Choksi and his companies allegedly availed credit from overseas branches of Indian banks using the fraudulent guarantees of Punjab National

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1 ntigua has claimed that the AMinistry of External Affairs and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) gave a positive report on fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi, wanted in India for the 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, based on which he was granted citizenship of that country in 2017 under Section 5(2)(b) of the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment Act However, the Sebi on Friday rubbished the Antigua s claims asserting it neither received any request nor did it provide any information to the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) of Antigua. The Sebi has neither received any request from the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) of Antigua for updates on any investigation nor provided any such information to CIU, the stock exchange market regulator In a related development, the Ministry of Home Affairs has forwarded the CBI s request to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for Choksi s he Economic Offences TWing (EOW) of Odisha Crime Branch has arrested managing trustee of Selvam Educational and Charitable Trust A Johnsel Raja (54) from Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu. The trust was running the Sardar Rajas Medical College and Hospital in Kalahandi district. As per reports, Raja was arrested on July 26 on the charges of criminal breach of trust and cheating. He has been brought to Odisha by the EOW on transit remand and taken for production before the JMFC, Junagarh, Kalahandi. The Selvam Educational and Charitable Trust had signed an MoU with the Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) to establish extradition. In a detailed statement, Antigua has also said Choksi s application, along with clearance from the Government of India, was subjected to a stringent background check which included third party verification, internet check and Thomson Reuters world-check. The said police clearance certificate from the Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs Regional Passport Office, Mumbai, certified that there was no adverse information against Choksi which would render him ineligible for grant of travel facilities including visa for Antigua and Barbuda, the Antigua report The Antiguan authorities, as part of their own checks, found two instances of Sebi action against Choksi s firms in 2014 and 2017 and sought more information on them, the report further It further quoted CIU as claiming that Sebi had told authorities in Antigua that one case was satisfactorily closed and there was insufficient evidence to pursue the second matter. As per the Antiguan media reports, the CIU has said if n another show of IOpposition unity, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and leaders of the TMC and other parties will join the protest called by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav to demand resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the harrowing case of shelter home rapes in Muzaffarpur. This will be the first time that Rahul Gandhi and Kejriwal will take part in political protest together. Tejashwi, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, urged all to attend the dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on August 4. Against heinous institutional mass rape in Muzaffarpur, sponsored and protected by the Nitish Government, we will stage a dharna on Saturday, August 4 at Jantar Mantar. Request all to attend, the RJD leader Leaders from many parties will be a part of our protest on Saturday at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Rahul Gandhi has confirmed his presence, he Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal re-tweeted a tweet by a journalist which read will also join the Muzaffarpur rape protest organised at Jantar Mantar. JD(U) general secretary KC Tyagi said he did not expect a leader like Rahul Gandhi to join hands with lumpen elements of the RJD. I had no issue with protest by the RJD, but how can Rahul join them. They are the same people who had unleashed such horror in Bihar during the 15 years rule of Lalu Prasad, Tyagi While Rahul and Kejriwal will be together, not much should be read in this, said a senior Congress leader. The Congress is not going to align with Kejriwal s Aam Admi Party ( AAP) in the Lok Sabha polls, he there was a warrant against Choksi when his application of citizenship was being processed, Interpol should have been informed about it and it should have been part of national criminal database. Under the Citizenship by Investment Programme of Antigua & Barbuda, a person can take their passport on a minimum investment of $100,000 in the NDF investment fund. Choksi and his companies allegedly availed credit from overseas branches of Indian banks using the fraudulent guarantees of Punjab National he Government has with- its ambitious scheme Tdrawn to set up a Social Media Communication Hub (SMCH) in every district after the Supreme Court, hearing a PIL against the proposed move, recently commented that the decision was aimed at creating a surveillance State. Although the request for proposal (RFP) to start the hub was floated on April 24, 2018, tenders were to be invited by August 20. But in a sudden U-turn, Attorney General KK Venugopal appeared before a Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra on Friday to announce the withdrawal of the scheme, along with the RFP, and related circulars. Seen as a State-sponsored tool to pry on citizens and Bank (PNB) given through letters of undertaking (LoUs) and letters of credit issued by the Brady House branch which were not repaid, bringing liability on the state-run bank, the officials have An LoU is a guarantee given by an issuing bank to Indian banks having branches abroad to grant short-term credit to the applicant. Choksi fled India on January 4 this year and took oath of allegiance in Antigua on January 15. His citizenship was cleared in November On January 16, this year, the $2 billion scam was detected by Brady House branch of the PNB, making it the biggest banking scam in the country. Meanwhile, the Congress alleged that shocking details emerging from Antigua have exposed the complicity and connivance of the Modi Government in the escape of fugitive billionaire Choksi to the Caribbean country. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala was reacting to media reports quoting Antiguan authorities as saying that Indian agencies had no adverse information against a medical college at Jaring in Kalahandi. The WODC had provided Rs 10 crore and 25 acres of Government land to the trust. Even after getting all the benefits from Government, the trust managed by Raja failed to complete infrastructure for smooth running of the hospital and medical college. Raja had obtained permission from the MCI for students admission in MBBS course for two academic years, i.e., and by showing allegedly manufactured/false documents claiming to have all the facilities required by the MCI for granting permission keeping the authorities in dark in violation of terms and conditions of the MoU. The tactics adopted by Raja and others of the trust were detected by the MCI and further permission was not granted for admission in the third academic year, i.e., Though the accused had got previous knowledge that the MCI would not permit the college for admissions in , he still collected huge amounts of money from a number of students as capitation fee in violation of terms and conditions of the MCI. In addition, he also collected a big amount from 124 students as caution money. In the mid-session, he closed the college and allegedly misappropriated the total money collected. The Odisha Government had in 2015 lodged an FIR against Raja at the Junagarh police station. The WODC also lodged a complaint accusing him of violating the MoU, fraudulent documentation and playing with the future of hundreds of medical students. invade their privacy, the proposal floated by the Government s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting was challenged in a PIL filed by Trinamool Congress MLA Mahua Moitra. The Bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, recorded the submission of Venugopal, who stated the Government s stand that the entire scheme will be reviewed in its entirety before a new scheme is brought out. The hub aimed to create a technology platform to collect digital media chatter from all social media platforms as well as digital platforms. The RFP disclosed the hub will help facilitate creation of a 360 degree view of the people who are creating buzz across various platforms and topics. he State Government has Tshown undue favours to the contractor in the construction of the Gurupriya Bridge. The CAG in its report pointed out that there have been several irregularities in the bridge construction. The Government has allowed the contractor to make a profit of Rs crore illegally, alleged a State BJP delegation led by president Basant Panda which met the Governor on Friday and demanded a CBI probe into the scam. The bridge s executing agency Royal Infra has straightway made a profit of Rs 74 crore, alleged the BJP to the Governor. The bridge has been built Choksi when the Caribbean country conducted a background check on the PNB scam accused before granting him citizenship in Loot and make them scoot is the prime policy of the Modi Government. The shocking details reveal how the Modi Government enacted this mega scam, he said in a statement. Hitting back at the Congress over its allegation of the Government s complicity in the escape of Choksi, the BJP claimed that it is the Modi-led Government which exposed the alleged crimes of fugitive businessmen Choksi and Nirav Modi which they committed during the tenure of the UPA Government. BJP spokesperson Anil Baluni said the fugitive s lawyer had also claimed in a statement that he had links with big leaders of the Opposition party. The Congress is levelling baseless allegations against the BJP to deflect the charge it is facing over its senior leaders links with him. The people, however, are convinced that we exposed Choksi s crimes he committed during the UPA Government, he claimed. San Francisco: Apple is the world s first publicly traded company to be valued at $1 trillion, the financial fruit of stylish technology that has redefined what we expect from our gadgets. The milestone marks the latest triumph of a trend-setting company that Steve started in a Silicon Valley garage 42 years ago. Apple s shares gained $5.89 to close at $207.39, leaving the company s market value at $1,001,679,220,000, according to FactSet. Detailed report on P10 BHUBANESWAR: The woman Traffic Constable accused of slapping the daughter of an ADG filed a police complaint at the Capital police station here on Friday. Notably, the daughter of Additional Director General (ADG) of Railways and Coastal Security Pranabindu Acharya had on Thursday accused Traffic Constable Pushpalata Bhoi of stopping her car and slapping her at the traffic post near AG Square. I asked the constable to make way for me because the traffic lights had already turned green; and when I moved further, she came up to me and slapped me, alleged the ADG s daughter, adding that she came back and asked the cop to apologise since she had not done anything serious. PNS ongress president Rahul CGandhi will seek re-election to the Lok Sabha next year from Amethi, but there is uncertainty over UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi contesting the polls. On speculation that Sonia may not contest Lok Sabha polls due to ill health, highlyplaced Congress sources said while it is very much clear that party chief Rahul Gandhi will be the Amethi candidate, the Rae Bareli seat will be a choice between Sonia and her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Congress sources also said that to stop Prime Minister Narendra Modi s juggernaut, the party will strive for unity of the Opposition parties with focus on building solid alliances in politically crucial States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, which together account for nearly 170 Lok Sabha seats. Underlining the importance of Opposition unity, a top Congress leader said if the Opposition parties are able to seal proper alliance in the States then there is no chance that Modi will return to power. We are not bothered about our performance in Uttar BHUBANESWAR: In view of apprehension of infiltration of illegal immigrants, now out of the National Register of Citizens (NCR) in Assam, to Odisha through its vulnerable coastline, the State Government has warned the concerned agencies to remain on alert. The State Government has asked the district Superintendents of Police of the coastal region and the Marine police stations to foil any infiltration bid by the Bangladeshi illegal immigrants through the State s 480-km coastline, which stretches from Baleswar to Ganjam. (Related story on P2) with Central assistance; and due to the massive irregularities, a probe by the CBI is very much necessary, said the delegation. Though the bridge was constructed through EPC mode, flouting the rules Rs 24 crore was provided for charges of hiring boats and motor launches and for other miscellaneous expenses of Rs 4 crore were paid. In 2006, the State Government had awarded the contract of construction of the bridge to the Gammon India for Rs crore, but the company said that with that amount it could not execute the work and demanded Rs crore. Later, the State Government which had disagreed to pay Rs crore to the Gammon India, awarded the contract to the Royal Infra for Rs 187 crore and showed undue favour to the contractor, this has been pointed out by CAG in its report, said the BJP. The Governor has assured the delegation to take suitable steps in the matter, said the BJP president after meeting the Governor. However, the BJD strongly condemned the BJP s demand for a CBI probe into Pradesh and Bihar. We are more concerned about building a powerful anti-bjp alliance in crucial States like UP. While the RJD is already our natural ally in Bihar and the NCP in Maharashtra the SP-BSP alliance in UP will turn out to be the doom of the BJP, said a Congress leader. The leader also clarified though the Congress and the Shiv Sena respect each others leadership and capabilities but are not aligned ideologically, hence there cannot be any prepoll alliance between the two. There will not be any alliance in Delhi too, said the leader setting aside speculation of a possible Congress-Aam Admi Party alliance. Post-poll, the scenario in 2019 will be completely different as I can say this from my personal experiences after seeing so many elections, added the leader exuding confidence that it will be a non-bjp Government at the Centre next year Ċongress sources said the issue of prime ministership is very much secondary now to anyone (Opposition parties). The BJP and the RSS are spreading canards that the Opposition is divided on the issue of PM post, he BHUBANESWAR: Even as Odisha is ranked the sixth in ragging in the country, the State s Higher Education Department, in an effort to prevent cases of ragging and eveteasing in educational institutes, has brought in a few new rules. Ragging in any form will not be tolerated in colleges. Even eve-teasing, verbal abuse and winking at a girl will invite strict action, Higher Education Minister Ananta Das said on Friday. Strict action will be taken against students involved in such acts. If need arises, the guilty students will be expelled as well, Das PNS the bridge construction. The BJD said that as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has made the dream of 60 years come true, the BJP has become jealous and is making wild allegations. Due to the completion of the bridge, the cutoff region in Malkangiri district has been connected with the mainland, for which thousands of people of the district have benefitted. The people of the country have highly praised the Chief Minister for the achievement, said the BJD. There have been no irregularities in the construction work and all the information has been provided to the Central Government. The BJP is trying to downplay an achievement of the BJD Government and making a no-issue an issue. This is highly unfortunate and condemnable, said the BJD in a release.

2 he Bharat Raksha Manch T(BRM) on Friday released details of a letter written to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the matter of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and its implications for Odisha. Murali Manohar Sharma of the BRM told reporters that Odisha has been and remains one of the most vulnerable States for illegal immigrants. With its long porous coastline, Odisha has been a favourite hief Minister Naveen CPatnaik on Friday approved incentives for doctors under the Odisha Medical Health Services Cadre. As per the decision, doctors with super specialisation from medical colleges recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI) would get an incentive of Rs 30,000 each per month. Similarly, doctors with postgraduation from medical colleges recognised by the MCI ormaldehyde was first Freported in 1859 by Russian chemist Aleksandr Butlerov ( ) and was conclusively identified in 1869 by August Wilhelm von Hofmann. Formaldehyde (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula CH2O (H-CHO). It is the simplest of the aldehydes (R- CHO). The common name of this substance comes from its similarity and relation to formic acid. In view of its widespread use, toxicity, and volatility, formaldehyde poses a significant danger to human health. In 2011, the US National destination for Bangladeshis. When the final draft of the NRC is released, the possibility of influx of persons who would not figure looms large. The State should take measures to tackle the huge influx. BRM national secretary Anil Dhir said other States have started taking steps to ensure that those left out of the Assam Draft do not infiltrate their regions. Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura and Meghalaya have put alerts in their borders. The large unchecked infiltration into Odisha that has been going on for years has developed into a whole impenetrable network. The profusion of Madrasas and mosques all would each get an incentive of Rs 20,000 per month. Likewise, doctors with postgraduate diploma recognised by the State Government would get an incentive of Rs 10,000 each per month. This incentive will be over and above the previous incentives like place-based incentives. However, these incentives are not linked to any post and are purely based on the required qualifications, a release from the Chief Minister s Office Toxicology Program described formaldehyde as "known to be a human carcinogen. Formaldehyde does not accumulate in the environment, because it is broken down within a few hours by sunlight or by bacteria present in soil or water. Humans metabolize formaldehyde quickly, so it does not accumulate, converting it to formic acid in the body. A 37 per cent solution of formaldehyde in water is called as formalin. As formalin is a strong disinfectant and tissue hardener; it's used for preserving biological and anatomical specimens. It is also used as an antiseptic in sterilising surgical instruments. Formaldehyde is an important precursor to many other over the State, especially in the coastal regions, the increasing crime rates, antinational activities, etc.. have all been glossed over by the administration, Dhir The ten-point agenda given to the CM for immediate implementation includes starting a process of conducting the NRC in Odisha with a request to the Registrar General of pertaining to the Odisha Rural Housing Development he Orissa High Court on Corporation (ORHDC). TFriday extended the relief it However, before the lower had earlier granted to convicted IAS officer Vinod Kumar tum of punishment to the con- court could decide the quan- and four others and asked victed officers, Vinod Kumar them to positively surrender had approached the High before the Vigilance (Special) Court and obtained relief in Court on August 10. The which the High Court had Vigilance Court had last month restrained the Vigilance police found the five, including the from arresting him by the IAS officer, guilty and convicted them in a corruption case issued by the Vigilance strength of the NBW that was Court. Sir, It is an irrefutable fact that social media is a great equaliser of the media space. However, it has also become a space where personal attacks, abuse, stalking, trolling have made it a weapon for the release of mental toxins unheard of before. Each time the society is at a crossroads, the space for dialogue breaks down and people take to social media to release their pent-up angst therefore, a crisis like a pressure cooker valve that allows steam to be released but how. Judging from social media posts which today seem as the societal barometer, those who are using it are largely young, irrational with a my way or the highway, attitude writ in every word they spew out. K Ravi, E-237, GGP Colony, Bhubaneswar , Mob: The High Court, however, had asked the convicted quintet to appear before the Vigilance Court on August 4, the date on which the special court was scheduled to decide the quantum of punishment. But on the day, allowing another plea of Vinod Kumar in which he had sought a week s time to surrender, Justice JP Dash directed the Vigilance police not give any effect to the NBW till August 10. he Institute of Chartered TAccountants of India (ICAI), Bhubaneswar Branch began its twoday 15th straight national CA conference on the theme Purusartha Pursue Excellence, Strive for Perfection! here on Friday. Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal inaugurated the event in the presence of Nalco CMD Dr TK Chand, ICAI President Naveen ND Gupta, Professional Development Committee Chairman Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal, EIRC Chairperson Sonu Jain, Organising Committee Chairman Aswini Kumar Kar and Bhubaneswar Branch Chairman he Odisha Government has Turged the NITI Aayog to take up with the Government of India the special developmental needs of the 10 Aspirational Districts like connectivity, health, credit delivery and other issues. While the State Government has come on board with the Government of India for addressing the special developmental needs of these districts, constraints for development continue. One of the major issues is connectivity and it has been urged for relaxation in materials and chemical compounds. Formaldehyde-based materials are key to the manufacture of automobiles, and used to make components for the transmission, electrical system, engine block, door panels, axles and brake shoes. When treated with phenol, urea, or melamine, formaldehyde produces, respectively, hard thermoset phenol formaldehyde resin, urea formaldehyde resin, and melamine resin. These polymers are common permanent adhesives used in plywood and carpeting. Indiscriminate use of toxic substances for preservation of dry and wet fish has triggered panic among public. In Bangladesh and many parts of our country, fishes are adulterated by hazardous chemicals at different steps from farm to consumers. Formalin (FA) is reported to be frequently added as preservative either by dipping or spraying to the fresh fishes by the fish traders while transporting to domestic marketing chain to prevent spoilage and extend shelf life. India to initiate the process and making the Marine police stations effective as all of them are defunct with no cases of infiltration being reported till date. The State Government should immediately restart the Biometric Card issuance to all fishermen who venture into the sea. The Government should make a list of the Madrasas that have come up in the last decade norms of the PMGSY for the unconnected villages of the Aspirational Districts, for which the Union Government is attaching priority tag. While NITI Aayog is harping on faster development of Aspirational Districts, lack of connectivity to the unconnected habitations deprives the communities of basic minimum public services. Besides, rural road connectivity is a key component for rural development, pointed out a senior official in the Department of Planning and Convergence. Under the backdrop, the NITI Aayog has been approached to take up the issue Acceptable daily intake of formalin is 0.2 mg/kg bw/day as according to the United and keep a close eye on their activities and ask the district Collectors and SPs to make thana-wise listing of the bastis, ghettoes, paras, localities where concentrations of Bangladeshi immigrants are there and keep a close watch on their activities. The agenda further said community radio services should be monitored in the coastal regions. The Kendrapada police had detected and destroyed eight private radio stations a few years ago. It was pointed out that the Chief Minister had, in 2015, declared on the floor of the State Assembly that 3,987 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were present in the State. Steps should be taken for their deportation. The Government aking advantage of the lax Tsecurity in the banks in various parts of the State, looters have been finding them to be soft targets and looting crores of rupees from them. In yet another such incident, armed miscreants looted more than Rs 10 lakh at gunpoint from Andhra Bank s Jamankira branch in Sambalpur district on Friday afternoon. Chiranjeebi Jena and secretary Siddharth Ranjan. More than 1,100 members from across the country including former Presidents of ICAI, central and regional council members, former Chairman of Bhubaneswar Branch and other Sources said three miscreants, who came by a black Pulsar, barged into the bank in the afternoon and threatened the few bank employees and customers present at gunpoint and decamped with the money. The looters, who are suspected to be professionals, also took away the CCTV camera hard disk with them, sources Getting information, police rushed to spot and are investigating into the incident. branches were present. During the two-day conference, seven technical sessions on various topics of professional interest are being held with eminent professionals of national and international repute addressing the participants. with Union Government to solve the major challenges of the Aspirational Districts. Odisha has got 10 backward districts, which are listed as Aspirational Districts like Dhenkanal, Kandhamal, Gajapati, Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Nabarangapur, Koraput and Malkangiri. Special dispensation may be provided for these 10 districts of the State for connecting the unconnected habitations even by way of relaxation of the norms for coverage under PMGSY, said a senior official. In terms of PMGSY guidelines, providing connectivity for States Environmental Protection Agency. However, formaldehyde is not permitted for use in foods as per Food Safety and Standards Regulations, Presence of formaldehyde at higher levels can lead to severe abdominal pain, vomiting, coma, renal injury and possible death. Formaldehyde exists in many animal and plant species as a product of their normal metabolism. Formaldehyde is documented to be present naturally in many common food items, including fruits and vegetables, sea fish, meat, mushrooms etc. Major manmade sources of formaldehyde include combustion, building materials and tobacco smoke. Globally formaldehyde is identified as one of the top 25 most widely produced chemical substances because of its high reactivity, colourless nature, purity and low cost. Consumers are advised to wash all food items thoroughly with running tap water, as formaldehyde is soluble in water and washing can aid removal of formaldehyde since formaldehyde is highly water soluble in nature. should put up checkpoints at the borders for preventing entry of illegal Bangladeshis. The Voter ID cards, Aadhaar cards, ration cards, Pan cards, passports, etc., especially those issued in West Bengal should be reexamined. A special taskforce should be created for detection of the illegal immigrants, many of whom are employed as private security guards even in vital Government installations and offices. A public awareness campaign should be launched in the interest of national and the State s security where ordinary citizens should be asked to keep watch and inform police about any strangers and unnatural activities in their areas. disha lad Satyapira OPradhan, who has registered his name in the Guinness World Records for delivering most number of punches with one hand in a minute, would perform martial art in a television reality show aired on the Colors channel. He has been invited by the Colors for India s Got Talent where he would attack eight persons with the martial art tricks on August 18. Satyapira, a physiotherapy student from Kalahandi district unconnected habitations having population of 250 and above in Integrated Action Plan (IAP) districts and 500 and above in non IAP districts are there. Now the IAP programme has been discontinued and Aspirational Districts Programme is on; so these backward districts direly need connectivity and habitations having 100 and above population as is done in 35 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts where norms of PMGSY have been relaxed. Similarly Aspirational Districts need more support for healthcare and during last May, when the Prabhari Officers sthe fish purchased from the vendors should be washed thoroughly before cooking. While cooking formaldehyde is also removed since it is volatile in nature. Generally, formaldehyde is present naturally in marine and brackish water fishes. Any fresh water fish testing positive indicates added formalin. There are several testing methods available for formalin. The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology has developed a rapid detection kit which is simple and user friendly. It detects only added formaldehyde present in the fish. (Dr Senapati is Professor and Head, Department of Chemistry, Trident Academy of Technology Bhubaneswar. Dr Sahu is Deputy Director cum Food Analyst, State Food Testing Laboratory, Bhubaneswar.) aleswar MP Rabindra BKumar Jena on Friday moved a Private Member Bill in the Parliament for establishment of a Permanent Bench of the Orissa High court in Baleswar. He said the pendency of cases in the Orissa High court is close to 1.70 lakh; and against the sanction strength of judges for 27, there are only17 of them. In view of the huge backlogs of the cases, people are deprived of justice in time. Since people of north ven though the State Government Ehas banned corporal punishment in schools, three girl students of the Mahasingh Nodal UP School in Kandhamal district were injured on Friday after being allegedly beaten up by the school headmaster for not sweeping the classrooms. The injured were rushed to the Balliguda hospital, where their conditions were stated to be stable now. Sources said Headmaster Harish Chandra Sahoo asked one of the girls to sweep a classroom, but she walked away without listening to him. enior IPS officer Satyajit SMohanty on Friday took charge as the Twin City Police Commissioner at the office of the Commissionerate police here replacing YB Khurania. He assumed charge after receiving a guard of honour at the Commissionerate police office. With this, the batch IPS officer became the sixth Police Commissioner of the Twin City. Mohanty had started his career as an ASP in Jeypore in It s a huge responsibility and an opportunity as well to serve the people. I will try to gain the confidence of the Baleswar have to travel to Cuttack for getting justice from the High Court, Baleswar is a most ideal location to have a Permanent Bench of the High Court, Jena argued in favour of his Bill. It would not only be time-saving but also cost-saving for the people of north Baleswar, he observed. at a Bhubaneswar-based medical college, punched 393 times with one hand in a minute surpassing 377 full punches struck by Pakistani martial art student Muhammad Rashid. He is the first boy from Odisha to have created the Guinness World Records in martial art last year. Sahoo reportedly lost his temper over such disobedience and began beating up the students. Two girls lost their consciousness due to the thrashing. I heard him tell another girl to sweep the floor, but she did not listen. After some time, he came up to me and started beating me and another girl. He also hit the girl who was earlier asked to sweep the floor, said one of the injured students. Block Education Officer Pramod Kumar Mallick, who rushed to the spot, said the incident was being investigated. After the probe, action would be taken against the guilty. visited these districts, they also favoured for higher level of funding in the health sector. While due attention is being given by the State Government for strengthening the healthcare delivery system, resource envelop under National Health Mission (NHM) is needed to be hiked at least by 30 per cent in the Aspirational Districts, pointed out a senior official in Department of Health and Family Welfare. Thirdly, while priority is being given for credit delivery for agriculture and allied areas, inadequate credit facilities in these Aspirational Districts is posing a major hindrance in promoting economic activities and increasing income generation activities of the people. The share of commercial banks in the short term loan is hardly per cent and long term agriculture loan achievement against target is per cent. Similarly in Mudra loan, the share of Kishore and Tarun is abysmally low both in terms of number and amount disbursed in the Aspirational Districts. The Government of India is needed to issue necessary instructions to the commercial banks for enhancing delivery of credit for the priority sector, said a senior official. public and ensure better policing, Mohanty told reporters. He said the upcoming Men s Hockey World Cup 2018, scheduled to be held at the Kalinga Stadium here in November-December would be a challenge for the Commissionerate police. The change of guard in the police administration came in the backdrop of rising crimes like theft, burglary, murder, rape and molestation in the twin city. Besides, circulation of obscene videos on social media has also emerged as a big challenge for the city cops. Meanwhile, Khurania has been transferred as the ADG of Police (Provisioning).

3 t least 16 blocks out of the AState s total 314 have so far Deogarh, experienced minus 39 per cent to minus 59 per cent rainfall. And the average rainfall of 48 blocks has deficit between 19 per cent and 39 per cent. No wonder, agricultural operations in these 64 blocks have been seriously affected, leaving the farmers a worried lot. Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) s many as three headmasters of Adifferent schools in Sundargarh district have been suspended from their jobs and one month s salary of another five teachers has been stopped for irregularity in their duty. According to sources, on July 26, Bonei Sub Collector Yedula Vijay had visited Dalki Upgraded High School in Bonai block. During his visit, PET Tapan Pradhan were found in an inebriated condition. The Sub Collector had taken him in his vehicle to the Bonai sub divisional hospital and it was confirmed that the PET had consumed alcohol. Later, Bonai Sub Collector directed District Education Officer to take action against PET Tapan he Shiv Sena, Ganjam unit, Tstaged a rally in protest against Government and police officials engaged in black marketing and other illegal activities here on Thursday. They demanded stringent action against the officials. A memorandum was submitted to the RDC in this regard. Shiv Sena Ganjam head Sanatan Choudhury informed that the copy of the memorandum was also sent to the Chief Minister, Governor, Police Headquarters, Chief Secretary and Ganjam district Collector. ormer MP Dr Rama Chandra FKhuntia, while addressing the opening ceremony of the Building and Wood Workers International, asked whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the courage to say that he is with 50 crore labourers of the country as he said he is with industrialists and investors. Dr Khuntia also asked if the NDA Government is really sincere for women rights and what prevents the Government to pass the Act in Parliament for 30 per cent reservation in Lok Sabha, Bidhan Sabha and Rajya Sabha seats? Dr Khuntia said that women are the most backward community in the country. In spite of the Dowry Bishnupada Sethi reviewed the rainfall situation here on Friday. Districts like Angul, Nabarangpur, Sundargarh, Balangir and Nuapda have recorded deficient rainfall. Three districts have received average rainfall of above 10 mm. The districts are Jharsuguda (19.4 mm), Sundargarh (17.2 mm and Sambalpur (11.0 mm). The average rainfall in 19 districts remained below 10 mm whereas. With this, the Pradhan for the act. The Sub Collector had also directed Block Education Officer of Bonai to conduct an inquiry into the irregularity in the midday meal being given to students in the school. On Wednesday, Bonai BEO Binay Prakash Soy had conducted an inquiry about the irregularity in the MDM and found that about 3.25 quintal rice was short. Headmaster Dasarath Naik was suspended by the BEO on Wednesday for this irregularity in MDM item. Similarly, headmaster Niranjan Kishan of Khandisahi Primary School of Bhalupani panchayat in Bonai block was suspended by the BEO allegedly for siphoning off MDM groceries. Sources said one month salary of four teachers of different schools He also said that illegal activities of the Government officials are ruining the future of youth here. Among others, Shiv Sena State head Ram Bilash Sharma, in Bonai block was stopped because of their negligence in duty. They included two teachers of Deogaon Primary School, a teacher of Sihidia Primary School and another of Sabara Primary School. While the fist two were found coming school late, the last two teachers were not properly maintaining SSA cashbook and MDM cashbook. In Hemgiri block, a headmaster of a primary school was suspended on Thursday and one month salary of both headmaster and an assistant teacher of the school was withheld as they used to close the school before one hour of scheduled time. They were identified as headmaster Lohit Choudhury and assistant teacher Rashmita Patel. deputy chief Tyagi Balram Dash, P Tulasaya Reddy, Sudarsan Das, Soudamini Nanda, Kahnu Charan Sahu, Rajesh Behera, Sunil Panda and Anil Sahu were present. Prevention Act, the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act 2013, the Right to Education Act and the Beti Bachhao Programme, women are subjected to harassment, torture and death. Dr Khuntia said that the Government should set up a commission to study women s contribution to the national income. Women are 50 per cent of the population. Hence there should be 50 per cent reservation for women in employment, promotion and also skill training, he Industrial houses and investors have no contribution for the skill training or skill upgradation till today. The Government should take a decision to ask the investors and industrialists to give 5 per cent of their income for skill training and skill upgradation as huge amount is required to upgrade the skill of 50 crore unskilled workers of the country, Dr Khuntia demanded. ccess to adequate nutri- food is a human right Atious and no human being should be deprived of such non negotiable rights. The recent decision of the Government of Odisha to ensure food security out of State s own scheme for the left out poor under provision of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) because of fault in inclusion criteria is most welcome. But while maintaining the much needed welfare measures, there must be a plan to make the people of the State capable of access to sufficient healthy food which has been missing in the present Government s economic policy for about two decades of its rule. Odisha remains to be a poorest State in India with unemployment, lower wage rate, sub human living condition, huge distress migration and a majority of its working population having been denied of owning productive assets such as land, quality education, skill and finance capital. The ruling parties of the State at various times have been continuously encouraging the extractive industries to exploit the natural resources of the State while neglecting adequate investment to raise the economic standard of the common masses who are still everyday struggling with various odds. Though a large majority of rural poor are making a living out of agriculture, forestry and fishing, but the State Government has not made substantial investment to bring change in these sector by act of planned spending on rural basic infrastructure, land reform, drinking water, irrigation, electricity, communication, marketing mechanism of rural produces, service sector, primary health and primary education sector. The most employmentgenerating manufacturing sector has a very minimal presence in the State. On the other side, the protective laws and social security measures and the State sponsored schemes under rights and entitlements have been ineffective. The Minimum Wage Act, the Social Security Act and protective laws for the vulnerable sections, such as women, children and wage labourer, SCs and STs are most ineffectively applied in the justice delivery system of the State. The socio-economic condition of the rural poor have further marginalised with capitalist centered liberal economic policies marked by alienation from productive resources and increasing in the number of landless wage labourers. The persistent issues of seasonal employment, lack of employment, low income and low productivity with low physical capacity to engage as wage labour have contributed to the increase of many forms of insecurities including food security among the marginalised poor and its most vulnerable sections. In the present context, the responsibility of addressing the issues of poverty, hunger and food security must not be distributed between Centre and State Government; rather it must be a combined effort in true federal spirit. Any one dying of starvation, hunger and extreme poverty without minimum food, irrespective of his/her social identity and place of living, is a citizen of this country and above all, a human being. Access to food is reflection of economic and social condition that empowers a person to enjoy that right which has to be ensured by the State. Food security is not just about distribution of 5kg rice which is a very limited understanding about the basic objectives of the purpose. The quantity and quality of food grain must include rice and other necessary items to make a complete food basket for a living. Studies have found that the people of the State are poor because of the macro-economic policies of the Government and continued cumulative average rainfall in the State from June 1 till August 2 comes to a surplus of 5.6 per cent over the long-term average rainfall. Five districts have received surplus rainfall of more than 19 per cent whereas 19 more districts have received normal rainfall during the period from social and educational backwardness. Odisha needs a special category treatment from the Centre considering the incidence of large number of poor people below poverty line and specially the presence of large number of marginalised sections, Adivasies, vulnerable tribal groups, forest dwellers, people living in inaccessible areas, Dalits, castediscriminated communities, seasonal migrant workers, landless agricultural workers, fisher folk and most backward classes of population depending on traditional livelihood sources. The Centre also needs to follow preferential treatment while dealing with most sensitive food security issues of a poor and backward State having natural resources and whose natural resources are being used by the Central public sector undertakings, such as Nalco, NTPC, MCL, SAIL etc for national interest and wellbeing of the whole country. The over exploitation of mineral resources in the State has given rise to many problems, including the acute poverty. The decision making power over the utilisation of the June 1 to August 2 cumulatively. Average rainfall of remaining six districts Deogarh, Nabarangpur, Sundargarh, Angul, Balangir and Nuapada has remained deficit by 19.6%, 20.1%, 20.1%, 22.1%, 25.1% and 30.6%, respectively. Taking into account the block-wise rainfall, 101 blocks have received surplus rainfall of more than 19 per cent during the period from June 1 to August 2 whereas 149 blocks have received normal rainfall. college girl has shown Acourage by thrashing a youth with her shoes as the latter was following her regularly on the road here. The girl has earned applause from locals for her befitting action against the stalker on a busy street in broad daylight. The incident was reported from Gandhi Nagar in the city on Thursday. According to reports, amidst a crowd on the street, the girl parked her bicycle near the road and advanced towards the youth and started slapping him with her shoe. She was also heard warning the youth to face worst consequences if she would ever find him stalking her once again. uperstition still reigns Ssupreme over science in many parts of the State. In a glaring example, mantras were chanted by a sorcerer at a Government hospital to save a policewoman undergoing treatment following a snakebite. The incident took place at the Chhendipada Community Health Centre (CHC) in Angul district. The woman, who is a police constable, was admitted to the hospital following snakebite. Though she was undergoing treatment at the hospital, her family members called up a sorcerer, Chandra Nayak of Jambunali village, to save her life. The sorcerer recited mantras into her ears and performed other spiritual practices on her. However, the woman was later shifted to the District Locals, who were standing and watching the entire scene, did not intervene in the incident; rather, they captured it on their phones. Later, the video went viral on social media just a few hours of the incident. he National Human Rights TCommission has sought an action taken report (ATR) from the Superintendant of Police, Subarnapur on a police torture case and directed him to take appropriate action against Sonepur PS IIC Srikanta Kumar Tripathy within eight weeks. The NHRC issued this direction while considering a petition filed by rights activist Srikumar Mahanta. While he was IIC of the Tarbha PS, Tripathy had illegally detained a bike mechanic Arjun Nayak (28) of Ghantrapada and beat him mercilessly for a mere fault of standing on the road on May 14. He was critically injured and hospitalised. Later, Tripathy had also threatened family members of Arjun Nayak to book them in a dacoit y case and sent them to jail, if they do not produce Arjun in the police station within three days. After being discharged from hospital, Arjun approached the Sambalpur DIG and apprised him about the torture meted to him by Tripathy. On his complaint, the DIG office sought a clarification from the Tarbha police station. On receipt of the letter from the DIG office, Tripathy got infuriated and detained Arjun s family members and threatened them of dire consequences. In his petition, Mahanta termed the police torture a clear violation of human rights and sought action against Tripathy and justice for Arjun and his family. Headquarters Hospital (DHH) after her condition deteriorated further. In a similar incident, family members of one Siddheswar Jena (47), who died undergoing treatment following snakebite at the GK Bhattar n old poor woman of Amanapalli village under AKolabira block maintaining her livelihood by begging died on Thursday. Although she is survived by her husband, she couldn't be taken for cremation for want of money. Getting information Rengali MLA Ramesh Patua reached the spot; and showing a rare act of humanity, arranged the last rites of the woman lifting her body on his shoulders with help of villagers near Bheden river. This act of MLA is being praised by general public in the district. State s forest, water, minerals, coast, banking, communication, railway, port, airways are being controlled by the Centre whereas the role of the State has been largely marginalised. For a long time, many of the resource- rich States who are also poor have been demanding rights over natural resources, minerals, and change in the tax policy under federal governance but there has been curtail of rights which are more visible in recent years after liberalisation. This is affecting the public spending of the State while allocating resources for the welfare of the poor. Odisha has been running with huge public debt to meet its plan expenses and very little left for nonplan expenditure. It is being observed that the relatively more developed States having universal public distribution system, such as Kerala and Tami Nadu, are demanding increased share from the Centre to meet the mandate of food security. But, in case of Odisha with targeted PDS, the Centre is not considering to cover the additional eligible beneficiaries. It is also said that the decision of the Central Government has been politically motivated violating the federal structure principles and many times depending on ruling alliances between parties at Centre and State with emergence of powerful regional parties and the dependency of national parties has been increasing in coalition Government. It is being accused that the State charity for poor has been used as an instrument of gaining support of the poor to continue in the power to rule without making any major economic change in their life. In the present scenario, the State welfare has been helping the feudal, upper caste/class land owning groups and corporates to continue their hegemonic control over resources with help of bureaucratic control, corruption and violence against the marginalised sections. In order to pacify the anger and distress of the marginalised poor, who are also voters in large numbers, the populist schemes are best suitable to puzzle them in the absence of transformative political education and liberate political Government hospital in Jaleswar of Baleswar district, sought the help of a sorcerer to bring him to life. Jena, a resident of Mahisamunda village under Gopinathpur panchayat, was bitten by a venomous snake in his farmland on Thursday night and was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition. After he died, his family and relatives called up the sorcerer to save his life. However, no official of the hospital was available to comment on the matter. ideologies of equality and rights over resources. The absence of organisation of the poor further minimises their bargaining power. However, experience shows food at subsidised rate to the poor in rural areas and urban locations have productive impact over economic growth that encourages production and local employment by arresting distress and vulnerable condition in lean period and maintaining minimum level of social security. The food security scheme in form of subsidised rice mostly paid by the Center is also helping the rice and wheat growing farmers because of large scale State procurement through MSP. It is suggested that the management of food security schemes be dealt with locally by empowering local PRIs with decision making power, adequate resources and infrastructural facilities. The criteria of beneficiary selection must be clear and transparent before the public to exclude the undesirable elements while the inclusion must be open to include all the deserving poor. (manasbbsr15@gmail.com)

4 eople of Deogaon under the Pbanner of the Gramya Unnayan Committee and the Merchants Association, staged a Rail Roko at the Deogaon railway station, 20 km from here, demanding stoppage of express trains at the station. The demonstration was held under the leadership of Sashi Sahu, Subal Rana and Sushil Chand to which former Rajya Sabha member AU Singh Deo along with his son Arkesh Singh Deo extended support with their presence. AU Singh Deo I tudents are the most pro- and important sec- Sgressive tion of the people of a country who have been assigned with the greater responsibility of building a healthy and prosperous future of a country with better provisions and opportunities. They have really a very crucial role to play as they constitute the backbone of a nation. articipating in the debate in Pthe Lok Sabha recently, BJD s Baleswar MP Rabindra Kumar Jena questioned the timing of bringing the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, When allegation of misappropriation and corruption against members and president of Central Council of Homeopathy (CCH) were made in 2016, the Government had enough time of one and a half years to bring amendments through Parliament. So, what is the intent, and why the legislative power has been misused time and again, Jena Electricity naugurating a national sem- on theme Major issues Iinar and challenges in the power sector, organised by the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) to commemorate its 23rd Foundation Day on Thursday, Energy Minister Sushant Singh as chief guest highlighted the role of the State Government in the development of the power sector. He observed that the State would take up the matter at a higher level and with the Chief Minister also. Balangir MP Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo on Friday also submitted a petition to Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi regarding the matter. Balangir MLA and Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra also visited the demonstration site and extended his support to the demand. In a related development, It is said that the real strength and wealth of a nation depend on the kind of students it creates. As the students are too full of vigour and vitality, if they want, they can create wonders by removing the various bottlenecks like injustice, inequality, oppression, exploitation and corruption from our country. Also they can conduct various campaigns and awareness programmes and educate the illiterate people. They can uplift the poor and economically backward classes by rendering valuable social services. Even they can show their efficiency in creating a political and social equilibrium all around. But the question is, are the Notably, a Bill seeking to replace the Central Council of Homeopathy (CCH) with a Board of Governors and aimed at bringing accountability and quality in homeopathy education system was passed by the Lok Sabha. The bill provides that the Central Council will be superseded by the Central Government for the period of one year and in the interim period of one year; the Board of Governors will act as the Central Council of Homeopathy. During the debate, the Opposition members questioned the ordinance route taken by the Government to bring the amendment in the 1973 Government and the OERC must work in tandem for the availability of continuous and cheap power to the consumers. Chairman of Central Regulatory Commission Pradeep Kumar Pujari said power tariff should be rational. He said the CERC is bringing out many regulations and the SERCs should adopt these with State specific amendments. Energy Secretary Hemant Sharma said efforts are on to provide cheap and quality power to the consumers. He stated that State and Central the Sambalpur Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) has invited a delegation to hold discussions on the people's demand in Sambalpur on Saturday. The Rail Roko also resulted in cancellation and short termination of trains on the Sambalpur and Titlagarh routes. The train services were also affected due to public agitation at the station near Balangir. students of present day ethically sound to take these responsibilities on their shoulders? Are they confident as well as qualified to take the nation towards progress? It is high time the issue was analysed and pondered over. Obviously, the strength of a student is determined by his/ her strong moral character. A student is always expected to be adorned with certain attributes of humanity and finer qualities of life like compassion, fellow-feeling, cooperation, tolerance, politeness, obedience, optimism, discipline and so on. The present education system is designed in such a way that the students are able to get all sorts of scope in almost every subject to develop and acquire Homoeopathic Council Act and "undermine" Parliament's powers and asked it to explain the "extraordinary situation" which compelled them to do so. Jena also stressed on the need to give recognition to alternative medical science like homeopathy and its doctors despite the fact, every year 63 million people in the country cannot afford medical expenses due to poverty. Replying to the debate on Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill 2018, Aaayush Minister Sripad Yesso Naik assured the Lower House that the Government would come up with comprehensive bills to promote homeopathy, Ayurveda and Siddha. Governments are investing heavily in the sector through different schemes. He informed that since 2012 the State Government had pumped Rs 20,000 crore in the power sector, Rs10,000 crore of this amount was in generation and transmission and the remaining in distribution. As a result of this, the system was able to meet peak demand of 5,000 MW today as compared to 2,000 MW in OERC Chairman Upendra Nath Behera delivered the welcome address and pointed out that the OERC issued n a tragic incident, two Ischool students drowned in the Jhankarapalli power channel on Friday. The deceased were identified as Sumit Das and Samir Dalei. Sources said that five students of Class-X had gone to attend a coaching class. However, instead of attending class, all of them went to the Jhankarapalli power channel to take bath. All of a sudden, Sumit and Samir were swept away by water current while the three others managed to save their lives. Getting information, Fire Services officials rushed to the spot and started a rescue operation. Later, the bodies of the two deceased boys were recovered from the water and sent to the hospital for postmortem. certain moral values in their character. But unfortunately, in most of the cases, it has been observed that moral values are degrading and declining day by day among the students. Most of them are not behaving as per others expectations. Gone are the days when Guru-Shishya relationship was based on mutual understanding, respect and responsibilities towards each other. Even without proper infrastructure and other facilities, the disciples were ready to receive knowledge from their Gurus and sacrifice everything as per their demand. The teaching learning process was going on under the cool shades of trees without any problem. But today s scenario is something different. tariff orders without fail for past 23 years on time. He also praised the role of the officers and staffs of the commission who are qualified and experienced enough to tackle all challenges. Sanjay Banga of Tata Power Delhi DISCOMs discussed about best practices in the Discoms. Chief Operating Officer, PGCIL Dr Subir Sen stated that the smart grid is the grid of the future. Adviser and former MD Power System Operation Corporation SK Soonee spoke on the evolution of Indian grid system and the importance of power market. he fate of establishment of Ta medical college with a super specialty hospital at the campus of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela is now uncertain as NIT Rourkela could not formally apply to the Medical Council of India (MCI) for the same, due to non fulfillment of several criteria. Sources said that on April11, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare had given permission to NIT, Rourkela, to establish a medical college cum super specialty hospital at its campus, for which NIT had made an application during February this year. The NIT in its application to MHFW had claimed that they have necessary infrastructure like land, buildings, and technical knowhow to ndia is one of 18 nations that Iwould host the Rugby World Cup trophy, also known as the Singh Webb Ellis Cup, during its worldwide tour ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2019 to be held in Japan from September 20, 2019 to November 2, First time the tournament would be hosted in Asia and the Webb Ellis Cup would visit New Delhi, Mumbai and Bhubaneswar as part of an international celebration of rugby ahead of next year s minent persons from vari- walks of life paid rich Eous tribute to historian Sadananda Agrawal on his first death anniversary at his native village Menda in Subarnapur district. Water Resource Minister open a medical college. The permission was considered significant, since NIT Rourkela was the first among all NITs of the country to go for opening of a medical college in its campus. Accepting the proposal of NIT Rourkela, Under Secretary of MHFW DVK Rao besides granting permission to NIT Rourkela however had advised the NITR authorities to submit a detail proposal to the Medical Council of India (MCI), latest by July 7, as per the provision of Indian Medical Council Act and regulations. The news of NIT Rourkela getting the permission to open a medical college had received wide welcome from various quarters here, particularly in western Odisha, as it was stated to be the a boon in healthcare services for the people of this region. Today, in spite of getting advanced laboratories, well furnished and well ventilated classrooms, smart boards, wellequipped library, well-designed infrastructure and other provisions, students hesitate to maintain a disciplined and pious life. Indisciplinary activities like cheating parents and teachers, misbehaviour, malpractice, disobedience to the school system and teachers instructions, bunking from class, quarrelling and fighting with friends, showing arrogance and careless attitude, even manipulating the marks awarded by teachers on an answer script are some of the common phenomena found among the students. They no more like to be interrupted by anyone. They react violently if someone points out their mistakes or try to advise them too much. It is really a matter of disappointment that in spite of being warned repeatedly not to do a certain thing, they go on repeating the same without caring for any impact. Who is responsible for this moral degradation the students themselves or the teachers or the parents or the education system itself or the technological advancement? If we try to unearth the reasons, then perhaps all the above have a part to play. Today s education system has become mark and result-oriented. Students main aim behind study is to score good marks in various n employee of Ore ABedding and Blending Plant, SAIL, Rourkela Steel Plant Reema Laxmi Ekka would represent the India Red team in the BCCI Senior Women s T-20 Challengers Trophy to be held from August 14 to 21 in Bangalore. Reema, daughter of Jinda Ekka, a right arm medium fast bowler is being coached by RSP coach Alekh Chandra tournament. The Webb Ellis Cup would be welcomed to India by Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore in the city next week. India is the eighth leg of the Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy tour and follows a recent visit to the Philippines. Ahead of the tournament, a two-year Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour is underway visiting 18 countries aiming to inspire and engage new and existing rugby players and fans. However, the project has now passed into a stage of uncertainty as according to sources, the NITR has not been able to submit its formal application along with detail proposal for setting up a medical college in its campus. The authorities seem to be in confusion in many of the core issues, related to opening of the medical colleges, due to which the formal application submission with MCI was not possible. The NITR authorities also confirmed that there has been several difficulties for fulfilling the requirements of MCI, for which NITR have not been able to submit the detailed examinations at any cost. Nobody conducts a test where their moral values are evaluated. So they are least concerned and bothered about culturing good habits and attributes. The parents, being busy in their own affairs, are somehow not able to provide them a suitable homely environment in which they can learn the secrets of living a harmonious and peaceful life. Excessive freedom that the children are enjoying at present is making them overconfident. Teachers also sometimes lack appropriate friendly approach towards the students to instill in them the significance of basic values and purpose behind the sacred human life. Misuse of mobile phones Barik. She is at present pursuing her Plus Three Arts second year in the Ispat Autonomous College, Rourkela. It is worth mentioning Niranjan Pujari, Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra and litterateurs Madhusudan Pati and Srinibas Udgata remembered Agrawal at a memorial meeting organised by the Sadananda Agrawal Smruti Committee. Narasingha Mishra, referring to the books of Agrawal written on the history of Odisha, music and tribal culture said he would request the authorities of the Raja Ram Mohan Library in Bhubaneswar to procure the books. He would also speak to the Assembly Speaker to ensure that the books find a place in the Assembly Library, he added. proposal, although the deadline for the same for this year has been over now. "We faced difficulty in putting our case in several areas like having facilities of a 300 bedded hospital and source of funds of about Rs 600 crore, to be used for developing the project etc., for which we were unable to submit the proposal with MCI," said NITR Registrar SK Upadhyaya. "As per the provision of the NIT Act, there is no provision for offering medical degrees," said Upadhaya. "An amendment is also required in the Act to introduce MBBS degrees in NIT," Upadhyaya added. and internet is also obstructing them from going towards a right track. However, all cannot be blamed as morally degraded. Even at present, there are pupils who are really endowed with beautiful minds and generous hearts. It is the responsibility of the teachers, after all, to create more number of disciplined students who will ultimately bring glory and prosperity to the society, State and nation, as a whole. Let s join our hands together and protect the students community from the disease of moral degradation. (The author is a senior faculty teaching English at DAV Public School, Chandrasekharpur) that Reema started her career in cricket in the season Till now she has played five one day matches, 11 T20s and 17 miscellaneous matches. Recently she was also selected from Odisha to attend a special camp for promising pace bowlers and batters held at the National Cricket Academy, Bangalore from July 6 to 11. He alleged that the State Government has not given Agrawal the honour he deserves. Minister Pujari said Agrawal had taken a keen interest in development of his area and was a keen follower of saint poet Bhima Bhoi. On the occasion, a book of fourteen articles of Agrawal on Bhima Bhoi titled Manavbadi Santha Bhima Bhoi was unveiled.

5 he Centre on Friday batted Tin favour of reservation in promotion for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) before the Supreme Court claiming that these castes are still backward by virtue of their caste/tribe and this class of citizens cannot be denied reservation benefits in promotion for want of proof to show their backwardness. The submission was made T he Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has ordered the CBI to initiate a probe over alleged Cambridge Analytica data theft probe. According to CBI, the agency has received a letter from the MEITY to probe the activities of British political research firm Cambridge Analytica (CA), embroiled in a data breach row, and will take a suitable action. Cambridge Analytica is at the centre of a Facebook data breach row, including those of around 562,000 Indian users. Over the last couple of months, there have been several instances of data breach and fake messages being circulated through social media platforms. "The CBI has received a reference from the government to probe Cambridge Analytica. It is being examined for suitable action," CBI spokesman Abhishek Dayal The move comes after Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently informed Parliament that the government had referred the scandal to the CBI. The minister had said in Rajya Sabha last month that "it is suspected that Cambridge by the Attorney General KK Venugopal before a Constitution Bench questioning a 2006 decision passed by a five-judge apex bench in M Nagaraj case that put a precondition of proving backwardness of SC/ST by way of "quantifiable data" before granting promotion under the reserved category. Venugopal demanded recall of the 2006 verdict as it failed to recognize SC/ST as "deemed backward" and dissected this class of citizens further as those that are backward and those who are not, which was never intended by the Constitution makers. The bench, also comprising Justices Kurian Joseph, RF Nariman, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, and Indu Malhotra, asked the A-G whether proof of backwardness was the only concern that bothered the Centre, Analytica may have been involved in illegally obtaining data of Indians which could be misused. The Government has entrusted this issue to be investigated by the CBI for possible violation of Information Technology Act, 2000 and IPC." Cambridge Analytica declared bankruptcy in 2018 following allegations that it used personal information harvested from 87 million Facebook accounts helping Donald Trump win the 2016 presidential election. In March, after the data of Indians was allegedly compromised through Facebook by Cambridge Analytica, the government issued notices to the two companies and sought their response. According to Prasad, Facebook responded that it will streamline its internal processes on handling of personal data and Cambridge Analytica violated its platform policies. Cambridge Analytica had said that data of Indians was not breached but this was not in conformity with what was reported by Facebook.After initial responses, Cambridge Analytica stopped responding to letters from the IT ministry after which the government ordered a CBI probe into the which claimed that lakhs of posts were vacant as the Nagaraj decision required Centre/states to provide data on backwardness and inadequate representation of castes/tribes sought to be promoted. Further, the 2006 decision further required the Government to ensure efficiency of administration does not get affected. Promotion in reservation for SC/ST is presently covered under Article 16(4A) of the Constitution, introduced by the Government after the SC speaking through the Indra Sawhney judgment of 1992 deprived SC/ST and other backward classes from reservation in promotion. The Government restored it for all backward classes of citizens. Venugopal argued that the matter. Over the last month, a spate of mob lynchings has been reported from several states, including Assam, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tripura, Jharkhand and West Bengal, following fake messages spread through Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp. On 19 July, the government directed WhatsApp to come out with more effective solutions that can bring in accountability and facilitate enforcement of law in addition to their efforts to label forwards and identify fake news. After this, the social media giant limited forward messages to five chats at once instead of multiple chats at once. As of March, there were more than 460 million Indian users of social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp. The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has issued a number of advisories on incidents of lynching by mobs fuelled by rumours of lifting/kidnapping of children and cyber crime prevention and control. It has also constituted a group of ministers and a high level committee to formulate appropriate measures to address mob violence and lynchings in the country judgment had many flaws. While introducing the need for furnishing data, no standards were fixed on whether the benchmark to assess adequacy of representation and efficiency in administration should be among a particular post, or class of posts or the service altogether. Also, the judgment was silent on its retrospective operation. Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan who opposed the Centre's appeal submitted that quota in promotion violates equality but Nagaraj judgment said that if there is "compelling reason", only then such reservation must be resorted to. The compelling reason required to be backed by data. His arguments will continue on August 16. ill to restore original SC/ST Batrocity law was tabled in Lok Sabha on Friday. Lok Sabha also passed the bill to establish a National Sport University. The debate on the bill to overturn a Supreme Court order which had laid down certain safeguards in SC/ST law to prevent atrocities against people of scheduled castes and tribes would expected to start on Monday. The bill rules out any provision for an anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs, notwithstanding any court order, while it also provides that no preliminary enquiry will be required for registering a criminal case and an arrest under this law would not be subject to any approval. "The principles of criminal jurisprudence and section 41 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 as interpreted in several judgments, implies that once the investigating officer has reasons to suspect that an offence has been committed, he can arrest an accused. "This decision to arrest or not to arrest cannot be taken away from the investigating officer," states the bill introduced by Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot. A bill to establish a National Sports University in Manipur to promote sports education was passed by the Lok Sabha, as several members sought the inclusion of sports as part of a comprehensive education curriculum. The National Sports University Bill 2018, which seeks to replace an ordinance promulgated on May 31, was passed by a voice vote. Replying to the debate on the bill which had started on August 1, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said the university would be set up in Manipur at a cost of Rs 524 crore to promote sports coaching and research. A sportsperson will be the university vice chancellor, while its academic council will also comprise sports personalities, Rathore Replying to concerns raised by members during the debate on the bill, he said all medal winners in the country were funded from the National Sports Development Fund in which all citizens can contribute money. He said the government provided stipends to sportspersons, besides a variety of monthly allowances to them for food and other things. He said the government has also increased the salary of coaches. The bill seeks to set up a specialised university in Manipur, which would be the first of its kind, to promote sports education in the areas of sports sciences, sports technology, sports management and sports coaching. T he Congress on Friday alleged in the Lok Sabha that the media was pressurized by the Government for telecasting "reality check" on the claims of the ruling establishment and senior executive of a prominent news channel and two other staffers had recently quit on this account as the I & B Minister said Government had nothing to do with the internal developments of the channel and the Opposition has no substantial issue on its table. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Kharge alleged that the senior executive, who had served in the channel for 14 years, and the two other D ays after Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, predicted below normal rains in the remaining two months of the southwest monsoon 2018, the Governmentrun India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday downgraded its forecast from "normal" to "average" rainfall for August and September, two crucial months for planting kharif crops in the country. The forecast is with a model error of plus and minus 8 per cent. In the second Long Range Forecast (LPA) for rainfall during the second half of the Southwest Monsoon season, the IMD said that rains in August and September would be normal at 95 percent of the Long Period Average (LPA). Rainfall between 96 to 104 per cent of the LPA is considered normal. Monsoon rains is considered normal in the range of per cent of the LPA. The pc of the LPA range is considered "below normal". Earlier, the IMD had predicted "normal monsoon", this year. The country had received below average rainfall during rotests continued in Rajya PSabha for the third day on Thursday leading to frequent adjournments following uproar by Trinamool Congress members over the issue of the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC). Trinamool members trooped into well of the House immediately after the upper House assembled post lunch, seeking a reply from Home Minister Rajnath Singh over the NRC matter, but the House had to be adjourned for the day. Meanwhile in a first, members of Rajya Sabha from Assam belonging to Congress is contemplating to formally lodge a complaint in the name of Chairman M Venakiah Naidu to the Chair stating that they have not been allowed to speak on the NRC issue. Of the total of seven RS members from the Assam, six belong to Congress including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who however has reportedly conveyed that he should not be made a party to the complaint. Sources said that it would be perhaps for the first time that a written complaint against the Chair and that too with him will be made and interestingly the Chairman himself has to decide the fate of the complaint. Sources said that opposition parties are also "actively considering" writing to Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu about his perceived "unfairness" in not granting them adequate space and not letting them raise key issues in the Upper House. "The issue of the opposition writing a protest letter to the Rajya Sabha chairman against the unfairness of the chair in the Upper House in not allowing them to raise crucial burning issues confronting the country is under our active consideration," said a senior opposition leader. A final call will be taken by Congress' Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha. The opposition is employees, were forced to quit following government pressure after it carried out a "reality check" on a claim by a woman farmer from Chhattisgarh during an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that her farm income had doubled. "It is unfortunate that the media is being targeted for doing its duty, for carrying out reality checks on the government's claim. The media is being intimidated. The Managing Editor (of the channel) was told to go. Two anchors of the channel were also asked to go," the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha alleged. Refuting the charge, the first two months of its annual monsoon, according to IMD data. "The rainfall during August-2018 is likely to be 96 plus/minus 9 percent of Long Period Average (LPA) and expected to be higher than predicted in June. Quantitatively, the rainfall for the country as a whole during the second half of the season is likely to be 95 per cent of LPA (Long Period Average ) with a model error of plus or minus 8 percent," the IMD During the last two months, IMD said there is 63 per cent chance of monsoon being normal and a 47 per cent probability of it being below normal. The IMD further stated that mid-season rainfall scenario realised over the country till the end of July 2018 suggests upset with the chairman for not permitting leaders of various parties to raise burning issues such as lynchings, the current economic situation, the Bofors issue and the plight of farmers in the House. Early during the day even though Naidu gave an assurance that the Home Minister would give a reply, TMC members continued their protest following which he adjourned the House for the day. When the House reassembled, TMC MP Derek O'Brien said he has given a notice under section 267 seeking reply of the home minister, to which Naidu said he has rejected it. "You have not allowed the minister to reply and now you are asking me to reply. What can I do," said Naidu. "The home minister came here yesterday (Wednesday), the day before yesterday (Tuesday) and he was willing to reply but he was not allowed to reply, said Naidu. A very wrong message has gone and I feel as Chairman injustice has been done to the home minister because after patiently hearing all views on important sensitive issue, he could not reply," he Naidu said, "This issue was discussed in the morning meeting. Anand Sharma gave a suggestion that the Home Minister's reply should take place in the House." Naidu said that Sharma had also suggested that the Parliamentary Affairs Minister should talk to opposition parties and the home minister on the issue. Speaking on the issue, NCP President Sharad Pawar said, "The subject is very sensitive and is of national interest. Serious views were expressed and I think it is in the larger interest of the nation that we hear the home minister and know exactly what the government is doing," he While the chairman has allowed one member from each political party to speak and views of all major parties have been expressed, members from Assam have not been given an opportunity. Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said the government has nothing to do with the internal developments of the channel and the opposition was raising the matter as it has no issues to flag in the House. "No showcause notice was served on the channel when it was running wrong news. The government has nothing to do with it (the resignations)...the TRP (rating point) of the channel is going down," Rathore Kharge named the channel and the executive who had quit but Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said the name of the private entity and its employees would not go on record. that distribution of rainfall is very good overall parts of the country except Bihar, Jharkhand and North Eastern States. "Such a scenario of favourable distribution of rainfall is expected to continue during rest of monsoon season of 2018 so as to remain favourable for agricultural operations," IMD According to IMD officials, the warming of the sea's surface indicates towards an evolving El Nino, a natural process that inversely affects the intensity of monsoon winds in the subcontinent. In June and July, the southwest monsoon was 6 per cent below normal largely due to a break in rains in June after it made a promising start. So far, the rains have been normal in around 84 per cent of the country's landmass so far in the season, and deficient in the rest. Estimates from the Agricultural Ministry suggest a decline in sowing from last year. Paddy farmers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have sown almost 20 lakh hectares less than normal for this point in the kharif season; in Bihar, paddy acreage is only 40 percent of the acreage sown at the same time last year. ome Minister Rajnath HSingh on Friday assured that there will be no discrimination while finalizing the National Register of Citizens(NRC) in Assam and no coercive action will be taken against anyone. Asserting that the process of identifying of Indian citizens by NRC was fair and objective, he said no genuine citizens will be left out. The Minister made this statement in the Rajya Sabha which had seen uproar for the last three days since the final draft of NRC was released earlier this week. Singh also said the present list was only final draft and not report. He accused vested interests of trying to disrupt social and communal harmony. Replying to a short duration discussion earlier this week on the NRC issue, Singh said the entire process of NRC was conducted under the Supreme Court supervision and the apex court was constantly monitoring it. In fact, the Supreme Court issued some more directions and directed the government to conduct the survey in a time bound manner a day after the RC draft was released on July 30,he Informing the house that the central government provided security forces to Assam to maintain peace, the minister said 2,500 centres to conduct the NRC were set up in the state. Those not figuring in the final draft will get an opportunity to provide the required documentary proof to establish their bona fides, he Responding to Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad's apprehension that the number of those not included in the NRC list was more than 40 lakhs, Singh said this figure pertained to persons and not families as he high-level meeting Tchaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reviewed the progress of key infrastructure sectors of roads, rural and urban housing, railways, airports and ports. In course of the presentation made here by the CEO of NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant, it was noted that the pace of road construction has picked up significantly, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) The average road length constructed per day in financial year was km, compared to km in FY "The Prime Minister was informed about the progress made in digitisation of the transport sector. More than 24 lakh RFID tags have been issued so far, and over 22 per cent of toll revenue now comes from electronic toll collection. The Sukhad Yatra application, which provides information on road condition, and facilitates lodging of complaints, has till date been downloaded one lakh times by users," said PMO. The Prime Minister called for faster progress in electronic toll collection. Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, rural roads havenow connected in 88 per cent of all eligible habitations. suggested by the Congress leader. Touching upon the genesis NRC, the minister said updating NRC was part of the Assam Accord inked by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1985 to identify illegal foreigners in the state. The cut-off date for establishing the credentials of citizens living the state was March 24, However, those who migrated to Assam after this cut- off date, will also get an opportunity to submit proof, he said adding there will be no discrimination. Several MPs had expressed apprehensions that those migrating to the state from other parts of the country after 1971 will be left out of NRC. Singh said every country wants to identify genuine citizens and "it is their responsibility," and sought the cooperation of all parties on the matter saying it related to national security. He said it was unfortunate that an atmosphere of fear was created after the NRC draft report. "Propaganda has been carried out through vested interest on social media to internationalise the issue and disturb the communal harmony. Certain people were trying to create communal disharmony and this should not be done, he added. After the Home Minister's reply, several members welcomed the statement, with some seeking clarifications and some others giving suggestions on the NRC. They also asked the government to extnd the deadline to allow people to submit documents. Ripun Bora (Congress) urged the government that the guide lines related to the NRC should be further modified as a large number of women and children were facing difficulties in proving their lineage. Over 44,000 villages have been connected with the road network between 2014 and 2018, compared to about 35,000 villages in the preceding four years, the statement The meeting reviews the Green technologies, and nonconventional materials such as waste plastic and fly ash, are being used in rural road construction. In the railways sector, there has been significant addition in capacity and rolling stock. Additions in "new lines, doubling and gauge conversion" between 2014 and 2018, was to the extent of 9,528 km, which is 56 per cent higher than the preceding four-year period. In the aviation sector, passenger traffic has grown by more than 62 per cent in the four-year period between 2014 and 2018, against 18 per cent in the preceding four years. In the ports sector, traffic volume in major ports have increased by 17 per cent in the period between 2014 and In the rural housing sector, the Prime Minister was informed that over one crore houses have been constructed in the period from 2014 to 2018, as compared to about 25 lakh houses in the preceding four-year period. This has boosted employment in the housing sector and allied construction industries," said PMO.

6 reaking his long silence Bover the rape of minor girls at a Muzaffarpur shelter home, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said he was deeply hurt over the incident and feeling ashamed. We and the entire Biharis are highly ashamed and pained. Whosoever committed this heinous crime should be punished so severely that nobody could dare to commit this sin in future, he said on Friday while inaugurating the Mukhya Mantri Kanya Utthan Yojna. This was Nitish s first reaction on the most infamous and condemned sexual exploitation of destitute or lost girls at the shelter home made for them. For the last over a fortnight the horrible incident that caused shock across the country was being debated hotly, Bihar Government came under severe criticism and the CM was accused of presiding over a lawless State and protecting the rapists and criminals. I will remain engaged in social reform works till I am here. In my Government there will be rule of law. No accused will get away, said the CM and added that CBI has already started investigation and he has asked the Advocate General that the probe should be conducted under the monitoring of the high court for more probity and clarity and no culprit Kerala Police probing Tthe rape of a senior nun allegedly by Latin Catholic Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Jalandhar Diocese began its investigations outside the State on Friday. The police team which reached New Delhi on Friday will go to Jalandhar from there to question Bishop Mulakkal. The investigation team headed by K Subhash, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Vaikom, has said that there is substance in the complaint the nun (48) belonging to the Missionaries of Jesus congregation controlled by the Jalandhar Diocese had lodged against Bishop Mulakkal, 54 and that they have got clear evidences. However, the arrest of the Jalandhar Bishop is unlikely to take place immediately. Sources within the police said that the probe team would decide on the need of arresting the Bishop should escape. Nitish said he held meeting with top police and civil officials and asked them to find out the loopholes and drawbacks in the system and that such a system be developed where such incidents could not be repeated. I feel extremely sad for the victims of Muzaffarpur shelter home, he added. At the official function organised by the Social Welfare and Health departments, Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma was also present. She turned red for the repeated queries from the media about the involvement of her husband in the rape incident and her security personnel manhandled the media people. Earlier she had held a press conference in an attempt to given a clean chit to Chandrashekhar Verma. Only a day earlier, leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad only after it completed all the other procedures related to the investigation and holding discussions with their superiors in the force. The probe team was to record the statements of a woman, who had petitioned the Jalandhar Diocese against the nun accusing her of having a relationship with her husband. The woman, who is in Delhi with her family, is a relative of the nun. The investigators were to question the woman s husband also. Though the woman had petitioned the Mother General of the nun s congregation against her two years ago, no Church-level action has been taken on its basis so far. Instead, some people within the Church had allegedly used her complaint in order to threaten the nun, according to certain priests of the Jalandhar Diocese. There are rumours about a conspiracy behind the woman s decision to submit a complaint Yadav had said that he would leave nothing to chance for breaking the criminal silence of the CM. Yadav who left for Delhi would hold a dharna at Jantar Mantar there on this issue on Saturday. Sources close to the RJD leader claimed that AICC president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav and other politicians would join the dharna to condemn the Muzaffarpur s shameful event. In a barb at the CM Yadav said, Why his antaratma (conscience) is sleeping though the entire society is condemning the rape of 34 girls. I have decided to sit on dharna to expose Nitish. The Governor wrote letter to the CM and the Supreme Court took cognisance of the case but Nitish remained silent. against the nun to the Mother General of her congregation especially as the complaint had come up just when the victim had been knocking at the doors of Church authorities one after the other to petition against the Bishop. The Bishop had claimed that he had not committed any offence against the nun and that she had been threatening to trap him in a sex scandal as an act of revenge for taking action against her on the basis of the woman s complaint. He had also complained to the police that he had received threats from the nun s relatives. According to the nun s complaint to the police and the statement she willingly recorded before a Magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC, Bishop Mulakkal, hailing from a Syro-Malabar Catholic family in Kerala s Thrissur district, had sexually abused her 13 times between 2014 and 2016 at a guest house attached to her convent at Kuravilangad in Kottayam district. The police team which included apart from its chief DySP Subhash a Sub-Inspector, three civil police officers including a woman and a cyber expert were planning to record the statements of Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro, the Vatican s representative in India, and Cardinal Oswald Gracias, president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India. The nun had claimed that she had lodged complaints against the Bishop with all relevant Church authorities including the Apostolic Nuncio and Cardinal Gracias. Since both The Vatican s representative and Cardinal Gracias were out of Delhi, the investigators might collect details of the nun s complaints and the related matters from their secretaries. The probe team also had plans to visit Madhya Pradesh in order to record the statement harmapuri Sanjay, former DMayor of Nizamabad and son of senior TRS leader D Srinivas has landed in a soup with a group of students of a local Nursing college complaining to the State home Minister N Narasimha Reddy of sexual harassment. The girls who met the Home Minister in Hyderabad under the leadership of Progressive Women s organisation president Sandhya alleged that Sanjay had tried to sexually abuse two students on July 2. The delegation alleged that Sanjay used his clout to deprive the two girls of accommodation in a private hostel in Nizamabad. They demanded protection for the two girls so they could continue their studies. The Home Minister immediately contacted Nizamabad police commissioner Kartikeya to probe the allegations and take necessary action. Meanwhile Sanjay has denied the allegation. Talking to the media in Nizamabad on Friday he said that the allegations were a political conspiracy to destroy his career in politics. I don t know any nursing college students. I have nothing to do with the college. I had handed over the management of the Shankary Nursing college to others long ago, he He said he will extend full cooperation in the police probe. The episode has come to the light close on the heels of a public spat between Sanjay s father and TRS Rajya Sabha member D Srinivas and the local MP K Kavitha. Many local TRS leaders had alleged that Srinivas was hobnobbing with the BJP as his younger had joined the saffron party. Kavitha had supported their demand that action should be taken against Srinivas but the matter later died down. of Bishop Mar Sebastian Vadakkel of Ujjain Diocese. It is said that it was to this Bishop the victim had first passed information on her sexual abuse by the Jalandhar Bishop. The team may also question some of the Delhi-based nuns of the Jalandhar Diocese. Meanwhile, reports from Jalandhar said that Bishop Mulakkal was confident that the investigation would not lead to his arrest and that he had received advices in this regard from top legal experts. But preparations are said to have been completed in Kochi for moving the Kerala High Court for anticipatory bail in the event of possibility of arrest. The police have begun investigations outside the State and taken a final decision on questioning the Bishop in the context of mounting criticisms that they have been delaying the process in order to give him and his Diocese enough time for forcing the complainant to drop the case. he ruling AIADMK Tbecame more isolated in Tamil Nadu as more and more parties questioned the decision of the Edappadi K Palaniswami Government to hand over the idol theft case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday. The DMK, the principal Opposition party has already expressed its shock over the move and described it as an effort to delay the probe. The idols disappeared from Tamil Nadu temples cost more than 1,00,000 crore and the State could be an epicentre of one of the mega scams, said TR Ramesh, president, Temple Worshipers Society. Tamilissai Sounderarajan, the Tamil Nadu BJP chief, who is known for her affability towards the AIADMK came link down heavily on the Tamil Nadu Government for handing over the idol theft case to the CBI. The Idol Theft wing of the Tamil Nadu Police led by IG Pon Manickavel was doing a good job and has solved some of the cases which took place long back. They should be allowed to carry on with the investigation instead of bringing in the CBI at this juncture, said Sounderarajan while speaking to reporters. The BJP sees the move as an effort to save some of the powerful and mighty people behind this crime, according to Thiruppati Narayanan, the spokesman of the party. Meanwhile, Manickavel told the Madras High Court on Friday that there were enough evidence to the arrested M Kavitha, the additional commissioner of the Pon sense of uncertainty has Aloomed over Tamil Nadu s political landscape with the demise of AK Bose (68), the AIADMK legislator representing Tirupprankundram Assembly constituency on Thursday. The death of Bose, a camp follower of Chief Minister Edappady K of disqualification. There are Palaniswamy and his Deputy O Panneerselvam has put the already fragile AIADMK in a precarious position. It may sound strange, but all political parties in the State have started discussing about the outcome of the by-election necessitated by the death of Bose three more independent MLAs who were elected on the AIADMK symbol and who is ready to jump fence at the right moment. This has made the position of the Palaniswami Government more fragile. It is in this backdrop that the by-election to be held at even before the funeral pyre Tirupparankundram has was lit on Thursday and not without reasons. The Madras High Court is hearing the pleas filed by the 18 dissident AIADMK legislators who were disqualified by the Speaker in September 2017 under the provisions of the antdefection law. These rebel MLAs owe their allegiance to become crucial for the AIADMK Government. It is strange that the constituency is going to have the second byelection in as many years. The AIADMK leader S M Seenivel who was elected in the 2016 Assembly election died even before he was sworn in as MLA. He had defeated the VK Sasikala and TTV DMK candidate by a margin of Dhinakaran. Edappadi K Palaniswami has 114 MLAs with him in a House with a total strength of 234 members. This is what the Election Commission of India declared when delivering the verdict in the plea filed by both the factions claiming to be the original AIADMK. Since then three MLAs have extended support to the Dhinakaran faction though they continue with the Palaniswami camp for fear 23,000 votes and polled per cent of the total votes cast in the election. Bose won the by-election held in October 2016 by a margin of 43,000 votes. Since then the AIADMK got split and the party lost the RK Nagar Assembly constituency to Dhinakaran in the by-election held in April The question is whether the AIADMK commands the good will it had enjoyed during the Jayalalithaa years. If the EPS-OPS faction succeeds in retaining the popularity enjoyed by the party in the constituency, the AIADMK Government may sail through. The DMK, the principal Opposition party is in a resurgent mood. The recent income tax raids on persons close to the Chief Minister, the set back suffered by the State in wooing prospective investors to set up industries in the State and the alleged public resentment against the 10,000 crore Express Corridor connecting Chennai and Salem are some of the issues the DMK would harp on. The party would try to get a sympathy from the unattached voters by showing the pictures of the 95-year-old M Karunanidhi who has been hospitalised since last Saturday. Chances are that the major Opposition parties, the Congress, the Lefts, the MDMK, the VCK and the Islamic outfits would cast their lots with the DMK. Tamil Nadu is in for an interesting political battle even before the sounding of the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign. Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department to the financial embezzlement in the Ekambareswarar Temple at Kancheepuram. Kavita had approached the court for bail. The Hindu Front, an umbrella organisation too has criticised the move of the Tamil Nadu Government to bring in the CBI to investigate the idol theft case at this juncture. Pon Manickavel, who is investigating the case, is doing a good work and the devotees are satisfied with his work.

7 Guwahati: After the publication of National Register Of Citizens (NRC), the Assam Government has shifted the focus to NRC Seva Kendras in Assam, where over 40 lakh people whose name did not figure in the document will throng from August 7 to know the reasons for non inclusion of their names. The Assam Government has decided to give ample opportunity to those whose name did not figure in the document and accordingly the applicants can file claim and objectiond till September 28 to enter their names in the NRC. The Assam Government published the NRC on July 30 which included the names of over 2.89 crore people but left he Trinamool Congress Tdelegation which arrived in Silchar town on Thursday to assess the situation post publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) were sent back to Kolkata and Delhi on Friday even as the Hindu Bengali communities in Assam raised their voice against the TMC delegation and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Senior Police officials here said that six members of the delegation left for Kolkata early in the morning on Friday while two of them took an afternoon flight to Delhi. The TMC delegation arrived in Silchar town on Thursday but the district administration restrained them inside the airport due to prohibitory orders in force in the town under Section 144 Cr. PC. The Delegation, which also got involved in a scuffle with the police on Thursday, were supposed to visit Guwahati on Friday. We helped them go back to Delhi and Kolkata. There were Section 144 Cr.PC imposed in Guwahati too. They sopke to their leaders and decided to return today, said the senior police official. The TMC delegation included six Members of Parliament and two MLAs of West Bengal. Meanwhile, the visit of the TMC delegation have drawn flakes from different organisations in Assam including some organizations of the Bangali Hindu Community, who stated that the visit of the TMC delegation is uncalled for and that the party s stand is biased. over 40 lakh people out of the document for some discrepancies. There are a little over 2,500 NRC Seva Kendras in Assam which will be handling the claims and objections directly. The Supreme Court who has been monitoring the updation process of the NRC has recently ordered the Government, in consultation with State NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela, to frame a fair standard operating procedure (SOP) to deal with the claims and objections of those who did not find their names in the draft NRC. The Seva Kendras will be have an application form, where a person will provide his detail and the reason for his non-inclusion will be provided, said NRC Coordinator The situation in Assam is absolutely peaceful and none of the Bengalis or Muslims are in fear over the NRC. This is a draft NRC and many of the indigenous communities also failed to get their names included in the historical document, said Sukumar Biswas, Chief adviser of the All Assam Bengali Yuva Chatra Parishad. It is not justified to send a delegation at this time to further aggravate the issue. Mamata didi did not support the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, which was seen by the Bengali Hindus as the last resort to find an address in India. However, when there is no issue in Assam over the NRC, she has sent a delegation to create bad blood between the Hindu Bengalis and indigenous communities of Assam, said Biswas. Prateek Hajela while adding that they can also file claim and objection from August 30 till September 28. We are anticipating that there will be rush initially as people will be wanting to know the reasons for non inclusion and accordingly we have made arrangements to address the grievances, he said while adding that the NRC directorate is presently busy framing the SOP to deal with claim and objections. Security of the seva kendras have been intensified. We have reviewed the security of Seva Kendras and police pickets are posted outside Kendras, said Assam s Additional director general of Assam Police (special branch) Pallab Bhattacharya.PNS Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh unit of Bharatiya Janata Party has asked the State Government to expedite the process to identify Bangladeshis illegally residing in the State and to arrest or deport them to their country. In a briefing, BJP State spokesman Shalabh Mani Tripathi said the UP Government was serious on internal security. In the last few months, 270 Bangladeshis illegally residing in Uttar Pradesh have been deported and 75 others have been sent to jail. The time has n an apparent bid to carry the Ipolitical consequences of Assam NRC imbroglio and raise the decibel of protest against the Thursday s alleged manhandling of Trinamool Congress MPs at Silchar Airport to far-reaching corners of Bengal the party has decided to observe Black Days through out the State on August 4 and 5. Condemning the inhuman, uncivilized and undemocratic acts of the BJP-ruled Assam administration Bengal Minister and TMC general secretary Partho Chatterjee said his party, condemns the way the people s representatives were manhandled and detained by the Assam Police at the Silchar Airport. The TMC leaders being people s representatives and Members of Parliament were well within their rights to visit the area to assess the situation that had emerged out of unethically, illegally and undemocratically, striking out the names of 40 lakh Indian citizens including the Bengalis from the National Register of Citizens, he However the BJP Government of Assam violated all the rules and not only stopped out delegates including MPs, a Minister and MLAs but also manhandled them. This shameful act should be condemned in strongest possible words, Chatterjee Our party will observe a Black Day on August 4 and 5 in every part of Bengal, in every block of the State, Chatterjee Another senior party leader said the TMC would carry the news to every nook and corner of the State to show people how BJP was acting against the interest of Bengali-speaking people and yet aspiring to come to power in the State. Party MP Dr Kakoli Ghoshdastidar who was also a part of the delegation wondered, what security does a common citizen have where even people s representatives and Members of Parliament are not spared. Yesterday s incident at Silchar Airport has made it clear that democracy is threatened in India. Senior State Minister Firhad Hakim who was also the part of the delegation that visited Assam on Thursday said the BJP will not be able to suppress the voice of the people. We will continue to fight under the leadership of our leader Mamata Banerjee. Insiders said the party would intensify stir against the BJP for which purpose the MPs and other senior leaders who were currently in Delhi had been called back to Kolkata where a strategy meeting would be held to decide on the future course of action. come to expedite the process and identify all those illegally residing here, he Attacking Opposition parties, particularly Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, Tripathi said the influx of people from Bangladesh had increased during the regimes of Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati as both gave political patronage to them. Many of them have got Indian identities through BPL and Aadhaar cards. Some of them have even acted as conduit for anti-national elements. The then political dispensation knew about this but did nothing for political reasons, the BJP State spokesman The Yogi Government acted tough against these elements. When he took charge as Chief Minister, he issued directives to the police to identify those living illegally in UP. After that, several arrests were made, Tripathi Meanwhile, Government spokesman Sidharth Nath Singh said that after National Register of Citizens (NRC) of Assam was made public, the UP Government was also contemplating to start a similar exercise. PNS n a major boost to it in the Irun up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in the State, the BJP on Friday captured power in the municipal corporations of Jalgaon in north Maharashtra and Sangli in western Maharashtra. The BJP virtually swept the Jalgaon Municipal Corporation (JMC) polls by winning as many as 57 seats out of a total 75 seats and decimated hitherto-influential political outfit led by former Minister and local Sureshdada Jain who controlled Jalgaon civic body for the last three and a half decades. In the 78-member Sangli- Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation (SMKMC) polls, the BJP secured a majority of its own by winning 41 seats as against 20 seats won by the Congress and 15 by the NCP. Walking away with 57 out of the total 75 seats in the JMC, the BJP established supremacy over all the political parties. Its principal rival Shiv Sena managed to win just 15 seats in the JMC polls. The Owaisi brothers-led All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (better known as MIM), which contested the JMC polls for the first time, bagged three seats. ational Conference MLA Nand Provincial President, Jammu province, Devender Singh Rana Friday appealed to the Governor NN Vohra to immediately launch preparation of J&K State Subject Register on the lines of National Register of Citizens (NRC). He demanded that the properties and assets of non State subject holders settled in the State should be seized and they should be taken out of Lakhanpur, the gateway of Jammu & Kashmir. National Conference legislator also targeted West Pakistan Refugees, living in different parts of Jammu, by saying they are not State subject holders. They may be citizens of India but they do not possess state subject. He said, we appeal to the Governor to identify all those non State subject holders within a limited time frame and drop them outside Lakhanpur. Addressing a Press conference here in Jammu DS Rana also pointed accusing fingers towards BJP Governments both at the Centre and in the State over the issue of handling illegal settlement of Rohingyas in the Significantly enough, the Congress and NCP drew a blank in the polls. In the JMC polls, the BJP killed two birds with stone. First, the BJP virtually eliminated Jain who was a Minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP Government between 1995 and 1999 and currently headed Khandesh Vikas Aghadi (KVA). The KVC, which was in power in the civic body, had contested the JMC polls on the Sena s symbol bow and arrow. Secondly, the BJP eroded the clout of its former Minister and senior party Eknath Khadse, whose writ in not just Jalgaon but entire north Maharashtra till he resigned from his post as the State Revenue Minister over irregularities in the purchase of a plot of land at Bhosari in Pune district. After Khadse s resignation, Fadnavis had empowered BJP s relatively junior Minister and Girish Mahajan in Jalgaon district. So much so that a major share of the BJP s victory in the JMC polls goes to Mahajan. A firm foothold in the JMC has strengthened the BJP in north State in large numbers. When Rana was asked to spell out his party s stand on the threat posed by illegal immigrants from Myanmar he maintained the BJP led Government is in power at the Centre for last four years, the BJP ran alliance Govt with the PDP in the State for over three years why they could not Maharashtra in which Jalgaon is one of the districts. While the victory in the JMC poll helped the BJP enlarge its base in northern Maharashtra, the win in the SMKMC polls has set stage for widening its base in sugar cane- rich western Maharashtra which was once a bastion of the Congress and where the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has established a strong base even since it was founded in May The Congress, then principal ruling party in the State, had captured power in the SMKMC polls in 2013, by winning 40 out of 75 seats in the civic polls. The NCP, which had controlled SMKMC the previous five years in alliance with BJP for some time could win just 18 seats. However, the BJP made its presence felt in Sangli in 2014 Lok Sabha polls as its candidate Sanjay Patil romped home by trouncing the Congress Pratik Prakash Patil by a handsome margin of 2,39,292 votes. What was more significant about the 2018 SMKMC poll victory is that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis could not campaign much in the polls as he pre-occupied with addressing the situation arising out of the Maratha reservation agitation. Meanwhile, thanking the people of Sangli and Jalgaon for the BJP s tremendous victory in the two civic polls, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said: I am grateful to the people of Jalgaon and Sangli-Miraj- Kupwad. take any action against them. Who stopped them from relocating Rohingyas out of the state of Jammu & Kashmir. He, however, washed his hands over allegations that majority of Rohingyas arrived here during the rule of Omar Abdullah led alliance Government in the State.

8 Neo Luddites In a world of fake news and fake certificates, now enter the rise of fake universities. Delhi tops this list with 277 fake colleges offering engineering and other technical courses. The University Grants Commission website has already named and shamed 22 such universities before. With Delhi already topping national charts for all the wrong reasons, this may not be the best of news. Cyber city COMMENT & ANALYSIS What next for Imran Khan? F atima Bhutto cites two horrific incidents in a searing piece titled, Imran Khan is only a player in the circus run by Pakistan s military in The Guardian of July 24, On July 17, supporters of his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), tied a donkey to a pole and punched its face till its jaw broke, ripped open its nostrils, and drove a car into its body, leaving the animal to collapse, having been beaten to an inch of its life. Before they left, they wrote Nawaz (the name of the former prime minister) into its flesh, seemingly inspired by their leader, Imran Khan, who has taunted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML- N) workers as ghadday or donkeys. The donkey was rescued by the ACF Animal Rescue Team, a private organization, who noted that, even days later, it could not stand up on its own because of the ferocity of its torture. It soon succumbed to its injuries, an innocent creature beaten to It is unfortunate that the media is being targeted for doing its duty, for carrying out reality checks on the Government's claims. Congress leader MALLIKARJUN KHARGE Sir West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee s statement is condemnable since it can provoke violence. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise is not arbitrary; it is being monitored by the Supreme Court. The Finance Minister tweeted that Banerjee had raised the issue of infiltration in her State in 2005 in the Lok Sabha. Today, she seems to have taken a U-turn. The TMC chief must explain the change in her stance. P Arihanth Secunderabad Sir This refers to the editorial, Citizenship rights (August 1). The Assam Accord was concluded on August 14, 1985, by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Assam Student Union, headed by Prafull Mahant on the issue of illegal immigrants, especially from Bangladesh, which outnumbered the native population of the State. Among other points mentioned in the Accord, the most prominent provision is that illegal immigrants, who penetrated into India after March 24, No show-cause notice was served when the channel was running wrong news. The Government has nothing to do with media resignations. BJP leader RAJYAVARDHAN SINGH RATHORE Overreaching judicial activism P ublic Interest Litigation (PIL) is directly filed by an individual or a group of people when it is felt that public interests are being undermined by the Government. It is a new legal horizon in which a court of law can initiate and enforce action to serve and secure significant public interest. PILs in India began towards the end of 1970s and came into full bloom in the 80s. Justice VR Krishna Iyer and Justice PN Bhagwati, both judges of the Supreme Court of India, delivered landmark judgements which opened up new vistas for PIL. According to Justice VR Krishna Iyer, PIL is a process of obtaining justice for the people for voicing people s grievances through the legal process. The aim of PIL is to give to the common people of this country access to the courts to obtain legal redress to such grievances. Judicial activism means that instead of judicial restraint, the apex court and other lower courts, become activists and compel the authority to act. The courts can also direct the Government, its policies and the administration. One can see the practice of judicial activism in the form of PILs. As examples of some representative cases of judicial activism in India, the following may be cited: i) A PIL filed filed by Birender Sangwan to reduce the price of stents is one such case of judicial activism through which the price of stents saw a cut of around 84 per cent. ii) A PIL filed by Chandigarh-based activist Harman Sidhu led to the imposition of ban on liquor near highways. The most prominent case of judicial activism, in my opinion, happened when the top court ordered the UPA Government to set up a SIT to probe black money stashed in foreign banks by Indians, but it failed to act. However, the first thing that the NDA Government did after assuming power was to take note of this in earnest. There are also instances where the court has encroached upon the role of the legislature by way of making laws. Such cases, where the courts encroach upon the role of the executive by making rules or directives amounting to executive orders can be termed as judicial overreach. Some such cases are as follows: Bombay High Court orders cuts in Jolly LLB 2: A few Lawyers had approached the Bombay High Court to cut some scenes in the film that showed them in bad light. The court passed a judgement in their favour. This was a unique case where a court took the role of censorship for the first time. Reforms in cricket: The apex court set up a Mudgal panel and the Lodha Committee to investigate the betting charges and suggest reforms. Now, the top court has dismissed the BCCI officials for not adhering to the suggested reforms. Striking down of NJAC Act: The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was proposed by the body which would have given it powers to appoint judges to the higher judiciary. Passed by both the Houses of Parliament it was termed as unconstitutional by a Constitution Bench of the apex court and now stands repealed. Not very long ago, the Supreme Court was harsh on both the Union Government and the Uttar Pradesh Government on what it saw as their apathy in protecting the Taj Mahal and said that because no one seemed to be doing anything to protect the monument, it would start hearing the matter everyday from July 31. You can shut down Taj. You can demolish (it) if you like and you can also do away with it if you have already decided, said a Bench of Justice MB Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta. The observations of the judges do not seem to be germane to the issue. On July 20, the court ruled that third-party insurance for three years will become mandatory for cars being sold from September 1. These matters could really have been left to the executive. If we analyse all the above cases, it will make us wonder if public good is hereby adequately or significantly served and the issues are so diverse that it appears that the top court can and does interfere in public policy to an extent that the legislature and the executive become superfluous. After all, it is only these two organs of the state that are responsible for framing and implementing policies for public good and the judiciary s role is to prevent any transgression in respect of Constitutional breach and fundamental rights. Moreover, such activist steps run the risk of going against the spirit of democracy in the long-run by undermining the authority and image of the elected representatives. Judicial activism is not backed by the Constitution; it is a product devised solely by the judiciaries in some countries. The operative word in PIL is public interest or public good. If that is not served, PIL is erroneous. When the judiciary steps over the line of the powers given to it, in the name of judicial activism, it becomes judicial overreach. One can say that the judiciary then begins to nullify the concept of separation of powers specified in the Constitution. Black s Law Dictionary defines judicial activism as a philosophy of judicial decision-making whereby judges allow their personal views about public policy, among other factors, to guide their decisions. Finally, Justice Markandey Katju delivered some judgements which call for introspection by the judiciary over its activist role in the affairs of the state. In the case of State of Uttar Pradesh vs Jeet S Bisht, he warned the judiciary over the danger of judicial activism by observing: The judiciary must, therefore, exercise self-restraint and eschew the temptation to encroach into the domain of the legislature or the administrative or statutory authorities. By exercising selfrestraint it will enhance its own prestige. Of course, if a law clearly violates some provisions of the Constitution, it can be struck down, but otherwise it is not for the court to sit in appeal over the wisdom of the legislature, nor can it amend the law. (The writer is an author and a senior commentator) 1971, must not be considered for citizenship. After the preparation and publication of the The National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft, it was revealed that 40 lakh illegal immigrants are residing in Assam. It was a monumental folly and monstrous blunder of both the Assam and Union Government not to implement the Accord at the lapse of 33 years. Had it been implemented soon after the conclusion of Accord, there wouldn t have been any opposition. The Opposition, the Left liberals and self-proclaimed activists, who have fiercely opposed the NRC, would R ecent statements of two former Chief Ministers of Jammu & Kashmir are similar in content and tenor and amount to threatening the authorities in case they chose to take a particular course of action. There is no difference between Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, the two political rivals, in their approach to the union Government in New Delhi. When in power, they resort to emotional blackmailing and when out, they begin to threaten openly. This has been a trait of opportunistic Kashmiri leaders since the fall of Maharaja Hari Singh. While Mehbooba has publicly acknowledged the extremist ideology of her party, Omar Abdullah challenged the state Governor s administration. It is a time tested formula of Kashmiri politicians to sing paeans to the Union Government and the ruling party when in power and blame it for everything that happens in Kashmir when out of power. They have mastered the art so well that they take no time in changing colours. In fact, this trait has been passed to them down the generations. Unwilling to accept her failure to keep her flock together, Mehbooba, like the Abdullahs, chose the time-tested technique to shift the blame to the central leadership and also threatened dire consequences if her Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) splits. The imminent split in PDP is an internal matter of the party. Some legislators, unhappy with Mehbooba Mufti s style of functioning and dynastic rule and her preferential treatment to a favoured few, have openly revolted against her. Besides, she lacked the basic leadership instinct and maturity to control such rebellion because she believed in kitchen cabinet politics. Parachuting her brother into the inner core of the party and tight control of party affairs by her death for entertainment. Bhutto further states in the article that another donkey was mercilessly attacked the day after. In her words, the skin on its face was ripped off, the flesh on its forehead was ripped apart till all that remained between its eyes was a pulpy, bloody hole. The RCF did not say whether the animal was a victim of the same party but, in a landscape of venomous online trolling, people are afraid to say very much these days. One had expected Pakistan s playboy cricketing icon, now set to become the Prime Minister, to at least come out with a strident, public condemnation of the savage torture of the two donkeys and remove the culprits from his party. There is no indication that he has done either or both. Any argument that compassion for animals, and anger over cruelty to them, are personal attributes and have nothing to do with governance will not wash. Compassion and sensitivity to cruelty are indivisible. The overwhelming majority of those who are kind to animals are also kind to humans and vice-versa. Compassion for the poor and suffering and anger over cruel suppression of the rights of people and legitimate, peaceful protest, is central both to the ethos of a liberal, democratic society, and the framing of policies that define a just and fair Government. Compassion for trees sentient living beings is important to the protection of forests, which is a critical component of efforts to save the environment. Not surprisingly, Article 51-A(g) of the Constitution of India, states in the context of the Fundamental Duties of citizens, It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. If Imran Khan has not acted severely against those who have savagely tortured the two donkeys, then the fact underlines the allegation by many that he is utterly insensitive person who is not moved to anger by savage, wanton cruelty. The incident provides an equally damning commentary on his followers characters. A large section of them clearly comprises the dregs of Pakistan s society. The question is: How does this country deal with a person like him, particularly given the kind of supporters he has? While the dregs have played a significant role in Imran Khan s rise to power the others who have contributed include members of Pakistan s urban middle class with their hope for a cleaner politics and better governance, fundamentalist Islamist organisations to which he has been pandering over the years, and pious Muslim moved by the growing religiosity that he has been publicly displaying. The enabling, over-arching support has, of course, been the Army which did everything it could to ensure PTI s victory. The process began long before the elections. The Army manipulated the movement launched by three fundamentalist organisations Tehreek-i-Labaik Valley of threats, blackmail Kashmiri leaders would be well-advised to become contributors to the peace process rather than its disruptors. Leaders must stop threatening the administration and strive for peace instead have not lodged any protest against the NRC which left out 40 lakh illegal immigrants, judging the then tense and pr-ovocative situation in the State. Showing humanity to absorb them is against our national security and interest. Nimai Charan Swain Bhubaneswar Sir This refers to the editorial, Citizenship rights (August 1). At the end of the day, it is the illegals who will have to face the consequences. For the Rohingyas, Bangladesh is negotiating with Myanmar and is curious to repatriate them back. Similarly, that country should have no objection in taking back these illegal immigrants. However, the problem, as such, erupted due to the inception of Pakistan, turning a portion of Bengal as foreign territory. If these Bangladeshis are keen to reside in Assam, they should start a movement for reuniting it with Bharat. LR Gupta Lucknow Pakistan, Tehreek-i-Khatm-i-Nabuwwat and Sunni Tehreek Pakistan demanding the dismissal of Pakistan s Law Minister, Jahid Hamid, holding him responsible for alleged changes in Pakistan s Election Act 2017 altering the Khatmi-Nabuwwat (Finality of Prophethood) oath compulsory for electoral candidates. They were not moved by the Governments attribution of the change to a clerical error and amendment of the Act to remove it. Finally, the Government had to surrender following a three-week siege of Islamabad and other cities; Hamid resigned on November 27, The Army s role became clear when, despite being ordered by the Interior Ministry to restore law and order, the Army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, suggested peaceful handling of the protestors. After Hamid s resignation, the Labaik chief, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, thanked General Bajwa s for his help in ending the stand-off. Earlier, the Army had played a dubious role in relation to the movement accompanying the Azadi March which lasted from August 14 to December 17, The march was a synchronized campaign, albeit with different agendas, by Imran Khan s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Muhammad Tariq-ul-Qadri s Pakistan Awami Tehreek, for the removal of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. It led to much violence before Imran Khan called it off on December 17, 2014, following Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan s attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar on maternal uncle did not augur well with many PDP legislators who felt left out and cheated. Rather than accepting the challenge of setting her own house in order she chose the easier path of threatening the centre with return to 1987 era. She should have refreshed her knowledge of history before making such a reference, because among the actors involved in 1987 were her own father, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. She is now in an open competition with the Abdullahs of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) as a consequence of which the separatists are going to have a field day. The administration would need to keep a close eye on her activities. Coming to Omar Abdullah, the J&K National Conference (JKNC) leader, he questioned the administration s decision to skip Martyrs Day function in Srinagar, and threatened the Governor s administration by stating, If you want to take this out of the list of state functions, then we will also see. He also questioned the administration s decision to convene a meeting in the state secretariat on a state holiday. In the first place, Omar Abdullah must explain why July 13 should be celebrated as a State holiday when two of the three regions of the State do not agree with the false narrative of the events of July, 13, 1931, as propagated by the Valley s Kashmiri leadership. Secondly, what mandate does he enjoy to threaten the administration? The role played by the JKNC s leadership and cadre in events after Burhan Wani s killing and resurgence of stone-pelting, with active support from his party, are well known. Is Omar Abdullah threatening the administration with re-emergence of the JKNC s destructive politics? The people of Jammu and Ladakh will not bow down to this threat and will give adequate response, if needed. Omar Abdullah s contention that the July 13, 1931, uprising was not against any individual or religion is wrong and unsupported by facts. It was, in fact, a communal uprising by Kashmiri speaking Muslims against a Hindu ruler and the Hindus as part of an Anglo- Muslim conspiracy. Even within the State, only Kashmiri speaking Muslims formed part of this communal rebellion. While the JKNC mourns the deaths of rebels, why do they not speak against brutal attacks and murders of innocent Kashmiri Pandits and Hindu Dogras in other parts of the State? If they were protesting against the autocratic rule of the Maharaja, as claimed by Omar Abdullah, why were the properties of Kashmiri Pandits looted and why were they attacked and killed at the same time as the attack on the Central jail? The people of Jammu and Ladakh do not recognise it as Martyrs Day but as a Black Day and do not want a holiday on this particular date. In fact, truly speaking, July 13, 1931, is the harbinger of communal violence and radicalisation in Kashmir. Giving it a State-level importance acts as a motivator for those who do not want the return of Kashmiri Pandits to retain its monolith character and warning to the minorities to be prepared to bear the consequences if the will of the goons is opposed. Apart from the two regional parties, the PDP and the JKNC, the event is not patronised by others in the State. The Congress as usual is a divided house. While its Kashmir unit joined the State function, its Jammu unit was opposed to it and remained away from it. It goes to the credit of the Governor s administration that it chose not to observe a holiday in the Civil Secretariat and held a meeting of secretaries instead. Jammu Bar Association also set an example by declaring to continue to work and not observe a holiday. This should motivate others to emulate and surrender the holiday so that it loses its relevance. Peace and normalcy must be restored. Kashmiri leaders would be well advised to become contributors to the peace process rather than disruptors. They must be careful with their statements, they should be conciliatory and not provocative. Sensing the anger the Kashmiri people have against them, their provocative statements may do them more harm than good and they may gradually lose their political relevance. (The author is a Jammu based political commentator and strategic analyst. The views expressed are entirely personal) December 16, which had caused 141 deaths, 132 of which were of school children. The Army s role had become clear almost at the very beginning of the march when it had issued a statement calling for restraint by the police. There was no condemnation of the agitation which sought to remove an elected prime minister, whose party, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) had won 190 of the 342 seats in Pakistan s parliament in the 2013 General Elections, through street upheavals. As the July 25 parliamentary elections approached, a number of measures like Nawaz Sharif s disqualification from holding political office, his and his daughter s arrest, intimidation of his party s candidates into not contesting or changing sides, and massive, intimidatory Army presence on election day, were part of an all-out effort to defeat PML-N and ensure Imran Khan s victory. Imran, who, in 2014, demanded Nawaz Sharif s resignation on the ground that the latter had become Prime Minister by wholesale rigging of the 2013 elections, has now become Prime Minister on the basis of an election widely considered rigged. While this, the underlying irony is engaging, critically important for India is that he has been put in office by the Pakistan Army and will do its bidding on all issues, particularly ties with India and Kashmir. (The writer is Consultant Editor, The Pioneer, and an author)

9 pple is the world's first Apublicly traded company to be valued at USD 1 trillion, the financial fruit of stylish technology that has redefined what we expect from our gadgets. The milestone reached yesterday marks the latest tri- umph of a trend-setting com- pany that two mavericks named Steve started in a Silicon Valley garage 42 years ago. Apple's shares gained USD 5.89 to close at USD , leaving the company's market value a notch above USD 1 trillion around USD 1,001,679,220,000, according to FactSet. Apple sits atop a US stock market that has become dominated by technology-centred companies: Amazon, Google's parent Alphabet, Microsoft and Facebook round out the top five in market value. The achievement seemed unimaginable in 1997 when Apple teetered on the edge of bankruptcy, with its stock trading for less than USD 1, on a split-adjusted basis, and its market value dropping below USD 2 billion. To survive, Apple brought back its once-exiled cofounder, Steve Jobs, as interim CEO and turned to its arch rival Microsoft for a USD 150 million cash infusion to help pay its bills. Jobs eventually shepherded a decade-long succession of iconic products such as iphone that transformed Apple from a technological boutique to a cultural phenomenon and money-making machine. In its most recent quarter, Apple fetched an average price of USD 724 per iphone a nearly 20 per cent increase from an average of USD 606 per iphone at the same time last year. The price escalation has widened Apple's profit margins to the delight of investors, who have boosted the company's market value by about USD 83 billion since the quarterly report came out late Tuesday. The 9 per cent gain was Apple's biggest two-day advance in nearly a decade. Apple's stock has climbed by 23 per cent so far this year. As mighty as Apple may seem now, economic and cultural forces can quickly shift the corporate pecking order. Some analysts believe e- commerce leader Amazon.Com will supplant Apple as the world's most valuable company in the next year or two as its spreading tentacles reach into new markets. This much is certain: Apple wouldn't be atop the corporate kingdom without Jobs, who died October His vision, showmanship and sense of style propelled Apple's comeback. But the recovery might not have happened if Jobs hadn't evolved into a more mature leader after his exit from the company in His ignominious departure came after losing a power struggle with John Sculley, a former Pepsico executive who he recruited to become Apple's CEO in Jobs remained mercurial when he returned to Apple, but he had also become more thoughtful and adept at spotting talent that would help him create a revolutionary innovation factory. he Government is ready to Tmake further changes to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) if required, a senior official said on Friday. While noting that the Code is a game changer, Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas also sought to dispel certain "myths" regarding the law, including provisions related to barring of wilful defaulters from the bidding process for stressed assets. The government is "more than willing to take any good suggestions and evaluate (them) and make further changes to the Code, if required", he said here. The Code, which comes under the corporate affairs ministry, has already been amended twice. "The IBC is the first major step on a long journey towards building a credit market in India that can support entrepreneurship, without compromising on financial stability," Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P P Chaudhary Noting that the Code has been able to meet stakeholders' expectations to a great extent, he said the government is committed to strengthen the fabric of corporate structure. The Code gives creditors control over the resolution process, and the freedom to make commercial decisions without judicial intervention, he "It (the Code) moved away from the debtor-in-possession model by dispossessing the management once the debtor is in resolution process. "This had two direct advantages Indian promoters now see insolvency and debt default as a credible threat and it assures creditors that value in the debtor is protected as they look for options to effectively re-organise the debtor," the minister added. Citing the IBBI, Srinivas said that out of the 32-odd resolutions, 270 per cent of the liquidation value was received and so many jobs were secured. "There is no magic wand. How can you expect 100 per cent recovery?," he said, amid concerns in certain quarters about lenders having to take haircuts during the insolvency process. s Jet Airways in a spot of both- Media reports over the past Ier? 24 hours would have us believe that the airlines promoter Naresh Goyal is looking to sell off a part of his stake in the airline. Jet Airways shares have plunged, losing 7.2 per cent in trading on Friday, and has lost over two-thirds of its value since the start of the year. The airline has reportedly sent an to all of its staff saying that without a series of pay cuts, ranging up to 25 per cent, the airline might be forced to shut shop within sixty days. The airline has come out with a strong statement denying some media reports and even highlighted the fact that at the recently concluded Farnborough it added to its orders of new Boeing 737MAX8 aircraft which now total 225 aircraft in all that will be inducted into its fleet over the next decade. The Chief Executive, Vinay Dube also said that any talk of a stake sale was false. But what ails Jet, the only surviving airline from the first era of private airlines in India. The airline recently celebrated its 25th birthday and also inducted the first fuel-efficient Boeing 737MAX8 into its fleet. And Jet Airways has faced trouble before, back during the downturn in the mid-2000 s, with the airline still reeling from the semi-forced acquisition of Air Sahara, Jet Airways was reeling. There was even a late-night press briefing by Vijay Mallya and Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal talking of he Government on Friday Tsaid it will take action against over 2.25 lakh companies as they have not filed requisite financial statement for and The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has already struck off over 2.26 lakh companies for non-filing of financial statements or annual returns for a continuous period of two years or more. "During the financial year , a total of 2,25,910 companies have also been identified for action under section 248 of the (Companies) Act for non-filing of due returns for the financial year and ," Minister of State for Corporate Affairs P P Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. "Due procedure shall be followed by Registrars of Companies (ROCs) before striking off names of the companies," he added. an alliance. And while Goyal had the last laugh on Mallya, the competitive environment has changed a lot since then. For one, there has been the emergence of IndiGo, an airline that has established a new template for low-cost carriers in India. IndiGo has eaten up marketshare from other airlines, and there is also the fact that the aviation market in India is not quite fair, because taxpayers effectively fund Air India. There is also the fact that the Indian rupee has depreciated significantly in the past six months and that coupled with increased aviation fuel prices have hit the profitability of all airlines, even IndiGo which has been a market darling ever since it listed, saw profits crash 97 per cent in the first quarter of compared to the previous fiscal year. IndiGo however also suffered from a slew of cancellations due to the tragicomic introduction of the Pratt and Whitney PW1100G engine on the airlines new A320neo aircraft. One major reason for the dismal performance of airlines in India has been falling yields. Airlines, across the board from Jet Airways to Indigo have not been able to raise their revenue per seat-kilometer, a statistic the industry measures as RPK. In fact, IndiGo saw RPK fall five percent last quarter and that led to a decline in their share price. This explains why, despite airlines running full planes on most sectors in India thanks to booming demand, they are not making all that much money. The falling rupee coupled with the fat that aircraft and their maintenance is priced in dollars as well as increased oil prices while yields have at best flatlined mean that profitability is impacted. But why have airlines found it difficult to raise prices? Demand for airline seats is not elastic, other than a few sectors at some times of the year, higher prices usually means less demand. While there have been positive indicators of economic growth in the past few months, the economy is just about picking up but increased demand for air travel has not meant that passengers are willing to pay more. At the same time, schemes like UDAN have not really changed the fact that flying is restricted to 2-3 percent of the Indian population. While Indian airlines have a reported 1000 aircraft on order, they have miles to go before they regain some pricing power.

10 I ndia s services sector activity remained in the growth territory for the second consecutive month in July, as business activity witnessed the strongest growth since October 2016 amid improved demand conditions, says a monthly survey. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index rose from 52.6 in June to 54.2 in July, as new businesses rose at the fastest rise since June In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that Vadodara (PTI): Fruit juice maker Manpasand Beverages is planning to invest 1,500 crore to set up 10 new manufacturing plants in the country by 2020 in its effort to drive volumes, a top company executive The company at present has six manufacturing plants across the country, of which three are in Vadodara, and one each in Varanasi, denotes contraction. July data was encouraging as the service sector observed the best performance since October 2016, underpinned by the strongest gain in new orders since June 2017, said Aashna Dodhia, economist at IHS Markit and author of the report. Amid reports of improved demand conditions, business confidence towards the 12- month outlook picked up from June s recent low. Subsequently, firms raised their staffing levels at the strongest pace since April. Meanwhile, the headline seasonally adjusted Nikkei Dehradun and Ambala. We are planning to have a total of 16 plants in the country by 2020, and are looking to invest 1,500 crore on 10 new plants, said Dhirendra Singh, chairman and managing director, Manpasand Beverages. The firm is also planning to enter new product segments like milk based sugar free drinks, glucose drinks and protein based drinks over the next three years India Composite PMI Output Index, that maps both the manufacturing and services sector, rose from 53.3 in June to 54.1 in July. Marked expansions in both the manufacturing and service sector, with stronger growth in the latter, powered the fastest improvement in overall operating conditions in the economy since October 2016, Dodhia, On the prices front, inflationary pressures remained marked during July. There are some warning signs reflected by PMI price data. Although overall input cost inflation softened from to grow revenues and provide a significant boost to its growth journey across local and global markets, he added. For a country whose per capita consumption of cold drinks stand at mere six litres against 90 litres in the US, we need to have more affordable products to drive sales. We can beat MNCs only by creating volumes and flooding the market with desi brands, Singh June s near four-year high, service companies faced the fastest rise in input costs since March amid reports of high oil prices, Dodhia On the Reserve Bank s policy stance, Dodhia said, Indeed, an uncertain global climate, currency weakness and strong inflation may continue to place pressure on the central bank to hike interest rates over the coming months. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel for the second time in two-month raised interest rate by 0.25 per cent on inflationary concerns. New Delhi (PTI): Auto components maker Rico Auto on Friday announced its foray into fourwheeler aftermarket segment, having established itself as a leading supplier of parts to various domestic and global firms. The company, which had last year entered the two-wheeler aftermarket vertical, is targeting revenues of over 100 crore from the aftermarket business by Besides supplying auto parts directly to manufacturers, following its foray into the aftermarket segment, the company s components will now be available directly to consumers in case of repair or replacement of parts. The company he government is ready, if Trequired, to make further changes to the Insolvency and Bankrutpcy Code, a senior official said on Friday. While noting that the code was a game changer, Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas also sought to dispel certain myths regarding the law, including those provisions related to barring of wilful defaulters from the bidding process for stressed assets. The government is more than willing to take any good suggestions and examine it and make further changes to the code, if required, he said here. The code, which comes under the Corporate Affairs Ministry, has already been amended twice. Minister of State for Corporate Affairs PP Chaudhary said the IBC was the first major step in a long journey to building a credit market in India that could support entrepreneurship. They were speaking at a conference organised by the IBBI and the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research here. has already established a network of 40 channel partners across the country for aftermarket segment and even set up strong base in Sri Lanka and Nepal. Rico started with 28 products for the aftermarket last year. It already has added 250 more parts and aims to have over 400 products in both two-wheeler and four-wheeler components segment by end of the current fiscal. The company is already an established player in the two-wheeler original equipment manufacturer (OEM) segment with supplies to major players like Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor, HMSI and Bajaj Auto. MCG major Nestle India on FFriday reported per cent jump in net profit at crore for the second quarter ended June 30, helped by lower expenses. The company, which follows January-December financial year, had posted a net profit of crore for the April-June quarter of Total income during the quarter stood at 2, crore. It was 2, crore in April-June, , Nestle said in a BSE filing. The company said financial results for the reported quarter were not comparable as sales for the June quarter 2017 were reported gross of Excise Duty and net of value added tax (VAT)/sales tax. Excise duty was reported as a separate expense line item. The company said its total sales and domestic sales increased 8.5 per cent and 8 per cent, respectively in the reported quarter. Nestle India s total expenses were up 1.49 per cent to 2, crore as against 2, crore in the same quarter a year ago. For the first half of 2018, the company s net profit also went up per cent to crore as against crore earlier. The total income during January-June, was at 5,572.3 crore. It was 5, crore in the same period a year ago. Meanwhile, in a separate filing, Nestle said its Board of Directors had declared second interim dividend for of 20 per equity share. Tata Group firm Titan Company on Friday reported a per cent jump in standalone net profit to crore for the first quarter ended June 30, The company had reported a net profit of crore in the April quarter a year-ago. Total income during the quarter under review stood at 4, crore. It was 4, crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, Titan said in a BSE filing. Consumer products firm Zydus Wellness on Friday reported a 1.8 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to crore for the quarter ended June 30, The company had posted a net profit after tax and noncontrolling interests of crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, Zydus Wellness said in a filing to BSE.

11 Z imbabwe s President Emmerson Mnangagwa won election on Friday with just over 50 per cent of the ballots as the ruling party maintained control of the Government in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa received 50.8 per cent of the vote while main Opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa received 44.3 per cent. The Opposition is almost certain to challenge the results in the courts or in the streets. While election day was peaceful in a break from the past, deadly violence on Wednesday against people protesting alleged vote-rigging reminded many Zimbabweans of the decades of militarybacked repression under Mugabe. Zimbabwe s President says he is humbled by his win. Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams, Mnangagwa said on Twitter. This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity & love, & together build a new Zimbabwe for all! Mnangagwa tweeted, after a week that began with peaceful voting Monday but spiraled into deadly violence in the capital Wednesday as the military fired on protesters. Western election observers who were banned in previous votes have expressed concern at the military s excessive force in the capital, Harare. Their assessments of the election are crucial to the lifting of international sanctions on a country whose economy collapsed years ago. Shortly before the election commission s announcement, Morgen Komichi, the chief agent for Chamisa s opposition alliance, took the stage and said his party totally rejects the results and said he had not signed the election results. Police escorted him from the room. Beijing: China s Government has announced a $60 billion list of US goods, including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals for retaliation if Washington goes ahead with its latest tariff threat. The Finance Ministry on Friday accused the Trump administration of damaging the global economy after it proposed imposing 25 percent duties on $200 billion of Chinese products in a dispute over Beijing s technology policy. A Ministry statement said, China is forced to take countermeasures. Washington imposed 25 per cent duties on $34 billion of Chinese goods on July 6. Beijing responded by imposing similar charges on the same amount of US products. Harare: Zimbabwe s Opposition leader forcefully rejected the e l e c t i o n win of President Emmerson Mnangagwa as fraudulent, a vote stolen from the people. Zimbabwe s closely-watched elections began with Monday s peaceful vote but turned deadly 48 hours later when the military fired on protesters and six people were killed. Friday morning three truckloads of police, with shields and batons, tried to disperse about 100 local and international press gathered to hear Chamisa. With cameras recording their every move, the police eventually pulled back, allowing Chamisa to give a blistering denunciation of Mnangagwa s win. We won this election, asserted Chamisa, who said that rigging gave Mnangagwa victory. He declared a day of mourning... for democracy. Chamisa, who received over 44 percent of the vote, alleged violence and harassment against his supporters and manipulation of the election results. He said his opposition party has evidence of vote-rigging but that the electoral commission didn t want to listen to us. There was a subdued reaction to Mnangagwa s win, marked by the apprehension that remained in Harare after the army rolled in with tanks on Wednesday to disperse rock-throwing demonstrators who denounced Mnangagwa and alleged vote-rigging in the country s first vote after the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. Khost: Burqa-clad suicide bombers struck a Shia mosque in eastern Afghanistan on Friday as it was crowded with worshippers for weekly prayers, killing at least 29 people and wounding more than 80 in the latest attack on the minority. Officials said they feared the death toll could rise after the assault, the latest targeting civilians who have borne the brunt of the violence in Afghanistan s long conflict. Two suicide explosions happened during Friday prayers in the Khwaja Hasan area of Gardez, said Abdullah Hasrat, spokesman for Paktia province near the Pakistan Singapore: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said North Korea is far from living up to its pledge to denuclearise and remains in violation of numerous UN Security Council resolutions. Speaking before he attends an Asian security forum with North Korea s Foreign Minister, Pompeo told reporters in Singapore there was still a ways to go before achieving the goal of ridding the North of its nuclear weapons. Pompeo s comments came after the White House announced yesterday that President Donald Trump received a new letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and responded quickly with a letter of his own. The correspondence, following up on their Singapore summit in June, came amid fresh concerns over Pyongyang s commitment to denuclearisation despite a rosy picture of progress painted by Trump. AP border. He said the toll had risen to 29 killed and 81 wounded, with children among the victims. The bombers wore women s clothing, he said, and shot first at the mosque s security guards before opening fire on worshippers then detonating their explosives. Provincial police chief General Raz Mohammad Mandozai confirmed the incident, and that the pair were wearing burqas to hide their explosives and weapons. Local resident Sayed Naimatullah said he could hear the blasts from inside his home and rushed to the mosque. Peshawar: Imran Khan, Pakistan s Prime Minister-inwaiting has been summoned by the country s anti-graft body on August 7 in connection with the misuse of official helicopters which caused Rs 2.17 million loss to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government, an official said on Friday. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) summoned 65-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman on August 7. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Khan s party has led the provincial Government since The NAB is investigating the cricketer-turned-politician for causing Rs 2.17 million loss to the provincial exchequer by using the government s helicopter for over 72 hours. A NAB official said Khan has been summoned on August 7 for questioning and to record his statement. PTI There were body parts, heads, limbs and arms scattered everywhere. The blood of the worshippers had painted the walls of the mosque... There were pieces of glass scattered all over, the 30-year-old told AFP. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Taliban have denied involvement. The blasts come as urban areas across Afghanistan have been rocked by an increasing number of attacks in recent months, with both ISIS and Taliban insurgents targeting security forces and Government installations. AFP Moscow: Officials in Moscow say a US citizen has been detained in Russia s Far East after accidentally sailing there from Alaska on a small boat. John Martin had been traveling down the Yukon River across Alaska on a one-person boat when he ended up in the open Bering Sea, said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. He spent several days at sea in bad weather and eventually washed up on Russian shores. Martin, who lives in Anchorage, was detained Wednesday by Russian officials in the Far Eastern region of Chukotka. The US Consulate in Vladivostok was informed about the incident. AP

12 D esigner Rajesh Pratap Singh s signature style draws on his Indian roots to craft garments which have clean lines, careful detailing and international silhouettes so that his clothes have a global appeal but remain passionately Indian. His collections are simple yet attention is paid to the minutest of details. Singh has often been associated with Indian fabric mills and at the recent Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai, he worked with a new fabric called Tencel, which is sustainable. With five stores in the country, including two in Delhi where he is based, Singh has been trying to extend his boundaries while remaining rooted in his brand s ethos. Shahab Durrazi and Rohit Bal have spoken about the relationship between Bollywood and the fashion industry where the former gets freebies to promote a designer or walk the ramp for them. What is your take on the issue? I don t know what Shahab wrote. I really respect him. I was in school when he started out. He is one of the finest in the industry and I am sure what he wrote made sense. As far as Bollywood celebrities are concerned, I have nothing much to comment on. Whenever we worked with them in the past, we have never given them freebies. What is the collection about? What are the new boundaries of creativity that you ve pushed? That is a big word. I have worked with tencel, the most sustainable fibre being made right now. We ve spun this in mills and have used it in different parts of the country to make different fabrics. We crafted different lines. What makes this sustainable is that in the process of getting the fibre, the residue or emissions that is left over is drinking water. It is made out of wood pulp and the harvesting is done in a jungle. At the moment it is being done in Austria but it will soon have an Asian production base. The collection is inspired from small town Indian clothes and costumes. It is the clothing that people wear on the street. It also features costumes of dancers. The brief for me was to make ethnic Indian clothes or my version of it. So there are silhouettes and silhouettes. I ve taken the poshak from Rajasthan, for instance, or even the various draped jackets and twisted them around to make something that is truly Indian. Has Indian fashion been able to extend the acceptability of its silhouettes in the West? We are more confident as a society now. When I started, the attempt was always to compete and impress. Over the years, we have become more confident aided by socio-economic ascension in part, and have started finding our own identity. Both Indian men and women are very comfortable in their skin. They respect that and do not get carried away unlike a lot of countries. Have Indian designers been able to extend their market abroad? Honestly, I don t care. We just need to do what comes naturally to us and just do it. If it makes sense for people in India and if it makes sense to people outside India, they can wear it. Like everything else from our country, there is an acceptability of fashion too. And it is growing. However, I don t think we should focus on this because we will again fall into the trap of a colonial past where we are looking for approval. If we focus on our work, the rest will fall into place. It is important that we feel good first. World can wait. How has the grammar of fashion evolved since you started out? I can speak for myself. We work on the same thread and we keep on finding ourselves again and again. I ve completely and drastically changed and we keep on experimenting with new things. However, the direction and the voice remains the same. Hopefully things keep on improving though there is no guarantee that it will happen. What we keep on doing is working 24x7 and once in a while we do succeed. f deejaying is considered hot Iand happening among millennials today, we have got to thank Aqeel Ali, aka DJ Aqeel, who has reinterpreted around 200 Bollywood songs and pop music on the dance floor and changed the way cities look at nightlife. In town for another gig, the man who recreated hits like Disco 82, Jaanu meri Jaan, Pyar Do Pyar Lo, Kehdoon Tumhein, Tu Tu Hai Wahi and an endless list of tracks, told us, There were all kinds of music being played but I saw that nobody even considered Bollywood. It was sort of an urban untouchable. I have always been passionate about music and I knew that the melody of Bollywood should be brought alive among the youth. So I took upon the mission to make Bollywood music cool, remastering them and giving them a fresh feel. While the world was busy following professions that were more staid, Aqeel did make a career out of his passion and his favourite hobby. He proudly said, I can say that I had fun at work. (Laughs). I am still as excited to play now as I was before. In this fast-paced world, not only people s ideologies, passions, aims Has Indian couture evolved beyond the wedding market? There is a need for wedding clothes in India as it is a part of our lifestyle. Indians do shop a lot during weddings, so that ceremony defines our market space. Indian designers are answering that particular need. There is nothing wrong with it. Just that I don t do it. But there are some people who do a very good job of it. The designer s job is to choose an area and work on it constantly. The designs mean so many different things to different people. Moreover, couture is a complicated word. It is not even an Indian word. It is not a word where we come from. A designer s job is to do R&D on how to make clothes. And I follow my connections and sensibilities. and aspirations have transformed, but also their ways. Aqeel narrated how music has evolved over the years, since the time he had begun. My work has evolved a lot with technology. Initially, we used to play on stereos, via DVDs, then came the CD players, computers, laptops and now the wireless speakers. We also didn t have any sources, now we have a variety of TV channels as well as online channels like Youtube. The audience s mind, IQ and expectations have also increased and they have much more music to play instead of only those songs that people used to know earlier. Also, there are a number of genres on which different music has been m a d e. Everything, including my work I feel, has evolved a lot, he For that matter, even the culture with night pubs and having late-night bashes didn t exist, hence there weren t any DJs. Explained he, Night life, as it exists now, came into being only a few years ago. Today, every pub or a cafe has a DJ. Nowadays, there are a thousand bars which are hiring DJs everyday. There are a lot of jobs that have opened up for them. Also, when I started, people only used to go out on Fridays and Saturdays. Now people chill out after work almost everyday. He also highlighted how competition had made him more vigilant and innovative. Back then I only played on certain days, mostly at big clubs, playgrounds and humongous spaces, which accommodated around people. The biggest challenge today is that everybody hires a DJ for smaller spaces and wants one who is a guaranteed sellout. So one has to be sharp at one s game, said he. As the DJ is all set to perform at JW Marriott, Aerocity, today, he hoped it would be pretty much sold out. Changing the course of Indian music since 2000s, the revolutionary DJ still looks forward to the road ahead, since age doesn t matter. He said, I feel energised by my work and how I lead my life. I really feel inspired by DJs like David Guetta, Tiesto, they are over 50 years of age. Since I am in my 40s, I thought that by this age I d stop (laughs) but I still look up to them. Just seeing them makes me go on. Such a thing keeps you going no matter how old you are. They all look so slim, fit, smart. Now DJs have to dress well and look good to lighten up the mood of a party. I admire them for speaking well and being so representable. You ve explored your design sensibilities beyond fashion as you did recently with an installation art at Chivas... I did that because I was able to make something new and different. I had not made something so big in metal before. I was supposed to communicate my ideas through the sense of touch, something that I had not done before. So it helped me think laterally. I built this huge light tower with taps, like a minar, and you could almost feel light flowing onto your skin under them. Are you planning to do something like this in the near future? Right now there are too many things happening for six months so I am t is every child s wish to fulfill their par- dreams and make every moment of Ient s their lives worth celebrating. But what pilot Ashrrita Chinchankar recently did to bid farewell to her air hostess mother Pooja Chinchankar on her last flight won everyone s heart. After 38 years of service Pooja retired as senior cabin crew member from her airline. But she had always dreamt of her daughter Ashrrita piloting her last flight. So, Asshrita put in a request to the authorities that her mother s last flight as a cabin crew to be piloted by her and this was agreed upon. A video that was captured created a lifelong memory of Pooja walking down the aisle one last time while passengers applauded as a special announcement declared that it was her last flight after a career of 38 years which was being piloted by her daughter Ashrrita. While the focussing on that. Let s see what happens. Then I will go to the mountains. How do you incorporate technology in your work? I do not look at technology as an impediment. It is a constant process of evolution, a connector with an old and the new. What is the Rajesh Pratap woman like? It is a woman who I would say thank you to, first of all (laughs). I hope it is somebody interesting and intelligent. Fashion forecast for the season? I don t understand forecasts. daughter s gesture brought tears to many eyes, their story instantly brought back flashes of a touching brand film of Zee TV which was released when the channel rearticulated its brand philosophy as Aaj Likhenge Kal in October last year. The film captured a middle-class father s moment of pride as he and his daughter board their first flight together him as a passenger who has overcome his fear of flying to be a witness to his daughter s first flight as a pilot. The daughter had made the cut as a young pilot only on account of her father s encouragement as a driving force, despite naysayers discouraging her passion every step of the way. Coming back to real life from reel, this moment of joint long-term dream fulfillment of a pilot and her cabin-crew mother against the same setting of a flight is a classic case of life imitating art. In fact, Ashrrita and her mother Pooja beautifully represent the great Indian millennial middle class that is making strides, envisioning dreams and following them through to realisation. The content philosophy of the channel is defined by storytelling that inspires people to draw from their inner strength, tide over self-imposed and societal shackles and act proactively in the present to build an extraordinary future. Ashrrita and Pooja s story is a real-life illustration of the brand film s reel portrayal.

13 W hile the world is busy capturing selfies on their smart phone cameras, there are some artists who are trying to showcase the world that exists beyond these materialistic attractions. Artist, cartoonist and illustrator Rohan Chakravarty is one of them, portraying wildlife in his illustrations, a heritage, he believes, which desperately need attention. For the Gaj Yatra, an annual campaign run by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) which creates awareness about elephant conservation, Chakravarty was commissioned to create a comic book that features a story Where s Gaju s Herd? It is about a young and happy-go-lucky elephant who is separated from his family and the problems and challenges that he faces while straying in an urban city. I have a long-standing association with the WTI and have done a lot of projects with them in the past. My comic book is a silent, wordless storyboard that reflects the journey of elephants and the problems that they face in a country like India. It is created especially for kids who live in the elephant zone of conflict. The idea is to distribute the copies of this comiccum-colouring book and make them aware about animal and wildlife conservation, says the artist. The story follows the journey of an elephant calf, who is really happy with his family in the jungle but is soon separated and is found struggling to meet them as they are on the other side of the city. Railway lines and busy streets act as vicious obstacles which prevent him in the pursuit and the calf is even hit by a speeding truck. Looking at such profoundly detailed illustrations, one wonders about the kind of observations the artist would have made before creating these. Rohan reveals that some research and observation was involved to make the cartoons look accurate and real. A bit of both research and observation went in the making. I have been on the field observing elephants for sometime and I also referred to a lot of videos and textbooks. I observed the difference between the Western and Eastern Ghats and the Northeast India. He shares his experience watching the species, I have had some moments like observing a family of elephants in Bandipur National Park in Karnataka, and have had some close encounters with pachyderms, who are very genuine creatures. I feel that it is just about how we perceive and treat them that governs their behaviour towards us. This book is based on several years of knowing elephants. He shares his inspiration behind starting with such an innovative and a need-of-the-hour work. I started the series when I saw my first wild tigress which led me to drawing cartoons about animals. Even though other illustrious works have been in circulation for quite a long time, and there have been debates about the topic, his motive towards an otherwise ubiquitous topic is to make the society understand and aware of environmental issues. He says, The focus of my work is to break the jargon around ecology and wildlife science. At the same time, I am also trying to make this information palatable to people like me and you, who are not experts in the subject. A lot of people when they try to communicate and talk about science forget that there is a lot of jargon around it which some don t always understand. The whole point of my work is to break it down and bridge this gap and start a communication between science and dilemmas of people. Rohan feels that there has been a growing environmental consciousness among people, When I started the comic series in 2010, the reader was concerned about the environmental relations, in the matter of seven to eight years, it is something that can no longer be ignored. An environmental crisis is inevitable. The elephant in the room can no longer be ignored. The problem is very much in people s face and now they are increasingly getting proactive about environmental issues. All the readers understand the problems that I am trying to depict with my cartoons now. It is important to discuss issues like deforestation, development, and this consciousness is growing slowly and steadily. People are becoming aware and avoid plastic use while doing their bit to conserve the environment. The baby elephant s story very intricately depicts how urbanisation has encroached upon wildlife habitats and is continuing to degrade the ecological balance. The illustrations highlight some of the major problems, The Railway lines, major ones to begin with. There are others like road networks, highways, the loss of wild spaces because of industrialisation and agriculture, deforestation and urbanisation. All the obstacles that the character Gaju faces in the story are actually the problems that elephants face in India. As he continues to draw cartoons, he doesn t view it as a separate entity. Being a part of the environment is a part of leading a daily life. These issues cannot be separated and are very necessary for a healthy life, which is the biggest point of my career and life, he tells us. The illustrations from the book are being displayed as an exhibition at the Mandi House metro station, which is a part of the larger Gaj Mahotsav which focusses on the theme of protecting the pachyderm. Vivek Menon, executive director and ceo, Wildlife Trust of India, expressed the urgent need to protect this majestic being, as he says, While we are privileged to have the largest population of these majestic beings in India, our ignorance for their safety and basic right for safe and secure movement across the elephant corridors is also putting human lives in danger. In order to protect India s rich biodiversity, it is imperative for each one of us to recognise that elephants need a right of passage. n his eight-year-long journey in the Hindi film industry, IRanveer Singh has tasted immense success with blockbusters like Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat. The actor says attaining this stardom comes with a small price to pay. Popularly known as Bollywood s livewire, Ranveer made his acting debut in 2010 with the hit Band Baaja Baaraat. Since then, he has starred in movies like Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, Lootera and Dil Dhadakne Do among many others which did well at the box office. Asked if he agrees stardom comes with a price tag, Ranveer said, Yes, but my point of view is that it is a small price to pay. I feel very lucky and blessed that I m one of those people who is getting to do what I love to do for a living and I could not ask for more. With big and diverse projects like Simmba, Gully Boy and 83, Ranveer, 32, has no reason to complain. I m doing good work, I ve collaborated with the finest filmmakers in the business, I m a part of some exciting stories that are there to be told and I m a part of some of the largest projects. So, the work is good. Along with being a professional in showbiz, there are a few things that come with it. You have to sacrifice a few things in your life. Your personal time, your sense of privacy... But like I said, the good (counters) the negatives for me. So, honestly, you will never find me complaining, added the actor, who also endorses the eyewear brand Carrera. With the success and fame he enjoys, how does he manage to keep his feet on the ground? Fortunately, I have a very strong support system. My family, my parents, my friends, my team -- they have seen me through various phases of life. When they talk to me, they address the person, not the actor, not the star... and I m very fortunate to have people around me who keep it real, he Ranveer understands that success and fame are fragile and transient. Aaj hai kal nahi hai (It s there today and not tomorrow). So you have to value your opportunities and keep working hard, he added. The Lootera star is grateful for the opportunities that have come his way in such a short span of time. And with success, there is also criticism. Ranveer, who has faced failure with films like Kill Dil, Gunday and Befikre, says he has no trouble in taking criticism in his stride as he always operates from a very honest place in my heart. I do what I do without any ill will and malice towards anyone. I do the best I can possibly do for anyone; the hardest that I can possibly work towards anything. Whatever choices and decisions I make, I am honest to myself. So whenever there is criticism, I m mature enough to know there will always be an opposing point of view and there will always be disagreement, said the actor. Having a fan following of over 10 million on Twitter, Ranveer, who is loved for his flamboyance and energy, says he respects everyone s point of view. I don t reject criticism; I take it in my stride and do so quite easily, he added. ukki zone in the Kanha National Park Mhas been known throughout its recorded history to have been ruled by tigresses, rather than tigers. True to this legacy, tribal women of the Mukki zone are breaking conventional chains by taking over male-dominated jobs in the region. These women now drive, guide tourists, guard the forest as they are coming forward to shoulder bigger responsibilities. While the idea to promote women in forest staff, especially as drivers in this largest national park of central India, was conceptualised and executed only in December last year, the way these women excelled within a short span of time has surprised everyone. And encouraged by the success of the experiment, forest authorities are planning to set an example by making Mukki the country s first women-controlled forest zone while also replicating the idea in other zones. Judged and under pressure from day one, it was a difficult journey for Neeta Markam who became the first licensed forest driver here. Her battles began from home, right from convincing her father that she can share family responsibilities and that she wanted to do so by being a driver in Kanha. People made fun of her when she enrolled in an induction course meant for drivers in this forest reserve but now other girls come to her for advice to understand how they can also do what she has accomplished. It never said that the course was only for men. My aunt convinced my father and he let me go even as some families taunted, while other girls and boys made fun. Today more girls want to be drivers and they come to me seeking advice. And the boys who made fun of me are now jealous, Neeta, who belongs to the Gond tribe and hails from Mukki village at the edge of core tiger reserve, Neeta recalled the composure of other trainees at the driving school when they watched a girl stepping in. She also recalled how in the beginning of the safari season, people would be sceptic of being driven into a forest by a woman driver and how she would often be asked bluntly if she would be able to manage. At times I had to convince them that this forest is my home and I had been trained to drive and show them around, she recalled. The Mukki zone one of the three zones of Kanha Tiger Reserve presently has two women drivers, six women guides and one forest guard apart from about 10 tribal women operating the forest canteen, all hailing from neighbouring villages situated within the forest buffer. As the tiger reserve is set to open again in October after a three-month hiatus, six more guides and a batch of 10 women with basic hygiene to work in the forest kitchen are being trained. While Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of the displaced tribal families, the example set by the forest authorities by extending support to the marginalised tribes is now raising hopes and aspiration among villagers who previously abstained from allowing women to do jobs as they thought that these were meant for men. In its recorded history, Mukki zone, unlike Khatiya and Kanha gate, had always been ruled by tigresses, rather than tigers. Staying true to its nature and name, we wanted to take the tradition ahead and turn it into a place where women guards go on night patrolling, drive vehicles and also show people around. And when you come back, you stop by an allwomen-led cafeteria, says S K Khare, assistant director at Kanha Tiger Reserve. He added that at present, Kanha is one of the few national parks where women forest guards are stationed in the core forest posts and licensed women drivers take tourists inside the forests. Madhuri Thakur, who cleared her intermediate examination in 2017 at the age of 20 years, is another licensed driver. Inspired by her father, a retired forest guard, Madhuri said while the forest officials and her trainers had always been patient, her colleagues also encourage all women to believe in themselves. Once Neeta brushed her jeep and started crying; then other drivers came and started boosting her confidence and tried to make her feel comfortable. They jokingly told her that this is merely a small incident and they had almost killed a person in their initial phase, Madhuri recalled. In the tribal culture girls marry young, so the emerging trend of empowerment pitches these women to change traditions. I don t want to marry now, and even if my family forces me to do so, I would prefer to be married somewhere near my village because I don t want to quit this job that I love. Why should women make all the sacrifices? said Madhuri, who aspires to own her own vehicle some day. Forest guard Lakshmi Maravi, who also hails from Gond community and is the sole breadwinner of her family which consists of three siblings and a mother, said that forests had given her a sense of belonging and an identity. During my training, I was sceptical of my abilities but now I go on night trails, shoo away the poachers and keep the forest safe. Now I feel I was made to do this, Maravi Suhkati Dhurvey, a forest guide, said that merely six guides is a good start, but it isn t enough. She, along with others, earn about 10,000 per month, but since the park is closed for three months, this hampers their income. There should be more women employed in this sector; it means a lot for tribal ladies and gives them hope that they are more than mere labourers, said Dhurvey. She said that spotting birds is far more fun than tigers and that is something she likes to encourage tourists to do as well. Asserting that employing women was not just another social experiment of women empowerment, forester Khare said it is rather part of a larger cause. He said while there was a mistrust and misunderstanding among the tribes and the forest department as tribals largely depend on the forests and the department has the responsibility of conservation only steps like empowerment can make both go along. Almost every woman who works here has a some sort of crisis back home. These jobs have given them hope, he Stating that while earlier women were not preferred for the job of a guide or a guard, it was observed that they work harder and with more passion that men. It is important that we create a better work culture and environment. After we employed women, we saw the staff had started acting more responsibly, Khare said, adding that the aim is to make Mukki zone an all-women-operated area.

14 S tar Indian shuutler P V Sindhu beat Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in straight games to cruise into the semifinals and assure herself of a medal in the World Championships here on Friday. Sindhu defeated Okuhara in a 58-minute quarterfinal match to set up a semifinal clash against World No 2 and another Japanese Akane Yamaguchi on Saturday. The World No 3 Indian produced a dominant display against her World No 6 rival as she avenged her defeat in the last No 1s Tai Tzu Ying and Viktor Axelsen edition summit clash. were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the In both the games on Friday, Okuhara badminton world championships on Friday. led initially but Sindhu was able to come Tai's defeat was the biggest surprise, as back to take the honours. Sindhu had lost to Okuhara in the final last year 19-21, 22-20, but on Friday, it was the India who got the upper hand throughout the match. The win by Sindhu meant that the head-to-head record between the two is now levelled at 6-6. After the World Championships final last year, they had played five times against each other, including Friday's, and Sindhu have won three of them as against two by Okuhara. This will be Sindhu's fourth medal from the World Championships as she has already won two Bronze and a Silver. Saina Nehwal's impressive run, however, came to a disappointing end at the World Championships as she suffered a straight-game loss to two-time champion Carolina Marin. In the men's qurterfinals, B Sai Praneeth was no match to Kento Momota of Japan as he lost 12-21, in just 39 minutes. She was moving so fast and covering the court very quickly. The kind of shots that she played, it seemed like she was suddenly very fast. Also I had a late match yesterday so to face someone so quick was difficult. I didn't understand what to do, she never gave me a chance to play my game," Saina told reporters. Marin said: "I'm doing well since first day. I was in control today. I'm the fastest in the world, it is my strength and I have to keep doing it. I am happy to reach the semifinal. The favouite player (Tai Tzu Ying) to win the tournament lost today, so ll try to give best on Saturday against China's He Bingjiao." Marin played a perfect game to bamboozle Saina in the opening game. The left handed shuttler took just 12 minutes to race away with the game after earning 14 game points when Saina failed to retrieve a shot. The Spaniard closed it with a smash from close to the net. Saina showed better fight in the early stages of the second game but Marin managed the Taiwanese lost for only the second time this year in 37 matches. She was beaten by He Bingjiao of China 21-18, 7-21, After dropping the first game, Tai stormed back in the second, but was unable to maintain her momentum in the third. "I didn't expect to win, because Tzu Ying is such a terrific scorer, that even if I have a lead like 19-10, I won't win for sure," He The win represented payback of sorts for He, who lost to Tai in the Malaysia Open final in June and the Indonesia Open semifinals last month. She's through to her first world's semifinal. Tai, yet to win the worlds, lost in the quarterfinals at her fourth straight worlds. Axelsen, a Dane, became the first European male winner of the worlds in 20 years last year, ending Chen Long's two-year reign. Chen repaid him by ending Axelsen's one-year reign by winning 21-19, in an hour. Axelsen committed multiple unforced Mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also couldn't cross the quarterfinal hurdle, losing 17-21, to top seeds Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong of China. In the Saina vs Marin match, it turned out to be a lop-sided contest between the 2015 edition finalists as reigning Olympic champion Spanish once again produced her 'A' game on the big occasion to complete an emphatic 21-6, victory. A 5-4 head-to-head count meant little as Marin dismantled Saina with consummate ease. The Spaniard stamped her authority on the match, parading the court and screaming her heart out after winning every point. "Her movement was very quick today. an 11-8 advantage at the break. The Spaniard stifled Saina with her stroke play and placement to surge ahead. Marin gained 10 match points when Saina found the net and the Spaniard closed the match when the Indian went long again. errors and struggled to find a rhythm as he allowed Chen to dictate the pace and find his spots. "I stuck with my tactics no matter how my opponent was doing - taking a lead or falling behind," Chen tearful Andy Murray advanced to the ATP AWashington Open quarter-finals in a threehour marathon ending at 3:00 am on Friday, then ripped organizers for putting him in such a situation. Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray, in his first hardcourt event after an 11-month layoff for a right hip injury, outlasted Romania's 93rdranked Marius Copil 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 7-6 (7/4). The 31-year-old Scotsman won his third three-set victory in four days, having been on the court for eight hours 11 minutes in all, and he started at midnight thanks to a fourth day of rain delays. "I don't think I should be put in a position like that," Murray "(My body) doesn't feel great right now. "I've had a few long matches. Finishing matches at three in the morning isn't good for anyone involved in the event, players, TV, fans, anyone. "When you're expected to come back and perform the next day, I think that's unreasonable." If his body can take it, then former world number one Murray, now ranked 832, plays for a semifinal spot in Friday's last match against 72nd-ranked De Minaur, who pulled two upsets Thursday after rain, dumping US 11th seed Steve Johnson 6-4, 7-5 and South Korean eighth seed Chung Hyeon 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. Third-ranked defending champion Alexander Zverev took bragging rights in his sibling rivalry, beating 15th-seeded older brother Mischa 6-3, 7-5 in their first ATP meeting. "We had a great time," Alex "I was happy and enjoying the moment. I hope we meet again someday in a final." Mischa was nearly in tears at the start at a family dream come true. "When we came back to the benches I had to fight back my tears," he "It was a big day, big match. It was very emotional for me. It was just a great day." Next up for Alex will be Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori, who dispatched Canadian ninth seed Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (7/1), 6-3. US second seed John Isner was ousted by 152nd-ranked compatriot Noah Rubin 6-4, 7-6 (8/6). Ninth-ranked Isner, fatigued after a first-ever Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon and an Atlanta title run, blamed his low-energy outing on his workload. "Noah played with more energy. He was just tougher than I was. He was hungry," Isner "This could very well be a good loss. I need a little rest. There are some big tournaments coming up. I want to be full of energy for those." Top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina breezed into the Mifel Open semifinals Thursday night, beating Egor Gerasimov of Belarus 6-1, 6-1. Del Potro won for the second straight night in the hard-court event after a rest break following a five-set loss to Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Del Potro has 22 career victories, winning this year on hard courts at Indian Wells and Acapulco. Second-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy will play British left-hander Cameron Norrie in the other semifinal. Fognini beat Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-2, and Norrie topped fourth-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France 6-4, 6-4. Seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams held off Britain's Heather Watson 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA hardcourt tournament in San Jose, California. Third-seeded Williams is the highest seed left in a tournament that saw second-seed Madison Keys follow top-seeded Garbine Muguruza in pulling out because of injury on Thursday. Keys, the defending champion, pulled out with a right wrist injury before taking the court. ustralian driver Daniel Ricciardo is leaving Red ABull at the end of the season, the Formula One team said on Friday. "Daniel Ricciardo has advised us that he is to leave the Team at the end of the 2018 season," Red Bull posted on their web site. British and French media reported on Friday that the 29-year-old who won the Monaco and the Chinese Grand Prix this season would be joining Renault. He is currently fifth in the 2018 season drivers' standings. Renault are one place behind Red Bull in the constructors standings, but they have only 82 points while third-place Red Bull have 223. The French manufacturer has not won a race since rejoining Formula One three years ago. "We fully respect Daniel's decision to leave," Red Bull Racing principal Christian Horner said on the team web site. "We wish him all the best in his future." Ricciardo joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 2008 and progressed through their driver development programme. He made his Formula One debut with shortlived HRT outfit in 2011 and drove for Toro Rosso in 2012 and 2013, recording a best finish of 14th. He switched to the flagship Red Bull team in 2013 and won seven races and recorded 29 podium finishes. He finished third in the driver standings in 2014 and "We will now continue to evaluate the numerous options available to us before deciding on which driver partners Max Verstappen for the 2019 season," Horner "In the meantime, there are still nine races left in 2018 and we are fully focused on maximising every opportunity for Max and Daniel." alismanic Indian football captain TSunil Chhetri on Friday was named an 'Asian Icon' by the game's continental governing body on his 34th birthday and received effusive praise for rivalling the world's greatest players of his generation in scoring goals. Chhetri is currently the highest goal-scoring active Asian player with 64 strikes from 101 matches and third in the world after superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) made his birthday a memorable one by presenting, on its official page, a throwback of his life and career and the best moments on the field, when he played for India and his clubs, beginning from 2005 in a match against Pakistan. "In the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, to be the third highest scoring international footballer in the world is no mean feat, and for an Asian player to be within one goal of Messi's 65 goals for a national team is a record our latest inductee to the 'Asian Icons' list should be proud of," the AFC wrote. "As he turns 34 today, we celebrate the career of Sunil Chhetri, India's most capped player and alltime top goal scorer." Describing Chhetri as one of Asia's greatest footballers, the AFC said, "In a cricket-mad nation, Chhetri was raised in a footballing family, where his father represented the Indian Army team while his mother and aunt were international footballers for Nepal." "Chhetri caught the football fever, but never imagined how far he would go. Little did the India captain know he would go on to surpass a century of caps and score 21 more international goals since 2015 to rival the world's greatest players of the generation and lead his nation to a fourth AFC Asian Cup in their history with four goals in the qualifiers," the AFC The AFC said even at 34, "Chhetri is showing no signs of slowing down, recently signing a new contract that will keep him at Bengaluru FC until January's AFC Asian Cup in the UAE is the next stop for Chhetri who is looking forward to rubbing shoulders with Asia's finest once more. "A journey that would take Chhetri to become one of Indian and Asian footballs greats started when he signed for Mohun Bagan in 2002." Chhetri has played for eight Indian clubs in the domestic topflight. Beginning from Mohun Bagan, he has played for JCT, East Bengal, Dempo, Chirag United, Churchill Brothers, Mumbai City and Bengaluru FC. rgentina striker Gonzalo AHiguain on Thursday moved to AC Milan in a three-player swap deal between the seven-time European champions and Juventus that will see Leonardo Bonucci return to Turin after just a season away. Milan signed 30-year-old Higuain on a one-year loan deal worth a reported 18 million euros ($21 million) that gives them the option to buy the striker next summer for a further 36 million euros. Italy centre-back Bonucci has been swapped for promising Mattia Caldara just weeks after Caldara arrived at Juve following his transfer from Atalanta, which was agreed in January Higuain left Juventus, where he won two Serie A titles and scored 40 goals in 76 league appearances, following the shock signing of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid that made the Argentine surplus to requirements. "A new adventure begins," said Higuain after undergoing his medical. The Argentinian's move opened the door for Bonucci to return to Turin, where the defender won six league titles and reached two Champions League finals. The 31-year-old Bonucci returns to Juve after just one season with Milan, who could only finish sixth last season and missed the Champions League despite spending over 200 million euros ($233 million) on new players last summer. A reported 42 million euros of that were spent on Bonucci, who was made captain but fell short of the imperious form he showed at Juve. "Turin and Juventus are home for me. It's difficult to imagine that this has happened," said Bonucci. "I am delighted and excited to be back." Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus has signed a new deal with Manchester City that ties him to the Premier League champions until The 21-year-old, who was part of the Brazil squad that reached the World Cup quarter-finals in Russia, joined City in January 2017 and has scored 24 goals in 53 matches. "I would like to thank the fans for the welcome and for how well they have treated me," he told the club's official website on Friday after signing the two-year contract extension. Chelsea winger Pedro has signed a one-year contract extension, the Premier League club announced on Friday. The 31-year-old, who moved to Stamford Bridge from Barcelona in 2015, is now under contract until "It is very good for me, I am really happy here in the club, with my teammates, the supporters and the club in general," the Spanish international told Chelsea's official website. "It's important for me to continue with Chelsea. I am comfortable here and want to win new titles and trophies. I want to help the team, score goals, and I repeat, I am really happy." Pedro has so far played in 131 games for the Blues, scoring 28 goals.

15 P acer Ishant Sharma ran through the middle order for a five-wicket haul but Sam Curran's fighting 63-run knock helped England set India a tricky 194-run target in the first cricket Test, here on Friday. Ishant (5/51) took his eighth fifer while R Ashwin (3/59) and Umesh Yadav (2/20) shared the other five wickets as England were bowled out for 180 at the stroke of tea. India had England on mat at one stage as they had reduced England to 87 for seven but 20-year-old all-rounder Curran took the centre stage by scoring 63 runs off 65 balls and delayed India's victory march. Post lunch, Ishant did not allow Jos Buttler (1) to get settled, nicking him off on the second ball after resumption of play. In doing so, he put on 48 runs with Adil Rashid (16) for the eighth wicket. It was the only passage of play on this third day wherein English batsmen looked comfortable at the crease as Indian bowlers searched desperately for a breakthrough. Curran played with maturity that belied his young age. It did not help that Shikhar Dhawan dropped Rashid at slip off Yadav. Their partnership looked good for many more, but a heavy cloud stopped play for approximately 16 minutes as bad light forced the players in. No rain came, and shortly on resumption, Yadav cleaned up Rashid's offstump in the 45th over. Sensing closure of the innings, Curran attacked the bowling, hitting sixes off both Sharma and Ashwin, as he reached his maiden Test half-century at a run-a-ball gallop. He shielded both senior partners Stuart Broad (11) and James Anderson (0) ably, but Sharma eventually broke through as the English innings came to an end. This was after Ashwin ran through the top order as irat Kohli single-handedly kept India in Vthe first Test with his maiden hundred in England but the captain would still rate the memorable knock second to his 141 in a lost run-chase against Australia in Adelaide almost four years ago. "I don't know. This could come second to Adelaide. Adelaide remains very special to me. It was second innings and we were chasing a target (364) on day five," Kohli told 'bcci.tv' after his masterful 149 on day two here. "I had total clarity in my mind that we were going for the target. That was a beautiful zone to be in. About this innings, I am very happy and grateful," he added. Kohli had scored two hundreds in the game at Adelaide in December 2014 but lack of support led to India losing the game by 48 runs. It was tough in the middle yesterday with the ball moving around but Kohli overcame the challenge to register his first 40-plus score in England. His 149 was 15 more than the sum total of his 10 innings in England four years ago. Kohli was the last wicket to fall, taking India to 274 all out from a precarious 182 for eight. The effort was just 13 shy of England's 287 in the first innings. The skipper said he was disappointed at not being able to take a lead. "It was not only about getting to the threefigure mark but to continue from there on. I was very disappointed when I got out because we could have taken a run lead. But in hindsight we would not have been able to bowl at them. I am just happy with my preparation and not worried about the world," he His nemesis on the previous tour, James Anderson, tested him to the hilt but this time Kohli came out on top. "It was difficult. I told myself it was important to enjoy this, take it upon me as a challenge to take the team far," said Kohli when asked about his mindset in the middle where the other batsmen struggled. "It was a test of physical and mental strength but I am glad we could come close to their total and we are pretty much in the game. When you can help the team that way it feels great. "I have to commend the tail as well. Hardik Pandya batted really well and Ishant and Umesh too applied themselves at the end. The support from them was outstanding," Kohli added. Virat Kohli's flexible approach to batting and relentless pursuit of excellence enabled the Indian captain to script a spectacular turnaround and score his maiden hundred on English soil, said assistant coach Sanjay Bangar. "I would say that this innings showed different facets of Virat's batting. The main thing is that Virat is flexible about his batting approach. Most of the batters are not flexible when it comes to changing technique or approach. But Virat in this respect is different," said Bangar after stumps on day two. "He showed terrific discipline I felt. At no instance did he reach out for the ball, and probably couple of our other batsmen reached out, which caused their downfall. But that is something, which we've been speaking of, practicing quite a lot. And on days, these things come off and on certain days those things don't come out as a batter." The assistant coach also said that Kohli's knock will give a lot of confidence and learning to the other batsmen in the Test series. India reduced England to 86 for six at lunch. Starting from overnight 9 for 1, England did not get much respite as Ashwin bowled non-stop from one end after dismissing Alastair Cook (0) previously on Thursday evening. The left-handed batsman in the English line-up looked easy fodder for him as the wicket started taking a lot more turn this morning. In the eighth over, Keaton Jennings (8) was the first to go with KL Rahul taking a sharp catch at leg slip. Joe Root (14) held the key to England's second innings, and eventual course of the game, but Ashwin etched out the big wicket eight overs later. He broke the budding 21-run partnership between him and Dawid Malan (20) as Rahul held another excellent, ndia A captain Shreyas Iyer feels the Ireturn of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal to red-ball cricket will help his team in the first unofficial Test against South Africa A here. "He (Chahal) will be playing red-ball cricket after a long time. Having a leg spinner in the team is always has an advantage, especially on these tracks and also they can get wickets at any moment of time because you get lot of turn on this pitch," Iyer told reporters on the eve of the game. "It is going to be a great exposure for him as well because he carries lot of experience being a senior player. Also, he has played in different conditions. He can play a major role if he backs himself." Chahal has not played first-class cricket since December 2016, but the Indian team management and especially skipper Virat Kohli had indicated that he wants the wiry leg-spinner for five-day matches too. It is widely believed that Chahal is being kept match-ready as the selectors have named senior squad for only three Test matches in England. Iyer himself is playing red-ball cricket after an eight-month gap and is looking forward to the challenge. low catch at leg slip. It could have gotten worse, as Jonny Bairstow's (28) first shot also landed close to Rahul's hand. Three overs later, Malan (on 17) got a life when Shikhar Dhawan failed to latch on to a low catch at first slip off Sharma. But the left-hander never looked comfortable at the crease with Sharma constantly troubling him. Malan and Root added 31 runs for the fourth wicket, and pushed England past 50 in the 17th over. The former looked to play more conservatively, while Bairstow opened up a bit to score at any opportunity he got. Just when it looked that they were getting comfortable at the crease, Sharma struck a quick triple blow. Rahane caught first Malan at fourth slip in the 27th over. Then in the last over before lunch, Sharma struck twice to dismiss Bairstow, caught at first slip, and Ben Stokes (6), caught at third slip, in the space of three balls. England were completely rocked with only the tail left to play with Buttler, as they had no reply to Indian bowlers' intensity. "I played my last match in December. My approach to red-ball has always been positive. I am very flamboyant in terms of my shot making and I always back myself. I always think positive about my batting. With regards to getting selected in the national team, it is not in my hands irat Kohli's hundred in the first Test Vagainst England provides just the kind of inspiration that a struggling Indian batting line-up needed, feels Chris Gayle. Kohli scored a classic 149, his first hundred in England to rescue India from a precarious position in the first Test. "I was busy with a shoot in Mumbai yesterday and only watched the highlights. It was a captain's knock from Virat. The best part was how he batted with the tail. That is the perfect start you want in a series," Gayle told reporters during an interaction at a promotional event on poker. While the other Indian batsmen came a cropper, Gayle expects that Kohli's will certainly lift the spirits. "A knock like this, especially from the captain and lot have been said about his form in England and hopefully this knock will spur him and the team during the series," the flamboyant ookie England pacer Sam Curran says it was unreal to per- the way he did only in his second Test though bowling Rform to Indian captain Virat Kohli made him think more about his bowling. Kohli struck a majestic 22nd Test hundred, as India didn't let advantage slip on day two at Edgbatson. England lead by overall 22 runs in the series opener, with nine wickets to play with. Curran said that Kohli's 57-run partnership with Ishant Sharma frustrated the hosts but they will try to fight back on day three. "We had them at 100 for five, and felt in the game but then Virat played really well with their tail and frustrated us a little bit. Numbers 9, 10 or 11 aren't walkovers anymore, and they can all hold a bat now. It was a frustrating partnership, but we've just got to be positive going into tomorrow," said Curran after close of play on day two. "Credit to a great innings there. I'm only in my second game, but I think it was a little eye-opener for watching the way he bats and how precise you've got to be with your lengths to him," he After a fine start, Curran had struck thrice in eight balls to reduce India to Then Ben Stokes also took two wickets before Curran returned to dismiss Hardik Pandya and finish with It was Kohli's brilliance, despite three dropped catches, that rescued India from a precarious situation of and later. "Personally, it was obviously a pretty special day for me with the ball. Coming on and taking a few early wickets, I can't really remember it - it was so unreal. You can't really predict (if it will swing) until you start bowling a few. But the breeze was pretty good out there, the clouds came in and it started swinging especially when the lacquer came off the ball," Curran "Virat did nick a lot of balls outside off-stump that didn't carry as well. We stuck to our plans very well against him, and on another day they would carry. No one means to drop catches, and on another day they would be taken. But you can't dwell on those things too much - especially in a game like this, because there's going to be another chance coming at you straightaway," he added.. I will do my job. That is to keep performing," he Iyer also said that captaincy has played a big role in changing his mental set up, compelling him to shoulder more responsibilities on and off the field. "The transition period has been really great after being appointed captain. It as changed me mentally and I am also planning my innings accordingly. So you tend to take lot of responsibility and set an example for your team," he Replying to a query, Iyer said India A Coach Rahul Dravid's inputs have helped all players to perform better. "We got two good sessions here. It Jamaican When asked if India could win the series against England, Gayle replied: "Why not? Aren't they humans?" Asked to compare Joe Root's 80 with Kohli's 100, Gayle cheekily replied: "I didn't see Root's 80. I only saw his run-out and the mic drop." He is confident that he will be fit and ready for the 2019 World Cup next year. "I will have to sit with the coaches and selectors and ask them about their plan. I am confident of playing the World Cup," Gayle Dale Steyn is set to retire after the ODI World Cup but Gayle made it clear that he would like to play another year. "My plan is to play till 2020 World T20 in Australia," he replied. Will the World Cup lose its sheen that someone like AB de Villiers won't be around, asked a scribe. The reply was a typical Gayle: "Chris Gayle will be there. What are you worried for." Asked about the current West Indies team, Gayle named three players as future stars. "Shimron Hetmeyer, Shai Hope and Evin Lewis are the three players to watch out for," wasn't difficult to bat on it. To be honest, the wicket had lot of cracks in it. They were not easy to bat on. Batting in such conditions will make us positive when we play on the centre pitch because it will be considerably more better than what we batted on," he Iyer also said there is going to be an exciting contest between the two sides as they have not watched any of the South African players. However, Indian batsmen and bowlers are in good form and performed well against England. "We have a great team. They played in England. All batsmen and players are in a good frame of mind. We will try to give our best shot. We haven't seen their players and therefore it is going to a be a great tour for us," he South African Captain Khaya Zondo said the matches will be a stepping stone for players to make a comeback into the national side and youngsters will get a platform to make an impression. Zondo also said they are expecting a good challenge because India of late have done well in home and away games in one day and longer formats of the games. On the pitch, Zondo said he is expecting a good cricketing pitch, though he has not had a look at it. he For someone, who made freelancing in T20 leagues across the globe, Gayle doesn't think that ICC can put a cap on how many tournaments a particular player can play. There has been a suggestion that to safeguard international cricket, ICC will introduce a cap of two tournaments per player. "Is it confirmed? I dont think that will happen," he hit the question for a flat batted six. However he is indeed curious to know more about ECB's 100-ball format. "I am looking forward to it. I want to see what it is like. I want to see the full details and the rules. We just have to wait and see how players respond to it." 'Universe Boss' as he is known in the cricketing fraternity, Gayle said that fans should thank him for making T20 cricket evolve in these years. "You should thank Mr Gayle for doing that. He made it possible," he said with a toothy grin. "Even younger and players with smaller built are hitting big sixes. T20s have also changed the pattern of scoring in Tests. Now 300 runs are being scored in a day. It's good and more entertaining for people to come in and watch," he concluded.