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1 outh Kashmir s Shopian wit- a fierce gunbattle Snessed between terrorists and security forces on Sunday leading to killing of five Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, including a top ranking commander and Kashmir University s Assistant Professor of Sociology Dr Mohammad Rafi Bhat. The operation to smoke out holed up terrorists in which police said one Army jawan and a policeman sustained injuries led to the clash with civilians after scores of protesters turned up at the encounter site to help terrorists escape the area. Reports said angry protesters intercepted the two vehicles of Fire and Emergency Department and set them ablaze. Five civilians were killed in the crossfire. The encounter broke out after security forces launched cordon and search operation in Badigam village in Zainapora area of the south Kashmir district following specific information about the presence of terrorists in the area. During the operation, efforts were also made to convince terrorists surrender. It was only after the terrorists refused to surrender that operation was launched, said sources. Rafi, 33, a contractual assistant professor in the Sociology department of the university, who had gone missing on Friday, and was trapped in the builidng along with four other terrorists, made a phone call to his father Fayaz Ahmed Bhat early morning. I am sorry if I have hurt you and this is my last call as I am going to meet Allah, Rafi a resident of Chunduna village of Central Kashmir s Ganderbal district told his father. Reports suggested that the professor had joined terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujahideen a few days ago. The families of the slain were also taken to the encounter site to persuade the terrorists but to no avail. The Jammu & Kashmir Police, which was monitoring all calls from the encounter site, quickly got it cracking and sent a police team to Fayaz asking him to convince his son to surrender. The father, accompanied by his mother, sister and wife, started their journey from their home to the encounter site, around 80 kms from Rafi s ith just four more days of Wcampaigning yet to go, the focus in the Karnataka Assembly polls has shifted to Dalits, who constitute nearly 19 per cent of the population and can influence the outcome in at least 60 seats. Out of the 224 constituencies in Karnataka, 36 are reserved for SCs. On Sunday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi released a video to highlight alleged anti-dalit mindset of the BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to unleash a counteroffensive, saying, The Congress does not care about Dil (people s hearts and feelings) or Dalits. They only care about deals. With opinion polls showing a close contest, both the parties are desperately trying to reach out to Dalits who constitute the largest single vote banks in the State. That s the reason Baba Saheb Ambedkar s name inevitably figures in all the speeches of the Prime Minister and the Congress president. While 36 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes, data from the past have shown that hometown Ganderbal. But barely after reaching 14 km from their home, they heard the news about Rafi s end. The family returned home to prepare for his funeral. According to sources, Fayaz had been keeping a strict watch on his son ever since he had attempted to cross the border at an age of 18 but was caught by police and handed over to his parents. Two of his first cousins had died in early 1990s. The security forces claimed that the latest killings dealt a major blow to Hizb outfit as its Dalit voters could influence the outcome of 60 seats. No surprise, both Modi and Rahul are engaged in a bitter war of words over Dalit issues. Rahul set the tone for the day on Sunday when he said that the BJP and RSS wanted Dalits and Adivasis to exist at the bottom rung of society. A video, which Gandhi shared on Twitter, shows atrocities senior commander Saddam Padder, who was an associate of Burhan Wani, was killed in the encounter. The other slain included Tawseef Sheikh, Molvi Bilal and Adil Ahmad. This is the second jolt to terrorists in south Kashmir region since April 1 when 13 terrorists and four civilians were killed in three separate encounters in the region. As thousands of people participated in the multiple funeral prayers of slain terrorists and civilians, the mainstream political parties expressed dismay over the continued killings and called for immediate ceasefire between the combatants in the Valley and steps initiated to resolve the political issue. The separatists have called for Kashmir shutdown besides urging people to march for holding peaceful sit-in outside Civil Secretariat in Srinagar on Monday. The slain civilians include Asif Ahmed Mir of Rohmoo Pulwama; Sajad Ahmed Rather of Dooru Anantnag; Nissar Ahmed Kumar of Arihal Pulwama; Adil Ahmed Sheikh of Ashmuji Kulgam and Zubair Ahmad of Rajpora Pulwama district. A police spokesperson said, Saddam and his associates were involved in a number of civilian killings and in terror attacks on security forces besides instigating youth to join terrorist network. The mobile internet services were suspended early morning in Shopian and Pulwama districts of south Kashmir after the start of gunfight between the security forces and terrorists in the Badigam village. Train services remained suspended across Kashmir in against Dalits, including the 2016 Una incident. Central to the RSS/BJP fascist ideology, is that Dalits and Adivasis must continue to exist at the bottom rung of society. In this disturbing video, the dangers of this mindset and how it s openly propagated by senior RSS/BJP leaders is revealed, Rahul tweeted with the hashtag #AnswerMaadiModi or Modi must answer in Kannada. The video also claims that every 12 minutes, a Dalit faces atrocity, everyday six Dalit women are raped. Why are Dalits constantly prosecuted in Modi s new India... His silence reflects the mindset of RSS and BJP... Speak-up Mr Modi, it added. Continued on Page 2 view of Kashmir-wide shutdown against terrorist and civilian killings during encounter in Srinagar city on Saturday. The mobile internet services continued to remain suspended in Srinagar since Saturday morning after gunfight broke out in Chattabal Srinagar area of Srinagar in which three, terrorists including two locals from Srinagar and Pulwama, were killed. The situation in south Kashmir areas was reported tense as the clashes with security forces in Shopian and other areas continued with angry protesters hurling stones and rocks upon the security forces manning streets to maintain law and order. In Srinagar, the normal life remained largely affected in response to separatists shutdown call. Continued on Page 2 hunderstorms accompa- by squall, hail and Tnied heavy rain are likely to occur in at least 13 States and two Union Territories across the country on Monday, the Home Ministry said. Quoting an advisory of the India Meteorological Department, a Home Ministry spokesperson said thunderstorm and rain would occur over some places in Delhi and adjoining NCR, including Faridabad, Ballabhgarh, Khurja, Greater Noida, and Bulandshahr. As many as 124 people were killed and more than 300 others were injured in five States as a severe dust storm hit the region last week. The villages around Agra took the major hit as 48 people died due to the thunderstorm and dust storm. Around 19 deaths were reported in Rajasthan s Bharatpur. Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma directed all Government and private schools to remain closed on May 7, 8 in view of n a case of a possible mis- identity, Taliban gun- Itaken men abducted six Indians employees of a power company in Afghanistan s northern Baghlan province on Sunday. Afghan media reports said they apparently mistook them for Government employees. India is in touch with Afghan authorities to find ways to rescue the captives. The Taliban terrorists abducted the six Indian staff members and one Afghan employee of Indian company KEC early on Sunday morning in Bagh-e-Shamal area of the provincial capital Pul-e- Khomre, TOLOnews reported, rain and thunderstorm warning by the IMD. Thunderstorm accompanied with squall and hail are very likely at isolated places over Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh while thunderstorm accompanied with gusty winds are very likely on Monday at isolated places in citing officials. The employees were abducted while they were travelling to the area where the company owns an electricity sub-station contract, the report said. Baghlan Governor Abdulhai Nemati said the Taliban group abducted the employees and moved them to the Dand-e-Shahabuddin area of Pul-e-Khumri city, according to the report. It quoted Nemati as saying that the Afghan authorities spoke with the Taliban via local people and the terror group said it had abducted the staff members in error, believing they were Government employees. No group has, however, claimed responsibility for the abduction so far. Continued on Page 2 Uttarakhand and Punjab. Heavy rain is likely on Monday at isolated places over Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, a Home Ministry official said on Sunday quoting an Indian Meteorological Department advisory. Continued on Page 2 he Good, the Bad and the TUgly! Good to hear yells from three newborn babies of Anuskha, the pretty tigress of Birsa Zoo; bad that a fouryear-old young pachyderm died thirsty at famed Palamu Tiger Reserve and ugly to know fast evaporating water holes in and around wildlife sanctuaries under intense heat that has started gripping Jharkhand. First thing first! After a long time the zoo lovers of Ranchi woke with news of new guests coming at Birsa Zoo in the form of three lovely and healthy cubs to the big cat couple Anushka and Mallick on Sunday which pumped them up to throng at the abode. The tigress had given birth exactly a month ago from today. But we kept that secret because animals, especially canines get disturbed due to interference and unwanted activities. Thus we decided to keep the mother and the kids isolated from the visitors coming to the Birsa Zoo.On Sunday, we made that public and installed CCTV camera. It is beaming the mother and cubs live from their enclosures through a screen installed outside for the visitors, Chief Wildlife Warden LR Singh told The Pioneer. This is also heartening to know that the mother and her cubs are doing well, are taken special care of with healthy food supplements and would take the populace of big cats to double at the zoo. The couple was brought from Hyderabad Zoo in Also, we have another tiger Shiva here. Now if things go well the number of tigers in Birsa Zoo would jump to six which is very good for us, said the PCCF. Moreover at the same time sad news also came from the Palamu Tiger Reserve where a four-year-old male elephant was found dead under Betla range. Forest officials informed that the death had in fact occurred on Friday but came into light later. AK Mishra, Deputy Director of North Division of PTR, said on Sunday that the death occurred due to dehydration. Our staffs came to know about the death on Friday but as a herd of 12 to 15 elephant was surrounding the dead, it was not possible to reach there. When the herd abandoned the place the staffs buried it after autopsy. Signs of water shortage on its body were most prominent, added Mishra. He said no water was found from the elephant s intestines as per the post mortem report. Badly parched and wrinkled skin supported the cause behind the death. In a larger context the sign is worrisome ahead of the worse summers in the region and other areas. This is unfortunate but true that water shortages have been the cause of deaths in PTR and other sanctuaries of the State during long and harsh summers. Some deer had also died in the area recently. Nevertheless we have gone for water management like never before, said LR Singh. The Chief Wildlife Warden maintained that the Department to deal with water shortage to wild lives of the State prepared a three- year plan and has gone for series of water holes, check dams, desiltation and rennovation of ponds across the sanctuaries. Locals have also been taken into loop to maintain the water bodies frequented by wild animals. Availability of water has certainly improved in recent times. But since elephant is a wondering animal and it is possible that at any location any animal does not get water. This would have been the case with the youth elephant s death in the PTR, said he. Local report suggested that nearest water body from the place where this body was found is 3.5 kms. Also river Oranga which flows through the reserve has dried up with onset of the summer; thanks to scanty monsoon playing down ugly scenes year after year in the region and outside. Kailashahar (Tripura): A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan allegedly shot dead three colleagues with his service weapon before committing suicide early on Sunday at a border outpost at Maguruli in Unakoti district, police said. Officer-in-charge of Irani police station, Swapan Debbarma said, a constable Sishu Pal came to deposit his service rifle to head constable Bijoy Kumar at around 1 am after his duty got over and suddenly opened fire at Kumar, killing him on the spot Ṫhe border outpost is located 185 kms away from State capital Agartala. It was not known if an altercation preceded the shooting incident, Debbarma said.

2 aryana Chief Minister HManohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said that he has written to his Punjab counterpart Capt Amarinder Singh, urging him to join hands to check the wasteful flow of Ravi waters to Pakistan keeping in view the unprecedented water crisis that looms over both the states. In the letter, I have urged Punjab Chief Minister to direct his officers concerned to take up the proposal in right earnest, said the Chief Minister while talking to the mediapersons here. The letter stated, You (Amarinder Singh) must have noticed reports about an unprecedented water crisis that looms large over our states. More and more blocks of Haryana and Punjab have anyway been slipping into the category of over-exploited blocks even as our hard-working farmers toil in the face of a stressed farm sector. I think that time has come when we must join hands in checking the wasteful flow of Ravi waters to Pakistan, it stated. Referring to the sixth meeting of the committee, formed by the Centre in this regard, which was held at the Central Water Commission in New Delhi in April 2012, Manohar Lal wrote, It had assessed the quantum of Minimum Utilizable Water (MUW) as 32 cumecs (equivalent to 0.58MAF) on a sustainable basis. The committee had decided that the proposal for its diversion by constructing a 2 to 2.5 m high diversion structure across river Ravi with a gravity flow canal off-taking from Dharamkot to Harike Head works was viable." The panel had also opined that any other techno-economically superior alternative that would trait the problem of implementation of the scheme, may be carried out during preparation of a detailed project report based on actual survey and investigation by an agency to be decided separately at an appropriate forum. Manohar Lal also mentioned in the letter that the Centre had accordingly asked all the partner states to build a consensus on engaging the Bhakra Beas Management Board to undertake feasibility studies and start construction, and the Punjab government may take follow-up action on the minutes of meeting held in April It is indeed unfortunate that there has been no visible Bhubaneswar: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday requested Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh to extend all possible support to the farmers affected by the untimely Nor'wester in Odisha. In a letter to the Agriculture Minister, Pradhan sought his personal indulgence to facilitate assessment of the situation and active intervention to ensure that the farmers get the required support to help them overcome the situation. He said that widespread loss of crops and life in many districts of Odisha have occurred as a result of the untimely Nor'wester (Kalabaishakhi) spell of rains and hailstorm which swept many parts of the state over the past few days. Although crop loss assessment hasn't been done as yet, conservative estimates state that as a result of this calamity, standing crops worth thousands of acres have been damaged, he added. The intensity of damage is pronounced in six districts of Bargarh, Jajpur, Sonepur, Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj and Balasore. From Page 1 The authorities imposed restrictions under Sec 144 in areas under seven police stations in old city and uptown areas in Srinagar. Joint Resistance leadership, comprising Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, has called upon people to march towards the Civil Secretariat on Monday to protest against what they called continuous bloodshed in Kashmir. Taking to twitter, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq wrote, Words fail to express the pain of the tragedy unfolding in #Shopian as the count of the brutally killed by Indian forces keeps rising! Tomorrow as the Durbar of our killers opens in Srinagar, leadership and people from all walks, traders, lawyers, students, employees and others will move towards civil secretariat and will sit in a peaceful dharna till the daily carnage is not stopped.the protest strike will continue.(jrl) #KashmirKillings. The State Govt is all set to start functioning from Srinagar on Monday for next six months after shifting from winter capital Jammu as part of pre-independence biennial Durbar Move practice. Raj Bhavan, Civil "Some pockets in these districts are already in the bottom of the poverty pyramid and the natural disaster shall further add woes to the farmers barely living on subsistence income," he added. Pradhan that the situation of distress has already forced farmers to take drastic steps and two farmers have attempted suicide. "There is, thus an imperative, to ameliorate situation and assuage the distress of the farmers through urgent remedial measures," he said. IANS aryana would go paperless Hunder the e-office project by August 15. The Chief Minister Manohar Lal on Sunday issued directions to the officers concerned to make necessary arrangements to make the paperless project a reality. The directions were issued when the Chief Minister was presiding over a meeting with Good Governance associates here. He said all district libraries in the state would be provided with such modern facilities as Wi-Fi and internet connection. These facilities have already been provided in three progress on the issue so far and the ever so precious water is still going to Pakistan. This enormous national wastage of water needs to be stopped immediately. Being divertible, this water should instead be utilised for the benefits of the people of the partner states, he said. I, therefore, request you to direct your officers concerned to take up the proposal in right earnest. I have directed our Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary in the Irrigation and Water Resources Department to accord top priority to this. They shall make it convenient to attend any meeting that your officers may consider necessary on the subject so as to ensure expeditious implementation of this proposal which has already been declared as National Project by the Government of India," the letter added. Chief Minister Manohar Lal alongwith a high level delegation on Sunday left for Israel to study their best practices in the field of agriculture. He will also be visiting United Kingdom (UK) to attract investment for the ongoing major industrial projects in the state. During 10 days foreign visit, the delegation would be in libraries which has led to increase in the number of students visiting them, said he. E- Panchayat model has been fully implemented for the development of Gram Panchayats, he added. The Chief Minister instructed the officers to encourage such panchayats as are doing good work honestly. It would not only create harmonious atmosphere but also motivate other panchayats to do good work. The data of panchayats was being fed online from April 1, 2018, he said. In view of the problems faced by Sarpanches, Manohar Lal instructed the officers to explore the possibility of conducting financial transactions Israel from May 6 to 8 and in UK from May 9 to 13. The Chief Minister said, During visit to Israel, the delegation would participate in the Agritech Israel-2018 scheduled to be held on May 8. Recently, Ambassador of Israel to India, Daniel Carmon had called on him here and invited to participate in this mega event. UK visit would further strengthen the bilateral business relations besides attracting industrial investment to Haryana, especially in the major ongoing global city projects like Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) between Gurugram-Manesar-Bawal, logistic hub at Narnaul, Hisar Aviation Hub and IMT Kharkhoda. Besides this, the delegation would also visit the POD car facility in Heathrow, UK, Manohar Lal said. Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari had announced that to ease the traffic congestion, this facility would be started from Dhaulakuan to Rajiv Chowk in Gurugram. The meetings would also be held with the leading industrialists regarding Start-ups for creating job opportunities for the youth of Haryana, he added. The Chief Minister announced to introduce no enhancement policy for the future allotments of plots in sectors of Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP). He said the left out plots in the HSVP sectors will only be auctioned at the market rate. Giving a major relief to plot holders of HSVP, the Chief Minister has already announced one-time rebate of 40 per cent on total outstanding amount of enhancement. The plot holders would be able to avail the benefit of this scheme till July 4, He added that arrangement of loans would also be made for those who wish to take loan to pay the enhancement amount on 40 per cent rebate. Replying to a question on law and order situation, he said that Haryana Police Cadet Corps on the pattern of National Cadet Corps is being set up in the state involving students from class XI to graduation level. It is also under consideration of the State Government to give preference to such students in recruitment to the Police Department, he added. through banks so that records of all financial transactions are available online, and they do not face any problems, said he. While reviewing the social audit scheme, Manohar Lal instructed the officers to implement it as a pilot project in the districts of Faridabad and Kaithal. It would help in evaluating the feasibility of the scheme. School children should also be made part of the social audit scheme, said he. n view of the warning of Ithunderstorm and rain between May 7 and 8 by Meteorological Department, the Haryana Government has decided that all Government and private schools in the state will remain closed on these days. Apart from this, Haryana Revenue and Disaster Management Department has issued advisory in view of possibility of heavy rain, thunderstorms or dust storms on May 7 and 8. The State Government has decided to close the schools on May 7 and 8 in view of prediction of Met Department, said an official spokesman. He said that the Haryana Revenue and Disaster Management Department has suggested safety tips to be adopted in case of thunderstorms, dust storms and squall. There will be no need to panic and people should follow the precautions suggested by the Department, and pay special attention to children and The Chief Minister stated that agro malls should be promoted on experimental basis and farmers should be motivated to sell their products in these malls. It would result in direct dealing with consumers and also increase their income. So far, 1,021 people have benefitted from various schemes through Antyodaya service centers. People are being made aware of the facilities offered by Antyoday Seva Kendras so that more and more people can avail themselves of the benefits of government schemes, he added. The Chief Minister also instructed the officers to link Jan Sewa Kendras with these centers to make all schemes senior citizens. All departments have been directed to stay alert, he added. The spokesman said that during heavy rain and thunderstorms, people are advised not to panic and try to stay indoors and stay off verandas. People should also unplug all electrical equipment and should not use corded telephones. They have been advised not to touch plumbing and metal pipes, not to use running water and stay away from structures with tin roofs and metal sheeting. People should not take shelter near or under trees, do not use metallic objects, stay away from power and telephone lines and get out of water pools, lakes, small boats on water bodies and take safe shelter immediately, the spokesman said. He further said that after occurring of thunderstorms or heavy rain, people should stay away from storm-damaged areas and listen to local radio and TV stations for updated information or instructions on weather and traffic updates. wo people were killed on Sunday when the vehicle they were Ttravelling in collided head-on with an SUV in Gurugram, police said. The victims, identified as Vinod Kumar Yadav and Kishor, died on the spot while another woman, a pilot with a private airlines, was seriously injured, a senior officer told IANS. The vehicle, hired by the pilot, was headed to the Indira Gandhi International Airport. "The woman has severe injuries on her chest and face. She is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and her condition is stable," a doctor at the Medanta-The Medicity told IANS. A case was registered against the SUV's driver of SUV who escaped. Secretariat and other offices closed in Jammu are scheduled to reopen in summer capital Srinagar, a century-old practice under which Government functions six month each in the two capitals. Strongly condemning the killing of civilians in security forces firing in Shopian, CPI(M) legislator, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, questioned that how long it will take the Government to wake up from the slumber and initiate a dialogue to address this mass unrest. CPI(M) spokesman, quoting Tarigami, said, brutal killings have become the everyday norm in Kashmir now and it seems Government of India is least bothered about this unfortunate tragic situation. For how long the blood of civilians will continue to flow in Kashmir? The party reiterated its stand that there was no military solution to address this issue except to initiate a credible process of structured dialogue with all stakeholders. Reiterating his appeal for a cease-fire between terrorists and the security forces, Independent legislator Er Rasheed said, Bloodbath by forces in Shopian has yet again proved that Delhi is far away from its goal of achieving peace of a graveyard in J&K. He alleged, Except Indian media to improve their TRPs and the security forces to get perks, privileges, and promotions, no one including Indian state is getting benefited from the genocide of Kashmiris. The State Congress also condemned civilian killings and urged for putting halt to such killings in the larger interest of peace and stability. The party also cancelled the Secretariat Gherao Programme against Government that was scheduled for Monday. Meanwhile, hundreds of Kashmir University students offered funeral prayers in absentia to the slain scholar and Assistant Professor Dr Muhammad Rafi at the university. Reports said hundreds of Kashmir University students marched through the campus raising slogans in favour of Pakistan and Freedom and assembled outside the Allama Iqbal library and offered funeral prayers. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed deep anguish and grief over the death of five civilians at Shopian during a security operation. In a statement, the Chief Minister said Sunday s deaths have brought a stark fact to fore that gun, either way of a militant or that of security forces, is no solution for resolving issues. I have reiterated it time and again that political issues need political interventions, she said. Mehbooba Mufti reiterated her stand that issues in Jammu & Kashmir can be resolved only through a sustained dialogue between all stakeholders. The Chief Minister appealed the national leadership of the country to show the element of compassion and empathy as required by the present day situation here and display the statesmanship to get Jammu & Kashmir out of the quagmire of killings by engaging in a meaningful dialogue in the State. National Conference working president Omar Abdullah said the Kashmir issue had to be resolved through sustained dialogue and engagement and said unabated civilian killings were unacceptable. Expressing grief and sorrow over unabated civilian killings in the State at a public meeting at Drass in Kargil district on Sunday, Omar said educated, employed young men becoming terrorists called for serious introspection at the Central and State level and yet again highlighted the need for a permanent, sustainable and acceptable resolution of the political issue. When educated, gainfully employed young men choose the path of militancy - it should serve as a wakeup call for those who have turned a deaf ear towards repeated pleas for initiation of dialogue with all stakeholders to find a solution Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Sunday signed an MoU with Tata Trusts, Mumbai to set up a state-of-the-art Cancer Treatment and Research Hospital here. The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Tata Trusts Chairman Ratan N. Tata. As part of the MoU, Tata Trusts will set up and manage the cancer treatment facility in Bhubaneswar and it will be benchmarked to the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. The Odisha Government will facilitate and contribute in setting up the centre by providing land to the extent of 25 acres free of cost, said a statement. The comprehensive care programme will be set up through a three-tier network of facilities with the Tata Trusts's proposed centre at Bhubaneswar and Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre in Cuttack as available under one roof. It was informed that in keeping with the announcement made by the Chief Minister, sanitary pads would be distributed to all girl students of the schools by August 15. While reviewing HARPATH, the Chief Minister said complaints should be properly disposed of so that same complainant was not allowed to lodge complaint again. In addition, invalid complaints should also be detected, he said. On SAKSHAM Haryana project, he instructed the officials to observe SAKSHAM Utsav week from July 9 to July 20. to this quagmire. Turning a blind eye towards the alarming situation won t change reality. The growing levels of alienation and isolation are alarming signs and need to be acknowledged and addressed politically. This is not an economic issue and cannot be resolved through economic packages, Omar Abdullah said. Rafi was awarded doctorate degree in November last year. He had completed his Ph.D programme on whole time basis in the Department of Sociology after successfully defending his thesis entitled Globalisation and emerging trends in Consumerism: A comparative study of rural and urban Kashmir. His students in Kashmir University say that Bhat was one of the most brilliant teachers and researchers. Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah termed the killing of a Kashmir University professor as an answer to those who claim jobs and development are the solution to the violence & alienation in Kashmir. Taking to social networking site, Omar tweeted, Sadly this is also an answer to those who claim jobs & development are the solutions to the violence & alienation in Kashmir. This is another tragic development in a steady stream of tragedies in Kashmir. From Page 1 Nemati said they are trying to release the abductees through tribe elders and mediation. In response to queries on the From Page 1 Thunderstorm accompanied with gusty winds are very likely at isolated places over J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, From Page 1 Modi hit back at the congress while addressing a rally Chitradurga as part of the last leg of his campaigns for the upcoming Assembly elections. Modi on Sunday blasted the Congress for failing Dalits in the State and said the Congress has started fooling and misleading Dalits because they are scared for their vote banks. We will have strict laws to protect the rights of Dalits. I belong to the same society as you all and I will support you and fight for you, he said. Taking a dig at the Congress, Modi said the party does not care about Dil (people s hearts and feelings) or Dalits. They only care about deals. The Prime Minister said the Congress is obviously uncomfortable today because the highest offices of the land are occupied by people from poor and humble backgrounds. That is why now the Congress prefers to mislead in the name of the Dalit community. he said. The Congress humiliated Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Go to any part of India- wherever you go, things are named after one family. What did this one family do for Dr. Ambedkar? They apex centres, it added. The medical colleges in the state and the district hospitals will be equipped to offer diagnostics and standardised day care chemotherapy with selected district hospitals additionally offering radiotherapy services, the statement said. This will create a state-wide cancer care network with an objective to take treatment closest to patients. IANS report of the abduction, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said, We are aware of the abduction of Indian nationals from Baghlan province in Afghanistan. We are in contact with the Afghan authorities and further details are being ascertained. In the last few years, several Indians were taken captives by Taliban militants, but in most cases they were rescued through negotiations. KEC, a global infrastructure engineering, procurement and construction major, is one of the largest Indian companies in Afghanistan and responsible for electricity supply in the country. Haryana, Chandigarh, and Western Uttar Pradesh. Dust storm and thunderstorm are also likely at isolated places in West Rajasthan, the official said. According to the MET department, parts of Western Uttar Pradesh like Meerut, Hapur, Bijnor and Muzzafarnagar will witness thunderstorm with rain. have no time for him, he said. When we had the chance to play a key role in electing the President of India, we did not play party politics. We preferred that Dr Kalam become the President of India. This time, we had the numbers but we preferred that a person from the Dalit community become the president, the Prime Minister said. Rahul used an election rally at Kalgi to unleash another round of attacks on the NDA over Dalit issues and questioned the Prime Minister Narendra s silence over alleged atrocities on Dalits and accused him of muzzling Dalit voice in Parliament.

3 arkand R Paranjape, MProfessor of English at Jawaharlal Nehru University, delivering a lecture at Judicial Academy here on the topic Swaraj and Rule of Law, said that Swaraj was all about inner Government mentality while the concept of rule of law was introduced to restrict the arbitrary powers of monarchs or kings of Europe stressing on the idea that rule of law was supreme and not the individual. Paranjape is a scholar, critic, novelist, poet and columnist. He has published over 45 books, 170 academic papers and 500 newspaper/periodical articles. His recent books include Debating the Post Condition in India, Cultural Politics in Modern India, The Death and Afterlife of Mahatma Gandhi and Transit Passenger, an Indo- Brazilian book of poems. Makarand is currently a columnist for Swarajya, DNA and Mail Today. He has been Professor of English at JNU for 17 years. utting any possibility of Preconciliation with its coalition partner and long time ally AJSU, the ruling BJP on Sunday officially confirmed candidature of Madhav Lal Singh from Gomia constituency. The Assembly seat along with Silli is going for bypoll on May 28 to fill the vacancy arisen midterm. Name of Madhav Lal Singh was doing rounds for several days and looked sure when the former Congress legislator who represented the seat in the past before donning the saffron outfit in 2014 met Chief Minister Raghubar Das on the last Friday. The BJP has always given developmental agenda the front seat. We received a stamp of the people with their affection during the recently concluded municipal polls. We would go with the same spirit in the bypolls at Gomia and also at Silli. The party has decided that Madhav Lal Singh would contest the election from Gomia, said party MLA and State general secretary Anant Kumar Ojha on Sunday calling a press conference. The decision to field candidate from Gomia is perceived akin to infighting involving the BJP with its partner AJSU. The latter has already named Lambodar Mahto its candidate. We still believe in coalition. Our top leadership is of the view that both of us should fight the seat which we had fought during 2014 under seat sharing formula, added Ojha when asked about health of the coalition. During 2014 Assembly elections, the Gomia seat had fallen into BJP s kitty while AJSU had fielded Sudesh Mahto from Silli. Moreover the coalition had lost both the seats while JMM emerging victorious at both the places. Unfortunately for the JMM, both MLAs namely Yogendra Mahto and Amit Mahto faced disqualification after conviction. JMM this time went on fielding wives of the ousted legislators from the seats. Also present on the occasion was senior leader Deepak Prakash who reiterated that health of the coalition would not be affected with both the parties fighting against each other. AJSU is our oldest ally in the State. We have fought together for a separate State and have been in coalition for the development and wellbeing of the State. Out coalition has not broken neither would be broken. These phases come in the course of any coalition. It is good that no irresponsible comments are being made from any side as far as the byelection is concerned, he said. The party also expressed hope that after the name is announced all BJP workers would work together to secure win of the candidate. Things have settled now. The party is in winning position with the contribution and hard work of the workers. The Opposition coming together just for the sake of stopping development agenda of the Government would not work in the election, added Ojha. The BJP has left Silli seat for the AJSU and supported Sudesh Mahto. Swaraj is really an idea of inner Government mentality and knowing the self is the basic method of attaining Swaraj. Gandhiji wanted that people should be self-regulated, said Praranjape. He was of the view that if Swaraj is attained, people will automatically get self regulated, he added. The programme was attended by Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Justice Anant Bijay Singh, Justice BB Mangalmurty, Justice KP Deo, probationary Judicial Officers and law students. Gandhi had dreamt of a highly evolved society with self regulated power to be ruled by a higher law or order, said Paranjape. It means that people, before discharging their duties, must think whether the ends of justice were being served or nation as a whole was being served or not, he added. Rule of law, the Professor said, was all about restricting absolute power enjoyed by the monarchs and kings. He said that perception was that the law rules, not an individual, and rule of law was supreme. We should think about how to bring Swaraj and rule of law together which are actually in clash with each other, said the Professor. He, however, argued about bridging the gap between India and Bharat where the missing link between the two harkhand s first mechanised Jabattoir was finally inaugurated by Deputy Mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya and CEO of Ranchi Municipal Corporation Shantanu Agrahari at Kanke on Sunday. Though, the Noida based company -- Micro Transmissions System, selected to run the abattoir, will take some time to get it started as some formalities are yet to be completed. The Noida based company has been handed over the state of the art hi-tech abattoir, constructed in 5 acres of land investing Rs 18 crore, so that people could get hygienic meat, said Vijayvargiya. It has a capacity to slaughter 1000 goats in 8 hours, sufficient to cater the needs of the city, he added. Vijayvargiya, however, was of the view that they will have to work hard to make it a practice of getting their animals slaughtered in the abattoir from hygiene point of view. It is already in practice in several cities in other States and people as it also serves the purpose of providing hygienic meat to the people, besides giving relief to the vegetarian people who were opposed of open showcasing animal carcass in meat shops, said the Deputy Mayor. All we need is to create awareness among the meat show owners that it was in their interest which will take some time, he added. The RMC CEO said that the processed meat will be delivered to the meat shops by refrigerated vans and five smart outlets will be opened from where people could get hygienic meat. Remarkably, the first mechanised abattoir had been lying unused since June last year as no any company was interested running it, despite the fact that tender was floated four times earlier also. Finally, Micro Transmissions System came forward to take it over with a condition that it would pay 20 per cent as commission on daily earnings, but no annual rent. Earlier efforts were being made to collect an annual rent of Rs 1 crore from the perspective companies which was later brought down to Rs 80 lakh as nobody came forward to take it over. Spread across six acres at Arsande in Kanke, work on the abattoir began in 2012 and was completed in June It has been built to handle 1,000 goats per day. entral Coalfields Limited C(CCL) organized a seminar on benefits of medical services to the retired executives and nonexecutives at Vichar Manch, Darbhanga House. About 250 retired personnel including former directors of different subsidiaries of Coal India attended this mega function. While addressing the retired personnel, CMD, CCL Gopal Singh said that you all are members of CCL extended families and always guided and motivated me to perform duties in the interest of the company. He also briefed them about upcoming portal i.e., Contributory Post Retirement Medical Scheme in which medical related information will be updated and one can brose from anywhere. Shri Singh also advised them to seek help of Samadhan Kendra and other platforms regarding redressal of their grievances. Similarly, R S Mahapatro ensured them that similar programme will be held in future. He also said that blessing of each one of you motive us to perform better and launch new welfare schemes so that company plays a key role in transforming the society. He also talked about stress and said this time of seminar help to release stress. CMS, CCL Dr. R R Sinha gave a power point presentation highlighting benefits given to the retired officers and staff in the company. J N Singh and others also addressed the gathering and applauded the efforts of management for improving medical benefits including process of medical bill. was dharma. If we start taking the path of Swaraj, we will automatically become law abiding as it has power to resist oppression also, said Paranjape. Gandhi was for strengthening atmabal which had no limits and could even change the mindset of the world, he added. Noted journalist and Rajya Sabha MP Harivansh, expressing his views on the topic Lessons Learnt from Champaran Satyagrah of Mahatma Gandhi, explained how independence was attained on the basis of the experiment conducted by Gandhi in Champaran. Talking about the lessons learnt from Champaran, he said that Gandhiji sacrificed his whole life in protecting the society from hatred from each other and also explained how remembering the Chanparan Satyagraha was in the interest of human mankind. It teaches us how to do the homework for solving the most difficult tasks and how the espite of rounds of warn- from higher authori- Dings ties, Rajendra Institute Medical Sciences (RIMS) - the highest State owned hospital cum medical college is yet to resolve the issue of bed scarcity. Acting Director of the medical institution Dr RK Srivastava said that some more time was required to deal with this problem. Proposal of creating a separate unit with sufficient numbers of beds had been sent to HODs for final consent, he informed at the same time. Several factors need to be taken care of before issuing any instruction towards this. A written proposal has been sent to the Department Heads about establishing a separate ward with sufficient beds. The administrative wing is awaiting the decision of HODs. Within this month, some points will be definitely finalized about it. Hospital s administrative personnel are keen to resolve this issue as soon as possible, Srivastava added. At present, status of Neurosurgery ward and Medicine ward in terms of availability of beds is quite experiments done in Champaran by Gandhi really helped in attaining independence from the British Empire, said Harivansh. Gandhi was the first person, who talked about harmony between the priest and the preaching, he added. He said that Gandhi also proved it to the world that the conduct of great leaders really makes an impact on the society. He also made the country get a feel of people s power and changed the things by putting a foundation at Champaran, said the Rajya Sabha MP. Gandhi taught about survival in harmony with the nature, self controlled life and living in simplicity, but we are moving towards a consumer society and living surrounded by things which may put human society in problem, he said. If the world does not hear the voice of Gandhi, then we are inviting danger for the future, said Harivansh. pitiable. Regardless of several attempts, neither RIMS administration nor ministers could permanently resolve this issue. Since long, Neurosurgery ward has maximum number of patients undergoing treatment on floor, the condition of Medicine ward as well is no less than that of Neurosurgery ward. As per the records, the Medicine ward has the provision of merely 50 beds but here also the number of patients who undergoes treatment on floor is very high. In spite of assurances to increase the numbers of beds especially at Neurosurgery ward from 110 to 250 wards, no serious attempts have been made towards this direction. An internal staff conveyed that the government owned hospital and college has approximately 1200 beds. But, the number of admitted patients is beyond 1500 at any given time here. fter witnessing massive Adeparture from the youths offered jobs of several kinds during mega skill summits and job fairs, the Jharkhand Skill Development Mission Society (JSDMS) is going to introduce special counseling and screening sessions increase the retention ratio. In addition, to lure the candidates to continue with their respective jobs offered, three months free common lodging facilities with foods will be provided to the selected candidates. An official of JSDMS quipped that the cost of lodging facilities at different places will be borne by the State Government. Through motivational counseling sessions, screening of eligible candidates who are actually willing to work after receiving three months skill development training will be given training clearing their mental blockage. Besides this, negotiations on different grounds with companies who are coming for recruitment are on. Issues ranging from salary, facilities, perks are being discussed with the company representatives, said MD of JSDMS, Ravi Ranjan. A report suggests that maximum candidates left jobs offered citing different grounds within or even less than three months after joining the firms which presents a worrisome picture about the Government effort. In a bid to stop migration, the State government on January 12, 2018 had conducted a Skill Summit 2018 where around 26,500 youths from across Jharkhand were given offer letter. However, the whole exercise of giving jobs to trained youths went haywire when merely 12,000 skilled youths joined the jobs offered to them. In the first Skill Summit, 13,988 candidates have failed to join their jobs as of May 3, more than three months after the offer letters were distributed. Furthermore, the joining data released by JSDMS suggests that 3075 candidates were given offer letters in which merely 820 candidates joined. For the Financial Year , the target given to Department of Higher, Technical Education and Skill Development is 60,000, highest among all the departments. Similarly, in Rural Development 2713 candidates were offered job out of which 1785 candidates joined. For 2019, Department of Rural Development (DDUGKY) - has been given the target of 12,000. The target of Urban Development Department has been increased from 3314 to 10,000. In 2018, 2050 candidates accepted the offer letter. Department of Labour, Employment and Training has been given the target of 12,000. The department in 2018 provided offer letters to 4417 candidates but just 1021 candidates turned up. Besides these departments, Department of Industries and Mines (Tool Room + CSR) including Department of Welfare will also offer job letters to 2000 and 4000 youths respectively. Through Skill Summit 2019, the State government has decided to cover 1 lakh trained youths, the exercise to rope in eligible youths for imparting training is likely to begin from July Chief Secretary (CS) Sudhir Tripathy recently issued a district wise target list to all Deputy Commissioners (DCs). Tripling the target, the district-wise list which will cover candidates from 18 years to 35 years have been released for which the senior officials of each district have been asked to focus on quality training, establishment of placement cell and organisation of placement camps. To save State s face, JSDMS MD assured that all factors are being examined so that youths who are given offer letters not just joins the respective companies but lend their service for a descent period. Meanwhile, when enquired about the average monthly salary that was offered to candidates in 2018 and popular trades that has good retention rate, Ranjan said, On an average, 9,500 was offered. All technical jobs have quite good retention rate. According to last record, beauty and wellness including retail sector can be placed in bottom in terms of popularity.

4 five-member team of ADirectorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Sunday inspected Sonari aerodrome to carry prospect for starting air service under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme. The Union Government has been exploring feasibility of connecting more cities under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). The team met senior officials of Tata Steel aviation department and studied the facilities available. Air Deccan has bagged the contract to start service from Jamshedpur to Kolkata. Under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, Air Deccan has agreed to start air service by September this year. Under the regional connectivity scheme termed UDAN, the Government is bringing the air service back to the steel city. We are here to inspect the facilities for starting the air service. The runway of the Sonari aerodrome is 1.2 KM long while the required runway for the aircraft available under UDAN scheme is 1.5 KM. We are studying possibilities and cannot divulge more, said a member of the team. As per the scheme, the Centre will subsidise the losses incurred by airlines flying out of dormant airports, to allow airlines to charge Rs 2,500 for an hour s flight to passengers. About 80 percent of the subsidy will be collected by charging a levy of up to Rs 8,500 on each departing flight of domestic airlines and the rest 20 per cent will come from the respective state governments. Incidentally, the Jharkhand government had signed an MoU with Union civil aviation ministry under the RCS in August As of now there is no regular air service from Jamshedpur to any other parts. Jamshedpur debuted on the country's air map in 2007 with Air Deccan linking the city to Calcutta, but was grounded soon as DGCA imposed load restrictions due to the short runway at Sonari Airport. Air Deccan used an ATR-32 flight then. MDLR Kingfisher resumed connectivity in 2009 for a few months. Between August 2010 and February 2011, Deccan Charters flew a turboprop 19-seater aircraft, and DTDS Travels started a service in January 2012 but was forced to ground it in a few months, as high fares held back fliers. he State Women's TCommission team inspected the Sadar Hospital, Garhwa on Sunday. The team, headed by Chairperson Kalyani Sharan reached the Sadar Hospital's delivery room and in the women's ward and reviewed the situation. In this sequence, she reprimanded the staffs for dirty water that was being supplied in the ward from the toilets. She instructed to take special care on cleanliness. In the woman's ward she also talked to Rita Devi who told that her brother in law Dev had attacked her. Kalyani Sharan said that if she wanted she can immediately call the police and lodged an FIR in this regard. In the delivery room, the livelihood-cum-skill devel- fair under Gram Aopment Swarajya campaign was held in town hall on Sunday. The programme was inaugurated by the union minister-cum-mp Sudarshan Bhagat. On the occasion Bhagat said, Role of women in every field is appreciable. We must promote for the education of girls child. He also directed to complete the goals of PM Aawas Yojna in time. MLA Sukhdeo Bhagat, municipal chairperson Anupama Bhagat, DC Binod Kumar and Sujit Bara from JSLPS were also present. They all threw light upon the roles and importance of women in earning livelihood. The guests also inspected the stalls in the fair and praised for their talents. On the eve the state head of Mati Kala Board Srichand Prajapati, 20-point programme deputy chairperson Rakesh Prasad, ex BJP district head Raj Kishor Mahto, Rajesh Mahto, Vinod Prajapati, SDO Raj Maheshwaram, Rajmohan Ram, Alok Sahu and Many others were present. team gathered information about medicines, food etc. from the patients. She also inquired about money being taken during the treatment. The team included Renu Devi, Poonam Prakash, Aarti Rana, Sharmila Soren, Rani Kasturi, Under Secretary Chandrashekhar Jha and others. During this time, CS Dr Hembram, Deputy Superintendent Dr NK Rajak, Lady doctor Dr Ragini Agarwal and other health workers were present. he evaluation of matric Tand intermediate examinations has started under strict vigil. About 4.31 lakh students appeared in matric and 3.16 lakh appeared for intermediate exams in Evaluators of matric and intermediate examinations under the Jharkhand Academic Council ( JAC) seem to be extra cautious this time fearing strict punishment from the board. With JAC taking steps in improving its standards, it has introduced a new method of scrutiny from this year. An evaluator has to correct an answer sheet and crosscheck the totaling twice before it is fed in the computer. "We are trying our best and I have made it clear that we need to be student friendly. If we receive copies for re-scrutiny this time and we find mistakes in totaling, the evaluators will not be speared. For this we have introduced the rubber stamp so that we know which teacher is responsible for the same. Also we have asked evaluators to speak the double digit numbers because it is many times wrongly heard like 17 for 70. Here teachers have to read 'seven' 'zero'," said an official. The council has taken some positive steps to improve the results this year. Teachers workshop on how to make studies interesting, mock test for science, model questions which have been introduced in the last academic session will be more in frequency this year. The JAC results in intermediate for the past 15 years have been poor especially science which have been around per cent. The most important part is that every evaluator has been given a rubber stamp which they have to use in every single copy they check. The stamp bears the name of the evaluator and the name of the college he/she belongs to. The council has taken some positive steps to improve the results this year. The matric evaluation centres identified in Jamshedpur. Sakchi Balika Uchcha Vidyalaya; Sakchi High School and Gurunanak High School, Sakchi Bharat Sevashram Uchcha Vidyalaya, Sonari; have been identified as the evaluation centres for matriculation and Jamshedpur High School, Dhatkidih; Michael John Uchcha Vidyalaya, Golmuri; JKS Inter College, Mango and Utkal Samaj, Golmuri have been identified for evaluation of intermediate answer sheets. engaged in party suddenly Sushil attacked okaro Police arrested three on Singh with an axe Bpersons over killing of a and later killed him with brick kiln owner Sriniwas Singh (40) and dumping his other sharp weapons, he said. body at an illegal coal mine site They revealed under Sitanala area of before the police that, Amlabad Outpost of after killing they Chandankiyari police station in Bokaro. Singh was reported missing from Thursday, dumped the body in a nearby mine and filled it with Salt and Soil aiming informed Kartik S, to decompose it fast, Superintendent of Police Bokaro. Singh was a resident of Mohalbani under Sudamdih police station of Jharia and running his brick kiln at Sitanala, he said. On a tip-off Police arrested Budha Mahato, Sushil Mahato and Rinki Bauri in killing. During interrogation they accepted their crime, added SP. There were disputes over money between Singh and Sushil Mahato. On Thursday SP informed adding body has been recovered and sent for post-mortem. Meanwhile, Ramniwas the brother of the deceased lodged a case of kidnapping and killing of his brother against Budha Mahato, Sushil Mahato the business partner of Singh Budha called Sing for a party and Rinki Bauri at (in Brick Kiln) along with at kiln. When they were Chanadkiyari police station.

5 SS-affiliated Swadeshi RJagran Manch, which has expressed reservation on Air India s disinvestment, will present a report to Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu this month suggesting alternative ways to revive the national carrier. Prabhu recently met SJM co-convener Ashwani Mahajan to discuss the stake sale in the national carrier. A five-member team led by Mahajan is preparing a report, which will suggest alternative ways to revive Air India and will present its report to the civil aviation minister this month, sources said. The report will be considered before taking any call on Air India s disinvestment. Sources said Mahajan and four other economists are preparing the report on Air India. SJM has previously suggested that the Government monetise Air India s assets to repay debt, rather than selling its stake. he CBI on Saturday evening Tregistered another case against tainted journalist Upendra Rai for extortion of 15 crore from a Mumbai based real estate firm owner facing Income Tax probes. The FIR was based on the complaint filed by Balvinder Singh Malhotra, owner of White Lion Real Estate Developers. CBI said that Rai extorted money in connivance with certain Income Tax officials. In its complaint, which is part of the seven pages FIR, Malhotra said that he was first threatened by media persons on behalf of Rai about the adverse finings in Income Tax probes. In IT raid and probe, it was found that Malhotra was running a more than 80 shell firms having huge money flow. Upendra Rai arm-twisted Malhotra to pay Rs 15 cr for not publishing the damning reports of the IT and for helping him to Sources said that Mahajan has suggested that Air India has operating profits, but is running into losses due to its debts. The committee could be of the view that rather than selling stake in the national carrier, the government may reduce its debt by selling off its landed properties. His suggestions assume significance as RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat too has categorically said Air India should not be sold to a foreign buyer. settle the case with Income tax officials. Upendra Rai demanded huge amount of money to settle the issue with IT department and adverse media reporting. He claimed he had contacted in IT office, Scindia House, Mumbai, says the FIR. Succumbing to the pressure, a consultancy agreement had to be signed to work out an arrangement to pay the huge The Centre has invited expression of interest to sell a 76-per cent stake and management control in the airline. Mahajan has earlier said that the SJM is opposed to disinvestment of the national carrier in its current form, asserting the airline can be made profitable by repaying debt. He blamed the Congress for the sorry state of the airline and alleged that during the UPA rule, profitable routes of Air India were given to other airlines. Rather than selling stake in the company, the government should make the airline profitable and then, if required, explore the option of raising money from markets by issuing shares, Mahajan said. The Indian Government owns 100-per cent equity of Air India, which was founded in the 1930s. The airline is commonly known for its Maharajah mascot. The Government has injected more than 23,000 crore since 2012 to bail out the airline. o combat the adverse Timpact of climate change, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) has launched a chapter for South Asian countries and urged mayors and commissioners from India as well as local Governments across the region to join the coalition and commit to moving towards a lowcarbon and climate resilient economy. The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy- South Asia (GCoM-SA) aims to support the efforts of cities in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make their communities more resilient toward the effects of climate change. It was launched within the context of the South Asian Cities Summit and with support from the European Union (EU)-funded International Urban Cooperation programme in India and city network partners. GCoM Vice-Chair and former executive secretary of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Christiana Figueres, who was the architect behind the historic Paris Agreement, said the aim is to let the cities have a reach and voice on how global actions and policies to tackle climate change can ensure benefit for the people. Tackling climate change in South Asian cities is about delivering this opportunity for economic development, jobs, growth, long-term resilience and improving quality of life. It is also about ensuring that we reach the global climate turning point to bend the curve of emission downward by 2020 to ensure the long-term resilience of our cities and other areas, Figueres said in a statement here. Tomasz Kozlowski, the Ambassador of the European Union to India, said, Through International Urban Cooperation programme, the EU will support the South Asian secretariat, develop context-relevant GCoM material, support the technical assistance tools as well as promote scientific assessment processes inspired by best practices from the European Union and city networks. Till date, 14 cities in South Asia representing a population of more than 36 million have committed to the covenant. Indian cities will host 200 million more people by The country s future urban planning and implementation will have a decisive influence on global climate and impact international efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the statement said. he Supreme Court is likely Tto hear on Monday the Kathua gangrape-and-murder case along with the petitions seeking shifting of the trial to Chandigarh and handing over the investigation to the CBI. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, which had stayed the trial in the case till tomorrow, would deal with the prayer of the victim s father for shifting the trial to Chandigarh and the plea of the accused seeking handing over the probe to CBI. The victim, an eight-yearold girl from a minority nomadic community, had disappeared from near her home in a village near Kathua in the Jammu region on January 10. Her body was found in the same area a week later. The apex court had earlier given a stern warning and said it would transfer the Kathua gangrape-and-murder case from the local court in the slightest possibility of lack of fair trial, saying the real concern was to hold proper prosecution. amount demanded. Thus, a consultancy agreement dated October 3, 2017 was prepared between M/s Upendra Rai and Associates and White Lion from October 1, 2017 till September 30, 2018, it adds. According to CBI FIR, 15 core was transferred to the HDFC and Axis Bank accounts of Upendra Rai and created a fake consultancy deal to transfer money. The money transfer was in many installments from October 2017 to April As per the agreement, a sum of 15,19,50,000 (excluding GST and TDS) has been paid from our Axis Bank, Bandra account to Rai s HDFC Bank account between October 2017 and Aril 2018, says the complaint of Malhotra, part of the CBI s FIR. Upendra Rai is already in CBI custody for huge fund flow of more than 100 crore in previous year and forging documents to obtain sensitive Airport Entry Pass (AEP). He was Editor of Sahara Group s media firms and later joined Tehalka. Recently he floated a newsportal titled as Print Line. In 2011, Rai and Sahara Group owner Subrata Rai had faced Contempt Charges from Supreme Court for threatening 2G Scam cases investigating officers of Enforcement Directorate on behalf of controversial lobbyist Nira Radia. axals have developed some Nlethal and crude ammunition like Rambo arrows, topped with gun powder, and improvised rocket bombs as part of their new armoury to be used on security forces, says a new report. The report prepared by a joint security command on IED threats in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) hit areas said the Maoists have devised a smart way of concealing crude bombs in animal excreta to deceive sniffer dogs of the security teams from detecting and alerting their masters. There were occasions in the first quarter of 2017, when sniffer dogs of security forces were killed or injured as pressure improvised explosive devices (IEDs) exploded while the canines were getting agitated because of the obnoxious smell (of the excreta) while trying to detect the hidden IEDs, the report accessed by PTI said. Two CRPF dogs, known as the Osama hunters, were killed last year due to Naxal planted The girl s father had moved the apex court earlier, apprehending threat to the family, a friend and their lawyer Deepika Singh Rajawat. A separate plea was also filed by two accused seeking that the trial in the case be held in Jammu and the probe handed over to the CBI. The State police s Crime Branch, which probed the case, filed the main charge sheet against seven persons and a separate charge sheet against a juvenile in a court in Kathua district last week. The charge sheet revealed chilling details about how the girl was allegedly kidnapped, drugged and raped inside a place of worship before being killed. ow many times have you Hdoubted the quality of the ice used in food and juices or say ice golas being sold in the open market? From June 1, however, you will be able to distinguish edible ice from nonedible ice as the latter will have a blue tinge. Taking cue from Maharashtra, the country s top food regulator, Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed the food controllers across the States to ensure that manufacturers use blue colour in manufacturing industrial ice to differentiate it from edible ice which remain colourless. A month ago, Maharashtra Government, taking into consideration that 70 per cent of the edible ice used by the food vendors in the State was found to be contaminated, directed the businesses involved in the manufacturing n FIR has been filed Aagainst a former Samajwadi Party (SP) member of parliament on charges of filing frivolous complaints and RTI applications to allegedly malign and harass officials of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC). Ajay Kumar Ahluwalia, Assistant Director, KVIC had lodged an FIR against the former MP with the Connaught Place Police Station. Ahluwalia alleged that Singh asked for 25 lakh for withdrawal of his complaints. Ahluwalia has also charged Singh for defamation. The complaint alleged that the former MP has filed around 30 complaints with the Prime Minister s Office (PMO) and 15 RTI applications against KVIC and its officials seeking baseless information like the cost of construction of Khadi Plazas at New Delhi and Mumbai. The police said that a case of extortion and defamation had been lodged against the former SP MP. We are investigating the of industrial ice to use blue colour to differentiate it from the edible ice. Now, the FSSAI has decided to replicate the order pan India, a senior official from the Authority said. Prone to harmful bugs like E-Coli, contaminated ice can leave one sick. E-coli can cause problems in lungs and intestines and some people can contract pneumonia as well, said the official. The use of non-edible ice which is made from nonpotable water for edible purpose is a health hazards. Similarly, incorrect use of nonedible ice for preservation/storage or transportation of food commodities may lead to contamination of such food commodities. It has been observed that in the absence of any visible distinguish between the edible and non edible ice, the latter is being diverted for the edible purpose, said the FSSAI circular issued two days ago. With a view to check the use of non-edible ice as edible ice, it has been decided that food colour (indigo Carmine or brilliant blue upto 10 ppms must be used in production of non-edible ice and non-edible ice blocks coming in contact with food products during preservation and transportation of perishable food items to give it a bluish look so as to enable clear difference between the two, it added. State food collectors have case on various points, ACP (Connaught Place) Dhirendra Pratap Singh said. The complaint has been filed after seeking proper legal opinion from the higher authorities as case against the MP pertains to serious charges like that of extortion, sources said. The rampant complaints started giving mental trauma to the KVIC authorities, who are always overworked. Not only that, when the harassed KVIC officials approached him to reason out his grudge against Khadi, he demanded 25 lakh for withdrawal of the complaints and RTI query. In one of his RTI he questioned the tendering process of the proposed KVIC staff quarters and threatened to frame CEO of KVIC if he could not meet satisfactory response to questions, the complaint said. Yashvir has several criminal cases against him including one at Muradabad under rioting (IPC Section-147), voluntarily causing hurt (IPC Section-323) and of intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace. He is also an accused of kidnapping 18 Zila Parishad members at gunpoint from Shiva Resort of Rishikesh in Uttarakhand in 2013, in which he also remained behind the bars for several months as a prime accused of the case. IEDs in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, prompting the force to order an inquiry into these unusual incidents. The force believe that the IED that killed the dogs was concealed in animal excreta. The IEDs in the LWE theatre have emerged as the biggest killers over the past many years as they have maimed and killed hundreds of security forces personnel in various States. One of the newest technique witnessed in this domain, the report said, is the use of an innovative explosive material called rambo arrow by CPI (Maoist) cadres. The arrow head carries low grade gun powder or fire cracker powder which explodes after hitting the target. The rambo arrow doesn t cause much damage but disorients the security personnel by generating intense heat and fog, thereby making it easy for the Maoists to inflict fatal battle injuries on the troops and helps them to loot their weapons, the analysis of the new IED trends said. The report said the Maoists are increasingly using this technique instead of high grade explosives or IEDs as such a blast renders the weapons of the security personnel useless as they get badly damaged. This tactic was prominently witnessed on April 24 last year, it said, when Naxals carried out a deadly attack in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh that killed 25 CRPF men and their weapons were looted. Besides the rambo arrow, the report said the Naxals have also developed improvised mortars and rockets. In the rockets, a conical nose filled with explosives is welded into the tail-section which is filled with low-explosive propellant fuel and the funnel shaped nozzle on the tail produces thrust and fins loosely screwed to the tail provide stability to the rockets in flight..., it said. Once the rocket strikes, an explosion takes place and creates a boom impact, the report said, describing the newly acquired weapons. An another category of such projectiles are incendiary been asked to ensure that the order is enforced from June 1. Industrial ice is used for preservation of dead bodies, and in medicines and cement factories, amongst others. As per the regulations, edible ice is considered as food under the Act However, it has come to the notice that both the edible as well as non-edible ice are made from the same water, which sometimes is contaminated and harmful for human health, the official added. and exploding projectiles that are now being used by the Naxals to launch attacks on the security forces camps. Maoists have recently adopted very lethal and contrived patterns to attack the camps of the security forces by the use of improvised rockets which has certainly increased the depth of their artillery, the report shared with central paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies deployed in the LWE grid said. Such weapons have been used to attack the forces camps in Chhattisgarh s Narayanpur, Bijapur and Kondagaon districts between May 2015 and February While the rockets blasts emitting fatal injury inflicting iron rings, the incendiary variant burns tents and other items in the camp by using a combination of sulphuric acid and sugar chlorate. Improvised mortar shells and arrow heads have been used on the troops in recent ambushes to increase the impact of their penetration with an element of creating panic amongst the troops. Although these projectiles or bombs had not caused any major casualties but it proves that their (Naxal s) armoury strength has been getting better day by day and they have started to develop their own arsenal factories for the production of projectiles, improvised mortar shells and rockets among others, the report said. The report added that it was a matter of great concern that the Maoists have started using arrow bombs in the ambushes as these types of indigenous and fatal projectiles are not easy to counter and would increase the ferocity of ambush. On inspecting few of the unexploded arrows, it has been found that Maoists have used low explosive and aluminium powder in the arrows which on hitting in the proximity of the living being can cause grievous hurt and could also lead to casualty, if hit on vital parts. The report concludes that these new trends show that the Naxals have had an advancement of their technical expertise in the field of switches, mechanism for IEDs and projectiles. And, this is just a tip of the kicked off from Sunday at the practical aspect, interactive iceberg. Rough estimates show AIIMS here. learning and the problems ather than simply making that over 1,20,000 knee replacement procedures, and about the workshop is that experts According to doctors, revi- One of the main features of faced by surgeons, he said. Ra decision on whether to have a hip or knee replacement, people also must decide where to have it done. For, to make quick buck, many surgeons with limited skill-set and infrastructure support have started 70,000 hip procedures, take place every year in India. Dr CS Yadav, Professor, Department of Orthopedics, AIIMS, Delhi said that the knee and hip joint replacement will use cadaver (dead bodies) to teach the technicalities of total hip and knee joint replacement. Eminent international and national faculty including Biju Peter and Prakash sion surgery is more complicated than the initial operation as it involves the removal of the old prosthesis and insertion of a new one. Also, since tissues grow around the old conducting joint replacements surgeries have to be done Chandran (UK), El Sayad Morsi knee replacement prosthesis, at the cost of patients health. appropriately and are very precise procedure to bring mobil- Rian Wilfred Smit will share challenge. and Ibrahim Gado(Egypt) and extracting it safely becomes a Data speaks for themselves. Of around 1,500 knee and hip ity to the patient. their expertise to the students According to a report, over transplant surgeries conducted But as many doctors are at the workshop on Monday. three crore arthritic patients in annually at the country s premier hospital, All India their patients are coming to us more difficult to correct the replacement surgery. More not very expert in the field, Dr Yadav said that as it is India are in need of knee Institute of Medical Sciences with complaints of dislocation, infection, stiffness and that best tricks and techniques needing knee and hip replace- revision cases, it is important than half of the patients (AIIMS), Delhi, at least 25 per cent are revision surgeries of lack of mobility post surgeries. are shared to the budding ments are women, particularly the patients who had undergone procedures at private facilities. In revision surgery or second surgery existing implant So there is a need to train young and experienced arthroplasty surgeons to carry out correct knee and hip replacement To enhance the skill of the arthroplasty surgeons, a two-day 10th AIIMS Cadever arthroplasty surgeon to cut down the number of revision surgeries. During this cadaver arthroplasty course- 2018, housewife or those living a sedentary lifestyle. Regular exercise and balanced food diet is the key to avoid the need is replaced with another one. surgeries. Arthroplasty course was we will also emphasise on for hip and joint replacement.

6 rime Minister Narendra PModi continued his tirade against the ruling Congress Government and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. On Sunday addressing four election rallies at Chitradurga, Raichur, Jamkandi and Hubballi in central and north Karnataka, Modi a star campaigner for the saffron party attacked the Congress for practising vote-bank and divisive politics. At Chitradurga he said The Congress does not care about Dil or Dalits. They only care about deals. If they cannot do welfare, then they should be bid farewell. He said after elections the Congress will be decimated and the BJP will form the Government. He alleged that the Congress Government was only interested in celebrating Tipu Jayanti and said they have insulted the people of the State. They do not know, whom they should remember and celebrate. Sadly, the Congress forgot brave women and men of our history. Just because of vote-bank politics, they are celebrating Jayantis of Sultans. The Congress has insulted the people of Chitradurga. The Congress is uncomfortable and is misleading the name of Dalit community because today the highest offices of the land are occupied by people from poor and humble backgrounds. The longer they stay, the longer they will loot. The Prime Minister said his Government at the Centre has the interest of the SC/ST community at heart and that they have worked to strengthen the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he added. In another rally addressing a massive rally at Raichur Modi said the Congress protects corrupt people, makes several false promises, and has divided Karnataka. The BJP is committed to development while the Congress is opposed to it at every step. The Congress protects the corrupt, Modi claimed. The Congress only makes false promises and never fulfilled any when they were in power. He called upon the people to throw the Congress out for its misdeeds. The crimes ormer Karnataka Chief FMinister BS Yeddyurappa stirred a row on Saturday while giving instruction to his partymen on how to get people not supporting the BJP to vote in favour of the party candidate. Yeddyurappa said: Yaru matadararu namage mata kodolla nimage annisutto, avara kai kalu katti Mahantesh Doddagoudar avaranta olle vykatiyanne gello haage maadi. It literally translates as, Tie the hands of those who you think will not vote for the BJP and ensure a gentleman against women are always in news. With vicious mindsets, some people assault our daughters, he said. The BJP is betting all its force to capture power in Karnataka which is seen as preamble to 2019 elections. The insiders in the party say that if they win in Karnataka it would be smooth ride in ensuing Assembly polls in many States. May 12 polls are crucial for the BJP and the Congress which establish supremacy in the dance of democracy. Karnataka has 224-member House and the election fought with high voltage fervour by all the three parties which include the ruling Congress, BJP and the JD(S) which is expected to play a kingmaker role. Prime Minister ruled out hung assembly in the state and said BJP will form the government on its own. He also said there will not be truck with any party after the polls. There are many people who are sitting in AC rooms and saying there will be a hung assembly. I want to tell themcome here to Raichur and see the mood on the ground. He also attacked dynasty politics and blamed Nehru for wrong economic policies. He said How can we forget that Congress party put an end the politics of the proud son & architect of modern Karnataka, Nijalingappa Ji because he questioned the wrong policies of Nehru. At Hubballi he accused Congress being involved in like Mahantesh wins. But colloquially, it means workers should fall at the feet of voters if need be and get Mahantesh elected. However, the remarks set off a row as the literal translation did the rounds. He was speaking at a public rally at MK Hubli village in Kittur Assembly constituency where the party has fielded Mahantesh Dodagoudar. The former CM said he won t wait for dance of money. He also assured them developing seven cities including Hubballi and Dharwad. Meanwhile BJP Chief Amit Shah hit out at the Congress party for celebrating Tipu Sultan's Jayanti and said that Congress and Pakistan think alike. "Both are chanting the name of Tipu Sultan." "The Congress and Pakistan have amazing telepathy. Yesterday, Pakistan government remembered Tipu Sultan, whose jayanti (birth anniversary) the Congress marks with fanfare and today Mani Shankar Aiyar admires Jinnah. Be it Gujarat or Karnataka polls, I fail to understand why Congress involves Pakistan," he claimed. In another development in the poll bound state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lashed out at Prime Minister for stooping so low in his discourse in election rallies. Participating in a meet the press programme organized by the Bengaluru Press Club and Bengalur Reporters guild he slammed Modi for making "personal attacks" and speaking at a "low level". He also expressed confidence that his party will form the government and said there is no anti incumbency against his government as people are happy with the programmes his government has given. He said "We expected a dignified language from him (Modi). But what he spoke was the BJP's language and not the one of a civilised person. He spoke at a very low level this is not the language of the Prime Minister." rahmos, the world s fastest Bsupersonic cruise missile, will be achieving 75 per cent localisation in the next six months from the current 65 per cent domestic components that goes into its production, a top BrahMos Aerospace official has said. As of on Sunday 65 per cent of the value (in BrahMos) is created in India. We started with a very low per cent indiginsation and today we have reached 65 per cent. In another six months, we would be close to 75 per cent, BrahMos Aerospace managing director and CEO Sudhir Mishra said at the handing over ceremony of the prototype Quad launcher manufactured by L&T Defence, the defence arm of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) here over the weekend. Last March, we flighttested the indigenously made seeker, and booster also would be shortly tested in about two months. We would be reaching to a localisation of about 85 per cent in this," he said. The Quad launcher is designed for supersonic cruise missiles in an inclined configuration on-board our navy ships. The launcher provides superior firepower as compared to the twin cannister, deck mounted launchers and has the capability to support and launch four missiles in a single or salvo mode. The new Quad launcher is suitable for warships which have space constraints to accommodate a vertical launch module. "With this smart launcher, eight missiles (four on the right and four on the left side of the ship) can be launched simultaneously. Though we are yet to get the order from the navy we have started work. We have invested in technology, knowledge and future business. We are just waiting for the order," Mishra said. He said the Quad launcher can go not only to INS Delhi class of ships but to any ship in the world where it can position the quads launcher with a bit of tweaking in the mechanism. "With some tweaking here and there, tomorrow when we export BrahMos, which we wish happens soon, we would be integrating the launcher on foreign vessels also," he added. "We have been associated with the development of BrahMos programme since 2000, when as part of the the Centre s help to waive off farm loans availed from nationalised banks like CM Siddaramaiah. Besides, loans of nationalised banks, I ll directly waive off loans up to Rs 1 lakh availed from cooperative societies on the lines of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh from the treasury of Karnataka," he said. Taking a dig at Congress, Yeddyurappa said it has divided the state into three factions of Siddaramaiah, G Parameshwara and Mallikarjun Kharge. He dared Congress to bring them all on a single dais if possible. He also said Congress is a sinking ship. BJP state vice-president KP Nanjundi, MP Suresh Angadi and MLA Umesh Katti were present. composite team led by the DRDO, we engaged with Russia and embarked on this vast project. As proven partners of all variants of naval missile launchers for BrahMos, we took up the design of the unique Quad Launcher and released the prototype in 18 months. The Launcher underwent rigorous testing prior to receiving of production clearance. L&T will now take up the bulk production of the Quad Launchers," Jayant Patil, whole-time director (Defence) and member of L&T Board said. As a leading industry partner of BrahMos Aerospace, L&T has been closely involved in the design, development and production of the launchers and fire control systems for s Prime Minister Narendra AModi continues to hurl barbs such as seedha rupaiah sarkar to target him, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday lashed out at him for making personal attacks and speaking at a low level. The Prime Minister was using a language that did not befit the office he held, the Congress leader said, taking exception to Modi calling his dispensation a 10 per cent Government and seedha rupaiah sarkar while attacking him over alleged corruption. Siddaramaiah also mocked the Karnataka BJP, saying it solely depended on the Prime Minister as regards the May 12 State Assembly polls as it had no leader with a face value. "We expected a dignified language from him (Modi). But what he spoke was the BJP's language and not the one of a civilised person. He spoke at a very low level this is not the language of the Prime Minister," he told reporters here. The Chief Minister said it was expected that Modi would speak about the BJP-led central government's achievements and criticise the Congress government in Karnataka. Maintaining that he neither made personal comments nor used unparliamentary words, Siddaramiah said, "When he (Modi) spoke in an uncivilised manner, initially I thought I would not react. But I was forced to attack him because otherwise, the people would have perceived it as the truth." At all his election rallies in poll-bound Karnataka, Modi has made a scathing attack on the Siddaramaiah regime, saying it was a "gold medallist" in corruption and calling it a "seedha rupaiah government" (corrupt), a punning allusion to the chief minister's name. Referring to Modi calling his dispensation a "10 per cent government," Siddaramaiah wanted to know if the prime minister had any evidence to back his charge. "He has all the central agencies. If he has any evidence, he should make it public... Modi is demonstrating his triviality by making personal attacks," he said. Accusing Modi of not honouring any of his promises in the last four years, Siddaramaiah said, "He has totally failed. He is lying to hide his failure." Hitting out at the Karnataka BJP, he said it was entirely dependent on Modi for the upcoming state Assembly polls. "The BJP is entirely dependent on Modi in this election. They don't have people with a face value, be it Yeddyurappa, Eshwarappa, Ananth Kumar, Ananthkumar Hegde or Jagadish Shettar. A BJP MLA has told me that they are dependent on Modi," the chief minister claimed. Referring to Modi's charge that then Congress chief Sonia Sitapur to take stock of the situation and send report immediately. Officials of the Indian Wildlife Welfare Board have also been asked to chip in with their suggestions. The day this statement was issued another child Aman, 11, a resident of Firozpur in Sitapur district was attacked by the stray dogs when he had gone to answer nature s call. He is admitted to district hospital in serious condition. naval platforms as well as development and production of key aero-structural sections of the formidable BrahMos Weapon System. Get latest news & live updates on the go on your pc with News App. Download Gandhi had objected to a solution to the Mahadayi inter-state river water issue involving Goa and Karnataka, Siddaramaiah said she was not the prime minister then. Modi was deliberately misleading the people and lying to hide his failures in the last four years, he said, adding that the people would not buy it. Attacking the prime minister over his "sabka sath, sabka vikas" slogan, Siddaramaiah pointed out that the BJP had not fielded a single Christian or Muslim candidate in the Karnataka polls. Stating that the Karnataka election would be a three-cornered contest between the Congress, BJP and JD(S), he accused the saffron party of "experimenting communalism" in the coastal region of the southern State. The CM in his directive said that different departments like police, forest, animal husbandry, Nagar Palika and Nagar panchayat should work together and start patrolling of the identified region. Help of local villagers should also be taken. The vigil should increase in villages particularly in the day time, the CM said. He also asked the Basic Education Department to ensure safety of the children. Similarly, private schools should also ensure safety of children. The menace of stray animals is widespread in Khairabad region of the district. As per the Government claim, 12 childern have died between November and May but local say this number is much more. ith another child attacked by stray dogs Win Sitapur on Sunday grievously injuring him, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed district officials to take preventive steps immediately and even suggested that different departments should work together to protect children from this menace. This is unfortunate that children are being mauled by stray dogs. This is the responsibility of the district officials to prevent such attacks and the officials should take preventive steps immediately, Yogi said in a terse statement issued here on Sunday. The CM also asked senior officials to send a team from Lucknow and Bareilly to Siddaramaiah The Times of India news app for your device. Read more India news in English and other languages.

7 he non-aiadmk and non- TBJP political outfits in Tamil Nadu who have been demonstrating against the Centre for not constituting the Cauvery Management Board as per the directive of the Supreme Court is doing it only for their survival and none of them is really interested in getting the board constituted, say leaders of the BJP and the AIADMK. All political parties barring the BJP and the ruling AIADMK are distorting the facts associated with the Cauvery Management Board issue. I am sorry that the mainstream media in Tamil Nadu too has fallen prey to the campaign by these parties to discredit the BJP, said BJP senior spokesman Tiruppati Narayanan. He pointed out that though the Karnataka and Kerala Governments led by the Congress and the CPI(M) respectively opposed the constitution of the CMB, the political parties in Tamil Nadu have not reacted to it. The ssam Chief Minister ASarbananda Sonowal has ordered an inquiry after death of a police officer during an encounter with the anti-talk faction of Ulfa militants in Assam recently has raised doubts about the quality of bullet proof vests used by Assam police. We are looking into the allegations of poor quality bullet proof vests used by Assam police. I have already asked Additional Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna to investigate the matter, Sonowal said today on the sidelines of a programme. It may be mentioned here that the allegation about quality of the bullet proof vests poured in after Officer in charge of Bordumsa police station in Tinsukia district, Bhaskar Kalita fell to the bullets of anti-talk faction of Ulfa militants on Friday evening. Kalita was wearing the bullet proof vests but was hit on his chest and abdomen leading to his death. The Chief Minister also asked the police to intensify the operations against the militants. We have to check the records and find out the truths. It is learnt that the lot of bullet proof vests used by Kalita was procured during The Chief Minister had already ordered a probe into the whole issue and things will be cleared once the inquiry report is submitted, said Saikia adding that the police have already intensified operations along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border following the incident. Meanwhile, the Ulfa faction had expressed their regrets for killing the young officer and said that Kalita was killed when the Ulfa boys fired in self defence. Karnataka Chief Secretary had told a meeting convened by the Union Water Resources Ministry Secretary on March 9 that his State was against the CMB. Similarly, the Kerala Government has made it known that they were against the formation of the technical cell of experts. Both Karnataka and Kerala are stakeholders in the Cauvery issue, said Narayanan. Narayanan also said that Thol Thirumavalan, leader of the VCK, a Dalit extremist outfit, had held discussions with Congress president Rahul Gandhi recently. But that discussion was for forging an alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha election and the leaders did not discuss the Cauvery issue. It was on April 22, the Karnataka Chief Minister wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him not to constitute the CMB. Thirumavalavan is concerned about the next election and not about Cauery, said Narayanan. Maruthu Alaguraj, chief editor, Namathu Puratchi Thalaivi Amma, mouthpiece of the AIADMK, said that the opposition parties in Tamil Nadu stand out for their double standard. The DMK is always charging that the AIADMK is in an alliance with the BJP. But M K Stalin, the de facto chief of the DMK forgets the fact that Prime Minister Modi called on Karunanidhi at his Goplapuram residence while he did not visit our Amma (Jayalalithaa) even once during her 76 days of hospitalisation in 2016, said Alaguraj. Thirumavalaan while speaking to reporters in Chennai told that his calling on Rahul Gandhi at New Delhi was to assure the young scion of the Congress party that the VCK would stand by a Congress-led front to defeat thebjp in the 2019 Lok sabha election. However, BJP leaders have played down the import of f the BJP is going all out to Manjhi and Choudhary leaving Iwoo dalit voters in Uttar their alliance, saying that they Pradesh to trump a likely alliance of rival parties, it is facing an aggressive RJD bid in Bihar to woo key scheduled castes leaders to corner the saffron party-led NDA in the Lok Sabha elections next year. have limited appeal. A NDA leader, who did not wish to be named, claimed that a big majority of dalits will support their alliance as Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar enjoys the backing of most Former Bihar Chief marginalised castes among dalits Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who snapped his party's alliance with the BJP in February this year to join the RJD-led alliance, told PTI that NDA Governments in the Centre and Bihar have been a disappointment for dalits for Bihar with the community in the State staring at a crisis. The only option for dalit leaders like him is to try out another alliance as the earlier one did not work, he said. Another scheduled castes leader and former Assembly led JD(U) earlier this week and announced his support to the Lalu Prasad-led RJD. Incidentally, Manjhi and Choudhary have been rival leaders and the former Bihar chief minister had defeated the latter in Imamganj Assembly seat in With both of them now Congress, RJD leaders have been quick to claim that the development highlights an "anti-bjp" mood among dalits. "Leaders follow the churning at the ground level. As of now I can say that 70 per cent of dalits in Bihar are with the RJD. The leaders coming to us have their ears to the ground," while Union Minister and their ally Ram Vilas Paswan is an undisputed leader of Paswans, the largest dalit caste. He also pointed out the recent joining of former Bihar Congress president Ashok Chaudhary, a dalit, in the JD(U) to claim that the ruling alliance retains its appeal in the community. Jha, however, dismissed the claim and took a dig at the BJP, saying dalit outreach for the saffron party was all about its leaders having food ordered speaker Uday Narayan together in the RJD-led RJD spokesperson and Rajya from outside with the community Choudhary left Nitish Kumar- alliance, which includes the Sabha MP Manoj Jha said. members. Though the VCK is in the forefront in the demonstrations against the BNP and the AIADMK over the Cauvery issue, the topic did not come for discussion during the meeting between Rahul Gandhi and Thirumaalavan, according to sources close to the VCK leader. Veteran scribe and commentator G Sathyamoorthy, a specialist in interstate river water disputes said both the DMK and the Congress were sincere in their approach to the Cauvery issue. The Congress leaders from Tamil Nadu which include P Chidambaram and Mani Shankar Ayer though vocal about their stance on Kashmir has not uttered a word in support of Tamil Nadu over the Cauvery issue. Similarly, the DMK which was wielding power in the State and the Centre during 2006 to 2014 did nothing to get the 2007court verdict implemented. The Congress and the DMK are the parties that always cheated Tamil Nadu. Now BJP is playing politics over the CMB because of Karnataka elections, said Sathyamoorthy. day after Bengal Police Aarrested BJP leader Mukul Roy s brother-in-law on graft charges, the ruling Trinamool Congress on Sunday mounted more pressure on the former Railway Minister by lodging a police complaint against him for breaking model code of conduct. In a police complaint lodged at Jalpaiguri Kotwali Police Station, the TMC has charged Roy with trying to bribe the voters ahead of the Panchayat elections. Roy during campaigns was telling the young voters that they would be gifted a smartphone each should the BJP win the Zilla Parishad elections in the district, the complaint said. The police was investigating the case, sources said. The Sunday s development came a day after Roy s brotherin-law Srijan Roy was arrested for extracting money from the complainants by promising Indian Railway jobs. The BJP leader however said his relative was arrested to stop me from cial announcement from either Piramal Realty is the second start-up that Anand of the families about the date of pening up the possibility their marriage, sources said founded after passing out of the Oof two marriages taking that Anand would enter into a Harward business school. place in business tycoon and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani s family later this year, his daughter Isha Ambani got engaged to Anand Piramal of the Piramal group over the weekend. In a development that came less than six weeks after Mukesh Ambani s elder son Akash had a pre-engagement ceremony with diamantaire wed-lock with Anand in December this year. In the case of Akash, the Ambani family has not so far made public the dates of either his engagement or wedding with Sholka Mehta. Sources said that the couple might get engaged in June and their wedding might take place in December this year either coinciding with that of or after Anand who is also the Executive Director of the Piramal Group had earlier launched Piramal Swasthya, a rural healthcare initiative that treats 40,000 patients a day. Anand served as the youngest president Youth Wing of the Indian Merchant Chamber. Isha, twin sister of Akash Ambani, is on the Boards of Russell Mehta's youngest the marriage of Isha and Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail daughter Shloka Mehta in Goa, Anand. and is credited widely with Anand son of corporate Anand, who holds a instilling a culture of youthful magnates Ajay Piramal and Bachelor s Degree in dynamism in the business. Swati Piramal proposed to his long-time friend Isha at a temple at the hill station of Mahabaleshwar in western get-together with their respective parents Nita, Mukesh Ambani, Swati and Ajay Piramal, Isha s grandparents, brother Anant, Anand s sister Nandini and other family members. Both the Ambani and Economics from University of Pennsylvania and a Masters in Business Administration degree from Harvard Business Isha holds a Bachelor s Degree in Psychology and South Asian Studies from Yale University. She will be completing Maharashtra. Kokilaben Ambani and Pirmal families have known School, is the founder of her Master in Business Family sources said that Isha and Anand celebrated the happy occasion at a luncheon Purnimaben Dalal. Also present on the occasion were Isha s twin brother Akash, younger each well for than four decades now. Though there was no offi- Piramal Realty, one of the country s leading real estate companies. Administration programme from the Graduate School of Business, Stanford by June. ligarh Muslim University Aon Sunday postponed all examinations amid the prevailing tension within the campus over the portrait of Mohammad Ali Jinnah. A university spokesperson said the examinations of the session will now commence from 12 May, with no further postponements. The decision was taken in a consultative meeting with University vice-chancellor Professor Tariq Mansoor, deans of various faculties and principals of all colleges. A 16-member coordination committee was also formed to look at the prevailing situation and to maintain peace. The Hindutva groups have continued to mount pressure on the university administration to remove the portrait of Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. GUJARAT WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE BOARD TENDER NOTICE NO: SK/RC/ 1 of Annual Rate Contract Gujarat Water supply & Sewerage Board invite E-Tender for (1) Supply of Various Categories of Three Phase Horizontal Mono Submersible Pump Sets on Annual Rate Contract. (Tender ID: ) (2) Supply of Various Categories of Three Phase Submersible Pump Sets on Annual Rate Contract.(Tender ID: ) (3) Supply of Various Categories of Single Phase Submersible Pump Sets on Annual Rate Contract. (Tender ID:308503) 4) Supply of Various Size of 3 Core Flat PVC Copper Cable for Submersible Pumps on Annual Rate Contract. (Tender D:308482) (5) Supply of ISI Markea 125mm, 175mm & 200mm Nominal Dia 'CM" & "CS" Type U.P.V.C Casing And Screen Pipes on Annual Rate Contract. (Tender ID:308473) (6) Supply of ISI Marked 50mm/65mm/80mm/100mm & 125mm dia heavy G.I.Column Pipes from Indian Manufacturer having valid IS License Only. (Tender ID:308487) Pre-bid meeting on Dtd. 14/ 05 / 2018 at Hrs. at GWSSB, Sector-10/A, Gandhinagar. Last Date of Online Submission of Tender: 01 / 06 / 2018 Bid Opening Date: 02 / 06 / 2018 at Hrs Contact Office : Executive Engineer, Public Health Mechanical Store Division, "A" Block, Patnagar Yojana Bhavan, 2nd Floor, Near GH-4, Sector-16, Gandhinagar , Gujarat State. Tel/fax. No. (079) , The detailed tender notice and tender documents are available on web site: and No/INF/VPN/2018/G-310 campaigning in the Panchayat elections. Curiously the police acted on Saturday though the complaint was lodged six years ago. A North 24 Parganas court sent Roy s relative to a 12-day police remand on Saturday. Reacting to the saffron leader s alleged breaking of model code of conduct, Bengal Minister Partho Chatterjee said the BJP wants nothing but power. In order to grab power they can stoop to any level. The alleged charges levelled against Mukul Roy, is a case in point. The matter was serious and should be probed, CPI(M) Assembly party leader Sujan Chakrabarty said. Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Rahul Sinha on Sunday brought serious charges against some Trinamool Congress Minister alleging they had issue death threats to the State Election Commissioner making him surrender to their wicked undemocratic designs to trample democracy in Bengal. I have information that some ministers approached the SEC and threatened him with murder. He was forced to take his decisions favouring the Trinamool Congress in the Panchayat elections, Sinha said demanding a secret statement from him in the court. We want him to give a secret statement in the court about the death threat he received from the Trinamool Partho Chatterjee Congress Ministers, that eventually made the Commission take some undemocratic decisions. In a State where the Election Commission is not safe no human being is safe, Sinha maintained. In a related development Panchayat poll violence continued unabated even as three persons died in clashes between the Trinamool Congress and the opposition parties. Two supporters of Congress and TMC each died in Malda while a Trinamool member died in Purulia when bombs were hurled at him, police said. All the deaths were poll related, sources said.

8 E ven his worst critics will give Prime Minister Narendra Modi at least two cheers for his recent diplomatic achievement in lifting the India-China relationship above the common bitterness prevalent till the other day to a higher, summit-level engagement that lays out a calibrated action plan to serve the set objective of normalising relations between the two Asian giants. This is statesmanship of the highest order. That the summit was deliberately kept informal was a part of statesmanship. The chances of success of this unprecedented initiative will depend on whether the two leaders have measured each other s intention explicit or otherwise correctly. Chinese President Xi Jinping understood that his guest is not a nambypamby idealist as was Jawaharlal Nehru when the then Chinese Premier, Zhou Enlai, descended on New Delhi suddenly in the early 1960s. At that moment, there was intense tension in the relationship between the two Asian neighbours. And the Indian leader was sadly under the miasma of China, convinced that it will not wage a war to grab more of Indian territory. President Xi, on the other hand, got a taste of the present Indian Prime Minister over Doklam. That Modi is not vulnerable to pressure when dealing with an adversary was what Doklam demonstrated. If necessary, he would have been ready for a tit-for-tat and he knew exactly how far his rival would go. Thus, Doklam was a tipping point in India-China relations, enabling both parties to measure each other correctly. India now has strong backing from US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Earlier, China s hegemonist plans in the South Sea as also elsewhere had driven South-East Asian nations to build economic and political relationship with the India-US-Japan-Australia linkage to counter Chinese pressure. After the Indian refusal to participate in Chinese sponsored One Belt One Road conference as a protest against China s policies and New Delhi's strategic/defence deals with US-Japan, it must have been clear to President Xi that he was dealing with a rival who will not yield to pressure tactics but is perfectly amenable to rational discussion. Indian critics of Modi, who bemoaned the absence of reference to Doklam in the Wuhan talks, should have remembered that the tipping point was not under discussion. The future course of action was. What Modi and Xi discussed will not be known at present. In fact, many Asian nations will be watching with concern and interest whether Beijing will pursue a hegemonic or a peaceful path in South and South-East Asia. India will be watching for moderation in China s policies in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries where India has deep interests. The decision of the two Governments to aid Afghanistan to withstand terrorist attacks and aid economic development is one such welcome outcome of the Wuhan summit. But it must be asked whether Beijing will be giving up on its policy of edging out India from Nepal; Modi has indicated that India is going to defend its interests in Nepal with all its might his telling Nepal s new Government that if it prefers China to India in financing its hydro-electric project, India will not buy the power generated by it. Many analysts would have noted a sudden turn round in President Xi's handling of North Korea, which has been making threats to destroy US and Japan with nucleartipped missiles and which provoked Trump to say that he has firepower enough to wipe out North Korea even before Kim Jong-un s first missile reaches its destination. Only China could tame Kim and Xi did so after the North Korean dictator was asked to rush to Beijing in a special train. Events since then have lowered significantly the 30-year tension between the Koreas, no doubt a welcome development in a world full of strife and faith-based wars. A declaration came on the part of Kim that he will discontinue nuclear tests Sir This refers to the editorial, Diplomacy on bended knee (May 4) by Deepak Sinha. The history of North-East s alienation and neglect is something of the past. The present Government is making sincere efforts to ensure development, better bonding and integration of the north-eastern States. While the Look-East policy is taking shape, a lot needs to be achieved. With regards to China, India is faced with Hobson s choice. The Armed Forces remains ill-equipped; infrastructure conditions are pathetic, and most projects are delayed due to red tapism. Arun Via web Sir This refers to the editorial, A time to talk (May 3). Can Indians really learn some basic etiquette rules? Take for example, can Indians really give up on there inherent characteristic of spitting paan here and there? How much have those etiquette lessons have any effect on the people? There is always going to be a section a large one at that which will pride itself in not obeying the rules. Even today, it is amazing to see how quickly people start making frenzied calls to merely say, I have reached (as if it is an announcement of national importance) as soon as the airline announces phones can be switched on! AP Via web to enable, perhaps, Trump to come to the peace zone between the two Koreas to meet with the North s Great Leader is a message from President Xi now that the ruling establishment in Beijing has confirmed him as President of China for life. The Chinese President would now project his new image of a peacemaker with the whole of his country behind him for the immediate future. He could not do so with India-China tension building up to a point of no-return and is therefore likely to want to do his best to de-escalate it. We can watch for the progress towards that in the coming months. It is Indian territory that the Chinese are occupying, his guest from India might have tried to put across to him. Which means it is in China s interest to demonstrate progress in negotiations on the border. We can wait and watch whether that will take place. Modi is just about a year from a General Election in India where most analysts give him another five-year term. So, the time to strike a deal and strengthen stability across the Asian continent is now for both President Xi and Prime Minister Modi. The problem remains with an unstable Pakistan where fundamentalist forces, its Army as also the civil administration are in a constant battle for power. Unfortunately, this criticality also coincides with the rise of international terrorism from Pakistani soil. Beijing has to assure international opinion that it is against terror yet it has to support Pakistan s terror chiefs like Hafiz Saeed because the civilian government in Islamabad cannot afford to try him despite the US Administration demanding it and withholding its annual two billion dollar aid to the Pakistan military. China has chosen a Janus-faced policy on Hafiz. On the one hand, it is supporting his freedom while on the other assuring everybody that it is against terror. Again, we will have to watch for any sign of a change in policy after the exchange of views between the Chinese and Indian leaders in Wuhan. Modi has to convince his people in an election year that the tango with Xi has been worth the while for peace and stability and to work towards making the 21st century an Asian century. Equally important for him is to take tangible steps to bridge the widening trade gap in China s favour, thanks to the cheap inflow Chinese goods which have flooded the Indian market and dealt a huge blow to small Indian enterprises. But it looks like Modi s China visit has started bearing some fruit. China has exempted import tariffs for 28 drugs, including all cancer drugs, from 1 May. According to the National Cancer Institute, the market for antineoplastic drugs used to fight tumours in China exceeds 120 billion Yuan (about 19.1 billion US Dollars). (The writer is a political commentator and a former BJP Rajya Sabha MP) Sir This refers to the mass boycott of the National Film Awards by winners as they learnt that the President would honour a select few. If the President cannot attend a function for more than an hour, except requiring his presence as the Constitutional authority, then the practice must be changed. Filmawards must be presented by the Vice President then. Else, speeches can be cut short so that the function finishes off within an hour with all awardees getting awards from the President, like it was done by former President APJ Abdul Kalam. Nevertheless, the boycotting of the function was not totally unjustified because invitation-cards clearly mentioned that the honour would be done by the President. However, they shouldn t have taken the extreme step of avoiding a function that involved the head of the nation. SC Agrawal Delhi Sir This refers to the article, Bracing to a man-made crisis (May 3) by Kota Sriraj. Over population, over use of water or wasting it will certainly lead to the demise of many Indian cities. Shortage of food will eventually bring about famine and desertification, deforestation and pollution. Who is looking forward to the future? J Rogers Via web

9 Since time immemorial, military uniforms are freighted with inviolable and complex symbolisms that are seldom understood in its entirety outside of the uniformed fraternity, first and foremost, because it is a unique cut-of-cloth that is earned and not bought. The gentleman/lady cadets who get the honour and privilege of partaking the solemn pipping ceremony understand the enormity of burden that their specific uniform affords on each of them for the rest of their lives. The distinguishing features of each of these uniforms are borne of the sacrifices, blood and soul-stirring valour that compose the various elements of the uniform. From the colour, lanyard, beret, badges and heckles, each carries a historical legacy, commitment and the spirit of all those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in upholding the sheen of the said uniform and by that extension, the nation. Besides, the functionality of distinguishing the classification of combatants in an orderly manner, it embeds the inviolable pride and emotional rationale on to the wearers to do some irrational acts of bravery and sacrifice in the line of duty. Befittingly, on retirement, one hangs the uniform and not discards, and certainly never sells the same, whatever be the commercial gratification. Within the Indian Armed Forces, the physical manifestation of naam, namak, nishan (reputation, fidelity, flag/standard), is the uniform. Little wonder, the Armoured Corps pride on calling themselves Black Berets, the Para-commandos on wearing their wings on the chest, or the Rajput Regiment, its fiery laal saafa! Today, emotions within the uniformed fraternity (including veterans) are fraught with uncertainty from the debilitating shortages of personnel, materials, welfare, facilities to a sadly transactional relationship with the society-at-large, which only wakes to the uniform as the last course of hope, when everything else fails. The language of military citations, going beyond the call of duty has gained an unfortunate expanse wherein, any natural disaster, policing/administrative failure, to even the failures of railway engineers, is seconded to the Indian Armed Forces. Yet, the parallel optics of the ingrained behavioural conduct that becomes part of an individual s DNA, once the uniform is adorned, is apathetically and unprecedentedly ignored with the reality of bravehearts protesting in a disciplined manner for over 1,000 days on the T he world politics and economy is changing. East Asia is becoming the hub of activity and along with the Indian subcontinent, Asia is becoming the epicentre. Both North and South Korea came together after seven decades. India tried to rub shoulders with China as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Wuhan and held at least six meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Nonetheless, US President Donald Trump fired salvos at India for stealing jobs and he does not mind South Korean and Chinese help to start a dialogue with North Korea. It is a complex world; it all happened in one day (April 28). The same day, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the US and told the Congress of the dangers of narrow nationalism being based on anger, isolation and fear. Would that make Trump more liberal? So, is it the enlargement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that China aims at or is the BRICS intended to be strengthened by Modi? Well, it is happening simultaneously despite India s cautious aversion to China s One Belt and Road initiative. China s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Chinese dragon and Indian elephant will no longer fight with each other, but dance. Modi said India and China can dream together. Despite the not-so-soft words by Trump against India on job snatching, his Defence Secretary Jim Mattis wanted the US to separate Russia from India even as the country planed sanctions against Kremlin. It is politics laced with economic juices all around. Everyone Xi, Trump, North Korea s Kim Jongun, South Korea s Moon Jae-in, Macron and Modi wants to have the maximum of the juices for the survival and sustained growth of each of their countries. More economies are emerging which includes Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Would Maldives and Nepal also now dance footpaths, asking only for what was promised, and later dismissed as jumla. This backdrop has made the institution wounded, affronted and hyper-sensitive to any perceived sense of trivilisation, liberty and casual-usurpation of its elements of izzat or dignity. Similarly, the Indian Navy is replete with sagas and traditions of sacrifice to uphold its own codes of seamanship the poignant citation of Captain MN Mulla MVC reads,.whilst the ship was sinking refused to save himself by giving his own life-saving gear to a sailor. Having directed as many of his men as possible to leave the ship, Capt Mulla went back to the bridge to see what further rescue operations could be performed. In doing so, Capt Mulla was last seen going down with his ship. Having zealously honoured, guarded and protected their words and elements, it is little wonder that the news that a Naval uniform worn by an actor (Akshay Kumar), which was to go under the hammer, militated against the sensibilities of the uniformed fraternity. The struggle to explain the sacrosanct nuances of the uniform were raw when an infuriated veteran lamented, Uniform is earned with your blood, toil and sweat which is placed on the mortal remains of a soldiers along with the tricolour. The other indecorous, inelegant and unwarranted tenor of mutual exchange aside, the flare-up was deeply symptomatic of the societal divide in understanding and empathy, between the Armed Forces and the civilian citizenry. For a soldier, a uniform is like a flag (of the unit, service or a nation) and there are laid down protocols and procedures to handle its disposal in consonance with the dignity, formality and emotions attached to it. There are written and unwritten rules governing the uniform and its potential misuse, even if it is for a good purpose. Irrespective of the nobility of the use and the accompanying intent (in this case, to raise funds for animal welfare), the sanctity of the uniform ought to trump all other passions, causes and considerations! The uniform simply stands for a lot more than any individual, cause, or even a military combatant, who too is subjected to the upheld constraints, restraints and privileges on the uniform. While the Indian Armed Forces also do their own bit for various civilian causes and to contribute towards the same for example, blood banks, medical camps among others, but not at the cost of their hallowed traditions, rules and regulations. Therefore, the well-meaning actor s plea that, I and my wife are doing some work with good intention for a good cause, does not hold ground. with the elephant and the dragon? There are too many cross-currents sweeping Asia. Wuhan, despite its official informality, points to a lot of preparation. The informal talks were preceded by the visits of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It concluded with high-level delegation meets. The Koreas coming together led to the truce being replaced with treaty, moderation of nuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and the possibility of the US-Korean summit. Does it exemplify that nuclear muscle flexing worked in favour of North Korea? Or was it all stage-managed to give the world a belief that nobody has bowed given concessions to anybody? Is it the gain of South Korea, the North or is it the masterstroke of the Trump Administration? Whatever, a new trade regime begins with all the three. It relieves China, where Kim had gone on a luxury train ride for talks, of a hotspot developing next door. Despite the trade war with Trump, Xi has won a battle. It ended the threat of sanctions against North Korea and that could Either a piece of clothing is a costume or it is a uniform and difference is not just semantics, and to use it inter-changeably could be construed as a deliberate affront, especially in the times that be. The actor s insistence on calling it an original Naval uniform I wore in Rustom is to tread on raw emotions. It is equally important for the uniformed fraternity to explain its concerns and sensitivities in a manner behooving the institutional conduct, which mandates certain dignity and respect in expression. The concept of OLQ s (officer-likeconduct) cannot be frittered away towards reckless bravado and intimidation. The challenge is for the twain of the reel-heroes to meet and understand the world of real-heroes, and their frustrations in the new-normal world of today. Ironically, much like the plot of the movie Rustom itself, honour and fidelity is worth life itself for the soldiers. No further grandstanding is required from either side, as it is not about the intent of the people involved in this fracas but of a larger issue of an institution that still proudly puts no commercial price to its honour, irrespective of the changed and disinterested world around. (The writer is a former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Puducherry, and a military veteran) have hit Chinese trading not only with the North Korea but also with EU. The EU was also in the background for easing of the Korean situation. Yes, the EU has significant gains to make by delving into East Asian economies. For India, it may be the beginning of the second Panchsheel that was started by Jawaharlal Nehru during the 2500th anniversary of Gautam Buddha on April 29, Modi gave five new positives soch (thought), sampark (contact), sahyog (cooperation), sankalp (determination) and sapne (dreams) just two days before the Budha jayanti and a day before signing of the Panchsheel, which has been relegated to history. Now, a new history is sought to be written. India and China have done well economically in recent years. Despite Chinese economy five times larger, India is trying to slowly catch up though its population is set to overtake China s shortly. The advantage, India says, is its young and energetic population. It hopes to become the beneficiary as this might outdo many economies. So, this might mean more imports of consumer goods from China, crash of prices in India and high Bollywood movie treatment in China. Despite the anti-china lobby, India is bound to see closer trade but also intends to increase its exports and close the trade gap. They want to work in the neighbourhood together including Afghanistan. In other areas like Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka too, will they vie together? In course of time, the region could become a Sino-India market. China s communist party s official People s Daily commented, There is reason to believe that this Wuhan meeting will increase mutual trust, manage and control disputes, deepen cooperation and lead to a new phase in China-India relations. How would that shape up will be known after the next meeting when Xi comes to India. But all the above developments is a sure pointer to an increasing role of Asia. The West, it would be futile to imagine, would give in so easily. The tussle between the EU and the US is also being seen. The US wants to have a big brotherly relation with China. The EU wants to continue a tie that can boost its economy with China s cooperation and also may help EU expanse to other East Asia regions. India too is eyeing beyond China and Korea to Mongolia for trade and strategic reasons. It is having arms deals with Russia. With China, it wants to increase Indian visibility in Afghanistan, where India is pouring liberal assistance. Each of the countries have yet to quantify tangible gains. There is free-wheeling to ensure none of them lose the future bus. India has one of the largest stakes. So does China. Dimension of the world market would definitely change. The UN and the World Bank would have to recalibrate their strategies. It does not mean the US or EU would collapse but there would be many rearrangements and the currency market may reflect in a different manner. There would be many expectations and many changes. The next few years may see a gradual opening up of new challenges, provided the new Panchsheel shapes up the way it is intended. A change in the world order is not unlikely. (The writer is a senior journalist)

10 ST officers have started Gsending scrutiny notices to companies whose tax payment did not match the final sales return, after revenue authorities detected underpayment of GST by about 34 per cent, a source said. Besides, companies whose final sales return GSTR-1 did not match GSTR-2A, which is a purchase return auto-generated by system from his seller s return, have also received scrutiny notices. As per an analysis done by the revenue department in March, 34 per cent of businesses paid 34,400 crore less tax between July-December while filing initial summary return (GSTR-3B). These 34 per cent of the businesses have paid 8.16 lakh crore to the exchequer by filing GSTR-3B, whereas analysis of their GSTR-1 data show that their tax liability should have been 8.50 lakh crore. In one notice issued by Gujarat GST commissionerate on May 4, taxpayers have been asked to explain the reason for discrepancies in return GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 for October-December period by May 14. If no explanation is received by the aforesaid date, it will be presumed that you have nothing to say in the matter and proceedings in accordance with law may be initiated against you without making any further reference to you in this regard, the notice said. Tax experts said that GST law provides for 30 days time to be given to taxpayers for replying to scrutiny notices, however, in the said case only 10 days time has been granted. AMRG & Associates Partner Rajat Mohan said: The government should issue strict guidelines for the officers to be reasonable and rational in disposing off the notice after giving the full opportunity of being heard to the tax payers. In one of such notice tax officer has given 10 days (out of which four days weekly off) against a maximum 30 day period allowed in rules. EY Partner Abhishek Jain said that the activity of data analytics at the end of revenue authorities has commenced with various players receiving notices, seeking clarifications on differences between GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B as well as GSTR- 2A and GSTR-3B. While the reconciliation between GSTR-1 and 3B is to essentially verify payment of taxes for all outward supplies made, reconciliation between GSTR-2A and GSTR-3B is to ensure that credits claimed by businesses only pertain to taxes actually paid by the suppliers and there not being any loss to the government exchequer on this account, Jain said. he labour ministry is like- to notify this week the 5- Tly year low 8.55 per cent interest on PF for , paving the way for retirement fund body EPFO to credit returns into the accounts of around 5 crore subscribers. The finance ministry has ratified 8.55 per cent rate of interest on EPF for last fiscal. The labour ministry has sought Election Commission s approval to notify rate of interest for crediting the same into members accounts by the EPFO in view of model code of conduct for Karnataka elections, a source said. The nod is expected anytime this week to provide 8.55 per cent rate of interest to the EPFO subscribers, the source said. The recommendation on the rate of interest by the Central Board of Trustees, the apex decision making body of Employees Provident Fund Organisation(EPFO), is sent to the finance ministry for its concurrence. Once ratified, the labour ministry notifies the rate of interest and the EPFO credits the return for the particular year into its members account. The CBT, headed by the labour minister, had decided to fix 8.55 per cent rate of interest for last fiscal in its meeting held on February 21, It could not be implemented for the want of finance ministry s concurrence and was further delayed due to the model code of conduct for Karnataka elections on May 12. EPFO had provided 8.65 per cent interest for The members got 8.8 per cent in and 8.75 per cent each in and In , EPFO had provided 8.5 per cent rate of interest on EPF. he country needs to relax Tlabour laws and enhance incentives in order to become the preferred sourcing destination in textiles sector, a report submitted to the government said. The study, commissioned by the textiles ministry and conducted by the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, suggested strengthening the ecosystem for textile exports, integrating fragmented textile value chain and investing in skill upgradation as measures needed to boost India s sourcing potential. Outdated labour laws within the textile sector hampers India from becoming labour competitive. India is not perceived to be a low cost labour destination, the report said. The incentives offered in India are far below that offered in China, thereby making Indian products lose out on being price competitive in the global markets, it further suggested. The report also called for innovation in terms of new products, new business models and collaborations; digitisation of entire supply chain from product development to delivery and ensuring compliances related to quality and legal issues, so that India is recognised for producing world class products. IIFT also believes that key to success is encouraging product as well as market diversification for varied textiles & apparel products and clear positioning of Indian Textiles in International Markets, it said. According to the study, the poor state of roads and connectivity around weaver hubs have led to reduced number of personal visits by buyers, leading to greater dependence on buying agents. Moreover, it said, the high import cost of latest machines deter many small manufacturers from upgrading to the latest technology, thereby contributing to compromises on quality. India levies a total tax burden to the tune of 23.5 per cent, which includes basic duty, CVD (countervailing duty) and special CVD on the imports of machines in addition to landing charges and additional cess, the study noted. On the other hand, governments in China, Vietnam and Bangladesh promote the investments in modern technology by either government investing themselves or by levying duty of around 1-2 per cent, while in Vietnam it is zero per cent, said the report. Besides, it observed that India s carpet sector faces a growing threat of depletion of skills and forward dissemination of knowledge to the next generation. Low per day wage rate despite the hard work of hand weaving is making this sector financially unviable to the younger generation, said the report, suggesting to ensure adequate wages by increasing the designer-weaver-buyer connect. It also suggested setting up vocational courses in carpet weaving so that the craft and skill of Indian handmade carpets is kept intact. The report also flagged the key issue of poor knowledge about international quality compliances. Regular training and skilling about quality issues related to dyes, colours, etc.., must be imparted so that even the most remote weaver or designer is trained with the mindset of being quality conscious for the products developed locally and globally, the report suggested. The government has collected over 7.41 lakh crore as GST in last fiscal. However, there were concerns that due to absence of anti-evasion measures there might have been leakages in tax revenue. The GST Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, had in its meeting in March decided to further analyse data gaps between self declared liability in GSTR-1 and the taxes actually paid while filing GSTR-3B. The revenue department has analysed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns data filed by over lakh businesses during July-December, The indirect tax reform GST was rolled out from July 1, The data analysis showed only 16 per cent of the summary sales returns under GST matched with the final returns till December It also showed that there was excess tax payment of 91,072 crore by per cent of businesses registered under GST between July-December. While they have paid 6.50 lakh crore as GST, the GSTR-1 filed by them shows that their liability should have been 5.59 lakh crore. ig wilful defaulters owed B 15, crore in loans to Punjab National Bank at the end of March this year. The data from the bank relates to those wilful defaulters who have taken loans of 25 lakh and above but did not repay despite the ability to do so. The liability on such defaulters rose by 1.8 per cent from 14, crore in February. The public sector lender has been putting out the names of wilful defaulters and firms since June Within ten months, these defaults have grown by 28 per cent, from 11, crore. The major wilful defaulters include chemical manufacturer Kudos Chemie Ltd 1, crore; Kingfisher Airlines crore; VMC Systems Ltd crore; Arvind Remedies crore and Indu Projects Ltd crore. raders body CAIT on TSunday demanded scrutiny of the proposed USD 12-billion Flipkart-Walmart deal, claiming that it will promote loss funding and predatory pricing in e-commerce sector. It is really unfortunate that in spite of having a clear FDI policy, foreign companies are finding an escape route, whether it is in retail or e-commerce, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said in a statement. The traders body took a strong objection to the Walmart-Flipkart deal and demanded the government to form a regulatory authority for e-commerce and till the authority is formed, no such deal should be allowed. The comments assume significance as global retail giant Walmart is inching closer to sealing the deal to buy a majority stake in Flipkart for as much as USD 12 billion, even though rival Amazon is still jostling to turn the deal in its favour. The Flipkart buy may be one of the largest deals in the retail sector and by far, the biggest in the country s booming e-commerce market. erman luxury carmaker GMercedes-Benz can drive in a fully electric vehicle to India as early as next year depending on a favourable taxation structure for such vehicles in the country, a top company official said. Globally, the company is developing a range of electric vehicles and expects that by 2022, around per cent of its total sales worldwide would come from electric vehicles (EVs). We believe in electric vehicles. Globally, we are putting in resources to develop EVs. By , we are going to have completely new such models. We strongly believe that per cent of our volume by 2022 might be EVs. We are gearing up in that direction globally. In India, it all depends again on taxation, Mercedes-Benz India MD and CEO Roland Folger told PTI. He added that currently there is no inherent interest to switch to EV segment among buyers in the country and that to make the segment attractive there is a need to have such vehicles on the ground. By 2019, we can bring in our first electric vehicle (In India) and with attractive range...but there are lots of things in India which we need to clarify..., Folger said. When asked about specific things that the company would look at before bringing in the EV, Folger said: We would need a solution which lets us bring in the CBU vehicles..you need to start small and then grow organically. You cannot do that if the only benefits available currently would go into locally manufactured vehicles, he added. He said that the fully imported completely built units (CBU) of EVs should be treated at par in terms of taxation with locally manufactured vehicles supporting green technology. When we reach a certain volume, say 600 units on CBU basis, then we can turn it into local manufacturing as well, Folger added. He said that currently launching an EV does not make sense as even a mid-sized EV would be as expensive as a S-Class sedan. Under the current GST regime, EVs attract a tax of 12 per cent. Imported cars on the other hand attract custom duty of 60 per cent and 100 per cent depending upon the price and size of the engine. In the Budget for , the government has also increased customs duty on CKD (completely knocked down) imports of motor vehicles, motor cars, motor cycles from 10 per cent to 15 per cent. Further, duty on CBU (completely built units) imports of motor vehicles (trucks and buses) was hiked from 20 per cent to 25 per cent. he board of ICICI Bank, Twhich will meet on Monday for approving the annual earnings of , may see some discussion on the allegations of conflict of interest against the lender s CEO Chanda Kochhar, sources said. There are series of allegations of impropriety in ICICI Bank extending loans to some companies and enjoying reciprocal benefits. It is alleged that family members Kochhar, including her husband Deepak Kochhar, got financial favours from the borrowers against the loans sanctioned by the bank. The issue is being investigated by multiple agencies including CBI, Income Tax Department. Amid controversy of alleged conflict of interest involving ICICI Bank and its CEO, former Sebi chief M Damodaran has said one option is for her to step down for a period of three or four months till the investigation is completed. Although the board meeting agenda is limited to financial results, some board members may raise the issue of corporate governance, sources said, adding that it is up to the chairman M K Sharma to allow deviation from the scheduled agenda. The board has seven independent directors including chairman and government nominee director. The issue of compromise of corporate governance came to the fore when investor and whistleblower Arvind Gupta racked up the issue in the March. He alleged quid pro quo between Videocon Group and ICICI Bank s chief executive officer (CEO) as well as her family members with respect to extending a loan worth 3,250 crore. It was alleged that Videocon Group pumped money into NuPower Renewables, a firm owned by Deepak Kochhar, husband of Chanda Kochhar. There are also allegations that NuPower got investments of 325 crore from Mauritiusbased Firstland Holdings, a company owned by Nishant Kanodia, son-in-law of Essar Group co-founder Ravi Ruia. The investments from Ruia s son-in-law s firm into NuPower started in December Incidentally, the same month ICICI Bank was lead banker in a consortium of Indian banks that extended a USD 530 million loan to Essar Steel Minnesota LLC on December 29, This loan was later classified as NPA. The Reserve Bank in its 2016 investigation in the matter had raised questions over the ownership of the Mauritiusbased entity, First Land Holding, which had invested 325 crore in NuPower. Also, there was no clarity over the alleged 64-crore loan (unsecured fully convertible debentures) given to NuPower by Supreme Energy, which was per cent owned by Videocon chief Venugopal Dhoot at that time. While Chanda Kochhar sat on the credit committee that approved the loan to Videocon, there are allegations of conflict of interest in her husband s brother, Singapore-based Rajiv Kochhar, performing debtrestructuring work on errant corporate borrowers from ICICI, including Videocon. The restructuring wasn t commissioned by the bank but by the borrowers. Interestingly, the board of ICICI Bank expressed full faith in Chanda Kochhar, whose current tenure as CEO is set to end on March 31, It had reviewed credit approval processes and found them to be robust, according to a March 28 filing by the bank. s many as 140 Indian Acompanies with operations in South Africa have invested more than USD 4 billion and created 18,000 direct jobs, according to a report released on Sunday. The CII-PwC report showcased the contribution of Indian companies beyond foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Africa, including key CSR and skill development initiatives. nline eyewear firm OLenskart today said it has earmarked about USD 2-3 million to invest in companies that are working on either products or technologies that can help provide affordable eyecare solutions. As part of this strategy, the Ratan Tata-backed firm has invested USD 500,000 (about Rs 3.3 crore) in US-based ThinOptics. We will invest about USD 2-3 million... These companies According to the report, there exists substantial potential for trade growth between the two countries. Exports from India to South Africa include vehicle parts, transport equipment, drugs and pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, footwear, chemicals, textiles and rice. The report noted that value of bilateral trade has increased from USD 2.5 billion in to USD billion in , a growth of more than 400 in ten years. (where Lenskart may look to invest) could be a tech or product company working on eyecare solutions, be it an innovative eye examination machine or some kind of a lens technology, Lenskart founder and chief executive Peyush Bansal told PTI. He added that the intent for investing in these earlystage startups is to collaborate in development of innovative products. Previously, Lenskart has picked up minority stake in Israel-based 6over6 for USD 1 However, trade between the two countries declined slightly to USD 9.5 billion in A number of factors explain this decline, including South Africa s credit rating downgrade, policy uncertainty, political and economic uncertainty as well as exchange rate fluctuations, the report said. It projected that Indian business footprint in South Africa is likely to grow further, adding the South African million. 6over6 allows consumers to determine the power needed for the lenses for their spectacles by using a smartphone application. In September 2017, it had invested a similar amount in US-based Ditto. Lenskart is now using Ditto s technology to allow users to try on various frames on their picture before making the purchase. Talking about its latest deal with ThinOptics, Bansal said, the US-based company makes innovative reading glasses that can be attached to a user s business footprint in India is also expanding with the prospect of great returns for the African companies investing in this market. Leading Indian companies such as Wipro, Coal India, Cipla, Jindal Steel and Power, Mahindra and Mahindra have recently made investments in South Africa, said CII in the report. It further claimed that in the healthcare sector, the entry of Indian pharma companies Ranbaxy and Cipla phone or keychain, so that the user can t misplace it. These are light reading glasses and can be easily carried around at the back of a smartphone or on a keychain. We are already shipping ThinOptics glasses and have seen great traction in sales, he said. Bansal added that reading glasses account for about 5 per cent of the sales volumes of Lenskart. With zero advertising, we have seen sales of about 10,000 pieces a month for ThinOptics glasses. Post the investment, we will now work brought in drastic reduction in the cost of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) in South Africa, saving thousands of lives. As this report outlines, Indian companies are demonstrating their commitment to sustainable development in South Africa across education and healthcare schemes to job creation, agricultural projects and empowering women, said Dion Shango, Senior Regional Partner & CEO PwC Southern Africa. more closely with the company to see how we can bring innovative designs to Indian consumers at more affordable prices, he said. Founded in 2010, Lenskart counts names like IDG Ventures, Ronnie Screwvalaled Unilazer Ventures, TPG Growth, TR Capital, IFC and Premji Invest as its investors. It has raised about USD 100 million in funding till date. Apart from online sales, it also has 410 stores and claims to ship 3,00,000 eyewear units per month.

11 urrencies in 500, 200 and C100 denominations are comfortable mode for transactions and the printing of 500 notes have been ramped-up to about 3,000 crore everyday to take care of extra demand, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said. He said the cash situation in the country is quite comfortable and extra demand is being fully met. Bankers fear soiled 100 notes may deepen prevailing cash crunch Speaking to PTI, Garg also said the fundamentals of economy does not call for an interest rate hike at the moment as there has not been any disproportionate rise in inflation or extra ordinary growth in output. The secretary said he had reviewed the cash situation in the country last week and 85 per cent of the ATMs was functional. RBI says no cash crunch, blames logistics for ATMs going dry in some regions Overall in the country, I think its (cash situation) quite comfortable. There is enough cash which is being supplied and there is extra demand which is being fully met. I don t think there is any cash related crisis or problem at this point of time, Garg said. There are about 7 lakh crore of 2,000 notes in circulation, which is more than adequate and and so no new 2,000 notes are being issued. 500 and 200 and 100 rupee note is people s medium of transaction. That s what people use, people don t find 2,000 rupee note as a very comfortable medium for making transaction. 500 rupee notes is very adequately supplied. We have ramped up production to the level that it is about 2, crore a day. So, that is much more than any demand. People s need for transaction is being taken care of by these, he said. The Reserve Bank has been strengthening the security features of currency notes to ensure that they are not duplicated. In last 2.5 years, there has been much less instances, almost non existent instances, of high quality fake notes being reported in the country. But still RBI keeps on reviewing, finding out, adding new features, Garg said. Asked about a monetary policy committee member favouring withdrawal of accommodative stance, he said: We should go by what the real numbers are. Have you seen disproportionate rise in inflation numbers? Have you seen extra ordinary growth in output which has reduced the s much as USD 2.1 billion worth of M&A A(merger and acquisition) transactions were inked in 2017 in the booming Indian e-commerce industry, which may soon witness its largest-ever deal - the proposed Flipkart- Walmart nuptial. According to data from Grant Thornton, 21 deals worth USD 2,112 million were seen in 2017 with participation from players like Paytm and Flipkart. This, however, was lower compared to 2016 which saw deals worth USD 2,224 million (18 transactions) being inked, as per the global audit and advisory firm. In the January-April 2018 period, six transactions worth USD 226 million were seen, according to the data. If the Walmart-Flipkart deal indeed goes through, it would be the largest so far in the Indian e-tailing market that is forecast to grow to USD 200 billion by 2026 (Morgan Stanley estimate). The Indian e-commerce market is here to stay and grow. The frequency of purchases will increase, Vidhya Shankar, Executive Director, Grant Thornton India told PTI. On the planned Flipkart-Walmart deal that has already set the e-tailing space on fire, Shankar said the US-retail giant, flush with cash reserves, has a record of entering into areas and markets through acquisitions. He cited the example of Walmart s 2016 acquisition of e-commerce start up Jet.com to fight Amazon, as a case in point. India is a long term play and it is therefore important to get a foothold in the online segment, Shankar noted. According to sources, Walmart will pump in about USD 15 billion along with Google s parent Alphabet to pick up majority stake in the company, valuing the output gap substantially? No. So, one should go by the fundamentals and wait for next policy announcement. The next meeting of MPC is scheduled on June 4-5. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, had last month left the benchmark repo rate unchanged at 6 per cent for the third time in a row. As per the minutes of the MPC meeting, RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya favoured withdrawal of monetary accommodation in the next policy review meet. The retail inflation in March slipped to a 5 month low of 4.27 per cent on account of decline in food prices. The RBI has revised downwards forecast for retail inflation to per cent for April-September and 4.4 per cent for October-March. If there is any real situation where inflation seems to overshoot, RBI does have a statutory mandate to keep the inflation around 4 per cent, so they would take the most appropriate steps for that. But is the situation there? That is the situation we need to see, Garg said. W ith Cricket being the flavour of the season, it is apt to put everything in cricketing milieu. Sadly, the governments (states and Central) are not realising that it is actually a 2020 match literally! The Governments opting for the time out is leading to iron ore miners getting hit wicket and steel mills getting run out. In 2014, the Modi government revamped the old mineral legislation (Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act) in the country. The MMDRA introduced the concept of auction of mining leases for the first time and as a transition measure extended all existing non-captive leases to expire in 2020 (except some which had been renewed before the MMDR Act came in force). Time is running out for state governments to conduct auctions on time as leases expire in The effect will be prominent in iron ore mining in states such as Odisha, Goa as large leases expire. A total of 97 mining leases are expiring in Post 2020, all these mining leases were to be freshly auctioned and given to the highest bidders in order to earn revenues for states. The rules for implementing MMDRA followed in 2015, which set forth the auction process. Initial auctions in Karnataka and Odisha garnered substantial premiums for the state governments from Steel and Cement plants starved of iron ore and limestone. Since 2015, a total of 35 mining blocks have been auctioned. The auctions looked exciting as at the run rate of Rs.82 crores per block, these 35 blocks are expected to garner more than Rs1.43 lakh crore in 50 years. But this is where the good news or the hopes stops. To realise this revenue the mining blocks need to start operations. In Karnataka only one block has been reported to be started. This too is one of the existing C category mines where almost no revenues have accumulated to the states. This is one of the 51 C category mines identified by honourable Supreme Court in Overall a record of 35 successful leases over a period of three years is only successful auctions a year. Even the leases which have been successfully auctioned face uncertainty in commencement. For example, Ghoraburhani lease, Kalamang Lease, Netrabandh Lease in Odisha were won by three steel companies who are currently under NCLT which implies limited progress may be expected on them in the near term as their ownership changes. In Odisha, 16 non-captive iron ore leases are lapsing in 2020 and this is expected to shut off iron ore production of 66 million tonne per annum (mtpa). Obvious player to get run out in this run chase are the steel mills. Imagine the impact in 2020 when lesser supply of iron ore will hit the mills. Last year we have already seen the prices of iron ore surging in Odisha in response to a temporary shutdown in a few mines due to delay in payment of penalties & delay in clearances. Though there are a number of virgin iron ore blocks in Odisha that can be offered for auctions, most of them are not explored much. Incomplete exploration and delays in auction of the lapsing leases will hurt iron ore supplies to the steel units hard. Given the delays experienced in the auctions so far and the inordinate delays in the start of the mining leases, which have been successfully auctioned, it appears that the governments are batting at the tail end of a 2020 match against an insurmountable target. Not only do they have to conduct the auctions fast, they also need to ensure that the successful bidders can take possession of the land, and get all requisite approvals well in time for them to recommence operations by It is pertinent that the Governments take quick and some really drastic actions if they are to be able to complete the auction process within September 2018 and recommence the mining operations by March It is less than 24 months left! In case of Goa, the honourable Supreme Court has ordered the entire 88 working leases to be cancelled and the government has initiated the process of auctions of those leases. Having started the last, the government has a long way to go and the auction timelines in Goa remain completely uncertain. As per the auction rules, the State governments need to prepare geological report pursuant to the Minerals (Evidence of Mineral Contents) Rules, 2015 specifying particulars and estimated quantities of all minerals discovered in the area and the revenue survey details of the area identified and demarcated using total station and differential global positioning system divided into forest land, land owned by the State Government, and land not owned by the state government. The government of Goa is likely to be completely unprepared for this and is likely to try to utilise the existing data submitted by various miners to the IBM & DMG over the years to create the Geological reports. The DMG will also have to expedite the collections of the land ownership details. Completing this exercise. The state government will have to quickly engage with GSI or MECL to complete the geological report and collate all the other data for the leases it wishes to auction. To make matters worse, it is likely that GSI & MECL who are also engaged with other mines in Odisha and other state for auction of leases by 2020 would not have enough resources at hand to complete the process. The only way out is for GSI/MECL or even the state government to engage experienced former miners as well as exploration consultants to conduct this exercise of creation of geological report and hire consultants such as MSTC etc to conduct auctions at the earliest. This is not where the story ends. Whenever the auction takes place, the Governments will have to expedite the grant of environment and forest clearances for commencement of mining operations. Given the historical track record of delays in grant of clearances and the track record of auctions, 24 months timelines appear to be an insurmountable target. Clearly, it looks like state governments have not learnt the lesson yet and not preparing for a healthy run chase of this difficult target in the 2020 match. (The author is former head, Iron Ore, Goa, Sesa Goa Iron Ore and his views are personal) apanese two-wheeler maker JHonda is not far away to dethrone its previous partner Hero Motorcorp as the No 1 player in the domestic market if the April volumes are any indication as the current No 2 has narrowed the gap with the market leader for decades to just 12,134 units. Hitting a sixer in the volume sweepstake in April at 6,81,888 units, which is up 18 per cent over the same month in 2017, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India has steeply narrowed the gap with Hero Indian e-tailer at a whopping USD 20 billion. While the US retail giant has been in discussions with Flipkart for months now, the deal is likely to be announced in the coming days. Such a partnership will not only help the Bentonville-headquartered company strengthen its position in the Indian market but also take on global rival Amazon more aggressively. According to Greyhound Research, Walmart is expected to continue operating its existing Cash & Carry business in India separately and not merge it with the consumer facing e-commerce business of Flipkart. We expect Walmart to be in this journey with Flipkart (if the deal does goes through) for the long haul and the one where both parties join hands to bring respective expertise. To give context - Walmart has been sourcing directly from farmers; has great depth in supply chain management warehousing operations - solid pluses for Flipkart, Greyhound Research Chief Analyst and CEO, Sanchit Vir Gogia said. Flipkart has recently concluded a USD 350- million buyback in Singapore to go private, pegging the valuation at over USD 17.6 billion. Market watchers say the decision paves way for Walmart to buy stake from a single entity rather than multiple parties. Flipkart had undertaken a similar move earlier this year, following the closing of its Softbank-Microsoft- Ebay deal. The deal is also being watched closely as it will set the tone for consolidation in the sector in many ways. E-commerce is a capitalintensive play and companies like Flipkart and Amazon have pumped in billions of dollars towards marketing and setting up infrastructure like warehouses and logistic chains. Last year, Flipkart was engaged in discussions with Snapdeal for a possible merger but the talks fell through after smaller rival decided on charting its own independent path. tocks of airlines have hit Ssome air pockets, slumping up to 20 per cent in just three trading sessions this month amid rising fuel costs and weak quarterly earnings of InterGlobe Aviation impacting investor sentiment. Among the three-listed airlines, Jet Airways and SpiceJet are yet to announce their fourth quarter and full year results for On May 2, InterGlobe, which operates the country s leading carrier IndiGo, reported 73 per cent decline in profit after tax (PAT) to Rs crore for the March quarter as higher fuel costs and foreign exchange loss took a toll on its bottom line. There are concerns that spike in global crude oil prices may also put pressure on the profits of other airline companies, according to analysts. In May, which so far had three trading sessions, shares of InterGlobe Aviation have tumbled per cent on BSE. Shares of Jet Airways have dropped 20 per cent while those of SpiceJet have seen a volatile trend. A day after InterGlobe Aviation announced its results, shares of SpiceJet tumbled over 6 per cent but managed to close in the green. Together these three airlines InterGlobe Aviation, Jet Airways and SpiceJet have seen an erosion of Rs which sold 6,94,022 units in the month, which is an addition of 16.5 per cent more customers and thus narrowing the gap to just 12,134 units. For, Honda, the 6-lakh units milestone comes exactly a year after it had crossed the 5 lakh mark last April and of the total April volume domestic sales grew 15 per cent to 6,35,811 units. But in the total volumes the gap is still too large; Hero closed FY18 with 7.5 million units up from 6.66 million in FY17 while Honda closed the year with 6.1 million, up from a little over 5.01 million in the previous fiscal. Hero has set 10 million 10,050 crore from their market valuation so far this month. This week has witnessed a slump in aviation stocks, the biggest in recent history. At last reality dawned on the aviation sector which was trading lofty valuations. There are certain industry-specific factors that are hampering growth, SAMCO Securities Founder & CEO Jimeet Modi said. He noted that airports in the tier-i cities have limited capacity and infrastructure to handle an additional pipeline of scheduled flights. This capacity constraint along with jet fuel prices would be a huge setback for the aviation players causing a dent to their bottom-line, he added. volume target for FY20. This means that the sales gap that Honda has with Hero is too close. Given the momentum that the Japanese company has gained in the past many years, it seems that a month is not very far away when Honda may overtake Hero, says an auto analyst who asked not to be named. But he was quick to add that Honda will not be able to lead the market for the full year given its capacity constraint, which is only 6.4 million units per annum at its 11 assembly lines, while Hero has a huge lead in this with 9.2 million installed capacity. However he further said the gap may continue narrow as Hondas bikes sales are also vrooming, driven by the CB Shine. In March, Hero began its eighth plant (in Andhras Chittoor district) which will have an annual capacity of 1.8 million units at a cost of 1,600 crore. On completion, this will take the total capacity to 11 million by December When asked are you on course to become the largest player, Honda senior vice-president for sales & marketing Yadvinder Singh Guleria told PTI we just dont have the capacity. Even if we decide to add a n a move to consolidate its Iposition with largest market share in broadband space, leading Internet Service Provider (ISP) Joister Infoserve Pvt Ltd plans to expand its footprint by acquiring other small ISP firms in Maharashtra & Goa circle. Joister with over 1000 workforce has diverted all its focus towards tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The company is planning to raise capital through private equity in view of the acquisition strategy of small ISP companies and is in talks with few private equity players. Commenting over the development, Chairman Nikunj Kampani said, I firmly believe that the consolidation in the wired broadband space is the right way for faster growth in Maharashtra & Goa circle. Our foresighted plan is to acquire larger market share in the region by consolidation of small ISP firms and progress towards becoming major Internet service provider company in the state. According to the latest TRAI report, wired broadband is only 6 per cent of total Internet subscribers in India. There is huge scope for growth in wired broadband space as most of the telecom providers are focusing on wireless broadband, which has its own disadvantages against wired braodband. Wired broadband space is growing rapidly and there is huge increase in the data usage demand due to number of smart devices used at home and offices. The current demand can only be served through wired broadband while wireless broadband is useful in roaming scenario. Wired broadband is stable as it does not rely on wireless signal and can provide speeds of 100+ Mbps easily, said Kampani. ish TV, which has com- its merger with Dpleted Videocon d2h, plans to invest around 1,700 crore as capex in the current fiscal and strengthen both the brands across India, top officials said. Dish TV would retain both the brands to leverage their strengths and is looking at benefits worth 500 crore from synergies in the first year itself, Dish TV Group CEO Anil Dua told PTI. While Dish TV would look to enhance penetration in south India, where Videocon d2h has a strong presence, the latter would look to do the same in east India, he said. The merger has given the company more financial strength to do many more things, he added. Dua said Dish TV will step up investments and make both the brands stronger. According to Dish TV CFO Rajeev K Dalmia, before the merger Dish TV was investing around 700 crore every year on set top boxes and incurring other costs as capex. Together (with Videocon d2h) it would be 1,600 crore to 1,700 crore, which will include some one-time cost on account of alignment of servers, SAP and billing system, Dalmia added. Besides increase in revenue, there would be reduced cost expenses post merger. All these put together - revenue synergies and cost synergies - we will have more than Rs 500 crore (of benefit) in the first year of operation after the merger in FY , he said. Moreover, Dua said the company is also looking at synergies between the two brands in other avenues like ad sales and value added services, as the combined entity would offer much larger reach. We would also have significant saving on content purchase cost, debt-servicing and financing cost. We save on procurement cost of set top boxes and dish antennas and also on back-end costs such as as call centres, administration and marketing, he added. apanese electric vehicle maker JTerra Motors Corporation is working on a slew of products, including a three wheeler and two wheeler, which it plans to launch in India over the next two years. The company, which has already invested around USD 5 million in the country, has lined up further investment of around USD 5 million for product development and capacity expansion. We started business in India in 2014-end and now we are aiming to become number one electric vehicle manufacturer in the country, Terra Motors MD Akihiro Ueda told PTI. The company, which has sold around 12,000 e-rickshaws in the country since 2014-end, is now focussing to expand its product portfolio in the country. We are in the process of developing e-three wheeler with litium-ion battery which we aim to launch next year and after that try to bring in an e-two wheeler by 2020, Ueda said. The company plans to invest around USD 5 million 1.5 million to 2 million this year alone on R&D this year besides USD 3 million extra for putting up new assembly lines for e-three wheeler, he added. We see India as biggest opportunity. We (headquarters) have raised a total of USD 10 million and it is our intention that at least half of it should be invested in India over the next two years, Ueda said. Terra Motors, which is a leading electric vehicle maker in Japan, also plans to make make India export hub for Asian countries. New Delhi: When it comes to young professionals working at Niti Aayog, women rule the roost as they make up around over three-fourth of the 46 such contractual employees, according to an official data. These young professionals are aged below 32 years and hired on contractual basis to assist the think tank in policy formulations. Out of the 46 young professionals at Niti Aayog, there were 33 women as on April 19, 2018, as per the data provided by the think tank to a RTI query filed by PTI. The think tank, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was constituted in January 2015, replacing the Planning Commission. A top Niti Aayog official said that young professionals and consultants are not on regular employment and hence reservations are not applicable for such recruitment. Initially, young professionals are hired for two years and that can be extended up to five years for one year at a time on the recommendation of the Performance Appraisal Board. Among the 46 young professionals, nine received their Master s degree from foreign universities like the London School of Economics, Colorado School of Mines, University of Oxford, Johnson and Wales University (US) and the University of Sussex (UK), according to the information provided in the RTI reply. The think tank has hired four professionals who have either BTech or MTech from IITs, and there are eight MBA degree holders. PTI new assembly line, it will take at least two years to go on-stream. So the question doesnt arise as of now. The April fete has been on the back of a massive 70 per cent spike in exports, which touched 46,777 units, and also bikes sales, which clipped at 16 per cent to cross the 2 lakh-mark at 2,12,284. This is another record for the company it has overtaken the thus far No 2 bikes maker Bajaj Auto. Hondas first revenge strike on its previous partner Hero was in May 2016 when it overtook the market leader Splendor to become the largest selling two-wheeler in the country with its bread and butter scooter the Activa, which for the first time in April this year crossed the 4 lakh monthly sales, notching up 4,23,527 units, up 15 per cent. Hondas record run continued in FY18 when it crossed its own target selling 6.1 million units (6,123,886), against its target of 6 million22 per cent volume gain over 20 per cent target. For the current fiscal year, Honda has not specified a volume growth target but said it expects to grow in double digits. We started off the new financial year on a high note, setting record numbers in scooters, bikes and the overall volumes, Guleria told PTI over phone from Delhi and attributed the faster sales to the minimum support price and the marriage season sales coupled with new launches which all have undergone changes with lots of features. Against this, TVS Motor sold 21.7 per cent more at 2,93,418 units of which domestic sales rose 17.6 per cent to 2,41,604 units and Bajaj Autos motorcycle sales last month stood at 3,49,617 units, up 19 per cent of which exports were 1,85,704 units which rose 22 per cent from 1,51,913 units over the previous 12 months period.

12 ranian President Hassan IRouhani has warned that the US will face historic regret if Donald Trump scraps the nuclear agreement with Tehran. Rouhani's comments come as the US President decides whether to pull out of the deal by a May 12 deadline. Trump has strongly criticised the agreement, calling it insane. The 2015 deal between Iran, the US, China, Russia, Germany, France and the UK lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.france, the UK and Germany have been trying persuade the US president that the current deal is the best way to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is travelling to Washington on Sunday to discuss the matter with White House officials. The UN also warned Mr Trump not to walk away from the deal. However, he has threatened that the US will withdraw from the deal on 12 May the end of a 120-day review period unless Congress and European powers fixed its disastrous flaws. In remarks carried live on Iranian state television on Sunday, President Rouhani said: If America leaves the nuclear deal, this will entail historic regret for it. He warned Iran had a plan to counter any decision Trump may take and we will confront it. Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful and says it considers the deal non-renegotiable. Last week, Israel revealed secret nuclear files which it said showed Iran had run a secret nuclear weapons programme, which was reportedly mothballed 15 years ago. Iran branded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a liar and said the documents he produced were a rehash of old allegations already dealt with by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear sraeli Prime Minister IBenjamin Netanyahu says Iran is supplying advanced weapons to Syria that pose a danger to Israel and that it's better to confront Tehran sooner rather than later. Netanyahu told a Cabinet meeting Sunday that we are determined to block Iran's aggression against us even if this means a struggle. Better now than later. He added: We do not want escalation but we are ready for any scenario. raqi warplanes carried out a Iraid on Sunday targeting ISIS commanders in eastern Syria, in the second such strike on the jihadists since mid- April, the premier's office said. Prime Minister Haider al- Abadi ordered the painful strike which targeted a meeting of ISIS commanders south of Al-Dushashiya in Syrian territory, a statement said. F-16 fighter jets were used in the early morning strike and the raid was successful, the spokesman of Iraq's security media centre, General Yehya Rassoul, told AFP. watchdog. But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the documents were authentic and showed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was built on lies. Trump is already unhappy that the current deal only limits Iran's nuclear activities for a fixed period and does not stop the development of ballistic missiles. He also said it had handed Iran a $100bn ( 72bn) windfall that it used as a slush fund for weapons, terror, and oppression across the Middle East. During two days of talks in Washington, Mr Johnson will meet US Vice-President Mike Pence, National Security Adviser John Bolton and foreign policy leaders in Congress. Earlier this month, he said it was important to keep the deal while building on it in order to take account of the legitimate concerns of the US. orth Korea said on Sunday Nits intention to denuclearise, unveiled at a historic inter-korean summit, was not the result of US-led sanctions and pressure, warning the United States not to mislead public opinion. Impoverished North Korea has been hit by a series of UN and US sanctions in recent years in a bid to rein in its nuclear and missile programmes. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean Dushashiya is in a desert region of Syria's Hasakeh province, where a US-backed Kurdish-led alliance is fighting the jihadists. On April 19, Iraq said it had carried out an air raid against ISIS in Syria that killed 36 ISIS fighters, near the town of Hajin in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. Iraq declared victory in December against ISIS, which launched a sweeping offensive in 2014 and at one point controlled a third of the country. The jehadis still control pockets of desert along the border with Syria. UNITED LEASING & INDUSTRIES LIMITED Regd.Office : Plot No.66, Sector-34, EHTP, Gurgaon, Haryana. CIN : L65910HR1983PLC33460, Website: id: investorrelations@ulilltd.com, Phone: Extract of Audited Financial Results for the Quarter and Year Ended 31st March,2018 (Rs. In lacs, except per share data) Sl. Particulars Quarter Ended Year Ended No. (Refer Notes below) [Audited] [Unaudited] [Audited] [Audited] [Audited] 1 Total Income from Operations Net Profit/(Loss) for the period before tax and exceptional items Net Profit/(Loss) for the period before tax after exceptional items Net Profit/(Loss) for the period after tax Total Comprehensive Income Paid-up equity share capital Earning Per Share of Rs.10/- each (not annualised) a) Basic b) Diluted Notes : 1 The above is an extract of the detailed format of Audited Financial Results for the Quarter and Year ended March 31, 2018 filed with the Stock Exchange under Regulation 33 of the SEBI (Listing and Other Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, The full format of the Audited Financial Results for the Quarter and Year ended March 31, 2018 are available on the Bombay Stock Exchange website and on Company's website 2 The figures for the quarter and year ended March 31,2018 and March 31,2017 are the balancing figures between audted figures in respect of the full financial year and the year to date figure up to nine months of the respective financial year. 3 Figures of the above Previous periods have been regropued/reclassified/ restated wherever necessary. For United Leasing & Industries Ltd Aditya Khanna Place : Gurgaon, Haryana Managing Director Dated : May 05, 2018 DIN : slamic Foreign Ministers on ISunday launched a campaign to mobilise international support for action against Myanmar over the Rohingya refugee crisis, officials said. Foreign ministers and diplomats of the 53-member Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) set up a campaign committee during two days of talks in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka. OIC secretary general Yousef bin Ahmed Al- Othaimeen called the move a key step toward ending a crisis caused by the exodus of about 700,000 Muslim Rohingya from Buddhist-majority Myanmar into camps in Bangladesh. He said the new committee would mobilise and coordinate international political support for accountability for human rights violations against the Rohingya community. This is very important. This is one of the concrete steps that has been taken to alleviate the problem for our (Rohingya) brothers and sisters, he said. A military campaign launched in Myanmar's Rakhine state in August last year set off the massive influx President Moon Jae-in vowed complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in the first inter-korean summit in more than a decade on April 27, but the declaration did not include concrete steps to reach that goal. The North's official KCNA news agency said Washington was misleading public opinion by claiming the denuclearisation pledge was the result of sanctions and other pressure. The United States should not deliberately provoke the North by moving to deploy strategic assets in South Korea igh school students in HGermany have gathered tens of thousands of signatures in an online petition to complain about an unfair final English exam, saying the test was much harder than in previous years. By Sunday, the students from the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg had gathered almost 36,000 signatures even though only 33,500 people took last month's statewide exam. They complained that text excerpts from American author Henry Roth's 1934 novel Call of the Muslim minority into Bangladesh where they joined 3,00,000 refugees already living in squalid camps following previous violence. The United Nations and United States have said the crackdown amounted to ethnic cleansing. The Myanmar army has said it only targeted militants. Rohingya civilians have told of murders and rapes as they fled. They say the army burned hundreds of Rohingya villages to the ground. Al-Othaimeen said Muslim nations had to pressure the international community. This is not religious, this is human basic rights of our brothers and sisters in the last 50 years, he said. The International Criminal Court prosecutor has already called for the tribunal to rule on whether it can investigate the allegations of mass rape and killings.bangladesh has put huge diplomatic effort into pressuring Myanmar to take back the refugees in safety. and raising human rights issues, KCNA said, citing a foreign ministry spokesman. This act cannot be construed otherwise than a dangerous attempt to ruin the hardly-won atmosphere of dialogue and bring the situation back to square one, the spokesman was quoted as saying.it would not be conducive to resolving the issue of denuclearisation if Washington miscalculated North Korea's peace-loving intention as a sign of weakness and continued to pursue its pressure and military threats, KCNA said. pair of briefcase-sized Aspacecraft known as CubeSats are making their way into deep space for the first time, sharing a ride with NASA's InSight Mars lander. The US space agency has received radio signals indicating that the first-ever CubeSats headed to deep space are alive and well. Engineers will now be performing a series of checks before both CubeSats enter their cruise to deep space. Mars Cube One (MarCO) is a pair spacecraft that launched along with NASA's InSight Mars lander on May 5 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California. InSight is a scientific mission that will probe the Red Planet's deep interior for the first time; the name stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport. The twin MarCO CubeSats are on their own separate mission: rather than collecting science, they will follow the InSight lander on its cruise to Mars, testing out miniature spacecraft technology along the way. Both were programmed to unfold their solar panels soon after launch, followed by several opportunities to radio back their health. Both MarCO-A and B say 'Polo!' It's a sign that the little sats are alive and well, said Andy Klesh, chief engineer for the MarCO mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the US which built the twin spacecraft. The computers inside each MarCO CubeSat have not been turned on since being tested at California Polytechnic State University in the US in mid- March, where they were prepared for launch. Each spacecraft had to do a lot of things right by itself for the team to hear a signal: batteries had to retain enough charge for the spacecraft to deploy their solar arrays, stabilise their attitude, turn toward the Sun and turn on their radios. it Sleep were too difficult and obscure to analyze and asked for the grading to be more lenient this year.the final high school exams in Germany called the Abitur are a rite of passage that all students who want to enter university have to pass. Only those with excellent grades and test scores will get into the most coveted university programs, with medicine among the hardest. But other subjects like engineering or language studies also offer only a limited amount of places. Many German students, parents and teachers have been stressed out for months over the Abitur. Often schools will bomb blast inside a Amosque in eastern Afghanistan that was being used as a voter registration center killed at least 12 people and wounded 33, officials said. Habib Shah Ansari, the provincial head of public health, confirmed the toll from the attack, which took place in the city of Khost, the capital of the province of the same name. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and a local Islamic State affiliate reject democratic elections and have targeted them in the past. IS is not known to have a presence in Khost, but has expanded its footprint into other areas in recent years. Last month, an Islamic State suicide bomber attacked a voter registration center in Kabul, killing 60 people and wounding at least 130 others. Afghanistan plans to hold elections in October, the first since The Taliban and IS have launched a relentless wave of attacks since the start of the year, killing scores of civilians in the capital, Kabul, and elsewhere. Afghan security forces have struggled to combat the angladesh has proposed Brestructuring of the charter of the Organisation of Islamic Conference to pave way for inclusion of non-muslim countries like India as an observer state. The OIC is a 57-member grouping of Muslim majority nations. A number of countries not OIC members, have large number of Muslims as their citizens... There is a need to build bridges with those non-oic countries, Bangladesh's foreign minister Mahmud Ali said as S billionaire investor UWarren Buffett said on Saturday that the world depends on the US and China for progress, dismissing concerns that the two countries' trade tensions could potentially escalate into a trade war. Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, made the remarks in response to a Chinese investor's question about US-China trade relations at the Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting, Xinhua reported. The US and China are going to be the two superpowers of the world, economically and in other ways, for a long, long, long time, Buffett said. We have a lot of common interests, and like any two big economic entities, there are times when there'll be tensions, but it is a win-win situation when the world trades, the investor said. Both Democrats and Republicans in the US believe in the benefits of free trade, he said. cancel all regular classes for younger students during the tests so the Abitur students won't be disturbed. The online petition has created such uproar that even state governor Winfried Kretschmann weighed in, though he showed only limited compassion. There's no right to a simple Abitur, he told the frustrated teenagers. You wish for it, but you don't have a right to it. At the same time Kretschmann admitted that his own English skills were too weak to actually judge whether the disputed text had been overly difficult, the German news agency DPA reported. groups since the U.S. and NATO concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, switching to a counterterrorism and support role. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a vehicle carrying shopkeepers on their way to a market struck a roadside bomb in Afghanistan's northern Faryab province, killing seven of them. Police spokesman Karim Yuresh said another civilian was wounded in Sunday's attack, in an area where both the Taliban and IS are active. In the eastern Paktia province, a car bomb killed two people and wounded another three. Abdullah Hsart, the provincial governor's spokesman, said the attack late Saturday targeted Hazart Mohammad Rodwal, a district chief, who was among the wounded. The Taliban claimed the attack. his counterparts in the group joined in their annual council called Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Dhaka. He said the induction was needed so that a large number of Muslim population do not remain untouched by the good work of OIC and that is why, reforms and re-structuring is critical for OIC. The Muslims may be minority in those countries, but in terms of number they often exceed the total population of many OIC member countries, Ali told the CFM after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened The benefits of free trade are huge, and the world is dependent on it in a major way for its progress, Buffett said. The investor also implied that he is willing to invest more in China this year. He is turning 88 this August, and eight, he said, is a very lucky number in China. This could be the time to acquire something in China, Buffett said. Berkshire Hathaway currently has a stake in China's automobile manufacturer BYD. Buffett said the investment has been being doing so well lately. ndian migrants have a more Ipositive image in the UK as compared to other South Asian communities, according to a recent opinion poll. In comparison, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis were in the negative territory. The YouGov poll, conducted last month among 1,668 British citizens, asked a series of questions about the kind of contribution immigrants from various parts of the world make to British life. Immigrants from India received a strong figure of +25 on the question about making tormy Daniels, the real one, Stook on Donald Trump, depicted by Alec Baldwin, on comedy show Saturday Night Live and taunted him saying the only way to end the furor over their alleged tryst was for him to resign. Daniels drew screams and applause when she appeared in the opening skit of SNL. She took a call at Trump's request from his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, played by comedian Ben Stiller. Trump said he would just listen in as they spoke, and Cohen asked Daniels if she was alone. What are you wearing,? the fake Trump blurted out, to laughter, before cutting the faux Cohen out of the call. Trump has denied allegations from Daniels, a porn star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, that they had an affair in But Cohen has admitted he paid her $130,000 just days before the 2016 election. Trump has denied the affair or knowing anything about the payment, until his new lawyer Rudy Giuliani acknowledged shockingly this week that Trump had in fact reimbursed Cohen for that payoff, which arguably may have violated federal campaign finance laws. the meet yesterday. Officials and analysts said the proposal was meant mainly for India where Islam is the second largest religion with Muslims constituting some 10 per cent of the global adherents of the faith. Several OIC states countries and the secretary general of the grouping appreciated the proposal but experts said it could see opposition from Pakistan which had earlier opposed India's induction. India, however, has fairly robust relations with most OIC member states. he Pakistani military lead- led by Army Chief Tership General Qamar Javed Bajwa is reaching out to India because it has realised that the way to peace and prosperity is through military cooperation with New Delhi, a Pakistani analyst has said in a British think-tank commentary. The powerful army, which enjoys considerable influence over policy decisions in Pakistan, has ruled the country for much of its life since it gained independence 70 years ago. In a historic first last month, Pakistan's Army Chief of Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa invited Sanjay Vishwasrao, the Indian military attache, and his team to the Pakistan Day military parade in Islamabad, wrote Kamal Alam, a visiting fellow at the UKbased Royal Unites Services Institute (RUSI). a positive contribution to British life.in comparison, other South Asian counterparts were in negative territory.pakistanis scored a negative figure of -4 and Bangladeshis -3. Net figures are calculated by taking away the figure for negative contribution from the figure for positive contribution.the figures come against the backdrop of a growing debate around the atmosphere for migrants in the UK.A recent Windrush scandal, largely affecting Caribbean migrants who came to the UK before 1973, has thrown up the prospect of many Indians being caught up in similar issues of citizenship rights.

13 S he was comfortable sitting cross-legged in a hotel. Wearing a white chikankari kurti and blue ripped jeans, actress Divya Dutta was all smiles, the funky nose ring and a huge medallion adding a dash of boho chic. Having won the National award for her film Irada, she remembers her days as a fouryear-old when she tore her mother s dupattas and saris to make dhotis and mimicked her ideal and icon, Amitabh Bachchan. She always wanted to be him even though she never knew how. And now that she has broken stereotypes and more as a powerhouse performer, it doesn t matter to her if the President had handed her the scroll of honour or not. The scroll has the President s seal and that is enough for me. It is bigger than the ceremony, she told us. Though she has developed her niche with independent films and nudged her way into character roles of commercial cinema, she did manage to win over the Big B. Not only did the legend, who shared screen space with her in five films, appreciate her work but developed a bond with her, even launching her book Me and Ma. I relate to him on a personal level. He was an icon for me and I wanted to be like him. To have shared screen space with him in five, it was a dream to have him launch the book. I keep chatting with him, exchanging notes which is why I feel attached to him. Did you ever imagine that you would win a National Award for Irada? It was unexpected. There have been many times when I thought I would win but it didn t happen, so this was a beautiful surprise. Irada is a socially relevant film and I had a kickass role in it. Are you flooded with a lot of messages of appreciation? You bet. People seem to be happier for me than I am. Their reactions are, thank god, it was long due and finally, so it feels great. When I saw my nameplate at the ceremony, I was like, Oh my god, life has come full circle for me. rom weighing 130 kg to turning Finto a supermodel, the journey of Mahir Pandhi seems to be thriving with time. The supermodel was just 20 years old when he bagged an opportunity to compete in the famous reality show Top Model India alongside 13 other contestants. Keeping a hold on his excitement, the newly-turned winner shared various moments that kept him going along the way: My enthusiasm has reached a new high now. Since day 1, I had the mindset to win the show no matter what. And this helped me through every obstacle in the show. The knowledge that everyone around me was an established face did unnerve me but winning among them was a big achievement for me. It was not just about good looks but every participant had to walk miles and undergo thorough grooming sessions by eminent names of the industry. From supermodel-turned actor Lisa Haydon, fashion stylist and costume designer Anaita Shroff Adajania to fashion photographer Atul Kasbekar, all of them collectively did a great job. Among them was one individual for whom Mahir couldn t stop giggling and celebrated fan moments everytime he had an encounter with her. When asked about the personal favourite mentor, Mahir dug into his old memories and shared, Shibani Dandekar. It was during IPL that I first saw her hosting a match. Since then, I have admired her. Even when I met her accidentally five years back, I instantly captured that moment. Today, when I recall my time of being groomed by the diva herself, it takes me to cloud nine. There is a lot that I have learnt from these talented bunch of perfectionists. However, it s not just a perfect physique that pushed him to build a Why do you think a few years ago, nobody was willing to give you roles where you could explore your dark side? I think people go by perceptions and I was told that I have a sweet and innocent face and can t carry off negative roles. I tried to break that mould with Heroine after which these three films came along Irada, Babumoshai Bandookbaaz and Chalk and Duster. All of them were negative characters but the hues were different. One was dark, another grey and one was slightly comic. Blackmail was a mad nut film where I was an alcoholic who was whimsical crazy. All the women seemed happiest when they saw me knifing the guy in his bum. They felt very validated. I am ready to take roles that are mad. Has the award changed the way you look at your career now? The National Award hasn t taken away what I was already doing. There was beautiful stuff happening already and it has complemented everything that I have done so far. It is an honour. I don t plan life and right now, I have ten films which are different genres and they are all kickass roles. I am also heading to Cannes now with Manto, ready to walk the red carpet. Things are happening. It is interesting, a new journey and I am a bit tense. You have already written a book, Me and Ma that explores your relationship with your mother. How did you conceive this idea? I was very close to my mother. Everyone is but I had a special bond with her in the sense that when girls grow up, they have partners and friends and then there is mom but she was my everything. She had a lot of faith in me and stood by my decision. Coming from a family of doctors, she was somebody who said if you want to be an actor, I will support you. It is important for a child to know that his/her parents believe in them and their dream. I have never called her mom, she was always pari to me. She was my angel. Sitting on the hospital career in modelling but to take on the bullies of his childhood. Bullying was why I wanted to work hard on my body. That embarrassing phase of being looked at as a lump was what prompted me to look after my health. So I began swimming and later switched to gymming, said Mahir. He considered the androgynous model, Lemuel Huffman, as his biggest competition and when we said that Mahir resembled a Portuguese football player, he turned a little shy. He gushed and further shared his fondness for Cristiano Ronaldo. Though I m not a footballer, I started watching football because of Cristiano Ronaldo. I admire him to the extent that even if he isn t playing well, I would like to keep watching him play on the field. I m his biggest fan. Though his social media handles are flooded with unimaginable followers now, there is only one chubby snap from Mahir s school days doing the rounds. The image displays a 130 kg boy with a studious and spectacled look, flaunting a Colgate smile, his chubby cheeks almost squashing his eyes. It was captured when I used to weigh more than I should have according to my age. The glasses evidently are a reflection of my introvert personality. Growing up in a family where my grandma was a principal, every minute of my routine was scheduled properly. From the time I woke up to hitting the football field and taking coaching classes in the evening, everything was pre-planned and cast into a disciplined format, said Mahir, who is also a theatre actor. He loves radio as well. It was at the age of 15 when I entered All India Radio as a drama artiste on Golden Rainbow. It helped me gain immense confidence. Glimpses into his life during the old days prove a lot about the model s abilities and versatility. But there is another unique quality that he possesses which helped him make a tough decision when he discovered a health problem patience. It was a few days before the shooting of the first episode when I had to show up in swimwear. Out of the blue, I realised that my body was not in shape. Some medical checkups revealed that the level of my fat had gone up by four to five per cent followed by loss of muscle which further weakened me. I was hospitalised for a short period but fortunately I was selected for that round, he shared. However, it was not the only incident that shook his spirit. It was during a make-over session when I was put in a difficult situation about chopping off my hair. I recalled the time when I had a head injury and had to go bald for recovery. I looked terrible and that feeling was why I didn t want to trim my hair again. But eventually, I went ahead with the new hair-do and it lent a charm to my appearance which surprisingly, I liked. Mahir revealed that acting is one of his most prized passions. Performing in school plays, I developed acting skills. Also, I used to do a lot of dubbing which really shaped my vocal chords. I can even say that acting was the reason I took to modelling. The gym-enthusiast further shared his single-mindedness. It s very hard to keep the diet and exercise routine persistent. When an individual puts his everything into maintaining a fit body, results appear. In my case, the encouragement from my friends and father boosted my confidence. But I always avoid unhealthy steroids. My diet and workouts have been based on proper workouts amalgamated with the right amount of nutrition, vitamins, adequate carbs, water and proteins on a daily basis. He also clarified the gender neutrality of his new profession. I have observed that society assumes modelling as a career fit for women only. But I think it works for men equally. Modelling is a good way to keep you sharp moment to moment. It is a lot about self-discipline. Right now he will focus on the moment of glory. Bollywood, he hopes, will come sooner rather than later. bed as she was battling her last moments, I realised she had given me so much more than I could ask for. Right then I thought of this book, even its title, to celebrate her. I thought of writing everything that changed my life because she was my mother. She was a mother who redefined the earthly role. We were crazy together, had fun doing stuff. I remember while everyone was sleeping during one edition of the IIFA awards, she kicked me and told me to see the world rather than sleeping and wasting my time. Now that she is not here, I do exactly those things on my own because I feel, had she been there, she would tell me to do those very things. The second book is about short stories on your perspective with regard to various aspects of life... My editor felt that people get inspired and motivated by an individual s slice of life, anecdotes and stories. So much happens in life everyday and some of them tumbled out in words. Why did the book click with the audience of all age groups? The writing worked for the simple reason that I kept it simple. It is relatable and people feel it is their story. I don t talk about Divya Dutta. What happens to me can happen to anyone. Right now, I am doing two of the best things, writing and acting. Both are expressive and relatable to people. Was it difficult to get roles in the beginning of her career? In the industry, people never say no to you. I was a naive woman and everywhere I went, people gave me a small signing amount. I would call up my mom and say I have 22 films. I thought I was the busiest person but none of them started. Gradually, you get to know you are on your own and no one looks out for you. You have to fend for yourself and the world out there does not know how good or bad you are. You have to prove yourself. I starred in multistarrer and two song and dance sequences initially. Then I waited patiently and began to get roles which were not typical F heroine but significant enough as supporting characters. So my mother asked me, Do you want to stick to being a heroine or do the meaty roles? I stuck to my guns and chose the meaty roles until people realised I was capable of much more. Now, that I am 40, I am getting to play lead roles again and romancing heroes. It is trial and error and falling down and getting up. Were you frustrated with the kind of roles you were getting? I do think I had better roles than the leading lady in many of the films. I have been tagged unconventional. I did wonder at times but it never upset me probably because people started taking me seriously as an actor. People s perception keeps changing but it does not matter to me. For me what matters is a role that people would take home. What is your creative process? A role is a role. What gives it an X-factor is what you would give to it. Whenever I listen to a script, it is an intuitive process. The layers I can give to a role are what matters to me. I leave Divya behind and become that character. How can I bring in a graph for her is what I think and have been doing so in all my films. My directors have been very supportive. I have left the biggest roles and taken on the smallest films because I thought these roles and the process would be more fun. How important is a director? A director can make you or break you. He is the one conceiving everything and the captain in-charge. I can be a beautiful plant but what table to put me on depends on the director. It is lovely to see yourself through his/her vision. How has the content evolved in films in the last five years? We are content and storydriven now. Earlier, it used to be all about casting so and so stars after which the script was written. Now, the script is written first before the actors are cast. Stars are brought in only if they are the right fit. Most of all, the audience is ready to accept freshness, realism and substance. or John Travolta, icon will be the word at the Cannes Film Festival. Trade publication said that Travolta will receive its inaugural Cinema Icon Award at this month s festival in France. Steven Gaydos, Variety vice president and executive editor, said in a statement that Travolta s long career, popularity and honours splendidly qualify him for the recognition. Travolta received an Oscar nomination for his star-making turn in 1977 s Saturday Night Fever and another for 1994 s Pulp Fiction. Grease, released in 1978 and starring Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, is among the biggest movie musical hits ever. Travolta will receive the Cinema Icon Award on May 15, following the premiere at Cannes of his new film, Gotti. The delayed mobster biopic Gotti, starring John Travolta, will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Film producers said that Gotti will premiere out of competition at Cannes at a special gala screening at the Palais des Festivals on May 15. The Cannes Film Festival begins May 8. Gotti depicts the rise and fall of the notorious Gambino family crime boss John V. Gotti. It s directed by Kevin Connolly. The movie was supposed to open in December. But just 10 days before its release, distributor Lionsgate sold the film back to its production company. Vertical Entertainment stepped in with a wider release plan set for June 15. Ticketing service MoviePass also invested in the film. In a statement, Travolta thanked Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux for selecting Gotti. -AP

14 A home that welcomes runaway kids off the streets of Israel, homeless youth at risk aged and offers them a peaceful environment, caring support system at a point in their lives when they have nowhere else to turn and no place to call home. Shanti House enables them to choose life and initiate a process of healing and rehabilitation. Their arms are open to all regardless of religion, race, sex or gender, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no need for a formal referral or waiting period and no limit on their stay. She was only 14 years old, when Mariuma Ben Yosef ran away from home. She lived on the streets of Boston for almost two years slept on benches, ate the food she found in the garbage. But, she was not a quitter and got her life on track. Mariuma moved back to Israel (she had lived there as a child) attended boarding school and later served in the military. When she became pregnant at 20, it changed the course of her life. Talking about the initiation of the journey with Shanti House, a loving shelter for homeless youth, Mariuma said, I was about to embark on a backpacking trip upon completing my service but man plans and god laughs I got pregnant and knew that my life was taking a 180 degree turn. I needed to find work but I was pregnant, who would hire me? I tried to think back on the moments that I felt most connected, most alive and ironically it was when I was with my family of the streets. I started to organise communal dinners for the children of the streets of Tel Aviv. It started informally, a handful of kids gathering, connecting, living and quickly the word spread and tons of youth would throng to our gatherings. I would cook for them with whatever money or scraps I could put together. One of the girls who had just returned from India said that it was the perfect feeling of Shanti and that s how we got our name. The shelter home dates back to People like me who went through extreme situations of violence, strife and pain, have a choice either to disconnect and dissociate from the world or to overcome it. A moment of enlightenment that shows you that everything that you ve been through has led you to a point in time your higher calling kicks in. I knew in a moment of clarity that this was my calling to open a home for these children of the street, the House of Shanti. I knew that this gave me a reason to live. At the age of 21, I had found my path. The inner calling and knowledge became clear. Suddenly, I listened differently, acted differently. I was on a mission and nobody would stop me. I knew I was put on this earth to help these children choose life I couldn t do it for them I could just lead them there, added she. The State of Israel and the Welfare and Social Services Ministry operate preventive programmes for youth at risk, as well as many non-profit organisations are dedicated for prevention and assistance to youth at risk. She focusses on prevention programmes developed over 34 years of working and caring for more than 52,000 youth at risk and actual life-threatening danger. Many of the youth who come to the Shanti House and are defined as youth at risk undergo a process of mediation with their parents and family, since no one really wants to leave their home. The process is conducted with great empathy and attention to the needs of these young boys and girls. The youth arriving at Shanti House, that come under life-threatening conditions, are treated based on their method of treatment a comprehensive method that covers the entire gamut design of the homes, construction of an individual s therapeutic suit for each boy and girl, and provides these youngsters, that were abandoned by their families, with a new family. Quoting from the book, The Shanti House way penned by her.the way of truth is exhausting, and children should be led down that way until they learn to cling to it without the fear of the result. A child is a free spirit who needs to find its destiny and not the destiny of the parents or educators. In children, we hide seeds of truth, of choice, of upright gait, and we wait for them to ripen. Everyone has his own rate of progress, and at times too much care and overzealous watering do more damage than help. It is as if we are dealing with the agriculture of the spirit we sow and plant and wait for the crop like a patient farmer. Shedding light on the caregiving methods developed by her for the distressed youth, she said, Youth arriving at our shelter home must be at a stage that they are ready and willing to save their lives. For many of these youngsters, this is the last chance they will ever have for a warm and loving home before descending into life on the streets. This place is the tipping point in their lives the crossroad between a life of violence and crime and a life of thriving and living. We provide an accepting and open Jewish home, upholding Jewish traditions and values. A blend of unique therapeutic modalities for victims of abuse of all kinds with among the highest percentage of success rates in Israel. Running away from home as a teenager, there must have been some challenging times she had to go through. I found the way to save a life. I was born with the knowledge I just needed to take the journey to discover what was inside me the entire time. Life is a combination of nature and nurture but I truly believe that the circumstances we are handed in life are not what forms us it s our passion, our drive and rising above to connect to universal love. After suffering violence and abandonment, I became a child of the streets spanning two continents. I preferred the snow and ice to the pain and suffering I endured. I chose to live my life on my terms. I knew there was a higher power that was guiding me, a purpose, a reason. It kept me warm even throughout the toughest blizzards. I found myself in the deserts of Sinai and the streets of Tel Aviv. Despite suffering unspeakable violence and rape I learned that every word, every action counted and that there was a Karmatic force in the world everything happens for a reason. The methods that this shelter house has developed over the years including visibility, choice, psychotherapy treatment methods are now accepted practices in many therapeutic institutions. Since its establishment, Shanti House has contributed, in a variety of ways, to saving 52,000 teenagers, some of them returning to their homes, and some returning to a normative lifestyle accepted by the society they live in. Time spent at this shelter house enables youngsters to return to a stable life in terms of their emotional condition, employment and studies, develop their independence and become good and contributing members of society, despite and because of their past. Her noble work helps in paving a way for a healthy society. She exclaimed, Most of the youth at Shanti House finish their studies with full or partial matriculation, and then enlist in the army and thus returning and complying with social norms. This also prevents unnecessary expenses by the State, limits the budgets invested in youth at risk and delinquent youth, and produces a better and healthier society. Mariuma concluded by giving a message to those struggling with their lives still, The choice is yours: You can choose to feel miserable and victims of the difficult experiences you underwent, and live within a bubble of self-pity that does not get you anywhere only down, or you can choose to save your life, take the tough things you underwent and build on them to become a better person, to learn and grow so as to do good for yourself and the world. ollowing weeks of internal It has occurred before. suggested changes within the icine, literature and peacemaking have been withheld Fbickering, sex-abuse allegations This year we re doing it institution after members and a financial inves- tigation by police, the body that hands out the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature announced that no prize will be awarded this year. Instead, the academy said two Nobel Prizes in Literature will be handed out next year, the 2018 prize and the 2019 prize. The decision was made at a weekly meeting of the because we ve had a very, very unusual situation, with conflicts in the academy and a weakened academy in terms of the number of members, Olsson said. The internal feud within the academy which only hands out one of the Nobel prizes was triggered by an abuse scandal linked to Jean- Claude Arnault, a major cultural began to leave said the decision shows that the Academy now intends to focus on the restoration of its reputation. Last fall, Dagens Nyheter, one of Sweden s largest newspapers, published sexual misconduct claims from 18 women against Arnault, who runs a cultural center the academy used to help fund. 49 times in all since the honours based on the will of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel began in The Nobel literature prize was not given out on seven occasions, primarily due to war but also in 1935 because no candidate was deemed worthy of the prize. On seven other occasions, the literature award has been postponed, as Swedish Academy in figure in Sweden who is The Svenska Dagbladet paper has been proposed in this Stockholm on the grounds that the group was in too deep a crisis to choose a Nobel winner also the husband of poet Katarina Frostenson, an academy member. it. the group report publicly the reported last month that among those groped by Arnault was Swedish Crown case. Swedish Academy member Goran Malmqvist said properly. The present crisis of confidence places high demands on a long-term and robust work for change, said Anders Olsson, the academy s permanent secretary. We find it necessary to commit time to recovering public confidence in the Academy before the next laureate can be announced. It will be the first time since 1949 that the prestigious award has been delayed. Last year, Japanese-born British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro won the prize. The academy has admitted that unacceptable behaviour in the form of unwanted intimacy took place within its ranks, but its handling of the allegations has shredded the body s credibility, called into question its judgment and forced its first female leader to resign. A debate over how to face up to its flaws also divided the group s 18 members who are appointed for life into hostile camps and prompted seven members of the prestigious institution to leave or disassociate themselves from The Swedish Academy has now agreed to review its century-old operating practices. It said that work on the selection of a laureate is at an advanced stage and will continue as usual in the months ahead but the Academy needs time to regain its full complement. The Nobel Foundation reacted promptly, saying it presumes the academy will now put all its efforts into the task of restoring its credibility as a prize-awarding institution. It also demanded that concrete actions that are undertaken to ensure that it is a body worthy of the honour of choosing Nobel laureates. We also assume that all members of the Academy realize that both its extensive reform efforts and its future organisational structure must be characterised by greater openness toward the outside world, Carl-Henrik Heldin, the chairman of the Nobel Foundation Board, said in a separate statement. King Carl XVI Gustaf the body s patron who had Princess Victoria 12 years ago. Arnault also has been suspected of violating century-old Nobel rules by leaking names of winners of the prestigious award allegedly seven times, starting in It was not clear to whom the names were allegedly disclosed. Bjorn Hurtig, the lawyer for the 71-year-old Arnault, has denied the allegations, telling that his client is the victim of a witch hunt. The world s most prestigious prizes in science, med- that the postponement was a really good decision. We re in a crisis and it will take time to rebuild it again, he was quoted as saying.he also criticised the leaking of winners names before they are announced. We have to shut up. People mustn t start betting and make money on that. Being nominated does not mean that you actually get the prize. It is pretty ridiculous to have such hopes, Hasse Jakupsen, 52, said in Copenhagen, Denmark. I n a bid to reform the parliamentary system of frequent elections, the Prime Minister of India introduced an idea of One Nation, One Election and called for a national debate on this, which was also supported by the president as well as election commission. It won t be unreasonable to state that the Indian polity is perennially in an election mode. Barring a few exceptional years within a normal five-year tenure of the Lok Sabha, the country witnesses, on an average, elections to about five to seven State Assemblies every year. And we all know that elections in a country like India are massive, festive events. However, one must also understand a fact that frequent elections disrupt governance, deplete the exchequer and promote competitive populism. At this juncture, when so much has been said and is being said against parliamentary elections, it would be appropriate to look into some other relevant aspects of the democratic system of government. As is well-known, in a democratic system, besides the party in power, a strong opposition party that can enter into a debate and can criticise the policies of the ruling party and is ready, as an alternative to the existing government, is considered very essential. Now, whatever be the merits of this two-party or multiparty system of governing a nation, it presupposes or interposes the spirit of constant opposition and even antagonism between two or more parties. It thus divides a nation into groups, which owe allegiance to their respective party-constitution and party-leader and have narrow group interests uppermost in their mind. It also divides the society on linguistic, casteist, communal and other basis, both horizontally and vertically. Under such a scenario, every party becomes power hungry and those, which are not in power, adopt tactics to keep the ruling party on tenterhooks, without allowing it peace and easy breathing, with the result that the ruling party cannot formulate and implement any long-term policy nor can it take any unpopular step in national interest. Further, in order to win the support of the majority of voters, every party indulges in some populist cliches and makes some promises which serve as merely vote-catching devices but not necessarily practical or beneficial to the health of the nation. This gives rise to falsehood and wrong habits in leaders and their parties. Moreover, since their eyes are fixed on power, not only does every party point to the faults and shortcomings of others but every elected member constantly derides and ridicules the members of the other parties, particularly the person or the party which stood or is likely to stand against him in elections, considering the latter as his adversary. In the net result, one finds that unity, co-operation and inter-party goodwill are lost and their place is captured by narrow party-interests or selfish motives and by the habits of exaggeration, falsehood, fault-finding, etc. Moreover, since the rise to power is the ultimate goal and achievement of seats in the government are the sign of success, nothing is left out to achieve these and to occupy the prestigious seats in this race of musical chairs. Caste, community, money, muscle power, men, media every conceivable thing is used towards this end. Any issue is thought appropriate as an electoral issue and its importance is highlighted even at the risk of accentuating the divisiveness, bitterness or even enmity between various groups. Service of the nation remains an attractive slogan of every party though the real and hidden motive is to capture the levers of power. And, to fulfill this motive, some even resign from one party and join another, without regard to any principle and according to their convenience, and some parties combine with others or get split into two or more. Thus, a deep study of merits and demerits of this system would show that it raises more problems than it solves and, even if it was initially a good system, it has now degenerated like other systems and has led to government of the people who do not serve the people in the real sense of the word. So, in order to have a government that governs the least and the best, it is necessary that the moral stature of the people be raised high through education in values. And when all or most of the people will be of strong character, then parties and sectional representatives will not be required at all.

15 M anchester City were kept scoreless for the first time this season in a 0-0 draw with relegation-threatened Huddersfield on Sunday, slightly puncturing the party atmosphere on a day its players lift the Premier League trophy. The result meant City must wait to break a slew of Premier League records, with the champions still needing two points, one win and two goals to set milestones in a season when Pep Guardiola's side cruised to the title. The draw was more important to Huddersfield, who moved three points clear of the relegation zone with two games to play against Chelsea and Arsenal. City last failed to score a goal in a league game at Etihad Stadium in April last year, in a 0-0 draw against Manchester United. City were held to a goalless draw by Wolverhampton Wanderers in the League Cup this season, before winning a penalty shootout. City's players came out to a guard of honor made up of the Huddersfield team as well as players from City's title-winning team from On a sunny day, there was a party feel inside and outside the Etihad and City produced one of its sloppiest displays of the season, with their final ball lacking and striker Gabriel Jesus barely getting a chance at goal. In fact, Huddersfield had the better chances through Chris Lowe and Florent Hadergjonaj in the first half before defending deeply and obdurately after halftime. City's players were due to come back out of their dressing room soon after the final whistle to collect the league trophy that was won two weeks ago. West Bromwich Albion kept alive their slim survival hopes after Jake Livermore's dramatic injury-time goal earned a 1-0 win against Tottenham in the English Premier League on Saturday. The Baggies needed to beat fourthplace Spurs to stand any chance of staying up and left it late when Livermore turned the ball past Hugo Lloris. Stoke losing to Crystal Palace 2-1 kept West Brom's hopes of survival alive with the Potters becoming the first team relegated. West Brom are two points from safety and visit Crystal Palace in their final match next weekend. The two teams immediately above it, Swansea and Southampton, have played a match less and meet each other on Tuesday. Defeat also meant Tottenham have yet to confirm their top-four spot, and Chelsea could close the gap to two points with two games left if they beat Liverpool on Sunday. West Brom have dropped 26 points from winning positions this season the uventus are on the verge of a record- seventh successive Serie A Jextending title after coming from behind to beat Bologna 3-1 on Saturday, thanks to an inspirational performance from substitute Douglas Costa. Simone Verdi's penalty gave Bologna a surprise halftime lead and Juventus turned the match around with Douglas Costa shredding the defence amid an own goal from Sebastian De Maio and strikes from Sami Khedira and Paulo Dybala. Juventus moved seven points clear of second-placed Napoli and, with two rounds remaining, can secure the title on Sunday if Maurizio Sarri's side loses at home to Torino. "The title is not yet wrapped up, but we've taken a huge step towards it," Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said. They could win two trophies in the space of a few days as they face AC Milan in the Italian Cup final on Wednesday. Juventus started brightly but Bologna took the lead in the 30th minute after Lorenzo Crisetig pounced on a poor pass from Gianluigi Buffon and was pushed over by Daniele Rugani for a penalty. Despite a long wait following technical problems in communicating with the video assistant referee, Verdi kept his calm to roll in the spot kick down the middle. Allegri sent on Douglas Costa for the start of the second half and he had an immediate impact with a cross from the left which Juan Cuadrado just failed to connect with at the far post. Juventus leveled five minutes into the second half when De Maio turned Cuadrado's cross into his own net. The hosts should have been in front moments later but Mirante finger-tipped Douglas Costa's effort away, and Cuadrado was again millimeters away from connecting with the ball, with the goal gaping. Bologna almost restored their lead moments later but Buffon managed to push Emil Krafth's shot onto his left post. Juventus took the lead shortly after the hour as Mirante misjudged Douglas Costa's cross, allowing Khedira to tap in at the back post. Douglas Costa was tearing Bologna apart and he set up Juve's third in the 69th, setting up Dybala to end his goal drought. It was the Argentine's first goal since his hat trick against Benevento a month ago. of his last 37 matches on the surface, including 19 straight. His last loss on atience paid off for Rafael the dirt came against Dominic Thiem PNadal. in Rome last year. It was Nadal's mental Nadal, who will be trying to win resilience, not his intimidating his 11th French Open title in a few topspin forehand, that helped weeks, won his 400th clay-court match the top-ranked Spaniard overcome a difficult injury layoff and won 16 of his 17 matches this year in in the semifinals at Barcelona. He has get off to an impressive start to his all surfaces, including two on clay in season on clay. the Davis Cup. Nadal will be playing in the His biggest challengers in Madrid Madrid Open this week trying to will be third-ranked Alexander Zverev, add to his titles in Monte Carlo fifth-ranked Grigor Dimitrov and seventh-ranked Thiem, who lost to Nadal and Barcelona, and stay on track for yet another French Open in last year's final in the Spanish capital. Nadal defeated Dimitrov in the title. He was out of action earlier semifinals in Monte Carlo and beat for a couple of months earlier this Zverev in straight sets in the Davis Cup year because of a lingering right hip quarterfinals. injury that forced him to retire in the Australian Open Novak Djokovic, last year's semifinalist in quarterfinals and kept him from playing in Indian Madrid, will be trying to get his season going after Wells, Miami and Acapulco. He returned to action nursing a lingering right elbow injury. The 12thranked Serb hasn't made it past the last 16 in five tour- in the Davis Cup quarterfinals to help Spain defeat Germany, then went on to win in his 11th Monte naments this year. He lost in the third round in Monte Carlo title and 11th Barcelona title. Carlo and in the second round in both Miami and Nadal has been winning with ease since returning to the courts. He was never really challenged in the Australian Open. Indian Wells. He failed to advance past the last 16 at Monte Carlo or Barcelona, and arrives in Madrid carrying a winning streak of 46 straight sets on clay. Madrid, having to face Kei Nishikori, the Monte Carlo Djokovic didn't catch a break with the draw in The 16-time Grand Slam champion has won 36 finalist. "Douglas Costa is one of those players who can make the difference, who can completely change the match," Allegri said. "His daughter was born last night, he's not had much rest, so I started him on the bench to make the most of him during the match." AC Milan retained their European ambitions and relegated Hellas Verona in a 4-1 win. Hakan Calhanoglu, Patrick Cutrone and Ignazio Abate gave Milan a commanding lead. Fabio Borini netted Milan's fourth, after Lee Seung-woo bagged a late consolation for Verona. The win moved Milan up to sixth, the final qualifying place for the Europa League. With two matches left, Verona cannot achieve safety and joined bottom side Benevento in going straight back down to Serie B. Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri on Sunday conducted the selection trials for picking up India's two official match ball carriers for this year's FIFA World Cup in June. Brought to India for the first time by automobile brand Kia Motors, the initiative will see six children (two official match ball carriers and four spectators) getting shortlisted to become a part of world football's most prestigious tournament. Speaking to the press later, Chhetri pointed out that the unique initiative would prove to be a life-changing experience for the selected representatives and that to some extent it would also help to promote the love for football in the country. "It is going to be a huge experience for them. They will be witnessing football at such a grand stage and when they come back, they will share their experience with the other kids, and I think, this way certain amount of awareness around football will be generated, so that the kids are inspired most in the league but there were few hints they would take the lead at The Hawthorns. Ahmed Hegazi planted a header wide just before the break as the Baggies wasted their only opportunity of the first half. Spurs carried the greater threat and Ben Foster needed to be alert when Erik Lamela threatened before he palmed away Christian Eriksen's free kick after 62 minutes. West Brom were running out of time but Harry Kane almost scored a spectacular own-goal when Lloris turned his sliced clearance over with 17 minutes left. But the hosts kept pressing and grabbed the winner in stoppage time when Danny Rose and Livermore went for the ball during a goalmouth scramble and spanyol dealt Atletico Madrid their first Ehome defeat of the Spanish league season on Sunday. Espanyol earned the surprise 2-0 win after scoring the first goals in nine visits by an opposing team at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. With Barcelona already league champions, Atletico coach Diego Simeone left star forward Antoine Griezmann on the bench with the team focused on the Europa League final against Marseille on May 16. Striker Diego Costa served a onegame suspension. Atletico had won 12 and drawn five previous home matches this season in La Liga. The defeat left second-place Atletico four points ahead of Real Madrid before the latter's visit to Barcelona. Espanyol defended well and broke through in the 53rd minute when Oscar Melendo's strike was diverted by Atletico defender Stefan Savic, leaving goalkeeper Jan Oblak with little chance. Leo Baptistao blasted in a second goal from near the edge of the box to seal the victory in the 77th. Espanyol's caretaker coach, David Gallego, was sent off at halftime, apparently for arguing with the referee. Atletico left back Felipe Luis played his first match since recovering from a broken fibula in his left leg in March. He played 65 minutes before being substituted. Livermore poked it in to spark wild celebrations. Southampton's hopes of avoiding relegation took a blow as Everton midfielder Tom Davies scored an equalisee in the sixth minute of added time to rescue a 1-1 draw on Saturday. Substitute Nathan Redmond's first goal in almost a year appeared to put the fight very much back in Saints' hands as it would have left them needing a win at fellow struggler Swansea on Tuesday to guarantee safety. However, Davies' deflected shot off defender Wesley Hoedt moved Mark Hughes' side above 18th-placed Swansea on goal difference only. to play more and improve," the 33- year-old said. Sunday's selection trials saw fifty children under 14 years of age turn up at the FCB Escola Grounds, where they were required to demonstrate their dribbling, juggling and shooting skills and had to answer a set of questions related to sports to fulfill the selection criteria. Reflecting on the skilful turnout for the initiative, Chhetri commented on the passion the children had for football. "I am overwhelmed to see the kind of talent these little kids have. They are not only just passionate about the game but are also wellversed about its nuances," he said. "I shall envy the kids who eventually go over to Russia to Atletico lost forward Victor "Vitolo" Machin to a right-leg injury in the first half. He was replaced by 22-year-old Aroua Sane, who made his first-team debut. Also on Sunday, Alaves eased to a 3-0 win at relegated Malaga. Valencia were assured of a top-four finish in the Spanish league and a berth in next season's Champions League after Real Betis lost at Athletic Bilbao 2-0 on Saturday. The defeat left fifth-place Betis eight points behind Valencia in fourth with two games left for the Seville-based club. Iker Munian headed in a cross from Inigo Lekeu for Bilbao's opener in the 76th minute, and Aritz Aduriz scored from a pass by Inaki Williams in stoppage time. Betis hit the crossbar twice when pressing for a late equaliser before Aduriz scored on the final kick of the match. Valencia played later Saturday knowing its mission was accomplished, and lost at regional rival Villarreal 1-0. Mario Gaspar headed in Villarreal's winner with four minutes left. Valencia finished in 12th place the last two seasons, but rebounded under manager Marcelino Garcia Toral in this campaign. "We have had a great season thanks to everyone, from the coaches to the staff, which made good signings," Valencia midfielder Dani Parejo said. "Thanks to everyone, Valencia are back to where it should be." watch the game's greatest players in action. It will be a life-changing experience. I must thank Kia Motors for giving me the opportunity to interact with these kids and be a part of such a wonderful initiative," he added. Sunday's events also saw Sunil Chhetri deliver a pumped up pep-talk to the participating children, where the Indian captain highlighted on proper diet and good sleep to be able to pursue football. "Eat good and sleep well," Chhet echoed a couple of times, before he added, "That's the only way to do it. Phones? Afterward, when you are famous and have a blue tick after your Instagram profile. Until then use your time to sleep well and eat well." It was cruel end for the visitors, who finished the match with 10 men after Maya Yoshida's 85th-minute red card. Southampton received a pre-match boost with the absence from Everton of Wayne Rooney (calf) and Theo Walcott (knee), and despite early half-chances from Davies and Cenk Tosun the visitors remained composed and controlled. Twice, Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was forced into action, saving Charlie Austin's half-volley and Oriol Romeu's shot which deflected off Phil Jagielka. Southampton broke the deadlock 11 minutes into the second half when Redmond directed a far-post header between Pickford's legs from Cedric Soares' cross, his first goal since May 13. Redmond's introduction deserved to be game-changing, although whether Saints boss Hughes would have made the change so early had Mario Lemina not been injured is open to debate. The former England Under-21 forward had chances to add to his tally, notably tricking his way into the area to force another save from Pickford. Yoshida's departure to a second yellow card put Southampton under unnecessary pressure and their resolve cracked deep into added time with Davies' deflected shot. Cardiff sealed their return to the Premier League after a four-year absence by claiming the final automatic promotion spot in the second-tier League Championship at the expense of Fulham on Sunday. With a 0-0 draw at home to Reading, Cardiff joined champions Wolverhampton Wanderers in going up to the world's most lucrative league as its 69-year-old manager, Neil Warnock, earned a record eighth promotion in English football. Warnock, one of the most charismatic managers in the English game, gets a fourth shot in charge of a Premier League club after stints with Sheffield United, Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace.

16 meter S uryakumar Yadav's successive half century and an allround performance from Hardik Pandya powered Mumbai Indians to a 13-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders, keeping them in play-offs contention in the Indian Premier League. Yadav (59 off 39) continued his rich run with a fourth fifty of the tournament before Pandya (35* off 20) plundered the KKR attack to nudge the hosts to 181 for four. Yadav's opening partner Evin Lewis (45 off 28) too made a valuable contribution in the 91-run stand. KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik (36* off 26) tried his best to get his team over the line but was unable to after the visitors needed 60 runs off the last 30 balls. By the final over, KKR needed 23 runs and Krunal Pandya defended them comfortably with the innings ending at 168 for six. Robin Uthappa's (54 off 35) first fifty plus score of the competition also went in vain. It was another much needed win for slow starters Mumbai, who had beaten KXIP on Friday. They remain in fifth spot in the standings with eight points, having earned their fourth win in 10 games. KKR, on the other hand, remain in the top-four with 10 points after their fifth loss in 10 matches. Chasing a stiff 182, KKR lost both the openers Chris Lynn (17) and Shubhman Gill (7) quickly, leaving them at 28 for two. Then Rana and Uthappa, who got a life on '4', resurrected the innings with an 84-run stand. They hammered spinners Pandya and Mayank Markande as the two amassed 30 runs in just two overs. Uthappa, who was dropped by Markande, smashed him for two consecutive sixes. After Uthappa's and Rana's dismissal, the asking rate went up steeply and the target proved to be too much. For Mumbai, Hardik (2-19) was the pick of the bowlers while Markande, Bumrah, Krunal and Mitchell McClenaghan picked up a wicket each. Earlier, Mumbai openers Yadav and Lewis set the platform for a challenging total. Yadav made his intentions clear by hammering debutant Prasidh Krishna for a boundary. Then he punished Australian Mitchell Johnson, pulling him for a six and followed up with two fours as the over went for 15 runs. Lewis, who was playing second fiddle, freed his arms striking two consecutive fours off Sunil Narine. Lewis then pulled Krishna for a towering six over deep square-leg. Bowling changes did not work for KKR as the West Indian welcomed Piyush Chawla with a six over mid-wicket before smashing two consecutive fours as Mumbai raced to 56/0 after the power-play period. They hit seven fours and three sixes in the first six overs. Yadav and Lewis, who got a life on '38', continued their brutal assault as the hosts raced to 82/0 in just eight overs. But as the two were poised for a big score, Andre Russell broke their stand removing Lewis, who was caught by Chris Lynn, in the 10th over. Lewis struck five fours and two sixes in his knock. The openers fall led to KKR bowlers making a strong comeback. The away team conceded only 43 runs from overs 9-15, bringing the run rate down drastically. Krunal (14) also did not contribute much as he gave a sitter to Shubhman Gill off Narine. A late cameo by Hardik helped the three-time champions cross the 180-run-mark. Hardik struck two fours in the final over with J P Duminy (13 not out) at the other end. Russell (2-12) and Narine (2-35) were the pick of the bowlers for KKR. unrisers Hyderabad when on SMonday will enter at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad to play against Royal challengers Bangalore, the home side will aim for another win to seal their place in the top four of this edition of Indian Premier League. Kane Williamson led SRH has impressed everyone with their performance this season winning seven of nine games played so far. They are currently sitting at the top of league table with 14 points in their bag winning all of their last three games. On one side, Surnisers will be focusing to continue their rich form to strengthen their top position, it'll be a tough challenge for RCB to keep their hopes alive of first silverware. Virat led RCB is trailing at sixth position with 6 points from nine games. The biggest positive for Sunrisers in this edition has been the ravishing performance of their bowling unit. Despite the unavailability of two times defending purple cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar the team performed brilliantly and successfully defended 132 runs against Kings XI Punjab and 152 versus Rajasthan Royals. Afghan spinner Rashid Khan and Siddarth Kaul leads the wicket taking list with 12 each, while Shakib has eight dismissals in his name. Bhuvneshwar and Sandeep Sharma have also made their presence felt with six wickets each. However, their concern lies in the batting front, apart captain Kane Williamson, who has 354 runs from nine Live on Star Sports 1 vs games at an average of no other batsman has contributed from the other end making it difficult for the right hand New Zealand skipper at critical situations. Star Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has failed to justify his caliber. 32-year old former SRH skipper has managed to score 184 runs in the tournament so far from eight games. While big buy Manish Pandey have also disappointed with his performance of 179 runs. HEAD TO HEAD Other batsman Yusuf Pathan (174), Shakib al Hasan (123) and Wriddhiman Saha (79) have also been fairly unimpressive. While the visitors led by Indian skipper Virat are struggling for survival. They need to win each of their remaining five games and also hope other favorable results to remain in contention for the play-offs. On Monday in the tough away game, star duo of Kohli and AB de Villiers will have to create some magic with their bat to make it tough for SRH, whose bowlers have proved to be headache for all teams. Despite having likes of de Kock and McCullum in the top front with Virat and Ab supporting them in the mid, RCB has failed to put mammoth total on the board which their bowlers could defend. But now it's time for them to bring out something different since because one more defeat would spell their ouster. RCB's bowling so far has remained ordinary. Umesh Yadav (13 wickets) and Yuzvendra Chahal (7 wickets) have got wickets but Hyderabad-lad Mohammad Siraj and Washington Sundar also need to come up with a solid show on Monday. Y oung off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman led an impressive bowling display from Kings XI Punjab to restrict struggling Rajasthan Royals to a modest 152 for nine in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday. Mujeeb (3/27) struck in the first two deliveries of the 15th over, first removing dangerous -looking Jos Buttler and then Jofra Archer to stand in with a chance of registering a hattrick. But it didn't come as he bowled a wide delivery in the next ball. However, Mujeeb's exploits were enough to keep Rajasthan in check as Kings XI kept on losing wickets at regular intervals from the start after being sent into bat. Besides Mujeeb, Andrew Tye (2/24), Axar Patel (1/21), skipper Ravichandran Ashwin (1/30) and Ankit Rajpoot (1/37) were the other wicket-takers for Kings XI. Opening the batting, Buttler scored 51 off 39 balls with the help of seven boundaries to anchor Rajasthan innings but just when it was time for him to accelerate he nicked a Mujeeb delivery to KL Rahul behind the stumps. To make matters worse for Rajasthan, Mujeeb cleaned up new man Archer with a googly in the next delivery to stand on the verge of a hat-trick. Mujeeb also accounted for dangerous Ben Stokes (12) who was brilliantly caught by a joint effort from Mayank Aggarwal and Manoj Tiwary at the long-off boundary. Earlier asked to bat, Rajasthan did not have a great start as they lost opener D'Arcy Short (2) and skipper Ajinkya Rahane (5) early before Buttler and Sanju Samson (28) stitched 49 runs for the third wicket to stabilise the innings. Towards the end, Shreyas Gopal played a 16-ball 24- run cameo but it was not enough to take Rajasthan to a good total. wo dropped catches cost Delhi Daredevils the Tgame against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, said assistant coach Pravin Amre. "On this wicket, we batted well in the powerplay by getting 60 runs. I think that was very crucial. Prithvi's (Shaw) knock was so critical to give that foundation. But we were 10 runs short in the end," said Amre after the match on Saturday night. "After that also, we came back strongly. In seven overs we did not give a single boundary to them. I think the match was on. The saying is that catches win matches. We dropped two crucial ones," he said, referring to the dropped catches of SRH opener Alex Hales and key batsman Yusuf Pathan. Opener Alex Hales (45 off 31 balls) was dropped by Glenn Maxwell at deep mid-wicket boundary off Avesh Khan when the batsman was on 9. Pathan's dropped catch by Vijay Shankar was one of the game changing moments during the chase. SRH won the match by seven wickets with a ball to spare. "Really disappointed. Because, we fought very well. We were beating SRH on their home ground. I must give credit to our batting unit. We all know that this year SRH bowing unit is doing great job. I think scoring those runs I think, because of fielding, we are the losing side," Amre said. Hales went on to score 45 after his catch was dropped, he said, regretting that the team had also practiced fielding. Amre praised Prithvi Shaw who scored a superb 65 runs off 36 balls. "Prithvi is a special talent. I personally know him since he was a 14-year-old. From the school days, he was making headlines, scoring 500 runs and coming in a first class, scoring that debut 100 amed captain of Sunrisers NHyderabad after the banned David Warner was ruled out of the Indian Premier League's 11th edition, Kane Williamson on Sunday said it's "impossible" for anyone, including Alex Hales, to be a replacement for the explosive Australian opener in the T20 franchise's setup. Williamson was asked about England's Hales, who was given the task of filling in the big boots of Warner. "I don't think it's a matter of replacing David Warner. I think that's probably an impossible thing to do. He is one of the best T20 batters in the world and for this franchise in the last few years," Williamson for Mumbai Ranji and then four consecutive 100s at first class level. That matters to me. It's not like a T20 game. How you play in a first class match, that really counts," he said. Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad star bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar said the victory against Delhi Daredevils was due to the collective efforts of the team. "Why it (win) is important because, if you look at last three, four matches, we were winning from our bowling. But, this match, the batsman won us the game. If you look at as a team unity, it's a perfect win for us. Because, bowlers won us the matches. Batsmen winning us the matches. So, it's a complete team performance," he said. Kumar, who missed recent matches due to fitness issues, said he was feeling fit. "That's why I am playing the match. There was a niggle in the last few matches. I did not play. I felt fit before this match, " he said. said. Warner was slapped with a one-year ban by Cricket eaping praise on skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, HChennai Super Kings (CSK) batting coach Mike Hussey has termed the former India Test wicket-keeper as the man having the fastest draw of as far as stumping off spinners is concerned. "My observations are he's (Dhoni) got to be the fastest in the world against the spinners in taking the bails off. He's unbelievably quick," said the former Australia player after CSK had routed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by six wickets in an IPL match on Saturday. Dhoni had effected quick-silver stumping, taking the bails off in a flash, to send back top South Africa batsman A B de Villiers and Murugan Ashwin of the RCB, both off Harbhajan Singh, to help CSK stop the strong visitors at 127 for 9 that was overhauled by the hosts by 12 balls to spare. Hussey was effusive in his praise for the former India skipper with the bat too. "He's such an important player for the team. He's a fantastic keeper, has been in unbelievably good form with the bat, probably the best I've seen him play for quite a few years," he said. Hussey also praised veteran off spinner Harbhajan and left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja who bundled out the strong Chennai Super Kings for a low total. "Harbhajan has been bowling nicely the last few games. And he's been doing a fantastic job for us though those middle overs," he said. "He (Jadeja) bowled beautifully today. The skipper has been showing nice faith in him and that's been important, giving him the confidence. It's nice for him to get the rewards today,"hussey added. "He's been bowling well but the rewards have just not been coming his way. So, it's nice for him to get the reward (man of the match) today with an excellent performance," the CSK batting coach noted. Australia owing to his involvement in ball tampering during a Test in South Africa in March. Sunrisers overcame the loss of Warner in style, savouring more success than failures, to claim the top spot in the pecking order along with Chennai Super Kings. "It's nice to be on top of the table. But at the same time, I mentioned a number of times that we want to keep seeing those improvements, keep adapting to the different surfaces that we would be faced with in every game," Williamson said during a media interaction. Eyeing a playoffs berth, Sunrisers face a struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Monday. SRH would like to take each game as it comes, the New Zealander said. Williamson, who has been impressive both as a captain and batsman for SRH, said he is focused on contributing his best for the team. "The RCB side, they are fantastic. There are number of teams in the competition that haven't come away with wins like they would have wanted to. "A lot of those teams have lost really close games and things can be very different in T20 cricket. We know they are a very strong team with some of the best players in the world," he said, empathising with RCB.