RNI No.2016/1957, REGD NO. SSP/LW/NP-34/2016-18 ... Priyanka Gandhi in the list of “star...
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CAPSULE `1K FOR SMARTPHONES; TAX ON CASH: CMS' PANEL New Delhi:A `1,000 subsidy for purchase of smartphones by non- tax assesses and a transaction tax on cash withdrawals of `50,000 have been suggested by a Chief Ministers' panel to encourage digital payments. SC ALLOWS GOVT, BCCI TO NAME ADMINISTRATORS New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre and BCCI to suggest names in sealed covers for appointment in the committee of administrators to run the apex cricket body. INDIA TO RATIFY DOHA PACT TO CURB WARMING New Delhi: Setting an example for other nations, especially the first world, to contain global warming, India on Tuesday approved the ratification of the Doha Amendment that binds certain developed countries to reduce their emissions of Green House Gases till 2020. MALLYA DIVERTED `263CR LOAN FOR PERSONAL USE New Delhi: Vijay Mallya-run Kingfisher Airlines diverted `263 crore from `900 crore IDBI loan for “personal use”, CBI on Tuesday said in its chargesheet. PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n NEW DELHI A s the fledgling Samajwadi Party and Congress alliance plans its strategy to take on the formidable BJP and BSP in a three-corner battle of Uttar Pradesh, for the first time Congress had included Priyanka Gandhi in the list of “star campaigners”, while for- mer State SP president Shivpal Singh Yadav, the man who recently brought the party on the verge of a vertical split, found no mention. Akhilesh’s list of star campaigners includes party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who did not turn up at the manifesto launch ceremony of the SP two days ago. Priyanka’s inclusion in the list of star campaigners can be beginning of a new chapter in the Congress politics. While it is not clear if Priyanka will campaign outside Rae Bareli and Amethi, but it is obvious that she has decided to be more than a mobiliser for her mother Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi in these two family bastions. Poster are already out, showing Priyankla and Dimple Yadav, MP and wife of Chief Minister Akhilesh, indicating the role the two parties might have planned for Priyanka. Priyanka’s name figures among the 40 star campaigners that the Congress has finalised and forwarded to the Election Commission for the first phase of Uttar Pradesh polls. Though she does not hold any political post in the Congress, Priyanka has turned active ever since Rahul assumed a leadership role after Sonia Gandhi start- ed not keeping well. Party sources said efforts are being made from both sides of the alliance partners to organise a mega rally com- prising Akhilesh, Dimple, Rahul and Priyanaka during the month-long campaign. Her inclusion in the star cam- paigners list also assumes sig- nificance as there have been demands by partymen for her playing a more active role in Uttar Pradesh elections. Sonia and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are also among the star cam- paigners list. Besides, AICC general sec- retary in-charge of UP affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad and UP Congress chief Raj Babbar and former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who was earli- er projected as the party’s chief ministerial face in the State but bowed out after a pre-poll alliance with the SP, are also in the list. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, party general secre- taries Janardan Dwivedi, Ahmed Patel, Kamal Nath, Mukul Wasnik also figure in the list. Continued on Page 7 PNS n GANDHINAGAR T ragedy hit superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s promotional campaign ‘Raees by Rail’ for his upcoming movie late on Monday night when a man died of cardiac arrest dur- ing a massive rush to have a glimpse of the actor at Vadodara Railway Station in Gujarat. Two Railway Protection Force officials too were injured. The Gujarat Railway Police ordered an enquiry into the chaos and subsequent death of the man. The victim, identified as Farid Khan Pathan, 45, a politician from Vadodara, died of a heart attack caused by suffocation after an esti- mated 15,000-strong crowd went berserk in rush to have a look at the 51-year-old superstar when the Mumbai-Delhi August Kranti Rajdhani Express train made its scheduled halt at Vadodara at 10.30 pm. Khan had boarded the train along with film’s director Rahul Dholakia, actress Sunny Leone and producer Ritesh Sidhwani. Several fan clubs of the star had apparently shared details of his journey on the social media and people had gathered at Vadodara Railway Station to meet and see the actor. Among others, cricketers Irrfan and Yusuf Pathan, who reside in Vadodara, too were at the station to meet Khan, who came out of his coach and greeted his fans for just 20 seconds. It was during the scramble to see the Bollywood star that Farid fell unconscious on the platform. Though Farid was rushed to hos- pital nearby, he was declared dead on arrival by doctors. Farid was a member of the Gujarat unit of the Samajwadi Party and earlier served as its State minority cell president. He then resigned from the post in 2012. Later, Khan described as “really unfortunate” the death of Continued on Page 7 PNS n NEW DELHI A ctor Shah Rukh Khan’s promotion of his upcom- ing film ‘Raees’ that was hit by tragedy on Monday night became mired in controversy on Tuesday with senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya comparing the actor to underworld don and India’s most wanted Dawood Ibrahim. While Khan regretted the death of a man in the melee at the Vadodara Railway Station, the Railway Ministry has ordered a probe into the tragedy. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu directed the Railway Protection Force (RPF) to investigate the matter and take stern action against those responsible for any lapses. Meanwhile, Vijayvargiya said public convenience should be kept in mind and films should be promoted without causing trouble to people. “Crowds will turn out even if Dawood Ibrahim comes out in public,” Vijayvargiya said targeting Khan over the death of the man during the heavy rush. Vijayvargiya also took to Twitter to praise Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hit out at Congress vice-pres- ident Rahul Gandhi using the titles of two upcoming Bollywood films, saying our Continued on Page 7 Rly orders probe; BJP leader compares SRK to Dawood PNS n NEW DELHI D ecks were cleared on Tuesday for enabling the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) to award Degrees instead of Diplomas to students. The Union Cabinet approved the long pending IIM Bill, 2017, which provides for complete autonomy to these institutions. Through the leg- islation that is likely to be pre- sented before Parliament in the upcoming Budget Session, the chain of 20 IIMs located across the country would also be declared as institutions of National Importance. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said it was a “historic decision to give IIMs real autonomy to grant degrees”. “This reflects the vision of the Narendra Modi Government for higher education,” the Minister tweeted. “Being societies, the pres- tigious IIMs are presently not authorised to award degrees and have been awarding Post Graduate Diploma and Fellow Programme in Management. While these awards are treated as equivalent to MBA and PhD respectively, the equivalence is not universally acceptable, especially for the Fellow Programme,” said a senior HRD Ministry official. The Bill was first intro- duced by then HRD Minister Kapil Sibal in 2011. However, it got stuck due to difference of opinions among the IIMs. Javadekar’s predecessor Smriti Irani too made futile efforts for this IIM Bill after some of the points which she stuck too trig- gered a tussle between the Continued on Page 7 Cabinet clears Bill to enable IIM to grant degrees Chaos chokes Raees Khan’s fan PNS n NEW DELHI I n a move to reach out to senior citizens and farmers, the Modi Government on Tuesday cleared a pension scheme with assured eight per cent interest for ten years irre- spective of market conditions, and a crop loan interest waiver for November and December. The pension scheme will be implemented through the Life Insurance Corporation of India under which the LIC will provide a guaranteed return of eight per cent for ten years. The scheme will be implemented during the current financial year to provide social security and protect people aged 60 years and above against any fall in their interest income due to uncertain market conditions. As per an official state- ment, the Union Cabinet gave its post-facto approval for launching of the Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana 2017 (VPBY 2017). “The scheme will provide an assured pension based on a guaranteed rate of return of eight per cent per annum for ten years, with a choice to opt for pension on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annu- al basis,” it said. It also said that the differ- ential return – the difference between the return generated by LIC and the assured return of eight per cent per annum - would be borne by the Government as subsidy on an annual basis. “VPBY-2017 is proposed to be open for subscription for a period of one year from the date of launch,” said the state- ment, adding that the scheme is part of the Government’s commitment for financial inclusion and social security. Meanwhile, in a major relief to farmers reeling under a cash crunch on account of demonetisation, the Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval to waive interest for the months of November and December 2016. The interest pertains to short-term crop loans from Cooperative Banks. The total amount will be around `660.50 crore. “Farmers in the whole of India availing short-term crop loans from Cooperative Banks will be benefitted. The decision intends to ensure availability of resources with Cooperative Banks to help farmers in easi- ly accessing crop loans to over- come the difficulties in view of the reduction in availability of Continued on Page 7 PNS n LUCKNOW/DELHI T he BJP on Tuesday released its third list of 67 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, reposing its faith in a good number of turncoats as well as committed workers. The party has so far declared names of 370 candidates. The party has accommo- dated turncoats like Swami Prasad Maurya (Padrauna), RK Chaudhry (Mohanlalganj), RK Patel (Manikpur), Fateh Bahadur (Campiarganj), Rajesh Tripathi (Chillupar), Phagu Siungh Chauahn (Ghosi), and Dinanath Bhaskar (Aurai). All of them were Ministers in then Mayawati Government. Phagu Singh Chauhan was earlier in the BJP and was even Minister in Kalyan Singh’s cabinet, but he left the BJP to join the BSP in 2012. Recently he returned to the BJP. Former legislators who have found favour with the BJP leadership are: Surya Bhan Singh (Sultanpur), Bajrang Bahadur (Farenda), Gyanendra Singh (Paniyara), Suresh Tiwari (Barhaj), Arun Yadav (Phulpur Pawai), Sri Ram Sonkar (Mohamadabad), Ram and Iqbal Singh (Rasra). The party has pitted Alka Rai, widow of slain BJP leader Krishnanand Rai, against Mukhtar Ansari, who is charged with killing Rai on November 29, 2005, while the latter was attending a family wedding in his native village in Ghazipur district. Rai was tipped-off a death threat by Special Task Force officers, who warned him of hired Continued on Page 7 Shah Rukh Khan, who travels by August Kranti Rajdhani Express to promote his movie Raees, waives to his fans during his brief stop at a railway stationPTI SAPNA SINGH n NEW DELHI T he much-hyped plan of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to make Inner and Middle Circles of Connaught Place (CP) vehicle- free zone from February 1 could be deferred as the coun- cil is not ready with its action plan, said an official. The Delhi Traffic Police, which is supposed to enforce the decision, has submitted its action plan. “However, NDMC is still to take the permission of Ministry of Urban Development,” added an official. Traders in CP have been opposing the civic agency’s plan. Calling the plan an ill- conceived decision that is fraught with miseries for them, they have decided to oppose the car bandi tooth and nail. Raising the security concern, regular visitors to CP have given thumbs down to the NDMC decision. CP car ban may be deferred Party pits Alka Rai against Mukhtar Ansari, who is charged with killing her husband Krishnanand Rai BJP’s 3rd list of 67 balances between turncoats and committed workers THE DELHI TRAFFIC POLICE, WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO ENFORCE THE DECISION, HAS SUBMITTED ITS ACTION PLAN. HOWEVER, NDMC IS STILL TO TAKE THE PERMISSION OF MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT — OFFICIAL Pension scheme guarantees 8% return for 10 yrs; Crop loan interest waived for Nov, Dec r Priyanka’s name figures among the 40 star campaigners that the Congress has finalised and forwarded to the Election Commission for the first phase of Uttar Pradesh polls r Priyanka’s inclusion in the list can be beginning of a new chapter in the Congress politics r While it is not clear if Priyanka will campaign outside Rae Bareli and Amethi, but it is obvious that she has decided to be more than a mobiliser for her mother Sonia and brother Rahul in two family bastions r State SP president Shivpal Singh Yadav, the man who recently brought the party on the verge of a vertical split, found no mention Akhilesh’s list of star campaigners r However, SP list includes party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who did not turn up at the manifesto launch ceremony of the SP two days ago Congress names Priyanka in list of ‘star campaigners’; Shivpal fails to find place in SP’s list Priyanka in, Shivpal out Centre rains relief on elderly, farmers BATTLE FOR UTTAR PRADESH MARKETS SENSEX 27,375.58 7 258.24 NIFTY 8,475.80 7 84.30 WEATHER MAX 27.5 0 C (+4) MIN 10.9 0 C (+3) Generally clear sky @TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneer Follow us on: { MONEY 10 GIVE `1,000 SUBSIDY TO BUY SMARTPHONES: CMS’ PANEL OPINION 8 CROWN PRINCE AL NAHYAN’S VISIT WILL BOOST TIES WORLD 11 MAY LOSES BREXIT LEGAL CHALLENGE RNI No.2016/1957, REGD NO. SSP/LW/NP-34/2016-18 Published From DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL BHUBANESWAR RANCHI RAIPUR CHANDIGARH DEHRADUN Late City Vol. 153 Issue 24 *Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable Established 1864 LUCKNOW, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25, 2017; PAGES 16 `3 www.dailypioneer.com } FEDEX, VENUS ENTER AUS SEMIFINALS 15 SPORT PNS n LUCKNOW L aunching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Samajwadi Party president and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said that the much-touted ‘acche din’ remained elusive and the people of the state would over- whelmingly vote for the Samajwadi Party in the immi- nent poll. Kicking off his poll cam- paign from Isauli Assembly segment of Sultanpur on Tuesday, Yadav surprisingly spared arch rival Bahujan Samaj Party. Fervently appealing to the people to vote for Samajwadi Party and accelerating the development of UP, Yadav said: “The SP will form the govern- ment on its own. We have been further strengthened following the alliance with the Congress and now we will get over 300 seats and form the government in the state.” Akhilesh specifically men- tioned Transport Minister and SP candidate from Amethi seat Gayatri Prajapati and said that he was contesting from the most important seat. Training his guns at the BJP, the CM sought to shred the latter’s poll plank saying: “They talk of mobile banking but we provided a laptop to over a million youths and banking can also be done from computers. The BJP had promised ‘achhe din’ but they are nowhere to be found. The people were misled by the BJP’s fake promises.” Questioning the rationale behind demonetisation, Yadav said that there was no need for the exercise and it only creat- ed hardships for the poor and ruined millions of farmers by depriving them of their income during the farming season. “The BJP leaders claimed that they would unearth black money by banning high value notes. But where is the black money ? In fact, no money is black. It is the transaction that makes the money black or white,” reasoned Yadav. Highlighting his govern- ment’s achievements, Yadav said: “The people want that the SP government to come to power again. The huge turnout in today’s meeting is a clear indicator of the support in favour of the SP in the district.” “In the name of develop- ment, the BJP gave broom to the public and conducted yoga sessions, while the SP execut- ed development projects like 102 and 108 ambulance ser- vices and Samajwadi Pension for 55 lakh women. Referring to the Smart Phone Scheme, the CM said that more than 1.40 crore peo- ple had registered with the scheme and those phones would connect people directly to the government and get all related information. “If the SP is voted back to power after the Assembly poll, my government will provide 1 kilogram ghee to primary school kids. My government has provided bag, pots and milk to school students and this time pressure cookers will also be distributed,” he said. Akhilesh also listed other achievements of his govern- ment and listed the promises he had made in the party election manifesto which was released in Lucknow on January 22. Don’t issue new certs to 17 OBCs recommended for SC status: HC Akhilesh hits out at BJP in 1st poll rally Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav addressing an election rally in Sultanpur on Tuesday PTI Allahabad (PTI): The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that no fresh caste cer- tificates are issued to those belonging to 17 Other Backward Classes (OBC) groups which the state cabi- net had last month decided to include among the Scheduled Castes. A division bench com- prising Chief Justice DB Bhosle and Justice Yashwant Verma passed the order on a public interest litigation filed by a Gorakhpur-based organ- isation Dr Ambedkar Granthalaya Evam Jan Kalyan Samiti, challenging the Akhilesh Yadav government’s decision to include the 17 OBC groups in SC catergo- ry. The move was criticised by opposition parties as a populist step taken by the rul- ing Samajwadi Party ahead of the Assembly polls in the state. Appearing on behalf of the state government, Advocate General Vijay Bahadur Singh submitted that the recommendation of the state government has been sent to the Centre for approval by Parliament and in the meantime no fresh caste certificates have been issued in light of the notifi- cation. The court, while issu- ing the direction, also asked the state government to file its counter affidavit within two weeks. Earlier, hearing a PIL raising similar objection over the state government’s move on January 12, the court had sought reply from the state government and fixed February 9 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
Transcript of RNI No.2016/1957, REGD NO. SSP/LW/NP-34/2016-18 ... Priyanka Gandhi in the list of “star...
CAPSULE
`1K FOR SMARTPHONES; TAX ON CASH: CMS' PANELNew Delhi: A `1,000 subsidy forpurchase of smartphones by non-tax assesses and a transactiontax on cash withdrawals of`50,000 have been suggested bya Chief Ministers' panel toencourage digital payments.
SC ALLOWS GOVT, BCCI TONAME ADMINISTRATORSNew Delhi: The Supreme Courton Tuesday asked the Centre andBCCI to suggest names in sealedcovers for appointment in thecommittee of administrators torun the apex cricket body.
INDIA TO RATIFY DOHAPACT TO CURB WARMINGNew Delhi: Setting an examplefor other nations, especially thefirst world, to contain globalwarming, India on Tuesdayapproved the ratification of theDoha Amendment that bindscertain developed countries toreduce their emissions of GreenHouse Gases till 2020.
MALLYA DIVERTED `263CRLOAN FOR PERSONAL USENew Delhi: Vijay Mallya-runKingfisher Airlines diverted `263crore from `900 crore IDBI loanfor “personal use”, CBI onTuesday said in its chargesheet.
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE nNEW DELHI
As the fledgling SamajwadiParty and Congress
alliance plans its strategy totake on the formidable BJP andBSP in a three-corner battle ofUttar Pradesh, for the firsttime Congress had includedPriyanka Gandhi in the list of“star campaigners”, while for-mer State SP president ShivpalSingh Yadav, the man whorecently brought the party onthe verge of a vertical split,found no mention. Akhilesh’slist of star campaignersincludes party patriarchMulayam Singh Yadav, who didnot turn up at the manifestolaunch ceremony of the SP twodays ago.
Priyanka’s inclusion in thelist of star campaigners can bebeginning of a new chapter inthe Congress politics. While itis not clear if Priyanka willcampaign outside Rae Bareliand Amethi, but it is obviousthat she has decided to be
more than a mobiliser for hermother Sonia Gandhi andbrother Rahul Gandhi in thesetwo family bastions. Poster arealready out, showing Priyanklaand Dimple Yadav, MP andwife of Chief MinisterAkhilesh, indicating the rolethe two parties might haveplanned for Priyanka.
Priyanka’s name figuresamong the 40 star campaignersthat the Congress has finalised
and forwarded to the ElectionCommission for the first phaseof Uttar Pradesh polls. Thoughshe does not hold any politicalpost in the Congress, Priyankahas turned active ever sinceRahul assumed a leadershiprole after Sonia Gandhi start-ed not keeping well.
Party sources said effortsare being made from bothsides of the alliance partners toorganise a mega rally com-
prising Akhilesh, Dimple,Rahul and Priyanaka duringthe month-long campaign. Herinclusion in the star cam-paigners list also assumes sig-nificance as there have beendemands by partymen for herplaying a more active role inUttar Pradesh elections.
Sonia and former PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh arealso among the star cam-paigners list.
Besides, AICC general sec-retary in-charge of UP affairsGhulam Nabi Azad and UPCongress chief Raj Babbar andformer Delhi Chief MinisterSheila Dikshit, who was earli-er projected as the party’s chiefministerial face in the State butbowed out after a pre-pollalliance with the SP, are also inthe list.
Former Lok Sabha SpeakerMeira Kumar, former UnionHome Minister SushilkumarShinde, party general secre-taries Janardan Dwivedi,Ahmed Patel, Kamal Nath,Mukul Wasnik also figure inthe list.
Continued on Page 7
PNS n GANDHINAGAR
Tragedy hit superstar Shah RukhKhan’s promotional campaign
‘Raees by Rail’ for his upcomingmovie late on Monday night whena man died of cardiac arrest dur-ing a massive rush to have aglimpse of the actor at VadodaraRailway Station in Gujarat. TwoRailway Protection Force officialstoo were injured. The GujaratRailway Police ordered an enquiryinto the chaos and subsequentdeath of the man.
The victim, identified as FaridKhan Pathan, 45, a politician fromVadodara, died of a heart attackcaused by suffocation after an esti-mated 15,000-strong crowd wentberserk in rush to have a look at the51-year-old superstar when theMumbai-Delhi August KrantiRajdhani Express train made itsscheduled halt at Vadodara at10.30 pm.
Khan had boarded the trainalong with film’s director Rahul
Dholakia, actress Sunny Leoneand producer Ritesh Sidhwani.Several fan clubs of the star hadapparently shared details of hisjourney on the social media andpeople had gathered at VadodaraRailway Station to meet and see theactor.
Among others, cricketersIrrfan and Yusuf Pathan, whoreside in Vadodara, too were at thestation to meet Khan, who cameout of his coach and greeted hisfans for just 20 seconds.
It was during the scramble tosee the Bollywood star that Faridfell unconscious on the platform.Though Farid was rushed to hos-pital nearby, he was declared deadon arrival by doctors.
Farid was a member of theGujarat unit of the SamajwadiParty and earlier served as itsState minority cell president. Hethen resigned from the post in2012. Later, Khan described as“really unfortunate” the death of
Continued on Page 7
PNS n NEW DELHI
Actor Shah Rukh Khan’spromotion of his upcom-
ing film ‘Raees’ that was hit bytragedy on Monday nightbecame mired in controversyon Tuesday with senior BJPleader Kailash Vijayvargiyacomparing the actor tounderworld don and India’smost wanted DawoodIbrahim.
While Khan regretted thedeath of a man in the meleeat the Vadodara RailwayStation, the Railway Ministryhas ordered a probe into thetragedy.
Railway Minister SureshPrabhu directed the RailwayProtection Force (RPF) to
investigate the matter andtake stern action against thoseresponsible for any lapses.
Meanwhile, Vijayvargiyasaid public convenienceshould be kept in mind andfilms should be promotedwithout causing trouble topeople. “Crowds will turn outeven if Dawood Ibrahimcomes out in public,”Vijayvargiya said targetingKhan over the death of theman during the heavy rush.
Vijayvargiya also took toTwitter to praise PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andhit out at Congress vice-pres-ident Rahul Gandhi using thetitles of two upcomingBollywood films, saying our
Continued on Page 7
Rly orders probe; BJP leadercompares SRK to Dawood
PNS n NEW DELHI
Decks were cleared onTuesday for enabling the
prestigious Indian Institutesof Management (IIM) to awardDegrees instead of Diplomas tostudents. The Union Cabinetapproved the long pendingIIM Bill, 2017, which providesfor complete autonomy to theseinstitutions. Through the leg-islation that is likely to be pre-sented before Parliament in theupcoming Budget Session, thechain of 20 IIMs located acrossthe country would also bedeclared as institutions ofNational Importance.
HRD Minister PrakashJavadekar said it was a “historicdecision to give IIMs realautonomy to grant degrees”.“This reflects the vision of theNarendra Modi Governmentfor higher education,” theMinister tweeted.
“Being societies, the pres-tigious IIMs are presently notauthorised to award degreesand have been awarding PostGraduate Diploma and FellowProgramme in Management.While these awards are treatedas equivalent to MBA and PhDrespectively, the equivalenceis not universally acceptable,especially for the FellowProgramme,” said a seniorHRD Ministry official.
The Bill was first intro-duced by then HRD MinisterKapil Sibal in 2011. However,it got stuck due to difference ofopinions among the IIMs.Javadekar’s predecessor SmritiIrani too made futile efforts forthis IIM Bill after some of thepoints which she stuck too trig-gered a tussle between the
Continued on Page 7
Cabinet clears
Bill to enable
IIM to grant
degrees
Chaos chokes Raees Khan’s fan
PNS n NEW DELHI
In a move to reach out tosenior citizens and farmers,
the Modi Government onTuesday cleared a pensionscheme with assured eight percent interest for ten years irre-spective of market conditions,and a crop loan interest waiverfor November and December.
The pension scheme willbe implemented through theLife Insurance Corporation ofIndia under which the LIC willprovide a guaranteed return ofeight per cent for ten years. Thescheme will be implementedduring the current financial
year to provide social securityand protect people aged 60years and above against any fallin their interest income due touncertain market conditions.
As per an official state-ment, the Union Cabinet gaveits post-facto approval forlaunching of the VarishthaPension Bima Yojana 2017(VPBY 2017).
“The scheme will providean assured pension based on aguaranteed rate of return ofeight per cent per annum forten years, with a choice to optfor pension on a monthly,quarterly, half-yearly or annu-al basis,” it said.
It also said that the differ-ential return – the differencebetween the return generatedby LIC and the assured returnof eight per cent per annum -would be borne by theGovernment as subsidy on anannual basis.
“VPBY-2017 is proposed tobe open for subscription for a
period of one year from thedate of launch,” said the state-ment, adding that the schemeis part of the Government’scommitment for financialinclusion and social security.
Meanwhile, in a majorrelief to farmers reeling undera cash crunch on account ofdemonetisation, the Cabinetgave its ex-post facto approvalto waive interest for the monthsof November and December2016. The interest pertains toshort-term crop loans fromCooperative Banks. The totalamount will be around ̀ 660.50crore.
“Farmers in the whole ofIndia availing short-term croploans from Cooperative Bankswill be benefitted. The decisionintends to ensure availability ofresources with CooperativeBanks to help farmers in easi-ly accessing crop loans to over-come the difficulties in view ofthe reduction in availability of
Continued on Page 7
PNS n LUCKNOW/DELHI
The BJP on Tuesdayreleased its third list of 67
candidates for the UttarPradesh Assembly polls,reposing its faith in a goodnumber of turncoats as wellas committed workers. Theparty has so far declarednames of 370 candidates.
The party has accommo-dated turncoats like SwamiPrasad Maurya (Padrauna),RK Chaudhr y(Mohanlalganj), RK Patel(Manikpur), Fateh Bahadur(Campiarganj) , R ajeshTripathi (Chillupar), PhaguSiungh Chauahn (Ghosi), andDinanath Bhaskar (Aurai).All of them were Ministers inthen Mayawati Government.
Phagu Singh Chauhanwas earlier in the BJP and waseven Minister in KalyanSingh’s cabinet, but he left theBJP to join the BSP in 2012.Recently he returned to theBJP.
Former legislators who
have found favour with theBJP leadership are: SuryaBhan Singh (Sultanpur),Bajrang Bahadur (Farenda),Gyanendra Singh (Paniyara),Suresh Tiwari (Barhaj), ArunYadav (Phulpur Pawai), SriRam Sonkar(Mohamadabad), Ram andIqbal Singh (Rasra).
The party has pitted AlkaRai, widow of slain BJP leaderKrishnanand Rai, againstMukhtar Ansari, who ischarged with killing Rai onNovember 29, 2005, while thelatter was attending a familywedding in his native villagein Ghazipur district. Rai wastipped-off a death threat bySpecial Task Force officers,who warned him of hired
Continued on Page 7
Shah Rukh Khan, who travels by August Kranti Rajdhani Express to promotehis movie Raees, waives to his fans during his brief stop at a railway stationPTI
SAPNA SINGH n NEW DELHI
The much-hyped plan of theNew Delhi Municipal
Council (NDMC) to makeInner and Middle Circles ofConnaught Place (CP) vehicle-free zone from February 1could be deferred as the coun-cil is not ready with its actionplan, said an official.
The Delhi Traffic Police,which is supposed to enforcethe decision, has submitted itsaction plan. “However, NDMCis still to take the permission ofMinistry of UrbanDevelopment,” added an official.
Traders in CP have beenopposing the civic agency’splan. Calling the plan an ill-
conceived decision that isfraught with miseries for them,they have decided to opposethe car bandi tooth and nail.
Raising the security concern,regular visitors to CP havegiven thumbs down to theNDMC decision.
CP car ban may be deferred
Party pits Alka Rai
against MukhtarAnsari, who ischarged with
killing herhusband
Krishnanand Rai
BJP’s 3rd list of 67 balances betweenturncoats and committed workers
THE DELHI TRAFFICPOLICE, WHICH IS
SUPPOSED TOENFORCE THE
DECISION, HASSUBMITTED ITS ACTION
PLAN. HOWEVER,NDMC IS STILL TO
TAKE THE PERMISSIONOF MINISTRY OF
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
— OFFICIAL
Pension scheme
guarantees 8%
return for 10 yrs;
Crop loan interest
waived for Nov, Dec
r Priyanka’s name figures among the 40 star campaigners that theCongress has finalised and forwarded to the Election Commission forthe first phase of Uttar Pradesh polls
r Priyanka’s inclusion in the list can be beginning of a new chapter inthe Congress politics
r While it is not clear if Priyanka will campaign outside Rae Bareliand Amethi, but it is obvious that she has decided to be more than amobiliser for her mother Sonia and brother Rahul in two familybastions
r State SP president Shivpal Singh Yadav, the man who recentlybrought the party on the verge of a vertical split, found no mentionAkhilesh’s list of star campaigners
r However, SP list includes party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav,who did not turn up at the manifesto launch ceremony of the SP twodays ago
Congress names
Priyanka in list of
‘star campaigners’;
Shivpal fails to find
place in SP’s list
Priyanka in, Shivpal outCentre rains reliefon elderly, farmersBATTLE FOR UTTAR PRADESH
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PNS n LUCKNOW
Launching a scathing attackon Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, SamajwadiParty president and ChiefMinister Akhilesh Yadav saidthat the much-touted ‘acchedin’ remained elusive and thepeople of the state would over-whelmingly vote for theSamajwadi Party in the immi-nent poll.
Kicking off his poll cam-paign from Isauli Assemblysegment of Sultanpur onTuesday, Yadav surprisinglyspared arch rival BahujanSamaj Party.
Fervently appealing to thepeople to vote for SamajwadiParty and accelerating thedevelopment of UP, Yadav said:“The SP will form the govern-ment on its own. We have beenfurther strengthened followingthe alliance with the Congress
and now we will get over 300seats and form the governmentin the state.”
Akhilesh specifically men-tioned Transport Minister andSP candidate from Amethi seatGayatri Prajapati and said thathe was contesting from themost important seat.
Training his guns at theBJP, the CM sought to shredthe latter’s poll plank saying:“They talk of mobile bankingbut we provided a laptop toover a million youths andbanking can also be done fromcomputers. The BJP hadpromised ‘achhe din’ but theyare nowhere to be found. Thepeople were misled by theBJP’s fake promises.”
Questioning the rationalebehind demonetisation, Yadavsaid that there was no need forthe exercise and it only creat-ed hardships for the poor andruined millions of farmers by
depriving them of their incomeduring the farming season.
“The BJP leaders claimedthat they would unearth blackmoney by banning high valuenotes. But where is the blackmoney ? In fact, no money isblack. It is the transaction thatmakes the money black orwhite,” reasoned Yadav.
Highlighting his govern-ment’s achievements, Yadavsaid: “The people want that theSP government to come topower again. The huge turnoutin today’s meeting is a clearindicator of the support infavour of the SP in the district.”
“In the name of develop-ment, the BJP gave broom tothe public and conducted yogasessions, while the SP execut-
ed development projects like102 and 108 ambulance ser-vices and Samajwadi Pensionfor 55 lakh women.
Referring to the SmartPhone Scheme, the CM saidthat more than 1.40 crore peo-ple had registered with thescheme and those phoneswould connect people directlyto the government and get allrelated information.
“If the SP is voted back topower after the Assembly poll,my government will provide 1kilogram ghee to primaryschool kids. My governmenthas provided bag, pots andmilk to school students and thistime pressure cookers will alsobe distributed,” he said.
Akhilesh also listed otherachievements of his govern-ment and listed the promises hehad made in the party electionmanifesto which was releasedin Lucknow on January 22.
Don’t issue new certs to 17 OBCsrecommended for SC status: HC
Akhilesh hits out at BJP in 1st poll rally
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister andSamajwadi Party President AkhileshYadav addressing an election rally inSultanpur on Tuesday PTI
Allahabad (PTI): TheAllahabad High Court onTuesday directed the UttarPradesh government toensure that no fresh caste cer-tificates are issued to thosebelonging to 17 OtherBackward Classes (OBC)groups which the state cabi-net had last month decided toinclude among the ScheduledCastes.
A division bench com-prising Chief Justice DBBhosle and Justice YashwantVerma passed the order on apublic interest litigation filedby a Gorakhpur-based organ-
isat ion Dr AmbedkarGranthalaya Evam Jan KalyanSamit i , chal lenging theAkhilesh Yadav government’sdecision to include the 17OBC groups in SC catergo-ry. The move was criticisedby opposition parties as apopulist step taken by the rul-ing Samajwadi Party ahead ofthe Assembly polls in thestate.
Appearing on behalf ofthe state government,Advocate General VijayBahadur Singh submitted thatthe recommendation of thestate government has been
sent to the Centre forapproval by Parliament andin the meantime no freshcaste certificates have beenissued in light of the notifi-cation. The court, while issu-ing the direction, also askedthe state government to fileits counter affidavit withintwo weeks.
Earlier, hearing a PILraising similar objection overthe state government’s moveon January 12, the court hadsought reply from the stategovernment and f ixedFebruary 9 as the next date ofhearing in the matter.
city 02LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017
Printed and Published by Vijay Prakash Singh for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow-226016 and Printed at Tin Tin Printech Pvt Ltd., C-33 Amausi Industrial Area, Nadarganj, Lucknow. Tel: (0522) 2438656 / 9336266608.
Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: Vijay Prakash Singh. RNI No. 2016/57. Lucknow Telephones: EPABX: 4036600 Fax: 2345582. Allahabad Office: (95532) 2420818, 2421018, 3290460. Kanpur Office: (95512) 2304006, 2304416. Varanasi Office: (95542) 2414294, 2414295. Delhi
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NOTICE
It is notified for the informa-tion that my Original QualifyingExamination for classs XIICertificate of Main/Examinationof Year 2014 and Roll No.5712369 issued by CBSE hasbeen actually lost. Name MansiAgrawal 1366 EldecoUdyan-II, Raksha KhandRaibarielly Road, LucknowMob 9839160099
NOTICE
It is hereby declare that I,Tushar Srivastava S/o ManojKumar Srivastava R/o 103/99,Sundarbagh, Lucknow, my ISCclass 12th pass certificate RollNo. B/8758/064, year 2010 hasbeen last.
NOTICENotice is hereby given by the undersigned for andon behalf of LIC Housing Finance Ltd. Area Office,Shahnajaf Road, Lucknow pursuant to Circular No.422/Annexure-E of LIC HFL that the original saledeed dated 21-08-2003 executed by KisanotthanSahkari Avas Samiti Ltd. in favour of Smt. GulshanW/o Mohd. Puttan respect of Plot No. 337 KhasraNo. 553 & 579, area 500 Sqft, situated atHaiderganj Jadeed, Lucknow and original sale deeddated 07.06.2010 executed by Smt. Gulshan W/oMohd. Puttan in favour of Smt. Anjali Vishwas W/oSri Vimal Chandra have been lost by its presentowner Sri Bablu Pal S/o Ramesh Chandra Pal. Thesaid sale deeds are registered in the office of SubRegistrar-IV in Book No. I, Volume 807 on pages265/276 at S.No. 10058 on 21.08.2003 and in BookNo. I, Volume 7011 on pages 53/82 at S.No. 7252on 07.06.2010 respectively. Sri Tanveer Ahmad hasapplied for housing loan for purchasing the saidproperty, for which has proposed the said proper-ty to be mortgaged by depositing Original sale deeddated 21.08.2003 and 07.06.2010 with LIC HFL andas such any person claiming to be the said prop-erty covered by the said documents may file claimbefore me within 15 days from the date of publi-cation of notice failing which it will be presumed thatthe property in question is free from any encum-brance and any claim in respect thereof against theapplicant as mortgagee shall be void and ineffec-tive after lapse of 15 days of publication of the notice.
Mahendra Mohan Mishra, AdvocateMob : 9559985554, 9559975554
RLD releases sixth list of 27
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW
Issuing the sixth list,Rashtriya Lok Dal chiefAjit Singh announced the
names of 27 candidates whowould contest the UPAssembly election 2017onTuesday. Rohit Agrawal willcontest from Lucknow Eastseat.
As per the list, ManojKumar Yadav will contest fromCharra, Lav Kumar Banal,advocate, from Aligarh, AnilKumar Mishra fromSahaswan, Gajendra Patelfrom Bhojipura, MohammedSharif Ali from BithriChainpur, Dr Iktedar-uddinfrom Bareli City, Atul Saxenafrom Bareli Cantt, NageshChandra Pathak fromBeesalpur, Amit PriydarshiRajput from Jalalabad, DineshKumar Shukla from Nighasan,Chandrawati Devi from SriNagar, Liyaquat Ali Khan fromLakhimpur, Rambeti Sharmafrom Moahmmadi, formerMLA Yashbhadra Singh Monufrom Isauli, Chandra BhadraSingh Sonu from SultanpurSadar, Ram Siromani Shuklafrom Raniganj, Kunwar RamGopal Singh Chandel fromSirathu, RP Singh from Kurshi,Vinod Tripathi fromSharwasti, Ramdhan Ranafrom Tarabganj, Ganga SinghSainthwar from Khalilabad,Ganesh Chauhan fromGhanghata (reserved), Sripathi
Aazad from Mahrajganj Sadar,Ganpat Singh from Paniyara,NP Kushwaha from Khadda
and Dr Krishna Jaiswal fromDeoria Sadar.
Vinod Tripathi, NP
Kushwaha and Krishna Jaiswaljoined the RLD members onTuesday only.
Several BJP, BSP leaders join the RLD on Tuesday Pioneer
Over 300 leaders join RLDPIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW
In a bid to catch the political bandwagon, somelocal unit leaders and former contestants of
the Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Partyand Samajwadi Party joined the membershipof Rashtriya Lok Dal at party headquarters hereon Tuesday.
RLD state spokesman Surendra Trivediinformed that state vice-president and two-timerunner in previous election Vinod KumarTripathi, member of the executive committee
of Samajwadi Party of Khushi Nagar constituen-cy and runner-up NP Kushwaha alias NathuniPrasad Kushwaha, former zila panchayat chair-man Krishna Agrawal, former zonal coordina-tor, BSP, Subhash Srivastava were among morethan 300 leaders who joined the membership.He said the leaders expressed their faith in RLDideology and took pledge to strengthen the partyin the Assembly election in the presence RLDleaders Massod Ahmad, Shiv Karan Singh andRLD national spokesman Anil Dubey.
Maurya cites Governor’sreport, assails SPPIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW
Referring to the Governor’srecent report on the affairs
of the state, sate BJP presidentKeshav Prasad Maurya criticisedChief Minister Akhilesh Yadavfor patronising the corrupt andcriminals during his five-yearrule in the state. “A report byconstitutional head of the stateGovernor Ram Naik also pointstowards complicity of the pre-sent government with the crim-inals and the corrupt,” Mauryasaid. Citing the Governor’sreport which was released lastSunday, the BJP leader drewattention to the fact that only twoof the 53 petitions sent byLokayukta on corruption bypolitical leaders and officialswere taken care of which hasexposed the corrupt and crim-inal face of CM Akhilesh Yadav.
Maurya also highlightedhow he exposed the corruptdeeds of the chairpersons of the
Public Service Commission andcertain other Commissionswhich were overlooked by thepresent SP government.
“No action or prosecutionwas allowed against 22 ministersof the previous BSP regime whohad been indicted after probe bythe Lokayukta. His ministers likeGayatri Prajapati were shieldeddespite humongous corruption
in mining. This makes it clearhow the present CM has allowedthe corrupt and criminals toflourish,” Maurya charged.
The state BJP chief saidthat even though the Governorhad recommended a CAG auditof shady allotments and ques-tionable expenses by the GDA,the state government refrainedfrom doing so.
Notification issued for 3rd phase
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW
The Election Commissionissued notification for the
third phase of Assembly polls in69 segments of Central UP inLucknow on Tuesday. Pollingfor the third phase will be heldon February 19. With the noti-fication, the process for filingnominations for the third phasein 12 districts has commenced.
Districts going to polls inthe third phase are Etawah,Mainpuri, Kannauj,Farrukhabad.
While nominations for thethird phase commenced,Tuesday was the last date for fil-ing of nominations for the firstphase of polling in 73 Assemblyseats in west UP. The nomina-tion process for the secondphase of polls will end onJanuary 27.
The nominations for thethird phase will continue tillJanuary 31 while scrutiny of
papers will be held the next day.Candidates can withdraw theirnominations till February 3.
A total of 2.41 crore elec-torate are expected to exercisetheir franchise in the thirdphase of polling out of which1.31 crore are male and 1.10crore are female and 1,026 arethird gender. There will be25,603 polling booths in thisphase.
The third phase will be themost important for the rulingSamajwadi Party as they hadwon 55 seats of the total 69 in2012 elections followed by 6 ofthe BSP, five of BJP and two ofCongress candidates. One seatwas also won by an indepen-dent.
The third phase of pollingwill be held in the followingAssembly seats — Kaimganj(SC), Amritpur, Farrukhabad,Bhojpur, Sawayazpur, Shahabad,Hardoi, Gopamau (SC), Sandi(SC), Bilgram Mallanwan,Balamau (SC), Sandila,Chhibramau, Tirwa, Kannauj
(SC), Mainpuri, Bhongaon,Kishni (SC), Karhal,Jaswantnagar, Etawah,Bharthana (SC), Bidhuna,Dibiyapur, Auraiya (SC),Rasulabad (SC), Akbarpur-Raniya, Sikandra, Bhognipur,Bilhaur (SC), Bithoor,Kalyanpur, Govindnagar,Sishamau, Arya Nagar, KidwaiNagar, Kanpur Cantt,Maharajpur, Ghatampur (SC),Bangermau, Safipur (SC),Mohan (SC), Unnao,Bhagwantnagar, Purwa,Malihabad (SC), Bakshi KaTalab, Sarojni Nagar, LucknowWest, Lucknow North,Lucknow East, LucknowCentral, Lucknow Cantt,Mohanlalganj (SC), Kursi, RamNagar, Barabanki, Zaidpur (SC),Dariyabad, Rudauli, Maholi,Sitapur, Hargaon (SC),Laharpur, Biswan, Sevata,Mehmoodabad, Sidhauli (SC)and Misrikh (SC).
BJP announces 67 more names
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW
The Bharatiya Janata Partyannounced the third list of
67 candidates taking the totalnumber of candidatesannounced so far to 370. Thelist contains several turncoatslike Swami Prasad Maurya andRajesh Tripathi. The BJP alsofielded former state presidentSurya Pratap Shahi fromPatherdeva in Deoria.
The list of candidates is asfollows:
RK Chaudhary(Mohanlalganj), Ram NareshRawat (Bachrawan -SC),Suryabhan Singh (Sultanpur),Chandrapal Kuswaha (Baberu),RK Patel (Manikpur), NeelamKarwaria (Meja), Sharad
Awasthi (Ramnagar), BajrangBahadur (Farenda), SamirTripathi (Nautanwa),Premsagar Patel (Siswan), JaiMangal Kanaujia(Maharajganj), GyanendraSingh (Paniyara), FatehBahadur (Laimpiyarganj),Mahendra Pal Singh (Pipraich),Vipin Singh (GorakhpurRural), Sheetal Pandey(Sahajanwa), Sangeeta Yadav(Chauri Chaura), VimleshPaswan (Baansgaon),Jatashankar Tripathi (Khadda),Swamy Prasad Maurya(Padrauna), Jagdish Mishra(Tumkahi Raj), Rajnikant Mani(Kushinagar), Pawan Kedia(Hata), Jai Prakash Nishad(Rudrapur), Surya Pratap Shahi(Pathardeva), Kamlesh Shukla
(Rampur Karkhana), JainathKushwaha (Bhaatpar Rani),Kali Prasad (Salempur), SureshTiwari (Barhaj), KL Nishad(Attraulia), Krishna Pal(Gopalpur), Laxman Maurya(Mubarakpur), AkhileshMishra (Azamgarh), Vinod Rai(Nizamabad), Arun Yadav(Pawai), Krishna Murari(Deedarganj), Daroga Saroj(Lalganj), DarashinghChauahn (Madhuban), PhaguSingh Chaugan (Ghosi), SriramSonkar (MohamadabadGohna), Dhananjay Kannaujia(Belethra Road), Ram IqbalSingh (Rasra), Ramesh Mishra(Badlapur), Girish Yadav(Jaunpur), Satish Singh(Malhani), Anita Rawat(Machchli Shahar), Dr
Harendra Singh (Jafrabad),Dinesh Chaudhry (Kerakat),Vidyasagar Sonkar (Saidpur),Sangeeta Balwant Bind(Ghazipur), Ram NareshKushwaha (Jangipur), Alka Rai(Mohamadabad), SunitaParikshit Singh (Jamaniya),Sharda Prasad (Chakiya -SC) ,Anil Rajbhar (Shivpur),Surendra Narayan Aurdey(Rohaniya), Ravindra Jaiswal(Varanasi North), NeelkanthTiwari (Varanasi South),Saurabha Srivastava (VaranasiCant), Dinanath Bhaskar(Aurai-SC) , Ratnakar Misra(Mirzapur), SuchismitaMaurya (Manjwa), AnuragSingh (Chunar), Anil Maurya(Ghorawal) and BhupeshChaubey (Robertsganj).
3 DMs shiftedLucknow: The state governmenttransferred three DistrictMagistrates on Tuesday on thedirection of the ElectionCommission.Official sources said in Lucknowthat Aditi Singh, who was postedas DM of Amethi two days back,has now been posted as DM ofUnnao while Yogesh Kumar, whowas awaiting posting, has beenmade the DM of Amethi. DM ofSantkabir Nagar Suresh Kumarhas been shifted and put on thewaiting list while AdditionalDirector of Administrative andManagement Academy RamakantPandey will now be the DM ofSantkabir Nagar.
Beni’s sonto conteston LD ticket
Lucknow (PNS): SeniorSamajwadi Party leader BeniPrasad Verma’s move to ensurea ticket for his son RakeshVerma from Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) seems to have failedas the veteran leader is notready to quit his Rajya Sabhaseat.
Verma, who has alreadymade up his mind to giveAkhilesh Yadav’s blue-eyed boyArvind Singh Gope a seriouschallenge in RamnagarAssembly segment in Barabanki,is likely to now field RakeshVerma on the Lok Dal ticket.Interestingly, Akhilesh Yadavjust not denied Rakesh a ticketfrom Ramnagar but had also notincluded the name of BeniPrasad Verma on the Party’s starcampaigners’ list released onTuesday.
Sources said that to appeaseVerma, the prominent Kurmileader of SP, Akhilesh Yadav hadgiven him ticket from KaiserganjAssembly seat but Beni outright-ly refused the offer and made amove to get his son inductedinto the BJP and contest fromRamnagar. However, sourcesconfirmed that BJP top leaderswanted Beni to resign from hisRajya Sabha seat and join theparty if he wanted a ticket.
Beni, who is not confidentof his son’s victory, refused tomake a sacrifice and reported-ly suggested that he would con-tinue as an MP and could jointhe BJP along with his son.However, the BJP refused and onTuesday they also announcedSharad Awasthi as the officialcandidate from RamnagarAssembly seat after which Beninow reportedly made a move tofield his son on the Lok Dal tick-et from the same constituency.
city 03LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW
Amidst heavy security ofpolice forces, the nom-inations of candidates
for all the nine constituenciesbegan on Tuesday. While justa solitary candidate filed nom-ination, 118 collected nomina-tion papers from Collectorate.
Rakesh Yadav Rana ofManuwadi Party, who is a can-didate from Bakshi-Ka-Talabseat, filed nomination papers.
Since 11 am, the returningofficers were waiting in therespective court rooms toaccept nomination papers evenas District Magistrate GauriShankar Priyadarshi was pre-sent through the day to mon-itor the process.
The DM inspected nomi-nation rooms, interacted withthe security personnel andissued necessary directive. Hesaid that no more than five per-sons along with a candidateshould be allowed insideCollectorate premises.
Earlier, the DM met twoelection observers sent by theElection Commission. Theyincluded IRS officers AlokSrivastava and Amisha SGupta. He briefed them aboutthe preparations and work
done for elections in the dis-trict.
Although no candidate ofany major political party filednomination papers on the firstday on Tuesday, many of themcollected the papers. Thesecandidates included Jaya Devi(BJP) for Malihabad, NakulDubey (BSP) and Seema Rani(CPI) among others.
DM Gauri ShankarPriyadarshi said apart fromthe one at Collectorate, controlrooms will be opened at all thevoter registration centres toreceive complaints. Jan SuvidhaKendra has been convertedinto a complaint centre whichhas four lines to receive com-plaints and suggestions.
PRIVATE TAXI CO OFFERSTO FERRY VOTERS
A private taxi companyrepresentatives met ADM(West) & Deputy DistrictElectoral Officer Avinash Singhand offered to ferry different-ly abled persons and those liv-ing in oldage homes to thepolling stations free of cost.They also offered to ferry vot-ers to polling centres within3kms at a flat rate of Rs 30-40.Similar offers were made inChennai and it helped in moti-
vating the voters. The propos-al has been given to the districtadministration and theapproval is awaited.
EXEMPTION FROM ELECTION DUTY
With the polling dayapproaching, groups of govern-ment employees are flocking tothe office of ADM (Financeand Revenue) Nidhi Srivastavawith grievances. A govern-ment employee Kamlesh DuttMishra was standing with awedding invitation card of hisdaughter and an application torequest the ADM that heshould be exempted from elec-tion duty.
“My daughter’s marriage ison February 19 which happensto be the polling day. I cannotbe on poll duty on the day mydaughter is getting married.The date was fixed before theelection schedule wasannounced,” said Kamlesh.
Another government bankemployee Anshul Gupta, whosemarriage is fixed for February20, also sought exemption fromelection duty. Besides, therewere many employees whogave different reasons for get-ting exempted from electionduty.
Lucknow (PNS): Whilethe political leaders are movingfrom one party to another toget tickets and for contestingelections and parties forgingalliance, a group of indepen-dent candidates has formed‘Nirdal Brigade’ to contestAssembly elections.
“Apparently, in the cur-rent scenario, one has to be amuscleman, rich or kin of aknown political leader to gettickets from major politicalparties. Keeping all this inmind, we decided to give a plat-form to independent candi-dates to come together and helpeach other in contesting elec-tions,” national convener NirdalBrigade Naushad Khan toldThe Pioneer on Tuesday.
In almost all the con-stituencies of the state, inde-pendent candidates file nomi-nations to contest polls but withno backing from any majorpolitical party or any platformfor promotion, they invariablyhave their deposits forfeited.
Considering that, Khansaid, he came up with the con-cept of giving a platform toindependent candidates.“Although we do not havemuch funds for massive elec-tion campaigning, the indepen-dent candidate can help eachother in canvassing,” he added.
The Nirdal Brigade hascontacted more than 100 inde-pendent candidates who wouldbe contesting election under itsbanner. “The candidates aremostly from Poorvanchal andAvadh region. We will beannouncing the names of inde-pendent candidates onWednesday as the list is in finalstages,” he Khan said.
“We have ensured that ourcandidates have a clean imagewith no criminal background.Since the group is not financial-ly sound so as to fund the can-didates, we will try and supportthem with the help of dona-tions and contributions,” headded.
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW
Residents witnessed suddenchange in the weather as
the maximum temperature onTuesday reached 27 degreeCelsius, which was four notch-es above normal. The mini-mum temperature (10.9 degreeCelsius) also saw a rise threenotches above normal.
For a majority of resi-dents, who had been reelingunder inclement weather, hadto shun several layers ofclothes during the day time.The relatively warmer condi-tions were a relief for peopleafter a prolonged spell of chillwith the minimum tempera-ture going as low as 0.1 degreeCelsius.
The weatherman has pre-dicted clear skies and the citywill likely record the maxi-mum and minimum temper-atures at 27 degree Celsius and11 degree Celsius respective-ly. There is a forecast of rainsand thundershowers for fewplaces over western UP. Thereis a warning of thunder squallat isolated places over western
UP. In the state, several dis-tricts recorded high minimumtemperatures with Varanasirecording 12.6 degree Celsius,Jhansi 11.9 degree Celsius,Hardoi 12.5 degree Celsiusand Hamirpur 11.2 degreeCelsius. Allahabad recordedthe maximum temperature at29.3 degree Celsius whileBanda 29 degree Celsius.
Single nomination
filed on first day
Nirdal Brigade
a platform for
independent
candidates
WIDOW ENDS LIFELucknow (PNS): A widow, identified
as Radha alias Shalu, ended her life at thehouse of her mother’s sister in Saadatganjon Tuesday. As per reports, Radha, a res-
ident of Para, was staying with her auntTara in Bibiganj police area. A policespokesman said Radha was depressed fol-lowing her husband’s death two monthsback.
Her husband had also committedsuicide. Radha was found hanging from aniron grill in the courtyard. Police said nosuicide note was recovered from thehouse.
Max temp rises 4 notches above normal
PNS n LUCKNOW
Surgical procedures afterchemotherapy can triple
the lifespan of the patientsdiagnosed with gall bladdercancer, one of the mostcommonest and fatal can-cers in women and foundprevalent in the Indo-Gangetic basin, a researchfrom an SGPGI revealed.The detailed study whichlasted nearly three yearsstudied the response ofpatients to upfrontchemotherapy followed bysurgery on them in whichcancer had spread to thenearby organs or vessels orlymph glands and could notbe operated upon when theywere presented before thesurgeon.
The team of researchersled by Prof Rajan Saxena ofthe Gastro-surgery depart-ment and Sushma Agarwalof the Radiotherapy depart-ment found that while thesurvival rate of patientsdiagnosed with gall bladdercancer was around ninemonths if given chemother-apy alone those subjected tosurgery after chemotherapyeasily lived beyond 27months. “In order toimprove the survival rate, weat SGPGI did a feasibilitystudy of upfront therapyfollowed by evaluation forsurgery in locally-advancedcases (those cancers whichhave not spread outside thebody but are not resectableat presentation). We found15 per cent resectability ratein this sub-group and 70 percent of operated patients aresurviving till date (mediansurvival 24 months),”
Agarwal stated.Gall bladder cancer is
known as a highly fatal dis-ease because it is usuallydiagnosed at a veryadvanced stage when it hasalready spread. When askedwhy was it so difficult totrack the disease in the earlystages, Agarwal said, “Thereare no symptoms exceptsometimes those of pain inthe abdomen and acidity.”
“Patients with symp-toms of gall bladder stones,abdominal pain and acidityare associated with gall blad-der cancer. Gall stones arenot a definitive causativefactor but long-standing gallstones are associated withcancer,” she said. She saidthat it was the third com-monest form of cancer inthe Indo-Gangetic beltamong women after breastand cervical cancer. Thefindings which have beenpresented at the prestigiousESMO-ASIA (EuropeanSociety of MedicalOncology - Asian Chapter)held in Singapore and pub-lished in Asia Pacific Journalof Cancer Prevention thisyear has demonstrated thatpatients who have under-gone surgery have managedto remain disease-free.
Surgery may helpgall bladder cancerpatients live longer
Security forces deployed outside Collectorate on the first day of nominations Pioneer
city 04LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW
The sight of a baton beingthrown in the air with
dexterity, colourful groupsbreaking into feisty dances,berry caps adorned by littleheads turning sharply at onecommand, acrobatic manoeu-vres of the youth.... these andmore are the images whichRepublic Day parade viewersaim to catch as they standalongside the road.
Unfortunately, this yearthe city folks’ joi-de-vivre ofwatching a free-flowing R-Day parade may get ham-pered owing to contours of theroute witnessing a majorchange. The parade will anglethrough new patches of thecity wiping out the chances ofits continuous and unhin-dered view owing to the Metroconstruction from Charbaghto the KD Singh ‘Babu’Stadium. For the few spaces onthe route where the publiccould have had a better view,the access would be difficultbecause of VIPs.
However, DistrictMagistrate Gauri ShankarPriyadarshi said that the view
of the parade would not behampered. “Good accesspoints for the public havealready been chalked out andthe view will not be hamperedfor the general public in anyway,” he said.
However, ADM (East)Virendra Pandey, who is thekey incharge associated withthe parade, admitted that theMetro routes would impact theviewing to a certain extent.Both the officials were presentduring the second rehearsal of
the parade on Tuesday.The f irst half of the
Republic Day route is a con-gested area while the last leg ofthe route is packed withLMRC boards, shrinking itfurther. In addition, the paradewill switch lanes moving fromleft to right in front of BapuBhawan. The parade, to be fol-lowed by tableaux, will startfrom in front of Bal VidyaMandir and move towards theCharbagh overbridge trisec-tion before turning right to
move in front of Mohan Hotel.It will reach Basmandi cross-ing and then move on GuruGobind Singh Marg towardsLal Kuan crossing before com-ing to Maharana Pratap cross-ing. This entire stretch, whichhas colleges, residential as wellcommercial buildings on bothsides, will witness the move-ment of parade on the left laneand the public will be able towatch it from the right lane.
The lane appears congest-ed but traffic sub-inspector
Prem Shahi said that they hadensured the required width of9m on the stretch.
Post Rana Pratap crossing,the public will get a better viewof the parade as it movestowards Burlington crossing.In front of Lucknow MetroSachivalaya station, the paradewill again move on the sides ofthe portion where LMRCboards have been fixed. Theparade will switch from left toright lane as it reaches nearVidhan Bhawan.
This could be a vantagearea of enjoying the parade buttraffic officials said that thespace was earmarked forVVIPs. “The area oppositeVidhan Bhawan will also befor VIPs. Though the passholders may view the paradefrom the sides of VidhanSabha Marg,” he said. Theparade which will take a leftturn towards Hazratganj roadwill get a good viewing till thepoint it reaches in front ofCapoor hotel where LMRCBoards have been fixed. Theparade will again movetowards the right side of theseboards.
On what could be the bestpoints for viewing the parade,Shahi said people could havea better view from Rana Pratapcrossing to Burlington andfrom Bapu Bhawan toHazratganj.
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW
Ahead of Republic Day theNorthern Railway con-
ducted a mock drill at theLucknow railway station tocheck the preparedness of thesecurity arrangements thereon Tuesday. A situation of abomb being planted at platformNo 1 was created by the seniorsecurity officials to check thepreparedness of the RailwayProtection Force (RPF) and theGovernment Railway Police(GRP) personnel. As soon asthe control room got the call ofa bomb being planted at theplatform the GRP and RPFpersonnel rushed to the spotand got it vacated as a precau-tionary measure.
A little later the dog andthe bomb disposal squadsreached the railway station.During checking they found abag with electric wires, clothes,utensils etc. After they didn’tfind any explosive on the plat-form the passengers presentthere heaved a big sigh ofrelief. Following this the RPFand GRP teams conducted achecking drive on the plat-forms, station area, circulatingarea, yard etc. to ensure that no
suspicious object or anythingelse was lying there unattend-ed. Then the teams checkedseveral trains passing throughor originating in Lucknow atthe Lucknow railway stationand the security officialsappealed to the passengers tocooperate in the checkingdrive. The senior security offi-cials of the GRP and RPFdirected their personnel toremain vigilant during dutyhours and take immediateaction if they noticed any sus-
picious person or object to pre-vent any untoward incident.
The RPF personnel deput-ed at the CCTV control roomhad been asked to keep anArgus eye on all platforms andif they noticed any suspiciousthing or activity they shouldreport to the policemen onduty. On the occasion theinspector of RPF, GulshanSateeja, and the inspector ofGRP, Sushil Kumar Singh,along with other RPF and GRPpersonnel were present.
Lucknow (PNS): Irked overpolice apathy, a man, alongwith his son, attempted self-immolation near VidhanBhawan on Tuesday. A ladyconstable overpowered him andfoiled his suicide bid. Two hoursafter police rehearsal forRepublic Day security prepara-tions, the middle-aged man,identified as Munna ofThakurganj, reached gate num-ber 3 along with his son. Hestarted sprinkling kerosene onhim while his son cried.Meanwhile, constable ShivKumari reached there and over-powered Munna. Munna toldpolice that his house wasgrabbed by his brother-in-lawand his relatives some timeback and the police were back-ing them. He further allegedthat a Samajwadi Party leaderand corporator from his areawas helping his rivals.
A sustained interrogationrevealed that Munna had pur-chased the house in 2006 andlater, gave a half the portion tohis brother-in-law Riaz. Afterthe death of Munna’s wife, histwo children Arman and Fizalive with their maternal unclewhile the youngest son Nooranlives with him. Some time back,Riaz and his father-in-lawMukhtar grabbed his portion ofthe house and drove him out.
Munna alleged that he hadlodged a case against Riaz andMukhtar but no help came hisway. “The SP leader sided withRiaz and Mukhtar and thepolice shelved the issue. I amhomeless now,” he told thepolice. He added that he wascompelled to take the extremestep as his continuous pleas tothe Thakurganj police werefalling on deaf ears. A policespokesman said Munna washanded over to the Thakurganjpolice. He added that the policeensured Munna’s possessionover his house by the evening.
VOTERS’ AWARENESS DRIVES IN SLUMSFICCI FLO is organising voters’ awareness programmes for
slum dwellers. Jyotsana Habibullah from FICCI FLO said theyhad been invited by the district administration to create aware-ness amongst women regarding the importance of voting. Shesaid that they created awareness in Nadwa slum area where mostof the residents were not registered. “I have spoken to the campoffice and given the names of mohallas near Daliganj bridge —Bhishti Tola, Tagore Road Barolia, Rahmania Masjid Barolia andnear Daliganj railway station. Most of the women do not haveID proofs or documents. Voter identification will enable themto get BPL cards and benefits of government schemes,” she said.“The slum dwellers are living in sub-human conditions. We havebeen distributing blankets and working for the education of theirchildren for the last few months. The women are unaware of theirrights and benefits of voting. We have made them aware of theirrights. We chose to work in areas where we were already work-ing and thus selected the slums. We organised voters’ awarenessprogrammes in slums and colleges. The programmes in slumswill continue as will awareness drives for students, as we pro-mote FLO marathon. On the day of marathon (February 5), wewill also encourage youths and women to vote,” she added.
EXAM CENTRERoyal College of Physicians will open a written-cum-reme-
dial examination centre at King George’s Medical University(KGMU) to impart necessary skills to students as well as facul-ty members. KGMU Vice-Chancellor Dr Ravi Kant said the col-laboration with Ireland-based Royal College of Physicians wouldhelp in imparting skills to the faculty members and students. Ina meeting with a delegation of four representatives of RoyalCollege of Physicians on Tuesday, the medical university signeda memorandum of understanding and announced to open theexamination centre. It will be first such centre in the state. Othersuch centres are in Kolkata and Mumbai while the team is gear-ing up to open a centre in New Delhi soon. “The students andresident doctors, along with faculty members in various depart-ments, will receive training for advances in the respective fieldsof study and research,” the KGMU Vice-Chancellor said.
SUGARCANE BREEDERS’ MEET
A sugarcane breeders’ meet was held in Indian Institute ofSugarcane Research (IISR), Lucknow. Cane Commissioner VipinKumar Dwivedi was the chief guest. Dwivedi said that the totalsugar requirement by 2030 might be around 35MT as againstthe present production level of 26-28MT, and the target mightbe achieved with cane productivity of 100-110 t/ha and recov-ery of 10.75%. He said that the quick seed replacement throughhigh yielding sugarcane variety is a key factor to harness the vari-etal potential for maximising the cane yield.
INNOVATIVE FESTIVALThe first ‘Innovation Festival’ of Regional Science City was
inaugurated by Divisional Commissioner Bhuvnesh Kumar. Thefest saw an innovative project display contest among studentsof schools and engineering colleges. The day also an innovativeteachers’ training and a workshop on robotics. A large numberof students, teachers and visitors were present on the occasion.Kumar interacted with participants of almost every project andexpressed his opinion about the quality of projects. He appre-ciated some of the projects that had some innovative component.Project coordinator Umesh Kumar said the aim of the pro-gramme, jointly organised by Regional Science City andCouncil of Science and Technology (UP), was to create innov-ative ideas and to reveal the innovative skills in UP. Nearly 350students and teachers are participated in the programme.
MANAGEMENT OLYMPIAD
Governor Ram Naik inaugurated ‘Management Olympiad’at Lucknow University’s Malviya auditorium. The programmewas organised jointly by Lucknow Management Association andAll-India Management Association.
CASH LOOTEDIn a road hold-up case, two
unidentified bike-borne mis-creants looted Rs 20,000 froman elderly man at gunpointafter thrashing him in Kakorion Tuesday afternoon. RamVilas of Dauna Kheda hadgone to withdraw money fromDurgaganj branch of AryavratGramin Bank. Around 1 pm,when he was returning homeon cycle, he was stopped by themiscreants. “They trained a pis-tol at me and asked to handthem the cash. When I offeredresistance, they thrashed meand looted the money beforespeeding off,” he told police.
THEFT Unidentified miscreants
stole Rs 2.5 lakh from a ‘tilak’function at community centrein Aliganj on Monday night.Reports said Vinay Verma ofSecretariat Colony had organ-ised the function after his son’smarriage was fixed. He saidparents of the bride offered the
cash and other articles as gift tohis son. “I had kept the cashand other items in a room.When I checked in the night,the cash and other articles hadbeen stolen,” he told the police.
CHAIN LOOTEDUnidentified bike-borne
miscreants looted the goldchain of an elderly woman,identified as Meena Rai, inIndira Nagar under Ghazipurpolice area on Tuesday. Herhusband, who was a retiredemployee of HAL, had diedsome time back.
THRASHED A group of girls thrashed a
man for allegedly makingobscene comment on themnear Press Club on Tuesday.Reports said the girls wereconducting a survey assignedby a media company. Theyalleged that the man passed alewd comment on them. Thegirls later spotted the man nearPress Club and beat him up.
SCHOLARSHIPShivank Srivastava, a stu-
dent of City Montessori School,Aliganj (Campus I), has beenoffered 65% scholarship foradmission to the prestigiousAsia Pacific University of Japan.Shivank will be getting thisscholarship every year duringthe full course of his study. AsiaPacific University of Japan isone of the top universities in
the world wherein students ofapproximately 80 countries arepursuing higher studies.Shivank has also been offeredadmission to the famed univer-sities of America and HongKong. The University ofMinnesota, USA has offeredUS$ 4000 scholarship to him.Hong Kong University ofScience and Technology hasalso offered him admission.
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW
Continuing its resolve thePlastic Surgery Department
of the King George’s MedicalUniversity (KGMU) performedthree cleft lip and palate surg-eries on children free of cost onTuesday as a part of the initia-tive of the Indian Cleft Lip andPalate Society. The surgeons inthe department diagnosed chil-dren with cleft lip as they faceddifficulty in drinking milk dueto the failure of their mouths tocreate sufficient pressure tosuck it. Commonly such chil-dren could not be breast-fedand were often fed throughalternate means like using abreastpump or a spoon.
A team of surgeons led bythe head of the Plastic SurgeryDepartment, KGMU, Prof AKSingh, and the former HoD,Plastic Surgery Department atthe Hyderabad-based NIMS,Prof Mukund Reddy, carriedout the surgeries along withother surgeons. The surgeonssaid that the incidence of this
disorder was rare as only one in500 children were born withcleft lip and palate defect.
Speaking about the socialdimension of such cases, ProfSingh said that such congeni-tal defects often affected a childwhen he grew up and startedhis or her education. In sever-al instances a child with apunctured palate was teasedand in frustration gave up theeffort to speak, he said.
The department carriedout surgery on an eight-month-old child whose lips werecleaved completely. Anothersurgery was performed on anine-month old child whosecleft palate was operated upon.The last surgery was performedon a seven-year-old who had ahole in the palate despite an ear-lier surgery.
Prof Singh illustrated thecommon procedure taken tocorrect such congenital defectsthrough surgical intervention.“Birth defects are generallydiagnosed at an early age andchildren with such abnormal-
ities should be brought forconsultation. On further diag-nosis surgical intervention tocorrect the defect is carried out.In the first stage surgery torestore the lips and gums bycorrecting the skin, mucosa andmuscles is carried out usuallywhen a child attains the age ofthree months,” he toldreporters.
Further terming the secondstage as the most complex,Prof Mukund Reddy said, “Inthe second stage which is doneat the age of 8-9 months thepatient’s palate is corrected andfreed from deformities.However, surgery is performedin the inner part of the mouthby inserting a pipe near the tra-chea and anaesthesia is admin-istered through it too.Moreover, any deformity inthe palate may lead to a distort-ed voice in a patient and ham-pers his social acceptability.Therefore, proper restructuringof the palate, which is an invol-untary muscle, is important fora perfect voice.”
R-Day parade view not the same this time
SCHOOLSCAN
CITYBRIEFS
CRIMELINE
Republic Day dress rehearsal in Hazratganj on Tuesday Pioneer
Metro construction
threatens to
play spoilsport
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW
Bahujan Samaj Party supremoMayawati welcomed the
decision of the ElectionCommission to restrict theNarendra Modi Government atthe Centre not to announce anysops in the Union Budget onFebruary 1 for the people of thefive states going to the polls.
“The Centre should notplay oversmart and hoodwinkthe EC order,” she said in arelease, a day after the poll panelsaid that the Finance Minister’sspeech should not refer to thecentral government’s achieve-ments in these states. She saidthe Narendra Modi govern-ment has the responsibility toabide by the EC order honest-ly. Besides Uttar Pradesh,Assembly elections are beingheld in Uttarakhand, Punjab,Goa and Manipur.
On Monday night, ElectionCommission has given its nodto the Centre to present theUnion Budget on February 1ahead of the Assembly polls, but
said no schemes related to thesepoll-bound states can beannounced and the FinanceMinister’s speech should notrefer to the government’sachievements in these states.
Earlier on Monday, theSupreme Court had dismisseda plea seeking postponement ofUnion Budget presentationahead of the Assembly electionsin five states, saying there wasno illustration that it wouldinfluence voters. The oppositionparties had written to thePresident and the Commissionobjecting to the presentation ofthe Union Budget on February1 ahead of the Assembly elec-tions and demanded that thegovernment be asked to defer it.
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW
The BJP has decided togive 18 seats to its threeallies – Suheldev Bharat
Samaj Party (SBSP), BS-4 of RKChaudhry and Apna Dal(Anupriya faction).
“Deals have been finalisedwith SBSP and Apna Dal(Anupriya) after a series ofmeetings with BJP leaders andchiefs of these parties. All theseseats are in the eastern parts ofthe state,” state BJP general sec-retary Vijay Bahadur Pathaktold ‘The Pioneer’ on Tuesday.
Deal with BS-4 of R KChoudhury was finalised at thelast minute. While the BJPwanted to give the seat ofMohanlalganj in Lucknow toChaudhary, BS-4 insisted onone more seat.
SBSP founder and presi-
dent Om Prakash Rajbhar saidin Lucknow that the BJP hadallotted them eight seats in thedistricts of Jaunpur, Varanasi,Azamgarh, Ghazipur, Balliaand Mau. He claimed that can-didates had been announcedfor seats which would go topolls in the sixth and seventhphase in March.
The eight seats areShahganj in Jaunpur, Ajghara inVaranasi, Mehnagar inAzamgarh, Zahurbad andJakhania in Ghazipur, Bansdihand Ramkola in Ballia andMau Sadar in Mau. Rajbhar willhimself contest from MauSadar seat. On the other hand,Apna Dal is also expected to getaround eight seats in alliancewith the BJP in the Assemblypolls. Most seats will be inMirzapur and Pratapgarh LokSabha constituencies which is
represented by Apna Dal MPs.Union minister Anupriya Patelherself represents MirzapurLok Sabha seat.
However, efforts were onfor a compromise between thetwo rival factions of the ApnaDal, one led by Anupriya andthe other by her motherKrishna Patel.
Both the SBSP and ApnaDal have a base in eastern UPand have influence amongOBC communities - Kurmisand Rajbhars. The BJP hasbeen traditionally weak in theeastern region and is bankingon the allies to woo backwardclasses. Eastern UP is aSamajwadi Party stronghold.
Pathak said that party hadgiven respect to smaller part-ners and they had been givenadequate number of seats ‘asper their strength’.
BJP decides to give
18 seats to allies
Budget: Mayawatiwelcomes EC order
NR conducts mock drill
ahead of Republic Day
A checking drive at Charbagh railway station on Tuesday Pioneer
Man attempts
self-immolation
KGMU dept performs 3 cleft lip, palate surgeries free of cost Lucknow (PNS):
Unidentified miscreants killed aDalit man employed as a guardat a construction site inMohanlalganj on Tuesdaymorning. Ram Sanjiwan (42) ofGaura village of Mohanlalganjwas assigned to look after theconstruction material at the siteopposite Maharana PratapInstitute (located at some dis-tance away from his house). He,along with fellow guard Kallu,had left for the work place onMonday night.
On Tuesday morning, Kalluwoke up and went to the build-ing where Ram Sanjiwan wasresting to wake him up too. Hefound Ram Sanjiwan lying deadin a pool of blood at the gate ofthe building. He immediatelyinformed the victim’s family.
On the information,Sanjiwan’s wife Raj Kumari,along with her family, reachedthe place and later informed thepolice. A police team reachedthe place and later a dog squadjoined the investigation too.
Preliminary investigationrevealed that Sanjiwan hadwounds on his head and otherparts of the body. The police
believed that the miscreantsattacked the victim when he wassleeping. “He was attacked bysome heavy object and his headwas ripped open,” the policespokesman said.
During investigation, it sur-faced that Ram Sanjiwan was atloggerhead with Sunil Lodhi ofKalander Kheda village ofMohanlalganj over the victim’salleged closeness with latter’swife. It also surfaced that Sunil,along with his unidentifiedaides, had visited the construc-tion site on Monday night. Thepolice quizzed Kallu on the rev-elation and he endorsed thatSunil and his men had thrashedRam Sanjiwan the previousnight during a brawl. “Thebrawl started when Sunil askedabout his missing wife from thevictim,” Kallu told police whilenarrating the previous nighthappening. The policespokesman said Sunil’s wife wasmissing for quite some time andSunil suspected Sanjiwan’s rolein it. Sanjiwan’s wife accusedSunil and his men of havingkilled her husband. The policeregistered a case of murderagainst Sunil and his men.
Dalit man murdered
nation 05LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017
INSHORT
DON’T SEEK VOTES ONRELIGION, CASTE: ECNew Delhi: The ElectionCommission on Tuesday directedpolitical parties to desist fromseeking votes in the name ofreligion and caste saying itamounts to violation of the modelcode even as it reminded them ofa recent Supreme Court order inthis regard. Chief electoral officersof all states too were informedabout this. The EC asked them toconvey to grassroots level electionofficials and ensure thecompliance of the SC ordersduring elections.
HEAD POST OFFICES TO USEAS PASSPORT SEVA KENDRASNew Delhi: Head Post Offices inthe variousStates will nowalso double upas PassportSeva Kendras.This is beingdone to utiliseexisting infrastructure of PostalDepartment where Passportoffices do not exist. The pilotprojects for this joint venturebetween Ministry of ExternalAffairs and Department of Post willbe inaugurated on Wednesday inMysuru and Dahod (Gujarat).
SWACHCHH BHARATMISSION: SECY VISITS APNew Delhi: Parameswaran Iyer,Secretary, Drinking Water andSanitation Ministry recently visitedVijaywada, Andhra Pradesh toassess the progress of SwachhBharat Mission (Gramin) in theState. The State Governmentinformed him that a few districtswere on their way to becomingopen defecation free (ODF) withinthe next few months while variousdistrict collectors shared manygood practices such as emphasison ODF achievement rather thanfocus only on individual toilets andcreation of district brands (such asAtmagaurav in Nellore).
BHARAT PARV FROM JAN26 TO 31 AT RED FORTNew Delhi: The Government isorganising “Bharat Parv” event atthe Red Fort, Delhi from 26th to31st January 2017, as part of theRepublic Day celebrations. At themega event, Republic Day ParadeTableaux will be displayed, ArmedForces Bands (static and moving)will perform while multi-cuisinefood court, crafts mela, culturalperformances from differentregions of the country and a PhotoExhibition by the Ministry ofInformation & Broadcasting willenthral the visitors.
New Delhi: Those not coveredunder the Pradhan MantriAawas Yojana (Grameen) canlook towards a new schemeapproved by the Union Cabineton Tuesday.
Aimed at promoting ruralhousing in the country, theGovernment would provideinterest subsidy to every ruralhousehold under the newscheme which would run ver-tical to the PMAYG.
Officials in the Union RuralDevelopment Ministry said thatthe scheme would enable peoplein rural areas to construct newhouses or add to their existingpucca houses to improve theirdwelling units. The beneficiary
who takes a loan under thescheme would be provided inter-est subsidy for loan amountupto `2 Lakhs under the newscheme which is yet to be named.
The National HousingBank would implement thescheme. The Governmentwould provide net presentvalue of the interest subsidy of3 percent to the NationalHousing Bank upfront whichwill, in turn, pass it to thePrimary Lending Institutions(Scheduled Commercial Banks,NBFCs etc.). As a result theequated monthly installment(EMI) for the beneficiarywould be reduced, the officialadded. PNS
Not under PM Awas Yojana?Be ready for new Govt scheme
PNS n NEW DELHI
Crown Prince of Abu DhabiSheikh Mohamed bin
Zayed Al Nahyan arrived hereon Tuesday to a warm hugfrom Prime Minister NarendraModi who received him at theairport. Al Nahyan is on athree-day visit to New Delhi.He is the chief guest ofRepublic Day celebrations andwill hold talks with PM Modiwith several important agree-ments, including on StrategicCooperation, expected to besigned.
“Welcome to India, HH
Mohamed bin Zayed AlNahyan. We are honoured tohost you & delighted that youwill join our Republic Day cel-ebrations. India & UAE sharestrong bonds of friendship &extensive cooperation. Lookingforward to building on this &further cementing ties,” Moditweeted.
This is the second visit ofthe Crown Prince to India inthe last one year. From theIndian side, Modi had visitedDubai in August 2015, whichwas the first visit by an IndianPM in 33 years, last being for-mer PM Indira Gandhi in
1981.Al Nahyan is also the
Deputy Supreme Commanderof the UAE armed forces. It isexpected that cooperation incounter-terrorism will get aboost as the two leaders discussthe existing and potentialthreats, including radicaliza-tion. The two countries arealready working strongly onterror cooperation.“Cooperation in intelligencesharing and exchange of infor-mation about the specificthreats is always part of the dis-cussions between the twocountries”, Secretary
(Economic Relations) AmarSinha said.
Describing UAE as a keypartner in the Gulf region,Sinha said under the defenceand security cooperation thetwo sides were looking at arma-ment, armoured personnel car-riers, joint production of air-craft, and joint manufacturing.
The two sides are alsoexpected to sign agreementspacts in the field of Researchand Development, agriculture,space, renewable energy. Indiahas identified few projects inhighway and railways sectorsfor UAE investments.
Abu Dhabi crown prince arrives for R-Day
PNS n NEW DELHI
The Centre has decided towithdraw its January 8,
2016 notification allowingJallikattu with certain restric-tions. The decision comes at atime when the Supreme Courtis expected to deliver its judg-ment on the validity of the saidnotification since it runs con-trary to the May 2014 judg-ment of the apex court banningJallikattu.
Attorney General MukulRohatgi informed this deci-sion to the Court on Tuesday.
The Centre is currently inprocess of preparing an appli-cation in this regard. Once it isfiled, it will be listed before abench of Justices Dipak Misraand Rohington Nariman, whichhad reserved orders in the case.
Rohatgi approached abench headed by Justice DipakMisra and said that the Centrewished to withdraw the notifi-cation issued by the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests onJanuary 8, 2016 regardingJallkattu. Justice Misra said,“You make a mention beforethe bench which is hearing the
matter.” A-G informed it will bedone after the application inthis regard is filed.
The notification said thatwhile bull is in the list of pro-hibited performing animals,“bulls may be continued to beexhibited or trained for eventssuch as Jallikattu in TamilNadu and bullock cart races inMaharashtra, Karnataka,Punjab, Haryana, Kerala andGujarat”. The apex court hadstayed the operation of thenotification on a petition filedby Animal Welfare Board andPETA.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives Abu Dhabi’s crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at New Delhi airport, on Tuesday. The crown prince will beIndia’s chief guest at Republic Day celebrations AP
New Delhi: BJP on Tuesdayraked up again the contentiousissue of Ram Temple before thefirst phase of Uttar PradeshAssembly elections on February11, saying a “grand” temple willbe built in Ayodhya if BJPsecures an outright majority.
“Ram Mandir is a subject offaith. It is not going to be builtin two months. The temple willbe constructed after the elections.BJP will come to power with afull majority,” party’s UttarPradesh chief Keshav Prasad
Maurya told reporters here.He also hit out at Akhilesh
Yadav, saying the UP chief min-ister is neither with BackwardClasses nor Dalits, “he onlybetrays”. His remark came afterAllahabad High Court directedthe Uttar Pradesh government toensure that no fresh caste cer-tificates are issued to thosebelonging to 17 Other BackwardClasses (OBC) groups.
Asked about the SP-Congress alliance, Maurya said:“SP is a sinking ship and thatof Congress had sunk longback. Even if BSP joins it, they
will not be able to salvage it.”Alleging that the entire gov-
ernment machinery under Yadavwas embroiled in corruption, hesaid that after coming to power,BJP will conduct a probe and ifneeded, “send them to jail”.
He accused the UP chiefminister of cheating people andclaimed there were irregularitiesin admissions, women safetyissues were not accorded prior-ity and dial 100, launched toimprove police services, wasnowhere to be found. PTI
‘Ram temple will be built if BJP wins full majority’
PNS n NEW DELHI
Finding the existing vacancyof sanctioned police posts in
the country to be close to 4.73lakh, the Supreme Court onTuesday directed State HomeSecretaries to indicate thevacancy position among policeforce in their respective Stateswithin three weeks.
The Bench headed byChief Justice JS Khehar askedthe States to treat the issue seri-ously since most of the Stateswere not represented when theCourt dealt with the issue in aPIL filed by an advocateManish Kumar. The Bench,also comprising Justices NVRamana and DY Chandrachud,also stated in its order thatHome Secretaries of thoseStates which fail to file affidavitswill remain personally presentin Court on the next date.
Kumar argued that a directlink exists between the vacan-cy position among police andthe deteriorating law and ordersituation. He submitted thatout of the total sanctioned postsfor police in the country, almost
22 per cent remain vacant. Hesupported this fact with a recentstatistics showing 4.73 lakhvacancies across all police ranksin the country as on January 1,2015. Taking this figure as thebasis, the bench called out thenames of several states but nolawyer turned up to argue.
Some States such asChhattisgarh filed an affidavitindicating the vacancy positionof 3,362 posts as in the year2014. Under the latest statisticsavailable with the petitioner,the vacancy position amongpolice in Chhattisgarh rose toover 10,000.
The bench said, “In view of
the importance of the issue, werequire Home Secretaries of allthe State Governments to fileaffidavits in this court depict-ing the vacancy position…Inorder to ensure compliance ofthe order, we direct Centre tocommunicate the instant orderto all the Home Secretaries ofState Governments within oneweek.”
The Court was of the viewthat once the vacancy positionis settled, the police force willnot work under pressure.Kumar sought a slew of direc-tions in his PIL aimed at mak-ing the police force functionaland responsive.
PNS n NEW DELHI
The Cabinet on Tuesdaygave its approval to ratify
the second commitment peri-od of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol- extending from 2013 to 2020— for checking the emission ofGreen House Gases. The sec-ond phase was adopted in2012, with 65 countries havingratified the Second
Commitment Period so far. “In view of the critical role
played by India in securinginternational consensus on cli-mate change issues, this deci-sion further underlines thecountry’s leadership in thecomity of nations committed toglobal cause of environmentalprotection and climate justice,”said an Environment Ministrystatement after the Cabinet
meeting.The Kyoto protocol recog-
nized that developed countriesare principally responsible for thecurrent top levels of GreenhouseGas (GHGs) and that the pro-tocol places commitments ondeveloped nations to undertakemitigation targets and to providefinancial resources and transferof technology to the developingnations.
Centre decides to withdraw Jan 8,2016 notification over Jallikattu
Kyoto Protocol: Cabinet gives nodto retify 2nd commitment period
PNS n NEW DELHI
BJP received donations thricethe aggregate declared by
the Congress, NCP, CPI, CPMand AITC combined in 2015-16. Interestingly, the BJP’s kittyswelled more through fewerdonors compared to Congress,which had larger number ofdonations but lower contribu-tions. The trend of the party inpower raking in the moolahcontinues.
The BJP collected `76.85crore from 613 donations in2015-16 while the Congress`20.42 crore from 918 dona-tions, a report by Associationfor Democratic Reforms(ADR) and National ElectionWatch (NEW) maintained.
According to the report,political parties received `7,833crore funding from unknownsources between 2004-05 and2014-15, which is 69 per cent oftheir total income, with Congressand BJP witnessing maximumincome from such sources.
“Total income of the partyis increased by 2,057 per centfrom `5.19 crore to `111.96
crore. The Congress has thehighest total income of`3,982.09 crore between 2004-05 and 2014-15, this is 42.92per cent of the total income ofthe six parties during the sametime. BJP has the second high-est income of `3,272.63 crorewhich is 35.27 per cent of thetotal income of the 6 nationalparties. Interestingly, totalamount of donations above`20,000 declared by the sixnational parties was `1,405.19crore. BJP tops the list and hasdeclared a total of `917.86crore as received through vol-untary contributions above`20,000,” the report said.
Income of political partiesfrom known donors was`1,835.63 crore, which is 16 percent of their total income. Also,total income of political partiesfrom other known sources (saleof assets, membership fees,bank interest, sale of publica-tions, party levy etc) stood at`1,698.73 crore or 15 per cent.
As per the ADR report,during the 11 years, 83 per centof total income of IndianNational Congress (INC)
amounting to `3,323.39 croreand 65 per cent of total incomeof BJP amounting to `2,125.91crore came from unknownsources.
Among the regional par-ties, `766.27 crore or 94 percent of total income ofSamajwadi Party (SP) and
`88.06 crore or 86 per cent ofShiromani Akali Dal (SAD)came from unknown sources.
Income of national partiesfrom unknown sourcesincreased by 313 per cent, from`274.13 crore during 2004-05 to`1,130.92 crore during 2014-15,ADR said. Income of regional
parties from unknown sourceshas also increased by 652 percent from `37.393 crore to`281.01 crore.
According to report, SP hasthe highest total income of`819.1 crore followed by DMKwith `203.02 crore andAIADMK with `165.01 crore.
BJP on top with `76.85 crore
DONATION TO POLITICAL PARTIES IN 2015-16
PNS n NEW DELHI
Chief ElectionCommissioner Nasim
Zaidi on Tuesday said thatholding simultaneous polls toLok Sabha and State Assemblieswill require Constitutionalamendment and additionalresources. He was speaking atthe sidelines of a seminar on“Strategies for EmpoweringYoung and Future Voters”organised by the ElectionCommission of India on the eveof 7th National Voters Day.
The CEC said theCommission’s view has alreadybeen conveyed to the Law
Ministry as well as a parlia-mentary panel that such aproposal requires amendmentsin the Constitution through aprocess of “political consensus”.
“The Commission, with cer-tain additional resources, canundertake the exercise of(holding) simultaneous elec-tions in future. But there aretwo pre-conditions.
“One, there should be anamendment in theConstitution through a processof political consensus and wewill need some additionalresources in terms of electronic
voting machines ,” Zaidi said.Last year, the Election
Commission supported thegovernment’s idea to holdsimultaneous elections to Lok
Sabha and state assembliesbut made it clear that it willcost a lot and the Constitutionwill have to amended to cur-tail or extend the term of cer-tain state assemblies. The LawMinistry had asked theCommission to give its viewson the report of a parliamen-tary standing committee whichhad batted for simultaneouspolls.
Need Constitutional amendment: Zaidi
Keshav Prasad Maurya
Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi exchanges the signed documents of an MoU between Election Commission of Indiaand Election Commission of Nepal at the International Seminar on ‘Strategies for Empowering Young & Future Voters’ on theeve of 7th National Voters Day in New Delhi, on Tuesday. Election Commissioner AK Joti is also seen PTI
Only 10% PMGSY target achieved this fiscal
ARCHANA JYOTI n NEW DELHI
As many as 14 States, includ-ing those ruled by the BJP,
have failed miserably in imple-menting the Centre’s ambi-tious bid to use green tech-nology for construction ofrural roads under the PradhanMantri Gramin Sadak Yojana(PMGSY). Into the last quar-ter, just 10 per cent of the tar-get set for the current fiscal hasbeen achieved as a result.
According to the data avail-able with the Union RuralDevelopment Ministry, whichoversees the rural road schemein the country, just 1,078 kmroads have been made using thecost-effective technology dur-
ing April 2016 to December, 20,2016 against the target lengthof 10,063 km for 2016-17 inthese States. (See Box)
Officials in the Ministryadmit that given the dismalresponse, the States will not beable to even construct 1,500 kmlength of roads in the full fiscal.
This, despite the Centremaking it mandatory for theStates to use at least 15 per centlength of their annual propos-als under PMGSY to be basedon new or non-conventionalmaterials/technology including,jute and coir geo-textiles, as perthe “Guidelines of Technologyinitiatives under PMGSY”,issued by the Ministry in 2013.
The Sates have been given
wide ranges of options for imple-menting environment-friendlytechnologies like fly ash, iron andcopper slag, mining waste, geo-textile, lime and cement stabil-isation, Zydex Nano-Technologyand waste plastic among others.
In the last two years ie2014-15 and 2015-16, a total2,700 km of rural roads wereconstructed across the countryusing eco-labour-friendly andcost-effective green technologies.
This seemed encouragingthat time as in the last 14 years(2000-2014), out of more than4.80 lakh km of roads only 800km were built using greentechnologies. The Governmenthad kept an ambitious overalltarget length at 7,000 km for
2016-17 which was laterincreased to 10,063 km. RajeshBhushan, Joint Secretary (RuralConnectivity) of the RDMinistry, while, expressing hisunhappiness at the poor pace inusing green technologies hasnow asked the erring States totake personnel interest in thematter to reach to the target.
The RD Ministry alongwith the Textile Ministry isalready providing support to theNorth-Eastern States for build-ing roads made of environ-ment-friendly coir and jutegeo-textiles in the regionthrough its programme“scheme for promoting usage ofgeotech-textiles in the North-Eastern region.”
STATE TARGET (KM) FOR ACHIEVEMENTS 2016-17 (APRIL-DEC-16)
Arunanchal Pradesh 360 --
Assam 817 39.69
Bihar 970 46.44
Chhattisgarh 644 8.71
Jharkhand 565 39.17
Madhya Pradesh 1393 170
Manipur 267 25.97
Meghalaya 1010 100.9
Mizoram 243 15.4
Odisha 1186 252.15
Tamil Nadu 453 180.34
Uttar Pradesh 617 168.34
Uttarakhand 362 25.4
West Bengal 1176 5.5
Total 10063 1078.01
LSSTATEPOLLSATONEGO
File police vacancy infoin 3 weeks: SC to States
LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017 nation 06
KHURSHEED WANI n SRINAGAR
Amid beefed up security inKashmir Valley ahead of
Republic Day, security forcesshot dead two terrorists, sus-pected to be foreign nationalsbelonging to the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) outfit, in anencounter at Hadoora Village inGanderbal district on Tuesdaymorning.
A Defence spokesman saidthat police, paramilitaries andArmy soldiers cordoned offHaddora Village in Phak quar-ter of Ganderbal District earlyon Tuesday following specificinformation that terrorists werehiding in the village.
While the cordon was beinglaid in the village, the terroristscame out of their hideout andengaged in a gunfight with thesecurity forces.
The exchange of fire con-tinued for over an hour till boththe terrorists were shot dead.There was no report of any casu-alty on the security forces’ side.
The encounter took place,two days ahead of the RepublicDay celebrations in Kashmiramid reports that terrorists wereplanning to disrupt the official
functions across the State. The State police chief SP
Vaid on Monday took stock ofthe security situation and askedofficers to remain on high alert.
On the ground, despite con-tinuous snowfall and low tem-perature, police and securityforces launched frisking andsearch operations across theValley to exhibit alertness.
The police and CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF)have intensified surprise check-ing of vehicles and pedestriansin capital Srinagar while theArmy launched several searchoperations in far-off villagesand towns.
“We are extra cautiousahead of the Republic Day.There are reports about themovement of terrorists fromSrinagar City besides northernand southern parts of the Valley,”CRPF spokesman Rajesh Yadavsaid.
The security forces con-ducted house-to-house search inArampora Village of northKashmir’s Sopore area on thesuspicion that terrorists were ona move in the belt.
The main Republic Dayfunction in summer capital
Srinagar would be held at BakshiStadium, where a three-tiersecurity cover would be estab-lished to secure the area. All sep-aratist groups including theJoint Resistance Forum (JRF), aloose grouping of prominentseparatist outfits that spear-headed the public uprising inKashmir last year andMuzaffarabad-based UnitedJehad Coucil (UJC) have calledfor a complete shutdown andobservance of “black day” onJanuary 26.
The security forces areextra-cautious in the backdropof recent unrest and attempts byterrorists to spring nasty sur-prises on such important occa-sions. Last year, onIndependence Day, LeTlaunched a massive fidayeenattack in Nowhatta part of oldSrinagar and killed a CRPFCommandant and a Constable.
The frequency of terrorists-security forces conflict hasincreased in the Valley since theonset of winter as terroriststend to hide in the populatedareas. At least nine terroristshave been killed in variousencounters across the Valleysince January 1, 2017.
Valley on R-Day alert:
Two LeT terrorists shot
PNS n JAMMU
One infiltrator was killed bythe alert troops along the
Line of Control (LoC) inSunderbani sector of Rajouriearly on Tuesday morning.
The jawans posted in theforward area had detected themovement of terrorists alongthe LoC. The Defencespokesman in Jammu said,“The troops engaged the infil-trating terrorists with effectiveautomatic fire while drawingheavy retaliatory fire”.
One terrorist was elimi-nated in the operation whilethe others f led towardsPakistan-Occupied-Kashmir.
PNS n GANDHINAGAR
In a setback to accused of UnaDalit flogging, the Gujarat
High Court denied bail appli-cations of 20 accused and askedthem to file another applicationafter three months.
Of the total accused, whofiled bail petitions before thecourt, two were juveniles. As thebail application came on theboard, complainants’ advocateobjected petitions of the 20accused and in the case of twojuvenile, he didn’t object.
As the proceeding contin-ued and knowing the inclinationof the court not granting the bailapplication, the accused with-drew their plea. However in thecase of two juvenile, the courtgranted them bail.
The Gujarat CID (Crime),which investigated the flogging
of seven Dalits in Una by cowvigilantes (gaurakshaks) forskinning a dead cow, had pro-duced photographs of each ofthe accused along with reportsof identification parade in thecharge sheet against them.
As many as seven Dalitswere brutally beaten by self-styled cow protection vigilantesnear Mota Samadhiyala Villagein Una taluka of Gir SomnathDistrict in Saurasthra on July 11,2016 for skinning a dead cow.
The issue became a hottopic on national political sceneas after the incident, nationalleaders including Rahul Gandhi,Arvind Kejriwal, Minister ofState for PanchayatirajParashotam Rupala, thenGujarat Chief MinisterAnandiben Patel and others vis-ited Mota Samadhiyala to showsympathy towards the victims.
Agartala-Udaipur passenger train beingflagged off from Agartala Railway Station onTuesday PTI
MOHIT KANDHARI n JAMMU
The Upper House of theJammu & Kashmir State
Legislature on Tuesday adopt-ed a historic resolution rec-ommending a State holidayon September 23, the birthanniversary of last Dograking Maharaja Hari Singh.
The resolution was movedby Ajatshatru Singh, grandsonof Maharaja Hari Singh and aBJP member in the UpperHouse.
This is for the first time aformal resolution was moved
and later adopted by theHouse with a voice vote.
While moving the resolu-tion Ajatshartu Singh saidthat the historic contributionof Maharaja Hari Singh,whohad signed instrument ofaccession on October 26, 1947before acceding the princelyState with the union of India,needs to be acknowledged. Itwould be a tribute to him ifthe State declares official hol-iday on his birth anniversary.
The Opposition memberswho had earlier staged a walkout from the House during
the Question Hour were notpresent in the House whenthe Private MembersResolution was adopted.
The resolution was sec-onded by VikramadityaSingh, elder grandson ofMaharaja Hari Singh, who ishimself a PDP member in theHouse.
Minister for Educationand Leader of the House,Naeem Akhtar, Minister forForest , Ecolog y andEnvironment, Choudhary LalSingh, Deputy Chairman,Legislative Council, Jehangir
Hussain Mir, legislatorsAshok Khajuria,Vikramaditya Singh, SurinderMohan Ambardar, RameshArora, Firdous Tak, SurinderKumar Chowdhar y andVibod Gupta participated in
the discussion.While participating in the
discussion Naeem Akhtar saidthe State already observes 51holidays in a calendar year inGovernment offices, financialinstitutions, educational insti-tutions.
In comparison the UnionGovrnment normally pre-scribes 17 Gazetted holidaysand 2 restricted holidays dur-ing a calendar year. Given theexisting number of holidaysbeing observed at various lev-els in the State it may not befeasible to further increase the
number as the same is likelyto affect the delivery of pub-lic services. He even request-ed the member to withdrawthe resolution while assuringthat it could be consideredafter holding discussion withall other stakeholders. ButAjatshatru Singh stood hisground and pressed for theresolution.
The resolution was laterpassed by voice vote. Out of14 members present in theHouse 11 members voted insupport while three othersopposed it.
One infiltrator
killed at LoC,
arms recovered
UNA DALIT FLOGGING
Bail applications ofaccused denied
J&K to have holiday on Hari Singh’s birth anniversary?New Delhi: The Jammu &Kashmir Government hasidentified 100 acres of land ateight places in the Valley forrehabilitation of KashmiriPandits who migrated fromthe State in the early 1990s fol-lowing outbreak of militancy.
These pockets, whereKashmiri Pandits are likely tobe rehabilitated, will be spreadacross all 10 districts of theValley, officials in the UnionHome Ministry said onTuesday.
According to the officialfigures, as many as 62,000Kashmiri migrant familieswere registered with theGovernment out of which40,000 were registered inJammu, 20,000 in the nation-al Capital and remaining 2,000in the rest of the country.
The NDA Government,after assuming office in 2014,had earmarked ̀ 500 crore forrehabilitation of the KashmiriPandits, who had migratedfrom the Valley since January19, 1990 following the rise inmilitancy.
Union Home MinisterRajnath Singh had written tothe then Chief Minister OmarAbdullah to identify land forresettling them. PTI
‘Kashmiri Panditsto be settled in 10districts of Valley’Upper House
passes resolutionto honour last
Dogra king
U.P. RAJYA VIDYUTUTPADAN NIGAM LIMITEDTENDER NOTICE Sealed &separated tenders are invitedfrom qualified, experienced
and financially sound Parties for the fol-lowing supply/work items, in two parts,Part-I shall contain the following docu-ments. (i) Earnest money in the formFDR/DD/ CDR/Bank Guaranty (in cashof Rs. 5000=00 or more) in the pre-scribed format in favour of concerned Dy.GM (F) “B” TPS/DTPS (Const) or Dy.CAO, CFA & BO “A” TPS, Anpara. (ii)Documentary evidence fulfilling all prequalifying conditions mentioned in thetender Document. Part-II of the tenderwill have the “Price bid only” of tendereditems, Both Part-I & II shall be kept inseparate and sealed envelopes sub-scribed each with words “Tender” OfferPart-I or II “and also” Tender SpecificationNo. ....................... & Due date of open-ing ................... on each part. Theamount of earnest money deposit costof tender documents, due date of open-ing of Part-I & II of tender are indicatedin the enclosed sheet. Tender documentmay be downloaded from the internetfrom the Nigam website. 1. Tender No:19/BMD-I/BTPS/2016-17, Office:Executive Engineer, BMD-I, BTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work:Dismantling, servicing, fabrication &assembling of damaged parts ofhydraulic pump of SSC & clinker grinderof furnace bottom ash disposal systemof unit no. 4&5 of 2x50MW, BTPS,Anpara. Earnest Money: 6,000.00 (Rs.Six Thousand Only), Tender Cost:500.00+ VAT Extra, date of Openingpart-I: 08.03.2017, Part-II: 18.03.2017,Period: One Year. 2. Tender No:18/BMD-I/BTPS/2016-17, Office:Executive Engineer, BMD-I, BTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: Running&breakdown maintenance of p.c. pipingof boiler unit no. 4&5 of 2x500MW,BTPS, Anpara. Earnest Money:5,000.00 (Rs. Five Thousand Only),Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra, dateof Opening part-I: 08.03.2017, Part-II:18.03.2017, Period: One Year. 3.Short Term Tender No:23/AHMD/BTPS/2016-17, Office:Executive Engineer, AHMD, BTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: Digging/cut-ting & removal of ash/soil from the sur-rounding area of the ash disposal pipeno. 21 to 30 of 2x500MW, BTPS,Anpara. Earnest Money: 6,000.00 (Rs.Six Thousand Only), Tender Cost:500.00+ VAT Extra, date of Openingpart-I: 15.02.2017, Part-II: 17.02.2017,Period: 15 Days. 4. Tender No:12/C&IMD-I/ATPS/2016-17, Office:Executive Engineer, C&IMD-I, ATPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: Annualcontract for round the clock operation &maintenance of permanent station light-ing system of 3x210MW, ATPS Anpara,Sonebhadra including trimming of treebranches and cutting/cleaning of busharound the lighting installations. EarnestMoney: 20,000.00 (Rs. TwentyThousand Only), Tender Cost: 500.00+VAT Extra, date of Opening part-I:17.03.2017, Part-II: 20.03.2017, Period:One Year. 5. Tender No:02/OG&ChD/BTPS/2017-18, Office:Executive Engineer, OG&ChD, BTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: Routinerepairing & maintenance of furniture &canning & desert cooler repairing/main-tenance, painting of coolers& othermiscellanceous works of 2x500MW,BTPS, Anpara in general shift. EarnestMoney: 5,000.00 (Rs. Five ThousandOnly), Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra,date of Opening part-I: 09.03.2017,Part-II: 16.03.2017, Period: One Year.6. Tender No: 01/OG&ChD/BTPS/2017-18, Office: Executive Engineer,OG&ChD, BTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Work: Work of assistance in operationsuch as opening & closing of variousvalves etc of unit # 4&5 in round the clockshifts ans for day to day general upkeepwork for committee room & CE office of2x500MW, BTPS, Anpara in generalshift. Earnest Money: 10,000.00 (Rs.Ten Thousand Only), Tender Cost:500.00+ VAT Extra, date of Openingpart-I: 09.03.2017, Part-II: 16.03.2017,Period: One Year. 7. Tender No:02/BMD-II/ATPS/2017-18, Office:Executive Engineer, BMD-II, ATPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: Providingone truck driver (Heavy vehicle) in BMD-II, ATPS, Anpara. Earnest Money:2,500.00 (Rs. Two Thousand FiveHundred Only), Tender Cost: 500.00+VAT Extra, date of Opening part-I:16.03.2017, Part-II: 18.03.2017, Period:One Year. 8. Corrigendum Tender No:20/AHMD/BTPS/2016-17, Office:Executive Engineer, AHMD, BTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: Preventive& breakdown maintenance of ash slur-ry pumps, GSW pumps, sump pumps &other associated equipment of unit No.4&5 of 2x500MW, BTPS, Anpara."Instead of Preventive & breakdownmaintenance of Ash Slurry pumps, Ash
water Pumps, GSW Pumps, sumppumps & other associated equipmentsof unit No. 4&5 of 2x500MW, BTPS,Anpara." consequence upon theussuance of this corrigendum the dateof opening of this tender is extended andits rescheduled to be opened its bid part-I & Part-II on dt. 02.03.2017 &06.03.2017 respectively. All other con-tents of the tender Specifications willremain will remain unaltered.9. TenderNo: 05/MMD-II/ATPS/2017-18, Office:Executive Engineer, MMD-II, ATPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: Repairingand rebuild up pump pulley and pumpshaft of ash slurry disposal pump modelNo. AR-300/750 a make M/s SAM of3x210MW, ATPS, Anpara. EarnestMoney: 8,000.00 (Rs. Eight ThousandOnly), Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra,date of Opening part-I: 07.03.2017,Part-II: 10.03.2017, Period: One Year.10. Tender No: 02/TMD/BTPS/2017-18,Office: Executive Engineer, TMD, BTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: In situ'repairing of recirculation control valvesof T0BFP, M-BFP & HP Bypass sparyline control vlaves of 2x500 MW,BTPS, Anpara. Earnest Money:7,800.00 (Rs. Seven Thousand EightHundred Only), Tender Cost: 500.00+VAT Extra, date of Opening part-I:15.12.2016, Part-II: 20.12.2016,Extended date of opening Part-I:11.01.2017, Part-II: 17.01.2017, Re-Extended date of opening Part-I:10.02.2017, Part-II: 16.02.2017, Period:One Year. 11. Tender No: 11/BMD-II/BTPS/2017-18, Office: ExecutiveEngineer, BMD-II, BTPS, Anpara,Sonebhadra. Work: Work of removal ofold eroded worn out bypass air pipe andfabrication, erection and installation ofnew bypass air pipe form mixing box tothe expansion bellow of bypass air ductand also work of the removal of old erod-ed expansion bellow form bypass air pipeend joint to the bypass air duct end jointand installation of new expansion bellowform bypass air pipe end joint to thebypass air duct and joint of the ball mill,2x500 MW, ATP, Anpara. EarnestMoney: 14,000.00 (Rs. FourteenThousand Only), Tender Cost: 500.00+VAT Extra, date part-I: 17.03.2017, datePart-II: 21.03.2017, Period: One Year.12. Tender No: 02/MMD-I/ATPS/2017-18, Office: Executive Engineer, BMD-I,ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work:General preventive maintenance andequipment cleaning of auxiliary pumps,clarified pumps, (PT-I&PT-2), Hot clari-fied pumps etc. and associated equip-ments. Earnest Money: 12,000.00 (Rs.Twelve Thousand Only), Tender Cost:500.00+ VAT Extra, date part-I:10.03.2017, date Part-II: 16.03.2017,Period: One Year. 13. Tender No:23/EMD-III/ATPS/2017-18, Office:Executive Engineer, EMD-III, ATPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: Dismantlingof poles including all the accessories anderection & commission of new H.T. line(Feeder no. seven) from plant gate no.1 to double electric pole of subji mandi,Anpara. (900 mt. approx) EarnestMoney: 12,500.00 (Rs. TwelveThousand Five Hundred Only), TenderCost: 500.00+ VAT Extra, date ofopening part-I: 09.03.2017, Part-II:13.03.2017, Period: 30 Days. 14.Tender No: 829/EPD-II/BTPS/2017-18,Office: Executive Engineer, EPD-II,BTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Supply:Neoprene rubber gasket for ash slurrypipe lines of 2x500MW, BTPS, EarnestMoney: 4,500.00 (Rs. Four ThousandFive Hundred Only), Tender Cost:1000.00+ VAT Extra, Opening date ofpart-I: 06.03.2017, Part-II: 08.03.2017.15. Tender No: 830/EPD-II/BTPS/2017-18, Office: Executive Engineer, EPD-II,BTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Supply:Axial shaft for paddle feeder of coal han-dling plant of 2x500MW, BTPS, EarnestMoney: 5,000.00 (Rs. Five ThousandOnly), Tender Cost: 1000.00+ VATExtra, Opening date of part-I:06.03.2017, Part-II: 08.03.2017. 16.Tender No: 826/EPD-II/BTPS/2017-18,Office: Executive Engineer, EPD-II,BTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Supply:Digital temaprature indicator for C&IMD-I of 2x500MW, BTPS, Earnest Money:2,500.00 (Rs. Two Thousand FiveHundred Only), Tender Cost: 500.00+VAT Extra, Opening date of part-I:09.01.2017, date part-II: 11.01.2017,Extended date of opening Part-I:20.02.2017, Part- II: 22.02.2017,17.Tender No: 24/AHMD/BTPS/2017-18,Office: Executive Engineer, AHMD,BTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work:Fabrication & Erection of large/small sizeflushing apparatus including their dis-charge bends of ESP/APH/FG duct hop-pers of unit No. 4&5, 2x500MW, BTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Earnest Money:17,300.00 (Rs. Seventeen ThousandThree Hundred Only), Tender Cost:500.00+ VAT Extra, Opening datepart-I: 03.03.2017, part-II: 06.03.2017,Period: One year. 18.Tender No:109/EPD-II/ATPS/2017-18, Office:
Executive Engineer, EPD-II, ATPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Procurement:Supply of flat impact idlers (sealed type)for belt feeder. Earnest Money: 9,000.00(Rs. Nine Thousand Only), TenderCost: 500.00+ VAT Extra, Opening datepart-I: 03.03.2017, part-II: 06.03.2017.19.Tender No: 110/EPD-II/ATPS/2017-18, Office: Executive Engineer, EPD-II, ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Procurement: Supply of copper flexiblecable with multi strands suitable up to 11KV of different sizes. Earnest Money:3,000.00 (Rs. Three Thousand Only),Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra,Opening date of part-I: 03.03.2017,Opening date of part-II: 06.03.2017. 20.Tender No: 108/EPD-II/ATPS/2017-18,Office: Executive Engineer, EPD-II,ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Procurement: Supply of non medicinalitems for use in Anpara Thermal projecthospital. Earnest Money: 3,000.00 (Rs.Three Thousand Only), Tender Cost:500.00+ VAT Extra, Opening datepart-I: 02.03.2017, Opening date ofpart-II: 04.03.2017. 21. Tender No:107/EPD-II/ATPS/2017-18, Office:Executive Engineer, EPD-II, ATPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Procurement:Supply of Miscellaneous items. EarnestMoney: 2,000.00 (Rs. Two ThousandOnly), Tender Cost: 250.00+ VAT Extra,Opening date part-I: 02.03.2017,Opening date part-II: 04.03.2017. 22.Tender No: 10/ECMD-I/ATPS/2017-18,Office: Executive Engineer, ECMD-I,ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work:Annual maintenance contract for M&Rof alumunium door, window and rollingshutters in various building situated at3x210MW, ATPS, Anpara under ECMD-I and various building of 2x500 MW,BTPS including administrative & simu-lator building under ECMD-2x500MW,ATPS, Anpara. Earnest Money:9,000.00 (Rs. Nine Thousand Only),Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra,Opening date part-I: 16.03.2017, part-II: 24.03.2017. Period: 12 Months. 23.Tender No: 11/ECMD-I/ATPS/2017-18,Office: Executive Engineer, ECMD-I,ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: Spl.M&R of RCC pedestal in fire pumphouse at ATPS, Anpara. EarnestMoney: 7,000.00 (Rs. Seven ThousandOnly), Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra,Opening date part-I: 16.03.2017, part-II: 24.03.2017. Period: 03 Months. 24.Tender No: 12/ECMD-I/ATPS/2017-18,Office: Executive Engineer, ECMD-I,ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work:Renovation of toilets& maintenance ofroof of office shed NO. 1, 3&4 atATPS, Anpara. Earnest Money:19,000.00 (Rs. Nineteen ThousandOnly), Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra,Opening date part-I: 16.03.2017, part-II: 24.03.2017. Period: 06 Months. 25.Tender No: 13/ECMD-I/ATPS/2017-18,Office: Executive Engineer, ECMD-I,ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work:Maintenance and repair of stone truffingof transformer yard and concrete workof unit no. 01, 02 and 03, 3&210MW,ATPS, Anpara. Earnest Money:20,000.00 (Rs. Twenty Thousand Only),Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra,Opening date part-I: 16.03.2017, part-II: 24.03.2017. Period: 06 Months. 26.Tender No: 14/ECMD-I/ATPS/2017-18,Office: Executive Engineer, ECMD-I,ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: P/FRCC cover for cable trenches at variouslocations of ATPS, Anpara. EarnestMoney: 18,000.00 (Rs. EighteenThousand Only), Tender Cost: 500.00+VAT Extra, Opening date part-I:16.03.2017, Opening date part-II:24.03.2017. Period: 03 Months. 27.Tender No: 01/OG&ChD/ATPS/2017-18,Office: Executive Engineer, OG&ChD,ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work:Work for making daily generation, coaloil, reports and computer typing, datafeeding, record keeping and preparationof daily morning meeting report, unload-ing & downloading of reports on websiteand also other works assigned form timeto time by higher authorities of ATPS,along with other reports etc." EarnestMoney: 2,500.00 (Rs. Two ThousandFive hundred Only), Tender Cost:500.00+ VAT Extra, Opening datepart-I: 20.03.2017, part-II: 23.03.2017.Period: One year. 28. Tender No:12/ECMD-IV/ATPS/2017-18, Office:Executive Engineer, ECMD-IV, ATPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: SpecialM&R of white washing & painting workin project hospital, Anpara. EarnestMoney: 11,000.00 (Rs. ElevenThousand), Tender Cost: 500.00+ VATExtra, Opening date of part-I:09.03.2017, part-II: 15.03.2017. Period:04 Months. 29. Tender No: 03/EMD-I/BTPS/2016-17, Office: ExecutiveEngineer, EMD-I, BTPS, Anpara,Sonebhadra. Work: Part-A: Work ofroutine maintenance of lighting, welding,generator protection, excitation system& electrical lab of 2x500 MW, BTPS,Anpara. Earnest Money: 19,500.00(Rs. Nineteen Thousand Five Hundred
Only), Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra,Opening date of part-I: 09.03.2017,Opening date of part-II: 15.03.2017.Period: One Year. 30. Tender No:355/EPD-I/BTPS/2016-17, Office:Executive Engineer, EPD-I, BTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Supply: Supply ofGI sheets & translucent sheets. EarnestMoney: 5,000.00 (Rs. Five ThousandOnly), Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra,Extended Opening date of part-I:14.02.2017, part-II: 16.02.2017. 31.Tender No: 111/EPD-II/ATPS/2016-17,Office: Executive Engineer, EPD-II,BTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Procurement: Supply of medicines forAnpara thermal project hospital. EarnestMoney: 2,000.00 (Rs. Two ThousandOnly), Tender Cost: 250.00+ VAT Extra,Opening date of part-I: 02.03.2017,part-II: 04.03.2017. 32. Tender No:162/EPD-III/BTPS/2016-17, Office:Executive Engineer, EPD-III, BTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work: Computerrelated works in the office of DY.CAO,CFA&BO, BTPS, Anpara. EarnestMoney: 2,000.00 (Rs. Two ThousandOnly), Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra,Opening date of part-I: 04.03.2017,part-II: 06.03.2017. 33. Tender No:163/EPD-III/BTPS/2016-17, Office:Executive Engineer, EPD-III, BTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Supply: Supply ofvulcanized rubber [endless] belt forstock volumetric raw coal feeders for2x500 MW, BTPS, Anpara. EarnestMoney: 9,000.00 (Rs. Nine ThousandOnly), Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra,Opening date of part-I: 04.03.2017,part-II: 06.03.2017. 34. Tender No:374/EPD-I/BTPS/2016-17, Office:Executive Engineer, EPD-I, BTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Supply: Supply ofLiquor ammonia. Earnest Money:2,000.00 (Rs. Two Thousand Only),Tender Cost: 300.00+ VAT Extra,Opening date of part-I: 20.01.2017,part-II: 22.01.2017, Extended Openingdate of part-I: 20.02.2017, part-II:22.02.2017. 35. Tender No: 164/EPD-III/BTPS/2016-17, Office: ExecutiveEngineer, EPD-III, BTPS, Anpara,Sonebhadra. Supply: Supply of cou-plings for HP-I and girth grease pumpsof ball mill-BBD-4772 of 2x500 MW,BTPS, Anpara. Earnest Money:1,000.00 (Rs. One Thousand Only),Tender Cost: 500.00+ VAT Extra,Opening date of part-I: 04.03.2017,part-II: 07.03.2017. 36. Tender No:29/EPD-I/DTPS/2016-17, Office:Executive Engineer, EPD-I, DTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Procurement:Supply of lewatit@anion exchanger M-500KR and cation exchanger S-108KR.Earnest Money: 6,000.00 (Rs. SixThousand Only), Tender Cost: 500.00+VAT Extra, Opening date of part-I:16.01.2017, part-II: 19.01.2017.Extended date of part-I: 16.02.2017,part-II: 20.02.2017. 37. Tender No:32/EPD-I/DTPS/2016-17, Office:Executive Engineer, EPD-I, DTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Supply: Supply ofDewatering Pump. Earnest Money:1,200.00 (Rs. One Thousand TwoHundred Only), Tender Cost: 200.00+VAT Extra, Opening date part-I:17.01.2017, part-II: 20.01.2017.Extended date of part-I: 16.02.2017,part-II: 20.02.2017. 38. Tender No:33/EPD-I/DTPS/2016-17, Office:Executive Engineer, EPD-I, DTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Supply: Supply ofair conditioner spares and refrigerantgas. Earnest Money: 2,000.00 (Rs. TwoThousand Only), Tender Cost: 200.00+VAT Extra, Opening date of part-I:18.01.2017, part-II: 21.01.2017.Extended date of part-I: 20.02.2017,part-II: 23.02.2017. Tender Notice &specification are available in Nigam'swebsite www. uprvunl . org; biddermay download tender document andsubmit the same enclosing tender costother supporting document. However, insuch case tender cost must be enclosedwith tender part-I remitting the requisitecost +14% VAT in the form of demanddraft in favour of Dy. GM (F) "B"TPS/DTPS (Construction) of Dy. CAO),CFA & BO 'A'TPS Anpara payable at SBIAnpara or in case in Concerned A/C.Section. Tender document Part-I & II oftender shall be received latest upto 13-00 hrs. On the date of opening of part-I, In case Part-I is found to be securedwith all the desired documents, Part-IIof only qulified bidder shall be openedon the schedule date, in case the duedate of opening happens to be a holi-day the part-I, II of the tender shall beopened on the next working day.Tenderer are advised to send their offerdirectly to the concerned ExecutiveEngineer of the division, who reservesthe right to reject any or all the tenderswithout assigning any reason thereof.Executive Engineer (W) for ChiefEngineer Anpara Thermal ProjectAnpara, Sonebhadra (U.P) No. 270Date 23.01.2017 "SAVE ELECTRICI-TY ENHANCE NATIONAL PRODUC-TIVITY"
nation 07LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017
PTI n NEW DELHI
Atotal of 777 police andparamilitary personnel
have been awarded policemedals while 100 have beendecorated for gallantry, led byJammu & Kashmir police, onthe occasion of Republic Day.
The gallantry tally is led byJammu and Kashmir Police with32 Police Medals for Gallantry(PMG) followed by the country'slargest paramilitary CRPF with16 medals, Andhra Pradesh 12,the Border Security Force fivemedals, Chhattisgarh seven andone to Sashastra Seema Bal.
Out of the 100 braverymedals, ten have been deco-rated posthumously, withManipur Police Inspector PSanjoy Singh getting it for arecord eighth time.
Interestingly, there havebeen no Presidents PoliceMedals for Gallantry (PPMG)awarded this year.
While the Jammu andKashmir police got a majority ofthese decorations for counter-insurgency operations in thestate, the Central Reserve PoliceForce got them for undertakingdare-devil exploits in anti-Naxaloperations in Left WingExtremism affected States.
As per an official state-ment, personnel of Manipurand Assam police have beendecorated with four gallantrymedals each, Jharkhand nineand Uttar Pradesh got seven.
“777 personnel have beenawarded police medals on theoccasion of the Republic Daythis year. Police Medals forGallantry (PMG) have beenawarded to 100 personnel,President's Police Medals forDistinguished Service to 80personnel and Police Medal forMeritorious Service to 597 per-sonnel,” the statement said.
Republic Day:777 cops getpolice medals,100 bestowedwith gallantry
From Page 1Former Chief Ministers of Haryanaand Rajasthan Bhupinder SinghHooda and Ashok Gehlot; UPleaders Pramod Tiwari, PradeepMathur, Nirmal Khatri and PLPunia; in-charge ofcommunications departmentRandeep Surjewala; besidesManish Tiwari, who was denied aparty ticket in Punjab; and actorNagma, who unsuccessfullycontested the 2014 Lok Sabhapolls, are among the starcampaigners. ParliamentarySecretary to former CM SheilaDikshit and a three time MLANaseeb Singh will also be thecampaigner for brining Gujjar votesin the Congress' account. Meanwhile, the SP list of 'starcampaigner' includes Mulayam,Akhilesh and Dimple. The threeother Lok Sabha MPs, all from thefirst family of the SP -- AkshayYadav, MP from Ferozabad and sonof Ram Gopal Yadav, DharmendraYadav and Tej Pratap Singh Yadav -- are also in the list of the starcampaigners of the party. ShivpalYadav, the estranged uncle of theparty national president AkhileshYadav is conspicuous by hisabsence in the list. Rajya Sabhamember Beni Prasad Verma is also
missing in the list. His son RakeshVerma, after being denied ticketfrom Ramnagar Assembly seat inBarabanki has turned rebel and islikely to join the BJP.The list, containing the names oftotal 40 party leaders, was releaseby SP general secretary Ram GopalYadav on Tuesday. The list hasbeen submitted to the ElectionCommission. The expenses on theelection meetings conducted by thestar campaigners of a politicalparty are not included in theelection expenditure of thecandidate. The other namesincluded in the list are national vicepresident Kironmoy Nanda, AzamKhan, Ram Gopal Yadav, NareshAgarwal, Jaya Bacchan, State SPpresident Naresh Uttam, formerMP Ramji Lal Suman. Youthleaders close to Akhilesh -- JavedAbdi, Sanjay Lather, MohammedAbad and Abu Asim Azmi, the statepresident of the Maharashtra unitof the party -- have also beenincluded in the list. The list of starcampaigners also includes nineMLCs -Udaivir Singh, Ram sakalGujjar, Jaswant Singh Yadav,Rakesh Yadav, Sarojini Agarwal,Sahab Singh Saini, Virendra SinghGujjar, Asim Yadav and RamvrikshYadav.
From Page 1cash for carrying out Rabioperations," said a Governmentstatement. "A sum of `15,000crore allocated during 2016-17 toimplement the Interest SubventionScheme (ISS) has already beenutilised," said the statement.Officials say that the farmers whohave paid interest on short-termloans during the demonetisationperiod of November and December2016 will get the refund in theirbank accounts through DirectBenefit Transfer. The Governmentprovides short-term crop loans upto `3 lakh at subvented interestrate of 7 per cent per annum. Anadditional incentive of 3 per cent isprovided to farmers for promptrepayment of loans within duedate. For 2016-17, the Governmenthad set a target to disburse farmcredit of `9 lakh crore, of which`7.56 lakh crore had beendisbursed to farmers till September2016, official data revealed.
From Page 1killers at the residence of
Mukhtar Ansari, a lawmakerfrom Mohamadabad. Alka Raihad filed a case againstMukhtaar Ansari.
"Mukhtar Ansari and hisfamily are known criminals ofeastern UP. Mukhtar Ansari isalso involved in my husband's(Krishnanand Rai) murderand his seven close associates,"Alka Rai said.
Her candidature has madethe fight interesting in easternUP where the Samajwadi Partyhas forced Mukhtar's QuaimiEkta Dal to merge with the SP.
The BJP has also nomi-nated its former State partypresident Surya Pratap Shahifrom Pathardeva. Most of thecandidates whose names wereannounced on Tuesday arefrom the seats which will go topolls in sixth and seventhphase. The list contains 14 for-mer legislators or MPs andaround half a dozen office-bearers, including vice-presi-dent of the party Ram NareshRawat, general secretary Vinodrai, and Vidysagar Sonkar.
In Prime MinisterNarendra Modi's constituencyof Varanasi, the BJP hasdropped seven-time MLAShyamdeo Rai Chaudhry fromVaranasi (South) and gaveticket to Neelkanth Tiwari.Party also replaced JyotsanaSrivastava from Varanasi Canttwith Saurabh Srivastava butretained Ravindra Jaiswal fromVaranasi North. The BJP alsocold-shouldered Beni PrasadVerma's request to accommo-date his son Rakesh Veram inthe list as it nominatedBarabanki district unit presi-dent Sharad Awasthi fromRamnagar where the SP hasfielded Cabinet MinisterArvind Singh Gope.
From Page 1HRD Ministry and the PMO. Later, Irani roped in entrepreneurKiran Mazumdar Shah to bring onboard all the agitated IIMDirectors following which asignificant portion of the Bill wasredrafted with controversialclauses that threatened IIMs'autonomy being dropped.Javadekar is believed to havecompletely agreed to the PMOline and further redrafted the Billgiving IIMs "complete autonomy",for which Irani wasn't tooinclined.
The HRD Ministry's officialstatement after the Cabinetapproval maintained that IIMswould now be able to grantdegrees to their students. The Billprovides for complete autonomyto the institutions, combined withadequate accountability and alsoproposes a structure where themanagement of these Institutionswould be Board-driven, with theChairperson and Director of anInstitution selected by the Board.A greater participation of expertsand alumni besides inclusion ofwomen and members fromScheduled Castes and Tribes inthe Board too is laid down.
The Bill provides for periodicreview of the performance ofInstitutions by independentagencies and placing the resultsin public domain. The annualreport of the Institutions will beplaced in the Parliament and CAGwill be auditing their accounts, thestatement said. The Bill proposesa Coordination Forum of IIMs asan advisory body.Initially, the HRD Ministry hadconsidered including a clause asper which the President would bethe Visitor to these institutions,but it was dropped and was not apart of the draft which waspresented before the Cabinet.
From page 1Farid, who was a uncle of
one of the journalists travellingwith him. He had apparentlycome to meet his niece when thetragic incident happened.
Khan told reporters atDelhi’s Hazrat NizamuddinRailway Station, “One of our col-leagues was travelling. Her unclecame down to see her atVadodara. He suffered from acardiac arrest. It was reallyunfortunate. We started thejourney thinking we all willtravel, spend time with eachother. When one of your ownloses someone one on a trip likethis, it saddens us all. On behalfof everyone, our prayers andblessings are with the wholefamily. She has reached there. I
just spoke to her...We have someof our people with the familymembers there.”
A RPF official said that thecrowd had begun gathering at theplatform to get a glimpse of thestar from 9.00 pm on Monday,adding, “The authorities evenclosed the ticket window ataround 9.30 pm as a preventivemeasure. The Railway authoritiesalso diverted the train to a dif-ferent platform than usual forbetter crowd management.”
The official said that theirmain focus was to keep thecrowd away from the train asthey feared that narrow spacebetween the train and platformcould prove fatal if the crowdwas not kept away from thetrain.
From Page 1country's 'Kaabil' is better
than the 'Raees' of the othercountry, apparently referring toGandhi's foreign roots.
Later, he posted a graphicon Twitter, saying "The 'Raees'who is not of his country, he isof no use. One should standwith a 'Kaabil' (worthy) patri-ot. It is now the turn of 'Kaabil'people of the country whoserights cannot be taken away byany dishonest 'Raees'(wealthy)".
In another tweet, whichwas accompanied by a photo-graph of Modi and RahulGandhi, with his torn 'kurta', hesaid, "If someone is 'Kaabil', atea seller can also become aPrime Minister, otherwise a'Raees', who has been born witha silver spoon in his mouth,also wears a torn kurta."
Priyanka in, Shivpal out
Cabinet clears...
Chaos chokes...
Rly orders probe;BJP leadercompares SRK...
Centre rains reliefon elderly...
BJP’s 3rd list of
67 balances
between...
STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI
Senior member of JawaharlalNehru University (JNU)
administration, who was lead-ing the enquiry into the miss-ing student Najeeb Ahmad’scase besides other disciplinaryissues on campus, has resignedfrom the post allegedly oversome differences with theadministration. While chiefproctor AP Dimri confirmedhis resignation, he refused toshare any details about thereasons behind it.
This is the second time thata chief proctor has resignedsince the new vice-chancellortook over last January. Dimrihad taken over as chief proctor,when his predecessor hadresigned citing personal rea-sons following the controversyon campus in February lastyear over an event duringwhich anti-national sloganswere allegedly raised.
The JNU officials too con-firmed his resignation butrefused to comment further,saying his letter doesn’t men-tion any reason. According tosources, Dimri had differenceswith the administration overhandling of a few disciplinaryissues on campus, including therecent altercation between twogroups following which Najeebwent missing. “He was leading
an enquiry into the case. Thenthe disruption of the AcademicCouncil meeting happened
where nine students were sus-pended. The administrationalso banned any sort of protestsor demonstration near itsbuilding. Dimri had certain dif-ferences with the authoritiesover handling of these issues,”a source close to Dimri said.
The Proctor’s office isresponsible for handling allthe disciplinary issues on cam-pus, including ordering ofinquiry, probing the issues andrecommending punishment
for the students. Meanwhile, the JNU vice-
chancellor, M Jagadesh Kumarmet the proctor who tenderedhis resignation, on Tuesdayand following it appointed theanother member of the JNUadministration.
The new chief proctor ofthe JNU administration, ProfVibha Tandon was appointedon Tuesday. She is a Professorin Special Care MolecularMedicine.
JNU chief proctor who
led Najeeb probe resigns
Sources say Dimriwas not happy with the universityadministration
MISSING STUDENT
JNU officialstoo confirmedhis resignationbut refused tocomment on
the issue
PNS n NEW DELHI
Three members of a family were injuredwhen a bus carrying them from a wed-
ding party was hit by a truck in SouthwestDelhi’s Cantonment area early on Tuesday,police said. Both the errant drivers fledfrom the spot after the accident and are yetto be arrested. Deputy Commissioner ofPolice Southwest district Surender Kumarsaid the bus had19 occupants all of whomwere returning to their homes in SouthDelhi after attending a wedding in WestDelhi’s Mayapuri on Monday.
The injured include two women anda man, all relatives of the groom who liveswith his family in Lajpat Nagar. The injuredhas been identified as Laxmi (45), Upasana(34) and Sajid (30). Both the women wereadmitted to AIIMS trauma centre and Sajidwas admitted to Gangaram Hospital.Police said all are out of danger.
The impact of the collision was suchthat both the vehicles overturned at thetraffic intersection. The driver abandonedhis vehicle after the accident and fled.
The accident created chaos in the areaand locals informed the police after whicha police team reached the spot and took
the injured to the hospitals.The police official further said they are
still ascertaining the exact sequence ofevents that resulted in the collision.“Though the truck driver appears to be atfault, it is not a case of jumping the traf-fic signal,” said Kumar, adding that fogcould also have caused the accident.
A case regarding has been registeredat the Delhi Cantt police stations under rel-evant sections of the Indian Penal Code.Further investigations are on.
3 members of wedding party
injured in truck-bus collision
THE IMPACT OF THECOLLISION WAS SUCH THAT
BOTH THE VEHICLESOVERTURNED AT THE
TRAFFIC INTERSECTION.THE DRIVER ABANDONEDHIS VEHICLE AFTER THE
ACCIDENT AND FLED
Manifesto: SAD promises farm debt waiver for small farmers
PTI n LUDHIANA
Ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD)on Tuesday released its election
manifesto promising farm debt waiverfor small farmers, 20 lakh jobs for youth,mega complexes for industry and suc-cour to the poor.
The ‘vision document’, which wasreleased by Punjab’s Deputy ChiefMinister and SAD president SukhbirSingh Badal here, has the catchline - ‘jokeha so kar vikhaya’ (fulfilled what waspromised).
“We have delivered what we havepromised earlier be it making thePunjab power surplus, introducingunique welfare schemes like aata-daaland Shagun, to providing 100 per centwater and sewerage facilities in 165towns across the state.
“Now we will do the same in all
12,000 villages besides making cement-ed streets and putting up solar lights.We are similarly committed to deliver-ing on the promises made today,” Badalsaid on the occasion.
A new initiative to give 5 kg sugarat the rate of `10 per kg and 2 kg gheefor `25 per kg would also be imple-mented, Badal said.
He said that free power and otherfacilities being given to farm sector willcontinue.
Wooing the farmers, Badalannounced the SAD-BJP alliance wascommitted to waiving off farm debts ofall small farmers.
He said the alliance governmentwould also give fertiliser input incen-tive of `100 per quintal on both wheatand paddy as an additional support tofarmers over and above the minimum
support price (MSP).“All small farmers will also be eli-
gible for a Rs two lakh interest free agri-culture crop loan. Besides, the govern-ment will provide tubewell to all farm-ers irrespective of the land holding, andfree and regular ten hour day timepower supply for farm operations,” hesaid.
Badal said farm labourers will alsobe compensated in case of damage tocrops due to natural calamities.
He said besides, a one stop shopwhich will dispense ‘aata daal’. Sewakendra will be opened in the villages.All link roads will be made 18 feet wide.
The SAD president said the Akali-BJP alliance was also committed toimparting skill to 10 lakh youth in25,000 skill centres with one skill cen-tre catering to five villages. Those
doing the skill courses will be eligiblefor `10 lakh interest free loan.
The alliance government will alsofacilitate 50,000 youth to acquire taxiswithout down payment and soft loans.
“We will give government employ-ment and also create jobs in tourism andindustrial sectors to fulfill the 20 lakhjob promise,” he said.
Assembly Polls in Punjab will beheld on February 4.
Sukhbir Badal also promised freegas connections to all blue card hold-ers. He also announced that the gov-ernment would take steps to regulariseall unauthorised colonies at a nominalprice. The SAD chief said medical treat-ment to blue card holders, small farm-ers, petty traders and constructionworkers would be raised to Rs one lakhper annum.
Aircel-Maxis case: Court to pass order on charge on Feb 2PTI n NEW DELHI
Aspecial court on Tuesdaysaid it will pronounce on
February 2 its order on framingof charges against formerTelecom Minister DayanidhiMaran, his brother KalanithiMaran and others in the Aircel-Maxis deal cases lodged byCBI and the EnforcementDirectorate (ED).
Special Judge OP Saini,who was scheduled to pass theorder today on framing ofcharges as well as on bail appli-cations of the Maran brothersand other accused persons,deferred it to the next date, say-ing the order was not ready.
All the accused have deniedthe allegations against themmade by the investigating agen-cies and have moved bail pleas.
During arguments on
framing of charges, SpecialPublic Prosecutor AnandGrover had claimed thatDayanidhi had “pressurised”Chennai-based telecom pro-moter C Sivasankaran to sell hisstakes in Aircel and two sub-sidiary firms to Malaysian firmMaxis Group in 2006.
The charge was stronglyrefuted by Dayanidhi.
CBI had filed a chargesheet against the Maran broth-ers, Ralph Marshall, T AnandaKrishnan, M/s Sun Direct TV(P) Ltd, M/s Astro All AsiaNetworks Plc, UK, M/s MaxisCommunications Berhad,Malaysia, M/s South AsiaEntertainment Holdings Ltd,Malaysia and then AdditionalSecretary (Telecom) late JSSarma. They were chargesheet-ed for alleged offences punish-able under section 120-B (crim-
inal conspiracy) of the IPCand under relevant provisionsof the Prevention of CorruptionAct.
In the money launderingcase, ED has chargesheeted theMaran brothers, Kalanithi’s wifeKavery, Managing Director ofSouth Asia FM Ltd (SAFL) KShanmugam, SAFL and SunDirect TV Pvt Ltd (SDTPL)under provisions of thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA).
The court had summonedthe six accused after taking cog-nisance of the ED’s chargesheet, saying there was “enoughincriminating material” to pro-ceed against them.
While arguing on the issueof framing of charges againsthim, Dayanidhi had claimedthat during the time period inwhich the alleged crime was
committed, as claimed by CBI,Sivasankaran was in talks withseveral companies to sell hisstakes in Aircel.
It was only in October2005, that the business trans-action between Aircel andMaxis was finalised, his coun-sel had said. His brotherKalanithi had also argued thatCBI’s claim was false and thecomplainant was himself eagerfor the business and that he wasbeing falsely implicated in thecase. The court had onSeptember 24, 2016, issuedopen warrants of arrest againstKrishnan and Marshall on CBI’splea stating that summonsissued to them could not beserved. It had also ordered thatthe trial against Maran broth-ers and two accused companiesbe segregated from that ofthose based in Malaysia —
Krishnan, Marshall, and twofirms, Astro All Asia NetworkPLC and MaxisCommunication Berhad, sayingtheir appearance may take along time which may lead to adelay in the proceedings.
During the arguments ear-lier, ED’s special prosecutor NK Matta had claimed that therewere money transactions whichallegedly showed that SDTPLand SAFL had received Rs742.58 crore as “proceeds ofcrime” from Mauritius-basedfirms in the Aircel-Maxisdeal.
The agency had claimedthat “proceeds of crime”amounting to Rs 549.03 croreand Rs 193.55 crore werereceived by SDTPL and SAFL,allegedly controlled by co-accused Kalanithi, through var-ious Mauritius-based entities.
Bangladesh PM Hasina’svisit likely to be delayed
After UDF,LDF Govtreluctant todivulgeCabinet info
PTI n NEW DELHI
The much-anticipated visitof Bangladesh Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina toIndia is likely to be delayedfurther, top Bangladeshi offi-cials indicated here.
“Both the prime ministers(Narendra Modi and Hasina)have been busy and she herselfhad been very busy with meet-ings and (WEF at) Davos. So,we have not finalised any dateas of now,” a source said.
Asked if the visit would behappening sometime inFebruary as expected, he said,“We are still not sure about it.Maybe, we will having a meet-ing next week and work out onthe dates.” During Minister of
State for External Affairs M JAkbar’s visit to Dhaka lastmonth, Hasina’s press secre-tary Ihsanul Karim had saidshe (Hasina) has plans to visitIndia and officials of the twocountries would work out theschedule. Hasina was earlierexpected to leave for NewDelhi on December 18 to dis-cuss a wide range of bilateralissues with her Indian coun-terpart Modi, but the plan gotpostponed. The postponementhad come amid speculation inthe media in Dhaka that it wasnot a suitable time to discussTeesta water sharing issuegiven the preoccupation ofthe government post-demon-etisation.
PNS n KOCHI
The Oommen ChandyGovernment has issued a
notification to sabotage the RTIAct because it fears that it will bekicked out if its true colour isknown to the people. This is per-fect proof of the hypocrisy of theChief Minister (OommenChandy) who keeps boastingabout his Government’s trans-parency… Bid to weaken theRTI Act in this manner is unac-ceptable.”
CPI(M) leader PinarayiVijayan has been quoted asspeaking these words in March,2016, just over two monthsbefore he became Kerala’s ChiefMinister, about the refusal of thethen Congress-led UDFGovernment to divulge infor-mation regarding the contro-versial decisions the StateCabinet had taken towards theend of its tenure.
The LDF Government hastaken a position that informa-tion on certain decisions cannotbe divulged till their imple-mentation and RTI activists saythat this is a violation of the pro-visions of the RTI Act.
The CPI(M)-led LDFGovernment headed by Pinarayiis now accused of citing the samereasons the former regime hadcited to justify its refusal to giveout information regarding deci-sions taken at Cabinet meetings.Kanam Rajendran, State secre-tary of the CPI, second biggestpartner of the LDF, had the otherday launched an attack againstthe CPI(M) and Pinarayi overthis.
The former ChandyGovernment had faced thecharge that most of the decisionsthe Cabinet had taken towardsthe end of its tenure were in vio-lation of the rules. However, theUDF regime was allegedly deter-mined not to divulge informa-tion on those decisions. TheCPI(M) and the LDF had madethis one of their main campaignpoints against the UDF in thelast Assembly election.
After the LDF came topower, the State’s then ChiefInformation CommissionerWinson M Paul ordered hand-ing over of information regard-ing the Cabinet decisions to anRTI activist but the PinarayiGovernment effectively rejectedthe directive. Instead, itapproached the court to earnlegal sanctity for its decision.
The new Government hadin its very first days constituteda Ministerial sub-committee toreview the controversial deci-sions taken by the former UDFCabinet.
In a dynasty obsessed polit-ical culture and climate,where great energy andstrategic capital is put touse so that dynasties and
families can be protected, per-petuated and installed, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s exam-ple sticks out. To a peopleresigned to a political environwhere, for the last seven decades,perpetuation of family membersis the norm and de rigueur,Modi’s detachment and non-involvement with his immediateand extended family is striking.
In a polity which has seensome of the most debilitatingnational phases of ravaging cor-ruption just because some fam-ily members needed to beresource stacked, or becausesome immediate family members needed to be accom-modated and provided for,Modi’s distance from his fami-ly and his reiteration of beingconcerned with the welfare of125 crore Indians — is inspiringand refreshing.
It challenges a degenerativedynasty driven narrative, espe-cially strengthened and oxy-genated in the last decade, whichsaw a series of scams and megacorruption scandals, driven anddirected by one single politicalfamily. What Uttar Pradesh iswitnessing today and what TamilNadu has seen for a while now— the feud within the DravidaMunnetra Kazhagam parivar —and a number of other minipolitical families each scram-bling for turf, pelf and power,each providing for the other orsparring with some other, are anexpression of this degenerativenarrative. In some parties, thedisease of dynastism hasadversely affected their workingand thinking, the Congresstoday is an apt example of such an affliction.
So acute is this dynasticdisease within the party that itsapex leadership refuses to see oris unable to grasp that the party’serstwhile intellectual capital,political finesses and dexterity israpidly eroding with the partybeing turned into a politicalrump under a self-styled leaderwhose only obsession is withtheatrics. So entrenched is thissense of “family” within theparty that the Congress dare notundertake a free assessment ofits existential dilemma.
The BJP, on the other hand,under party president AmitShah and Modi, and contrary tofalse stereotypes, is the only
party which remains free of thedynastic debilitation and growsby recognising grassroots talentand potential.
Three decades of communistrule in West Bengal, all in thename of the proletariat, was notfree of nepotism and familysagas, nor is Trinamool Congresschief Mamata Banerjee’s ruletoday free of the dynasty andfamily virus. Banerjee’sunabashed projection of hernephew, her patronage of herbrothers and immediate familymembers smacks of dynastism.For most of these family matri-archs and patriarchs, the concernfor the common and margin-alised citizen is a veneer, a clev-erly articulated foliage, whichcamouflages the primal andcompelling urges of heredity.
For these types — some ofwho have been theatrically vocalsince November 8, 2016 — theideas and concepts of nation,welfare, citizens’ wellbeing,inclusion and prosperity, are allclaptraps to be employed atconvenience for their own per-petuation and for that of theirbloodline. No earthy connect or
fellow feeling really binds themto the soil and to the people.
Amidst this motley and vol-uble conglomeration of politicalfamily enthusiasts, PrimeMinister Modi stands out bybeing starkly different andbecause he stands out on thiscount, intolerance or denigra-tion is seen spewed towardshim by those in whom familyworship is deeply ingrained.
In their approach to him,Modi’s family too is unique andhas broken the norm and goneagainst the habit. As a recentstory revealed and as has beenknown for years now to thosewho have worked closely withhim or have seen him, membersof Modi’s immediate andextended family have lived andcontinue to live in quiet digni-ty, leading simple lives, silentlyfacing challenges, pursuingdreams and fulfilling promises.
So stoic and staunch is thissense and training, that even hismother went up to a bank toexchange old notes without fuss,without entourage. Members ofhis family have never ever beenheard reminding people of who
they are, what their connectionsare and to whose clan and lega-cy they belong to. A habit thathad become commonplace andnear institutionalised in India’spolitical culture. It is such anapproach, such an esprit filialwhich reinforces the collectivefaith in the founding ideals ofour democratic polity.
When Modi talks aboutbeing solely concerned with thewelfare of 125 crore Indians,when he talks of his undividedattention for India’s well-beingand resurgence, when heexpresses this concern andattention through a gruellingmulti-tasking, he seems to bedoing it from a deeper connect.
In his early peripatetic years,he criss-crossed India, minglingwith the people, absorbing theirhopes, internalising their aspira-tions, identifying with theirdreams and expectations andoften reflecting on their future.And in each stop, in each inter-action he added a new dimen-sion to his learning and to hisdiscovery of India.
To listen to him speak ofthose years is a journey in itself.As one learns of those years, onedistinctly locates the origin of hisidentification with 125 croreIndians — it is a narrative andvision that was largely shapedduring those wanderings —when family ties receded and thenation began to dominate.
Tyaga — sacrifice in theIndian tradition — parampara— has always captured the col-lective imagination and instilledconfidence. In his approach tohis family, Modi has always dis-played that spirit of sacrifice.Allusions to Tyaga, may be seenas quaint and outmoded in thepolitical atmosphere of presentday India, derided by the major-ity of the elite and opinion mak-ers, but it is real when it comesto Narendra Modi.
The ancient Indian adagespoke of giving up one’s kula —family, lineage for the sake andfor the welfare of the village andof the collectivity; it spoke ofgiving up one’s small self for thewelfare of the larger self, whilemany in the political worldshrink from such an exhorta-tion, Modi embraces it by merg-ing with the larger self. It is thatwhich separates him from therest and it is that which endearshim to the teeming millions ofthis perennial land...
(The writer is director, Dr.Syama Prasad MookerjeeResearch Foundation, New Delhi)P
rime Minister Narendra Modi, personally monitoring the completion of theeastern and western peripheral expressways, will certainly help in expedit-ing these crucial road projects. In a move to meet the deadline for com-
pleting these sensitive construction activities, his intervention was long await-ed. Touching the three States of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, the under-going road projects will roll out a new era in ease of doing business and lessenthe mounting traffic congestion around the capital city. Apart from the CabinetSecretary, the three Chief Secretaries of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi willalso be actively involved in overseeing the project. This indeed will ensure smoothand speedy work, which was long delayed for almost a decade. Unlike the UPAGovernment era, when an average of only 5,000 kilometres or seven kilometresper day of road projects were awarded, the Modi Government promised to build30 kilometres of roads each day in 2015. This shows how aggressively the cur-rent NDA regime at the Centre wants to either revamp the existing road networksor build new highways for the country. Also, media reports say that during the
UPA regime, the Government miser-ably failed to attract large investmentsfrom foreign firms for completingmany ongoing as well as new projectsin the road sector. Moreover, the roadprojects were badly hamstrung by themassive economic slowdown since2012 and this was not adequately han-dled by the earlier Government.
The two expressways, which wereabout 135 kilometres long, wereoriginally conceived in 2006, follow-ing an apex court order to route outthe non-Delhi bound traffic. But then,under the traditional ‘build, operateand transfer' (BOT) model, the UPAGovernment failed to accomplish it.With the coming of Modi to power, theGovernment introduced the muchtried and tested model of construction,
called the ‘engineering, procurement and construction' (EPC) model. Unlike the previous BOT model, the new one offers the construction activi-
ties to the private developer, but funded by the Government agencies. Further,the Government also introduced a new hybrid ‘annuity model' in 2015, underwhich it shares the project costs with the private developer in an arrangementof 40: 60 ratio. The attempt to resuscitate the roadways under this Governmentis gradually showing results and it is targeting to lay down 40 kilometres of roadsevery day for 2016-17. With the completion of the eastern peripheral express-ways and the western peripheral expressways, the three States will receive a majorfacelift. An overall uptick in the road construction activities is a positive sign forthis sector under the Modi Government. However, this particular project will alsopossibly add to reducing the burden of pollution in the capital city to a greatextent. Also, the EPC model of construction is paying dividends across the coun-try and deserves to be promoted.
One of the key foreign policy successes of the Modi Government has beenits outreach to the Gulf nations. Over the years, New Delhi has had formalcordiality with the countries in the region, but the warmth that is a hall-
mark of friendship, had been missing. This despite the fact that the oil-rich Gulfhas been key to India's economic progress. Besides, more than seven millionIndians live and work there, with a vast majority of them based in Saudi Arabia,the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait. In this context, Abu Dhabi CrownPrince Shaikh Mohammed Bin Zayed al Nahyan's ongoing visit to India as chiefguest for this year's Republic Day function, has more than a symbolic impor-tance. As many as 13 or even more bilateral agreements are expected to be inkedin the course of the foreign dignitary's trip. As the UAE envoy to India AhmedAl Banna has said, trade relations between the two nations have jumped expo-nentially in the last two and half years. From just $128 million over three decadesago, it shot up to $50 billion for 2015-16. India is the UAE's leading trading part-ner, while the Gulf state ranks a good third as India's trading partner, after theUS and China. Just a year ago, India and the UAE signed the Double TaxationAvoidance and Protection of Investment treaty. But, while economic coopera-
tion is growing, what is even more sig-nificant is the coordination betweenthe two states in tackling terrorism.Over the decades, the UAE has tradi-tionally been close to Pakistan — onereason for this has been the lack ofeffort on the part of successiveGovernments in New Delhi to devel-op bonds with the Gulf. So, whilePakistan-based militants have beencausing terrorism in India since long,there had been no strong words ofcondemnation from the UAE. However,with the new-found warmth, the UAEhas been quick to not just condemnthe terror attacks in India but also backIndia's response (it supported India'ssurgical strike inside Pakistan-occu-pied Kashmir following the terrorattack by Pakistan-based militants at
an Indian Army camp in Uri in Jammu & Kashmir) late last year. Both India and the UAE are working closely to explore larger areas of coop-
eration in military and counter-terrorism sectors. This includes joint exercises,training of personnel and exchange of information on terrorism and related areassuch as radicalisation etc. Both the UAE and India also have shared concernsover Pakistan's role in fomenting trouble in Afghanistan. While terrorist groupsoperating from Pakistan have been routinely targeting Indian assets inAfghanistan (besides, of course, those of the Afghan regime), the UAE too hasbeen at the receiving end. In the recent attack in Kandahar, said to be have beenmasterminded by the Haqqani network, four UAE diplomats lost their lives. AlBanna said, his country will take “revenge” once it has firmed up its mind onwho the perpetrators were. Whatever, it's evident that they had Pakistan's bless-ing. The welcome level of engagement between India and the UAE was also ondisplay last year when the UAE Government deported Indian sympathisers ofthe Islamic State. Earlier, the UAE had sent back to India a woman suspected ofrecruiting people for the same terrorist group. The upswing in ties is showing.
New India-UAE warmth
Crown Prince al Nahyan’s visit will boost ties
opinion 08LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017
Prime Minister Modi,bereft of family politicsAmidst the motley and voluble conglomeration of political family enthusiasts, Modi stands out as being starklydifferent. Because of this, denigration is spewed towards him by those in whom family worship is ingrained
The new road to progress
Two new expressways will offer relief to Delhi
Protectionist Trump
Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Anew American order” (January23). As feared, soon after assumingoffice, US President Donald Trumphas started acting against the initia-tives taken by his predecessor,Barack Obama. Hours after assum-ing office, Trump’s target wasObama healthcare. This makes hisintention clear: He wants to undoall old schemes and initiatives. Itwould not be an exaggeration to saythat India needs to be worried aboutTrump’s ‘Buy American and HireAmerican’ policy. His protectionistapproach would hit world hard.
Bal GovindNoida
Ignoring reality
Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Keeping Jallikattu alive” (January24). The issue of Jallikattu wasburning for a long time.Ultimately, it yielded to the per-sistent demand and sentiments ofthe masses — the Government inTamil Nadu gave its nod to con-duct the bull-taming sport.
Though this Ordinance pavedthe way to carry out the sport, it isdisappointing that even now, theprotestors are relentless, seeking ban
of PETA and enactment of a law inlieu of the Ordinance.
While the game, in its verynature, is a cruelty against ani-mals and there is every possibil-ity of death or injury to thosewho indulge in it, it is strangethat people in the State areadamant about it, in the name ofculture and tradition.
TT Sarkaria Delhi
Shrewd campaigner
Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Anew American order” (January23). The amazing and almostincredible has now attained fruition:Donald Trump is the US President.Americans may deserve to be gov-erned by the Presidents they elect.But after 200 years of its experiencein unbroken constitutional democ-racy, others are bewildered at thechoice America has made.
It is not so much the victory ofTrump that has upset many people,as the style and tone of his campaignand his continuing avowal of hismore controversial campaign slo-gans. The man could not switchfrom the campaign mode and riseto the inaugural occasion.
The ceremony was grand asusual, but the speech was all angerand no joy and the message was
petulant and dark. India must takethe heed: From now on ‘it’s goingto be America first.’ Its borders willbe protected not only for security,but also for prosperity. There willbe two simple rules: ‘Buy Americanand Hire American.’
J AkshobhyaMysore
Being patient
Sir — This refers to the article,“Demonetisation brigade silenced”(January 23)by Sanju Verma. TheGovernment’s demonetisationmove is a step in the right directionto free the economy from all evils.Most of us have experienced diffi-culties, but these are now endingand the country, and peoples willsoon receive benefit on all fronts.
Demonetisation alone cannoteliminate black money, but it willsurely contain it to a large extent,and Prime Minister Modi haspromised more strikes on blackmoney and corruption. TheOpposition has criticised thismove vehemently because it mustcriticise everything that the BJPGovernment does.
Ashok Mehta Via web
www.dailypioneer.com
p a p e r w i t h p a s s i o n
ANIRBAN GANGULY
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The person con-
cerned (Arvind
Kejriwal) should have
thought on the state-
ments. Everybody is
bound by regulations.
Election
Commissioner
—AK Joti
The Congress was
behind getting casinos to
Goa. It is also the father
of illegal mining scam in
the state of Goa.
Goa BJP chief
—Vinay Tendulkar
I have never been
star struck in my life,
but only for Jackie
Chan. I touched his
feet out of respect. I
am his crazy and
ardent fan.
Actor
—Shilpa Shetty
THE ANCIENT INDIANADAGE SPOKE OF
GIVING UP ONE’S KULAFOR THE WELFARE OFTHE VILLAGE AND OFTHE COLLECTIVITY.
WHILE MANY IN THEPOLITICAL WORLD
SHRINK FROM SUCHAN EXHORTATION,
MODI EMBRACES IT BYMERGING WITH THE
LARGER SELF
SOUNDBITE
Win for Tamil people, but
a larger question ahead
This refers to the editorial, “Keeping Jallikattu alive” (January 24). It is unfor-tunate that mass protests had to end the way they did. For once, Tamilianshave shown that they are not incapable of a mass movement to exert enough
pressure on the Government to undo an injustice. It is proverbial that the peo-ple of the State look after bulls and cows well and mean no harm to them.They do not see Jallikattu as a cruel or gory sport. They earnestly believe thatthe sport helps in procreation and preservation of indigenous bovine breeds.Science is yet to take root in rural Tamil Nadu, so much so that the familiessuperstitiously believe that the conduct of Jallikattu brings rains.
Now that a law has been amended to allow Jallikattu, it is time for us, theTamils, to ponder whether the return of Jallikattu in itself is sufficient to redeemour identity and culture and restore our Tamil pride. After all, Jallikattu is nota very glorious sport to be the be-all and the end-all of Tamil culture. Thereare more significant things for us to accomplish to be a proud people.
G David MiltonMaruthancode
Send your feedback to: [email protected]
KOMAL GANOTRA
KALYANI SHANKAR
After months of ‘will-they-wont-they’ suspense, theCongress and the
Samajwadi Party have finallysealed an alliance for the ensu-ing Assembly polls in UttarPradesh. This will be for the firstthat both parties will cometogether. Now, the Congress willbe a junior partner in the alliance.The party, which had ND Tiwarias its last Chief Minister in 1989,had been languishing since then,unable to make a come back.
In the final deal, out of a totalof 403 seats, the Samajwadi Partywill contest from 298 seats, whilethe Congress will fight 105 seats.With this, it is clear, that it willbe a triangular contest in UttarPradesh between the BahujanSamaj Party (BSP), the BJP andthe Samajwadi Party-Congress.
Undoubtedly, the tie-up isdue to politics of compulsion.The question is whether therewill be enough time for the twoparties to launch their cam-
paigns and bring some synergy.After all, till yesterday, they hadbeen fighting against each other.The Samajwadi Party has grownon an anti-Congress platform.
Despite doubts, the alliancecould be a win-win situation forboth the parties, if handled right-ly. This can be a disadvantage forboth, the BJP and the BSP. TheSamajwadi Party needs theCongress for its brahmin andDalit votes, while the Congressneeds the Samajwadi Party’sYadav-Muslim votes.
The Samajwadi Party hadbeen hit hard by the family feudwhich ended only last week withUttar Pradesh Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav emerging victo-rious after the ElectionCommission allotted him theparty’s cycle symbol. This will bethe first time that party supremoMulayam Singh Yadav will takea back seat. Already, after thescripted family drama, nobody istalking of his lack of administra-
tion or deteriorating law andorder, as Akhilesh Yadav hasemerged a clean leader. He wantsto convert this advantage intovotes. If Akhilesh Yadav wins inUttar Pradesh, he can dream ofmoving to the national stage.
It will be an acid test forAkhilesh Yadav. It is to be seenis he will be able to keep theYadav and Muslim votes in tact.After all, the battle in UttarPradesh is to divide or unite thecrucial Muslim votes.
Muslims, who constituteabout 18 per cent of the State, arecrucial in many constituencies.The aim of the alliance is to keepthe Muslims votes in tact so thatthe secular alliance can be ben-efitted. The danger loominglarge is about a reverse polarisa-tion, as it happened in the 2014Lok Sabha polls, when peoplevoted for prime ministerial can-didate Narendra Modi.
For Congress vice presidentRahul Gandhi, it has come a full
circle for he had been advocat-ing an ekla chalo policy. The twoyoung leaders have decided totake this risk. Despite an earlycampaign launched by RahulGandhi, the tempo had subsidedpast week. The party lacks organ-isational skills at the grossrootlevel. There is no local leadership.
What came as anotherembarrassment for the Congresswas that it had announced thename of former Delhi ChiefMinister Sheila Dixit as its chiefministerial candidate somemonths ago. Now, she has to takea back seat because AkhileshYadav is the face of the combine.
This is not the first time thatthe Congress has become ajunior partner. It had also beenin alliance in 1996 with theBahujana Samaj Party, but sinceit did not benefit, the BSP was notkeen to align with the Congress.
The question, however is:Why did the Congress go for atie up? Because it wants to ensure
a better performance from itspresent 28 seats in the Assembly.Second, a good show in UttarPradesh will boost the image ofRahul Gandhi. Third, animproved tally will come as amoral booster for the Assemblypolls in Gujarat and HimachalPradesh later this year and alsofor the polls next year. Fourth, theCongress wants to deflate the BJPwhich is, at present, riding high.
The immediate gain is thatthe two parties have won the per-ception game. Second, it is goodarithmetic to combine together.Third, the risk is that it is not clearwhether the Samjawadi Partyand the Congress can transfereach other’s votes. While the BSPvotes are easily transferred, it isnot the case with other parties
There can be the domi-nance of two youth leaders inUttar Pradesh pitted againstPrime Minister Modi. Both,Rahul Gandhi and AkhileshYadav, by becoming the deciding
factors in their parties, have senta signal that they have come outof the shadow of their parents.
Yet another factor is theemergence of Priyanka Gandhiwho is said to have played a cru-cial role in the tie-up. DimpleYadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav,too was visible. The two dynas-ties have proved that they couldreach a deal by adopting a give-and-take in seat sharing.
Apparently, PriyankaGandhi and Dimple Yadav toohave developed good rapport.When talks were almost broken,it was a phone call from PriyankaGandhi to Dimple Yadav onSaturday night, followed by SoniaGandhi’s phone call to AkhileshYadav, which clinched the deal.The alliance is a gamble the twoparties have undertaken.Whether it succeeds or not theresults will show.
(The writer is a politicalcommentator and syndicatedcolumnist)
With a give-and-take approach, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress have formed an alliance in Uttar Pradesh.But the real test begins now. It is to be seen as to who will succeed. Both parties were until days ago, rivals
Investing in the future of India
3rdeye 09LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017
PETA India's position is that cruelty to
animals, children, the elderly, and others is
morally repugnant.
—PETA India CEO
POORVA JOSHIPURA
PETA can go ban bull riding rodeos in
Trump's US. You're not qualified to tackle
our bulls.
—Actor-film-maker
KAMAL HAASAN
Given the
significant deficits
in various
development
indicators
regarding children,
it is imperative that
the Government
allocates
sufficiently for
various schemes
earmarked for the
children in the
upcoming Budget.
Hopefully, there
will be accelerated
investment for
children of
all age group
in the Budget
POINTCOUNTERPOINT
It is appalling that even as India’schild population saw a rise from450.5 million in 2001 to 472.1 mil-lion in 2011, the issue remainslargely de-prioritized and neglect-
ed. The working group on child rightsfor the 12th five-year plan (2012-2017),in its vision, had emphasised that moreinclusive growth begins with children.It recommended certain amount of out-lays for fulfillment of the mandates ofchildren’s right to survival, development,protection and participation.
However, budgetary allocations inthe last few years do not reflect on theGovernment’s intent of treating chil-dren as a supremely important asset.The total child budget as a percentageof total Union Budget shows a declin-ing trend since 2012-2013 and stood atonly 3.32 per cent in the Union Budget2016-2017.
A reflection on the 2016-2017Budget for children reveals the trendand puts in perspective our expectationsfrom the future. The increased outlayin social sector focused marginally onchildren. While the child budget lastyear saw an increase of ̀ 1,123.36 croreto `65,758.45 crore over a Budget of`64,635.09 crore in 2015-2016 (RE), itresulted in minimum impact on thechild at the grass root level. More than75 per cent of this increased budget wasin the schemes of mid-day meals andNational Nutrition mission.
The Government intended tostrengthen children’s primary educationand increased allocation under theSarva Shiksha Abhiyan from `22,000crore (2015-2016) to `22,500 crore
(2016-2017). The increased investment in
Budget barely reflects if we see the sit-uation on ground. Even after six yearsof the implementation of Right toEducation, many mandatory require-ments have not been met, major onebeing infrastructure with more thanone-third of the schools offering ele-mentary education in the country sillnot providing electricity, boundarywalls or playgrounds.
Teacher’s training still remained atthe back burner even when 20 per centof existing teachers in Governmentschools are untrained. (Ministry ofHuman Resource Development 2014).The five per cent increase in the mid-day meal allocation did not hold muchsignificance, in the background ofmajor budgetary cut in 2014-2015.With serious concerns of inflationover the years and the dire need toimprove the quality of mid-day meal,for around 197 million children, a high-er investment is imperative.
Secondary education budgetaryallocation remained below expectationslast year. The budgetary allocation forRashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyanincreased by 3.8 per cent from `3,565crore to `3,700 crore, which is a dropin the ocean, considering only 32 outof every 100 children in India finishschool education at age appropriately.The 12th Five Year Plan envisaged near-universal enrollment in secondaryeducation, with enrollment exceeding90 per cent, India is currently at 80 percent gross enrollment ratio and it is only51.2 per cent net enrollment ratio.
The allocation for the IntegratedChild Development Scheme, whichprovides for care, nutrition health andearly learning for the youngest of ourchildren, declined by 9.6 per cent, from`1,5483 crore (2015-2016) to `14,000crore (2016-2017). The scheme is esti-mated to cover only about 50 per centof the population of children through1.34 million anganwadi centres. As onMarch 2015, 14,673 posts of anganwa-di supervisor, 62,970 posts of anganwa-di workers and 1,18,609 posts of angan-wadi helpers were vacant, which hasworsened, adversely impacting thedelivery of services.
In the Union Budget 2016-2017,allocation to Integrated Child ProtectionScheme (ICPS) experienced a slightdecline of five crore rupees from `402crore to `397 crore. This cut has beenworrisome if we look at the statistics.Over the last 10 years, the number ofcrimes against children has increased bymore than 500 per cent, from 14,975 in2005 to 94,172 in 2015. The rate ofcrimes against children has shocking-ly increased by more than 15 times.
Given the significant deficits in var-ious development indicators regardingchildren, it is imperative that theGovernment must allocate sufficientlyfor various programmes schemes ear-marked for the children in the upcom-ing Budget. Hopefully, for the 2017-2018 Budget, there will be acceleratedinvestment for children of all age group.
Early years in childhood are foun-dational years. Hence, it is imperativeto look at adequate budgetary invest-ment in skilled human resource, appro-
priate infrastructure and filling up of vacant positions in orderto make the vision of restructured ICDSa success.
School education requires seriousinvestment, especially in States whichhave not met the required targets set outon onset of Right to Free andCompulsory Education (RTE).Approximately, 37 million children inthe age group of 15-18 years are not inschool. The budgetary allocation forschool education should factor in thefact that along with strengthening theframework of elementary education,equal importance should be given forsecondary education as well.
For making sure that every childwho passes out of class eight continueseducation and not fall in trap of childlabour, adequate investments needs tobe carried out in efforts to universalisesecondary education. The proportionof budget allocated for ensuring thatchildren are safe, protected is negligi-ble. Growing crime against childrenundoubtedly is a great concern whichrequires protective mechanism to be setup for children at multiple levels,which is only possible if it is prioritised.
The Union Budget 2017-2018 willbe a crucial test for the ModiGovernment. In the midst of the pur-suit of economic growth, theGovernment must ensure that children,who survive in an unequal world,with huge disparities in education,health and participation, get their due.
(The writer is director, Policy,Research and Advocacy for CRY — ChildRights and You)
Post-alliance, UP battle continues thinknow
Now, the invention of the
scientific method and
science is, I'm sure we'll all
agree, the most powerful
intellectual idea, the most
powerful framework for thinking
and investigating and
understanding and challenging
the world around us that there is,
and that it rests on the premise
that any idea is there to be
attacked and if it withstands the
attack then it lives to fight
another day and if it doesn't
withstand the attack then down it
goes. Religion doesn't seem to
work like that.
—Douglas Adams
British author
Novel way to check
poll code violations
In view of the upcoming election in the State, the UttarPradesh police’s move to hashtag complaints of pollviolation is remarkable and will set a healthy trend
The upcoming Union Budget will be a crucial test for the Modi Government. In the midst of pursuit of economic growth, it mustensure that children, who survive in an unequal world, with huge disparities in education, health and participation, get their dueNAVNEET ANAND
RIGHTANGLE
Even as the chill in the air in the northern part of India is yet tosubside, the heat generated by political action is palpable. Buzzahead of Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab,
Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur is getting louder and so is the activ-ities of political parties. Political actors are intensely busy formu-lating strategies to reach out to voters and social media is one toolthat every politician is trying to embrace. On the other hand, lawenforcement agencies, which are encountered by a herculean taskof managing the elections, are bracing to meet the challenges.
What stands out amidst this is the unprecedented prepara-tions by the Uttar Pradesh police to ensure effective use of socialmedia in election management in the State which shall see seven-phase polls starting February 11, across 403 Assembly segments,involving over 140 million electorates.
On Monday, tech-savvy Director General of Police (DGP) ofUttar Pradesh police, Javeed Ahmad, announced the results of aunique crowd-sourcing initiative on seeking ideas for a single hash-tag for Twitter that shall be popularised among people, which canbe used for lodging election-related complaints with the police.“Twitter users can alert us about violations or issues by adding#UPPOL17 while tagging @UPPolice. Local police will be askedto check the complaint,” said Ahmad while announcing the select-ed key words along with Twitter India CEO Raheel Khursheed. TheDGP informed that the hashtag will be popularised through socialmedia and other media platforms, including radio and newspapers.
Rahul Srivastava, additional Superintendent of Police andhead of Uttar Pradesh police social media unit feels that the lawenforcement agencies have to keep pace with the changing real-ities, and embracing social media tools is critical to ensure effec-tive policing. The selection of a single hashtag, and that too usingpossibly first-of-its-kind crowd-sourcing method by a police force,will ensure transparency in public discourse and effective redres-sal of grievances, he feels. In addition to this, the unit is active-ly working with Facebook to launch about 100 pages, includ-ing district-wise page and pages for 18 Deputy Inspector Generalsand nine Inspector generals. Numerous WhatsApp groups arealso being formed for effective and seamless internal commu-nications among officers and smooth management of poll relat-ed preparedness and conduct of the elections.
In recent times, we have seen a new wave of transforma-tion in the police force across the country in embracing socialmedia. Almost all metropolitan city police force in India havevery active Twitter handles and Facebook pages. Many Trafficpolice departments too have their Twitter handles and Facebookpages. Many cities have very active social media presence aswell, and all this has dramatically redefined police-citizen inter-action. Uttar Pradesh police alone has 122 verified Twitter han-dles including those of the districts and its various arms.
“Increasing use of social media by police has brought abouta paradigm shift about the way people perceive police,” saysSrivastava, adding that it has also made policing more effec-tive and transparent. Social media has added tremendous con-venience to the way people approach police — and the fact thattheir grievances are being heard in real-time and addressed dili-gently, have enhanced the confidence of citizens in police, a crit-ical pre-requisite of a vibrant democracy like ours.
However, the perils of it are equally glaring. As discussedin this column itself, in wake of the food gripe video of a BorderSecurity Force jawan and the cacophony it created on socialmedia, the challenges posed by social media can be monstrousfor police. It requires them to be constantly on the vigil, espe-cially against mischief mongers. Uttar Pradesh police and fewothers have active units who are monitoring the conversationsresponding to issues raised in real time.
The upcoming elections and use of this dynamic tool bypolice for addressing election-related grievances will be a remark-able case study, and the Uttar Pradesh police can potentiallybecome a trend setter in this. The Election Commission of Indiawill surely be watching keenly.
(The writer is a strategic communications professional)
LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017 money 10
The quarter has seen turbulence dueto the continued predatory pricing by anew operator. The present terminationcosts at 14 paise which are well belowcost has resulted in a tsunami ofminutes terminating into our network.This has led to an unprecedented year-on-year revenue decline for theindustry, pressure on margins and aserious impact on the financial healthof the sector
BHARTI AIRTEL MD AND CEO FOR INDIA & SOUTH ASIA GOPAL VITTAL
We will bring out three offerings...Thefirst one is a Special Tariff Voucher
or STV 26, which offers unlimitedfree voice calls on any network when
subscriber is in home circle duringthe 26-hour validity, while the other
two offers provide 1.5 times anddouble the talktime, respectively
BSNL CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, ANUPAM SHRIVASTAVA
COMPANIES
FROM
BUZZ
NEW DELHI: Targeting shell com-panies, the Government onTuesday issued new tax rulesrequiring foreign firms to pay taxesin India if the effective control ofbusiness, management decisionsand majority of board meetingstake place within the country.
The long awaited Place ofEffective Management (POEM)rules, to be effective from the cur-rent fiscal (April 2016), will notapply to companies having aturnover or gross receipts of `50crore or less in a financial year.
The rules require foreigncompanies in India and Indianfirms with overseas subsidiaries topay local taxes based on where thebusiness if effectively controlled.
“The intent is to target shellcompanies and companies whichare created for retaining incomeoutside India although real controland management of affairs islocated in India,” CBDT said.
The rules require company’sresidency to be determined by per-sons exercising effective controlover decision making and theplace where such control is exer-cised from, according to the guide-lines issued by CBDT on Tuesday.
This would help target shellcompanies, or holding companies,incorporated overseas to evadetaxes by showing their residencyas a tax haven even though themanagement and effective deci-sion making takes place in India.
“The place where these man-
agement decisions are taken wouldbe more important than the placewhere such decisions are imple-mented.
For the purpose of determi-nation of POEM it is the substancewhich would be conclusive ratherthan the form,” the CBDT said.
As per the GuidingPrinciples, “place of effectivemanagement” is defined as aplace where key managementand commercial decisions thatare necessary for the conduct ofthe business of an entity as a
whole are, in substance, made.The guidelines provide for an
Active Business Outside India(ABOI) test, so as not to covercompanies outside India whichare engaged in active business.“The intent is not to target Indianmulti-nationals which are engagedin business activity outside India,”CBDT said.
EY Tax Partner RajendraNayak said the guidelines strikesthe right balance between pro-viding certainty to taxpayers aswell as ensuring that offshore
companies with no substance oractivities, which are controlledfrom India, are subject to Indiantax jurisdiction. The guidelinesattempt to differentiate betweenshareholder control, manage-ment control and routine deci-sions, said KPMG in IndiaNational Head of Tax GirishVanvari.
The place of effective man-agement in case of a companyengaged in active business outsideIndia shall be presumed to be soif the majority meetings of itsboard of directors are held outsideIndia.
“However, if on the basis offacts and circumstances, it isestablished that the board ofdirectors of the company arestanding aside and not exercisingtheir powers of management andsuch powers are being exercisedby either the holding company orany other person(s) resident inIndia, then the place of effectivemanagement shall be consid-ered to be in India,” the guidelinessaid.
For the purpose of determiningwhether the company is engaged inactive business outside India, theaverage of the data of the previousyear and two years prior to that shallbe taken into account. In cases ofcompanies which do not have activebusiness outside India, there will bea two-stage process for determiningthe place of effective management toassess their tax liability. PTI
POEM rules target shell cos;
exclude firms with `50 cr sales
NEW DELHI: A `1,000 subsidy forpurchase of smartphones by non-tax assesses and small merchantsand a cash transaction tax on with-drawals of `50,000 and above inbanks have been recommended bya Chief Ministers’ panel today toencourage digital payments.
The Chief Ministers’ Panelreport, which was submitted toPrime Minister Narendra Modi bycommittee representative ChiefMinister of Andhra Pradesh NChandrababu Naidu, has also madea case of lower/zero merchant dis-count rate (MDR) for all digital pay-ments to government entities andcap on cash in all type of big tickettransactions.
The ‘Merchant Discount Rate’is charged to a merchant by a bankfor providing debit and credit card
services.The committee comprising
Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis and MadhyaPradesh Chief Minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan has also asked theCentre to promote AadhaarEnabled Payment System (AEPS)by incentivising and not chargingMDR.
The other recommendationsinclude tax incentives for microATMs, biometric sensors etc. Andtax refund for consumers using dig-ital payment up to a certain pro-portion of annual income.
When asked how sure he wasabout incorporation of these rec-ommendations in the forthcomingBudget on February 1, Naidu said,“I am very confident about that.”
Explaining about advantage of
digital payments, he said that thereare lots of cost of handling physicalcurrency because of its printing,movement and security while thereis no such cost for digital currency.
Naidu also elaborated thatwith the increase of volume of dig-ital transitions, the cost will reduceand there is huge opportunity inIndia because non-cash paymenttransitions by non-banks per capi-ta per annum is 11 in the countryas compared to 26 in China, 728 inSingapore, 355 in the UK, 142 inBrazil, 70 in South Africa and 32 inMexico.
Similarly, the report highlightsthat the number of (cashless) paypoints per million people are 1,080in India as against 31,096 inSingapore, 30,078 in the UK, 25,241in Brazil, 7,267 in South Africa, 7,189
in Mexico and 16,602 in China.The panel made a case for relief
in prospective taxes for encourag-ing merchants to accept digital pay-ments and no retrospective taxationto Merchants doing digital trans-
actions.It also suggested that for
Aadhaar Pay, Biometric (FP & Iris)sensors should be provided at 50 percent subsidy to all merchant points.
The panel said in its interim
report that all payment banks andbanking correspondents should bemade interoperable through AEPSand also provide infrastructure for1,54,000 post offices by way of inter-operable Aadhaar enabled Micro-ATMs.
Naidu also suggested insurancefor all digital transactions to safe-guard the interest of people goingcashless. The Chief Ministers’ panelhas also pitched for creating fundfrom savings generated throughcash-less transactions for incen-tivising acquiring bank acceptanceinfrastructure creation in semi-urban and rural areas.
It said the contactless paymentsshould be promoted for travellingin buses and suburban trains inmetro cities and UPI App shouldcontain a common interoperable
UPI QR Code besides banks toencourage the common QR Codeat merchant location.
It also said the rural and urbancooperative banks should beonboarded to digital transactionsmode immediately.
Explaining about the con-straints being faced by the govern-ment to encourage digital transac-tions, the panel said there is a needto bring about attitudinal changeamong people to encourage themto go for cashless transitions throughtraining.
The panel has also drawnattention towrads other constraintslike lack of hardware with merchantslike (digital payment) acceptanceinfrastructure.
It also stressed on the need forimproving the Internet connectiv-
ity and data infrastructure to boostdigital transactions.
Naidu also spoke about lack ofinteroperability of various modes ofdigital payments and cyber securi-ty for the purpose.
Besides, Naidu also suggestedthat there should be a legislation toaccommodate digital transactions.
The panel has also asked theCentre to device appropriate digi-tal payment mode for high valuetransactions and also expressed con-cerns that digital transactions arecostlier than cash ones.
The panel to suggest measuresto enable all sections of the popu-lation to migrate to the digital pay-ments was constituted onNovember 30, 2016.
The panel had four meetingsand video conferencing. PTI
Snapshots...
NOTE-BAN BITES HDFC BANK, POSTS LOWEST-EVERPROFIT GROWTHMUMBAI: Private sector HDFC Bank today reported its lowest-ever
quarterly profit growth at 15 per cent at `3,865.3 crore for the December
quarter, pulled down by a margin compression following the note-ban and
foreign currency deposit redemptions. The city-headquartered lender, which
had made a name for itself by consistently delivering 30 per cent profit
growth for more than 32 quarters without a break till about two years ago,
and then slipped to the 20 per cent levels with sluggish economic growth,
saw its margins narrowing by 10 bps to 4.10 per cent during the third
quarter ended December 31.
OYO LAUNCHES OWN BRAND TOWNHOUSENew Delhi: Online hotel aggregator OYO has come with its own brand
‘Townhouse’ and aims to have around 250 properties under the label by the
end of this year. OYO Townhouse, positioned as a friendly neighbourhood
hotel, will have presence in 12 cities and would have around 10,000 rooms
under brand by the end of this year highlighting “quality, price and location.”
“The intention is to bring sturdy and new age experience to our guest,
which involve keeping it very minimalistic but for the usage of the guest,”
OYO Founder & CEO Ritesh Agarwal told PTI.
BSE’S `1,243 CR IPO OVERSUBSCRIBED 1.55 TIMES NEW DELHI: The initial public offer of BSE -- the first by a domestic stock
exchange in India -- to raise up to `1,243 crore was oversubscribed 1.55
times on the second day of the offer today. The IPO, which closes
tomorrow, received bids for 1,67,06,394 shares against the total issue size
of 1,07,99,039 shares, data available with the NSE till 1700 hrs showed.
BSNL TO UNVEIL 3 NEW PRE-PAID PLANSNEW DELHI: To match competition from private operators, state-owned
BSNL will come up with three new pre-paid offerings on Republic Day,
including `26 tariff voucher that allows free local voice calls within its
network during 26-hour validity. “We will bring out three offerings...The first
one is a Special Tariff Voucher or STV 26, which offers unlimited free voice
calls in home network during the 26-hour validity, while the other two offers
provide 1.5 times and double the talktime, respectively,” BSNL Chairman
and Managing Director, Anupam Shrivastava, told PTI.
TVS MOTOR Q3 NET UP 10.36% NEW DELHI: Chennai-based TVS Motor Co on Tuesday reported a 10.36 per
cent increase in its standalone net profit at `132.67 crore for the third quarter
ended December 31, 2016, riding on robust moped sales. The company had
posted a net profit of `120.21 crore in the corresponding period last year.
NEW DELHI: The NK Singh panel has suggesteda liberal approach on fiscal consolidation toensure that the Government’s power tospend on development is not restricted evenas its member Arvind Subramanian, CEA, hasexpressed some reservations on certainaspects of the report.
The panel headed by former RevenueSecretary submitted its four-volume report onmodifying the 13-year old FiscalResponsibility and Budget Management(FRBM) Act to Finance Minister ArunJaitley yesterday.
According to sources, there were somereservations of a member on some points, noton the entire report.
They said Subramanian, Chief EconomicAdviser, has given a dissenting view statingthat the main focus of the Government shouldbe the primary deficit and not fiscal deficit.
In the mid-year economic review last year,he had made a case for relaxing fiscal deficittarget to push growth.
However, Jaitley pursued the fiscal con-solidation roadmap in the budget and kept
the target for 2016-17 at 3.5 per cent of GDP.The panel has also suggested improve-
ment in computation of public debt anddeficit.
According to sources, the committee hastaken a liberal view on fiscal consolidationamid enhanced global uncertainty and volatil-ity in the currency market.
Since the recommendations of thereport are being utilised for Budget mak-ing it has not been made public. Jaitley willbe presenting the Union Budget for 2017-18 on February 1.
“The Government will examine theFRBM Committee Report and take appro-priate action,” the Finance Ministry had said.
Other committee members were RBIGovernor Urjit R Patel, former FinanceSecretary Sumit Bose, and Director of NIPFPRathin Roy.
When asked when the report would bemade public, Singh had said “that is in thehands of the Government, whether they wishor do not wish to make it public”.
Among other things, the Committee wasasked to examine the need and feasibility ofhaving a ‘fiscal deficit range’ as the target inplace of the existing fixed numbers (per-centage of GDP) as the goal.
The first volume of the report addressesthe issue of the fiscal policy, fiscal roadmap,international experience and recommenda-tions therein.
Volume two refers to internationalexperience while the third volume dealswith Centre-State issues. The fourth vol-ume deals with domain experts’ views onfiscal consolidation. PTI
FRBM panel for liberal view on fiscal deficit
PNS n NEW DELHI
Telecom service providerBharti Airtel on Tuesday
announced over 54 per cent fallin consolidated net profit to`503.7 for the October-December quarter due to tur-bulence owing to the continuedpredatory pricing by RelianceJio.
The company had posted anet profit of ̀ 1,108.1 crore in thesame period a year ago.
The consolidated income ofBharti Airtel declined by 3 percent during the reported periodto `23,363.9 crore from
`24,103.4 crore in correspond-ing period of 2015-16.
Bharti Airtel MD and CEOfor India & South Asia GopalVittal in a statement said, “Thequarter has seen turbulence dueto the continued predatory pric-ing by a new operator. The pre-sent termination costs at 14 paisewhich are well below cost hasresulted in a tsunami of minutesterminating into our network.
“This has led to anunprecedented year-on-yearrevenue decline for the indus-try, pressure on margins and aserious impact on the financialhealth of the sector.”
Bharti Airtel Q3 net dips 54%to `503.7 cr on predatory pricing
PNS n NEW DELHI
HCL Technologies on Tuesday announced a 7.8 per centjump in net profit at `2,070 crore for the December quar-
ter, helped by growth in public services business and infra-structure services.
Revenues for the country’s fourth-largest IT company wereup 14.2 per cent at `11,814 crore in the said quarter over theyear-ago period, in line with Street expectations.
In dollar terms, the top line was higher by 11.4 per centat $1.74 billion while profits grew 5.2 per cent to USD 306million. The company has announced a dividend of `6 pershare.
The Noida-based firm has maintained its revenue growthoutlook of 12-14 per cent for 2016-17 (based on averageexchange rates for 2016-17) in constant currency.
“We continue our robust financial performance with a rev-enue growth of 3 per cent q-o-q and 13.8 per cent y-o-y inconstant currency terms... We expect our 2016-17 revenuesto be in the middle of this range,” HCL TechnologiesPresident and CEO C Vijayakumar told reporters here.
HCL Tech Q3 net up 7.8%
NEW DELHI: Guarding itselfagainst any accusation of ‘taxterrorism’, CBDT today saidtaxmen will have to take priorapproval of a 3-member col-legium before declaring thatan overseas company haseffective management controlin India and hence liable topay tax under the POEMrules.
In first such step to beimplemented, the concept ofcollegium comprisingPrincipal Commissioners ofIncome Tax is aimed at pro-viding comfort to tax payersand reducing chances of
harassment.The collegium system will
also be followed under theGeneral Anti Avoidance Rules(GAAR), which are slated totake effect from April 1, 2017.
Under the Place OfEf fect ive Management(POEM) rules, which werenotified today, AssessingOfficers (AOs) will alsohave to seek prior approvalof the Pr incipalCommissioner before initi-ating any proceedings forholding a company incor-porated outside India onthe basis of its POEM asbeing resident in India. PTI
3-member collegium to decide
if cos violating POEM rules
Give `1,000 subsidy to buy smartphones: CMs’ panel
PTI n NEW DELHI
Ahead of the Union Budget,markets regulator Sebi has
asked the Government to con-sider rationalisation of taxes incapital markets including that ofmutual funds and other prod-ucts. In its budget proposal tothe Finance Ministry, Sebi hasrecommended reducing thesecurities transaction tax (STT)on stock trading, sources said.
Presently, all stock markettransactions attract STT in therange of 0.017 to 0.125 per cent.It has also suggested lowering theperiod of holding in respect oflong-term debt fund units to 12months from 36 months.Besides, the regulator has soughtan increase in the investmentlimit for tax-saving equity mutu-al fund schemes to ̀ 2 lakh fromthe current `1.5 lakh.
These suggestions are aimedat attracting more investors.Further, mutual fund industrybody Amfi has also proposedthat debt-linked savings scheme
should be given tax benefitsunder Sec 80 CCC of IncomeTax Act, the sources said. Onlyequity-linked savings schemes(ELSS) qualify for tax benefitsunder Section 80 CCC of theIncome Tax Act, for an invest-ment limit of up to `1.5 lakh ina fiscal year.
Also, the Association ofmutual funds in India (Amfi)made a proposal to extend the taxbenefits available under RajivGandhi Equity Savings Scheme(RGESS) to all equity fundinvestors. To promote invest-ments in equities, the governmenthad introduced RGESS in 2012for first-time investors with annu-al income below ̀ 12 lakh a year.
Further, AMFI has pro-posed for extending Sec 54 ECbenefit for mutual fundschemes with lock-in period of3-5 years. Section 54 EC ofIncome Tax Act, 1961 pro-vides an option to save tax oncapital gain arising from trans-fer of long-term capital assetsubject to certain conditions.
Sebi to Govt: Rationalise
taxes in capital markets
NEW DELHI: Investments indomestic capital markets throughparticipatory notes (P-Notes) haveplunged to 41-month low of`1.57 lakh crore in December.Market experts believe the trendis likely to continue as Sebi mayfurther tighten the regulationsgoverning P-Notes amid persist-ing concerns that this route isbeing used for illicit fund flows.
P-Notes are issued by regis-tered foreign portfolio investors(FPIs) to overseas investors whowish to participate in Indian mar-kets without registering themselvesdirectly. But they still need to gothrough a proper due diligenceprocess. According to Sebi data, thetotal value of P-Note investmentsin Indian markets -- equity, debtand derivatives -- plunged to`1,57,306 crore in December-end from `1,79,648 crore at the
end of November. This was thelowest level since July 2013 whenthe cumulative value of suchinvestments stood at `1,48,188crore. The investment through theroute has been falling sinceSeptember last year, when it was at2̀,12,509 crore. It fell to ̀ 1,99,987
crore in October-end, and furtherin November.
Of the total, P-Note holdingsin equities were at ̀ 1.01 lakh crorein December-end and the remain-ing holdings were in debt andderivatives markets. The quantumof FPI investments via P-Notesdecreased to 6.7 per cent inDecember, from 7.5 per cent inthe preceding month. Last week,a senior Sebi official said the reg-ulator is looking at further tight-ening the norms for P-Notes toaddress concerns raised by theSIT on black money. PTI
P-Note invts fall to 41-mthlow of `1.57 lakh-cr in Dec
NEW DELHI: Goldextended gains for thesecond straight day byadding another `10 to`29,725 per 10 gramson Tuesday, mainly dri-ven by a firm globaltrend and pick up inwedding seasondemand from localjewellers and retailers.Silver also strengthenedby `40 to `41,840 perkg due to increased off-take byindustrial units and coin mak-ers.
Bullion traders said a firm-ing trend overseas where goldrose to the highest sinceNovember after protectionistsignals from Donald Trump’s
unsettled financialmarkets and weakenedthe dollar, which trig-gered demand for themetal as a safe haven.Globally, gold rose 0.64per cent to $1,217.70 anounce and silver 0.82per cent to $17.20 anounce in New York onMonday. Besides, pickup in buying by localjewellers to meet ongo-
ing wedding season demand atdomestic spot market also sup-ported the uptick, they said.Inthe national capital, gold of99.9 per cent and 99.5 per centpurity edged up by ̀ 10 each to`29,725 and `29,575 per 10grams, respectively. PTI
MUMBAI: A set of strong cor-porate earnings numbers gave themarket enough comfort as theSensex soared by over 258 pointson Tuesday to end at 27,376, a 2-month high, with covering ofshort positions ahead of deriva-tives expiry making the job easi-er. The big domestic trigger com-ing up next is Union budget,which is slated for February 1.
Encouraging results from blue-chips led by HDFC Bank, TataCommunications and HCL Techgot investors going, with moodturning positive after a higheropening in Europe. The 30-sharepack resumed higher and movedin a range of 27,393.35 and27,140.85 before ending at27,375.58, a sharp gain of 258.24points, or 0.95 per cent. This is itshighest closing since November 10,2016, when it closed at 27,517.68.
It had gained 82.84 points in the
previous session. The NSE 50-shareNifty also recaptured the 8,400-mark by rising 84.30 points, or 1 percent, to end at 8,475.80. “The mar-ket extended gains with increasingfocus on the upcoming budgetwhich induced participants forshort-covering ahead of the expirytomorrow (Thursday). Positivequarter results have also influ-enced the investors to participate inthe pre-budget rally,” said VinodNair, Head of Research, GeojitBNP Paribas Financial Services. Therupee too closed higher against thedollar. PTI
Sensex soars 258 pts to 2-mth high Gold extends gainson global cues
world 11LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY| JANUARY 25, 2017
Unfair to compare
me with Priyanka
Chopra: Deepika
Los Angeles: Comparisonsbetween Deepika Padukoneand Priyanka Chopra started assoon as the actresses signedtheir Hollywood projects, butthe “Piku” star says it is “unfair”as they both are following a dif-ferent path. Priyanka, 34, madeher international debut with“Quantico” in 2015, while the31-year-old actress debuted inHollywood with her recentlyreleased “xXx: Return ofXander Cage”. During an inter-view with USA Today, Deepikafinally broke silence over beingcompared with her “BajiraoMastani” co-star. “It’s not fairto make comparisons. Let mejust say everyone has a differ-ent path and journey,” shesaid.Even Priyanka, who wasrecently on filmmaker KaranJohar’s chat show, said “It’s sonice for me to see that Deepikais doing ‘xXx...’and whateverelse she does in the future orSonam (Kapoor) or so manyother actors, who want tocome to America I hope they
are starting out.” Sonam hasalso signed up with UnitedTalent Agency (UTA), one ofthe Hollywood’s premier talentagencies.
Iggy Azalea dating
producer?
Los Angeles,Rapper IggyAzalea is reportedly datingproducer LJay Currie and thepair were seen being very affec-tionate in Mexico over theweekend. The 26-year-old rap-per flew to Cabo San Lucas,Mexico, with the music pro-ducer over the weekend andthe pair have done nothing tohide their closeness while stay-ing on a yacht, reported UsWeekly magazine. “They flewin together on a private jet fora friend’s birthday. They havebeen all over each other withmajor PDA. They rented ayacht and were making out onthe deck. “They went jet-skiingand he gave her piggybackrides on the beach,” a sourcesaid. LJay - whose real name isLorne Currie Jr - shared aphoto on Instagram of himselfon the yacht, while Iggy usedher account on the socialmedia site to wish their pal ahappy birthday.
GLOBETROTTING
Putting broad smiles in ads may backfirePTI n WASHINGTON
Broad smiles lead people tobe perceived as warmer,
but less competent, say scien-tists who found that smileintensity in marketing ads mayinfluence consumer behav-iour.
However, a more intensesmile may elicit more buzz onsocial media, with photos witha broader smile receiving twiceas many Facebook shares thanthose with a slight smile.
The researchers includingone from University of Kansasin the US conducted experi-ments in which respondentsviewed marketing images thatincluded marketers with eitherbroad or slight smiles.
They also conducted acontent analysis of postings ona crowd-funding website,where people commonly seekdonations for causes or busi-ness ventures.
Past marketing and psy-chological research has focused
on smiles leading consumers toperceive people as beingfriendly and viewed in a morepositive light. However, thenew study shows that is truebut that there can be a trade-off in how a smile might elic-it action from a consumer.
“We found that broadsmiles lead people to be per-ceived as warmer but less com-petent. We ask how that can
influence consumer behaviourand in what situations mightmarketers want to smile morebroadly,” said Jessica Li, assis-tant professor at the KU Schoolof Business. Li said one con-sideration is the context of theservice the marketer is pro-viding and whether or notthere is potential risk associ-ated with it.
The intensity of someone’s
smile in a marketing imageelicits two fundamentaldimensions of social judge-ments warmth and compe-tence, the researchers found. Lisaid broader smiles that tendto elicit more warmth seem tobe more effective in promo-tional ads for a service thatwould carry less risk. However,photos with a slight smile didbetter in marketing scenarioswhere services were higherrisk, such as a medical proce-dure, legal representation orinvestment in a startup com-pany.
“If I see an ad with a heartsurgeon who smiles reallybroadly at me, I might thinkshe is really warm, but notchoose her to be my doctorbecause she seems less com-petent than a surgeon with aslight smile,” Li said. “If the riskis really low, such as going tothe store to get a new shirt,then the competence of thesalesperson is not as importantand I respond more positive-
May’s Brexit plans suffer legal jolt, needs Parl nod
PTI n LONDON
In a huge setback for BritishPrime Minister Theresa May
that could delay her Brexitplans, the Supreme Court onTuesday ruled that she cannottrigger the process of takingBritain out of the EuropeanUnion (EU) unilaterally andmust seek Parliament’s consentover it.
The judgement means theBritish Prime Minister cannottrigger Article 50 of the LisbonTreaty to officially begin Brexitnegotiations with the EU untilBritain’s MPs and peers givetheir backing.
The government hadargued that it already had theexecutive powers to triggerArticle 50 but Supreme Courtjudges rejected the case by amajority of eight to three.
Reading out the ruling,Supreme Court President LordNeuberger said: “By a major-ity of eight to three, theSupreme Court on Tuesdayrules that the Governmentcannot trigger Article 50 with-out an Act of Parliamentauthorising it to do so.”
The official judgement inthe case concludes: “Thechange in the law required toimplement the referendum’soutcome must be made in theonly way permitted by the UKconstitution, namely by legis-lation.”
In a joint judgment of themajority, the Supreme Courtholds that an Act of Parliamentis required to authorise min-isters to give notice of the deci-sion of the UK to withdraw
from the European Union.”The government had lost
a High Court case brought byanti-Brexit campaigners lastNovember, leading to the land-mark appeal in the Supreme
Court heard by all 11 justicesof Britain’s highest court.
The hearing also includ-ed arguments from Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland asinterested parties in the case.
The Supreme Court, however,ruled that the devolvedScottish Parliament and Welshand Northern Ireland assem-blies did not need a say in theformal Brexit process.
Gina Miller, the lead cam-paigner in the case, said:“Brexit is the biggest decisionfor a generation. But this casewas about process, not politics.
“Only Parliament cangrant right to the British peo-ple and only parliament cantake them away. No primeminister, no government, canexpect to be unanswerable orunchallenged. Parliamentalone is sovereign.”
UK Attorney GeneralJeremy Wright said the gov-ernment was “disappointed”but would “comply” and do“all that is necessary” toimplement the court’s judge-ment.
Downing Street stressedthat the ruling will not derailMay’s timetable to triggerArticle 50 by the end of March.
“The British people votedto leave the EU, and theGovernment will deliver ontheir verdict – triggeringArticle 50, as planned, by theend of March. Today’s rulingdoes nothing to change that,”a Downing Street spokesper-son said.
“It’s important to remem-ber that Parliament backed thereferendum by a margin of sixto one and has already indi-cated its support for getting onwith the process of exit to thetimetable we have set out.
We respect the SupremeCourt’s decision, and will set
out our next steps toParliament shortly,” thespokesperson added.
UK Secretary of State forExiting the European UnionDavid Davis is expected tomake a statement in the Houseof Commons.
Downing Street has beenpreparing for the result forweeks and is understood tohave drafted a short bill to seekparliamentary approval to trig-ger Article 50.
Opposition Labour partyleader Jeremy Corbyn said hisparty will seek to amend sucha bill to prevent the rulingConservatives from usingBrexit to “turn Britain into abargain basement tax havenoff the coast of Europe”.
“Labour is demanding aplan from the government toensure it is accountable toparliament throughout thenegotiations and a meaningfulvote to ensure the final deal isgiven parliamentary approval,”he said.
Labour’s leading Indian-origin MP, Virendra Sharma,added: “It is only right andproper that Parliament shouldbe given proper scrutiny of thegovernment’s Brexit strategy.
“Last year when the pub-lic voted to leave the EU theydid not necessarily vote toleave the Single Market, theEuropean Medicines Agency
or the European AviationSafety Agency, which certifiesaircraft before they are allowedto fly.” Liberal Democrat leaderTim Farron has said his partywould press for a second ref-erendum on the final dealreached between the UK gov-ernment and the EU.
The case against the gov-ernment was brought byMiller, an investment fundmanager, and hairdresser DeirTozetti Dos Santos.
Britain had voted in a ref-erendum on June 23 last yearin favour of leaving the 28-nation economic bloc by a nar-row margin of 51.9 per cent to48.1 per cent.
The May government isnow finalising details for thecountry’s relationship with theEU as a non-member.
In a major speech earlierthis month, May had con-firmed that the UK would beleaving the EU single marketand that the final deal struckwith Europe will be put beforeParliament for a final consent.
Article 50 of the LisbonTreaty, once invoked, will trig-ger a two-year period withinwhich the UK must strike anew relationship with the EUor effectively leave the eco-nomic bloc with no deal.
May has indicated thatshe intends to implement anynew deal in a phased mannerafter the two-year deadline.
Gina Miller, the lead claimant in the legal fight to get Parliament to vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the EU, makes a statement outside the SupremeCourt in London on Tuesday. Lead plaintiff Gina Miller says British Supreme Court ruling provides the legal foundation to trigger Brexit.. AP
Pompeo confirmed as CIA chief,Tillerson nomination advancesPTI n WASHINGTON
The US Senate has con-firmed former
Congressman Mike Pompeo asCIA director while RexTillerson’s nomination to bethe Secretary of State moved astep closer to approval asDonald Trump’s Cabinet takesshape.
Pompeo, who was con-firmed by the Senate by 66-32votes, replaces John Brenna8n,a political appointee, whoseterm ended on January 20with that of Barack Obama asthe US President. Later,Pompeo was sworn in lastnight as CIA director.
“You are stepping up tolead the finest intelligence-gathering operation the worldhas ever seen,” Vice PresidentMike Pence said during theswearing-in ceremony.
“The men and womenserving under your commandgive true meaning to the wordc9ourage,” he said.Significantly, Trump, who suc-ceeded Obama as the 45thPresident of the US, made hisfirst visit to a federal agency toCIA headquarters in Langley.Pompeo, 53, is only the third
member of Trump’s cabinet totake his post after Secretary ofDefence James Mattis andHomeland Security SecretaryJohn Kelly were sworn inFriday.
On Pompeo’s conforma-tion, Senator John McCain, ina statement, said the newDirector of the CIA must focuson uncovering facts about themany complex national secu-rity threats confronting the
nation. “Now is the time toturn the page on our discus-sions of old programmes andactivities, which we have thor-oughly reviewed andaddressed,” he said.Congressman Davin Nunes,Chairman of the HousePermanent Select Committeeon Intelligence, said Pompeowith his deep background inintelligence and militaryaffairs, he is confident will
serve the intelligence commu-nity well and make vital con-tributions to national security.
“At a time whenAmericans face escalatingthreats from both terror groupsand state entities, it’s reassur-ing that someone with as muchexperience and knowledge asMike will be leading one of thenation’s premier intelligenceagencies,” he said. Meanwhile,a key Senate panel approvedthe nomination of Tillerson asthe Secretary of State.
This has paved the way forthe Senate to formally vote onhis nomination followingwhich Tillerson would occupythe Foggy Bottom headquar-ters of the State Department asthe top American diplomat.
The position has beenvacant since January 20 whenJohn Kerry’s term demittedoffice with outgoing presidentObama. Even as Trump hadnominated Tillerson as hisSecretary of State much inadvance, the Senate has notbeen able to confirm himbecause of some reservationsby a few lawmakers, includingfrom Trump’s own Republicanparty. The approval by SenateForeign relations Committeecame after Senator
Vice President Mike Pence, left, watches as newly sworn in CIA Director MikePompeo, second from left, signs the affidavit of appointment in the Vice President'sCeremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White Housecomplex in Washington on Monday.
Pak conducts 1st flight test of
N-capable ‘Ababeel’ missile
Islamabad (PTI) Pakistantoday successfully conductedthe first test flight of theradar-evading ‘Ababeel’ sur-face-to-surface ballistic mis-sile (SSM) capable of carry-ing a nuclear warhead up to2,200 kms, bringing manyIndian cities within its range.
Ababeel is capable ofdelivering multiple warheadsusing Multiple IndependentRe-entry Vehicle (MIRV)technology, Army spokesmanMajor General Asif Ghafoorsaid in a statement. “Thetest flight was aimed at vali-dating various design andtechnical parameters of the
weapon system,” he said onthe missile which has a max-imum range of 2,200 kilo-metres.
Ababeel is capable of car-rying nuclear warheads andhas the capability to engagemultiple targets with highprecision, defeating hostileradars, the ISPR said.
“The development of theAbabeel weapon system wasaimed at ensuring surviv-ability of Pakistan’s ballisticmissi les in the growingregional Ballistic MissileDefence (BMD) environ-ment,” the release said, in anobvious reference to India.
Zuckerberg charitybuys AI startup tobattle diseaseAFP n LOS ANGELES
Acharitable foundationbacked by Mark
Zuckerberg and his wife hassaid it has bought a Canadianartificial intelligence startupas part of a mission to eradicatedisease.
The Chan ZuckerbergInitiative did not disclose finan-cial terms of the deal to acquireToronto-based Meta, whichuses AI to quickly read andcomprehend scientific papersand then provide insights toresearchers.
Meta capabilities will beunified in a tool made availablefor free to scientists.
“We are very excited aboutwhat lies ahead,” Meta co-founder and chief executiveSam Molyneux said in a state-ment.
Zuckerberg and his doctorwife, Priscilla Chan, inSeptember pledged $3 billionover the next decade to helpbanish or manage all disease,pouring some of the Facebookfounder’s fortune into innova-tive research.
“This is a big goal,”Zuckerberg said at a SanFrancisco event announcingthe effort of the philanthropicentity established by the couplein 2015.
“But we spent the last fewyears speaking with expertswho think it is possible, so wedug in.”
In the field of biomedicinealone, thousands of research
papers are published daily, ini-tiative science president CoriBargmann and chief technolo-gy officer Brian Pinkerton saidin a post on the charity’sFacebook page.
Meta artificial intelligencecan analyze insights acrossmillions of papers, findingconnections and patterns atscales and speeds impossiblefor humans to match unassist-ed, according to Bargmannand Pinkerton.
“Meta will help scientistslearn from others’ discoveriesin real time, find key papersthat may have gone unnoticed,or even predict where theirfield is headed,” Bargmann andPinkerton said.
“The potential for this kindof platform is virtually limit-less.”
Zuckerberg said last monththat he built an artificial intel-ligence-imbued software “but-ler” — named Jarvis — thateven plays with his family.
WH to have 4 ‘Skype seats’ in press briefing roomWashington: For the first time,the White House press briefingroom will have four ‘Skypeseats’ to give access to a morediverse group of media outletsthat may not have the funds tohire a Washington correspon-dent, the Trump administra-tion has announced.
“Beginning later this week,I’m excited to announce thatwe’re going to have four —what we call Skype seats, livehere in the briefing room,” theWhite House Press Secretary
Sean Spicer told reporters at hismaiden news conference onMonday.
He said it will help thosejournalists who do not havenecessary security clearanceto enter White House.
“This will open up thebriefing to journalists who livebeyond 50 miles of theWashington DC area and toorganisations that don’t cur-rently have a hard pass,” he said.
As always, any organisationis welcome to apply for a day
pass. “But we’re excited to openup into the field and fold here,a diverse group of journalistsfrom around the country, whomay not have the convenienceor funding to travel toWashington,” he said.
“I think this can benefit usall by giving a platform tovoices that are not necessarilybased here in the belt way,”Spicer said.
This is the first time thatthe White House is havingSkype seats inside the White
House press briefing room.The previous ObamaAdministration was a frequentuser of Twitter, and Facebookas part of its outreach to thepress. The Trump administra-tion has been discussing aseries of potential changes toWhite House press operations,including shifting the briefingroom from the current venue.
Trump has long had a con-tentious relationship with themedia during and after theelections.
Donald Trump speaks to Egyptian prez, vows tosupport anti-terror warPTI n WASHINGTON
US President DonaldTrump has spoken with
his Egyptian counterpartAbdel Fattah el-Sisi andexpressed support for thecountry’s fight against terror-ism, besides discussing ways todeepen the bilateral relation-ship.
“They discussed ways todeepen the bilateral relation-ship and support Egypt’s fightagainst terrorists and bolsterEgypt’s home-grown historiceconomic reform program,”the White House PressSecretary Sean Spicer toldreporters at his first officialnews conference yesterday.
El-Sisi is the fourth foreignleader with whom Trump hascommunicated after thosefrom his two neighbouringcountries — Mexico andCanada, and recently withIsrael Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu.
“President Trump under-scored the United Statesremains strongly committed tothe bilateral relationship,which has helped both coun-
tries overcome challenges inthe region for decades,” hesaid.
Trump is committed tocontinue military aid to Egyptand work towards ensuringthat the assistance most effec-tively supports the Egyptianmilitary’s fight against terror-ism, he added.
Spicer said Trump alsocommended el-Sisi for hiscourageous steps to addressEgypt’s economic challengesand offered to discuss ways theUS could support Egypt’s eco-nomic reform program.
world 12LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017
US warns China over SCS dispute
PTI n WASHINGTON
In a stern warning to China, the UShas said it will protect its interests in
the disputed South China Sea anddefend international territories frombeing taken over by “one country”.
“I think areas in the South ChinaSea that are part of international watersand international activities... I think theUS is going to make sure that we pro-tect our interests there,” White HousePress Secretary Sean Spicer toldreporters at his first news conference.
“So it’s a question of if those islandsare in fact in international waters andnot part of China proper, then yes, we’regonna make sure that we defend inter-national territories from being takenover by one country,” Spicer said.
He was responding to a questionrelated to a recent statement made bySecretary of State nominee RexTillerson that US would deny China
access to these islands as they are ininternational waters.
China in a strongly worded state-ment had warned US of a war if it is
denied the access.The US President, Spicer said,
understands that China is a big mar-ket—for US goods and services.
“When he met the head of Alibabaa couple of weeks ago, that was part ofthe point. There’s huge market issuethere. But in many cases, it’s not a two-way street,” he said.
“There are so many Chinese busi-nesses and individuals frankly, who canhave ease of access in the United Statesto sell their goods or services,” he added.
“I think that whether or not you’retalking about the financial services orthe banking, you know, the other ser-vice industries, or our manufacturinggoods and services, or some of the IPproblems that we have with China, thatit really is not a two-way street,” Spicersaid.
“So he understands the marketthat China has and our desire to furtherpenetrate that market.
“But he also recognises, there’s a lotof concerns with how we are treatedentering into China’s market, and weneed to review that,” he said in responseto a question.
US can learn from India’s movetoward cashless society: ExpertPTI n WASHINGTON
The US can learn many lessons from India’smove towards a cashless economy, a top
Silicon Valley expert has said while underlin-ing that India “may have leapfrogged” Americantechnology industry with simple and practicalinnovations.
“India may have leapfrogged the US tech-nology industry with simple and practicalinnovations and massive grunt work. It has builta digital infrastructure that will soon process bil-lions more transactions than bitcoin ever has,”Vivek Wadhwa wrote in an op-ed in TheWashington Post. “With this, India will skip twogenerations of financial technologies and buildsomething as monumental as China’s Great Walland America’s interstate highways,” Wadhwa saidin his op-ed titled ‘What the US can learn fromIndia’s move toward a cashless society’.
Wadhwa argued that the Unified PaymentInterface (UPI) launched by India has eliminatedbilling processor and transaction costs are zero
unlike credit card payments. “There is no tech-nology barrier to prevent a UPI from workingin the US. Transfers would happen within sec-onds, even faster than the 10 minutes that a bit-coin transaction takes,” he said.
The top Indian-American expert alsopraised another Indian innovation India Stack,which is a series of secured and connected sys-tems that allow people to store and share per-sonal data such as addresses, bank statements,medical records, employment records and taxfilings, and it enables the digital signing of doc-uments. It will also transform how lending isdone. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demon-etisation policy announced on November 8, hewrote “was a bold move that will surely producelong-term benefit, because it will accelerate thepush to digital currency and the modernisationof the Indian economy.” “We are not ready tobecome a cashless society, but there are manylessons that Silicon Valley and the US can learnfrom the developing world,” said Wadhwa whois professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
Australia opens door to China in push to save TPPAFP n SYDNEY
Australia said today it wasworking to recast the
Trans-Pacific Partnership with-out the US and opened thedoor for China to sign up afterPresident Donald Trumpditched the huge trade pact.
The deal included a dozenAsia-Pacific nations whichtogether account for 40 per centof the global economy, butTrump declared yesterday hehad “terminated” it in linewith election pledges to scrapthe “job killer” pact.
Canberra is floating a “TPP12 minus one”, with PrimeMinister Malcolm Turnbullsaying his government was in“active discussions” with othersignatories including Japan,New Zealand and Singapore onhow to salvage the agreement.
“It is possible that US pol-icy could change over time onthis, as it has done on othertrade deals,” Turnbull toldreporters in Canberra, addingthat the nominee for US sec-retary of state Rex Tillerson andRepublicans supported theTPP. “There is also the oppor-tunity for the TPP to proceed
without the United States,” hesaid. “Certainly there is thepotential for China to join theTPP.” The agreement, thebiggest trade deal in history,was seen as a counter to China’srising economic influence. Itwas signed last year but has notgone into effect.
Trade Minister StevenCiobo said Australia, Canada,Mexico and others had can-vassed for a pact without theUnited Statesat a World TradeOrganisation ministerial meet-ing in Davos.
“There would be scope forChina if we were able to refor-mulate it to be a TPP 12 minusone, for countries likeIndonesia or China or indeedother countries to considerjoining,” Ciobo told theAustralian BroadcastingCorporation.
“This is very much a liveoption and we are pursuing itand it will be the focus of con-versations for some time tocome.”
New Zealand PrimeMinister Bill English notedthat Beijing “hasn’t been slowto spot the opportunity” to castitself as a free trade supporter.
There was a willingnesstowards “making an effort tofind out what we can do withTPP, rather than just droppingit and waiting and hoping to geta call (from Washington) aboutbilateral agreements sometime”,he told reporters in Wellington.
Trump said he would pur-sue bilateral deals with TPP sig-natories to secure terms morefavourable to the US. ButEnglish said a US-New Zealandpact would be challenginggiven Trump’s insistence thatWashington would dictateterms.
Alan Oxley, the firstAustralian to chair the GeneralAgreement on Tariffs andTrade, the World TradeOrganisation’s predecessor, saidChinese involvement in theTPP was unlikely at this stagesince it had bigger issues totackle.
“China’s certainly interest-ed in the long run... but theprospect of them tying into theTPP now, given their owndomestic economic problems,has got to be considered verylow,” Oxley, who heads theAustralian APEC Study CentreatRMIT University, told AFP.
PTI n UNITED NATIONS
UN Secretary-GeneralAntonio Guterres “very
carefully” listened to whatwas said by Pakistan PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif, whodiscussed the Kashmir issuewith him during a meeting onthe sidelines of the WorldEconomic Forum in Davos.
“I think the Secretary-General listened very careful-ly to what the Prime Minister
of Pakistan said. The Prime Minister pre-
sented the Secretary-Generalwith a number of information.And I will leave it at that,”Secretary General’s spokesper-son Stephane Dujarric said atthe daily press briefing whenasked about the Secretary-General’s response to Sharifasking for India to hold talkswith Pakistan.
Sharif last week raked upthe Kashmir issue in his first
meeting with the new UNSecretary General but got nopositive response to hisrequest for the world body’sintervention on the issue.
Sharif met Guterres on thesidelines of World EconomicForum at Davos and saidKashmir needed attention ofthe UN, according to a state-ment by the Prime Minister’sOffice in Islamabad.
“A sustained dialogueprocess on all outstandingissues, including Jammu andKashmir is essential to makeprogress.
It was in this spirit that weinvited India for discussionson the resolution of theKashmir dispute, in accor-dance with the relevant reso-lutions of the UN SecurityCouncil and aspirations ofthe Kashmiri people,” Sharifhad told the UN chief.
Sharif had said Pakistanlooks forward to Guterres’sleadership and good officesand the United Nations haslongstanding responsibility toplay a role in the resolution ofthese issues.
Guterres gave no positiveresponse to Sharif ’s demand.
Syria peace talks close to final declarationAstana: The UN envoy forSyria said today that a finaldeclaration was close to beingachieved at indirect talksbetween Syrian rebels andtheir war-torn country’sregime in Kazakhstan’s capitalAstana.
The talks, which yieldedno apparent breakthrough yes-terday, could have been thefirst face-to-face negotiationsbetween the regime and thearmed opposition since Syria’sconflict erupted in 2011, butthe rebels backed out.
“We are not far from afinal declaration,” UN envoyStaffan de Mistura said. “Thereare very intense discussionsbecause this is not about apaper, this is about a cessationof hostilities which meansSyrian lives.”
Rebel spokesman Yehyaal-Aridi said the rebels wouldnot sign a final declarationcoming out of the talks, sayingit would be issued by theirsponsors, rebel backer Turkey,regime ally Russia and possi-bly Iran. He added the finaldeclaration was a “generalstatement” that is “not meantto be signed by the parties”.The rebels rejected face-to-
face talks because of theregime’s continued bombard-ment and attacks on a flash-point outside the capitalDamascus.
The two sides sat at thesame table for the openingstatements, but spent the rest
of yesterday negotiating viamediators.
The rebels have insistedthe talks focus on bolstering afrail truce brokered by Turkeyand Russia last month,whilethe regime has called fora political solution to the near-
ly six-year conflict and forrebels to lay down their armsin exchange for an amnestydeal. Rebel spokesman OsamaAbu Zeid said ceasefire viola-tions and threats of forced dis-placements were hinderingthe negotiations, and that the
rebels would focus on thetruce in today’s talks.
In addition to having dif-ferent objectives, the two sidesalso disagree about the role ofthe talks’ three organisers,Russia, Turkey and Iran.
A member of the rebel del-egation told AFP yesterdaythat the group would agree tohave Russia serve as a guar-antor of the current ceasefirebut not Iran, another backer ofPresident Bashar al-Assad.
The Syrian regime, mean-while, has said it would refuseto hold government-level talkswith Turkey and sign any doc-ument bearing the signature ofa Turkish official - suggestingthis would include any deal tocome out of the talks.
The latest diplomatic ini-tiative to end the bloodshed inSyria comes one month afterregime forces, aided by Russiaand Iran, dealt a crushingblow to the rebels by retakingfull control of the country’ssecond city Aleppo.
More than 310,000 peoplehave been killed and morethan half of the country’s pop-ulation displaced since Syria’sconflict erupted in 2011 withprotests against Assad’s rule.
Yahya Al-Aridi, spokesman for the Syrian opposition speaks to the media ahead of Syria peace talks to journalists as he arrivesto attend the talks on Syrian peace in Astana, Kazakhstan on Tuesday . The face-to-face meeting in Kazakhstan's capital is thelatest in a long line of diplomatic initiatives aimed at ending the nearly 6-year-old civil war. AP
UN chief ‘carefully’ listened to what Sharif said: Spokesman
File Photo of UN chief with Sharif
‘Demonetisation to havelimited impact on Nepal’PTI n WASHINGTON
The IMF has said India’s demonetisa-tion would have limited impact on
Nepal as it projected a 5.5 per cent growthrate for the Himalayan country in thecurrent fiscal year.
“India’s sudden withdrawal of high-denomination banknotes is expected tohave a limited impact on activity over-all; bank holdings of Indian rupee cur-rency are small but some corporates andhouseholds who hold such notes haveseen their purchasing power affected,” theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) saidin its annual report on Nepal.
“The main risk to the outlook per-tains to failure of capital budget imple-mentation to improve,” the IMF said, not-ing that Nepal’s economy is reboundingafter a slowdown caused by the 2015earthquakes and trade disruptions, sup-ported by the government’s reformefforts.
Stating that IMF expects growth willreach 5.5 per cent in fiscal 2016-2017,IMF said strong policies are needed toenhance confidence amid ongoing polit-ical uncertainty, and to meet the author-ities long-term goal of becoming a mid-dle-income country by 2030.
A IMF team, led by GeertAlmekinders, visited Nepal from January11-23, to hold discussions. The team met
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ofFinance Krishna Bahadur Mahara,Central Bank Governor Chiranjibi Nepal,and other high-level government officials.
The team also met with representa-tives of the private sector, labour unions,and the donor community.
“Nepal’s economy is rebounding fol-lowing a slowdown caused by the 2015earthquakes and trade disruptions, sup-ported by the government’s efforts to revi-talise the reform agenda. The key chal-lenge now is to put policies in place thatwill extend the cyclical recovery into asustained period of high and inclusivegrowth,” Almekinders said.
According to him, the normalisationof economic activity is being supportedby a good monsoon, accommodativemonetary policy and rising governmentspending.
“The normalisation of prices in theaftermath of last year’s trade disruptionis pushing down inflation which isexpected to undershoot the authorities’mid-2017 inflation target of 7.5 per cent,”he added.
The IMF said maintaining compet-itiveness and external balance will requireclosing the inflation wedge with India ona sustained basis—through a tighteningof monetary policy, facilitated by astrengthening of the monetary policyframework.
German President Joachim Gauck, top right, and Roman Herzog's wife Alexandra Freifrau vonBerlichingen, 2nd right, follow the coffin after the state funeral of late German President Roman Herzog inthe Berlin Cathedral Church in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday. Herzog, who was German President between1994 and 1999, died Jan. 10, 2017. He was 82.
Etihad Airways chief Hoganto step down: Statement PTI n WASHINGTON
Yoga and aerobic exercise interven-tions may not significantly reduce
sleep disturbances among midlifewomen experiencing hot flashes,according to a new study. Researchersat University of Washington in the USsaid although the women had no diffi-culty falling asleep, disturbed sleep wascommon at baseline and remainedafter each intervention, with women inall groups waking during the night foran average of more than 50 minutes.
Previously published analyses of thesame trial had foundM that the yogaand aerobic exercise interventions wereassociated with small but statisticallysignificant improvements in subjective,self-reported sleep quality and insom-nia severity. “Our primary findings werethat the two study interventions had nosignificant effects on objective sleep out-comes in midlife women with hotflashes,” said Diana Taibi Buchanan,
associate professor at the University ofWashington.
“The main implication of this find-ing is that other behaviour treatmentswith the potential for effectively improv-ing sleep in this population should beexamined,” said Buchanan.
The study involved 186 late transi-tion and postmenopausal women withhot flashes who were between 40 and62 years of age. Study subjects had anaverage of 7.3 to 8 hot flashes per day.Participants were randomised to 12weeks of yoga, supervised aerobic exer-cise, or usual activity. Sleep measureswere evaluated using wrist actigraphy,and bedtimes and rise times weredetermined primarily from the partic-ipants’ sleep diaries.
Mean sleep duration at baselineand after each intervention was less thanthe seven or more hours of nightly sleepthat is recommended by the AmericanAcademy of Sleep Medicine for optimalhealth in adults.
Yoga fail to improve sleep in women: Study
Abu Dhabi/ Dubai: AbuDhabi-based Etihad Airwayssaid on Tuesday its chief exec-utive officer James Hogan willstep down in the second half of2017 after leading the fast-growing Gulf carrier for morethan 10 years.
The government-ownedcarrier said the move is part ofa “transition process” initiatedby its board and Hogan lastyear.
Australian Hogan becamehead of Etihad in 2006.
“I am very proud of whatwe have built together atEtihad and of the company’ssubstantial contribution to theUAE and to the developmentof Abu Dhabi,” Hogan said inthe Etihad statement. The car-rier that was launched in 2003
now has a fleet of 120 planeswith 178 others on order. Itserves 112 destinations.
Etihad has expandedrapidly and bought minori-ty stakes in carriers aroundthe world as it increased itsshare of global travel alongwit h l arger Gu l f r iva l sEmirates and Qatar Airways.
Etihad owns 49 per centof Alitalia, 29 per cent of AirBerlin, 40 per cent of AirSeychelles, 19.9 per cent ofVirgin Australia and 3 percent of Irish carrier AerLingus.
It also has a 24-per centstake in India’s Jet Airways.would show Dubai is “closingthe gap on Atlanta and Beijingfor the top spot in overall traf-fic.”
DUBAI REMAINS WORLD’S
BUSIEST INT’L AIRPORT
Dubai remains home to theworld’s busiest internationalairport after seeing 83.6 millionpassengers in 2016. However,the figures released on Tuesdayby Dubai International Airportfall short of an estimate of 85million passengers authoritieshad hoped to have. PaulGriffiths, CEO of DubaiAirports, says in a statementthat authorities hope to have 89million passengers in 2017.
Griffiths says that figurewould show Dubai is “closingthe gap on Atlanta and Beijingfor the top spot in overall traf-fic.”Dubai International Airportfirst surpassed LondonHeathrow as the world’s busiest.
LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017vivacity {48 hours} 13
PERSONALITY 30 MINUTES
EVENT SPACE 20 MINUTES FESTIVE RELISH 20 MINUTES
Arefugee’s fight within is as intense as theone that rages in the outside world. So
it is for Maryam, the semi-fictional charac-ter of The Horizon is an Imaginary Line: ARefugee Story. A young Somalian refugee inIndia, Maryam realises that “what she hadseen in Bollywood films was a lie….the peo-ple are cruel who judged her even withoutknowing her.”
Authored by Bani Gill and RadhaMahendru, the book with illustrations pro-vides a fast-paced but deep account of thelife of refugees who are always conscious oftheir looks, clothing, skin colour, for fear thatit would elicit hatred from the natives. Sowhat makes a person a refugee?, “There isnot a single answer to this question. It’s basi-cally the circumstances in the home coun-try and the reasons vary from your religiousto regional and to your sexual identity orsexual violence. There is a big differencebetween a refugee and a migrant. Migrantis someone who makes a conscious choiceto leave his country, seeking a better life. Buta refugee is someone who has no choice butto move and save his life,” says Radha. Thesemi-fictional book is published by KhojInternational Artists Association and theillustrator for the book is Pia Alize Hazarika.
It was in 2015, during the launch ofCoriolis Effect exhibition at Khoj studio thatincluded artworks by Indian and Africanartists that Bani and Radha reconnected ona personal basis. Before that, both werealready engaged in conversations with adiverse set of migrants seeking refuge andasylum in India. Bani is doing PhD onmigration and refugee flows from Africa toIndia and Radha is monitoring Khoj’s com-munity-based art projects in Khirkee, wheremost of the Africans live. “Our friends andcollaborators, Fatima,Koofe and Hafez were inte-gral to this process. It wasthrough their narrativesand experiences thatMaryam emerged anddeveloped through a seriesof storytelling workshopsheld across a span of fourmonths. For many of them,a lot of whom have grownup in India, even access tobasic amenities-becomescomplicated by theirracialised and ambiguouslegal status. These texturedstories prompted us toengage with the graphicform that would allow forflexibility of perspectiveand tone while communi-cating the emotional struggles of unbelong-ing, waiting and being in a state of limbo,”says Bani.
She says, “Do what you want others todo for you. We have to realise and acknowl-edge that we are also racists and have to takeprogressive steps to address this.” Whenasked about living like an alien in one’s owncountry Bani says, “It’s happening in Indiaright now. Whenever we are promoting theidea of one nation, one has to raise the ques-tion that whose nation is this or who are thepeople who belong to and don’t belong toit. There are regions in India which havebeen under constant tension and the peo-ple there are living in fear. This has hap-pened many times; during emergency,Punjab insurgency, demolition of BabriMasjid and Godhra riots, to name a few.Some incidents came to light just becausethe media reported it. There are atrocitiescommitted against Dalits or Adivasis everyday, but people look at them as somethingnormal.”
So how do we developawareness? Says Bani, “Weneed to start from the topand then reach the bottom.We have to sensitise the lawand policy makers on theissues and the people as well.Even in India we may feel asan outsider when we movefrom one part to the other.There is nothing that wecan exactly call as an Indian,our look has no similarityand we speak different lan-guages. We need to own upour cultural diversity andbehave accordingly. In Indiathe biggest challenge is castewhich is racist in many ways.India is not just the roti eat-
ing, North Indian Brahmanical society. It’smany countries and that is the beauty of it.”
When asked on the impact of racism onthe younger generation of refugees, she saysthat people growing up with a low self-esteem is most problematic. The way youlook, the language you speak, or the clothyou wear shouldn’t define you. Radhabelieves that anybody can be an outsider atsome point of time. “The moment youbecome an outsider is when you see your-self through someone else’s eyes. Whatmakes the life of a refugee more complicat-ed is that they don’t have support of theircountry, don’t have a pan card and hence notable to open a bank account. Pakistan,Lebanon and turkey are the greatest refugeetaking countries, not the US as we think. It’sa global South.”
“When we already have a product inmind we would fit our knowledge into that.For the book we deviated from that, and pro-duced something which is valuable, she con-cludes.
Abagpiper in kilt may be a regularfeature in Scotland but beyond theborders it’s somewhat a rare occur-
rence. The piper joined the crowd as wesettled ourselves in one of the round tablesfor the inaugural Big Burns Supper at theBritish Council. It was a celebratory ritu-al to mark the birth and work of Scotland’snational poet Robert Burns, whoseploughboy, true-to-the-grain poems, songsand humanist literary works touchedhearts across the globe. In the Indian con-text, we all know of how our own poet lau-reate Rabindranath Tagore was inspired byBurns and adapted the melody of Auldlang Syne for Purano Shei Diner Kotha.Further underlining the Indian connectionwas the faculty and alumni of theUniversity of Edinburgh which has had aknowledge partnership with India for over150 years and is now collaborating withthe neurosciences institute (Centre forBrain Development and Repair) inBengaluru for finding a cure to Alzheimer’sdisease.
Burns suppers are hedonistic affairswith bagpipes, feasting, dancing anddrinking interspersed with poetry readingsand reinterpretations of the poet’s legacyin the modern world. So amid haggis, tat-ties and some toasts with the finestScotch whisky, the debut in India beganwith the speech of Alan Gemmell, Directorof British Council India. He talked aboutthe first supper which was held in memo-riam at Burns Cottage by Robert Burns’friends on July 21, 1801, the fifth anniver-sary of his death, and have been a regu-lar occurrence ever since. Going throughthe rituals, he mentioned how the guestsare seated and grace is said, using theSelkirk Grace, a well-known thanksgivingsaid before meals in the Scot language.“Some hae meat an canna eat, And somewad eat that want it; But we hae meat, andwe can eat, And sae let the Lord be thankit...”
The guests stand up as the maincourse, the haggis (a meat pudding con-taining sheep’s heart, liver and lungs;minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices,and salt, mixed with stock, traditionallyencased in the animal’s stomach) isbrought in. They welcome the diner’s starattraction, which was delivered on a sil-ver platter by a procession comprising thechef, the piper, the whisky bearer and SirDominic Asquith, British HighCommissioner. During the procession,guests clapped in time to the music untilthe haggis reached its destination at thetable. When the music stopped, guestswere requested to take a seat and SirDominic asked one of the ladies at the hightable to address the haggis as is custom.She recited the classic Robert Burnspoem, Address to a Haggis. Fair fa’ yourhonest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o the pud-din’-race! Aboon them a’ ye tak your place,Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wor-thy o’ a grace As lang’s my arm…
This was followed by cutting it open.The recital ended with the reader raisinga piece at the edge of a knife in triumphwhich the guests greeted with enthusias-tic applause. At the end of the poem, aScotch whisky toast was proposed to the
haggis and to the piper while theguests settled down for the meal.
Of course, we were served spe-cially crafted vegetarian haggis withwhisky sauce, followed by the tradi-tional Scottish dessert, Cranachan.Everything available was washeddown with the “water of life.”
“Haggis is a traditional Scottishsausage made from a sheep’s stomachstuffed with diced sheep’s liver, lungsand heart, oatmeal, onion, suet and sea-soning. Most haggis is part-cooked beforebeing sold and needs to be simmered inboiling water for one to two hours. Buthere, we have cooked a vegetarian haggisbased ingredients such as carrot, swede,leek, celery, oatmeal, barley, lentils, onion,mushroom, kidney beans, chick peas, andspices, packed into a vegetarian (non-edible) plastic casing and boiled,”said the chef.
Cock-a-leekie soup was another
favourite among the guests.It is a Scottishbroth of leeks
and chickens t o c k .“ T h e
originalr e c i p e
a d d e dp r u n e sd u r i n gcooking,and tradi-tionalists
still garnishit with a juli-
enne of prunes.The dish, said to bea peasant dish, ismentioned as earlyas the 16th centuryand is often servedat Burns Suppersor St Andrew’sNight Dinner(November 30) aswell as an every-day soup in win-ter. The ‘Auld
Reekie’ cock-a-leekie soup has a speciali n g r e d i e nt - S c o t c hwhisky. According toScottish tradition, cock-a-
leekie soup evolved fromcockfighting,” the chef
shared. He further added,“The story goes that after thefight was over; the cock thatlost was boiled in a pottogether with some leeks, and
then everyone who had watched thespectacle shared the soup.” Alan Gemmellgave a speech, remembering some aspectof Burns’ life. He spoke about his love affairwith Mary Campbell, for whom he wrotethe song Highland Mary. A toast to theimmortal memory of Robert Burns thenfollowed.
Speaking at the event, Professor SirTimothy O’Shea, Vice Chancellor of theUniversity of Edinburgh said he was veryimpressed by an India in change and hadfull faith in its talent pool from prestigiousinstitutions like the IITs. “The nineteencentury marks our first association withIndia. Since then we had the larger con-centration of Indian students in theUnited Kingdom. The one thing which Irecall of our partnership with India isbefore Dr. Kalam visited our university, Ihad resided here with him. And it is partof our tie-up with the Indian governmentthat leading Indian and British neuro-science students are working together,” saidSir Timothy. “In just ten years, my drivesfrom the airport have changed. There area lot many swanky cars now,” he added.And unlike China, which by the way hebelieves India will catch up with in a fewyears, he likes the way youngsters preservetradition here. “In China, a wedding iscompletely White. In India, a wedding isstill your wedding full of bluster andcolour.”
The evening ended with The Burns’song, Auld Lang Syne, most commonlyplayed at the end of Scottish events. Thereare various meanings for the title of thesong, but it’s about old times, or the timethat has passed.
Photo credit: Pankaj Kumar
Aday after organisers cancelled FrenchDJ David Guetta’s international music
concert in Bengaluru citing law and orderissues, the Mumbai police yesterday deniedpermission to hold the Sunburn festival atthe Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) innorth-central Mumbai.
Hours before Guetta was scheduled toperform at the Reliance Jio Garden at theBKC, the Mumbai police said that they had‘rejected’ the Sunburn festival organisers’application to hold the concert.
“Permission to today’s Sunburn pro-gramme at BKC is rejected by the Mumbaipolice for not completing mandatoryrequirements and legal formalities,” deputycommissioner of police (operations) andMumbai police spokesperson Ashok Dudhesaid.
The city police officials said that thefestival organisers had approached them forpermission at the last moment. “It is diffi-cult for us to work out logistics for the pro-gramme at the last moment,” a senior offi-cial said.
The organisers had initially planned tohold Guetta’s concert at the MahalaxmiRace Course. However, the BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation (BMC) deniedpermission for the ‘Sunburn Arena’ eventat the Mahalaxmi Race Course. TheByaculla police, under whose jurisdictionthe Mahalaxmi race Cours falls, alsodenied permission to the organizers to holdthe concert.
Forty-nine-year-old Guetta is on afour-city tour of India that was expected tobegin in Bengaluru and then move toMumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi. However,the organisers cancelled the concert inBengaluru on Thursday, citing law andorder issues in the wake of the New Year-eve reported mass molestation incident. TheMumbai police yesterday denied permis-sion to the organisers to hold Guetta con-cert at the BKC.
The next two concerts are scheduledto be held in Hyderabad and Delhi onSaturday and Sunday respectively.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE BATTER:
refined flour / maida 1 cupsooji 1/2 cuprice flour 1/4 cupmilk 2 cupoil
FOR THE FILLING:
grated coconut / khoya 3 cupssugar / date jaggery 2 Tbspcardamoms 3-4
METHOD
For the filling:
n In a wok mix grated coconut or khoya withsugar or jaggery and place it over low flame. Ifmaking with khoya, add little milkn Add cardamom in itn Keep stirring the mixture till it gets sticky. Keepaside to cool. The process will take 15-20minutes
For the patishapta: n Take maida, sooji and rice flour in a bowln Add milk. Mix it carefully not making anylumpsn Keep the mixture for half an hourn Heat the non stick pan. Put a little oil. Pour athin layer of the mixture on it and spread it
quickly with the laddlen Put the filling lengthwise at the center of it androll it. Wait till the colour is light brown
n Place it on the plate. Serve hot or cold
n Tip: You can pour condensed milk over itbefore serving
Chef Lalita Chakraborty
INGREDIENTS Grated bottle gourd 250 gm Milk 700 mlSugar 80 gmKhoya 80 gmSunflower seeds 20 gmMelon seeds 10 gmGulkand 30 gmRose syrup
05 mlMETHODn Boil grated bottle gourd with milk on a slowflame and cook until the milk is reducedn Add sugar, khoya, gulkand and stir the mixture n Pour the mixture on a tray and flatten itn Garnish with sunflower seeds and melon seeds n Once the mixture cold and set cut into smallpiece and serve along with rose syrup
Chef Deepak Yadav, Pastry Chef, Courtyard by MarriottGurugram Downtown
GROUND ZERO 2 HOURS
SUPPER THEATREThe debut of Big BurnsSupper in India wasmarked with haggis,tatties and some toastswith the finest Scotchwhisky at the BritishCouncil. By ANKITA JAIN
The Horizon is an Imaginary Line: A Refugee Story written
by BANI GILL and RADHA MAHENDRU deals with the
struggle for survival of refugees who had to flee their
homelands to save their own lives. TEAM VIVA reports
The outsider within
DAVID GUETTA's Mumbai concert cancelled afterauthorities deny permission. By T N RAGHUNATHA
Not Guetta-ing it!
LAUKI AUR GULKAND BURFI
PATISHAPTA
LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017sport 14
AP n PARIS
France will be without its two bestplayers when it faces Japan in the
first round of the Davis Cup aftercaptain Yannick Noah left GaelMonfils out of his squad and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was granted leavefor family reasons.
Noah is reproaching the coun-try's top player for a perceived lackof investment, hinting that thesixth-ranked Monfils is giving pri-ority to his personal goals. Tsongahas been allowed to skip the Feb. 3-
5 series to stay with his wife, whois expecting their first child.
Monfils lost to Rafael Nadal inthe fourth round at the AustralianOpen and 12th-ranked Tsongamade it to the quarterfinals, beatenin straight sets by Stan Wawrinka.
Noah's decision is the latestdevelopment in the shaky relation-ship between the former FrenchOpen champion and Monfils. InSeptember, Noah criticized Monfilsfor pulling out at the last minutefrom France's semifinal seriesagainst Croatia. Earlier last year,
Monfils had also publicly criticizedNoah's decision to play a first-round match against Canada in theremote island of Guadeloupe, ques-tioning the venue choice because ofthe logistics involved.
"He had his best season last yearbut played only one singles (DavisCup) match in Guadeloupe," Noahsaid Tuesday during a conference call."In the quarterfinals, he was unableto play, but he won a tournament theweek after. And he could not play inthe semifinals just after reaching thelast four at the U.S. Open."
France missed the opportunityto reach a second Davis Cup final inthree years, losing 3-2 in last year'ssemifinals in Croatia. Noah said heis convinced Monfils should havetried to play despite his knee prob-lems following his strong display atFlushing Meadows. "I have beenutterly disappointed in Zadar," Noahsaid. "It was four or five months ago,but for us it feels like yesterday."
Monfils' good run at theAustralian Open had no effect onNoah, who said he made his choicein December to protect his squad's
cohesion."It's better if Gael remains on the
sidelines of the team. This decisiondoes not surprise anybody," he said,adding that Monfils "needs to provehe is really motivated."
The French team traveling toTokyo will be made up of RichardGasquet, Gilles Simon, NicolasMahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Japan's best player, KeiNishikori, said he is skipping thebest-of-five series on the indoorhard court of the Ariake Colosseumbecause of a packed schedule.
AP n PORT-GENTIL
Algeria was eliminated from theAfrican Cup of Nations in Gabon
in a goal rush in the final games inGroup B on Monday.
The one-time title contenderdrew with Senegal 2-2 and learnedTunisia went through to the quar-terfinals in its place by beatingZimbabwe 4-2.
Ten goals flew in at the culmi-nation of the group but Algeria's fatewas effectively sealed quickly whenNorth African rival Tunisia went 2-0 up very early over the Zimbabweanswith strikes from Niam Sliti andYoussef Msakni. Algeria neededTunisia to lose in Libreville to havea chance of progressing to the quar-ters.
Senegal had already qualifiedfor the quarterfinals - and alreadywon the group - and rested many ofits frontline players. Algeria stillcouldn't win.
In the eastern city of Franceville,Algeria twice led through goals fromIslam Slimani, and Senegal twiceequalized, leaving Algeria to exit thetournament without a win.
Two of the four quarterfinallineups have now been decided:Tunisia will play Burkina Faso, andSenegal will play Cameroon.
Algeria's surprise exit - it wastipped to go far - followed hostGabon's elimination on Sunday. Areal big name could follow the sameroute on Tuesday when defendingchampion Ivory Coast's hopes hangon it getting a win against Morocco.
The fate of Ivory Coast andGroup C will be decided in two of themore out-of-the-way locations tohave ever hosted African Cup games.
Ivory Coast faces Morocco inOyem in northern Gabon, a townthat sprouts out of dense jungle nearthe border with Cameroon andEquatorial Guinea. Congo, the groupleader, plays Togo in Port-Gentil,
Gabon's main seaport and the cen-ter of its oil industry. It's a city thatsits on a peninsula jutting out into theAtlantic Ocean and which is not con-nected to the rest of the centralAfrican country by road.
There's intrigue away from theexotic locations, too.
Ivory Coast must find a way tooutsmart its former coach, withHerve Renard the man who led theIvorians to the African title two
years ago. It boils down to this: IvoryCoast needs to beat Morocco inOyem and hope that Togo doesn'tbeat Congo in Port-Gentil. A drawwould be enough for Morocco toknock the defending champion outin the group stage.
"We have a small advantage inthat we have one point more thanIvory Coast," Morocco coach Renardsaid. "Now everything will play outon the pitch. Most people are bettingon Ivory Coast qualifying, but it is upto us to prove them wrong."
There was all-out action from themoment the Group B games kickedoff on Monday.
Senegal made a forceful start andspurned early chances againstAlgeria, and Slimani made thempay when he volleyed a cross from theleft from Sofiane Hanni into the roofof the net in the 10th minute. Slimaniimmediately scooped up the ball andran it back to the center circle to showthat Algeria meant business.
PTI n KANPUR
Hardik Pandya has come back "wiser" intothe Indian team after being dropped and
says his recent performance has given him asense of belonging at the highest level.
Pandya endured a tough time followingthe World T20 at home. The fast bowling all-rounder had a forgettable IPL post the worldevent, costing him a place in the Indian teamfor the tour of Zimbabwe.
It was a hard reality check for the 23-year-old, who now fondly recollects those testingtimes which helped him become a bettercricketer.
"After the World T20, I had a realitycheck. I thought hard about the things I need-ed to improve on. The A tour to Australiahappened and that turned out to be an impor-tant for me. I learnt a lot there about my game.
As you mentioned, Rahul Dravid sir (coach)used to help me a lot, talking to me about mygame and the mental side of it. ParasMhambrey (assistant coach) was also veryhelpful," said Pandya ahead of the openingT20 International between India and Englandhere.
The performance on the A tour helpedhim return to the Indian team. His ODI debutin the New Zealand series was followed by amaiden call-up to the Test team for theEngland series.
However, a shoulder injury while train-ing during the third Test in Mohali ruled himout for the rest of the series and he could notmake his debut.
The next opportunity came in the recent-ly concluded ODI series against England andhe staked a claim for a Champions Trophyberth with handy contributions in the first
and third ODI.Pandya would have loved to take the team
past the finish line in Kolkata after complet-ing his maiden ODI fifty, but he was out toa slog and India lost the game by five runs.
He went back into the dressing roomwiser after giving his wicket away at that cru-cial juncture.
"As an individual, I feel we should acceptour mistakes and learn from it. I feel I shouldnot have played that shot but I felt the ask-ing rate was getting high and someone hadto take the chance.
"I felt Kedar (Jadhav) was someone whoshould have stayed till the end and I backedmyself to take the chances. In that process Igot out but next time I will choose a wiseshot," he said.
A few blips notwithstanding, Pandyagained a lot out the series.
AP n MELBOURNE
Andy Roddick won the U.S.Open, reached the final of
Wimbledon three times andwas a fixture in the top 10 formuch of his career. Still, he did-n't think his induction in theInternational Tennis Hall ofFame was a sure thing.
"It's not something I thoughtI was entitled to," he told TheAssociated Press on Tuesday atthe Australian Open. "I'm not ashoo-in like Roger (Federer) orSerena (Williams) or anyonelike that, so I certainly appreci-ate it."
Roddick, 34, will be induct-ed into the Hall of Fame inNewport, Rhode Island, on July22 alongside four-time majorwinner Kim Clijsters, wheel-chair tennis player MoniqueKalkman-van den Bosch, tennishistorian and journalist SteveFlink and the late instructor VicBraden.
Roddick may not have col-lected as many Grand Slam tro-phies as Federer or other play-ers of his generation, but he takespride in the fact he reached No.1 and his longevity at the top ofthe game.
"I never really went away," hesaid. "I was in the top 10 for adecade. That took a lot of timeand a lot of effort and to staythere mentally that long is atough thing, especially whenthe guys you're trying to gothrough to win big tournaments,they were and are very good and(have) since become the mostdecorated generation."
Roddick came up just shortat Wimbledon three times, los-ing to Federer in the finals in
2004, '05 and '09. He also lost tothe Swiss great, his biggest rivalin the sport, in the U.S. Openfinal in 2006.
Overall, Roddick had a 3-21record against Federer, but he'squick to point out that he wontheir last match in Miami in2012. "He's lucky I retired,"Roddick quipped.
The American may havesuffered more than his fair shareof disappointing losses toFederer, but his respect for the17-time major winner runs deepand he's honored to have playedin the same generation as him.
"It's weird because you sharehistory with someone. Itbecomes a part of your defini-tion for a long time," he said. "I'mhappy that a part of my defini-tion is as respectful, as classy andas good of a human as Roger."
France captain snubs Monfils for Davis Cup match in Japan
Monfils lost toRafael Nadal in thefourth round at the
Australian Open and12th-ranked Tsonga
made it to thequarterfinals,
beaten in straightsets by Stan
Wawrinka
GOAL RUSH AS ALGERIA OUT, TUNISIA THROUGH
Pandya returns wiser after harsh reality check
Andy Roddick proud of longevity
Ecclestone
out, Carey in
as Liberty
complete F1
deal
LOS ANGELES: BernieEcclestone’s long reign asFormula One’s ringmaster cameto an end Monday as LibertyMedia completed its multi-bil-lion-dollar takeover of motor-sport’s most prestigious brand.
Colorado-based Libertyconfirmed in a statement thatAmerican Chase Carey hadbeen appointed chairman andchief executive of F1, withEcclestone moving into anadvisory role as “chairmanemeritus”. Ecclestone, 86, hadalready signalled the end of hisnear 40-year reign as head ofFormula One in comments toGerman magazine Auto Motorund Sport earlier Monday.
“I was dismissed today,”Ecclestone told the magazine. “Ino longer run the company. Myposition has been taken byChase Carey,” he said.
He said his new chairmanemeritus role was “a kind ofhonorary president” position,but added: “I have this titlewithout knowing what itmeans.” Ecclestone, a formercar salesman who transformedF1 into a multi-billion dollarbusiness, was initially reportedto be staying on after news ofthe Liberty deal emerged lastyear. However in a statementconfirming completion of thetakeover, valued at around $8billion, Liberty president GregMaffei confirmed Ecclestonewould be leaving his role aschief executive. “We are delight-ed to have completed the acqui-sition of F1 and that Chase willlead this business as CEO,”Maffei said. “There is an enor-mous opportunity to grow thesport, and we have every con-fidence that Chase, with hisabilities and experience, is theright person to achieve this,”Maffei added, paying tribute tothe “tremendous success” ofEcclestone in helping to growFormula One.
SUNRISE CLUB WINSunrise Club blanked Golden Boot
Football Club 2-0 in the opening match ofthe 4th All-India Super Sports Cup at KDSingh ‘Babu’ Stadium on Tuesday.
Amit and Vinod scored for SunriseClub
SP SINGH APPOINTED SCORERBoard for Control of Cricket in India
has appointed Shailendra P Singh ofLucknow and Anirudh P Singh of Kanpuras official scorer in the 1st T20 matchbetween India and England, to be playedat Green Park in Kanpur on January 26.
REPUBLIC DAY RUNSports Authority of India under
Ministry of Youth and Sports is organis-ing Republic Day run on Wednesday. Theevent will begin from SAI sports complex.More than 2000 runners will take part inthe event.
LOCAL EVENTS
AFP ■ SYDNEY
Australia’s player of the yearDavid Warner has wel-
comed a rest before touringIndia next month saying it’stough preparing for sub-con-tinental conditions.
Warner, who won back-to-back Allan Border medals onMonday night, has beenexcused from the three one-daygames in New Zealand startingnext week after a hectic south-ern summer.
“We’re running ragged inthe outfield ... we’re givingeverything we can, and I’ve runas hard as I can for every ball,”the 30-year-old told reportersafter the medal ceremony.
“So that does take its toll,”the opening batsman added.
Warner said he would flyout on February 5, “So I’ve gota bit of time at home which isgreat”.
“I’m grateful that you knowCricket Australia allowing meto get over some little nigglesand having a little bit of restat home to get me ready forIndia and there’s no excusesthere.”
Australia has won Test andone-day series against Pakistanafter losses to South Africa anda tough tour of Sri Lanka andWarner admitted to feelingthe strain.
“I felt probably the first twoespecially one-dayers this serieswith Pakistan, I’ve felt quite,not lazy, but my feet weren’tmoving,” he said.
“Sometimes they don’tmove at all, but they were justquite fatigued.
Australia face Pakistan inAdelaide in their final one-dayer on Thursday havingalready wrapped up the series3-1. With a need to get on thefront foot batting in India,Warner said he could lookforward to training after thebreak.
“We are going to be work-ing our backsides off physical-ly and mentally as well before
we even think about playingthe game of cricket (in India),”the vice-captain said.
“That’s what gets you men-tally tough and ready for thoseconditions. It’s not the wicketit’s not the opposition, theconditions.
“You’ve got the heat.Players that have been in Indiaknow how hard it is just to
overcome that let alone thecricket itself. You’ve got toacclimatise.” Warner smashedconsecutive hundreds againstPakistan in Melbourne andSydney where he also blastedthe fastest Australian Test half-century off just 23 balls.
Top-ranked India play thefirst Test against Australia atPune from February 23.
NEW DELHI: Australia cap-tain Steve Smith has urged thesenior players of his side tostep up and take more respon-sibility during the tough Indiatour ahead and also wantsopener David Warner to scorea big century like the oneKarun Nair smashed againstEngland recently.
Young batsman Nair hadscored an unbeaten 303 inIndia’s innings and 75-runwin against England in thefifth Test of the series.
Specifically askedabout his expectations fromDavid Warner, who has notmade a hundred overseassince 2014, Smith said hemust convert a century into abig one.
“It’s pretty important thatour senior players step up inthose conditions and takecontrol. It’s something we did-n’t do overly well in Sri Lanka,and we didn’t get the resultsthat we wanted there. Thesenior players - myself, Davey,(Mitchell) Starcy, Josh(Hazlewood) and NathanLyon - need to step up andreally take control,” Smith told‘ESPNCricinfo’.
“I’m going to do it differ-ently to Davey. You don’t wantto get rid of someone’s natur-al flair and the way they play.But if he gets to a hundred, itmight be about knucklingdown again and going big, get200 or 300, like Karun Nairdid a few weeks ago. Those arethe big scores that set your
team up, so just being hungryand willing to keep going andnot let up.”
Smith said India is a dif-ficult place to tour.
“India play incredibly wellin their own backyard, andeach individual is going tohave to have plans in place.Ashwin and Jadeja havebeen incredible for a whilenow. They have got a couple ofgood quicks who bowl goodreverse swing, and their bats-men score big runs,” Smithsaid.
The Australia captain saidEngland might have lost boththe Test and ODI series but theteam actually played quitewell.
“Looking at the India-England series, England actu-ally played reasonably well,they scored big runs, but Indiajust went bigger and bigger.We are going to have to findways to get them out and weare going to have to findways to bat for long periods -150 overs in your first inningsand set the game up fromthere.
LUCKNOW: India’s next cropof talented shuttlers wereengaged in a slugfest with 8boys and 5 girls qualifying forthe main draw of the SyedModi Grand Prix Gold, whichwill get underway here onWednesday.
In men’s singles, AmitSharma, Shubham Prajapati,Kandarp Chaubey, BhaskarChakraborty, Alap Mishra,Dhruv Kumar, Aneeth Kumarand Ashish Sharma reached themain draw of 64.
In women’s singles, DeepaliGupta, Amolika SinghSisodiya, Gauri Asaji andVaidehi Choudhari entered themain draw. In men’s doubles,Rushikesh Mali and KNRajesh, Kapil Chaudhary andChandrabhusan Tripathi,Vikrant Chawat and PremSingh Chouhan along withRohit Raturi and Mohit Tiwarireached the main draw.
In mixed doubles,Purshottam Awate and NimmiPatel, Ketan Chahal andMohita Sahdev, Dhruv Kapilaand Jakkampudi Meghana,Tushar Sharma and Tapaswini
Samantaray advanced to themain draw. There were no
qualifying matches in women’sdoubles. Meanwhile in the
evening, Governor Ram Naikinaugurated the championship.
Warner happy to rest fortough India test
‘Score big just like Karun Nair’
Syed Modi GP off to flying start
8 boys, 5 girls qualify in singles main draw
Governor Ram Naik being introduced to PV Sindhu during the inauguration of Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badmintonchampionship at UP Badminton Academy on Tuesday
singles
MUMBAI DEFEAT UP WIZARDS 4-3MUMBAI: Dabang Mumbai scored a stunningcome-from-behind 4-3 victory over UttarPradesh Wizards to earn their first victory intwo games in the Hockey India League, hereMonday night. The match-winner for thehome team, when they were down 2-3 withjust over a minute of play left on the clock,was scored by Dutchman RobbertKemperman through a deflection off a crossfrom right. Just a minute earlier, UP hadtaken the lead again through India interna-tional Ramandeep Singh that put them 3-2 infront before Kemperman spoiled theirchances. It was the second time that Mumbaigot a last-minute field goal, after the first onetwo days ago by Nikin Thimmiah whichearned them a 3-3 draw against Ranchi. UPhad gone 2-0 ahead early in the match in thefirst quarter through Augustin Mazzili's fieldstrike before the hosts drew level throughtwo penalty corner goals from their drag-flickexpert Harmanpreet Singh, one each in thesecond and third quarter of the game, at theMHAL Stadium.
MOHUN BAGAN, DSK DRAW 0-0 PUNE: Mohun Bagan and DSK Shivajianswasted chances galore as the leaders wereheld to a goal-less draw, their first after arun of four wins, by a home side thatseemed to have its nose slightly ahead in theI-league encounter here on Tuesday. Anopening was their even in the closingmoments, only to go abegging, at theBalewadi Sports Complex, the benefactor onthat occasion being the home boys. In the89th minute, the visitors were on the chargeas Sony Norde's cross from the right wasmet with a header from their Scottish marks-man Darryl Duffy, but Japanese KatsumiYusa was taken care of by the DSK defencebefore he could set himself up for a volley.
WILL REDUCE SARITA TO TEARS: BEDONEW DELHI: Hungarian Zsofia Bedo, whowill be former world champion L SaritaDevi's opponent in the India's debut profes-sional fight, has promised to reduce her totears in the contest scheduled for January29 in Imphal. Sarita's response at the train-ing camp in Rohtak has been short andterse, "You are finished". "I tried to knowmore about my opponent. When you searchfor boxer Sarita, you find pictures of a ladyin tears. I am going to add more suchimages to internet. Trust me,' Bedo saidreferring to Sarita's infamous meltdown atthe 2014 Asian Games after a controversialsemifinal loss. When pointed that Sarita hasbeen among India's best amateur boxers, theHungarian veteran of 59 professional boutsreacted by saying, "Professional boxing is adifferent world altogether. Here it's going tobe a fight to finish - 12 minutes and fourrounds are going to be a lifetime for thatlady and I don't see her lasting that long."
Agencies
LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 201715
PTI n MUMBAI
Wriddhiman Saha's career-bestfirst-class knock of 203 was the
stand-out performance as Rest ofIndia lifted the Irani Cup after effort-lessly chasing down a 379-run targetset by Gujarat with more than two ses-sions to spare here on Tuesday.
Saha's 203 and skipperCheteshwar Pujara's unbeaten 116helped Rest of India overhaul the tar-get with six wickets still in hand.
Wicketkeeper Saha and Pujara,unbeaten on 123 and 83 respective-ly last evening in a team score of 266for four, carried on in imperious fash-ion on the fifth and final morning tosteer the team home an hour beforelunch in 19.1 overs at the BrabourneStadium here.
This was 15th time in the last 19editions that Rest of India had wonthe tournament, which is in its 55thyear.
Rest of India finished with 379 forfour in 103.1 overs to cruise home instyle.
The duo's fifth wicket unbrokenpartnership was worth 316 runs in78.5 overs. It was the second-best inthe tournament's history after thehighest of 327 for the fourth wicket
between Ravi Shastri and PraveenAmre for Mumbai against the Rest atBengaluru in 1990-91.
‘NOT MY BEST INNINGS’Wriddhiman Saha remained
unfazed in his finest cricketing hourand said his twin half centuries
against New Zealand in Kolkatacarry "more value" than his unbeat-en 203 in the Irani Cup, perhaps oneof his best knocks.
"You can call this one of my bet-ter batting efforts alongside my cen-tury against the West Indies at GrosIslet. But if you ask me about theinnings closest to my heart, then it hasto be the twin half-centuries againstNew Zealand at Kolkata," a composedWriddhiman said on Tuesday.
"The unbeaten knocks of 54 and58 were special because the pitch was-n't an easy one to bat on. Also you hadone of the best exponents of swingbowling, Trent Boult, using all hisvariations. It was a quality NewZealand attack and that's what makesit more special," said Wriddhiman.
His decision to stand at least twofeet outside the crease was talkedabout and he said the lack of pace ofthe Gujarat seamers had a lot to dowith it.
PTI n MUMBAI
Known for his proficiency inTests and a prolific scorer in
first class cricket, CheteshwarPujara has set himself a task -of forcing people to take noticeof his prowess in the T20 formattoo and play in the upcomingIndian Premier League season.
"I definitely want to make amark in that particular format.I have done well in T20 match-es. I played in DY Patil T20tournament (in Navi Mumbai)and got a hundred and twofifties.
“I am very confident that Ican play well in other formats ofthe game," said Pujara after lead-ing Rest of India to a six-wicketvictory over new Ranji Trophychampions Gujarat in the IraniCup match here on Tuesday.
Pujara, who has been in topform in first class cricket, has notbeen seen in the same light in thelimited over formats, especially inthe slam-bang T20 matches anddid not play in the last two IPL editions.
PTI n MUMBAI
Chairman of selectors MSK Prasad onTuesday indicated that Wriddhiman Saha
will regain his rightful place in the Indian Testsquad for upcoming matches as he was outowing to injury and the Irani Cup game wasnot his trial but a case of testing his fitness.
"We had made it clear that someone whois coming back from injury, had to play in adomestic game and this was the best oppor-tunity. Right now, Saha and Parthiv are the bestNos 1 and 2 that we have. It was only to testfitness that we had Saha play here."
While Parthiv had a good comeback inTests with two half-centuries followed by RanjiTrophy winning hundred against Mumbai,Wriddhiman played one of the best knocks inIrani Trophy history as his 203 not outenabled the Rest of India to chase down a near400-run total on Tuesday.
"Personally, I can say that Wriddiman Sahawas out of the team because of injury and not
because he was out of form. He was 'Man ofthe Match' in the Kolkata Test against NewZealand and got a hundred in West Indies," saidPrasad.
"I am happy how Parthiv has respondedto the call-up. He is a fighter to the core. Hesingle-handedly brought Gujarat from nowhereto being the Ranji Champions. He is in ourscheme of things. There is just a minor differ-ence between the two. When it comes to Testcricket, it is always the man who keeps betterwho gets the nod," Prasad gave ample hint
about what the selectors' decision will be.Prasad felt the glove work of Parthiv has
also improved considerably but Wriddhimanstill has better hands.
"Parthiv's glovework has definitelyimproved. But Saha has got better hands andthat's where he scores little more points thanParthiv. With today's batting, Saha showed whyhe is the number one keeper-batsman in thecountry. When he came out to bat yesterdaythe team was struggling at 63-4, and to takethe game away from Gujarat, is phenomenal.So it's a healthy competition between the two."
Prasad was also full of praise for the rolesplayed by senior pros, Mahendra Singh Dhoniand Yuvraj Singh, in the 2-1 series win in theODI series against England, while saying it wastoo early to say whether they will be part ofIndia's campaign in the 2019 World Cup inEngland. "It's not just about the series win, itwasn't an easy win and we had to fight hard.This tournament has thrown us some wonder-ful opportunities and some of the calls that weas selectors took have worked well.
NEW DELHI: In a major boost towomen's football, the All IndiaFootball Federation on Tuesdayannounced the launch of IndianWomen's League that will feature sixteams in its first season.
Speaking on the occasion, theAIFF president Praful Patel said thatthe creation of this league wouldbring about an era of professionalismin women's football, as a result ofwhich players could look at the sportas a good career option.
The six teams are FC Pune City(Maharashtra), Eastern SportingUnion FC (Manipur), FC Alakhpura(Haryana), Aizawl FC (Mizoram) andRising Student Club (Odisha).
India captain Bala Devi expressedsatisfaction over the AIFF's decision tocarve out this league, "We have beendemanding a league of this kind formany years and we are happy thatAIFF has supported us."
Meanwhile, captain of Aizawl KLalruaizeli too felt that the leaguewould give a boost to the sport in herhome state. "In Mizoram football isvery popular but is mostly played byboys only. With the arrival of thisleague, women of the state will alsotake up football."
Dalima Chibber, who is a local girland captain of Pune city, was also opti-mistic about the future of the sport inIndia. "Because of this league, girls andtheir parents would look upon footballas a viable career option and therewould be more participation in it."
While the tournament is set to kickoff on 28th January at the Ambedkarstadium in the capital, Patel said thatthere would be changes in league mov-ing forward. The name of the leagueis likely to be changed in order toinclude the word football and thenumber of teams would also beincreased. PNS
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court onTuesday decided to allow the Board ofControl for Cricket in India and theCentre to have a say in appointingAdministrators to run the apex cricketbody and assist the Justice LodhaCommittee in implementing the reformsaimed at making the Board's function-ing accountable and transparent.
Giving time till Friday to bothBCCI and Centre to submit names in asealed cover, the bench of Justices DipakMisra, AM Khanwilkar and DYChandrachud said it will take a call onMonday on the number and names ofAdministrators to be selected, based onthe suggestions given by the Centre,BCCI and a two-member panel formedby Court comprising amicus curiaeGopal Subramanium and senior advo-cate Anil Divan. All suggestions must beclear of the disqualifications laid downby Lodha panel, the bench said.
When the counsel for the petition-er (Cricket Association of Bihar) andother state cricket associations wished tosuggest names, the bench refused andsaid that the purpose to invite suggestionswas to introduce "transparency andobjectivity" in the selection.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgiwho represented Railways, Services ofArmy, Navy and Air Force, andAssociation of Indian Universities, saidthat no person chosen as Administratorshould be above 70 years as they wouldequally incur disqualification as perLodha Committee reforms that put an agecap of 70 years for Board members anda nine-year cap on tenure served in BCCIor state cricket bodies. The bench assuredBCCI and Centre that no member above70 years will be selected as Administrator.In a related relief, the bench also allowedBCCI to submit a list of three persons ofwhich one could be sent as a nominee ofBCCI to participate in a meeting held byICC from Feb 2-4. The names will be sup-plied in a separate sealed cover to theCourt by Friday. PNS
AP n MELBOURNE
It was a long time coming for VenusWilliams, who reached her 21st GrandSlam semifinal but her first at the
Australian Open in 14 years.CoCo Vandeweghe advanced to her
first major semifinal, anywhere, beatingGrand Slam winners in back-to-backrounds. The one sure outcome when theymeet this week will be an American in thefinal at Melbourne Park.
There'll be an all-Swiss semifinal inthe top half of the men's draw after 17-time major winner Roger Federer andStan Wawrinka won their quarterfinals instraight sets.
Returning from a six-month injurylayoff, the 35-year-old Federer lifted hisgame in 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 win over MischaZverev, the player who eliminated top-seeded Andy Murray from the tourna-ment two nights earlier.
Federer won the first five games in 12minutes, setting up a straight-forward winto reach his 41st Grand Slam semifinaland his 13th at Melbourne Park.
"I'm pleased with the way I started thematch ... after that, naturally everything'seasier," Federer said. "Second set was def-initely a key to shut it down for him. Thenin the third set I think I was rolling."
The 36-year-old Williams beat No 24-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Tuesday, becoming the oldestplayer to reach the semifinals here in theOpen era.
She'll be meeting a confidentVandeweghe, who dictated play againstFrench Open champion GarbineMuguruza in a 6-4, 6-0 quarterfinal win.
The No 35-ranked Vandeweghe upsettop-ranked Angelique Kerber, who wonthe Australian and US titles last year, inthe fourth round. She followed it up withanother commanding win, the 10th in hercareer against a Top 10 player.
Vandeweghe saved the only breakpoint she faced in the first set with an ace,and only conceded 10 points in the 28-minute second set. Of her 31 winners, 14were from her powerful forehand side.
"Once I got rolling in the second, itwas like a freight train," she said, "Youcouldn't stop it."
Reaching a semifinal against the U.S.Open champion was more than Federerexpected in his first major back.
"Not to play Stan in the semis, I'll tellyou that," he said when asked what hisexpectations were. "I thought I was goingto maybe make a few rounds."
Wawrinka, who had his major break-through in Australia in 2014, beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-3 - hisfourth straight win against the
Frenchman.On Wednesday, the men's semifi-
nalists from the other side of the drawwill be determined when 14-time majorwinner Rafael Nadal plays Milos Raonicand David Goffin takes on GrigorDimitrov.
Serena Williams, aiming for arecord 23rd Grand Slam title, playsJohanna Konta and Karolina Pliskovameets Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in theremaining women's quarterfinals.
Venus Williams has advancedthrough the tournament without drop-ping a set, and isn't ready to stop in thesemifinals in the latest installment of hercareer revival.
"It's wonderful to start the year outwith this appearance," said VenusWilliams, who hadn't reached the semi-finals in Australia since 2003, the yearshe lost the final to sister Serena. "I wantto go further. I'm not happy just withthis. But I'm so happy to be in the posi-tion to like go further."
Williams didn't reach the quarter-finals at any of the Grand Slams from2011 - when she was diagnosed with theSjogren's syndrome, which saps energyand causes joint pain - until the 2015Australian Open. She lost in the firstround here last year, but returned toreach the semifinals at Wimbledon.
Vandeweghe also lost in the firstround here last year, and at the U.S.
Open in September, but has foundher form in Melbourne thisyear. As well as the wins overKerber and Muguruza, she has
had wins over No. 15-seededRoberta Vinci and Eugenie
Bouchard, who reached the semifinalshere and the final at Wimbledon in2014.
Williams said the quarterfinal resultswere a "great win for the U.S."
"I'm sure (Vandeweghe is) going towant to be in her first final," Williamssaid. "I'm going to want to be in only mysecond final here. So it's going to be awell-contested match."
With her run to the Wimbledonsemifinals last year, Williams becamethe oldest woman since MartinaNavratilova (at 37 years, 258 days) in1994 to advance so far at a major.
There's also the possibility of anoth-er all-Williams final.
But Venus doesn't plan to be think-ing about who was on the other side ofthe net. She is focused on
Grand Slam title No. 8."I try to believe," she said. "I'd like
to be a champion, in particular this year.The mentality I walk on court with is:'I deserve this'."
FEDEX ROLLS INTO ALL-SWISS S/F
With straight sets victory, Roger to face Wawrinka; Venus reaches last-4
PTI n MELBOURNE
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna setup a mixed doubles quarterfinal
clash against each other at the AustralianOpen after winning their respectivematches, here on Tuesday.
Bopanna and his Canadian partnerGabriela Dabrowski knocked out thefifth-seeded team of Yung-Jan Chan andLukasz Kubot 6-4, 5-7, 10-3 in their sec-ond round match.
Later, Sania and her partnerCroatian Ivan Dodig, seeded second,overcame stiff resistance from SaisaiZheng and Alexander Peya to triumph2-6, 6-3, 10-6.
Austrian Peya served a double faultat 5-5 in the decisive Super Tie-Breakerbut after that the second seeds reeled offfive straight points to seal the issue.
One Indian is now certain to featurein the semifinals and if Leander Paesmanages to win his quarterfinal withpartner Martina Hingis, the semifinalwill again feature two Indians.
Paes and Hingis are up against localfavourites Samantha Stosur and SamGroth.
Meanwhile, in the juniors events,Siddhant Banthia reached the boys dou-bles quarterfinal with Turkish partnerKaya Gore with a 6-3, 7-6(6) win oversixth seeds Zizou Bergs and Yshai Oliel.
However, Mihika Yadav went downfighting in girls singles second roundwith a 2-6, 1-6 defeat against 10thseeded Japanese Mai Hontama.
Live from 5:30am
Sony Six
Returning from asix-month injury
layoff, the 35-year-old Federer lifted hisgame in 6-1, 7-5, 6-2
win over MischaZverev, the player
who eliminated top-seeded Andy Murrayfrom the tournament
two nights earlier
SANIA, BOPANNACLASH IN SEMIS
SC asks BCCI,centre to suggestnames of admins
Superb Saha takes Rest to victory PUJARA CONFIDENT OFDOING WELL IN T20S
WOMEN’S LEAGUE LAUNCHEDSaha our No.1 choice: Prasad
16LUCKNOW | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25, 2017the pioneer
