarenergy at a rate of about onefourth less than the current dueelectricity rate. The project isbeing implemented in twophases. In the first phase, Sagar,Gwalior and Rewa have beenselected. In the second phase,11 medical colleges have beentaken.

Sadho said that the con-tract has been signed to makepower available at the rate ofonly Rs 1.63 paise by MedicalCollege Management andTepsol Solar Power VenturesLimited of Hyderabad. Infuture, other institutions ofthe Medical EducationDepartment will also be bene-fited by this. SR

/�<���2����������������������������������������������������

3��� �������1����0�������������������� ��� ��������������������0����&��������7������ �������������5����.�����'������������������������������������������� �$�������7������������ 7�����������.�������/�������� ������������

�� ��� �"���� �� 3"������1�"�� ����� �� ���

#**������� 8�*� 0���.�� ������ ����� ���������� ��� ����� �� ���������

��.��� ��������� �� ������� ����� ���� � .��������� ����� ������� ��*���� ��

��� ���� �!

����� &+/.+:7<�

Farmers of Bargarh districtand their organisations

locked up the office of theNational Insurance Companyhere in Sambalpur. The reason:They are not getting the croploss compensation amount inspite of so many remaindersand follow ups. Even the insur-ance firm is reluctant to carryout the orders of theGovernment.

As per information, thefarmers of Bargarh, in the year2017, deposited �1,200 perhectare towards crop insur-ance. Further, there was hugecrop loss that year due to theunfavourable weather conditionand drought.

As such, all the insured areentitled to get �43 crore from

this insurance company. Butthat company is dillydallying onthe process with some plea orother and, as it seems, not in amood to pay the farmers theirlegitimate dues.

While the farmers haveexpressed their dissatisfaction,they have also taken to thestreets a number of times.Even, a meeting was organisedat the State capital onSeptember 8 last year where theState Government clearlyordered the company to pay theinsurance dues of the farmers.

“But after paying a verysmall amount, it has againharassed majority of the farm-ers and deprived them of their

rights,” said convenor of thefarmers’ organizations KishoreChandra Devta. As part of theprotest, the farmers and theirleaders first agitated and lockedup the branch office of thecompany at Bargarh, but to noeffect.

“When nothing happenedafter State Government’s order,and protest of the farmers inBargarh, we finally locked upthe divisional office of theinsurance company located atSambalpur,” said Devta. “If thedivision office opens atSambalpur without our knowl-edge, then we will block NH inBargarh,” Devta warned.

(��%�( %%���'���� ��#��)

%�����-������ -/�� ������������#�����/�%���������������2���������������������

5����� �� 0����� �� ��� !��,+9:� ��*������ �9�,++ *��

������ ������ ���* ���"����;5"������ ����� �� �"�� ���* ������� !�� �"� �� ��� "��.�"� �������� ��������� �� ���"���

����� &<4 +��+�;

Eight persons of Bisra blockof Sundargarh district, who

had gone to Tamil Nadu towork there, have alleged beingtortured at their workplaces.The family members of thebonded labouers have request-ed for their early release.

According to sources, oneagent of Bisra block, had lured 11

persons of Chingajharan villageto work in in a drinking waterfactory in Tamil Nadu. They wereassured of �12,000 per monthsalary and �3,000 per monthstowards two hours overtime workevery day, besides free boarding.One, Ashok, a person ofDhanbad, had called all these per-sons to Tamil Nadu, over mobile.

Out of these persons, oneBablu Badaik and JagnarayanBadaik were engaged in agarage. When they protestedAshok and two of his associatesseverely beat them. Thereafter,they snatched mobiles andmoney from them and threat-ened them that they will be paid�9,000 per month salary andhave to work for 16 hours a day.

Thereafter, they engagedRaju Lohar in a painting shop.Other 8 persons were engagedin digging of bore well workand when they protested,Ashok and his associates

severely beat them in a closedroom. Unable to bear the tor-ture at work place, RathuLohar, Birsa Lohar and MunaLohar managed to flee fromwork place and reached theirvillage recently. They narratedabout the torture on them atwork place and also told aboutplight of their co-workers there.

:B���������������*�����

����� .;<.+4�&#+�

The State Government onWednesday decided to

engage 30 academic consul-tants to implement variousaspects of equity and excellencein the Government pro-grammes such as digitisationof higher education institu-tions, running the researchincentivisation scheme, NAACaccreditation schemes, newcurricular and strengtheningand mentoring the new centresof excellence in universities.

These consultants will besubject or domain experts andwill be retired AssociateProfessors and above rank.Selection of consultants will bemade by the council through aproperly constituted committee.

The Higher EducationCouncil (OSHEC) has beencreated by the mandate ofRUSA and on the policies laiddown by the National Policy onEducation. The OSHEC hasbeen constantly involved inimproving and implementingquality education in collegesand universities of the State.

As per the Odisha StateHigher Education Council Act,2017, the Minister, HigherEducation is the Chairmanand former Vice-Chancellorof Utkal University Prof AsokaKumar Das is the Vice-Chairperson of the council.

Further, the Governmenthas nominated 13 members ofeminence from different fieldsto advise the council in imple-menting various aspects ofequity and excellence pro-grammes of the Government.The members are Vice-Chancel lors of UtkalUniversity, SambalpurUniversity, BrahmapurUniversity, Principals,Prananath (Autonomous)College, Khurda, Fakir Mohan( Au t o n o m o u s ) C o l l e g e ,Baleswar, Director, Institute ofLife Sciences, Dr KishorKumar Basa, former Professorof Anthropology, Prof BCChoudhury, former Scientist,Wildlife Institute of India, DrAB Ota, Director, SCSTRTI,Ramesh Mahapatra, CMD,Magnum Group ofCompanies, Dr SubasiniPattnaik, former Professor of

Zoology, BrahmapurUniversity, Dibakar Swain,former General Manager,Paradeep Phosphates Limitedand Dr Roshanara Begum,former Director, VocationalEducation.

The aim of the formation ofthe council is to coordinateand maintain standards andpromote higher education andresearch at +3 and post gradu-ate levels. This will further pro-mote the autonomy of highereducation institutions for thefree pursuit of knowledge andinnovation, and for facilitatingaccess, inclusion and opportu-nities for all and providingcomprehensive and holisticgrowth of higher education andresearch in a competitive glob-al environment through reformsand renovation and to providefor an advisory mechanism byeminent peers in academia.

�-�-� 11%81�' ��(���-%#� ��'#8'�����

5���! ��� ��� �� ��� ����� � �"����.� ��<"����� ��� ����� ���! ������

)��������������������������#���������

/4������������ ���� ��������������� ����2���

.��������������������������������������� �������.�������/�������� ������������

%;��;3�;���� <�+%3B4��B<4�3:�!B&;��";+&�.��4����+%� �.D�%;��/+4 +%��B'�<&+�+4 �B4�%;��7B:3�3�&�:+3 � B#4.D�%;��4+%3B4+:�7B:3�D�B4�� <�+%3B4$

%;��B&;���;+&�.��4��B4&%+4%:D34B:� �34�3/7�B34��+4

3/7:�/�4%34��F<+:3%D�� <�+%3B4�34�B::���&�+4 �<43��&3%3�&�B'�%;�

&%+%�$

From Page 1

This is the same villagewhere his grandmotherIndira Gandhi in 1980, hisfather Rajiv Gandhi in 1984,and his mother Sonia Gandhiin 2004 started their cam-paigns and romped home topower.

Party spokespersonShaktisinh Gohil said theAdalaj rally will be the biggestin Gujarat in recent times.

“The preparations are infull swing for the rally whichwill be the biggest in Gujarat’shistory. While the resent-ment against Modi and theBJP is palpable in Gujarat, theenthusiasm among the peopleand party cadres is on an all-time high.

This will be the first timethat the people of Gujarat willwitness Rahul Gandhi, SoniaGandhi and Priyanka Gandhiaddress from the same podi-um,” Gohil said.

After being appointed asthe general secretary incharge of east Uttar Pradesh,

Priyanka along with Rahuland fellow general secretaryJyotiraditya Scindia held aroadshow in Lucknow onFebruary 11 and also inter-acted with party cadres.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadracancel led her maiden Press meet as the Congressgeneral secretary in Lucknowon February 14 following theterror attack in Jammu & Kashmir in which 44 CRPF troopers werekilled.

The 51st CWC meetingwhich is the party’s highestdecision-making body willdeliberate on preparing theparty’s strategy for the 2019Lok Sabha polls.

The State has 26 LokSabha seats on offer, and theCongress had not won even asingle seat in the 2014 elec-tions.

An all-religion prayermeeting is also scheduled atSabarmati Ashram before theCWC meets at the SardarPatel Memorial Trust inAhmedabad.

7�����2���$$$

%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2 ����� +=

%� �1#'-

�����7����8�9������������������$��

���������# 3����H��J;�0�����H��������������������������2���������������������������&������������������/�������.���&����������7�����/������4��������/���$�<�����/������/�2����+�����4��*����������������������������������������5$I@���2�$�%�����������������������������/�����*������������������������(=56$�+������(A6=�/�����������������������;�0���������������H/�����H�!�������������������"����������������������$

�8�6������������������� ��������� ���������������# .-7����������+��&������������%�������������������+������7��������������H��������������1���������������*���((�����������������������*��������������������������������*�������������������������&�����������������������������������������:�2&�������������$�

��$$���������"���������%������������$�����������# %���&�22����*����������������������1�����������A���2�����������������������������������7����������2���������������������������������������������������*������$������/�������7�������������������������������������2��������7'������������7������$�%�����������������������������������������1��������������������������������*������������������������������&������&�22����������������������������$+���������5$(?���������������������������������������/������H���������������������������������������*����������������1��������� ��������������7�����������$

�����������%�������#�����������������# /����������&������������������3�����������������������#�������������3�������������������2�����*�����������������������������������3������������������������������(5��������$�;������������+���3�����������.��������&�����!+3.&"����������������������3������������������������������5?���34.<&;���+#�����&��������#��������$�

���� ������� ��������������������������# <�����/��������������������8�'�����G��� � &�����������������#������������������;��������.��� �/������� ����������������������J3����/������� �*������������������D����+����H����������������7����/��������:�����!7������"H����������������������������������6��3����������������7������������8�/������� �*���������H�����$�

����� 4�#� �:;3

The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on

Wednesday took over the probeinto the February 14 Pulwamasuicide bombing from theJammu and Kashmir police.

The NIA has re-registeredthe case and formed a team toinvestigate the deadliest terrorstrike in which 40 CRPF per-sonnel were killed, an NIAspokesperson said.

NIA Director General Y CModi, along with a team of offi-cers including two IGs, DIGand SP, visited the place ofoccurrence of the February 14incident. The officers of CRPFand local police briefed theNIA team about the progressmade in investigation so far.

The State police had regis-tered a case at the Awantiporapolice station on February 14after a suicide bomber hit hisexplosive-laden vehicle on aCRPF bus, which was part of a78-vehicle convoy, carryingover 2,547 personnel on theirway from Jammu to Srinagar.

The NIA has already gath-ered samples from the blast siteat Lethpora in Pulwama districtof south Kashmir and has been

involved in the questioning ofaround a dozen suspects andwitnesses, officials said.

The NIA has also metsenior police, intelligence andarmy officers to gather any pos-sible leads or evidence, theysaid.

The NIA will probe theplanning and execution of theterror attack, the deadliest afterthe terrorism hit the State in1989.

On Monday, three Jaishterrorists were killed in a 16-hour operation in Pulwama'sPinglan area, 12 km from thespot of the February 14 attack.An Army major and four secu-rity personnel also lost theirlives in the encounter that ledto the elimination of threeJaish-e-Mohammad terrorists.

Apart from other technicaland intelligence inputs, theHizbul Mujahideen had alsoprovided leads leading to thekilling of the three top JeMcommanders, sources said.

Meanwhile, Indian HighCommissioner to PakistanAjay Bisaria and Ambassadorto US Harsh Vardhan Shringlaon Wednesday met UnionHome Minister Rajnath Singh,amid the heightened tension

between the two countriespost-Pulwana suicide bomb-ing.

The terror attack inPulwama prominently figuredduring the 20 minutes meetingbetween Bisaria and Singh.Bisaria was called back by thegovernment for consultationsafter the Pulwama attack.

A home ministryspokesperson, however,

described the two Indianenvoys meeting the Minister as"courtesy call".

The meeting comes soonafter India decided not to sub-mit any evidence to Pakistanon the role of JeM in thePulwama attack.

India will, however, sharethe facts to friendly nations tounmask the role of elementsbased in the neighbouring

country in the attack, aGovernment official said.

The decision not to sharethe evidence with Pakistanwas taken considering the pastexperience wherein Islamabaddid not act after New Delhigave multiple dossiers on theinvolvement of Pakistan-basedelements in the 26/11 Mumbaiterror attacks and terror strikein Pathankot airbase.

-�''#' �--��

%$,�������������� ����������������56�������

����� 4�#� �:;3

The Centre on Wednesdaylaunched Operation Digital

Board to leverage technology inorder to boost quality educa-tion in the country.

Addressing a press con-ference HRD Minister PrakashJavadekar said that OperationDigital Board is a revolution-ary step which will make thelearning as well as the teachingprocess interactive and popu-larize flipped learning as apedagogical approach.

Javadekar disclosed thatthe digital board will be intro-duced all over the country inGovernment and Governmentaided schools from class 9thonwards as well as in highereducation institutions.

The process will beginfrom the coming session of2019 itself, the Ministerexplained.

He further said that ODBaims at converting a class roominto a digital class room and inaddition to availability of e-resources at any time and at anyplace to students, it will also

help in provisioning of per-sonalised adaptive learning aswell as Intelligent Tutoring byexploiting emerging technolo-gies like Machine Learning,Artificial Intelligence & DataAnalytics.

An expert committee hasworked out optimum configu-ration of the Digital ClassRooms under ODB.

The Union Minister saidthat the biggest challenge fac-ing education sector in thecountry is maintaining accept-able quality standards across thecountry. Although we havegood number of premier insti-tutions, which compete with thebest in the world, a large num-ber of higher education insti-tutions and schools needsimprovements in quality teach-ing-learning, as the studentscoming out of these institutionsfind themselves unsuitable forthe requirements of the societyand market.

The spread of educationaltechnology and connectivityhas given an opportunity toresolve this issue and aim atequity in educational standards.

����� 4�#� �:;3

HRD Minister PrakashJavadekar on Wednesday

denied that students hailingfrom Kashmir were targeted inmany parts of the country inthe aftermath of the Pulwamaterror attack.

"There is no threat toKashmiri students as it is beingmade out to be. Countrymenare angry because of Pulwamaattack, but no Kashmiri studenthas been assaulted," Javadekar

said while talking to reporters. Javadekar added that the

Ministry is in touch with all theinstitutes and so far, no suchuntoward incident has beenreported. An estimated 3,000students from Kashmir attendcolleges and institutes inDehradun. Home Ministry hasalready issued advisory to Stateand UTs to ensure safety andsecurity if students hailingfrom the Valley State and resid-ing within their States amidstthe reports of threats to the stu-

dents. Following the terror attack

in Pulwama which killed 40CRPF personnel on February14, Hindutva groups inDehradun including BajrangDal and Vishwa HinduParishad beat-up 12 Kashmiristudents. The Dehradun policehad denied any incident of vio-lence against the Kashmiristudents, but videos of thestudents being beaten up infront of the police went viralover social media on Saturday.

4��������������������������3�5�������

����� 4�#� �:;3

Slamming Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for receiv-

ing Saudi Arabia's CrownPrince Mohammed binSalman at the airport, theCongress on Wednesday askedwhether according a grandwelcome to "those whopraised" Pakistan's "anti-terrorefforts" was his way of remem-bering the martyrs of thePulwama attack.

In a special gesture, thePrime Minister received theSaudi crown prince at Palamairport on Tuesday night. Thevisit comes five days after a sui-cide bomber belonging to thePakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) group killed40 CRPF personnel inPulwama district of Jammuand Kashmir.

"National interests V/SModiji's 'hugplomacy'. Breakingprotocol, grand welcome to

those who pledged US $20 bil-lion to Pakistan and praisedPakistan's 'anti-terror' efforts. Isit your way of rememberingmartyrs of Pulwama?" Congresschief spokesperson RandeepSurjewala said on Twitter.

The Congress spokesper-son was referring to the crownprince's visit to Pakistan, dur-ing which the two countriessigned investments agreementsworth USD 20 billion.

He urged Modi to "showcourage" and ask Saudi Arabiato undo its joint statementwith Pakistan, in which theycalled for avoiding "politicisa-tion" of the UN listing regimeat a time when India was step-ping up efforts to brand JeMchief Masood Azhar a globalterrorist.

Senior Congress leaderAnand Sharma tweeted, "PMModi seems to be eager tocompete with and emulate thePakistan PM Imran Khan in

breaking protocol and receiv-ing Saudi Crown Prince...Without any need or justifica-tion".

"Worse, the joint state-ment does not refer to the banon either Jaish or MasoodAzhar," he said. Sharma added,"The fact that the Crown Princehas visited Pakistan after thedastardly attack and refused toendorse the ban on MasoodAzhar and the declaration ofJaish E Mohammed as a ter-rorist organisation seems tohave been lost on the PrimeMinister."

He called it a "glaringdiplomatic failure" for whichModi must answer to thenation.

3��� ���� ���;�<�������$�2�� .�����������=>?�������

�"��>� ����������� *�������>� �����������������? ��������

��������8������ 4�#� �:;3

Days after a Governmentreport suggested the cre-

ation of a second home for theAsiatic lions from Gujarat'sGir forest, a Parliamentarypanel too has recommendedthat wildlife experts may beconsulted for exploring theoption of relocating/shiftingsome of the lions in nearbyareas or other sanctuaries, iffeasible.

The panel, headed by RajyaSabha MP Anand Sharma, in itsreport 'status of forest fire',observed that lion population inthe Gir forest is decreasing dueto one reason or the other."There are many unprotectedwells; lions sometimes fall downin these wells, leading to theirdeaths. Frequent fights amongstthe lions and man-animal con-flicts can also be attributed forreduction in number of lions..,"said the report tabled inParliament recently.

Asiatic Lions are listed inthe Schedule-I of the Wild Life(Protection) Act, 1972, thereby

according them the highestdegree of protection.

Warning that lions can gothe tigers' way as happened inRajasthan's Sariska TigerReserve a few years ago wherepoaching of big cat was "goingon unabated and consequently,Sariska had become tiger less afew years back," the panel notedthat a real effort was made topopulate it again.

The Committee hopes thatunprotected wells of all wildlifesanctuaries/national parks ofthe country including the GirForest in Gujarat would becovered properly in order tosave the wild animals fallinginto these wells and losing theirlives.

In the wake of 23 liondeaths within a very short spanof time ie September- October,2018, the panel had soughtstatus report from the UnionEnvironment Ministry askingfor the reason for fatalaities.

The Committee alsoexpressed its concern thatinfighting amongst the lions ofGir forest, Gujarat might be due

to over population of the lionsin specific areas. TheCommittee recommends thatwild life experts may be con-sulted for exploring relocat-ing/shifting some of the lions innearby areas/other sanctuaries,if feasible.

The suggestion echoes theviews of the report, 'Asiatic LionConservation Project', whichwas released by UnionEnvironment Minister DrHarshvardhan on February 9,which said that among otherconservation measures," theGovernment may consider theestablishment of a second homefor Asiatic Lions for securingthe population from any threatof disease or epidemic".

The report had noted thatthe current rate of develop-ment-induced habitat frag-mentation, loss of potentiallion habitats owing to naturalcalamities triggered by climatechange besides poaching andpoisoning of prey carcassesplague the lions conservation,which are presently confined inSaurashtra region of Gujarat.

���������������������@�����2���������5�����������$�����

���6�������7�������������(�����������8������

��8���$������ 4�#� �:;3

The Election Commission(EC) with the help of the

Income Tax department andbanks would monitor high-value transactions in banksahead of the 2019 Lok Sabhapolls and some otherLegislative Assemblies andbypolls in the coming monthsas part of attempts to curb ille-gal money flow during electionprocess.

The EC has asked chiefelectoral officials of all Statesand Union Territories, IndianBanks Association andDirector General of IncomeTax department to keep tackand monitor on suspiciouscash transactions madethrough bank accounts duringelection process.

It has directed district elec-tion officers to obtain infor-mation from the banks regard-ing suspicious cash transactionduring polls.

Sources said that theCommission has chalked out astringent plan with differentenforcement agencies to ensurethat there are no illegal cashtransactions during cam-paigning.

"As directed by theCommission, information onsuspected cash transaction forbribing the electors should bepassed on to the flying squadsfor necessary action after dueverification.

Information on cashdeposits or withdrawals ofmore than 10 lakh is to be sentto the nodal officers of IncomeTax department for necessaryaction under the Income Tax

Act," the Commission said ina communiqué to Income Taxdepartment, CEOs of all statesand Union Territories.

The EC also met seniorofficials of the railways, cus-toms and excise, transportdepartments and the police,and constituted a high-levelmonitoring panel. They willmonitor pre- and post-electionactivity.

The Election Commissionof India also directed thatinformation on cash deposits orwithdrawals of more than � 10lakh is to be sent to the nodalofficers of Income Tax depart-ment for necessary actionunder the Income Tax laws. Atpresent, the I-T departmentseizes cash of unexplainedtransactions of �10 lakh ormore.

The department had lastyear released an advisory, lim-iting cash donation to a regis-tered political party.

The government had in theBudget last year launched the"electoral bond" facility. Donorscan buy these bonds from theState Bank of India and a fewother banks. Even through theRepresentation of the PeopleAct, 1951, exempted partiesfrom declaring funding madethrough bonds, the I-T Actrequires them to disclose thetotal income from this source.

The tax department is alsokeeping an eye on all donationsto political parties. If a donationis above �2,000 in cash, thedonor might face scrutiny.

In 2014, as many as �300crore seized as dubious trans-action across the country dur-ing polls.

������ ������(3������"%*������2���������$��������$���������$�����

����� 4�#� �:;3

Robert Vadra, brother-in-law of Congress President

Rahul Gandhi, appearedbefore the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) onWednesday for questioning ina money laundering caserelating to alleged irregularpurchase of foreign assets.

Vadra reached theagency's office at JamnagarHouse here at around 10:30AM along with his lawyersand they left the agency officeafter about three hours ofquestioning, officials said.

Vadra told the investi-gating officer (IO) of the casethat he was not well followingwhich recording of his state- ment was discontinued, the

officials said, adding he isexpected to join the probeagain on Friday.

Vadra had skipped the

summons on Tuesday citingbad health.

Vadra is facing a criminalprobe related to allegations ofmoney laundering in pur-chase of assets abroad.

Earlier this month, Vadrawas questioned by the EDsleuths in connection with thecase for 23 hours over threedays of deposition.

9������������� ���(4����������������$���

New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Wednesday decidedto hear on February 26 thepolitically sensitive Ayodhya'sRam-Janmabhoomi BabriMasjid land dispute matter.

It will be heard by a five-judge Constitution Benchcomprising Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi and Justices S ABobde, D Y Chandrachud,Ashok Bhushan and S ANazeer.

The apex court on January27 had cancelled the scheduledhearing for January 29 asJustice Bobde was not availablethat day.

The fresh notice issued bythe apex court registry said allthe petitions in Ayodhya landdispute will come up for hear-ing on February 26.

Fourteen appeals havebeen filed in the apex courtagainst the 2010 AllahabadHigh Court judgment, deliv-ered in four civil suits, that the2.77-acre land in Ayodhya be

partitioned equally among thethree parties-the Sunni WaqfBoard, the Nirmohi Akharaand Ram Lalla.

The five-judge bench wasre-constituted on January 25 asJustice U U Lalit, who was amember of the original bench,had recused himself from hear-ing the matter.

When the new bench wasconstituted, Justice N VRamana was excluded fromthe re-constitution bench.Justices Bhushan and Nazeermade a comeback to hear theAyodhya land dispute matter-both were part of an earlierbench headed by then CJIDipak Misra (now retired).

PTI

#"�.������� ����� ����-�/.����..��� �%���/���*3

-�� *�@ ��"�� ��A�"�! ,: ���������� ��������"��� ��������� A�"�! ,B

New Delhi: Supreme Courtjudge, Justice L Nageswara Raoon Wednesday recused himselffrom hearing the CentreBureau of Investigation (CBI's)plea alleging obstruction in itsprobe into the multi-croreSaradha chit fund scam probeby West Bengal authorities.

A three-judge bench com-prising Chief Justice RanjanGogoi and Justices Rao andSanjiv Khanna adjourned thehearing on pleas of the CentreBureau of Investigation, sayingthat one of the judges was notinclined to be part of the benchto hear the matter.

Justice Rao said he hadappeared for the state as alawyer and therefore cannothear the case.

The Bench has now post-ed the matter for hearing onFebruary 27 before an appro-priate Bench of which Justice

Rao is not a part. On February 18, West

Bengal Chief secretary MalayKumar De, DGP

Virendera Kumar and thenKolkata Police CommissionerRajeev Kumar had filed sepa-rate affidavits in the apex courton the contempt petitionmoved by the Centre Bureau ofInvestigation in connectionwith the scam and had ten-dered "unconditional andunambiguous apology".

The West BengalGovernment and its police hadrefuted CBI allegations in theapex court that they obstruct-ed investigation into theSaradha chit fund scam cases,with the state cops chargingthat the central agency force-fully tried to enter the Kolkatapolice commissioner's resi-dence on February 3 withoutvalid papers. PTI

�3&���!����$��� ����������3."������������/.���������$���������

���� ���� �"��

&�� ���� �����.���������������� C%#D �� ������ ��� �� ����� ����

����� 4�#� �:;3

The country's sugar pro-duction rose by 8.07 per

cent to 21.93 million tonnes(MT) till February 15 in theongoing marketing year 2018-19 from the year-ago period.However, the overall sugaroutput is pegged lower at 30.7MT for the current marketingyear (October-September)compared to 32.5 MT during2017-18. India is the secondlargest sugar producer afterBrazil. Its annual consumption

is around 26 MT. According to the Indian

Sugar Mills Association(ISMA), the recent hike inminimum selling price of sugarby � 2 per kg to Rs 31 will "gen-erate additional revenue for thesugar mills and help them inpayment of cane price arrears."

Cane arrears have touchedover �20,000 crore this yearand the government raisedthe minimum selling price ofsugar to improve the liquidityof cash-starved mills andenable them to clear the

mounting cane dues.Sharing the production

update, ISMA said mills havemanufactured 21.93 MT ofsugar till February 15, higherthan 20.35 MT in the year-agoperiod.

"Higher production thisyear is mainly becauseMaharashtra and Karnatakasugar mills started their crush-ing earlier this year. Overall,the country is expected toproduce less sugar this seasonas compared to last season," itsaid.

9������������������������(��,:%;&���0$:</� #

����� 4�#� �:;3

Swine flu is fast spreading inthe country with at least 377

persons succumbing to thevirus so far while the numberof those infected by it hascrossed 12,000. At least 65 peo-ple have died due to H1N1virus in the country last week.

Rajasthan reported thehighest number of deaths at 127with 3,508 cases, followed byGujarat (71 deaths and 1,983cases). In Delhi, seven peoplehave died while 2,278 peoplewere infected by the virus.Punjab reported 31 deaths and410 cases, followed by MadhyaPradesh 30 deaths and 128cases. In Himachal Pradesh, 27

people died due to the virus and224 were infected.

Jammu and Kashmirreported 22 deaths and 293cases; Maharashtra 17 deathsand 330 cases; and in Haryana,seven people died while 752people were affected.

The rest deaths and caseswere reported from other partsof the country.

!�&������������������������� �������

Cowardly, dastardly and desper-ate — these are some of theadjectives the Government useswhen faced with surprise terror-ist attacks on the armed forces.

The recent deadly assault on the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy inPulwama, Jammu & Kashmir, was noexception. Enthralled by cricket a little toomuch, we somehow expect the terrorists tobehave as bowlers in a gentleman’s versionof the game. They would allow the batsmanthe time to adjust his pads, gloves and hel-met and take a comfortable position on thecrease before the ball is thrown at him.

But in an asymmetric warfare, where sur-prise is of essence, there is little scope for suchniceties. On April 6, 2010, in Dantewada,Chhattisgarh, a Maoist ambush had led to thedeath of 76 CRPF personnel. Similarly, inJammu & Kashmir, the Indian Army and theparamilitary forces are involved in an unequalwar against the terrorists. The rules ofengagement in an unconventional war differwidely from those of conventional conflicts.

Even in conventional conflicts, the com-batants prioritise results over rules. Elaboraterules were drawn on the eve of theMahabharata war. They were based on theconcept of providing level-playing field andfair play. But as the war progressed, rules weremore honoured in breach than in observance.However, none would disagree that theMahabharata war was about principles.Even Lord Krishna had to succumb to thelaw of karma, by a hunter’s arrow stuck in hisheels, because he had at times instigatedArjuna to uphold Dharma by contraveningDharma (killing of Karna and Jayadratha).Even Duryadhana, in Souptika Parva, griev-ed about surreptitious killing of the sons ofthe Pandavas while in sleep. But can oneexpect Hafiz Saeed to bemoan the killing of19 Indian soldiers in sleep at Uri brigadeheadquarters? This is because a very differ-ent worldview of war inspires terrorists.

Brigadier SK Malik (of Pakistan Army)described it elaborately in his book, TheQuranic Concept of War (1979). Its forewordwas penned by none else than General Zia-ul Haq, who modestly signed as the Chief ofArmy Staff, though already the President ofPakistan. Brigadier Malik, making a referenceto the Battle of Badr (624 AD), observed, “TheQuranic military strategy, thus, enjoins us toprepare ourselves for war to the utmost inorder to strike terror into the heart of the ene-mies, known or hidden, while guarding our-selves from being terror-stricken by theenemy (P 58).” We have to remember that theorganisation, of which the suicide bomber wasa member, is called the Jaish-e-Mohammad,meaning, The Army of the Prophet of Islam.Little wonder that the bomber was inspiredby that worldview as described by BrigadierMalik. His purpose was seemingly to striketerror in the heart of the enemy.

In Jammu & Kashmir, terrorism has beenon the rise during the last few years. While

there were 322 and 342 incidentsof terror in the State in 2016 and2017 respectively, in 2018, theirnumbers rose to 600. More ter-rorists were neutralised in thecorresponding period — 150(2016), 213 (2017) and 252(2018). However, more securitypersonnel were also killed — 82(2016), 80 (2017) and 91 (2018).As per a reply given by theMinister of State, Home, in LokSabha recently (January 8), anestimated 300 terrorists are activein the State. Net infiltrationacross the Line of Control hasgone up significantly over the lasttwo years. Thus, despite the zerotolerance policy and �80,068crore provided to Jammu &Kashmir under the PrimeMinister’s Development Package,2015, the situation in Jammu &Kashmir has not improved. Thisis in sharp contrast to the situa-tion in the North-Eastern States.While insurgency is on thedecline in the North-East, it is onthe rise in Jammu & Kashmir.

Nobody seems to have a clueabout what would work inJammu & Kashmir. OnNovember 3, 2014, two car-borne youth were killed inChattergam (district Budgam) inthe outskirts of Srinagar by Armybullets. Driven by teenagers, thecar apparently did not stop at thecheck post, making the Armysuspicious. The outrage over theincident forced the Army toinstitute an inquiry into the inci-dent. Nine soldiers were ultimate-ly indicted for the killing. TheArmy was compelled to issue an

apology over the incident. A month later, on

December 8, 2014, PrimeMinister Modi in his speech atSrinagar took credit for theArmy issuing an apology overthe Budgam incident. He saidthat this was the first time thatthe Army had apologised.“Modi sarkar ka kamaaldekhiye…” It gave an impressionthat the Army is a habitualoffender, whom noGovernment had the gumptionto take to task before. TheBudgam outrage forced theIndian Army to be guarded inits approach towards privatevehicular movement. Had itbeen otherwise, possiblyPulwama could have been pre-vented.

The worsening of democra-tic discourse in the Valley isanother cause for concern. Thevoter turnout was a meagre twoper cent in the SrinagarParliamentary Constituencybypoll in April, 2017, which waswon by National Conference(NC) chief Farooq Abdullah.The re-polling in 38 boothsactually proved worse than theactual bypoll, which had seenseven per cent voter participation,and, hence, was countermanded.The local body elections inOctober, 2018, saw voters’ partic-ipation in single digits, the poor-est show in three decades.

The proliferation of Wahabi-controlled mosques in the Valleyover the last 10-15 years haschanged the nature of insurgencyin Kashmir, traditionally influ-

enced by a comparatively liber-al Sufi version. The money forthese mosques pours in from oil-rich Arab countries. Theybecome a point of attraction forthe Muslim youths. The Ministryof Home Affairs report onKashmir (February 2017) recom-mended control of mosque,madrasa, print and TV media.

This is, however, not tonegate the fact that religiousidentity is the fundamentalshaper of conflict in Kashmir.Why else does the Muslimmajority of the Valley, in contrastto Kashmiri Pandits, dislike partsof Hindu majority India evenwith Article 370 as a safeguard?Why were Kashmiri Panditsbrutally assaulted and massacreduntil they decided to desert theKashmir Valley on the sacredShivratri of 1990? Why were theirplaces of worship desecrated,idols stolen and destroyed? Whywere Urdu posters, ‘MuslimonJago, Hinduon Bhago, Jihad aaya’(Muslims arise, Hindus quit,Jihad has arrived) plastered onthe walls of Srinagar?

The return of the IED(Improvised Explosive Devices)in the Valley after a hiatus of adecade is a cause of anxiety. Thesolution to the Kashmir crisis,provided there is any reality, hasreceded from sight of late. Thesecession of Kashmir, on anIslamic plank, will make theposition of Muslims in the rest ofIndia vulnerable.

(The writer is an independentresearcher. Views expressed are hispersonal)

$����������)��� ������������������(���������������������������� ��������� ������

������������������������������������������������������������������ ������*�����������)+$��������������������������������������� ����� �� �������� ��� ������ ���� ��� �� ����������� ,������� ���� ���� ��� ����� �������������������������������(���������������������������� ��

����������������������������������������������������������������������(������������������������������� ������������������������������������-���������,��������� ��� �����������(��������������������������� ������,�����������%���*���� ������������������������� �������������������.*������������������������������ ��������������������������� �/���&��������� ��������0�������&�������������������������1)��������������������������������������������23)��� �������������������������������+����4������5������5�����6���,�������������� �������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������� ��������7��4�����������������������������������8�����������������������������������������*���� ����������������

#����������������������������#6����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������#6���������������������� ����������������������������������������#���������������� ����������(� �����������������������������������������������������������������������#� ���������������������� �������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������� �������������� ����� ��������������������������$� �����������������������������������������(� ������������������� ��������� 9�������������� (��������#���������������������������:�������;3����������������������:3�������������(��������������#��������������������(����������������������������������������������� �������(���������������������������������������������������������������6�� �)�����������/�������!�<�-�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����� ����������������������������������������������(����������������������#�����������)��� ����������������� ���������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���� �����)����������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������=������ ���9�������������������������������������������������������������

#������������>����������������� �����������9��������� �����������(���������%����

���������������� �����������������������������������������������������9��������������������������������������������������&�����(�������������������(��������������� ������� ,� ������ �������� ������������ ���������������(���>��������������������� ������� �� ���������� ��� ��� �����������9����5������$���-��������$����������������� ����������������������������������/���

��������������������������������������� ��������������������������� ����*�����/����*����?@@:������$�����������(�������������������������������������������� �A������ ����������� �����������������������������$�������������������������������������� ��$�������$����$��� B$$$C���$�������-�����7���B$-7C������������������� �������������4��������������������� �������� ���9����5�������� �����������������$��������������� ��������������������9�������#���������������������?2:����(�����������������������5������������������ ����������������9������������ �������������������������������5���������(�������������� ��������������������������������������������� -������<��������������� � ��������� ����������������������� ������� ���<4�����&�$-7����������������������������������������������������������������$���-�������5���������������(����� �������9���������������������=���������������������(���� �����$��������������������������������� ������$������������������������������������������������

5������������������9������������������������<���������������������������������������� ���������9����������������� �������������$����������������������������������������������������������-��������������#���0�������&������������������������(������������������������� $�������&��������������5������.�����19������������� ������� �����������������������������������(��������9���������������������������������������������������� $��������=��������������������������������$���������������� �������������������������)����������������5���������� ���������������������������������������5��������������������������������������������D��������������������������������������� ������������������������������������ ��������������������)������������������� �������������������� ����������������� �� �������� E��������� ������+���-������>���������������������������������������������������9��������9����5���������������������

,������ 7����!���9����4������������������������������������������(���� �������:�9���������������������������������������..����

����� ���� ���� ��"�������������������������������(��������������������������������.��������������

��������

Sir — Post the attack on a CRPFconvoy in Pulwama, that claimedthe lives of over 40 soldiers andinjured several others, countlessopinions have been made. Whilesome have suggested that it’s awake-up call for another surgicalstrike, others have opined that alltrade links with Pakistan shouldbe cut. The Indian Prime Minister,too, has said that a swift, robustand decisive action should betaken against the perpetrators ofthe ghastly crime. However, whatis of utmost importance is toaddress the core issue of radical-isation of the youth in the Valley.Why is it that they get drawntowards terrorism? At a timewhen proactive steps are neededto win over the Kashmiri main-stream, arm-twisting instead ofreaching out will be counter-pro-ductive and deepen the alienation.

Devendra KhuranaBhopal

����� �����������

Sir — It is not surprising thatPakistan Prime Minister ImranKhan refused to acknowledge the

attack on Indian security forces inPulwama as an act of terrorism. Heeven demanded proof for Jaish-e-Mohammed and its leaderMasood Azhar’s involvement inthe attack. Such an attitude on thepart of Pakistan has always beena dampener for better cooperationbetween the two countries. Khan,a philanthropist by nature and aliberal at heart, has really shockedthe world for his acrimonious

speeches against India and for hisblatant ‘lie’. A direct conflict withPakistan will not fetch any desiredresult. Some strategic moves likecrippling their economy and sin-gling Pakistan out from the worldforum can be the best option otherthan a direct conflict. Advicefrom Israel is a must for India inthis regard.

TK Nandanan Chennai

���������������

Sir — The terrorist attack inPulwama has been condemnedby Prime Minister Narendra Modi,who has vowed that sacrifices of ourjawans will not go in vain. It is truethat the entire nation stands in sol-idarity with the families of the mar-tyrs but with a heavy heart, onemust also ask how could such an

incident take place right under thePrime Minister’s nose, whose partyduring the last election campaign,had promised to adopt a hardlineapproach towards militancy inKashmir? The Government has toalso answer why there has been a176 per cent rise in the number ofterrorist incidents in Jammu &Kashmir between 2014 and 2018?It is ironic that the Governmentchooses to focus only on the num-ber of terrorists killed in a particu-lar year, and ignores the fact that therecruitment of Kashmiri boys bymilitant groups has gone up from88 in 2016 to 191 in 2018.

Jammu & Kashmir is nowunder Governor’s rule and SatyaPal Malik has admitted that thePulwama attack was partly theresult of an intelligence failure.The security forces could notdetect the loading and movementof the explosive-laden vehicle. Itwas also known that the bomber,Adil Ahmad Dar, had joined themilitants but the police could nottrace him. These basic securitylapses expose the larger officialdisregard for lives of our jawans.

Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeFaridabad

�* ���� +E

)�����������������=�����

�!,� � !#4, (�--�

+���������������� ���2���������3��������������9������ ����������������������������$�%���������������������������*�����������������������������������������������������

B�����������������������������K���������������������������������������������������!���"���������������������������������������������������$�

%�&'���:;(����L/������.����0��

%��������������1�����������������������������&�����+������������1��������������������3����������������$�

�(4*���<3�:��<�:=��L/������������&������

%����!����������*�������"�������������������������$�3����2������������������������������������������$�

�='3<�L7��0��;����

3�����������0����������������.-7���������������������������H������������������������������������$

���>���:(�=���?�L<����*�%���2����

� # � � ( 0 % - �

� � - - � ' � - # -- 1 � � ( % - # '

������������� ������ �������������������

%������������������������ �M.-7 �&������2�������N!'��������(="$���������� ��������������������������������� ����*������ �������,��������� ���

����� ����.��������-�����7����!.-7"��������&��*&������*������������������������������������������������ �&������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������������������� ����%����������������������������������*��$�:��2���2����������������������������������$�3,�����������������������������������������������������������$�

'����� � ���&��*�&����.-7����������������������������������2$���*�������1�����;����*����������� ����&��������������������������������������.-7 ���������������������������������������������������������������������<����*�%���2����,������������ 0����$� /���������� ������ /������� �*�����'����*�� �������������������.-7,��J��������,������������������&��� ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������$�;�

��������������������������*�������������������������*������������ �������0�������������&�����������������������$�4�� �������������������*��������������������������������*������������������������������������������*�*������������������������������$�3�<����*�%���2������������*���������������� ����������O�3�������$

8��@&�(A��� ����

%;�7�B:3'��+%3B4

B'�#+;+.3��B4%�B::�

/B&F<�&�34�%;�+::�D�B��

%;��:+&%�5=�5@D�+�&�;+&

�;+4�� �%;�4+%<���B'

34&<���4�D�349+&;/3�

%�+ 3%3B4+::D34':<�4�� �.D�+�B/7+�+%3�:D

:3.��+:�&<'3��&3B4$�%;�/B4�D�'B�

%;�&��/B&F<�&7B<�&�34�'�B/B3:��3�;�+�+.

�B<4%�3�&

�������� �����$�������''�<&'35�3:��<B;C(��2=3C�

� , � 8 � � ' $ � 9 � � , � � $ # %

555������� ��������������2$���K��������������P Q%�� ����7��������P ��������$���K������������K

%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2

Climate change has become aneveryday reality for mankind.The ill-effects of punishing

changes in the environment havealready taken a toll on a variety ofaspects such as thinning of our forestcover or rapidly rising sea levels,which are in turn threatening ourcoastal areas. On the other hand, thevanishing green canopy has beeninstrumental in increasing the ambi-ent temperatures. These have led to ascenario where limiting the globaltemperature rise to below 2 degreecentigrade seems like an unachievablegoal now. As the world is locked in anirrecoverable downward spiraltowards a definite and permanent cli-mate change, humans residing inrural and urban areas are poised totake the maximum hit.

Whereas the rural areas areexpected to get off lightly, thanks totheir proximity to nature, they are notlikely to get off as easily on the agri-cultural front where climate change isexpected to hit food productionimmensely. To state that the farmersof India are looking at a dark future,both financially and agriculturally,would not be incorrect.

Their city counterparts are notgoing to fare better either, thanks tounstoppable migration to cities fromrural hinterlands and the groaninginfrastructure that is already burstingat seams, unable to provide for evenbasic amenities such as power, waterand accommodation. To make mat-ters worse is the fact that green coverin many Indian cities has virtually dis-appeared amid the growing problemof increasing population.

Scientific opinion is also nowunanimously certain that global tem-peratures are likely to continue to risewith concomitant extreme weatherpatterns and events. There is a proteanbody of scientific literature availableon global warming and climatechange, which is affecting urban liv-

ing in every respect, from the impactof heat islands phenomena. Urbanplanning implications are reflected inbuildings, street and communitydesign for more environmentally sus-tainable cities. Though the urbanscience related to climate change andits implications for human settlementis in its early stages, the threat of cli-mate change to urban settlements oftoday is so real that it is alreadybecoming a concern of insurance andactuarial industries. These begin toassess risk to human settlement, con-struction and other risks associatedwith atmospheric conditions.

Currently numerous problemsconditioned by global climate changesare quite clearly reflected in the con-temporary urban and rural environ-ment. A series of extreme weatherconditions in the European citiesand worldwide has shed the light onthe vulnerability of the cities to theimpact of climate changes. On theother part, the cities represent themajor originators of the same but arealso the main field of action to min-imise their impacts. In light of that, thegrowing cities, particularly in respect

to the growth of the density ofdwelling, industry and traffic, repre-sent the strategic place for mitigationof the harmful impacts of climatechanges on the environment. Climatechanges, to a great extent, affect thechange of behaviour of the stakehold-ers in the city. These changes are alsoreflected through diverse changes inthe urban structure: morphological,organisational, functional, economic,social and the changes in the qualityof the environment. Global climatechanges have also the unavoidableimpact on the structure and function-ing of the region, altering the region’stopography and relationships amongits basic building elements.

In the backdrop of these menac-ing climate changes, our urban plan-ners must help our cities becomeresilient which can absorb the twinimpacts of rural to urban migrationand worsening climate. Time hascome when urban planning and cli-mate change are going to intersectand urban planners, who handle avariety of responsibilities aroundcommunity development and designand manage everything from trans-

portation planning to park place-ment and land-use zoning, must beprepared to handle this conflict.What is clear is that the climatechange-related extreme weatherevents may not stop but the urbanplanner’s efforts in making theIndian cities resilient and sustainablewill help them bounce back after nat-ural disasters.

The new cityscape planning mustnow do away with priority for concreteand instead replace the same withgreen pockets, which must be a partof the public places. The harsh ener-gy guzzling glass facades of the com-mercial buildings must be made tosport only solar panels so that theirenergy needs are half met by their owngeneration. To this end, the govern-ment must ensure that the electricityload allocated or allowed to thesebuildings be a mix of conventionalnon-renewable energy and solarenergy. This way the architects will beleft with no other option but toensure that the green building gener-ates its own quota of solar energy.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

��������(����(�������.�0%$<

������������$����������%������������������������$�������������%������!����������������������2�%���������%����������2

D����������������� ��

���������� �������������������������� �����$�����2�������������������������������� �����������������������2D�������������������8������

��,���#��-�'��,���

With just two months left for thegeneral elections, the politicalsensex in India is heated, fluc-tuating and volatile. This isbecause newer entrants and

federal bloc entities are striving to increase brandequity within the country’s re-calibrated demo-graphics. India’s large and fragmented electorate,and its progressively widening diversity and plu-ralism, have made the country more complexand unwieldy to govern even by a party thatruled with a majority after 30 years, making thepolitical marketplace a challenging one for 2019.

New-age elections are no longer foughtoffline on rugged turfs or over shrill televisiondebates as brand-wars have shifted to theonline space, where opinions are shaped.Because social media is mostly consumed byyounger demographics, which comprise 65 percent of the voting population, ad-spends ofparties are on par in print and electronicmedia. And where the BJP held a first-moveradvantage since 2014, political competitorshave narrowed the gap in visibility, reparteeand aggressive rebuttals not only on mainlinemedia but also on platforms like Facebook,Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp.

The product differentiator of the BJP ver-sus ‘the Rest’ is that brand Modi has a nation-ally tried and tested leadership appeal. This isin contrast to incubator or trial and error region-al brands, whose organisations or leaders haveno prior experience in national governance (asin Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati or anuntested leader lacking administrative experi-ence from a mainstream party, like Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi). Creating a powerfulnarrative around a political product needsbranding strategies similar to a consumerdurable company, where the consumers must feeltempted to buy a product they will have to livewith for the next five years. And remember thatthe party that comes to power impacts nation-al and individual fortunes of the multitude.

No brand, be it a consumer product, polit-ical party or a corporate entity, can retain leador dominance indefinitely in the cluttered mar-ketplace of politics. Political brands, like con-sumer ones, need continual upgrading to retainrelevance. Brand Modi’s campaign of 2014 soldhope for a transformative ‘New India’, whichworked at that time as a powerful motivator.A re-run of the same theme cannot have thesame appeal in 2019. Instead, ‘Modi’s half-fin-ished revolution requires another term’ is amore honest and realistic selling propositionfor 2019 in contrast to the mahagathbandhan’sthus far uninspiring counter-proposition or thelack of it. According to brand experts, region-al party aspirants lack clearly defined USPs inthe consumers’ perception that would temptthem to buy into a regional leader to displacea towering national brand like Modi.

The elections of 2019 are no longer a sim-plistic assessment of two competing pan-Indian protagonists from India’s mainstreamparties, Modi and Rahul Gandhi. Becausedepending on post-poll results, Mayawati orTrinamool Congress chief Mamata could wellbecome default choices if the BJP or Congress

fall terribly short of numbers and choose to sitin the Opposition benches, propping up a pup-pet regime.

In a “Modi versus the Rest”, there are twocompeting brands for the top slot against Modi.First, “the Rest,” or the Federal Front is a distinctproduct entity in itself. It’s an amorphous brand,minus the Congress or the BJP, comprisingSamajwadi Party, BSP, Telugu Desam Party,Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Partyand TMC among others. Historically, suchhybrid formations have been synonymous withinstability and chaos. The selling points of theFederal Front brand will be assessed on the valueproposition of the Common MinimumProgramme (CMP) it puts forth as an alterna-tive to the perceived flaws of brand Modi’s gov-ernance. It must offer viable economic solutionsfor a pick-up in investments and jobs and havelong-term solutions to fix rural distress.

Voters are cynical about “hit and run” man-ifestos with no accountability post-Governmentformation. The USP of the Front will also liein how the brand differentiates itself in its com-mitment to upholding institutional integrity ofthe vibrant pillars of democracy: A free Press,Central Bureau of Investigation, Comptrollerand Auditor General of India, EnforcementDirectorate and Reserve Bank of India. Becauseevery party that came to power at the Centreor States has been guilty of the very sameexcesses and impropriety of fiddling withdemocratic institutions that Opposition flagsas flawed features of brand Modi’s governance.Selling a brand’s ability to govern is like mar-keting a service product, similar to banking orinsurance. Delivering good governance is asolemn and contractual service obligationbetween the ruler and the voter.

The second voter option is the Gandhibrand, and consequently a Congress-led alliance.Rahul is the prime mover in this space, thoughnot the glue that binds the Opposition and lacksany empirical record of governance to gauge past

performance that inspires a “buy.” Rahul hasbeen a brand-in-the-making since 2004 that wasformally test-marketed in the Gujarat electionsin 2017 with partial success till he led theCongress to convincing wins in the politicallysignificant Hindi heartland States in 2018.

Rahul’s personal branding for 2019 as theangry young man of Indian politics is a com-plete mis-match to real-life attributes. TheBachchan prototype in politics could well haveappealed to the aspirational youth had hegained ascendance through meritocracy. Hismarketing strategy is deliberately confronta-tional and headline-grabbing, targetted to“defeat the BJP in the daily news cycle”through “hit and scoot” allegations in anattempt to maximise media space and brandvisibility. As an anti-corruption crusader,upholding India’s institutional integrity, unem-ployment and agri-distress, a discerning voterwould see through the claims of a party thatsuffered its worst rout in 2014 for those veryissues Rahul champions in 2019.

Let’s not forget that Rahul, like his mother,had unfettered and equal access through proxypower during UPA’s 10 years to transform India.The fact is, he did nothing. So the rebel imagedoes not quite add up. The Congress-led UPAran a highly corrupt establishment with abjectdisdain for the integrity of democratic institu-tions starting with the office of the PrimeMinister, CBI, CAG etc. Besides, an inconvenienttruth seldom highlighted in present times is thecronyism Rahul alleges, and hopes to reap elec-toral dividends from by scamming the Rafaeldeal, is that the rise of the Ambanis coincidedwith the rule of Indira Gandhi, not with Modi’sascendance. By 1999, the Reliance group had thelargest net worth among all private companiesin India, much before Modi came to power inGujarat or in the capital.

Second, Rahul’s economic panacea of aMinimum Income Guarantee scheme is aflawed and financially prodigal strategy.

Because it is based on assumptions that mar-ket-led economic growth will remain below-par, insufficient to raise millions out of pover-ty, so there is need to fall back on direct state-supported welfarism. Progressive growth isfounded on policies that widen the econom-ic pie, as compared to welfarist solutions whichare based on redistribution of wealth, whichis an interim solution to mitigating poverty anda constant drain on the exchequer.

Brand Modi is the “challenged” brand withthe largest individual market share that reachedsaturation in 2014, and now suffers anticipat-ed mid-cycle plateau. With his sweeping victo-ry in 2014, the brand appeal resonated widerthan its parent organisations, the BJP and RSS.

Despite a degree of voter-fatigue, displac-ing an overarching brand whose organisationand party dominates 19 Indian States is also amarketing challenge. Brand Modi retains top-of-the-mind recall through sustained visibili-ty, being omnipresent in daily Governmentadvertisements and regular personalisedengagements through messaging updates viamail, Twitter and Mygov apps. It stands forunadulterated brand attributes of personalintegrity. Voters, who buy into brand Modi in2019, are not looking for new value-adds.Instead, brand loyalists are looking for renew-al of commitments on how it can deliver on pastpromises and rectify the errors of his firsttenure. As Modi’s brand attributes have beensynonymous with decisive leadership, gaugingfrom the patriotic fervour post the Pulwamaattack, there would be a huge surge in popular-ity ratings should he choose to exercise militaryoptions, like going in for a limited war. Questionis: Does he need to resort to knee-jerk reactionsto prove his ‘josh’ by going to war in order towin the elections of 2019?

(The writer is author, columnist andChairperson for National Committee onFinancial Inclusion and Literacy for Womenconstituted at NITI Aayog)

����������������(��������������

� ��������.-.�����������������8�������������������������������������������������.0%$<���������������������������������������.������������������-�������

���������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������

5 % ' � - � # � � � �

��2�.������.�2����

4,! �6 � �'���'

7�� ��'%'�A

���/�2���0�������������*���������������������1������������ ������� ���22���������2��������������*�����������������1�������

�,��8 (���%�

-�����������������������������������#����(����������������������������������������������������������������������������(

���������������������������/������=�� +������B?FG2(?@G:C��� �� ������� ���������/�������������������������������A�������� �������$������������������������/ ������-���������9�����*������/������B?F:@(?@?HC������A������������������ ��� ���� ��?FH?�������������������� ������ �����������I����4����&*������&������������������������� ���������������������������B?@3:(?@FGC������������������A����������=�������������-����E�*��������������-�������������*�������!�������������-�����7��������=�����������������������������������������������������������4���� ���������������*����������9������� ������ ������������� ��� ���� ������� ��������$������>������������!������&��������������������5����*�� �� �������$���������������������������*���������&�>�������#������������

9�9�����������������������������������=����� �������������� �� ��?@������� � 9� �������������� ��������������?FH2���?FHH�4����)����J����������)�������4���������������5�������4�������-�����B���)���� C���� ����������������� ��������J������������������������������������������������������ �+���*����/������������ ������������������������������������������ ����)������4��������#���� ���� ������������� ������������ = ��� ��� ����� �������� ����� ��5����������������������7�����6��� �4����������::�2K3����4�������������

���������������������������9����������-����������������������9�����>�����4��������������������������������������������H3 �������(����������������������������������������������� �=�����������������������I�����������=�������$��������4�������9������ ����*����&�#�����������������������������A������#�����������������������(��������������K;��������������� ���������� �������������������0#���#���������=����� �&�� ��9����9�����������*���&�5��������*������� ������-���� �������(���(���������������������������(���� ���������������������������

#��� ���������������������������������������(�� ���������������������E������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������7�����������������������������������������������������������������(���� ������������������������������������������������������J����������������������������#�����������������������������(��������������������������������� �����������"�������<<��������(����� �����4���������(�� ������������������� ������������������������������������������������������

)������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������#����������������������������(����������� ������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������<<��������������� ��������#� ������������<���������J����������������������&�������������������������������� �

������������� ����������������������������������(���������������������� ����� �����������������J���������������������������,��������������������������������(��������L��� ��������������������(������7��������������������� ������������������(��������������"�����������J�� ��������������������#������������������<���������������������������� ����������#���������������.�����������1���������������� ������������������������ ���������� ���6�� ����������������������� ������������������������������������� ������� ����#������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������� �������/��������������������� ��������������������������������������������

��-�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������(�����������������������4����������������������������������������������������%���������������������6��� ��>����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� (�������(��������&� ��������������������=�������(�������������������������������������� �������������������������� �����������(��������������������������������)����������������������(�"��������������������� �

����������� ���� ����������������������������������������

��!��� +:%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2

555������� �������

%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2 ����� +6

Bijni/Diphu (Assam): At leasteight persons, including twowomen, were killed and as manyothers injured in two road acci-dents in Bongaigaon and KarbiAnglong districts of Assam onWednesday, police said.

Five persons travelling in anauto-rickshaw were killed whena truck rammed into their vehi-cle by a truck on NH 31 at Bijni-Goraimari in Bongaigaon dis-trict at around 2.30 PM, policesaid. Police rushed to the spotand the injured were admittedto a hospital nearby.

In another road accident incentral Assam’s Karbi Anglongdistrict, three persons, including

two women, were killed and fourothers seriously injured at about6.30 am when the driver of theirvehicle lost control while cross-ing a road bridge and hit a pil-lar, the police said.

The vehicle fell from thebridge at Hari Tarogaon nearDokmoka Army Camp, policesaid. Three occupants of thevehicle died on the spot, whilefour others including its driverreceived grievous injuries andwere admitted to a hospital inDimapur.

The vehicle was travellingfrom Dimapur to attend a meet-ing at Tura in Meghalaya, thesources said. PTI

Nashik (Maha): Four mem-bers of a family, including twochildren, were charred to deathin a fire triggered by explosionof a domestic LPG cylinder inNashik district of Maharashtra,police said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred onTuesday night in Dhaur villagein Dindori taluka, around 30kms from here, when the fam-ily members were asleep afterhaving dinner, a local police offi-cial said.

The makeshift tin-roofstructure in which the familywas living suffered extensive

damage in the explosion, he said.The official said four mem-

bers, including a couple and twochildren, burned alive in fire.

It seemed the cylinder wasleaking and the gas came intocontact with a kerosene lamp inthe shed which has no powerconnection, the official saidwhen asked about the likelycause behind the incident.

The deceased persons areidentified as MurlidharChoudhari (32), his wife Kavita(30), their son Tushar (10), andnephew Nayan Choudhari (8),he said.

A case of accidental deathhas been registered by Dindoripolice and further investiga-tion is underway. PTI

(�2����� ���������"�:�� ���������� ����;�

,���������������������������"����

����� -+//<

Chief of Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP) and former

Chief Minister MehboobaMufti on Wednesday labelledthose seeking revenge againstPakistan as ‘illiterates’.

Speaking selectively to agroup of media persons here ather residence, Mehbooba Muftisaid “In today’s world, only illit-erate people will talk about war.Both countries have nucleararms. When there is an optionof dialogue then there is nopoint talking about war. Ifthere is no war there would beno retaliation. Those talkingabout war are just bluffing,those who are sincere willnever lead their country intowar” .

Mehbooba was reactingto the ongoing war of wordsbetween India and Pakistan inthe aftermath of the Pulwamaterror attack.

Immediately after thePulwama terror attack, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadvowed revenge with many onsocial media calling for anoth-er surgical strike to avenge thedeaths of the soldiers.

����������������� ��7����������<�����������

������$��������� -+//<�

Pakistan army onWednesday resorted to

heavy shelling of mortars alongthe Line of Control in Kalalarea of Nowshera sector ofRajouri district.

This is the second incidentof ceasefire violation in the last24 four hours in the sameregion.

According to groundreports, “the firing startedaround 6.30 p.m and continuedtill late in the night”.

Defence PRO in Jammu, LtCol Devendra Anand said, “Pakistan army initiated ‘unpro-voked’ ceasefire violation byheavy shelling with mortarsand firing of small arms around6.30 p.m”.

“The Indian army retaliat-ed strongly and effectively”, headded.

Tension prevailed in theforward areas as panic strick-en residents were forced to stayindoors due to heavy mortarshelling.

��������'�������$���� ��������7�3��!�&��� ��>��$����$��'����

���������������� 9B:9+%+

Aday after MeghalayaGovernor Tathagata Roy

prescribed justice for thePulwama terror attack victimsby boycotting everythingKashmiri, Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeelaunched a scathing attack on“those holding constitutionalposts” saying a section of polit-ical parties/groups were mak-ing hate statements, under-mining the country’s’ federaland secular health.

The Chief Minister who onWednesday declared a pay-ment of �5 lakh each for thetwo CRPF jawans from Bengalwho had perished in the savageterror attack on February 14besides offering governmentjobs to the next of their kintweeted: “a section of politicalparties/groups along with peo-ple holding constitutional posi-tions” were “indulging inrumour-mongering, spreadinghatred with dangerous state-ments.”

Though she would notname Roy in her comment,

Banerjee wondered “what lev-els of polluted politics have wedescended to,” criticising thosewho were indulging in shame-less politics.

Roy had earlier supporteda call for boycotting “everythingKashmiri” including tourism tothat State, Amarnath Yatra andpurchasing the products thatwere produced there.

Asking the Kashmiris liv-ing in Bengal to stay in the Statewithout fear Banerjee said,“there is no reason to be afraidhere in Bengal.

There was one stray inci-dent (of attack on twoKashmiris) but we have takenstrong action there becausewe want a united India and nota divided India.”

Incidentally, the ChiefMinister had earlier questionedthe developments Pulwamaattack wondering whether the

Centre was trying to go to warwhen Lok Sabha elections wereround the corner. She alleged“while the Government didnothing after the Pathankotattack it was creating a “war-like hysteria” before the gener-al elections.

In a related developmentcentral Kolkata witnessedclashes between two groupswhen alleged RSS-BJP youth onWednesday attacked an anti-war procession led byAssociation for Protection ofDemocratic Rights.

“A group of about 15 peo-ple carrying the national flagattacked the rallyists decryingbattle-mongering,” said APDRchairperson Sujata Bhadra.“We have unequivocally con-demned the Pulwama attackand have stood by the victims’families but this does not betaken as an excuse to spreadwar-mongering between andmass hysteria, he said adding“some people certainly fromthe RSS and the BJP who wereessentially not Bengali-speak-ing attacked us even as thepolice stood mute spectators.”

��������.�������������������������������������

Kolkata: A teenaged girl fromKolkata was trolled andallegedly threatened with rapeon Facebook for a post on theplight of Kashmiris in the wakeof the Pulwama attack, she saidon Wednesday.

In her February 15 post,the Class 12 girl condemnedthe deadly terror strike inJammu and Kashmir that killed40 CRPF jawans, while high-lighting the daily hardships ofKashmiris. She said some peo-ple asked her to leave thecountry and go to Pakistan inreply to her post, and othersthreatened rape and dire con-sequences. A local shopkeeperalso told her that a few menwere trying to locate her housethrough her Facebook pic-tures, she claimed.

“Initially, after receivingthe threats, I had deleted mypost. But after I came to knowthat some youths were lookingfor me, I decided to delete myFacebook account. I did not goto school for the last two days,”she told PTI. PTI

Bengaluru: Congress MLA JNGanesh was arrested onWednesday near a restaurant atSomnath in Gujarat, weeksafter he was declared abscond-ing for allegedly assaultinganother lawmaker from hisparty during a brawl at aresort.

Ganesh was at large after the alleged assault on Anand Singh, both fromBallari district, on January 20at the Eagleton Resort on thecity outskirts, where theCongress had sequestered itsMLAs to prevent a poachingbid by the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP).

The MLA was arrested inthe afternoon when he wasgoing to have lunch nearSomnath Temple,Ramanagaradistrict superin-tendent of police RameshBhanot said.

“We had sent a team toGujarat three days ago follow-ing information that he wasstaying in a hotel there.

Today our team got inputsthat he was near Somnath tem-

ple to have meals at a hotel. Hehad stopped his vehicle therewhen we arrested him,” Bhanottold reporters.

He said police teams weresent to Andhra Pradesh, TamilNadu, Maharashtra and Delhi.

There were three peoplewith him -- two of them fromKarnataka and one of hisfriends was from Gujarat, headded.

Karnataka Home ministerM B Patil said the MLA wasarrested at 2 pm.

“He will be brought here bya flight in the night,” Patil toldreporters here.

Ganesh had allegedlyattacked Singh with his fistsand a flowerpot, hit him nearhis eye and kicked him on hischest, according to the com-plaint filed with the police.

In his complaint, Singhsaid Ganesh was upsetas hesuspected that he wanted to fin-ish him off politically and didnot support him financiallyduring the Karnataka Assemblypolls last year. PTI

"(����������� 2"����������������������

6�������������������������������!0������ �6�����

Guwahati: Assam Governmenton Wednesday informed theState Assembly that over 2.9lakh cases are pending in lowercourts across the State and it ismulling to set up 33 fast trackcourts to try heinous crimes.

Giving a written reply to aquery by AIUDF MLA AminulIslam, Law and Justice MinisterSiddhartha Bhattacharya saidthe number of pending cases inlower courts have gone upfrom 2,76,520 in 2017 to2,91,960 the next year.

A total of 3,26,931 newcases were registered last yearand 3,11,150 cases were dis-posed of, he said.

“The government is con-sidering to set up 33 fast trackcourts to handle cases of rapeas well as murder of womenand children,” Bhattacharyasaid.

He also informed theAssembly that a total of 70posts of judges in various lowercourts are lying vacant at thismoment.

Bhattacharya said, out ofthe sanctioned posts of 24judges in the high court, fourare vacant. PTI

Kolkata: The 109-year-old highsecurity Alipore CentralCorrectional home in the cityofficially closed down onWednesday due to securitypurpose after all its inmatesbeing shifted to other correc-tional homes.

It’s an end of an era forKolkata, as the jail had as itsprisoners at various times free-dom fighters and leaders likeSri Aurobindo, his brother

Barindra Kumar Ghosh, NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose, PanditJawaharlal Nehru, Kazi NazrulIslam, Sarat Ch Bose, K Kamrajand Bidhan Chandra Roy dur-ing the Independence move-ment.

“We decided to close theprison due to security purpos-es. The condition of this 100year old prison is not good.Besides, you will hardly findany modern prision in middle

of a city. So we decided to moveto the newly built Baruipurprison,” Correctional HomesMinister Ujjal Biswas told PTI.

The height of the AliporeCentral jails walls are 6.5metres, while those at theBaruipur jail are a metre high-er. The Alipore Central jail canaccomodate 1800 convicts butBaruipur jail can accomodate2200 convicts, the ministersaid. PTI

Shillong: Scientists atZoological Survey of India(ZSI) have found a rare frogspecies in Lower Subansiri dis-trict of Arunachal Pradesh,according to a recently pub-lished journal.

The convex-vented hornedspecies (Megophryspachyproctus), collected fromTale Valley Wildlife Sanctuaryof the district in 2017, is crim-son in colour, it said.

Led by senior ZSI scientistBikramjit Sinha, the researchersalso found out that the frog isendemic to Xizang in China,the journal, ‘Records of theZoological Survey of India’,said. PTI

������������������ ��� ,� ����

Kochi: A massive fire broke outat a footwear showroom andgodown located near the Southrailway station in Kerala’s com-mercial hub Kochi Wednesday.

Officials said no casualtywas reported but firefighterstook several hours to bring the

blaze, which broke out in the thefourth floor of the six-storeyedbuilding, under control.

Around 50 fire enginesrushed to the spot and peoplefrom nearby shops and resi-dential buildings were evacuat-ed, a fire department official told

PTI. An eyewitness said a largeplume of black smoke was seenspreading around the multi-storeyed structure before the firebroke out.

Short circuit is suspected tobe the cause of the blaze but itcannot be confirmed at the

moment, the official said. “Nocasualty has been reported asthe employees of the godownmoved out of the building assoon as the fire broke out. Nowthe blaze is under control...Weare trying to douse it com-pletely,” the official said. PTI

�������������� ���������������1�$��

���� �������������� ������$����������� ����������������������������(�����������!���������������1�$����/�������� �*"

(��� ��������������3������&���$���������

Ahmednagar: A former villagehead in Ahmednagar district ofMaharashtra has been arrestedfor allegedly making objec-tionable comments over thePulwama terror attack, policesaid on Wednesday.

A candle march was takenout on Monday evening inVispur village, located around30 km from here, to protestagainst perpetrators of theattack in which 40 CRPF per-sonnel were killed in Pulwanadistrict of Jammu and Kashmirlast week, Belwadi police sta-tion’s inspector RajendraPadwal said.

During the march, Vispur’sformer sarpanch Sayyad JabbarAmir allegedly made somestatements against the Indiangovernment, the official said.

The other participantsimmediately criticised hisremarks following which Amirran away from there, he said.

Later, some locals filed apolice complaint based onwhich Amir was arrested onTuesday night and bookedunder Indian Penal CodeSection 153-B (imputationsand assertions prejudicial tonational integration), Padwalsaid. PTI

)�-�������������.('������(���������� �������������

=>?������������ �� ��� �,������ ��������

Guwahati: Over 36,500 postsof teachers are lying vacant inschools of all levels acrossAssam, the state Assembly wasinformed on Wednesday.

In a written reply to aquery by AGP MLA UtpalDutta, Education MinisterSiddhartha Bhattacharya said atotal of 36,523 teaching postsare vacant at present, including17,293 posts in primaryschools.

Out of these 17,293, hesaid, 10,137 are in lower pri-mary and 7,156 are in upperprimary schools. PTI

/&�@44������������������ ����� ��� �,����

Jammu: The Jammu ProvincePeople’s Forum (JPPF), anorganisation advocating cause ofDogras, on Wednesday threat-ened agitation if police do notimmediately release over 100boys allegedly detained inJammu during protests againstPulwama terror attack.

“100 plus innocent (boys)are detained for none of theirfault. We request the adminis-tration to release the detainedinnocent youths of Jammu oth-erwise situation will become badto worse”, Working President ofthe Forum, M S Katoch saidWednesday here.

The JPPF, which supervisedthe agitation for the CentralUniversity Jammu (CUJ) andAIIMS and forced the centralgovernment to announce thetwo institutes for Jammu, hasasked the government to releasethe detained youths immediate-

ly. Lashing at the administrationfor “anti-Jammu” steps, Katochsaid the city is under strict cur-few for the last 5 days and peo-ple here are having a “toughtime”. He said the government“failed” to control the situationand alleged that no action wastaken against those chanting“anti-India” slogans in Jammu.

“No action has been takenagainst them (who raised anti-national slogans). It is a mat-ter of shame that even the peo-ple living in the governmentquarters in Sarwal and Janipurarea are involved in this anti-national offence and no actionhas been taken by theGovernment against the cul-prits”, Katoch said. The JPPFpaid rich tributes to the mar-tyrs of Pulwama attack by theJaish-e- Mohammed in whichat least 40 CRPF personnelwere killed. PTI

!���-����.�� ��9���/��/.�-:�9��%

.����������������$��������$�������������$����������������������3!��&������������������������������������$���.���5�����/�������� �*"

%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2 ����� +B

Mumbai: Congress chief RahulGandhi’s “development book”has improved much since 2014and he has his sister PriyankaGandhi Vadra’s support, butthey cannot be compared withPrime Minister NarendraModi’s leadership, the ShivSena said on Wednesday.

The remarks by theUddhav Thackeray-led partycame two days after it sealed apre-poll alliance with the BJPafter years of bickering and crit-icism of its policies and leaders.

Responding to Oppositioncriticism of the seat-sharingpact, the Sena, in an editorialin party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’,said questions on tie-up are lessin the minds of people butmuch more among politicalopponents as these “insects”will be crushed due to thealliance.

Referring to Modi’s stew-ardship, it said, “Rahul Gandhi’sbook of development hasimproved much since 2014

and he has Priyanka’s help.However, they can’t be com-pared with Modi’s leadership.”

Asserting that the party isnot helpless for power, the edi-torial said there are severalquestions — like why did it allywith the BJP despite differencesin 2014, will the Ram Templebe constructed, will there beSena’s Chief Minister — andtheir answers are “positive”.

Instead of replying to ques-tions on the alliance, it is bet-ter that the “arrangement”made for the benefit ofMaharashtra is taken ahead, itsaid.

The Marathi daily said BJP

president Amit Shah himselfcame to Sena chief UddhavThackeray’s suburban residence‘Matoshree’. Thackeray toldhim what he had to and it wasfinally decided to give thealliance another chance.

Maintaining that there wasno enmity between the Senaand the BJP, it said if (Biharchief minister and JD-U head)Nitish Kumar could join theNDA despite differences ofopinion with Modi and if theCongress could forge a “maha-gathbandhan” (grand alliance),then the Sena has always beena part of the BJP-led coalition.

The Sena said there wasresentment in 2014 against theCongress and its allies andthere was a “wave” in favour ofModi.

However, in 2019, the wavehas receded and elections haveto be fought not on the back ofthe “wave”, but on ideology,development works and future,it added. PTI

���������� ��� �������������������������"��� �

��������������� /</.+3

After a six-hour-long drama,the forest department offi-

cials captured a leopard fromthe basement of a hotel atThane, after the wild cat hadstrayed into the parking lot ofa leading shopping mall andlater entered the basement of anearby hotel, thus triggeringconsiderable panic among res-idents in the area.

In an operation that lastedfor more than five and a halfhours, the forest officialstrapped the leopard in a cageafter tranquilising it. Ahead oflaying the trap, the officials hadburst crackers in an effort toscare the wild cat.

“It took us nearly fivehours to capture the leopardwhich we did around at around11.30 am. After completingnecessary formalities, we willbe leaving the leopard in thewild, ” a senior forest officialsaid.

Some eyewitnesses said

that the leopard which cametrapped was seen around lastmidnight entering the Cadburycompany located in nearPokharan Road-1, from whereit is believed to have headed toKorum Mall.

The leopard that had beenspotted leaving the Korum

Mall in Mumbai’s satellite cityof Thane at around 5.30 amhad reportedly entered themall complex after scaling theperimeter wall. The CCTVfootage from the mall subse-quently showed the wild cathiding behind a staircase beforeheading towards a dark corner.

The leopard, which isbelieved to have strayed intothe Thane city from the near-by Yeooor hills located on therear side of the Sanjay GandhiNational Park (SNGP), laterquietly entered the basement ofSatkaar Hotel, which is lessthan 300 meters away from theKorum mall, from the rear side.

One Gurudev Singh (44)who works at the hotel as a dri-ver, said he had spotted thewild cat entering the hotelfrom its rear side.

Before long, the panickedhotel management alerted thefire brigade personnel, forestofficials and police. By then,the leopard had quietlydeposited itself in the base-ment of the hotel, blissfullyunaware of the panic that ithad generated among the peo-ple in the area.

The incident created quitea commotion at the Smt.Sulochanadevi SinghaniaSchool, where high schoolexaminations were on.

���&��5�����0�����������,�50�-�������$�� �$�������$��������������������������������1��� ����������3�����6�$������*������/�������� �*"

����7������$������� �����@����

������$��������� -+//<

The Jammu & KashmirGovernment on

Wednesday further diluted andwithdrew the security of 18other members of HurriyatConference, including Syed AliShah Geelani, Yasin Malik,Aga Syed Mosvi and MaulviAbbas Ansari .

Earlier, four Hurriyatmembers, including MirwaizUmar Farooq, were stripped offtheir security cover by theState Government.

In addition, the security of155 political persons andactivists, who did not requirethe security provided to thembased on their threat assess-ment and their activities, wasalso withdrawn.

This includes Shah Faesal,who resigned from the IAS andWahid Parray.

According to thespokesperson of HomeDepartment, "it was felt thatproviding security to theseseparatist leaders is a wastageof scarce state resources whichcould be better utilised else-where".

Among the leaders whosesecurity has been downgradedand withdrawn are SASGeelani, Aga Syed Mosvi,Maulvi Abbas Ansari, YaseenMalik, Saleem Geelani, Shahidul Islam, Zaffar Akbar Bhat,Nayeem Ahmed Khan,Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, FarooqAhmed Kichloo, MasroorAbbas Ansari, Aga Syed AbulHussain, Abdul Gani Shah andMohd Musadiq Bhat.

Through this exercise, over1,000 police personnel andover 100 vehicles are freed todo regular police work, thepolice spokesman said.

$���������$��� .�4�+:<�<

As the 12th edition of AeroIndia 2019, a biannual

plane carnival kick-started atthe Yalahanka Air base at theoutskirts of Bengaluru onWednesday, Defence MinisterNirmala Sitharaman laudedthe achievements of ModiGovernment in defence sectorahead of general elections justa few months away.

Speaking at the inaugura-tion of 12th edition of AeroIndia she said, “Some of themajor achievements of Publicand Private defence industry, Iwant to put before you include155 MM 52 caliber self-pro-pelled howitzer guns, advancedtowed artillery guns, high alti-tude UAVs, commissioning ofindigenous scorpene INSKalvari, development of twoindigenous ATGMs, upgrada-tion of air defence guns L 70,LCA Tejas 2, integrated aircommand control system,Akash missile system and soon.” She also said with focuseddefence policy the public andprivate defence industry havebeen able to achieve majormilestones in the defence andaerospace segment.

As a mark of tribute toWing Commander Sahil

Gandhi who was killed in amid-air clash of two Hawkfighters of team Surya Kiran onTuesday.

“There are now more than424 companies which haveobtained the license for defenceproduction. This number hasalmost doubled over the lastfour years,” she added. Shesaid on Foreign directInvestment”(FDI ) ) upto 49per cent were allowed throughautomatic route and above 49per cent we go through theGovernment route. But a sig-nificant FDI growth in defenceand aerospace sector have beenwitnessed. During 2014-18, sixcompanies in defence and aero-space sector obtained govern-ment approval for FDI of �237crore while FDI of �200 crorehas been received through theautomatic route.

4� ������ ������������"��������������

Aizawl: The Mizo PeaceAccord of 1986 has stood thetest of time and made Mizoramone of the most peaceful statesin the country, GovernorKummanam Rajasekharan saidWednesday.

Addressing a meeting hereto celebrate the 32nd anniver-sary of the signing of the MizoPeace Accord - Remna Ni(Peace Day) - Rajasekharansaid it is the duty of allstakeholders to ensureenduring peace in the state asit is the most crucial prereq-uisite for development.

The Peace Accord wassigned on June 30, 1986, bythe erstwhile undergroundMizo National Front (MNF),the Centre and the Mizoramgovernment.

"It is to the credit of thestrong civil society out here,that we have transitionedfrom years of struggle tobecome one of the mostpeaceful states in the coun-try. It is our duty to maintainthis peace, which is so vitalfor development," he said.

The governor urged thepeople to exploit the immensepotential that Mizoram offersin the realms of agriculture,horticulture, organic farming,food processing, handloom

and handicrafts."Special emphasis is now

being given to the bamboo sec-tor in the state. We have one ofthe largest bamboo cover in thecountry, it is now recognized,developed and promoted in amanner ensuring ecologicalsecurity for all-round sustain-able development of the stateand well-being of our people,"Rajasekharan said. PTI

Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Partysupremo Mayawati claimed onWednesday that the BJP wasafraid of its tie-up with theSamajwadi Party in UttarPradesh and was now desper-ate to forge an alliance of itsown.

Her remarks came in thewake of the BJP announcing atie-up with the Shiv Sena inMaharashtra and the AIADMKin Tamil Nadu.

"Does the BJP's move toforge alliances in Bihar,Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu,in absolute helplessness and onits knees, show its strong lead-ership? In fact, the BJP is soafraid of the SP-BSP alliancethat it is now running from pil-lar to post to forge an allianceof its own," Mayawati tweetedin Hindi.

She said, "No matter how much efforts the BJP makes during the election period, people of thecountry are fed up with its anti-people policies and willnot forgive it. The public willshatter its arrogance in the elections and their govern-ment will go." PTI

+6�;�������� ������ -/����� �/�� 2������� �6�;����<

0������������������������ ���������� "����� ���

������>����������������������.�$,?���������������������������/</.+3

Less than 48 hours after thetwo saffron parties entered

into an electoral alliance, seniorShiv Sena leader and MinisterRamdas Kadam on Wednesdaycreated a stir in the State polit-ical circles, by asserting that hisparty would severe its ties withthe BJP if the latter did notaccept the Sena’s condition thatthe Chief Minister’s post shouldbe shared in rotation betweenthem if they returned to powerin the State.

“At the seat-sharing talksheld on Monday, the BJP hadaccepted Sena President UddhavThackeray’s condition that thetwo parties would share theChief Minister’s post in rotationin the event of our returning topower in the State. This meansthat both the Sena and BJPwould get the chief minister’spost for two and a half yearseach,” Kadam said, while talkingto a Marathi television channel.

Kadam said that if the BJP

failed to fulfill its promise, theSena would have no other go butto break the alliance.

Alluding to an interviewtelecast on a regional televisionchannel, Kadam said: “In aninterview, I saw senior stateBJP leader Chandrakant Patilsaying that whichever of the twoparties ( BJP and Sena) getsmore number of seats in theAssembly polls, it will have itsperson in the chief minister’ssaddle. Whatever Patil has saidis wrong. I want chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis to speak toBJP national president AmitShah and clarify matters.Otherwise, there will be onceagain confusion and there is apossibility of a break-up in ouralliance”.

“If the BJP does not acceptour condition of rotational chiefministership, then we will tellour party president UddhavThackereay to break the allianceonce again,” Kadam said.

It may be recalled that boththe Sena and BJP leaders had not

spoken about the understandingreached between them over thechoice of the chief minister’spost. As a result, it was felt thatboth the parties had chosen tokeep the issue of chief minister’spost open.

Dwelling upon the sharingof positions in the event of thesaffron alliance governmentreturning to power, MaharashtraChief Minister DevendraFadnavis had said: “We are con-fident of returning to powerboth at the Centre and in thestate. If we take charge of theoffice once again inMaharashtra, we will sharepower and positions equitably”.

Under the seat-sharing for-mula arrived at between the twosaffron alliance partners, the BJPwill contest 25 Lok Sabha seats,while the Shiv Sena will fieldcandidates for the remaining 23LS seats. In the State Assemblypolls, the two parties will — aftersparing some seats to otheralliance constituents — contestequal number of seats.

�������������������.���75 ���.��������� @�����3�����������

Panaji: The BJP on Wednesdaysaid the mining issue in Goa hasbecome quite "tricky" and noneother than Prime MinisterNarendra Modi was lookinginto it to find a solution.

Talking to reporters here,BJP vice president VinaySahasrabuddhe also said theCentre and the GoaGovernment were on the "samepage" as far as finding a solutionto the mining crisis was con-cerned.

The mining industry inGoa has come to a standstillsince March 16 last year, afterthe Supreme Court quashed therenewal of 88 mining leases inthe State.

"It would not be true to sug-gest that nothing has happenedto resolve the mining crisis. It isa very intricate issue and every-body is aware that the judicia-ry is involved in it," he toldreporters in response to a ques-tion.

"Perhaps, if it was left onlyto the Government, resolvingthe issue would have been easy,"Sahasrabuddhe added.

He was in Goa as part of thedrive to collect feedback and

suggestions for the party fordrafting the manifesto ahead ofthe Lok Sabha elections.

According toSahasrabuddhe, there were sev-eral issues coming in the way ofresolution of the mining crisis.

"Judiciary is involved in it.The issue has become tricky.Therefore, it is takinglonger...Sooner or later, a solu-tion would be there," he said.

When asked whether a wayout would be found before theLok Sabha polls or after that, hesaid, "The entire gamut of issuesabout mining is under the activeconsideration at the apex level.Therefore, in a way it is work inprogress. I understand perhapsmore patience is required.

"The Prime Minister islooking into it, so solutionwould be found sooner thanlater," the BJP leader added.

When asked about GoaChief Minister ManoharParrikar's statement that as theCentre has failed to provide away out, the State Governmentwould find solution to the cri-sis, Sahasrabuddhe said, "Thereis nothing like division betweenCentre and the State." PTI

Bhopal: BJP MLA ChetanKashyap, one of the richest law-makers in Madhya Pradesh, onWednesday announced in theAssembly he would not drawsalary and allowances and urgedthe State Government to spendthis amount on developmentworks.

Kashyap made theannouncement during the ZeroHour and said he was capable ofbearing his expenses as MLA.

According to a report of theAssociation for DemocraticReforms (ADR), Kashyap wasthe second richest MLA of thestate with total assets worth Rs204 crore.

Another BJP MLA SanjayPathak, a businessman, tops thelist with assets worth Rs 226crore, as per the affidavit sub-mitted during the Novemberassembly elections.

Kashyap, elected for a secondterm from Ratlam, said he hasdecided not to draw any salary,allowances or pension entitled toan MLA from the state exche-quer like his previous term. Heurged Speaker N P Prajapati todirect the department concernednot to withdraw his salary fromthe treasury. PTI

75 � 2"��������������������������������

5�����������������$������$���� ��������������.6�

%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2 ����! 9+

0"������ ������

�3�!�$��'����������������������������3�������'�����9���������7����3�����0�>3�'��7����0��4������/���������������������������� �$�����������'����A�����$������������������� ������������ �$����������������0.������������$����

9�������0����9�$�%���������� "������������������������� �����(@������������������������ !������*����������������������������

����� 4�#� �:;3

India will remain the fastestgrowing major economy,

much ahead of China, in thenext decade 2019-28, accordingto a global economic researchreport.

The report prepared byOxford Economics, which isengaged in global forecastingand quantitative analysis, Indiais likely to achieve an averagegrowth of 6.5 per cent in 2019-28, the highest among theemerging economies.

India will be followed bythe Philippines (5.3 per cent)and Indonesia (5.1 per cent),the report titled ‘EmergingMarkets Sustained Growth inEMs Calls for Thrift andInnovation’ said.

China has been assignedthe fourth slot with an averagegrowth rate of 5.1 per cent forthe next decade (2019-28).

The report is authored byeminent economist Louis Kuijs.

It pointed out that emerg-ing markets (EMs) with sus-tained fast growth are distin-guished by rapid capital accu-mulation — mainly domesti-cally financed — and robusttotal factor productivity (TFP)growth.

“To achieve sustained rapidgrowth in the coming decades,EMs will need solid saving,” thereport said.

According to the report, to

avoid the middle income trap(MIT), the upper middleincome countries (MICs) inparticular need to makeprogress in terms of ‘masteringtechnology’, raising the involve-ment of firms and/or people ininnovation and R&D.

“Major saving is requiredfor sustained rapid growth inemerging economies,” it said,adding that TFP growth driven

by innovation and R&D, espe-cially in middle income coun-tries.

India is projected to growat 7.5 per cent in 2019 and 7.7per cent in 2020, more thanChina’s estimated growth of6.2 per cent in these twoyears, according to theInternational Monetary Fund’srecent World EconomyOutlook update.

<$ ������������ ����������� ����� � �A���������

����� 4�#� �:;3

In a significant developmentin the country’s architecture

sector for the first time ever anIndian design company hasacquired an Internationaldesign firm.

CP Kukreja Architects hasacquired the India arm ofChicago-based renowneddesign firm dbHMS. TheIndian arm of dbHMS has twoverticals — sustainability andEngineering designs. They havebeen leading the innovativeengineering and green buildingmovement in India.

“We are delighted that weare able to bring this world classexpertise to our clients in India.The country is poised forunprecedented development inthe years to come and it isimportant that the foundation ofour work is based on sustain-ability and environmentallyresponsible design,” said DikshuC Kukreja, Managing Principal,C P Kukreja Architects.

Kukreja Architects isdesigning India’s first RailUniversity besides the con-vention centers in PragatiMaidan and Dwarka for theG20 Summit in 2022.

3�1���&���$����$���$8����"�������� 3��$���%����������� �����B � ����� 4�#� �:;3

International CopperAssociation India (ICA India)

on Thursday hosted nationalseminar on “Energy EfficientMotor Standards & EmergingChallenges” in New Delhi. Theguests of honor for the eventwere Ravinder Secretary DIPPand Rk Bajaj, DDG — BIS whodelivered keynote address.Sharing his views Ravinder citedthat the import of sub-standardmotors should be controlledand customs can help by keep-ing a check and barring themfrom entering India eventuallyhelping in the adoption of ISacross the country.

Commenting on the eventSanjeev Ranjan, ManagingDirector, International CopperAssociation India said, “ICA hasalways been at the forefront fortaking initiatives to provide a plat-form for dialogue between thegoverning bodies, regulatory bod-ies and industries to bridge thegaps and work collectively withthe larger vision of betterment forthe national economy. We hopethat our seminar on energy effi-cient motor standards wouldhave provided all the stakehold-ers the ground to come up withsolutions for the challenges relat-ed to adoption of HigherEfficiency Motors (HEMs).”

�������������� ��������������������!���������������������

����� 4�#� �:;3

Markets regulator Sebi onWednesday exempted

State-owned Coal India fromcomplying with regulationswith regard to its proposedbuyback programme for 4.46crore shares.

Coal India had filed an appli-cation on February 12 with theSecurities and Exchange Board ofIndia (Sebi) seeking exemptionfrom the strict enforcement of thebuyback norms.

The application has beennecessitated on account of trans-fer of 4,46,80,850 equity sharesof Coal India which were heldby the promoter (Government),to the asset management com-pany of the Bharat 22 ETF in themonth of February, according toa Sebi order.

The promoter(Government of India) saidadditional offering period ofBharat 22 ETF was opened andclosed on February 14, 2019.

It is noted that the proposedtransfer equity shares by thepromoters will occur during theperiod between the date ofpassing the resolution of the

board of directors approving theoffer of buyback of securities ofthe company (i.E. February 4,2019) and the closure of suchoffer, Coal India said.

Under buyback regula-tions, it imposes an obligationon the company to ensure thatits promoters do not deal in theshares of the company in thestock exchange or off-marketincluding inter-transfer ofshares among themselves dur-ing the period from the date ofpassing the resolution of theboard of directors till closing ofthe buyback offer.

On February 4, CoalIndia’s board had approved thebuyback of 4.46 crore equityshares, representing about 9.86per cent (stand alone basis) ofaggregate of fully paid–up equi-ty capital at a price of Rs 235per equity share for an aggre-gate consideration of Rs 1,050crore.

The PSU in its applicationsaid that in the proposed buy-back, 15 per cent of the num-ber of equities will be reservedfor small shareholders whichwill benefit larger number ofsuch small shareholders.

��� � 4�#� �:;3

Observing there was a ‘wil-ful default’, the Supreme

Court on Wednesday held AnilAmbani, chairman of RelianceCommunication(RCom),guilty of contempt of court andordered the debt-laden com-pany to clear the �453 croredues to Swedish telecom equip-ment maker Ericsson withinfour weeks or face a 3-monthjail term.

In a verdict that came asa setback to Ambani, theapex court also pulled up theindustrialist for his “cavalieratt itude” demonstratedthrough the affidavit filed inthe court and said any“unconditional apology”given must be rejected.

Besides Ambani, the courtheld Reliance Telecom Ltdchairman Satish Seth andReliance Infratel Ltd ChhayaVirani as well as their threecompanies guilty of contemptof court,

“The RCom group isdirected to purge the con-tempt of this Court by pay-ment to Ericsson the sum of�453 crore within a period offour weeks from today. Indefault of such payment, theChairmen who have givenundertakings to this Courtwill suffer three monthsimprisonment,” said a bench ofJustices R F Nariman andVineet Saran.

�3��������������������� $�������C����$���������� �DE�$������(��$����

����� 4�#� �:;3

The Finance Ministry onWednesday announced to

pump in �48,239 crore in 12public sector banks (PSBs) inthis fiscal to help them main-tain regulatory capital require-ments and finance growthplans.

With this funding, the totalamount of capital infusionwould increase to �1,00,958crore of the planned recapital-isation of �1.06 lakh crore forPSBs for the current fiscal,according to Financial ServicesSecretary Rajiv Kumar.

The remaining �5,000crore capital infusion wouldbe used as buffer for any con-tingency or growth capitalfor Bank of Baroda which is inthe process of merging DenaBank and Vijaya Bank withitself.

“It (pending �5000 crore)may be used for any contin-gency or for growth capitalwherever it is necessary includ-ing amalgamated entity of Bankof Baroda,” Kumar said.

Corporation Bank is thebiggest beneficiary of thisround of capital infusion with�9,086 crore of funding, fol-lowed by Allahabad Bank with�6,896 crore.

Explaining the rationalefor giving higher capital to

these two banks, Kumar saidequipping these two betterperforming banks, currentlyunder the Prompt CorrectiveAction (PCA) supervision ofthe RBI, would help meet req-uisite capital thresholds of7.375 CET-1 ratio, 8.875 percent Tier I ratio, 10.875 per centof capital-to-risk weightedassets ratio (CRAR) and the netNPA ratio threshold of below6 per cent.

Further, �4,638 crore and�205 crore will be provided toBank of India and Bank ofMaharashtra. These banks haverecently come out of the regu-latory supervisory frameworkPCA of the RBI.

Kumar further said PunjabNational Bank will get �5,908crore, Union Bank of India�4,112 crore, Andhra Bank�3,256 crore and SyndicateBank �1,603 crore.

The Government willpump in �12,535 crore in fourother banks under PCA —Central Bank of India, UnitedBank, UCO Bank and IndianOverseas Bank.

The Government inDecember had increased theoutlay by �41,000 crore forinfusion in public sector banks.As a result, the total recapital-isation in the current fiscalfrom �65,000 crore to �1.06lakh crore.

>�������.����A,�0/<������$0 �B�(����

����9������������(����������.�����(���(����������

����� 4�#� �:;3

The Ministry of Steel onWednesday extended till

April 17 the deadline formandatory use of Bureau ofIndian Standards (BIS) certifiedhigh-grade steel in automobilemanufacturing.

Automobile manufactur-ers in India have been import-ing high-grade steel and hadpressed the Government toextend the deadline for usingBureau of Indian Standards(BIS) certified high-grade steelbeyond February 17.

According to auto manufac-turers, they are facing difficultyin sourcing high-grade steel fromdomestic companies while for-eign suppliers have expressedreluctance to seek BIS certifica-tion due to very low volumes.

In a notification onWednesday, the steel ministrysaid, “in pursuance to theenforcement of steel and steelproducts quality control orderdated August 13, 2018, theMinistry of Steel informs that allgrades available in Indian stan-dards IS 4454 (Part-1): 2001, IS4454 (Part II): 2001, IS 11169(Part-I): 1984 and IS 6603:

2001, IS 6527: 1995 and IS6528: 1995 shall remain outsidethe purview of the quality con-trol order till April 17, 2019.”

To promote local manu-facturing, the steel ministry inJune 2018 mandated BIS certi-fication for the commodity tobe sold in India. This includedboth for domestically producedand imported steel.

For the domestic autoindustry, December 17, 2018was set as the deadline to meetthe norm.

Following the concernsraised by the auto makers, thegovernment in December 2018extended the deadline for auto-mobile makers till February 17.

The automobile manufac-turers had sought a year’s time,expressing their inability tosource high grade steel locallysoon citing inconsistent quality.

��������@��������������AF�������� �����."�%$���� �����������������

����� 4�#� �:;3

Tata Consultancy Services(TCS), Wipro, Carnival

Cinemas and Glenmark wereamong the Indian companiesthat signed 15 agreements onWednesday to invest in SaudiArabia.

The Saudi Arabian GeneralInvestment Authority (SAGIA)in a statement said while 11MoUs were signed to forgepartnerships, four new licencesworth more than $28 millionwere handed out to Indianfirms at the Saudi-India Forumhere.

“The announcementscover a range of partnershipsacross strategic growth sec-tors, including energy andwater, technology, arts andentertainment, healthcare,trade and investment,” it said.

“This reflects the strengthand diversification of the Saudieconomy, as well as the oppor-tunities being unlocked for

private sector businesses bywidespread economic andsocial reforms as part of Vision2030.”

The MoUs that were signedinclude agreements that willboost the collaboration instrategic growth sectorsbetween several Saudi govern-ment entities with leadingIndian firms including TCS,Wipro, Glenmark and IonExchange.

Besides, licences weregranted to AWJ Energy,SecurEyes, Carnival Cinemasand Red Sea Arabia Companyto establish operations in SaudiArabia.

The Saudi-India Forum ispart of the first official statevisit of Crown PrinceMohammed Bin Salman toIndia.

“Saudi Arabia is open forbusiness and we are delightedto announce the licences andMoUs signed at the Saudi-India Forum today.

$!�9������������������������������������"�(��

����� 4�#� �:;3

The Enforcement Directorate(ED) on Wednesday con-

ducted raids on at least six loca-tions in Mumbai and Delhi-NCR region in connection withthe multi-crore IL&FS pay-ment default crisis and seizedforeign currency worth �6 lakh,officials said.

They said the action by thecentral probe agency came

after it registered a criminalcomplaint Tuesday under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) in thealleged payment default case.

Searches were being con-ducted at the “residentialpremises of key officials” linkedto the erstwhile management ofInfrastructure Leasing andFinancial Services (ILFS),including its former chairmanRavi Parthasarathy and fewothers, they said.

“During the search proceed-ings, foreign currencies amount-ing to about Rs 6 lakh, variousproperty documents, incrimi-nating documents, records andmedia have been recovered andseized from the premises,” the EDsaid in a statement.

The agency added it hasfiled the PMLA case “againstIL&FS Group and others on thebasis of an FIR registered by theDelhi Police EOW for allegedcheating and forgery on part ofIL&FS Group and its managingcommittee during the periodfrom 2010-2018”.

The raids were conductedin Mumbai and locations inDelhi and the national capitalregion (NCR), includingGurgaon, the agency said.

,�=%#����-�-:�$������-�/.�������.�� -�����-�6� ���-�

%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2 ����� 99

-'#--%�8-'#--%�88�#0�

���������������������#������$('�C(:*4� +���������������������������4����������������������*�������������������������������;�������������*�2����������*������������������$ 4����������������������������������(==>����������������������������,���*��������(==)������������������������������$�

�����������������������������������8�<4&(��C#�3�������7�����/������.��0�����4�������������������7����������������7������*�����������������������������%�����������/������������2����3������������������*������&���� ���3��������������������$

�%���������������$ �����$����6�����������&�(C()(*# %�����������������������������������7�2����,��'�������B��������2���������/��������'������������������������������3���������������������������������������� ������������������������$

E�%�����������������������������%��$6�3@A3# &����������*���������������������������*�� ����������0������������������������� ���������������*������������������������������������������������2�!@�"����3���������%������!3�%"��*����$

����� #+&;34�%B4

US President Donald Trumphas said he is looking for-

ward to his second meeting withNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un on February 27 and 28 inVietnam and wants Pyongyangto end its nuclear programmebut is in no rush for it.

The two leaders held theirfirst meeting in Singapore lastyear, after which the WhiteHouse said in a statement thatKim “reaffirmed his firm andunwavering commitment tocomplete denuclearisation ofthe Korean Peninsula.”

North Korea has conductedno further nuclear and missiletests since the June summit, buthas made no commitment tosurrendering its nuclear arsenal.

Trump discussed his tripwith his South Korean coun-terpart Moon Jae-in and told reporters his ultimate goalis denuclearisation of North Korea.

“I had a great conversationthis morning with PresidentMoon of South Korea. Weobviously discussed theupcoming trip nextweek...We’re going to Hanoi inVietnam...I look forward tobeing with Chairman Kim(Jong-un)..I think a lot of

things will come out of it,”Trump told reporters about thetelephonic conversation.

President Moon and I dis-cussed probably every aspect ofthe meeting,” he said.

“We’re in no rush whatso-ever, we’re going to have ourmeeting...We’ll see what hap-pens and I think ultimatelywe’re going to be very success-ful,” he said.

The White House said thetwo leaders agreed to remain inclose communication followingthe summit.

In an interaction withreporters, Trump said he wouldbe talking over phone withJapanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe on Wednesday onthe same issue.

“I will be speaking tomor-row (Wednesday) with PrimeMinister Abe of Japan. I will behaving a similar conversation. SoI think, next week is going to bevery exciting. It’s going to be thesecond summit,” he said, addinghis ultimate goal is denucleari-sation of North Korea.

“I think we will see thatultimately. I have no pressingtime schedule. A lot of peoplewould like to see it go veryquickly from the other side. Ireally believe that North Koreacan be a tremendous econom-

ic power. Their locationbetween Russia, China andSouth Korea is unbelievable,”he said.

Trump said that NorthKorea and chairman Kim havesome very positive things inmind. “We will soon find out.I’m in no rush. There’s no test-ing... If you look at the end ofthe Obama administration, itwas a disaster. What was goingon. You don’t have that rightnow. It’s a much different feel-ing. I think people have...There’salways danger, but I think peo-ple have much different feeling,”he said.

��� � :B4 B4

AUK girl of Bangladeshi descent,who fled to join Islamic State (ISIS)

in Syria in 2015 and married an Islamistextremist, has been stripped of herBritish citizenship which the teen saidwas “unjust”.

Shamima Begum, 19, who hadexpressed the desire to return to the UKwith her newborn son, was banned onTuesday from entering the country.

In a letter dated February 19, UKhome secretary Sajid Javid wrote toBegum’s family informing them that hehad made an order revoking her citi-zenship. “Please find enclosed papersthat relate to a decision taken by theHome Secretary, to deprive your daugh-ter, Shamima Begum, of her British cit-izenship,” the letter reads.

Begum, who is currently in a Syrianrefugee camp, described the move as

“unjust”. “I am not that shocked but Iam a bit shocked. It’s a bit upsetting andfrustrating. I feel like it’s a bit unjust onme and my son,” she told ‘ITV News’channel from the camp.

Begum claimed that she was beingtreated harshly because “I was on thenews four years ago”, saying that sheheard of “other people being sent backto Britain”. “I don’t know why my caseis any different,” she added.

She said she was weighing up heroptions and could try to apply for Dutchcitizenship on the basis of the nation-ality of her ISIS-recruit husband, whois currently in prison.

“Another option I might try withmy family is my husband is fromHolland and he has family in Holland.Maybe I can ask for citizenship inHolland. If he gets sent back to prisonin Holland I can just wait for him whilehe is in prison,” she said.

London: The UK Governmentis “reflecting” on demands fora formal apology for theJallianwala Bagh massacre inApril 1919 during the BritishRaj, a Minister told the Houseof Lords. During a debate titled‘Amritsar Massacre: Centenary’in the Upper House, BaronessAnnabel Goldie also confirmedplans to mark 100 years sincethe tragedy “in the most appro-priate and respectful way”.

“The Government at thetime, as we know, roundlycondemned the atrocity, but itis the case that no subsequentgovernment have apologised,”said Baroness Goldie, whoholds the post of Governmentwhip and Baroness-in Waitingin the Lords. PTI

� ��� /B&�B#

President Vladimir Putin onWednesday said Russia

would have to deploy missilestargeting “decision-makingcentres” if Washington sendsmissiles to Europe.

The announcement comesafter the US said it wouldwithdraw from a key ColdWar-era arms treaty over whatit said were Russian violations,prompting a mirror move fromMoscow.

“Russia does not intend tobe the first to deploy such mis-siles in Europe,” Putin saidduring an annual state of thenation address.

“If (the US) develops anddeploys them in Europe... Thiswill dramatically exacerbatethe international security situ-ation, creating serious threatsto Russia,” he said.

“I’m saying this clearly andopenly, Russia will be forced todeploy weapons that can beused... Against the decision-making centres that are behindthe missiles systems whichthreaten us.”

He earlier accusedWashington of using “far-fetched accusations” to with-draw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF)agreement. Putin said heunderstood concerns about thebilateral deal, namely that othercountries could continue todevelop weapons that arebanned for the US and Russia.

“The current state of affairsof course raises questions,” hetold the audience of lawmakersand celebrities.

“Our American partnersshould have been honest... Andnot use far-fetched accusationsagainst Russia to justify theirunilateral withdrawal from thetreaty,” he added.

The United States hasrepeatedly accused Russia ofviolating the INF by develop-ing banned weapons and thismonth President DonaldTrump said Washington wasstarting a process to withdrawfrom the treaty.

��������������������$�����������$�����%������$������

%������������%�6������ ��������"�����

Hanoi: Pyongyang’s specialrepresentative for the US KimHyok Chol arrived in Hanoi onWednesday with a NorthKorean delegation, an AFPreporter and source confirmed,ahead of a summit betweenDonald Trump and Kim JongUn next week.

“A team of North Koreansarrived on a flight fromBeijing,” a source at the airportsaid requesting anonymity. AnAFP reporter saw Kim Hyok

Chol walk into a Governmentguesthouse where other NorthKorean officials in town forpre-summit preparations werestaying over the weekend.

Kim Hyok Chol is expect-ed to meet with his US coun-terpart Stephen Biegun, who isen route to Hanoi, later in theweek to lay the groundwork fortalks between Trump and Kimin the Vietnamese capital onFebruary 27-28.

AFP

:15�'����� ��$��������� �����������6����������$������

%����6�������B��� ������������� 9� ���������������76��������

B4�������9�9��'�����(����������C������

�*��� 9,%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2

� ��� :DB4

Barcelona coach ErnestoValverde shrugged offhis team's struggles in

front of goal after they wereheld to a 0-0 draw away at Lyonin the first leg of theirChampions League last-16 tie.

The Spanish side had mostof the chances at the GroupamaStadium on Tuesday, with LuisSuarez firing just wide in thesecond half, although it wasLyon who came the closestwhen Martin Terrier hit the barearly on.

Lionel Messi and co wasonce again left frustrated on theroad at the business end of thecompetition, and have nowgone six away matches withoutwinning in the ChampionsLeague knockout rounds, scor-ing just a single goal in thattime. It is a run that goes backthree years.

Desperate to end RealMadrid's recent Europeandominance, Barca must nowfinish the job when the teamsmeet again at the Camp Nouon March 13, but Lyon remainin the tie.

Barcelona's form needs toimprove between now andthen, though — they havedrawn four of their last fivematches in all, and have scoredjust once, from a penalty, intheir last three outings.

The visitors — who start-ed with Sergi Roberto in mid-field rather than the out-of-form Philippe Coutinho —had good reason to be wary oftheir hosts, who have excelledin big games this season.

��������������Bruno Genesio's team had

taken four points from a pos-sible six against ManchesterCity in the group stage andrecently won at home to ParisSaint-Germain in Ligue 1.

They are still unbeaten inEurope this season, althoughthis was their sixth consecutivedraw.

"It's a satisfying resultbecause it leaves us with achance for the second leg, andwe didn't concede. If we canscore at the Camp Nou we'llhave a chance of goingthrough," said Genesio.

He admitted that he had

hoped for an even better per-formance, but Lyon was miss-ing its World Cup-winningcaptain Nabil Fekir due to sus-pension.

It was the 21-year-oldTerrier who surprisingly start-ed in his place, and he delivered

the most exciting moment ofthe first half for the crowd ofalmost 58,000 with a thunder-ous strike from 20 yards out inthe ninth minute that wastipped onto the bar by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The same player later shot

over at the end of a fantasticmove, while Houssem Aouarhad earlier been denied by thegoalkeeper, but it wasBarcelona who enjoyed thelonger spells of possession.

Ousmane Dembele — oneof two Frenchmen in the awayline-up — came closest forthem in the first half, althoughtheir best chances came afterhe had been replaced byCoutinho midway throughthe second period.

Suarez came withininches of breaking thedeadlock 20 minutesfrom time, firing nar-rowly wide from JordiAlba's cutback. He has nowgone 16 away matches withoutscoring in the competition.

Coutinho had a powerfulshot beaten away by AnthonyLopes, with the Lyon goalkeep-er also frustrating Messi andSergio Busquets as Barcelonadominated but departed with-out a potentially precious awaygoal.

At least they extendedtheir unbeaten record againstLyon to seven matches, butthere remains hope for theFrench club ahead of thereturn.

� ��� <4� 34

Tim Southee snared a six-wickethaul and Ross Taylor tore up the

record books as New Zealand domi-nated Bangladesh to seal a 3-0 serieswhitewash with an 88-run victory inthe final one-day international inDunedin on Wednesday.

Sabbir Rahman's gallant maidenODI century saved Bangladesh fromtotal humilation after they lost threewickets with just two runs on the boardchasing New Zealand's imposing tar-get of 331.

The tourists were 242 all out in47.2 overs after the Black Caps weresent into bat and made 330 for six atUniversity Oval.

It was final New Zealand outingbefore the Cricket World Cup andplayers were desperate to impresscoach Gary Stead even though the fix-ture was a dead rubber.

Paceman Tim Southee, overlookedin New Zealand's past six ODIs, tooksix for 65 to guarantee himself almostcertainly a berth at the tournament.

Henry Nicholls looks to havesecured an opening batting slot with

a sparkling 64, but out-of-form rivalColin Munro was dismissed for eight.

Ross Taylor became NewZealand's highest-scoring one-dayinternational batsman as his 69 off 81balls took him past 8,000 runs in th 50-over format.

His 47th ODI half-century sawTaylor reach 8,026 runs, overtakingStephen Fleming's previous record of8,007.

The 34-year-old, who made hisODI debut in 2006, reached his mile-stone in 203 innings with a superbaverage of 48.34.

Tom Latham pressed his claim fora World Cup spot with a solid 59 whileColin de Grandhomme and JimmyNeesham both scored 37 as they seekall-rounder berths.

Bangladesh made a horror start tothe run chase when Tim Southeeclaimed a trio of top-order wickets inhis opening two overs to leave the vis-itors reeling on two for three.

However resistance came in theform of Rahman and MohammadSaifuddin, who made 44 in a 101-runpartnership that added respectabilityto the scoreboard.

� ��� /+ �3

Roger Federer's comeback on claywill feature a return to the Madrid

Open for the first time since 2015, itwas confirmed on Wednesday.

For the last two years, the 37-year-old has chosen to skip the clay-courtseason completely to preserve energyfor tournaments on his preferred sur-faces of grass and hard.

But Federer indicated in Januarythat he would play at the FrenchOpen this year while the MadridOpen has announced he will be amongthose competing at the Caja Magicatoo.

"Federer is one of the best playersin history, it's no secret," said FelicianoLopez, the Madrid Open's tournamentdirector.

"We are happy because his returnto Madrid is a gift for the tournamentbut above all for the fans, because theywill be able to see a player that isunique and unparallelled."

Federer has won the Madrid Openthree times, in 2006, 2009 and 2012,but his last appearance was in 2015,when he lost his opening match to NickKyrgios.

The 20-time Grand Slam champi-on was beaten in the fourth round atthe Australian Open in January, oneyear after he had claimed his last majortitle there.

Clay has been Federer's leastfavourite surface. He has won theFrench Open only once and not gonepast the quarter-finals in Paris since2012.

"I am in a moment where I wantto have fun," Federer said, when askedlast month about returning to RolandGarros. "It's a personal desire. I feel likeI don't need to take a big break again."

� ��� 7B�%��:3R+.�%;�

Sri Lankan captain DimuthKarunaratne on Wednesday

said that he wanted his players tocontinue playing with a smile ontheir faces as they seek to becomethe first Asian team to win a Testseries in South Africa.

Sri Lanka go into the secondTest at St George's Park onThursday with an unbeatable 1-0lead in the two-match series aftertheir sensational, Kusal Perera-inspired one-wicket win in thefirst Test in Durban.

"We came here to win match-es," said Karunaratne, who washanded the captaincy after DineshChandimal was axed after losinga series in Australia last month.

"I just want to make sure theboys give their maximum eachday." Karunaratne said enjoy-ment was a key factor.

"We have to keep our headsclear and play positively," he said.

"We want to enjoy ourselves.You will see with our boys whenthey are playing they are smiling

and cheering eachother. If you are enjoy-ing yourself you willplay well."

The Sri Lankan captain saidconditions in Durban and thoseexpected in Port Elizabeth were"much easier" than those inAustralia, where they played onfast, bouncy pitches.

Although Sri Lanka werebeaten by 206 runs on their pre-

vious appearance inPort Elizabeth twoseasons ago,Karunaratne said

they had played well enough to gointo Thursday's match with con-fidence.

South African captain Faf duPlessis said his players were "high-ly motivated" to square the series.

"We were in control for mostof the (first) Test, then something

brilliant took it away from us," hesaid of Perera's match-winninginnings.

"The disappointing thing witha short series is that you only playtwo matches so for us it is mak-ing sure we square up the series."

The pitch had a good cover-ing of grass but Du Plessis said heexpected a "normal" St George'sPark pitch.

"It looks pretty similar towhat we played on againstAustralia and Sri Lanka in our lasttwo Test matches. Hopefully therewill be some assistance for ourseamers. We are not expecting alot of pace and bounce so we'rejust hoping there will be decentcarry."

Du Plessis admitted that SriLanka's inexperienced bowlers,notably Vishwa Fernando andLasith Embuldeniya, had brought"an element of the unknown anda surprise factor" to the touringteam's attack.

"There has already been a bitof chat to make sure we play thenew guys better," he said.

#�/.�� ������>- #����� ����>�������):?&���,#��#%.�8��%�%8�'#�6

����� ��(� �� �������������� �

����� /</.+3�

Indian women's team was dealt a big blow aftervice-captain and premier batswoman

Harmanpreet Kaur was ruled out of the upcom-ing limited overs series against England with anankle injury.

India will play three ODIs in Mumbai start-ing February 22, followed by three T20Internationals in Guwahati from March 4.

Rookie Harleen Deol, who played two warm-up games against English women, got her maid-en berth in the squad.

The ODIs are a part of ICC Women'sChampionship and points will be carried forward.

It has been learnt that Harmanpreet had sus-tained an ankle injury during a training sessionin Patiala and has a grade 2tear.

She will now under-go rehabilitation pro-gramme at the NCA inBengaluru where theextent of the injurywill be ascertained.

If Harmanpreetfails to get fit ontime for theT20Is, thenopener SmritiMandhana willbe leading theside.

�������� <.+3

World number two SimonaHalep and world number

four Petra Kvitova booked theirplaces in the quarterfinals of theDubai Duty Free TennisChampionships with contrast-ing wins on Wednesday, butfifth seeded German AngeliqueKerber lost her third roundmatch.

Halep, who beat 2014Wimbledon runner-up EugenieBouchard of Canada 7-6, 6-4 onTuesday, registered anotherstraight set win on CentreCourt.

The reigning French Openchampion beat Ukrainian LesiaTsurenko 6-3, 7-5.

Tsurenko was serving forthe second set at 5-4, but the Romanianbroke back and went on to win the nexttwo games, finishing the match in style.

Kvitova, on the other hand, beatAmerican qualifier Jennifer Brady 7-5,1-6, 6-3 in the first match of the day onthe Centre Court.

It wasn't the perfect match for the 28-year-old Czech player who once again strug-gled with her serve, making 10 double faults.

"Definitely it's a relief rightnow," Kvitova, said after her matchon Wednesday. Kvitova also wona three-setter in the second roundagainst compatriot KaterinaSiniakova on Tuesday.

"I tried to be quicker todaythan yesterday. I did little bit bet-ter, but still was pretty tough. Thewind was just terrible today, to behonest. It was really difficult to kindof find a way with it. I couldn't real-ly serve well today at all."

Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsiehstunned three-time Grand Slamchampion Kerber 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 intheir third round match on CourtOne.

It was the 33-year-old Hsieh'sfirst win over Kerber in threeattempts.

Halep, Kvitova and Hsieh werejoined in the Dubai quarterfinals byViktoria Kuzmova.

The Slovakian also needed threesets to beat Sofia Kenin of the US 1-6,7-5, 6-2 on Court One.

Meanwhile, Frenchwoman KristinaMladenovic, who stunned world number oneNaomi Osaka in the second round onTuesday, lost her third round match toSpaniard Carla Suarez Navarro (5-7, 5-7).

��8� #5 �%���( �1�����

� ��� :3��7BB:�

Liverpool's undermanneddefence held out for a pre-

cious clean sheet but BayernMunich will also be confidentof progress to the ChampionsLeague quarter-finals after a 0-0 draw in the first leg of theirlast 16 tie at Anfield. SadioMane wasted the best chancefor the hosts on Tuesday,when the Senegalese forwardfired wide during an open first45 minutes, but a cagey sec-ond half left it all to be decid-ed when the sides meet againin Munich on March 13.

Without the talismanicpresence of Virgil van Dijkthrough suspension and theinjured Joe Gomez and DejanLovren, Liverpool were forcedto name a make-shift centraldefence with Brazilian mid-fielder Fabinho moved back to

partner Joel Matip.That unfamiliarity

showed in the early stagesas the hosts started nervous-

ly at the back.Matip breathed a

sigh of relief when heturned Serge Gnabry's

driven cross towards his owngoal only for the ball tobounce to safety off AlissonBecker's chest.

However, the Braziliangoalkeeper played his sideinto trouble moments later toput pressure on Matip andwhen he was dispossessed byRobert Lewandowski,Kingsley Coman fired into theside-netting.

Liverpool were also pos-ing plenty of problems at theother end when they gotMohamed Salah, RobertoFirmino and Mane into dan-

gerous areas.Salah headed wide at the

back post from TrentAlexander-Arnold's perfectlymeasured cross.

Mane then passed up thebest chance for either side ashe shot wide on the turn afterNaby Keita's initial effort wasblocked by the arm of NiklasSuele.

Matip could not forcehome Firmino's unselfishcross with the chance to openthe scoring at the right endand Mane sent a spectacularoverhead kick effort high andwide as the Premier Leagueside ended the half on top.

Bayern may not have hitthe heights of previous yearsin the Bundesliga this seasonas they trail BorussiaDortmund by three points intheir quest to land a seventh

straight league title.However, the German

champions have made thelast eight of the ChampionsLeague for each of the pastseven seasons and had theexperience to hold out forwhat they clearly saw as avaluable draw as they woundthe clock down in the finalstages.

Liverpool had 10 days offto prepare for Bayern's visitdue to their early exit in the FACup and looked the fresherside as they pressed for a win-ner.

Matip wasted anothergood chance by firing well offtarget from the edge of thearea before Manuel Neuerproduced his best save of thenight to turn Mane's headerbehind five minutes fromtime.

Jurgen Klopp's men havelost all of their last fiveChampions League gamesaway from Anfield, includinglast season's final.

The return of Van Dijkwill aid their chances, but thatrot will need to stop in Munichin three weeks' time if they areto reach the last eight.

%�!( !�#�% ,��,� �%,$���#� �$6 �$

F%��������*���������������������������2 ���������������������$�D������������������ �������������������$FL8����$���!:�*�������������"

7����� ������� �� �������$�������7��������������������7����C,���'�- 7���������7����������������� ����

1������������9�������������$���������� ���1��������$������A��*���������

F3������������������������������ �������������������������������������������������������$FL�:�/�4%:�4�:�%!.����������������"

F3������������������������� ���3������������������������������������������������$�#���������������������$

#��������������������������������������������������$�#�����������������������������������$GL��4�&%B+:�� ��!.����������"

.��������������������������������������2��������2���������������:�������������5)���������

���������������$����� �����

?������4����������8�����D�4�(�������

4���� ����.��/.���$ 2� ��-����-�

��������#�������������������

�#�- '��� 5#' �F %� #(%��('&C(: �� �4:&� ���� ��&'� +..�����%����� (5>� >=()� 6>$A6� 5>5E� (=�&������'������ (I?� >==I� A($65� 5A6E� >�4������+��� ((A� I=?=� A6$?(� 56@E� 5)�/������������ 5)?� )66=� 6A$@5� (AIE� 5)�.��������/������� ()=� )=>A� A=$65� 5))� @�� '��������������������������������3���#�����C3�������+��������

��������������

S;����H��������H���*�������������������$$$;�H���2������������������������������$S�L����������!4���R������������"

����� ��������������'��������$��������.����� ��$� ��

������@�9� /�� *?��*&)A

���0��98�B$6��"4,��!$�: 9 ���$CB�

D�)EF �������@�%���/�� *)��*&)A

Irrespective of education andfamily background, it’s acommon human nature todream about more and moremoney. If you are well educat-

ed, the easiest way to fulfill yourdream is to get a high paid job. Ahigh paid job satisfies one’s basicneeds and at the same time pro-vides the key to spend the surplusin fulfilling one’s dreams like buy-ing homes, cars and another luxu-ry lifestyle. It’s true that moneycounts, but while choosing a careerone should be very cautious indeciding the salary advantages anddisadvantages of high paying jobsin long run.

Some people choose high pay-ing jobs. Others prefer jobs theyfind satisfying even if the salary islow. It is important to earn enoughto make a living, in my opinion, jobsatisfaction is more important thanthe size of the pay package.

Job satisfaction increases pro-ductivity. If people like their jobs,no one has to force them to go towork. No one has to supervisethem. They will perform their jobon their own and with utmostinterest and concentration. Thisinterest that they show will auto-matically improve the results andhelp them achieve more in lesstime.

By contrast, people who choosea particular job just because it ispaying well will find it rather dif-ficult to stay motivated. They haveto push themselves to work everymorning. Because of this lack ofinterest in the job, they make moreerrors and take longer to finishtasks. As a result, they have to stay

late at office. The long workinghours will eventually affect theirhealth and family life. Take, forinstance, the case of IT profession-als. The IT industry pays well butthe jobs are extremely stressful anddemanding. Someone who choos-es a job in this industry just becausethe salaries are good will eventual-ly burn out unable to cope with thepressures of the job.

On the flip side, rewarding jobsmay not always pay well at thebeginning. But over time, the work-er’s enthusiasm and dedicationwill make the job a lucrative careeroption. For example, there are lotsof people who turned their hobbiesinto successful career options. Itwas their love for the job that ulti-mately helped them.

It is known that many peopleprefer a profession with high salarythan one they love. Many believethat job satisfaction is more neces-sary than a big salary. People wholike their work are happier andhealthier than others.

First of all, job satisfactiongives the employees happiness intheir life. While some workers stayin work extra hours to gain moreincentive, others finish their workon time and go out to participatein other activities like meetingfriends or spending more timewith family or going to a club.Another reason is people who fol-low their interests will always besatisfied and delighted. For exam-ple, many scientists choose theircareer not because they want a lotof money, but the passion and sci-ence’s love are the reason.Therefore, it is important to choose

a job which makes you happy thanto search for more money.

Furthermore, job satisfactionmaintains your health and keepsyou away from illness. The reasonis people who want more incomeneed to work all days in the yearwithout holidays and work understress to make more achievement.In addition, stress is caused byheavy workloads and pressure tomeet deadlines; therefore, stress canaffect the health.

One who holding big salary ismore stressful to the job, and theyare insisted to put more effort andtime to the work they have.

Meanwhile, such peoples are failedto enjoy their life, both personaland family life and also they couldnot get complete contentment bywork due to the stress and strain.For example, IT professionals, eventhough, they have huge salary, tar-gets , assignments and projects werekilling them. Besides, the concen-tration turns to the finishing oftheir works only , not to the plea-sure obtained from such fulfill-ment.

Secondly, job satisfaction most-ly related to our internal pleasureand desire. Productivity is morelikely to have by satisfied jobs and

urge to fulfill our achievement .People those who are workingtheir own interested areas or workscould produce more levels of ben-efits not only to the personnel butalso to the society.

A boring work brings you a lotof stress. Stressful life is harmful; itcan be a reason of health problemsor psychological exhaustion.Secondly, if your job doesn’t satisfyyou, it won’t help you to developmentally and even physically. Youjust have no any motivation in thatcase. Motivation is not only impor-tant to personal development, but it’svery important if you want to get a

promotion. Last, but not least, if youaren’t interested in your job, you’llbe hired. Job satisfaction gives youthe peace of mind which any salarypackage never guarantee you. Oneday you might have lakhs to croresof money in your account but youwon't feel satisfied with your past lifeto the moment you realize that canbe never rewinded.

A select percentage of peoplefind true fulfillment in the jobs thatthey do for money, while the restsimply do them for the money andfind their fulfillment in activitiesoutside of work. As with money,how important fulfillment is in thecontext of a job depends largely onthe priorities of the individual.While some people are able tosimply shut down their own pref-erences and do what needs to bedone to make money, others putgreat effort into developing careersthat they see as significant, mean-ingful and fulfilling on a personallevel.

Some jobs are seen as steppingstones to another career that willprovide greater personal satisfac-tion. People who are working a jobof this sort often are doing it sole-ly for the money, and see theamount of money as more impor-tant than fulfillment within the con-text of this particular job because itis helping them to get where theywant to be. Ironically, these tempo-rary jobs that people work solely forthe money are frequently quite lowpaying. Positions in retail and thefood service industry are oftenseen by the people who do them astemporary positions that are beingworked solely to save some money.

9���-�.�-���.�� ��-��/-.

3������������������������������������������������������������� ���0��������������������������������������������������2�������������������������������������������������,���2������ ������%�����*�

%� �� ����� �����! *��*�� *����� *��������� �������� ���! ���

��� ���! ��.�; ��! ����.� ��� 2�

���������� �� �����������! ��� �� ���!; ���*����� ���� ����� ������ �**��� ���������� ���

������

%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2 .�.���! 97

/������2���������������������.������������������� �������8�����������$�8�,��5@�����������������4�������������������������D�����������������������������������������������������������������$4��������������������������������������������������������2���������������������������������������������$+0������� �M-������ �������H0��������2���$9�0�������3������������ �0������$$$�H�������������� ����������������������������������*������$�.�����0���������������������������������������$�3��3��������������0������������������� ������������������*��������������$$$����������������$N

8� ���� ������������

G% �.� ������� ��� �����!>� �!�� ��� �� �������!��*����.� ��"������������� �"�"������

�������; -�� ��� ��GA� $��� ��> �� ������ �� ����� ���������� �.��!��� �� ������� ���"� �� �������������; % ��*� �����������.� ��� ��"����� ���� ���* ������.� �! �� ������������ ���� ��������;/H���� ���

&��������������������� ���������������������������������������������������$����H������������*��������������������������$��������������������������������J��������$,M3�0�������H����2��$�������������������������$%����H��������������������� N������������������������������������$%������������� �������������������������������������B�����$����������������������������%�����9�����������������������-���(=5)$

+������������������������������������������������ �������������2������������*���������������������J���H������������������������ ������������ ����������4���.����� �3����������9��2��$���� ����������������������������������������������������������������� ����2������ *�������������������$�3H����*�������������������0��$�;������ �3���H������������������ �3�0���������������������$�3��������������������������3������������������$�3����������������������������������������4���������������������������� N���������$�

(��/� 2"��� �!��������? �2!

Karl Lagerfeld once created a Walmart-sized “Chanel Shopping Center” to

show off his ready-to-wear collection. Itfeatured aisle upon aisle of luxury goodslabelled “one for the price of two.”Immediately after models had paradedthrough the aisles, guests raided theshelves. Rihanna posed in a shopping cart,and Keira Knightley looked on amazed.

“Luxury should be worn like you’regoing to the supermarket. It’s the pop artof the 21st century,” said Lagerfeld.

The show was the type of presentationthat came to define much of Lagerfeld’s six-decade career at the top of fashion.

When Chanel fell into decline follow-ing Coco Chanel’s death in the 1970s, itsnew owners looked for a larger-than-lifedesigner to wake up the house from its cre-ative coma. The German-born Lagerfeld,a contemporary of Yves Saint Laurent witha strict ponytail and tight collar, was justthe man.

As Chanel creative director from1983 until his death on Tuesday, he quick-ly transformed the house into a billion-dol-lar industry leader, a position it retainstoday.

Lagerfeld, who had been poachedfrom Chloe, used his creative scalpel tomodernise the house’s signature skirtsuits and tweed in the ‘80s as the houseexpanded internationally, opening some 40boutiques around the world in that decade.

His work ethic was legendary. BeyondChanel, he also began working withItalian fashion house Fendi in 1965 andheld the top job at the LVMH-ownedbrand since 1977. Yet Lagerfeld will beremembered as much for his showman-ship, eccentric personality and acid tongueas for his youthful designs.

Donning sunglasses and gloves, heevolved into “Kaiser Karl” — a nicknamethat referred to his demanding character,put-downs and uncompromising stan-dards.

“Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. Youlost control of your life so you bought somesweatpants,” he once declared. Anothertime, he dismissed Saint Laurent as“provincial.”

The sheer ambition of his fashionshows was legendary, and they becameespecially influential in an age in whichimages are beamed around the world at theclick of a button.

His Chanel collections were invariablythe biggest on the Paris Fashion Week cal-endar. Chanel, it was said, put the “show”in “fashion show.”

Lagerfeld was also an anachronism,dressing in a punk, baroque style and defy-ing political correctness — proudly.

He got into hot water for calling singerAdele “a little too fat” and said he didn’tlike the face of Pippa Middleton, theDuchess of Cambridge’s sister. “She shouldonly show her back,” he advised.

In another interview, he created afurore by criticising Kim Kardashian asbeing too flashy with her money in Parisfollowing her 2016 robbery.

Despite the sharp remarks, Lagerfeldremained surprisingly warm in person andalways kept a sparkle in his eye. Jokes weredelivered with a smile, even when they

were clearly derogatory.Evidence of his generous spirit could

be seen in his relationships with reporters.Well into his 80s, he was unique in Parisfor holding interviews for over an hour fol-lowing each Chanel show. He would flitseamlessly between English, French, Italianand his native German.

Of his feelings following a collection,he once said: “I’m a kind of fashionnymphomaniac who never gets anorgasm.”

The love of his life, his cat Choupette,was also testament to his kind, if eccen-tric, heart. He wore her likeness as a pen-dant at one show and acknowledged thatshe has at least two maids.

She is spoiled, “much more than achild could be,” he said in 2013, revealingthat he took her to the vet nearly every 10days.

Like a proud parent, Lagerfeld told amagazine that Choupette earned morethan $3 million in 2014 for advertisingcampaigns.

In recent seasons, Lagerfeld lookedincreasingly frail. When he failed to takehis usual bow at the house’s January cou-ture collection, sadness filled the faces ofguests, some of whom had grown gray cov-ering his long career.

For a 2012 couture display, Lagerfeldbuilt a futuristic jetliner, with the aisle serv-ing as the runway for models and guestsgathered in “Star Trek”-style seating.

Lagerfeld was supposed to be in thevessel’s cockpit giving interviews. But hewas nowhere to be found. His staff pan-icked that their chief had somehow slippedaway just when he was needed most. Theybegan a frantic search.

“Karl’s moved to the south part,”crackled their radios on a loop as theydashed around the elaborate set.

Then, as quickly as he vanished,Lagerfeld reappeared near the jetliner’sentry hub.

Amid the spectacle, Lagerfeld was anisland of calm, sipping diet coke from a sil-ver platter.

G��

In a role reversal from theiryounger days of serenadesand big love despite theodds, actors Madhuri Dixitand Anil Kapoor now play a

warring couple. Yes, they are atloggerheads, on the verge ofdivorce and united only in theirpursuit of money in their newfilm Total Dhamaal. The actress

with the winsome smile, who hasoften been compared to the icon-ic Madhubala and is looking time-less in her latest outing, says,“Things just fell in place. Indra ji(director Indra Kumar)approached me saying that he hadsomething interesting and narrat-ed the script. I loved it. Then hesaid that he was casting Anil(Kapoor) ji. We both discussed itover the phone.”

The familiarity of the set-uphelped. Madhuri had last workedwith Kumar in Raja opposite Anil’sbrother Sanjay Kapoor. “It didn’tfeel like so many years had passed.Everything just fell in place. Wehad a blast during the shooting.There were 12 of us and I’ve neverlaughed so much during a shoot.”

Anil plays a Gujarati andMadhuri, his Maharashtrian wife.They are one of the four pairs inthe film chasing money. The filmis divided between these charac-ters who are not necessarily girl-boy pairs. “What makes it unique

is that people have always seen usas a romantic couple where we arein love or in Beta where I play hisprotective wife and support sys-tem,” she says. That was anotherreason which proved to be aclincher for her when acceptingthe role.

While Madhuri has tried herhand at comedy in spurts, this isone of her first attempts at a filmwhich is an out-and-out one. Sheclarifies, “In Indian films, there isevery flavour. Even when I did Dil,there was romance, comedy anddrama. In the give and take withAruna Irani (who played her stepmother-in-law) in Beta, the sceneswere more comic than dramatic.Raja, on the hand, was an over-the-top comedy.”

The Total Dhamaal taglinecuts it out to be an adventure com-edy and Madhuri says that it isbecause the scale is very huge.“Everything has been scaled up.The film ends with animals in thezoo,” she laughs.

However, while this film is bigin every sense of the word, themanner in which most video con-tent is being viewed is changingdrastically. Madhuri says,“Everything — the big screen,small screen and little screen — iscoming together. The way contentis consumed is changing as peo-ple get it easily on their phones. Of

course, there will be big screensor even theatre but a change hasbegun,” she says and adds, “I

am open to web series as wellbut the role should be excit-

ing and the contentshould be good.”

She feels that thereis a variety of content

on offer as “societyis changing and

people see avariety of sto-ries from dif-

ferent parts ofthe world on TV

and web channelslike Netflix. This expo-

sure to different ideas hasmade the audience more

open-minded. Earlier, theywould see only a certain kindof film. They are now shiftingtowards finding somethingnew and different.”

One way in which contenthas changed a lot is that womenare no longer just eye candy.“There are so many differentkinds of roles being written andwhat really makes them differ-ent is that these are unabashedabout the choices that womenmake. Earlier, if she was danc-ing in a bar, there was alwaysa back story where she had apoor, sick brother who wasdying or something equallytragic. There were alwaysexcuses to paint her in the rightlight. That’s not done anylonger. Women are treated likewomen. They are unapolo-getic. In Tumhari Sulu, she is anRJ at night because she enjoysit,” says Madhuri who alsoacted in films like Mrityudand(1997).

So what is her heads-upprocess? “The script followedby the director and then thecast. You have to look at it fromall angles and not just one,” sheadds. Madhuri, who debutedwith Abodh in 1984, feels thatwhile some elements havechanged in the industry, somehaven’t. “The people have notchanged. On the other handthe whole atmosphere has

transformed for the better. It ismore disciplined with corporatescoming in and everything isworked out from the script to whatyou are wearing beforehand. Thismakes it much easier for an actorto prepare at ease, uncluttered,” shesays.

Beyond films, Madhuri alsolikes to work on projects that con-cern women and children. “Iworked with UNICEF in MadhyaPradesh and Maharashtra wherewe did a project called Mamta kaAanchal which focussed on breastfeeding to bring down child mor-tality. It also looked at givingexpectant mothers folic acid andensuring that they are notanaemic. We told them to go to thehospital and have a baby ratherthan at home which is not hygien-ic.”

A professional kathak dancer,Madhuri’s moves were often thetalking point of her many films.She has pursued the interest fur-ther with her dance academy. “Ihave been teaching dance to a lotof people through the academy forthe past five-six years as well as onmy website and DTH platforms. Itry to get the best of gurus becausein smaller centres, it is muchmore difficult to get a goodteacher,” she says.

Since it is something close toher heart, when she decided totransition to the small screen, itwas dance-based shows that shechose. “I did Jhalak Dikhhla Jaaand So You Think You Can Danceearlier and now I am doing DanceDeewane because I enjoy teachingthe art form. I really like the plat-form as it is an extension of act-ing. A lot of talent is being discov-ered which comes from smalltowns and gets a platform toshine,” she says.

Up next Madhuri will be seenin Kalank, but what the film or roleis about, she refuses to divulge.“Next time,” she promises andflashes that million dollar smile,once more. We can all but acqui-esce.

(The film releases on February22.)

�����������&1���

What happens when a pilotentrusted with the lives of hun-dreds of passengers is caught

with anxiety in the middle of the flightand decides that ‘life is not worth it’ andchooses to end it all, taking all the pas-sengers and crew with him?’ reads thedescription of author and storyteller PriyaKumar’s book, I Will Go With You: TheFlight of a Lifetime.

As millions of readers turned thebook into a bestseller, the story is now allset to be presented through ZEE5’s webseries, The Final Call.

It hasn’t been long since the show’strailer was launched and started trend-ing on YouTube, leaving the audiencecurious about actor Arjun Rampal’srole. The protagonist is a dark characterand has a hint of mystery around himwhich leaves one perplexed about whathe is trying to do. He tells us that thereare certain things that one feels fearfulabout sharing. “We have to maintain thesurprise element, especially if it’s a psy-chological thriller. Even now, when Iwatch the trailer, I wonder whether itwould have been better to exclude cer-tain scenes to keep the mystery alive,” saysthe model-turned-actor.

Explaining his role, he says that thepilot he plays is suicidal and in a very“dark space” in his life as he is affectedor traumatised by his past experiences.He is not trying to save anyone rather hemight just crash the plane on purpose.Well, not many might know that whenTarun Katial, CEO of ZEE5, had roped

in Arjun for a show, it was for anoth-er series which was a biopic. So howdid he land this role?

Arjun narrates that he found thebiopic script “horrible” but didn’t know

how to refuse it. However, he wasrelieved when Tarun himself found theshow unworthy, which is when they con-nected as quality mattered to both ofthem.

“Sometimes, you overlook a role ora film and think that it could be madebetter through editing and presenting itin a different way than it is written. ButTarun was very vigilant and hands-onabout what he was doing. I found it veryimpressive. And that’s when he cameacross yet another script that was veryintriguing. Priya’s book was its own kindof genre and had a uniqueness,” says he.

It’s the Rock On actor’s debut on thedigital format and he feels that working

on a film or a web show is equally chal-lenging. However, “web gives a lot ofspace and provides freedom at all levels.It gives more time to tell the story. It’s nota two-hour tale that needs to be finishedon time. It allows the filmmak-ers to delve into the details ofeach character. So it gives free-dom to both the makers andthe audience. It also doesn’thave ‘box-office pressure’and helps masses toengage with it. Last, itdoesn’t have the hor-rible censorshipaspect which makesit boundless.”

The actor saysthat he realised thatweb also lets onegrow as he has towork on his charac-ter each day. “On bigscreen, the challengeis that the film doesn’tflop. Here, the target isthat people don’t justshut the show in the mid-dle of an episode. Theircuriosity level should bemaintained till the end tokeep it working,” he says.The actor feels that if ashow is being binge-watched and not flipped onto some other series, it is def-initely successful.

When a book is adaptedinto a show or a film, it doesget ‘lost in translation’

sometimes as its intricacies might getcompromised while visualising and act-ing it out especially since everything can-not be included.

To the contrary, Priya says that sheedited the script and made a lot ofchanges which she thought she couldhave added in the actual book as well. Forher, “the important point was to keep themessage intact. As long as that happened,I was fine with changes in the script.Filmmakers feel that an author can’t bea screenplay writer if his/her book isbeing adapted because he/she is veryattached to the work. Sometimes thesame kind of idea might not work for avisual show.”

However, she wanted to give it achance and hence, even after she changedmultiple things, the director changed itfurther. “It seemed to have been touchedby a magic wand as it did turn out to bereally wonderful and the way I had imag-ined. Rather, it has only enhanced themessage my book tries to give,” says Priya.

As the trailer also hinted at some-thing that could be an act of terrorism,Arjun and Priya talk about its scourgeand India being at its receiving end.Arjun says, “It’s very unfortunate whathappened in Pulwama. I was recently

shooting for the show in Kashmirand felt very peaceful. Even thenative people feel that but theplace has become a target ofmedia’s exaggeration and vio-lence. They feel that they are justtargets of state politics. A feelingof inclusiveness should beextended towards the people ofthis state just like to those in anyother part of the country. Thereis some fear in them that alsodoesn’t let their businesses toflourish and the state tourism tothrive.”

But if we give out a messageof peace and work for theirsafety, both state tourism andbusinesses will work out since

people would also not be afraidto visit Kashmir. “Such coward-ly acts,” he says, “is just alienat-ing the state from the nation. Itis a beautiful place and shouldremain the same rather thanturning into a blood zone.”

(The show airs on ZEE5from February 22.)

�����������&1���

#������������4"12�2">)1E)26��������������.��������������������������.�������������(�����-�����������������

$��� ���������

"�.������������(�

+�������+�-<4��+/7+:

��2������������������������� �����

���������;+;+9 /3%%+:����������������

���2����������������������

������������

J#�.��3�&�/B���%3/�%B�%�::�%;��&%B�D$�3%,&4B%�+�%#B�;B<��%+:�%;+%�4�� &�%B�.�'343&;� �B4�%3/�$�3%+::B#&�%;�'3://+9��&�%B� �:�34%B�%;�� �%+3:&�B'�+�;��;+�+�%��$;�4�� �3%��3�&'��� B/�%B�.B%;�%;�/+9��&�+4 �%;�+< 3�4��,

�6,��,��( ���#6,�$��������� ��������/+ ;<�3� 3C3%�����+43:�9+7BB�������5I�����������������������*���������������������������������� ������&+3/3 &+%%+�

JB4��#+D�34�#;3�;�B4%�4%�;+&

�;+4�� �3&�%;+%#B/�4�+���4B:B4����-<&%��D�

�+4 D$��+�:3�� �3'�&;�#+&� +4�34��34�+

.+� �%;��.+�9�&%B�D#+&�%;+%�&;��;+ �+4+3:34��.�B%;���B�&B/�%;34���F<+::D%�+�3�$�%;����#����C�<&�&�%B�7+34%�;��34�%;���3�;%�:3�;%$4B# �%;�D,��

<4+7B:B��%3��34%;�3���;B3��&,

%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2 "�* 9=

The National AluminiumCompany Limited (NALCO),in association with the LV

Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), haslaunched the state-of-the-art sec-ondary plus Eye Care Hospital atAngul in Bhubaneswar. The hospitalwill benefit more than 60,000 outpa-tients; will perform 6,000 surgeriesannually and offer free of cost treat-ment to poor patients.

The ultra-modern hospital,which has been built at a cost of �25crores, was inaugurated byDharmendra Pradhan, UnionMinister for Petroleum and NaturalGas, Skill Development andEntrepreneurship, in the august pres-ence of Rudra Narayan Pani, formerMember of Parliament and Dr TapanKumar Chand, chairman-cum-man-aging director of NALCO.

The Eye Care Hospital will pro-vide free eye care services to the res-idents of the periphery villages of theS&P Complex and Utkal D and E coalblocks, who hold valid identificationcards. The treatment will also be free

for the below the poverty line (BPL)category families, residing in andaround the Angul district. A team ofeye care specialists will provide com-prehensive eye care for uncorrectedrefractive error, cataract surgeries,medical care of glaucoma and retinaldiseases, diabetic retinopathy andocular surface disorders, amongother diseases.

NALCO, a Navratna public sec-tor undertaking (PSU) under theMinistry of Mines, has been workingdiligently to deliver high qualityhealthcare solutions and is carryingout important corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) interventionsfor people residing in the peripheryareas of its Smelter and PowerComplex at Angul. This modern eyecare hospital is yet another step

taken by the company to reach out tothe marginalised section of the soci-ety.

It may be mentioned here thatlast year, the company had spent morethan �70 crore towards its CSR pro-

jects including, piped drinking watersupply, development of infrastructurefor periphery villages, implementa-tion of nano-technology baseddeflouridation plant, healthcareincluding mobile health service

through four Mobile Health Units(MHUs) and setting up of secondaryplus eye hospital, education facility inDPS and SVM and scholarshipsunder ‘Nalco-ki-Ladli’ to poor, mer-itorious girl students.

The Union Minister laudedNALCO for this important initiativewhich aims to deliver comprehensiveand the latest eye care solutions to thepeople of the Angul district. Thesprawling hospital is spread over fouracres of land with 35,000 square ftbuilt-up area and state-of-the-art,modern medical equipment withworld-class facilities.

The launch ceremony also sawthe minister distributing aids andassistive devices to the senior citizensunder the Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojnaof the Government of India.

4+:�B������������������������������������

����������+���� .���������� ������*���

����������������������������������*�����������������������������$�#���������������� �����������

����������*������������������������������������������������������������

��������

Perpule, an omni-channel retailtechnology company, and

India’s first self-checkout enabler,announced the launch of itsnext-gen, Point of Sale (POS)billing solution called, ‘UltraPOS’.It is a cloud-based SaaS product,which eliminates the need ofbulky servers and computers inthe store for billing purposes.This new product promises toenable offline stores to reducebilling counter size by up to 40per cent and help increase salesand revenue through an ArtificialIntelligence or data-drivenapproach to dynamic offers,cross-sell and upsell. It is current-ly being used by retail brandssuch as Vishal Mega Mart, BigBazaar, Foodhall and many more.

The Perpule UltraPOS comeswith in-built features such as ana-lytics, inventory and staff man-agement tools. Retailers canupdate product prices, stocks,

offers, and so on, consistentlyacross platforms. This solutionalso gives omni-channel playersa platform to manage order andinventory for both e-commerce aswell in-store sales from the storeitself. The UltraPOS solution canwork with any device such ashandhelds, mobile, desktop andtablets. It allows cashiers to scanbarcodes, generate receipts andaccept payments without anyhassle. Retailers can also opt forthe accompanying hardware (ahandheld device) at no addition-al cost and a flexible monthlyrental fee.

Abhinav Pathak, CEO andcofounder, Perpule commented,“We are super excited aboutUltraPOS which will make thecurrent POS Billing systemsobsolete and will redefine cus-tomer experiences significantly.We have been collaborating withthe largest of the retailers inIndia to understand their chal-lenges and aspirations and havegot it all built in one platform thatthey can trust and customise. Ourproduct approach is about build-ing the commerce platformwhich doubles up as a billing sys-tem and can also open up alter-nate revenue streams for ourpartners in future. We havealready onboarded over sevenrenowned retail brands in Indiaand are particularly focussing oncapturing retailers of all sizesacross Tier I, II and III marketsin 2019.”

."77"05 �4((��+ Bharti AXA Life Insurance has

launched its new child insuranceplan—‘Bharti AXA Life Shining Stars’that provides life cover to parents andprotects their children andfamily from any financialinstability.

The new plan is anon-linked, non-par-ticipating limited payendowment life insur-ance plan, that pro-vides assured payoutsat maturity and helpsparents accumulate suffi-cient wealth secure theirchild’s future and financehis/her higher educational expensesand other life turning points through dis-ciplined savings. The new child plansgives parents flexibility to choose betweentwo maturity payout options—FlexiPayout Option and Annual PayoutOption—which can be chosen at policyinception and modified at the time ofmaturity as per child’s needs.

Under Flexi Payout Option, thematurity benefit can be taken as a lumpsum at maturity or at the end of any yearduring maturity payout period so thatpayout timings can be customised as perchild’s needs, while in Annual PayoutOption, five equal annual payouts will be

paid at the end of every year starting frommaturity to cater to child’s higher edu-cation expenses.

The plan comes with an inbuiltbenefit where the policy shall

continue even after the deathof the policyholder with no

further premiums to bepaid and the maturitybenefit shall continue tobe payable at the time ofmaturity. “Apart fromoffering comprehensive

benefits of life cover alongwith maturity payout, the

new child insurance plan alsobuilds a corpus for child’s edu-

cational expenses and safeguardshis/her future needs, including highereducation, career planning and marriage,after the demise of the parent,” said thecompany’s managing director and chiefexecutive officer, Vikas Seth.

The plan also offers the flexibility tochoose from nine combinations of pre-mium paying terms and policy termswhere the premiums are payable for alimited period of time. The minimum ageto enter the plan is 18 years and the max-imum age to buy it is 60 years. Theinsured will also be entitled for tax ben-efits on premium payment as well as thebenefits received, as applicable.

.�����4�����$�7������,.47-����������������������� �������������$������� �����'�������%����������$��������� �����$�).474���$�����5������ ���������������@�$��'�����������������������$����������������������������������'���������������������'�����������$�)

*����� ����������� 9������"�������� *�$�������,9"*-���������������������� ���D?3!����������������������������������$�������������$���������������$�� 6������1������)���������$����������������9"*$��������'�$�����������4������9������������������������@�$��'�����$����4����������������������������%'�$�$���$������ 9"*�4��0������������� ��������������������������� ���D?���������%�����������������)

India’s largest iron ore producer—NationalMineral Development Corporation

(NMDC), has bagged five awards at the PublicRelations Council of India (PRCI) ExcellenceAwards 2019, organised at Jaipur recently,where in more than 150 delegates from var-ious PSEs, government agencies, media pro-fessionals deliberated on the theme—‘PR-What is the Big Idea’. The awards were givenaway by Ram Charanji Bora, Member ofParliament, Rajasthan and were received byCh Srinivasa Rao, DGM(CC) on behalf ofNMDC. The company won the Gold awardfor its CSR Brochure, Corporate AdvertisingCampaign (English) and NMDC Diary 2019.The other awards were given for NMDC wallcalendar 2019 and television commercials. Thechairman-cum-managing director of NMDC,N Baijendra Kumar, congratulated the teamof Corporate Communications for their con-tinued efforts for propagating and promotingthe company’s activities and connecting peo-ple through electronic, print and digitalmedia.

Atwo-day national levelseminar was conducted

by NLC India Limited(NLCIL) on ‘Best Practicesand Latest Trends inProcurement Process’ atNeyveli, recently which sawparticipation of 200 dele-gates including 55 delegatesfrom various public sectorenterprises (PSEs) andsenior officials of NLCIL.

The seminar was inau-gurated by NLCIL’s CMD,Rakesh Kumar, where hesaid that, public procure-ment accounts for morethan 20 per cent of thecountry’s GDP and there-fore it is immensely impor-tant to ensure transparency,

accountability and econom-ically competitive price forgoods and services. He fur-ther said that e-marketinghas already gained momen-tum in NLCIL.

The key discussion top-ics at the seminar includedthe Acts and Guidelines onPublic Procurement Policyof the Union Governmentwith reference to MicroSmall Enterprises, DomesticSuppliers, Start-upCompanies, Make in IndiaPolicy and procurementthrough the newly devel-oped GovernmentProcurement Portal GeMand their compliance inPSUs and e-auction.

%(-$(�������������������������� ��������� ��

4/ ��&;34�&�+%�?%;�7��3�C��::�4���+#+� &�

At the ongoing AeroIndia 2019, Rostec State

Corporation is showcasingover 200 pieces of advancedcivil and military equip-ment at the military air baseYelahanka in Bangalore.

India is Rostec’s strate-gic region of presence.Contracts signed last yearbetween Russia and India,stipulate unprecedented vol-umes of Russian militaryequipment supplies and thelaunch of manufacturingoperations at Indian enter-prises.

Rosoboronexport’s 2018portfolio of Indian orders hasgrown to $10 billion. “Russiaand India have built upextensive expertise in bilater-al industrial cooperation, andnow they are delivering jointprojects for the ‘Make inIndia’ programme, with thekey focus on the military sec-tor. Russia is a country thathas been supporting ‘Make inIndia’ from the word go. We

are bringing to Aero India2019, more than 200 pieces ofequipment for civil and mil-itary use. It may well be thatsome of them will eventual-ly be manufactured in India,”said Victor Kladov, Rostec’sDirector for InternationalCooperation.

Rostec continues work

on a major programme todevelop and promote civil-use products under itsStrategy 2025, looking toenhance operational efficien-cy, raise the share of civil-useproducts in its revenues to 50per cent and penetrate therapidly growing global mar-kets, including India.

�������������������������������+����3����

As part of the TransmissionSystem for inter-regional

strengthening scheme for theWestern Region (WR) andthe Northern Region (NR)(Part-B), the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has dedicatedthe POWERGRID 765/400kV Orai Sub-station and the765 kV Aligarh Sub-stationand associated lines. The PMsaid, “To solve the problem ofelectricity, the transmissionsystem has been improved.Now, along withBundelkhand, the power sys-tem will be improved in manyareas of western Uttar Pradesh.Power generated will be trans-mitted to different regionsthrough the western andnorthern grid”.

The project involves estab-lishment of Extra High Voltage(EHV) Sub-stations at OraiGas Insulated Sub-station(GIS) and Aligarh GasInsulated Sub-station (GIS),along with high capacitypower transmission corridorbetween the northern andwestern grids. It will strength-en the inter-regional transmis-sion corridor and facilitatereliable supply of power toOrai, Aligarh and the adjoin-ing areas of western UP andBundelkhand. Apart fromenhancing power transfercapability between the western

region and the northernregion grids, to the tune of2700 MW, it will also aidtransfer of power from Sasanand Vindhyachal generationcomplexes in western region toload centres in western andnorthern regions.

This project, constructedby the Power GridCorporation of India Limited(POWERGRID), will makeOrai a key Sub-station to feedthe demand of Orai andadjoining areas of western UPand Bundelkhand region. Itwill also give huge boost to thetourism sector and willenhance socio-economicdevelopment, as quality powerwill be distributed to homes,agricultural setups, businessestablishments and industriesof the region. The cost of theproject is about �4,976 crore.

The mega event at Jhansi,where the PM dedicated theproject, was graced by RamNaik, Governor of UttarPradesh, Yogi Adityanath,Chief Minister of UP andUma Bharti, Union Ministerfor Drinking Water andSanitation, among the CMD ofPOWERGRID, Ravi P Singh,Director (Projects), RKChauhan, Executive Director(NR-III) RK Singh and othersenior officials of the state gov-ernment and POWERGRID.

��($!B!,��.����.����5�-.�8�

+$�$#%�!#��$%-(B�$+8�2�#'�9

$ �������������������� ����

%����������������%������� ����%�������������������������%��������������*��/��2���� �*��������'�����������3�����:������!%�3'� " �7��*��9������ ����������������������������������������LJ��B����;�B��������,�����(I��������������#����;� ��������(=5? ������������������$�%��/ ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������%������3����$

� ������������������������ ��"/2/���������������%���4�������'����������:������!4':"��������������������������*���������A?$?@��������������*����������3������������������(=5>�5?��������������������������������$�%�����������������������������������4': �/���0�/����� ����������������������*�����������<�����/�����������������������'��������� � �&��������������$�4':������������������*����*����������5 5(>$I@��������������*������������������������������������������6?=$@>������$

����H������8���������������%���������+����������������������������!/�<"��������4:��3����:������!4:�3:"�����4;7��:�����������������������������������7�����%������$%���/�<��������������+������� ��1����*� ������!����������"���4:�3:����� ���2������ ���/!'������"����4;7�:�����������������������������������2����9���� �/ ����2����� � �������!;��������������"�����4������4����/����������� � �������!7������������7��0���"����4:�3: �������*���������������$�%�����������/�< �4;7��:���������4:�3:���������������������������*�������������������������4�����������������������2����������������������������������������������������$

*��:��'�������$����� (�$�����,:�(-�"�:��'���������$��������������������%����������������$�� ����$���<3������������������"�������$��������!�����$���B�����(�$������$�������5����������!���'��$���*��$���(�$�����,"33�"!%>?AH-2�����4�����$����)*��$�� ����$������������������ �������� B���!����$�4�'���������������� 0 **�$����)

�*��� 9E%�#�� +�,� &�- +���%& &- ./0�.1/2

� ��� :+;B���

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt hopes anunexpected call to play in the domestic Twenty20

league will help him regain his place on the nation-al team, he said on Wednesday, years after he wasbanned for spot-fixing.

The 34-year-old said he is delighted to join theLahore Qalandars in the ongoing Pakistan SuperLeague (PSL) as a replacement for MohammadHafeez, who was ruled out after fracturing his thumb.

"After a long time I received one of the best mes-sages of my life when Lahore called me to play in thePSL, and I am very happy to get this opportunity,"he said.

The PSL's popularity has surged since it was firstheld in 2016. The bulk of the tournament is playedin the United Arab Emirates, but with securityimproving in Pakistan the final eight matches —including the March 17 final — will be held at home,in Karachi and Lahore.

The league's growing profile means it is the firstbig chance for the left-handed batsman to rehabili-tate himself since hishigh-profile ban for aspot-fixing scandalwhich erupted onPakistan's 2010 tourof England.

Butt, captain ofPakistan's Test team atthe time, was chargedfor orchestrating delib-erate no-balls from hispace bowlersMohammad Amir andMohammad Asif dur-ing the Lord's Test inreturn for money.

He was banned for five years in total, as were Asifand Amir.

Though they completed their bans in September2015, only Amir was able to regain his place in thePakistan team.

"It's been a long time and I have been doing allmy training and playing domestic cricket and try-ing my best to play for Pakistan," said Butt.

Since his return to domestic cricket in Pakistan,he has been a prolific run scorer, finishing with 536runs in the National One-Day Cup in early 2016 —his first tournament since being cleared to play.

He scored 741 runs in the premier first-class tour-nament — the Quaid-e-Azam trophy — with twinhundreds in the final to help his team to the title inDecember 2016, and continued his strong form inthe same tournament last year.

Butt said he hopes he has done his penance."It's been a long and hard path, but thankfully

this is the first step and if I can carry on doing wellthings will work out, Inshallah," he said.

Before his ban Butt had played 33 Tests, 78 one-day internationals and 24 Twenty20 matches forPakistan.

He led Pakistan to a rare series draw againstAustralia in 2010, over two Tests played in England.

����� 4�#� �:;3

The Badminton Associationof India (BAI) on

Wednesday named a 20-mem-ber junior Indian squad for theupcoming Dutch Internationaland German Junior.

Manipur's MaisnamMeiraba Luwang will be lead-ing the boys' singles challengeby virtue of the 1192 pointsthat he amassed following histitle wins at the All-IndiaJunior Ranking BadmintonTournaments in Vijayawadaand Bangalore.

The girls' team will bespearheaded by the 2017 U-15Asian Junior ChampionshipsGold medallist Samiya ImadFarooqui who logged in 1125points in the ranking tourna-ments.

BAI considered the cumu-lative ranking points from thethree All India Junior Rankingtournaments held inVijayawada, Bangalore andJaipur in the month of January.

While Meiraba topped thechart in the boys' singles sec-tion, the others joining himare Andhra Pradesh's SaiCharan Koya, PriyanshuRajawat of Dhar in Madhya

Pradesh and Sathish Kumarfrom Coimbatore.

In girls' singles, Farooquiis joined by GayatriGopichand, Nashik girl SmitToshniwal and Amolika Singhhailing from Uttar Pradesh.

The winner of each leggets 500 while the runner-upbags 425. The rest of thepoints bifurcation are semi-finals (350), quarter-finals(275) and pre-quarter-finals(192).

Ishaan Bhatnagar andEdwin Joy will be leadingIndia's challenge in the boys'doubles section, Treesa Jollyand Varshini VS will be theones to watch in girls' doubles,while Navaneeth Bokka andSahithi Bandi, who swept thethree ranking events, will beIndia's top team in mixeddoubles.

The prestigious DutchJunior International and theGerman Junior will be heldfrom February 27 to March 3and March 7-10 respectively.

Last year, India won theboys' doubles Silver medal atthe Dutch Junior when the tal-ented duo of Krishna PrasadGaraga and Dhruv Kapila fin-ished as the runners-up.

� ��� :B4 B4

Maurizio Sarri insists heexpects to avoid beingsacked as Chelsea man-

ager if his troubled side can puttogether a sustained winningrun.

Reports on Wednesdayclaimed Sarri will be axed ifChelsea is beaten in any of theirnext three matches after losingthe backing of the club's hierar-chy.

Chelsea owner RomanAbramovich is not renowned forhis patience and Monday's FACup fifth round defeat againstManchester United increasedspeculation that Sarri is on thebrink of being dismissed.

Sarri faces a crucial sevendays as Chelsea take a slender 2-1 advantage into Thursday'sEuropa League last 32 second-leg against Malmo before facingManchester City in the LeagueCup final at Wembley onSunday.

Those games are followedby a crucial London derbyagainst Tottenham in thePremier League nextWednesday, a match Chelseacan't afford to lose as theysit outside the top four.

Acknowledging hisperilous position canonly be improved by arapid reversal of for-tunes, Sarri toldreporters: "Weneed to win three,four matches in arow. It's the only solution.

"I can understand verywell the frustration of ourfans. Because they are used towinning. Now we are in trou-ble, so I can understand verywell.

"There isn't another way. Wecan only have good perfor-mances and results."

With Chelsea in the midstof a bad run, Sarri is fighting tosave his job less than a seasonafter arriving from Napoli.

The United loss followedhot on the heels of a humiliat-

ing 6-0 thrashing at ManchesterCity, which ranked as Chelsea'sheaviest defeat for 28 years, andan equally miserable 4-0 defeat

at Bournemouth.Angry Blues fans have

taunted Sarri with chantsdemanding the 60-year-old'ssacking and calling for for-mer Chelsea star FrankLampard, now in charge ofsecond tier Derby, to behired as his replacement.

E��7���������7But, insisting he still has a

future at Stamford Bridge,Sarri says he has not spoken

to Abramovich or influentialdirector Marina Granovskaiathis week.

"I have to think that I will bethe manager of Chelsea for along time, otherwise I cannotwork," Sarri said.

"I am not sure (if I will behere for a long time), but I haveto think this. I have to work and

I want to work with a long-rangetarget.

"Of course in this momentit's very difficult to think we'reable to win three, four matchesin a row. As you know very wellin football everything canchange in one day."

One of the main criticismsof Sarri has been his stubbornrefusal to change his tacticsdespite clear evidence that theformula that worked with Napoliis failing at Chelsea.

Sarri has held severallengthy inquests with his play-ers after Chelsea's worst resultsand conducted another after theUnited defeat.

But reports claim many ofhis players have lost faith withhis football philosophy, especial-ly his decision to use his formerNapoli midfielder Jorginho inthe holding role instead ofN'Golo Kante, who had thrivedin that position in the past.

Sarri's hopes of getting

Chelsea back to the form thatsaw them start the season withan 18-match unbeaten run arebeing hampered by the team'shectic schedule.

"We're trying to solve ourproblems. It's not very easybecause we have no time," hesaid.

"We're trying to talk withthe players, trying to avoidsome mistakes by video. It's noteasy, because we have to playevery three days, so on the pitchwe have no time."

The Italian still refuses tocompromise on his 4-3-3 sys-tem and possession-based'Sarri-ball' style, which wasridiculed by supporters onMonday.

"The system is a false prob-lem. I know very well thatwhen we lose I have to put astriker on the pitch. When wewin I have to put a defender onthe pitch. But I want to see foot-ball in another way," he said.

����� 4�#� �:;3

Left to deal with fitnessissues for most part of

last season, India's doublesspecialist Pranaav JerryChopra is aiming to returnto his best form ahead ofthe Olympic qualificationevents.

The 26-year-old hadto endure a tough phase lastseason as he spent most ofhis time nursing a recurringshoulder injury before about of dengue completelyderailed his plans.

The Punjab-born shut-tler received a huge boostwhen he, along with ChiragShetty, clinched the men'sdoubles title at the SeniorNational Championship inGuwahati last week.

"The senior title meanta lot after going through alot, both mentally andphysically," Pranaav, whoforms India's best mixeddoubles pair with N SikkiReddy, said.

"My focus is to regainfull fitness before theOlympic qualification startsby April end," added theIndian, who was part of theGold-winning mixed teamat the Gold Coast

Commonwealth Games.Pranaav suffered a

shoulder injury in May lastand though he recovered toplay a few tournaments, itrelapsed in September buthe couldn't skip tourna-ments as he had alreadysent the entries.

"I had a shoulder issuein May, which needed twoweeks of rest but inSeptember it happenedagain during theHyderabad Open. This

time it had affected thebone but I had to playthrough pain as we hadalready sent the entries forJapan and China," he said.

"My doctor said it willtake one month of rest andafter that I can do myphysiotherapy but in thelast week of my recovery Iwas down with dengue andI was hospitalised inLudiana for a week andafter coming back, it tookthree months to start train-

ing."I had pain in joints

and other muscles, spe-cially lower body but Iplayed two tournamentsin January as I wanted tocontinue playing. Now I amfeeling much better."

"I started training inNovember because I had toplay Syed Modi as again wehad sent the entry and thefines are huge, so I playedbut I was not in great shape.From February I started full

training," said Pranaav, whoalong with Sikki, are rankedworld No 32 now.

Pranaav is now lookingfor a good performanceduring the Tokyo Olympicqualification period whichstarts April 29.

The Badminton WorldFederation (BWF) rank-ings list which will be pub-lished on April 30 nextyear will be used to allocatespots.

"We will be playing AllEngland, Swiss and IndiaOpen. I am not looking atthe results. We had a dropin ranking as we couldn'tplay 4-5 events. So I wouldlike to regain my fitness andget our ranking up there aswe want to qualify forOlympics," he said.

"My focus was to keepplaying before the qualifi-cation starts by April end,and regain full fitness bythen. So that we can go fullon when the qualificationstarts."

Pranaav had won themen's national doublescrown along with AkshayDewalkar in 2013 and 2015and the mixed doubles titlewith Prajakta Sawant in2010.

����� 4�#� �:;3

It hurt a little bit more becauseI belong to the armed forces,"

said Indian boxer AmitPanghal as he dedicated hisGold medal at the prestigiousStrandja MemorialTournament to the CRPF per-sonnel who lost their lives inthe Pulwama terror attack.

The Asian Games Gold-medallist claimed a secondconsecutive top finish at one ofEurope's oldest boxing compe-titions when he out-punchedKazakhstan's TemirtasZhussupov in the summit clashin Sofia, Bulgaria on Tuesdaynight. He was India's lone maleboxer to grab a medal at thejust-concluded edition.

The 23-year-old NaibSubedar in the Indian Army onWednesday said the Pulwamaattack, which claimed the livesof 40 CRPF personnel, was onhis mind through the tourna-ment. The deadly strike tookplace the day the Indian box-ing team left for Sofia lastweek.

"Main khud army se hun,dard isliye thoda zyada tha (Ithurt a little bit more because Ibelong to the armed forces). Iwas desperate for a medalbecause I wanted to dedicate itto the heroes who lost theirlives in Pulwama," Panghalsaid over phone.

"This was my mindset themoment I got to know of theattack after landing here."

India finished with sevenmedals — three Gold, a Silverand three Bronze medals — inSofia. Among the womenGold-winners, Nikhat Zareen(51kg) had also dedicated hermedal to the slain CRPF men.

"I was in touch with myfamily members during thetournament and they also toldme that I had to win a medalin honour of the Pulwamamartyrs. I was doubly motivat-ed by this thought," Panghalsaid.

The motivation did comein handy as Panghal battledweighty matters in the run-upto the main draw.

"Weight nahi aa raha thayahaan thand ke kaaran (It wasdifficult to get the right weightbecause of the cold here). So, Iwent to bed hungry for a cou-

ple of days, trained the nextmorning to ensure that I wasready at the time of weigh-inon the day of draws," Panghalsaid.

"It was tough but worthevery bit of the trouble becausein the end, I could accomplishwhat I wanted," he added refer-ring to the sub-zero tempera-tures in Sofia which made itdifficult to shed weight.

Panghal's campaign lookedeffortless but the boxer fromRohtak said the competition hefaced this time was certainly anotch higher than what hecame across in the 2018 edi-tion.

"...Russia, Kazakhstan andUkraine fielded their strongestline-ups. This was not the caselast time. The guy I fought inthe final was the Bronze-medal-list from the Asian Games lastyear and had won in India dur-ing a World Series of Boxingbout," he said.

"I had not fought with himearlier as he was not in my halfduring the Asian Games but Iknew I could do it," he added.

Speaking of weight andcompetition, Panghal revealedthat Strandja was his last com-

petition in the 49kg division."I have no choice but to

jump to 52kg because 49kg isnot there in the Olympic pro-gram for Tokyo 2020 and I can'tafford to skip that," he said.

"This was my last competi-tion in 49kg and I will be com-peting in the 52kg category if Iam selected for the AsianChampionships. It is going tobe very tough for me because49kg is a weight class that I amcomfortable in," he explained.

Asked about the specificchallenges that the transitionwould bring with it, Panghalsaid, "I am going to need a lotmore power and it is not goingto be easy but I am confident ofmaking it happen."

The Asian Championshipsare scheduled to be held inApril 19 to 27 in Bangkok,Thailand. In a first, the compe-tition for both men and womenwill be held simultaneously.

"Amit will start his 52kgstint with a tournament inGermany which is round-robinso there is no pressure of amedal. We will see how it goesfor him there and figure out,"said national chief coach C AKuttappa.

����� 4�#� �:;3

Aiming at an Olympic quota,Manu Bhaker says she is

"putting in a lot extra" as shejuggles between shooting andstudies ahead of the WorldWorld Cup, which precedes herClass 12 Board exams.

The 17-year-old Bhaker,owner of multiple ISSF WorldCup, Commonwealth andYouth Olympic Gold medals,has her eyes trained at a quotafor the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Having turned a year oldertwo days ago, Bhaker will haveher chance to secure anotherquota for the country in theInternational Shooting SportFederation (ISSF) World Cup,which begins at the Dr Karni

Singh Range from Saturday."I am doing little extra work

as my class 12 exam is alsoscheduled just after the WorldCup. Hence, I study for myexams after practice," Bhakersaid.

The Sports Authority ofIndia (SAI) recently requestedthe Central Board of SecondaryEducation (CBSE) to reschedulethe class 12 exam dates forBhaker and fellow marksmanVijayveer Sidhu in order toavoid a clash with the upcom-ing Asian AirgunChampionships.

With their impressive show-ings in the WorldChampionships last year inKorea, Anjum Moudgil andApurvi Chandela earned India

two Olympic quotas. The shoot-ing fraternity is optimistic aboutadding to that numbers over thenext few days, and Bhaker is oneof the many hopefuls.

"Hope we will get it ...Pressure is bit more this timearound as Olympic tickets arethere."

Around 503 shooters from58 countries will be competingfor top honours with eight ofthe 10 events offering 16 quotaplaces for the Tokyo Games.

Having taken the juniorcircuit by storm with her explo-sive performances, Bhaker, hail-ing from Jhajjar district inHaryana, did an encore whenshe graduated to the seniorlevel.

She bagged a handful of

medals, including individualGold, in her maiden seniorISSF World Cup,Commonwealth Games, beforecapping it off with a historicGold at the Youth Olympic inBuenos Aires last October.

In the same year, she alsohad her first brush with failureand the criticism that comeswith it. She has dealt with themand is now looking forwardwith optimism, having givenher best in practice.

"I am doing well in mypractice and hope everythingwill be good. Second year is anumber only," she said whenasked how she looks to sustainthe momentum, adding,"Olympic Gold is the ultimategoal."

# !!,�,�#,#�#��� C�,��"4$�#$ � G$:���� �����������@��$��������� ���$��������������$��$����������

3������2�025���1����������� �������������7�����������(��������������7����$������(����� ���� ���������

�����������������5��������� ����������DH�� ������������&� ������� ���

��.��������������"��� /����3� ����������������

�����'33���������������!!���������$������������@�������������� ���

���� ���� ��"�����.�� �!� ������� ��� ������� ,�9

�.���� ����-�"���!>� �"��*���"� ��� 4,

���������� ��������� ����� �������������� ���! ����� ���"� �"* ����

� $�� ��! ���"��!

</�����������������������������������������������2

��7$����������������������.��

)�� ���A���� �������$������������A����������'-"�0�����

���������.���.������������.������ .�"�����$��8�� ��4�$����5�����6�