Vice Prez flagsconcern overgalloping popu-lation, its bane

5

Necessary forgovt to hearvoices ofprotest: Montek

8

In a candidconversation with K

Ramya Sree, PradeepMachiraju spoke atlength about his love forHyderabad, how the cityhelped him grow in life bothprofessionally and on thepersonal front, childhoodmemories and much more.

I am what I am becauseof Hyderabad

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

MONEY 8NEW GST FILING FORMAT,

E-INVOICING TO HELP EASE BIZ

ANALYSIS 7HE LIT A

BILLION LIVES

SPORTS 123 OPENERS FAIL SEAM

& BOUNCE TEST

HYDERABAD, SATURDAY FEBRUARY 15, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

}ARANYA HELPEDME UNDERSTAND

LIFE: RANA

Page 11www.dailypioneer.com

RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNVIJAYAWADA

*LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 126*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

{

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated February 14, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANAC TODAY

Month & Paksham:Magha & Krishna PakshaPanchangamTithi: Saptami: 04:28 pmNakshatram: Vishakha: 05:09 am

(Next Day)Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 09:-38 am – 11:04 amYamagandam: 01:56 pm – 03:22 pmVarjyam: 11:25 am – 12:57 pmGulika: 06:46 am - 08:12 amGood Time: (to start any important

work)Amritakalam: 08:40 pm – 10:12 pmAbhijit Muhurtham: 12:07 pm – 12:53 pm

HYDERABADWEATHERFFoorreeccaasstt:: SunnyTemp: 36/19Humidity: 28%Sunrise: 06.43Sunset: 06.17

TS-bPASS roll-out from April 2

SC ORDER vs GOVT ORDER

PNS n HYDERABAD

IT and MA&UD Minister K TRama Rao has stated that theTS-bPASS (The TelanganaState Building Permissionsand Self Certification System)will be rolled out from April2nd.

KTR mentioned this whileinteracting with Collectorsand Additional Collectors atan orientation programme onthe new Municipal Act andPattana Pragathi at Dr MCRHRD Institute of Telanganahere on Friday. He was par-ticular that officials of theMA&UD Department shouldbe appropriately trained inexecuting functions relating toTS-bPASS. The Minister stat-ed that there could be chal-lenges in the initial months ofthe implementation of the

new Municipal Act. The TS-bPASS was designed for has-sle-free issue of building per-missions, he said.

KTR observed that it wasessential to set the tone andcreate awareness amongst thecitizens about the new Act."Awareness should be createdon the new system among thegeneral public by conductingsessions with residential wel-fare associations and wardcommittees," he added.

KTR hits out at FC overreduced devolution to states

Govt launches outreach on NPRPNS n NEW DELHI

As states not ruled by the BJPcontinue to oppose the NPR,the Centre has started an out-reach to allay their apprehen-sions by meeting the chief min-isters who are critical of theexercise, officials said on Friday.

Punjab, Kerala, West Bengal,Rajasthan, Madhya Pradeshand Chhattisgarh are some of

the non-BJP-ruled led statesthat have apprehensions aboutthe National PopulationRegister (NPR) and are critical

of the exercise.The NPR data will be collect-

ed during the house-listingphase of the census to be con-ducted from April 1 toSeptember 30.

As part of the outreach,Registrar General and CensusCommissioner Vivek Joshi hasmet Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh and apprisedhim of the preparations for the

upcoming census and the NPR,an official said.

Singh had urged the Centreto put the NPR work on hold tillforms and documents associat-ed with it were suitably amend-ed in order to allay apprehen-sions.

The Centre has already saiddisclosure of information suchas birth place of parents to NPRenumerators is voluntary.

PNS n MUMBAI

Telangana minister K T RamaRao on Friday hit out at the NK Singh-headed 15th FinanceCommission's recommenda-tion to decrease devolution,terming it as "penalising, dis-incentivising and demotivat-ing" for well-performingsouthern states.

The minister for IT alsoreminded the Centre todeliver on its legal com-mitments and ensure thatthe GST compensation ispaid.

The reductionin devolution to41 per cent from42 per cent earli-er will lead toan up to Rs

4,000 crore hit to Telangana,Rao told reporters on the side-lines of the NTLF here.

"Why do you want topenalise a performing state andbring down our devolutionfrom 42 per cent to 41 percent? This is disincentivisingand demotivating, he said.

Rao added that all the south-ern states have "suffered"

despite delivering wellon human developmentindicators like literacyand healthcare.

When asked aboutthe options

before thestate totide over

t h edif-

ficulties, he declined to com-ment on the strategy forwardbut added that the recom-mendations have happeneddespite several consultationswith the Commission.

On the GST compensationpayment, he said the 14 percent revenue compensation isembodied in the Act and is acommitment made by theUnion while passing the law.

We didn't go to a court oflaw, but we demanded theGST compensation be paid.Hopefully, Government ofIndia will pay in the secondtranche because the firsttranche has been paid. Wedemanded and protested inParliament. Hopefully theywill pay," he said.

Top court issues notices to TSGovt on new Heritage ActPNS n HYDERABAD

The Supreme Court on Fridayissued notices to the TelanganaState government seekingexplanation on the TelanganaHeritage (Protection,Preservation, Conservationand Maintenance) Act, 2017.

The petition was filed bysenior journalist PashamYadagiri. He brought to thenotice of the court that the TSgovernment is de-notifyingheritage structures indiscrim-inately by invoking the newAct to enable their demolitionand take up construction ofnew buildings of its choice.

Noted advocate P. Nirup

Reddy submitted arguments infavour of the petitioner.

The division bench, com-prising Chief Justice JusticeSharad Arvind Bobde, JusticeBhushan Ramakrishna Gavaiand Justice Surya Kant, whichheard the arguments, issuednotices to the Telangana Stategovernment to file its affi-davit on the matter.

It may be recalled that the

Telangana State Legislaturehad approved the TelanganaHeritage (Protection,Preservation, Conservationand Maintenance) Act, 2017 toconserve heritage buildingsreplacing the previousRegulation 13 of HyderabadDevelopment AuthorityZoning Regulations, 1995.

The new Act created afurore as heritage activistsalleged that there is a 'hiddenagenda' of TS governmentbehind this to demolish a fewheritage buildings for con-struction of new theSecretariat, Assembly buildingsand others.

Medaramhundis netRs.5.36 cr PNS n WARANGAL

The collections from a totalof 202 hundis put up at thevenue of the MedaramSammakka Saralamma Jatarahere totaled Rs.5.36 croreover three days of the recentfestivities.

The 202 hundis werecounted by staff engaged bythe EndowmentsDepartment. The collectionsadded up to Rs,1.05 crore onday one, Rs.1.90 crore on daytwo, and Rs.2.36 crore on daythree.

Retd Army manopens fire in airduring marriageprocessionPNS n PEDDAPALLI

In a highly sensational inci-dent, a retired army manopened fire in the air severaltimes with his licensed weaponto create panic in Shayampetvillage of Dharmaram mandalin Peddapalli district late onThursday night. According toreports, the former army man,Baddm Tirumal Reddy, initial-ly opened fire with his doublebarrel weapon on the eve ofJanuary 1st, drawing wideattention on social media. Thearmy man, who served inJammu and Kashmir from2002 to 2019 while in service,had acquired a double barrelgun and obtained a licenceduring that period.

Man kills father to claimRs 50 lakh insurancePNS n NALGONDA

In a revolting incident that hasshaken many in Suryapet dis-trict, a transport operatorsteeped in debts killed hisfather in order to claim hugeamounts of insurance moneyand clear the dues. The mur-der came to light when thepolice investigated the death ofthe insured on a complaintlodged by the insurance com-pany. According to police,Saidulu, a resident of Tadwaivillage in Munagala mandal ofSuryapet district, was report-ed to have been killed in an'accident' on January 24.

However, the police, whileregistering the case, came toknow that the deceased personhad insured his life for Rs.50

lakh through a policy. Sincethe person was leading his lifealone, the police investigatedthe matter further and detect-ed that it was not a case ofaccident, but murder commit-ted by his brother's son,Ramesh, who had sufferedhuge losses and contractedenormous debts in his lorrytransport business.

It turned out that Rameshhatched a conspiracy andbumped off Saidulu and madeit appear like an accident. Thepolice registered the case andarrested the culprit.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A 32-year-old woman andher grandmother werestabbed to death apparentlyby a family member at theirresidence inChandrayangutta area of theOld City on Friday morning.

The deceased, identified asFarida Begum, 32, and SyjuBegum, 50, were alone athome during the attack, saidthe ACP of Falaknuma, MARasheed.

"Farida's husband worksin the Saudi Arabia. Her twodaughters were at schoolwhen Rehman, a familymember, visited their place onFriday morning around 9 amin an inebriated condition.The bodies of the two womenwere found in a pool of bloodat their home by the arealocals," said the ACP, addingthat special teams had beendeputed to nab the suspect.According to sources, thevictim's family had a proper-ty dispute with Rehman.

On Friday morning,Rehman came to Farida'splace in an inebriated stateostensibly to discuss proper-ty matters. An altercationensued, during which hestabbed her with a knife.When Syju tried to intervene,he stabbed her as well and fledthe spot. The women bled todeath. Following a call fromarea locals, theChandrayangutta police,along with clues team and dogsquads, rushed to the spot andstarted the investigation.

Double murderin Old City

PNS n HYDERABAD

Tastefully decorated shops andplaces, adorned with heart-shaped décor and displayingValentine's Day merchandisefor sale, came under attack byBajrang Dal activists on Friday.

The Bajrang Dal had 'fore-warned' the public to refrainfrom "celebrating western cul-ture".

As per reports, the activiststargeted shops in Gachibowli,Neredmet, Sainikpuri and alsoentered a shopping mall in HI-TEC City, vandalising the place

and shouting slogans againstValentine's Day.

This happened though sev-eral Bajrang Dal activists wereearlier taken into preventivecustody when they tried totake out a rally against

Valentine's Day celebrations atNeredmet on Friday after-noon. The protests startedwith activists raising slogansagainst Valentine's Day cele-brations. As they had notobtained prior permission,

the Neredmet police tookthem into custody.

On the whole, around 50activists were detained andlater let off by cops in the cityon Friday.

The protestors said, thoughthey were not against love andcelebrating it, they were againstValentine's Day, as it was notpart of Indian culture. Theyadvised youngsters to insteadpay tribute to the CRPF per-sonnel who were killed in thePulwama terror attack lastyear.

Valentine’s Day: Gift shops under attack now Shah-Jagan amity signalschanges in politicsPNS n NEW DELHI

Amity blossomed between theBJP and YSRCP in the high-level meeting between UnionHome Minister Amit Shah andAP Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy in NewDelhi on Friday.

According to YSRCP sources,the main agenda of Jagan meet-ing with Shah was gettingCentre's approval to AP govern-ment's three-capital proposaland expediting the process forthe dissolution of AP Legislative

Council. Shah extending awarm welcome to Jagan imme-diately after his meeting withPrime Minister Narendra Modihas raised many an eyebrows inpolitical circles. They feel thatDelhi poll result must havechanged the attitude of BJPwhich is now willing to listen toregional party heads and takethem into confidence.

Moreover YSRCP's raisingstock in Parliament said to bethe reason behind the increased'hospitality' of BJP.

The Minister statedthat there could bechallenges in theinitial months of theimplementation of the new Municipal Act

‘Temerity’ of DoT official to issue directive against order on clearing dues angers SC

SC order on Rs 1.47 L-cr duesleaves telcos in dire straits PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court on Fridaythreatened contempt proceed-ings against top executives ofBharti Airtel, Vodafone-Ideaand other telecom firms for fail-ing to comply with its directiveto pay an estimated Rs 1.47lakh-crore in past dues, andasked whether there was no lawleft in the country.

In a judgment which willhave a far-reaching implicationsfor the telecom sector, the apexcourt expressed displeasure atthe "temerity" of a desk officerin the Department of Telecomfor "scuttling" its order by issu-ing a written directive to nottake any coercive action againstfirms for not depositing dues bythe January 23, 2020, deadline.

A bench of Justices ArunMishra, S Abdul Nazeer andMR Shah said the companieshave violated its order "in pith

and substance" and asked themto clear dues before the nextdate of hearing on March 17.

"In spite of the dismissal ofthe review application (filedby the telcos), they havenot deposited anyamount so far. Itappears the way inwhich things arehappening that theyhave scant respect tothe directions issued bythis court," they saidin the judgment.

Separate petitionsfiled by non-tele-com firms such asgas utility GAIL andpower transmissionfirm PowerGrid, who wereslapped with a demand ofRs 2.65 lakh-crore by theDoT, were withdrawn bythe applicants after thecourt said they can repre-sent their case at appropri-

ate forms.Following the Supreme

Court rap, the Department ofTelecom withdrew its January23, 2020 order that had called

for no coercive actionagainst defaulting firmsand started issuingnotices to telcos askingthem to deposit duesbefore midnight of

Friday.While Airtel said it willdeposit Rs 10,000 croreout of its dues of aboutRs 55,000 crore withina week, there was noword from Vodafone

on payment of dues.Expressing displeasure

over an order passed by theDoT's desk officer, which vir-tually stayed the effect of itsverdict, the apex court saidthis is nothing "but a device toscuttle" its judgment and thiscase projects a "very disturb-

ing scenario". It issued a noticeto the officer.

The bench noted that thedesk officer "has the temerity topass the order "to the effect ofissuing a direction to anotherconstitutional authority, theaccountant general, "not toinsist for any payment pursuantto the order passed by thiscourt and not to take any coer-cive steps till further orders."

"In the circumstances, wedraw contempt proceedingsagainst the desk officer forpassing the order and violatingthe order passed by this court,"said the bench.

"The managing directors/directors of the companies alsoto show cause why we shouldnot initiate contempt proceed-ings against them for violatingthe order passed by this courtby not depositing the amount,on the next date of hearing.

As per reports, the activiststargeted shops in Gachibowli,Neredmet, Sainikpuri and alsoentered a shopping mall in HI-TEC City, vandalising theplace and shouting slogansagainst Valentine's Day.

The murder came to light when the policeinvestigated the death of the insured on acomplaint

4

4

4 4

4

4

4 4

9

Aforest in Madhya Pradesh is witnessing a strange sight of a pair ofwild bears along with their two cubs getting drawn to the world of

spirituality, an activity generally associated with humans. Swayed by thebhajans of a saffron-clad hermit,Sitaram, the wild bears have lent a newmeaning to spirituality in the wild ofShahdol district. The bear family hasbecome a part of his surroundingswhile the ascetic strikes a communionwith the almighty.

WILD BEARS FIND SPIRITUALSOLACE IN HERMIT’S BHAJANS

HOSTEL MEALTIME RULE LEADS TOMENSTRUATION CHECK ON GIRLSOver 60 girl students of a college in Bhuj in Gujarat's Kutch district

were allegedly forced by hostel authorities to remove theirundergarments to check if they were menstruating. As the allegationcame to light and caused an uproar, a police team reached theeducational institute to begin a probe, a senior official said on Friday.The alleged incident took place on February 11 in the Shree SahajanandGirls Institute (SSGI), run by a trust of theSwaminarayan Temple, the official said. Agirl student said the incident took place inthe hostel located in campus of the SSGI.

MARRIAGE OF TRANSSEXUAL WITHMAN REGISTERED, FINALLYThe long-cherished dream of a trans-woman and her husband turned

to reality on Friday when their marriage was officially registered. Theirjoy knew no bounds as the day coincided with Valentine's Day. 24-year-old Surekha had married Manikandan, an autorickshaw driver, in 2018but could not register the marriage under theHindu Marriage Act, which classifies the brideas woman. The couple approached the districtcollector and after verification, it was found thatthe term bride was applicable for transgendersalso, as ruled by Madras High Court in April last.

The Supreme Court Friday rejected the plea filed by an association ofautomobile dealers seeking extension of the April 1, 2020 deadline by

one more month to sell Bharat Stage-IV norms compliant vehiclesacross the country. The apex court had on October 24, 2018 said noBharat Stage-IV vehicle would be sold or registered in India from April1, 2020. Bharat Stage (BS) emission normsare standards instituted by the governmentto regulate output of air pollutants from mot-or vehicles. The BS-IV norms have been enf-orced across the country since April, 2017.

WILL NOT EXTEND DEADLINE FORSALE OF BS-IV VEHICLES, SAYS SC

Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Phone: 040-23322341, Hyderabad Office: F-502, Diamond Block, Lumbini Rockdale, Somajiguda, Hyderabad - 500 082. Telangana. Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, Plot No.19, IDA Balanagar , Hyderbad-500037, Medchal -Malkajgiri District, Telangana. Chief Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

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

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2020 hyderabad 02

EGG RATES

` 40,880 (10 gm)

250

GOLD

` 45,900(1kg)

` 1100

HYDERABAD 395VIJAYAWADA 405VISAKHAPATNAM 410RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `33..9955

SILVER

HYDERABADBULLION RATES

`//110000

CHICKEN RATES

Dressed/With Skin `117

Without Skin `134

Broiler at Farm `81

`//KKGG

(IN HYDERABAD)

KTR: Municipal Act willchange the face of citiesPNS n HYDERABAD

Decentralisation and forma-tion of new districts, mandals,and municipalities was one ofthe biggest achievements of theTelangana government afterthe formation of state in 2014,said IT Minister KT Rama Rao.

Interacting with district col-lectors and additional collectors,the Minister for MunicipalAdministration and UrbanDevelopment asked them toplay a key role in the newMunicipal Act's implementa-tion. "I can proudly say that noother state has brought in somany administrative reforms inthe history of our country insuch a short span of time.Effective implementation of thenew Municipal Act will changethe face of the cities and townsin Telangana and collectorsshould play an important rolein its implementation," he said.

Meanwhile talking aboutthe beautification of UrbanLocal Bodies in the State, KTRdirected the Collectors to speed

up the process of formingward committees by February18 or a day earlier than that."Chief Minister wants toempower you to see beautiful

towns taking shape inTelangana. Please bring inplanned development, improvegreenery, provide transparentcitizen services and build

model markets like the one inGajwel. Telangana's townsshould set a benchmark for therest of the country," he said.

"Pattana Pragathi, a 8-10day programme will belaunched during the last weekof this month on the lines ofPalle Pragathi programme. Thefinal dates will be declared bythe Chief Minister's office, " theMinister said. KTR furthersaid that he would personallyvisit as many Municipalities aspossible during PattanaPragathi programme. "Bringchange as we have given yourpowers despite criticism fromopposition. Innovate andimplement, you have my fullbacking," he said, and encour-aged the officers to even go forprivatisation of sanitation atplaces of tourist interest.

During the session, KTR calledupon the Additional collectors toupdate themselves with the newinitiatives undertaken by hisministry such as "Citizen Buddy"app and make changes as per thelocal conditions.

No other state has brought in so manyadministrative reforms in the historyof our country in such a short span oftime, said IT Minister KT Rama Rao

PNS n WARANGAL

The Co-operative Departmenthas made elaborate arrange-ments for the smooth conductof elections to 751 directorposts in the erstwhile Warangaldistrict on Saturday. The districthas got 98 PACS bodies and 509director posts in these societieshave elected the directors unan-imously. A total of 1,868 candi-dates are in the fray for the 751director posts and the rulingTRS is making serious efforts tosecure the victory of its nomi-nees in the elections. The offi-cials have distributed electionmaterial society-wise.

In all, 906 of the 909 PACsin 32 districts will go for elec-tions as one each in erstwhileNalgonda, Rangareddy andWarangal districts have notbeen included in the schedule.

As per the statement issued bythe Additional Registrar of StateCooperative Election Authority,the initiative follows the Stategovernment's request to theauthority to conduct elections toconstitute the managing com-mittees of the PACs and FarmersService Cooperatives. Electionofficers will conduct the polls bysecret ballot as per the provisionsof the Telangana CooperativeSocieties Act.

All set for PACS elections

Inflows into TRS continueMAHABUBNAGAR: Defectionsinto the ruling TRS from theCongress and BJP in theerstwhile Mahabubnagar districthave increased a daybefore the PACSelections, scheduledto be held onFebruary 15. Manyaspirants from theopposition partiesjoined the pink partyto register victory intheir respectivecooperative societies. Over 170 such defections havebeen recorded so far in theerstwhile Mahabubnagar district

and in Gadwal, Narayanpet andNagarkurnool districts, the TRShas taken it as a challenge toinduct the opponents in their

party fold. In Wanaparthy,there are no candidates

from the oppositionparties. The Fridaydefections in certainparts have instilledconfidence among the

TRS, while theopposition parties -

Congress and BJP, whichare struggling to show theirexistence, are facing thechallenge of a rout in the presentpolls.

A total of 1,868candidates are infray for 751director posts inerstwhileWarangal andthe TRS ismaking seriousefforts to securevictory of itsnominees

Chronic kidney disease taking a toll on people! PNS n NEW YORK

Researchers have revealed thatchronic kidney disease caused1.23 million deaths worldwidein 2017 and the rates of peopleneeding dialysis have increasedmore than 40 per cent since1990. According to the find-ings, published in the journalThe Lancet, there were 697.5million cases of chronic kidneydisease in 2017 and nearlyone-third of those patientslived in two countries - China,with about 132 million cases,and India, with about 115 mil-lion.

"Chronic kidney disease is aglobal killer hidden in plainsight. The evidence is clear:Many nations' health systemscannot keep pace with the

dialysis demand. Cases farexceed and are well beyond theability of those systems to han-dle. The consequences, literal-ly, are deadly," said studyresearcher Theo Vos from

University of Washington inthe US. In addition to deathsresulting from organ failure inchronic kidney disease,impaired kidney function alsoputs individuals at higher risk

of developing cardiovasculardisease, the researchers said.

Globally, chronic kidney dis-ease directly resulted in an esti-mated 1.23 million deaths in2017, with an additional 1.36million deaths attributable tocardiovascular disease resultingfrom impaired kidney func-tion. Chronic kidney diseasewas the 12th leading cause ofdeath globally in 2017, up

from 17th in 1990.According to the study, 10

other nations - the US,Indonesia, Russia, Japan, Brazil,Pakistan, Mexico, Nigeria,Bangladesh, and Vietnam -each had more than 10 millioncases in 2017. In total, 79 of the195 countries included in thestudy exceeded 1 million cases.

Those cases and deaths in2017 led to an estimated 7.3

million years lived with disabil-ity and 28.5 million years of lifelost, the study said. There wasa more than 15-fold differencein the burden of chronic kid-ney disease among countries:American Samoa, El Salvador,Federated States of Micronesia,Marshall Islands, and Mauritiushad the highest estimated ratesof years lost to ill health (dis-ability-adjusted life years orDALYs) with more than 1,500per 100,000 population.

In contrast, Andorra,Finland, Iceland, and Sloveniahad the lowest burden withfewer than 120 DALYs per100,000 population. The pri-mary cause of chronic kidneydisease varies, with hyperten-sion and diabetes being themost common.

According to findings, there were697.5 mn cases of chronic kidneydisease in 2017 and nearly one-third ofthose patients lived in two countries— China, with about 132 million cases,and India with about 115 million

Fast track NHworks: MPPNS n MEDAK

Medak MP Kotha PrabhakarReddy has asked GMRConstructions, the conces-sionaire of National Highway-44, to expedite the bridgework at Nagulapally village ofToopran Mandal. As the slowpace of work was causinggreat inconvenience to thecommuters, the MP, whogranted funds for the project,inspected the highway worksat Nagulapally on Friday.

After noticing that theworks were going on at snail'space, Reddy expressed hisdissatisfaction with the con-tractor and NHAI officials.He warned that the govern-ment would initiate sternaction against them by takingthe issue to respective Unionministry officials.

Reddy further said thatthe contractor and NHAIhad failed to fast track theworks though the funds weregranted long ago. The MPsaid that he will hold a reviewmeeting with the NHAI offi-cials to review the progress ofthe works. He asked them toget all the necessary machin-ery to complete the worksswiftly.

Ministers all praise for BanjarasPNS n HYDERABAD

The 281st birth anniversary ofSant Sevalal Maharaj, jointlyorganised by the Tribal WelfareDepartment and SevaFoundation, was celebrated ona grand scale here at RavindraBharati on Friday. MinistersSathyavathi Rathod, SrinivasGoud, Assemble SpeakerPocharam Srinivas Reddy andothers participated in the pro-gramme.

Speaking on the occasion,Speaker Pocharam said thatonly Telangana state govern-ment was celebrating SantSevalal's birth anniversary asan official programme in theentire country. "Chief MinisterK Chandrashekhar Rao hasalways accorded great respectto all traditions," the Speakersaid.

"KCR had never consideredBanjaras as vote bank. They arethe bravest fighters who foughtagainst the British. The

Telangana government hasupgraded all the tandas intopanchayats," said ExciseMinister Srinivas Goud. TheMinister further appreciatedTribal Welfare MinisterSathyavathi Rathod for suc-cessfully organising SamakkaSarakka Jatara.

Tribal Welfare MinisterSatyavathi Rathod said that the

though there was no represen-tation from the tribals to allo-cate land for them, the stategovernment had allocated landin Banjara Hills costing Rs 100crore for the construction ofBanjara Bhavan and KomuramBheem Bhavan. She furthersaid that the Chief Minister willinaugurate the facilities soon.On the occasion, the Tribal

Minister recalled the way theChief Minister helped herthrough her political careereven though she belonged to amiddle class family.

Meanwhile, the Ministersfacilitated State mountaineerAmgoth Tukaram, who suc-cessfully scaled Mt. Aconcaguain South America on January26, 2020. Home MinisterMohammad Mahmood Ali,Health Minister Etela Rajenderand others also participated.

The govt hadallocated land inBanjara Hills forthe construction ofBanjara Bhavanand KomuramBheem Bhavan,said Tribal MinisterSatyavathi Rathod

15 workers stranded in Iraq to return todayPNS n HYDERABAD

At least 15 workers fromTelangana, stranded in Iraq,are arriving here on Saturdayon account of the concertedefforts made by Governmentof Telangana at the behest of ITMinister KT Rama Rao, towhom the workers communi-cated their plight.

After being duped by coun-terfeit agents, 16 workers fromTelangana went to Iraq forwork. They were subjected tomany hardships for want offood and water and a place totake shelter. They claim to becaught there for the past fouryears and not able to find a wayto return to the state.

They urged the NRI depart-ment officials to respondimmediately. Acting on thedirections, they coordinated

with the Indian embassy in Iraqand External Affairs Ministryin Delhi and arranged flighttickets and took measures tobring them back to the state.

IT also coordinated withofficials to exempt the workersfor payment of Rs 2 croretowards fine for overstayingimposed by Government of

Kurdistan. One of the workersreached here on February 3 onhealth grounds, while the other15 are returning to city onSaturday. The NRI departmentprovided vehicles to send themback to their native places.

Meanwhile, the workersconveyed their gratitude tothe Government of Telanganafor making arrangements tobring them safely back. KTRhas a special word of appreci-ation for Chittibabu, NRIdepartment officer.

It may be recalled that thevictims informed KTR abouttheir suffering in Iraq for fouryears after being duped bycounterfeit agents. MinisterKTR responded immediatelyand informed the officials of theTelangana NRI department andasked them to give all necessaryassistance to bring them back.

KTR responded to victims’ requestand informed the officialsconcrened andasked them togive all necessaryassistance tobring them back

Three killedin roadmishapPNS n WARANGAL RURAL

Three people were killedwhen the two-wheeler theywere riding on was hit by anRTC bus in Gangadevipallyvillage in the district. Thedeceased were identified asNyala Naveen, Itla Jagadishand LakavathG a n e s h .According tothe police,the incidento c c u r r e dwhen thedeceased wereheading towardsGangadevipally. An RTC bus,which was heading towardsNarsampet hit the bike fromrare side killing the three onthe spot. The police visitedthe spot and shifted the bod-ies to MGM Hospital forpostmortem.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Women and Child WelfareMinister Satyavathi Rathod onFriday called for planting one-lakh saplings on the premisesof anganwadis, tribal welfareresidential schools, EkalavyaVidyalayas, ITDA officepremises under the jurisdictionof her ministry by undertakingspecial Haritha Haram pro-gramme in connection withChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao's birth-day.

In a meeting held atDamodaram SanjivaiahSamkeshma Bhavan, she askedthe officials to undertake thespecial Haritha Haram on theoccasion to give it as a birth-day gift to the Chief Minister.Therefore, she exhorted allemployees and students totake part in the programmeand make it a grand success.

She lauded the Chief

Minister for fulfilling the long-felt dream of the people -statehood to Telangana - andfor taking up many pro-farmermeasures such as 24x7 powersupply to farm sector, imple-mentation of input subsidy

scheme Rythu Bandhu. Shecalled him a true friend of thefarmer. Woman and ChildWelfare secretary Divya, addi-tional secretary Nirmala, jointdirector Anuradha and otherstook part in the meeting.

Plant 1 lakh saplings: Minister

Minister Satyavathi Rathod asked theofficials to take up special HarithaHaram on the occasion of KCR’s B’day

Completependingprojects:Komatireddy PNS n HYDERABAD

Congress MP from BhongirKomatireddy Venkat Reddyon Friday alleged that ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao is not in a position to seeany project except forKaleswaram in the state.Stating that KCR is behavingatrociously, Komatireddyasked the Chief Minister toreveal why the latter is notcompleting BrahmanaVemllamla and SLBC projects.

He said that the thenCongress government com-pleted 90 per cent of the pro-jects, but the TRS govern-ment is neglecting those pro-jects after coming to power.Komatireddy said that theBrahmana Vellamla would becompleted if the governmentspends Rs 100 crore andSLBC would be completed ifRs 700 crore is spent on it.

"KCR is looting publicexchequer in the name ofKaleswaram Project by trans-forming it as commissions'project," he said. Further heaccused Director General ofPolice M Mahender Reddyfort not giving permission tothe proposed padayatra forthe sake of Srisailam andBrahmana Vellamla projects.He said that he would launcha movement very soondemanding the state govern-ment to complete the pro-jects. "We will block thenational highways", he said.

Ryots told to raisealternative cropsPNS n SURYAPET

Minister for Power G JagadishReddy on Friday toured sev-eral tribal thandas in SuryapetAssembly constituency on atwo-wheeler covering anarea of 350 km in hisconstituency trac-ing the flow ofGodavari water totail-end landsf r o mKaleswaram pro-ject.

He said that thefarmers are not ableto earn not more thanRs 15,000 an acre in spite ofhard work and advised themto raise alternative crops. Headvised them against cultivat-ing traditional crops. If thefarmers cultivate oilpalm and

vegetable crops, they wouldearn more, he said.

He toured the tail-end landsof Polavaram project onThursday and Friday. He askedofficials to ensure that there

should be no hiccupsfor the flow of

Godavari water.He travelled oncanal bundsi nJalmalakuntaT h a n d a ,C h i n n a

Sitaram, PeddaSitaram, New

Banjara Hills,Velpulakunta thanda,

Mukundapuram tribal ham-lets and assured the tribals thatthe Godavari waters would wetthe fields of tribal farmersfrom next Kharif.

Take coronovirusissue seriously,HC tells TS GovtPNS n HYDERABAD

Referring to deadlyCoronavirus detected inChina, the Telangana HighCourt on Friday cautionedthe state government to takethe issue seriously. A divisionbench of the HC comprisingof the Chief Justice of thestate Justice RS Chauhan andJustice A Abhishek Reddydirected the CS to file adetailed report informing itabout the steps taken to curbSwine Flu, Dengue andCoronavirus based diseases.The court passed these orderswhile dealing with a batch ofPILs filed by different peoplecomplaining about the failureof the authorities of thestate government in takingpreventive steps to curb swineflu, dengue and other viralfevers, diseases.

‘Light Metrobest for Tirupati-Tirumala route’PNS n HYDERABAD

Hyderabad Metro RailwaysMD NVS Reddy said that thelight metro vehicle system isgood for reducing congestionon the Tirupati-Tirumalaroute. He met TTDChairman YV Subba Reddyat Sri Padmavathi GuestHouse on Friday afternoon.They discussed about ways toreduce traffic betweenTirupati and Tirumala.

They discussed on improv-ing transport from TirupathiRailway Station, Bustand toSrivari Stairway, as well as therenovation from ReniguntaAirport to Tirupati. SubbaReddy suggested that a fullreport should be preparedwith help from TTD officialsto transform Tirupati andTirumala into internationalspiritual centers.

Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Minister V Srinivas Goud felicitatingmountaineer from the state Amgoth Tukaram at Ravindra Bharathi on Friday

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2020 hyderabad 03

Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar takes a selfie after planting a sapling as part of 'Green Challenge', initiated byTRS MP Santosh Kumar, in the city on Friday

GREEN DDRIVERIME ORNERC

PNS n HYDERABAD

Enforcement of Food Safetyand Standards Act of 2011 isalmost nil in the city whosefood industry is growing expo-nentially with many newrestaurants and hotels comingup almost every day. Over onelakh families are dependent onfood industry for livelihoodand three lakh are employed inthe industry. Daily consump-tion of chicken is put at 700tonnes while meat consump-tion crosses 291 tonnes per day.On festival occasions, the con-sumptions increases manifold.There are many foot-path ven-dors to seven-star hotels in thecity, which is famous for itsbiryani, haleem and Irani chai.Daily inspection of hotels andrestaurants and vendors shouldbe done and food samplesshould be tested periodically,but it is not the case to be.

The GHMC conducted aspecial drive about one andhalf years ago and found thekitchens to be dimly lit, unhy-gienic and cooking of rottenmeat and so on. The hotelowners were warned of severerepercussions if repeated. TheGHMC officials left it at that asthe civic body did not haveenough number of foodinspectors. The total number ofrestaurants registered in thecity is put at 2,200. The num-ber of entities right from push

cart food vendors to top restau-rants is put at over 80,000.

The GHMC should have atleast 30 food inspectors at therate of one for each circle andsix designated officers at therate of one for each zone. Butthere are only three foodinspectors and one assistantfood controller. They shouldensure that quality food is

sold at hotels and also shouldtake care of court litigation ifany. As per the Food SafetyAct, each restau-rant shoulddisplay list ofeatables beingsold. Periodicinspection of food and regularcollection of samples and send-ing them to lab analysis should

be done, but it is not the case. In April 2017 the GHMC

officials inspected over 400hotels and imposed fine on 200hotels and collected Rs 17 lakhtowards fine. Earlier in 2015,they collected 413 samplesand registered 42 cases. In2016, 461 samples were collect-ed and 63 cases were registered.They promised to bring out amobile application on fines forhotel owners for not comply-ing with rules. But nothinghappened afterwards. TheGHMC and police officialsdecided to conduct joint raidsand fixed quantum of penaltyto be imposed on hotel own-ers for not maintaining hotelsproperly. It may be recalled thata two-year-old baby boy diedof severe dehydration afterconsuming food fromManasarovar in Begumpet.The food sample has beensent to laboratory and a reportis being awaited.

The allegations are that theGHMC officials are used toreceive monthly bribes fromhotel owners. Moreover, there

are reports that the GHMClower rung employees also

buy food parcels fromthe very hotels.Annually, at least40,000 people fall ill

because of food adulter-ation. The TSPSC is going torecruit at least 26 food safetyofficers shortly.

QUANTUM OF PENALTY n Rs 500 if the

kitchen is not tidy

n Rs 500 fine ifthe hotel staff

dress is untidyand if found notwearing gloves

n Rs 500 fine forusing unhygienic

utensils

n Rs 500 fine for poor

ventilation inkitchen

n Rs 500 fine fornot storing

veg and non-veg food

separately

FOOD QUALITY CHECK NOT ON GHMC'S ‘MENU'

‘High Profile Women's Conclave' on 20 FebruaryPNS n HYDERABAD

Cyberabad Police and SCSC(Society for Cyberabad SecurityCouncil) will organise HighProfile Women's Conclave andAwards "Women SecurityConclave - She M Power" herein the Cyberabad at HICC on20 February. Dr Tessy Thomas,Director General ofAeronautical Systems, DRDOwill be the Chief Guest.

Principal Secretary JayeshRanjan and Actress Sai Pallavi willbe the guest of honour. ShaileeBasnet, Mountaineer who waspart of the seven member team,the first women's team in theworld to climb the highest peakon each of the seven continents;

filmmaker SS Rajamouli, SeemaRao, also known as India'sWonder Woman who is India'sfirst woman commando traineramong many will grace the con-

clave.The Society for CyberabadSecurity Council (SCSC) is thejoint collaboration betweenCyberabad PoliceCommissionerate and IT indus-

try to promote Hyderabad as thepreferred IT destination, sharedBharani Kumar, Vice Chairmanof SCSC. Disclosing thisaddressing a press conference in

the city on Friday at Gachibowli,VC Sajjanar, Cyberabad PoliceCommissioner said that it is thesecond edition of Annual SCSCWomen's Conclave.

SCSC acts as a bridgebetween the IT industry andCyberabad Police to meet thesafety and security needs of ITcorridor since its inception in2006. She M Power waslaunched last year at the firstWomen's Conclave with avision that in the true senseWomen can be empoweredwhen their counterpart malewill respect them, create anopportunity for their rise andhelp them reach their goals,said the top police officerSajjanar. Around 1,200 partic-ipants including few policeofficials from across Telangana& other states will be partici-pating, the Commissionershared.

Society forCyberabad SecurityCouncil acts as a bridge between the IT industry andCyberabad Police to meet the safetyand security needs of IT corridor since its inception in 2006

n Rs 1,000 fine if the hotelfails to provide drinking water

n Rs 2,000 fine if there are notoilets in the hotel

n Rs 2,000 fine if the drainagesystem is not up to the mark

n Rs 10,000 fine if there is nofire safety and exist route

Fake visa stamping gangbusted; seven arrestedPNS n HYDERABAD

The sleuths of SpecialOperation Team (SOT),Shamshabad zone busted afake VISA stamping gang onFriday and arrested seven per-sons while another accused ison the run.

Officials recovered 16 pass-ports, 13 visa papers, 25 stampsand Rs two lakh in cash,among other items.

The arrested persons havebeen identified as RelluKubender Rao, 32, ShaikBasheer Ahmed, 60, KanapalaMohan Rao, 41, IndetiAugustin, 40, SirimuvvalaRuthamma, 44, YenamadalaSunitha, 36 and Kollati VentaraRama Krishna, 35. Anotherperson, identified as BaluPrasad, a resident ofKumbakonam in Tamilnadu, isabsconding.

"Rellu Kubender Rao cameto Hyderabad in 2016 andstarted an air ticket bookingbusiness, for sending passen-gers to different countries. Raobooked these tickets throughNBS Travels at Kumbakonamin Chennai for a commissionat Rs 300 per customer andcontinued the business for twoyears. Rao then came to knowabout the processes of sendingpeople abroad and decided tomake fake documents thatcould aid in sending womenabroad. He procured stampsfrom Balu Prasad, a resident ofChennai for the same. Kuwaiti

Stickers, which are used formaking fake stampings, werearranged by Basheer Ahmed,who gets them from Kumar, aresident of Sri Lanka," said VC Sajjanar adding, ShaikBasheer Ahmed, a ticketingagent of NBS Travels used toprocure Kuwaiti revenuestamps, notary stickers andstamps from Kumar at SriLanka and supply them toRellu Kubender Rao.

Female workers who returnto India and want to go back

to Kuwait are sourced throughlocal agents. Rao then makesPCC, fake stamping certifi-cates, medical certificates andDubai tourist visas. Any work-er going to Kuwait will requireimmigration clearance certifi-cate from POE, for ECRPassports, without which theywill not be allowed. To by-passthe system, Rao would sendthe workers to Dubai on atourist visa and from there,they would go to Kuwait, thusescaping from immigrationclearance. Passports of thewomen were arranged by Rao'slocal agents Augustin, MohanRao, Rama Krishna, Sunithaand Ruthamma.

In Kuwait, Rao's agents -Laxmi, Sharada, Srinu and Sara- provide employment in returnof Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 asprofit per person. In thisprocess, required documentslike PCC (Police ClearanceCertificate), fake stamping cer-tificates, medical certificatesare prepared by him.

Sleuths of SpecialOperation Teamrecovered 16passports, 13 visapapers, 25 stampsand Rs two lakh incash, among otheritems from theirpossession

PNS n HYDERABAD

Instead of using dating apps inits true sense, Hyderabadisprefer using such apps forfriendship or companionship.The findings of the report byNortonLifeLock Inc., suggestthat Indian men and womenare becoming progressivelyopen-minded about the con-cept of online dating, withfour in every 10 respondentsusing online dating apps intheir quest for a serious rela-tionship.

According to the survey, 59per cent respondents fromHyderabad feel that peoplethey met online are extremelytrustworthy while 46 per centof respondents said that theyuse online dating websites andapplications.

The results of its second edi-tion of the India DigitalWellness Report is an onlinesurvey of over 1,500 city-basedIndian adults, which exploresthe increased popularity ofonline dating apps across usersegments and how the afford-

ability of data has made thesmart phone the primarydevice of entertainment. Thereport found that 40 per centof the respondents were com-fortable with sharing person-al details on dating apps with-out even meeting the person.

About 35 per cent ofrespondents from Hyderabadsaid that they share personal

information immediately aftergetting contacted on datingapplications while 60 per centrespondents from Bengalurushare personal informationimmediately. Women (46 percent) share personal informa-tion immediately after gettingcontacted than men (35 percent). About 73 per cent ofrespondents from Hyderabad

say they cannot live withoutsmart phone and 91 per centof respondents fromHyderabad check their smartphones multiple times in a dayfor updates.

According to a press com-muniqué, Ritesh Chopra,Director, NortonLifeLock,India, said, "The increasingaffordability of smart phonesand data is enabling us tocomplement many aspects ofour real life online. Indianmen and women are becom-ing progressively open-mind-ed about the concept ofonline dating. However, it isimportant for consumers tobe mindful of their digitalfootprint, as it is easy forcyber criminals to deceiveusers by creating fake identi-ties and misusing the person-al data that is shared ononline platforms. It hasalways been our endeavour toeducate consumers of thethreats that exist and howthey can protect their onlineidentities in the complex dig-ital world."

Hyderabadis trust dating apps for friendship

3,221 casesbooked againstauto driversPNS n HYDERABAD

To ensure the safety of schoolchildren, the HyderabadTraffic Police conducted aspecial drive and booked3,221 cases against autorick-shaw drivers in two days inHyderabad. Seven driverswere found driving under theinfluence of alcohol.

The drive was conductedbetween 7.30 am and 9.30 amand 3 pm and 5 pm. Autoswere checked for fitness cer-tificates and licence of the dri-vers. Breathalyzer tests werealso conducted. Special teamswere formed who held meet-ings with school manage-ments and drivers of theautos transporting schoolchildren.

A skit on cyber safety PNS n HYDERABAD

The students of Class IX fromthe department of computerscience of St. Peter'sInternational ResidentialSchool performed a skit on'Cyber Safety' on Friday. Theskit 'Stop, Think and Connect

globally', includes cyber bully-ing and cyber abuse. Throughthis skit, students wanted tobring awareness among stu-dents about cyber safety. Theydisplayed posters, written slo-gans and safety internet rulesabout cyber abuse and cyber-bullying.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Officials of EnforcementDirectorate (ED), on Friday,filed a supplementary chargesheet at a court in Delhi againstHyderabad-based business-man Sana Satish Babu, in meatexporter Moin Akhtar Qureshicase.

The Special Judge,Anuradha Shukla Bharadwaj,is said to take the matter underconsideration on Saturday.

The charge sheet, filedthrough Special PublicProsecutor N K Matta, statedthat the probe agency hasfound new evidence of moneytrail in the case. Babu was ear-lier arrested and granted bailby the court in August last year.

The ED is probing the pur-ported purchase of sharesworth Rs 50 lakh of a compa-ny linked to Qureshi by Babu.He was arrested in July lastyear under provisions of the

Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act, the ED hadsaid, adding that he was grilledfor a few hours and taken intocustody as he was "not coop-erating" in the probe.

The CBI's special probe team,under then Special DirectorRakesh Asthana, had recom-mended Babu's arrest in itsown case against Qureshi andothers. However, in October2018, the Alok Kumar Verma-led agency registered a case of

alleged corruption againstAsthana and his subordinates,based on Babu's complaint.Babu alleged that he had paid abribe to get relief in the case.

Officials close to Asthanalevelled similar allegationsagainst Verma. The matterreached the Central VigilanceCommission, which initiatedan inquiry into the charges andcounter-charges. Eventually,both Verma and Asthana weredivested of their powers.

Moin Qureshi

PNS n HYDERABAD

'Wherever you go there isKCR', that's the present situa-tion in Hyderabad. Be it Metropillars, large hoardings or flex-is, netas have already startedcelebrating the 66th birthdayof Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao, that fallson Monday. Various eventsincluding T10 crircket matchis being held in the city tomark KCR's birthday.

"Daylong celebrations willbe held at LB Stadium, wherea plantation drive, blood dona-tion camp, cultural pro-grammes, felicitation of top 80Telangana sports men withcash awards and wheel chairdistribution will be held," saidAllipuram VenkateswaraReddy, Sats Chairman.Meanwhile, a barber identified

as Kodicharla Ramesh hasannounced that he will providefree haircut and shaving on thebirthday of the Chief Minister.The banner arranged withKCR and KTR photos hasbeen widely circulated onsocial media. This offer is for

attendants and cancer patientsnear Indo American CancerHospital in Hyderabad. Somefans even released commondisplay picture of KCR to beput on social media accounts,similar to trends in Tollywoodstars birthday celebrations.

Kathi Maheshgheraoed at ImaxPNS n HYDERABAD

Film critic Kathi Mahesh wasgheraoed and threatened bya group of Bajrang Dalactivists on Friday at PrasadsImax when the former wasstepping out of a moviescreening. "Mahesh comesto the theater on every Fridaymorning to catch the 8:15 amshow and the activistsallegedly knew his sched-ule," said Saidi Reddy,Saifabad Police Inspector.

"We arrested four menfrom the Bajrang Dal whogheraoed Mahesh while hewas stepping out after watch-ing Vijay Devarakonda'sWorld Famous Lover. Themen were there on bikesweaving saffron flags andraising slogans. They thenattacked his vehicle and dam-aged the window panes byraising slogans demandingstrict action against him,"the police said.

Bizman arrestedfor cheatingcustomers Officials of the Hyderabad

Central Crime Station (CCS)on Friday arrested abusinessman for cheatingcustomers after promisingholiday packages, plots and giftvouchers. The arrested wasidentified as Vikram Shukla (42).Shukla is the managing partnerof 'Land Mark Infra Services'.Based on a complaint from acustomer, the CCS police bookeda case and began aninvestigation. According to thePolice, Shukla along with hisassociates established a fakecompany 'Land Mark InfraServices', and engagedmarketing executives and agentsto cheat customers. With thehelp of his team of marketingexecutives and agents, the'company' convinced customersand collected huge amounts ofmoney on the pretext ofproviding plots, holiday packagesand gift vouchers. Shukla wasproduced before court andremanded to judicial custody, thepolice said.

Man gets two-dayprison sentencefor stalkingAlocal court in Hyderabad, on

Friday, imposed a two-dayimprisonment on a man forstalking a woman. He wascaught red-handed by theHyderabad SHE teams. Thearrested person has beenidentified as Md Faizuddin, 41, alabourer from Rajendranagar."On Wednesday, SHE teamsmember identified a manroaming suspiciously atAfzalgunj bus stop. The teamobserved him for half an hourand found that he was stalkingladies and misbehaving withthem in the bus stop premises.The man's acts were captured ina video and he was brought tothe SHE Team office," saidShikha Goel, ACP, (Cr & SIT),Hyderabad. On Friday, the localcourt awarded him a two-dayprison sentence and a fine of Rs 200.

Addl chargesheet filed in Moin Qureshi case

ED filed asupplementarychargesheetnamingHyderabad-basedbusinessmanSathish BabuSana in the case

Series of events to mark CM’s B’day

Kodicharla Ramesh, a barber

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2020 hyderabad 04

NEW TPCC CHIEF BY FEB END?K VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

Congress party high com-mand has intensified its effortsto appoint new chief forTelangana Pradesh CongressCommittee. According tosources, the party high com-mand is making phone calls toDCC presidents to considertheir opinions on selectingthe leaders aspiring for the nextTPCC chief position. One ofthe senior leader in the party,on condition of anonymitysaid that the party highcommand mayannounce the newTPCC chief by theend of this monthor by first week ofMarch.

On the otherhand, TelanganaCongress Affairs gener-al secretary in-charge RCKhuntia is also taking theopinions of the leaders.According to sources, seniorleaders like M Kodanda Reddyand others have met Khuntia,who is in city to participate inthe proposed dharna to be held

on February 16 at Indira Park'sDharna Chowk.

It is learnt that many lead-ers have suggested

Khuntia to recom-mend the party

high commandto appoint anew TPCCchief as soon aspossible as the

party's conditionis deteriorating in

the state. As perparty frame work, the

state party in-charge has to rec-ommend few names for thenext PCC chief position. Aspart of it, for the last two days,several leaders are meetingKhuntia and urging him toconsider their names for the

TPCC chief post. "The party high command

should not consider the namesrecommended by Khuntia, ashe had failed to lead the stateparty leadership in electionsheld in the state. However, theparty has the tradition of con-sidering the recommendationsof the in-charge of the stateparty," said one of the leaderson condition of anonymity.Meanwhile, Sangareddy MLAT Jagga Reddy also metKhuntia on Friday and urgedhim to consider his name. Bydoing so, he made it clear thathe is in the race for TPCC chiefpost. Meanwhile, many leaderson condition of anonymityare of a opinion that there is aneed to replace Khuntia.

According to sources, many leadershave suggested Telangana CongressAffairs general secretary in-chargeKhuntia to recommend the party highcommand to appoint a new TPCCchief as soon as possible

‘KTR's remarks on Centralfunds politically motivated’PNS n HYDERABAD

BJP Telangana State chiefspokesperson K KrishnaSaagar Rao has said that ITMinister KT Rama Rao's state-ments in the last two days onCentral funds to the state arequite deceptive and political-ly motivated.

"It's evident that GHMCelections are driving this falsenarrative against BJP andCentral government. KTR istrying to mislead people ofTelangana on CentralGovernment's fund supportto the state by his irrelevantstatements," he said.

"KTR's argument is funda-mentally flawed and bereft ofany understanding of theCenter-State financial rela-tions and tax sharing provi-sions laid down by the Indianconstitution," he pointed out.

KTR should stop readingcomics and start readingConstitution, he suggested.Article 268 to 293 part 12 ofthe Constitution outlines thetax revenue sharing provisionsand KTR should tutor himselfon the same, he said pointingout that the IT Minister seemsto be forgetting Telangana is a

state in the Indian Union andnot a country by itself.

He said that the BJP also

demands accounts for Rs1,15,000 crore of devolution,grant-in aid and another Rs1,25,000 crore funds throughloans and guarantees byCentral government to thestate in the last 6 years. There'shardly any developmentalexpenditure visible and expe-rienced by the common peo-ple of Telangana state. Wheredid all the funds go?, he asked.

Minister KTR and leaders ofTRS should stop misleadingpeople of Telangana with theiringenuous theories on Center-State financial relations sud-denly ahead of GHMC elec-tions, he advised.

Expedite works onprojects: VenkaiahPNS n NEW DELHI

Vice-President M VenkaiahNaidu interacted with UnionMinister of Commerce andIndustry Piyush Goyal andofficials of the Ministry at hisresidence and enquired aboutthe progress of projects relat-ing to Andhra Pradesh andTelangana.

During the interaction, offi-cials briefed him about theprogress of VishakhapatnamChennai Industrial Corridor(VCIC), Indian Institute ofPackaging (IIP), Kakinada,Indian Institute of ForeignTrade (IIFT), Kakinada, andSpice Park in Guntur.

Referring to Spice Park in

Guntur, the Vice-Presidentwanted the ministry to explorethe possibility of a linkage withthe NG Ranga AgriculturalUniversity in the same district.He said that some of the stu-dents might be interested tobecome agri-entrepreneursand set up units in the park.

The Vice-President alsoenquired about the progress ofthe Hyderabad-WarangalIndustrial Corridor andHyderabad-Nagpur IndustrialCorridor in Telangana. Naiduasked officials to expedite allongoing projects and ensuretimely completion as most ofthese projects were part of theAndhra Pradesh StateReorganisation Act-2014.

It's evident thatGHMC polls aredriving this falsenarrative againstBJP and Centre.KTR is trying tomislead people ofTS, said KrishnaSaagar Rao

Ex Chief Justice Palem Chennakesava Reddi no morePNS n HYDERABAD

Former Chief Justice of undi-vided Andhra Pradesh andNorth Eastern High CourtsJustice Palem ChennakesavaReddi breathed his last here onFriday at his residence inBanjara Hills. He was 96. Hewas the oldest living Judge inthe country. Justice PC Reddi,as he was fondly called, wasborn in ThatimakulaPalliVillage of KamalapuramTaluqin Kadapa District onNovember 3 1924 to ChennaReddy, a farmer and Ellamma.After his initial educationthrough a contracted EnglishTeacher in his village, he wentto Pulivendula high school. Hecompleted his BA from ArtsCollege Anantapur andobtained his Law degree (LLB)from Madras University. He

was a top ranker throughoutand was known for his sharpmemory, right from his schooldays until he breathed his last.He was president of the LawCollege Andhra Students asso-ciation.

He enrolled as a lawyer inMadras High Court in 1952and moved to Guntur when theHigh court was setup there in1953. In 1956, he moved toHyderabad when the Highcourt of combined state ofAndhra Pradesh was estab-lished. He built up a good rep-utation for integrity and wasappointed the standingCounsel for CBI in 1969. Mostof his practice was in the areasof writs and criminal law. Hewas elevated as a Judge ofAndhra Pradesh High Court in1972 at a young age of 47. Inone of his judgements he had

written "Magistrates are notmystic sages and cannot sup-press sudden disturbances byesoteric meditation".

The media hailed thatLiterature was back in thejudgements of the High Court.As a Judge he was also theChariman of the advisory

boards of NSA, COFEPOSAand others. He was the ChiefJustice of Andhra PradeshHigh court during 1984 &1985. He was known for speedydispensation of Justice andexcellent administration ofstate Judiciary. He held therespect of Judiciary high even

during the politically turbulenttimes. The strength of theHigh Court of AP wasincreased from 26 to 36 on theapplication during his time, toreduce the pendency of cases inHigh Court. In September1985, he was transferred asChief Justice of Guwahati HighCourt from where he retired inNovember 1986.

Post his retirement, herefused to serve as chairman ofcommissions but held hon-orary positions such asChairman, Nandi Film awardscommittee and medical ethicscommittee. He was gifted withincredible memory and goodhealth. Above all, he wasknown for his integrity & hon-esty.

He established Justice PCReddi trust of which he was theChairman until he passed away.

The trust has been supportingactivities in Kadapa andRayalaseema since 2000 in theareas of Women's education.While thousands will mournhim, the state has seen the endof an Era of lawyers & Judgescoming from Pre-independentIndia that stood on high values.

He was a member of theSecunderabad Club and awalker at the KBR park. He wasvery social post retirementand had a wide circle of friendsin these places, some of whowill miss him. He is survived bythree sons and a daughter. Thelast respects wil be paid onSunday, 16th February from 8AM to 12 noon at his residenceon road no.10 Banjara Hills.The cremation will be per-formed at Punjagutta Burialgrounds at 1 PM, with statehonors.

The cremation ofJustice PalemChennakesavaReddi beperformed onSunday atPunjagutta burialgrounds at 1 PM

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC) TreasurerGudur Narayana Reddyridiculed Union HomeMinister Amit Shah's con-tention that BJP lost Delhielections due to a defectivecampaign. He said Amit Shahshould admit that his party hasbeen facing rejection all overthe country due to its wrongand divisive policies.

Narayana Reddy, in a mediastatement on Friday, allegedthat Shah was trying to divertpeople's attention from thereal issues by giving mislead-ing explanations on electorallosses. "People don't judgepolitical parties on their modeof campaign. They give theirverdict based on the policiesbeing implemented by the rul-ing party. Amit Shah should'veadmitted that BJP was reject-ed by the people of Delhi forbringing a divisive law onCitizenship. Instead of admit-

ting that CAA has been reject-ed, BJP leaders are trying togive an impression that theylost for raising issues in anincorrect manner," he said.

The Congress leader saidthat the BJP Governmentappears to be in a haste to bringcontentious laws and makecontroversial moves so as tokeep the attention of people toget diverted from real issues."The BJP-led Assam govern-ment has reportedly lost thedata collected for the imple-mentation of state-wide

National Register of Citizens(NRC). The CentralGovernment had spent over Rs1,600 crore to conduct theNRC in Assam on pilot basis.The data lost has badly dam-aged the credibility of NRCwhich is already facing wide-spread rejection all across thecountry. As the Union HomeMinister, Amit Shah must havegiven an explanation for theNRC data goof up in Assam.However, the former BJPPresident is still trying to mis-lead people by presenting dif-

ferent theories on why BJP lostDelhi elections," he said.

"Instead of being apologeticfor pushing the country's econ-omy into huge crisis, BJPGovernment is trying to findfault with the citizens. WhileShah is keeping the people dis-tracted with his contradictorystatements on CAA and NRC,Prime Minister Narender Modiis cursing Indians for not pay-ing Income Tax properly. Itmay be true that only 1.5 croreout of 130 crore population payIncome Tax, but almost every-one pays GST or other taxes,directly or indirectly.Therefore, Income Tax cannotbe treated as the only bench-mark to define a tax payer.Almost 70% Indians pay taxesdirectly or indirectly throughone way or the other.Therefore, instead of askingpeople to introspect, PM Modiand his team should do a seri-ous introspection of their poli-cies and approach towardseconomy," he advised.

‘People rejected BJP for its wrong policies'Amit Shah istrying to divertpeople's

attention from the realissues by givingmisleading explanationson electoral losses

GUDUR NARAYANAREDDY

TPCC Treasurer

Revanth dares KCRfor open debate onpoll promisesPNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC working president andMalkajgiri MP A RevanthReddy on Friday demandedTelangana BJP chief Dr KLaxman to react on the role heplayed in meeting My Home'sRameshwar Rao with UnionMinister for Mining PrahladJoshi.

He alleged that ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao had received commis-sions from Rameshwar Rao,adding KCR is doing all theseonly to provide financial ben-efits to Rameshwar Rao byhelping him to open Jai JyothyCements factory.

The Malkajgiri MP allegedthat Telangana State stoodNo.1 in farmer suicides. "TheTelangana state governmenthas turned Rythu Bandhu as'election bandhu'. The ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao has to reveal why the stategovernment is not implement-ing loan waiver. I dare KCR tocome for an open debate onthe poll promises he fulfilled.The government is not provid-ing Minimum Support Price

for the farmers but it hadincreased liquor prices indis-criminately," he said. RevanthReddy alleged that KCR ismisleading the people by stat-ing that the government wouldlift 530 TMCFT of water fromKaleswaram, but in reality thegovernment is lifting not morethan 180 TMCFT of water.

CM K ChandrashekharRao has to reveal whythe state government

has not implementing loanwaiver so far

REVANTH REDDYMalkajgiri MP

Rs 1.47 L-crSC order ondues leaves...Continued from page 1

Let the concerned officer, sit-ting over the order passed bythis court, also file reply," it said.

The top court made it clearthat in case its order is notcomplied with, the desk offi-cer of the DoT and top exec-utives of these companies"shall remain personally pre-sent" before it on March 17.

"I am literally shocked. Myconscience is shaken the waythese things are happening inthe country," Justice Mishrasaid.

Hearing the pleas filed byVodafone-Idea, Bharti Airtel,Tata Teleservices and othersseeking more time for pay-ment of dues, the benchexpressed serious displea-sure and said, "How can adesk officer do this to theSupreme Court's order? Isthis the law of the country? Isthis the way you treat thecourts?"

"We don't know who is cre-ating this nonsense. Who isgenerating all this? Is there nolaw left in the country? I amliterally anguished. I feel Ishould not work in this courtand in this system. I am veryanguished. I am saying thiswith a full sense of responsi-bility," Justice Mishra said.

Now Valentine’s... Continued from page 1

Netizens took to Twitter toconfront the city police, ques-tioning their silence sincethey were proactive in con-trolling and stopping gather-ings during the CAA protestsin Hyderabad. They alsoshared videos of the activistsvandalising places and eater-ies in Hyderabad.

"Bajrang dal workers van-dalize shops in Hyderabad'sGachibowli area (HI-TECCity). The state police, whichwas so proactive in curbinganti-CAA/NRC protests,couldn't prevent vandalismfrom anti-social elements" (sic),said a user. Meanwhile, anoth-er post on Twitter read "Is thereanybody more incompetentthan Hyderabad Police? Youdisrupt our protests where weonly sit down and hold plac-ards; you detain us, beat us andbook cases. On the other hand,you do nothing to preventBajrang Dal goons from actu-ally going violent and damag-ing property?" (sic)

Shah-Jagan amity signals...Continued from page 1

YSRCP will set to play majorrole in Rajya Sabha where BJPhas no majority after Aprilwith increased strength of sixmembers. YSRCP has twomembers now and in twomonths time, that number willzoom to six. In a year's time,the strength of YSRCP wouldbe 10 and the party presentlyhas 22 members in Lok Sabha.

"YSRCP has become animportant political party bothin Lok Sabh and Rajya Sabhaand BJP has taken note of thispoint. Jagan's importance fur-ther increased with the exit ofthe Shiv Sena from the NDA

and BJP leadership has under-stood the reality," said a seniorMP who is following the devel-opments closely.

Jagan explained to Amit Shahthe need of three capitals anddecentralisation of develop-ment and the Union HomeMinister lent a patient ear tothis. Though the state BJP haspassed a resolution against thethree capital proposal, it lookslike a re-thinking is gainingground in the party on the basisof all-round development of thestate. The Chief Minister alsosucceeded in convincing theBJP top leadership on the needto abolish the state LegislativeCouncil for which Assembly

has already passed a resolution.His meeting with Shah hasachieved major breakthroughand the Centre in principal hasagreed to process the abolitionof Legislative Council. TheUnion Home Ministry andLaw Ministry play a key role inthe process and sources saidJagan detailed the turn of eventsin the TDP-dominatedLegislative Council and hisgovernment's decision to abol-ish the Upper House. Duringthe meeting, Jagan learnt tohave explained the Council'sreluctance to clear the Billapproved by the Assembly onimplementation of Englishmedium for poor children.

TS-bPASS roll-out from ...Continued from page 1

During the session, KTRsaid that decentralization,along with the formation ofnew districts, mandals andmunicipalities, was one ofthe biggest achievementsof the Telangana govern-ment post formation of thestate.

Addressing Collectors,KTR said, "I can proudly saythat no other state hasbrought in so many admin-istrative reforms in the histo-ry of our country in such ashort span of time."

"Effective implementationof the new Municipal Act willchange the face of the citiesand towns in Telangana andCollectors should play animportant role in its imple-mentation," the MA & UDMinister said.

The Minister stated thatthe Pattana Pragathi pro-gramme would be launchedsoon on the lines of the suc-cessful Palle Pragathi. Thebest practices from some ofthe ULBs could be replicatedacross the state. "Telangana'stowns should set a bench-mark for the rest of the coun-try," he remarked.

Concluding the session,the Minister stated, "We allshould work together toensure transparent delivery ofcitizen services."

Medaramhundis net...Continued from page 1

While most of the devoteesmade offerings in Indian cur-rency, there were others whodeposited American, British,Russian and Saudi Arabiancurrencies in the hundis.

The officials are dryingcurrencies that got drenchedin some of the hundis that gotexposed to rain on the lastday of Jatara.

Top courtissues noticesto TS Govt ...Continued from page 1

The new Act gives powersto the state government tonotify or de-notify heritagestructures.

Several petitions were filedin the High Court challeng-ing the new Act.

Later, the HC had reinstat-ed the Regulation 13 ofHUDA 1995 after it wasabruptly removed by the stategovernment.

The HC had asked theState to form heritage com-mittees as mandated underthe Telangana Heritage Law2017, and implement theaforesaid law immediately.However, the TS governmenthas not it till date.

Continued from page 1

Rao, whose father KChandrashekhar Rao is thechief minister of the state,also pitched for a leeway in fis-cal responsibility targets forwell performing states.

"We should be given moreleeway. Right now it (fiscaldeficit) is about 3.5 per cent forTelangana, it should be 5 percent, he said.

We want it to be increasedand we be allowed to borrowmore. you can stipulate a con-dition that whatever you bor-row, you have to put it in theproductive sector. Don't spendit on freebies, we are ready todo that, he said.

He also alleged that theUnion Finance Ministry'sDepartment of EconomicAffairs does not allow thestates to borrow directly fromforeign investors, and under-lined that the Union govern-ment should be playing therole of enabler for states.

He also claimed that theCentre did not support

Telangana's scheme for havingtwo parks dedicated for thepharmaceutical and the textilesectors.

Rao rued that the congru-ence between states and theCentre is missing and warnedthat goals like USD 5 trillioneconomy will be difficult toachieve sans that.

He also questioned the needto have sectors like education,healthcare and agriculture inthe concurrent list, demandingthat states should be given theleeway to decide for themselveson such aspects where local fac-tors play an important role.

The minister said we need tofocus on infrastructure, inno-vation and inclusive growth to

achieve economic growth, andurged the Centre to emulateefforts undertaken Telanganain these areas.

He also sought for regulato-ry changes to ensure thatIndian pension money needsto be invested to create infra-structure, just like how over-seas money from Canadianpensioners gets invested here.

Rao urged the tech world todevelop solutions for the realsector, making it clear thatinnovations have no use ifthey can't be used for chang-ing local peoples' lives.

He also said that the statewants to create two varsitiesdedicated for pharmaceuticalsand aerospace.

KTR hits out at FC over reduced...He also alleged that the Department ofEconomic Affairs does not allow thestates to borrow directly from foreigninvestors, and underlined that the Uniongovernment should be playing the roleof enabler for states

Retd Armyman opens firein air during...Continued from page 1

However, he has since beenbrandishing the weapon tothreaten people or silenceopposition to his misdeeds inthe village. The police, follow-ing enquiries, have arrestedReddy. They have registereda case against him. The ACPHabeeb Khan and CI PradeepKumar investigated thecase.On Thursday evening,he opened fire in the air whileseeking to intervene in a scuf-fle between two groups of vil-lagers during a marriage pro-cession in Shayampet ofDharmaram mandal in thedistrict.Villagers said that someyoungsters had an argumentwith Thirumal Reddy, who gotenraged and used his weaponto fire in the air and scare themaway. However, some of theyouths recorded the incidenton their mobile phones andposted them on social mediaplatforms.

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2020 nation 05SHORT READS

Judicial magistratekilled in road accidentin ChandigarhCHANDIGARH: A 31-year-oldjudicial magistrate was killedand a lawyer injured when theircar rammed into a pole here onFriday, police said. JudicialMagistrate Sahil Singla, postedat Pathankot, and his lawyerfriend had come to attend awedding in the city, they said.Singh died when the carcrashed into a pole, while thelawyer suffered injuries, policesaid. The lawyer has beenadmitted to a private hospital inMohali, they said.

Ex-serviceman heldfor firing duringwedding procession

Maha: Man gets fiveyears’ RI forneighbour's deathTHANE: A district court heresentenced a 35-year-oldBhiwandi resident to five yearsof rigorous imprisonment forkilling his neighbour. In anorder issued on Thursday,district judge Rajesh S Guptaconvicted Santosh Suryavanshifor culpable homicide notamounting to murder andsentenced him to five years ofrigorous imprisonment. Thecourt also imposed a fine of Rs20,000 on the accused.Prosecutor Varsha Chandaneinformed the court that boththe accused and the victimDhiraj Gaud (24) wereresidents of Charnipada atBhiwandi town inMaharashtra's Thane district. InOctober 2010, the accusedspotted the victim talking to hissister and was angered by it.

HC rejects pre-arrestbail pleas of Navlakha& TeltumbdeMUMBAI: The Bombay HighCourt on Friday refused togrant anticipatory bail to civilrights activists GautamNavlakha and Anand Teltumbdein the Elgar Parishad-allegedMaoist links case. Justice P DNaik, while rejecting their pre-arrest bail pleas, said "primafacie evidence showscomplicity of both the accusedin the case". The court,however, extended the interimprotection from arrest grantedto them for a period of fourweeks so that they canapproach the Supreme Court inappeal. "On perusal of all thematerial on record, it can beseen that there is prima facieevidence showing complicity ofapplicants (Navlakha andTeltumbde) in the crime,"Justice Naik said. The court,after perusing letters allegedlyexchanged between theaccused persons, noted thatNavlakha, Teltumbde and theother accused persons likeSurendra Gadling, Rona Wilsonand Sudha Bharadwaj haddirect access and connectionswith central committeemembers and leaders of CPI(Maoist).

KARIMNAGAR (TELANGANA):An ex-serviceman was arrestedfor allegedly opening fire in theair during a marriageprocession in Peddapalli districtto prevent a quarrel betweentwo groups, police said onFriday. According to thePeddapalli assistantcommissioner of police HabeebKhan,the accused BaddamTirumal Reddy was an ex-serviceman who had worked inthe Jammu andKashmirregiment from 2002 till 2019.After retirement, he got himselfan arms licence for self-protection. He carried a DBBL(Double-Barrel Breach Loading)shotgun during the processionat Sayampet village inDharmaram Mandal andopened fire in the air.

PNS n AURANGABAD

Maharashtra Navnirman Senachief Raj Thackeray on Fridaysaid neither his policy towardsBangladeshi and Pakistaniinfiltrators has changed nor hisparty's flag. The MNS, inJanuary this year, unveiled itsnew flag which featuredChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj'sroyal seal, also called 'rajmudra', and his speech at theworkers convention at thetime indicated a turn towardshardline Hindutva politics.

Speaking to reporters here,Thackeray said, "Neither hasmy policy towardsBangladeshis and Pakistanischanged, nor has my flag."

He said his party had senta letter to the state electioncommission about the newflag and that it was one of themany flags registered three tofour years ago. He added thatthe flag with the royal seal wasalso displayed at several partyevents earlier. Thackerayclaimed the state governmentgot rickshaws and taxis drivenby 'Bangladeshis' off the roadsafter his party raised the issue.

PNS n PUNE

Union minister PrakashJavadekar on Friday said the"sudden disappearance" of theCongress was responsible forthe BJP's defeat in DelhiAssembly polls as it led to adirect fight between his partyand the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP).

The Arvind Kejriwal-ledAAP swept the DelhiAssembly polls by winning 62of the total 70 seats. While theBJP won eight seats, theCongress failed to open itsaccount for the second consec-utive election.

"The (BJP's) defeat in Delhi

elections was because of thesudden disappearance of theCongress. It is a different sub-ject whether the Congress dis-

appeared (on its own), peoplemade it disappear or whethertheir votes got transferred (toAAP)," Javadekar said in apress conference here.

He said the Congress, whichhad got 26 per cent votes inLok Sabha elections, couldwin only 4 per cent votes inDelhi elections.

"Because of Congress's dis-appearance, there was a directfight between the BJP and theAAP. We had expected 42 percent votes for us and 48 percent for AAP, but our predic-tion failed by 3 per cent each.We (BJP) got 39 per centvotes, while the AAP received51 per cent votes," he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government should bringan ordinance to "rectify" theSupreme Court's recent deci-sion on reservation in jobs forSC-ST communities and allsuch issues should be includ-ed in the Ninth Schedule of theConstitution to insulate themfrom judicial review, Unionminister Ram Vilas Paswansaid on Friday.

He said the government wasalso mulling filing a reviewagainst the Supreme Courtdecision and was taking legalopinion on it.

"The review petition is there,but the matter will again go tocourt, it has to be looked atwhether it will be successful ornot. So, in my opinion the eas-

iest way is to issue an ordinanceand make an amendment inthe Constitution," Paswan toldPTI in an interview.

The Lok Janshakti Partyleader's remarks come amidsta political storm after the apexcourt recently ruled that thestates are not bound to provide

reservation for ScheduledCastes (SCs) and ScheduledTribes (STs) in appointmentsand there is no fundamentalright to claim quota in promo-tions.

"The Supreme Court sayingthat it is up to the state govern-ment for giving reservation in

jobs and it is not a fundamen-tal right...This is all part of theConstitution, and the peoplehave this objection that the ver-dict is against the interests ofthe SCs and STs," Paswan said.

To "rectify" the SupremeCourt verdict, an ordinanceshould be brought and the

Constitution should be amend-ed, the Consumer Affairs, Foodand Public Distribution min-ister said.

An ordinance can bebrought when Parliament is notin session. However, if thegovernment still wants to bringone during a break in an ongo-ing session, one of the twoHouses is adjourned sine die(indefinitely), and once theordinance is signed by thePresident, the House that wasadjourned for the purpose isreconvened, a senior govern-ment official said. There havebeen precedents.

The ordinance has a shelf lifeof six months. Once a sessionbegins it has to be convertedinto a law within six weeks, orelse it lapses.

Govt must ‘rectify' SC fiat on quota: Paswan

PNS n CHENNAI

The AIADMK government inTamil Nadu on Friday present-ed a populist budget, the lastfull- fledged exercise in itspresent regime ahead of theAssembly elections next yearwith a Rs 59,346 crore fiscaldeficit and is set to borrow Rs59,209 crore.

The outstanding debt will beRs 4,56,660.99 crore constitut-ing 21.83 per cent of GSDP in2020-21.

The Chief Minister KPalaniswami-led government,which has been implementing

a slew of welfare schemesannounced a Special PurposeVehicle to finance and managethe popular state-run, low costfood chain Amma Unavagamand made a provision of Rs 100

crore for the purpose.The government which pro-

vides free rice for ration cardholders provided Rs 6,500crore for food subsidy.

Supply of toor dal and edi-

ble oil at subsidised rates willbe continued in 2020-21 aswell.

While agriculture saw anallocation of Rs 11,894.48crore, fisheries got Rs 1,229.85crore. As many as 7.41 lakhacres will be covered undermicro irrigation with anenhanced outlay of Rs 1,844.97crore.

A total crop loan of Rs11,000 crore will be disbursedby cooperative institutions anda provision of Rs 200 crore hasbeen made to provide fullinterest waiver for promptrepayment of loans.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Mounting a fresh offensiveagainst the BJP government onthe first anniversary of thePulwama terror attack, theCongress on Friday accused itof using the sacrifice of sol-diers for electoral gains andasked who benefited themost from the strike.

As Pulwamaoccupied the polit-ical centrestage,several Congressleaders, includingformer presidentRahul Gandhi, raisedquestions on theinquiry into theattack that killed40 CRPF personneland why it was notbeing made public.

Gandhi asked whowas made accountable for theterror attack on a securityconvoy in Pulwama in Jammuand Kashmir on February 14last year.

"Today as we rememberour 40 CRPF martyrs in the#PulwamaAttack, let us ask: 1.Who benefitted the most fromthe attack? 2. What is the out-come of the inquiry into theattack? 3. Who in the BJP Govthas yet been held accountable

for the security lapsesthat allowed the attack?" he

posted on Twitter. Congress chief

spokesperson RandeepSurjewala said theentire nation paid

homage to the martyrs ofPulwama and many ques-

tions remain."Why is the report of

Pulwama attack not beingmade public? Who is account-able? Who brought the 350Kgs IED? Why were intelli-gence reports of attackignored? Did Devinder Singhhave any role," he tweeted,referring to the Jammu andKashmir police officer arrest-ed along with two HizbulMujahideen militants.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Vice President M VenkaiahNaidu on Friday expressedconcern over galloping popu-lation of the country saying itwas unfortunate that politicalparties are shy of discussing theissue which has widespreadramifications.

Addressing the 58th convo-cation of Indian AgriculturalResearch Institute (IARI), hesaid India's poor ranking in theglobal hunger index was amatter of concern and policy-makers as well as farm scien-tists must introspect andaddress this issue by ensuringfood and nutritional security ofthe country.

"While the position on foodfront is comfortable with totalfoodgrains production at283.37 million tonnes. India,however, ranks 102nd in theglobal hunger index. This is amatter of concern," Naidu said.

The policy makers, politi-cians, parliamentarians, agri-cultural universities and farmscientists must be "seriouslyconcerned why we are still at102nd rank in the globalhunger index", he said, andsought to know whether itwas because of lack of policy orpoor implementation of pro-grammes.

"We must all introspect seri-ously and address this con-

cern," Naidu said.The Vice President high-

lighted that the country's totalfoodgrains production hasincreased to 283.37 milliontonnes from nearly 51 milliontonnes in 1950-51.

"We have achieved self suf-ficiency in food but mere foodsecurity will not suffice. Weneed to have protein security.There is vitamin deficiency ineach and every person. We

must address the problem ofprotein," Naidu said.

He asked farm scientist tofocus on raising crop yield andproduction level and citedexample of Vietnam, whereproductivity of rice is 10 timesmore than India.

"In a country like India witha galloping population, unfor-tunately no body is payingattention to the issue of popu-lation. Political parties are feel-ing shy, politicians are feelingshy, Parliament also do notadequately discuss about theissue," Naidu said.

"You know how populationis growing leaps and bounds,creating problems. See theproblems in Delhi, traffic,more human beings, morevehicles, more problems moretension, less attention. If youhave tension you cannot payattention," the Vice Presidentsaid, addressing students andfaculties of IARI.

PM Modi to launch 30 projectsin Varanasi on SundayPNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi will visit his Lok Sabhaconstituency of Varanasi onSunday, where he would inau-gurate over 30 projects, includ-ing a 430-bed super-specialitygovernment hospital.

According to the PrimeMinister's Office, he would flagoff IRCTC's 'Maha KaalExpress' through a video link.

The first overnight privatetrain in the country will con-nect three Jyotirling pilgrimcentres of Varanasi in UttarPradesh, and Ujjain andOmkareshwar in MadhyaPradesh.

PM Modi would also dedi-cate to the nation the PanditDeendayal UpadhyayaMemorial Centre and unveil a63-feet tall statue of the RSSideologue.

The PMO said it would bethe tallest statue of the leaderin the country. Over 200 arti-sans worked day and night forthe last one year to completethe structure.

The memorial centre willhave the engravings of the lifeand times of Upadhyaya.Around 30 craftsmen andartists from Odisha worked on

the project during the pastyear.

Later, the prime ministerwould attend a public function,where he would dedicate over30 projects to the nation. Theseinclude a 430-bed super-spe-ciality government hospital atBanaras Hindu University anda 74-bed psychiatry hospital,also at the university.

Modi would inaugurate atwo-day 'Kashi Ek Roop Anek'event at Pandit DeendayalUpadhyaya Hastakala Sankulshowcasing products from allover Uttar Pradesh. He wouldalso interact with buyers and

artisans coming from coun-tries, including the UnitedStates, England and Australia.

The prime minister is alsoscheduled to participate in theclosing ceremony of the cente-nary celebrations of ShriJagadguru VishwaradhyaGurukul and would release thetranslated version of the ShriSiddhant Shikhamani Granthin 19 languages and its mobileapplication.

According to officials inVaranasi, PM Modi willaddress a public rally andinaugurate Chowkaghat-Lehartara over-bridge.

Emotional storyline canreduce virtual realityPNS n TORONTO

A storyline with emotionallyevocative details may reducefeelings of nausea, disorienta-tion, and eye strain associatedwith virtual reality (VR) insome people, according to astudy.

Researchers from theUniversity of Waterloo inCanada found that storylinesthat provide context and detailscan help users feel immersedin VR experiences, and reducecybersickness.

"We found that peo-ple who had little to noexperience playingvideo games hadreduced cybersicknessif they received thisenhanced narrative, butregular video gamers didnot need it because theywere not predis-posed to feelingsymptoms," said

Seamas Weech, a postdoctor-al fellow at the University ofWaterloo.

"What that tells us is that theactual design of the VR simu-lation's storyline itself canreduce the negative impactsome people experience withVR technology," Weech said.

The study, published in theInternational Journal ofHuman-Computer Studies,recruited 42 participants fromthe university, then 156 at a

new media technologyexhibition in

O n t a r i o ,Canada, andhad theme x p e r i e n c e

virtual reality.Before entering

the simulation, theparticipants listened

to a story about whatthey were about toexperience.

Half of participants

were given bare-bones details,and the other half were givenan enhanced narrative, whichincluded emotionally evocativedetails.

All participants who heardthe enhanced story reportedsignificantly more "presence"in VR -- the feeling of beingthere -- but only the non-gamers experienced reducedcybersickness.

Villager killed,4 hurt in PakshellingPNS n JAMMU

A villager was killed andfour others were injured onFriday when Pakistani troopsengaged in heavy mortarshelling and firing on civilianareas and forward posts alongthe Line of Control (LoC) inJammu and Kashmir'sPoonch district, officials said.

Pakistan Army trooperslaunched mortar shells andfired from small arms on vil-lages and forward posts inShahpur and Kerni areas ofthe district in violation of aceasefire agreement, theysaid.

Pakistan troops used 120-mm mortars to target the vil-lages, they said.

In the firing and shelling,one civilian was killed andfour other villagers wereinjured, they said.

The injured have beentaken to a hospital, they said.

Indian troops guarding theborder retaliated befittinglyresulting in an exchange offire, which continued tillreports last came in, they said.

DoT withdrawsorder on nocoerciveaction PNS n NEW DELHI

The telecom department haswithdrawn its order thatasked for no coercive actionagainst telecom companiesdefaulting on statutory duespayment after the SupremeCourt on Friday took a strongview of non-compliance withits order.

The order also directs fieldoffices to take "immediatenecessary action" in compli-ance with the October judg-ment of the Supreme Court.

The direction by the DoTsays its previous order datedJanuary 23, 2020 "standswithdrawn with immediateeffect".

"It is directed to takeimmediate necessary actionin compliance with the judge-ment dated October 24, 2019of the Supreme Court," saidthe fresh order issued by theDoT soon after the apexcourt made its observationson Friday.

Cong attacks BJP onPulwama attack, askswho benefited most

To ‘rectify’ the SupremeCourt verdict, anordinance should bebrought and theConstitution should beamended, theConsumer Affairs, Foodand Public Distributionminister said

Cong’s ‘disappearance’ led toBJP’s defeat in Delhi: Javadekar

YC stages protestover LPG price hikePNS n NEW DELHI

Members of the Indian YouthCongress (IYC) on Fridaystaged a protest outside ShastriBhawan here over the LPGprice hike.

The protest was led by IYCpresident Srinivas BV.

The protesters demandedthat the government shouldrollback the LPG cylinderprice hike.

State-owned oil marketingcompanies increased theprices of non-subsidised LPGcylinders to the tune of Rs 149per cylinder from February 12.

As a mark of protest, theIYC members also cookedfood by using cow dung.

The protesters were raisingslogans 'Khali cylinder yahahai, Smriti Irani kaha hai?' (theempty cylinder is here, whereis Smriti Irani).

Congress leader RahulGandhi had on Thursdaytaken a dig at the BJP over theprice hike by tweeting a UPA-era picture of the saffronparty's leaders, including Irani,protesting an increase in pricesof cooking gas at the time.

IYC national presidentSrinivas BV, "BJP is trying totake revenge for the defeat inthe Delhi assembly polls. Justbecause people did not vote inBJP's favour, they are punish-ing them by increasing theLPG price.

K Palaniswami

The governmentwhich providesfree rice for rationcard holdersprovided Rs 6,500crore for foodsubsidy

"What that tells usis that the actualdesign of the VRsimulation'sstoryline itself canreduce thenegative impactsome peopleexperience withVR technology,"Weech said

Congress chiefspokespersonRandeepSurjewala said theentire nation paidhomage to themartyrs of

Pulwama andmanyquestionsremain.

Prakash Javadekar

Neither mypolicy, nor myflag haschanged: Raj

Vice Prez flags concern overgalloping population, its bane

AIADMK govt bets again on flagshipwelfare schemes, presents populist budget

Post-independence, public imagi-nation, political passions andadministrative prioritisation in the“Crown of India” were fronted bythe Kashmir Valley, followed by the

uber-strategic Ladakh (literally, the “land ofthe passes”) and thereafter by the DuggarJammu region. This hierarchy of importancewas recalibrated in the revised status of theUnion Territory (UT) to retain “normalcy”in the Valley (the foremost concern), addressthe Kashmiri Pandit issue (a matter ofurgency) and relegate the Jammu region (thelast priority). This hierarchy sustains still. Thiscontinued diminishment of the erstwhile landof the Dogra Kingdom in the pre-indepen-dence era, which held sway in swathes ofJammu & Kashmir, including Ladakh andexpansive reaches of Western Tibet, Hunza,Gilgit-Baltistan and Nagar, is an ironic turnof fate. The largest princely State in the BritishRaj to accede to the dominion of India is aforgotten and twisted footnote in history. Asa corollary price paid for delayed accession,it was deliberately suppressed by new polit-ical forces and impulses, which were whole-heartedly endorsed by “New Delhi”, to decre-ment the Jammu region.

If Pakistan was externally vilified for itsrole in the first Kashmir War of 1947-48, inter-nally, Maharaj Hari Singh was convenientlypainted as the dilly-dallying monarch underwhose rule a situation was allowed to devel-op. Allowing such a narrative facilitated inde-pendent India’s first public rejection of theabhorred two-nation theory when politicalforces from Kashmir were allowed to system-atically dismantle the primacy of “Jammu” andthereby ride the moral high horse of a demo-cratic and non-discriminating “India.”Unnecessary allusion of “plebiscite” was a fur-ther display of ostensible statesmanship thatsought to demonstrate fair-play for Kashmirbut at the cost of “Jammu” sensitivities as con-textualised to the fate of former Dogra roy-als. The Maharaja was forced into abdicationand died a broken man. Jammu had no voicein Delhi to argue for its rightful share in India’simmediate aspirations. The iron-fencing ofArticle 370 predicated Jammu’s fate within theoverall pie of Jammu & Kashmir, whereaswithin the State itself, Kashmir emerged as theepicenter of all subsequent focus.

Two distinct dynamics dominated theState’s affairs. First, the political machinationssurrounding Sheikh Abdullah’s ambitionsand his oft-competing relations with “Delhi”,which led to a cat-and-mouse game of out-witting each other. Here, “Jammu” played aninsignificant role of a supporting cast.Second, from the national perception of theIndian citizenry, the recurring wars (1947-48, 1965, 1971 and 1999) and the armedinsurgency (early 1990s onwards) kept thelens firmly on Kashmir and at best on safe-guarding Ladakh, which holds out proudlyin the face of Pakistani-Chinese dimensions.Even though there’s a perennial strategic vul-nerability in the “chicken’s neck” of the

Sambha-Pathankot corridor ofJammu region, which hostedone of the fiercest tank battles incombat history, it remains sole-ly a matter of military records.This is rarely appreciated in thesame breath as the other “chick-en’s neck” in the Siliguri corri-dor. Recognising this threat per-ception, the Jammu region is lit-tered with garrison towns in vir-tual rows to safeguard the“integrity” and “sovereignty” ofIndia. It has done so since timeimmemorial. It remains the firstin line of defence against foreigninvasions and marauders.

This institutionalised taskof burying Jammu’s sense ofpurpose, relevance and sensi-tivities simmers in the region,though this remains consistent-ly unaddressed. The socio-cul-tural debasement soonassumed political-religiousundertones that got coined asthe “Jammu-Srinagar divide.”While such simplistic “divides”served an invaluable purposefor peddling partisan politics,they do incalculable harm infurther distorting the secular,multi-cultural and glorious tra-ditions of the Dogra Kingdom.

The Jammu region itself isnot a homogeneous composition.Reducing it to a “Hindu” identi-ty militates against the profoundreality of the Dogra rulers, whoseprogressive moorings, cultur-alised secularism, equality andvarious other societal freedomsgot enshrined in the Constitution.

The 10 districts of Jammuregion host a religio-ethnic-cul-tural diversity that epitomisesthe majesty and travesty of“India” in equal measure — theregion hosts the Dogra Hindus,Sikhs and Muslims (distinctfrom Muslims in the Valley)with their own distinctions asalso the nomadic Gujjar-Bakarwal tribes that were in thenews for the horrific rape caseof a little girl in Kathua. Thereductive oversimplification ofthe “Jammu-Srinagar divide”afforded a factually wrongcommunal attribution on per-ceptions even though theGujjar and the Bakarwals areethnically distinct from theKashmiri Muslims. Sadly,Jammu’s unheard frustrationsmorphed into assuming anunwarranted and communallybinary reaction.

The societal, multi-culturaland martial traditions of theJammu region and history areunmatched and unrecognisedoutside the realm of the Indianarmed forces and the people ofJammu themselves. Tellingly,Dogra soldiers are known as“gentleman soldiers” owing totheir finest soldiering instincts,ethos and bearing that behovescivilisational sophistication. Notonly does the region populateregiments like the Dogras,Jammu & Kashmir Rifles, Jammu& Kashmir Light Infantry, Punjaband many others — unbe-knownst to a larger India — it

also has the highest number ofgallantry awardees in service ofthe nation. This would undoubt-edly accrue to the compositeDogra identities. Jammu’s digni-fied silence and sacrifice — inallowing the more pressing firesin Kashmir to take the cen-trestage and the abandonment byunscrupulous politicians of allparties — has left it to be conve-niently ignored and taken forgranted.

The wholly political exerciseof abrogating Article 370 and thelooming delimitation exercisein the UT was received withlatent and instinctive excitementin Jammu but that mirage hasgiven way to despondency again.If anything, it has only strength-ened the historically-irrelevant“Jammu-Srinagar divide” andcarved out space for political har-vest, nothing more.

Jammu needs historicalacknowledgement and correc-tion besides development. All ofthis needs national intent andnot necessarily more legislativemembers (though that helps,too) as that is again a politicalminefield. Jammu has alwaysguarded India with its bloodand to imply that it can only berecognised at the cost ofKashmir is further diminishingof the Dogra identity and nobil-ity of yesteryears and short-changing it politically, yet again.

(The writer, a military veter-an, is a former Lt Governor ofAndaman & Nicobar Islands)

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson mayhave been mocked by the liberal Britishmedia but his huge victory in the last gen-

eral election has put the implementation of Brexitfront and centre of his to-do list. Two of thecore agenda of Brexit and one reason why theBritish voted to leave the European Union (EU)are “immigration” and “financial policy.” Thisis why Johnson has tapped two Indian-originmembers from his party to deliver on bothfronts. Priti Patel has been the Home Secretary(Minister) for a while but in a stunning

announcement this week, Johnson appointed Rishi Sunak as his Chancellor, orFinance Minister in Indian lingo. Most Indians feel Sunak’s claim to fame comesfrom the fact that he is Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy’s son-in-law buthe has always been highly regarded inside the Conservative Party establishment.He was also former Chancellor Sajid Javid’s right hand man. At 39, he is thesecond-youngest man to take on the job in modern times, the youngest beingGeorge Osborne, who, with former British Prime Minister David Cameron, wasthe architect of the disastrous Brexit referendum that set in motion the politicalchaos that has engulfed the UK. Sunak has not been given unfettered powers asJohnson and his team will control the show. This is the reason why Javid resigned.However, Sunak has a hard task ahead given that he will have to draft Britain’sfirst Brexit Budget and present it within the next few weeks. This will not be easywith negotiations between London and Brussels taking longer than expected. Theongoing global economic contagion has been made worse by the actual conta-gion in China right now. Sunak may be a bright spark but his job ahead to con-vince companies to come and invest in Britain and not run away — as in thecurrent state of affairs with financial institutions and manufacturers both lookingat options on the continent — will be a tough one.

He should also be aware that Johnson, like several other charismatic lead-ers of nativist movements across the world, is not someone who takes the blame.While getting a big job, Sunak must not become the scapegoat tomorrow. Thatsaid, the rise into positions of prominence for Indian-origin Britons is a matter ofpride. Indians are in prominent positions across the political spectrum in the UKand are a model immigrant community. The Indian Government should contin-ue to engage with them and ensure that Indo-British ties improve even further.

The Supreme Court has held the mirror topolitical parties many times in a bid todecriminalise our legislature but every elec-

tion just compounds the problem with themshowing no serious intent to comply. So thenumber of MPs with criminal cases pendingagainst them has gone up from 24 per cent in2004 to 43 per cent in 2019. This despite itsruling of September 2018, when a five-judgeConstitution Bench had held that all candidateswould have to declare their criminal antecedentsto the Election Commission (EC) before con-

testing polls and had called for a wider publicity of their records, through printand electronic media. It had even asked Parliament to formulate a law to ensurethat criminals are disbarred so that the “polluted stream of politics” is cleansed.Quite exasperatedly, therefore, this time, reacting to a contempt plea, the courthas struck hard, involving the polity as a whole in objectively assessing a can-didate’s worth. It has asked all political parties to publicise full details, not justwinnability, of tainted candidates, during Central and State elections, on tradition-al and digital media. Parties, too, now have to list the nature of the charges againsta tainted candidate and clarify why then they had chosen to give a ticket to him/her.They have to send a compliance report to the EC within a specified time period— 48 hours post-selection or two weeks before the first date for filing of nom-inations, whichever is earlier. Any violation would be considered contempt of court.In a sense, the court is also nudging the electorate, asking it to take a measuredcall. And by asking parties to list reasons why they have chosen a tainted nameas their worthy bet, it is putting the onus on them to expose their hypocrisy andsubject themselves to public scrutiny.

The State Assemblies are no better when it comes to legislators with crimi-nal backgrounds. In the just-concluded Delhi polls, the Association ofDemocratic Reforms (ADR) found that more than half the candidates had a blackbook. In 2020, 43 MLAs declared criminal cases against them while in 2015,that figure was 24. The number of MLAs with serious criminal cases, includingrape, attempt to murder and crimes against women, is 37. The last is the mostheinous, considering most lawmakers use their political patronage, given theirindispensability in managing local cadres and units, to get themselves off thehook. The recent examples of rape survivors being bullied into political submis-sion are all too many. Both BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar and former Union MinisterSwami Chinmayanand have used their political clout to abuse women and staveoff repercussions on their political careers for years. The ADR report says that76 lawmakers across the country have declared cases related to crimes againstwomen. In the last five years, 572 such candidates have contested Lok Sabha,Rajya Sabha and Assembly elections. From 2009 to 2019, there has been a 231per cent spike in the number of errant candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elec-tions. For the same period, the number of offender MPs has increased by 850per cent. This phenomenon cuts across party lines, each of which is guilty ofignoring crimes as a liability of its candidates. Worse, whenever they have won,they have been further rewarded or entrusted with a bigger political role. Evenon the day of the verdict, Anand Singh, an accused in mining and forest crimecases, was appointed as the new environment minister in Karnataka. Will full dis-closure, therefore, serve much of a purpose as most voters have developed thehabit of choosing a known evil for the sake of their representative worth in theirlives? Besides, given the heft of such leaders in matters local, most constituentsare too intimidated to exercise their choice in an impartial manner. Till they areassured that such nominees are punished, nothing can change. What then is theway forward? Although the EC has been given additional powers to punish can-didates who file false or misleading financial disclosures, nothing can be effec-tive without disclosure of political contributions. It must insist on independently-audited party accounts. Experts have suggested linking political party registra-tion and tax benefits to basic democratic and transparency standards and cre-ating a new legal mechanism to adjudicate cases of accused MLAs and MPs.But in the end, it depends on the political will of the Legislature and the Executiveto push for a binding law. Even now, Section 8 of the Representation of the PeopleAct, 1951, bans convicted politicians from contesting. However, those facing trial,no matter how serious the charges, can still contest. So beyond the court mak-ing a moral call, the parties hold the power to change themselves.

The price of greed

Sir — This refers to the article,“The big picture” (February 12) byFarah Bookwala Vhora. Driven byavarice, the Government’s telecompolicies tend to chip away the baseoperators built over years at anenormous cost. Relying on a ratrace between telcos, the Indiantelecom regulatory trifecta, com-prising the Ministry ofCommunications and InformationTechnology, the Department ofTelecommunications and theTelecom Regulatory Authority ofIndia, is out-doing one another.

Signs of excessive debt stresson the operators are all too pro-nounced. The Government for-gets that its own avowed goal isto create an all-pervasive digitalIndia. Having milked the telecomrevolution with a spectrum feebonanza, it is out to get more rev-enue. The gap between policy-making and regulation in Indiantelecom is choking operators. Ata time when subscribers increas-ingly need to transact with speed,reliability and at low cost, theGovernment seems fixated onextracting its pound of flesh.

R Narayanan Navi Mumbai

Keep up the good work

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “AAP ki Dilli” (February 12).The Delhi Assembly electionswere meant to be local butturned into something like a

national referendum. But intimes of hate politics and toxicrhetoric, sensibility of what pub-lic life and politics should be hasbeen reclaimed. At the begin-ning of his second term, DelhiChief Minister Arvind Kejriwalhad a confrontationist attitude

and was into rabble-rousingways over matters that were oflittle concern to the public. Heaccused the Prime Minister ofnot letting him work. But ulti-mately, he realised the futility ofit all and turned to minding hisown business of bijli, paani,

sadak, siksha and swasthya.The BJP made many devious

plans to drag the AAP intodebates on the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA) andArticle 370 but the latter refusedto get swayed away. Kejriwalfocussed his campaign on wel-fare and good governance. Thisis why his party emerged as thebig winner. The Delhi pollscarry lessons for the top leader-ship of the BJP and its foul-mouthed leaders.

MC JoshiLucknow

Work for the people

Sir — Looks like instead of dis-tributing cash and liquor to theelectorate before elections, AAPhas changed the format by dis-tributing its surplus in the formof affordable power, water,healthcare and quality educa-tion. The aim of everyGovernment must be to ensureservices to win the hearts ofpeople.

AditiVia email

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

op nionHYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2020

06

The price of politics

BHOPINDER SINGH

Jammu has always guarded India with its blood. To imply that it can only be recognised atthe cost of Kashmir is to further diminish the Dogra identity and nobility of yesteryears

The two nations (India, US)continue to finalise an agreement. If a tiny Phase Itrade deal cannot be donewhen Trump visits India, itwould be a big setback.

US official—Alice G Wells

Anybody, who has followed mycareer, knows that I wear myheart on my sleeves. It's exciting for me to be able to tell my story and for people to be able to watch.

Tennis star —Sania Mirza

The US-India relationship isbeing seen as the most trans-formational in our times. This is an affirmation of our shared values, commitment to democracy and pluralism.

Indian envoy to the US—Taranjit Singh Sandhu

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

Finally, people know their priorities

This refers to the article, “Rise of the new plebs”(February 13) by Anish VR and Mohit Kumar.History shows how demagogues were indeed able

to win people’s hearts by demeaning minorities andother nations while at the same time depriving otherpeople of their basic rights. But people in Europeancountries have learnt from their bitter experience ofmilitant nationalism. They have realised that theyshould demand from the Government only what isneeded to improve their standard of living. They havelearnt that it is foolish to engage in abusing minori-ties, who belong to their own class, while letting theGovernment concentrate their own wealth in the handsof a few people.

This change of mindset is the reason why Nordicand other European countries rank high in the HumanDevelopment Index. They force their Governments toprovide them with quality education, health and socialsecurities. It looks like people in India, like theirEuropean counterparts, are learning what they shoulddemand from their Government. The Assembly elec-tions in Delhi are a testimony to this. The Aam AadmiParty (AAP) could come to power for the third con-

secutive term only because it followed a welfare modelof governance. Instead of engaging in diversionary tac-tics or wasting precious money on building costly stat-ues and temples, it gave top priority to health and edu-cation. India has given a mandate in favour of whatGovernments in advanced countries have been doing.The people of Delhi pressed the button of EVM hardenough to give an “electric shock” to hate politics.

Sujit DeKolkata

JAMMU ITSELF IS NOT A

HOMOGENEOUSCOMPOSITION.

REDUCING IT TO AHINDU IDENTITY

MILITATES AGAINSTTHE PROFOUNDREALITY OF THEDOGRA RULERS,

WHOSEPROGRESSIVE

MOORINGS,CULTURALISED

SECULARISM,EQUALITY AND

VARIOUS OTHERSOCIETAL

FREEDOMS GOTENSHRINED IN THE

CONSTITUTION

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Tough job on hot seatI am curious about Pawar'sstyle of doing politics with justfive to six MPs. If I am allowedto do a PhD despite being agraduate, I will be happy to do a PhD on him.

Maharashtra BJP president —Chandrakant Patil

SC has asked parties to publicise details of criminal chargesagainst candidates. But without a law, will the shaming work?

Two Indian-origin Ministers are holding two of the mostpowerful offices in the UK. Their tasks are not easy though

Total disclosure

He lit a billion lives

THIS (TRUMP’S) VISIT IS A VERY SPECIAL ONE AND ITWILL GO A LONG WAY IN FURTHER CEMENTING

INDO-US FRIENDSHIP.—PRIME MINISTER

NARENDRA MODI

USA IS PUTTING PRESSURE AND MODI IS OPENING UPOUR ECONOMY, WHICH IS THE GAIN THEY WANT INORDER TO SUPPORT MODI ON CAA, ARTICLE 370.—CPI(M) GENERAL SECRETARY SITARAM YECHURY

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

RK Pachauri, former Chairman ofThe Energy and ResourcesInstitute (TERI), who passed

away on February 13, was India’s pre-eminent expert on sustainable develop-ment, climate change and environment.He received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prizeon behalf of the Inter-governmentalPanel on Climate Change (IPCC) forraising awareness on the issue. Duringhis eminent career, he also served as amember of the Prime Minister’s Councilon Climate Change that was constitut-ed in 2007. India’s National Action Planon Climate Change was finalised in2008 under his advice and he wasawarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001and Padma Vibhushan in 2008, thecountry’s third and second-highestcivilian awards, respectively.

Pachauri assumed responsibilitiesas TERI’s Chief Executive in 1981 andled the institute for more than threedecades. He had become synonymouswith TERI before he demitted office asthe Executive Vice-Chairman in March2016. One of his flagship projects,Lighting a Billion Lives, that beganwith distributing solar-powered lampsto rural homes in remote parts of thecountry that did not have access to gridelectricity, resulted in lighting homes in12 countries. Pachauri was a regularcontributor to The Pioneer and hereare a few excerpts of his articles thatwe are publishing as a tribute to theenvironmental crusader:

Blowing in the wind: (PublishedJanuary 8)

Wind energy can not only helpachieve a sustainable future but alsomeet economic and social objectives.India must make the best use of thisopportunity. Recent developments,with the US having targetted anIranian General located in Baghdad,would lead to a hardening of globaloil prices. There is a valid fear that anyfurther escalation of conflict in theMiddle-East could lead to furtherprice increases, which would impactunfavourably on India’s already unsat-isfactory rate of economic growth.Earlier concerns related to energysecurity and the objectives of bring-ing about energy independenceappear to have been given low prior-ity as a result of a glut in the global oilmarket in recent years. At the sametime, the negative externalities ofcoal production and consumptionremain understated, with an expan-sion of supply, essentially to maintaincoal as the major fuel for power gen-eration in this country. There is aneed, therefore, to articulate a long-term renewable energy strategy, whichwould also meet the objectives of theGovernment’s “Make in India” initia-tive. Wind energy developments willbe an excellent candidate not only forIndia to achieve a sustainable energyscenario in the future but also as ameans to meet a large range of eco-nomic and social objectives. It isinevitable that the world would moveaway from fossil fuels largely for mit-igation of carbon dioxide emissions,which are resulting in climate changeworld over. Hence, there would be agrowing demand and a major marketopportunity for nations, which inno-

vate and produce equipment for har-nessing renewable sources of energy.India has a growing opportunity toplay a role in this market.

Preventable reality: (PublishedJanuary 22)

The comprehensive listing ofthreats that can emerge this year, pub-lished by the Astana Club, is specificto Eurasian countries but has lessonsfor the entire world. With respect toclimate change, we need to come upwith scenarios on how we may be ableto bring about a transition from fos-sil fuels to low carbon sources of ener-gy. Far more immediate is the issue ofimpacts of climate change, whichwould pose increasing risks across theglobe. Projections of extreme events,which the IPCC had clearly broughtout 11 years ago, is the increase inintensity and frequency of disastersand extreme events. A typical butunfortunate example of this is provid-ed by the raging forest fires, whichrecently affected several parts ofAustralia, followed immediately byextreme precipitation events which ledto flooding and excessive damage. Allin all, it is important that the AstanaClub has come up with a comprehen-sive listing of threats, which canemerge during 2020 and, therefore,extending into this decade as a whole.Kazakhstan and several Eurasiancountries may lie beyond theHimalayan range but in terms of prox-imity, they are in some cases very closeto us in terms of geographical dis-tance. India should, perhaps, engagefar more closely with countries of theregion and exercise its soft power,including the flow of knowledge,education and research on issues thathave a bearing on the region. The

threats for Eurasia apply equally toIndia as well.

Anatomy of a heat shield:(Published January 21, 2019)

The impact of climate changewould leave a large part of the popu-lation vulnerable in India. It needs todevelop its industrial strengths in atechnology of the future. It is impor-tant to remember that for India as asociety, the impacts of climate changewould leave a large part of the popu-lation vulnerable. If global action isneglected, in which India has highstakes, then we cannot blame othersas a nation, which many developedcountries have been responsible for asa measure of neglect for much toolong. In particular, quite apart fromthe economic merits of large-scalerenewable energy production, whichthe Government of India has nowcommitted itself to, what is perhapsof even greater priority is to electrifythose villages which are as yet un-elec-trified, and which may have majorconstraints in supply of grid basedpower. The TERI launched a majorprogramme in 2008 called “Lightinga Billion Lives,” which focussed on theprovision of lighting in the homes ofthese villages, using renewable ener-gy, mainly through supply of PV basedpower. India had a great opportuni-ty to not only complete this task with-in its own borders, but perhaps makethe experience available to homes inAfrica and other parts of the develop-ing world. There is, of course, a sig-nificant benefit in exploitingeconomies of scale both through anapproach such as the programme on“Lighting a Billion Lives” as well aslarge-scale supply of grid-based powerusing renewables.

India can become a leader in mit-igation of emissions of GHGs and seta path for growth with significantlylow carbon emissions. It may thusdevelop its industrial strengths in atechnology of the future, with signif-icant commercial benefits and reachacross other regions of the world. This,of course, would also have majorimplications for action at the globallevel for meeting the provisions of theParis agreement and maintaining thelimit of 1.5 °C.

In the worst of times: (PublishedApril 3, 2019)

It is necessary for national govern-ments to put in place safety measuresso that vulnerable sections can be pro-tected from the ill-effects of a down-turn in economic activity. WhenCharles Dickens wrote the followinglines for his epic creation, A Tale ofTwo Cities, he obviously gave expres-sion to the state of society as it exist-ed in that period: “It was the best oftimes, it was the worst of times, it wasthe age of wisdom, it was the age offoolishness, it was the epoch of belief,it was the epoch of incredulity...”. If thesame author were to write similar linestoday, it is likely that he would dropthe words “best of times”, given theextent of uncertainty and the lack of“feel good” that we see before us.Perhaps every generation feels somehelplessness at what they perceive asthe decline in standards, opportuni-ties — and most importantly, hope —in comparison with yesteryear. Yet,today, the confusion that definesglobal affairs and the state of the worldseems more compelling in mappingthe human condition as, say, in com-parison with what existed just a fewyears ago. The global economy has

reached unprecedented levels, whichshould normally have resulted in theelimination of poverty, hunger andmalnutrition, and a reduction ininequalities but the growing differencebetween the richest members of soci-ety and those at the bottom rung hasnever been sharper than it is today.

Leaders with hubris: (PublishedApril 17, 2019)

A large number of leaders, bothat the global and the national levels,today appear to be victims of self-pride when they should be more hum-ble and modest personalities. Thequestion is whether these leaders areseen by their followers as larger thanlife and measuring up to the dimen-sions of a superman, to be idealisedand admired by them. It is hoped thatdistinguished leaders in the futurewould show a certain level of humil-ity and shed the hubris that theyappear to have acquired in recentyears. It is relevant to recall that thebrightest scientist in history AlbertEinstein is reported to have said, “Iprefer an attitude of humility corre-sponding to the weakness of our intel-lectual understanding of nature andof our own being.” Could it, therefore,be that those leaders with hubris lackan intellectual understanding of theirown being and most certainly that ofnature, which takes the form ofremoteness from reality and basichumility? We urgently need leaders inthis mould before those with hubriscan impose untold harm on societyand distort the finest attributes ofhuman nature. But in recent times,leaders with hubris have strutted thestage in the US, the UK, thePhilippines, Indonesia and manyother countries. Will they be succeed-ed by more humble and modest per-sonalities?

The desecration of democracy:(Published January 21, 2019)

The gun control issue and oppo-sition to restrictions on tobacco useare symptomatic of how democracy isbeing desecrated by abandoning ourresponsibilities towards the welfare ofthe people. As the world’s largestdemocracy, it is important for Indiato learn the lessons from the flaws anddistortions of other countries, such asthe US, or else we would also becomemajor desecraters of democracy withdevastating consequences. The one rayof light which appears now is the enor-mous effort being made by the youthof the school in Parkland, Florida,where a shooting spree took place. Itis particularly important that they usetheir moral power to not only influ-ence the state legislature and theGovernor of Florida, but also createpublic opinion for action to introducegun control. It is important that on allsuch issues, whether it is banning oftobacco consumption or action to dealwith climate change, youth powershould come to the fore. It is after alltheir future which is at serious risk,and clearly it is for them to take lead-ership, as indeed they are doing withthe authorities in Florida. If the cur-rent tragedy leads to youth succeed-ing in imposition of gun control, thenperhaps such carnage won’t happen.

Nobel laureate and an authority on sustainable development and climate change, RK PACHAURI has setthe template for our continuity in climate-challenged times. A long-time columnist of The Pioneer, here are

extracts from some of his recommendations made in these pages. We will miss him

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

People still votefor rozi-roti

SHIVAJI SARKAR

The future would belong to anyone who canchart out welfare economics with lower taxes

and improved living standards

In the just-concluded Delhi Assembly elections, the people votedfor development and survival. The mandate is a reflection of theirdaily struggles and hardships. The welfare measures undertak-

en by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government have touched themiddle class and the poor, particularly the unorganised workingclass, who cannot afford a ride on the Delhi Metro or the expen-sive power and hospital bills. The AAP convener and Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal touched a chord and presented a soft, peo-ple-friendly accessible face. “The poor and the middle class votedfor him,” aver many BJP campaigners, though the party did seea vote surge as it largely cashed in on the Congress votes thatsplit between it and the AAP. The Delhi BJP’s hope that a strongerCongress would help split AAP votes was belied as the grand oldparty preferred an AAP victory even at the cost of its own annihi-lation. Many see it as a strategy of the Congress for a futureOpposition alliance. As per the Delhi BJP’s assessment, a smallpercentage of elite Congress voters opted for it and the poor andminorities went to the AAP.

It has the BJP poll managers in West Bengal worried as theState is scheduled to go to the polls in early 2021. While State partychief Dilip Ghosh wants to play hard on identity politics, the moremoderate voices in the party want “ideological issues supplement-ed by a solid governance agenda and also a chief ministerial face.”The moderates have perhaps read the people’s minds as the com-mon man in the country still votes for core issues of livelihood,health and education. This is what has given Kejriwal his victory.The Shaheen Bagh-type anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)protests also need to be read as an expression against the dis-comforting identity politics that has unnerved the people. Then thereis the larger issue of the economy. The hike of 145 in LPG pricespossibly confirms their fears. Many BJP workers echo that sen-timent. The BJP was voted to power with great expectations andwas expected to chart out a new economics. Somehow, along theway, it compromised its basic pro-people manifesto.

Interestingly, despite that, the BJP’s key leader, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, still rules the hearts and minds of the peo-ple. This was evident even during the campaigning ahead of Delhielections. The people want him but as many Delhi poor say, heneeds to care more for them and ease taxes, rail fares, bank charges,toll rates, increase interest rates on deposits and give them a peo-ple-friendly Budget. For Delhiites, Kejriwal signifies that much-need-ed relief. Even though these issues were not verbalised during thepoll but if one moved around the city — whether in the poshConnaught Place area, the nondescript Madangiri or vocal ShaheenBagh — the people were not as afraid of the CAA as they wereof the rising cost of living, food and shelter.

Yes, Delhiites discussed more about the Consumer Price Indexinflation, which spiked to 7.59 per cent in January against 7.35per cent in December. The latest LPG price rise has also led manywithin the BJP to rue the subsidies they willingly gave up to a nation-al call. In times of a wobbling economy, even a few hundred rupeessaved — like Kejriwal’s subsidies on electricity, water and educa-tion — matter. It has led to another discussion on whether theGovernment should have the right to raise commodity prices andrail fares or should it even control the public sector. Even shadowBJP organisations, not just the Left, discuss whether like the FiscalResponsibility and Budget Management Act, there should be a lawbinding all Governments to keep off public sector organisations,including the RBI, the LIC, Air India, BPCL and so on. There areeven questions on why a private player like Reliance Petroleumshould sell its stake to Saudi Arabia’s Aramco. It is a national issueand the private sector is also considered a national asset by thepeople who are discussing economic nationalism.

Political parties need to understand what shapes Indian poli-tics. They praised the BJP for punishing Pakistan after the Pulwamaterrorist attack but now they are more concerned about their owneconomic safety. Political parties need to articulate that. Kejriwalis tactfully smart. He skillfully avoided an identity trap and madethe voter choose performance over animosity. The future of Indianpolitics does not make the BJP weaker. Its core ground remainsintact and polarisation is sharp. It has to deliberate whether to ridethat horse alone or also have core people-friendly economic dec-oratives. The Opposition, howsoever united, needs to worry more.It has not given any ideological or economic narrative. The futurewould belong to anyone who can chart out welfare economics withlower taxes/fares, a strong balance sheet and improved living stan-dards, in short, happiness for all. Politicians need to understandthat India is waiting for that beautiful day.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

The Union Budget 2020 on agri-culture sends one very clearmessage: The Modi Government

is committed to sustainable agriculture.Through poetry, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman spelled out a planto increase the area under organic farm-ing to four lakh hectares by 2020-21.Under the Green revolution budget, theParamparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana(CSS) has been allotted `500 crore forincreased coverage of the area underorganic certification and additionallyhas got 0.51 lakh hectares (Ha) fororganic certification.

In total, the Government has given`687.5 crore through three schemes topromote agro-ecological farming in the

country. Not only would this increasethe production of more organic food forlocal consumption and exports but itwould also ensure that India stridestowards sustainability and climate mit-igation.

On the export front, theAgricultural and Processed FoodProducts Export DevelopmentAuthority (APEDA) approximatedIndian organic exports at `5,151 crorein 2018-19, a 49 per cent jump from2017-19.

Other commendable stepsannounced by the Finance Minister toensure that agro-ecological practicesreturn to Indian farms were the creationof an online portal on jaivik kheti to bol-ster the organic market and the villagestorage scheme to empower DhaanyaLakshmi. All these steps are consistentwith Piyush Goyal’s Budget Speech of2019, which made organic food pro-duction the eighth dimension of theModi Government’s vision for 2030.

The current Budget is also in linewith the BJP’s manifesto promise andcomes as a relief to millions of senten-tious environmentally-conscious con-sumers and swadeshi supporters alike.

Meanwhile the APEDA projectsorganic export to increase to $50 bil-lion by 2025. However, many veteransof the organic and grain sector wonderwho will seed organic India? Do weeven have enough certified organicseeds? Exports of this magnitude can’trely on landraces or traditional varietiesof grain alone. We need more efficientmechanisms for breeding organic seedsto support this growth. Indian farmersneed superior quality even in organicgrain to sustain this boom.

Four lakh hectares are a humon-gous area. To put things in perspective,one hectare is roughly the size of twofootball fields. So imagine about7,50,000 football fields, spread acrossIndia. Many of these areas are in theremote parts of the country and inac-cessible to the formal seed sector.

While most people in India,including farmers, confuse untreatedseeds (pre-soaked in fungicide orchemicals) as organic, the fact remainsthat they are misinformed.

A seed can only be called organicif it is grown in organic soils with agro-ecological practices and an organic cer-tificate. And truth be told, the options

of buying high performing organicgrain are very limited as the organicseed industry is still very primitivewhen compared to the competitive andresearch and development-based indus-try of the USA or Germany.

With the emergence of greaterdemand for organic food, regulationsand standards will only become stricter.The consensus between all organic cer-tification mechanisms is that all seedsused to grow organic foods need to becertified too.

The current level of the technolo-gy enables organic certifying agenciesto trace residues in the seed. And fur-ther, this may be a critical point in thefuture of organic trade, especially to theEU and the US.

Even today Indian food exportedto the EU and the USA are rejected atrespective ports, due to toxic residuesfound even in certified organic produce.This can only be corrected once seedto the final produce, in fact the wholeorganic supply chain, is developedand there are no gaps anywhere inbetween.

As per reports, the global organicseed market will be worth $5.4 billion

by 2024. Hence, India needs to swervetowards not just more organic foodyields but also become an organic seedproduction hub.

The Government and plant breed-ers should create a policy for organicseed production in consultation withglobal certifying agencies and so on.This may be followed by a push to cre-ate organic seed production clusters inSikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal and theNorth-eastern States. Sikkim, an organ-ic State, can be most suitable for thisendeavour. The Union Budget needs tohave a special concession for tax breaksand easier land leasing terms in organ-ic zones to have a discernible effect onthe incomes of farmers and plantbreeders.

India, especially in the biodiversi-ty-rich zones, is a treasure trove for seedproduction. By harmoniously workingwith nature, farmers can producegreater yields and resistance in theirseeds, while also conserving waterand their habitats. The National Bureauof Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR),through a novel programme and per-haps some funding from theGovernment, can encourage organic

seed entrepreneurs in these zones. Other organisations such as

Biodiversity International, ICAR andState agricultural universities canstrengthen this drive. New modulesneed to be created for advanced levelsof evolutionary participatory breeding(EPB) that are available to plant breed-ers and farmers in regional languages.This programme should be implement-ed with the assistance of theGovernment. Food ProductionOrganisations can play an importantrole, too, in this.

To sum up, the Modi Governmentmust prepare to remove any impedi-ments to make India the largestexporter of organic food. Organic seedsare not only vital for this vision but ifpursued with determination, may ful-fil the Government’s aim of increasingseed exports to 10 per cent and enrichIndian farmers four times over. Thequestion only remains, will India makehay when the sun shines on Indianorganic produce or nip the buddingorganic seed sector?

(The writer is Director, policy andoutreach, National Seed Association ofIndia)

Who will seed organic India?Indian food exports to the EU and the USA are rejected due to toxic residues found even in certified organic produce. This can only be

corrected once the whole organic supply chain, seed to produce, is developed and there are no gaps in between

INDRA SHEKHAR SINGH

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

When psychologists warnthat global heating couldcause trauma to becomenormalised, world leadersshould take notice. But it’simportant to remember thatthere are reasons to hope,as well as despair. As theenvironmental scientistVaclav Smil once said, “We(humans) are stupid, we arenegligent, we are tardy. Buton the other hand, we areadaptable, we are smart andeven as things are fallingapart, we are trying to stitchthem together.”

(The Guardian editorial)

CAUSE FOR HOPEAND DESPAIR

1940 —— 22020

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

Adani group, AAIink pacts formanaging threeairportsNEW DELHI: Adani Group onFriday inked agreements withthe Airports Authority of India(AAI) for the management,operations and developmentof Ahmedabad, Mangaluruand Lucknow airports. "Today,as we sign the concessionagreements for Mangaluru,Lucknow & A'bad with theAAI, its the beginning ofanother historic journeycatering to India's exponentialairport infra demands," AdaniGroup chairman GautamAdani said in a tweet. In2018, the governmentdecided to privatise airportsat Lucknow, Ahmedabad,Jaipur, Mangaluru,Thiruvananthapuram, andGuwahati. It was foroperation, management anddevelopment of theseaerodromes through public-private partnership model.Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL)won the rights to run thesesix airports after competitivebidding process.

MAX grounding:SpiceJet consideringBoeing's compensation offerNEW DELHI: SpiceJet onFriday said it is consideringthe "interim offer ofcompensation" made byBoeing for grounded 737MAX planes. The no-frillscarrier has been impacted bythe grounding of its 13Boeing 737 MAX planes sinceMarch last year as it isincurring various costsrelated to the aircraft. "Despiteits inability to undertakerevenue operations, the groupcontinues to incur variouscosts with respect to theseaircraft," Singh said in thenote to the airline'sconsolidated financialstatements for the year todate period ended December2019. SpiceJet is the onlydomestic carrier that hasMAX planes. These aircraftwere grounded worldwideafter two fatal accidents inlate 2018 and early 2019.According to Singh, theairline is considering aninterm offer of compensationmade by Boeing.

Necessary for govt to hearvoices of protest: MontekPNS n NEW DELHI

Former Planning Commissiondeputy chairperson MontekSingh Ahluwalia says the gov-ernment must hear voices ofprotest and bring a healingtouch for creating an environ-ment conducive to revival ofinvestment, comments whichcome in the backdrop of anti-citizenship law demonstrations.

He says the CitizenshipAmendment Act and possiblecreation of a National Registerof Citizens have led to large-scale protests from studentsand the youth in many parts ofthe country.

"The voice of the youth isunlikely to be silenced easily. Inany society, students and theyouth are the ones most likelyto speak truth to power ifonly because they have the leastto lose and the most to gain,"he says.

Ahluwalia, who served asone of India's senior econom-ic policymakers for threedecades, makes these observa-tions in his latest book"Backstage: The Story behindIndia's High Growth Years"which traverses the politics,personalities, events and crisesin the country's recent history.

He asserts that there is anurgent need to create an envi-ronment of social harmony.

"To create an environmentconducive to the revival ofinvestment it is necessary forthe government to hear thesevoices and bring a healingtouch. The need to create anenvironment of social harmo-ny and peace is also vital for thesurvival of the idea of India,"he says.

According to Ahluwalia,authoritarian systems canafford to suppress dissent with

little effect on investmentbecause investors are interest-ed primarily in social stability.

"In a democratic society,where dissent cannot be sup-pressed, it becomes necessaryto listen to voices of protest andtry to carry everyone along.India is much admired for itsadherence to democraticnorms and this reputationneeds to be preserved," heargues.

He says that the 2019 LokSabha elections gave the NDAgovernment a massive man-

date and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has accumulat-ed enormous political capital.

"He must use it to tackle themany serious economic chal-lenges that are emerging, andnot allow divisive issues tooccupy centre-stage," he says.

Ahluwalia, who played akey role in the transformationof India from a state-run to amarket-based economy, pre-sents the story behind thecountry's economic growth inthe first half of the UPA'stenure as well as its achieve-ments in poverty alleviation.

According toAhluwalia,authoritariansystems canafford tosuppress dissentwith little effecton investmentbecauseinvestors areinterestedprimarily insocial stability

New GST filingformat, e-invoicingto help ease biz PNS n NEW DELHI

GST Network CEO PrakashKumar on Friday said e-invoicing and the new formatfor filing GST will helpimprove the ease of doingbusiness and reporting for theindirect taxes.

"E-invoicing is a steptowards improving ease ofdoing business and reportingfor GST. Manual data entryleads to transcription errorsand wrong entries," Kumarsaid while addressing an eventon 'E-invoicing and New GSTReturn Format' organised bythe PHD Chamber ofCommerce and Industry.

There is a need for standardto ensure complete interoper-ability, he said.

"The economies in the high-income group OECD are atthe forefront of invoice digiti-sation," he said.

The GSTN CEO said that inIndia, the aim is to makedigitisation part of businessprocess of taxpayers and elim-inate all manual reporting.

N K Gupta, chairman (indi-rect taxes committee) of PHDChamber, said e-invoicing isthe new system through whichbusiness-to-business (B2B)

transactions are authenticatedelectronically by GSTN.

This is a major step towardsthe push for a digital economy,he said and lauded that GSTNis improving every day andGST is digitised to a greatextent.

Sanjay Aggarwal, seniorvice-president of PHDChamber, said e-invoice is thefuture means of electronicbilling.

It has been adopted bymany governments interna-tionally. It has been imple-mented in a staggering man-ner over a period of time, ini-tially launched for B2B andB2G (business-to-govern-ment), he added.

Gold pricesrise Rs 75,silver gainsRs 147PNS n NEW DELHI

Gold prices on Friday rose byRs 75 to Rs 41,481 per 10grams in the national capitalamid rupee depreciation,according to HDFC Securities.

Likewise, silver also gainedRs 147 to Rs 47,036 per kgfrom Rs 46,889 per kg in theprevious trade, it said. Goldhad on Thursday closed at Rs41,406 per 10 gram.

"Spot gold of 24 karat inDelhi was trading up by Rs 75with rupee depreciation,"HDFC Securities SeniorAnalyst (Commodities)Tapan Patel said.

The rupee fell marginallyby 2 paise to 71.33 against theUS dollar in opening tradeon Friday. In the interna-tional market, both goldand silver were trading flatat USD 1,575.80 per ounceand USD 17.69 per ounce,respectively.

CBDT notifies forms for lower corporate taxesPNS n NEW DELHI

The income tax (I-T) departmenthas notified forms for companiesto avail the reduced corporate taxrates that were announced inSeptember last year.

The Central Board of DirectTaxes (CBDT) has notified Forms10-IC and 10-ID for existingcompanies that want to availlower I-T rate and new manufac-turing firms, respectively.

In September 2019, the gov-ernment announced a cut inbase corporate tax for existingcompanies to 22 per cent fromthe current 30 per cent; and fornew manufacturing firms,incorporated after October 1,2019, and starting operationsbefore March 31, 2023, to 15per cent from the current 25per cent. Companies opting forthese new tax rates will have toforego all exemptions andincentives.

The effective tax rate forexisting units, after consideringsurcharges and cess such asSwachh Bharat cess and educa-tion cess -- which are levied ontop of the income and corpo-rate tax rates, will be 25.17 percent as compared to 34.94 percent now. For new units, it willbe 17.01 per cent as against29.12 per cent now.

Form 10-IC will have to befiled by the companies thatwish to avail the beneficial rateof 22 per cent upon relinquish-

ment of the exemptions/incen-tives offered under the IncomeTax Act.

The e-Form 10-IC, whichhas to be furnished eitherunder digital signature or elec-tronic verification code (EVC),seeks general details of thecompany like name, PAN, reg-istered address, date of incor-poration and nature of businessactivities.

The companies will alsohave to declare that the optiononce exercised shall not be

withdrawn. Besides, thesecompanies will have to with-draw the option to be taxed atthe concessional rate of 25 percent under the erstwhileregime.

Similarly, Form 10-ID wouldbe filed electronically by newdomestic manufacturing com-panies, incorporated afterOctober 1, 2019 that wish to betaxed as per the new taxregime, that offers a conces-sional tax rate of 15 per cent,provided all the incentives and

exemptions are forgone by thecompanies.

Apart from the generaldetails, the e-form requires thecompanies to provide the dateof commencement of manufac-turing operations. Further, thecompanies shall have to affirmthat they fulfil the stipulatedconditions for availing the con-cessional rate and declare thatthe option once availed shall notbe withdrawn.

Nangia Andersen ConsultingDirector Shailesh Kumar saidcompanies desirous of availingthe new tax regime shall haveto file the forms electronically,before the due date of filing ofreturn for AY 2020-21, i.eSeptember 30, 2020.

"The Forms have been noti-fied in a timely manner and thecompanies have sufficient timeto evaluate their options andfile their consent accordingly,”Kumar said.

The e-Form 10-IC, which has to befurnished either under digital signatureor electronic verification code (EVC),seeks general details of the companylike name, PAN, registered address,date of incorporation and nature ofbusiness activities

AGR-hit Vodafone-Idea postpones Q3 analyst callPNS n NEW DELHI

Vodafone Idea, which is staringat statutory dues of about Rs53,000 crore, has postponed itspost-earnings conference callwith analysts, which was ear-lier scheduled for Friday.

"...further to our letter datedFebruary 11, 2020 on resultsconference call scheduled forFebruary 14, 2020. We herebywish to inform that the afore-said conference call has beenpostponed," Vodafone Ideasaid in a regulatory filing.

The filing, in late evening onThursday, said the new date ofthe call will be intimated sep-arately but did not give any rea-son for the postponement.

The Supreme Court on Fridaydirected the top echelons oftelecom firms to explain why

contempt action should not betaken against them for non-com-pliance of its order to pay adjust-ed gross revenue of Rs 1.47 lakhcrore to the telecom department.

Taking strong note of thenon-compliance of its order,the top court expressed displea-sure over an order passed by

the Department of Telecom'sdesk officer, staying the effectof its verdict in the adjustedgross revenue (AGR) matter.

Of the three private playersoperating in the Indian telecommarket, Vodafone Idea is con-sidered to be in the most vul-nerable position.

It is staring at dues worth Rs53,000 crore that includes up toRs 24,729 crore of spectrumdues and another Rs 28,309crore in licence fee, and thecompany had earlier warned ofshutdown if no relief was given.

Vodafone Idea in its earningsstatement on Thursday had alsosounded out warnings on "mate-rial uncertainty" casting "signif-icant doubt" on its ability to con-tinue as a going concern.

The company's ability tocontinue as a going concern isessentially dependent on a pos-

itive outcome of its modifica-tion application in the SupremeCourt on the AGR matter andany relief from the telecomdepartment on payments, VILhad said on Thursday.

Last week, Vodafone ChiefExecutive Officer Nick Readhad said the situation in Indiais critical, following the AGRruling of the Supreme Court.The British telecom major holds45.39 per cent stake in VIL.

VIL had suffered staggeringRs 50,922 crore loss in theSeptember quarter (highest

ever loss posted by any Indiancorporate), when it had madeprovisions for statutory duesfollowing the Supreme Court'sorder in the adjusted gross rev-enue matter, although its loss-es in December quarter stoodat Rs 6,439 crore.

Rival Bharti Airtel's liabilitiesadded up to nearly Rs 35,586crore, including licence feeand spectrum usage chargedues. But, Airtel had alreadysaid that the previously-men-tioned material uncertainty onthe group's ability to continueas a going concern "no longerexists" after the recent Rs21,502 crore fund raising by it.

Most of the remaining liabil-ity is with state-ownedBSNL/MTNL and some of theshut/bankrupt telecom com-panies.

Of the three private players operatingin the Indian telecom market,Vodafone Idea is considered to be inthe most vulnerable position

NSE declares 3 brokersas defaulters; annulstheir membershipPNS n NEW DELHI

The National Stock Exchange(NSE) has declared three stockbrokers -- Vrise Securities,Kaynet Finance and BMAWealth Creators -- as defaultersfor non-compliance with theregulatory provisions of thebourse. In addition, they havebeen expelled from the mem-bership of the exchange, the NSEsaid in three separate circulars.

The move effective fromFebruary 13 has been taken asthese brokers failed to complywith the NSE guidelines, theyadded.

Under the guidelines, stockbrokers are required to fulfilltheir obligations and shouldnot involve in any misconduct,or unprofessional conductamong others.

In January, the markets reg-ulator Sebi had prohibitedVrise Securities from register-ing any new client for sixmonths for violating brokernorms and in the same month,Sebi imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakhon the broker for not comply-ing with Securities ContractRegulation Act (SCRA).

Separately, Sebi last monthconfirmed its interim orderthat restrained BMA WealthCreators (now known as BRHWealth Kreators) from thesecurities market for its failureto segregate securities of clients,failure to unpledge and returnthe securities to the clientsupon fulfilment of pay-in oblig-ation and making unauthorisedtransfer of shares from theclient's demat accounts.

The Securities andExchange Board of India(Sebi) on Thursday said ithas developed an online sys-tem to timely detect misuse ofclients' securities by stock bro-kers and alert exchanges incase of diversion of investorsfunds.

Sensex, Nifty fall for 2nd dayPNS n MUMBAI

Market benchmarks Sensexand Nifty dropped by almosthalf a percentage point onFriday as banking shares tum-bled following the SupremeCourt taking a strong note ofnon-compliance of its orderasking telcos to pay Rs 1.47lakh crore in statutory dues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fellby 202.05 points or 0.49 percent to end at 41,257.74, with22 of its constituents closingwith losses.

The broader NSE Nifty shed61.20 points or 0.50 per cent to

settle at 12,113.50 as banking,auto, FMCG and energy coun-ters retreated.

The Supreme Court onFriday directed the top eche-lons of telecom firms to explainwhy contempt action should

not be taken against them fornon-compliance of its order topay adjusted gross revenue(AGR) dues of Rs 1.47 lakhcrore to the telecom depart-ment.

The order raised concernsover banks' exposure to AGR-hit telcos, mainly VodafoneIdea which reported morethan Rs 6,000 crore loss for theOctober-December quarter.

The telecom departmentalso withdrew its order thatasked for no coercive actionagainst telecom companiesdefaulting on statutory duespayment.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Maruti Suzuki India on Fridaylaunched S-CNG variant of itsBS-VI compliant new WagonRprice starting at Rs 5.25 lakh inline with its aim to sell one mil-lion green vehicles in the nextcouple of years.

The WagonR S-CNG vari-ant is the third BS-VI compli-ant S-CNG offering by thecompany. It has a fuel tankcapacity of 60 litres (waterequivalent), and offers amileage of 32.52 km/kg, thecompany said.

It comes in two variants -Lxi and Lxi (O) priced at Rs5.25 lakh and Rs 5.32 lakh (ex-showroom), respectively.

Maruti Suzuki IndiaExecutive Director(Marketing and Sales)Shashank Srivastava said,"With the announcement ofMission Green Million, we

have strengthened our com-mitment towards boostinggreen mobility in the country."

At the just-concluded AutoExpo, the company hadannounced that it planned tosell its next one million greenvehicles, comprising CNG,mild and strong hybrids along

with electric vehicles in thenext couple of years as part ofits Mission Green Million.

He further said the newfactory fitted S-CNG variantoffers a perfect balance of dri-vability, high fuel efficiency,enhanced safety and conve-nience.

Maruti launches BS-VI compliantvariant of WagonR from Rs 5.25L

Odisha nod to Rs 1,600-crinvestmentsPNS n BUBANESWAR

The Odisha government hasapproved projects in sectorslike food processing, tourismand steel worth over Rs 1,600crore, which would likelygenerate employment for1,450 people, officials said.

The investment proposalsgot the go-ahead at a State LevelSingle Window ClearanceAuthority meeting chaired byChief Secretary A K Tripathyon Thursday, they said.

The SLSWCA cleared eightplanned projects, including atea blending and packagingfacility of 36,000-metric tonannual capacity by Tata GlobalBeverages Ltd, and a 0.2-mmtpa CTP distillation unitof Runaya Metsource. In thetourism sector, approvals weregranted to the expansion workof Apeejay Surrendra ParkHotels Ltd and Kamat Hotels(India) Ltd, officials said.

Vodafone-Ideashares tanknearly 19 pcPNS n NEW DELHI

Shares of Vodafone Idea (VIL)on Friday tumbled nearly 19per cent after the companyreported widening of losses toRs 6,438.8 crore in the thirdquarter of 2019-20. The scriptanked 18.30 per cent to Rs3.66 on the BSE. On the NSE,it dropped 18.88 per cent to Rs3.65. Vodafone Idea onThursday reported wideningof losses to Rs 6,438.8 crore inthe third quarter of 2019-20against Rs 5,004.6 crore a yearago, as the telco continued tosound out warnings on "mate-rial uncertainty" casting "sig-nificant doubt" on its ability tocontinue as going concern.

The company's ability to con-tinue as a going concern isessentially dependent on a pos-itive outcome of its modificationapplication in the Supreme Courton the AGR matter and any relieffrom the Telecom Departmenton payments, it said.

SpiceJet shares climbnearly 6 pc after Q3PNS n NEW DELHI

Shares of SpiceJet on Fridayjumped nearly 6 per cent afterthe company posted a netprofit of Rs 73.2 crore for thethree months endedDecember.

The scrip climbed 5.79per cent to close at Rs89.60 on the BSE.During the day, itadvanced 10.27 per centto Rs 93.40.

In the 2018 December quar-ter, the carrier recorded aprofit of Rs 55.1 crore.

"Standalone profit from AirTransport Services (airline)was Rs 115 crore. Further, thisprofit is after a non-cash forexcharge on account of Ind AS

116 of Rs 75.9 crore withoutwhich the profit would havebeen Rs 190.9 crore," the air-line said in a release.

Ind AS 116 or IndianAccounting Standard 116 per-

tains to leases.Operational rev-

enue in the latestDecember quar-ter climbed 47 percent to Rs 3,647.1

crore. In the year-ago period, the same

stood at Rs 2,486.8 crore.SpiceJet Chairman and

Managing Director Ajay Singhsaid the airline has doneremarkably well in the latestquarter despite a substantialprofit hit from the groundingof MAX aircraft.

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

SaturdayFebruary 15, 2020

I AM WHAT I AMbecause of Hyderabad

In a candid conversation with K RAMYA SREE,Pradeep Machiraju spoke at length about hislove for Hyderabad, how the city helped him

grow in life both professionally and on the personal front, childhood

memories and much more.yderabad is the largest city insouth India and is known forits pearls. For some,Hyderabad is an emotionand their life. One such res-ident who proudly calls him-

self a ‘pakka Hyderabadi’ is PradeepMachiraju.

Pradeep has become a householdname and is known for his anchoringstints in Telugu industry. But this‘Amalapuram bullodu’ has a lot tothank the city for.

In a candid conversation with ThePioneer, he spoke at length about hislove for the city and how it has helpedhim grow both.

“Yaha ki galli galli mein pehechan-taa hoon...” is how the anchor beganhis conversation about the city.

“I have spent my entire life inHyderabad. I know every street,what you get where, what to eatwhere, everything. Being broughtup here is one of the amazingthings that has happened to me,”he said speaking about the bondhe shares with Hyderabad.

“During school, I used to ridecycles with my friends inVengalrao Nagar, where I grewup. I remember the days when Iused to run and hide behindwalls and cars to dodge my dadafter doing something naughty,”he chuckles.

Pradeep who did his school-ing and graduation inHyderabad, was reluctant toleave the city despite getting achance to go abroad to pursuehis higher studies. For him,Hyderabad is life.

“Although I travel often, Istart missing the city after justtwo days. If not this city, I don’tknow where I would havestayed,” he shares, adding,

“Although my hometown is Amal-apuram, I tell everyone that I hail fromHyderabad.”

“This place has a vibe, an attitude, astyle,” said Pradeep who feels Hyderabadhas a major role to play in shaping hiscareer.

Taking us through his childhoodmemories with the city, he said, “I havespent most of my college days at RTCCrossroads. My friends and I wouldbunk college and watch movies. Wewould travel from Vengalrao Nagar to

RTC Crossroads, wait inqueue to buy film tickets,sometimes request ladies

to buy it for us as it was easier for themto get tickets back then. Movies werealways with me and my college timingswere exactly in sync with the movie tim-ing.”

Pradeep, whose favourite hangoutused to be Durgam Cheruvu, now feelsthat the city is losing its water bodies andthat people should be more responsibletowards conserving them. Thanking thecity for making him what he is today,

Pradeep said, “Although Iworked at event manage-ment companies, my firstbreakthrough was bag-ging a Radio Jockey job in

Radio Mirchi. To get a job there, oneneeds to know literally everything aboutthe city. I’m in this position today onlybecause of this city and the knowledgeI have about this place. I’m proud to say‘Pradeep is pakka local’.”

Asked what he likes most about thecity, he said, “Hyderabad is the only citythat is so diverse. You find peopleeverywhere here and they are very openand accepting. This is a colourful city andthese days, people are becoming moreresponsible. We need to preserve ourexisting water bodies and I feel lucky tohave seen the times before and after theIT boom. Both the greenery and thedeveloped version,” he concluded.

On the work front, Pradeep is current-ly hosting Local Gangs among othershows, which is among the top ratedshows of Zee Telugu and other channels.He also has a lot to offer from his maid-en production house show KonchemTouch Lo Unte Chepta.

He wants to take a break and comeback with a new script while keeping thesoul of the show intact.

I have spent my entirelife in Hyderabad. Iknow every street, whatyou get where, what toeat where, everything.Being brought up hereis one of the amazingthings that hashappened to me

Yaha

ki g

alli

galli

mei

n pe

hech

anta

aho

on...

H

“DURING SCHOOL, I USEDTO RIDE CYCLES WITH MYFRIENDS IN VENGALRAONAGAR, WHERE I GREW UP.I REMEMBER THE DAYSWHEN I USED TO RUN ANDHIDE BEHIND WALLS ANDCARS TO DODGE MY DADAFTER DOING SOMETHINGNAUGHTY,” SAID PRADEEP

K RAMYA SREEn HYDERABAD

ijayDeverakonda’sWorld FamousLover releasedon Friday amid alot of mixed

vibes and hype. WorldFamous Lover is the story ofan aspiring writer whogives up his job and goesthrough a disturbed lovelife. His journey to becom-ing a famous writer amidsthis break-up and depres-sion forms the crux of thestoryline.

World Famous Lover isan amalgamation of fourdifferent love stories —Seenayya and Suvarna, amiddle-class couple in asmall town; Gautham, ayoungster romancing inParis with Iza, union leaderSrinu in love with his bosslady, and a Gautham withdealing his love life.

The film opens withGautham (Deverakonda),disturbed and bleeding, ashe narrates his story.Gautham gets dumped byhis girlfriend Yamini,

played by Raashi Khanna.Yamini leaves him as shefeels he became irresponsi-ble after quitting his job.Disturbed, Yamini, who isthe sole breadwinner of thehouse, breaks up withGautham, feeling her love isbeing taken for granted.

This is where the filmunfolds, as Gautham startsto pen his love story, wherehe introduces the charac-ters of Seenayya, Suvarna(Aishwarya Rajesh), Smitha(Catherine Tresa) and Iza(Izabelle Leite).

Gautham uses these fic-tional characters to feel bet-ter about himself andbelieves that he was the onewho was sacrificing in theserelationships. But eventual-ly he learns that it was thewomen who were sacrific-ing, and not him.

This film tries to drill inthe point that love is a com-promise, a sacrifice andabout being selfless. But itfails to give closure.

Speaking of perfor-mances, Vijay is a star. Hedelivers an amazing perfor-mance like in every otherfilm. The pain, sorrow and

love for his girlfriend areshown through his actions,but Raashi Khanna fails todeliver the same emotions.An emotional connectseems missing between thelead characters. Despitehaving less screen time,Aishwarya Rajesh, as a wifeof coal miner, delivers agreat performance.Aishwarya Rajesh single-handedly stole the showwith her realistic perfor-mance as a naive Suvarna.After Vijay, hers is possiblythe best character in thefilm. Catherine and Izabelletoo are okay, but it is Vijaywho keeps the film boundand in one piece.

Speaking of the direc-tion, Kranthi Madhavfollows his classical, oldschool presentation of sub-jects, which are somewhatcloser to real life elements.

This film is a compilationof short stories and KranthiMadhav fails in getting thenarrative correctly. Yes, weknow it is a fictional storythat Gautham pens, butthat point is not well estab-lished here.

And the love story

between the lead actors hasnothing new to offer.Trying to give a happy end-ing, the film falls flattowards the end despitehaving a good start.

Music helmed by GopiSundar is somewhat boringfor a story like WorldFamous Lover. Hismusic is hardlymemorable anddoesn’t domuch to thefilm’smood.The

movieseems tohave beendraggedunnecessarilyand feels like itcould have beentrimmed. Overall, it's a

classic one-time watchmovie.

VVerdict:

Screenplayand bad music,

lack of emotionalconnect, too slow second half

can make the whole experience aboring one, but is a one-time watch for

Vijay, Seenayya-Suvarna love track. This filmwas supposed to be an ode to love. But World

Famous Lover has less love and more ofbitterness and depression. Its only tears,

tears and tears as the film begins and endswith tears.

Rating: 2/5

Cast: VijayDeverakonda, Raashi

Khanna, AishwaryaRajesh, Catherine Tresa,

Izabelle LeiteDirection: Kranthi

MadhavMusic director:

Gopi Sundar

World Famous Lover: Vijay the only binding factor

FASHIONSOIREE Desire — the ongoing lifestyle

exhibition — was inauguratedrecently at Taj Krishna. More

than 100 designers from acrossIndia are displaying their workincluding crafted jewellery,stylised garments, exquisitehousehold articles andmore. Fashionistas had agala time checking outthe latest collections.

ActressLakshmiManchu

launchedGiganticRetailers' socialcampaign, ‘1 CroreTees' to raise fundsfor Teach for ChangeTrust, which workstowards qualityeducation for theunderprivileged.Padmashri AwardeeDr Manjula Anaganiand well-wishersattended theprogramme andappreciated theefforts of theorganisation.

10

CITY GUIDEEVENTS

l Vivek Muralidharan is one of the mostseasoned comedians in the Hyderabad circuit.Vivek Muralidharan Live is his weekly one hourexperimental show where he workshops hisfresh bits and debuts his deeper insights,working on his craft while leaving the audiencein splits. The programme will be held tomorrowat Phoenix Arena from 5 pm.

STAND-UP COMEDY

l Cinephiles Film Club is screening a film Armour onFebruary 19 at Lamakaan from 7 pm. Octogenariancouple George and Anne's happy life comes to a halt,when Anne suffers from a stroke and George must doeverything possible to help her recover.

GET YOUR EVENT LISTED: To get your eventslisted, send your details along with a poster andcontact number to pioneer.features@gmail.com

CHILDREN'S ART EXHIBITIONl Children's Art Exhibition will be held on February22 at Lamakaan from 12 pm. Children would betrained in various art skills during the exhibition.

Phot

os bb

ySV

Char

y

MOVIE SCREENING

Hyderabad Saturday February 15, 2020 what’s brewing?

PART

Y

FOR

AC

AUSE

l Kanthi Dutt and Subhadra

l Dr Manjula Anagani

l Neelima l Harshada

l Honey Chowdary

l S

ita N

aray

an

l A

nany

a

l S

weth

a

l L

aksh

mi M

anch

u

l P

unee

t and

Niki

ta

l S

halin

i

l S

rava

ni

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

Hyderabad Saturday February 15, 2020

11

tollywood

ctor RanaDaggubati, whois playing thelead in TamilfilmmakerPrabhu

Solomon’s Aranya, saidthat the director pennedthe story based on realincidents. “Jadav Payeng,an environmental activist,planted and tended totrees in the Brahmaputrariver basin turning it intoa forest reserve, attractingwild animals like tigers.The film is inspired frommany such people. Thefilm shows how rapidurbanisation blocks thepath of an elephant corri-dor and how this not onlyaffects wildlife but, in thelong run, affects humanhabitations too,” Rana said.He was speaking at thelaunch of the film’s teaserin Hyderabad on Thursdayevening.

In the film, which isshot in Telugu, Tamil andHindi simultaneously, con-flicts arise when a corpo-rate heavyweight threatensto destroy the jungle andthe ecosystem of ele-

phants. The hero —the son of the

protector of theforest (playedby Rana) —rises todefend the

forest which

is his home. Rana said thatever since he became anactor a decade ago, helearnt something aboutfilmmaking from everymovie he had worked in,but Aranya helped himunderstand life.

“The cinema Prabhu sirtaught me with Aranya isdifferent from what I’velearnt over the last decade.It took me six months tounderstand the psyche ofmy role but once I startedprepping for the film inthe Thailand forests, itbecame easier to be theson of the soil. I’ve shot for150 to 160 days in forestsand I didn’t miss technolo-gy, even my phone. Therewere days where I didn’thave co-stars next to me asI was shooting mostly withelephants. The shootingexperience helped me torealise who I am and whatI want. Aranya is a rarefilm to come by. I considermyself blessed and luckyand I extend my thanks toEros (production house)for bringing Prabhu sir tome. I will be indebted tohim,” he said.

Clearly in awe of thedirector, Rana added thathe has “never seen anyonelike Prabhu sir” for thesimple reason that thedirector is original, both inthought and belief. “He isnever tensed about thefading light or the numberof shots he needs to finish

per day. As long as hegets what he desires, he

will go on for multi-ple takes. He isvery clear with

what hewants.

Another beautiful thingabout him is that he has agreat sense of music. Evenwhen he narrates a scene,he would tell it withmusic. So, as actors wemaintain a certain rhythm

when we act. My fatheralways used to tell me thatwhenever a gap comes inmy career, I should headto a film school. Now I canproudly say to him thatI’ve been to the ‘PrabhuSolomon school’. Thankyou for teachingeverything Ilearned todayPrabhu sir,” hesaid with awide grin.

Ranafur-ther

said that he had to unlearnmany things when hestarted working withPrabhu. “Generally for myprevious films I used toget my dialogues inadvance and it helped meto reel in my lines withoutwasting time on the shoot-ing day. With Prabhu sir,however, you will get dia-logues on the spot with 30elephants walking besideme. He would suddenlycrack a new idea and asksthe writer to write it into adialogue. Consequently, Ihad to go back to my start-ing point (of the scene)again. This happenedevery day and bear inmind the film is a tri-lin-gual. I’m generally a stick-ler for attention to detailbut his detailing was onanother level,” he stated.

Praising Rana’s workethics, Prabhu said theactor’s is a director’sdelight. “Shooting in threelanguages simultaneouslygets taxing but never did Isaw Rana show attitude.He is a director’s actor andonly if directors get suchactors, their dreams can berealised on celluloid.Otherwise, it’s not possi-ble. If the actor getsannoyed by one shot, wewill get fed-up and every-thing will go downhill,”the director said and

assured the filmwill not be a

run-of-the-mill affair.

Shootingclose to a half

a year in theforest is not a

mere stunt.But this iswhat RanaDaggubati

has done forAranya. Ranaspeaks abouthis upcoming

movie andmore, reports

NAGARAJGOUD

A

ARANYA helped meunderstand life: Rana

Shooting in threelanguages simultan-eously gets taxing butnever did I saw Ranashow attitude. He is adirector’s actor andonly if directors getsuch actors, theirdreams can be realisedon celluloid. If theactor gets annoyed byone shot, we will getfed-up and everythingwill go downhill

PRABHU SOLOMONDIRECTOR

A film on fishingcommunity begins

et in the backdropof the fishingcommunity, a newfilm, Jetti, went tofloors at Vetap-alem, Prakasam

district recently. FeaturingRangasthalam fame AjayGhosh, Manyam Krishna andMaim Gopi in the lead roles,the film marks the directorialdebut of P Subramanyam,

while K Venumadhav and PVenkataramao are jointlyproducing it under VardhaniProductions. YSRCP leadersAamani Krishnamohan,Mopidevi Venkataramanaand Mopidevi Hari Babu par-ticipated in the muhurat for-malities.

Ghosh said he is playing arole which is different fromwhat he had done in the past.

“The people of the fishingcommunity and their cus-toms are not documented ingeneral and this film is a stepin that direction,” he noted.

The director said he isdealing a story which hasn’tbeen told on the Telugu silverscreen. “The film, besidesestablishing the problems offishermen, will also offersolutions,” he said.

S

Bobby approaches RamS. Ravindra aka Bobbymight have four films tohis credit as a directorbut he hasn’t tasted ablockbuster yet. Hisrecent, Venky Mama, too

ended up as a decent grosser. As faras his next assignment goes, wordon the street has it that he hasknocked the doors of RamPothineni with a family entertainerpeppered with commercial bells andwhistles.

Both have been toying with theidea of teaming up together for thepast couple of years. It is said thatthe director has briefed Ram hischaracter design, midpoint and cli-max of the story. Ram liked the ideaas a whole and asked Bobby to fleshit out further. He would be taking acall on the project upon his returnfrom Europe.

Ram is occupied with Red now. Aremake of Tamil hit Thadam, thefilm, being directed by KishoreTirumala, is in the final phaseof shooting. While his pee-rs have multiple projectsready, the actor is tak-ing one film at a time.

K

ith her maiden Telugufilm Nartanasala flub-bing at the box-office,actor Kashmira Pardeshicouldn’t bag a secondTelugu project. But she

managed to do a film each inTamil and Hindi.

The Pioneer has now learnt thatshe has been cast opposite NikhilGowda in his next flick, aKannada-Telugu bilingual, withTelugu director Vijay KumarKonda.

“As the film is a love story set inthe backdrop of basketball, Kondawanted a fresh face who also hasthe experience of acting in front ofthe camera. The director remem-bered Kashmira from Nartanasalaand felt that she has the looks andthe acting chops to carry forwardthe leading lady part. She gave heraudition, and impressed with herperformance, she was later signedup as the film’s leading lady. Herrole has a lot of scope for perfor-mance as the film is a love storythat is centered around her andKashmira is excited about it. Shehas even took some Kannadalessons to get her lines right for thefilm,” said a source close to theunit.

Produced by Lahari Music, thefilm has recently gone to floors inBengaluru.

Schedules in Mysore, Hyderabadand in the US will be completed inthe next three months. Kannada’stop music director Arjun Janya isthe film’s tunesmith. — NG

W

KashmiraPardeshi toromanceNikhil

Mythri Naveenventures intoeducationsector

ne of the pro-ducers ofMythri MovieMakers,NaveenYerneni, is

venturing into the educa-tion sector.

A popular figure in theNRI circles in US, theVijayawada native hasinvested in an interna-tional new-age learningcentre that will come upin Outer Ring Roadregion of Hyderabad.

The school is said tohis best friend’s dreamproject and both are tyingup with a reveredAmerican education

institute to set it up. It isbelieved that most of theteaching staff will be fromthe US.

On the film’s front,Mythri’s next releasewould be Uppena, whichsees Vijay Sethupathi,Vaisshnav Tej, and KrithiShetty in lead roles. Theyare also producing AlluArjun’s next withSukumar and PawanKalyan’s next with HarishShankar. They areattached to Prabhas’ nextas well after the actorwraps up Radha KrishnaKumar’s on-sets film ten-tatively titled RadheShyam.

O

sport 12HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | FEBRUARY 15, 2020

PTI n HAMILTON

Hanuma Vihari’s gutsyhundred and the sea-soned Cheteshwar

Pujara’s 92 were the bright spotsin an otherwise dreadful battingperformance by India on the firstday of their warm-up gameagainst New Zealand XI atSeddon Park.

All the three designatedopeners — Mayank Agarwal(1), Prithvi Shaw (0) andShubman Gill (0) — failed theseam and bounce test, fallingcheaply.

With skipper Virat Kohliopting for an intense net sessionover the warm-up game, Indiamanaged only 263 with noneapart from Vihari (101 retired)and Pujara able to score even 93runs on a track that had liberalgrass covering.

What would worry theIndian team management wasfailure of all the three openers.

Shaw and Gill were undoneby the extra bounce whileAgarwal failed to counter toseam movement.

New Zealand pacer ScottKuggeleijn (3/40) got the ball torear up awkwardly from lengthduring his first spell and Shaw’sdismissal was the ugliest one.

Kuggeleijn, who was hittingthe deck hard, got one intoShaw’s rib-cage leaving the bats-man in no position to duck. Theeyes were not on the ball withthe bat face closed. The awkwardhit ballooned up and was takenby Rachin Ravindra at shortleg.

Agarwal, who has been inhorrible form of late, then edgedan away going delivery to keep-er Dane Cleaver behind thestumps.

Another classic Test matchdismissal was Gill, who wasgiven the No 4 slot in absence ofskipper Kohli.

The snorter from Kuggeleijngrew big on Gill, who trieddefending but the thick edge flewto gully making it 5 for 3 in notime.

Ajinkya Rahane (18) was

out by the end of the first hour,edging one to the slips, beforeVihari and Pujara stemmed therot and got a 195-run stand.

Once they saw ofKuggeleijn’s first spell and theskiddy Blair Tickner, battingbecame easy in the second andthird session.

Once the spinners were inoperation, Pujara pulled Ish

Sodhi over long leg for a sixwhile Vihari also hit three downthe ground off left-arm spinnerRavindra.

Pujara was finally out in thefinal session trying to hookGibson even as Vihari got to thethree-figure mark.

India lost the last six wick-ets for 30 runs but what stuck outlike a sore thumb was another

shot selection by Rishabh Pantwhen he tried an ugly hoick offIsh Sodhi’s bowling only to becaught by the man at extracover.

Not getting a single match inthe limited-overs series musthave dented Pant’s confidence ashe threw away his wicket whenhe could have scored a good 35to 40 runs without any pressure.

HAMILTON: Former New Zealand skipperGlenn Turner is quite surprised that hiscountry has its “nose ahead” in the ongo-ing bilateral series against India and the rea-son, according to him, is the underwhelm-ing performance of the Jasprit Bumrah-ledvisiting pacers.

However, Turner expects Bumrah andMohammed Shami to lift their game in theupcoming two-Test series, which begins onFebruary 21.

“I have no time at all for T20 cricket. It’sa blot on the game. 50-over cricket, you canhave a game. Technically, I felt bowling fromboth sides have been way below than whatI had expected at international levels in bothformats,” Turner said.

Turner believes Bumrah and Shami’sability to swing the ball will work to India’sadvantage during the Test series.

“At the moment, New Zealand havetheir nose ahead but I have been rathersurprised, that has been the case. Indiahave shown in three-match series theyhave several whats and I am surprisedthat they have not performed better thanthey have,” he said.

He feels India’s problem in Testscould be the excessive white ball cricketthey have played.

“Shami has shown he is a talent and hasgreat stamina. It’s almost in my mind, onceTest matches start, theory of how you shouldbowl under certain circumstances in limit-ed overs cricket tends to be sidelined. Thatbeing the case, I would expect the Indianbowling to be better than what we have seen,”opined the former New Zealand skipper.

Bumrah is coming back from aninjury and Turner hoped that the spear-head will have the capacity to bowl 25overs in a red-ball game.

“....He has got natural talent despitebeing unorthodox in his bowling action.He tends to come off the pitch quickerthan you would expect and has accuracy.

“He has had a good warm-up bowl-ing 10 overs in ODIs but then limited oversdoesn’t help in building stamina for bowl-ing 25 overs a day,” he explained. PTI

PTI n HAMILTON

Senior New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor haslearnt to live with his imperfections as he stands

on the cusp of a coveted 100th Test of his career.Only Stephen Fleming, Brendon McCullum

and Daniel Vettori has played more Tests thanTaylor who will only enter an elite club by play-ing his 100th Test in the series opener, beginningin Wellington on February 21.

“No one has a perfect career and you fail atsome stage especially as a batter. Mistakes and sce-narios make you grow as a person,” Taylor toldreporters on Friday.

Asked what does 100 Tests mean to him, hecheekily replied: “Probably getting older! But no,I think I have been happy with what I haveachieved to date.”

“Test cricket and cricket in general as a bat-ter, you go through a lot of upsand downs and that’s definite-ly what I have been through,and as a team as well.

“But Wellington holds aspecial place in my heart and

I am sure having a lot offamily and friends

there will besomething that I

will be proud ofand look back

on at theend ofm y

c a r e e rwith fond

memories,”said the 35-

year-old Taylor.On emotions

playing a distractingrole in the first Test,

Taylor downplayedthat factor.

“I guess at the endof the day, it is anothergame of cricket and you

try and contribute in anyway that’s possible. But atthe same time, you got toenjoy it for what it is.

“But I am sure onceyou get into the game,you can enjoy it and justplay cricket like you wantto. Wellington can do a lit-tle bit early on, so I amsure batting or bowling, itis going to be an interest-ing contest,”he added.

AFP n MELBOURNE

Australia opener DavidWarner is braced for a

hostile reception but hopesfans will show “respect” as heand Steve Smith return toSouth Africa for the first timesince the Sandpapergate ball-tampering scandal that rockedworld cricket.

The last time the pairplayed in South Africa, almosttwo years ago, they were senthome in disgrace for attempt-ing to alter the ball with sand-paper during a Cape Town Test.It cost them 12-month suspen-sions and for Warner, a lifetimeleadership ban.

They have since resurrect-ed their careers and are all butforgiven at home, with Warnerthis week winning a vote byplayers, officials and media to

claim Australian cricket’s high-est honour, the Allan BorderMedal — with Smith placedsecond.

But both players were con-stantly booed and jeered dur-

ing last year’s one-day WorldCup and Ashes series inEngland, and they are expect-ed to receive similar treatmentin South Africa.

The batsmen are both in

the Australian squad for threeTwenty20s and three ODIsbeginning February 21. TheirT20 on February 26 will markthe tourists’ first match atNewlands since the 2018 scan-dal.

“For me personally, it won’tbe hard at all,” Warner toldSydney radio station 2GB thisweek. “I just go there and I’vegot a job to do and that’s toscore runs and win games forAustralia and put us in a goodposition.”

But he added that “obvi-ously, it’s going to be very hos-tile”.

“I copped it in England; Iactually enjoyed that andplayed along with it.

“Hopefully, we’re showedsome respect when we go overto Africa and the things thathappen in the past stay there.”

PTI n DUBAI

India star Smriti Mandhana on Friday rosethree rungs to fourth but Jemimah

Rodrigues dropped to seventh in the latestICC women’s T20 International rankings forbatters.

Harmanpreet Kaur has remained sta-tic at ninth in the same list.

Among the bowlers, Poonam Yadavdropped six places to fall out of the top 10and take the 12th position.

Although Suzie Bates, New Zealand’sNo 3, retained her top spot, there were othermovements in the top 10, with Bates’ team-mate and captain Sophie Devine rising fourspots to No 2.

Australia opener Beth Mooney andMandhana, who made two half centuriesduring the tri-series, both made upwardmovements, while Meg Lanning, despitedropping three position, hung on to the topfive.

Among the bowlers, Ellyse Perry’sgolden run with the ball gave her a jumpof four places into the top 10, to No 7.

England fast bowler Anya Shrubsoletumbled six places to fall out of the top 20.Anuja Patil and Delissa Kimmince lost outbig as well, falling 11 places to 31, and 14places to 33 respectively.

Among all-rounders, Devine claimedthe top spot after gaining one position, whileNat Sciver also jumped one place to roundout the top three.

PTI n MANILA

The Indian men’s team assured itselfof a medal after progressing to the

semifinals with a thrilling 3-2 win overThailand at the Badminton Asia TeamChampionships here on Friday.

After star shuttlers KidambiSrikanth and B Sai Praneeth facedreversals in the first two singles ties,India fought back to win the next threeties, which included a single and twodoubles rubbers, to prevail overThailand in the quarterfinals and setup a last four meeting with two-timedefending champions Indonesia.

The men’s team had last won aBronze after losing 1-3 to Indonesia inthe semifinals of the 2016 Hyderabadedition.

World Championships Bronzemedallist B Sai Praneeth started theproceedings, but his gallant effortended in a 14-21, 21-14, 12-21 loss to

world No 12 Kantaphon Wangcharoen,as India lagged 0-1.

In the second singles, formerworld No 1 Srikanth went down 20-22,14-21 to Kunlavut Vitidsarn, a three-time world junior champion, as Indiaslipped to 0-2.

The pairing of MR Arjun andDhruv Kapila kept India in the huntwith a 21-18, 22-20 win overKittinupong Kedren and TanupatViriyangkura in the first doubles.

Young Lakshya Sen, who had astellar run in 2019 with five titles, thenregistered a 21-19, 21-18 win overworld No 45 Suppanyu Avihingsanonto bring India back on level terms.

It then all boiled down to themakeshift pair of Chirag Shetty andSrikanth and the Indian duo dished outa superb game to outwit the pairing ofManeepong Jongjit and NipitphonPhuangphuapet 21-15, 16-21, 21-15 inthe deciding second doubles tie.

PTI n PATIALA

Bengal and Karnataka scriptedcontrasting wins over Punjab

and Baroda respectively to quali-fy for the Ranji Trophy quarterfi-nals on Friday.

The results on day three of thefinal round of Ranji Trophy alsoknocked Delhi out of the tourna-ment.

Punjab, needing 190 runs forvictory, fluffed their run chase tobe bowled out for 141, handingBengal a 48-run victory.

Spinners dominated the gamewith Bengal left-arm spinnerShahbaz Ahmed picking up fourwickets in the second innings totake his match-haul to 11.

Resuming day three at 199 fornine, Bengal scored only threeruns to set Punjab a 190-run tar-get.

It turned out to be enough ina low-scoring game with Punjabgetting bowled out in 47. 3 overs.Ramandeep Singh (69 not out off104) ran out of partners in the end.Bengal gained six points from thewin, pushing them on the top ofthe standings.

In Bengaluru, Karnatakaadvanced to the quarterfinals withan eight-wicket win over Baroda.

It was an improved battingeffort from Baroda in the secondinnings after being shot out for 85on day one. They ended their sec-ond innings at 296 all out, settingKarnataka a 149-run target, whichthe hosts reached in 44.4 overswith the loss of just two wickets.

Karnataka skipper Karun Nairtook the team over the line with

an unbeaten 71 off 126 balls.At the Feroz Shah Kotla,

Delhi made Rajasthan follow-onafter bowling them out for 299 inthe first innings in response totheir mammoth 623.

Rajasthan captain AshokMenaria scored a gritty 119 but hedid not get support from theother batsmen.

Following-on, Rajasthan were128 for two in their secondinnings, trailing Delhi by 196runs.

SAURASHTRA FFIGHTBACKRAJKOT: Senior pro Arpit Vasavadacame up with a gritty unbeaten126 to lead Saurashtra’s fightbackon the third day of their EliteGroup B match against TamilNadu.

The result of this matchwould not affect Saurashtra’s for-tunes as they have already quali-fied for the knock-outs.

With Karnataka and Bengalwinning their respective finalleague matches, Tamil Nadu areout of the reckoning.

As a result of Vasavada’s res-olute century, Saurashtra endedthe third day at 346/6, adrift by 76runs.

Wicket-keeper Avi Barot (82)and Vasavada (126 not out)stitched together a 108-run standfor the fourth wicket as theytried to rebuild the innings aftertop-order collapse on the secondday.

Barot missed his hundred by18 runs as he edged to wicket-keeper Jagadeesan off right-arm

medium pacer K Vignesh.The 31-year old Vasavada

notched up his sixth first- classhundred and then found an ableallay in number eight Chirag Jani(47 not out) as the two forged anunbroken 104-run stand for theseventh wicket.

Vasavada hammered 13 foursand one six so far and his first tar-get would be to secure the first-innings lead for the home team asan outright result looks difficult.

Meanwhile in Mumbai, thehosts who are already out of thetournament, took the first-inningslead against Madhya Pradesh.

Opener Hardik Tamoreslammed his maiden first-classhundred as Mumbai set an impos-ing 408-run target for MP, whoended the third day at 44/2.

3 openers fail seam & bounce test

Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw prepare to enter field before the start of first day play between India and New Zealand A BCCI/Twitter

Hanuma ready toopen if neededPTI n HAMILTON

Hanuma Vihari on Fridaysaid he won’t mind taking

up the opener’s role if the teammanagement asks after India’sinexperienced opening optionswere technically exposed by asecond-string New Zealandattack on the opening day ofthe warm-up game.

Coming in at No 6, Vihariscored a hundred but MayankAgarwal, Prithvi Shaw andShubman Gill were dismissedearly, undone by the extrabounce and seam movement.

The trio’s performanceraised doubts about its abilityto face the likes of Neil Wagner,Trent Boult and Matt Henry.

“As a player, I am preparedto bat anywhere. As of now, I’venot been informed anything.As I said before as well, if theteam requires me to bat wher-ever, I am ready to bat,” saidVihari, who retired after scor-ing 101.

The Andhra player hasdelivered whenever given achance and he was surprised bythe extra bounce on offer onFriday but is happy to havecountered the challenge in thewarm-up game which provid-ed him with an opportunity toprepare well.

“Initially, I thought theextra bounce surprised us. (In)the couple of matches I playedagainst New Zealand A, thepitch didn’t do as much as whatit did in the morning today.

“Once we adjusted, me andPuji (Pujara’s nickname), wegot our eye in, then we knewwe had to bat long and that’sexactly what we did,” Viharisaid after the end of day’s play.

If the Seddon Park track isany indicator, New Zealand,

with a pace-heavy line-up, will be offeringseamer friendly tracksat both Wellington andChristchurch.

“Maybe we will getpitches like these becauseNew Zealand’s strength is theirfast bowling. They have a veryexperienced bowling attack butit’s good that we got some timein the middle and we experi-enced these conditions.

“They were tough and it’sgood to experience tough con-ditions before the series andwe’re happy with the way theday went,” he said.

For the Test series, NeilWagner’s short ball is some-thing that the top order needsto be cautious of, feels Vihari.

“When the wicket flattensout, they (New Zealandbowlers) try to experimentwith the short balls and I amsure even Neil Wagner willcome up with the same ploy.We are prepared for it.”

Hanuma Vihari plays a shot against NZXI during India’s warm-up game

No one has perfect career,you make mistakes andgrow: Taylor on 100 Tests

Turner expects Indianpacers to perform betterthan what they’ve done

Smriti rises to 4th in T20 rankings Warner, Smith braced for ‘very hostile’ SA crowds

Bengal, K’taka make Ranji quarters; Delhi out

Bengal players lift teammate Shahbaz Ahmed on shoulders after win against Punjab during Ranji Trophy game PTI

India beat Thailand 3-2, assure medalIndian shuttlers celebrate after they beat Thailand in the Asian men’s team c’ship quarterfinal BAI/Twitter

Steve Smith and David Warner will tour SA first time after Sandpapergate scandal