€¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul...

15
D elhi’s air quality on Wednesday dropped fur- ther with average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 328 marking it red and “very poor” category. The particle pollutants remained three to five times above the safe limits (60 and 100 Micro cubic per gram) with air-quality severe or severe-plus at about 13 out of 48 regions across the National Capital Region (NCR). According to weather ana- lysts, low wind over Delhi saved the national Capital from ill-effects of stubble burning in the neighbouring States. However, north-westerly winds from Punjab and Haryana, where farmers are burning the paddy residue, will reach within two-three day, aggravating pollution in Delhi. “Delhi may see north-west- erly winds in the next two days. Currently, the humidity is low. Lower morning temperatures mixed with pollutants from haze, resulting in a spike in the pollution levels,” said Mahesh Palawat, director private weath- er forecasting agency Skymet. On Wednesday, the average PM2.5 or particles with diam- eter less than 2.5mm, in Delhi was 176 units across 36 regions and 172 units across 48 regions of NCR. The permissible limit of PM2.5, the major pollutant is 60 units as per national standards. Meanwhile, Mundaka in Outer Delhi was most polluted with AQI of 448 or severe at 5 pm. Among other areas with severe air quality were Dwarka sub-city, Rohini, Bawana, Anand Vihar, Jahangirpuri, Narela, Nehru Nagar, Sonia Vihar, Vivek Vihar, Wazirpur, Mathur Raod and Noida sector-125. The System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) issued advi- sory to avoid strenuous out- door physical activity early morning and after sunset. Mumbai: The rupee strength- ened by 41 paise to close at more than three-week high of 73.16 against the dollar on Wednesday as global crude oil prices eased and domestic equity markets staged a smart rebound. Reversing a four-session slide, the BSE Sensex on Wednesday recaptured the 34,000-mark by jumping 187 points amid easing crude oil prices and a recovery in . Forex dealers said soften- ing crude oil prices supported the rupee’s upward movement. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia pledged to meet any supply shortfalls and replace any looming shortages due to Iranian sanctions, which will start on November 4. Following this, Brent crude prices plunged to below $ 76 level before rec- overing to $ 76.03 per barrel. Falling crude oil prices eased concerns over forex out- flows amd supported selling of the US currency by exporters. The greenback’s weakness against some currencies over- seas also helped the recovery in the domestic currency. The domestic unit however pared some gains and settled the day up by 41 paise at 73.16/$. Detailed report on P10 T he Enforcement Directorate is expected to file chargesheet against former Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Aircel-Maxis case on Thursday. According to sources, ED Chief Karnal Singh, who is to retire on Friday, whose term may not be extended by the Government despite positive recommendation by the Finance Ministry for a six- month extension, has issued the order. The new ED Chief has to be selected through the CVC Empowered Committee, and since no such process has been initiated it is expected that the Government might give charge to some officers in the organ- isations. Meanewhile, Government is expected to appoint GC Murmu, Special Secretary Revenue as next ED Chief. The ED has already chargesheeted Chidambaram’s son Karti on June 13 and attached Rs 55 crore worth properties of Karti and his firms in Delhi, Ooty, London and Spain. The CBI had chargesheeted both father and son on July 19. In August, the ED had sought two more months from the Supreme Court for the completion of the chargesheet and also requested the trial court to grant permission for interrogation of Karti and Chidambaram. The father and son manage to get interim protection from the trial court against their cus- todial interrogation. I ndia and Israel have signed a deal worth over 777 million dollars (8,000 crore) for Barak- 8 long range surface to air mis- siles (LRSAM) for the frontline warships of Indian Navy. The seven missile systems to be fitted on seven warships will be jointly manufactured by the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and public sector under- taking Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) through a trans- fer of technology pact. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is also part of this ven- ture. The Indian Navy already has various versions of Barak missiles fitted on its warships including aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. The latest mis- sile to be fitted is the next gen- eration of Barak missiles with advanced features like seeker technology, government sources said here adding the deal was inked on Wednesday. The Indian public sector giant has already signed two contracts respectively with Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkatta and Mazagaon Docks Limited (MDL), Mumbai for fitting these missiles after the ships are built. Moreover, the BEL will be the lead integrator and manufacturer for the pro- ject, they said. The IAI will transfer tech- nology for marine version of Barak LRSAM Air and Missile Defense (AMD) systems. The IAI is Israel’s largest aerospce and defence company. It devel- ops, manufactures and supplies defence systems, including anti-missile, aerial systems and intelligence and cybersecurity systems. The Israeli companies Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and president Nimrod Sheffer said, “IAI’s partnership with India dates many years back and has culminated in joint system development and pro- duction. India is a major mar- ket for IAI and we plan to pro- tect and reinforce our posi- tioning in India, also in view of increasing competition.” T he Central Vigilance Commission’s (CVC) rec- ommendations to send CBI director Alok Verma on leave have led to a debate over whether the anti-corruption ombudsman has the powers to do so, especially in the back- drop of the Supreme Court judgment stipulating a two-year fixed tenure for the CBI chief. Verma has petitioned the apex court citing Section 4B of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, say- ing it statutorily secures the two- year period of the Director’s tenure notwithstanding any- thing to the contrary. He said the Centre and the CVC’s move was “patently ille- gal” and such interference “erodes” the independence and autonomy of the premier inves- tigating institution. F inance Minister Arun Jailtey on Wednesday dismissed as “rubbish” allegations of Opposition parties, including the Congress, that CBI Director Alok Verma was removed because he wanted to look into the Rafale fighter jet deal. Jaitley said Opposition’s charges indicate they had access to what was going in the mind of the officer concerned, an apparent reference to Verma. “That itself demolishes the integrity of the person they are trying to support,” he said. Jaitley said the removal of Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana by the Government is based on the recommendations of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), maintaining that the step was absolutely essential to restore the agency’s institutional integrity and credibility. The CVC made its recommenda- tions on Tuesday evening, the Finance Minister said. Addressing a Press confer- ence, Jaitley said allegations leveled by the top two CBI offi- cers against each other have cre- ated a bizarre and unfortunate situation. “To maintain the institutional integrity of the CBI and in the interest of fair- ness, purely as an interim mea- sure, both Alok Verma and Rakesh Asthana will sit out by going on leave. An SIT, not functioning under either of these officers, will investigate the corruption charges against them. This is in accordance with highest standards of fairness,” the Finance Minister said. “The Government passed the order as per the recom- mendations of the CVC. The CVC has all the material that both officers have com- plained of,” Jaitley said. It is an extraordinary situation, and the accused cannot be allowed to be in charge of investigation against them, the Minister added. T he Opposition parties on Wednesday unleashed a sharp attack on the Government over the CBI mess with the Congress alleging that the CBI Director has been divested of his power to pre- empt a possible CBI investiga- tion into the dubious Rafale fighet jet deal, while West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged the agency has become the BJP’s policing agency. “The PM removed the CBI Director to stop him from investigating Rafale. Mr 56 broke the law when he bypassed CJI & LoP. Mr Modi, Rafale is a deadly aircraft with a superb radar. You can run, but you can’t hide from it,” Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted. “The Prime Minister’s mes- sage is very clear that whoever comes near Rafale (issue) will be removed, wiped out,” the Congress chief charged. “The country and the Constitution are in danger,” he claimed. The Congress also alleged the Modi Government and senior BJP leaders, scared over the Rafale issue, have imple- mented the “Gujarat model” at the Centre and in the CBI. Senior lawyer and Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said the CVC has no power to inter- fere in removal, appointment or reappointment, and is a super- visory body. Singhvi also alleged the Government violated the CBI Act with its move to remove Verma. Former Law Minister M Veerappa Moily said the removal of the CBI director was “illegal, unethical and unconstitutional”. Congress leader Manish Tewari said according to the Lokpal Act and the Supreme Court judgment in the Jain Hawala case, the CBI Director has a fixed tenure of two years. BSP president Mayawati blamed the Centre for the state of affairs in the CBI and said other institutions are also fac- ing similar problems because of the wrong policies being pur- sued by the Government. “More than the officials, it is the Central Government which is responsible for the problems in the CBI,” Mayawati said in a statement. She said the Centre’s “vin- dictive, casteist and communal policies” have put not only the CBI, but also other agencies under similar threat. Cases like those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on the BJP-led Government’s rule and they have not been probed properly, she said. However, she added, the BJP misuses official machinery to target anti-BJP parties and institutions. CPI’s national secretary D Raja said there is also specula- tion that the goings-on in the CBI have something to do with the Rafale scam. He said, “What is happening in the CBI is like a coup that has shocked the entire nation. The CBI’s credibility stands com- pletely destroyed. It is happen- ing under the nose of the Prime Minister.” T he Government may have sent the two top-ranking officers of the CBI on forced long leave to contain the internecine warfare within India’s premier investigating agency, but now it will have to battle it out with CBI Director Alok Verma in the Supreme Court where more “skeletons” could tumble out during hear- ing on Friday. Not ready to go without a fight, hours within the Government issued the order to send him on long leave along with CBI Special Director RK Asthana, Verma moved the Supreme Court challenging the unprecedented directive as also the decision to appoint an interim chief in his place. Not only the CBI chief was sent on leave, but officers entrusted by him to probe cor- ruption cases against Asthana also were transferred and fresh team constituted to probe into charges against Asthana. Amid the allegations and counter-allegations by Verma and Asthana, the Government termed the situation in the CBI as “extraordinary and unprece- dented,” and divested the duo of the “functions, power, duty and supervisory role in respect of cases already registered and/or required to be registered and/or being enquired under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, until fur- ther orders.” Defending the action against Verma and his Deputy Rakesh Asthana, the Government said that the mid- night order was necessary to maintain the “institutional integrity and credibility of India’s investigation agency. Wilful obstructions caused by the CBI Director in the functioning of the CVC, which was looking into complaints of corruption against him, and a “faction feud” with his deputy Rakesh Asthana has vitiated the environment in the agency which resulted in the divest- ment of powers of both the offi- cers by the Government, the Government said in a state- ment on Wednesday. A Special Investigation Team will look into the charges and both officers will “sit out” during the duration of the probe. “The grave allegations of corruption by senior func- tionaries of CBI one against another, which has been wide- ly reported in media, has viti- ated the official ecosystem of the organisation. The environment of fac- tional feud has reached its peak in the CBI leading to a potential loss of credibility and reputation of the premier inves- tigating agency of the Government. It also vitiated the working environment of the organisation which has deep and visible impact on the over- all governance,” the Government said.

Transcript of €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul...

Page 1: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

������������������ ���������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ �������������������������������!����������"���������#����������$�������!��%����������&

�������� ����� "'$��'(��

Delhi’s air quality onWednesday dropped fur-

ther with average Air QualityIndex (AQI) of 328 marking itred and “very poor” category.

The particle pollutantsremained three to five timesabove the safe limits (60 and100 Micro cubic per gram)with air-quality severe orsevere-plus at about 13 out of48 regions across the NationalCapital Region (NCR).

According to weather ana-lysts, low wind over Delhisaved the national Capital fromill-effects of stubble burning inthe neighbouring States.

However, north-westerlywinds from Punjab andHaryana, where farmers areburning the paddy residue, willreach within two-three day,aggravating pollution in Delhi.

“Delhi may see north-west-erly winds in the next two days.Currently, the humidity is low.Lower morning temperaturesmixed with pollutants fromhaze, resulting in a spike in thepollution levels,” said MaheshPalawat, director private weath-er forecasting agency Skymet.

On Wednesday, the averagePM2.5 or particles with diam-eter less than 2.5mm, in Delhiwas 176 units across 36 regionsand 172 units across 48 regions

of NCR. The permissible limitof PM2.5, the major pollutantis 60 units as per nationalstandards.

Meanwhile, Mundaka inOuter Delhi was most pollutedwith AQI of 448 or severe at 5pm. Among other areas withsevere air quality were Dwarkasub-city, Rohini, Bawana, AnandVihar, Jahangirpuri, Narela,Nehru Nagar, Sonia Vihar, VivekVihar, Wazirpur, Mathur Raodand Noida sector-125.

The System of Air Qualityand Weather Forecasting AndResearch (SAFAR) issued advi-sory to avoid strenuous out-door physical activity earlymorning and after sunset.

Mumbai: The rupee strength-ened by 41 paise to close atmore than three-week high of73.16 against the dollar onWednesday as global crude oil prices eased and domesticequity markets staged a smart rebound.

Reversing a four-sessionslide, the BSE Sensex onWednesday recaptured the34,000-mark by jumping 187points amid easing crude oilprices and a recovery in �.

Forex dealers said soften-ing crude oil prices supportedthe rupee’s upward movement.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabiapledged to meet any supply

shortfalls and replace anylooming shortages due toIranian sanctions, which willstart on November 4. Followingthis, Brent crude prices plungedto below $ 76 level before rec-overing to $ 76.03 per barrel.

Falling crude oil priceseased concerns over forex out-flows amd supported selling ofthe US currency by exporters.The greenback’s weaknessagainst some currencies over-seas also helped the recovery inthe domestic currency. Thedomestic unit however paredsome gains and settled the dayup by 41 paise at 73.16/$.

Detailed report on P10

����� "'$��'(��

The EnforcementDirectorate is expected to

file chargesheet against formerFinance Minister PChidambaram in Aircel-Maxiscase on Thursday.

According to sources, EDChief Karnal Singh, who is toretire on Friday, whose termmay not be extended by theGovernment despite positiverecommendation by theFinance Ministry for a six-month extension, has issuedthe order.

The new ED Chief has tobe selected through the CVCEmpowered Committee, andsince no such process has been

initiated it is expected that theGovernment might give chargeto some officers in the organ-isations.

Meanewhile, Governmentis expected to appoint GCMurmu, Special SecretaryRevenue as next ED Chief.

The ED has alreadychargesheeted Chidambaram’sson Karti on June 13 andattached Rs 55 crore worthproperties of Karti and hisfirms in Delhi, Ooty, Londonand Spain. The CBI hadchargesheeted both father andson on July 19.

In August, the ED hadsought two more months fromthe Supreme Court for thecompletion of the chargesheetand also requested the trialcourt to grant permission forinterrogation of Karti andChidambaram.

The father and son manageto get interim protection fromthe trial court against their cus-todial interrogation.

����� "'$��'(��

India and Israel have signed adeal worth over 777 million

dollars (�8,000 crore) for Barak-8 long range surface to air mis-siles (LRSAM) for the frontlinewarships of Indian Navy.

The seven missile systemsto be fitted on seven warshipswill be jointly manufactured bythe Israel Aerospace Industries(IAI) and public sector under-taking Bharat ElectronicsLimited (BEL) through a trans-fer of technology pact. TheDefence Research andDevelopment Organisation(DRDO) is also part of this ven-ture.

The Indian Navy alreadyhas various versions of Barakmissiles fitted on its warshipsincluding aircraft carrier INSVikramaditya. The latest mis-sile to be fitted is the next gen-

eration of Barak missiles withadvanced features like seekertechnology, governmentsources said here adding thedeal was inked on Wednesday.

The Indian public sectorgiant has already signed two

contracts respectively withGarden Reach Shipbuildersand Engineers (GRSE),Kolkatta and Mazagaon DocksLimited (MDL), Mumbai forfitting these missiles after theships are built. Moreover, the

BEL will be the lead integratorand manufacturer for the pro-ject, they said.

The IAI will transfer tech-nology for marine version ofBarak LRSAM Air and MissileDefense (AMD) systems. TheIAI is Israel’s largest aerospceand defence company. It devel-ops, manufactures and suppliesdefence systems, includinganti-missile, aerial systems andintelligence and cybersecuritysystems.

The Israeli companiesChief Executive Officer (CEO)and president Nimrod Sheffersaid, “IAI’s partnership withIndia dates many years backand has culminated in jointsystem development and pro-duction. India is a major mar-ket for IAI and we plan to pro-tect and reinforce our posi-tioning in India, also in viewof increasing competition.”

����� "'$��'(��

The Central VigilanceCommission’s (CVC) rec-

ommendations to send CBIdirector Alok Verma on leavehave led to a debate overwhether the anti-corruptionombudsman has the powers todo so, especially in the back-drop of the Supreme Courtjudgment stipulating a two-yearfixed tenure for the CBI chief.

Verma has petitioned theapex court citing Section 4B ofthe Delhi Special PoliceEstablishment (DSPE) Act, say-ing it statutorily secures the two-year period of the Director’stenure notwithstanding any-thing to the contrary.

He said the Centre and theCVC’s move was “patently ille-gal” and such interference“erodes” the independence andautonomy of the premier inves-tigating institution.

����� "'$��'(��

Finance Minister Arun Jailteyon Wednesday dismissed as

“rubbish” allegations ofOpposition parties, includingthe Congress, that CBI DirectorAlok Verma was removedbecause he wanted to lookinto the Rafale fighter jet deal.

Jaitley said Opposition’scharges indicate they had accessto what was going in the mindof the officer concerned, anapparent reference to Verma.“That itself demolishes theintegrity of the person they aretrying to support,” he said.

Jaitley said the removal ofAlok Verma and Special

Director Rakesh Asthana by theGovernment is based on therecommendations of CentralVigilance Commission (CVC),maintaining that the step wasabsolutely essential to restorethe agency’s institutionalintegrity and credibility. TheCVC made its recommenda-tions on Tuesday evening, theFinance Minister said.

Addressing a Press confer-ence, Jaitley said allegationsleveled by the top two CBI offi-cers against each other have cre-ated a bizarre and unfortunatesituation. “To maintain theinstitutional integrity of theCBI and in the interest of fair-ness, purely as an interim mea-

sure, both Alok Verma andRakesh Asthana will sit out bygoing on leave. An SIT, notfunctioning under either ofthese officers, will investigate thecorruption charges againstthem. This is in accordance withhighest standards of fairness,”the Finance Minister said.

“The Government passedthe order as per the recom-mendations of the CVC. TheCVC has all the material that both officers have com-plained of,” Jaitley said. It is anextraordinary situation, and the accused cannot beallowed to be in charge ofinvestigation against them, theMinister added.

����� "'$��'(��

The Opposition parties onWednesday unleashed a

sharp attack on theGovernment over the CBI messwith the Congress alleging thatthe CBI Director has beendivested of his power to pre-empt a possible CBI investiga-tion into the dubious Rafalefighet jet deal, while WestBengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee alleged the agency has become the BJP’s policing agency.

“The PM removed the CBIDirector to stop him frominvestigating Rafale. Mr 56broke the law when hebypassed CJI & LoP. Mr Modi,Rafale is a deadly aircraft witha superb radar. You can run,but you can’t hide from it,”Congress chief Rahul Gandhitweeted.

“The Prime Minister’s mes-sage is very clear that whoevercomes near Rafale (issue) willbe removed, wiped out,” theCongress chief charged. “Thecountry and the Constitutionare in danger,” he claimed.

The Congress also allegedthe Modi Government andsenior BJP leaders, scared overthe Rafale issue, have imple-mented the “Gujarat model” atthe Centre and in the CBI.

Senior lawyer and Congressleader Abhishek Singhvi saidthe CVC has no power to inter-fere in removal, appointment orreappointment, and is a super-visory body. Singhvi also allegedthe Government violated theCBI Act with its move toremove Verma. Former Law

Minister M Veerappa Moilysaid the removal of the CBIdirector was “illegal, unethicaland unconstitutional”.

Congress leader ManishTewari said according to theLokpal Act and the SupremeCourt judgment in the JainHawala case, the CBI Directorhas a fixed tenure of two years.

BSP president Mayawatiblamed the Centre for the stateof affairs in the CBI and saidother institutions are also fac-ing similar problems because ofthe wrong policies being pur-sued by the Government.“More than the officials, it is theCentral Government which isresponsible for the problems inthe CBI,” Mayawati said in astatement.

She said the Centre’s “vin-dictive, casteist and communalpolicies” have put not only theCBI, but also other agenciesunder similar threat. Cases likethose involving Vijay Mallya,Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksiand the Rafale deal are blots onthe BJP-led Government’s ruleand they have not been probedproperly, she said. However, sheadded, the BJP misuses officialmachinery to target anti-BJPparties and institutions.

CPI’s national secretary DRaja said there is also specula-tion that the goings-on in theCBI have something to do withthe Rafale scam. He said,“What is happening in theCBI is like a coup that hasshocked the entire nation. TheCBI’s credibility stands com-pletely destroyed. It is happen-ing under the nose of thePrime Minister.”

���������������� "'$��'(���

The Government may havesent the two top-ranking

officers of the CBI on forcedlong leave to contain theinternecine warfare withinIndia’s premier investigatingagency, but now it will have tobattle it out with CBI DirectorAlok Verma in the SupremeCourt where more “skeletons”could tumble out during hear-ing on Friday.

Not ready to go without afight, hours within theGovernment issued the orderto send him on long leavealong with CBI Special DirectorRK Asthana, Verma movedthe Supreme Court challengingthe unprecedented directive asalso the decision to appoint aninterim chief in his place.

Not only the CBI chiefwas sent on leave, but officersentrusted by him to probe cor-ruption cases against Asthanaalso were transferred and freshteam constituted to probe intocharges against Asthana.

Amid the allegations andcounter-allegations by Vermaand Asthana, the Governmenttermed the situation in the CBIas “extraordinary and unprece-dented,” and divested the duoof the “functions, power, dutyand supervisory role in respectof cases already registeredand/or required to be registeredand/or being enquired underthe provisions of Prevention ofCorruption Act, 1988, until fur-ther orders.”

Defending the actionagainst Verma and his DeputyRakesh Asthana, theGovernment said that the mid-night order was necessary tomaintain the “institutionalintegrity and credibility of

India’s investigation agency. Wilful obstructions caused

by the CBI Director in thefunctioning of the CVC, whichwas looking into complaints ofcorruption against him, and a“faction feud” with his deputyRakesh Asthana has vitiated theenvironment in the agency

which resulted in the divest-ment of powers of both the offi-cers by the Government, theGovernment said in a state-ment on Wednesday.

A Special InvestigationTeam will look into the chargesand both officers will “sit out”during the duration of the probe.

“The grave allegations ofcorruption by senior func-tionaries of CBI one againstanother, which has been wide-ly reported in media, has viti-ated the official ecosystem ofthe organisation.

The environment of fac-tional feud has reached itspeak in the CBI leading to apotential loss of credibility andreputation of the premier inves-tigating agency of theGovernment. It also vitiated theworking environment of theorganisation which has deepand visible impact on the over-all governance,” theGovernment said.

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

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

$%������%���� �� �����������������������#����

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

0������� �� �� ��������1����#)��2�������

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

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

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

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

&�����������

'&()#*

� )�����������������!�*�� �+��������%��������%������������������*���������,�����������������������������������������������%������������������������*������

� -�,�����������������������������������./�����0�1����������!�����%����������2�

� �����������������������������+���������������%�!�3� ���*������������-�,������������������������������������������������!�����������������0���������������������!��������������!�������������,����������������!

� *�� �+�����������,�������#.��������#�������4/��������������#%������������'������������5�#�'6�*������!����������������!��������������7!����%�����������������������������

� 8�������%���������.+.������������1���7�������!������%��������������������������0�1������2�����%�����������#�������9��������.+.*����:;;<�����%��������������,�����������������������#'�5./�6

����-�,��������%������������������%����������������������������.+.&�����.+.����������������������������������������,����%�������������������

���=>��� �����������������!%������.��?�()�&���������3����������������!�����������������%�������&�@�����������!�����A�������������������������

����������%��%���������,�������!���������������!�����������������������������%���&�*�%���������������������������%���������%%����������./�A���%��������������&������������������%����������������,�����������!A��������� ��������������

$����,���������������������������������!�����-�,������������������������!��������!����%���������!������������������������������������������������������������������������%���������!�����������

���������������������������������.������-�,�������������������%��������������%�������������./�����!��

'�������������������������������

B�������!������� ������ &���C����!%������3##��%��4

��567�'-�D+'"�D#�/'*���*".�'#�'3

D"��'��E7;��"�D.(�.(*#�

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

��������� ������������������ ������

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

.��! "#$�E:��%%&' :F4G*���#��������'1�������*%%������

�%(�)#�%*'+�,-./

!"��#$��% !&��

��8569��':

H�*#�)--���D3�'3�D"���"H*/('A$���)D��D#�/*.H�"-AI�3)D�*"�

5��;�5;�</*.H��)���'

8D�D3'��"�.��"*J

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

���������&���C����!%������C

��������0��������� � �����10��2,-3�������,.���

Page 2: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

��� ����������������'�(������) '���(�����*+�,�*-./

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

������� �� �� ������ � ���� ���� ��� �� �� ���� �� ���� �������� ����� � �� �!��"� #��� $��%�� $������&�'())*� �� + ,)'-)-..(.� /����0+ )*1-&�.*1*** �� ������� � �"� 2�� �� �������� ���� ���� 3� &� 4 �&. -� ���� 35� ��&6�����7� 8�������� ���� $������� 2���!���� 9�����+ ����� ����� �8# �2#�:�#;9 ��#��*�))9��+�������#�����<�� ���%��3����+���+=���+��" �4��"�� ������+<�5����4�������������+��������$����6�����+3��>�<�����;�� <�%�� <�������?����5�3�%$����&**)))�� �����+)**&')**)'--���""��������6�����+@&1*�������>�368$��;��"<���35�&�)*1)*�2��������+)*�)&'(.,())4'(.,,))����!��%6�����+'��@���������������5�������@�A �#������!��%&��>)*>�/���������+)-��&�1'>''1&'-

����� �*3��$*3

The family members of thestudent of Rishikul

Vidyapeeth who allegedly com-mitted suicide at the hostel ofthe school in September havelodged a case against two teach-ers of the school. They also sub-mitted two suicide notes pur-portedly written by the studentto the police. As per the suicidenotes, two teachers had madehis life miserable. Acting on thecomplaint, police have lodgeda case against the teachers,tagging them with the provo-cation charge for the suicide.Probe is going on, added police.

It is learnt from the policethat Deepesh Sharma, son ofDevendra Sharma, resident ofPhase 6 Shiv Vihar of Delhi, wasstudent of class VIII in RishikulVidyapeeth. He was staying inthe hostel in Rishikul premises.

Around midnight, he, alleged-ly, hanged himself within theVidyapeeth premises.

Though the family mem-bers of the deceased had raisedquestions soon after the deaththe police had said that actionwould be taken only after thepost-mortem report wasreceived.

Things came to a head afterthe family members of Deepeshmet SP City Mamta Vohra onTuesday and said that two sui-cide notes had been recoveredfrom his clothes. In these notes,Deepesh had allegedly namedDevidutt Kandpal and DineshChandra Tiwari for havingmade his life miserable.

The family membersalleged that both the teachershad tortured him so much sothat Deepesh was forced to endhis life.

Speaking to The Pioneer, SPCity Mamta Vohra said thathandwriting of the suicide noteswould be matched with theoriginal writing of the student.“Besides, the teachers and thestudents of the school would bequestioned. Once the probe isover, action would be takenagainst those responsible for thedeath,” she said.

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

�������������������

����� �*3��$*3

Expressing happiness overthe Uttarakhand hosting

the two-day ‘Gyan Kumbh’ atPatanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwarto be inaugurated by thePresident Ramnath Kovind onNovember 3, AcharyaBalkrishna said that they werefeeling honoured. “This wouldbe the first such big congrega-tion of the educationists whowould come from across thecountry and would deliberateon the ideal education systemfor India. We would be the hostfor the great event. We wouldwelcome them and make allarrangements for them. This isa great honour for us,” he saidwhile addressing a media con-ference on Wednesday.

The Education Ministers ofthe States and heads of uni-versities, colleges and educa-tional institutions would attendthe mega event to be organisedjointly by the Higher EducationDepartment, Government of

Uttarakhand and the PatanjaliYogpeeth.

“We are determined toensure that the congregationsends a message to the countrywhich would shed new light onthe ideal education system forIndia.

It is a futuristic programmewhich would benefit theupcoming generations,”Balkrishna said.

Speaking to The Pioneer,the State Higher EducationMinister Dhan Singh Rawatsaid that there would be par-ticipation of seven to ten thou-sand people from 800 univer-sities and 252 degrees collegesaside from professors from IITsand IIMs at the Gyan Kumbh.

Besides, many researchscholars would also take part inthe Kumbh, he said. “We thankthe Patanjali group for makingarrangements for the GyanKumbh,” he said, adding thatthere would be discussion onthe new education policy andmany firsts would be seen dur-ing the Kumbh.

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

&������'(���� �(���������������� �� ���������$��������� ������

����$��������������������������%�&��'����

����� �*D3�

On the first day of her two-day Pauri visit,

Uttarakhand Governor BabyRani Maurya inspected thestalls set up by different depart-ments of the Government andsome self-employment groupsunder the National RuralLivelihood Mission in the cir-cuit house premises onWednesday.

She also visited the district

women hospital and paid obei-sance at Kandoliya temple onthe day. This is her first visit tothe district after she assumedcharge as the Governor of theState. She would leave Pauri at10.30 am on Thursday afterspending the night at Pauri.

Visibly interested intowhat the stalls were display-ing, the Governor soughtdetailed information aboutthe vegetables and other itemskept in them. She asked the

officers present about thenutritional value of the itemskept there. The technicalexperts present provided herwith the information shesought.

Her interest was focusedparticularly on Ramkarela,locally known as Kankonaaand Kandmul Gadhi veg-etable. She was told that theyhave curative qualities for dif-ferent diseases. She also askedquestions on the fruits which

were on display at the stalls. Earlier, the Governor was

welcomed at Ransi stadiumwhere her chopper landed bythe Garhwal commissionerShailesh Bagauli and DIGGarhwal range Ajay Rautelaamong others.

Later, the Governor visit-ed the district women hospi-tal and distributed fruitsamong the patients. She alsopaid obeisance at theKandoliya temple.

+��������������������������� ���

����������� ������'�3*�D"

It is now the season of fairsand festivals in the hill State

and Dehra Dun is preparingitself for events which will beattended in large numbers notonly by locals but also bytourists from all parts of theworld who are drawn towardsthis region during this season.Most of the fests and fairs thatare held in the Doon valleyfrom October to Decembertry to ensure that the local hillcuisine is made available to vis-itors so that they are acquaint-ed with the various tastes ofthese hills and dales.

Pulses and grains special tothis mountain State along withspices have always been verypopular among consumers attrade fairs where they are madeavailable in their dry form by

many units from across the hillState. However, it is now alsobecoming a trend that cookeddishes of this region are alsoput up for sale at the foodcourts in the several melasand fetes that are held here inthese winter months. Thesedishes are wholesome and givewarmth and energy that ismuch required in the wintershere.

Tourists visitingUttarakhand are always inter-ested in tasting the local cui-sine. In Dehra Dun, we cannow see many restaurants serv-ing the local fare. Some visitorsprefer to have a traditionalPahadi meal at the home of afriend or an acquaintance.

Rice, pulses, finger millet(called kwada or mandua ), jag-gery, mustard oil and potatoesform the broad base of almostall the important Uttarakhandidishes. Rice, Kulath Daal (also

known as Gahat ki Daal), Torki Daal and Mandua (fingermillet) are the main stars of theGarhwali diet and besides tast-ing delicious are full of nutri-tion and medicinal properties.“Tor-Bhaat” is cooked in allpahadi homes almost everyday during the winter months.

Several of the Garhwaliand Kumaoni recipes are relat-ed to festivals and special occa-sions. These include kesarhalwa which is cooked onBasant Panchami, MeethhaBhaat (sweet rice) and “UradDal ki pakodi” which one cansavour on Makar Sankranti.This pakodi is regarded asauspicious and is cooked atweddings, birthdays and almostall festivals. These taste quitelike the South Indian Vadas butare also different in that theyhave “white tils” (sesame seeds)haldi and garam masala. Rot(pronounced Roat) and Arsa,

which can be kept for weeks,are also made on auspiciousoccasions, specially, duringmarriages. Rot is a thick rotimade from whole wheat flour

kneaded with milk and thenwith a solution of water andjaggery. Arsas are small purismade of rice flour kneaded insugar solution.

Chainsoo, a Pahari delica-cy, is made from Black Uraddaal, roasted and then groundinto a coarse powder which iscooked in oil in the form of acurry. Chainsoo tastes greatwith rice. Bhatwani, which ispopular in Kumaon, substi-tutes Urad with Bhat(a varietyof soyabean).

Thechwani is made eitherwith round-rooted pahadi

radish(called mula) or withpatatoes. The radish or patatoesare not cut but crushed topieces. A gravy is preparedusing cumin seeds, choppedonions, turmeric powder andasafoetida to which the friedvegetable is added with salt.There is a variety of green leafyvegetables like the pahadipalak(made into a thick, greencurry called Kafuli). Leafygreens are, usually, cooked sim-ply by stir frying the choppedleaves in smoking mustard oil.These preparations are called“bhujji” and are served with rice.

Rather unusual chutneysare found in Garhwali andKumaoni kitchens. The mostpopular chutney among theGarhwalis, especially in winters,is the “til ki chutney’ made fromwhite sesame seeds .For theKumaonis, it is “Bhang kiChutney’ which substitutes tilwith “bhang” (marijuana) seeds.Unlike the leaves of bhang, itsseeds are not an intoxicant.

Mutton is also greatly rel-ished in Pahadi households.“Bhuttua” and “Kachmauli” areregarded as delicacies . Bhuttuarefers to the cooked intestines ofa goat while for Kachmauli, awhole animal (usually a goat) issmoked for hours over a fire ofgreen leaves and tender twigs.

Baal Mithhai, Singori andChocolate are the three popu-lar sweets of Uttarakhand. BaalMithai is made by cooking

khoya (evaporated milk cream)with cane sugar until it becomesdark brown in colour. Whencool, it is cut into cubes whichare garnished with white sugarballs which look like beads.Singori is another preparation offlavoured khoya which iswrapped in oak leaves.Chocolate is Baal Mithai with-out the sugar balls.

Travellers to this pic-turesque region savour all theunique taste and are surprisedhow such delicious food is pre-pared with such simple ingre-dients. Winter is especially thetime to enjoy this exquisitevariety of cuisine. If theGovernment ensures that moreoutlets serve this food it wouldgo a long way in boostingtourism. Visitors always lookforward to savouring thesetastes.

,������-��������

����� �*3��$*3

To mark the golden jubileecelebration of Central

Industrial Security Force(CISF), a cycle race was strat-ed on Wednesday. Five hun-dred cyclists started their raceat one go after the DirectorGeneral, CISF, inaugurated the

race at CISF ground nearMadhya Marg. The team mem-bers would pedal across theHimalayan regions of the State.

Speaking on the occasion,DG, CISF, Rajesh Ranjan said,“On this occasion, a 10-daytrekking/cycling, kayaking, raft-ing expedition would be held inUttarakhand from October 24 toNovember 1 on the theme ofsolid waste disposal for sustain-able development.

It would be a small contri-bution towards environmentprotection and creating aware-ness among the people of the

State. The CISFteam comprisingaround 60 mem-bers, including offi-cers, will be cycling,trekking, kayakingand rafting apartfrom displayingvarious demos andundertaking aware-ness programmeon theme ‘Hum fitto India Fit’ andsolid waste dispos-al for sustainable development,”he said.

Among those present on the

occasion were the DistrictMagistrate Haridwar DeepakRawat and SSP Ridhim Agarwal.

����� �'�3*�D"

To mark the World PolioDay, a free polio camp and

a public awareness lecture wasorganised by SanjayOrthopaedic, Spine &Maternity Centre and SHEWASociety Dehradun at Jakhan inDehradun on Wednesday. The

programme was inauguratedby Hem Chandra Pandey,Vice- Chancellor, HNBUttarakhand MedicalEducation University.

Dr B K S Sanjay, theGuinness and Limca Bookrecord holder, said during thecamp that Polio and CP inchildhood are the main caus-es of disability in India. “Poliois a mother of not just physi-cal disability but mental, socialand economic disability.Particularly if the patient is apoor woman the polio dis-ability becomes a monster,” he

said. He, further, said that hap-

pily enough, India has becomepolio free since March 272014. “That means there areno new cases of polio. Butthere are hundreds of thou-sands of old cases of poliowhich are causing a majorsocial and economical problemto our nation,” he said andadded that the main cause ofdisability in polio is due tomuscular imbalance. “Theunopposed powerful musclespull the joint in one directionwhich cause the deformity.

There are only two types ofoperation either reducing thestrength of powerful muscle oraugment the power of weakmuscles.

If in spite of muscles ten-don transfer, joint does notbecome stable then joint has tobe fused,” he said. He, further,said that the shortening of thelimb is the rule in the poliorather than the exception. “Thepolio surgery is very reward-ing. The simple surgery canchange the gait of the poliopatient and ultimately his life,”he said.

'����.��������/������������

���������� �����#%������0�/����

Page 3: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

���������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./��� ������(

����� �'�3*�D"

The Union Minister forWater Resources, River

Development and GangaRejuvenation, Shipping, RoadTransport and Highways, NitinGadkari directed all stake-holders to expedite the execu-tion of the projects and takeproactive steps to resolve bot-tlenecks wherever they exist inimplementation of the NamamiGange programme. TheMinister said this while carry-ing out an extensive and indepth of each ongoing projectunder Namami Gange pro-gramme in Uttarakhand,Jharkhand, Bihar and WestBengal.

He said, “I am happy to seethat work is being carried outon a war footing and theNamami Gange programme isgoing to be very successful. Wehave also issued the notificationfor Aviral Ganga, to ensureuninterrupted flow of water inthe river. We are constructing

sewage treatment plants (STPs)and connecting house drainageto sewer lines. Once the pro-jects are completed we will seeremarkable change in waterquality.

The construction of Ghatsand crematoria are also goingon and we will complete themby March 2019.”

He, further, added, “Someprojects have been completed,some are under progress andtenders for some projects havebeen issued. I am hopeful that

we will complete 70-80 per centwork in the Namami Gangeprogramme by March 2019.”

It should be mentionedhere that in Uttarakhand, 32sewerage infrastructure pro-jects (STPs) have been sanc-tioned.

These include projects inHaridwar,Munikireti, Tapovan,Rishikesh, Devprayag, Tehri,Uttarkashi, Gangotri,Kirtinagar, Srinagar,Rudraprayag, Karnprayag,Nandprayag, Chamoli-

Gopeshwar, Joshimath,Badrinath and Dehradun. Outof these, 15 projects have beencompleted, 16 are in variousstages of progress and one pro-ject is under tendering process.Twenty two ghats and 22 cre-matoria have been sanctioned,along with one River FrontDevelopment (RFD) projectat Chandi Ghat. Out of theseprojects 10 ghats and nine cre-matoria have been completedand work is going on at a fastpace on the other projects.

It is pertinent to mentionhere that the National Missionfor Clean Ganga has sanc-tioned over 288 projects on andalong the Ganga in the Statesof Uttarakhand, UttarPradesh,Bihar, Jharkhand andWest Bengal.

The projects includesewage treatment infrastruc-ture, development of ghats andcrematoria, afforestation, riversurface cleaning and river frontdevelopment.

����� �'�3*�D"

Political blame game has fol-lowed the exodus of stu-

dents from the NationalInstitute Technology (NIT)Srinagar with both Congressand BJP lashing out at eachother, holding the rival respon-sible for the sorry state ofthings at the institute, the onlyone in Uttarakhand. While theruling BJP hit out at theCongress, accusing the oppo-sition party of instigating thestudents to empty out of thecampus, the State Congressleaders dubbed the exodus as areflection of the State’s progressunder the double engineGovernment.

The State Congress chief,Pritam Singh, said that the inci-dent shows how the State hasbeen progressing apace underthe much-hyped double enginegovernment. “Congress set upthe reputed institute in amountainous area. But the BJPGovernment has done nothingto develop it,” he said. Reactingto the Congress attack, the

Minister of State for HigherEducation, Dhan Singh Rawat,said that the institute had beenset up during the UPA regimein haste sans budgetary supportand land being provided. “It isthe BJP Government that hasprovided land for the instituteat Sumari village,” he said.

On Tuesday, around 900students of the prestigiousinstitute left the campus inprotest against theGovernment’s callousnessregarding their demand of apermanent campus.

An alarmed administra-tion of the college has writtento the parents of the students,informing them of the conse-quences of the step taken bytheir wards.

Before leaving the campus,the students sent mails to thePresident, Prime Minister,Union human resource devel-opment (HRD) Minister,Governor and Chief Ministerof Uttarakhand.

In these e-mails, the stu-dents said that they were leav-ing the campus under distress

and would not return until theywere provided with a transitcampus at a place whichensures their safety, medicalhelp, corporate exposure andaccessibility to technologicaladvances as per the standards.

Earlier, the student haderupted in anger on October 3when two girl students hadbeen hit by a speeding car on theNational Highway. The girlshad been on their way to the labfrom their hostel when the acci-dent happened on the bustlingNH.

One of the girls is still bat-tling for her life at All IndiaInstitute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS) Rishikesh. The studentshave been demanding shifting ofthe campus to a safer location inthe plains till the full-fledgedfacility is set up in Srinagar.

Set up in 2010 in Srinagarnestled in the Garhwal hills, NIThas been functioning from atemporary campus. The admin-istrative block and the labs arelocated in the old ITI campuswhile the students go to thepolytechnique college campus

for classes. The NIT adminis-tration has rented a hotel tohouse the students.

�������������������������������������� ������ �����!�� ����" � ��

�����)��*�#�� �+��������$���%������$�,��������-

1�,�2��������������������������

/'8)3'�('*+�"-��'�.*��D#���'�#�D�'"�##'"���*�(#��)��'��3'#��'"���3��'��"�#�'3�D"�)"��D�*"3'#)D3.'�'+'()��'"�5�3�6���"�#�'3�-)+'3")3�*"�.��'8���"�#�'3)8D��*3*H�*"�

����� �'�3*�D"

After completion of thetedious task of selection of

candidates and filing of nom-ination papers for the UrbanLocal Body (ULB) elections,the State Congress is nowfocused on firming up its elec-tion strategy. The party onWednesday constituted a hostof committees for successfulcoordination of the election.

The State party vice-pres-ident, Suryakant Dhasmana,said while talking to the mediapersons at the State party officeon the day that the PCC chiefhas constituted these commit-tees regarding the ULB elec-tions.

He informed that an elec-tion manifesto committeechaired by former MinisterNavprabhat has been formed.

While Dhasmana would bethe convener of the committeeS P Singh Engineer and NavinJoshi would be members.Similarly, an election coordi-nation committee headed byformer Minister Hira SinghBisht has been constituted.Navprabhat, Surya KantDhasmana, Jot Singh Gunsola,Rajkumar aside from presidentof State disciplinary cellPramod Kumar Singh,Godavari Thapli, PrabhulalBahuguna, Mahanagar chiefLal Chand Sharma, SanjayKishore, Gaurav Chaudhary,Kamlesh Raman, Tahir Ali, RP Raturi, Pradip Joshi, KamleshRaman, Darshan Lal, PrithiviRaj Chauhan, Garima Dassauniand Kamar Siddiqui would bethe members.

Dhasmana, further, saidthat an election campaign com-

mittee headed by formerMinister Matbar Singh Kandarihas been formed too and itwould oversee the campaign ofthe party for the elections. Theparty has made Rajendra Shah,Rajesh Chamoli, Mahesh Joshi,Adarsh Joshi, S S Chauhan,Shayam Singh Pundeer,Devendra Butola, Navin Payal,Harpal Sethi and Ashish Desaias members of the committee.

To monitor the electioncontrol room, the party hasconstituted another committeeheaded by Pramod KumarSingh.

The control room com-mittee would have AmarjeetSingh, Navin Ramola, VishalMaurya, Rajesh Sharma, BharatSharma, Sunil Jaisawal,Praneeta Badoni, Shanti Rawatand Rajat Agarwal as its mem-bers, Dhasmana added.

����������� ���������� �������-3������

����� �'�3*�D"

It is important to not onlyobserve standards but also

know about them, said theInstitution of Engineers,Uttarakhand State Centrechairman Ranveer SinghChauhan. He was speaking ata programme organised by theBureau of Indian Standards(BIS), Dehradun branch tomark World Standards Day.

Addressing the gatheringon the occasion, Chauhanspoke on the importance of thestandards while also congratu-lating the BIS for dischargingits important responsibility inthe area of standardisation.

Earlier, while welcomingthe gathering, the BISDehradun branch head AMDavid spoke on this year’sWorld Standards Day theme-international standards andthe fourth industrial revolution.He opined that some aspects ofthe fourth industrial revolution

could also be scary as itinvolves new technologies at atime when such technologiesare being replaced by newertechnologies even before onegets time to get accustomed.The confluence of technologiescan have beneficial effects butif not harnessed and managedproperly they can also lead tochaos as in the case of socialmedia.

While social media is goodfor connectivity and informa-tion sharing, it can also be usedas a weapon and an indirectfactor causing imbalance in theattitude of people. Referring tothe technological develop-ments, he said that one isunable to comprehend the rateof change in technology. Properguidelines and standards areneeded to ensure proper har-nessing of technology, he said.

BIS Dehradun scientist SKSahana read out the joint mes-sage of the InternationalElectrotechnical Commission,International Organisation for

Standardisation andI n t e r n a t i o n a lTelecommunication Union.Later during the technical ses-sion, representatives of variousindustrial enterprises madepresentations on the theme ofthis year’s World StandardsDay.

����� �'�3*�D"

The mission directorNational Health Mission

(NHM) Yugal Kishore Panthas said that a system of track-ing patients referred to otherhospitals should be imple-mented in the State. He saidthis while addressing a reviewmeeting of the progress of var-ious schemes under NHM atState Health Directorate onWednesday. He directed theState nodal officer NHM, DrAmit Shukla to make StandardOperating Protocols (SOP) forpatients sent to other hospitals.“ A referral protocol should beconstituted for transparent sys-

tem of tracking patients inwhich the medical superinten-dent of the hospital concernedshould be made accountable fortreatment of such referredpatients,’’ he said.

Pant also expressed con-cern on declining number ofinstitutional deliveries in theGovernment hospitals andhealth centres.

He said that just 62 preg-nant women had registeredthemselves in the GovernmentHealth Centres during firsttrimester of pregnancy whichis a cause of concern.

Pant said that facilities fordelivery in Government hos-pitals should be improved sothat people are not forced to goto private hospitals.

The MD, NHM, termedthe Prime Minister DialysisScheme as one of the priorityschemes and directed that theproject should soon start.Under the scheme, seven dial-ysis centres in six districtswould be opened.

Notably, dialysis centreson the Public PrivatePartnership (PPP) mode wouldbe set up in the district hospi-tal Haridwar, Joint HospitalKotdwar and district hospitalUdham Singh nagar. Similarly,Government would set up dial-ysis units in the Base HospitalAlmora, district hospitals ofPithoragarh and Rudraprayagand the medical collegeSrinagar.

In course of the reviewmeeting, MD NHM wasinformed that three dialysismachines at Base HospitalAlmora have been installedwhile the process is in progressin other hospitals.

During the meeting, Pantexpressed concern on the dataof family planning which showsthat the graph is on a decline.He said that facility of familyplanning measures should beinformed to the people in thecamps on the basis of priority.He, further, said that surgeonsshould be made available forthese camps and added that thespecial male vasectomy fort-night from November 21should be made successful withpublic participation.

The meeting was attendedby the director NHM Dr AnjaliNautiyal, additional projectdirector (APD) Dr AbhishekTripathi, additional directorNational Programmes Dr SarojNaithani, joint director DrBagesh Kala, Dr V S Tolia andDr Amit Shukla.

����� �'�3*�D"

The number of patientsafflicted with dengue in

Uttarakhand has crossed 500mark on Wednesday with fivemore cases of the dreaded vec-tor-borne disease being report-ed by the State health author-ities on the day. With the newcases, the count has risen to502. On Wednesday, two casesof the disease have been report-ed from Dehradun andHaridwar districts each whileone case has come from TehriGarhwal.

What is worrying the StateHealth Officers is the fact thatdengue is still looming large overthe State despite the advent ofcold condition which normallycontrols spread of the denguevirus. They say they are a bit baf-fled over the erratic nature of thedengue virus this time. They,further, say that the falling mer-cury would control it in thecoming days.

Haridwar district with 167cases of the disease, so far, hasreported maximum number ofdengue patients this year whilethe count is 150 in Dehradun. InTehri district, 106 cases of the

disease have so far been report-ed.

After the detection of twomore cases of the disease, theDistrict Health DepartmentDehradun has rushed teams tothe areas where those afflictedreside and they held survey ofthe fever-afflicted people.

The Chief Medical Officer(CMO) Dehradun Dr S K Guptasaid that the district has ade-quate stocks of medicines andthe ELISA kits to combat anyemergency. The health depart-

ment has set up isolation wardsfor the patients of the disease, headded. Dr Gupta further saidthat all the medical practition-ers have been directed to reportthe suspected cases of the diseaseto the district health departmentso as to ensure that ELISA testwhich is confirmatory test forthe disease is conducted.

CMO added that there is noneed to panic, though he at thesame time, he advised the peo-ple to ensure that breedinggrounds inside and in the vicin-

ity of their houses are destroyed.He said that people should wearfull-sleeved clothes during daytime to reduce exposure for themosquito bite.

Dengue is a viral infectionspread by the mosquito AedesAezypti popularly known asTiger Mosquito. The symptomsof the disease are persistenthigh fever, rashes, headacheand pain in the joints. In theacute cases, the platelets numberdecreases drastically which mayprove fatal for the patient.

���������!�������������.��������!�.���������������������

�'� �'����������� ���������������������)��*��������"�������

"�� ��������������+,,�����������������������

��������������#������� ����'����#����������

/�����������%��������!���

0����������.�����

��0��%����������!�������

�����$����������#���������

����������0����������!�%$���������

���������0������

����� "*�"��*(

Of the 14 accused in theNational Highway-74

land compensation scam, fivewere granted bail by the HighCourt of Uttarakhand onWednesday. The bail wasgranted by the single bench ofjustice Manoj Kumar Tiwari.

The bail applications of 11of the accused were taken upfor hearing by the singlebench. After the hearing, col-

lection Amin, Anil Kumar,watchman Ram Samujh, SantRam, Peshkar, SanjayChauhan and land consoli-dation officer Amar Singhwere granted bail. The advo-cate for the petit ionerinformed the court that theyhad been in jail for about ayear now.

It will be recalled that FIRwas lodged against the mainaccused in NH-74 scam, DPSingh and other accused on

March 10, 2017 in thePantnagar police station.

The FIR included refer-ence to charges of financialirregularities in fixation ofcompensation, tampering inland documents, revenue lossand misuse of Governmentmoney.

The accused had beenfound guilty in the investiga-tion. Earlier, their bail appli-cations had been rejected bythe lower court.

8�,������������������������"��K4����������

����� "*�"��*(

Notification has been issuedregarding the appointment

of Hyderabad High CourtJustice Ramesh Ranganathan asthe next chief justice ofUttarakhand High Court.Further, Uttarakhand HighCourt justice VK Bist will be thenext chief justice of Sikkim highcourt, as per the notificationissued.

The Uttarakhand HighCourt registrar general, PradeepPant, informed that notificationto this effect had been issued bythe Ministry of Law and Justiceon Wednesday. The said gazettenotification has been signed bythe Ministry’s joint secretaryRajinder Kashyap. OnWednesday, a large number ofadvocates met Bist and con-gratulated him on his newappointment.

It will be recalled that thenames of Ranganathan and

Bist were recommended earli-er on October 9 by the three-judge collegium headed byChief Justice of India, RanjanGogoi.

����������������������������'�������� ����������-.���/0������*-

Page 4: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

�������1���������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./

����� .�*"��-*3�

The Congress Governmentin Punjab was also stung

by the #MeToo bug. While theOpposition parties — AamAadmi Party (AAP) and theShiromani Akali Dal (SAD) —on Wednesday demandedexpulsion of the Ministeraccused of harassing a seniorwoman bureaucrat, PunjabChief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh clarifiedthat the matter has been“resolved to the officers’ sat-isfaction”.

Capt Amarinder, who iscurrently on Israel visit, issueda statement saying that thematter relating to reported

objectionable message of aMinister to a woman govern-ment officer had been takenvery seriously and, to the bestof his knowledge, resolved tothe officer’s satisfaction.

“The matter was broughtto my notice some weeks agoand I had asked the Ministerto apologise and sort it outwith the lady officer. I under-stand he had done so to thesatisfaction of the officer, andthus, the matter was resolved,”said the Chief Minister.

Reportedly, a woman IASofficer has accused a CabinetMinister of sending an “inap-propriate text”, and has com-plained to her senior officialin the government, and also to

the Chief Minister, followingwhich the action has beentaken. The matter, it has beenlearnt, has also reached to theCongress president RahulGandhi.

Though many of theCabinet Ministers, and seniorCongress leaders are said to beaware of the matter, no one isready to talk over the same.

A senior party leader,requesting complete anonymi-ty, however maintained that ifanything of this sort has hap-pened, a strict action shouldbe taken against the Ministerto send across a strong mes-sage to set an example.

Meanwhile the AAp andSAD have demanded expul-sion of the Minister, while atthe same time, lashing out atthe Chief Minister and

Congress national presidentfor adopting double standardson the issue.

SAD president SukhbirBadal has asked the ChiefMinister to ‘unmask’ hisCabinet colleague who hadallegedly outraged the mod-esty of an IAS woman officerby sending her indecent mes-sages. He also asked why he aswell as the Congress presidentwere dragging their feet intaking action against theMinister.

“As per media reports, noaction had been taken againsta Cabinet Minister who hadsent indecent messages to awoman IAS officer more thanone and a half months back.This is despite the fact that theIAS officer had brought thematter to the notice of her

superior officers and even theChief Minister,” said Sukhbir.

Sukhbir said that theChief Minister must immedi-ately tell the people why hewas trying to cover up thisheinous act by first namingand shaming the Minister andthen taking concrete actionagainst him by sacking himfrom the State cabinet.

It was shocking that evenRahul Gandhi, who has beenapprised about the incident,has kept silent on this issue formore than one month. “Thereis no way a Minister accusedof such abhorrent behaviourcan sit in a Cabinet wheredecisions regarding safety ofwomen have to be taken. If heis not removed immediately, itwill be perceived the topCongress leadership is not

serious about protecting thehonour of women,” he said.

Saying that the incidentalso exposed Congress’ doubleface, Sukhbir said that theCongress and Rahul Gandhidemanded MJ Akbar’s resig-nation from the UnionCabinet after the latter wasaccused of sexually harassingwomen journalists in his roleas an Editor, but has beenactively sheltering someonefor similar transgressionscommitted by him as a cabi-net minister.

He said that the womanIAS officer should be encour-aged to register a formal com-plaint against the Minister.“This will pave way for otherwomen who do not haveaccess to the Chief Minister toregister their protest to come

forward,” he added.AAP woman wing presi-

dent Raj Lali Gill and co-pres-ident Jiwanjot Kaur also askedthe Chief Minister to takeimmediate action against theCabinet Minister who is con-tinuously harassing thewoman officer by sendingobjectionable messages on hermobile number.

Demanding to sack theMinister, AAP women leaderssaid that an immoral act by aMinister cannot be tolerated.

Gil l blamed CaptAmarinder and AICC presi-dent Rahul Gandhi for adopt-ing double standards on theissue of moral values. “On onehand, the Congress leaders aredemanding resignation of MJAkbar who was accused ofsexual harassment by female

journalists, on the other hand,the Chief Minister and AICCpresident are trying to save theCabinet Minister of Punjabwhose conduct amounts tosexual harassment,” she said.

Jiwanjot Kaur said thatmorality demanded thatCabinet Minister be sackedimmediately and a specialcommittee of senior womanofficers is set up to record thestatement of victim and giveher justice. They said thatimmediate action against theMinister would have strength-ened the #MeToo campaign inIndia.

AAP women wingleadedded that CaptAmarinder and Rahul Gandhistill have a chance to rectifytheir mistake and sack theMinister to set an example.

��� �������� ���#�������� ���������� ��� ����� ��� �2,��344�'5���56�7

&���� �����2�������)������

����� .�*"��-*3�

The rebel faction of theAAP's Punjab unit on

Wednesday criticised theparty's announcement of newoffice bearers and threatenedto set up its own organisationalstructure if the appointmentsare not scrapped by November1.

The development comes aday after the warring factionsheld talks here to iron out dif-ferences ahead of the 2019 LokSabha elections. The mem-bers of the two groups haddescribed the meeting as "pos-itive" and "fruitful".

"On one hand they holdunity talks and then they issue

a press release makingannouncements of new districtpresidents. We are hurt andsaddened by this decision. Itshould not have happened,"rebel faction leader SukhpalSingh Khaira told reportershere.

"With these appointmentsit is clear they want to appointtheir own men," he claimed,adding that "this decision rais-es a question about their inten-tion (to patch up). They shouldscarp these appointments ifthey want to have an honestdialogue with us."

Following a meeting of itscore committee Tuesday, AAPannounced appointments ofthree district and eight con-

stituency presidents, besidesgiving the charge of its Punjabkisan and transports cells totwo MLAs.

Khaira said his faction hadearlier decided to announcethe names of 26 district pres-idents.

"But our political affairscommittee has now decidednot to announce the names ofthe new district presidentsdespite the fact that the list isready," he said.

"We will wait til lNovember 1. After that we willwe forced to form our ownorganisational structure, upto the booth-level," he said.

The rebel faction hadblamed the AAP's defunct

organisational structure forthe party's humiliating defeatin the Gurdaspur Lok Sabhaby-election, Shahkot Assemblyby-election and zila parishadpolls.

"In our meeting (onMonday), which was detailedone, we had sought scrappingof the current organisationalstructure and resignation of theleader of opposition (in PunjabAssembly)," said Kharar MLAKanwar Sandhu, a member ofthe dissident group.

"We had also said the basisof talks would be the six reso-lutions passed at a volunteers'convention at Bathinda onAugust 2. If they agree to itthen talks can be held," he said.

Sandhu said as a matter ofprinciple, the AAP leadershipshould not have made the newappointments when the unitytalks are underway.

The rebel group hadalready set up an ad hoc polit-ical affairs committee to mon-itor and supervise the recon-stitution of the entire politicalstructure of the state in Augustthis year.

The AAP's Punjab unitplunged into a crisis when theparty leadership appointedHarpal Singh Cheema as theLeader of Opposition in thestate assembly on July 26,replacing Khaira. Eight of theparty's MLAs revolted againstthe decision.

����� .�*"��-*3�

Talks between the ManoharLal Khattar Government

and the striking roadwaysemployees failed yet again onWednesday with both sidessticking to their previous standon the issue of hiring of 700private buses in the state.

The roadways employeeshave been on strike sinceOctober 16 against theHaryana Government's deci-sion to hire 700 buses of pri-vate owners and haveannounced to continue theirstrike on October 25.

This was the second meet-ing between the HaryanaGovernment and roadwaysemployees unions. Earlier onSunday also, the two sides hadfailed to reach a consensus evenafter five rounds of meeting.

On Wednesday, the meet-ing between TransportMinister Krishan Lal Panwarand union leaders continuedfor about two and a half hoursto end the deadlock and incon-

venience caused to lakhs ofcommuters in Haryana

After the meeting, theunion leaders said that thegovernment has remainedadamant on its decision of hir-ing private buses.

The government has stat-ed that 510 private buses, forwhich tenders were floatedwill ply in the state while forthe remaining 190, tenderswill not f loated.Representatives of the employ-ees union demanded cancella-tion of the tenders issued for510 private buses also, a unionleader said.

The roadways unions havealleged that the StateGovernment is trying to ben-efit a private transporter by hir-ing private buses.

A meeting of the coordi-nation committee of employ-ees union will now take adecision on Thursday to decideover the ongoing strike.

Meanwhile, the StateGovernment claimed that 2999buses plied on Haryana roads

on Wednesday. It included1820 buses of roadways, 120school and private buses and1059 other buses.

The Transport officialshave said that the ongoingstrike is causing a loss ofaround Rs 8-9 crore to the stateroadways every day

Justifying move to intro-duce 700 private buses, thegovernment has maintainedthat the Haryana Roadways atpresent has only 4,100 buses.Given the demand, the stateneeds 15,000 buses to cater tothe population of over 2.5crore.

There are about 19,000employees in HaryanaRoadways, which has a fleet ofmore than 4000 buses in whichnearly 12 lakh passengers trav-el daily.

While private operatorswill run new buses and havetheir own drivers, the con-ductors will be employees ofthe Haryana Roadways, whowill submit the receipts to thegovernment.

����� .�*"��-*3�

Haryana Education MinisterRam Bilas Sharma on

Wednesday said that duringlast four years, significantchanges have been made in theeducation policy of the State.

Apart from this, 11 otherstates have studied the onlineteachers transfer policy ofHaryana for implementing thesame in their respective states,Sharma said while speakingduring a function organisedon the completion of four yearsof the present StateGovernment, here.

He said that during thetenure of previous governments,the teachers used to worry a lot

about their transfers due towhich they were unable to payfull attention towards the edu-cation of students. The presentState Government had formu-lated an online policy for theirtransfers under which transfersof 60,000 teachers were donewith a single click and all teach-ers got the postings as per theirchoice, he said.

The Education Ministerfurther said that in order tomake children good humanbeings, the present StateGovernment had includedshalokas of the Bhagavad Gitain the school syllabus so thatstudents also get knowledge ofsocial values.

Replying to a question, hesaid that the present StateGovernment has implementedSaraswati Bus Service for girlschool students in hilly area ofMorni.

He said that the presentState Government has ensuredquality education right fromschool level to and higher edu-cation level. Apart from this,trainings have been imparted toeducated youth so as to makethem employable or to starttheir own ventures, he added.

����� .�*"��-*3�

Punjab Government has banned the sale ofglyphosate — an herbicide widely used to

control wide variety of weeds in almost all thecrops — in the State.

The chemical has been observed to be group2A Cancer causing material. Besides cancer, thischemical is also known for causing other healthproblems and has the potential to damagehuman DNA as per the opinion of experts fromthe PGIMER, Chandigarh.

Glyphosate is sold in the country under var-ious trade names such as Round-up, Excell,Glycel, Glider, Glydon, Sweep, Glyphogen etc.

Punjab State Farmers’ Commission had alsorecommended the ban on the sale of this chem-ical in Punjab.

State Agriculture Secretary KS Pannu saidthat the Central Insecticide Board andRegistration Committee (CIB&RC) of theUnion Government has recommended the useof this herbicide only for tea garden and non-cropped area and therefore, there is a dire needfor strict compliance of the existing label claimof herbicide-Glyphosate as per the conditionsof registration with CIB&RC under InsecticideAct, 1968.

There is no cultivation of tea plantation inthe state of Punjab and on account of 200 per-cent crop intensity in the Punjab State, non-cropped is too meagre.

Even this small non-cropped area is alsoassociated with the crop cultivation being theridges, water channels, bunds and some areabetween the rows of crops, orchids and canal ordrain banks. Therefore, even this area is part ofcropped area for all practical purposes.

Pannu said that Punjab Government, aftercareful consideration, has decided to issue the

directions. “All the pesticide manufacturers,marketers and dealers in the State shall not sellGlyphosate formulations or concentrationswith immediate effect,” he said.

He added that the licensing authorities havebeen asked to take necessary steps for removalof entries for Glyphosate from the licenses issuedby them.

In addition, all the state pesticide manu-facturers, marketers and dealers have also beendirected to stop the sale of Glyphosate formu-lations at all points and to return the entire stockto the concerned companies to reallocate the saidstock to the needy states by them.

The state Agriculture director has beenasked to take necessary action to implementthese directions, said Pannu.

����� .�*"��-*3�C*�3��#*3

Punjab Health and FamilyWelfare Minister Brahm

Mohindra, who is campingat Amritsar from the day ofrail tragedy on Dussehraday, visited the private hos-pitals to enquire about thehealth of the wounded per-sons, who are under treat-ment in private hospitals.He was accompanied by thestate Revenue MinisterSukhbinder Singh Sarkaria.

Mohindra also tookreports from the doctorswho are operating upon theinjured, and expressed sat-isfaction that the patientsare being provided the bestavailable treatment.

The Minister also talkedto the patients and askedthem not to pay a singlepenny to the private hospi-tals for their treatment asthe entire expenditure oftheir treatment is beingborne by the StateGovernment.

Doctors told theMinister that most of thepatients would be dis-charged soon as theirwounds are heeling at fastpace.

����� .�*"��-*3�

Aday before INLD’s disci-plinary committee is set to

submit its report on accusa-tions of indiscipline and anti-party activities against himand his elder brother Hisar MPDushyant Chautala, DigvijayChautala on Wednesdayalleged that a conspiracy hasbeen hatched by some partymembers to remove them fromthe party.

Digvijay, president of nowdissolved Indian NationalStudents Organisation (INSO)while talking to a section ofmediapersons here claimedthat some party members areconspiring against him andDushyant.

During October 18 INLD’sexecutive committee meeting,the party had announced sus-pension of the two brothersfrom the primary member-ship of INLD. Both brotherswere suspended and wereissued a showcause notice onOctober 11, but the party made

the decision public after itsexecutive meeting held underINLD chief OP Chautala .

The matter of accusationsof indiscipline againstDushyant and Digvijay wasdiscussed at the meeting andthe party’s disciplinary com-mittee was asked to submit itsreport by October 25 in thisregard. It was announced thattill then both brothers willremain suspended fromINLD’s primary membership.

Digvijay claimed that hehas not received his suspensionletter till now. While Dushyanthad received the letter onOctober 11, it is strange thatsome prominent party leaderskept denying his suspension, hesaid.

Notably, Leader of opposi-tion Abhay Singh Chautala,who is the younger son of OPChautala had claimed havingno knowledge of the suspen-sion letter, a day after it wasissued to Dushyant Chautala.

Dushyant Chautala andDigvijay Chautala are sons of

INLD's state secretary generalAjay Singh Chautala, elder sonof OP Chautala.

Leader of oppositionAbhay Singh Chautala is theyounger son of OP Chautala.

Senior Chautala had earli-er this month dissolved theparty's student and youth wings— headed by Dushyant andDigvijay respectively.

The ongoing rift in theHaryana’s influential Chautalafamily is seen as “war of suc-cession” between Abhay SinghChautala and his nephewDushyant.

On the issue of replying tothe showcause notice served bythe party, Digvijay said that weare waiting for the evidence ofallegations leveled against us. Itis upsetting that allegation ofindiscipline and indulging inanti-party activities have beenleveled against me andDushyant, he said.

We have sought evidenceagainst us… If given evidence,we will inquire into this. At thesame time, if the allegations

leveled against us are provedfalse, then action should betaken against those who madesuch baseless allegations, headded.

Asked about who con-spired against the two brothers,Digvijay said that given thelanguage of suspension letterissued to Dushyant, it seemsthat it is not issued by OPChautala and he was not takeninto confidence before issuanceof the suspension letter.

We had met OP Chautalain New Delhi and gave ourexplanation on the entire issue.He listened to us and was alsoin favor of many things andexpressed regret on the recenthappenings in the party,Digvijay said.

When asked to commenton deepening rift in the INLD,he claimed that the party is notdivided.

Chautala, who was nation-al president of now-disbandedINSO, reiterated that INSO isan independent body and hasa separate constitution.

1� ��(2��*���&��������������������� �� ���3�4��������������

$$%���(� � ������������������������� ��������� ���������

���������������������������������"'�'��'5�'5��

%����(�*�� ������������5������(������� ����������'������� ���� ���

.����������������������%����!I���!'����������

������������������� ��������������� *'��+&4�(�"������%('��5&�(*'�

%��+�(*�(����"�+'��("�6�7'4*�#+�'���""+�*&6���)'���%0�(*'8�'%'�(��(�('��"9'��6'�(�*�+

��4#&+'+�%*�#"7�%�"5�(*'�*���9�+���(�����(*'�%4*""#�%:##�)&%

����� (*(HD*"

Toddlers presented vari-ous cultural performances

on the occasion of grandpar-ents day at the Childrens'Academy school here.Grandparents of the studentsalso participated in variousevents.

The Additional DistrictMagistrate of Nainital, HarvirSingh, inaugurated the pro-gramme. Addressing the gath-ering on the occasion, hesaid that children learn valuesat home and in school. Alongwith good education, it isalso important to teach themnative culture and keep themin touch with their mothertongue to nurture them intoideal citizens later on.

He exhorted the adults tolook after their own parentsthe way they look after theirchildren. The school principalShrish Pathak said that thepurpose behind organisingsuch events is to elicit focuson the importance of instill-ing cultural values inchildren.

+�������������������������������� �

&������������.������%��!���������

Page 5: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

�������8���������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./

'5�94"3��0�������������������������';��'#*�������D�����.��������$�������!��%%��,�����������������/�����������,��������*��������5/�*6�����������������%��*�����������5��*6�������%���������%���'������������.�����.������5�'..6���������&�

� �������������������� ���������';��'#*�������#����������������������������������������"�����������������������������������%���������������������/���%���������*����#��������&�

����������������<���� � �����=���� ���';��'#*���.��H����������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������%�������,������������ ������������������������,���������!������7�����%���������%����0#�!�")�����*�"2���� ����L����!%�������,����������,����������%������������������������!&

��>�������� ��� ������������� ��';��'#*����������������������������������!7���������������������D������3�������������� �����,��� ����1%�����������%%����������,�����������������������������������������'��������5��'6����%�����������������������������D-.7�������������������%����&

��������������� ���! ������ ��';��'#*��������������!�'�������#��,�����/�������*���7���������������������������������������������������������� ���������������!�������������%������!��,������7%�!������������������3��E�>;;�����&�

�������� ������������ �����=������';��'#*���#������������*���!���%���������������������������������������$�������!��������������:;�-�������@�������#���������:;E9���������������8����������!&�

����� "'$��'(��

Amonth after increasing routineand recurring incentives from Rs

1,000 per month to Rs 2,000 permonth to benefit 10,22,265 ASHAworkers, the Union Cabinet onWednesday greenlighted raise insupervisory visit charges for ASHAFacilitators from Rs 250 to Rs 300 pervisit from October onwards.

With the proposed increase,accredited social health activists(ASHA) facilitators will now receiveabout Rs 6,000 against Rs 5,000 permonth for 2018-2019 and 2019-2020.The move will benefit 41,405 ASHAfacilitators.

“I am heartily thankful to Hon. PMShri @narendramodi ji for#CabinetDecision on enhancing super-visory visit charges of ASHAFacilitators. This will enthuse & moti-vate them as Government implements#AyushmanBharat. Hon PM had alsospoken to our Asha workers directlythrough VC (sic),” Union HealthMinister JP Nadda said on Twitter.

The benefits which were extend-ed by the earlier Cabinet decision inSeptember included coverage of10,63,670 ASHAs and ASHA facilita-tors under the Pradhan Mantri JeevanJyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) andPradhan Mantri Suraksha BimaYojana, a Government statement said.

The incentives also includedincreasing their routine and recurringincentives as well as hiking the hon-orarium for nearly 27,00,000 angan-wadi workers and anganwadi helpers,it said.

As part of the support mecha-nism, an ASHA facilitator usually

mentors and monitors the perfor-mance of 10 to 25 ASHAs. She is acritical link of the support structurenetwork, the official statement stated.

Substantial progress has beenmade by States in setting up supportstructures during the last three years,as states have increasingly becomecognisant of the correlation betweenstrong support structures and aneffective ASHA programme, it said.

The ASHA facilitators are gener-ally selected from amongst the ASHAsthemselves.

All States except Andhra Pradesh,Himachal Pradesh, Jammu &Kashmir, Kerala, Nagaland, TamilNadu, Telangana, West Bengal,Rajasthan and the Union Territorieshave selected ASHA facilitators, thestatement added.

In yet another major decisionrelated to the health sector, theCabinet also cleared a proposal to cre-ate one post of Director in the basicpay of Rs 2,25,000/(fixed) plus NPAfor new AIIMS at Rae Bareli (UttarPradesh), Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh),Bathinda (Punjab), Guwahati(Assam), Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh)and Deoghar (Jharkhand).

����� "'$��'(��

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesday said

India’s youngsters are leverag-ing the power of technologywonderfully and they are usingit not only for themselves butalso for the welfare of otherswhich is a wonderful sign.

Addressing IT and elec-tronic manufacturing profes-sionals and key industry lead-ers from across the country ata town hall meet, the PrimeMinister expressed hope thatIndia will get its due place inthe world by surpassing allchallenges it is facing today.Modi said, people want towork for others and they wantto serve the society and bringa positive difference. The PMsaid on many occasions, whatthe “Sarkar” cannot do,“Sanskar” can do.

Prime Minister launchedthe “Main Nahin Hum” Portaland App on the occasion. Theportal that works on the theme

“Self4Society” will enable ITprofessionals and organisationsto bring together their effortstowards social causes, and ser-vice to society, on one platform.It is also expected to generatewider participation of interest-ed people who are motivated towork for the benefit of society.

PM said among those whointeracted with the PrimeMinister were AnandMahindra, Sudha Murthy, anda number of young profession-als, from India’s top IT compa-nies. IT professionals explainedtheir efforts towards social vol-unteering, especially in skillingand cleanliness. In response toan observation, the PrimeMinister asserted that the sym-bol of the Swachchh BharatMission is the spectacles ofBapu, the inspiration is Bapuand we are fulfilling Bapu’svision. Every effort, however bigor small, must be valued. Let usmake cleanliness a part of ourvalue systems,” he added.

Noting that there are many

start-ups in the social sector,the Prime Minister wished theyoung social entrepreneurswell. Speaking on the impor-tance of conserving water, thePrime Minister said that inorder to learn about waterconservation, people shouldvisit Porbandar in Gujarat, andsee the home of MahatmaGandhi. He said that throughvolunteering efforts, a lot canbe done in the agriculture sec-tor. Youngsters must ventureout and work for the welfare offarmers, he added.

Speaking on the occasion,Minister for Electronic and ITRavi Shankar Prasad said theendeavour of IT professionalsmust be to address the last manin the queue, the oppressed andthe marginalised. He said, it isthe dream that the PrimeMinister has for Self for Societyand for Digital India. Prasadsaid, digital empowerment ofcommon man with technologyis the main aim of DigitalIndia initiative.

����� "'$��'(��

In a move to augment country’s fish pro-duction to 20 million tonnes by 2022-

23 and promote aqua culture, the Centreon Wednesday approved a Rs 7,522-crorefund for creating infrastructure facilitiesin the fisheries sector. This will generateover 9.40 lakh employment opportunities.

The Cabinet Committeeon Economic Affairs, chairedby Prime Minister NarendraModi, gave its approval for cre-ation of special Fisheries andAquaculture InfrastructureDevelopment Fund (FIDF).

“The approval entails anestimated fund size of Rs 7,522crore, comprising Rs 5,266.40crore to be raised by the NodalLoaning Entities (NLEs), Rs1,316.6 crore beneficiaries con-tribution and Rs 939.48 crorebudgetary support from theGovernment of India,” an offi-cial statement said.

National Bank forAgriculture and Rural Development(NABARD), National CooperativesDevelopment Corporation (NCDC) andall scheduled banks would be the NLEs, itadded. FIDF would provide concessionalfinance to State Governments/UTs and

State entities, cooperatives, individuals andentrepreneurs etc, for taking up of the iden-tified investment activities of fisheriesdevelopment.

Under FIDF, loan lending will beover a period of five years from 2018-19to 2022-23 and maximum repayment willbe over a period of 12 years inclusive ofmoratorium of two years on repayment

of principal.Listing out the benefits,

the Government said this fundwould help in creation of fish-eries infrastructure facilitiesboth in marine and inlandfisheries sectors, which wouldboost fish production and helpachieve target of 15 milliontonne by 2020 set under theblue revolution. TheGovernment aims to achieve asustainable growth of 8-9 percent, so that fish productionreaches to the level of about 20million tonnes by 2022-23.

This fund would also cre-ate employment opportuni-

ties to over 9.40 lakh fishers/fisher-men/fisherfolk and other entrepreneursin fishing and allied activities. It wouldhelp attract private investment in creationand management of fisheries infrastruc-ture facilities.

����� "'$��'(��

Against the backdrop of theMeToo movement, the

Government has set up a Groupof Ministers (GoM), headed byUnion Home Minister RajnathSingh, to strengthen the legaland institutional frameworks todeal with and prevent sexualharassment at workplace. So far, several women have pub-licly named people who hadallegedly harassed them at theirworkplace.

Former editor MJ Akbarhad to resign as Minister ofState for External Affairs fol-lowing allegations of sexualharassment against him by for-mer colleagues.

In a statement, the homeministry said the members ofthe GoM are Road TransportMinister Nitin Gadkari,Defence Minister NirmalaSitharaman and Women andChild Development MinisterManeka Gandhi.

The GoM will examinethe existing legal and institu-tional frameworks for dealingwith matters of sexual harass-ment of women at workplace.It will recommend actionrequired for effective imple-mentation of the existing pro-visions, as well as for strength-ening the existing legal andinstitutional frameworks foraddressing issues related tosexual harassment at work-place, the statement said.

The GoM will, within threemonths of its constitution,examine the existing provisionsfor the safety of women, includ-ing those mentioned above,and recommend further mea-sures required to strengthen andmake them more effective.

The GoM has been consti-tuted in view of the felt need forbroader consultation on thisissue, from the point of view ofdeveloping appropriate rec-ommendations and layingdown a comprehensive plan ofaction and for ensuring itstime bound implementation,the statement said.

The Government is com-mitted to ensure the safetyand dignity of women in theworkforce, it said.

The Sexual Harassment ofWomen at Workplace(Prevention, Prohibition andRedressal) Act is the key legis-lation for preventing and pro-tecting women against sexualharassment in the workplaceand to ensure effective redres-sal of complaints of sexualharassment.

The Ministry of Womenand Child Development hasalso launched an electroniccomplaints box that enableswomen, irrespective of theirwork status, to raise their voiceagainst sexual harassment atworkplace.

Once a complaint is sub-mitted to the ‘SHe-Box’, it isdirectly sent to the authorityconcerned having jurisdiction totake action into the matter. Amechanism will be put in placeto regularly monitor the actiontaken on the complaints, it said.

���������������� "'$��'(��

Amid the pestering feudbetween sacked CBI

Director Alok Verma and hisdeputy Rakesh Asthana duringthe last few months, it has nowemerged that Verma challengedthe authority of the CentralVigilance Commission (CVC)and went ahead to book Asthanadespite express recommendationagainst the move by the anti-cor-ruption watchdog.

Top CBI sources said theCVC had through a note datedOctober 15 advised Verma notto file an FIR against Asthana.But in utter defiance of theCVC’s directive, Verma decid-ed to file an FIR based on acomplaint from accused in theMoin Qureshi case, Satish Sanaon the same day.

Besides, the CBI DirectorAlok Verma also defied theCVC’s directive to submit thefiles of the cases in whichAsthana had alleged bribery onthe part of his boss who alsomeddled in the probes beingsupervised by the SpecialDirector. Asthana had in acomplaint on August 24 to theCabinet Secretary, alleged graftand meddling by Verma in thecases handled by the former.The Cabinet Secretary had for-warded the complaint to theCVC that initiated an enquiryinto the allegations.

Sources also said, Vermahad put as many as 17 jour-nalists on surveillance andtheir phones were being tappedunauthorisedly and had alsosent a team of about six officialsto arrest Asthana but could notsucceed as he was not availableat his residence and was presentin the High Court for quashingof the FIR against him. The CBIhad arrested Deputy SPDevendra Kumar a day before.

The Government termedthe defiance of Verma as “extra-ordinary and unprecedented”to divest him of all his respon-sibility as the CBI boss. TheGovernment also divestedAsthana of his powers.

The CBI headquarters wasabuzz with activity till late inthe night on Tuesday. At about10 PM, teams of about 15-16officers entered the compoundin Innova and Ertiga vehicles.A white sedan followed with MNageswar Rao, who was givencharge of duties and functionsof CBI director.

In an unprecedentedtakeover of charge as Directorof CBI, Rao went straight to his

office and took charge of theposition around 11.30 pm asrest of the CBI staff was cluelessabout the changes taking placein the agency. Verma had left thebuilding earlier around 7.30pm which is the normal routine.During the day, Verma had vis-ited his North Block office.

On Tuesday evening, atSatarkata Bhavan, the head-quarters of the CVC held a cru-cial meeting to decide the fateof two feuding officers of the

CBI. In an unanimous decision,the CVC recommended divest-ing all the powers of Verma andAsthana and sent the recom-mendation to the Governmentaround 8.30 pm.

On the basis of the recom-mendation, the AppointmentsCommittee of the Cabinethanded over the charge of CBIDirector to Joint Director Raoas “interim measure” for con-duct of impartial enquiriesagainst the two officers.

New Delhi: No Bharat Stage-IV vehicle would be sold or reg-istered in India from April 1,2020, the Supreme Court ruledon Wednesday, saying anyextension of time in introduc-ing the new emission normswould adversely impact thehealth of citizens as the pollu-tion has reached an “alarmingand critical” level.

Bharat stage (BS) emis-sion norms are standards insti-tuted by the Government toregulate output of air pollutantsfrom motor vehicles. The BS IVnorms have been enforcedacross the country since April 2017. In 2016, the Centrehad announced the countrywould skip the BS-V normsaltogether and adopt BS-VInorms by 2020.

The apex court said therecannot be any compromise onthe health of citizens and thishas to take precedence over the“greed” of few automobile man-ufacturers who unfortunately,want to stretch the timeline tomake a “little more money”.

Noting that India has the“dubious distinction” of having15 out of the 20 most pollutedcities in the world, a benchheaded by Justice Madan BLokur said the effect of pollu-tion on the environment andhealth was so huge that it can-not be compensated in themarginal extra profits that

manufacturers might make.“Therefore, if there is a con-

flict between health and wealth,obviously, health will have to begiven precedence,” said theBench, which also comprisedJustices SA Nazeer and DeepakGupta. “We are dealing here witha situation where children andunborn children suffer frompollution and issues of inter-gen-erational equity are involved,” theBench said and noted there wasmore than sufficient time formanufacturers to make BS-VIcompliant vehicles.

“They (manufacturers)already have the technology todo so. The automobile indus-try must show the will, respon-sibility and urgency in thisregard,” the court said in itsorder while deciding if BS--IVcompliant vehicles should bepermitted to be sold in Indiaafter March 31, 2020.

The top court termed as“very vague” a sub-rule insert-ed in the Central Motor VehicleRules, 1989 by the Governmentas per which grace period ofthree and six months respec-tively were given for sale of BS-VI compliant vehicles manu-factured before April 1, 2020.

As per the sub-rule, timetill June 30, 2020 was given toautomobile manufacturers tosell their BS-IV compliant four-wheelers manufactured tillMarch 31, 2020. PTI

����� "'$��'(��

The Union Cabinet onWednesday approved set-

ting up of Appellate Tribunaland Adjudicating Authorityfor speedy disposal of casesrelated to benami transactions.

Earlier this month, theGovernment had notifiedSessions courts in 34 States andUnion Territories, which willact as special courts for trial ofoffences under the benamitransaction law.

Benami transaction referstransactions made in a ficti-tious name, or the owner is notaware of the ownership of theproperty, or the person payingfor the property is not trace-able. As per an official release,the Adjudicating Authority andAppellate Tribunal will be

based in the National CapitalTerritory of Delhi (NCTD).

Benches of AdjudicatingAuthority may sit in Kolkata,Mumbai and Chennai, and thenecessary notification in thisregard will be issued after con-sultation with the Chairpersonof the proposed AdjudicatingAuthority.

“The approval will result ineffective and better adminis-tration of cases referred to theAdjudicating Authority andspeedy disposal of appeals filedagainst the order of theAdjudicating Authority beforethe Appellate Tribunal,” therelease said.

The appointment of theAdjudicating Authority, itadded, would provide firststage review of administrativeaction under the Prohibition of

Benami Property TransactionsAct (PBPT) Act.

Establishment of the pro-posed Appellate Tribunalwould provide an appellatemechanism for the order

passed by the AdjudicatingAuthority under the PBPT Act.

The rules and all the pro-visions of the BenamiTransactions (Prohibition) Actcame into force on November

1, 2016. After coming intoeffect, the existing BenamiTransactions (Prohibition) Act,1988, was renamed as theProhibition of Benami PropertyTransactions Act, 1988.

������������������� ���$�%�����&� �����

New Delhi: Former UnionMinisters Yashwant Sinha andArun Shourie and activistlawyer Prashant Bhushan onWednesday moved theSupreme Court seeking regis-tration of an FIR into theRafale fighter jet deal betweenIndia and France alleging“criminal misconduct” by highpublic functionaries.

They also sought a direc-tion to the CBI to investigatethe offences mentioned in theircomplaint in a “time-bound”manner and submit periodicstatus reports to the apex court.

The complaint was filed onOctober 4 with the CBI aftertheir meeting with CBI Director

Alok Kumar Verma, who waslate Tuesday night directed bythe Centre to proceed on leavein the wake of feud with his sec-ond-in-command in the agencyRakesh Asthana.

The petition by the triocame two weeks after the apexcourt had on October 10 askedthe Centre to provide details ofthe decision making process inthe Rafale deal with France ina sealed cover by October 29.

It had clarified that it doesnot want information on pric-ing and technical particulars.

The court’s order had comeon two PILs filed by advocatesML Sharma and VineetDhanda. PTI

4�������#�������������� ���#����%�(��(���������

� ��%�./������������������.+.�������������������������)������E=��,�����*�� �+��������������������8�3���������3� ����*������

� /��������������������������.+.����������,���+�����������������������8�3��������������%������������������������������M�����������#������#������������������!

� /������������./�����������*�� �+���������������������.+.����������,�����������������������������������������*�����������������������!�������%���������������������������������������%����������%��,�����!�����#%��������������

� +���������%��������!����EK� ���������������,������������������%������������������%%��������������!����������������������������������1���������������������*���������������������������������������,������������������������

��/���&5����/������/��� ������������ '�����������������������-�,��������������������

#�����������������<4�#����������D������������������������������������%���������������������������������������������������������������

� /����������*� ���������*������!���!�������H�� ��������������.������������������������!

�������������������������������������������������������������������.����%������������%��%�����*� ���������*������!

� 7���%��������������0��������������%��������0���������%���������#�����������#�����0����#���������0�������������������������������!�0������������������������$��

�� ������������������������1�������!������������.������������������#�%���������������,���������E;�><�>K;�*#�*�����*#�*����������������������������������������,����!����/����@� ����������������������#�� ����/����@� ���

�� *���#�������1��%��*�������������������������������������?�H�������H�������"���������������"��������������$����/�������3� ��������������D�������������������,�����������*#�*�������������

��� ���������������������������������� �����������&"'&������� � ���

-���������������6�+778�������������������������'���

����-�,������������������������������%������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������%���������������%������,�����������E=���������������!:;:;������������������,������

&����������������8 ��&������ ����������9�� ����'������������ ���

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

"�(����)���� " ��*+��������������&�����,-,-

%��'��������� ��������������������������������1�� ���������'����������� %�������� ����4� �:4�������������� �������������;�����������*�'<�%���� =�$����������"� ������#������� %1�

Page 6: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

���������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./ �������:

����������������.�'""*�

Nearly 1,100 fireworks man-ufacturing factories

employing eight lakh people(three lakh direct employeesand five lakh indirect employ-ees) face uncertain future andtroubled times as a follow-up toTuesday’s Supreme Court ver-dict banning the manufactureand sale of certain categories offireworks and also fixing thehours at which the firecrackerscould be burst.

The apex court orderrestricting the hours at whichthe firecrackers could be burstduring festivities have added tothe woes of the general publicin Tamil Nadu. The Stateoccupies a distinct position inIndia as the fireworks capitalof the country as well as oneof the lead consumers of fire-crackers. In Tamil Nadu, fire-works are an essential ingre-dient not only during festivalsbut at the time of death too. Itis mandatory for certain com-munities to burst firecrackerswhen the departed souls aretaken out to the burial groundfor their final journey.

“We do not have any issueswith the Supreme Court ver-dict. But the industry itself is

facing a number of issuesincluding the threat posed byChinese firecrackers smug-gled into the country. Thesmuggled firecrackers arebeing openly sold all overTamil Nadu and in the rest ofthe country,” K Mariappan,secretary, Tamil NaduFireworks and AmorcesManufacturers’ Association(TANFAMA), told The Pioneerover telephone from Sivakasi

He said the Supreme Courtorder making it mandatory tomanufacture only green fire-works remains a mystery.“Since we came to know aboutthe verdict, we have been strug-gling to find out what is thisgreen fireworks. TillWednesday evening, we couldnot find out the definition forgreen fireworks either from the

Encyclopaedia or the internet.Either way, the industry is allset to pull down the shutters asthe court has asked thePetroleum and Explosive SafetyOrganisation (PESO) to cancelthe licenses of all units that donot meet the conditions spec-ified in the verdict,” saidMariappan.

Some of the manufacturersof fireworks told this paper thatit would take a couple of yearsfor them to switch over toproducts (firecrackers) thatmeet the mandatory require-ments set by the apex court. “Itcould be done only in phases.You cannot change the productor the manufacturing tech-niques overnight,” said theowner of a fireworks manu-facturing unit at Sivakasi.

The general public too areupset over the court verdictwhich has fixed the hoursduring which firecrackerscould be burst. For Deepavali,fireworks could be burst onlybetween 8 pm and 10 pm asthe court verdict. “This isridiculous. The court cannotgive directions to us when tocelebrate Deepavali and thetime of bursting crackers. InTamil Nadu, we celebrateDeepavali in the early hoursand the fireworks are burst inthe wee hours. How can weburst the fireworks at 8 pm?”asked K Asokan, who is par-ticular about Deepavali cele-brations. “These fireworks areburst for the happiness of thechildren and aged alike. It hasbeen a long standing traditionthat the firecrackers are burstearly morning,” he said.

Mariappan said that thefireworks manufacturers werewilling to bring down thesound level to that specified bythe court. “But it will take timeand the Court should come for-ward to help us from theonslaught of the Chinese fire-works,” he said.

����������������.�'""*��

Amala Paul, heartthrob ofsouth Indian film industry,

too joined the MeToo cam-paign on Wednesday by accus-ing movie maker Susi Ganesanof sexual misconduct. Ganesanwas al;ready in the eye of astorm following the disclo-sures by Leena Manimekalai, afilm maker, that the former had‘misbehaved’ with her in 2005.

Paul, the prima donna ofTamil, Malayalam and Telugufilms on a social media post onWednesday accused Ganesanof making unchivalrous bodi-ly contacts during the shootingof a film directed by him inwhich she was the lead lady.“Me too being the lead actressfor Thiruttupayale2 was sub-

jected to double meaning talks,misrepresented offers andunchivalrous body contacts.This pretty much made myexperience of shooting TP2 amentally fatiguing one,” wrotePaul in her Twitter posting asshe extended support to col-league Manimekalai.

Paul known for her pro-active approach to all issues con-

cerning women, pointed out thedouble standard prevailingamong men. “In our emergingeconomy and ever expandingfemale work force, this behav-iour is rampantly occurringeverywhere, in all trades andindustries. These men treattheir house wives and daughtersdifferent, but when it comes totheir colleagues they don’t missa chance to show an upper handand take advantage,” said Paul.

Ganesan had denied allcharges made by Manikmekalaiand is reported to have initiat-ed legal proceedings againsther. The Kollywood (as Tamilfilm industry os known insynch with Kodambakkam, aChennai suburb where most ofthe film studios were centred)has been in the MeToo newssince last month with singer

Chinmayee coming out in theopen with startling disclosuresthat Vairamuthu, Tamil filmindustry’s leading lyricist whohad been honoured withPadma Bhushan, had sexuallyharassed her. The poet deniedthe allegations while his col-leagues in the DMK, blamedthe BJP for making baselesscharges against him.

Besides Vairamuthu andGanesan, actors Thyagarajanand Arjun Sarja too have beennamed by female colleaguesunder the MeToo campaign. Apress meet addressed byChinmayee and Manimekalailast week at Chennai ended inchaos as some of the seniorjournalists questioned the vic-tims about the authenticity oftheir allegations and the timingof the disclosures.

����� �*�"*

Even as State leaders of LJPand RLSP, the two NDA

allies, continue saying therehad been no talks on seatsharing senior JD(U) leaderRCP Singh on Wednesdayasserted that the talks on seatsharing have finalised. “Theformal announcement will bemade by senior NDA leadersvery soon,” said the JD(U)parliamentary board chief.

Singh’s announcement cameamid the denials from PashupatiKumar Paras and BhagwanSingh Kushwaha, State presi-dents of LJP and RLSP respec-tively. The duo not only deniedany talks on this issue in theNDA but also rejected thereported formula under whichBJP and JD(U) would share 17and 16 seats respectively andleave five seats for LJP and two for RLSP.

The top leaders of theseparties Ram Vilas Paswan andUpendra Kushwaha are keep-ing silence but their State lead-ers are insisting that the report-ed formula was unfoundedand unacceptable. LJP’s Paraswho is also a Minister in NitishKumar cabinet said his partywould not settle anything lessthan seven seats. The party in2014 had contested seven seatsand won six and lost the sev-enth seat with a slender mar-gin. “Media reports of seatsharing are not true. As far asI know there had been no talksand no decision as yet,” he said.

However, there was no reac-

tion from either Paswan or hisson and parliamentary boardchairman Chirag Paswan, who isseen as number two in the party.

Similarly RLSP chiefUpendra Kushwaha, who isknown for expressing his dis-pleasure over the “neglect” ofhis party in the NDA and hisallergy towards Nitish, tooremain silent. There havebeen speculations thatKushwaha might walk out ofNDA if ignored by BJP lead-ership amid reports that hewas trying to make a dealwith RJD leadership foralliance with maha gath-bandhan.

Its Bihar unit presidentBhagwan Singh Kushwahahowever, said that in no caseRLSP would quit NDA. But healso asserted there had been noformal talks on seat sharing andall the reports were mererumours.

JD(U)’s RCP Singh how-ever, said that seat sharingreports were absolutely correct.“Everything is finalised. Seatshave been distributed. Thosedenying it are not aware aboutit,” he said.

Amid these contradictoryreports one thing hasemerged out that the NDAwas scary of the attitude ofLJP and RLSP and it is sus-pected that the two partiesmight chose different path iftheir central leaders were notfully convinced. Even if therehas been a final decision onseat sharing it was not beingannounced due to this factor.

���4"��"���,��5���'/��'���'"'3

.����������� ������������ �������/�

�"��*��(�"*�D��8�3'$)3H#*3'�*"�'##'"��*(

�"-3'��'"��")��)"(@�D3�"-�8'#��+*(#�/D��*���'����'�)8��'*����))&����#��*"�*�)3@�8)3�.'3�*�".)��D"���'#��)�/D3#�8�3'.3*.H'3#�$�'"���'�'�*3�'��#)D(#�*3'

�*H'"�)D���)���'�/D3�*(-3)D"��8)3���'�3�8�"*(��)D3"'@

.">/?�� ��'��������� ����� ����������� �������

���������������� H)(H*�*

Alleged politicalisation ofthe Central Bureau of

Investigation came in forsevere criticism from BengalChief Minister MamataBanerjee who on Wednesdayquestioned the agency’s cred-ibility saying the presentGovernment in Delhi had turned CBI into BBI orBJP Bureau of Investigation.

“CBI has now become socalled BBI (BJP Bureau ofInvestigation) — very unfor-tunate!” Mamata tweetedhours after two topmost offi-cers of the Agency — DirectorAlok Verma and SpecialDirector Rakesh Asthana —were unceremoniouslyremoved from their postsalong with many other seniorofficials.

Mamata who has alwaysbeen critical of the NarendraModi Government for alleged-ly using the CBI andEnforcement Directorateagainst Opposition outfits ear-lier said that the electoratewould give a befitting reply tothe saffron party for its arrogance.

“Their (BJP) days arenumbered because the peopleare waiting for a chance whichwill come in 2019 when theywill be thrown out of power,”Mamata had recently said ina party meeting alleging theNarendra Modi Governmenthad done nothing exceptdelivering tall talks and false hopes.

The Bengal saffron leader-ship however rejected Mamata’sclaims saying CBI had notbeen influenced by the BJP.

“Despite their false alle-

gations the BJP Governmenthad never interfered with thefunctioning of the CBI. Hadit been so then most of theTrinamool Congress leaderswould have been jai l ,” State BJP president DilipGhosh said drawing the LeftFront to put a counter ques-tion as to whether the BJP wasusing the Sharada and Naradacases against the TMC selec-t ively and for polit ical purposes.

“Dilip Ghosh’s statementitself proves that the CBI is not acting properly. It isusing the Sharada and Naradahandle during the electionskeeping BJP’s political gains inview otherwise they wouldhave arrested many TMCleaders by now,” said CPI(M)’sSujan Chakrabarty.

Meanwhile, seniorTrinamool leader and MPSudip Bandopadhyay onWednesday said he had been

praying for an “elevation” forMamata Banerjee.

When asked as to what heprayed before Goddess Laxmion (Wednesday’s) Laxmi Puja,he said “I had prayed duringthe Durga Puja and now alsoI pray before the MotherGoddess that our ChiefMinister be given an elevationto topmost post of the coun-try so that not only of Bengalthe people but the people ofthe entire country gets thebenef it of her good governance.”

In an unrelated develop-ment Banerjee on Wednesdaycriticized the Railway admin-istration for mishandling theaffairs in the Railway Stationswhich led to the stampedeand death of two persons atSantragachi Railway Stationin Howrah on Tuesday.“There has been a lack ofcoordination and misman-agement that led to theTuesday’s mishaps. Similar situation prevails inmany Railway Stations whichshould be taken care of imme-diately,” Banerjee said.

Two persons were killedand about 17 injured onTuesday’s stampede atSantragachi station a satelliteRailway junction of Kolkataand Howrah when passen-gers of 4-5 trains — includingan EMU entered the platform at a time — jostledfor space on a foot over bridgeleading to a stampede.

� M�������������!�����������!� #�!��-�,����������������������./������//�����/���/��������,����������

,�%������ �76���.����7'���#

��'�3�5/��6��*@#�*3'"D�/'3'��/'.*D#'���'

�')�('�*3'�$*���"-�8)3�*.�*".'�$��.��$�((�.)�'�"�:;EF�$�'"���'@�$�((

/'���3)$"�)D��)8�)$'3���*�*�*��*�

3'.'"�(@�#*����"�*��*3�@�''��"-�*(('-�"-���'

"*3'"�3*��)��-)+'3"�'"���*���)"'

")���"-�'N.'���'(�+'3�"-��*((��*(H#

*"��8*(#'��)�'#

�� ������(��� ����� ���(����1�����'��� �

������ .�'""*��

A�100 crore indeginously-developed high-tech, ener-

gy-efficient, self-propelled orengineless train will be unveiledlater this month, a top officialof the Integral Coach Factory(ICF) has said.

“We are planning to unveilthe train on Oct 29,” ICFGeneral Manager S Mani saidon Wednesday.

He said the train willundergo test runs in two/threesectors for about two monthsand on satisfactory results,would be inducted into pas-senger service.

The train, capable of touch-ing speeds of 160 kmph, willreplace the Shatabdi Express.

"With 16 coaches the trainwill have the same passengercarrying capacity. There arenow separate power cars. Butit is about 15-20 per centenergy efficient and leavesless of a carbon footprint,"Mani said.

Officials said the trainsetwas conceived, designed anddeveloped in about 18 monthstime as against the industrynorm of about 3-4 years.

The trainset has aerody-namically designed driver cab-ins at both the ends for quick-er turnaround at destinations.

According to an ICF offi-cial, every alternative coach ismotorised to ensure even distr ibution of Motive Power and faster accelera-tion/deceleration.

The train sports anadvanced regenerative brakingsystem which saves power.

Mani also said the fullyairconditioned train offers bet-ter passenger comfort andsafety as all the equipments arefixed under the carriage/coachso that more space is availableon board.

In the Executive Class, theseats are rotatable to match thetrain's direction.

Train 18 will have a mod-ern look with continuous win-dows on the exterior and itsseating capacity will be 1,128.

On the safety front, a TrainManagement System in thedriver's cab will ensure precisebrake control and automatedcontrol of the doors.

�0--����������������/����01� ��%������������2� �,3

������ �*"�*(*��5H'3*(*6�

Aday after Kerala ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan

slammed the Pandalam royalfamily for claiming rights andpowers over the Lord Ayyappashrine, the latter hit back onWednesday, saying the family hascarried out what it is entitled to.

Vijayan has said theSabarimala temple is the prop-erty of the Travancore DevasomBoard (TDB) and that noneelse has any rights over it. He saidon Tuesday that according to the1949 covenant, the Sabarimalatemple ownership was handedover to the TDB after the royalfamily had serious financial cri-sis. But spokesperson for thefamily, Sreekumar Varma, toldthe media that the TDB hasonly administrative controlover the temple.

"The real owners of thetemple are the devotees and theTDB has only administrativecontrol. The relation that thefamily has with the Sabarimalatemple does not change everyfive years," said Varma, oblique-ly criticising Vijayan's remarks.

Varma's statement wasmeant to emphasise that when-ever the Left government comesto power — with opposition

UDF and LDF taking turns torule the State — it takes positioncontrary to the Congress-ledUDF's, which has maintainedthat it's the 'tantri' and thePandalam royal family whoseviews matter about Sabarimala.

"The events that occurred atthe temple since it opened onOctober 16 and closed onMonday appear to have goneaccording to a perfectly writtenscript by vested interests. Whathappened at the temple town wassomething avoidable. The tem-ple turned into a conflict zone.We are deeply pained at the man-ner in which Vijayan spoke withabsolute contempt," said Varma.

"We wish to make it veryclear: we are not at all interest-ed in the wealth of the templeand maybe there will be some,who have an eye on its wealthand we have to find out who theyare. We have not asked for a sin-gle rupee from the TDB . Ouronly concern and worry is thatthere should be no breach of tra-ditions," added Varma.

Leader of oppositionRamesh Chennithala said in thestate capital on Wednesday thatVijayan had only complicatedthe situation by his outburst.

"Vijayan has declared a waron the devotees. His outburst

against the Pandalam royal fam-ily and 'tantri' does not suit thepost that Vijayan holds. The cur-rent impasse will end whenVijayan sheds his arrogance,"said Chennithala.

���������������������� ��%����� ��������

���� ��*"�*+D35�"6�

Several shops inKanyakumari, a town bor-

dering Kerala, downed shuttersWednesday in protest againstthe Supreme courtorder allow-ing women of menstrual age toenter Sabarimala temple in thatstate, police said.

Local traders had given thecall for shut down, they said.

The famous Sabarimalatemple, which opened for themonthly pooja on October 17after the Apex court verdict,had witnessed a stand-off overthe issue with angry devoteespreventing at least a dozenwomen in the "barred" agegroup from entering the shrine.

4�������������������������'����������������������04�(���'� ���������

���� ����3D+*"*"��*�D3*��

As Kerala continues to seekfunds to rebuild the State

in the aftermath of the worstdisaster it faced in a century, aproposed �80 crore apartmentcomplex for State legislators,has come under fire.

The proposed plan is todemolish an old building in theLegislators Complex locatedin the heart of the capital cityand build a multi-storeyedhousing complex in its place.

Senior Congress leader andformer Kerala SpeakerV.M.Sudheeran said while therewas no doubt that legislatorsshould get facilities to improvetheir efficiency, the timing ofgoing ahead with the multicrore project was "shocking".

"At the State's worst evercrisis, after the floods broughtin untold miseries and suffer-ings, the entire efforts andfunds should be diverted torebuild our state, as thousandsof people are suffering.

"I will not say this projectshould be shelved, but it shouldnot happen now," Sudheeran

told the media here.According to estimates the

floods that ravaged the Statehas caused a destruction of over�40,000 crore and the PinarayiVijayan Government has givena clarion call to all to contributeone month's salary for rebuild-ing operations.

This apartment rebuildingproposal was mooted duringthe previous OommenChandy Government, and theVijayan Government has takenit forward.

Academic and formerchairman of the Kerala StateFinance Commission BAPrakash told the media whenthe state was reeling for want offunds it was not right for anelected Government to go aheadwith this project at this time.

"In the larger interest of thestate, especially when theurgency is to rebuild the Statein the aftermath of the floods,the legislators can wait forsome time," said Prakash.

Following the media takingit up, Kerala Assembly SpeakerP Sreeramakrishnan has askedthe concerned authorities to goslow with the project.

���� ���@$A���,8�������'������(�� ��� ��'������������

���� ��#��0����������;���.���������������

���������������!#�%�����������������$��

����������.�����!�

�%��!�%��

���� �*"*���

The BJP in Goa Wednesdaysaid Chief Minister Manohar

Parrikar, whose extendedabsence from office due to illhealth has sparked demands oftemporary replacement, is like-ly to resume duty next month.

The State unit BhartiyaJanata Party (BJP) presidentVinay Tendulkar, however, con-ceded the pace of administra-tion in the coastal State has"slowed down" in absence ofthe Chief Minister.

Earlier in the day,Maharashtrawadi GomantakParty (MGP) president DipakDhavlikar demanded thatParrikar hand over his chargeto "any of the senior ministers"till he recovered from illness.He also said the people of Goawere complaining about the"collapse" of administration inabsence of Parrikar.

The MGP is one of the tworegional constituents of theManohar Parrikar-led coalitionGovernment--the other beingthe Goa Forward Party (GFP).

Notably, GFP chief andCabinet Minister Vijai Sardesaihad last week said that theCM's ailment was affecting hiswork and that of the Stateadministration.

+���).����������2��������0�����������1��� /��6��.

Ahmedabad: IndependentMLA Jignesh Mevani onWednesday demanded inclu-sion of Vadgam taluka, a partof his constituency, in the listof ‘scarcity-hit’ areas.

He would launch an agi-tation if the Government failedto include Vadgam in the list,he said.

The Gujarat Governmenthas declared 51 talukas(tehsils), comprising 3,291 vil-lages, as scarcity-hit owing toscanty rains, and announcedthat relief measures would beimplemented in these areasfrom December 1.

The list includes nine talukasof Banaskantha district but notVadgam. "Why Vadgam wasexcluded from the list when nineother talukas of Banaskantha dis-trict were included?" Mevaniasked in a press release.

He accused the Governmentof not following a manual ondrought, issued by the Centre,which lays down criteria fordeclaring an area as affected.

The Government shouldinform how many villages inVadgam taluka have rain-measuring instruments onthe basis of whose readings avillage is declared as drought-hit, he said. PTI

4����������������� �*�� � � �������������� � �����

��������'�����������������B��������-�������"���0������(�8������� �����'������������(�����1�'� ����������&������#������� %1�

Page 7: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

���������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./ �������<

����������!����� #3�"*-*3

Hizbul Mujahideen outfitreceived another jolt in

Kashmir on Wednesday aftersecurity forces shot dead twoterrorists during a gunfight inNowgam pocket of Srinagaroutskirts. The encounter tookplace a day after HomeMinister Rajnath Singhreviewed security situation dur-ing his day-long visit toKashmir. The authorities closededucational institutions in thecapital city and snapped mobileinternet to prevent publicmobilisation against thekillings.

A police spokesman saidthat gunfight erupted inWanbal area of Nowgam in theoutskirts of Srinagar city in thewee hours when terroristsopened fire on a search partyof security forces. “During asearch operation, terrorists-fired upon the search party,which was retaliated leading toan encounter. In the ensuingencounter, two terrorists werekilled,” the spokesman said.

He said standard operatingprocedure (SOP) was followedduring the encounter and nocollateral damage took place.

“Incriminating materialsincluding arms and ammuni-tion were recovered from thesite of the encounter,” he added.

The slain terrorists havebeen identified as SabzarAhmad Sofi and Asif Gojri. Sofiwas reportedly pursuing doc-

toral research in a Delhi basedUniversity before joining theterrorist ranks last year. Withhis killing, the security forceshave killed most of the highlyqualified youngsters whoembarked on secessionist pathafter the public uprising inKashmir triggered by killing ofBurhan Wani in July 2016.Earlier this month, MannanWani, another doctoralresearcher in Geology waskilled in an encounter in northKashmir’s Handwara area.

Mannan abandoned hisresearch in Aligarh MuslimUniversity to join the Hizbul

Mujahideen ranks. AnAssistant Professor in the soci-ology department of KashmirUniversity, Dr Rafi Bhat wasalso killed in Shopian districtof south Kashmir earlier thisyear. Bhat was killed within 24hours of his joining the terror-ist ranks.

Police issued advisory tothe people against enteringinto the encounter site due todangers posed by unclearedexplosive materials. “Peopleare requested to cooperate with

police till the area is complete-ly sanitised and cleared of allthe explosives materials, if any,”police said.

The advisory was issued inthe backdrop of killing of sevencivilians last Sunday at Laroovillage in south Kashmir’sKulgam district. The civiliansdied in a mysterious explosionin front of a burnt house dur-ing a fierce exchange of firebetween terrorists and securi-ty forces. Three local terroristswere killed in the encounter butlocal civilians became casualtywhen they entered theencounter site abandoned bythe security forces withoutsanitisation.

Rajnath Singh describedthe deaths as “unfortunate”and announced ex-gratia relief

of �5 lacs to the next of kinof each deceased civilian.

After the latest killings,the authorities ordered clo-sure of schools and collegesin Srinagar district. Theclass work at KashmirUniversity was also sus-pended as a precautionarymeasure to prevent studentprotests against the killingof terrorists. Scores ofyouth took to the streetsand clashed with forces inAnantnag pockets resultingin injuries to many protes-tors. Protesters werereportedly shouting pro-freedom and anti-Government slogans andengaged in stone pelting

against the security forces. Thesecurity forces used tear gasshells and pellets to disperse theprotesting people which led tothe injuries to many protestors.

The Joint ResistanceLeadership (JRL), a groupingof prominent separatist lead-ers called for shutdownagainst Sabzar’s killing onThursday.

Senior separatist leaderMir waiz Umar Farooqblamed “obduracy and arro-gance of New Delhi” for thekilling of educated young-sters. In a statement he saidNew Delhi does not want toresolve the Kashmir disputebut instead resorts to subju-gation and repression, forcingour youth to a path of “armedresistance and martyrdom”.

����� #3�"*-*3

Former Jammu & KashmirChief Minister and National

Conference vice presidentOmar Abdullah on Wednesdaysaid that granting autonomy isthe only practical solution tothe decades-old problem ofJammu & Kashmir.

“Every day we hear newsabout killings, encounters, crack-downs, CASO’s across the state.South was already boiling butnow even Srinagar is witnessingmassive gunfights, crackdowns.It seems that the Governmenthas lost its writ over the situa-tion in Kashmir,” Abdullah tolda gathering of party workers.

He said that restoration ofinternal autonomy affords apragmatic way out. “It is hightime for the Government ofIndia to implement the resolu-tion of autonomy. It is theonly pragmatic solution to theage-old problem. J&K is aunique State and needs a spe-cial dispensation in terms ofregional autonomy to satisfythe needs of the State,” he said.

He said the people in theState were suffering due to non-governance, development deficitand lack of accountability. “Thesituation on the ground is a

mess and the security scenariohas deteriorated. The youth ofKashmir are at the receiving endof all this. Every day innocentcivilians come in the line of fire.What happened in Kulgamwhere seven civilians were killedis a grim reminder of how badthe situation is. What is addingsalt to the situation is the laid-back attitude of the CentralGovernment,” he said.

0����,� ������� ����� ����5������������������

���'����'��������������'� ���������������� ��(��� ��(������������������������������������4���� ������#�������� $%

��'�#(*�"���(��*"�#��*+'/''"���'"��8�'��*#�#*/O*3

*��*��#)8��*"��*#�8-)�3�&�#)8��$*#

3'�)3�'�(@��D3#D�"-�).�)3*(�3'#'*3.���"�*�'(���/*#'��D"�+'3#��@

/'8)3'��)�"�"-���'��(��*"��3*"H#�(*#��@'*3

$�����'���� �� ������������'�����( �'������'��

9�������������������������#���

�00����!��������;!�.��������

��.����%����0����������� �0�������$����

������������� �D�/*�

In a setback to the Punepolice, the Bombay High

Court on Wednesday quasheda special court’s order grantingan extension of 90 days to thepolice to file a charge-sheetagainst five persons withalleged Maoist links who werearrested in June this year inconnection with the January 1,2018 Bhima-Koregaon riots.

However, upon a plea bythe Prosecution that it wantedto test legality of the the highcourt’s order in the SupremeCourt, a single-judge HCbench of Justice MridulaBhatkar stayed till November 12018 the implementation of herorder quashing the Pune spe-cial court’s order to facilitate theMaharashtra Government tochallenge the HC order in theapex court.

While quashing the PuneSpecial court’s order, the highcourt took cognisance of thefact that there was no compli-ance of section 43-D of the ofthe Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, 1967 whichmandates the Public Prosecutorto submit a report justifying theextension of time for filing the

charge-sheet in the case. “This shows that the

Investigating Officer has nav-igated the application forextension of period by further90 days, which is not con-templated under the provisoto section 43-D of the Act. Itis to be remembered that theInvestigating Officer is alwaysinterested in the success or theconviction in the case.However, it is the duty of thePublic Prosecutor to assistthe Court in the process ofadministration of justice byupholding the law,” JusticeBhatkar noted.

Quoting the judgment inthe case Hitendra VishnuThakur vs. State ofMaharashtra (supra) case, thejudge noted: “....The request ofan investigating officer forextension of time is no substi-tute for the report of the pub-lic prosecutor. ….”

On September 2, a SpecialUnlawful Activities(Prevention) Act (UAPA) courthad granted an extension of 90days to the police to file acharge-sheet against five per-sons with alleged Maoist linkswho were arrested in June thisyear in connection with theElgaar Parishad held in Puneand the subsequent January 1,2018 Bhima-Koregaon casteriots.

Five Maoist-linked activistsHuman Rights activists RonaWilson Jacob, SurendraGadling, Sudhir Dhawale, Prof

Shoma Sen and Mahesh Rautwere arrested by the Punepolice on June 6, in connectionwith the Elgaar Parishad andsubsequent Bhima-Koregaoncaste riots.

Subsequently on June 8, theinvestigators had claimed thatthey had recovered from the taptop of Wilson an allegedlyincriminating letter, whichuncovered an alleged plot by theMaoists to carry out “RajivGandhi-type” assassination ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi.

On August 28, the Punepolice arrested five moreactivists Varavara Rao, VernonGonsalves and Arun Pereira,Sudha Bharadwaj and GautamNavlakha for their associationwith the Elgaar Parishad heldin Pune ahead of the January 1,2018 Bhima-Koregaon riotsand their alleged links with theMaoists. However, the SupremeCourt ordered that the fivearrested activists be placedunder house arrest tillSeptember 6.

"The period of their judi-cial custody of 90 days is com-ing to an end on September 3.With the fresh five arrests in thecase, the investigation of thecrime is in the progress andsought extension of 90 days forfiling charge sheet,” Pune’sAssistant Commissioner ofPolice (ACP) Shivaji Pawarhad told the court.

“Under the UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act,which is invoked in the case, if

the investigation is not com-pleted within 90 days, the peri-od can be extended up to 180days,” ACP Pawar had said.

The section 43-D of theUnlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, 1967 whichdeals with modified applicationof certain provisions of theCode, provides for “if it is notpossible to complete the inves-tigation within the said periodof ninety days, the Court mayif it is satisfied with the reportof the Public Prosecutor indi-cating the progress of the inves-tigation and the specific rea-sons for the detention of theaccused beyond the said peri-od of ninety days, extend thesaid period up to one hundredand eighty days”.

The arrests of ten personswith alleged Maoist links madeby the Pune police in twobatches — five on June 6 andanother five on August 28 —were part of their investigationsinto the FIR registered onJanuary 8 at the Pune’s VishramBaug Police Station in connec-tion with the Elgar Parishadorganised on December 31,2017 by the leftist outfit KabirKala Manch (KKM) andRepublican Panthers Partyahead of the January 1, 2018Bhima-Koregaon riots. TheFIR, originally registered u/s153(A), 505 (1)(b), 117 and 34of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),had made out a conspiracy casein March 2018 and relevantsections of the Unlawful

Activities Prevention Act(UAPA) were added to thecase latter.

Defending the fresh arrestsof five activists with allegedMaoist links on August 28,Pune’s Deputy Commissionerof Police (Crime) ShirishSardeshpande had said onAugust 29 that the evidencegathered by the investigatorshad shown that a conspiracyhad been hatched by the CPI(Maoist) to form an all Indiaunited front "to overthrow thegovernment established by thelaw” and that the ElgaarParishad had been organised inPune on December 31, 2017 topursue this conspiracy.

Sardeshpande had alsoreferred to the arrests made onJune 6 and claim made by thePune police on June 8 that theyhad uncovered a plot by theMaoists to carry out “RajivGandhi-type” assassination ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi

It may be recalled that onJanuary 1, one RahulPhatangale (28), a Dalit, waskilled and another 40-oddvehicles and some other prop-erty were damaged after somemiscreants attacked Dalits cel-ebrating the January 1, 1818victory of British troops overPeshwa Bajirao II's army atBhima-Koregaon in Pune dis-trict of western Maharashtra.Following the incident,Maharashtra had witnessedlarge-scale Dalit protests whichturned violent at some places.

79',�;=4"�>�45�"'43������

*-�5�����%���������A������� ���� �'������'������� ������ ������ #��!����%��������������L���������������"�,�E����������������%�������,��%�1�����

����� (D.H")$

Aweek after RSS chiefMohan Bhagwat called for

"appropriate and requisite law"to pave the way for construc-tion of a Ram temple inAyodhya, BJP president AmitShah held marathon meetingswith the state functionaries ofRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh,Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathand State Bharatiya Janata Partyleaders and Ministers inLucknow on Wednesday.The RSS chief, in his cus-tomar y address onVijayadashmi on October 18had said: "The construction ofRam temple is necessary fromthe self-esteem point of view.It will also pave the way for anatmosphere of goodwill andoneness in the country."

The meetings in Lucknowhold significance as Amit Shahis visiting Uttar Pradeshdespite being busy with elec-tions in five States. The senior-most leaders of the party aretight-lipped about the deliber-ations and describe it as a co-ordination meeting betweenthe BJP and the RSS.

The meeting in Lucknowwas summoned a day after for-mer president of Vishwa HinduParishad, Pravin Togadia,announced to float a new polit-ical outfit with the slogan 'AbkiBar Hindu Sarkar' that couldimpact the BJP poll prospects.

Besides the Chief Minister,RSS senior functionariesKrishna Gopal, DatrayeeHasbole, RSS State chiefShivprakash, BJP state presidentMahendra Nath Pandey andgeneral secretary (organisa-tion) Sunil Bansal and DeputyChief Ministers Keshav PrasadMaurya and Dinesh Sharmaalso attended the meeting.

In view of the strict secre-cy maintained by the BJP, theoutcome of the meeting wasnot known but it will be visi-ble in the strategy that the partyadopts in the days to come.

The senior RSS leaders,sources said, expressed theirdispleasure over the perfor-mance of the ministers of theYogi Adityanath Cabinet.

The RSS functionariesspecifically pointed out theinability of the UP governmentto address the aspirations of thecommon man, particularly theunemployed youths, and askedthe BJP leaders to make effortsso that the people do not vote

for NOTA in the 2019 LokSabha elections.

"From time to time, theBJP's UP unit keeps gettingguidance from its nationalpresident. UP is a key State andelectorally important," BJPspokesperson Chandra Mohansaid while refusing to divulgefurther details.

Sources say the issues thatdominated the marathon meet-ing on Wednesday included theRam temple, challenge posedby the former Vishwa HinduParishad leader Pravin Togadia,preparations of the BJP organ-isation and the government forthe 2019 Lok Sabha elections,performance of the YogiAdityanath government andits Ministers, possible chal-lenge to be posed by the pro-posed alliance of SamajwadiParty and Bahujan Samaj Partyand the reshuffle in the YogiAdityanath Cabinet.

The office-bearers of allRSS affiliates participated in themeeting presided over by AmitShah. All-region secretary ofthe RSS was also invited to themeeting. The RSS has dividedUP into seven 'prants' (zones)for organisational purpose.

BJP state presidentMahendra Nath Pandey andparty's secretary (organisation)Sunil Bansal also held closed-door meetings with Amit Shah.

Togadia, a native of Gujaratand once a confidant of then

Gujarat Chief MinisterNarendra Modi, has alreadyannounced to float his newpolitical party. His supporterscreated disturbances inAyodhya earlier this week.

On Tuesday, addressing arally at Rajnandgaon in thepoll-bound Chhattisgarh, UPChief Minister YogiAdityanath had said that theCongress always opposed theconstruction of a Ram templein Ayodhya because itbelieved in "dividing thecountry" and never wantedthe issue to be resolved.

"People have their ownemotions and sentiments onRam Janmabhoomi (birthplaceof Lord Ram in Ayodhya). I havealways maintained that publicsentiments on the issue shouldbe respected. The fight forAyodhya is not from today butthe mammoth 'Hindu Samaj'has been fighting for the causefor around 450 years," he said.

Yogi said the site atAyodhya where Ram Lalla waspresent was the birthplace ofLord Ram and no one shouldhave any doubt about it.

Earlier in the day, Shahwas given a warm reception atthe CCS airport at Amausi byYogi Adityanath and hisCabinet colleagues on the BJPpresident's arrival in the statecapital on Wednesday. Fromthe airport, Shah drove to thevenue of the meeting.

4������ ��'��������'����� ������44���.%� �����

������������� �D�/*�

One person was killed andtwo others injured, while

two dozen others were rescuedafter a speed boat headingtowards the proposed mid-seaChhatrapati Shivaji MaharajMemorial construction sitecapsized off the Mumbai coaston Wednesday.

The MaharashtraGovernment-owned speedboat carrying 25 persons sankat around 4.15 pm after hit anunderwater rock near pro-posed memorial constructionlocated off the ProngsLighthouse, leading to the rup-turing of its hull.

The boat that capsized wasamong the five speedy whichwere heading towards the pro-

posed memorial site for a foun-dation laying ceremony. The siteis on a rocky outcrop located inthe Arabian Sea 3.5 km from theMarine Drive in south Mumbai.

The ill-fated boat was car-rying media persons andactivists of the Shiv Sangramparty to the proposed memori-al construction site. MaharashtraChief Secretary D K Jain, a fewbureaucrats, Shiv Smarak SamitiPresident Vinayak Mete wereamong the occupants of the fourother boats that accompanyingthe mishap-hit boat.

Identifying the drownedpersons as 20-year-old politicalactivist Siddhesh Pawar, aspokesperson of the disastercontrol cell of BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation (BMC)said that a couple of hours afterthe mishap, Pawar’s body wasrecovered from the capsizedboat by Navy divers and firebrigade personnel.

Two others Vikrant Ambre(50) and Ashok Lodha (53),who were injured in themishap, were rushed to StGeorge Hospital, where theywere treated and allowed to golater in the night.

Mourning the death ofPawar in the mishap,Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis announced

a compensation of �5 lakh to thefamily of the deceased boy. Healso ordered an inquiry into thecircumstances leading to theincident.

Mete, who was hosting theceremony at the memorial site,said that nearly 200 personsincluding media persons,Government officials and polit-ical activists had departed in fiveboats from the Gateway of Indiajetty for the memorial function.

"I have visited that siteover a dozen times, but such athing has never happened. Theauthorities had taken all safe-ty precautions and the boatswere not overloaded," Metesaid on his return to the jettyafter the mishap.

Earlier, the Indian Navy,Indian Coast Guard, MarinePolice and other agencies hadlaunched a major operationwith three helicopters, a hov-ercraft and boats to search forPawar, whose body was fishedout late in the evening

A second boat which was inthe vicinity managed to reachsite within minutes of themishap, helped rescue all thepeople who were on board theill-fated boat. The damagedboat was towed away by aMarine Police vessel to GirgaumChowpatty in south Mumbai.

2������������"�������� � ���� �*%����%�� ������6��� :4�����������������������!���,!��,����������������%��������� /��������������������� ������������!��������������%��%�������7����#��,� �����������������������

����� (D.H")$

Aday after an FIR waslodged against Samajwadi

Party leader Mohammad AzamKhan for making derogatoryremarks against Dr BRAmbedkar, the SP leader hitback at the Bharatiya JanataParty, saying that he hadbecome an “ item girl” for theruling party.

"I am the item girl of theBJP. They contested the 2017UP assembly election makingme a poll issue and I suspectthat they will contest the 2019Lok Sabha election around mypersonality. The situation is sobad that I do not know howmany cases have been lodgedagainst me and in which policestation of the 75 districts of theState. I come to know only aftereither the summon or bailableand non-bailable warrants areissued by courts," Azam Khansaid in Budaun on Wednesday.

Dr Lalji Nirmal, a BJPleader and chairman ofAmbedkar Mahasabha hadlodged an FIR against AzamKhan here on Tuesday, allegingthat the SP leader and formerMinister had used derogatorywords against Dr Ambedkarwhile inaugurating the HajHouse at Ghaziabad in 2016.

+����)7� �� ������$�����&6���5���

Page 8: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

����������%����)����������������������� �������������������������*���������������������+�������������������(��������� �������������,����)������� �������%��

#�������- %#.������������������������������������������������������� ������� ���������������(�����������������#�/������������������������ ����������������������������������������������������� ���������� ��������������������

+��������������� ���������������/���������������������������������������� ���������� �����������$��������)������)������&�/���������"����� ����������#����������� ��-�0.����������������������������������� �����������������������������������(���������������������1234��������������������������������0 �� �� ������ �� /��������������� #��� �� ������ ������� ��,��������������������������������� ��������������0����������������#�������������������������������������������������������������������������������+����������� ������������������������������������ ��������� ���������������������������� %#�#��������������� %#&�56��� � �����/�����&����� ���������(����������������������&���������������������������� ������(����� 7����� 1238������������ ������������������������������9�������������������������������������������+�������� ���������������������������������� ��������������������������������"���� ����������������������������

#�����7��:��������������������������������������(�������������������������������������� %#����������������������������������������� �������-:0�.;�������������������� �������������(��������������������������������������;������������������-������������������������.�,���� ����������:0�����������������������0����������������������0������������#��������������������������������-,#$�.�����������������������������6���,#$����������������������� ����������� �0������������<2=�2<������������������ ������������������� ���� >=<�=>6%�������������?���� %#������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������#������������������� �� %#��������� �����(�����������@����%������������������������������� %#&�7����� 1234����������������������� �����������������������������������������������

+�������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������������������������"�����������������#������������%������������������������������������������������������������#������������������� ������������ %#��������������������� �������������������)�����$��������)������:���������� ������������ (��(�� "����� ����������������������������������%������������ %#���+������������������������������������ �����������������������������������������������������!������������������������������(������ ��������������������������������������������0���������������������������6������������������������������������(�����������+����������������������������������� �#����������������������������������������������������������9�����+��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������,�������������������������������������������������������������������

:�������������������������������������� ����������(���������������������������������������������������#���������������������������������������������� ��������������A������ ����(����������������������������������������������������(��������0���� ������������������������������������������(�������������������������#���������(�����������������/������(��������������������� ��������������+���������������(�������� ����������������(����� ����6���������������������������������������������������������������������������#����������������� �������������������������������9�������(�������������������� ������������������������������������

*���������������������������� �������������� �����(�� ��������������������+��������������������������B��C�"�����������, ����#���� �����������������������������������(��������������������������6������������������������������(� �����6���������� ����������������������������������������������#���������������� �����

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

����#%�����.�������1%�����������0���� 2�������������������������7�%%��������������!��������������*��,�������������������%������&�8�����������%�1�������������<E��������E:9���������,������%%����������������%��

��� ���=;�!����&�����%�������%���������������������!����� ����*��,������1����������������������������������������������������7���%�������%�������������������������������������������������������!��������������������7���������������,�,���������� ������ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������%��,�����������������&�����������������7����������,�����������������������������������,����������*��,��������������������� ��������������������������������������%�������&�����������������������������%����������������������������������������7���������1�������!������7���������%�������������������������������������������49�����&�/������L��7�������I�$��������� ����!�����������J�$��������������������*��,��������1���7���� ����� ��,�� �� ����� ������!� ��� ���� ����� ��������� !� ���� ����������&*������������������,��������������%����������������������=>=�,�����������,��������%�������������������������������������������������%����������,���:;;��������&�(���������������� ��������EFF;�����������,����������7�������!�,�������������������������������������������%��������&�',�������%�1�������������,�������������������������%��������������,��!�����������������������������������,���������������������7���������,����������*��,��������������������,������������������������!���������������������1��������������3� �������� ��� �������������!&�������%�����������������������������������!������������������������������������� ��������7��7���,�������,��������&����������������������������������������������������,��!�����%�����������������%��������&�

���������%����� ��� ����� �������������!������������� ��� ������ ���*��,������������1��������&�*������ �������������������������������������������� �����������,����������������������&�$������������������������������������������,�������������������������������������������!���%��,���7��&�������������������������%����������,���������������������������������1���������������������������������������������������������������������������!���!��������������!���������������������������&�����#%�����.����������������������1�����,��������������,����������������������� �����������������7����%���������������%��,���������,���������,�������%����������������������������������������������������������&����������������!������� ���������!������%%������!����������������������&

����#%�����.����������������!���,����������������&�*������� 7��������������,�������%���������������������������������������!������1%���������������������������������������%������!����!

�����������������%���!&�#��������������������������������������������������������%�1��������!��������������������������������������������������,����������������&�����,������������������������!������������������������������%����������������*!!�%%�����%������#�����������������%��������!���������������������������������������������������H��������������������!�������������������������2��������������������������&*��������� ��� �������������*!!�%%�� �����������������!��������������0����������2�����%������������������������������������������P�������������7�����������������������������������E;�����=;�����������7��������������&�3�������������������%����$�������������������!����7���������������������������������������������������������������������������!������������������������&�/�����!��������,���������������������������������������������������!���������������������������������0������� � 25������������ ����6� �����������&�����������!�������,�������������������������%%��������������������������%���������������*!!�%%��������,� ��������������!���,���������&����������� ����������#%�����.�������������%��������������������������%������������1�������%����,�������������������������&�"������������������������������7����������������������������������������������������,����!����������������������%����������������&��������!�����,������������������������%�1����������������������� ��!������������1���%�������<;���!����������������������%�����1������������������!����������&�

#�������!�� ���� ������!��������%�������������0�����2� �������������������,������������%��7������������������&�)��!������������� �������!� ����������7�������������������������%��,���� �������������� �������� ���������9�%������������E;�%�������������!������%�1�����&����������������������,���%������%����������������������������������������,���������� ����������,������&�8���������������������1��������������������������������7���� ����������������!���������������1���������������������,�������!�������%����������%�������������!����������������%���������������� ��%������� ����������&��������%�!7����������� ����������(����3�������������*!���!�����������!���������7 ����3�,�������������������!����%������!��������������������������������������� ����������������,����%���������������������������������������������������������������!��:E���.����!������������� ����&�����������������������������������7���������������������������������%�������������������!�������&����������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������!�������������%���������������������������%�����������������������!������������ ���!���� �����������������������%��&�

In faith we trust#���������������������� �����������������

�������������������������������������

Saving the Aravallis#�������������������������������������

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

Back to the future in China?www.dailypioneer.com

� & � 8 � � 9 + / ' � � & " " + 2 �

#������������5C��:�����������&����������������)�����������������������������������������������������������������D����������E

On September 13, 1971, a ChineseTrident 1E airliner crashed in InnerMongolia; everyone on board waskilled. The special flight carriedMarshal Lin Biao, China’s Defence

Minister and Vice-Chairman of the CentralMilitary Commission (CMC). Lin, a great soldierand Mao Zedong’s heir apparent, was also one ofthe architects of the dreaded Great ProletarianCultural Revolution. The official narrative says thatLin was fleeing to the Soviet Union after a failedcoup against Mao when his airplane ran out offuel. Observers, however, believe Lin was fleeingan impending purge in the military; some lead-ers had gained too much power for Mao’s liking.Was the crash an accident? A year later, when USPresident Richard Nixon asked Zhou Enlai, theChinese Premier, about what happened to Lin,Zhou smiled and cryptically said: “Lin left on atrip to Moscow and disappeared en route.”

This story came back to mind, when on

October 21, the news that the head of the ChineseGovernment’s liaison office in Macau died byfalling from the building at his residence.According to the well-informed South ChinaMorning Post: “Hong Kong officials and politiciansexpressed shock over the sudden passing of ZhengXiaosong.” He had been ‘suffering from depres-sion’, said the official statement issued by the HongKong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO).

It was last year only that the 59-year-old cadrehad taken up the post in Macau. A Press releasefrom Beijing affirmed that “leaders of the CentralGovernment have entrusted comrades from theHKMAO to travel to Macau and send condo-lences to Zheng’s family”. Zheng’s death came justa few days before the opening of the 55km-longHong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, to be inaugu-rated by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Interestingly, Zheng belonged to the Fujiangang of officials, who worked in Xi’s favouriteProvince: “I spent my beautiful youth in FujianProvince. It lasted for 17 and a half years since Istarted to work there in 1985…I experienced theprocess of Fujian’s reform and opening up, mov-ing forward with great momentum and chang-ing with each passing day,” once wrote Xi.

Soon after Xi Jinping came to power, Zhengwas promoted secretary of Fujian Party’s provin-cial committee. In the meantime, officials inMacau were unanimous, “it is unfortunate, oneshould not speculate”. Let us not speculate, but

strange things seem to be happening again andagain in China. In November 2017, The New YorkTimes reported: “A senior Chinese general whowas under investigation for bribery has killed him-self, a development that cast a shadow overPresident Xi Jinping’s expanding crackdown oncorruption and dissent.”

General Zhang Yang, formerly in-charge ofthe People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) GeneralPolitical Department, was found dead in his homein Beijing. He hanged himself. Xinhua saidGeneral Zhang was living at home “while beingquestioned in connection with corruptioncharges”. The US newspaper added: “Suicides bytop officials are almost unheard-of in China, andthe ruling Communist Party appeared uncertainhow to handle the death. State-run media gaveno explanation for the five-day delay in disclos-ing the news.” General Zhang was called “a trai-tor and coward for taking his own life.”

The PLA Daily just said: “In committing sui-cide to avoid punishment from the party and thecountry’s laws, Zhang Yang’s action was abom-inable.” General Zhang was called ‘a two-faced’general. But that was not the end of Zhang’s ordeal.Last week, it was announced that he had beenposthumously stripped of his Communist Partymembership and military rank for corruption. Hiscolleague Fang Fenghui, a former chief of jointstaff, still alive, received the same punishment forseriously violating political discipline and Central

Government rules banning extravagance and tak-ing bribes.

In October 2017, The PLA Daily had report-ed that Xi Jinping had launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign: “At least 13,000 military offi-cers found to be involved in corruption have beenpunished over the past five years.” Apparently,Fang and Zhang were linked to former disgracedCentral Military Commission vice-chairmen, GuoBoxiong and Xu Caihou. But were not all theChinese generals linked to the CMC? There isindeed something strange going on. War on theRocks, a US publication noted: “Fang and Zhangjoin a growing list of senior PLA officers that havebeen arrested, expelled from the Party, and impris-oned on corruption charges…All told, since XiJinping came to power in 2012, over 100 PLA gen-eral officers have reportedly been forcibly retiredor placed under investigation.”

The article added: “This large-scale uproot-ing, however, is also likely to be driven in part byChinese internal politics. Many of the senior offi-cers that have been summarily fired and impris-oned are linked to Xi Jinping’s predecessors…Aswith Xi’s anti-corruption efforts against variouscivilian leaders, those targeted appear to be polit-ical rivals, although this is not to say they may notalso be corrupt.” All these incidents (or accidents)create, to say the least, a strange atmosphere inthe Middle Kingdom. The oddest has been thearrest of Meng Hongwei, the Interpol chief, when

he recently disembarked in Beijing. Let usremember that it was a first time that China heldsuch prestigious post in an international organ-isation (headquartered in Lyon, France). At thetime of Mengs’ arrest, Public Security MinisterZhao Kezhi, presently in India to sign a bilater-al agreement, convened a midnight meeting inBeijing to express ‘unanimous support’ for theprobe against Meng and pledged, as usual,‘absolute political loyalty’ to President Xi Jinping.

Meng’s insistence “on doing things in his ownway means he has only himself to blame for beingplaced under investigation,” said a communiqué,which forgot that as the head of an internation-al organisation, he is not supposed to take ordersfrom the Communist Party. Meng was suspect-ed of corruption and violation of laws which‘gravely jeopardised’ the Party and the police; thesame night, Interpol received Meng’s ‘resignation’as president. Is it not strange that before vettinghis name for the prestigious job in France, the lead-ership in China would have not checked Meng’santecedents? Nobody can take the sudden accu-sation of corruption seriously, as it is not whileposted in Lyon that Meng could have become rich.All this smells of political vendetta more than any-thing else. The large number of ‘Lin Biao incidents’taking place all-over China, render the regimeweaker that it has ever been. Does Xi realise this?

(The writer is an expert on India-China rela-tions and an author)

������������Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Avoidable tragedy” (October 22).The Dussehra disaster at Amritsar thathas left 60 people dead has only wit-nessed a frantic effort to pin respon-sibility on agencies and individuals. Itis clear that there are many dangerzones associated with one of thelargest railway networks in the world.

A number of commissions andcommittees had been constitutedsince Independence to suggest waysand means to prevent such incidentsand ensuring rail safety in India but

all went in vain. When there is an explicit provi-

sion in the Indian Railways Act, 1989ie Section 147 (which prohibits tres-passing and misuse by any person inrespect of railway property, making itan offence with imprisonment), whyis the law not being enforced by theauthorities? There must be an aware-ness campaign on this provision usingthe media.

Hemant Kumar Ambala

������ �� �����Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Up

in smoke” (October 24). It is good thatthis time, the Supreme Court gave abalanced verdict on cracker-burstingin Delhi and NCR come Diwali. Itsverdict last year had hurt the feelingsof a majority of people since itimposed a complete ban on the saleof crackers. The verdict this year alsoimposes similar restrictions on cele-brations made for Christmas day andNew Year eve.

Practically speaking, this year’sverdict should gradually pave theway for green crackers, at least fromnext year, if not at present. Thisbecause cracker dealers this year will

try to finish their old stocks and willmake fresh purchases in future as perguidelines set by the Supreme Courtso that the people may continue withthe tradition of cracker bursting onDiwali.

Madhu AgrawalDelhi

���������Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Warwithin” (October 23). It is indeedshameful that at a time when thecountry is faced with numerous bank-ing and economic problems agenciesthat are supposed to guard the coun-

try from such evils are themselves fac-ing charges of serious graft.

It has been alleged that the inves-tigative body is under the thumb ofpoliticians for self-interests. Chargesagainst the Central Bureau ofInvestigation are indeed very serious.The allegations can hugely impact thecredibility of the nation. It is, there-fore, essential that the body becomeindependent.

SwetaVia email

4���������������(�������)�#'(('�%("8�"�''�?�6��#$4"6�

#������� ��������������������������������������9���������������������������0����������������

Has Alok Verma been sacked for hiskeenness to probe the layers of corruption in

Rafale scam? Let Prime Minister answer.—Congress chief spokesperson

RANDEEP SURJEWALA

These allegations are baseless. Government’sdecision to remove Verma and Rakesh Asthana

is based on the CVC’s recommendations.—Union Finance Minister

ARUN JAITLEY

������4�53�"������

On September 30, 2018,when Prime MinisterNarendra Modi visitedAnand, he not onlypraised the achieve-

ments of Amul, but also called itscooperative system a third alterna-tive — a third option of enterpriseover and above the private and thepublic sectors. He was fully justifiedin saying so as Gujarat, especially inmilk, and Maharashtra with itssugar cooperatives, have seenredoubtable successes. To an extent,Karnataka has also been shownsome achievements in the cooper-ative sector. Elsewhere in the coun-try it is like searching in the dark-ness with a burning torch for coop-erative examples.

To run this avatar of enterprisefirst demands of its members a spe-cial ongoing discipline and a readinessfor fair play. Every social ethos is notgifted with these particular virtues. Yetan option to the current public andprivate sectors is necessary. The for-mer has often proved inefficientwhile the latter sometimes does notreturn its debts nor has it delivered tothe economy on the scale of Americancorporations.

To go back to the beginning ofthe industrial revolution, capitalismgathered the reputation of beingexploitative of the workers. In theyears of the 18th and early 19th cen-tury, many a factory in Europeappeared like a sweat shop. Neitherwere working conditions congenialnor were the working hours muchless than 16 hours a day; the wageswere minimal. The labourer sufferedall this because he owned no landand there was no employment forhim in his village.

In agriculture, there was alsoexploitation of the serf by his landlord.Even after serfs were liberated, theydid not have many options for moreremunerative employment. But forvisitors or other observers, the facto-ry was readily visible. The farms wereaway in rural upcountry and, there-fore, not readily seen; often the farmswere away from one another. The fac-tory, on the other hand, was a sittingduck for a trade union leader.

Capitalism of those early days was

thus caught out as exploitation of theworking classes or the proletariat.Fortunately for the latter, Karl Marxdescended on the scene as a prophetof class exploitation. He depictedhuman history as an epic of class con-flict. Marxism, communism andsocialism grew together as siblings ofthis conflict.

Vladimir Ulyanov or Lenin lentthe pen of Marx a long sword. Heused the volumes of Marx as bricksto build the State of the SovietUnion. In the process, his eloquentmessage to the world was that thepoor man, the working man alsomattered, not merely the gentrywhose pockets jingled with wealth.The well-off in the Western worldwere so shaken by the Russian rev-olution that they reacted in tworather different ways. The USremained staunchly capitalist butbecame considerate as well as gen-erous towards its poorer classes.

Some countries, especially theScandinavian, of western Europeturned to social democracy or wel-farism while others like Italy andGermany turned to class collaborationwhose ideological label came to beknown as fascism. They replied to therevolutionary class struggle with classcollaboration. Incidentally, both AdolfHitler and Benito Mussolini deviat-ed from the path of governance to thatof war and conquest and the formeralso added mass murder to his quiver.A potentially sensible ideology wasvitiated to the extent of being evil.

In Asia, the virus of Lenin’scommunism spread to China led byMao Zedong. After some threedecades of experimentalism, DengXiaoping brought back China fromthe disease of class struggle to thehealth of all classes.

By 1991, the Soviet Union diedand scattered into 16 separaterepublics. With the death of theUSSR, also soon saw the demise ofall communist Governments. Beforelong all champions of class struggledisappeared from the world stage.The capitalist exploiters of the peas-ants and proletariat had long ceasedto exploit after the advent of VladimirLenin in 1917. Adolf Hitler had den-igrated fascism by his own policiesand actions; he thus killed an ideol-ogy which could have been a balmon the wounds of class clashes.

Over the last two millennia,Europe has seen more warmonger-ing than any other continent; the twoworld wars being so far the peak ofall fighting. Could the root of this dis-ease be the belief that God made men

equal but society makes themunequal? Beginning with Plato andThe Republic, could all the ideolo-gies as well as the wars be attemptsto atone for the sins of society? Whyhas there been no comparable scaleof fighting in Asia? Is it because of,for example, the Hindu faith inkarma? Which in turn leads to theHindu desire, for, what Prof MSSrinivas has called, Sanskritisationwhereby we seldom have violent classclashes, not to speak of revolution.

Each caste strives for its elevationto a higher status in preference tobring down the caste above. Eachgroup of people desires to go up theladder of classes rather then, say, theworking class uniting to bringingdown or expel the richer businessclass. The faith in karma possiblyinduces each person to self-actualisehimself/herself rather than unite withhis peers to topple any other groupincluding conquering another coun-try. Imperialism or colonialism hasnever been a Hindu inclination.

Proprietorship suits the Indianbest. Traditionally, when the propri-etor could not cope by himself, eithermonetarily or managerially, he tookon partners. When a partnershipcould not cope, they went out to gath-er capital from the public through themedium of a limited company.

Nevertheless, the attitude of thefounder of the enterprise remains thatof a proprietor. He may employhighly paid executives but he is sel-dom prepared to be the first amongstequals. He much prefers the image ofthe monarch and all the rest of his col-leagues as the subjects. This Indiantrait would prevent unlimited corpo-rate growth on the American scale.

Even if an entrepreneur managesto make his company to grow as largeas, say, Procter & Gamble, he wouldstill insist on remaining the monarch,unlike Mr Proctor or Mr Gamble whostrutted across the stage in their lifetime and are heard no more.

For this Indian psyche, the lim-ited liability partnership (LLP), whichis already in vogue, is an answer withone provison. And that essential is theneed for banks and financial institu-tions to be prepared to lend moneyto LLPs freely. To make sure that theydo not gather bad debts, they mustinsist on marketable collateral secu-rities. The senior partner would thenenjoy his de facto as well as de jurerecognition as the first owner. Hisjuniors would also know that theyshould succeed to the top in duecourse without any employee execu-tive remaining under the illusion ofa professional succession.

Today, banks and institutions

have been lending freely, if not alsorecklessly, to limited companies, andhence, possibly the current mountainsof non-performing assets (NPA). Idoubt if such large loans would havebeen advanced to the same compa-nies had they been LLPs.

There is another facet of theIndian psyche that is worth noting.A loan taken by an individual froman individual, with or without secu-rity, is generally repaid; of all theunder-the-table transactions thatone has socially heard about, thereis hardly ever a mention of short pay-ments or even jhali or fake notesbeing given. Yet the same people donot harbour the same consciencewith regard to money borrowed froma faceless State-owned organisationno matter how many papers havebeen signed and how many times.

If LLPs are financed as suggest-ed above, one big benefit wouldaccrue regardless. A large number ofmedium to big-medium enterpris-es should come up. Whether any ofthem could grow into a mammothcorporate or not is at present only ahope. This should be a popular thirdalternative. Wherever cooperativesocieties, as in Anand, can come up,they should certainly be encouraged.

(The writer is a well-knowncolumnist and an author)

�3*8D((�2�&:+&

H)�*"�+�&7

.(*D�'�&��+

The last time I wrote about the treatybanning ‘intermediate-range’ nuclearmissiles was 31 years ago, and I real-

ly thought I’d never have to visit thattedious subject again. More fool me.

John Bolton, the ideologically rigid andbad-tempered man, whom you send whenyou don’t want a negotiation to succeed, hasjust been in Moscow to tell the Russianspersonally that US President DonaldTrump is going to tear up the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

That’s what you would expect from thenew US National Security Adviser and hisimpulsive and ill-informed boss, but theRussians in this case are just as much toblame for creating the provocation in thefirst place. It’s one of those distressingly fre-quent occasions when idiots are in chargeon both sides.

The INF Treaty, signed by US PresidentRonald Reagan and Soviet PresidentMikhail Gorbachev in 1987, bans land-based ballistic or cruise missiles with arange of between 500 and 5,500 km. Whatthe Russians have actually done, it seems,is to take a perfectly legal sea-launchedcruise missile, the Kalibr, which has a rangeof up to 2,500 km, and put it on a mobileland-based launcher.

The Kalibr is a quite useful weapon thatcan deliver about 500 kg of conventionalexplosives or a nuclear warhead on anenemy, although it would take at least threehours to reach a target 2,500 km away.(Cruise missiles travel at about the samespeed as airliners.)

In 2015, Russia made a show of firing18 Kalibrs (with conventional warheads)at Syrian targets from ships in the CaspianSea.

Why would the Russians want to putthese missiles on land-based launchers,which violates the INF rules? The onlyplausible explanation is that there are someChinese targets that Russia cannot hit withits sea-based cruise missiles. (There are no

US/NATO targets that cannot already bereached by the sea-launched variety.) Thisis plausible, but it is not rational.

Russia is perfectly capable of reachingthose Chinese targets with ballistic missiles,both land- and submarine-launched, thatwould get to their targets far faster than thenew land-based version of the Kalibrcruise missile, called SSC-8 by NATO.

Being able to do the same thing, athird, slower way hardly justifies thepotential political cost of violating the INFTreaty for Russia as a whole. It may nev-ertheless appeal to the particular branch ofthe Russian armed forces that would con-trol that third way, for inter-service rival-ries are as sharp and stupid in Russia asthey are in the United States.

From a Western point of view, the SSC-8, while illegal, does not pose any newthreat. The real reason the INF Treaty wasneeded three decades ago was that theRussians were then introducing interme-diate-range BALLISTIC missiles, the once-famous SS-20s, that could reach their tar-

gets in Western Europe within a few min-utes of launch.

The border between North AtlanticTreaty Organisation (Nato) and Sovietforces was then about 500 km closer toWestern capitals than it is now, and therewere huge tank-heavy armies stacked upon either side of the so-called Iron Curtain.An ultra-fast Russian strike by nuclear-tipped SS-20s on Nato army bases and air-fields, followed immediately by an all-outground invasion, could theoretically havesucceeded (although only a fool would havechanced it).

In any case, the Russians andAmericans negotiated instead, and ulti-mately agreed to scrap all the Soviet SS-20sand their American equivalents, thePershing missiles. Since the US had alsodeployed some land-based cruise missilesin Europe (the Russians did not), the INFTreaty also banned those. Almost 2,700missiles were destroyed, and the wholeissue went away for three decades. It isn’treally back now.

There are no massive tank armies readyto roll in Europe anymore, and the ColdWar is long over. The details of theRussian-American ‘military balance’ are ofconcern mainly to the experts, many ofwhom make their living by discoveringsome imbalance or discrepancy that willenable their (military) clients to demandmore or newer weapons to counter the new‘threat’.

The Russians have broken the rules bydeveloping and testing the land-based SSC-8 cruise missiles, but they haven’t actual-ly deployed them in meaningful numbers.They may never do so, because it would notgive them any significant strategic advan-tage. This was the logic that led former USPresident Barack Obama to protest to theRussians about the new weapon in 2014,but not to abrogate the INF Treaty. Whatwould that gain, except to legalise what theidiots in the Russian military were doing?

Obama probably assumed that theadults were still in charge in the Kremlin,and that they were engaged in the samestruggle to contain the random enthusi-asms of Russian military planners that allUS presidents must wage against theirPentagon equivalents. But the WhiteHouse has a different tenant now.

(The writer is an independent journalist)

Idiots on both sides

#�".'�N����"��"-�.*�'�)��)$'3��"�:;E:��

)+'3�E;;��(*�-'"'3*()88�.'3#��*+'

3'�)3�'�(@�/''"8)3.�/(@�3'��3'��)3��(*.'��D"�'3�"+'#��-*��)"&����#

(*3-'7#.*('D�3))��"-���)$'+'3��#�*(#)�(�H'(@��)�/'�3�+'"��"��*3��/@.��"'#'��"�'3"*(

�)(���.#

LLP: An alternative modeGrowth of the cooperative movement demands of its members a special discipline and readiness for fairplay. The public

sector has often proved inefficient and the private sector has not delivered an economy of scale at par with US corporations

��33�"���)���'�'���)3

����%�� ��:������%� ��� �� � ����;��������� �������������

����� ������� ��� ���� ����������� 0D%� ����� �2� 5)������ :46&� $���� ���#%�����.������%����������������7

���� ���������������������!���������������&*������������������!�%����������!����%��7������������������������������������7,������������������������%�����������&�#����%���������������������,�����������������,���������1��������������������7�����������������������%��������������%��������� ���%�&� #�� ����� ������ ���� �%�1�������������������%������������,��7

����� ��� ��%� ���� ������� ���!� ������ ���������%�������������1�����,��������������� ���&

8��� ��,�������� ��� ����� ����� ��� ��%���������������� �&����%����%����������������!���������,���&�#����1%���������%������,�� %�%���� ��� �����!� �� �������������������������!��������������������� �!�������������&�

���� #%����� .���� �����,������� ���������������� ��%�������,��������������������������!�������������%%������!

�����,�����������!������� ��������%���7������� ���� ����� ������%� �����������������!�����%���&������������������������������ ,����������������%�!��%�������������7�����������!������� �!�����������������������������������������J�

#�������������7�������������������������������������������� ����������������� �� ��������� !� ������ ����� ����� ������������� ���&

�����+����.������

�3)�3�'�)3#���#D��#��"��*"#�/'#�&

8)3���'��"��*"�#@.�'����'

(����'��(�*/�(��@�*3�"'3#����5((�6�$��.���#�*(3'*�@�"�+)-D'���#�*"

*"#$'3�$����)"'�3)+�#)I�*"����*�'##'"��*(��#���'"''��8)3�/*"H#*"��8�"*".�*(

�"#���D��)"#��)�/'�3'�*3'���)�('"��)"'@��)�((��

83''(@

(�������������������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./�

The statue installation competition, as it were, amongpolitical parties just got keener. News that the statueof former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa atthe AIADMK headquarters in Chennai is set to bereplaced with a new, eight-feet tall idol of the leadermade of bronze and weighing 800 kg has sparkedspeculation that other major parties in the State mayfollow suit to celebrate the legacy of its leaders. If youcan’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

(�������������������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./ �

8�/4"���'3

COMMENT & ANALYSIS

�����������������������-$@""'

:<8�

9����������������9���*����������������������E:����!����������������������������������������������(����������������������������������������

A���������������������

Page 9: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

%�������'���������������!��������%�!�������$���$������%���������������?�'����� ��#�#�����������$������$���%����0������?�3������������������0��!��'��!����#��?�/����.��������������������#���������!��%%�����#������!�'3�������������������!�+��������������#�� ���!��!������%���������������$�������������

5��������,��������%��,��������0�'����

������������@�$�!�.����;��������������.���������������@���#���'�������

�!��;������%�������"5��������.������������ ��#;��#���0��%����0��

$�����!����������������0��%�����%�?��@�$����������������$�������(�������

�0��+���������#���'������������$�������������!�������������0��+����������

9�����������������0��+�����������A�!��$������6�������������=������

�%�����������!�������0�,��������0���@�$�

�!�"#��$%&&

���������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./

���� �D�/*�

The rupee strengthened by41 paise to close at more

than three-week high of 73.16against the US currency onWednesday as global crude oilprices eased and domestic equi-ty markets staged a smartrebound.

Forex dealers said soften-ing crude oil prices supportedthe rupee’s upward movement.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabiapledged to meet any supplyshortfalls and replace anylooming shortages due toIranian sanctions, which willstart on November 4. Followingthis, Brent crude prices plungedto below $76 level before recov-ering to $76.03 per barrel.

Falling crude oil prices

eased concerns over forex out-flows amd supported selling ofthe US currency by exporters.

The greenback’s weaknessagainst some currencies over-seas also helped the recovery inthe domestic currency.

“The Indian rupee tradedhigher by 41 paise at 73.16 perdollar versus a previous close of73.57 on the back falling crudeoil prices and on dollar sellingby banks and exporters,” saidSunil Sharma, ChiefInvestment Officer, SanctumWealth Management.

At the Interbank ForeignExchange (Forex), the rupeeopened higher at 73.18, andsoon gained further ground tojump 48 paise to touch a highof 73.09 on increased selling ofthe American currency byexporters and banks.

The domestic unit howev-er pared some gains and settledthe day up by 41 paise at 73.16against the US dollar, a level notseen since October 1.

On Tuesday, the local cur-rency had ended almost flat at73.57 against the US currency.

Moreover, bullish trend inthe equity market also boost-ed the local unit.

The BSE SensexWednesday recaptured the34,000-mark by gaining 187points or 0.55 per cent higherat 34,033.96. The broader NSENifty too recovered by 77.95points, or 0.77 per cent, at10.224.75.

Domestic institutionalinvestors (DIIs) made pur-chases worth a net of �116.41crore, while foreign institu-tional investors (FIIs) soldshares to the tune of Rs 340.35crore Tuesday, provisional datashowed.

The Financial BenchmarkIndia Private Ltd (FBIL) set thereference rate for therupee/dollar at 73.2645 and forrupee/euro at 83.9934. Thereference rate for rupee/Britishpound was fixed at 95.0529 andfor rupee/100 Japanese yenwas 65.13.

Bond markets were alsofirm Wednesday on easing fuelprices. The yield of most trad-ed 10-year 7.17 per centGovernment security softenedby 2 basis points to 7.87. Theyield of 7.59 per centGovernment security maturingin 2026 softened by over 1 basispoint to 7.94.

� ������=0������� �>*������������?>@0A�)�'#��.�"#���D��)"*(�"+'#�)3#�5���#6�*�'��D3.�*#'#$)3���*�"'��)8�EE>&4E�.3)3'

���� �D�/*�

Reversing a four-sessionslide, the BSE Sensex on

Wednesday recaptured the34,000-mark by jumping 187points amid easing crude oilprices and a recovery in therupee.

The broader Nifty alsomanaged to end above the10,200-level.

Bear operators, who hadbeen creating short-positions inthe past several sessions, wereseen covering up positionsahead of October month expiryin the derivatives segmentThursday, brokers said.

Gains in banking andfinancial services stocks pushedthe markets higher. However,losses in IT and pharma coun-ters capped the upside

Bharti Airtel was thebiggest gainer in the Sensexpack, surging 10.79 per cent,after the company said sixglobal investors, includingWarburg Pincus, Temasek,Singtel and SoftBank, haveagreed to invest $1.25 billion inAirtel Africa.

Meanwhile, the rupeestrengthened 42 paise to 73.15

(intra-day) against the US dol-lar in the forex market.

After opening on a strongfooting, the Sensex quicklyreclaimed the 34,000-mark toscale the session’s high of34,300.97 in early hours oftrade, largely supported by eas-ing crude prices and recoveryin the rupee amid positiveAsian cues.

However, a sudden sell-offby investors dragged the bench-mark into the negative zone. Ithit a low of 33,726.07 pointsbefore finally concluding186.73 points, or 0.55 per centhigher at 34,033.96.

The gauge had lost 1,315points in the past four sessionson weak domestic as well asglobal factors.

The broader NSE Niftytoo recovered by 77.95 points,or 0.77 per cent, at 10.224.75.Intra-day, it shuttled between10,290.65 and 10,126.70Domestic institutionalinvestors (DIIs) made pur-chases worth a net of �116.41crore, while foreign institu-tional investors (FIIs) soldshares to the tune of �340.35crore on Tuesday, provisionaldata showed.

'��(�������)*��������� �����+�������,)�*���

���� "'$��'(��

Full service carrierVistara, which is

preparing to fly over-seas, has received�2,000 crore fromTata Sons andSingapore Airlines,according to a regu-latory filing.

The airline,majority-owned byTatas, commencedoperations more thanthree years ago andcurrently has a fleet of22 planes.

On October 12,the board of Vistaraapproved allotment of200 crore equityshares of �10 a piece to TataSons Pvt Ltd and SingaporeAirlines, a filing with theCorporate Affairs Ministryshowed.

The allotment of theseshares amounts to a fundfusion of �2,000 crore.

As per the filing, the boardapproved issuance of little over101.99 crore shares to TataSons and 98 crore shares toSingapore Airlines.

Vistara did not offer anycomments about the fund infu-

sion.Tata Sons holds 51 per

cent stake and the remaining 49per cent is owned by SingaporeAirlines in Vistara.

The fund infusion comes ata time when the airline hasembarked on ambitious expan-sion plans, including buying 19Airbus, Boeing planes worth$3.1 billion. While making theannouncement about aircraftpurchases in July, Vistara hadalso announced leasing 37 newA320 neo family planes.

Vistara is looking to fly tointernational destinationsand is await ing f inalapprovals.

The airline posted a lossafter taxation of �431.09 crorefor the year ended March 31,2018, according to a filingmade by Tata Sons to the min-istry.

Vistara started commercialoperations on January 9, 2015.It operates around 120 flightsevery day and flies to 22 desti-nations.

$���������7�888����� ,��#����#����������������

����� "'$��'(��

Lucknow-based HobokenPvt Ltd has partnered with

US-based National RealtyInvestment Advisors (NRIA) tolaunch EB-5 immigrationprocess services to Indians.EB 5 Immigrant Investor VisaProgram is one of fiveemployment-based (EB) pref-erence programs in the UnitedStates, with the aim of encour-aging foreign investment andeconomic growth in rural areasor areas of high unemploymentin the US.

As part of the partnership,Indians looking at immigratingcan get a green card throughinvestment of $500,000. Whilethe process can take around 5

years, people opting for it canget a 3% annual return for timethe investment stays with NRIAEB5. After the investor hasreceived the unconditionalgreen card the money, isreturned with 2% annual return.The whole process comes witha processing fee of $50,000.

“NRIA is a vertically inte-grated investment manage-ment firm with a proven trackrecord, extensive experienceand a history of exceptionalperformance. With this part-nership, we are happy to helpin opening the doors to theland of opportunity for Indianslooking at building somethingwhile getting the returns theydeserve,” said, Glenn LaMattina.

-������������������#�.+��������/$*0����� ���������������������������

����� 3)�'

Italy’s competition authorityon Wednesday said it was

fining Apple and Samsung 10and five million euros ($11.5and $5.7 million), respectively,for the so-called “plannedobsolescence” of their smart-phones.

The ruling is believed to bethe first against the manufac-turers following accusationsworldwide that they encourageoperating system updates forolder phones which slow themdown, thereby encouraging thepurchase of new phones.

Two “complex investiga-tions” by the anti-trust author-ity AGCM revealed that Appleand Samsung implementedunfair commercial practices, astatement said.

“The two companies haveinduced consumers to installsoftware updates that are notadequately supported by theirdevices, without adequatelyinforming them, nor providingthem an effective way to recov-er the full functionality of theirdevices,” the AGCM said.

Operating system updates“caused serious malfunctionsand significantly reduced their

performance, in this wayspeeding up their replacementwith more recent products.”Samsung “insistently suggest-ed” to owners of its 2014 Note4 phone to install a new ver-sion of Google’s Android oper-ating system intended for themore recent Note 7, theACGM said.

But that was “withoutinforming them of the seriousmalfunctions that the newfirmware could cause due togreater stress of device’s hardwareand asking a high repair cost forout-of-warranty repairs con-nected to such malfunctions”.

����� "'$��'(��

Coca-Cola India, one of thecountry’s leading beverage

companies, has collaboratedwith Vodafone Idea BusinessServices, the enterprise arm ofVodafone Idea Limited, thelargest telecommunicationsservice provider in India andeBest IoT, to introduce state-of-the-art Connected Coolersacross the country. The IoTenabled fleet of ConnectedCoolers will enable Coca-Colato understand consumerbehaviour and use the insightsto enhance consumer experi-ence.

����� "'$��'(��

International CopperAssociation India (ICA

India) on Wednesday hostedthe fourth edition of the IndiaCopper Forum (ICF) in asso-ciation with HindalcoIndustries Ltd & Vedanta Ltdin New Delhi. ICF is thelargest non-commercial plat-form for the copper industryfor sharing views on emergingtrends, challenges and solu-tions. The aim of the forum isto empower every member ofthe copper industry big andsmall, to voice their opinionand bring forth ideas andinnovations that will take theCountry to the next frontier.The event also saw the recog-nition for Industry leaderswith Copper ExcellenceAwards, celebrating forwardthinking, initiative and drive.

Over the last four edi-

tions of the India CopperForum the event has gar-nered a lot of participationand involvement from thecopper industry. The eventwas witness to enthusiasticparticipation of over 160 del-egates from across the coppervalue chain. India CopperForum was supported byMulti Commodity Exchange(MCX) as KnowledgePartner and pManifold asEngagement Partner.

ICA India showcased thelatest innovations and appli-cations of copper at the“Innovation Booth” to give aglimpse of the future of theindustry to the delegates. Theinnovation booth showcasedinterventions made by ICAIndia across its various pro-grams such as ElectricalSafety, DistributionTransformer, Power Cable andMotors.

������������ �-������$������������:��������������������-������C���'

��� �������$�� ���4�'�� ����B� �������(� ������0

���� "'$��'(��

Leading stock exchange BSEsaid it has received markets

regulator Sebi’s approval tolaunch Oman Crude Oil con-tract on its newly launchedcommodity derivatives seg-ment. BSE had marked itsentry into the commodityderivatives segment with goldand silver contracts on October1, 2018.

“BSE believes in systemat-ic development of marketthrough product innovation,awareness and research with aview to provide a wider prod-

uct range to the market par-ticipants,” the exchange’s man-aging director and chief exec-utive Ashishkumar Chauhansaid in a statement. The BSEOman Crude Oil FuturesContract will be settled onDubai Mercantile Exchange(DMX).

The Indian exchangerecently entered into an agree-ment with DMX, a premierenergy-focused commoditiesexchange in the Middle East,for the growth and systemat-ic development of commodi-ty derivatives markets in theCrude Oil Complex.

7���!�����$���������������4%�����������������

���� "'$��'(��

Mahindra & MahindraFinancial Services

(Mahindra Finance)Wednesday reported morethan two-fold jump in stand-alone net profit at �381 crorefor the July-September quarter,helped by increase in revenuefrom operations and otherincome. The company hadposted a net profit of �164 crorein the corresponding July-September quarter of 2017-18.

Its income increased by 39per cent to �2,148 crore duringthe second quarter of 2018-19,as against �1,540 crore in thesame period of the precedingfiscal, Mahindra Finance saidin a regulatory filing.

��������8�������M:%������������:7���������<9E���

.���7.�������������������+��������������/�������

Page 10: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

%����������������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./

���� "'$��'(��

In a major deal, ZydusWellness on Wednesdayannounced acquiring Heinz

India’s consumer wellness busi-ness, that includes popularbrands Complan and Glucon D,in a transaction worth �4,595crore.

Zydus Wellness jointly withCadila Healthcare has signeddefinitive pacts to acquire HeinzIndia for �4,595 crore thatincludes net working capital of�40 crore, cash of �15 crore andassumes no debt, the companiessaid in separate regulatory fil-ings.

Heinz India is a subsidiaryof the US-based Kraft Heinz.Cadila Healthcare holds major-ity stake in Zydus Wellness.

The transaction is expectedto close by March quarter of thisfinancial year, Zydus Wellnesssaid in a statement.

The acquisition will includeHeinz India’s popular brands

such as Complan, Glucon D,Nycil and Sampriti Ghee, itadded.

“The transaction is pro-posed to be financed by a mixof equity and debt. Select lead-ing private equity firms havecommitted to partnering thetransaction by way of equity sup-port. The transaction is expect-ed to be EPS accretive,” the state-ment said.

Heinz India’s businessincludes large manufacturingfacilities in Aligarh and Sitarganjand teams devoted to opera-tions, research, sales, marketingand support, it added.

Heinz India has a strong dis-tribution network of over 800distributors, more than 20,000wholesalers covering 29 states,the statement said.

Zydus Wellness chairmanSharvil Patel said: “This devel-opment offers immense oppor-tunity to broaden our portfolioand invest in brands and prod-ucts that we believe are most rel-

evant to health conscious con-sumers.”

It leverages the group her-itage, innovation track record,combined brand offerings andcapabilities to meet and exceedits consumers’ evolving healthand wellness needs, he added.

“This acquisition will be anideal addition to Zydus Wellness,supporting our aspirations togrow in the consumer wellnessspace by providing multiplechoices to consumers,” Patelsaid. When asked whetherZydus would also bid for anoth-er health drink Horlicks, whichis believed to be on the shelvesfrom its promoter, Patel said:“No. We are not. For the timeand strategic rationale, thisbrand (Complan) makes moresense for us.”

Heinz India recorded rev-enues of about �1,150 crore forthe brands, and EBIDTA ofabout �225 crore for the 12months period ended June 30,2018, it added.

B����9�������� ��%���'���6�+���������=$C3C���

#�2���/����������������9:;7</������������������ "'$��'(��

Six global investors, includingWarburg Pincus, Temasek,

Singtel and SoftBank GroupInternational, have agreed toinvest USD 1.25 billion througha primary equity issuance inAirtel Africa, the companysaid on Wednesday.

The investment will beused to reduce Airtel Africa’sexisting debt of approximatelyUSD 5 billion and for growthof its African operations, theBharti Airtel unit listed in UKsaid.

“...Six leading globalinvestors comprising WarburgPincus,Temasek, Singtel,SoftBank Group Internationaland others have agreed toinvest USD 1.25 billion througha primary equity issuance in thecompany at a post money equi-ty value of approximately USD4.4 billion,” Airtel Africa said ina statement.

Airtel Africa has seen a

turnaround of its business inrecent years. The Africa busi-ness unit in the last few quar-ters mitigated the impact ofturbulent tariff war going on inIndia on consolidated financialperformance of Bharti Airtel.

“This primary equityissuance clearly underlines theconfidence of leading globalinvestors in Airtel Africa’s suc-cessful business strategy and itspotential to sustain growthand profitability,” RaghunathMandava, MD and CEO,Africa, Bharti Airtel, said.

Airtel Africa subsequentlyintends an initial public offer-ing and use the proceeds pri-marily for further reduction ofdebt, the statement said.

“The transaction will helpus further deleverage our bal-ance sheet and boost our capac-ity to upgrade networks,expand coverage in differentmarkets and achieve rapidgrowth of Airtel Money acrossour operations,” Mandava said

New Delhi (PTI): CyrusMistry, the former chairman ofTata Group, on Wednesdayannounced the formation of aprivate equity venture MistryVentures LLP.

Mistry, 50, made theannouncement on the secondanniversary of his ouster from

the Tata Group.Mistry Ventures LLP will

“provide strategic insights andadvice to businesses, incubatenew ventures and provide seed,

early stage and growth capital tostartups in India and globally,”the company said in a statement.Mistry Ventures will bring inAshish Iyer, senior partner and

previously global leader, strate-gy practice, at the BostonConsulting Group to lead thefirm.

Mistry took over as chair-

man of Tata Sons — the hold-ing company of salt-to-softwareconglomerate — in 2012 but wasousted in a boardroom coup onOctober 24, 2016.

������4�� �������������������� ���

5� ���4�������)����D,��� ������,0E� ���0$?=?���������� "'$��'(��

Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bankon Wednesday reported a rise of 21.3 per cent

in its consolidated net profit to �1,747.37 crorein the second quarter ended September this fis-cal. The bank had posted �1,440.68 crore netprofit in the July-September period of 2017-18.

Total income of the bank rose to �10,829.08crore in the second quarter, compared to�9,140.40 crore in same period of the preced-ing fiscal, the bank said in a regulatory filing.Its gross non-performing assets (NPAs) fell to1.91 per cent of the gross loans at the end ofSeptember 30, 2018 as against 2.14 per cent ayear ago. In absolute terms, the gross bad loansstood at �4,302.17 crore by the end of secondquarter, 2018-19 compared to �4,065.41 crorein same period a year ago.

Likewise, net NPAs or bad loans also camedown to 0.73 per cent of net advances (�1,617.66crore) from 1.08 per cent (�2,036.13 crore).However, the provisions for bad loans and con-tingencies were raised to �359.71 crore for thequarter from �252.86 crore parked aside forsame period previous fiscal, the bank said.

�����������������@���� ���� ���! >� �� ��A-,��� ��

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services(Mahindra Finance) on Wednesday reportedmore than two-fold jump in standalone net prof-it at �381 crore for the July-September quarter,helped by increase in revenue from operationsand other income. The company had posted anet profit of �164 crore in the correspondingJuly-September quarter of 2017-18. Its incomeincreased by 39 per cent to �2,148 crore duringthe second quarter of 2018-19, as against�1,540 crore in the same period of the preced-ing fiscal, Mahindra Finance said in a regula-tory filing.

!��� �@������� ����� ���,/B�IT services major Wipro on Wednesday

posted a 13.8 per cent decline in consolidatednet profit at �1,889 crore for the July-Septemberquarter of 2018-19 compared to the year-agoperiod. The net profit, attributable to share-holders, in the year-ago period was at �2,191.8crore, according to a regulatory filing by Wipro.Its revenue from operations, however, grew 8.3per cent to �14,541 crore during the periodunder review from �13,423.4 crore in the samequarter last year. Wipro, which gets bulk of itstopline from IT services, said its board hasapproved the appointment of ArundhatiBhattacharya as an additional director.

�������� �@������������1B��Two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto on

Wednesday reported 5.27 per cent rise in con-solidated net profit to �1,257 crore for the sec-ond quarter ended September 30, aided byrobust sales across domestic as well as interna-tional markets. The company had posted a netprofit of �1,194 crore in the year-ago period,Bajaj Auto said in a BSE filing.

Total revenue from operations stood at�7,987 crore for the second quarter as comparedto �6,566 crore in the same period previous fis-cal, Bajaj Auto said in a statement.

During the period under review, the Pune-based company sold a total of 13,39,444 units,up 25 per cent from 10,71,510 units in the July-September period of last financial year. Totalmotorcycle sales were up 23 per cent to11,26,542 units in the second quarter, as against9,18,721 units in the same period last fiscal. Thecompany said its commercial vehicle sales roseby 39 per cent to 2,12,902 units, while in thedomestic market it sold a total of 8,04,645 unitsduring the second quarter, up 20 per cent.Motorcycle sales stood at 6,92,899 units in thequarter, up 19 per cent from 5,83,997 units.

������ �� �� ��������� ����� ���� �������� ��� � ��� �� � ������� � � �� �� �������� ���� �� �� � � ���� ���� � �� �� ����������� ���� � � � ���������� � �� � �� ������� ��� � � � ����� ��� �� �� � �� ������������ ��� �� �� �� ����������� �� �� � � � ���������� �� � � � � ������� !��� �� �� �� �� �� ����"����" ��� � � �� � �������" ���� �� � � ��#����$��� �� �� � � ���� ������ ���� �� �� � ������ �� � � �� � ������� ��� � ��� � �� ������"� �� � �� � ������#���� ��� � �� � �� ����%#���� �� � �� �� �� �����$������ �� �� � ��������� ��� �� � �� � ����������� ���� � � �� � ������� �� �� �� �� �� ��������$��� ���� ��� �� �� ���������!�� ��� �� � �������� ��� � � � �����$������ �� �� � �� � ����$��� ��� � �� � ���$����! ��� � � � ����������� �� � �� �� � ������� � �� �� �� � ����%� ��� � ��� � �� ��%���� ��� � �� � �� ���%���$���� ��� �� �� � �� �������� ��� � � �� � ���&������ ��� � � �� � ����#�#��%�� ���� � ���� � �� ���#�#���� ��� �� �� � �� ��

��#�#���� �� � � � ���#�#����� ��� �� ��� � � ����#�#$���" ���� �� �� �� � ����#������� ���� � �� �� �� ����������� ���� � � ����������� � � � � � ���������$�� � � � � � ����$����� �� � �� � �� ����������� ��� � � � ��������� �� �� � �� � ����� ��� �� � � � ����������� � �� � � ����!������ ��� � ���� �� � ����� ��� � � �� � ����� � �� �� �� �� ����� ��� � �� � ����"������ ��� � �� �� � ��$������� �� �� �� �� � ���$�������" ��� � �� � ���$�������� ��� �� �� � �� ��$�� �� � � � �������� ��� �� � ����������� �� � � �� � �������"�� ��� �� �� � �� ���%����� ��� � �� � � ����%������� ��� � �� �� � ������!���" � � �� �� �� �����$��� ���� � �� � � ����� �� �� �� � ����������� ��� ���� �� �������$� �� � �� �� �� ������� ��� �� � � � �������$��� ��� � � � �� ����� ��� �� �� � ������ �� � �� �� �� �������%��� �� �� � �� � ����������" ���� �� �� � ������������ ��� � � ���� ��� � �� � �� ��������� ���� �� �� �� � ����������� � �� �� � �� �������%� �� � � �� � �����%�!��! ��� �� � � � ����%�!��& �� � �� �� � ����� ���� �� ��� � �� ������ � �� � � � ��

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

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

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

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

���������� �� � �� � ����������%� ��� �� �� �� ���� �� � � � � ��������%��� ��� � � � � ����� � � � � � ����������� ��� � �� �� � ��������� �� � � ��$ ��� �� � � � ��$�� �� � � ������ �� � � � � ���������$ ���� � �� � �� ���������� ���� �� �� � ��������� � �� � �� ����� �� � �� � �� ������� �� � � � � ������ ��� �� �� � �� ����������! ��� �� � � ������ ���� �� �� � ����� �� �� � �� � �����&� ��� � �� � ����"� ��� � � � � ������������ �� � � � � ����������� � �� �� � �� ����"���� ��� � ���� �� �� �����"���� ��� �� �� �� �� ����#������� �� � � ���� ��� �� �� �� � ������������ ��� �� �� �� � ��������� ��� � � � ���� � � � �� � ����� �� �� �� � � � ���� �� �� �� �� �� ���"$$ ��� � � �� � ���$�������� ��� � �� � ���$����&��� �� � �� � � ������������ �� �� � �� � ������� �� �� � �� �� ����� �� � � � ����$�%���" ��� �� �� �� � ���������� �� �� �� �� �� ������"��� �� �� �� � �� ��������"� �� � � � � �

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

�����!���� ��� � �� � �� ������������ ��� � ��� � �� ��%�$���� �� � � �� � ������ �� � � �� � �������#�� �� �� � � � ��������� �� � � � ����� ���� � �� � ������������ ���� �� � ������������ ��� �� �� � �� �������$ ��� � � � ���%�����$�� ��� �� � �� � ��%����!��� ��� �� ���� � �� ��%�������� �� � �� � � ���%��$���� ��� �� �� � �� ���%����� �� �� �� � ���%��� ��� � �� �� � ���%������ ��� � � � ���%���#�� �� � �� � �� ��%�������� � � �� � � ��%��� ��� �� � � � ���% ��� � � �� �� �� ����������"! �� �� �� ���!��$��! �� � � � � ���!������� �� � �� � ��!�"��� �� � � � ������ ��� � � � � �������$�� ��� � �� �� �� ������������ � �� �� �� �� ���������� ��� � � � ������&�� �� � �� � �� ������"����� ��� � � � � ������������ ��� � � � � ������������ ��� � �� � ������������ ��� �� �� � �� ������������ � �� �� �� ����������� � �� �� �� �� ����������� �� � � � ���� ��� � � �� � ���������� ��� �� � � � �����$� ��� �� � �� ����#����� ��� �� �� �� ��� ����&���� �� �� � �� ��

�$����& �� �� � � � ���$�������� ��� �� �� �� ���$!������ ��� � �� �� �� �����$� � � � � � ��������$�� ��� �� �� �� �� �������� ��� �� � � � ������� �� � �� �� � ������ �� � � � ��������$��� ���� � � ������������ ��� � �� �� �� ������� ��� � � � � ��������� �� � � � � ������%����� � �� � �� �����������" ���� � ��� �� � ����������� �� � � �� � ��������� �� � �� � �� ���������$�� ��� � � �� � �������! �� � �� �� �� �%�� ��� �� �� � �� �%������ �� � � �%���& ��� � � � ��%##���� ��� � � � ��%��������� ��� �� � ��%���$����� ��� � �� �� ��%�������� �� � � � �%�� ��� � � � � ���� �� �� � � � ������ ��� � � � � ������!� ��� � ��� � �� ��"%��� ��� �� � � � ���#�!����� �� �� �� �� ����������"� ��� �� �� � � �������� �� � �� � ������ �� � � � � �������� ��� � �� �� � ���� ���� �� � � �� ����" �� � � �� � ����������� ���� �� ��� �� ��������� ��� � � � � ������%���� � � � � ��$������� ���� � ��� � �� ������� �� �� �� �� �� �������$���� ��� � � � � ��!������ ��� � �� �� �� ��� ��� �� �� �� �� �� ��������$ ��� � ��� � �� � !�%����� ���� � ��� �� �

������

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

���� �

��� ��� ��

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

����������

���������-/� $������0*$����0�-$��*-�� �����1��2� �����1�2

3&4(5

6�4 �

+&466

45�

����������

� ��� ���� ���� ��� ��� ��������������� �)��� �� �)��� �� �)�� �� �)�� �� �� ���$����! ��� �� ��� �� ��� � � ������ �)��� �� �)�� �� �)��� �� �)��� � �� �����$��� ��)�� �� �)��� � ��)��� �� �)��� �� ��� ��'��$ ��� � ��� � ��� �� ��� �� � ���$�� �� �� �� �� �� �� �� � ������� �� ��� � �� ��� � �������� �� �� �� � � �� ���� �� � �� �� � �� � � �%��� ��� ��� �� ��� � �� �� �� ���� ��� �� �� ��� �� ��� �� � ���������� �� � ��� � �� �� ��� � �� ������������ �� �� �� � �� �� �� ������� ��� � ��� ��� � �� � ��%��� �� � �� � �� �� �����%� ��� �� � ��� � ��� � � ���� �� � �� � �� �� � � $��� ��� �� � �� ��� �� � � ������������ ��� � ��� �� ��� � ��� � ���� �)�� �� �)� �� �)�� �� �)�� �� �� ���� ��)��� �� ��)��� �� ��)�� �� ��)��� �� ��� ��$������� �� �� ��� � ��� � � �����"� �� �� �� � � � ����"� �� �� �� �� � �� � ���������� ��� ��� � ��� ��� � � ���"$$ )��� �� )� �� )��� �� )��� �� �� $������ � � �� �� �� �� ��� �� � ��$�� �� � �� �� �� �� �� � ����� �� �� �� � � �� � � ����� �)��� �� �)��� �� �)��� � �)��� �� �� �"���� ��� �� �� � ��� �� ��� � �� ������ �)��� �� �)� �� �)��� �� �)�� �� � ��������%�� ��� �� ��� �� ��� � ��� � �� ��"����#�� �� � ��� ��� � �� �� �� ���%���$���� ��� � ��� � ��� � ��� �� ���� �)� � �)��� �� �)��� �� �)��� �� ��� ������ ��� ��� � �� �� �� �� ��$������ ��)� �� ��)��� �� ��)��� � ��)� �� ���� ���$�"��� ��� � ��� ��� ��� �� �� ����������� �� � � � � �� �����$���%�� ��� �� ��� � ��� ��� �� ������ �)��� �� �)�� � �)��� �� �)��� �� ��� �����$����� ��� �� �� �� �� � �� ���������� �)��� �� �)�� �� �)��� �� �)��� �� ���� �������� ��� ��� � ��� ��� � � ��������� �� � �� �� ��� � ��� �����%#���� ��� ��� �� �� � �� �� ���� � � � � �� �������� ��� � ��� � ��� � ��� ��������$� ��� �� �� ��� �� ��� �� ��� ��

&'( &43 &'& 463&&3(54 3&' &&465&&+'34(&)+543& 4��

����� �����

��7����#����(� 4( ��1)(46)2

8�97���� ���(&)(45 ��1) 4632

8��������� &)543���1) 4362

# : +)543���1) 4)62

�8�������; '&(45���164332

$������1 �����2����� �����

8�97���� ���(<&&(43 ��1))4632

8��������� &))4����1+4632

���!�������������(&)4)���154 +2

�� )&34� ��1�4332

���!�� �����������(& 4� ��1�4 )2

$������1 �����2����������

8�;�� ��� &+&'4' ��1+4652

�!���� ����������&�+4' ��1�4)32

,�����; +4 ��1'4662

�������7�������(3'4� ��1'46+2

#�������! +&46 ��1'4++2

$������1 �����2����������

8�9�9=�>�����(<'564 ��1'4�'2

;��8��,�����������( '4&���1'4)�2

!���!!; (<'( 4 ��1(4)32

�����#��������������+ +4' ��1(4)(2

�!�������������&)&4( ��1)4+(2

$������1 �����2

������ �����

Page 11: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

#����������������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./

���� $*#��"-�)"

The United States SecretService intercepted and

proactively detonated two “sus-picious packages” addressedto former President BarackObama and 2016 Democraticpresidential nominee HillaryClinton earlier this week, theagency said Wednesday.

Neither Obama norClinton received the packagesor were at risk of receivingthem, the Secret Service said.

The packages were dis-covered during “routine mailscreening procedures aspotential explosive devicesand were appropriately han-dled as such,” the agency saidin a statement.

“Both packages were inter-cepted prior to being deliveredto their intended location. The

protectees did not receive thepackages nor were they at riskof receiving them,” the state-ment said.

Officials “proactively det-onated” the device, and deter-mined that it contained explo-sive powder and “had the com-ponents of a bomb,” it said.

The package intended forObama was intercepted inWashington, DC, onWednesday morning, and theone intended for Clinton wasaddressed to her in WestchesterCounty, New York, on Tuesday.

The FBI said the packageintended for Clinton was foundin the vicinity of her residencein Chappaqua, New York, butoffered no additional com-ment, citing the ongoing inves-tigation.

The Clintons have lived inChappaqua, about 48 km north

of New York City, since formerPresident Clinton left office in2001.

Representatives for theClintons referred pressinquiries to the Secret Service,and a spokeswoman for Obamadid not immediately respond toa request for comment.

Earlier this week, a suspi-cious package targeting bil-lionaire investor and majorDemocratic donor GeorgeSoros was discovered and ren-dered safe. Authorities areinvestigating whether there areany connections between thethree packages, CNN reported.

A senior White House offi-cials told NBC News thatPresident Donald Trump hadbeen briefed on the situation.

The official said the WhiteHouse is taking the situation“extremely seriously”

���� /*HD�5*O'3/*��*"6

US President DonaldTrump's national security

adviser says the administrationhasn't yet made up its mind onfurther sanctions against Russiatied to the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy.

The US imposed the latestRussian sanctions earlier thisyear in reaction to the poison-ing of Sergei Skripal and hisdaughter in Britain.

John Bolton saidWednesday the administrationis “still considering what wemay be obligated to do” underthe statute that entails furthersanctions if Russia does notprove its innocence in the poi-soning of the former Russianagent.

Bolton was speaking inAzerbaijan's capital afterspending two days in talks inMoscow.

����� �*3�#

France will take “punitivemeasures” if Saudi Arabia is

“proven” to be behind the mur-der of journalist JamalKhashoggi, governmentspokesman Benjamin Griveauxsaid Wednesday, adding thatParis would first have to veri-fy Riyadh's involvement.

“In the event that SaudiArabia's responsibility isproven, we will then draw theconsequences and take punitivemeasures... Not only onweapons,” Griveaux said aftera cabinet meeting.

Griveaux, however, empha-sised that “as long as it is notperfectly proven, and has notbeen corroborated by our intel-ligence services, we will holdoff on any decisions.”

His remarks came afterPresident Emmanuel Macron'soffice said he would refrain

from “any hasty decision” onhow to respond to Khashoggi'sdeath in the Saudi consulate inIstanbul on October 2.

After initially denying anyknowledge of his fate, Riyadhlast week claimed theWashington Post contributorhad died in a “fist fight” beforelater admitting he was mur-dered.

Saudi leaders have deniedany involvement in the 59-year-old's murder, which they saywas carried out by rogue ele-ments.

Britain, France andGermany have demanded thatRiyadh clarify how Khashoggidied and said its account mustbe backed by “credible” facts.

Saudi Arabia was the sec-ond-biggest purchaser of Frenchweapons between 2008 and2017, after India, signing dealsfor some 12 billion euros (USD13.8 billion) in French arms.

���� �#(*�*/*�

ALahore High Court benchhearing treason case

against former military dicta-tor Pervez Musharraf onWednesday was once againdissolved after the retirement ofChief Justice Yawar Ali, mediareport said.

Justice Ali was heading thethree-member bench that alsoincluded Justice Mazhar Akbarand Justice Tahira Safdar.

General (retd) Musharraf,75, who has been living inDubai since March 2016, is fac-ing the treason case for sus-pending the Constitution in2007, a punishable offence forwhich he was indicted in 2014.

A conviction for high trea-son carries the death penalty orlife imprisonment.

The former army chief leftfor Dubai for medical treat-ment and has not returnedsince, citing security and healthreasons.

Tokyo: A Japanese freelancejournalist who was freed aftermore than three years of captiv-ity in Syria said Wednesday he issafe in neighbouring Turkey.

Japanese Foreign MinisterTaro Kono said JapaneseEmbassy officials met with thejournalist, Jumpei Yasuda, at animmigration center in southernTurkey near the border withSyria.

“We are extremely pleasedthat we have confirmed the safe-ty of Mr Jumpei Yasuda,” Konotold reporters. Yasuda was kid-napped in 2015 by al-Qaida'sbranch in Syria, known at thetime as the Nusra Front, aftercontact with him was lost in Junethat year. A war monitoringgroup said he was most recentlyheld by a Syrian commanderwith the Turkistan Islamic Party,which mostly comprises Chinesejihadis in Syria.

“My name is Jumpei Yasuda,Japanese journalist. I have beenheld in Syria for 40 months,”Yasuda said, somewhat halting-ly, in English in videotaped com-ments broadcast by Japan's NHK

public television.“Now I am in Turkey. Now

I am in safe condition. Thank youvery much.” NHK said the videowas shot inside the immigrationcenter and was released by thelocal government in Turkey'sHatay province. Turkey's ForeignMinistry said “Every effort isbeing made to ensure that thejournalist is returned to his coun-try,” but would not provide infor-mation on the handover.

News of Yasuda's releasecame late Tuesday from Qatar,which helped in obtaining hisfreedom along with Turkey andother countries in the region,Japanese Chief Cabinet SecretaryYoshihide Suga said. Asked if anyransom was paid, Suga said,“There is no fact that ransommoney was paid.”

Yasuda's wife, a singer whogoes by the name Myu, was on alive talk show on Japanese tele-vision and shed tears when sheheard Kono confirm that herhusband was safe. “First I want totell him welcome back, and thenpraise him for enduring,” she said.“I'm so glad he survived.”AP

���� �D/*�

Indian expatriates in the UAEare at an increased risk of

developing heart diseasesalmost a decade earlier thantheir Western counterparts, astudy has found.

The study by AsterHospitals Dubai found outpeople from South East Asiancountries including India,Pakistan, Bangladesh, SriLanka and the Philippines aremost at risk for developingheart diseases in the primeyears of their life.

In fact, the heart diseasestrikes them almost a decadeearlier than their Westerncounterpart, researchers said.

The study was conductedon patients from diverse back-grounds with coronary arterydisease (CAD), who hadundergone interventional pro-cedures at Aster Hospital in thelast three months.

����� �#�*"/D(

Saudi authorities denied per-mission to Turkish police to

search a well in the garden ofthe kingdom's consulate inIstanbul as part of a probe intothe murder of journalist JamalKhashoggi, state media report-ed Wednesday.

Turkish police this monthsearched the consulate twice,and the residence of the Saudiconsul general, to gather evi-dence into what PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan saidwas a “savage murder” ofKhashoggi.

The Washington Post con-tributor and Riyadh critic waskilled inside the Saudi con-sulate on October 2, which hehad visited to obtain docu-ments for his marriage to aTurkish woman.

Basing its report on thesecurity sources, the Anadolunews agency reported that

Turkish police “were deniedauthorisation by Saudi offi-cials to search the well in theconsulate garden”.

Turkey is conducting itsown investigation into thekilling but it remains unclearwhere the body of Khashoggi is.

Erdogan has not pointedthe finger of blame at Riyadhbut analysts say Ankara is usingthe drip-by-drip informationleaked to Turkish media outletsas a tool of pressure against theSaudi leadership.

After 17 days of vehementdenials, Saudi Arabia assertedSaturday that the journalistwas killed in a “brawl and fistfight” inside a Saudi consulatein Istanbul -- without revealingthe whereabouts of his body.

Turkish media have report-ed that the authorities herehave audio tapes in whichKhashoggi's alleged killers tor-tured him by cutting his fingersoff before his decapitation.

����� �'�3*"

Saudi journalist JamalKhashoggi's “heinous mur-

der” would have been unthink-able “without US backing,”Iranian President HassanRouhani said on Wednesday.

“I don't think that any coun-try would dare to do such a thingwithout US backing,” Rouhanisaid in remarks to cabinet broad-cast on state television.

Rouhani said that beforeKhashoggi's murder “it wouldhave been unthinkable that inthis day and age we would wit-ness such an organised felony.

“It is extremely significantthat an institution plannedsuch a heinous murder.

“The tribal group that is rul-ing that nation (Saudi Arabia)has a security margin. Thatsecurity margin is that it relieson US backing. It is this super-power that is backing them.”

Khashoggi, a governmentcritic who was living in self-

imposed exile in the UnitedStates, was murdered inside theSaudi consulate in Istanbul onOctober 2 as he organised thepaperwork for his marriage tohis Turkish fiancee.

The case has triggered aninternational outcry againstSaudi Arabia. US PresidentDonald Trump on Tuesdayridiculed Riyadh's response as“one of the worst cover-ups” inhistory.

The Sunni kingdom andShiite Iran are fierce rivalswhich have long been engagedin a struggle for influence in theMiddle East.

����� H*���*"�D

The rape and murder of ateenager provoked unprece-

dented protests in conservativeNepal, but activists say a#MeToo reckoning like thatunfolding in neighbouring Indiaremains a distant prospect.

Thousands poured ontothe streets after 13-year-oldNirmala Pant's body was dis-covered in July angered byallegations the police were pro-tecting the perpetrators.

Two hashtags—#RageAgainstRape and#JusticeForNirmala—havebecome the rallying cries forprotesters fed up with Nepal'swoeful record of prosecutingcases of violence against

women.But #MeToo has been

largely absent from the ongo-ing debate. Those fighting forchange say women still strug-gle to speak out against theirabusers in Nepal.

“I would love a societywhere you can say #MeToo,”said women's rights activistHima Bista.

In recent weeks the#MeToo movement in neigh-bouring India has gatheredpace, a year after the hashtagfirst went viral.

The public allegations byBollywood star TanushreeDutta against a fellow actoremboldened a wave of womenin India to tell their own stories.

A government minister, M

J Akbar, resigned this monthafter at least 20 women accusedhim of sexual harassment. Aprominent Bollywood directorwas also sacked over similarallegations.

The shockwaves have notgone unnoticed in Nepal,which shares strong culturaland religious ties with its influ-ential neighbour, as well as a1,850-kilometre open border.

“You see a slight breezecome through,” Bista said of theripple effect from India.

In the last two weeks, ahandful of women have gonepublic with #MeToo stories inNepal, including two accusingthe former mayor ofKathmandu, Keshav Sthapit, ofabusing his power.

“Nepal also has serialpredators who have been mis-using their powers and posi-tions,” wrote RashmilaPrajapati, who says she lost herjob in Sthapit's office 15 yearsago after she rejected his sex-ual advances.

“(It) is high time to revealthem.”

Sthapit has denied the alle-gations, describing them as “arape of men's rights” in anrecent interview with theKathmandu Post newspaper.

But for most women inNepal, particularly those inconservative rural communi-ties, speaking out is not anoption, says Mohna Ansari ofthe National Human RightsCommission.

���!������������0���2,�3������5����

)��%�������� ������������� ���$�2%���

����� ��'��������������( �B��������/4�(����� A)�������

8������,����Q%����,���������A���3�!������������#���������H���������������Q%��,��A

��%��� �������������������#!����������<7!������%��,��!

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

Q����������������� �����������1%������D*'�!�����A

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

1��'��������������� ������������������������������

����� 3�@*��

Saudi Arabia's crown princeWednesday denounced the

murder of critic JamalKhashoggi as a “heinous crime”,insisting the kingdom wascooperating with Turkishauthorities and “justice willprevail”.

“The crime was verypainful to all Saudis. And it ispainful, heinous to everyhuman being in the world,”Prince Mohammed bin Salmansaid in his first commentssince the murder of the jour-nalist.

“Those behind this crimewill be held accountable... Inthe end justice will prevail,” saidduring an address to the FutureInvestment Initiative Forumin Riyadh.

Saudi leaders have deniedinvolvement in Khashoggi'smurder inside Saudi Arabia'sIstanbul consulate on October2, pushing responsibility downthe chain of command.

But the kingdom is undermounting international pres-sure over the killing amid USaccusations of a monumentalcover-up by the kingdom.

Prince Mohammed, wide-ly known as MBS, said SaudiArabia was working with theTurkish authorities to investi-gate the case.

“Many are trying to exploitthe Khashoggi affair to drive awedge between Saudi Arabiaand Turkey,” he said.

“But they will not succeedas long as there is a kingnamed Salman and a crownprince named Mohammed binSalman.”

4)"(�4�������5��������#�������������F

Page 12: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

���������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./

)������������!������������������ ������������������������������%������,�������,���������� �%�� �����������1�������� ��������� �������,������������!��,��������������������7��!�������� �����������������������,�����������%��,�����������*������������������������ ���������������������������!��������1%����,�������7��������������L�����&��������������������7���!���������������������������R���������������������&��������������#�������H�%����5����6���� ���#�������"���"������ ������������/�����.�� !�����!����������� �� ����*���+� �!�������#��������������������&

B'C���%���������%�%$��������

!���������;��!���������.���������C�����!���������C������%��������0��%������?�'C��������!�

#�����#����������������������#���?��0��������������������������+;��������������������������?�D6��E�����&�������F

*������� ���������������� �����''%'�!�(*'�%8""������'���5'�����%("�������!����������������������������&����������������.�����A���������������������������������������� ���������.�����������%��!������H����������������������������������������������������������,���������������������������7���%�&���������������������������������'����������������������� 7�������������������.""�������������������%������/�����#������A��������� ������������������������������,���!��������������������������������

*����� ����!� ����"�#���������%������:<�!������������������������������������������I�0*��%������ ����!����������:<�!�������������������,������!&�@�����,����� �%��3� ����#�����A������!���,����������������������E:;;��� �����7���%&���� �!������������������,���������������������7���!�����������!!����S2�����������������E;�8��������*�����������������������������E�;;F����7����%������� ������������������������������7���������������������&

���$����������������0�������

�������@����"������������

If you ask Radhika Apte what it waslike playing Nida Rahim in the

noire Ghoul, the one of the manyNetflix series which inspired a floodof memes of her carpet bombing theonline platform, she doesn’t remem-ber much of it. That’s not surprisingsince Apte has been all over ourmobiles and also movie screens.Despite that the possibility of notworking, which is a distant memory,can make her anxious.

“The fact that I have been work-ing two-three years non-stop makesyou forget the times when you havecried because you did not have work.That always happens when you goback to an unpleasant situation. It islike when you are in love, you forgetwhat rejection is like. When it hap-pens again, you remember what it feltlike. I worked hard for the last twoyears but now I am very nervousabout what next. And there is a rea-son as this year I haven’t worked somuch as I have been tying loose endsand promoting the work that I havealready done. I am signing two pro-jects but also waiting to see what isgoing to come up,” she says. Wearinga polka-dotted dress, she is curiousabout everything around her. At onepoint Apte questions the server aboutthe exquisite quality of porcelainused for serving tea in the five starwhich is a favourite haunt of her co-star, Saif Ali Khan, in Baazaar whereshe stars next.

For Apte, excitement and chal-lenge is important while choosing arole. “It should make you feel, oh thisis great. I don’t know how to do thisbut this is great,” she says. For her lan-guage, platform and length are not thecriteria that makes her choose. Notsurprisingly, she can be seen workingin a film, series or short films. Nextup she will be seen in Baazaar along-side Saif Ali Khan, Chitrangada Singhand newcomer Rohan Mehra. “It isvery different from anything that Ihave done before and also from whoI am so I am very excited. It is verymainstream. Nikkhil, Monisha(Advani, the producers) and Gaurav(K Chawla, the director) are the bestpeople to explore this with. I liked thestory and the cast. All these dancesand songs, even when I watch it, it is

hard to place my self there,” she saysas she widens her already big eyes inwonder and adds, “It is tough. Peopleunderestimate how hard it is. It is outof your comfort zone and anythingout of your comfort zone is very dif-ficult.”

She hopes that the kind of rolesthat she wants to do keep on comingto her. “It is up to people to offer medifferent kinds of things to do. I amnot rushing into things. I am alsowaiting for something nice to comethat is really inspiring. You knowwhen you lose sleep because you can’twait to start a project,” she says aswords tumble out quickly, clearlyunable to keep pace with all the direc-tions that her agile mind is runningin. Having worked so hard for the lasttwo-three years, she is on a bit of abreak. “Right now I am not rushinginto things. I am taking three-fourweeks to see various family membersand friends that I haven’t seen for twoyears.”

The amount of work that she didin the past two years was the stuff thememes are made of — and she invit-ed quite a few. She played NidaRahim in Ghoul, Kalindi in LustStories, Anjali Mathur in SacredGames, Sophie in Andhadhun andnext up she will be seen as Sonia inBaazaar. And she is happy with theway that Netflix, the digital platform,responded to the memes when itreleased a two-minute spoof videofeaturing the actress and filmmakerVikramaditya Motwane. The clip,seemingly a behind-the-scenes videoof an upcoming show titledOmnipresent, shows Apte playingevery role. The video ends withNetflix rechristening itself ‘Radflix’.Netflix shared the video on Twitterwith the caption, “Whatever the role,Radhika apt hai.” The digital platformalso changed its Instagram bio to “Just

another @radhikaofficial fan account”.Apte said that she really enjoyed

the way that the platform handled theentire thing. “It was very smart andthat proves that quality marketing isbetter than quantity marketing. If youjust get the right idea and do that, youdon’t need to do 20 interviews orridiculous 80 interviews across the

country. This will generate morepublicity,” she says with a laugh.

Apte is happy that she is in a spaceand time where she is being offeredmany different types of roles. “It is agood time to be a part of the indus-try. I just don’t want to realise after 10years that this is a better time and Iwant it to happen right now and Iwant to make it happen. I want tochange this game where there areequal amount of women characters aspowerful as men’s. I don’t want to feelthat why are all these parts written formen only,” she says, and again the feel-ing of a million thoughts clamouringto come out is evident.

But does she feel that the currentphase where content is really the kingis kicked off by the coming up of thedigital platforms? “You can make bril-liant content in films. In digital thereis no censorship plus there is a lot oftime as a series can be eight or sixhours long. Mahabharata is probablymore interesting to show in a longerseries than to show in two hours.Short films on the other hand havetheir own challenges. In today’s worldpeople want to have entertainment intheir local journeys, in their localtrains or rickshaw and that’s why dig-ital content becomes viral becausesmart phones have come,” she sayshighlighting the strength and weak-ness of each.

She also feels that the suddenexplosion in digital content, “is aphase. Now it’s become popular. Butwhen 10 shows come up, let’s see ifthey are of the same quality.Probably eventually it would matchwith the films. If it doesn’t it’s greatand amazing. But what I am sayingis that at the end of the day it is upto the producers and directors tomaintain quality,” she says as shesigns off.

%����)�%��������'�r

Diwali as we know it is the bestthanksgiving ritual thereis as we gift each

other tokens of love andappreciation and acknowl-edge the unsaid, the valueand impact each one of ushas on each other. In thatsense, there’s a sweetness ofbeing, encased in mithaiboxes, or the wish of goodfortune, from silver coins topanchdhaatu divinities. In a trib-ute to nature, there are dry fruits. Thatmeaningful gesture has now envelopedevery aspect of our home as each itemfinds its own shelf life of remembrance.So there are different brews of coffee,home-made bakes, hand-crafted but-tons or organic grains and cere-als, even plants and recycledfashion. Luxury is not aboutdisplay value but aboutembedding your own storyand thoughts.

�����������We often buy wooden

items for our householdbecause of its longevity andbeauty. Now, wooden kitchen-ware and other storage items aremaking into home improve-ment and gifting alike. Go out-of-the-box with these wooden

boxes in ivory and wooden stands thatare available at Fabuliv.com.

������ �������Keep your chips and

cheeselings aside this festiveand instead opt for Made inIndia traditional namkeenswith Sattviko hampers thathave flavoured makhanes,

gur chana, khakhra chips,ajwaini flax seeds, which

are also delight for those on adiet. If you’re not one to holdyourself back on the calo-ries opt for giftinggourmet popcorn with4700BC’s premium rangeavailable in irresistible

caramel and choco-late based flavours.

�����������Once the cow

stops milking, thefarmers can’t afford tokeep it anymore and the cowsare sent to slaughter houses. To

promote the farmers and poorcow owners from not selling the

cow, this beautiful concept of cowdung diya is promoted this year byweCHANGE. It is a one time usediya since the cow dung burns out.It is an eco-friendly way to save the

animal. A box of 24is available for �71.weCHANGE can becontacted at9869722423.

� �����Use ceramics in novel designs like

decorative bottles, temple jars in canaryyellow or beer mugs to liven up your gift-ing game. The bottles are crafted from

recycled glass. The temple jar wasoriginally popular during

the Qing dynasty to holdspices and has now

become a great centre-piece. Style a consoleor coffee table withthis Chinoiserie tem-ple jar. German Steinsare ornamental beer

mugs that are decorat-ed in a nostalgic man-

ner, depicting intricatelycarved illustrations on the

surface. These are perfect giftsfor a cosmopolitan home. Available on

Decorkart.com and Fabuliv.com

� � ��� Artisanal coffee has made plenty

inroads into homes and cafes of India.Connoiseurs have taken upon themselvesto buy expensive coffee machines tomake the perfect brew. Gift a coffee lover

what they love with a twist.Sleepy Owl has a range of cof-

fees with cinnamon and a hint ofchicory. Their dark roast has a bit-tersweet note which is a heavy mouth-ful with deeper darker flavours such as

chocolatey, nutty and caramel. It haslow acidity. These are priced at �500 perpack. You can also get an assortment withtheir light and dark roasts, signature brewand cinnamon flavoured brew for coldcoffees.

����������������Corneliani’s made in Italy cufflinks

are confined in brass and comes in var-ied shapes like rectangle, oval andround. The ever revolving classic ele-gance has been personified with cufflinkswith bars that adds an extra edge to a for-mal look while the collection of buttonsfrom the House of Sunil Mehra is a mixof handmade and pure silver buttonsused in Indian wear like Sherwanis,Bandhgalas etc. It is ideal option for mento transpire their simple look into a onethat stands out, each piece of this exquis-ite collection is handmade by highlyskilled craftsmen.

� �����������With companies catering to the

Diwali season with gift boxes picking outone has become easier. If you want to givethe gift of good skin to a loved one the

Bodyshop and Arata. One of the boxes,Rescue kit tea tree, has a 3-in-1 wash,scrub, mask and the anti-imperfectiondaily solution. Both products combine apowerful blend of community trade teatree oil while Arata has organic and zerocruelty products completely plant-sourced and non-GMO.

Actress Katrina Kaif is onfire with her hot dance

moves in Thugs of Hindostan’snew song Suraiyya. The song,which showcases the fun, teas-ing chemistry between Aamirand Katrina has wowed every-one for its outstanding chore-ography and her mind-blow-ing dancing. Katrina playsthe role of Suraiyya — the tal-ented dancer of Hindostan inthe film and she casts her spellon Firangi (Aamir) with herlooks.

Aamir is all praise forKatrina’s incredible dancingskills in the song. “I love thelyrics of the song. They arereally very representative ofboth Firangi and Suraiyya’s

relationship in the film. Theseare the steps that I wouldn’thave been able to do had Ibeen rehearsing for 10 yearsbut somehow, she manages topull them off (laughs),” saysAamir.

The song has been chore-ographed by Prabhudheva,who always sets a benchmarkin his innovative choreogra-phy. It has Aamir, dressed asa British captain, having theguts to woo Katrina in front ofBritish officers. Katrina feelsthat Suraiyya has been one ofher toughest songs till date.She says, “It’s a song which Ireally love. There is a lot ofheart in it and personality.Most importantly, for me, it’s

an original song. When I sawthe choreography I found itfantastic, but also realised thatit was very tough. The moveswere extremely fast yet sofluid, and really challenging. Itis dance and comedy at thesame time which makes itreally interesting.”

Composed by the duoAjay-Atul and penned byAmitabh Bhattacharya, thesong is sung by ShreyaGhoshal and Vishal Dadlani.

Directed by Vijay KrishnaAcharya, the film also starsAmitabh Bachchan andDangal fame, Fatima SanaSheikh in pivotal roles. It isslated to release on November8, in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

Women in India are travelling solo now more thanever before. And guess what? Not just milenni-

al women, but also those who are 50 and above. Earlier,the idea of a 50-year-old women traveling would evokethe image of a pilgrim but older women are challeng-ing themselves with trekking, parasailing, river raft-ing and are seeking adventures all on their own.

Surveys reveal that a new generation of post-lib-eralisation women are redefining life after theyrealise that they have enough time to explore the worldnow that their kids have grown up. They feel that hit-ting 50 means they can kick off a second and activeversion of life. This is not just in terms of travellingto places. Some are using their experiences to becomesocial media influencers too, moneytising theirsojourns and making others envy their lives.

As per a survey, Indian women already make upa significant portion of India’s domestic travel.According to a report by the Ministry of Statistics andProgramme Implementation, more than half of all sin-gle member overnight domestic trips made in Indiabetween 2014 and 2015 were by female travelers. Arecent study states that the number of women travel-ling alone in India and abroad is on the rise — 41 percent women traveled alone in 2014 as compared to 37per cent in the previous year. Among those surveyed,47 per cent said they travel alone for a sense of free-dom, 39 per cent travel for the challenge, and the 28per cent travel alone as their family or friends do nothave the time or resource to travel with them.

Well, the growing connectivity and easy network-ing have made families more carefree in terms of let-ting their daughters and mothers walk out of theirpremises alone. According to a report byPriceWaterhouseCoopers, Indian women turned outto be among the most confident travellers in the world.

Another report by the Singapore Tourism Boardhighlights the peculiarities among Indian women trav-ellers. It shows that they prefer to spend more on flights,food and accommodation to refrain from the last-minute booking hassles. They prefer travel agents forcustomised packages and love to travel to the locationsof iconic Bollywood movies.

As more Indians adopt the travel culture, thedemographic is undergoing a constant change as well.They are not just corporate or business travellers any-more, but more of women travellers flying and holi-daying alone. Various airlines like Lufthansa reveal thatthere was a higher attendance of corporate passengersaround 20 years ago compared to today’s scenario thataccommodates more of couples and women travellingin groups. British Airways have noticed a surge in soloIndian women travellers rising to around 47 per centwhile Oman Air now carries more holidaymakers,honeymooners and corporate travellers from India toOman than the migrant labourers the airline ferriedfive to six years ago.

With better incomes and a more solid sense of theself in older women, they know what they want andthey just want to fly.

.�.������(

/'@)"��3*����)"

#�,�!����,�����������������������%������!�=;7!���7������������%%���������������������������,��������&�/!��'*� +�+*

"�����������

�����������������������������������������������������������%������������������%��������&�/!��'*� +�+*

�� ����������������5�����

8����������������%�������������,�����3*���H*�*��'�����������!�!�������!��#*��� #*��*3

/���2���������

/����,����,������������,��������������1%������!���������������������������������������&�8�������!������%���������������� �������������������%�����������%����!&�/!��'*� +�+*

Page 13: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

� � � � � � � ( � 7 " ' � & �

���������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./ ����1�

��� ������������������� ����������H����"�������,��������������������-�����"��������.����������*����5�-".*6��������������������������*�����%��������8���������5*�86���������������������� ���%RQ���������������������#!��������������������������������������������"�����'��������I����������������.����������A�����-".*&�������%������������ ���%������������������������%�� ������ ���%�!�����*�8�������,���������������������������������������������

��������������������%�������������������������������������������������"�����'�����������������#� ����*������������������������%�&

���� ��� ��������������>���������������H��!�������.����������3�������������������������������������%��������R#���� ��:;E9���������"�������������*�����������%%���������������������!7������������&����%�������������������������������������������,�����������!7�������������������H���� ������%�����������!����������%���������+�����H��%����#�����&�����%���������������������������������������������������!���,����������������������������������������&

The Internet of Things 2018, anIndustry Academia Conclave, was

conducted at the Vellore Institute ofTechnology on October 24. Organisedby the School of ElectronicsEngineering—SENSE, the inauguralevent of the Conclave was held at theKamaraj Auditorium and was inaugu-rated by R K Shenoy, senior vice pres-ident at Robert Bosch Engineering andBusiness Solutions Private Limited. TheConclave saw more than 300 academi-cians, industry representatives, experts,young research scholars and studentsmark their presence where eminentspeakers exchanged ideas about cloudcomputing, data analytics, security andblock chain.

Other dignitaries attending theevent included Elizabeth Rufus, deanof SENSE, Anand A Samuel, the vicechancellor of VIT and Anil Prakash,the general manager, training anddevelopment, Global Mobility, aUniversity relation of Robert Bosch.

The founder and chancellor of VITDr G Viswanathan, informed that theIndustry Academia Conclave wasbeing held for the second year in a row.He said, “VIT has very good ties withthe industrial sector in the areas ofresearch and industrial production.Towards this endeavour, VIT has tied-up with over 1,000 industries and has

also taken up research that is requiredfor these industries. Further, the insti-tute also provides opportunities to peo-ple in these industries to take upresearch projects at the University.”

He further added that such indus-trial and academic tie-ups would pavethe way for devising means to increaseindustrial production and also toestablish new methods to devise lowcost means while at the same timeimplement high-end technologicalprocesses in industrial production.Along with an increased output in theagricultural sector and growth ofindustries, India would become adeveloped nation. Viswanathan is ofthe view that the industries shouldapproach educational institutions andwork along with them so that theycould solve the problems of their endcustomers.

Shenoy expressed that it was veryimportant for industries to workclosely with educational institutionsfor increasing production and alsofor creating new innovations. “Theimpact of these findings will signif-icantly improve the quality of life ofpeople. There are many industriesthat are struggling to devise newmeans of production, and suchConclaves would help in addressingthese problems.”

������������������������������

The Department ofEmpowerment of Personwith Disabilities

(DEPwD), under the Ministry ofSocial Justice and Empowerment,Government of India, organiseda national workshop titled—‘Physical and Mental Disabilitiesin the Light of Global BestPractices in Care, Rehabilitationand Research’ on October 23 atthe Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra,Chanakyapuri in New Delhi.Hosted by the National Institutefor Empowerment of Personswith Multiple Disabilities (NIEP-MD), Chennai, the workshopwas inaugurated by the UnionMinister of Social Justice andEmpowerment, DrThaawarchand Gehlot, in thepresence of eminent scholars ofthe disability sector and digni-taries including Shankuntala DGamlin, secretary, DEPwD, DrKamlesh Kumar Pandey, chiefcommissioner for persons withdisabilities and DollyChakrabarty, joint secretary forDEPwD.

The objective of the

workshop was to help India’scommitment under the Rightsof Persons with Disabilities(RPWD) Act and help toestablish uniformity in theservices for persons withdisabilities. It also endeavouredto support the protocoldevelopment in the servicedelivery and encourageadaptation of global bestpractices in the Indian context.

Various discussions at theevent concluded that the work-shop would prove instrumentalin assisting the implementationof best practices for all the 21 dis-abilities covered under theRPWD Act. It would also beimportant in fine tuning the

practices of disability-specific,discipline-specific, model-spe-cific, approach-specific holistic-services and Community BasedRehabilitation (CBR) models.The reservoir of knowledge gen-erated during the discussionscould be used by all stakeholdersfor improving the standards ofservice delivery with an aim toimprove the quality of life ofpersons with disabilities andtheir families.

The workshop saw sessionsconducted by experts invitedfrom premier rehabilitationinstitutions, hospitals, universi-ties, and RCI recognised insti-tutions from across the countryin the field of disabilities,

including OrthopaedicDisability, Cerebral Palsy,Muscular Dystrophy,Dwarfism, Leprosy-cured per-son, acid-attack victims; visualimpairment; hearing impair-ment; speech and language dis-ability, intellectual disabilities,specific learning disabilities;Autism Spectrum Disorders;mental illness and disabilitiescaused due to chronic neuro-logical conditions like Multiple-Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease;

blood disorders likeHaemophilia, Thalassemia,Sickle-Cell Disease; and multi-ple disabilities.

The overwhelmingresponse to the event could begauged from the high footfall byover 300 participants from theState and Central Government,universities, national institu-tions, eminent hospitals, non-governmental organisations,scientists, and experts of reputefrom the disability sector.

/������������������������ �

The pioneering work in India of Deakin’sSouth Asia office has been recognised by

the India Australia Business and CommunityAwards (IABCA), which presented theaward for ‘Business Leader Professional ofthe Year’ to Ravneet Pawha. The IABCA,dedicated to celebrating the Australia-Indiarelationship while honouring entrepreneur-ship and community leadership, awarded thehonour to Pawha on October 12, during aceremony in Brisbane, Australia which wasattended by the Indian business and com-munity leaders, prominent officials includ-ing the High Commissioner of India toAustralia, Dr Ajay Gondane and Australia’sMinister for Foreign Affairs, Marise Payne.

The award recognises the key leadershiprole of Pawha, who has overseen a largeexpansion of key industry partnerships,developed the University's largest interna-tional PhD program and a hugegrowth in student numbers com-ing from India.

In 1994 Deakin became thefirst Australian university toopen an office in India, withPawha leading that office fromits very inception and oversee-ing its growth and develop-ment. She has been instru-mental in establishing inno-vative strategic partnershipsfor the University whichhave successfully unitedthe Australian higher edu-cation with the Indianpopular culture. Thisincludes unique scholar-ship programs withmedia houses and multi-faceted partnerships withIndian premier leagueteams.

On receiving theaward, Pawha said, “Thisaward recognises Deakin’sefforts in India towards edu-cation for jobs of the futureand initiatives for the com-munities we serve. It is

indeed an honour to be felicitated on sucha big platform. The award belongs to thehighly-committed Deakin India team in NewDelhi. We endeavour to continue our mis-sion with passion, persistence and people topeople connect.”

The leadership role of Pawha inAustralian higher education in India becameparticularly apparent in the aftermath of the2008 financial crisis, which saw massivedrops in Indian student enrollment inAustralian universities. Recognising thescale of the challenge at hand, she madeadjustments to Deakin’s strategic focus inIndia, placing greater emphasis on partner-ship development while waiting for marketforces to stabilise. These efforts led to a seachange in Deakin’s partnership engage-ment in India and resulted in threefold ben-efits of furthering the University’s aims as aresearch institution; developing brand aware-

ness among key players in India, and setthe stage for improved student recruit-ment that leveraged the partnerships.

Deakin University has nowemerged as a market leader in Indiaand students from the country repre-sent the largest international cohort at

this Australian university. One ofthe key strategic project spear-headed by Pawha is theDeakin India ResearchInitiative (DIRI), which wasestablished to strengthenresearch activities and part-nerships in India with aview to bridging the gapbetween academia andindustry. Through DIRI,Deakin has established morethan 100 projects involving

over 100 PhD students andmore than 50 industry, acade-mic, and government partnersin India. This includes the $15-million TERI-Deakin Nano-Biotechnology research facil-ity in India, often cited as astandout example of India-Australia collaboration.

3*+"''���*$�*��������%�!�+��������������5-����6�����.')7#����*�������� ���D��,�����!�������%���������������������������*���������D��,�����!�������������������������������%���������������������������������������������������

� ��������������������� ���!���>�2,-*�������������������������������%������H�����!�+��!���!��#���������5H+#6���������������8�..�������#%�����*�����:;E9�����������������!�������Q/����.��%��!�����������#%�����5����#�����6A&������������������!������������������������������D38�:;E9����)������:=�������8������������������"��������&

The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited(BSNL) has signed a memorandum

of understanding (MoU) with EricssonIndia Private Limited, to work togeth-er on developing new 5G use cases,knowledge sharing on 5G technologyconcepts, industry and innovationtrends including 3GPP standardisationprogress. The partnership will helpBSNL to utilise Ericsson’s 5G Center ofExcellence, established at IIT Delhi, towork on evaluating benefits of 5Gtechnology in areas like rural connec-tivity, connected healthcare, industri-al automation, public safety, video sur-veillance, energy and agricultureamongst others.

Anupam Shrivastava, the CMD ofBSNL said, “5G and IoT will enable newopportunities and create new ecosys-tems and through this association withEricsson, we intend to take the lead inthe development of these new technolo-gies. We will test, learn and develop usecases that will help us meet the diverseneeds of our customers in the future.

5G will also help create the backboneon which Digital India initiatives willbe delivered.”

Nunzio Mirtillo, head of market

area, South East Asia, Oceania andIndia at Ericsson said, “We are proudto partner with BSNL to work on use-cases and scenarios for application of

5G technology and how it will helprealise the Digital India vision. Ericssonhas been a key part of the telecomecosystem in India for several decades,bringing voice and data services to mil-lions of customers in the country. Asnetworks evolve towards 5G, we havethe products and solutions as well as theexpertise to help operators evolveseamlessly from 4G to 5G.”

BSNL is working closely withOEMs and technology partners toshowcase strong 5G ecosystem toenable innovation for new use cases,and business models. 5G will enabletremendous opportunities in sectorslike manufacturing, energy and utilitiesfollowed by public safety and health sec-tors. Some of the 5G use cases thatcould be implemented using the uniquefeatures of 5G technology includeindustrial control and automation,autonomous driving, safety and trafficefficiency services, hospital applicationsand medical data management amongstothers.

�����A������>������ ������ ��+''.)"�3)H�.��%�����������,����(������������,���������Q.��!�$����$�78��"����� ����������������������:=�������������������&�������������������A���������������������������%��,������������������������!�����,��!�������������������� �����������������������������������������%�������������������%�������������������������������/�����#�������"�����(������&�+''.)"�3)H�.��%�����������������������������������+������3)H��������������������������������A��������<�������7�����������%����&

� ����� ���� ��� ������ ���� ��)�����������������������������.���������������!�����)�����:E������-��%�.������-�������"������%������������������.3�8�������������!���������������#%������������EF=F&�)�������,��!��!�����.3�8���������������������������,�����������������������������.�����������%�������������#%���������(��� ��������������������H������&�������-���-.�.3�8��-�������"������������������������������������������!������������������������%�����������������������������,������������������%������!&

�� �� ������/,���������4E���*�����-�������������������������������������������)������������5���)6�������������!�(�.�-�!��������������������������������������������)����������������������"�����������)������::&����%�������������������������������������������������������1���������%�������������)A���������������%�� �����������,���%����������������������������������7��7���7�����������������'1�������7��7.��,�������.������5�'..6�����)������������������������<>;������������������%�������E<=�������������:;EK7E9&

�������������������������������� ���������%��������������������������������#%�������%������#�������������������������Q��������������.��� 7%�.��%A���������������,��������#������&�*������������������������������������%������3� ����.������!�����������,��������������%��������������,�����%������%���������������!&

(�/������������������=��������

,��)��������#��������������> ����� �����������������

���������������������������

������� �����������?�������������

�����������/������

�4�@�(�� ������'�������+&�����������������1���

�������������������������0�������� �� �������� ����*���,���������������������������*���7���������*��������������������5*�*6����%�����������#�����D#*������!���,�����H�������������.�����������5*�*�������6��,�����������.�#8������L����������"���������������������������������������.�#8������!�3���*�������-5������������,6&��������������������������7����������%������������������������������������������&

� !�������� ������� ������<�������� !�����������������������C�����������������������������������������!����%������%��������������!�����%�������:;E9�#?��-�������������%�:=;�-�����'����!�.��%��!�3�� ������)$'3-3�������������������%���������������Q8�������-�������'�������D�����!����*���A�����������������������������&�-�����!��������%��!����%����������������������������������������������������!&

� ������������ � ��������� ��>��������������������%������!��������������������1%��������������%��������������!����������������������!����������-��7���� �&��������������� ����������E9���%��%���!���������&�*�������-����������������5%��������3-�-��%6������������!�������������E>;7����������������������������A�����������������%��������������������!��,��������1������!����&�

Page 14: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

���������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./ ������8

persistent problems at the num-ber four slot by Kohli himself,made a fluent 73 off 80 deliver-ies.

The 29-year-old Kohli, whohit 13 boundaries and four sixes,bettered the iconic SachinTendulkar's record by an incred-ible 54 innings, and then wentpast 1000 runs in the calendaryear in only 11 innings, which isalso the fastest.

During their stay in themiddle, the two were involved ina partnership of 139 runs in 142balls for the third wicket at theDr YSR ACA-VDCA CricketStadium, set amidst picturesquehills.

While he acknowledged thefans' applause by raising his batafter reaching the 10k land-mark, the crowd was on its feetagain when Kohli creamedMarlon Samuels to the coverboundary to bring up his cen-tury, his 37th in this format.

A six down the ground offdebutant left-arm pacer ObedMcCoy brought up 1,000 runsfor him in the year.

He then deposited McCoyover long-on for another maxi-mum and in the next over,smashed Roach for a six and twofours to power his team past 300.

Kieran Powell (18) andChanderpaul Hemraj startedWest Indies' response by hittinga few quick boundaries, butMohammed Shami had theformer caught behind.

Kohli introduced Kuldeep

Yadav and the chinaman, hav-ing missed the series opener,delivered straightaway when hefoxed Hemraj for a 24-ball 32.The spinner then bowled sea-soned Marlon Samuels (13) toleave the visitors in a spot ofbother at 78 for three in 12overs.

A 143-run partnershipensued between Hetmyer andShai Hope for the fourth wick-et as the duo took calculatedrisks.

Taking off from where heleft in the first match, Hetmyerlaunched into the Indian spin-ners and rattled them with aflurry of sixes. He was destruc-tive in the region between long-off and deep midwicket and was

most harsh on YuzvendraChahal, who leaked 18 runs inone of the middle overs.

Shai Hope was the perfectfoil for the marauding Hetmyer,as the former kept rotatingstrikes while finding the fenceon a fairly regular basis.

However, Chahal had thelast laugh when Hetmyer top-edged an innocuous short ballfor a skier to Kohli at shortcover.

At that point, West Indiesneeded 101 runs in 18 overs asRovman Powell joined Hope,and the equation was broughtdown to 63 in the last 10 withskipper Holder among the fivebatsmen remaining. But theycould only tie the game.

���� +�#*H�*�*�"*�

Virat Kohli on Wednesdaybecame the fastest to score

10,000 runs in One-dayInternationals, rewriting, fit-tingly enough, the iconicSachin Tendulkar's record andcompounding the cricketcommunity's conundrum tofind the right superlatives forhis phenomenal batting.

'King' Kohli comfortablybettered the record set by theman who was to Indian crick-et for over two decades whatthe 29-year-old has been forthe past few years.

Tendulkar took 259innings to get there, whileKohli has so far batted in 205innings. Fortune, too, was onKohli's side as West Indiesskipper Jason Holder droppedhis Indian counterpart on 44.

Seventeen summers ago,Tendulkar had ventured intowhat was then an uncharteredterritory, during a matchagainst Australia. OnWednesday, Kohli became the13th batsman to reach themilestone with an unbeaten157 off 129 balls, which was his37th ODI hundred.

In the process, he alsobecame the fastest to 1,000runs in a calendar year, takingjust 11 innings to get there.

Some years ago, Tendulkar,after scoring his 100th inter-national century, said he wouldlove to see an Indian—some-

one like Kohli or Rohit Sharma— break his records.

At a venue set amidst pic-turesque hills, Kohli reachedthe mark when he playedAshley Nurse for a single in the37th over of the second ODIagainst the West Indies.

Having an enviable recordat the Dr YSR ACA-VDCACricket Stadium with scores of118, 117, 99 and 65, Kohlibegan his latest innings with aboundary through the off-side.

Entering the game 81 shortof 10,000, with this achieve-ment the run machine addedanother feather to his illustri-ous cap.

Kohli has been in sublimeform across formats this yearand has scored over 900 runs

in ODIs alone. He is current-ly the world's No.1 batsman inboth the Test and one-dayformats.

Kohli's journey has beenawe-inspiring, from his first-class debut, winning the U-19World Cup, captaining theIndian team, to rewriting bat-ting records at will.

In the first match againstthe Caribbean side, Kohlinotched up his 36th ODI hun-dred as he stroked his way toa breezy 140, helping the hometeam take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Besides Tendulkar andKohli, Sourav Ganguly,Mahendra Singh Dhoni andRahul Dravid are the otherIndian cricketers to cross10000 runs in the format.

�����D�/*��

Riding on Mithali Raj'srecord-setting,

unbeaten hundred,India A defeatedtheir Australiancounterparts by 28runs to take a win-ning 2-0 lead in thethree-match T20series on Wednesday.

Veteran Mithali,who opened theinnings along withSmriti Mandhana,was the cynosure ofeyes as she torment-ed the Aussie bowlersin her whirlwind 105-rununbeaten knock which came offjust 61 balls.

On her way, the right-hand-ed batswoman recorded thehighest score by an Indianwoman in T20 surpassing 102

earlier set by Smriti.Mithali's knock ensured that

the hosts piled up a massive 184for 5 in their alloted 20overs.

And later theIndian bowlersrestricted the visitorsto 156 for 9, ensuringthe team's win.

Smriti (1),Jemimah Rodrigues(5), D Hemalatha (2)and Anuja Patil (0) fellcheaply, but that didnot deter Mithali, whostruck 18 boundariesand a six in her enter-taining innings.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur(57 off 33 balls) ably supportedMithali as the two stitched astand of 85 and ensured

The Aussies were never inthe hunt in the chase as they lostwickets at regular intervals.

���� "'$��'(���

Ajinkya Rahane's struggles inlimited overs cricket con-

tinued as India B comfortablybeat India C by 30 runs to enterthe Deodhar Trophy final onWednesday.

It was Hanuma Vihari'sfighting half-century under pres-sure that propped India B to 231for 9 in 50 overs.

Their spinners, KrishnappaGowtham (3/40 in 10 overs) andManoj Tiwary (3/44 in 8 overs)did the bulk of the damage torestrict India C to 201 all out in48.2 overs.

However, what stuck outlike a sore thumb with India Cteam captain Rahane's strugglesas he managed only 32 off 61balls.

His struggles were com-pounded as left-arm spinnerShahbaz Nadeem (0/29 in 10overs) kept the Indian Test vice-captain under check.

On a slowish Kotla track,

Rahane played a lot of dot ballswhich increased pressure onthe later batsmen.

Finally, it was Gowthamwho ended his miseries asRahane could not check hisdrive with Tiwary taking thecatch at covers.

"Rahane loves using thepace of the deliveries to score his

runs and I did not want to bowlto his strengths. I wanted him towork on his singles," Gowthamsaid.

Shubman Gill (35),Suryakumar Yadav (39) andVijay Shankar (35) got the startsbut played indiscreet shots as theIndia C team's chase nevergained momentum.

Earlier, courtesy Vihari'ssecond successive half century(76 off 94 balls), India B scored231 for 9 in 50 overs after beingreduced to 90 for 5. Vihari hit sixboundaries as other playersstruggled.

It was a 60-run standbetween Vihari and AnkushBains (25) that gave India Bteam's score some semblance ofrespectability.

Vihari anchored the inningsas he was the ninth batsman outwith India B team stranded on195. Jaydev Unadkat (15) andShahbaz Nadeem (19) added 36runs for the final wicket and thatproved crucial in the end.

���� �D#.*�

Following the goalless draw against Malaysiain the Asian Champions Trophy, a dejected

Indian men's hockey team chief coach HarendraSingh on Wednesday acknowledged that hisstrikers wasted too many chances despitedominating most sessions of the match.

"I am not happy at the way our strikers con-tinue to miss scoring opportunities," Harendrasaid after India were held to a goalless draw byMalaysia in their preliminary league encounterhere late on Tuesday.

The goalless draw on Tuesday night leftboth defending champions India and AsianGames Silver medallists Malaysia on 10 pointsfrom four outings. India, however, stayed atopthe standings on the basis of a superior goal dif-ference.

"The strikers need to work harder. Thingswill not come on a platter every time," saidHarendra, dejected that India failed to converthalf a dozen scoring opportunitiesagainst Malaysia.

This was the first time India wereplaying Malaysia since the 2018 AsianGames, where Malaysia scored an upsetwin to advance to the final.

Harendra said modern hockey requiresquick decision making by players. He said thestrikers need to be quick in their decision mak-ing as rivals would always try to deny them timeand space in the scoring zone.

"We have to do better inside the circle," hepointed out.

Harendra said Malaysia were expected tocrowd their defence and deny space for theIndian strikers, but it was up to the Indian play-ers to create a passage through the packeddefence.

Malaysia coach Roelant Oltmans, who wasIndia's coach until last year, said the game pro-ceeded as expected.

"We did really well in how we defended, butI am slightly disappointed with what we didwhen in possession of the ball," said Oltmans.

"We could have done a lot more. We couldhave created opportunities for ourselves. Thatis something we need to improve," saidOltmans, who took charge of the Malaysianteam after the Asian Games that ended lastmonth.

For three Asian teams— India, Pakistanand Malaysia — this event provides the lastcompetitive games ahead of next month's

World Cup in India.Earlier on Tuesday Defending Champions

India were held to a goalless draw by Malaysiabut managed to maintain their pole position

in the points table in the AsianChampions Trophy hockey tourna-ment.

Both India and the Asian GamesSilver medallists Malaysia now have10 points each from four outings in

the preliminary round-robin league, withIndia topping the standings on basis of a supe-rior goal difference.

The Indian team were off to a nervy startas they wasted several scoring opportunitiesearly in the match.

They had a spate of chances early in thecontest, only for Hardik Singh to fritter awaya scoring opportunity. Harmanpreet Singh'spenalty corner flick was blocked by theMalaysian goalkeeper and Mandeep failed toget a touch on long diagonal ball. It happenedtwice in the first quarter.

Malaysia created one opening on a counter-attack, but mostly fell back to defend their goalagainst the Indian strikers.

In the second half, the Indian strikers werenot allowed space to enter the circle until theclosing stages, when they forced two penaltycorners but could not produce a goal-bearingshot.

This was a period when Malaysia weredown to 10 players as Tengku Tajuddin wasshown the yellow card for a deliberate foul onIndian Captain Manpreet Singh.

Nilakanta Sharma missed the target byinches in one of the combined Indian raids.

���� /D�*�'#��

Young Ritu Malik kept Indiain medal contention by

reaching the Bronze play-offbut there was no end to thewoes of Sakshi Malik, who suf-fered a humiliating quarterfi-nal defeat and Ritu Phogat atthe World Championship hereon Wednesday.

Ritu Malik, who haddefeated celebrated GeetaPhogat in the trials, edged outBulgaria's Sofiya HristovaGeorgieva 9-8 in the repechageround despite lagging behindtwice in an exciting bout.

She trailed 0-3 after thefirst period but a four-pointthrow in the second period anda step out-point pushed herahead 5-3.

However, the confidentBulgarian reduced the deficitto one point soon. Ritu againfound a four-point move tozoom to a 9-6 lead. Sofiya keptRitu Malik under pressure butthe Indian grappler just aboutmanaged to maintain her leadto progress to the medal round.

Ritu Malik now has a taskat hand as she is up against2017 U-23 world championand this year's World CupGold medal winner AyanaGempei from Japan.

There was yet another dis-appointment in store forOlympic medallist Sakshi, whowas outclassed 2-16 by Japan's

Yukako Kawai, a two timeWorld Cup gold winner in the62kg category.

Sakshi lost a point forpassivity but took the breakwith a 2-1 lead after a take-down move.

However, in the secondperiod, the Japanese inflicteda humiliation on the Indian.Yukako took three points witha leg-hold move and consoli-dated the lead with a take-down. She followed it up with'fitley', rolling Sakshi fourtimes to log eight points.Sakshi had endured a below-par show at theCommonwealth Games,where she won a Bronze in a

weak field and failed to reachthe medal round at the JakartaAsian Games.

In the 50kg category, RituPhogat, who replaced herinjured cousin Vinesh Phogat,made a stupendous start bywinning the pre-quarterfinalagainst Thi Yuan Nguyen bytechnical superiority but lostthe quarterfinal by fall to YuiSusaki, the 2017 world cham-pion in 48kg category.

Pinki (53kg) lost her quar-terfinal to Poland's KatarzynaKrawczyk 2-7 while CWGSilver medallist Pooja Dhandalost 3-4 to China's NingningRong at the same stage in the57kg.

���� .�'""*�

Test spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, discardedTest opener Murali Vijay and wicket-keeper-

batsman Dinesh Karthik were Wednesday namedin a strong Tamil Nadu team for the Ranji Trophycricket tournament, which begins on Nov1.

The team, led by Baba Indrajith, also includestalented, young all-rounder M S WashingtonSundar and Vijay Shankar.

Medium-pacer S Abhishek Tanwar is the newface in the Ranji squad.

The 27-year old had a good outing forMadurai Panthers in the third edition of TamilNadu Premier League held recently.

The team will be missing the services of left-arm paceman T Natarajan and right-arm medi-um-pacer K Vignesh, who sustained injuriesrecently.

The fast bowling unit will consist of MMohammed, J Kousik, Tanwar and R Rohit.

Ashwin leads a spin attack that also includesthe experienced Rahil Shah and the young R SaiKishore, apart from Washington Sundar.

State selection panel chief S Sharath and cap-tain Indrajith said it was a well-balanced teamwhich was capable of doing well.

"It is a balanced team and we have all the basescovered. They will do well," Sharath told PTI.

Meanwhile, Indrajith said it was well-balanced

squad the selectorshad picked,addingthe presence of Teststars Ashwin, Vijayand Dinesh Karthikprovides a lot ofexperience.

"It is a good all-round side and abalanced one. I amconfident we willdo well.

Ashwin's pres-ence gives the teama boost and alongwith Rahil Shahand WashingtonSundar, gives thespin department a

strong look," he said.Tamil Nadu begins its campaign against

Madhya Pradesh at Dindigul on November 1.

����B Indrajith, M Kaushik Gandhi, AbhinavMukund, M Vijay, Vijay Shankar, B Aparajith,Dinesh Karthik, N Jagadeesan, M S WashingtonSundar, R Ashwin, R Sai Kishore, Rahil S Shah,M Mohammed, J Kousik, R Rohit, S AbhishekTanwar.

/����������� �� �������� ��

4����*����� ���������4��'����*��'��������(����������������������� �������������8���������������� �'�����(�����������������#���������� ��

D�!�������-���� ���� ������ �(�������������'��� �#��������������.����*� ���� ��

��'���#%�'�������1�� ����2345�#�:'� ��( ���% �&�% �� �9' �� ,22D12 /D.%+�����H�����5�"��*6 EEG EE E;4> E>;G E4F&4: E;<&9K =C< E;=CE:����!�/��������5'"-6 :: :: E;:= E<F 4>&=F EE9&:: 4C: E:4C<E����3����5'"-6 :4 :4 F4> EE<G =F&E: 9<&F< <C= >=C>������3�!�5'"-6 :: :: 9F4 E9; 4;&>< E;=&;= <CE F9C:E/��������!����5O��6 :;G :; 9:< E<9 4E&E= 9>&<= :C< K=CEF

B��� A���� �������������E,�,,,��"�����&��3��3�34��������"�5��'5�4�'

�#�:'� 88"%�(�"� ��( ���%+�����H�����5�����6 $���������� :E< :;#����������� ���5�����6 *�������� :>> :=F#���,�-����!�5�����6� #���(�� � :K: :><3�� !���������5*�������6 #����*����� :K: :>>���L���H������5#���*�����6 *������� :9> :K:

!�#.���6�-7�8'��'9�#/������!�'.6-.�.��.��&�% ��##% /% .% �� 88"%�(�"� ��(4*���('EE9 E:E EE E FK&=: *������� :;�)���:;E;EEK E:< E4 ; F=&E: $���������� :�����:;EEFF E;; F ; FF&;; $���������� :4�"�,�:;E<>= K> : E 9=&=: "���O������ :F�)���:;E>E=KG E:F E< 4 E:E&K; $���������� :4�)���:;E9

*�����*��'�����!! ����#���������������������'�(�������������������� �0��������E,,������������

���� +�#*H�*�*�"*�

Run-machine ViratKohli sprinted tofastest 10,000 ODI

runs but West Indies stole atie from India with ShaiHope's gutsy hundred in anexhilarating second one-dayer here on Wednesday.

India notched up 321for six, while the WestIndies, needing 14 runs inthe final over and five off the

last ball, levelled the scorewith Hope (123 not out)cutting Umesh Yadav for aboundary.

Besides Hope's ton,there was also ShimronHetmyer's 94-run blitzkrieg.

Kuldeep Yadav showedhis worth again with threewickets.

Opting to bat, Kohlifired 157 off 129 balls, whileAmbati Rayudu, who is seenas the answer to the team's

����������������������� �������:��������������������.����

;'����������� �������������������� ������:

(��)����������?���������

/��������&�����$������$5�� �������������/�������G��

Page 15: €¦ · mented the “Gujarat model” at ... those involving Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi and the Rafale deal are blots on ... and supervisory role in respect

���������'�(������) '���(�����*+,�*-./ ������:

��������������������!��������� ���Mumbai: .����A�������������=K�O�����#�������������������� ��� �������� ��� ���� T� E:=�;;;� ������� (� ���� ������)%���� �������A�� ������� ����������� ����������� ��� ���.��� ���.�������������)������:K&�����:47!���7����O����������������!� �����!���A�������7%����������������KF#��,��������������� %�,����D#*A��F47��� ���#������+�� ��!����#����A�������F>�)����������,���������$�*��,���&��������� ����� ��� ���� �,���� ����� ������� <:� %��!���� ����� EF������������������::�%��!��������������������������!������������������ ,��� ���� ��� 7���� ���� ����� �����&� �������������L������������������������)������:K�����:9������������������������������)������:F&�

� �� ���������!��������� ����London: #%��������������������*������������������������������������.�������������������������:;:<�������������(�����������������$�������!&�����:K7!���7����#%����������������� ������.����������*����:;E>�����%�����������������������(��������:;E>7EK���������������8*�.%�����������&�U����������%%!�������!�������������������� ��%%��!������������������������������������������U�����������������A��������&�U��A��������,��!�������������������������� ��� ���� �������� ��� ����&U� *������ ���� ����� F:�%%��������������������E=������� ����.�����������������������������8���������&����%��,����!������%��������'�����������/����������#��������&�

������� ���������! �������������Doha: ����� ����� =;;� �!������� �������� ��� M����� ������� � ���� ���� *�������� -!���������$����� .���%������%����������!������������������%���A�������������������D#*A�#������/����&�����L���%���)�!�%���-�������������������� ������������������������������������������%��������������� ������!��������������������������%����������������3�����:;E>&�/������:E��������������������������������������!��������������������7���������������������� ���-����������������%������������&�������������%������������� ��!������������� �������� ���%������� ������� ����� ���� :;EK����%���&� /����� ����� ����� �� �� -���� ��� ���� ,����� ������1������������������%��������&�

�������������� ���������� ��� �����Bengaluru: ��������������������/�������/������������������ ��1��� �������� ��� ���� ���� H������ (����� 5�H(6��,�� ���� �������� ��� ���� /�������� #������ ��� ����� �������������� ������� #%����� �,�� (��� ��������� ��$�������!&� ���� /������� /���� ����� ���� ���� ����"�,�����:<7:F�����������%��!���%�,��������������������������%%���������������������������������������!�������������������������������������������,!������������������%���������� �� ��� ��� ����%��!����&�/�������/���������%��!� ����������� ����� ���� ������ �������� /������ $�������� ��"�,�����:<&�

�����������������0����������������@����Isle of Man : +���������� *����� ����� �� � ����� ������ ������!��������������%���������#�!���#������������7������ ������� ��� ����� ��� ���� �������������� ��������������� ����� ��� $�������!&� 8������ ������ ��������%����*�� ����-%�������������������!����������(���(��M�������+�������������������!����������������&��������1%������ ������ �� ��%��� ��� ������ ����� ������� ����� ���!�����������������������*������������������������%%�������������������,������������������,�����!��,���#�!���#��������������.�������-����������&�$������*�� ����-%�������(��M����������������������%�����!������������& ��������

'�� 7/'

����� �*3�#

Amid a packed schedule Arsenal take a 10-match win-ning streak to Sporting Lisbon as their quest to win

the Europa League continues Thursday, when city rivalsChelsea, possibly without the influential Eden Hazard, hostBATE Borisov of Belarus.

After sealing an impressive 10th straight victory athome to Leicester in the Premier League on Monday, UnaiEmery's outfit are the team to watch in Group E. Arsenaland Sporting sit on six points apiece after two games, withAzerbaijan's Qarabag and fellow strugglers Vorskla ofUkraine still pointless.

Sporting are fifth in Portugal's top flight, four pointsoff the top with former Manchester United star Nani hav-ing scored three goals from seven league outings.

If Arsenal needed more reason to believe in theirchances of going all the way, they need not look far. As coachof Sevilla in 2013-2016, Emery led the Spaniards to threeconsecutive Europa League titles.

"We are beginning to play with heart," Emery said afterMonday's come-from-behind 3-1 win, in which Mesut Ozilscored and providedan assist in a man-of-the-match perfor-mance.

"I think we playedsome sexy football,"said the 30-year-oldGerman. Sporting, whowon 2-1 away to Louresin the Portuguese Cupwith Nani and BrunoFernandes both on tar-get, should be fresherhaving played onSaturday.

Arsenal played onMonday and Emery,already set to makechanges due to apacked schedule, is set to tinker furtherafter both Nacho Monreal and SeadKolasinac were ruled out.

Having won both their openingGroup L matches, 2013 championsChelsea can take a major step to the nextround with a home win on Thursday,although they may have to do withoutHazard.

The Belgian playmaker says he was kicked so muchduring Chelsea's 2-2 weekend draw with Manchester Unitedthat he will miss the Stamford Bridge game against BATEwith a bad back.

With Spanish centre-forward Alvaro Morata strugglingon just three goals this season, Hazard's absence could robChelsea of their main attacking threat after a blisteringseven-goal start to the Premier League campaign.

Yet Brazilian winger Willian remains upbeat about theirchances, claiming the entire club has been given a lift bythe arrival of new coach Maurizio Sarri.

"The way we are playing this season, we can go all theway," the in-form winger said of their Europa League cam-paign. As Marseille prepare to face Lazio, the French sidewill be hoping the past experience of coach Rudi Garciapays dividends as they bid for their first win of the groupstage following a 2-2 draw at Apollon Limassol. He joinedthem from Roma, where he faced Lazio five times in thecapital-city derby and never lost.

���� "'$��'(���

The Indian men's football team willsquare off against Jordan in a

friendly match on November 17 inAmman, which will be the first suchencounter between the two sides.

"All India Football Federationconfirms an international friendly forthe Indian senior national teamagainst Jordan. The match will beplayed in Amman on November 17,2018," the AIFF said in a press release.

The match will be played at theKing Abdullah II InternationalStadium.

Jordan, who went down 1-2 toWorld Cup runners-up Croatia intheir last friendly earlier this month,are currently ranked 110th, whileIndia are placed 97th.

The two teams have never met inan International Friendly ever, thoughthe India U-16 national team did playJordan twice earlier this year. TheIndian colts coached by BibianoFernandes won both their encounters.

The November friendly, whichcomes after India's gutsy goallessdraw against China, will further set thepace for the national team's prepara-tion for the AFC Asian Cup next year

which kicks-off in UAE on January 5."The AFC Asian Cup is knocking

at the door and as part of our prepa-ration it's pertinent that the nationalteam prepares in the best possiblefashion by playing against strongerteams.

"Jordan are a very tough side whowent down to World Cup runners-upCroatia 1-2 in their last match. It willbe an acid test for us," Das said.

National Coach StephenConstantine also felt that the matchwill be a "big test" for the team.

"This is going to be a really goodgame for several reasons. Firstly,Jordan is a quality team as we sawthem in their 1-2 loss to Croatia theother day.

"We have to understand the levelwe are going to face in UAE and to beable to deal with it, we have to facetests like this. The game againstChina was a big test, and Jordan willbe another one as well," Constantinesaid.

����� /*#'(�

Roger Federer had to fighthard to hold off Serbia's

Filip Krajinovic on Tuesday,edging to a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win toreach the second round of theSwiss Indoors.

The eight-time championflirted with his earliest exit inBasel since his 1998 debut as ateenager, but cameout on top in a nervydeciding set.

"I was up 6-2, 3-1, it could have endedvery quickly," Federer said."But I made life more difficult.I didn't have the best servingstats, maybe that caught up tome. But these are differentballs, more altitude than inShanghai, it's about gettingused to it.

"And first rounds arealways tricky, it's never a giventhat you are going to win."

Earlier, Jan-Lennard Struff

ended the possi-bility of a rematchbetween Federerand his US Open

conqueror John Millman bybeating the Australian 7-6(7/3), 6-2.

Krajinovic appeared to beon the way to a straight-setsloss in his first meeting with the20-time Grand Slam winnerbefore the momentum began toturn.

Up a set and a break, theSwiss lost serve in the sixthgame of the second set before

his opponent managed tosquare the match with a breakin game 10.

The top seed went up anearly break in the third andbroke Krajinovic in an 11-minute game for a 5-2 lead,only to fail to serve out thematch at the first time of ask-ing.

But he clinched victory onhis second match point to takehis career record at the tour-nament to 67-9 as he bids toreach a 12th successive final atSt. Jakobshalle.

Seventh seed Danii lMedvedev, a semi-finalist lastweek in Moscow, saw offGerman Maximilian Marterer6-3, 7-5.

Russian Medvedev standsat a career-high ranking of20th, with three titles thisseason and will next faceAndreas Seppi after the Italiandefeated Japan's Taro Daniel6-0, 6-4.

���� �*3�#

Top Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal andKidambi Srikanth advanced to the second

round of the French Open with straight-gamewins but it was curtains for Sameer Verma atthe $ 750,000 BWF event here on Wednesday.

Saina, who finished runner-up in theDenmark Open last week, outclassed Japan'sSaena Kawakami 21-11, 21-11 in the women'ssingles, while defending champion Srikanth beatHong Kong's Wong Wing Ki Vincent 21-19, 21-13 in the men's singles match in the openinground of the World Tour Super 750 event.

2017 Singapore Open Champion B SaiPraneeth also crossed the opening hurdle, beat-ing Brazil's Ygor Coelho 21-13, 21-17 to set upa clash with Asian Games Gold medallistJonatan Christie of Indonesia.

Sameer, who had reached the quarterfinalslast week, went down fighting 21-16, 17-21, 15-21 to Christie in a little over an hour match.

Men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and BSumeeth Reddy defeated Korean duo of MinHyuk Kang and Kim Won Ho 21-18, 21-17.

Women's doubles pair of MeghanaJakkampudi and Poorvisha S Ram also enteredthe second round after defeating Belgium's LiseJaques and Flore Vandenhoucke 21-12, 21-12.

Men's doubles pair of SatwiksairajRankireddy and Chirag Shetty also had a goodouting as they outwitted German combinationof Jones Ralfy Jansen and Josche Zurwonne 21-

13, 21-15 in 35 minutes. They duowill cross swords with Chinese pairof He Jiting and Tan Qiang next.

However, Satwiksairaj andAshwini Ponnappa couldn't get

across the husband-wife combination of ChrisAdcock and Gabrielle Adcock from England,going down narrowly 22-24, 21-18, 19-21 inmixed doubles

Top seeded Chinese mixed doubles pair ofZheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong ended thecampaign of Rohan Kapoor and Kuhoo Gargwith a 21-5, 21-10 win.

���� #�"-*�)3'

Atenacious AngeliqueKerber overcame a

second set stutter to outlastNaomi Osaka onWednesday, leaving theJapanese sensation's WTAFinals campaign hangingby a thread.

Kerber had a chance toserve it out in the secondset but triumphed the hardway in a pulsating 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory in 2 hoursand 30 minutes at theSingapore Indoor Stadium.

The Wimbledonchampion appeared to behampered by a back injuryin the third set but dugdeep and gained the crucialbreak in the seventh game.

After losing to SloaneStephens on Monday,crowd favourite Osaka willneed to rely on results inRed Group to have a

chance of quali-fying for thesemi-finals.

K e r b e rbounced back impressive-ly after a shock defeat toKiki Bertens.

With plenty at stake,both players made a ner-vous start in an error-rid-dled opening culminatingin three straight breaks of

serve.A n

a g g r e s s i v eOsaka went

for her shots but couldn'tfind her irresistible rangeand a patient Kerber madeher pay.

The experiencedKerber had all the answers,utilising her forehanddown the line to great

effect.A rejuvenated Osaka

made her move in the sec-ond set breaking Kerbertwice but she was unable toconsolidate on serve.

Kerber capitalised andunleashed a barrage ofwinners against a flat-foot-ed Osaka, who appearedbothered by her left leg.

Kerber served for thematch at 5-4 but Osakablasted a flurry of winnersto break back.

She once again broke aflustered Kerber to take itinto a third set for the firsttime between the pair.

Osaka had themomentum early in thethird set but played a looseseventh game to drop serveand hand Kerber the defin-ing break. It was Kerber'sfourth straight victory inthe match-up between thepast two Slam winners.

.��������7����������

$�(�'���� ��� �(��������������������������� ���������� �� �� �����@�������

-����������� ����� �%�� ��"�(� ������������$� ������������������� �������� ���������/��� ��

4���������� ���������������� �"��'��������� ����������

� ���C����������������������� ��

���'����������������������� ����'����� �� ��������(������#1$ ���� � ��

7��8�/22��22:�.2����+/8:�%�� ��"�(� �0����������E���� ���� ��� �� ����(�������"��� ����1����������"���'3��� ���������% �!��

�������������������������� "������������ �5��������� ������ �������������� ������E97;��������� ���3�������������,���������������%�������������������*8.�D7EF�$����A�.���%������%�M����������������$�������!&#�������������������3���%�%�������,��������5=:����=4����K=����9F������F;��������6�����������������F7;�����������������������%�����!����7���������������������%������ ����������&���������%����������������������������������������������������������������:=�������&�*������������,�����5F�������:=��6�������!���,��5:K��6�����������������������������������&������������� ���������� ��%���'���8�!!�����������������������������<;�������&���% ����,��������������������������������������������������������������������������&���������54K��6�������!���,��5=>��6������������������������������%�����������3���%�����������,�7�����%����������&�3� ����,��5=F��6����#��!���-������5KK��6��������������������������������&� �

DEF�',��������� �E97;�

C��������� ���������������7��������H�����%�����)�� �����$�*�������

������*".�'#�'3

Cristiano Ronaldo marked his returnto Old Trafford with a victory asJuventus beat Manchester United

1-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday,while under-pressure Real Madrid gotback to winning ways.

Julen Lopetegui's days as Madridcoach still look numbered despite seeingthe reigning European champions beatViktoria Plzen on a night in which bothBayern Munich and Manchester City wonon the road.

It is just one win in seven matchesnow for Jose Mourinho's United after theywent down to defeat against an accom-plished Juventus, who were worthy vic-tors.

After facing uncomfortable questionson the eve of the game over rape allega-tions made against him in the UnitedStates, Ronaldo played his part on the fieldfor Juve back at the ground where he wasonce idolised.

He played a key role in the winner asit was his cross, aimed at Juan Cuadrado,which ended up falling for Paulo Dybalato tuck home in the 17th minute.

Ronaldo also forced a superb savefrom David de Gea, while Paul Pogbastruck the post for United, who drewanother blank at home in Europe after a0-0 draw with Valencia three weeks ago.

Juventus have maximum points afterthree games in Group H, and hostMourinho's side in Turin next.

"Juventus is a different level of qual-ity, I have to be honest. A level ofquality, stability, experience, know-how," Mourinho conceded.

"I have no complaints with myboys. I have a positive feeling fortheir effort."

The good news for United isthat they remain second in the group afterValencia were held to a 1-1 draw by YoungBoys in Switzerland.

Michy Batshuayi put the Spaniardsahead, but Guillaume Hoarau's second-half penalty gave Young Boys their firstpoint.

�����������������Lopetegui's position in charge of Real

remains fragile despite his side claiminga first win in six games by beating ViktoriaPlzen 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Karim Benzema headed Madridahead early on, and Marcelo later dou-bled their lead before Patrik Hrosovsky

scored for the Czech champions to setup a nervy finale.

Reports suggest Lopetegui may stillnot survive in the job until Sunday'sClasico against Barcelona, but the result

did at least keep Real level withRoma atop Group G.

"I am convinced I will be,"said Lopetegui when asked ifhe believed he would still be incharge against Barcelona.

Roma eased to a 3-0 win over CSKAMoscow, who had beaten Real in their lastouting, with Edin Dzeko scoring a first-half brace before Cengiz Under sealed thepoints.

That game was overshadowed byreports that around 20 people had beeninjured — at least one seriously — whenan escalator leading to a metro station incentral Rome collapsed. Italian media saidRussian football fans caused the accident.

������������������Pep Guardiola's Manchester City

had little trouble against ShakhtarDonetsk, winning 3-0 in Ukraine toatone for a defeat there last season.

David Silva and Aymeric Laportescored before Bernardo Silva sealed thewin with a brilliant goal within secondsof coming off the bench in the second

half.After losing at home to Lyon in their

Group F opener, City have now wonback-to-back games on the road and theresult in the night's other match wenttheir way.

Brazilian forward Joelinton's stop-page-time goal earned Hoffenheim a 3-3 draw at home to Lyon, allowing Cityto lead the group from the French side.

Andrej Kramaric netted twice forHoffenheim in between strikes fromBertrand Traore and Tanguy Ndombele,but Memphis Depay appeared to havewon it for Lyon before Joelinton inter-vened.

"In Europe, 0-3, we were outstand-ing," Guardiola told BT Sport. "If we areable to win the next game Shakhtar willbe out. After our defeat in Lyon we wereunder pressure. I'm very pleased withour performance."

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich exploit-ed a brief lapse in AEK Athens' deter-mined defense to score twice in twominutes for a 2-0 win in the ChampionsLeague, easing pressure on theBundesliga champions and coach NikoKovac.

Shaking off a mistake-prone firsthalf, Javi Martinez and RobertLewandowski struck in the 61st and63rd minutes at the Olympic Stadiumfor Bayern's second victory in Group E,as AEK suffered its third defeat.

"We knew the goals would come.We pressed, tired them out and itworked," Bayern goalkeeper ManuelNeuer said.

"After their two goals, their moralesuffered and we went on to win. ... We'rein a better position but we're still mak-ing mistakes."

�� �������� ����(��������� ���� �(�������������''��������������� ��������7��� �� �� �����% �!��� ��

����������-���0��������������� �����'����(��� ������(� �� �����4������0������� ��