CBI lens on great I-T cover-up for Nirav

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1 PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n NEW DELHI ight senior Income Tax offi- including Central Ecials, Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra, are on the CBI radar for hushing up the explosive findings of the January 2017 countrywide raids at the showrooms of Nirav Modi and Gitanjali group promoter Mehul Choksi. According to sources, the Prime Minister s Office (PMO) has directed the CBI to conduct a discreet enquiry to find out why the Income Tax top brass withheld the details obtained in the raids for around a year and did not share them with the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and the RBI. On January 14, 2017, the Income Tax Department conducted nationwide raids at showrooms, offices and homes of Nirav Modi and Gitanjali groups of companies. The Income Tax officers submitted a detailed analysis report to their top officers, including CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra, about the financial irregularities committed by these two gems and jewellery companies. But these details were not shared with the counterparts in CBI, ED, FIU and RBI till the exit of the fugitives in early week of January 2018, said Follow us on: OPINION 8 IT SHOULDN'T BE ALL ABOUT THE MONEY CBI lens on great I-T cover-up for Nirav sources, adding, If the probe agencies were in the know of the findings, Nirav Modi would never have succeeded in leaving the country. The CBI is probing the role of senior Income Tax officials in New Delhi and Mumbai in withholding the sensitive information about Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. According to sources, the PMO has withheld further extension as CBDT Chairman to Sushil Chandra, whose tenure is ending this month. It is learned that the PMO has sought a vigilance clearance for filling up the vacancies in the CBDT. PARTNERS in q The PMO has directed the CBI to conduct a discreet enquiry to find out why the Income Tax top brass withheld the explosive details obtained in the raids for around a year and did not share them with the probe agencies q On January 14, 2017, the Income Tax Department conducted nationwide raids at showrooms, offices and homes of Nirav Modi and Gitanjali groups of companies q The CBI is trying to find out whether it was merely a case of dereliction of duty on the part of the Income Tax officers or they connived with Nirav and Choksi to loot the Punjab National Bank q The PMO has withheld further extension as CBDT Chairman to Sushil Chandra, whose tenure is ending this month The seized documents of the Income Tax Department relates to fraud in the generation of LoUs and fake bill to fool the banks by Nirav. The CBI is trying to find out whether it was merely a case of dereliction of duty on the part of the Income Tax officers or they connived with Nirav and Choksi to loot the Punjab National Bank (PNB). The Income Tax Department shared these information with the probe agencies and the RBI only after the PNB scam exploded and Nirav and Choksi fled the country. Continued on Page 7 WORLD 11 TRUMP CALLS OFF SUMMIT WITH NORTH KOREA facebook.com/dailypioneer LUCKNOW, FRIDAY MAY 25, 2018; PAGES 16 `3 Eight officials hushed up incriminating raid evidence till Nirav, Choksi fled the country CBI officials repatriated New Delhi: CBI Joint Director Rajiv Singh, who is overseeing a probe into the PNB scam involving diamantaires Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, has been prematurely repatriated to his home cadre of Tripura. CBI Joint Director (STF) Nina Singh, DIG Anish Prasad and R Gopala Krishna Rao (SP) have also been repatriated to their respective cadres. While Nina Singh is an IPS officer of the 1989 batch from Rajasthan cadre, the remaining three IPS officers are of Tripura cadre. Continued on Page 7 Rahul takes Virat cue, throws fuel challenge PNS n NEW DELHI ours after Prime Minister HNarendra Modi on Thursday morning tweeted his response to Indian Cricket skipper Virat Kohli s fitness challenge, Congress president Rahul Gandhi gave it a political twist posing another challenge to the PM. Dear PM, glad to see you accept fitness challenge. Here s one from me: Reduce fuel prices or the Congress will do a nationwide agitation and force you CM blames DMK, allies for violence; MHA seeks report on police firing KUMAR CHELLAPPAN n CHENNAI ven as the death toll in ETuesday s police firing on the anti-sterlite protesters mounted to 13 on Thursday, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) ordered the closure of the company with immediate effect. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Generation SPORT 16 IPL: SRH VISIT KKR FOR QUALIFIER 2 After Modi accepts Kohli s fitness dare, Cong chief asks PM to cut fuel prices or face protest to do so. I look forward to your response, Gandhi tweeted with the hashtag #FuelChallenge. Rahul s well-timed banter and Distribution Company (TANGEDCO) withdrew power supply to the company on Thursday morning. In his first official reaction to the police firing, Chief Minister Edappadi came soon after Modi told Virat that he will soon upload his fitness video. Challenge accepted, Virat! I will be sharing my own #FitnessChallenge video soon, the PM tweeted in reply to Virat s challenge. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav too took a cue from Rahul and took to Twitter to hand Modi a different challenge altogether. Continued on Page 7 Deaths leave Sterlite power-less, TN moves to shut down plant RNI No.2016/1957, REGD NO. SSP/LW/NP-34/ Established 1864 Published From DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL BHUBANESWAR RANCHI RAIPUR CHANDIGARH DEHRADUN Palaniswami blamed the DMK and its allies for the violence in Thoothukudi. The Tamil Nadu Government is taking all steps to shut down Sterlite Copper. But the Opposition parties are agitating for selfish reasons, said the Chief Minister on Thursday. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh appealed to the people of Thoothukudi to remain calm and maintain peace. The Home Ministry has sought a report from the Tamil Nadu Government on the police firing and the prevailing situation in the port city. Continued on Page 7 Late City Vol. 154 Issue 141 *Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable } TAAPSEE IS BUSY WITH SEVEN FILMS 14 VIVACITY } Threats to MLAs motivated bid to create panic: Cops PNS n LUCKNOW reliminary probe into the Pthreatening messages sent to MLAs through WhatsApp/SMS hint at the role of professional hackers out to create panic. As many as 22 MLAs, most of them from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, have received threats on SMS or WhatsApp with each of them being asked to pay Rs 10 lakh or watch their kin being eliminated. After the issue hogged the limelight, the UP Police on Wednesday formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case. The police had raised apprehension that it could be the handiwork of cronies of don Dawood Ibrahim. We are working on the case. It appears to be the handiwork of professional hackers using a proxy server to send the messages. It is a motivated propaganda to create panic, said ADG (Law and Order) Anand Kumar on Thursday. The SIT will certainly crack the case as it has got some leads, the ADG (Law and Order) added. In all messages, the sender identified himself as Ali Budesh Bhai of Dubai, a reference to a gangster once linked to Dawood Ibrahim, now based in Pakistan. In fact, 22 MLAs across the state filed complaints with the police regarding the threatening messages. Continued on Page 7

2 city 02 Only BJP can give riot-free, crime-free state: Yogi Intel alert on possible attacks on churches Lucknow (PNS): The Uttar Pradesh intelligence wing has cautioned the DGP office to beef up security at all Christian institutions in the wake of Archbishop of Delhi Anil Counto s recent letter to all parish priests in Delhi urging them for a year-long prayer campaign to save India from turbulent political atmosphere that threatens democratic principles of the Constitution and secular fabric. Well placed sources in the intelligence wing disclosed that a letter was sent to DGP headquarters that security at churches/schools and other Christian institutions in Lucknow, Kanpur, Meerut, Agra, Moradabad, Bareilly, Gorakhpur and other districts be beefed up immediately to avert any attack by right wing outfits. Archbishop Counto has said that elections and government concerned the Christians. We ve to have such government that cares for freedom of people, rights and welfare of Christian community. I m not meddling in partisan politics. We re just praying that the nation should walk in the right direction, Archbishop Counto wrote. The Archbishop further wrote, In all churches and institutions we pray and fast. We pray for our own renewal and that of country. Keeping in mind all that s happening in our country, we look forward to next elections and next government. Every government should protect the people and the Constitution. NOTICE I Ayush Singh S/o Puttu Ram R/o-905 Greenwood Apartment Block-H, Gomti Nagar extension Lucknow my class 10th ICSE Board Marksheet and Certificate Seth MR Jaipuria School has been lost unique Id: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressing a rally in support of BJP s candidate for Kairana Lok Sabha seat, Mriganka Singh (right), in Shamli on Thursday PTI PNS n LUCKNOW aking up the ghost of RMuzaffarnagar riots, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that those responsible for the blood bath and exodus of traders were now questioning the BJP, whose government was committed to providing security to the people. Those people who were responsible for Muzaffarnagar riots are now in the opposition camp and are contesting election against us as a unified force. These are the same people who patronised criminals that led to the exodus of traders from Kairana. Our government is urging traders to return to their native place as we have exposed the criminal-political nexus of the previous regime, Yogi said while addressing an election rally in Shamli on Thursday. Yogi said that Bharatiya Janata Party was the only party which could give a riot-free and crime-free state. We will not allow communal riots to happen in this region and any criminal act will be dealt with iron fists. The region, which during the previous regime, transformed into a haven for criminals, has been sanitised and people have started living without fear, Yogi claimed. Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya addressed the meeting in Shamli, a part of Kairana Lok Sabha constituency, where bypoll is slated for May 28. This was the second election meeting of Yogi in Kairana. The earlier rally was addressed by him at Gangoh on May 22. BJP leader Hukum Singh s PNS n LUCKNOW pposition parties got a Oshot in their arm on Thursday when Independent candidate Kunwar Hasan announced to withdraw from Kairana bypolls in favour of Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate Begum Tabassum for opposition unity. Hasan made the announcement on a day when Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was addressing an election rally at Shamli. I am withdrawing in favour of Rashtriya Lok Dal candidate Begum Tabassum, who is the opposition candidate and is enjoying the support of PNS n LUCKNOW espite a warning from DBharatiya Janata Party state chief Mahendra Nath Pandey asking ministers not to speak against the government, Suheldeo Bharatiya Samaj Party president Om Prakash Rajbhar, who is also a Cabinet minister in the Yogi Adityanath government, charged the ruling party brass with using backward leaders for mere vote politics. BJP used Keshav Prasad Maurya, the then BJP state chief during 2017 Assembly polls but denied him Chief Minister s post, Rajbhar said. Talking to media in Lucknow on Thursday, Rajbhar said that he was not afraid of any consequences and was ready to sacrifice his ministerial post for the cause of backwards. The BJP has always ditched the backwards. I raised the issue before BJP president Lucknow (PNS): Cook-turned-spy Ramesh Singh Kanyal bugged an Indian diplomat s house in Pakistan capital Islamabad at the insistence of the Inter- Service Intelligence and was provided with a Pakistani Q-Mobile phone by his handlers for communication. The ATS, which picked up Kanyal from his home in Didihat area of Pithoragarh with the help of Uttarakhand Police on Wednesday, is now focusing on extracting data from the mobile hand set to get vital clues. The Q-Mobile was recovered from Kanyal during the raid. Kanyal s arrest came after the UP ATS earlier this month nabbed Faizabad resident Aftab with the help of Military Intelligence of Indian Army for spying and he spilled the names of his associates. Kanyal worked as a cook at the Islamabad house of an Indian diplomat between and returned to India. daughter Mriganka Singh is the BJP candidate for the Kairana bypoll. Hukum Singh s death necessitated the by-election. Yogi said that late Hukum Singh raised the issue of exodus from Kairana and Kandhla. After the BJP government came to power in the state, traders, who had left their native places, are coming back, he said. Realising that payment of cane dues was a big issue in the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party. I will also join the Rashtriya Lok Dal, Hasan declared. The announcement was made in the presence of RLD general secretary Jayant Chaudhary after a meeting with the Hasan family members in Shamli. The bypoll for Kairana Lok Sabha seat will be held on May 28 and the result will be declared on May 31. The decision seems to be a big political decision as Kunwar Hasan is the brotherin-law of RLD candidate Begum Tabassum and could have dented her vote bank, particularly of Muslims, as he Amit Shah and told him that unless the government divided 27 per cent reservation for backwards, other castes would continue to suffer as Yadavs were the biggest beneficiaries, he said. Rajbhar also made a scathing attack on BJP for ignoring leaders of a particular caste. Like a madari, who uses a monkey to attract the crowd, BJP leaders have used caste leaders during polls to influence voting and later ignored them. These leaders do not open their mouth because they have an axe to grind, he said. Terming political leaders as choreographers, on whose direction the entire country dances, Rajbhar said that in UP, people had already danced to the tunes of Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and Samajwadi Party. In 2017 polls, people danced on the tune of Keshav Prasad Maurya but the BJP ignored him, he charged. During his stay in Islamabad, Kanyal bugged the diplomat s house and devices (laptop and phone). The ISI probably used temporary employees at the embassy to get access to Kanyal, a senior UP ATS official said. Soon after his return to India, Kanyal converted dollars into Indian rupees and paid off huge private debts as well as those of banks. It is understood that he was paid well by Pakistan s ISI for leaking secret inputs and also copies of documents from the diplomat s house at Islamabad. Kanyal admitted that even after returning to India, he kept contact with ISI officials who asked him to spy for them and also gave him the phone. He revealed that he was asked to collect inputs on some military establishments in Uttar Pradesh for the ISI. The UP ATS is set to seek police remand for Kanyal, for interrogation and for extracting information. region, Yogi said that his government was committed to paying the entire cane dues and recently Rs crore were distributed among farmers. The problems which we are facing now are the problems of previous government that we inherited, he said. Yogi said that the issues of lawyers and Anganwadi workers were present due to the apathy of the previous regime. He said his government had opened the doors for private entrepreneurs to invest in UP. Private players have promised investment of `4.68 lakh crore in UP. If it comes true, then more than 35 lakh youths will get jobs, he said. Meanwhile, the Election Commission refused to ban the proposed public rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Baghpat on May 27, a day before the bypolls. Sources said the EC could not restrict the PM s programme as the Model Code of Conduct was only enforced in Shamli and Saharanpur districts. Rashtriya Lok Dal had objected to the PM s rally at Baghpat, saying it would influence the bypolls in Kairana. Independent candidate withdraws in favour of RLD in Kairana enjoys good support. Begum Tabassum is a former MP and she had earlier won this seat on BSP ticket in Kunwar was the BSP candidate in the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and came third with 1,60,414 votes. BJP s Hukum Singh won with 5,15,909 votes while SP s Nahid Hasan with 3,29,081 votes came second. Nahid is also a cousin of Kunwar Hasan. Hasan s withdrawal from the contest will certainly harm the BJP prospects as it will prevent division of opposition votes. It also means that the bypoll will be reduced to a direct contest between the BJP and the RLD. Rajbhar targets BJP again ATS to take cook-turned-spy on police remand for grilling Hitting out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Rajbhar said, Yogiji used to demand a separate Poorvanchal for better development. But now he has become quite. This shows how serious he was towards the cause of the backward region. But I have not changed and am still fighting for the people and the cause of Poorvanchal. Meanwhile, taking a jibe at the show of unity among leaders of various opposition parties in Karnataka during the swearing-in ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy, Rajbhar termed it as a gathering of spent forces. All the spent forces had gathered (dage huye kaartoos ikathaa huye hai). They have seen the outcome of the 2017 UP Assembly elections be it the BSP, SP or the Congress. None of these opposition parties are active throughout the country, Rajbhar told reporters in Sambhal. Allahabad to be renamed Prayag PNS n LUCKNOW llahabad is set to be rechris- as Prayag, a long- Atened pending demand of saints of the Sangam City. The new name is likely to be approved by the state Cabinet soon, sources in the government said in Lucknow on Thursday. During his recent visit to Allahabad to release the dates of Shahi Snan (royal bathing) during the Kumbh, Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad had urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to rename Allahabad as Prayag before the coming Kumbh Mela in Akhara Parishad president, Mahant Narendra Giri, confirmed that Yogi Adityanath had accepted the proposal for renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj. He said that soon the process for the change of name CJM turns down govt request to withdraw rape case against Chinmayanand Shahjahanpur: The Chief Judicial Magistrate on Thursday turned down UP government s request to withdraw a rape case against former Union Minister of State for Home, Swami Chinmayanand. The CJM also issued a bailable warrant against Swami Chinmayanand and asked him to appear in person in the court on July 12. Chinmayanand had courted controversy after one of his woman disciples accused him of raping her. Subsequently, a case was registered against him. The state government had recently announced to withdraw the case. The CJM issued the order while hearing an application filed by the prosecution regarding the government s decision to withdraw the case against Chinmayanand. Earlier, Chinmayanand had filed an application in the Allahabad High Court against a summon issued by the CJM, and the High Court had stayed it. After the BJP came to power in UP, Chinmayanand withdrew the application from the High Court and managed to get an instruction issued to the prosecution department to seek withdrawal of the rape case against him. PNS NOTICE Notice is hereby given by the undersigned for and on behalf of LIC Housing Finance Ltd. Area Office, Shahnazaf Road, Lucknow pursuant to Circular No. 422/Annexure-E of LIC HFL that the Original Allotment Letter issued by the Lucknow Development Authority Lucknow in favour of Dr. S.K. Dhawan S/o-S.L. Dhawan and Original Sale deed dated executed by Lucknow Development Authority Lucknow in favour of dr. S.K. Dhawan S/o-S.L. Dhawan The said sale deed is registered in the office of Chief Sub Registrar Lucknow in Book No. I, Volume 1351 on pages 163/208 at S.No and Original Power of attorney dated executed by Dr. S.K. Dhawan S/o- S.L. Dhawan in favour of Birendra Kumar Mishra S/o Kashinath Mishra The said power of attorney is registered in teh office of Sub Registrar Gaziyabad in Book No. 4, Valume 269 on pages 211/213 at S.No. 624 in respect to Plot No.1/566 area sq.mtr. Sitauted at Ruchi Khand-2, Sharda Nagar, Lucknow has been lost by its present owner Pradeep Kumar Chaurasiya S/o-R.S. Chaurasiya That Pradeep Kumar Chaurasiya S/o-R.S. Chaurasiya has applied for housing loan for which has proposed the said property to be mortgaged by depositing aforesaid Original Allotment Letter and Original Sale deed and Original Power of attorney with LIC HFL and as such any person claiming to be the said property covered by the said document may file claim before me within 15 days from the date of publication of notice failing which it will be presumed that the property in question is free from any encumbrance and any claim in respect thereof against the applicant as mortgagee shall be void and ineffective after the lapse of 15 days of publication of the notice. (Mahendra Mohan Mishra) Advocate Chamber : Shop No. 11&12, Ground Floor, Krishna Tower, Near CMO Office, Kaiserbagh, Lucknow Mob : , would be completed and it would be sent to the Central government for approval. Prayag was renamed as Allahabad in 1580 by Mughal Emperor Akbar as he maintained that it was a place of Allah and hence its name should be changed. The wrong that the Mughal emperor did should be corrected. We expect that the Chief Minister will issue order for changing the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj, Giri said. In 2001, after the Kumbh Mela, the then Chief Minister Rajnath Singh and Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri were also in favour of renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj but the promise remained unfulfilled. Former Union minister Kalraj Mishra was Bharatiya Janata Party state president at that time. NOTICE Notice is hereby given by the undersigned for and on behalf of LIC Housing Finance Ltd. Area Office, Shahnajaf Road, Lucknow pursuant to Circular No. 422/Annexure-E of LIC HFLthat the Original Sale deed dated executed by Lateef Ahmad S/o Mansoor Ahmad in favour of Smt. Geeta Sharma W/o Sri Pradeep Kumar Sharma in respect of Plot No. 2, Khasra No. 36 area 400 sqft situated at Takrohi, Ward Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Lucknow has been lost by its present owner Smt. Manju W/o Sri Rajesh Kumar. The said sale deed is registered in the office of Sub-Registrar- III, Lucknow in Book No.1, Volume No. 5721, on pages 123/146, Serial No dated Smt. Manju has applied for housing loan for construction of the said plot, for which has proposed the said property to be mortgaged by depositing Original sale deed dated with LIC HFL and as such any person claiming to be the said property covered by the said documents may file claim before me within 15 days from the date of publication of notice failing which it will be presumed that the property in question is free from any encumbrance and any claim in respect thereof against the applicant as mortgagee shall be void and ineffective after the lapse of 15 days of publication of the notice. (Mahendra Mohan Mishra), Advocate Chamber : Shop No , Ground Floor, Krishna Tower, Near CMO Office, Kaiserbagh, Lucknow Mob : , Printed and Published by Vijay Prakash Singh for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow and Printed at Tin Tin Printech Pvt Ltd., C-33 Amausi Industrial Area, Nadarganj, Lucknow. Tel: (0522) / Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: Vijay Prakash Singh. RNI No. 2016/57. Lucknow Telephones: EPABX: Fax: Allahabad Office: (95532) , , Kanpur Office: (95512) , Varanasi Office: (95542) , Delhi Office: Link House, II Floor, 3 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi Tel: (011) ,

3 city 03 Sun god breathes fire, no respite in sight PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW T here was no respite from heat for residents as Thursday proved to be yet another sweltering day with the sun god virtually breathing fire. Lucknow recorded the maximum temperature at 40.5 degree Celsius, which was just a notch above normal. The minimum temperature at 29.9 degree Celsius was five degrees above normal. Even though a mild dust storm was experienced in some parts of the city, it hardly brought any relief. In the state, Orai remained the hottest at 46.5 degree Celsius. The other districts which recorded high maximum temperature included Banda (45.8 degree Celsius), Hamirpur (44.2 degree Celsius), and Agra (43.9 degree Celsius). As people, all covered up, ventured out in the hot weather conditions, children were seen making a splash in pools and ponds while Lucknow zoo inmates chilled out in their own unique ways. People were seen relishing bael juice, water melon and aam panna. The Met department has forecast similar weather conditions to prevail for the next two A white tiger (at zoo) and kids trying to beat the heat on a sweltering day in Lucknow on Thursday to three days. Met director JP Gupta said that there would be heat wave conditions in isolated parts of the state while the city would experience clear skies. He added that the humid conditions were prevailing because of the south-easterlies bringing in moisture in the air. On the absence of hot winds (loo), which are common at this time of the year, Gupta said: Hot winds blow only under certain conditions.these winds blow when the maximum temperature is five degrees above normal. These winds are prevalent in some parts of the state. However, climate and weather experts said loo had almost disappeared from the scene even as they were considered to be synonymous with May. Prof Vibhuti Rai of Lucknow University s Geology department attributed it to the absence of BEd counselling to kick off at LU from June 1 2 contractors held for abducting colleague over money dispute PNS n LUCKNOW wo contractors supply- construction mate- Ting rial to the ongoing Metro project were arrested for abducting a colleague and holding him hostage at the LMRC office near Bapu Bhawan over a moneyrelated dispute. Those arrested were identified as Vikas Singh of Saharsa in Bihar and Abhishek Mishra of Sultanpur. They owned up their crime and disclosed that they did it over a money-related issue following supply of a machine. SHO, Chinhat, Raj Kumar Singh said the victim, identified as Rajesh Yadav of Rail Vihar Colony of Chinhat, was reported missing from his house on Wednesday evening. His family had lodged an FIR stating that two of Rajesh s colleagues called him for some work and later he went missing, Singh said. The SHO said a team was formed immediately to crack the case. The team traced the location of the victim at LMRC office near Bapu Bhawan. The team raided the place and rescued Rajesh, he said, adding that the police solved the case within two hours after the missing complaint was registered at Chinhat police station on Wednesday. Both the accused have been sent to jail. Explaining the motive for kidnapping, the SHO said Rajesh had to pay back for a deal between him and the accused. As Rajesh refused to make the payment, the miscreants abducted him, he said. Rajesh said he was a native of Chitrakoot and living in Rail Vihar Colony in Lucknow. He admitted that he worked with the accused and used to supply building material to the Metro office but denied that he had any moneyrelated dispute. The miscreants were forcing me to cough up money if I wanted to continue the supply of goods to the construction site. I ignored their threat after which they planned my abduction. They tied me with ropes inside the office and thrashed me while asking me to call my family to bring the cash, he told the police. PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW ucknow University has Lannounced its BEd counselling schedule. State coordinator, BEd JEE, Naveen Khare said the counselling would kick off from June 1 for students who secured ranks between 1 and Only those candidates who made it to the UP JEE BEd-2018 merit list were eligible to take part in counselling. The BEd-2018 online counselling will commence from the first week of June This will include first counselling and pool counselling followed by direct admission. In case the candidate is not allotted, a seat the advance college fee paid during first counselling and full college fee paid during pool counselling will be refunded into his or her account only. It is mandatory for those candidates who have appeared in the eligibility qualifying examination in 2018 to upload their qualifying examination marksheets at the time of counselling registration. For this they will require a scanned copy of the mark sheet of the qualifying examination in case they have appeared in 2018, Khare said. He added that all the legal matters pertaining to admission would be subject to Lucknow Judicature only. The first counselling will be divided into phases on the basis of state rank. Only candidates falling within the announced state rank range will be able to participate during that particular phase. Candidates have to login using their login details. In case the candidate is not allotted a seat the advance college fee of Rs 5,000 will be refunded into the account provided by him or her. Only registered candidates will be able to fill the choices, he said. As regards choice filling, he said that the lower rank candidates were advised to give more choices. Choices can be previewed and re-arranged any number of times till the final rejection in allotment. The choices filled by the candidate are final and cannot be changed. If a candidate has submitted the choices but not locked them they will automatically be locked before the seat allotment, he said. Khare said that the allotment of college would be done strictly on the basis of the state rank based on the performance in JEE B.Ed as well as the colleges they select in order of preference during counselling. The state reservation policy will be followed in case of aided and government colleges, he said. He said that the candidates who had been allotted colleges would have to download the provisional allotment-cum confirmation letter through the JEE BEd-2018 website. In case the college fee is more than the advance college fee, the candidates will have to pay the balance amount online within three days of college allotment before they can download the provisional allotment-cum-confirmation letter. In case the college fee is less than the advance college fee they can download this provisional allotment-cum-confirmation letter. The excess fee amount will be refunded to the candidate from the allotted college, he said. He further said that the candidate had to report to the allotted college within seven days from the date of allotment with all the original documents. The original documents will be physically verified by the principal of the confirmation letter. If the documents of any candidate are not found valid by the authority of the allotted college his or her candidature will be cancelled, he added. After the first round of counselling is completed the vacant seats in the colleges are filled through pool counselling. For pool counselling only those candidates are eligible who have not participated in the first round of counselling or those who are rejected or not allotted any college in round 1. The procedure for pool counselling is the same as the first counselling one. greenery in the city. Loo is caused by local conditions. When there are temperature variations within the city, hot winds blow from hotter areas to cooler areas. Currently, with so much of construction in the city, the green patches have disappeared. If things are restored to the same, the pattern will reemerge, he said, admitting that the circulatory systems had gone awry in these past few years. 55-yr-old jobless man dies of excessive liquor consumption Lucknow (PNS): A 55- year-old man was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his house in Mahanagar on Thursday morning. Jobless for a long time, he lived all alone. Police ruled out possibility of foul play and said the man died of excessive use of liquor. As per reports, Rajeev Kumar Jain of Mahanagar (Sector C) informed the police that putrid smell was emanating from the house of his neighbour Amitabh Banerjee, who had not been seen for the last few days. A police team reached the place and broke open the doors. The police found Amitabh lying dead on a bed in It may be noted that as per the IMD forecast, heat wave conditions are likely to persist over parts of north-west India and Central India between May 24 and 28. Heatwave conditions were observed at some parts over east Rajasthan and west Madhya Pradesh and in one or two pockets over west Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Saurashtra, and Kutch. a room. Investigation officer Vidhi Chandra said the body was in a highly decomposed state and looked about 4-5 days old. Amitabh remained aloof and did not talk to his neighbours. No one in the locality could tell anything substantial about his family, the IO said, adding that empty liquor bottles were found in the room and it seemed that Amitabh died of excessive liquor consumption. We have sent the body for autopsy to ascertain the cause of death, he said, ruling out the possibility of foul play. He added that there were no signs of forced entry to the house. Pioneer LDA asks charitable trusts to clear arrears or vacate offices PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW lose on the heels of the Supereme CCourt asking the former Chief Ministers of UP to vacate their bungalows, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) on Thursday served legal notices on charitable trusts to vacate their premises within a week or be ready for stern action. The buildings which house the offices of charitable trusts are LDA properties leased to them long time back. However, the trustees took no initiative to get the lease period re-newed after it expired. The trustees sat on the legal notices served on them earlier warning them that the lease period had expired and it needed to be renewed. The LDA authorities decided to issue notices to the trusts asking them to vacate the premises. LDA joint secretary D Shukla said that the trusts had not paid rent for last several years and notices had been sent to them last month, but their officials did not respond. The buildings are located in Aishbagh, Rajajipuram, and Ganeshganj. Interestingly, the trusts have the options to keep the possession if they clear the arrears and get the lease renewed. If the arrears are cleared and lease renewed, the LDA exchequer will get a boost of Rs 1,000 crore.

4 Z az Za a a LUCKNOW FRIDAY MAY 25, 2018 city 04 m0iz0 ikoj VªkUlfe'ku dkwjiksjs'ku fyfevsm bz&fufonk la[;k 48 ls 57@ fo0ik0ea0¼iz0½y0@2018&19 v/kksglrk{kjdrkz }kjk vuqhkoh Bsdsnkjks a@qeks ls fueufyf[kr dk;ksaz gsrq vyx&vyx lhycun bz&fufonk;s a nks Hkkxks a es a bz&vsumfjax osc lkbzv ij fufonk vkeaf=r dh tkrh gsaa bz&fufonk ds izfke Hkkx esa /kjksgj /kujkf'k o os/krk] rduhdh,oa vuqhko lecfu/kr izi=] O;kolkf;d o vu; 'krsza vkfn,oa nwljs Hkkx esa njsa o okf.kft;d fu;e,oa 'krs a iznku djuh gks axha fufonk izi= ewy;] /kjksgj /kujkf'k,oa th0,l0vh0 iathdj.k izek.k&i= vkosnu i= ds lkfk layxu djrs gq, budh Scanned copy upload djuk vfuok;z gsa /kjksgj ds :i es a izlrqr dh tk;s axh tks v/kh{k.k vfhk;urk] fo qr ikjs"k.k e.my&izfke] y[kuå ds i{k esa ns; gksaxha izfke Hkkx es a okafnr /kjksgj /kujkf'k,oa vu; izi= iw.kz rfkk mfpr@lohdk;z ;ksx; u gksus ij f}rh; Hkkx dks ugha [kksyk tk;sxka bz&fufonkvks a dk fooj.k& fufonk la0] dk;ks dk uke] /kjksgj /kujkf'k] [kqyus dh frffk o le; Øe'k% fueukuqlkj gs%& ¼1½ 48&foik-ea-¼iz-½y-@2018&19] fo qr ikjs"k.k [k.m&f}rh;] y[kuå ds vurxzr 220 ds0oh0 midsunz lqyrkuiqj jksm ij 132@33 ds0oh0 fohko iz.kkyh dh LFkkiuk ds ifjis{; esa 132 ds0oh0,oa 33 ds0oh0 LVªDpj,oa midj.kksa dh LFkkiuk 132 ds0oh0,oa 33 ds0oh0 esu cl] VªkUlQj cl dh flvªafxax rfkk midj.kksa dh vffkzax,oa buvjdusd'ku ls lecfu/kr vu; dk;z] /kjksgj /kujkf'k #0 28]000-00] fufonk fnukad dks cts rd bz&vsumfjax osc lkbzv ij viyksm dh tk ldrh gsa fufonk tek djus dh vafre frffk le; cts rd] fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk ] le; cts] Hkkx&2 ¼çkbl ikvz~l½ [kqyus dh frffk rnkuqlkj bz&osclkbzv ij lwfpr dh tk;sxha fufonk izi= ewy; #0 590@& ek= ¼# $G.S.T.@18% vfrfjdr½] ¼2½ 49&fo-ik-ea-¼iz-½y-@2018&19] fo qr ikjs"k.k [k.m&f}rh;] y[kuå ds vurxzr 220 ds0oh0 midsunz lqyrkuiqj jksm ij 132@33 ds0oh0 fohko iz.kkyh dh LFkkiuk ds ifjis{; es a dsfcy ysbzx VfeZus'ku buvjdusd'ku,oa duvªksy,oa fjys isuy dh LFkkiuk lecfu/kr vu; dk;z] /kjksgj /kujkf'k #0 7]000-00] fufonk fnukad dks cts rd bz&vsumfjax osc lkbzv up.nic.in ij viyksm dh tk ldrh gsa fufonk tek djus dh vafre frffk le; cts rd] fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk ] le; cts] Hkkx&2 ¼çkbl ikvz~l½ [kqyus dh frffk rnkuqlkj bz&osclkbzv ij lwfpr dh tk;sxha fufonk izi= ewy; #0 590@& ek= ¼# $G.S.T.@18% vfrfjdr½] ¼3½ 50&fo-ik-ea-¼iz-½y-@2018&19] fo qr ikjs"k.k [k.m&r`rh; y[kuå ds vurxzr 132 ds0oh0 midsunz jkelusgh?kkv ds okf"kzd ifjpkyu,oa vuqj{k.k ls lecfu/kr vu; dk;z] /kjksgj /kujkf'k #0 10]000-00] fufonk fnukad dks cts rd bz&vsumfjax osc lkbzv ij viyksm dh tk ldrh gsa fufonk tek djus dh vafre frffk le; cts rd] fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk ] le; cts] Hkkx&2 ¼çkbl PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW man and his female relative, Asuspected to be victims of some gang duping gullible people on the pretext of jobs, were detained after being spotted donning police uniform at Charbagh railway station on Thursday. SP, Railways, Saumitra Yadav said the detainees vkiwfrz@iykfuvax,oa yku vuqj{k.k lecfu/kr dk dk;z] /kjksgj /kujkf'k #0 2]000-00] fufonk fnukad dks cts rd bz&vsumfjax osc lkbzv up.nic.in ij viyksm dh tk ldrh gsa fufonk tek djus dh vafre frffk le; cts rd] fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk ] le; cts] Hkkx&2 ¼çkbl ikvz~l½ [kqyus dh frffk rnkuqlkj bz&osclkbzv ij lwfpr dh tk;sxha fufonk izi= ewy; #0 236@& ek= ¼# $G.S.T.@18% vfrfjdr½] ¼7½ 54&fo-ik-ea-¼iz-½y-@2018&19] fo qr ikjs"k.k [k.m&f}rh; y[kuå ds vurxzr 220 ds0oh0 midsunzksa ij LFkkfir vfxu 'keu ;U=ksa dh fjis;fjax] vksojgkwfyax] fjfqfyax,oa isafvax vkfn dk dk;z] /kjksgj /kujkf'k #0 2]000-00] fufonk fnukad dks cts rd bz&vsumfjax osc lkbzv ij viyksm dh tk ldrh gsa fufonk tek djus dh vafre frffk le; cts rd] fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk ] le; cts] Hkkx&2 ¼çkbl ikvz~l½ [kqyus dh frffk rnkuqlkj bz&osclkbzv ij lwfpr dh tk;sxha fufonk izi= ewy; #0 236@& ek= ¼# $G.S.T.@18% vfrfjdr½] ¼8½ 55&fo-ik-ea-¼iz-½y-@2018&19] fo qr ikjs"k.k [k.m&izfke y[kuå ds vurxzr 220 ds0oh0 midsunz gjnksbz jksm y[kuå ij LFkkfir eylhqk;j fllve okf"kzd vuqj{k.k dk dk;z] /kjksgj /kujkf'k #0 2]000-00] fufonk fnukad dks cts rd bz&vsumfjax osc lkbzv ij viyksm dh tk ldrh gsa fufonk tek djus dh vafre frffk le; cts rd] fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk ] le; cts] Hkkx&2 ¼çkbl ikvz ~l½ [kqyus dh frffk rnkuqlkj bz&osclkbzv ij lwfpr dh tk;sxha fufonk izi= ewy; #0 236@& ek= ¼# $G.S.T.@ 18% vfrfjdr½] ¼9½ fo qr ikjs"k.k [k.m&izfke y[kuå ds vurxzr 132 ds0oh0 midsunz eksgku jksm y[kuå ij LFkkfir 33 ds0oh0 bysdvªksykbv gsrq Lis;lZ dh vkiwfrz] /kjksgj /kujkf'k #0 2]000-00] fufonk fnukad dks cts rd bz&vsumfjax osc lkbzv ij viyksm dh tk ldrh gsa fufonk tek djus dh vafre frffk le; cts rd] fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk ] le; cts] Hkkx&2 ¼çkbl ikvz ~l½ [kqyus dh frffk rnkuqlkj bz&osclkbzv ij lwfpr dh tk;sxha fufonk izi= ewy; #0 236@& ek= ¼# $G.S.T.@ 18% vfrfjdr½] ¼10½ fo qr ikjs"k.k [k.m&izfke y[kuå ds vurxzr 220 ds0oh0 midsunz gjnksbz jksm y[kuå ij 132 ds0oh0 vkblksysvlz dh fjis;fjax,oa vksojgkwfyax dk dk;z] /kjksgj /kujkf'k #0 2]000-00] fufonk fnukad dks cts rd bz&vsumfjax osc lkbzv up.nic.in ij viyksm dh tk ldrh gsa fufonk tek djus dh vafre frffk le; cts rd] fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk ] le; cts] Hkkx&2 ¼çkbl ikvz~l½ [kqyus dh frffk rnkuqlkj bz&osclkbzv ij lwfpr dh tk;sxha fufonk izi= ewy; #0 236@& ek= ¼# $G.S.T.@18% vfrfjdr½] a a a a bz&fufonk [kqyus dh frffk dks vodk'k dh flfkfr es fufonk vxys dk;z fnol ij [kksyh ikvz ~l½ [kqyus dh frffk rnkuqlkj bz&osclkbzv tk;sxha folr`r tkudkjh,oa vu; la'kks/kuks ij lwfpr dh tk;sxha fufonk izi= ewy; #0 590@& ek= ¼# $G.S.T.@ 18% vfrfjdr½] ¼4½ fo qr ikjs"k.k [k.m&r`rh; y[kuå ds vurxzr 132 ds0oh0 midsunz ckjkcadh ds okf"kzd ifjpkyu,oa vuqj{k.k vkfn ds lecu/k esa lwpuk,oa fufonk izi= MkmuyksM djus gsrq bz&vsumfjax osclkbzv ns[kh tk ldrh gsa lhkh fufonk izi= vf/k'kklh vfhk;urk] fo qr ikjs"k.k [k.m& izfke] y[kuå ds i{k es ns; cs ad Mªk V }kjk Hkqxrku dj izi= izkir fd;k ls lecfu/kr vu; dk;z] /kjksgj /kujkf'k #0 tk ldrk gsa uxn /kujkf'k tek dj 5]000-00] fufonk fnukad dks 12- fufonk izi= izkir djus dh flfkfr es fufonk 00 cts rd bz&vsumfjax osc lkbzv [kqyus ds nks dk;zfnol iwoz cts rd ij viyksm dh tk PAN dkmz,oa GST No. br;kfn dh Nk;kizfr ldrh gsa fufonk tek djus dh vafre frffk le; cts rd] fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk ] le; miyc/k djkdj,oa fufonk izi= ewy; tek djkdj fufonk izi= v/kh{k.k vfhk;urk] fo qr ikjs"k.k e.my&izfke] y[kuå ds cts] Hkkx&2 ¼çkbl ikvz~l½ [kqyus dh dk;kzy; ls izkir fd;k tk ldrk gsa fufonk frffk rnkuqlkj bz&osclkbzv ij lwfpr dh izi= MkmuyksM djus dh flfkfr es fu/kkzfjr tk;sxha fufonk izi= ewy; #0 590@& ek= fufonk izi= ewy; dk Hkqxrku uxn@økwl ¼# $G.S.T.@18% vfrfjdr½] ¼5½ fmek.m Mªk V] vf/k'kklh vfhk;urk] fo qr 52&fo-ik-ea-¼iz-½y-@2018&19] fo qr ikjs"k.k ikjs"k.k [k.m&izfke] y[kuå ds uke ij [k.m&f}rh; y[kuå ds vurxzr 132 ds0oh0 midsunz,u0ds0,u0 ij ykwu ykbv~l dh vkiwfrz,oa yxkus lecu/kh dk;z] y[kuå ij ns; fufonk Hkkx&1 ds lkfk tek djuk gksxka d`i;k folr`r tkudkjh] MkmuyksM] vu; la'kks/kuksa,oa bz&fufonk /kjksgj /kujkf'k #0 2]000-00] fufonk fnukad izlrqr djus ds fnukad rd folrkj vkfn dks cts rd bz&vsumfjax ds lecu/k esa bz&vsumfjax osclkbzv Za Za osc lkbzv ij ns[kh tk ldrh gsa viyksm dh tk ldrh gsa fufonk tek djus CySd fylvsm Qes,oa,slh Qeks ftuds dh vafre frffk le; cts fo:) dksbz lrdzrk@lh0ch0vkbz0 tkap py rd] fufonk Hkkx&1 [kqyus dh frffk ] le; cts] Hkkx&2 ¼çkbl jgh gs vfkok yfecr gs mudh fufonk;s Lohdkj ugha dh tk;s axha v/kksglrk{kjdrkz ikvz ~l½ [kqyus dh frffk rnkuqlkj bz&osclkbzv dks fcuk dksbz dkj.k crk;s fdlh Hkh ij lwfpr dh tk;sxha fufonk izi= ewy; #0 236@& ek= ¼# $G.S.T.@ 18% vfrfjdr½] ¼6½ fo qr ikjs"k.k [k.m&f}rh; y[kuå ds vurxzr 132 ds0oh0 midsunz bz&fufonk vfkok lhkh bz&fufonkvksa dks vlohdkj@fohkkftr djus dk vf/kdkj lqjf{kr gsa v/kh{k.k vfhk;urk] fo qr ikjs"k.k e.my&izfke] 132 ds0oh0 midsunz ekfvzuiqjok] y[kuå i=kad 1042 fnukad,u0ds0,u0 y[kuå ij fofhkuu IykUV~l dh ^^jk"vªfgr esa fctyh cpk;sa** Man, kin duped by gang of fraudsters for job appeared to be innocent and their claims were being verified. He said the GRP had summoned the family members of both the detainees. As per reports, the GRP personnel were conducting a checking drive when they spotted the duo in police uniform and at platform No. 1 and grew suspicious. Both are aged around 21 years and at this age, no one is promoted to inspector rank. Also, there was no direct recruitment for the post of inspector in UP Police, so the cops detained the duo, the SP said. He said the detainees were identified as Ajay Prakash and his distant relative Kalawati, both of Kaushambi. Ajay is a BSc passout while Kalawati did BA from a college in Kaushambi, he said. What PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW n unidentified middle-aged woman Awas found dead in Gosainganj on Thursday and it was suspected that she was done to death after sexual assault. However, police said that the clothes were not in a disheveled state and there were no injury marks on the body. Mohammed Imran of Kasba Amethi locality in Gosainganj spotted the body near a field in the village. He informed the police after which a team reached the place. The police cordoned off the area and started investigations. No injuries were detected on the body of the woman primary examination. The body has been sent for autopsy and further investigations are on, police spokesman said. Ruling out the possibility of foul play, the police spokesman said the woman s clothes was not in a disheveled state. Circumstantial evidences did not suggest that she was sexually assaulted. The autopsy will ascertain the cause of death and it would be clear whether or not she was sexually assaulted, he added. Meanwhile, a milk vendor, identified as Hari Om (18), was killed in a road mishap in Jankipuram on Thursday afternoon. Reports said that Hari Om of Sitapur was coming towards Mulayam crossing in the locality and was hit by a loader from an opposite direction. He was rushed to KGMU Trauma Centre where he died during treatment. His family has been informed, the police spokesman said. surprised the cops was the revelation that Ajay and Kalawati were charged Rs 5 lakh and Rs 4 lakh respectively by a Kaushambi native for recruitment. The duo told the police that the man had asked them to apply online for the job in UP Police. They claimed that they were given letters of recruitment and asked to reach Lucknow join duty at the Lucknow zoo outpost. Their claim looked genuine they were defrauded by some gang. They have given us some cell numbers and we are working on the case, the SP said. He said the GRP had asked the families of both to reach Lucknow. We are verifying their claims. Right now, they cannot be challaned for misusing the police uniform as they did nothing wrong, he added. FIRE BREAKS OUT IN SHOP A fire broke out in a shop selling shoes and slippers in Akbari Gate locality of Chowk in the wee hours of Thursday. Seven fire tenders were pressed into service and the flames, which were leaping high, were doused. Property worth lakhs was gutted. However, no casualty was reported in the incident. As per reports, the shop is run by Azmi of Thakurganj. In the wee hours of Thursday, some locals spotted fumes emanating from the shop and alerted the shop owner. By the time police and firemen reached the scene, the fire had taken violent turn. The police and firemen had a tough time in containing the fire. ENTRANCE RESULTS Lucknow University announced the results of undergraduate entrance examination on Thursday. Admission coordinator Anil Mishra said that the results were available on the website of Lucknow University. He said that online counselling would kick off from June 11 for which the students would have to visit the campus. He said over 3,000 undergraduate seats would be filled through the exams. MEETING Lucknow Autorickshaws and Three- Wheelers Association met Divisional FIRST PRIZE Ananya Srivastava, a class VI student of City Montessori School s Aliganj Campus (I) won the first prize in a dance competition organised by Kayastha Mahasabha. Students of several noted schools of Lucknow participated in this contest wherein Ananya performed excellently. Amidst tough competition, Ananya emerged winner due to her outstanding talent. Her performance was applauded by the judges and audience. She was awarded a shield, certificate and other gifts. PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW he newly-floated Indian TShia Awami League, a political outfit of Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi, announced that Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad chairperson Mahant Narendra Giri will be its patron. Rizvi made this announcement after meeting Giri in Lucknow on Thursday. He said that all 14 Shia rulers in the country always protected Hindus and even constructed several temples during their regimes in different parts of the country. Rizvi also accused Sunni sect rulers of imposing jazia tax on Hindus. The Shia sect and Hindu were closely associated and there was never any clash between them, he claimed. Rizvi said that by nominating a Hindu mahant as patron of the Shia political party, a new era of Hindu-Muslim unity had been started. On May 18 last, Rizvi had announced to launch Indian Shia Awami League, attempting SUMMER CAMP Students of Red Rose Senior Secondary School s Rajajipuram, Gomti Nagar and Vishnulok Colony branches visited Ekana Sports City on Thursday to carve a separate political identity for the minority Shia sect within the Muslim community ahead of the 2019 general election. The central idea is to assert Shia identity separately from Sunni Muslims. Traditionally, vote-bank politics only catered to Sunnis in India, since we are in minority. But when there are riots in the country because of Sunni extremism, we also get targeted due to our identity, Rizvi said. Shia is an Arabic word which stands for dost (friend) Woman found dead, sexual assault ruled out Giri patron of Shia political outfit Cash, valuables looted from house Lucknow (PNS): Four unidentified miscreants held hostage the caretaker of a house and a security guard in Nirala Nagar under Hasanganj police station in the wee hours of Thursday and decamped with cash and valuables. A case was registered in this connection late Thursday night. The house owner, Colonel (retd) Shashi Kant had made Amit of Hasanganj caretaker of the house as he was in New Delhi. Early Thursday morning, Amit, along with security guard Kishori Lal and domestic help Tahir, was sitting in the verandah. Armed miscreants stormed the house and trained pistols on us. They asked me to give them keys of the house. When I told that the house owner had the keys, they lost their cool. One of them thrashed us and later took us into a room. One of them took us at the gun-point while others collected cash and valuables, Amit told the police. Kishori Lal said the miscreants asked about Amit when they reached the house and slapped him when he tried to stop them. He said the miscreants decamped with cash and other goods. Police said a case of loot had been registered in this connection. STUDENT ATTACKED A group of youths, said to be students of a degree college affiliated to Lucknow University, attacked their rival in Tulsi Park area under Hasanganj on Thursday night. Police nabbed the brother of one the accused after he confronted a constable when asked about the accused. Two more incidents of clashes were reported in the locality on Thursday night. Incharge, Madehganj, Ram Janam CITYBRIEFS SCHOOLSCAN Gautam said Monu Kashyap of the locality had lodged a complaint against Anurag Pandey, Deepak Shukla and 20 unidentified aides for attacking him. Monu stated that the group was wielding rods, firearms, shovels and bombs and they lobbed crude bombs and opened fire in the air to intimidate him, Gautam said. He added that a police team, led by him, immediately reached the scene. We did not get any trace of crude bomb or bullet shells from the scene. However, the police raided the house owned by one of the accused, Anurag Pandey, who is a BSc- III student, he explained. As Anurag was not home, his elder brother confronted a police man when asked about the accused. We detained him and asked the family to produce Anurag, Gautam said. FRAUD VICTIMS GET BACK CASH A timely response by the cyber cell of Lucknow police helped two victims of online fraud get back the cash they had duped of on Thursday. Kshitij Kumar of Rajajipuram and Deepak David of Hazratganj had lodged a case with the cyber cell stating that Rs 2 lakh and Rs 48, 975 respectively were fraudulently withdrawn from their bank accounts. Hazratganj CO Abhay Mishra, who is heading the cyber cell, was tasked with working out the case. The team found out the companies which got the cash transaction. The team wrote to the companies through informing them that cash transaction was done by fraudsters. The companies followed the instructions and the cash was refunded to the complainants, the CO said. Commissioner Anil Garg on Monday to apprise him of the problems because of wrongly allotted parking stand at Awadh Chauraha by LMC. They said the stand previously belonged to the autorickshaw wallahs. MANGO FEST President of Mango Growers Association Jyotsana Habibullah said that Awadh Mango Growers Association had been working hard to ensure that the farmers benefited more each year. On June 23 and 24, the Mango fest will showcase cultural events associated with mangoes from sher-o-shayari to cooking contests in a bid to bring rural innovators to the forefront to create awareness about biodiversity. We will be launching Guthli Club where youths will collect fruit seeds and plant them in villages. People should follow the UP Mango Festival page on social media and make a difference in the lives of farmers, she said. She pointed out that the young and charismatic team made up of entrepreneurs, engineers and students had lots of exciting contests in store to engage more people with the festival. The orchard visit planned on June 17 will showcases Abbasi Orchard in Kakori, just 12 kms from Lucknow, with a wealth of craft and historic legends as well as delicious mangoes. Ecotourism and agri-business will grow with the fest each year, she added. under the Summer Camp being organised by the school. The children learnt about cricket game and also imbibed knowledge about the importance of games in one s life. Waseem Rizvi with Narendra Giri and all Indians are friends, Rizvi said, adding that soon Hindus, including Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes, would be given representation in the party. The Shia-Sunni conflict is irreconcilable. They (Sunnis) don t even consider us Muslims, but because of them, our identity is under threat, Rizvi said. Our party cadre are already in place across states. If everything goes well, we will fight the 2019 elections. Shia Muslims constitute little PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW ne per cent of state and Odistrict population is affected with schizophrenia, a mental disease which can be cured like any other disorder with regular medication and counselling. This was stated by head of Psychiatry department, King George s Medical University s, Prof PK Dalal while addressing mediapersons on the occasion of World Schizophrenic Day at the Indian Medical Association office here on Thursday. Explaining the number of myths associated with schizophrenia, he urged people to come forward and help the patients see experts for timely treatment. Seeking society s co-operation in removing the social stigma attached to this mental disease, he said: Timely intervention can help patients live a normal life and perform daily chores like others. People tend to delay the treatment and seek help of self-styled godmen, he added. According to a recent survey, 0.89 per cent of Lucknow populace is found down with schizophrenia. While 25% of the patients commit suicide, 1/4th of them attempt to end their lives. This happens as a patients reach us when it is too late, he opined. A beginning was made in 1908 by Huge Bastin by identifying this disease and WHO Federation dk;kzy; dk;z v/kh{kd v0fo0fu0bz0vuq0 ¼fo qr½ i=kad 1114@uhykeh@18 yks0fu0fo0] y[kuå uhykeh lwpuk fnukad % 21&5&2018 lozlk/kkj.k dks lwfpr fd;k tkrk gs fd fnukad dks cts nksigj izeq[k vfhk;urk dk;kzy; yks0fu0fo0] y[kuå ds mrrjh foax esa 13 islsutj {kerk dh fy V] ds fu"iz;kst; lkeku dh uhykeh dh tk;sxha bpnqd O;fDr tks uhykeh esa Hkkx ysuk pkgrs gsa] /kjksgj /kujkf'k : fmek.m Mªk V oklrs SOW, Ty.D.C.U. Maintenance (Elect.) P.W.D. Lucknow tek djds cksyh yxk ldrs gsa vfure vf/kdre cksyh dk 25 izfr'kr udn dk;kzy; esa tek djuk gksxka 'ks"k /kujkf'k cksyh Lohd`fr gksus ds ckn 7 fnuksa ds vunj tek djuh gksxh] vu;fkk tek dh x;h /kujkf'k tcr dj yh tk;sxha cksyh Lohdkj djus ;k vlohd`r djus dk vf/kdkj v/kksglrk{kjh ds ikl lqjf{kr jgsxka fu"iz;kst; lkeku dks fdlh Hkh dk;z fnol esa izkr% 10 cts ls 5 cts rd Jh vt; dqekj f=ikbh] voj vfhk;urk ls laidz djds ns[kk tk ldrk gsa uhykeh lwpuk ds fy;s losz fjiksvz i=kad 532@171,e&30@18 fnukad v/kh{k.k vfhk;urk 30oka ¼fo0@;ka0½ o`rr] yks0fu0fo0] y[kuå egksn; }kjk Lohd`r dh x;h gsa ;gka ;g Hkh myys[k djuk gs fd lacaf/kr dk;z ds fy;s vko';d th0,l0vh0 Bsdsnkj }kjk Lo;a tek djds mldk pkyku fohkkx esa tek djuk gksxka m0iz fnukad fokkiu osclkbv ij miyc/k gsa over 10 per cent of Muslim population in India. We have spoken to all Shia leaders across the country, Rizvi added. Rizvi, who was earlier known to be close to Samajwadi Party s senior leader Mohammad Azam Khan, frequently stirred controversy by making statements that some see as anti-muslim. He maintained that the Ram temple in Ayodhya, for example, must be constructed on the disputed site and a mosque should be built elsewhere in the city away from the religious territory of Hindus. However, Shia and Sunni clerics have criticised Rizvi for floating a political party. Head of Shia Moon Committee, Saif Abbas Naqvi, said that religion-based parties had always hurt the interests of the country and Shia community lacked the number to sustain a party. Imam of Aishbagh Eidgah, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali, said, India is a secular state and such parties can never succeed in the country. Docs say schizophrenia curable with regular medication, counselling accepted it as major disease in Since 1984, World Schizophrenic Day is being organised for identification and treatment of the patients. Earlier, speaking on the occasion, IMA president Dr Suryakant said it was like any other disease such diabetes, blood pressure etc. These patients are victims of scarcity of dopamine which causes hallucination and delusion. It makes them live in their virtual world formed by their own thinking and with the passage of time, they become suspicious and develop negative thinking for everything taking place around them. They think negatively for any development or incident taking place around them. They can get irritated or remain cut-off from social gatherings, he explained. Hakim Luqman might not have got a cure for suspicion but doctors have found it now, IMA joint secretary and programme co-coordinator Dr Aleem Siddiqui said. ¼vkj0ds0 flugk½ dk;z v/kh{kd v0fo0fu0bz0vuq0¼fo0½] yks0fu0fo0] y[kuå

5 nation 05 BID TO BOOST RELATIONS India, Netherlands sign 51 agreements Modi, Mark Rutte reiterate trade mission. India and the Netherlands have a bilateral commitment to fight terrorism trade of $5.39 billion with Dutch being the fifth largest VINEETA PANDEY n NEW DELHI Hague Security Delta in the investor in India with a cumulative investment of $23 billion cyber security field. n a bid to boost ties, India With Dutch companies from 2000 to December Iand Netherlands signed 51 keen to explore the Indian The leaders called for agreements in various sectors following the bilateral talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Netherlands counterpart Mark Rutte, on Thursday. During their wide-ranging and constructive discussions on regional and international issues, the two leaders also reiterated their commitment to fight terrorism. The leaders agreed that terrorist and extremist organisations need to be denied space to radicalise, recruit, and conduct attacks on innocent people. They deplored the violence caused by Al Qaeda, market and be part of Make in India programme, in the defense sector, the two countries are in the process of finalising the text on the Agreement on Mutual Protection of Classified Information in the field of Defence. In his media statement, Modi thanked Rutte for backing India at various forums. From UN Security Council to Multilateral Export Control Regimes, India and The Netherlands have very close coordination and cooperation, PM said. He also welcomed The Netherlands as a new member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) saying the expansion of ongoing collaboration in the fields of agriculture and food processing, water, technology, smart city development, cyber space, health care, clean energy and finance, the joint statement said. During the discussions on cooperation in agriculture sector, the Indian side welcomed the Dutch desire in boosting productivity of apples, manufacturing food processing equipments, breeding highyielding vegetable seeds, providing capacity building and training to dairy farmers, cooperating in the areas of bovine genetics and food safety, and supporting sustainable and climate Daesh/ISIS, Jaish-e- entire world is likely to benefit resilient agriculture to Mohammed, Hizbul from the expertise of the mitigate water shortages and Mujahideen, Lashkar-e- country in this field. end the practice of stubble Tayabba, and their affiliates as Rutte said there was a huge burning. India invited well as terrorist groups threatening peace and security in South Asia and Europe, the joint statement released after the talks said. Modi and Rutte also agreed scope for the two countries to deepen cooperation in areas of trade and investment, clean energy, agriculture and smart cities. Rutte was accompanied by the a huge delegation comprising Netherlands to explore the feasibility of assisting in setting up Food Valleys and invest in cold chain and food processing facilities and undertake capacity building programs in India. to hold a bilateral cyber dialogue of Minister of Apart from pacts on agri- in 2018 to discuss issues Agriculture, Nature and Food culture, health, education, pertaining to internet governance, Quality; Minister for water management, ports and Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi, on Thursday PTI data protection, cyber security policy and Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) cooperation. Already, Hyderabad Security Cluster is collaborating with Healthcare and Sport; Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, the mayor of the city of The Hague and a large waterways, sanitation, smart cities and business, investment promotion, the two sides also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for training of diplomats. Big fillip to AYUSH drug manufacturers ARCHANA JYOTI n NEW DELHI hinking logically, the TGovernment has provided a major relief to alternate traditional drug manufacturers. The Government has done away with the illogical mandatory requirement of submission of analytical test reports, involving huge cost implications, at the time of submission of tenders or rate contract applications for the public procurement of Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathic (ASU&H) medicines. It has subsequently direct the Central and State agencies not to seek these reports from the bidders. In a circular issued recently to all the Government agencies, the Union Ayush Ministry said that requirement of analytical test report of ASU&H medicine at the time of submission of tender or rate contract application does not seem logical owing to huge cost implications to Micro, Small and Medium enterprises for testing of all those medicines which may not qualify or get shortlisted for the rate contract. Rather, it maintained that manufacturers should be asked to submit the test report or Certificate of Analysis only for the batch or lot of medicines actually delivered by them to dispensaries or hospitals under the rate contract. The AYUSH Ministry s move followed complaints from the sector that State and Central ASU&H drug Government agencies were putting in condition in the Govt does away with illogical mandatory requirement of submission of test reports The AYUSH Ministry s move followed complaints from the sector that State and Central ASU&H drug Government agencies were putting in condition in the tender document seeking analytical reports from the accredited labs tender document seeking analytical reports from the accredited labs. In the past few years, as the demand for the alternate drugs has increased in view of side-effects of the allopathic medicine, there has been growing stress on the safety of herbal medicine too. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has framed a set of guidelines to address the issue and promote the efficacy and PTI n NEW DELHI he national Capital is being T ravaged by unauthorised encroachments and illegal constructions, the Supreme Court said on Thursday as it rejected the Centre s plea seeking modification of an order asking it to invite suggestions from the public before amending the Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) A Bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Navin Sinha directed the Centre to expeditiously implement the order dated May 15 in letter and spirit keeping the interest of the public of Delhi in mind. The top court had on May 15 asked the Centre to give a window of 15 days to the people of Delhi to give suggestions or objections to the Government which had proposed amendments to the Delhi s Master Plan. The Centre had sought modification of the order while objecting to the 15-day time on several grounds including it may create law and order problem. Again unfortunately, instead of taking the people of Delhi into confidence with quality of traditional drugs. Welcoming the Ministry s decision, Nishant Jain of B Jain Pharmaceuticals said that it will help industry at large as getting testing done at time of submission of tender proves very costly for SME/MSME. Hence, submitting COA at time of supply looks like a favorable decision when seen from one perspective, he said. Jain, however, cautioned that lowest quote should not be the main criterion for selection. According to him, there should be certain basic parameters for any company to be able to supply to the Government. Besides lowest quote, parameters like GMP certificates, third party quality audits, export capability, and sample COA of any fixed number of products should be implemented to ensure drug quality, he added. Amending Delhi Master Plan: SC rejects Centre s plea, says public opinion must regard to amendments to the Master Plan, a bogey of public order and rioting has been sought to be communicated to us as if the law and order situation in Delhi was getting out of control. We are at a loss to understand the hyper-reaction and how changes in the Master Plan are sought to be brought about without any meaningful public participation with perhaps an intent to satisfy some lobbies and curtailing a period of 90 days to just 3 days on some unfounded basis. It must be appreciated that the people of Delhi come first, the Bench said in its order. It has been recorded that Delhi is being ravaged by unauthorised encroachments and Modi to visit Indonesia, Singapore from May 29-June 2 PNS n NEW DELHI P r i m e Minister Narendra Modi will be on a twonation visit to Indonesia and Singapore from May 29 to June 2 when key agreements in various sectors including defence is expected to be signed. In Singapore, Modi will be delivering the keynote address at the Shangri-La dialogue. This is the first time an Indian PM has been invited to deliver the keynote address at this prestigious event. This will be Modi s first official visit to Indonesia and his second official visit to Singapore. According to Preeti Saran, Secretary East, Ministry of External Affairs, the dialogue gives PM an opportunity to articulate his thoughts about India s policy on peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region, which she said will be the focus of his keynote address. The PM is also likely to share his philosophy on Sagarmala during the keynote address, she added. In Indonesia, strengthening maritime security cooperation is expected to be on PM Modi s list of agenda. As part of its ASEAN connectivity plans, India is keen to develop seaport in Aceh, which is just 80 nautical miles from Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A cruise tourism circuit between Andamans and Aceh is also being discussed. The Centre had sought modification of the order while objecting to the 15-day time on several grounds including it may create law and order problem illegal constructions with impunity and none of the civic authorities, including the Delhi Development Authority was sincerely carrying out its statutory duties, it said. The court said it had to step in because the situation in Delhi warranted this, due to the apathy of the civic authorities. It said there was no need to curtail the statutory period for inviting suggestions from the public on proposed amendments in the Master Plan. The Bench said Attorney General KK Venugopal pointed out to the public order situation which had necessitated the amendment to the Rules and curtailing the period of 90 days for filing objections by the public to three days. Step up vigil along Int l Borders, orders Rajnath PTI n NEW DELHI ome Minister Rajnath HSingh on Thursday ordered stepped-up vigil along the International Borders, amidst heightened tensions with Pakistan on the western frontier. A Home Ministry spokesperson said the directive has been given at a high-level meeting which took stock of the progress of construction of border fencing, roads and outposts along India s borders with neighbouring countries. dited in consultation with The home minister has The Minister stakeholders like the Navy, directed all officials concerned Coast Guard, state governments, etc. to maintain constant vigil and called for security on the borders, the construction of He complimented proactive role being played by spokesperson said. At least 11 people were 13 more ICPs Central Armed Forces and killed and 60 others injured along Indo-Nepal, Navy and Coast Guard and during nine days of intense Indo-Bangladesh directed that vigil may be shelling by Pakistani troops maintained on all borders along the Indo-Pakistan border and Indo-Bhutan including coastal areas while in Jammu and Kashmir till yesterday. humane considerations of local borders. These protecting all legitimate and The shelling and firing Integrated Check population. stopped yesterday afternoon Posts will Identifying that land acquisition remained an issue, he along the international border. With regard to the Indo- facilitate cross called for expediting the same Pakistan border, the home border trade and especially along the country s minister expressed satisfaction movement of eastern borders. that 97 per cent of the sanctioned border fencing work has people over the working of six newly Expressing satisfaction been completed. Singh also reviewed implementation of pilot projects on Comprehensive Integrated Border Management Systems (CIBMS) on non physical barriers. He also stressed on utilising space technology for strengthening border guarding and policing. appreciated action taken by the State Governments and Union Territories for operationalisation of 194 coastal police stations duly equipped with boats and other equipments. He underlined the need for better cooperation among various agencies engaged in maintaining coastal security. established Integrated Check Posts, Singh called for construction of 13 more ICPs along Indo-Nepal, Indo- Bangladesh and Indo-Bhutan borders. These Integrated Check Posts will facilitate cross border trade and movement of people. The meeting was attended by Union Home Secretary Rajiv The Home Minister Singh directed that the Gauba, Special Secretary stressed that coastal security is of utmost importance and next phase of the coastal security scheme should be expe- (Border Management) BR Sharma besides others. PNS n NEW DELHI ith just a couple of days Wto go for his Government s fourth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the fruits of development have reached the poorest of the poor as he highlighted the achievements of the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan. In a series of tweets, he shared details of the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, terming it as a unique movement initiated by the Government to take the fruits of development to the poorest of the poor in 16,850 villages from April 14 to May 5 as a tribute to Dr (BR) Ambedkar. He said, as a part of the Abhiyan, various teams ventured into villages and ensured complete coverage of seven leading Central Government schemes. This movement is a great example of effective service delivery at the doorstep and furthering ease of living. The project was a success due to the active participation of Ministers, MPs, MLAs, representatives of various local bodies, officials of the State Govts, topmost officers of the Central Govt, civil society members and self-help groups. I thank them all: Prime Minister Narendra Modi During 21 days of Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, 7.53 lakh Ujjwala connections distributed; 5,02,434 households electrified under Saubhagya Yojana; lakh LED bulbs distributed across 16,682 villages; INSHORT KARNATAKA: JAYANAGAR POLL ON JUNE 11 New Delhi: The Assembly constituency of Karnataka s Jayanagar, where election was countermanded owing to the death of then MLA BN Vijayakumar on May 4, will go to poll on June 11. The EC issued a notification to this effect. The counting will be held on June 13. The constituency has over 2.03 lakh voters, and 19 candidates. BJP has held the seat since delimitation in The polls were put on hold after one candidate BN Vijaya Kumar died on May 4. DIP IN STONE PELTING AS OP SUSPENDED New Delhi: Stone pelting incidents in Jammu & Kashmir have come down since the Centre announced suspension of operations by security forces a week ago, an official said on Thursday, citing an assessment by security agencies. According to available data, there were just 16 incidents of stone pelting in Kashmir valley between May 16 and 23 in comparison to 38 such cases in May 8-15 period. CIC PULLS UP TWO IAF OFFICERS New Delhi: The Central Information Commission has rapped two senior Indian Air Force officers for not furnishing timely and accurate information on expenditure incurred on foreign visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi using the force s aircraft, calling it a case of the gross lack of knowledge or perhaps limited knowledge. EDUCATION WON T BE 2019 POLL PLANK: HRD MIN New Delhi: Education was not a subject for politics and would not be poll plank for the 2019 elections, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Thursday while addressing a gathering at the launch of Samagra Shiksha, an integrated scheme for school education from pre-school to senior secondary levels. INDIA, NEPAL TO CONDUCT MILITARY EXERCISE New Delhi: The Armies of India and Nepal will carry out a twoweek long military exercise beginning Wednesday in Uttarakhand s Pithoragarh region with an aim to deepen counterterror cooperation. The Indian Army said the Surya Kiran exercise is expected to enhance the level of defence cooperation between the two militaries. It said the focus of the exercise will be to enhance cooperation in conducting counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain. Around 300 soldiers each from Nepal India are expected to participate in the exercise. NIPAH VIRUS A LOCALISED OCCURRENCE: ASHWINI New Delhi: Amid fears that Nipah virus has spread to other States such as Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, MoS for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Thursday asked people not to panic, asserting that it was a localised occurrence in Kerala, where the number of deaths due to the outbreak has reached 12. He said the samples of dead bats found in HP have been sent to the NIV for investigation. UTTAM PACHARNE IS HEAD OF LALIT KALA AKADEMI New Delhi: Sculptor and artist, Uttam Pacharne, has taken charge as the Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi at New Delhi. He is the recipient of National Lalit Kala Award 1985, Maharashtra Gaurav Puraska 1985 from Government of Maharashtra, Junior National Award 1986 and Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar 2017 from Prafulla Dahanukar Foundation, as per a statement. FOUR YEARS OF MODI GOVERNMENT PM highlights Gram Swaraj Abhiyan s feat immunisation of 1,64,398 children and 42,762 women under Mission Indradhanush, he said. The Prime Minister said from April 14 to May 5, 20,53,599 Jan Dhan beneficiaries were added; 16,14,388 Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana beneficiaries were added and another 26,10,506 beneficiaries were included under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. He said the project was a success due to the active participation of Ministers, MPs, MLAs, representatives of various local bodies, officials of the State Governments, topmost officers of the Central Government, civil society members and self-help groups. I thank them all.

6 nation 06 Goa Forward says will rethink support to BJP MAYABHUSHAN n PANAJI n a first direct threat to the IGoa BJP following the electoral setback in Karnataka, the Goa Forward, a ruling alliance partner, on Thursday warned the ruling BJP, that if it does not work towards resuming mining at the earliest, the regional party would rethink its support for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Goa Forward president Vijai Sardesai, who is a minister for Town and Country Planning in the BJP-led coalition government in Goa, also said that the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre, should pass an ordinance to resume mining, which was brought to a standstill following Supreme Court order in March this year. One would have thought that after the debacle in Karnataka, the BJP would have acted quickly to solve the mining issue, but no steps are being taken towards that end, despite the fact that the BJP is MINING ISSUE in power in Goa and at the Centre, Sardesai told a press conference in Panaji on Thursday. The BJP-led alliance Government currently comprises of 14 BJP MLAs, three each from the Goa Forward and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and three independent MLA, which makes it a tally of 23 MLAs in the 40 member Goa legislative assembly. The significance of three MLAs, the absence of which would take the ruling alliance tally to 20, one short of simple majority, is clearly not lost on Sardesai, who went on to warn the BJP too. "If the BJP does not resume mining in Goa at the earliest, they will have trouble in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. I request them to resolve this crisis at the earliest... If they do not do it, we will rethink support to BJP in Lok Sabha election," Sardesai warned at the press conference. The mining issue has been Congress activists during Rasta Roko protest against fuel price hike, in Mumbai on Thursday SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA engal Chief Minister BMamata Banerjee has refused to comment on the Teesta water-sharing issue on the eve of Friday s convocation programme at Viswabharati, Shantiniketan to be attended by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina. Banerjee who is the first State Chief Minister post Independence to attend the programme on Thursday skirted questions on Teesta water butcame down heavily on the Centre for doing nothing about the rising fuel prices saying her party would start a prolonged movement from Friday against the rising oil prices. This is not the right platform to comment on such issues of international importance because I am just a Chief Minister of a province, Banerjee said reminding this is not the right place and right time for politics as will assemble at the convocation programme of Vishwabharati. She however said she will have a one-on-one meeting with Sheikh Hasina. It is a courtesy meeting as I share a cordial relationship with Hasina di. Our relationship goes back to many years. From the time when she was the Opposition Leader. We love each other as the people of the two countries do mutually. We wish well to the people of Bangladesh. Banerjee who reached Bolpur straight from Bengaluru where she went to attend the swearing-in function of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was talking to reporters. hanging fire in Goa, every since the Supreme Court banned extraction and transportation of iron ore from 88 mining leases from March this year, while also directing the State Government to re-issue mining leases. The is the second time is less than a decade that all mining in the State has come to a standstill, after mining was banned in 2012, following a combination of bans imposed by the State and central governments as well as the Supreme Court. The ban was later lifted by the apex court in 2014, but the apex court was forced to impose the fresh restrictions while slighting the state government for messing up with the lease renewal processes. While local political parties inclduding the Goa Forward and BJP are rooting for renewal of mining lease in favour of existing lease holders, the newly amended Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation act makes it mandatory for iron leases to be auctioned. PTI The Prime Minister who is also the Chancellor of the University raised by Poet Govt ensures illegal foreigner free' Assam: Sonowal ANUP SHARMA n GUWAHATI n completion of his two Oyears in office, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday said that the BJP led Government in Assam has ensured a corruption free Assam in the past two years and added that the Government is equally committed to ensure a illegal foreigner free Assam. Sonowal said this today while interacting with the media on the occasion of government's completion of second year in office and announced that the Indo- Bangladesh border will be sealed completely by December this year. "Our government came to power on three agendas-- to ensure a corruption free Assam, to ensure an 'illegal foreigner' free Assam and sealing of Indo Bangladesh border to stop infiltration from the other side of the border. While we have already adopted a 'zerotolerance' policy against corruption, we are also committed to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Assam by ensuring a illegal foreigner free Assam and seal the Indo-Bangladesh border," said Sonowal. Laureate Rabindranath Tagore will attend the convocation on Friday along with his Bangladesh counterpart Sk Hasina. A Bangladesh Bhavan is likely to be inaugurated in the presence of the Prime Minister of that country. Criticising the mysterious reasons for which seven big and eminent personalities were not given Desikottama (honour), Banerjee said. I am deeply hurt because names of seven eminent people does not figure in the Desikottama list. I don t know why, she added. Upping the ante on the Centre for doing nothing about the rising fuel prices, Banerjee said the oil price should immediately be controlled because the whole transport sector of the country is suffering. The farmers are also hurt by the rising fuel prices. It is for the Centre to take action immediately, Banerjee said without going into the details The Chief Minister's assurance of ensuring a illegal foreigner free Assam came at a time when the state has been witnessing severe protests over the Central government's move to pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, which seeks to grant citizenship to minority communities in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who fled those countries due to religious persecution. "At this moment our main concern is the ongoing process of updation of National Register of Citizens (NRC). We expect the complete draft NRC to be released by June 30 this year. We will make our Didi mum on Teesta, slams fuel price hike Modi, Hasina at Shantiniketan convocation today My party will descend on the streets and start a movement form tomorrow. In Kolkata they will organise a rally tomorrow and from Saturday they will organise movements against rising fuel prices in the districts KHURSHEED WANI n SRINAGAR n eighth day of unilateral Ocessation of anti-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir, the Chief of Army Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat arrived here on Thursday to review the prevailing security situation. The Army chief was briefed at various security formations on the ground challenges and he assured the troops to further strengthen the security posture. Gen Rawat arrived at a time when a controversially decorated officer of Rashtriya Rifles Major Leetul Gogoi was caught on a wrong foot in Srinagar when he attempted to check in at a hotel along-with a local girl. Gogoi was in news last year when he strapped a BJP, Shiv Sena win two seats each TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI he ruling BJP and Shiv TSena on Thursday won two seats each in the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls held from the local body constituencies held on Monday. The Opposition NCP won the remaining one seat, while the Congress lost both the seats it had contested in the polls. The counting of votes for the Osmanabad-Beed-Latur seat was deferred by the Election Commission on Wednesday. The elections to six seats Osmanabad-Beed-Latur, Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Nashik, Parbhani-Hingoli, Wardha-Chandrapur- Gadchiroli and Amravati were held on Monday, as equal number of members - three from NCP, two from BJP members and one Congress are scheduled to retire from the Upper House of the State legislature on June 21. BJP s Praveen Potte-Patil bagged the Amravati Legislative Council seat by MAHARASHTRA LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL POLLS trouncing the Congress candidate Anil Madhogarhia by a margin of 431 votes. While Potte-Patil polled 448 votes, while Madhogarhia secured 17 votes. In the poll to the Wardha- Chandrapur-Gadchiroli seat, BJP nominee Ramdas Ambatkar defeated his Congress rival Indra Kumar Saraf by 37 votes. Ambatkar polled 528 votes, while Saraf secured 491 votes. Shiv Sena s Narendra Darade walked away with the Nashik seat, by defeating his nearest rival NCP rival Shivaji Sahane by a margin of 167 votes. While Darade secured 399 votes, Sahane polled 232 votes. While the Congress lost both the seats it had contested in the polls. The counting of votes for the Osmanabad- Beed-Latur seat was deferred by the Election Commission on Wednesday The Parbhani-Hingoli seat was won by Shiv Sena s Viplava Bajoria by a margin of 35 votes against Congress rival Suresh Deshmukh. While Bajoria polled 256 votes, Deshmukh secured 221 votes. Senior NCP leader and former minister Sunil Tatkare s son Aniket Tatkare won the Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat against Shiv Sena s Rajiv Sahele by a huge margin of 200 votes. While Jr Tatkare polled 421 votes whereas as against 221 votes secured by Sahele. The current seat tally in the Maharashtra Legislative Council: NCP 23, Congress- - 19, BJP 18, Shiv Sena 9, PRP 1, Lok Bharti 1 and Independents 6. NCP s is Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar is the chairman, while Congress Manikrao Thakre.is deputy chairman. While leader of the House is the BJP s Chandrakant Patil, Leader of Opposition is Dhananjay Munde of the NCP. Meanwhile, the result in the keenly fought election to the Osmanabad-Beed-Latur is awaited. The fight was considered a prestige battle between the Munde cousins Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde (BJP) and NCP s Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde. There was a stiff fight between BJP s Suresh Dhas and and independent candidate Ashok Jagdale, who had been supported by both Congress and NCP. The NCP had originally nominated Ramesh Karad as its nominee, but he withdrew from the fray at the last minute apparently at the behest of Pankaja Munde. After the withdrawal of the candidate, the NCP and Congress threw their weight behind independent candidate Jagdale. youngster to an army jeep as a human shield and paraded him through several villages in Beerwah pocket of central Kashmir s Budgam district. Gen Rawat was accompanied by XV corps commander Lt Gen AK Bhatt to the formation headquarters and units to receive briefing on the operational preparedness. The Army Chief was appreciative of the measures and Standard Operating Procedures instituted by the units and formations to meet the challenges posed by the inimical elements. Commending the performance of the troops in the recent successful operations, the Army Chief stressed the need to maintain the extra vigil to defeat the evil designs on whether her own Government would cut down on the taxes realized by the State. Rising fuel prices would soon set the essential commodities market on fire, she feared. She said my party will descend on the streets and start a movement form tomorrow. In Kolkata they will organise a rally tomorrow and from Saturday they will organise movements against rising fuel prices in the districts. Also attacking the Centre for the alleged economic reforms she said instead of bringing acchhe din these reforms like GST and Demonetization have ruined the country s economy. She said due to GST revenue of States have suffered, adding DeMo had helped the black money market. Instead of checking black money, demonetization has helped in generating black money, she maintained. stand clear on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 after the Draft NRC is published," said the Chief Minister while appealing the people of Assam not to get scared by propaganda. It may be mentioned here that the Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal led BJP government has drawn flakes BJPGOVT STWOYEARINOFFICE for maintaining silence over the Central government's move to pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill While the BJP supported North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) government in Meghalaya had already expressed its opposition to the Bill, the Assam government is yet to pronounce its of hostile forces and assured his full support to further strengthen the security posture, a defence spokesman said. The army chief arrived here at a time when the central government has announced non-initiation of combat operations in the wake of holy We are not going to hide anything from the people, who had given us overwhelming mandate in 2016 polls. We will take all decision after taking the peoples' views in confidence stand over the Bill. "We are not going to hide anything from the people, who had given us overwhelming mandate in 2016 polls. We will take all decision after taking the peoples' views in confidence," he said adding that the government will not compromise on any issue affecting the interests of the state. Sonowal also highlighted his government's achievements in fight against corruption and said the Vigilance and Anti- Corruption department already arrested 74 Government officials including two IAS officers in 66 cases of corruption in past two years. "In Assam Public Service Commission (APSC)'s cash for job scam, 41 officials were arrested inclduing 10 state civil service officers, seven Assam police service officers, 11 allied service officers," he month of Ramadhan. The ceasefire period has so far passed peacefully. However, the army faced an embarrassing situation when Major Leetul Gogoi was briefly detained in Srinagar when he tried to check in along-with a local girl at a Srinagar hotel. According to Company Operating Procedure (COP), the army officers engaged in counter-insurgency duty are not allowed to leave their formations and venture into civilian areas. Gogoi has already been in news last year when he tied a local weaver to an army vehicle during a polling day and paraded him through villages to scare alleged stone-pelters. The army defended his action PNS n GANDHINAGAR ith ongoing water con- campaign Wservation Sujlam Suflam Jal Abhiyan is set to complete in next one week, the BJP-ruled Gujarat Government has decided to hold Parjanya Yagn in all 33 districts and eight major cities of the State on May 31st for good monsoon. In all Yagn will be held at 41 places simultaneously to appease Rain God and water god lord Indra and Lord Varuna respectively. Couple of days ago Gujarat s chief secretary JN Singh had stated that almost 80 per cent work related to water conservation campaign either completed or going at a rapid pace. The month long campaign was initiated by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on the Foundation Day of Gujarat on May 1st. Now its completion would be celebrated with Parjanya Yagn. As per state government s claim the campaign started with the support of hardly 2800 labourers and 450 social and religious organisations became India s biggest water conservation drive as it progressed. Currently more than 2800 organisations and over labourers joined the movement to transform Gujarat from water scarce to water sufficient state, claimed the Rupani Government. Through the campaign Gujarat government is aiming to scoop out cubic feet of earth from village ponds and lakes as well as 32 rivers during the month of May to enhance storage capacity of rainwater to permanently solved drinking water problem. said adding that the CID had also arrested 15 public servants in last two years for their involvement in corruption. Sonowal also said that the porous Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam will be fenced completely by December this year. "I am happy to announce that the Indo-Bangla border between in Assam will be sealed completely by December this year. The BSF has been carrying out the fencing works. While the riverine areas along the border will be sealed with non physical barriers, land border portion will be fenced with smart fencing," he added. Sonowal said that he himself had under taken visits to Indo-Bangladesh border three times and a that about 100 MLAs had also visited the border area and interact with the locals to ensure that there is no problem after sealing the border," he said. "The Indo-Bangla border fencing is one of our commitments and we are committed to seal the border. Besides stopping infiltration, the sealing of the international border will also help check cross border crimes like smuggling, trafficking and etc.," Sonowal added. Army chief visits J&K after unilateral ceasefire Minority rights safer in India New Delhi (PTI): Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday asserted that minority rights were more safe in India than in any part of the world as secularism was in its DNA, remarks which come amid a controversy over the Delhi Archbishop s letter on turbulent political atmosphere in the country. However, the Minority Affairs Minister refused to answer when specifically asked about Archbishop Anil Couto s controversial letter. We have to be cautious against those forces who want to disturb the atmosphere of trust and development due to their prejudiced mindset and vested interests, Naqvi told members from Diocese of Delhi under Church of North India during a meeting, according to a statement. He also said the Modi government was committed to protect all constitutional institutions, democratic values and religious rights of all sections. and despite a Court of Inquiry was probing his intent, he was awarded with Army s Chief s Commendation medal for his role o0n counter-insurgency front. Even as police have set up a Special investigating Team to probe Gogoi s escapade, the Army did not issue any statement on the incident. The spokesman said that General Rawat also took stock of the security and administrative arrangements for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra which is scheduled to commence from 27 June 2018 and stressed on the need for close coordination with Civil Administration to ensure a smooth and efficient conduct of the Yatra. Gujarat to hold Parjanya yagn for good monsoon New Delhi (PTI): The Centre has included 1,354 packages in its ambitious National Health Protection Mission under which treatment for coronary bypass, knee replacements and stenting among others would be provided at per cent cheaper rates than the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS). This was informed by Union Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey here on Thursday. He said the rates for over 20 specialties, including orthopaedics, cardiology, cancer care and neurosurgery were included in the packages under the scheme which aims to provide a coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family annually and benefit more than 10 crore families THE STATE GOVERNMENT TOOK THE DECISION TO ORGANISE YAGN AT 41 PLACES SIMULTANEOUSLY AND POST RITUALS PRASAD WOULD ALSO BE DISTRIBUTED belonging to the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. According to Indu Bhushan, chief executive of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission, the rates of packages were finalised after analysing the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and CGHS rates and are on average per cent lower than that of the CGHS. Reducing the prices of treatment packages will enable beneficiaries to opt for more number of procedures under the cover, if required, Bhushan said. Under the 205-page draft model tender document which was shared with the states, knee and hip replacements were fixed at Rs 9,000 each, The State Government took the decision to organise Yagn at 41 places simultaneously and post rituals Prasad would also be distributed, said Gujarat s deputy CM Nitin Patel. CM Rupani and his Ministers including Deputy CM would take part in Yagns in different parts of the State. After completion of Yagn, public meetings would be held at all the venues where ministers will tell the success story of water conservation campaign. It is worth mentioning that people in many parts of the state are facing acute water shortage in peak summer currently. Water storage in 204 major dams of Gujarat has gone below 30 per cent of its capacity of 25,227 million cubic meters (MCM). Even Gujarat s lifeline Sardar Sarovar Dam is filled nearly 30 per cent of its capacity. If monsoon would delay in the state, there would be major problem for the government to cope up with the water scarcity problem. Treatment packages to be lower than CGHS rates under Ayushman Bharat stenting at Rs 40,000, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) at Rs 1.10 lakh, caesarian delivery at Rs 9,000, vertebral angioplasty with single stent at Rs 50,000 and hysterectomy for cancer at 50,000. The government was also planning to incentivise private hospitals under the scheme to ensure that more quality hospitals come up in aspirational districts. Hospitals certified by the NABH for entry-level would get 10 per cent more as incentive and those certified for advanced level would get 15 per cent. Hospitals offering MD and DNB would also get 10 per cent more. Hospitals set up in as backward and rural districts would get an additional 10 per cent.

7 nation 07 BJP jumps into the K taka ring again KESTUR VASUKI n BENGALURU ays after the Congress- DJD(S) fought to form a Government in Karnataka, the battlelines are now drawn for Congress leader Ramesh Kumar and BJP s Suresh Kumar for clinching the Speaker s post. The Karnataka Assembly on Friday will witness election of the Speaker and whosoever wins will ask Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to prove his majority on the floor of the House. Senior Congress leader and former Minister KR Ramesh Kumar on Thursday filed his nomination for the post of the Speaker. He was accompanied by Deputy CM G Parameshwara, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other leaders. To counter the Congress and JD(S) nominee SPEAKER ELECTION TODAY BJP s S Suresh Kumar, a senior leader of the party, also filed his papers for the post. Even though Ramesh Kumar from the Congress is likely to get elected since the JD(S)- Congress combine has the required number following post-poll alliance, the BJP is taking no chances and fighting it out by nominating Suresh Kumar for the post. Six-time MLA KR Ramesh Kumar had served as the Speaker during the HD Deve Gowda and the JH Patel Government in the State ( ). The Deputy Speaker will be from the JD(S). K Srinivas Gowda and AT Ramaswamy of the JD(S) are in the race for the post. The BJP fielded senior party leader S Suresh Kumar as its candidate for the post of the Assembly Speaker, apparently to force a trial of strength before the HD Kumaraswamyled Government seeks a vote of confidence. Suresh Kumar is a fifth term legislator and filed his nomination papers before Assembly Secretary S Murthy at the Vidhana Soudha. After the May 12th Assembly elections the State went through a political turmoil as the Karnataka voters gave a fractured mandate for a hung Assembly. In the process BJP s Yeddyurappa with 104 elected representatives to form the Government but before floor test resigned as he could not muster the support of 111 MLAs. But ending a political upheaval Congress with 78 New Socialist Alternative activists stage a protest against the killings during the Tuticorin Vedanta resources plant and anti- Sterlite violence, in Bengaluru on Thursday CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 RAHUL TAKES... While we have nothing against accepting fitness challenge I urge you to accept the challenge to provide jobs to young, relief to farmers, promise of no violence against dalits & minorities. Would you accept my Sir? Yadav s tweet read. After accepting the fitness challenge thrown at him by the Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, Virat Kohli challenged another three people, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, teammate and former captain MS Dhoni and wife Anushka Sharma, to follow his lead. The fitness challenge #HumFitTohIndiaFit was started by the Information & Broadcasting Minister on Tuesday. Rathore, who is one of India s first individual Olympic medalists, tweeted a video doing push-ups and urged people to shoot a video of their fitness mantra and share it. He tagged Virat Kohli, badminton champion Saina Nehwal and actor Hrithik Roshan for the challenge #HumFitTohIndiaHit. Modi is known for his love for yoga and his Government has, in the past four years, pulled out all the stops to celebrate International Yoga Day on June 21. The NaMo app has many 3D videos of the Prime Minister doing yoga asanas. The Fit India movement was initiated by Modi in March. He even talked about the movement in his Mann Ki Baat radio talk in April and released a 3Danimated video of himself depicting the Trikonasana posture. A fitness freak by his own admission, Virat accepted the challenge and proceeded to do his favourite exercise --the spider planks as he joined the fitness movement. He posted a video doing 20 spiders and challenged three people to take over the baton and continue the movement in their own way and tweeted, I have accepted the #FitnessChallenge sir. Now I would like to challenge my our ji Bhai for the same. #HumFitTohIndiaFit #ComeOutAndPlay. Virat is not the first to answer the challenge. Rathore s initiative has garnered positive response from a plethora of Indian personalities, including Saina Nehwal, actor Manoj Tiwari, Salman Khan, Tiger Shroff, wrestler Babita Phogat, para-badminton player Manasi Joshi and many more, all of whom have shared their fitness videos on twitter. The campaign earned praise from tennis champion Sania Mirza, who tweeted, When was the last time we saw a Minister do this??? Coolest leading by example.. congratulations on this #FitnessChallenge Sir.. here s to a brighter and healthier India.. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also shared a video of himself doing exercise in his office. He challenged actor Salman Khan, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu and TV actress Saumya Tandon. Hrithik replied to Rathore with a video of riding a bicycle and said that this was how he travelled to work every day. This initiative makes me so proud! Bravo. #HumFitTohIndiaFit #FitnessChallenge this is how I commute to my office every day. Sitting static in a car is such a waste. Walk, cycle, jog, feel the earth, feel India get FIT! tweeted Hrithik. DEATHS LEAVE... The State Home Secretary ordered the telecom companies to suspend internet services in the three district of Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari following widespread transmission of fake video materials and messages. A pall of gloom is discernible among industrialists and corporate heads because of the Thoothukudi incidents. The DMK-led Opposition has called a dawn-to-dusk Tamil Nadu Bandh on Friday. The announcement was made late Wednesday night after a marathon meeting of the Opposition alliance. On Thursday morning, DMK president MK Stalin rushed to the Secretariat and staged massive protest in front of the Chief Minister s Office. The DMK scion wanted the Chief Minister to resign immediately owning moral responsibility for Tuesday s unprovoked and unjustified police firing at the innocent protesters. Police guarding the Secretariat and legislative Assembly had to physically lift the fragile looking Stalin who was later arrested by police for trying to block the road to Fort Saint George. Speaking to reporters, the Chief Minister said, We have received reports that police fired in self-defence. The Government has appointed a retired High Court judge to prove the factors that led to the police action. Let the probe be over. Interestingly, former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram was one of the directors of Vedanta Resources, the owners of Sterlite Copper, during the period when the PTI company managed to get clearance certificates from various regulatory bodies. Chidambaram, the Congress strongman, resigned from the company in May 2004 following his appointment as the Union Finance Minister. How Sterlite Copper managed to get the approval for its first copper smelter unit is shrouded in mystery, according to Fatima Babu, the leader of the agitation against the company. Pon Radhakrishnan, Union Minister of State for Finance said here on Thursday the BJP was against setting up of the company in Tamil Nadu. I myself sat on fast against the Sterlite Copper and was arrested by police, said Radhakrishnan while speaking to reporters. The immediate fall out of the Sterlite agitation would be felt in the industrialisation process of Tamil Nadu, according to leaders of various trade and industries boards. The Thoothukudi incidents would have an adverse bearing on the State s industrialisation, said S Rathinavelu, vice president, Tamil Chamber of Commerce and Industry. CBI LENS... The inaction by the Income Tax officials surfaced after the CBI recently raided and interrogated journalist Upendra Rai. Interestingly, from Rai s office and home the CBI recovered several documents, which the Income Tax officers had seized from Nirav Modi s and Mehul Choksi s showrooms and premises. This shows that Rai was in touch with many Income Tax officials and was engaged in blackmailing high value purchasers who used black money to buy diamonds and jewellery from Nirav Modi, said a CBI official. Nirav was maintaining a huge list of his high value purchasers with details of blackwhite money transactions. This list was used by certain Income Tax officials to extort money from the high value purchasers in connivance with Rai, said the official. CBI OFFICIALS... Rajiv Singh is of 1993 batch, Prasad of 2003 batch and Rao of 2005 batch, a DOPT order issued on May 23 said. Singh, the joint Director of the Bank Securities and Fraud Cell (BSFC) of the CBI were heading all banking fraud probes. PNS THREATS TO... Similar messages were sent to MLAs in Rajasthan, Bhopal and New Delhi. The SIT was set up on the direction of Chief MLAs supported JDS with just 37 MLAs. The formation of coalition of Congress JD(S) to keep the BJP away made HD Kumaraswamy of the JDS 25th chief minister of the State. The swearing in ceremony has become a new platform for opposition unity where galaxy of opposition leaders descended to fight Modi-Shah Combine in the ensuing 2019 polls. Kumaraswamy with 117 coalition MLAs of the JDs and the Congress will prove his majority on the floor of the house after the election of the speaker. He requires only 112 and he will sail through with 117 against the BJP s 104. As anticipated there will not be any surprises as parties have issued whip to vote for their MLAs. This will end the ordeal of the MLAs of the Congress and the JDs who are herded in Hisar: A suspended Women Police Station SHO in Hisar, accused of running a honeytrap racket, is still on the run ever since Haryana vigilance officials caught her driver red-handed accepting bribe. Hisar police had recently suspended the SHO, Saroj Bala, for trapping men with her honey-trapping team and extorting money on threat of slapping false rape cases. Three weeks back, her driver Surender was nabbed by the Haryana Vigilance with wads of cash collected from her victims. By the time he spilled the beans, the SHO had vanished. According to Inspector Dharambir Dahiya, investigations by the Vigilance Bureau revealed that Saroj Bala had hired a team of young women Minister Yogi Adityanath, who took strong note of the threats. The MLAs who got the messages include Veer Vikram Singh of Meeranpur Katra (Shahjahanpur), Manvendra Singh of Dadraul (Shahjahanpur), Prem Prakash Pandey of Tarabganj (Gonda), Vinay Kumar Dwivedi of Mehnam (Gonda), Vinod Katiyar of Bhognipur (Kanpur), Shahshank Trivedi of Mahauli (Sitapur), Anita Rajput of Debai (Bulandshahr) and Dhirendra Bahadur Singh of Sareni (Rae Bareli). The threats provided the opposition with enough armoury to corner the Yogi Adityanath government and attack the law and order situation. No one is secure in the present regime. The MLAs are being threatened of dire consequences. There is no law and order in the state, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted. Congress spokesman Arun Prakash levelled the same charge saying that threat to legislators exposed the tall claims of the BJP government. Meanwhile, DIG (Law and Order) Pravin Kumar also told reporters that prima facie, it appeared to be the handiwork of some mischief makers. resorts and posh hotels. In another development ahead of floor test, BJP s strongman BS Yeddyurappa has invited disgruntled congressmen to join BJP. Coming down on the Congress and regional party leaders for ganging up against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the oath taking ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister in the city, Yeddyurappa said it would make no difference and the BJP would win all 28 Lok Sabha seats from the state in the 2019 elections. Claiming that the friendship between the Congress and JD(S) would not last three months, he said if the Assembly was dissolved at this very moment, the BJP would get over 130 seats in the state. Over 90 per cent of Congress MLAs are unhappy with the JD(S) and can any time switch Honey-trapper woman SHO takes to heels Delhi power demand surges to 5,863 MW STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI ith temperature soaring, Wpeak power demand in the national Capital on Thursday touched to 5,863 MW and expected to touch 6,079 MW in next few days. According to BSES official, Delhi's peak power demand in June may breach the 7,000 MW mark. Last summers, it was recorded 6,526 MW, highest everrecorded in the national capital. Tata Power Delhi Distribution (Tata Power-DDL) which supplies power to over seven million consumers in North Delhi, registered1705 MW power demand on Wednesday. The demand is expected to touch 1750 MW in next few days, a senior Tata Power-DDL official said. Sanjay Banga, CEO of Tata Power-DDL, said, "As the meteorological department has forecasted an extremely hot summers, we are expecting the peak power demand to reach 1850 MW in our area." The demand will be met through our long-term tieups and other suitable arrangements amounting to around 2,200MW. who would target gullible men, approach them on the phone, get intimate and call them to a hotel. Thus trapped, they would be threatened with a rape complaint. At this juncture, the SHO would step in and agree to settle the matter in lieu of money, at times running into lakhs. The racket was busted on the complaint of Bhiwani resident Rajesh, a hotel manager. Contacted by a Sirsa woman on the phone, Rajesh arrived at a hotel in Hisar on April 26 to meet her. Hours later, he received a call from the SHO, saying a rape complaint had been filed against him. I met the SHO who sought Rs 3 lakh to settle the matter. I approached hotel owner Yogesh, who was an acquaintance. Agencies Man, son held for `28-crore GST evasion PTI n NEW DELHI father-son duo has been Aarrested by GST officers for tax evasion of `28 crore, marking the first arrest in the national Capital under the new indirect tax regime. The Shahdarabased duo was held on May 22 for issuing invoices fraudulently, a Finance Ministry statement said. The arrest was made by the Central Tax, GST Delhi, East Commissionerate. The case involved fraudulent issuance of Input Tax Credit invoices involving evasion of approximately `28 crore relating to copper industry, the ministry said. Searches were conducted at several places during which various incriminating documents and evidence were found. Investigation revealed involvement of the two individuals, the statement said. They were arrested under Section 69 (1) of CGST Act and were remanded to 14-day judicial custody. As per Section 132 of the CGST Act, issuance of an invoice or bill without supply of goods and wrongful availment or utilisation of input tax credit is a cognizable and nonbailable offence if the amount involved is over `5 crore. ABHINAV SINGH n NEW DELHI ut of over 1,85,000 regis- for the Delhi Otrations University (DU) Undergraduate (UG) courses for academic session , maximum are from Delhi. The national Capital is followed by Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar and Jharkhand respectively. While UG registrations from Delhi have crossed 50,000, more than 30,000 registrations have been received from Uttar Pradesh alone followed by more than 15,000 from Haryana, 6,000 plus from Bihar and more than 2,000 registrations from Jharkhand, said DU official. The online registrations for the UG courses of DU started on May 15 and the last date for registration is June. The first cut-off for the meritbased UG courses will be announced on June 19 and over to the BJP, he warned. In a changed heart towards former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Yeddyurappa said former Chief Minister was ditched by the Congress high command although he had single-handedly ensured the victory of 78 of its MLAs with the support of his Kuruba community. He said the Congress had forgotten Siddaramaiah s contribution and was being disrespectful to his Kuruba community by joining hands with the JD(S) in an unholy alliance. His sudden sympathy for the former Chief Minister after the bitter battle the two recently fought in the just concluded Assembly elections experts say he is taking advantage of Siddaramaiah being sidelined in the Congress and also gain the backing of the Kuruba community himself. OMER FAROOQ n HYDERABAD ild rumours on social Wmedia about inter-state gangs of child-lifters and kidnappers have created such a panic in the two States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh that the furious mobs were attacking anybody who looks suspicious to them. While in two such incidents in Nizamabad and Yadadri districts of Telangana resulted in lynching of two persons, a woman was seriously injured when a mob attacked her at Repalle railway station in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh last night. Situation has taken such a grim turn that it forced the police chiefs in both the States to come out with a public warning against believing such rumors or fake forwards on WhatsApp. Andhra Pradesh director general of police Malakondaiah who visited Repalle Railway station and also spoke to the victim of the mob attack in Guntur government hospital said that the police have already detained some people who were spread rumors on social media. Those who indulge in violence on the basis of such rumors will face Rohith Vemula s mother sends condolence to Dattatreya on son s death OMER FAROOQ n HYDERABAD ormer Union Minister and Fsenior BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya, in deep shock over the death of his only 21 years old son Vaishnav, received an unusual condolence message that read, I know the pain when someone lost their son (sic). The sender was Radhika Vemula, a Dalit activist whose son Rohith Vemula, a research scholar had committed suicide in Hyderabad Central University hostel on January 16, 2016 allegedly due to the caste discrimination and harassment. Radhika in her message posted on the Facebook said, My deepest condolences to These are baseless rumours being spread through social media. Police is alert and we will take action against those spreading such rumors M Mahender Reddy stringent action, he said. An attempt to murder case will be booked who attacked the woman last night, he said. He warned people against taking law into their hand because of any rumor. The DGP asked the people to inform the police if they see any suspicious person and not to attack him or her. Meanwhile in Hyderabad Telangana director general of police M Mahender Reddy denied that any inter-state gang of kidnappers was on the prowl. These are baseless rumours being spread through social Dattatreya s son died following cardiac arrest at his home on Tuesday night Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya and his family from the bottom of my heart. In her broken English she wrote, as I know the pain when someone lost their son, I hope you will fine. Sorry for you loss. Jai Bheem. Dattatreya s son died following cardiac arrest at his home on Tuesday night. Dattatreya, who was a Minister of State in the Modi Cabinet at the time of Rohith Vemula s suicide, figured among the four accused in the case of driving him to suicide. In Telangana, AP, rumours incite mob to target anyone suspicious STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI 25-year-old man, along Awith his three associates, has been arrested by the Cyber Cell of the Shahdara district for luring innocent people into sharing their bank account details and cheating them of lakhs. Senior police officials said, During the course of investigation, the accused are using twenty different banks accounts for transaction and same has been blocked by the investigating agency. During this process we have blocked `3 lakh in their accounts. DCP Shahdara Nupur Prasad said, We have arrested Ram Kumar Mandal, the kingpin, Purnanand Tiwari, Shabir Ali and Surendra Singh. With their arrest, we have recovered two laptops, four smart phones, six keypad phone, `75000, silver coins, silver ornaments subsequent cut-offs later on. DU this year will come up with 5 cut-offs only. After the announcement of each cut-off, three-day time (including the day on which cut-off will be announced) will be given to the aspirants for document verification, approval of admission and payment of fee. The fifth and the last cutoff will tentatively come on July 12. The number of registrations for UG courses have already crossed 1,85,000 with total merit-based application being more than 1,15,000 and entrance-based applications being more than 45,500. With total male applicants being close to 77,000 and total women applicants close to 65,000. While there are more than 35 applicants registered under the other category. While Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class XII results are expected by the end of this month, maximum registrations are from the students of CBSE board. In terms of number of registrations board-wise, CBSE tops the chart followed by UP Board and then Indian School Certificate (ISC) Class XII of Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination media. Police is alert and we will take action against those spreading such rumors, he told the media. In both the incidents at Bhimgal in Nizamabad and in Bibinagar in Yadadri districts innocent people were killed. When the mob caught and questioned them they could not give satisfactory reply and they were beaten up, he said adding that the police will take action against those responsible for such incidents. The DGP said that the police patrolling was being intensified in remote areas and the field level officers were asked to identify the mentally imbalanced persons and beggars in villages and move them to safer places. In Jiyapally village of Bibinagar locals beat up an auto rickshaw driver to death suspecting him to be the member of a gang of kidnappers. He was identified as N Balakrishna from Korremula village in nearby Ghatkesar and was visiting his brother s family in the village. In other similar incident under Pahadishareef police station in Hyderabad one person was beaten up by local people. While police booked a case against the perpetrators, the victim of the attack escaped. 4 held for online bank fraud DU UG admissions 185K apply, highest from Delhi STATE Delhi 50,000 + Uttar Pradesh 30,000 + Haryana 15,000+ Bihar 6,000+ Jharkhand 2,000 + BOARD CBSE 90,000+ UP Board 8,000+ ISC 5,000+ Number of registrations state wise and board wise and cheque books. The gang was busted after the police received a complaint from a 78-year-old woman, a resident off Anand Vihar in March who stated that she was duped by unidentified people of `1.85 lakhs after she received a call from a man posing as an RBI official. The man claimed that he can help her in linking her Aadhar card and duped of the amount. To solve the case, a team of the Cyber Cell under Additional DCP 2 Rajeev Kumar started investigation. During initial enquiry, they managed to recovered around Rs 40,000 from different e-wallets.in depth surveillance of these e-wallets led cops to the owner of one e-wallet, Surendar Singh. He told police that he used to help people of Rajasthan in paying their electricity bills through e-wallets. Singh was arrested. he revealed that he used to obtain the bills in bulk through whatsapp or mai from one Shabir Ali, who took commission. For which, he used to take a five per cent commission. The money was transferred through IMPS/NEFT or cash to Shabir Ali. Then accused Shabir Ali used to send all the customer details to Purnanand Kumar Tiwari for the online electricity payment by using the cheated amount available into the suspected E- Wallets. The details of the alleged e-wallets were given by their kingpin, Ram Kumar Mandal, said Prasad. Prasad said, At the instance of Surendar Singh, Shabir Ali was arrested from Bikaner Rajasthan. He revealed that he came in touch with Mukesh who suggested that they use illegal money stored in e-wallets to pay online bills. (CISCE). According to the DU official, there are more than 90,000 registrations from the students of CBSE. More than 8,000 registrations are from UP Board while more than 5,000 from ISC, followed by other boards. According to the DU official, BA (Hons) English still top the chart followed by BA (Hons) Economics, BA(Hons) Political Science and then BCom (Hons) respectively. The DU is planning to put all the details regarding data on admissions over its website very soon. The DU official said that this will bring more transparency and accountability in the system. The tabulated data will display the top 5 of every parameter i.e. number of applicants state-wise, board-wise, course-wise etc. and would be updated at 5 pm every day.

8 opinion 08 paper with passion Permutations anew Let s look at the State-wise index of Opposition unity/disunity in the wake of signals from Bangalore T he galaxy of leaders who attended the swearing-in ceremony of JDS's HD Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister of Karnataka at the head of a coalition with the Congress has certainly, and justifiably, put a spring in the step of the Opposition. The perfectly valid premise of anti-bjp regional parties, the Left and Congress is that electoral mathematics, if the main Opposition parties in each State have some sort of arrangement in place to take the BJP in one-on-one contests as far as possible, will trump Narendra Modi's allegedly waning charisma and Amit Shah's much-vaunted election machine which may be together termed electoral chemistry. Whether this will work or not will, naturally, only be tested in the 2019 General Election. But a dekko at the current state of play in major States should provide grounds for a reasonable prognosis of how matters may develop. Let's first look at those leaders of non-bjp parties who were not in Bangalore Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao of the TRS, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik of the BJD, MK Stalin of the DMK and the Chautalas of the INLD. Put together the States of Tamil Nadu (39), Orissa (21), Telangana (17) and Haryana (10) send 87 MPs to the Lok Sabha. KCR and Patnaik's reluctance to reveal their cards at this stage is perfectly understandable as in both States while the BJP is in the ascendant the Congress is still their main Opposition. As for the DMK, it is likely to ally with the winning side post-2019 it has been part of both the UPA and the NDA in the past if it gets the numbers which look likely keeping in mind the increasing unpopularity of the ruling AIADMK. Additionally, the Rajinikanth factor may also be in play in Tamil Nadu depending on the number of seats his party contests/wins. In Haryana, where the BJP is ruling, the INLD and Congress are locked in a battle to be the main Opposition. These States, therefore and provided nothing changes, will have a low index of Opposition unity in The next bunch of major States we need to examine are those where there is a direct contest likely between the Congress and the BJP in the main. These include Punjab (13), Rajasthan (25), Madhya Pradesh (29), Chhattisgarh (11), Gujarat (26), North-east States including Assam (25), Himachal Pradesh (4) and Uttarakhand (5) which total of 138 Lok Sabha seats. Even assuming the BSP which has decent pockets of support in Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, and also AAP in Punjab, agree to a seamless seat-adjustment with the Congress to prevent a split in Opposition votes, these will be very keenly fought States in the General Election. The Opposition's assessment is that there is no way the BJP, which made a virtual clean sweep of these States in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll, can do even half as well this time around. But it must also be remembered that these are what can be termed saffron strongholds and there is a reason why they backed Modi so strongly. BJP insiders argue that while losses for the party could be expected in the Assembly polls in some of these States, in the Lok Sabha with a ek sher, sau langur redux campaign in place and Modi-for-PM on offer, these stronghold States will back the BJP strongly again. For the above 225 Lok Sabha seats, therefore, the index of Opposition unity and/or the relative weakness of the Opposition may give the BJP some breathing space. It is in the remaining 318 Lok Sabha seats mainly from Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where the Opposition's index of unity could be high if the turnout in Bangalore on Wednesday is any indication. That should worry the BJP. End of an era AB de Villiers will be missed, but it may be the right time for him to move on A braham Benjamin de Villiers could well have been remembered as another player in a long line of extremely successful Afrikaner cricket players in South Africa. But he was not just an ordinary player, the very fact that he chose cricket over the multitude of sports he excelled at as a schoolboy speaks volumes about his talent and the popularity of the sport among young boys from the Afrikaner community, in part inspired by the success of the South Africa team following its readmission into cricket as well as Afrikaner players like Hansie Cronje, who would later be disgraced in a betting scandal. That was possibly a cautionary tale for the emerging ABD as his fans would call him, and he along with most South Africans of his generation went on to have a squeaky-clean reputation. His retirement from international cricket while a surprise was on the cards after he took a two-year hiatus from the Test side and returned for the India and Australia series earlier this year. He was criticised by some in South Africa for picking and choosing which series he wanted to play in, although he had a pivotal role in helping the Proteas win both series. Many aficionados however did expect him to stay on the one-day international team until the 2019 World Cup in England and help South African cricket achieve the one goal that they have failed at in the 20-odd years after being readmitted into the sport, that is to lift an international trophy. In fact, the Proteas have acquired a reputation as chokers in the sport, exemplified by the 1999 World Cup semi-final between South Africa and Australia where the Proteas snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. By calling time on his career ahead of the 2019 World Cup, ABD might feel that he is giving South African cricket, which possibly has the most racially inclusive team of any South African sporta chance to blood some new talent. It also possibly highlights his feeling that South Africa stands little chance of winning the tournament. At the same time, the lucre from the proliferation of global T20 cricket leagues is too much to ignore for even someone like him. ABD s popularity in his adopted Indian home-town of Bengaluru is second only to Virat Kohli, and his appearance in several Indian advertising campaigns is proof that he is one of those rare international players genuinely admired across India. A recently catch he took on the boundary during the Indian Premier League where he was dubbed as Spiderman only served to enhance his popularity. However, no matter how popular franchise T20 cricket becomes, international cricket remains the big daddy of the sport, and it will be a pity to see ABD not wear the Protea logo anymore. It shouldn't be all about the money Elected representatives as well as the bureaucracy are immersed in corruption because scant attention is paid to ensuring greater transparency AJOY KUMAR T he recent Assembly election in Karnataka and the drama that ensued highlighted a number of features of our colourful democracy. The episode brought to the fore disregard of constitutional conventions and abdication of duties by a Governor but at the same time (due to a timely intervention by the Supreme Court) highlighted what a crucial role our institutions play in ensuring that the light of democracy remains bright. The entire episode especially showcased one of the more disappointing facets of our democratic process: The influence of money in politics. This was especially evident during the 48 hours leading up to the trust vote in the Vidhan Soudha as ordered by the Supreme Court. During this intervening period, there were incessant efforts to lure the MLAs from the Congress and the JD(s) so that the Congress-JD(S) alliance loses the trust vote and the BJP's blatant attempts to subvert the democratic process are successful. Money, unfortunately, is an ubiquitous element of the political process in India. It often serves as the primary resource employed to win an election as well as the primary motivator behind getting elected. Unfortunately, this is a feature that cuts across all parties and therefore only if the citizens of the country demand more from their elected representatives and their political parties, can India dream of becoming a prosperous, egalitarian and modern democracy. In this week's article I will examine how money affects the political process and what are the ways in which we, as citizens, can demand more from our politicians. What also warrants examination in this column is how the current government, which harped about being a party that aims to fight corruption, has categorically failed in meeting this objective. One of the ways in which money is involved in politics is during an election. The General Election in 2014 cost an estimated $5 billion. This would make it one of the costliest elections ever in the history of the world. In order to check the influence that money can have on the election process, the Election Commission (EC) introduced caps on the amount of money that can be spent by a candidate including a `70 lakh-limit during the election campaign. This limit that has been set by the EC is disconnected from reality, as the amounts that are involved in a typical election campaign are much larger. Furthermore, while the EC may be able to keep a track on expenses by a candidate relating to hoardings, hosting a rally etc., smaller expenses and the prohibited use of funds towards purchasing of alcohol SOUNDBITE I don t think we need to be embarrassed about acknowledging that our party is facing a funding crunch. We should call on all concerned citizens to help us face the moneybags of the BJP. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor The US has no role in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan despite Islamabad seeking third party intervention by Washington. Top American South Asia expert Alyssa Ayres When I came into the industry, I was a minority, I was a lone ranger, trying to do films that I believed in, but the market did not believe in it and a host of people also did not believe in it. Actor Aamir Khan It will be erroneous to underestimate the BJP s strength and facile to think that electoral tactics alone would be enough to defeat it. A clear-eyed view of the way to fight against the BJP-RSS forces is essential. Former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat often pass under the radar. Additionally, while such limits have been placed on a candidate, currently there are no limits that a party can spend on a particular election campaign. This is a bizarre exception as it incentivises political parties to spend their vast reserves on elections without any reservations or any consequence. The EC must recognize that in order to enable competent, honest people to participate in the election process, some of these basic loopholes need to be fixed. The next sphere where corruption is rampant and the influence of money is visible is in governance. This is applicable to both elected representatives as well as the bureaucracy. While there are laws in place that specifically deal with corruption by public officials, a large amount of attention is placed on prosecution of offences and very little attention has been given to ensuring greater transparency in the governance process. One way in which this may be done is by ensuring that not only should elected representatives/high ranking bureaucrats be required to disclose the increase in their assets on a year-on-year basis, but similar disclosures by the family members of such elected representatives must be ensured as well. This is because, while in positions of power, it is strange to see the stark transformation of family members of elected representatives/high ranking LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Legendary writer Sir The death of American literary giant, Philip Roth, the most prolific American novelist who was considered as one of the most formidable figures in modern American post-war literature, has saddened one and all. Though the Nobel Prize eluded him, he rightly deserved it. Nevertheless, he had almost every major literary prize, like the Pulitzer Prize, Man Booker International prize, Faulkner awards and the National Book awards to his name for his contributions to English literature. Philip Roth was among the last of major galaxy of writers who were raised without television, social media and who believed in engaging readers through their work. He will be best remembered as one of the most celebrated authors of his generation. Ramesh G Jethwani Bengaluru Game on Sir This refers to the article, An election with no winner (May 24) by Bindu Dalmia. Since every election is a semi-final to the 2019 General Election, then the result to the election in Karnataka has opened the flood gates for parties to attain power, by hook or crook. It is a general belief in the country that whosoever wins the Karnataka election, loses the General Election the following year and history coincides with this. But this year s result, with a fractured mandate, has thrown bureaucrats from regular earning members of society to massive accumulators of wealth. Having such checks in place will help ensure that honest candidates occupy positions of power and influence in our democracy. This in turn will help ensure that the demands of transparence and honesty flow down the chain of command because an honest, competent representative/official will be keen to ensure that the others under their command too adhere to the moral demands of their post. In terms of how the BJP has dealt with the issue of corruption, the past few years make for grim viewing. In the Karnataka election itself, the entire nation saw the BJP make attempts to "induce" other MLAs to either not participate in the trust vote at the floor of the House or switch over to the BJP. Rumours regarding figures running into hundreds of crores and alleged phone conversations recording such offers were played repeatedly on television. The government has actually diluted laws that are aimed at curbing corruption. Just take the case of the Lok Pal, which the government has failed to appoint till now despite a clear direction by the Supreme Court to do so. In addition, the BJP Government has made it easier to prosecute the bribe-giver but made it harder to prosecute the bribe-taker through Deaths in Sterlite protests highlight indifference T his refers to the editorial, Vested interests (May 25). The cold-blooded carnage in Thoothukudi marked the culmination of the Government s mishandling of the 100-day-old protest against the Sterlite plant and exemplified the terrible cost of political indifference to people s struggles for protecting lives and livelihoods in death and suffering. For crowd control or disbursement, the police neither issued warning nor used tear gas and rubber bullets. They opened fire indiscriminately on unarmed civilians. One school girl was reported to have been shot at in her mouth at close range for arguing with the police. The police action was nothing short of state brutality. It was an avoidable overreaction that no democracy could countenance. By now, it is evident that the Government is siding with a rapacious corporate behemoth, Vedanta, the firm that runs the copper smelting plant. It refused to defer to the demand of the people and shut down the toxic plant for which there is a strong case. The harmful effects of pollution on health and the contamination of groundwater with arsenic have been amply documented. The right to clean air and water is an extension of the Constitutionally right to life. If the Government entails the closure of this life-threatening plant, it has to be done forthwith. G David Milton Maruthancode its amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act. The government has also proposed changes in provisions of the Whistleblower Protection Act reducing the likelihood of possible scams being disclosed by whistleblowers. In addition to these changes, this Government has through the introduction of the electoral bonds scheme actually made the process of funding political parties less transparent than it was before. All these changes have been introduced while Prime Minister Modi talks about undertaking "special initiatives" to end corruption by We must recognize that the basic reason for corruption in our political process is the huge amount of money that influences politics in our country. In order to minimize corruption, we must take steps to reduce the influence of money in the political process and a responsible government must take a firm stand on the issue and show its citizens how it intends achieve this objective. In this regard, I must admit that while I have often said that this BJP government is an all talk and no action government, it appears that in the case of increasing the influence of money and corruption in politics this government has been hyper active. (The writer, Jharkhand PCC president, is a former MP and IPS officer. Views expressed are personal) no winners, rather the losers stood tall. Moreover, HD Kumaraswamy s oath ceremony has shown a glimpse into the 2019 election and how the alliance factory is going to resist the Modi juggernaut. The role and the institution of the President can be of supreme importance in the future due to a prediction of a coalitionled Government and who would he invite to form it. With foe becoming friends in West Bengal (Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India), Uttar Pradesh (Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party), Maharashtra (Congress and Nationalist Congress Party), the possibility of a Federal Front has manifolded with an acceptance of Congress-led Rahul Gandhi leading from the front. The Amit Shah school of election management, which has India s most formidable election machinery, has realised that their politics of attaining power at any cost can boomerang in the upcoming State elections and, hence, BS Yeddyurappa resigned even before the floor test took place. The BJP rides on the clean image of Prime Minister Modi and reverts every rhetoric of the Congress with the numerous scams of the latter. Somewhere, the BJP feels they might be able to do a Bihar in Karnataka but lately, the Congress has also started working with local leaders, making way for an anti-bjp wave. Nischai Vats Sultanpur Send your feedback to: letterstopioneer@gmail.com

9 3rdeye 09 Challenge accepted, Virat Kohli. I will be sharing my Fitness Challenge Hum Fit Toh India Fit video soon. Prime Minister NARENDRA MODI Apublic lecture by HE Luhut Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia on Indonesia s Maritime Policy and Thinking of ways forward for India- Indonesia as Maritime Neighbours on May 17, organised by the Nehru Memorial Library and Museum, envisaged a plethora of strategic scenarios where India can choose to play a significant role in the region. In fact, the South China Sea (SCS) dispute has prompted a re-look at India as a balancing factor. Besides drawing a wide canvas of India s probable roles, Luhut Pandjaitan substantiated all components of foreign policy of Indonesia, which provide congenial environment for India, to forge stronger economic and strategic ties. He also highlighted common issues such as poverty and terrorism faced by the two countries. His visit to India is important as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to make a three-day visit to Indonesia later this month in reciprocation to the recent visit by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The Prime Minister s upcoming visit will bring both the countries closer as a number of agreements are on the cards. Among the known agendas, as revealed by Luhut Pandjaitan, is that Modi will lay the foundation stone for a hospital at the Sabang port which is the westernmost coastal location of Sumatra Province and is strategically perceived to be important for both countries. Prime Minister Modi is also expected to announce several investments to strengthen the Sabang Port and its economic zone, which, with its deep harbour, is capable of hosting submarines along with other Naval vessels. This development is seen to be accentuating India s probable role as a balancer in the region amid brewing unstable situation in the SCS through which an annual trade of $5.3 trillion passes and where the People s Republic of China (PRC) has continuously been installing several strategic bases in an attempt to build its war effort in the SCS. The precedence of the Chinese establishment in SCS shows PRC s adamant behaviour and closely echoes a popular Indian proverb: If an elephant passes through a market, barking of dogs is natural. Indonesia is itself facing issues with its Natuna islands located in the southern part of SCS which were partially claimed by the PRC. China also had a tiff with the Indonesian Navy in Though, according to Luhut Pandjaitan, situation is now under control, it seems he is not fully convinced as the Exclusive Economic ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY I t is extremely worrying that nearly 60 million Indians are pushed into poverty because they are, unfortunately, compelled to shell out half of their annual household expenditure to meet medical needs, especially when it comes to hospitalisation. Even after 70 years of independence, there is no real health insurance scheme for 80 per cent of the Indian population. One of the major healthcare scheme, Ayushman Bharat, announced by the Union Government in this year s Budget, is as a game-changer. It aims to ensure better healthcare to the people, particularly from the lower strata of the society. The scheme has two components the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission (PMRSSM) and health and wellness centres. The United by shared values Zone (EEZ), off the coast of Natuna, is partially within China s SCS claim, which is indicated by the so-called Nine-Dash Line. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), whose basic agenda was to promote political and economic cooperation and regional stability, never achieved a consensus on any commonly perceived external security threat. This because each and every country in the region reels under different kinds of pressures, either economic or strategic, mounted by the PRC. In reality, they are reeling under diplomatic pressure, which the PRC has augmented in recent years by seriously engaging directly with individual countries in the region at different levels ie, bilateral trade, investments, political and domestic affairs as well. Some global think-tanks term the formation of Asean as a security community since no significant war has taken place among themselves. The reason for the Asean being a peaceful place may be attributed to Indonesia, the largest country in the region which suffered for 32 years under the dictatorship of Suharto who was rather an inward-looking person and depended mostly upon the US for its external security issues. The rest of Asean nations were concerned with domestic issues such as insurgency, political instability, economic stability and state-building. Another factor that has prevented Asean from becoming a security community is non-interference in each other s internal affairs which is its sacred principle. POINTCOUNTERPOINT The second factor was proved by the experience of the two countries in the region viz Philippines and Vietnam, who are major stakeholders in the SCS and are equally bullied by the PRC. However, they hardly found any shoulder from Asean to support their genuine claims. This was clear when the Hague Ruling (under Article 287, Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) debunked the PRC s so-called historical claim on the SCS and the islands that it encompasses. Silence on SCS issues, exhibited by the Asean, emboldens PRC s claim and that s the primary reason why China continues its belligerence, giving a signal that it was completely immune to all external factors, including world public opinion in this regard. It has increased its patrolling, construction and military installations with upgraded surveillance equipment in the SCS, created fierce geopolitical tensions among big powers and uncertainty among nations in the region. The paradox is that all Southeast Asian (SEA) nations, even those who do not stake claim to the SCS, are directly or indirectly going to be impacted with the PRC standing vigilant just across its doorstep. On the outcome of the Hague verdict, Philippines, with its allies, was in a celebrating mood while other claimants seemed sceptical in displaying public cheer. The outcome, which was already feared by the countries of SEA before the Hague verdict, was visible in their statements from day one. PMRSSM, a mega healthcare scheme, aims to provide free health treatment up to five lakh rupees to the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. More than 10 crore identified families, covering more than 50 crore, are entitled to benefit under this mission. For a focused approach and better implementation of the scheme, a dedicated society, called the National Health Agency (NHA), has been formed to administer and implement the PMRSSM under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. As a first step, to roll out the PMRSSM, several Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) have been signed between four States Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Union Territory of Chandigarh with the National Health Agency. Rest of the States are expected to follow suit soon. PMRSSM is expected to provide cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiary at both public and private empanelled hospitals across the country. There will be no capping on family size. This will ensure that all members of designated families, specifically girl child and senior citizens, get maximum coverage. Besides, preference is also being accorded to make woman as the head of the family to ensure gender justice. More than 1,300 medical packages have been defined, that covers surgery, medical and day care treatments, including medicines, diagnostics, among others. The PMRSSM is designed on entitlement basis. This means every family figuring in defined Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC), 2011 database will Here s one challenge for Narendra Modi: Reduce fuel prices or the Congress will start a national agitation. Congress president RAHUL GANDHI India and Indonesia are big powers on two sides of the Indian Ocean. Together, they can play a balancing role in an unstable region amid brewing tensions in the South China Sea GAUTAM KUMAR JHA India s swift handling of the Doklam issue with the PRC followed by Modi s recent visit to PRC and his continuous efforts to balm the escalated injury exhibited by the Chinese military was taken as a role model for Asean countries. Their conviction towards India is getting stronger which is proved by an ever-increasing exchanges of leaders between India and Asean, especially with Indonesia. The change in India s Look East Policy to Act East Policy seems to be placed at the right time. Relationship between India and Indonesia is based upon deep shared culture and agama as Indonesian archipelago thrived under one umbrella of Indic fraternity, which is currently termed as the Indic Belt. However, post the formation of nation-states, both the countries got engaged in bigger power alliance politics, overlooking the power of cultural bonding between them. India could not take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations with Indonesia and other countries in the region. The foundation of Indian foreign policy under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru changed its course frequently and tilted more towards holding Western hands, post Chinese attack on India. In order to counter aggressive, and assertive hegemony of PRC, India marginalised its approach to strengthen relationship with smaller but strategically powerful nations in SEA at the cost of building economic and strategic blocs. On the other hand, the PRC utilised its diasporic presence in the Asean countries only to exhaust its industrial products, flooding the market with mundane products which could have been easily produced and marketed among themselves. Thus, leaving India far behind in terms of gross trade, PRC has emerged as a sole economic giant in the region. India s trade with Asean reached to $71 billion in 2017 while China s bilateral trade with Asean stood over 500 billion in In contrast to China-Asean trade relations, the Indian trade is not making any rapid growth. Luhut Pandjaitan called for stronger and balanced bilateral ties between the two countries. Aaccording to him, both countries are very large and powerful and share common maritime boundaries. Indonesia s westernmost Province, Aceh, is only 100 nautical miles, which translates into 45 miles away from India s Andaman Nicobar islands. This itself gives a great prospect with an abundance of possibilities of building economic bridge between the two countries. Sumatra islands of Indonesia seems to be flooded with huge deposits of coal, gas and minerals and India can tap the resources given its geographical proximity. To balance the trade deficit, Indonesia is expected to increase its import on pharma, IT, defence and meat products for which it is dependent on Australia and other Western countries as revealed by Luhut. (The writer is Assistant Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi) A game-changer in healthcare The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission is a path-breaking initiative of the Government that aims to provide medical insurance and make health services easily available to the poorest of the poor be entitled to claim benefit under the scheme. States will have an option to use an existing trust/society/not-for-profit organistaion or set up a new trust/society/ngo. States will also be at liberty to choose the modalities for implementation. They can implement scheme through insurance company or directly through the trust/society or a mixed model. Notably, a well-defined complaint and public grievance redressal mechanism will be instituted, actively utilising electronic, mobile platform, Internet as well as social media and robust safeguards to prevent misuse, fraud or abuse by providers and users. Pre-authorisation will be made mandatory for all tertiary care and selected secondary care packages. Almost 1.50 lakh primary healthcare centres across the country will be upgraded and well-equipped with diagnostics, drugs and doctors laying the foundation of India s new healthcare system. These centres aim for early detection of diseases. Universal health checkup will be ensured of every individual before they attain 30 years of age. The Government enlists cooperation of State Governments in the true spirit of cooperative federalism, insurance companies, hospitals and diagnostic centres, pharma companies, health fund managers and the corporates. This will transform Indian health sector in a significant manner as it will make healthcare easily accessible and effective to the poorest of the poor. It is the need of the hour. (The writer is Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare) Problem solving leadership Ever since it came to power, the Modi Government has used every single opportunity to deliver on the mandate given by the people D on t find fault, find a remedy a quote by Henry Ford best exemplifies the visionary and problem-solving leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who chose to find opportunities in adversities by treading a path that has been rarely travelled. SANJU VERMA While the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected India s GDP growth rate at 7.4 per cent and 7.8 per cent for and , the Asian Development Bank (ADB) projected it at 7.3 per cent and 7.6 per cent respectively. Indeed, the strongest endorsement of Modinomics comes from the Centre for Economics and Business Research's World Economic League Table Report of 2018 which states that this year, India, which currently has a GDP of $2.3 trillion, will overtake Britain at $2.65 trillion and France at $2.47 trillion, to become the fifth largest economy in the world in terms of dollar. Amongst the many firsts that the Narendra Modi-led Government can proudly take credit for, is the fact that today, all of India's 597,464 inhabited villages are electrified. Akodara village in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat is India's first digital village; Mawlynnong in Meghalaya is Asia's most swachh village, thanks to more than seven crore toilets that have been built under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on a war-footing. Bulumgavan village in the dense forests of Melghat in Maharashtra and Leisang in Manipur finally received electricity for the first time in 70 years. Tripura came onto India's broad guage map for the first time in 2016 despite becoming a State in 1972 and, of course, India joined an elite few like Russia, China, Germany and Sweden after Prime Minister Modi launched India's first 12,000 horsepower electric locomotive from Madhepura in Bihar on April 10, built jointly with French giant, Alstom, thereby showcasing the success of Make in India. What an irony that the Madhepura electric locomotive project, which had been conceived way back in 2007, suffered from policy paralysis and political apathy under the Congress-led UPA till the Modi Government decided to operationalise it. The added success of Make in India is evident from the fact that while there were only two mobile handset manufacturing factories in 2014, today, there are 120 such units with global behemoth Apple Inc using India to assemble its iphones. Also, for the first time ever, the Bogibeel road-rail bridge, connecting Dibrugarh in Assam with Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh, is not merely a resounding success of Make in India but a fitting case of how the Modi Government's indigenous Make in India is silently but surely strengthening India's defence logistics along the 4,000 km-long India-China border. Again, Modinomics has straddled effectively to bridge gender divide. This is best exemplified by the fact that gender disparity in terms of access to banking has fallen from 20 per cent to six per cent in 31 crore plus Jan Dhan accounts with deposits of more than `80,000 crore that have been opened in the last four years. Be it more than 3.53 crore women who have benefited from the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana or the fact that of more than 11 crore loans have been disbursed under the Mudra Yojana, more than 74 per cent of loans have been availed by women. Besides, there has been a rise in sanitation coverage from 39 per cent in 2013 to 83 per cent in 2018, with more than 300 districts in more than 16 States declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) for the first time ever in 70 years. The Modi dispensation has revolutionalised women, especially those in the rural hinterland, in more ways than one. The fact that the Modi Government built about 10,000 kms of highways in a single year in at the rate of 28-km per day, is a first' too. The Cabinet approval (October 2017) for building 83,677 km of highways in the next five years at a cost of `6.92 lakh crore is another instance of inclusive development based on Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, after a stupendous success on the renewable energy front, wherein, India is on track to add 175 GW by The fact that more than 30 crore LED bulbs have already replaced energyguzzling items and that we are on track to commission 77 crore LED bulbs in the next two years, which effectively means commercial savings of `40,300 crore including energy savings of 100 billion KWH every year, bodes well for an environment-friendly future. Again, the Moody's upgraded India's sovereign rating in November 2017 to Baa2 from Baa3 for the first time in 14 years. The fact that India moved up by 42 places in the World Bank's global ease of doing business rankings in the first 3.5 years of Modi's tenure and that India's forex reserves hit a lifetime high of $ billion in early April is also a ringing vindication of the stellar pace of reforms under Prime Minister Modi. Undoubtedly, from a fiscal deficit of 4.5 per cent and a current account deficit of 4.8 per cent in and estimated fiscal deficit of 3.3 per cent in and a current account deficit of just 0.7 per cent in , we have come a long way in terms of fiscal rectitude. This is a far cry from , when saddled with forex reserves of just $1.2 billion, India had to pledge 67 metric tonne of gold with the IMF to raise a paltry sum of $600 million. Numbers never lie and those who allege that the higher GDP trajectory is primarily because the calculation of GDP methodology has been changed from GDP at Factor cost to GDP at Market prices, should know that globally, GDP is primarily calculated using the market pricing method as it takes into account the impact of both indirect taxes and subsidies. In fact, internationally, countries have gone a step ahead and embraced a rolling base year' methodology which effectively means GDP base year changed every year. Speaking of subsidies, it is no mean a achievement that the Narendra Modi-led Government has, thanks to the DBT scheme and Aadhaar, saved `83,000 crore, covering 437 schemes by stripping out 3.5 crore fake LPG connections, 2.95 crore fake ration cards, 93 lakh ghost MNREGA accounts and over 13 lakh ghost farmer accounts. Bill Gates endorsing data privacy aspect of Aadhaar only reiterates what Section 32(3) and Section 17 (1)(A) of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, clearly ensures in terms of data privacy. It is said that the most regressive tax on the poor and the salaried is inflation as it erodes purchasing power. In November 2013, under the Manmohan Singh dispensaton, retail inflation and food inflation stood at 11.2 per cent and 14 per cent. For , average retail inflation stood at a six year low of 3.3 per cent and food inflation hovered between minus 2.1per cent and 1.5 per cent. This clearly showcases how Modinomics has decisively won the war on inflation. Even when fuel prices internationally rose by a good 24 per cent between June-October 2017, the price rise locally was capped at less than six per cent for both petrol and diesel. Speaking of transforming the lives of rural poor, in , 54 lakh homes are at various stages of completion. In , around lakh houses were built under the affordable housing scheme of the Modi dispensation that aims at providing housing for all by 2022 under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) and lakh homes built in Contrast this with the number of houses completed under the Indira Awaas Yojana ; only lakh homes were built in under the Manmohan Singh Government. However, the game-changing move that has empowered India's farming class like never before is the e-nam platform, which today hosts 585 large agri mandis, one lakh traders and 60,000 commission agents with more than 9.3 million farmers having sold more than 169 lakh tonne of farm produce worth more than `43000 crore in the last two years. Also, more than 18 lakh hectares that is now under the purview of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana and distribution of more than 10 crore neem coated soil health cards are measures that have truly empowered the farmers. (The writer is an Economist & Chief Spokesperson for BJP, Mumbai) (To be concluded)

10 Tech stocks spur market rebound; Sensex soars 318 points PTI n MUMBAI B enchmarks clawed back lost ground on Thursday as a weak rupee buoyed the appeal of technology shares amid a mixed trend overseas. The BSE Sensex surged over 318 points to close at 34,663.11, just a day after it had tumbled 306 points following a late-session sell-off. This is the benchmark s biggest single session gain since April 5, when it had surged points. The broader NSE Nifty too reclaimed the crucial 10,500-mark. Bargain hunting by investors following the recent market declines and unabated buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) supported the upmove, analysts said. TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies and L&T Infotech spurted up to 5.85 per cent as a weak rupee brightened the earnings outlook of Indian IT outsourcers. Global cues were mixed amid caution over US-China trade relations, with the US launching a national security probe into auto imports that could lead to new tariffs. However, minutes from the Federal Reserve s meeting reassured investors that the US central bank will not be too aggressive with raising interest rates. Back home, the BSE Sensex stayed in the positive terrain throughout the session and hit a high of 34, intra-day, before finishing at 34, showing a sharp rise of points, or 0.93 per cent. The broader NSE Nifty scaled a high of 10, before closing at 10,513.85, up points, or 0.80 per cent. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors bought shares worth a net ` crore, while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold equities worth ` crore on Wednesday, provisional data showed. Market reversed from day s low despite global trade worries as weak INR gave room for export oriented sectors to surge. Further, US Fed s softened comment on interest rate trajectory upheld investors sentiment, said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services. The SBI extended its gaining streak for the third straight session, climbing 2.01 per cent. Other lenders such as Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, PNB, Bank of Baroda, Kotak Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank and Federal Bank also ended in the green, rising up to 2.65 per cent. Bharti Airtel led the index gainers list, surging 4.11 per cent, followed by Infosys at 3.09 per cent. Other winners included TCS 3.08 per cent, Axis Bank 2.65 per cent, Sun Pharma 2.23 per cent, SBI 2.01 per cent, ICICI Bank 1.90 per cent, Tata Steel 1.70 per cent, Kotak Bank 1.57 per cent, M&M 1.49 per cent, HDFC Ltd 1.24 per cent, Dr Reddy s 1.20 per cent, HDFC Bank 1.17 per cent, Coal India 1.12 per cent, Asian Paints 0.94 per cent, L&T 0.86 per cent, IndusInd Bank 0.78 per cent, ITC 0.49 per cent, RIL 0.42 per cent, Wipro 0.36 per cent, Power Grid 0.33 per cent and Hero Motocorp 0.12 per cent. However, Tata Motors was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, declining 6.56 per cent, after the company on Wednesday reported a per cent decline in consolidated net profit at `2, crore for the March quarter with its British arm JLR continuing to face challenges in the UK and Europe. Vedanta remained under selling pressure and lost another 0.91 per cent in the aftermath of violent protests against the group s copper plant in Tuticorin. State-owned oil companies OIL, ONGC, HPCL and BPCL fell up to 6.83 per cent amid high crude oil prices. Among sectoral indices, IT gained the most by rising 2.45 per cent, followed by teck 2.37 per cent, bankex 1.41 per cent, metal 1 per cent, healthcare 0.99 per cent, FMCG 0.41 per cent and capital goods 0.29 per cent. However, oil and gas fell 1.72 per cent, auto 1.56 per cent, realty 0.49 per cent, consumer durables 0.32 per cent, infrastructure 0.32 per cent, power 0.22 per cent and PSU 0.08 per cent. Broader markets showed a weak trend, with the BSE mid-cap index falling 0.24 per cent and small-caps shedding 0.14 per cent. Coming to other Asian markets, Hong Kong s Hang Seng rose 0.31 per cent and Singapore gained 0.93 per cent, while Japan s Nikkei fell 1.11 per cent and Shanghai Composite shed 0.45 per cent. In the Eurozone, Frankfurt s DAX rose 0.06 per cent and Paris CAC gained 0.42 per cent in early deals. London s FTSE gained 0.10 per cent. MSI dominated PV segment in April with seven models in top 10 list New Delhi (PTI): Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) maintained its leadership position in the domestic passenger vehicles (PV) segment in April with seven of its models appearing in the top 10 selling list, and its premium hatchback Swift taking the top spot. Rival Hyundai Motor India also made its presence felt with three of its models featuring in the top ten list. According to the data compiled by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), 22,776 units of Swift were sold in April 2018 as against 23,802 units a year ago. The company s compact sedan Dzire was at the second position with 21,401 units sold. The previous version Dzire Tour saw sale of 8,606 units in April MSI s compact hatchback Alto was at the third position with sale of 21,233 units last month as against 22,549 units a year ago. Baleno was the fourth best-selling model in April 2018 with 20,412 units while Wagon R stood at the fifth position with sale of 16,561 units, against 16,348 units sold in April Rival Hyundai Motor India s Elite i20 stood at sixth position with sales of 12,369 units last month. Last year in April, the model had sold 12,668 units, occupying fifth position. Grand i10 stood at the seventh position with sale of 12,174 units. The model had stood at the sixth position with sale of 12,001 units in April last year. MSI s compact SUV Vitara Brezza took eighth position with 10,818 units sold, Celerio with 9,631 units was at ninth position while Hyundai Creta moved up to tenth position with sale of 9,390 units. PTI n NEW DELHI he government may levy a Twindfall tax on oil producers like Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) as part of a permanent solution it is working on for moderating the spiralling retail prices of petrol and diesel. The tax, which may come in form of a cess, will kick in the moment oil prices cross USD 70 per barrel, sources privy to the development said. Under the scheme, oil producers, who get paid international rates for the oil they produce from domestic fields, would have to part with any revenue they earn from prices crossing USD 70 per barrel mark. The revenues so collected would be used to pay fuel retailers so that they absorb spikes beyond the threshold levels, the sources said. This may be accompanied by a minor tinkering with excise duty rates to give immediate relief to consumers. States too would be asked to cut sales tax or VAT to show a visible impact on retail prices. Sources said the thinking in the government is to levy cess on all oil producers both public and private sector so as not to attract criticism of stifling state-owned explorers. A similar tax was considered in 2008 when oil prices were on the rise but the idea was dropped after stiff opposition from private sector firms like Cairn India. Windfall tax, the sources said, is levied in some of the developed countries globally. The UK in 2011 raised the tax rate to be applied to North Sea oil and gas profits when the price is above USD 75 per barrel. China on April 1, 2006, began levying the special upstream profit tax on domestic oil producers to redistribute and allocate the windfall income enjoyed by the oil companies and subsidise disadvantaged industry and social groups that are most affected by soaring crude oil prices. It in 2012 raised the windfall tax threshold to USD 55 per barrel. The sources said the windfall tax was one of the options being considered by the government as a permanent solution to dealing with the problem of spike in oil prices. This follows reluctance on part of the Finance Ministry to cut excise duty as it has to ensure adequate funds are available to social welfare schemes in the election year. In particular, resources have to be arranged for the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) that aims to provide health insurance cover of `5 lakh to every eligible household. On Wednesday, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had stated that the government will take a long-term view on the money 10 Windfall oil tax on ONGC in offing to soften fuel prices retail prices of petrol and diesel, which have touched record high, instead of having an ad hoc measure. Petrol and diesel prices were raised for the 11th day in succession on Thursday as the stateowned oil firms gradually passed on to the consumer the increased cost of international oil that had accumulated since a 19-day freeze was imposed just before Karnataka elections. Since the time the hiatus ended on May 14, rates have gone up by `2.84 a litre in case of petrol and `2.60 in diesel. Petrol costs `77.47 a litre in Delhi and diesel ` Sources said a USD 70 per barrel threshold for the windfall tax is sufficient to cover for capital expenditure requirement of ONGC and other oil producers. Incidentally, ONGC and Oil India Ltd had till June 2015 provided for up to 40 per cent of the annual fuel subsidy bill. This they did by way of providing discounts on crude sold to downstream refining and marketing companies, IOC, BPCL, and HPCL. This discount helped the retailers make good a part of the losses they incurred on selling petrol and diesel below cost. The Centre levies `19.48 as excise duty on a litre of petrol and `15.33 on diesel. State sales tax or VAT varies from state to state. Unlike excise duty, VAT is ad valorem and results in higher revenues for the state when rates move up. NIFTY 50 SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGE BHARTIARTL TCS 3, , , , INFY 1, , , , AXISBANK SUNPHARMA HINDALCO TATASTEEL TECHM SBIN HCLTECH ICICIBANK IOC ASIANPAINT 1, , , , KOTAKBANK 1, , , , BAJFINANCE 2, , , , HDFC 1, , , , COALINDIA M&M UPL BAJAJFINSV 5, , , , LUPIN DRREDDY 1, , , , HDFCBANK 1, , , , INDUSINDBK 1, , , , LT 1, , , , ITC RELIANCE HEROMOTOCO 3, , , , ZEEL CIPLA EICHERMOT 29, , , , WIPRO POWERGRID IBULHSGFIN 1, , , , TITAN HINDUNILVR 1, , , , INFRATEL NTPC YESBANK VEDL ADANIPORTS MARUTI 8, , , , ULTRACEMCO 3, , , , BPCL BAJAJ-AUTO 2, , , , HINDPETRO GRASIM 1, , , ONGC GAIL TATAMOTORS NIFTY NEXT 50 SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGE RECLTD IDEA DMART 1, , , , PFC CADILAHC AMBUJACEM PEL 2, , , , NMDC SRTRANSFIN 1, , , , PNB SAIL AUROPHARMA JSWSTEEL ACC 1, , , , BANKBARODA OFSS 3, , , , MARICO COLPAL 1, , , , GODREJCP 1, , , , ABCAPITAL SHREECEM 16, , , , DLF SIEMENS 1, , , , DABUR L&TFH PGHH 9, , , , EMAMILTD 1, , , , HINDZINC INDIGO 1, , , , BRITANNIA 5, , , , PETRONET BHEL ASHOKLEY PIDILITIND 1, , , , SUNTV LICHSGFIN CONCOR 1, , , , MRF 74, , , , SBILIFE GICRE BEL ICICIPRULI CUMMINSIND BOSCHLTD 18, , , , HAVELLS NHPC MCDOWELL-N 3, , , , ABB 1, , , , MOTHERSUMI OIL BSE 500 Script Last Abs Change Traded Price Change % 3MINDIA KMILES AARTIIND ABAN ABB ABBOTINDIA ABFRL ACC ADANIPORTS ADANIPOWER ADANITRANS ADVENZYMES AEGISLOG AIAENG AJANTPHARM AKZOINDIA ALBK ALKEM ALLCARGO AMARAJABAT AMBUJACEM ANDHRABANK APARINDS APLAPOLLO APLLTD APOLLOHOSP APOLLOTYRE ARVIND ASAHIINDIA ASHOKA ASHOKLEY ASIANPAINT ASTRAL ASTRAMICRO ATUL AUBANK AUROPHARMA AVANTI AXISBANK BAJAJ-AUTO BSE: GAINERS Current (Chng %) EROSMEDIA (19.07) NCC (8.80) KSCL (7.47) ASTRAL (7.00) JUSTDIAL (6.60) BAJAJCORP BAJAJELEC BAJAJFINSV BAJAJHIND BAJAJHLDNG BAJFINANCE BALKRISIND BALMLAWRIE BALRAMCHIN BANKBARODA BANKINDIA BASF BATAINDIA BAYERCROP BBTC BEL BEML BERGEPAINT BFUTILITIE BHARATFIN BHARATFORG BHARTIARTL BHEL BIOCON BIRLACORPN BLISSGVS BLUEDART BLUESTARCO BOMDYEING BOSCHLTD BPCL BRITANNIA CADILAHC CANBK CANFINHOME CAPF CAPPL CARBORUNIV CARERATING CASTROLIND CCL CEATLTD CENTRALBK CENTRUM CENTURYPLY CENTURYTEX CERA CESC CGPOWER CHAMBLFERT CHENNPETRO CHOLAFIN CIPLA COALINDIA COFFEEDAY COLPAL CONCOR COROMANDEL CORPBANK COX&KINGS CRISIL CROMPTON CUB CUMMINSIND CYIENT DABUR DALMIABHA DBCORP DBL DCBBANK DCMSHRIRAM DEEPAKFERT DEEPAKNI DELTACORP DENABANK DHANUKA DHFL DISHTV DIVISLAB DLF DMART DRREDDY ECLERX EDELWEISS EICHERMOT EIDPARRY EIHOTEL ELGIEQUIP NSE: GAINERS Current (Chng %) BHARTIARTL (4.34) TCS 3, (3.31) INFY 1, (2.96) AXISBANK (2.92) SUNPHARMA (2.53) EMAMILTD ENDURANCE ENGINERSIN ENIL EQUITAS ERIS EROSMEDIA ESCORTS ESSELPRO EVEREADY EXIDEIND FCONSUMER FDC FEDERALBNK FINCABLES FINOLEXIND FLFL FORCEMOT FORTIS FRETAIL FSL GAIL GATI GDL GEPIL GESHIP GET&D GHCL GICHSGFIN GILLETTE GLAXO GLENMARK GMDCLTD GMRINFRA GNFC GODFRYPHLP GODREJCP GODREJIND GODREJPROP GPPL GRANULES GRAPHITE GRASIM GREAVESCOT GREENPLY GRINDWELL SENSEX GRUH GSFC GSKCONS GSPL GUJALKALI GUJFLUORO GUJGAS GULFOILLUB HATSUN HAVELLS HCC HCLTECH HDFC HDFCBANK HDIL HEG HEIDELBERG HERITGFOOD HEROMOTOCO HEXAWARE HFCL HIMATSEIDE HINDALCO HINDCOPPER HINDPETRO HINDUNILVR HINDZINC HSCL HSIL HUDCO IBREALEST IBULHSGFIN IBVENTURES ICICIBANK ICICIPRULI ICIL ICRA IDBI IDEA IDFC IDFCBANK IFCI IGL IL&FSTRANS INDHOTEL INDIACEM INDIANB INDIGO INDUSINDBK INFIBEAM INFRATEL INFY INOXLEISUR INOXWIND INTELLECT IOB IOC IPCALAB IRB ISGEC ITC ITDCEM J&KBANK JAGRAN JAICORPLTD JAMNAAUTO JBCHEPHARM JBFIND JCHAC JETAIRWAYS JINDALSAW JINDALSTEL JISLJALEQS JKCEMENT JKIL BSE: SENSEX Open High Low Current value Previous close Change (Pts) Change (%) JKLAKSHMI JKTYRE JMFINANCIL JPASSOCIAT JSL JSLHISAR JSWENERGY JSWSTEEL JUBILANT JUBLFOOD JUSTDIAL JYOTHYLAB KAJARIACER KALPATPOWR KANSAINER KEC KEI KESORAMIND KIRLOSENG KOTAKBANK KPIT KPRMILL KRBL KSCL KTKBANK KWALITY L&TFH LAKSHVILAS LALPATHLAB LAOPALA LAURUSLABS LAXMIMACH LICHSGFIN LINDEINDIA LT LTI LTTS LUPIN M&M M&MFIN MAGMA MAHABANK MAHINDCIE MAHLIFE MANAPPURAM MANPASAND MARICO MARKSANS MARUTI MAXINDIA MCLEODRUSS MCX MEGH MFSL MGL MHRIL MINDACORP MINDAIND MINDTREE MMTC MOIL MONSANTO MOTHERSUMI MOTILALOFS MPHASIS MRF MRPL MUTHOOTFIN NATCOPHARM NATIONALUM NAUKRI NAVINFLUOR NAVKARCORP NAVNETEDUL NBCC VITAL STATS GOLD SILVER Mumbai Delhi Kolkata NIFTY NBVENTURES NCC NESTLEIND NETWORK NH NHPC NIITLTD NIITTECH NILKAMAL NLCINDIA NMDC NOCIL NTPC OBEROIRLTY OFSS OIL OMAXE ONGC ORIENTBANK ORIENTCEM PAGEIND PARAGMILK PCJEWELLER PEL PERSISTENT PETRONET PFC PFIZER PFS PGHH PHILIPCARB PHOENIXLTD PIDILITIND PIIND PNB PNBHOUSING PNCINFRA POWERGRID PRAJIND PRESTIGE PRSMJOHNSN PTC BSE: LOSERS Current (Chng %) GET&D (8.50) GRANULES (7.31) JETAIRWAYS (7.03) TATASTEELPP (6.93) OIL (6.83) PVR QUESS RADICO RAIN RAJESHEXPO RALLIS RAMCOCEM RATNAMANI RAYMOND RBLBANK RCF RCOM RECLTD REDINGTON RELAXO RELCAPITAL RELIANCE RELINFRA RENUKA REPCOHOME RNAVAL RPOWER SADBHAV SAIL SANOFI SBIN SCHAEFFLER SCHNEIDER SCI SFL SHANKARA SHARDACROP SHILPAMED SHK SHOPERSTOP SHREECEM SHRIRAMCIT SIEMENS SINTEX SITINET SJVN SKFINDIA SOBHA SOLARINDS SOMANYCERA SONATSOFTW SOUTHBANK SPARC SPICEJET SREINFRA SRF SRTRANSFIN STRTECH SUDARSCHEM SUNCLAYLTD SUNDRMFAST SUNPHARMA SUNTECK SUNTV SUPPETRO SUPRAJIT SUPREMEIND SUVEN SUZLON SWANENERGY SYMPHONY SYNDIBANK SYNGENE TAKE TATACHEM TATACOFFEE TATACOMM TATAELXSI TATAGLOBAL TATAINVEST TATAMETALI TATAMOTORS TATAMTRDVR TATAPOWER TATASPONGE TATASTEEL TCS TECHM TECHNO TEJASNET TEXRAIL THERMAX THOMASCOOK NSE: LOSERS Current (Chng %) TATAMOTORS (6.33) GAIL (5.45) ONGC (4.39) GRASIM 1, (2.52) HINDPETRO (1.10) THYROCARE TIMETECHNO TIMKEN TITAN TNPL TORNTPHARM TORNTPOWER TRENT TRIDENT TRITURBINE TTKPRESTIG TV18BRDCST TVSMOTOR TVSSRICHAK TVTODAY TWL UBL UCOBANK UFLEX UJJIVAN ULTRACEMCO UNICHEMLAB UNIONBANK UNITECH UPL VAKRANGEE VBL VEDL VENKYS VGUARD VIJAYABANK VINATIORGA VIPIND VMART VOLTAS VSTIND VTL WABAG WABCOINDIA WELCORP WELSPUNIND WHIRLPOOL WIPRO WOCKPHARMA YESBANK ZEEL ZENSARTECH

11 world 11 Trump cancels summit with Kim Jong un PTI n WASHINGTON U S President Donald Trump on Thursday cancelled his proposed summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 12 in Singapore and blamed Pyongyang s tremendous anger and open hostility for his dramatic decision. Trump s announcement came hours after North Korea carried out what it said is the demolition of its nuclear test site on Thursday. I was very much looking forward to being there with you. Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting, Trump wrote in a letter to Kim which was released to the press. Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit, for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place, Trump said in his letter dated May 24. You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used, he said, in an apparent warning to the North Korean leader. Washington has made it clear it wants to see the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the North. But Pyongyang has vowed it will never give up its nuclear deterrence until it feels safe from what it terms US aggression. I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me, and ultimately, it is only that dialogue that matters. Someday, I look very much forward to meeting you, wrote the US President. Trump, however, kept the door open for future talks with Kim. If you change your mind having to do with this most important summit, please do not hesitate to call me or write. China says report on Prez Xi asking Pak to relocate Saeed shocking PTI n BEIJING hina on Thursday dismissed Cas shocking and baseless a media report that President Xi Jinping has asked Pakistan to relocate the Mumbai terror attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed to a West Asian country, amid mounting international pressure on Islamabad to act against him. According to the report, a close aide of the prime minister of Pakistan said that Xi made the suggestion to Shahid Khaqan Abbasi during their meeting on the sidelines of the Boao Forum in China last month. At a 35-minute meeting, at least 10 minutes of the discussion dealt with Saeed. The Chinese President was keen on pressing the Prime Minister to find an early solution to keep Saeed away from the limelight, an unnamed close aide of Abbasi was quoted as saying. Reacting to it, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson s office said today the report was shocking and baseless. It is shocking and baseless that s all we can say, the official from the spokesperson s office told PTI here, declining to comment further on the report. Considering the close relations enjoyed between China and Pakistan, there is sense of disquiet here over the report in the backdrop of the current tussle between the Pakistan government headed by Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and the powerful military. Earlier this month, Pakistan s ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been disqualified to hold public office for life by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case, admitted Pakistan s Kremlin says ex-spy s daughter could have been pressured into video Moscow: The Kremlin on Thursday said Yulia Skripal, who was poisoned with her exspy father in Britain in March, could have been pressured into making a video saying she was not ready to return to Russia. On Wednesday Yulia Skripal said she one day hoped to return to her home country but first needed to get better, and turned down the offer of assistance from Russian diplomats in the UK. The statement her first media appearance since the March 4 poisoning was recorded by Reuters and broadcast on national television in Russia. We have no reason to trust or believe in this, Vladimir Putin s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the video. As before, we don t know what sort of condition Yulia Skripal is in, we don t A copy of the letter sent to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un from President Donald Trump canceling their planned summit in Singapore is photographed in Washington on Thursday AP The world, and North Korea in particular, has lost a great opportunity for lasting peace and great prosperity and wealth. This missed opportunity is a truly sad moment in history, Trump said. He also thanked Kim for the release of the three American hostages who are now home with their families in the US. That was a beautiful gesture and was very much appreciated, he said. The Americans Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim were freed on May 9 by North Korea while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on a visit to Pyongyang to finalise the details of the Trump-Kim summit. The trio had been jailed for anti-state activities and placed in North Korean labour camps. In his letter, Trump appreciated the North Korean leader for his efforts towards the meeting. know whether she made this statement of her own free will or whether she was pressured, Peskov told journalists. Russian ambassador to London Alexander Yakovenko has repeatedly demanded access to Yulia Skripal. After her video statement, the Russian embassy in London said Wednesday it was happy to see that Skripal was in good health. But the diplomatic mission suggested she might be held in Britain against her will and insisted that Russian diplomats needed to see her. Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found slumped on a bench in the English city of Salisbury in March, sparking a bitter diplomatic crisis between Moscow and London, which says a Soviet-made nerve agent dubbed novichok was used on the pair. Moscow has furiously denied any involvement.ap We greatly appreciate your time, patience, and effort with respect to our recent negotiations and discussions relative to a summit long sought by both parties, which was scheduled to take place on June 12 in Singapore. We were informed that the meeting was requested by North Korea, but that to us is totally irrelevant, he said. Later, Trump posted his letter to Kim on his personal Twitter account and wrote Sadly, I was forced to cancel the Summit Meeting in Singapore with Kim... In April, Trump had stunned the world by accepting an invitation to meet Kim in an unprecedented sit-down. Trump and Kim had previously traded insults and threats. The summit would have been the first ever meeting between a sitting US president and North Korean leader. Trump s announcement on Thursday coincides with North Korea s move to demolish its underground nuclear test site involvement in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. Without naming Saeed and Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar s militant organisations operating in the country with impunity, Sharif said: Militant organisations are active in Pakistan. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill over 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can t we complete the trial, he said in an interview to Dawn newspaper, which created furore in Pakistan. Saeed carries a USD 10 million American bounty for his role in terror activities. He is the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people, including six US nationals, were killed. While Saeed has been declared a global terrorist by the United Nations after the Mumbai terrorist attacks, China has put repeated technical holds on India, US, UK and France s efforts in the UN to list Azhar as a terrorist for his involvement in the Pathankot terrorist attack. Tokyo (PTI): Increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere will reduce the nutritional value of rice, a study has found. In rice grown under higher carbon dioxide concentrations expected in the second half of this century to 590 parts per million - levels of iron, zinc, protein, and vitamins B1, B2, B5, and B9 were found to be reduced. Rice is not just a major source of calories, but also proteins and vitamins for many people in developing countries and for poorer communities within developed countries, said Kazuhiko Kobayashi of the University of Tokyo. Populations in countries with both the highest rice consumption and lowest gross domestic product may experience more malnutrition as the nutritional value of low-cost staple foods like rice declines. Not all varieties of rice responded in the same way, so future research projects may deep in the mountains of the sparsely populated northeast. Earlier, North Korea s viceminister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son Hui slammed a media interview in which US Vice President Mike Pence warned Kim that it would be a great mistake to try and play Trump. Pence also said North Korea could end up like Libya, whose former leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed by US-backed rebels years after giving up atomic weapons, if Kim doesn t make a deal. I cannot suppress my surprise at such ignorant and stupid remarks gushing out from the mouth of the US vice-president, Choe said in a statement released by the state-run KCNA news agency. We will neither beg the US for dialogue nor take the trouble to persuade them if they do not want to sit together with us, she said, adding she would recommend Kim cancel the talks if Washington continues to make such threats. AP n PUNNGYYE-RI orth Korea carried out Nwhat it said is the demolition of its nuclear test site today, setting off a series of explosions over several hours in the presence of foreign journalists. The explosions at the nuclear test site deep in the mountains of the North s sparsely populated northeast were centered on three tunnels at the underground site and a number of buildings in the surrounding area. The planned closing was previously announced by leader Kim Jong Un ahead of his planned summit with US President Donald Trump, which is scheduled to take place next month. The demolition came as the North lobbed another verbal salvo at Washington, calling Vice President Mike Pence a political dummy and saying it is just as ready to meet in a nuclear confrontation as at the negotiating table. The North s decision to close the Punggye-ri nuclear test site has generally been seen as a welcome gesture by Kim to set a positive tone ahead of the summit. Even so, it is not an irreversible move and would need to be followed by many more significant measures to meet Trump s demands for real denuclearization. By bringing in a small group of television journalists and other members of the news media, the North is likely hoping to have dramatic images of the closing including explosions to collapse tunnel entrances broadcast around the world. The group of journalists that witnessed the demolition included an Associated Press Television crew. The North did not invite international nuclear weapons inspectors to the ceremony. Extremists demolish mosque in Pakistan Islamabad: Sunni extremists in Pakistan have demolished a historical mosque belonging to the Ahmadiyya community in Punjab province, the latest attack on the minority group in the Muslim-majority country. A persecuted minority sect, the Ahmadiyya community was declared non-muslims in Pakistan through a constitutional amendment in 1974 during the tenure of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The latest mob attack took place in Sialkot last night. As the local municipal administration started demolishing a private property of an Ahmadiyya follower, about 600 miscreants demolished the nearby mosque later. Ahmadiyya spokesman Saleemuddin said in a statement that the mob launched the attack at about 11 PM and it continued till 3 AM (local time). The place of worship and the house that has been demolished by the mob in Sialkot have great historical significance for members of the Ahmadiyya community all examine the possibility of finding varieties of rice that can remain nutritious despite the change in the atmosphere. The rice was grown at research sites in China and Japan using an open-field method where researchers build 17-metre-wide plastic pipe octagons elevated about 30 centimeters above the tops of plants within standard rice fields. A network of sensors and monitors measure wind speed and direction to determine how much carbon dioxide is released out of the pipes to raise the local carbon dioxide concentration to the desired experimental level. The technique is known as over the world, he said. The police kept on watching the vandalism and did nothing to prevent the attackers, Saleemuddin alleged, adding that it shows the state institutions have surrendered before the elements that are exploiting in the name of religion in order to fulfil their vested interests. Ahmadiyya places of worship have been under attack in the past as well, and so far not even a single culprit has been brought to justice, Saleemuddin alleged. Ahmadiyya people are not allowed to call their place of worship as mosques. Former president General Ziaul Haq had made it a punishable offence for Ahmadiyyas to call themselves Muslims or to refer to their faith as Islam. The community is also banned from preaching as well as from travelling to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage. They are also not allowed to publish any material propagating their faith. Members of the community in Pakistan have often been targeted, including in terror attacks. Rice becomes less nutritious as CO2 levels rise: Study N Korea demolishes nuke test site Free-Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment (FACE). I first started using this technique in 1998, because we knew that plants raised in a plastic or glass house do not grow the same as plants in normal, open field conditions, said Kobayashi. This technique allows us to test the effects of higher carbon dioxide concentrations on plants growing in the same conditions that farmers really will grow them some decades later in this century, he said. Local wildlife has sometimes added an additional challenge to the research. At our first field site, we learned we have to keep all of the pipes and tubes above the ground because raccoons kept chewing through everything and jeopardized the experiment, said Kobayashi. Researchers analysed a total of 18 different varieties of rice for protein, iron, and zinc levels. Nine varieties of rice grown in China were used for the vitamin B1, B2, B5, and B9 analyses. This May 7, 2018, satellite images provided by DigitalGlobe shows the nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, North Korea. North Korea has carried out what it says is the demolition of its nuclear test site in the presence of foreign journalists. AP/File UN chief: Experts should have witnessed test site closure United Nations (AFP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday welcomed the reported closure of North Korea s nuclear test site but said international experts should have been there to witness the dismantling. It is regrettable that international experts were not invited to witness the site closing, Guterres said in a statement. Foreign journalists invited at the Pungyye-ri test facility in North Hamgyong province described a series of explosions throughout the day, three of them in entry tunnels to the underground facility, followed by blasts that demolished a nearby barracks and other structures. Guterres expressed hope that this confidence-building measure will contribute to ongoing efforts towards sustainable peace and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The Pungyye-ri site has been the staging ground for all six of the North s nuclear tests, including its latest and by far most powerful one in September last year, which Pyongyang said was a hydrogen bomb. The first blast visiting journalists witnessed happened at around 11 a.m. local time. North Korean officials said it collapsed the north tunnel, which was used for five nuclear tests between 2009 and last year. Two other explosions at around 2:20 p.m. and 4 p.m. demolished the west and south tunnels, according to officials. PTI n WASHINGTON he US released far fewer Tfunds to Pakistan in 2018 and it may even come down next year, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated today as he accused Islamabad of treating American diplomats badly. Accusing Pakistan of harbouring terror groups like the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network within its border and showing unwillingness to take decisive actions against them, the US in January suspended more than USD 1.15 billion security assistance to the country. The freezing of all security assistance to Pakistan had come days after President Donald Trump, in a new year tweet, accused Pakistan of giving nothing to the US but lies and deceit and providing safe haven to terrorists in return for USD 33 billion aid over the last 15 years. Pompeo, while responding to questions from Congressman Dana Rohrabacher who said the US should stop providing any financial assistance to Pakistan Thursday s demolition also involved the destruction of observation posts and barracks used by guards and other workers at the facility. Another tunnel on the eastern side of the facility was shut down after an initial nuclear test in The journalists who were allowed to witness the demolition arrived in the morning until it releases Shakil Afridi, a doctor who helped the CIA hunt down Osama bin Laden in 2011, said that the US released less funds this year. With respect to Pakistan, we released far fewer funds in 2018 than in the year prior. The remainder of the funds available are under review. My guess is that that number will be smaller still, he told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Rohrabacher said he sees no reason in giving any financial aid to Pakistan if it still keeps Afridi in jail. Pompeo said he worked diligently on the issue of Afridi in his previous role as the CIA Director, but GLOBE TROTTING and stayed at the site for around nine hours. Getting to the remote site required an 11-hour overnight train journey from Wonsan, a port city east of the capital, Pyongyang. The outburst at Pence, issued in the name of a top Foreign Ministry official, comes on the heels of another sharp rebuke of Trump s newly appointed national security adviser, John Bolton, and has raised concerns that a major gap has opened between the two sides just weeks before the June 12 summit in Singapore. In both cases, Pyongyang was trying to push back against hard-line comments suggesting North Korea may end up like Libya if it doesn t move forward quickly and irreversibly with concrete measures to get rid of its nuclear weapons. Choe Son Hui, a vice minister of foreign affairs, was quoted today by the North s state-run news agency slamming as ignorant and stupid comments Pence made in an interview with Fox News that compared the nuclear-capable North to Libya. US released far fewer funds to Pak in 2018; may even come down next year acknowledged that he has been unsuccessful so far. Please be aware that it s at my heart and I know it s important and we can do that. We can achieve that outcome, he said. Rohrabacher intervened by saying that the situation is getting worse in Pakistan. These people in Karachi and Sindh and the others, they re now facing these people who are killing their leaders or killing their people who believe in certain things that are different than the radical Islamic philosophy of some of the people in the Pakistani government, he alleged. Besides financial assistance issue, Pompeo said, the US also needs to take note of the treatment meted out to American diplomats by Pakistan. Our State Department officials are being treated badly as well. Folks working in the embassies and in the consulates and other places are not being treated well by the Pakistani government either, a real problem that we need to take the measure of also, Pompeo said. Emilia Clarke plans to get dragon tattoo Los Angeles: Emilia Clarke has revealed plans to get a Game of Thrones -inspired tattoo as a tribute to her stint in the popular fantasy epic series. The 31-year-old actor, known for playing Daenerys Targaryen in the hit HBO show, will bid adieu to her character next year but said she wants to have a dragon as a piece of body art to remember the Mother of Dragons. Ryan Seacrest, host of LIVE With Kelly and Ryan, said he tried getting an sitting at a tattoo parlour but could not manage one as the actor was already booked there. I was in a tattoo parlour the other day trying to get an appointment and they said that they were full because you re coming in to get a tattoo of a dragon? Ripa exclaimed, Are you really doing it? Clarke replied, Yes! Sorry, mum! I m going to get a dragon right here (points at wrist) kind of flying away. So I think that s cool. A little kind of peace out. The actor, who also stars in Solo: A Star Wars Story, joked she could have gone for bigger tattoo. When Ripa teased she thought she would have gone for a big back tattoo, Clarke laughed saying, Yeah exactly! They ve cleared the schedule, I m getting the full (back tattoo).the actor joins fellow GOT stars Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams got matching inkings to commemorate the date when they clinched their roles as Sansa and Arya Stark.

12 world 12 Trump orders probe into import of automobiles PTI n WASHINGTON resident Donald Trump on PThursday ordered a probe to determine if the import of vehicles, including trucks, and auto-parts was hurting the US national security, a move that may lead to imposition of new tariffs on foreign manufactured automobiles in the world s second-largest auto market. Trump has instructed US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to consider initiating an investigation under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act to find if tariffs or other restrictions were needed on imported cars, after he met him at the White House to discuss the current state of US automobile industry. In March, the Trump Administration had used the same legal justification to slap steep tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminum imports. The administration had also threatened tariffs on Chinese goods over intellectual property complaints. The investigation will determine whether imports of automobiles, including sportsutility vehicles (SUVs), vans and light trucks, and automotive parts into the US threaten to impair the national security. I instructed Secretary Ross to consider initiating a Section 232 investigation into imports of automobiles, including trucks, and automotive parts to determine their effects on America s national security, Trump said in a statement. Core industries such as automobiles and automotive parts are critical to our strength as a Nation, he said. The move is likely to fuel new tensions with US trading partners like Canada, Mexico the major car exporters to America, as new tariffs could raise the costs for overseas automakers to export vehicles. Canada, Mexico, China, Germany and Brazil are the biggest exporters of auto-parts to the US. Reacting to the step, Chinese Commerce Ministry said it will firmly defend its rights and interests against what it called the Trump administration s abuse US warns citizens in China after employee suffers sonic attack Washington (PTI): The US has issued a health alert to its employees in China after an official experienced a possible sonic attack and was later diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury. The Trump administration said they are taking these reports seriously and have taken up the matter with Chinese officials. A US State Department government employee in China recently reported subtle and vague, but abnormal sensations of sound and pressure, the US Embassy in China said. We do not currently know what caused the reported symptoms and we are not aware of any similar situations in China, either inside or outside of the diplomatic community, it said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was concerned about the incident and has brought it to the notice of his Chinese counterpart State Councilor Wang Yi. It s a serious medical incident. We want to make sure and take care of every one of our officers serving overseas. We ve learnt about it only recently. We are still trying to identify all the circumstances surrounding it, he said. The US, Pompeo said, has notified China of what took place as best it knows it. They have responded in a way that is exactly the right response. They ve honoured their commitment under the Vienna Convention to take care of the diplomats that are serving in their country, and we truly appreciate this, he said. China, Pompeo said, has offered to assist the US in investigating how this came to be. The State Councilor Wang and I had a moment to talk about how we can endeavour to figure out what happened here to ensure that something like this doesn t happen again in their country, he said. We are working together to resolve it. I hope we can figure it out. It s very important that each and every one of our officers, wherever they re serving in the world, is protected and taken care of, Pompeo said. of national security provisions in trade. Abusing national security provisions would undermine the multilateral trade system and disrupt the order of international trade, Ministry spokesman Gao Feng told reporters in Beijing. Gao said China would follow progress of the investigation, assess the possible impact and firmly defend our legitimate rights and interests. According to the US government figures, about 12 million cars and trucks were produced last year, and the country imported 8.3 million vehicles worth USD 192 billion. Of the 12 million imported vehicles, 2.4 million were from Mexico and 1.8 million Canada. Both countries are part of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), which the Trump Administration wants to renegotiate in a bid to boost the US manufacturing sector. The US is the secondbiggest export destination for German auto manufacturers after China, while vehicles and car parts are Germany s biggest source of export income. There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry, Ross said, adding that the Department of Commerce will conduct a thorough, fair, and transparent investigation into whether such imports are weakening US internal economy and may impair the national security. During the past 20 years, imports of passenger vehicles have grown from 32 per cent of cars sold in the US to 48 per PTI n BEIJING hina on Thursday extend- currency swap agree- Ced ment with Pakistan amid reports that Beijing has given a USD one billion loan to Islamabad to avert a foreign currency crisis. The People s Bank of China, the country s central bank, said on Thursday it had extended a currency swap agreement with the State Bank of Pakistan. The swap is sized at 20 billion yuan (USD 3.1 billion) or 351 billion Pakistani rupees, according to a statement from the bank. The two parties believe the extension will facilitate bilateral trade and investment to help economic development in the two countries. Valid for three years, the agreement can be extended upon mutual consent.a currency swap deal allows two institutions to exchange payments in one currency for equivalent amounts in the other to facilitate bilateral trade settlements and provide liquidity support to financial markets, staterun Xinhua news agency reported today. In an interview with The Financial Times, the State Bank of Pakistan Governor Tariq Bajwa confirmed the loans were made by Beijingbacked banks in April on good rates. The money strengthens the financial, political and military ties between the two countries, the top Pakistani banker was quoted as saying cent. From 1990 to 2017, employment in motor vehicle production declined by 22 per cent, even though Americans are continuing to purchase automobiles at record levels, the Department of Commerce said. Now, American-owned vehicle manufacturers in the US account for only 20 per cent of global research and development in the automobile sector, and American auto part manufacturers account for only seven per cent in that industry, it said. Noting that the automobile manufacturing has long been a significant source of American technological innovation, the Department of Commerce said, this investigation will consider whether the decline of domestic automobile and automotive parts production threatens to weaken the internal economy of the US by potentially reducing research, development, and jobs for skilled workers in connected vehicle systems, autonomous vehicles, fuel cells, electric motors and storage, advanced manufacturing processes, and other cuttingedge technologies. Following today s announcement, the Department of Commerce will investigate these and other issues to determine whether imports of automobiles and automotive parts threaten to impair the national security, the Department said. A notice will be published shortly in the Federal Register announcing a hearing date and inviting comment from industry and the public to assist in the investigation, it added. China extends currency swap deal with Pak by the paper. Chinese commercial banks are awash with liquidity, Bajwa said. Pakistan s foreign exchange reserves have dropped from USD 18.1 billion in April last year to USD 10.8 billion in May this year. According to the report, Pakistani officials also hope that borrowing from Chinese banks will save the nation from seeking help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Lending money to Pakistan also favours China, said FT quoting Pakistani officials, as it does not wish to disclose details of the loans that are part of the China-Pakistan Economic Cooperation (CPEC) project. China is investing almost USD 60 billion on building infrastructure in Pakistan. However, Beijing is reluctant to reveal the sum it is lending to Islamabad as part of the CPEC project. According to the FT report, prior to last month s loan of USD one billion, Pakistan had borrowed almost USD 1.2 billion from Chinese banks since April, 2017 and more loans might follow. Twitter-happy Trump blocking people unconstitutional, rules US judge PTI n WASHINGTON S President Donald Trump Ucannot legally block his followers on Twitter based on their political views, a federal judge ruled on Thursday. Twitter-happy Trump takes to the micro-blogging site to announce major policy decisions of his administration, promote his agenda and attack political rivals. Trump, with more than 52 million followers, is the most followed world leader on the micro-blogging site. US District Judge in New York Southern District Naomi Reice Buchwald gave her ruling on a petition filed by a group of seven followers who alleged that president Trump unlawfully barred them from viewing his feed. As such the court was asked to consider whether a public official may, consistent with the First Amendment, block a person from his Twitter account in response to the political views that person has expressed, and whether the analysis differs because that public official is the US President. The answer to both questions is no, Buchwald said in her 75-page judgement. The viewpoint-based exclusion of the individual plaintiffs from that designated public forum is proscribed by the First Amendment and cannot be justified by the President s personal First Amendment interests, the judge said. The ruling was welcomed by the petitioners. We re pleased with the court s decision, which reflects a careful application of core First Amendment principles to government censorship on a new communications platform, said Jameel Jaffer, executive director of Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which had filed the lawsuit on behalf of the group. The President s practice of blocking critics on Twitter is pernicious and unconstitutional, and we hope this ruling will bring it to an end, he said. The US Department of Justice, however, disagreed with the court ruling. We respectfully disagree with the court s decision and are considering our next steps, Kerri Kupec, Justice Department spokesperson said. We hold that the speech in which they seek to engage is protected by the First Amendment and that the President and Scavino exert governmental control over certain aspects of account, including the interactive space of the tweets sent from the account, the judge said. That interactive space is susceptible to analysis under the Supreme Court s forum doctrines and is properly characterised as a designated public forum, judge Buchwald said. Twitter is a social media platform with more than 300 million active users worldwide, including some 70 million in the United States. Missile that downed MH17 came from Russian military: Investigators AFP n UTRECHT nvestigators probing the 2014 downing Iof flight MH17 said today for the first time that the missile which shot down the plane over eastern Ukraine travelled from a Russian military brigade. The Joint Investigation Team has come to the conclusion that the BUK- TELAR that shot down MH17 came from 53rd Anti-aircraft Missile Brigade based in Kursk in Russia, top Dutch investigator Wilbert Paulissen said. The 53rd Brigade forms part of the Russian armed forces, he told reporters at a press conference in the Netherlands. The Malaysian Airlines flight was blown out of the sky over conflictwracked east Ukraine on July 17, 2014 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 passengers and crew, most of them Dutch, were killed in the disaster. But there were 17 nationalities on board including Australians, Britons, Malaysians and Indonesians. The investigators had previously concluded that the plane was brought down by a Russian-made BUK missile system brought in from Russia and fired from territory in Ukraine held by Moscow-backed rebels. But they have stopped short of directly saying who pulled the trigger. Now the team has painstaking recreated the route taken by the missile convoy from Kursk across the border into In this Sunday, July 20, 2014 file photo, a photo of Steven Noreilde from Brasschaat, Belgium, a victim of flight MH17, lays next to a soccer shirt surrounded by flowers, at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. AP/ File photo Ukraine using videos and photos. Paulissen added the team had ascertained that the BUK-TELAR has a number of unique characteristics. These characteristics as such served as a type of fingerprint for the missile. Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement in the downing of the Boeing flight 777, putting the blame instead on Kiev. The probe being led by The Netherlands is focusing on some 100 people suspected of having played an active role in the incident, but investigators have not yet publicly named any suspects. the US is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific, it said China s continued militarisation of disputed features in the South China Sea only serve to raise tensions and destabilise the region. As an initial response to China s continued militarisation of the South China Sea, we have disinvited the PLA Navy from the 2018 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise. China s behaviour is inconsistent with the principles and purposes of the RIMPAC exercise, Lt Col Christopher B Logan said. The Department of Defence, he said, has strong evidence that China has deployed anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems and electronic jammers to contested features in the Spratly Islands region of the South China Sea. Chief investigator Fred Westerbeke said Thursday the probe was now in its last phase but added there was still work to be done. Over the past years we ve gained a lot of proof and evidence but we are not ready yet to move towards bringing charges, he told the press conference. Dutch officials have announced that the trial of any suspects arrested in the shooting down of flight MH17 will be held in the Netherlands under an agreement reached with the countries leading the joint probe. Sharif sends `1-bn legal notice to NAB chief Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan s ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday sent a legal notice to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal for issuing a statement that accused him of laundering USD 4.9 billion to India. The notice was in reference to a NAB press release issued after a news item published by a local newspaper incorrectly referenced the World Bank s 2016 Migration and Remittance Book to say that India s foreign exchange reserves increased by USD 4.9 billion due to huge cash inflows from Pakistan attributable to money laundering by the Sharif family, Dawn reported. In the notice to the NAB chairman, sent through his lawyer Barrister Manzoor Dogal, Sharif described the press release as an attempt to influence the upcoming elections, the paper said. The PML-N supreme leader demanded that Iqbal tender an apology for his insulting press release and pay Rs 1 billion as damages within the next 14 days. He further demanded that the NAB chairman s apology be published in all leading Urdu and English newspapers as well. According to the legal notice, if the NAB chairman does not tender an apology or does not pay damages, legal action will be taken against him. On May 17, a different lawyer, A.K. Dogar, had sent a legal notice to Iqbal on Sharif s behalf. In that notice, the NAB chief was asked to either apologise or resign from his post as NAB chief.taking notice of a newspaper article based on a flawed report of the World Bank, NAB had said it has started looking into whether ousted premier Sharif was involved in the alleged laundering of USD 4.9 billion to India. The World Bank had promptly responded and stated that the report does not include any mention of money laundering nor does it name any individuals, while the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had said the estimates showed in the WB report were based on assumptions which did not reflect reality. Bangladesh anti-drugs crackdown death toll rises above 50 Dhaka (AFP): Shootouts across Bangladesh left nine alleged drug dealers dead on Thursday, police said, as authorities stepped up a crackdown that now has claimed at least 52 lives in 10 days and drawn criticism from rights groups. The campaign comes as Bangladesh struggles to contain a surging drugs trade, particularly in methamphetamine pills known as US decision to disinvite China from RIMPAC very unconstructive: Wang PTI n WASHINGTON he latest US decision on Tdisinvitation of China from the annual maritime military exercise is a very unconstructive move, Chinese Foreign Minister and Councilor Wang Yi said on Thursday, hoping that the Pentagon would change such a negative mindset. The Pentagon s decision on disinvitation of Chinese military in the RIMPAC exercise, we find that a very unconstructive move, nonconstructive move. It s also a decision that s taken lightly. It s unhelpful to mutual understanding between China and Chinese Foreign Minister and Councilor Wang Yi the US, he told reporters in a Guam, he said. Wang said the joint news conference with US Chinese deployment was at a Secretary of State Mike much smaller scale than the Pompeo here. US. It s just out of necessary Wang said both the US defence purposes. We don t and China are big countries hope to see any exaggeration and are well positioned to or hype-up of this matter, have greater cooperation at the Wang said. sea. Mil-to-mil exchanges Pompeo said this was an will help to increase mutual issue of discussion between the trust. It will also help us to two leaders. I will leave to make greater efforts towards DOD to talk about that. Only world peace and stability, he to say that we have expressed said. consistent concern about militarisation of the South China On the militarisation in the South China Sea, Wang Sea. We had a chance to talk said, China is only building about that. And I will leave it civilian and some necessary to our militaries to talk about defence facilities on its own their efforts together, said islands. the US Secretary of State. That is the right to selfdefence and preservation of that Beijing is engaged in Earlier in the day, alleging every sovereign state. It is a destabilising behaviour in normal deployment and has the South China Sea, the nothing to do with militarisation, just like the US has mil- from its annual maritime mil- Pentagon kicked out China itary presence in Hawaii, in itary exercise. Asserting that yaba. However, human rights groups say many of the deaths are the result of extra-judicial killings. Two of the nine were killed in gun battles between rival drug dealers in Magura, district police chief Ilias Hossain told AFP. Four people died in southeastern Feni and Comilla and a further three were killed elsewhere, officials said. In Chittagong yesterday a son Ireland s PM campaigns to lift abortion ban PTI n LONDON reland s Indian-origin Prime IMinister Leo Varadkar on Thursday made a last-ditch effort in his campaign to lift a ban on abortions, as the country gets set to vote in a referendum on the crucial issue tomorrow. In what is seen as the first major test of his leadership since he took charge as Taoiseach a year ago, Varadkar has been urging voters to ensure a high turnout in the referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution which severely restricts access to abortions. The case of Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian dentist who died of blood poisoning at Galway University Hospital in Ireland in October 2012 after she was denied a life-saving abortion, is among the cases being highlighted by campaigners in favour of a yes vote. I do hope we will see more people taking part in this referendum, an exercise in democracy, Varadkar said. Ultimately laws are just written in black and white, they are text in a piece of law but what has to be behind those laws is individuals, people s families and how those laws have affected them in the process, the leader of the liberal-conservative Fine Gail party said. While the two main parties of Ireland, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, are not taking official positions on the referendum, politicians are permitted to campaign on a personal basis. If Ireland votes yes, and a daughter held a press conference to accuse the elite Rapid Action Battalion police unit of killing their father. The unit which authorities say has so far killed 19 drug dealers during the crackdown has denied the allegations, but the campaign has caused widespread disquiet. Even the state-run National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) the government intends to allow terminations within the first 12 weeks, subject to medical advice and a cooling-off period, and between 12 and 24 weeks in a restricted fashion. Halappanavar s father Andanappa Yalagi said, I hope the people of Ireland remember my daughter Savita on the day of the referendum, and that what happened to her won t happen to any other family. I think about her every day. She didn t get the medical treatment she needed because of the eighth amendment. They must change the law, he told The Guardian by phone from his home in Karnataka. Tomorrow, Irish voters will decide whether to change the constitutional amendment that enshrines the equal right to life of the mother and her unborn child. That has resulted in many women being forced to travel abroad on a daily basis, mainly to neighbouring Britain, for terminations. this week expressed grave concern at the anti-drug drive, saying it does not support any extra-judicial killings. Huge numbers of the yaba pills have crossed into Bangladesh from neighbouring Myanmar, a major producer. Authorities last year seized a record 40 million pills but said an estimated million others entered the market.

13 vivacity {food} 13 Experiments with traditional cooking Chef NOAH BARNES spoke to TEAM VIVA about European cuisine and how Indian diners are now open to challenging tastebuds I ndian diners are well-travelled and therefore exposed to unique ingredients and cuisines. Hence, they expect quality as well as value for money, says Chef Noah Barnes, the man behind the success of Tabula Beach Cafe, The Hungry Monkey and the recently opened Arriba- Mexican Grill and Tequileria is one of the youngest chefs the country has seen. He also feels that people these days are not looking for quantity but for quality and are conscious of what they pay and spend on. The palates are more evolved and people like to pay for fine dishes. They are more aware of the ingredients being used in them and the final outcome of the dish matters the most, he says. The mind behind three popular cafes, he has a fair idea of what works with Indian diners. Born and brought up in suburban Mumbai, Barnes was raised on healthy doses of old English cuisine owing to his Anglo- Indian grandmother s British-influenced cooking. The chef holds fond childhood memories of English cuisine and recalls, English cuisine was served in a community style meal in my grandma s house where the whole family comes and sits together for a meal. It comprised stew, pies and breads which act as the main component that compliment the main soup dish and all of it comes together beautifully and is presented in a way that shows unity and togetherness. His quaint upbringing finds a way in his dishes. Barnes has mastered the art of European cuisine but there are some changes that he has made to introduce it to the Indian customers. The 30-year-old chef replies, European cuisine is all about the technique, flavours and doing justice to the ingredients by using those methods that are specially designed to make textures, colours, and flavours pop. When it comes to Indian customers, we don t have to change much about the European cuisine as people are well-traveled and have an evolved palate now but earlier we had to mask certain flavours, incorporate some changes and make them more Indianised to better suit the palate of the customers. The chef s approach to food is simple. He prefers sticking to classic techniques with the essence of flavour and texture garnering prime importance. My cooking style is very impromptu. I see a bunch of ingredients and think how would I do justice to bring them together in the best way possible. Mixing and matching flavours, adding textures and colours is the key to my cooking techniques. I stick to the recipes when it comes to baking breads and more traditional cuisine. However, I like experimenting a lot when I try new dishes and enjoy playing with new flavours and ingredients. Barnes signature dishes includes Blackened fish tacos, Cilantro lime chicken tacos, Salsa and guacamole carnivale and Tangerine and sweet potato salad. He creates a plethora of dishes with a fine mix of European technique, incorporating global flavours for mass reach and acceptance. The young chef focuses on seasonal and local produce while adhering to the classic French style at times. He aspires to see India reach global standards when it comes to culinary experiences! Tender touch Two quintessentially Indian flavours have found favour this summer, says survey n the summer months, Indians are going in for ice creams most- tender coconut and mango over juices to beat the heat, a new Ily analysis reveals. In the summer months (March to May), there was a 65 per cent increase in the number of ice creams ordered when compared to the previous three months. Ice creams were ordered 2.3 times more than juices in the month of March alone, according to food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy s order analysis from December 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018 and March 1 to May 8, read a statement. Ice creams were ordered as early as 10 am, but most ice cream cravings still seem to strike post-dinner as ice cream orders peaked at pm. Amongst ice creams, tender coconut and mango hold the top two positions. These two combined were ordered more than the next six most ordered ice creams combined. The other flavours that rounded off the top five were roasted almond, vanilla and Mississippi mud. When it comes to juices, watermelon is most ordered across India, followed by mausambi, orange, pineapple and fresh lime. Srivats TS, Vice President, Marketing, Swiggy, said: With the mercury levels rising across the country, we're seeing consumers turn to Swiggy to keep it cool in the comfort of their homes and offices. Indians are beating the heat by ordering everything from light and fresh items like buttermilk and curd rice, to summer time favourites like tender coconut ice creams and Oreo shakes. RECIPES CHICKEN CANNELLONI WHAT YOU NEED 120 gm par-boiled pasta sheet 200 gm pre-seasoned and cooked chicken mince 200 gm white sauce 120 gm Italian tomato sauce 120 gm mozzarella cheese 80 gm parmesan cheese 8 gm oregano / basil leaves salt to taste METHOD n Pre-cook the chicken mince with chopped garlic, celery, leeks and onion. n Roll the chicken mince in the par boiled pasta sheet along with parmesan cheese, oregano. n Place 2-3 such stuffed pasta sheet tubes into a deep plate. n Top it up with more of white sauce, followed by Italian tomato sauce. n Add mozzarella cheese and bake for 10 minutes at 180 degree celsius. n Serve hot garnished with basil leaves. Courtesy: The Pasta Bowl Company, Gurgaon MATCHA ICE CREAM WHAT YOU NEED 1 Tbsp matcha green powder 1cup whole milk 2 cup heavy whipping cream ¾ cup white sugar 2 eggs METHOD n Whisk matcha powder in a bowl to remove any lumps; add a splash of milk and whisk until matcha powder is completely dissolved. Gradually whisk remaining milk into matcha mixture. n Combine cream and matcha mixture in a pot over medium-low heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. n Whisk sugar and eggs together in a bowl. Pour 1/2 cup hot matcha mixture into egg mixture; mix thoroughly. Repeat with remaining matcha mixture. Pour mixture back into the pot n Cook and stir matcha mixture over medium-low heat until heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours n Pour cooled matcha mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer s instructions. Courtesy: The Tea Trove ANTI-POLLUTION DRINK WHAT YOU NEED pinch of activated charcoal 1½ tbsp lemonade masala 20 ml lemon Juice 120 ml soda METHOD n In a glass pour soda and add lemon Juice, lemonade masala and a pinch of activated charcoal. n Mix it well and serve chill. Courtesy: The Good Food Cafe, Pitampura TANGY QUINOA AND VEGETABLES IN A PIQUANT FRENCH DRESSING AND MINT WHAT YOU NEED quinoa dijon mustard lemon white wine vinegar salt pepper sugar olive oil (extra virgin) arugula baby spinach cucumber tomato white onion parsley METHOD n For salad: Put arugula leaves and baby spinach and dice tomato, white onion, dice cucumber, cherry tomato in a salad bowl. t s time for you to eat Ito your heart s content with a wide selection of succulent, juicy kebabs infused perfectly in mouth-watering biryanis like Dum mutton seekh kebab biryani, Tandoori prawn biryani, Fish tikka and Kandari murg dum to Tandoori bhutte, Soya chap kebab and Paneer tikka biryani. Relish on a scrumptious array of finest blend of flavours at The Metropolitan Hotel and Spa s restaurant Chutney, Bar +Tandoor. Date: Till May 30 Time: 12 pm to 12 midnight Price: `1300 plus taxes per biryani n Dress it with tangy lemon vinegar dressing. n Mix well, serve fresh. Courtesy: Mayank Tiwari, group executive chef at PVR The Luxury Collection reat each Tdinner like a party time as we bring to you Drunken Dinners at Eros Hotel s restaurant Empress of China. A three-course meal that pairs starters with wine, main course with whiskey and desserts which come along with liqueur. Date: May 16 to June 23 Timings: 7 pm to12 midnight Price: `3000 plus taxes per person SPICY RUSSIAN MARY WHAT YOU NEED 180 ml tomato juice 0.5 ml tabasco 10 ml lime mix 0.5 ml worcestershire sauce 2.5 gm celery salt 2.5 gm black pepper 4-5 Ice cubes METHOD n Mix tomato juice, tabasco and lime mix in a container n Add worcestershire sauce to the juice mixture n Add some ice cubes to this mixture n Garnish with lime wedge, celery stick and crushed black pepper with pepper mill and salt rim on glass Courtesy: Symposium, Dwarka I gorge f you think summer couldn t get any better, you may want to think again. Mango season is back with an all-new mangolicious summer menu at Café Delhi Heights. Cool down this summer over a fruity meal with your loved ones. Timings: 11 am to 11 pm Date: June 1 to 30 Price: `2000 (Meal for two) us P rego, the upbeat and stylish Italian specialty restaurant at The Westin,Gurgaon is launching a delicious summer menu, curated by the Italian Chef de Cuisine, Chef Emiliano Di Stefano.New menu includes Rucola e mango, formaggio con le pere and Tagliolini alla romagnola. Price: `3000 plus taxes Time: All summer MANGO MELON BALL WHAT YOU NEED 60 ml mango juice 60 ml apple juice 10 ml lime mix 100 gm fresh watermelon ball 10ml watermelon syrup monin 5 lemon chunks 6 mint leaves METHOD n Mix mango juice, apple juice and lime mix in a container n Add watermelon syrup to the juice mixture n Add some ice cubes to this mixture and shake it well n Garnish the mixture with watermelon balls n Serve the chilled drink to your guests Courtesy: Symposium, Dwarka yatt Regency Delhi presents a unique concept at their Hall-day dining CAfé called Market Café. Guests now have the unique opportunity to order their dish of choice in an a la carte format, straight from the laid out buffet. With the idea of allowing patrons to create their own buffet with the food of their choice, the delicious spread comprises a wide range of dishes to choose from. From cheese and mezze platters to fresh salads and a sushi bar, the menu sets out to please every palate. Date: Every Sunday Pricing: `3,000 plus taxes (Meal for two) Time: 12 pm

14 vivacity 14 A helpful father Taapsee is busy with seven films With 7 films in her kitty, is TAAPSEE PANNU the busiest actress of 2018? Taapsee is on of the most successful actresses who is dabbling both in Bollywood and South language films with much ease and accolades together. With five releases in 2017, each different from the other, from critical to commercial success, she paved a niche for herself. She has as many as four films releasing this year and three films in the pipeline. She will first be seen in Soorma, the Sandeep Singh biopic with Diljit Dosanjh followed by Anubhav Sinha's Mulk and will also be seen in Anurag Kashyap's Manmarziyaan which is due for a release in September. She has a Telugu film in her kitty titled Neevevaroo which releases in the second half of the year. We as a collective society can only implement change once we initiate discussion, and the conclave on Menstrual Hygiene Day is a fitting platform for us to truly empower a nation of women. Together we can ensure that every female has the right to manage her period safely and with dignity Akshay Kumar Actress SHRIYA PILGAONKAR is locked to play the lead in Viu s forthcoming web series. While the launch date is not yet fixed the cast has been finalised. Pilagaonkar will be part of the thriller. She quipped, I have always enjoyed watching thrillers and this is my first time exploring the genre as an actor. I loved the story of this series and decided to be on board instantly. I m really looking forward to it. It s an incredibly fascinating character. Jordan wanted Get Out to be universal Actor-director-writer JORDAN PEELE says he wanted to be racially specific and universal with his film Get Out. The horror film centred on an inter-racial relationship between a black American man and his white partner, was a satire on racism and was critically lauded. He became the first African-American screenwriter to win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for it. The curiosity of guess who is coming to dinner' really connected. Besides having amazing actors, a script and execution, it's a story about race. But is still relatable. Everyone shares the fear of meeting your in-laws, whether you are or not from a different race than them, you are going to fear that they might not accept you in that situation. So I had a eureka moment in writing the script that's the mould I should make this movie in,for it to be both racially specific and universal, said Peele. equals a happy mom Delhi dads emerge to be most supportive in sharing kids responsibility whereas Mumbai and Bengaluru dads are the least supportive when it comes to independently handling school chores, says a survey n a country where motherhood is ide- it becomes imperative to enquire Ialised, how happy mothers are taking on that role. Momspresso, a platform which provides answers to parenting questions, found out that happiest moms were the result of supportive husbands. Around 80 per cent of the happy moms have been appreciated by their husband at least once in the last three months, while 44 per cent of the unhappy moms have not been appreciated even once in the last one year. Interestingly, 67 per cent of happy moms say their husbands would support them in taking care of her parents financially. Around 79 per cent of happy moms say that their husbands actively participate in her side of family affairs/functions. Around 67 per cent of happy moms get support from their husbands while only 30 per cent of unhappy moms get this support. When asked which family member is primarily responsible for PTMs, projects, homework, exams et al. Delhi dads proved to be most supportive with 1.4 per cent fulfilling the given responsibility whereas Mumbai (0 per cent) and Bengaluru (0 per cent) dads came at the bottom. The Happiness Index in Indian moms discussed what made them happy? What are the factors that contribute or detract from this happiness? As all moms know, we are constantly ensuring that our kids, husbands and extended family are happy. However, the person we keep on the bottom of this totem pole is us. An extensive online survey was conducted with 1,218 mothers in metros and non-metros. The intent of the research was to map their happiness quotient by capturing the following parameters: n Role of the husband as a partner Q uick clarification at the start, I did not drive the new XC40 during its India press drive, ongoing in Hyderabad right now but did get a chance to drive the upcoming new Volvo during its international media drive in Barcelona last December. But first things first, what is the XC40? This is the Swedish carmaker s first new car on its new small car platform developed jointly with their Chinese owners, Geely. Despite being smaller, Volvo has managed to keep a lot of the design language from their bigger sports-utility vehicles the XC60 and XC90 on the XC40, and this is clearly a very good-looking SUV. The way Volvo has managed to combine the two-tone colour scheme on the top-end R-Sport edition with a very cool half and half on the rear C-pillar, makes this car s side-profile particularly appealing. India will get a single engine option, the two-litre turbocharged diesel variant, the D4. This is the top-end diesel, coupled to a eightspeed automatic box and this will be coupled with all the bells and whistles available on the R-Sport package that include, among other things, the touchscreen infotainment controller with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wireless charging, radar-enabled active safety features and a thirteenspeaker Harmon-Kardon system. In terms of equipment, you cannot really fault this car. And nor can you when you look at the specs sheet, in terms of size it actually is wider than all the competition and more or less the same in terms of length and height. So, the competition then. This is a highly competitive segment with the relatively new BMW X1 as well as the Mercedes- Benz GLA and the dated but still competitive Audi Q3. The thing is that despite making some very nice cars of late, and I have really enjoyed driving all the new Volvo s such as the second-generation XC90 and XC60 as well as the brilliant V90 Cross Country. But despite being brilliant cars, Volvo still has to make inroads into the minds of luxury car buyers. Most Volvo owners in India, and I know a few, love their cars and actively want to replace one with another and promote the brand with their friends. And although there nrole of the in-laws nquality time that she gets for herself nquality time spent with her child, husband and other family members nwork life related factors like managing kids and family with work, support from employers/ colleagues etc. nindividuality of moms with regards to financial independence nself-perception as a mother noverall happiness with life nsocial media usage ntime spent on fitness activities Of the population covered, 44 per cent were in the age group of years and the rest were between years. Of these 97 per cent are staying with their husbands. The research findings indicated what we had been suspected all along that 70 per cent of the moms are not happy. Mothers gave maximum weightage (31.1 per cent) to their own perception of the kind of moms they are, as a key driver of their happiness. While 73 per cent of mums thought that they weren t great at being mothers, they admitted that their children (56 per cent) and their husbands (37 per cent) would rate them as great moms. NO MORE SPROUTS? Ace artist VIBHOR SOGANI s thoughtful installation is set to be replaced by a multi-layered water fountain KUSHAN MITRA hrough news in media, one hears that the Ticonic Sprouts installation, which stands in the undulating greens surrounding the AIIMS flyover in Delhi, is set to be dismantled and replaced by a multi-layered water fountain...but officially, I have not yet been intimated about this development, says veteran artist Vibhor Sogani. The installation in question is amongst the first large initiatives in the country where contemporary art of this nature, in public domain, was introduced. The project was part of the Delhi Government s plan to beautify the capital of India. It was also meant to commemorate sixty years of India s independence exemplifying the brief, from a walled city to a world city. As an artist, my message behind the artwork Sprouts was When the seeds begin to sprout... a subtle way of saying that we, as a nation, are well and truly beginning our journey towards being a force, explains Sogani. Sprouting up from the ground, the installation seems to defy gravity, powerfully depicting India as a growing nation. The 40-feet-high creation spread over six acres of land, was India s first major public art installation project, and it continues to be the country s largest site-specific installation ten years after its conception. It became a well-recognised landmark and one often saw, kids and adults alike, interacting with the installation. Sprouts has defined the city s path of progression towards a global benchmark and its relationship with urban art. A manifestation of India s democratic ethos, it has provided an urban space for public engagement and is an urban insert, place-making within a larger context. In India, public art is as good as nonexistent. When Indians travel to other countries, they see art installations so often and so beautifully woven in the urban landscape and wonder why these are missing in India? The cities in our country are posed with this great opportunity to introduce contemporary art and integrate it with the urbanscape. With such large number of people on the roads, it may be a great move towards making art a part of our culture. It would have many pluses... while the cities will become more happy and vibrant with such artworks, a large number of artists will also get opportunities to show their works and expressions through this powerful media. The private sector, if rightly motivated and rewarded will be very happy to back such initiatives as these would help promote them as well. In turn, the people at large would gain, the art community will gain, the business houses will gain and even the government will gain with positive sentiment in their region.so, at this point, when there are hundreds of roundabouts, public spaces, traffic islands, waiting and wanting more artworks across the city, what s the point in dismantling the one that exists? It s time we looked at the larger picture and create many such landmarks across the city. Once we take pride in Delhi being one of the best cities in the world, this initiative will surely be one positive step in that direction. Cat among the pigeons The Volvo XC40 if priced well can upset the Mercedes, BMW and Audi applecart in the small, luxury SUV segment The columnist takes his hands off the wheel on the XC40 and lets the car steer itself on the highway outside Barcelona was the earlier V40, it was a hatchback and the luxury hatchback market was a dead-end in India even for Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Volvo India did not have a product that gave an entry into the brand. Now, with the XC40 they have, if of course pricing stays in the sensible range. Volvo India tend to load all their NEVER SAY DIE An exhibition of Afghan art highlights how hope continues to thrive despite bloodshed in the country, says DIVYA GIRI have seen so much bloodshed, I think the stories would Ifill a book, says Mohammad Salim Attaie from Kabul, a self-taught artist. Currently in India, Attaie is leading a group of artists from Afghanistan including Abdul Fatah Amar; Mohammad Azim Rawofi and Mohibullah Attaie (Moheb Sadiq) for the exhibition, Afghan Art: A Land in Conflict and Hope. Attaie and his fellow artists have not had it easy and practiced their craft despite what was happening in their country. The war that ravaged Afghanistan for a long time and the Taliban regime that came to power between , ensured that it was really difficult for the artists to practice their art. The Taliban banned the entire spectrum of creativity and performance including clapping, and they destroyed an estimated 80 percent of Afghan cultural heritage, from religious relics to film reels. Afghanistan s art scene has seen a revival since the fall of the Taliban in Contemporary art reflects on what happened in Afghanistan during the past decades and the current challenges. Most artists have not had a formal art training and paint what they see, with what they have. This exhibition is evidence of the never say die spirit of the Afghans. Attaie was born in 1972 and at 16, had to sign up for the army to fight the Russians, who were then occupying Afghanistan. He says, I left the army when I was 20, and did whatever I could do for a living like selling tea, working at construction sites and peddling dry fruits. He took up art in 2001 when he started gallery Nootaq (meaning starting from scratch) in The Senai Art School gallery which had protected the art works of artists from Taliban admired his style and encouraged him to take in students and mentor them. Attaie has curated several shows in Kabul including an exhibition at the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and at the office of the president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Attaie says, Because of the conflict in Kabul, I was forced to leave my home and sell off everything that I had at 15. When I moved to Taliban, art was restricted over there as well. In 2008, I started painting and I preferred oil paint. But with war all around, Attaie found inspiration in himself. My family members sell paintings and my brother is an artist too. And this is the fourth time I am displaying my work in India. And there is a reason that he keeps coming back to the country. He concludes, India is one such place where art is nurtured and valued. I am in love with this place. (The exhibition is on till May 29 at Annexe Art Gallery) cars up with a ton of features that add to the cost, their massage seats on their XC60 and XC90 while lovely while driving ignore the fact that most Indians who buy such cars rarely drive themselves. Their audio systems, while spectacularly good might be a bit of overkill for a typical luxury car buyer in India. As such, every Volvo is designed for an ownerdriver and their cars until now were too expensive and too big to appeal to that category of buyer. That is less the case with this segment of buyer. But as I argued last week, this segment is one that very often chooses a brand over sensibility, if you were practical you would buy something like a Hyundai Tucson and the Volkswagen Tiguan makes more sense if you want a smart-looking German SUV. Take the Audi Q3 for example compared against the XC40, the current generation car will be replaced next year, the vehicle is dated, lacks features that are standard on the Volvo. Yet, the Audi Q3 still pulls buyers based on the power of the Chaar Choori. That should not be the case, because the XC40 is a fun car to drive as well. I drove both the D4 and T5 models in Barcelona. The D4 comes with 190PS of power which is quite a bit for a car of its size, and thanks to Volvo s Power Pulse technology that uses compressed air to get the turbos rotating quicker, there is little power lag. But the variant I enjoyed more was the stunning T5 petrol which had a two-litre turbocharged engine with over 250PS of power and was a hoot to drive on the highways outside the Spanish city. Just to note, Volvo also has a D3 and a T3 variant, the numbers Volvo uses are similar to Audi and denote power output, that have 150PS and 160PS of power respectively. Fact is, that the XC40 in its D4 avatar only has the BMW X1 match it in power output and features, and the X1 is its strongest rival (including the fact that it has a stronger brand). Also, Volvo has brought along their excellent radar-assisted active safety features along to India. Last year, I tried using this in Spain and allowed the car to follow the car in front with radarassisted cruise control, that helps maintain a safe distance to the car in front and also lane-assist which keeps the car between the dashed lines. Of course, these are great features for the west but like in the other Volvo s and the Mercedes- Benz S-Class which have these features they might be a bit much for our chaotic and poorly marked roads, although they are useful on some of the new highways around the country - like Hyderabad s Outer Ring Road. I genuinely liked the XC40, and I hope Volvo, despite loading the car up with features, prices the car well when they launch it later in July. It gives the German cars a run for their money in terms of features, it is genuinely fun to drive and marks out your individuality, Volvo India should offer the petrol engined models as well as explore offering some lower-specified models as well.

15 LUCKNOW FRIDAY MAY 25, 2018 sport 15 INIESTA SETS OUT ON JAPANESE ADVENTURE Barcelona s legandary No 8 signs for J-League club Vissel Kobe AP n TOKYO A ndres Iniesta is, finally, a member of Japanese club Vissel Kobe. The former Barcelona great appeared at a packed news conference at a central Tokyo hotel on Thursday along with billionaire Kobe owner Hiroshi Mikitani. It was hardly a surprise. Iniesta tweeted a photo of himself and Mikitani on his new boss' private jet as the two flew to Tokyo for an announcement that had been expected for weeks. "I'm pleased to announce that Andres Iniesta will be signing up to play with Vissel Kobe after his historic career at Barcelona," Mikitani said. "We look forward to Iniesta not only contributing to the team but helping in the development of young players." Iniesta signed his contract as Mikitani watched, and then spoke through an interpreter. Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but Japanese media are reporting he will earn $30 million annually on a three-year deal. "For me this is a very special day," the Spaniard said. "This is an important challenge for me. My family is excited to come to Japan and we are very pleased. There were many offers. Other clubs showed interest. But I decided to sign with Vissel Kobe because the project presented to me was impressive." Mikitani is also the CEO of Barcelona sponsor Rakuten, a Japanese online retailer. Iniesta held up the team's red shirt with his famous No 8 on the back, and his name written across the bottom. Iniesta previously had said he would probably retire from international football after Spain plays at this year's World Cup in Russia. The 34-year-old Iniesta scored the winning goal for Spain in the 2010 World Cup final. He also was a key part S I N G L E S ISTANBUL TO HOST 2020 UCL FINAL UKRAINE: The Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul will host the Champions League final for a second time in Istanbul was chosen over Lisbon by the UEFA executive committee, which will also decide in September whether Turkey or Germany should host the 2024 European Championship. The 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul produced one of the competition's most memorable matches. The 2020 Europa League final will be played in Gdansk, Poland, while the Super Cup between the Champions League and Europa League winners will be at Estadio do Dragao in Portugal. KOHLI TAGS PM IN ONLINE FITNESS CHALLENGE NEW DELHI: India captain Virat Kohli has challenged PM Modi in an online fitness dare, which he accepted and promised to post a video of his workout regimen. The initiative, called the 'Hum Fit Toh India Fit' challenge, was started by Sports Minister Rajavardhan Singh Rathore, who posted a short video doing push-ups. He tagged Kohli, shuttler Saina Nehwal and actor Hrithik Roshan in the video, challenging them to post their own exercise videos. Kohli posted a video of his gym training and tagged his actor wife Anushka Sharma, former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Modi in."challenge accepted, Virat! I will be sharing my own #FitnessChallenge video soon," Modi tweeted. 422 PLAYERS TO BE PART OF PKL SEASON VI MUMBAI: VIVO Pro Kabaddi player auctions are to be held in Mumbai on May 30th and 31st. 21 players will be picked by 9 franchises as Elite Retained Players, 87 young players from the Future Kabaddi Heroes (FKH) programme are to be drafted into the auction pool. 58 Overseas Players across 14 other countries will be a part of the auction pool. Riding on the back of 5 phenomenal seasons, the League has worked consistently to set new benchmarks and with the expansion in format and franchises in its previous season, is now India's biggest domestic sporting league. 135 SHOOTERS TO TRAIN AT GNSP PUNE: Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation's backed Project Leap trained shooters are already making strong impression at the international arena. The Project in its second year has initiated its annual trial for all talented young shooters from across the country. This will be the first time that this highly cognitive trial has been made open for all shooters of the country falling under the age group of U-21 and the final selected best shooters will be trained by immensely experienced Slovakian rifle coach Anton Belak & South Korean pistol coach Kim Seonia and mentored by the ace Olympic medallist shooter, Gagan Narang himself. IRFAN, LEE & SAMMY TURN TO KABADDI MUMBAI: With the excitement around the event is on the rise, three legends from the world of cricket, Brett Lee, Irfan Pathan and Darren Sammy took up the kabaddi challenge. The three players built their teams with junior kabaddi stars and were pitted against each other. Darren Sammy who was playing kabaddi for the first time said, "I have watched Kabaddi on television and wondered why they kept saying Kabaddi Kabaddi and today I finally know. MITHALI SELECTED FOR KARATE YOUTH CUP GURUGRAM: 13-year-old Mithali Raj Karate student at Sanshinkan India, Gurugram has been selected by World Karate Federation to represent India at the 7th World Karate Federation Youth Cup in Umag, Croatia starting from 30th June to 6th July. Agencies Andres Iniesta (R) holds his new jersey with Hiroshi Mikitani (L), owner of Vissel Kobe on Thursday Argentina have to regain confidence at WC AP n BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA rgentina has to get over recent dis- in major tourna- Aappointments ments in order to challenge for the World Cup title in Russia, defensive midfielder Javier Mascherano said Wednesday. Mascherano downplayed expectations telling reporters in the Argentine capital that "it would be a mistake to already think about the final." He also said beating Iceland in their groupstage meeting will be key for Argentina to regain its confidence. Argentina opens its Group D campaign in the Russian capital against Iceland on June 16. It then plays Croatia on June 21 in Nizhny Novgorod, followed by a meeting with Nigeria in St. Petersburg on June 26. There are plenty of doubts for Argentina ahead of the tournament. At 33, Mascherano is near the end of his career, while striker Sergio Javier Mascherano in training for Argentina AP Aguero and midfielder Lucas Biglia both experienced injury problems recently. Paulo Dybala is yet to deliver for his country despite all the promise on display at Juventus. Much of the squad also carries the burden of mass disappointment following three successive losses in finals: the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Copa America and 2016 Copa America Centenario. Argentina secured its spot in Russia in the last round of South American qualifiers thanks to a hat trick by captain Lionel Messi against Ecuador. The flaws in the squad were later underscored in a 6-1 loss to Spain in a friendly in March. "We can't be thinking about becoming World Cup champions, but about arriving as a group in the best way and generating trust that we lack today because of the situations that we have experienced," Mascherano said. LOCAL EVENTS RAJ GARDEN CLUB ENTER SEMIS Raj Garden Club edged past DYA Club by three wickets to enter the final of the 14th BBD b Division League at SARJ ground on Thursday. Batting first, DYA piled up 145 runs in 37.4 overs with Nikhil Singh (44) and Anand Prakash (38) being the main scorers. Amar took three wickets. In reply, Raj Garden achieved the target in 29.3 overs for the loss of seven wickets. BRIEF SCORES: DYA: 145 (Akhil 44, Anand 38, Abhikal 29, Prem 28, Rohit 26; Amar 16/3, Anil 21/2) RGC: 149 (Jamal 55, Gyaneshwar 25, Anand 22; Kabir 10/2) KOOH SPORTS CLUB WIN Kooh Sports Club defeated Jubilee Cricket Academy by 94 runs in a league match of LCA Under-13 Trophy at Chowk Stadium on Thursday. BRIEF SCORES: KSC: 190 (Tanay 57, Athrav 24; Suhail 15/2, Salil 36/2, Anmol 38/2) JCA: 96 (Suhail 34, Salil 30; Aryan 8/4, Sarfaraz 22/2) SHAKUMBARI THRASH CPG Shakumbari Cricket Club thrashed Cricket Promotion Group by 10 wickets in a league match of Under-14 Cricket League at NR Stadium on Thursday. In other matches, KD Singh Babu Trainees beat Mega Trends Cricket Club by nine runs while Gujaral Cricket Academy spanked Kalyanpur Strikers by nine wickets. AP ANUBHAV TYAGI n NEW DELHI ormer poker player Kunal FPatni reckoned that the recently organised Poker Sports League was a milestone for the Indian players. Patni, who was Hyderabad King's mentor in the previous PSL season, explained how PSL has helped in improving the experience and skill set of the players. "It is a unique platform where the best players participate, not only from within the country but also internationally," he said. "It has surpassed all expectations in terms of the whole set-up, media coverage, social media coverage and the enthusiasm among the players. Overall, everything has been great," he added. While explaining the standards of the league, he said, "There were three participating players who have won bracelets in World Series, which is one of the main events at world stage. So, credibility and trust was automatically there." He went on to explain how it has helped players in several INIESTA PLAYED HIS LAST MATCH FOR FC BARCELONA ON SUNDAY AGAINST REAL SOCIEDAD AT CAMP NOU, RECEIVING AN EMOTIONAL FAREWELL FROM TEAMMATES, STAFF AND FANS TO HONOUR HIS STAY AT THE CATALAN CLUB THAT LASTED 16 SEASONS of Spain's two European Championships in 2008 and He announced last month he would leave Barcelona after 16 seasons. His last match for the Spanish club was on Sunday against Real Sociedad at Camp Nou. Vissel Kobe are in sixth place after 15 games in the J-League. They signed Lukas Podolski last year, but the German striker is out until the end of June with an injured calf. Having a player of Iniesta's stature will help raise the profile of the J-League as it competes with the Chinese league in the lucrative Asian market. "I'd like to make a forward step with the club and also help the J-League spread in Asia," Iniesta said. "I'm looking forward to playing with my teammates. This is a country I really love and I want to immerse myself in the culture." AP n TERESOPOLIS, BRAZIL eymar's recovery from a foot injury Nhas been better than expected, Brazil's medical staff said on Wednesday, but added that a thigh problem sustained by winger Douglas Costa will affect his preparations for the tournament. Neymar was back in training with the national team on Tuesday after being sidelined since late February with a broken bone in his right foot. On Wednesday he also took part of Brazil's first fitness training in foggy and cold Teresopolis, outside Rio de Janeiro. He underwent surgery in Brazil on March 3. Brazil's fitness coach Fabio Mahseredjian said it may take time before Neymar is back to full fitness but that the striker is moving in the right direction. "We don't know how far a top athlete like him can go, but I can say his development has been above what we expected," Mahseredjian said. "We have started working one month before our World Cup opener, and until the end of the group stage there is more than a month. I believe that training with the squad, being monitored like he is now, with daily follow-ups, Neymar is very well taken care of.... It will be important (to see Neymar) when he plays 11 against 11 on a reduced pitch. We will try to speed up his adaptation so he picks up his game pace." Meanwhile, Costa is recovering from Bright future for poker league' ways. "The format is such that players don't have to spend a single rupee in terms of accommodation, food, travel, etc. The only thing it takes is 2-3 months of rigorous training to go through the qualifiers. It's a platform for everyone be it a mentor, a qualifier or a pro player. The learning that you get here helps you upgrade your skills immensely along with experience," he elucidated. The CEO of Adda52.com online poker site Anuj Gupta also spoke about how the game is now being looked at compared to the earlier days. "Today the perception about online card games is different. The people and the environment are more supportive as compared to when we started the site," he said. To change the perception Gupta's team had tried advertising and launching new programs in this field such as pro program for poker players. It also got recognised by the President of India as they produced their first professional poker player for India (Muskan Sethi). GEARING UP: Players of Liverpool FC (left) and Real Madrid CF (right) carry out the final training session before their departure to Kiev for the Champions League Final on Saturday. AP Henderson confident of Reds chances IANS n LIVERPOOL dmitting that Real Madrid are the over- favourites for this season's Awhelming Champions League final, Liverpool FC captain Jordan Henderson asserted that his teammates may upset the defending champions if they play to their full potential. With 12 European titles to their name, Real Madrid are the most successful team in the competition and Henderson is aware that Liverpool will face an uphill task in their quest to prevent the defending champions from taking a 13th crown to Madrid. "They know how to win. They are a team of winners, individually they have world class players all over the pitch. They find a way to win and that's what the best teams do," the England international was quoted as saying by the Independent. "That's what we have to do at the weekend, just keep doing what we have been doing through the campaign we've been brilliant. And on the day, be brave and play like we know we can and if we do that we can hurt them," Henderson added. Liverpool have done well this season, finishing fourth in the English Premier League (EPL) and reaching their first Champions Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson 12 season. Twitter image League final since the season. They had lost 1-2 to Italian giants AC Milan on that occasion and Henderson is hoping for a different result this time. If Liverpool do manage to defeat the Spanish giants, they will become the first English club to become European champions since Chelsea upset Bayern Munich in the "Definitely not. We haven't won anything yet. We have got to the final and we've done extremely well to get there but you are remembered for winning trophies," Henderson said. "Everything that happened before, you can use as a learning experience and hopefully on Saturday we'll use it in the right way. If we do that we have a chance," he added. Neymar gets better as Costa picks up injury Neymar (left) warms up with teammate Felipe Luis for the Brazilian national team; BELOW: D Costa in a file picture a minor right thigh injury but Brazil doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said the winger will be fit in time for the World Cup. Lasmar said Costa picked up the injury during Juventus' 2-1 win against Verona last weekend. He said the Brazilian reserve is not expected to start training on the pitch with his teammates until the end of the week. Lasmar added that it's still unclear whether Costa will play in Brazil's pre-world Cup friendlies against Croatia on June 3 and against Austria one week later. But he said the forward will remain a part of the World Cup squad. "He is being followed day by day so he Geeta Phogat joins camp, Babita out Lucknow (PNS): The Wrestling Federation of India has allowed three Phogat sisters, who were dropped from the national camp for indiscipline, to join the ongoing camp at Regional SAI Centre in Lucknow. However, Babita s suspension was not revoked as she failed to offer any explanation for not reporting at the start of the camp. This would dash the hope of Babita who bagged silver at Gold Coast, to represent the country in Asian Games to be held in Jakarta. As per reports, Geeta has joined the camp and has started training while Ritu and Sangeeta will be joining soon as both the sisters are training abroad. AP n PARIS imona Halep has learned Sfrom her mistakes, and she is hoping to put her newly acquired knowledge to the test at this year's French Open. The top-ranked Romanian led Jelena Ostapenko by a set and 3-0 in last year's final at Roland Garros. She looked to be on the verge of claiming her first Grand Slam title on the Parisian clay, but fell apart and eventually lost to the unseeded Latvian in her second French Open final. "I've learned that I have to be more aggressive in that position, when I'm leading the match," the 26-year-old Halep said on Thursday. "I think I was not ready to win the match," she said. "But it's also a good experience. Maybe if I face the same situation in the future, I will be much better." Halep, who needs to reach the semifinals in Paris to have a can be cleared (to go to training)," Lasmar said. "Today we are not working with the hypothesis of taking players out (of the squad)." Eleven players took part of Brazil's fitness training, including Neymar. Costa and right-back Fagner, who is also returning from injury, spent the afternoon with physiotherapists. Brazil will stay in the Granja Comary training facilities in Teresopolis until Saturday, before moving camp to North London until June 8. Left back Marcelo, midfielder Casemiro and striker Roberto Firmino will join the squad in London on Monday after Real Madrid and Liverpool meet in the Champions League final in Kiev. Brazil are grouped with Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia in the World Cup. Halep hopes for 1st Grand Slam title AP chance of keeping her top spot in the rankings, said she has put in a great amount of work since last year's final, making her believe she is a better player. "I improved a lot, also mentally," said Halep, who has often been betrayed by mental frailties. "My game is a little bit stronger, more complete. I feel my movement on court is stronger. I also worked a lot on my serve. It's not easy to serve, because I'm not that tall, but I'm trying to be more consistent and to deliver heavier serves." Will it be enough to finally lift a Grand Slam trophy after finishing runner-up three times at majors? "I had three chances, you never know when the luck is (coming)," said Halep, who was beaten in the Australian Open final this year, and lost her first final at Roland Garros to Maria Sharapova in "I just need to stay the same, confident and focused."

16 boundarymeter 4s s 839 We have forgotten the past. We are not thinking about the four losses SRH keeper Wriddhiman Saha LUCKNOW FRIDAY MAY 25, 2018 UPNEXT MIGHTY RIDERS READY FOR SRH BATTLE Home advantage makes high-flying Kolkata favourites against out-of-form Sunrisers in Qualifier 2 16 Live on Star Sports 1 KKR vs SRH KOLKATA FRIDAY 7:00 PM HEAD TO HEAD M 14 KKR 9 SRH 5 KARTHIK RAMAN n NEW DELHI I n-form Kolkata Knight Riders will be eager to make the most of their home advantage when they lock horns with struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second Qualifier in Kolkata on Friday. After beating each other once this season, the winners from Friday's clash will face MS Dhoniled Chennai Super Kings in the Final on May 27. Following an inconsistent season, Kolkata got their act together at the right time of the season, winning four matches on the trot. Whereas, Hyderabad are enduring their worst spell of the campaign, losing their last four matches on the bounce. After enjoying a dream first half of the campaign, SRH was the maiden team to qualify for the playoffs, finishing at top of the table. After the qualification was confirmed, there was a sudden drop in their performance levels. It all started with a defeat against Chennai Super Kings in Pune. They went on to lose to RCB, KKR and CSK again in the first play-off. The defeat against Chennai last Tuesday will hurt them a lot. At one point, SRH were cruising with CSK struggling at 113/8 inside 18 overs while chasing 140. But Williamson's Kolkata Knight Riders Dinesh Karthik walks off the pitch past disappointed Sunrisers Hyderabad players after winning their previous IPL encounter decision to allow Carlos Brathwaite bowl the 18th over backfired as the West Indian conceded 20 runs in that over, which proved to be the turning point in Chennai's victory. Still, bowling has been their biggest strength throughout the tournament. The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul and Sandeep Sharma have been performing consistently. Kaul (19 wickets) is their leading wicket-taker this campaign after impressing at the start as well as the death overs. Afghan spinner Rashid Khan (18 wickets) has been equally impressive with the ball. Their problem, however, mainly lies in the batting department. Their over reliance on skipper Kane Williamson, the current Orange Cap holder with 685 runs at average, is one of their main reasons for the downfall. When the New Zealand skipper fails to deliver, others have struggled to fill that void. Shikhar Dhawan (437 runs) has done a reasonably good job to support his captain, but he will be keen to get some runs under his name after being dismissed for a golden duck against CSK in the last match. Their biggest concern is the struggling middle order. Manish Pandey (284) and Yusuf Pathan (212) have failed to shoulder responsibilities in the middle overs when call upon. Hence, the team is left with no choice but to rely heavily on AP their top-order batsmen. They have to step up if they are going to have a deep batting unit against the hosts KKR on Friday. As far as Kolkata are concerned, they seem to have everything in order. Dinesh Karthik has been leading them by example this season. After replacing the departed Gautam Gambhir, Karthik has been enjoying the form of his life, averaging from 15 matches. SQUADS Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (c), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, R. Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Cameron Delport, Javon Searless, Apoorv Wankhade, Ishank Jaggi, Tom Curran. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Wriddhiman Saha, Siddharth Kaul, Deepak Hooda, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami, Ricky Bhui, Basil Thampi, T Natarajan, Sachin Baby, Bipul Sharma, Mehdi Hasan, Tanmay Agarwal, Alex Hales, Carlos Brathwaite, Rashid Khan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Nabi and Chris Jordan He has been a steady performer in the middle-order, stepping up every time his team needed him. While chasing the targets, he has often helped his side cross the finishing line without much fuss. Chris Lynn, Andre Russell and even Sunil Narine - often plays as an opener - have done their part in the team's revival. Their spinners have been mighty impressive. Other than Narine, Kuldeep Yadav (16 wickets) and Piyush Chawla (13 wickets) have been sensational. Whereas their pacers Russell and young Prasidh Krishna have looked good. R O A D T O Q U A L I F I E R 2 : KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS : p Beat RCB by 4 wickets at Kolkata p Lost to CSK by 5 wickets at Chennai p Lost to SRH by 5 wickets at Kolkata p Beat DD by 71 runs at Kolkata p Beat RR by 7 wickets at Jaipur p Lost to KXIP by 9 wickets at Kolkata p Lost to DD by 55 runs at Delhi p Beat RCB by 6 wickets at Bengaluru p Beat CSK by 6 wickets at Kolkata p Lost to MI by 13 runs at Mumbai p Lost to MI by 102 runs at Kolkata p Beat KXIP by 31 runs at Indore p Beat RR by 6 wickets at Kolkata p Beat SRH by 5 wickets at Hyderabad p Beat RR by 25 runs at Kolkata SUNRISERS HYDERABAD: p Beat RR by 9 wickets at Hyderabad p Beat MI by one wicket at Hyderabad p Beat KKR by 5 wickets at Kolkata p Lost to Kings XI Punjab by 15 runs at Mohali p Lost to Chennai Super Kings by 4 runs at Hyderabad p Beat Mumbai Indians by 31 runs at Mumbai p Beat Kings XI Punjab by 13 runs at Hyderabad p Beat Rajasthan Royals by 11 runs at Jaipur p Beat Delhi Daredvils by 7 wickets at Hyderabad p Beat RCB by 5 runs at Hyderabad p Beat Delhi Daredevils by 9 wickets at Delhi p Lost to Chennai Super Kings by 8 wickets at Pune p Lost to RCB by 14 runs at Bengaluru p Lost to KKR by 5 wickets at Hyderabad p Lost to CSK by 2 wickets at Mumbai QUOTEUNQUOTE KKR banking on home advantage against SRH PTI n KOLKATA wo-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will Trelish home advantage when they take on a struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 of the ongoing Indian Premier League, said the team's left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. KKR are lucky to play the two knock-out playoff matches at the Eden Gardens. The two-time champions ousted Rajasthan Royals last night here en route to its fourth win on the trot. Next up are Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have lost four matches in a row the latest defeat coming against Chennai Super Kings in the Qualifier 1 in Mumbai and the visitors will have to quickly adjust to the conditions at Eden Gardens to stop KKR from entering its third IPL final. "Obviously it will be difficult for them (Sunrisers) to come from Mumbai and play here. Mumbai wicket has true bounce whereas the Eden track aids spin. It's our home ground, so it's very easy for us to play here," Kuldeep, who returned with a tidy 1/18 from his four overs, said after KKR's win on Wednesday. KKR, however, are not underestimating Sunrisers, whose performance has been Kuldeep Yadav in a file picture on the wane after topping the table in the league stages. "We are not looking at the results. It does not matter whether they lost four in a row or we won four. Winning our next match is the priority at the moment," Kuldeep said. "It's knock-out stage. Every game is very important from here on. They are a very good side and we are up for a good contest." Kuldeep provided the crucial breakthrough on Wednesday to dismiss Ajinkya Rahane for the second time in three matches this season as Rajasthan choked from being 109 for 1 in 14 overs to be restricted to 144 for 4 in pursuit of 170. "He (Rahane) was batting very well. I just bowled a wrong one in a good area," the spinner said. "It was very important to get that wicket as he was batting very well." Kuldeep said they executed their plan perfectly in breaking Rahane's 82-run partnership with Sanju Samson, who hit a 50. "They were going well and the discussion at the timeout was to break the partnership. We were looking for wickets. Later on PC bhai (Piyush Chawla) got Samson and took the game away from them," he said. Kuldeep and Chawla stood up and delivered for KKR last night as Sunil Narine had a lean day. "We were playing with three spinners and sometimes your best bowler goes trough bad patches. Myself and PC had to stand up for him and we did well," Kuldeep said. AFP n LONDON ohammad Amir captured Mthe prise wicket of Alastair Cook after the England opener led a fightback on the first day of the first Test against Pakistan at Lord's on Thursday. At tea England were 165 for five, having slumped to 43 for three before lunch after home captain Joe Root had won the toss and batted. Cook, in his 153rd consecutive Test, which equalled Australia great Allan Border's all-time record for successive appearances at this level, revived England with a fine 70. But shortly before tea he was bowled by Amir, a teammate when Essex won the County Championship last season, as the left-arm quick produced a brilliant delivery that cut away late off the pitch late to clip the top of the opener's off stump. Cook faced 148 balls, including 14 fours Ben Stokes was unbeaten on 36, having hoisted leg-spinner Shadab Khan for the first six of this match. Jos Buttler, recalled as a specialist number seven, was unbeaten on 13. Root opted to bat first in the PTI n NEW DELHI ndia captain Virat Kohli's much- participation in the English Ihyped County Championship was on Thursday ruled out due to a neck injury, throwing his meticulously planned build-up for the tour of UK into disarray. The Indian captain will now undergo a period of rehabilitation under the supervision of the BCCI Medical team. He will begin training and subsequently undergo a fitness test at the NCA in Bengaluru from June 15. That test will confirm his availability for the initial phase of the UK limitedovers tour starting with the two T20 Internationals against Ireland in the last week of June. "Team India Captain Mr Virat Kohli suffered a neck injury while fielding during Match 51 of the VIVO IPL between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad on 17th May 2018 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru," BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said in a press release. "Kohli, who was scheduled to play for Surrey CCC in the month of June, has been ruled out from participating. This decision was taken following opening match of this two-test series, despite the overcast conditions and a green-tinged pitch offering the promise of assistance for Pakistan's pacemen. Both England and Pakistan's have concerns over their batting so it was a particularly bold decision by Root. It certainly looked a good toss for Pakistan to lose as three members of an England top-order that repeatedly failed during winless winter Test tours of Australia and New Zealand all fell for single-figure scores. Mohammad Abbas made the breakthrough when he CRICKETDIARIES No county action for injured Virat LORDSTEST Amir checks Cook in 1st Test bowled Mark Stoneman (four) with a late swinging delivery to leave England 12 for one in the fourth over. Root, promoted up the order to number three, also fell for four when he drove at a wide ball from Hasan and edged behind to opposing captain Sarfraz Ahmed. Cook got into gear with a cover-driven four off Amir, but he could only watch as fellow left-hander Dawid Malan (six) became Hasan's second wicket of the morning, with wicketkeeper Sarfraz again making no mistake with the catch. KOHLI SORRY FOR RCB'S FORGETTABLE IPL SEASON NEW DELHI: India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli on Thursday said he was "deeply sorry" for RCB's failure to make the ongoing Indian Premier League's knockout stage and vowed to turn things around next season. RCB finished third from bottom after losing eight of their 14 matches, let down by a weak bowling attack and inconsistent batting which was heavily reliant on Kohli and AB de Villiers. "We could not pull our way and we are not very proud of how the season went for us. (I'm) deeply hurt by how we played... Deeply sorry for not living up to the expectations of the fans," Kohli said in a video posted on his Twitter page. assessments by the BCCI Medical team, subsequent scans, and a specialist visit," the release further stated. "The BCCI Medical Team is confident that Kohli will regain full fitness ahead of India's upcoming tours to Ireland and England," Choudhary stated. India's limited-overs series against England starts on July 3 with the first T20 International at Old Trafford. The marquee five-match Test series starts on AFP n LONDON ustralia great Allan Border Apraised the "amazing" Alastair Cook as the England batsman equalled his record of 153 consecutive Tests by playing in the series opener against Pakistan at Lord's on Thursday. This was the 154th Test of opener Cook's career with only illness after he made a century on debut against India at Nagpur in 2006 interrupting a sequence where he has never been dropped by the selectors. Border and Cook are both gritty left-handed batsmen, each having scored more than 11,000 Test runs and captained their respective countries to Ashes success. They've also each won a County Championship title with Essex. But at 33, Cook is some five years younger than when Border played his 153rd Test, a reflection both of England's heavy programme and the increasingly congested nature of modern international cricket. "Having said that, it is all a part of life and you cannot always get what you want. It's upto the players to understand what to do about this the next season, really want to turn things around next season," he added. RCB did show some late spark in the round-robin stage but the turnaround came a little too late for them to have any chance. "Next year, we will be putting in more effort," Kohli asserted. Kohli is currently sixth in this year's list of top IPL scorers after amassing 548 runs at an average of in 14 matches. De Villiers stands ninth in the same list with 480 runs at an average of PTI August 1 in Birmingham. The batting mainstay had decided to miss the one-off Test against Afghanistan, starting June 14 in Bengaluru, to appear in county matches. The decision had become a flashpoint between the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and top BCCI officials, who were against his missing a Test match for county. Kohli had visited a hospital in Mumbai for a check-up on Wednesday Border impressed as Cook equals record Alastair Cook during Thursday s Test innings against Pakistan AP "I didn't realise anyone was getting that close in terms of consecutive Test matches, but it is an amazing thing," Border told Britain's Daily Mirror. "I've been a great fan of his from a distance over the years. I don't know him well, but we've got that Essex connection. "I spent two fantastic years playing there and so I've watched his progress as a former player from the club. "To have stayed fit and able to play that many consecutive games is remarkable," the 62- year-old added. and it was reported that he is suffering from a slip disc injury and will not be playing for Surrey ahead of the UK tour. However, a top BCCI official, who is privy to Kohli's county engagements, clarified that it was a case of "neck sprain" and not a "slip disc injury" as reported. But there was no denying Kohli's tremendous workload during the past one year. In this phase, he appeared in nine Tests and 29 of the 32 ODIs that the national team played. He also played 9 out of India's 18 T20 Internationals. In all, he played 47 international matches with only Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya (48 each) playing a match more than him. Add to it, the 14 IPL matches and his tally went up to 61 in all. The one question that begs an answered is why did Kohli not rest himself from a few matches during the IPL? The BCCI has already put a program in place where the centrally-contracted cricketers' workload and injury management is monitored through the National Cricket Academy. The franchise physios and trainers are supposed to give weekly updates to the national team trainers and the ones present at the NCA. No excuses, says Rahane on RR s batting failure PTI n KOLKATA ajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya RRahane was critical of his team's batting performance in the lost IPL Eliminator against Kolkata Knight Riders, saying the line-up could not handle the pressure. Chasing 170, Rajasthan Royals looked good when Sanju Samson (50) and Rahane (46) were in the middle for a fiftyplus partnership. They needed 61 runs from six overs with nine wickets in hand but eventually fell short by 25 runs after the duo's dismissal. The team seemed to have sorely missed the star English duo of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes who were away on national duty. But Rahane disagreed. "We can't give any excuses. They are important and experienced players but we did well (without them) to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore in our last match," Rahane explained. "We backed our batting unit to get the total. We did not get big sixes in the last few overs. Credit goes to KKR bowlers. We need to learn for next season. We batted well in patches and were not that good enough throughout the season," a dejected Rahane said.