Worried EC summons more observers

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Worried EC summons
more observers
BLAME THE FLAME
q Rs 61 cr seized so far q 8 lakh names deleted from list
A WhatsApp picture of an onlooker staring at the
bus which caught fire this morning.
Narrow escape for 15
students, as college
bus catches fire
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
A private college bus mysteriously caught fire at Sardar
Patel Road this morning, with all the 15 students inside
the vehicle escaping unharmed. According to the police,
the bus belonging to SRM University had picked up
students from Adyar and was heading to Kattankulathur
campus in Potheri, at around 7 am. While crossing the
Sardar Patel Road, the driver, Anand, noticed smoke
billowing from the engine of the vehicle.
He subsequently steered the air-conditioned vehicle to
the side of the road and opened the engine which was filled
with smoke. Sensing danger, he instructed the students to
get down from the bus. The police said, in a few minutes
the vehicle caught fire, following which, fire tending vehicles from Raj Bhavan and Guindy arrived at the spot to
put out the flames. By 7.25, the fire was doused and the
situation was brought under control, police said.
Meanwhile, the students were put on a different bus
and sent to the college campus. District Fire Officer,
Vijayakumar arrived at the spot, with the Guindy police
registering a case and initiating an enquiry. Speaking to
News Today, Law and Order Inspector Magimaveeran
said, ‘Short circuit or an electricity leakage in the engine
is assumed to be the reason for the mishap. An enquiry
will bring more clarity to the incident’, he said.
Sources also said that the case will be looked into
by the Regional Transport Office (RTO) department. A
forensic team too has collected samples from the spot.
The vehicle sustained a lot of damage, with all seats
except for the last row gutted in the fire. The air conditioner
and glass panels were completely charred, a police source
said, appreciating Anand who asked the students to leave
the bus. An overheated cooler or an engine, a vehicle
which is not being serviced regularly, or a full tank of oil can
lead to fire accidents, especially during summer, the police
source who was at the spot said. This is the second such
incident to be reported in a span of five days in Guindy.
On 22 April, a 10 member family escaped a tragedy
when the SUV in which they were travelling, erupted
in flames near Kathipara flyover, minutes after they
evacuated the vehicle.
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
With overflowing seizures and allocations, the Election Commission
is deploying more men and machinery to Tamilnadu to ensure that the
16 May Assembly elections is free
and fair.
Today, Chief Electoral Officer
Rajesh Lakhoni told reporters here
that 122 more observers would come
to the State soon. Stating that Rs
61 crore has been seized in various
parts of Tamilnadu so far, he added
vigil would be intensified at places
such as harbour and airports to prevent the flow of money.
As for the deletion of the names of
bogus voters, eight lakh entries were
deleted, he said.
Meanwhile, based on a tip of information from an anonymous call
to Control Room last night that a
person is carrying cash in a private
travels bus from Chennai to Madurai,
special teams were allocated to carry
out inspection, said an official.
‘The team intercepted the bus and
checked the person. Rs 50 lakh
unaccounted cash was found and
seized. We will deposit the cash in
treasury and we will refer the case to
IT department for enquiry and further
investigation,’ he added.
On Tuesday, close on the heels of
unearthing huge amount of currency
in Karur, Chennai and Krishnagiri,
flying squads of the EC seized Rs 1.7
crore in Pudukottai and Rs 2.5 crore
worth nose studs in Coimbatore.
In Chennai, District Election Officer
Nomination day for
Stalin, V’Kanth & Thiruma
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
After a busy Monday that
saw senior leaders from AIADMK and DMK including
J Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi file their nominations,
Wednesday was another
hectic day.
DMK treasurer and
Kolathur candidate M
K Stalin was set to file
his nomination today at
the Ayanavaram zonal
office, while Viduthalai
Chiruthaigal Katchi president Thirumavalavan filed
his papers at the Kattumannarkoil.
Educationist Vasanthi
Devi, the VCK candidate
for RK Nagar constituency, where Chief Minister
J Jayalalithaa is contesting, filed her nomination
today. DMDK-PWF-TMC
Chief Ministerial candidate
Vijayakanth was also set
to file his nomination today
from Ulundurpet.
Jaya’s mega rally
in Madurai
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
Chief Minister and AIADMK
general secretary J Jayalalithaa was set to address an
election rally seeking votes
for her party candidates in
Madurai later today.
She would be addressing at the same venue
along the Ring Road
where she was felicitated
by farmers of five districts
upon the legal victory of
Tamilnadu in increasing
the water level of the
Mullaiperiyar dam to 142
feet in August 2014. Candidates from Madurai,
Theni, Dindigul, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts would be
taking part in the election
meeting.
Top TN BJP leader
injured in mishap
q Ponnar, Tamilisai visit Mohanrajulu in hospital
NT Bureau
Tiruchy, Apr 27:
State general secretary of the BJP
S Mohanrajulu and vice president S
Surendran besides a personal security officer were injured after their
car rammed a lorry on the Tiruchy
- Madurai National Highway on the
district border last night.
All the three were rushed to a private
hospital nearby immediately. Mohanrajulu has sustained critical injuries in
his head and doctors attending on him
said that he has been admitted to ICU.
Surenderan and personal security officer escaped with minor injuries.
Police sources here said the accident occurred at Puzuthipatti in
Sivaganga district limit at around
8.30 pm. The car was going to Chen-
nai from Madurai when
the accident occurred.
The Puzhthipatti police
are investigating. Coming
to know about the news,
Union Minister Pon Rad- S Mohanrajulu
hakrishnan, Tamilnadu in-charge of
the party Muralidhar Rao and State
unit president Tamilisai Soundararajan rushed here from Chennai to
enquire about his condition.
Eye-witness say that the mishap occurred when the lorry driver started reversing the vehicle without proper signal
and the car coming behind rammed into
it at Thuvarankurichi, 60 km from here.
Speaking to press persons after visiting the hospital, Pon Radhakrishnan, said, ‘Mohanrajulu’s
condition is improving. He has sus-
tained bleeding injuries and a team of
doctors are attending on him’.
The news of mishap has shocked BJP
leaders and party workers who are busy
campaigning for the 16 May Assembly
elections. Hundreds of cadres made a
beeline to the hospital where Mohanrululu has been admitted.
Meanwhile , Tamilisai Soundararajan
who was supposed to file her nomination from Virugambakkam Assembly
constituency today has postponed it
tomorrow and rushed to Tiruchy.
BJP has managed to weave an
alliance with Parivendar’s IJK and
Indiya Makkal Kalvi Munnetra Kazhagam led by Devanathan for this
assembly elections. A total of 73
seats has been allocated for their allies while BJP is contesting the rest.
(DEO) Chandramohan told reporters
that the flying squad has so far seized
Rs.7.71 crore in the city.
‘It has been found that 406 polling
booths in Chennai are sensitive. The
Election Commission has decided to
provide additional protection to these
booths,’ he said.
‘In areas near the sensitive booths,
rowdies are being enumerated and
the police have been urged to arrest
them. We have also approached the
Court to issue warrants against these
rowdies so that they cannot emerge
free,’ he said.
M BALASUBRAMANI
Chennai, Apr 27:
‘Not he or she, we are ze’, says Gopishankar, an intersex person, who is planning to make use of the upcoming
Assembly elections to voice out for the gender minority
Here are excerpts of zis interview to News Today.
Q) Who is Gopishankar?
I am a 25-year-old human being and being an intersex
is part of my identity. Right from my childhood I was
different from other girls and was endured to a lot of
harassment because of it. A unusual and problematic
kid for my parents who had to discontinue my studies due to the social unacceptance. Later, I started
‘Srishti Madurai’ in 2011that works for the welfare of
gender and sexual minorities. We became the first to
organise Asia’s first gender queer parade in India and
also popularised the various gender identities in Tamil.
Q) What made you enter politics?
The entire concept of politics has completely changed
now. Where is democracy
when mostly it is people
with money who emerge
victorious. It is more like a
business now where you
invest before elections and
reap the benefits after getting elected. Politics is still
out of reach for commoners.
Election is a tool to create
change and I will use this
opportunity to create awareness among people about
Gopishankar
various genders and sexual
orientation.
Election is a
Q) What are the different
tool to create
genders and sexual orienchange and
tations?
I
will use this
There are 58 gender identities
opportunity to
while only three are known commonly. People are not clear even create awareness
among people
with transgenders, most can not
differentiate between transman
about various
(assigned female at birth but
genders
whose gender identity is that
of a man) and transwoman
(assigned male at birth but whose gender identity is that
of a woman).
Q) What will be your election campaign style?
With the permission of Election Commission, we will print
few questions on a pamphlet and issue it on a door to door
basis. I am competing in Madurai North on behalf of Anaithu
Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK). My campaigns will
mostly be self funded and a few friends have volunteered
to help me. We are planning to have our campaign for eight
days during which we will be travelling in cycle and auto to
reach out to the public.
Q) What will you do if elected?
My major focus will be on education sector. I will ensure that
the childhood of any child is not lost. What they get educated
about is more important. I will also assure that the environment is not exploited and will waive taxes of building that
are constructed in an eco-friendly manner.
2 WEDNESDAY
27 APRIL 2016
CHENNAI
TN ASSEMBLY ELECTION
I yell only at those
who make noise at my
meetings. They distract others who have
come all the way to
listen to my speech.
— VIJAYAKANTH,
DMDK president
19
It’s my responsibility
to condemn Vaiko for
his outrageous accusations against DMK of
instigating caste-related
violence in Kovilpatti.
— M K STALIN,
DMK treasurer
Karunanidhi said at a
public meeting he will get
rid of corruption in TN. But,
who did he have beside
him when he said this?
Dayanidhi Maran is an
accused in an national case.
— S RAMADOSS,
PMK founder
days to go...
Balu hopes to stop
captain’s innings
UOTES
SRINIVASA N V
Chennai, Apr 27:
Advocate K Balu, who has been the face of PMK in television debates,
is a popular name across Tamilnadu after the party announced him as its
candidate to take on DMDK chief Vijayakanth in Ulundurpet constituency.
He talks to News Today about his chances and strategies in the upcoming
Assembly elections.
Q. DID YOU EXPECT TO CONTEST IN THE STATE ELECTIONS?
A. I did not expect. When the party leaders called me, I told them I wanted
to remain an advocate but when the chance was given to contest against
Vijayakanth, I took it up as a challenge.
LEADERS TODAY
Jayalalithaa
Karunanidhi
M K Stalin
Vijayakanth
K Anbazhagan
EVKS Elangovan
Kanimozhi
Premalatha
Ramadoss
Anbumani
Sarathkumar
G K Vasan
G Ramakrishnan
R Mutharasan
Tamilsai Soundararajan
Vaiko
Thirumavalavan
G K Vaasan
Seeman
Paarivendhar
Madurai
Tiruchirappalli
Kolathur
Ulundurpet
Saidapet, Virugambakkam
Royapuram
Krishnagiri
Perambur
Pennagaram, Palacode
Tiruchirappalli
Virudhunagar
Melur, Manapparai, Kottampatti
Viluppuram
Tiruvannamalai
Virugambakkam, Perambur
Aravakurichi, Tarapuam,
Palladam, Kinathukadavu
Katumannarkoil
Madurai (South), Melur,
Kottampatti, Manapparai
Cuddalore, Panruti,
Katumannarkoil, Jeyamkondan
Tiruchirappalli, Aravakurichi,
Vedachandur, Natham.
IT’S MEME
S
aidapet is a busy neighbourhood in the city. Historically, it
is said the area was founded
by the Nawab of Carnatic in the 18th
century and was named as Sayyid
Khan Pettah in memory of Sayyid
Khan who was army commander of
the Nawab’s forces. When British
East India Company occupied the
area, it was made the administrative
headquarters of Chingleput district.
Panagal building, Saidapet Court,
Chinnamalai bridge are important
landmarks of the
neighbourhood. The
area has a
very busy
market place
which is located along Bazaar Road. It is
famous for its fish
and meat shops attracting buyers from
far away places.
In political terms, DMK
has been the most successful party here, having won the
seat seven times, while AIADMK won it
five times. In 2011 Assembly election,
AIADMK candidate Senthamizhan G
defeated DMK candidate Magesh Kumaar by a margin of 12,071 votes. While
Senthamizhan managed to garner 79,856
votes, Magesh Kumaar got 67,785.
SAIDAPET
Q. WHAT IS YOUR FEELING
ON CONTESTING AGAINST THE
DMDK CHIEF?
A. Vijayakanth is an actor
and believes the people of Ullundurpet are uneducated and
will vote for him because he is
a movie star.
In 2006, he contested from
Virudachalam and in 2011 from
Rishivandiyam from where he
won but he has never spoken for
the people of his constituency in
the Assembly.
R RANGARAJ
Chennai, Apr 27:
The problem for DMK president M
Karunanidhi has been that he has
mixed up family issues with that of
the party/government, and vice versa.
Problems that cropped up within
the family/families should have been
settled within their four walls using his
status as the family elder. However,
there have been occasions when Karunanidhi resorted to the party machinery
or governmental institutions to take
action against ‘erring’ family members,
rather than solve them at home.
Take, for instance, the episode relating to the publication of an opinion poll
by Dinakaran daily, run by the Maran
brothers. The poll gave a high percentage of support for Karunanidhi’s
son M K Stalin, and a low percentage
to Stalin’s brother M K Alagiri and to
Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi, on
the question of succession in the DMK.
DMK leaders including Karunanidhi, then Union minister Alagiri and
Kanimozhi condemned Dinakaran
management for publishing the survey.
Karunanidhi said he had informed the
Marans the previous day not to publish the survey, saying it would create
problems, but they ignored his advice.
Then followed a series of attacks on
the establishments of the Dinakaran/
Tamil Murasu daily, owned by the
Maran brothers, across Tamilnadu.
Some DMK men were said to be
connected with the attacks. Three
employees of the newspaper office
in Madurai had died when a mob
hurled petrol bombs on 9 May, 2007
objecting to publication of the survey.
When mediapersons asked Karunanidhi why these attacks on media
establishments were taking place, the
Chief Minister condemned the attacks
but said Dinakaran should not have
published the survey. He mentioned
that the Maran brothers were told not to
Q. WHAT WOULD BE YOUR
STRATEGY AS YOUR CONTESTING AGAINST A CHIEF MINISTERIAL CANDIDATE?
A. There are no special strategies that I would employ against
him, my win in this constituency
is certain. P Seenivasan defeated
Congress stalwart K Kamaraj in
the 1967 elections, E G Sugavanam from DMK defeated AIADMK
supremo, J Jayalalithaa in 1996
elections. Similarly I will also
defeat Vijayakanth.
Name
DOB
Occupation
Residence
Senthamizhan G
22-3-1963
Advocate
Saidapet, Chennai
VOTERS (2011)
Male
Female
Total
76,379
77,664
154,043
Q. IF ELECTED WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR THE PEOPLE OF YOUR
CONSTITUENCY?
A. I have not previously contested in any election but I have still done a lot
for the people. This constituency when compared to the rest of Tamilnadu
is very backward in facilities be it health or education related. I will create
more job opportunities, make sure everybody receives proper education
and health facilities and will be a responsible leader.
Karunanidhi and his family
members should have realised that
the matter had to be settled within
the family but some elements
were allowed to take the law into
their own hands
go ahead with publication of the survey
and that it would create problems. He
had been proved right, he said.
Karunanidhi and his family members should have realised that the
matter had to be settled within the
family but some elements were allowed to take the law into their own
hands. The issue had a further fallout as the Union minister for IT and
Communication, Dayanidhi Maran,
irumangalam is a locality
and municipality in the Madurai district of the State.
There are two tales which revolve around how the area got
its name. It is said that mangalyam for Goddess Meenakshi
of Madurai was designed and
made in Tirumangalam, so the
name Tiru+Mangal(y)am
came. Another tale
is that when
Lord Muruga married
Dheivanai in
K BALU
Q. HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU OF WINNING?
A. In the past 50 years there have been two major political parties
(DMK, AIADMK) who have ruled the State but did nothing for the people.
Wherever I go for campaigning people welcome me and want a change,
I am sure of winning from this constituency and bringing in a change.
MK MIXES UP
FAMILY ISSUES
WITH PARTY
T
CURRENT MLA
Q. PREMALATHA VIJAYAKANTH HAS BOLDLY STATED
THAT ANYBODY WHO CONTESTS AGAINST HER HUSBAND
WILL LOOSE THEIR DEPOSIT?
A. I initially called Vijayakanth for
a debate but he was not ready, then
I called Premalatha for a debate
she too refused . Vijayakanth is not
well, he can hardly walk. He should
not be contesting in the elections,
he should take rest. It would be
a miracle if he came third in the
number of votes
had to resign after a party meeting
condemned his action (in publishing
the survey). The meeting considered
this as party violation, and urged the
UPA government to drop him from the
council of ministers! An intra-family
issue became an intra-party issue
and ultimately a governmental issue.
The DMK government launched the
TN Arasu Cable Corporation aimed at
crippling the SCV of Kalanithi Maran
Thiruparankundram, the ‘Tirumangalyam’ was made here and
hence the name.
In political terms, the Assembly
constituency is part of Virudhunagar (Lok Sabha constituency). The
2009-2010
by-elections
witnessed
89 per cent
polling, and
gave new word
to political
dictionary
- ‘Tirumangalam Formula’.
In 2011 Assembly election,
AIADMK candidate
Muthuramalingam M defeated DMK candidate Manimaran M by a margin of 26,367.
Muthuramalingam secured 101,494
votes, Manimaran got 76,127 votes.
TIRUMANGALAM, MADURAI
and to ultimately reduce the reach of
Maran-owned Sun TV. Kalaignar TV was
launched to counter the growth of Sun
TV, apparently with the assistance of the
new IT minister A Raja, and Kanimozhi,
and Dayalu Ammal, Karunanidhi’s wife,
all of whom now face charges in connection with the 2G scam.
However, there was a patch-up
with the Maran brothers in 2008, and
the Arasu Cable Corporation was
rendered a still-born baby, until the
AIADMK government revived it. Thus,
Arasu Cable was created as an instrument to deal with an ‘erring’ member
of the family but was dropped like a
hot potato one there was a deal with
the ‘erring’ member.
In another case, Alagiri meets his father, the DMK president, and complains
to him about the importance being given
to Stalin, and said he would not allow Stalin to be the next president. Stalin will die
in a few months, and you cannot depend
on him, Alagiri said. How was the matter
dealt with? There was no compromise
solution in the family, instead Karunanidhi
announced that Alagiri was removed
from party post and membership. How
can Alagiri say that his son Stalin would
die in a few months, asked Karunanidhi,
justifying the party action.
It is election time, and Karunanidhi
would like to bring Alagiri back to the
party. However, he cannot do so. The
party continues to suffer due to this indecision and the family feud. Several district
units are worried about the Stalin-Alagiri
tangle and whether it could hamper the
DMK in the run-up to the 16 May elections. Karunanidhi has to fix his family
first, and then fix his party.
The second option for Karunanidhi
is to treat Stalin, Alagiri, Kanimozhi,
Dayanaidhi Maran, as just individuals
and not as members of his family,
while taking decisions on behalf of
the party. Is it too much to expect of
the DMK chief?
CURRENT MLA
Name
Muthuramalingam M
DOB
7-8-1963
Occupation
Farmer
Residence
Avaniyapuram,
Madurai
VOTERS (2011)
Male
Female
Total
89,299
92,648
182,703
Around Town
CHENNAI
WEDNESDAY
27 APRIL 2016
NIFT caught
in controversy
q Caste discrimination complaints
surface in fashion institute
Income Tax officer Krishnamurthy Bhaskaran and other dignitaries
releasing the book Hare Krishna at a function organised by Sree
Krishnarpanam Seva Society at Nanganallur in Chennai recently.
SKSS releases 17th
book for children
q School students to get free
copies of Hare Krishna
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
Sree Krishnarpanam Seva Society (SKSS), Nanganallur, released
their 17th publication Hare Krishna
written by budding author Gayathri
Jambunathan at a function held
here recently.
Sponsored by K Venkataramanan, retired HOD, Commerce
Department, Vivekananda College, the book will be available at
free of cost for school children, a
release said.
Income Tax officer Krishnamurthy
Bhaskaran, who is also a scholar
and exponent in Bharathiyar Literature, released the book and
delivered a lecture on Bharathiyar’s
exemplary approach to social uplift
and national unity born of pure
patriotic fervour expressed in his
own inimitable style of poetic writing in Tamil.
Abinayalaya Dance School, founder-director, Vijayalakshmi Eswaran,
received the fist copy.
The students of Abinayalaya including Gayathri Jambunathan
presented a dance programme on
Lord Krishna on the occasion.
SKSS chairperson J K Sivan,
secretary Sundaram Ramachandran, Keeranur Ramamurthy, Latha
Ramachandran were among those
present.
C P BALASUBRAMANYAM
Chennai, Apr 27:
Serious allegations of caste discrimination have surfaced against
the director of National Institute of
Fashion Technology (NIFT) campus,
Chennai.
According to a couple of complaints
filed with the SC/ST Commission,
the director of the premier institute
along with her ‘supporters’ has been
allegedly involved in harassing their
subordinates on caste grounds.
One of the complainants belonging to SC, who wished to remain
anonymous, said in the complaint
that was registered in 2014 and a
copy of which is in the possession of
News Today, ‘In the Fashion Design
Department where I was posted, a
teaching staff (non-SC candidate)
asked me to do his routine work and
he even forced me to finish his work
and then go home in the nights. I
was also forced to be his attendant
during his class hours for hospitality
requirements such as carrying beverages, switching on ACs, order food,
etc. This was the case despite there
being an attendant in the department.’
It further said, ‘HRA and Travel Allowances have been deducted from
the salary arbitrarily without any explanation even when sought.’
Another complaint said, ‘Besides
ill-treatment, memos, show-cause
notices are a regular affair ever since
the present director rose to the post
in 2013.’
Residents assn
lends hand to EC
q Asks people to ink their fingers on 16 May
q Puts up banners with voters’ wish list
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
While the Election Commission
is pushing for 100 per cent voting
across the State, residents of AGS
Colony at Velacheri are campaigning
for a different cause.
At eight places in the area, posters
conveying two messages are put up.
One encouraging voters to get their
fingers inked on 16 May and the other
has a strong message for candidates
who are contesting in the area. This
board tells about voters’ wish list and
the need to have them fulfilled.
President of AGS Colony Residents
Welfare Association S Sundaresan
says, ‘We began the campaign
by putting up posters as social responsibility. Generally, there is an
impression that residents of AGS
Colony may not vote and there are
less voters. We wanted to change it.
A brain-storming led us to the awareness campaign.’
He adds, ‘around 30-40 posters
ask residents to vote. They encourage people to go to the polling booth.
The message is: Even our votes
count. There are eight (30*18 size)
Residents of AGS Colony pose with their awareness posters put at
Velacheri.
posters that list out our grievances.
These need to be addressed once a
candidate is voted to power.’
Joint secretary of the Association,
Geetha Ganesh, says that the posters put across have a nine things
the candidate will have to fulfill. This
includes some basic amenities such
as drinking water supply, road connectivity, uninterrupted power supply,
better storm water drains and so on.’
‘Most importantly, we have added a
point asking the elected candidate to
hold meetings with the residents once
in three months,’ she adds.
C Madhuri, a resident of 10 Cross
Street, says, such an initiative helps.
‘I know residents who cancelled trips
to be in the city on polling day. It is
the impact of our campaign. This is
a collective effort and what is listed
on the posters are our requirements
which the elected representative is
liable to provide’.
When News Today spoke to the SC/
ST Commission in Shastri Bhavan,
Chennai, the authorities confirmed
that they had received two complaints
from the NIFT staff.
‘We have sent a notice to the director of NIFT, New Delhi, asking him
to submit the facts and information
about action taken on the allegations
within a period of 30 days, failing
which the commission may exercise
the powers of civil courts,’ a source
from the commission said.
However, the director of NIFT,
Chennai, Dr Anitha Mabel Manohar,
refuted the allegations and said,
‘There are some people who are undergoing disciplinary procedures for
which enquiry is under way. There
Musical nite
at IIMM
30 April
is an internal committee that is
working on it and would submit the
report to higher authorities in New
Delhi. To cover up their mistake,
create sympathy and divert the issue some people are raising such
false complaints.’
Explaining about the disciplinary
action against one of the complainants, she said, ‘There is one property of the government that is missing
from a particular department. After
all the procedures are taken up and
if that property is not found, then the
person in-charge should pay money
in compensation. To cover up this
issue along with others, people are
talking about caste and creating a
false image.’
3
School education:
State Ministers
meet in May
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
The Centre is planning to hold a
major conference on school education next month where various issues,
including latest technology solutions
like child tracking system, would be
discussed with States’
Education Ministers.
‘The Ministry is planning to hold a
major conference on school education in May, where various issues
would be discussed with Education
Ministers of States. Latest technology
solutions would also be showcased,’
a senior functionary in the HRD Ministry said on Tuesday.
Last week, HRD Minister Smriti Irani
had tweeted about some of the initiatives that her Ministry is working on.
‘Introducing a child tracking system
for over 200 million children all across
the country to track movement class
to class, identify drop outs,’ Irani
tweeted about the initiatives taken
by her Ministry in the field of school
education.
Irani had also announced that her
Ministry is developing an expenditure portal that centralises various
sources of school education data in
India. She also mentioned a first of
its kind portal for Teacher Education
Institutions which will ensure transparency and grading.
The HRD Minister had said her Ministry is supporting States to help build
composite schools by rationalising
stand alone schools with low enrollment and one teacher.
‘Smaller schools are either mentored
by larger schools in same geographical area or are merged in the interest
of students,’ she had tweeted.
She also announced that the National Assessment Survey (NAS)
which was done once in three years
by NCERT, will now be conducted
annually.
LINES OF CONTROL
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
The Indian Institute of Materials
Management (IIMM), Chennai
Branch which is celebrating golden
jubilee this year is organising a
musical nite
at the Rajarathnam Hall, on 30
April, from 5.30 to 8.30 pm.
According to a press release,
Geet Gaata Chal (GGC), a team of
professionals from the corporate
world will present the programme.
Themed as ‘Ye Shaam Mastani’, it
will be an evening journey down
melody lane. Evergreen songs
by the legends Mohammed Rafi,
Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Mannade,
Hemant Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar,
Asha Bhonsle, Geeta Dutt and
Shamshad Begum will be presented.
For tickets, contact - 98409 98103.
CG Air Station saves
2,000 human lives
Chennai, Apr 27 (PTI):
An air frame of helicopter CG 808 was
unveiled at the Coast Guard Air Station
here, which is engaged in aerial surveillance of eastern coast and Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, to mark its silver jubilee.
Inspector General of Coast Guard
(Eastern Region) S P Sharma formally
unveiled the air frame for display at a
function to mark the silver jubilee of
the Air Station, a release said. Since
its inception on 26 April, 1991, the
air station has completed more than
45,000 hours of flying and has saved
over 2,000 human lives, it said.
The Coast Guard has ensured safety
and security in the Eastern region and
the Dornier and helicopters based at
the Air Station have been providing
surveillance to the region. The team
from the station was also engaged
in rescue and relief efforts on various
occasions including during the post
cyclone off Odisha coast in 2002, the
tsunami in 2004, the Hud Hud off Andhra Pradesh coast in 2013 and during
floods in December, it said.
Flood victims at Pallikaranai get roof
q Malayalee forum constructs 41 houses, including community hall
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
At Mylai Balaji Nagar in Pallikaranai, happy faces invite you into
their new houses. This was the
initiative of the Joint Action Council
of Malayalees. Most of the houses,
which were thatched, were washed
away during the December deluge.
The association, after seeing the
plight of residents, collected funds
and built apartments.
Each house consists of a single room, a kitchen slab and
a bathroom. Apart from the 41
houses they built, a community
hall is also constructed for the
families here.
‘During the floods, a good
number of thatched houses were
destroyed. Several others were
beyond repair. Following which
we shifted to a nearby building
which was under construction
for shelter, unsure about what
The community hall and the house built for flood victims at Mylai Balaji Nagar in Pallikaranai.
to do next,’ recalls Azharudeen
(33), while admiring the tiled and
cemented house built for him by
the Council.
Speaking to News Today, chairman of the Council, A V Anoop
says, ‘Our team visited the place
and carried our a lot of relief work
in December. We thought of doing a
minor help to affected persons, but
when we visited few places we felt
we could not do anything less than
rebuild houses. We held meetings
once in 10 days during which we
received an over whelming response.
At each gathering individuals came
forward with cheques amounting to
Rs 25-30 lakh’, he says and adds that
Malayalees who have stayed in the
city for a long time felt this is the least
they could do to give back to the city
they call home.
There are 50 more partially damaged houses which need to be
fixed, the work will begin by next
Each house consists
of a single room, a
kitchen slab and a
bathroom
month, he informs. Selvi, one of the
beneficiaries, says that she least
expected a new house. ‘They built
the house at a good height with few
steps in the front. We did not have
to spend anything, but we gladly
served food to workers while they
built our houses.’
Nandakumar (33) says that he
earlier worked as an electrician till
he met with an accident. ‘Now we
have a proper door and roof. Around
seven to 10 persons live in a house.
Unlike a thatched house, we feel
safer inside’, he says.
The Council has collected Rs 2.5
crore of which Rs 25 lakh was given
to the State government.
4 WEDNESDAY
27 APRIL 2016
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Cong cornered
t is an ultimate irony that firm proof of Congress corruption
should come, of all the places, from Italy, the country of birth
of the party President Sonia Gandhi. An Italian court, after due
rigorous judicial process, has concluded that key members of
the Congress Party took bribes in the Agusta Westland VVIP
chopper deal.
The 225-page judgement of a Milan court, which convicted
Giuseppe Orsi, the chief of Agusta Westland, for illegally bribing
Indian politicians and public servants, devoted considerable part
to the clinching evidence supporting the bribery charge against
senior Congress leaders and the then Air Force Chief S P Tyagi
and his cousins. Of a total commission of Euro 30 million, nearly
half was given to Tyagi and other officers. The other half, that
is, over Euro 15 million was divided between a couple of top
Congress politicians. The court order has named names. But the
judgement is revealing on other counts as well. For, it spotlights
the way highly sophisticated defence procurements were made
on wholly extraneous grounds.
The documents released during the course of the trial of the
August Westland top brass highlighted the supreme importance
accorded to Sonia Gandhi in clinching the over Rs. 3,200 order
for 12 choppers. A note from a middleman working for the firm
says that Sonia Gandhi has refused to fly in the MI-8 choppers and
insists on the procurement of the new helicopters. Indeed, Sonia
Gandhi is described as the ‘driving force’ behind the Augusta
Westland deal. The middleman, declared a fugitive by the Milan
court, in his note to the India representative of Agusta Westland
said the Congress President would be the key in swinging the
deal in favour of the firm.
Then Air Force chief Tyagi had to be on board in the scam since
without him arbitrarily and inexplicably lowering the height
parameter to suit Agusta Westland the firm would not have got
the order. Tyagi and his cousins together received hefty sums in
bribes, though for the record, Tyagi denied taking bribes.
The court judgment throws light on the manner in which
powerful functionaries in the Manmohan Singh Government were
lobbied for securing the order. Handwritten notes seized from
middlemen were quoted in the court order. These showed how
aside from Sonia Gandhi her close aides like the then National
Security Adviser M K Narayanan were approached. In fact, a letter
quoted in the court judgement reveals how the chief middleman
instructed the Augusta Westland representative in New Delhi to
get the British Ambassador in India to ‘target’ Sonia Gandhi,
Manmohan Singh, Narayanan, etc., for procuring the order.
A note seized by the Italian authorities from the prison cell of
Orsi revealed how he instructed his officials to contact the then
Italian Prime Minister for interceding with Manmohan Singh so
that the Indian Government does not cooperate in investigating the
scam. Notably, for the consumption of the Indian public the UPA
government went through the motions of ordering a probe of its
own, even offering to set up a joint parliamentary committee for
the purpose, but in actuality it was engaged full-time in subverting
the investigations.
Pretending that it had nothing to hide, the bigwigs in the UPA
sought to cover the bribery trail in the hope that the matter would
die down. But the conviction and imprisonment of the top honcho
of Agusta Westland and the incorporation in the court order of
tell-tale evidence of Indian complicity in the scam have exposed
the corrupt face of the top Congress leadership. It has nowhere
to hide. The only way it can get away with yet another bribery
scam is if the Modi Government too fails to show due diligence
in nailing the bribe-takers and bringing them all to justice.
CHENNAI
LEADING AT LAST
India to dominate working-age population growth in A Pacific: UN
UNITED NATIONS:
India is projected to dominate the growth in
the working-age population in Asia Pacific by
2050, becoming home to over a billion people
eligible to enter the job market, a UN report
has said.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) underlined in its latest
Regional Human Development Report
that Asia-Pacific countries now have more
working-aged people and fewer dependents
than at any point in history, providing a
springboard for growth.
Region-wide, 68 per cent of people are of
working age and only 32 per cent are dependents. Asia-Pacific’s population size has
tripled in the last 65 years, and is expected to
reach 4.84 billion in 2050. The working-age
population in the region, comprising 58 per
cent of the global total, continues to grow,
the report said.
China and India comprised 62 per cent of the
region’s share in 2015, with a billion and 860 million workers, respectively.
‘When countries have a greater share of people
who can work, save and pay taxes, they have the
potential to transform their economies and power
China
pushed back
In China, the number of jobs
grew by 144 million between
1991 and 2013 but the workingage population increased by
241 million. ‘A wider gap in India
than China suggests a more
limited capacity to generate employment -- a serious challenge
given the continued expansion
of the workforce in India over
the next 35 years,’ it said.
In Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
India, Nepal and Pakistan, more
than 80 per cent of working people earn less than USD 4 daily,
it added.
The share of people working
but earning below the international poverty line is still large in
Asia-Pacific, and their numbers
are likely to escalate with more
entrants into the labour force if
current employment shortfalls
continue.
China and India, now home
to 2.6 billion people, will drive
demographic changes in the
region and influence their consequences.
dominated by India,’ the report said.
In India, more than 280 million more people
will be eligible to enter the job market by 2050, a
third more than the current number. Further, the
report said that most countries in South Asia will
have their largest number of working-age people
between 2045 and 2050.
‘India alone will see the maximum number in
2050, when the population aged 15-64 is expected
to be larger than 1 billion,’ it said.
However the report said
In
that even as the workIndia, more
investments in healthcare, education and
ing-age population
other building blocks of future prosperity,’
increases, not all
than
280
million
said UNDP’s chief economist Thangavel
will be absorbed
more people will be in the job market.
Palanivel, who is the lead author of the
report.
eligible to enter the In India, the size
The report said that China’s share of
of the workingjob market by 2050, a age population
working-age people is now falling while
India’s continues to rise, expected to
third more than the increased by 300
touch a maximum of about 1.1 billion in
million between
current number. 1 9 9 1 a n d 2 0 1 3 ,
2050.
The region as a whole will reach its maxiwhile the number
mum number of working-age people, at 3.1
of employed people inbillion, in 2045. ‘South Asia will have more workingcreased by only 140 million
age people than any other subregion, with the -- the economy absorbed less than half the new
largest surge by 2055 to a projected 1.6 billion, entrants into the labour market.
Oldest old
Comprising people above age 80, is
also rising fast in Asia-Pacific, from
0.4 per cent in 1950 to 1 per cent in
2015. By 2050, the proportion will
touch about five per cent, it said.
The number of ‘oldest old’ will
almost quadruple, from 58 million in 2015 to nearly 246 million
in 2050, with the largest numbers
living in China, India and Japan.
Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan,
the Republic of Korea, Thailand and
Viet Nam will also have significant
numbers.
The study calls for immediate responses and
outlines ‘9 Actions for Sustainable Development’
concrete policies tailored to the demographic profile of individual countries. For nations with a large
working-age population, UNDP is calling for the creation of decent jobs to match the growing workforce,
equal employment for women and ways
to turn savings into investments inside
the region.
For countries with young populations, the agency says there is a need
to invest in education and healthcare,
smooth the transition from school to
work and encourage youth participation
in public life.
In older countries, the recommendation is to have governments design
fair, sustainable pension systems, to
support active ageing and to promote
appreciation for the value of older citizens.
Haoliang Xu, UN Assistant Secretary-General
and UNDP Director for Asia and the Pacific, said,
‘If countries in Asia-Pacific do not create optimal
employment conditions, the regional economy will
begin to slow down by 2050 as the current workingage population begins to retire.’
How India overtakes?
India’s population will likely surpass China’s by 2022, possibly earlier, the report said.
It added that the proportion of older people will also increase substantially in India and
China, rising from about 9 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively to 19 per cent and 37
per cent in 2050. In 2015, seven Asian countries, namely Bangladesh, China, India,
Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan and the Philippines, had 420 million people aged 60 and
older, which accounts for 47 per cent of people aged 60 and above in the world. By
2050, they will have just over half the global share- more than a billion.
UP IN ARMS
C
L ICK
PIC
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
@naqvimukhtar
From Bofors to Agusta: Why Italy
is the ‘favourite destination’ of every
‘high-flying’ scam-bribery ???
The economy has stabilised.
Now it is important to promote
growth and prepare for any
macroeconomic scenario
Dmitry Medvedev
@MedvedevRussiaE
Google, Uber in coalition
to promote self-driving cars
SAN FRANCISCO:
Google and Uber are part of a coalition to push for a unified US legal
code on self-driving cars as part of
a broader lobbying drive to promote
that technology.
Car makers Ford and Volvo along
with ride-sharing start-up Uber’s
rival Lyft rounded out a roster of five
founding members of the
Self-Driving Coalition for
Safer Streets. Former US
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
administrator David Strickland was
named as coalition counsel and
spokesperson.
‘Self-driving vehicle technology will
make America’s roadways safer and
less congested,’ Strickland said in
a release. ‘The best path for this innovation is to have one clear set of
federal standards, and the coalition
will work with policymakers to find the
right solutions that will facilitate the
deployment of self-driving vehicles.’
The US Department of Transportation has estimated that self-driving
vehicles could help significantly
reduce the severity and frequency of
crashes, the vast majority of which are
caused by human error in this country,
according to the coalition.
‘Self driving cars can help save millions of lives as well as cut
congestion in our cities,’ an
Uber spokesperson said in
response to an AFP inquiry.
‘That’s an exciting future,
and one Uber intends to be a part of.’
Google, Lyft and auto industry executives urged lawmakers last month to
help create a regulatory fast lane
to facilitate the introduction of selfdriving cars. In testimony at a Senate
hearing, representatives of General
Motors and auto-equipment maker
Delphi touted what they said were
numerous safety and environmental
benefits of autonomous vehicles.
Protesters chant slogans against Afghan politicians during a demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan. In the other photograph, a police officer
holds his shield as protestors pelt the facade of the Ministry of Justice with colored paint, during a protest in downtown Skopje, Macedonia.
Trump declares himself
‘presumptive’ nominee
Sweeps five primaries in north-eastern states
WASHINGTON:
Presidential front-runner Donald
Trump declared himself the ‘presumptive’ Republican nominee
after sweeping the five primaries
in north-eastern states.
‘I consider myself presumptive
nominee,’ Trump said in his victoryspeech after winning the nominating
contests in Connecticut, Delaware,
Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode
Island.
‘Tonight was a huge win to Make
America Great Again! We now
stand alone to take on Hillary and
win the White House,’ Trump said.
In all the five States Trump bagged
more than 50 per cent of the votes.
In fact, in Rhode Island and Delaware his vote percentage was more
than 60 per cent. In Pennsylvania it
was more than 58 per cent, in Connecticut 59 per cent and Maryland
56 per cent.
Donald Trump
With this, his delegate count
jumped to 944 despite that in Pennsylvania because of local rules he
got 17 out of 71 delegates as the
rest of the delegates are unbound
and free to vote for any candidate
in the GOP convention.
Even as Trump declared himself
as ‘presumptive nominee’ he is still
a little over 300 delegates away from
the 1,237 delegates. ‘As far as I am
concerned, this race is over,’ he
said, adding that his another rival
Governor John Kasich who has 153
delegates to his kitty is
simply wasting his time.
Kasich came second
in four of the five States
but could earn just five
delegates. After the latest primary
results,
SenaKER tor Ted
A
M
S day
Cruz
NEoW
f the
h a s
559 delegates and
his path to nomination before the
convention is impossible.
Cruz came last in four of the five
States. Trump said he can easily defeat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
‘She does not has the strength
and stamina’ to be the president of
the United States and successfully
handle countries like China, Japan
and Mexico, he said.
‘I am going to bring jobs back to the
country that you have never seen,’
he claimed and alleged that Clinton
is funded by Wall Street.
Clinton won in four States and
her rival Bernie Sanders in Rhode
Island.
The primary results moved both
Trump and Clinton several steps
closer to to earning their party’s
nomination for the November polls.
Both are about a little over 300 delegates short of the number required
yet to reach the half way mark to bag
their respective parties presidential
nomination.
The next primary is scheduled in
Indiana next Tuesday where Cruz
and Trump has entered into a strategic alliance to prevent Trump from
getting 1,237 delegates.
Kasich is not campaigning In
Indiana, while Cruz is not campaigning in the States of New
Mexico and Oregon as part of this
strategic alliance.
Enterprise
CHENNAI
INDIA SHALL
NOT ‘TRIP’: GOVT
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
India on Tuesday said its intellectual property rights regime is fully in
compliance with global norms and the country will not succumb to ‘any
pressure from any where’ to modify it. News Today finds out more...
Developed countries
wants India to amend its
IPR norms particularly
with regard to pharmaceuticals sector.
‘We are TRIPS compliant in every way. I
think we move forward being consistently
with the global expectations without yielding
to any pressure from any where and I would
like to state that India’s legislative framework
particularly in protecting patents is very strong
and we would like to keep that strong framework’, Commerce and
Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
WHAT IS IT
MOVING ON
She said that the new national IPR policy
shall soon come to the Cabinet. ‘We have
a robust IPR policy to guide us further’, she
added.
Further talking on the Indian IPR regime,
she said the government is taking several
steps to strengthen the regime.
Trade Related
aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS) is a WTO
agreement which
deals with intellectual
property related issues.
THE SOLAR CASE
FACE-OFF
Last week, India has
challenged certain provisions of the WTO’s panel
rulings, which held that the
country’s power purchase
agreements with solar
firms are inconsistent
with international
norms.
PATENT
PROBLEMS
India to race
ahead of China
Country narrowing gap with reforms
& policies: Report
NO, WE WON’T
‘AMEND’,
THEY SAY
Sitharaman said that India is working
on a case based on the fact that several
states in the US are also possibly giving
a domestic content like benefit to their
companies.
‘We are quoting them to highlight that
when India does it particularly given the
fact that we have given a commitment to
the climate meet in Paris where countries
will have to look at a sustainable way of
providing renewable alternatives and if
individual country’s capacities in providing
alternatives cannot be supported, how
any country can fulfil its obligations is an
argument which we are building’ , she said.
DIPP Secretary Ramesh
Abhishek expressed concerns
over low filing of patent applications by Indian companies or individuals. ‘Even
though there are improvements in the number of
total filings by Indians, still
it is fact that filing of patent applications by Indians
are just around 28 per cent
which is in sharp contrast with many developed countries, despite our country having a vast
pool of scientists and technologists and being world
wide recognise as a hub for research’, he said.
WOMAN
OF STEEL
When asked
if government is
looking at removing some steel
products from the
purview of the minimum import price
(MIP), Sitharaman
said no review has
started yet on the
issue.
No scope for further
cuts: Realtors
New Delhi, Apr 27 (PTI):
Realtors’ apex body CREDAI on
Tuesday said there is no scope for
further reduction in housing prices
as this would lead to rise in NPAs
and non-delivery of real estate
projects.
RBI Governor Raghuram
Rajan asked real estate
developers to reduce
prices to encourage
more people to buy
properties.
‘About 90 per cent
of the real estate
stock in the country has already
seen a correction of about 20-30 per
cent. There is no scope for further
rate cut. Any further cut will lead to
NPAs and non-delivery of projects,”
CREDAI (National) president Getamber Anand said.
‘His (RBI Governor) statement
should not be taken out of context
as he has recommended an adjustment and not necessarily a price cut.
The adjustment could be through
other ways like easy payment
scheme to attract home buyers’, he said.
The real estate sector
is facing slowdown in demand leading to mounting unsold stocks and
huge delays in project
completions.
‘I am hopeful that as
interest rates come
down, there will be more
credit and buying. And I am also
hopeful that prices adjust in a way
that encourage people to buy’,
Rajan had said while delivering
the Y B Chavan Memorial Lecture
here.
WEDNESDAY
27 APRIL 2016
New Delhi, Apr 27 (PTI):
India may this year surpass China
in attracting foreign direct investment,
in terms of percentage of its GDP, as
the gap in inflows between the two
has been narrowing on the back of
ongoing reforms in the country, says
a Nomura report.
According to the Japanese financial
services firm, the trend of rising inflows to India and moderating inflows
to China began in 2013 and FDI inflows to India can surpass those into
China this year.
‘We believe FDI inflows to India
(as a percentage of GDP) can
surpass those into China in 2016,
as India already has large investment commitments from MNCs in
sectors like electronics, solar energy, auto, defence and railways’,
Nomura said in a research report.
Key factors
Divergent growth outlooks
Economic reforms
Rising labour costs
in China
FDI inflows to India are
picking up. They rose from
1.7 per cent of GDP in 2014
to 2.1 per cent in 2015, narrowing the gap with China
(2.3 per cent of GDP in 2015).
These trends of rising inflows
to India and moderating inflows to
China are likely driven by a mix of pull
and push factors.
Rising FDI inflows not only provide
a stable source of financing the current account deficit, they also bring in
technical know-how, which can boost
India’s productivity growth in coming
years, the report said.
‘They can also be viewed as early
evidence that reforms
in India are bearing fruit’, Nomura
added.
Foreign Direct Investment into India touched
the ‘highest
ever’ mark of
$51 billion during April-February period of last fiscal ended 31
March, according to DIPP Secretary
Ramesh Abhishek.
In fiscal year 2011-12, India had
attracted FDI worth $46.55 billion. In
financial year 2014-15, it was $44.29
billion. This FDI includes equity, reinvested earnings and other capital.
New team for FICCI
FLO Chennai Chapter
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
FICCI FLO has announced its new team for the year 201617. According to a press release, the new chairperson is
Sudha Shivkumar and Meena Mohan will be the senior vice
chairperson. The past chairperson Vijaya Bharathi Rangarajan greeted the new office bearers.
Sudha Shivkumar said, ‘Chennai Chapter, one of the oldest chapters with fourNational presidents out of Chennai,
we are fortunate to have their support and guidance. We
hope to provide programmes that will encompass the FLO
mission - to promote economic empowerment and provide
equal opportunity for women’.
‘We now have over 250 members from the top echelons of
professional and business community. In our 20th year of commitment to FICCI- FLO, my team and I, will bring forth a year
of fulfillment in meeting our goals and objectives. I personally
look forward with anticipation and am privileged to serve as
Chairperson of Chennai Chapter 2016-17’, she added.
FICCI FLO Chennai Chapter past chairperson
Vijaya Bharathi Rangarajan with successor
Sudha Shivkumar at Chennai Tuesday.
The men who knew
Ramanujan
Mark Zuckerberg & Sundar Pichai to raise
foundation for Math legend
San Francisco, Apr 27:
Google CEO Sundar Pichai
and Facebook founder and
CEO Mark Zuckerberg,
among others, have reportedly pledged to form a foundation in the name of legendary Indian mathematician
Srinivasa Ramanujan. Russian billionaire and founder
Yuri Milner held a screening
of director Matthew Brown’s
‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’,
a biopic on Ramanujam, over
the weekend at the Silicon
Valley, which was attended
by the Who’s Who of US
super-elite, according to a
source close to the film’s unit.
‘Sundar Pichai (CEO,
Google), Sergey Brin
(founder, Google), Mark
Zuckerberg (founder, Facebook), Brendan Iribe (CEO
of Oculus VR), and some
other fifty other ‘1 percenters’ of Silicon Valley were
at Yuri Milner’s house in
Los Altos. Yuri hosted a
very private screening and
dinner for the film and they
came out with tears,’ said
the source.
Some of those, including
Zuckerberg and Pichai, who
saw this deeply moving film
on the life of mathematician who journeyed from
anonymity in his village
in Tamilnadu to everlasting fame in England, have
pledged to form a foundation
in Ramanujan’s name.
In the film, set in 1913,
actor Dev Patel essays
Ramanujan, a 25-year-old
shipping clerk and selftaught genius, who failed
out of college due to his
near-obsessive, solitary
study of mathematics.
Though Ramanujan had
almost no formal training in
pure mathematics, he made
extraordinary contributions
to mathematical analysis,
number theory, infinite series, and continued fractions. He passed away at
the age of 32 in 1920.
‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’, which also stars Jeremy Irons, Devika Bhise,
Stephen Fry, Toby Jones
and Arundhati Nag, is slated
to release in India on Friday.
WE & THE WORLD
‘EU talks only after progress’
Brussels, Apr 27 (PTI):
Asserting that automobiles and wines continue to be the sticking points in
the long-stalled negotiations for the proposed FTA with India, the EU said the
two sides should restart talks only after they have ‘something meaningful’ to
deliberate upon.
‘We cannot allow ourselves to go back to the negotiating table and not being
able to bring some real progress into this process. So it is better if necessary
to keep on preparing on a more backstage level so that when we sit in front of
each other, we have something meaningful to deliver’, Daniel Rosario, Spokesperson Trade, Directorate-General Communication- European Commission,
told visiting Indian journalists here.
He said it does not make sense to raise expectations if both the sides are not
able to deliver. Both the sides needs to ensure that when they sit together, ‘we
have something to move ahead’, he said.
Asked about Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s letter to EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom seeking from her dates for chief negotiators to meet,
Rosario said, ‘we are preparing the answer’.
‘For the EU and the European Commission, India is and remains an important
partner and also when it comes to the trade policy we were engaged for a long
period of time with India in negotiations for a free trade agreement but unfortunately
the process came to a standstill a few years ago and since 2013 there was no
further movement in this process’, he added.
‘Ties with US poised for growth’
Washington, Apr 27 (PTI):
US-India business corridor is ‘uniquely’ poised to build the digital future
of the global economy, corporate leaders from the two countries said at the
summit of the business advocacy group USIBC.
Participants of the first-ever West Coast Summit of US India Business
Council (USIBC) said that technology is poised to play a major role in USIndia bilateral ties.
Held in the Silicon Valley, the summit, ‘US-India Technology Partnership:
Using Scale and Speed to Bridge the Divide’, examined how the US-India
business corridor is uniquely poised to build the digital future of the global
economy, a USIBC statement said.
Amitabh Kant, the CEO of the National Institution of Transforming India
(NITI) Aayog, proposed ways in which the Indian Government and industry
can coordinate efforts to ensure the success of programmes such as Digital
India, Startup India, Skill India, Financial Inclusion and Make in India.
‘With the Prime Minister’s (Narendra Modi) extraordinary vision and
leadership, India stands out as a force for change’, said John Chambers,
Chairman of USIBC.
‘There is a reason why Cisco is investing $100 million in India the next
few years; it is representative of what we think is an opportunity to build the
next generation of innovative solutions, talent, and products for the digital
economy’, he said.
5
Ola expands Micro
Transportation app Ola on Tuesday said it has expanded its ‘Micro’
service to 48 newer cities, taking
the presence of its low-cost AC cab
service to 75 cities in all, making
the category ‘larger than the nearest competitor as a whole’.
Launched about two months ago,
Ola has scaled up its ‘Micro’ offering to 75 cities, from seven.
The cities added now include
Patna, Aligarh, Amravati, Guntur, Jhansi, Mathura, Rourkela,
Thanjavur, Ujjain, Hubli, Rajahmundry, Rajkot and Siliguri, among
others.
‘In just under seven weeks of
its launch, Ola Micro alone as a
category is larger than our nearest
competitor as a whole’, Ola chief
marketing officer and head of Categories Raghuvesh Sarup said.
He based his claim on the number
of daily rides with just Ola Micro as
against its US-based rival Uber.
Apple revenue rise
streak ends
Apple has reported its first-ever
drop in iPhone sales since launching the smartphone in 2007 as the
tech giant’s long streak of rising
revenue ended.
Apple said iPhone sales dropped
year-over-year for the first time,
slipping to 51.19 million in the
recently ended quarter compared
with 61.17 million in the same
period a year ago.
Profits fell as well: Apple reported
net income of $10.5 billion in the
fiscal quarter to 26 March from
$13.6 billion last year.
With iPhones the main driver of
sales for the company, revenue fell
on a year-to-year basis for the first
time since 2003: $50.6 billion from
$58 billion a year earlier.
Apple shares dove more than
eight percent to $95.72 in aftermarket trades that followed release
of the earnings figures.
Sales of iPhones, the heart of
Apple’s mobile age money-making
machine, were down 16 per cent,
according to the earnings report.
Niti Aayog VC
optimistic
on economy
New Delhi, Apr 27 (PTI):
The economy is expected
to grow over eight per cent
this fiscal with the forecast
of above-normal monsson
raising hopes of the agriculture sector’s revival after
two successive drought
years, Niti Aayog vicechairman Arvind Panagariya said on Tuesday.
‘The economic growth rate
will be more than eight per
cent during the current fiscal.
There is a forecast of abovenormal monsoon this fiscal’,
Panagariya said.
PASSPORT LOST
Passport No. G0758785 held
BY Mr. SAURABH SAMIR –
DATE OF BIRTH 07/01/1981,
PLACE OF ISSUE: PATNA,
ISSUED on 11/01/2007 ,
valid thru 10/01/2017 is
reported missing through an
*
+$
PLOT NO. 74, SAI SADAN,
FLAT NO. “C’, MAHALINGAM
STREET,
MADIPAKKAM
"-;**<=>?@ # #
on his Mobile: 9840319972,
Address or via his Email id:
[email protected]
SAURABH SAMIR
NOTICE FOR SHIFTING OF REGISTERED OFFICE
WITHIN THE SAME STATE
[Pursuant to rule 28 the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014]
Before the Central Government
Southern Region, Chennai
In the matter of the Companies Act, 2013, Section 12(5) of Companies Act,
2013 and Rule 28 of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014
AND
In the matter of IOT MABAGAS PRIVATE LIMITED
at 3F3, METRO TOWERS, 115, POONAMALLE HIGH ROAD, CHENNAI, TAMIL
NADU – 600084, Applicant.
Notice is hereby given that an application under Section 12(5) of the
Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 28 of Companies (Incorporation) Rules,
!!
"#!
$#!
from Chennai to Namakkal within the State of Tamil Nadu amounting to change
!!"#!%
#&
"#!
" &
"#!
Coimbatore in terms of the special resolution passed at the extraordinary
general meeting of the Applicant Company held on 2nd February, 2016.
Any person whose interest is likely to be affected by the proposed change of the
"#!#
!
'&
!!
nature of his/her interest and grounds of opposition to the Regional Director,
Southern Region, within Twenty One days from the date of publication of this
notice with a copy to the Applicant Company at the address mentioned below:
IOT Mabagas Private Limited,
2, 4MW, Biogas Power Plant, Thattayangarpatti Village,
Kannoor Patti Post, Puduchatram,
NAMAKKAL, TAMIL NADU – 637 014
Date: 27-04-2016
For and on behalf of the Applicant
Place: Chennai
Authorized Signatory
Sports
6 WEDNESDAY
27 APRIL 2016
CHENNAI
Pune back on track, wins crucial match
Relieved Dhoni thanks bowlers for good show in rain-curtailed encounter
Ravichandran Ashwin
Hyderabad, Apr 27 (PTI):
Rising Pune Supergiants
brought their stuttering IPL
campaign back on track with a
cconvincing 34-run win over hosts
Su
Sunrisers
Hyderabad via Duckowrth
Le
Lewis
method in a rain-affected
m
match,
here.
Relishing favourable conditions,
S
Supergiants restricted Sunrisers
to a modest 118 for eight after
a rain-delayed start and won the
con
contest via Duckworth Lewis method
at Ra
Rajiv Gandhi International stadium.
Su
Supergiants were comfortably
plac
placed 94 for three in their chase
whe
when skied opened up, forcing
susp
suspension of play. The play never
resu
resumed and Supergiants were declare
clared the winners.
It w
was first win for Supergiants after
four straight defeats and credit for
the much-needed win goes to their
pace duo of Ashok Dinda (3/23) and
Mitc
Mitchell Marsh (2/14), who revelled
unde
under helpful conditions.
Str
Stroke-making was a bit difficult
as tthe match started late by one
hour
hour. The batsmen needed to apply
them
themselves to get runs but Hyderabad players, save opener Shikhar
CITY SPORTS
TVS Racing signs
Shreya Iyer
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
TVS Racing signed their first woman rider, Shreya Sunder Iyer, for the
Indian National Rally championship.
Shreya said it is not true that motorsport is only for men because there
are many women motorists, who
have achieved big feats in the sport
world over.
Motorsport has always been considered a male-dominated sport, which
actually is not true. There are so many
women out there riding and driving,’
she said.
TVS Racing Team Head Arvind
Pangaonkar said the association
with Shreya will encourage women
to consider racing as a career.
Rio Olympics: US will top
medal table; China next
Rio de Janeiro, Apr 27 (AP):
If the Rio de Janeiro Olympics were
held today, the United States would win
the most medals and the most golds.
And American swimmer Michael
Phelps would collect five more gold medals and a bronze, bringing his overall total
to 28 with a career gold-medal haul of 23.
Simon Gleave has been crunching
the Olympic numbers for four years,
putting them through a data-processing program as the head of analysis
for US-based Gracenote, a sports
and entertainment data provider.
In terms of medal-count and order,
it’s going to be close to what we have,
said Gleave, who in 2012, using a
less sophisticated program, predicted
within four medals the results of 16 of
the top 20 teams.
Dhawan, did not respond to the
conditions well.
The sluggish conditions made the
RPS decision to bowl first more
suitable. Hyderabad were never in
contention after losing half the team
at a score of 32.
The hosts owed their total to Dhawan, who struck a fighting unbeaten
56 that had two fours and a six.
Dhawan’s knock was second-lowest
score for an opener, who carried his
bat through the innings, in IPL history.
Herschell Gibbs had made 59 not
out for Deccan Chargers in 2009.
Except for losing Ajinkya Rahane in
the very first over, Supergiants were
in complete control of the contest.
Steve Smith and Faf Du Plessis went
about their business calmly.
Comeback man Ashish Nehra and
Mustafizur Rehman bowled well but
Smith and Du Plessis were ready to
buy some time. They shared a 80-run
stand that set up the easy chase.
Smith’s unbeaten 46-run knock
came off 30 balls and had seven
boundaries in it while Du Plesiss hit
30 off 21 balls with three fours and
two sixes.
The stand was broken by Moises
Badrinath shines in
Seven Star’s triumph
NT Bureau
Badrinath top-scored with 59 as
Seven Star Cricket Academy beat
Loyola CA by 61 runs to emerge
champion of the SSCA AS Shipping Cup under-13 30-over cricket
tournament held here.
The scores: Seven Star CA 180
for five in 30 overs (Badrinath 59,
Kishore Balaji 46) bt Loyola CA 119
in 29.1 overs (P.S. Jaswanth 48,
Vignesh three for 30).
Course for
athletics coaches
Ria Lumintuarso, director of the
IAAF regional development centre
in Jakarta, will conduct a Level-I
course for athletics coaches from
23 May to 4 June at the Nehru
Stadium here.
All the top coaches from the city
are expected to take part.
Henriques when he had the South African caught behind. RPS skipper MS
Dhoni promoted himself up the order
and straight away smashed a four.
However he did not last long, hitting
one straight to Aditya Tare off Nehra.
Immediately after Dhoni dismissal,
skied opened up again and play never
resumed.
Despite defeat, Hyderabad remained at number four in the table
with six points while Supergiants rose
a rung to six with four points.
Hyderabad suffered their first defeat
after three straight wins.
Earlier, Dinda extracted some
good bounce from the track and
scalped David Warner (0) and
Aditya Tare (8) early in the innings.
Warner slashed widish delivery
straight to Ajinkya Rahane while
Tare’s miscued pull was taken by
Thisara Perera.
Marsh too was impressive from the
other end, getting rid of dangerous
Eoin Morgan (0).
Dhawan was holding the fort tightly
but kept losing partners from the
other end. Marsh completed his
quota of overs with another wicket,
by dismissing Moises Henriques.
chandran Ashwin
In between, Ravichandran
k Hooda with his
sent back Deepak
ll.
first ball of the spell.
The stage was now set for Supergiants to push for a win which
it needed badly. The hosts were
gasping at 32 for five with Dhawan
and Naman Ojha having a great
air the innings.
task at hand to repair
The two played sensibly, fones and twos
cusing more on ones
board ticking.
to keep the scoreboard
e odd bad ball
They waited for the
for big shots.
ame in the 15th
One such shot came
fted Rajat Bhatia
over when Ojha lofted
for a maximum in the cow corner.
Ojha and Dhawan added 47
ed to lend
runs, much needed
ity to the
some respectability
total, for the sixth wicket.
Dhoni brought back Dinda
and he responded by castling
Ojha, who made 18 off 21
balls.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
ul camplayed a very useful
om just
eo of 21 runs from
hat was
eight balls and that
he hosts
crucial in taking the
past three-figure mark.
Donald to join Australia
coaching staff: Report
Sydney, Apr 27 (AFP):
South Africa great Allan Donald
is set to join the Australian team as
temporary bowling coach, including
for a series against the Proteas, a
report said today.
The renowned bowling spearhead,
whose speed saw him nicknamed
‘White Lightning’, is expected to oversee Australia’s attack on their tour of
Sri Lanka later this year.
He could then stay on for the summer series against South Africa, the
Sydney Daily Telegraph said, filling
the vacancy left by Craig McDermott
who stepped down as bowling coach
at the end of the World T20 in India.
Cricket Australia, who have drafted
in ex-Tasmania fast bowler Adam
Griffith to help out on the tour of the
Allan Donald
West Indies in June, have yet to confirm the appointment.
Donald took 330 Test and 272 oneday international wickets during an
illustrious career for South Africa that
spanned 10 years.
He is credited with helping the
development of speedsters Morne
Morkel, Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander and has worked in the past
No Ronaldo, no goals as
Man City, Real Madrid draw
Manchester, Apr 27 (AFP):
scorer
Champions League top-scorer
strated
Cristiano Ronaldo was a frustrated
id side
spectator as his Real Madrid
played out a slow-burning 0-0 draw
day’s
at Manchester City in yesterday’s
semi-final first leg.
uese
Injury prevented the Portuguese
superstar from adding to hiss 16e the
goal tally and in his absence
rt the
visitors were unable to convert
ated,
handful of chances they created,
with a sensational late Joe Hart
st
save to deny Pepe the closest
either side came to a goal at
the Etiha
Etihad Stadium.
o
As an occasion,
City’s first
semi-fin appearance in
semi-final
the competition
co
was a letdown but by preventing
down,
Mad
Madrid from notching
a
an away
goal the tie’s
unde
underdogs
safeguarded
their h
hopes of reaching
the final a
ahead of next week’s
a the Bernabeu.
return leg at
We played a very intense game
and defended well, said City manager Manuel
Ma
Pellegrini.
This se
season we have played
very well away. Now we go to the Bernabeu with the same attitude as playing at
home. ‘Real Madrid must attack a little bit
more. You cannot take too much from the
first leg. We can see from the second leg
who will go through.’
Pellegrini, though, will be without
David Silva for the second leg after he
was forced off by a hamstring injury,
while his Madrid counterpart Zinedine
Zidane was left sweating on the fitness
of Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, who
went off at half-time. ‘I’m happy with
the game’, said Zidane, who expressed
hope that both his ailing forwards will
be fit for the return leg.
‘We had the ball more in the second
half, had a couple of chances. We’re
a little bit disappointed, because we
possibly deserved more.
Before this game it was 50-50. I
think it’s still the same, 50-50.’ City’s
semi-final arrival was an event seven
and a half years in the making for the
club’s Emirati owners and there was
a carefully stage-managed attempt
to generate an atmosphere prior to
kick-off, with fans given blue and silver foil flags and a flurry of streamers
greeting the teams.
EPL: The fairy tale of underdogs
Leicester City is just one win away from title
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
It is confirmed that EPL
is one the most watched
league in the world. The
fan base in Chennai
is immense . Trending
currently is dream story
of Leicester City.
Just a year back they
were battling to stay in
the Premier League, till
the last day they fought
valiantly. Nigel Pearson (former
manager) did all he can to keep his
team from being relegated to the
Npower Championship. It was a
surprise when he was fired and in
came Claudio Ranieri.
It was bold move by the owners of
Leicester, as the ‘Tinkerman’ was
signed as the coach. N one would
have predicted the current outcome
though. The Flying Foxes are currently one win away from claiming
the EPL title.
The story of Leicester is being
spoken everywhere, the ultimate underdogs have fought through tough
times, didn’t have a big financial
backing or a star studded line up.
The fairy tale run which saw the
team play as a cohesive
unit relied on speed
and precision. Their
fast paced counter attacks left opponents flat
footed.
The likes of Jamie
Vardy, Riyad Maharez,
N’golo Kante, Danny
Drinkwater and Kasper
Schmeichel have a story to tell, slowly moving
up the order in football,
they struggled early in
their careers but now have become
one of the most sort out players in the
world. Maharez has been the centre
of the team’s success. The Algerian
has been named the PFA player of
So far so good
Leicester City hold the joint record for most second-tier title triumphs. The Foxes have won the First Division six
times and the Championship once, meaning they are level with Manchester City on seven.
The Foxes hold the record for the most FA Cup final appearances without winning the competition, having reached
the final four times in their history.
In their entire history, Leicester City have spent just one season outside of the top two tiers in England. They
spent the 2008/09 season in League 1, winning the title in the process.
Leicester City were promoted back to Division One in 1971 and won the Charity Shield against Liverpool that
year. The Foxes were invited to compete against the FA Cup runners-up because of Arsenal’s commitments in
Europe following their Division One success. Leicester and Brighton & Hove Albion are the only two clubs to win
the Charity Shield despite never winning the top division or the FA Cup.
Leicester winning the league would be a diaster for bookmakers as paying out by Skybet would be over five million on the 5000/1 odds.
People who bet on the team would earn £37,390 if they win the league and £6,670 if they finish second.
the year and was vital in their latest
win against Swansea City. Teams
Steve Smith
like Barcelona, Bayern Munich are
trying to lure him from England.
Leicester have already confirmed
their berth for next year’s UEFA
Champions league, the odd of Messi
and Ronaldo visiting the King Power
stadium in 2017 has got Leicester
fans excited. The stakes of the
team has increased immensely with
shares going up quadruple times.
Everyone is rooting for them to win
the league, except the north londoners, Tottenham, who are waiting to
captalise on the next fixture which
sees Leicester take on Manchester
United. But Tottenham will have to
face a resurgent Chelsea. This will be
no walk in the park for either teams.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprbha, the
owner is already busy making plans
to ready the team for next year. With
big investments going in, player wages have been increased so that the
current team remains next season.
For years, EPL was dominated
by the likes of Arsenal, Manchester
United, Liverpool and Chelsea but
even fans of these clubs who have
lost chance at this season’s title want
to see the underdogs lift the cup.
with Australian fast bowler Mitchell
Starc in the Indian Premier League.
Donald, who has previously coached
with England, New Zealand and
South Africa, would only be a temporary appointment, the Telegraph
said.
Cricket Australia are still considering a full-time replacement for McDermott, with their former Test fast
bowler Jason Gillespie, who is head
coach at English county Yorkshire,
one of their top targets.
Australia’s Hastings out of Windies tour
Australian fast bowler John Hastings was today ruled out of the upcoming one-day tri-series tour of the
West Indies with an ankle injury and
will be replaced by Scott Boland.
Pliskova
batters Voegele
Prague, Apr 27:
Defending champion Karolina
Pliskova wasted little time in booking her spot in round two of the
WTA Prague Open, while Svetlana
Kuznetsova needed three sets to
get past Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
World number 18 Pliskova defeated Czech compatriot Lucie
Hradecka in three sets to win her
home tournament 12 months ago.
And the 24-year-old was in sparkling form again on home soil, as
Stefanie Voegele was seen off 6-1
6-3 in under and hour on Tuesday.
Top seed Kuznetsova recovered
from a faltering second-set display
to beat Sasnovich 6-0 5-7 6-1.
However, it was a tricky opening for two-time champion Lucie
Safarova, the second seed coming from behind to defeat Mariana
Duque-Marino 3-6 6-3 6-3.
It was a simpler progression for
Hradecka - looking to go one better
than last year - as she overcame
fellow Czech Andrea Hlavackova
6-4 6-1.
There was no such luck for
Dominika Cibulkova and Yanina
Wickmayer, the seventh and eighth
seeds respectively, as the former
was dumped out 6-2 6-2 by lucky
loser Barbora Krejcikova, while the
latter lost 4-6 6-1 6-2 to Camila
Giorgi.
In other matches, Marketa Vondrousova and Monica Puig picked
up straight-sets wins over Oceane
Dodin and Tereza Smitkova, while
Virginie Razzano beat fellow qualifier Vania King in three.
Rounding off the action, Barbora
Strycova overcame Olga Govortsova 6-3 7-5, while Sam Stosur
came from behind to defeat Sorana
Cirstea 3-6 6-4 6-2.
Karolina Pliskova
Mixed Bag
CHENNAI
WEDNESDAY
27 APRIL 2016
7
VVIP CHOPPER
RAISES DUST AGAIN
q Swamy takes first swing at Sonia in RS
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
The heat is building up in Parliament
with the BJP targeting the Congress
on the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scam and training its guns on its
president Sonia Gandhi who has been
dubbed by the Italian court as the ‘driving force’. As the scandal returned to
haunt the Opposition party, the Con-
gress went into a huddle
in Delhi to discuss ways
to handle the fresh attack
on its leaders.
In the Rajya Sabha, the
newly-sworn in member
Subramanian Swamy,
seeking to drag Sonia’s
name in the controversial
AgustaWestland helicop-
INDIAN CONNECTION
STORY BEHIND
THE SCAM
l
In February 2010, the ruling UPA government
signed a contract to purchase 12 AgustaWestland
AW101 helicopters for Indian Air Force for Rs
3,600-crore, to carry the president, PM and other
VVIPs.
l
In February 2013, the government decided to put
on hold the deal following the arrest of chairman
of Finmeccanica Giuseppe Orsi and CEO of Agusta
Westland Bruno Spagnolini on charges that they
bribed middlemen to secure the deal with IAF.
l
In 2014, the Congress-led UPA government cancelled the VVIP chopper deal with AgustaWestland
on grounds that the integrity pact was violated. The
government has recovered most of the money paid
to the Italian company for the contract.
l
In this big defence kickback controversy, the role
of then PM Manmohan Singh, former Defence Minister AK Antony, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi
and former IAF chief SP Tyagi was put to question.
ELECTION
ter contract bribery case led to
two adjournments of the Rajya
Sabha in the pre-noon session.
However, Sonia’s name was
expunged by Rajya Sabha
Deputy Chairman P J Kurien.
Swamy raised the issue
through an adjournment notice under Rule 267, his first
intervention since he took
l
l
An Italian court’s judgement in the choppergate
has exposed the role of
Indian politicians.
l
The judgement
mentions that AugustaWestland lobbied with
former PM Manmohan
Singh.
l
Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s
name appeared four
times in the verdict and was named by
Christian Michel as the ‘driving force behind
the deal’.
Ahmed Patel, Sonia Gandhi’s secretary,
was also named in the Italian court’s judgement.
Former IAF chief S P Tyagi is alleged to
have intervened in favour of AgustaWestland and the court said it was proven that
illicit funds reached Indian officials. The
Italian court order said payments to Tyagi
and his family - including three of his cousins - were made in cash and through wire
transfers.
2016
Cong manifesto speaks
for corruption free TN
q To provide free education,
medical colleges in all districts
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
A corruption-free State was one of the
key points mentioned in the election
manifesto released today by Tamilnadu Congress Committee(TNCC).
The manifesto was released by Indian
National Congress leader, Mukul
Balkrishna Wasnik.
The key points mentioned in the
manifesto, talk about complete prohibition and interlinking of rivers.
The TNCC have also said that it
plans to setup a fishing harbour at
Mookkaiyur in Ramanathapuram.
Other points mentioned in the manifesto are, complete free education to
be provided across the State, new
schemes to be introduced to generate
more power, medical colleges would
be set up in all districts across the
State and Sethusamudiram project
would be implemented.
‘Disclose names
of Indians in
Panama papers’
New Delhi, Apr 27 (PTI):
A demand to disclose the names
of Indians allegedly figuring in the
leaked Panama papers on those
holding offshore accounts to launder
money and dodging tax was made in
the Rajya Sabha today.
Naresh Agrawal (SP), through a
notice under rule 267 seeking suspension of business to discuss the
issue, alleged that the government
was “deliberately sitting” over the
names that have come to light in the
leaked documents from the files of
law firm Mossack Fonseca, based in
the tax haven of Panama.
Under
the Panama-India tax treaty, companies have to pay tax only in the nation
where they are headquartered. So,
black money is laundered from India
to Panama, a nominal 5 per cent tax
paid, the money then converted into
‘white’ and brought back as FDI, he
claimed.
As part of the treaty, Panama is not
to disclose names of the company
owners, he said, adding that the
government has all the names of
persons who have used this route to
avoid paying taxes and convert black
money into white. The BJP government, he said, came to power on the
promise of unearthing blackmoney
but has done very little so far.
MK to share dais
with Sonia, Rahul
DMK chief M Karunanidhi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi along
with her son and vice president
Rahul Gandhi, will share stage and
campaign together in Tamilnadu
ahead of the elections.
For the benefit of farmers, the party
has promised to set up a farmers
market, Rs 2,000 pension provided
for people above the age of 60, tax
exemption for farmers who use solar energy, and rates for a tonne of
sugarcane to be fixed at Rs 3,500,
and Rs 2000 for quintal of paddy.
Congress which have allied with
the DMK, have been allocated 41
seats to contest in the elections
which are to be held on 16 May.
oath in
t h e
SPECIAL CHOPPER
House
y e s terday, and referred to
the allegations made by Christian
Micheal, the middleman in the scandal, through a letter in the High Court
of Italy.
BRIBERY ROUTE
Various officials and
politicians’s names are
cropping up for their involvement in the scam.
l Christian Michel, a
British businessman and alleged
middleman, offers
himself up for inter-Christian Michel
rogation by CBI and ED, investigating the Rs 3,565 crore VVIP chopper
deal. He claims he is a victim of
‘political conspiracy’.
l Giuseppe Orsi, former CEO of
Finmeccanica, has
been sentenced on
the grounds of bribery.
l Bruno Spagnolini,
ex-CEO of AgustaWestland, was
arrested for bribing middlemen and
sentenced to four Giuseppe Orsi
years.
NOT AFRAID: SONIA
Sonia Gandhi, speaking to mediaperson
in Parliament complex, rejected as ‘baseless’ allegations linking her and her party
leaders to bribes in the chopper deal and
said she is not ‘afraid’ of being ‘cornered’
on the issue.
She sought to know what the government
was doing for the last two years on the issue and demanded that the ongoing inquiry
be completed impartially.
‘I am not afraid of anyone cornering me as
there is no basis to that. All the accusations they are throwing
at us are false,” she said.
THE LISTED FIRMS
CBI named four companies in the controversy including two
foreign companies, Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland, and two
Indian companies that clinched the deal, IDS Infotech and
Aeromatrix Info Solutions.
Demand up for
buses, vans
q HC order prompts EC to act tough
q Parties have to hire more suitable vehicles
NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 27:
This election season, political
parties may have to shell out extra
bucks while transporting people for
their party meetings.
In an immediate response to the
Madras High Court’s direction to
take steps to prevent transporting
voters in goods carriers, the Election
Commission warned political parties
of stringent action if they were found
transporting people in goods carriers,
such as lorries, for election meetings.
Tamilnadu Chief Electoral Officer
Rajesh Lakhoni said action would
be taken under the provisions of
the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) if political parties transported people for
election meetings in goods carriers
or lorries.
The EC’s initiative comes after R K
Siva from Karur filed a petition bringing to the notice of the court the cul-
ture of transporting people in goods
vehicles, violating the provisions of
MVA and, in turn, risking lives.
When the petition came up for
hearing, the first bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan
Kaul and Justice M M Sundaresh,
ordered issuance of notice to the EC.
With the recent crackdown by the
commission, political parties are left
with few options for transportation.
‘They would charge somewhere
between Rs 40 and Rs 45 per km
within 350 km for goods. But for
political parties since it is not long
distance journeys, tariff would be
an approximate figure like Rs 5,000
to Rs 10,000 within 10 km and not
be counted as per kilometre. Sometimes our own partymen own lorries,
and it would come for free,’ said a
source in a political party.
He added, ‘We might now have
to settle for mini buses and other
modes for the purpose.’
Though such mass movement
of people in lorries in Chennai is
rare, the practice is rampant in the
suburban areas and other parts of
Tamilnadu.
‘Usually, political parties in southern
Tamilnadu such as Madurai, Theni,
Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar
and Aruppukottai bring people to
meetings in large numbers,’ said
Praveen Rajan, youth leader of a
party.
But the HC ruling brings cheer
to travel agencies who are hailing
the EC’s initiative. They think that
the move would fetch them some
revenue.
R Muruganandham, who owns a
travel agency, said, ‘When Amma
kickstarted the campaign, we got
some decent revenues. Now, we
are expecting that there would be a
big difference.’
Cop writes letter to No IPL matches in
CM seeking pay hike Maharashtra: SC
q Top brass seeks explanation
q Content goes viral of Facebook
New Delhi, Apr 27:
The Madhya Pradesh Police has
sought a reply from a young constable for writing a letter to Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chouhan and demanding a pay hike so that he can live a
respectable life.
The 28-year-old Suraj Singh Chundawat, posted in Burhannpur, had
written this letter on 21 April. He had
also shared it on Facebook.
Chundawat’s letter, which went viral
with several likes and shares on Facebook and WhatApp, has irked his
top bosses. Now his own department
has served him a notice and sought
a reply from him.
In his letter, Chundawat praised the
Chief Minister for his development
work and progress in the state. In
the next half of the letter, Chundawat
tried to bring a policeman’s plight to
the Chief Miniter’s notice.
‘Is being a policeman a crime? We
are working at a very less salary. We
stay away from our families for long.
Some time we have to work without
food and proper sleep. Whenever
AgustaWestland AW101 VIP is ‘more luxurious
than you can imagine’ as termed by a website. The
key requirement for the helicopter was how high it
could fly.
AgustaWestland AW101 combines the most advance technologies, mission systems and manufacturing expertise with a proven aircraft design. With
the largest cabin in its class and with stand-up head
room, excellent safety features and incorporating
the latest in vibration reduction technology, the
AW101 is ideally suited for VVIP travel.
In his letter,
Chundawat praised
the Chief Minister
for his development
work and progress
in the state. In the
next half of the letter,
Chundawat tried to
bring a policeman’s
plight to the Chief
Miniter’s notice
there is question about our salary
hiked, we are told about budget constraint. Even two people can’t survive
on the salary which is paid to a policeman,’ Chundawat wrote.
‘Posting such a letter on social media by Mr Chundawat is a violation
of Madhya Pradesh Civil Service
Conduct Rules and we are issuing
a notice to him to seek his reply on
the matter,’ Superintendent of Police,
Burhannpur, Anil Singh Kushwaha
told news agency PTI.
New Delhi, Apr 27:
The Supreme Court today refused to allow IPL cricket matches
in Maharashtra due to the drought situation in that state.
The Bombay High Court had earlier banned IPL matches
in Maharashtra. The Mumbai Cricket Association and the
Maharashtra Cricket Association had come to the Supreme
Court, challenging the High Court verdict delivered on a PIL.
The Bench, which included Justices R Banumathi and
UU Lalit, however, advised the IPL organisers to hold the
matches somewhere else. The associations were also ready
to buy and donate double the quantity of water it would use
for helping the drought hit regions of the State.
Major fire at
bio-diesel firm
Visakhapatnam, Apr 27 (PTI):
A major fire that broke out at a biodiesel manufacturing unit in Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ)
here last evening is still raging even
as hectic efforts are on to control it,
officials said today.
Visakhapatnam District Collector N
Yuvaraj, who was at
the accident site, told PTI that nearly
40 fire fighting engines from Navy,
Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, and
Port Trust
were making all efforts to put out
the fire, that erupted at the Bioxmax
Fuels Ltd company premises in Duvvada area here at around 7.30 pm
yesterday.
No casualties were reported in the
incident so far, he said, adding that
the blaze occurred in the storage area
and no worker was present in close
proximity of the mishap site. Biomax
Fuels Ltd has a manufacturing capacity of five lakh tonnes of bio-diesel
from multi-feedstock at VSEZ.
The Collector said out of 18 storage
tanks located at the site, 12 caught
fire. It is expected to be brought under
control by this evening as the entire
oil in the tanks has to burn completely,
he said.
The authorities are taking steps to
avoid the fire from spreading to six
other tanks which are there in the same
area, he said.
8
WEDNESDAY
27 APRIL 2016
, CHENNAI
Licensed to post without prepayment under WPP. No. TN / PMG / (CCR) / WPP-470 / 15-17
Brahmanandam
in Kamal’s next
K
Thenmerku Paruva Kattru
fame Vasundhara was
out of action for some time and now the actress is
back with a bang.
She shot to fame with m
movies including Porali, Peranmai and Vattaram befo
before she chose to take a break.
Speaking to News Toda
Today, she says, ‘I am acting in a
couple of interesting films
lm - Michael Agiya Naan and
Buddhan Yesu Gandh
Gandhi. Both are strikingly different
from each other. Michael
Mic
Agiya Naan is a horror
sh
thriller. I enjoyed shooting
for both’.
She adds, ‘I am part of a period film and it
is set in a city so
some two hundred years ago’.
She says, ‘To stay afloat in the industry,
one should not just
j
work hard but also have
some luck’.
NT Bureau
V
eteran Telugu comedian Brahmanandam will play an important role in Kamal
Haasan’s untitled trilingual that would go on
floors on 29 April.
Along with Brahmanandam, Kamal’s daughter
Shruti Haasan and yesteryear actress Ramya
Krishnan will be seen in important roles. In
the poster of the film, the makers have given
the caption Meendum Varuvathu Yaarendru
Therigiratha. Buzz is that Kamal would be reusing one of the most popular character that he
enacted in one of his earlier movie.
The movie would be directed by Rajeev
Kumar and IIayaraja is composing the music
for the film.
NT Bureau
Vasundhara
aims high
Anirudh’s single goes viral
A
nirudh’s single Hola Amigo,
which was released yesterday
onlin
online, has already become a hit
amon
among his fans. The single from his
upcom
upcoming outing Rum was released
midni
midnight.
The song is sung by Anirudh
Ravic
Ravichander
and Balan Kashmir (rap).
Lyrics are by Madhan Karky and Balan
Kash
Kashmir.
The composer posted on the online
porta link, ‘Thank you guys for the
portal
madn
madness
.. I know it’s been a 5 month
wait :) But I hope it was worth it! The
icing on the cake was Grammy-award
winner 2016 and one of the best DJs
in the world Diplo tweeting about
#HolaAmigo :)’
‘I was in Cuba after my Canada concert tour. There I heard this word ‘Hola’
uttered by everyone on the streets and
the word was lingering in my mind
throughout that trip. Thus came the
tune Hola Amigo’, says Anirudh.
NT Bureau
C
ome 6 May, plans are on to release KO2. With
elections round the corner, the movie is expected to create a buzz for its speaks about politics.
National award winners Bobby Simha and Prakashraj come together for the sequel, which also has
Niki Garlani. Said to be an action packed thriller, it
has been written and directed by Sarath.
The movie is produced by Elred Kumar under the
banner RS Infotainment. The music has been composed by Leon James. Bobby Simha plays the role
of an daring journalist while Prakash Raj reprises his
role of a powerful personalty under whose control
the State operates.
NT Bureau
Vijay 60 is
action-packed
A
ctor Vijay, whose last Theri was a hit, has begun shooting for his
60th movie.
The untitled flick is directed by Bharathan. Keerthy Suresh plays Vijay’s love interest. Sathish, Jagapathy Babu, Daniel Balaji and Thambi
Ramiah are also in the cast. Music will be by Santosh Narayanan and
editing by Praveen K L.
Vijaya Productions, who made many hits including Enga Veetu Pillai,
Uzhaipali, Thamirabarani, Vengai and Veeram, will be bankrolling the
project.
Sources close to Vijay say, ‘It is an emotion-packed rural entertainer
in the likes of Ghilli and Thirupachi’.
NT Bureau
KO2 from 6 May
Team
9
Played
Points
KKR
5
8
GL
5
8
DD
4
6
SRH
6
6
MI
7
6
RPS
6
4
RCB
5
4
KXIP
6
2
I had a plan for
Warner: Dinda
Dinda expressed relief after
ter the team’s win via
od against Sunrisers
the Duckworth/Lewis method
g to an end a run of
Hyderabad, finally bringing
four defeats in IPL.
atch. It was important.
It’s very nice to win the match.
nd bowling and fielding
We played well, batting and
match press conference
also,’ he said at the post-match
on by 34 runs in the rainlate last night after RPS won
hit match.
nning the toss, RPS reElecting to bowl after winning
or 118 for loss of eight
stricted Sunrisers to a poor
e made 94 for three in
wickets. In response, Pune
pted the match.
11 over before rain interrupted
da, who was Man
Replying to a query, Dinda,
n did not help the
of the Match, said the rain
team in any way.
Table toppers KKR to
take on title holders MI
Gambhir keen to keep the momentum going
Mumbai:
The odds are in favour of table
topper Kolkata Knight Riders as
toppers
s
they square
off against defending
champ
champions
Mumbai Indians, experiencing a campaign that is oscillating
betwee high and low, in a potentially
between
exciting Indian Premier League contest he
here tomorrow.
KKR and MI are the two teams that
cl
have clinched
the honours alternately
g
in the glamorous
T20 league over the
last fou
four editions.
With tthe form shown thus far in the
na
tou nament
by the two outfits, the
match at the Wankhede Stadium
promis to be an engaging battle
promises
betwee two top-notch sides.
between
KKR are on a roll with four succesvic
sive victories
in five games. Interestingly, th
their lone defeat of the season,
by six w
wickets, had come at the Eden
Garden against the Rohit SharmaGardens
inspired MI on13 April.
Captain Sharma blasted a matchwinning 54-ball 84 not out to lead
MI to victory in the first leg clash
and KKR would be eager to set the
record straight and stay at the top of
the pecking order.
The Knight Riders have travelled
well this season and have also been
led brilliantly by their opener Gautam
Gambhir who has been the fulcrum
of the batting, aggregating 237 runs
from five games.
When he fell cheaply KKR struggled on to chase down Rising Pune
Supergiants’ total of 160 for five
and won by two wickets on 24 April,
thanks largely to Mumbai Ranji batsman Suryakumar Yadav’s timely 49ball 60. Yadav got good back-up from
the under-performing Yusuf Pathan
(36) which helped KKR’s cause.
It is still the start of the tournament,
e way
we need to keep continuing the
ames,
we have done in the last five games,
at has
because we have realised what
ight at
happened last year. We were right
the top of the table till the 12th game,
ify for
and suddenly we did not qualify
e durthe playoffs, said Gambhir here
ing a team promotional in the run-up
to the game.
ctrum,
MI, at the other end of the spectrum,
ults so
have had a mixed bag of results
osses
far, wins coming in between losses
e with
and are going into the game
wing a
their confidence restored following
25-run victory over Kings XI Punjab
at Mohali on Monday.
dering
It (this win) means a lot, considering
ne the
our last few games hadn’t gone
ed like
way we wanted to. We played
formwe are known to, this is the performance we have been expecting, said
Sharma after the victory.
d
Significantly MI registered
a competitive
score of
189 for six
without a
big contribution from
the captain
and the form
shown by
h i s
Parth
hiv
opening partner Parthiv
Patel
half
Patel,
who notched his first
first h
century of the season with a kno
knock
Sharm
of 81, must have pleased Sharma.
se
The win over Punjab, their secouting
ond in the last three outings,
sp
lifted them to the fifth spot,
but there’s still a long way to
go before they can seal
sea a
spot in the play-offs.
In batting, MI have relied mostly on Ro
Rohit
Rayu
and Ambati Rayudu
w
(217 runs), with
the occasion
occasional
blasts from Kieron Pollard
Polla
and Jos
Buttler.
Published by K. Balakumar on behalf of News Today Media (P) Ltd., from 85, Mount Road (GST Road), Guindy, Chennai 600 032 and printed by him at Frontline Printers Private Ltd., M-7, Thiru-Vi-Ka Industrial Estate, Guindy,
Chennai 600 032. Ph: 4202 1111. Editor: K. Balakumar. Phone: Editorial / Admn / Advt / Circulation 2250 4000, Fax: 2250 0303 (Editorial) / 2250 0101 / 2250 1200 (Advt/Admn/Cir). E-mail: [email protected]. Website: www.newstodaynet.com