remain intact for long as the JD (U) decided to break away and join the BJP-led NDA. Nitish also gave a stern message at the executive meeting

Transcription

1 utting an end to all specu- the Janata Dal (U) on Plation, Sunday announced that it will not part ways with the BJP and will remain a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The decision was taken at the National Executive meeting of the party, chaired by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, in the national Capital. The party sought to play down reports of strain in its ties with the BJP over allotment of seats among the NDA parties for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Several issues such as 2019 Lok Sabha elections and 2020 Bihar Assembly elections were discussed during the JD (U) National Executive. Ahead of the National Executive, Nitish also chaired a meeting of senior party leaders on Saturday evening. Sources said the meeting resolved that the JD(U) decided to contest on 17 Lok Sabha seats during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, with the rest of the seats going to NDA constituents, including the BJP. The announcement comes amid repeated attacks on Nitish by RJD leader and former Bihar deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav. The JD (U) authorised Nitish to finalise the party's stand on political issues, espite flood-like situation in Dseveral parts of the country due to heavy rains, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data shows that so far 12 of the 36 meteorological subdivisions have seen deficit rain till July 7. This has led to lower sowing of crops such as rice, pulses, oilseeds and cotton during kharif crop season. According to the Agriculture including the upcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. While it favoured simultaneous polls, a proposal being backed strongly by the Modi Government, JD (U) called for evolving a consensus through talks with other parties. "It will be decided later as to which party will contest how many seats. The NDA will fight the elections together and sweep the State," general secretary Sanjay Kumar Jha told the media. Party leaders said the issue of number of seats in Bihar JD (U) will fight in the Lok Sabha polls did not come up for discussion. Nitish has been authorised to finalise its stand, they said. Speculations were also rife in the recent past of the JD (U) ending ties with the BJP as the Chief Minister and his party repeatedly reiterated the demand of special status for Bihar. On several occasions, the Yadav scion has said the doors of Mahagathbandhan, comprising the RJD and the Congress, are closed for Nitish. Accusing the Chief Minister of ditching the Mahagathbandhan and people of Bihar by joining hands with the BJP, Tejashwi has said that Nitish "cannot be trusted". Nitish's JDU had fought ork has begun to con- a tree wall three Wstruct sides of the Capital to save Delhi from dusty-gusty western storms. According to a senior official of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF &CC), a natural barrier is to come up all along Delhi border with Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, while also encompassing the Aravali and the Yamuna forests areas. Under the scheme, 31 lakh saplings of various native species are to be planted in the city. "The scheme has two objectives absorption of pollutioncausing particulate matters by trees and shielding Delhi from the choking dust storms, coming in from Rajasthan every year due to western disturbances," said the official. Adding further, the official mentioned that based on scientific studies, sufficiently tall and dense trees like those of "pilkhan, goolar, mango, mahua" and other native tress have been chosen for this scheme. These tress prevent the dust particle from rising above in the sky due to low atmospheric pressure and stop them from condensing at few meters Ministry, 33.4 million hectares have been planted under different crops per cent lower than the 38.9 million hectares planted till July 6 last year. The IMD data shows that 12 States including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Assam have received deficient rainfall by 18 per cent or more compared to normal. Only eight States namely Puducherry, Punjab, Mizoram, Haryana, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have received more than the normal rainfall till July 7. As per IMD data, out of 681 districts, 256 have received deficient to large deficient rainfall the previous Assembly elections in Bihar in alliance with the RJD and the Congress as part of the Mahagathbandhan. However, the alliance could not above the ground, he said. The Forest Department of the Delhi Government is all set to complete this scheme within two years, said other senior officials of the department, adding that the scheme has already been formally launched on July 7. Also included in this scheme are the tress of "pepul, neem, banyan, berry, amla (Indian gooseberry), jamun, amltash, harre, bahera" and other tress which release more Oxygen. Of all these trees, pepul, which releases Oxygen while 182 districts have received large excess of rainfall till July 7. As many as 210 districts have round the clock, would be the highest chunk of trees to be planted in the scheme. The official said the minute dust particles and other pollutants of the air easily get deposited on the leaves of ever green trees and are subsequently washed down to the ground and mix up with soil during rains. Accordingly, this scheme may prove to be an effective and permanent solution to the malady of air pollution, the officials said. Continued on Page 4 received normal rainfall in the country. The data shows there is deficient rainfall by 42 per cent in remain intact for long as the JD (U) decided to break away and join the BJP-led NDA. Nitish also gave a stern message at the executive meeting that there has to be no compromise on 3Cs: Corruption, crime and communalism. "Doesn't matter whether my Government stays or not. But there has to be no compromise of 3Cs," Kumar said in his address to party men. The executive also reiterated the party's opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Bill that allows Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan to be eligible for Indian citizenship after a stay of six years. Religion cannot be a basis for citizenship, JD (U) said in its resolution. hree labourers drown while clean- a sewage treatment plant in Ting Loni, Ghaziabad, on Sunday. The death was allegedly caused by poisonous gas in the plant. Police said pump operator Mahesh Kasana, 28, a resident of Baghpat, entered the 40- feet deep tank to clean garbage and when he did not come out, the other worker Roshan Lal, 33, a resident of Saharanpur, went inside the tank but he also got suffocated. The third person, yet to be identified, also went down to rescue them, said police, adding that he also died. Uttar Pradesh; 30 per cent in Odisha; 20 per cent in Bihar; 31 per cent in Jharkhand and 20 per escuers in northern RThailand on Sunday extracted four members of a youth soccer team from the cave where they had been trapped for more than two weeks, part of an ongoing operation to rescue the 12 boys and their coach. The head of the operation said it is going "better than expected." The operation to rescue the boys, ages 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach by having them dive out of the flooded cave began this morning, with expert divers entering the sprawling complex for the complicated and dangerous mission. Shortly before 8 pm, Thai navy SEALs, who are taking part in the rescue operation, reported on their official Facebook page that four had been rescued. Chiang Rai acting dreams everyone. Good night. Hooyah." Narongsak said earlier in cially complicated because of twists and turns in narrow flooded passages. Gov. Narongsak the day that 13 foreign and five But Narongsak said earlier Osatanakorn, who is heading the operation, said the four boys had been taken to a hospital. "The operation went much Thai divers were taking part in the rescue and that two divers would accompany each boy as they're gradually extracted. that mild weather and falling water levels over the last few days had created optimal conditions for an underwater evacuation better than expected," The only way to bring the that won't last if it rains again. Narongsak said at a news conference, adding that the healthiest were taken out first. He said the next phase of the operation would start in hours. The entire operation to rescue all 13 could last two to four days, depending on weather and water conditions, said boys and their coach out of the cave is by navigating dark and tight passageways filled with muddy water and strong currents, as well as oxygen-depleted air. A former Thai navy SEAL passed out and died making the dive Friday. Experienced cave rescue Before announcing that the rescue was underway, authorities ordered the throngs of media that have gathered at the cave from around the world to leave. The boys and their coach became stranded when they went exploring in the cave army Major General experts consider an underwater after a practice game June 23. Chalongchai Chaiyakam. Just after 9 pm, Thai navy SEALs posted on their Facebook page again, saying, "Have sweet escape a last resort, espe- cially with people untrained in diving, as the boys are. The path out is considered espe- Monsoon flooding cut off their escape and prevented rescuers from finding them for almost 10 days. After being informed by the local residents about the incident, police, along with National Disaster Response Force, (NDRF) rushed to the spot and took out the bodies. District Magistrate Ritu Maheswar ordered an enquiry into the incident. Contractor Rakesh Chauhan was held responsible by officials for the tragedy and a complaint was filed against him in Loni Police Station, said officials. The sewage treatment plant was installed by Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam. The District Magistrate announced a compensation of 30,000 each to the victims family members, said officials. cimai-velve etti, Indian star tortoise, king cobra, Indian rock python, Nilgiri wood pigeon, aanai kuru, pazhamkaach, bi-coloured frog, Indian black turtle, red sand boa, pallid harrier, darter and Malabar pied hornbill among others. The decision will ensure ban on construction and commercial mining activities and restrict hotels and resorts near the tiger reserve which supports an ecologically sustainable habitat in Western Ghats landscape for about tigers, 600 to 800 Asian elephant and gaur apart from other animals of significance, cent in Chhattisgarh. West Bengal has received normal rainfall after arrival of southwest monsoon while it had received less rain during pre monsoon period. The data shows that 56 districts of Uttar Pradesh including Allahabad, Amethi, Azamgarh, Ballia, Barabanki, Faizabad and Fetahpur; 23 districts of Bihar which include Bhojpur, Aurangabad, Muzzafarpur, Khagaria, Nalanda, Lakhi Sarai, Patna and Siwan; 19 of Jharkhand which include Bokaro, Gumla, Chatra, Khunti, Dhanbad, Koderma and Giridih and 21 of Odisha that include Balangir, Angul, Jajapur, Kalahandi and Kandhamal have received less rain till date. Continued on Page 4 E which forms rich prey base for the predators striped cats. Declared as a tiger reserve (with the legal status of a national park) in 2013, the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve xternal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday condoled the death of an Indian student during an attempted robbery in Kansas City in the US and assured all required assistance to the family of the deceased. According to authorities in Kansas City, Sharath Koppu, who hails from Telangana, was fatally shot during a suspected incident of robbery at a restaurant where he worked. He died shortly after being taken to a hospital on Friday. The family members of the 25-year-old had urged Swaraj to bring the mortal remains of their son to India as soon as possible. n a move aimed to provide Ibreathing space to big cats and safe corridors for elephants from Western Ghats to Eastern Ghats and vice-versa, the Union Environment Ministry has issued a draft notification declaring 438 sq km of area around the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Nilgiri Hills as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ). The reserve is not only conducive for tigers and elephants but also is rich in flora and fauna. It is home to many rare, endemic, endangered and threatened species such as (Core) is situated at the trijunction of three States Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala juxtaposed with contiguous forests all around. ipa Karmakar scripted history on Sunday by Dbecoming the first Indian gymnast to clinch a Gold medal at a global event, announcing in style her comeback from a career-threatening injury, at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup in Mersin, Turkey. Returning to action after a lay-off of nearly two years due to a knee injury, Dipa emerged triumphant in the vault event. The 24-year-old from Tripura, who had finished fourth in vault event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, scored to win the top prize. She had topped the qualification with a score of She is now the first Indian gymnast to win a Gold in a world level event, Gymnastics Federation of India vice-president Riyaz Ahmed Bhati said. In her first attempt, Dipa had a difficulty score of while collecting in execution for a total of She improved the score in her second attempt. Detailed report o Page 16

2 he Mahabharata war was Tfought in Kurukshetra, but where was Kurukshetra? Was it actually where the present Kurukshetra is located? Though many have worked on the location of places in the epics, they do not seem to have challenged the location of Kurukshetra. It should be noted that Kurukshetra merely means the field of the Kurus. Surely then, it could have been any area within Kuru territory? Or were there many different areas called Kurukshetra? In the Mahabharata, there are conflicting statements on its location. Some passages locate it to the west of the Yamuna, in the present region of districts Kurukshetra and Karnal in Haryana, but other statements actually place Kurukshetra, and particularly the site of the battle, near Hastinapura. Here we present some of the various statements in the Mahabharata. It says that Kurukshetra lay to the south of the Sarasvati and to the north of the Drishadvati rivers. These rivers are generally identified with the Ghaggar and Chautang in the present Haryana region. Kurukshetra was also called Samanta-panchaka, because of the five lakes here created by Rama Jamadagnya (later known as Parashurama), after killing all the Kshatriyas. Chitrangada fought a battle against a gandharva at Kurukshetra on the river Sarasvati, lasting three years. All these statements correspond with its identification with the present Kurukshetra. It is when we come to the actual battle, the great war, that things get confusing. The Pandavas at this time had their capital at Indraprastha, believed to correspond with the site of Purana Qila in New Delhi. The Kauravas were at Hastinapura, identified with a place of the same name, located in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, to the east of Indraprastha/Purana Qila. When the two groups decided to fight, logic tells us they would march towards each other, with the battle taking place somewhere between Indraprastha and Hastinapura. Why would the Pandavas march to the north, and the Kauravas to the north-west, even crossing the Yamuna river? After the battle was over, the Pandavas occupied Hastinapura. Also, after the battle Bhishma lay on the banks of the river Oghavati, which is generally identified with a river near the Drishadvati. On the other hand, in several passages the Pandavas are said to have visited Bhishma while he lay on his bed of arrows on this river, and then returned to Hastinapura at night. Certainly they could not have returned from the present Kurukshetra within a day. A different passage even states that Bhishma lay on the banks of the Ganga, and that it was from here that the Pandavas returned every night to Hastinapura. An old river bed, known as the Burhi Ganga, actually passes near Hastinapura. Another indication of a different location for Kurukshetra is a reference to Takshaka, the Naga king, who is said to have lived there on the banks of the river Ikshumati. The Ikshumati has been identified with the Kali Nadi, which joins the Hindon river in Baghpat district, not far from Hastinapura. Takshaka is also said to have lived in Kurukshetra and Khandava. Khandavaprastha, was of course, the forest located near Indraprastha. Apart from Kurukshetra, Kurujangala is mentioned as a region, the country of the Kurus, and it is said that there were many armies here. Kunti, the text states, reached Kurujangala, and then presented herself at the gates of Hastinapura. Thus Kurujangala was the region around Hastinapura. It is certainly possible that a battlefield in this region came to be known as Kurukshetra. The Mahabharata is not a purely historical text, including in it myths, legends and imaginary descriptions. Yet historians have tried to glean aspects of history from it, among whom BB Lal was a forerunner, and who based his work on the identification of places. He suggested that the main period of the Mahabharata and its war corresponded with the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) culture. PGW, a fine grey pottery with black painting is found at both Purana Qila and Hastinapura and many other sites both in this region and across the Yamuna in Haryana. This PGW culture can be broadly dated between 1200 oussing on important Fwomen related issues, a day long workshop was conducted by Vigyan Bharti in collaboration with Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST) on Sunday. On the occasion the women s wing of Vigyan Bharti, Shakti Bharat launched Women Shakti unit for Uttarakhand which aims at empowering women in the State. Speaking on the occasion, the president of Shakti Bharat, Sudha Tiwari said, Our initiative works to uplift women through the medium of science. We have created several programmes to spread awareness about the education of girls especially living in the villages. We also focus on connecting them with various other curricular activities that can empower them economically. She further said, We also focus on women s health, education and safety. Our team is working in 17 different States to raise entrepreneurs and employment at different levels. The other important aspects are giving information n the month of July, twenty Ione years ago, one of India s most brilliant filmmakers- Chetan Anand-breathed his last, leaving a great vacuum in the world of art and films and leaving behind works of a wondrous cinematic quality. His films like Haqeeqat, Hindustan ki Kasam, Heer Ranjha and Aakhri Khat are classics of our film industry. Dehradun feels privileged to have been an important part of this film maker s life in the 1940s as it was during the early forties that Anand worked as a teacher of history at the famous Doon School. While he taught young Doscos, Anand also kept working on film scripts. His heart lay in the challenging field of cinema. Chetan s stint at the Doon School ( ) was not the only link he had with this hill region. As a young boy, he had been sent by his mother to study at the Gurukul Kangri.He was at Gurukul Kangri near Haridwar from the age of seven to twelve. When he returned to Gurdaspur at the age of 12, he was put in a local school, given English coaching and after he adapted well and passed his BCE and 400 BCE, and is marked by fairly simple structures and crafts, along with agriculture accompanied by pastoralism. Others have placed the Mahabharata War much earlier, a few years before 3102 BCE, the traditional date of the start of the Kali Yuga. Archaeologically there is no evidence for such an early occupation of Indraprastha and Hastinapura. And much of the text, such as the grand descriptions of Indraprastha, designed and constructed by the great Asura architect Maya, has no correspondence with any archaeological culture. Thus using the epics to try and understand the past certainly has its difficulties. The Mahabharata may refer to many different early periods, though its composition is said to be later, with additions made from c.400 BCE- CE 400. Even so, it seems most likely that the Kurukshetra that served as the battlefield for the great war, whenever it took place, was somewhere between Delhi and Meerut. (A PhD in ancient Indian History, the writer lives in Dehradun and has authored ten books) about different ways so they can share our Indian culture with the younger generation. When asked about the Uttarakhand Shakti Unit and what it aims to do Tiwari said, We are planning to develop some programme that includes science for empowering the women. Our focus will be on aspects from home remedies to health issues. We also know that the condition of women who are educated and living in cities is better than those of women living in the villages. The second task is to empower them and educate them about the importance of education. We will also work for skill development in village areas so that the women can be made economically strong. Shakti Unit, Uttarakhand Matriculation in the first division, he was sent to Lahore Government College where Chetan had his first trysts with writing and directing plays. And after completing his Bachelors in Arts (BA) there, he left for London to qualify for the Indian Civil Service examinations, as per his father s wish. Instead of doing that however, Chetan studied theatre there, saw films, visited museums and galleries and participated in the Indian programmes of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Back in India, he joined the famous Doon School in 1940 (after a brief stint at All India Radio, New Delhi) and taught History, English, theatre and tennis here. He spent his free time writing plays and also set up an open-air theatre in the campus. When Dev Anand visited him and stayed with him at the beautiful house provided to him in the sprawling Chandbagh (Garden of the Moon) campus, he was not an actor yet.he had just ventured out towards Bombay from Lahore after completing his honours in English from the Government College there. He was received in Bombay by Chetan who was there during the school vacation. In his week long intense diar- control awareness Arhoea programme started in the district women hospital. Ways to prevent the disorder were discussed by the awareness team and the doctors called on the neonate mothers giving them tips of maintaining sanitation and hygiene. During the launch of the drive in district women hospital, Additional District Magistrate Manish Kumar said that to counter any problem, it is a must to spread the awareness among people. Addressing the officials, the ADM said, To control the spread of diarrhoea, people need to be made aware of the do s and don ts for prevention of this water borne disease especially in far flung areas of the district. The medicines must be made available in these areas. The District Magistrate Deepak Rawat said that child mortality rate was high in the district which needed to be checked. Not only should the Government officials fulfill their responsibility but people from all walks of life must participate so that the infant death rate can be brought down, he said. Drawing attention towards the significance secretary Ekta Tripathi said, As we all know there is a lot of potential in women, along autobiography Romancing with Life, Dev Anand fondly recalls the times he visited Chetan at the Doon School. During his visits to the school, he came to learn the manners of a proper Englishman. He writes that Chetan taught him table manners as he put me amongst the affluent, pick-of-the-upper class students at Doon School, with their spick and spanmanners-breakfasting and dining on tables laid out for them by uniformed khansamas. (Raj Days!) His fascination for English manners and education can be clearly felt while reading his autobiography. Chetan Anand s dream took him to Mumbai (then Bombay) during the school s winter break in the year 1943.There he met Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Phani Majumdar, Kishore Sahu and of cleanliness, he said children must be taught to wash their hands and not defecate in the open. He said that the message of cleanliness must percolate among the rural people and the young mothers be taught about cleaning of milk bottles of children. Chief Medical Officer of the district hospital, Dr Ashok Gairola told The Pioneer that the intense diarrhoea control drive shall continue for a fortnight. During this, medical camps shall be held at various places across the district. ASHA workers will distribute ORS packets by visiting with so many resources. Our aim is to create a bridge between women in urban areas and market, so they can achieve economic backbone for further work. Vigyan Bharti president Dr Mahesh Bhatt said, The one day workshop was divided into two parts health and safety. As we all know, women s safety is such a burning issue in modern times. It is important that we raise awareness some other filmmakers. He sold a film script to Kishore Sahu. Majumdar cast the young Chetan as the hero opposite Nargis in Rajkumar which was not a success. In 1944, he gave up his job at The Doon School. In 1946, he made Neecha Nagar, starring Kamini Kaushal and famous radio artist Rafi Peer. The film won him accolades and bagged the Palme d'or (Best Film) award at the Cannes Film Festival. The rise of Dev Anand, Chetan s younger brother, to stardom, synchronised with the desire in the two brothers to tell a different kind of story and create a different kind of cinema. Navketan was born in Unfortunately, the first Navketan film, Afsar, starring Dev Anand and Suraiya, later to be made as Sahib Bahadur, homes of people and giving directions to wash hands in the right manner. He, further, added that people shall be specially made aware of maintaining personal hygiene and cleanliness by washing hands before cooking, after feeding children and after using toilet with soap and water. The diarrhoea patient must be given ORS at fixed intervals and zinc tablet for 14 days. The children aged under two years must not be given this zinc tablet. He said the main aim of the drive was treatment as well as spread of awareness towards this deadly disorder. among women about the different aspects like the incidents which can take place in daily life, at home, college or workplaces. Information among women is the key to enable society to avoid most of such unwanted incidents. Anuradha Singh, Suman Mandrwal, Girish Semwal, Deependra Tripathi and Rajni Sinha among others were also among those present on the occasion. is lost. The negative burnt in a laboratory fire. The 1954 Navketan film Taxi Driversaw unprecedented success. The film was directed by Chetan Anand and stars his brother Dev, Dev s wife- to- be Kalpana Kartik, and Johny Walker. The film Haqeeqat (1964) won Chetan Anand the 1965 National Film Award. His range as a filmmaker was stunning. We can see this from the austerity of Haqeeqat, the visual beauty of Heer Ranjha, the poignance of Aakhri Khat and the complexity of Kudrat which won Anand the Filmfare Award for the best story. Anand s Heer Ranjha remains the quintessential interpretation of Waris Shah s Heer. Screenplay written by Kaifi Azmi, the film is delivered in poetical verse, making it one of the unique and original pieces of cinematic work. It is a poem on celluloid. So many years after his death on July 6, 1997, Chetan Anand is remembered by his admirers as one of the most sensitive writers and directors in the history of Indian cinema. Those who can see the rare beauty of his work will never forget him and his cinema. And Dehradun will always remember his days as a student and then as a teacher spent in the hills and dales of Uttarakhand.

3 ormer Chief Minister and Fsenior Congress leader Harish Rawat s trademark mango party elicited considerable focus on Sunday with Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat also attending it. On the other hand, the Pradesh Congress Committee president Pritam Singh and leader of opposition Indira Hridayesh were conspicuous by their absence. The former CM has stressed that the intention of the event was not political at all as it was aimed like such events held in the past, to popularise the traditional dishes of the State based on regional produce like Pahadi cucumber, radish and mango among others. The former Chief Minister once again elicited focus of the social and political circles in Dehradun on Sunday. At a wedding point on East Canal Road, the senior Congress leader hosted a feast of mangoes, Pahadi cucumbers and he proposal raised by the TState Urban Development Minister a year ago for the construction of overbridge on Tibdi crossing to tackle the monsoon traffic snarls is yet to see the light of the day. With the ongoing construction work on BHEL underbridge, just a short distance away from Tibdi area, whole of the SIIDCUL traffic going towards Haridwar is being diverted through Tibdi crossing. A year ago on July 8, the people of Haridwar industrial area had complained to the Minister regarding traffic snarls during monsoon season and weekends. The Urban Development Minister had agreed and conducted a site inspection assuring that the project proposal to be sent soon. Briefing the Minister about the problems faced by the people of Haridwar Industrial area, president of Haridwar Industrial he State Meteorological TCentre has issued an alert with the possibility of very heavy rainfall at some isolated places of Uttarakhand on Monday and the next few days. radishes among other fruits absent on the occasion though seasoned with traditional salt other party leaders including and spices as popular in the the former PCC president mountainous regions of the Kishore Upadhyay and nonpolitical personalities including State. The Pradesh Congress Committee president Pritam folk singers Narendra Singh Singh and party leaders considered close to him were among others were also Negi and Pritam Bhartwan present Development Association Prabhat Kumar had pointed out that on an average 40 trains go past the railway crossing near Tibdi on a daily basis. For most of the times due to the closing of the crossing, there is traffic jam on both the sides which extends upto three kilometres near Rishikul area. To add to the woes of commuters, during the rainy season the underbridge at Bhagat Singh Chowk gets submerged and whole of traffic is diverted from this Tibdi crossing. The only solution to escape such situations on railway crossing is to make an over-bridge. Whole of the traffic from Shivalik Nagar, SIIDCUL, Roshanabad and Bilwakeshwar Colony passes through this route which faces the trouble. Speaking to The Pioneer, Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik said, The detailed project report is under process. The local residents and Isolated areas mainly situated in districts of Kumaon region including Pithoragarh, Nainital, Champawat and Bageshwar are likely to receive heavy rainfall on Monday. According to information provided by the state meteorological centre, heavy to very heavy rainfall is also likely in some areas of districts including Chamoli, Pauri, Rudraprayag, Almora and the industrialists are facing problems due to long traffic jams. I have inspected the site. We hope to get the budget soon. Notably even the city Mayor s office is located on the same route but the plight of the local residents continues with lackdiasical attitude of Udham Singh Nagar of Uttrakhand on Julyu 10 and 11. For Dehradun, the meteorological centre has forecast no possibility of heavy rainfall on Monday. The weather in the provisional state capital is likely to be cloudy with the possibility of one or two spells of rain or thundershower. The maximum and minimum temperatures in the city on Ministers. A local manufacturer from Haridwar industrial area said that the industrialists were planning to raise the matter in mini conclave to be organised by Ministry of Industries in SIIDCUL on 14 July. Monday are likely to be around 33 degree Celsius and 25 degree Celsius respectively. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the maximum and minimum temperatures recorded in various locations across the state were 34.5 ºC and 26.6 ºC respectively in Dehradun, 36.2 ºC and 28 ºC in Pantnagar, 24.4 ºC and 16.5 ºC in Mukteshwar and 25.6 ºC and 19.6 ºC respectively in New Tehri. on the occasion. The feast which began in the after was nearing its end when the Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat arrived. Refraining from making any political comments, the Chief Minister said that preserving and popularising the culture of Uttarakhand and its traditional, nutritious and tasty dishes was a collective responsibility. The CM was also seen sharing light moments with the former CM though politically the former CM continues to strongly criticise the State Government on various fronts. The former Chief Minister himself cleaned and offered a mango to the current Chief Minister apart from offering him slices of Pahadi cucumber seasoned with traditional Pahadi salt and spice. The Chief Minister said that his visit to the event hosted by the former CM was nothing surprising. It was an apolitical occasion and his visit could also be seen as a reciprocation to the former CM s visit to the Holi Milan gathering. Meanwhile, the former CM expressed gratitude to all including leaders of other political parties like the Samajwadi Party and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal for attending the event. espite the High Court ban- polythene and the Dning Chief Minister stressing on strict enforcement of the ban, the use of the banned items has continued in the provisional State Capital Dehradun. The enforcement of the ban has remained limited largely to official claims. In June, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat gave strict directions to strictly enforce the ban on polythene from July 31 onward. In accordance with this, no major steps has been taken by authorities even though the ban is officialy in place even now. Speaking about it, head of an activist group Naveen Kumar said, According to the direction given by the court the ban is applicable on polythene bags, disposable items like cups and packing materials. Working with the Government authorities like the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun and District Magistrate we have together tried to educate and make the people aware many times about these facts. He further said, We have started the operation of a vehicle similar to the garbage collector that work to collect the plastic waste and e-waste. It is working in the city free of cost. The plastic waste like bottles, boxes, and others items get collected and are then recycled. It is doing well so far. Regarding the polythene ban he said, The State Government plans to strictly enforce the ban from July 31 onward. I think extending the date for strictly enforcing the ban on polythene is a problem. n pursuance of orders of the IHigh Court, the exercise of demolition, identification of encroachments and illegal constructions on footpaths, lanes and roads and sealing of illegal buildings in Dehradun city by Mussoorie- Dehradun Development Authority, Municipal Corporation, Dehradun and district administration continued on Sunday. The additional chief secretary Om Prakash informed that on Sunday under the anti-encroachment drive, 20 encroachments were demolished and 143 illegal encroachments were identified. Till date, a total of 815 illegal encroachments have been demolished, 2569 encroachments have been identified and 75 buildings have been sealed in the antiencroachment drive. The additional chief secretary further said that the work of demolishing encroachments, identification of encroachments on public land and sealing of buildings violating norms has been going on speedily. The work of demolition, identification and sealing of buildings is being carried by anti-encroachment task force as per the rules. He said that The more the authorities defer the strict enforcement of the ban, the more lightly the public will take the ban and government orders. Secondly, banning the manufacture of polythene bags, officials should work to stop the producers and sellers of the polythene bags. If manufacturing will stop then supply will automatically come some of the owners who had done encroachments are themselves demolishing the encroachments. He said that the action of lodging first information reports will be ensured against those persons who try to encroach again on the public land freed from encroachment during the drive. The authorities are receiving full support of the general public in the antiencroachment drive, added the additional chief secretary. to an end. Thirdly, the city has different check posts where the banned items being brought into the city should be checked and prevented from being brought here. Further, the Government should also work on providing an alternative to the public used to going for the polythene bags for shopping and other purposes. We will further work to educate people more about the harmful effect of polythene garbage. Meanwhile, the Dehradun municipal commissioner Vijay Kumar Jogdande said, The anti-polythene drive has been going on regularly in the city. The officers concerned are giving daily reports on the drive. About 5,00,000 has been collected in fine and 200 people were penalised by the MCD for violating the ban on polythene. We will continue to conduct the drive regularly, he said. When told about the slow progress and limited effect of the drive in ensuring effective enforcement of the ban, the municipal commissioner said that the MCD will soon hold workshops with various groups to raise public awareness about the ban. T he three day long International Gurkul Mahasammelan organised by Arya Pratinidhi Sabha concluded on Sunday with a unanimous decision on formation of a council which will work on the drafting of a Vedic curriculum. The council will be named Dayanand Vedic Parishad. Renowned scholars from across the country and Ministers participated in the congregation organised at Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalay premises. Eminent scholar and veteran political journalist Ved Pratap Vaidik from Delhi said, What is needed today is Vedic base with modern technology education. The foundation has to be of video of a man in late 20s Acommitting suicide by jumping into Ganga canal went viral on Sunday morning. The person could not be identified said the police. A man wearing a red T- shirt jumped into the Ganga canal in front of several others Vedic knowledge over which the building of modern technological education is made. He, further, said that with the modern system of education, an army of copycats was being raised with there being no innovations. He said, We are launching bullet train but that is from Japan, cars and information technology innovations are from China and other countries. Same condition prevails in the field of medicine. With the base of Vedic system, a new India will emerge. In the past, our Vaidyas used to go to Indonesia for performing Shalya Chikitsa (surgery), he said. Acharya Balkrishna of Patanjali Yog Peeth assured financial assistance for spread of the Gurukul system of education. He said, The brand Patanjali is members of the public. A local resident tried to talk to him and even came down to the spot in an attempt to make him give up his plan to take the plunge. However, as seen in the video clip, the young man simply jumps into the canal ignoring the request of the person trying to make him climb up back on the the outcome of Gurukul education. He said a time existed when Gurukul Khajjhar of Haryana was losing its grounds but today the curriculum of Gurukul has been implemented all over the state of Haryana. To further extend Vedic system of education, all Arya Samaj groups must unite, he added. Governor of Bihar Satyapal Malik, MP from Haridwar Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and speaker of Vidhan Sabha Premchand Agarwal were also present during the valedictory function. Swami Agnivesh, Swami Pranavanand, legislator from Haridwar rural Swami Yateeshwaranand, Vitthal Rao and other eminent personalities were also among those present on the occasion. bridge. The Jwalapur polic station in charge Amarjeet Singh said that it was two days old video and the person could not be identified yet. Apparently he was drunk, said the police. It is difficult to trace the body since the flow of river is considerable these days due to the rains, said the police.

4 sweet," said Capt Amarinder month of June, 2018 i.e. nearly industrial sectors, today coal- one year after the GST came based captive power plants of stressing the need to try and unjab Chief Minister Capt work towards a perfect GST to into force remains nearly the large industries enjoy GST PAmarinder Singh has written celebrate this major reform in same as in the first month (Rs benefits, while the same benefit to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a review of the GST tax rates from the point of simplification. At the same time, Capt Amarinder urged him to ensure that GST is set right to mitigate, if not fully remove, difficulties being faced by trade, business and industry in the country. Chief Minister, in his DO letter, has urged the Prime Minister for quick redressal of some key irritants in the GST in the spirit of cooperative federalism. a true sense. Noting that the experience of last one year showed many drafting and structural deficiencies in GST laws, the Chief Minister said that innumerable deviations made from standard provisions elsewhere had introduced tax distortions. Successive reports by the committees constituted by the GST Council had recommended many important changes, he said, adding that as per his understanding, the Law Review Committee, comprising both vast income disparity in India, said the Chief Minister, recalling that the Prime Minister had himself been quoted that Milk and Mercedes cannot have the overlapping nature, close substitutes or goods capable of misclassification should not be subjected to differential rates. 95,160 cr vs 93,590 cr). Adjusted for nominal increase in GDP (at current prices) of even 10 percent the effective revenue was actually much lower over the last year, he noted. The Chief Minster further said that he understood even this revenue was gross without reducing refunds. Net of refunds, the revenues reflect a far more grim picture. Nearly 80 percent of the registrants were eligible for simplified composition scheme is denied to standalone power plants and also captive power plants operating with natural gas," he said. He pointed that in the course of repairing some of the GST shortcomings, concessions and exemptions have been issued on varying dates. "Most of them do not have retrospective effect while matters relating to tax rates or exemptions can be prospective, many others which were largely structural flaws needed to be reinforced from the starting date," Capt Amarinder pointed the Central and State same tax rate. Expressing concern that while less than 20 percent are he added. out that GST was a reform in which the country as whole and political parties, irrespective of their affiliations and beliefs, had come together for national good. "Among the key expectations from GST were simplification of the tax laws and processes, GDP rise, moderation in prices and boost to the tax revenues. Somehow, the experience of the last one year has been more bitter than Government officials, had proposed nearly 200 changes. "There are significant changes necessitated in key provisions that form the heart and soul of the GST," he said, underlining the need to take them up for immediate wider stakeholder consultations and then processed for early legislative approval. Likewise, multiple tax rates have invited wide criticism even if these have been justified in some circles on grounds of Many global experts feel that single rate has far greater advantages and the poor should be compensated through direct benefit transfers so that the rich are not benefitted from these concessions, he added. He said that there was a strong rationale to review all tax rates from the point of view of major simplification which shall also curb evasion and leakages. He said that the basic principle should be that goods of GST revenues had not shown the kind of buoyancy that was expected, Capt Amarinder said that this was worrisome not only on the account of the impact it would have on the precarious financial position of the Governments but also the restraint it would place on the government expenditure and consequentially social justice and development. Capt Amarinder pointed out that the revenue for the actually availing its benefits, which shows that these dealers remain shy or even fearful of the GST law. Apart from these concerns, Capt Amarinder also informed the Prime Minister that full potential of GST would only be realized when the energy sector, comprising petroleum and electricity, were included in GST. "Power constitutes percent of the cost in many key Last but not the least, the Chief Minster revealed that there were many issues on the IT front which he felt should be addressed soon with a sense of urgency that has emerged after the initial glitches. We should ensure that the proposed new return should be an example of simplification for rest of the world rather than a puzzle like before, asserted Captain Amarinder Singh. From Page 1 Similarly, 27 districts of ourkela youth Muktikanta RBiswal, who had gone to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister to remind him of his promises, returned to his hometown on Sunday morning and received a rousing welcome. According to sources, Muktikanta had walked around 1350 km over 71 days and had reached Delhi on June 27 to remind Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his two promises made on April 1, 2015 to upgrade the Ispat General Hospital (IGH) to Super Specialty Hospital and Madhya Pradesh that include Guna, Gwalior, Shivpuri, Ujjain and Alirajpur; 28 of Gujarat, including Ahmedabad, Banaskantha, Bharuch, Chota Udepur, Narmada and Patan, are under deficient rainfall category. Chhattisgarh's 13 districts, Meghalaya's 10 and West Bengal's 11 districts are among imachal Chief Minister Jai HRam Thakur on Sunday said that the state has succeeded in getting sanctioned over Rs 4,365 crores from the Centre which include Rs 1,900 crore for tourism, Rs 1,680 crore for horticulture and Rs 800 crore for irrigation and public health sector. The State Government is working with the sole objective of overall development of Himachal without any vengeance or political vendetta towards anyone. But, some leaders of opposition are not able to digest the best coordination of the State Government with the Centre and are issuing baseless statements, said the Chief Minister while interacting with the mediapersons at Jawalamukhi in Kangra district before attending the meeting of state BJP morcha office bearers and district presidents. He said the Jan Manch programme launched by the State Government is helping the people of the state in redressal of their grievances nearer to their homes. The opposition leaders are claiming that all the developmental projects initiated by the present State Government were their dream. Then what stopped them to implement these schemes, he asked and added that the present government did not believe in dreaming but in taking action. He said that in a short period of six months, the present government has started several schemes for ensuring welfare of every section of the society. The Chief Minister said that Mukhya Mantri Gharini Suvidha Yojana had been launched for ensuring that every household in the state had LPG connection. The previous government misused funds collected through offerings in the major temples of the state and now when the present government had taken a historic decision to use 15 per cent of offerings for construction and maintenance of Gau Sadans, the same leaders are making much hue and cry, he added. He further said that first budget presented by the State Government has 30 new schemes which was a record itself and even political adversaries appreciated the budget. those which have received less rainfall till date. On the other hand, the Agriculture Ministry data shows sowing of paddy is 12 per cent less this year. Only lakh hectares have been planted so far till first week of July this year as compared to lakh hectares last year. This is because the monsoon P unjab Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Sunday termed the step undertaken by the Union Government to increase the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of the Kharif crops as a mere attempt to befool the farming community for the sake of electoral gains. Randhawa questioned as to why during the past four years the Union Government didn t care at all to remember the plight of the farmers. When the farmers were organising protests and demonstrations in Delhi and demanding their rightful due, the Union Government did not pay any attention to their was delayed in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. According to the Agriculture Ministry, planting is lower in States such as Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. Normally, during the kharif season about 39.5 million hectares are planted under paddy. Pulses have been planted in around 10 per cent less area compared to last year. Farmers have sown a smaller area under arhar or pigeon peas, because of deficit rain in Odisha, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh. Among different crops, planting is the lowest for cotton with lakh hectares Medical College and construction of a second bridge over river Brahmani. However, Muktikanta was not cooperated by Sundargarh MP and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, who rather branded him Congress-sponsored. Thereafter, he had tried to meet the Prime Minister, but on failing he sat on a dharana. But the Delhi police foiled his agitation by lifting him from the dharana place and warning him of not doing so. Later, at the behest of Baba Balia, Muktikanta had called off his stir. On Sunday morning when woman and her daughter were killed and two others of the Afamily sustained critical injuries after a wall of their house collapsed at Densargi village under the Ainthapali police limits here late on Saturday night. The deceased were identified as Chanchala Pradhan and her daughter Bhagya. Sources said the incident occurred at around 1 am. While the mother-daughter duo was asleep, a portion of an adjoining under-construction house suddenly caved in on their house due to heavy rain. While Chanchala died on the spot, her daughter succumbed to her injuries on the way to hospital. The family s remaining two critically-injured persons were later admitted to hospital. On receiving information, police reached the spot and started investigation into the incident. he reached Rourkela, hundreds of men and youths amid a grand procession with beats of dhol received him. He was garlanded and was taken to a bout 79 per cent AGovernment schools in Sundargarh district are yet to get electricity connection, which is very shocking. According to sources, there are total 2,347 Government schools in Sundargarh district Madhyamik which includes primary schools, upper primary schools and high schools. However, of them, about 1,860 schools have no electricity. Sources said, a maximum number of schools in Gurundia block in Sundargarh district do not have electricity connection. In Gurundia block, out of 163 nearby temple where he offered prayer to the deities. After reaching my hometown today, I am feeling happy. However, I am disappointed as schools, 148 schools have not got electricity connection. The Education Department has assigned the School Managing Committee of primary and upper primary schools to undertake electrification works from various grants including the fund of Rashtriya my wish remains unfulfilled, said Muktikanta in his reaction. He, however, told that his fight would continue until the problems are resolved. misery, he said. "Now, with the general elections fast approaching, the BJP has enacted a drama to encash the farmers vote bank. But, now the farming community has become totally aware of the politics of falsehood being perpetrated and would not at all fall prey to the lollipop promises," he added. Randhawa said that during the term of Dr Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister, the MSP of paddy crop increased six percent in first five years and 38 per cent in second five years term. "Whereas the Union Government till date has effected the increase up to 29 percent only which is a clear cut proof of fraud being perpetrated on the farmers," he said. He said that Prime Minister and the BJP leaders are misguiding the farmers that the crop rates have been increased by one and a half percent which is a blatant lie. "The truth is that the Union Government is still unable to give MSP to the farmers as per the Swaminathan Committee recommendations," he said Attacking further, Randhawa said that during the previous polls too, the BJP made false promises to the people at Bathinda and now with the polls fast approaching again, he would try to lure the farmers with his false promises but the farmers won t fall into his trap again. sown this year so far as compared to lakh hectares last year - a decrease of 24 per cent year-on-year. This is largely because of deficient rain in Gujarat, where the planting is lower by 1.2 million hectares. Less rain in Gujarat has also affected the planting of oilseeds such as groundnut. So far, 0.94 million 45-year-old man was Aarrested by Sundargarh police on Sunday allegedly for killing one 65-year- old widow, suspecting her of practising witchcraft. Police also seized a bamboo stick and an axe from the accused, which were reportedly used for committing the crime. The accused was identified as Ghanshyam Ekka, native of Bhati tolla of Jadishpur village under Kuanrmunda police outpost. He was not keeping good health over last few years and was suspecting one Birsa Barla (65), a widow and also native of same village, Sikhya Abhiyan(RMSA), but the SMCs are sitting idle. Due to the non availability of electricity, the students have been facing a lot of difficulties while studying during evening hours. For better education of the students, the Government has implemented science teaching through projector but due to non- availability of electricity, the projectors lie unused. These students too are deprived of computer and laboratory facility due to no power availability. According to sources, Lahunipada block in Bonei sub division stands second for not having electricity connection in 138 schools out of 170 schools, Koira block stands third as there is no electricity in 133 schools out of 145 schools, Hemgiri block stands fourth as there is no electricity in 131 schools out of 151 schools and Balishankara block stands in fifth position as there is no electricity in 128 schools out of 150 schools. Similarly, in Lathikata block, there is no electricity connection in 113 schools out of 145 schools. In Nuagaon block, there is no electricity connection in 111 schools out of 128 schools, in Bargaon block in 106 schools there is no electricity out of 125 schools, in Kuanrmunda block there is no electricity in 103 schools out of 123 schools, in Lepripada block 101 schools out of 170 are bereft of power. In Sundargarh Muncipality, 15 schools do not have electricity connection out 120, in Rourkela Municipality, 43 schools do not have electricity connection out of 100, in Rajgangpur Municipality, eight schools do not have electricity connection out of 23, in Birmitrapur Municipality, out of 21 schools, 15 schools do not have electricityconnection. he Food Corporation of TIndia has clarified that news published in a newspaper about recruitment to 45,000 posts in FCI North and West regions is incorrect. A statement issued by the corpotation states that no such recruitment is in process. The details mentioned in the newspaper report are baseless and fake. The address of the website address stated in the said news From Page 1 Various authorities which would be implementing the scheme in their respective areas in the national capital include the Delhi Development Authority, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the Northern Railway, the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Delhi government besides, the Forest Department and various municipal councils and corporations of Delhi. hectares have been planted with groundnut in different States compared to 1.67 million hectares last year - a decrease of 43 per cent yearon- year. Overall, planting of oilseeds is 13.4 per cent less than last year. Officials said with the southwest monsoon becoming active again, sowing is bound report is also incorrect. The original website of FCI is and the website mentioned in the newspaper is not related to the Food Corporation of India in any manner. It is hereby appealed to the general public not to take any action on the information published in the newspaper on July 7 and fake website in respect of FCI recruitment, the official statement clarifies. of practicing witchcraft which was the cause behind his illness. On Saturday evening, when Birsa Barla was doing some domestic work in her house, Ghanshyam suddenly attacked her with a bamboo stick. Birsa reportedly received critical injuries on her head and was in a pool of blood. Later, she succumbed to her injuries. On the complaint of Munu Barla, son of deceased Birsa Barla, a police team reached the spot and recovered the body and sent the same for post mortem. wo students were injured Tafter an unidentified miscreant attacked them with a sharp weapon at Saraskana in Baripada in the wee hours of Sunday. The two students identified as Sandeep Hansda of Class VI and Manoj Mahanta of Class- IX of Sishu Vidya Mandir, are now undergoing treatment at the District Headquarters Hospital. Sandeep has received critical injuries on his neck. The condition of both the students is stated to be stable now. He said all the agencies together would plant nearly 21 lakh native tress and another ten lakh bushy ones like those of "kaner, gurhal, bahuniya, chandni etc" during a twomonth tree-plantation drive during 'Van Mahotsav' from July 15 to September 15. The maximum number of tress would be planted by DDA, to be followed by the Forest Department (4.22 lakh), the three municipal corporation of Delhi (4 lakh), NDMC (3 lakh) and CPWD (35,000). he Forum for Ganjam has Turged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to ban use of plastic bags in order to keep environment free of pollution. In a letter, forum members informed the Chief Minister that they have formed a volunteers group named Paribesh Jattha and are appealing people in the length and breadth of Ganjam district to plant trees to fight global warming, avoid polythene, plastic cups, water pouches and plastic bags to keep environment clean and conserve water to face impending water crisis. The campaigning is being undertaken with running of a Sabuja Ratha with the support of the Aryabhatta Foundation, Brahmapur, they mentioned. During campaigning, we have observed that every nook and corner of the district is filled with plastic and polythene. They are destroying the fertility of cultivable land and creating health problems in rural areas. In the urban areas, plastic bags are clogging the drainage system and creating mountains of nonperishable garbage causing health hazards. As massive use of plastic bags is going to pose a dangerous threat to the environment, we demand that use of plastic bag be banned in the State, said the letter. Among others, Sudhir Kumar Raut, E Tejeswar Rao, J Suresh, Manash Patro, SS Khadanga, Swaraj Subudhi and PK Muni signed the letter. to pick up. Planting of crops normally begins with the onset of monsoon in June and harvests begin in October. Earlier this week, the Central Government sharply raised the minimum support price (MSP) for kharif crops of which paddy, cotton, jawar, bajra were among the top gainers. Sources said the incident took place when the duo had gone to nearby bush to attend nature s call late on Saturday night. The attacker first attacked Sandeep. On hearing Sandeep s scream, Manoj rushed to his rescue and gave tough resistance. Later, both the children managed to escape from the spot and informed school authorities about the incident. Though the exact reason behind the attack is yet to be ascertained, the school authorities have lodged a police complaint in connection with the incident.

5 lating the basic structure of our Constitution. We will soon The DMK was of the firm opinion that the proposed call submit a detailed paper before for simultaneous elections to ixed reactions emerge the Comm (sic), he tweeted. Lok Sabha and State Mfrom Opposition parties The Opposition DMK in Legislatures goes against the on Prime Minister Narendra Modi s idea of conducting Tamil Nadu firmly opposed the idea of simultaneous polls to basic tenets of our Constitution and established principles of simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and State democratic functioning, he Assemblies and Parliament. While Telangana Rashtra Samiti supported the move in a letter to Law Commission, the DMK and Aam Admi Party (AAP) opposed the move. Telangana Chief Minister Legislature, terming the Law Commission s proposal a complete misadventure that will decimate the federal structure. DMK Working President MK Stalin said an earlier Law said. Referring to the Law Commission s Working Paper dated April 17, 2018 on this subject, Stalin sought to point out various discrepancies. State Legislatures have a and TRS chief K Commission during the tenure distinct constitutional identity Chandrasekhar Rao has expressed his support for simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state Legislature in the country. Many are of the belief that simultaneous polls to for Assembly elections every year, the TRS MP said pointing out as is evident from the fact that elections were held in ous elections will destroy India s parliamentary democracy and federalism, its senior leader Ashish Khetan said. of AB Vajpayee as Prime Minister in 1999 reported on the issue exhaustively. Where Parliament is skeptical whether this idea can be ever implemented this redundant and derive their powers from Chapter III of the Constitution. Though Parliament is empowered to amend the Constitution - in accordance with Article there are basic features of state Assemblies and different states in 2015, 2016, Khetan, who met the chairman exercise of producing a the Constitution which cannot Parliament is BJP agenda or (Prime Minister) Modi s agenda and 2018 after the elections to Lok Sabha and some States in of the Law Commission and its members, said AAP will submit a detailed paper to the commission duplicative report that has no chances of being legislated appears questionable and if I be abrogated, he said. On countries with simultaneous polls being cited as But, the Law Commission Telangana Rashtra outlining the party's may say, useless, both from examples in this case, such as has initiated the process long Samithi party and KCR (as Rao position on the matter. legal and political standpoint, Sweden, Belgium and South back, TRS MP from is popularly known as) are of The Law Commission had Stalin said. Africa, Stalin said the population Karimnagar B Vinod Kumar told media in New Delhi, after submitting Rao s letter (in support of the proposal)to the the opinion that polls at once would help development of States and the country. Our views (have been) told to the on June 14 written to all recognised political parties seeking their views on the issue. Met Law Commission Chairman & On the contrary, there is a danger of diminishing the Law Commission s credibility, he said in his representation of Tamil Nadu alone out- numbered the combined population of the three countries. Any comparison of these countries Law Commission Chairman on Chairman (before Law Members. Told them that AAP submitted before Law with India in terms of Sunday. Elected Prime Ministers have been spending their considerable time in campaigning Commission Chairman) clearly today, Vinod said. The Aam Aadmi Party firmly believes that simultane- firmly believes that simultaneous elections will destroy our parliamentary democracy & federalism & it will mean muti- Commission Chairman, Justice B S Chauhan, in Delhi on Sunday, through DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchy Siva. population is logically fallacious, completely misleading and unhelpful to the present discourse, he added. t seems that the fear of child Ilifting prevailing in different parts of the country is not completely unfounded, as nearly 55,000 children were kidnapped in India in 2016 a whopping 30 per cent increase over the previous year. According to the report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), 54,723 children were kidnapped in 2016 but charge sheets were filed in only 40.4 per cent of the cases. The conviction rate in child kidnapping and abduction cases in 2016 was a dismal 22.7 per cent. As many as 41,893 such incidents were recorded in 2015 and 37,854 in The figures for 2017 are yet to be published. Even though most of the lynchings in the recent past were fuelled by rumours of pecialisation in medical sec- is pushing the tradi- Stor tional breed of family physicians to the brink. Approaching the Supreme Court in a Public Interest Litigation, the Academy of Family Physicians pointed out that there is no Department for Family Medicine in most hospitals while those seeking post-mbbs specialisation in this discipline are not getting avenues for it in medical colleges. As a result, the petition filed by Suvidutt MS sought directions to the Medical Council of India (MCI) and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to consider it expedient to provide the support nion Home Minister URajnath Singh will chair a two-day plenary meeting of North Eastern Council (NEC) on Monday at the State Convention Centre in Shillong. At the meet, Singh would discuss development projects with the Chief Ministers and Governors of Northeast States, in the presence of Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jitendra Singh. The Union Home Minister will review various presentations on matters related to all-round development of North-Eastern Region. The status of NEC-funded projects would also come up for discussion at the meet, said NEC spokesperson. Among other issues that could feature in the agenda of the 67th plenary meet, Mahapatra said, the Chief Ministers are likely to deliberate on livelihood programmes, management of water resources, afforestation and farmer s income. Home Minister would also evaluate security and connectivity matters in the region, the spokesperson added. child lifting on social media, the statistics show that the fear of child kidnapping among people, especially those in the rural areas, is not completely unfounded, a Ministry official said. On Thursday, the Home Ministry had asked the States and Union territories (UTs) to check incidents of mob lynching fuelled by rumours of child-lifting on social media. More than 20 people have been lynched over the last two months on suspicion of child lifting, the latest being the killing of five men in Maharashtra s Dhule district on July 1. In an advisory, the ministry had urged the states and UTs to keep a watch for early detection of rumours of child-lifting and initiate effective measures to counter them. The MHA report also revealed that 8,132 cases of human trafficking were registered in the country in As many as 15,379 victims 5,229 males and 10,150 females were trafficked and 23,117 victims 10,347 males and 12,770 females were rescued. Of these victims, 22,932 belonged to India, 38 each were from Sri Lanka and Nepal and 36 were from Bangladesh. The MHA report said 1,06,958 cases of crime against children were registered in the country in 2016 compared to 94,172 in 2015, an increase of 13.6 per cent. Crimes were committed against 24 per one lakh children in 2016, according to the report. A major increase in crime against children was noticed (in 2016) under human trafficking, kidnapping and abduction, Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act and Juvenile Justice Act, the report said. pposition parties on OSunday targeted the Centre over garlanding of eight convicts in the Ramgarh lynching case by Union Minister Jayant Sinha after they were released on bail. Sinha also invited criticism from his father and former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha who in a tweet, said he did not approve of his son s act and said he was earlier nalayak (worthless) father of a layak (worthy) son, but it is the reverse now. Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said when BJP Ministers are garlanding and supporting criminals, what more proof is required about the agenda of the BJP, which is no longer hidden. Does the PM have an answer to why BJP leaders are garlanding, meeting, aising the issue of Prime RMinister Narendra Modi s remarks at his farewell function almost a year ago, former Vice- President Hamid Ansari says many considered the comments to be a departure from accepted practices on such occasions. August 10, 2017 was the last day of Ansari s second term as Vice-President ( ) and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. According to tradition, leaders of political parties and members devoted the forenoon session to thanking the Chair. The Prime Minister participated in this and while being fulsome in his complements also hinted at what he perceived to be a certain inclination in my approach on account of my having spent, as he put it, both a good part of my professional tenure as a diplomat in Muslim lands and in post-retirement period on minority-related questions, structure in order to preserve the dying breed of family doctors. The Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Navin Sinha felt that the issue at hand squarely felt in the sphere of executive determination since it relates to policy decision. While the petitioner s arguing counsel J Sai Deepak did point out the National Health Policy 2017 where the Centre emphasised the need to popularise MD in Family Medicine or General Practice, he rued the fact that nothing had been done in this regard by the States or the Centre. Any suggestion to introduce MD and DNB in Family Medicine must come from MCI, the sole medical education regulator in the country. Realising this, the Bench asked the petitioner Academy to pursue their demand with the MCI. While the battle is not yet over, the 1,000 odd number of doctors pursuing family medicine are feeling cheated. On one hand, the Government s ambitious scheme of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana is expanding the network of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) across the country to strengthen rural healthcare. These hospitals even have a Department of Community Medicine and Family Medicine. But the Academy claimed there is not a single faculty or senior resident recruited in them. This information was obtained by them under Right to Information Act. In addition, supporting criminals, involved in mob lynchings, communal rioting? What more proof is required about BJP s agenda, which is not even hidden now, Gehlot said. Sinha has stoked a controversy by felicitating the convicts, with Opposition terming it a despicable and unfortunate act. Meat trader Alimuddin Ansari was beaten to death on June 29 last year by a mob at the Bazaar Tand area under Ramgarh police station on the suspicion that he was carrying beef in his car. Sinha, however, later said he unequivocally condemns all acts of violence and rejected any type of vigilantism. CPI(M) leader Brinda Karata said it shows that the ruling dispensation is not interested in giving any kind of justice to the victims of lynchings. Now if a Union Minister gets photographed with them in his house and starts garlanding them, then it is very clear that the ruling regime in the country are not interested at all in giving justice to the lynched victims, she said. The RJD also put out a picture of the Minister with the accused after their garlanding on its official Twitter handle and said in Hindi that After killing somebody by beating, the Government will honour you... Congress spokesperson RPN Singh termed the incident as horrific and said on the 60 per cent of primary care specialist posts at community health centres under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) are lying vacant for want of family or community medicine practitioners. Family Medicine is recognised as a post-graduate specialty by MCI under the MCI Post Graduate Regulations 2,000 but they don t exist as a separate Department in medical colleges and hospitals. Young doctors are thus driven towards specialisation in tertiary medical sector with little or no inclination to pursue a career in family medicine. The petitioner feel that the Centre is inclined to help them the National Health Policy (NHP) of 2002 underlined the ith a view to club two Wfavourites of Mahatma Gandhi, cleanliness and khadi, ahead of his 150th Birthday on October 2 this year, the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to purchase customised khadi uniform sets from the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), for its 4,000 men and women sanitation workers. The PMC would be next week signing a three-yearagreement with KVIC for supply of khadi and village industries products. On June 19 this year, the PMC Commissioner Anupam Kumar Suman had requested KVIC Chairman VK Saxena to provide Khadi uniform sets for its workers sanitation workers. Later, the PMC placed an order for 30 for the supply of Khadi uniform including 8,000 sets of shirt and pant (for men), 8,000 sets of salwar kurta (for women), 4,000 pairs of sandals, 4,000 pairs of shoes/boots and 4000 pieces of cap, by August 15 this year. Besides, the PMC has also one side the Minister is garlanding the accused, on the other the Government is claiming to put an end to lynchings. We see that the Government is issuing advisory on the Whatsapp issue. These advisories just seem to be something which is passed on to the States when Ministers in the Central Government are actually congratulating or helping people who are allegedly involved with lynching. You can understand where this government is taking this country to, he said. What is the intention of this Government. On one side Jayant Sinha honours them and on the other, this Government talks of putting an end to lynchings, he said, adding that we want to ask the prime minister as to what kind of security has he to offer to the women in the country. requirement of expertise in the area of Public Health and Family Medicine. The Report of Working Group of NRHM ( ), the Planning Commission recommended Family Medicine to be treated as a specialist discipline to revitalize primary health care. The Parliamentary Standing Committee in its 92nd report submitted in 2016 recommended States to introduce post graduate programmes in Famil Medicine in medical colleges in order to minimise frequent referrals to specialists. But the response of MCI has not been forthcoming. The petitioner hope that the apex court s order to MCI could become the turning point. signed a three-year agreement with KVIC for a regular supply of materials, including the supply of woolen Khadi clothes during the winter season. To me, it is the fittest tribute to the Father of Nation ahead of his 150th Birthday celebrations from Bihar - a land of Ansari says. The context, presumably, was my reference in the Bengaluru speech to what I perceived as enhanced apprehension of insecurity and in the TV interview to a sense of unease creeping in among Muslims and some other religious minorities. In his last interview before he demitted office, Ansari had pointed out that Muslims in the country were experiencing a feeling of unease. The subsequent furore by the faithful on social media tended to lend credence to this. On the other hand, editorial comments and a good many serious writings considered the PM s remarks to be a departure from accepted practice on such occasions, he says. He uses a line from an Urdu couplet to depict my words bhari bazm main raaz ki baat keh di (revealed in public what was hidden). Ansari also feels that the widely accepted pluralist view of nationalism and Indianness is now being challenged by a viewpoint depicting purifying exclusivism through the idea of cultural nationalism. The idea of cultural nationalism is premised principally on a shared culture narrowly defined, he says. Ansari addresses these issues in his new book Dare I Question? Reflections on Contemporary Challenges, a collection of his speeches and writings, made mostly in his last year in office and some in recent months, and brought out by Har-Anand Publications. According to Ansari, who had the distinction of being the only second Vice-President after S Radhakrishnan to serve for two consecutive terms, the debate on nationalism has wider ramifications for Indian democracy. In the typology of democracy; ours is a liberal one based on universal suffrage, tolerance, respect for diversity, a comprehensive charter of rights and Rule of Law that brings together the notions of rights, development, governance and justice. Their attainment is premised on equality and fraternity. Any dilution of this principle will take it in the n a move to better under- of functioning of Istanding police force, the Centre has proposed to make final year student of national law universities to work with police organisations for fixed term as part of the curriculum. This will not only help law students to impart law based on police functioning but also help to get insights into working of the police force. All final year students of National Law Universities should be made to work with police for a fixed period as part of their curriculum so that they are able to impart law based education to the police while gaining insights into police functioning, said a note prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Sources said, It would benefit both the upcoming lawyers to understand the nitty-gritty of policing and problems the cops face during investigation. Not only that the investigators on other hand can understand the functioning of courts and legal requirements for a cases, which include collecting of evidences to significance of witnesses in the case. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is working on the proposal and has issued directions to the states and union territories police heads to start interacting with the law universities in this regard. Also the MHA is in touch with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD)to look into the feasibility in the proposal and has appealed the Ministry to interact with the universities to implement it as soon as possible. Champaran from where he kicked off his journey as Mahatma - to have a unique conversion with a local self body. The value of this order, approximately 2 crore, is immaterial with respect to Khadi being attire of safai karmacharis - one of the most lovable lots of Mahatma Gandhi since his Phoenix days in South Africa, said the KVIC chairman. He said it was important that Khadi has started getting recognition from all corners of the nation. Not only that, the safai karmacharis are the lowest yet most important part of local self bodies - the arch of decentralised administration. direction of an ethnic democracy, implicitly or otherwise, and would bring forth an illiberal structure, he says. According to Ansari, two sets of challenges are confronting the country the first pertains to principles and values of public life and the second to institutional structures of the Indian polity. Both are succinctly expressed in the Preamble and dilated upon in the text of the Constitution; both seem to be under stress for a variety of reasons. Some of these are easily identified by reading the section on Fundamental Duties and assessing the extent to which these are observed individually and collectively. Three among these, namely promotion of harmony, preservation of composite culture, and development of scientific temper, seem to be challenged with particular frequency and ferocity; this is indicative of reservations about their meaning and intent, he writes in the book's preface. As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the total pendency of cases were 87.4 percent filed under Indian Penal Code in In 12,74,348 cases trial were completed, in which conviction took place in 5,96,078 cases, and 6,78,270 cases were discharged. In total 97,03,482 cases were pending in the courts in The conviction rates recorded were 46.8 per cent. Under Special and Local Laws crime cases, the pendency rate were 82 per cent in In total, 12,87,270 cases faced trial in 2016 out of which in cases 10,60,724 conviction took place. A total 59,48,794 cases were pending investigation. The proposal when implemented would help in reduce pendency in the court and increase overall conviction rates across the State. Further, this move will help both police and lawyers to build a cordial relationship leading to fast tracking of case. Sources also said, Once upcoming lawyers of the country would get first hand experience in the functioning of law enforcement agencies, it will help them to expeditating the cases in the court rooms. Also there have several instances where both police and lawyers were at loggerheads and even clashed inside the court premises. This will stop such clashes in future, the source added.

6 Popular Front banned on the last year and early this year, SDPI and its students outfit, basis of the horrific attacks it especially in northern districts, the Campus Front of India, all for banning Islamist and its political wing Social that many of the ISIS recruits have already been arrested. Corganisation Popular Front Democratic Party of India from Kerala were workers of Though the LDF of India (PFI) has strengthened in Kerala following the brutal murder of a 20-year-old SFI activist at Kochi s Maharaja s College allegedly by workers of the PFI and its political and students wings a week ago but the CPI(M)-led LDF Government (SDPI) have allegedly carried out so far in the State, the latest being the murder of SFI activist M Abhimanyu in Kochi and the observation that it had effectively become a recruitment base for the Islamic State (ISIS), etc. the PFI and SDPI and that these Islamist outfits had effectively become recruitment bases for the global terror force. Leftist intellectuals and cultural leaders in Kerala had come out with criticisms Government is not fully supportive of the proposal for banning the PFI, a recent Intelligence report that Islamists have infiltrated political parties like the Congress and outfits like the SFI and DYFI, the students and youth and the State police are yet to The recommendation of against the Jharkhand outfits respectively of the reach an agreement with each other in the matter. the State police for a ban on the PFI is also based on the findings Government after it banned the PFI in February citing its CPI(M), and the so-called Leftist progressive collectives While the police have been of the National alleged ISIS connections. They has caused much worry to it. recommending the imposition of a ban on the Islamist organisation for some time, the Leftist Government is not supportive of the idea as it and the CPI(M) which leads the ruling coalition think that a ban will not serve the purpose of ending Investigating Agency, which had probed the chopping of the right hand of a former college professor in July, 2010 allegedly by SDPI activists and ISISrelated cases in Kerala, and the Intelligence agencies. State police chief Loknath year. He had supplemented his proposal with a detailed report on the operations of the PFI and SDPI in the State. The Union Home Department had then offered to consider the recommendation seriously. to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his party CPI(M), the RSS is an organization as communal and as dangerous as the Popular Front and the first organization to be banned is the RSS if a proposal for ban- had described the ban as an infringement by the Jharkhand Government on democratic and organisational rights. The same cultural leaders and intellectuals are now receiving brickbats for not showing the same enthusiasm The CPI(M) has already started verifying the veracity of the report within its own setup though Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac, a central committee member of the CPI(M), said the other day, We are not worried about such reports. If its operations as it could Behera had put forward the However, the State ning outfits comes up. in attacking the PFI and SDPI such infiltration has indeed reincarnate in some other name and form. The police want the proposal for banning the PFI at a conference of DGPs held in Madhya Pradesh earlier this Government took a position that it had not put forward such a recommendation. According The State police and the NIA had reportedly learned through their investigations over the gruesome killing of the 20-year-old SFI activist, for which six activists of the PFI, taken place, we know how to throw them out by catching them by the ear. ormal life went out of gear Nin Kashmir Valley on Sunday in response to a shutdown call by separatists to commemorate the second death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani who was killed in 2016 along-with two associates in an encounter in south Kashmir. The authorities imposed restrictions in sensitive areas of the Valley even Tral Sub- Division in south Kashmir, the birthplace of Wani was declared out of bounds for the people. The separatists had called for a massive congregation at Wani s grave but the security forces sealed off all routes leading to the graveyard since Saturday morning. The authorities had inputs that militants would organise recruitment of youngsters into their ranks on the occasion. The Hizbul Mujahideen, however, released pictures of a dozen new recruits including that of Shamsul Haq Mengnoo, who was pursuing a course in Unani medicine and his elder brother is in The Indian Police Service. Mengnoo went missing he annual Amarnath pil- continued seam- Tgrimage lessly in Kashmir Valley on Sunday as pilgrims were allowed to move from both Baltal and Pahalgam routes following improvement in weather conditions. Officials said over 7000 yatris were allowed on Sunday to move towards holy cave on both the routes. However, no fresh batch of pilgrims was allowed from Jammu base camp to proceed towards Pahalgam Base Camp in south Kashmir s Anantnag district in view of separatists shutdown call on militant commander Burhan Wani s second anniversary. The Yatra resumed on Saturday from Baltal route in central Kashmir s Ganderbal district after remaining halted for three consecutive days due to bad weather and slippery in May and was suspected to have joined the militant ranks. The shutdown was more effective in the wake of killing of three youngsters in south Kashmir s Kulgam district on Saturday. The youngsters including a 16-year girl were killed in Army firing when they protested in Hawoowra, Redwani village against army s raids. Governor NN Vohra expressed deep anguish over the killings and summoned a high-level security meeting on Saturday evening. Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Ranbir Singh was called from Udhampur to attend the meeting that emphasised on adherence of Standard Operating Procedures (SPO). The day of shutdown passed off by and large peacefully without any report of violence from any part of the Valley. However, reports of clashes were received from Nowdal village of Tral where youths tried to march towards Burhan Wani s residence. The authorities imposed strict restrictions across the Valley to thwart any rally announced by the separatist leadership. Heavy deployment of security forces had been road condition. Governor NN Vohra, who is also ex-officio Chairman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) is regularly reviewing the conduct of ongoing yatra. Governor is being briefed on issues relating to security management and the arrangements made for the safe conduct of the ongoing Amarnath Yatra. The Yatra resumed from both Baltal and Pahalgam routes early Saturday morning and helicopter services also operated from both the sides. In view of serious problems caused by landslides, particularly between Railpathri and Brarimarg on Baltal route, the critical spots have been identified and preventive measures including laying of wire mesh, lighting of the track, raising of breast walls etc. are being undertaken on emergent basis to ensure the safety of pilgrims, in addition to the deployment of rescue teams. made in all the sensitive areas in Srinagar, south Kashmir region to maintain law and order. The security agencies suspected congregation of a l;arge number of people on Burhan s anniversary at Eidgah Graveyard in Tral. They had inputs about militant show off including on spot recruitment of youths into militant ranks. Of late, there has been increasing trend among youngsters to join militant ranks that remains worrisome for the authorities. The recruitments have been recorded for Hizb, Lashkar-e- Tayyeba and Jaish-e- Muhammad outfits. The new recruits equip themselves by rifles snatched from police and security forces personnel. The incidents of rifle snatching have increased manifold in valley during the past two years since new age militancy received a flip in the follow up of Wani s killing that triggered a massive public uprising. Senior separatist leaders, Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq continued to be under house arrest. Yasin Malik was taken into preventive custody on Saturday and lodged in local police station. Authorities have also taken second and middle rung separatist leaders and prominent activists into preventive custody. The mobile Internet services remained suspended throughout the Valley while the izbul Mujahideen outfit Hreleased pictures of a dozen new recruits to its ranks on Burhan Wani s second death anniversary on Sunday. They include brother of an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of 2012 batch who is posted in north-east. Shamsul Haq Mengnoo, 25, a resident of south Kashmir s Shopian, was pursuing bachelors in Unani medicine from a Government college in Srinagar. The picture of Haq wielding an assault rifle shows his date of joining militant ranks on May 25, He has adopted nom de guire speed of fixed line broadband connections has been reduced. The train services remained suspended for the second consecutive day from Banihal in Jammu region upto Baramulla in north Kashmir. of Burhan Sani (Second Burhan). Haq is brother of Inamul Haq Mengnoo, a 2012 IPS officer. Mengnoos have come from affluent family of orchardists in the southern district. Over 50 youngsters have joined militant ranks this year, officials said. They included an assistant professor at Kashmir University s Sociology department Dr Rafi Bhat, who remained active for just 40 hours before he was killed in an encounter in Shopian area of south Kashmir. A doctoral fellow in Aligarh Muslim University Mannan Wani is another highly qualified youngster who joined the militant ranks earlier this year. ihar Chief Minister and BJD(U) president Nitish Kumar on Sunday stressed on his opposition to corruption as well as communalism, and asserted that those thinking of marginalising his party in the state would stand marginalised. Amid speculation over his future move and a strain in his ties with the BJP, Kumar, during the party s national executive meeting, barely touched on the contentious issue of sharing of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar among NDA parties, saying the BJP is yet to make a proposal. Only when the BJP makes a proposal, the JD(U) can decide if it is in the party s interest, Kumar said, according to JD(U) secretary general K C Tyagi. Tyagi also sought to scotch speculation that his party wanted to revive its alliance with the Lalu Prasad-led RJD, calling it corrupt. He said his party is in the NDA and will fight the 2019 elections together with its allies. The party has also authorised Kumar to take decisions on political issues, including allocation of seats. JD(U) sources said that Kumar, in his speech, asserted that his party cannot be marginalised in Bihar and those thinking about it will be marginalised. Kumar asserted that he has always been against corruption, crime and communalism. The remarks appeared to be aimed at those, including his rivals and some within the BJP, who have claimed that the Bihar chief minister s political stock has gone down due to his flipflops on alliances and that he no longer has the same influence. Following the speech of Kumar, who has often expressed reservation against Hindutva politics of some BJP leaders in Bihar, the JD(U) hit out at Union ministers Giriraj Singh and Jayant Sinha. While Singh met some persons accused of rioting and claimed that the state government was suppressing Hindus, Sinha had garlanded people convicted of lynching a man in Jharkhand s Ramgarh district. ith an eye on Uttar WPradesh Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased his forays into this politically most sensitive State and is expected to hold at least four public and one official meeting in various parts of the State in July. Starting from Noida on July 9 and then Azamgarh on July 14, PM is set to address a public meeting in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on July 15 and a farmers rally in Shahjahanpur on July 21. Prime Minister will also attend a conference of the Union Urban Development Ministry in Lucknow on July 29. Official in Chief Minister s Office said here on Sunday said that the PMO has given its nod to all programmes and the organisers have also commenced their preparation. Sources further said that Modi is scheduled to visit Noida to inaugurate the new n a country where millions of Ipeople go hungry every day, a retired IPS officer has come up with an initiative to feed the needy. The initiative, called Roti Bank, collects leftovers from restaurants, clubs and parties in Mumbai, stores it in vans and distributes it to the poor before the food gets stale. Launched by Maharashtra s former Director General of Police D Sivanandan in December last year in collaboration with the Mumbai s famous tiffin carriers Dabbawalas, the Roti Bank claims to be getting a good response. A Mumbai-born and London-based business professional, Nitin Khanapurkar, had also chipped in to support the cause by launching a round-theclock helpline number for it. Nearly 1.8 lakh tonnes of food is wasted every day in India and around 20 crore people, of whom a big number is in Mumbai, go hungry, Sivanandan told PTI. Since legal issues restrict eateries from distributing the leftover food to outsiders, we thought of channelising it though our NGO, and I am happy to say that our initiative of Roti Bank has received an unprecedented response from various quarters, he said. We are a food rescue organisation. We collect the leftover food from hotels and cafeterias and distribute it to the hungry people. It is a simple concept, he said. As part of the initiative, two GPRS-equipped vans make rounds of streets near hospitals and slums to provide food to the needy people, he said. We have reached out to nearly 75,000 needy people in he students of prestigious TJadavpur University on Sunday upgraded their hunger strike into an indefinite fast even as the authorities (apparently at the instance of the State Government) refused to take back the decision bringing a change in the University s admission policy. After repeated flip-flops the University Executive Council had a few days ago decided to discontinue the age old system of admission tests for new students and decided to make marks secured in the boards exams as the only criterion of admission in the UG classes. This led to a protest among the students and professors of the relevant departments who questioned the sudden decision to withdraw a successful policy that had given the JU a healthy NAAC ranking. While the students resorted to a gherao of Vice Chancellor Dr Suranjan Das the professors of Departments of English, Bengali, Comparative Literature and International Relations withdrew from the admission process. On Saturday even as the VC rushed to Governor KN Tripathi for directions, 20 students started a hunger strike giving the University a 24- hour deadline to change its decision. When that would not happen the students upgraded the strike to an indefinite-fast even as Dr Das said he would not at any cost let the police inside the campus andproposed to resign. the city so far. Wherever the van passes by, it brings hope among the hungry people and their feeling after getting food is undefinable, the top copturned-philanthropist said. The NGO mainly collects leftover food staples like rotis (chapati or wheat-made flat bread), rice, vegetables and dal to be distributed within 60 to 90 minutes. Our basic idea is to mitigate hunger of the needy people, said Sivanandan, 67, who served as the Mumbai Police Commissioner before being appointed the DGP. He retired in To bring about a sense of benevolence among the rich class, Sivanandan encourages children from affluent families to come and witness the joy of sharing (food), he said, adding that mitigating hunger of the street children would help them abstain from committing crime. manufacturing unit of Samsung electronics on July 9. PM Modi will be accompanied by Korean President Moon Jae-In during his Noida visit. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also be present during the visit. On July 14 Prime Minister is likely to lay foundation stone of the much awaited Purvanchal Expressway in Azamgarh, the parliamentary constituency of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, and will address a public rally. However, this would be the second time a foundation stone would be laid for the proposed Expressway as first time it was laid in early 2017 by the then Samajwadi Party government. The Poorwanchal expressway, for which tender process is underway, is 340 kms highway connecting Lucknow with Ghazipur. It will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 12,000 crore. From Azamgarh, PM will go to Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency on July 14 evening and after a night stay will address a public meeting at Raja Talab grounds on July 15. Raja Talab is the place from where Narendra Modi had launched his poll campaign for his Varanasi seat in PM is slated to visit Sahajahanpur on July 21 where he will address a kisan rally. This will be first address of PM to farmers after his government has hiked the the MSP of paddy and in other Kharif crops. Meanwhile BJP state president has appointed in-charge of PM s programme. Senior BJP Leader Haridwar Dubey and state secretary Santosh Singh will be incharge of PM s Azamgarh programme of July 14, Sunil Ojha and party s vicepresident Lakshman Achjarya will be in-charge of Varanasi programme on July 14 and 15and party s vice-presidents Pushotam Khandelwal and BL Verma will be in-charge of PM s Sahajahanpur programme of July 21. delegation of servitors of AJagannath Temple in Puri today met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to register its opposition to the proposed entry of non-hindus into the 12th-century shrine. The 22-member delegation of Chhatisa Nijog Sevayats met the Chief Minister at his residence along with Puri MP Pinaki Mishra and Puri MLA Maheshwar Mohanty. During the meeting, the delegation also discussed the Supreme Court s proposal on abolition of hereditary services of servitors. Presently only Hindus are allowed to enter Jagannath Temple and the issue of allowing non-hindus entry to the shrine is being debated following the Supreme Court s July 5 direction that the Puri Jagannath Temple management should consider allowing all visitors, irrespective of their faith, to offer prayers to the deities. The servitor community has been opposing entry of non-hindus into Jagannath temple and will continue to do so, Rama Chandra Singhari, who led the delegation, told reporters after the meeting with the Chief Minister. Stating that the servitors views would be placed before the Supreme Court, Singhari said no politics should be done in the name of religion. He said the servitors, devotees and the government were keen to ensure that the age-old tradition of Shree Jagannath Temple was kept intact.

7 day after what Union AMinister of State Jayant Sinha did in the neighbouring Jharkhand, his Cabinet colleague Giriraj Singh did the same in his constituency Nawada in Bihar. Sinha met and garlanded eight people convicted for lynching a man on suspicion of being cattle lifter while Singh called on the workers of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal in jail who are accused of inciting communal violence. He also met their families and shed some tears after listening to their version and excess by the administration. Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Singh first went to Nawada district jail on Saturday and met the accused persons and on Sunday morning drove to the families of those languishing in jail on charges of inciting communal violence in Meeting the family members of VHP activist Kailash Vishwakarma, Singh was seen wiping tears rolling down his eyes and said, I am terribly nsure of the impact of UPrime Minister Narendra Modi s proposed July 16 visit to Midnapore in Bengal where he is likely to personally deliver the message of the upward revision of MSP for crops at a farmers rally State Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed her willingness to ally with arch enemy Congress in the coming Lok Sabha elections. In an interview the Chief Minister has expressed her desire to ally with the likeminded parties to uproot the BJP Government which was conducting itself like a hundred Hitlers. Talking about her excellent chemistry with Sonia Gandhi he All India Muslim TPersonal Law Board (AIM- PLB) for protecting the muslim personal law, has announced to open Darul-Qaza (Shariat courts) in all districts of the country to resolves issues in line with Islamic laws. The proposal will come up for discussion at a meeting of the AIMPLB in New Delhi on July 15. At present there are 40 such courts in Uttar Pradesh. We plan to open one such court in all districts of the country. The objective of Darul-Qaza is to resolve matters in light of Shariat laws instead of going to other courts, senior member AIMPLB, Zafaryab Zilani, said here on Sunday. Noting that about 50,000 is spent on running a Darul- Qaza, he said, They will be discussing ways to generate resources for this during a meeting of AIMPLB in New Delhi on July 15. With a view shaken to see the discriminatory attitude of the local administration and my tears express my inability to do anything. The administration wrongly implicated the innocent people on charges of inciting violence whereas those were the people who helped in maintaining social harmony. Singh, known for his rightist ideas and pro-hindu stand, said secularism has been redefined as oppression of Hindus. Who tore the pictures of Bhagwan Ram in It was torn down by Muslims. Ulta chor kotwal ko dante. And the innocent people were implicated. Asked why he was unable to do anything if he was convinced that injustice was done before making a loaded statement commensurate to her Prime Ministerial ambitions saying present Congress president Rahul Gandhi was much junior to her, Banerjee said instead of preparing for the PM candidature let us work together. On any kind of alliance with the Congress she seemed to undertake forall the regional parties like a coordinator if not their leader and said, I don t have any problem. My intention will be to unite with all. But it is not my decision alone. It is not my decision alone. It has to be the decision of all regional parties. I have not problem working with anybody as long as they are efficient and their intentions, their philosophy, their ideology are of making lawyers, judges and common man aware about Shariat laws, AIMPLB will also be activating its Tafheem-e- Shariyat (TeS) committee. We will be activating Tafheem-e-Shariyat committee to make lawyers, judges and common man aware about Shariat laws. We will be discussing this at the AIMPLB meet, Jilani said. He said the TeS committee is 15 years old and is entrusted with the task of making lawyers and judges, if possible, aware of arguments related to Shariat laws. The committee used to organised conferences and workshops all over the country with Islamic experts trying to delve in details about Shariat laws and address queries of participants. It is felt that the committee should be activated and more such programs should be held, he said. The issues taken up by the committee in various programs, included Triple Talaq and virasat (divorce and to the people of his constituency and that too when he was a Union Minister and in Bihar his party was partner in the Government, Singh said in a chocked voice, This is my compulsion. I can only request the State Government to do justice and not indulge in appeasement. It is the responsibility of the Government to act without any bias and don t discriminate. It should reward those who worked for social harmony. He told parents of another accused not to cry because their son had been falsely implicated by the administration. It s very unfortunate situation. The BJP is sharing power in Bihar but my hands are tied and I am unable to do anything, he lamented. clear. Her point about Rahul Gandhi seemed to be very clear and straight when she said, What I can say about Rajiv ji or Sonia ji I cannot say about Rahul because he is much junior. On her philosophy of alliances she said, If the Congress is strong and gets more seats in some places let it take the lead. If the regional parties are together somewhere else they can be the decision makers. Her statement comes almost in tandem with a section of the Bengal Pradesh Congress leaders advocating a pro-trinamool line in a meeting with Rahul Gandhi. The other section of the Congress led by PCC president Adhir inheritance) besides others. Asked about the other matters that will figure in the meet, he said progress of Babri mosque case will be discussed and future course of action will be decided. The AIMPLB does not want delay in SC s decision on the matter as reported in the media, he said. The AIMPLB meeting comes against the backdrop of statements by some leaders favouring construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya at the earliest. Statements on the Ayodhya issue are coming. Some are saying the decision will come in a particular month and it will be in favour of a particular side. Such statements are an attempt to belittle the highest court of the country. This should be taken into consideration. It will be discussed in the meeting, an AIMPLB member said. He said the Board has already said it would accept the decision of the Supreme Court on the issue. he Kerala Police have come Tunder severe criticism for the delay in arresting Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Latin Catholic Diocese of Jalandhar who is facing the charge of raping a senior nun amidst reports that the Catholic Church is putting pressure on the nun to withdraw the complaint she had lodged with the police against the Bishop. We believe that there is a bid to derail the case. We suspect high-level interference behind the delay (in arresting the Bishop), the brother of the victim told the media within 24 hours of the nun herself expressing her anxiety over the delay from the part of the police in taking concrete action to the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW). The police officers probing the case are doing their job. But there are officers above them and the delay could be due to their interference. There has not been any effort even to question the Bishop. He has high-level political connections in Kerala as well as in Jalandhar. He may be using these connections to derail the case, the nun s brother told a television channel. He said that they had taken their complaint to Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, head Chowdhury however voted against it. On a possible BSP-SP alliance she said If Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav work together in Uttar Pradesh then the game will be over. Then after the elections a common minimum agenda can be prepared. On whether she was ruling herself out as a prospective Prime Minister she said, Who am I to rule out anything? I know I am a seasoned politician, a very senior politician. After my struggles, I have been MP seven times and MLA twice and CM twice. So I cannot say anything that others may not like. She would however elaborate on whether that others meant Rahul Gandhi or Sharad of Kerala-based Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, and that the nun had spoken to him in private for about 15 minutes. It is up to the Cardinal to disclose what she had told him. If he doesn t do that in two-three days we will come out with more information, he added. The nun had told NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma on Saturday that she was worried about the delay in the arrest of the Bishop. After meeting the nun at her convent in Kuravilangad in Kottayam district, Sharma told newsmen that the victim was not getting any help or cooperation from the Church or her congregation, Missionaries of Jesus. The police s alleged reluctance to arrest the Bishop and the Church s refusal to intervene in the issue in the nun s favour have come under ver 11,000 pilgrims today Opaid obeisance at the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, even as the yatra from Jammu remained suspended in view of apprehensions of law and order problems, according to officials. On the 11th day, the yatra proceeded smoothly on the Pahalgam as well as the Baltal routes, an official spokesman said. He, however, said the yatra from Jammu remained suspended. While the spokesman gave no reason for the suspension of pilgrimage, a police official said the yatra was suspended in view of apprehensions of law and order problems on the second death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani. The spokesman said 11,282 yatris paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine today and till date, 94,412 yatris have had the darshan of the shivling at the holy cave. Pawar or anyone else. Meanwhile, the TMC leadership took a dig at the Prime Minister for coming to disturb Bengal, saying even if he comes a hundred times to here the BJP will not win a single seat from this State. The BJP presently has 2 MP seats. They will lose even the two that they have now, Minister Partho Chatterjee said adding first they should handle Delhi and then they should come to Bengal. Modi is likely to come to Midnapore to give a first-hand information about the increase in MSP of crops, said a senior State BJP leader adding the district was chosen as a venue because the TMC had done well in that district in the recent elections. PI(M) general secretary CSitaram Yechury today said the Left parties would demonstrate before Parliament on July 24 to protest the murder of democracy in Tripura and West Bengal. After the BJP came to power in Tripura, four CPI(M) workers have been murdered and ransacking of party offices and harassment of party cadres by the BJP-RSS workers continue. All these show that law and order has collapsed in the state. It is a national issue, so we have decided to organise the protest, he told a press conference here. Yechury said law and order is a state subject and the state government was responsible for its breakdown. He said three persons including a woman have died of lynching in the state recently. enior Congress leader and Sformer Meghalaya governor MM Jacob passed away today at a private hospital in Pala near here due to age-related ailments, his family said. He was 90. Jacob, a former Union minister, had also served as a deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha in the 80s. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled Jacob s demise, saying he made notable contribution as a parliamentarian and a minister. Saddened by the demise of former Meghalaya Governor MM Jacob. He made notable contributions to the nation as a parliamentarian, minister and governor, the Prime Minister s Office tweeted quoting Modi. He worked extensively for the development of Kerala. My thoughts are with his family and well-wishers in this sad hour, the tweet said. Expressing his condolence, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the death of Jacob has left a deep void in the Congress family. The passing away of Shri M M Jacob, leaves a deep void in the Congress family. intense attack from cultural leaders as well. The Cardinal is justifying the Bishop s crime. Mar Alencherry doesn t deserve to occupy the position of the head of the Church, said writer Sarah Joseph. As per the complaint the nun had lodged with the Kottayam district police chief on June 27, Bishop Mulakkal had raped her at the guest house attached to her convent in Kuravilangad 13 times between 2014 and She had reportedly repeated the charge against the Bishop in the statement she recorded before a court under Section 164 of the CrPC last week. The Bishop had sexually abused her first on May 5, 2014 when he had stayed at the guest house on his visit to Kerala for attending a Church function. He allegedly subjected her to sexual abuse 12 times since And a minister is responsible for fuelling it, Yechury alleged. The CPI(M) general secretary condemned the killing of three persons including a woman in Kashmir yesterday and appealed to the government to control the situation. Yechury said the BJP and the RSS workers were trying to keep the situation in Kashmir boiling. The BJP and the RSS want to keep the situation in Kashmir boiling. They are playing the worst type vote bank politics before the general elections, he said. On the Law Commission s proposal for a simultaneous elections of Parliament and state assembly, he said the idea of the simultaneous elections of Parliament and assembly is to legitimise the illegitimate issues. A coalition Government can become minority after then using threats, she said in her complaints. The nun had gone to the police with her complaint after her efforts to get justice from the Church itself failed. She had approached the Church leadership at all levels starting with the Vicar of her parish, Kodanad to the Bishop of Pala diocese, Cardinal mar Alencherry and even the Vatican directly by and through its envoy in India but help came from nowhere, she said. Cardinal Alencherry had last week said the nun had not given any written complaint to him. As per reports, the police have already verified the incidents and the places and the dates of their occurrence. They may get a copy of her statement in the court on Monday and they may decide to question the Bishop if what she had told them check with that. The Bishop could be summoned to Kerala for questioning, sources said. Meanwhile, pressure is reportedly mounting on the nun for withdrawing her complaint against Bishop Mulakkal. A six-member team from her congregation in Jalandhar is said to be trying to influence her with the help of some priests from Thrissur. This team has also been meeting the nuns and priests who have been supporting the victim. rime Minister Narendra PModi will inaugurate the Statue of Unity on October 31, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Sunday. Rupani today reviewed the progress of the memorial in Kevadiya near Sardar Sarovar Dam in the tribal-dominated Narmada district, about 190 kilometres from here. He said his government was working towards ensuring that the statue is completed by October 31. withdrawal of support and then it would not exist and the elections would be required because a minority government cannot continue. So, this exercise is futile, he said. He said the Kerala Communist government was toppled in 1950s under Article 356, making the mid-term assembly elections inevitable. Earlier, the assembly and Parliament elections used to be held simultaneously. But after the Keralas communist government was toppled due to application of Article 356 and later assembly election was held, he said. Asked about possibility of any kind of alliance with the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, he ruled any possibility. Our policy is to defeat the TMC in West Bengal and save democracy and defeat the BJP and save democracy in the country, he said. gainst the backdrop of a Aspate of sex crimes against minor girls in Madhya Pradesh, senior Congress leader Kamal Nath on Sunday said MP was becoming a rape state, drawing a sharp reaction from the ruling BJP. Madhya Pradesh is turning into a rape state, Nath, who heads the state Congress unit, told reporters in Bhopal. Hitting back, BJP vice-president Prabhat Jha accused Nath of insulting 7.5 crore people of Madhya Pradesh through his controversial statement and demanded an apology. (Either) Nath should apologise to the people of the state or Congress president Rahul Gandhi should remove him hief Minister Yogi CAdityanath said that following the footprints of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar the BJP Government in Uttar Pradesh has launched schemes to promote local products which will give employment to the local artisans at their village. Addressing a gathering after a releasing a book titled Rashtrapurush Chandrashekhar Sansad mein do tuk here on Sunday he said Chnadrashekhar was the biggest advocate of promoting local industry. This BJP Government is working on the same philosophy and has adopted One District One Product (ODOP) scheme, he said. Chief Minister said that this ODOP will help the local artisans to showcase their products and provide them a big market to sell their products. This scheme will open employment opportunity for the local villagers and in turn will end the exodus, he said. Yogi also said that Chandraskehra was a big advocate of Common Civil Code because he felt that all the residents of India should be governed by one law. ver 1.25 kg of gold worth Oabout 40 lakh was today seized from a passenger who arrived at Trivandrum international airport from a gulf nation, a top customs official said. Air Intelligence Unit of Air Customs has effected seizure of gms of gold valued at Rs lakh from the passenger, who arrived by an AirIndia Express Flight from Dubai, Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar said. The contraband gold was concealed in the form of a brown coloured paste material packed in a plastic cover which was ingeniously hidden underneath the passenger s underwear, he said in a release. from the post, Jha told reporters in Indore. Underlining the need for collaboration between the government and the society to fight such crimes, Jha said politics should not be done over the incidents of rape. The opposition Congress has been alleging that the law and order situation in Madhya Pradesh, which is under the BJP rule since 2003, has deteriorated with the crimes against women and children witnessing a spurt. The state is going to polls later this year. Among the latest incidents of crimes against children, an eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two men in Mandsaur district on June 26 who inflicted injuries on her.

8 Save the boys Extraditing supremacist hate-preacher Zakir Naik from Malaysia should be as much if not more of a priority for the Government than getting back the Mallyas and the Modis. Naik s incendiary sermons and offensive statements have not only give Indian Muslims a bad name but also encouraged other educated whackos. Kuala Lumpur must see reason. Europe rules COMMENT & ANALYSIS We must demand better of our rulers D isheartening does not begin to describe the past two weeks. It has been a week where the Thomson Reuters Foundation came out with a perception report that ranked India as the world s most dangerous country for women. This was also the week in which a young girl who had not even seen her tenth birthday was abducted and brutally raped in Madhya Pradesh. All of this has been interspersed with the now almost daily dose of disheartening news on some form of assault or violence against women. These however are just symptoms and we as a country must recognise that we have failed our women. It is therefore imperative to place a greater emphasis on ensuring that the women in our country irrespective of caste, colour, creed, religion or nationality feel that India is a country that not only respects women but also allows them to thrive. BJP lured six MLAs of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha Prajatantrik to its fold by paying them at least 11 crore. JVM-P chief BABULAL MARANDI Sir There was a time when the downtrodden used to sell their properties to meet the cost of higher education of their children. It was believed that no property commanded as much value as education.time has changed. People are unable to meet the everincreasing school fees payable at the time of admission to schools. What is alarming is that school fees being raised are disproportionate to the inflationary spiral. The Government must regulate school fees if it wants to make education affordable to all. This raises the important perceptional question of how the Government views women; and why we have to start demanding better of our Government and ourselves. Not one to adopt a subtle approach or letting its actions speaks for itself, the BJP is unsurprisingly of the view that it has excelled in dealing with issues relating to women empowerment. Union Minister Smriti Irani, on International Women s Day, wrote an opinion piece where she said: The need for empowerment of women is an idea that everyone acknowledges as important. However, following up ideas and ideals with actions is of prime importance. In this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi leads the way. But the question is whether the BJP really leads the way? To help answer this question, instead of getting distracted by catch phrases and key words,we must examine what the Prime Minister and the BJP have actually done in relation to the issues of importance to women. Thomas Reuters Foundation report and the reaction of the BJP: As I mentioned above, the report released by the Thomas Reuters Foundation ranked India as the world's most dangerous country for women. There was some shock that this report ranked India to be worse for women than war-torn countries like Syria. A large part of this criticism came from the BJP where the report was received with cries of an Private school managements raise their fees abnormally but the teachers working in these institutions are ill-paid. The need of the hour is to shackle the private school managements against arbitrary increase in fees. Educational institutions must not assume the role of commercial establishments. KV Seetharamaiah Hassan Sir This refers to the report, Master of Rolls, CJI need not consult collegium: SC (July 7). The Supreme Court (SC) made it clear more than Babulal Marandi should publicly apologise for his bribery claim. The BJP will move court and sue him for defaming the party. BJP Lok Sabha MP RABINDRA RAI Tackling doctors shortage A s a part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), India committed to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). However, its total healthcare expenditure (under five per cent of its GDP) resulted in sub-optimal outcomes. With less spending, India faces a severe shortage of hard infrastructure and talent along with regional imbalances in healthcare delivery. Although rural India accounts for about 70 per cent of the population, it has less than one-third of nation s hospitals, doctors and beds, resulting in large disparities in health outcomes across States. As India s health system faces multipronged challenges, deficiency of doctors has emerged as one of the biggest roadblocks in the making of a new healthcare ecosystem. Currently, there is a shortfall of nearly two million doctors and four million nurses. Moreover, doctors numbers are also skewed towards a few States. According to NATHEALTH s Aarogya Bharat Report- India Healthcare Roadmap for 2025, healthcare services are expected to generate demand for 15 million to 20 million new jobs for doctors and other health professionals by In spite of such huge prospects, India continues to face severe shortage. India has less than one doctor for every 1,000 citizens, which is less than the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard that prescribes a doctor population ratio of 1:1,000. If Ayush practitioners are included, India has 1.3 doctors for 1000 population. A Medical Council of India (MCI) report suggests that in July 2017, there were a total 10,22,859 allopathic doctors registered with the MCI or with state medical councils. As per the Aarogya Bharat Report, the shortfall of doctors is likely to continue till India is passing through a critical phase, and to deal with the situation, it needs urgent structural reforms. National Medical Commission managing it professionally: India needs to be in mission mode to bridge the critical gap in available health professionals. The Government is all set to restructure the way India manages the supply side of medical professionals. The National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, which is expected to be tabled in the Parliament during the monsoon session, will address several issues related to doctors deficiency. It is promising to note that the Government has carefully dealt with the concerns expressed by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and other experts and their suggestions were incorporated to modify the Bill, which was approved by the Cabinet early this year. Issues related to screening tests for doctors with foreign medical qualifications, bridge course for Ayush practitioners to practise modern medicine, fees and seats by private institutions have also been resolved. Apart from scope, the constitution of the Commission has also been restructured with number of nominees from States and Union Territories in the NMC going up to six from three. To give it a professional character, the NMC will comprise 25 members, of which, at least 21 will be doctors. Pride of medical professionals: The pride and status of medical professionals of all cadres is waning. There is an utter disregard for the attempts to provide basic amenities to doctors in rural areas. Apathetic management for staff and lack of professional protection during healthcare delivery further aggravates the problem. This holds back healthcare providers to take innovative steps suitable for local needs. There is an absence of reward for excellence or punishment for failures in the system. In order to cope up with doctors deficiency in rural areas, the Governments must develop model villages and blocks. The concept of model group housing at block level or primary healthcare level should be considered, where Government employees of all departments could be provided accommodation and required facilities like school, playground, community centre, supermarket et al could be bestowed in the neighbourhood. This concept would allow holding, retaining and recruiting fresh talent by facilitating their stay and improvising their quality of life comparable with their counterparts in the city. The way forward: Prioritising areas with critical shortage of healthcare professionals especially doctors will be important. Moreover, regulations that enable private participation in medical education need to be created. Exploring public-private partnership (PPP) models to enable a rapid increase in medical education seats needs to be given priority. Focusing on primary care can help reduce hospitalisation rates. And telemedicine and remote monitoring tools can be used to widen the reach of existing doctors and increase their productivity. The implementation of Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Scheme under Ayushman Bharat Mission, clearly indicates that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with innovative doable solutions, prefers to act as a radical plastic surgeon rather than the cosmetic one, to change the lives of rural ailing population. Doctors deficiency remains a big challenge and to fulfil the dream of Swasth Bharat (Healthy India), this has to be taken up by all stakeholders on an urgent basis. (The writers are President and Secretary General, NATHEALTH, respectively) T he significance of oil and energy resources as drivers of economic activity and growth can be seen throughout history. One of the most fought over natural resources, oil continues to influence economic growth patterns, regional stability and international security. With an exacerbated population growth in the developing and underdeveloped world, more and more countries are now aggressively trying to secure the precious resource. This has resulted in increased unrest in regions that possess vast proportions of the world's oil resources. An abundance of oil in Iraq has ensured a somewhat steady economic growth of the country; so much so that the current economy is heavily dependent on oil exports. With that said, increasing unrest between the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraq Central Government over oil production and shared revenues threatens to cast a shadow over the country's oil operations and as a result, put a damper on its economic growth. The establishment of the KRG in 1992 in the aftermath of the Gulf War has had two direct implications in post-2003 Iraq s relations with the Kurds within the State; the struggle between Baghdad and Erbil in Kirkuk over oil and its territory and the struggle s direct impact on the subsequent quest for Kurdish Independence for which a referendum took place in September The largest minority in Iraq, the Kurds have been aiming to establish a separate autonomous state for long.they have historically been the target of suppression by various Iraqi Governments, particularly by Saddam Hussein s Government. The most prominent example of the brutal suppression of Kurds under Hussein's regime is perhaps that of the chemical attack on Halabja in 1988 wherein 3,200 to 5,000 civilians were killed. The brutality experienced by the Kurds under Saddam s regime resulted in the creation of a common sense of identity amongst the people. It was only in 1991 when the United States and its allies defeated Iraq following Iraq s invasion of Kuwait that a de-facto Kurdish state could emerge in Iraq. For the first time in modern history, the Kurds established their own Government and revolted against the Ba athist regime. The establishment of a nofly zone in Northern Iraq by the United States and its allies allowed the Kurdish National Front to form an elected regional Government whose elections were held in The establishment of the KRG, albeit with a coalition between the two major parties,patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Jalal Talabani and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Masud Barzani, strengthened the Kurdish quest for Independence. Because oil has always been central in the fight between the Central Government and the KRG, its extraction has traditionally been looked upon by the Kurdish leadership as a symbol of the region s sovereignty. Even before the formation of the KRG in 1992, Mullah Mustafa Barzani, the leader of the Kurdish nationalist movement in 1972 committed to give oil to America in case he managed to get control over the Kirkuk oil fields. One of the first moves by the KRG after its immediate formation was to form the national oil company, KurdOil. And even though the company never became operational, it signifies the beginning of disputes between the two Governments over oil extraction and shared revenues. The scope of developing energy in the region remained limited until Hussein was overthrown due to a sluggish economic growth because of embargoes imposed on the KRG by the international community and by the Central Government. The invasion of Iraq by the US in 2003 allowed Kurds the rare opportunity to influence the politics of the country. Both, the United States policy of changing Saddam's regime as well as the invasion were supported by the Kurds. And with the end of Hussein's regime, the Kurds were able to participate in the formation of a new Iraqi state and the creation of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). Up until 2005 when the Iraqi Constitution was ratified to give Kurds more regional autonomy and pave way for investments by oil companies, the Kurds relied heavily on smuggling oil through Turkey. Following this ratification, the Tawke field was discovered in 2006 and foreign companies such as UAE s Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum and Canada's Western Oil Sands began to establish themselves in the region. The establishment of these companies in the region created friction between the KRG, which, to this day, maintains its right to develop minefields and the Central Government, which argues that natural resources and in particular, oil and gas are owned by all Iraqis, irrespective of the region. By the start of 2007, representatives from Baghdad and Erbil began negotiations to approve a National Hydrocarbon Framework Law. By July of that same year, representatives of KRG withdrew their support from the bill citing reasons that it would allow centralised control over oil development and would not benefit the region. Following the failure of the negotiations, the Kurdish Parliament in 2007 passed a regional petroleum law which allowed the KRG to sign contracts independently of the Central Government with the help of Public Sharing Agreements (PSA). Here it should be noted that no major oil companies signed PSA s with the KRG for fear of alienating Baghdad. Retrospectively, despite the fact that the contracts signed were illegal, the agenda against India. This is all the more surprising given that the same people who criticized the report such as Amit Malviya, the head of the IT Cell of the BJP, and party MP Rajiv Chandrashekhar, relied on the same report in In my opinion, to focus on whether India stand fourth or first is missing the woods for the trees. What cannot be debated is the fact that India is among the worst countries in the world for women and the BJP would do well to dispel that notion by reigning in trolls, focusing on women safety, encouraging discussions in schools about the importance of protecting women rather than talking up the idea that there is an agenda against India. Attack of the trolls: If you have had a chance to see my twitter handle or go to my Facebook page, you will know that similar to millions of people on social media, trolls love to heckle, abuse and threaten me for the opinions I share on social media. As a former police officer, I have had to deal with a number of criminals, goons and dacoits but I must say that women on social media face threats and encounter abuse that would make these criminals, goons and dacoits recoil with disgust. While social media has been present for some time now, the sheer volume of abuse suffered and the vitriolic, sexist messages against women have increased manifold. A clear Oil is the constant For long, the US has been accused of meddling in West Asia to keep its oil supplies running. Now, Iraqis and Kurds are fighting over the same commodity Central Government at the time did not make an issue out of it. The main contention between the two Governments regarding oil began in October 2011 when the KRG signed a PSA with Exxon Mobil. As the oil fields signed under the PSA were located in Kirkuk, a contested area that Kurds claim historically as their own and that contains up to 40 per cent of Iraq s oil reserves, the PSA did not go down well with the Central Government. In response to this deal, the Central Government began blacklisting companies with investments in the regional oil field. This led to a chain of reactions where for a short period of time in March the Central Government halted the allocation of revenues to Kurdistan and in response to this, the KRG stopped oil supply from within Kurdistan. Finally, in March 2014, the KRG and the Central Government renegotiated the agreement wherein the Kurds would deliver 175,000 barrels per day to the Central Government in return for 50% of the oil export revenues to the KRG. The agreement was however once again compromised in light of IS s rising power in the region and its control over major oil fields throughout Iraq. Before IS s takeover of Kirkuk in 2014, oil exports from the region were controlled by the Central Government. As the Iraqi forces fled the region, the Kurdish forces moved once that the CJI is the master of roster while allocating cases to different benches of the SC and it has cleared the air again. Evidently, the infamous rebellion of four senior SC judges have emboldened the activist lawyers to go the whole hog against the CJI. As a torchbearer of the country s judiciary, the CJI commands respect from the legal fraternity and judges across the country. The collective allocation of cases by collegium or by all judges will end in chaos because a particular judge would be keen to hear a specific case according to his legal acumen. It is a myth that cases involving substantial points of law should be heard by senior judges because all have risen to the top court due to their legal experience. The SC should throw such frivolous petitions out of the window to enable other cases to be heard expeditiously. Ganapathi Bhat Akola Sir This refers to editorial, Animal rights (July 6). As per study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, people who get protein from animal sources have a higher risk of dying early. Humans must ensure that animals are able to live peacefully in their natural habitat. Rightly a good number of celebrities from different spheres of life are becoming vegetarians. In a word, eating non-veg leaves behind an environmental toll. One must concede that eating habits are a very personal matter; every person has right to decide what to eat and what not to eat. Mahesh Kapasi New Delhi in and after expelling IS from the region, they seized oil fields that were legally still under the control of the Central Government. On 25th September 2017, the Kurds held a referendum for gaining formal Independence from Iraq and included territories of Iraqi Kurdistan as well as disputed territories such as Kirkuk, claimed by both the Governments. As the inclusion of Kirkuk within its territory will ensure that Kurdistan remains an economically viable country after Independence, the Kurds have time and again claimed that the region belongs to them. The referendum however backfired as the move was opposed not only by the Central Government but also the international community and in particular, by the US and Turkey. It also increased the hostility between both the Governments which ultimately led to Iraqi central forces taking control of oil fields in the disputed territory. The Iraqi forces have so far taken back a large number of cities and oil fields located in northern Iraq. They have also taken back borders that up until now had been controlled by the Kurds. The core issue with KRG s bid for Independence lies in the fact that Iraqi Kurdistan cannot sustain itself economically without including Kirkuk within its boundary and Bagdad will never let Kurdistan secede with Kirkuk as it is home to about 40 per cent of the oil resources within Iraq. The recent dispute regarding the KRG supposedly supplying oil to the United States through the tanker Neverland has once again led to a fierce disagreement between the two. Despite the issue having been contested in the Iraqi Supreme Court for over a year now, there seems to be no end to the conflict due to the KRG s insistence on an autonomous oil sector. In the current context, the Kurdish leadership must reconsider its decisions to ensure that the Kurds can better negotiate regarding issues such as the budget allocated to the region as well as revenue allocation from oil exports. In the absence of an agreement between Baghdad and Erbil about the disputed territories and oil revenues, it remains likely that neither Baghdad nor Erbil will benefit from Kirkuk s natural resources. (The writer is a student at Sciences Po, Paris and LSE) example of this was the manner in which a number of such trolls have been attacking our Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj. It is significant to note that these trolls who threatened and abused Swaraj are followed by 41 BJP MPs and the Prime Minister himself follows eight such troll accounts. It was also telling that the Congress party condemned the attack on Swaraj before the BJP did and that the Prime Minister has maintained his silence on the issue. It is this kind of silence which the vicious trolling army takes as acquiescence even if that is not what is intended. When Irani said that the PM is leading the way, I am sure that this was not what she had in mind. Casually inconsiderate: In addition to these specific issues, there is, in my view, a casual attitude towards women that emanates from the BJP. The obvious example of this attitude is the lack of fervor in any condemnation of the BJP MLA from Unnao, who is a rape-accused, or the BJP ministers who participated in a rally demanding a CBI probe into the Kathua rapeand-murder which was seen as supporting the accused. This lack of consideration by the BJP is also reflected on issues like GST slabs where sanitary napkins are taxed at 12 per cent. In terms of the schemes that the Government has come out with to improve the status of women, there is a distinct feeling of disappointment at the lack of attention to actual implementation. The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) is a clear example of this where the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) reports found a fall in the sex ratio at birth in various districts of Haryana and Punjab due to the lack of policy implementation, diversion of funds and a weak monitory mechanism. While the BJP says the BBBP is a visionary scheme to improve the status of women, the report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development found that out of a total amount of 43 crore that was set aside for BBBP in the fiscal year , only five crore rupees has been correctly utilised. Unfortunately, as history has shown, it is unlikely that the BJP will pay heed to any of these warnings. It is just as likely that the Prime Minister will continue to remain silent on these pressing issues. Irani rightly said that, The nation will benefit from women s qualities like excellent management abilities, communication skills, ability to multitask. It will also give a more caring and compassionate edge to the often impersonal realm of governance. However, the manner in which women s rights have been set back over the past few years suggests that India too could do with a Government that tries to incorporate these values. (The writer is Jharkhand PCC president, former MP and IPS officer. Views expressed are personal)

9 n front are open fields with Igrazing cattle, to the left are under-construction residential societies and to the right is its existing facilty - this where Samsung has set up what is the world s largest mobile factory. Not China or South Korea and certainly not the US the tag of housing the world s largest mobile factory has straight away put Noida on top of the world manufacturing map when it comes to consumer electronics. The new 35-acre Samsung Electronics facility at Sector 81 in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in landing together at a quickly-prepared helipad adjacent to the factory to officially inaugurate it on Monday. One of the first electronics manufacturing facilities set up in the country in the early 1990s, the plant started by manufacturing TVs in The current mobile phone manufacturing unit was added in In June last year, the South Korean giant announced a 4,915 crore investment to expand the Noida plant and, after a year, the new facility is ready to double production. The company is currently making 67 million smartphones in India and with the new plant being functional, it is expected to manufacture nearly 120 million mobile phones. Not just mobiles, the expansion of the current facility will double Samsung s production capacity of consumer electronics like refrigerators and flat panel televisions, further consolidating the company s leadership in these segments. According to Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, the new facility gives Samsung an advantage by reducing the time to market. This will help Samsung bring some local features to the devices powered by R&D here. Apart from this, the company can also bring in export opportunity for Samsung to SAARC and other regions, Pathak told. Samsung has two manufacturing plants in Noida and in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu five R&D centres, and one design centre in Noida, employing over 70,000 people and expanding its network to over 1.5 lakh retail outlets. Established in 1995, Samsung India laid the foundation stone of Noida plant next year. In 1997, production commenced and the first television was rolled out. In 2003, refrigerator production began. By 2005, Samsung had become market leader in panel TVs and in 2007, the existing Noida facility started manufacturing mobile phones. In 2012, Samsung became the leader in mobile phones in the country and the Noida facility rolled out the first-ever Galaxy S3 device. Today, Samsung is the market leader across mobile segments. The company currently has over 10 per cent of its overall production in India and aims to take it to 50 per cent over the next three years. For Samsung, India is among the top five smartphone markets globally. The US is saturated and Korea and he format for annual Treturns and audit is likely to be approved by the GST Council in its meeting on July 21 and industry expects that there could be some reconciliation with annual IT returns as the government aims to check tax evasion. Goods and Services Tax (GST) was rolled out on July 1, 2017, and this is the first year when businesses will have to file annual returns (GSTR-9) for fiscal by December 31, Also those businesses with turnover of more than 2 crore will have to file audit reports along with the annual returns. The revenue officers have prepared a draft of the annual returns form, which will be deliberated by the all powerful GST Council chaired by Union Finance Minister and comprising state finance ministers as members, in its meeting on July 21. The GST Network, which manages the IT backbone for ublic sector banks are plan- to tap the markets to Pning raise more than 50,000 crore this fiscal to shore up their capital base for business growth and meeting regulatory global risk norms. Capital is very much required for these banks as they are saddled with non-performing assets (NPAs) of about 10 lakh crore. According to analysts, their first quarter results may not be very encouraging despite heavy cleaning of books as the dust has not settled on the NPA front. Out of 21 public sector banks, 13 have already taken the approval of their boards or shareholders for raising capital through the equity market, as per the data compiled by PTI. The combined value of the shares sales of these banks is upwards of 50,000 crore. Leading the pack is the Central Bank of India, which has already got shareholders approval for raising 8,000 crore equity capital through various means, including a follow-on public offer, rights issue or a qualified institutional placement (QIP), to shore up its capital base. the new indirect tax regime will thereafter finalise the software to enable businesses to file the returns. Tax experts said they expect the annual returns form to be in line with that in the erstwhile Value Added Tax (VAT) regime, with some columns for reconciliation with Income Tax returns and audit report. They expect the forms to be made available online by October, so that the returns could be filed within the December due date. Deloitte India Partner M S Mani said: Considering the fact that the key objective of GST is to expand the tax base, it is expected that the GST annual return would require some information related to annual accounts and income tax returns, in addition to the details which were required to be submitted in the erstwhile VAT annual returns. They expect that in the VAT era, assessments were made on the basis of annual returns and the same process should be followed in the GST regime as well. Experts said the businesses might commit some error in the monthly returns filed and those could get corrected in the annual returns and hence assessment should be on the basis of annual returns. EY India Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said: Given the first year of GST, the industry would expect the Annual Return format to be simple and if possible only require PAN based data reconciliation with the financials and not state wise or GSTIN wise data reconciliation with financials. The said demand essentially being on account of most company IT systems not being configured to extract state wise financials. Under the VAT regime, businesses were required to file returns in every state where they are registered and hence linking their annual returns with that of the same filed under IT returns was not feasible. AMRG & Associates Partner Rajat Mohan said: Some of the Industry expectations are online forms with least manual intervention seeking selected information, clarity on the need for annual statewise financial statements and finally, deferment of GST audits in the first year. But, with GST being PAN based registration, it would be easier to reconcile the sales and purchases with that reported in IT returns. As per the IT return forms notified by the income tax department, businesses filing ITR-4 (Presumptive Income From Business & Profession) will have to give information regarding turnover/gross receipt reported for GST as well as GST Identification Number (GSTIN). Besides, in ITR-6 which is to be filed by companies, businesses have to specify GST paid or refunded or credit outstanding. Over 1.14 crore businesses are registered under the GST regime. Of these, about 18 lakh businesses have opted for composition scheme. he CBDT has issued a stern Tdirective to Income Tax Department (ITD) offices in the country, asking them to curb high-pitched assessments against taxpayers and ensure that assessing officers who issue such irrational orders are transferred and face disciplinary action. CBDT Chairperson Sushil Chandra, in a recent three-page directive to all regional ITD chiefs, expressed disappointment that a special drive launched in this regard in 2015 had failed to achieve its mandate of resolving taxpayers grievances and was underutilised. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which frames policy for the tax department, had four years ago sought the creation of local committees in every tax region headed by a principal chief commissioner to expeditiously deal with taxpayers grievances arising from highpitched scrutiny assessment. The decision was taken as part of the Modi Government s plan to check high-handedness of taxmen in deciding assessments of a common taxpayer that led to issues of corruption and bribery. The tax department has taken action against at least 10 assessing officers (AOs) till now as part of this drive, but still enough is not being done, a senior official told PTI. A high-pitched scrutiny assessment case is one where it is found that the addition of income was made on frivolous grounds, non-observance of principles of natural justice, or non-application of mind and gross negligence by the assessing officer in deciding a case. A local committee of senior ITD officials, in case a order was found to be unreasonable or high-pitched, was empowered by the CBDT to take remedial action to rectify the demand and ensure that the taxpayer is not harassed. The CBDT chairperson, in his letter, said the performance of these committees in the last three years has not been found to be satisfactory. Citing examples, Chandra said last year ( ), the reports filed by the regions, after prodding from the CBDT, were found to be either deficient or incomplete. For , not a single report of local committees from any of the regions has been received by the board, the chairman said in the letter. Chandra said that he has got personal feedback that these committees are either vacant at many locations due to transfer or promotion of a member or meetings were not being held regularly. You would also appreciate that all these deficiencies in functioning of local committees are hampering their effectiveness in tackling highpitched assessments in an institutional manner, he said. Therefore, he said, regional chiefs of the department should give due attention to monitor performance of local committees on a regular basis so that these committees serve as a useful mechanism to curb high-pitched assessments in the ITD. He said that in cases where such assessments are found, an explanation should be sought from the assessing officer and in select cases, the official should be transferred to a nonsensitive post without any delay and disciplinary action initiated against him or her. No coercive action should be taken for recovery of demand in cases which have been identified as high-pitched by the local committee, the chairman said. ndia s crude steel output grew Isix per cent to 26 million tonne (MT) in the first quarter of the ongoing financial year, according to official data. The country had produced 24.5 MT of crude steel during April-June, , the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) said in its latest report. The JPC, under Ministry of Steel, collects and maintains data on the domestic iron and steel sector. During April-June, crude steel production was MT (provisional), a growth of 6.2 per cent over same period of last year, the report said. State-run SAIL, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), Tata Steel, Essar Steel, JSW Steel and Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) together produced 15.6 MT during the three-month period, registering a growth of 12 per cent over the year-ago period. During the reported quarter, the output of hot metal was at MT as compared to MT during the year-ago period, an increase of 11 per cent. Brazil are not growing significantly. India is a big opportunity across price segments, including 2G feature phones. It makes sense for Samsung to build a bigger manufacturing base here, Jaipal Singh, Senior Market Analyst, IDC, told. They are now looking at building a complete ecosystem. After smartphones, they can go into building top-of-the-line products in other categories like TVs, refrigerators as advance manufacturing in India still lags behind. With the new facility, Samsung is going to have an edge over its rivals, Singh noted. According to HC Hong, President and CEO, Samsung India, a bigger manufacturing plant will help them cater to the growing demand for Samsung products across the country. Samsung India, that registered 27 per cent growth in mobile business revenue for the financial year accounting for a whopping Rs 34,300 crore of its reported Rs 50,000 crore sales - won t be able to hide the smile when the new facility kicks off production from July 9. fter foraying into online Aspace with Amazon India, the Uttar Pradesh Government is in discussion with another e- tail giant Flipkart to sell Khadi products. After the successful sale of various Khadi products on amazon.in, (the) UP Government is in talks with another e-commerce portal Flipkart. Once, the talks are successful, the Khadi products will be available on this website as well. An MoU has already been signed with Amazon India, and at present, Khadi products of 10 units are being sold on amazon.in, Principal Secretary Khadi and Village Industries Navneet Sehgal told PTI here today. As many as 40 Khadi products have been shortlisted, and their photo shoot is over. Soon, the consumers will be able to roliferation of public wi-fi Pcan provide USD 3 billion potential revenue opportunity for telecom operators between , as it will help adding new customers and increasing data consumption by existing users, says a report. The study by Analysys Mason, commissioned by tech giant Google, found a significant fraction of users saying they would be interested in purchasing a new mobile broadband SIM card to continue accessing high speed Internet, after having experienced high speed Internet through high-speed wi-fi services from Google-Railtel. Google, in partnership with RailTel, has rolled out public wi-fi services at 400 Indian railway stations. An average user consumed over 300 MB in a 30 minute-session, as per the study. RailTel Corporation is the telecom arm of Indian Railways. A section of users, who were already using mobile broadband data, expressed willingness to upgrade their current data plan after experiencing multiple use cases offered by high-speed Internet, the study said. Demand stimulation with free high-speed public Wi-Fi has the potential to increase revenue for other operators by about USD 3 billion cumulatively from 2017 to 2019, it said, adding that access to unfettered high speed wi-fi broadband is expected to result in tangible business benefits for stakeholders like telecom operators and handset manufacturers. Respondents, who expressed interest in purchasing a new mobile broadband SIM, said they were willing to spend an average of about USD 2.2 additionally on data services. Similarly, respondents who were interested in upgrading their current data plan said they were willing to spend an additional USD 2.3 average for usage upgrade. Interestingly, about 14 per cent of the respondents said they were willing to upgrade their smartphones after experiencing high-speed wi-fi, with an additional monthly spend of USD 5.9 towards upgrading their handset. buy them online. Apart from this, efforts are also being made to make these products reach the international market. Stress is being laid on online marketing, he added. For the past two years, training is being imparted to 240 craftsmen at National Institute of Fashion Technology, Rae Bareli. In order to generate more employment opportunities, training programme on solar-powered charkhas is also proposed. In the first phase, training will be imparted to 400 selected persons, Sehgal said. On February 20, UP s Khadi and Village Industries Board signed a pact with Amazon India to facilitate online selling of Khadi products. As part of the MoU, Amazon India will educate, train and enable rural khadi artisans to directly sell their products to amazon.in customers across the country under the brand of UP Khadi. The portfolio online will include products such as khadi shirts, kurtas, dhotis, towels and gourmet food, which has a tremendous potential and demand in urban areas. ndia s foodgrain output could Iexceed last year s record of million tonne (MT) buoyed by favourable monsoon, higher MSP and likely increase in crop productivity, an official said. Agriculture Secretary Shobhana Pattanayak exuded confidence that sowing, which is lagging behind so far, will pick up in the coming weeks with wide coverage of rainfall in all growing states. Moreover, farmers will now be enthused to bring more acreage on the back of sharp increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for all 14 kharif crops announced last week. The sowing area of kharif crops like paddy is currently lower than the last year because of deficit rains in some parts of the country, he added. Sowing of kharif crops begins from June with the onset of southwest monsoon and harvesting takes place from October onwards. The shortfall in acreage will be made up in the coming weeks. We will definitely exceed last year s production, Pattanayak told. This year s situation is much better, and is not like what was witnessed in and , he said. Till last week, area sown to all kharif crops was lagging behind by per cent at lakh hectare, as against lakh hectare in the yearago period, as per the ministry s data. Rice acreage was down 15 per cent at lakh hectare as against lakh hectare, while that of pulses by 20 per cent at lakh hectare as against lakh hectare in the said period. Even area under coarse cereals was down per cent at lakh hectare as against lakh hectare, acreage of oilseeds was lower per cent at lakh hectare from lakh hectare in the said period. New Delhi: Fuel prices across the four metro cities rose for the fourth straight day on Sunday caused by hardening of crude rates. due to resumption of US sanctions on Iran, after they had been declining for over a month. Petrol prices in Delhi rose to per litre on Sunday, according to data on state-run Indian Oil Corp s website. In the other major cities of Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, petrol was sold for 78.80, and per litre on Sunday. This rise comes after prices started to decline on May 30. Also, both the petrol and diesel prices were unchanged for nine days till June 4. In tandem with the cost of petrol, diesel prices also registered a rise on Sunday for the fourth day in a row across the four metro cities. In the national capital, diesel was sold at per litre. In Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, the key transportation fuel sold at 70.41, 72 and per litre, respectively. IANS

10 26-year-old student from ATelangana was shot dead by a suspected robber at a restaurant here in the US State of Missouri, police said. Sharath Koppu, a student at the University of Missouri- Kansas City (UKMC), was shot at about 7 p.m. on Friday at J's Fish and Chicken Market near 54th and Prospect, where he worked as a parttime employee, The Kansas City Star local newspaper reported. The police released a brief video of the suspect inside the restaurant moments before the shooting and asked for the community's assistance in identifying him. Koppu was a software engineer who came to the US WASHINGTON: With the established global order on shaky footing, President Donald Trump's weeklong trip to Europe will test already strained bonds with some of the United States' closest allies, then put him face to face with the leader of the country whose electoral interference was meant to help put him in office. Trump departs Tuesday on a four-nation tour amid simmering disputes over trade and military spending with fellow Western democracies and speculation about whether he will rebuke or embrace Russian President Vladimir Putin. He meets the Russian leader in Helsinki as the finale of a trip with earlier stops in Belgium, England and Scotland. Trump has shown little regard for America's traditional bonds with the Old World, publicly upbraiding world leaders at NATO's new headquarters a year ago for not spending enough on defense and delivering searing indictments of Islamabad:Pakistan's Supreme Court on Sunday banned former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co- Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur from travelling abroad in the wake of the recent revelations in a fake bank accounts case, a media report said. Chief Justice Saqib Nisar ordered the names of 20 people, including Zardari and Talpur, be placed on the Exit Control List, Geo TV reported. Those persons on the list are prohibited from leaving Pakistan. The order came as Chief Justice Nisar took notice of the slow pace of inquiry into a fake bank accounts case. The apex court has summoned the seven fake bank account holders. Zardari, Talpur, Tariq Sultan, Erum Aqeel, Muhammad Ashraf and Muhammad Iqbal Arain are among those who have been issued notices to appear before the top court. Nasir Abdullah, Ansari Sugar Mills, Omani Polymer Packages, Pak Ethanol Private Limited, Chambar Sugar Mills, Agro Farm Thatta, Zardari Group, Parthenon Private Limited, AOne International, Lucky International, Logistic Trading, Royal International and Ameer Associate are among the beneficiaries name in the fake bank accounts case. PTI in January to pursue his master's degree. Meanwhile, Raghu Chowdavaram, the victim's cousin, created a GoFundMe account on Saturday to collect money to pay for the body to be returned to India. It raised $25,000 in three hours. "He had the same dreams like everyone else, to make it big in the land of opportunity. He had a great sense of humour and always made people laugh and was always eager to lend a helping hand," Chowdavaram wrote in the GoFundMe account. A worker at the restaurant told The Kansas City Star that the suspect, wearing a brown shirt with white stripes, had demanded money and pulled out a gun. London: The characteristic black and white striped fur of zebras do not help the animals stay cool in the hot sun, according to a study that refutes a belief that dates back to Darwin. Ongoing discussion among researchers on why zebras have their signature black and white stripes suggests that it keeps them cool in the sunshine The black stripes get warmer than the white areas, and the theory states that this creates small vortexes when the hotter air above the dark fur meets the cooler air above the white fur. According to the theory these vortexes works as a fan to cool the body. To test this theory, researchers from Lund Western trading partners last month at an international summit in Canada. On this trip, after meeting with NATO leaders in Brussels, he'll travel to the United Kingdom, where widespread protests are expected, before he heads to one of his Scottish golf resorts for the weekend. In the run-up to his trip, the president did little to ease European concerns by delivering fresh broadsides against NATO, an intergovernmental military alliance of 29 North American and European countries aimed at countering possible Russian aggression. "I'll tell NATO: 'You've got to start paying your bills,'" Trump pledged at a rally last week in Montana in which he bemoaned that Americans were "the schmucks that are paying for the whole thing." He then laced into German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will be in attendance in Brussels, complaining about how much the United States put toward Germany's defense: "And I said, you know, Angela, I can't guarantee it, but we're protecting you, and it means a lot more to you.... I don't know how much protection we get from protecting you." At the same time, he declared that "Putin is fine" and that he had been preparing for their summit "all my life." Experts fear the trip could produce a repeat of the dynamics from Trump's last trip abroad, when he admonished Group of Seven allied nations at a summit in Canada before heading to Singapore, where he showered praise on one of America's longest-standing adversaries, North Korea's Kim Jong Un. "What people are worried about this trip is he'll have equally difficult interactions with his NATO counterparts," including Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said James Goldgeier, a visiting senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and professor at American University, who is an expert in NATO and security alliances. AP Islamabad: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Sunday raised doubts over the legitimacy of the July 25 elections. "I have doubts about the transparency and fairness of the elections," the 59-year-old politician who held the office from August 2017 to June 2018 told Efe news in Bhara Kahu on the outskirts of Islamabad. "We have had a history of non-democratic rule in Pakistan and interference in elections was common in the past. The last two elections were relatively free of interference and we were hoping that this time it would be a much better process but unfortunately, that has not been the case." PTI US soldier was killed and Atwo others wounded in an "apparent insider attack" in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, NATO said. "The wounded service members, who are in stable condition, are currently being treated," NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan said in a statement. "The incident is under investigation." NATO did not release the Hanoi: Undeterred by a blistering rebuke of his efforts to forge a denuclearization deal with North Korea, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday appealed for North Korea's leadership to follow Vietnam's path in overcoming past hostilities with the United States. Pompeo called on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to replicate Vietnam's "miracle" of economic growth by improving ties with the U.S., vowing that America keeps its promises with former foes. Speaking to members of the U.S.-Vietnamese business community in Hanoi, Pompeo said Vietnam's experience since the normalization of relations with the U.S. in 1995 should be proof for North Korea that prosperity and partnership with the U.S. is possible after decades of conflict and mistrust. "We know it is a real possibility As people hid or ran for cover around him, Koppu bolted directly away from the suspect, towards the back of the store. "(Koppu) ran, so he shot him in the back," the worker said. Koppu died after being taken to a hospital. "We offer our sincere sympathies to Sharath's family and friends in the wake of this senseless tragedy," UMKC said in a statement on Saturday. UMKC Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal offered his own condolences in a tweet Saturday evening. "Sharath and I share an Indian heritage, but all of us at UMKC share in the grief such tragedies bring," Agrawal wrote. University in Sweden filled big metal barrels with water and covered them with skin imitations in different colours: black and white stripes, black, white, brown and grey. They then placed the barrels in the sun and later measured the temperature in each barrel. The black one was the hottest and the white one the coolest. The striped and grey barrels were similar, and in these the temperature did not go down. "The stripes didn't lower the temperature. It turns out stripes don't actually cool zebras," said Susanne Akesson, from Lund University. Eight years ago she and her colleagues from Hungary and Spain presented another theory, identity of the American soldier killed or provide further details about the incident. The shooting happened at the airport in Tarinkot, the capital of Uruzgan province, a local police officer told AFP. That information could not be immediately verified by Afghan or NATO officials. The Taliban said on Twitter that "a patriot Afghan soldier opened fire on Americans in Uruzgan airport killing and wounding at least four American invaders". because we see how Vietnam has traveled this remarkable path," Pompeo said. "The fact that we are cooperating and not fighting is proof that when a country decides to create a brighter future for itself alongside the United States, we follow through on American promises," he said, repeating President Donald Trump's pledge to help improve North Korea's economy and provide it with security assurances in return for Kim giving up nuclear weapons. "In light of the once-unimaginable prosperity and partnership we have with Vietnam today, I have a message for Chairman Kim Jong Un: President Trump believes your country can replicate this path." "It's yours if you'll you seize the moment. This miracle can be yours. It can be your miracle in North Korea as well," Pompeo said. where they claim that bright fur works as an optical protection against blood-sucking horseflies and other insects that bite. Horseflies are attracted by polarised light, the sort of light that appears when sunbeams are reflected on a dark surface. If the sunbeams are reflected on a white surface there will be no polarised light - hence the protection. Two years ago Akesson, Hungarian physicist Gabor Horvath and their colleauges were awarded with the Ig Nobel Prize for their research on polarised light, horseflies and why these blood-sucking insects bother dark horses a lot more than they bother white horses. PTI Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has met Zakir Naik, wanted in India for alleged terror activities and money laundering, and a ruling party strategist has stoutly defended the Government's decision not to deport the controversial Muslim preacher, Malaysian media reported on Sunday. The meeting, which may not go down well in New Delhi, took place yesterday, a day after Prime Minister Mahathir ruled out deporting Naik, who has permanent residency status in Malaysia, unless he breaks Malaysian laws. "I can confirm that Naik went to see Tun (Mahathir) this morning (Saturday)," Free Malaysia Today reported quoting a source as saying. It is unclear as to what Naik discussed with Mahathir in their first meeting since the ruling Pakatan Harapan assumed power in Putrajaya, the report said. The meeting, which was unscheduled, was said to be brief, it said. The meeting between Naik and Mahathir comes a day after the Prime Minister gave the clearest indication yet that the Malaysian government would not deport Naik, who is wanted in India over allegations of money laundering and terrorism. There had been intense media speculation in India that the Malaysian Government would act on an extradition request made in The comments came after Pompeo had earlier Sunday in Tokyo brushed aside North Korea's accusation that the U.S. was making "gangster-like" denuclearization demands of the North. He maintained that his third visit to North Korea on Friday and Saturday had produced results. But he also vowed that sanctions would remain until Pyongyang follows through on Kim's pledge to get rid of his atomic weapons. Pompeo downplayed a harshly critical North Korean statement issued after the talks in which the country's foreign ministry bashed hopes for a quick deal and attacked the U.S. for making unreasonable and extortionate demands aimed at forcing it to abandon nuclear weapons. The statement was sure to fuel growing skepticism in the US and elsewhere over how serious Kim is about giving up his nuclear arsenal. AP London: Encouraging people to ride a cycle to work may not only help cities tackle air pollution, but also reduce obesity in urban populations, a study has found. Researchers from Hasselt University in Belgium and Imperial College London in the UK suggests that daily cyclists weigh less than their non-active counterparts. The study, published in the journal Environment International, also found that riding an electric bike (e-bike) is associated with a higher (body mass index)bmi as compared to regular cyclists. In ascending order, cyclists have the lowest BMI, then walkers, public transport users, January. The Ministry of External Affairs had confirmed on Wednesday that an official request had been made. But yesterday, Mahathir said that the government would not deport Naik as he has been granted Malaysian permanent resident status, unless he causes trouble in the country. Meanwhile, a strategist of Malaysia's ruling Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) has defended Prime Minister Mahathir's decision not to deport Naik to India, saying doing so would be akin to deporting Uighur Muslims to China. PPBM strategist Rais Hussin said he personally could see no wrong in Naik's activities and speeches. Deporting him would be akin to deporting Uighur Muslims to China, he said, referring to China pressing Malaysia for the extradition of 11 Uighur men who entered Malaysia illegally last year after their dramatic escape from a jail in Thailand last year. China accuses separatist extremists among the Uighur minority of plotting attacks on China's Han majority in the restive far western region of Xinjiang and other parts of China. But rights groups have accused China of rights abuses in Xinjiang and imposing tight control on the religion of Uighurs, a charge denied by Beijing. PTI he toll in record rains that have devastated parts of Japan rose Ton Sunday to at least 44, officials said, with authorities issuing new warnings as torrential downpours continued. Local media put the toll at 50, with dozens more missing and the number of fatalities expected to rise further. The official toll includes one person killed last week, when the typhoon system that brought the heavy rains first made landfall in Japan, but most of the deaths have been reported in the last few days. The rain, which has been worst in western parts of the country, has completely blanketed some villages, forcing desperate residents to take shelter on their rooftops with flood water swirling below as they waited for rescue. The torrential downpours have caused flash flooding and landslides, and prompted authorities to order the evacuation of two million people. Hundreds have been injured and dozens of homes have been completely destroyed in the disastrous downpours. "We are carrying out rescue operations around the clock," Yoshihide Fujitani, a disaster management official in Hiroshima prefecture, told AFP. "We are also looking after evacuees and restoring lifeline infrastructure like water and gas," he added. motorcyclists, users of an electric bike, and finally car drivers, who have the highest BMI. By following over 2,000 urban dwellers over time, the team found that men who switch from car driving to cycling for their daily travel lose on average 0.75 kg of weight, with an average decrease in BMI of For women, this was a little bit less. Promoting active travel in cities may therefore provide an opportunity to fight the obesity epidemic, as well as tackle air pollution. "Travel by car contributes to obesity and also air pollution. In contrast, bikes burn fat and don't release pollution," said Audrey de Nazelle, from Imperial College London. ive Rohingya youths have Fbeen detained at a Bangladesh border checkpoint after allegedly trying to enter India with fake passports, a media report said. According to immigration police, the youths were detained on Friday at the Darshana border check post in Damurhuda region of Chuadanga district, 204-km from here, the Dhaka Tribune reported. Officials found discrepancies in their words and papers. They were handed over to Damurhuda police when they admitted to being Rohingyas during preliminary questioning, immigration police officials said. The five have been identified as Aiyaz Ali, 20; Sadek Ali, 20; Saker Ali, 24; Hares Ali, 24; and Amin Uddin, 21. They are refugees of various camps in Cox's Bazar. The youths were trying to go to India with fake Bangladeshi passports and visas. They had collected the passports from Comilla city and the visas from Chittagong, said Sukumar Biswas, the officer-in-charge of Damurhuda police station. The fake Bangladeshi passports have been seized, the OC said, adding that legal measures would be taken. Port-Au-Prince: The Haitian government suspended a fuel price hike on Sunday after widespread violence broke out across the capital and in the northern city of Cap-Haitien. Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant had originally said the country needed to raise prices to balance the budget and gave no indication he would back down. But his administration bowed to pressure after demonstrators took to the streets in protest. A journalist from The Associated Press reported seeing several hundred people on Saturday attack a Best Western Premiere hotel in Petion-Ville, one of the capital's wealthiest neighborhoods. Guests were forced to remain inside as rocks were hurled through windows around 10 a.m. Local time. Security manned the building, but rioters shattered the main entrance before moving to another hotel. No injuries or deaths were reported during the day's incidents, but at least three people were killed Friday as protesters used burning tires and barricades to block major streets. At one point they attempted to set a gas station on fire but were held off by police. The demonstrations began after the Commerce Ministry and Economic Ministry issued a joint statement announcing an increase of 38 percent to 51 percent for gasoline, diesel and kerosene. Government officials agreed to reduce subsidies for fuel in February as part of an assistance package with the International Monetary Fund. AP

11 E ver after, till death do us part, together for seven births, in sickness and in health these are usually the clichès that we keep hearing when marriage is discussed. But relationships in general and marriage in particular have undergone a drastic change in recent times, thanks in no small measure to dating apps. Gleeden, the first extra-marital dating website for married people who want the solace of companionship, recently did a recce of the Indian market. The French based company s head of communications (and manager of the all women team), Solène Paillet describes in detail the reasons why women find it hot to cheat. You seem to indicate that women have overcome the taboo of open relationships... We don t want to change the Indian society in any way. The idea is just to raise a debate and to overcome the taboo of open relationships where the larger population still struggles under the societal pressure and traditions. We are not promoting adultery but it is only a service which allows married people (or a couple) to connect and to interact on a secured platform in complete privacy, with moderation and customer service 24x7. Why have you forayed into the Indian market? We are the leaders for extramarital dating in Europe and prominent worldwide with more than $4 million members inclusive of three lakh Indian users. We are expecting it to be as successful in India as it is everywhere else in the world. Our goal is to get very good brand awareness, being the extramarital expert and become a unique player in fter the outcry from fans of ASense8, the Netflix Big- Budget show, the finale has been finally released. The show, which was being shot in different continents had overshot the budget and so had been shut down mid way. But when the finale was finally aired, it was well worth the wait and worth the treat. The first season was about eight strangers who become sensates human beings who are mentally and emotionally linked. Their eight-way relationship is built on sympathy and love since the beginning and that is where the name of the serial was drawn from. Be Nomi, a struggling transgender female, Kala, a woman struggling with the expectations of her culture, or any of the other struggling individuals, share the pain of sensate which always lead them to a wider, more encompassing acceptance of each others love. the market. What are the safety measures that you have adopted considering e-dating has its own perils? F ilmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who considers Gulzar his guru, is not in favour of remakes as such, but if he had to go down that road, he would love to pick the veteran writer-director s evergreen films Angoor or Ijaazat. At an event here earlier this year, Mehra had mentioned he would love to remake Gulzar bhai s works with his permission. On being prodded about which of Gulzar s works would he like to remake, Mehra, whose Fanney Khan releases on August 3, said, Angoor definitely, and Ijaazat. It s closer to me, and I would love to do it. Has he asked Gulzar yet? I don t have the courage for that yet, or that foolishness. I am foolish, but not that foolish. But one day I will ask him. Ijaazat ke liye ijaazat lunga (I will take his permission for Ijaazat some day), Mehra said, adding a lyrical thought to it. Mehra worked closely with Gulzar for Mirzya. Ijaazat, released in One of the many clichés of this show is that love makes the pain worth enduring. But in the larger realm, it did prove to be true as it was love from this show s fans that resurrected Sense8 from the dead. For Netflix s aspiring dramas like Sense8 it s passage initially is misleading the show appears to have a basic storyline which became increasingly complicated. For the audience, the choice was to surrender to it or run with it. But with the entanglements getting increasingly complicated, so much What about stalking? Our moderation policy is the most stringent in the e-dating market. It consistently moderates its members, from registration to profile approval and throughout the duration of every individual s use of the services. Photos and texts that are fake, indecent or provocative are automatically refused. The moderation is effective immediately and members can be banned from the site if they do not respect the regulations. Users can also report abuse from other members. Things to remember when a relationship struggles due to a communication gap Even when you think that there is nothing you can do for your relationship, there is always a way to communicate with your partner. You have to know how to defuse the taboos of your relationship to find a more serene relationship. It can also help to talk to people outside the relationship, to have other points of view, take a step back and question yourself. Actually, many members come on our platform to find answers to their questions, to talk to people who face the same issues in their relationship. And finally it is a way for them to reconnect with their partner. What are the reasons Indian women are open to new encounters post marriage? Extra-marital affair edges its way when the distance between a couple starts to become larger. The heart tends to give signals about looking for love outside marriage. There could be n number of reasons why Indian women are open to new encounters post marriage like marrying at an early age, inability to deal with changes or situations in life, physical dissatisfaction, married to the wrong person for wrong reasons, financial dissatisfaction and many more. 1987, is about an estranged couple who accidentally meet in a railway station s waiting room and revisit their past. It stars Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha and Anuradha Patel. Whereas, Angoor, which came out five years earlier, remains one of Bollywood s most popular comedy dramas starring Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Verma in double roles. For now, Mehra, who turned a year older on Saturday, is excited about his forthcoming movie Fanney Khan, the trailer of which released a day before his birthday. Featuring Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Rajkummar Rao, the movie features the former Miss World playing the role of a pop singer, while Anil plays the father of an aspiring singer who himself loves singing and music and who wants his daughter to live his dream. Mehra said that the movie makes a statement on body shaming that women face. Fanney Khan, reunites Anil and Aishwarya on-screen after 17 years. so that it became virtually impossible to pick up the threads, the audience, not surprisingly, proceeded to the other Netflix shows. Of course, Sense8 did receive wide applause for its portrayal of LGBTQ communities and characters so that it celebrated love in all structures. The finale didn t disappoint as it gives as much screen time to settle the romance of the different pairs as it did to tie up loose ends in the sci-fi mythology. It would be absolutely fair to say that Lana Wachowski-directed feature finale of sorts is a wellprepared conclusion to an ambitious merging of faith, friendship, science, sexuality, tribes and identity. In the latest season the focus ain Armitage was seen as a troubled Ziggy Chapman Iin hit show Big Little Lies, and then entered The Big Bang Theory universe as the lead character in its prequel Young Sheldon. The child actor says he didn t dream of getting into showbiz, and considers it to be a happy turn of events. My very first gig was Big Little Lies and then I did a few other things. I think Big Little Lies was a pretty good one to start with, Armitage said in an interview. I kind of stumbled on acting. I didn t think, I want to be an actor when I grow up. I do theatre reviews and I always thought I was just a great audience member. I loved coming to shows. I don t watch too much TV, which is ironic. An agency asked if we d like them to represent me, and we said, Yes. My wonderful agents are pretty incredible, added the 9-year-old. Armitage s started as a theatre critic, but found his big ticket to fame with Big Little Lies as Ziggy, son of actress Shailene Woodley s character Jane. The son of actor-singer Euan Morton and Lee Armitage has also featured in Indian filmmaker Ritesh Batra s directorial Our Souls at Night, and is seen as young Sheldon Cooper in a The Big Bang Theory spin-off which focussed on Sheldon s life while growing up. The Big Bang Theory universe originated with the story of how four nerds Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) react when a girl Penny (Kaley Cuoco) enters their life as a friendly neighbour. With all the idiosyncrasies, quirky behaviour, cultural one-liners including a lot of Indian references courtesy British- Indian actor Kunal as well as dating fundas, the story that highlights the personal life of scientists and geeks was loved by one and all, making it a phenomenon. To cash in on the popularity of the show worldwide, the makers extended the franchise with the prequel, which is aired in India on Comedy Central. He might be essaying the role of Sheldon Cooper, but he hasn t seen The Big Bang Theory till now. Well Big Bang... isn t really appropriate for me, plus it s not really aimed at my audience level. So, I only watched a few clips. I haven t really watched Big Bang..., though I would love to see it. Jim (Parsons) was coaching me so I got the character pretty quickly. He is a very fun guy and very nice. Is it challenging to get into a role which one hasn t been following meticulously? It s not too hard. Once you get in Sheldon s mindset it s easier to do it. Getting into that mindset is kind of hard but you get to do it every day. And putting on the clothes of Sheldon and reciting my lines, going to hair and make-up and doing Sheldon s voice, all that helps me to get into character. Once I am on stage, it comes more naturally, he said, describing Sheldon as funny, a misfit but in a funny way. Getting into confession mode, he said, I do love science but I m definitely not as smart as him. At the moment, Armitage, who will soon be seen in Big Little Lies season two, is just glad to be a part of something that makes people happy. When I do get recognised, I feel happy that those people are happy, he concluded. is on the fight between a cluster of eight sensates and a villain sensate named Mr. Whispers (Terrence Mann), who fronts an organisation called BPO (Biologic Preservation Organisation) and wants to wipe out his own kind and some number of new forces that have risen. The series has all the qualities of a modern age show for it is exceptional and has extraordinary people.

12 G iant black cutouts, all approximately 13 ft high, each representing an unknown girl from some remote part of India who has been trafficked for human consumption, are propped up against a bright afternoon sky at CP. They are faceless, nameless, expressionless, posing the silent question, Where have they gone missing? Who has them now? To me, it is not the black silhouette of a girl. It looks as if the sky has been cut out and a black hole looks through it rather menacingly, drawing in all the missing girls and sucking them into oblivion. There is a sense of loss for the ones who have lost their personality, their choices, their voices and their freedom. With approximately 5,000 drawings across the country and the globe, we want each cutout to ask one question, Where does the demand for a million girls who disappear every year, come from? And I want to use these public installations to shake and stir us into corrective action, says Leena Kejriwal, the mastermind behind The MISSING public art project for which she has collaborated with Change.org. Talking about art as a means of activism, Kejriwal says, People have used all kinds of media to engage with the public. I feel art has been underplayed in influencing people to take a stand or at least spark off a talking point. And instead of focussing on the number of young girls that are lost to trafficking, this display asks the question, who have them, who is feeding the demand of the sex trade? Amogh Lux of change.org, therefore, created the hashtag #ChokeTheDemand. Trafficking is demand-driven. Small acts like forwarding a rape joke can have a devastating impact in perpetuating the idea of the commodification of girls and women. Our Missing murals have a chat box that ask you to chat with it, says Kejriwal. The deafening silence on the other side seems to have had an impact. According to our internal surveys, around 75 per cent of men said they would stop watching porn if that leads to trafficking, she tells us. Amogh, a communication designer, says, I want to be an advocate of creativity; people don t know how to ome popular apps on your Android phone Smay be actively listening to you, monitoring your habits and even secretly taking screenshots of your activity and sending them to third parties, a new study has found. These screenshots and videos of your activity on the screen could include usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, and other important personal information, the researchers said. We found that every app has the ability to record your screen and anything you type, said David Choffnes, a Professor at Boston s Northeastern University. The findings will be presented at the Privacy Enhancing Technology Symposium Conference in Barcelona. For the study, the team analysed more than 17,000 of the most popular apps on the Android operating system, using an automated test programme written by the students. In all, 9,000 of the 17,000 apps showed the potential to take screenshots. There were no audio leaks at all. Not a single app activated the microphone, said Christo Wilson, professor at the varsity. Then we started seeing things we didn t expect. Apps were automatically taking screenshots of themselves and sending them to third parties. Although these privacy breaches appeared to be benign, they emphasised how easily a phone s privacy window could be exploited for profit. This opening will almost certainly be used for malicious purposes. It s simple to install and collect this information. And what s measure artworks as a solution but the kind of impact and engagement you get is extremely powerful and that is something I am interested in investigating. The wall art is mainly to engage urban India but he is holding a number of workshops in rural sectors, educating girls about safety, security and the need to earn a livelihood and equip oneself for it. Amogh explains how the chat boxes before the installations add a personal effect to the story of the victims. For example, one of the murals in Kolkata explains that the cost of chicken is more than the cost of a girl. Now, if I tell you millions of girls disappear every year, you consider it a statistic. But the chickengirl ratio hits you differently. Both Kejriwal and Amogh are trying hard to get a conversation going on breaking down patriarchal constructs, be it about gender roles, cultural values and societal customs. For example, they believe that talk about menstrual hygiene, though fragmented, is coalescing into a healthy dialogue on respecting otherness and the female voice. I would not say that girls need to be their own bodyguards. We need to build a society where taboos are not hard to speak about. Nida Hasan, campaign director at change.org, says, Kejriwal s work speaks for itself. Trafficking has so far been talked about in terms of traffickers and number of girls being sold. We haven t spoken about the customers, wondered who are these people who are forcing even 11-year-old girls into the sex trade? Who are fuelling the demand for pornography, even child pornography? After working with the Women and Child Welfare ministry, Kejriwal has toured three districts and holding workshops on how to be a smart girl and not just a good girl. Kejriwal s reasoning is simple. Why wait for a girl to get trafficked to save her? We are shaping her mind, trying to teach her about the many choices in life that will keep her away from coerced and feudal decisions. It is not about feminism, it is about creating awareness of equality. It is about changing a society that believes a girl has to behave in a certain way and live by a code. MISS- ING is only trying to tell you, Hey, you are a human being with equal rights and slowly making the girls capable of thinking right. We are teaching them to be aware of their actions, even acceptance, and where they can lead. It is about pinching a social fabric that s trying to sweep everything under it. This project began with the Kolkata chapter, Hunt for the Lost Durga, in 2017 and will be carried forward to Mumbai and Hyderabad, after completing the Delhi chapter in Connaught Place, Malviya Nagar and Vasant Kunj. most disturbing is that this occurs with no notification to or permission by users, Wilson noted. Although the study was conducted on Android phones, there is no reason to believe that other phone operating systems would be less vulnerable, the researchers said. Another study, published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, found that apps developed to help people track their migraine pain often share information with third parties, posing privacy risks partly because there are few legal protections against the sale or disclosure of data from medical apps to third parties. In 2018, it is estimated that nearly half of 3.4 billion smartphone users will use health related apps, and currently, there are a wide range of apps on the market for various neurologic and pain conditions, said lead author Mia Minen, from the New York University Langone Medical Center in the US. We think our study may have widespread implications for people suffering from various chronic conditions, Minen added. e cannot solve our problems with the same thinking Wwe used when we created them, said Albert Einstein. Wasn t he right? If we look around, we would just realise that the world we live in is full of problems. However, none of us can pin-point any single major factor that lies at the root of all them. A look at these problems, most of which are interlinked, would show that the underlying causes, common to them all, have invariably been some kind of disharmony in politics, society, community or environment. If the policy, practice or solution had been other than the one that aimed at restoring the harmony, it had not only failed but had also led to a bigger problem because it caused greater disharmony. Let me give you an example. In the period preceding the invasion of India by Alexander, there was disharmony among the various princely kingdoms in India, which led each one of them to raise great armies. This, in turn, created fear and doubt in each neighbouring state and, instead of bringing in a feeling of security, it led to greater disharmony. The resulting disunity created rancour and ill-will and gave rise to the wish in the mind of almost every ruler that the other fellow be defeated, humiliated and dispossessed of power by some other powerful ruler. This kind of situation then was a tempting invitation to the powerful foreign rulers to invade India. The Britishers also took advantage of this disharmony. Thus the devastating forces took a heavy toll of life and property everytime they descended on this country, disturbed the stability, ravaged the social and religious life and economy of this country and, as some of them settled here, they sowed the seeds for future disharmony. Most of the people hardly realise that the cause of all social, political and other upheavals is inner disharmony. For example, in the above-mentioned case, history and historians are generally mute on the question as to what led Alexander take such a big army to India to conquer it. Though history mentions social, political and other factors, it does not go to the root of all these. It discusses the life of his father Philip, Alexander and his mother but it does not lay its finger on the nerve that linked Alexander s personal life to the historical role he played. It does not point to the truth that it was inner disharmony that led to disharmony in his family and, later, to continental disharmony. If mankind had understood this diagnosis, then people would not have tried to curb violence by using counter-violence nor would they have attempted to remove poverty by such overambitious developmental plans that cause ecological imbalance. Instead, it would consider universal harmony as the only worthy choice. Also, though political, religious, racial, spiritual or any other kind of harmony was considered the need of the time during different periods of history, there never was such an aggravated or urgent need for all kinds of harmony than it is now.

13 A lthough Russia made it further at this year's World Cup than most anyone expected, it was Croatia that advanced to the semifinals with a 4-3 shootout victory Saturday following a 2-2 draw. The overachieving hosts, the lowest ranked team in the tournament at No 70, were trying to make it to the World Cup semifinals for the first time since the Soviet Union finished fourth at the 1966 tournament in England. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin was taken in by the host nation's surprising run, at least according to Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov. "Putin called me during the day, and he called me right now," Cherchesov said. "He congratulated us on a very good game. He said what we showed on the field was great. I told him we were disappointed. He said we should have our eyes open and make the next steps." The Croats hadn't advanced to the semifinals at the World Cup since 1998, when the country made its first appearance. Croatia will next play England in the semifinals on Wednesday in Moscow. With the crowd silenced following an extra-time header from Croatia defender Domagoj Vida in the 101st minute, Russia defender Mario Fernandes scored with his own header in the 115th to send the match to yet another penalty shootout. Fernandes, who was born in Brazil but rejected a chance to play for that country's national team in 2011, sent his penalty kick wide of the net in the shootout, giving Croatia the advantage. Both goalkeepers made early saves in the shootout, with an injured Danijel Subasic stopping the opening shot from Fyodor Smolov. Igor Akinfeev later blocked an attempt from Mateo Kovacic. At 1-1, Fernandes missed his shot - only the second player to miss in any of the four shootouts at this year's World Cup. The teams then traded two scores each before Ivan Rakitic calmly converted the winning penalty. "We should have finished the job before penalties but maybe it's written in the stars we have to go through the extra drama," said Luka Modric, whose penalty bounced off Akinfeev's hand and the post before entering the other side of the net. Denis Cheryshev gave Russia the lead in regulation time with a long-range shot into the upper corner in the 31st minute. Croatia equalized with Andrej Kramaric's header near halftime. "I left everything on the field and unfortunately we were unlucky," Russia midfielder Roman Zobnin said. "We gave everything we could." It was the second straight time both teams played in a penalty shootout. Russia beat Spain 4-3 and Croatia defeated Denmark 3-2 in the round of 16. Argentina in 1990 had been the last team to win consecutive World Cup shootouts. The defending champions at the time defeated Yugoslavia in the quarterfinals and Italy in the semifinals that year, which also made Italy the last host nation to lose on penalties before Saturday. The victory overwhelmed Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic, who cried after Rakitic's winning penalty. "It wasn't a beautiful game, but it was a battle," Dalic said. "We were lucky. I was concentrating throughout the match, but after that penalty it came bursting out of me." Modric and Rakitic were decisive in the shootout but didn't play up to expectations in regulation and extra time, unable to create many significant chances for Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic up front. Both players were beaten by Cheryshev in the play that led to the opening goal for the Russians. Cheryshev was Russia's leading scorer at the World Cup with four goals. He converted the final penalty for Russia in the shootout against Spain, as well as the winner against Egypt and a pair of goals in the opener against Saudi Arabia in the group stage. Many fans gave him a standing ovation when he was taken off in the second half. Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subasic was the star against Denmark for the three saves he made in the penalty shootout that put the team into the World Cup quarterfinals. What he did against Russia may be viewed back home as a greater accomplishment. Subasic appeared to pick up a significant leg injury in the final moments of the second half on Saturday. He grabbed the back of his leg near his hamstring and it appeared he may need a substitute. But a replacement never arrived. Subasic was able to play through extra time and again made a key save in the penalty shootout as Croatia won 4-3 and advanced to the semifinals for the second time in its history. Subasic saved the first attempt of the shootout when he made an adjustment while diving to get a hand on Fyodor Smolov's attempt. It set the tone as Croatia became the first team since Argentina in 1990 to win consecutive World Cup games on penalties. And it earned the exhausted group a date with England in the semifinals. "I think we are underdogs from Day 1 and it's good for us," Croatia defender Dejan Lovren said. "When you've got all these other teams, France, Belgium, England, that's the top teams from the beginning and we are the underdogs. Maybe we can change something." Subasic didn't need to win the shootout the same way he did against Denmark, when his three saves were the reason the Croatian team advanced. After saving the first, Subasic was aided when Mario Fernandes missed the net with the third attempt. Croatia's shooters did enough that Ivan Rakitic's successful penalty was the winner and set off another wild celebration with Subasic on the bottom of the pile. Subasic's four shootout saves are tied with Harald Schumacher of West Germany and Sergio Goygochea of Argentina for the most in a single World Cup. "He could go on and that was the most important thing," Croatia captain Luka Modric said. "I'm not sure how it affected him. But he saved fantastically the first shot in the shootout. I asked him and he said he was OK, it did not affect him much. Thank God everything is fine with him." Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said Subasic's uncertain health affected how he wanted to manage his substitutes going into extra time. "They've shown character once again," Dalic said. "And he who does, wins." he impassioned shouts of "Ros-si-ya" Tdied away on the streets and tears filled the stadium as Russia bowed out of their home World Cup in the cruellest fashion: on penalties. The men in red exceeded the wildest expectations by coming within a penalty kick and a save against Croatia of making it into the semi-finals for the first time since It was that close -- and it all ended just as the nation was starting to believe. "We leave the tournament with tears in our eyes but our heads held high," the team tweeted as the stadium emptied of the 45,000 or so who had lost their voices cheering them on. They had reason to be proud. Russia were the lowest-ranked team entering the tournament and many in the sceptical media thought they would be lucky to win a game. They trudged off the pitch after making it to the quarter-final for the first time in 48 years. A semi-final was within grasp and the loss stung. But the Russian team showed heart and won what seemed like the entire nation's gratitude. "The champions of our hearts," the popular Sport Express daily said in a headline. Then it paid them the highest compliment possible by declaring: "Russia knows how to play football." Fans who had been dancing in the streets after a heart-pounding shootout win over 2010 champions Spain in the last 16 last Sunday were gloomy but grateful. The nation was mourning on Saturday - but also paying its respects. Chants of "Mo-lod-tsy" - an almost untranslatable word of praise and thanks that roughly means "Good job, guys" - echoed across the dark streets of Moscow and other cities. "What can I say? It's a pity we are out of this tournament but I am very proud of my team," said Muscovite Alexander Khramoichenkov. "I'm very proud of Russia," the 34-yearold said. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called the team's performance "magnificent" after the watching the game from a VIP box with Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic. "We will simply have a different type of football after this," he said. "I am absolutely certain of this." But coach Stanislav Cherchesov - his moustache becoming the unofficial symbol of Russia's Cinderella waltz through the tournament - seemed visibly distraught. "I am still not myself yet," he admitted after listening to a press conference question and then being unable to say a word. Midfielder Roman Zobnin sounded very similar moments after he walked off the pitch. "I have no emotions left. I left them all out there," he said with difficulty. "I feel empty inside." MOTION PICTURE FIGURATIVELY

14 W hen Vincent Kompany walked off the pitch without waiting to be substituted during a pre-world Cup friendly against Portugal, Belgian football fans feared the worst. Would the rock on which the Belgium team's defense is built miss another tournament two years after a groin injury sidelined him for the European Championship? Not to worry. Kompany knows a thing or two about overcoming adversity in a stellar career that has been disrupted by multiple injuries. "The fact that I'm standing here today, despite having had so many injuries, makes me stronger," the 32-year-old defender said before Belgium beat Brazil 2-1 to secure a World Cup semifinal berth for the first time in 32 years. So strong in fact that he set up Belgium's first goal against Brazil. His header from a corner hit Manchester City teammate Fernandinho and deflected into the net for an own goal. Now Kompany is getting ready to face France at St. Petersburg on Tuesday in a matchup of two title favorites. England plays Croatia in Moscow the following day in the other semifinal. Belgium coach Roberto Martinez had plenty of reasons for including Kompany in his 23- man squad for Russia despite the injury cloud hanging over him since the June 2 friendly against Portugal. "There's the experience... there's a little bit the knowhow, there's the communication on the pitch," Martinez explained to those who were sweating on Kompany's fitness. "I think that understanding - knowing what's expected in big games and big moments is important so you don't want to lose any of those players." Martinez also knew that Belgium's draw in Russia meant he could afford to leave Kompany on the bench early in the World Cup - the Manchester City captain was barely missed as Belgium raced to a 3-0 victory over Panama and beat Tunisia 5-2. Kompany's tournament finally got underway as a 74th-minute substitute against England. It was a gentle re-introduction in a workout between two teams already qualified for the knockout stage. Both teams were aware that a defeat could actually be a good result for the remainder of the tournament because it would potentially put them on an easier path to the hey've gone 120 minutes Ttwice in a week. They have endured the emotional tugs of two penalty shootouts, somehow coming out on top on both occasions, the first team since 1990 to do so at a World Cup. They're dealing with injuries to their starting right back, their goalkeeper and a handful of other players who could probably use a week in the ice bath. There's no way Croatia is going to have any juice left in the tank for England in the World Cup semifinals, right? "Of course there's power left for the English," Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said. "We don't want to stop. We want to play our best be starting right back Sime game then." Vrsaljko, who had to be replaced What kind of recovery during extra time, walking slowly off the field with an apparent Croatia can muster over the next three days may ultimately determine if it has a chance of taking There's also some concern leg injury. out England and reaching the about goalkeeper Danijel Subasic World Cup final for the first time after he required treatment late in when the sides meet in the semifinals on Wednesday night in breaks through extra time and the the second half and during any Moscow. shootout after appearing to injure Yes, Croatia may have one of his right hamstring. the best individual players in the A number of other Croatia tournament with what Luka Modric has done in matching the deepest run ever by the country. But Croatia is also exhausted. Physically. Mentally. There's no way they couldn't be after ousting Denmark on penalties in the round of 16, then being forced to extra time again by host Russia on Saturday night. Just before midnight local time, Ivan Rakitic's winning penalty ignited yet another celebration that was a mix of excitement and relief. The team and the country are riding a wave of adrenaline in matching the 1998 Croatian team and reaching the semis. At some point, that wave could crash. "At certain times we lacked power but we played two times 120 minutes of football in six days," Modric said. "Of course this will leave a mark on you. You have to pay the toll for such exertions. But thank God we've shown our character." The emotions were such that Dalic broke down in tears on the sideline after Rakitic's winning penalty. "It came bursting out of me. I felt really relieved," Dalic said. "We made ourselves happy but we also made everybody back home in Croatia happy. Those emotions just burst out of me. I don't cry often, but I have a good reason." The team was traveling from Sochi to Moscow on Sunday to set up camp for two days of training ahead of the semifinal. The most immediate worry appears to players were receiving massages and stretching of their legs before extra time and before the shootout. The unique elements of playing in Sochi with the combination of heat and humidity sapped energy from both teams, creating a fairly lethargic second half. Numerous Croatia players said arriving in Sochi immediately after the round of 16 win over Denmark was a major benefit, but now are facing a rapid recovery. "It will be difficult," defender Dejan Lovren said. "Hopefully our right-back Sime Vrsaljko is not so injured like he thinks, so hopefully we can manage. But we have a lot of good players on the bench who showed they can change the rhythm of the game." roatia was there at England's lowest ebb Cthis century in international soccer, and it'll be there as the English team tries to peak. For many England supporters, the 3-2 loss to Croatia in November 2007 was a national embarrassment. Coach Steve McClaren's tactics floundered as he clutched an umbrella in pouring rain on the sidelines at Wembley, and he was dubbed "the Wally with the brolly" following the loss that meant England failed to qualify for Euro A decade later a young, vibrant team has earned England a spot in the World Cup semifinals for the first time in 28 years and it will face Croatia again. The euphoria on the streets of London was matched in Zagreb, where Croats celebrated their country's best World Cup run since "We respect them and I think they respect us," said Croatia defender Dejan Lovren, who has played in England since "We're two great teams and it will be a great challenge for us and for them, so let's see who will be better." Lovren is the only player in Croatia's World Cup squiad who is currently with an English club, although his teammates Luka Modric and Vedran Corluka both previously played for Tottenham, and forward Andrej Kramaric was formerly at Leicester City. England beat Croatia 4-1 and 5-1 in their last two meetings, World Cup qualifiers in 2008 and 2009, but the abiding memory for England fans remains that defeat in Davor Suker, a star of the Croatian team final. He appeared a little rusty in the thrilling 3-2 comeback win against Japan in the round of 16, but was his normal composed self against Brazil, leading by example at the back as Belgium battled Neymar and co. to cling to its lead in the second half. Kompany was perhaps lucky to get away without conceding a penalty for a challenge on Gabriel Jesus, but also showed his composure when calmly controlling a ball on his chest and clearing it after goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved a shot by Douglas Costa and the ball bounced back into the crowded penalty area. He has led by example since his earliest days playing in the Belgian capital, Brussels, where he was born to a Congolese father and Belgian mother. Teammates in youth teams would be scared to go to the locker room after losing, fearing a scolding from Kompany. That desire led him to Anderlecht and soon earned him a move to Bundesliga club Hamburg. After two seasons in Germany, Mark Hughes signed him for Manchester City in Kompany is club captain and has won the Premier League three times. The list of injuries he has sustained makes for painful reading: toe, Achilles tendon, calf muscle, knee, hamstring, thigh and groin. He has missed more than 100 club matches over the years as well as Euro 2016, where Belgium's talented team only managed to reach the quarterfinals. Now two victories stand between him and what would be Belgium's first World Cup title. The country's best result was reaching the semifinals in 1986, where it lost to 2-0 to eventual winner Argentina. Kompany will lead the Belgium defense against France's speedy attack thanks to his steely resolve. "You have to be mentally strong and have an inner strength to get back to this level every time," he said. "So today I'm here, but it's the result of so many months and so many hours in the gym." that reached the 1998 World Cup semifinals and president of the national football federation, tried to play down the grudge factor ahead of Wednesday's semifinal match in Moscow. "Not revenge, it's football," he said, adding that he wished Croatia was facing a weaker England team. "What I would like, England from before, but now England is very strong. We will respect this team." England won the 1966 World Cup but hasn't returned to the final of the sport's marquee event. In the semifinals in 1990, West Germany advanced on penalties over England. Suker said England coach Gareth Southgate has built a team of "hungry" players motivated to win for their country and not distracted by the trappings of fame. "You know, the coach, what he has, football comes home," Suker said, referencing England's "Three Lions" song. "It's the hungry players, you see," Suker said, explaining that cash and fast cars can't compare for players with competing for the biggest title. "Just 11 against 11 warriors and that's playing in the World Cup." Besides the semifinal on Wednesday in Moscow, England and Croatia will meet twice more this year in the new UEFA Nations League. England will play Croatia away on Oct. 12. The game will be played at an empty venue because Croatia is under a stadium ban from UEFA imposed back in 2015 when a swastika was painted on its field ahead of a game. England hosts Croatia on Nov. 18 in the return fixture. f only France's young play- had an outstanding ex- Iers pro they could turn to for advice about how to beat Belgium in the World Cup semifinals, someone who won the World Cup himself in 1998 and who scored more goals than anyone in his stellar career with Les Bleus. Oh. Not only is Thierry Henry already taken but the team that hired France's record scorer as an assistant coach is, yes, you guessed it... Belgium. France striker Olivier Giroud is turning Henry's presence on the opposing side into an extra source of motivation for Tuesday's semifinal, which is France's first since 2006 and only the second ever for Belgium. "I would be proud to show Titi that he chose the wrong camp," Giroud said Sunday, referring to Henry by his nickname. "It is true that it is strange to have him against us for this match. I think it will be a peculiar match for him. As long as we win, that's fine with me." Henry was part of the 1998 team that won the World Cup on home turf, scoring three goals in his first major tournament and converting a penalty in a nerve-rattling shootout against Italy in the quarterfinals. Henry did not play in the 3-0 final victory for Les Bleus over Brazil. Belgium coach Roberto Martinez brought Henry into the Belgium setup two years ago to impart not just his knowledge of goal scoring - he is France's all-time top scorer with 51 goals in 123 appearances, and Arsenal's with but also his experience of winning with a team weighed down by great expectations. Giroud said Henry could coach France in the future and that working with Belgium will help the 40-year-old gain experience in his new career as a coach. "He is lucky to be with a team with a fine generation of players. He is there to learn," Giroud said. "I would have preferred that he was with us and that he was giving his advice to me or to the other attackers. But we mustn't be jealous or anything about that. It doesn't shock me at all." Previously, as a TV pundit, Henry suggested Giroud wasn't good enough, saying in 2015 that Arsenal couldn't win the Premier League with him in attack and needed "a top, top-quality striker." Giroud, now with Chelsea, says he bears no hard feelings. For TV work, Henry "needed to be a bit incisive," he said. "I am not at all bitter about that." "It's been a few years now that he said certain things in the media before going back on his words or at least changing them," Giroud said. "There is a lot of respect between us." Considering the attacking might of both sides, a goal-fest looks possible when France and Belgium meet Tuesday night in the World Cup semifinals. There was less at stake the last time the European neighbors and rivals faced each other at the World Cup, a 4-2 victory for France in the third-place match in That was the last competitive match between the teams. When they played in an exhibition three years ago at Stade de France, Belgium dominated, taking a three-goal lead five minutes into the second half of a 4-3 victory. France's players were jeered at their national stadium on the eve of the 2002 World Cup when the defending champions lost a friendly to Belgium 2-1. But with the secondyoungest roster at the World Cup, France has advanced to its first World Cup semifinal since 2006 led by 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe and a pair of inexperienced attacking fullbacks in Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez. "We're not scared of anyone," Pavard said. "We've been confident from the start and we're not asking any questions of ourselves." Coach Didier Deschamps, the captain of France's titlists at the '98 World Cup and 2000 European Championship, has instilled a steely mentality. "He motivates the troops with strong words," Pavard said. "We're ready to go to war with him." While Giroud has yet to score at this World Cup, his ability to hold the ball up suits France's system and allows Mbappe to make runs down the right flank. It also gives Antoine Griezmann space to roam. "I try to create gaps for my teammates," Giroud said. "It's my unselfish side." Giroud needs one goal to move ahead of France great Zinedine Zidane. They are tied on fourth overall with 31. Henry leads with 51. Griezmann has scored two penalty kicks and set up Raphael Varane's headed goal against Uruguay. But he has not shown the form he did when he led France is scoring en route to the Euro 2016 final, when Les Bleus lost to Portugal. Belgium struggled against Japan when defending quick and mobile players.

15 with a six in the next over to place India well on course of the target. The Indian captain began to gain in confidence as he hit another six off Plunkett before he fell victim of Jordan in the 15th over, caught and bowled by the bowler in a soft dismissal. In her first attempt, Dipa had a difficulty ed and she missed the Gold Coast event. score of while collecting in execution for a total of She improved a medal in the men's rings event finals as gratulated star gymnast Dipa Karmakar for Meanwhile, Rakesh Patra missed out on Prime Minister Narendra Modi con- ipa Karmakar today scripted history by Dbecoming the first Indian gymnast to the score in her second attempt to he finished fourth with a score of winning a Gold medal in the vault event of clinch a gold medal at a global event, announcing in style her comeback from a career-threatening injury, at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup in Mersin, Turkey. Returning to action after a lay-off of nearly two years due to a knee injury, Dipa emerged triumphant in the vault event. The 24-year-old from Tripura, who had finished fourth in vault event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, scored to win the top prize. She had topped the qualification with a score of "This is history and Dipa has created it. She is now the first Indian gymnast to win a gold in a world level event," Gymnastics Federation of India vice-president Riyaz Ahmed Bhati told PTI. ( ), giving her a total average of Rifda Irfanaluthfi of Indonesia clinched the silver with points while local participant Goksu Uctas Sanli took the bronze with a score of Dipa, who is being accompanied by her coach Bisheshwar Nandi, missed out on another medal as she finished fourth in the balance beam event. She had made the balance beam finals after finishing third in the qualification with a score of Dipa had suffered an Anetrior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury after the Rio Olympics and had undergone a surgery. She was initially confident of making a comeback at the Commonwealth Games but rehabilitation took more time than expect- Ibrahim Colak of the host country won the gold with a total score of while Romanian Andrei Vasile (14.600) and Dutchman Yuri van Gelder (14.300) took the silver and bronze respectively. Rakesh also competed in the parallel bars finals but finished fifth. Dipa and Rakesh are the only two Indians who competed in the tournament. World Challenge Cup series is an important competition in the calendar of International Gymnastics Federation. There are six events in the World Challenge Cup series this year and this is the fourth leg of the season. Both Dipa and Rakesh have been included in the 10-member Indian gymnastics team for the upcoming Asian Games. the FIG Artistic World Challenge Cup in Mersin, Turkey. "India is proud Congratulations to her on winning a welldeserved Gold in the vault event at the FIG World Challenge Cup in Mersin, Turkey. This win is a prime example of her tenacity and never-say-die attitude," PM Modi wrote on his official Twitter handle. Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore also heaped praise on Dipa, saying she has come back with a bang. "#DipaKarmakar is the stuff champions are made of! After battling an injury for the past 2 yrs, she makes a heroic comeback by clinching her first (medal) in the Gymnastics World Challenge Cup in Turkey!" he tweeted. R ohit Sharma's elegant unbeaten century made it a walk in the park for India as they cruised to a seven-wicket victory against England to clinch the three-match T20 International series 2-1 here on Sunday. The Indian vice-captain made a target of 199 look ridiculously easy on a small Bristol ground after the visiting bowlers did a commendable job at the back end to restrict the hosts to a sub-par score. Captain Virat Kohli (43 off 29 balls) played his part with his authoritative strokeplay while Hardik Pandya, who shone with the ball earlier with a fourwicket haul, also made a significant contribution with the bat. Pandya hit 33 not out off just 14 balls as India reached to 201 for 3 in 18.4 overs. India thus clinched their sixth consecutive T20I series win, which is part of an unbeaten run stretching back to September The series win also set the right tone for the gruelling challenges ahead with the three-match ODI series, up next, starting from July 12. Rohit stroked his way to 100 not out, his third T20I hundred, with the help of 11 fours and five sixes, adding 89 runs for the third wicket with Kohli, who got his first score of note on the tour of UK. Virat's 43 came from 29 balls and had two fours and two sixes. Chasing a decent target of 199 on a small ground, India made a bright start with 21 runs on board after the second over but opener Shikhar Dhawan (5) got out immediately as Jake Ball made a fine diving catch at short fine leg. The other opener Rohit Sharma was in good touch as he hit Liam Plunkett for two sixes and a four in the fourth over to build up the momentum of the Indian run chase. Lokesh Rahul (19 off 10 balls) fell to a spectacular catch by Chris Jordan who made a huge ground from long-on and then flung himself full length to pluck the ball out of nowhere. Despite that, India were on course with 70 on board for 2 wickets at the end of powerplay. Ben Stokes was introduced in the seventh over and he made an immediate impact by conceding just two runs from that over. But Rohit was not the one to remain quiet as he collected a few more fours to reach his fifty off 28 balls in the ninth over while also taking Indian score to 100 for 2 at halfway mark. Rohit then launched on Plunkett with a six and a four in the 11th over and captain Virat Kohli, who came on the crease at the fall of Rahul, joined the party oger Federer and Serena RWilliams will be expected to maintain their flawless progress at Wimbledon as the title favourites head into the fourth round looking to survive the tournament's giantkilling carnage on Monday. Federer has been in imperious mood in pursuit of his ninth Wimbledon crown, while Williams is rounding into form just as the seven-time champion's rivals have collapsed all around her. The status quo has been challenged like never before in the women's singles, with nine of the top 10 seeds crashing out before the Wimbledon last 16 for the first time in the Open area. In the men's draw, third seed Marin Cilic, fourth seed Alexander Zverev and sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov have all fallen. But it's business was usual for Federer as the defending champion took his consecutive sets won at Wimbledon to 29 in a third round dismissal of Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff. Federer's 175th win from 200 career grass-court matches saw him overtake Jimmy Connors as the most successful male player on the surface. Next, the Swiss star faces French 22nd seed Adrian Mannarino for a place in the quarter-finals. World number two Federer, eyeing a 21st Grand Slam title, has won all five of his previous meetings with Mannarino, a 30-year-old journeyman who has never been past the last 16 at a major. Although Federer is approaching peak form, he knows world number one Rafael Nadal - yet to drop a set in his first three matches - and threetime Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic - playing his way back to his best this week - are lurking as potential final opponents. French Open champion Nadal, bidding for a first Wimbledon title since 2010, plays Czech world number 93 Jiri Vesely, while Djokovic takes on Russian world number 40 Karen Khachanov. "Novak and Rafa, all these guys are still in the draw," Federer said. "At the end of the day I feel on our side not that much has happened. I know on the women's side more so. "In the past it has made me nervous when I've seen bigger guys go out. "I feel like, 'OK, it's me next time'. I didn't feel the effect this time." Federer's tie is one of 16 fourth round matches across the men's and women's events in a frenetic day of action at the All England Club. With the draw opening up in her favour, Williams is widely expected to make history with a first Grand Slam title since the birth of her daughter Olympia in September last year. A series of unexpected results have seen Garbine Muguruza, Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki all eliminated. The 36-year-old faces Russian qualifier - and fellow mother - Evgeniya Rodina in the last 16. Williams will equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles if she wins Wimbledon for the third time in the last four years. Having missed Wimbledon last year due to her pregnancy, Serena is on a 17-match winning streak at the All England Club. It is a remarkable record sure to alarm her opponents, but Williams, seeded 25th after her maternity leave, admits that fear factor can be a double-edged sword. "Yeah, there's definitely that aura, that kind of thing of playing Serena," she said. "Every single match I play, whether I'm coming back from a baby or surgery, it doesn't matter, these young ladies, they bring a game that I've never seen before. "That's what makes me great: I always play everyone at their greatest, so I have to be greater." Karolina Pliskova, the seventh seed, is the only top 10 ranked player remaining, but she has never won a major title. The Czech faces Dutch 20th seed Kiki Bertens, who stunned five-time Wimbledon winner Venus in the third round. Hardik Pandya, who came in for Kohli, immediately found the boundaries and India needed just 29 from the last three overs to win the match. India took 20 runs in the 18th over with Pandya hitting two fours and a six. Then he hit the winning runs, a six off Jordan to clinch the series. Earlier, opening batsman Jason Roy rained sixes in his blistering innings of 67 off just 31 balls but India made a superb fightback on the back of Hardik Pandya's four-wicket haul to restrict England to 198 for nine. Sent into bat, Roy and his opening partner Jos Buttler (34 runs of 21 balls) shared 94 runs from 7.5 overs to make a flying start in their innings as the duo dealt in fours and sixes initially. England would have posted a much bigger total but for the comeback by the Indian bowlers led by Hardik Pandya who took 4/38. During the England innings, Indian wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni also became the first wicket keeper to complete 50 catches in T20Is by taking five catches. Some poor bowling from Indian pacers, who either sprayed the ball or bowled too short, helped England in making a bright start. The visitors also did not do too well in the powerplay overs and England made merry under the sun as they had hit eight fours and two sixes within the first five overs. Buttler was dropped by Siddharth Kaul when on 20 with Chahal being the unfortunate bowler. Roy, on the other hand, reached his third T20I half-century off only 23 balls, inclusive of four fours and five sixes. The breakthrough came just as India were starting to wonder where to bowl to the opening duo. Kaul (2/35) bowled a quicker, fuller delivery and Buttler missed as he was bowled. Pandya bowled poorly in his first spell, against the field set by his captain as he was taken for two fours and two sixes, but returned later to impact the English middle order. In the 14th over, Chahal missed a chance to dismiss Eoin Morgan (then on 4), failing to latch onto a high catch at cover only to end up banging his head on the ground. He went off for some treatment but Morgan did India a favour with another skier off the very next ball. Dhoni completed the catch this time around. Pandya was not done yet, as he had Alex Hales (30) caught behind too. England lost four wickets for 46 runs before Ben Stokes (14) and Jonny Bairstow (25 off 14 balls) had a 37-run partnership. There was another mini collapse thereafter, as the hosts lost five wickets for 21 runs in the last 14 balls to finish below the 200-run mark. ebastian Vettel took advantage Sof a bad start and disastrous first lap for Lewis Hamilton to win the British Grand Prix and extend his lead in the championship standings on Sunday. Hamilton started in pole position but Vettel streaked ahead and his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen compounded Hamilton's misfortune when he bumped into the British driver, sending his Mercedes off the track and leaving him last. Hamilton managed to fight his way back to finish second after a Ferrari-Mercedes duel developed with Valtteri Bottas leading until Vettel hit the front again with five laps to go. The German finished seconds ahead of Hamilton for his fourth win of the season, denying Hamilton what would have been a fifth straight win in his home race. Hamilton had been going for his sixth overall to beat the joint-record held by Jim Clark and Alain Prost. Vettel, who led Hamilton by one point going into the 10th of 21 races, now leads by eight. "It was a super start, a super race, and yeah, a hammer finish," said Vettel, who had been dealing with a stiff neck for qualifying the day before. Raikkonen, who completed the podium for Ferrari, was handed a 10-second penalty for the early incident involving Hamilton, but the Finn acknowledged that he deserved it. "That's how it goes sometimes. Not a straightforward race," Raikkonen said. That was no comfort to Hamilton, who quickly worked his way back through the backrunners as he posted the fastest lap times. "I'm sorry I couldn't bring it home for you today," the fourtime world champion told his fans. "We take it on the chin and believe me, I will not give up. I will not give up." Driving conditions were ideal under clear blue skies and temperatures well above the seasonal norms for Britain, though the heat made tire management tricky for the teams. Vettel pitted for new tires while the safety car was out following Marcus Ericsson's crash. The Sauber driver spun off across the gravel into the barriers at high speed. He was able to emerge unaided. Vettel was left stuck between the two Mercedes drivers as Bottas took the lead. Hamilton wondered about competing against Ferrari's new tires but was told: "Lewis, you are the fastest car by miles. Don't give up, mate. It's all there." The safety car was out again after Romain Grosjean and Carlos Sainz collided. Vettel pushed Bottas aggressively with ten laps remaining, but the Finn did enough to stay just in front. It soon developed into a Ferrari- Mercedes duel, with Raikkonen also challenging the third-placed Hamilton. Vettel finally pounced to take the lead on lap 47. Bottas then let Hamilton past to challenge the German. Bottas, on a medium tire, was soon struggling, and Ferrari was celebrating when Raikkonen went past to go third.