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The Congress-Janata Dal(S)coalition Government in

Karnataka plunged into a deep-er crisis on Monday with twoMinisters — H Nagesh and RShankar, who are IndependentMLAs — submitting their res-ignation to the State Governor.Thirteen other MLAs — 10from the Congress and threefrom the JD(S) — have alreadyput in their papers and areheaded for Goa from Mumbai,where they were staying toward off overtures from theirrespective parties.

As a last-ditch effort to savethe Government, Ministersfrom both the Congress andthe JD(S) on Monday resigned“voluntarily” to induct dissi-dents in the Cabinet. However,so far there is no indication thatany of the rebel MLAs are readyto reconsider their stand.

The resignation of the twoMinisters who were inductedinto the Government lastmonth to prevent them fromgoing to the BJP camp hascome as a major blow to theefforts of the crisis managers ofthe Congress and the JD(S).

If the 13 MLAs whoresigned earlier stick to theirstand, then along with thesetwo Ministers, they will bebring the coalitionGovernment in minority,paving the way for eitherimposition of President’s rule inthe State or installation of aBJP-led Government.

The issue echoed inParliament where the

Government denied any role inthe political turmoil even asCongress accused it of hatch-ing a conspiracy.

The BJP has “nothing todo” with whatever develop-ment is taking place inKarnataka and “we never pres-surise and engineer defections”,Union Defence MinisterRajnath Singh said in the LokSabha as Congress leader AdhirRanjan Chowdhury accusedthe BJP of “buying MLAs” inKarnataka.

The Defence Minister saidthe Government is committedto protect the dignity ofParliamentary democracy.

“Whatever is happening cur-rently in Karnataka, we have norelation with that,” he said.

Chowdhury alleged theBJP-ruled Government ishatching a conspiracy to breakthe Congress-led Governmentin Karnataka and MadhyaPradesh. “This Government issecretly hatching a conspiracyagainst the State Government.They took our MLAs to a fivestar hotel in Mumbai,”Chowdhury said.

With Karnataka ChiefMinister H D Kumaraswamy’sGovernment appearing on thebrink of collapse, the BJP onMonday demanded his imme-

diate resignation. “If at all he has dignity,

honour and self-esteem or if heis aware of Karnataka’s cultureand traditions, he shouldimmediately resign... Do nottry to stick on to the chair. Youdo not have the numbers,” for-mer Deputy CM R Ashok said.

The JD(S)-Congress coali-tion’s total strength afterNagesh and Shankar with-drawing their support is 116(Congress-78, JD(S)-37 andBSP-1), besides the Speaker.

With the support of twoIndependents, the BJP has 107MLAs in the 224-memberHouse, where the half-way

mark is 113. If the resignationsof the MLAs are accepted, thecoalition’s tally will be reducedto 104.

On a hectic day of politi-cal activities, the Congresstook the lead to save theGovernment, holding themeeting at the residence ofDeputy Chief Minister GParameshwara, which wasattended by senior leaders,including AICC general sec-retary KC Venugopal.

At the end of the meeting,the party said all its 21Ministers resigned voluntarilyto enable a reshuffle of theCabinet and make way for thedisgruntled legislators. TheJD(S) followed suit with nineof its Ministers resigning afterKumaraswamy met theCongress leaders.

“For the larger interest of

the party, yesterday and today,we had detailed discussionswith senior leaders andMinisters,” Venugopal toldreporters.

The meeting was attendedby Congress Legislature PartyLeader Siddaramaiah amongothers. Siddaramaiah too saidall Congress Ministers havevoluntarily resigned and havegiven “full freedom” to theparty to reshuffle the Ministry.“All ministers from #JDS havesubmitted their resignationsjust like the 21 Ministers from#Congress. Cabinet reshufflewill happen soon, the CMOffice said in a tweet.

Under the coalitionarrangement, out of the total34 ministerial positions, theCongress and the JD(S) haveshared 22 and 12 berthsrespectively.

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Market benchmark BSESensex on Monday plum-

meted by 793 points or 2 percent, its biggest single-day lossthis year so far, due to heavyselling in financial, auto and oilstocks as investors turned edgyafter the twin impact of Budgettax proposals and a global sell-off.

The 30-share Sensextanked 907 points in the intra-day trade before settling at38,720.57 points, showing asharp loss of 792.82 points or2.01 per cent.

The broader Nifty of theNSE tanked 252.55 points, or2.14 per cent, to close at11,558.60 points.

After the Budget presenta-tion on Friday, the market cap-italisation of BSE-listed firmsdived �5,61,772.64 crore.Sensex had dropped 394.67points on Friday.

Among the Sensex scrips,Bajaj Finance fell the most by8.18 per cent, followed byONGC at 5.43 per cent.

Auto stocks HeroMotoCorp, Maruti, TataMotors and Bajaj Auto took a

beating on reports thatautomakers have resorted toproduction cuts after decliningsales.

Hero MotoCorp declined5.3 per cent, Maruti by 5.2 percent, Tata Motors by 3.4 percent and Bajaj Auto by 2 percent. “The Budget failed torevive bullish sentimentsamong the investor communi-ty. The disappointment wasaggravated as the market’sexpectations of a stimuluspackage to revive growth werenot met.

Further, expectations ofweak earnings growth in thecoming quarter are dampeningsentiments,” Sunil Sharma, theChief Investment Officer ofSanctum Wealth Managementcommented.

Among financial stocks,HDFC dropped by 0.77 percent, SBI by 4.14 per cent andAxis Bank by 2.84 per cent.

ONGC dropped 5.43 percent, L&T by 4.3 per cent andReliance Industries by 0.85 percent, dragging the index intothe negative territory.

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India on Monday slammed aUnited Nation human rights

body’s report on Jammu &Kashmir situation and called itcontinuation of the earlier“false and motivated” narrativewhich ignored the core issue ofcross-border terrorism ema-nating from Pakistan and vio-lates India’s sovereignty and ter-ritorial integrity.

Refuting the report,Ministry of External AffairsSpokesperson Raveesh Kumarsaid, “The update of the reportof the Office of the UN HighCommissioner for HumanRights (OHCHR) is merely acontinuation of the earlier falseand motivated narrative onthe situation in the IndianState of Jammu & Kashmir. Thelegitimisation of terrorism hasbeen further compounded byan unacceptable advocacy of

the dismemberment of a UNmember state.”

India’s retort came after theGeneva-based OHCHR, whichlast year released its first-everreport on Kashmir, issued an“update” of the 2018 report onMonday, claiming that “neitherIndia nor Pakistan has takenany concrete steps to addressthe numerous concerns raised”.

The MEA said theOHCHR “update” is in com-plete variance with positions ofUN Security Council, whichhad strongly condemned thedastardly Pulwama terrorattack and subsequently pro-scribed Masood Azhar, thePakistan-based terrorist.

“A situation created byyears of cross-border terroristattacks emanating from

Pakistan has been ‘analysed’without any reference to itscausality. The OHCHR updateseems to be a contrived effortto create an artificial paritybetween the world’s largestand the most vibrant democ-racy and a country that open-ly practises state-sponsoredterrorism,” Kumar said.

The OHCHR report claimsthe civilian casualties reportedin Kashmir and Pakistan-occu-pied Kashmir from May 2018to April 2019 may be the high-est in over a decade and calledon the UN Human RightsCouncil to consider “the pos-sible establishment of a com-mission of inquiry to conducta comprehensive independentinternational investigation intoallegations of human rightsviolations in Kashmir”.

“We have registered ourstrong protest regarding theupdate with the Office of theHigh Commissioner forHuman Rights. The release ofsuch an update has not onlycalled into question the seri-ousness of OHCHR but also itsalignment with the largerapproach of the UnitedNations,” Kumar said.

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Another fatal road accidenthas been reported from

the Yamuna Expressway. OnMonday, twenty-nine peoplewere killed and 18 injuredafter a State-run bus skidded offthe expressway and fell into alarge drain in near Etmadpur inAgra, officials said.

The bus was going fromLucknow to Delhi and had atleast 50 passengers on board,they said. “As per the DistrictMagistrate (of Agra) 29 personshave died. The bus fell into a

‘nallah’ (drain),” AdditionalChief Secretary Information,Awanish Awasthi, said.TheUttar Pradesh Roadways willpay ex gratia of �5 lakh to thenext of kin of the deceased, theofficials said.At least 77 peoplehave died this year only in acci-dents on the 165-km express-way, according to RTI dataaccessed by NGO SaveLIFEFoundation. The NGO said 703lives were lost in 4,880 acci-dents between August 2012,when the expressway wasopened for commercial opera-tions, and January last year.

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Pakistan-based terror groupJaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)

and Ansar Ghazwatul Hind,alias al-Qaeda Kashmir, onMonday released a hit list ofnine teachers, porters and for-mer Special Police Officers(SPOs) on the third anniver-sary of Hizbul Mujahideen ter-rorist Burhan Wani’s death.Wani was killed in anencounter with security forceson July 8, 2016.

The nine mentioned bythe terror groups in the hit listare Fayaz Sheikh, Rameez Raza,Khurshid Bhatt, Mudassir LoneKeegon, Abid, Aiyaaz, BilalBhatt, Aiyaaz, alias Shirmal,and Shabbir.

The hit list also callsPakistan’s bluff as Islamabadrecently hoodwinked theFinancial Action Task Force(FATF) that it is taking actionagainst the terror groups andgot a breather of over fourmonths from being blacklistedby the international anti-ter-rorist financing body.

The terror groups havereleased the photographs of thetargets in the list.

The pattern of the hit list isan indication that the terrorgroups not only want to insti-gate terror among the peoplebut also to give a message to thesecurity forces that they willalso hit their men if the forceskill their terror comrades,sources said.

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At a time when many States,including Delhi, are facing

the spectre of water crisis,Central Ground Water Board(CGWB) experts have recom-mended a scientific approachto tackle the water issues, espe-cially groundwater decline anddepletion.

As per the latest study,hydrogeologists suggest riverbasin and Aquifer Storage andRecovery (ASR) techniques toovercome the crisis. Scientistsemphasised regular aquifermapping to identify sources ofunderground water. Theunderground topography ofthe Capital has to be studied.

“With ASR, storage ofdrinking water, treated surfacewater, reclaimed wastewateror groundwater from otheraquifers is possible. In thisconcept, water is stored under-ground in a suitable aquifer

through wells and is recoveredwhen needed from the same,”said a hydrogeologist.

Speaking to The Pioneer, asenior hydrogeologist said it ispivotal to understand topog-raphy to deal with groundwa-ter decline and depletion.

“As per latest findings, ASRcan be set up at Chhatarpurbasin, Palam and Rajakori,”said the scientist who is work-ing on Delhi groundwater andaquifer mapping.

On the emphasis of thistechnology, the scientistreplied, “The challenge is notjust water quantity but qualityalso. The aim should also be toprovide safe and secure wateras per the standards of WorldHealth Organisation (WHO),and if not WHO, at least thequality of water to be suppliedto homes should satisfy thelevel prescribed by Bureau ofIndian Standards (BIS).

“With ASR, storage of

drinking water, treated surfacewater, reclaimed wastewateror groundwater from otheraquifers is possible. In thisconcept, water is stored under-

ground in a suitable aquiferthrough wells and is recoveredwhen needed from the same,”the hydrogeologist explained.

Presently, Delhi Jal Board

(DJB) is supplying 828 (MillionGallons a day) of water fromcanals against the demand of1050 MGD; and there is acuteshortage of about 300 MGD of

water that has affected tens ofthousands of people.

According to the scientist,the national Capital has thepotential to fulfill waterdemands without dependenceon neighbouring States.

Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal said the AamAadmi Party (AAP)Goverment is not willing todepend on neighbouring Statesto meet water demands. TheDelhi Government has plannedto conserve water in stretchesfrom Palla till Waziarabad.

The Government hasclaimed the regular flow ofYamuna will not be changedand small ponds will be creat-ed and these ponds will befilled with overflowing waterduring monsoon.

The scientist added that atWazirabad point, amonia lev-els are high and it may becomethe reason for serious healthproblems.

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Against the backdrop of amajor accident on Yamuna

Expressway on Monday, UnionTransport Minister NitinGadkari said the Governmentis considering making itmandatory for manufacturersto mix silicon with rubber toimprove quality of tyres and fillthem with nitrogen to help pre-vent road accidents due to tyrebursting in excessive heat.

Making this assertion inthe Rajya Sabha, Gadkaritermed the tragedy unfortunateand said the Uttar PradeshGovernment has already set upa committee to look into rea-sons behind the accident.

The Yamuna Expresswaywas built by the UPGovernment and Gadkari saidthe Central Government is notlinked with the project.

The Ministry of RoadTransport and Highways ismandated with the task of

constructing and maintainingNational Highways in thecountry and the Noida-AgraYamuna Expressway is not aNational Highway constructedand managed by the NationalHighways Authority of India(NHAI) or the Ministry, hesaid.

The Central Governmentwill ask the Uttar PadeshGovernment to implement thecommittee recommendationsand take strict action againstthose responsible for the acci-dent and the deaths of people,Gadkari assured the Eldersduring the Question Hour.

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Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for anydamage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. Readers are advised and requested to verify and seek appropriate advice to satisfy themselves about the veracity of any kind of advertisement beforeresponding to any contents published in this newspaper. The printer, publisher, editor and any employee of the Pioneer Group’s will not be held responsible for any kind of claim made by the advertisers of the products & services and shall not be made responsible for any kind of loss, consequences and further product-related damages on such advertisements.

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The Divine School of Danceorganised a three-day

Kathak workshop with trainersfrom Kalashram founded byKathak maestro Pundit BirjuMaharaj.

The students learnt thenuances of the classical dancewith expressions and the vari-ous courses available to becomea professional Kathak dancer.About 70 students attended this

workshop which concludedwith annual Kathak exam. Thedisciples of Pundit BirjuMaharaj, Shanky Singh andSneh Kumar guided the stu-dents. Speaking on the occa-sion, Singh said, “Dance is notonly a means of entertain-ment.

There is a study of Indianmythology behind it and onecan pursue higher degrees ofpost graduation and PhD tobecome masters.

He guided the learners inboth theory and practicals. Thedirector of Divine School ofDance, Madhavi Bhattacharyasaid, “Kathak dance is a classi-cal art form of north India.

Kathak originates from theword Katha, meaning story.Stories of Indian mythology arebrought to life by gracefulhand gestures which are calledmudras and footwork pos-tures. It is a complete mind,body and spirit experience.”

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The boatmen providing theirservices on the Naini lake

for tourists and locals arerequired to keep their licensewith them.

Further, those who goboating also have to wear lifejackets, failing which a fine willbe charged. However, the reg-ulations are not observed strict-ly by all.

On Monday, a team of themunicipal council conducted asurprise checking drive. Duringthe surprise check, the officialsfound two boatmen withoutlicense. The two were penalisedby the municipal team. Later,cleaning was also undertakenat both the boat stands.

Earlier, on Saturday, themunicipal council team hadconducted a surprise inspec-tion during which one boat-man was found to be operatingwithout a license.

On Monday, the munici-pal tax inspector AnupamaBhatt along with her team firstvisited the Naina Devi templeboat stand and then the standnear the Boat House club.

At the Naina Devi boatstand, the team found twoboatmen- Jagdish Singh andVijay Arya who were doingbusiness without a license. Themunicipal team imposed a

penalty of Rs 250 each on thetwo boatmen for operatingwithout a license. The sur-prise inspection conducted bythe municipal team causedsome anxiety among the boat-men. After the check, cleaningat both the boat stands was alsoundertaken.

The municipal tax inspec-tor Anupama Bhatt told theboatmen that keeping the Naini

lake was a collective responsi-bility of all the citizens.Collective effort is necessary tokeep the Naini lake free ofgarbage, she stressed.

Himanshu Tamta,Dharmesh Prasad, Deep Rajand Govind Rawat amongother municipal staff memberswere present during the sur-prise inspection and cleaningwork undertaken on Monday.

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After receiving complaints ofineligible students being

provided admission underRight to Education (RTE) Actin some schools, the StateCommission for Protection ofChild Rights (SCPCR) hasasked the education depart-ment to take necessary actionsin such cases.

This is not the first timethe commission received com-plaints about anomalies inadmissions to schools underthe RTE Act. In the latestinstance, the commission hasreceived three complaints ofineligible registrations fromRishikesh in which directionshave been given to the officialsto take necessary steps.

In a complaint letter whichwas submitted to the com-mission, a private school inRishikesh was accused of pro-viding admission to the chil-dren on seats reserved underthe RTE Act though thesechildren did not meet the eli-

gibility criteria. The com-plainant claimed that the par-ents of these children fabri-cated certificates and submit-ted these in the school toenable their children secureadmission on seats reservedunder the RTE Act quota.

The school administra-tion also let the students studyin the school without anyobjection.

The SCPCR chairpersonUsha Negi said, “Admissions ofineligible students under RTEare a very serious issue.

We have given instruc-

tions to the Rishikesh SubDivisional Magistrate (SDM)to investigate the matter prop-erly and submit a report to thecommission within 15 days.

The commission has beenvery clear from the start thatno organisation is permitted touse or take benefits of RTE Actas these seats are meant togrant education to thedeprived students.” It is perti-nent to mention that RTE Actenables students belonging toa deprived background andlower caste to study for freefrom class I to VIII.

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With funds recently beingreleased by the Central

Government, the plan forbuilding an international levelzoo in Haldwani is pickingpace.

The Central Governmentrecently released �20 crore toexpedite work on this projectwhich is to be executed on 412hectare land area in Haldwani.This international-level zoo isto be built in three stages.

A sum of �129 crore is tobe spent on the first stage, � 90crore on the second stage and�85 crore on the third stage ofconstruction of this zoo.

This project is being exe-cuted in the Gaulapar area ofHaldwani near the interna-tional sports stadium. For thefirst phase of the construction,the Central Government

recently released �20 crore.The construction of the zoo’sboundary wall has been com-pleted. Now, in the first phaseof the construction, work is tobe undertaken on biodiversi-ty park, rescue centre andveterinary hospital.

The Haldwani zoo direc-tor Parag Madhukar Dhakatesaid that for this internation-al-level zoo, a team from thestate had toured zoos atBeijing in China, Moscow inRussia, Madrid and Barcelonain Spain, Japan, Mexico andLondon in Britain.

The international-zoo inHaldwani will have promi-nent wild animals of five con-tinents- Asia, Africa, Europe,America and Australia. In theenclosures, each of which willbe 20 hectare, the visitors willenter in a caged vehicle.

The animals will be roam-

ing free inside the enclosureswhile the visitors will enter inprotected vehicles. This will bethe first such initiative in thecountry. The African safari isexpected to be the most pop-ular feature of the zoo.

Dhakate further informedthat in the first phase of con-

struction, the biodiversity parkwill be developed with a widevariety of flora.

A mono rail will also beset up for entertaining the chil-dren. The first phase of thezoo’s construction is expectedto be completed in a time peri-od of five months.

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Developments like the inter-net and e-books do pose

challenges to libraries but inDehradun the library culture isstill alive. Even though e-read-ing is easily accessible, manypeople- including the youth- ofDehradun prefer spending timewith books in the library.

Dehradun has about adozen public libraries whichhold significant importance inpreserving the history ofDehradun apart from othersubjects. Mahatma KhushiRam PublicLibrary, DoonLibrary and Research Centre,Dehradun District PublicLibrary , Songsten Library aresome of the major libraries inthe city.

Pitamber Joshi, librarian atMahatma Khushi Ram PublicLibrary situated at GandhiRoad says, “This library wasbuilt in 1921 by a retired post-master named Khushi Ramwhen Dehradun was a famousspot for the British. It has been98 years since and in next twoyears it will be celebrating itshundred years of glory. I havecompleted 25 years of servicein this library.

In the beginning we hadonly 250 members but with thepassage of time our membershave increased to 600, includ-ing 450 youngsters. We havemore than 50,000 books of allgenres including literature, phi-losophy, science and humani-ties,” he said. There are stillsome libraries where peoplecome mainly to read newspa-pers and magazines. “DoonDistrict Public Library is agovernment library. Earlierthere were few members but asmore people registered wechanged the interiors providingproper fans and lights.

People come, sometimes to

read newspapers and maga-zines and sometimes they bringtheir own study material aslibraries provide the rightambience for the students andthe readers,” says a staff mem-ber of the library Amar Singh.

The librarian at DoonLibrary and Research Centre,Parade Ground, JB Goelbelieves book reading is easyand better than other digitalmediums. “We have adequatefacilities, free wifi access andmore than 27,000 books onhumanities and philosophyamong other subjects.

There are more than 4000registrations out of which about200 show up daily,” he said.

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The Confederation of IndianIndustry (CII),

Uttarakhand State council, aspart of its corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) activities,supported the Doon Libraryand Research Centre to initiatetransition of the library intodigital mode by donating eight

computers. The computer sys-tems were donated by WindlassBiotech, a CII member organ-isation.

Ashok Windlass, the vicechairman of CII UttarakhandState council formally handedover the systems to the DoonLibrary and Research Centredirector BK Joshi.

Speaking on the occasion,

Windlass said that CII will bekeen to support the DoonLibrary and Research Centrefurther in whatever way possi-ble.

The systems will enable themembers of the library tosearch the library catalogue indigital form easily and will alsoprovide internet access to otherdigital resources.

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The seventh meeting of theMotherhood University

board of governors was held onMonday. Various importantdecisions were taken in themeeting.

The board of governorsgranted permission for conductof post graduate coursesincluding two-year LLM, MBA

(part-time), MBA (executive),three-year BA in Yoga,

and two-year MA in Yogafrom the coming academicsession. The accounts of theprevious year were presented inthe meeting. Further, the feestructure for the 2019-20 ses-sion was also approved by theboard.

Earlier, the registrar of theuniversity, R Kasturi welcomed

all the board members to themeeting.

The Uttarakhand Statehigher education secretaryVinod Prasad Raturi, chancel-lor Moolchand Sharma, vicechancellor Narendra Sharma,

Rajesh Diwan, ArchanaSharma, Vijendra Singh andother members of the board ofgovernors were among thosepresent in the meeting.

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Printed and published by Ajit Sinha for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., published at ������������� ������������������������������������������� ��!��"����#����$����#�������%�&'((���)(�*+%��,*���� �-.(&+(+,,', and printed at Amar Ujala Publications Ltd, Shed No -2 & C-7/5, Patel Nagar Co-Operative Industrial Area,Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Editor: Chandan Mitra. AIR SURCHARGE of Re. 1.00 East: Calcutta, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, North: Leh: West: Mumbai & Ahmedabad South: Bangalore & Chennai. Central : Khajuraho, Delhi Office: No. 6, Behind Gulab Bhawan, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110 002, Phone: 011-40110455, Communication Office: F-31, Sector 6,NOIDA, Gautam Budh Nagar-201301, U.P. Phone: 0120-4879800 & 4879900, Lucknow Office: 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow-226 016. Telephones: 0522-2346443-45

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Considering the sharp rise in the number ofpeople visiting Kedarnath in Rudraprayag dis-

trict, special focus will be laid on the infrastruc-tural facilities in Kedarnath. The Chief MinisterTrivendra Singh Rawat said this while chairinga meet regarding infrastructural facilities inKedarnath here on Monday.

The Chief Minister said that it is importantto publicise the Panch Badri and Panch Kedarshrines on the Tourism department website sothat people visiting the Badrinath and Kedarnathshrines are also able to visit these related impor-tant shrines. Regarding the infrastructural worksto be undertaken in Kedarnath, discussionshould be held with the Rudraprayag district mag-istrate and a design for the same should be pre-pared. All possible assistance will be providedwhen it comes to providing facilities for the devo-tees, he said. Detailed proposals of the works relat-ed to infrastructural development should be pre-pared. The help of the Birla Group can also betaken in infrastructural development works, heopined.

The Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committeechairman Mohan Prasad Thapliyal said that infra-structural development is necessary in Kedarnathfor successful conduct of the pilgrimage and toprovide facilities to visitors. The 2013 disaster haddestroyed various structures of the temple com-mittee related to the ritual worship and templemanagement. Structures for the Bhog Mandi,Matth Bhandar, residence of the Rawat (chiefpriest), priests along with office and quarters forthe employees are to be built. One Rain Baserais also to be constructed for the convenience ofthe visitors.

Chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh, secretaryAmit Singh Negi, BKTC CEO BD Singh, AdityaBirla Group senior manager Arun Singh and oth-ers were also present in the meeting.

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Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawatheld a meeting with Urban

Development minister Madan Kaushikand officials on the comprehensivemobility plan for the Dehradun-Haridwar-Rishikesh metropolitan area.The practical feasibility of the person-al rapid transit system in Haridwar andRishikesh for improving and systema-tising the traffic flow was discussed inthe meeting. As part of the personal

rapid transit system (PRTS), smallerautomatic vehicles are operated as pub-lic transport. The chief minister direct-ed officials to present the action plan forthe PRTS in Rishikesh and Haridwar inthe next meeting. Rawat said that otherproposals received for Dehradun shouldalso be put up in the next meeting. Chiefsecretary Utpal Kumar Singh, financesecretary Amit Singh Negi, secretariesNitesh Jha, Sowjanya, additional secre-tary Ashish Srivastava and others werealso present in the meeting.

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Amid spree of resignationsof Congress leaders from

their positions across the coun-try, the Pradesh CongressCommittee (PCC) PresidentPritam Singh has said that hewould continue on the postuntil he receives instructionsfrom the party high command.

Singh is under pressurefrom his detractors within theparty to take the moral respon-sibility for the crushing defeatthe party received in the LokSabha polls and resign from thepost of PCC President. Theresignation of former chiefminister Harish Rawat fromthe post of general secretary ofAll India Congress Committee(AICC) and spate of resigna-tions of Congressmen all overthe country after Congress

President Rahul Gandhiresigned from his position hasput pressure on Pritam Singhto resign. Former SpeakerGovind Singh Kunjwal who isone of the most vocal supporterof Harish Rawat, has openlystated that Singh should tenderhis resignation.

On Monday when asked bythe media persons at Congressheadquarters in Dehradun,Pritam Singh clearly statedthat he has no intention ofstepping down. He said that hewas appointed by the highcommand so he would stepdown only when on the direc-tive from top.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that Pritam Singh wasappointed as PCC chief inMay 2017 after the severe drub-bing the party faced at thehands of BJP in the assembly

elections in the state. In thesetwo years, Singh was able torejuvenate the party and in theelections of urban local bodiesheld last year, the congressparty performed reasonablywell but this achievement of hiswas offset in the recent LokSabha elections where BJP can-didates swept to victories in allthe five parliamentary seats.

To make things gloomy forthe Congress party and itsleaders is the fact that BJP can-didates secured a staggering 61

percent of the popular vote inthe Lok Sabha polls inUttarakhand while Congresscandidates lagged far behind inall the five seats as they wereable to secure only 31.40 per-cent of the votes.

It is interesting to notethat in last two years PritamSingh was not able to select hisnew team in the PCC. He hascontinued to work with the oldPCC team that was chosen dur-ing the time when KishoreUpadhyaya was PCC President.

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After the warning letter thatwas sent by the transport

department of Delhi to sevenstates across the countryincluding Uttarakhand, theUttarakhand TransportCorporation (UTC) has sent aproposal to the Delhi transportdepartment. According to offi-cial sources, if in the givenwarning time periodUttarakhand administrationfails to sign Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU)between the two states, theUttarakhand roadways buseswill not be able to enter theborders of Delhi.

The General Manager(operation and technical) ofUTC, Deepak Jain said, “Wesent a representative from ourDelhi office with a proposal tothe transport department there,and now we are waiting fortheir answer. Earlier also asimilar proposal was sent tothem.”

General secretary ofUttaranchal RoadwaysEmployees Union AshokChaudhary said, “Earlier wesubmitted a proposal to theState Transport Authority ofUttarakhand, stating in detailabout the number of busesgoing to and from Delhi. Theproposal might not have beenforwarded further.”

It is pertinent to mentionhere that New Delhi onSaturday issued a warning let-ter to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana,Rajasthan, Punjab, HimachalPradesh, Uttarakhand andJammu & Kashmir, stating thatthese states will first have tosign an MoU with them unlessthe roadways buses from thesestates will prohibited fromentering inside the borders ofDelhi. If this gets implement-ed Uttarakhand Roadwaysbuses will only be able to accessAnand Vihar bus terminal inDelhi. Nearly 20 to 25 thousandpassengers daily will get direct-ly affected by this decision.

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For the Kanwad Mela that is to start from July17 and will end on July 30, the police person-

nel on duty will be stationed at their posts from July15. A briefing will be conducted on the same dayat Haridwar. Uttarakhand police are leaving nostone unturned to ensure smooth and secure con-duct of this Mela with 200 CCTV cameras inHaridwar alone providing live footage. Routinechecking has been tightened at railway stations andbus stations.

Director General (law and order) AshokKumar said, “We have done full preparation for theKanwad Mela. The forces will be deployed at theirstationed places on July 15. Routine checks arealready being done at all required places. Bombsquads have already been told to do three timeschecking every day. CCTVs have been installed atall crucial places, let alone in Haridwar there arenearly 200 CCTVs working presently.”

When asked about the preparation for Shivratriat Neelkanth he said, “Neelkanth has emerged asone of the most popular place for Kanwadias. Weare expecting nearly 30 lakh Kanwadias to be thereon the eve of Shivratri. To ensure the security andsafe conduct 1,000 police personnel will be sta-tioned there.”

Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police(SSP) Nivedita Kukreti said, “In view of theKanwad Mela we have divided Raiwala-Rishikesharea in to 22 sectors and five zones. SP Rural willbe stationed there during this period and he willbe directly supervising it.We will also keep an eyeon those going to Mussoorie and found to be cre-ating disorder.”

It is pertinent to mention here that Uttarakhandadministration is expecting about three croreKanwadias from all over the country especially fromHaryana and western areas of Uttar Pradesh thisyear. As an initiative this year Kanwadias will haveto register themselves by providing the informa-tion about their team leader and the vehicles theywill be using to the local police stations in theirhome towns. A receipt or an official confirmationof registration will be carried by them.

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For the smooth and hassle free con-duct of Kumbh Mela 2021, the

Urban Development minister MadanKaushik and Mela officer DeepakRawat met the national secretary ofAkhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishadand patron member of Juna AkhadaMahant Hari Giri on Monday.

During the meeting, Kaushikassured the ascetic that all arrange-ments shall be made keeping qualityin mind and all targets will be accom-plished within stipulated time. TheMela officer Rawat said that the stateand central governments were deter-mined to make the Kumbh Mela 2021,a magnificent event which will be

clean, serene, green and attractive.Discussing the major issues of

Kumbh Mela, the state authoritiesassured that the basic facilities to facil-itate the holy dip in the Ganga includ-ing expansion of Ghats, bridge con-struction and allotting lands for theAkhadas in Kumbh Nagar will bedone well in time.

The Kumbh area shall be expand-ed considering the expected rush ofpilgrims as in past Kumbh Melas keep-ing in view of the interest of the localsand traders, so that their routine is notdisturbed. A crowd management teamshall be formed said Rawat. Very soona high power committee shall beformed which will discuss all theseissues, he added.

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The State MeteorologicalCentre has issued a warn-

ing regarding the possibility ofheavy rainfall at isolated placesin Nainital, Champawat,Pithoragarh, Chamoli, Tehri,Pauri and Dehradun districtsfrom July 9 to 12. Dehradunon Tuesday is likely to begenerally cloudy while light tomoderate rainfall and thun-derstorm is very likely at mostplaces of the state.

One or two spells of rainand thunderstorm may occurin some parts of the city today.

The maximum and minimumtemperatures are likely to be 28degree Celsius and 2 degreeCelsius respectively.

Meanwhile, the maximumand minimum temperaturesrecorded of the various placeson Monday were 33.7 degreeCelsius and 23.2 degreeCelsius respectively inDehradun, 33.7 degree Celsiusand 23 degree Celsius inPantnagar, 20.5 degree Celsiusand 15.8 degree Celsius inMukteshwar and 25 degreeCelsius and 17.6 degreeCelsius respectively in NewTehri.

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With many private schoolsreopening from Tuesday, dis-

trict police will be facing a problemto keep the smooth operation of traf-fic. In order to ensure it especiallyduring school hours, district policehave spoken with the school admin-istration of Saint Joseph’s Academyon Subhash Road which is one of thekey places for traffic related issues,regarding the parking space insidethe school premises, to which SJAhas agreed to let two-wheelers parkinside their campus. This will notonly resolve the issue of parking atSubhash Road, but will also providerelief to the parents of students and

other citizens who have to face traf-fic congestions on daily basis.

Dehradun SeniorSuperintendent of Police (SSP)Nivedita Kukreti said, “The mainconcern during the school hours isSubhash Road area. We have spokenwith the school authorities of SJA tolet two-wheelers inside their cam-pus, to which they have agreed. Forfour wheelers we will make one laneon the road particularly when theschool opens and closes. The vehi-cles which will come early will beparked there, rest of the vehicles willbe parked at the parking area nearsecretariat. This will likely be imple-mented from Tuesday as the schoolre-opens.”

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Dehradun: People of Dehradun once again had to gothrough exacerbated traffic congestion on the city roadson Monday. The citizens faced traffic congestions on mainjunctions in the city especially at Doon Hospital Chowkand Arhat Bazaar.

Regarding the traffic congestion near Doon HospitalChowk, a commuter said, “Even with three traffic policepersonnel at the palce, they are unable to maintainsmooth flow of traffic here. These personnel do not evenhave proper coordination among themselves.”

Another commuter, who took the route fromMohini Road because of the traffic jam at Araghar Chowksaid, “During school hours it is foolish to go from thisroute. Even with such congested road there is no policepersonnel deployed near the school to take care of thetraffic.” PNS

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Poor health services have alwaysremained an Achilles heel for

Uttarakhand ever since it was carvedout of Uttar Pradesh in the year 2000.Despite best efforts by the successivegovernments (this is what they claim);the objective of providing basic healthcare facilities in the remote andmountainous areas has remained adistant dream. In absence of thehealth facilities in the mountainousareas, the people are forced to visitcities like Dehradun and Haldwanieven for non serious ailments.Ironically in last 18 years, the state hasfailed to set up a reliable tertiary healthcare facility even in provisional statecapital Dehradun. Surge of patients inDehradun, Haridwar and Haldwanihas resulted in mushrooming of pri-vate clinics and small hospitals therewhose sole purpose is to extractmaximum money from the haplesspatients. One of the basic problemsfaced by the state government is

reluctance of the doctors to work inmountainous areas. In an apparentsurrender of sorts after its failure toprovide doctors in hospitals locat-ed in mountainous areas, the stategovernment has started Tele- med-icine and Tele- radiology services inmany remote locations.

The data of the state healthdepartment reveals that as many as679 posts of medical officers arevacant in the state health serviceswhich have a sanctioned strengthof 2735. A closer look on the datashows that only 1522 regular doc-tors are working in the health ser-vices of Uttarakhand. To aggravatethe problem further as many as 239doctors are on leave for variousreasons while 173 out of 359bonded medical off icers(Contractual) are not giving theirservices as they are doing their postgraduation.

To its credit the TrivendraSingh Rawat government has keptfocus on recruitment of new doc-tors and in last one and half yearsmore than 900 doctors were recruit-ed for the health services. Howeverthe situation has remained more orless unchanged in the remote areas.In Pauri which is the home districtof chief minister Trivendra SinghRawat who also holds the healthportfolio, 111 posts of the doctorsout of total 365 posts are vacant. In

Tehri, another mountainous districtonly 124 regular doctors are working.This district has 226 sanctioned postsof doctors. Interestingly in Dehradundistrict as many as 107 posts of doc-tors are still lying vacant out of 346sanctioned posts. Though Dehraduncity remains the favourite among thedoctors, they prefer to remain awayfrom the places like Chakrata andVikasnagar which are mountainousand remote.

When contacted, the DirectorGeneral (DG) health services, DrRavindra Thapliyal told The Pioneerthat the number of doctors in the statehealth services has increased in lastfew years. “ Earlier there were only1000 odd doctors in the health ser-vices but we now have 2056 doctorswhich is a significant achievement,’’ hesaid. The DG added that departmentconducts walk in interviews for thedoctors on every second and fourthTuesday at health directorate.

Government Health facilities inUttarakhand

District Hospitals- 12District Women Hospitals- 7Base Hospitals- 4Combined hospitals - 16Community Health Centres

(CHC) – 85Primary Health Centres- 249Mental Hospital-1Sub Centres- 1765

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The Mission Director ofNational Health Mission

(NHM), Yugal Kishore Panthas said that by following theguidelines, maternal mortalitycan be brought down by 75percent.

Addressing a meeting ofthe state level monitoring andreview committee set up toaudit the maternal mortality onMonday, Pant said that it is

generally observed that theAsha workers and AuxiliaryNursing and Midwifery(ANM) do not have properknowledge of pre and postnatal care.

He directed that the districtlevel officers should ensurethat necessary training is pro-vided to the Asha workers andANMs in this regard. Pantsaid that coordination withprivate hospitals should beestablished so that every case ofmaternal death is reported.

The nodal officer of thecommittee Dr Saroj Naithanisaid that it has now been madecompulsory for the ANMs toensure every pregnant womanis checked by doctor at leasttwo times. She added thatunder the new guidelines toreduce maternal mortality ithas been made mandatory thathaemoglobin test is done atleast four times during preg-nancy.

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About 40.13 per cent votersturned up to vote for the

re-election to the post of coun-cillor in Amwala Tarla wardwhich concluded successfullyon Monday.

Four candidates were in thefray for the seat reserved forwomen. From Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) Neetu Valmiki andfrom Congress MonikaChaudhary were the candi-dates in addition to indepen-dent candidates Lakshmi Deviand Usha Rani.

Returning Officer (RO)Dinesh Kumar Singh said, “Thevoting process was completedwith ease. 40.13 percent votersturned up to vote in the wardwhich amounts to 3568 votersout of a total of 8890. The vot-ing process started from 10 AMand continued till 5 PM. Theresult for the ward will beannounced on July 10.”

It is pertinent to mentionthat in the civic body electionswhich were held in the monthof November 2018, Congresscandidate Rita Rani was elect-ed as councillor of the ward.

However, nearly six monthslater the caste certificate of thecandidate was found faulty.

As per the officials, theScheduled Tribe (ST) certificateof the candidate was not cor-

rect. In addition to that thedomicile of the candidate wasfrom a different state. Thisresulted in cancellation of herelection and a re-election in theward.

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As per the Solid WasteManagement (SWM)

rules 2016, bulk waste gener-ators in the city were instruct-ed to dispose of the garbageproperly.

In a meeting headed bythe municipal commissioner(MC) Vinay Shankar Pandeyall the owners of hotels, gov-ernment and non-governmentorganisations were instructedto take necessary steps regard-ing the proper disposal ofgarbage.

Addressing the meetingPandey stated that all thebulk waste generators have toensure onsite compostingwithin a time limit of twomonths.

Certain instructions weregiven regarding organic, inor-ganic and recyclable waste.

He also gave instructionon the recycling chain which

has to be maintained by thebulk waste generators.

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The Municipal Corporationof Dehradun (MCD) along

with non governmental organ-isation Waste Warriors held aone-day awareness programmeon Monday.

Local people along with theofficials were given tips to seg-regate the waste at home.Additional municipal com-

missioner Neeraj Joshi said,“Awareness and participationof people in keeping the cityclean is important. Throwingwaste is no solution but segre-gating it properly and com-posting can be very useful forus and for the public as well.”

Waste Warriors represen-tative Naveen Kumar Sadanasaid, “Dehradun produces 300metric tonne garbage per day

which as a small city is a verybig quantity. A small initiativecan change many things ifdone properly. If we get segre-gated waste then managing itwill be more efficient.Composting is another formwhich is very beneficial.

Also, we should recycleplastic waste so it gets usedrather than getting thrownaway.”

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In the backdrop of somefatal accidents in the state in

recent weeks, Himachal chiefminister Jai Ram Thakur onMonday said all new roads inthe State would be passedonly after road safety audit iscarried out by independentagencies.

Presiding over the reviewmeeting of the State PublicWorks Department here, thechief minister said in futureroad safety audit would beintegral part of DetailedProject Reports.

He said that designs ofroads should be in such a wayin it becomes commutersdelight besides minimumdamages caused to fragileecology of the Himalayas,adding that as many as 4115black spots have been recti-fied in the State by con-structing retaining walls,crash barriers and parapetsetc.

"A provision of crossdrainage should be made as

integral part of approval ofroads as it has been observedthat roads get damaged due topoor drainage faci l it iesbesides making adequateenhancements in budget forconstruction of jeep-ableroads to connect to maximumvillages of the State, Thakursaid in the meeting.

He said that PMGSY wasproving a vital programme forensuring road connectivityto the rural areas of the Stateand time bound completionof all the roads projects beingexecuted under PMGSY mustbe ensured. "Any delay in thisregard would be viewed seri-ously and responsibility ofexecuting officers would befixed," he added.

The CM said that targethas been fixed for constructionof 2520 km new roads underPMGSY and 77 habitationswould be provided road con-nectivity under this schemeduring the current year.

He said that time boundexecution of all the clearanceand approval must also beensured in respect of various

projects under PMGSY. Itwas informed in the meetingthat 1250 kms new roadswould be constructed underPMGSY-II.

Thakur said that a nodalofficer in the rank of ChiefEngineer should be designat-ed for expediting various for-est clearances for variousongoing projects as this delaysthe project and results inprice escalation.

He said Himachal PradeshRoad InfrastructureDevelopment Corporationwould be strengthened forensuring proper maintenanceand upkeep of major districtroads, preparing action plan toimprove geometrics by improv-ing intersections and going fortunnels as well as to enhanceriding quality of roads.

He also stressed to takesteps to review and streamlinethe existing procedure of pro-curement to reduce the timelag between sanction andaward of works.

The CM added that out ofthe 69 national highwaysapproved by Central

Government for the State, inprinciple Detailed ProjectReports (DPRs) of 63National Highways of 4031kms. have been prepared bythe State Public WorksDepartment and in principleDPRs of three national high-ways with total length of 170kms. have been prepared byNHIDCL.

Laying stress on ensuring

quality work while executingvarious developmental pro-jects, the Chief Minister saidthat department must uselocal architect and tradition-al technical knowhow whileconstructing buildings. Hesaid that new OPD of IGMCmust be completed at theearliest to facilitate the peopleof the State. It was informedin the meeting that out of

total 3226 panchayats in theState, 3131 panchayats havebeen connected with theroads besides providing roadfacilities to 13782 habitationsout of 18711 habitations.Principal Secretary PublicWorks Department J.C.Sharma assured the ChiefMinister that the Departmentwould work with greater zealand dedication.

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Fifteen-year-old SeniorInternational Chess Player

Woman Fide Master NityataJain of DPS Nipania Indorebrought laurels to Indore, MP& India once again when sheclinched Bronze medal forIndia in CommonwealthChess Championship 2019 inUnder 16 girls category whichwas held at New Delhi fromJuly 1 to 7.

In Under 16 girls catego-ry of this championship total7 rounds were played out ofwhich Nityata won 5 roundsto clinch this medal.

In the last round Nityatadefeated Adane Narayani ofIndia in the rigorous gamewhich lasted for almost 4hours.

At the age of just 15 yearsthis is Nityata 's 8thInternational & consecutive2nd Commonwealth medal& She is the only chess play-er from Madhya Pradesh tohave won so manyInternational medals.Prior tothis Nityata had brought lau-rels to MP & India by winningInternational medals in Asianyouth,Commonwealth &other InternationalTournaments in 2018 & 2019.

So far in her Chess career, Nityata has brought laurels to India & MP by winning 8

International medals, 2International Fide Chess Titlesby World Chess Federation, 2National school medals & 20MP state gold medals out ofwhich 5 times MP SeniorWoman Champion since theage of just 11 years.

From CommonwealthNityata has departed toTamilnadu where she will rep-resent MP in NationalSubJunior girls ChessChampionship 2019.

Nityata has alreadycrossed the minimum ratingcriteria of 2200 which isrequired to achieve her nextaim Woman InternationalMaster (WIM) title fromWorld Chess Federation.

Many people always con-vey their blessings to Nityataincluding MP sports ministerJitu Patwari, senior IAS VLKantharao, AniruddhMukherjee, Shobhit Jain, PNarhari,

MP sports director SLThaosen, President of MPOlympic Association RameshMendola, Directors of DPSIndore Hari mohan Guptaand Abhishek Mohan Gupta,Principal Ajay Sharma,Secretary AICF Bharat SinghChauhan, Secretary MPCAKapil Saxena.

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The department of Welfare(SC/ST, minority) has

decided to increase the pace ofongoing developmental worksfor the welfare of ScheduledCaste/ Scheduled Tribes andminority and has set up adeadline of 100 days for com-pletion of these projects. Theschemes which are in pipelineinclude commencement of newnursing colleges, EklavyaVidyalaya, Birsa Awas,Astroturf hockey stadiumsamong others.

Departmental MinisterLouis Marandi, while high-lighting the works andachievements of her depart-ment to press on Monday, saidthat the ongoing projects under

various welfare departmentschemes will gain momentumin next 100 days. Marandi theBJP MLA from Dumka said,“As the per the directions ofChief Minister Raghubar Das,the department has prepared100 days deadline for executionof various projects of welfaredepartment.

These scheme aims ataddressing the welfare anddevelopment of SC/ST andminorities.” The schemesincludes starting up academicactivities at five nursing collegesat Gumla, Itki (Ranchi),Rajnagar (Saraikela), Chaibasa(West Singhbum) andBhognadih (Sahebganj) andcompletion of constructionworks of nearly 4000 housesunder Birsa Awas yojana.

Under the Birsa AwasYojana, houses are provided to

particularly vulnerable tribalgroup (PVTG) (earlier primi-

tive tribal group) as they are atthe bottom among other trib-al group in social and economicconditions.

The ministry of homeaffairs has put nine tribalgroups in the category ofPVTG. The minister said, “TheCentre and State Governmentis committed to improve theliving conditions of PVTGs andin this direction in the finan-cial year 2018-19 the bud-getary allocation in Birsa AwasSchemes has been raised to Rs60 crore from Rs 7.5 crore inthe year 2014-15.”

Also the department withan estimated cost of Rs 524crores is going to set up 523Ekalavya Model ResidentialSchool (EMRS) across the Stateso that tribal get access to

quality education in remoteareas. Also within 100 daysdeadline, 450 Sarna and MasnaSthal will be demarcated withan aim to protect the religiousand cultural identity of tribals.The construction of 100Dhumkudia Bhavan, the placewhere tribals exhibit the reli-gious and cultural activities, toowill be completed.

The Minister flanked bydepartment secretary HimaniPande, special secretary BrajeshDas talked about the turn-around the department haswitnessed in last four and halfyears.

Marandi said, “In last fourand half years the departmentshas achieved success due to itsset goals. The welfare depart-ment in association with vari-

ous other departments is run-ning various schemes. In thisconnection the financial assis-tance for bicycle schemes forschool students has beenincreased from �3,000 to�3500.”

The Minister claimed thatdue to initiatives of welfaredepartment the number ofbeneficiaries for scholarshipin pre-matric and competitiveexaminations have been goneup to 2.54 lakh in 2018-19 from1.64 lakh in 2014-15.

With an aim to promotesports activities among tribals,the department has decided toset up stadiums across thestate. In this direction thehockey stadium at Khunti withan estimated cost of � 7 croreis coming up.

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The “not so cordial relation-ship” between two neigh-

boring States of Punjab andHaryana is turning out to be amajor obstacle in the renamingof International Airport,Chandigarh.

A joint venture of theAirport Authority of India,and the State Governments ofPunjab and Haryana, theInternational Airport has sincelong been embroiled in thename row.

Among various conflictslike river water sharing, jointcapital of Chandigarh, share inPunjab University, maintainingratio of 60:40 representationfrom the two states inChandigarh Administration,Punjab and Haryana have alsobeen locked in the dispute ofrenaming of the InternationalAirport for over a decade now.

While both the StateGovernments of Punjab andHaryana were unanimous inthe opinion that the terminal benamed after “Shaheed BhagatSingh”, there is a difference ofopinion between the two StateGovernments regarding thename of the city to be addedafter the terminal name as‘Mohali’ or ‘Chandigarh’.

The Union Governmenthas recently stated that noprogress could be made in thematter due to both the neigh-boring governments sticking totheir stand.

Chief Minister Capt.Amarinder Singh is headingthe Congress Government inPunjab while Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar is head-ing the BJP Government inHaryana.

The Union Governmenthas informed in the Parliamentthat the Punjab Governmenthad sent a proposal in the year2008 for naming the Civil AirTerminal Complex atChandigarh Airport as“Shaheed-E-Azam SardarBhagat Singh InternationalAirport, Mohali. The HaryanaGovernment had requested toname the terminal as “Shaheed

Bhagat Singh InternationalAirport, Chandigarh”.

“Since both the StateGovernments of Punjab andHaryana are equal partners inthe joint venture that developedthe new airport and‘Chandigarh’ being the com-mon capital of the two states,there were strong objections foradding the name of the city as‘Mohali’ as it may suggest thatthe airport belongs to Punjab.Further, it could also createconfusion in the minds of thetravelers.

The Civil AviationMinistry has made severalattempts to reach a unani-mous opinion in the matter.While the HaryanaGovernment has respondedby passing a resolution in theState Legislative Assembly(2016) to name the Airport as

“Shaheed Bhagat SinghInternational Airport,Chandigarh”, the PunjabGovernment has reiterated itsearlier stand and hence noprogress could be made in thematter,” the Union Governmentstated.

The Haryana Governmentheaded by Manohar Lal, whichcame to power in October2014, had earlier insisted theCivil Aviation Ministry torechristen the ChandigarhAirport after RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS)leader Mangal Sein who hadalso been deputy ChiefMinister of Haryana for abouttwo years from 1977.

However, the request waslater withdrawn by theHaryana Government follow-ing severe criticism from var-ious corners. The then ChiefMinister of Punjab, ParkashSingh Badal and oppositionparties in Haryana had strong-ly objected to the proposal.

“Haryana Government hasalready made it clear thatadding the name of the city as‘Mohali’ in the InternationalAirport is not acceptable andthe same has been communi-cated to the CentralGovernment,” a senior officer of HaryanaGovernment said.

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Nine labourersincurred burn

injuries whileworking in a facto-ry in Bhagwanpurindustrial area inHaridwar districtafter a boiler burston Monday morn-ing. The nineinjured workers were admittedto a local hospital where thecondition of two is said to beserious.

The team of police and dis-trict administration reachedthe spot and assessed the situ-ation. Leakage in a pipe whichled to bursting of boiler is saidto be the primary cause of firewhich broke out in factory.

A probe into the incidenthas been started, said thepolice.

The mishap occurred onMonday morning at around 9AM. Most of the workersbelong to Sitapur and

Lakhimpur Kheeri villages.Speaking to this correspondent,the police station in-chargesaid, “The incident happenedin the morning when the work-ers were working in Sunrisefactory which manufactures‘kattha’.

The labourers were admit-ted to the hospital. We arequestioning the company man-agement people. The probe ison.”

If the family members ofthe victims will file a complaintwith the police, action will betaken against the managementof the company, said the police.

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As discontentment brews inthe Services and amongst

veterans over a recent order towithdraw income tax exemp-tion on disability pension,Defence Minister Rajnath Singhinformed the Rajya Sabha onMonday he has asked his offi-cers to seek clarification fromthe Central Board of DirectTaxes (CBDT) over its directive.He also assured the Elders thatthe government will protect alllegitimate and justified disabil-ity pension recipients.

The Minister’s assertioncame during Question Hourwhen Rajeev Chandrasekharraised the issue terming theCBDT order “insensitive.” TheCBDT late last month issued anorder that all Services person-nel who serve their full militaryservice and then retire will not be eligible for taxexemption on disability. It ledto an uproar amongst theServices and veterans.

In his reply, Singh said thematter was brought to him andhe had asked the defence min-istry officials to seek clarifica-tions from the CBDT and thenonly he will be able to comeback to Parliament to givedetails. He, however, said thegovernment will not allow thelegitimate and justified dis-ability pension holders to suf-fer. “I want to make it clear tothe House that the justifiedbenefits to armed personnelwith disabilities would not bereduced,” the minister said.

On the issue of disinvest-ment in public sector BharatEarth Movers Limited (BEML),the minister defended the deci-sion the disinvest 26 per centand assured the Elders all pre-cautions are being taken so thatthere are no question marks onnational security.

He said it has been the pol-icy of all Governments as wellas recommendation of the Niti

Aayog on strategic sale of assetsin public sector undertakings.“If strategic disinvestment isbeing done, all precautions arebeing taken so that there is noquestion mark on our nation-al security. We are taking allprecautions and national secu-rity is foremost for our gov-ernment,” the Minister said.

Congress MP and formerDefence Minister AK Antonysaid PSUs were started after care-fully studying national securityand national interests. However,the government is privatisingdefence PSUs and “this is the lat-est one. Why is the governmentgoing below 51 per cent and thispolicy is against national secu-rity and national interests,” hesaid. Elaborating on the BEMLdisinvestment, Singh said thestrategic disinvestment processhas 16 steps and only five stepshave been accomplished so farin this case.”

On shortage of bullet proofjackets for armed forces, Singhsaid nearly 1.86 lakhs jacketswill come in by April 2020 aftera contract was signed with anIndian firm in 2018. The cost of the deal is �639crore, he added.

Replying to supplemen-tary queries, the minister saidthere was no embargo on theimport of raw material fromChina for making such bullet-

proof jackets, and any suppli-er violating the tender normswould face action and could bedisqualified.

In 2009, there was a short-age of 3,53,755 bullet proofjackets in the country, but pro-curement was not done for along time, Singh said adding atender for 1,86,138 bullet proofjackets was issued in April2016 and the tender in thisregard was allotted on April 9,2018 to an Indian buyer.

The Minister said so far theDirectorate General QualityAssurance (DGQA) qualitychecks have been completedand 10,000 bullet proof jacketshave already been procuredand a total of 37,000 suchjackets have to be procured bythis year, by October this year.

In reply to another ques-tion on the total fatalities ofarmed personnel at higher alti-tudes including Siachen glaci-er, Singh said there have beeneight such deaths in 2018, fivein 2017 and 20 in 2016.

The government under-takes several steps to preventcasualties like pre-inductionmedical examination, strin-gent acclimatization schedule,provision of specialised train-ing, special living shelters, pro-vision of specialised clothingand high quality rations, theMinister said.

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The Comptroller andAuditor General (CAG)

has found fault with theIncome Tax Department (ITD)for a loss of nearly �2,500crore to the State exchequer onaccount of committing errorsin scrutinizing tax assessmentsof the Entertainment sectorincluding films, TV, event man-agement, sports among others.And this loss, the CAG said,was detected by an audit of justhalf of the total 13,031 assess-ments made by the Income TaxDepartment involving�47,979.44 crore.

In a stringent remark, theauditor said the ITD needs topin down the reasons for suchsubstantial errors and holdthose responsible accountablefor the “act of commission”. Italso asked the ITD to audit the remaining 6,515 casesinternally.

According to CAG, whosereport was tabled in theParliament on Monday, theassessee (M2K EntertainmentPvt Ltd engaged in the businessof running two multiplex cin-emas in Delhi had offeredincome of �39.72 crore (exclu-sive of entertainment tax) in itsprofit and loss Account for theyear 2011-12 to 2014-15 fromthe sale of tickets. However,audit noticed from the infor-mation provided by theEntertainment Tax Departmentof Delhi, that the assessee haddeposited entertainment taxof �19.36 crore against the two cinema halls during theabove period.

“As such, taking into con-

sideration the applicable 20per cent entertainment tax onsale of tickets, the correspond-ing income generated by thecinema halls worked out to�96.80 crore. Thus, there wasunder reporting of income of�57.08 crore (�96.80 crore —�39.72 crore) involving taxeffect of �24.06 crore, includ-ing interest,” the CAG said.

In the case of BCCI, theCAG said audit noticed thatassessee had credited �108.02crore towards ‘Income fromMedia Rights’ which was net ofTV and other production costof �59.32 crore. However, whilecomputing the income, theassessee had again claimed theproduction cost of �59.32 croreas expenses and the same wasallowed by AO. The mistakehad resulted in under assess-ment of Income of �59.32 croreinvolving short levy of tax of�20.16 crore.

As per report, audit noticedfrom the ledger account of theassessee (K Venugopal, pro-prietor of M/s KV Films) of2012-13 that assessee hadreceived a consideration of�2.92 crore in cash againstsale of various movie rights,however, details of purchaserswere not available in therecords. Audit further noticedthat the AO had not obtainedthe details of the film rightspurchasers, from whom thecash payments were received bythe assessee, to pass on theinformation to jurisdictionalAOs of purchaser,” the CAG said.

In another audit, CAGfound that audit noticed fromassessment records of the

assessee ( Thirupathi BrothersFilm Media of Chennai) thatduring survey, the assessee hadadmitted to have received�2.45 crore in cash from M/sStudio Green during the year

2012-13. Audit cross verifiedthe assessment records of M/sStudio Green for AY 2013-14and found that AO (assessingM/s Studio Green) had notadded back the amount of

expenses for which paymentwas made in cash by the M/SStudio Green to ThirupathBrothers Film Media, violatingthe section 40A(3) of the Act,”it said.

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The debate on the UnionBudget started in Lok Sabha

on Monday with ruling partyMPs expressing optimism andtheir Opposition counterpartsdubbing it a failure to addresskey economic issues facing theeconomy, farm distress andrise in fuel price.

Initiating the debate,Congress MP Shashi Tharoorsaid the Budget has “unneces-sarily defensive strokes,dropped catches and quite afew no balls” highlighting theproblems of farmers and com-mon man in fuel hikes.Countering the charges of theCongress, BJP MP Jayant Sinhasaid that the economy wasback on track due to the effortsof the Modi Government.

“Since cricket is on ourminds these days with WorldCup semi-final tomorrow, letme say that instead of boldboundaries we expected in thisfirst budget after the elections,what we have are unnecessar-ily defensive strokes, dropcatches and quite a few no ballsand wide,” Tharoor said.

He said the budget wascharacterised by mediocre setof announcements, distinctivemisses and deafening silence onmatters of substance. “We wereleft with a sort of ‘trishanku’budget, neither here nor there,”he said. There was hardly anymention of country’s GDPgrowth rate, he said, addingthat the word ‘GDP’ came uponly once.

“Hastily and ill thoughtthrough demonetisation bearsthe large share of responsibil-ity for shutting down lakhs ofsmall and micro enterprises,throwing many more lakhs ofpeople out of work,” he alleged.Tharoor also raised the issue ofagrarian distress and farmersuicides. “Our nation’s farmerswho provide food security havein the last five years receivedstepmotherly treatment formthis government which hasresulted in record level offarmer suicides,” he alleged.

BJP leader Jayant Sinhaexpressed confidence that theCentre will not only meet its

target of USD 5-trillion econ-omy but reach the USD 10 tril-lion mark. Rejecting theCongress’ charge that theBudget was a missed opportu-nity, he said what the partycould not achieve in 60 yearswas done by the BJP in 60months.

“When our Governmentcame to power in 2014, theeconomy was in a critical stage...It was a passenger train. Wecame and brought the train ontrack... And made that passen-ger train into Rajdhani train.And due to this visionary andeffective budget we will makethis Rajdhani train into a bul-let train. And we will make theopposition member and publicsit on that bullet train andcomplete the target of (USD) 5trillion economy,” he said.

Terming the budget as his-torical and visionary, he saidthat it promotes consumptionand investment. “And I can saywith confidence that we willachieve the target of 5 trillion.Because of the foundation laidby this budget we will notonly achieve the target of(USD) 5 trillion but we are alsogoing to achieve the economyof (USD) 10 trillion,” he said.

The GDP in 2014 was �111lakh crore, he said adding thatin five years it became �188lakh crore which has been anincrement of 70 per cent.

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After getting green signalfrom the Lok Sabha last

week, a Bill to do away withmandatory representation forpractising dentists not holdingqualification in the DentistCouncils at different levels was passed by the Rajya Sabhaon Monday.

Union Minister for HealthHarsh Vardhan introduced theDentists (Amendment) Bill,2019 that seeks to furtheramend the Dentists Act, 1948in Rajya Sabha.

“This is a very simple leg-islation. It will certainly giveproper proportion in DentalCouncil of India to qualifieddental surgeons and they will

be able to exercise their dutiesin a far better manner and itwill be reflected in better qual-ity of dental education throughthe control of the DentalCouncil of India in the coun-try,” the Minister said.

Later, replying to discus-sion on the motion for con-sideration and passage of theBill, Harsh Vardhan said theHealth Ministry was already inthe advanced stage of draftinga National Oral Health Policy exclusively dedicatedto oral health which includesdentistry.

Santanu Sen of the AllIndia Trinamool Congress,Ram Nath Thakur of JDU,Prasanna Acharya of BJD, KSomaprasad of CPI M, VVijayasai Reddy of YSRCP, KKeshava Rao of TRS, AshokSiddharth of BSP andVishambhar Prasad Nishad ofthe Samajwadi Party, among

others, supported the Bill inRajya Sabha.

The Dentists Act 1948 pro-vided for representation ofdentists registered under PartB, which include persons notholding such qualifications butare engaged in practice of den-tistry as principal means oflivelihood for a period not lessthan five years prior to the dateappointed under section 32 ofthe Act, in the Councils.

However, no person wasregistered under Part B after1972, said the Statement ofObjects and Reasons of the Bill.It said that there are approxi-mately 950 dentists registeredin Part B and 2.7 lakh dentistsin Part A, (consisting of den-tists possessing recognised den-tal qualifications.

The Bill, which was passedby a voice vote, got supportfrom all sections of the Housecutting across party lines.

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The Army has issued anadvisory to its personnel to

judiciously use social media toavoid the danger of gettinghoney trapped or inadvertent-ly leaking out informationabout their posting or move-ment which is exploited by theenemy. The two-page directiveissued to nearly 13 lakh troopsrecently also asks the personnelto avoid joining large groups onsocial media as the identity ofmany users is not known.

Explaining the rationale forissuing such a directive, seniorofficials said here on Mondaythe main objective is to maintainsecurity of data and personnel.Though there is no restrictionon personnel to use social mediabut given the nature of job, thepersonnel should avoid joininglarge groups on sites likeWhatsApp where the identity ofmany members is not known.The officers and men shouldonly those groups were theyknow the other members,sources said.

Officials said inimical ele-ments are always on the look-out for such follies committedinadvertently by personnelthereby posing a security threatand a major challenge. Anyinformation about movementof troops, convoys or postingsare exploited by the enemy.They introduce malware ormask their identity to access thedata from the user therebyposing a grave danger.

Asserting that it is not thefirst time such a directive wasissued, sources said personnelcannot reveal their professionor upload photographs in uni-form on sites like Facebook. Infact, the Services have regular-ly issued such directives since2014 and there is a detailed pol-icy on social media with theArmy.

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The Centre is in touch withthe States to jointly tackle

any drought-like situation. AndUnion Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar onMonday said delay in sowing ofKharif (summer-sown) cropswas a cause of concern.

“There is still time forfarmers to complete sowingoperations,” Tomar said on thesidelines of State AgricultureMinisters’ conference in Delhi.“We are in touch if there is anydrought like situation, we (cen-tre and States) will work togeth-er,” Tomar added. TheAgriculture Minister has askedstates to make efforts toincrease crop remuneration byhelping farmers in reducinginput cost, increasing produc-tion and promoting exports.

Area under Kharif crops hasdeclined by 27 per cent at 234.33lakh hectare till last week of theongoing Kharif season of 2019-20 crop year (July-June), asagainst last 319.68 lakh hectaresin the same period last year.

Asked about expectedKharif crop production, hesaid it is too early to comment.The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) has pro-jected good rains in July andAugust which could boost sow-ing operations.

Sowing of kharif cropsbegin with the onset of south-west monsoon, which this yeararrived late delaying the sowingoperation and rainfall remaineddeficient by 33 per cent, accord-ing to the IMD data. Rice, themain kharif crop, was sown in52.47 lakh hectare till last week,down from 68.60 lakh hectarein the year-ago period.

Less area was reported fromChhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh,Haryana, Odisha, MadhyaPradesh, Karnataka, Arunachal

Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, WestBengal and Himachal Pradesh,among others.

Pulses, especially tur, uradand moong, were sown in veryless area at 7.94 lakh hectare asagainst 27.91 lakh hectare,while coarse cereals were plant-ed in 37.37 lakh hectare asagainst 50.65 lakh hectare lastyear, the data showed.

Less area under pulses wasreported from Karnataka,Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan, Telangana, UttarPradesh, Andhra Pradesh andTamil Nadu, among others.

New Delhi: Veteran Congressleader Karan Singh on Mondaysaid he is “aghast” at the dis-orientation into which the partyhas fallen since Rahul Gandhi’sresignation, and urged theworking committee to meetwithout delay under the chair-manship of former PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh totake necessary decisions.

His strong remarks comeamid the Congress plunginginto a deep crisis after Gandhimade his decision to resign asparty president public last week.He had submitted his resigna-tion to the CWC on May 25which followed a spate of res-ignations by senior and middle-rank Congress leaders.

“I am aghast to see the con-fusion and disorientation into

which the party has fallensince Rahul Gandhi resignedon May 25. Instead of honour-ing his bold decision a monthwas wasted pleading him totake back his resignation,”Singh said in a statement cir-culated among reporters.

“I strongly urge the work-ing committee to meet withoutdelay, perhaps under thechairmanship of former PMManmohan Singh and takenecessary decisions,” the for-mer Union Minister said.

He also said the longer thepresent uncertainty remains,the more the Congress workersand voters around the countrywill be demoralised.

“The negative cycle mustbe reversed before its is toolate,” he said. PTI

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Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath

has asked officials to ensure noliquor shops and unauthorisedslaughterhouses function onthe route of the upcomingKanwar yatras to various Shivatemples in the State.

The month-long yatra willstart from July 17 with thebeginning of the Hindu monthof ‘Saawan’.

Officials have been direct-ed to get the roads on the yatraroute cleaned and to sprinkleflower petals on devotees fromhelicopters that will also mon-itor the progress of the yatras.

Adityanath has also saidthat DJs will not be banned butthey should only play bhajansand no film song will beallowed.

The use of DJs has been apoint of discord betweenMuslims and Hindus and theprevious Akhilesh Yadav gov-ernment had banned themduring the yatra.

Adityanath asked officialsto conduct inter-departmental

meetings in every zone, districtand division to coordinate witheach other to avoid any incon-venience.

Emphasising on the impor-tance of cleanliness, ge instruct-ed the officials to ban theusage of thermocol and plasticbags during the yatra.

Special security measuresshould be taken and the dignityof the devotees should beensured, he said, adding that allarrangements should be madeon the lines of Kumbh.

Adityanath also asked theofficials to identify Shiva tem-ples in their areas and ensurecleanliness, proper drinkingwater, electricity and security atthe shrines.

Since this year Bakrid orEid-ul-Zuha and the lastMonday of Kanwar yatra willfall on the same day - August12, the Chief Minister instruct-ed the officials to make prop-er security measures and checkthat no illegal slaughter takesplace. He stated that CCTVcameras should be installed incrowded areas during this peri-od to check mischief.

Lucknow: In a visible soften-ing of stand, Shivpal Yadav,who heads the PragatisheelSamajwadi Party (PSP), hassaid that he is ready to forge analliance with Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party for theUttar Pradesh assembly elec-tions, which is slated to be heldin 2022.

Shivpal, who is a youngerbrother of SP patriarchMulayam Singh and uncle offormer Chief Minister andSamajwadi Party PresidentAkhilesh Yadav, indicated thathis party could form an alliancewith SP for Assembly polls, butalso underlined that he wouldnot rejoin the Samajwadi Party.

Talking to reporters, hesaid: “When elections around,there will be talks of an alliancebut we will not go back toSamajwadi Party. We will talkto those who want to ally withus. The PSP will also be there.We can ally with SamajwadiParty as well.”

Shivpal Yadav’s statementcomes after Samajwadi patri-arch Mulayam Singh had madeefforts to bring the estrangeduncle and nephew togetherafter the SP suffered a rout inthe Lok Sabha elections inApril-May.

Three members of theYadav clan-Dimple Yadav,Dharmendra Yadav andAkshay Yadav-lost the electionsand the party’s tally in LokSabha was reduced to five.

Thereafter, the BahujanSamaj Party also snapped itsalliance with SP andannounced that it would con-test all elections on its own. TheBSP even blamed the SP for itsanti-Dalit policies.

Akhilesh Yadav, on hispart, has shown no inclinationto build bridges with his uncle.

IANS

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AComptroller and AuditorGeneral of India (CAG)

report tabled in Parliament onMonday pointed out that therewas still a long way to go beforethe target of public healthexpenditure was achieved andthe Central allocation forhealth for 2019-20 was farshort of target.

The report also noted thatin States, health spending as apercentage of total Statesexpenditure, ranged from 3.29to 5.32 per cent which showsthat this need considerableaugmentation.

The CAG audited pre-paredness activities of selected17 Central Ministries includ-ing, NITI Aayog, Ministry ofStatistics and ProgrammeImplementation (MoSPI),Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare (MoHFW) and sevenStates — Assam, Chhattisgarh,Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra,Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal— being undertaken under theSustainable DevelopmentGoals (SDGs) and specificallyfocused on ‘Good Health and

Well Being,’ targets.It found that a lot was

needed to be done to achievethe goals.

“The UN GeneralAssembly in September 2015,adopted resolution titled´Transforming our World: the2030 Agenda for SustainableDevelopment’ consisting of 17Sustainable DevelopmentGoals (SDGs) and 169 associ-ated targets. “Efforts to raisepublic awareness about SDGsand initiatives undertaken inthe selected States were notcomprehensive, focussed orsustained,” said the report.

It further said a roadmapis yet to be aligned withdefined milestones for SDGtargets to be achieved in theyear 2020, 2025 and 2030 andthat the vision document is stillunder preparation. “States areyet to prepare policy docu-ments. Mapping of goals andtargets undertaken by NITIAayog and selected States isstill ongoing. States may needto strengthen institutionalarrangements by identifyingsupport departments anddefining roles and responsi-

bilities,” it said.The CAG report pointed

out that the strategy documentdid not project the financingand budgeting requirements.“While it is recognised thatprojecting financial resourcesfor achieving the Targets by2030 is a challenging task,Ministry of Finance and State Governments are yet tointegrate SDG related financialresources in national budgeting for implementingSDGs,” it said.

Mapping in respect ofhealth goals was not compre-hensive in selected States.Though States had indicatedactions to formulate plans andpolicies in line with the goal,delays and absence of a holis-tic approach were noted. AlsoData for certain health indi-cators were not regularly oruniformly available.

The CAG report has sug-gested framing of a compre-hensive charter and actionplan with well-defined mile-stones for implementing SDGsafter due consultations andfinalisation of the vision doc-ument should be expedited.

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New Delhi: The Centre onMonday asked the States forfaster implementation of the�87,000 crore Pradhan MantriKisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme to boost farm-ers’ income and urged them tosend the list of beneficiaries atthe earliest.

Till July 5, as many as 3.56crore farmers have got the firstinstalment, totalling �7,120 croreand 3.10 crore farmers havereceived the second instalmenttotalling �6,215 crore. TheCentre has recently launched thePM-KISAN scheme underwhich it will provide �6,000annually to 14.5 crore farmers inthree equal instalments.

West Bengal has not joinedthis scheme so far, the officialsaid, adding that only 43 percent beneficiaries have come sofar. Bihar has only given data of8.38 lakh farmers out of esti-mated 1.63 crore eligible ben-eficiaries. PNS

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In Rottenseed! Cottonseed, Alzheimer’sand Your Brain, nutritionist BruceSemon traces the rise of Alzheimer’sto a toxin in cottonseed that goes tothe brain and randomly ties up

important structures there. Cottonseed, abyproduct of cotton farming, contains poi-son but is routinely fed to farm animals,poultry and fish, from where it enters theirflesh and reaches human beings when theyeat this meat. Dr Semon, the first writer totrace the link between toxic cottonseedsand human health, describes his experi-ments on feeding cottonseed to animals.

In India, some farmers are illicitlyextracting cottonseed oil and selling cheap-ly to vegetable oil dealers, who mix it withedible oils and sell to unwary consumers.In the past decade, cotton farming has risensharply under the influence of GM cotton,peddled by multinational firms, increasingchances of the even more lethal GM cot-tonseed oil entering the human and ani-mal food chain. In 2018, the Centre forScience and Environment (CSE) detectedBT cottonseed contamination in ediblesoils. The Food Safety and StandardsAuthority of India (FSSAI) has so far donelittle to contain this adulteration. TheGovernment must ban cottonseed forhuman or animal feed and warn against itsconsumption.

Cottonseed is also implicated in infer-tility. Male and female infertility has oftenbeen attributed to hormonal problems butSemon argues that cottonseed is loadedwith toxic chemicals. It killed many animalsto which it was fed, which led to studieson just how much cottonseed could be fedto animals without killing them.

A major cottonseed toxin is “gossypol.”Researchers have known this since 1950 butno one made it public. China is supposedto have examined gossypol as a possibleform of birth control for men (it interruptssperm formation). In women, gossypolcauses failure to ovulate. Other harmfuleffects cannot be ruled out.

Indeed, India faces grave dangers asunprecedented levels of GM genes havebeen found in Indian foods. CSE detect-ed unprecedented levels of geneticallymodified genes in Indian foods, bothimported and indigenous. CSE’s PollutionMonitoring Laboratory found 32 per centof 65 food products purchased randomlyfrom retail outlets in Delhi-NCR, Punjaband Gujarat, to be GM-positive. Amongimported samples, 80 per cent were GM-positive.

Scientist Amit Khurana said the CSEstudy revealed that in their biosafety sub-mission to the Genetic EngineeringAppraisal Committee, Monsanto/Bayerlied that “BT cottonseed oil is equivalentto natural cottonseed oil” and contains noGM traces. Moreover, the edible oil com-panies, that used transgenic BT cottonseedwithout regulatory approval, also endan-

gered public health. The IndianCouncil of AgriculturalResearch has often relied onMonsanto’s printed biosafetysubmissions.

Dr KR Kranthi, formerchief, Central Institute forCotton Research, warned ofedible oil contamination: “Thepossible routes of BT cottonprotein entering the food chainare through human consump-tion of un-refined cottonseedoil, in which traces of BT pro-tein may be present with par-ticulate seed residues orthrough consumption of meator milk of the animals whichare fed on BT cotton seed-cake.”

Biosafety expert DrVandana Shiva said, “IllegalGMO Roundup Ready BT cot-ton has spread in farmers’fields with no action from theGenetic Engineering AppraisalCommittee (GEAC). IllegalGMO foods are flooding India’smarkets with no action fromFSSAI. The Government issupposed to protect its citizensfrom harm and illegal actions.How long will it protect theGMO industry and allowIndians farmers and citizens tobe harmed?”

Dr Gilles-Eric Seralini,who was hounded by multina-tional companies and their

media acolytes until the Frenchcourts penalised his attackersfor defamation, explained theeffects of ingesting GM over afive-ten year period, “We havealready demonstrated on mam-mals that BT toxins attackmucosal and epithelial cells,inducing heavy long termchronic diseases.” GMOs andpesticides, he says, are a biolog-ical arsenal causing diseasesfrom cancers to farmers’ sui-cides.

The Indian Governmentdid not conduct any indepen-dent scientific study beforeadopting Monsanto/Bayer’sGMOs, as pointed out by theParliamentary StandingCommittee on science andtechnology (Report 301 onGM crops and their effects).FSSAI’s GM labelling rule hasbeen lambasted as too lenientand corporate-driven. A scien-tific study in the Journal ofI n t e r n a t i o n a lImmunopharmacology (August2018) found that the BT pro-tein, present in BT crops, caus-es immune reactions and trig-gers food allergy and intestinalinflammation in mice.

Meanwhile, several scien-tific studies, including onepublished by the Public Libraryof Science (July 2013), havefound compelling evidence

that the DNA of geneticallymodified foods can enter thehuman bloodstream and causemany health problems. Bloodsamples of over 1,000 partici-pants were collected and “theresults indicated that meal-derived DNA fragments (whichwere large enough to carrycomplete genes) can avoiddegradation and ultimatelyenter the human body’s circu-lation system.” Researchers saidthese are actually stretches ofDNA large enough to passcomplete genes of GMO plants(like soy, corn or canola oil) tohumans.

In some blood samples, therelative concentration of plantDNA was higher than humanDNA. The researchers saidthat participants with inflam-matory bowel disease and auto-immune disease had the high-est concentration of transgenicgene. Previous studies showthat GMOs can change thebeneficial bacteria in the smallintestine and trigger auto-immune diseases and inflam-mation, making it difficult toabsorb the real nutrients infood. These findings vindicatethe claims of independent sci-entists and researchers whohave long warned the regulato-ry bodies and biotech industrythat GMO genes can be trans-

ferred from dairy and animalproducts to people.

After prolonged resistance,the European Food SafetyAuthority was forced to admitthat DNA from food (GMO ornon-GMO) could end up inanimal tissues and milk andother dairy products consumedby people. The GMO compa-nies are strenuously resistingthe findings and investing mil-lions of dollars to hide theirtoxic GMOs and defeat theGMO labelling movement,even as people eating these hid-den toxins are getting sickerand sicker.

Many scientists andactivists now feel that the timefor labelling GMOs is over;Governments must simply banthem. This is also the time forthe Government of India toorder a scientific study of thediseases (cancer, diabetes, auto-immune, organ failure) that fol-lowed introduction of theGreen Revolution. The artificialself-sufficiency wrought by thechemical fertiliser and pesti-cide-based agriculture has long devastated the health ofanimals, humans and the verysoil.

(The writer is Senior Fellow,Nehru Memorial Museum andLibrary; the views expressedare personal)For years, poor Indians in urban slums have

had daily fights over water. Piped water,which most English-speaking Indians take

for granted, is a luxury for the subaltern. Andnow with increased urbanisation stressing outthe life-giving resource, groundwater extrac-tion and decrease in river volumes, fromChennai in the south to Shimla in the north, itis pretty clear that there is not only a lack ofwater but clean water, too. So a latest govern-ment report that India is not a water-deficitcountry but that the scarcity is on account of

severe neglect and a lack of monitoring of water resources and developmentprojects presents some hope of harnessing water sustainably. It has further rec-ommended “imposing regulatory measures to prevent the misuse of water andintroducing rewards and punishment to encourage judicious use.” The last issomething that South Africa did successfully to counter Day Zero.

Comparing old satellite photographs, scientists have seen how dramatical-ly the glaciers that feed the mighty rivers of northern India have been disappear-ing. So what it essentially recommends is using latest technology to map waterdemand and use patterns and prevent wastage accordingly, including that of riverrunoffs. In fact, the existing volumes, according to the Central Water WorksCommission, should be smartly managed for agriculture, industrial productionand human consumption. For starters, agriculture needs to revolutionise process-es. Crops are to be zoned according to water needed. So the wheat fields ofPunjab and Haryana should not be growing water-sucking Basmati rice. One rea-son for the Cauvery crisis between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is the fact thatsugarcane cultivation has been encouraged for years in its catchment area. Ithas been the same ritual in water-scarce areas of Maharashtra for decades. Thisrequires urgent Central intervention and farmers, who have for years been molly-coddled and given free water and electricity, must now be asked to pay up, whichwill automatically help them plan their crops better. India ends up using a dis-proportionately high amount of water per crop – three to five times more irriga-tion water for crops than what is used in China, US and Israel. Rather than waterstorage in dams, we need to look into conservation, keep catchment areas open,harvest rainwater, recharge and recover traditional and other water bodies or tanks,re-use wastewater and go for intensive afforestation. The government has pro-posed more water gauging and measuring stations to better analyse water usepatterns, but this is like building a stable after the horse has bolted. With thisyear’s monsoon not bringing the expected succour that the nation expected, wecould be going thirsty sooner than expected. The Modi Government has the polit-ical capital to take some unpopular decisions around water usage because if itdoes not, we are looking at a very dry future indeed.

This was the weakest link in the Oppositionmahagathbandhan, the Congress-JanataDal (Secular) alliance in Karnataka,

which was formed on the basis of a mutualneed to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)out of power in the state Assembly and set thetenor for a strategic counter at the national level.A marriage of contradictions, it has predictablybeen under stress and strain since, consider-ing the BJP, which wasn’t too far behind in num-bers, was snapping at its neck. So post theoverwhelming Lok Sabha verdict in favour of

the BJP, it was only a matter of time before this deal was expected to collapse.Organically, it was never meant to stick given the on-ground polarity of the twoparties and the deep personality clash between Congress leader Siddaramaiahand the JD(S) father-son duo of HD Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy. And thoughGowda senior has acted as an adhesive for a time, he, too, has come out againstSiddaramaiah now, blaming him for the latest spate of resignations. And to stayin power, the Gowdas are smart at negotiating their minority positions with major-ity partners, no matter what the ideology and prosper vine-like on a merged enti-ty. While one can accuse the reinvigorated BJP of attempting a coup again inKarnataka to expose the faultlines as part of Operation Lotus, can the Congressreally afford to be swept up by the poachers’ trap and risk its image as an auc-tionable rather than an actionable party? It is sad enough that former CongressChief Minister Siddaramaiah, after letting go of plum Lok Sabha seats for the JD(S),has had a hard time holding fort, confining party MLAs to plush resorts, givinginto their absurd personal demands, buying them up and settling their ego issuesto ensure they don’t quit the flock. A browbeaten Congress clearly is caught betweenthe devil and the deep sea. On the one hand, the collapse would mean a StateGovernment slips out of control and it runs the risk of being labelled an oppor-tunistic ally. On the other, continuity means a further erosion of the party’s cred-ibility and base, one which has cost it seats in the general election with the partyrank and file undercutting JD(S) candidates and, therefore, helping the BJP inthe process. The horse-trading with rebels is a new low. And at the moment,keeping Siddaramaiah happy and in the fold is more important for the crisis-hitparty, which anyway doesn’t have a national leadership. With Rahul Gandhi step-ping down, his word to the Gowdas, too, would be deemed to have lapsed, leav-ing the party with little choice but to strengthen its State leader and units. If decen-tralisation, deconstruction and organisational build-up are the key to Congress’revival, then it has to now listen to Siddaramaiah. He was upset when his loyal-ists were kept out of the Cabinet and when he had to surrender party strong-holds to the JD(S). Now the clamour by most Congress MLAs that they wantSiddaramaiah re-elected on his own steam has worsened matters for the con-tinuity of the alliance. Then there is a larger hit that the Congress has to take theblame for, the lack of governance with Kumaraswamy calling the shots.

For the BJP, it is an opportunity to undo the hurt of sitting in the Oppositiondespite being the single largest party at 104 in the 224-member House. Nowthat the resignations by disgruntled Congress MLAs are helping close the gap,it has but naturally revived its strategy to engineer defections by promising berthsand other benefits, which is reportedly how it formed the Karnataka governmentin 2008. Of course, it may be argued that the BJP doesn’t need to do this becausethe ruling alliance will crumble under its own weight and post a big verdict, thereis a pressure of expectation on the saffron party which should not be compro-mised by petty politicking. But for the BJP, Karnataka is the only southern gate-way because the four other southern States haven’t quite warmed up to it. Andit may be friendly to Jaganmohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh and KC Rao inTelangana, but it doesn’t have the popular pulse there. For both the BJP and theCongress, Karnataka is a prize game.

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Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Neither good nor bad”(July 6). Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman got thesymbolism entirely wrong.Going back to ‘bahi-khaata’ inan electronic age, when even‘aadhtiyas’ have discarded thecumbersome ‘bahis,’ did seemincongruous. A briefcase isalways handy to carry papersand small files, especially for theBudget speech.

Sitharaman ought to havestuck to it — everything our colo-nial rulers did need not be dis-carded. Just when the focus is ondigitising all facets of governmen-tal activity, Finance Minister car-rying a ‘bahi-khata’ on the mostimportant day in her annual cal-endar does seem rather odd.

As for the Budget, as always,it is a mix of good, not-so-goodand completely negative. Giventhat this was the first budget ofa Government which had justwon another five years in power,Sitharaman could have beenbolder in pushing the reformagenda, lowering corporate taxesacross the board, doing awaywith irksome exemptions which

deface the entire taxation systemand provide fillip to mid-levelbusinesses and industries togrow more. At this rate, we willcontinue to play catch-up withChina indefinitely.

J AkshobhyaMysuru

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Sir — After scoring five fantas-tic centuries, including threeconsecutive ones, in the ongoingCricket World Cup and accumu-lating 647 runs, ‘hitman’ Rohit

Sharma has deservedly grabbedall the headlines. Captain ViratKohli, whose team has finishedat the top of the points table andcruised its way to the knockoutstage, has aptly said that Rohitis the best ODI batsman in theworld today. The opener’s bat-

ting is a blend of classic strokes,scintillating shots and lightningsixes, making him a modern-daygreat. Further, Rohit’s post-match press conferences give aglimpse of his commitment anddedication to the team. Cricketfans across the country wouldwant his consistency to fetchIndia World Cup glory.

M Pradyu Kannur

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Sir — The Congress-JD(S)Government is tottering after afew of its MLAs sent their resig-nation letters. From the veryoutset, the Congress and theJD(S) had formed an oppor-tunistic alliance, with the onlyaim to not let the BJP form aGovernment over there.Members of both parties werefighting for survival. The alliancehad no agenda for the State’sdevelopment. It was an unholyalliance and the Lok Sabha elec-tion was the last straw.

DB SinghVia email

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Modi would be damned if taxes on themiddle class were to be raised. It wouldequally be damned for taxing the emerg-

ing category of the Highest High Net WorthIndividuals (HHNIs), comprising a minusculeuniverse of 8,000 people. The fact is that eventhe rich have not been touched by FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman in Budget 2019-20. Only the super rich have been asked to shellout more. This was the most inoffensive way ofconforming to Chanakya’s prescription that“taxes should be collected the way a bee collectshoney, without damaging the flower.” So, how dowe term “Sithanomics” for inconveniencingonly the poor-rich people, who comprise 0.01 percent of the population, to raise the much-need-ed resources for the 99 per cent, who have beenallocated welfare spends of �1.30 lakh crore forincreasing rural jobs and livelihood? Elitist/pro-capitalist or socialist? She is neither, veeringtowards being a pragmatist.

The actual disappointment of the Budget layin not having reduced corporate taxation acrossthe board to 25 per cent, which excluded 0.7 percent of the firms above the �400 crore turnovermark. That should make socialists happy as the6,000 largest firms will continue to be taxed at30 per cent, as compared to 17-21 per cent in thedeveloped countries. However, in the interest ofgood economics, this was a big opportunitymissed in kickstarting a virtuous cycle of invest-ments and India cannot afford to be left behindif it wants to remain the fastest growing econo-my. Because, in comparison to its Asian peers,our country has the highest corporate tax rates,cost of land, cost of capital and electricity as alsohighest pendency of 3.5 crore cases under liti-gation — all of these lower the country’s globalcompetitiveness.

To take advantage of the US-China trade warand to make India the preferred manufacturingdestination, as also to give a boost to the exportssector, which has stagnated since 2013, it madesense that potential revenue losses, which wouldaccrue by extending the 25 per cent corporatetax uniformly, would have been more than com-pensated by reviving the animal spirits of bigindustries. Because the largest corporates wouldhave been tempted to loosen their purse stringsfor capital expenditure and job creation. Thereobviously was little headroom to reduce tax ratesfor large corporates as every one per centreduction in rates means �15,000 crore loss tothe exchequer.

Modi 2.0 is obsessed with a single-mindedmantra that the Prime Minister chants fromJapan to Varanasi: To nudge India towards a $5trillion economy by 2024. At present, the goal ofdoubling the $2.8 trillion economy in the nextfive years may sound an anachronism, given thecurrent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growthtrend of six to seven per cent annually. Achievingsustained growth rates upwards of eight per centis now an imperative, year on year, so as to raiseper capita income and transit towards the UN’sSustainable Development Goals and to becomea middle-income economy. And if we don’t setthe bar higher, we will never actualise that goal.

The Budget provides a fairly coherent roadmap for #India @$5 trillion by giving a boost tosectors that propel growth and job creation, like

infrastructure and affordable housing;lowering cash transactions and goingdigital; going for e-assessments; creat-ing a favourable ecosystem for start-upsby easing angel tax and simplifying reg-ulatory hurdles for Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) in aviation, mediaand insurance as also easing norms forsingle-brand retail that will enhance theemployment potential.

Working backwards from thePrime Minister’s stated goal needssome “blue-sky thinking” on part ofpolicy makers, tinged with pragmatism.Blue-sky thinking is about dreaming theimpossible, yet finding a way to getthere. We know all too well that thereare compelling reasons for theGovernment to factor in expenses torevive falling consumption and addressrural distress, while sources of revenueare restricted.

So where can the additionalresources have come from? It was butnatural to pluck from the low-hangingfruit of taxing the super-rich withoutmaking the middle class bear the bur-den in order to balance the outgoing forwelfare schemes, which is at 7.5 per centof the GDP and increasing the outlaysfor health, housing and education.

Contrary to the elitist mindsetthat thinks taxing the creamiest layeris a regressive “Robin Hood” tax,extortionist, or socialist, taxing freshincome was a sounder concept than re-imposing wealth tax or estate duty thatwas done away with years back. WT orInheritance tax is tantamount to triple

taxation because when people acquireany asset from disposable income,they do so after having paid income taxat applicable levels as also other levieslike GST and stamp-duty among otherat the time of acquisition.

For those with incomes between �2crore and �5 crore, will shell outbetween 39 per cent and 42.74 per cent— the highest tax rate imposed since1992. This is absolutely in sync withchanging realities of higher incomesearned like never before. Progressivetaxation makes for sound economics.Besides, the extra revenue in absoluteterms is expected to yield �12,000 crore.When earnings are �3 crore a year, or�25 lakh a month, there is little causeto feel bad for “the poor, rich lad.” Thoseaffected make for a small percentage ofthe 1.3 billion Indians. As per data onreturns filed in 2016-17, of the 46.6 mil-lion taxpayers, only 16 per cent report-ed gross income between �1 and �5crore.

Let us also understand the behav-ioural dynamics of the super-rich:When billionaires inherit or generatewindfall profits, those one per cent ofthe privileged have a distinct edge overthe 99 per cent through the compound-ing power of money, opportunity tonetwork and influence policy makingand are empowered with highest liter-acy. The system is then conducive to a“winner takes all” to amass fortune. Sowhen fresh income is made, taxesmust be progressively imposed onthose accruals. Thus far, it has been a

predatory system of wealth concentra-tion in the hands of the few andinequality can only get bridged throughpolicy interventions, not by whimsicalgenerosity or CSR of the few.

According to a 2018 Oxfam Reportreleased at the World Economic Forum(WEF) in January 2019, “Indian billion-aires saw their fortunes swell by �2,200crore a day last year, with the top 1 percent of the country’s richest getting rich-er by 39 per cent, as against just threeper cent increase in wealth for the bot-tom-half of the population.”

Following international best prac-tices, for example of the US, the rich-est one-tenth of the most affluent oneper cent of Americans voluntarilyoffered just last week that “the next dol-lar of tax revenues should come fromthe most financially fortunate, insteadof middle income taxpayers.”

India has done well to adopt thismodel of progressive taxation by cre-ating a fourth slab of taxation toimpose on super high net worth indi-viduals. In the Finance Minister’sacknowledgement that “wealth is not abad word”, it shows a shift in mindsetfrom the socialist Nehruvian era. Butwith windfall personal gains comehigher duties on part of the super afflu-ents toward helping mainstreamingthose financially excluded: The “gaon,garib and kisan.”

(The writer is an author, columnistand Chairperson for NationalCommittee on Financial Inclusion at NitiAayog)

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Iran has “begun its march...towards nuclear weaponry,” saidIsrael’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz and that is technically cor-rect. Only one year and 60 days after President Donald Trump

tore up the treaty that guaranteed it won’t make nuclearweapons, Iran has taken a tiny step towards reviving its nuclearprogramme. Just a baby step: Tehran announced that it would startenriching uranium fuel to more than 3.67 per cent, the limit setby the treaty that it signed in 2015. Until last week, it was fullyobeying all the terms of the treaty, as France, Germany, the UnitedKingdom, Russia and China — the other signatories to the JointComprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — all confirmed.

The fuel Iran is making now will be used in its reactor atBushehr, which requires fuel enriched to just below five per cent.So this is not a very big breach of the treaty. Indeed, Iran saysit is not a breach at all, quoting the part of the JCPOA that saysa party can “cease performing its commitments… in whole orin part” in the event of “significant non-performance” by any ofthe other parties. You could certainly argue that the US “ceasedperforming its commitments… in whole or in part” by abandon-ing the JCPOA, imposing extremely harsh trade sanctions on Iran,and trying to force everybody else to stop trading with it, too,but there would be no point. This is about power, not legality orfairness, and the US has the power.

The US has used its power to force most countries, that signedthe treaty, to stop trading with Iran, even though it knew that Iran wasmeeting all its obligations. Unfortunately, it’s not ‘Germany’ or ‘France’that trades with Iran; it’s German and French companies, which willnot be allowed to buy or sell in the US if they trade with Iran. EuropeanGovernments have no legal power to force their companies to tradewith Iran, and they have not offered to compensate firms that do soand as a result lose American contracts. They all acknowledge thatIran is in the right and Donald Trump is in the wrong, but they lackthe courage to act accordingly.

So, Iran has been hung out to dry. Its foreign trade has col-lapsed, including the oil sales that kept the economy afloat. Inflationhas quadrupled, its currency has lost 60 per cent of its value, house-hold incomes have fallen sharply and the economy is predictedto shrink by six per cent this year. It’s what Trump calls “maxi-mum pressure” and ordinary Iranians are hurting. Iran’s response,after more than a year of this, was to become just a little bit non-compliant with the JCPOA. Its clearly stated policy, however, isto ratchet up the scale of the breach a bit more every 60 days,applying pressure back in a quite different mode.

You can only sub-divide the move back to a full civil nuclearprogramme into so many steps, however, and even at 60 daysper step, Iran will probably be there by this time next year. Thatdoesn’t mean it will be making nuclear weapons next year. It hada full civil nuclear programme for several decades before the JCPOAwas signed and it didn’t get nuclear weapons then. But withoutthe treaty, the “break-out time” to Iran’s first nuclear weapon, ifTehran decided to go for broke, would drop from one year to onlya couple of months.

This is what the JCPOA was really about. Iran always sworethat it would not make nuclear weapons — Ayatollah Khomeini evencalled them “un-Islamic” — but a lot of other Governments hatedor at least mistrusted the Iranian regime. Before the 2015 deal, therewas constant talk in the US and Israel about the need to make a“pre-emptive attack” on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The JCPOA kickedthe can down the road for 15 years. Iran dismantled various nuclearfacilities and agreed to intrusive inspections so that if it ever did decideto cheat, everybody else would have a year or more to respond.Nobody loved the deal but everybody agreed that it was the bestavailable and made the future a lot safer.

So why did Donald Trump trash it? His obsession withdestroying former US President Barack Obama’s political lega-cy undoubtedly provided the initial impetus but he also proba-bly believed that putting “maximum pressure” on Iran will makeit crumble. Another triumph for the great statesman. The hawksin the White House (John Bolton, Mike Pompeo et al) probablydo know that Iran is too proud to crumble but they don’t carebecause they actually want a war. Trump is trapped between themand his promise not to lead the US into another Middle East war— which is why we have crazy episodes like the air strikes onIran he allegedly cancelled on June 20, ten minutes before theyhit. No wonder, Sir Kim Darroch, British Ambassador to the US,said in a confidential dispatch leaked to the Press that Trump’sWhite House is “uniquely dysfunctional” and “divided.”

(The writer’s new book is Growing Pains, the Future of Democracyand Work)

The Modi 2.0 Government’smaiden Budget has peggedIndia’s finances on its villages

and farms — a visible shift from theNehruvian economic policy of pro-moting industrialisation. The ModiGovernment’s Budget was trulyfocussed on agriculture and ruraldevelopment. At the same time, theGovernment wants the private sectorto be in the driver’s seat. This toachieve the target of Indian becom-ing a $3 trillion economy in theimmediate future and $5 trillion in thecourse of time. Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman said, “In pur-chasing power parity, we are, in fact,the third largest economy already,next to China and the US.”

This sounds good to achieve thetwin objectives of growth and inclu-siveness. Sitharaman’s �27.86 lakhcrore Budget has interesting features:It is ambitious and plans to investwidely, covering almost all sectors.

So, there were plans to boost theeconomy along with the empower-ment of villagers, women and farm-ers. Schemes such as the PradhanMantri Gramin Awaas Yojana andthe Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak asalso the Bharatmala, Sagarmala andUDAN, are designed to bridge therural-urban divide and improvetransport infrastructure. The 1.25lakh km of roads across the countrythat will be upgraded entail aninvestment of �80,000 crore.

The Scheme of Fund forRegeneration of TraditionalIndustries (SFURTI), launched in2005, which envisions 100 new clus-ters in 2019-20, will facilitate 50,000artisans in making the traditionalindustries more productive. Underthe ASPIRE scheme, 100 businessincubators will be set up to enable75,000 entrepreneurs in the agro-rural industrial sector. Further, the

Government plans to form 10,000farmer producer organisations(FPOs) in the next five years, appar-ently with corporate interface, toensure economies of scale for farm-ers over the next five years. Otherslike the Pradhan Mantri GraminDigital Saksharta Abhiyan, the waterconservation campaign, ‘Jal ShaktiAbhiyan, which will focus on 256districts, will spur rural growth.

Many of these schemes will helpin the development of the rural sec-tor and mitigate rural distress, bridgeurban and rural divide, createdemand and spur the growth of theindustry and allied sectors.

All of this is fine. But the FinanceMinister has thrown a spanner, too.Additional taxes, duties and cesses onthe rich and on commodities such asfuel will have an inflationary effect.First and foremost, transport expens-es will see a rise. Already, cess dutieswere high on fuel. Tolls and taxes haveseen atrocious rates, too. This calls fora relook and withdrawal of the pro-posal to keep the economy on trackas also to fulfill the vision of Indiabecoming a $5 trillion economy.

Another decision that will havea negative impact is to raise customsduty on gold from the existing 10 percent to 12.5 per cent. Gold is mistak-enly considered an item of consump-tion by the rich. As a matter of fact,no marriage in poor or rural house-hold is complete without purchasingof gold. The NDA-I of Atal BihariVajpayee had taken the prudentdecision of having “zero duty” ongold import to keep a check onsmuggling. Higher duties bode wellfor smugglers, who have links withgun and drug leaders as also terror-ist organisations.

Though the Government’s aim isto raise revenue, it may end upincreasing surveillance at multiplesectors, thus causing revenue loss.Ideally, this needs to be rolled backas losses outweigh gains. Similarly,TDS on cash withdrawals of over �1crore, not a large sum for even smallbusinesses, to discourage businesspayments in cash, may actually leadto an economic slowdown. TheGovernment should not be in ahurry to digitise the economy. Cashis the fastest transaction method.

Linking it to black money — simplymeaning untaxed — is a misnomer.

Let the cash lubricate and speedup the economy. Digitisation shouldbe a normal and automatic process.Apprehensions for digitisation, too,have been raised as many Aadhaar-linked accounts are now beingdefrauded. The Government needsto go slow and withdraw such strangerules that make dealings and tax fil-ing cumbersome.

It was expected that the FinanceMinister would make an announce-ment regarding abolishing theincome tax. Instead, Sitharamanincreased the 15 per cent personaltax surcharge on top-end incomebrackets — for incomes between �2crore and �5 crore, the new surchargeis 25 per cent and for incomesabove �5 crore, the new surcharge is37 per cent. High taxes reduce dis-posable income and are a dampen-er for the people to consume.

The Indian economy needs sim-plicity in tax administration. Besides,full tax rebate for citizens with netannual taxable income up to �5 isarbitrary. They, too, should be taxed

as this will burden the tax office withlittle benefits in hand.

Taxing the bank deposits does notsuit the welfare nature of the NarendraModi Government. It may give smallrevenues but cause immense hardshipto those who save. Savings, the FinanceMinister says, have to be encouragedto boost the economy. TDS and lowinterest rates dampen the enthusiasmof savers. The Government’s wordsmust match its deeds. It’s a necessitynot only for the savers but for a nationthat is pining for funds.

If savings are taken care of, theGovernment will not have to look forborrowings abroad to spur growthand fiscal management. Thisswadeshi move will make easyfinance available to Governmentand save forex. The Finance Ministermay do some reworking. It will con-tain inflation, which after thisBudget, is likely to rise to 5 per cent.For a $5 trillion economy in nineyears, India requires a growth rate ofat least 11 per cent not eight per cent, as the Economic Survey indi-cated.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

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The rupee Monday declinedby 24 paise to close at

68.66 against the US dollar, cut-ting short its three winning rundue to a massive selloff inequities and weakening expec-tations of a rate cut by the USFederal Reserve in near future.

Foreign institutionalinvestors pulled out �401.99crore Monday, hitting the rupeesentiment.

Emerging market curren-cies took a hit after the US jobdata fuelled expectations thatthe Federal Reserve will not cutinterest rates quickly in nearfuture. The US dollar tradedstrong against its rivals, andAsian currencies.

Investors sentiment wassubdued on concerns thatincreased surcharge on super-rich could affect foreign fundsinvesting in India, which couldlead to flight of foreign fundsfrom the domestic markets,currency traders said.

The rupee opened lower at68.49 from the last close of68.42 at the inter-bank foreignexchange (forex) market.

The local unit lost furtherground to touch a session lowof 68.76 before closing at 68.66,marking a fall of 24 paise overits previous close. The rupee onFriday settled 8 paise higher at

68.42 against the dollar.“Rupee follows the path of

emerging-market currencies,as markets start to rethink theextent and speed of rate cuts bythe Federal Reserve. Regionalstocks also traded weaker asbudget Blues continue,” V KSharma, Head PCG & CapitalMarkets Strategy, HDFCSecurities, said.

The 30-share Sensextanked 907 points in the intra-day trade before settling at38,720.57 points, showing asharp loss of 792.82 points or2.01 per cent. The broaderNifty of the NSE tanked 252.55

points, or 2.14 per cent, to closeat 11,558.60 points.

The 10-year Governmentbond yield was at 6.60 per cent.

“...Bond market traded high-er amid lower than estimated fis-cal deficit number and propos-al of foreign currency bondissuance. Finance SecretarySubhash Chandra Garg saidthat government is targetingthe second half of the fiscal yearto raise funds through overseasbond sales,” Sharma said.

Brent crude futures, theglobal oil benchmark, slipped0.16 per cent to $64.33 per bar-rel.

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CB D TChairman P C

Mody on Mondaysaid theGovernment willsoon issue a clari-fication on theincrease in tax rateon foreign portfo-lio investors toallay their con-cerns.

On whether the clarifica-tion will be issued soon or afterdiscussion on Budget inParliament, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman said it isnot required at the moment.

“I don’t think clarificationat the moment is all that’srequired. Let’s see as it goes.You think it is required?” shesaid.

There were concerns thatthe increased surcharge onsuper-rich could also affectforeign funds investing in Indiasince a same tax structuresapply for individuals, HinduUndivided Family andAssociations of Persons (AoPs).

Experts said some ForeignPortfolio Investors (FPIs) fol-low trust structure and, hence,would be classified as AoPs.

“The matter has beenbrought to our notice now. Wewill issue a clarification soon,”Mody said at an Assocham

event.Markets continued to tum-

bled for the second straight ses-sion on Monday with theSensex plummeting 793 points.

According to traders, theUnion Budget’s proposals toraise public shareholdingthreshold and higher tax inci-dence for FPIs and high net-worth individuals continued tospook investors.

In the Budget 2019-20,tabled in Parliament last week,Sitharaman proposed toincrease surcharge from 15per cent to 25 per cent on tax-able income between �2 croreand �5 crore, and from 15 percent to 37 per cent for incomeabove �5 crore.

The effective income taxrate for individuals with a tax-able income of �2-5 crore willgo up from 35.88 per cent to 39per cent, and for those above �5crore, it would go up to 42.7 percent.

� ��� �',�-').+

Shares of Punjab NationalBank on Monday dived over

11 per cent after the companydetected a fraud of more than�3,800 crore by Bhushan Power& Steel Ltd (BPSL).

The scrip tanked 11.19 percent to �72.60 on the BSE.

At the NSE, shares of thepublic sector lender dropped11.24 per cent to �72.60.

PNB said SaturdayBhushan Power & Steel Ltdmisappropriated bank fundsand manipulated its books ofaccounts to raise funds fromconsortium lender banks.

“On the basis of forensicaudit investigation findingsand CBI filing FIR, on suomoto basis, against the com-pany and its directors, allegingdiversion of funds from bank-ing system, a fraud of �3,805.15crore is being reported by bankto RBI (Reserve Bank of India).

“It has been observed thatthe company has misappropri-ated bank funds, manipulatedbooks of accounts to raisefunds from consortium lenderbanks. At present, the case is atNCLT which is in advancestage and the Bank expectsgood recovery in the account,”Punjab National Bank (PNB)said in a regulatory filing.

� ��� �',�-').+

After delivering three back-to-back rate cuts, the

Reserve Bank on Monday saidit expects a quicker transmis-sion of the interest rate cuts bybanks to consumers by way ofcheaper home, auto and per-sonal loans.

During this year, the RBIreduced the key policy ratethrice with an aggregate reduc-tion of 0.75 percentage point inthe repo rate, the rate at whichRBI lends to banks.

“In the last MPC meeting(June 6) I had said that by thattime 50 basis points of repo ratecut had been announced, andout of this 21 basis points hadbeen transmitted. And onepositive thing that is happen-ing now is, earlier it used totake six months for transmis-sion, now the transmission istaking a much shorter periodof 2-3 months,” RBI GovernorShaktikanta Das said.

“Thereafter we announced25 basis points cut. So, it’snow entirely 75 basis point cut.We are collecting the data andalso you have to keep in mindthat right from the month of

June, in fact, June 1, the systemis more than adequately surplusin liquidity,” he said whileaddressing media after the cus-tomary post-budget meetingwith Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman.

He further said overall thesystem liquidity is hugely insurplus and if individual bankshave liquidity issue, the RBI willprovide liquidity support tothem.

The Budget has announceda 10 per cent backstop for thebanks to implement NBFCpackage as part of a series ofsteps to give relief to non-bank-ing financial companies facingcash crunch following the col-lapse of IL&FS last year.

In a bid to address the stressin the sector, the Governmentin the Budget proposed thatpublic sector banks would pur-chase high-rated pooled assetsof financially sound NBFCs,amounting to a total of �1 lakhcrore during the current finan-cial year.

For this, the Governmentwill provide one time sixmonths’ partial credit guaran-tee to public sector banks forfirst loss of up to 10 per cent.

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RBI Governor ShaktikantaDas on Monday said the

central bank will discuss withthe Government the issuance ofoverseas sovereign bonds, ainstrument that will helpreduce dependence on thedomestic market for bridgingfiscal deficit.

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) issues bonds on behalf ofthe government as part of theresource mobilisation exerciseto fund gap between revenueand expenditure.

Expressing his satisfactionover the Government’s move toslash fiscal deficit target, Dassaid it will help improve invest-ment by the private sector ascrowding out impact will beless.

After the customary post-budget meeting with FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman,he said, “The Government hasmade a budget announcementand we will interact with thegovernment. I am sure thegovernment will have a dis-cussion with the RBI. Whateverwe need to discuss with theGovernment, will be discussed

internally.”Finance Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman in Budget 2019-20announced that the govern-ment will start raising a part ofits gross borrowing programmefrom external markets in for-eign currencies.

She added that the coun-try’s sovereign external debt-to-GDP ratio level is among thelowest globally at less than 5 percent.

It is not often that the gov-ernment taps the foreign mar-kets to raise funds.

On the fiscal deficit, Dassaid the RBI will always behappy if it is maintained.

“In this case, fiscal deficithas been improved actuallyfrom 3.4 to 3.3 per cent of theGDP. The RBI will be happymainly because it limits so-called crowding out effect. So,that’s something positivebecause it gives more space formeeting the private sector bor-rowing,” he said.

Overall, there is fiscal glidepath which the Government ismaintaining in the last fiveyears, he said adding that theGovernment started with a fis-cal deficit number of 4.5 per

cent.“Now, it has gone down to

3.3. There is a glide path whichis being maintained. I think,overall, it will be good formicroeconomic situation,” headded.

The Centre has committedto reduce the fiscal deficit, thegap between total expenditureand revenue, to 3 per cent of thegross domestic product (GDP)by 2020-21, and eliminate theprimary deficit as per the FiscalResponsibility and BudgetManagement (FRBM) Act.

Primary deficit refers to thedeficit left after subtractinginterest payments from the fis-cal deficit.

With regard to additionalresponsibility given to the cen-tral bank for regulating housingfinance companies (HFCs), hesaid it has been given after a lotof deliberation within the gov-ernment and also with the RBI.

“The RBI will do its best tolive up to expectations of theadditional responsibility whichhas been given to the RBI andI am quite confident that wewill be able to deal with thisadditional responsibility affec-tively,” he said.

� ��� �',�-').+

AGovernment panel isexamining all issues relat-

ed to crypto currencies, includ-ing the pros and cons of theintroduction of an official dig-ital currency in the country.

Crypto currencies are notrecognised as legal tenders inthe country and the issue ofallowing trading in such cur-rencies is being examined bythe government, UnionMinister Anurag Thakur saidMonday.

The Minister of State forCorporate Affairs told the LokSabha that no decision onlicensing and authorising anyentity or company to dealwith Bitcoins or any othervirtual currency has beenmade yet.

The issue of permittingtrading in crypto currencies isunder examination by theGovernment which has con-stituted an Inter-MinisterialCommittee (IMC) under thechairmanship of Secretary,Department of EconomicAffairs.

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Greece’s new conservativeprime minister Kyriakos

Mitsotakis was sworn inMonday after a sweeping elec-tion victory put him in chargeof the EU’s most indebtedmember with promises to enda decade of economic crisis.

“The Greek people gave usa strong mandate to changeGreece. We will honour it to thefull,” Mitsotakis said after tak-ing his oath of office in a tele-vised ceremony.

“Hard work begins today. Iam completely confident thatwe will prove equal to thechallenge.” The cabinet will besworn in on Tuesday and willmeet on Wednesday, he said.

The 51-year-old Harvardgraduate and former McKinseyconsultant took the oath ofoffice in the presidential man-sion in the presence of his wifeand three children.

He then walked next doorto the prime minister’s office,where he had a brief discussionwith defeated leftist premierAlexis Tsipras.

The US-educated conserv-ative faces a hefty challenge ashe takes over from Tsipras, whoimposed austerity measuresrequired under a bailout tokeep Greece in the eurozone.

The country’s public debtlast year stood at 335 billioneuros (USD 376 billion), or 180per cent of the GDP.

The debt load is forecast tofall to 168 per cent of the GDPthis year, but only under belt-tightening brought in underTsipras’s Syriza party — some-thing that Mitsotakis’s NewDemocracy party says is stiflinggrowth.

The tricky job of keepingGreece’s international credi-tors onside while easing thehardship on Greeks — by low-ering taxes and renegotiatingfiscal targets — could result ina short honeymoon phase forMitsotakis.

The former banker haspledged to create jobs and“steamroller” obstacles to busi-ness.

Those pledges wooedGreek voters, who handed him40 per cent of the votes inSunday’s election, well ahead ofthe 31.5 per cent given toTsipras.

“It’s a strong message forchange in Greece,” Mitsotakistold reporters on Sunday.

Last week he told AFPthat he saw it as his mission “tomake sure we restart the econ-omy” with “ambitious growthdriven by private investments,exports and innovation”.

He predicted that he couldpersuade Greece’s creditors toaccept the easing of tight fiscaltargets if “a comprehensivereforms package” was presented.

Tsipras, for his part,warned that Mitsotakis woulddo away with the social spend-ing he brought in to helpGreece’s vulnerable groups.

He portrayed theMitsotakis family — one ofGreece’s leading political dynas-ties — as part of a failed systemthat bankrupted the country in2010, which he blamed for thehumiliating bailout.

Mitsotakis is the son of for-mer prime minister ConstantineMitsotakis, one of the country’slongest-serving parliamentari-ans. His sister Dora Bakoyannisis a former minister and Athens’sfirst female mayor.

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Fearing for their jobs, theover a dozen employees

and officers unions of AirIndia Monday came out strong-ly against the Government’ssecond bid to sell the finan-cially-crippled national carrier,union sources said after ameeting with the management.

Acting quickly on the bud-get announcement, Air Indiachairman Ashwani Lohani hadcalled on Friday itself called ameeting of all the 13 RPT 13unions of the airline Monday todiscuss the privatisation plan.

Showing its keenness to getout of the aviation business,

which for many decades havebeen a big drain on publicmoney, the budget for FY20 hasset aside just a paltry �1 lakh.

Media reports Mondaysaid, the government has set anOctober deadline to completethe process.

“The forum of 13 unionshave decided to oppose the pri-vatisation move,” a union func-tionary told PTI over phonefrom New Delhi after the meet-ing with the management.

During the meeting, whichlasted for about 2 hrs, variousunion representatives told themanagement that they areready to do anything to turn-around the carrier but will not

“accept” privatisation at anycost, the source said.

The Modi Government inits first term had also tried toexit from the airline businessbut failed to get a buyer, forc-ing it to defer the plans.

Presenting the budget,Sitaharaman had said, “in viewof the current macroeconom-ic parameters, the Governmentwould not only re-initiate theprocess of strategic disinvest-ment of Air India, but wouldalso offer more central enter-prises for strategic participationby the private sector.”

The 13 AI unions are AirCorporation Employees Union,Air India Employees Union,

Indian Airlines TechniciansAssociation, All-India AircraftEngineers Association, IndianCommercial Pilots Association,Indian Pilots Guild, Air IndiaAircraft Engineers Association,Air India Cabin CrewAssociation, Air IndiaEngineers Association, AviationIndustry Employees Guild, All-India Service EngineersAssociation and United AirIndia Officers Association.

The AI unions have con-sistently been opposing any bidto sell the Maharaja claimingthat privatization is not a rem-edy pointing to the wayKingfisher and Jet Airwayswent belly up.

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The Government has a tar-get to achieve 6-7 million

sales of hybrid and electricvehicles by 2020 under theNational Electric MobilityMission Plan (NEMMP),Parliament was informedMonday.

The plan has beendesigned to enhance nation-al fuel security, to provideaffordable and environment-friendly transportation and toenable the Indian automotiveindustry achieve global man-ufacturing leadership.

“Under the NEMMP

2020, there is an ambitioustarget to achieve 6-7 millionsales of hybrid and electricvehicles by the year 2020,”Union Heavy Industries andPublic Enterprises MinisterArvind Sawant said in awritten reply in the RajyaSabha.

Based on the experiencefrom Phase-I of FAME IndiaScheme, it has been observedthat sufficient number ofcharging infrastructure isrequired to achieve expectedoutcome of the plan, beingaddressed presently in Phase-II of FAME Scheme, headded.

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Jammu & Kashmir was onhigh alert Monday in view of

the third death anniversary ofBurhan Wani, once a posterboy of terrorist group HizbulMujahideen, as authorities sus-pended movement ofAmarnath pilgrims and secu-rity forces convoys on thenational highway for the day asa precautionary measure.

The Amarnath Yatra wasput on hold following a strikecalled by separatist in theKashmir valley to mark Wani’sdeath anniversary, officials said,adding the annual pilgrimageto the cave shrine, situated at analtitude of 3,880 metre, in thesouth Kashmir Himalayas willresume on Tuesday.

The officials said theAmarnath-bound convoy,which usually leaves theBhagwati Nagar base camp herefor Kashmir in the early hoursof the day, was not allowed tohead for the cave shrine to avoid

any untoward incident.“The Yatra is suspended

from Jammu for the day andwill resume on Tuesday,” apolice official said. The author-ities also suspended movement

of security forces convoys for theday without assigning any rea-son. “No security forces convoyshall be allowed from bothsides (Jammu and Srinagar) ofthe highway on Monday,” a

police spokesman said Sunday.The Government had to

impose restrictions in parts ofSrinagar as normal life came toa standstill in Kashmir due to theshutdown call by the separatists.

Restrictions were imposedin four police station areas ofNowhatta, Khanyar, Safakadaland Maharajgunj in Srinagar,they said. Curbs were imposedas a precautionary measure tomaintain law and order andavoid any untoward incident,the officials added.

Wani, once a poster boy ofmilitancy in the Valley, waskilled in an encounter withsecurity forces on 8 July, 2016,in Kokernag area of southKashmir’s Anantnag district.His killing triggered massiveprotests and a prolonged peri-od of curfews and shutdownsacross the valley.

Over a period of morethan four months, 85 peoplewere killed and thousand oth-ers injured in clashes betweensecurity forces and protestors.The separatists, under the ban-ner of the Joint ResistanceLeadership (JRL), appealedpeople to observe a completeshutdown on Monday, andasked those living in Tral and

adjoining areas to “pay tributesto every martyr in their vicin-ity” and take a pledge to carrythe mission of the “martyrs” toits logical end.

Shops, fuel stations andother business establishmentswere shut across Srinagar, theofficials said. While publictransport remained off theroads, a few private cars andauto-rickshaws were seen plyingin some parts of the city. Theofficials said similar reportswere received from other districtheadquarters of the valley.

Mobile internet serviceswere suspended in the foursouth Kashmir districts —Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopianand Pulwama — while internetspeed was throttled in otherareas of the valley, they added.

Security forces weredeployed in strength at sensitiveplaces across the Valley to avoidany untoward incident, while nomovement of convoys of thearmed forces was allowed on theSrinagar-Jammu NationalHighway, the officials said.

On Sunday, DirectorGeneral of Police Dilbag Singhsaid every step had been takento ensure that the day passes offpeacefully.

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Already juggling with intra-party rebellions post gen-

eral elections — which saw theBengal ruling outfit conceding12 Lok Sabha seats to a surgingBJP — another TrinamoolCongress leader has unfurledthe banner of revolt question-ing the propriety of using “pub-lic money” to purchase advicefrom professional electionstrategist Prashant Kishore.

Though Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee would notmince words, rebellious MLAand Salt Lake-Rajarhat MayorSabyasachi Dutta has beenasked by the top TMC leader-ship to quit the party and hisMayoral chair for doing anti-party activities.

Hitting back Dutta knownfor his close chemistry withsenior BJP leader Mukul Royhas said a number of TMCleaders including ministers are

in touch with him and are sup-porting his stance.

Dutta a leader with largesupport base in the north-eastern fringes of Kolkata onMonday questioned the pro-priety of “spending publicmoney to purchase the adviceof Prashant Kishore who hasnot contested even a Panchayatelection.” Paying from the partyfund means paying from thepocket of the public, reasoned.

Things came to a flashpoint when Dutta led hundredsof State electricity boardemployees to gherao the VidyutBhavan demanding upwardrevision of wages leading theruling party to interpret the actas an anti-party activity.

Reacting to the cluster ofdevelopments involving Duttasince the past several days,Kolkata Mayor and State UrbanDevelopment Minister FirhadHakim said “he is behaving likea Mirzafar and should imme-

diately quit the party.”What added fuel to fire was

a sudden meeting between Royand Dutta inside an up marketclub on Sunday night. Even asthe TMC disciplinary com-mittee led by senior MinisterPartho Chatterjee met to dis-cuss the issue on Mondayinside sources said Dutta hadalready been asked to quit theMayoral chair. When askedwhether he would quit he said,“I have not received any com-munication from the leader-ship” adding he was ready toface the no trust motion in SaltLake Corporation.

Meanwhile, taking theleadership by surprise Duttasaid a number of ministerswere sympathizing with him.When asked to name suchministers he said “RajibBanerjee (Irrigation Minister)is one of those who has spokento me.” Banerjee however dis-missed his claims.

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There was more problem forthe ruling Trinamool

Congress as the EnforcementDirectorate probing Rose Valleyand Sharada chit fund cases onMonday grilled senior leaderand former Minister MadanMitra for more than four hours.

Mitra was questioned forthe first time for his allegedinvolvement in the Rs 27,000crore Rose Valley case, sourcessaid adding he was asked aboutthe nature of his dealings withthe RV chief Gautam Kunduwho was currently in jail.

Mitra was in jail for hisalleged involvement in theSharada chit fund case formore than two years and was

currently on bail. Mitra had afew days ago expressed hisdispleasure with the party lead-ership which he claimed had“made me a scapegoat.”

The ED has also issuedsummons to TMC’s BirbhumMP Shatabdi Roy, insiders saidadding she has been asked toappear before the investingagency on July 12. Roy had ear-lier been questioned on herdealings with the Sharada com-pany. ED sources said they hadfound cash transactionsbetween RV accounts and theMPs accounts. “She will beasked questions as to whymoney was transferred from RVaccount to her account,” sourcessaid. The MP could not be con-tacted for her comments.

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The BJP has “nothing to do”with whatever development

taking place in Karnataka and“we never pressurise and engi-neer defections”, Union defenceMinister Rajnath Singh said onMonday in Lok Sabha asCongress leader Adhir RanjanChowdhury accused BJP of“buying MLAs” in the state.

The Defence Minister saidthe government is committedto protect the dignity ofParliamentary democracy .

“Whatever is happeningcurrently in Karnataka, wehave no relation with that,” hesaid, replying to the issue raisedby Chowdhury.

Chowdhury alleged theBJP-ruled government is hatch-ing a conspiracy to break theCongress-led government inKarnataka and MadhyaPradesh.

“This government is secret-ly hatching a conspiracy againstthe state government. Theytook our MLAs to a five starhotel in Mumbai,” Chowdhurysaid during Zero Hour.

He also said that immedi-ately after the MLAs met theGovernor, vehicles, Aeroplaneand hotel facilities were alreadythere.

The Congress leader inthe Lok Sabha said if one has10 silver and gold coins eachbut not facility to secure them,it does not mean that an out-sider will steal them. He saiddespite collecting 303 LokSabha seats, greed the BJP wasincreasing. He accusing BJP of“ buying MLAs”.

The Congress-JD (S) gov-ernment has plunged into a cri-sis with 13 MLAs of the alliancesubmitting their resignationto the Speaker. 12 of them didit on Saturday. Karnatakaassembly Speaker RameshKumar who is yet to accept theresignation has said “Whetherthe government will fall or sur-vive” would be decided “in theassembly” which is to begin itssession on July 12.

In an apparent swipe, thedefence minister said “ we didnot trigger resignations and thedrive was started by Congressleader Rahul Gandhi. “Bigleaders of Congress are resign-ing,” said Rajnath.

Immediately after the min-ister’s reply, Congress memberswere displaying ‘Save democ-racy’ paper slogans and beganshouting slogans with Congressleaders Sonia and RahulGandhi present in the houselooking on.

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Maharashtra NavnirmanSena (MNS) president

Raj Thackeray on Monday metUPA chairperson Sonia Gandhiin the national Capital in hisfirst visit here in 14 years. TheAssembly election inMaharashtra is likely to beheld at the year-end andThackeray-Sonia meeting isbeing considered as an attemptto build a reliable front againstthe ruling Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP-Shiv Sena Government.Earlier in the day, Thackeraymet Chief ElectionCommissioner Sunil Arora anddemanded that the Assemblypolls be conducted throughpaper ballots instead of EVMs.

Sources said the two lead-ers discussed various politicaldevelopments along with theissue of EVMs. During the LokSabha polls, MNS was willingto be the part of the Congress-NCP alliance in the State butthe Congress was reportedlyaverse to such a proposal.

Thackeray was quite vocalagainst the BJP Government and

especially Prime MinisterNarendra Modi during the 2019Lok Sabha elections despite notcontesting on even a single LokSabha seat in Maharashtra. TheMNS-Congress alliance willhelp the division of Marathasvotes in the State. NCP and theCongress may join hand inMaharashtra ahead of theAssembly polls.

During the meeting withCEC, Thackeray submitted aletter to the ElectionCommission, demanding it toswitch back to the traditionalpaper ballot. He termed themeeting “mere formality”.

“There are doubts in theminds of voters that the votesthey cast do not go to their cho-sen candidates. In such a sce-nario, the EC should switchback to paper ballots and con-duct the Maharashtra pollsthrough it. We strongly feel thatthe EVMs can be tamperedwith,” Thackeray said after themeeting.

Thackeray also cited mediareports which stated that therewas a difference in the tallybetween the votes cast andvotes counted in nearly 220 LokSabha constituencies. “This gaverise to suspicion in our minds.The doubts over credibility ofthe EVMs further increasedwhen the Election Commissionremoved this data from its web-site,” he said in the letter.

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Two aspiring army men anda few brave villagers, out for

morning ablutions, wereamong the daredevils whorisked their lives to save around20 people after their bus fellinto a gorge on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway early onMonday.

The double-decker buswith 53 passengers on boardwas on its way to Delhi fromLucknow when it hit a dividerand fell into the 40-feet-deepgap between two flyovers onthe Yamuna Expressway nearmilestone 161 (Jharna nallah)under Etmadpur police juris-diction of Agra district ataround 4.15 a.m.

At least 29 people werekilled in the accident. Policereports said that 20 passengershad been rescued and effortswere on to rescue the rest.

Villagers from Chaugan,near the ‘deadly’ YamunaExpressway entry point, saidthey rushed to the accident siteafter hearing shrill wails andcries for help.

Nihal Singh jumped intothe nallah, broke open thewindow panes of the bus andextricated several bodies in

the dark, while some rushed toinform the police and the grampradhan, who immediatelyrushed two JCB machines. Twoboys, practising for armyrecruitment, also joined therescue work.

While the injured wererushed to nearby KrishnaHospital and the seriouslyinjured ones to SN MedicalCollege, the bodies were sentfor post-mortem.

“Those of us who saw theinjured or the dead, couldn’tbelieve life could be so uncer-tain. Most were asleep, unawareof what had transpired, as it was still dark,” said an eye-witness.

Prime Minister NarendraModi expressed grief over thetragedy. Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath too

condoled the deaths andannounced an ex-gratia of Rs5 lakh each for the victims’ kin.

He also instructed officialsto expedite rescue and reliefwork at the spot, adding thatproper treatment should be pro-vided to the injured. A specialhelpline number — 1800102877— was also announced to giveinformation about the victims.A list of the injured and thedeceased has also been circu-lated by the police.

Onlookers blamed theaccident on the YamunaExpressway, which has taken aheavy toll of lives since itsopening in 2012. “Earlier wehad only Yamuna Expresswaybut now the Agra LucknowExpressway is competing in thekilling spree,” said social activistShravan Kumar Singh.

New Delhi: Stalemate betweenthe Centre and the DelhiGovernment over financialaspects of Delhi Metro’s 104-km phase-IV came under thescanner of the Supreme Courtwhich said Monday it wouldpass order in the matter as the“project cannot wait”.

A Bench comprisingJustices Arun Mishra andDeepak Gupta was told bysenior advocate Aparajita Singh,who is assisting the top court asan amicus curiae in pollutionmatter, that the project is “crit-ical” and the pending issueshould be resolved soon.

Singh referred to a recentreport of EnvironmentPollution Control Authority(EPCA) which said that theapproval for “103.94 km phaseIV of the Delhi metro hasbeen held up since 2014, whenthe project was submitted tothe Union Government for itsapproval”.

The report said: “There is astalemate in the discussionsbetween the UnionGovernment and the Delhi gov-ernment on different financialaspects of the project.” PTI

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More than 2,000 peopledied in India in the last

one year due to extreme weath-er events, the EnvironmentMinistry informed Rajya SabhaMonday but denied any directconnection to the global issueof climate change.

In a written reply to aquery, MoS in EnvironmentMinistry Babul Supriyo said,“As per the informationreceived from the Ministry ofHome Affairs, 2,405 lives havebeen reported to be lost duringthe financial year 2018-19 inthe country due to cyclonicstorm/flash f lood/land-slides/cloudburst etc.”

He said global warmingmay lead to increase in fre-quency or intensity of weath-er events.

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The Yamuna Expressway,which witnessed the death

of 29 people on Monday, seemsto have become a highway ofaccidents. At least 77 peoplehave died this year only in acci-dents on the 165-kmexpressway, accordingto RTI data accessedby NGO SaveLIFEFoundation. TheNGO said 703 liveswere lost in 4,880 accidentsbetween August 2012, whenthe expressway was opened forcommercial operations, andJanuary last year.

Built at a cost of Rs 12,839crore, the expressway in west-ern Uttar Pradesh is managedby Yamuna ExpresswayIndustrial DevelopmentAuthority (YEIDA). However,the six-lane high-speed corridorhas been severely criticised forits poor safety parameters andalso because of the high num-ber of accidents and deaths.

Another set of dataaccessed by Agra-based activistand lawyer Krishna Chand Jainfrom YEIDA via RTI had infor-mation until March last year. Itshowed 4,956 accidents werereported on the expresswaysince its inception until Marchlast year, in which 718 peopledied and 7,671 were injured.The RTI response Jain receiveddetailed that 1,161 (almost 24per cent) of the accidents werecaused due to over-speeding,while 595 (12 per cent) were due

to bursting of tyres and 235(4.74 per cent) due to fog.“There were no detail on causeof the remaining 2,965 accidents(59.82 per cent cases), neither byYEIDA nor Jaypee Infratech,which has constructed theexpressway,” Jain, Secretary of

NGO AgraD e v e l o p m e n tFoundation, claimed.

YEDIA hasidentified three“black spots” on the

stretch between Greater Noidaand Agra where rumble stripshave been created to keep thedriver awake in case they getdrowsy. “There’s an urgentneed to improve enforcementon our highways. This is not aone-off incident. In 2017, over9,000 people have lost theirlives in preventable bus crash-es,” SaveLIFE Foundation CEOPiyush Tewari said.

“The other urgent actionrequired is on engineeringissues. Most of our highwaysare missing crash barriers andother infrastructure measuresthat can prevent a crash frombecoming fatal,” Tewari said.

Tewari said the missingsafety infrastructure on high-ways is a pandemic thatrequires urgent attention. “Wehope the UP Government aswell as the Union Governmentwill take urgent policy and on-ground measures to control it.”Separately, a media report stat-ed that 110 people were killedin 659 accidents in 2018 on theexpressway.

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Securing 97 per cent in theClass XII board examina-tion, Anusha (name changed)

was one of the school-toppers. Shewas eagerly waiting for DelhiUniversity to release its cut-off list,hoping that she might get admis-sion in English literature at a topcollege under the very first list.Finally, when the first list was outon June 27, she was shattered tosee that the marking criteria toalmost every course started at awhopping 98 per cent.

With the DU cut-offs rising ashigh as 99 per cent this year, thequestion about our flawed educa-tion system comes to the fore,where even the bright studentswould find it hard to get admis-sions. As the cut-offs keep increas-ing each year, one can’t help butwonder how students can scorehigh in subjects like Social Scienceand English, which are dependenton relative understanding andinterpretation. The increasingmarks slab requirement for theuniversity means that a growingnumber of students is compelledto opt for private universities.

There are over 2.58 lakh appli-cants competing for around63,000 seats this year and out ofthis, 23,000 seats were filled afterthe first cut-off itself. On July 3,when the second list was released,most of the seats were filled andadmission to top colleges had

been closed. While Hindu Collegehad the highest cut-off for PoliticalScience starting at 99 per cent,Lady Shri Ram, on the otherhand, for the same subject start-ed the list at 98 per cent and 98.75per cent for Psychology. Jesus andMary College’s cut-off forPsychology started at 99 per cent.

For Anusha, there wasn’t anyway that she could qualify for anyof her dream colleges. She man-aged to secure a seat in HansrajCollege. “Despite getting 97 percent, it was a struggle getting intocolleges of the university. It mademe feel below average,” she says.

A parent, whose son is cur-rently studying in a private univer-sity, questions, “How does onemanage to score 99 per cent insubjects like English, SocialScience or even Sociology?Despite my son getting a decent

percentage, he can’t even dream ofgetting into DU after one look atthe cut-off list this year. Goingabroad is too expensive. So theonly option that is left is to applyat private colleges and universities,which is again not a very econom-ically viable option.”

Nandita Narain, professor atSt Stephen’s College and formerpresident of Delhi UniversityTeachers’ Association (DUTA),feels that students from across thecountry are attracted to DUbecause it is “a combination of alot of things — for instance, thefees are within affordable limitsand lecture timings are very flex-ible and workable. It also providesa good extra-curricular exposurethrough its various cultural soci-eties.” She says, “Over the years, Ihave seen students always prefer-ring DU over private universities.

The prime reason being the qual-ity of education. Despite manyproblems such as the govern-ment cutting down funds forinfrastructure, we haven’t gonebelow a certain level of expecta-tions.”

However, talking about howthe system of marking needs to belooked upon again, she says thatthe solution is not in changing theway we mark the students for theirboards. “We need more govern-ment-funded universities to offeradmissions for deserving stu-dents. Good quality and affordablegovernment universities should bemade and promoted. Thereshould be more of investment ineducational institutions as educa-tion is the most important thingto invest in right now.”

Narain thinks that there is nouniformity and proper system

that the CBSE is following, “whichis why students are scoring high-er marks in even Humanities andScience. The absurd marking sys-tem of CBSE has forced us tointroduce entrance examinationsand prepare such high cut-off lists.I agree that it isn’t fair for the stu-dents. But there’s only much wecan do.”

“The marks required eachyear and for every course at DelhiUniversity are getting higher,”feels Sana Singh, a student ofInternational Affairs at OP JindalGlobal University, Sonepat. Herinitial plan was to get into DU butthat seemed to be the stuff ofdreams. Not surprisingly, sheopted for a private university at aphenomenally higher fee as com-pared to DU. Sana tells us that thecut-off for Psychology at LSRwas around 98 per cent last year.She says, “I was getting a betteroffer at a private university whereI could even choose elective sub-jects offered by various othercourses such as English literatureor Designing.” She feels that tak-ing up an elective subject helps astudent broaden his/her hori-zons. “I am not bound to a strin-gent curriculum,” Sana adds.

She says, “Another advantageis that the student also gets anopportunity to study at a well-reputed university abroad for onesemester.”

If we talk about drawbacks,studying at a private university,beyond the expense, is seen asmore of a comfort pad than acredible thinkpad as it comeswith air-conditioned classrooms,world-class infrastructure, hostelfor students, a low student toteacher ratio and many interna-tional tie-ups to prestigious for-eign universities. Anusha feels thata central university’s degree is ofmore worth as compared to a pri-vate university’s. “A lot of exposureis involved as well,” says she.

The admission procedure forDU is said to be very cumbersomeand includes waiting in queues forlong hours in the heat, whichsometimes ends up in being askedto go home and come back thenext day. Whereas the private uni-versity’s admission proceduresare said to be much easier andsmoother, one of the disadvan-tages of having a higher fee, ofcourse.

Both private and central uni-versities come with their pros andcons. Private universities seem tobe more promising in the futurebut the hefty price that comes withthem will always be an issue.Although these universities claimthat most of their students are onsome scholarship or have takenloans, many students prefer DelhiUniversity due to the low fees andmost importantly, the name.

American author Jeannette Wallsonce said that life is a drama full of

tragedy and comedy. Comedians KennySebastian, Zakir Hussain and NeetiPalta couldn’t agree less but could add arider: You should learn to enjoy thecomic episodes a little more.

After making the audience roll in theaisle, Comicstaan season 1 is on to its sec-ond version. The contestants had to per-form seven different genres of comedyand were shaped into their better versionsthrough each episode. Kenny, the con-sistent judge of both the seasons, says,“Season 1 was like a teenager, having funand being silly. It was more of learningand exploring. We had no idea aboutwhat will happen in the next episode. Thesecond one is an adult version of it, whichsays let us not waste time and focus. Ithas got the groove.”

Bunched together with the newjudges of this season, Neeti and Zakir,Kenny throws a punch saying, “I feel likea school boy, who has failed and is nowrepeating classes,” to which everybodylaughs out loud.

The show became a cult because ofits first mover advantage of being a com-edy reality show on the web. Kenny tellsus that the whole point of stand-up com-edy is to be authentic and commentative.“In other reality shows, the outcome isimportant, while here every episode isimportant. No added drama, content isdistinctively the king. We are happy toshow little about us and more of the con-testants.”

On the evolution from a performerto a judge, Zakir guffaws and says,“Aapne suna hoga ghar wale kehte hai,chaar log kya kahenge, usme se mai teesrahu (You must have heard people say, whatwill four people of our society say, I amthe third person out of them). Judgingis an extension of my journey. I likeobserving people and try to accessthem. Many times their jokes don’twork in front of the audience but I canunderstand. I relate to them because backwhen I started, people use to say ‘you area good writer but a bad performer.’ As ajudge, my focus is on the writing,whether there is thought-provokingideas in it or not, performance is sec-ondary. The responsibility as a judge isgreater, kisi aur ki zindagi ka faisla hai.

(It is about the decision of someone else’slife).”

Sitting next to Zakir, Neeti is observ-ing him keenly as she agrees. She says,“I can laugh easily but sitting andanalysing contestants as a judge is hard.As a performer, you are responsible foryourself but as a judge you are respon-sible for the other person as well. The bet-ter the competition, the harder it is tojudge.”

Last season’s host turned judgeSumukhi Suresh giggles and tells us thatthe only differences this season are thejudges and the set, which are better andgrand. Diving through the memorylane of season 1, she shares her overrid-ing journey. Sumukhi says, “In the firsthour of the episode, I was a little nervous,ho payega ya nahi mujhse? (will I be ableto do it or not?) This self-doubt grew tosuch an extent that at a point of time, Ilooked at my production people and toldthem that I am leaving. I don’t know howto mentor.”

Talking about the challenges furthershe tells us, “It is unpaid live audience.There are technical dips and glitches inbetween, the audience might leave theshow meanwhile. It was hard to keep thatenergy intact but after I got the grip I washappy about it.

Extending the talk on challenges, thehost this season, Uroof Ashfaq, sittingright next to Sumukhi in a black dressand denim jacket, says, “During cuts, theaudience might get irritated, you have tokeep the energy up. In that sense, it ishelpful to have eight funny people sitting

there as judges and two as hosts. We arethere to entertain them during breaks.”

There is a very thin line betweenbeing vulgar and cracking dirty, sexualjokes. So how does one maintain the bal-ance between them? Sumukhi has ananswer: “What is joke to me might bevulgar to you. It is very unfair for one toask an artist ‘Ki agar mujhe nahi pasandto mat karo.’ (If I don’t like it, don’t it).As artists, we have to bring the truestform of the joke. If I am making a jokeabout body parts, it has to be extra-ordi-nary to such an extent that you pass thevulgarity of it and actually laugh. It is myjob as a comedian to creatively presentsuch jokes, if I don’t do it, then I shouldbe shameful for it. Over the years, I haveexperienced, whenever I do sexual com-edy and the audience is more women,

they enjoy it and laugh out loud.” Extending the conversation, Uroof

says, “We don’t question our governmentas much as we question our artistsbecause it’s easier.”

With the advent of digital platforms,Comicstaan has paved way for neweropportunities. As Sumukhi says, “Webhas given more visibility to the show. Ithas created avenues for disparate genresof comedy. Even if you are not a standup comic, you can be a sketch comic orcan be an improviser.”

Bouncing back to the overridingjourney of Zakir, he apprises us, “Humsab apni apni gati se chal rahe hai jeevanmei (we all are moving at our own pacein life). When I tried to do a solo showfor 40-50 minutes, only 19 people turnedup in a hall with seating capacity of 300-350. From such a situation to the personI have become today, I have put in a lotof effort. ‘Jigar ka lahu nichod ke kahaniyomei rang bhara hai syah, aur log puch liyakarte hai ye sab asliyat mei hua hai kya.’When I step on stage, I carry all my inse-curities so that I can portray my real selfin the purest form.”

Excited about including people fromall walks of life, Zakir says, “I realised late-ly that older people have started comingfor my show. Initially I only got attentionfor sakht launda from youngsters.” He iscurrently writing the script of his famousshow Chacha Vidhayak Hai Hamare sea-son 2.

Giving an insight on the future ofcomedy, Kenny says, “Comedy willgrow, the audience wants ‘brutal honestyin your face’ kind of writing. It was sim-pler initially but now the audience wantour take as well on any matter. They ques-tion, ‘Why should I listen to you whenI have 400 other choices. Make my timeworthwhile.’ That pushes us to constant-ly up our game. It is only going to get bet-ter in the coming years.”

Extending this line of conversation,Zakir says, “Comedy is an art form thatwill fade away.” To end the conversationon a lighter tone, he concludes with ajoke, “bell bottom jeans ka trend thodi haiki khatam ho jaaye.” (Comedy is not afashion trend like bell bottom jeans thatit will end).

(The show airs from July 12 onAmazon Prime)

Actress Kangana Ranaut has said that thefundamental quality of any religion was

to empower and not disempower an indi-vidual. She was reacting on Zaira Wasim’sdecision to quit acting.

Kangana was interacting with themedia at the launch of the song Wakhraswag from her forthcoming f i lmJudgeMentall Hai Kya. Her co-starRajkummar Rao, producer Ekta Kapoor,writer Kanika Dhillon, choreographerBosco Martis and director PrakashKovelamudi were also present at the event.

Zaira of Dangal fame, last month tookto the social media to announce her “dis-association from the field of acting” as it“consistently interfered with her imaan andher relationship with her religion wasthreatened”.

Asked about her views on the Kashmiriactress’ decision to quit art because of herreligion, Kangana said, “I think any religionshould empower you and it should makeyou independent and confident. It shouldmake your life fulfilling and if you thinkthat your life is already fulfilling, then thereis plenty of work to do around you.

“People should try and help their fam-ily and friends. There are so many thingsto do, so we should try and fulfill the envi-ronment around us. Essentially, the funda-mental requirement of any religion is toempower and not to disempower you.”

About her film JudgeMentall Hai Kya,she said, “I think we have made this filmvery sensibly without compromising on theart quotient, so I think people who cryabout being an artiste and being insensi-tive are just people who do not know howto handle their craft. I feel you can be con-siderate yet you can give artistically sophis-ticated films.”

The film is releasing on July 26.D#�/'

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Radical, revolutionaryand filled with a natur-al resonance, Joel

Rendon’s engravings at theIIC Annexe are about primalinspirations. He combines thelong-standing Mexican tradi-tion of relief print, contempo-rary techniques and motifslinked to the cultural her-itage of the country but hemoves beyond definitions. Infact, he defies them becauseyou instantly know that hisunderstanding of the power ofthe human form is what formsthe depth of his subjects.

Considered one of themost outstanding engravers inMexico, Joel Rendon (1967 —Puebla, México) creates a tran-scendental dialogue betweenart and people.

����*���������Rendon has devoted his

life in generating a movementto revalue engraving in Mexicoand abroad by opening spacesto promote print-makingamong younger generations

through audio-visual media,graphic design, murals andtelevision programmes. In hisrevaluation, he weaves in theuse of materials and left overideas to create masterpiecesthat brim with vitality andvivaciousness. One of hisgreatest discussions has beenthe creation of art from dis-posable plates. He says, “Aftera party what is left are dispos-able plates. We can recyclethem by engraving art. We justneed a pen, scissors, a rollerwith ink, a tortillero and ofcourse washed dishes.”

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A quick look at these riv-eting engravings show thatRendon believes in raisingengraving from a minor craftto a major art form with com-pelling works like his in thissuite at the IIC Annexe. TheMexican aura, the ethos, theessence, each image is so per-fectly rendered and each workworthy of scrutiny and study,

you know that his deeplyengraved lines create a vividlinear pattern against thewhite background. But thereis very little white to see; it’smostly in slivers and tinyspaces. Rendon is a perfec-tionist when it comes to cre-ating texture. He uses aplethora of strokes — fine,long and sinuous lines thatcreate the clothes and theattire to the short flecks of thecoarsely woven hair or shortjackets; he also uses cross-hatching in the deepest shad-ows to model the forms with

an impeccable naturality thatis not often seen. Interestinglyin some images he is alsointerested in achieving thetone that would give his fig-ures a three-dimensionalpresence. He evolves a tech-nique of shading his engrav-ings with short lines of vary-ing width — a method that heseems to have derived fromthe drawing practice of earlymasters.

This show is about picto-rial directness and fervour.You witness how Rendon car-ries a basic technique to a

degree of richness and detailthat has never been surpassed.His Mexican work at the way-side bar wanting perhaps ashot of tequila contains analmost unimaginable densityof fine distinct lines and it ishis felicity with strong varietythat creates form, texture andshades simultaneously.Rendon has a very deepunderstanding of engravingand his unparallel finesse ischaracterised by long, flow-ing, gently curved strokesthat impart grace to hisdraped figures.

The Indian art world that isgaining global viewership

will feature in yet anotheravenue in October — the fourthedition of the JerusalemBiennale, which seeks to shiftthe euro-centric focus of theglobal contemporary art.

Drawing upon a thememuch-explored this year — the150th birth anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi — the coun-try pavilion promises to be anode to man’s “experiments withtruth” and striving for God, saidpavilion curator Gargi Seth.

The precursor exhibition,that opens to the public on July12 here, is titled ‘Experimentswith Truth’ after Gandhi’s auto-biography The Story of MyExperiments with Truth.

On the world stage, it is anexploration not just of Gandhibut also of his tenet of truth.

“The works are either adirect or indirect statements ofspiritual beliefs or human tribu-lations and hopes or depictionsof man’s reflections on the ulti-mate truth, imbued with won-der and now with irony.

“Some works will depict thepersona of Gandhi. Each workis true to man’s experimentswith truth and in the larger con-text of the Biennale, his eternalstriving for God,” Seth, whoheads the Indian Art Circle,said.

A selection of accomplished

Indian artists’ works is curatedfor the Biennale. These artistshave “actively explored andexpressed their creativity in thefield of religion, spirituality andphilosophy,” the art curatorsaid.

After the Biennale invitedproposals from curators, Seth’s

curation was selected as a “tan-gential, thought provoking con-cept.”

“This Biennale is an insightinto a different part of theworld and I believe it givesIndian art an audience outsideIndia. Europe has enjoyed along hegemony and for far toolong art from other parts of theworld have been considered apoor cousin. Why not think ofthis as an opportunity to set anew agenda on new stage?”

Participating artists includeSatish Gujral, Anjolie ElaMenon, Asit Patnaik, ArpanaCaur, Saba Hasan, Biman BDas, Rini Dhumal, Niren

Sengupta, Siddharth, SeemaKohli, Ambalika Chitkara,Neeraj Gupta, Kota Neelima,Avijit Roy, Shruti Chandra,Vasundhara Tewari and ShiloShiv Suleman.

The Jerusalem biennalepavilion, however, is “not somuch about seeking to depictGandhi’s ideals, it is rather atake-off point for the artists’ cre-ativity here.”

Since the theme for the2019 Jerusalem Biennale isLeShem Shamayim (ForHeaven’s Sake), the India pavil-ion will interweave Gandhi,truth and search for God. “Inmy opinion, religion is man’smost elemental and eternalsearch for, and relationshipwith the ultimate truth.”

When the country is cele-brating Gandhi, Seth also findsit appropriate that we rediscov-er his inspirational approach tothe pursuit of truth, especiallywithin the context of religionand religiosity.

“Over the leap of genera-tions, Gandhi’s ideals with-stand the testimony of time,becoming even more relevantfor the truth seekers of today, asthey seek to reinvent a globalsociety into one that coura-geously acknowledges our var-ied pasts.”

For India to participate asone of the 30 projects featuringin the Jewish art event, Seth’scuratorial approach had been to“create a deliberate diversity of

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������3������ �����Rendon has successfully

exhibited in Mexico, Cuba,Spain, Argentina, Colombia,the United States, Puerto Rico,India and the African continent.He won the José GuadalupePosada National EngravingContest in 1995. On two occa-sions, he received a grant fromyoung creators of the FONCA.He has been an illustrator inFondo de Cultura Económica,in the magazine Artes deMéxico, Letras Libres, in news-papers such as La Jornada andReforma. He recently illustrat-ed Erótica Nahuatl by MiguelLeón Portilla, as before he didthe same with Pedro Páramo byJuan Rulfo. Born in Izúcar deMatamoros, Puebla, an inhab-itant of the last frontier ofMexico City, he travels toCoyoacán frequently. Most ofthe time he smiles.

In an interview he has said,“The success of the artist is notto sell more expensive works inNew York, not to laundermoney of the English but to doa work that favours Mexicans

with a visual stimulus ofencounter, of identity.”

He has a fierce patriotismwithin. His observations of themadness of the world are suc-cinct. “In these 30 years youhave seen the ravages of neolib-eralism, the loss of identity forthe sake of globalisation.”

He was dismayed at artpedagogy which did not teachstudents how to paint. “Theysaid that experimentation wasthe course and the moreabstract, essential and spiritualyou were, the better you wouldbe. I was looking for social artand they told me that that isover. When I left the academy,I realised the social need thatthere was and the kind of artthat I was going to do to coverthat need. I gave myself to thetask of the archaeological rescueof things like the prehispanicaesthetics: Totonac, Mexica andMaya to be able to integrate itinto my current thinking. Fromthem I learnt how to be exper-imental but not to haphazard-ly throw the painting on a can-vas.”

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approaches in the selection of art-works”.

“India is a land of soliciteddebate, shastrarth. The experi-ments are as much on a spiritu-al-philosophical level as they arewith identity, gender conformi-ty, man’s interface with otherhuman beings, nature, mytholo-gy, and society.”

The precursor show is sched-uled to be inaugurated by CultureMinister Prahlad Singh Pateland will run till July 21.

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Iran’s uranium enrichmentlevel passed 4.5 per cent on

Monday, exceeding the 2015nuclear deal cap, Iranian atom-ic energy organisationspokesman BehrouzKamalvandi said.

“This morning Iran passed the 4.5 per cent level inuranium enrichment,”Kamalvandi said according tothe semi-official ISNA NewsAgency.

“This level of purity com-pletely satisfies the power plantfuel requirements of the coun-try,” he added in a hint that theIslamic republic might stick tothis level of enrichment for thetime being.

Iran announced on Sundayit would no longer adhere tothe enrichment cap in what itbilled as its second step todecrease commitments to thedeal in a bid to press other par-

ties into keeping their side ofthe bargain.

US President DonaldTrump withdrew from the deal between Iran and six world powers in May 2018 and has since reimposed sanctions on many sectors including thecrucial oil and financial indus-tries.

Iran demanded the otherparties — France, Germany,Britain, China and Russia —take steps to guarantee theeconomic benefits Iran waspromised for the drastic limi-tations imposed on its nuclearprogramme.

However after one year of what it called “strategic patience”, Tehran hasgrown increasingly frustrated about a perceivedlack of action by the Europeanside to help it economically inthe face of crippling US sanc-tions.

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A5.7-magnitude earthquakestruck southwest Iran near

the border with Iraq onMonday, causing one deathdue to a heart attack anddozens of injuries, the country’srelief and rescue organisationsaid.

The quake, whose epicen-tre was in the Masjed Soleimanarea of Khuzestan province, hitat 11:30 am (0700 GMT) at adepth of 17 kilometres, thenational seismological centrereported.

The region was rattled byseven aftershocks, the strongestof which measured 4.7 magni-tude, it said.

At least 45 people wereinjured, the head of Iran’s reliefand rescue organisation,Morteza Salimi, told state TV.

“One citizen at MasjedSoleiman also passed away dueto a heart-attack after the earth-quake,” Salimi said.

In nearby cities and villagesaffected by the quake, therewere “only minor cracks inbuildings” and roads to somevillages were cut off.

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Britain’s ambassador to the US“has not served the UK

well” Donald Trump has saidafter the envoy called thePresident’s administration“clumsy” and “inept” in leakeddiplomatic cables, promptingLondon to launch damage con-trol measures to repair its spe-cial relationship withWashington.

In secret cables and briefingnotes, the UK’s Ambassador toUS Kim Darroch warned theBritish government thatPresident Trump’s “career couldend in disgrace,” and describedconflicts within the WhiteHouse as “knife fights,” accord-ing to reports in the Mail onSunday newspaper.

“We don’t really believe thisadministration is going tobecome substantially more nor-mal; less dysfunctional; lessunpredictable; less faction riven;less diplomatically clumsy andinept,” Darroch allegedly wrotein one dispatch.

Darroch also said thatPresident Trump and his team

had been “dazzled” by theirrecent state visit to the UK butthat while “we might be flavourof the month, but this is still theland of ‘America First’.”

When asked for his reactionto Darroch’s uncharitable com-ments, Trump told reporters onSunday, “No I haven’t seen it,but, you know, we’ve had our lit-tle ins and outs with a couple ofcountries and I would say thatthe UK, and the ambassador hasnot served the UK well, I can tellyou that.”

“We’re not big fans of thatman and he has not served theUK well, so I can understand it,”Trump, who was received byQueen Elizabeth II during astate visit to Britain in June, said.

“And I can say things abouthim but I won’t bother,” the USPresident added.

CNN, quoting a UK gov-ernment source, reported thatthe memos described in theDaily Mail story, which span theperiod between 2017 to presentday, are genuine.

UK Foreign SecretaryJeremy Hunt, trying to salvagethe situation, said the memos

reflected a “personal view”, notthat of the UK government.

Hunt - who is seeking tobecome the next Conservativeleader and prime minister - saidit was the ambassador’s job togive “frank opinions” but theydid not reflect the government’sview.

The leaked cables come ata sensitive time in UK politicswith Conservative Party mem-bers currently electing a newprime minister to succeedTheresa May, who was toppledby her own lawmakers for fail-ing to deliver on her country’s2016 vote to leave the EuropeanUnion.

The favourite for the job,Boris Johnson, is seen as likelyto seek to forge a much closerrelationship to Trump thanMay, who made strenuousefforts to court the Presidentand developed a respectful rela-tionship but never really bond-ed with him politically.

If the UK leaves theEuropean Union, Britain will beseeking to seal a bilateral tradedeal with the US and Trump isexpected to drive a hard bargain.

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Migrants are human beingswho symbolise all those

rejected by globalisation, PopeFrancis told a special mass onMonday, saying “the weakestand most vulnerable must behelped”.

“These least ones are aban-doned and cheated into dyingin the desert,” the pope told themass to mark the sixth anniver-sary of the pope’s visit toLampedusa, where many asy-lum seekers arrive after a per-ilous sea journey from Libya.

“These least ones are tor-tured, abused and violated in

detention camps, these leastones face the waves of anunforgiving sea,” the pope toldthe mass, attended by 250 peo-ple including migrants, asylumseekers and rescue workers.

Italy has in recent weeksbeen trying to keep its portsclosed to charity ships whichhave rescued migrants from theMediterranean, usually ship-wrecked after leaving war-tornand lawless Libya.

“They are persons, theseare not mere social or migrantissues!” the pope said.

Italy’s far-right InteriorMinister Matteo Salvini hasregularly used social media to

attack migrants and the NGOsthat help them.

“Migrants are first of allhuman persons, and... They arethe symbol of all those reject-ed by today’s globalised society,”the pope said.

Francis travelled toLampedusa in July 2013, fourmonths after he was elected butbefore the 2013-2017 wave ofmigrant arrivals and ship-wrecks, condemning “the glob-alisation of indifference”towards migrants.

Since then, the pope hasrepeatedly called for the wel-coming of migrants fleeingwar or poverty.

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Dozens of powerful Afghansresumed talks with the

Taliban on Monday in Doha,where a possible ceasefire is onthe table along with key issuessuch as women’s rights.

Stakes are high for thetalks which follow a week ofUS-Taliban negotiations withboth sides eyeing a resolutionto the bloody 18-year conflict.

US Secretary of State MikePompeo tweeted that theAfghan gathering “has been along time coming” and praised the country’s“Government, civil society,women, and Taliban” for com-ing together.

Washington has said itwants to seal a political dealwith the Taliban ahead ofAfghan presidential polls duein September to allow foreignforces to begin to withdraw.

Around 70 delegates areattending the two-day gather-ing which has been organisedby Germany and Qatar.

“History will rememberthose who were able to set theirdifferences aside for the sake ofthe country” said Germanyenvoy Markus Potzel as heopened the gathering Sunday.

A German source con-firmed the second day of talksgot underway just before 0600GMT.

Delegate Asila Wardak, amember of the High PeaceCouncil established by formerpresident Hamid Karzai toengage with Taliban elements,said “everybody is emphasisingon a ceasefire” during Sunday’ssession.

The Taliban spoke about“women’s role, economic devel-opment, (and) the role ofminorities” in a future settle-ment, she added.

Qatari Foreign MinisterMohammed bin AbdulrahmanAl-Thani said on Twitter thathe looked “forward to a con-structive dialogue”.

The so-called intra-Afghanmeetings follow six days ofdirect US-Taliban talks thathave been put on hold for thetwo day Afghan conferenceand are set to resume Tuesday,according to both sides.

US lead negotiator ZalmayKhalilzad said Saturday that thelatest round of US-Talibantalks “have been the most pro-ductive of the rounds we’ve hadwith the Talibs”.

The Taliban said they were“happy with progress”.

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Maryam Nawaz, the daugh-ter of former Pakistan

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,has severely criticised PrimeMinister Imran Khan anddemanded his resignation, themedia reported on Monday.

In a post-midnight rally onSunday in Mandi Bahauddin,the 45-year-old oppositionPakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) VicePresident, raised slogansagainst Khan and said that the66-year-old cricketer-turned-politician does not have anylegitimate right to rulePakistan.

Addressing Khan in herspeech, she said: “Give yourresignation! Go home!” andurged the crowds to chantalong with her, Dawn newsreported.

Maryam also said thatkeeping her 69-year-old ailingfather Sharif in jail will be acrime now, following Saturday’s“evidence” alleging that hissentencing had been givenunder “immense pressure fromhidden hands”, a claim reject-ed on Sunday by the presiding

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Five people were arrestedduring overnight clashes in

Hong Kong between riot offi-cers and anti-government pro-testers, police said Monday, asthe political violence rockingthe international hub shows nosign of abating.

The city has been plungedinto its worst crisis in recenthistory following a month ofhuge marches as well as sepa-rate violent confrontations withpolice involving a minority ofhardcore protesters.

The rallies were sparked bya now-suspended law thatwould have allowed extradi-tions to mainland China, buthave since morphed into awider movement calling for

democratic reforms and a haltto sliding freedoms in thesemi-autonomous territory.

Sunday night saw freshpolitical violence break out inthe district of Mongkok aspolice baton-charged smallgroups of masked, largelyyoung protesters who werewalking along roads andrefused to disperse followinganother massive, peaceful rallyearlier in the day.

In a statement issued earlyMonday morning, police saidthe group were taking part inan “unlawful assembly” andhad been warned that officerswould take action.

“Some protesters resistedand police arrested five personsfor assaulting a police officerand obstructing a police officer

in the execution of duties,” thestatement said.

Activists hit out at thepolice tactics, saying the pro-testers in Mongkok hadremained peaceful as theymade their way home and thatviolence was started by a shieldwall of riot officers that hadblocked the crowd’s path.

“HKers joined rally peace-fully... Against extradition billresult in being beaten andassaulted by HK Police,”democracy activist JoshuaWong wrote in a tweet accom-panying pictures of at least twoprotesters with bleeding headwounds.

“Just another example ofexcessive force used by thepolice,” he added in anothertweet.

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California’s powerful Indian-origin Democratic Senator

Kamala Harris has raised morethan USD 23 million since sheannounced her presidential bidin January.

Among over 20 Democraticpresidential aspirants, Harris, 54,whose mother had migrated tothe US from Chennai, is runningneck and neck with former USvice president Joe Biden, par-ticularly after her impressiveshow at the first Democraticdebate held recently.

Harris’s presidential cam-paign raised nearly $12 millionfrom more than 279,000 peoplein the second quarter of 2019.Almost 150,000 new donorscontributed to her campaignduring the second quarter. In

total, she has raised more than$23 million since she announcedher presidential bid in January.

According to a campaignstatement, Harris brought inmore than $7 million throughher digital programme alone.The campaign’s average contribution was $39, and theaverage online contribution was just $24. Harris launchedher campaign on January 21with a promise to reject money from corporate politicalaction committees and federallobbyists.

So far, Harris’ campaignhas brought in nearly half a mil-lion dollars this quarter from itsonline store, which has alreadysold 1,400 ‘That Little Girl WasMe’ t-shirts that feature a now-viral photo of Harris as a younggirl.

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Khartoum: Sudan’s top gener-al says the military council thatassumed power after the over-throw of President Omar al-Bashir in April will be dissolvedwith the implementation of apower-sharing deal reachedwith protesters last week.

The military and a pro-democracy coalition agreed lastweek on a joint sovereign coun-cil that will rule for a little overthree years while elections areorganized. Both sides say adiplomatic push by the U.S. Andits Arab allies was key to end-ing a weekslong standoff thatraised fears of all-out civil war.

Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan,head of the military council, saidin televised comments late

Sunday that the army wouldreturn to its barracks after 21months, when leadership ofthe council passes from a mili-tary representative to a civilian.

The council will include fivecivilians representing the protestmovement and five militarymembers. An 11th seat will goto a civilian chosen by bothsides. The protesters will selecta Cabinet of technocrats, and alegislative council is to beformed after three months.

Burhan also insisted thatthe military council did not order the violent dispersalof the main protest camp lastmonth, which killed scores ofpeople and led to the collapse oftalks. AFP

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The United Arab Emiratessaid on Monday it

was reducing the number oftroops in war-torn Yemen and moving from a “military-first” strategy to a “peace-first”plan.

“We do have troop levels that are down for reasonsthat are strategic in (the RedSea city of ) Hodeida and reasons that are tactical” inother parts of the country, asenior UAE official toldreporters.

“It is very much to do with moving from what Iwould call a military-first strat-egy to a peace-first strategy, andthis is I think what we aredoing.”

UAE troops fighting aspart of a Saudi-led militarycoalition against the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels have“totally vacated” the militarybase in Khokha, about 130kilometres south of Hodeida, aYemeni government officialtold AFP on Monday.

He added that the UAEwithdrew part of its heavyartillery from Khokha but was— along with the Saudi-ledcoalition and the government— still overseeing the militarysituation in Yemen’s westerncoast. The Yemeni official, whospoke on condition ofanonymity, also said UAEtroops vacated a military postin Sarwah, west of Maribprovince, and pulled back thePatriot missile system fromthe area.

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Ukraine’s recently electedPresident Volodymyr

Zelensky on Monday offered tomeet his Russian counterpartVladimir Putin for their firsttalks, calling for Western lead-ers to mediate.

“Now I want to address theRussian President VladimirPutin. We need to talk? We do.Let’s do it,” Zelensky said in avideo address.

The former comic actorwho was elected with a land-slide in April’s presidential pollscalled for a meeting with theRussian strongman that would

involve US President DonaldTrump and other Western lead-ers.

He proposed discussingRussian-annexed Crimea andthe conflict in eastern Ukrainewhere Ukrainian forces arebattling Russian-backed sepa-ratists.

Zelensky said on his inau-guration in May that ending thewar in the east and returningthe annexed territory toUkraine were his priority.

So far Zelensky has not metPutin and the Russian leaderhas commented that Zelensky’sacting talent does not make upfor lack of political experience.

“Let’s discuss who Crimeabelongs to and who isn’t in theDonbass region,” Zelensky said,referring to the eastern conflictzone.

Some 13,000 people havebeen killed in the conflict ineastern Ukraine that erupted in2014 after a popular uprisingousted pro-Kremlin presidentViktor Yanukovych and Russiaresponded by annexing Crimea.

Kiev and its Western back-ers accuse Russia of funnellingtroops and arms across theborder to fan the flames of theconflict. Moscow has deniedany military involvementdespite evidence to the contrary.

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Avignon (France): FormerFrench president FrancoisHollande made the first tentativestep into what may or may notbe a second career this weekendwhen he trod the boards at oneof the world’s biggest theatre fes-

tivals. The Socialist leader —who was forced from politicalstage by his one-time acolyteEmmanuel Macron in 2017 —appeared for 15 minutes in aplay at the Avignon theatre fes-tival in the South of France. AFP

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What happens whenMount Cook meetsK a n g c h e n j u n g a ?

Obviously, it looks up — up above itsown high perch and wonders howthat daddy of mountains would bescaled. That’s what New Zealand willbe thinking when they meet India inthe first semi-final of the ICC CricketWorld Cup 2019 today.

On a downward spiral, openersnot firing, the skipper being bur-dened with a prolonged lone warriorresponsibility, spinners turningeverything except the ball, maraud-ers not being able to even walk. That’sthe Kiwis for you, in the second halfof the tournament.

Striding ahead, bat held high,arm doing the power round and self-belief being the most ticked box in anarmoury of youth, confidence, excel-lence and capability. That’s India foryou. The highest run getter, themost impactful wicket-taker, themaximum number of wins, a top ofthe table existence — you name it andVirat Kohli’s men have done it thisEnglish summer.

But then, this is cricket.Uncertain, levelling, cruel, unpre-dictable, fickle and demanding. Itchoses its day with impunity. Itprides in slaying the Goliaths. It playsgames with the minds of the sorted.It keeps victory away much likeCalpol, fever. So, form, run-up,belief and all the other tickedboxes are absolute essentials whicheventually become handmaidensof “on that day” mood of thegame-master himself.

Which means, predicting asemi-final is as futile as trying toescape a tsunami on a beach walk.It is in these difficult circum-stances that India and NewZealand will meet at the OldTrafford on an overcast morn-ing to launch their bid for thejourney to the mecca of crick-et and the final frontier of thisWorld Cup, the Lord’s CricketGround.

As Kohli does, KaneWilliamson too knows thestrengths and weaknesses of hissquad, more weaknesses thanstrengths if one were to see therun-up of these “yet to bemen” in this edition. After abrilliant start, the Kiwis nose-dived into doubt and troublewith three back-to-back defeats

making them breathe heavy tostave off Pakistan on the net runrate criterion.

India, on the other hand, haveRohit Sharma’s celestial run in thistournament to boast of. They havean enigma in Jasprit Bumrah to foxoppositions with. They have young

players whom they no longer needto hide in the field. They have the

chess moves of a Chahal and a con-

tainment mores of Kuldeep Yadav.They have a fire spewing HardikPandya who has come full circle as anall-rounder. They have the solidityand liquidity of a KL Rahul to fill thegaping hole left behind by an injuredShikhar Dhawan. “It is a team of ath-letes,” strengthening coach ShankerBasu says with pride, talking about thefitness quotient getting more musclethan ever before. So, you may not beblamed for feeling sorted.

But then this is cricket, mate. Ittakes one ball, one dropped catch, onemissed run, one wrong move, one big

miss — and just one split moment tomake an extraordinary team lookordinary. One day, it makes TeamIndia look perfect against the massiveAustralians; on another day, it makesthe 11 look super-bombed against theminnows Afghanistan!

Extraordinary, Rohit Sharma;Extraordinary, Jasprit Bumrah;Extraordinary, collective self-belief;Extraordinary, spin masters;Extraordinary, job discipline. “Notless, not more,” Kohli says about whodoes what in the team and when. It’sbeen an extraordinary singularity of

intent where the Men in Blue are con-cerned.

Ordinary? On that given day, itcould be the middle order that did-n’t or a Dhoni who won’t or a long tailthat can’t. Cricket can be a moodygentleman himself, but come ifs andbuts by others in the game, and it willdo what Chris Gayle can do tobowlers once he gets going, whatAdam Gilchrist often did to opposi-tions as an opener, what Yuvraj Singhdid to Stuart Broad on South Africansoil and what one Mr Martin Guptillhas the capability to do to a Chahal

or a Shami, in equal measure.So where do you think this match

between the tournament favouritesand the X-factor men at the OldTrafford taking you today? It could beto the wire, or to the dire, dependingon who gets the ticket to go to thegame without wearing pressure ontheir sleeve, well, as Mr Cricket says,“on that given day”!

So, let the bowling begin — fromwits’ end and then swing, seam,reverse swing or turn to sanity, excite-ment and the better team winning —on that day!

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MS Dhoni, the man the world loves,the team respects sky high, the cam-

eras run after, the journalists bait anddebate — Dhoni the ultimate thinker, thecaptain who originally brought mindgames and strategies as a prime tool toIndian cricket, the wicket-keeper whowould engineer wickets by directing thebowlers from behind the stumps, the skip-per who earned the respect of all othercaptains of the world, the finisher in vic-tories, the opener in thinking cricket —the man who loved his cricket but not itscoverage, the father, the biker, the paramilitary badge holder — this man ofmany faces and phases will be resting hisWorld Cup cap after four World Cups,one of which he won on home ground,the other he lost in the semi-final.

For his team and skipper Virat Kohli,there wouldn’t be a better send-off for thisman than to take him to Lord’s to play hisFinal in more ways and one. But beforethat, he has been the centre of mediaunsavouries for his lack of fire in the mid-dle and late middle overs when his strikerate of 100 plus looked slim and the needwas for a 300 per cent flourish to up thescores on sticky wickets.

Not seemingly bothered about thedisdain, but knowing it all along, Dhoniwas practising away at the nets at OldTrafford, polishing his bat to bring insome aggression. Full throated shots

turn the cameras to him as he deals withKuldeep Yadav’s containment tactics atthe nets. He then walks over in his cus-tomary style to the other end of theoptional nets to take some throws fromassistant coach Sanjay Bangar.

More importantly, between knocks,he gets into several mid-pitch huddleswith Bangar and bowling coach BharatArun, possibly to discuss the chinks aswell as the strategies that will take Indiato the Final of an English World Cup after1983.

Dhoni, who has not addressed thePress even once through the nine match-es that he has played in this World Cup,has been a constant consulting figure atnets from the Aegis Bowl inSouthampton, to the Oval to now OldTrafford. Thinking, alone and with mates,joking around with journalists fromplayers’ balconies, talking to the playersmid field when the oppositions have beenkissing boundaries, Dhoni in his ownmanner has been shaping the journeywithout intruding on the captain.

His skipper Kohli applauds him forbeing a “mentor without being assertive”,knowing fully well how difficult it is tobe just a player in a team he has for solong captained, a transition that hasearned him “sky-high respect”.

“From the respect point of view forMS, it’s always going to be sky high, espe-cially in my eyes, because I know how dif-ficult it can be to make a transition from

captaining also,” Kohli said. “It’s noteasy to be another player in the side aftercaptaining it for decades and therein liesDhoni’s greatness. Being a mentor butwithout being assertive, which the teamacknowledges,” he added at his Press con-

ference.After inheriting Test captaincy from

Dhoni in 2014 and ODIs in 2017, Kohlihas no hesitation in admitting that he willalways consider him his captain. “Withinthe same team, just playing as a player

after being captain for so many years andstill not being too assertive or too pushyin anything. He gives you space to makeyour own decisions and to actually dis-cover yourself, so I think that’s been hisbiggest quality,” Kohli says, adding quick-ly: “At the same time, I go ask him any-thing, he’s there giving me advice and he’snever shying away from that. So yeah, he’sbeen outstanding and I’m delighted thatI have been able to play for so many yearsalongside him.”

This undying respect is universal inthe team for the man who cut his 39thbirthday cake with the team on July 7. Hehas mentored many in this team, giventhem direction, taken them throughrough patches in the middle, given themspace with opportunities and investedfaith it them while shaping the team formany futures. “And now we are the oneswho are taking Indian cricket forward,”Kohli said with obvious gratitude for hisNo 5 man who has been in a spot over hisperceived sluggishness with the bat in thezone of fire.

Bangar explains that this sluggishnesswas actually his acumen to build up netrun rate on a sticky wicket, and also pro-tect the tail from being exposed with less-er runs on board, something that is asdivorced from public perception as thesun is likely to be from the skies today.

No wonder Kohli says thank you tothe journalist who takes the questioningon Dhoni from the question marks

around him to “MS the personality”.“We understand the importance of

that process (of transition). So I’m gladyou asked about MS, the personality,because a lot has been in focus otherwise.When a person has done so much for theteam you have to appreciate and acknowl-edge how he’s handled and taken therespect for Indian cricket so high all overthe world. We are all very grateful forwhat he’s done for Indian cricket and forus,” says Kohli, a day after he tweeted hisrespect, love, trust and emotion for hisformer skipper on his birthday: “Happybirthday mahi bhai @msdhoni. Very fewpeople understand the meaning of trustand respect and I’m glad to have had thefriendship I have with you for so manyyears. You’ve been a big brother to all ofus and as I said before, you will always bemy captain,” Kohli tweeted.

At the formal Press conference, how-ever, his respect was no less: “... And he’salways been in a very happy, jovial moodall the time whenever we see him.Yesterday again was a very happy momentfor him, for the whole team, to see a smileon his face and he's in a very comfortable,very happy space at the moment,” Kohlisaid.

Dhoni, meanwhile, walked with hiskit after nets at Old Trafford on match eve,not refusing autographs but saying a gen-tle no for pictures. “Not today,” he says.You can see he is saving the clicks forLord’s and the Cup in his hands.

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Rain, it seems, is in no mood tolet an India-New Zealand clash

happen to the hilt. After the leagueclash against the two teams nowmeeting for the semi-finals waswashed out in Nottingham, todaytoo the clouds will be threatening thegame at Old Trafford.

The Britain weather forecastsays there will be continuous cloudcover the entire match day with rainand a couple of intervals. The

chances of this spoilsport are as highas 60% during daytime with constantdrizzle at 67 per cent possibilitytowards the night.

The good news is there is areserve day for the semi-final if thematch gets rained out. The bad newsis that Wednesday is more of a threatrain-wise with 63% chances of rainand a couple of showers in the day.

Good news again, for India, incase both days go flood out, Kohligoes to Lord's as table toppers with15 points.

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How do you turn momen-tum and confidence

around for a team on a three-match losing run?

New Zealand arrive in thesemi-finals as the outsiders, butmake no mistake about it, theywill still have high hopes.

When you get on a bad runas team, you have to return tothe individual.

If one man can find a per-formance, then that can perme-ate its way through to the wholeteam very quickly and buildconfidence, often within a game.

A three-match losing streakcan evaporate pretty quicklywith a great ten overs at the start.

Just look at South Africaagainst Australia this past week-end. The Proteas have been inall sorts of strife this World Cupbut the way they started thatgame gave them huge confi-dence to go on and get over theline.

That is why the start of thesemi-final between India andNew Zealand is going to be soimportant.

If New Zealand get off to agreat start, with bat or ball, thestreak will soon be forgotten.

Let’s look at the battingfirst of all.

Martin Guptill is a guy whohas so much support and faitharound him, the whole of theNew Zealand public, let alonehis teammates, will be backinghim.

He has done it before somany times, and knowing himas I do, I am sure he can turn itaround again and very quicklyit will become a different story.

Don’t forget he actuallystarted this tournament prettywell with an unbeaten half cen-tury against Sri Lanka, so he

doesn’t have to look back all thatfar for proof of what he can stilldo at this level.

England against India atEdgbaston probably showedNew Zealand the way toapproach setting a big total.

Jasprit Bumrah is basicallyunplayable at this stage, andagainst England he was hisusual economical self.

But despite that, Englandtargeted everyone else. Theywere aggressive from the offagainst the spinners, againstHardik Pandya and they evengot to Mohammed Shami at thedeath as well.

I am fairly confident Shamiwill come back into the side to

face New Zealand, he had a verygood series down there at thestart of the year.

But New Zealand have gotall the ingredients in place to puton a big total. I know theyhaven’t done it yet.

But let’s be optimistic andlook at it like this: KaneWilliamson always scores runs,and you more often than notyou can say the same about RossTaylor.

The two all-rounders JimmyNeesham and Colin deGrandhomme have bothimpressed at different timeswith the bat this World Cup andTom Latham also got someruns at last against England.

Judging by that South Africavs Australia game on the week-end, the Old Trafford pitch isgoing to be a good one.

The Black Caps have theplan in place to post somethingbig, it just all needs to cometogether at the right time.

Then with the ball, they willhave to be aggressive right fromthe outset and bowl to takewickets.

If you take early wickets andcan get at that Indian middleorder then you have a chance.

But it is all very well sayingthat, the hard part is actuallygoing out and doing it.

Some people might haveperceived the way India start

slowly as cautious, but in factwhat is actually happening isIndia are the best in the businessat assessing conditions, workingout what a good score is andthen batting accordingly.

Yes they have started slow-ly, but they always make it up atthe back end and post bigscores. And if you don’t get toRohit Sharma and Virat Kohliearly you are going to be in trou-ble.

They know who they wantto attack and when they want toattack.

That is a real credit to themas a batting unit because plen-ty of other teams go out thereand just go hard regardless ofthe conditions. India like toassess it and build what theythink is an appropriate scorefrom that.

The key will be Trent Boult,he knows these Indian batsmenextremely well at this point.They have played each othermany times in internationalcricket and the IPL and he, alongwith Kane and the coachingstaff, will have plans in place.

They have to stay aggressive,bowl to get wickets and letTrent work his magic at the start,in the middle and at the deathwhere his reverse swing, yorkersand now a knuckle ball as well,mark him out as one of theworld’s premier white-ballbowlers.

The only problem is Indiahave one of them too in Bumrah— keep a close eye on their bat-tle because whoever comes outon top will go a long way toputting their team in the ICCMen’s Cricket World Cup Final2019.

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New Zealand coachGar y Stead hopes

Lockie Ferguson can makethe difference against Indiaafter revealing the pacebowler should be fit fortheir semi-final clash.

The Black Caps werewithout their leading wick-et-taker for their finalgroup-stage game — a 119-run defeat to England atChester-le-Street.

Ferguson has been astandout performer forNew Zealand in the tour-nament as they finishedfourth in the standings,taking 17 wickets to sitjoint-third in the table forthe most wickets taken.

And after the 28-year-old was rested as a precau-tion following a hamstringstrain, Stead expects him tobe back fit and firing forthe showdown with Indiaat Old Trafford.

“I absolutely expectLockie to play. If the lastgame was a semi-final orfinal, we probably wouldhave played him, so it wasmore a precautionary measurenot to play him,” he said.

“He definitely had somehamstring tightness and heneeded 48 hours for that tosettle down. He’s in goodshape and barring gettingthrough the next couple ofdays, then I expect him toplay.

“Lockie has been enor-mous for us. It is his firstWorld Cup as well and I’vejust been delighted that everytime he’s come on to bowl, he’slooked like he’s going to makea difference out there.

“Whether that’s throughpace, whether that’s throughcreating pressure for the otherperson at the other end - healways has been looking like-ly and hopefully he can dothat again against India.”

Stead was also keen tostress his faith in openingbatsman Martin Guptill, whohas struggled for form afteropening the tournament withan unbeaten knock of 73against Sri Lanka.

“Martin’s got a lot of ODIhundreds and he has been akey player for us in the past.Our job as support staff is toget him in the right frame ofmind,” said Stead.

“He’ll go out and expresshimself and who knows, if hemakes 150 in the next game,then we probably won’t betalking about this anymore.

“People go through formslumps and heights all thetime. He’s had a tough tourna-

ment but there’s nothing frommy point of view that suggeststhat’s going to continue for along period of time.”

Having lost their last threegames of the round-robinstage, New Zealand have beendescribed by some as theweakest of the teams to qual-ify for the semi-final stage.

But Stead is more thanhappy to let the Black Caps beconsidered the underdogs asthey attempt to reach theirsecond World Cup final, fol-lowing their defeat toAustralia in the 2015 show-piece.

“We’ve got a couple ofafternoons to be ready forIndia now,” he said.

“I’m just excited about itas India are a quality team andthere’s no doubt they’ve gotmatch-winners throughouttheir line-up.

“I said from the very start,whoever we play, we’re goingto have to be somewhere nearour very best to beat them butthat’s the excitement, that’s thechallenge in front of us.

“Hopefully, you’ll see whatKiwis are made of out thereand our never-say-die attitude;we will stand up when weneed to. There are no secondchances now, are there?

“People aren’t expectingus to win and from my pointof view, I think that’s a goodplace to be because if that’s thecase, we can go out there andplay with some real freedom.”

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New Zealand arrive inthe semi-finals as theunfancied outsiders of

the quartet, but skipper KaneWilliamson insists the slate hasbeen wiped clean.

The Black Caps lost theirlast three game in the groupstage, to Pakistan, Australiaand England, but qualified forthe final four on net run rateregardless.

But that indifferent WorldCup form has already beenforgotten by the Black Caps —according to the skipper.

And today’s semi-final withIndia at Old Trafford will seeNew Zealand, runners-up fouryears ago, fully confident oftoppling the pre-matchfavourites and returning to thebiggest stage in world cricket.

“It’s one of those occasionswhere every team has workedso hard to end up in the lastfour where, to a certain extent,it all starts again where the daycomes and anything can hap-pen,” he said.

“All sides have beaten oneanother on a number of occa-sions throughout the last fewyears, so it is a really excitingopportunity for all teams.

“I think for everybody itsort of starts fresh tomorrowafter what was a very toughround-robin stage, and we werecertainly expecting that itwould be tough.

“It’s just a great occasion tobe a part of. I know the guys arereally excited by the opportuni-ty to go out and try and try andplay with that freedom thatwhen we do gives us the bestchance.”

For Williamson and oppo-site man Virat Kohli, today’sclash sees history repeatingitself.

Back in 2008, these twosides met in the ICC Under-19World Cup semis withWilliamson and Kohli bothskippering their sides.

India emerged victoriousthat day, with Kohli actuallydismissing his opposite man.

Not that Wil l iamsonremembers it all that well: “Iactually hadn't thought aboutthat at all so I guess that's kindof cool, isn't it, that a few yearslater, we're here again, perhapson a slightly different stage, butpretty special and a lot ofrespects to being able to leadyour country out in a semifinalon the biggest stage.

“He (Kohli) used to be anall-rounder I think back in theday, but hasn't bowled as muchrecently.

“He was a formidable play-er, growing up -- that seemsodd to say because we were at

the same age playing againsteach other on a number ofoccasions and then to go intointernational cricket at ayoungish age, then IPL andthese different sorts of things.

“It’s obviously been a plea-sure watching Virat play andevolve into the superstar that heis.”

If the Black Caps are todown India on Tuesday, the keywill be getting to their toporder.

Rohit Sharma has madehistory already this tourna-ment, becoming the first manto make five centuries in a sin-gle World Cup.

Kohli also made five halfcenturies on the spin during thetournament – but Williamson

knows the importance ofSharma to India’s success.

He added: “There’s a lot ofparts to (dismissing him) andas a bowling unit, first and fore-most, it's assessing conditions.Rohit has been clearly thestand-out batter in this tourna-ment so far and been battingbeautifully.

“But, as we know, we comeinto a semi-final. It is anotherday where both sides will betrying to adjust to the condi-tions as quickly as possible andboth teams will be looking forearly wickets regardless of whattheir name may be, but, with-out a doubt, he’s been superbthroughout the tournament.”

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DOWN THE MEMORY LANE

In seven World Cup meetings between these twosides, it is the Black Caps who have the better

record. They have won four clashes to India’s three inmatches dominated by the chasing side. Six of theseven encounters have been won by the team battingsecond, but as we have seen in England this summer,that has not always been the best option. And despitetheir seven previous encounters, 2019 will be the firsttime the two sides have met in the semi-finals.

MANCHESTER MATCH-UP (1975)

Coincidentally, it was also at Old Trafford thatIndia and New Zealand first locked horns in a

World Cup. In a Group A meeting that India had towin to make the knockout rounds, they could onlymanage a total of 230 from their 60 overs, Syed AbidAli clubbing a late-order 70 to get them there. Andwhen Glenn Turner anchored the Black Caps’ chasewith an unbeaten 114, victory and a semi-final spotwas theirs with four wickets and seven balls remain-ing.

LEEDS LOCKDOWN (1979)

Four years later and once again the Black Capsemerged on top, dominating the early years of this

burgeoning rivalry. India again batted first but SunilGavaskar’s stubborn half century was the best theycould manage in a total of 182 all out. In response,Bruce Edgar accrued a unbeaten knock of 84 in aneight-wicket win, although it took the Black Caps 57overs to get over the line as India were again sentpacking at the group stages while the Kiwis advancedonce more to the final four.

DOUBLE DELIGHT (1987)

Four years after becomingworld champions for the

first time, India hosted the1987 World Cup and metNew Zealand twice in thegroup stage. And both timesthey emerged on top, first ina 16-run in Bangalore thatowed much to Kapil Dev’sunbeaten later order fire-works. And then in Nagpurtwo weeks later, it wasChetan Sharma’s hat-trickthat caught the eye along

with a Gavaskar hundred in anine-wicket win.

DUNEDIN DELIGHT (1992)

Fast forward to NewZealand hosting in

1992, and in the onlygame of the tourna-ment held inCarisbrook, it was thehome side who againdominated. SachinTendulkar made 84 outof India’s total of 230/6but the Black Capschase was smooth andserene. MarkGreatbatch was the starman with 73 as New

Zealand ended up top-ping the points tablewhile India were out

before the knockout rounds.

SUPERB DRAMA (1999)

It was in 1999, the last time the World Cup was inEngland, that India and New Zealand first met

beyond the groupstages. This time it wasin the Super Sixes andonce again the BlackCaps were moving onwhile India were giventheir marching orders.Ajay Jadeja hit a halfcentury for India asthey made 251/6 butMatt Horne and Roger

Twose’s half centuriesclaimed New Zealand afive-wicket win with ten

balls remaining.

CENTURION AUTHORITY (2003)

New Zealandmight have the

wood on India inWorld Cups overall.But the most recentclash 16 years ago atCenturion saw Indiaturn the tide in theSuper Sixes. ZaheerKhan knocked overNew Zealand foronly 146, the left-armer at the peak ofhis powers in taking4/42. And India rat-tled of the chase forthe loss of only threewickets, MohammadKaif and RahulDravid to the fore to

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It is a strange coincidence thatVirat Kohli and Kane Williamsoncaptained their respective sides in

the Under 19 World Cup and met inthe semi-finals, with India going onto win the Cup back then.

Since then both the greats havegone places on the popularity charts,as also deserving cricketers andthis time they would be meeting asskippers in the bigger Cup with allthose years, runs, milestones andjourneys that have brought both tothe top of the ladder.

Incidentally, Kohli had backthen rolled his arm and takenWilliamson’s wicket though he does-n’t remember that on the eve of hismost crucial game which will trans-port one of them to Lord’s, and theother home.

“It’s a really nice memory andwe’ll both feel good about knowingthat this is happening and no-one,neither me nor him, could have everanticipated that one day this willhappen, but yeah it is a really nicething,” he said with a smile whenreminded of it in his pre-match Pressconference.

Kohli does not remember bowl-ing Kane out on the earlier occasion.“I got Kane’s wicket? Did I?,” he asksto laughter. “I can bowl anytime, Iam lethal,” the skipper jokes. But hedoes say with a laugh that “I don’tknow if that can happen again now.”That, however, will not stop himfrom reminding Kane about it.

“I’m sure he remembers, whenwe meet tomorrow (today) I’mgoing to remind him. It is quite anice thing to realise that 11 yearsafter, we are captaining our respec-tive nations again in a senior WorldCup from U19. We have spokenabout it before. A lot of players fromthat World Cup, from our batch,from their batch, from other teamsas well, made it to the national teamsand are still playing, which is a greatthing to see,” Kohli says.

Later in the day, Williamson,too, is indulgent to similar memo-ries. “I actually hadn’t thought aboutthat at all so I guess that’s kind ofcool, isn’t it, that a few years later,we’re here again, perhaps on a

slightly different stage, but prettyspecial and a lot of respect to beingable to lead your country out in asemi-final on the biggest stage,” hesays. As for Kohli getting him on thatday, Kane exclaims: “Oh dear! Tellme how (laughter). He used to be anall-rounder I think back in the day,but hasn’t bowled as much recent-ly,” he said amid laughter.

The two skippers had clashed inthe semis at the 2008 U-19 semi-finals in Malaysia. The others whowere and are in both the teams thenand now are Ravindra Jadeja, TrentBoult and Tim Southee. Kohli, whowas Man of the Match then, had led

his team to a three-wicket victoryagainst the Black Caps. RohitSharma, who is now in the purplepatch of his batting career, was notpart of that team as he was on anassignment to represent India in the2008 Commonwealth Bank ODI tri-series.

From that day to now, the twohave launched different journeys.Kohli grew from being brash andaggressive in person to correct anddelightful with the bat. Kane, on theother hand, shaped himself more asthe non-violent kinds, showing offa quiet consistency in his build-ups.Kohli has the pleasure of captaining

the best ODI team in the world,ranked No 1, with a batting-line-upthat has been taking the burden ofjust scoring off from the Indian skip-per’s shoulders. Kane, on the otherhand, has been battling his runenforcer Martin Guptill’s bad formand has emerged as the lone warriorsaving face and matches for his teamin this World Cup. Kohli has had theprivilege to delve more deeply intothe ticklish aspects of captaining, notbothering to be fixated on his per-sonal scoring milestones, whileWilliamson has been the whistle onthe pressure cooker all through thebusiness end of the tournament,scoring centuries Kohli says he is notmissing his first that is yet to comedespite six 50 plus scores in eightmatches.

Kohli has been part of a teamthat has long had greats to look upto, from Sachin Tendulkar to MSDhoni to Rohit Sharma to Yuvraj

Singh and many others while grow-ing up the ranks and now leads allforms of the cricket his team plays.Williamson has had not the sameprivilege and has performed almostunnoticed through these 11 yearsthat have given him captaincy of amuch lesser team on the charts ascompared to India.

This World Cup, the chirp is allaround Rohit Sharma’s centurionrun rather than Kohli’s yet to comethree figure mark. But Williamsonhas shown his quiet aggression withthe bat, pacing his century inningsto the sole focus of winning thematch, alone and unsupported manya time.

Kohli knows his opponent “anice guy” is Kane and able. Kohli saidhe knew Williamson, also NewZealand’s batting mainstay, was aspecial talent when he first saw himplay in 2007. “In an Under-19 Testmatch, he played a shot off one of

our fast bowlers off the back foot. Iremember fielding in the slips andtelling someone that I have neverseen someone playing a shot likethat. We always knew he had the spe-cial ability to go all the way. Now he’scontrolling the tempo of the gamefor NZ in every game he plays.” Theskipper expects a central role fromWilliamson today too. His and RossTaylor will be his key wickets. “Heis always been the main guy forthem, along with Ross (Taylor),”Kohli said. “From our point of view,getting them early will be crucialbecause we know how strong theycan be together in a partnership.”

Williamson too remembersUnder 19 Malaysia 2008 with fondmemories, much like Kohli thoughthe latter was the ultimate winner. Asthey meet today, after the custom-ary handshake, there will be twomen with different teams but withthe same intent: To win.

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Indias limited-overs deputyRohit Sharma has been on a roll

with 647 runs from 8 innings thatincludes 5 centuries. As the teamheads into the semi-final againstNew Zealand, skipper Virat Kohlionce again acknowledged therole Rohit has played at the top ofthe order for India. In fact, Kohliwent on to add that he was notdisappointed at missing out afterscoring five fifties as his role hasbeen different.

"It's been a different kind ofrole that I've had to play in thisWorld Cup and, as the captain ofthe team, I have been open toplaying any kind of role that theteam wants me to, so it's great thatRohit is scoring so consistentlywhich means that coming in thelater half of the innings you haveto play a different role which iscontrolling the middle overs andletting guys like Hardik (Pandya),Kedar (Jadhav), MS (Dhoni) inthe past few games, and nowRishabh (Pant), come out andexpress themselves.

"Personal milestones honest-ly is something that no-one everfocuses on. Rohit said the samething the other day. He is only try-ing to do the best for the team andin that process special thingshappen which is something that

I have always believed in mycareer so far. I could never imag-ine that I could get the number ofhundreds I have and the onlyfocus has always been the team,"he smiled.

But Kohli wants Rohit tocontinue the good show and hittwo more centuries to help Indialift the trophy at Lord's on July 14.

"So, I think playing a teamsport you need to adapt and I'mvery happy doing that role and Ihope he gets two more so we canwin two more games (smiling).It's an outstanding achievement.I have never seen anyone get fivehundreds in a World Cup, be anytournament, so World Cup is allthe more pressure and he hasbeen outstanding and he deservesall the credit. According to me, heis at the moment the top ODIplayer in the world," he said.

Asked to elaborate further onhis own role, Kohli said: "So I haveunderstood that roles can vary alot in one-day cricket, dependingon the time you step into bat, andI have been very happy withholding one end and letting guysexpress themselves striking at150, 160 or 200 if the team needsand I can accelerate in the end."

But Kohli also realises that itwill not be easy against the NewZealand bowlers, especially if theoverhead conditions help them.

"The New Zealand attack hasalways been a very balancedbowling attack. Their pacers arevery consistent. Mitchell Santnerbrings in a lot of control with hisskills in the middle overs. So theyare a team which has alwaysbeen a very consistent team, so weknow that against them we'llhave to be very, very disciplined,at the same time we will have toplay very correct cricket to scoreruns against them because theyare bowling good lines andlengths and they know what theyare doing.

"So, we have to be sure ofwhat we are doing and that's thekind of challenge that the teambrings. They put the ball in theright areas and then make youplay good shots. So, it's going tobe a nice battle. We have playedagainst them a lot. But they are aquality side with very, very potentbowling attack," the captain point-ed.

Asked about the Indian bowl-ing attack, Kohli said: "Well,according to me, our bowlingattack has been up there with thebest, if not the best bowlingattack in the competition. I thinkthe way we have bowled in low-scoring games, even coming backinto the match when the guyshave been hit, I think they haveshown a lot of character."

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Pundits have spoken abouthow playing New Zealand

in the semi-final of the WorldCup could be an easier chal-lenge for Virat Kohli andboys, but the India skipperbelieves that every time histeam walks onto the field, thepressure of expectations is thesame irrespective of the teamthey are facing or the seriesthey are playing.

For the Indian team,every game is full of pressure,so we have never felt like anygame has been easy for us atall.

"I can't remember the lasttime I stepped on to the fieldand felt like 'It doesn't matterwhat happens in this game'.For the Indian team there arealways full stadia and peopleexpect you to do well, andthere is always pressure, aswell as opportunity. So as Isaid, we are well-equipped tohandle those kind of situa-tions.

"But I think a World Cupknockout game brings thatmuch more attention andexcitement on the outsideand the atmosphere is goingto be very different from abilateral series. So just to beable to soak that in and focuson what we need to do isgoing to be probably the onlychallenge that we face interms of it being different.

"But otherwise you haveto play good cricket to win agame of cricket and that'sbeen our focus this WorldCup and I don't think wewould change that because it'sa knockout game, it is veryimportant to treat it as agame of cricket and do whatwe are known to do," he said.

With the expectationscome the pressure to win andKohli said that his team is bet-ter equipped to handle thatpressure as they are now usedto it. He went on to add thatit was no secret that not goingforward from here would bea huge disappointment.

"Everyone feels disap-pointed when you come to astage of a tournament like thisand you don't make itthrough. But look, yeah, theIndian team always carries alot of pressure and expecta-tion wherever we play and weare quite used to that over theyears to be honest.

"Yeah, we are better off -

- I think we are betterequipped to react well inthese situations because weknow what these kind ofgames and our fan-base andthe expectations brings, so Ithink disappointment is equalon either side. I wouldn'tagree if you said New Zealandwon't be disappointed if theylose. Our aim and our focusis obviously on winning and,

as I said, whichever teamplays better will win," hepointed out.

India have been in thesemis in both the previousoccasions and while theresults have been contrasting-- India won in 2011 and lostin 2015 -- Kohli said the firstgoal coming into this editionwas to work towards qualify-ing for the semi-final.

"Very obviously, verycontrasting. The win inMohali was my first WorldCup and we make it to thefinals and playing at homeand the whole atmospherewas brilliant so getting toexperience that for me as ayoungster was somethingmagnificent. 2015, I was moreof an established player andnot being able to get the

team across the line was obvi-ously very disappointing forall of us.

"This time around,because the format has beendifferent, and we understandthe tournament has beenlong, guys have put in a lot ofeffort day in day out and torealise we have achieved thefirst goal that we wanted towhich was to qualify for thesemis, that gives you an extraboost of energy.

"Now we can focus total-ly on the remaining twogames that we have in thetournament and try to bringour A-game and take up theintensity even more.

I think those -- thatincentive is very important torealise as a team that you havedone what you wanted to doas a first goal. And now youcan be even more intense andenergetic when you step on tothe field. It gives you moreenergy knowing we are enter-ing the last phase of the tour-nament. Bodies are not goingto be as fresh but these kindof things motivate you evenfurther to put in more ener-gy so we are quite happy afterqualifying," he explained.

Asked about the lastminute change in travel plans,after India finished on top fol-lowing Australia losing theirlast group game against SouthAfrica on Saturday, Kohlisaid: "We are very happybecause it was only one hourcompared to three hours onthe bus."

Had India come second,they would have played inBirmingham.

"So the boys are veryhappy with the change intravel and Manchester is agreat city to be in also, so allthe guys were very happy. Themood is great. Everyone isvery relaxed, very confident.

"And look, all the teamsworked hard to get to thesemoments and now whoeverplays better on the day weknow that things are as sim-ple or as complicated as that.So, we are all looking forwardto it.

"It's been a long tourna-ment, it's been a lot of hardwork, a lot of intense games,so yeah, we are really, reallyhappy that we have made it tothe semis and now there'sonly opportunity that lies infront of us and everyone isvery excited for it," he said.

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Ten-man Brazil held on to win theCopa America on home soil

despite Gabriel Jesus’s dismissal witha 3-1 victory over Peru on Sunday.

Jesus scored the decisive goalafter a penalty from Peru captainPaolo Guerrero canceled outEverton’s opener for hosts Brazil atRio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium.

A last minute penalty from sub-stitute Richarlison sealed a win forBrazil which handed the SouthAmerican giants their ninth Copa tri-umph and first since 2007.

Jesus’s evening went sour 20minutes from time as he was sent offfor a second booking.

The Manchester City striker wasin tears as he left the field, makingobscene hand gestures, angrily kick-ing a water bottle and almost knock-ing over the trophy plinth.

Brazil’s players rallied after thedismissal however to claim a battlingvictory. Earlier, underdogs Perumade a confident start and didn’t

appear overawed by either theiropponents or the occasion.

But it quickly became apparentthat they were up against moreaccomplished players.

Brazil’s opening goal came froma piece of individual brilliance byJesus, whose drag back fooled twodefenders, creating space for him tocross for the unmarked Everton todrill home at the back post on thequarter hour.

Just as it looked as if Brazil wouldstroll to victory, Peru went on theattack and a Christian Cueva cross hitthe arm of a sliding Thiago Silva, giv-ing Peru a penalty that was confirmedafter a VAR review. Guerrero sentgoalkeeper Alisson the wrong wayfrom 12 yards and Peru were back init just before half-time.

But they paid for their lack ofguile and experience with almost thelast kick of the half as Arthur wasallowed to drive at the defence frommidfield following a slip from RenatoTapia that left him space to attack.

Center-back Carlos Zambano

also slipped, allowing Arthur to feedJesus in the middle of the area andthe Manchester City striker made nomistake, finding the bottom corner.

Brazil were in complete controlin second half as Peru could hardlystring two passes together.

But the dynamic changed 20minutes from time as Jesus wasgiven his marching orders for a sec-ond yellow card after a late challengeon Cueva.

The onus was now on Peru toattack and Miguel Trauco brought anear post save out of Alisson whileEdison Flores fizzed a volley fromoutside the area just wide.

But amidst a flurry of substitu-tions, fouls and injury stoppages, thesteam went out of Peru’s efforts andthey were unable to exert any sus-tained pressure on the hosts.

Any hopes they had were extin-guished when Zambrano wasadjudged to have barged over Evertonin the penalty area and substituteRicharlison drilled home the spot-kick into the bottom corner.

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Injury-hit Australia could see somenew faces play in the World Cup

semifinals against arch-rivals Englandbut coach Justin Langer is optimisticof the reinforcements filling in thevoid.

Top-order batsman UsmanKhawaja and Shaun Marsh were ruledout of the World Cup after sufferinga hamstring injury and a fractured armrespectively. Mathew Wade and PeterHandscomb have been called asreplacements for the duo.

All-rounder Marcus Stoinis wasalso hampered by a side complaint, anissue which had sidelined him for twogroup stage matches. Mitch Marsh hasbeen called up as stand by.

Australia, who were sitting com-fortably on the top of the points table,slipped in their last group game andwill face England in the semifinal andwith key players suffering injury thereigning champion will be feeling thepressure.

“It is pressure for anyone, but thereis pressure for all 22 guys on the park,”Langer was quoted as saying byCricket.Com.Au.

“Matthew Wade has played a lot ofinternational cricket if he comes in.There’s a real upside to him and he isin no doubt career-best form.

“Peter Handscomb a few monthsago helped us beat India 3-2 in Indiain their conditions and then 5-0against Pakistan in the UAE. Histemperament is excellent for it. MitchMarsh has also played a lot of one dayinternational cricket. We’re reallylucky,” Langer said.

Australia has maintained that theside is open to shuffling the battingorder according to the situation andLanger reiterated that they are a veryadaptable team.

“We’ve got so many options, andthat’s the positive thing. Whether it’sSteve Smith batting at No 3, whetherit’s Alex Carey coming up, we’ve gotso many options — it’s a very adapt-able team,” Langer said.

Australia’s batting strategy is heav-ily based on their top order firing con-sistently and their middle and lower-order finishing the game.

David Warner (638 runs at 79.75)and Finch (507 at 56.33) have struckfive centuries between them andLanger stressed they need top-orderplayers who can follow their lead.

“We’ll keep sticking to the way we

have picked over (recent) times — thetop four guys who can score hundreds.

“We’ll weigh it all up. Potentiallywith Mitch Marsh coming in giving us

some medium pace. He’s been bowl-ing as well, played four Australia Agames in pretty good form with batand ball,” he said.

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South Africa coach OttisGibson is in no mood to

call it quits despite the team’sdismal World Cup cam-paign as he believes that hedid not get enough time toprepare the Proteas for thebig event. Asked what wasthe biggest challenge of hiscoaching tenure, Gibsonsaid: “Time, I would say.Having enough time to builda team. We tried the wholepositive and aggressivebrand of cricket but youneed time.

“Sometimes it’s notgoing to work but you needtime for that to bed in, forpeople to understand what itis that you are trying to getacross and for people tounderstand their roles.”

Gibson’s contract ashead coach is set to expire inSeptember this year but hemade it clear that he wouldwant to stay on to helpSouth Africa rebuild fol-lowing the disappointingWorld Cup.

“I want my job … I lovemy job. I have to hear fromthem (CSA). The contractwas always to mid-September 2019, so we’llhave to see,” Gibson said.

“From my point of view,we have had a disappointingWorld Cup and if you takethe World Cup in isolation,you might feel the need forchange. But if you look overthe last two years, we havedone some good things aswell.” South Africa had todeal with the retirement of

the legendary AB de Villiers,injuries to some key players,and also off-field issueswhich included the financialcrunch faced by the CricketSouth Africa (CSA).

“In that time we’ve hadretirements, we’ve had somepeople go off and Kolpak,we’ve had injuries — espe-cially in the last six monthsor so. And then players thatyou felt were ready didn’t putthe runs on the board, so youfeel that you have to givethem a little more time,”Gibson said.

“All in all, looking backon it now, you feel like youjust wish you had a little bitmore time. But you didn’thave that time. The WorldCup was around the corner,and you had to deal with it.”

Gibson, who had a briefstint with England as a bowl-ing coach between March2015 and September 2017,said South Africa shouldfollow the blueprint of theEnglish side following theirearly ouster from the 2015edition.

He also believes SouthAfrica have the resources tobecome a formidable forcein the global game onceagain in the future.

“There is a lot of talentin South Africa. Whetherthat talent is ready to take thenext step is what we need tosee over the next 12 months,”Gibson said. “If you arethinking in the white-ballsense, around the WorldCup, we’ve got four years toplan for a World Cup, whichgives you a lot more time.”

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World number one AshleighBarty’s hopes of becoming

the first Australian women’s cham-pion in nearly four decades weredashed on Monday, opening the wayfor Serena Williams to potentiallyequal the all-time Grand Slam haul.

At the opposite end of the agescale to 37-year-old Williams, 15-year-old Coco Gauff could not sum-mon up yet another magical perfor-mance as the crowd-pleasingAmerican went down 6-3, 6-3, tobattle-hardened Romanian SimonaHalep.

Having looked assured last week,while Williams was not altogetherconvincing, it was 23-year-oldAustralian Barty who cracked andwent down in three sets to unseed-ed American Alison Riske 3-6, 6-2,6-2.

There was one consolation forBarty as Karolina Pliskova couldhave taken her number one spot butthe Czech third seed went out as wellin a marathon duel beaten by com-patriot Karolina Muchova 4-6, 7-5,13-11

Williams, bidding for a 24thGrand Slam title to tie withAustralian Margaret Court, will playRiske next after trouncing CarlaSuzarez Navarro 6-2, 6-2.

“It is a tough one to swallowbut I lost to a better player,” saidBarty, who had been hoping tobecome the first Australianchampion since EvonneGoolagong Cawley won hersecond title in 1980.

For Riske it was perhapsan unexpected early weddingpresent — she gets marriedafter Wimbledon StephenAmritraj, the son of for-mer Indian Davis Cupplayer Anand — butextremely well-earned.

It will be the 29-

year-old’s first appearance in aGrand Slam quarter-final.

“I had to play aggressive. I hadto take it to Ash,” said Riske

“The grass definitely brings outthe best in me. Hopefully it will ruboff and happen in other places too.”

The prospect of playingWilliams did not have her kneesknocking together in fear either:“Bring it on!”

Halep unlike Gauff 's previousopponents did not let a partisancrowd nor some audacious stroke-play by the Americanunnerve her and alwayshad the upper hand.

Gauff did save threematch points but in theend former world numberone Halep had little trouble inclosing out the match.

The American, though,leaves having given the women’s

game a much-needed shot in

the arm and announced herself asa future Grand Slam contender.

Williams, whose clay court sea-son was affected by a knee injury,said the hunger for the game and forvictory is as strong as ever.

“I always get excited,” saidWilliams after her victory which puther into a 14th Wimbledon quarter-final.

“I’m a really pumped player.That’s my personality. Of courseI still I want it or else I would-n't be here.”

Williams has teamed upwith another former world

number one Andy Murray in themixed doubles said she will not betaking Riske for granted.

“Last time I faced a fellowAmerican, I lost,” she said in refer-ence to her loss to Sofia Kenin at

Roland Garros“She’s great on the grass and

took out the number one player inthe world who’s just won a grasscourt tournament (Barty won inBirmingham).”

Zhang Shuai became the firstChinese woman since Li Na in 2013to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

World number 50 Zhang defeat-ed Ukraine teenager DayanaYastremska 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 — a resultfar from her mind when she wastalked out of retiring at her lowestpoint in 2015.

The 30-year-old, who facesHalep for a place in the semi-finals, thanked her close friend anddoubles partner Australia's SamStosur for convincing her to stickwith it.

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Opener Jason Roy hasset the scene forEngland’s Ashes-

flavoured World Cup semi-final, suggesting Australiamight be suffering fromfragile confidence after theirdefeat to South Africa andsetting up a mouth-wateringknockout clash inBirmingham.

“It should be a greatgame. I think them losing toSouth Africa might haveknocked their confidence abit,” said Roy, beforeacknowledging thatEngland’s loss to Australia inthe group stage might helpbalance the books.

“When you get to thesemi-final stage any teamyou come up against isgoing to be a tough ask,mentally and physically.They hammered us at Lord’sbut who knows what it isgoing to bring?

“As exciting as it is,we’ve got to stay as relaxedas we can, understanding

that it is a World Cupsemi-final that doesn’tcome around very oftenand that we’ve been work-ing towards this for years.”

Fit-again Roy admit-ted that he feared for hisown part in the tourna-ment after tearing a ham-string while fielding againstthe West Indies, eventual-ly missing three games.

“I’ll be honest, therewas a bit of a fear I mightbe out, there was a bit of ascare there initially but Ineeded to stay positivearound the group,” he said.“I was staying around thelads and travelling withthem so I had to keep giv-ing out positive vibes andtry to help where I can.”

Australia are wellaware they will requireearly wickets on Thursday,with Roy and JonnyBairstow averaging 84.80for the opening standwhen batting together.

Roy didn’t faceAustralia in England’s lossa fortnight ago, but has

averaged 68.20 in this year’sWorld Cup, striking at arate of 114.04.

Bairstow has mean-while hit back-to-back cen-turies since that loss toAustralia, after coming outswinging against criticismfrom the likes of formerEnglish captain MichaelVaughan.

There is a belief theopener thrives on beingfired up by a verbal chal-lenge, but Australian coachJustin Langer said his teamwon’t get into a war ofwords with the hosts.

“We wont get into thatsort of rubbish,” Langersaid. “We’ve played themtwice, we’ve played them ina practice game, we beatthem twice.

“We’ve got the playersand the camaraderie andthe character and the feel-ing in the group to do itagain.

“A World Cup semifinal against England atEdgbaston — it’s going tobe great.”

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