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1 ugitive diamantaire Mehul FChoksi has moved to Antigua from the US and taken the passport of the Caribbean country, Government sources said. In response to diffusion notice issued by Interpol, the Enforcement Directorate has been informed by Antiguan authorities that Choksi arrived there this month and had taken the passport of that country. Choksi had fled the country in the first week of January, nearly a fortnight before weeks before country's biggest banking fraud surfaced. The CBI has booked Choksi, uncle of his alleged partner in crime Nirav Modi, in two cases related to the scam and filed charge sheet against him. A special court in Mumbai has issued a Non- Bailable Warrant against him. Armed with the warrant, the CBI moved the Interpol for issuance of Red Corner Notice against the Gitanjali group promoter, who is one of the masterminds behind $2 billion banking fraud in the Punjab National Bank. Continued on Page 4 an on plastic bags, con- and bottled water in Btainers and around Taj Mahal besides removal of polluting industries from Agra are part of the grand plan laid out by the Uttar Pradesh Government in its Vision Document for development of the iconic monument and its surrounding areas. The area around Taj Mahal is also intended to be declared a pedestrian zone, walkable with shaded pedestrian sidewalks, controlled traffic (electric public transport) and designated cycling track. The report seeks to restrict use of polluting private vehicles, two wheelers in the Agra city area surrounding Taj Mahal. The first draft of the document was tabled by the State Government in the Supreme Court on Tuesday after it lambasted the Centre and State authorities for doing little to preserve and restore the 17th century architectural marvel. The document, running into 250 pages, proposes a three-tier scheme that intends development of Taj Mahal and its precincts, the city of Agra as a whole, and the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), which covers an area of square kilometers spread across Agra, Mathura, Firozabad, Hatras, Etah and Bharatpur in Rajasthan. The report has focused on environmental issues, urban development and planning, infrastructure assessment, linkages and transportation, preserving natural heritage tangible and intangible, creating form, space and image of urban settlement and providing regional equity. The Vision Document prepared by the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, is the first draft and would require further ironing out and fund allocation in order to arrive at the final Draft Vision Document, expected to be out in another two months, said the UP Government in its accompanying affidavit presented before a Bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta by state s Additional Advocate General (AAG) Aishwarya Bhati. The document proposes 25-yr-old man accused of love jehad was Abeaten by a mob in front of the marriage registrar office where he was to marry a Hindu girl in Ghaziabad on Monday evening. The trouble began when the couple reached the sub-registrar office. When they were filling up a form, some men in the office noticed that the man was a Muslim and the bride a Hindu. They reportedly began asking the couple embarrassing questions. When the couple protested, a dozen men started thrashing the man. Police personnel stationed there took them in their shelter and eventually helped them escape. Sahil, a native of Bhopal, and Preeti Singh, a native of Bijnore in western UP, work in the company in Noida. They decided to marry against the wishes of their parents. The couple wanted to register their marriage at Ghaziabad court as a friend told them that it is safer, police said. After the assault video went viral on social media, police registered a complaint under IPC Sections 147, 427 and 323 against Vinod and Navneet along with some unidentified persons in Sihani Gate police station. No arrest has been made so far, said Inspector Sihani Gate police station Sanjay Pandey. development of the historic gardens, parks and historical monuments situated around the Taj Mahal. The vision plan also envisages development of Yamuna river and its floodplain, restoration of wetlands and natural ponds, and seeks to create green buffer zones. About pollution caused by industries in TTZ, the report suggested introduction of innovative techniques to tackle the pollution caused to the river and shifting of polluting industries out of TTZ. Interestingly, the report says that the residential settlement and slums on the other side of the river facing Taj Mahal should be retained with proper infrastructure and livelihood opportunities for those residing in it. roviding a major relief to PHeavy Engineering Limited (HEC) the State Cabinet on Tuesday approved availing its pending power dues with Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Limited (JBVNL). A decision in this regard was taken which would allow passing the dues under the head of delay payment surcharge with the HEC levied during the period of September 1, 2008 to March 31, As per the decision now the JBVNL would get the due of crore adjusted against its loan and interest payable to the Government. Also, the Cabinet amending a circular issued on September 2, 2016 has authorised SPs to announce reward up to 1 lakh, DIGs up to 2 lakh and IGs and ADGs up to 5 lakh for catching any notorious terrorist or naxalite. Also at a time such rewards can remain announced to maximum 400 such criminals. The Government also simplified immovable property registration and marriage registrations process. Now NRIs, Overseas Agencies of India or Persons of Indian Origin residing outside the country who do not have their Aadhaar numbers need not require it and get that authenticated through their other government document numbers such as passport Ṡuch persons can put in their passport, OIC or any other ID issued by concerned country with self-attested documents. Mobile OTP facility has also been made acceptable for such persons whose Aadhaar authentication could not be done due to some illness or iris and fingerprint non-verification. The Cabinet also revised estimate of health subcenter at Dahuri of Chatra which would be lakh. he Delhi Cabinet has approved a Tproposal to increase the income of Delhi farmers by three to four times. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced Mukhyanmantri Kisan Aaye Badhotri Solar Yojna under which the surface area of agriculture land will be used to install solar panels without disturbing the agriculture activities as the height of solar plates will be 3.5 metre. The solar panel will be installed in one-third area of land. The estimated annual income of farmers is 20,000 to 30,000 per acre per year and with the introduction of this scheme their income will increase three to four times per acres. It would be pertinent to mention here that the scheme will provide a source of additional earnings to farmers starting from 1 lakh per acre with an annual increment at six per cent; this further means farmers will get 4.04 lakhs per acre of the land in the 25th year. he Delhi High Court on TTuesday reiterated its earlier order directing Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash to appear before the committees of the Delhi Assembly. The court said Anshu is adequately protected against any punishment by the Assembly committee which has sought his presence and asked him to appear before the panel. The HC said the July 13 order was expressly clear that Anshu has to take part in the proceedings before the Assembly s Committee of Privileges (CoP) and if any punishment was slapped on him, it would not be implemented till his plea against the panel s notice was decided. The observation came on an application moved by Anshu seeking clarification on the July 13 order that asked him to appear before the panel which issued notice to him on a complaint by the Question and Reference (Q&R) Committee of the Assembly. Continued on Page 4 After approving the scheme in the Cabinet, Kejriwal said, "While farmers all over India are in distress, the Delhi Government is standing with them. We are launching this scheme which would help them enhance their earnings manifold." Kejriwal also asked other State Governments to implement this model. "We want to make this scheme a model The report noted that currently, the mainstay of persons residing around the monument is primarily based on tourism. In the name of promoting Taj as a global tourist destination, the document noted that several traditional industries in the informal sector took a hit with the closure of industries and brick kilns in Agra and its vicinity. While traditional livelihood patterns need to be conserved, retail commerce must be promoted along with development of more livelihood opportunities such as handicrafts, small-scale cottage industries, based on a multisectoral pattern, said the report. About Agra city, the report emphasised the need of covering drains, having a scientific landfill site outside the city with facility to convert waste to energy, and sewage recycling mechanism and storm water drainage system. for whole country, it will be of great help for the farmers in distress," said Kejriwal. Significantly, Delhi farmers will also get 1,000 units free electricity per acre from solar plant per annum. "Total 6 acre of land will be required for installation of 1 MW solar plant which could generate approximately 13 lakhs units of electricity annually," Kejriwal said. day after the Centre set up Aa Group of Ministers (GoM) and a Home Secretaryheaded committee to suggest ways and a legal framework to effectively deal with incidents of mob violence, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday told Parliament that the Government would enact a law, if necessary, to curb such heinous incidents. The Government also issued an advisory to States asking them to appoint district-wise nodal officers and task forces to monitor and curb the rumour mongering that ensues in lynching. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria on Tuesday announced a judicial probe into the Rakbar Khan case, but not before maintaining that evidence suggested it to be a case of custodial death. Kataria said the State Government has also ordered an initial compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh for the family of the deceased. We have written to the additional chief judicial magistrate to initiate a probe, Kataria told reporters at a Press conference. Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra attributed the recent surge in mob lynching to blatant reliance on social media. The blatant reliance on social media needs to be checked by citizens themselves to ensure peace and order in the society, the CJI said at an event in Delhi. The Opposition, including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress and the Left parties, raised a din over the spate of mob violence and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge demanded that a sitting Supreme Court judge should carry out an enquiry into such incidents and action should taken on the report. The issue was also raised in the Rajya Sabha. During the Zero Hour mention, Shanta Chhetri of the TMC cited media reports to say, 88 precious lives have been lost (in lynching incidents) since this Government came to power. She wanted to know the steps initiated to check such attacks and the Government action on framing the anti-lynching law. "This will also provide clean energy to Delhi and help fight the menace of pollution. The solar power generated would be bought by different departments of the Delhi Government at a cheaper rate than on what they buy electricity presently. The Government would also save 300 to 400 crore using the cheap power from farm solar scheme," the CM added. "We hope that the farmers would start earning from this scheme in 8 to 9 months time and this would become a model for the country," he added. The Home Ministry advisory sent to Chief Secretaries and DGPs of the States and UTs said, Incidents of violence and lynching by mobs in some parts of the country fuelled by various kinds of rumours and unverified news such as child lifting, theft, cattle smuggling, etc, are a matter of serious concern. Such instances of persons taking the law in their own hands run against the basic tenets of the rule of law. All State Governments, UT administrations and their law enforcement agencies are requested to implement the directions of the Supreme Court in letter and spirit. A detailed report on the action taken in the matter may please be sent to the ministry at the earliest. he Delhi Police is likely to recommend cap- the duration of protest at the Jantar Tping Mantar at maximum one day and limit the number of protesters at 5,000, after the Supreme Court revoked the ban on holding rallies and dharnas at the iconic site. A senior police officer said with the Jantar Mantar being redesignated as a site for holding protests, their job of containing protests will become easier. After the National Green Tribunal order banning all protests and dharnas around Jantar Mantar last year, protesters wanting to get their plea would gather anywhere, thereby affecting law and order. But with the top court lifting the ban on rallies at the Jantar Mantar, our job of monitoring the situation would become easier, he added. The Jantar Mantar can accommodate a maximum crowd of 5,000, and if the number exceeds it, traffic comes to a standstill in Lutyens Delhi. Before the NGT ban on protest there in October last, the Jantar Mantar was like a home to many protesters.

2 he issue of black money that domi- the political discourse during Tnated 2014 Lok Sabha polls seems to have gained traction in the build-up to the next general elections. The BJP-led NDA Government on Tuesday asserted in Parliament and outside that illegal money in the Swiss banks came down by 80 per cent since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge, rebutting Congress charge that it rose by 50 per cent despite the tall claims of the ruling regime. Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal cited figures in the Rajya Sabha to affirm that black money in Swiss banks reduced by 80 per cent since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over in Later, talking to mediapersons on Parliament premises, he attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi for maligning the country s image by making false claims on the basis of baseless reports. Goyal, who had taken on Rahul on the issue of lynching in Alwar by terming him a merchant of hate, said the Congress president says baseless things without knowing the issue. Rahul had last month cited media reports to attack the Government that contrary to their positioning on black money, the amount has, in fact, increased by 50 per cent. Indian deposits in Swiss banks fell by 34.5 per cent in 2017 and by 80 per cent since 2014, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said, citing data from the global body of central banks, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). He said this countering reports last month quoting the Swiss National Bank (SNB), the country s central bank, as saying in its annual report that Indian deposits had risen by 50 per cent in Goyal informed the Rajya Sabha during Question Hour that he discussed the issue with the Swiss authorities, who told him in a written reply that media reports have not taken account of the way the (SNB) figures have to be interpreted. Last month, PTI had reported SNB he Singhbhum Chamber of TCommerce and Industry has demanded a pantry car in Steel Superfast Express. The new LHB rake of the superfast train between two destinations- Tatanagar and Howrahdoes not have a pantry car. The train had a pantry car before it got the state-of-the-art LHB coaches. General secretary of the trade outfit, Vijay Anand Moonka in a letter to the general manager of South Eastern Railway S N Agarwal on Tuesday demanded a pantry car. The LHB coaches include nine 2nd class chair car(reserved), six 2nd class chair car (Unreserved), four AC chair cars, one AC first class, one AC three-tier and a power-cumgenerator car. The trade outfit also urged the general manager of SER not to discontinue the AC first class coach which can accommodate 18 passengers. data that the money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose to CHF 1.01 billion ( 7,000 crore) in 2017 after falling for three consecutive years. The Swiss Authorities say that the figures published by the Swiss National Bank are regularly mentioned by the Indian media as a reliable indicator of the amount of assets held with Swiss financial institutions in respect of Indian citizens. They clarify how this is wrong. They say more often than not, the media reports have not taken into account the way the figures have to be interpreted which has resulted in misleading headlines and analysis. This is (the Swiss) Government response, he said. Goyal said according to Swiss authorities, the more reliable data source for deposits held in Switzerland is the Locational Banking Statistics (LBS) of Bank of International Settlements. LBS measures international banking activity from a residence perspective, focusing on the location of banking office and captures around 95 per cent of all cross-border banking activity. He said SNB data includes nondeposit liabilities, business of Swiss branches located in India, inter-bank transactions and fiduciary liability. BIS data show non-bank loans and deposits which constitute the individual and corporate deposits and exclude interbank transactions have fallen by 34.5 per cent in 2017 to $524 million compared to $800 million in 2016, he said and vowed to continue the crackdown against black money. Further, there has been significant reduction in Swiss non-bank loans and deposits of Indians by 80.2 per cent between 2013 and 2017, he said, adding he second day of the BSNL TAll India Chess Tournament began in the presence of BSNL GM (Marketing), Ramshay Prasad on Tuesday. Addressing the contestants, Prasad asked the players to play with the true spirit of sportsmanship and give their best. On the second day, BSNL CGM Jharkhand Circle, KK Thakur visited the spot for boosting the morale of all the participants. As per the match the figure in 2013 was $2.6 billion which came down to 2.3 billion in 2014 and $1.4 billion Moreover, it is frequently assumed that any assets held by Indians are undeclared, he said. So if you want to know the deposits of Indian residents in Switzerland, the correct data source is called locational banking statistics. The Minister said the Automatic Exchange of Information based on Common Reporting Standard has commenced from 2017 with many countries enabling India to receive financial account information of Indian residents. This will also be useful in bringing the unaccounted income and assets to tax, he said. However, Goyal s reply did not satisfy Trinamool Congress members, who stormed into the Well of the House demanding that black money stashed in Swiss banks be brought back, forcing Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn the proceedings for about 90 minutes. The TMC had raised the issue in the House. Interestingly, PTI reported that responding to an RTI query the Finance Ministry had refused to share copy of three reports on the quantum of black money held by Indians inside the country and abroad, saying its disclosure would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament. Then UPA Government had in 2011 commissioned these studies by Delhibased National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) as well as the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) in Faridabad. Replying to an RTI query, it said the study reports of the NIPFP, NCAER and NIFM were received by the Government on December 30, 2013, July 18, 2014, and August 21, 2014, respectively. The Ministry said these reports were submitted to the Standing Committee on Finance on July 21 last year and the committee is now seized of the matter. Accordingly, the disclosure of information would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament. Therefore, the information sought is exempt from disclosure under Section 8 (1) (c) of the RTI Act, it said in reply to the RTI application filed by this PTI correspondent. The section bars information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament. he Himachal Government Tis mulling to amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) to make it more stringent to curb the drug menace in the State. The issue was discussed during the Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur. During the meeting, it was felt that necessary amendments can be made in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act to make it more stringent. It was also stressed that a State-level special task force be formed to nab the drug peddlers throughout the state, said an official spokesman. He said the Cabinet also directed the Home Department to hold regular coordination meetings at the Director General level with the neighbouring States on the issue. It also directed to conduct joint police operations with neighbouring states to check interstate drug flow. While reviewing the steps being taken to control spread of drug menace in the State, the Cabinet directed that a special campaign would be launched to check drug menace by involving Education, Health, Police, Social Justice and Empowerment departments besides ensuring active participation of panchayats, mahila mandals, parents, school children and teachers etc, the spokesman said. It also directed to promote alternative crops in the traditional cannabis growing areas so that people could be motivated to grow alternative crops, he added. The Cabinet was apprised that during the last six months, poppy was destroyed from 1,366 bighas as compared to only six bighas in Apart from this, 831 drug offenders were arrested and cases were registered against them during the period. Meanwhile, the Cabinet also decided to convene monsoon session of Himachal Vidhan Sabha from August 23 to August 31. It will have seven sittings, the spokesman said. record, by far, both Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have scored 12 points and are leading while Telangana has scored 10.5 points followed by Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand that have scored 9.5 points and 8 points respectively. The Cabinet also decided to allot Dugar Hydro Electric Project with capacity of 449 MW in favour of NPHC limited on BOOT (build, own, operate, transfer) basis for a period of 70 years. After completion of this period, the project will revert to Himachal Government with specified generation capacity, free of cost and free from all encumbrances. It was also decided that Kargil Day will be celebrated all over the State in DCs, SDMs and BDOs offices. The officers should hold meetings in which ex-serviceman should be especially invited, visits should be made to war memorial and shaheed samaraks and oath should be administered, the limate change related problems like Cflood, cyclone, drought, aberrant weather, global warming are the results of human efforts to use and mould the climate as per their need and suitability, said Dr Parvinder Kaushal, Vice Chancellor, Birsa Agricultural University (BAU). Even small change in climate leads to emergence of new diseases, pests and weeds of crops requiring development of new strategies to control them. Dr Kaushal was addressing a daylong regional workshop on Alternate agricultural production pathways in changing climate, organised jointly by BAU and the Centre for Environment Science and Climate Resilient Agriculture (CESCRA) of Indian Agricultural Research (IARI), New Delhi at BAU on Tuesday. Traditional water management expert Simon Oraon said that water bodies like wells, ponds, dams and rivers are the real temple, mosque and church for us which provide support to our life system all the upporters and sympathizers Sof former Daltonganj Congress MLA K N Tripathy said they were too hurt not to find their leader on the posters of the Congress party here which were splashed here on Monday on the occasion of the arrival of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Dr Ajay Kumar. It is a deliberate political undermining of a leader of the stature of Tripathy who has always stood with the common masses here on all social causes said Rakesh Singh of Chainpur here. Tripathy said, I am in the hearts of the people of Palamu. It does not matter who is on the poster or who is out of the poster. I am the people s face, not the poster boy. Palamu district Congress president Jeyesh Ranjan Pathak popularly known as Bittu Pathak on the other hand said the posters that the party had on Monday here had photos of spokesman said. The Cabinet also decided to implement Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission in the state. Nearly five lakh selected families of Himachal would be provided health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per annum. At present, 175 hospitals have been registered for providing free treatment to these families, the he added. The spokesman added in order to provide major succour to the farming community of the State, the Cabinet approved implementation of Mukhya Mantri Khet Sarankshan Yojna and Mukhya Green House Renovation Scheme in the State. only the office bearers of the party organization and that too was in the order of protocol. Bittu Pathak refused to be ven as Punjab Chief EMinister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday declared that the Congress needs no ally in Punjab for 2019 parliamentary polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) s State unit has decided to adopt a wait and watch policy. drawn into any further comment or remark on why Tripathy was out of the poster. Congress sources said the visit of Dr Ajay Kumar here on Monday has widened the gap among the Congressmen most as the words doing the rounds here is that the present State president of the Congress party is clipping the image of his own leaders of the party which is sending down a wrong signal among the supporters of this party here. The Congress cadres here are too baffled also over this development. Congress sources said political sailing of Dr Ajay Kumar would be too difficult here in Palamu if he so pursues the politics of marginalization of his own people. Sources said it was the first mayoral election in the tenure of Dr Ajay Kumar where the Congress could not romp home in 5 mayoral seats in the state which the BJP candidates bagged and there were tongues wagging then that he ( Dr Ajay) selected wrong one for right place! AAP s Punjab leaders, who met on Tuesday to discuss a slew of issues afflicting the State unit, has decided to wait for the suitable time to discuss the issue of alliance with the Congress, while one of its MLA HS Phoolka issued a warning saying that he would quit AAP if it decided to join hand with the Congress. The meeting was convened by the Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, Sukhpal Khaira which was attended by 16 out of the total 20 AAP MLAs giving a much needed boost to his standing in the party. Khaira is on collision 365 days. Continued pollution and destruction of the natural resources gifted to us by God has resulted in climate change related problems. We have set up factories for producing currency but water and farm produce cannot be manufactured in factories. We all will have to join hands to protect the mother earth, the forests, wild life, water resources, traditional crop varieties and native breeds of livestock to effectively face the challenges post by changing climate, the recipient of Padma Shree award stated Swami Bhaveshanand, Secretary of Ramakrishna Mission said that the need of the hour is to protect and popularize the eco-friendly farming system in practice in India. For quality and sustainability, we will have to go for high yielding varieties in place of hybrid varieties and indigenous cattle breed like Sahiwal, Gir, Gangatiri etc instead of Jersey and Holstein Frisian, he added. Dr S Naresh Kumar, Principal Scientist, IARI, New Delhi said that main objective of the workshop was to delineate the current state of agricultural production system in the region, discuss the development of alternate production systems in current and future climates and identify opportunities and constraints for achieving alternate production systems. Indian agriculture needs to be looked from the perspective of improving farm productivity, sustaining the natural resources, protecting the environmental balance, improving the nutritional security and enhancing the living standards of farm families. Climate change poses immense challenge to all these goals necessitating development of alternate production pathways for agriculture which can meet the national and international demands as well as achieve sustainable development goals, Kumar said. Dr Raghav Thakur, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, Dr Abdul Wadood, Chairman, Dept of Agricultural Meteorology and Earth Science, Dr BK Jha, BAU Coordinator of the project and Dr Niva Bara, Head, Dept of Extension Education also participated in the deliberations. Chandigarh: A delegation of Aam Aadmi Party, led by the Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira, on Tuesday called on Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana KP Singh to raise the matter of sending back two of its MLAs Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Amarjit Singh Sandoa from the Ottawa Airport by the Canadian Immigration authorities. Taking a serious note of the matter, the Speaker said that he would write to the Union External Affairs Minister to take up the matter with the Canadian Government. India and Canada are commonwealth countries and they should concentrate on further strengthening of ties and cooperation, he said. He added that the Canadian Government should respect public representatives and must facilitate them but, this episode is very unfortunate and condemnable. course with his party colleague and the state unit co-president Dr Balbir Singh. Bholath MLA had accused Dr Balbir of making false allegations, of accepting money from the party workers in Shutrana, in order to remove h i m from the post of the Leader of Opposition. We have decided to raise this issue at the party forum only and not in the media. I have presented my case before my fellow MLAs, and we have decided that the issue would not be talked about outside the party forum, said Khaira after the meeting.

3 rincipal Secretary to Chief PMinister Raghubar Das, Sunil Kumar Barnwal, has directed several measures to be taken to revamp the CM Jan Samvad cell and settlement of the complaints coming to it in more effective manner. During a review on Tuesday Barnwal told the officials for merger of the cells and Jan Suvidha Kendras at district level and registration of complaints coming at the portal only so that centralised monitoring can be done. He also hinted to expand the public grievance system by making it open at panchayat level as well. As many as 18 cases were brought for review through videoconferencing which included non-payment of Rs 3 crore of about 200 hailstorm affected farmers of Kisko block of Lohardaga. The farmers had in 2016 given applications to then Circle Officer for compensation. Barnwal pulling the official present of Disaster Management Department directed him to release the assistance within a week. In another matter, he directed medical officer of Ranchi to seal Popular Medical Hall of Ratu Road in Ranchi within 24 hours which is operating despite its license getting expired in December 2017 itself. Land owner had approached the Jan Samvad for vacating the premise. On the complaint of Prince Kumar Gupta of Dumka, Barnwal directed to sanction the education loan sought by him from SBI s Haatgamharia branch else to file FIR against the Branch Manager for nonaction in a week time. He also told to arrest all the 15 persons named for financial mismanagement taken place at LAMPS of Fatehpur in Jamtara. rincipal Secretary, Health, PNidhi Khare on Tuesday inspected State-run MGM Medical College and Hospital at Sakchi and promised better care for patients in days to come. During the three-hourlong inspection and a review meeting with HoD's she interacted with patients and assured to solve the drinking water, power and other problems reeling the government hospital. Khare asked authorities to fix time frame for completing the ongoing infrastructure development work at the hospital campus which also includes the new building which has facility of surgery OT, gynaecology, paediatric and anaesthesia units. She also set goals for the doctors and other staff. We need to solve every issue. Everyone must owe Direction to handover appointment letter to Upendra Ram has also been given whose father Yamuna Ram had died in 2016 in service. The officials also took seriously the illegal encroachment taken on Government land at Ramgarh and directed the concerned nodal officer to stop the work immediately and for submitting a report. In a case related to Ramgarh, some people have illegally occupied government land and constructing house, despite complaining to the Zonal Office, SDO office and the Deputy Commissioner office, encroachment has not been removed even after two years. On this the Secretary instructed the concerned officer to stop the construction work immediately and send report within 24 hours. Sunita (fictitious name) of Deoghar is missing from November His family has accused Sintu Kumar for kidnapping. The police are investigating but have not found any clue so far. When asked about this Deoghar DSP told that the police team is continuously interrogating and conducting raids. The secretary instructed to form separate teams and rescue the girl immediately. n the recent case of alleged Iinvolvement of a nun of Nirmal Hriday a shelter home for women in distress -- in infant selling case, member of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Priyank Kanoongo during an inspection of centre on Tuesday said that continuous follow-up of this case in being done by the Commission. After conducting a formal inspection of a shelter home at Guwahati, Assam, now Nirmal Hriday Ranchi is on the radar of NCPCR. All documents are being verified, said Kanoongo. Condemning the incident of infant selling here, Kanoongo admitted that the condition of shelter homes at most places is not up to the mark. The NCPCR member, who reached Ranchi on Tuesday for investigation stated that the anomalies are clearly perceptible in this matter and the detailed report of this case covering all aspects has been asked from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and the district administration. iming for efficient imple- of Foster Care Amentation and Sponsorships Guidelines of the Jharkhand government a three-day training programme was inaugurated on the Civil Court premises in Ranchi and Bokaro on Tuesday. In Ranchi Judicial Commissioner, Navneet Kumar alongwith member Secretary JHALSA AK Rai inaugurated the workshop, while in Bokaro District and Sessions Judge Md Shakir inaugurated the programme organised by District Legal Services Authority of both the districts under the aegis of JHALSA; scheduled to be concluded on 26 July. During the first-day training Further, Kanoongo stated, Whosoever is guilty in the child sale case will not be spared in any situation. The Commission is serious on this matter. Investigation is going on in a speedy way across the country. If during the investigation, child sale case is revealed from any other State as well, no matter how powerful the institution is, it will not be spared. olhan University has start- taking steps to ease Ked education as per Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) In a major move, the examination board has sent an approval to the university syndicate. Under this students appearing for the 50 marks ability enhancement compulsory course that comprises of MIL communication in the first semester; environmental science in the second semester and skill enhancement course in the third and fourth semester will now answer their papers in one and a half hours instead of three hours. Moreover, examination board has already decided that these papers will have objective type questions only. Prior to this these papers required students to answer both objective and subjective questions for three hours which the examination board felt was unnecessary. CBCS is a system where the students have a choice to choose from the prescribed courses, which are referred as core, ability enhancement and generic elective courses and they can learn at their own pace and the entire assessment is gradedbased on a credit system. In the undergraduate level, it has been decided that honours students across arts, science and commerce will have to study papers like MIL, computer science, personality development, communicative English, environmental studies, basic math economics and history of Jharkhand. " We want to ease studies for the student. We have sent a proposal to the syndicate which will notify it soon. So all these papers in the first four semesters will have students answer responsibility. Timelines and goals have been set for improvement in facilities. There are several problems confronting the hospital and we are trying to resolve them," said Khare talking to media persons after the review meeting on the hospital premises. Khare revealed that out of the 29 points which the Medical Council of India (MCI) had wanted improvements for 100-bed hospital, seven points have been left. We need to be prepare for MCI visit. Most of the points have been covered as pointed out by the MCI team. Only seven are left. I have asked the hospital authorities to complete them before the next MCI visit," she said while referring to a query. During the last inspection, the MCI team pointed out several irregularities in the functioning of the hospital and the college. The team had directed the hospital authorities programme two teams were constituted for the proper implementation of the guidelines includes Team A for Jharkhand s Foster Care and Team B for Sponsorship guidelines, informed Anand Mani Tripathi Secretary DLSA Bokaro. Recently, foster care and sponsorship guidelines have been notified in Jharkhand, aiming to promote familybased care programme especially for the orphan or discarded kids, he said. Foster care is an arrangement whereby a child is placed for the purpose of alternate care in the domestic environment of a family, usually on a shortterm or extended period of time, with unrelated family members for purpose of care and protection, said Anand. Family or a family like an environment is most conducive to a child and every child has the right to grow in such an environment, he added. While the Sponsorship programme is a family-based care and protection programme for vulnerable children. Sponsorship is meant for provision of supplementary support, financial or otherwise, to the biological or extended families to meet the medical, educational and developmental needs of the child and prevent family separation, said Anand. in half time," said P.K. Pani, examination controller of Kolhan University. After its first semester exams in February-March, the varsity officials have said that the second semester examination sometime in September. Examination forms will be filled up in August. As this is the first year of the semester system, officials have admitted delays in managing the entire system. Meanwhile, a meeting of the examination board held on Tuesday at the university headquarters in Chaibasa decided to announce results of 11 Ph.D candidates. The Kolhan University was established on August 13, 2009 with 14 Constituent Colleges and 14 Affiliated Colleges in geographical jurisdiction of East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela Kharswan District with more than 80,000 students strength. The university is in the area of tribal region. Apart from conventional courses in UG and PG level including medical/ dental/ engineering/ law/ management/ education following vocational courses are running under the university. to take steps to plug the loopholes within a specified time frame. Khare during the review meeting asked hospital superintendent S N Jha to keep things in order and adhere to the MCI-prescribed norms strictly, so that the MCI axe does not fall on any department. Deputy Commissioner of East Singhbhum Amit Kumar was also present at the meeting. MGM Medical College and Hospital is a government hospital with the facility of 540 beds. Everyday around 1000 patients come here for treatment. It may be mentioned that State Government governed Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital, is an Indian medical school established in It is situated in the outskirts of Jamshedpur near Dimna. The college's hospital is located in Sakchi. Meanwhile, he expressed satisfaction over the district administration s effort, CWC role and police investigation in this case. As per my knowledge, the district administration is taking all mandatory steps to resolve the issue. CWC members have been asked to submit the report copy at the earliest. It will be reviewed and further action will be taken as per the report, he said. Chairperson of Jharkhand State Commission of Protection Child Rights (JSCPCR), Arti Kujur said that after the matter was brought into the notice, four investigating teams have been constituted on the recommendation of Chief Minister Raghubar Das. The JSCPCR Chairperson had recently investigated the condition of a shelter home in Khunti district. Kujur too accepted that many irregularities were noticed at Balgriha there during the investigation. As per the State government s order, we are preparing the report. The commission has received complains about the functioning of Bethel mission. In any circumstance, any institution violating child rights will not be tolerated. On or before August 10, JSCPCR will submit a detailed report on the status of children living in observation homes, shelter homes in Jharkhand, added Kujur who accompanied Kanoongo during the inspection of Nirmay Hriday.

4 rime Minister Narendra PModi on Tuesday saluted the "indomitable spirit" of the people of Rwanda as he visited the Genocide Memorial Centre here which honours over 250,000 victims of the country's mass killings in Prime Minister Modi, who is on a two-day state visit to Rwanda, arrived here yesterday on the first leg of his threenation Africa tour, becoming the first Indian premier to visit the East African country. He paid tribute to the victims of the genocide with a laying of wreath on the burial place and toured the centre to learn more about the history of the genocide against the Tutsi -- the principal ethnic community in Rwanda. Modi wrote a heartfelt message in the guest book of the memorial after his visit. "My visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial has been a deeply moving experience. The genocide in Rwanda was a grim reminder of the worst aspects of humanity. Rwanda's response, as a nation, to this tragedy has been one of restraint, reconciliation and peace. "I salute this conscious effort of the Rwandan government and the indomitable spirit of the people of Rwanda. May the departed souls rest in peace," the Prime Minister wrote, according to the Kigali Genocide Memorial's twitter handle. The memorial is the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the genocide against the Tutsi. "Beginning the day on a poignant note! visits the Genocide Memorial Centre in #Kigali. The Memorial honours the victims of the worst excesses of violence. It is also symbolic of the admirable and exemplary process of reconciliation Rwanda has embarked upon," Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet. The memorial includes three permanent exhibitions, the largest of which documents the 1994 genocide. There is also a children's memorial and an exhibition on the history of genocidal violence around the world. The education centre, gardens, and Genocide Archive of Rwanda contribute to a meaningful tribute to those who perished, and provide a powerful educational experience for visitors, according to the memorial's website. Kochi: The Customs Department has invoked the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFE- POSA) Act against an Afghan national, who was arrested with foreign currency from the international airport here last month, officials said here on Tuesday. The customs authorities on June 13 had seized undeclared foreign currency worth `10.86 crore from Mohammad Seddiq Yousufi, who was going to Dubai from the airport. Yousufi's arrest was recorded on June 14 under various provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and was produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Economic Offence Court, Ernakulam. PTI he Madras High Court on Ttuesday allowed nine petitioners to file their Income Tax returns manually without quoting Aadhaar number for the assessment year A division bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Anand Venkatesh passed the interim order noting that since the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar itself was yet to be decided, the petitioners could be allowed to file I-T returns without the Aadhaar. However, it made it clear, "If the Supreme Court decides to uphold the constitutionality of Aadhaar, then the petitioners would have to file revised return quoting Aadhaar." The Supreme Court had on May 10 reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Centre's flagship Aadhaar o break the alleged nexus Tbetween Border Security Force personnel and the drug smugglers along with checking smuggling of narcotics from across the border, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday suggested shortening of its personnel s border tenures. At the same time, Punjab CM also ordered setting up of WiFi enabled CCTVs at all nakas (check-posts) at the borders to prevent smuggling of drugs into the State. He also underlined the need for effective exchange of information with neighbouring States, as well as the Central agencies, to coordinate the fight against drugs. Amarinder, reviewing the Government s anti-drug campaign, called for coordinated action against drugs saying that the decision to bring Special Task Force (STF) on Drugs under the purview of the Punjab Police was also necessitated by the same. The STF will now work directly under the control of Punjab DGP as in the case of the scheme and its enabling 2016 law after a marathon hearing that went on for 38 days spanning four-and-half months. In the high court, the petitioners, who sought the court's direction to enable them file their returns without Aadhaar number, contended that in view of a series of Supreme Court interim orders Aadhaar remained a purely voluntary scheme. Hence, they cannot be compelled by the Income Tax Department to provide Aadhaar details while filing returns, the petitioners submitted. The apex court was hearing petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar. Intelligence and Vigilance departments, he clarified, adding the STF had done excellent work under the Chief Minister s Office. But, like the armed forces, the need is now felt to bring the agency under the leadership of the DGP for more cohesive functioning, he added. Underlining the need for a more coordinated approach by all the State and Central agencies, he said apart from drugs, which was of course a major problem, there was need for greater synchronisation to deal with other major crimes, such as trafficking of women, terrorism, arms smuggling, and unauthorised travel agents duping innocent people. He also called for a concerted battle by various agencies against the efforts of fringe elements, like the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which was seeking to divide the state with its motivated campaign of Referendum We have to counter this move aggressively, he stressed. Amarinder, addressing a high-level meeting of all the Deputy Commissioners (DCs), Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) and the Commissioners he Madras High Court on TTuesday stayed the ongoing construction work on a multistoreyed building for a textile showroom here on a plea alleging violation of norms in the approval of plan and raising safety concerns. The new building of Chennai Silks is coming up in the busy T Nagar at the same location where the earlier structure of the textile major was gutted in a massive fire last year. A bench comprising justices N Kirubakaran and Krishan Ramasamy granted the interim injunction on the construction after petitioner Kannan Balachandran submitted that 40 per cent of the work on the 8-storeyed building had been completed within 20 days of getting the approval on June 21. It also granted an interim stay on the reclassification of the area into commercial area from residential area and of Police (CPs), asked police to formulate a robust system of reward and punishment to check drug abuse, with the suggestion to consider informers for Government jobs as an incentive. He directed the police to set up crack teams under SSPs and Deputy SPs at the headquarters level to strengthen the anti-drug fight. He also called for strengthening of the forensic labs to ensure proper and speedy testing of samples. SDMs, DSPs and SHOs concerned shall be held responsible and accountable for ensuring that their respective areas are drug-free, and the deaddiction and prevention programmes are running effectively, he asserted. Drug-related achievements of medical, police and revenue officers should be reflected in their departmental ACRs as a step towards motivating officials to give their best in the fight against drugs, he suggested while issuing a warning that connivance of any kind with the drug mafia will not be tolerated and any officer or official found guilty of the same would face strict punishment. New Delhi: The Jinnah House, a sea facing bungalow in South Mumbai, is a property of the government of India and the question of disposing it does not arise, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah's house does not come under the purview of the Enemy Property Act and the house stands under the category of 'Evacuee Property'. The house is under the administration of the Evacuee Property Act, 1950, the minister said. "Jinnah's house is a government of India property and the question of disposing the said property does not arise," Ahir said in a written reply. PTI directed the authorities concerned to appear in the court with related files and explain under what circumstances they granted the approval. The bench then posted the matter to August 3 for further hearing. The petitioner alleged that the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority had violated all norms in granting the planning permission for construction of double basements in addition to eight floors for ulterior considerations. For a special building/multi-storeyed building, space should be created for at least to a stretch of 250 metres along the length of the road abutting the special building and 500 metres for the multi-storeyed building, he submitted. However, the abutting road width was only 3.7 metres at the site where the under-construction Chennai Silks building was located, he said quoting a fire and rescue service report filed in the court. Alleging that the construction activity was in violation of the national building code and rules, it also had the risk of posing grave fire safety issues for the thousands of people visiting the showroom and residents in adjoining areas. He cited a report of the Fire and Rescue Service filed in the court saying that the firemen had found it difficult to reach the showroom to put out the blaze in May last year. Twelve people were rescued from the seven-storied building after fire broke out on May 31. It was put out a day later and the demolition of the gutted building took several days. resident Ram Nath Kovind Pon Tuesday addressed Parliamentarians and said that the success of Parliamentary democracy lies in five 'Ds' - decorum, discussion, debate, dissent and decision. Outlining the need for orderly debate in Parliament, Kovind said that there should be a sense of dignity even in dissent. The President was speaking at function to mark the completion of three years of Speaker's Research Initiative (SRI) here. As members play different roles in the inter-connected world, their responsibility increases manifold. As such, well-informed decision-making is imperative where members need to be aware of all From Page 1 On this basis, request for Red Corner Notice was moved in June. While RCN has issued against Nirav Modi and his brother Nishal by the Interpol, the request for such a notice against Choksi is pending with the Lyon-based international police cooperation agency, they said. The issuance of RCN would mean that the member countries of the Lyon-based international police cooperation agency can arrest and extradite him. The CBI, in its charge sheets filed on May 14, had alleged that Nirav Modi, through his companies, siphoned off funds to the tune of 6, crore using fraudulent LoUs issued from PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai. Choksi allegedly swindled crore, making it possibly the biggest banking scam in the country, it had alleged. he ashes of Gopal Das TNeeraj, doyen of Hindi poetry who passed away on Thursday evening at the AIIMS Hospital in New Delhi, were immersed in Ganga at Har Ki Paidi on Tuesday noon. He died at the age of 93 after he suffered a head injury at his house in Agra. Born in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, Gopal Das wrote under the pen name Neeraj. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1991 and Padma Bhushan in He also penned many Bollywood songs and earned fame as a lyricist in both Hindi and Urdu languages. When asked about the poet applying for mercy killing, his son who is a retired GM BHEL Milan Prabhat said, He had lived life in full and so he could not accept the suffering in his last days. He passed away just a day after he was admitted at AIIMS. Speaking about his premonition of death, Milan said, In April when he came to Gurugram from Aligarh the entire family met him. This was the last time we met him, he said, adding that he had given his blessing on all, his great grandsons, grandsons and all the members of his family. When my grandson asked him about celebrating his birthday in January next he said that he would not live that long. Strong in his premonition of death, he himself came to meet the family, he said. Rajeev Bhatnagar, a retired AGM from BHEL, said, We had personal connection with Gopal Dass ji through our senior colleague in BHEL, Milan Prabhat. We met him several times. He was an excellent guardian. He guided us through his wisdom. He further said, He would be remembered for his immortal songs like Karvaan guzar gaya, gubar dekhte rahe, from the film Prem Pujari. He also mentioned another song- Shokhiyon mein ghola jaye thoda sa shabab which showed his power of lending Hindi songs with a touch of Urdu poetry. facets of issues being debated in the House, said Kovind. Appreciating Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's initiative, Kovind said that SRI has added a new chapter in the history of parliamentary democracy in India. He noted that several State Legislatures have shown interest in replicating the success of SRI in their respective Legislatures. Earlier, in her welcome address, Mahajan said that the inspiration behind setting up of From Page 1 The applicant also raised the apprehension that one of the members of the CoP was biased against him, but the court allayed his fears by saying that the proceedings would be video recorded. The order (of July 13) is expressly clear that petitioner (Prakash) will participate in the proceedings without prejudice and if the committee recommends or imposes any punishment, same will not be implemented till final disposal of the petition. The court is of the view that the petitioner is adequately protected and no further clarification is required, it said and disposed of the application. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Prakash, alleged during the hearing that the chairperson of the CoP was biased against and hostile towards his client. He said a senior bureaucrat cannot be treated in this manner. SRI came from the presence of more than 300 new members elected to the Sixteenth Lok Sabha. Observing that members of Parliament play multifarious role to harmonize their duties at different levels, Speaker said that the complexity of issues in the era of globalization has made the work of legislators increasingly difficult and complex. She felt that the need of the hour in such a scenario is super-specialization and informed decision making by lawmakers Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar, Deputy Speaker M. Thambi Durai, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal and other dignitaries attended the function. Dehradun: Six child artists of unprivileged background from Uttarakhand represented India in Brave Kids Educational and Cultural Programme held in Ukraine and Poland. The programme was conducted under the patronage of UNESCO and the Polish Ministry of Culture and Heritage. This year around 300 children-44 groups of artists from 20 different countriesparticipated in the event. The students from Nanhi Dunya school based in Dehradun represented the Indian culture through their performances in the foreign countries. Their performance ranged from chanting Sanskrit mantras to staging folk dance and singing folk songs from Garhwal, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. The students presented the rich traditional culture of the country. Notably, the Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu spoke volume The court, however, said no prejudice is being caused to you by appearance (before the panel). Are you protected, the answer is yes. On your plea, it is being videotaped. Court will watch the recording, the judge said. On July 13 while asking Prakash and two other bureaucrats to appear before the committee, the court had warned them that not doing so would invite contempt action. The direction had come after the court was informed that the three officers were neither appearing before the panels, nor giving the information sought from them. They were taking advantage of the court s earlier order restraining the authorities from taking action against them, the lawyers for the Assembly and the Speaker of the House had alleged. The High Court had on March 9 asked the panels not to take coercive steps against the IAS officers. of the students performance in the international programme after they returned. Talking to the media persons in Dehradun on Tuesday, the children said that they were overwhelmed by the rich culture of Georgia. It was a fun experience of sharing cultures of different countries. Spending one month in Poland and 10 days in Ukraine was a journey which we would never forget. We presented the varied cuisines of our country and they relished them. Likewise they presented the popular food of their countries which we relished. We learned new languages from them and we helped them learn something of 'Hindi'. The most appreciated performance was the Punjabi dance, said Ashu Satvika Goyal, the group leader of the students. It took us two years to complete the preparations for taking the children to the foreign countries. PNS

5 he Supreme Court on TTuesday set a tough condition for the Travancore Devaswom Board to defend its age-old practice of banning the entry of menstruating women at the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. The five-judge Constitution Bench hearing the issue said that the Board must first prove that it is a religious denomination and that this ban is intrinsic to their belief and part of custom practiced over a period of time. Once this threshold is crossed, only then can the Board claim protection of such a ban under the scheme of the Constitution. To add to the woes of the Board, the Bench read out the Board s stand before the Kerala High Court in 1991 where the Board stated that it allowed entry of all women for five days in a month. Does the deity disappear for these five days, wondered the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra. Appearing for the Board, senior advocate Abhiskek Manu Singhvi conceded that the Board has changed its stand few times in the past but pointed out that it cannot be faulted on this ground alone as even the Kerala Government did a complete somersault by taking a diametrically opposite stand of allowing woman as compared to its earlier stand supporting the ban. Stating that the changing stands of the Board was proof of the fact that the decision to permit women was taken by the Tanthri and where he is unable to decide, reliance is placed on astrology, the Bench was critical of the decision having anything to do with maintaining purity of the deity complaints. For the bribe takers, the bill proposes to increase arliament on Tuesday the punishment to a minimum of three years of impris- Ppassed the Bill to amend the 1988 anti-corruption law by seeking to punish bribe-givers for the first time along with the bribe takers, as the Lok Sabha gave its nod to it. Moving the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill for passage in the Lower House, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh said its aim was to enhance transparency and accountability of the government and also to make the provisions under the law stringent. The measure reflects the Narendra Modi government's zero tolerance towards corruption, he said. Replying to the debate before the bill was passed by a voice vote, Singh said through this measure, it is also being ensured that honest officers are not harassed. Not only taking bribe, but giving bribe would also be a crime, he said. The Minister said that now prior approval for investigation will be required in cases of all government officers. Earlier, it was restricted to officials above the rank of a Joint Secretary. The bill, which got the Rajya Sabha s nod last week with 43 amendments, seeks to set a timeframe within which a court would decide on corruption issues, he said, adding that verdicts in such cases has to be given ordinarily in two years. He also said that immunity from arrest would be available to all levels of officers, as against the existing provision of joint secretary and above. The Minister said the bill had many provisions to ensure speedy trial of corruption cases, besides providing protection to bureaucrats, even after their retirement, from malicious onment, which may extend to seven years, besides fine. Initiating the debate, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the opposition will support the government if they fought corruption in reality rather than making claims. Under your rule, India, which was known as land of saints, has turned into land of scamsters...vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and many others fled the country after defaulting on banks money, he said. Countering his charges, the BJP MP Prahlad Joshi said it was during the rule of UPA government, the money was given to all these businessman who have now fled. Joshi attacked the Congress with detailing the history from Jeep Scam to 2G Scam to Coal scam under the Congress regime. Joshi s remarks on Sonia Gandhi for the Agusta Westland scam created heated argument for a brief time with Congress and BJP MPs. and the temple precincts. The Bench said, The idea behind the ban seems to be that when women menstruate they get weak and they cannot undertake the arduous journey after keeping a 41-day fast. This ban has nothing to do with their purity. The ban operates against women of years. Singhvi said that keeping fast is essential as it is intended to purify both the mind and soul. He maintained that exceptions are sometimes made even to the observance of 41-day fast. The Bench noted that such exemptions are prevalent in all religions as its human tendency to have shortcuts. Singhvi also pointed out practices prevailing among other religions of the world where discriminatory practices against women persist. He said that the court cannot rely on its willy nilly notions on such subjects as the antiquity of a religious belief or custom has to be decided in a trial before a court gives a finding after examining evidence, counterevidence, and cross-examination of witnesses. The court noted that several affected women may not come forward as they have been subjugated by men in the society over the years. On that count, Singhvi argued that several religious practices of other religions and sects within Hindu religion will fail as most practices are born out of male chauvinistic traditions. The Bench said, God does not make a cult or denomination. You have to show that you are a denomination. People across the country visit this temple. All Hindus also visit this temple. This protection that you claim can only be attached to a religious denomination. The hearing of the case will resume on Wednesday. he Centre has convened an Tall-party meeting on Wednesday to thrash out the issues related to Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill stuck up in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill will again be brought up on Monday despite being listed on Tuesday. A united Opposition on Tuesday decided not to support the anti-federal motor vehicles Bill unless the changes proposed by it are incorporated in it. According to a senior opposition leader, the decision to oppose the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill was taken at a co-ordination meeting of the non-nda parties. The Opposition parties, including the Congress, had opposed the proposed amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, saying the changes would help the corporates and dilute the powers of the state governments. It was decided that the Bill would not be allowed to pass in the Rajya Sabha until the government incorporated all the amendments listed by the opposition parties, the leader said, requesting anonymity. The bill, which has already been passed in the Lok Sabha, was tabled in the Rajya Sabha in April, 2017 and subsequently, referred to a select panel. After taking the panel's recommendations into account, it was re-introduced in the Upper House. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said in the House that there were different amendments on the Motor Bill by members and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has agreed to talk to them. TMC leader Derek O Brien said there are at least 10 political parties on this and there are six-seven amendments to this Bill. he Congress on Tuesday Tmoved gave notices for breach of privilege against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha for misleading the House on the Rafale deal issue. The move comes after the BJP gave a notice for moving a Privilege Motion against Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for misleading the house by making false allegations against Modi and Sitharaman. The notices were moved by Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Veerappa Moily, KV Thomas, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rajiv Satav, AICC sources said. The notices were given over the statements made by Modi and Sitharaman in Lok Sabha during the debate on the no-confidence motion on July 20. Congress also demanded a JPC probe into the deal during the debate on Prevention of Corruption (amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha. The prime minister has along with the defence minister deliberately mislead the House, it is, therefore, requested that this notice of breach of privilege be accepted and referred to the privilege committee for further proceedings, the notice against the prime minister says. The prime minister in his speech endorsed the Defence Minister s claims, which contradicted the reply of his Minister of State for Defence in Lok Sabha on November 18, 2016 and in Rajya Sabha on March 19, 2018, the notice says. The Prime Minister s claim of transparency in the 2008 confidentiality agreement with France is factually incorrect, untrue, and deliberately made with the intention to mislead the House, according to the he Supreme Court on TTuesday expressed dissatisfaction over the failure of a High Powered Committee headed by Prime Minister and comprising of Chief Justice of India and Speaker of Lok Sabha for failing to give any timeline on the appointment of a Search Committee that is to shortlist names for appointment of Lokpal. Expecting that its earlier optimism over an early decision in this regard will be respected at the next meeting, a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, R Banumathi and Navin Sinha directed the Centre to come back with a better affidavit in four weeks. Attorney General KK Venugopal who appeared for Centre presented the Court with an affidavit summarising on what proceeded in the meeting of the Selection Committee held on July 19. He said that the meeting discussed the Court order but could not finalize names for the Search Committee. notice. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet, as per the Constitution, are collectively accountable to Parliament and through it to the people of the country, it says. The Minister had knowingly and intentionally misled Parliament by withholding the information that the government is obliged to reveal to Parliament, the notice against Sitharaman says. Earlier on Monday a notice for a privilege motion was moved against Rahul Gandhi by BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey, Anurag Thakur, Dushyant Singh and Prahlad Joshi. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for NGO Common Cause, espousing the cause for setting up the office of Lokpal, urged the Court that already four years have been spent by the Government without any concrete step to appoint Lokpal. He urged the Court to use its extraordinary powers to make the Government fall in line. The Selection Committee comprises of PM, CJI, Lok Sabha Speaker and eminent jurist Mukul Rohatgi. Since there is no Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, the leader of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha is invited to the meeting as Special Invitee. The Congress Party has been boycotting the meeting as the panel does not recognize the vote of the largest Opposition Party in the Lokpal selection process. ven Vice-President s official Ebungalow in Lutyen s Delhi is not spared by monkey menace. Making this observation on Tuesday, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu urged the Government to find a solution after a MP drew the attention of the House to the matter. Raising it during Zero Hour, Ram Kumar Kashyap(INLD) said monkey menace was causing problems for citizens. Citing an instance, he said a MP was delayed for a committee meeting as he was attacked by a horde of monkeys. They also uprooted plants and carry away clothes drying on the clothesline. Naidu then quipped even the official residence of the Vice President of India is facing monkey menace. Hope Maneka Gandhi is not there, he remarked in a lighter vein referring to animal rights activists and Union Minister. The Chairman then asked Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel to urge the government to find some solution to this menace. entre on Tuesday categor- ruled out granting of Cically special category status to Andhra Pradesh but it assured of providing more assistance which would be more than what the State has been demanding. Assuring the Rajya Sabha that all promises made to the people of the State would be fulfilled, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said 90 per cent of promises made under the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act, which had led to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014, have already been fulfilled. The remaining promises will also be kept, he said while replying to a short-duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the non-implementation of provisions of the 2014 Act. The Home Minister s statement came after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he had expected his successor Narendra Modi to fulfil the UPA Government s commitment on special category status to Andhra Pradesh as it was a promise made after consulting the BJP leaders at that time. The TDP and other opposition parties also asked the Centre to honour its assurances in letter and spirit by granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh, even as the BJP accused the ruling party of the state of misleading its own people. Recently, the TDP quit the NDA coalition over this issue. Whatever commitments which have been given, not only by our Prime Minister but even the commitments made by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, our Government will fulfill those commitments, the Home Minister said, adding that commitments made in Parliament should be kept and the Centre is doing it. After his reply, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad categorically asked whether the Centre would be giving special category status to AP and sought a reply in Yes or No. To this, the Minister wondered whether it was not clear from his reply. Why are you just stuck at special category status. Why don't you just move on? The idea behind special category status is that the state should get assistance. We are giving more assistance than that, Singh said. Both the states are big...promises made in the Act will be fulfilled in letter and spirit, Singh said, while requesting that this issue should not be politicised. Former PM Manmohan Singh said he had made a solemn commitment on the floor of the House as prime minister of India on February 20, The assurance on special category status to the successor state of Andhra Pradesh was given after discussing the issue with Arun Jaitley, then Leader of Opposition in the Upper House, and other senior BJP leaders, Singh said. Commitments made on the floor of the House are to be honoured and fulfilled. They are in the nature of an assurance on behalf of Parliament. I had expected my distinguished successor to fulfil the commitment I had made after consultation with his own colleagues, the former Prime Minister said. Initiating the debate, TDP leader YS Chowdary said the hasty and unscientifically prepared and politically motivated decision of the undivided Andhra Pradesh had caused agony to the people of the State. lders Tuesday expressed Econcern over incidents of mob lynching with specific reference to a recent case of alleged cow vigilantism in Rajasthan and girls allegedly subjected to sexual abuse in shelter home in Bihar. Other issues to figure prominently in the Rajya Sabha included plight of students who take loan from banks and then unable to repay it, floods and drought in some parts of UP and Bihar and agitation in Manipur. Raising the issue in the Zero Hour of a man lynched on the suspicion of cow smuggling in Alwar, the Rajya Sabha, Shanta Chhetri(TMC)also demanded a law to prevent vigilantism. Citing media reports, she also claimed 88 lives were lost in lynching incidents since the NDA Government came to power. Noting that the Supreme Court had last week asked for a law banning mob lynching, she sought a reply from the government on the steps taken to prevent such incidents. Chhetri also asked the government to spell out action taken on framing the antilynching law. Several MPs from opposition parties backed her contention by raising their hands to associate themselves with it. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu hoped the government will take note of the issue raised as it was important. Expressing anguish over the alleged rape and murder of a girl at a Government-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, Manoj Kumar Jha(RJD) said violence against women was a serious matter and the Chair termed the incident serious. Jha alleged the shelter was being run by a person, while the contract was in the name of another person. Many other girls in the shelter home were also sexually abused, Jha alleged. On education loan students, members of arch-rivals DMK and AIADMK came together. The issue was raised by T Siva (DMK) as he demanded that the interest on such loans should either by waived off by the banks or borne by the government. AIADMK members also associated themselves with the issue. Rewati Raman Singh (SP) highlighted the problems faced by states like UP and Bihar due to floods and drought. He asked the government to explain about lack of a permanent solution to deal with floods and drought which affect various states almost every year. CPI leader D Raja raised the issue of the ongoing agitation by the students of Manipur University demanding removal of the Vice Chancellor. Among other issues, Sanjay Singh (AAP) wanted the government to hold talks with 86- year old G D Agarwal, who has been on an indefinite fast demanding cleaning of the Ganga River. Kanimozmi (DMK) raised the issue of killing of 13 persons in police firing while they were demanding closure of the Sterlite Copper's smelter plant in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. She alleged normalcy has not returned to the city and people continue to be harassed by midnight searches by the police. Sambhaji Chhatrapati (Nominated) raised the issue of reservation to Marathas, saying the government should hold consultations with all stakeholders to defuse a situation trying volatile. Satyanarayan Jatiya (BJP)called for setting up more storage facilities to prevent damage to food grain. ajya Sabha Chairman M RVenkaiah Naidu on Tuesday set a record of sorts by presiding over the proceedings of the House for the whole day. He conducted the Zero Hour and Question Hour in the pre lunch session and then sat through the entire second half from 2.00 pm till 6.00 pm when the house was adjourned for the day. It was for the first time that the Chairman was present in the House throughout the day, Rajya Sabha Secretariat veterans later said. Incidentally, the Zero Hour managed to have 25 mentions by members of various parties who raised issues pertaining to public interest and Naidu thanked all the MPs for their co-operation in smooth functioning. The Question Hour saw an adjournment for about 30 minutes after TMC members rushed into the well when they were not satisfied with Finance Minister Piysuh Goyal's reply on information on black money from Switzerland. When the house met again after lunch break at 2.00 pm, Naidu presided over a short duration discussion on demand for special category status for Andhra Pradesh. In the afternoon session, he took a very brief break for freshening up.

6 n a major political assertion, IKarnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said contesting for Lok Sabha elections along with their ally Congress will depend on how the century-old party will treat them. But he, however, said the pre-poll alliance with the Congress is still on the agenda. Kumaraswamy told the reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday that contesting together will depend on how Congress treats them. That is our agenda, it is there. Let us see. Congress, how they are going to treat JD(S), Kumaraswamy told reporters in response to a question about pre-poll alliance with the Congress with which it is running a coalition Government in the State. Asked about the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), he said it will continue. The Congress and JD(S), which formed a coalition Government after the May 12 Assembly polls threw up a hung verdict, had announced during the power sharing pact that they would fight the Lok Sabha polls together. Kumaraswamy who is also the JD(S) State president has made this statement which looks vague but a clever political assertion looking at the overtures of the Congress which started its unity move to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. The Chief Minister s comments gain significance at a time when reports suggest that there is growing Opposition within the Congress to the pre-poll alliance with JD(S) for Lok Sabha polls. Kumaraswamy s swearingin as Chief Minister on May 23 was attended by a galaxy of top leaders and regional satraps in a rare public show of unity perceived as a possible harbinger of a broad-based anti-bjp alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. According to JD(S) leaders, the seat sharing with the oubting the BJP s gen- intent to act on ris- Duine ing number of lynching cases across the country, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has wondered why the saffron leadership was only sticking to ritualistic condemnation and not taking exemplary action instead, so that the situation can be arrested from deteriorating further. Referring to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh s condemnation of lynching cases in Parliament Banerjee, said instead of condemning these incidents why they are not trying to control their leaders down the line, reminding after all charity begins at home. India is passing through a serious phase, she said demanding strict action against the perpetrators of the crimes. It is a serious phase we are passing through and there is a need for strict action against those who are involved in such cases if we really want to control the situation, Banerjee said referring to the lynching of Rakbar Khan a resident of Alwar in Rajasthan a few days ago. She was speaking to journalists at State administrative headquarters at Nabanna. In a circuitous reference to the failure of the BJP-led Rajasthan Government to control such cases, Banerjee reminded that law and order was a State subject and it was on the State Governments to take the lead in handling such cases. Condemning the hate campaign responsible for the rising number of lynching cases Banerjee said, hate campaigns should be stopped immediately. Rumor-mongering through social media platforms should be stopped in order to stop lynching she maintained. Meanwhile, in a related development four women were allegedly mobbed and beaten up on suspicion of being childlifter by villagers at Dawkimari village in Dhupguri block of Jalpaiguri district in North Bengal. The incident took place on Monday noon. One of the women had come to visit a cooperative bank while another was looking for her relatives sources said adding the foursome were in the age group of years. This was the fourth such incident in Jalpaiguri district Congress for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, especially in the old Mysuru region, is seen as a test for the coalition as both parties are considered arch rivals in the region, where they had bitterly fought against each other during the assembly polls. JD(S) fought vigoursly against the Congress in many places and any understanding would certainly suicidal for the Congress say many insiders of the party. Many Congress leaders who are opposed to Kumaraswamy have warned against going with the JD(S). In another development, the Karnataka Government said there would be certain restrictions on the entry of visitors, including the media, to the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of and second in Dhupguri. District Superintendent of Police A Maity said that villagers beat the women up on suspicion of being child-lifter. Two of the victims were also stripped sources added. Earlier this month, several people were injured at the Kranti area of Mal block in the district in stone-pelting following rumours that childlifters were roaming in the area. We are creating awareness on this through the social media and public media like announcements over mikes. People should contact the police on the helpline if they find someone suspicious, but not take law into their own hands, the senior officer added. State legislature and secretariat here. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy cited police inputs regarding security, as also increase in the number of people visiting it everyday besides complaints about inconvenience caused to Ministers and officials to carry out their work as reasons for the move. Some brokers are found moving around the corridors of Vidhana Soudha and they have been captured by CCTV also. I have asked officials to be alert about those who are involved in brokering and are misleading people. To avoid any unlawful activities, we have said there should be certain restrictions, he told reporters. To a question about reports on media s entry to the Vidhana Soudha being barred, he said there were no instructions to not allow the media inside, but T he Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate coming out of their alleged hibernation launched on Tuesday fresh spells of investigations into the multi-crore ponzi fund cases issuing summons to the first investigating officer who probed the Sharada chit fund case way back in Debarata Bandopadhyay, who was the first IO in the Sharada case, has been asked to report at the CGO complex at Salt Lake, CBI sources said adding he had been summoned twice earlier but failed to show up citing various excuses. The IO is likely to be asked questions on how the investigations proceeded in the initial days and where the certain seized items that the central agency was looking for were. there would be separate enclosure or a room provided for this. When you (media) need any information, officials or Ministers will come there and give you information...if you come with mikes everywhere individually and start asking questions just like that...it should not happen, there should not be any inconvenience, he said. Pointing out that media persons come to Ministers, including him, individually with mikes to gather information, Kumaraswamy said When you come to us in Vidhana Soudha, we may be in meetings or in some other mood, suddenly if you come with mikes, what to tell you...we may not have information. With this intention, a separate facility would be provided inside Vidhana Soudha for media friends to carry out their work, he said, adding there are also complaints of only a certain section of the media getting access to information. To avoid all this, I have instructed that there should be a separate enclosure for the media with all facilities, so that the media can call whomever they want there and get information there, he added. According to sources, the CBI had already brought to the notice of the Supreme Court the alleged non-cooperation by certain senior IPS officers who were earlier in charge of the case. The CBI is looking for a red diary, some electronic data and some vital other evidences which are with the State police, sources said adding despite repeated reminders the State Police was not sharing the information it had in the Sharada case. Apart from the summons issued by the CBI the Enforcement Directorate also conducted simultaneous raids at six specific locations in Kolkata and Howrah. Sources said a team of ED officials raided premises owned by the Rose Valley another ponzi company allegedly involved in a 28,000 crore scam. ith the day of publication Wof the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) coming closer, the Assam Government has drawn up an elaborate plan to ensure peace is not disturbed at any cost and that the law and order is maintained across the State. The historical document which is being updated under the monitoring of the Supreme Court is scheduled to be published on July 30 this year. The basic intent behind updation of the NRC is to identify the illegal foreigners living in the State. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday said that the State Government is duty bound to provide safety and security to all sections of the people of the State. The State Government would provide safety and security to all Indians living in Assam. No one should be worried about the after-effects of NRC publication as adequate measures have already been taken to bring all Indian citizens within the ambit of security of the State, Sonowal said. In Guwahati also, Deputy Commissioner Birendra Mittal ying the Prime Minister s Echair in case of a hung Parliament, Mayawati streamlined the cadre to expand the party s base in the coming Assembly elections in Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The BSP chief held a meeting with senior BSP leaders and positioned her loyalists on all key posts in the above States to ensure electoral success. Interestingly, the BSP besides preparing to contest on all seats, was also talking with the Congress and other smaller parties for an alliance. However, the Congress does not seem to be interested in aligning with the BSP in Rajasthan but was ready for negotiations in the other two States. Chalking out a strategy to expand the party s base in other states, Mayawati removed BSP co-ordinator looking after poll-bound Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh in-charge and MLC Atar Singh Rao was replaced by Rajya Sabha MP, Dr Ashok Siddharth. Mayawati has already asked one of her loyalists and BSP national general secretary Ram Achal Rajbhar to keep a close tab on developments in Madhya Pradesh. Meanwhile, Dr Siddharth who was so far looking after Karnatka (which recently went to polls and the BSP opened its account) and other southern States, besides MP and Karnatka, he will also look after party affairs in Maharastra and Andman and Nicobar. Atar Singh Rao, who was removed from MP, will now look after party affairs in Haryana and Punjab and workd as co-ordinator of both States. Recently removed BSP national general secretary Veer Singh was replaced by Mayawati s close lieutenant Ramji Lal Gautam and he would now co-ordinate the working in some southern State including Telangana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Rajya Sabha member Munkad Ali, who till now was looking after some zones of UP, has been entrusted the responsibility of party affairs in Rajasthan. Similarly, former Minister and Mayawati confidante Lalji Verma was also given the responsibility of strengthening the party in Chattisgarh. and Guwahati Police Commissioner Hiren Chandra Nath held series of meetings with the people in general and discussed with them the issue of NRC updation. We have been meeting the people in different parts of the city trying to alley fears. There is rumour being spread over the NRC updation. However, there is nothing to worry about and there will be opportunity given to everyone if their names do not figure in the NRC, said Mittal while interacting with the media on Tuesday. There is a section of miscreants who are spreading the rumour against the NRC updation process. However, we are taking all measures to ensure that there is no law and order problem anywhere after publication of the NRC, said he Bihar Government Tadmitted that the sexual exploitation of the girls housed in the Government aided Balika Grih (girls shelter home) run by an NGO at Muzaffarpur has been proved and said the shelter home has been closed down and all girls shifted. Making a statement in both the Houses of Bihar legislature on Tuesday, the Govt announced that most of the accused persons have been arrested and strict measures were being taken so that no such incidents take place in the future. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shrawan Kumar made the suo motto statement in the Assembly and Council where Opposition members were not present. Hours before the Government statement, Director General of Police KS Dwivedi told media persons that there was no need for recommending CBI probe as he was satisfied with the course of investigation. The Government statement on the issue of the sexual exploitation of the girl inmates at Muzaffarpur care home came after the Opposition raked up the matter in the first half and accused the Nitish Kumar Government of protecting the accused persons. The couple of MPs from Bihar Rajesh Ranjan aka Pappu Yadav (Ind) and Ranjit Ranjan (Congress) apart from Jayaprakash Yadav (RJD) raised this matter in the Lok Sabha on two consecutive days and demanded CBI probe which elicited the response of Home Minister Rajnath Singh who said the Centre was ready for probe if the recommendation comes from Bihar Government. Minister Shrawan Kumar said medical test of 42 of 44 inmates two are sick was conducted and medical report of 13 girls said sexual intercourse might have been committed and about 16 other amil Nadu got a new Jaya Tin place of the departed former Chief Minister Jaya. Chief Minister Edappady Palaniswamy created a sensation on Tuesday by naming a six-month-old female lion cub as Jaya, as a tribute to his mentor and icon late J Jayalalithaa. In a special ceremony held on Tuesday at Arignar Anna Zoological Park, popularly known as Vandalur Zoo, the Chief Minister named the cub in a true Tamil style. He declared the name of the cub as Jaya three times and announced that she would be known in future as Jaya. It resembled the naming ceremony of a new born child except the fact that the Chief Minister and officials stayed at a safe distance of five feet from the caged lion cub. She is shy to come out of the cage, said a senior official of the zoo. Jaya, the cub was born on January 27, 2018 and the zoo officials were waiting for the convenience of the CM to make it to the sprawling zoological park for the naming ceremony. An eighteen month old lion cub was also named by the CM as Vishnu. He was born to lioness Nila and lion Siva, both dear to former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. After the function, the lion cub and all other animals were treated with sumptuous meal of fresh beef. The official spokesman of the AAZP told The Pioneer that this was the only zoo in the Guwahati Police Commissioner, Hiren Chandra Nath. It may be mentioned here that the Assam police have already sought over 150 companies of central para military force from the Central Government to assist the State police in the run up to July 30. While some of the companies have already arrived, some are being sent. On Sunday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the historical document to be published on July 30 is only a draft and that there will be adequate opportunity for disposal of claims and objections for those whose names does not figure in the document. Saying that the NRC exercise is being carried out in a totally impartial, transparent and meticulous manner, the Home Minister made it clear that after draft publication, adequate opportunity for claims and objections will be available. All claims and objections will be duly examined. Adequate opportunity of being heard will be given before disposal of claims and objections. Only thereafter, final NRC will be published. girls, it reported that possibility of sexual contact cannot be ruled out. Not only that, two of the girls also made a sensational revelation that one girl was murdered and buried in the campus of the shelter home. The Minister said after the permission from the court the place was dug up but no bodies or remains were found despite using sniffer dog. However, the soil has been sent to forensic laboratory to check if any body was buried there. The Minister said there was also report of the disappearance of three girls from the shelter home only a month after their arrival in November This shelter home was approved by the Government in October The police was investigating into this incident also, Kumar added. He said some officials of the social welfare department have already been suspended and departmental proceeding started against them. country where wild animals are given names. This has found to be helpful while feeding the animals and also during attending to their medical requirements. All these animals respond to the handlers when they call them by their names, he said. The spokesman remembered with mixed feelings the love and affection late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had for wild animals. She used to be a frequent visitor to the zoo, unannounced and sans any publicity. She used to inquire about the health and welfare of all animals, particularly the lions and tigers, he said reminding the naming ceremony of half-a-dozen Royal Bengal Tiger cubs presided over by her. The wild ass of AAZP has been named Angel and she has been true to her names till now, said the spokesman. He also disclosed that the zoo has an animal adoption programme in which sponsors could adopt the animals. The rates vary from animals to animals. We have a scheme in which a tiger or lion could be adopted at the rate of 650 to 1,000 per day. The sponsorship could be of six months to one year and could be extended based on mutually acceptable terms, said the spokesman.

7 he fire ignited by the Trevived Maratha reservation agitation threatened to engulf entire Maharashtra on Tuesday, as four more activists attempted suicide, a policeman died of heart attack during a bandobast duty, protesters either damaged or torched a dozen vehicles and resorted to road blockades across the State during a day-long bandh called by the agitating Marathas. A day after 27-year-old youth Kakasaheb Dattareya Shinde jumped from a bridge into Godavari river near Aurangabad as part of a Jal Samadhi (watery grave) agitation undertaken to press for Maratha reservations, the bandh called by Maratha community members turned violent in several parts of the State, a development that put the Devendra Fadnavis Government on the defensive. Tuesday s bandh was restricted to areas outside the Mumbai Metropolitan eaving no room for a pos- reconciliation with his Lsible party s senior ally ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday spewed more venom at the BJP, saying that the 2014 poll mandate was not a mistake on the part of the people but a fraud committed on the voters of the country. Within days after BJP s national president Amit Shah exhorted his party workers to prepare themselves to go it alone in the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the State, Thackeray revealed that his party decided to share power with the BJP in the State out of sheer helplessness and expressed confidence that his party would come to power in future on its own strength. In the second installment of a three-part interview published in the Sena s official Region (MMR). With the Maratha Kranti Morcha (MKM) having called a similar shutdown in Mumbai, neighbouring Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts on Wednesday, the Maharashtra Government will have another trying day. Talking to media persons after MKM s coordination committee meeting, its convenor for Mumbai Virendra Pawar said: Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Palghar and Raigad will observe bandh tomorrow. Tomorrow, schools and colleges will remain open. Milk distribution and essential services have been exempted from the bandh. I appeal agitators to take precautions to ensure against any untoward incident during tomorrow s bandh. In a day of multiple developments, the deceased youth Shinde s final rites were performed in his native Kaigaon Toka village near Aurangabad on Tuesday morning. His mouth-piece Saamana, Thackeray questioned the very 2014 Lok Sabha poll mandate, when he said he did not agree that it was a mistake on the part of the people to have voted BJP to power, but it was a fraud on the people in the country. Asked if the 2014 mandate was a mistake, Thackeray said: No. I do not think so. It was in fact a fraud on the people... We would have been left shouting on the road, had we not shared power with the BJP. Because, the BJP went onto capture power in State after State by poaching elected representatives from other parties and it would have formed a Government in our State on its own as well by poaching into parties like the Congress and NCP. I decided to give some experience to our people in administration to my people (by joining the Government). Indirectly accusing the BJP of making excessive use of money to win elections and younger brother Avinash Shinde lit the funeral pyre. The Maharashtra Government announced an ex-gratia of 10 lakh to the bereaved family and offered a job to Shinde s younger brother. A police constable Shyam Katgaonkar, who was on bandobast duty at Kaigaon Toka, died of a heart attack, while Shiv Sena s MP Chandrakant Khaire and Congress MLC Subhash Zambad were manhandled when he came to attend Shinde s funeral at Kaigaon village. As many as four youths attempted suicides were reported from across the State. Two youngsters Jayant Sonavne and Jagannath Sonavne tried to commit suicide by jumping into a river and consuming poison respectively. Both were admitted to the hospital. In Beed, two youths tried to end their lives by jumping from the terrace of the Tehsildar's office, but they were prevented from doing so by the police. capture power, Thackeray said: If we had known, we would have also amassed so much of money. We would like to ask these people as to from where they get so much of money (to spend on elections). My father and the late Sena chief disapproved this kind of democracy... Hence the democracy that is bought through money is not democracy (lokshahi) but it is thailishahi (democracy of money bags). Reiterating his opposition to the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in polls, Thackeray said: There is continued suspicion about EVMs. Can the EVMs be managed? Whether EVMs can be managed or not, but I had spoken about it during the recent graduates election. In that election, ballot papers were used. In the elections held using ballot papers, we would know at some stage later that which way a particular vote went. But in an EVM, once the button is pressed, light gets ignited. But, we would not get to know to whom vote got registered. Near the Kaigaon Toka bridge from where Shinde had taken a plunge into the Godavari river during the course of an agitation demanding reservations for Marathas, the protesters set a fire brigade vehicle on fire. In continuation of the protests witnessed after the suicide by Shinde, the agitators took out processions in north, western Maharashtra and Marathwada demanding reservations to Maratha community members in jobs and education. As part of Tuesday s protests, the activists blocked roads in Aurangabad, Osmanabad and Pune, while they damaged a bus, a truck at Aurangabad, a police van at Hingoli and at least five Staterun buses at Kolhapur The protesters hurled stones and damaged several private vehicles, while they staged a rail rook for half an at Parbhani railway stations. Road transportation was badly affected at several other places across the state. While he story of a 40-year-old Twoman from southern city of Mysuru who was found in Shimla in Himachal Pradesh is heart-rending. After local papers reported about her, the Government of Karnataka has decided to bring her back to Mysuru to unite her with her parents. 40-year-old Saraswathi went missing two years back and landed in Shimla. She doesn t recollect how she went there but she was admitted to Himachal Hospital of Mental Health and Rehabilitation in Shimla for treatment in June According to reports, the lady came in search of a job to Bengaluru but went missing and reached Kangra in HP. Later she was admitted to hospital by local population. For two years she was there without any connect with her family as none found out about her background as she knew only the protesters resorted to blockades along the Mumbai-Agra National Highway in Nashik, they staged protests in districts of Akola, Nandurbar, Nanded, Jalgaon, Parbhani, Kolhapur, Osmanabad, Ahmednagar, Jalna, and Yavatmal. They also set tyres on fire on roads in Nashik, Hingoli. As a precautionary measure, the state transport authorities suspended services at Aurangabad, Osmanabad and Nanded, thus stranding thousands of passengers in the rural areas. In Nagpur, the agitators took out a procession pressing for reservations and other demands. Not wanting to take any chances, the authorities suspended Internet services in Aurangabad, while schools and colleges remained closed in Nanded, Osmanabad and certain other places. Meanwhile, MKM s Maharashtra convenor Ravindra Patil demanded that Shinde be declared as a martyr, his family be paid 50 lakh as compensation and to stay the Kannada. Local papers wrote about her and Karnataka Chief Minister Kumaraswamy responded immediately asking officers to bring her back to unite her with her parents. A communiqué issued by HB Dinesh, media secretary to Chief Minister, the Government has directed the Mysuru DC to make necessary arrangements to bring her back to Mysuru. "Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on being alerted about the stranded woman directed Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G Shankar to make necessary arrangements to bring her back to the state," a statement from the Chief Minister's office said. The local media had reported that Saraswathi, 40, from Makanahalli village in Mysuru district, went missing two years ago when she came to Bengaluru to work in a garment factory. She reportedly reached Himachal Pradesh's Kangra and was later admitted to the Himachal Hospital of Mental Health and Rehabilitation in Shimla for treatment in June "She could not contact her family facing language issues in Himachal and was unable to recall how she reached there," the statement added. mass government recruitment drive that is currently on, pending a ruling by the Bombay High Court on Maratha reservation issue. n connection with a rape Icase, former Gujarat BJP president Jayanti Bhanushali was summoned on Tuesday to appear before the police and record his statement. The summons to Bhanushali has been issued under Section 160 of the CrPC filed against him in Sarthana police station of Surat. The former BJP legislator from Kutch district is absconding. A week ago a 21-year-old woman had lodged an FIR with Surat police against the BJP leader under various sections of IPC, including charges of a public servant committing rape, criminal intimidation, cheating, forgery and wrongful confinement. Incidentally, some of the videos showing Bhanushali in compromising position went viral on social media. After allegations against him, Bhanushali had resigned as state BJP vice-president. After tendering resignation to state BJP president, he said that he wouldn t take any position in the party till he would prove innocent in the case. Meanwhile, another former legislator from Kutch Chhabil Patel name has come in the case. Patel came in saffron fold from Congress party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. ongress leaders Kailash CGadhvi, PK Valera and Dr Anil Joshiyara made the representation on party's behalf and submitted a seven-point agenda. Congress said Gujarat is backward compared to other States when it comes to backlog of legal cases. Party spokesperson Kailash Gadhvi said: "It is a shameful fact that Gujarat will need 287 years to clear the backlog of legal cases at the current rate of disposal. Poor infrastructure, insufficient staff, technological impairment are some of the In a related development, Maharashtra s Revenue Minister and senior BJP leader Chandrakant Patil gave a piece of advice to the Marathas agitating across the State. It is not going to help matters if you undertake an agitation for something that cannot be achieved through protests. main reasons for the sorry state of affairs. States like Odisha and Rajasthan, on the other hand, will need only 42 and 12 years respectively to clear the backlog of cases. We have demanded a special package for Gujarat for the next five years so that justice can be delivered." Congress sought higher allocation of central funds towards education, facility to farmers for cash crops, environment, SC-ST upliftment, coastal development and health infrastructure. "All these areas can get additional funds with the Centre agrees to share 52% of tax revenues," Gadhvi said.

8 COMMENT & ANALYSIS Protest peacefully RSS leader Indresh Kumar must be more circumspect when making statements like an end to beef eating will help stop lynching at a time when the Sangh is trying to ensure all communities understand the inclusive aspects of its worldview. Mob lynchings of suspected beef smugglers is on the rise. The need is to calm passions. Vying for Africa In pursuit of preserving national identity Could India be a Hindu Pakistan or a Hindu First nation after 2019? This is a futuristic debate politically well timed to trigger fear mongering ahead of the 2019 General Election. I have often written that the forthcoming election will be motivated by fear more than hope, as this prelude suggests, building up to a crescendo of what is expected to be one of the most communally divisive and personally vitriolic campaigns in post-independent India. Let s put both these labels of a Hindu Pakistan or a Hindu First nation down to just a play with words. Words, which politicians play with as dog-whistles for their constituents, and intellectuals use, but the man on the street is oblivious of. Because overdone clichés like secularism, plurality and inclusion are confined to television debates, full of sound and fury, signifying little. Alwar lynching is a reflection of Narendra Modi s New India, where humanity is replaced with hatred. Congress president RAHUL GANDHI Sir This refers to the editorial, Fight fake news (July 23). With growing concerns about fake news, perhaps it is time to look at the stepchild of fake news fake advertisements and specifically, gambling ads. Recently, I sat down to watch the highlights of my team s win but the replays kept getting interrupted by ads for gambling venues and companies. As we all know, they mostly do it for sponsorship and many from the audience are interested in backing their team although a better form of support can So here we go again with Congress s Shashi Tharoor igniting the flames of communal apartheid in what could someday turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy: If the BJP is voted back to office, they would change the Constitution to make India a Hindu Pakistan. And his conjecture is possibly right that only a lack of two-thirds majority in Rajya Sabha prevented the party from doing so. Thereafter ensued a riveting Twitter-riot in the virtual world, with Internet Hindu s fantasising a Hindu Rashtra with a Why not? attitude. Spearheaded by die-hards, the hashtag trended i#iamhindu, with sentiments like I am Hindu, my temples destroyed, history distorted, my Gods defamed, millions brutally killed. Don t insult my faith. Don t defame my Gods. What is missing in the Congress and the thus far disunited Opposition front is their ability to craft precision strikes at their bête noire, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thereby skirting real issues of voter concern and governance deficits of the BJP. To challenge Modi through manufactured controversies like birthing a future Hindu Pakistan, is handing over the political narrative on a platter to the RSS and the BJP as messiahs of the majority community. That only helps keep the communal cauldron simmering, allowing religious polarisation to take precedence over economic well-being. In a flourishing economy and a fabled Land of be in the purchase of team merchandise. My concern is with the portrayal of people involved in this gambling. It is obvious that these massive companies make their money from peoples loses. In this context, one must realise that he/she may lose most of the time. These ads show young and attractive people surrounded by celebrities and for some reason they always seem to film it when they have a win. Tell the truth about betting. Don t make it glamourous when it isn t. Don t imply that you ll always win when you won t. Dennis Fitzgerald Melbourne Stop jumping with joy each time a crime happens, Rahul. You divide society for electoral gains. You are a merchant of hate. Union Minister PIYUSH GOYAL A viable healthcare solution A ccess to healthcare is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of India. The Government must, therefore, take steps to protect and promote access to quality healthcare. The Prime Minister has time and again reiterated that public interest will be served by capping prices of medicines and certain medical devices. The logic was: If medicines and medical devices are available at low prices, they will be affordable for the masses and, therefore, increase access to quality healthcare. The underlying assumption in this logic was that since the industry is making excessive profits, there would be no harm if the Government moved a part of the industry s cheese. To be fair to the Government, the cost of medicines and medical devices is an obstacle to ensure access to them. Some estimates suggest that the cost of healthcare can sometimes go up to 40 per cent of a family s income. This estimate is significant as roughly 30 per cent of the Indian population lives below the poverty line. These estimates have two shortcomings. First, a big chunk of the cost of healthcare includes costs paid to the medical practitioner and the healthcare service provider ie the hospital. Second, the reason why healthcare in India is so expensive for the poor man s pocket is because the Government does not want to foot the bill itself. India till date does not have a Government health programme that can ensure free healthcare to its citizens. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, has been offering free healthcare in the public sector to all its citizens since its Independence. Having said that, one must not turn a blind eye to the reality. It is undeniable that lowering the cost of drugs would improve access to affordable healthcare. In fact, even the industry is open for non-arbitrary and fair price regulation in accordance with the guidance enshrined in the Indian Constitution. However, in a patient-centric discussion, it is easy to ignore the fact that the Constitution also protects the rights of the industry to carry on its business without undue interference. Let us, therefore, see whether the price control regime in its present form has done any good and whether any lessons can be learnt from it. The Government today imposes two types of controls on the prices of medicines and medical devices depending on whether the product has been identified as essential or non-essential. Under the essential category, the Government fixes price based on an average of the maximum retail price of that product sold in the market under different brands by various manufacturers. Prices, once fixed cannot be increased except in accordance with annual inflation or, in exceptional cases, on merit. Under nonessential category, the Government has capped the percentage by which prices can be increased year after year. At present, the percentage cap is 10 per cent. One need not look too far to determine whether price controls improve access to healthcare. Government data indicates that the price control regime has been more of a failure than a success in improving access to medicine. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), which is tasked with the administration of the price control regime, studied the cost of syringes, cannula and catheters after regulating its price and found that the major beneficiaries of profits in these cases have been hospitals rather than drugs and device manufacturers. NPPA found that the charge on consumables is one-tenth of the total bills and more than two times the expenditure on scheduled (essential) drugs. The cost of consumables is not regulated presently by the Government. However, the difference in the cost of consumables, which are unregulated, and essential drugs, which are regulated, is alarming. It is high time that the Government appreciates that medicines and medical devices form a part of healthcare, not healthcare itself. One may think that the simple solution to this problem is further price regulation by regulating the price of the hospitals ie healthcare providers. This has been attempted several times before and has been unsuccessful always, most recently in Karnataka. One needs to appreciate that health is a state subject as per the Constitution of India, and unlike medicines, falls under the exclusive legislative domain of the States. Therefore, to regulate the price of services given by healthcare providers, all Indian States will have to pass their own legislation. In case of Karnataka, such a proposal was met with widespread protest and shutdowns by doctors and hospitals and had to be rolled back. Similarly, in West Bengal, a similar proposal has not made any progress for more than a year. In the opinion of the writers, the need of the hour is sensible self-regulation by the industry as well as the rationalisation of trade margins and not heavyhanded price regulation by the Government. When the NPPA recently warned the manufacturers of syringes and needles about excessive profits being made by its distribution channel, the concerned manufacturers acted earnestly and voluntarily decided to put a cap on the trade margins given to its distribution channel. On the other hand, when NPPA decided to fix price of the coronary stent in a heavy-handed manner by relying on grounds such as public interest and extraordinary circumstances, the common man lost out on high quality and advanced stents because the manufacturers and importers of these stents found it economically unviable to operate within prices fixed by the Government. Withdrawals due to heavy price regulation would ultimately cost patients access to high-quality products and treatment options. Interestingly, it is reported that NPPA may soon take away the discretion of non-essential medicine and medical device manufacturers to increase product prices. Whether such a move will improve or harm access to healthcare, only time will tell. (The writers are pharma and healthcare professionals) Sir In India, the tyranny of lynching is increasingly becoming regular, signifying a virtual collapse of the law and order situation. A mob seeks refuge in numbers which makes it easy for even a small collective to get away with the horrific crime of lynching. The recent spurt in hate crimes can be traced to that sense of immunity from the law. What s equally appalling is the civilised society s indifference to a growing mob rule. Sadly, no one in the vicinity finds it worthwhile to intervene even when India is a vast country consisting of 29 States and seven Union Territories. An estimated population of 1.3 billion people constitutes almost 18 per cent of the world s population, occupying nearly 2.4 per cent of the world s total land surface area. An immensely diverse country where each State and region is a mini cosmos in itself, cooperative federalism seems to be the key to the development of New India under a politically stable leadership at the Centre. In order to achieve inclusive growth with social justice, all States need to work in consonance and also think alike. Recently, a no-confidence motion against the Union Government was moved by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the Lok Sabha over its unhapiness at Andhra Pradesh not being granted Special Category status. This incident reinstated a debate on the need for a uniform development of India in a non-partisan manner. With the 2019 Lok Sabha election on the horizon, political parties are already feeling the pressure to fasten their seat belts and prep up to face the poll in a rather democratically fluid environment. This further gets accentuated by the consolidation of regional parties under the umbrella of a loosely held, fragile and informal mahagathbandhan. At this point in time, one can only speculate and try to analyse the general impression and political perception prevailing all around. Only time will tell whether the coming together of regional parties to form a Government at the Centre under the elected leader from the constituents of the mahagathbandhan, can provide effective leadership to a complex and culturally prolific country like India. Though the perception infused in the mind is steered towards a big no, the backdrop of this sentiment is the victory of the Janata Party (amalgam of the various political parties like Congress (O), Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Bharatiya Lok Dal) in The party had a landslide victory against the Emergency imposed by the then Congress Government. It signalled the power of the regional parties against the monolithic power of a national party like the Congress and injected a new political paradigm in the democratic character of India. Unfortunately, the Janata Party developed an intense internal, ideological and a political conflict later on and experienced instability in the Government with Prime Minister Morarji Desai resigning in mid-1979 and his successor Chaudhary Charan Singh failing to sustain a parliamentary majority later on. This tumultuous political trajectory led to the premature dissolution of Parliament in Indian polity henceforth remained largely driven by coalition Governments under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Needless to say, these new political formations had a number of regional parties playing significant roles in survival and failure of the Governments. The emergence of regional parties as major centres of power in India s political, economic and social structure had been one of the most important developments in the country s post-independent history. Now, as the 2019 General Election nears, regional parties seem all set to play a pivotal role in influencing the formation of the next Union Government. It is even (remotely) possible that India s next General Election will produce a third front (anti-bjp grand alliance) Government headed by the leader of a regional party. Question arises whether regional parties can actually offer a competent leadership at the Centre. Sceptics are of the view that these parties at the State level or even a mahagathbandhan lack the charisma and a competent leadership to take on the formidable stronghold of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Contrary to this non-conformist approach, there is a need to analyse the probable faces of the political leadership of these regional parties in the context of equitable inclusive growth of federal india. Irrespective of political leanings, it is without doubt that today we need a powerful leadership at the Centre while looking at the geo-political, social and economic challenges before India. The critical question here is: Who are these regional political Plenty, when people flourish, they prioritise abundance over conjured schisms. The bottom line is that while Muslims constitute 14.2 per cent of the population, it is the Hindus who comprise 78.8 per cent of the electorate, and who form the core vote-bank of the ruling BJP. Clearly, Hindus will be Hindus at heart. And equally, Muslims will remain Muslims at heart, despite the BJP s fighting for gender-justice for Muslim women, supporting reservations or implementing progressive social reform bills. Because, their historic bias against kafirs trumps any measures taken to liberate the community from regressive personal laws. This tweet encapsulates my assumption: Dear PM Modi, please don t try to win the support of #Muslim women. We don t need you or your Sangh to rescue us. For the beleaguered community to depend only on the Congress that has flip-flopped back to soft Hindutva to win back Hindu votes they lost since 1986 is a travesty of faith, and leaves them politically orphaned. Even the Sachar Committee, constituted by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh way back in 2005, provided evidence of how Muslims fared poorly on all human development indicators, and continued to be excluded from mainstream development indicators. The community has long resented being treated as a pliant herd which traditionally voted as a monolith, and leaders of our country that we can bank on? How does one spot them among the opportunists and sycophants who plague the Indian politics? The litmus test is that these leaders should have been exposed to pan-india complexities in their political career. Here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an exception, who although remaining confined largely to the political and administrative exposure in the State of Gujarat, offered tremendous pan-india leadership. He achieved unprecedented international recognition with his largerthan-life image. Modi has even been ranked among the 10 most influential people in the world by Forbes. But do we have a parallel or a better alternative leadership emanating from the regional parties today? Certainly, political arithmetics and strategies can determine the leadership if an anti-bjp alliance comes into power in Who are these leaders? In the past, we have seen Chandrababu Naidu (son-in-law of late NT Rama Rao) emerging in the south. Naidu chaired the National IT panel under the NDA Government and was hailed as one of the Hidden Seven working wonders around the world by Profit (Oracle Corporation s monthly magazine). Naveen Patnaik (son of late Biju Patnaik), the current Chief subsequently looked for an alternative in regional parties instead of remaining loyal only to the Congress. Coming to the Hindu mindset, unambiguously even the most liberal and secular amongst the majority community desires a restoration of cultural supremacy within his own country. There may be little numerical evidence to back this feeling, but there seems to be a greater acceptability than ever to the idea of What is so wrong with a Hindu Rashtra? as the silence of the passive Hindu grows into a collective clamour sensed in tweets, Facebook posts, and WhatsApp forwards. While rebuilding the Ram mandir is a symbolic sentiment of setting right historic injustices, revision of the constitution is a deep felt desire of Hindus who regretted the decision of our founding fathers in subjugating the rights of the majority community, or placing the rights of the minority on par with Hindus. While this discourse is unending, and not a new one, it has gained traction for three reasons: Hindus were emboldened after Modi s ascension; growing Islamophobia is a global phenomenon; and the increasing insurgency in Muslim-majority Kashmir. Echoes of majoritarian assertion are reflected across the globe, with Israel s Parliament just this week adopting a law defining the country as the nation state of Jewish people, provoking fears of discriminilisation against Arab citizens. Hindus resentful of being relegated to second class citizens over 60 years of Congress rule feel their time has finally come, and that the will of the majority must eventually prevail, even if it means resorting to Constitutional amendments as mooted by RSS ideologues. If the BJP-RSS idea of a Hindu Rashtra is to replicate a mirror image of Pakistan where minorities are subordinated to the dominant religion, I stick my neck on the block that even the most fierce antagonist amongst Hindus opposed to Modi will remain loyal to the idea of a Hindus First nation. Because countries that are not theocratic states reject the idea of invaders, refugees or Islamic minorities domiciled in their host countries dictating government policies within their homeland in preference to a natives first policy. To elucidate this a bit further, when Jinnah succeeded in partitioning India on the premise that Indian Muslims cannot live in subjugation to the majority Hindu community, it was logical to assume an en mass migration of the minority community to the newlyformed nation of Pakistan. The mass exchange of population was duly endorsed by independence activists of that time, while those 35 million Muslims voluntarily choosing to reside in India would do so with visas. It was Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi Modi v Whom? Debate is on Only time will tell whether regional parties coming together and forming the Government at the Centre can provide effective leadership to India. Right now, one can only speculate on prevailing public perception lives are at stake. The perception of political impunity among cow protection vigilantes was further strengthened when a Union Minister felicitated convicted lynchers. Prodded by the Supreme Court, last to enact a special law to deal with mob violence and lynching, the Union Home Ministry has announced the setting up of two high-level committees to suggest ways and legal framework to effectively deal with incidents of mob violence and lynching. Hopefully, this send a strong message. Padmini Raghaevndra Secuderabad Sir The reason for widespread lynching incidents is due to a lack of social coherence. It is also the end result of the politics of intolerance most of our political parties subscribe to. It is not the sense of fear that is to be instilled in people to stop crimes, but a sense of respect and fellow feeling towards the rest of mankind. Alka Via and Rajiv Gandhi who, thereafter, pursued the policy of Muslim appeasement by offering minorities reservations and legislating a misogynist law that went against the SC verdict in the Shah Bano case in That was one of the biggest historic blunders of Congress in catering to Islamic orthodoxy and thereby being labelled as a party which was pro- Muslim men only. Today, the reality is that even moderate Hindus fear the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Trinamool Congress precisely because they prioritise minorities first because they are the biggest beneficiaries of their votes. RSS ideologues believe, We the people of India can change what we gave ourselves in 1950, as so far there have been 101 amendments to the Constitution, some of them under very questionable circumstances, as in the case of the 42nd amendment Act of 1976, called a mini-constitution or the Constitution of Indira. So, what was man-made, man can certainly change. The Constitution was amended on grounds that it was responsive to the vox populi, the aspirations of the people, and reflected the realities of the contemporary times. And those amendments could not be questioned in any court, and further, that there could be no limitation on Parliament s power to amend the Constitution by way of addition, Ministers of Odisha and supremo of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) held the position of Union Minister of Mines in the Cabinet of NDA Government under then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He has been the Chief Minister for three consecutive terms and comes from an illustrious political family with good educational background. Other names that resonate in the mind as State level leaders include Nitish Kumar, leader of Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) and Chief Minister of Bihar since 2017 and Mamata Banerjee, leader and founder of All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) and presently the West Bengal Chief Minister. Nitish Kumar served as the Bihar Chief Minister from 2005 to 2014 and 2015 to He was also the Union Minister for Railways, Minister for Surface Transport and Minister of agriculture in the NDA Government of Vajpayee. He was admired for the reforms in Railways and is considered to be a competent politician. Mamata Banerjee, the first woman Chief Minister of West Bengal, is one of the exceptional politicians in the country who is selfmade. She hails from a lower middle-class family and is well-known for maintaining a consistently austere lifestyle. She clearly stands on a pedestal with her determined and fearless leadership style. High on secular credentials and a scholar of Islamic studies, Mamata is instrumental in the consolidation of the Opposition parties. She served as the first female Union Minister of Railways, Minister of Coal, Minister of State for HRD, Youth Affairs, Sports, Women and Child Development in the Central Government. Mamata, also known as Didi, pulled off a landslide victory, defeating the 34-year-old Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI (Marxist)) led by the Left front. In 2012, Time magazine branded her as one of the 100 most influential persons in the world. She is dynamic with proven administrative and political mettle, and resilience to withstand tough times. Similarly, there are many other leaders in various States with a Pan- India experience. However, if there is an emergence of new leadership post 2019 parliamentary election, Mamata Banerjee seems to be the best option to lead the nation towards a positive change. Akhilesh Yadav, though extremely competent and popular, is not being considered here, as comparatively, he has less exposure than the aforementioned politicians. Also, since the discussion is restricted to the regional parties, Congress president Rahul Gandhi is also not an alternative option. The country today needs to shift its focus on a competent leadership to match the robust captaincy of Narendra Modi if the NDA is not able to again form the Government in 2019 (though chances are remote as there seems a very high possibility of a second term for the Modi Government). The issue is who can bring about inclusive economic, social and political growth of today s vision of New India. We need to revisit our perception that regional leadership cannot lead the country effectively. In the past also, we have seen Prime Ministers from small parties in comparison to the large national parties like the Congress and the BJP. The election of HD Deve Gowda (United Front) and Chaudhary Charan Singh (Janata Dal) are some of the examples that prove the point. The biggest challenge is to choose a leader who can steer India to become a mature and transparent democracy based on sustainable political governance. (The writer is a commentator, Bollywood actor and singer) variation, or repeal. A Hindu First nation is an idea long overdue, and whose time has emotionally arrived. This is no longer a fringe fantasy, but has turned a mainstream aspiration today. Sense the frenzied call to unify in the messaging of rabid organisations like the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti: Oh Devout Hindus! Due to a secular democracy, the state of the society, nation and Dharma is on the decline. A Hindu Nation is the need of the hour as the only solution to the problems of Hindus. However, politically the time for a Hindu First nation may just have lapsed and eluded India s destiny, as 2019 is expected to throw up a fractured verdict, despite BJP returning as the single largest party. Modi achieved a historic mandate in 2014 because he promised to deliver economic prosperity. The vital question 10 months before the next General Election is this: Is the BJP s core voter willing to reaffirm his mandate for the BJP in the hope that Modi 2.0 will succeed in bringing India closer to becoming a Hindu nation? A mature democracy must judge for itself and give more weightage to a party or a political formation which is better placed to deliver long-term economic progress and corruption-free governance in preference to parochial issues. (The writer is an author and columnist)

9 child to school or a senior metres in 42 cities. member of your family. While telematics have The information from the become very popular with large vehicle can be shared on up to commercial fleets of trucks five devices. In case of an accident where the airbags deploy, been limited in the private and buses, its adoption has the app will instantly send an space. Several automakers have growing at 18 per cent annually alert to all the devices with the released applications with service reminders and even maps and is currently estimated at location of the incident as well M aruti-suzuki India $55 billion ( 38,000 crore) and as alert the MSIL Call Centre software, however, Maruti is Limited, the country s expected to grow to $103 billion which will contact the nearest the first non-luxury manufac- by Technology is one Maruti-Suzuki service station turer to introduce a telematics largest carmaker, on Wednesday showcased their of the pillars on which we for assistance. option in India. new telematics offering to customers called Suzuki Connect this offering reinforces that. tion will also be useful to monny MapMyIndia did launch a have built our Nexa brand and The Suzuki Connect solu- Mapping services compa- which is available to all customers of vehicles sold through works, CV Raman, Executive Explaining how the system itor your driving habits and telematics solution last year styles and will rate every drive. called DriveMate. However, MSIL s Nexa channel. Director, Engineering, MSIL In addition to that, the system adoption of the service has The solution which said that the TCU will monitor will also monitor car metrics, been slow. Kalsi believes that involves a tamper-proof several parameters of the car giving advance notice of necessary services and warning if at 25 per cent annually in the telematics market can grow telematics control unit (TCU) which would then be transmitted over a secure and any component needs urgent India over the next few years inside the vehicle will be available for 9,999, inclusive of all encrypted system to the replacement. and that an affordable service costs and taxes for three years starting Tuesday. Speaking at the launch, RS Kalsi, Senior Executive Director, Marketing and Sales, MSIL, said that the opportunity for telematics is huge in India. Globally, the telematics industry has been owner s smartphone through a Suzuki Connect application that is available on both Apple s AppStore and Google s Play Store. The owner can establish all sorts of parameters through his or her phone and can get alerts when the car goes outside a defined area, what we call geofencing and even overspeed alerts, Raman said. Users will also be able to track their car live, which Maruti officials argued can be used to monitor drivers when they are taking a However, Raman clarified that the data is secure and held with MSIL on their servers as well as undergoing intensive testing as the product was developed in-house. We have intensively tested the product driving over one million kilo- like this will help popularise the concept. Raman added that as a dealer option, fitting the TCU will take just minutes for most Nexa cars and it can be retrofitted on existing vehicles as well. he Reserve Bank has wide- and comprehen- Tranging sive powers to address various situations in banks, the Government said on Tuesday against the backdrop of RBI Governor Urjit Patel seeking more powers to deal with the problem of bad loans at public sector banks. Listing out RBI s powers to deal with banks, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said the central bank can inspect the lenders, examine on oath any officer, direct special audit and give directions to banks. Also, wholetime directors of nationalised banks and State Bank of India are appointed in consultation with the RBI, he said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.... the powers of RBI are wide-ranging and comprehensive to deal with various situations that may emerge in all banks, including public sector banks, he said. RBI Governor Urjit Patel in his presentation before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance had last month (rpt) month pitched for more powers saying that the central bank has inadequate control over State-owned lenders. Replying to another question on whether less money was being put in ATMs after the demonetisation, Shukla replied in the negative. RBI has informed that the total amount of Notes in Circulation (NIC) as on July 18, 2018 was lakh crore as compared to lakh crore as on November 4, 2016, he said. RBI has ensured adequate supply of notes to meet the cash requirement of public and the currency supply is monitored continuously to ensure distribution of adequate currency to various parts of the country, he said. parliamentary panel has Aasked the Government to frame strong guidelines for giving exemptions to establishments for managing provident funds of their employees through trusts with a view to keeping a check on misuse of such funds. There were no clear guidelines for such exempted establishments to keep unclaimed deposits and some of them could be using them as their working capital, the panel said in a report that was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. The 31-member committee headed by Lok Sabha member Kirit Somaiya found that as many as 118 establishments had total corpus of less than crore and the last return filed by them dates back to 2014 and The committee feels that these establishments may not have taken any steps to benefit their subscribers, said the report. Strong guidelines for grant of exemption may be made which make it mandatory to take into account past performance, net worth, group performance as well as minimum strength of workers, collections, contributions and corpus of the company/establishment, it said. The committee said there were hardly any compliance audit conducted by EPFO to check misuse of funds and audit mechanism gained momentum after the panel intervened. Hence the committee feels that some of the exempted establishments could be using the unclaimed deposits as their working capital. They (the committee) therefore desires that such possibilities should be considered while framing the guidelines and stringent penalty may be prescribed in order to deter the exempted establishment from carrying out such illegal activities, the report said. In its reply to the panel, the Government said legal provisions are already present in the law which deters organisations from utilising unclaimed amounts of the employees as the working capital. No such incident has been reported from field offices, government said in the reply. Among others, the panel has asked the Government to revise the surcharge levied upon trusts who fail to invest the provident fund as per rules notified by the government as well as to conduct regular inspection. An organisation is slapped with such a penalty if it deviates from the set investment patten three times, and if it is still found to be indulging in same activities, the exemptions from EPFO is cancelled. From the list of 317 such establishments, on whose Board of Trustees (BoTs) surcharge was levied, the committee observes that most of them were closed. xtending Monday s rally, Ethe benchmark BSE Sensex jumped over 150 points to record a new high of 36, in early trade on Tuesday on strong Asian cues amid buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs). The market rally was driven by strong activity on the metal, oil and gas, PSU, infrastructure, banking, FMCG and capital goods counters, rising up to 0.88 per cent. The 30-share BSE index spurted by points, or 0.41 per cent, to hit a new high of 36,869.34, surpassing its previous record of 36, clocked on Monday. The gauge has gained points in the past two sessions. The 50-share NSE Nifty also rose points, or 0.37 per cent, to 11, Ahmedabad: The ongoing nation-wide truckers strike has adversely affected Gujarat s textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemical and ceramic industry, especially with exporters finding it hard to comply with orders, industry representatives said. Industry bodies have also appealed to the Centre to end the strike as local industries are being affected due to difficulty in movement of finished goods and raw materials, with many units stopping production and laying off workers. The indefinite strike, called under an umbrella body of All India Motor Transport Congress with a slew of demands, including reduction of diesel prices, enters its fifth day on Tuesday. Movement of raw materials and finished goods have got hit. Export orders expiring, which is affecting our prestige in the international markets, president of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Shailesh Patwari said. PTI New Delhi: Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya, the main accused in a 9,000 crore alleged bank fraud case, is understood to have sounded out to Indian authorities that he was willing to come back home to face the law, official sources said today. Mallya, who is contesting in a London court the Indian government's action for extradition, is said to have sent feelers to authorities that he would like to join the legal process in India and contest the recent action against him under the Fugitive Economic Offender Ordinance. Under this recently promulgated ordinance, the government can immediately confiscate all linked properties of Mallya in the country and abroad. However, top sources in investigative agencies said the final contours of the move are still not clear as they refused to divulge more details. A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Mumbai had last month issued summons to the beleaguered businessman to appear before it on August 27 on the Enforcement Directorate's plea seeking action against him under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance in the over 9,000 crore bank fraud case. PTI Major gainers include Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, HUL, M&M, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, L&T, ICICI Bank, Coal India, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys, Power Grid, Kotak Bank, SBI, Asian Paints, HDFC, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma and ITC, rising up to 1.42 per cent. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of crore and DIIs bought shares worth a net of crore on Monday, provisional data showed. Traders said positive cues from other Asian markets and sustained foreign capital inflows, influenced sentiments here. Japan s Nikkei rose 0.60 per cent, Shanghai Composite Index 1.59 per cent and Hong Kong s Hang Seng 1.50 per cent in early trade. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.06 per cent lower on Monday and Nasdaq closed up 0.28 per cent. he rupee on Tuesday Tdropped by 8 paise to close at against the US currency, extending its fall for a second straight day due to sustained dollar demand from importers even as local equities hit a record high. The rupee plunged below the 69 mark in early session to trade near its all-time low levels due to overnight gains in the dollar against global currencies. However, local unit regained some lost ground towards the tail-end as overall trading mode turned little positive after the dollar lost strength against the euro, pound and safe haven Japanese yen. The dollar index was down 0.16 per cent at against overnight levels of Domestic forex sentiment also remained shaky due to ongoing tensions between the US and other global economies, a dealer said. Currency traders also reacted negatively to comments by President Trump on EU and China for manipulating their currencies and keeping interest rates lower, raising concerns that the current global trade tensions could be followed by a currency war. Most Asian peers were also trading weaker against the greenback. On the energy front, crude prices trade little changed as rising tension between the US and Iran highlighted risks to supply. The benchmark Brent was trading 20 cents up at $73.26 a barrel. The rupee resumed sharply lower at compared to previously at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market.

10 ost of travelling is likely to Crise sharply in 2019 globally, with hotel prices expected to go up by 3.7 per cent and airfares by 2.6 per cent, driven by growing economy and rising oil prices, a report said on Tuesday. Prices are expected to spike in many global markets even as inflation remains subdued, said Kurt Ekert, president and chief executive officer, Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT). The fifth annual global travel forecast, published by CWT and Global Business Travel Association, with the support of the Carlson Family Foundation, said airfares are likely to become more costly due to rising oil prices, the competitive pressure from the shortage of pilots, potential trade wars, and increasing fare segmentation to improve yield. The projections in the report are based on transaction data from CWT s global client portfolio, including anonymised client travel patterns, over the past seven years. It also includes key macroeconomic and percountry indicators, such as current and expected GDP growth, the consumer price index, unemployment rates and crude oil prices. Airfares are likely to rise by 3.2 per cent in Asia Pacific next year, including 3.9 per cent in China, 7.5 per cent in New Zealand and 7.3 per cent in India, it said. We expect robust private consumption to continue to drive strong growth in India, despite the impact of demonetisation and the implementation of the goods and services tax beginning to fade, the report said. The only exception in this region according to the report is Japan, where prices are likely drop 3.9 per cent due to the country s added capacity in preparation for the Olympic Games in In western Europe, the airfares are likely to rise by 4.8 per cent, with the increase pronounced in countries like Norway (11.5 per cent), Germany (7.3 per cent), France (6.9 per cent) and Spain (6.7 per cent). Eastern Europe and the Middle East and African countries, on the other hand, will experience a decline of 2.3 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, the hotel outlook for the next year is driven by the overall increase in air travel, which will fuel demand for rooms. In Asia Pacific, hotel prices are likely to rise by 5.1 per cent, with New Zealand clocking a 11.8 per cent rise. However, in Japan, prices are expected to fall by 3.2 per cent in For ground transportation, including ondemand, shared, electric, and connected cars, rates are likely to stay flat in the Asia Pacific. New Zealand is expected to whiteness a 4 per centrise, while in India, the rates will go up by 2.7 per cent and Australia by 2.4 per cent. Prices in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are also expected to remain flat overall. However, countries like Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Spain are expected to see over 4 per cent rise in cost of ground transportation, while Denmark and the UK may witness 3 per cent and 2 per cent rise, respectively. ountry s largest carmaker Maruti CSuzuki India (MSI) is on track to meet BS VI emission norms, which will come into effect from April 2020, a top company executive said on Tuesday. MSI, which on Tuesday launched telematics solution Suzuki Connect for its Nexa customers, said its engineers are working round the clock to make its models conform to the new emission norms. Also, the models are being upgraded to meet new safety regulations that will kick in from next year. On BS VI emission norms we are on track. We will definitely have vehicles as per the schedule of April Time is limited but we are making all efforts to meet BS VI emission norms. Our people are almost working round the clock, MSI senior executive director (Engineering) CV Raman told PTI. On company s strategy regarding the upcoming safety rules, he said already MSI s nine models conform to offset and side impact mandate as well as pedestrian protection, which are yet to be notified. So, we are already on course. We will meet all the norms for all the models before the deadline, Raman said. New safety regulations for existing models will kick in from October When asked about the company s investments on R&D centre at Rohtak, Haryana, Raman said out of the total outlay of 4,000 crore, 2,300 crore has been invested at the facility. Commenting on Suzuki Connect, he said the service would be available as an option that can be installed by customers in their cars across Nexa premium retail network in the country. The solution offers features like emergency alerts, vehicle tracking, driving behaviour analysis, among others. A nationwide extensive study was conducted to understand the challenges that Indian car owners face daily and their expectations from these solutions, MSI Senior Executive Director Marketing and Sales RS Kalsi said. Raman said the telematics solution has been developed by Suzuki and Maruti specifically for Indian market and can be fitted in existing Nexa cars as well. By end of this year, the company would also start offering the solution to vehicles that are sold under Arena network. Nexa customers would have to shell out an extra 9,999 for threeyear subscription to avail the service. MSI sells models like S-Cross, Baleno, Ignis and Ciaz from Nexa retail channel while Dzire, Swift, Brezza and the rest from the Arena network. New Delhi: Chinese telecom firm Huawei s sub-brand Honor said today that it is looking to garnet 10 per cent market share in India within three years to be among the top three players in the country. As per Counterpoint Research, Honor had 3.4 per cent market share in the March quarter this year, up from 1.4 per cent in the yearago period, putting it among the top five in the Indian smartphone market. We expect there will be at least 300 million smartphones that will be sold in the country in next 3 years. For being among top three, we will need to have 10 per cent of this market potential, Huawei India-Consumer Business Group, vice-president, Sales, P Sanjeev. He said that Honor has recorded over three-fold jump in sales during the first half of this year compared to the entire year s sales in Our (Honor) sales have grown by about 330 per cent in first half of this year compared to our sales for full year in 2017, Sanjeev said after launching Honor 9N series smartphones. He said that sales of company has accelerated after it looked at need of consumers at various price points. 80 per cent consumers buy phone below 15,000 price range. Of this, 55 per cent consumers buy smartphones priced below 10,000 and 15 per cent in the range of 8,000-10,000 a unit. With Honor 7A, Honor 7C (priced at 8,999, 9,999) and Honor 9N we are reaching out to addressable market, Sanjeev said. The company unveiled three variants of Honor 9N ranging from 11,999 to 17,999. We sold 1 million units of Honor Lite in 90 days. For Honor 9N we expect to sell at least 1.5 times more than Honor 9 Lite. In online segment market share is 26 per cent and overall we must have around 5 per cent, Sanjeev said. He further said: Now we have over all infrastructure to be among top three players. Honor 9N is our first device which has been made from CKD (completely knocked down) level. We will be able to scale our operation to meet market demand. New Delhi: E-commerce major Flipkart will shut down ebay.in next month and launch a new platform for refurbished goods as it attempts to tap into a large market segment that is predominantly unorganised. Last year, Flipkart had raised USD 1.4 billion from global technology majors ebay, Tencent and Microsoft. In exchange of an equity stake in Flipkart, ebay had made a cash investment of USD 500 million and sold ebay.in (India business) to Flipkart. Based on our learnings at ebay.in, we have built a brand new value platform launching with refurbished goods - a large market which is predominantly unorganised... As part of this launch, we will be stopping all customer transactions on ebay.in on 14th August, 2018 and transitioning to the new platform, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said in an to employees. He added that key barriers to refurbished goods trust and convenience can be solved at scale with Flipkart s customer base, and F1 Info solutions and services. We will keep evolving and bringing newer formats, categories and features which cater to the needs of our value-conscious middle India, Krishnamurthy said, adding all ebay.in sellers and customers will be migrated to the new platform. The new platform has a different value proposition compared to Flipkart, and will cater to a different target audience. We are committed to investing in this independent brand, he pointed out. In May this year, ebay had said it was ending its strategic partnership with Flipkart and will relaunch ebay India with a differentiated offering to focus on cross-border trade.

11 ore than 20 people have Mdied in fires that tore through an area close to Athens today, a Greek government spokesman said. undreds of people are Hmissing and an unknown number believed dead after a partly-constructed hydropower dam in southeast Laos collapsed, sending flash floods surging through six villages, state media reported today. Communist Laos is traversed by a vast network of rivers and there are several dams being built or are planned in the impoverished and landlocked country, which exports most of its hydropower energy to neighbouring countries like Thailand. Laos News Agency said the accident happened at a hydropower dam in southeastern Attapeu province s Sanamxay district late Monday, releasing five billion cubic metres of water -- more than two million Olympic swimming pools -- which unleashed flash flooding coursing into nearby villages. The report added that there were several human lives claimed, and several hundreds of people missing. Images published in the report showed scores of people, Islamabad: Pakistanis will go to the polls tomorrow to elect a new prime minister in the second democratic transition of power in the nation s 70-year chequered history amid accusations of manipulation by the powerful army and concerns over the participation of Islamic hardliners in large numbers. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), 3,459 candidates are contesting for 272 general seats of the National Assembly, while 8,396 candidates are running for 577 general seats of the four provincial assemblies - Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and some clutching young children, crammed onto low-slung wooden boats and wading through muddy waters. Several houses in the southern part of the district were swept away following the dam s collapse around 8pm (1300 GMT) on Monday evening, the report said, as officials in the province put out a call for relief aid for flood victims. We do not have any formal information yet about any casualties or how many are missing, an Attapeu official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that was no phone signal in the flooded region. We sent rescue teams who will help them and provide basic assistance first, the official added. The $1.2 billion dam is part of a project by Vientiane-based Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Power Company, or PNPC, a joint venture formed in Among the companies involved in the project according to the Laos News Agency are Thailand s Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, South Korea s Korea Western Power and the state-run Lao Holding Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. There are million registered voters in the country. The voting on more than 85,000 polling stations will start at 8.00 am and will continue till 6.00 pm. The counting of votes will be done on the spot soon after polling is concluded and results will be announced within 24 hours. The run up to the elections have seen a massive crackdown on the media and allegations that the military has secretly backed the campaign of former cricketer Imran Khan while targeting his political opponents. PTI State Enterprise. The 410 megawatt capacity dam was supposed to start commercial operations by 2019, according to the venture s website. The project consists of a series of dams over the Houay Makchanh, the Xe-Namnoy he US will never trust TRussia or its President Vladimir Putin, America s envoy to the UN Nikki Haley has said amidst an uproar over President Donald Trump s alleged bonhomie with his Russian counterpart. Trump, who met with Putin in Helsinki last week, has been slammed by the US media and political opponents for failing to defend the American intelligence community during a much-talked about Press conference with Putin in Helsinki after their first summit. The US Ambassador to the UN told Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) News: We don t trust Russia, we don t trust Putin, we never will. They re never going to be our friend. That s just a fact. At the same time, Haley supported the move to have talks with the Russians. s tensions mounted Abetween the US and Iran, the White House said today that President Donald Trump wanted to ensure that Iran did not acquire nuclear weapons. The President has been, I think, pretty strong since day one in his language towards Iran. He was responding to comments made by them, and he s going to continue to focus on the safety and security of American people, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told when asked about the latest tweet from Trump in which he warned Iran of grave consequences for threatening the US. I m not going to get into specifics and certainly not negotiate with the press. That would be a determination that the President would make...but the ultimate goal and the focus of the President is making sure we keep nuclear weapons out of their and the Xe-Pian rivers in neighbouring Champasak Province. It planned to export 90 percent of its electricity to energy hungry Thailand and the remaining amount was to be offered up on the local grid. hands and that we focus on the protection of America, she said. Under the terms of construction, PNPC said it would operate and manage the power project for 27-years after commercial operations began. When contacted by phone in Laos capital Vientiane a company official told AFP: he UN human rights chief Thas sharply criticised Israel, calling recent killings by its soldiers during Palestinian demonstrations along the Gaza border fence shocking and saying living conditions inflicted by Israel s 11-year blockade of the territory are grossly inadequate. Zeid Ra ad Al Hussein said in a video address to the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People that the situation in Gaza has escalated dramatically in recent months with the potential to generate threats to peace across a far broader region. Zeid, who heads the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said it is essential for all parties to cooperate with the independent, international commission of inquiry into the recent deadly events in Gaza that his office is helping to establish. Responding to questions, she said Trump s number one goal is to make sure Iran doesn t get a nuclear weapon. We have similar and shared interests with our European allies, we re continuing to have discussions with them, and when we have specifics on that front, we ll let you know, she said. President Donald Trump yesterday warned Rouhani that Tehran risked consequences the likes of which few throughout history have suffered before if he threatens the US again, hours after Hassan Rouhani cautioned that America s hostile threats against his country may trigger the mother of all wars. The tirade at the highest level signalled an immediate escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran, weeks after the US left a deal signed in 2015 which curbed Iran s nuclear activities in return for the lifting of international sanctions. We do not have any official reports about it yet. We are gathering information. Dam projects in Laos, mainly providing power to neighbouring countries, have long been controversial with fears over environmental damage and the impact on communities who are often displaced to make way for the construction. A massive hydroelectric project at Xayaburi, led by Thai group CH Karnchang, is at the heart of Laos plan to become the battery of Southeast Asia. The 1,285 megawatt dam - - which will cost $3.5 billion according to state media -- has sharply divided downstream Mekong nations like Vietnam and Cambodia who worry it will disrupt vital ecosystems and their own river systems. Communist authorities in Laos keep tight control information and is often opaque about business deals and development projects. The country has around 10 dams in operation, 10 to 20 under construction, and dozens more in planning stages. srael shot down a Syrian Ifighter jet with surface-to-air missiles on Tuesday after the plane infiltrated its airspace, the military said, in a rare incident that could provoke tensions. Israel signalled that the plane s infiltration may have been the result of internal fighting in Syria s civil war, but stressed it will enforce the ceasefire lines between the two countries. A short while ago, two Patriot missiles were launched at a Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet that infiltrated into Israeli airspace, the Israeli Defence Forces said in a statement. The IDF monitored the advance of the fighter jet, which infiltrated about two kilometres (1.25 miles) into Israeli airspace. It was then intercepted by the Patriot missiles. A Syrian military source confirmed that Israel had fired at one of its warplanes but said the fighter jet had been carrying out operations against jihadists over Syrian territory. Israel targeted one of our warplanes... In Syrian airspace, the source said, cited by state news agency SANA. United Nations: The UN Security Council has urged Myanmar s government to step up efforts to create conditions that will allow Rohingya Muslims who fled a violent crackdown to safely return to the country from neighbouring Bangladesh. The council stressed in a statement following closed briefings yesterday that progress is also needed by Myanmar on implementing agreements on relations with the UN refugee and development agencies and with Bangladesh on returning Rohingya. Rohingya face official and social discrimination in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, which denies most of them citizenship and basic rights because they are looked on as immigrants from Bangladesh, even though the families of many settled in Myanmar generations ago. AP

12 I n a world dominated by modern medicine, medical practitioners commonly prescribe physiotherapy to patients for curing various ailments along with modern medicine. Not only has physiotherapy helped people get relief from complex ailments globally, it has only become bigger and a crucial element for treatment of various ailments. Making a career in physiotherapy holds great prospects for the present and the future and widens up options in the sector from setting up one s own physiotherapy clinic or taking up a job as a physiotherapist at any hospital or clinic, MNCs and even schools as a consultant physiotherapist. Physiotherapy has now become a completely independent subject within the health sector, primarily directed towards the prevention or alleviation of movement dysfunction in people. This involves assessment, diagnosis and treatment of disease, remedy to impairment and helps mobility. According to industry analysts, physiotherapy will globally grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.78 per cent during the period 2018 to A career in physiotherapy makes it a promising, interesting and challenging job in the health care system. Physiotherapists specialise in paediatrics, geriatrics, neurology, cardiorespiratory, orthopaedics and even sports besides other areas of modern stream of medicine. Today, with growing medical facilities, opportunities for paramedics like physiotherapists have grown multi-fold at hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centres and at residences, private practitioners clinics. A degree or a certificate course in physiotherapy offers you various other openings at out-patient clinics, community health care centres or Primary Healthcare centres, fitness hildescence (childhood and ado- is a time of significant Clescence) change in an adolescent with growth and development in all life spheres, be it psychological, cognitive, behavioural or physiological. The recent CRY report has revealed that only one in every two adolescents between 15 to 18 years is studying in India. The data throws light on deprived access to secondary education. Of the 100 million children, only 56 per cent continue to access classrooms through formal schooling. Childescents who are accessing education through other modes of learning such as open or distance centres or health clubs, occupational health centres, special schools and old age homes. Physiotherapists also get to work at sports centres besides teaching or working in foreign countries with corporates, NGO s and other industrial and educational institutions. Like any other stream of medicine, physiotherapists too have to keep themselves abreast with newer technologies and developments taking place in physiotherapy. This will help them administer the right kind of treatment besides further developing their assessment and treatment skills. Here are some common areas where physiotherapists can pursue specialised post-graduate courses. These include: Orthopaedic Physiotherapy: An area of physiotherapy which deals with conditions related to post-surgical patients, arthritis, tendonitis, fracture rehabilitation, muscle sprains and strains, neck and back pain, hip and knee problems, shoulder, elbow How has Career Launcher (CL) evolved over the years? Our core purpose has been to enable the youth to realise their potential and make their dreams come true. Research, ownership, openness, honesty and innovation (ROOHI) are our core values. We are the only ones in India who do every single test preps and give coaching for every exam. We want to be relevant for the five to 55 age groups as far as individual aspirations are concerned. What was it like when you started CL? I had only 5000 when I started CL. I would work in the morning in a company and get to CL work after 7 pm. In CL s first year, I had only 64 students who would pay a fee of 1000 each for a year. So, my revenue for the year was 64,000. Through word of mouth, the enrollment increased from 64 to 800 students and since then there was no looking back. What is the basic coaching module of your programme? There are five elements that comprise coaching for any programme classroom element, study material, test series, online component and personality development. Career Junction was formed to provide the student and their parents with relevant information about the industry. How are mock tests done? There is a team of senior members to design the tests. They take the test themselves. Whenever there is any change in the pattern of entrance tests, it gets reflected in our mocks the very next day. How should someone decide between a coaching and selfstudy? Most questions come from a person s self-awareness. However, we have a couple of free tools online that tells you on the basis of your marks which colleges is the best and how many marks will be required. According to that, you can decide whether you need to take coaching or self-study. It s a mix of subjective judgement and objective analysis based on data. When is the ideal time for students to join coaching? Somebody starts a year in advance, others do so six months or two months before. But whenever you decide, give it a good shot. If you are half hearted in your approach, don t try. Many prefer to take a break of a year to prepare for entrance exams? There is no hurry to appear and wrist conditions. Sports Physiotherapy: Specialists who assist with recovery after injury or surgery and are majorly responsible for retraining an athlete. Women s Health: Another crucial therapist known for administering physiotherapy treatment to women during pregnancy or with specific women related conditions. Paediatric Physiotherapy: Paediatric therapists help to rehabilitate children and assist them for sufferings like cerebral palsy, developmental disorders, skeletal, neurological disorders or orthopaedic ailments. Cardiovascular and pulmonary physiotherapy: Physiotherapists, specialising in this domain, work with patients who have ailments like heart attacks, bypass surgeries or have undergone angioplasty, have breathing problems, emphysema, and other heart or lung related conditions. Neurological Physiotherapy: One of the most crucial part of the physiotherapy which includes treating conditions related to disorders like learning are restricted to two per cent. With respect to enrollment and dropout rates in school, it was observed that 29 per cent of Childescents in secondary education and 24 per cent in higher education are not appropriately enrolled as per their age. The data suggests that a substantial percentage of children either leave school on a temporary basis and then re-join later, or may have joined school late. Against 100 children expected to be in secondary school by this age, only 30.5 per cent are transitioned into secondary and higher secondary schooling. Around 29 per cent of Childescents in urban areas do not attend school while the proportion is far higher in the rural areas 40 per cent children who stay in rural areas don t attend school at all. Explaining CRY s objectives and emphasising on the issue, Puja Marwah, CEO, CRY, said: Secondary education is a window of opportunity that can lead to gainful adult employment, therefore universalisation of a secondary education, along with focus on quality improvement is of great importance. Special focus is needed for children who belong to the socioeconomically weaker backgrounds for the entrance exam. In many countries, it is common for students to take a gap and do other things. One can take time to decide. We have created quite an artificial sense of urgency. How should students cope with the change in exam patterns? If changes are not drastic, not to worry. Patterns change because they reflect the changing world realities. If I am a school teacher, I am trying to prepare the student for the real world. Everybody is a victim of the next link in the value chain. What is the right approach for a student to make a career choice? Ask yourself: Will I do this, even if I m not paid to do this? That is the litmus test. If the answer is yes, you are on the right path. If no, try something else. Any plans of expansion? We have 200 plus centres across India. We focus on product, geographical and channel expansions. The millennials are going digital and learning from their mobile apps. So, the pursuit is to stay technologically ahead so as to match up with the behaviour and needs of the millennials. walking, inability to get in and out of bed or chairs (transfer training), moving in bed (bed mobility), wheelchair use and requires functional retraining besides retraining patients to use their shoulders, arms, and hands, which may involve neurological disorders like spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury. A professional physiotherapist comes across many patients, who may be suffering from common or serious ailments. More than how professionally one administers his physiotherapy skills, he or she has to be equally empathetic and kind to the patient. Pleasing personality, well mannered, and caring attitude, excellent communications skills, analytical thinking and ability to connect with people are important skills required to be a successful physiotherapist. How and when to use electrophysical modalities which include Ultrasound, Interferential Current, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS), Shockwave he final years in school can Tcome with quite a lot of pressure. With the preparation for your examinations being a priority, you often don t have time to finalise what you want to do in college. Talking to career counsellors and taking aptitude tests can help, but they will only be able to tell you what they think is your best bet. Finding what you re passionate about, what are the things that you want to learn to land your dream job and even if you can adapt to the 9 to 5 lifestyle, are all aspects you want to start considering right from high school. To make this process smoother and give you firsthand experience, doing internships in your preferred area of interest can help you realise what you want to do. Shiv Nadar School campuses in Noida and Gurugram have made summer internships a compulsory part of the course. They send out all students for 10-day internships in companies they think they would gain positive experience. This process is complex and counsellors carefully curate an experience for each student. by creating systems that help identify and track children who are at risk of dropping out of school, remedial support and appropriate provisioning to keep them purposefully engaged in Education. There are a lot more solutions that can help in approaching the problem, such as urgent implementation of universalisation of secondary education. Doing so will allow the children, especially from marginalised communities, to choose a positive trajectory for their lives. No more than 60 per cent of all Indian children complete secondary Therapy and other physical approaches in complex care practices. And above all, a physiotherapist has to be fit and energetic, as his job requires exhaustive exercising and demo required for patients. Bachelor in Physiotherapy: Pass in 10+2 examination or equivalent examination with at least 50 per cent marks in aggregate in English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology and one subject with the highest score out of the remaining subjects. Master in Physiotherapy: 50 per cent marks in aggregate in Bachelor of Physiotherapy from a recognised university. Entrance exam: Candidates can apply for entrance to Physiotherapy courses through NEET Exam, and other Entrance Examinations conducted by different colleges offering the BPT course. A potential physiotherapist with a Master s degree can attract a better pay. But it could defer depending on individual s expertise and how good one is at work. Christian Medical College, Vellore Tamil Nadu Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, Faridabad King Edward Memorial Hospital and Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College, Mumbai Government Medical College, Nagpur Observing the environment and learning the way certain jobs work are all things that a student should take back from these internships so they have a better idea of where they are headed. You start exploring career choices, what s out there for you. According to your aptitude and area of interest, you move onto studying them. Nitina Dua, programme leader at Shiv Nadar School, says: Everyone is a stakeholder in this process, including the parents, teachers, school and the student. Finding the right course, right college, making the best of your ability and time are aspects we feel responsible for. A little hand-holding in High School can go a long way school, so there is an alarming need to improve net enrollment rates in secondary education. Children who are in difficult circumstances and have to combine work with school are prone to frequent migration, or married Childescent girls are often the ones with highest likelihood of dropping out from school. Systems need to be set up for identifying and tracking the children at risk, those in need of remedial educational support, and those who need flexible timing or scheduling changes. Making gender equality a primary goal of school system will go The Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE), College of Traffic Management, Faridabad, Haryana, invites application for its newly launched course Master of Science (MSc) in Traffic Management. This is Asia s first two-year course in traffic management to equip students with skills to manage and design the traffic and transportation management systems. The course deals with transport and traffic engineering, driver training and fleet management, road safety audits, road crash investigations, traffic engineering, forensic engineering, road asset financing and post-crash management. The first global Masters of Science in Traffic Management has been given approval by the Government of Haryana and Maharshi Dayanand University to be conducted at IRTE s College of Traffic Management from August Maximum of 30 seats are being offered to include in-service participants and students from South East Asia. Graduates from the program typically will be able to work as senior professionals in local, state and federal Government agencies such as road and transport authorities, public and private sector transport operators and local and international consulting organisations. The aim of unveiling this course is to promote such programmes in other institutes across South East Asia as a part of the MOU between IRTE and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.The course is open to all the graduates. For more information, log on to The School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Apeejay Stya University, Gurugram has announced admissions for Bachelor of Pharmacy (B Pharm, a four-year industry-oriented programme endorsed by reputed industrial houses pertaining to the domains of pharmaceutical sciences and related fields. for students when it comes to college applications. Polishing their soft skills, teaching them how to write CVs, making formal presentations are all part of the process of making these students ready for future. At the same time, this is a great time for students to enter zones of discomfort and challenges. There will be times when after one internship, you may not have the required clarity on your career choices. In this case, don t hesitate and try out other internships till you get an idea of what you want. There is no harm in this, you will meet more people, gain more experience and have a better idea of what you want to do later in life. Trishan Dollny, who long way in improving their second class status throughout life. Inviting Positive Role Models, including parents who have supported girls to take up higher aims in life, societal achievers, entrepreneurs and self- help groups are strategies that could be followed. The availability of competent subject experts in schools where most vulnerable children may be enrolled is the test of India s public education system. Not having this basic minimum standard would result in a system that is ineffective at its roots. While following this approach, investing in adequacy of teachers and training them in pedagogical tools that combine subject and emerging technologies to serve The School of Pharmaceutical Sciences also offers MPharm in Pharmaceuticals (two years), MPharm plus MBA (threeyears integrated course) and PhD in Pharmaceuticals, among other programmes. The programmes have been approved by the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI). It has been designed in collaboration with pharmaceutical organisations of repute. The newly launched R&D centre for pharmaceutical research will further ensure a holistic and experiential learning for the students who will be familiarised with the knowledge of formulation development from basic drug designing to the final stages of clinical trials. The School of Pharmaceutical Sciences also has two centres of excellence Centre for Novel Drug Delivery System and Centre for Formulation Development to boost high-quality teachinglearning culture. The university also provides scholarships to meritorious students. The previous batches have obtained 100 percent placement. Students can also be absorbed in the pharmaceutical business of the Apeejay Stya & Svran Group, apart from opportunities in various MNCs and other leading companies. Minimum 50 per cent aggregate marks in Class XII with Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics or Physics, Chemistry, Biology from any recognised board. All eligible applicants shall be shortlisted on the basis of their academic performances and aptitude followed by a mock test. Last date to apply is before July 31, For more information, log on to interned with shiksha.com, says: I got to experience several aspects of the job and my mentor really helped me through out and gave me great advice. He told me to focus on what I want to do at the end of the day. A Class XI student of Shiv Nadar School, Vyom Upreti, who interned at Ernest and Young, says: I got to work in the tax department where I got to shadow my mentor. I got great exposure to the professional world which helped me realise the kind of job I want to do later. Anannya Meghani interned at Huawei in the HR department, she wants to study law but got to experience the management side which she really found interesting. Rinsangi Tochhawng, who interned at HCL in the CSR department, says that it helped her connect with the emotional aspect of the job. I realised how much support is needed around us and we often let it slip, she says. All students come out of these internships with clarity for their future and if not, they learn something that will help them grow as individuals and come in handy later in life. world class education should be accorded high priority. A bouquet of choices should be available to allow childescents to transition successfully from school to work and to gain transferable skills that are beneficial in the long term and contribute in positions of either employability or entrepreneurship in future. It is of utmost importance to recognise that childescence as a life phase comes with unique vulnerabilities, challenges and opportunities at the levels of self, society and systems. We must commit to altering our social perception and treatment of these children in order to make their childhood happy, healthy and creative, Marwah concludes.

13 W ith around 130 days left for the CAT 2018, for admission to the coveted IIMs and other good management institutions of the country, the preparation is moving to higher gears. We look at how to proceed from here to the exam day. First, more studies is better but remember that studying more will help provided you are able to concentrate and learn. If you find it difficult, it is time to take a break. Most of can study six-eight hours a day. Studying different areas in a day helps in better concentration. For example, if you plan to study eight hours a day in chunks of two hours, you may do Quant, Reading Comprehension (RC), Data Interpretation (DI) and Logical Reasoning (LR) for two hours each with about minutes break between every two sessions. However, please ensure that you should cover all areas every week. Further, weaker areas should be allotted more time. The general rule is that the weaker you are in an area, the more time you allocate for the section. This will help you with the sectional cutoffs, which are present for the IIMs and other good management institutes. As the exam gives you less time than required to solve the entire exam, time management is the most crucial element that is being checked in the examination. Thus, always work with a 'time deadline' when you are solving questions so that you are accustomed to the time pressure. The standard guideline is that the time you set, should be sufficient for tackling around 75 per cent of the questions. While taking AIMCATs seriously is extremely important for you to know your relative strengths and weaknesses, it is even more important that you analyse your performance thoroughly and have an action plan to improve upon it. Initially taking around one-two mock tests per week with complete analysis and taking action based on the analysis is sufficient. By the end, taking around two-three, fulllength tests in a week will be sufficient followed by analysis. When analysing, look at what you solved but took too much time, look at what you solved but got wrong and look at what you left but could have been solved easily(i.e. in less time). This will give you targets to work on for study. Revision of mathematics concepts and important formulae can be done in the last one month. For now, focus on improving your conceptual clarity. Do not memorise formulae since the CAT is not looking at your ability to memorise, but rather the ability to apply concepts. For DI and LR, do look at all types of questions, so that there are no nasty surprises in the exam. If you are familiar with various types of problems in the exam beforehand, you are more likely to do well on the test. Your mock tests can serve as an excellent source of a large number of sets which are the level of the examination. A bulk of the English section is reading-oriented, whether it is RCs or reading oriented VA questions. There are some vocabulary and grammar questions, but the effort you put into them is not going to be as fruitful as improving reading skill. Focus more on reading. Try to attempt an RC exercise in a time-bound fashion. Without checking the answers first, try to understand the tough words and concepts from a dictionary and an encyclopedia. Then redo the exercise and recheck your answers. You will get a lot more right. Do not start anything new in the last two weeks before the exam. Focus only on strong areas in the last two weeks. Gradually reduce your study in the last three-four days and relax on the day before you will take exam. Some students fail to do well in mock tests and feel demotivated. Be realistic in your assessment of your caliber and set realistic and achievable goals. Performance improvement takes place slowly since everyone is studying and is trying to improve. Even if you improve on an absolute scale, you may not see much improvement in your relative performance. You should therefore set a target of achievable improvements for your next AIMCAT and keep on repeating it. T he publishing industry offers multiple career options in the various aspects of the industry. Like any other industry, a job in the publishing industry involves a fair amount of competition and grunt work and requires bright go-getters who are not afraid of hard work. Work in the publishing industry is fast-paced and often requires the ability to manage expectations from various stakeholders like editors, authors, and publicists with ease and efficiency. There is much more to working in the industry than being an editor. There are different roles in the industry that calls for varying skill sets. Aligning with personal interest and strengths plays a critical role in gaining job satisfaction and hence in building a successful career. An editor, for instance, is in the business of finding budding talents, editing and molding a written work into the final product that is ready for the shelves. Similarly, illustrators are responsible for designing accompany graphics and illustrations were required to make the final product informative as well as well designed to attract readers. The role of marketers and distributors is to highlight the salient points of the published work and publicity of the work to gain maximum traction in sales. While publishing has been traditionally associated with printed books and materials, the advent of the digital era meant that a lot is happening in the digital realm. From e-books to self-publishing over the Internet, there has been a continuous onslaught on the publishing industry. While sceptics have been proved wrong regarding the impending demise of the industry, the digital era has presented the industry with new avenues for growth opportunities. Digital marketing, blogs, social media, podcasts and audio books are some examples of the new growth opportunities for the industry courtesy of the digital age. Digitalisation and the increasing penetration of the Internet have had a significant impact on the publishing industry. The entire value chain of the industry right from how books are published, distributed, sold and eventually consumed by the readers have undergone massive changes. Self-publishing, on-demand printing and e- books, are some of the mainstays of the industry today. A positive development out of all these is that producing creative contents has become far easier with minimal cost and digitally distributing contents is cheap and reaches a wider audience as well. A successful career in the industry requires a critical bent of mind, one that is analytical and passion for the job that borders on obsessive compulsion. Entry into the publishing industry is often through an internship or an assistant role, and with hard work and experience, one can expect to move into one of the more challenging roles to build a successful career. The industry is one that is known for its long hours, crazy deadlines and variable job functions. From writing a pitch mail, Press releases, putting together a media list, media pitching, follow-ups, coordinating with authors to draw up a publicity plan, scheduling interviews and media appearance. The work description also involves planning and implementation of marketing campaigns, writing blogs and managing social media channels. The job promises to be a challenging as well as satisfying experience for anyone willing to face the hard work. Applications are invited for Obama Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Chicago. This program provides emerging leaders from around the world who will earn a Master of Arts degree focused on International Development and Policy at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Eligibility: Work experience (typically 3-5 years or more) and professional accomplishments with a clear trajectory of increasing impact. Demonstrated record of community service or working for the public good, either through a full-time professional role or significant engagement outside of primary employment. Possess a clear focus on a global challenge or policy issue. A clear commitment to return to and reinvest your new skills in your community after the programme concludes. English language requirements: Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores are required for international students. The Harris institution code is 1849 or Both codes will be accepted. You can make your reservations to take the TOEFL with ETS directly. You will also have the option of submitting other scores (IELTS, GRE), but the GRE is not required. How to apply: Applicants will submit a single application for the Harris MA-IDP and the Obama Foundation Scholarship. All applicants must complete the online application and include the following: You may submit unofficial transcripts through the electronic application process; University will prefer to have at least one reference from a previous professor who can speak to your academic background and preparedness for graduate studies. Tell us about your current work (which may be your paid employment or your significant volunteer activity). Application deadline: November 1, 2018 Applications are invited for HDR Scholarships supported by the Bond University. Scholarships are awarded to highly qualified students commencing PhD programme in Eligibility: Applicants whose native language is not English are required to demonstrate proficiency in English. The IELTS, ACT, and SAT exams may be used. How to apply: students must meet the required academic entry requirements, as well as satisfy visa, residency and English proficiency requirements. Application deadline: September 28, 2018 QUERY: My son Sanchit Purbe, is pursuing graduation in Non-Medical. His date of birth is January 23, 1997 He is not clear about a career path. Please suggest the best career options for him as per his planetary chart so that he can take a right decision in life. BHATT: He is an Aquarian and his element is Air. Aquarius is one the most tolerant zodiac sign. He is willing to help others. Aquarius prefers going their way as their ideas about life are often different. Water bearer Aquarius is an intelligent person. He is charismatic therefore he can easily become a leader. The negative aspect of his character is, he rarely admits his fault. He makes plan but seldom carries out. He is independent in his actions. He enjoys conventional and nonconventional ideas. Politics: As an Air sign, he is a bit of a dreamer and loves to engage people in his vision to create an ideal society. As a thinker, he is logical. His arguments are compelling and believable. Combined with humanitarian zeal, this makes him a popular choice for political or social leadership Teacher: Aquarians love to learn. So teaching is a great option for him. He will get to learn more about specific topics and impart that knowledge in students. Researcher: He can work individually or in a team to identify the goals and objectives of the research being conducted. They then devise a plan, secure money to fund the research, and put their skills to work to draw conclusions. Being an inquisitive Aquarius, he will enjoy this. Scientist: The curiosity of a scientist is never truly satisfied and the same is true for the Aquarius. Scientists gather information to answer questions about the natural world and may specialise in a specific area of the field. Scientists work in a range of fields and often pursue specific areas of research for long periods. Career as a scientist will satisfy his thirst for knowledge. Project manager: He can define project objectives, develop and administer the budget, and delegate tasks to complete the project efficiently. Thus he can make a stable and successful career in any company as a project manager Data analyst: They use data that their company has collected to guide decisionmaking and as an aquarian, his knack for critical thinking is highly valuable in this role. The analysts often work in office environments, so he may need to ask about working remotely or traveling to different company branches to remain engaged.

14 T outed as a potential successor to Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps, Rishabh Pant says the former India captain has helped shape quite a few things in his still nascent career, ranging from his IPL contract to hand-head coordination while keeping. "Whenever I needed any support from Mahi bhai, I used to ask him. From my IPL contract to my wicketkeeping, he's advised me on everything," the 20-year-old Pant told bcci.tv. "He's always told me that when it comes to wicket-keeping, your hands and head coordination is important, the body balance can come into play later. That (his advice) has helped me a lot," said the southpaw. Pant says the positivity in the Indian team's dressing room is also quite infectious. The youngster was not picked for the limited-overs leg of the England tour despite a stellar IPL show but earned his maiden call-up in Tests through his gritty performances with the A team. "Every time I come to the Indian dressing room, there is one thing that has always stood out for me. It is the positivity in the dressing room. Everyone is supporting and backing each other, which is the most important factor about this Indian dressing room," he said. Asked about the challenge of switching formats from IPL to the ODI and four-day games in England, Pant said he does not stress over that. "I reckon there isn't too much difference, but it has got more to do with shot selection. In red ball cricket, with the field placements, you can look around; take your time, because you have five days to play. Whereas in limited overs cricket you have limited number of balls to play and score. "I have so far enjoyed my preparation with red ball cricket. The duke ball swings a lot when you're here in England and initially when I started playing here with India A, I realised that the swing will come a lot into play in these conditions." He also received praise from India A coach Rahul Dravid for his performance in England. "The only thing he tells me is that you need to be patient about everything, be it on the field or off it. Also, how I need to work harder on my game when it comes to red ball cricket since I'm a positive batsman, but at times you need to play to the situation. See the pace of the game and change your game accordingly." The fact that he has been playing in England for a while has prepared him well for the Test series. Dinesh Karthik is the first-choice keeper in the absence of Wriddhiman Saha, so it remains to be seen if Pant will get his big break. Former India wicket-keeper Kiran ndia's spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja Iand Ravichandran Ashwin held on to the third and fifth position respectively in the latest ICC Test rankings for bowlers, which was headed by England pacer James Anderson ahead of the five-match Test series starting in Birmingham on August 1. Jadeja and Ashwin have 866 and 811 points respectively, while South African duo of Kagiso Rabada (882) and Vernon Philander (826) are placed in the second and fourth spot respectively. Anderson, who claimed nine wickets in England's drawn two-test series at home against Pakistan earlier this summer, has 892 points, while Rabada slipped to second despite claiming eight wickets during the two Tests in the Proteas' 2-0 series defeat in Sri Lanka. In the ICC Test ranking for batsmen, Virat Kohli was at the second position, while Cheteshwar Pujara was placed at the sixth spot. Joe Root was the only England batsman in the top 10 which is still being headed by Steve Smith, who is More recently went to the extent of saying that Pant could be the next Adam Gilchrist. "I always see everything as an opportunity coming my way. Especially as a wicket-keeper batsman in India, wherein, there aren't too many options for the spot. Therefore, whatever opportunity I get, I try and optimise it. "Adam Gilchrist has been my idol when it comes to keeping wickets and I used to watch him all the time as a youngster. But, at this moment, I'm learning a lot from people around me like Rahul currently serving a 12 month ban due to his involvement in ball tampering. Two Indian and as many English players found a place in the top 10 of ICC ranking for all-rounders with Jadeja and Ashwin at the second and fourth place and Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali grabbing the sixth and seventh spot respectively. Despite the Proteas below-par series, spinner Keshav Maharaj, who took a 12-wicket haul in the second Test, has gained five places to find himself ranked at No 18. oosted by a strong comeback Bin the three-match series against New Zealand last week, ace drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh says the Indian hockey team is eager to carry forward the momentum into the upcoming Asian Games and win the Gold medal. "Personally for me, playing against a quality team like New Zealand who won the Silver medal at the Commonwealth Games was very important. Since I had missed out all the action during the Champions Trophy, I had to find my rhythm ahead of the Asian Games in Jakarta," Rupinder said. The Commonwealth Games in April was Rupinder's last appearance for the Indian team at a major International event. A hamstring injury during the While the team was up quadrennial event meant that he against top teams in the world, had to be rested for the Rupinder had to remain in the Champions Trophy where the national camp and work on his team finished runners up. fitness. Dravid Sir, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli and I try and improve my game every day," he said. How did he react when he found out about his Test selection, especially after the disappointment of not making the one-day team? "I always wanted to be a part of the Indian Test squad and it was more like a dream come true for me. It was an amazing feeling, not only for me but also for my family and my coach Tarek Sinha sir, who helped me understand the game very early in my life. "He has always wanted me to play Test cricket for India and when I got the call, he was very happy and proud and I enjoyed that moment," he summed up. he Ashes remains the pinnacle of Test Tcricket for James Anderson "like any Englishman" but the showdowns against India also rank pretty high as the world No 1 side brings out the absolute best in him - the 2012 away series being a case in point. "We have played against South Africa when they were number one in the world and that was a good test, and India is exactly the same for me," Anderson said in an interview ahead of the five-match Test series starting August 1 in Birmingham. "2012 was one of the best series I have ever played in, for me, in India. As a seam bowler, you go to India and everyone says that the spinners will take wickets so you want to prove to people that you can succeed in those conditions," he said. "So for me that was a really proud series of my career. You always want to play against the best and do well against the best. That always inspires me to try and push myself and play as well as you can," he added. Anderson had played a starring role in England's 2-1 series win in India back in 2012, with 12 scalps in four matches. The pacer, who boasts of 540 wickets in 138 Tests, said that victory was on par with many of his Ashes performances. "I think there has always been a good healthy rivalry between India and England. "It is frustrating for any player to be watching the team play on TV but it was critical for me to undergo rehab in order to be match-fit and available for the Asian Games selections," Rupinder expressed after the 3-0 series win against New Zealand. In order to gain momentum again, Rupinder appeared in four practice matches against Bangladesh early this month where he scored 10 goals through penalty corners and played two practice matches against South Korea where he scored one goal. "I think having Bangladesh, South Korea and New Zealand visit us ahead of major tournaments was a blessing in disguise. The team tried out different combinations and tested different variations in converting PC. We also tried new methods of creating PCs where I think the team did well. Our main criteria was to improve goal scoring," said the 27-year-old from ndia's four-day practice match against county Iside Essex was reduced to three days amid high drama over the condition of the pitch and the outfield, both of which apparently left the visitors unhappy and threw their preparations for the Test series against England haywire. However, an Essex county representative maintained that the Indian team "were happy with practice facilities", attributing the curtailment on the hot prevalent conditions owing to the current heat wave in the United Kingdom. When asked about the rugged outfield, and whether that could have been a reason to reduce the game, the representative declined to comment any further. "Essex Cricket and the England & Wales Cricket Board have today agreed, at the request of the BCCI Management Team, that the scheduled Tourist match between Essex and India will now be played over three days," the county said in a statement. The Indian team management took this decision during Tuesday afternoon's net practice after having a look at the pitch. Indian coach Ravi Shastri was seen having an animated discussion with the local officials after getting a glimpse of the grassy pitch and a barren outfield that can cause injury while fielding. The rest of the Indian support staff, including assistant coach Sanjay Bangar and bowling coach Bharat Arun also took stock of the conditions and were seen having discussions with the ground staff. Given that it is not a classified first-class match, it is confirmed that the Indian team will be using all 18 members of their Test squad. A senior member of the ground staff said that "all requests of the Indian team management have been accepted". When pressed if that included "shaving off the grass", he simply said, "We have bent over backwards to accommodate the Indian team management's demands. It is disappointing though because we had sold a lot of tickets for the fourth day (Saturday)." However, Essex made it clear that spectators who had purchased tickets for the final day's play on Saturday will be refunded in full. Another reason for the Indian team management's displeasure was that the two nets' pitches were completely bald in comparison to the Punjab. After a successful series against New Zealand, the Indian team has returned home for a week-long break and will re-join the National Camp on August 1. At the Asian Games, Indian Men's Team is grouped in Pool A with Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Hong Kong China. In the camp before the team leaves for Jakarta, Rupinder said the team will further work on the specific areas to ensure they have left no stone unturned in their preparations for the Asian Games. "The one-week break will help us rejuvenate as some of us have been in the National Camp continuously since April 28. When we return to camp, the team will sit together, watch videos from our matches against New Zealand and try and find out ways to improve further. We are eager to defend the Gold Medal at Asian Games in Jakarta," he concluded. Every series I have played in, whether it was one-day or Test cricket, it has always been really competitive and a really high standard of cricket," he said. "For me, for an Englishman, the Ashes, it is the pinnacle. If you ask the Australians, they will probably say the same (laughs). It is the biggest series in Test cricket, the one that you look forward to the most and the one that you want to win at any cost. But for me, playing against the best teams is also what you want to do," ri Lanka's suspended opening Sbatsman Danushka Gunathilaka was left out Tuesday from the 15- man squad to play the five-match one-day international series against the touring South African side. Gunathilaka, 27, was suspended on Sunday by Sri Lanka Cricket over a "misconduct" charge after a close associate of his was arrested for allegedly raping a Norwegian woman in the team hotel in Colombo. The Sri Lanka board had said Gunathilaka, who was allegedly in the room at the same time but was not arrested, will remain suspended pending a disciplinary inquiry. It was unclear, however, when the inquiry will begin. His suspension is a blow to Sri Lanka as Gunathilaka was the side's second-highest-scoring batsman in the 2-0 Test series whitewash completed on Monday. The ODI series begins on Sunday at Dambulla and ends on August 12 in Colombo. A one-off Twenty20 is due to be played in match wicket, which had a healthy green top. After speaking with the visiting coaches, the ground support staff shaved off the heavy grass layering from one of the adjacent wickets to make it resemble the match-wicket with an equal amount of surface grass. This allowed the Indian batsmen to get a feel of match day conditions, and all prominent batsmen took throwdowns at this wicket. Even the troika of spinners bowled on this green-wicket, in case one of the Test wickets is an exact replica of the same. The oval county ground has nearly 25 pitches comprising its central square, and all of them had lush green grass covering. It was a strange sight given the heat wave in nearly all of United Kingdom at the moment, with temperatures in Chelmsford soaring to 27 degrees today. The appearance of the ground was made stranger by the fact that the outfield looked rugged and devoid of any grass, with only patches of green to be seen. It reflected the truer affect of unforgiving sunshine but at the same time, was cause for concern for the Indian team who wouldn't want any players injured during this game. India's practice session lasted nearly four hours, with players arriving here in two batches. Nearly all batsmen and bowlers had rigorous workouts, with Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli also concentrating on slip fielding. Even so, the sheen was taken off this practice session as the decision to shorten the game came two hours later. As per statement from the Indian team management, the squad will travel to Birmingham on Saturday and start its preparations for the first Test (from August 1) a day early. he added. Anderson said he is looking forward to challenging himself against India and the onus would be on England's senior players to perform. "This summer we have felt that we have a bigger responsibility to the team in putting in good performances. We are the senior players. I have a good partnership with Stuart Broad and we need to show that in our responsibilities because we are the senior players," he asserted. "So that's exactly how we will prepare for this series. We want to go into this series in as good a form as possible and be as fit as possible, because we know that if we play well, we have a good chance of winning," Anderson said. "Even at home, the conditions are going to be different in every game you play. So you have to adapt to those conditions as quickly as possible. We have seen with Kuldeep Yadav that there is still an element of surprise, at least in white ball cricket." Anderson said patience would be the key to deal with Yadav's guile. "It is not all about watching footage. It is also about who adapts to those conditions the best, who is the most patient in Test cricket, who is the most skilful. And generally, people who are more patient and skilful are on top in the end," he said. Colombo on August 14. All-rounder Shehan Jayasuriya, 26, is expected to replace Gunathilaka, while uncapped Prabath Jayasuriya was brought in to the squad. Sri Lanka ODI squad: Angelo Mathews (Captain), Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Upul Tharanga, Kusal Mendis, Thisara Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha, Akila Dananjaya, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lakshan Sandakan, and Shehan Jayasuriya.

15 extension. proven so many times that age is just "I have always said that this club a number," said Parth Jindal, CEO engaluru FC skipper Sunil and these fans have been the most of Bengaluru FC. BChhetri put pen to paper on a fantastic experience of my life and "We are excited to have Sunil fresh one-year deal at the Indian Super League (ISL) club, the Blues announced on Tuesday. The deal, which adds to his current contract at the club, will see the AIFF 'Player of the Year' be a part of the JSW Group-owned side until the end of the season. The 33-year-old Chhetri had earlier signed a three-year deal with the Blues ahead of their move to the ISL last season. Chhetri, who is the longest serving player at the club, spoke of his delight at the signing a new deal here is only a way of giving back to a club that has given so much to me. I've made some fantastic memories here and I believe there are many more to make," he said. Having won the club's 'Top Scorer of the Year' award for five consecutive seasons, Chhetri is Bengaluru's highest goal scorer, with 71 goals in 144 appearances. "It's special to have Sunil Chhetri play for us. He is, by far, the fittest player around and he has the player, more excited to have Sunil the leader and most excited to have Sunil the enigma. His hunger, desire and passion is immense and he is the torchbearer of Indian football. For us, the club was built around Sunil and continues to do so. We hope he stays for as long as possible at BFC in the capacity of a player and beyond," he added. The Blues' first competitive match of the season kicks off in less than a month, when they take on Altyn Asyr FK in semis of AFC Cup. orld Cup stars Kylian WMbappe and Luka Modric will lead the challenge against a decade-long dominance of FIFA's best player award by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Mbappe, the teenage star of France's World Cup-winning team, and Modric, the Croatia captain who was named the tournament's best player, joined five-time winners Ronaldo and Messi among 10 candidates announced by FIFA on Tuesday. For the first time, FIFA has opened voting within days of the World Cup, where Ronaldo and Messi both exited in the round of 16. France also has Antoine Griezmann and Raphael Varane, who won a third straight Champions League title alongside Modric and Ronaldo with Real Madrid, on the FIFA list. Varane is the only defender selected by a FIFA expert panel which did not pick Brazil star Neymar. The 13- man panel included three Brazilians - former FIFA award winners Ronaldo and Kaka, and 1994 World Cupwinning coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. Belgium, which lost to France in the semifinals, has Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard on the shortlist. It is completed by World Cup golden boot winner Harry Kane of England and Mohamed Salah, the Egypt forward who was inspirational in Liverpool's run to the Champions League final. The winners announced in London on Sept 24 are voted by national coaches and captains, plus media from FIFA's 211 member countries, and fans voting online. Three finalists will be announced before the ceremony. France could sweep the main awards with Didier Deschamps and Zinedine Zidane heading 11 candidates for the best men's coach. Deschamps led France to the World Cup title, and his 1998 World Cup-winning teammate Zidane completed his Champions League hat trick with Madrid. Zidane, who has since left the club, won the FIFA award last year. The FIFA men's panel picked five World Cup coaches among the contenders: All four semifinalists - Deschamps, Zlatko Dalic of Croatia, Roberto Martinez of Belgium, and Gareth Southgate of England - plus Russia's Stanislav Cherchesov. Pep Guardiola is nominated for leading Manchester City to a runaway English Premier League title win. Guardiola won the 2011 FIFA award when coaching Barcelona. The other nominees are: Massimiliano Allegri (Juventus), Juergen Klopp (Liverpool), Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid), Ernesto Valverde (Barcelona). At the ceremony, FIFA will make awards to the best goalkeeper, the best goal, and a fan award. arcelona will host Real BMadrid in the first clasico of the Spanish league, in the season calendar announced on Tuesday. Barcelona will play Madrid at Camp Nou during Round 10 on the weekend of Oct Madrid will host their second meeting during Round 26 on the weekend of March 2-3. The Madrid capital derbies will be at Real's Santiago Bernabeu on the weekend of Sept and at Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano over Feb The season opens on the weekend of Aug 18-19, and ends on May eroy Sane has thanked Manchester City Lmanager Pep Guardiola for helping him overcome his World Cup heartbreak. The City forward, who was a key member of Guardiola's Premier League title-winning side last season, was left stunned by Germany coach Joachim Low's decision to omit him from the squad for the tournament in Russia. It was a move which backfired for Low after his side failed to exit the group stages, leaving many to question the wisdom of leaving out a player who scored 10 goals and provided 15 assists in a campaign which ended with him being named as the Football Association young player of the year. Yet with the Euro 2020 qualifiers on the horizon, Sane, who refused to comment on the Mezut Ozil racism scandal which has engulfed German football, believes he will have a chance to resurrect his international career under Guardiola's guidance. "Yes, Pep had a chat with me after it happened," said Sane, when asked about his shock omission from Germany's squad. "We talked about everything and how my mind was and now we are just looking forward." "I was disappointed but from that moment and now I'm just looking forward. I'm just preparing to be ready for the start of the new season. It gives you motivation. It would be a dream to play in the World Cup. "When I watched the World Cup I had the feeling that I wanted to be there. But I'm 22 and I still have a lot of years to prepare. "I was disappointed at the time - it was really hard for the first week. It's just made me want to come back really strong. "It was a surprise because I thought I'd played ive Indian shuttlers, includ- Ajay Jayaram, progressed Fing to the men's singles second round of the $75,000 Russia Open BWF Tour Super 100 here on Tuesday. Jayaram, who finished runners-up at the White Nights International Challenge earlier this month, brushed aside Canada's Xiaodong Sheng 21-14, 21-8 in the opening round match to set up a clash with compatriot Subhankar Dey, who got a bye in the first round. Pratul Joshi dumped Canada's Jeffrey Lam 21-11, 21-8 and will take on Israel's Misha Zilberman at the Sport Hall Olympic on Wednesday. Among others, Mithun Manjunath, Siddharth Pratap Singh and Rahul Yadav Chittaboina also reached the second round. Mithun defeated Belgium's Elias Bracke 21-14, 21-13, Siddharth beat Malaysia's Jia Wei Tan 21-17, 21-16, while Rahul streamrolled Russia's Maksim Makalov 21-11, While Rahul will face eighth seeded compatriot Sourabh Verma, Siddharth meets fellow quite a good season. I'm still feeling it (the disappointment) a bit but it's another season for me and I'm looking forward to it." Sane took no joy in seeing his country suffer, despite experiencing such a difficult personal setback. "I was disappointed for them too because some of them are my friends and I've played with them before, " he added. "They are all good guys - and that's why I was disappointed for them. The World Cup has special games and losing them hurts more than the other ones." With Sane fresh after a summer break and one of the few first team regulars on duty for City's pre-season tour of the United States, Guardiola will at least have the German ready for the Premier League season opener at Arsenal on August 12th. Together with new signing Riyad Mahrez, both will look to feature in the International Champions Cup match with Liverpool in New Jersey on Wednesday and hand their manager a glimpse of what the future holds. "A lot of the players went really far in the World Cup. I was really happy for them - especially Ben (Mendy) because he won it," said Sane. "Of course they now need a break to recover and be fresh for the new season." "I'm happy Riyad is here. Every time we played Leicester and he had the ball, I was like 'ok please don't do anything creative'. "I'm really happy that he's now with us as he's a really good football player. You can see it already. He's a really good player and a really good person." "Have I told him that? I can't tell him that, then he'll be stronger and take my place!" Indian Bodhit Joshi. Parupalli Kashyap and RMV Gurusaidutt, who got byes in the first round, will face Japan's Ryotaro Maruo and Russia's Vladimir Malkov respectively. Chirag Sen, who was also handed a bye in the first round, will take on Pabo Abian. ndian paddlers' historic perfor- at the 2018 Commonwealth Imance Games has provided a brilliant platform to further grow the sport in the country, feels International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) CEO Steve Dainton. India delivered its best performance in TT at the CWG, bagging a record haul of eight medals, including an unprecedented Gold in the women's team and singles event. The star of the stellar campaign was Manika Batra, who ended with four medals including two Gold. "India has the 2nd largest population in the World, and TT is a relatively popular sport here. If the market is to grow in India, then we need more top-class players playing at the highest level," Steve said in an interview. "Winning three Gold medals at the CWG is a good start, it has really taken the imagination of the sport to the people and now we have to take the next step." Paired with the the CWG performance, the advent of a professional league, Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), provides the players with the "much needed exposure" and Steve feels Indians have emerged as the dark horses. "With Ultimate Table Tennis providing the exposure to the players, clubbed with high-performance programs with international coaches, the Indians have been on a roll." "I really hope that UTT grows. However, UTT is still two years old, a baby, and to be able to execute an event of such a magnitude is a truly commendable feat. The level of players who are coming in is pretty good." Steve also lavished praise on India chief national coach Massimo Costantini and expressed his desire to work with the Italian. "I really like the head coach from Italy, I hope we can work with him also in the future. He could maybe also help us with our future projects because there aren't a lot of people anchester United head coach Jose Mourinho Mfeels the World Cup was the perfect stage for France's midfielder Paul Pogba to shine as the environment is suited for him to concentrate rather than while playing for the English football club. Pogba had an average season with United but played a key role in France's World Cup win, scoring in the 4-2 final victory against Croatia. His form during the tournament was in contrast to his displays for United since his big money move from Juventus in "I don't think it's about us getting the best out of him, it's about him giving the best he has to give," Mourinho was quoted saying by ESPN FC. Mourinho said it is down to the 25-year old, currently on a holiday in Los Angeles, to bring his best out more than we motivating him. "I think the World Cup is the perfect habitat for a player like him to give (his) best. Why? Because it's closed for a month, where he can only think about football. Where he's with his team on the training camp, completely isolated from the external world, where they focus just on football, where the dimensions of the game can only motivate," he said. "During a season, you can have a big match then a smaller match, then one even smaller, then you can lose your focus, you can lose your concentration, then comes a big match again. In the World Cup, the direction of the emotion, of the responsibility, of the big decisions is always growing up," the Portuguese tactician added. "You are in the group phase, you go to the last 16, to the quarter-finals, to the semi-finals, to the final. This feeds the motivation. This feeds the concentration of a player. So I think it was the perfect environment for him." Mourinho said Pogba showed "extra commitment" while playing for France at the World Cup and should do the same when he dons the United shirt this season. "I think players in the World Cup, they really feel that extra commitment with a country, with the people, that extra responsibility that makes them - by the emotional point of view - to be sometimes even overcommitted," he said. "So they play for the team, and the team is the most important thing, and they do everything to try to succeed. So I think it's the perfect environment for a talented player like him to focus on the job." ight-time Wimbledon cham- Roger Federer has Epion pulled out of next month's ATP Rogers Cup tournament in Toronto due to scheduling concerns. The 36-year-old Federer said he needs to be prudent about how many tournaments he plays in a season. "I'm so disappointed not to play at the Rogers Cup this summer," said world number two Federer. "I had a fantastic time in Montreal last year and always enjoy playing in front of the Canadian fans. "But unfortunately with scheduling being the key to my longevity moving forward, I have regrettably decided to withdraw from Toronto this year." that have been able to go outside their country and bring different styles and that's really a successful story," he said. Although India's confidence has also been boosted by the new ranking, under which as many as six paddlers had recently featured in the top 100, the ITTF has received a lot of flak from traditional powerhouses like China. Defending the decision, Steve says it was a commercial move. "The broadcasters want the best players, the sponsors want the best players and the new world ranking encourages the best to play at top events. It's quite simple, you need ranking that supports your products, which are our major events. Jeremy Chardy of France will take Federer's place in the main draw. Organizers said the event, which takes place August 4-12 at Toronto's York University, will feature 19 of the top 20 players in the world including reigning Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic and world number one Rafael Nadal.