CBI officer moves SC for SIT probe in Asthana case A.K. Bassi, who was investigating the Special Director, wants his transfer quashed

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1 follow us: thehindu.com facebook.com/thehindu twitter.com/the_hindu wednesday, october 31, 2018 Delhi City Edition 24 pages Bengaluru retailers protest against dwindling beer supply Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte holds talks with PM Modi Trump planning to end birthright citizenship for babies of immigrants Nao Hibino knocks out Lisicki in opening round of Mumbai Open page 4 page 12 page 14 page 18 Printed at. Chennai. Coimbatore. Bengaluru. Hyderabad. Madurai. Noida. Visakhapatnam. Thiruvananthapuram. Kochi. Vijayawada. Mangaluru. Tiruchirapalli. Kolkata. Hubballi. Mohali. Malappuram. Mumbai. Tirupati. lucknow. cuttack. patna NEARBY Delhi s air quality dips to severe category For the first time this season, the Air Quality Index of Delhi breached the severe mark, registering a score of 401, according to data released by the Central Pollution Control Board on Tuesday. Environment Pollution Control Authority chairman Bhure Lal warned that private vehicles will have to stop plying if the pollution level dipped further. DELHI METRO PAGE 1 DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD OPPORTUNITIES DELHI METRO PAGE 2 DELHI METRO 4 PAGES CBI officer moves SC for SIT probe in Asthana case A.K. Bassi, who was investigating the Special Director, wants his transfer quashed Krishnadas Rajagopal Ajay Kumar Bassi, the CBI of ficer who probed corruption allegations against the agency s Special Director, R.K. Asthana, before he was removed from the case, approached the Supreme Court on Tuesday with a plea to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case. Mala fide move Mr. Bassi said his transfer on October 24 was a mala fide move. Asking the court to quash his transfer, Mr. Bassi alleged that it was a ploy to derail the investigation in a highly sensitive case. He asked the court to direct the CBI to produce the evidence collected so far in a sealed cover. Seeking evidence: Ajay Kumar Bassi told the Supreme Court that his transfer was a mala fide move. PTI All the evidence mentioned is in the custody of the CBI and there is a suspicion that it may be tampered with or destroyed. It is unfortunate to note that the present investigating officer has concentrated his efforts not on the allegations of the FIR, but has started a roving and fishing inquiry in the investigation made by the applicant [Mr. Bassi], and that too against him, he alleged in his application. Mr. Bassi charged that he Protection for Sathish Babu The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered police protection to Sathish Babu Sana, whose complaint of corruption and extortion against CBI officials led to an FIR against the agency s Special Director Rakesh Asthana. But it did not stay the summons issued by the CBI on October 26 to question him. page 12 DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD was facing intimidation and veiled threats from the present investigating officer in the case. CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 MY ACCOUNTS IN ORDER, SAYS NAGESWARA RAO PAGE 12 States can fix own slots for crackers SC modifies ruling after T.N. plea Krishnadas Rajagopal The Supreme Court on Tuesday modified its October 23 order restricting the time for bursting crackers on Deepavali and other religious festivals to two hours, between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Instead, it allowed Tamil Nadu and adjacent southern States to decide when people can burst crackers on festival days, provided the total time does not cross the two hour mark. This means the authorities can stagger the time slots and even make it an hour in the morning and another in the night. Green rule for NCR Further, the court said its direction that only green crackers could be manufactured and sold is only applicable to Delhi and the National Capital Region. The court said that not more than two hours should be given for bursting crackers. On October 23, the court held that only green or improved crackers would be used for religious festivals and other occasions, including weddings. The court had fixed a uniform slot for bursting crackers across the country. During Deepavali and other religious festivals, the slot is between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 Ayodhya row: Raman calls for patience NISTULA HEBBAR RAIPUR Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh has counselled patience over the Ram temple issue, stating that, in his view, the Supreme Court s verdict should be awaited. Speaking to The Hindu in Raipur, he conceded that the case had been dragging on for several years but added, I feel that since we have left it to the courts, we must wait. Asked about the demands of the RSS and the VHP, he said: Everyone feels this way on the matter. Mandir se sab jude hain [everyone is attached to the cause of the temple]. Both the Congress and the BJP, everyone feels a decision should come. Let us wait for the court s decision... INTERVIEW ON PAGE 13 Cong. a party of Hinduism, says Rahul in M.P. On campaign trail: Congress president Rahul Gandhi paying homage to B.R. Ambedkar at his birthplace in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday. A.M.FARUQUI Hinduism opposed to anger, hatred and violence, asserts party chief Journalist, two policemen killed in Maoist attack DD team from Delhi was on poll beat in Dantewada Vijaita Singh New Delhi Rajasthan Minister booked for seeking Hindu votes Congress a party of Muslims, says Dhan Singh Rawat Mohammed Iqbal JAIPUR Police have registered a first information report against Rajasthan Minister of State for Rural Development Dhan Singh Rawat for seeking votes in the name of religion. At an election rally in his home district Banswara on Saturday, Mr. Rawat purportedly said, If Muslims can vote en masse for Congress, then all Hindus should also unite and go with the BJP and Achyutananda Sahu, the DD cameraman who was killed in the Maoist attack. A video journalist with public broadcaster Doordarshan and two policemen were killed in an attack by Maoists in Chhattisgarh s Dantewada district on Tuesday. Dantewada and other Left Wing Extremism affected districts in the State go to the polls on November 12. The deceased journalist, identified as Achyutananda Sahu, 34, was on his way to Nilavaya village on a motorcycle to cover the inauguration of a polling booth set up after 20 years. He was accompanied by two colleagues, reporter Dhiraj Kumar and light assistant Mormukt Sharma. All of them had travelled from Delhi. Four policemen make it win with a thumping majority. The FIR has been registered under Section 125 (promoting enmity between classes in connection with election) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, on the complaint of Tehsildar Ram Singh lodged on behalf of the Returning Officer and District Magistrate of Banswara. The State Chief Electoral Officer earlier gave approval for lodging the case. were escorting them on motorcycles as the road is still under construction. Some 20 other policemen were trailing them. The deceased policemen were identified as sub inspector Rudra Pratap Singh and assistant constable Mangalu. Mr. Kumar, who survived the attack, told The Hindu that around Maoists attacked them around 11 a.m. and Mr. Sahu, who was in the front, took a bullet in his head. JOURNALIST CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE PAGE 7 SEE ALSO DELHI METRO PAGE 1 Mr. Rawat, representing the reserved constituency of Banswara in the State Assembly, also said that the Congress was a party of Muslims and the BJP was a protector of India s Sanatan Sanskriti (eternal culture). Chief Electoral Officer Anand Kumar said Mr. Rawat s remarks were prima facie found to be in violation of the model code of conduct in force for the upcoming Assembly election. Sandeep Phukan INDORE Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday asserted that the Congress was a party of Hinduism and that he is a nationalistic leader who respects every religion. Interacting with journalists, professionals and members of the business community in Indore, Mr. Gandhi said, No, I am not a Hindutva leader. I am a nationalistic leader who represents every section, every caste, every faith, every language and every region. Hinduism and Hindutva are different things. Hinduism is open minded, progressive, free thinking. Hinduism is completely opposed to anger, hatred and violence, he observed. The foundation of the BJP s Hindutva is based on hatred, anger, insecurity. Whereas the Hindu religion is based on self confidence, self belief, respect for others, listening to others and embracing others... So we [the Congress] are not a Hindutva party but a party of Hinduism, he asserted. Mr. Gandhi started his two day tour of Madhya Pradesh on Monday with prayers at Ujjain s famous Mahakaleshwar temple. CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 TAKE FIVE PAGE 13 Jaitley blames RBI for crisis of bad loans PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday criticised the Reserve Bank of India for failing to check the indiscriminate lending between 2008 and 2014 that had led to the present bad loan crisis in the banking industry. His remarks came amid reports of mounting tension between the Finance Ministry and the RBI after the central bank s Deputy Governor Viral V. Acharya warned on Friday that undermining the RBI s autonomy and independence could be potentially catastrophic. Indirect reference This was seen as an indirect reference to the RBI pushing back against the government s alleged pressure to relax its policies and reduce its powers. You see [between] 2008 and 2014, after the global economic crisis, to keep the economy artificially going, banks were told to open your doors and lend indiscriminately, Mr. Jaitley said at the India Leadership Summit, organised by the U.S. India Strategic Partnership Forum. The central bank looked the other way; there was indiscriminate lending, he PATEL, JAITLEY MEET AFTER WEEKEND FURORE PAGE 15 Purohit, Sadhvi indicted in Malegaon case NIA court frames charges against seven accused under the anti terror law Sonam Saigal Mumbai Ten years after a motorcycle bomb exploded at Malegaon in Maharashtra, killing six persons, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday framed charges against seven accused. Special judge Vinod Padalkar charged Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Sameer Kulkarni, Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahilkar and Sudhakar Dwivedi with murder, abetment and conspiracy under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The court read out the order in the presence of all accused in Hindi and said, The Abhinav Bharat organisation was formed with the common object to spread terrorism. All the accused conspired from January 2008 to plant a bomb with RDX on a motorcycle on September 29, 2008, in Malegaon. The blast killed six, injured 101 people and destroyed property. All accused pleaded not guilty and Lt. Col. Purohit addressed the court, saying, My integrity was never questioned and I never expected it to happen this way. CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

2 THE HINDU NOIDA/DELHI NORTH WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER 31, Punjab AAP announces 5 candidates for LS polls VIKAS VASUDEVA CHANDIGARH Infighting within the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab surfaced again on Tuesday, soon after the party announced the names of five candidates for the 2019 elections. AAP s core committee chairman Budh Ram said sitting MPs Bhagwant Mann and Sadhu Singh have been fielded from their respective constituencies Sangrur and Faridkot. Ravjot Singh will contest from Hoshiarpur, while Narinder Singh Shergill will contest from Anandpur Sahib. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal is AAP s candidate from Amritsar. Expressing surprise over the announcement, AAP MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who is leading eight dissident MLAs, said: Such unilateral move will only marginalise the party in Punjab and grossly damage its prospects. DELHI Timings Wednesday, Oct. 31 RISE 06:32 SET 17:37 RISE 23:47 SET 12:47 Thursday, Nov. 01 RISE 06:33 SET 17:37 RISE 00:00 SET 13:38 Friday, Nov. 02 RISE 06:33 SET 17:36 RISE 00:50 SET 14:23 Oppn. giving political colour to SMS row SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT CHANDIGARH In the thick of controversy over sending inappropriate text messages to a woman IAS officer, Punjab Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday alleged that the Opposition was giving political colour to the episode as he had been pressing for strict action against Akali Dal leaders in the Bargari sacrilege incident. Mr. Channi said that the messages were unintentionally and mistakenly forwarded to the lady officer. I had apologised to the officer and she had accepted it. I am being targeted by the Opposition as I have been raising the sacrilege incident and issues concerning Dalits, he PRB Act).

3 SOUTH NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, IN BRIEF Will go ahead with Kadapa steel plant work PRODDATUR Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday said that he would launch work on the steel plant, which he named Rayalaseema Steel Plant, in Kadapa district within a month if the NDA government failed to act. He was speaking at the seventh edition of the Dharma Porata Deeksha, the TDP s flagship campaign aimed at exposing the Centre s alleged injustice to the State. Suggest steps to lighten school bags, Centre told KOCHI A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the Centre to suggest measures to lighten the weight of school bags. The court passed the directive on a petition filed by Johny Cyric, a doctor based in Kochi. According to him, heavy school bags had an adverse impact on the health of students. BJP ups the ante on temple, says CPI(M) is against public Protests police excesses against Ayyappa devotees Staff Reporter THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Kerala BJP president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai on Tuesday accused the Communist Party of India (Marxist) of disrespecting public sentiments on the Sabarimala issue. He claimed that the efforts being made to suppress the devotees belief would lead to the CPI(M) s doom in the country. Mr. Pillai was addressing a demonstration organised by the BJP near the State Police Headquarters before commencing a one day fast in protest against the alleged police excesses on Ayyappa devotees. Mr. Pillai said the CPI(M) had failed in its efforts to counter the agitations by the Sangh Parivar and Hindu organisations against the entry Sreedharan Pillai with CPI(M) leader M.M. Lawrence s grandson in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. C. RATHEESH KUMAR of women to Sabarimala. The demonstration had an unexpected participant. Veteran CPI(M) leader and former Left Democratic Front convener M.M. Lawrence s grandson Milan Immanuel Joseph was among those who pledged support for the agitation. Eswar s offer Rahul Eswar, who has been campaigning for maintaining status quo with regard to the entry of women to Sabarimala, said in Kochi that he would extend legal support to those arrested by the police in connection with the recent incidents in the temple. Around 3,500 persons have been arrested. Regarding the #MeToo allegations against him on social media, Mr. Eswar said it was part of a feminist conspiracy against Sabarimala pilgrims. The Thazhamon family, from where the chief priest of Sabarimala is chosen, had recently distanced itself from Mr. Eswar. HC seeks govt. affidavit on preparedness KOCHI A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the Kerala government to file an affidavit stating whether it had issued any orders with respect to the preparedness at Sabarimala in connection with the Mandalam Makaravilakku pilgrim season beginning on November 17. The Bench issued the directive on a writ petition filed by T.R. Ramesh of Thiruvananthapuram. High Court dismisses plea for judicial probe KOCHI A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed as withdrawn a writ petition by R. Rajendran of Alappuzha seeking a directive to the State government to conduct a judicial inquiry into the incidents that took place at the Sannidhanam, Pampa and Nilackal following the opening of the Sabarimala temple for the monthly puja on October 17. Knife attack: YSRCP questions narrative Releases chargesheet against A.P. Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Vijayawada Top leaders of the YSR Congress Party on Tuesday raised questions about the response of the Andhra Pradesh government machinery to the recent knife attack at the Visakhapatnam airport on their leader Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The leaders, including former Minister Botcha Satyanarayana, released what they called a chargesheet against Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at the A.P. Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday. They wondered how Director General of Police R. P. Thakur got hold of crucial details of the alleged assailant, J. Srinivasa Rao, in a very short period. They sought to know how the DGP came to the conclusion that Srinivasa Rao was a fan of Mr. Jagan. Equally surprising was the ease with which the TDP s media wing traced a flex board of the assailant put up in January 2018, they The leaders also wondered why there was not a single crease on the 11 page letter carried by the alleged assailant in his pocket. They also pointed to the drastic variations in handwriting in the letter. Claiming that the remand report clearly established that the accused committed the offence with an intent to murder Mr. Jagan, they asked what action the TDP government was going to take against the DGP who had misled the people of the State. MLA lands in soup over silt removal Staff Reporter KAKINADA TDP MLA from Pithapuram S.V.S.N. Varma, who reportedly forced a woman sanitary inspector to do manual scavenging on Saturday, went into damage control mode after images of the incident went viral on social media. During a visit to the town, the MLA received many complaints of poor sanitation. Holding sanitary inspector S.V. Sivalakshmi, working with the Gollaprolu municipality, responsible, Mr. Varma reportedly chided her and even snatched her mobile phone as Ms. Sivalakshmi tried to call sanitation workers to rush to the spot. She then had to literally remove silt from the open drain with her bare hands. She went on leave on personal grounds the same evening. Mr. Varma told the media that he had never forced the inspector to remove the silt. Limitlessness of ardent devotion Devotee treks to Tirumala temple 203 times, sets a record K.SRINIVASA RAO SRIKAKULAM This is devotion of a different kind. It is literally an uphill and difficult task to climb the seven hills and reach Tirumala to have darshan of Lord Venkateswara. Most devotees may do it a dozen times in their life span. But Srikakulam devotee Mahanti Srinivasa Rao prefers only the Sopanamargam (foot route to the shrine) to offer prayers to Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala, considered to be Kaliyuga Vaikuntham. Mahanti Srinivasa Rao trekking his way to Tirumala. Mr. Mahanti stunned everyone by reaching the temple on foot for the 203rd time this week. Till a few years ago, he used to do so twice in a year, but it has gone up to a whopping 50 times in What s more, sometimes he does twice and even thrice in a day. The ayurvedic medical shop owner says that climbing the seven hills strengthens willpower and ensures real happiness, apart from getting the blessings of Lord Balaji. Mr. Mahanti says he started the Tirumala pilgrimage in 1996 but stepped it up from 2009 when he walked 12 times that year till In 2017, he walked up to the shrine a jaw dropping 50 times, to mark his 50th birthday. In 2018, he climbed the hills 68 times. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC Does Bengaluru have a beer problem? Shop owners asked to stock more IML than beer Shruthi H.M. Bengaluru If you are in Bengaluru and finding it tough to lay your hands on a bottle of beer, it may not be just a matter of bad luck. If liquor store owners are to be believed, the Karnataka government may well be the culprit responsible for separating you from your preferred beverage. Bengaluru s liquor retailers are up in arms against what they allege is an unofficial clamp down on the supply of beer in the State, and claim that this has been going on for a month. According to the store owners, the State s Excise Department officials are aiming to push the sale of Indian Made Liquor or IML (known as Indian made Foreign Liquor or IMFL in other States). IML is a bigger revenue source for the government as compared to beer. In spite of several representations to the government, the situation remains unchanged, several Liquor retailers are up in arms against alleged unofficial clamp down on beer supply. shopkeepers The Hindu spoke to President of the Bengaluru District Wine Merchants Association Lokesh said that their members had met Excise Department officials last month asking them not to coerce store owners into buying liquor. We are telling them to at least issue an official circular explaining their sales targets for IML, if they are trying to push it for revenue reasons. Charges dismissed Excise Commissioner Yashavantha V. and Managing Director of the Karnataka State Beverages Corporation Ltd Anil Kumar Jha dismissed these allegations, saying that there was no initiative from the government s end to push for sales of IML over beer. The association had met me about a month ago and the issue was sorted out, Mr. Yashavantha Retailers, however, have a different story to tell. One shopkeeper in Bengaluru west division said officials were pushing two cases of IML for every case of beer purchased by them. In our shop, we sell about cases of beer every month. They are forcing us to buy two cases of IML for every case of beer. This has made business very difficult for us.

4 NATION NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, IN BRIEF 5 lakh ex gratia to kin of slain gas agency staff LUCKNOW U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday announced 5 lakh ex gratia to the kin of a gas agency cashier who was robbed and shot dead by two bike borne men in Gomti Nagar here. Shyam Singh was attacked when he was on his way to a bank to deposit 10 lakh on Monday. PTI Verdict in Hashimpura massacre case today The Delhi HC is slated to pronounce on Wednesday its verdict on pleas challenging a trial court s decision to acquit 16 policemen of charges of murder and other crimes in the 1987 Hashimpura case in which 42 people were killed. PTI Journalist abducted, beaten to death in Jharkhand In April, he had lodged a complaint about threat to life Patna Mulayam continues balancing act As his brother and son fight, visits Shivpal s party office and then SP headquarters Omar Rashid LUCKNOW In the battle of egos between his son and younger brother, whose side is Mulayam Singh Yadav on? That question continued to intrigue followers and observers alike on Tuesday as the Samajwadi Party patron first surprised everyone by turning up at the office of Shivpal Singh Yadav s newly formed party, the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), before balancing it with a visit to the SP office. Mr. Shivpal received a morale boost early on Tuesday as his elder brother paid him a visit at the 6, Lal Bahadur Shastri Road office. Soon after, the younger Yadav made an informal offer to declare Mr. Mulayam as the national president of his outfit. While Mr. Mulayam did not give a clear reply to the A journalist working for a vernacular daily in Chatra district of Jharkhand was allegedly abducted and beaten to death by unknown persons late on Monday night. Chandan Tiwary, 32, who was working as a reporter with Hindi daily Aaj, had earlier lodged a complaint with the local police apprehending threat to his life. The police have constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the incident. Following an exposé on irregularities in the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and construction of sheds for goatrearing, I ve been threatened with dire consequences by Mahesh Dangi, husband of the local mukhiya I fear a threat to my life from Mahesh Dangi, Mohd. Serajul and a teacher, Devaki Dangi, Chandan had said in his complaint to the police on April 6. He was abducted by motorcycle borne men from Pathalgadda on Monday night. Hours later, he was found critically injured in the Baltharwa forest under the Simaria police station. He was taken to the Simaria Referral Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Son of a labour union leader Raghuwar Tiwary, Chandan hailed from Dumbi village in Chatra district. His family members alleged that Mulayam Singh with PSPL founder Shivpal Singh Yadav in Lucknow on Tuesday. RAJEEV BHATT proposal, he did not decline it either. During the small gathering, he accepted the flag of the new party and a huge garland. This prompted Mr. Shivpal to announce that a formal decision would be taken soon in a national convention of his newly formed party. In a show of strength, a rally would also be held in the Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee, a Maoist splinter group, was behind the murder. Our correspondent Chandan Tiwary was beaten to death. He had earlier filed a complaint with the police about a threat to his life, but he was not provided any security. His family should be given compensation, Amit Kumar Agrawal, resident editor of the newspaper, Chatra Superintendent of Police Akhilesh B. Variar said the murderers would soon be arrested. Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Kumar Singh said a medical board has been constituted to conduct the post mortem examination. Lucknow on December 9. Mr. Shivpal has also invited his elder brother to be his party s candidate from Mainpuri in the 2019 general election. Mr. Shivpal reiterated that he had the blessings of his elder brother and had formed a party only after his approval, because both leaders were insulted in the SP. Statehood sought for Assam s Barak Valley SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT GUWAHATI A students organisation has advocated statehood for southern Assam s Barak Valley because of a sharp division between linguistic groups created by the National Register of Citizens and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, Barak Valley comprising three districts Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj is Bengali dominated. The relationship between the people of this valley and the Assamese dominated Brahmaputra Valley has been ambivalent. Organisations such as All Assam Students Union, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti and pro talks ULFA are making lives of Bengalis hell over the Citizenship Bill and NRC. It would be better We will follow Netaji s directions, whatever be it, he Mr. Mulayam asked his brother to run his party as per the ideals of Ram Manohar Lohia. Even as Mr. Shivpal and his followers were celebrating the blessings of the Yadav patriarch, the founder of the SP then provided succour to his son by turning up at the SP office, where he addressed party workers and leaders on the birth anniversary of social reformer Acharya Narendra Dev. According to a source, he spent more than an hour there. In a bid to counter Mr. Shivpal, the SP then also shared a photograph of Mr. Mulayam sitting with his son at the party headquarters, as the two sides fight over the ownership of the patron s legacy. if Barak Valley breaks away from Assam, Pradip Dutta Roy, advocate and founderpresident of the All Cachar Karimganj Hailakandi Students Association, said in Silchar on Tuesday. He also said that the Assam beyond Barak Valley should be divided into three parts Bodoland, NC Hills Karbi Anglong and Kamatapur to ensure peace. We don t want to hurt the Assamese people. They can live in peace all alone, Mr. Dutta Roy said, lamenting that Sarbananda Sonowal s dream of unity between Barak and Brahmaputra valleys will remain a dream. AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said a few people have been driven by a divisive agenda to derail the NRC process. Patnaik bid to woo workers, farmers BHUBANESWAR The Naveen Patnaik government on Tuesday revised the rates of minimum wages and launched a scheme to provide solar pumps to farmers even as hundreds of them are marching towards Bhubaneswar for a rally on November 5 to highlight their various demands. Substantially revising the rates of minimum wages, the State Labour Department hiked the wages of unskilled workers by 40% from 200 per day to 280 per day, semi skilled workers by 45% from 220 to 320, skilled workers by 54% from 240 to 370, and highly skilled workers by 65% from 260 to 430. The revision has been done after a gap of three years ahead of the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the State. The revised minimum wages are comparable and on a par with minimum wages prescribed in the neighbouring States. This is expected to check distress migration of workers to other States, the government claimed. Keeping in view the irrigation woes of small and marginal farmers, the also launched the Soura Jalanidhi scheme under which 5,000 farmers will be provided with one 0.5 hp solar pumps each during Meanwhile, hundreds of farmers from Jajpur and Khordha districts began a padayatra to Bhubaneswar on Monday. The farmers, under the banner of the Navnirman Krushak Sangathan, are demanding a suitable hike in the MSP for farm produce and a monthly sustenance pension of 5,000. Weather Watch Rainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at Hrs) Forecast for Wednesday: Heavy rain is likely at isolated places over coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry city rain max min city rain max min Agartala Kozhikode Ahmedabad Kurnool Aizwal Lucknow Allahabad Madurai Bengaluru Mangaluru Bhopal Mumbai Bhubaneswar Mysuru Chandigarh New Delhi Chennai Patna Coimbatore Port Blair Dehradun Puducherry Gangtok Pune Goa Raipur Guwahati Ranchi Hubballi Shillong Hyderabad Shimla Imphal Srinagar Jaipur Trivandrum Kochi Tiruchi Kohima Vijayawada Kolkata Visakhapatnam (Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius) Pollutants in the air you are breathing CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE Ahmedabad Bengaluru Chennai Delhi Hyderabad Kolkata Lucknow Mumbai Pune Vishakhapatnam Yesterday In observation made at 4.00 p.m., Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh recorded an overall air quality index (AQI) score of 451 indicating an unhealthy level of pollution. In contrast, Haldia, West Bengal recorded a healthy AQI score of 37 Air Quality Code: Poor Moderate Good (Readings indicate average AQI) SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system, making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues and monuments. NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters. CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death. PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature death in people with heart or lung disease

5 NATION THE HINDU NOIDA/DELHI WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, IN BRIEF LionAir fallout: DGCA reviews B737 Max planes The Directorate General of Civil Aviation reviewed the performance of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft with two domestic airlines, Jet Airways and SpiceJet, on a day Indonesia ordered an inspection of all planes of this variant, following Monday s crash that killed all 189 onboard. Efforts to capture tigress intensify in Odisha BHUBANESWAR Two tranquilising experts from Madhya Pradesh joined the Odisha forest department teams in the 10 day long chase of Sundari, the tigress, which reportedly killed a man in Satkosia Tiger Reserve. The tigress will be brought to Nandankanan Zoo here. High alert sounded in 3 districts of Arunachal GUWAHATI Three central Arunachal Pradesh districts have been put on high alert after China let India know about a major landslide blocking the Yaluzangbu (Yarlung Tsangpo) on Monday, the second such disaster in 13 days in Tibet. PMLA court rejects plea of Vijay Mallya MUMBAI A special Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMLA) court on Tuesday rejected an application filed by Vijay Mallya to stay Enforcement Directorate s proceedings against him declaring him a fugitive economic offender. India among nations that face grave danger to soil biodiversity Country s high population makes it vulnerable to an ecological crisis: WWF Jacob Koshy India s soil biodiversity is in grave peril, according to the Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas prepared by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The WWF s risk index for the globe indicating threats from loss of aboveground diversity, pollution and nutrient over loading, over grazing, intensive agriculture, fire, soil erosion, desertification and climate change shows India among countries whose soil biodiversity faces the highest level of risk. Coloured red on the Atlas, these include Pakistan, China, several countries in Africa and Europe, and most of North America. Soil biodiversity encompasses the presence of micro organisms, micro fauna (nematodes and tardigrades for example), and macro fauna (ants, termites and earthworms). The findings were part of the bi annual Living Planet DD man caught in crossfire Police motorcycle patrol was the target, says DIG Vijaita Singh New Delhi Reporter Dhiraj Kumar, survivor of a three member DD team caught in a Maoist ambush in Dantewada on Tuesday had a harrowing tale to tell. After the attack took place, policemen and I took cover in a trench along the road. The injured policemen fought with the Maoists for around 45 minutes till reinforcements arrived. Over 50 bullets flew over my head. I could hear the cries of the policemen. D.M. Awasthi, Special Director General, Chhattisgarh police said cameraman Report (LPR) A key aspect of this year s report is the threat to soil biodiversity and pollinators [such as bees], Ravi Singh, CEO, WWF India, Mr. Singh cited a Tamil Nadu Agricultural University study that observed that while 150 million bee colonies were needed to meet the pollination requirements of about 50 million hectares of agricultural land in India, only 1.2 million colonies were present. Science is showing us the harsh reality that our forests, oceans and rivers are enduring at our hands, Marco Lambertini, Director General, WWF International, said in a press release. The two key drivers of biodiversity loss were the over exploitation of natural resources and agriculture, the WWF added in its report. Word of caution While India s per capita ecological footprint was less than 1.75 hectares/person (the lowest band among countries surveyed), its high population made it vulnerable to an ecological crisis, even if per capita consumption remained at current levels, the WWF warned. Why the delay in arresting ex Bihar Minister, asks SC Bench s poser to State in a case of ammo recovery from Manju Verma s residence Legal Correspondent MLA begs activist to drop complaint He is booked in extortion case special correspondent Pune A Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Pune district booked in a 50 lakh extortion case, was allegedly seen pleading with a city based builder and RTI activist to withdraw the complaint against him in a clip produced by the activist. The activist, Ravindra Barate, had recently The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Bihar government for delay in the arrest of former Minister Manju Verma, who had stepped down in the wake of the Muzaffurpur shelter home scandal, in a case of recovery of ammunition from her residence. Ms. Verma s husband Chandrashekhar Verma surrendered before a Begusarai court on Monday in connection with the arms case. A Bench of Justices M.B. Lokur, S. Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta further directed that Brajesh Thakur, prime accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home sexual lodged a complaint against Yogesh Tilekar, the legislator from Hadapsar constituency, for allegedly demanding 50 lakh extortion money from Rahul Gangote, director, Evisions Teleinfra Pvt. Ltd., to allow laying of fibre optic cable network. Mr. Barate alleged that the police were investigating instead of taking action against Mr. Tilekar. Elevation of four judges to SC cleared Strength of judges would go up Special Correspondent The Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, is learnt to have recommended the elevation of four judges to the apex court. Sources said those recommended were the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court M.R. Shah; the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Hemant Gupta; the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court R. Subhash Reddy; and the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court Ajay Rastogi. The Collegium, also comprising Justices Madan B. Lokur, Kurian Joseph, A.K.Sikri and S.A. Bobde, met on Tuesday. After the Centre s approval, the strength of judges in the top court would rise to 28 against the sanctioned strength of 31. Former Social Welfare Minister of Bihar Manju Verma. FILE PHOTO abuse case, be shifted to the Patiala high security jail in Punjab from Bihar s Bhagalpur jail. The CBI had earlier reported that Thakur had access to a mobile phone in jail and was in constant touch Achyuta Nanda Sahu had stopped on the road to shoot images of hand made posters pasted by Maoists on trees adjoining the road. The posters read: Stop attacks on village, Stop fake encounters and Stop atrocities on women. Mr. Sahu is survived by his wife, Himanchali. They married in He was working with Doordarshan since 2012 and was an alumnus of the Biju Patnaik Film and Television Institute of Odisha. Just hours before he took a bullet in the head, Mr. Sahu had posted pictures of the ongoing poll campaign in Dantewada on Facebook. In a statement, the Chhattisgarh police said the incident was not related to elections and the Maoists ambushed a squad of local police which was carrying out patrol on motor cycles from Sameli CRPF camp (about 6 7 km away). The attack was on the security forces and it was unfortunate that the cameraman of DD News was caught in the crossfire. The media persons were not the target and this has nothing to do with elections, DIG Sundarraj P. told The Hindu. with the outside world. A CBI report filed in the Supreme Court described him as an influential person. The agency said Thakur was known as a very in fluential person and people in the neighbourhood are Editors Guild urges better security New Delhi Information and Broadcasting minister Rajyavardhan Rathore on Tuesday assured all support to the family of Doordarshan (DD) News video journalist Achyuta Nanda Sahu who was killed in an attack by Maoists in Chhattisgarh s Dantewada. Condoling the deaths in the attack, the Editors Guild of India urged law enforcement agencies in Chhattisgarh to provide necessary security to media professionals, particularly when covering elections. scared of him. It said Thakur s neighbours had often heard the screams of girls from inside the shelter home, but were too frightened of him to report it to the police. The court has ordered an Income Tax investigation into the assets of Thakur. The court s primary focus was on the 4.5 crore Thakur received from the Bihar government for the past 10 years to finance the activities of his NGO, Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, which ran the shelter home. The Bench had directed the CBI to look into the antecedents, connections and in fluence of Thakur and the NGO. Shiv Sahay Singh Kolkata On Tuesday evening, the editorial team of Kalantar, the Bengali mouthpiece of Communist Party of India (CPI) was working on a message for its readers. The message, to be published in the October 31 and November 1 issues, will announce the closure of the publication of the 52 yearold Bengali daily from November 1, its editor Kalyan Banerjee told The Hindu. Mr. Banerjee said the publication of Kalantar as a Masood Azhar s kin killed in J&K Peerzada Ashiq Srinagar Two Jaish e Muhammad ( JeM) militants were killed in an operation in Pulwama s Tral on Tuesday. A JeM spokesman said one of the slain militants was a nephew of the outfit s founder Masood Azhar. A police spokesman said a group of militants was tracked and located in a residential house in Chankitar area of Tral in the afternoon. The hiding militants fired upon the search party, triggering an encounter. After the encounter, two bodies were recovered from the site, the police The identities of the militants were being ascertained. The police warned locals against venturing inside the The nephew of Masood Azhar, who was gunned down by security forces. encounter zone since such an area can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials. The police suspect that three militants were trapped in the house. Police said the module was behind the recent attacks in Tral, in which one soldier was killed. daily started on October 7, 1966 and during its hey days in the mid 1990s, the eightpage paper sold more than 50,000 copies. From November 1, there will be no publication of Kalantar. We are working on whether we can start a weekly or fortnightly in place of the daily paper, he The CPI leadership in West Bengal said it was extremely unfortunate that a Infant dies of rat bite in Bihar hospital special correspondent Patna A nine day old boy died on Tuesday at a government hospital in Darbhanga district of Bihar allegedly after being bitten by rats. The district administration has ordered a probe. The infant was admitted to the Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit of the Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital on Monday. When we reached the hospital early in the morning, no nurse or doctor was around we found that rats had bitten the baby s hands and legs at several places we immediately informed the authorities who told us that the baby was dead, Phuran Chaupal, the father told local journalists in Darbhanga. CPI mouthpiece Kalantar shuts down Sold more than 50,000 copies in the 1990s End of innings : The first and the last editions of Kalantar. paper such a historical value had to close down due to lack of funds. There was no government advertisement for the paper from 2011 when the Trinamool Congress came to power. Then the advertisement from the Centre stopped, said Swapan Banerjee, secretary of the West Bengal unit of the CPI. People associated with the paper described it as more than just a mouthpiece of the CPI. Well known poet Bishnu De had coined its name and filmmaker Satyajit Ray had designed its masthead. It has seen the well known Somnath Lahiri and Bhabani Sen as its editors.

6 EDITORIAL NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, Averting polarisation The Supreme Court has judiciously pushed back the timeline for a verdict on Ayodhya By declining to fix until January 2019 a date for hearing the Ayodhya case, the Supreme Court has judiciously diminished the possibility of a final verdict before the next Lok Sabha election. The adjournment is both welcome and necessary, as it pushes back the prospect of any judgment in the run up to the polls. It hardly needs reiteration that regardless of which way it goes, any verdict would polarise the nation. When a three judge Bench refused to refer some questions of law in the Ram Janmabhoomi Babri Masjid dispute to a seven member Bench last month, it raised the prospects of an early final hearing in the appeals filed against the Allahabad High Court s judgment of 2010 in the main title suit. The court had then set October 29, 2018, for the next hearing. This had raised the hopes of aggressive proponents of Hindutva who have been expecting a favourable verdict for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. While it is true that courts should not tailor their timelines to election dates, it is equally important that religious sentiments are not stoked and exploited during election season. The decision of a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to put off even the exercise of fixing a date for the final hearing is quite pragmatic. In the eyes of the law, this may be just a title dispute. However, given the divisive effect the Ram temple movement has had on the country s politics and history, it would be unwise to equate this with any other judicial matter that can come up for disposal in due course. A word of caution is in order. The postponement of the hearing does not preclude an aggressive campaign by those upset and impatient about what they see as a delay in achieving their objective of building a temple at the disputed site. Already there are voices clamouring, most imprudently, for an ordinance to enable the construction of a temple. These must be resisted, and the judiciary must be vigilant and resourceful in ensuring that the dispute remains within its jurisdiction. A solution, unless judicially driven, is unlikely to command constitutional legitimacy. Twenty four years ago the Supreme Court had resolutely refused to answer a controversial Presidential reference on whether a temple preexisted the demolished masjid. It had restored the title suit and made it clear that the government is only a receiver of the land it had acquired in Ayodhya; and that it holds the land in trust, only to be handed over to the party that succeeds in the suit. This recourse to a judicial remedy should not be circumvented. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address in 2014, had called for a 10 year moratorium on communal and sectarian issues. As long as he sticks to the spirit behind this appeal, it will not be legitimate for anyone to demand a pre emptive law in favour of a temple. Zia, cornered The BNP suffers yet another setback as Bangladesh s elections approach Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia s conviction in yet another case of corruption imperils her Bangladesh Nationalist Party s already meagre prospects in the coming parliamentary elections. She has been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment. With her son and acting chairman of the BNP, Tarique Rahman, in exile, and convicted in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment for his alleged role in a grenade attack on an Awami League rally, the party s leadership has been effectively crippled. It is no wonder that the BNP has formed an alliance, the Jatiya Oikya Front, with other minor parties, under the leadership of secular icon and civil society leader Kamal Hossain to bolster its fortunes in what looks like a lopsided battle against the entrenched Awami League. The Awami League and the BNP have rarely engaged each other as healthy political rivals. There has been no love lost between the leaders of the two parties, Ms. Zia and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina: they have tended to view each other with a sense of vengeance. Yet it would be misleading to claim that the punitive actions ordered against the BNP s leaders by the judiciary are entirely due to any pressure from the ruling party. The BNP s last term in government, from 2001 to 2006, was marked by corruption, support for fundamentalism and repressive measures against the Opposition. The BNP is now caught in a bind. It had boycotted the parliamentary election in 2014 to give the process a veneer of illegitimacy, leaving the Awami League as the only major political force in contention. But the BNP s decision backfired. Bangladesh under Awami rule has recorded steady economic growth and has had creditable successes in welfare delivery and public health measures, seen tangibly in the lowered infant mortality and fertility rates and in sanitation. There have been some misgivings too, as Prime Minister Hasina has increasingly tended to be authoritarian and impatient with critics. While the judiciary has found the BNP s leadership to be guilty of corruption and misdemeanours, the crackdown on the BNP rank and file, with thousands of activists targeted by the police, is a sign of the government s overreach. A new digital security law, most ominously, has been passed with stringent punishment to anyone secretly recording state officials and spreading negative propaganda about the Liberation War, among other things. This manoeuvre is clearly intended to have a chilling effect on the Bangladeshi media. A healthy democracy must allow for differences of opinion. The government must not pursue this quasi authoritarian bent at a time when its leading opposition has been emasculated. This would only help delegitimise the formal aspects of democracy, such as elections, among the government s critics and the electorate. The unifier of modern India Remembering Sardar Patel s stupendous role in integrating the princely States into independent India M. Venkaiah Naidu By common endeavo[u]r we can raise the country to a new greatness, while a lack of unity will expose us to fresh calamities. These pragmatic but profound remarks defined the vision and the sterling character of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the principal unifier of modern India. Force behind unification Sardar Patel s foresight and tactful navigation of the most turbulent period in post Independence, and the resolve he demonstrated in integrating the more than 500 disparate princely States into the Dominion of India is an unparalleled accomplishment in modern history. Hailing Patel s feat, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, had said: By far the most important achievement of the present government is the unification of the States into the Dominion of India. Had you failed in this, the results would have been disastrous Nothing has added to the prestige of the present government more than the brilliant policy you have followed with the States. Patel was a statesman with a strong sense of realpolitik, a realist to the core and an earthy politician whose sole aim was to build a strong and united India. What makes the merger of the princely States truly incredible is Universities and patents The ambitious goal set by India s IPR Policy rests on how universities embrace patents Feroz Ali Universities and patents benefit each other. Patents help universities to improve their ranking, establish an innovation ecosystem, incubate knowledge based start ups, earn additional revenue and measure research activity. In its biggest push to create entrepreneurial universities, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has now asked all universities in India to set up Intellectual Property (IP) Centres. As universities line up to set up these centres, they will face a strange human resources problem: despite the policy push to have more IP, we simply do not have enough IP professionals in the country. The dearth of IP professionals is a problem related to the field of intellectual property itself. Its recent rise to prominence in the international arena, thanks to various international treaties and trade agreements, alongwith with the legal centric approach where law schools and colleges are the only institutions which mandate teaching these subjects, are reasons why the supply of IP professionals is not keeping pace with demand. But there is a great opportunity now that should not be missed. The Central government conducts On Ayodhya With reference to the Supreme Court s decision to hear the Ayodhya dispute case, Union Minister Giriraj Singh has said, The patience of Hindus is coming to an end. I do not know what will happen if they lose patience. (Page 1, October 30). It is only the political class and some of its followers who were behind the demolition of the mosque and later rooting for a temple to be built, resulting in unnecessary communal tensions. To generalise that Hindus want the temple to be built is unwarranted and uncalled for. There are places where Hindus and Muslims have been living in harmony for years. Politicians should not make such statements which end up creating unnecessary problems. The Supreme Court would do well to ensure that its judgment is not blotted by such fundamentalists. G. Padmanabhan, Bengaluru I am an ardent Hindu and have deep faith in my the only competitive examination in the country to check a person s proficiency in IP. Fine tuning the patent agent examination to cater to the growing IP needs of the country can be a successful way to build a band of professionals and create career opportunities. religion but I do not want any temple to be built at the disputed site. Except for political parties which want to keep the Ayodhya issue simmering for their political gains and spreading hate in the name of religion, I am sure that no Hindu would like to have a temple built there. V. Ganapathy Subramanian, Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu It is shocking for a Union Minister to make such a provocative statement about Hindus. As a Hindu, I want to reassure Mr. Singh that I do not lose any sleep over construction or otherwise of a temple at Ayodhya. What worries me most are the consequences for India when it has a very low ranking among all countries even below countries in the sub Saharan region in the World Global Hunger Index. I lose sleep out of fear that my country has among the largest numbers of children below 5 going hungry every night and an equivalent number of children who are growing up stunted. I dread the consequences for India if we do not address the problems of a high prenatal THE HINDU PHOTO ARCHIVES GETTY IMAGES the fact that the princely rulers had the option at that time to either accede to India or Pakistan or remain independent. Yet, Patel s sagacity, foresight, patriotism, tact, persuasive powers and abiding commitment to fair play enabled him to untangle a highly complex political and social problem of an unprecedented scale, without triggering any kind of revolt or civil unrest. However, he was also compelled to use coercion by launching Operation Polo to liberate and integrate Hyderabad after the Nizam of Hyderabad entertained false hopes of either joining Pakistan or remaining independent. In a swift operation lasting five days, Hyderabad State was liberated in September Writing about Patel s decisiveness in the Christian Science Monitor, W. Gordon Graham observed: Hyderabad, a State covering 80,000 square miles in the heart of peninsular India, was at that time in the grip of an unscrupulous minority which aimed at secession from India. Had the bid succeeded, India might not have survived as a political unit. This situation needed a man of iron who would not balk at coercive action, and in the Sardar, India had at that vital moment just the man. Indeed at the most critical time when the country s political unity was in jeopardy, India found the man of the moment in Sardar Patel, who displayed amazing patience, tact and a steely determination in dealing with an intransigent ruler, who refused to see the writing on the wall and even wanted to take the issue to the United Nations. Displaying statesmanship of the highest order, Sardar Patel prevented the attempts to not only Balkanise India but internationalise the issue as well. The complicated case of Junagarh, Gujarat, was also handled with dexterity by Patel. I feel that the problem of Jammu and Kashmir would have been resolved long back had Sardar Patel been given a free hand to handle it at that time. A builder of India Patel himself termed the entire exercise as a bloodless revolution when he wanted the Constituent Assembly to consider privy purse settlements for the surrender by the rulers of all their ruling powers and the dissolution of the States as separate units. Patel was an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi and never swerved in his loyalty to his mentor, although there were occasions when he differed with him. Similarly, he did not see eye to eye with Jawaharlal Nehru on certain issues, including the handling of Jammu and Kashmir. But he did not allow these differences or personal ego to come in the way of protecting the larger interests of the country which were at the Patent exam On October 28, the Central government conducted the competitive examination to test proficiency in patent law, a type of intellectual property right (IPR), after a hiatus of two years. Any Indian citizen with a bachelor s degree in science or technology can take the examination. Upon clearing it the person is entitled to practise before the Patent Office as a registered patent agent. Qualifying the exam allows science graduates to draft, file and procure patents from the Patent Office on behalf of inventors. India witnessed significant changes in IPRs since the introduction of the National IPR Policy in The grants rates at the Patent Office have increased: in , there was a 32% increase in the number of patents granted compared to the earlier year. The Patent Office increased its workforce with the inclusion of 459 new examiners and is on the lookout for more. The timeline for filing responses to official objections for patents has been reduced by half. While the disposal rate has increased, the filing rate for patents has not changed significantly. In , the Patent Office reported a dip of 3.2% in filing compared to the previous financial year. Centres in universities The new policy has pushed universities to file more patents. Kindled by the call to have more IPRs, the higher education sector has witnessed many reforms. The UGC s call to universities, highlighted earlier, has come after a series of policy directives to introduce awareness about IP in higher educational institutions. The number of patents applied for, granted and commercialised by universities and institutes is factored in in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings: no surprise that the top mortality rate of Indian mothers (a rank below India s neighbours in South Asia), a large number of children dropping out of school, and having among the highest percentages of child labour. I wish Ministers like Mr. Singh would address such issues instead of wasting time and energy on emotional issues that can only whip up raw passions, cause further divisiveness and endanger the unity of the country. M.P. Muralidharan, Bengaluru Perhaps the top court is aware of the dangers involved in the judicial determination of faithcentric subject matters of dispute creating scope for some kind of political intervention, given the high stakes involved in the 2019 election. If the judiciary can share the burden of the political leadership by initiating social reforms in controversial issues examples being the string of recent verdicts then why cannot the political leadership move boldly to resolve this long drawn dispute through appropriate means to insulate the judiciary from politicisation and erosion of institutional credibility? No judge can administer justice in this case without inviting criticism from one or the other. Sajjan Singh, Jaipur, Rajasthan Centre RBI face off The spat between the Reserve Bank of India and the Centre over the central bank s independence is not healthy for the economy (Editorial, Time to talk, October 30). The RBI should not buckle under pressure. It is also imperative that taxpayer money is not squandered in NPAs. The Banks Board Bureau should act as a lighthouse and become the bridge for fruitful dialogue between the Reserve Bank, the government and banks. Local problems could be solved with global insights. Brij B. Goyal, Ludhiana, Punjab Bearing the tax burden The meticulous analysis of data on income tax collections has a shocking conclusion despite core of his heart. He worked shoulder to shoulder with Nehru in building a modern India. Patel was a multifaceted personality. He was a dynamic political leader, an organiser par excellence, a competent administrator and a skilful negotiator. After coming under the in fluence of Mahatma Gandhi, he became his loyal follower and successfully organised peasants against the imposition of taxes by the British at Kheda and Bardoli, Gujarat, and in the process he earned the title of Sardar for his leadership qualities. The manner in which he marshalled the peasants and the unflinching stand taken by him eventually forced the authorities to roll back the taxes. Architect of the steel frame The Iron Man of India was the chief architect of India s steel frame the civil services. Thus, the All India Services were seen as an important cementing force in promoting the unity and integrity of the nation. It will be relevant to recall his famous address to the civil service probationers in 1947 when Patel told them that the service will have to adopt its true role of national service without being trammelled upon by traditions and habits of the past. He said: Officers must be guided by a real spirit of service in their day to day administration, for in no other manner can they fit in the scheme of things. Your predecessors were brought up in the traditions in which they felt out of touch and kept themselves aloof from the common run of the people. It will be your bounden duty to treat the common men in India ranked engineering institutes in India are also the leading filers of patents. Whether a higher educational institute has an innovation ecosystem could also have a bearing, with the National Assessment and Accreditation Council, awarding up to 24 points to an institute which sets up an innovation ecosystem and has a facility for identifying and promoting IPRs. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) model curriculum for its member institutions lays emphasis on the need for IPR education in technical institutes. As the IPR Chair at IIT Madras, I was part of a committee constituted to draft the IPR guidelines for institutions under the AICTE. The lack of IP professionals to teach IP was one of the reasons the committee could not suggest the mandatory introduction of IP courses in all technical institutes. Online courses on IPR are available on the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning platform. Though thousands register every year, much needs to be done to build capacity on IP in universities. We need to focus on careers rather than courses. India has a poor patent agent density, with only about 2,000 registered patent agents currently in practice. The last time when the as your own or to put it correctly, to feel yourself to be one of them. It is in the fitness of things that the National Police Academy located on the outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, is named after him, as a tribute to the statesman. Another aspect of the Sardar that needs to be highlighted is his graciousness and magnanimity in readily abiding by Mahatma Gandhi s advice to withdraw his candidacy for the post of Congress President in favour of Pandit Nehru in 1946, although a majority of State Congress committees supported his candidature. It was apparent that the Congress President would become the first Prime Minister of India. It once again proved his noble intention of placing the country s interests above self. His love for the motherland was best described by Maulana Azad when he said: He made his choice out of two courses that come before a man, namely would he live for his country or for himself? Sardar chose his country. A tribute I am glad that the 182 metre tall Statue of Unity is being unveiled today at the Narmada dam site in Gujarat, in a real tribute and recognition of Patel s stupendous role in integrating various princely States and ensuring India s unity. As we pay our tributes to the great statesman on his birth anniversary today, on October 31, let us try to emulate his qualities and work towards realising his dream of providing Suraaj in a new and prosperous India. M. Venkaiah Naidu is the Vice-President of India Patent Office conducted the patent agent exam, in 2016, around 2,600 candidates took it, a paltry number if one looks at the ambitious goals set by the IPR Policy. Despite the infrequent manner in which the examination has been conducted, the private sector does give good weightage to the examination as it is considered to be the de facto IP qualification today. Way ahead The ambitious goal set by India s IPR Policy will be realised only when the examination becomes the foundation for making a career in IPR. In a dynamic field such as intellectual property, in order to create a band of qualified IP professionals there should be a push towards post qualification continuous education as well. To achieve this, the format, membership, syllabus and the frequency of the patent agent examination will need to be addressed. This will not only increase the number and quality of IP professionals in the country but also become a new career choice for graduates with a degree in science and technology. Feroz Ali is the DIPP-IPR Chair Professor at IIT Madras and the chief mentor at a platform to train aspiring patent agents LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters ed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials. implementation of countless rules and regulations, the onus of filling the revenue treasury falls largely on the salaried class and those who are squarely covered within the tax deduction at source ambit (OpEd page, Who pays taxes and who doesn t, October 30). For most assessees, tax is deducted from their income even before they receive it, so there is absolutely no scope for tax evasion. It is distressing that loopholes in the tax law are exploited. Where is the equity? Anju Jain, New Delhi Air quality It is clear that repeated interventions by the government as well as the Supreme Court have not translated into a cleaner environment for the capital ( Delhi tops national charts in bad air quality, October 30). There needs to be greater efforts to change the behaviour and habits of residents. A sustained study of air quality can give Delhi s residents the clean air that they deserve. Lenin Toppo, Ambikapur, Surguja, Chhattisgarh Team selection The selectors have done the right thing by excluding Mahendra Singh Dhoni from the T20 series against the West Indies and Australia. In front of the wicket, he is definitely not the dominant batsman he once was. His range of unique shots is rare. It is time youngsters like Rishabh Pant are groomed. R. Sivakumar, Chennai more letters online: corrections & clarifications: There was an error in the headline of a Business page story about the results of Biocon India (Oct. 26, 2018). The five fold rise in net profit was not due to stake sale as given in the headline but due to exceptional income arising from a revaluation of its investment in a group company. It is the policy of The Hindu to correct significant errors as soon as possible. Please specify the edition (place of publication), date and page. The Readers Editor s office can be contacted by Telephone: / (11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday); Fax: ; E mail:readerseditor@thehindu.co.in; Mail: Readers Editor, The Hindu, Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860 Anna Salai, Chennai , India. All communication must carry the full postal address and telephone number. No personal visits. The Terms of Reference for the Readers Editor are on AND-NDE

7 THE HINDU OPED 9 NOIDA/DELHI WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2018 THE WEDNESDAY INTERVIEW OMAR ABDULLAH We did not boycott the polls, we stayed away The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister on the National Conference s political strategy and the issues before the State for anything? In the next Olympics, when there is full participation, I won t even make it to the qualifying round. Winning because there is no opponent is not winning. It s taking advan tage of a vacuum, which is politics. I am not grudging them. But to suggest that they have opened their ac count and there will be tre mendous acceptability... is not going to happen. peerzada ashiq Jammu and Kashmir witnessed a low voter turnout in the recent urban local body (ULB) elections, which the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stayed away from. Former J&K Chief Minister and NC vice president Omar Abdullah discusses his party s decision to stay away from the polls, the BJP s performance in the State, militancy, and the need to engage Pakistan in talks. Excerpts: It was the lack of clarity on the part of the Government of India as to where they stood in defence of Article 35A and Article 370. As long as there was an elected State government in place in J&K, the responsibility rested with them. They were accounta ble to the people of J&K. We held them to account to the best extent possible. With the imposition of Governor s Rule, it became clear that the strings were being pulled completely by New Delhi, which would decide what line would be taken by the State in terms of the de fence... When they linked the ULB and panchayat polls to the defence of Article 35A in the Supreme Court, the NC decided not to participate in these elections. It was not an easy decision to make. choice. The warning on los ing the hearts and minds of the people of J&K is not so mething he has said for the fi rst time. The situation on the ground bears it out. Didn t your party toe the line of the separatists when you decided to boycott the ULB polls? How is the NC s decision diff erent from that of the separatists? We did not boycott the polls, we stayed away. There is a diff erence. The separa tists stayed away and forced people to stay away. They used all sorts of methods to try and encourage people to stay away. We took the view that we are choosing not to participate, but we were not stopping people from partici pating or stopping others from fi ling candidatures or threatening them. Is your party contesting the panchayat polls in November? No party contests pan chayat polls. Those are con tested by individuals as pan chayats polls are not party based elections. The NC has taken a view that we will not participate in the ULB and panchayat polls. Mr. Abdullah raised slogans of Bharat Mata Ki Jai while paying tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi. On his return to Srinagar, he chose to warn the Centre of losing J&K. How do you see these opposing stands? This is not the fi rst time that my father has said either of these things. They are not mutually exclusive. I dis agree with my father on his perceived need to prove his patriotism. I don t feel that need. The person who doubts me has the problem, not me. My father sees things diff erently. It s his personal Both Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Governor Satya Pal Malik expressed satisfaction over the voter turnout in J&K. I see no reason to express satisfaction. Of course, the average turnout may have touched 35.1% but the Centre is ignoring the problems in the Kashmir Valley and other areas. A poll percentage of People s Conference leader Sajad Lone is emerging as a new contender for the Chief Minister s post. Are you wary of a third regional party emerging in Kashmir? NISSAR AHMAD NC president Farooq Abdullah had welcomed the decision to hold ULB polls. So, what prompted the NC to stay away from the polls? I am not wary of anybody emerging. Mr. Lone s is not a new outfi t. He is a khandani politician like me. The Peo ple s Conference was started by his father and he inherit ed a part of it and another part is with the Hurriyat. Everybody has a right to stake their claim to the Chief Minister s or even the Prime Minister s post. Nobody has ever said a family or any two parties have a right to govern J&K. However, the decision rests with the people of J&K. The offi ce of the Chief Minis ter should be assumed with dignity and chosen by the pe ople of J&K. It should not be assumed by making or break ing a party. Coming through the backdoor by buying MLAs is not a dignifi ed way. one to three, despite the fact that there was no signifi cant violence, is deeply worrying. In the face of violence, you could have said people were afraid to come out to vote. Barring my two workers be ing killed in Srinagar, there was no stone pelting on poll ing day, no attempt to ran sack polling booths, no con certed eff orts to attack the candidates or the campaign process. In spite of that, you have a poll percentage of one or two or three. This is peo ple choosing to stay away, which the Government of In dia is choosing to ignore. We need to understand why the percentage was so low. Ob viously, the two biggest re gional parties were not parti cipating. The Congress was there to fi ght elections to keep the BJP out, but did nothing. They were barely able to put up candidates. What was shocking was the fact that there were areas where the BJP had candi dates in South Kashmir and the Congress didn t. The BJP won seats in a volatile Sopore and the Congress didn t have a candidate. The entire logic is seeking < > How dialogue with Pakistan not our domain? It is our domain. No other State is as aff ected by the relations of India and Pakistan as J&K is. of fi ghting elections was turned on its head. Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Jitendra Singh argues that when Mr. Abdullah can claim victory and become Member of Parliament from Srinagar after a roughly 7% voter turnout in 2017, why can t the BJP celebrate its victory? I don t think they should be proud of the fact that Fa rooq Sahib became an MP on a 7% voter turnout. I think Mr. Singh needs to under stand that it is not the candi dates responsibility to bring a turnout. The government is responsible for creating a conducive atmosphere for voters to come out. Why is it that in Farooq Sahib s elec tions in 2008 and 2009, we had a much bigger turnout? The election that he lost in 2014 had a much healthier turnout; yet in 2017, it was down to 7%. This is a failure of the Modi government, and Mr. Singh is a Minister in the same government. Everything that the BJP could have done wrong, they have. Relations with Pakistan are at a historical low though I concede that it s not only India s fault; Pakistan has a role to play in that. The inter nal dialogue process is non existent. We have an interloc utor, poor Dineshwar Shar ma. I have no idea what his agenda is and what goals he has been given by the govern ment. The PDP BJP alliance was a disaster from the start. The BJP has managed to win many municipalities in the Valley for the fi rst time. How do you see the party s journey in Kashmir from now onwards? The BJP won t have a jour ney. You send me to the Olympics and put me on a 100m track and make sure that all the other seven lanes are empty. I run and win the gold medal. Does that count Governor Malik has accused the regional parties and separatists in Kashmir of selling dreams and has ruled out azaadi or autonomy as a solution. He even drew a red line for mainstream parties on seeking Pakistan s involvement. Do you see Pakistan as a party to the Kashmir problem? We have not sold the dream of azaadi. We would not have lost thousands of our workers since I vehemently disagree with the Governor on autonomy. The demand rests within the four walls of the Constitution of India. We have commit ments from Prime Ministers of this country that it is a matter that can be discussed. The Governor needs to edu cate himself about the histo ry of J&K, about the circum stances under which it became a part of the Union of India, and how autonomy is enshrined in the Constitution. How is seeking dialogue with Pakistan not our do main? It is our domain. No other State is as aff ected by the relations of India and Pa kistan as J&K is. For us, India Pakistan is as much a domes tic issue as it is an interna tional issue. When violence takes place, our people suff er. When trade and normali sation happen, our people are aff ected. You have every right to turn down our de mand but you can t muzzle our voices. We are not asking for anything extra constitu tional. We are asking for im provement in relations bet ween two countries. In an interview, the Governor suggested that the NC was a part of the problem in J&K, like the separatists. If NC is a part of the pro blem, please fi nd somebody who is a part of the solution. Don t keep asking us to fi ght elections. Why did you ask us to meet the Home Minister on his recent trip? Why is your Divisional Commission er asking us to talk to the Home Minister? This dou blespeak doesn t work. On the one hand, you call us a part of the problem; on the other, you want us to be a part of the solution. Militancy in J&K is showing no let up despite operation All Out. Instead, highly educated youth like Mannan Wani and Sabzar Bhat are joining the militancy. Why have the security forces failed to arrest the trend? Killing them doesn t kill militancy. In fact, killing them is adding to the num bers. I am not saying that when someone comes with a gun, you wave a white fl ag. We have to begin the process of arresting this trend. We need to fi gure out ways of en gaging these youngsters in schools and colleges, talking to village heads and family el ders. You are trying to wean away youth from militancy by saying that there is a bet ter economic future. But even J&K Bank jobs are not given on the basis of merit but on the basis of political considerations. What future are you promising the youth? U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, Hindus and Sikhs were safe in Kashmir when it had a Hindu Maharaja. What do you infer from this? He is playing the commu nal card. He is unfortunately highly uneducated in the his tory of this country. I am not surprised given the history of the organisation he belongs to. Mahatma Gandhi s words may not resonate with him but for most other Indians, who consider him as the Father of the Nation, it was he who looked at Kashmir and said, In this darkness I see a ray of light and hope. It was for this reason that Kashmiris cutting across reli gious lines were safe in the aftermath of Partition. Hin dus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians have all lived in harmony right up to It was in the early 1990s that people were driven out. Ho wever, it was not just Hindus; Muslims too had to leave in large numbers because of a diff ering ideology. At some point, when Mr. Adityanath is free from playing politics, perhaps he should read a bit more about Kashmir and its history of tolerance. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC SINGLE FILE FROM A HUNDRED YEARS AGO OCTOBER Defi ne strategic partners Salt Supplies. (From an Editorial) The Indian and U.S. conceptions are diff erent. This needs to be addressed The experience of last year and the early part of this year has taught us valuable lessons in regard to our salt supplies which, it must be stated, have been fairly well utilised by the Govern ment. The policy hitherto pursued in regard to salt licensing was of haphazard growth. It does not seem to us to be a severe indictment of it to say that it was the result of devices adopted to secure the Government revenue not only against loss but al so against all obstacles on the way of its utmost possible ex pansion. The result is a confused combination of three main systems: the excise licensee system under which the licensees, on payment of Government duty, are allowed to make salt as they please and sell on their own account on the most advan tageous terms to themselves, the monopoly system under which the licensees are compelled to show diligence in manu facture and to sell, not directly to the public, but to Govern ment, and a system which is a combination of the two forego ing systems. Michael Kugelman REUTERS It is no surprise that U.S. President Donald Trump has turned down an invitation from India to attend next year s Republic Day parade as the chief guest. We shouldn t have ex pected Mr. Trump to rearrange his schedule at home to attend an event abroad that entails sitting for hours in polluted air and observing anoth er country s military parade, even if that country is a pur ported U.S. strategic partner. That s how Mr. Trump rolls. To be sure, former U.S. President Barack Obama shifted the date of his State of the Union address so that he could come to India in January But the U.S. s relationship with India, and the broader world, is drastically diff erent now, amid the revolution in its foreign policy since Mr. Trump s arrival in the White House. For more than a de cade, a bipartisan consensus in Washington had supported India s entry into an exclusive club of the U.S. s strategic partners. Only the likes of Israel, the U.K., Australia, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia all of which attract the stra tegic or special relationship designation enjoy mem bership. Today, U.S. offi cials pay lip service to notions of a strategic partnership with India; the Trump administration, led by its businessman in chief, is transactional to the core. There s nothing wrong with transactional relationships, and the t word need not be a dirty one in international di plomacy. Indeed, Mr. Trump s emphasis on deal making has helped move the needle forward on U.S. India security cooperation, as evidenced by the recent inking of the Com munications Compatibility and Security Agreement. Addi tionally, the emphasis on the transactional hasn t harmed bilateral ties. On the contrary, the fact that U.S. India rela tions have remained relatively robust despite a fl urry of new tension points from U.S. tariff s and sanction policies to controversial statements by Mr. Trump about India attests to the partnership s overall strength. Still, what s missing from the relationship in the Trump era is a commitment from the U.S. side to go deeper than deal making. For example, Washington and New Delhi need to resolve critical defi nitional issues to make the relation ship truly strategic. What does strategic partnership mean for each side? Indian conceptions emphasise technology transfers and intelligence sharing, while U.S. conceptions envision deep levels of operational cooperation to which New Delhi hasn t assented. To fully take advantage of the re lationship s repositories of trust and goodwill, and of its en during shared interests from China s rise to terrorism these fundamental questions must be addressed. But for Mr. Trump, doing deep dives on the defi nitional disconnects in U.S. India relations is simply not a priority. And neither was that Republic Day invitation, despite the pomp and prestige that the trip would have generated for the U.S. President. The writer is Deputy Director and Senior Associate for South Asia with the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, Washington, DC ARCHIVES The Defence Act Appeal. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC DATA POINT Mr. C.R. Dass s address to the Chief Court [in Rangoon] on be half of four men sentenced under the Defence of India Act rules was based on the argument that the rules were ultra vires. He contended that the British legislature had given the Viceroy s Council no power to legislate and that thereby the rule made by the Council under the Defence of India Act creat ed off ences and punishments. The Indian legislature was sub ordinate to the British Parliament and covered only legislation within the limits of its powers. For the contention he replied upon the Government of India Consolidation Act of 1915, which defi ned the status of the Indian legislature. He also con tended that the action of the coolies in demanding Rs. 2 per day was not an off ence and criticised the District Magistrate, who, he said had poisoned his mind and had imbibed suspi cions as was shown by this designating the Social Service League as a body which existed to hamper the Government. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CONCEPTUAL Programmatic advertising Business This refers to a form of digital advertising where advertise ments are bought and sold by automated computer programs in an advertisement exchange. It is believed that this kind of advertising helps in better targeting of advertisements as tech nologies like artifi cial intelligence are used to assess the beha viour of consumers and off er advertisements accordingly. Programmatic advertising, which is considered by many to be the future of advertising, is in contrast to old styles of advertis ing where the placement and billing of advertisements were determined through human negotiations, which are prone to various human errors and other biases. CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC MORE ON THE WEB 3 The Statue of Unity: all you need to know A ND-NDE

8 12 NEWS NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2018 FROM PAGE ONE SC moved for SIT probe in Asthana case Mr. Bassi said pervasive manipulations and machinations were under way to save some select officers from their misdeeds. He said his life and dignity were under threat from vindictive and vicious officials who were formerly on his radar. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi asked Mr. Bassi s lawyer, advocate Sunil Fernandes, to hand over the case papers. Mr. Fernandes has sought a hearing on Friday, before the court closes for Deepavali holidays. He said in his application that the statement of the whistle blower in the case, Sathish Babu Sana, revealed shocking details of alleged corruption by Mr. Asthana, the then Special Director CBI, in collusion and conspiracy with other co accused persons namely, Somesh Tuesday s modifications came after the court seemed to agree with Tamil Nadu s contention that restricting the time for bursting crackers to just two hours in the night would be a violation of religious rights of people in the southern parts of the country, where Deepavali is celebrated in the morning. India being a Federal State is with different traditions and cultures. As far as celebrations relating to Deepavali are concerned, each State or sect has a separate set of beliefs, traditions and culture, Tamil Nadu, represented by senior advocate Shekhar Naphade and advocate B. Vinodh Kanna, argued. Prasad and Manoj Prasad and other unknown accused persons. Mr. Bassi alleged that illegal gratification to the tune of crores of rupees, was taken by Manoj Prasad and Somesh Prasad, in the name of Rakesh Asthana. Besides, Mr. Asthana, the application said, the statement clearly implicated Devender Kumar, another CBI officer who is a co accused in the corruption case. The application alleged that the act of demand and acceptance of illegal gratification primarily pertains to two distinct periods of December 2017 and October There are two instances of acceptance of bribe in December 2017 totalling to 2.95 crore and three instances of acceptance of bribe in Oct totalling to around 36 lakh. States can choose own slots for crackers: SC On the BJP s barb that he was exhibiting fancy dress Hinduism with his temple visits in poll bound Madhya Pradesh and in other States earlier, the Congress leader retorted, Are the country s temples the sole property of the BJP and the RSS? Have only Modi and Shah got the contract to visit temples? When Amit Shah and Mr. Modi go to a temple and wear what the temple authorities ask them to, then it is okay. When Kamal Nath, Scindia and I go, then it is fancy dress, the Congress chief On the criminal defamation suit, filed by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan s son Neutral stand Justice Sikri said the court had made the time rule uniform for all faiths so that no accusatory finger is pointed at it. We thought there should not be any allegation against us, that we are only making direction as far as one particular religion is concerned, he explained. Meanwhile, firecracker manufacturers on Tuesday raised doubts in court about the viability of manufacturing and selling green crackers for Deepavali this year. Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar submitted that the window was too short for completing safety tests and procedure under the In flammable Substances Act of 1952 and certification by the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation (PESO). The Bench posted the case on October 31 for passing orders on these aspects. Congress a party of Hinduism, says Rahul Before framing of charges, Lt. Col. Purohit s advocate Shrikant Shivade urged the NIA court to defer them, as the Bombay High Court had directed the NIA to file a reply on his objection of sanction to prosecute him under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Mr. Shivade told the court that the HC had not signed the order and he wanted time to challenge it in the Supreme Court. Therefore he pleaded for the framing of charges to be adjourned for a couple of days. However, the court refused to stay the action. It adjourned the hearing to November 1, when it is likely to begin recording of evidence and commence the trial. All the accused have been charged under sections 302 (punishment for murder), 307 (attempt to murder), Kartikey, Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that he got confused between Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Asked to spell out the Congress s stand on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demand for an ordinance for the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya, Mr. Gandhi said, The government is left with no other issue after failing to bring acche din, provide jobs or end corruption. The Congress chief said Mr. Modi would go to jail if there was a proper inquiry into the alleged wrongdoings in the purchase of Rafale fighter jets from France. Purohit among seven indicted in blast case 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups) read with 120 B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. They have also been booked under sections 3 (punishment for causing explosion likely to endanger life or property) 4 (punishment for attempt to cause explosion), 5 (punishment for making or possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances), 6 (punishment of abettors) of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and 16 (punishment for terrorist act), and 18 (punishment for conspiracy) of UAPA. My accounts in order: Rao Interim CBI Director says all property details are available on the MHA website M. Nageswara Rao, the interim Central Bureau of Investigation Director, on Tuesday denied the allegations of unaccounted for money, saying that details of all properties in his name and that of his family members had been submitted to the government during the annual property returns and they were available on the Home Ministry website. Mr. Rao released a statement giving details of his wife s dealings with a Kolkata based company owned by Praween Agarwal, a longtime family friend. Joint purchase In 2010, my wife Mannem Sandhya took a loan of 25 lakh from Angela Mercantile Private Limited this sum was used in joint purchase of a property in Guntur, A.P, he According to the interim Director, his wife sold her ancestral agricultural land of acres for a sum In an article sent to several newspapers on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, describing him as a great unifier and the maker of modern India. He said every decision of his government was being taken to ensure that the fruits of development reached the most vulnerable, without any corruption or favouritism, just as Sardar Patel would have wanted. The Statue of Unity [of Patel] is a symbol of both the unity of hearts and the geographical integrity of our motherland. It is a reminder that, divided, we may not be even able to face ourselves. United, we can face the world and scale new heights of growth and glory, he <> Due intimations were given to the competent authority M. Nageswara Rao Interim CBI Director of lakh in 2011 and transferred it to Angela Mercantile, which after deducting the loan amount of 25 lakh, and adding interest, returned lakh to her in July Situated on the banks of Narmada, the statue is the world s tallest. Stating that the project of this scale became a reality in record time, Mr. Modi congratulated all those who made it possible. Building a new India Mr. Modi said: Sardar Patel worked with astonishing speed to dismantle the history of imperialism and create the geography of unity with the spirit of nationalism. He saved India from Balkanisation Today, we, the 130 crore Indians, are working shoulder to shoulder to build DSP in judicial custody New Delhi A Delhi court on Tuesday remanded CBI Deputy Superintendent of Police Devender Kumar and coaccused Manoj Prasad in judicial custody in the 5 crore bribery case involving Special Director Rakesh Asthana. Special Judge Santosh Snehi Mann sent them to judicial custody following a CBI submission that its Land sale proceeds Ms. Sandhya had borrowed the money on September 10, 2010, which was used to buy a property jointly with her cousin, an orthopaedic surgeon in Guntur, on September 18 the same year. On September 17, 2011, my wife sold 5 12 acres of her inherited agricultural property for an amount of lakh. Again, on October 19, 2011, she sold 6 05 acres of her inherited agricultural property for an amount of lakh, said Mr. Rao. The total amount of 60 lakh, including the land sale a new India that is strong, prosperous and inclusive. As Independent India s first Home Minister, Sardar Patel set the stage for an administrative framework that continues to serve the nation, particularly the poor and the marginalised. Trust and integrity The Prime Minister said Sardar Patel had also popularised the idea of cooperative housing societies. Two traits synonymous with Sardar Patel are trust and integrity. The farmers of India had unparalleled faith in him traders and industrialists preferred to work with Sardar Patel because they felt here was a stalwart who had a vision for India s economic and industrial growth, said Mr. Modi. (Read the PM s article on custodial interrogation was over. The court is likely to take up the DSP s bail application for consideration on Wednesday. The allegation against the DSP is that he called the complainant in the bribery case, who is an accused in a different case, to the probe agency s office several times to compel him to pay a bribe of 5 crore for letting him off. proceeds and 1.38 lakh from personal savings, were sent to Angela Mercantile in 2011, said Mr. Rao. Due intimations were given to the competent authority about borrowing of funds, purchase of property and sale of inherited agricultural property vide my letters dated , dated , dated and dated , respectively, he Protection for Asthana case whistle blower But SC refuses to stay CBI summons Legal Correspondent The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the police to provide protection to Hyderabad based Sathish Babu Sana, the whistleblower whose complaint about corruption and extortion against officials of the Central Bureau of Intelligence led to an FIR against the agency s Special Director Rakesh Asthana. Mr Sana had on Monday alleged a threat to his life. A Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices U.U. Lalit and K.M. Joseph, however, did not stay a summons issued by the CBI on October 26 to question Mr. Sana about his complaint. It was on the basis of this complaint that an FIR of corruption was lodged by the agency against Mr. Asthana. New probe officer Mr. Sana said though the initial investigating officer in this case was A.K. Bassi, the summons notice was sent Patel saved India from Balkanisation: PM United, we can face the world and scale new heights of growth and glory, says Modi <> He worked with astonishing speed to dismantle the history of imperialism Narendra Modi on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel RBI failed in its duty as a regulator, says Jaitley PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday targeted the RBI at the India Leadership Summit organised by the U.S. India Strategic Partnership Forum, accusing it of not doing its duty as a regulator during 2008 and 2014 and allowing indiscriminate lending. The government of the day, he said, was pushing banks to lend, which resulted in credit growth in a year shooting up to 31% from the normal average of 14%. Banks went into projects of demerit which did not have the capacity to sustain the capital. Total bank credit from 18 lakh crore in 2008 went up to 55 lakh crore by And this is something Putting all doubts to rest, United States President Donald Trump clarified on Tuesday that he would not visit India on January 26 as chief guest of the Republic Day parade. However, the White House statement, which came four months after it had con firmed receiving the invitation, has raised more questions for the NDA government than it has answered. President Trump was honoured by Prime Minister Modi s invitation for him to be chief guest of India s Republic Day on January 26, 2019, but is unable to participate due to scheduling constraints, a White House spokesperson said in response to questions. Jumped the gun Far from sparing the government s blushes, however, Mr. Trump s official regrets have confirmed that the invitation was actually sent out to the guest without his in principle acceptance in the first place. With the regrets being made public, the government now has the difficult task of inviting another leader who will be well aware that he or she was not the first choice. While cancellations have World s tallest: Final touches being given to the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the banks of the Narmada. VIJAY SONEJI taken place in the past, as with the Sultan of Oman s last minute pullout in 2013, the current situation is unusual, say former officials aware of the protocol. According to officials who asked not to be named, while bilateral visits may be accompanied by a little more flexibility, the invitation to the Republic Day chief guest is the culmination of an annual exercise, carried out with extreme formality, given the solemnity of the function. Leaders from countries are seldom repeated, and more than one former diplomat The Hindu spoke to said it was surprising that President Trump s name had been chosen by the PMO, given that President Barack Obama had already been the guest in Others pointed out that the Modi government s choices of Republic Day guests have been fairly unconventional. Both Mr. Obama in 2015, and French President Francois Hollande in 2016 were chosen though Mr. Modi had visited their countries just months earlier, and another bilateral meeting would seem super by the new officer, Satish Dagar. The court also declined Mr. Sana s plea that he should be questioned only under the supervision of former Supreme Court judge, Justice A.K. Patnaik monitoring the CVC probe. In his application, Mr. Sana said he had written to Justice Patnaik stating his readiness and willingness to give statements under his supervision. His questioning under the supervision of Justice Patnaik would only serve the interests of justice, he Kushwaha to take seats issue to Modi Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief and Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha appears to be struggling to accept his share of Lok Sabha seats in the NDA in Bihar. After meeting BJP general secretary in charge of Bihar, Bhupendra Yadav, early on Tuesday, he announced that he would take his grievance to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing a press meet after the meeting, Mr. Kushwaha referred to statements by BJP chief Amit Shah about each partner having to sacrifice seats. Well, if we are expected to share in the sacrifice, we should have also been accommodated when it came to sharing the spoils, he Trump s regret lands Centre in protocol difficulties India has to invite another leader for Republic Day who will be aware that he or she was not the first choice Suhasini Haidar He must apologise New Delhi The Congress on Tuesday demanded an apology from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for his comments accusing the RBI of having failed to check indiscriminate lending between 2008 and I was surprised by the sharp attack of FM on RBI and its performance, Congress spokesperson the banks couldn t sustain, the borrowers couldn t sustain and you had the NPA problem, he The non performing assets or NPAs were put at 2.5 lakh crore during DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Anand Sharma said at a press conference here. The central bank is independent and autonomous. It is in the interest of Indian economy that the RBI alone remains the regulator for banks, for lending, borrowing and fixing the interest rate. Only the RBI must have powers to regulate public sector banks and none else. those times, but when an asset quality review was ordered by the new government in 2014, it emerged that bad loans were of the order of 8.5 lakh crore, he Donald Trump, President of the United States. India invites Italian firms to invest in defence sector Delhi, Rome sign agreement to curb terror financing Kallol Bhattacherjee India on Tuesday invited Italy to participate in the defence sector under the Make in India scheme. The invitation was extended during the high level discussion between visiting Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which also included an agreement to counter terror financing and state sponsors of terrorism. India invited Italian defence equipment manufacturing companies to invest in India under the Make in India initiative and to collaborate with Indian companies for design and construction of defence equipment, said Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte with PM Narendra Modi. R.V. MOORTHY a Joint Statement issued at the conclusion of Mr. Conte s visit. India and Italy held the 9th Military Group Meeting earlier in October in which they agreed on cooperation in Tuesday s announcement was the first time the two countries have agreed on joint defence production since the AugustaWestland case exploded in India s Scorpene submarine project has suffered due to the controversy which left the submarines without the Black Shark torpedoes. Mr. Conte s visit is the first since he took charge in June Mr. Conte also indicated support for India s quest for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and underlined Rome s support to India s membership in the global technology export groups. (With inputs from Dinakar Peri) fluous. In another departure from protocol in 2017, the government invited the United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was not a head of state or head of government. Damage control The invitation to Mr. Trump may have been an effort to repair ties between the two countries as well, and provide the leaders a chance for extended dialogue, given that they last met in November 2017, and haven t spoken on the phone since February. AND-NDE

9 THE HINDU NOIDA/DELHI WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2018 ASSEMBLY POLLS 2018: CHHATTISGARH, MADHYA PRADESH, RAJASTHAN, TELANGANA, MIZORAMTAKE FIVE 13 [Q & A: RAMAN SINGH] Jogi-BSP tie-up may hurt Congress more Chhattisgarh Chief Minister says he can say with confidence that there is no big anger against the government Nistula Hebbar Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh is seeking a fourth term and speaks on the challenges of anti-incumbency, the policies he is banking on and the emergence of a third force in the State s polity: You are going to seek a fourth term as Chief Minister. What do you consider your biggest achievement in the last three terms? The biggest achievement is vishwasniyata, or trust. Whatever I have said, I have tried to implement it 100%. To give the State a direction towards being a developed State. If you want to ask about one particular programme, which is also dear to my heart, that is the Public Distribution System (PDS) which we started for 55 lakh households. It is a programme that has had a big impact on the ground into bringing down levels of malnutrition, maternal mortality rates, infant mortality rates, migration from rural areas. The deep changes that have followed is apparent in the figures, especially if you consider them in comparison with other States, malnutrition has come down from 52 to 30, MMR from 375 to 170. People got rice, salt, chana; this nutritional security has made a difference and also brought confidence among CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC Song and dance Swaying support: Women supporters of an aspiring ticket seeker from Rajasthan dancing in their traditional attire at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday. SANDEEP SAXENA In Mizoram, it runs in the family Dynastic politics in full play in polls Rahul Karmarkar Guwahati The frontier State of Mizoram is no different when it comes to dynastic politics. A few candidates from political families are contesting the Assembly elections this time too. Top on the list is the extended family of Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla. Mr. Thanhawla, 76, five times at the helm and seeking a 10th term in the Assembly, is contesting his pet seat of Serchhip and Champhai South. His younger brother Lal Thanzara hopes to be reelected from Aizawl North III for the third straight term. He is referred to as the de facto. The sister of Urban Development and Sports Minister Zodintluanga, 58, is married to Mr. Thanhawla s son. He is seeking his third straight term from Thorang. Rivals call Vanlalampuii Chawngthu, 39, the first woman to become a Minister in the State after Lalhlimpuii Hmar was appointed one in 1987, a beneficiary of the the people towards the government. The new policy that you launched, which many say is a long distance to travel in policy terms, is the Sanchar Kranti Yojana (SKY) of free phones and data for beneficiaries. How does that square with basic issues like food security? There were two issues that were behind this scheme. The first was that connectivity and teledensity reduce drastically when we start travelling from the State capital to say, Sukma. So there were black zones with regard to connectivity. The people too didn t have the capacity to buy phones and be connected. We put up 1,600 towers, and distributed 45 lakh phones, especially among women. For women, it was an important step up in terms of status and to also get access to government programmes and welfare give outs. It is still a big leap from basic nutritional security Let me tell you the genesis Lal Thanhawla family first policy of the Congress. She is the daughter of former Minister C. Chawngkunga, now the general secretary of the Mizoram Pradesh Congress Committee. She is seeking re election from the Hrangturzo seat. Letting family members grab all the opportunities is typical Congress culture, former Chief Minister Zoramthanga, the chief of the regional Mizo National Front, told The Hindu. The performances of the Ministers that detractors say benefited from being in the right family speak for their ability, a Congress spokesperson of the programme. I had gone to Abhujmad, one of our most backward areas, under the Lok Swaraj Yatra. These are areas that are not even well connected physically via roads, there are 5,000 unsurveyed areas in this zone. While I spoke to people this was one thing that people wanted, whereas I thought it would be roads, electricity or water. It brought home to me the point that people, wherever they are, want to be connected to this new technology. People have that aspiration. A big factor that is in play in these elections is antiincumbency. How will you combat that? For this I travelled 1,200 kilometres, twice across the State, to get a grip on what was it that was bothering people. We discovered that there were irritants like the patwari is not working, taking money, schools are not opening, and we found that if we repeatedly address these issues, we can bring down the levels of resentment against a fairly long running government. <> The biggest achievement is vishwasniyata, or trust. Whatever I have said, I have tried to implement it 100% In Indravati s turbulent wake The camp people of Dantewada have just one demand and hope: a bridge Sobhana K. Nair Bijapur/Dantewada For 13 years now, the families in relief camps in Dantewada have been waiting for a bridge, one that will take them back home and usher in hope, peace and development. They fled their villages in Bijapur district, one of the worst affected by Naxalite violence in Chhattisgarh, in 2005, crossing the Indravati river to escape the crossfire between security forces and naxals. They [State administration] say the bridge has been approved, but funds are yet to be sanctioned. They are fooling us again, Mangluram Mandvi, a Moria tribesman, says. His family and 52 others have been living in a camp at Bangapala village. Salwa Judum days From 2005 to 2007, Salwa Judum, a militia of villagers supported by the government, was fighting along with the security forces against the Naxalites. The people fled more out of fear of retribution by the troops. The paddy crop standing Do you think you have been able to neutralise antiincumbency then? I would say to a large extent. Nobody can do that 100% since 15 years is a long time. I can say with confidence though that there is no big anger against the government, there is no allergy towards Dr. Raman Singh s face, no situation where people tear up posters with my face on them. There was a time when we used to switch off television sets to avoid seeing the faces of certain leaders, I don t think people feel that way about me. Almost 38 40% of sitting MLAs have been dropped in Chhattisgarh in ticket distribution. Why is that? An important factor is survey and feedback from karyakartas. There were many rounds of discussion. This election will also see a third force emerge, that of the alliance between Ajit Jogi and Bleak future: People who fled their homes have been staying in relief camps for the past 13 years. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA in the fields reminds Dhan Singh Puyam of those days. Just a few days from harvest, he fled with his mother, wife, one year old daughter and two brothers to Bangapala on the boundary of Bijapur and Dantewada. They had rice for just two meals. There were no boats. We waded through the river, with water reaching up to our chests. It was around 5 p.m. when we reached here, he recalls. The next day, the police served them food at the station. But only men were called. He had 15 acres of land back in his village. BSP. Is this is a factor you are worried about looking at the historically narrow margins of victory? They will affect the election. If you combine the two [Ajit Jogi and BSP], they total up to 7% of the vote. Chattisgarh has traditionally had very narrow victory margins, sometimes even less than a 1% swing. If you look at the 2003, 2008, 2013 elections, that is the story. And I m not even saying that only the Congress will be affected. There are people who haven t got ticket from us, who may be fielded by Mr. Jogi, it will affect us; but, a simple calculation is that if they take 4% of Congress, they will take 2% of ours. Ajit Jogi s traditional voter will go with him, Mayawatiji s vote is also there, and both bases are similar and closer to Congress. Bastar is again seeing violence and naxal attacks and a Now we work on other people s lands to earn a living, he says. Camp life The people say they have become inured to life in camps. Back home, there are no hospitals, schools or angandwadis. To go to weekly markets, they have to cross the river on boats, a next to impossible task during rain. The camp is dotted with dish antennas, and every third person has a mobile phone. Outside, solar power runs borewells all day long. We have no enmity with familiar charge against your government is that you haven t been able to deal with Naxalism. If we look at 2018, as compared to the past, the strength of Naxalites has come down. Sarguja has been emptied of Naxals, it was an area that was deeply affected earlier. Here too [other areas of Bastar], government has expanded its ambit of activity, although Naxals are there in certain patches. The violent incidents are a result of panic among them, and they are making these cowardly attacks on our people and trying to disrupt the elections. Our forces will give a befitting reply. The way I see it, they [Naxals] are heading to an endgame in the next two or three years. The RSS and VHP are demanding a law for the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya after the Supreme Court decided the next date of fixing a bench to hear the case to January. What is your view? I feel that if we have left it to the courts, it is better to wait. Everyone is attached to the idea of a Ram Mandir, whether Congress or BJP, and we should also try that the court deals with it in a smaller time frame. People s manifesto unveiled in Rajasthan Ruling BJP keeps off Jan Manch JAIPUR A people s manifesto, released at the end of a 15 day dharna of the People s Watch Campaign here on Tuesday, raised crucial issues of public significance before the political parties ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly election. In particular, the people s charter of demands has urged political parties to avoid giving tickets to candidates with criminal background. No representative from the ruling BJP participated in the Jan Manch, wherein the manifesto was released. The organisers said several invitations were extended to the BJP, but there was no response. Led by social activist and Magsaysay Award winner Aruna Roy, the campaign is aimed at bringing transparency and accountability in the functioning of parties and making an impact on Social activist Aruna Roy addressing the Jan Manch in Jaipur. ROHIT JAIN PARAS their election manifestos. An election watch committee, headed by former Rajasthan High Court Judge V.S. Dave, was constituted on the occasion. The 40 member committee will keep a watch on the election process across the State. The participants, drawn from more than 100 organisations and movements, resolved not to cast their votes on the lines of caste and religion and not to be susceptible to greed. the naxals, but if the bridge is constructed, we are sure they will have to leave, Mr. Puyam says. About a kilometre away on another camp site, a few people, especially those who could not find viable employment, have started trickling back. My father s elder brother and his wife, they are old and had nothing here. About a year ago, they returned to their village across the river, says Kalicharan pointing at the direction of the village. He was five when his family fled Belanar village, and now he just completed his 12th standard. He does not want to go back. This time of the year, the river is thin and its banks are being hollowed out with truck after truck carrying away sand. The camp residents are politically vocal. They want change. For the past 15 years, the Raman Singh government has been minting money; now someone else should get a chance, they say. There are 23 relief camps in Dantewada. POLL POURRI CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC After a roadshow in Indore, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi eating at a joint on Monday. Rahul cools down with ice cream Indore After a hectic day of campaigning in Ujjain and Jhabua and a roadshow in Indore, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Monday evening took an ice cream break. Dressed in a casual dark blue T shirt, Mr. Gandhi visited a popular eating joint in the city. Accompanied by Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamal Nath, the Congress chief attentively watched the vendor work up a tempting serving of ice cream even as a crowd took out their cellphones to record Mr. Gandhi s presence. As the staff gave him his cup, he spotted a young boy in his mother s arm. Hello! Ice cream logey? (want an ice cream?), he asked the child, who quickly lapped up the first spoon. The Congress Twitter handle released a short video that had gone viral by Tuesday evening. Rajasthan sans BJP, Congress Jaipur Tales of Congress in Chhattisgarh: t a bail (State president Bhupesh Baghel), a rebel (Ram Dayal Uike )... no rhythm (Mahagathbandhan) SAMBIT PATRA BJP SPOKESPERSON PTI The Rashtriya Loktantrik Party, formed by Independent MLA Hanuman Beniwal, wants a BJP Congress mukt (free) Rajasthan. We have formed the party with a promise to free the people from the clutches of the Congress and the BJP. People want a third option, Mr. Beniwal said on Tuesday. Mr. Beniwal launched his party on Monday. IANS Cong. manifesto by mid-nov. Jaipur The Congress s election manifesto in Rajasthan will be ready by the second week of November and suggestions from the public are being sought, a senior party leader said on Tuesday. The Congress manifesto will be a public manifesto. We are seeking opinion from the public. We will also seek people s suggestions on digital platform before finalising the manifesto, Harish Chaudhary, chairman of the party manifesto committee, told reporters. PTI The Congress over the past several t years has been making unrestrained allegations about me and my family. We have dignity and respect for everyone. SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN MADHYA PRADESH DATA BYTE CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC POCKET SURENDRA CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC What do you mean by saying, It s time to begin seat-sharing talks. Take this chocolate... go out and play? I am here to assist my father! AND-NDE

10 14 WORLD NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER 31,2018 Birthright citizenship has to end Donald Trump says he is planning to sign an executive order ending the ridiculous practice Sriram Lakshman Washington President Donald Trump has said that he is planning to sign an executive order ending the birthright citizenship provision the automatic conferral of U.S. citizenship on any individual born in the country. We re the only country in the world where a person comes in, has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years with all of those bene fits, Mr. Trump said to Axios on HBO, a documentary series, clips of which have been released. It s ridiculous. It s ridiculous. And it has to end, he It is factually incorrect that the U.S. is the only country in the world with birthright citizenship laws, although only a minority have such laws. Legal challenges Mr. Trump said he has consulted his counsel on this and plans to proceed with the executive order, which is almost certain to face legal challenges as have his executive orders banning the entry into the U.S. of citizens from certain Muslim majority countries. It is by no means clear that March continues: Migrants, part of a caravan travelling to the U.S., in Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, on Monday. REUTERS the President has the legal authority to effect such a broad legal change through an executive order. The concept of jus soli (right of the soil) derives from the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, enacted in 1868 after the Civil War, in order to grant legal rights to former slaves. It says: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. Therefore, individuals born in the U.S., to parents on temporary visas or here without a valid visa, are also U.S. citizens. This has been central to motivating Republicans who want to end birthright citizenship. Illegal immigrants The U.S. Department of Homeland Security put the number of foreigners without legal status in the U.S. at a little above 12 million in Mr. Trump has been talking tough on borders, security and immigration, highly divisive topics in the U.S. these days, in the run up to November 6 midterm elections. President sends 5,200 troops to border Sriram Lakshman Washington In what has been named Operation Faithful Patriot, more than 5,200 active duty troops will be sent by the end of this week to the U.S. s southwest border to assist the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Defense said on Tuesday in Washington. The Department said the DHS had requested help for engineering equipment and medical support and that the troops will assist border patrol agents in California, Texas and Arizona. There are legal limits to what the U.S. Army can do within the U.S. without prior authorisation. While some of the troops will be armed, according to General Terrence O Shaughnessy, the head of U.S. Northern Command, they will be carrying out support services for border personnel. The move comes a week before the midterm elections and at a time when the Trump administration has been criticised for politicising the migrant caravan and using the Army to gain political points. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said at political rallies that this will be an election of Kavanaugh, caravan, law and order, and common sense. Mr. Trump and some commentators in the media have labelled the caravan an invasion, and Mr. Trump had made unsubstantiated claims last week about unidentified Middle Easterners being part of the migrant caravan. The migrant caravan has, according to Mexican government estimates, got some 3,500 people in it the numbers are down from an earlier UN estimate of 7,000. An overwhelming number of these people are fleeing drug and gangrelated violence and poverty in Central America to find better lives for themselves up north. Rajapaksa meets Sampanthan, seeks TNA support in floor test But Tamil leader asks for a specific plan from the new PM Meera Srinivasan Colombo Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was recently appointed Prime Minister in a controversial move by President Maithripala Sirisena has sought the northern Tamil leadership s support ahead of a likely floor test in Parliament this week, The Hindu has learnt. Mr. Rajapaksa met Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan on Tuesday, and reportedly pledged his commitment to addressing the island s Tamil question. However, the veteran Tamil leader, who is currently the Leader of Opposition, is said to have asked for a specific plan, a timeframe and the manner of implementation before he considers it, said a political source familiar with the discussion. The TNA has 16 MPs in the 225 member House. The meeting comes in the wake of Mr. Sirisena suddenly sacking Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last week, and swearing in Mr. Rajapaksa in his place, in a move widely criticised as unconstitutional. However, the President has denied violating the Constitution, Ranil Wickremesinghe waving at his supporters on Tuesday. REUTERS and maintained that it is well within his powers to appoint anyone who, in his opinion, is likely to command the confidence of the House. A vote of confidence is not possible, with Mr. Sirisena proroguing Parliament until November 16. Calls for reconvening the House are growing louder both domestically and internationally, but Mr. Sirisena has already sworn in a part of the new Cabinet. TNA s clarification Following Tuesday s meeting, Mr. Rajapaksa s office tweeted: Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan called on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Soon after, the TNA issued an urgent press release, stating that Mr. Sampanthan, Member of Parliament and TNA Leader met Mr. Rajapaksa at the latter s request. Mr. Sampanthan did not meet Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa in any other capacity. No matter was discussed at this meeting pertaining to the post of Leader of the Opposition, it said, quelling social media speculation. In the meeting, Mr. Sampanthan reportedly pointed to the TNA s willingness in the past, for talks and subsequent reasonable engagement with Mr. Rajapaksa s government, in However, he said the Rajapaksa government had abandoned the process, the political source Further, Mr. Sampanthan is said to have underscored the many initiatives that have since been taken with the aim of resolving Sri Lanka s national question. Also, several thousands of people rallied in Colombo in support of Mr. Wickremesinghe and his United National Party on Tuesday outside his official residence Temple Trees, demanding the recall of Parliament. Indian couple in U.S. dead after steep fall Press Trust of India New York In a tragic incident, an Indian couple died after falling 800 feet in an area with steep terrain in California s Yosemite National Park, according to a media report. Vishnu Viswanath, 29, and Meenakshi Moorthy, 30, fell to their deaths from Taft Point in Yosemite National Park. They were identified on Monday as a married couple from India living in the U.S., The San Francisco Chronicle reported. The report said that the couple had recently moved from New York after Mr. Viswanath took a job as a systems engineer at Cisco, San Jose. Together, they chronicled their adventures of travelling around the world in ELSEWHERE Indian-origin lawyer interviewed for key post WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump interviewed Neomi Jehangir Rao, 45, to fill in the slot vacated by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the federal appeals court in Washington. Ms. Rao, currently administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, was recommended by ex White House counsel Don McGahn, Axios website reported. PTI The Turkish fiancée of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi has called on U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders to ensure that his death in Istanbul is not covered up, while Saudi Arabia s top prosecutor on Tuesday visited the Saudi Consulate where officials from his government killed the writer. Speaking at a memorial in London on Monday, Hatice Cengiz expressed disappointment in the leadership of many countries. Singling out Mr. Trump, she urged him to help reveal the truth and ensure justice Maldives SC suspends Nasheed s jail term Ruling clears the way for former President s return home on November 1 Meera Srinivasan Colombo The Maldives Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed s 13 year jail sentence, clearing the way for his arrival in capital Male on November 1. The top court asked the government, the police and the prison authorities to adhere to the ruling, until it reviews his conviction following a recent request from the Prosecutor General, according to Male based sources. The Prosecutor General s office had on Sunday sought a Supreme Court review of Mr. Nasheed s conviction. Prevalent sentiment Speaking to The Hindu on Tuesday, Mr. Nasheed said be served. He should not pave the way for a cover up of my fiancé s murder. Let s not let money taint our conscience and compromise our values, she Ms. Cengiz also told the memorial that she wishes she had entered the consulate instead of Khashoggi. If only I knew She said in reference to an alleged Saudi hit squad sent to kill Khashoggi: If only I knew that would be the last time I would see my Jamal, his smile, hear his laughter, I would have stood in front of that murderous team myself. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia s top prosecutor, Saud al Mojeb, arrived at Istanbul s main courthouse on Tuesday for more talks with Istanbul s Chief Public Prosecutor, Irfan Fidan, on the Maldives former President Mohamed Nasheed. AFP Don t cover up murder: Khashoggi s fiancée Associated Press Istanbul Britain rejects Deepavali, Id holidays The British government has stood by its previous rejection of creating public holidays for major Hindu and Muslim festivals on the grounds of costs, despite calls from MPs for change to reflect Britain s increasingly diverse society. Following a debate in the House of Commons on two public petitions that sought to make Id ul Fitr and Id ul Adha as well as Deepavali and Dasara public holidays in the U.K., the British government said it didn t believe that these extra holidays were necessary, pointing to the costs to the economy of having these additional days, and the fact that Britain s existing legislation provided sufficient flexibility for workers to be able to take time off. As a government, we will continue to encourage business to respect people s views and meet their needs, said Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst. Few holidays MPs from across the political spectrum had made the case for the government to consider the introduction of these days as public holidays, noting that Britain had among the fewest public holidays in the Western world. I strongly support the principle of providing more public holidays we have far too few in this country and I strongly believe that we should base them around the major religions, to demonstrate that we celebrate all religions, said Conservative MP Bob Blackman. In our much more diverse country, as it is now, we have great adherence to religious faith, particularly among the great religions... Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi. AP Government cites costs to the economy as reason to turn down demands Vidya Ram London Vishnu Viswanath and Meenakshi Moorthy. a blog called Holidays and HappilyEverAfters. Rangers recovered their bodies on the steep terrain on Thursday below Taft Point. In a Facebook post, College of Engineering, Chengannur, Kerala, said the two were its alumni and added that it deeply mourns their accidental demise. Deepavali celebrations at 10 Downing Street in PTI Why not recognise that fact and give everyone the opportunity to have a day off and recharge on that basis? Martyn Day, the Scottish National Party MP who introduced the debate on behalf of the petitions committee, noted that a consultation they had carried out found that 87% of respondents felt that not allowing time off for religious occasions was discriminatory, while 84% said they were not able to ask for time off from work or education. There are clearly underlying issues that need to be addressed. According to the 2011 census, there are 2.7 million Muslims (4.8% of the U.K. population) while there are 8,17,000 Hindus (1.5% of the population). investigation into the killing, Turkey s state run Anadolu Agency reported. The two had met for an hour and 15 minutes on Monday as part of an agreement between Riyadh and Ankara for cooperation over the investigation. Visits consulate Mr. Al Mojeb then went to the consulate, Anadolu reported. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Tuesday that the investigation needs to be completed swiftly. Turkey is seeking the extradition of 18 Saudi suspects detained in Saudi Arabia. It is also seeking Riyadh s help to locate Khashoggi s body. Hunt on for black box of crashed plane Reuters Java Sea Indonesia deployed divers on Tuesday to search for an airliner that crashed with 189 people on board, as pinger locators tried to zero in on its cockpit recorders and find out why an almost new plane went down in the sea. Dozens of relatives of those on board gathered at a police hospital where body bags were brought for forensic doctors to try to identify victims, including by taking saliva swabs from family members for DNA tests. Sonar vessels and an underwater drone have also been hunting for the wreckage of the fuselage, where many victims were feared trapped. that the court order was a clear indication of the prevalent sentiment in the Maldives. The biggest priority now is forming the new government, and that is the prerogative of the Presidentelect. I will extend all my support for the stability of his government, he Following Mr. Nasheed s conviction on terrorism charges in 2012, he sought medical leave to go to the United Kingdom in 2016 and has since lived there in exile. More recently, he moved to Colombo, where many of his fellow Maldivian dissidents live, following threats at home. The September presidential elections in the Maldives saw joint opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih unseat incumbent Abdulla Yameen in a high stakes election after years of Mr. Yameen s controversial tenure. Mr. Yameen s administration was accused of massive corruption and authoritarianism, charges he has repeatedly denied. Mr. Solih, who won 58.4% of the vote, has promised to restore democracy in the country. Soon after the joint opposition emerged victorious, Mr. Nasheed, who leads the coalition s key constituent, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), vowed to return home come what may. MPs reinstated Meanwhile, in separate judgments on Tuesday, the Supreme Court overturned the disqualifications of the remaining four of the 12 lawmakers earlier disqualified for defection. With all 12 MPs now reinstated, the Opposition gained a majority in the 85 member Parliament, or Majlis, local media reported. Khaleda Zia s jail term doubled to 10 years Agence France-Presse Dhaka A Bangladesh court on Tuesday doubled a jail term for imprisoned Opposition leader Khaleda Zia from five to 10 years on what her supporters say are trumped up corruption charges. The decision came a day after Ms. Zia was handed a separate seven year term for other graft charges. The prosecution said Ms. Zia, 73, will serve the sentences concurrently. Her lawyers said she would appeal the latest ruling in Bangladesh s highest court. The prosecution had demanded that Ms. Zia serve more time for embezzling orphanage money an appeal a higher court granted on Tuesday. The high court has upheld the lower court verdict and raised the jail sentence from original five years to 10 years, said Anti Corruption Commission prosecutor Khurshid A. Khan. She cannot contest the elections unless the conviction is set aside by a higher court, said Bangladesh s Attorney General Mahbubey Alam. In recent months, Ms. Zia s health has deteriorated inside the abandoned 19thcentury jail where she is the only inmate. A physician said she was suffering from diabetes and that arthritis had rendered her left hand useless. The latest verdict throws up more hurdles for the Opposition, which says 4,000 of its supporters have been arrested since September in a pre election crackdown.

11 BUSINESS THE HINDU NOIDA/DELHI WEDNESDAY,OCTOBER 31, market watch % CHANGE Sensex dddddddddddddddddddddd 33,891 ddddddddddddd-0.52 US Dollardddddddddddddddddddd73.68ddddddddddddd-0.31 Goldddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 32,620 ddddddddddddddd0.21 Brent oilddddddddddddddddddddd76.28ddddddddddddd-0.89 CP redemptions keep NBFCs on edge 1 lakh crore worth of commercial paper coming up for redemption in mid November NIFTY 50 PRICE CHANGE Adani Ports Asian Paints Axis Bank Bajaj Auto Bajaj Finserv Bajaj Finance Bharti Airtel BPCL Cipla Coal India Dr Reddys Lab Eicher Motors GAIL (India) Grasim Ind HCL Tech HDFC HDFC Bank Hero MotoCorp Hindalco HPCL Hind Unilever Indiabulls HFL ICICI Bank IndusInd Bank Bharti Infratel Infosys Indian OilCorp ITC JSW Steel Kotak Bank L&T M&M Maurti Suzuki NTPC ONGC PowerGrid Corp Reliance Ind State Bank Sun Pharma Tata Motors Tata Steel TCS Tech Mahindra Titan UltraTech Cement UPL Vedanta Wipro YES Bank Zee Entertainment EXCHANGE RATES Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4 p.m. on October 30 CURRENCY TT BUY TT SELL US Dollar Euro British Pound Japanese Yen (100) Chinese Yuan Swiss Franc Singapore Dollar Canadian Dollar Malaysian Ringitt Source:Indian Bank BULLION RATES CHENNAI October 30 rates in rupees with previous rates in parentheses Retail Silver (1g) (41.4) 22 ct gold (1 g) (3038) Manojit Saha Mumbai With commercial papers (CPs) worth 1 lakh crore coming up for redemption by mid November, nonbanking finance companies (NBFCs) and micro finance institutions (MFIs) are in a quandary on how to tide over the liquidity crisis. The estimate is from two bankers who did not wish to be quoted. While large lenders are sitting on comfortable liquidity, it is the mid and small NBFCs and MFIs that are likely to face the crunch. Banks and mutual funds are the main sources of funding for housing finance companies and other NBFCs. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has filed a consent application with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to settle the proceedings initiated by the latter over its investment in the initial public offer (IPO) of ICICI Securities. The fund house came under the regulatory scanner after it put in a second bid worth 240 crore on the final day of bidding for shares of its group company ICICI Securities whose public issue in March managed to get subscribed only 0.78 times. The fund house has proposed to settle the proceedings after having already complied with a part of the regulatory diktat that forced While banks contribute about 40% of the funding, MFs contribute 30%. According to estimates, 55% of NBFC papers with mutual funds have less than it to sell the shares of ICICI Securities and credit 240 crore in five schemes through which it bid for shares of ICICI Securities. While the shares have been sold and the money has been credited back to the schemes, there were adjudication proceedings also initiated against the fund house, which it wants to settle by way of consent, said a person familiar with the development Consent terms The consent terms put forth by the fund house include payment of the settlement amount that has been arrived at on the basis of the SEBI formula and the matter would be closed without admission or denial of guilt, he 90 days maturity, which could lead to redemption pressures. Anticipating liquidity pressure, micro finance institutions are meeting their added on conditions of anonymity as the consent order is yet to be passed. While queries sent to the SEBI and ICICI Prudential MF remained unanswered, it is believed that the settlement amount is approximately 1 crore. lenders on November 1 to discuss ways to tide over the liquidity crunch. Close to 30 lenders and rating agencies will attend the meeting, which is convened by the Micro Finance Institutions Network (MFIN). Lack of cash would impact business growth for MFIs in the festive season when loan demand is typically high. Cascading effect While large MFIs have access to bank finance, the midsized and smaller ones depend on funds from NBFCs. If NBFCs face cash crunch, then that will have a cascading effect on the MFI sector. The small and medium MFIs are facing a bit of a li ICICI Prudential MF files consent plea Seeks to settle issue related to investment in ICICI Securities IPO with SEBI ASHISH RUKHAIYAR MUMBAI Valuation dips The fund house had bid for shares worth 400 crore on the first day of the public issue of ICICI Securities, whose valuation has dipped significantly after listing. The shares are trading at 238 now, which is less than half the issue price of 520 a share. SEBI acted against the fund house since it believed that the last day bid of 240 crore by the group entity came at a time when the issue was facing difficulties in getting fully subscribed, especially the institutional portion that barely managed to sail through with 1.04 times subscription. Assuming the bid of 240 crore was made at the upper end of the price band 520 it would have constituted nearly 30% of the total bids put in by mutual funds, as per bidding details available on the National Stock Exchange website. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund was, however, not the only fund house to bid for shares of ICICI Securities. As per the shareholding information available on the BSE, there are a total of 16 mutual funds entities that collectively hold 10.57% stake in the company. quidity crunch. They primarily borrow from large NBFCs. So, we have called all the lenders to MFIs to hear their specific concerns and expectation like whether they will charge higher interest rates, said a top industry official. Officials from credit rating agencies will also be there to provide their outlook on the sector, the official Anticipating liquidity crunch, the RBI has announced 40,000 crore liquidity infusion in November through open market operations. The liquidity deficit in last fortnight was about 1 lakh crore on an average. On some days, the deficit spiked to 1.5 lakh crore. SBI cuts ATM withdrawal limit Press Trust of India New Delhi State Bank of India has halved the daily cash withdrawal limit from ATMs for certain debit card holders to 20,000 from Wednesday. The withdrawal limit has been curtailed on Classic and Maestro debit cards, held by a large number of the bank customers. However, customers with other variants of SBI debit card can continue to enjoy higher daily withdrawal from ATMs. As per a senior SBI official, the average cash withdrawal from ATMs per card is less than 20,000 and the move will promote digital transaction. RBI reassures: Governor Urjit Patel stressed that the RBI would ensure adequate liquidity in the system. PTI Liquidity, economy figure in FSDC meet Patel, FM meet after weekend furore Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel on Tuesday met face to face at the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) meeting for the first time after the tension between the government and the central bank became public. The council discussed at length the issue of real interest rate, current liquidity situation, including segmental liquidity position in NBFCs and the mutual fund space, an official statement The panel also decided that the regulators and the government will keep a close watch on developments and take all necessary measures. Crisis not severe The FSDC is headed by the Finance Minister and comprises the RBI Governor, the SEBI Chairman, and heads of regulators such as PFRDA, IRDAI and the Chairman of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board. Sources present at the meeting said that Dr. Patel said the liquidity scenario among NBFCs was not as severe as it was being made out to be, but also assured the government that the RBI would ensure adequate liquidity in the system. PFRDA chairman Hemant Contractor later told reporters the FSDC also discussed the health of the economy, both domestic and global and issues due to rising oil prices. The meeting assumes significance for various reasons, including the perceived liquidity shortage being felt by NBFCs as also because it was the first time the RBI Governor met Mr. Jaitley following RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya s comments on Friday about how the government was undermining RBI s autonomy. Dr. Acharya s comments sparked off speculation on relations between the RBI and the Centre, with several former officials of both saying that communication between the two had completely broken down. Unlike in the past, all four RBI deputy governors attended the FSDC meeting along with Dr. Patel. (With PTI inputs) EU probes Tata Steel, ThyssenKrupp deal Anti trust concerns spur investigation Reuters Brussels The European Commission said on Tuesday it was investigating whether a planned joint venture between Indian steelmaker Tata Steel and Germany's ThyssenKrupp could reduce competition in the high end steel sector. Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp are major producers of flat carbon steel and electrical steel with significant production facilities in Germany, the Netherlands and Britain. The proposed JV would combine their European carbon steel and electrical steel businesses and the Commission said that this raised concerns over their dominance in steel for cars, metallic coated steel for packaging and grain How Centre s board game fuelled the feud with RBI Abrupt ending of Nachiket Mor s tenure added to tension SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Mumbai No RBI governor s tenure is complete without a lecture on the central bank s independence. After Duvvuri Subbarao and Raghuram Rajan, the latest to join the chorus was the current RBI chief Urjit Patel via his deputy Viral Acharya. According to RBI sources, most differences between the RBI and the Centre in the past used to be over issues such as interest rates and when attempts were made to take way some functions such as debt management from the central bank. However, this time, what sparked tensions was the government s intervention through the board. It all started with some board members asking for more dividends. Things took a drastic turn in September this year when the term of one of the board members, Nachiket Mor, oriented electrical steel. The Commission is concerned that, following the transaction, customers would face a reduced choice in suppliers, as well as higher prices, the EU executive said in a statement. Competitive prices key These customers include various European companies, ranging from major corporations to numerous small and medium size enterprises, it The Commission now has until 19 March 2019, to take a decision. Steel is a crucial input for many of the goods we use in our everyday life, and competitive steel prices are vital for the European economy, Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement. NEWS ANALYSIS was abruptly brought to an end by the government. This is said to be unprecedented in RBI s history. Mr. Mor, one of the most articulate voices on the board, was extremely vocal against issues like regulatory forbearance and higher surplus transfer, which the government was aggressively pushing. A former ICICI Bank executive, Mr. Mor was first inducted in the board in May 2013 for a period of four years. He was again appointed in August However, his term was cut short in September over allegations of conflict of interest since he is also the country director of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Interestingly, Mr. Mor continues to be in the Eastern local board of RBI. Central banking sources claim that the induction of Govt. to cut further stake in CIL KOLKATA The government will divest a further 3 % stake in Coal India Ltd. at a floor price of 266 per equity through the offer for sale route. The offer opens on October 31 and closes on November 1, 2018, according to a regulatory filing by the company. An additional stake of 6 % may be offloaded in case of over subscription, the notice While non retail investors can place their bids on Wednesday only, non retail investors will get an additional day (till November 1). The government currently holds 78.32% stake in CIL. CIL s last OFS was in January 2015 when there as a marginal over subscription. right wing thinkers to the board like Swaminathan Gurumurthy only added to the tension. For example, Mr. Gurumurthy expressed discomfort over applying Basel norms to Indian banks. Basel rules are designed for commercial banks, not universal banks which all Indian banks are, and termlending institutions which IL&FS & the likes are. Applying NPA norms to them is to ask one play football with hockey rules. Unfortunate a good institution is being destroyed, Mr. Gurumurthy had tweeted when the IL&FS crisis was unfolding. Apart from Mr. Gurumuthy some of the other board members inducted to the RBI board recently are Sachin Chaturvedi of thinktank RIS, Revathy Iyer, a former Indian Audit and Accounts Services officer, and Satish Marathe, former chairman and CEO of United Western Bank. Bank of Baroda net up on interest income Lower trading gains hit other income SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Mumbai State run lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) reported a 19.7% increase in its net profit to 425 crore for the quarter ended September 30 on the back of higher net interest income and despite lower other income. Net interest income the difference between interest earned and interest expended grew 20.75% to 4,492 crore while non interest income declined by 56% to 391 crore. Domestic advances grew by 20.37% year on year to 3.38 lakh crore, led by retail loans, which increased by 33.55% as on September 30, The fall in noninterest income is mainly due to lower trading gains, which was only 87 crore as ITC enters pouched milk, curd segment Paneer and milk shake to follow KOLKATA ITC Ltd. announced its entry into the pouched milk and curd segment, followed by paneer and milk shakes in two months. Addressing a press meet here on Tuesday, Hemant Malik, divisional chief executive Foods, ITC, said that while milk and dahi (curd) have been launched under the Aashirvaad brand, milk shakes would be unveiled under a different brand. For now, the milk, which has been test marketed in Bihar, would also be available in West Bengal. The price range would vary between 10 (for a 240 ml double toned milk pouch) and 41 for a one litre packet of toned milk. Pan India launch Value added products like milk shakes would see a pan India launch starting with the South, but paneer would be launched here, compared to 645 crore reported during the same period of the previous year. The bank reported a 20.5% decline in provision for non performing assets to 1,467 crore the lowest in 9 quarters. This was due to lower slippages at 2,281 crore, the lowest in 7 quarters. Credit cost decreased to 1.31% in September 2018 from 1.82% last year, the bank The gross NPA ratio rose year on year to 11.78% from 11.16%. he The sourcing, now from Munger in Bihar, would be extended to West Bengal soon, he We are not looking for market shares (in milk), rather an expansion of the 72,000 crore pouched milk market from the unorganised segment to the organised segment... this has already begun happening, Mr. Malik ITC s earnings from foods business (in terms of consumer spends) was over 9,000 crore. Mr. Malik said that a crore contribution was being targeted from dairy in two years.

12 16 BUSINESS NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2018 IN BRIEF Welspun Enterprises Q2 net rises 80% to 31 cr. Welspun Enterprises posted a 80% rise in consolidated net profit at crore for the second quarter of on the back of higher income. The firm had posted a net profit of crore in the year ago period, the textile company said in a BSE filing. The company s consolidated income during July September period increased to crore, more than crore in the yearago period. PTI Emami Q2 net profit declines 16% to 83 cr. FMCG firm Emami reported a decline of 16.14% in consolidated net profit at crore for the second quarter ended September 30. The firm had posted a net profit of crore during July September quarter a year ago, the company said in a BSE filing. Emami s revenue from operations was at crore as against crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. PTI Thomas Cook India starts U.S. operations Travel services firm Thomas Cook India on Tuesday said it had commenced operations in the U.S. to leverage the high potential business travel segment to and from the U.S.. The company has accordingly obtained ARC (Airlines Reporting Corporation) accreditation and necessary operating licences via its destination management brand Allied TPro, Thomas Cook India said in a filing to BSE. PTI Ramco Cements chalks out 850 crore expansion plan Firm to raise clinkering capacity of Jayanthipuram plant in A.P. by 1.5 MTPA N. Anand CHENNAI Ramco Cements Ltd. is investing 850 crore in an expansion programme to increase the clinkering capacity of the Jayanthipuram plant in Andhra Pradesh by 1.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), said a top executive. Currently, we have cement grinding capacity of 16.5 MTPA, which we plan to take to 20 MTPA by March 2020, said A.V. Dharmakrishnan, CEO. As per the plan, Kolaghat (West Bengal), Visakhapatnam and Odisha grinding units would be expanded by nearly 1 MTPA each respectively. The Jayanthipuram unit would be expanded by 1.50 MTPA with 27 MW of Waste Heat Recovery System. Earlier, we had set aside a capex of 1,095 crore and this has been increased to 1,930 crore due to the inclusion of Jayanthipuram expansion. All the investment Cognizant net slides on rupee depreciation Firm narrows revenue estimate range Chennai Cognizant Technology Solutions lowered the upper end of the revenue range it expects to clock in the calendar year 2018, to $16.13 billion from $16.3 billion estimated in August. It now expects full year revenue to be $16.09 $16.13 billion compared with the earlier estimated range of $16.05 $16.3 billion. 3.7% drop in profit Its net profit for the quarter ended September 30 dropped 3.7% to $477 million, compared with $495 million a year earlier. The company attributed the fall primarily to higher net foreign exchange losses in 2018, driven by the depreciation of the rupee. Revenue grew 8.3% to $4.08 billion in the quarter. The IT services major s revenues from servicing the healthcare sector grew 9.6% to $ 1.2 billion. Recent acquisitions are enabling us to provide a broader range of services to healthcare providers, said a statement. Cognizant added a net of 5,300 employees in the quarter, taking total headcount to about 2.74 lakh at the end of September. In 2018, it has added a net of 14,200 employees. costs would be met through internal accruals and we might go for borrowings, if need be, he Net declines 32% Meanwhile, the company reported a decline of 32% in its Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co. Ltd. (Chola), a Murugappa Group firm, has reported 49.39% increase in its standalone net profit at crore for the quarter ended September 2018, against crore for the corresponding period in the previous year. This was primarily propelled by a robust growth in vehicle financing, said a top executive. standalone net profit of crore for the second quarter ended September 2018, as against crore a year earlier. The fall in pro fit is due to cost and pricing pressure and loss of significant cement sales volume due to heavy rains in Kerala. The company recorded an 11% increase in its total income at 1, crore against 1, crore. Petcoke prices went up by 40% and fuel costs by 35% compared to the year earlier period, but there was no corresponding increase in cement prices. This had a bad impact on our net profit. The prices are yet to improve and we hope to see a pick up in demand and revenue in the coming months, he Asset quality We have posted good growth in the second quarter due to robust vehicle financing, said Arun Alagappan, executive director of the company. He said the asset quality of the company had improved considerably, and the focus would remain on stepping it up further. For the quarter under review, Chola posted revenue of 1, crore ( 1, crore), an increase of 24.10% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Sri City to focus on social infra Eyes holistic ecosystem for co existence of men, machines K.T. Jagannathan Chennai Ten summers after it was founded in 2008, Sri City (Private) Ltd. is now on a self sustaining mode. In an interaction with The Hindu, Ravindra Sannareddy, managing director of Sri City, however, said that the challenges were much greater as Sri City stepped into a fresh decade. It [Sri City] is a not a typical industrial town or estate, he Spread over 7,500 acres, Sri City includes a multi product special economic zone (SEZ), a domestic tariff zone (DTZ), a free trade & warehousing zone (FTWZ) and an electronics manufacturing cluster. It is home to over 180 companies from 27 countries, including multi nationals such as Kellogg s, Isuzu, Mondelez, Pepsi, Alstom, Chola Q2 net profit rises 49% Firm attributes increase to robust vehicle financing growth CHENNAI Arun Alagappan At 1, crore ( 1, crore), vehicle financing accounted for 75% of its total revenue. Revenue from home equity stood at crore ( crore). Disbursal of vehicle finance was at 5,542 crore ( 4,295 crore) for the quarter. Disbursal for home equity (loan against property for business purposes) increased to 910 crore from 830 crore. Net NPA declined to 1.6% from 2.9%. To a question, Mr. Alagappan said that liquidity had been pretty good for the company. There is enough cash in the system as we are able to source funds without any problem since we are among the top NBFCs and have a good rating. Ravindra Sannareddy IT major Tech Mahindra Ltd., reported a better than expected 27.3% growth in its second quarter net profit to 1,064 crore due to weaker rupee, superior margins and absence of visa costs. Most analysts expected the profit to be between 930 crore and 1,000 crore. The profits were reported on 13.5% growth in revenue to 8,630 crore. C.P. Gurnani, MD & CEO, said: Our strong deal wins, especially in the communication vertical, coupled with our 10% plus sequential growth in digital revenues are a validation of our Kobelco, Foxconn, Danieli and so on. You need to build a total ecosystem, he said, pointing to the challenges in creating a sustainable social infrastructure. In this context, he said Sri City kept expanding its land bank with a view to providing a social infrastructure that could support the industries within Sri City. If the first decade was marked for its focus on industries and jobs, the coming decade would see Sri City train its efforts on establishing a holistic ecosystem for a sustainable coexistence of machines and man in a productive environment. Job opportunities Sri City has provided job opportunities to over 40,000 people. It has so far seen an investment to the tune of 28,000 crore. Another 25 companies are in the process of setting up their facilities. Mr. Reddy put the 10 year journey in perspective by pointing to the nearly 15,000 women employees in Foxconn and the nearly 4,000 vehicles that buzzed in and out of Sri City daily. Save for one, every other investor still stayed invested in Sri City, he Weak rupee boosts TechM net by 27.3% IT firm posts Q2 profit at 1,064 crore MUMBAI <> It is a good quarter in revenue growth and EBIDTA margin improvement C.P. Gurnani MD&CEO, Tech Mahindra run, change and grow strategy. Barring declines in our implementation business in our healthcare vertical, we have clocked a good quarter in terms of both revenue growth and EBIDTA margin improvement. The company saw its EBITDA growing at 46.4% to 1,619 crore, highest in last three years as EBITDA margins expanded by 430 basis points to 18.8%.

13 SPORT THE HINDU NOIDA/DELHI WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, Rayudu has solved India s No. 4 conundrum His solid performances, particularly the one at Brabourne, have assured him of the spot for the World Cup in England next year WINDIES IN INDIA Amol Karhadkar MUMBAI Ever since the 2015 World Cup, India has been looking for a reliable No. 4 ODI batsman. And after trying out 11 different batsmen for the crucial slot, Ambati Rayudu finally seems to have secured it for himself. If his solid performances since returning to the side in last month s Asia Cup made Virat Kohli admit that Rayudu was being looked at as a permanent number four, his hundred during the fourth ODI versus the Windies meant the Hyderabadi batsman had made the position his own. At least till the World Cup, which starts in seven months. So fluid was Rayudu with his stroke making at the Brabourne Stadium on Monday that he even matched the bighitting Rohit Sharma during the duo s 211 run partnership. Rayudu s 81 ball 100 his third in what has been a stop and start ODI sojourn was followed by Rohit, the vice captain, pronouncing that the debate over the No. 4 slot was over. Waxing eloquent It was (a) very important (knock). Hopefully, he has solved all the mysteries of No. 4. I guess, till the World We should ask ourselves: what is the Indian way? BETWEEN WICKETS suresh menon In fine fettle: Playing with confidence and panache, Ambati Rayudu has managed to secure the No. 4 slot. VIVEK BENDRE Cup, there will be no questions on No. 4, said Rohit. He batted brilliantly... It was While Indian cricketers have for years aspired to play the Australian way, India s administrators too have pointed to Cricket Australia as the epitome of good governance. Now it transpires that neither is a good role model; in fact, where manipulating the elections to hang on to their posts is concerned, Australia seem to have learnt from India. An independent review by the Ethics Centre h as deemed the cricket culture arrogant and controlling. This was in Australia, but could apply to India too, especially where officials are concerned. No game is greater than its greatest player goes the cliché, but many Indian officials have over the years considered themselves greater than both the players and the game. There is much to recommend such a culture review of Indian cricket; introspection is never a wasted exercise. It is remarkable how when what is public knowledge becomes part of a formal report, people sit up and take notice. What is significant about the Australian report is that it was released only after the chairman of Cricket Australia David Peever had ensured that his re election went through without a hitch. Had the members read the report first, it might not have been as smooth. Just as players learn from one another, so too do the officials. Familiarity breeds imitation. In fact, in one of its 42 recommendations, the Ethics Centre refers to the Board of Control for Cricket in India as an example. Evoking memories of another day Big time cricket returns to Thiruvananthapuram after 30 years P.K. Ajith Kumar THIRUVANANTHAPURAM It happened three decades ago, but Krishnamachari Srikkanth hasn t forgotten how fast Patrick Patterson bowled on that January morning at the University Stadium here. The swashbuckling opener met fire with fire and made 101 off 106 balls. Fifteen years before the advent of Twenty20 cricket, such audacious batting was hardly the norm, especially against a battery of four fast and furious bowlers. I would rate it as one of my best knocks ever, Srikkanth told The Hindu over phone from Chennai on Tuesday. Patterson was amazingly quick and world class. I would say he was one of the fastest bowlers I ever faced maybe the fastest. The former India captain is proud of that innings because the West Indies attack was not just about Patterson. Winston Benjamin was pretty fast too, as was Winston Davis, he recalled. Then there was Eldine Baptiste. On a mission: India captain Virat Kohli arrives in Thiruvananthapuram. S. MAHINSHA That team was led by Viv Richards, who remains the favourite batsman for many of this generation even. But, he didn t have to bat in that match. Openers Gordon Greenidge (84) and Phil Simmons (104 not out) ensured that, putting on 164 while chasing India s 239 (which wasn t a poor score at all at that time). Among those watching the game was former Kerala captain O.K. Ramdas. I still remember vividly some of the strokes played by Srikkanth, he It was thrilling to watch him play those lofted shots of his. Remember, those a pressure innings. I thought he responded really well to that situation. He batted freely once he got his fifty. He started playing those shots. We have known Rayudu were the days when you batted according to the copybook, like Sunil Gavaskar. That match in 1988 was the last ODI hosted by this city. West Indies won it by nine wickets and the seven match series 6 1. Distant memory For fans of Caribbean cricket these days, such dominating performances are only a distant memory. The fall of the mighty has been painfully spectacular. So much so, the abject capitulation to India in the recent Test series wasn t exactly surprising. But, West Indies can still be a force to reckon with in the limited over format. After almost winning a game they had to settle for a tie and then actually winning the following one, Jason Holder s men have kept the series alive. And, that has gladdened the city s cricket fans, who are all eagerly looking forward to Thursday s final ODI at the Greenfield Stadium. After all, this is their biggest match since the one against the West Indies 30 years ago. Decline in standards of behaviour The report places the blame on the administrators for the decline in standards of behaviour, culminating in the cheating incident in South Africa where senior players Steve Smith, David Warner and junior Cameron Bancroft were caught tampering with the ball. Australian cricket has lost its balance, it said, The leadership of CA should also accept responsibility for its inadvertent (but foreseeable) failure to create and support a culture in which the will to win was balanced by an equal commitment to moral courage and ethical restraint. In our opinion, CA s fault is not that it established a culture of win at all costs, rather that it made the fateful mistake of enacting a program that would lead to winning without counting the costs. Indian cricket s problems are different. The culture of arrogance overall is a recent phenomenon and has to do with the enormous amounts of money the country generates for the game. The average Indian player is better behaved than the average Australian, but then the Australians have had more practice having been at it longer. The Australian Cricketers Association s plea to lift the ban on the three key players caught cheating based on the report that traces it all back to the culture encouraged by the administrators is ridiculous. You can blame the culture for the thought process, but the players will have to pay for their actions. Mooting an ethics commission Among the 42 recommendations by the Ethics Centre is the formation of an ethics commission for Cricket Australia an idea that has existed on paper in India for a while now. There is too the idea to establish a Council to bring together cricket s major share holders, for one of the problems has been the lack of communication among them. This is equally true of India, and something worth emulating; there is an idea here also to work on a mechanism for stimulating and increasing the game s fan base. Other recommendations include a formal leadership training course for captains, and a plan to ensure that international players take part in domestic first class tournaments. for a long time and that he can produce the kind of innings he did today. That s The board should be subject to the code of conduct too something that has caused trouble in India in the past. In the third year of the IPL, Ravindra Jadeja was banned because he tried to negotiate a better deal for himself. It was ironic and a hint of the culture in which the players worked that negotiate a better deal was virtually the guiding motto of the IPL itself and the BCCI. When what applies to the governing body does not apply to the individual player, there is trouble. The solution is not to punish the player, but to ensure that the governing body is subject to its own code of conduct. It would be interesting to study the culture of cricket in India. What is the Indian way? It s a question we should be asking ourselves. The answers would help us work on what needs improvement. It would be a worthwhile exercise, even if those in power do not always like to hear the truth. But before we get there, the BCCI should make the Committee of Administrators superfluous not by bickering, but by following the Supreme s Court s rulings. Not one of the 34 associations is fully compliant with the reforms. This is not very encouraging, even if half of them are in the substantially compliant list. Perhaps the manner of the defiance best defines the culture of the cricket today which can be summed up in three words: We know best. probably the reason we got him at No. 4, and he hasn t disappointed. He has done well with whatever opportunities he has got. He came back in the Asia Cup and now he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The resurrection Rayudu sealing the No. 4 slot at the Brabourne was surreal in a way. Having lost his way after being touted as the next big thing following his under 19 heroics, Rayudu joined the unauthorised ICL. Once he returned to the BCCI fold ahead of the 2010 Indian Premier League, after being handpicked for Mumbai Indians by Sachin Tendulkar, it was at the same stadium that Rayudu started his resurrection. With Brabourne being a makeshift home for the 2010 New Davis Cup format to our benefit: Bhupathi Ashwin Achal Bengaluru The new format to be used in the 2019 Davis Cup qualifying rounds will work to the benefit of comparatively weaker sides like India, captain Mahesh Bhupathi believes. Unseeded India hosts a strong Italy in the qualifying round in February next year, in a shorter two day tie with best of three set rubbers. Ties were earlier held over three days, with five set rubbers. The new format benefits us, because when you are playing better teams, it is easier to get the upset win by winning two out of three sets (rather than three out of five sets), Bhupathi told The Hindu at the launch of the Bengaluru Midnight Marathon here on Tuesday. In Fabio Fognini (World No. 14), Marco Cecchinato (20) and Andreas Seppi (37), Italy boasts a formidable team. India s best singles player is Yuki Bhambri (108). While Bhupathi is all for making full use of home conditions, he does not agree with the line of thought that season, Rayudu held the MI middle order together as the team progressed to the lastfour for the first time. Since then, MI and Rayudu steadily started tasting success. But a major knee injury, after a successful tour to Zimbabwe in 2016, kept Rayudu on the sidelines for a better part of the next two years. Once again he returned with a bang in the IPL earlier this year, this time with Chennai Super Kings. An India call up was imminent, but he was withdrawn from the ODI squad to England since he couldn t clear the mandatory fitness test. He did clear it before the Asia Cup and has not looked back. The team management will now be hoping to find a concrete solution for 5, 6 and 7 slots as the World Cup nears. Ganguly voices his anguish at the state of affairs in the BCCI Vijay Lokapally Disturbed with the dent in the Board of Control for Cricket in India s (BCCI) reputation as an efficient sports body, former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday expressed his anguish at the current state of affairs. In a mail addressed to acting office bearers of the BCCI C.K. Khanna (president), Amitabh Choudhary (secretary) and Anirudh Chaudhry (treasurer) Ganguly has asked questions of the state of administration. Sense of fear I write this mail to you all with the deep sense of fear as to where Indian cricket administration is going. Having played the game for a long period of time, where our lives were ruled by winning and losing, and the image of Indian cricket was of paramount importance to us, we wake up looking at how our cricket is faring even now, said Ganguly. He continued, But with a deep sense of worry, I beg to Talking straight: Sourav Ganguly thinks Indian cricket is in danger due to the way things are being handled. FILE PHOTO state that the way things have gone in the last couple of years, the authority of Indian cricket to the world and the love and belief of millions of fans is on the way down. Speaking his mind on the recent sexual harassment charge against the BCCI CEO Rahul Johri, Ganguly said, I don t know how far it s true but the recent reports of harassment have really made the BCCI look very poor, more so the way it has been handled. The composition of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) has also evoked a sharp reaction from Ganguly. The CoA, from four (members), has come down to two and now the two seem to be divided. Cricketing rules are changed in the middle of a season, which has never been heard of. Decisions made in committees are turned around with complete disrespect. Referring to the selection of process to pick the coach (Ravi Shastri) of the senior Mahesh Bhupathi. FILE PHOTO a hot, humid city will affect the Italians a great deal. Hot conditions won t matter at that time of the year, because the Italians arrive here after playing the Australian Open in Melbourne, where it ll be over 40 C, he To meet the Davis Cup court regulations there should be a space behind each baseline of not less than 27 feet (8.23m) is the top priority now, Bhupathi We ve put in some venue requests to the AITA, but there are some concerns with the Davis Cup rules and Demerit point for Khaleel Press Trust of India Dubai Young India pacer Khaleel Ahmed was on Tuesday warned and handed a demerit point for giving an aggressive send off to Marlon Samuels during the fourth ODI in Mumbai. Khaleel was found guilty of a Level 1 breach in the ICC Code of Conduct. Khaleel violated Article 2.5 of the Code, which relates to using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/ her dismissal during an international match. Full powers to panel SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI The three member independent committee formed to investigate the sexual harassment allegations against BCCI CEO Rahul Johri has been given exhaustive powers to investigate the case. The three member committee consists of Rakesh Sharma (former Judge, Allahabad HC), Chairman; Barkha Singh (former Chairperson, Delhi Commission for Women) and Ms. Veena Gowda (Advocate), External Member IC, BCCI. team, Ganguly said, My experience in the matter of coach selection was appalling (the less said the better). One of my friends who is involved in matters related to functioning of Board asked me who should they go to? I had no answer. I had to ask who should I invite for an international game from a particular association as I did not know what was going on. Expresses concern The former India captain expressed concern at selection committee meetings being held without a BCCI member as convenor. As he observed, it was important to have a convenor for such meetings. Ganguly lamented that, Indian cricket with its massive following has been built over the years of hard work from superb administrators and greatest of cricketers who have managed to bring thousands of fans to the grounds. I am, at the present moment, thinking it s in danger. Hope people are listening. regulations when it comes to stadiums. We require a stadium with a certain minimum amount of space behind the baseline. That s the issue now. The AITA is trying to figure it out, and they will take a call in about 10 days. Our surface preference be it grass or otherwise has to fit the regulations, the 44 year old Players form On Divij Sharan, who on Monday overtook Rohan Bopanna to become the highest ranked Indian doubles player (World No. 38), Bhupathi said, He s had many great results. He s definitely in the reckoning (for a Davis Cup spot). Bhupathi is happy that players like Divij and Prajnesh Gunneswaran have had good runs in recent times, but that does not mean that Davis Cup berths are guaranteed. It is a great sign when our guys do well, but winning now doesn t really matter. They have to win closer to our tie, he AND-NDE

14 18 SPORT NOIDA/DELHI THE HINDU WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2018 Hibino outshines flashy Lisicki The disciplined Japanese plays well within her limitations, prevails in three sets MUMBAI OPEN G. Viswanath Mumbai German Sabine Lisicki unleashed her big serves and powerful game with the intention of intimidating her Japanese opponent Nao Hibino, who is second only to the US Open winner Naomi Osaka, in her country. The 29 year old former Wimbledon finalist, Lisicki, who entered the $ L&T Mumbai Open as a WTA wild card, was flashy and flamboyant, and showed glimpses of her talent during the course of a pulsating first round match that spilled over to the third hour. Erratic play While Lisicki impressed the sparsely crowd in the stand reserved for the Cricket Club of India members, her display that was on the edge of the erratic right through the match, cost her a longer presence in the tournament. The contest between a big server who decided to go for broke from even the back of the court and the No. 8 seed Winning start: Nao Hibino had the measure of Sabine Lisicki in the first round. ARUNANGSU ROY CHOWDHURY Hibino, seen as the challenger, ended when Lisicki s backhand return crashed into the net. Though Lisicki won the first set, her overall approach not showing the slightest hint of slowing down resulted in the the 123rd ranked Japanese, some 118 places behind Osaka in the WTA ranking list, Third win puts NEUFC on top Twin strikes help the visitor overcome Delhi Dynamos ISL Vijay Lokapally Two goals in the last 10 minutes saw NorthEast United Football Club (NEUFC) beat Delhi Dynamos 2 0, and go to the top of the table, in an Indian Super League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Tuesday. This was NEUFC s third win in five matches while DD remains winless after six encounters. Federico Gallego drove home the first goal to do justice to NEUFC s dominance and provided the assist for Bartholomew Ogbeche to strike in the closing moments. Sustained assault Though a layer of mist hung over the field, the NEUFC strikers did not lose sight of the target. With vociferous support from the stands, the NEUFC moves came in waves. Dynamos goalkeeper Francisco Dorronsoro stood firm on one occasion when he parried a header from Mato Grgic. On another occasion, an Ogbeche long ranger hit the bar. Dynamos survived the first half which was essentially about the home team concentrating on its defence. Marcos Tebar returned to the Dynamos camp after missing three matches and his presence added depth to the defence as Dynamos Opening salvo: NEUFC players celebrate Federico Gallego s goal. SPORTZPICS/ISL hung on desperately. The Dynamos midfield remained busy as NEUFC explored every possible avenue to score. The pressure on Dynamos mounted as the match progressed but wayward finishing by the opposition allowed it to stay afloat. Ogbeche was a towering figure on the field as NEUFC came close to finding the target in the 62nd minute when Gallego found himself well placed outside the box. But his left footer failed to beat the goalkeeper. NEUFC coach Eelco Schattorie had spoken highly of the Delhi team which almost proved him right but for the late strikes by Gallego and Ogbeche. The result: Delhi Dynamos 0 lost to NEUFC 2 (Gallego 82, Ogbeche 90+3). take control of the match. Hibino went on to win the second set and force the contest to the decider. There was an interesting tussle in the seventh and eighth games of the third set. Though Hibino called the shots, Lisicki did not relent. Eventually, the German went down to an opponent who played well within her limitations. Lisicki sent down six aces, but committed eight double faults. Consistent Hibino committed fewer errors and won more points on her first serve and also on returns of serve. I played her in Taipei earlier this year when she came back from injury and I was not aggressive Lopetegui sacked Julen Lopetegui. AP Agence France-Presse Madrid Real Madrid has sacked coach Julen Lopetegui after just 139 days in charge, the club confirmed on Monday. Lopetegui was appointed in June but five defeats in seven games, the last of it a 5 1 thrashing by Barcelona on Sunday, has convinced Madrid to make a change. Santiago Solari, the club s B team coach, has been put in temporary charge. Giants, Titans post wins Press Trust of India PATNA Gujarat Fortune Giants beat Puneri Paltan to continue its impressive form in the ProKabaddi League Season VI here on Tuesday. In the second match of the day, Telugu Titans had it easy against Patna Pirates, winning then, but this time I was prepared and attacked her from the start. Breaking her early in the first set proved crucial as I put her out of balance and made her move around the court. She has got one of the best serves and I stood deep in the baseline to tackle them which gave me the advantage, said Hibino. Israel s Deniz Khazaniuk beat the No. 3 seed from USA, Sachia Vickery. The American retired while trailing 1 5 in the third set. The results (first round): Deniz Khazaniuk (Isr) bt Sachia Vickery (USA) 6 2, 7 5, 5 1 (retd.); Dalila Jakupovic (Slo) bt Veronika Kudermetov (Rus) 6 4, 6 1; Bibiane Schoofs (Ned) bt Jana Fett (Cro) 6 3, 6 2; Jia jang LU (Chn) bt Ivana Jorvic (Srb) 5 7, 6 1, 6 1; Sabina Sharipova (Uzb) bt Misaki Doi (Jpn) 6 1, 7 6; Valentini Grammatikopoulu (Gre) bt Kwan Yau NG (HKG) 6 0, 6 2; Nao Hibino (Jpn) bt Sabine Lisicki (Ger) 3 6, 6 3, 6 4; Barbora Stefkova (Cze) bt Tereza Martincova (Cze) 6 4, 6 4; Ekaterine Gorgodze (Geo) bt Sophia Shapatava (Geo) 6 2, 6 4; Irina Khromachava (RUS) bt Hiroko Kuwate 6 1, 6 4. Tokas surprises Tomar Panwar gets the better of Narwal NATL. BOXING Y.B. Sarangi PUNE Rohit Tokas sensationally knocked out Dalvir Tomar in a 64kg pre quarterfinals bout on a day that opened another chapter of the Services Railways rivalry in the National boxing championships at the Army Sports Institute here on Tuesday. In a fiercely fought 81kg contest that invited controversy, another Railways boxer Manish Panwar managed to beat Gagan Narwal of Services. Tomar went all out and attacked Tokas from the outset. The home boxer's welldirected left shots gave him the momentum and built pressure on Tokas in the first round. Tokas, who has the experience of competing in international events including the World Series of Boxing, was smart enough to adopt a more watchful approach. He resorted to counter attacks in the second round and delivered a full blooded right when Tomar offered a huge opening. Rohit Tokas. Y.B. SARANGI The Services boxer spectacularly fell on the canvas landing on his back. It was a rare occasion of a Railways boxer knocking out a Services rival. Nevertheless, the wild celebrations by the Railways supporters lacked sensitivity as Tomar was in a miserable state and barely managed to leave the ring. Narwal too dominated through a show of early aggression and made Panwar experience two counts in the opening round. The Railways pugilist fought back as Narwal received a cut on his forehead and was attended to by the doctor thrice in the second round. Services complained Facile win puts India in last four Korea wins a thriller against Australia in Division A ASIAN UNDER-18 N. Sudarshan BENGALURU India entered the Division B semifinals of the FIBA U 18 women s Asian championship with an easy victory over Singapore at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday. Point guard Gulabsha Ali (21 points) and Harshitha Bopaiah (15 points and 12 rebounds) starred as India quelled the Singapore challenge rather easily. From leading 20 3 in the first quarter, the host did drop its guard in the second, allowing Singapore to outscore it India however was back in control after the break, aided mainly by Ali s 13 point burst, which included three finely taken three pointers. The final 10 minutes proved merely academic. The pick of the matches on the third day of the tournament was the pulsating encounter between Australia and Korea in Division A that ended in the latter s favour. Midway into the third quarter, the Koreans were ahead by 15 (33 48), with guard Sohee Lee (21 points) and forward Jihyun Park (18) in tearaway form. Scoring spree But the key Aussie duo of captain Jazmin Shelley and Agnes Emma Nnopu, both of whom had gone without scoring for three and two DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD B Point guard Gulabsha Ali (21 points) and Harshitha Bopaiah (15 points and 12 rebounds) starred as India quelled the Singapore challenge rather easily DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD quarters each, came to fore. The Gems went on a uninterrupted 14 point scoring spree, going up with just seconds remaining. Lee though had the last laugh, downing a match winning basket to book Korea s semifinal berth. Later Japan too secured a last four spot, riding on a superlative second half performance to beat four time defending champion China After fighting each other to a virtual standstill for two quarters (41 45), Japan zoomed ahead in the third, notching up a whopping 21 consecutive points to leave China gasping. The two guards, Miyabi Sakamoto (14) and Norika Konno (19), were unstoppable in the paint, outscoring China Then Layla Takehara, the power forward, ensured that there would be no route back for the Chinese in the last period, taking her tally to 16 points. The results: Division A: Group A: Korea 63 bt Australia 62; Chinese Taipei 99 bt Indonesia 54; Group B: Japan 94 bt China 79; New Zealand 99 bt Malaysia 32. Division B: Group A: India 79 (Harshitha Bopaiah 15, Srishti Suren 12, Ishwarya Janardhanan 12, Gulabsha Ali 21) bt Singapore 49 (Shuting Wong 12); Iran 98 bt Guam 55; Group B: Hong Kong 80 bt Kazakhstan 73; Syria 44 bt Samoa 37. Nailing it: Sohee Lee sealed it for Korea with a last gasp effort. G.P. SAMPATH KUMAR when referee stopped the contest in favour of Panwar. A competent Boxing Federation of India (BFI) committee retained the decision following a review. Other important results: Prequarterfinals: 56kg: Madal Lal (SSCB) bt Roshan Sain (Raj) 5 0, Madhan R. (TN) bt V. Vinod (Tel) 4 1, Gaurav Bidhuri (RSPB) bt V. Bharany (Pud) RSC R2. 60kg: Manish Kaushik (SSCB) bt Vijay Kumar (Pun) 5 0, Kartik (Kar) bt Ravi Soy (Jha) 5 0, M. Moovendran (TN) bt H.C. Lalramfela (Miz) 5 0, Ankush Dahiya (RSPB) bt S. Wanbuddien (AIP) 5 0; 64kg: M. Srinivasa (AP) bt Chander Mohan (HP) 5 0, Rohan Patekar (Mah) bt Pappu Tamang (Sik) 4 1, Jimil Thomas (Ker) bt Sabari J. (TN) 4 1; 69kg: Dinesh Dagar (RSPB) bt Nishant Singh (Bih) RSC R2, Chander Bahadur Tomang (Kar) bt M. Elangbam (Man) RSC R1. 69kg: D.S. Negi (SSCB) bt Dharampal (HP) 5 0, Manish Solanki (Del) bt Jobanvir Singh (Pun) 3 2, Mohd. Rahil (Mah) bt Himanshu Solanki (Utk) kg: Manjeet Singh (SSCB) bt Bonel Singh (Man) 5 0, Prayag Chauhan (RSPB) bt Karan (Tri) 4 1; 81kg: Brijesh Yadav (Raj) bt Sanjay (Chd) 5 0, M. Saikalyan Goud (Tel) bt S.C.Chaudhary (Odi) RSC R1, Rahul Rathi (Del) bt Rajinder Singh (Man) 5 0. Sports scribe Sudarsan passes away DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD S. Sudarsan. Chennai S. Sudarsan, Senior Assistant Editor (Sports) of The Hindu, passed away here on Tuesday morning. He was 43 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Sudarsan, who joined The Hindu Sports Desk in 2001, was a meticulous sub editor with an eye for detail. A keen sportsman, who played cricket, tennis and football regularly, Sudarsan was a driving force behind many special football and tennis features in the sports pages of The Hindu. He had covered La Liga and Bundesliga for the newspaper. An active member of the Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists Association (TNSJA), Sudarsan had led the South Zone cricket team to victory in the J.K. Bose tournament in Thiruvananthapuram last year. The Sports Journalists Federation of India and TNSJA condoled the demise of Sudarsan. THE HINDU CROSSWORD ACROSS 9 Broadcast mama's nice speech. Way to go! (6,9) 10 Creatures filled with hopeless ennui, baloney (7) 12 It provides immunity for accountant sneaking into plant (7) 13 Animal droppings, discharge in boxes (9) 14 Middle Easterner overwhelmed by megalomania (5) 15 Wait up in order to avoid finishing off hash brownies (7) 18 Resilient English shoe built on this island by sea (7) 21 Animal subsequently switched sides (5) 23 Issue in away season (9) 25 More places for posh principals around number one academy (7) 26 Magnificent venture to cloak ordinary sexism perhaps (7) 29 It ends up at gallows after Lambert stabbed liar for gossip (15) DOWN 1 Plant for motherboard components (4) 2 Someone admired for independent study (4) 3 Non essential sound work for artist (8) 4 Fascinated by medusa at sea (6) 5 Legal body to inflict punishment for hunt (8) (set by Skulldugger) 6 Short, clumsy, old cowboy (6) 7 Drunk police officer hits worker, she files suit (8) 8 Forgetful woman dressed as iceman (8) 11 Recommended outrigger evenly placed on windward side (5) 15 Trimmed facial hair messes up cold weather headwear (8) 16 Allow entry to popular stars regularly, ordinary man rejected (8) 17 They help keep you on the wagon! (8) 19 Broken chord in chaotic opera gig (8) 20 Criminal renouncing wickedness finally might find such peace (5) 22 Crafty bachelor daily set aside money for the future (4,2) 24 Material from marvellous device's core (6) 27 Join up as band member (4) 28 Nepali legend has the old Italian upset (4) SUDOKU Solution to puzzle Solution to yesterday s Sudoku FAITH The fortunate devotee From time immemorial, realised souls have been blessed with the unique experience that is the result of divine grace, establishing a mutual bond with the Supreme Lord. Such experiences in turn have become a perennial source of inspiration to sustain the common man s faith and belief in God, pointed out Srimati Uma Balasubramanian in a discourse. Arunagirinathar is one such fortunate devotee who is chosen by Muruga and he thus enjoys an exceptional rapport with the Lord. From the meagre oral and recorded accounts available, it is held that Arunagirinathar lived around the 15 century in Tiruvannamalai. He was born in a Saivite family, was well versed in Tamil, Sanskrit, etc and had mastered the scriptures and fine arts in his young age. Legend has it that for some time he must have fallen into evil ways and decided to take his life by falling from a temple tower. But owing to past samskara, he is saved by Muruga whogives him the vision of His form of unsurpassed beauty and brilliance with His Vel and peacock. The Lord also addresses him as Natha. He who was known as Arunagiri till then now becomes Arunagirinathar. What greater privilege for a devotee than to be conferred at one stroke the three kinds of diksha of touch sparsha; sight nayana; and speech vachana? The benign Lord encourages him to sing His glories and, finding Arunagirinathar overwhelmed and speechless at this juncture, gives him the upadesa and also the first words of the famous composition Thirupughazh. These hymns contain the highest philosophical truths in a language of unequalled beauty and exceptional rhythmic charm. The songs that are set to melodious music create a magical effect on one and all. AND-NDE

15 SPORT THE HINDU NOIDA/DELHI WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, TV PICKS I League: Star Sports 2 (SD & HD), 2 p.m. ISL: Star Sports 1 (SD & HD), 7.30 p.m. PKL: Star Sports 2 (SD & HD), 7.30 p.m., 9 p.m. Pakistan vs New Zealand: 1st T20I, Sony Six (SD & HD), 9.30 p.m. IN BRIEF Advani moves into summit clash JINAN Pankaj Advani stormed into the final of the Asian snooker tour s second leg on Tuesday after impressive wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Advani cruised past Amir Sarkhosh of Iran 5 1 in the last eight stage with breaks of 75 and 80 break in the fourth and sixth frames. In the semifinal, he beat Pakistan s Mohammed Bilal 5 1 after the latter had made it 1 1 after two frames. PTI Ravi Rathore does it for ASC Ravi Rathore scored four goals to power Army Service Corps to an 8 5 victory over Krishan Polo in the opening league match of the Baroda Cup 10 goal polo tournament at the Army Equestrian Centre, Delhi Cantonment, on Tuesday. Aravali Polo is the other team in Group B. The other group has Jindal Panther, Rajnigandha Achievers, Garcha Group/ Cavalry, and LA Pegasus Polo. The results (league): Army Service Corps 8 (Ravi Rathore 4, Naveen Singh 2, G.S. Pandher, Krishna Inkiya) bt Krishan Polo 5 (Vishal Singh 3, Bhawani Singh Kalvi 2). Ghosal in third round of Qatar Classic DOHA Indian squash star Saurav Ghosal defeated Hong Kong s Leo Au 11 2, 11 3, 11 5 to enter the third round of the Qatar Classic, a PSA World tour platinum event, here on Tuesday. PTI City reclaims top spot Mahrez nets winner as Spurs rue missed chances Early goal: Riyad Mahrez made the most of a Tottenham defensive lapse to score. EURO LEAGUES Agencies London Manchester City returned to the Premier League summit on goal difference as it dug out a 1 0 victory over fifthplaced Tottenham Hotspur courtesy of an early goal by Riyad Mahrez at a subdued Wembley Stadium on Monday. It was not the free flowing City of late and Tottenham will rue missing some good chances to salvage something from a disjointed affair on a patchwork pitch at a half empty Wembley. The results: Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur 0 lost to Manchester City 1 (Mahrez 6). Serie A: Lazio 0 lost to Inter Milan 3 (Icardi 28, 70, Brozovic 41). SAI help to World Boxing meet The 51st Governing Body Meeting of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Tuesday decided to waive the booking charges from the organisers of the women's World Boxing Championship. The championship is to be held at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here from November 8 to 26. The Boxing Federation of India was reportedly keen to associate Khelo India, SAI, Union Sports Ministry as event partner. The Governing Body decided to waive the charges for the stadium and at the instance of Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore supported the idea of extending this facility to other federations organising international events. The meeting took some far reaching decisions in its attempt to bring in more professionalism and transparency in the administrative set up and also utilisation of the stadia. Rathore spelt out various steps being taken to address various issues plaguing sport in India. Emphasis The emphasis should be on creating the finest sporting infrastructure for our young athletes. Each discipline from our priority Olympic list should have a model arena. You give them the best and you will surely reap the best. We should strive to create general awareness about fitness. The idea is to find the next champion, he Rathore also highlighted the important role played by coaches. We have to improve the quality of coaching. We need to incentivise their work, so that we don't lose these top coaches to any other institutions, he added. REUTERS The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will undergo a restructuring based on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. It was noted that the restructuring was an overreaching objective to promote holistic development of the stadia based on an integral economic base that promotes sports, supporting participatin and excellence. It can be a model for restructuring other stadia. It has the best potential for becoming the hub of sporting activity, SAI Director General Neelam Kapur It will provide the best of facilities free of cost. It is generally the JNS is much underutilised. We will float a global tender and appoint a Transactional Advisor to guide us. Facile win for Kerala women VIJAYAWADA: Kerala recorded a seven wicket win over Delhi in the All India BCCI under 19 T20 tournament Super League in Guntur on Tuesday. The scores: Andhra 124 for five in 20 overs (V. Ramya Deepika 39) bt Baroda 68 in 17.5 overs (K. Dhatri four for one, E. Padmaja three for 14); Delhi 105 for eight in 20 overs lost to Kerala 109 for three in 19.1 overs (I.V. Drishya 54 not out, Jishna V. Joseph 37). Sasi Kumar moves up Sports Bureau Shenzhen (China) Qualifier Sasi Kumar Mukund defeated former World No.1 junior Yibing Wu 7 6(4), 6 2 in the first round of the $75,000 Challenger tennis tournament here on Tuesday. Third seed Ramkumar Ramanathan edged past qualifier Sumit Nagal 3 6, 6 4, 7 6(2). Other results: $75,000 Challenger, Shenzhen, China: First round: Ramkumar Ramanathan bt Sumit Nagal 3 6, 6 4, 7 6(2); Sasi Kumar Mukund bt Yibing Wu (Chn) 7 6(4), 6 2; Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Esp) bt Prajnesh Gunneswaran 6 3, 6 4; Johan Tatlot (Fra) bt Saketh Myneni 6 0 (retd.). $25,000 ITF men, Nonthaburi, Thailand: First round: Karunuday Singh bt Eduardo Agustin Torre (Arg) 6 2, 4 0 (retd.). ; Seong Chan Hong (Kor) bt Siddharth Vishwakarma 7 6(4), 6 2. $25,000 ITF men, Tay Ninh, Vietnam: First round: Robert Strombachs (Ger) bt Nitin Kumar Sinha 6 1, 6 4; Kunal Anand bt Aryan Goveas 6 4, 7 6(3). Cheng Yu Yu (Tpe) bt Niki Poonacha 3 6, 6 3, 7 5. $15,000 ITF women, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt: First round: Shan Yu (Chn) bt Vaidehi Chaudhari 7 5, 6 4. Tare hopes to build on Hazare win Wicketkeeper-batsman says the aim now is to bag Ranji title Amol Karhadkar MUMBAI Aditya Tare couldn t have started the season on a better note than bagging the Man of the Match in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final against Delhi last week. After all, the wicketkeeper batsman on the back of a mediocre season for himself and the team had been replaced as captain at the start of a fresh season in domestic cricket after leading Mumbai for a little over three years. As Mumbai gears up for its Ranji Trophy opener against Railways in New Delhi from Thursday, the eloquent Tare said his innings in the Hazare final will hold him in good stead for the rest of the season. Personally, I feel I had a slack year last season. I am pretty happy with how it s started. You always want to be a part of a champion side and want to contribute handsomely in that; so glad with the contribution I made NAGPUR: Leg spinner S. Kishan Kumar s six for 39 and S. Abishiek and R. Sonu Yadav s 98 run third wicket stand helped Tamil Nadu beat Delhi by six wickets the Vinoo Mankad Trophy u 19 one day tournament quarterfinals here on Tuesday. The scores (quarterfinal): Delhi 169 in 43.5 overs (Vaibhav Kandpal 53, Priyansh Arya 35, S. Kishan Kumar six for 39) lost to Tamil Nadu 170 for four in 33.3 overs (S. Abishiek 61 n.o., R. Sonu Yadav 50). Aditya Tare. FILE PHOTO in the final, Tare told The Hindu. Award was special To bag the Man of the Match [award] in the final was special because to end up staying for long in the Mumbai side, you are always recognised for your contribution in big games. I am glad I could achieve it at the start of the season. Adding that it was heartening to see Mumbai dominate in a format we have struggled as a team for the past few years,, Tare hoped Tamil Nadu in semis S. Kishan Kumar (TN, six for 39). the bowling unit, led by Dhawal Kulkarni, maintains the intensity for the next three months to help Mumbai regain the Ranji Trophy title. We usually play this tournament after the Ranji Trophy when the bowlers are pretty tired. Now when we played it at the start of the year, our bowlers were pretty fresh, that was one advantage not just for our team but all the teams as well, he Sustaining intensity Now the challenge for us as a team, especially the bowling unit, is to sustain this sort of a performance throughout the Ranji season. At the end of the day, we are very happy with the Vijay Hazare Trophy title but our eyes are on winning the 42nd Ranji title for Mumbai. For that, we have to sustain that sort of performance and intensity for the next three months. That s a big challenge we will be facing for the season. Rajendra wins Mangaluru: R.E. Rajendra of TVS Racing upstaged teammate R. Nataraj to win the MRF Rally de Mangaluru, the final round of the MRF Mogrip National Rally Championship 2018 for two wheelers. Having sealed the overall championship in the 260cc class in the previous round, Rajendra triumphed by 40 seconds.