Ranchi - The Pioneer
Transcription
Ranchi - The Pioneer
7`]]`hfd`_+ 0DXU4QY\i@Y_^UUb @A:?:@?) BCA854F8C78=38554A4=C BCA40<B>58B;0< 51,5HJQ1R-+$(1*5(*'1R51 VQSUR__[S_]TQY\i`Y_^UUb H@C=5"# F>A;38B14CC4A F8C7>DCB0330<)1DB7 4bcPQ[XbWTS '%# ?dQ[XbWTS5a^\ 34;78;D2:=>F 17>?0; 17D10=4BF0A A0=278A08?DA 270=3860A7347A03D= DA@CE"' A>=0;3>=0=8;403 ?>ACD60;8=4DA>58=0; A0=2785A830H 9D;H'! k %*?064B %C" fffSPX[h_X^]TTaR^\ ;PcT2Xch E^[(8bbdT '% 0XaBdaRWPaVT4gcaPXU0__[XRPQ[T BD;C0= =145?F5B C#%3B?B5 !#F9F139DI m ;VYRUZdTV]VScReV 3DNSODQWLQJµVSLQ GRFWRUVLQ0DOGLYHV" 6ZUhZeYS]``UdYVU !\TSXR^bPaTQTX]VbT]cfXcW X]bXSX^dbPVT]SPc^U^\T]cP]cX8]SXP bT]cX\T]cX]Xb[P]S]PcX^]bcPVTP R^d_PVPX]bccWT_a^8]SXP6^eccWTaT 5^daSTPS "Wdac Pbd[caPbbcaXZT 1´STbW´bQXVVTbc _aPhTaVPcWTaX]V A0:4B7:B8=67Q =4F34;78 what could turn out to be Ithena major security headache for Indian security establish- ?C8Q 370:0 slamist militants carrying Ilaunched bombs and machetes a deadly attack on Bangladesh's biggest Eid gathering, killing four persons including two policemen and a Hindu woman, nearly a week after 22 people were slaughtered in the country's worst terror attack. Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district where at least 2,00,000 people had gathered, police said. Police said one constable was dead and at least 13 others were injured. A second policeman later succumbed to his injuries on way to hospital in neighbouring Mymensingh. Jharna Rani Bhoumik, a housewife, was also killed as she was hit by a stray bullet that penetrated her hut, officials said. One suspected attacker was also killed in the exchange of fire with police at the blast site as roads in the area were cordoned off. Police said that two of the attackers have been held while media reported the arrest of three persons. Machetes were seized from the suspected assailants. Local reports said six to seven people led the attack with sharp weapons on policemen when they were frisking people entering the Eidgah ground. Such an attack on Eid is said to be first time in Bangladesh. It was not known immediately who or which <0A:4CB D6?D6I ?:7EJ 1P]V[PSTbWX_^[XRT\T]PaaXeT]TPacWTbRT]T^UPQ[PbcX]:XbW^aTVP]Y^]CWdabSPh 0? group launched the attack. Kishoreganj ASP Obaidul Hasan said the blasts spread panic among thousands who were beginning to gather near the ground, but the prayers were not disrupted, bdnews24.Com reported. “That was probably a crude bomb. The facts are still unclear,” he said. Police did not reveal the identities of the arrested attackers. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The incident comes close on the heels of last week's deadly attacks on a cafe in Dhaka in which 22 people, including a 19-year-old Indian girl, were brutally slaughtered by Islamic State militants. The Islamic State (ISIS) terror group on Wednesday issued a new chilling video warning the Bangladesh Government of more attacks in the country and across the world until Shariah law is established globally, saying last week's gruesome attack here was just “a glimpse”. The video message believed to be issued from Raqqa, the stronghold of the terror group in strife-torn Syria was released on YouTube. Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's F40C74A <0G"%(2 <8=!''2 6T]TaP[[hR[^dShbZh 20?BD;4 5A0=24>554ABC>BC0AC :0E4A84=68=45>AC490B =Tf3T[WX)5aP]RTWPb^UUTaTS c^WT[_8]SXPaTeXeTcWT d]bdRRTbbUd[:PeTaXT]VX]T _a^YTRcU^aX]SXVT]^dbCTYPb PXaRaPUcP]SPW^bc^U^cWTaWXVW T]SR^[[PQ^aPcX^]Pb_Pac^UcWT ^UUbTcbX]cWT\d[cXQX[[X^]4da^ APUP[TUXVWcTa_[P]TSTP[fWXRWXb ]^fX]cWTUX]P[bcPVTb ndia will send a team of NSG Iconduct officials to Bangladesh to post-blast investigations at the site of the bombing at an Eid prayer gathering near Dhaka on Thursday and the recent terror siege at a restaurant in the upscale diplomatic area of the Bangladesh capital. Officials said the team of National Security Guard (NSG) officers have been authorised by the Government to travel to Dhaka after the Special Forces establishment in Bangladesh approved the elite Indian counter-terror force's request to visit the spots of the terror attacks for a first-hand understanding of the situation. The team, which includes NSG experts in post-blast Incidentally, India's radar facility for monitoring the Indian Ocean there is the second biggest after the US and it is providing surveillance capacity right up to Gwadar port in Pakistan. In the past, many Maldivian students who had gone to Pakistan to study medicine were radicalised by the Pak agencies. Many of these students had joined terror groups following which the 3WPZPcTaa^aXbc´bXS^[=PXZUPRTb 2T]caT´bWTPc<PWP^aSTab_a^QT ?=BQ =4F34;78<D<108 s the Maharashtra Chief Minister ordered a probe against the Mumbai-based Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, the Union Government on Thursday stepped up the heat on him saying “appropriate action” will be taken over his speeches that were reported to have inspired one of the Dhaka attackers. Backing the move, the BJP that described Naik as “threat to nation's security” sought Congress party to take action against its leader Digvijay Singh who came under scanner for appearing in a 2012 video along with the Islamic preacher. Singh, who was seen praising 50-year-old Naik in the video, defended himself, saying if there was any evidence against the preacher, then the Indian and Bangladeshi Governments should take action against him. “I have appealed for communal harmony and opposed religious fundamentalism and terrorism by either Hindus or Muslims,” the Congress leader said. The video surfaced on Thursday. Naik's speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale cafe in Dhaka last Friday. Security personnel were deployed outside Naik's 'Islamic Research Foundation' office at Dongri area in South Mumbai as a precautionary measure in the wake of the escalating row over his alleged hate speeches. “The Home Ministry will study (his speeches). It will take appropriate action after studying them. His speeches, as being reported in the media, are highly objectionable,” the new Information and A posh diplomatic enclave late on Friday killing 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State. The IS video has gone viral on social media among Bangladeshis still recovering from the shock of the brutal slaughter of 20 hostages and two police officers in Dhaka. Police said a massive manhunt was underway to nab other militants involved in Thursday's attack. Continued on Page 2 =B6cTP\X]3WPZP U^aQ[Pbc_a^QTb^^] ?=BQ =4F34;78 ment as well as for the Maldives Government, Pakistan is sending a team of 200 doctors to that country ostensibly to fuel anti-India sentiment and help forces which are trying to destabilise the India friendly Government there. Cyber profiling of these doctors and inputs with the agencies here suggest they have been in regular touch with the Pakistan's Inter-Ser vices Intelligence (ISI) and its affiliate terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and Jaish-eMohammad. For the last few months, these doctors have been scouring the Internet to understand the Maldivian culture in depth so as to gel well with the local people there and vitiate their minds. The Pak agencies have also imparted training to these doctors on the cultural milieu of the island nation, sources said. Inputs also suggest 80 per cent of these doctors have studied medicine at the medical institutions of the armed forces of Pakistan and many of them have also served for the uniformed services. Agencies here suspect these doctors are being sent with an insidious agenda to foment anti-India sentiment in the island nation and stage a coup against the pro-India Government there. B42DA8CH74030274 Y 2hQTa_a^UX[X]V^UcWTbT S^Rc^abP]SX]_dcbfXcWcWT PVT]RXTbWTaTbdVVTbccWTh WPeTQTT]X]aTVd[Pac^dRW fXcWcWT?PZXbcP]b8]cTa BTaeXRTb8]cT[[XVT]RT8B8P]S XcbPUUX[XPcTcTaa^aVa^d_b[XZT cWT;PbWZPaTCPhhTQPP]S 9PXbWT<^WP\\PS Y 5^acWT[PbcUTf\^]cWbcWTbT S^Rc^abWPeTQTT]bR^daX]V cWT8]cTa]Tcc^d]STabcP]ScWT <P[SXeXP]Rd[cdaTX]ST_cWb^ Pbc^VT[fT[[fXcWcWT[^RP[ analysis and counter-terror operations, will study the July 1 incident where terrorists laid siege to a bakery and killed 22 persons and also analyse Thursday's bombings in Kishoreganj area near Dhaka. The NSG wanted to study the scenario, in coordination with their Bangladeshi counterparts, as getting an insight into them will not only enhance counter-terror cooperation between the two friendly-neighbours but will also act as a repository of operational knowledge to the commando force. NSG is the federal counterterror and counter-hijack commando action force of the countr y that was raised in 1984. Continued on Page 2 'LJJ\ XQGHUILUH 386E890HB8=67 R^\Tbd]STa bRP]]TaU^a P__TPaX]VX]P! ! eXST^P[^]VfXcWcWT 8b[P\XR_aTPRWTa U 19?STbRaXQTS =PXZPbcWaTPcc^ ]PcX^]bbTRdaXch P]Sb^dVWc2^]VaTbb_Pachc^ cPZTPRcX^]PVPX]bc3XVeXYPh U 2^d]cTaX]VcWT19?2^]VaTbb RWXTUb_^ZTb_Tab^]AP]STT_ BdaYTfP[PbPXSWXbbT]X^a Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in Delhi. Naidu's remarks came a day after Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju hinted at action against the preacher after looking into whether Naik through his speeches glorifies terrorist acts by Muslims. Naik on Wednesday asserted that his speech on Islam and terror has been taken out of context and claimed that he had only said Muslims should terrorise anti-social elements. BJP targetted Singh and asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi to take action against her party leader. “Terrorism is enemy of humanity. Anybody who directly or indirectly abets it is guilty. People like him (Naik) are a threat to our national security. Government agencies should decide on action against him under the existing legal system. It is clear that he incited people,” party national secretary Shrikant Sharma said. Countering the BJP, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said his senior colleague has himself stated that he only appealed for R^[[TPVdTWPbWX\bT[UbcPcTS cWPcWT^][hP__TP[TSU^a _TPRTWPa\^]hP]S Qa^cWTaW^^S U =PXZWPSaT_^acTS[h°daVTSP[[ <db[X\bc^QTcTaa^aXbcb± peace, harmony and brotherhood. Surjewala said the NDA Government should take decisive action against Naik or any other individual or organisation found indulging in antiIndia activities. Naik's discourse is reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved in the recent Dhaka carnage. Police have been deployed outside the city office of Naik's 'Islamic Research Foundation' office at Dongri area in South Mumbai run by him. Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly “urged all Muslims to be terrorists”. The controversial Islamic orator is banned in the UK and Canada for his 'hate speech' aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia. Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant on Wednesday said he had written to the Union Home Minister, demanding a ban on Naik and Islamic Research Foundation, in the country's interest. !%:8;;438=A>03 <8B70?B8=A090BC70= 3Te0dcW^aXchU^a6aTPcTa9P\bWTS_dab^^])3Pb 90E034:0AC0:4B270A64 >57A3<8=8BCAH ?0AE8=34A170C80Q 90<B743?DA 9PX_da9^SW_da)CfT]chbXg _T^_[TfTaTZX[[TSP]S#$^cWTab X]YdaTSX]cf^bT_PaPcTa^PS PRRXST]cbX]APYPbcWP]_^[XRT bPXS^]CWdabSPh =Tf3T[WX)CWT=Tf7A3 <X]XbcTa?aPZPbW9PePSTZPa bcPacTSWXbX]]X]Vb^]P]^cTcWPc R^d[SV^P[^]VfPhX]T]SX]V cWTPc\^b_WTaT^UP]X\^bXch QTcfTT]PbTRcX^]^UcWTbcdST]c R^\\d]XchP]ScWT<^SX 6^eTa]\T]c <4BB8C>0??40;C0G 5A0D3B4=C4=24 1PaRT[^]P) 0UcTaPR^dacX]B_PX] ^]CWdabSPhbT]cT]RTS 1PaRT[^]PbcaXZTa;X^]T[<TbbX P]SWXbUPcWTac^! \^]cWbX] YPX[U^acPgUaPdScWTU^^cQP[[Ta e^fTSc^P__TP[cWTbT]cT]RT P]SR[TPaWXb]P\T ITa^[X`dXS SXbRWPaVTX]XcXPcXeT [Pd]RWTSPc9DB2> he Chief Minister, T Raghubar Das, on Thursday announced that the State Government will constitute a Jamshedpur Regional Development Authority to provide better civic services and monitor town planning. Speaking during the inauguration of Ramadhir Bagan Park near Telco, Das said, "The Government is seriously thinking of constituting a Jamshedpur Regional Development Authority and it will be placed before the State Cabinet for necessary sanction soon. The idea is to provide planned and uniform civic amenities and town planning for the city and its outskirts that will be known as Greater Jamshedpur," said Das. After the constitution of Greater Jamshedpur the basic amenities like roads, drains, water, power, transport, health, education, playground, theatres, and stadiums will be provided by the authority in the city and the nearby areas. Reiterating the Government's commitment to provide amenities, the Chief Minister also said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has already been signed earlier this month between the State Government and Tata Steel for supply of water in nonTata Steel lease areas. Residents living outside Tata Steel command areas in the city will also get the benefit of quality water soon, he noted. "As per the agreement, the 2<APVWdQPa3Pb_[P]cX]VPbP_[X]VSdaX]VcWTX]PdVdaPcX^]^UAP\PSWXa1PVP] ?PaZ]TPaCT[R^X]9P\bWTS_da^]CWdabSPh9P\bWTS_da<?1XShdc1PaP]<PWc^ CPcPBcTT[eXRT_aTbXST]cR^a_^aPcTbTaeXRTbBd]X[1WPbZPaP]P[^]VfXcW^cWTab P[b^bTT]X]cWT_RXcdaT ?X^]TTa_W^c^ Government will bear 40 per cent of the cost while Tata Steel will be bearing 60 per cent of the cost (laying of pipes and providing connections) for supply of water in these areas. The survey work in these areas (non-Tata Steel lease areas) will be completed by October 2 this year and thereafter Tata Steel subsidiary Jusco and the Government will sit together to finalise the rates for water and connection charge and later distribution connection will be provided in a phased manner," the Chief Minister said. Das today inaugurated and launched five environmental projects - Ramadhin Bagan Park, Gayatri Nagar Park, Sitaramdera Park, Zero Liquid Discharge initiative and Ek Ped Ek Jeevan Campaign. According to Jusco officials, Gayatri Nagar (area 6,500 sq m, costing Rs 13 lakh) and Ramadhin Bagan Park ( 2,500 sq m area, costing Rs 12 lakh) will be maintained by the Indian Steel and Wire Products (IS&WP) Limited while the Sitaramdera Park (4,000 sq m area, Rs 25 lakh) will be Continued on Page 2 _T^_[TcWTaTP]SeXcXPcTcWTXa \X]Sb Y CWT?PZPVT]RXTbWPeTP[b^ X\_PacTScaPX]X]Vc^cWTbT S^Rc^ab^]cWTRd[cdaP[\X[XTd ^UcWTXb[P]S]PcX^] Y 8]_dcbP[b^bdVVTbc'_Ta RT]c^UcWTbTS^Rc^abWPeT bcdSXTS\TSXRX]TPccWT \TSXRP[X]bcXcdcX^]b^UcWT Pa\TSU^aRTb^U?PZXbcP]P]S \P]h^UcWT\WPeTP[b^ bTaeTSU^acWTd]XU^a\TS bTaeXRTb Maldives Government banned its students from studying in Pakistan. Interestingly, Pakistan had earlier offered similar help to Nepal during the earthquake but the Himalayan nation had rejected the offer outright saying the people might not accept medical services from Pak doctors due to cultural differences. As many as 150 Indian doctors are already stationed in a country that has a population of 10 lakh spread across 200 islands. The ratio of doctors is well above the WHO recommendations for a male and female doctor for a population of one lakh and the Pak move seems to be fishy as they will stay there for two years and each one of them will draw a monthly salary of USD 2500 and the entire bill will be footed by Islamabad. The Maldives Government has already granted them visas and they are likely to reach there after the Eid vacations in both the countries are over by the weekend. “The background of the doctors and the track record of Pakistani agencies suggest an armed coup is a possibility in Maldives if they are allowed to stay for long. Their activities could add to the woes of the Government there as radicalisation by the ISIS is on the rise there,” an official said. In the past, the ISI and its affiliate terror groups had created a network of sympathising groups within the Muslim sections in Sri Lanka after undertaking humanitarian works there following the Tsunami in 2004. Recently, the role of ISI had also cropped up in the terror attack on a restaurant in an upscale area in Dhaka earlier this month. Counter-terrorsim expert Dr Rituraj Mate told The Pioneer, “While China is undertaking String of Pearls to encircle India in strategic terms, Pakistan is carrying out an operation on similar lines to hit New Delhi's interests by furthering jehadi agenda in the immediate neighbourhood of India.” >`UZ?jfdZdafc WRc^dVTe`ceZVd ,QGLDWREX\ SXOVHVIURP 0R]DPELTXH ILUPXSVHFXULW\ 'HIHQFHOLQNV ?C880=BQ <0?DC> ndia and Mozambique on Iagricultural Thursday agreed to fast-track cooperation after delegation-level discussions headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi here. The two nations signed three agreements on security, enhancing defence ties and purchase of pulses from Mozambique for India. “Mozambique's strengths are also the areas of India's needs. And what Mozambique requires is available in India,” Modi said in a joint Press statement with Nyusi. Observing that Nyusi had highlighted agricultural development as his top priority, he said experts from both sides have since held discussions on how to work together to improve agricultural infrastructure and productivity in Mozambique. “Today, we agreed to put this cooperation on the fast track,” Modi said. As per the agreement India will encourage greater production of pulses in Mozambique with an assurance that it will be purchased by India at mutually-agreed price. While India generally has shortfall of pulses leading to price rise, Mozambique grows the commodity without much consumption locally. The agreement will be a “win-win” for the two countries. Stating that the both the countries were strengthening their partnership in food security, Modi said, “India's commitment to buy pulses from Mozambique would help meet India's requirement. It will also facilitate long-term investments in commercial farming, generate farm employment and raise incomes of farmers in this country.”Modi also said that India wants to build on its already flourishing trade and investment ties with Mozambique. Continued on Page 2 8]SXP][X\XcTS^eTaRaXRZTc bZX__Ta<PWT]SaPBX]VW 3W^]X_[P]cbPbP_[X]VPcWXb UPa\W^dbT^]cWT^RRPbX^] ^UWXb"$cWQXacWSPhX] AP]RWX^]CWdabSPh ?X^]TTa_W^c^ ]PcX^]! A0=278k5A830H k9D;H '! % 8`gee`^RY`fed+EcVReYRReYZRddRReYZ`c]`dVaVc^Ze A094B7:D<0AQ =4F34;78 ollowing reports that the six existing elephants (pachyF derms) in the national Capital are being maltreated, the Delhi Government's Forest department has issued show-cause notices to mahouts holding the ownership licences of the pachyderms. They have been told to provide all the details about food, accommodation and hygiene they have been providing to their elephants. If mahouts fail to give satisfactory reply, the Forest department officials said, their ownership licence will be cancelled under the Wildlife Protection Act. Besides, the department has also expressed its serious concern about the way mahouts have been taking their elephants out on roads without providing prior information AT_^acb^UX[[caTPc\T]c^U 3T[WX´bbXg[XRT]bTST[T_WP]cb b_da3T[WX6^eTa]\T]cb U^aTbcST_Pac\T]cc^XbbdT bW^fRPdbT]^cXRTbc^cWT \PW^dcbPbZX]VcWT\c^ Tg_[PX]X]STcPX[fWPc \TPbdaTbcWThWPeTcPZT]U^a cWTd_ZTT_^UcWTbTP]X\P[b to the traffic police. As per law, it is mandatory for mahouts to provide prior information to the police before bringing elephants on roads as their movement could lead to massive traffic jams. Sources in the Government said that the notices have been given to all six licensed owners seeking details of infrastructure for proper living and maintenance. “If they are failed to give satisfactorily reply about what measures they had taken for the upkeep of these animals. Their licences would be cancelled,” said the sources. However, Zakir Ali (25), who belongs to a family that has kept elephants for generations, denied receving any notice from the Government. “Keeping elephants is our 'shauk' and not a 'pesha'. It is a costly affair to keep elephants in the national Capital because of strict wildlife rules and the costs involved,” says Ali who has two elephants known as Heera and Laxmi, both 35 years old. Abdul Rahim, who also owns one elephant, said that he would be the last generation of mahouts in Delhi. “Wages are low. There are dangers involved. It's not a respected profession. But ours is a symbiotic relationship. We cut grass to feed them. We sleep under their shadow,” says Abdul Rahim, as he dusts an elephant with a piece of cloth. The elephants in Delhi 3Te0dcW^aXchU^a 6aTPcTa9P\bWTS_da b^^])3Pb From Page 1 maintained by Basti Vikas Samity. The Sitaramdera Park has facilities like children's corner like playing equipments (swings), exercise equipments and cartoon paintings, a borewell with overhead tank facilities, steel scrap arts and garden lights. Das also inaugurated zero liquid discharge initiative of Jusco by pressing a button at the Sitaramdera Park. "It is our ambitious project and looking forward to make it a success. Jamshedpur will ?aX\T<X]XbcTa=PaT]SaP<^SXfXcW<^iP\QX`dT?aTbXST]c5X[X_T9PRX]c^=hdbX become the first city in the X]b_TRcbPVdPaS^UW^]^daSdaX]VPRTaT\^]XP[fT[R^\TPc?aTbXST]cXP[>UUXRTX] country to become zero liquid <P_dc^<^iP\QX`dT^]CWdabSPh ?C8 discharge. The project (Rs 56 lakh) at Kharkhai sewage treatment plant with a capacity to treat 10 million litres of sewage =_TY>iecY From Page 1 Speaking at a banquet hosted in his honour by Nyusi, Modi said India applauded Mozambique as one of the fastest-growing economies of the world in recent decades. “Our trade and investment ties have particularly flourished in recent years. We want to build further on it. For this, India remains ready and committed to share its experiences, technology, capacity and concessional credit with Mozambique, in line with your priorities,” he said. Mozambique is the destination of around a quarter of India's investments in Africa totalling around $8 billion. The Prime Minister said health care was another area in which India's capacities and Mozambican needs match well. “India will be donating essential medicines for the Mozambican public health system, including medicines for treatment of AIDS,” he said. Modi also stressed on the safety and security of the people of the two countries. While talking about the challenges, Modi said, “President Nyusi and I recognize that terrorism is the gravest security threat facing the world today. Mozambique and India are no exceptions. Terrorism impacts India and Mozambique equally.” His comments assume significance as these came against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various parts of the world. This included the second major terror attack in less than a week in India's neighbour Bangladesh just hours before Modi spoke. India will also help build capacities of Mozambique's security forces, Modi said with a vow to “walk every step” with this country on its path of development and progress. “We will work together to support the Mozambican Defence forces. By building capacities and institutions, training of personnel, supply of equipment, and in responding to their other emerging needs,” Modi said.He said an agreement signed between the two sides on prevention of drug trafficking was a testimony to the shared determination to combat the menace of terrorism and its networks. Modi said that with India and Mozambique being connected by the Indian Ocean, there were many economic opportunities “But, we are also aware of the emerging strategic and security challenges in the maritime domain. To advance our shared security interests, the President and I have today agreed to strengthen our Defence and security relationship,” he said. Modi said that India and Mozambique stood with each other in the international arena on a range of issues. “From the reform of UN Security Council, to the adoption of June 21 as the International Day of Yoga. Last year, at the COP-21 Summit in Paris, India led a major effort to promote solar energy as a source of renewable energy. For this, we formed the International Solar Alliance to counter climate change. The Alliance has the support of over 120 countries and we greatly value Mozambique's partnership in this initiative,” he said. Earlier on Thursday, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome after his arrival in Maputo on the first leg of his four-nation Africa tour. Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Mozambique in 34 years, recalled the “struggles” and “sufferings” of the two countries during the colonial days and said India had been the strongest supporter of Mozambique's independence. “Our shared struggles and suffering under colonial oppression brought our two countries together. India was one of the strongest supporters of Mozambican independence,” said the Prime Minister who also visited the National Assembly here.He said the relationship between India and Mozambique should not remain stuck in the past and informed that his talks with Nyusi had covered the aspects like “shared vision” for a stronger partnership in years ahead.“In fact, Mozambique has already been one of the gateways for Indian investments into Africa. About one fourth of all Indian investments in Africa are in Mozambique. Our ties of commerce and trade have continued to grow over the last decade,” he said. water per day will be used for horticulture as well as in plant and other purposes. Similar facility will be operational at Bara sewage treatment plant by July 2017 with a capacity of 30 million litres per day," said Jusco MD Ashish Mathur. Das also flagged off 12 vans as part of Jusco 'Ek Ped Ek Jeevan Campaign' in which one lakh saplings will be planted in 200 days in the city with the help of social organizations and institutions. The vans will be distributing saplings of fruit bearing trees to different institutions for plantation at residential colonies. Das also said that around three crore trees would be planted by the State Government this year as part of the green mission. belong to individuals who traditionally use them to earn their living. The elephants face health hazards from walking on tar roads for long hours carrying heavy loads which lead to cracks and blisters on their foot pads. In 2014, six pachyderms had gone missing under mysterious circumstances in Delhi, which forced the forest depart- ment to conduct census of these animals. After census, it was found that there are only eight pachyderms left in Delhi. Out of eight, two had been deported to Gujarat in 2015. Presently there are six licensed pachyderms in the national Capital as per forest department record. There were 24 elephants in the city till the year 2009. But their habitat near Thokar near ITO bridge got disturbed during the 2010 Commonwealth games. As the games village and millennium bus depot took shape, the elephants were thrown out to far flung Sangam Vihar colony in the Outer Delhi area. The pachyderms from their natural habitat of Delhi are being 'deported' in a phased manner to neighbouring States. Jehadis celebrate Eid with... From Page 1 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at an Eid reception at her residence said, “Those who are carrying out assaults even in Eid congregations, are enemies of Islam and humanity”. She urged parents and school authorities to report to police if their sons or students had gone missing since the Dhaka attack was carried out by youths who went missing several months ago.“We will help you to track them down using modern technology, if required they will be given treatment in specialised facilities,” she said.Meanwhile, the imam of the Eid congregation, who is said to have earned the militants' wrath by spearheading a massive anti-Islamist campaign with Islamic scholars and imams, appealed for a “social resistance” against the militants. 5^a\Ta8]SXP]f^\T]b7^RZhcTP\RP_cPX]0bWd]cP;PZaPP[^]VfXcWRaXRZTcUP]bRT[TQaPcTcWT"$cWQXacWSPh^U8]SXP] BZX__Ta<PWT]SaPBX]VW3W^]XX]AP]RWX^]CWdabSPh EX]Ph<da\dk?X^]TTa ! $UPa\TabbdXRXSTbX] >SXbWPf^abcX]aTRT]chab B0=944E:D<0A?0CA>Q 17D10=4BF0A hen it comes to farmers’ W suicide in Odisha, year 2015 was the worst ever in BT]X^a2^]VaTbb;TPSTaBdQ^SW:P]cBPWPhP[^]VfXcWBcPcTF^\T]b2^\\XbbX^]2WPXa_Tab^]<PWdP<PYXP]S^cWTab RT[TQaPcT4XSPc7Pa\dA^PSX]AP]RWX^]CWdabSPh ?X^]TTa =B6cTP\ X]3WPZP From Page 1 team will be in Dhaka over the coming weekend and will gather leads for “analysis and study” of the two terror incidents, official sources said, adding the samples collected from the sites will be subjected to tests in order to analyse the latest trends adopted by the terror groups operating in the region. In the past, NSG teams have travelled to some other friendly countries as part of their charter to effectively prepare against terrorist incidents.Radical Islamists on Thursday hurled crude bombs and engaged in a shootout with police in Bangladesh, leaving a policeman and a terrorist dead at Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district where at least 2,00,000 people had gathered for Eid prayers.The latest incident comes after last week's deadly attacks in Dhaka during which 22 innocent persons were killed. The victims were mainly foreigners including an Indian girl. F^a[S1P]ZcTP\eXbXcb 2T]caP[D]XeTabXch^U>aXbbP ?=BQ :>A0?DC team from the World Bank along with Higher A Education Department Principal Secretary GVV Sarma visited the Central University of Orissa (CUO), Koraput on Wednesday and had a discussion wit\h university Vice-Chancellor Prof Sachidananda Mohanty. The discussion mainly focused on higher education strategy for the backward region of the State and the role the Central University could play. Prof Mohanty informed the team about different activities taken up by the university for regional development, including activities undertak- recent half a decade (since 2009) as suicides by farmers have clocked a stupendous 2,660-per cent rise last year. In what could be termed as a startling disclosure, a comprehensive report with the State Agriculture Department shows that a high of around 138 farmers committed suicide in 2015 against a mere five in 2014. And, interestingly, the report did admit that the suicides were due to various reasons, including agrarian, that encompass factors like indebtedness and crop loss. Significantly, the report men- tions that in 2014, only five farmers had committed suicide owing to agrarian reasons. Moreover, the rise in suicides in 2015 is the highest-ever in a single year since 1999 despite the practice in previous years of clubbing suicide by sharecroppers as farm labourers. In this horrifying backdrop, the shadow of the nagging farm suicides still looms large on the State this monsoon as well. The reason: Almost all the suicide hotspots in the State have recorded deficient to severely deficient (scanty) rains during the first month of 2016 cultivation season (June August). And July is the key month to decide the fate of farmers in Odisha this year. Districts that turned farm suicide hotspots last year like Balangir, Bargarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Baleswar, Deogarh, Kalahandi, Jharsuguda, Subarnapur, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Nayagrah and Nuapada have again recorded deficient-toscanty rainfall during June 2016. Till the end of July first week, the situation on the ground has not shown much improvement. And, curiously, ground reports from the districts suggest no contingency agriculture plan in place till date as the Government is hinging its hope on IMD prediction of bountiful rain in July. While the Government is living in ‘hope’, farmers live in ‘despair’.Sample this. Post drought, spines of farmers are already broken. Last year, the State Government distributed compensation worth Rs 6,800 per hectare. en in five adopted village adjacent to the university. Different subjects and research programmes offered, infrastructure development and academic milestones achieved by the university were discussed. Prof Mohanty expected that large section of student from the KBK region would take admission in the present session in view of the Education Strategy for the backward region adopted by the university. The team praised Prof Mohanty for his outstanding efforts in Education Strategy and hoped that the university would be a hub of quality higher education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cP[" A0=278k5A830H k9D;H '! % µ3DNRUD¶VHOOHUDPRQJVL[DUUHVWHGLQCODNKKHLVWFDVH ?^[XRTaTR^eTa \^c^aQXZT P]SC "[PZW RPbWUa^\ R^]b_XaPc^ab ?=BQ A0=278 n a major achievement, Ranchi Police arrested six Ipersons from Chirkunda area of Dhanbad on Thursday, while one of the accused was still at large, in the C29 lakh loot case that took place under Bariatu Police Station in Ranchi on June 28. C13 lakh cash along with a newly purchased motorcycle and some jewellery purchased with the money looted by the miscrenats has also been recovered. “Field Development Officer of Aashir vaad Microfinance Company Shatrughna Kumar was the mastermind behind the loot. He had informed his neighbour Suraj Singh in Chirkunda that C25-30 lakh cash was being transferred in his office at a time which could be looted very easily,” said SSP Kuldeep Dwivedi. Police said that Suraj was a petty street vendor who sold ‘pakoras’ in Chirkunda for a living. Suraj then informed his friends Pappu Mandal, Deepak Kar, Mantu Da and Ujjwal Chaterjee about it and chalked out a plan to loot the money from Shatrughna’s office. A recce of Ashirvaad MicroFinance Company was done by all of them in the month of May itslef. “Finally it was decided by Shatrughna that their plan of loot will be brought on the ground on June 28 as a huge amount will be brought to the office on that day,” SSP said. In order to avert any doubt over him, mastermind Shatrughana took a leave for the day on that day in the name of examination, he said. All of them reached Ranchi on the day of incident and gathered near RIMS as per the plan. “As Shatrughna had already told Suraj the registration number of the car in which cash will be brought to the office, he waited at a distance for the cash to be brought there while the other five waited near the office. As soon as Suraj informed them that the car was heading towards the office, they snatched the bag filled with money from the manager and fled to Chrikunda on two motorcycles, while Suraj went back by train,” said the SSP. Out of the arrested six persons, only Ujjwal Chaterjee has a criminal background and has been to jail in connection with a loot case registered in Shanibodh Police Station in Bankura in West Bengal while rest of them are petty businessmen, who earn their living either by roadside vending or some other sources. Out of C13 lakh, C3 lakh was recovered from Pappu, C3 lakh from Suraj, C2 lakh from Deepak, C2 lakh from Mantu, C2 lakh from Shatrughna and Cone lakh from Ujjwal while the newly purchased motorcycle from the looted money was recovered from Ujjwal. All the jewelleries on the other hand, were recovered from Pappu. Ujjwal is also said to have cleared debts from the looted amount. Five armed criminals had snatched C29 lakh from Manager of Ashir vad Microfinance Private Limited Sugreev Singh on gunpoint on June 28 at the entrance of his office building in Sanskriti Vihar locality in Bariatu. Singh was dropped by his driver at the gate of the building with a bag containing the stolen money when armed robbers forced him give up the bag. They also fired some aerial rounds before fleeing the scene. AP]RWXBB?:d[STT_3fXeTSX28chB?:PdbWP[:XbW^aP[^]VfXcWbT]X^a_^[XRT^UUXRXP[bbW^fX]VPaaTbcTSbXgRaX\X]P[bfXcWaTR^eTaTS[^^cTSC "[PZWSdaX]VP_aTbb R^]UTaT]RTX]AP]RWX^]CWdabSPh EX]Ph<da\dk?X^]TTa µFD2e`YV]a;YRc\YR_UZ_YVR]eYTRcV¶ B0=944E970Q A0=278 S health scientists and doctors working in Jharkhand U hospitals alongwith local doctors to find permanent solutions for spread of infectious diseases in and around Jharkhand seem to be a reality very soon. Calling upon India as one of the closest partners of United States Of America (USA) in 21st century at a series of fronts, Consul General of USA in Kolkata Craig L Hall said on Thursday that the US is all set to help Jharkhand in the healthcare sector. “Among many other frontiers, USA is working closely with India for improving overall healthcare sector here and to find solutions against transmittable and infectious diseases in and around Jharkhand. A Joint US-India Taskforce is already in place to work out a framework for healthcare professional exchange programme so that we find a permanent solution of a number of infectious diseases,” said Hall. While addressing students and faculty members of Xavier Institute of Scoial Service (XISS) in Ranchi, Hall spoke at length about various aspects of Indo-US relationship which has seen a paradigm shift in last one decade. “The bilateral trade was merely of around $35 Billion, which has grown exponentially to reach at $105 Billion last year. We are eyeing a $500 Billion bilateral trade in another decade and can say that even that number is not enough keeping the size of both the economies in mind,” said Hall. He threw light on the strengths of India-US relationship and highlighted the potential of it, which according to him bore possibilities to grow exponentially in near future. He firmly believed that Indo-US relationship at presently was stronger than it had ever been. “This relationship has grown to include not only the economic aspect but also health, military and education,” said Hall. Hall quoted US President Barack Obama as saying, “USIndia relationship could be the defining partnership relation in the world in 2016.” He said that the relation has been strong for quite some time and the strength of this relationship is further growing in the fields of military, outer-space, health, and higher education. He said that India and US were working on a Joint Mars Mission soon. Describing ‘people to people’ contacts as the best possible tool to strengthen bilateral relationship, Hall said that both the countries were sharing strong emotional bonds at this front. He pointed out a number of educational exchange programmes to that are becoming building bricks of Indi-US relationships. “Many of these people ties are embedded in education part of the relationship. There is an average 30 per cent increase in the number of Indian students studying in the US every year. Students and 99=SU\URbQdUccUfU^dX 6_e^TQdY_^4Qi ?=BQ A0=278 he Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ranchi T today celebrated its seventh 2^]bd[6T]TaP[^UDB0X]:^[ZPcP3a2aPXV;7P[[PSSaTbbTbbcdST]cbSdaX]VcWT8]cTaPRcXeTBTbbX^]^UGPeXTa8]bcXcdcT^U B^RXP[BTaeXRTPcG8BBX]AP]RWX^]CWdabSPh EX]Ph<da\dk?X^]TTa faculty members need to explore the possibilities in the fields of research and education being carved out of the emerging US-India relationship,” he added. Hall mentioned that Jharkhand was making a significant progress as per the Joint Report of World Bank and Government of India. Jharkhand has been ranked 3rd in the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ among the Indian states in a survey, the results of which were declared by Central government as recently as last month. Hall emphasized on the need to put Jharkhand on the US map and increase the busi- ness opportunities for people both in India and the US. “Once such instance where Jharkhand is emerging in a big way is in the field of healthcare where the US health scientists have been allowed to research in Jharkhand in the areas of identification and treatment of diseases like Tuberculosis, malaria and dengue-fever. To realize the dreams of India and the stat of Jharkhand, he emphasized on the role of education as a means to achieve it,” said Hall. Replying to a question about BREXIT issue and how he saw its impact on India-USBritain trilateral relationship, Hall said that it would not affect the relationship at all. “All three countries are deeply rooted democratic countries, each one has deeply rooted social values, and each one is an open market economy now. I believe that all the three countries are matured enough not to have any negative impact on them from BREXIT,” he said. Addressing the issue of possible power shift in US, Hall said that the views of US Congress about India and those representing Indo-US interests in US Congress are strong enough to avert any possible chance to shift the direction of relationships of both the countries. Foundation Day at Dr. Ramdayal Munda Kala Bhawan Auditorium at Khelgaon in Ranchi. The occasion was graced by Former Deputy Governor RBI Usha Thorat as Chief Guest, Director In-charge Professor Anindya Sen, Dignitaries from the Government of Jharkhand, all the faculty, staff members and the students of the institute. The celebrations was started with the Saraswati Vandana and lighting of the lamp by the Chief Guest. Professor Sen also delivered a welcome speech which was followed by the presentation of Merit Certificate to the Rank Holders. The Chief Guest, while addressing the audience through her speech, shared how the financial system especially the banking system in India after nationalization of banks in 1969, been used as an instrument of public policy to provide banking facilities and loans to the disadvantaged and the aam aadmi. The strategies used to achieve this changed from directed and subsidized credit at concessional rates to using intermediaries (such as SHGs and MFIs) and technology to propel banks to increasing outreach without sacrificing their 5^a\Ta3T_dch6^eTa]^a^UA18DbWPCW^aPc_aTbT]cX]V\TaXcRTacXUXRPcTc^ 2WP]S]X0VPafP[Pb3XaTRc^aX]RWPaVT88<NA?a^U0]X]ShPBT][^^Zb^]SdaX]V cWT&cW5^d]SPcX^]3PhRTaT\^]h^UcWT8]SXP]8]bcXcdcT^U<P]PVT\T]cAP]RWXPc 3aAP\ShP[<d]SP:P[P1WPfP]PdSXc^aXd\:WT[VP^X]7^cfPaAP]RWX^] CWdabSPh APcP];P[k?X^]TTa_W^c^ C74=0<4B>5A428?84=CB>5 24AC85820C4B0A45>A?63< ! $! &10C27 5XabcaP]ZW^[STa BdbW^e^] <PXchfWX[TcWTBTR^]SAP]Z Y^X]c[hfT]cc^6^daXBP]ZPa BPW^^:TTacXCPhP[BPhP] 3dccP ?637A<! $! &10C27 5XabcAP]Z7^[STa 2WP]S]X0VaPfP[ BTR^]SAP]Z7^[STa =XWPaXZP CWXaSAP]Z7^[STa :BWT]XVP viability. She also encouraged and motivated students through her speech. The event culminated with a vibrant cultural function fea- turing dance, drama and a band performance by the students. The celebration ended with the National Anthem. IIM Ranchi was the 9th IIM to be established with the extensive support of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and the Government of Jharkhand, working under the guidance of Ministry of HRD, Government of India. Since then the Institute has grown from strength to strength and is now counted among the best B- Schools in the eastern zone of India. Former Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India Usha Thorat was the Chief Guest for the function. 6:5F=7:EC46=63C2E65H:E976CG@FC:?C2?49: Cf^<db[X\Q^hbVaTTcX]VTPRW^cWTa^]cWT^RRPbX^]^U4XSd[5XcaX]AP]RWX^] CWdabSPh EX]Ph<da\dk?X^]TTa H^d]VbcTabcPZX]VbT[UXTX]RT[TQaPcX^] 3Te^cTTb^UUTaX]V=P\PiPc7Pa\d4XSVPW ?X^]TTa_W^c^ ?X^]TTa_W^c^ 0RWX[SbPhX]VWTa_aPhTab ?X^]TTa_W^c^ 5^a\Ta2WXTU<X]XbcTa0aYd]<d]SP^]CWdabSPhRP[[TS^]]PcX^]P[R^]eT]Ta^UAPbWcaXhP<db[X\<P]RWP]STgRWPXa\P]^U BcPcT<X]^aXch2^\\XbbX^]3aBWPWXS0ZWcPaPcWXbaTbXST]RTc^fXbWWX\^]4XS<d]SPbPXScWPc4XSXbPUTbcXeP[^U Qa^cWTaW^^SfWXRWP[b^VXeTbP\TbbPVT^Ud]XchP\^]VP[[aT[XVX^]b7TbPXSP[[aT[XVX^]bbW^d[SbcPhc^VTcWTaP]S_PacXRX_PcT X]TPRW^cWTa´bUTbcXeP[b ?X^]TTa_W^c^ YWPaZWP]S# A0=278k5A830H k9D;H '! % 34>670AB7A0E0=8<4;09D;H!0D6 ' 6]RS`cReVdVTfcZejRccR_XV^V_edRe3RSReV^a]V <D:4B7A0=90=Q A0=278 n a bid to avert any untoIShravani ward incident during Mela, the Deoghar district administration has changed the entire deployment pattern of security forces inside and outside the Baba temple - a Baidyanath Jyotirlinga temple, also known as Baba Baidyanath Dham - in Deoghar. “To prevent any untoward situation the entire area has been divided into 14 general police stations and 16 traffic police stations,” said Deoghar SP A Vijaylaxmi. The SP said that the district administration has also been focussing on increasing co-ordination between the various wings of security forces so that action could be taken immediately on time in case of any exigency. “In addition to that, the queue capacity has also been increased to adjust more and more pilgrims diverting the general route from the main road,” said Vijaylaxmi. There will be no line on the main road this time as they have been diverted through Jasidih and other areas, she said. In order to keep a close eye on each and every devo- tee, more CCTV cameras have been installed this year though which entire line could be covered under surveillance, added the SP. District administration in Deoghar expects to host over 30 lakh pilgrims during the Shravani Month this year, from July 20 till August 18, and is busy in giving final touch to the preparations so that the devotees do not have to face any problem. Installation of CCTV cameras at major crossings, cleaning of approach roads and conducting training programmes for officials on safety and security is also on full swing. The State Government, without taking any chances, has also deputed a 25-member team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which has been training officials and will stay in Deoghar during the Shravani Mela. In addition to that a team of volunteers of Kar-Sevaks already present there, are also being trained by a team of State Disaster Management so that they could be used properly during the hour of need. Proper lightening on the route will also be done making it as clean as possible for 0eXTf^U1PXShP]PcW3WP\1PQPcT\_[TX]3T^VWPa the Kanwarias. “There are certain things on which we are putting special attention this time which includes proper crowd management along with the facility management for Kanwarias so that they do not have to face any problem during darshan. Special care will also be taken so that the crowd does not get stranded at any particular place and keeps on moving regularly,” said Project Officer (Disaster Management) in Jharkhand Colonel SK Srivastava. Jharkhand police this time will seek services of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Rapid Action Force (RAF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to control the crowd during Shravani Mela at Baidyanath Dham Temple. Deployment of CRPF will also be done this time for the first time. The 9 km stretch which devotees use to carry water covering a distance of 110 km from Sultanganj in Bihar to Deoghhar is being cleaned. Officials of the district administration on the other hand said that there will be no VIP Darshan this year like previous years. However, there will be a provision of "Shighradarshanam”, on all days except Sundays and Mondays, for which a devotee would have to buy a coupon of C500. The devotee will be escorted by a temple priest to reach the ‘garbhagriha’ using a separate path by a local priest. Each of the devotees will be provided an access card free of cost once he reaches the temple two. The bar coded card will have his personal details and assign a date and time for darshan too.The card will also help the administration to track people in case of emergencies. Ten Kanwarias died in stampede last year allegedly due to poor law and order situation following which several officials of the district administration including DC and SP were suspended. 3ROLVKH[SHUWV PDQXIDFWXUHUV YLVLW&03', ?^[XbWTg_Tacb;TUc3XaTRc^aCTRW]XRP[AXVWcP]S2<32<?38BWTZWPaBPaP] 2T]caTSdaX]VP\TTcX]VPc2<?38 ?X^]TTa_W^c^ ?=BQ A0=278 team of five members of Polish experts - 3 members A from AGH University, Krakow, Poland & 2 members from GIG, Katowice, Poland - visited the CMPDI along with a team of four manufacturers from that country. This visit was made by Polish experts in sequence of visit made by an Indian delegation led by the Secretary (Coal), MoC, Govt. of India to Poland in the month of June, 2016. In view of the above, a Poland Technology Group (PTG) has been constituted and some of the areas was identified for obtaining the solutions from Polish side. A detailed discussion was held on the identified areas at CMPDI (HQ), Ranchi between Polish Experts and Officials of PTG& other officials of Coal India Limited/CMPDI, wherein technical co-operation was sought on the identified areas from Polish Experts. On this occasion, CMD, CMPDI, Shekhar Saran; Director (Technical/RD&T), VK Sinha; Director (Technical/CRD) BN Shukla; Director (Technical/P&D), Binay Dayal other officials of CMPDI/Coal India Limited were also present. The Coal Ministry officials as well as Chairman & Director (T), CIL were also present through Video-conferencing. C5BQY\gQid_Y^db_TeSU 2d[cdaP[fTTZR^]R[dSTb Cf^HPcaXCXRZTcBdeXSWP:T]SaPb CXbQfQ^Y=U\Q5h`bUcc Pc3T[WX?dQ[XRBRW^^[ QTR^\T^_TaPcX^]P[X]3WP]QPS 0B78BB8=70Q 370=103 wo authorised railway tickT et reservation counters— Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendra ?=BQ 1>:0A> ?=BQ 90<B743?DA he South Eastern Railway ( SER) has announced a special Shravani Mela Express train. The train will run between Tatanagar and Jasidih. The holy month of Shravani begins on July 20 and will end on August 18. Railway officials informed that the schedule of the train will be notified next week." Keeping in mind the needs of devotees the decision has been taken. The 10-coach train will run twice a week," said an official at Garden Reach. “Considering the rush of the passengers the decision was taken to introduce the train for T clearing the rush of devotees heading for Deoghar,” said a spokesperson of South Eastern Railway.The train would halt at Chandil, Barabhum, Purulia, Anara, Madhukunda, Burnpur, Adityapur, Kandra, Kunki, Manikui, Nimdih, Urma, Bero and some other stations between Asansol and Jasidih. Sources said that another decision was taken for stoppage of over half-a-dozen mail, express and passenger trains passing through the Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway at Mahadevshal, a religious place at Goelkera block of West Singhbhum from July 20. People go to the Shiva temple ;YRc\YR_U:_gVde^V_e Ac`^`eZ`_3`RcUe` ^VVeZ_>f^SRZe`URj ?=BQ A0=278 n order to woo investors and the newly-constituted IJharkhand Investment Promotion Board (JIPB) will hold its first meeting in Mumbai on Friday. Various industry leaders including JSW Steel CMD Sajjan Jindal, MD of Usha Martin Ltd Rajeev Jhawar, SAIl Chairman PK Singh, Tata Steel MD T V Narendran, CEO Vedanta Resources Tom Albanese, Executive Vice President of Larsen and Toubro Ltd Derek Shah, president of Laghu Udyog Bharti India Om Parkash Mittal, Director, of XLRI, Jamshedpur Father E Abraham and Director, Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi, Anindya Sen, will brainstorm on increasing investment in the State. The JIPB outlines the Jharkhand Government’s resolve to broad-base valueadded manufacturing facilities with specific sectors chosen to push its pro-manufacturing agenda. These include industries such as mining, food processing, energ y, automobile, IT-ITeS, tourism, infrastructure development, healthcare and education. CM Raghubar Das has at Mahadevshal to offer their prayers during the auspicious month of Shravan. Trains usually do not halt at Mahadevshal. But, keeping in view the rush of people to the holy place during the month the Shravan, the railways have decided to provide a halt for the trains. OP Sharma, station manager at Tatanagar, said that the trains would halt at Mahadevshal for two minutes. He said that three express trains, including the Howrah-Titlagarh Ispat Express, Kurla-Shalimar Express, and Puri-Hardwar Express, would stop at Mahadevshal so that people can offer obeisance at the temple. ontinuing with the practice C to promote the inherent art and talent of the students, the cultural week organised at DPS Bokaro was a delightful display of the aptitude and expertise of the group dance performing students. The concluding day witnessed exciting and captivating group dance performances by the enthusiastic students. Under the able guidance of the dance teachers, the young students danced on the ‘western dance’ theme. The theme for the senior wing was ‘contemporary dance’ which was perfectly enacted by the students under the guidance of their dance teachers. In the primary wing, Jamuna House stood first based on their thrilling performance, followed by Ganga House, Ravi House and Chenab House shared the third spot. In the senior wing, Jamuna House emerged winner followed by Ganga house. Chenab and Jhelum house clinched the third spot. The event was judged by noted Kathak dancer, Ankita Chakravarty, Dr. Urvashi Talwar, Nirmalya Sharma, Sweety Anil Kumar, Sourav Chatterjee, Kamini Kanta Swain and G.N. Parmeswaran. Beside others the Additional Principal, Parmajeet Kaur, Vice Principal, Pravin Kumar Sharma, Headmistresses, Pratima Sinha, P. Shailaja Jayakumar, Dr. Manisha Tiwari and other teachers and students of the School were also present on the occasion. )HUYRXUPDUNV(LGLQ 'KDQEDG%RNDUR 98?1>DC;8=4BC74 970A:70=3 6>E4A=<4=C³BA4B>;E4 C>1A>0310B4E0;D4 03343<0=D502CDA8=6 5028;8C84BF8C7 B?428582B42C>AB 27>B4=C>?DB78CB ?A><0=D502CDA8=6 064=30 announced the formation of Jharkhand Investment Promotion Board (JIPB), aimed at attracting national and international investors. The Board is pivoted on the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ framework in conjunction with the State Government and will deliberate strategies on effective implementation of investment policies, incentivising new economy sectors and working towards simplification of procedures, policy and reforms for smooth industrial growth in Jharkhand. Chief Secretary Rajbala Verma, Additional Chief Secretar y (Energ y) R K Srivastava, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Amit Khare, Secretary, Department of Industries, Mines andGeology, Sunil Kumar Barnwal, and other senior officials will also attend the meeting.. <db[X\b^UUTaX]V]P\Pi^]4XSPc7Pa\dX]AP]RWX^]CWdabSPh 0B78BB8=70Q 370=103 1>:0A> midst heightened vigil and security, ‘Eid’ was celeA brated with great fervour and gaiety across the coal and steel belt of Dhanbad-Bokaro on Thursday. No untoward incidents were reported and the festival was celebrated in harmony. The followers of Muslim religions celebrated ‘Eid’ which signifies the successful completion of the sacred month of Ramadan (Ramzan). Dressed in their best thousands of devo- tees assemble at the mosques and prayer grounds in the coal and steel belt to offer the special prayers which performed in unison; later they exchanged good wishes. With the spirit of thanks giving and jubilation on the first day of the 10th month of the Muslim lunar calendar ‘Eid’ marks the completion of an act of duty and devotion which teaches the lesson that real happiness arises from performing one’s duty and making sacrifices for a noble objective, said Usman. The practice of fasting EX]Ph<da\dk?X^]TTa during the month of Ramadan is to sublimates the inner self of man and inculcates discernment of the pangs and hardships which the poor and needy face. “This feeling is awakened in all those, whether rich or poor, young or old, who observe fasting”, said Samsher. There are multiple results of fasting in the shape of vigorous duties, moral and spiritual self-discipline and austerity. This reward equips man to swim in the roughest seas of life, said a religious head of Ukrid mosque. (YTSK) - became operational in Dhanbad on Thursday. Local MP PN Singh inaugurated the suvidha kendras which opened under PPP mode. Beside others Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Railway Ashish Kumar was also present there. The first suvidha Kendra was inaugurated near Bank More while another was at Saraidhela Road. Singh complimented Raj Kapoor Choudhary for coming forward to serve railway passengers. Aims to expand facilities for issue of tickets both reserved and unreserved, Ministry of Railways has allowed public private partnership (PPP) in establishment and operation of computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS)cum-Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) terminals at centres which are called Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendra (YTSK), informed Kumar. “All authorised railway ticketing agents are eligible to apply under the YTSK scheme”, he added. The additional charges at YTSK counters are to be C30 per passenger for the second sitting and sleeper classes, while C40 per passenger for all other classes. Passenger for unreserved and for platform tickets would be charged C1 per ticket, informed Kapoor. The working hours of YTSK will be from 5 am to 10 pm while the railway-run reservation counters operates from 8am to 8pm on Monday-Saturday and 8 am to 2 pm on Sunday. Tatkal tickets can also be booked at these counters which will start half an hour later than railway counters, said Kapoor adding “AC tatkal tickets can be booked between 10.30 am and 11 am while Non-AC tatkal tickets can be booked between 11.30 am to 12 pm”. The YTSK is authorised to cancel only those tickets booked at its counter however, YTSK tickets can be cancelled at any other railway reservation counters.“Concession tickets can not be booked at YTSK”, he said. 3E2RT[TQaPcTb%(cWU^d]SPcX^]SPh BDA4B7=8:70AQ 14A<> he Damodar Valley Corporation, one of the T leading power hubs of the country, celebrated its 69th foundation day at its different thermal, hydel and other offices on Thursday. Project heads of the BTPS, CTPS, MTPS, DTPS , Maithon hydel, head office , Kolkata, unfurled the flag of DVC. Project head of the BTPS JP Singh said that the disas- trous floods of 1943 set people thinking about the Damodar. An inquiry committee was formed with Dr Meghnath Saha and the Maharaja of the Burdwan as members. On the basis of their recommendations the model of Tennessee Valley Authority of the USA was adopted.The central government inducted a TVA expert W.L .Voordum to prepare the preliminary memorandum which, in fact, is the genesis of DVC. These are all matters of pride and indicators that given a sense of purpose and determined efforts we can achieve higher level of efficiency. I take this opportunity in congratulating all the employees of DVC on the foundation day, Singh added. Earlier, DVC BTPS–B plant chief engineer Mirnal Biswash said the DVC has an illustrious past. “Let us all play our part in ensuring that it has an even more glorious future,” he said ]PcX^]$ A0=278k5A830H k9D;H '! % 4`_XTcZVdeV]VT`^dTR^ CYhd_`dU\US_ce^TUbbU`_bdUTbUfU^eUcQ]_e^dY^Wd_C$%;SbY^V_eb iUQbc=_TY7_fdT_Y^W^_dXY^Wd_`U^Q\YcUdXU]Q\\UWUcCebZUgQ\Q ?=BQ =4F34;78 he Congress on Thursday T accused the Modi Government of covering up a telecom scam worth C45,000 crore in a bid to save top telecommunication companies. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged that despite the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) highlighting that six top telecom companies underreported their revenues amounting to C45,000 crore for four years, the Modi Government did nothing to recover that amount or penalise these companies. He also alleged that the scam aims to help Modi Government’s industrialist friends. “A massive telecom scam of C45,000 crore is being buried under the carpet by Modi Government which talks of transparency. PM Modi who used to say ‘na khaoonga, na khaane doonga’ has proved to be another false promise. The Government is surreptitiously taking steps to protect the interests of six leading telecom companies and by helping them avoid payment of charges,” said Surjewala. The telecom companies named by Surjewala are Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Idea, Tata and Aircel. He claimed that this is a clear-cut case of loss to the public exchequer verified by the CAG with the sole aim of helping friendly ‘crony capitalists’. Congress claimed the CAG initiated an audit of the six telecom companies for four years from 2006-07 to 2009-10 at the instructions of the Congressled UPA Government. It specifically looked at underreporting of income and non-uniform method of accounting adopted by various telecom companies and consequent lack of obligation to pay outstanding licence fee and Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC). In its report submitted this year, the CAG found an alleged understatement/underreporting of income by the six companies of C46,045.75 crore in the four years. “Resultantly, the CAG found that there was an amount of C12,488.93 crore, CWTcT[TR^\R^\_P]XTb]P\TSQh BdaYTfP[PPaT1WPacX0XacT[E^SPU^]T AT[XP]RT8STPCPcPP]S0XaRT[7T R[PX\TScWPccWXbXbPR[TPaRdcRPbT^U [^bbc^cWT_dQ[XRTgRWT`dTaeTaXUXTS QhcWT206fXcWcWTb^[TPX\^U WT[_X]VUaXT]S[h³Ra^]hRP_XcP[Xbcb´ which remains un-recovered by the Government. This does not include penalty, if any, and other relevant taxes,” Surjewala said. He added that although there has been considerable increase in business, consumer base and income, even if loss of exchequer is calculated on the same formula for the years 2010-11 to 2015-16, this figure would be C45,000 crore plus. “Instead of immediately acting on these shocking and startling revelations reflecting serious loss to public exchequer, Modi Government has opted for an alternative re-evaluation of these figures by Telecom Ministry through Chartered Accountants who are empanelled with them”, Surjewala accused. “Firstly this is a clear methodology of Modi Government to inordinately delay the process of recovery for years together, if not, writing it off entirely. Secondly, it reflects the apparent mal-intent of the Government to dilute or diminish the figures put forth by the CAG”, the Spokesperson said. Surjewala also tossed some questions to the Government saying whether such an act by it amounts to be a “grotesque breach of public trust” by the BJP-led Government, which, in the past, had made a notional loss pegged by CAG in 2G spectrum allocation case a major issue of corruption. He asked about Government plans to recover ‘actual losses’ and whether Government is acting as a “willful collaborator” with the select corporate entities in artfully dodging recovery of massive sums of money. “Is it a new way to minimise fiscal deficit”? he said sarcastically. He asked, “Why is Modi Government maintaining a conspicuous silence on the matter becoming virtually comatose despite the mammoth size of financial sums involved?”. %-3KLWVEDFNVD\V&RQJUHVV DOOHJDWLRQVµXWWHUO\ERJXV¶ ?=BQ =4F34;78 ormer Telecommunication Minister and now Law F Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad rubbished Congress’ claims over its allegation of a C45,000crore telecom scam terming the statement as “utterly bogus”. Prasad said the entire issue is related to the period when the UPA was in power and that the NDA Government was making efforts to recover the losses. The BJP also attacked the Congress saying “it was a case of pot calling the kettle black” as the underreporting had happened during the UPA regime and that Congress spokespersons were putting out “lies” in their briefings. “Congress needs to understand that there is no underreporting case under the NDA Government. It is a case of sin of the Congress-led UPA Government. The entire allegation of Congress party is utterly bogus. It relates to peri- of Telecommunications had 0RR^aSX]Vc^206 sought details of documents from the CAG after its report aT_^acbb^\T March which was received cT[TR^\R^\_P]XTb in by it in June this year. “After d]STaaT_^acTScWTXa due assessment, all the dues shall be recovered with penalaTeT]dTbCWT ty. Telecom service providers aT_^acbRP\TX] are obliged to pay license fee <PaRWfWXRW8P\ and spectrum usage charges VXeT]c^d]STabcP]S on the revenue earned by them. Any underreported revXbd]STacWT enue shall be recovered with TgP\X]PcX^] penalty,” he said. “Such allegations are ^UcWT?dQ[XR laughable. It shows the men0RR^d]cb tal bankruptc y of the 2^\\XccTT Congress. No wrong happened under the NDA ¯ A0E8B70=:0A?A0B03 Government and to drag it in a matter that happened under od of between 2006 and 2010. the UPA is a case of pot callAccording to CAG reports ing the kettle black. Congress some telecom companies should introspect and not underreported their revenues. behave in an immature, childThe reports came in March, ish way. Congress party is the which I am given to under- mother of corruption and stand, is under the examina- misgovernance,” BJP national tion of the Public Accounts secretary Shrikant Sharma said in retaliation to Congress Committee,” Prasad said. He added the Department allegations. ?aTbXST]c?aP]PQ<dZWTaYTTaTRTXeTbVaTTcX]VbUa^\ePaX^db_T^_[T^]cWT^RRPbX^]^U4XSd[5XcaPcAPbWcaP_PcX1WPeP]X]=Tf3T[WX^]CWdabSPh APY]PcWPbbdaTb c^[^^ZX]c^ VT]STaRaX\Tb X]1XWPa)=2F New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh has given an assurance that he will look into the recent gender crimes in Bihar, according to a member of the National Commission for Women(NCW). The Commission also shared a report on the issue, including on the brutal gangrape in Motihari last month, during a meeting with Singh at his residence on Thursday. Sushma Sahu, a member of the Commission who accompanied Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam at the meeting, said, “Rajnath Singh has assured us that he will look into the matter.” There have been several instances of gender crimes recently in Bihar, including two rape cases in Motihari, an acid attack in Aurangabad and a case of an acid attack survivor committing suicide by electrocuting herself. The commission had shared its report on the Motihari gangrape with the Prime Minister’s Office and also met the President earlier this week seeking his intervention in the issue. PTI 7cR_TV`WWVcde`YV]a:_UZR SfZ]UEV[Rd¶<RgVcZ[VeV_XZ_V ?8>=44A=4FBB4AE824Q =4F34;78 s Indian scientists are yet to achieve success in indigeA nously developing Kaveri fighter jet engine, France has offered to collaborate in this venture. These engines were supposed to power Tejas fighter jets which were inducted into the IAF last week. The indigenously planes are now flying with US made GE-404 engines. Kaveri project started more than 20 years back but given the complexities involved in producing this world class engine coupled with technology denial by some countries led to delay in this ambitious venture. France has offered to help India in developing the engine as part of offsets for 36 Rafale fighter jet deal for which negotiations are in the final stages. The deal is pegged at more than C65,000 crores. India will buy these jets off the shelf and the first jets are likely to be inducted after two years once the contract is inked. Rafale deal is a Government to Government contract between France and India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced this during his visit to France last year. Final negotiations are now on between the French and Indian Government officials besides Dassault which manufactures Rafale jets. The deal is likely to be signed in the later part of this year after Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)headed by the Prime Minister gives the final nod, sources said here on Thursday. India and France have reportedly agreed for 50 per cent offsets. This offset clause means that France will plough back 50 per cent of the total cost of the contract into India to help local industry progress and get access to world class technology. As part of this clause, sources said, France has offered to help India in developing Kaveri engine. Under the offset agreement, which was discussed last year, the French have made a 30 per cent offset commitment for military aerospace research and development programmes and the rest 20 per cent for making com- :__`gReZ`_ZdRac`TVdd`W <^SXc^X]cTaPRcfXcW2<b^]9d[h % cVSV]]Z`_dRjd;RgRUV\Rc ?8>=44A=4FBB4AE824Q =4F34;78 ³D][Tbbh^daTQT[d][Tbbh^dRWP[[T]VTcWTbcPcdb`d^W^fRP] h^dX]]^ePcTP]hcWX]V´]Tf7A3<X]aTPRWTb^dcc^bcdST]cb =Tf7A3<X]XbcTa ?aPZPbW9PePSTZPa cPZTbRWPaVT^UWXb ^UUXRTX]=Tf3T[WX ^]CWdabSPh ?C8 ?=BQ =4F34;78 he new HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar has started his innings on a note that could go a long way in ending the atmosphere of animosity between a section of the student community and the Modi Government. Himself product of students’ agitation, Javadekar on Thursday hailed the traits of rebellion and exhorted the students to challenge status quo. The Minister said that India lacks in innovation in education as children are discouraged to ask questions in schools something which should not be allowed to go on, contending “unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything”. Emphasising the Modi Government’s focus on innovation in education, the Minister said, “Innovation is a process of rebellion essentially. Unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything.” Unlike her predecessor Smriti Irani, who was more interesting in preaching stu- T dents nationalism and taming their spirits, Javadekar has send the right signal by reaching out to them in a language that is far more accommodative. “Why do we lack innovation in India? Because, we don’t allow questioning. We don’t promote inquisitiveness. If a child asks questions in school, he is asked to sit down. This should not go on. We need to promote inquisitiveness, children should ask questions,” the newly appointed HRD Minister said. The Minister was speaking at an event, ‘Infocom 2016’, organised by the Ananda Bazar Patrika Group. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mantra is sustainable development which does not impact adversely the nature but ensures progress of all, for which innovation is the key. He said the development in IT Sector has brought a revolution in the media industry. Transformation is the result of new ideas. There are doomsayers, but one should always be positive and look for innovation, he said. Javadekar also recalled his interaction in the 1990s with late Steve Jobs of Apple who had then predicted the evolution of smart phone and its varied functions. After taking over charge of his Ministry at spate function, the Minister said that prime challenge that the education sector faces in the country is raising the quality of education and ensuring it reaches all, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, who took charge, said on Thursday. “The major challenge that is there in the education sector is to raise the standard. Quality education is vital as it lays the foundation for life and builds overall personality,” he told reporters. His predecessor Smriti Irani, who has been given the charge of Textiles Ministry, however, did not turn up for the event. Javadekar said she could not join the occasion because of “family reasons”. He had yesterday met Irani, whom he had described as his “little sister” and said he would carry on with the “good initiatives” taken by her. rime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Chief P Ministers on July 16 to discuss a host of issues, including inter-State relations, internal security and atrocities on SC and STs. Convened after a gap of 10 years, the 11th meeting of the Inter-State Council here will also discuss issues concerning school education, direct benefit scheme, Aadhaar card, good governance and economic and social planning, according to the officials. The Prime Minister is the Chairman of the Council while six of his senior Cabinet Ministers — Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, M Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari, Manohar Parrikar — were nominated by him as members. Eleven other Ministers are permanent invitees to the Council. Chief Ministers of all States and Union Territories are members of the Council where they can express their views and raise grievances. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is often at loggerheads with the Central Government, will get an opportunity to raise issues in this platform in presence of his counterparts from across the country. The last meeting of the InterState Council was held in 2006. The previous UPA Government had convened just two meetings in its 10 year tenure. The Modi Government has revived the Inter-State Council structure after coming the power in May 2014. Home Minister Rajnath Singh had chaired meetings of all the five zonal councils over the last one year in various parts of the countr y in which Chief Ministers of the respective zonal councils took part. The Inter-State Council was established under Article 263 of the Constitution through a Presidential Order dated May 28, 1990. It is a recommendatory body with duties to investigate and discuss the subjects of common interest between the Union and state(s) or among the States, making recommendations particularly for better coordination of policy and action on these subjects and deliberating upon such other matters of general interest to the states which may be referred to it by its chairman. The Council also deliberates upon such other matters of general interest to the states as may be referred by the chairman to the Council. A Standing Committee of the Inter-State Council has been constituted for continuous consultation and processing of matters for the consideration of the Council. The Standing Committee comprises of Union Home Minister as the Chairman and five Union Ministers of Cabinet rank and nine Chief Ministers as members nominated by the Chairman of the Inter-State Council. 8`gee`W`c^aR_V]e`V]Z^Z_ReV<R]RRkRc 0A270=09H>C8Q =4F34;78 s its various attempts to eliminate Kala-azar yet to deliver results, the Union Health Ministry is now in the process of setting up a National Commission aiming a focused-approach to curb the disease, which continues to be endemic in 54 districts in the country. Kala-azar (KA) or Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a parasitic disease spread by sandfly. The parasite, which spreads between humans through the bite of an infected sandfly, attacks the immune system and can kill, if not treated. Kala-azar is the secondlargest parasitic killer after malaria worldwide, causing an estimated 2 lakh new infections each year. The disease is endemic in Indian subcontinent in 119 districts in four countries namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal. India alone accounts for A :0;00I0A:0>AE8B24A0;;48B7<0=80B8BE;8B0?0A0B8C82 38B40B4B?A4031HB0=35;HC74?0A0B8C4F7827B?A403B14CF44= 7D<0=BC7A>D67C7418C4>50=8=542C43B0=35;H0CC02:BC74 8<<D=4BHBC4<0=320=:8;;85=>CCA40C43:0;00I0A8BC74 B42>=3;0A64BC?0A0B8C82:8;;4A05C4A<0;0A80F>A;3F834 20DB8=60=4BC8<0C43!;0:7=4F8=542C8>=B4027H40A about 50 per cent of the global burden of the disease with 33 districts in Bihar, four in Jharkhand, eleven in West Bengal and six districts in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Unable to eliminate the disease by 2015, the Government has now postponed the target date to 2020 which is also the global goal. “It has also been decided to set up a national Kala-azar Commission under the chairmanship of Prof LM Nath, former Dean, AIIMS to draw strategy to ensure focused approach to curb the disease. Moreover, it also need international monitoring,” said a ?C8 senior official from National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) under the Health Ministry. He said in 2013, the cases have declined by 38 per cent in 2011. Mortality has also reduced from 90 deaths in 2011 to 20 in 2013. During 2015, 7720 cases were reported, a reduction of 8.8 percent over the corresponding period of last year. However, while 89 per cent of the total 625 endemic blocks reported less than 1 case per 10,000 population, 78 blocks still showing more than one case per 10,000 population, prompting the Government to intensify the supervision by increasing manpower and other logistics. 100 per cent spray coverage of synthetic Pyerthroid is also planned to cutdown vector density of sandflies. As there are currently no accurate data on the burden of Post Kala-Azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) and VLHIV co-infection emerging as a serious concern there is a strong need to establish surveillance for both the conditions, said the official. Kala-azar is characterized by irregular bouts of high fever, substantial weight loss, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and anaemia. ponents of Rafales here. The offsets will be carried out by French companies Safran, Thales, MBDA and Dassault, all part of the Rafale project. The Kaveri proposal by France entails an upgraded engine with 90 kN thrust compared to the existing 72 kN. The negotiations on offsets were carried out last year with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and some other agencies. After the contract for the Rafale jets is signed, there will be a six months window to finalise the offset, officials said. As regards other offset deals mutually agreed between the two sides, France has offered to provide stealth, radar and thrust vectoring for missiles technologies besides others to DRDO and domestic defence firms. The French are hoping that they will have a bigger share in the Indian Defence market and see the Rafale contract as a great breakthrough. They are also hoping that India will eventually go in for more Rafale aircraft, possibly under the ‘Make in India’ route. 3C:4DYVRUd `WUcfXT`_ec`] RXV_TZVde` ^VVee`URj ?8>=44A=4FBB4AE824Q =4F34;78 T_aTbT]cPcXeTb^U1A82B A\T\QTa]PcX^]bfX[[TeP[dPcT cWTSadVPQdbTbXcdPcX^]X]cWTXa aTb_TRcXeTR^d]caXTbP]SRWP[Z ^dcbcaPcTVXTbPcP\TTcX]Vc^QT X]PdVdaPcTSQh7^\T<X]XbcTa APY]PcWBX]VWWTaT^]5aXSPh CWT1A82BWTPSb^USadVR^]ca^[ PVT]RXTbf^aZX]VVa^d_\TTcX]V fX[[TeP[dPcTcWTSadVPQdbT bXcdPcX^]X]cWT\T\QTa R^d]caXTbP]SP]P[hbTcWT [TVXb[PcX^]b^U1A82B\T\QTa bcPcTbPbfT[[PbSTeXbT \^SP[XcXTbc^bWPaTcWTQTbc _aPRcXRTb^UT]U^aRT\T]cP]S ST\P]SaTSdRcX^] CWT1A82BP]Pbb^RXPcX^]^UUXeT \PY^aT\TaVX]VTR^]^\XTb R^\_aXbX]V1aPiX[AdbbXP8]SXP 2WX]PP]SB^dcW0UaXRPWPS bcPacTSPbPU^ad\U^aUdcdaT TR^]^\XRR^^_TaPcX^]P]SU^a aTU^a\X]V5X]P]RXP[8]bcXcdcX^]b CWTbTeT]cW1A82Bbd\\XcfPb WT[SX]9d[h! $X]AdbbXPP]S 8]SXPbWP[[QTW^bcX]VcWTTXVWcW 1A82Bbd\\XcX]>Rc^QTaX]6^P CWTST[TVPcTbfX[[ST[XQTaPcT^] SadVaT[PcTSXbbdTbX]R[dSX]V X\_a^eX]VX]U^a\PcX^]TgRWP]VT \TRWP]Xb\b^]caPUUXRZX]V^U bh]cWTcXRSadVbP]S]Tf _bhRW^PRcXeTbdQbcP]RTbTPa[h STcTRcX^]^U]Tf_bhRW^PRcXeT bdQbcP]RTb\PaXcX\TSadV caPUUXRZX]VP]SSXeTabX^]^U _aTRdab^abP]SR^]ca^[[TS RWT\XRP[bU^a\P]dUPRcdaX]V^U X[[XRXcbh]cWTcXRSadVb CWT\TTcX]VXbQTX]V^aVP]XbTS Qh8]SXP³b=PaR^cXRb2^]ca^[ 1daTPd=21P]SXcfX[[QT PccT]STSQhST[TVPcTbUa^\cWT \T\QTaR^d]caXTbcWTT]e^hb^U cWTUXeTR^d]caXTbP]^UUXRXP[ bcPcT\T]cbPXS CWTSXaTRc^abVT]TaP[^UQ^aSTa VdPaSX]VU^aRTbP]ScWT _PaP\X[XcPahPaTP[b^Tg_TRcTSc^ PccT]ScWTX]PdVdaP[bTbbX^] P[^]VfXcWcWTWTPSb^UcWT PVT]RXTb[XZTcWT8]cT[[XVT]RT 1daTPdP]ScWT2T]caP[1daTPd^U 8]eTbcXVPcX^] ]PcX^]% A0=278k5A830H k9D;H '! % DR]^R_d\ZadUReVhZeYh`^V_¶daR_V] &LWHVVXPPRQVLVVXHGE\1&: DQGµGRXEOHMHRSDUG\¶DVWKHUHDVRQ QH[WKHDULQJRQ-XO\ C=A067D=0C70Q <D<108 BD;C0=>5BF8=6. X BP[\P]P[[dSTSc^cWTbd\\^]bP]S RXcTS°_^cT]cXP[±S^dQ[TYT^_PaShP _a^RTSdaP[STUT]RTcWPcU^aQXSbPSTUT]SP]c Ua^\QTX]VcaXTSPVPX]^]cWTbP\T^a bX\X[PaRWPaVTbX]cWTbP\TRPbT X ATYTRcX]VcWTbcP]SQhcWTPRc^acWT <B2FRWPXa_Tab^]bPXScWPccWT 2^\\XbbX^]WPS²R^]RdaaT]c_^fTab³c^ X]e^ZTBTRcX^] !^U<PWPaPbWcaPBcPcT 2^\\XbbX^]U^aF^\T]0Rc (("d]STa fWXRWXcWPb_^fTabc^bd\\^]P_Tab^] P]STgP\X]TWX\ our commission. We are not at all satisfied with his reply for reasons which we have already explained to him. We have issued the fresh summons and asked the actor before the Commission at 4.30 pm on July 14,” MSCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar told The Pioneer in the evening. Incidentally, 50-year-old Salman has so far not apologised for his controversial comment — made last month during an interview given to a website as part of the promotion of his film Sultan — that the shooting of wrestling bouts in the film was so gruelling that he felt like a “raped woman” while he would walk out of the ring after the shoot. In his reply sent on Thursday to the second summons served on him by the MSCW on June 29, Salman alluded to the summons issued to him by the NCW to appear before it on July 8 (Friday) and cited “potential” double jeopardy, a procedural defence that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges in the same case and saying that the matter relating to his controversial comment was before the National Commission for Women (NCW) that the matter cannot be taken up by the State Commission. He also said that his appearance before both the MSCW and NCW would be a “duplication” of matters. Rejecting the stand by the actor, the MSCW chairperson said that the Commission had “concurrent powers” to invoke Section 10 (2) of Maharashtra State Commission for Women Act, 1993 under which it has powers to summon a person from any part of the State and examine him on oath or take recourse to any other sections to initiate proceedings against the person who has violated the provisions of this Act. “We have been vested with concurrent powers under the Constitution to deal with issues relating to a violation under the State Act, even when the matter 1ccQ]d_Y]`\U]U^d 'dX@Qi3_]]YccY_^ Vb_]1`bY\!^UhdiUQb <P]Pb1Wd]XP PRRdbTb;^?^U X]bd[cTePbXeT ^]aTbXV]PcX^] ?=B Q 6DF070C8 Kolkata: The war of nerves between senior Congress leader Manas Bhunia and Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan on Thursday took an ugly turn, with Bhunia accusing the latter of insulting him and taking decisions keeping the Congress Legislative Party in dark. Bhunia also remained evasive whether he would resign as Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman, a post to which his party wants to nominate CPI(M)’s Sujan Chakraborty. “Deliberate attempts are being made to insult me and portray me as a villain. When Abdul Mannan had asked me to sign for the nomination for PAC chairman, I had told him if he is thinking of somebody else in that post, I should not file nomination, as it would be an insult for me. I am a six-time MLA and I cannot work under a junior in a committee. Mannan promised me that nothing of such sort would be done. I filed the nomination after his assurance,” Bhunia said. “But Mannan deliberately insulted me. No CLP meeting was held after June 17. So, how is he saying that the decision was taken at a CLP meeting in favour of Sujan Chakraborty? He has even informed PCC president Adhir Chowdhury that CLP has taken the decision in favour of Sujan Chakraborty, which is absolutely false,” Bhunia alleged. ollywood actor Salman Khan B on Thursday failed to turn up before the Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) for the second time for a scheduled hearing over his “felt like a raped woman” remark, citing summons issued by the National Commission for Women (NCW) on the issue and citing “potential” double jeopardy as the reason. The MSCW rejected the actor’s stand and directed him to appear before it on July 14. In a virtual repeat of what happened at the previous hearing on June 29, Salman — who was to have come along with his lawyer — skipped the hearing scheduled to take place at 4.30 pm on Thursday at the MSCW’s Bandra office. Instead, he sent off a legal reply to the MSCW, citing reasons for his not wanting to appear before the Commission. “Despite our waiting for him, neither the actor nor his lawyer turned up for the hearing. Like he did last time, the actor sent us a letter citing reasons for his not wanting to appear before n what might cheer the government employees, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the Government has in principle decided to pay the 7th Pay Commission salary to all the Government employees from April 1 next year. Sarma said this while addressing a Press conference in Guwahati on Thursday and said this will burden the State exchequer with over C4,500 crore. “We have asked the PP I CWXbfX[[QdaST]cWT BcPcTTgRWT`dTafXcW ^eTaC#$Ra^aTFT WPeTPbZTScWT?? ETa\P2^\\XccTTc^ bdQ\XccWTaT_^acQdc fTWPeT^]_aX]RX_[T STRXSTSc^X\_[T\T]c cWT&cW_PhR^\\XbbX^] Ua^\0_aX[ ]TgchTPa ¯0bbP\5X]P]RT<X]XbcTa Verma Committee to submit the report but we have on principle decided to implement the 7th pay commission from April 1 next year,” Sarma said. He also took the criticism of the Congress on the recent decision of the government to increase the VAT on 127 items head on and said that the state budget which will be presented soon will see lowering of taxes in several commodities. He assured that the increase on one percent of VAT on the items will not affect the people of the state but the State will earn C700 crore from the exercise. “Assam has withdrawn partial exemption granted to oil companies on sale of liquefied petroleum gas for domestic use within Assam. Withdrawal of the subsidy has resulted in increase in prices of LPG cylinders by C14 each. The price of petrol increased by 76 paise and diesel by C1.67 per liter besides VAT on 127 items were increased by one percent,” he said. Assuring that State Government will have a relook on VAT increase after March 31. Sarma said “This year is critical for us. We are expecting that payment of underpayment oil royalty from 2014 which amounts to Rs 1450 Crore will come to state in next 60 days. The matter of under payment of royalty is pending in the Supreme Court. Both Assam and Centre will file joint petition in the Supreme Court.” “We are contemplating if the subsidies which the State Government is giving per cylinder to Indian oil corporation Limited can be directly transferred to consumer. Similar mechanism can be followed in case of power consumers,” he said. Sarma further said that Assam is under severe financial situation with the liability figure of the State Government increasing. is under the consideration of the NCW. We are dealing with a matter that relates to the State and the person whom we are summoning belongs to our state,” Rahatkar said. One of the main objectives behind the setting up of the MSCW is to further the fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles, 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India with respect to women and, to give effect to the Directive Principle of State Policy and in particular those enshrined in Articles 38, 39, 39A and 42 of the Constitution to improve the status and dignity of women in the society, to investigate into and take or suggest suitable remedial measures against practices derogatory to women. On June 22, the MSCW had issued first summons to the actor to appear before it on June 0__TPaP]RT QTU^aTQ^cW cWT<B2F P]S=2F f^d[SQTP Sd_[XRPcX^] ^U\PccTab B0;<0=:70= 29 and offer his explanation over his “felt like a raped woman” remark. The summons were issued to the actor a day after the NCW sought an explanation from the actor. The MSCW’s summons to Salman had followed widespread public uproar over his “felt like a raped woman” remark. In an interview given to a website, the actor had said: “While shooting, during those six hours, there’d be so much of lifting and thrusting on the ground involved. That was tough for me because if I was lifting, I’d have to lift the same 120-kilo guy 10 times for 10 different angles. And likewise, get thrown that many times. This act is not repeated that many times in real fights... “When I used to walk out of the ring after the shoot, I used to feel like a raped woman. I couldn’t walk straight,” Khan said. $VVDP0HJKDOD\DSXWRQDOHUW DIWHUµWHUURULVWV¶LQWUXGH%¶GHVK 0=D?B70A<0Q 6DF070C8 n alert has been sounded in Garo Hills region of A Meghalaya and in Assam following reports of infiltration of five suspected terrorists from Bangladesh. South Garo Hills district Superintendent of Police Anand Mishra said this on Thursday while adding that the police have sounded an alert in all the police stations and outposts in the Garo Hills region of Meghalaya, particularly considering the recent terrorist attack in Bangladesh. Narrating the incident, the SP said that a police team had gone to Kanai village located on the Indo-Bangladesh border in South Garo Hills after being informed by the local people about infiltration of some suspected terrorists into Indian side from Bangladesh. “The villagers told us that on July 5, seven youth with large bags arrived in the village and asked a few villagers about the road that leads to Guwahati in Assam,” he said. “The youth’s activities led to suspicion among the villagers and they started asking them about their identities. As the villagers started asking CWTeX[[PVTabc^[SdbcWPc^]9d[h$bTeT] h^dcWfXcW[PaVTQPVbPaaXeTSX]cWTeX[[PVTP]S PbZTSPUTfeX[[PVTabPQ^dccWTa^PScWPc[TPSb c^6dfPWPcXX]0bbP\ CWTh^dcW³bPRcXeXcXTb[TSc^bdb_XRX^]P\^]V cWTeX[[PVTabP]ScWThbcPacTSPbZX]VcWT\PQ^dc cWTXaXST]cXcXTb0bcWTeX[[PVTabbcPacTS PbZX]V`dTbcX^]bcf^^UcWTh^dcWbaP] QPRZc^fPaSbcWTQ^aSTaCWTeX[[PVTab P[b^RWPbTScWT\cX[[cWThSXbP__TPaTSX]cWT ]TPaQhYd]V[T CWT_^[XRTPaTcahX]Vc^eTaXUhcWTX]RXST]c CWXbR^d[SQTad\^daP[b^QdcfTPaT]^ccPZX]V P]hRWP]RTbP]SP]P[TacWPbQTT]b^d]STSX]P[[ cWTSXbcaXRcbX]6Pa^7X[[baTVX^]^UcWTBcPcT questions, two of the youths ran back towards the border. The villagers also chased them till they disappeared in the nearby jungle,” Mishra said, while adding that when the villagers came back to the village, the five other youth had also disappeared. “The police are trying to verify the incident. This could be rumour also but we are not taking any chances and an alert has been sounded in all the districts in Garo Hills region of the State. We have also alerted our counterparts in Assam so that adequate measures can be taken up to prevent any subversive activities,” said the SP. Assam Director General of Police Mukesh Sahai said that the state police have been put on alert, particularly after the recent terrorist attack in Dhaka. “We have heard about some incidents of infiltration of some youth from South Garo Hills region of Meghalaya. There is no confirmation so far on this and the police are trying to verify the reports,” Sahai said. It may be mentioned here that militant outfits like the Ulfa, NDFB, GNLA, ANVC and HNLC had extensively used the thick contiguous forest in South Garo Hills district of Meghalaya with Bangladesh as corridor to sneak over to Bangladesh when they used to have camps in Bangladesh. <Q^[Q>QfiQbbUcdc AP\iP]fPb !&D>VYcXUb]U^ PWPaQX]VTa^U ;RjRUVdTcZSVd <RTYReYVVgfecR_dWVc f_T`_deZefeZ`_R] :D<0A274;;0??0=Q 274==08 ardly 24 hours after Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa describing India’s 1974 transfer of Kachatheevu islet to Sri Lanka “unconstitutional”, the island nation retaliated by arresting 16 fishermen from Rameswaram who were fishing near the uninhabited hamlet on Thursday. The arrest of the fishermen was announced by a Rameshwaram based official of the fisheries department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. “With the arrest of these 16 fishermen, the number of fishermen who have been arrested since July 3 has shot up to 44. Those held by the Sri Lankan Navy have been taken to Kankesanthurai,” said the official. He also disclosed that the fishermen set to fishing late Wednesday night and the Sri Lankan Navy took them into H 0Q^h\PZTbWXbfPhcWa^dVWU[^^STSfPcTafXcWWXbR[^cWTbWT[SPQ^eTWTPSX]P U[^^SPUUTRcTSPaTPX]6dfPWPcX^]CWdabSPh ?C8 custody on Thursday. On Wednesday, chioef minister J Jayalalithaa has sent a missive to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which she charged the transfer of Katchatheevu islet to Sri Lanka by India as “unconstitutional and the root cause of all the problems faced by Tamil Nadu fishermen.” As on Wednesday there were 80 Tamil Nadu fishermen and 101 boats under the Sri Lankan custody and the chief minister wanted the immediate intervention of the Prime Minister to get their release. The Sri Lankan Navy also seized three mechanised boats of the fishermen on Thursday. In her earlier letters to the Prime Minister, Jayalalithaa had categorically stated that the Tamil Nadu government does not accept the International Maritime Boundary Line between India and Sri Lanka as a settled issue as the Kachatheevu islet remained a bone of contention between the two countries. Jayalalithaa has approached the apex court challenging the constitutional legality of the ceding of the islet to Lanka >UUbTcX]3TUT]RT_a^RdaT\T]c c^aTPRW ! $Q])?PaaXZPa :4BCDAE0BD:8Q 14=60;DAD efence Minister Manohar Parrikar foresee the offset in D Defence procurements is set to reach $12 to 15 billion over the next ten years. Addressing the seventh annual Strategic Electronics Summit organised by Electronics Industries Association of India (ELCINA) in Bengaluru on Thursday the Defence Minister said, with purchases coming through, their offsets to domestic industry have normalised. “In the last two years, 100 per cent offset obligations were achieved compared to around 60 per cent during the earlier five years” , he added. “The quantum of offsets will increase in the coming years because deals are in the offing. The purchase of 36 Rafale medium multi-role fighter aircraft that is currently going through cost negotiations will result in offsets that will be 50 per cent of the value of the deal”. The Minister stressed that Defence public sector units such as Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., Bharat Electronics Ltd. and Bharat Dynamics Ltd., which manufacture critical products for the Forces, should be lead integrators and make way for industry as supplier of components and systems. He said after the new Defence Procurement Policy 2016, lot of changes were taking place giving impetus to the role of industry. “ The government was carefully and practically viewing the policy of banning and penalising certain vendors. The logic was to ensure that projects do not get stalled for many years”, he said. He said efforts made by his ministry over the last two years had already bear fruit for the small and medium scale industries whose supplies to the defence sector had touched Rs.52000 crore last year up from Rs,42,000 crore in 2014. Their share in defence purchases had gone up to 9 per cent last fiscal from 4 per cent the previous year. ‘’We aim to touch 15 per cent this year’’ he added. He said he had sought the Defence PSUs to be major integrators of platforms and procure systems and components from the private sector. D]X^]3TUT]RT<X]XbcTa<P]^WPa?PaaXZPaSdaX]VcWTX]PdVdaPcX^]^UcWT&cW BcaPcTVXR4[TRca^]XRbBd\\Xc! %Pc1T]VP[dad8]cTa]PcX^]P[4gWXQXcX^]2T]caT ^]CWdabSPh ?C8 F^\T]^UUTa]P\Pi^]cWT^RRPbX^]^U4XSd[5XcaPc4XSVPWX];dRZ]^f^] FTS]TbSPhF^\T]^UUTaTS]P\PiPccWT4XSVPWU^acWTUXabccX\T ?C8 >RYR4RSZ_VecV[ZXe`URj 4>e`Z_UfTe"!_Vh>Z_d ?=B Q <D<108 head of the start of the Monsoon Session of the A Maharashtra Legislature, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will resort to a major expansioncum-reshuffle on Friday. In the first-ever ministry expansion being undertaken after the Shiv Sena joined the BJP-led saffron alliance Government on December 5, 2014, Fadnavis will in all likelihood induct into his Cabinet ten new ministers – six belonging to the BJP, three to Shiv Sena and one each to Raju Shetty-led Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana and Mahadev Jankar-headed Rashtriya Samaj Paksha. The Cabinet expansion has been necessitated by the recent resignation of senior BJP minister Eknath Khadse, who had to quit over allegations of corruption, land-grab and links with the Karachi-based underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, and the fact that the chief minister has delayed such a re-jig of his ministry for nearly seven months. Fadnavis had attempted a Cabinet in December 2015 but dropped the plan at the last moment. Khadse had held as many 10 portfolios, including Revenue, Agriculture, Excise, Relief and Rehabilitation, Minority affairs, Waqf, Animal husbandry, Milk production, Fisheries and Earthquake rehabilitation. The swearing-in ceremony will take place at 9 am in the Central Hall of Maharashtra Legislature on Friday. The Chief Minister held consultations with two senior Shiv Sena ministers, Subhash Desai and Diwakar Raote, (who had been deputed for the purpose by Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, on the choice of their party nominees to be inducted into the Cabinet. Informed sources in the BJP said here on Thursday evening that while senior party leader Pandurang Fundkar would make it to the Fadnavis in all probability, the other party men who might make it to the State Cabinet might include; Dr Sanjay Kunte, Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar, Jaykumar Rawal, Shivajirao Naik and Haribhau Jawale. cTaa^aPRcXeXcXTb X]:PbW\Xa. <>78C:0=370A8Q 90<<D oly month of Ramzan witnessed sudden spike in milH itant related violence across Jammu & Kashmir after a gap of more than three years. Coupled with this efforts were also made by the militant handlers from across the border to trigger communal tension in Jammu province as three incidents of temple desecration were reported during the holy month of Ramzan. Two incidents were reported in Jammu and one incident took place in the border district of Poonch near the line of control. According to official sources, “between June 6 to July 6 this year ver one dozen major incidents of militant related violence in the hinterland and firefight with security forces along the line of control were reported in the state in which over two dozen militants were killed/neutralised and 10 security personnel sacrificed their lives”.Over three dozen personnel were injured in fresh encounters with the militants. In 2015 total number of 20 militants were killed in June and July while 4 security personnel lost their lives. In 2014 15 militants were eliminated between June and July and 6 security personnel were killed. Eight security personnel of CRPF were martyred by armed fidayeen group on the highway stretch between Bijbehera and Pampore on June 25. Twenty-two CRPF jawans were also injured in the attack which forced the Union Home Ministry to further review the prevailing security scenario in the state along with redefining the existing Standard Operating Procedures to prevent fresh strike on the convoy movement of security personnel. Security along the 35 km stretch of the National Highway 44 between Bijbehera and Pampore has also been beefed up and area domination patrols of CRPF and army keeping a tight vigil on the vulnerable highway. To check the movement of infiltrators along the North Kashmir district of Kupwara alert Army jawans were able to neutralise at least 14 infiltrators in four separate firefights on June 15, June 16, and June 23. Six militants were eliminated by the security forces in separate encounters in Sopore, Pulwama, Handwara and Kupwara. The Jammu Srinagar Highway also witnessed militant strike near Kud on June 13 in which one civilian also lost her life while 4 others were injured. During the recent security review meetings chaired by the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Srinagar clear instructions were given to security officers to effectively deal with the regrouping of militants and check radicalisation of local youth in the absence of foreign militants in the State. According to these assessments over 220 militants were actively involved in the State. ]Tfb& A0=278k5A830H k9D;H '! % 2WXYR_cVWfXVVdZ_AR\WRTVcVaRecZReZ`_ 0DQIDWDOO\VKRWE\ SROLFHLQ0LQQHVRWD 80=B Q ?4B70F0A fghan refugees, who fled to Pakistan three decades A ago carrying few belongings, are now facing an ultimatum from the Islamabad government to return to Afghanistan, a country that is still in the throes of conflict. The war between Afghanistan and the then Soviet Union (1979-1989) forced three million Afghans to cross the border to seek asylum in neighbouring Pakistan, which last week extended their residency status for six more months, with a warning that after that they must leave, EFE news reported. Islamabad, home to the second largest refugee population in the world and one of the oldest, blames Afghans for the violence afflicting the country and for flooding the labour market. "My children and grandchildren were born here. They are more Pakistani than Afghani," says Mohamed Zamir, one of the residents of the Kababian refugee camp in Peshawar, set up in 1981, housing 11,300 Afghan refugees. Fifty-five years old Zamir, who manages a United Nations 8b[P\PQPSW^\Tc^cWTbTR^]S[PaVTbc aTUdVTT_^_d[PcX^]X]cWTf^a[SP]S^]T ^UcWT^[STbcQ[P\Tb0UVWP]bU^acWT eX^[T]RTPUU[XRcX]VcWTR^d]cahP]SU^a U[^^SX]VcWT[PQ^da\PaZTc High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) school, crossed the Pakistani border on foot along with his parents and nine siblings in 1981 and may have to retrace his steps and return to Afghanistan shortly, with his wife, four children and eight grandchildren. The government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has not yet made any statement on the future of the refugees. Sher Ali, a second generation refugee who was born in Pakistan 33 years ago, says he doesn’t want to return to Afghanistan, a country in which he has never lived. "I was born here, I work here. This is the place I know, in Afghanistan, I am like a foreigner," says Ali, whose family came to Pakistan in 1979. Like Ali, most of the 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees and another million and a half staying in Pakistan illegally, were born in Pakistan, UNHCR spokesperson in the country, Duniya Aslam, told EFE. But Pakistan does not grant nationality to refugee children born in the country. Of the total number of registered Afghan refugees, 40 per cent still live in some of the 43 UNHCR camps in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. While Pakistan has been asking the Afghan refugees to leave for years, the calls for their repatriation have grown in recent times following the 2014 Taliban attack against a school in Peshawar in which 125 children were killed. A week ago, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said his government, UNHCR and the Afghan government will begin talks in July on the transfer of the camps in Pakistan to the other side of the border. GHDGLQ%DJKGDGEODVW @XY\Y``Y^U1b]i*! TUQTY^ FODLPHGE\,6,6 1HZWROO S\QcXUcgYdX9c\Q]YS]Y\YdQ^dc 05?Q <0=8;0 hilippine government forces fought hundreds of Islamic militants on two remote islands on P Thursday, with the military aircraft-backed campaign leaving up to 10 people dead, the army said. The gun battles on the southern islands of Jolo and Basilan followed orders by new President Rodrigo Duterte for the security services to go after the Abu Sayyaf, which recently beheaded two foreign hostages and is also blamed for the worst terror attacks in Philippine history. The fighting was continuing late today with more troops being rushed in, backed by military aircraft and artillery, regional military spokesman Major Filemon Tan told reporters. "Continuous indirect fire support and air strikes are being done and additional troops were deployed," he added without giving details. ?PZb[P\b:PbW\XaX bT_PaPcXbc[TPSTab´ STcT]cX^]^]4XS 8aP`XbVPcWTaPccWTbRT]T^UBd]SPh´b\PbbXeTcadRZQ^\QPccPRZR[PX\TSQhcWT 8B8BX]cWT:PaPSP]TXVWQ^aW^^S1PVWSPS8aP`^]CWdabSPhAXVWc02WaXbcXP] f^\P]_aPhbU^acWTeXRcX\bPcBcCaPiXP2WdaRWX]1PbaP"#\X[Tb$$ ZX[^\TcTabb^dcWTPbc^U1PVWSPS 0? 05?Q 1067303 Baghdad bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed 292 people, a minister said today, raising the toll of one of the deadliest single attacks in Iraq since the US-led invasion. A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle in Baghdad’s Karrada neighbourhood early on Sunday, ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Officials had previously put at more than 250 the death toll from the powerful blast, which sparked infernos that gutted nearby buildings in the popular shopping district. Health Minister Adila Hamoud said the identities of 177 people killed in the bombing have yet to be determined, while 115 bodies have been handed over to families, according to a statement from the ministry. The attack also wounded 200 people, Hamoud said. The minister told AFP on Tuesday that the process of identifying all of the unknown A bodies -- which she said at the time numbered 150 -- was expected to take between 15 and 45 days. People were already furious over delays in determining the fate of loved ones, and with the number of unidentified bodies now bigger, it may take even longer. The blast sparked widespread anger among Iraqis, some of whom have accused the government of failing to do enough to protect them. Interior Minister Mohammed Ghabban tendered his resignation following the bombing, and authorities also announced the execution of five convicts and the arrest of 40 jihadists in an apparent bid to limit the fallout from the attack. Ghabban criticised the security system as fundamentally flawed and saying he could no longer accept responsibility for the consequences, calling for a series of changes that would ultimately increase the ministry’s power. An official in Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s office told AFP yesterday that the premier had accepted the min- ?C8Q 8B;0<0103 akistan on Thursday expressed concern over the house arrest of Kashmiri separatist leaders on Eid and asked the international community to take notice of the "violations" of their "fundamental rights". "We are deeply concerned over detention of Kashmiri leaders on this sacred day, in violation of their fundamental right of religious freedom. “We call upon the international community to take note and urge the Indian Government to respect the basic rights of Kashmiris," Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz was quoted as saying in a statement by Foreign Office. Aziz also felicitated Kashmiris on Eid. Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir had placed top separatist leaders including Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik under house arrest, fearing their presence at large Eid gatherings could spark violence. P ister’s resignation, though there has been no official statement from him on the matter. The attack has overshadowed what would normally be a joyful holiday for Iraqi Muslims, instead turning it into a time of mourning and sadness. Thousands of them have massed at the site of the bombing to mourn the dead and express solidarity with those stricken by the blast. The street running between the charred remains of buildings burned in the attack was packed with people yesterday night, some carrying Iraqi flags, others holding candles. Many wept and beat their chests in mourning for the dead. Some of those gathered at the site today shouted slogans, while others read the Koran and left candles in front of banners of condolence. Army troops hunting down Abu Sayyaf units clashed with about 130 of the gunmen near the Jolo town of Patikul, killing a soldier and wounding six others, Tan said. Military intelligence reports later determined that nine Abu Sayyaf members were also killed and 13 others wounded, he added. Meanwhile up to 200 Abu Sayyaf gunmen have been fighting running gun battles with government forces in three Basilan towns since late yesterday, Tan said, but did not say if there were casualties. The Jolo militants are believed to be holding a Norwegian resort manager abducted elsewhere in the south in September last year and a Dutch birdwatcher kidnapped in 2012. Tan did not reply when asked about the impact of the fighting on the hostages. The Abu Sayyaf beheaded in April and June two Canadian tourists who were kidnapped with the Norwegian, while a Filipina who was abducted with them was freed last month. 0?Q 50;2>=74867CBDB Minnesota officer fatally shot a man in a car with a A woman and a child in the US, an official said. Authorities are looking into whether the aftermath was livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video, which shows a woman in a vehicle with a man whose shirt appears to be soaked in blood telling the camera "police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason." St Anthony Police interim police chief Jon Mangseth said the incident began when an officer pulled over a vehicle around 9 PM yesterday in Falcon Heights, a St Paul suburb that Mangseth’s department serves. Mangseth said he did not have details about the reason for the traffic stop, but that at some point shots were fired. The man was struck but no one else was injured, he said. As word of the shooting and video spread, relatives of the man joined scores of people who gathered at the scene of the shooting and outside the hospital where the man died and identified him as Philando Castile of St Paul, a 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school. Speaking to CNN early today, Castile’s mother said she 7`cV_dZTViaVcedRjd5YR\RTRWV gZTeZ^dhVcVYRT\VUR_UdY`eUVRU 80=B Q 370:0 three-member team of Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s forensic department has dismissed reports that all the 20 hostages killed in the cafe terror attack were slaughtered by slitting their throats. Dhaka Medical College Hospital forensic department’s Assistant Professor Md Sohel Mahmud, led a three-member team to conduct the autopsies at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) on Sunday, reported bdnews24.com. "All the deceased had sharp weapon wounds on their heads and necks. Some were hacked on their throats too," said Mahmud. "But most of the foreign hostages were hacked to death. Bullets were found on the bodies of seven foreigners, who were also hacked in their head and neck," added Mahmud. "One of the Italian nationals and one of the Bangladeshi women had died from trauma caused by a blunt force," he said. On last Friday evening, a group of seven young Islamist A 01P]V[PSTbWXf^\P]RaXTbPbbWT _PhbWTaaTb_TRcc^cWTeXRcX\b^UcWT PccPRZ^]7^[Th0acXbP]1PZTahX] 3WPZP1P]V[PSTbW 0? terrorists carrying guns and explosives entered the Holey Artisan Bakery and O’ Kitchen Restaurant in Gulshan diplomatic enclave and took at least 33 people hostages, of which they brutally killed 20 through the night. Two police officers, who were members of a team that made an early attempt to end the siege, were killed by explosions set off by the attackers. The security forces launched a rescue operation ?^bc2PQX]Tc 1DUDGDVWLQJ aTYXV0_]P3P[ 0DWKHZ6DPXHOVHHNV UPRcX^]²b]P_b³ ZLWKGUDZDORIVXPPRQV cXTbfXcW19? Lucknow: Two days after Apna Dal leader Anupriya iting the matter to be subPatel was sworn in as Minister Cjudice, Narada News editor of State in the Union Council in chief Mathew Samuel on 80=B Q :>;:0C0 of Ministers, a faction of the Apna Dal on Thursday said it was "severing" ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Claiming to be heading the "real" Apna Dal, its president Krishna Patel and her other daughter Pallavi Patel said their party was snapping all ties with the BJP and vowed to "teach them a lesson". After a party meeting in the state capital, Krishna Patel said she will organise a rally in Varanasi on August 23 to showcase her support base. This rally, she claimed, will be much bigger than those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the past. However, the Apna Dal faction led by Krishna’s younger daughter Anupriya Patel, the MP from Mirzapur, on Thursday said it will now work to strengthen the BJP and ensure their alliance storms to power in Uttar Pradesh in the 2017 assembly elections. R.K. Verma, a party legislator, said the Other Backward Castes were indebted to Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for making Anupriya Patel a Union Minister. YLGHRLQYHVWLJDWHG Thursday urged the Kolkata police to withdraw the summons issued against him in connection with the probe into a sting operation that allegedly caught several Trinamool Congress leaders taking bribe. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee had ordered the probe to find if there was a "conspiracy" behind the sting. The city police subsequently registered a case against Samuel and summoned him for personal appearance. "Since the matter is pending before the Calcutta High Court, I have yet again asked the Kolkata police to withdraw the summons," said Samuel. This is the second time he has asked for withdrawing the summons after the police issued a fresh summons on July 1. He was summoned for the first time on June 23 following which he had made a similar request. Samuel also claimed that he was yet to get a copy of the complaint on the basis of which the case against him has been initiated. In pursuance of a complaint filed by the wife of city mayor and state minister Sovan FTbc1T]VP[2WXTU <X]XbcTaP]S CaX]P\^^[bd_aT\^ <P\PcP1P]TaYTT WPS^aSTaTScWT _a^QTc^UX]SXU cWTaTfPbP R^]b_XaPRh QTWX]ScWTbcX]V Chatterjee, police slapped charges of forgery, defamation and criminal conspiracy against the portal and Samuel. Released in March during the assembly polls, the sting purportedly showed a host of Trinamool high profile leaders including state ministers and former union ministers taking wads of currency notes in return for favour to a fictitious company. The Calcutta High Court which is hearing multiple litigations seeking independent probe into the matter, on June 24 ordered forensic examination of the footage and devices used for conducting the sting. codenamed ‘Operation Thunderbolt’ on Saturday morning and freed 13 hostages. The 20 killed hostages included nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian and three Bangladeshis, one of whom was also a naturalised US citizen. The Bangladeshi army and the government had said that six terrorists were killed and another was captured alive. Police on Monday midnight filed a case naming six dead attackers and several unidentified persons. One of the terrorists has been identified as Holey Artisan Bakery chef Saiful Islam Chowkider. "Saiful was seen with the group of militants," said police. Forensic expert Mahmud said that bullets were found in the bodies of the six attackers. Splinters of explosives were also found in the bodies of three of them. Mahmud added that blood for viscera test and teeth and flesh from the bodies of the slain terrorists were collected and sent for Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid (DNA) test on Wednesday. 2_`eYVc3DA ]VRUVcbfZed RTTfdVd>RjR`W XcVVUW`c^`_Vj 80=B Q ;D2:=>F suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her son’s death. "I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile said, adding that she had underlined to her children to that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive. Police have not released details on the ethnicity or service record of the police officer involved but to say he has been placed on paid administrative leave. "I know my son ... We know black people have been killed ... I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply." Police use of force, particularly against minorities, has returned to the national spotlight since the video-recorded fatal shooting earlier this week of 37year-old Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The US Justice Department yesterday launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting, which took place after Sterling, who was black, scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store. Castile’s cousin, Antonio Johnson, told the Star Tribune that he believed that because Philando Castile was a black man driving in Falcon Heights, a largely middleclass suburb, he "was immediately criminally profiled and he lost his life over it tonight." 8aXbW_Pa[XP\T]c aTYTRcb[X\XcTS PQ^acX^]QX[[ Dublin: The Irish parliament on Thursday rejected proposed legislation to allow abortion in Ireland in cases of fatal foetal abnormality. Prime Minister Enda Kenny had instructed his Fine Gael party members to vote against the bill as the state’s top legal adviser believed it contravened the Eighth Amendment of the Irish constitution, which recognises the equal right to life of the unborn and the mother. "The bill is bad for women and medically inadequate," the prime minister said earlier this week. Fine Gael deputies were joined by members of Fianna Fail, the other main centre-right party, and the bill was defeated in a vote of 95 to 45. Speaking ahead of the vote, the bill’s proponent Mick Wallace said he wanted to see the proposals tested in the country’s Supreme Court. "It will add urgency to the fact that there’s at least four or five women every week in Ireland having to travel out of the country to have a fatal foetal abnormality dealt with," he said. AFP 5^daRPSaTb ^U=PVPaTQT[ Va^d_ZX[[TSX] 0ad]PRWP[ 80=B Q C8A0? 0AD=0270;?A034B7 nother Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader, forA our cadres of the Naga milmer legislator Ravindra Nath Fitant group Nationalist Tripathi, left the party on Socialist Council of NagalimThursday while levelling serious allegations on party chief Mayawati. Announcing his resignation, the leader f rom Poorvanchal, said after the death of party founder Kanshi Ram, Mayawati had digressed from th path of Dalit ideology and had been blinded by greed. The former legislator from Barsathi, Tripathi said Mayawati had turned the party into a sort of ‘Chit Fund Company’ where in people with moneybags were ruling the roost. Refusing to open up on his future course of action, he said he will soon sit down with his supporters and decide on whether to join any other party or not. He also claimed that very soon, many party leaders will dump the BSP and exit. He is the third leader in less that a fortnight to have left the BSP, levelling almost similar charges against Mayawati. Senior party leader Swami Prasad Maurya left the BSP last month and another tall leader R.K. Chowdhary quit recently. Reformation (NSCN-R) were gunned down in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tirap district early on Thursday, the Assam Rifles (AR) said. Two AK-47 assault rifles and a pistol were recovered from the slain militants. The gunfight occurred at the remote Kheti village, seven km from Khonsa, the district headquarters of Tirap, Assam Rifles spokesman Lt. Col. Rahul Josan said. The four were allegedly involved in extortion, arms dealing and drug peddling. They were Captain Jano Tekwa, Sergeant Major Lombho Pangsa, Sergeant Tongbai and Corporal Mankhu Wangsa. "Assam Rifles troopers cordoned off the area on Wednesday night after a tipoff. One of the three columns came under heavy firing as it approached the militants camp, forcing the troopers to retaliate," the spokesman said. In the ensuing gun battle, the four militants were killed. 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Beyond this, the current saga of killings, starting from the recent brutal attack on a posh diplomatic enclave in Dhaka and concurrent bombings in the holiest cities of Islam in Medina, Jeddah and in Baghdad, the war-weary capital city of Iraq, has brought the entire global community to realise how important it is for different versions of Islam to give a renewed call for peace. The long-drawn fight between the two main sects of Islam — the Shias and the Sunnis — is devastating the Middle East and the brunt of the clash is borne by none other than millions of ordinary Muslims who rightly deserve a peaceful living. The so-called guardians of the two prominent branches of Islam, Iran and Saudi Arabia, by now, must call for a political truce, else, once known as one of the rare cradles of human civilisation, the nations of the Middle East will soon turn out to be a graveyard for sure. Referring to one of the most controversial book to date on Islam, Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now, authored by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, it can well be stated that Islam needs a strong reformation to suit the cultural clash brought by the globe-trotting waves of globalisation. The author argues that a religious reformation is the only way to end terrorism, sectarian warfare and repression of women and minorities that each year claim millions of life across the world. The world has come a long way since the destruction of the Ottoman Empire and the boundaries of the Middle East or West Asia has been redrawn as per the requirements of the Western imperial powers, under the historic Sykes-Picot Agreement on May 19, 1916. Understandably, going by the sheer historical evidences that followed the Agreement, we can safely opine that this had rewritten the history of the Arabs once again in blood for sure. The charismatic Ali argues that “it is foolish to insist, as our leaders habitually do, that the violent acts of Islamist extremists can be divorced from the religious doc- I trine that inspires them. Instead, we must confront the fact that they are driven by a political ideology embedded in Islam itself ”. After the ghastly terror attack in Dhaka, controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen aired her views, asking “whether we should call Islam as a religion of peace?” She further claimed that “in a society blinded by religion, brainwashing starts right after birth”. This augurs well for a public discourse, particularly among the Islamic scholars and in general, by all the liberal shades of opinion-makers around the world. Why so much of violence is inspired by Islam? Is there an end to it? Who will put a stop to this incessant clash between its two branches of the religion? Are the colonial masters solely responsible for the ongoing tragedy unleashed by the jihadists over both the believers and non-believers of Islam? Is it a final war of revenge against the West for re-taking the boundaries of the Caliphate that once used to be? It is time now the world demands an ?eb`Qbd^UbcXY`YcTbYfU^ RiS_^fUbWU^SU_V SQ`QSYdYUcQ^TY^dUbUcd =_jQ]RYaeUccdbU^WdXc QbU9^TYQc^UUTcQ^T gXQd=_jQ]RYaeU ^UUTcYcY^9^TYQ @bY]U=Y^YcdUb ° > Q bU^TbQ=_TY 145>A4CDA=8=6 BHA808A0@;81H0 0=3H4<4=8=C> 0=²4<?8A4>5 6A0E4H0A3B 6;>10; 6>E4A=0=24 8=BC8CDC8>=B;8:4 C74D=8C43 =0C8>=B<DBC02C BF85C;HC>BC>? 0;;4G24BB4B 0608=BC7D<0=8CH appropriate answer. Whether it is the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafism, Salafi jihadism, Rule of the Jurisprudent and the Marjaa — they are all fighting for their relevance and political space. Professor Eugene Rogan of the University of Oxford is of the view that the fate of the Arab world will be veering around the constant conflicts between the three strands of Islam: The Muslim Brotherhood, Salafi-Jihadism (Sunni) and finally, the Shia doctrine of the ‘Rule of the Jurisprudent’. As Islam holds considerable political power since the days of the Prophet Muhammad, hence, an obvious attempt made by the liberal Western scholars, to separate politics from religion seems having not much relevance in the Arab society. Today, what the Islamic State (IS) has been trying to establish ie the Caliphate, was last abolished by the Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk in 1924. Though the Islamists provide strong references to the Ottomans now, but many of them are interested in recreating the caliphates B>D=318C4 existed earlier: The four Rightly Guided Caliphs who used to rule immediately after the death of Muhammad in the seventh century or else the Abbasid caliphate which survived in one or the other form, right from the ninth to the 13th centuries. Surprisingly, the Western scholars have conflated these caliphs with that of the 19th century Ottoman royal family. And gradually, they have brought an enduring idea of a caliph as an institution. To be precise, the idea of the Caliphate has waxed and waned depending on the conflicts and the sway of royal families over the same. There is no clear and well-defined Islamic mandate behind the idea of the revival of the 21st century caliphate as of today. As Nick Danforth further argues: “It is no surprise that as, a historical inspiration, the Ottoman caliphate holds most sway among Turkish Islamists, whose nostalgia owes far more to the way Turkish nationalists have glorified the empire than it does to the piety of the Sultans. Conversely, the religious legacy of Abd al-Wahhab's 18th century critique of the Ottoman state, combined with the political legacy of more recent anti-Ottoman Arab nationalism, gives plenty of non-Turkish Islamists ample reason to prefer the precedent of an Arab caliphate”. Therefore, the contemporary claimants like that of the IS to the Caliphate has the same problem of uniting the entire Muslims under one roof which makes the road rather more difficult and the chances of spreading animosity between the Shias and the Sunnis will be on the rise. For sure, the short lived political or military successes like the one won by the IS, without having the support of history and theology, will not be able to create a single caliphate for the entire Muslims. But in the process, attempting to recreate the same, will lead to more bloodletting. Before turning Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen into an ‘empire of graveyards’, the global governance institutions like the UN, must act swiftly to stop all excesses against humanity. It must be made clear to all, particularly to the heads of warring Governments and to their wartime allies that Middle East is not a theatre of war anymore. Hope, the UN takes an immediate decision and calls for lasting peace in the region. >_c`USYQ\5YTYV_bXY] c_^1jQT9WYfUXY]_^\i dg_be`UUcIhPSPQXVPPS ]P]PWXWPX9T_^d gQ^dd_c`_Y\XY] 1c3XY^QS_^dY^eUcQ\_^W dXU`QdX_VdbQ^cV_b]QdY_^ Q^TbUV_b]9U^S_ebQWU 3XY^Qc\UQTUbcd_SbUQdU dXUc`QSU^UUTUTV_bdXU SYfY\c_SYUdid_`\Qi YdcSbeSYQ\b_\U 1Sd_b °1Q]Yb;XQ^ E>CUSbUdQbi7U^UbQ\ °2Q^;Y]__^ ;4CC4ABC>C74438C>A GU\S_]UTUSYcY_^ Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Team Modi’s makeover” (July 7). It is good that Smriti Irani has been shifted from the Human Resource Development Ministry to the textile Ministry. However, it would have been better if she had been dropped from the Council of Ministers altogether. Irani could not handle her portfolio well and was a constant headache for the Prime Minister. She gave a clean burial to the Scheme of Interest Subsidy for Education Loans. Thousands of poor students were denied full benefits of this scheme. Krishna Prasad Vrindavan 3_^dbQTYSdY^WfYUgc Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Team Modi’s makeover” (July 7). Of course, a performance appraisal may be the last factor to be considered while undertaking a ministerial re-shuffle, but with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh election, Dalit outreach and striking a regional balance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described it as an expansion rather than a re-shuffle. >`UZ¶d4RSZ_VeZdRS]V_U `Wj`feYR_UViaVcZV_TV C WXbaTUTabc^cWTTSXc^aXP[°06^eTa]\T]c^US^Tab±9d[h%?aX\T <X]XbcTa=PaT]SaP<^SXWPbR^]bXSTaTSP[[Pb_TRcb¯Tg_TaXT]RTRPbcT P]SaTVX^]¯fWX[TTg_P]SX]VWXb2^d]RX[^U<X]XbcTabCWT]TfcTP\ XbPQ[T]S^Uh^dcWP]STg_TaXT]RT<P]h]Tf<X]XbcTabPaTbT]X^a_Pa [XP\T]cPaXP]bP]SbTPb^]TS_^[XcXRXP]b>QeX^db[hcWT?aX\T<X]XbcTafP]cb \^aTWP]Sbc^ST[XeTa^]WXb6^eTa]\T]c³bP\QXcX^dbbRWT\TbCWPcPb \P]hPb ]Tf<X]XbcTabQT[^]VX]Vc^cWT3P[XccaXQP[>12bTRcX^]bWPeT QTT]Qa^dVWc^]Q^PaSbW^d[SQaX]VRWTTac^cWTbTR^\\d]XcXTb CWT ]Tf D]X^] 7d\P] ATb^daRT 3TeT[^_\T]c <X]XbcTa ?aPZPbW 9PePSTZPaPV^VTccTaWPbQTT]STbTaeTS[h_a^\^cTSfWX[T?XhdbW6^hP[ fXcW^dcQTX]V_a^\^cTSWPbQTT]VXeT]X\_^acP]c_^acU^[X^b1h]^cSa^_ _X]Vb^\T²]^]_TaU^a\X]V³2PQX]Tc<X]XbcTab<^SXWPbbT]ccWT\PbdQ c[TbXV]P[cWPcfWX[TWTXbd]WP__hfXcWcWTXa_TaU^a\P]RTWTS^Tb]^c S^dQccWTXa^eTaP[[TUUXRXT]Rh 6P]P_PcWX1WPc 0Z^[P The BJP has an ambitious plan to bring into its fold the Dalits, who hold the key to victory in several poll-bound States next year. Though the present expansion still keeps the Council tally below the maximum limit, stipulated by law, it belies the claim of Modi about ‘minimum Government, maximum governance’. KS Jayatheertha Bangalore =QhY]e]RU^UVYd Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Team Modi’s makeover” (July 7). Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done well to overhaul his Cabinet. However, despite adding so many Ministers in his Cabinet, the practice of giving additional charge to some of his Minister still continues. It is good that Modi did not hide his dissatisfaction on the performance of some of his ministerial colleagues, but it would have been better if the Prime Minister converted his ideal of ‘minimum Government, maximum governance’ into a reality by adopting the recommendations of the Administrative Reforms Commission to limit the minis- terial strength to a maximum of 10 per cent of the strength of the lower House. Madhu Agrawal Delhi 5aeQ\dbUQd]U^d Sir — This refers to the article, “Who will take care of private sector?” (July 6) by Shivaji Sarkar. It will be unfortunate if the Government sits on the laurel of being a model employer to its own employees, letting those in the private and unorganised sector, to be exploited by the market force. The future of the citizens of our country is being forced to make their elders unemployed. If child labour is replaced with employable working force then it will redress the problem of unemployment and labour exploitation. The Government should be lauded for acting like a mother to its employees but it cannot give a step-motherly treatment to other workers. It is a constitutional duty of the Government to implement stringent labour laws and welfare schemes for all workers. 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Recent happenings in Bangladesh and the rise of ultra Islamic fundamentalism have convinced the deep state that despite a favourable political dispensation in our eastern neighbour, the rampant spread of the Green Crescent in Bangladesh’s fast coalescing socio-political-religious sub-consciousness has far wider dispersal, courtesy the cold pipes that control the worldwide web. So, India is now suddenly wedged between a toxic ideological state — Pakistan — and an increasingly subversive Bangladesh. Throw in the current ferment in Pakistan which in the normal course begins to display a strange political and strategic morality on Kashmir the moment the cauldron boils over internally, and you have an incendiary mix. Add an absent Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who has had a successful open heart surgery in London which entailed four bypasses, and an increasingly active Army chief Raheel Sharif powered by the return of the immensely popular Army-backed stalking horse, Pakistan Awami Tehreek chair Tahir-ul-Qadri, and you know that things don’t augur well for India. Nature, they say abhors a vacuum, ergo Gen Sharif has stepped into that vacuum created by the Prime Minister’s absence. Kashmir, unfortunately, has become sui generis to Pakistan’s brutalised psyche since the vivisection of East Pakistan in 1971. This game of thrones in Pakistan has multiple agendas and is split into varied targets. Almost in parallel, a clarion call has been given in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir — “Modi ka jo yaar hai, gaddar hai, gaddar hai (whoever is Modi’s friend is a traitor)”. Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan amidst this bedlam. The July 21 election in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is one of the immediate challenges he faces. While the disputed territory has traditionally voted for federal governing parties, T B0=344?10<I08 8U6T]BWPaXUV^Tb ³fW^]TgcXbcWT Qda]X]VXbbdTU^acWT 8]SXP]STT_bcPcT CWT]TgcU^daX][X]T PaT);c6T] <P`b^^S0W\TS^] ST_dcPcX^]fXcWcWT D=;c6T]IdQPXa <TW\^^S7PhPc 2WXTU^U6T]TaP[ BcPUU;c6T]BhTS FPYXS7dbbPX]78C CPgX[PP]S;c6T] 8bWUP`=PSTT\ 2^a_b2^\\P]STa <d[cP] the Prime Minister’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is facing intense competition from the Bhutto family front, Pakistan People’s Party and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. The scenario gets more complicated with alleged non-state actors under the aegis of Difa-ePakistan Council (Defence of Pakistan) pumping up the volume at a recent rally in Faisalabad spewed quintessential venom against India. Maulana Samiul Haq along with Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Sirajul Haq, Anas Noorani, Jamaat-ud Dawa’h boss Hafiz Saeed spoke of the Indian-American hegemony to weaken and undermine Pakistan and wanted Panama Leaks named Nawaz Sharif to leave Pakistan. Almost concurrently Hafiz Saeed has been targeting Indian paramilitary and Army convoys in Kashmir using signature fidayeen attacks trying as always to divert the attention of Pakistan’s populace to the ‘jugular vein’ rhetoric. And if all this wasn’t enough, in the complex and convoluted military-political relation- ship akin to a hall of mirrors, a new Army chief is to be selected later this year. The deep-rooted distrust between the two Sharifs is like a maze or series of passageways lined with mirrors, especially curved mirrors giving distorted reflections. A confusing or disorienting situation in which it is difficult to distinguish between truth and illusion or between competing versions of reality. While it was extensively reported in January this year that General Sharif nixed growing speculation about an extension in his tenure through a brief, but a sudden statement that paved the way for the Government to start considering his successor who will take up the job from him in late November, there is still no clarity in this regard, given the Prime Minister’s heart problems and ill health. Gen Sharif’s said, through a military spokesman in a terse 43 letter tweet — “I don’t believe in extension and will retire on the due date.” Incidentally, this statement came even as a petition was filed in the Supreme Court’s Lahore reg- DXU3_^WbUcc^UUTc @bYiQ^[Qd_gY^Y^E@ 8]DccPa?aPSTbWcWT2^]VaTbb]TTSbP]TfUPRT]TfeXbX^] P]SP]TfbcaPcTVh?aXhP]ZPEPSaP\PhQTcWTVP\TRWP]VTa nce again, there are speculations whether Congress scion Priyanka Vadra will come to active politics or not. This ‘will she, won’t she’ question has been dogging the Congress which has been facing an existential crisis. No one should be surprised at Priyanka Vadra’s entry as it had always been held that she would join politics at some time or the other. That ‘some time’ has finally come. The only question is: Will the dynastic face click? The Gandhi family has always held Priyanka Vadra as the trump card. It is clear that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has not clicked even after 14 years because he is not keen on a 24/7 job. He could not prove to be a vote-catcher and did not find a solution to arrest the party’s decline. However, Priyanka Vadra might be fielded out of desperation now. The million dollar question is: Can Priyanka Vadra help revive the Congress? As of now, there are talks of her stepping out of her family pocket boroughs Amethi and Rae Bareli to campaign for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls which is scheduled early next year. The Congress ranks number four or five in Uttar Pradesh, and has not ruled the State after 1989. In the 2012 Assembly polls, it came a cropper and in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls it managed to get just Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi’s seats. When Prashant Kishor, touted to be the man behind the success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (in 2014 Lok Sabha polls) and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (in Bihar Assembly election 2015) was engaged by the Congress as its strategist for Punjab and Uttar Pradesh polls, he had suggested a Brahmin face as the chief ministerial candidate for Uttar Pradesh — O either Priyanka Vadra or former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit. Among all social groups, the Congress polls the highest percentage of votes from the Brahmins even now. Hence, the talk of Priyanka Vadra. There is urgency for these decisions as the polls are just a few months away. Insiders predict that in all probability Priyanka Vadra might take a direct plunge into electoral politics in the 2019 general election and, as a first step, aggressively campaign across Uttar Pradesh in next year’s Assembly election. A large part of her decision is also personal. The BJP’s relentless attacks on her husband Robert Vadra, accusing him of financial wrongdoings, too may have forced her to take the plunge. Whether it’s her lineage or her connect with the people, Priyanka Vadra seems to be the ideal choice for the Congress, party insiders feel as it will help cement the family’s primacy in the party and also energise the rank and file, most of whom have greater faith in her pugnaciousness than her brother Rahul Gandhi. She has seen politics discussed in the dining table since her childhood. Besides, she also has a distinct style of personalised campaigning. She has many plus points as she istry seeking an extension for him. If he does retire, he would be the first Army chief to retire on time in two decades. His predecessors Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Gen Pervez Musharraf got extensions, while Gen Jehangir Karamat was packed off prematurely. Over the last two-and-a-half years, Gen Sharif has proved that he is a wily and consummate actor in Pakistan’s fragile democratic set up. Most analysts reckon that he calls the shots in today’s Pakistan and for someone who superseded two other generals to replace the powerful Kayani, he has done extremely well for himself and the Fauj that he heads, keeping it in complete control of Pakistan. His lack of intelligence and operations background not proving a drawback. The Dawn, writing about him says, “The high point in his tenure was the start of Operation Zarb-eAzb in North Waziristan against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in June 2014, something from which his predecessor shied away fearing blowback. The operation is now in its last stages. He is also credited for action against militancy in Karachi and partially restoring calm in the city. Gen Sharif has all along been supportive of the Government, except for a statement at the corps commanders’ conference last November when he expressed reservations over civilian administration’s governance. The comment presented the spectacle of a row between the civilian and military leadership. He has, nevertheless, maintained strong influence over the government’s foreign and national security policies. Gen Sharif was also the architect of the reconciliation between the Taliban and the Afghan Government, which was suspended after it became public that Taliban chief Mullah Omar had died more than two years ago, but efforts are again under way to revive the process.” In the eventuality that he does go, ‘who next’ is another burning issue for the Indian deep state. The next four in line are: Lt Gen Maqsood Ahmed (currently on deputation with the UN), Lt Gen Zubair Mehmood Hayat (Chief of General Staff), Lt Gen Syed Wajid Hussain (HIT Taxila) and Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem (Corps Commander Multan). Gen Sharif has been proactive in dealing with local and global issues. Pakistan media reported that in a high-level briefing at the Rangers Headquarters in Karachi soon after the killing of eminent Qawwal Amjad Sabri, he directed all the commanders to leave ‘no stone unturned’ in finding the perpetrators. The Army chief ’s visit to Karachi came days after the highprofile kidnapping of the Sindh High Court Chief Justice’s son Awais Shah and the assassination of Sabri, who was gunned down in Liaquatabad by unidentified motorcyclists in an attack claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Janus-faced Toxicistan remains a dreaded adversary for India. Despite $33 billion in American aid and repeated attempts to reset relations, the US remains distrustful of its duplicitous and dangerous ways. Imagine an Islamophobe like Donald Trump walking into the White House later this year, and how frail and perilous South Asia appears from that prism. 8QGHUVWDQGLQJ,QGLD DQGLWVHFRQRP\ :0;H0=8B70=:0A has a clean slate and comes from the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. She is young, pretty, connects with people and represents today’s youth. She might have no challengers in the party. She looks like former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She is TV savvy, can charm the media and is articulate. She is good in Hindi and can be a good match to the BJP orators. However, the minus points are also many. First, her husband Robert Vadra is her biggest baggage. Second, she has had no experience in hardcore politics and has so far indulged only in backroom politics. Third, she is untested and untried. All that we have seen of her is the occasional sound bites she provides on her forays into the Amethi Rae Bareli. Fourth, there is no statistical proof that she is the votecatcher. Fifth, the Kishor strategy is a gamble. He had a winner when he strategised for ‘brand Modi’, and a triedand-tested product in ‘Brand Nitish’ in 2015. Sixth, it is doubtful whether the dynastic card will work in the present day situation when voters are aspirational. Seventh, it is not clear what will be Priyanka Vadra’s role in the party. As it is, there are two poles in the Congress and she will become a third pole for the disgruntled elements in the party. Lastly, is it little too late to bring her now? How can anyone expect her to deliver with actually no organisation in the State and no time to build it? Despite all these, Priyanka Vadra may become a game-changer if she can energise the party. What the party needs is a new face, new vision, new ideas and new strategy. Kishor is depending on ‘face plus base’ strategy and hopes a pairing of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra can help the party. Only time will tell whether Vadra will be a game-changer. 8]cWTPQbT]RT^UXST]cXUXPQ[TX]SXRPc^abPbcPcdbSaXeT]b^RXTch [XZT8]SXPWPbQTR^\TQaP]SSaXeT]X]STRXbX^]\PZX]V he projected departure of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan has received unprecedented attention. I do not remember signature campaigns being launched in favour of any serving RBI Governor who was a potential candidate for another term. The polarisation of such positions is a dangerous trend and it could have been a good idea for our liberal thinkers to take a position on the principles involved in such crucial governance issues. The facts of the case will, perhaps, forever remain a mystery. Who instigated what and what was the motive, remains a matter of speculation. Meanwhile, the media, in its various incarnations, has been flooded with observations. It has been suggested that the real target of some of the comments was Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who had to rush back from his China tour. There comes a time in campaigns when wellorchestrated interpretations start parading in carbs of truth. So be it. It may not hurt to look at some concerns or questions. The economy has paid its price for high interest rates. It was deliberate. Non-performing assets have never been so high. Regulatory measures contributed to the state of affairs. The real estate sector shows mixed profiles and it is obvious that high interest rates did not bring down inflation. There is one simple truth about the Indian economy: It is variegated and often unstructured. When I used to say this in my sojourn at Sussex, some decades ago, I was called to pro- T duce evidence. I had to explain how there was only partial monetisation of assets in large parts of rural India. Payments for goods and services was often in kind. One effect of this process was throwing the statistical profile of income distribution in a tizzy. And when the Planning Commission chose to read this gospel, the results which it produced, are there for all to see. Hence, what is good economics and who is a good economist remains a question, whose framework of reference still eludes definition in the context of Indian economy. It is painful, but true, that in absence of clearly identifiable indicators, a statusdriven society like India has become brand-driven in decision-making. Getting a degree from Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, University of Wisconsin-Madison etc or getting an employment in the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank becomes a passport to not only attain high ranks, but is also a platform to gain high attention. There is no correlation between the competencies of earning a degree and practicing economics in India. Whatever one may think of China, especially in the backdrop of deliberations on the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the truth is that this communist country has developed operational models, rooted in the tested wisdom of past wisdom and is indeed showcasing it for economic purposes. Consider how medicines from China is packaged, exported and respected globally. E8=0HB78;60DC0< What have we done to Indian systems of healthcare, with many constantly ridiculing what they think, it stands for? The Indian seamen ruled the waves for centuries and Rajendra Chola is merely one symbol of our prowess in seafaring. The current effort that is going on to put the ocean studies on the map of Indian psyche is not a day too soon. In the meanwhile, China has been busy, since March 2015, in not only projecting, propagating, but practicing One Belt, One Road capability, infrastructure and economic development programme. The new silk road echoes Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s Asian highway. Asian Railway and Asian Economic Corridor fills in the missing link connecting China to the rest of Asia and Europe. The maritime components as the ‘string of pearls’ in the Indian Ocean extends westwards to Europe through the red sea and east wards to South China Sea. Ports have become the key in such infrastructure projects. Such forces are possible when driven and supported by capacities, manufacturing and measured returns, even if modest, to domestic investment. The opportunity of funds has to be enough to allow for some profit and high economic risk in foreign infrastructure that can support raw material supply and open market for manufactured goods. Prebisch-Singer hypothesis of trade will explain this point. It was for the RBI to script the narrative. The future awaits us. \^]Th A0=278k5A830H k9D;H '! % APcWTafTfX[[_dbW8]U^cTRW fXcWXcbR^aT\P]PVT\T]c c^cP[[hU^RdbbTS^]8CP]SU^a cWT^cWTaR^\_P]hcWTR^aT \P]PVT\T]cfX[[QTc^cP[[h U^RdbbTS^]T]VX]TTaX]VCWPc fPhfX[[PRWXTeTQ^cWcWT ^QYTRcXeTb ;C6A>D?4G42DC8E4 2708A<0=0<=08: 2EJJ 6B?= 3?B@?B1D5C FTfX[[]TeTaR^\_a^\XbT^] bPUTch^U^da_T^_[TFTfX[[ T]bdaT_^fTaXbPUU^aSPQ[TFXcW cWTbTcf^RPeTPcbfTPaTeTah ZTT]c^_a^\^cT]dR[TPaT]TaVh X]PQXVfPhFTPaTPQ[Tc^VTc daP]Xd\bd__[XTb D=8>=<8=8BC4A?8HDB76>H0; /7ZDQWVWREHµQXPEHURQH¶LQ,7EL]1DLN =4F34;78)Ready to list Larsen and Toubro’s ‘second baby’ in the stock market with over C1,200 crore IPO of L&T Infotech, the conglomerate’s Group Executive Chairman AM Naik on Thursday said his aim is to make this company “number one” as he has ensured in all other businesses of the group. He also said the immediate target for L&T Infotech, whose public offer will open on Monday, is to double its revenue to $2 billion (nearly C13,500 crore) in next three years. L&T Infotech Ltd is the sixth largest Indian IT services player at present with revenue of $887 million and an employee base of over 20,000 people. The parent L&T, a conglomerate with presence in engineering, construction, infrastructure among other businesses, is already listed with a market cap of nearly C1.5 trillion, while L&T Finance Holdings got listed over five years ago and commands a market cap of about C14,000 crore. At C705-710 per share price band for L&T Infotech IPO, it will fetch a market cap of over C12,000 crore. Asserting that his entire focus at present is to ensure that the IPO is a huge success, Naik described it as the group’s “second baby” entering the stock market after L&T Finance’s listing nearly fiveand-a-half years ago. Asked about the revenue growth potential of the marketbound company, Naik told the news agency in an interview, “At the moment, we are targetting doubling in three years time... So we want to become $2 billion.” He, however, said many things depend on the events that will happen over the years and therefore first he is looking to make it “the number-one brand”. Asserting that he does not want the company to be constantly compared with the companies like Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant and TCS, Naik said, “We don’t want to be compared that way. Whatever L&T does, it is number one and I like to be number one.” $21-billion L&T Group has separated its technology businesses under two verticals -L&T Technology Services and L&T Infotech. Together, Naik said, the two firms would have revenue of $1.5 billion this year and his aim is to make them account for at least 10 per cent of the group’s total revenue eventually. Explaining the rationale for keeping them separate, ;C8]U^²PRcXeT[h³bR^dcX]VU^aQdhbX]P]P[hcXRbR^]bd[cX]V =4F34;78: IT company L&T Infotech on Thursday said it is “actively” scouting for acquisitions to strengthen its offerings in areas such as analytics, consulting and Internet of Things. The mid-sized IT company, which will come out with over C1,200-crore IPO on July 11, said it would be interested in buys in the US, Europe or even Indian market. “We are looking at the US and European markets predominantly as the acquisition has to cater to that market by selling to our 250-plus customers. We will also look at Naik said, “If I mix it, it will still remain number-six and people will say the number one company is five times bigger. So, what do I achieve? “Rather we will push Infotech with its core management totally focussed on IT, and for the other company the core management will be totally focussed on engineering. That way, will achieve both the objectives.” Naik, who has been with the group for nearly 52 years including 18 years as its head, Indian companies that serve customers in the US and Europe,” Sanjay Jalona, CEO and MD of Larsen and Toubro Infotech said at a conference. Besides, analytics, consulting and Internet of Things, another area of interest for the company is cloudbased infrastructure transformation. Put simply, Internet of Things links smart everyday objects to the net, allowing them to send and receive data. “Acquisition is an integral part of a services company as it helps to further strengthen the offerings. Also, innova- tion is happening in pockets of excellence,” he said. The IPO comprises an offer-for-sale of up to 1.75 crore equity shares by L&T Ltd. It constitutes 10.3 per cent of the post offer paid-up equity share capital of the company. The IPO proceeds will not accrue to L&T Infotech as this is an offer for sale. The company further said it can utilise internal resources to fund acquisitions, can borrow from the market, or may even go for a primary issue in case of a sizable acquisition in future. Ashok Sonthalia, CFO of L&T Infotech said that while the company is “actively” looking for buyouts, it had not closed anything. In October 2014, the company acquired ISRC from Otis Elevator Company US and Otis Elevator Company (India), units of United Technologies Corporation. ISRC was a provider of software development work for Otis group companies. In 2011, it acquired 100 per cent shareholding in a company from Citigroup Fund Services Canada. “This company is now known as LTIFST,” said L&T Infotech’s Red Herring Prospectus. ?C8 said the two companies can work together whenever the need arises. He started the technology business nearly 20 years ago, which was mainly done at that time to keep the talent in-house as the group, which has as many as 82 businesses, was losing 700-800 employees a year to the IT industry at that time. Recalling the days before he took over as CEO of thegroup in April 1999, Naik said L&T was a very “high-tech” company even from the very begin- ning when it comes to use of technology but it did not thought of doing IT business which was more about “labour supply” at that time. “The management may have thought possibly that we do not want to sell the IT services and give people to somebody else. Net result is we lost hundreds and hundreds of people from our IT group. Also, whether it is Infosys or Wipro, or anyone, they did not have functional experts. L&T has 82 businesses or 82 domains with such a rich experience functionally, which made it one of the most soughtafter companies to hire talent. “And in the process, we must have lost 10,500 people in the last 15 years at the rate of 700-800 every year only to IT industry,” Naik said. Soon after taking charge as CEO, Naik said, his focus was to create an entrepreneurial professionalism and he decided to implement a five-year strategic plan. “I involved 750 people in 5`Ee`ZddfVC"#&!!Tc`cV :_UZRa`ZdVUe`cR^a fa_fT]VRcV_VcXj dVTe`cdRjd8`jR] =4F34;78)The Department of Telecom will soon issue demand notice of over C12,500 crore to six telecom operators who were found by CAG to have under-reported revenues to the tune of C46,000 crore between 2006 and 2010. “The DoT is in the process to issue demand notice of over C12,500 crore to six telecom operators -- RCom, Tata Tele, Vodafone, Airtel, Idea and Aircel -- which the CAG has found to have underreported revenues during the UPA regime,” a Telecom Ministry official said. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in a report tabled in Parliament in March said these six companies under-reported their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) by C46,045.75 crore, leading to a loss of C12,488.93 crore to the exchequer from 2006 to 2010. “The report was tabled in March and the documents on the basis of which CAG prepared the report were received by the DoT recently in June. The DoT is preparing demand ramping up nuclear energy production in a big way with renewed thrust on clean energy resources, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given nuclear energy a renewed thrust. We got into nuclear engagement with US in 2008 but from 2008 to 2014 we have seen a hiatus... Now we are into missile technology regime... The amount of progress done in the last two years is pronounced... We are poised to enter into the nuclear age in a big way,” Power, Coal and Mines Minister Goyal said at Infocom 2016 here. Goyal said the country is looking at “ramping up its clean energy source significantly” without compromising on safety of people and the Government would ensure that power from this source is affordable. “We will never compromise on safety of our people... We will ensure power is affordable... With these two caveats we are very keen to promote nuclear energy in a big way. We are able to get uranium supplies,” the minister said. ?C8 UV^R_U_`eZTVe`'eV]T`dd``_ notice to recover this amount from telecom operators. There is no question of letting this revenue go,” the official said. As per the official, CAG has pointed out to the loss of C12,488.93 crore but the DoT is calculating fresh amount by adding interest and penalties over it. The six telecom opera- tors, earlier in a joint statement, had contested the CAG findings. They said that the definition of AGR for the purpose of calculating licence fee is under litigation in various judicial forums, including TDSAT, High Courts and the Supreme Court. “The issues pointed out by the CAG pertain to those dis- putes, which have either been settled or stayed by various Courts. Further, we would like to reiterate that our member companies follow the highest standards of corporate governance and have always been in compliance with all regulations,” the statement had said. The auditor reported instances of under reporting of revenue due to netting off of discounts/waivers granted to post-paid subscribers and under-invoicing of roaming revenue due to set-off of interoperator traffic discounts paid to other operators. Also, there was underreporting of revenue from infrastructure sharing with other telecom operators as well as from forex gain. The financial impact due to understatement of AGR stood at C3,728.54 crore for Reliance Communications, C3,215.39 crore for Tata Teleservices, Airtel (C2,651.89 crore), Vodafone (C1,665.39 crore), Idea (C964.89 crore) and Aircel (C262.83 crore), the CAG said. ?C8 =4F34;78)India is looking at ?=BQ =4F34;78 hile common people wait for Reliance Jio’s 4G service launch, Reliance Industries has slashed the price of its economy 4G handset, LYF Flame, by 25 per cent to C2,999, making it the cheapest smartphone in the segment in India. “Four models of LYF Flame are available for C2,999 now. It will come with free Jio SIM, bundled with free unlimited data usage and voice calling. Earlier the price was C4,000,” an executive at Reliance Retail store in Noida said. Telecom player Reliance Jio, a unit of Mukesh Ambaniled Reliance Industries, is yet to launch services commercially, however, it has started issuing SIMs for trails, which are free and comes with unlimited data and voice calling. The company is expected to commercially kick-start services by December. The website of LYF hand- W sets shows four models of LYF Flame priced at C2,999, making it the the cheapest 4G smartphone. Reliance Jio SIM was earlier offered to about one lakh employees of RIL group firms. Later employees were allowed to give referral to up to 10 people for free Jio services. The connection comes bundled with unlimited 4G mobile Internet and phone calls for 90 days. LYF Flame comes with a 4-inch display, quad-core processor with 1.5 gigahertz speed, 512 MB RAM , 4GB internal memory, expandable memory of up to 32 GB, 5 MP rear camera, 2 MP front camera and a 1,700 mAh battery, which can support 4.5 hours of talktime on 4G network. The handsets have dual sim slots. One slot can be used for 4G and other for 2G connection. Flame handsets will support voice and video calls over 4G network. ?C8Q 14=60;DAD Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Ionnformation Thursday said he would consider India’s IT initiatives a success if its technology products are adopted across the world, including Europe and US. “I have seen IT evolution of India which follows the traditional pattern - from outsourcing to R&D and what not. They are important. They need to be promoted. “But I will be the happiest and consider our IT initiative a success if your extraordinary potential propels products, which are replicated and used in Asia, South-East Asia, Latin America, Europe and America,” he said while addressing an event on Internet Of Things (IoT) organised by Nasscom here. Prasad said healthcare, education and agriculture must be the priority areas wherein benefits could be offered to the people. He also said as per a study, IoT products will produce eco- ?aPbPSbPXSWTfPb^_T]c^bdVVTbcX^]b c^[TeTaPVT8^CbZX[[X]VP]SP[b^bcaTbbTS ^]WPeX]VWXVWTaWd\P]aTb^daRT aTbTPaRWP]ScaPX]X]VX]cWTPaTP7TP[b^ [PXST\_WPbXb^]dbX]V8^CU^aRhQTa bTRdaXchP]SbPXSXcbW^d[S]^cQTP[[^fTS c^QTPQdbTSQhb^\T_T^_[T 8]]^ePc^ab bW^d[SR^]SdRcaTbTPaRWc^STeT[^_P V^^STR^bhbcT\c^UdacWTabcaT]VcWT]cWT fW^[TPaRWXcTRcdaT^URhQTabTRdaXch nomic benefit of nearly $2 trillion by 2020. “Forbes says that we will have 25 billion IoT connections by 2020. Cisco estimates 50 billion, and the revenue is going to be very very exciting. “As per Gartner, IoT will produce economic benefit of nearly $2 trillion by 2020 and Cisco estimates it will be $14 trillion. Therefore even economically, IoT products are going to be very win-win,” he said. Prasad said he was open to suggestions to leverage IoT skilling and also stressed on having higher human resource research and training in the area. He also laid emphasis on using IoT for cyber security and said it should not be allowed to be abused by some people. Innovators should conduct research to develop a good ecosystem to further strengthen the whole architecture of cyber security, Prasad said. “How can by innovation and research, we can develop a good ecosystem to further strengthen the whole architecture of cyber security, that is a very lurking area of concern, where Y2K. At that time, everybody wanted to go abroad and work in the US, the UK and Australia among other places. We started with some Y2K work and did $35 million worth of business and then we tried to do some dotcom work. But then the dotcom burst.” Naik said he was asked by everyone why he was getting into this business after Y2K was done in 1999 and the dotcom burst in 2000, but he decided to do it and started talking to people to get clients. “After the Y2K had gone and the dotcom had burst, there was nothing in the company except one account with about $15 million business,” he said, while adding soon he found some very important accounts -- one of utilities, one of oil and gas, one of engineering. “Collectively, all of them put together we became $80 million. That was in first twoand-a-half years. Now, since we had reference, we went on growing. “We grew at the rate of 30 per cent up to 2007 and then we came $350 million, then we grew at the rate of around 18 per cent and then in the last three years we grew at the rate of 9 per cent because $85 billion worth of business was transferred to technology services business,” he added. ?C8 *RYWPD\H[WHQGWD[SD\PHQW GHDGOLQHIRUEODFNPRQH\VFKHPH =4F 34;78) The Government may extend the deadline for payment of tax on black money disclosed during the one-time compliance window and has accepted the industry request for tax being paid in instalments. “ The Government is favourably considering to extend the tax payment deadline as it understands the liquidity crunch around November,” a top official told the news agency. “Discussions are on with regard to the number of months by which the payment window can be extended. We have said that they can pay tax and penalty in instalments,” he said. The comments follow Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s meeting with industry associations, CAs and tax professionals late last month to understand their concerns around the compliance window. The Budget for 2016-17 announced a 4-month compliance window, allowing domestic black money holders to declare their unaccounted wealth, pay a tax and penalty of 45 per cent and escape 5HOLDQFHFXWVSULFHRI* 8]SXP]8C_a^SdRcbbW^d[SQTdbTSV[^QP[[h)?aPbPS KDQGVHW/<))ODPHWRC making of the plan so that there was maximum acceptance. But by the time it was done, we had lost another 800 people between 9-10 months. “So I said, this won’t do, because this was draining our talent and we had just completed our strategic plan based on the fact that only the companies will do well that have the outstanding talent. The competition was not of the business, but is that of the talent. “I was kind of very deeply committed to that. You can even call it like paranoid, that I would do anything to retain people and retain good people. So when this happened, I got very worried that by the time the ink is dry of the strategic plan, we are not able to solve the people problem. And then the maximum beneficiary was the IT industry. So we started our own IT business,” he said. Naik said the group had an IT company since 1996, which was set up primarily to retain its IT personnels who were leaving at three-times and fourtimes the salary. “This was the market at that time because the Y2K was at the peak and the dotcom was at the peak. So, the demand was just outstripping the availability of resources. So, I said why can’t we start our own IT business. “During 90s, we did some we have all to work collectively,” he said. Talking about the government’s initiatives for developinginternet infrastructure, Prasad said as many as 250,000 gram panchayats will be connected with optical fibre network. When the NDA Government came to power, only 358 kms of optical fibre were laid, but in close to two and half years, as many as 1.23 lakh kms of optical fibre have been laid in the country and the process is going on, the minister said. “We had 80,000 common service centres. Now we have scaled up to 200,000. We are going to scale it up to 250,000...,” he said. Prasad also said his ministry is digitising the post office network. “We have 50,000 post offices in the country. More than 25,000 already have come under core banking solution and we are going to give hand-held devices to 1.30 lakh rural postmen for doing internet banking, insurance services and all,” he said. prosecution and harsher punishment. The window under the Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) 2016 opened on June 1 and will close on September 30. Tax and penalty on income declared, as per the original scheme, is to be paid by November. According to the memorandum to the Finance Bill 2016, the Government has the flexibility with regard to the closure date of the compliance window, which opened on June 1. Hence any change in closure date can be made effective through a notification. As regards the payment of tax and penalty, neither the Finance Act nor the Rules with regard to IDS had stipulated such payment in instalment. Various trade bodies however have asked for leniency in payment of taxes and sought extension of scheme to address the cash flow problem around November. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has already issued three sets of clarifications on the scheme in form of frequently asked questions (FAQs). The scheme applies to both residents as well as nonresidents (as both these categories could have taxable income that can be declared under the IDS). “We will issue more FAQs. We are still getting queries from people and we will address them individually,” the official said. In order to make the IDS a success, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has been holding video conferencing with senior tax officials every week to assess the progress made under the scheme. In the previous set of FAQs, the I-T department had clarified that where a search has already been conducted by the Income tax authorities, the taxpayer cannot declare the undisclosed income under the IDS until the end of the period up to which a notice can be issued under the Income Tax Act. A clarification that the valuation report need not be provided along with the declaration, but can be provided before the acknowledgment is issued has given some leeway to the taxpayers to arrange for the same. ?C8 µ1ROHJDOREVWDFOHWRKROGVHFRQG UHIHUHQGXP RQ8.¶VH[LW¶ ?C8Q ;>=3>= here is no legal obstacle in holding a second referendum T on whether Britain should exit from European Union (EU), according to Lord Karan Bilimoria, who said that Article 50 cannot be triggered until Parliament votes on it. “The June 24 referendum was advisory, and pro-remain MPs outnumber leave backers in the house of Commons by 3:1 and in the House of Lords by far more,” Lord Bilimoria, founder chairman of the Cobra Beers said during a debate on the outcome of the European Union Referendum in the House of Lords. “There is now a strong legal case, as we have heard, that Article 50 (the process to commence Britain’s exit from EU) cannot be triggered until Parliament votes on it. Here is a conundrum: with the lies, the deceit, the treachery and the turmoil that has been caused, will a responsible Parliament affirm the 52:48 referendum result built on such shaky ground? Stating that the outcome of the referendum should be based on a two-thirds majority, Lord Bilimoria said “with hindsight this point has not been brought up by anybody - a decision as important as this should have had a two-thirds hurdle. Changing the fixed-term Parliament in the other place needs a two-thirds majority. To change the Indian Constitution, you need a twothirds majority. There would then have been a definitive result.” As for the Opposition, he said Jeremy Corbyn, (opposition leader) has been absolutely useless as a leader, and his role in the referendum was pathetic. “That could have changed the whole picture - and now look at the turmoil the Labour Party is in. On top of all this, we have 4 million people signing a petition asking for a second referendum. There is no legal obstacle to holding a second referendum and a general election could even be treated as a proxy second referendum on the issue.” \^]Th A0=278k5A830H k9D;H '! % CV]ZR_TV?Zaa`_=ZWVa]R_de` =QbedYdQbWUdcT_eR\U :LOOVKLS)UHHGRPSKRQHV RUU$!<_VhRXV_edZ_7J¶"( TYWYdWb_gdXY^6Iµ!' IURPWRGD\VD\V5LQJLQJ%HOOV KOLKATA: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) on Thursday said its double digit growth target remains on track for the current fiscal despite production losses of 30,000 units in June owing to fire in one of its key vendor facilities at Manesar. “Whatever losses we had we will make up in the next few months as our production engineers are working on how to increase the production,” MSIL Executive Director RS Kalsi said on the sidelines of the launch of new platinum rated showroom of ‘One Auto’ in Kolkata. The production loss is about 30,000 units for the company as the overall impact was almost for four weeks in the plant. Waiting period for Vitara Brezza and Baleno has increased to 5-7 months as waitlist for the cars has surpassed one lakh units. Apart from the Manesar and Gurgoan production facilities of Maruti, the company is coming up with the 2.5 lakh capacity third plant in Gujarat. “The trial run would begin in the period of JanuaryMarch 2017 and commercial production from the next quarter,” Kalsi said. However, Kalsi was not sure whether the new plant would help bring down the waiting period of its fast selling cars as it would depend on lot of other factors. The top company official did not disclose the models to be manufactured in the new plant. MSIL had registered a growth of 6.4 per cent in retail sales in April-June period of this financial year. Speaking about diesel ban impact, Maruti said so far it was not hit directly. Asked whether Brexit had any impact on exports, Kalsi said there was no impact on that account as exports to the UK is very less. The company exports 10 per cent of its total production. 'One Auto' director Soham Misra said it was their second showroom in city. PTI inging Bells, the Noidabased firm that ran into controversy after announcing a C251 phone five months back, on Thursday claimed it will start shipping the cheapest smartphone ever, from Friday. In February, the company announced the Freedom 251 phone which saw a mad rush of over 70 million people jostling to register but when the prototype was presented to media it turned out to be produced by another manufacturer with its logo covered. This led to protests from buyers and consequent inquiries by police and tax officials, forcing the company to stop sale of the product and offer refunds to those who had booked the phone. The Freedom 251 prototype touts a quad-core processor, a 4inch screen and front and back cameras, priced at an astonishingly low rate of C251. Ringing Bells Director Mohit Goel, who A18SXbRdbbTb\PRa^TR^]^\XRSTeT[^_\T]cb <?2c^STcTa\X]TQT]RW\PaZU^aX]cTaTbcaPcTb *HPVMHZHOOHU\ H[SRUWVXS GXULQJ$SULO0D\ =Qb[UdS_^c_\YTQdUc 5HOLDQFH-LRERQG LVVXHDWWUDFWVELGV QcCU^cUhSbUU`ce` ZRUWKCFURUH ?C8Q=4F34;78 eliance Nippon Life Insurance, a part of Anil Ambani-led R Reliance Capital, plans to add over 30,000 new agents in this fiscal as part of its drive to grow the agency force. With the addition, the total agent strength would increase to 1.6 lakh by the end of this financial year, Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Chief Agency Officer Manoranjan Sahoo said. The company plans to add over 20,000 agents in the first half of the fiscal and further increase it by 10,000 in the second half, he said. The company added 47,692 agents, the highest number of individual agents amongst private insurers, last year taking its total agent counts, on net addition basis, to 1.3 lakh in 2015-16, he said. “The recruitment drives are being conducted in major cities and we are seeing a good traction from non-metro and urban areas. Our focus, this time, is on adding maxi- BENGALURU: The Reserve Bank’s Central Board on Thursday discussed macroeconomic developments and constitution of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), a broad based panel that would determine the benchmark interest rates. The meeting, chaired by RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan, also discussed RBI’s budget among other issues, and reviewed the activities of the Board for Payment and Settlement System for the year 5XPc[Pd]RWTbSXTbT[ ePaXP]cb^U"\^ST[b fXcW\^aT_^fTa NEW DELHI: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has launched diesel variants of models -- Linea sedan, hatchback Punto EVO and crossover Avventura -- with more powerful engines, priced between C6.81 lakh and C10.47 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The models, new Linea, Punto EVO PowerTech and Avventura PowerTech will now be offered with more powerful diesel engines and a touchscreen infotainment system with navigation, across all trims, the company said. PNS CWTaTRadXc\T]cSaXeTbPaTQTX]V R^]SdRcTSX]\PY^aRXcXTbP]S fTPaTbTTX]VPV^^ScaPRcX^] Ua^\]^]\Tca^P]SdaQP]PaTPb >daU^RdbcWXbcX\TXb^] PSSX]V\PgX\d\]d\QTa^U PVT]cbUa^\B^dcWP]S=^acW8]SXPPbfT QT[XTeTcWTX]bdaP]RT_T]TcaPcX^]X]cWTbT PaTPbPaT[^fFTPaTX]XcXPcX]VPVVaTbbXeT SaXeTbX]cWTbTaTVX^]b A4;80=24=8??>=;8548=BDA0=24 27845064=2H>55824A<0=>A0=90=B07>> mum number of agents from South and North India as we believe the insurance penetration in these areas are low. We are initiating aggressive drives in these regions,” he said. “While we are aggressively looking at increasing the number of agents, we are also looking to adopt best practices with regards to enhancing productivity, customer services and persistency from our partners,” he said. Nippon Life Insurance has over 94.9 per cent ended March 2016. Besides, the Board which met in Bengaluru after a gap of 7 years, discussed the draft Annual Report for 2015-16, RBI said in a statement. The meeting was also attended by Government nominee director on the Central Board, Shaktikanta Das who is Economic Affairs Secretary, it said. In a step towards operationalisation of MPC, Das had said recently that Government will notify the persistency and the team has been helping us deploy some of their processes that have been framed, evolved and perfected over the last 125 years experience, he added. Reliance Nippon Life, a joint venture between Reliance Capital and Nippon Life Insurance of Japan, reported a new business premium of C1,558 crore, renewal premium of C2,840 crore, total premium of C4,371 crore for the year ended March 31, 2016. rules ‘within few weeks’ and thereafter appoint three government nominees. Out of the six members of MPC, three will be from RBI —- the governor, who will be the exofficio chairman, a deputy governor and an executive director. The other three members will be appointed by the government on recommendations of a search-cumselection committee, which will be headed by the Cabinet Secretary. MPC will set interest rates by a majority, with a casting vote for the RBI Governor in the case of a tie. Presently, the RBI governor enjoys overriding powers having a final say on monetary policy decisions. In addition to RBI Deputy Governors Urjit R Patel, R Gandhi, SS Mundra and N S Vishwanathan, other Directors of the Central Board present at the meeting were Nachiket M Mor, Damodar Acharya, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Bharat N Doshi and Sudhir Mankad, the statement said. PTI 5%,QRWLILHVUDWHVIRU4VPDOOVDYLQJSODQV ?C8Q <D<108 eserve Bank on Thursday notified the interR est rates for different small savings schemes for the quarter ending September. The interest rates have been retained as they were for the previous April-June quarter. On the basis of the decision of the Government, interest rates for small savings schemes, like Public Provident Fund Scheme and Kisan Vikas Patra, are notified on quarterly basis. Interest rate on savings deposit is 4 per cent, while for 5-year recurring deposit and 5-year senior citizens savings scheme is 7.4 per cent and 8.6 per cent, respectively. Public Provident Fund Scheme earns interest rate of 8.1 per cent and Kisan Vikas Patra 7.8 per cent (110 months maturity period). The interest rate on Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme is 8.6 per cent. In another notification, RBI said that on a review of the reporting requirements and to reduce the burden of compliance, banks are advised to discontinue submission of such reports with immediate effect. “They may, however, maintain records of such invocations and furnish the required details to RBI whenever sought,” it added. Meanwhile, the RBI has cancelled the Certificate of Registration issued to 'Ceejay Finance Limited' as Deposit Taking NonBanking Finance Company (NBFC-D). “The company is now eligible only to operate as a Non-Deposit Taking Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC-ND),’ the central bank said. jca^l ?C8Q =4F34;78 xports of gems and jewellery grew 25.5 per cent E to $5.78 billion during the first two months of the current fiscal, largely driven by demand in India’s major markets like the US. In April-May last year, exports from the sector were $4.60 billion, according to the data from Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC). Gems and jewellery contribute to about 14 per cent to the country’s overall exports. The rise during the two-month period was mainly supported by silver exports at $673.60 million up 176.18 per cent from $243.90 million a year ago. Exports of cut and polished diamonds increased to $3.75 billion during April-May, from $3.4 billion a year ago. In 2015-16, the exports dipped 11.7 per cent to $31.98 billion. “The decline in exports was mainly affected by slowdown in Europe, Japan and China. However, the US is picking up slowly, which is helping in registering positive growth in the sector,” an official said. However, shipments of gold jewellery contracted 10 per cent to $535 million during the two months under review. ?C8Q =4F34;78 R MUMBAI: Market remained in a phase of consolidation as the Sensex edged up 35 points in choppy trade on Thursday ahead of start of earnings season next week and Monsoon session of Parliament amid a higher opening in Europe. According to the just-released US Fed minutes, policymakers decided to put rate hike plans on hold till they get a grip on likely consequences of the Brexit fallout. The earnings season is scheduled for next week and the Monsoon session is slated to begin from July 18. Healthcare, FMCG, power and banking stocks were on the radar as buying paced up. Though the market showed plenty of resilience after the UK vote to exit the European Union, investors digest implications of the development and are trying to get a sense of the fuller impact. HSBC in a report said India's economy may grow at a slightly slower pace of 7.4 per cent this fiscal amid weaker global demand and risk aversion, which injected a sense of restraint. The 30-share Sensex gave up most of its early gains before closing at 27,201.49, a moderate gain of 34.62 points, or 0.13 per cent. On Tuesday, the index had dropped 112 µ1HHGWRDPHQG$FWWRHIIHFW )',LQSULYDWHVHFXULW\DJHQFLHV¶ ?C8Q =4F34;78 he recent FDI order on increasing foreign holding of up to 74 per cent in private security agencies has created a piquant situation as the Act governing the sector stipulates that the majority stake in such companies should be held by an Indian. According to a senior government official, the DIPP notification on the hike can attain validity only if the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act, 2005, is amended to suitably to incorporate the increase in FDI. Last month, Department of T 6T]TaP[<P]PVTa=5APX[fPh7:9PVVXRP[[TS^]cWT6^eTa]^a^U<Xi^aP\;c6T]TaP[AcS=XaQWPhBWPa\PPc 0XifP[aTRT]c[hP]SP__aXbTSWX\^]cWTbcPcdb^UaPX[fPh_a^YTRcbX]cWTBcPcTX]R[dSX]VcWT$ "'Z\1WPXaPQX BPXaP]V]Tf16aPX[fPh[X]T_a^YTRc6T]TaP[<P]PVTaP[b^\TccWT2WXTU<X]XbcTa^U<Xi^aP\;P[cWP]WPf[PP]S P__aXbTSWX\^]cWT_a^VaTbb^UcWTaPX[fPh_a^YTRcbX]cWTbcPcT =7?2;X\XcTS8]SXPb_aT\XTa WhSa^_^fTaR^\_P]hWPbQTT] R^]UTaaTScWT³?B44gRT[[T]RT 0fPaSU^abTRdaX]VCWXaS_[PRT X]cWT<X]XaPc]PbP]S^cWTab 2PcTV^ahU^a2^a_^aPcT 6^eTa]P]RTU^acWThTPa! $Pc cWT%cW?B44gRT[[T]RT0fPaSb ^aVP]XbTSQh8]SXP]2WP\QTa^U 2^\\TaRTX]Pbb^RXPcX^]fXcW cWT3T_Pac\T]c^U?dQ[XR 4]cTa_aXbTb6^eTa]\T]c^U8]SXP ^]cWT[PbcCWdabSPhX]=Tf 3T[WX3XaTRc^a5X]P]RT=7?2 9PhP]c:d\PaaTRTXeTScWTPfPaS Ua^\3XaTRc^a6T]TaP[24> 8]SXP]8]bcXcdcT^U2^a_^aPcT 0UUPXab3a1WPbZPa2WPccTaYTT Industrial Policy and Promotion permitted FDI of up to 49 per cent under the automatic route and up to 74 per cent through the approval route. Notification to this effect was issued by the Department on June 24. Earlier, only up to 49 per cent FDI under Government approval route was allowed in this sector. As per the Act, however, foreign investment in private security agencies cannot have majority ownership which means that their stake cannot be more than 49 per cent. “A company, firm or an association of persons shall not be considered for issue of a licence (for security agency) under this Act, if, it is not registered in India, or having a proprietor or a majority shareholder, partner or director, who is not a citizen of India,” as per the Act. The official said that in a such situation, there are two options -- one, the Act getting amended or the original FDI position being restored. A suitable decision would be taken in this regard soon, he added. Meanwhile, Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) has made a representation to the Government expressing concern over increase in FDI for the sector. *'3GDWDFRQFHUQV >>E4e`RfTeZ`_X`]UT`]]VTeVUf_UVc8>D VWD\,QGLDWRJURZ NEW DELHI: State-owned trad- finance ministries, sources said. firm MMTC to e-auction the According to the proposal, a VORZHUDW+6%& ing precious metal collected by the minimum lot size of 5 kg gold NEW DELHI: India’s economy may grow at a slightly slower pace of 7.4 per cent this fiscal amid weaker global demand and risk aversion, says an HSBC report, flagging ‘methodological concerns’ in computation of official GDP data. As per HSBC , some of the factors that are weighing on the economy include weaker global demand, banking sector risk aversion, sluggish domestic private investment, gradually climbing oil prices, and statistical autocorrection in growth prints. PTI Government under the Gold Monetisation Scheme (GMS) in a lots of five kg bars. The scheme, which was announced in the Budget 2015-16, was launched on November 5, and a total of 2.8 tonnes of gold have so far been collected from 105 depositors, Finance Ministry had informed Parliament in May. The proposal to auction gold was discussed in a meeting recently by commerce and bars would be made available and multiple lots can be taken up for auction, they said. Price of gold would be the average of the previous day of opening and closing for the auction, they added. The scheme is intended to mobilise idle gold held by households and institutions in the country and facilitate its use for productive purposes, and in the long run, reduce the country's reliance on imports. PTI 8`geSRedW`ccRZdZ_X6A7@¶dZ_geZ_6E7d ?=BQ =4F34;78 abour Ministry is of the opinion that the retirement fund L body EPFO should increase >=62QPVVTScWaTTcXc[TbPccWT8]SXP]2WP\QTa^U2^\\TaRT822?B44gRT[[T]RT0fPaSb! $822aTR^V]XbTS >=62bTgRT[[T]cR^]caXQdcX^]X]cWTb_WTaT^U³2BAP]SBdbcPX]PQX[Xch³7d\P]ATb^daRT<P]PVT\T]cP]S ³4gRT[[T]RTX]ATbTPaRWP]S3TeT[^_\T]cCTRW]^[^Vh3TeT[^_\T]cP]S8]]^ePcX^]3XaTRc^a7A33<XbaPaTRTXeTS cWTPfPaS^]QTWP[U^U>=62>=62aTRTXeTScWTPfPaSX]cWTQa^PSRPcTV^ah^U<PWPaPc]PbP]S=PeaPc]Pb investments in the stock markets through ETFs, as the exercise has started giving returns. “We see the possibility of it increasing, but we want to discuss it with the Central Board of Trustees (CBT). I believe the investment in ETFs should rise,” Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya told reporters here when asked about the issue of increasing EPFO’s investment in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). A meeting of EPFO apex decision making body, CBT, is scheduled on Friday , where the issue of increasing investments in ETFs is expected to be taken up. CBT is headed by the Labour Minister. Dattatreya, however, said the Government will take the issue of investments in the stock markets ‘step by step’ and maintain a ‘cautious approach’. The issue will also be discussed with the CBT. “See ETFs are performing now. The returns are now positive and so we feel we can increase the investments, but this have to be a step-by-step process,” he added. As on March 31, 2016 the amount invested was C6,577 crore which gave a return of C6,601 crore, up by 0.37 per cent. As on April 30, 2016 the amount invested was C6,674 crore and this gave a return of C6,786 crore, which is up by 1.68 per cent. CWTUXabcQPcRW^U$³5aTTS^\ !$ ´STeXRTbfX[[QT^dcU^aST[XeTah Ua^\9d[h'P]SQdhTabfX[[WPeTc^ _PhC!( X]R[dSX]VC#PbST[XeTah RWPaVTb7TWPS_aTeX^db[hbcPcTS cWPcAX]VX]V1T[[bUPRTSC("[^bb^] TPRW_W^]TfWXRWR^bcC 'P]S cWT_PacbfTaTX\_^acTSUa^\CPXfP] 7TWPSR[PX\TScWPcC&'fX[[QT aTR^eTaTSUa^\P__STeT[^_TabP]S PSeTacXbT\T]caTeT]dT A8=68=614;;B38A42C>A<>78C6>4; had last week stated that his company will soon start shipping 200,000 smartphones to buyers picked by lottery, on Thursday said deliveries will start as early as on Friday. “We will start delivery of 5,000 Freedom 251 phones in the first phase from Friday,” he told reporters at an event organised to unveil new models as well as an LED TV priced at C9,990. Ringing Bells had last month stated that it will start deliveries for 2 lakh handsets points for the first time in six sessions as investors booked profits in recent gainers. The NSE Nifty settled the day at 8,337.90, up 1.95 points, or 0.02 per cent. The market was shut yesterday on account of 'Eid-Ul-Fitr'. IT, auto, capital goods and metal stocks came under pressure, which restricted the gains. Lupin topped the Sensex gainers' list, soaring 6.25 per cent after the company received Establishment Inspection Report from USFDA for the Goa facility, followed by Hind Unilever 3.03 per cent. The recovery also got support from gains in Dr Reddy's, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Power Grid, ITC, Cipla, NTPC, Axis Bank and Sun Pharma, rising by up to 2.97 per cent. PTI PRESS NOTICE NOTICE INVITING TENDER The Executive Engineer (E), PWD, EPED (B-141), IIT, Sec-9, Dwarka, New Delhi-77 invites tender on behalf of the President of India on item rate basis through e-procurement for the following work : 1. NIT No. 10/EE(E)/EPED(B-141)/PWD/2016-17 2. Name of Work Construction of Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Research (DIPS&R) Pushp Vihar, Delhi. (SH: Installation of Colourful Fountain.) 3. Eligibility Specialized agencies who deals in the field of Fountain System having Electrical License and having experienced in execution of similar works 4. Estimated Cost Rs. 37,00,953/5. Earnest Money Rs. 74,019/6. Period of Completion 30 days 7. Date of Pre-bid meeting & Place 11/07/2016 at 11.00 AM O/o Executive Engineer (E), EPED(B141), PWD, IIT, Sec-9, Dwarka, New Delhi-77 8. Last date of submission of tender 15/07/2016 upto 3:00 PM 9. Date of Opening of tender 15/07/2016 at 3:30 PM 10. Tender I.D. No. 2016_PWD_109427 _1 The Notice Inviting Tender details can be seen at website www.govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in DIP/Shabdarth/1087/16-17 from June 30 initially, then mentioned 10,000 devices will be given to customers in 19 states, and has now brought it down to 5,000 devices. Goel said the first batch of 5,000 ‘Freedom 251’ devices will be out for delivery from July 8 and buyers will have to pay C291, including C40 as delivery charges. He had previously stated that Ringing Bells faced C930 loss on each phone, which cost C1,180 and the parts were imported from Taiwan. MUMBAI: Eliciting robust response from investors, Reliance Jio Infocomm on Thursday received bids worth over C3,700 crore for its C2,000-crore bond issue on BSE's new platform. The C1,500-crore bond issue with a green shoe option of C500 crore got oversubscribed ‘within a few minutes of the issue opening,’ BSE said. Green shoe option allows the company to retain a stipulated amount from oversubscription. The ‘BSE-Bond’ platform for private placement of debt securities “has created a new record with C3,700 crore of bids received in the bond issuance of Reliance Jio”, the exchange in a release. Telecom player Reliance Jio, a subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, is preparing for the commercial roll out of its services soon. “Today’s issue by Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd generated an overwhelming response of more than C3,700 crore,” BSE MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan said. The platform ‘BSE BOND’ was launched earlier this month.PTI f^a[S ! A0=278k5A830H k9D;H '! % 27;2>CB5@?BD H`c]UZdSVeeVchZeY`feDRUUR^+3fdY 80=BQ F0B78=6C>= ormer US President George W Bush, the main promoter F of the Iraq war during 20032011, has said that he still hasn’t read the Chilcot report which raised harsh criticisms against his former ally Tony Blair in Britain and that he was convinced that the world is a better place without Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Bush’s spokesperson Freddy Ford explained on Wednesday that the former President hasn’t had the chance to read the Chilcot report and that “despite the intelligence failures and other mistakes he has acknowledged previously, President Bush continues to believe the whole world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power.” “He is deeply grateful for the service and sacrifice of the US and coalition forces in the war on terror. And there was no stronger ally than Britain under the leadership of Prime Minister Tony Blair,” Efe news quoted Ford as saying. Blair was harshly criticised in the report on the Iraq war in 2003 for authorising the invasion with flawed intelligence before having exhausted all peaceful options. Sir John Chilcot, former Privy Counsellor 8aP`fPaSTRXbX^]YdbcXUXTS) 0dbcaP[XP³b7^fPaS 05?Q BH3=4H ormer Australian leader F John Howard on Thursday defended his decision to go to 2WX[R^c_a^QT]^cfXcWbcP]SX]V 0dbcaP[XPSTUT]Sbbd__^acX]V8aP`FPa 80=BQ 20=14AA0 ollowing the publication of the British Chilcot report F which questioned the motives behind the Iraq War of 2003, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Thursday defended her country’s participation in the conflict. Stressing that the decision was taken based on available information, Bishop said: “The Australian government — both Labour and Liberal — and the Australian parliament would take responsibility,” Efe news reported. The statement came following the publication of the report by John Chilcot — a former Privy Counsellor and civil servant — who was tasked to enquire into the circumstances surrounding the March 2003 invasion of Iraq and its aftermath. The Chilcot probe found that the invasion of Iraq claiming the existence of massdestruction weapons was car- ried out based on faulty intelligence and before having exhausted all peaceful options. When questioned if former Australian Prime Minister John Howard should apologise to the Australian citizens, Bishop noted that this was his personal decision, although she recalled that the country’s involvement then was backed by the Labour party opposition. “I recall very well at the time Kevin Rudd urging us to continue to support the US. So it was a bipartisan position on Iraq,” Bishop told local media. On March 18, 2003, former US President George W. Bush formally asked Howard for Australia to participate in a future military intervention in Iraq and Australia later contributed at least 2,000 soldiers. Australian Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, a former intelligence analyst, said Saddam Hussein then posed no imminent threat and asked that both Howard and the former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer should be held accountable for Australia’s participation in the Iraq war. 7DLZDQFDQFHOVIOLJKWVDV VXSHUW\SKRRQEHDUVGRZQ Taipei: Taiwan cancelled more than 100 flights and shut schools and offices today as the island braced for a direct hit from Super Typhoon Nepartak, the first major tropical storm of the season. The typhoon was packing gusts of up to 245 kilometres an hour as it rumbled towards the eastern counties of Hualien and Taitung, where it is expected to make landfall early tomorrow, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau. At 1000 GMT, the typhoon was 210 kilometres east-southeast of Taitung. “As the typhoon has been slowing its pace, we now forecast it could make landfall sometime between 5:00 am and 6:00 am Friday,” an official at the bureau told AFP. The storm is expected to dump torrential rain on the whole island with mountainous areas forecast to be deluged with up to 900 millimetres, potentially triggering landslides that have in the past claimed hundreds of lives. Residents should “keep an eye out on possible landslides, falling rocks, flash water flooding,” the bureau said in a statement. All fishing boats have been called back to port as waves - as high as 14 metres, according to TV reports - batter the eastern coast. President Tsai Ing-wen said preventative evacuation would play a significant role in managing fall-out from the storm, while defence minister Feng Shih-kuan said his ministry has “prepared for the worst”. AFP and former civil servant heading the Iraq Inquiry, published an extensive and comprehensive report on the war after spending seven years evaluating thousands of official documents, interrogating witnesses and questioning politicians, although his mission was not aimed to prosecute or recommend charges against anybody. Chilcot states that his purpose was to “consider the period from the summer of 2001 to the end of July 2009, embracing the run-up to the conflict in Iraq, the military action and its aftermath.” In his 12-volume document, Chilcot placed the burden of responsibility on Blair and revealed the extent of his alliance with the then US President Bush, to whom he promised an unconditional support for the invasion of Iraq in 2002. war with Iraq alongside the US and Britain, saying it was justified at the time and there was “no lie”. His comments follow an inquiry into Britain’s role in the conflict which found its then prime minister Tony Blair took his country into a badly planned, woefully executed and legally questionable conflict in Iraq in 2003. Howard, prime minister from 1996 to 2007 and considered with Blair to be George W Bush’s staunchest ally in the US-led invasion, said he regretted the loss of life but stood by his decision. “I believed that the decision to go into Iraq was justified at the time and I don’t resile from that because I thought it was the right decision,” he told a press conference in Sydney. Asked whether he should offer an apology to military families, Howard said: +HDY\IORRGLQJLQ &KLQDOHDYHVGHDG 0?Q 14898=6 ater levels are starting to recede in central and W eastern China today following a week of heavy downpours that broke levees, flooded cities and villages, halted public transportation, and left at least 181 people dead or missing. China Meteorological Administration on late yesterday said the city of Wuhan, which has 8 million residents and sits on the Yangtze river, had a record weekly rainfall of 57.4 centimetres. Wuhan civil affairs officials told state media that 14 people were killed and one was missing. Nearly 170,000 residents have been relocated, and more 8Vc^R_je`fXYV_dcRaV]Rh RWeVc4`]`X_V^`SRddRf]ed DB0cc^a]Th 6T]TaP[fX[[ 05?Q 14A;8= ]^cUX[TRWPaVTb TheThursday German Parliament on passed a land“no means no” rape law, PVPX]bc2[X]c^] mark broadening the definition of Washington: US Attorney General Loretta Lynch confirmed on Wednesday that the Department of Justice will not file charges against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the case concerning her e-mails. In a statement, Lynch said that — after meeting on Wednesday with FBI Director James Comey and other agents involved in the investigation — “I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals.” Thus, Lynch brought to an end the judicial aspect of the controversy surrounding Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server to handle national security matters during her 2009-2013 tenure as secretary of state, EFE news reported. IANS “Obviously I am sorry for the wounds or injuries that anybody suffered. “But if you’re saying to me do I apologise for the decision that I took, the core decision? Well, I defend that decision. Of course I defend it. “I don’t retreat from it. I don’t believe, based on the information available to me, that it was the wrong decision. I really don’t.” The long-awaited British Chilcot report found that Blair’s decision to join the invasion was taken before all other options had been exhausted and on the basis of false intelligence. Launched with the stated goal of wiping out Saddam Hussein’s stores of weapons of mass destruction, the war aimed to enshrine a liberal democracy in the Middle East but instead unleashed sectarian violence and endless political disputes. No weapons of mass destruction were ever found, undermining the basis for the conflict which left thousands of Iraqis and foreign soldiers dead. sex crimes and making it easier to deport migrants and refugees who commit them. After years of anguished discussion on the need for tougher treatment of rape by the German criminal justice system, the new legislation finally came together following a rash of sexual assaults in crowds on New Year’s Eve in the western city of Cologne. Deputies gave a standing ovation as the law passed the Bundestag lower house with an overwhelming majority, following an emotional debate. Dubbed the “no means no” law, it explicitly covers cases in which a victim withheld consent but did not physically fight back. It brings what critics call woefully lax legislation into line with that of many other developed countries. The law, entitled “improving the protection of sexual 34?DC84B60E40 BC0=38=6>E0C8>= 0BC74;0F ?0BB43C74 1D=34BC06;>F4A 7>DB4F8C70= >E4AF74;<8=6 <09>A8CH 5>;;>F8=60= 4<>C8>=0;3410C4 self-determination”, also lowers the bar for deporting sex offenders, classifies groping as a sex crime and targets assaults committed by large groups. Justice Minister Heiko Maas acknowledged that under German law there were “unacceptable gaps in protection” against sexual coercion and assault. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet signed off on the measures in March after the attacks in Cologne, where more than 1,000 women reported sexual assaults and robberies on New Year’s Eve, which were blamed largely on Arab and North African men. The draft law was toughened again by the ruling leftright coalition last month. Cologne’s police chief conceded earlier this year that most culprits may never be caught over the spate of assaults, which ranged from groping to rape and inflamed public debate about a record influx of refugees and migrants. A first attempt at prosecution in May was thrown out by a court when the alleged victim said she could not identify the defendant as her attacker. A second trial began today just as the Bundestag began its debate, with an Iraqi and an Algerian in the dock accused of groping one woman’s buttocks and crotch and licking the face of another. Both are also accused of attempted robbery. Currently, victims reporting a rape to police must not only demonstrate that they verbally declined sex but also that they resisted their assailant. B^dcW:^aTP "Pbca^]PdcbQ[Pbc^UUU^a8BBX]d_VaPSTSB^hdiRaPUc fT[R^\TbDB Features of the new Soyuz series include upgraded boostQ[PRZ[XbcX]V^U hree astronauts blasted off ers, an improved navigation system, strengthened shielding on Thursday from Russia’s T from debris and more cells on Cosmodrome towards =^acW³b:X\ Baikonur the craft’s solar panels. the International Space Station 05?Q 108:>=DA Seoul: Washington’s move to place North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on its sanctions blacklist for the first time was welcomed by South Korea on Thursday, with Seoul saying it would highlight human rights abuses in the hermit State. The US said Kim and 10 other top officials also blacklisted were behind widespread abuses including extrajudicial killings, forced labour and torture in the country’s system of prison camps for political detainees that has made North Korea “among the world’s most repressive countries”. Seoul backed its ally Thursday, saying it hoped the move would shine a light on human rights “violations” in the North. “The Government... Notes with appreciation and welcomes the US announcement... Of sanctions against human rights abusers in North Korea”, the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement. “The measure is expected to raise the international community’s awareness of the gravity of the human rights situation in North Korea, where systemic and widespread violations of human rights are being committed, while greatly helping intensify international discussions on the issue and strengthening relevant measures.” Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of US-based Human Rights Watch, in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft. First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency set off for a fourmonth mission at the ISS with two-time Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin at 0136 GMT. “And lift-off!” said a commentator on NASA TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan. The trio’s launch was delayed by over two weeks as Russian space officials carried out further software tests on the modified vehicle. CWTB^hdi56a^RZTcQ^^bcTafXcWB^hdi<Bb_PRTbWX_RPaahX]VP]TfRaTfc^cWT 8]cTa]PcX^]P[B_PRTBcPcX^]8BBU[XTbX]cWTbZhPccWTAdbbXP][TPbTS1PXZ^]da R^b\^Sa^\T:PiPZWbcP]^]CWdabSPh 0? NASA’s Rubins will be the first woman aboard the ISS since Italian Samantha Cristoforetti returned to earth with the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (199 days) in June last year. The molecular biologist, accepted into the space program in 2009, will also become the first person to sequence DNA in space during her mission. Takuya Onishi, who trained as a pilot on Japan’s largest commercial airliner is the eleventh Japanese national to enter space. than 80,000 have been placed in shelters. The National Ministry of Civil Affairs said 181 people were reported missing or dead by yesterday along the river and in adjacent regions. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang made a 30-hour tour of the worst-hit Anhui, Hunan and Hubei provinces, urging local officials to fight the floods, ensure the safety of major levees and protect local residents. Waters in the lower parts of the Yangtze and in some major lakes in the region have all reached dangerous levels. President Xi Jinping ordered the army and armed police to be dispatched to help in the disaster areas. 6;>14 CA>CC8=6 $:8;;438=8=3DBCA80; <8B70?8=D: ;^]S^]) 5XeT\T]fTaT^] CWdabSPhRadbWTSc^STPcWPUcTaP [PaVTR^]RaTcTbcadRcdaT R^]cPX]X]V\TcP[R^[[P_bTS^] cWT\PcPbRaP_aTRhR[X]V_[P]c ]TPa1Xa\X]VWP\X]4]V[P]S <8;8C0=CB78C>8; 5028;8C84B8=B=864A80 FPaaX)CWT=XVTa3T[cP0eT]VTab \X[XcP]cVa^d_^]CWdabSPhbPXSXc PccPRZTS\^aT^X[X]UaPbcadRcdaTX] b^dcWTa]=XVTaXPXV]^aX]VPRP[[ U^ad]XchUa^\?aTbXST]c <dWP\\PSd1dWPaX =4FF41B8C4C><0?B8:7 4G?4A84=248=FF8 ;^]S^]) 0]TffTQbXcTfWXRW PX\bc^QdX[ScWTQXVVTbc SPcPQPbT^]cWTBXZWTg_TaXT]RT X]F^a[SFPa8WPbV^]T[XeTPb _Pac^UPf^a[SfXSTRa^fS b^daRX]VX]XcXPcXeT :8;;438=?0:F78;4 ?4A5>A<8=618:4BCD=CB ;PW^aT) _T^_[TWPeTQTT] ZX[[TSP]S\^aTcWP] X]YdaTS fWX[T_TaU^a\X]VSP]VTa^db bcd]cbQhaXSX]VQXZTbaPbW[hX] QTcfTT]cWTcaPUUXRX]?PZXbcP]³b SXUUTaT]cRXcXTb^]cWT^RRPbX^]^U 4XS^UUXRXP[bbPXS^]CWdabSPh !:8;;43 <8BB8=68= 2>0;<8=4<8B70?8=278=0 1TXYX]V) Cf^_Tab^]bWPeTQTT] ZX[[TSP]S ^cWTabaT\PX]TS \XbbX]VcWaTTSPhbPUcTaPUXaT Qa^ZT^dcPcP]X[[TVP[R^P[\X]T X]2WX]P³b]^acWTPbc;XP^]X]V aTbRdT^UUXRXP[bbPXS^]CWdabSPh 7D=3A43B4E02D0C43 05C4A5;>>3B8==4?0; :PcW\P]Sd) 0bdSST]aXbTX] fPcTa[TeT[b^UPcaP]bQ^d]SPah aXeTa^aXVX]PcX]VX]CXQTccaXVVTaTS U[PbWU[^^SbX]=T_P[fPbWX]V PfPh^eTacf^S^iT]W^dbTbP]S U^aRX]VWd]SaTSb^UaTbXST]cbc^ TePRdPcTc^bPUTa_[PRTb<PY^a a^PSbTRcX^]bP]SWhSa^_^fTa _a^YTRcbX]R[dSX]VcWT 1W^cTZ^bWX7hSa^_^fTa?a^YTRc bdUUTaTSSP\PVTbX]cWTU[PbW U[^^Sb^]FTS]TbSPh1W^cTZ^bWX PaXeTa^aXVX]PcX]VUa^\cWT 7X\P[PhPbX]CXQTcX]2WX]PbPf PbdSST]aXbT^UPQ^dcU^da \TcaTbX]fPcTa[TeT[b^] CdTbSPh]XVWc E^[RP]XRTad_cX^]bX]8]SXP[X]ZTSc^SX]^bPdaTgcX]RcX^] 80=BQ =4FH>A: ombined impacts of volcanic eruptions in India C and an asteroid impact in Mexico brought about one of the Earth’s biggest mass extinctions that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, confirms a new study. “It’s quite likely both the volcanism and the asteroid were to blame for the ultimate mass extinction,” said one of the researchers, Andrea Dutton from the University of Florida. “The Deccan Traps weakened the ecosystems before the asteroid slammed into the Earth — it’s consistent with an idea called the press-pulse hypothesis: a ‘one-two punch’ that proved devastating for life on Earth,” Dutton noted. Located in India, the Deccan Traps are one of the largest volcanic provinces in the world. Dutton and her colleagues at the University of Michigan utilised a new technique of analysis to reconstruct Antarctic Ocean temperatures that support the idea that the combined impacts of volcanic eruptions and an asteroid impact brought about the mass extinctions 66 million years ago. Their research, published in the journal Nature Communications, used a recently developed technique called the carbonate clumped isotope paleothermometer to analyse the chemical composition of fossil shells in the Antarctic Ocean. This analysis showed that ocean temperatures rose significantly. The researchers linked these findings to two previously documented warming events that occurred near the end of the Cretaceous Period - one related to volcanic eruptions in India, and the other, tied to the impact of an asteroid or comet on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. To create their new temperature record, which spans 3.5 million years at the end of the Cretaceous and the start of the Paleogene Period, the researchers analysed the isotopic composition of 29 remarkably well-preserved shells of clamlike bivalves collected on Antarctica’s Seymour Island. The data showed two significant temperature spikes. The first corresponds to the eruption of the Deccan traps flood basalts. The other lines up exactly with the asteroid impact, which, in turn, may have sparked a renewed phase of volcanism in India. Intriguingly, both events are associated with extinction events of nearly equal magnitude on Seymour Island, Antarctica, the study said. eXePRXch " A0=278k5A830H k9D;H '! % E96=62C?:?8 AC@;64E CWTG4aT\X]Sbh^dfWh_Tca^[RPabPaTb^\dRW\^aT Ud]c^SaXeT0]SXcP[b^aT\X]Sbh^dcWPch^dS^]³c ]TTSc^WPeTPb]^acX]VRaPihQTPbc^UPRPac^WPeTUd] B1:;E=1BB1?c`_[Ud_71>9D1 QR_edRUY^WQ^X_^UcdQbdYcdU Bd[cP] ]^cRWTbd_ aTR^aSWPd[ BP[\P]:WP]bb_^acbSaP\PUX[\ Bd[cP] WPbcPZT]cWTQ^g^UUXRTQh bc^a\CWT0[X0QQPbIPUPa SXaTRc^aXP[\X]cTS^eTaC"$Ra^aT ^]Xcb^_T]X]VSPh CWTHPbWAPY5X[\b_a^SdRcX^] fWXRWaT[TPbTS^]FTS]TbSPh TPa]TSC"%$#Ra^aTbPXScWT ^UUXRXP[R^\\d]XRPcX^]Ua^\cWT QP]]Ta0RR^aSX]Vc^caPSTP]P[hbc CPaP]0SPabWcWTUX[\fX[[STUX]XcT[h QaTPZePaX^dbaTR^aSbPccWTQ^g ^UUXRTSdaX]VXcbb_TRXP[UXeTSPh ^_T]X]VfTTZT]S±Bd[cP] _a^eTb Xcbbd_aT\PRhPccWTQ^g^UUXRT0 WXbc^aXRUXeTSPh^_T]X]VfTTZT]S Xb^]cWTRPaSbBd[cP],7daaXRP]T PccWTQ^g^UUXRT±WTPSSTS <TP]fWX[TcWT_TaUTRcX^]Xbc0P\Xa :WP][PdSTScWTUX[\°1TXccWT bc^ahbRaTT]_[PhSXP[^VdT^a SXaTRcX^]P[[PaTV^^SP]STeTah PacXbcTWPbS^]TfT[[± 3XeX]Xch fPbTeTa _Tab^]P[ fXcWdb >daUPXcW P]S^da _aPhTab P]S^da cT\_[Tb fTaTP]S PaTfXcWX] cWTW^dbTCWTaTXb]^ ]TTSc^\PZTcWT\ _dQ[XR^ac^QaX]VXcc^ cWT\PbbTb 8cXbPQT[XTUP]SQT[XTUb PaTfXcWX]P]S_Tab^]P[ °0<8C017 1027270= has been two years since Bid & Significant Indian Art aucItiontHammer’s in New Delhi that created quite a stir in the art fraternity with business rivals and art critics associated with them rancorously crying out “fakes” regarding some of the paintings in the catalogue. For all their noise about starting a “regulatory body for art”, “writing to the PMO” and in case of the Husain & Raza Foundations, avariciously proclaiming themselves to be “sole authenticating bodies”, the campaign was full of rhetoric and eventually withered away as most of the trade smelled foul play and didn’t want to be part of a propaganda by a few individuals whose sales were being effected by Bid & Hammer’s steady prowess. Curiously, none of them had physically inspected the works nor seen the provenance documents, coming as they were from notable estates and collections of Udaychand Mahtab (the Maharaja of Burdwan), artist Hemendranath Mazumder, artist Nandalal Bose, sculpturist Chandan Malakar (an assistant of D P Roy Chowdhury), freedom fighter Radha Devi Goenka and former Miss India and actress Namrata Shirodkar among others. Commenting on the resulting media frenzy at the time, Maher Dadha, CMD of Bid & Hammer, said, “The articles were alarmingly false and evidently fabricated, written to create sensational news and scuttle the success of our auction. We stood by our research and the media at the behest of competitors should not have speculated on the unquestionable authenticity of the artworks without any verification. The real cartels and tainted individuals that pass off fakes as genuine are the ones that need to be exposed and we will leave no stone unturned in doing so for the higher interest of Indian art”. To prove the point, the auction house, promoted by the Dadha family with a rich business history of over 100 years, trail blazed through the auction and subsequently initiated legal action against all those suspected to have orchestrated and stoked the unfounded controversy. Those brought in the dock so far with non-bailable arrest warrants are Dadiba Pundole of Pundoles Auction, Vikram Bacchawat of defunct auction portal Emami Chisel, art restorer Ganesh Pratap Singh, Samindranath Mazumder and famous artist Bikash Bhattacarya’s children Bivas and Balaka. Others against whom legal suits have been filed include Ashish Anand of Delhi Art Gallery, Vadehra Gallery, Husain Foundation, Raza Foundation and a few incongruous proponents of the Bengal School. Also, K S Radhakrishnan, an authority on the works of Ramkinkar Baij, has denied making ajkumar Rao, sporting the latest “I am the thinking-cool, bespectacled, bearded, lounge guy” look, underplayed his national award status as an actor. But he tried to convince us he had not done it for effect. He genuinely doesn’t wear his pride on his sleeves. Simply because there isn’t any. “I feel happy when I get awards but when I know that I haven’t done a good job and I shouldn’t be getting appreciation for a film, it is foolish to wear tags. As an artiste, you should be true to your film. You should know that they all know or will know,” he confessed on the sidelines of the Jagran Film Fest. He still doesn’t know the definition of a hero. “I wanted to be an actor, so I trained myself in the craft and am getting work which I enjoy. I do films which my heart says yes to. I have to fall in love with the creative team and the character. I don’t analyse whether that character is driving the plot in the conventional sense or not,” he said. His latest claims to fame, Shahid and Aligarh, both biographical representations, were delicate as he had to interpret the characters realistically and responsibly. “You’re answerable to lot of people. When I did Shahid, the real life crusader was unfortunately not around. But his family and relatives are there. For Shahid’s mother, I was playing her son. Of course, I don’t want to pressure myself as an actor but these two films taught me that there would be comparisons with the real personalities and I tried to know as much about them to interpret them honestly. They took a lot out of me but I also grew as an actor.” Playing the role of a journalist Deepu in Aligarh made Rajkumar aware of the seriousness of the media on the other side of the lens. “I realised the media plays an important part in every aspect of the nation and society. It’s a very responsible job. I feel very happy when I see so many responsible and sensitive journalists talking about important issues and offering their varied points of view. As an audience, as a reader I just go by what I read. I make my own perception of whatever I read. But they have distilled all opinions in the most balanced format understandable to all. Being a journalist is a very responsible job indeed.” Having realised the widespread appeal of the media, Rajkumar, however, isn’t comfortable with the pitfalls of R 9dµcQ\\QR_ed dXU\__[c overexposure and film promotional tours and strategies. “It’s too much. It takes a toll on your mental and physical health. I find it even more challenging than shooting. I think one should work hard on the film instead. The content and the trailer are what should matter. That’s what people like and appreciate eventually.” However, with the pressure of weekend sales, he just goes with the flow of things. Asked about censorship and backlash that movies face from CBFC, he strongly advocated maturity. “It has been 100 years since we’re making films. We need to come out of our inhibitions and look at a larger perspective. Look at international cinema, the kind of subjects they are dealing with and the evolution of their creative freedom. Here, we shoot a scene and immediately start conjecturing about its fate. ‘Oh! What’s the point? Probably it might be cut by censors.’ Even if it is relevant. Trust me, it impedes the spirit. I see no harm in talking openly about important issues that impact society at large. I don’t know why some people in CBFC think that we need to tone down things and assume the audience has no mind of its own. They should just certify the film and let the audience decide. Anyway everything is available on the internet. So what can we contain?” he asks. His next project is a black comedy titled Newton. But he continues to get offers of biopics, especially those of sports personalities. “I have been getting a lot of messages probably because of my beard. Fans are saying me and Virat have started looking similar and I should definitely do his biopic whenever it is made. But honestly, as an actor, I want to do the biopic of Major Dhyanchand.” This actor believes in the workshop of the human mind. ats are strange pets; C they are not affectionate in the way dogs are. Most cats are on their own trip, can disappear for days on end and don’t care a damn. In the recent past, I have heard two stories of the same cat adopting multiple owners; please note that cats adopt their owners and not the other way around. So despite all this, why are there still cat people in the world? Possibly because cats are individualistic and the extension of a personality in the way that dogs can never be? That is the only reason that makes sense to me. And it made much more sense when I drove the Jaguar XE. The first thing you notice about the XE is just the “wow” factor. Forget words like “pretty” and “good-looking”, this car has serious sex appeal. This car has a “come hither” look that no other car in the executive sedan segment has. That is not to say that the BMW 3series or the Mercedes CClass don’t look nice, they are good-looking cars, but the XE says “come inside me now.” I know that sounds weird but Jaguar Chief Designer Ian Callum has done an outstanding job. And it is rather nice inside as well. The continuous ridge that comes in from the front doors and wraps around the dashboard actually gives an airline cockpit feel to the car. The windsor leather seats wrap you in comfort and you notice the small things — the fact that the air-conditioning louvres have Jaguar embossed on them. The Meridian audio system is also quite nice with good sound quality even though the Burmeister systems on some Mercedes and Porsche cars have truly spoiled me. Jaguar is not exactly on top of the game when it comes to the information systems, where Audi has stolen a clear lead on everyone with their “Virtual Cockpit”, but the system on the XE (also the forthcoming F-Type) is a marked improvement on the past. While the the rotary-gear system looked rather nice when it first came in JLR cars, turning a dial still does not have the same feel as moving a stick, even if it is an automatic stick. And since one is nit-picking, the paddle-shifters have a very small gap between themselves and their steering which led to a couple of accidental shifts. And rear leg-room is not quite as much as one would expect, and the new and larger Audi A4 entering the game soon, this is a weak spot. So the driving experience? Let me put it like this. Recently a newspaper tried to cook up a controversy because Madam Speaker Sumitra Mahajan acquired a Jaguar XE Portfolio edition. This two-litre petrol engine is the top-of-theline version of the XE, and has 230 horsepower. The only controversy about the Lok Sabha Secretariat buying this car should not be the price but the fact that Madam Speaker is unlikely to drive this, because my god, it is fun to drive. The XE reminds you why petrol cars are so much more :DB70= <8CA0 fun to drive. And it also reminds you that you don’t need to have a snorting crazy beast of a car such as the BMW M3 to have fun with a petrol car. On the GurgaonFaridabad highway, where there is a mix of twisty sections, long stretches of straight road as well as a couple of horror spots, the XE was a wonderful drive. The test car did have a slight rattle at higher speeds which was probably due to poor wheel-balancing. Stuff like that happens with press cars due to the hard lives they lead. But that brings us to the biggest problem with this car. No not that rear-legroom thing, although that is a problem. Or the fuel economy, which according to the car’s onboard computer was actually quite respectable. The biggest problem is that the XE costs a bomb. The Portfolio edition costs Rs 47.99 lakh. There are two other trim levels on the car, the basic “Pure,” which costs Rs 39.99 lakh and the “Prestige,” which is for Rs 43.69 lakh (all prices ex-showroom New Delhi) but they have a downrated engine with “only” 190 horsepower; which is still pretty good and better for fuel economy. But as noted automotive sage Jeremy Clarkson says “Powerrrrrr…,” more is always nice. Don’t buy the XE if you worry about fuel economy, don’t buy the XE if you just want a luxury badge to get you from A to B. Don’t buy the XE because you’re a “Dog Person.” Buy the XE because you like sexy, you like nice things and you like having fun. real picture The 0aTbdaVT]c1XS7P\\TaT\TaVTbPbcWTcadT RadbPSTaPVPX]bcUPZTbX]cWT8]SXP]Pac\PaZTc C40< E8E0 S^TbPaTeXTf <57dbPX]b<^cWTaCTaTbPfXcWf^\P]S^eTP]SRWX[S <PWTa3PSWP observations on the catalogued watercolour as was fictitiously reported by the media. So has NGMA director Rajeev Lochan with regard to the Nandalal Bose’s painting titled Woman Sitting Under A Tree. Even artist KK Hebbar’s daughters Rekha Rao and Rajani Prasanna are wholeheartedly supporting the cause of Bid & Hammer. Kaali Sudheer of Muse Art Gallery said, “No company would put their reputation at stake by offering fakes in an open public auction and certainly not Bid & Hammer with their background and formidable knowledge. It’s high time that these self-anointed authenticators of art realise that it is them that are being subject to a public undressing as has been demonstrated in the court proceedings”. Bid & Hammer’s landmark victory in the Ravi Varma Jatayu Vadha (Ravana carrying Sita) painting authenticity case against Kiran Nadar, wife of HCL Technologies founder Shiv Nadar, further proved that the country’s pioneer multi-category auction house has the most robust vetting and authentication process and it is the true crusader against the menace of fakes in the Indian market. It is precisely why the cloud shrouding the authenticity of Francis Newton Souza’s iconic Mary Magdalene painting (from the November 2010 auction catalogue) also seems to have disappeared as it emerges that works combining three or even four different composite pictures were indeed a unique part of the artist’s oeuvre. An example being a work titled Birth, with a ditto theme, incidentally bought by Kiran Nadar a few months ago at a record-breaking price. When requested to elaborate on the authentication process that is followed by 2WPadBWPa\P ¶7+(5($5(&(57$,1 %$6,&35,1&,3/(6 $1'352&('85(6 7+$71(('72%( )2//2:('%()25( '(7(50,1,1* :+(7+(5$:25.,6 *(18,1(25 &2817(5)(,77+( /(9(/2)7+( (;3(57·6.12:/('*( $1'$%,/,7<72 -867,)<+,623,1,21 ,6,03257$17· 0]ZdbW3PSWP the auction house, Maher Dadha said, “There are certain basic principles and procedures that need to be adhered to before determining whether a work is genuine or counterfeit. The level of the expert’s knowledge and competence and his ability to justify his opinion is important. The problem arises when two equally qualified experts have diametrically opposing views on the same subject or artist, in which case a committee approach and provenance becomes all-important.” As the fight against fakes continues, it is business as usual at the auction house with the team working on the upcoming auction, private treaty sales and the recently launched B&H SHOP (www.bnhshop.com) — an online store for affordable art, antiques, jewellery, prints, furniture, home décor, exciting gifts and collectibles. Ankush Dadha, director of Bid & Hammer, said, “In between auctions, we are continuing to engage our patrons and catering to a new collector base through this venture that does not involve the formalities of an auction. No bids, no registration, the works are available at a flat price and you don’t lose the advantage of buying through us”. The stakes at Bid & Hammer’s upcoming auction are huge, having sourced rare oils by Manjit Bawa, NS Bendre, MF Husain, SH Raza, Jehangir Sabavala, Bhupen Khakhar, VS Gaitonde, GR Santosh, Amrita Shergil and also Ravi Varma from major collectors, both in India and abroad, who continue to support the auction house. Charu Sharma, board member of Bid & Hammer and one of India’s most popular auctioneers, stated, “With this lineup of artists and superlative quality of the masterpieces our next auction is undoubtedly going to be a path-breaking one.” eXePRXchjU^^Sl # A0=278k5A830H k9D;H '! % =I3?<?EB21B CWTP[[]Tf;^RP[TQPaP]SRPU|X]BPZTcfX[[bTccWT\^^SU^ah^daTeT]X]VfXcWXcb\dbXRP[_TaU^a\P]RTbP]S\^aT 38EH0=8A0670ERWTRZbX] EYVdZkk]VdVe hey say way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Well that holds true for a woman too. And we realised the same when we decided to pay a visit to Locale bar and lounge, on one of these evenings for a delightful grub. The homey feel will catch on you once you spend some time in the library on the first floor. The corner is most suited for book lovers who would find their perfect den in that particular corner. It is complimented by the sunset tables through which one can enjoy the lush green scene and enjoy the serene sunset spotting. The other corner of the floor is mainly occupied by the sporty people, mainly teens as it comprises gaming zone with a variety of video games and graffiti serving as the backdrop. At the lower floor one can have the privilege to dance till they drop. The set up gets changed in that case, but without upsetting the calm of other customers. The place is perfect illustration of safe enjoyment without any hindrance to the privacy of the tables. The evenings are usually graced with the presence of bands like Ikrah and people can enjoy the musical nights accompanied with the sumptuous food. We started with vegetable column which was cigar filled with mushroom and corn- a %DUFHORVFRPHVXSZLWKVRPH GHOLFLRXVVL]]OHUVIRUPRQVRRQFUDYHV *$1,7$WULHVVRPH T he cozy ambience of the restaurant will sure make T you forget the terrible heat wave of the city. Located in Hauz Khas Village, right beside Imperfecto on the first crispy and juicy number with sweet corn acting like cherry on the cake for us. There is a saying, ‘A recipe has no soul, but the cook brings soul to the recipe.’ Proving it true the next dish turned out to be a must try deep fried and rolled prawn in bread with a tail of sweet and sour relish complimenting it well. The cheese stuffed paneer tikka was one of the dishes that reminded us of home baked paneer and was placed on the table with mint and pineapple sauce. One can also enjoy the Italian cuisine on the menu which consists of different varieties of pizzas but the one which had our heart stuck on it was the BBQ chicken pizza. The starters also have soft mutton balls which were not that soft, but can still manage to satisfy those looking for some spicy stuff. The chicken lovers can enjoy a large, wide choice of chicken dishes which includes chicken malai tikka, chicken tikka masala in the starters and star fry chicken with bamboo shoot in the main course. Well, the most important ingredient behind an awesome recipe is the thought of giving happiness once the food is served," said the chef. Moreover, we have to see what we are serving on the platter. The menu is an apt example of food for the soul and not the body and the best option for that and to take a top-notch break from the scorching heat is to have a bottle of oreo shake. The bar also claims to have one of the best burgers served ever. Moreover, the agony, the pain, the lust, the desire and every other emotion dissolves as the food enters the mouth. It's always the good food which will take your senses on a high note. The cold glass of apple sparkle was one drink that can be taken to rest the bellies after the hot and spicy course. Undoubtedly, the food cannot be eased off until the dessert. So, sizzling brownie with a dollop of an ice-cream gave us what we were looking for. Moreover, laughter is brightest where food is good, that's something we learned at this café cum bar. %URWKVRIVXPPHU CWT ( WPbR^\Td_fXcWP]Tf\T]dcWPcQ^Pbcb^Ub^\TST[TRcPQ[T2P]c^]TbTSXbWTb U^aXcb_Pca^]bDCB0E<8B7A0SXVbX] CecXYY^Q`Q\UddU 0b_TRXP[bd\\Ta\T]dQhBcT[[PaPSSbb^\TR^[^dac^Xcb bdbWXbP]SSX\bd\b1hDCB0E<8B7A0 delightful culinary experience awaited us at A 1911, The Imperial, Delhi with crispy salads, lightly dressed vegetables and lip smacking cold ticking to its name and very sense and essence, Stellar at The Ashok Hotel delighted us with yes, a stellar menu. With innovative and rather interesting takes on dimsums with beetroot skins stuffed with leek and coriander and spinach skin with cheddar cheese, we were in for a surprise. It was intriguing to know the combination of shimeji and button mushroom could work this well. The aromas had us salivating for more, the mix and mash of two distinct fungi had us going gaga over the dish. The chicken siu mai and the sunny side up dimsum were both crispy and mushy at the same time. The chicken and prawn dumplings - which also happen to be Stellar’s specialties had its characteristic orange garnish - a carrot. Densely filled with either chicken or prawns, or a combination of both, we could find undertones of scallions and mushrooms that were also used in the stuffing. As in most dim sums, the filling was the star of this dish. The outer casing was firm and moist enough to hold the dumpling together, but not too thick and definitely not too dry or chewy. We tried their Pork Cha Sui Pao and its skin was made of red lotus flour fermented for almost 12 hours which was the high point of the delicacy. Har Gao, a type of succulent prawn stuffed dumpling came in a skin more translucent and less firm than the Siu Mai. A signature dim sum in most restaurants, the texture of the prawn in this one was more prominent unlike other steamed dumplings. As you are revelling in this fine dining odyssey, to wash down the portions with finesse, there is a huge stock of fine wines from across the globe. Put in the ambience, food and beverages together, and you get more than you could ask for — an unparalleled heavenly treat. S UU^^SX]Sd[VT]RTXbh^daRP[[X]VcWT]R^\TP]S 8Tg_TaXT]RTbT[TRcX^]Pc8]SXP]6aX[[A^^\fWTaTcWT [^eTU^a8]SXP]RdXbX]TXb]^fcTP\TSd_fXcWcWT STbXaTU^aP] X]cTa]PcX^]P[ cPbcTX]R[dSX]V cWTU[Pe^dabP]S Pa^\PUa^\ PRa^bbcWT V[^QT5Tf WXVW[XVWcbUa^\ cWT\T]dPaT) <dbcPaSVaX[[UXbWRPYd]RWXRZT]SPWXZTZTQPQ RWXRZT]_T__TaR^a]eTVTcPQ[T[PbPV]PP]SRW^R^[PcT \^dbbTWCWTaTXbP]^_cX^]^UX]S^^aSX]X]VP]SP cTaaPRT[^d]VT?aXRX]V)C_[dbcPgTbU^a\TP[^U cf^ soups, for a welcome relief from the summer heat. The menu was totally blended with the most tempting sorbets filled with the goodness of fresh fruits. Although the ancient Greeks and Romans did not use the word “salad,” they enjoyed a variety of dishes with raw vegetables dressed with vinegar, oil and herbs. They say that salads were composed of garden products that “needed no fire for cooking and saved fuel”. We found something on the similar lines here too. We did drop in on a hot day and went for the Kuttari salad – a scintillating mixture of baby spinach, red rice, sliced raw mangoes, grated coconut and upmensinkai (curd chilli) all tossed in copious amounts of ghee. We went for kidney bean salad which comprised cooked rajma, fresh corns and onions. As we washed this down with lime juice our table was served fire and ice tomato salad which included the ingredients like tomato, sliced onion, cucumber, vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds and dry red chilli flakes. Next we had bean sprouts salad tossed with peanuts dressed in chilli dressing. It was a rather simple preparation of bean sprouts with sliced red capsicum with a little garlic and soy sauce thrown in. After this we had pepper rasam which was imperative to consume for its comforting effects..We continued with some more soup, this time, lemon coriander. We wrapped up with- raspberry sorbet which was no less than divinity. V^aVTdb ^]b^^]XbcWT\^bc QTPdcXUd[bTPb^] P]Sb^XbcWTU^^S U^aaPX]hbTPb^]B^ XUh^dfP]cc^cah b^\TbTPb^]P[ ST[XRPRXTbcWT]A^hP[ 2WX]PQaX]Vbh^d RTacPX]P\PiX]V ^_cX^]b[XZTbcTP\TS RWXRZT]UP\X[hbch[T a^Pbc3dRZ RP]c^]TbTbch[T A^hP[2WX]PTg^cXReTVTcPQ[Tbc^UdfXcWPb_PaPVdbfXcW b^hPRWX[[XP]SV[dcT]UaTTBX]VP_^aTeTa\XRX[[X]^^S[Tb ?aXRX]V)C $$\TP[U^a^]T < c³bcWTUPe^daXcTRd_^UcTPfTfPZTbd_c^TeTahSPh 8P]SfX[[^aSTaP Rd_PccWTSa^_^UP WPcQdcWPeTh^d TeTaTg_TaX\T]cTS fXcWcWTUXabccWX]V cWPch^dRaPeTU^aX] cWT\^a]X]V.7hPcc ATVT]Rh6daVP^]Xb P[[bTcc^\PZTh^da Tg_TaX\T]cP[[cWT\^aTUd]P]ST[TRcaXUhX]VfXcW SXUUTaT]cZX]Sb^UcTP8cR^d[SQTWTaQP[^aP]h^U h^daUPe^daXcTU[Pe^dab[XZTfP[ZTabaTeT]VT1PRPaSX QPbTSP]ScTP_d]RWE^SZPQPbTS ?aXRX]V) C#(( _[dbcPgTb floor, Barcelos has an uncluttered seating area which you won’t find in most HKV eateries. It has got a two-table outdoor seating, a quick-dine space, big bar and a more laid-back lounge. The colourful wall murals enhance the beauty of the place. We were welcomed with refreshing cocktails by the diligent staff there. Although Barcelos has South African flavours going in yet it manages to throw in some Indian punches in its cocktails. Teekhi mirchi was served first. A mix of vodka, guava juice, fresh green chillies and lime juice making for a piquant drink. If you want to have a pan flavoured drink then Pan Tini is the best option here. This refreshing cocktail had betel leaves, areca nut, mukhwas, gulkand and vanilla icecream in it. Refreshing your gullet this one quenches your thirst. When insisted we tried ‘Portuguese In Love’ - a wonderful mix of brandy and pomegranate. Without much ado we finally turn to what we were here for - the mesmerising sizzlers, one look at them made us hungrier than we were. We were first served the grilled vegetable sizzler, the platter garnished with sizzling veggies and fries. We also had sweet pineapple for company which added to the sweetness of the dish. After this it was time for some kebab sizzler. Just come to think of it, kebab and sizzler a deadly combination in itself. And as anticipated it turned out to be magical. A mix of grilled paneer, pineapple, babycorn, stuffed mushrooms and kebabs, it will fill you up, a perfect blend of vegetables. For the dessert we were served luscious gold chocolate cake. All in all, we would say come for the sizzlers, everyday cocktails and enjoy the comfortable atmosphere. Chicken enthusiasts, do try the chicken espetada and chicken liver. c³bcWT_TPZ^U 8bd\\TabP]SXU h^dPaTfX[[X]Vc^ cah^dc b^\TcWX]Vb^ ST[XRX^db[hb_TRXP[ cWPch^dRP]]^caTUdbT cWT]Xc³b0<P]V^ 5TbcXeP[Pc1T[[PVX^7TaTh^d RP]WPeT<P]V^_WXa]XP]SRW^^bTeTV]^]eTV ^_cX^]b^USXbWTbPP\PRWPaXV^bWc<P]V^QdccTa RWXRZT]_P]TTa\P]V^PRWPaXPaTb^\Th^d RP]]^c\XbbcahX]VPcB^d[2daah3^]³cU^aVTcc^ cahaPf\P]V^RWXRZT]_XiiP^acWTRWXRZT]_PbcP \P]V^RaTP\bPdRTPc1CFCWTaTPaTP[^c^U \P]V^SaX]Zbc^RW^^bTUa^\PccWT1Pac^^ ?aXRX]V) C _[dbcPgTbU^a\TP[^Ucf^ aT_PaTh^dacPbcTQdSbc^bPe^dab^\T ?PdcWT]cXR<XSS[T4PbcTa]RdXbX]TPc ;P]cTa]b:XcRWT]1PaCWT\T]d X]R[dSTbZ^UcP:TQPQb^Uc[P\Q\XRT ZTQPQU[Pe^daTSfXcWb_XRTbP]SVaX[[TS BTaeTSP[^]VbXST_XcPQaTPSP]S Wd\\dbIPUUaP]2WP_cP:TQPQ?aXRX]V) C"#$TPRW:TQPQ_[dbcPgTb @/<167j4@72/G j8C:G & $ ;5B25B C5B5>1 9DµC FC 6Ta\P]bTcbd_5X]P[bW^fS^f]PVPX]bc STUT]SX]VRWP\_X^]QTPcX]VET]db%#%# 05?Q ;>=3>= enus Williams’ deepest Grand Slam run in a halfdozen years ended one victory short of what would have been yet another Wimbledon title match against her sister Serena. Unable to replicate the sort of turn-back-time performance that carried her to the semifinals at the All England Club, Venus was broken in her first four service games Thursday and lost to No. 4-seeded Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-4. The 36-year-old Venus was the oldest Slam semifinalist since Martina Navratilova was 37 at Wimbledon in 1994. Venus is a five-time champion at the grass-court tournament, but she hadn’t made it this far since at Wimbledon since 2009, or at any major since the 2010 US Open. So now, instead of an allWilliams final on Saturday, it will be Kerber against No. 1 Serena in a rematch of the Australian Open final won by the German in January. That was Kerber’s first Grand Slam title, and prevented Serena from collecting her record-equaling 22nd. Now Serena is once again so close to that number. In control from start to finish in Thursday’s first semifinal, Serena needed all of 48 minutes to overwhelm Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-0 in what felt like a training session. Except Serena probably gets V more of a workout when she practices. “You have to admit she was just better. She was stronger, faster,” Vesnina said. “I couldn’t do anything today.” Serena’s serve was in fine form, reaching 123 mph and producing 11 aces against the 50th-ranked Vesnina, who was making her major semifinal debut. Serena won 28 of 31 points that she served, including the last 17, and compiled a 28-9 edge in total winners. Since winning her sixth Wimbledon trophy a year ago to raise her career count to 21 majors, Serena has come quite close to tying Steffi Graf with 22, the most in the Open era, which began in 1968 (Margaret Court holds the all-time mark of 24). But Serena was surprisingly beaten by Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals last September, then by Kerber in Melbourne, and by Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final last month. “I mean, I think for anyone else in this whole planet, it would be a wonderful accomplishment,” Serena said about reaching her third Grand Slam final of the year. “For me, it’s about, obviously, holding the trophy and winning, which would make it a better accomplishment for me. For me, it’s not enough. But I think that’s what makes me different. That’s what makes me Serena.” Except rather than a fifth Williams vs. Williams final at Wimbledon, and ninth at a major, it will be Serena vs. Kerber. Serena has won five of their previous seven matches. The left-handed Kerber dropped to her knees at the baseline and tossed aside her racket after a running cross-court forehand winner capped the 19-stroke exchange that ended her semifinal against Venus. Venus once rivaled her sister for the most feared serve in women’s tennis, but it took her 32 minutes and five tries to simply earn a hold. Perhaps the accumulated court time during this fortnight simply took a toll on Venus, who revealed in 2011 that she had been diagnosed with Sjongren’s syndrome, which can cause fatigue and joint pain. She was a half-step slow to some balls, was breathing heavily after longer points, and wound up with 21 unforced errors, 10 more than Kerber. Still, Kerber was hardly at her best at the outset, either: The match began in ragged fashion, with five consecutive breaks of serve. The question at that point was which woman would break the pattern. Turned out to be Kerber, who held for a for a 4-2 lead then, after getting broken the first time she served for the opening set, held again to take it when Venus netted a forehand. Earlier on Centre Court, Serena never gave Vesnina a chance to pull off the sort of semifinal stunner that Vinci did last year in New York, stopping Williams from completing the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Graf did it in 1988. Jumping out to a big lead right away and never relenting, Serena had Vesnina looking defeated after all of 12 points. That’s when, after sprinting for a forehand that landed in the net, the Russian leaned over, sighed and slumped her shoulders. 0XUUD\VXUYLYHVILYHVHWWKULOOHU BP]XP<PacX]PZ]^RZTS^dc 05?Q ;>=3>= ndy Murray survived a five-set rollerA coaster to defeat battling Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (12/10), 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1 and reach his seventh Wimbledon semi-final. Second seed Murray, the 2013 champion at the All England Club, goes on to face Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych on Friday in what will be his 20th semi-final at the majors. It was 29-year-old Murray’s 13th win in 15 match-ups with 12th seeded Tsonga and his 100th career grass court win. But like Roger Federer, who came back from two sets down to beat Marin Cilic earlier in the day on Centre Court, Murray did it the hard way. Having looked in cruise control after two sets, he lost his way against the bigserving Tsonga, who was chasing a third appearance in the semi-finals. Murray rallied impressively in the decider, screaming out to his box ‘there’s no way I’m losing this match’ before making good on his rallying call. “It was a tough match. Tsonga is one of the best grass-court players in the world and he came up with some great shots at big moments,” Murray said. “At the beginning you try to work your way through and play good tennis but now you are trying to get through matches and play as well as possible and I am happy to get into the semis.” Murray’s first problem of the quarter- final was to get grit out of his right eye. It wasn’t too much of a distraction as he broke for 3-2 before Tsonga returned the favour for 4-4. Both men wasted three set points apiece in the ensuing tie-break before Murray pocketed it, just about fair reward for his high-speed scrambling. The second set went by in a flash with Murray easing through in 26 minutes, a whole 50 minutes quicker than the marathon opener. Tsonga, 31, looked down and out but suddenly called on a new source of energy to secure the third set courtesy of a break in the seventh game. Murray ranted with himself and umpire Fergus Murphy as he went completely off the boil and Tsonga levelled an increasingly tense quarter-final. But buoyed by his own passionate war cry, Murray raced to a 5-0 lead in the decider before sealing victory with a 15th ace after four hours of breathless ups and downs. Murray has an 8-6 record vs Berdych who made the 2010 final at Wimbledon. But they have never played on grass. 064=284BQ F8<1;43>= ndia’s tennis star Sania Mirza and her IMartina women’s doubles partner Switzerland’s Hingis suffered a shock defeat in the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon tennis tournament here on Thursday. The top seeded Indo-Swiss pair was knocked out by fifth seeds Hungary’s Timea Babos and Kazakhstan’s Yaroslava Shvedova 2-6, 4-6. The Hungarian-Kazakhstani pair got off to a positive start, winning 13 of the 17 first serve points and winning two out of two break points to put the top seeds on the back foot. Also, two doubles faults served by the Indo-Swiss pair in the opening set proved costly as the duo went down 26 to hand Timea-Yaroslava the advantage right at the start. In the second set, Sania-Martina began the game well and aggressively. But powerful backhand and collective play by the fifth seeds saw them gather another 13 vital first serve points out of 27. The second set was going in a see- 80=BQ =4F34;78 ndia’s limited-overs cricket skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni celebrated his 35th Ibirthday on Thursday, with many of his team- saw manner but once Timea-Yaroslava won two break points there was no way back for the Indo-Swiss pair. Despite breaking their opponents once in the set, Sania-Martina failed to hold on eventually missing a cut to yet another semi-finals as they lost the second set 4-6 to go crashing out. The fifth seeded Hungarian and Kazakhstani pair will next face tenth seeded United States’ pairing of Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears in semifinals.h 8]SXPaTPRWTbF8c^ _[PhU^daCTbcbTaXTb 2_UVcd`_`fe`WWZcdeAR\ZdeR_EVde ?C8Q BC:8CCB 05?Q ;>=3>= ndian cricket team, led by skipper Virat Kohli, on IThursday reached St Kitts to ngland’s all-time leading wickettaker James Anderson was ruled E out of a 12-man squad announced on play a four-Test bilateral series against the West Indies starting with the opening match at Antigua on July 21. New head coach Anil Kumble posted a photograph of the team in his twitter handle and wrote: “Reached St. Kitts... long flight..@cheteshwar1 @klrahul11 @y_umesh Tour begins @BCCI.” West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) also shared a picture of the Indian team after they reached St.Kitts. “India led by @imVkohli arrived in #StKitts to prepare for the 4 Tests in #Antigua, #Jamaica, #StLucia, #Trinidad,” the WICB tweeted. India and West Indies are scheduled to play a four-match Test series, starting July 21 at Antigua, in what would be Kumble’s first assignment as the chief coach of the team and Virat Kohli’s first tour to the Thursday for next week’s first Test against Pakistan at Lord’s. Anderson has not recovered from a right shoulder injury sustained in the third Test against Sri Lanka last month — a three-match series England won 2-0. The Lancashire paceman’s place in the squad has been taken by uncapped Toby Roland-Jones. He will now pushing for a Test debut on his Lord’s home ground alongside Nottinghamshire quick Jake Ball, in the squad for the Sri Lanka series but also yet to make his maiden Test appearance. “Jimmy has been touch and go for a while, he is making really good progress but it is the selectors’ view that he just won’t be quite ready for that first Test, hopefully for the second,” said England captain Alastair Cook at a Lord’s press conference on Thursday. With struggling number three Nick Compton having taken time out of cricket, the selectors have Caribbean as Test captain. India will play a couple of warm-up matches against West Indies Cricket Board President’s XI on July 9-10 and July 14-16 at Warner Park, Basseterre here. The series comprises four Tests starting with the opening match at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua from July 21 to 25, followed by 2nd Test at Kingston from July 30 to Aug 3, 3rd Test at Gros Islet from Aug 9 to 13 and fourth Test at Trinidad on Aug 18 to 22. recalled Yorkshire’s Gary Ballance for the first of a four-Test series starting on July 14. But they opted against including one-day wicket-keeper Jos Buttler in the Test squad and playing all-rounder Ben Stokes, not fit for bowling following a knee injury, as a specialist batsman. Roland-Jones, 28, has been in fine form for Middlesex this season, with 30 County Championship wickets at under 30 apiece. This week he scored 132 in the first innings against Middlesex at Scarborough. England national selector James FXbWTb_^daX] U^aQXacWSPhQ^h <B3W^]X Whitaker said: “Building on the success of the Test series win against Sri Lanka last month, we have maintained our objective of retaining a balanced squad. “With an injury to James Anderson, there is an opportunity for Toby Roland-Jones who has been a consistent performer in the County Championship over the last few years and deserves his chance.” Former England batsman Whitaker added: “Gary Ballance is recalled to the Test squad for the first time since the winter series in South Africa and could play his first Test for England in 12 months. “He has been in recent form with the bat for Yorkshire in the Championship. “Gary is mentally strong and we feel that he will add quality and experience to England’s middle-order. “Pakistan will give us a stiff challenge during this series and we can expect some fantastic cricket from both sides over the next couple of months.” This will be England’s first home series against Pakistan since the infamous 2010 campaign. That year’s Lord’s Test saw Pakistan seamers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, together with captain Salman Butt, given five-year bans and jail terms for deliberately bowling no-balls as part of a newspaper sting operation. Left-arm fast bowler Amir returned to international cricket earlier this year and the 24-year-old could now make his Test comeback at Lord’s. Amir took an impressive three for 36, swinging the ball steeply at sharp pace, in Pakistan’s drawn tour-opener against Somerset earlier this week. Pakistan have one more three-day game, against Sussex at Hove starting on Friday, before the first Test. England squad Alastair Cook (Essex, capt), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire, wkt), Gary Ballance (Yorkshire), Jake Ball (Nottinghamshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Toby Roland-Jones (Middlesex), James Vince (Hampshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire). mates and other prominent figures wishing him on social networking site Twitter. From Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Anurag Thakur to his former teammates Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and V.V.S. Laxman to Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan to Shushant Singh Rajput, who is essaying Dhoni’s character in his biopic, Twitter was flooded with wishes. “Happy Birthday @msdhoni .. Have a wonderful and blessed year ahead!!” Sachin tweeted. Thakur also wished Dhoni lots of success: “#HappyBirthday @msdhoni wish you a great day & ‘tons’ of success!”. Sehwag wished the Ranchi stumper in his trademark witty style and called for declaring July 7 as ‘National Helicopter Day’. “Happy Birthday @msdhoni. May you keep doing Anhoni ko Honi.#NationalHelicopterDay,” Viru tweeted. The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) official handle read: “Happy Birthday to one of the greatest captains of all time, as well as an exceptional batsman and WK, @msdhoni!”. Star batsman Ajinkya Rahane, who is in the West Indies for the four-match Test series wrote, “Wish you a very happy birthday mahi bhai @msdhoni God bless you”. Middle order batsman Suresh Raina also took to Twitter to wish the wicketkeeperbatsman, “Happy Birthday @msdhoni! The more the candles the more the light that will shine in your life wish you all the best”. Team India opener Shikhar Dhawan also wished the skipper, “Indian limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni turns 35 today. Happy birthday captain!”. “Wishing u a happy birthday mahi bhai. Stay fit n healthy forever,” all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja wrote. Senior Bachchan wrote, “Happy birthday MS.” Calling him a “selfless cricketer”, Rajput tweeted, “HappyBirthday Captain.A totally Selfless cricketer &a wonderfully amazing person..Respect. #HappyBirthdayCaptainCool.” Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher, who is playing his father in the biopic on Dhoni released a poster of the upcoming movie, “On his birthday Presenting the new poster of #NeerajPandey’s #MSDhoniTheUntoldStory. Happy Birthday @msdhoni”. b_^ac % A0=278k5A830H k9D;H '! % 2A&³bWTPSTa =P]X³b`dXRZUXaT WT[_?^acdVP[ QTPcFP[Tb! fX[[TXcWTaUPRT 6Ta\P]h^a 5aP]RTX]4da^ ! %5X]P[ 'UDJRQVOD\HU 5RQDOGRVKDWWHU:DOHV 05?Q ;H>= ristiano Ronaldo became the “Dragon-slayer” as his record-equalling ninth European Championship goal helped power Portugal past Real Madrid teammate Gareth Bales’ Wales and into the Euro 2016 final. Ronaldo brilliantly rose above the Wales’ defence to score his country’s first goal in the 2-0 win in front of 50,000 fans in the Stade de Lyon on Wednesday. Nani deflected the Portugal hero’s shot for the decisive second goal that saw their country into Sunday’s final against tournament hosts France or world champions Germany. Ronaldo and Bale had not spoken in the tournament before Wednesday’s match. With victory sealed, Ronaldo embraced his club teammate at the end. “The team did a marvellous job to reach the final. I hope on Sunday you’ll see me crying with joy,” said Ronaldo, who as a 19-year-old wept on the pitch after Portugal lost 1-0 to Greece as hosts of the Euro 2004 final. “I have always dreamed of winning for Portugal — I hope it is our time now. “I am very confident. I deserve it, Portugal deserves it, all the Portugese people deserve it.” Bale paid tribute to the three-time world player of the year with whom he has not always had an easy relationship in Madrid. “He’s a natural goal-scorer and he scored yet again. We’re obviously massively disappointed. We’ve got to be proud of ourselves first and foremost.” said Bale. C F0;4BC>64C>?4=C>? 1DBF4;2><405C4A4DA> ?0A8B)FP[TbUP]bfX[[VTccWTRWP]RTc^fT[R^\TW^\TcWT 4da^_TP]2WP\_X^]bWX_bT\XUX]P[Xbc5aXSPhfXcWP]^_T]c^_ Qdb_PaPSTcWa^dVWcWTbcaTTcb^U2PaSXUUP]SP_TaU^a\P]RT QhFT[bWQP]S<P]XRBcaTTc?aTPRWTab 0 ! STUTPc Qh ?^acdVP[ X] ;h^] ^] FTS]TbSPh ]XVWc Qa^dVWcFP[Tb³_aTbT]RTPccWTRWP\_X^]bWX_c^P]T]S 0b fT[[ Pb cWT Qdb _PaPST CWT 5^^cQP[[ 0bb^RXPcX^] ^U FP[TbXb^_T]X]V2PaSXUU2XchBcPSXd\^]5aXSPhCWTaTfX[[QT P _aTbT]cPcX^] c^ cWT _[PhTab P]S R^PRWX]V bcPUU Pb fT[[ Pb \dbXR 50F RWXTU TgTRdcXeT 9^]PcWP] 5^aS bPXS) °FT UTT[ cWXb TeT]cXbPVaTPcfPh^UTeTah^]TRT[TQaPcX]VfWPcWPbQTT]P WXbc^aXR_TaX^SU^aFT[bWU^^cQP[[ “We gave everything, we have no regrets,” he added, predicting Wales would be a force in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. “We’ve given everything, on the pitch, off the pitch,” Bale said of Wales stunning campaign in their first major tournament since 1958 when it took a Pele goal to beat them in the World Cup quarter final. British media called the 31-year-old Ronaldo the “Dragon-slayer” as they recounted how the sharpshooter had stunned Welsh fans brandishing flags and t-shirts with the national red dragon symbol. Bale had the better of the first half showing off his pace and power to threaten the Portuguese goal. But five minutes into the second period, Raphael Guerreiro curled a cross to the back post and Ronaldo leapt above James Chester to head past Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey. Three minutes later, Nani, who has just completed a move from Turkey’s Fenerbahce to Valencia in Spain, instinctively pushed out his leg to deflect a Ronaldo shot past Hennessy. Tens of thousands of fans celebrated in Lisbon’s Praca do Comercio. Heads dropped in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Ronaldo said he had congratulated Bale on Wales’ “amazing run”. “They were the revelation team. I wished him good luck and as for the rest (of the conversation) I’d rather not say.” Ronaldo is desperate to win on Sunday at the Stade de France in what could be his last big chance of winning a Euro or world title. Portugal did not win a match in regulation 90 minutes before the semi-final. “Maybe it didn’t start as we wanted, but this is not a 100 metre dash, it is a marathon,” said the captain. Portugal coach Fernando Santos, 61, said the final will be the highlight of his long and much-travelled career. Santos said he would be closely analysing Thursday’s game between France and Germany for potential weaknesses. “It is my country, my flag, my fatherland, so from a personal point of view it is very important for me. “Two very strong teams face off tomorrow. I will watch the game very attentively to analyse our opponent.” B_^Q\T_Uh`_cUcGU\cX\Y]YdQdY_^c 0?Q <0AB84;4 ike fellow underdog Iceland before it, Wales learned the hard L lesson that a team needs more than just an abundance of guts and heart to succeed at the pointy end of a major tournament. An abundance of quality is needed, too. In the end, Wales simply didn’t have enough of it against Portugal in the European Championship semifinal. Gareth Bale, Wales’ sole superstar and the world’s most expensive player, tried as hard as he could but lost his battle against his Real Madrid teammate, Ronaldo. Here are 5 things to know about the semifinal that Portugal won 2-0 in Lyon: C>D6758=0; Portugal’s road to the final has been anything but convincing. Wales is the first team it beat in regular time. Germany or France, depending on which of them wins their semifinal on Thursday, have far more quality than Wales. Having put itself two goals ahead, Portugal was able to control the second half against the Welsh. Wales manager Chris Coleman didn’t have players coming off the bench who could make a difference. France and Germany do. Unless Ronaldo can do something special, Portugal could get found out in the final, just as Wales was in the semifinal. A0<B4H<8BB43 Wales without midfielder Aaron Ramsey was like a car with a misfiring cylinder: It lacked oomph. Suspended from the semifinal for yellow cards in the previous rounds, the Arsenal midfielder’s absence deprived the Welsh of their most prolific passer and goalcreator at Euro 2016. And it showed. having already won the Champions League again with Real Madrid this season, the 26-year-old could have become a real contender to break Lionel Messi and Ronaldo’s stranglehold on the world player of the year award that they have hogged without interruption since Kaka won in 2007. Ronaldo could now have a lock on Ballon d’Or voters should he carry Portugal to victory in the final on Sunday. A>=0;3>34;8E4AB Without his attacking runs and slinky passes from midfield, Wales struggled to capitalize on the absence through injur y of Portugal’s best defender, Real Madrid’s Pepe, or place any lasting pressure on his 34-year-old replacement at center back, Bruno Alves. Andy King, Ramsey’s replacement who plays for Premier League winners Leicester City, worked hard from box-to-box, taking turns with Liverpool’s Joe Allen to drop back deep but also haring forward when opportunities presented themselves. 10;;>=3´>A Had Bale carried Wales to its first ever major tournament final, Cometh the hour, cometh the three-time world player of the year. From the outset, Ronaldo looked determined to make his mark against Wales. His last — and only — major final with Portugal ended badly, with him in tears after the team lost to Greece at Euro 2004. He clearly wants a second chance. For a player of his stature, Ronaldo has had surprisingly few standout matches at his seven major tournaments with Portugal, including at Euro 2016. In the 2004 semifinals, he scored the opening goal against the Netherlands. At Euro 2012, he scored both goals in a 2-1 win again against the Netherlands to putPortugal in the quarterfinals and then scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against the Czech Republic to put Portugal in the semifinals. 10;43>4B=´C Bale was guilty of trying too hard against Portugal. But that was also out of necessity. In trying to carve out goalscoring opportunities and make things happen for Wales, the forward dropped back too often into midfield and that blunted some of his cutting edge. Had Wales had more players of his quality, Bale could have spent more time up front, waiting for crosses and passes like Ronaldo did. Instead, Bale tried doing a lot of the work himself. FP[TbT]ScXaTS P]S_a^dSad] 0?Q ;H>= ales ended its memorable run at the W European Championship tired, full of pride and serenaded by devoted fans. When the Welsh national anthem, Land of My Fathers, reverberated one more time long after the final whistle, the Portugal fans who stayed after their team’s 2-0 victory in the semifinals applauded the sea of red shirts that still filled the other end of the stadium in Lyon. “I’m prouder of this team than any team I’ve ever been involved in, because I know what they’ve sacrificed to get to this stage,” Wales coach Chris Coleman said. “I’ve told them how proud I am of them, and the nation is proud of them.” Wales goes home having won four games at Euro 2016, and topped its group. APortugal team that placed third in its group, and won in 90 minutes for the first time on Wednesday, goes on to the final. “We’ve done plenty of winning, now it’s our turn to lose. It’s not a nice feeling,” said Coleman, adding that he FWT]FT[bW]PcX^]P[P]cWT\ ;P]S^U<h5PcWTab aTeTaQTaPcTS^]T\^aTcX\TPUcTa cWTUX]P[fWXbc[TcWT?^acdVP[ UP]bfW^bcPhTSPUcTacWTXa cTP\³b!eXRc^ahP__[PdSTScWT bTP^UaTSbWXacbcWPcbcX[[UX[[TS cWT^cWTaT]S^UbcPSXd\ hoped Portugal went on to win the title on Sunday, againstFrance or Germany. Cristiano Ronaldo added to the mutual admiration. Wales had been “a shining star here, they were the revelation team,” said thePortugal forward, who scored the opening goal early in the second half, and then provided the assist for Nani’s strike three minutes later. “We just lost our concentration just for five minutes,” Coleman acknowledged. “You’re going to get punished. And unfortunately they capitalized on that. “We were a little bit tired tonight,” the coach said, refusing to blame the loss of two key players to suspensions. Influential midfielder Aaron Ramsey and defender Ben Davies each collected second yellow cards of the tournament in the 3-1 win over Belgium in the quarterfinals. Still, the replacements were excellent in the first half, especially James Collins in place of Davies. The ginger-bearded, shaven-headed Collins had a Viking-like look that called to mind Iceland’s robust spirit at Euro 2016. Collins had physically dominated Ronaldo in the air early on, while Andy King began by filling Aaron Ramsey’s role as an attacking threat deep in Portugal’s penalty area while doing tidy defensive duties. The absence of Davies, however, pushed James Chester over to the left side of a three-man central defense - and that is where Ronaldo found space to hurt Wales. Wales star Gareth Bale responded by throwing himself more vigorously into the challenge, earning a late yellow card for a high boot into the face of Portugaldefender Cedric Soares. “He was trying everything to get us back into the game,” Coleman said of his talisman player with the team-first ethic. Coleman believes Wales broke through a psychological barrier, playing at a first tournament in 58 years. Now he wants his players to show the same hunger and desire to qualify for the 2018 World Cup from a group that includes Austria and Ireland. <TbbX[PfhTabc^P__TP[! \^]cW_aXb^]cTa\ µ:LOOEHDQRWKHU.2ZLQIRU9LMHQGHU¶ <03A83) Lawyers representing FC Barcelona’s Argentine football star Lionel Messi and his father Jorge will appeal against the 21-month jail sentences (consisting of three seven month terms) handed to the pair for tax fraud by a court here. Lionel was also sentenced to pay a fine of 2.1 million euros (around $2.4 million) while his father was fined 1.6 million euros for using companies outside of Spain to avoid paying 4.16 million euros earned from the players image rights between 2007-2009. The footballer had alleged in his defence that his father managed his financial affairs and that he had merely signed the papers. This argument had originally been accepted by the Spanish Treasury, but the State Prosecutor had insisted on the player’s guilt. Neither of the Messis is likely to serve actual time in prison for the offence, but in a statement, their lawyers insisted that although the sentence of seven months for each year’s supposed tax avoidance was “symbolic”, it was “not correct”. “The most recent laws from the supreme court on the matter that concerns us would seem to prove the argument of the defence,” Messi’s lawyers Enrique Bacigalupo and Javier Sanchez-Vera explained in a communique. FC Barcelona have expressed their support to their star player, publishing a message on the official club website saying Leo has “no kind of penal responsibility in relation with the events of this procedure”. Meanwhile the player’s future was further complicated on Thursday by stories published in English and Spanish press of a meeting between Jorge Messi and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. Should this prove to be true it would only serve to raise suspicions among many Barca supporters that the fraud case is part of a conspiracy to damage Messi’s image. IANS ?C8Q <0=274BC4A onfident of a seventh successive knockout win for Vijender Singh, his C British trainer Lee Beard on Thursday said he has tweaked the Indian boxing star’s technique slightly as part of preparations for the eagerly-anticipated WBO Asia title bout against Australian Kerry Hope on July 16. The WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight Championship Title bout will be a 10-round contest between Vijender and Hope at the Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi. As the fight draws closer, the intensity of Vijender’s training has been increased and his trainer is very impressed with the the Indian’s dedication. “He is training very hard, he has been sparring 12 rounds with 3 different guys and also putting the strength and condition to work hard also,” Beard said. “We have of course been adjusting things to suit the southpaw opponent he is fighting in Kerry Hope, a very experienced operator and a fighter who has been involved in some big fights so him fighting Vijender in India won’t faze him. “We have been working on various things which I believe will be effective against Hope, Vijender is very strong and punches extremely hard but we are not going to rely on that,” he added. Beard said Vijender’s focus gives him the confidence that the July 16 contest would be a knockout triumph for the former Olympic bronze-medallist against Kerry Hope. “...We have been working on a number of things technically and I believe Vijender will knock out his opponent,” he said. Commenting on Vijender’s opponent, Beard said, “Hope is a very experienced boxer but Vijender is very confident and self-assured. Vijender Singh is going display how smart he is as a fighter and then the power Vijender has will also come out and he will win in style.”