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1 arely five days after an Bunderstanding was reached between the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of two neighbouring countries to honour the ceasefire agreement of November 2003 in letter and spirit, two BSF men were martyred while 11 others, including a policeman, received injuries in a fresh offensive by belligerent Pakistan along the International Border across Akhnoor sector of Jammu frontier in the wee hours of Sunday. At least 10 BSF posts and over two dozen Indian villages were hit by the intense shelling from the Pakistani side. Several mortar shells hit residential houses and caused extensive damage to the property and livestock. In retaliation, jawans of the BSF gave a befitting reply to the unprovoked mortar shelling and heavy firing from the Pakistani side. Unconfirmed reports claimed the Pakistani side too suffered heavy damage in the exchange of shelling. Panic-stricken residents in the area fled their homes and took shelter at safer places. Local police authorities had deployed mobile bunker vans to evacuate stranded border team of Bengal Gove- doctors has prima Arnment facie found no foul play in the unnatural death of BJP worker Dulal Kumar, who was on Saturday found hanging from an electric tower in Balrampur of Purulia district, triggering much political hullabaloo over ruling Trinamool Congress alleged politics of revenge. Purulia SP Akash Maghariya, quoting hospital reports, told reporters on Sunday that the team of five doctors, who conducted the post-mortem, concluded that Kumar died of asphyxia due to suicidal hanging. Curiously, Maghariya replaced his predecessor Joy Biswas a day ago for making similar statements. The BJP has demanded a CBI probe into the hanging. The BJP had claimed that the TMC cadre bumped the victim off because he ignored their warning against working for n today s times when human Iexistence has come to seriously depend on technology, it is pertinent to talk about mobile connectivity and the various aspects that are associated with it. Today, mobile phones are not just a luxury anymore but a phenomenon that rules people s lives and defines their choices and decisions. But if mobile phones enjoy such an elevated status in today s world then why is the majority of human populace still struggling to make use of this extraordinary creation of human endeavour to its advantage and not enjoying an uninterrupted, fast and hassle-free connectivity on their mobile devices? Airwave is an inexhaustible resource that is available despite pollution in the air and is available abundantly the world residents in the area. Eyewitness reports from ground zero claimed that the Pakistan Rangers were possibly aided by Pakistan Army regulars as heavy artillery firing was reported in the area. The blasts were audible even in several residential colonies in Jammu city. A high alert has been sounded across border villages of RS Pura, Samba and Hiranagar sectors. Inspector General of BSF, Jammu Frontier, Ram Awtar, said, The BSF is observing ceasefire agreement but the Pakistan Rangers resorted to unprovoked firing by targeting forward duty points along the International Border in Pargwal area around 1.15 am on Sunday. The IG said two BSF troopers, including ASI Satya Narayan Yadav and constable Vijay Kumar Pandey, sustained critical injuries, and later succumbed in hospital. Constable Pandey hailed from Fatehpur district and ASI Yadav from Devaria district of UP. Senior BSF, police, CRPF and Army officers attended the wreath-laying ceremony along with J&K Power Minister Sunil Sharma, BJP MLA Bali Bhagat and the Jammu Divisional Commissioner. Jammu Additional District Magistrate Arun Manhas said, the saffron outfit in the recently-concluded panchayat polls. Reacting to the Purulia SP s claim, a local BJP leader said, The (transferred SP) Biswas had declared the murder as suicide. The only difference is that the present SP made the same statement after the autopsy. This highlights that the Trinamool Government had already made up its mind on what the postmortem report would say. Kumar was the second BJP worker to die in a similar fashion in three days. On Thursday evening, another BJP man Trilochan Mahato from the same district was allegedly accosted and brutally beaten up and then hung from a tree by alleged TMC workers who reportedly left a warning poster by his side and on his T-shirt that gave the cause of his murder saying he died because of his saffron leanings. The BJP gave the TMC a stiff challenge in the Purulia panchayat elections. Continued on Page 4 over. This medium of transmission also does not need any major investment to be set up like amenities such as water, electricity and power do. After initial setting up of the network, all that is required is constant upgradation and enhancement in terms of technology, quality and expertise. Unfortunately, it is a shame that a smooth conversation on the mobile phone is still an illusion for most of us across the length and breadth of the country even though the number of mobile phones across India is soon going to surpass the total population of India. It has been almost 25 years since the mobile technology dawned upon this part of human civilisation but mobile connectivity is still eluding most of us. Poor call quality, frequent call drops, inflated bills and irregular connections are some of the issues that still stare at us Ten civilians were nursing their injuries in Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu. Injured residents came from Kana Chak, Shama Chak, Jhiri and Pargwal, he said, adding that a total number of 31 villages and approximately 27,000 people were affected in Subdivisions of Marh and Khour because of the crossborder firing. He said six lodgement blatantly with little chance of respite or promise from either the Government or the service provider. Poor service quality, Government apathy and the service providers resistance to newer technology are some of the snags that the telecom sector still face in India. One may argue that the towers that carry airwaves are also an investment in the telecom sector. But this investment is not done by the Government but by the private operators that is largely recoverable from the hapless consumers through a highly non-transparent system of billing. The fact is that expecting good digital connectivity in a country largely deprived of even the basic amenities like clean drinking water, hygienic food, consistent electricity supply, efficient education and health system and adequate women safety is still a /shelter cmps were kept ready for accommodating affected persons. Reacting to the reports of fresh ceasefire violation, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti told reporters in Srinagar, It s unfortunate that this has happened even after DGMOs held talks. People on both sides of the border are dying. The DGMOs should hold dialogue again. This bloodshed must be brought to an end. distant dream. The Indian consumer today is burdened with the non-stop tussle between the Government, service providers and the municipal corporations where each player gives unexplainable excuses and reasons for not being able to provide the right kind is services to the consumers. Even the last recourse of filing a case against the defaulters is laden with many problems. The Indian judiciary is already behind time with approximately 3 crore pending cases coupled with an acute shortage of almost 43,000 judges. Sadly, the entire system of getting justice is far more painful than dealing with the problem itself. Surprisingly though, lakhs of crores have already been collected by auctioning air, a surcharge that is going to be paid by the already suffering consumer. That is n Indian Air Force special Aaircraft carrying External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Mauritius went off radar for around 14 minutes on Saturday, causing anxiety to the authorities in the island nation. The plane later landed safely shortly after the Mauritius air traffic control pressed the panic button and tried to locate the flight. Sushma was travelling to South Africa from Trivandrum with a stopover at Mauritius on IAF VVIP Embraer aircraft Meghdoot. However, the scare happened when Mauritian air traffic control and the crew of the Embraer could not establish contact with each other for some time after the plane entered Mauritius airspace. Since the aircraft out of its radar was carrying a VIP, the Mauritius Air Traffic Control (ATC) pressed the alarm button INCERFA 12 minutes after Sushma s plane lost contact with the ATC. The usual drill is to wait for at least 30 minutes before declaring a plane missing or pressing the panic button INCERFA, which means it is not known if the aircraft or its occupants are safe. The MEA has not commented on the issue so far. Government sources said the crew of the flight followed the laid down procedure to deal with the situation. The Indian Air Force (IFC 31) carrying the Minister of External Affairs departed from Trivandrum at 1408 IST for Mauritius. The aircraft changed over from Indian airspace to Male ATC which then established contact with the aircraft at 1644 IST. However, IFC 31 could not contact Mauritius ATC after entering Mauritius airspace. Mauritius ATC activated INCERFA (uncertainty phase), the Airports Authority of India said in a statement. The uncertainty phase is the first of the three emergency phases, the other two being the alert phase and the distress phase. Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta, along with State BJP chief Ravinder Raina, visited injured victims in the Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu. Local BJP MLA Ch Sukhnandan said, It is high time the Central Government took stern action against Pakistan as it is becoming difficult for the border residents to sustain themselves in the wake of frequent firing incidents along the border. Angry border residents also demanded strong retaliation Ṫhe injured were identified as constable Mohd Zakir, CT JP Deka (BSF), Sudhakar Singh (50), Vikram Singh (35), Pooja Devi (32), Pala Ram (52), Vishal Kumar (18), Rajinder Singh (50), Bansi Lal (40), Balvinder Singh (22) and Sulakshana Devi (25). Official sources said so far 46 people have lost their lives during different incidents of ceasefire violations alone this year. The dead includes 20 security personnel. Nine civilians and two BSF personnel were killed in different incidents of cross-border firing and shelling along the IB in RS Pura, Samba and Hiranagar sectors of Jammu frontier during the holy month of Ramzan. Over 60,000 border residents were forced to migrate to safer places and take shelter inside relief centres set up by the State Government to ensure their safety and security. It was only after the formal announcement of ceasefire was recently made that thousands of border residents had returned to their homes after a gap of almost two weeks. Meanwhile, construction work of community bunkers and shelter homes for border residents is yet to begin on ground zero. The Union Government had earlier sanctioned over 14,000 bunkers for border residents across Jammu province at an estimated cost of 415 crores. how the system works in our country. Almost three years have passed since Digital India campaign was launched by the Government in July 2015 and mobile services still remain archaic in most parts of the country. Largely so because the investments under the initiative are being utilised in making smartphones and internet devices at an affordable price and not towards improving the telecom infrastructure in the country. Without doubt, the positive outcome of this endeavour would be the generation of jobs and reduced cost of production. But what use are the n order to make it easier for Icitizens to pay homage to martyrs even from geographically distant locations, the Centre has planned to upgrade and add new features to the Bharat Ke Veer mobile app, including pushp varsha, to the departed soldiers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to introduce offering digital homage on Bharat ke Veer and promote it aggressively. Sources said the Prime Minister s Office (PMO) has also directed that a record of visitors utilising this facility should be maintained. The development will make it convenient for those who cannot afford to visit war memorials but are ready to pay highest respect to the martyrs. After digital transactions, this is the Modi Government s second major digital push. There are 120 war memorials across the country where people visit occasionally to pay ours after a Congress del- from Madhya Hegation Pradesh on Sunday met the Election Commission and demanded an enquiry into the alleged 60 lakh fake voters among the 5-crore electorate in the State, the poll panel has deputed two teams to probe the accusation. The EC has directed probe into the alleged errors in the voters list and asked the teams to submit their reports by June 7. One team from Bhopal will probe the alleged irregularities in the Assembly constituencies of Narela and Bhojpur, while the second team will probe the N a r m a d a p u r a m (Hoshangabad) and Seoni Malwa constituencies. The EC asked teams to reach the spot by June 4. Earlier, a Congress delegation led by Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia met EC officials and sought action on the irregularities in the voters list. Out of 5 crore voters in Madhya Pradesh, according to the Congress claims, 12 per cent of them are fake. In the last Assembly elections held in the State, the difference between the Congress and BJP s share was 8.5 per cent. As per the EC order, the team will probe the specific issues raised in the complaint. The EC order said Divisional Commissioner of Bhopal and N a r m a d a p u r a m (Hoshangabad) divisions will work as roll observers for the respective divisions, and they shall direct the deputy electoral officers and the electoral roll officers to assist the Commission. Continued on Page 4 devices if the mobile services are so poor and erratic? It is akin to owning a luxury car but no fuel to run it. It s about time we seriously reworked and revamped the connections. homage to those who lost their lives for the country. Traditionally, the Prime Minister and other VIPs, including armed forces chiefs, visit the Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate every year, to pay homage to the martyrs. If the system is developed, this will attract more people to visit the site virtually and pay homage, said sources. Digital shradhanjali provides space to create a digital profile of a martyr listing their details, achievement, family members, photos, et al. Using this app, individuals can also contribute directly into the bank accounts of the bravehearts kin or to the Bharat Ke Veer corpus. Continued on Page 4

2 n a bid to ensure smooth Imovement of commuters at the new interchange stations of the Magenta Line, the Delhi Metro on Sunday said it has installed 10 extra Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gates at the Hauz Khas metro station and 6 at Janakpuri West station. A senior Delhi Metro official said total number of AFC gates at these new stations have been increased from 12 to 22 at Hauz Khas and from 6 to 12 at Janakpuri (West) metro stations. In addition, the Old Hauz Khas metro station (Yellow Line) already has 7 AFC gates and Janakpuri (W) Station (Blue Line) has 13 AFC gates respectively. Besides, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation recently increased the frequency of trains on a few lines in, and now all trains coming from the Vishwavidyalaya station terminating at HUDA City Centre, a senior DMRC official said. Earlier some trains would terminate at the Qutub Minar station. Thus, the frequency of trains between Qutab Minar- HUDA City Centre stations has also increased from every 4 minutes and 11 seconds to 2 minutes and 47 seconds, said Anuj Dayal, Executive Director, DMRC's Corporate Communications. The km Janakpuri- Kalakji Mandir section of the Magenta Line was opened to the public on May 29, which has 16 stations - 14 underground, two elevated - including one that caters to travellers moving in and out of the domestic terminal of the city airport (Terminal 1- IGI Airport station). The five-level new Hauz Khas station (with Yellow Line) and Janakpuri West (Blue Line) station are the interchange facilities, and with the opening of the new corridor, more commuters are using the two stations. With a view to ensure smooth movement of commuters at the new interchange stations of Line-8 (Magenta Line), 10 extra automatic fare collection (AFC) gates have been installed at the new Hauz Khas station and six extra AFC gates at Janakpuri West station, the senior DMRCofficial said. The total number of AFC gates at these new stations have thus increased from 12 to 22 at Hauz Khas and from six to 12 at Janakpuri West metro stations. In addition, the old Hauz Khas metro station (on Yellow Line) already has seven AFC gates and Janakpuri West Station ( on Blue Line) 13 AFC gates respectively, said Dayal. Also, recently, three more trains each have been added on the Red Line (Rithala-Dilshad Garden) and the Blue Line (Dwarka Sec-21- Noida City Centre), increasing the total number of trains to 29 and 64 respectively, the DMRC said. Similarly, on Yellow Line Chhattisgarh Rural Roads Development Agency VIKASH BHAVAN, CIVIL LINES, RAIPUR (C.G.) E-Procurement Tender Notice NIT No. 336 /CE/TECH./CGRRDA/2018 Dated 01/06/2018 The Superintending Engineer / Convener (Tender Ceil), CGRRDA on behalf of Governor of Chhattisgarh invites the percentage rate bids on SOR of PMGSY 22/02/2018 amended till date in electronic tendering system for construction of roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana PMGSY Batch- I Year for the district of Sukma of 35 number of roads with 03 Package, Length Km, Total Estimated Cost of Rs Lacs (Including 12 % G.S.T.) as per B.O.Q. including their routine maintenance for five years from the eligible contractors registered with unified registration system ( e-registration). Date of release of Invitation for Bids through e-procurement: 5/06/2018 Availability of Bid Documents and mode of submission: The bid document is available online and should be submitted online in The bidder would be required to register in the web-site which is free of cost. For submission of the bids, the bidder is required to have a valid Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) from one of the authorized Certifying Authorities. The bidders are required to submit (a) original bid security in approved form and (b) original affidavit regarding correctness of information furnished with bid document as per provisions of Clause 4.4 B (a) (ii) of ITB with Superintending Engineer / Convener, Tender Cell, CGRRDA, Vikash Bhawan, Civil Lines, Raipur C.G. on a date not later than three working days after the opening of technical qualification part of the Bid, either by Speed/ Registered post, failing which the bids shall be declared non-responsive. Last Date/ Time for receipt of bids through e-procurement as' per time schedule. For further details please log on to In future any related corrigendum Sd/- Superintending Engineer/Convener (Tender Cell) Chhattisgarh Rural Road Development Agency R.O.No: /5 Civil Lines, Raipur (C.G.) R.D. Dated:- 02/06/ pmgsyrc4@yahoo.co.in CENTRAL PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT NOTICE INVITING e-tender The Executive Engineer Q-Division, CPWD East Block, R.K Puram, New Delhi on behalf of President of India invites online perecentage rate (CPWD-7) tender from the approved and eligible contractors of CPWD for the following work 1. NIT No. 14/EE/Q-Divn./ Name of work :- Upgradation of C-I, C-II, D-II at Moti Bagh and D-I/E, M.S Flats Type V at Bapu Dham under 2/Q Sub Division, New Delhi Dg (SH:-Water proofing Renovation of damaged Garage) Estimated Cost:- Rs. 22,41,011/- Earnest Money:- Rs. 44,820/- Period of completion :- 02 Month, Last date and time of submission of bid at 12:00 P.M. 2. NIT No. 15/EE/Q-Divn./ Name of work:- Aesthetic improvement to 68 Nos. D-II Type Qtrs. Under 4Q Sub Division at Nanakpura, New Delhi during (SH: Repair of R.C.C Chhajjas, plaster repair, External finishing with acrylic smooth exterior paint etc.) Estimated Cost:- Rs. 26,69,040/- Earnest Money:- Rs. 53,381/- Period of completion:- 06 Month, Last date and time of submission of bid at 12:00 P.M. 3. NIT No. 16/EE/Q-Divn./ Name of work:- A/R & M/O 160 T-IV, 112 T-III & 96 T-II and 32 T-IV M.S. flats at N.W.Moti Bagh under 2/Q Sub-Division New Delhi dg (SH: Painting, white washing, distempering and change of tenancy quarters) Estimated Cost:- Rs. 33,28,696/- Earnest Money:- Rs. 66,574/- Period of completion:- 04 Month, Last date and time of submission of bid at 12:00 P.M. The tender forms and other details can be obtained from the website or (Samyapur Badli-HUDA City Centre), the total number of trains have been increased to 55 from 54. The frequency of trains on the Red Line have increased from 3 minutes and 20 seconds to 3 minutes and 6 seconds. On the Blue line, the frequency of trains have increased from 2 minutes and 46 seconds to 2 minutes and 40 seconds, the Delhi Metro said. The increase in the number of trains has also resulted in an increase in the total number of train trips on these lines; on the Red Line being 25 more trips, and 43 more trips on the Blue Line. The total train trips have increased from 3,650 to 3,735 across network, including the fully operational Magenta Line. The entire Magenta Line (37.46 km) spans from Botanical Garden to Janakpuri West stations. The km Botanical Garden-Kalakaji Mandir corridor was inaugurated on last December 25. Besides, at 29 metres, the new Hauz Khas station on the new corridor of the Magenta Line is the deepest metro station in the entire network and an engineering landmark as its tunnel goes beneath that of the existing station on the Yellow Line. hree minor girls, working Tas domestic helps, were rescued by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) within a week, said a DCW official on Sunday. The official said the DCW office received a call that a 14-yearold girl works as domestic help at the Kingsway camp. Following which the DCW team immediately reached the place along with police team and found the minor girl working there. The girl told police that after her father's death, her mother used to live with her stepfather. She said she had requested her cousin for job in Delhi, who was known to the family of her current employers. She was getting a salary of 5,000 per month since February. However, she informed that she was only rom app-based lot booking Fsystem to pedestrianfriendly model parking zones, the civic body in south Delhi is ramping up its smart parking infrastructure while encouraging people to use public transport to reach markets. A top official of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) said it has adopted a community-led development policy under which marketing associations and resident welfare associations (RWAs) are being engaged to come out with win-win initiatives. We have leveraged technology in booking parking lots and there is a mobile app for booking the facility. People in marketing areas don't get a paper slip, but a notification on phone when they book it. Also, people can pre-book a slot like paid 12,000 and that too was handed over to her cousin, said the official. The DCW official said that the owner of the house, where the 14-year-old girl was working is a businessman, dealing with auto-parts.the girl has been shifted to a shelter home and was later produced in front of the Child Welfare Committee. Based on the order of the Child Welfare Committee, Delhi Police registered an FIR and also sought an ossification test of the girl. A case under sections 75, 76, 3, 14 and 16 of the Juvenile Justice Act has been registered. DCW chief Swati Maliwal said, These small girls working in such conditions are really inhuman. Humanity itself is at stake. We all need to ensure a healthy childhood, education and health facilities for these kids. All stakeholders must come together and act. n a bid to improve the qual- of education in Haryana's Iity Government schools, the State Government is going to develop 'English language labs' in Government Model Sanskriti schools. Students from Class XI to Class XII will attend 40 minute long special workshops to improve their spoken English. The students will get microphones and headphones to improve pronunciations and vocabulary as well. A Model Sanskriti school located at Sushant Lok is about to start a training session for the students. A pilot project would be started in several districts in the entire state. The electronic gadgets Microphone and Headphones will also provide to build confidence among the children's. Students of government schools in several districts will get special English lessons from teachers while sitting in the classrooms. The problem is that the students do not have confidence. There are students who do not know English grammar rules. In such a situation, how can we expect them to compete private school students? We hope these lessons will improve confidence level among the students, said, the principal of government run school on the condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, to make the project successful the Education Department is identifying quality educators who will deliver valuable lessons across the government-run a seat in a movie theatre, said Prem Shankar Jha, Deputy Commissioner, RP Cell at SDMC. He said several rounds of discussions have been held with representatives of marketing associations and RWAs to encourage them to contribute towards making markets a decongested and pedestrian-friendly as possible. And, results have been very positive. A free e-rickshaw service has been started recently by the Central Market Association of Lajpat Nagar for providing last-mile connectivity for shoppers who are coming to the place via metro, he told PTI. Ten e-rickshaws are currently being used and it also helps decongest the place, which makes shopping a more pleasant experience. In all great cities, be it London, Paris, Berlin, 41-year-old man has been Aarrested by the Delhi Police Special cell for supplying fake Indian currency notes. Police had kept a reward of 1 lakh on his arrest. Pramod Singh Kushwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special cell, said, A team of Special Cell arrested Narendra alias secretary, a resident of Rohtak in Haryana. During interrogation, he disclosed that he used to procure these FICNs as well as drugs from Kaliachak, Malda from different sources, who used to smuggle these FICNs from Pakistan via Bangladesh border. Police said they had been working for past few months to bust gangs involved in the circulation of fake Indian Currency notes. Narender is a hardcore criminal and regular trafficker of fake currency. He has been arrested three times by the Haryana police in schools. The children will get English lessons with the help of Audio-Video tutorials. To enhance their capacity of understand and learn English lessons, the government will also provide media player facilities in the school, an official with the Education Department, said. This is a really beneficial programme that can improve education standards in government schools. Also, this will be the best method to make learning smooth and easy. The state government was making efforts to enhance learning level of students studying in government schools of the state, Asha Mizlani, Principal, Government Model Sanskriti School, Sushant Lok, said. In 2016 also, Special Cell arrested him with fake currency worth 3 lakh in the denomination of After he was released from jail on bail, Special Cell was continuously monitoring his movement. During monitoring, it came to notice that Narender along with another Narender has gone to Kaliachak, Malda in West Bengal to procure new fake currency. he Delhi Police arrested a T19-year-old boy for snatching a woman's purse containing phones and cash in Outer Delhi's Mangolpuri area on Sunday. Police said the alert patrolling team managed to nab one of the accused, while the other managed to run away. According to police, the woman, Noori, was walking from home towards the Avantika Market when two bike-borne men came and robbed her of her two mobile phones and 15,000 cash. The woman raised an alarm after which locals gathered and one of the robbers was caught by police patrolling team. However, the other Shanghai, streets in market areas are kept either pedestrianised or as much traffic-free as possible. Shopping experience is enhanced if less cars are around and people can stroll around with period furniture installed to aesthetically enhance the look-and-feel of the place, Jha said. Many traders initially used to think that more cars near their shops meant more business, but it is the other way around, as harried shoppers would not spend much time in the market, he said. Incidentally, the SDMC is the nodal agency engaged for the parking management area plan (PMAP) for the national capital, being firmed up by the Delhi government to decongest the city and also make it pedestrian-friendly. According to the plan, civic bodies in Delhi will levy onethird charges for multi-level parking facilities compared to surface parking rates, and parking within 25 m from roundabouts and traffic intersections would be disallowed, among other measures. The idea is to come up with a holistic parking policy for the city, which also addresses needs of pedestrians. We also want to discourage long-term surface parking and incentivise multi-level parking to keep the city decongested, Jha said. The SDMC, meanwhile has identified Lajpat Nagar and Kailash Colony areas for model parking facilities, which would be developed according to the parking plan that also envisage to address spill-over of vehicles. We are also in the process of having 'parking mitras' who will help people and also raise awareness about the policy, he said. While the other Narender was apprehended on January 12, Narender aka Secretary was absconding. Kushwah said that the team were tipped off that Narender will be going to meet his family on May 31. Based on this input, our team laid a trap in Rohtak and caught him. FICN worth 30,000 in the denomination of 2,000 were found from his possession. On enquiry, he told police that he had disposed off the FICN consignment while he was on run. During sustained interrogation, Narender Kumar revealed that in 1998, he robbed Rs. 1 lack 75 thousands from Rahul Electronics, which is behind Rohtak Court with his associates Neelam, Purshottam and Jitender. Till date he is involved in more than 30 cases of Robbery, Dacoity, Arms Act and FICNs, registered against him in Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana. In two cases, he has been convicted. accused managed to flee with the two phones and cash. Rajender Singh Sagar, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Outer district, said, We have registered a case under section 392 (Punishment for robbery), 397 (Robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and 25 and 27 of the Arms Act at the Mangolpuri police station. The officer said, The arrested accused has been identified as 19-year-old Imran while the other accused, has been identified as Ashish. Both are residents of Wazirabad. he Delhi Police on Sunday Tarrested two African nationals and busted a drug racket and recovered high quality heroin worth 1 crore from their possession. Police identified the accused as Sace Lirbat (33) and Okna Andern (29) both natives of Ivory Coast, a West African country. On May 28, based on a tip off, the duo were arrested from Uttam Nagar where they had gone to supply heroin to a peddler. Both the accused were staying in India illegally, they said. We have recovered 50 grams (of heroin) from them. Further probe and interrogation is going on and the chain of supply is being investigated, said Santosh Kumar Meena, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police. The sleuths of the Anti- Narcotics Squad of the Dwarka district were tipped off that the accused would be coming to Uttam Nagar. A trap was laid Som Bazaar Chowk, Kabaadi Road, Om Vihar Phase-3, Uttam Nagar. On finding police the accused tried to flee. The officer said as the road was under construction, both the accused fell down and were overpowered by police. Police said they are trying to establish the chain. body of 4-year-old boy, Awho was allegedly kidnapped in December 2016, was found stuffed inside a box on neighbour s terrace in Garima Garden area of Sahibabad on Sunday morning. Police said they are investigating the case. Police said the body was found in a box placed on the terrace of the neighbouring house. According to police, the deceased has been identified as Zaid Mohommad, who was allegedly kidnapped from outside his house in lane number 3 of Garima Garden. On Saturday evening, the light cover of the wooden box was blown due to a light storm. While on Monday when a boy, who was playing on the terrace, peeped inside the box and he found the body. After which he raised an alarm and then the owner of the house informed the police, said a senior police officer. The body was found in an extremely rigid condition and it seems that the body was hid inside the box after killing him, police said. The deceased s house is adjacent to where the body was found. The family members of the deceased were informed about the incident. We have sent the body for post mortem and have formed teams to investigate the matter, said a senior police officer. Police had earlier arrested two suspects in the kidnapping case even after which they could not trace the missing boy.

3 n order to brand national ICapital as tourist hot spot, the Delhi Government will now hire services of a professional "social media agency" for portraying Delhi as a touristfriendly destination on various social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. The Delhi Government is apparently following the footsteps of other States like Rajasthan, Gujarat etc that are very active on the social media to tap their optimal potential as tourism hub. The Tourism Department of the Delhi Government is out with a plan under which it will undertake several initiatives and measures one of them being hiring of a professional social media agency. A Delhi Government official said Delhi has several tourist destinations which include monuments, markets, temples among others, but there is need to promote the national capital on social networking sites through which millions of people can be reached. Delhi is also known as heritage city which has several monuments. n order to make sure that Iavian and animal species in national Capital do not die due to thirst in the scorching heat, the Environment Department of the Delhi Government will make adequate arrangements of making drinking water available for birds and animals. In its bid to conserve the biodiversity in the national Capital, the Environment Department has plans to engage several civic bodies and Forest Department in its endeavour. The Environment Department will communicate to various civic and greening agencies on making adequate drinking water arrangements for birds and animals, said a Delhi Government official. In a note issued by Environment Minister Imran Hussain, the emphasis has been laid on preservation of biodiversity in the city. "During summer months in the midst of scorching heat and high temperatures, availability of drinking water for birds and animals is a serious challenge. "Various species of birds and animals enrich the biodiversity of the area. There have been cases in the past where ore than three lakh appli- have registered Mcants themselves for various undergraduate courses at the undergraduate (UG) admission portal of Delhi University for academic session whose admission process began on May 15 and will last till June 7. As per the data provided by DU officials, candidates have registered at the online UG admission portal by Saturday evening. Out of it, registrations are for the merit based UG courses while registrations are for the entrance based UG courses. While the total number of paid applications for UG courses being The total number of male applicants was more than total number of female applicants by more than 19,000. As the total number of male applicants stood at while total female applicants were The total numbers of applicant who have applied under the others category were just 72. The first cut-off for merit based courses will be announced on June 19 while document verification, approval of admission, and payment of fees against the first cut-off would be made from June 19 to June 21. The notification for second cut-off marks list by the colleges will be announced on June 25 while document verification, approval of admission and payment of fees against it would be made from June 25 to June 27. The third cut-off list by colleges will be announced on June 30 while admission against it would be made from June 30 to July 3. The fourth cut-off would be announced on July 6 and admission against the fourth cut-off would be made from July 6 to July 9. The fifth and the final cut-off list will be announced by colleges on July 12 and document verification, approval of admission and payment of fees against the fifth cut-off will be made from July 12 to July 14. The applicants who meet the requisite cut-off should login to the UG admission portal using their registration account and select college/programme where the "The social media agency will be hired by September this year. The work of this agency is to brand Delhi as a tourist friendly destination on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. "The social media agency will make plans and execute them for branding Delhi," said the official. According to the official, governments of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and among others are also "very active" on social media sites to promote tourism in birds have died due to thirst, scarcity of water," the note said. The Minister said the Environment Department should request various greening agencies like the Forest Department of the Delhi Government, the three municipal corporations, New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi Cantonment Board, to make adequate drinking water arrangements for birds and animals in their respective areas. applicant wishes to take admission and meets the desired cutoff criterion. The applicant shall take the print out of the admission/registration form and together with the list of documents/certificates and proceed to the respective college for verification of mark-sheet/certificates, calculation of cut-off percentage depending on the programme/course. The applicant will then be required to login to the UG admission portal to make the online admission fee payment through the available online payment options. The approved applicant is permitted to make online admission fee payment till 12 noon of the next day of the last day of admission cut-off list. The college will retain the original certificates of an approved applicant in order to their respective states. As part of the plan, the Delhi government will also produce five short videos and six radio jingles to promote tourism in the national capital. Apart from this, "tourist literature" will also be published. When the AAP came to power, it had invited "innovative" ideas from senior bureaucrats, who have travelled to foreign countries, to make Delhi an international tourist destination and increase the time tourists stay in the city by giving them more options to explore the heritage city. "An action taken report may be furnished to me within a week," Hussain said in the note dated June 1. The Minister has urged that there was a need for ensuring that adequate drinking water arrangements for birds and animals in parks, forests, green areas, should be there. "There is also need for ensuring that vessels/pots kept for drinking water are cleaned from time to time to ensure proper hygiene. "For birds, water vessels avoid multiple admissions. The certificates will remain with the colleges during the admission process. After this, the college will approve the admission on the UG admission portal. However, the colleges shall promptly return the documents in case the student withdraws/cancels the admission or student wishes to appear in counselling of any other university/ institute. For students who wish to take admission under Sikh Minority category are required to fill the university's common registration form and select the "Sikh Minority Category". The candidature for admission under Sikh minority category will not be considered valid in any case, unless printout shows that candidate have selected Sikh Minority Category at the time of application. Further students seeking admission under Sikh Minority Category must furnish "Minority Certificate" issued by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) at the time of admission. On the other hand more than applicants have registered for postgraduate (PG) courses at PG admission portal of DU. Total male registrations for PG being while total female applications for PG being Total registrations for PG under others category were 57. Total paid applications in PG were n order to meet the increas- power demand in the Iing national Capital, the BSES will source adequate electricity to provide uninterrupted supply to their 40 lakh consumers. BSES discoms have already made arrangements in this regard. The arrangements include long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and banking arrangements with states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and even Bhutan. The peak power demand in the national Capital had reached to 6,651 MW on Friday, highest ever recorded in the city. According to discom officials, the peak power demand in June may breach the 7,000 MW mark. Last summers, it was recorded at 6,526 MW. Generally, the peak demand used to be recorded in mid of July when hot and humid conditions prevail across the city. The peak demand has advanced to early June in last few years. A senior BSES official said emoval of speed breakers Rfrom roads often leaves behind potholes and sharp objects hazardous to vehicle tyres, the Delhi High Court has noted and directed the AAP Government and the local bodies to coordinate and ensure necessary repairs are carried out. The directions by a Bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and A.K Chawla came during the hearing of two PILs claiming existence of unauthorised speed breakers on Delhi roads and seeking their removal. The Delhi Government was also directed to display on its Public Works Department's (PWD) site the certificates approving the "authorised" speed breakers which number 589 according to the government portal. The court asked the secretary, PWD, to file an affidavit indicating the action taken by the department to remove unauthorised speed breakers in the national Capital and warned that contempt proceedings would be initiated in case of failure to file the details. With the directions, the Bench listed the matter for further hearing on August 8. The Delhi Government, BSES discoms will get up to 665 MW of power through banking arrangements. Additionally, around 150 MW of renewable energy from Himachal Pradesh and around 20 MW from Rajasthan will further boost the power arrangements. In case of unforeseen contingencies because of low generation and outages of power plants, the discoms will purchase shortterm power from the exchange, he added. Peak power demand in BRPL's area of South and West Delhi, which had reached 2,745 MW during the summers of 2017, is expected to cross 2,880 MW this year. While the demand in BYPL's area of East and Central Delhi which had reached 1,469 MW last year is expected to touch around 1,670 MW," said the official. he Rajdhani College of should be kept at safe locations, TDelhi University (DU) has preferably in the shade and at some height so that predators could be prevented from attacking birds. Similar arrangements need to be made for quenching the thirst of installed a "Composting Unit" which will convert the organic waste generated within the campus into the nutrient-rich compost or soil. The installation cost of animals," he said. Composting Unit is Delhi is home to a number of parks and gardens under various agencies, notably, Lodhi Gardens, Nehru Park, Coronation Park, and various biodiversity parks, which are also home to several species of birds. Rs 3, 10, 000 and it has capacity of handling 25 kilograms of organic waste material per day. The unit will convert 25 kg of waste it into about 5 kg of compost every day. The compost unit was inaugurated on Sunday by Prof Rajesh meanwhile, has told the court that if members of the general public come across a speed breaker which is likely to be hazardous or dangerous, they can give its details on the Facebook or WhatsApp account of the Delhi Police. The police, in turn, will inform the PWD or the municipal corporation concerned which shall take action within two weeks of getting the information. The PILs, filed by advocate Rajiv Singh and NGO, Guru Hanuman Society of India, have alleged that the city's civic agencies have allowed construction of speed breakers without complying with the guidelines of the Indian Road Congress and the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure Centre. child's right to mainte- is not restricted to Anance his father paying for two daily meals only but must be determined on the basis of benefits he would have enjoyed as if he was living with his parents, a Delhi court has said. The court's observation came while directing a man to pay Rs 12,000 per month to his estranged wife for maintaining their eight-year-old son. Additional Sessions Judge Sanjiv Jain rejected the appeal filed by the man against a magisterial court order directing him to pay Rs 12,000 towards maintenance of the child and Rs 6,000 to wife for her expenses every month in a domestic violence case lodged by her. "The scope of his (father's) duty is to be regulated directly in relation to the money, status that he enjoys. The right to maintenance of a child from his father cannot be restricted to two meals a day but must be determined on the basis of benefit, status and money that the child would have enjoyed as if he was living with the family including mother and father," the judge said. Tandon, Dean of Student Welfare, DU. The organic matter that may be used in the process are brown organic materials i.e. dead leaves, shredded twigs and green organic material lawn clippings, fruit rinds etc. Apart from it kitchen waste like egg shells, bones, meat etc can also be used however plastic, iron nails, glass, jute etc are to be avoided. "It is a fully automated machine though it can be operated manually. The degradation of organic material happens through an enzyme provided by the company which is supposed to be added manually in A ttacking the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government for prevailing water shortage in the national Capital, Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken said the crisis is a result of the Delhi Government's apathy to deal with the situation. He also said 48 per cent of the total water supply is wasted in leakages but instead of doing something to plug the leakages, the Government is busy passing the buck and diverting people's attention by raising other irrelevant issues. Maken's statement came days after the talks about the possibility of a coalition between the two parties were started as AAP leader Dilip Pandey took to twitter to claim that the Congress is in touch with them for an alliance. However, Congress president ruled out any possibility of forming a coalition with the AAP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Addressing gathering of party workers and residents at different locations in Delhi during its a month long 'Jal Satyagraha', he said that during the 15-year rule of the Congress Government in Delhi, there was hardly any water crisis as water treatment The court accepted the contention of the woman, who got married in 1998, that she was beaten and tortured by her husband as their relationship got strained after he developed a relationship with their house maid after six years of their marriage. It also said just because there was no medico legal case for each time she was beaten, does not mean she was not tortured. In his appeal against the magisterial court order, the man claimed that he was earning between Rs 15,000-20,000 per month and had the liability to take care of his ailing father. the process. The by-products are also environmental friendly and the unit is easy to operate without much hassle," said Dr. Pankaj Kumar Garg, convener, Committee on Environment, Rajdhani College. Garg said "Composting Unit" is a stepping stone towards making college go "green" and in internally managing the organic waste generated in college and use the compost in various gardening activities. "Also it is a great opportunity for the students to learn greener methods within the premises and learn sustainable living," he said. capacity was increased from 526MGD to 906 MGD. "On the other hand, the AAP Government has done nothing in this regard in its four-year rule," he said. Maken also said the Congress party, as a responsible Opposition, has begun the "Jal Satyagraha" across the city to make people aware about the actual reasons for the shortage of water. "The present crisis has completely exposed the AAP Government's lies of giving free water to the people," he said. Maken further said the Government, which had promised to eliminate the water tanker mafia is now in league with the tanker mafia and people are forced to purchase water from these mafias due to the non-availability of potable water. "Instead of putting an end to the rule of the water tanker mafia, the AAP Government has increased the number of tankers which points to corruption and a major scam," he alleged. The month-long Jal Satyagraha agitation was started on June 1 and will conclude on June 30 in all assembly constituencies of Delhi, especially those having a large concentration of unauthorised colonies, resettlement colonies and the areas where the poor people live. The court, however, said the trial court has rightly assessed the husband's income to be more than Rs 50,000 per month as fitness trainer. In her complaint, the woman had alleged that she had separated from her husband several times and had even approached police but they reconciled after the man apologised and assured he would live peacefully with her. She alleged that she finally separated from him in 2011 after the birth of her son in 2010 as the man stopped giving her money for household expenses and continued torturing her. elhiites woke up to a pleas- morning on Sunday Dant with the minimum temperature settling at 27.7 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year. The maximum temperature was recorded at 39.7 degrees Celsius, one notch below the normal, while the sky remained partly cloudy. Humidity oscillated from 41 per cent to 72 per cent, a Met department official said. The maximum temperature is expected to remain at around 40 degrees Celsius, while the minimum temperature is likely to be at 29 degrees Celsius on Monday, the weatherman said. The sky is expected to remain partly cloudy on Monday, the weatherman said. On Saturday, the maximum and minimum temperatures settled at 38.3 and 26.6 degrees Celsius, respectively, they said.

4 xternal Affairs Minister ESushma Swaraj on Sunday arrived here on a five-day visit to South Africa during which she will meet top leadership of the country and attend meetings of BRICS and IBSA the two major groupings where India has been playing a key role. Centuries old relationship! On her arrival in South Africa, was heartily received by Deputy Foreign Minister Luwellyn Landers, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. Sushma will also attend a series of events marking the 125th anniversary of the historic incident where a young Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of a train compartment in Pietermaritzburg railway station. The 1893 incident proved to be a turning point in Gandhi s fight against racial discrimination in South Africa. During the visit, Sushma will participate in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Foreign Ministers meeting on June 4 which is expected to lay the foundation for the annual summit of the grouping in Johannesburg next month. She will also chair a meeting of Foreign Ministers of IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa), another bloc working to deepen coordination among the three countries on major global issues. Nagpur: Senior Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde on Sunday said former President Pranab Mukherjee accepting an invite to attend an RSS event was not wrong as the latter was a secular person and a very good thinker. Pranab Mukherjee is a secular person. He will always put forth a secular view which he will do there (at the RSS event) as well. He is a very good thinker, and his going there and speaking on that platform is Indore: Traffic police constable Ranjeet Singh can easily be mistaken for a typical policeman who is assigned the difficult job to discipline chaotic traffic in Indore city. However, for Singh manning traffic is like a mission and he executes it through moonwalking a dance move immortalised by pop legend Michael Jackson. Singh, clad in white shirt and blue trousers with sunglasses on, makes heads turn and drivers cannot fail to notice him across busy intersections in the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh when he moonwalks. For Singh, the motivation to do something different so as New Delhi: The Government on Sunday said the records related to the investigation into the Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi case were safe as they were transferred out before a fire broke out in the Income Tax Office in Mumbai. The clarification came following media reports claiming the records were destroyed in the fire. News reports have been appearing in some sections of the media alleging that records and documents relating to New Delhi: Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju has denied rumours of an attack on a Gurdwara or any Sikh institution in violence-hit Shillong which remained comparatively peaceful on Sunday with security forces relaxing curfew for seven hours in some sensitive areas. The Minister, however, warned the people of Meghalaya not to believe the false propaganda being spread on social media and ensure that the state government was vigilant in solving issues. Rijiju s comments came after a Sikh delegation met Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma who denied the reports that a Gurdwara was attacked or damaged in Shillong, and expressed satisfaction that Sikhs are safe in the State. very important, Shinde said. He said Mukherjee accepting the invite was not wrong and we will be more than pleased if his thoughts bring some improvement in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Mukherjee has been invited to be the chief guest at the valedictory function of the Sangh Shiksha Varg a training camp for RSS volunteers at its headquarters in Nagpur. The event will be held on June 7. PTI to make people pay heed to follow traffic rules came after the death of his friend in a road accident a few years ago. Singh (40), has been doing the moonwalk move to control traffic for the last 12 years. The moonwalk is a pop dance move in which the dancer moves backwards while seemingly walking forwards. However, after becoming a social media phenomenon, Singh now feels it taxing to cope with the growing demands of people who ask him to show his moves. The constable, who has become a sort of celebrity, claims to have 1.38 followers on Facebook and 76,000 followers on Instagram. investigation into the Nirav Modi (and) Mehul Choksi case have been destroyed in the Scindia House fire in Income Tax Office in Mumbai, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement. It is hereby clarified that the said reports are completely false and misdirected, it said. The Department further clarified that the documents and records of the ongoing investigations into the case had already been transferred to the assessment units housed in Beware of rumour-mongers and troublemakers. There was no damage to any Gurdwara or other institutions belonging to the Sikh Minority in Meghalaya. Law and Order situation is under control and the state government is extremely vigilant and settling the case, Rijiju tweeted. PTI Chandigarh: Concerned about reports of security threats to Sikhs in Shillong, the Amarinder Singh Government in Punjab has decided to rush a four-member team headed by Cabinet Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa to the Meghalayan capital, an official said on Sunday. The team will make a ground assessment of the situation in the troubled areas and extend all possible help to the Sikh community there, an official spokesperson said. The CM has directed the team, which has MPs Gurjit Aujla and Ravneet Bittu, and MLA Kuldip Singh Vaid as its members, to leave for Shillong on Monday morning. Amarinder Singh has sought Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma s cooperation in facilitating the team s visit and ensuring their access to areas from where reports of tension were coming in, said the spokesperson. PTI I, Poonam Devi W/o Ram Kishor Sharma R/o House No. G-66, Aali Vihar, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi-76, have Change My Name to Poonam Sharma for all future purposes. PD(8120)A PUBLIC NOTICE It is hereby informed to the general public that I, Ritesh Kumar Pandey S/O Sh. Jitendra Pandey R/O- A-44, Vijay Park, Naya Bazar Najafgarh New Delhi, have shifted my residence and office to H N- A-77(IIIrd Floor), Vijay Park, Naya Bazar Najafgarh, New Delhi as the above said property has been sold. Now my permanent address is VPO- Sawareji, District Mahrajganj, U.P and my present address is H N- A-77(IIIrd Floor), Vijay Park, Naya Bazar Najafgarh, New Delhi. Any correspondence will be deemed to be served only if sent at my present address. Sd/- Ritesh Kumar Pandey, Mob At times when I am extremely tired while doing my duty in scorching heat some vehicle drivers ask me to show the moonwalking moves. This is true that the social media has accorded a special status to a common police personnel like me, however, at the same time, I also experience the unnecessary burden of expectations of the people due to the social media, he said. PTI From Page 1 Incidentally, the SP s statement came within hours of another political worker, this time from the CPI(M), being beaten to death at Coochbehar where the TMC cadre had attacked a Left panchayat members house and clubbed the victim to death when he protested. Even as the State BJP leadership, including Mukul Roy, demanded a CBI investigation into the Purulia cases calling them cold-blooded murders, the district witnessed a dawnto-dusk bandh called by the saffron outfit. A State BJP leader said: The TMC is only implementing the plans of their top leadership who had wanted an Opposition-less Purulia. He also saw a Trinamool- Maoist design in eliminating the BJP men in the Jangalmahal area. Earlier, the TMC had teamed up with the Maoists to annihilate the CPI(M) workers like Salku Soren. Now they are applying the same strategy on our men. But we must remind them that we are not the CPI(M). We will make them feel the consequence of playing with fire, the BJP leader said. different buildings as part of the assessment process. Apprehensions about any loss or damage to the records and documents relating to the Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi case in the said fire at the IT Office are, therefore, misplaced, the statement said. The Income Tax Department is investigating the over 13,400 crore banking fraud, allegedly committed by diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi during IANS Mumbai: India wants to encourage aircraft makers to manufacture in the country, starting with components and moving eventually to complete aircraft, Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Sunday. In a series of messages on Twitter, Prabhu appealed to Airbus and Boeing Co to participate in the push as part of the government s flagship Make In India campaign, highlighting the growth potential of the booming market, which has been adding passengers and cutting fares. India s booming aviation market and economy needs more than 1,000 passenger planes and many more cargo planes, Prabhu, who last week visited an Airbus facility in Toulouse in France, wrote in the Twitter post. Airbus said last year it expected Indian carriers to order 1,750 aircraft over 20 years. Boeing predicted up to 2,100 planes would be sold in the same period. Agencies ndia on Sunday successfully Itest-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Long Range Ballistic Missile Agni-5, which has a strike range of 5,000 km, from a test range off the Odisha coast. The surface-to-surface missile was launched with the help of a mobile launcher from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, earlier known as Wheeler Island, at 9.45 am, Defence sources said. Describing the flight test as successful, a defence press note said All the Radars, Electro Optical Tracking Stations and Telemetry Stations tracked the vehicle all through the course of the trajectory. All the mission objectives have been achieved. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has congratulated all the DRDO scientists, staff, armed forces and industries for the success of A5 Mission, it added. This was the sixth trial of the state-of-the-art Agni-5 which covered its full distance during the test. Unlike other missiles of the series, Agni-5 is the most advanced with new technologies in terms of navigation and guidance, warhead and engine, said a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) official. Many new technologies were successfully tested in the Agni-5 trial. Navigation systems, very high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (RINS) and the most modern and accurate Micro Navigation System (MINS) had ensured the missile reached the target point within a few meters of accuracy, the official explained. imachal Pradesh Police Hwith the help of Army officers on Sunday lent a helping hand to Shimla s thirsty people by distributing mineral water bottles among locals and tourists free of cost in the state capital which has been facing potable water shortage for nearly two weeks now. Some units in businesses of production of mineralhave donated bottled water for the city and police are transporting and distributing the water among the needy in the city free of cost, a police spokesman said. Shimla on Sunday saw a 10 million litres per day (MLD) increase in the daily water supply with the Municipal Corporation plugging leakages and pilferages. Civic authorities said it supplied around 38 MLD of water to the city. Keeping in view the water crisis, the government has closed all schools in Shimla from June 4 to 11. Officials blame water shortage on the rising mercury and the drying up of natural water channels. Shimla has a population of nearly 200,000 that requires 42 MLD water. Facing flak from the high court, which is closely monitoring the water situation, the Municipal Corporation has disconnected the water connections of over 30 hotels for their failure to clear the pending arrears. The court has listed the case The high speed on-board computer and fault tolerant software, along with robust and reliable bus, guided the missile flawlessly, he said. The missile has been programmed in such a way that after reaching the peak of its trajectory, it will turn towards the earth and continue its journey towards the intended target with an increased speed due to the earth s gravitational pull. The path has been precisely directed by the advanced on-board computer and inertial navigation system. As the missile enters the earth s atmosphere, the atmospheric air rubbing the skin of the missile during the re-entry phase raises the temperature beyond 4,000 degrees Celsius, sources said. However, the indigenously designed and developed carbon-carbon composite heat shield continues to burn sacrificially, protecting the payload and maintaining the inside temperature below 50 degrees Celsius, sources added. Finally, commanded by the on-board computer with a support of ring laser gyro based inertial navigation system, the micro inertial navigation system, fully digital control system and advanced compact avionics, the missile hit the designated target point accurately, they said. Ships located in midrange and at the target point, tracked the vehicle and witnessed the final event. Radars and electro-optical systems on the path monitored all parameters of the missile and displayed in real time, they added. for the next hearing on June 11. It has also made it categorically clear that no individual request even to the VIPs, including the judges, would be entertained. However, only the Chief Minister and the Governor are exempted from this order. Blaming the previous Congress government in the state, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said it had failed to execute any water supply scheme Raipur: Two Special Task Force (STF) personnel, including a platoon commander, were injured in a fierce gunbattle with Naxals in Chhattisgarh s Sukma district, a police official said on Sunday. The encounter between the ultras and a joint team of security forces took place last evening at a forest in Kistaram village, Sukma SP Abhishek Meena said. Separate joint quads of the STF and the DRG had on Saturday launched an anti-maoist operation in the forest areas following a tip-off, he said. PTI From Page 1 The team will probe how alleged errors, if any, have crept into the electoral rolls and to find out the alleged bogus/fake names, if any, in the voters list. If yes, they will take necessary steps to delete it following due process and find out how did it happen? MP Congress chief Kamal Nath said they have provided evidence for approximately 60 lakh fake voters registered in the voting list. The Congress leaders also pointed out that a 40 per cent rise in the number of voters in the State, as against a 24-per cent rise in the population, was inconceivable and incalculable. The EC has also ordered to probe each of the specific issues raised in the complaint concerning the Assembly constituencies. The probe team will assess the status of field verification (door-to-door survey being undertaken) related to demographically similar entries in the electoral list pertaining to the constituencies. To assess the progress of the corrective actions, if any, already undertaken by the chief electoral officer of the State, the EC said. At least 60 lakh fake voters have been enlisted in it. We have conducted our own enquiry in 100 constituencies. We have given proof to the EC as regards how one voter has been enlisted in different constituencies with the same name, address and father s name. This cannot be any mistake, it has been done deliberately by the present Madhya Pradesh Government, Nath said after meeting the EC officials. he car of Shimla Municipal TCorporation (SMC) Mayor on Sunday crashed into a tree and fell on the roof of a building after the driver lost control over the vehicle, police said. The mayor was not in the vehicle, they said, adding that an employee of the SMC and the driver of the car were injured in the accident. The vehicle of Mayor Kusum Sardet, who returned from China yesterday, was on surveillance duty to check the water supply when the accident took place, they said. There were three people in the vehicle and one of them escaped unhurt. for Shimla. He said the State Government would make longterm plans for drinking water supply by taping various natural water sources. Irrigation and Public Health Minister Mahender Singh Thakur on Saturday ordered the suspension of the Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) of the Municipal Corporation for negligence in water distribution. wo sanitation workers and Ta policeman, who went inside a manhole to rescue them, died due asphyxiation while they were cleaning the sewage on the premises of police lines here, a police official said. One more sanitation worker was critically injured in the incident, he said. The incident occurred on Sunday evening when two workers Ravi Kumar and Krishan Kumar, who were From Page 1 After Uri attack in which 18 soldiers were killed and 30 injured, the Indian Army has allowed everyone willing to participate in the ceremony to pay homage to the martyrs. Through the official website of the Army, people offered homage by just filling up a form. The address will be used to send you an acknowledgment for paying tribute. The Congress leaders also requested the EC for a special monitoring mechanism to remove all the multiple and demographically similar entries and urged the EC to inform all the national political parties on a weekly basis about the status of identification of such voters at least at the district level. Demanding strict action against the returning officers for their alleged involvement in coming up with such fraudulent electoral rolls, the Congress leaders also said the EC should not deploy Meanwhile, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur held a meeting with senior officers of the State Government on Sunday to review the water supply situation in Shimla town. His officers informed him that SMC Shimla received MLD water, which was distributed according to the time table on Sunday. Water was supplied in Krishna Nagar, Ram Bazaar, Lower Bazar, Jakoo, Benmore, Engine Ghar, Sanjauli Chowk, Dhalli, Mashobra, Bhattakufar, Shanti Vihar, Malyana and Shangti areas on Sunday and 1.85 lakh litres of water was also supplied in the different parts of the town through tankers. cleaning the manhole, fell unconscious, he said. The third worker, Balvir, went inside the manhole to save them but he too did not come out. When constable Lachhman noticed that the three sanitation workers had failed to come out, he also jumped inside the manhole to rescue them but lost his life, the official said. Later, the incident was reported to senior officials and all the four people were rescued with help of fire brigade staff, he said. them on poll duty in the future. The officers, who produce the second corrected list, should also give an affidavit or a certificate, along with the correct list, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia said. Earlier in February also, the Congress had complained to the EC about discrepancies in MP voters list, asking it to take steps for ensuring free and fair elections. In April, State s chief electoral officer Salina Singh said that 6 lakh names were removed from the voters list.

5 he 10-day long nationwide Tprotest called by the farmers outfits entered the third day on Sunday, affecting vegetable and milk supply. Vegetables were sold at some places under police protection. Although the rise in prices is currently at 1-5 a kg, the prices are expected to rise further as the protest continues leading to decline in vegetable supply. Trucks of vegetables, fruits and other food items reached Delhi on Saturday and Sunday but the supply is less. If fresh supplies do not arrive, situation may worsen. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana continued to dump their produce on roads as a mark of their protest, while vegetable prices soared in several cities of the two States. The agitation is led by the Rashtriya Kisan Mahasangh which is the umbrella organisation. Over 100 outfits are taking part in it. There were no reports of violence during the Gaon Bandh (rural shutdown) which the farmers started on Friday demanding loan waiver, higher prices for their produce and immediate implementation of the Swaminathan Commission he Centre has issued fresh Tguidelines on allowances to be paid to the Governors which include expenses on tours, hospitality, entertainment and furnishings, four months after enhancing the salaries of the constitutional post. According to the notification issued by the Union Home Ministry, the Governor of West Bengal, among all the Governors, will get the highest amount of 1.81 crore as allowances for tour, hospitality, entertainment and other expenses. The West Bengal Governor will also be entitled to 80 lakh as allowance for renewal of furnishings and lakh as of the two Raj Bhavans, located in Kolkata and Darjeeling. The Tamil Nadu Governor will get 1.66 crore as allowances for tour, hospitality, entertainment and other expenses. The Tamil Nadu Governor, which has Raj Bhavans in Chennai and Ooty, will also be entitled to 7.50 lakh as allowance for renewal of furnishings and 6.5 crore as of the two Raj Bhavans, according to the notification issued last week. The salaries and allowances of the Governors are paid by the respective State Governments. The Governor of Bihar will get 1.62 crore as allowances for tour, hospitality, entertainment and other expenses. The Governor of Bihar will also be entitled to 62 lakh as allowance for renewal of furnishings and 80.2 lakh as of the Raj Bhavan in Patna. The ith the NDA WGovernment entering the last lap of its governance before going for elections next years, it will highlight its flagship programmes particularly Clean India mission during the twoday Conference of Governors and Lt Governors that begins on Monday. The conference will also see discussions on internal security and presentations made by the vice-chairman and the CEO of NITI Aayog Rajiv Kumar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also address the gathering. This would be the 49th such conference and the second one to be presided over by President Ram Nath Kovind. report on farming. The farmers have called on the strike to press for their demands of waiver of loans and the right price for crops. Farmer organisations have also called for a boycott of mandis or wholesale markets in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, leading to fears of shortage and price rise. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday dubbed Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh s controversial remarks about the ongoing Maharashtra Governor will get 1.14 crore as allowances for tour, hospitality, entertainment and other expenses, 26.7 lakh as allowance for renewal of furnishings and 1.8 crore as of the three Raj Bhavans, located in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. The Governor of Karnataka will get 1.05 crore as allowances for tour, hospitality, entertainment and other expenses, 6.5 lakh as allowance for renewal of furnishings and 38.2 lakh as of the Raj Bhavan, located in Bangalore. The Rajasthan Governor will be entitled to 93 lakh as allowance for tour, hospitality, entertainment and other expenses, 1 lakh for renewal of furnishings and 73.2 lakh as allowance for the maintenance of the Raj Bhavans in Jaipur and Mount Abu. The Governor of Uttar Pradesh will be entitled to 66 lakh as allowances for tour, hospitality, entertainment and other expenses, 10 lakh as allowance for renewal of furnishings and 3.53 crore as of the Raj Bhavan in Lucknow. The Gujarat Governor is entitled to 55 lakh as allowances for tour, hospitality, entertainment and other expenses, 15 lakh as allowance for renewal of furnishings and 20 lakh as of the Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar. The Governor of Haryana will be entitled to 54.5 lakh as allowances for tour, hospitality, entertainment and other expenses, 10 lakh as allowance for renewal of furnishings and 21.6 lakh as allowance for the maintenance of the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh. The Arunachal Pradesh Governor will be entitled to 54 lakh as allowances for tour, hospitality, entertainment and other expenses, 10 lakh as allowance for renewal of furnishings and lakh as of the Raj Bhavan in Itanagar. The Governor of Andhra Pradesh will be entitled to 53 lakh as allowances for tour, hospitality, entertainment and other expenses, 6 lakh as allowance for renewal of furnishings and 18.3 lakh as of the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad. The Madhya Pradesh Governor will be entitled to lakh as allowances for tour, hospitality, entertainment and other expenses, 7.5 lakh as allowance for renewal of furnishings and lakh as of two Raj Bhavans in Bhopal and Panchmarhi. The revision of allowances of the Governors came after four years. The salaries of the Governors were increased to 3.5 lakh per month four months ago. The first conference of Governors was held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in 1949 presided over by C Rajagopalachari, the then Governor General of India. As the Government prepares to go for polls next year, it will inform the work done by it in the past four years. There will be briefings and presentations on Government s flagship programmes. One of the sessions will cover the theme of farmers agitation bizzare. It is not the protest which is bizarre, but the Union Minister s statement, Amarinder Singh said. He said that the Union Minister s statement that the protest by farmers was an attempt to gain media attention showed the Centre s apathy towards the farming community. The Punjab Chief Minister demanded Radha Mohan Singh s resignation saying that he did not connect with the farmers woes. When a minister entrusted with the welfare of the farmers cannot relate to their problems and is absolutely indifferent to their plight, one can well imagine which way the country is headed, Amarinder Singh said. He added that the farmers were committing suicide out of sheer desperation and masses were reeling under spiralling prices. When the farmers, who feed the nation, are forced to resort to such extreme steps, including taking to the streets to draw attention to their pitiable condition, then it does not augur well for the country, he said. Radha Mohan Singh clearly had no qualms about showing his lack of sensitivity to their problems, he said. Expressing solidarity with the agitating farmers, Amarinder Singh blamed the Centre for their woes. The farmers are suffering as a result of the Central Government s failure to waive their debts, which many State Governments, including Punjab, have repeatedly sought, he said. Questioning the Centre s intent to rescue the beleaguered farmers, Amarinder Singh asked, If a bankrupt State like Punjab could do its bit for a loan waiver, why could the Centre not come up with a waiver scheme? higher education in State Universities and skill development for employability. The Governor of Gujarat will be the convenor of this session. During this session presentations will be made by the nvironment friendly, clean Eand equipped with amenities of international standards for tourists, 13 Indian beaches will soon get the Blue Flag certification. These beaches of Odisha, Maharashtra and other coastal States will be the first in not just India, but in Asia, to get the Blue Flag certification. The Indian beaches are being developed by the Society for Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), an Environment Ministry s body working for the management of coastal areas, according to the Blue Flag certification standards. Project Head of SICOM Arvind Nautiyal said that to make the beaches environment and tourist-friendly in accordance with the Blue Flag standards, a beach has to be plastic-free and be equipped with a waste management system. They also have to ensure availability of clean water for tourists, have amenities of international standards for tourists and be equipped with facilities for studying environmental impact around the beach, he said. Nautiyal was speaking at a five-day conference, which was organised to commemorate n a swift operation, the IIndian Navy on Sunday rescued 38 Indians from Socotra island in Yemen where they were stranded for nearly 10 days after a severe cyclonic storm hit the area. The Navy yesterday had diverted its ship INS Sunayna from the Gulf of Aden to Socotra as part of the operation NISTAR to rescue the Indians, Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma said. He said the stranded Indians were rescued off the coast of Socotra early this morning and are now onboard INS Sunayna, adding all of them were safe. The ship is bringing the Indians back home. The operation, codenamed NISTAR, was carried out on the morning of June 3 off the coast of Socotra. The evacuated Indians were embarked on board and immediately provided with medical care, food, water and telephone facilities to call and reassure their families at home, Sharma said. He said the ship is proceeding towards Porbandar in Gujarat. Cyclonic strom Mekunu had hit Socotra on May 24 leaving a trail of devastation. Three Indian dhows (vessel) at Socotra suffered damages/sank alongside in the harbour and another Dhow, MSV Safina Al Khijar with 12 Indians onboard is reported to be missing, said the Navy spokesperson. INS Sunayna was deployed for the humanitarian and disaster relief operation after the Navy received a distress call from the Directorate General of Shipping and the Indian Sailing Vessels Association. The Navy had undertaken two aerial sorties on May 28 and 29 to search for the missing Indians. Higher Education Secretary and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion secretary. In the fourth session, Governors and Lt Governors will discuss steps taken on the report Rajyapal Vikas Ke Rajdoot: Catalytic Role of Governors as Agents for Change in Society. This report was submitted by the Committee of Governors to the President on January 9. The committee was constituted during the 48th conference of Governors held in October Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ESL Narasimhan will convene this session. On June 5, the fifth session of the conference will discuss ideas on how to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. During this session, presentations will be made on Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and Swachhata Internship and the World Environment Day, about making the beaches pollution free. He said that according to the Blue Flag standards, a beach has to strictly comply with 33 environment and tourism related conditions. There is not a single Blue Flag beach in Asia so far, he added. The Blue Flag beach standards were established by Copenhagen-based Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) in The Blue Flag programme, which requires 33 standards in four areas to be met to make beaches environment-friendly, first started from Paris. Within the next two years, almost all beaches in Europe were accorded the Blue Flag certification. hough the BJP lost Kairana TLok Sabha bypoll to the Opposition combined, the party claimed that it has still retained 40 per cent of jat support. The BJP pointed out it cornered more Jat votes in Shamli, the Assembly segment with the highest concentration of Jats. Kairana which turned out be the third laboratory of the joint-opposition experiment after Gorakhpur and Phulpur, saw BJP gaining a high of 50.6 per cent of votes in 2014 Lok Sabha poll under the Modiwave, 38.2 per cent in 2017 Assembly polls, and 45.7 per cent in May 28 by poll. We have scored more votes of Jats in Shamli segment with the highest numbers of Jat population of over 70,000, says Sanjeev Balyan, former Union Minister and MP from Muzaffarnagar, who was one of the key leader strategising in the bypoll. There was a division of Jat votes but nearly 40 per cent still remained with the BJP while 60 per cent went to the LKD, backed by the SP-BSP, he said. Balyan claimed that voters would override the caste consideration in 2019 Lok Sabha poll. In Kairana when they would find no one of the stature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi standing up from the Opposition side. In the Jat dominated Shamli village, BJP gained 25,800 votes in the bypoll, 500 more, in comparison to 2017 Assembly elections when the party got 25,300 votes. This is Governors/Lt Governors will make suggestions. Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik shall be the convenor of this session. In the sixth and concluding session, brief presentations on the deliberations in the previous thematic sessions will be made by the convenor Governors. President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, the Prime Minister, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will address the concluding session. A special session on Union Territories will be held on June 5 at which Lt Governors or Administrators will discuss status of implementation of various flagship programmes. The Cabinet Secretary, the Home Secretary and other senior officials will be part of the meeting. Governors and Lt Governors of all States and Union Territories will attend the conference. This campaign spread outside Europe, to South Africa, in Asia remains untouched by it till date. The Environment Ministry started a pilot project to develop the Indian beaches according to the Blue Flag standards in December A senior Ministry official said that 13 beaches from the coastal states had been chosen for the Blue Flag certification under the project. For this, these beaches are being developed in accordance with the Blue Flag beach standards under a Unified Coastal Areas Management Programme. This project has two main aims. First, to improve the aquatic habitat by cleaning the growing pollution despite the low turnout of Jat voters in the constituency, asserted the BJP leader. BJP lost on Jat votes in Thana Bhawan which is represented in UP Assembly by the State Sugarcane Minister Suresh Rana. Non-payment to sugarcane farmers in the areas had greatly angered the Jat farmers in the entire area. In Nakur and Gangoh Assembly segments, BJP lost by 12,263 and 28,117 margins. Unlike 2014 Lok Sabha polls when BJP garnered a part of Jatav votes (otherwise committed to BSP s Mayawati) this time round BSP did not get Dalit votes though received good backing from ati pichhda voters like Kashyaps (around 1.15 lakh), Saini (75,000), Pal (35,000) and Kumhar (25,000). Upper castes which combine Brahmin and Vaish around 1.15 lakh and Thakur 35,000 to 40,000 also supported the BJP. According to party leaders, the Kairana bypoll did not generate a reverse polarisation and garbage in the Indian beaches. Second, to develop ecological tourism with constant progress and development of tourist facilities. According to Ministry sources, Chandrabhaga beach of Odisha s Konark coast was the first to complete the tag certification process. It will be awarded the honour on the World Environment Day on June 5. Maharashtra s Chiwla and Bhogave beaches are also being made a part of this initiative. Apart from these, one beach from Puducherry, Goa, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands each has been chosen as Blue Flag beach. ndia s Larsen & Toubro on ISunday signed a contract with the Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited for Package 07 of MRT Line-6 of Dhaka Metro worth $450 million in Dhaka. The scope of work includes track works, electrification systems, signaling systems, automatic fare collection system etc. The Dhaka Metro (MRT Line 6) is being constructed from Gulshan to Motijheel areas of Dhaka covering a distance of 18.9 km with 16 stations along the way. The project is being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The signing ceremony was attended by the Minister for Road Transport and Bridges of among Hindu voters as was the case in the aftermath of 2013 communal disturbances. Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) of Ajit Singh did mange to resurrect itself from steep dip in its popularity among Jats in 2014 when the former himself lost his election from Baghpat Lok Sabha. The 2014 Lok Sabha poll in Kairana saw RLD receiving only 3.8 per cent votes and in 2017 Assembly polls around 7.7 per cent. RLD which has now collected 52 per cent votes (with SP + BSP) has now got back their Jat support by 60 per cent. The two main communities of Jat and Muslims seemed to have partly patched up with each other after the bitter phase following 2013 communal riots. The RLD-SP-BSP- Congress alliance successfully claimed the backing of majority of 5.80 lakh Muslims, 2.5 lakh Dalits and a chunk of over 1.5 lakh Jats in Kairana, accounting for roughly 60 per cent of the electorate. Bangladesh, Obaidul Quader. High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh, Harsh Vardhan Shringla also attended the ceremony. Speaking at the event, Shringla said India has been actively engaged in the infrastructure sector of Bangladesh and with the signing of this contract an Indian company will have an opportunity to demonstrate its technological competence and will have an advantage of performing under similar conditions as in India. India will be a willing partner further Mass Rapid transit line projects in both construction and consultancy, he added.

6 ujalam Sufalam, billed as Sworld s largest water conservation scheme, launched by then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, achieved a milestone with Gujarat Government assisted by social organisations and people s participation, desilted 13,000 ponds and check dams and 32 rivers across the State. The monumental work was achieved in a month s time that aimed to created an additional storage capacity of 11 lakhs cubic feet rain water. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who led the entire exercise in the State told The Pioneer, The works that remained incomplete in the Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan will be completed by June 8. Rupani was upbeat as the State-wide desilting of water holding bodies, will result in 11,000-lakh cubic feet of additional water storage capacity and will help the State accelerate at double speed. Since monsoon is expected to arrive in the State by mid-june, this mass scale task was started with seamless coordination from all the agencies and stake holders to he CPI(M) on Sunday Tdemanded that the probe into the police firing which killed 13 people during protests here last month to demand closure of the Sterlite plant over pollution concerns, be handed over to the CBI, monitored by the Madras High Court. The probe into the incident has to be done by an authority which is not involved with State and Central Governments. The enquiry should be handed over to the CBI and monitored by the Madras High Court, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said. The police department had last month transferred the case to the CB-CID. Speaking to reporters after visiting families of the deceased ensure that rain water was not allowed to go waste and was stored in the dug up water bodies. Narmada river, which is lifeline of Gujarat has 48 percent less water, hence we decided to embark upon to generate awareness among the people water conservation and how it was imperative to rejuvenate our water bodies and rivers, the Chief Minister said. The campaign vindicates the adage that water is life; water is the basis of development, a measure of development useful for all flora and fauna, Rupani said. The campaign undertaken with people s cooperation has generated huge quantity of loose soil/clay that will help increase agricultural production. Having launched the country s biggest water conservation campaign, Gujarat has emerged as the leader. It entailed cleansing the state s 5,500 km long canal network, and the injured, he said the protesters had planned a sit-in protest at the Collectorate on the 100th day of the protests on May 22. But that was met with snipers and shoot at sight orders. Strange thing is, I am told that the District Collector and Superintendent of Police were not in the headquarters that day. So who gave the orders? he asked. Yechury demanded to know if the Collector delegated the authority to anyone or whether somebody assumed that authority for themselves. The locals in the district had been protesting for closure of the factory for 99 days.the protests turned violent on May 22 and 23 leading to police firing, in which 13 people were killed. Pointing out that there were no party flags during the protests, he said, even we (CPI-M) were not there with our party flags. But now cases have been filed against our activists. Yechury demanded withdrawal of cases foisted against all the protesters. He said the Collector and Superintendent of Police in Tuticorin district should have been suspended, instead of being transferred, till the inquiry was complete. including Ahmedabad s Kharicut Canal Rupani said. Responding to allegations leveled by the main opposition Congress of 2,400-crore corruption in the entire exercise as against this campaign s total worth 200-crore, Rupani retorted, Congress leaders see corruption even in dreams or else would not leveled such baseless charge. They had leveled similar charges of purchase scandal in grass distributed free in Banaskantha. It is no pre-poll campaign but pro-people initiative, keeping the requirements of future ension refuses to die down Tin Meghalaya Capital Shillong as fresh violence erupted amidst ongoing curfew in parts of the Capital town on Sunday evening after group of protesters pelted stones at security forces leading to injury of two persons even as curfew continued in some areas of the town. The curfew which was imposed in parts of Shillong since Friday was relaxed for seven hours on Sunday but the restriction on Internet services continued. On Sunday police arrested four of the stone pelters. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma reviewed the law and order situation with top police and civil administration officials today and appealed all sections of the society to maintain utmost restraints. He Sangma had been meeting the community leaders and other civil society organizations since last two days to ensure that peace is maintained at all costs. The Meghalaya Chief Minister while interacting with the newsmen today said that police have found evidence that some section are funding this agitation for some interest. We have found evidence of expensive alcohol being given to them, we have found evidence of money being given to them, said Sangma The Chief Minister, however, refused to take any name but said that that stern action would be taken against those funding the troubles. The Shillong civil administration said that while the section 144 Cr. P.C. and restriction on internet will continue till restoration of normalcy, sale of petrol and diesel in jerry cans and other bottles have also been restricted in Shillong and adjoining areas. Meanwhile, a delegation of Sikh leaders visited Shillong on Sunday from Delhi and denied reports of a gurdwara in Shillong being attacked by agitators. The delegation led by Delhi legislator Manjinder Singh Sirsa met Meghalaya Chief Minister and expressed satisfaction that Sikhs are safe in Meghalaya. It may be mentioned here that indefinite curfew was imposed in areas under Lumdiengjri Police Station and Cantonment Beat House from 4 a.m on Friday in view of the breakdown of law and order in Motphran, Mawkhar and adjoining areas following a clash on Thursday. Puducherry: The Budget session of the territorial Assembly, re-convened by speaker V Vaithilingam, will begin here on Monday at 10 am. The Assembly had a oneday session on March 26 to pass a vote on account for earmarking funds for the territorial Government for the first four months (April to July) of the current fiscal The funds are from consolidated fund to enable the Government departments to meet their expenditure. The session has been reconvened to present a fullfledged Budget for the fiscal Congress has 15 MLAs, DMK two, AINRC eight, AIADMK four and independent one. PTI Yechury alleged the Sterlite Copper plant was allowed to operate in Tamil Nadu because of strong connections between the Vedanta Group, which runs the plant, and successive governments. The nod for expansion of the Sterlite plant was granted after the Modi Government came into office. Why? he asked. On May 29, the Tamil Nadu Government had cancelled the land allotment for expansion of the Sterlite plant and also ordered the state Pollution control board to seal and permanently close the existing unit. The Government has also constituted a Commission of Inquiry under retired Madras High Court judge Aruna Jagadeesan to probe the incidents in Tuticorin. nion Minister Radha UMohan Singh on Sunday said corrupt people have gathered at one platform to corner the Narendra Modi Government. Singh s comment came days after Opposition parties emerged victorious in 11 out of 14 Lok Sabha and Assembly bypolls with the BJP losing Kairana Lok Sabha seat in the politically important Uttar Pradesh to a united Opposition. There is an uneasiness among corrupt people who have gathered at one platform to corner the Central Government but the people know the reality, he said referring to Opposition parties getting united to oppose the BJP. generations, he added. The campaign, which began with 527 JCB machines and 2,000 tractors-dumpers with the involvement of 27,000 workers, now deploys 4,600 JCB machines and 16,000 tractors-dumpers and employs 3- lakh workers. Water conservation campaign with people s cooperation to prove as philosopher s stone for Gujarat s development, Rupani said. The primary motive behind this gigantic drive across all the 33 districts of Gujarat was to increase the he 11th session of the TKerala Assembly will begin here on Monday. It is the first Assembly session after the much-hyped Chengannur bypoll, which the ruling CPI(M) retained with a huge majority, beating the Opposition Congress and BJP. While members of CPI(M)- led LDF would come to the House with added confidence following the bypoll victory, the Opposition Congress-led UDF MLAs are expected to take up a host of issues, including the recent honour killing incident and alleged police inaction over it. Newly elected MLA Saji Cheriyan, who won by 20,956 nion Minister Hansraj Ahir Uon Sunday said the Government would be constrained to revoke the Ramzan ceasefire it had announced last month if Pakistan continued to indulge in cross-border firing and terrorism. Ahir, the Union Minister of State for Home, said, We had decided to suspend operations in view of Ramzan. However, there is no respite in cross-border terrorism and ceasefire violations on the part of Pakistan. We will be constrained to revoke the ceasefire agreement, the minister said at a press conference at the Government Guest House here yesterday. He added that the provisions of the truce allow India to retaliate if Pakistan initiates unprovoked firing. Ahir said India continues to believe in the no-first-strike policy. The Government had on May 16 directed security forces in Jammu and Kashmir to follow what it called non-initiation of combat operations during the holy month of Ramzan. The security forces, however, reserve the right to retaliate if attacked or if essential to protect the lives of innocent people, the ministry had said. On the Narendra Modi Government completing four years in office, Ahir said it had started a number of good schemes. A record USD billion was received in foreign investments in This was possible due to the economic growth achieved under the NDA Government, he said. He claimed the Modi Government had curbed the Naxal menace successfully and the rebels were now operating in a restricted area. Addressing a function organised by BJP s intellectual cell here, the agriculture and farmers welfare Minister said the Government has taken tough stand against corruption and this is evident from the fact that four former Chief Ministers are behind bars. However, he did not elaborate on this. At a rally on the fourth anniversary of the BJP-led NDA Government on May 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also mocked Opposition parties over their unity efforts saying his drive against corruption has brought them together. Training his guns at the Congress without naming it, Singh said though the party reaped political dividends in the name of Dr B R Ambedkar in elections but it actively worked to defeat the Dalit icon. Karunanidhi, the DMK president Mand former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, turned 95 on Sunday, becoming the oldest active politician in the country. The Dravidian patriarch has been the Chief Minister of the State for five terms since He is also the longest serving president of a political party in the country, having become the DMK chief in The truth is that he did not allow anyone to challenge his leadership all these years. The year 2019 will see Karunanidhi completing 50 years as the DMK president, a feat which may never be accomplished by anyone in the near future. The only politician who has headed a political party for 50 years continuously was Fidel Castro who was the chief of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1961 to Castro gave up the post at the age of 85 but Dr Kalaignar (as Karunanidhi prefers to be addressed by everybody) is going strong. Though confined to a wheel chair and his speech slurred, the DMK founder-leader is not yet ready to give up his fight with time. Besides becoming the Chief Minister of the State five times and deciding the fate of UPA Governments (2004 to 2013), the NDA Government (1999 to rate of groundwater recharge through artificial techniques along with the natural stream network in the upstream and revive the water bodies in the downstream. It also achieved its objective to recharge aquifers and ground water and maintain the flow of surface water in targeted rivers for a longer period, the Chief Minister said. Sujalam Sufalam scheme, kick started by the Chief Minister in Kasvav village of Tapi district culminated at Dhundhuka of Ahemdabad district. votes over his nearest rival D Vijayakumar (Congress), will be sworn in after the question hour session on Monday. The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of sitting member K K Ramachandran Nair (CPI-M) in January this year. Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan said 17 ordinances would come up for consideration during the 12-day-long session. The Kerala Municipality (amendment) Bill, 2018, the Kerala Panchayat Raj (amendment) Bill, 2018, Sri Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (amendment) Bill, 2018, Kerala University (amendment) Bill, 2018 are among the six bills that would be considered in the first two days, he said. n a strong response to allega- of harassment of minori- Itions ties in India, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday said, that people from minority communities are safer in India, than anywhere else in the democratic world, while also targetting a section of the political class of making capital out of stray criminal incidents across the country. Naqvi, who was in Goa as part of an outreach campaign by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central Government, to highlight the achievements of four years of National Democratic Alliance rule, also said, that the Government was as much concerned about the fuel price rise as much as the people and assured that efforts would be made to work out a resolution soon. Minorities in our India are safe and the right of the minorities, socio, economic, educational, religious are more safe than any democratic country in the world. Therefore if some people are trying to create an atmosphere, I do not think they will succeed, Naqvi told a press conference in Panaji, after he was asked about accusations made by the Opposition and minority groups about the latter s safety. The atmosphere of fear, unfortunately some forces, especially some political forces are trying to disturb the atmosphere of development, peace and prosperity... Some isolated criminal incidents definitely have happened and these isolated incidents have been timely acted against. Those who are resonsible for this have been imprisoned, the Union Minister also said, adding that the upcoming 2019 elections would be held on issues related to development and not on contentious issues like Hindutva and the establishment of the Ram temple at Ayodhya. Accusing the Congress and its allies of playing a religious card by blocking the clearance of the Triple Talaq bill in the Rajya Sabha, Naqvi said, that the National Democratic Alliance Government would do its best to ensure that the legislation, which has been cleared by the Lok Sabha would also go through in the Upper House. Commenting on the recent controversies regarding the rise in fuel prices, Naqvi said that the Central Government was concerned about the issue too. Along with the people, even we are worried if the prices of petrol, diesel, LPG, increases. When our party was in Opposition, at that time, we had opposed any hike in petroleum, because the prices of the crude oil were very low in the world market. As far as the current hike is concerned, the Petroleum Minister has very clearly said, that we are working in that direction and it is a worry, he said. The Central Minister also said that the BJP would welcome allies as the party readies for the 2019 general polls and also added that allies, who had quit the NDA, may return to the alliance soon. We are completely committed to the federal system. Therefore we would like our allies to stay with us. If we need allies, we will look out for new allies too. We have not put up a no entry ban, the Central Minister said. 2004) and the UF Government (1996 to 1998) at the Centre, Karunanidhi s biggest achievement has been his success in eliminating all kinds of challenge to his leadership in the DMK. The charismatic MG Ramachandran, the orator par excellence Nedumchezhiyan, the eternal rebel Vaiko,fell by the wayside as Karunanidhi converted the Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam into a family owned enterprises, his friends and foes agree alike. Now that he is waiting for his rendezvous with Annadurai, the founder leader of the DMK, Karunanidhi can relax because he has handed over the DMK to the hands of his son M K Stalin, Tamil Nadu s eternal Chief Minister in waiting. Stalin, who established his hold in the party by easing out is elder brother M K Azhagiri from the party, is literally struggling to revive the DMK which has been beaten thrice by the AIADMK since Though Jayalalityhaa, Karunanidhi s lone enemy passed away in 2016, the DMK or Karunanidhi are yet to taste a success in Tamil Nadu politics. Despite Stalin s assertion that the Edappady Palaniswamy-led AIADMK Government would fall within weeks, Palaniswamy continues enjoying the chief ministership while Stalin has to eat his words time and again. The birthday gift to Karunanidhi by Stalin was his announcement on Saturday that the DMK would return to the legislative Assembly session from Monday onwards. Stalin had led his DMK MLAs out of the House last Wednesday declaring that he would return only after the resignation of Palaniswamy as Chief Minister owning moral responsibility of the Thoothukudi riots that saw 13 persons getting killed in police firing.

7 ongress working president Cfor north Karnataka and a senior Lingayat leader SR Patil has tendered his resignation over the party s unsatisfactory performance in the recent Assembly elections. Patil who played a major role in north Karnataka as a Lingayat leader has said he resigned over party s poor performance. He said I have sent my resignation to Rahul Gandhiji through an some days back after taking up moral responsibility for the party s unsatisfactory performance in Assembly elections. Had my party won more seats from North Karnataka, we would have formed the Government on our own. The party high command is yet to respond to Patil s resignation. On media reports that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was lobbying to make him the KPCC President after Parameshwara was appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister, n one of the sharpest attacks Iafter the recently held Lok Sabha bypoll in Palghar, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday described BJP as its biggest political enemy. The country does not want the duo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, but could accept the Congress or JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda, he said. The Shiv Sena is the biggest political enemy (rajkiya shatroo) of the BJP. The Sena s radical Hinduism would prove problematic for the BJP, he said in an opinion piece written under his rokh-thokh (straight forward) column published in party mouthpiece `Saamana. Raut is the editor of the Marathi daily. Taking potshots at the saffron party, Raut said the BJP paid tribute to its late MP Chintaman Wanaga by defeating his son, the Sena candidate, in Palghar. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of Chintaman Patil said he would be happy to accept any role the party gives. I will not leave Congress for any reason, he said. However speculation is ripe in political circles about SR Patil s resignation and the BJP which is still coming to terms about its defeat was quick to react and said the crumbling of the empire which was built against peoples mandate. The downfall of the empire that was built after mocking people s mandate has senior leader Sri. S R Patil resigns. This is only the beginning of the downfall of power hungry Wanaga. Since the Sena is the main political opponent of the BJP, the latter s plan is to weaken the Uddhav Thackeray-led party while staying in power with it, he alleged. Hence, the BJP s plan is to stay with the Sena in power and try to weaken it by using power and money. The BJP used its resources to ensure Shiv Sena s defeat in the Palghar Lok Sabha bypoll (held last month), Raut said. The Sena leader claimed trickery of EVMs led to the BJP s victory in Palghar and said it was nothing short of a scandal. On the day of voting (May 28), complaints of EVMs malfunctioning were reported from Government, BJP Karnataka said on its twitter handle. Patil (69) had been the Minister in the previous congress Government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He served as the Minister for Infrastructure, information technology, biotechnology, science and technology, planning and statistics in the State Government. Congress has lost many seats to BJP in the northern Karnataka where Lingayat did not support them. The Congress won just 8 seats in Belagavi, 2 in Bagalkot, 3 in Vijayapura, 1 in Gadag and 2 in Dharwad, districts. SR Patil resigned at the time when Congress is thinking about deputing senior leaders who were Minsters in the previous Government to the party work. Congress has joined with JDs in Karnataka as part of its strategy to unite minor parties across the country to fight the BJP, Amit Shah and Modi. The swearing in ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy as the full time t least seven people, includ- a woman, died after Aing allegedly consuming spurious country-made liquor in Golaghat district, the police said on Sunday. The incident took place at Borpathar area under Dhansiri sub-division of Golaghat district. Seven people have lost their lives in the last 48 hours after allegedly consuming countrymade liquor, the police said. Some more people have fallen ill although we don t have the exact details yet as the place is a little interior, a police officer said, adding a case has been registered at Borpathar police station and investigation into the matter is underway. he situation in Kerala at pre- following the outbreak Tsent of Nipah virus, which has so far claimed 16 lives, is not alarming as no new cases have been reported, a high-level review meeting said on Sunday. The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was attended, among others, by Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rajiv Sadanandan and DGP Loknath Behara and senior IAS officers. The collectors of Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, the worst affected by the virus, participated in the meeting through video conferencing, a press release said. So far there has been 18 positive cases of Nipah infection, of whom 16 people have died. Since there have been no more fresh cases, there was no at least 100 locations. The Election Commission rejected the Shiv Sena s request for extending voting hours, but a similar demand of BJP candidate Rajendra Gavit (who won the seat) was accepted, he alleged. He claimed that every polling station, where extension for voting was given, reported an average 100 extra votes to the BJP nominee and cumulatively BJP s votes increased by some thousands. But some 60,000 voters could not vote. After the voting, the district collector declared 46 per cent turnout, but the figure went up to 56 per cent the next day (when final figure was announced). It means 82,000 votes increased overnight, he said. Raut charged that the BJP has appointed people with RSS links to key constitutional posts and controlled the election procedure. He also referred to the setback suffered by the BJP in the just held Lok Sabha and Assembly bypolls in some States. Chief Minister for the five years has witnessed a galaxy of Opposition leaders in Bengaluru to form a platform to fight BJP in 2019 elections. JDS and Congress had stitched up a post-poll alliance at the State level after the recent Assembly polls yielded a fractured mandate with BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 members, falling short of the required numbers. Kumaraswamy was sworn in as Chief Minister on May 23. Two days later on May 25, he proved the majority on the floor of the Assembly. The BJP had conceded the numbers game with B S Yeddyurappa resigning on May 19 without facing the trust vote. Kumaraswamy will expand his Cabinet on Wednesday and will share 22 cabinet births with the Congress and JDs will have 12 births. Both the parties are struggling with lot of aspirants vying for plum posts with permutation and combination of caste and other parameters. day after a student alleged Ahe was stripped naked and filmed inside a room at a reputed college here, West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee on Sunday said strict action will be taken against anyone found involved in the act. The video clip of the incident, which went viral on social media, showed the student pleading for mercy at St Paul s Cathedral College even as he was forced to remove his clothes in front of a group of people. Chatterjee, who received a written complaint from the student on the matter, told reporters on Sunday that anyone found involved in the misdeed would bear consequences. If the allegations were found to be true in the inquiry report of the college, the Government will show zero need to be afraid of the virus, it said. In the second phase of the infection also very few cases have come up, the release said adding the deaths of two patients-one each at Kannur and Wayanad were not due to the virus. Until the virus was fully brought under control, the team of expert doctors from Thiruvananthapuram would continue to monitor the situation at Kozhikode, the meeting decided. Monitoring by Indian Council for Medical Research and National Institute of Epidemology will also continue in Kozhikode. Around 2,000 people are under observation of the Health department. They are suspected to have come in contact with the infected persons. The Chief Minister also directed the Kozhikode and ly poor people have begun to prayer was aimed at voting out likened the country s economy think that they are being treated as second or third class cit- Still he was viciously trolled in tyres private consumption, the Modi Government in to car with three punctured harging that the minorities, CDalits, tribals and extremely izens in the country, the the social mkedia for 15 days. private investment exports poor people were being Congress leader said, while What wrong did the and Government expenditure. treated as second or third class delivering a lecture on Divisive Archbishop do?, Private consumption is eightyear citizens in the country, former Poltics-Stagnant Economy Chidambaram asked. year low in the country. Union Finance Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday night exhorted the people from various walks of life to speak their mind on the manner in which the country was being divided under the Narendra Modi dispensation. This is the time for each one of you father, mother, homemaker, small businessmen, middle busineasman, organised by the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCCD) at Thane s Kashinath Ghanekar auditorium. He made these remarks, while coming out in support of retired IPS officer Julio Ribeiro who had publicly defended Archbishop of Delhi Anil Joseph Thomas Couto for his much-discussed appeal for prayer for the country that faces threat to its democratic Alluding to a newspaper article in which Ribeiro defended the Archbishop Couto and said that he was prepared to accept being a second-class citizen but would not accept being termed as an anti-national, Chidambaram said: An old man and a truly national hero says: I am prepared to accept he is a second class citizen in this country but will not accept to be There is hardly any investment. Export growth is zero in the last four years. The economy is running only available tyre that is Government expenditure based on taxation which is not good for the economy, the former Finance Minister said. Maintaining that the Government messed up the concept of GST which was a Good and Simple tax as was pensioner, student, young man principles and its secular fab- termed as anti-national. Is devised by the UPA or woman to speak your ric. Julio Riberio an anti-national? Government in 2006, mind and write. I am not asking to write to a newspaper. Write to your people close to you and share your agony or what you see. How can this country survive when it is The Archbishop s letter was apolitical and his appeal for prayer for the country that was witnessing a turbulent political atmosphere which poses a threat to the democratic principles Will Ribeiro ever be sec- ond class citizen in this country. But, believe me a lot of people are being currently treated as second-class citizens in the country. Chidambaram said that there was no provision for refund in the multi-slab GST or Gabbar Singh Tax being implemented by the Modi dispensation. He said that the first thing that divided so much, enshrined in our Slamming the Modi the Congress-led UPA Chidambaram said. It so happens that minorities, Dalits, tribals and extreme- Constitution and the secular fabric of our nation. The letter makes no mention that the Government for ruining the country s economy during the last four years, Chidambaram Government, when voted to power in 2019, would do to unravel the GST. tolerance to such misconduct, he said. The first-year student, who claimed to be a member of the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) unit of the college, told media yesterday that he was subjected to torture by some senior members of the students wing on May 17 when he inquired about the expenses incurred for arranging an upcoming fest in the college. TMCP State president Jaya Dutta, on her part, said she will speak with the college authorities and TMCP members of North Kolkata unit before taking a call on the matter. o prevent death of new- due to lack of med- Tborns ical emergency facilities in health centres, the Gujarat Government has decided to launch a dedicated ambulance service to shift critically ill infants to better equipped hospitals. Under the Neonatal ambulance service project for interhospital transfer, the Government would deploy 10 specially-equipped ambulances across the State, a senior health official said. The decision has been taken following the successful completion of a year-long pilot project undertaken at the JamnagarCivil Hospital, state health commissioner Dr Jayanti Ravi said. A year ago, the Jamnagar Malappuram district Collectors to deliver free kits of rice and other essential food articles to the homes of those under observation and those in need of them. Re-opening of schools and colleges in Kozhikode and Malappuram has been deferred to June 12 as a precautionary measure and the Public Service Commisison has postponed all examinations. Civil Hospital s superintendent mooted the idea of starting such a dedicated service, she said. The superintendent cited many cases wherein newborns were required to be shiftedto the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital from Jamanagar for better treatment, she said. The journey takes about five hours and at times infants do notsurvive on reaching Ahmedabad, Ravi told PTI. Thus, we started a dedicated ambulance service at Jamnagar under a pilot project last year. We were able to save 43 newborns, thanks to the initiative. Now, we havedecided to start such a service for theentire state, she said. Under the new project, 10 ambulances will be deployed in different hospitals across the state for responding to any requirement of urgent shifting of newborns to better equipped he Jammu & Kashmir High TCourt cancelled the bail granted to banned Dukhtaraan-e-Milat s chief Aasiya Andrabi and four others in a terror-related case, saying the trial court had exercised the discretion to grant bail in an erroneous manner. On Saturday, the division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice M K Hanjura quashed the order of Aanantnag Additional Sessions Court, granting bail to Andrabi and four others last month. They had been arrested by the Anantnag Police in April this year for allegedly planning to organise a large-scale demonstration and stone-pelting in South Kashmir. The police did not release hospitals, such as the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, she said. Some hospitals, like the primaryhealth centres in rural areas, may not have specialist doctors or equipment to deal with medical emergencies innewborns, Ravi said. We have seen this in the case of G K General Hospital (located at Bhuj in Kutch district) wherein parents came with their infants from far-flung areas, travelling in buses and autorickshaws in the scorchingheat. This delay was also a cause of infants deaths, she noted. Now, the aim is to minimise this delay so as to save babies, the health commissioner said. The 10 dedicated ambulances will have theessential equipment, like baby warmer machines, to provide basic onboard treatment and comfort during the journey, she said. Andrabi despite being granted bail by the court and arrested her in a different case. In the meantime, they approached the Law Department to challenge the trail court s order. Since Swayam Prakash Pani took over as the inspector general of police (Kashmir range), special emphasis was being laid on pursuing all cases against separatists and to ensure that justice was delivered at the earliest. The high court cancelled the bail of Andrabi and others in the case after the police submitted its case diaries and the investigation carried out. It included the analysis of Andrabi s phone that purportedly showed that she was in constant touch with militant leaders across the border. From further perusal of the report, it is also axiomatic that there are reasonable grounds for he ban on superstar TRajinikanth s coming movie Kaala in Karnataka over his reported statements on the Cauvery row prompted a national film body to request the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce on Sunday to expedite it s release in the State. The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) is upset with Rajinikanth s reported statement that whichever Government comes to power in Karnataka should implement the Supreme Court order on Cauvery water sharing in toto. The chamber recently decided not to allow screening of his movie Kaala, due for believing that the accusation against the respondents (Andrabi and four others) are prima facie true. It is also noteworthy that the investigation in the case is in progress and the respondents have to be interrogated for their involvement in the commission of offences, the 11-page order said....the material available in the police report, in our considered opinion, the trial court has exercised the discretion to grant the bail in an erroneous manner and the impunged order granting bail to the respondents is hereby quashed, it said. After the cancellation of bail, the police secured a search warrant from the court and carried out raids at various places, included at Andrabi s residence, on Sunday. release on June 7, in the state. The film star has often faced the wrath of pro-kannada organisations for his comments on the Cauvery issue. Film Federation of India president Sakshi Mehra told PTI that it has requested SIFCC to hold talks with KFCC to get the movie released, in the interest of the film industry. SIFCC secretary L Suresh said they had sent a letter to KFCC to solve the problem by convening a meeting with the Kannada outfits. I have spoken to KFCC president Sa Ra Govindu and also written a letter to him. The KFCC would probably call for a meeting with the outfits on Saturday or the day after, he said.

8 S ingapore Airlines has decided to restart its epic 19-hour flight between Singapore and Newark Airport in the New York City area. This flight, which will cover 15,300 kilometers, eclipses the 17-hour 14,500 kilometer flight that Qatar Airways currently operates between Doha and Auckland, New Zealand. This is, however, not the first time that Singapore Airlines has operated on this route. It operated the same service for a few years until 2013 using an Airbus A initially in a business-class only layout, later adding Economy Class seats as well. This time round, Singapore Airlines will use the new Airbus A Ultra Long Range (ULR) aircraft that has only two engines instead of the Airbus A340 s four. In fact, it was the high cost of fuel that made Singapore Airlines stop the service initially. The more fuel-efficient Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines on the new plane will keep the costs down. However, Singapore Airlines is not cramming passengers in this plane, operating this variant with just 161 seats instead of the usual 253 seats on the A350 they use on other routes, as it has done away with Economy Class and configured the aircraft with Business and Premium Economy Classes only. But is 19-hours stuck inside a thin metal tube, well, in the case of the A350 a carbon-fibre reinforced plastic tube, a bit much? That is the call passengers will have to take. Does it make more sense to fly directly between two cities that are global financial hubs in this case than taking a stopover? Currently, Singapore Airlines flies into New York via Germany s Frankfurt airport. The quickest service between the two cities currently would take around 21 and a half hours with a stop in Hong Kong. That too involves a 16-hour flight over the Pacific Ocean, not all that much less than a 19-hour flight. Indeed, a whole new generation of aircraft, starting with the Airbus A340 and Boeing 777, began a whole new era of very long haul flights. These planes as well as modern navigational aids that allowed flying over the Arctic, almost over the North Pole, made possible hitherto unheard of flights such as direct from India to the United States possible. Today, Air India and United Airlines both use Boeing 777 aircraft to fly non-stop between India and the US; Air India uses a Boeing LR to operate a 12,400 kilometer flight between Delhi and San Francisco. Thirty years ago, before the Boeing took to the skies, flying between these two cities would take at least three stopovers, often four and could mean almost two whole days of travel instead of 14 hours in one plane right now. Anybody, who has taken a connecting flight through a mega-hub airport such as Dubai International, London Heathrow or Frankfurt Germany, knows the rigmarole and headache of trying to connect from one flight to another complete with going through security, finding gates or in the case of delayed flights or worse, weather delays and cancellations during the European winter, finding yourself in a strange country with few funds and no visa to enter. While airlines are bound to provide some relief to passengers under new legislation in Europe and America, they can and do get away with acts of God, which is an euphemism for bad weather. At London Heathrow, for example, it is joked that even a flake of snow can shut the airport down. But this writer, having taken some ultra long-haul flights himself, knows how terribly disconcerting such flights can be. Flying on Emirates Airline between Dubai and Los Angeles is a 16-hour 13,400 kilometer journey, the longest flight operated on the massive A380 Superjumbo. Even in Business Class with a fancy bar and lounge at the back of the upper deck of the plane, there is this sensation of being trapped and after all, how many movies can one possible watch and how many hours can you sleep. Even in a plane as spacious as the A380, being stuck in the Economy Class for that period of time would not be something to look forward to. Returning from that visit to the United States from Seattle, this writer Sir A string of losses in the byelections is an indication that the BJP is on a shaky ground in the run-up to the general elections next year. It also indicates that BJP cannot take the Opposition unity lightly and it will have to chalk out an out-of-the-box strategy for another term. While factors such as high fuel prices or the agrarian crisis may have played a part, the main drivers of the results were alliance arithmetic and local factors. Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) candidate Tabassum Hasan s victory also points to the fact that BJP candidate Mriganka Singh failed to get sympathy votes of the Jats. Although in elections, simple arithmetic of all votes of a combined Opposition adding up does not work, BJP will have to wake up to the reality of being outnumbered in a bipolar poll. A Shravan Hyderabad Sir This refers to the article, United opp feats cloud BJP s prospects (June 1). BJP president Amit Shah predicted that the BJP will win in Palghar but may face tough contest in Kairana. By-poll results of 10 States covering four Lok Sabha seats and 10 Assembly seats showed that the coming Lok Sabha General Election would be something like the Mahabharata being watched live by television networks worldwide. Amit Shah snoozed away for seven hours only to wake up and discover there were six more hours of flying time still to go. Six hours is the amount of time it takes to fly between Delhi and Istanbul, for example. Of course, if you are a smoker in today s day of militant anti-smoking campaigns, spending over half a day in the air can be terrible. Not that a stopover helps, Heathrow Airport, among others, has banned smoking on its premises. And then, even if you are not a smoker, there are the associated health risks of such long haul flights, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and other problems associated with the thinner air inside an aircraft, let alone the claustrophobia of a flight. But flying is still the safest mode of transport on a per-kilometer basis. I mean, would you rather drive between India and Europe? That said, direct flights no matter how long, are better, and the technology available to us today makes them possible. The next generation of planes, such as the Boeing 777X and later versions of the A350 due to enter service by late-2019 or early-2020, will make the holy grail of flying possible, a non-stop flight between Sydney and London. Imagine that. A century ago, ships used to take four weeks between the two cities (Southampton, rather) and the first scheduled Imperial Airways, the precursor to today s British Airways, flights between London and Brisbane, the aviation hub of Australia back then took 25 days to make it on this route (we have used the modern names of cities): London Paris Rome Brindisi Athens Cairo Gaza Baghdad Basra Bahrain Sharjah Gwadar Karachi Jodhpur Delhi Kanpur Allahabad Kolkata Sittwe Yangon Bangkok Penang Singapore Jakarta Surabaya Rambang Kupang Darwin Cloncurry Longreach Brisbane with a few other unnamed stops along the way for fuel. In many of these cities, the aircraft made a night-halt as flying at night was then considered unsafe as pilots needed to rely on traditional magnetic compasses and visual landmarks as their only navigational tools. When you think of a flight like that, in old, unpressurised and noisy pistonengined planes and were patently unsafe, you would be glad about modern aviation. It is remarkable that it is only 115 years since we first took to the skies in powered flight, just 60-odd years since the first jetpowered planes took to the skies and about 30 years since the first really long-range plane, the Boeing started service. Modern aircraft have made the impossible seem possible and are making routes possible that earlier we could never imagine. So what if you are stuck in a middle economy seat for 19 hours with strangers all around you? Just remember how it was like back in the day and you d be glad that there is big screen in front of you and maybe even internet access. The times, they certainly have changed. (The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer) will have to change his tactics to defeat his 100 Kauravas (united Opposition). Ashok Kumar Sanyal Delhi Sir By-election results are a signal that things are not going Bharatiya Janata Party s (BJP) way. In a sense, the results have ratified the show of Opposition unity in Bengaluru and given the leaders, holding hands and hugging at the time of HD Kumaraswamy s swearing-in as the Karnataka Chief Minister, a reason to feel good. It is understandable that the BJP downplays the results by attributing them to local factors; the Opposition regards them as a reflection of the national trend. Perhaps BJP is in denial that support for it is fraying at the seams. Whether it dawns on it or not, BJP stands no chance of romping home by relying on Hindu consolidation if a united Opposition fields common candidates to avoid a split in the secular vote. Opposition parties may have been driven by some sense of selfpreservation. But to give them their due, they are rising to the challenge mounted by BJP to the country s continued existence as a secular and pluralist democracy. Given its DNA, the BJP cannot adopt more inclusive strategies to do justice to India s heterogeneous population. G David Milton Maruthancode

9 H eavy discounts on all major brands, is an eye-catching statement that immediately grabs attention of a lot of people. The footfall in a normal retail store or traffic in an online portal is probably two per cent on a regular day as compared to a discount sale day. The only thought that baffles the mind is whether it s original or an imitation of the product that was showcased in the advertisement. Often cases have been heard where the customer got deceived for a product s imitation at a hefty discount amid a large sale. At times, even high flying doves in the market get duped, right from experienced traders to an amateur start-up and, in the process, the end consumer becomes a scapegoat. A product, for which quality should have been delivered, basically comes out without doing any welfare to the consumer. This further impacts the brand equity for a manufacturer a single infiltration affects all the expenses made on brand building. Here s a scheme on how the presence of faux products in the supply chain can be curbed using technology. A very fine scenario would be to use the blockchain technology to address this issue. What is blockchain? Basically, blockchain is the technology underpinning the Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. One can imagine blockchain to be a digital ledger capable of storing data which can include even the financial transactions. It encompasses entries to a massive number of systems at the same time (though encrypted) ie, the information is decentralised, which erodes the chance of hacking the transaction. In a nutshell, 100 per cent safe transactions are assured. Now, let s elucidate how it will be implemented in an industry. For example, let s consider the footwear industry. A shoe manufacturer can Sanitation is the key to proper hygiene and is extremely essential for a healthy population. Till a few years back, India s record on basic sanitation was horrific. The 2011 Census found that more Indians have access to mobile phones than to toilets. It must be said to the credit of the Modi Government that after coming to power, it got down to addressing the most fundamental problems of the people like sanitation and e-financial inclusion instead of launching grandiose but abstract programmes. Singapore was born as an independent state in 1965 but inherited vast poverty. Freedom meant little promise of a decent life. Lee Kuna Yew, the country s founding father and the first Prime Minister, found that Indonesia s public health system was in a pathetic state and there were frequent outbreaks of typhoid, cholera and other life-threatening diseases. Lee knew a sick nation couldn t be productive but Singapore didn t have the time or resource to build a robust health system for handling the huge disease burden. Renowned for his visionary acumen, Lee realised the power of hygiene and sanitation in health and focused on the well-being of citizens very early. He invested in healthcare and showed the world the huge dividends of this basic intervention. Toilets are the world s cheapest preventive medicine. In a poll by the British Medical Journal, sanitation was voted the greatest medical milestone of the last 150 years higher than antibiotics, vaccines and anesthesia. It is the best way to improve immunity against health hazards. Lacking access to a toilet involves more than just embarrassment and inconvenience. It s also a significant health hazard. The risks associated with open defecation are not just from the disease but we must also take into account the humiliation and shame undergone by those who squatter in a gutter or bush. Because India s population is huge and densely settled, it is impossible to keep human faeces from wells, farming land and children s hands. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took Lee Kuna Yew s path, as he knew it was the least travelled and launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission to modernise sanitation within five years by setting a target of building 110 million toilets, the largest toilet building programme in the history of mankind. Since Lee s revolutionary experiment, decent, non-sewered, affordable, on-site water-conserving, toilets have revolutionised sanitation systems. Innovators have improved basic latrine toilets by developing off the grid locations with new waterless technology for treating waste to make it cleaner and to biodegrade or compost its content. Some dry models use sawdust for ash to douse the waste. By using dry toilets, not only do you save water, you can actually use the waste for fertilisation purposes. Models are constantly upgraded to make it relevant to time: Toilet pans are now manufactured from attractive plastic and cheaper and more durable accessories are reducing costs and enhancing life. Rural toilets are usually a hole in the ground with two planks. Farmers collect human waste for composting to fertilise crops. Flush toilets deprive them of composting material and septic tanks require extra cost and effort to empty and clean. We now have toilets that require no connections to water, sewer or electrical lines. At present, toilets that are built are mostly single-pit latrines that needs to be emptied at least once every few years. Where the pits are lined at the bottom, the septage will need to be pumped out more regularly, but there will have to be measures to ensure that it is not disposed off in neighbouring fields or rivers. Where the pits are not lined, groundwater quality can be affected. In Kerala, most houses have an unlined pit on one side of the house and a well used for drinking water on the other side, thus posing health hazards. Since groundwater is the source of drinking water for around 80 per cent of the population in India, this aspect needs to be kept in mind. In India, emptying a latrine is a taboo in a way that it isn t in other places. Instead of adopting an affordable technology, people either defecate in the open or use expensive technology that can be emptied with a vacuum where nobody has to interact with faeces. An important point here is that if people use the twin pit toilet (a system in which two pits are constructed so that when one fills up, it can be covered and allowed to sit for decomposition) in a way the Government and international organisations recommend, there will not be an issue of biological danger from faeces because they re supposed to decompose in six months and can be emptied. Lack of sanitation has obvious and glaring health hazards leading to cycles of contamination and infection that impose a heavy cost on human, economic and environmental health. Such societies also tend to have the highest number of child deaths. For instance, women have specific sanitation needs related to menstrual hygiene. Fortunately, Governments around the world are improving sanitation with innovative non-sewered solutions that are more flexible and affordable often at one-seventh the cost of sewers. Investments in clean sanitation contribute positively to both economic and health outcomes, such as increased worker output, reduction in cases of chronic diarrhoea and children s improved attendance and performance in schools. UNICEF undertook a study across 10,000 rural households in 12 cities to estimate the cost benefits of the mission. It found out that every rupee invested in improving sanitation will help save The study found that the campaign could lead to each household saving around 50,000 per year. The study concluded that if 85 per cent of household members use their washrooms to defecate, the financial savings induced by improved sanitation had a cost-benefit ratio of 430 per cent on average. In other words, one rupee invested allows a saving of According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), every create an manufacturer part number (MPN) wallet for each product manufactured. Against each batch of production, a manufacturer needs to buy cryptocurrency in the wallet. Since Bitcoin is more familiar amidst the pool of cryptocurrencies, the idea is explained using it. The minimum quantity of Bitcoins that can be bought is BTC ($ ). Now, suppose the manufacturer produced 500 pairs of a particular article/product type, the manufacturer needs to buy exactly 500 x = BTC ($0.0425) in his account. These Bitcoins will be stored in the manufacturer s wallet. Now, assume that the manufacturer sells a part of inventory, say, 200 pairs. Along with the 200 pairs, 200 x = BTC will be transferred to the account (wallet) of the distributor to whom the stock is sold. The new buyer will cross-verify the transaction in the blockchain. If the transaction comes from the manufacturer s wallet and is in line with the date code, the product delivered (or in shipment) is authentic. dollar invested in sanitation yields on an average, $5.50 in economic returns. India could learn from other socalled Third World nations, including our neighbour Bangladesh, which reduced open defecation from 34 per cent in 1990 to just one per cent in 2015 without as much subsidy. As part of a sustained effort, its Government partnered with village councils to educate people on the overall merits of proper sanitation. Instead of just focusing on the hazards of open defecation, the Bangladeshi Government extolled the virtues of clean sanitation with women playing a vital role in the success of the campaign. A toilet soon became a symbol of equality. The three-year-old Toilet Board Coalition (TBC), a global consortium of companies, social investors, sanitation experts and non-profits, aims to catalyse market-based solutions to fulfill the UN s Sustainable Development Goal of achieving adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and ending open defecation by With millions of new toilets, more sanitation workers will be needed to carry out faecal sludge management. This will be difficult as such jobs are stigmatised. The momentum built by the Government is certainly going to propel entrepreneurs to come up with creative solutions to eliminate some of the glitches. The ecosystem is fast taking shape and convergence among various stakeholders and actors should help us see an end to this uncivilised practice of open defecation. (The writer is the author of Village Diary of a Heretic Banker) With the standard protocol, it s easy to scrutinise the number of Bitcoins that comes through the manufacturer s wallet using date code and quantities transferred. Once a system is established, the only way to introduce the faux product in the supply chain is to buy another 200 pairs of an imitation and sell it along with the Bitcoins to the next consumer in the supply chain. However, doing this won t fetch any value to the infiltrator, since the authentication mark for the original 200 pairs is gone. In other words, it wouldn t be possible for the fake product to evince authenticity. This makes the system 100 per cent viable and robust. An additive to the picture is the transaction cost. A transaction cost is associated with every transaction that occurs on the blockchain. Who would bear the extra burden of a transaction cost? It would be levied against the next consumer in the supply chain network. For instance, the manufacturer sells the Bitcoins to the distributor who pays a nominal fee, which is credited to the accounts of the miners who certify and register the transaction. Now, the more is the fee, faster would be the transaction registered. As for the footwear industry, the shipment generally takes some time in days to reach the consumer. So, even the minimal transaction fee model could be optimal to implement. The cost of transaction fee would be added as overheads in the production cost. Further, the cost is independent of the nature of the transaction ie, whether a transaction comprises of one or 10 Bitcoins, the fee would remain the same. Once the end consumers receive the product, they can immediately sell the Bitcoins they receive in their wallet and get the cash. No system exists without pitfalls. There are certain hindrances in the implementation of the blockchain technology into the supply chain. Publicly traded firms may not reveal their wallets and transaction details to the customers. There are chances that if the wallet details are declared, analysts may peep through and take intriguing details of the business like revenue and define approximate profits which might affect the market cap of those companies. Secondly, the scope of cryptocurrencies is a stumbling block for investors. Many countries have declared cryptocurrencies as illegal or they permit restricted trade. In the Indian scenario too, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) warned banks, traders and holders of cryptocurrencies. Thus, cryptocurrency appears gloomy in the near future. Once there is clarity, however, their fate appears uncertain in the near future. The process is typically for a B2B setup, where the introduction of faux products can be curbed. As of writing, Bitcoin trades at approximately $8,425. Since this is one of the most expensive cryptocurrencies, focus could be put on the other blockchains like Ethereum which trades at about $685 or Ripple whose value is close to 70 cents. Of course, there s a lot of scope for improvement in the process with the advent and rise of new technology everyday. (The writer is student at Great Lakes Institute Of Management, Chennai)

10 ir India has asked the AGovernment to restore equity infusion in the carrier, after it failed to find any takers for its disinvestment. The loss-making carrier has already received more than 26,000 crore under the bailout package announced by the former UPA Government in April We have sought restoration of the equity infusion in Air India and have written to the Government last week in this regard, a senior airline official said. The official, however, did not disclose the amount of the funds the airline was looking at. The UPA Government had approved a turnaround plan under which Air India is to receive a total equity infusion worth 30,231 crore up to 2021, subject to meeting certain performance thresholds. Amid fund crunch, during which Air India also had to defer its staff salaries, the airline borrowed 6,250 crore from various banks between September last year and January this year for working capital requirements and other needs. The carrier, which has a debt burden of about 50,000 crore till March last year, had been receiving about 3,000-4,000 crore equity infusion on an average per fiscal from the Government till FY14. However, after that the amount was gradually reduced. For , the airline has been allocated 650 crore in view of its now failed disinvestment plan. The Government had proposed to offload 76% equity share capital of the national carrier as well as transfer the management control to private players, besides complete sale of its low-cost arm Air India Express and its entire stake in 50:50 joint venture AI-SATS. ountry s largest lender SBI, Cwhich has not been able to invest in fintech startups despite earmarking funds, is now looking to modify rules to kickstart the infusion, a top official has said. We are a public institution and investments in startups are generally considered very risky. We understand that traditional way of investing will not work, chairman Rajnish Kumar told PTI on the sidelines of an event here over the weekend. He said the bank, which has earmarked 50 crore to invest in fintech startups, will be modifying the rules in order to plough-in the money. We want to spend the money which we have earmarked, Kumar stressed, adding that it is keen to create more companies like online retailer Flipkart and ride sharing app Ola, which define the country s prowess. Kumar said SBI has a board-approved policy to support the fintech sector, which has passed the necessary oversight bodies like Central Vigilance Commission. elecom industry body TCOAI on Sunday said that issues with Reliance Jio could have been resolved through conversation as lawsuit against the association makes relationship difficult with the member. A good relationship between an association and member is difficult when one of the member sues the association, therefore in this particular situation when suit has been initiated by a member, it causes a certain amount of friction between the two, COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews told PTI. He was speaking in reference of Reliance Jio approaching court against remarks of Cellular Operators Association of India in its press statement where it called the company a back door operator and other comments which the new entrant felt were made to harm its reputation, commercial interest, advance interest of rival operators and stifle its growth. The Delhi high Court has admitted the case and issued notices to both COAI and Mathews. COAI DG said that the issues could have been resolved through conversation but with Jio approaching court the industry body will have to be arkets regulator Sebi has Mslapped a fine of 1 crore on Green Ray International and its four promoters and directors for not complying with its directions to refund the money collected by the company under collective investment schemes (CIS) from the investors. In February 2014, Green Ray International and its four promoters and directors, including Mir Sahiruddin, Mir Tahiruddin, Ayub Saha and Khalik Saha, were directed by Sebi to wind up the existing CIS and refund the money collected by the company under the schemes with returns which were due to the investors within a period of three months. Besides, the entities were ordered to submit a winding up and repayment report to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). In an order dated May 31, Sebi noted that the entities have shown obstinacy to comply with its directions as they have completely disregarded the order. Such non-compliance and gross defiance of the directions certainly causes loss to the investors and unlawful gain to the noticees (Green Ray International and its four promoters and directors), Sebi said. Noting that the gravity of this matter cannot be ignored as non-compliance of the directions is continuing till date after lapse of more than four years, Sebi has said the brazen defiance shown by the entities towards directions cannot be viewed lightly. For not complying with the directions issued through February 2016 order, the regulator has slapped a fine of 1 crore on Green Ray International and the four promoters and directors. As per the order, the company had received crore (as on March 31, 2010) and crore (as on March 31, 2011) from the investors. careful in disclosing development on various matters. We see them continuing as member. Hope is that we can get over these matters and continue to work together for benefit of industry and consumers. That is what association is all about. We don t want these irritance to get in to way but continue to focus on what really association is established to do. We believe the allegations are without merit and we intend to defend ourselves vigorously. COAI is well within its rights to hold and voice its views on regulatory and policy issues. The matter is currently sub-judice and we are in the process of considering and evaluating our legal options, Mathews said. He said the bank has been able to make progress on two other aspects of the fintech engagements, including procuring goods from such startups and also playing an active role with the ecosystem through collaborations. Kumar said the bank is also planning to invest 25 crore to set up a collaborative innovation centre in the satellite city of Navi Mumbai to promote latest technologies. The bank, which has 430 million customers or a third of the country s population, has worked with over 150 startups till now on various cutting edge technologies including chatbot, data analytics, etc, according to him. The lender has held five editions of hackathons to collaborate and search for the best solutions, Kumar said. At present, the entire bank runs from its global technology centre at Belapur in Navi Mumbai. ising inflation and high Rcrude oil prices will weigh on the minds of the six Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members at their threeday meeting beginning here on Monday to decide the key policy rate. The seven-quarter high growth rate of 7.7% in January- March 2018 and forecast of a normal monsoon has reduced the clamour for a cut in the benchmark lending rate (repo) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Retail inflation (CPI), a key data for the RBI, has remained above 4% since November The Government has mandated the RBI to restrict the retail inflation at 4% (with a margin of +/- 2%), while supporting growth. The RBI has refrained from revising the repo rate since August 2017 citing inflationary concerns. Indicating hardening of the interest rate scenario, several major lenders including SBI, PNB and ICICI Bank have already raised their lending rates from June 1. Some of the mid stand-off with iphone Amaker Apple, Trai has inserted a clause in its proposed regulation on pesky calls, which will make it compulsory for all devices to provide access to call logs and SMSes required for the functioning of do-not-disturb kind of mobile apps. Every access provider shall ensure that all devices registered on its network shall support all permissions required for the functioning of such apps as prescribed in the Regulations 6 (2) (e) and regulations 24 (2), Trai said in a corrigendum to draft rules on May 30. The clause 6 of the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulation, 2018 is about arrangements that telecom operators should make to facilitate registration of complaints, change in choice of subscribers, mode of filing complaints or registration required to bar pesky calls and SMSes. To file complaints against pesky calls and SMSes, subscribers are required to share phone number, time, date and the purpose for which they tate-owned Oil and Natural SGas Corp (ONGC) logged a 4,000 crore loss on natural gas output in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018 as the Government mandated price for the fuel was less than the cost of production. We need at least $4 per million British thermal unit to break-even as compared to current gas price of $3.06 per mmbtu, a senior company official said. As per a new mechanism approved by the government in October 2014, the price of domestically produced natural gas is to be revised every six months April 1 and October 1 using weighted average of rates prevalent in gas surplus markets like Henry Hub (US), National Balancing Point (UK excluding Russia), Alberta (Canada) and Russia. Using this formula, the price for April to September came to $3.06 per mmbtu as compared to $2.89 in previous six months. Our average cost of production is about $5.14 per mmbtu. It comes to about $3.59 per mmbtu without taking into account return on capital, the official said. Gas production is now a loss-making business as irrespective of cost of production we have to continue paying royalty and other taxes. Prices have been less than $4 since October Natural gas is no more a profitable business because cost of production is very significantly higher than current gas prices, the official said. ONGC, he said, has sought a review of the natural gas pricing formula. India s largest natural gas producer is demanding a floor or minimum price of natural gas be fixed at $4.2 per mmbtu for the business to make economic sense. The official said ONGC s significant discoveries in KG basin and Gulf of Kutch would need higher price to bring them to production. Gas discoveries in the shallow sea off Andhra Pradesh on the east, and off Gujarat on the west are economically unviable to produce at the current Government-mandated price of $3.06, he said, adding that in the absence of a viable gas price, it will have to mothball the $1.5-billion projects. op officials of both public Tand private banks will today brief a parliamentary panel on the issue of mounting Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) and banking frauds. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance headed by Verappa Moily has called the Indian Banks Association officials to appear before it today. The association has top officials of all the major banks in the country as its member. As per a Lok Sabha bulletin, the panel will be briefed on the issue of rising NPAs and other matters related to banks. Members of the panel said there will also be discussion on the recent frauds in the banks. The meeting is being called after the RBI governor Urjit Patel had said the Central Bank did not have adequate powers to deal with public sector banks. The panel has also called Patel to brief on the same issue later this month. received them. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has developed a do-not-disturb mobile app using which user can select mobile number of pesky caller from their call log and also pesky SMSes after opening the application. The US based smart devices major Apple is the only company that has refused access to call logs and SMSes that are required for filing complaints through DND app. Apple did not comment on the query sent to it in this regard. Telecom operators industry body said the issue between Trai and Apple should be resolved by the regulator itself instead of putting responsibility on service provider. We have to ask ourselves a question what is legal implication of this order. Apple can sue us. This is a matter of legal enforcement on handsets. The intent behind this is make Apple do what they have been trying do, put their (Trai DND) app on their App store, COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews said. He said that when US government had issue with Apple, they went to court to resolve it and didnt approach network operators to prohibit Apple on their network. Apple sells mobile phones in the premium segment that accounts for 4% of the overall smartphone market in India and three brands Samsung, OnePlus and Apple contribute to 95% of the overall share in the segment, according to Counterpoint Research. According to CyberMedia Research (CMR), Apple was on top in the last quarter of 2017 with the launch of iphone X and iphone 8/8Plus, but the shipments of devices from the company to India declined by 74% in first quarter of The proposed regulation is at consultation stage and is open for public comment till June 11. The draft proposes that mobile subscribers should be able to revoke permission anytime that they have given to a commercial entity through mobile app, website, SMS etc and the same should be updated in the blockchain based system within 24 hours. banks have also increased the deposit rates. Notwithstanding the clamour for a rate hike in market, we believe ground realities call for caution and not rate action, India s largest lender SBI said in a research report. One of the reasons it cited was that while the GDP numbers are strong, private consumption continues to lose pace, dropping to 6.6% in from 7.3% in the previous year. The MPC, headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel, will for the first time meet for three days as against the usual two. The resolution of the second bi-monthly monetary policy meeting for the current fiscal will be announced in the afternoon of June 6. In the last MPC meet, held in April, RBI Deputy Governor and member of the panel Viral Acharya had indicated that he would vote for withdrawal of monetary accommodation in the June policy. Another member Michael Patra had voted for a hike in repo rate but was overruled by majority that opted for statusquo. Currently, repo rate -- the short term lending rate at which RBI lends to banks -- stands at 6%. Consequently, the reverse repo rate is 5.75% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the bank rate stand at 6.25%. Naresh Takkar, MD and Group CEO of ICRA Ltd said: Although the headline and the core CPI inflation for April 2018 revealed negative surprises, an immediate rate hike may be premature, given the lack of clarity on factors like the 2018 monsoon, the minimum support price (MSPs) and fiscal risks. However, the expected rebound in the average CPI inflation for , in conjunction with the higher-thananticipated GDP expansion in Q4 of last fiscal, suggests that a back-ended rate hike cannot be ruled out, which is likely to be reflected in the tone of the policy document, he added. Reversing the declining trend of three months, retail inflation inched up to 4.58% in April. ndia s crude steel output in IApril 2018 increased 5.6% to 8.7 million tonne (MT) as compared to the year-ago month, the World Steel Association has said. China s crude steel production in April stood at 76.7 MT, registering an increase of 4.8% over the same month in However, Japan s crude steel output saw a decline of 0.4% to 8.7 MT in the reported month. South Korea s steel production was 5.9 MT in April 2018, an increase of 7.1% over the same month a year ago. World crude steel production for the 64 countries reporting to World Steel Association (worldsteel) was MT in April 2018, a 4.1% increase compared to April 2017, it said. World Steel Association is one of the largest industry associations in the world. Its members represent about 85% of the world s steel production. They include over 160 steel producers with 9 of the 10 largest steel companies, national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. -commerce major Flipkart Ehas shared some details with the I-T authorities on its $16 billion deal with US-based Walmart, but the tax department will act only after regulatory approvals have been obtained, an official said. The department is currently studying the details received from the company, the official said, adding that they can issue notices seeking details of taxes withheld once the transactions are completed. Last month, the tax department had written to Bentonville -Arkansas based Walmart saying that the US company can seek guidance about the tax liability under Section 195 (2) of the I-T Act. Under Section 195 of the Act, anyone making payment to non-residents is required to deduct tax (commonly known as withholding tax). The official said Flipkart has filed some details with the tax authorities and the same are being examined. There is no action required right now on our part. We will wait till the regulatory clearances are obtained, the official told PTI. Nangia Advisors LLP Managing Partner Rakesh Nangia said Income tax department has power to issue notices u/s 133(6) of IT Act to any party involved in this mega deal, including Flipkart, Walmart or any of the investors selling their stake. If the department is not satisfied with the reply/ explanation furnished by the purchaser/ payer, it may hold the purchaser/ payer as assessee in default for failure to withhold appropriate taxes u/s 195 of the Act, Nangia said. The department currently is going through the Section 9 (1) of the Income Tax law, which deals with indirect transfer provisions, to see if the benefits under the bilateral tax treaties with countries like Singapore and Mauritius, could be available for foreign investors selling stakes to Walmart.

11 uditors seem to be getting Amore vocal about financial gaps at listed companies, possibly due to an enhanced regulatory glare, as independent audit reports for a number of publicly traded companies have begun flagging issues like networth erosion and lack of necessary disclosures. In some cases, the auditors have even begun quitting the audit mandate, while in many others they have expressed their reservations about whether their clients can continue operating on going concern basis with net-worth turning negative, losses mounting and diminishing prospects of required revenue and cash flow generation. The companies that have seen auditors flagging various issues include Jet Airways, L&T s shipbuilding arm, Manpasand Beverages, Vakrangee Ltd and Atlanta Ltd. Experts believe this trend dvanced technologies like AAI will spawn new jobs and fears around job losses are misplaced, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said, while admitting that India Inc needs to play a larger role in the efforts to upskill people. Remember, technology by its very nature requires skilling and I see potential for digital skilling in a big way which, by itself, will create a lot of jobs, Prasad told PTI. He said IT ministry is working with other departments like Niti Aayog on various aspects of these advanced technologies, and is also engaged with software body Nasscom on skill development initiatives. We are working with Nasscom...Also, I have already set up several committees to examine the whole matter. Artificial Intelligence (AI) may get even more prominent going forward with several sectors facing financial difficulties at a broader level and also due to corporate governance related issues at individual levels. Experts believe the recent move by auditors could also be due to regulatory glare on them that requires the audit community to show responsibility to broader stakeholders and not just the corporate clients. Among others, auditors of Jet Airways, L&T Shipbuilding and Reliance Naval and Engineering raised doubt whether these companies can continue as a going concern. The management of all these companies, on their part, have maintained that necessary initiatives are being taken to improve their finances and there were no major causes for worry. In accounting parlance, the going concern assumption means that the company will remain in business for the foreseeable future without being forced to halt operations and liquidate its assets. Moreover, Price Waterhouse quit audit mandate of Vakrangee and Atlanta, while Deloitte resigned as statutory auditor of Manpasand Beverages. They discontinued their engagements with these firms on account of lack of requisite information sought by them from the management. Both Price Waterhouse and Deloitte did not comment when asked about this emerging trend. According to RSM Astute Consulting Group s Suresh Surana, auditors have should be used for governance...for improvement. We are working quite closely with other departments like Niti Aayog, he explained. Asked if the corporate India needed to put more efforts in this area, the minister said: There is a scope for that. Nasscom is doing that but there is a need to do more. He dismissed concerns that technology may displace jobs, but added that it is important for people to upskill to keep pace with changing requirements in the digital world. If a person is not up to date in new technology, then he may have a problem. You have to be tuned to the new technology, the minister said in a recent interview. He noted that 39.8 lakh people are working directly in IT sector, while indirectly the sector employed about 1.3 crore people. Additionally, 10 lakh people are involved in Common Service Centre (CSC) - which acts as access point for delivery of electronic governance services - while 4.5 lakh people are involved in mobile manufacturing activities in the country, he added. All these numbers are excluding the startup and entrepreneurship movement. When a new technology comes, new skilling comes in, it is going to bring more and more jobs, be very clear about this, he said. become more vocal and explicit in terms of information requirements and do not hesitate in giving qualified opinion or disclaimers regarding going concern, assets impairment, non-provisioning, revenue recognition and legal contraventions. The audit committees, independent directors, board of directors, investors and regulators have become more demanding in terms of audit expectations and reporting. Besides, the recent developments regarding non-performing assets and insolvency ndia will on Monday import Iits first ever cargo of LNG from Russia under a longterm deal as the world s fourthlargest buyer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) diversifies its import basket to meet its vast energy needs. State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd will bring the shipload of LNG from Gazprom at Petronet LNG Ltd s import terminal here, official sources said. Beginning of supplies from Russia comes within weeks of India importing its first ever LNG cargo from US under a long-term import deal. Like when the US LNG touched at Dabhol port in Maharashtra, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will be at the Petronet terminal when the Russian gas arrives. GAIL has renegotiated with Russian supplier Gazprom the terms of the 20-year deal to import 2.5 million tonnes a year of LNG. Both price and volume ramp up have been renegotiated. Company Chairman and managing director BC Tripathi had last month stated in New Delhi that the contracted volume has been lowered from 2.5 million tonnes to 0.5 MT in the first year , 0.75 MT in , 1.5 MT in the third year GAIL has committed to importing the full 2.5 MT a year by the fourth year and make up for the initial volume reduction over the remaining length of the contract. Also, the price indexation has been changed from the Japan Customs-cleared Crude to Brent, and the oil-linked slope of the contract formula lowered, and therefore the final price. Sources said the renegotiated contract provides for diverting a part of the volume, originally contracted on a delivered ex-ship basis, to other markets. Under the re-worked deal with Gazprom, the duration of the contract has been extended by three years and the Indian company has agreed to buy an additional six million tonnes of LNG volumes. The pricing of the supercooled fuel has been changed from 9-month linkage to Japanese Customs cleared crude to three months average of Brent, sources said. The deferral will allow GAIL more time to find customers for the imported gas. GAIL had signed the original deal on August 29, 2012 with Gazprom Marketing and Trading Singapore Pte Ltd (GMTS), Singapore. The deal was renegotiated in January this year. Gazprom will supply LNG from Yamal LNG project in the Arctic peninsula. India has been making the most of its position as one of the world s biggest energy consumers to strike better bargains for its companies. Last year, India got US energy major Exxon Mobil Corp to lower price of 1.5 MT a year of LNG from Gorgon project in Australia, saving 4,000 crore in import bill. At the time of signing, in 2009, the Gorgon LNG price with USbased ExxonMobil was agreed upon was at 14.5 per cent. In late 2015, it had renegotiated price of the long-term deal to import 7.5 MT per year of LNG from Qatar, helping save 8,000 crore. The contract was renegotiated outside the contractually specified renegotiation period, with the eventual removal of the 60-day moving average ceiling and floor price and waiver of USD 1.5 billion in penalties under the take-or-pay clause for volumes that Petronet had not imported. As a concession, Petronet agreed to buy an additional 1 MT a year and import all the volumes not taken during that time over the remainder of the contract, which runs until Most recently, GAIL has been trying to renegotiate the price and terms of 3.5 MT a year US Sabine Pass contract with Cheniere Energy. ndia s export of finished steel Islumped by 25.2 per cent to million tonnes (MT) during April 2018, according to a report. The country had exported MT finished steel during the same month a year ago, the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) said it its latest report. The JPC, under Ministry of Steel, is the only institution in the country that collects and maintains data on domestic steel and iron industry. At MT, export of total finished steel was down by 25.2 per cent in April 2018 over April 2017, the report said. The total output of finished steel for sale in April stood at MT, up 5.4 per cent from MT the country had produced in the same month last year, the report said. Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh had earlier said that India should export six to seven per cent of its total steel production. As against exports, the imports grew 18.8 per cent to MT during April, compared to MT in the same month previous year. India s consumption of total finished steel grew 8.2 per cent to MT over April 2017, when the consumption was MT, the report said. ewly constituted Banks NBoard Bureau, headed by former DoPT Secretary BP Sharma, will undertake its first major assignment of shortlisting candidates for about 30 top level vacancies in the public sector banks beginning June 13. There are already some vacancies at the managing director (MD) and at the executive director (ED) level and some would be created during The comments come amid reports of layoffs across various IT companies and apprehensions that increasing automation across sectors could make existing jobs redundant. Nasscom had refuted such reports saying the IT industry continues to hire people on net basis although techies will have to reskill themselves to stay relevant. IT companies, on their part, too had defended their position saying trimming of workforce is a part of annual performance reviews, a process that weeds out bottom performers or non-performers. Nasscom had argued that tech startups, e-commerce, Digital India and digital payments are creating new opportunities for growth. As many as three million new jobs are expected to be created in the sector by 2025, as per industry estimates. ome grown datacentre Hfirm CtrlS plans to invest 1,500 crore to expand its footprint to accommodate massive data, generated by new technologies and privacy laws that require companies to store data locally. We are going to set-up a hyper scale datacentre in Hyderabad with 100 megabyte capacity equivalent to about 1 million square feet in tier 4 category. The work on this will start in next 3-6 months time and it will take 18 months to complete it. We will invest around Rs 1,200 crore in this facility, CtrlS founder and CEO Sridhar Pinnapureddy told PTI. The company, which claims to be leader in Asia in tier-4 datacentre category, hosts data of large business houses, including State Bank of India, Tata Group, Mahindra Group of companies, Adani Group, Birla Group of companies and Fedex, among others. CtrlS is also planning to start two new data centres facility separately at Hyderabad and Mumbai. We are setting up two new projects. A 130 thousand square feet centre in Mumbai, which will be second facility in the metro city and a thousand square feet facility in Hyderabad. These centres will resolution have also brought the role of auditors in sharp focus, Surana said. We feel the move by auditors will bring greater transparency but at the same time, all the stakeholders need to understand the scope and limitations of the audit process and that an auditor is not an insurer, he added. Experts also feel that regulatory action against some auditors including in cases like Satyam scam may have led to the audit community going on an image makeover exercise. Sushila Ram Varma, Chief Consultant at The Indian Lawyer & Allied Services, said that a correct auditor s report helps investors in deciding whether they would like to invest in the company. Price Waterhouse quit the audit mandate of technology firm Vakrangee due to the company not providing adequate and relevant information and explanations regarding the company s election books, bullion and jewellery businesses. Besides, it withdrew from the auditing engagements of construction and infrastructure ata Group brand Mia, part Tof its jewellery division Tanishq, is eyeing 1,000 crore turnover in the next 5-6 years as it expands its retail footprint across the country. Tanishq, which launched the brand for working women in 2011, sells the Mia jewellery range from its existing stores, standalone Mia stores and select shop-in-shops at multi brand outlets such as Shoppers Stop. The company plans to open 25 new standalone Mia stores by the end of the current financial year as it looks to grow turnover from the brand. While Tanshiq will continue to sell Mia brand jewellery, growth of business for Mia will come from standalone stores. Growth of Mia brand has been consistent for the last few years...upwards of per be operational by December. The combined investment in these facilities is around Rs 300 crore, Pinnapureddy said. He said that the company only operates in tier-4 data centres that have to assure per cent uptime and the expansion will be funded mostly by internal accruals and partly with debt funding. At CtrS we have EBIDTA of around 220 crore. This year we expect our gross revenue to be around 500 crore. We also have our cloud business firm Cloud4C, which operates in 20 countries. The combined revenue with Cloud4C will be around 800 crore by end of this fiscal, Pinnapureddy said. CtrlS vice-president BS Rao said that the company serves 15 of the Fortune 100 global multi-national companies and demand has started coming for next generation technologies like internet of things, data analytics and cloud computing. And with the new privacy laws - this segment is expected to expand significantly as many companies will need to store data locally. The BFSI contributes 44 per cent to the total business of CtrlS, 18 per cent by IT/ITeS firm, 13 per cent telecom, 12 per cent from services, 5 per cent manufacturing segment and 4 per cent comes from government business, Rao said. course of the current fiscal, sources said. In all, there are places for 12 MDs and 18 EDs who will be appointed during this fiscal, sources said, adding that confidential report of over 60 eligible candidates have been sought form various banks for these vacancies. Since there are large number of candidates, the interview would continue over five to six days and should be over by June 22 as per the tentative schedule. For a dozen MD level vacancies, there are 20 eligible candidates while for the 18 executive director posts there are 47 in the fray, sources said. Some of the existing MD level vacancies are at banks including Dena Bank, Andhra Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank. As per the convention, Punjab & Sind Bank will get candidates from the Sikh community. Some of the candidates shortlisted for Delhi-based Punjab & Sind Bank include ITDC MD Ravneet Kaur. Besides, MD level vacancies will be created in Bank of company Atlanta as the firm allegedly did not share details of an ongoing income tax investigation and the resignation of an independent director. Auditing major Deloitte Haskins & Sells resigned as statutory auditors of Manpasand Beverages as the fruit juice maker failed to provide them with significant information on the financial results for the year ended March 31, The new Companies Act, 2013 contains elaborate provisions regarding liability of statutory auditors in case auditor has contravened the provisions knowingly or wilfully with the intention to deceive the company or its shareholders or creditors or tax authorities. The Code of Ethics for Chartered Accountants makes it mandatory that a chartered accountant has to follow the principles of objectivity, integrity, reliability and credibility of the information that it gives in its report and failure to do so can cause a suspension of their licence, Varma noted. cent CAGR. Right now, Mia brand is strongly under Tanishq s shadow but we want to parallelly open a fresh retail line. We want to make Mia a 1,000 crore brand in 5-6 years, Titan Company senior vicepresident (Retail and Marketing) - Jewellery Division, Sandeep Kulhalli told PTI. He, however, did not share Mia brand s current turnover, saying it is a small percentage of Tanishq s overall sales. The company, which opened the first Mia standalone store in 2013, at present has 15 stores across the country. Kulhalli said Mia s retail expansion journey has been slow but the company will now open Mia outlets at a faster pace. We have already opened 4 stores so far this financial year. We plan to open 25 stores in the current financial year, he said. New Delhi (PTI): India is expected to be a leader in shared mobility by 2030 as rising share of electric and autonomous vehicles will improve shared mile economics, says a Morgan Stanley report. According to the global financial services major, India offers all the right ingredients to be one of the largest shared mobility markets in the world as it has large population clusters, a young demographic that is well connected to the internet and rising real incomes. By 2030, Morgan Stanley expects shared miles to reach 35 per cent of all the miles travelled in India and this will further increase to 50 per cent by Post 2030, it also expects this trend of shared mobility to partly replace individual car ownership while app-based taxi Baroda, Canara Bank, UCO Bank, Indian Bank, Syndicate Bank, Allahabad Bank, Central Bank of India, United Bank of India and Corporation Bank. The executive directors who have completed a year as an ED and have two years remaining would be eligible for the MD and CEO post, a senior bank official said. The cut-off date for applying was April 1, Majority of the banks, where top level vacancies are to be filled, are under Prompt Corrective Action ree services, like ATM with- provided by banks Fdrawals, to customers will not attract GST, but late payment charges on outstanding credit card bills and purchase of insurance policies by NRIs will attract the levy. In a set of FAQs on applicability of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on banking, insurance and stock brokers sectors, the revenue department has clarified that transactions relating to securitisation, derivatives, future and forward contracts are exempt. The clarification by the department keeping free banking services like cheque book issuance and ATM withdrawals outside the ambit of GST has put to rest the confusion prevailing over the issue. Last month, the Department of Financial Services had approached the Revenue department seeking exemption of these transactions from GST after the banks received service tax notice for free services offered to their clients. Clarifying whether, services supplied without consideration to a recipient other than related party / distinct person taxable, the FAQ said Section 7 of the CGST Act, 2017 provides that services supplied without consideration to related persons or distinct persons only would qualify as supply. Therefore, where the services are supplied by a supplier without consideration to an unrelated recipient or a person other than a related or distinct person, the same would not amount to supply and not liable to GST, it said. On the levy of GST on insurance policies purchased by non-resident Indians (NRIs), it said the amounts from Non- Resident External Accounts are paid in Indian Rupees and are not received in convertible r Reddy s Laboratories Dexpects to launch over 15 products in the US market in , according to a top company official. The Hyderabad-based drug major also remains optimistic for a double digit growth in the domestic market in the ongoing financial year. Normally every year, based on our portfolio and R&D investments, we prepare for 10 to 15 launches. But this year ( ), it could be 15 plus, the company s CFO Saumen Chakraborty told analysts in a call. The company, which launched three products in the US during March quarter of , has over 100 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) lined up for approval with the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). We have over 100 ANDAs pending, many of them first-tofile, many of them complex assets, both at the API level as well as the finished dosage level, CEO GV Prasad said. When asked about steps being taken by the company regarding regulatory issues at its two sites, Prasad said FDA has asked drug maker for information on Srikakulam (Andhra Pradesh) facility. We are working on providing that back. We hope to complete the request in June. And after that, we have to talk to them about going forward, he said. Regarding the company s formulation manufacturing (PCA) framework of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). For example, RBI has recently imposed lending and deposit taking restrictions on Dena Bank and Allahabad Bank. RBI asked both these banks, which are already under the PCA mechanism, to restrict expansion of risk weighted average and reduce exposure to un-rated and highrisk advances. As many as 11 banks, out of 21 state-owned banks are under the PCA of the Reserve Bank because of foreign exchange. Therefore, the conditions for export of services as provided under section 2(6) of IGST Act, 2017 are not satisfied. Life Insurance services in such cases would be treated as inter-state supplies and subject to GST, it said. On whether GST will be levied on the exit-load of mutual funds, the department said exit load in the form of a fee (whether or not as a fixed percentage of the investment) is liable to GST. Even if the exit load is in the form of units in the fund, it may be concluded that the consideration received in money was later converted to NAV units, the FAQ said. Besides, late payment of dues on credit card outstanding as well as interest on a finance lease transaction are taxable under GST. The FAQ (frequently asked question) explained finance lease as a method of borrowing against the asset. The interest represents the time value of the money expended by the bank in financing the asset. PwC Partner & Leader, Indirect Tax, Pratik Jain said the FAQs are very significant as globally the financial service sector is considered as most complex from GST standpoint. Transactions relating to securitisation, derivatives, future and forward contracts have been clarified to be exempt from GST, which have been debated since introduction of GST. While few aspects such as taxability of transactions between Indian and overseas offices of same bank still need some more clarity, industry would welcome the government s initiative, Jain said. Clarifications around services provided by multiple branches and to multiple locations of customers would provide much needed certainty to the industry and reduce possibility of litigation, he said. facility at Duvvada in Visakhapatnam, Prasad said: The Duvvada site has to be inspected. We have done a lot of remediation work and the inspection request will go to them in the end of June or early July and then we will await a reinspection. Commenting on the company s India operations, COO Erez Israeli said the drug maker is witnessing progressive improvement in the business performance over the last few quarters. We strive to perform better than the market through Overall, we remain optimistic towards the double digit growth rate in the current financial year, he said. The company generated revenues of 2,332.2 crore from domestic business in services will mainly replace public transport rather than personal car usage. India had 257 billion miles driven in 2017, and of that, 10 per cent were shared (includes traditional taxis and app-based plays), based on Morgan Stanley estimates. We believe this can rise to 35 per cent by 2030, implying an 18 per cent CAGR, it noted. The report further noted that large population clusters are the first prerequisite for successful shared mobility. India has 61 cities with populations greater than San Francisco s (850,000 population), and 50 cities with populations of more than 1 million. Besides, public intercity transportation infrastructure (including trains and local buses) in India have been slow to ramp-up. their weak financials. The 11 banks on the RBI s watchlist are Allahabad Bank, United Bank of India, Corporation Bank, IDBI Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Dena Bank and Bank of Maharashtra. Together, these banks accounted for 52,311 crore of the 88,139-crore capital infusion plan (through bonds and budgetary support) announced by the government for

12 hina on Sunday warned Cafter another round of talks on a sprawling trade dispute with Washington that any deals they produce will not take effect if President Donald Trump s threatened tariff hike on Chinese goods goes ahead. The warning came after delegations led by US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and China s top economic official, Vice Premier Liu He, wrapped up a meeting on Beijing s pledge to narrow its trade surplus. Ross said at the start of the event they had discussed specific American exports China might purchase, but the talks ended with no joint statement and neither side released details. The White House threw the meeting s status into doubt Tuesday by renewing a threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese hightech goods in response to complaints Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology. The event went ahead despite that but Beijing said it reserved the right to retaliate. Tuesday s announcement revived fears the conflict Seoul: Syrian President Bashar al-assad said he plans to visit North Korea s leader Kim Jong Un, Pyongyang s state media reported on Sunday, potentially becoming the first head of state to meet Kim inside the isolated country. I am going to visit the DPRK and meet... Kim Jong Un, Assad said, the North s state-run KCNA news agency reported, using the abbreviated version of the country s official name. The announcement came as anticipation mounts for a historic nuclear summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12, following a whirlwind round of diplomacy. Singapore: The United States is considering intensified naval patrols in the South China Sea in a bid to challenge China s growing militarisation of the waterway, actions that could further raise the stakes in one of the world s most volatile areas. The Pentagon is weighing a more assertive programme of so-called freedom-of-navigation operations close to Chinese installations on disputed reefs, two US officials and Western and Asian diplomats close to discussions said. The officials declined to say how close they were to finalising a decision. Such moves could involve longer patrols, ones involving larger numbers of ships or operations involving closer surveillance of Chinese facilities in the area, which now include electronic jamming equipment and advanced military radars. US officials are also pushing international allies and partners to increase their own naval deployments through the vital trade route as China strengthens its military capabilities on both the Paracel and Spratly Kabul: Nearly half of Afghanistan s children are not attending school because of war, poverty and other factors, a new report showed on Sunday. The study, released by the Education Ministry and the U.N. children s agency, said that 3.7 million, or 44 percent, of all school-age children are not attending school. It marks the first time since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 that the rate of attendance has declined, following years of steady gains in education for boys as well as girls, who were banned from attending school under the Taliban. The survey says girls between the two biggest economies might dampen global growth or encourage other governments to raise their own barriers to imports. If the United States introduces trade sanctions including a tariff increase, all the economic and trade achievements negotiated by the two parties will not take effect, said the Chinese statement, carried by the official Xinhua Agency. The negotiating process should be based on the premise of not fighting a trade war, the statement said. The American Embassy in The world welcomes the remarkable events in the Korean peninsula brought about recently by the outstanding political calibre and wise leadership of... Kim Jong Un, KCNA cited Assad as saying during a meeting with North Korean Ambassador Mun Jong Nam on Wednesday. The Syrian president s office refused to comment on the islands, the diplomats said, even if they stopped short of directly challenging Chinese holdings. What we have seen in the last few weeks is just the start, significantly more is being planned, said one Western diplomat, referring to a freedom of navigation patrol late last month that used two US ships for the first time. There is a real sense more needs to be done. The Pentagon does not comment on future operations but a spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan, said we will continue to work with our friends, partners, and allies to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific. account for 60 per cent of those being denied an education. Business as usual is not an option for Afghanistan if we are to fulfil the right to education for every child, Adele Khodr, UNICEF s Afghanistan representative, said in a statement. When children are not in school, they are at an increased danger of abuse, exploitation Beijing didn t immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump is pressing Beijing to narrow its politically volatile trade surplus with the United States, which reached a record $375.2 billion last year. That comes at the same time Trump has riled some of America s closest allies with the imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. After a three-day meeting of Finance Ministers from the G7 industrial nations that ended on Saturday in Canada, Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau issued a summary saying the report when contacted by AFP. Pyongyang and Damascus have maintained warm ties for decades and reportedly shared a military relationship for some years, including during the ongoing Syrian civil war. Suspicions over chemical weapons trade between Pyongyang and Damascus have been raised in the past by the UN and South Korea. AFP Tusnis: At least 35 migrants were killed when their boat sank off Tunisia s southern coast and 67 others were rescued by the coast guard, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday. The rescue operation was ongoing, the ministry said in a statement. The migrants were of Tunisian and other nationalities. PTI Berlin: Germany s Angela Merkel has offered her most detailed response to French President Emmanuel Macron s ideas for reforming Europe, seeking to avert a damaging rift with Paris at a time of high anxiety over Italy and growing transatlantic tensions. With the clock ticking down to a European Union summit this month at which Merkel and Macron have promised to present a joint plan for overhauling Europe, the German chancellor gave an extensive newspaper interview on Sunday that touched on reform of the euro zone as well and recruitment. The Taliban have seized several districts across the country in recent years, as the USbacked Government has struggled to combat the insurgency. A long-running financial crisis, exacerbated by widespread corruption, has further hindered government efforts to expand access to education. Widespread poverty forces many families to push their daughters into early marriages, often with much older men. Girls education is still frowned upon in much of the conservative Muslim country, and is banned in the steadily expanding areas controlled by the Taliban. AP other six members want Trump to hear their message of concern and disappointment over the U.S. trade actions. Allies, including Canada and the European Union, are threatening retaliatory tariffs. Bruno Le Maire, France s finance and economy minister, was blunt in his assessment of the meeting. It has been a tense and tough G7 I would say it s been far more a G6 plus one than a G7, said Le Maire, who called the tariffs unjustified. We regret that our common work together at the level of the G7 has been put at risk by the decisions taken by the American administration on trade and on tariffs, he said U.S. tensions with China had eased after Beijing promised on May 19 to significantly increase purchases of farm goods, energy and other products and services following the last round of talks in Washington. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the dispute was on hold and the tariff hike would be postponed. That truce appeared to end with Tuesday s surprise announcement. It said the White House also will impose curbs on Chinese investment S Defence Secretary Jim UMattis said on Sunday North Korea will receive relief only after it takes clear and irreversible steps to end its nuclear programme, adding it would be a bumpy road to a summit between US and North Korean leaders. The comments sought to address concern the United States may be rushing to strike a breakthrough in the unprecedented summit between the two leaders after US President Donald Trump put the meeting back on track for June 12 in Singapore. We can anticipate, at best, a bumpy road to the (negotiations), Mattis said at the start of a meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of Shangri-la dialogue in Singapore. We will continue to implement all U.N Security Council resolutions on North Korea. North Korea will receive relief only when it demonstrates verifiable and irreversible steps to denuclearisation, Mattis added. Trump said on Friday he would hold the meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in a dramatic turn of course in the high as defence and asylum policy. She has faced mounting criticism in recent weeks for failing to engage with Macron, who campaigned on a pledge to reform Europe and has ost women with the most Mcommon form of earlystage breast cancer can safely skip chemotherapy without hurting their chances of beating the disease, doctors are reporting from a landmark study that used genetic testing to gauge each patient s risk. The study is the largest ever done of breast cancer treatment, and the results are expected to spare up to 70,000 patients a year in the United States and many more elsewhere the ordeal and expense of these drugs. The impact is tremendous, said the study leader, Dr. Joseph Sparano of Montefiore Medical and purchases of US hightech goods and on visas for Chinese students. Analysts suggested Trump might be trying to appease critics of his administration s deal to allow Chinese telecom equipment giant ZTE Corp. to stay in business. They said those political pressures mean the technology-related tariff hikes are likely to go ahead. S President Donald Trump Uis seeking to transform the world trading system which is unfair and has virtually no reciprocity, his top economic advisor said on Sunday, amid America s trade tensions with China and key allies. This president, from day one, wants to reform the world trading system. It is not working. And there is so much unfair trading and illegal trading practices, Larry Kudlow, Director of the National Economic Council under President Donald Trump told Fox News. stakes diplomacy aimed at ending Pyongyang s nuclear weapons programme. Eight days after cancelling the summit citing Pyongyang s hostility, Trump announced the decision to go ahead with the meeting after hosting Kim s envoy in the White House, saying he expected very positive result with North Korea. North Korea s nuclear weapons programme has been a source of major security tensions that persisted despite a series of UN and US sanctions and it has also demonstrated advances in ballistic missile technology that experts believe now threatens the US mainland. Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said that while the solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis must be diplomatic, the defence cooperation among the United States and its Asian allies was key to bringing it about. sketched out his ambitious vision in a series of speeches over the past year. Pressure on the EU to show a united front has grown following US President Donald Trump s decision to pull Washington out of the Iran nuclear deal and to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminum exports. Top exporter Germany is especially vulnerable to a trade conflict with the United States and several analysts said the threats from Washington had given the notoriously cautious Merkel added incentive to reach out to Macron. Center in New York. Most women in this situation don t need treatment beyond surgery and hormone therapy, and the rest of them are receiving chemotherapy unnecessarily. The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute, some foundations and proceeds from the US breast cancer postage stamp. Results were discussed Sunday at an American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in n Iraq court on Saturday Asentenced a French woman to life in jail for membership of the Islamic State group as her lawyers accused authorities in Paris of interference to prevent her return to France. Melina Boughedir, a mother of four, was sentenced last February to seven months in prison for illegal entry into the country and was set to be deported back to France. But another court ordered the re-trial of the 27-year-old French citizen under Iraq s antiterrorist law and on Sunday she was found guilty of belonging to ISIS. I am innocent, Boughedir told the judge in French. My husband duped me and then threatened to leave with the children unless she followed him to Iraq, where he planned on joining ISIS, she said. I am opposed to the ideology of the ISIS and condemn the actions of my husband, she added. Her Iraqi lawyer, Nasureddin Madlul Abd, urged the court to acquit Boughedir, describing her spouse as a jailkeeper not a husband who had forced her to join him in Iraq. Her French defence team William Bourdon, Martin Pradel and Vincent Brengarth said they were relieved she had been spared the death penalty, but vowed to appeal the verdict. Boughedir, who wore a black dress and a black headscarf, arrived in the courtroom carrying her youngest daughter in her arms. Her Washington: After living and working in low-earth orbit for 168 days, three members of the International Space Station Expedition 55 crew returned to Earth on Sunday. They were American astronaut Scott Tingle, Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai and Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov. Expedition 55 Flight Engineers Tingle, Kanai and Shkaplerov undocked from the International Space Station at 5.16 am EDT to begin their trip home, NASA said in a blogpost. This mission was the first for Tingle and Kanai, and Shkaplerov now has logged 532 days in space on three flights. Chicago and published by the New England Journal of Medicine. Some study leaders consult for breast cancer drugmakers or for the company that makes the gene test. About 17 per cent of women had high-risk scores and were advised to have chemo. The 16 per cent with low-risk scores now know they can skip chemo, based on earlier results from this study. The new results are on the 67 per cent of women at intermediate risk. All had surgery and hormone therapy, and half also got chemo. After nine years, 94 per cent of both groups were still alive, and about 84 per cent were alive without signs of cancer, so adding chemo made no difference. three other children are now back in France. Hers is the latest in a series of verdicts doled out to foreigners who flocked to join IS in its self-declared caliphate after the jehadi group seized the northern third of Iraq and swathes of Syria in On May 22, an Iraqi court sentenced Belgian jihadist Tarik Jadaoun, also known as Abu Hamza al-beljiki, to death by hanging although he pleaded not guilty to a range of terror charges. Jadaoun had earned the moniker the new Abaaoud, after his compatriot Abdelhamid Abaaoud, one of the organisers of November 2015 attacks in Paris. Even before she was sentenced, Boughedir s case sparked anger from her defence team, who had accused French authorities of interfering in the case. On Thursday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told French news channel LCI that Boughedir was a ISIS terrorist who fought against Iraq and said she should be tried on Iraqi soil. histleblower or traitor, Wleaker or public hero? Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden blew the lid off U.S. government surveillance methods five years ago, but intelligence chiefs complain that revelations from the trove of classified documents he disclosed are still trickling out. That includes recent reporting on a mass surveillance program run by close U.S. ally Japan, and on how the NSA targeted bitcoin users to gather intelligence to counterterrorism, narcotics and money laundering both stories published by The Intercept, an investigative publication with access to Snowden documents. The top US counterintelligence official said journalists have publicly released only about 1 percent taken by the 34-yearold American, now living in exile in Russia, so we don t see this issue ending anytime soon. This past year, we had more international, Snowdenrelated documents and breaches than ever, Bill Evanina, who directs the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said at a recent conference. Since 2013, when Snowden left, there have been thousands of articles around the world with really sensitive stuff that s been leaked. On June 5, 2013, The Guardian in Britain published the first story based on Snowden s disclosures. It revealed that a secret court order was allowing the U.S. government to get Verizon to share the phone records of millions of Americans. Later stories, including those in The Washington Post, disclosed other snooping and how US and British spy agencies had accessed information from cables carrying the world s telephone and internet traffic. Snowden s defenders maintain that the US Government has for years exaggerated the damage his disclosures caused. Glenn Greenwald, a former journalist at The Guardian, said there are thousands upon thousands of documents that journalists have chosen not to publish because they would harm peoples reputation or privacy rights or because it would expose legitimate surveillance programmes.

13 T he World Environment Day is around the corner. Every year it is planned according to a particular theme and slogan to bring and spread awareness in the world through campaigns.this time, India is the global host of 2018 World Environment Day with Beat Plastic Pollution as the theme for this year s edition, with an aim of combating single-use plastic pollution. Here is a look at how we all can contribute by incorporating environment-friendly changes in daily life home, office and the way we travel. The heat is soaring and temperatures, according to met experts, are all set to rise further this season. Sheathing homes from the raging sun means you could be blinded by exorbitant electricity bills or may be not. For here are some ecofriendly ways to keep cool even during the peak of summer at minimal cost. If you are living on the top floor of a building, you are sure to get the full blast of the sun s heat. Minimise it by covering the roof s surface with gunny bags which can be sprinkled with water once or twice a day. The evaporating water from the soaked gunny sacks cools the roof while the ceiling fan inside the room drives the cool air down. This simple module is a very effective air-conditioning system. Needless to say, the cost is miniscule as compared to the cost of running the AC 24x7. A coat of white lime wash on a flat terrace can help the slab to remain cool throughout the summer. In much the same way ice/snow reflects UV rays instead of absorbing the heat, white roofs/terraces reflect the heat and help cool the house. Another way of reducing roof temperature is stacking up bundles of damp straw (a natural insulator) on a plastic sheet. Or just curate a terrace garden (the mud used to grow plants acts as an insulator) though it may be time-consuming. But not just rooftops, strategically placed plants, shrubs and vines function as living air-conditioners and can effectively cool a home. Planting shady varieties on the east and west sides of the house blocks out the heat. Vines and creepers along staircase and balcony grills act as natural purifiers. You can also grow plenty of plants in your balcony or mount vertical wall gardens to be heat blockers. While everyone knows that cross ventilation or cross flow of air can bring down the temperatures, the time is a crucial factor. The best time to open the windows during summers is between 5 to 8 am and between 7 and 10 pm. During the day, one should shut the windows and draw the curtains unless you want to get the full blast of a heat wave. Banish those dark synthetic drapes, opt for cottons in white or pastel colours. Hanging a wet sheet in front of your window can create a natural air-conditioner-esque effect. Inside the house, turn off the lights when not in use, especially incandescent bulbs. Not only do they consume more power and increase the electricity bills, they also radiate a lot of heat. It s best to replace them with cooler light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or compact fluorescents (CFLs). Another way to bring down the heat (and the bills) is to turn off electronic items when they are running idly. These emit heat, so unplug the electronic equipment when not in use. Try doing your cooking, laundry and ironing during the cooler parts of the day or in the evening. Partially cooking your next day s meals in the evening can help reduce daytime load and keep the carbon footprint down. Then there s the ultimate ruse of optical illusion. Adopt minimalist décor styles which trick the mind into believing it is in open and calm environs. So pack away all unnecessary knick-knacks and add some flowers, vases and pebbles to create a relaxing sanctuary. Companies can turn green conscious and adapt eco-friendly practices by judicious utilisation of minimal resources. Anchal Khosla, founder, Intiki (handmade home decor) said, I feel environmental changes are a must with increasing natural disasters and human interferences. Additionally, environmental change and ecosystem impairment have harmful effects on human health. Three tips that I feel we should abide by re-use the backside of printed paper that is being junked, use less plastic in general and recycle all trash. Rishi Das, founder of IndiQube said, Coworking spaces possess a huge potential to support environmental sustainability due to their inherently sharing-oriented constitution. These spaces are eco-friendly in various ways. The sharing principle of co-working spaces does not only refer to the physical space but also to supplies, resources and amenities, lowering wastefulness. It makes sense for coworkers both from a business and from an environmental perspective. Coworking spaces do an excellent job at fostering environments conducive to startups and freelancers efficacy. On a larger scale, however, many coworking spaces and companies working in these spaces are also doing their part to save the Earth. Baby wipes/wet wipes are the third largest contributor to non-biodegradable plastic waste across the world. India alone contributes over 1200 tonnes of waste produced by these wipes on an annual basis. With growing income and population the waste will only increase. Rishu Gandhi, founder and head of brand strategy, Mother Sparsh is trying to address this concern before it gets out of hands. With this mindset, she has launched this brand which is committed to delivering eco-friendly and baby-friendly products. They entered the market with their eco-friendly offering of 98 per cent water based baby wipes made of plant fiber. Gandhi said, Globally there is a movement to ban use and throw of plastic products especially wipes. Here in India, we need to take some action on ground before this menace spiral out of control, hence, we would always want more eco-friendly products to be launched in the baby care segment especially wipes which contribute over 1200 tonnes of waste in India, annually. The good thing is that few other startups have taken a note of the same and are working in the same direction. This is a sign of responsibile business by the new generation of entrepreneurs. Similarly, new age mothers who are looking for eco-friendly products which are not just good for their kids but also good for our mother earth, are equally responsible for opening up this category of business. There are various benefits of shifting from plastic bottles to copper ones. Considered to be the best alternative to infamous plastic water bottles Mr Cook drinkware collection has copper bottles which help in maintaining digestive health, prevents the risk of cancer, heals wounds and relieves joint pain, prevents cell damage and slows aging, aids weight loss, helps in maintaining heart wealth, improving skin and hair health, supports the immune system, improves blood quality and prevents thyroid diseases. Navaid Nowshah, MD, United Group, said, Our range of thermal bottles is apt for summer days and provides a healthy alternative to plastic bottles. It helps in keeping the water cool and is light to carry. According to a recent report India wastes around 244 crore worth of food a day. It is high time we adopt measures to reduce food wastage at home and while eating out. Colonel Prakash Tewari, executive director, DLF Foundation said, Roughly onethird of the food produced in the world for human consumption approximately 1.3 billion tonnes gets wasted each year. This is alarming as 42 million people in the world do not have enough to eat. Wasted food is also an emitter of carbon dioxide. Both home and hotels should take steps to minimise food wastage. Hotels should encourage customers to take home leftovers and leverage food rescue charities organisations working to collect excess food and redistribute it to the needy. At home, it is advisable to store edibles safely and keep refrigerators at optimum temperatures. One must also plan menu carefully and make most of the seasonal produce. hey jogged around India Gate and kept Tpicking up litter around the iconic monument to make a pledge for a clean and plastic free Delhi by plogging a Swedish fitness trend that combines running with collecting garbage. The event on Friday was organised by the Embassy of Sweden and a group of ploggers of India together with the European Union ahead of the World Environment Day on June 5. It was part of the EU s series of environmental programmes in India. The EU delegation and missions of European Union member states in Delhi with the support of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change co-hosted a conference on plastic pollution and management Sharing Best Practices at Vigyan Bhawan on Friday. The theme of the conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries was in line with this year s theme Beat Plastic Pollution. EU ambassador to India Tomasz Kozlowski congratulated India for its leadership in dealing with environmental issues globally. India is a key partner of the EU with partnerships on clean energy and climate change, water, smart and sustainable urbanization, air quality and resource efficiency, said Kozlowski. Taking the cooperation to the next level, the Ambassador said, EU Commissioner for Environment would lead a delegation of about 50 EU businesses to India in September as part of the CII Sustainability Summit. On June 5, the EU delegation and the embassies of the EU member states are expected to announce and adopt a green pledge aimed at eliminating the use of single-use plastic products, saving energy and water resources and managing waste. cotourism can simply be defined Eas a responsible form of travel that entails travelling which is done with the underlying aim of conserving the environment and sustaining its diversity. It promotes conservation and provides favourable active socio-economic participation of locals and tourists alike. Ecotourism destinations allow travellers to explore some of the most gorgeous natural wonders across the globe but responsibly. The money spent by travellers on visiting these destinations is often put back for maintaining and protecting the natural environment. A steady year on year growth of about 24 per cent has been seen in the queries received around eco-tourism in India as more people opt for it. This summer, while planning an escape to your dream destination, try being a responsible traveller. With global warming and rising pollution levels, we need to care for our mountains, beaches, hills and the very air we breathe. Here are a few tips: No-vehicle roads: How about discovering a place on foot? Well, if that is your idea of exploring a new city, you will be happy to hear that there are places like the Mall Road in Shimla, Cinque Terre (The Italian Riveria) and Giethoorn village (Netherlands) where vehicles are not allowed. Walking is the best option to soak in the local flavour. Littering costs a fortune: We bet you don t want to shell out a bomb as penalty on your vacation for something as trivial as littering or fly tipping. Some places across the globe such as West Dunbartonshire (Scotland) charge a littering fine of as much as 20,000. Say no to plastic bags: If you are travelling to any of the hill stations in India, be sure to carry your own bag while shopping. You won t be getting any plastic bags. No smoking zones: A vacation in cities like Beijing, Chandigarh, Chennai, Liverpool and Mexico will mean that you have to leave your cigarette case at home as all these places are smoking-free zones. Don t even think of breaking the rule or you will have to pay a hefty sum as a fine. Say Yes to Green Hotels: Even one of the biggest hotels, ITC Delhi Maurya is doing its bit for environment. The hotel uses solar boilers for activities such as bathing, cooking and laundry. If you are looking for a green stay, Grape Country in Nasik can be a perfect choice where you get to experience vineyard tourism and organic farming among other things. And if you are travelling to Lahaul Spiti, you might get a chance to be a part of various solar energy projects by Ecosphere and choose to stay in solar houses as well. Go for green transportation: Bid goodbye to your traditional transportation modes and go for the new, trendy E-bikes and cycles which will be your best bet. (The author is CEO and cofounder of ixigo )

14 D id you know that every year 1.5 crore students take the Board exams nationwide? Out of this how many make it to the top of the crème de la crème? When the board exam results of class XII came out, students and parents thronged all over the internet to check out their nearperfect scores. The pressure and concern about not performing well and getting into a leading institute can often be the cause of sheer repulsion and horror for many. A fiercely competitive environment, parental pressure and the skyhigh cut off lists of India s most sought-after colleges make the struggle to perform all the more arduous. Don t get us wrong, getting good marks is great but these are not the benchmark for one s intelligence. So even if you did not make it to the top of the list, let us tell you one thing; it is not that big a deal. There are many examples of average students ( if you go by their marks ) who excelled in their fields Sachin Tendulkar, Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Richard Branson it's a long list of achievers if we want to list them all. In today s day and age, there are plethora of career options for students to pursue. Gone are the days of traditional career paths. We ve got umpteen engineers, doctors and commerce graduates. In fact, many of the jobs/roles today shall become obsolete in another five years So it is important to be future ready. Chartering an unconventional route with career options that are equally viable in the industry today. It is always best to put your knowledge to better use, especially when you know what you are good at. Here s how: With Indian fashion designers having hit big time in the country and abroad, it is one of the most soughtafter career options. The industry is all about creativity, style and originality and exposure to it lays the essential platform that allows you to fit into the roles of buyers, category managers, retail operation managers and so much more. For an industry that is growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12 per cent, it is set to reach 3,94,000 crore by The employment rate thus is around 60 million, opening long-term doors to leading manufacturers, brands, and retailers. Almost all fashion institutes have a set criterion for admission. Candidates should have passed class XII from a recognised board after which the institute conducts its own entrance exams which has no relation to the Board s score. So, if you are young, vibrant and live, think, breathe fashion and lifestyle, then this course is ideal for you. Mass Communication and Journalism is another such comprehensive course that in spite of having a merit-based intake process does not have a high cut-off criteria in most colleges and universities. It is an industryoriented and cost-effective course. No matter where you do it from, exposure of practical knowledge will always hold more credibility than theory. If you are a people s person, love talking and listening and have a flair for writing, looking to get a better understanding in journalism, public relations, advertising, new media and entertainment and film technology then it is recommended that you give this course a shot. India has many good colleges for Mass Communication. Got great IT skills but do not want to pursue engineering? Take up a course on ethical hacking as an alternative to whatever you choose to study in college. Ethical hacking makes for a very lucrative career. A number of universities, colleges and private computer schools offer courses and diploma degrees and training programs that align with an industry certified ethical hacker curriculum. And guess what, you do not need your board results for admission. So, if you possess a strong knowledge in web and computer systems, understand security protocols, can hack into systems and take ethical corrective measures to prevent cyberattacks with the thrills, then target this course. Popular cities offering this course are Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, and Hyderabad. According to The Bureau of Labour Statistics, job outlook for information security analysis is expected to increase 18 per cent between which is much faster than the national average. And there is a reason, the National Cyber Security Alliance has data which shows that one out of five small businesses are affected by cybercrime each year. With a growing emphasis on high tech and computers in our educational system, this is in fact a valuable skill, termed as the 21st century literacy. There are a number of apps, books, games and online tools through which students can build their own knowledge as well as explore skills that allow them to possess the most in-demand skill across industries. Seven million job openings are in occupation that required coding skills. Programming jobs overall are growing 12 per cent faster than the market average. Close to 50,000 positions are currently available at big firms and around 61 per cent of these roles require candidates with less than five years of experience. Love your job and you would not have to work for the rest of your life. A number of universities have introduced professional courses which are not considered mainstream. Acting, dancing, arts, radio jockeying, fitness training are some offbeat courses that are rewarding and satisfying options. From short courses, workshops, part time courses to diploma courses, there is not dearth of opportunities. Students are taken not on the basis of their high school merit but their individual talent and creative excellence. So if you want to do something different that ensures great personal satisfaction, then these may be the courses for you. Children who are good at sports have a plethora of opportunities in front of them. The Government of India, large corporate groups and renowned sports personalities offer financial and motivational support. So even if you did not score as well, there is always hope. What parents and students simply need to understand is that in the end, everything falls into place. The game of life has just begun. (The authors, Sarvesh Shrivastava, is the co-founder and MD of Eupheus Learning and Amit Yaadav is the director of Pathfinder Global School) uman relationships are infi- complex and tricky to Hnitely manage and hence they need immense patience, understanding, acceptance, acknowledgement and engagement. There is a well known saying that we see things not as they are but as we are. While our physical eyes see everything and everyone the same way, it is actually the thoughts and feelings that accompany the act of seeing which form an impression in the mind about what we are seeing. So, if our feelings are light and pure, we feel the same way about everything we see. On the other hand, if we are in a negative frame of mind we might perceive things negatively. It s a known fact that we develop a negative attitude towards others when we see and keep thinking about their faults. In fact most of us have experienced this, haven t we? The simplest way to get out of this trap is to think about the things that we like in that person, and soon our feelings will start changing. In short, focussing on the positive qualities automatically frees us from negativity. Most people are caught up in their own lives and to them, their problems are big issues. But if we look at the larger picture, we realise that we expend much of our time and energy on trifles in our life and even more insignificant in relation to the events unfolding on the huge stage of the world, or the universe. For example, take the case of a small child who has been left with his grand parents by his mother for a couple of days. Now, if he keeps on thinking that since his mother left him alone she no longer loves him, he would feel that a big vacuum has been created in his life. This may make him sad, lonely, weak and miserable. However, in reality all these feelings are a creation of his own thinking. So, instead of adopting a negative attitude, if he adopts an unlimited one and looks at the larger picture, he won't be shaken by this event. He would remember that everyone has to be independent one day and no human is going to be with us forever. He would also remember that there are thousands of children whose parents are working and they have to stay alone without any choice. Such positive thinking changes our consciousness from a limited one to an unlimited one. It is up to us whether we want to have hile most of the parents Wmove out for a week or two with kids, preferably to a much cooler location such as hill stations or beaches like Goa, there is a big chunk of summer holidays that remains and could be made useful, if planned properly. After all, just because it s holiday time, it doesn t mean kids can t be creative or productive and have fun at the same time. There are numerous engaging and productive activities for your kids, this summer. Here s a list of some of them. For parents who were born in the 80 s and before, one would remember and even relate to this. There was a time when summer did not mean watching endless hours of television, being busy on cell phones or indulging in mindless conversations. That time, it was about getting lost in a book, playing interactive outdoor games, writing letters to pen pals, and so much more. How cool it would be if you could bring back such activities for your kids and let them have a feel of old-school summers. Activities like these are not only incredibly fun but also educational for them. The weather is hot, and we are all used to being in a controlled environment, with 24x7 AC s switched on. But we have all grown up in schools, which were not centrally air-conditioned and our immunity level was definitely better then the kids have today. Of course, you don t have to send the child to a park in mid-afternoon, but if your child is cooped at home playing computer games, chances are that s/he might turn out unsociable. Evening is a good time to head to the park for a team-based or individual activity. Sports has the additional quality of building confidence, self-esteem and developing team spirit amongst children. Apart from ensuring an active lifestyle, it develops a steady passion for discipline, motivation, and commitment. Parents with no background in sports can enroll their children in a sports club where the child will be exposed to several sports till he picks up a keen interest in something. So, this summer don t slow down, let your kid freak out and enjoy their favourite game. Today, a very important thing is to make kids responsible towards the environment and help them bond with nature. Free from the distractions of technology, a nature camp for a week can be a big booster in fostering love for Mother Nature and make them realise its importance for a sustainable living. Other benefits of nature camps include ample time to relax, share, explore and learn a whole lot of fascinating things about nature, indulge in nature photography, bird watching and enjoying eco-friendly. It s time to bring your kid a step closer to nature. There is no friend as loyal as a book. Declining reading habit in kids is a cause of grave concern across the world. Reading is central to a child s education and in preparing them for life after school. It helps children develop emotionally, socially, intellectually and culturally. Reading books can help kids develop better SPAG skills (spelling, punctuation and grammar) leading to better fluency, appreciative vocabulary and a more refined exposure to ideas and concepts. Being a part of a book club initiates a better understanding of perspectives that instills participation and discussion. For those children who do not have a book club in their vicinity, there are interactive online book clubs such as Fiction Express, which can help kids develop a reading habit in an engaging and fun way, at the click of a button. If you have a child between the age of three and five years, keeping these cute devils engaged is a herculean task. Trust me when I say, coding is not a rocket science and your tiny tot can learn to code while playing a game. Imagine a wooden robot, designed to teach children how to code that doesn t use screens or require children to be literate. The Cubetto Play set consists of a friendly robot made of hardwearing wood, a physical programming board, and a set of colorful coding blocks that make up a programming language you can touch. Such play sets encourage imagination and exploration into the world of programming and provides gender-neutral play that boosts a child s creativity, critical thinking, spatial awareness and communication skills. In today s digital era, we cannot completely move kids off screens, but we can definitely try and ensure that the time is used productively. If you have kid older than five years, there are umpteen coding clubs today that ensure coding can be fun and interactive. Using the approach of learn by doing in a game style environment, several platforms with the help of different learnings extracted from school curriculums provide curated games with scenarios tailored into a story suiting varying age groups. With the help of blocks and visualising tool, kids can be taught literally any subject and utilise the screen time in the best way possible. As parents and educators, it is our duty to pave the path of interactive learning and move kids away from rote learning. These are just some of the ways to do it, develop your own as you go along. (The authors Vikas Sharma is AVP (marketing), Eupheus Learning and IndraKohli, is the principal of Delhi Public School, GautamBudh Nagar, Noida) a universal attitude towards everything or a narrow attitude to make our life miserable. It depends on us how we take the inconveniences in our daily life or the problems that crop up in relationships. We can either keep thinking about them and blow them up into big issues only to end up feeling burdened, frustrated, angry or depressed. Or we can see them in the right perspective and deal with them in the best way possible without letting them affect our state of mind in any way. Such an attitude helps us remain stable in the face of all the challenges that life brings our way. It also helps others around us as it enables us to come out of self-centred or selfish way of thinking and to think of the universal good. This influences our behaviour and helps us build good relationships. One with such an outlook becomes a good team worker who is able to adjust to the nature of others and work with all kinds or people. Such a person appreciates the good qualities of others and learns from them. He would be free of jealousy and be able to hear praise of others as well as take advice and criticism in the right spirit without getting upset. Because such a person is able to deal with all kinds of situations with a stable mind, he would be trusted with responsibility and be a source of strength for others. And since he is never caught up in small issues and always looks at the big picture, others would also have faith in his impartial judgment. Such a person would be a unifying figure in any group or organisation and will not fall into the trap of forming or aligning with divisive cliques or groups. These are the wonderful benefits of bringing about a simple change in our consciousness. Now, it s up to us, whether to change for our own good or be confused, unhappy and depressed.

15 M anuel Neuer played his first match since September as Germany were beaten 2-1 by Austria in their penultimate warmup game for the World Cup on Saturday. The Bayern Munich goalkeeper, who has recovered from a hairline fracture in his left foot, played the entire match but couldn't prevent the world champions, who were missing several regulars, from losing for the second straight game after a 1-0 defeat to Brazil in March. Coach Joachim Loew gave Neuer a chance of proving his fitness for the tournament in Russia, two days before he has to announce his final 23-man squad for the World Cup. "It was a good comeback after such a long time. He had two, three excellent saves," Loew said about Neuer, who played his 75th international game but first since Oct "I will talk to Manuel tomorrow. He hasn't had problems in the match or in training this week," the coach added. It was Germany's first defeat ecalling his first internation- match for India, Sunil Ral Chhetri on Sunday talked about the time when excitement got the better of him and he ended up running in the direction of Pakistan fans to celebrate his goal. The Intercontinental Cup game against Kenya on Monday will be Chhetri's 100th in international football. "I still remember my first match for India. We were in Pakistan and Nabi-da (Syed Rahim Nabi) and I were the rookies. We were kind of chilling knowing that we may not be fielded. But Sukhi-sir (Sukhwinder Singh) made both of us to start the game. I scored a goal and all in euphoria I ran to the Pakistani fans and started to celebrate," he said. There was laughter all around in the room. Chhetri said he had a dream but "never dreamed" of playing 100 international matches for India, and called it unbelievable. "I had a dream but never dreamed of playing 100 international matches. This is unbelievable," national team captain Chhetri said prior to a practice session at the Mumbai Football Arena. "Did I think then that I am going to play 100 games, no. Did I ever think, I am going to play for my country, no. Did I dream of it, yes. Did I think I am going to play 100 games, I didn't even dream of it. I never even dreamt that I am going to play 100 games for my country. "It is something which is beyond my dream and I cannot tell you how happy and honoured I am. Only second player in the history of the country, it's unbelievable," Chhetri told reporters. Chhetri said that after speaking to his mother he realised the importance of the game. "Actually it is (playing 100 games). I have always said that and I have never said with arrogance. I always said from my heart that it doesn't matter, I am actually not thinking about milestones, but the build up to this game, reading so much, getting messages, I was talking to mum against neighboring Austria in 32 years, and it left the team still winless in 2018 after three games. Germany play Saudi Arabia in their last warmup game Friday before starting their World Cup title defence against Mexico on June 17. Loew rested key players Toni Kroos, Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Mueller, who all didn't travel with the team to Austria from its training base in South Tyrol, Italy. Germany still dominated the first half, and took the lead after 11 minutes when Mesut Ozil picked up a failed clearance by Joerg Siebenhandl and scored with a curling shot past the Austria goalkeeper. It was Ozil's first match in more than four weeks as the Arsenal midfielder had recovered from a back injury. He played for 76 minutes before being replaced by Julian Draxler. Germany nearly doubled their and she got emotional, how big it was for her actually made me realize how big it is. "It's been such a tremendous journey that it feels special. I just hope that I can keep my emotions in control, go there and stick to the plan and try to win the game," the star striker added. He said the team is making an effort to move up in rankings. "We have the desire to move up the ranks. We need to keep lead in the 20th when Julian Brandt broke through after a quick combination between Joshua Kimmich and debutant Nils Petersen, but the Leverkusen midfielder had his low shot saved by Siebenhandl. Neuer had his first save in the 14th minute when he dived to catch a diagonal shot by Austria midfielder Alessandro Schoepf. And Neuer was quick to react and deny Florian Grillitsch when the Austria midfielder tried to beat him at the near post in the 31st. But in the second half, he could not do much about Austria's equalizer as Martin Hinteregger volleyed in at the back post from a high and curling corner kick by David Alaba in the 53rd. Neuer saved an effort from close range by Marko Arnautovic just minutes later but wasn't to blame for Schoepf 's winning goal in the 69th after an excellent team move that split open the German defence. "This defeat annoys me. We working hard. I don't take rankings seriously because of the way it works. Our agenda is to play well and try to win. To reach under 100 was difficult but to stay there is very, very difficult. We have to make sure to give our best in every opportunity. "We want to improve in away matches. I just hope we have more away fixtures and do better there." He said that the toughest games are going to be against Kenya, UAE, Bahrain and Thailand. "That (being the third highest goal scorer) is something I don't take seriously. And I request my country, don't take it too seriously. Enjoy the fact that I try and score for my country. Stats are something you should not take seriously. You see it that you are in the same picture with Ronaldo and Messi, but that is about it," he added. Chhetri also said that Indian football was going in the right direction. "We are on the right path. There has been a steady growth and we need to go far. Rubbing shoulders with the best will help us improve further," he pointed out. didn't execute many things we had planned," Loew said. "We lost the ball too many times where we could have created a scoring opportunity. Today many things were bad. We won't fool ourselves. We have a lot to work on over the next two weeks." It was Austria's fifth win in five matches under coach Franco Foda, who took over from Marcel Koller in November after the team failed to qualify for the World Cup. "It's always great to win, especially against Germany. In the first half we were too passive but in the second half we did much better," Schoepf said. The match was delayed for more than 100 minutes after torrential rain and hail had made the pitch unplayable at the scheduled start time. European champions Portugal held Belgium to a tame 0-0 draw Saturday, a result overshadowed by fears that defender Vincent Kompany may have sustained an injury early in the second half. Without waiting to be substituted, the injury-prone Kompany walked off shortly after the break after igeria on Sunday named a final 23-man Nsquad for the World Cup with Chelsea defender Ola Aina and Mikel Agu from FC Porto placed on standby. However, both Aina and Agu will travel with the team for a training camp in Austria. Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, who has been a major injury concern, made the final cut. Goalkeepers: Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Daniel Akpeyi, Francis Uzoho; Defenders: William Troost-Ekong, Shehu Abdullahi, Leon Balogun, Kenneth Omeruo, Bryan Idowu, Chidozie Awaziem, Elderson Echiejile, Tyronne Ebuehi; Midfielders: Mikel Obi, Ogenyi Onazi, John Ogu, Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, Joel Obi; Forwards: Odion Ighalo, Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho, Alex Iwobi, Simeon Nwankwo, Victor Moses. appearing to overstretch while making a defensive challenge. It was not immediately clear if he was injured or left the field as a precaution. The Manchester City defender's career has been blighted by injuries, but he appeared fit ahead of the pre- World Cup friendly at the King Baudouin stadium. Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne said it was too early to say whether 32-year-old Kompany was seriously hurt. "Maybe he only has something small to deal with," De Bruyne said. Kompany's departure was the major talking point in a disappointing goalless draw which underscored that Belgium's star-studded squad still has work to do if it is to live up to its billing as one of the favourites to win the World Cup. Belgium fans were seen jeering their team off the pitch at full time. Portugal were without Cristiano Ronaldo, who was rested after winning the Champions League a week ago with Real Madrid. Without him, Portugal missed the handful of chances they managed to carve out. In the closing minutes of the first half, Bernardo Silva saw his powerful shot deflected just wide. im Cahill will have a chance Tto score a goal in his fourth consecutive World Cup for Australia. The 38-year-old forward was chosen on Sunday by coach Bert van Marwijk among 23 players set to play in Russia for the Socceroos. Cahill has 105 caps for Australia and is the country's leading goal scorer, but has struggled for form and match time in recent months. He is currently playing for Millwall in England. Only three players have scored goals in four World Cups- Pele and German strikers Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose. Daniel Arzani, 19, is joined by Dimitri Petratos and Josh Risdon as the only three A- League players in the squad, while Mark Milligan also made the World Cup squad for the fourth consecutive time. "I have been very pleased with the effort and application of all of the players during our time in Turkey," van Marwijk said. "Every step of the selection process has been difficult because the players have all razil striker Neymar made a Bspectacular return on Sunday after a three-month absence with a foot injury and celebrated a superb individual goal with his surgeon. Playing for the first time since February, Neymar scored the opening goal in Brazil's 2-0 friendly win against Croatia in Liverpool. Neymar then ran to hug the Brazilian soccer confederation doctor, Rodrigo Lasmar, on the sidelines. Neymar had replaced midfielder Fernandinho at halftime with the score at 0-0 and needed only 23 minutes to make his mark. The Brazilian received the ball from Philippe Coutinho, dribbled past Croatia defenders Sime Vrsaljko and Duje Caleta-Car and smashed the ball into the net from around five meters (yards). Neymar had injured his right foot playing for Paris Saint- Germain and underwent surgery in Brazil in early March. The Mexicans came out Roberto Firmino with a formation similar to scored Brazil's second goal the one they will use in the 90th minute. against Germany on June The five-time World 17 in their first match at Cup champions play their the 2018 World Cup in last pre-world Cup friendly against Austria on June dominate against a rival Russia and soon began to 10. with only four attackers. Brazil's World Cup In the 13th minute, opener is on June 17 Carlos Vela put the ball against Switzerland. to Dos Santos, who shot from the left, hit the post and put the score at Mexico gave a good demonstration but missed numerous scoring opportunities despite beating Scotland 1-0 on Saturday in a friendly at the Azteca stadium before travelling to the FIFA World Cup in Russia. Giovani Dos Santos of the United States side LA Galaxy, scored a goal in the 13th minute to give Mexico the win. given everything to make the final selection." Australia are in Group C at the World Cup with France, Denmark and Peru. Goalkeepers; Mat Ryan, Danny Vukovic, Brad Jones; Defenders: Trent Sainsbury, Milos Degenek, Matt Jurman, Mark Milligan, Josh Risdon, Aziz Behich, James Meredith; Midfielders: Mile Jedinak (captain), Aaron Mooy, Massimo Luongo, Jackson Irvine, Tomi Rogic, Dimitri Petratos, Mathew Leckie, Daniel Arzani; Forwards: Tim Cahill, Tomi Juric, Andrew Nabbout, Jamie Maclaren, Robbie Kruse. he head of the Palestinian foot- federation is calling on Tball Arab and Muslim sports fans to burn photos and T-shirts of Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi if he attends a friendly match between Argentina and Israel next weekend. Jibril Rajoub made the call after a demonstration in front of the reative midfielder Alan Dzagoev Cand Villarreal winger Denis Cheryshev have been confirmed in Russia's final 23-man squad for their home World Cup. All but two of the squad play for Russian clubs, with the exceptions being Cheryshev and reserve goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov, who plays for Brugge in Belgium. The naturalized German defenders Roman Neustaedter and Konstantin Rausch failed to make the cut from a provisional 28-man list, but Brazil-born right-back Mario Fernandes is included. Without a win in their last six friendlies, Russia could struggle for goals in Group A against Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Uruguay. Striker Alexander Kokorin misses the tournament with injury, meaning that forwards Fyodor Smolov and Artyom Dzyuba are under pressure. Argentinian representative office in Ramallah, where he asked Argentina to cancel the match. The match is scheduled to be played on Saturday at an Israeli football stadium in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Malha. The neighbourhood is situated on the site of a former Palestinian village destroyed during the war that established Israel 70 years ago Scotland were thrown back waiting for coach Juan Carlos Osorio's trusted troika, who came in the 27th minute with a shot from Miguel Layún to the post, in the 30th minute with a shot on the goal by Héctor Herrera and in the 37th with another of Hirving Lozano, stopped by goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin. "Messi. Don't come. Don't whitewash the face of racism," Rajoub said. Israel's football federation has however clarified that the Argentine superstar is expected to play at next week's match. Meanwhile, the Argentine national team carried out training at FC Barcelona s training facilities in Catalonia under coach Jorge Sapaoli.

16 N ovak Djokovic equaled Roger Federer's mark of reaching nine consecutive quarterfinals at Roland Garros on Sunday by beating No 30 seed Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. It is also the Serbian's 12th career trip to the round of eight in Paris, a record for the 50-year professional era. After the win over Verdasco, Djokovic has now advanced to his 40th Grand Slam quarterfinal. Rafael Nadal can pull even with a 12th French Open quarterfinal, too, by winning on Monday. The straightforward victory for 2016 French Open champion Djokovic was his 200th career tour-level win on clay. Dominic Thiem also advanced into the French Open quarterfinals for the third straight year, in what was becoming a steam-rollering of Kei Nishikori until the 19th-seeded player from Japan mounted a late fight-back. "The first two sets were amazing," the seventh-seeded Austrian said of the 6-2, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 win, "... then he raised his level." Nishikori won just 14 points in the first set and even fewer, nine, in the second, as his serve and service returns ran cold on the sun-kissed Court Philippe Chatrier. Play stayed on serve in the third set until Nishikori won the only break point, on Thiem's serve in the 12th game. Thiem bit his fingers after squandering his first match point. But Nishikhori made life easy for him, with an over-cooked forehand hit long on Thiem's second match point. Thiem made the semifinals last year and in He will next play second-seeded Alexander Zverev who fought his way into his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, winning his third back-toback five-set match at the French Open. The German won 4-6, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 against Karen Khachanov, a 38th-ranked Russian, in their first-ever meeting on clay or at a major. Zverev's previous Grand Slam best was reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon last year. At 21, Zverev is the youngest quarterfinalist at Roland Garros since Juan Martin del Potro in Zverev's youth and fitness regime - he says he spends three to four hours in the gym each day have helped him overcome the fatigue of threehour plus matches on the leg-pounding clay of Roland Garros. He shrugged off a question about spending so much time on court, saying: "I'm young so I may as well stay on court to practice a little bit." From never having won a Grand Slam match before last week, Marco Cecchinato has now won four in a row to set up a quarterfinal against Novak Djokovic. With a 7-5, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 upset victory against eighth-seeded David Goffin of Belgium on Sunday, the 72nd-ranked Italian became the lowest-ranked man to reach the quarterfinals at Roland Garros since Ernests Gulbis, then ranked 80th, in The 25-year-old Cecchinato lost in the first round at his four previous majors. He came close to defeat in his first match this year at Roland Garros, losing the first two sets, before winning 10-8 in the fifth. he Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, were ousted of the French Open doubles tour- on Sunday after the third-seeded pairing of Andreja Klepac and Maria Jose Tnament Martinez Sanchez beat the Americans 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. Serena Williams plays Maria Sharapova on Monday for a place in the women's singles quarterfinals. Earlier, American Sloane Stephens advanced into her first quarterfinal at the French Open, having stalled in the fourth round on four previous occasions. Stephens, the US Open champion in 2017, blew past Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 6-2, 6-0 in just 52 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier. The 25th-seeded Kontaveit was unable to exert any pressure on the 10th-seeded Stephens with her error-strewn game. Stephens faced no break points. Kontaveit made 21 unforced errors and hit just six clean winners. Madison Keys is thinking big at the French Open after reaching the quarterfinals for the first time. Her feat means the 13th-seeded American has now reached the last eight at every major. "I made the final of the US Open but lost to my friend Sloane Stephens," the 23-year-old Keys said. "Hopefully big things can happen here." After beating No 31 Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania 6-1, 6-4, she next faces either No 26 Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic or Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan. They were playing their match later Sunday on Court Suzanne Lenglen. US Open runner-up Madison Keys has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time by beating Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania 6-1, 6-4. On a sunny Court Philippe Chatrier, the 13th-seeded American had two match points at 5-2 and But Buzarnescu fought back to break Keys and then clenched her fist after holding for 5-4. Serving a second time for the match, the 23-year-old Keys let out a scream of "Come on!" when she hit a superb cross-court backhand winner to make it and give herself another two chances for victory. ngland drew the two-match series Eagainst Pakistan with an emphatic innings and 55-run victory within three days in the second and final Test on Sunday. England, which got a meaningful first innings lead of 189 runs, bundled out Pakistan for 134 before tea on the third day. It was a remarkable turnaround of form from England, which lost the first Test at Lord's by nine wickets inside four days. Stuart Broad (3-28) and offspinner Dominic Bess (3-33) both snapped up three wickets while Pakistan's top order was rattled by the experienced James Anderson (2-35). Earlier, Jos Buttler led the charge to the hosts' big lead with an unbeaten 80 off 101 balls as England added a brisk 61 to its overnight inside the first hour before it was bowled out for 363. Pakistan paid a heavy price for dropping Buttler on 4 on the second day and his knock gave England an opportunity to put Pakistan's inexperienced batting lineup under pressure. Buttler finally ran out of partners after hitting 11 fours and two sixes when last man Anderson was caught in the slips. Seamer Faheem Ashraf took 3-60 while the other three fast bowlers - Mohammad Amir (2-72), Mohammad Abbas (2-78) and Hasan Ali (2-82) - shared six wickets among them. Anderson used favorable bowling conditions effectively with his twin strikes before lunch as Pakistan wobbled at Anderson uprooted Azhar Ali's (11) middle stump before Bess took a splendid one handed diving catch at short mid off to dismiss Haris Sohail (8). And just before the first session ended, England successfully went for a caught behind review against Asad Shafiq (5) as the replays showed Broad's delivery had grazed the batsman's glove to give wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow a leg side catch. Pakistan's struggle continued in the second session as Bess claimed three wickets while Sam Curran celebrated his 20th birthday with the wicket of Shadab Khan. Young Imam-ul-Haq (34) and Usman Salahuddin (33) added 42 runs in a fourth-wicket stand before Pakistan lost its last seven wickets for 50 runs. Bess broke the stand in his first over when he had Imam leg before wicket and then Ashraf spooned a dolly catch at backward point off a top edge. Bess changed ends and ended Usman's resistance before Broad finished off the match with the last two wickets. s many as six Malaysia batswomen fell Afor duck as India bundled them out for just 27 to register a resounding 142-run victory in their opening Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup match here on Sunday. Electing to bat, India scored 169 for 3 in their allotted 20 overs, riding on senior player Mithali Raj's unbeaten 97 off 69 balls, and then shot the home side out in just 13.4 overs in a completely lop-sided match at Kinrara Academy Oval here. Pooja Vastrakar grabbed three wickets for just six runs with her medium pace while the spin duo of Anuja Patil and Poonam Yadav, who did not concede any run, took two wickets apiece as the Indian bowlers ran riot over the clueless Malaysians. Only five Malaysian batswomen opened their account and none could manage to make a score in double-figures. Sasha Azmi top-scored with nine runs agiso Rabada, the world's Knumber one Test bowler, was named South Africa's Cricketer of the Year. The award came at the end of a 12-month period during which Rabada, 23, was a consistent match-winner - and subject of disciplinary hearings. Rabada took 72 wickets at an average of in 12 Tests going back to a series in England last July. He missed one Test in England because he was banned after reaching a demerit points threshold - and would have missed the last two Tests against Australia earlier this year if he had not appealed successfully against a verdict that would have brought a twomatch ban for reaching a second threshold. Rabada went on to be man of the series when South Africa beat Australia in a controversial four-match series. The ban came after a collision with Australian captain Steve Smith. Match referee Jeff Crowe found him guilty of a level two offence and he was docked three demerit points, which triggered an automatic ban. But it was downgraded to a level one offence with one demerit point. Rabada remains in danger of missing more matches, though, because he has accumulated seven points, one short of a ban. It was Rabada's second Cricketer of the Year award. He also won in He joined Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini and AB de Villiers as two-time winners. Rabada collected a total of six awards, including Test cricketer of the year, one-day international player of the year and players' player of the year. eg spinner Rashid Khan carried Lhis lethal IPL form into international cricket as Afghanistan outplayed Bangladesh by 45 runs in the opening T20 of the three-match series here on Sunday. Rashid came to bowl in the 11th over and put his team in a strong position straightaway by removing the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim (20) and Sabbir Rahman (0) off his first two deliveries. Bangladesh could not recover from the blow and ended at 122 all out in response to Afghanistan's 167 for eight. The 19-year-old spin sensation was on target from ball one as he found the stumps of Rahim, who failed to execute a reverse sweep. The next ball was a googly and Rahman had no idea where it was heading, trapping him plumb in front of the stumps. Rashid ended with figures of three for 13 in three overs. Bangladesh felt the pressure in the chase from ball one when the other in-form spinner Mujeeb Zadran had the experienced Tamim Iqbal leg from 10 balls. Malaysia lost half of their side within five overs, getting reduced to 12 for 5. Captain Winifred Duraisingam (5 off 21 balls) and Zumika Azmi (4 off 15 balls) stayed at the crease for long with any substantial contribution as India completed a massive victory. Earlier, India did not have the best of starts as they were 35 for 2 just after the Powerplay overs. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur then gave the impetus to the Indian innings with her 23-ball 32. But the day belonged to senior player Mithali, who batted through the 20 overs with a strike rate of She hit 13 fours and a six in her 69-ball unbeaten knock. She, however, could not find the boundary in the last two overs when she was eight away from a century. Mithali's 86-run stand with Harmanpreet came off just 53 balls and she closed the innings off with Deepti Sharma (18 not out). before wicket. Spin all-rounder Mohammad Nabi (2/21) took the prized wicket of opposition skipper Shakib Al Hasan and pacer Shapoor Zadran struck thrice though he was a tad expensive. Earlier, Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad (40 off 37) entertained the Dehradun crowd which turned up in huge numbers to watch the first ever international game in the city as well as the state. The enthusiasm amongst the fans was palpable with many walking as much as three kilometers to enter the 25,000 capacity stadium which was surrounded by a heavy security cover. There were teething troubles too at the venue which otherwise looked spic and span.