English hindu 22 01 2018

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monday, january 22, 2018

Delhi City Edition

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28 pages O 10.00

Government, political parties must stay out of judicial crisis, says Modi

O.P. Rawat to succeed A.K. Joti as Chief Election Commissioner

18 killed after Taliban militants attack luxury hotel in Kabul

Grigor Dimitrov knocks Nick Kyrgios out of Australian Open

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Printed at . Che n n a i . Coim b ato r e . Be n g a luru . Hy de r a b a d . M a d u r a i . No i da . V i s a k h a pat n a m . Th i ru va n a n t h a pu r a m . Ko ch i . V i j ayawa da . Ma ng a lu ru . Ti ru c h i r a pa l l i . Ko l k ata . Hu b b a l l i . Mo h a l i . Ma l a p p u r a m . M u m b a i . Ti ru pat i . lu c k now

Disquali cation of AAP MLAs approved

NEARBY

As President gives nod, party says it will explore legal options Owner of illegal Delhi reworks factory held

Soumya Pillai

NEW DELHI

President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday accepted the re­ commendation of the Elec­ tion Commission to disquali­ fy 20 MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the rul­ ing party in the national cap­ ital, for holding o ces of pro t.

A noti cation issued by the Law Ministry quoted the President as saying, “In the light of the opinion ex­ pressed by the Election Commission (EC), the 20 members of the Delhi legis­ lative assembly have been disquali ed.”

The AAP MLAs were ap­ pointed as Parliamentary Se­ cretaries and a petitioner, in a complaint to the EC and the President in 2015, said being a Parliamentary Secre­ tary was holding an o ce of pro t and this invited dis­ quali cation. After the Presi­ dent’s decision, the AAP said it would use all legal options available.

The Delhi police on Sunday arrested Manoj Jain, owner of the unauthorised reworks factory, after 17 people were killed on Saturday in a massive re in the manufacturing unit in the Bawana industrial area.

Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik also transferred the case from the Rohini district police to the Crime Branch.

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Haryana teen sent to two­day police remand YAMUNANAGAR

The 18­year­old student who allegedly shot dead Ritu Chhabra, the principal of Swami Vivekanand School, was on Sunday produced in a court, which remanded him in two­day police custody.

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New Delhi

Request for meeting AAP Delhi convener Gopal Rai said the 20 MLAs had re­ quested a meeting with the President to discuss the is­ sue before his decision was announced on Sunday. Ho­ wever, they could not get an appointment as the Presi­ dent was “not available.”

“We had requested a meeting for Sunday morning but were denied, and now [Sunday afternoon] we get this news. We will approach the court and hope for jus­ tice,” Mr. Rai said.

No remuneration A Parliamentary Secretary assists a Minister, and the of­ ce usually comes with perks as well as a measure of political in uence.

However, in a noti cation con rming the appointment of the 20 MLAs, the govern­ ment had said no remunera­ tion or perks would be given to the Parliamentary Secre­ taries.

The 20 MLAs who are fac­ ing disquali cation include Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot, who is the MLA from Najafgarh.

“It is unfortunate that the President took the decision in such haste, without even giving us a chance to speak.

It is a ploy by the Centre, us­ ing constitutional institu­ tions to derail our govern­ ment. But we will not give up. We have faith in the jud­ iciary. The doors of the High Court and the Supreme Court are still open for us,” said Alka Lamba, represent­ ing Chandni Chowk and one of the 20 disquali ed MLAs. AAP spokesperson Sau­ rabh Bharadwaj also ques­ tioned the speed at which the recommendation had been accepted by the President.

CONTINUED ON A PAGE 10 EC CITES SC RULINGS IN ITS RECOMMENDATION A PAGE 10 PROFIT AND LOSS A EDITORIAL

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CPI(M) not for tie-up with Congress Draft political resolution adopted at party’s Central Committee meet in Kolkata ing. “As per the adopted draft political resolution, there will be no understand­ ing or electoral alliance with the Congress. But this is a draft political resolution and the nal decision will be ta­ ken at the Party Congress, the highest decision­making authority,” Mr. Yechury said.

Staff Reporter Kolkata

The draft political resolution adopted at the meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) here has ruled out any electoral alliance or un­ derstanding with the Con­ gress, party general secre­ tary Sitaram Yechury said on Sunday.

The nal decision will be taken at the Party Congress to be held in Hyderabad in April, and electoral tactics will be decided depending

Sitaram Yechury

on the “concrete situation” in the States.

Mr. Yechury was speaking to journalists at the conclu­ sion of the three­day meet­

Majority decision He said the draft resolution was adopted on the basis of a “majority decision.”

The Polit Bureau’s draft, which ruled out any alliance

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Leading the pack

or understanding with the Congress and which was backed by its former general secretary Prakash Karat, was put to a vote in the Central Committee and supported by 55 members, with 31, in­ cluding Mr. Yechury, oppos­ ing it, and no one abstaining.

The Central Committee has said the main objective of the party is to “defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party” and it will focus on "mobilising all secular democratic forces.”

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Padmaavat protests hit bus services Mahesh Langa AHMEDABAD

His comments came days after Indian troops carried out retaliatory action against Pakistani troops, in which seven of their sol­ diers were killed and four injured in the Poonch sec­ tor.

He said that a few months ago, Pakistan had attacked and martyred 17 jawans.

Bus services on more than 100 routes in half a dozen districts in north Gujarat were suspended after vio­ lent protests by the Rajput community continued over the release of the Bolly­ wood movie Padmaavat.

Sunday also witnessed several protests, a day after protesters torched four pu­ blic transport buses and vandalised a theatre in Ah­ medabad. The authorities decided to suspend bus op­ erations as a precautionary measure as protesters con­ tinued to block tra c on highways at several places.

“We are trying to resolve the crisis,” a top o cial in the government told The Hindu, adding that the go­ vernment was also explor­ ing legal options. Gujarat’s in­charge DGP Pramod Ku­ mar appealed to the Rajput community not to resort to violence and help authori­ ties maintain law and or­ der.

In Rajasthan, a group took out a jauhar swabhimaan rally in Chittorgarh demanding a complete ban on the movie.

(With inputs from PTI)

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SEE ALSO A DELHI METRO PAGE 3

Running for gold: Solomon Deksisa and Amane Gobena made it a double delight for Ethiopia in the $405,000 Tata Mumbai Marathon on Sunday by clinching the men’s and women’s races. *

EMMANUAL YOGINI (REPORT ON PAGE 16)

India can strike across the borders, says Rajnath Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

Union Home Minister Raj­ nath Singh on Sunday warned Pakistan that India could kill its enemies not only within its borders but also across them, even as violence along the Jammu and Kashmir border conti­ nued to climb.

Holding Pakistan respon­

sible for the poor bilateral relations, Mr. Singh told a public gathering in Luck­ now, “We want to maintain good relations with our neighbour but they don’t stop doing mischief. We have given a strong message to the world that India can kill its enemies not only on this side, but on that side of the border as well.”

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Timings

Monday, January 22

RISE 07:14 SET 17:52 RISE 10:27 SET 22:36 Tuesday, January 23

RISE 07:13 SET 17:53 RISE 11:02 SET 23:33

Amarinder rm on shutting down power plant ‘Bathinda plant being closed due to lack of demand in State; manpower to be utilised on other works’ cause of the closure, he said the surplus manpower of the Bathinda plant shall be util­ ised on other works where there is shortage of sta .

This will increase produc­ tivity as it will stop power generation cost hike over the year, besides resulting in sav­ ings to the PSPCL, since pow­ er from Bathinda unit was being generated at a very high cost, making it unviable.

Capt. Singh made it clear that no sta (regular or on contract basis) would be re­ trenched and shall be adjust­ ed suitably in the nearby lo­ cations, with full pay protection.

Notably, employees of the Bathinda thermal plant have been protesting against the

Press Trust of India Chandigarh

Wednesday, January 24

RISE 07:13 SET 17:54 RISE 11:39 SET 00:00

Punjab Chief Minister Ama­ rinder Singh has ruled out reversal of the government’s decision to close down the Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP), Bathinda, pointing to the non­feasibili­ ty of continuing operations.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Capt. Singh ex­ plained the circumstances that led to the closure of the Bathinda plant and two units of Ropar thermal plant, say­ ing the decision was taken mainly due to lack of power demand in the State and availability of cheaper power from other alternative sources.

Reiterating that no em­ ployee would lose his job be­

Capt. Amarinder Singh.

*

FILE

PHOTO

government’s decision of shutting down Bathinda and Ropar power plants.

Giving details of the pow­ er situation in the State, the Chief Minister pointed out that power demand in Pun­ jab varies very widely during

paddy and non­paddy season.

This year, the maximum demand had been recorded at 11,600 MW in summer months and 5,600 MW in winter months. Further, in winters, there is a lot of va­ riation in the day and night time demand, with the latter coming down to around 3,000 MW. Though the State has be­ come power surplus, genera­ tion capacity is utilised fully only in paddy periods of four months and, for the remain­ ing eight months, the same remains underutilised, he said.

Further, over the last se­ ven years ­­ from 2009­10 to 2016­17, installed capacity of Punjab from own genera­

tion, long term share in Cen­ tral sector projects, IPPS and NRSE projects has doubled from 6,900 MW to 14,000 MW, whereas annual sale of power in the State increased merely 39%.

During the same period, domestic and commercial sale increased by 86%, in­ dustry just by 27% and AP supply by 16%.

In fact, said the CM, the plant is of old design and re­ quires more manpower for operation as compared to new plants, which are fully computerised.

The old plants also re­ quire more maintenance and the performance of equip­ ment comes down with the passage of time, he pointed out.

NGT orders survey of rivers in western U.P. ‘Govt. mulling steps for Order comes on a plea by NGO claiming 50 deaths due to cancer Press Trust of India New Delhi

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered an “inten­ sive survey” of the Kali, Krishna and the Hindon riv­ ers in western Uttar Pradesh and directed an inspection of 316 industries that are al­ legedly polluting the water bodies.

The order comes after a plea led by an NGO alleged that 50 villagers have died of cancer in western U.P. A Bench headed by acting chairperson Justice U.D. Sal­ vi constituted a committee comprising o cials from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), State Pollu­ tion Control Board, U.P. Jal Nigam to jointly inspect and carry out survey of the rivers and groundwater in six dis­ tricts in the western part of the State.

petitioner that groundwater in Saharanpur, Muza arna­ gar, Shamli, Meerut, Baghpat and Ghaziabad districts was getting polluted as a result of e uents being released un­ derground by reverse boring by the industries.

“They shall collect sam­ ples, cause analysis to be made of such samples at the CPCB Laboratory,” the Bench said in its order.

Joint inspection “They shall carry out joint inspections of 316 indus­ tries... as well to give answ­ ers to the queries already made and ascertain contri­ bution of each of the indus­ tries in terms of the contami­ nants generated by them,” the order stated.

The NGT was hearing a petition led by NGO Doaba Paryavaran Samiti head C.V. Singh, a retired scientist of the Haryana Pollution Con­ trol Board, who has alleged that due to the consumption of contaminated groundwa­ ter, more than 50 villagers have died of cancer in west­ ern U.P. It was alleged by the

Report in two months The green panel said that the Central and State Pollution Control Boards will bear the expenses of the inspection and a report will be submit­ ted within two months.

“The CPCB shall be the convenor of the team. In case of any di culty, neces­ sary police protection shall be given to the joint inspec­ tion team and its members for the purposes of execu­ tion of this order,” the order stated.

Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, appearing for the pe­

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titioner, contended that the people were su ering due to the failure of the authorities.

The matter will be now heard on March 19. The Bench had earlier observed that it was the fundamental duty of the State government to look after the health and the environment of the villagers.

NGT’s ire Earlier, the U.P. Jal Nigam had faced the NGT’s ire for its failure to comply with a 2015 order directing it to seal all hand pumps which were releasing contaminated groundwater in six districts.

It had earlier directed the State government and its of­ cials to provide potable drinking water to the villag­ ers of the six districts through GPS installed vehi­ cles.

bene t of potato farmers’ Panel already set up: U.P. Minister Press Trust of India Lucknow

The Yogi Adityanath govern­ ment is committed to ad­ dressing the concerns of po­ tato farmers and mulling a number of steps for their welfare, U.P. Agriculture Mi­ nister Surya Pratap Shahi has said.

His remarks came a few days after quintals of pota­ toes were thrown by farm­ ers in front of the Vidhan Sabha building here. The farmers were enraged at re­ ceiving lower prices for their produce.

Mr. Shahi had attacked the Samajwadi Party for the January 6 incident, saying it was trying to malign the im­ age of the Yogi Adityanath government.

“The government is se­ rious about resolving the problems of potato farmers.

A sub­committee has been formed and it has already met twice. We are consider­ ing a number of steps in the interest of potato growers,” he said.

The panel will submit its report by January 22, he added.

U.P. Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi. *

Also, the Yogi Adityanath government will felicitate 11 progressive farmers on U.P. Diwas on January 24, he said. “These farmers have done something exemplary in the eld of agriculture, sugarcane cultivation, sh­ eries, horticulture and oth­ ers,” Mr. Shahi said.

He said the government had received complaints re­ garding wholesalers and re­ tailers forcing farmers to buy zinc powder with fertil­ izers. “We have got com­ plaints from Agra and Ali­ garh divisions. Instructions have been issued to conduct raids and take stern action against such dealers,” Mr. Shahi said.

Three NRIs booked in dowry case Press Trust of India Phagwara (Pb)

Three NRIs, including the husband of a woman, have been booked for allegedly harassing her for dowry, the police said here.

The accused were identi­ ed as US­based NRIs Vikas Kumar (husband), Ajay Ku­ mar (father­in­law) and Pin­ ki (mother­in­ law). They were booked on the basis of a complaint of Ritu Marouk, a Basant Nagar resident,

they said.

The trio were booked un­ der IPC Sections 498­A ( hus­ band or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 406 (crimi­ nal breach of trust), they said. The complainant told the police that she married Vikas Kumar in April 2015.

She claimed that her pa­ rents also gave dowry in the marriage. However, her­in­ laws continued to harass her for bringing more dowry.

Join us now https://t.me/towardstomorrow Published by N. Ravi at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of KASTURI & SONS LTD., Chennai-600002. Editor: Mukund Padmanabhan (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).

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Five bank accounts of Odisha MLA frozen They had deposits of 165 cr.; Champua leader may be arrested Staff Reporter BHUBANESWAR

The police have frozen ve bank accounts, having depo­ sits of 165 crore, of Sanatan Mahakud, an Independent MLA of Champua, in the mineral­rich Keonjhar district.

All the ve bank accounts are at the Joda branch of In­ dusInd Bank. The police swung into action following interception of cash totalling 50 lakh being transported illegally by bank’s branch manager Manas Rout and two other accomplices for the MLA on January 12.

According to preliminary investigation, the money was meant for distribution among agitators, mostly sup­ porters of the MLA, at Sil­ suan. For over two months, local people with the sup­ port of the MLA have been agitating to demand shutting down of a toll gate at Banajo­

di, about 7 km from Keonjhar.

Of the ve accounts, Mr. Mahakud had one account in his name and had a depo­ sit of 11.43 crore. The ac­ count in the name of his transport company, Jagat Ja­ nani Services Private Limit­ ed, Nambira, showed depo­ sits to the tune of 78.61 crore. Another account in the name of the same tran­ sport company had 11.86 crore.

The Keonjhar police said Mr. Mahakud was also oper­ ating a bank account in the name of Maa Kuanri Tran­ sport having a current bank account with a deposit of 23.55 crore. The fth cur­ rent bank account in the name of Chaturbhuja Deve­ lopment Committee had 39.53 crore.

“Accounts were ordered to be frozen temporarily un­ der Section 102 of Cr.PC. We

are investigating if he is op­ erating accounts in other banks,” said Rajesh Pandit, Keonjhar Superintendent of Police, on Sunday.

According to Mr. Maha­ kud’s election a davit sub­ mitted during the last As­ sembly elections, his assets had grown from 3 crore in 2009 to 51 crore in 2014 – a growth of 1,700% in ve years. In the late 1990s, Mr. Mahakud was a little known union leader involved in mo­ bilising labour force in Ke­ onjhar’s mining belt.

Locals attributed his rag to riches story to his alleged muscle power that provided protection to mining busi­ ness in the region.

Mr. Mahakud was sum­ moned by the police under Section 160 of Cr.PC on Sa­ turday. But he did not turn up. Police sources said the MLA might be arrested for abetting riot.

Gurung misled people, says Tamang Press Trust of India Siliguri/Darjeeling(WB)

The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) president Bi­ nay Tamang on Sunday al­ leged that Bimal Gurung had misled the common people in the name of Gorkhaland movement.

Mr. Tamang made the al­ legation while addressing a public meeting in Sukna in Darjeeling district.

Mr. Tamang alleged that funds intended for public bene ts were misused by Mr. Gurung and his associates.

He said his main objec­ tive was development of the Darjeeling hills.

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With trillion-dollar promise, CM leaves for WEF meeting

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Where is Nagpur’s avour?

Hopes to woo global and Indian investors to steer Maharashtra’s industrial growth Staff Reporter Mumbai

In a bid to attract invest­ ments in the State, Chief Mi­ nister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday left for Davos, Swit­ zerland, to attend the 48th World Economic Forum an­ nual meeting from January 23 to January 26. He was part of a delegation of union mi­ nisters and o cials led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mr. Fadnavis is expected to meet global and Indian business leaders to secure their participation in the State’s industrial growth, and invite them for the glo­ bal investment summit, Mag­ netic Maharashtra: Conver­ gence 2018.

The list of people he will meet includes Lakshmi N.

Devendra Fadnavis

*

Mittal, chairman and CEO, Arcelor Mittal, Juergen Voe­ gele, senior director, World Bank, Mark Machin, presi­ dent and CEO, Canada Pen­ sion Plan Investment Board, Roger Carr, chairman, BAE Systems, Yusu Ali, CMD, Lulu Group, Gilbert F. Houngbo, president, Inter­

national Fund for Agricultu­ ral Development, and Ce­ drick Neike, member, managing board, Siemens AG. He will also be part of sev­ eral panels such as the Ste­ wardship Board Meeting on Food Security and Agricul­ ture, and Post COP21 Cities.

Mr. Fadnavis said the go­ vernment plans to showcase its journey towards creating a trillion­dollar economy, at the WEF. “In the last couple of years, Maharashtra has achieved a new trajectory in bolstering the industrial out­ put. This is evident in re­ ports released by nancial bodies that place the State ahead in ease of doing busi­ ness and also in statistics such as 50% of infrastructu­ ral development of India be­

ing clocked in Maharashtra,” he said.

The CM said the govern­ ment’s vision is infrastruc­ ture­led development that can open doors to other sec­ tors. “This government is committed to building a fu­ ture­ready State that fea­ tures consistently in top des­ tinations of the world for industrial innovation and smart manufacturing.”

This is the second time Mr. Fadnavis will be visiting the WEF. He will be accom­ panied by a high­level dele­ gation from the State, which includes Praveen Pardeshi, additional chief secretary, Chief Minister’s o ce, San­ jay Sethi, CEO, Maharashtra Industrial Development Cor­ poration, and Bhushan Ga­ grani, MD, CIDCO.

Leaving a sour taste: Due to lack of supply of mrig orange crop, Nagpur’s biggest market at Kalmana has fruits imported from States like Rajasthan, thus pushing up the prices. S. SUDARSHAN *

Goyal, Gadkari for speedy clearance of projects Goa tourist taxis end strike Minister says railway security personnel and sta are being trained to curb human tra cking railway < > Wherever tracks and

Press Trust of India Mumbai

All smiles: Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal interacting with sta at Matunga station in Mumbai on Sunday. EMMANUAL YOGINI *

Union Railway Minister Piy­ ush Goyal on Sunday said that he and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had agreed to extend coopera­ tion in issuing clearance for infrastructure like over­ bridges at places where rail lines and highways intersect.

“Two days ago, I had a meeting with Mr. Gadkari where we agreed to issue clearance to each other’s in­ frastructure projects. Whe­ rever railway tracks and highways are intersecting, we will issue speedy clea­ rance,” Mr. Goyal told repor­ ters.

He said that he is keen to

highways are intersecting, we will issue speedy clearance.

Piyush Goyal Union Railway Minister

deploy CCTV cameras in all the coaches of trains to in­ crease security of commu­ ters. The minister also said that human tra cking is a global challenge, and railway security personnel and sta are being trained to curb the menace.

He visited the Central Rail­ way’s Matunga station, which has a mention in the Limca Book of Records for being managed by an all­woman sta of 41 persons.

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Govt. to issue pending tness certi cates by January 24 Special Correspondent Panaji

Tourist taxi operators on Sunday withdrew their three­day strike following a written assurance from the Goa government that pend­ ing tness certi cates will be issued by January 24, and the government will stop in­ stallation of speed governors on their vehicles.

“The government will le an intervention petition in the Supreme Court to seek relief for the taxi drivers on speed governors. Goa is a small state and has narrow roads, so speeding is not possible,” Laxman Korgaon­ kar, spokesperson for North Goa Tourist Taxi Associa­ tion, told reporters.

The strike was called o

soon after the representa­ tives of taxi operators along with Deputy Speaker Mi­ chael Lobo met Chief Minis­ ter Manohar Parrikar at the latter’s o cial residence.

“We are withdrawing the strike after a written assu­ rance from Mr. Lobo that he would resign from the BJP if the promise to provide t­ ness certi cates to all taxi operators, without installing speed governors by January 24, was not kept. We still do not believe the CM, but we are giving the government an opportunity to right the wrong,” said Mr. Korgaonkar.

The SC order on speed go­ vernors on tourist taxis came last year, following a petition by Delhi­based NGO

Suraksha Foundation. Sub­ sequently, the Goa transport department had declined to provide tness certi cates without speed governors.

Mr. Parrikar said that the State is also of the opinion that speed governors is not feasible. “We do not have an issue with presenting this view before the Supreme Court. We are not ourselves convinced that a speed limit of 80 km per hour will change anything on ground.

It actually should be 100 km.”

He indicated that the go­ vernment will exercise a pro­ vision in the recently­ amended Motor Vehicles Act, which would allow taxi drivers more time to install speed governors.

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IN BRIEF

Pawan to announce his political plan today HYDERABAD

Jana Sena founder and actor Pawan Kalyan on Sunday said he would announce his political programme on Monday. He said his main agenda for Telangana was to meet party workers. “The plan of action will depend on the feedback I receive from them,” he said. PTI

Karnataka Forest dept. to sterilise urban monkeys BENGALURU

In a bid to tackle the increasing monkey­human conflict in various parts of Karnataka, the Forest department will take up sterilisation of about 500 bonnet macaques at an estimated cost of 3 crore.

The department is looking at only monkeys in human settlements and will not be targeting those in forest areas.

Congress outreach targets unorganised workers Enrolls 80,000 members, plans ID cards for street vendors in Bengaluru

Hyderabad

Families of six Indians, who were allegedly tortured by their employers in Malaysia, have approached the Minis­ try of External A airs to bring them back to India.

The six men from Hyde­ rabad alleged that they ap­ proached the Indian Embas­ sy after they were tortured by their employers.

“My father was duped by an agent, who approached him three months ago and o ered him a job in Malay­ sia. He said that the pay would be 25,000 to 30,000 and food and ac­ commodation would be gi­ ven by the company and took 1 lakh from us to send

Decision to stop Budget presentation political: former MLA Special Correspondent

tic work. Experts say the number has gone up sub­ stantially since then, and may have even doubled.

Sandeep Phukan New Delhi

Ahead of the next round of Assembly polls in crucial States like Karnataka, Rajas­ than, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the Congress is ready with a plan to reach out to unorganised workers, who form over 90% of In­ dia’s workforce.

On February 12, the party plans to distribute 24,000 identity cards to street ven­ dors in Bengaluru, and has tied­up with the municipal corporation there. “These cards will not only give ven­ dors a sense of identity but also ensure their rights,” said Arbind Singh, head of the Unorganised Workers’ Con­ gress, the party’s wing to ar­ ticulate issues related to the informal sector.

On March 8, the party will

Six Indians trapped in Malaysia seek MEA help Asian News International

Kerala govt. moves to drop charges against six MLAs

my father,” said Aijaz Ahmed Khan, son of one of the victims Anees Ahmed Khan. “After landing in Ma­ laysia, my father was taken to a steel company where he had to face many problems.

The company did not even provide him food,” he said.

The six men “are now staying in the Indian Embas­ sy without passports,” he said, adding that the fami­ lies had requested External A airs Minister Sushma Swaraj to rescue them.

Families of other victims also said that the agents, on the pretext of o ering jobs, took their family members to Malaysia, but they were not given salary for the past three months.

Ensuring their rights: On February 12, Congress will distribute 24,000 ID cards to street vendors in Bengaluru. FILE PHOTO *

hold di erent events across the country to push for a new law for domestic work­ ers. “We want them to have health insurance, minimum wages, weekly o s, regulat­ ed working hours, and social security measures,” said Mr. Singh, who held a day­long

workshop on Saturday.

There are no recent o ­ cial gures on the number of people employed as domes­ tic workers but the National Sample Survey Organisation in 2004­05 had estimated that about 4.2 million In­ dians are engaged in domes­

Win-win situation “Regulating this sector not only means ensuring rights to workers, but also laying down their duties towards employers. I think it will be a win­win situation for both the employer and the em­ ployee,” said the Congress functionary. Since January 1, the party has enrolled 80,000 members, and is fo­ cussing on construction workers, street vendors, domestic workers, MGNRE­ GA (Mahatma Gandhi Na­ tional Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, san­ itation workers, rickshaw­ pullers and autorickshaw drivers, among others.

Thiruvananthapuram

The Kerala government is re­ ported to have initiated a le­ gal process that might even­ tually lead to the withdrawal of criminal charges against six Left Democratic Front (LDF) leaders alleged to be responsible for the pande­ monium that stalled the pre­ sentation of the Budget in the Legislative Assembly on March 13, 2015.

The protest prompted the then Legislature Secretary to le a complaint accusing the legislators of destruction of public property and unruly behaviour. The police booked E.P. Jayarajan, V. Si­ vankutty, C.K. Sadasivan, K. Kunjahammed Master, all CPI(M) members, K. Ajith of the CPI, and K.T. Jaleel, an LDF independent, in con­ nection with the protest.

Music museum to get tambura of MS Grandson to donate sari, Gandhiji’s letter, to Centre for Indian Music Experience Ranjani Govind Bengaluru

On Republic Day, the Centre for Indian Music Experience (IME) will receive three piec­ es of memorabilia associated with legendary singer M.S. Subbulakshmi.

Her grandson V. Shriniva­ san will present a sari and tambura that belonged to MS, along with a special let­ ter she received from Mahat­ ma Gandhi in 1944. A Carnat­ ic vocal concert by S. Aishwarya and S. Saundarya, great­granddaughters of Subbulakshmi will also be organised.

A state­of­the­art 40,000­ sq ft museum — work on which is in the nal stages — will open some of its exhibits

The tamburas that were used

by M.S. Subbulakshmi. *

K. BHAGYA PRAKASH

to the public on the same day. “It is a beautiful mo­ ment for IME to receive these from the MS family as

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she is the only Carnatic mus­ ician who is a Bharat Ratna winner, and this museum is all about feeling good when you experience music,” said Suma Sudhindra, director, Outreach, IME. IME requested a tambura of Subbulakshmi, as she was known for her pitch­perfect rendition. “Her voice merged seamlessly with the tambura and there is no bet­ ter object to represent her life than this,” said Manasi Prasad, project director, IME. “And MS was also quite a fashion icon in her days and known to choose beauti­ ful silk saris; so we are excit­ ed to display something worn by her,” she added.

Saris for MS were woven

by Kancheepuram Muthu Chettiar, a patron of music.

He created for her the legen­ dary blue colour, which came to be known as ‘MS Blue’, and designed the ru­ draksha rettai peth (a signa­ ture double­line rudraksha border) for the saris.

Sari with zari “We will part with MS am­ ma’s maroon sari with yel­ low border with a criss­cross of traditional zari that Chet­ tiar wove in the 1950s,” said Mr. Shrinivasan.

Mahatma Gandhi’s letter to MS is a memento, as it bears his signature in Tamil.

In the letter, he thanked her for contributing to the Kas­ turba Memorial Fund.

K.M. Mani

The Crime Branch was asked to probe, and the inquiry has been dragging on since then.

Letter to CM A letter to the Chief Minister

by Mr. Sivankutty had initiat­ ed the current procedure.

The ex­MLA told The Hindu the no agency had ques­ tioned him or other people in connection with the case.

He had not received any summons and was unaware whether the Crime Branch had led any charge in court.

Mr. Sivankutty said the LDF had taken a political de­ cision to stop the former Fi­ nance Minister K.M. Mani from presenting the Budget.

The Speaker had suspended the LDF legislators for their action. No person could be punished twice for the same o ence. Moreover, the al­ leged transgression was political.

The Legislature Secreta­ riat had reported a loss of 2 lakh. It had perused video recordings of the protest as part of an internal inquiry. It forwarded the ndings to the police, who booked the LDF leaders on charges of public property destruction and common intention.

Bhagwat to hoist ag at private school in Kerala Special Correspondent Palakkad

Five months after he hoisted the national ag on Inde­ pendence Day at an aided higher secondary school here, courting controversy, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat is set to unfurl the national ag at a private school a liated to the Cen­ tral Board of Secondary Education here on Republic Day. The RSS chief will hoist the ag at the Vyasa Vidya Peetom, operated by Bhara­ tiya Vidya Niketan, a pro­ Sangh Parivar organisation, at Kallekkad.

“This time, there is no chance for a controversy as

Mohan Bhagwat

the ag hoisting is happen­ ing at an unaided school outside the control of the Kerala government. The State has no right to inter­ fere with the a airs of a priv­ ate school operated by the Bharatiya Vidya Niketan,” said N. Mohankumar of RSS.

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6 NATION

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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IN BRIEF

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No to social evils

An annual classical music festival in the city will now be christened as ‘Sur Girija Devi Festival’ in tribute to the late Thumri queen. “In the past three editions, it was called ‘Sur Festival’. From now on, it will be ‘Sur Girija Devi Festival’.

She had been a constant support to the festival,” a spokesman of the organisers Sublime Urge to Rejoice (SUR) said on Sunday. PTI

11 crore released for Durgiana Temple project AMRITSAR

Joining hands: School students forming a human chain at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Sunday for eradication of child marriage and dowry. RANJEET KUMAR *

Single variety paddy seeds reason for pest attacks in Odisha: AIKMS

DHARAMSHALA

Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar has said that the Narendra Modi­led government at the Centre had declared Chamba as a backward district which will allow it to get special financial assistance for development.PTI

Eight killed in vehicle collision in Jharkhand DUMKA

Eight persons were killed and another was seriously injured when their MUV collided head on with a truck in Dumka district on Sunday. Seven of the deceased were going from Dumka to Deoghar in the neighbouring district to appear for the Staff Selection Commission Examination, while the eighth one was the driver of the vehicle, Dumka Sub­divisional Officer Rakesh Kumar said. PTI

Rainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday

Kolkata

A senior executive of a ci­ ty hotel has gone missing after falling into the Hooghly from a launch during a picnic, the police said on Sunday.

The incident happened on Saturday evening when Arindam Bose, gen­ eral manager of Floatel, somehow fell down from the launch at Podra Ghat in Nazirgunj where a pic­ nic was organised, they said.

Search operations were conducted by the force’s disaster management group till late at night but the executive could not be spotted, he added.

KOLKATA

Development to get a boost in Chamba: Shanta

Weather Watch

Press Trust of India

Music festival renamed after Thumri queen

Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday released 11 crore for renovation and beautification of the Durgiana Temple in Amritsar. Asking officials to complete the renovation work by June 30, Mr. Sidhu said it was the duty of the government to beautify and upkeep places of religious importance. PTI

Executive missing after falling into Hooghly

According to experts, no seed variety is to be used continuously for more than a decade Staff Reporter BERHAMPUR

Unscienti c use of single va­ riety of paddy seeds by farm­ ers for more than a decade is the key reason behind the large­scale destruction of standing crops by pests like brown planthopper in Od­ isha, the All India Kisan Maz­ door Sabha (AIKMS) has said.

The organisation came to the conclusion after con­ ducting its own ground­level study. Through its practical experimentation, it has also proved that organic cultiva­ tion of traditional paddy seed breeds makes it im­ mune to such pests in the State.

Speaking to The Hindu,

Odisha AIKMS president Na­ tabar Sadangi said it was high time that the agricul­ ture department of the Od­ isha government promoted traditional indigenous paddy seeds as well as alternative seed varieties among farm­ ers to check the menace of brown planthopper, which is popularly known as chakada poka in Odia.

Ancient Odia saying He called upon the State go­ vernment to take note of an­ cient Odia saying Tini purushare dhana balunga, sata purushare pua balunga (Paddy seeds become unpro­ ductive after three genera­ tions and sons get destroyed in seventh generation)”.

The organisation hinted that traditionally Odia farm­ ers were rotating their paddy seed variety which they are not doing now. Lure of high yield was prompting them to use the single breed of paddy seeds repeatedly. “It is an irony that although our agri­ cultural experts have come up with around 1,000 varie­ ties of paddy and we have several indigenous ones, farmers continue to use a few varieties only,” said Mr. Sadangi.

The kharif season pests, especially brown planthop­ per, along with untimely rain were major reasons behind paddy crop loss throughout the State. AIKMS activists studied the cropping pattern

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of farmers in Bargarh, Sam­ balpur and Bolangir districts where the most number of farmers’ suicides due to crop loss was reported.

“As per the recommenda­ tion of agricultural experts, no seed variety is to be used continuously in a eld for more than a decade. But we found that ‘swarna’ variety of paddy seeds was being used by farmers of the area for around three decades,” said Mr Sadangi. ‘Swarna’ is a high yield paddy variety, which absorbs more chemi­ cal fertilizer which leads to high vegetative growth. This vegetative growth attracts pests like brown planthop­ per that a ect the ‘swarna’ paddy crop, he added. He al­

leged that continuous use of the same variety of seeds ev­ ery year without adequate sterilisation transfers eggs of these pests to the next generation.

AIKMS cited the example of the Rajendra Desi Chasa Gabesana Kendra (RDCGK) at Niali in Cuttack district, a research and conservation centre for traditional indige­ nous variety of seeds through organic farming.

The centre has preserved 645 indigenous paddy seed varieties of Odisha that are cultivated every year in com­ plete organic process. It is claimed that there was no pest attack on paddy cultiva­ tion at this agricultural re­ search farm in Niali.

Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: Skymet (Taken at 17.00 Hrs)

Forecast for Monday: Dense fog likely at a few places over Bihar, sub­himalayan West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. Cold wave conditions likely at isolated places over Bihar and Odisha. city rain max min Agartala.................. -.... 25.0.... 10.6 Ahmedabad............. -.... 31.0.... 14.5 Aizawl .................... -.... 26.2...... 8.8 Allahabad ............... -.... 26.6...... 8.4 Bengaluru ............... -.... 28.5.... 14.3 Bhopal.................... -.... 27.3.... 11.8 Bhubaneswar .......... -.... 29.4.... 12.0 Chandigarh ............. -.... 22.6...... 5.9 Chennai .................. -.... 29.4.... 20.8 Coimbatore............. -.... 30.4.... 17.8 Dehradun................ -.... 21.4...... 6.3 Gangtok.................. -.... 15.8...... 8.2 Goa ........................ -.... 31.0.... 19.0 Guwahati ................ -.... 26.0.... 12.4 Hubballi.................. -.... 28.0.... 15.0 Hyderabad .............. -.... 31.0.... 12.7 Imphal.................... -.... 23.2...... 6.4 Jaipur ..................... -.... 24.8...... 8.3 Kochi...................... -.... 32.4.... 23.4 Kohima................... -.... 18.4...... 7.4 Kolkata................... -.... 26.3.... 13.5

city rain max min Kozhikode ................ -.... 32.6.... 22.6 Kurnool .................... -.... 32.0.... 17.6 Lucknow................... -.... 24.6...... 5.4 Madurai.................... -.... 32.0.... 18.7 Mangaluru................ -.... 34.8.... 20.6 Mumbai.................... -.... 33.6.... 17.0 Mysuru..................... -.... 28.6...... 9.7 New Delhi ................ -.... 22.5...... 6.4 Patna ....................... -.... 22.0...... 7.6 Port Blair ................. -.... 29.5.... 23.8 Puducherry............... -.... 29.0.... 17.6 Pune ........................ -.... 29.6.... 10.9 Raipur ...................... -.... 29.8.... 14.6 Ranchi...................... -.... 25.0...... 9.2 Shillong.................... -.... 15.9...... 4.6 Shimla...................... -.... 17.6...... 7.6 Srinagar ................... -.... 14.0.....-4.0 Trivandrum .............. -.... 34.4.... 21.5 Tiruchi ..................... -.... 30.5.... 18.4 Vijayawada ............... -.... 29.5.... 17.8 Visakhapatnam .......... -.... 29.3.... 18.2

Pollutants in the air you are breathing CITIES

Yesterday

SO2 NO2 COPM2.5PM10CODE

Ahmedabad.....100156100.. 266......- ....* Bengaluru ...........5..23..31.... 63......- ....* Chennai ............40..26..32.. 223......- ....* Delhi.................19..38..59.. 266......- ....* Hyderabad ........34..81..20.. 144......- ....* Kolkata ........... ....- ....- ....-.......-......- .....Lucknow .............8..30..46.. 356......- ....* Mumbai ............21..43..54.... 88 .137 ....* Pune .................29..16..52.... 46 ...68 ....* Visakhapatnam..16..74..43.. 201 .181 ....*

In observations made at 4 p.m., Moradabad recorded an air quality index (AQI) score of 397, indicating high levels of pollutants in the air. In contrast, Vijayawada recorded a relatively healthy AQI score of 88.

Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI) SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system, making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues and monuments.

NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.

CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.

PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature death in people with heart or lung disease

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THE HINDU

NATION 7

NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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IN BRIEF

Address tuberculosis challenge: Modi to CMs NEW DELHI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to all Chief Ministers, asking them address the challenge of tuberculosis in mission mode and review the progress of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme at least every quarter. PTI

Man dies after being thrown off train CHAPRA

A man was killed and his cousin injured after they were thrown off a train in Bihar’s Saran, the RPF said. The duo was returning to their village in Madhepura from Ludhiana, when they were robbed aboard the Amritsar­ Dibrugarh Express and pushed off on Sunday. PTI

22 cases against PNB officials for loan fraud NEW DELHI

The CBI has registered 22 cases against senior officials of Punjab National Bank and several Madhya Pradesh­ based businessmen dealing in coal for fraudulent sanctioning and disbursal of loans, causing a loss of about 80 crore. The loans were disbursed between 2011 and 2016 through four PNB branches in Bhopal and Ujjain.

Owner of illegal reworks unit in Delhi arrested

Staff Reporter Meerut

Three days after two acci­ dent victims in Saharanpur died after three policemen refused to take them to hos­ pital to save their vehicle “from getting soiled”, the U.P. police have booked them on charges of murder.

According to Superinten­ dent of Police, Saharanpur (City), Prabal Pratap Singh, the three ­­ head constable Indrapal Singh and consta­ bles Pankaj Kumar and Ma­ noj Kumar ­­ were booked under 304A (culpable homi­ cide not amounting to mur­ der). He said a departmental inquiry has also been initiat­ ed against them.

The move came after the policemen refused to take

17 persons died in the re in Bawana industrial area STAFF REPORTER New Delhi

The Delhi police on Sunday arrested Manoj Jain, owner of the unauthorised re­ works factory, after 17 peo­ ple — 10 women and seven men — were killed on Satur­ day in a massive re in the manufacturing unit in the Bawana industrial area.

Delhi Police Commission­ er Amulya Patnaik also trans­ ferred the case from the Ro­ hini district police to the Crime Branch.

‘Used in stage shows’ According to the police, the factory manufactured “cold recrackers” used in stage shows and Holi celebrations.

Wrappers printed with ‘Holi ke Dhamake’ were found in the factory, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Ro­ hini) Rajneesh Gupta.

“Of 17 bodies, 14 have been handed over to their fa­ mily members after the post­ mortem; three bodies re­ main unidenti ed. We are conducting a thorough in­ vestigation to trace the fami­

Saharanpur cops to be charged with murder for ‘inaction’

Inconsolable lot: Relatives and locals gather at the house of a victim at Metro Vihar near Bawana in Delhi on Sunday. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

the two accident victim, Ar­ pit Khurana and his friend Sunny, lying on the road to hospital saying that it will “make their vehicle dirty”.

Later, some locals managed to take the two boys to hos­ pital where they died due to excess bleeding and head injuries.

Video goes viral The video of the allegedly in­ human behaviours of the policemen went viral in western U.P., leading to the suspension of the three poli­ cemen deployed with 100 helpline.

The grieving parents of the minor boys have de­ manded murder charges to be slapped against the cops.

The incident sent shock­

waves across the State with the Chief Minister's o ce asking for a probe report on the issue.

“Whatever happened with my son should never happen with anyone in this country. Had my child re­ ceived rst aid on time, he could have been saved. Even the doctors say that. I want a case to be registered against the cops concerned. It is murder in a way,” said the mother of Arpit Khurana to District Magistrate P. K. Pan­ dey and Senior Superinten­ dent of Police Babloo Kumar when the two went to meet the grieving parents of Saturday.

The DM assured the pa­ rents of action against the policemen.

*

ly members of unidenti ed victims. We have also set up a desk at the Baba Saheb Am­ bedkar (BSA) Hospital to as­ sist relatives of the de­ ceased,” Mr. Gupta said.

Explosives Act Factory owner Manoj Jain, 49, was arrested from his house in Tri Nagar late on Sa­ turday and booked under sections 285 (Negligent con­ duct with respect to re or combustible matter), 304

(Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 ( Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC and under the Explo­ sives Act.. Jain had rented the factory from January 1, the DCP said.

Plea for police custody “He was produced before the duty magistrate today who sent him to judicial cus­ tody. The police will request

for production and police custody tomorrow before the regular magistrate,” the police statement said.

Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain said, “Strict action will be taken against anyone found guilty of negligence, even if it is a government o cial,” he said. Mr Jain accompanied Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, who met families of the re victims at the BSA hospital.

Avalanche warning issued in J&K Press Trust of India Jammu/Srinagar

A low­danger avalanche warn­ ing was issued on Sunday for the next 24 hours in 16 dis­ tricts of the State, an o cial said.

“Low­danger avalanche warning of level­1 exists in higher reaches of seven dis­ tricts in Jammu, six districts in Kashmir and two districts in Ladakh during the next 24

hours,” the o cial said.

As per information received from the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), low­danger avalanche warning of level­1 exists in higher reaches of Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi, Ramban, Doda, Kisht­ war, Udhampur, Anantnag, Kulgam, Budgam, Kupwara, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Kargil and Leh districts of the State, the o cial said.

In addition, the o cial said a low­danger avalanche warn­ ing of level­2 also exists in higher reaches of Baramulla district of north Kashmir for the next 24 hours.

The department of disaster management has urged peo­ ple living in higher reaches of these districts not to venture into avalanche prone areas or slopes and to take precaution­ ary measures, he said.

Haryana teen sent to police remand

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In sync

Family, colleagues in shock at killing of principal by Class XII student VIKAS VASUDEVA YAMUNANAGAR

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Ready for action: Police recruits taking part in a passing out parade at a training centre at Sheeri, Baramulla, about 60 km north of Srinagar, on Sunday. A total of 472 policemen completed their training course on Sunday. NISSAR AHMAD *

SC to make public work allocation process New Delhi

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has examined sug­ gestions from stakeholders to bring transparency in al­ location of sensitive PILs to judges and is likely to bring in the public domain soon the system he is going to adopt for it, sources close to him said on Sunday.

They said the listing of two petitions seeking an in­ dependent probe into the death of CBI special judge B.H. Loya before a Bench headed by the CJI manif­ ests that all issues, includ­ ing allocation of cases, raised by the four senior­ most judges on January 12, are being considered.

The Loya case petitions will come up for hearing on Monday.

Clear-cut system The sources said that Jus­ tice Misra held delibera­ tions with fellow judges and also took into account the suggestions put forth by the Supreme Court Bar Association, and a clear­ cut roster system is likely to be followed in the Su­ preme Court for the alloca­ tion of cases.

“The court registry is ve­ ry likely to upload on its website the decision of the CJI on allocation of mat­ ters. The system will be brought in the public do­ main as to who will hear what categories of cases,” a highly placed source said.

Friends and relatives comfort Rajesh Chhabra, husband of Ritu Chhabra, before her cremation on Sunday. AKHILESH KUMAR *

the accused, Ranjit Singh, who was also booked under the Arms Act, has been listed for January 25.

Chhabra’s husband Ra­ jesh and two sons are in a state of shock. “Why would he (the accused) or anyone want to kill her ... I don't un­ derstand... she was such a noble soul,” Mr. Chhabra

kept repeating at the crema­ tion unable to hold back tears.

Many of Mr. Chabra’s col­ leagues at the cremation were also in shock and re­ fused to speak. “It’s di cult for me to talk,” said one her colleagues.

Recalling the incident, Shamsher Singh, a security

guard at the school, said the accused had hurried to the principal’s o ce from the park and the next thing he heard was the sound of gun­ shots.

“She was alone in her of­ ce as a parent­teacher meeting was under way. I rushed to the o ce and saw the student coming out with a revolver in his hand. I tried to stop him but he pointed the gun at me,” Mr. Singh said.

President of Swami Vive­ kanand Education Society said Chhabra had been ap­ pointed principal around four years ago, after 20 years in service. “We fail to under­ stand why did he (student) committed the crime. He was never punished or rusti­ cated,” he said.

Migrant worker found dead in Jaipur Acid burns found on body of victim from Bengal; kin allege murder, seek CBI probe Staff Reporter Kolkata

Press Trust of India

The Model Colony area in Ya­ munanagar was shrouded in mourning on Sunday morn­ ing as hundreds gathered at the home of Ritu Chhabra, principal of the Swami Vive­ kanand School, who was shot dead in her o ce by a student on Saturday.

The 18­year­old student, who was booked under Sec­ tion 302 of the IPC, was pre­ sented before a local court, where the police demanded a three­day remand.

“The court granted two day police remand,” lawyer for the accused S.P. Dhanda told The Hindu. He also told the court that the accused did not intend to kill Chha­ bra.

Mr. Dhanda said the bail application of the father of

A migrant worker from West Bengal has been found dead in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The bo­ dy of Sakir Ali, 32, from Mal­ da district was recovered from his rented accommoda­ tion in Jaipur’s Painter Colo­ ny area last Tuesday.

While his family members alleged that Ali had been murdered, the Rajasthan police said investigations did not point to any foul play in his death.

“Mr. Ali used to consume a lot of alcohol. It seems that he accidentally consumed acid which also spilled onto his body,” Station House Of­

Sakir Ali

cer of the Shastri Nagar Pol­ ice Station Mahaveer Prasad said.

He also said that apart from burns caused by acid, investigators had not found any external injuries on Ali’s body.

“If someone forced Mr. Ali

to drink acid then there would have been marks of scu e on his body. The post mortem report has revealed internal injuries due to acid,” said Mr. Prasad. A case under Section 174 (unnatural death) of the CrPC has been lodged.

Speaking to The Hindu on Sunday, Ali’s brother Jakir accused the Rajasthan police of trying to suppress the truth behind his death.

Not convinced “We are convinced that Sakir was murdered and the Rajas­ than police is trying to shield the culprits,” Mr. Jakir said.

He alleged that “marks of

acid burns” on Ali’s body proved that he had been murdered.

“We do not have any faith in the Rajasthan police and demand that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. We will also approach Chief Mi­ nister Mamata Banerjee,” Mr. Jakir said.

Countering the police ver­ sion, family members point­ ed out that Ali’s roommates had ed after his death.

“About 12 people from Malda lived with Sakir in Jaipur. If his death was an accident then why have they all ed after the incident?” asked Mr. Jakir.

Papers on Hyderabad Nawab go missing Central Information Commission pulls up Home Ministry over crucial le fashion so that chronology is maintained in the transfer of les. This would be a real treasure house for the re­ searchers and scholars as well as the public at large while browsing through the pages of history,” he noted in a recent order.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi

Where are the 50­year­old records related to the go­ vernment’s recognition of Nawab Mir Barkat Ali Khan as the ‘ruler of Hyderabad State’, the Central Informa­ tion Commission has asked as it pulled up the Home Mi­ nistry, which said it was clue­ less about the crucial le.

Information Commission­ er Yashovardhan Azad has also marked a copy of his or­ der to the Union Home Se­ cretary with the recommen­ dation that a committee should be constituted to identify such les of histori­ cal importance and ensure

Nawab Mir Barkat Ali Khan, and wife Princess Esrah. *

THE HINDU ARCHIVES

that they were handed over to the National Archives.

“It would also be in order that the process of transfer of les to the Archives, which was initiated in 1981, is monitored in the correct

Fresh search ordered He directed the Ministry to conduct a fresh search in the light of the document and if the le is traced, provide a copy of the certi ed infor­ mation as sought by RTI ap­ plicant Sayed Khaliq.

The roots of the case go to the late Nizam of Hyderabad Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last

ruler of the princely state who had nominated his grandson Nawab Mir Barkat Ali Khan, also known as Mu­ karram Jah Bahadur, as his successor making him the titular Nizam.

He had sought recognition of the government of India for it. A ‘certi cate of recog­ nition’ was issued by the Un­ ion government with e ect from February 24, 1967 — the date on which the Nizam died.

Nawab Khan came into possession of all the movea­ ble and immovable proper­ ties of the Nizam making him one of the richest men in India.

Join us now https://t.me/towardstomorrow CM YK

A ND-NDE

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8 EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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The great American arms bazaar Donald Trump’s attempt to rework the commercial­strategic equation spells an opportunity for India systems sold to one country do not end up with a third party.

The White House, through the National Security Council, plays a key role in this process. Once all of them are on the same page on a particular proposal, Congression­ al leaders of the House and the Se­ nate Committee on Foreign Rela­ tions are informally consulted.

Once they are on board, the sale is formally noti ed. Signi cant sales require a tacit approval by law­ makers.

Time for clarity

Pro t and loss The disquali cation of AAP MLAs is a legal question, not a political one

T

he Election Commission’s advice to the President that 20 legislators of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi are liable for disquali cation will inevita­ bly invite legal and political scrutiny. The party claims it was denied a hearing and alleges political motives be­ hind the action. It has questioned the timing of the deci­ sion, just ahead of the Chief Election Commissioner’s retirement. Regardless of the charge of political malice, the correctness of the EC’s decision will be decided on legal grounds. The courts will have to rule on the ques­ tion whether the post of parliamentary secretary, which these MLAs were holding, is an ‘o ce of pro t’.

They may also examine whether there was any viola­ tion of natural justice. Twenty­one MLAs were appoint­ ed parliamentary secretaries in March 2015. The Delhi High Court set aside the appointments in 2016 on the ground that the Lieutenant Governor had not given his approval. The EC has been hearing a complaint by an advocate that these legislators had incurred disquali ­ cation by holding these posts, which, he contended, were o ces of pro t. The key question was whether the post was an o ce of pro t even after the Delhi govern­ ment made it clear that parliamentary secretaries would not be eligible for any remuneration or perqui­ sites. They were only allowed the use of government transport for o cial uses and o ce space in the respec­ tive ministries. The EC has answered the question in the a rmative, and the President has acted on it.

Going by Supreme Court decisions, the test to decide whether a post is an o ce of pro t is the role of the go­ vernment in appointing and paying the person con­ cerned. In Jaya Bachchan, the court said it was an o ce of pro t even if one did not actually receive payment; it was enough if some pay was ‘receivable’. In Raman v.

P.T.A. Rahim, the court said only posts that are capable of yielding pecuniary gains, as distinguished from com­ pensatory allowances, would be o ces of pro t. It is in­ deed true that the Arvind Kejriwal regime is politically disadvantaged because, unlike State governments, it cannot make many decisions without the Lt. Gover­ nor’s concurrence. It could not pass, as States have done, legislation to save the post from disquali cation.

The President withheld assent to a law it passed with­ out the LG’s nod. However, Mr. Kejriwal should have been mindful of the growing perception, as evident in several judicial decisions, that the post of parliamen­ tary secretary is a way of getting around the constitu­ tional limit on the size of ministries. He could have avoided controversy by not appointing MLAs in posts that involved an executive role. After all, there can be no dispute over the principle behind the bar on legisla­ tors holding such posts: that there be no con ict bet­ ween their duty and their interest.

varghese k. george

I

n a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg at the White House ear­ lier this month, U.S. President Do­ nald Trump made up the name of a non­existent ghter plane, “F­52,” while lauding the F­35 ghter sale in a new defence deal with America’s NATO ally. While the ga e yielded a heavy round of Twitter humour at the expense of Mr. Trump, what has not been adequately noticed is the signi ­ cance of weapons sales in his di­ plomatic pitch throughout. He has been an aggressive salesman for American defence manufacturers during his foreign tours and to vis­ iting heads of foreign countries in his rst year in o ce. Promoting the sale of U.S. arms could soon become a key result area for the country’s embassies around the world, according to a Reuters re­ port earlier this month. Arms sup­ ply has been a key tool of U.S. stra­ tegy for years. Mr. Trump wants to make arms sale itself a strategy.

The existing policy Arms transfers by the U.S. happen primarily through Foreign Military Sales, Direct Commercial Sales, and Foreign Military Financing, all controlled by stringent laws, the most important of them being the Arms Export Control Act. The U.S. government sells defence equip­ ment worth about $40 billion ev­ ery year under Foreign Military Sales. Direct Commercial Sales are worth around $110 billion a year,

in which a foreign buyer and the American seller negotiate the deal directly. Foreign Military Financ­ ing is done through American grants. Of the roughly $6 billion under that head, $3.7 billion goes to Israel each year. Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan have been other sig­ ni cant recipients of Foreign Mili­ tary Financing in recent years, fol­ lowed by 50 countries that receive smaller amounts totalling $1 bil­ lion. Arms supplies to foreign countries is critical to the U.S. for at least three reasons: it is a key leverage of global in uence, it re­ duces the cost of procurement for the U.S. military by spreading the cost, and by employing 1.7 million people, the defence industry is a key component in the country’s economy and consequently, its politics.

But the sale of weaponry, tradi­ tionally, is guided less by commer­ cial considerations rather than strategic ones. The Bureau of Polit­ ical­Military A airs at the Depart­ ment of State is the lynchpin of this process; the other players are the Department of Defence, the White House and the U.S. Con­ gress. Each proposed sale is vetted on a case­by­case basis and ap­ proved “only if found to further

U.S. foreign policy and national se­ curity interests”, according to the Bureau’s policy. The actual pro­ cess of a sale could be long­wind­ ed, and could take months even af­ ter it is approved in principle, an example being the ongoing nego­ tiations to acquire 22 Guardian drones for the Indian Navy from American manufacturer General Atomics.

“We are very concerned that our partners have the ability to buy what they seek, within their means,” a U.S. o cial explained.

“So we assess the capability. If so­ meone asks for [the] F­35, we have to ensure that they have the mo­ ney, the capability to operate it and protect the technology as well as we can. So if we conclude that we cannot sell F­35s, we have at least 10 di erent types of F­16 ghters that we match with the capability and importance of the partner country.” The process of initial assessment of selling arms to any country involves the State and Defence Departments. There are around 100 military o cers at­ tached to the State Department and around the same number of diplomats assigned to the Penta­ gon, who help in such decisions. It is also sought to ensure that the

Changes Mr. Trump wants Mr. Trump has not hidden his dis­ approval for the American strate­ gy, which he thinks has been a big failure. His views on defence part­ nerships are in line with this think­ ing. He wants to reduce the Fo­ reign Military Financing to the least, except for Israel. He wants American partners to buy more weapons from it, and it is also a move towards reducing trade de ­ cits with key partners such as South Korea and Japan. He is ham­ mering NATO partners to ramp up defence spending and believes that all these partners have taken the U.S. for a ride. He has little pa­ tience for linking human rights to arms sales. The fact also is that the actual practice of American arms supplies does not often live up to its professed objectives. The Cen­ tral Intelligence Agency’s clandes­ tine weapons supplies for Syrian rebels reached the Islamic State and al­Qaeda for instance, and Mr. Trump has ordered the discontin­ uation of the programme. So, ov­ erall, the President is pushing for a liberalisation of U.S. arms sales to partner countries, guided less by any grand strategic vision, but by commercial and domestic political calculations. He is seeking to ip

varghese.g@thehindu.co.in

Capacity building for primary health care A pluralistic and integrated medical system remains a solution worth exploring Aparna Manoharan & Rajiv Lochan

A

contentious element of the National Medical Commis­ sion (NMC) Bill 2017 — an at­ tempt to revamp the medical edu­ cation system in India to ensure an adequate supply of quality medi­ cal professionals — has been Sec­ tion 49, Subsection 4 that propos­ es a joint sitting of the Commission, the Central Council of Homoeopathy and the Central Council of Indian Medicine. This sitting, referred to in Subsection 1, may “decide on approving speci c bridge course that may be intro­ duced for the practitioners of Ho­ moeopathy and of Indian Systems of Medicine to enable them to pre­ scribe such modern medicines at such level as may be prescribed.”

Missing the reality The debates around this issue have been ranging from writing­o the ability of Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and homoeopathy (AYUSH) practition­ ers to cross­practise to highlight­ ing current restrictions on allo­ pathic practitioners from practising higher levels of caregiv­ ing. However, these debates miss the reality: which is a primary health system that is struggling with a below­par national physi­ cian­patient ratio (0.76 per 1,000 population, amongst the lowest in the world) due to a paucity of

MBBS­trained primary­care physi­ cians and the unwillingness of ex­ isting MBBS­trained physicians to serve remote/rural populations.

Urban­rural disparities in physi­ cian availability in the face of an increasing burden of chronic dis­ eases make health care in India both inequitable and expensive.

Therefore, there is an urgent need for a trained cadre to provide accessible primary­care services that cover minor ailments, health promotion services, risk screening for early disease detection and ap­ propriate referral linkages, and ensure that people receive care at a community level when they need it. #3 3 1 0 0 7

Issue of cross-prescription The issue of AYUSH cross­pre­ scription has been a part of public health and policy discourse for ov­ er a decade, with the National Health Policy (NHP) 2017 calling for multi­dimensional main­ streaming of AYUSH physicians.

There were 7.7 lakh registered AY­ USH practitioners in 2016, accord­ ing to National Health Pro le 2017 data. Their current academic training also includes a conven­ tional biomedical syllabus cover­ ing anatomy, physiology, patholo­ gy and biochemistry. E orts to gather evidence on the capacity of licensed and bridge­trained AY­ USH physicians to function as primary­care physicians have been under way in diverse eld

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Minister on evolution It is the height of folly and absurdity that Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Satyapal Singh has sought to debunk Darwin’s theory of evolution and proposed to expunge “evolution” from textbooks (“Darwin’s evolution theory wrong: Minister”, January 21). It does not behove an Education Minister to deny a fact as incontrovertible and inescapable as ‘evolution’. Like it or not, human beings developed or descended from earlier animal species. It is clear from the Minister’s outlandish statement that he is unable to appreciate that ‘the timescales on which life has operated on this planet are measured not in thousands of years but in thousands of millions of years’. It is apt to sign o with Charles Darwin’s words: “There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having

GETTY IMAGES

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ive months after the government claimed the vic­ tory of “quiet diplomacy” to bring the 73­day stand­o between Indian and Chinese troops at Doklam to an end, the contours of the actual agreement and events that have followed remain a mystery. On Au­ gust 28, the Centre had issued a statement on a mutual decision for Indian and Chinese troops to disengage and withdraw from the part of the Doklam plateau dis­ puted between China and Bhutan that had been the scene of the stand­o . A second statement from the Mi­ nistry of External A airs the same day said the veri ca­ tion of the disengagement by both sides from the “face­ o ” point, which included the withdrawal of troops, road construction equipment and tents, was “almost complete”. However, last week the Army chief, General Bipin Rawat, said Chinese troops are in parts of Doklam they had hitherto not manned, and while the People’s Liberation Army infrastructure development was “tem­ porary” in nature, “tents remain, observation posts re­ main” in the disputed area. The MEA, which had main­ tained that there was “no change” in the status quo, also appeared to shift position, saying that New Delhi was using “established mechanisms” to resolve misun­ derstandings over the Doklam issue. While discretion and quiet negotiations are useful, especially when sen­ sitive matters along the India­China Line of Actual Con­ trol are being discussed, such divergence in public statements also fuels speculation that something deep­ er and more troubling exists on the ground. The go­ vernment must verify if satellite photographs showing much more permanent infrastructure in north Doklam, not far from Indian posts, that are the subject of reports in the media, are accurate and whether they pose a new threat to India.

Roiling matters further are the broader statements made in New Delhi last week. Speaking at the MEA’s an­ nual Raisina Dialogue, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar put China’s rise rst on a list of “major disruptors” in the region. General Rawat said that the “time has come” for India to “shift focus” from its western border with Pakistan to its northern border with China. This is bound to raise eyebrows given that the boundary with Pakistan has seen heavy shelling and rising military and civilian casualties in the past year. Similarly, Beijing’s latest belligerent statements that all of Doklam belongs to China and is under its “e ective jurisdiction” could be indicators that the agreement announced in August is unravelling. If so, a Doklam­style troop build­up in the future must be avoided at all costs. It is imperative that the government proceed with caution in step and consistency in statement, and drop the ambiguity it has embraced since the Doklam stand­o began in June.

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

The Centre must share details of what has been happening at Doklam

the equation between commercial and strategic calculations behind arms sales in favour of the rst.

The security establishment and Congress will not easily accede to major changes in existing U.S. laws in order to further Mr. Trump’s ideas. However, Mr. Trump holds the last word on de ning what U.S. national interests are, and his thinking could turn out be an op­ portunity for India, one of the lar­ gest importers of major arms. In­ dia has bought $15 billion worth of defence equipment from the U.S. over the last decade, but Indian re­ quests for arms often get entan­ gled in the U.S. bureaucracy for multiple reasons. The honori c tit­ le of ‘major defence partner’ not­ withstanding, the traditional American propensity to link sales to operational questions such as interoperability and larger strateg­ ic notions dampens possibilities.

India’s robust defence partnership with Russia is a major irritant for American o cials.

If Mr. Trump manages to em­ phasise the commercial bene ts of arms sales, and de­emphasise the strategic angle, it could lead to a change in the dynamics of the In­ dia­U.S. defence trade, and bilater­ al trade in general. India, always wary of military alliances, will be more comfortable with weapons purchases as commercial deals.

For America, India could be a re­ liable, non­proliferating buyer of its arms. The U.S. also has a trade de cit with India. It was the out­of­ the­box thinking of a President that led to the India­U.S. civil nu­ clear deal. With his unconvention­ al thinking, could Mr. Trump o er F­35s to India?

settings, and the call for a struc­ tured, capacity­building mechan­ ism is merely the next logical step.

The 4th Common Review Mis­ sion Report 2010 of the National Health Mission reports the utilisa­ tion of AYUSH physicians as medi­ cal o cers in primary health centres (PHCs) in Assam, Chhattis­ garh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pra­ desh and Uttarakhand as a human resource rationalisation strategy.

In some cases, it was noted that while the supply of AYUSH physi­ cians was high, a lack of appro­ priate training in allopathic drug dispensation was a deterrent to their utilisation in primary­care settings. Similarly, the 2013 Shaila­ ja Chandra report on the status of Indian medicine and folk healing, commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, noted several instances in States where National Rural Health Mission­re­ cruited AYUSH physicians were the sole care providers in PHCs

and called for the appropriate skilling of this cadre to meet the demand for acute and emergency care at the primary level.

Our own experience at the IKP Centre for Technologies in Public Health shows that there is hope.

Here, the focus has been on de­ ploying a capacity­building strate­ gy using AYUSH physicians up­ skilled through a bridge­training programme, and the use of evi­ dence­based protocols, supported by technology, to deliver quality, standardised primary health care to rural populations. Protocols cover minor acute ailments such as fever, upper respiratory tract in­ fections, gastrointestinal condi­ tions (diarrhoea, acidity), urologi­ cal conditions, as well as proactive risk­screening. The Maharashtra government has led the way in im­ plementing bridge training for ca­ pacity­building of licensed homoe­ opathy practitioners to cross­prescribe.

As anchors Capacity­building of licensed AY­ USH practitioners through bridge training to meet India’s primary care needs is only one of the multi­ pronged e orts required to meet the objective of achieving univer­ sal health coverage set out in NHP 2017. Current capacity­building ef­ forts include other non­MBBS per­ sonnel such as nurses, auxiliary nurse midwives and rural medical assistants, thereby creating a

cadre of mid­level service provid­ ers as anchors for the provision of comprehensive primary­care ser­ vices at the proposed health and wellness centres. Further, the ex­ isting practice of using AYUSH physicians as medical o cers in guideline­based national health programmes, a location­speci c availability of this cadre to ensure uninterrupted care provision in certain resource­limited settings, as well as their current academic training that has primed them for cross­disciplinary learning hold promise. These provide a su ­ cient basis to explore the proposal of bridging their training to “ena­ ble them to prescribe such mod­ ern medicines at such level as may be prescribed”.

Ensuing discussions will be well served to focus on substantive as­ pects of this solution: design and scope of the programme, imple­ mentation, monitoring and audit mechanisms, technology support, and the legal and regulatory fra­ mework. In the long run, a plural­ istic and integrated medical sys­ tem for India remains a solution worth exploring for both e ective primary­care delivery and preven­ tion of chronic and infectious diseases.

Aparna Manoharan and Rajiv Lochan are involved with the IKP Centre for Technologies in Public Health; Rajiv Lochan is MD and CEO of The Hindu Group

Letters emailed to letters@thehindu.co.in must carry the full postal address and the full name or the name with initials.

been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the xed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”

Learning outcomes The ndings of the ASER report, as is the case every year, serve as a grim reminder of the poor state of school education in India. It is obvious that the RTE Act needs drastic amendment and must be extended to the 14­18 age group. The Act appears to have an excessive focus on raw enrolment and physical infrastructure, with almost no provision for quality of teaching and learning outcomes and the teacher­ student ratio.

A key reason for school dropouts is male students being ‘engaged in economic activities’ and female students being ‘engaged in domestic activities’; ‘ nancial constraints’ are common to both groups.

Socio­economic policies, including employment and wage policies that encourage families to send children to school without engaging them in economic and domestic activities, are a must. As ‘marriage’ is another signi cant reason, child marriages should be curbed with the help of social groups and monitoring the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. Finally, learning outcomes continue to be an area of concern, which can be linked to falling standards in the quality of teaching. Teacher training has not received focus. For better learning outcomes, teaching methods need to be improved.

V. Vidyadhar,

Kosaraju Chandramouli,

Nellore, Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad

G. David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

■

The RTE Act may be an important step in enabling learning, but what are schoolchildren learning?

Actual learning must be looked at for the 6­14 age­ group rst. There is a humongous shortage of teachers in our schools.

Teachers also need to be retrained. The availability of free books and uniforms is another problem, particularly for those from the disadvantaged sections.

The present model of reimbursement often gets bogged down in red tape and a ects economically backward parents.

January 21). Over the past couple of years, prices of essential drugs, available as cheap generics, have sky­ rocketed. Insulin is an example of what is wrong with medicine. As a recent UN report states: “Almost 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty each year because of debts accrued through health care and high drug cost expenses.” In India, the Central and State governments, which are bulk consumers of essential medicines, should look into this aspect and may be emulate the U.S. idea.

Saurabh Sinha,

H.N. Ramakrishna,

Bhilai, Chhattisgarh

Bengaluru

The U.S. example

Fare hike

The path­breaking move by a group of large hospital systems in the U.S. in planning to create a non­ pro t generic drug company to battle shortages and high prices appears to be an interesting idea (“Starting their own” (‘Being’ page,

The Tamil Nadu government has tried to justify the steep hike in bus fares on the ground that transport corporations need to cover their huge losses incurred for a variety of reasons. At the same time, the government has not made any statement

■

on what it has done in the last several years to improve e ciency, avoid wastage, prevent corruption and reduce losses. There should have been a white paper on what prompted the hike. The government has also not revealed any long­term plans on how it plans to tackle the situation (“Bus fare hike sets o a chain of protests across Tamil Nadu”, January 21).

N.S. Venkataraman, Chennai

■ There may be some truth in the government’s defence but the fact is that most government buses are in a very bad shape. The hike would have made sense had there been no compromises as far as passenger comfort and safety are concerned. A consistent passenger­centric approach would have balanced any negative reaction to the fare hike.

N. Visveswaran,

Join us now https://t.me/towardstomorrow CM YK

Chennai

more letters online: www.hindu.com/opinion/letters/

A ND-NDE

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THE HINDU

OPED 9

NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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A misleading story of job creation India does not create 55 lakh new jobs every year, as claimed by a new report produce enough jobs in the rst two years but, miraculously, after demo­ netisation and the GST, there were jobs galore, as per the same EPFO da­ ta set? Cherry­picking data points (EPFO data) and time periods (FY­2017 and FY­2018) are old, time­ tested statistical tricks to arrive at fal­ lacious conclusions.

Jairam Ramesh & Praveen Chakravarty

FROM THE READERS’ EDITOR

A Twitter tempest We cannot safeguard the hard­won right of freedom of press by outing journalistic principles and values

A.S. Panneerselvan

Flaws in analysis How did the report arrive at the 55 lakh new jobs number? It used data from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) which registers employees from the formal sector for provident fund bene ts. It found that as of November 2017, there were 36.8 lakh new members in the age group of 18­25 years who registered with the EPFO vis­à­vis the previous year.

It assumed that any 18­ to 25­year­old registering with the EPFO implies that he or she found a new job in the organised sector. It then extrapolat­ ed this November 2017 data to the full year of FY­2018 and boldly claimed that 55.2 lakh new jobs were created in FY­2018.

It doesn’t take much to realise the aws in this analysis: New 18­ to 25­ year­old EPFO members do not auto­ matically mean net new jobs in the economy; an informal job that turns formal with an EPFO registration does not mean it is a new job; cherry­ picking an EPFO data point and post­ demonetisation/Goods and Services Tax (GST) time frames lead to these

“India’s jobs situation is a very grim challenge that must be acknowledged.”

Construction workers in Bhubaneswar. BISWARANJAN ROUT *

grossly misleading conclusions.

The Indian economy was subject­ ed to massive external forces of for­ malisation by the twin forces of de­ monetisation in FY­2017 and the GST in FY­2018. As we know through numerous surveys, demonetisation resulted in thousands of employers retrenching a large part of their infor­ mal workforce paid in cash and regis­ tering the remaining employees as formal workers with bene ts such as provident fund. This upheaval will show up as new formal jobs in the EPFO data set but it does not mean net new jobs were created. The study does not adjust for these e ects. This was the phenomenon that played out post­demonetisation in FY­2017.

Next came the GST­induced for­ malisation in FY­2018. The GST by design was a policy of formalisation of the Indian economy through a net­ worked system of tax credits which could be claimed only if the business was formally registered under the GST. It is likely then that the GST coerced thousands of small and me­ dium businesses in the country to transition at least a part of their workforce from informal to formal employment. The costs of formalisa­ tion may have resulted in many rms cutting costs or even shutting down.

The EPFO methodology does not capture any of these costs of forced formalisation but merely showcases the new formal employees as new

jobs. In other words, if, say, for every ve informal employees, four lost their jobs due to the GST and demo­ netisation and one became formal, this study will count it as one new job created. Instead, the truth would be that four jobs were lost and one job turned formal from informal, not new. Thus, the study con ates what could be formalisation gains with new jobs.

It is well­known that when an em­ ployee loses her job or stops work­ ing, her membership from the EPFO database is not removed automati­ cally. So, the EPFO data set may re­ ect new additions accurately but not deletions, i.e. job losses. When we talk of new jobs in the economy, we usually mean net new jobs, not gross jobs. So, it is somewhat mis­ leading to claim that the economy has “created 55 lakh new jobs” when we do not know how many lost their existing jobs.

If one had to truly separate GST­ and demonetisation­induced formal­ isation e ects, then the study should have compared the EPFO numbers of FY­2016 and FY­2015. We did exactly that. And what did we nd? In FY­2015, the total number of contri­ buting EPFO members grew 7%. In FY­2016, it grew 8%. But after demo­ netisation, in FY­2017, it grew 20% and by December 2017, it had grown a further 23%. Are we then saying that the Modi government did not

Accumulated deposits in banks Let us understand this with another example. It is generally agreed that growth in total accumulated deposits in banks is an indicator of the robust­ ness of the economy. The total num­ ber of deposits in all banks in India was 6.22 lakh crore at the end of FY­2016. By the end of FY­2017, bank deposits had grown to nearly 11 lakh crore, a 76% increase of 4.8 lakh crore. Can we then infer that Indians grew substantially richer in FY­2017 and the overall economy is very ro­ bust? Obviously not because demo­ netisation forced people to deposit their currency into banks which is why bank deposits grew in FY­2017.

Instead, if we combine the value of currency and bank deposits and compare, we nd that there is actual­ ly a 5% decline in FY­2017, not a 76% increase! So, if we cherry­picked just bank deposits as a data point and chose the time frame as FY­2017, we could have shown that Indians had become inordinately richer. That does not mean it is true. This is what the EPFO study does in making a case for 55 lakh new jobs in FY­2018.

It neither accounts for job losses nor adjusts for induced formalisation. It is patently false and misleading.

India’s jobs situation is a very grim challenge that must be acknow­ ledged, confronted and for which we must debate solutions. All evidence, con rmed by both governmental agencies and analysis by indepen­ dent organisations like the Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy and well­known labour economists, have clearly demonstrated how growth in new jobs (formal and informal) has slowed down dramatically. A serious issue such as lack of jobs for millions of youth cannot be wished away by hiding behind misleading data analy­ sis and a media spin. #3 3 1 0 0 7

Jairam Ramesh, a former Union minister, is a Member of Parliament belonging to the Congress. Praveen Chakravarty is Senior Fellow, IDFC Institute

It is rather disturbing to nd Twitterati frame the refusal of Jignesh Mevani, a newly elect­ ed Member of the Gujarat Legislative As­ sembly, to speak to a section of media in Chennai last week as a freedom of press de­ bate. Mr. Mevani had taken objection to the presence of Republic TV’s microphone at the event. Dawood Mian Khan, founder of the Quaide Milleth International Academy of Me­ dia Studies and the host of the event, and Ni­ tyanand Jayaraman, a Chennai­based activist — in a press release and an article for the news website, thewire.in, respectively — ex­ plained the sequence of events and es­ tablished clearly that it was not a press conference but an im­ promptu interaction.

In July 1988, Prime Minister Ra­ jiv Gandhi introduced a defama­ tion bill that sought to create new o ences of “criminal imputation” and “scurrilous writings”. As a young reporter, I was a part of the nationwide agitation that forced the govern­ ment to withdraw the bill. Later, I played a role against the Tamil Nadu Legislative As­ sembly’s decision to invoke an uncodi ed privilege to punish journalists. This personal note is in anticipation of questions indulging in whataboutery. As a journalist, I not only cherish the freedom of the press but I am al­ so committed to protecting it from multiple assaults. However, my notion of press free­ dom does not circumscribe all other freedoms.

GETTY IMAGES/ ISTOCK P

A recent research report titled “To­ wards a Payroll Reporting in India” authored by the Group Chief Eco­ nomic Adviser of the State Bank of India and a professor from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore has caught the media’s and the Prime Minister’s fancy. Ostensibly, the main objective of the report was to make a case for a better payroll reporting system in India, which is perfectly justi ed and needed. But, along the way, it also made an extravagant claim that 55 lakh new jobs are creat­ ed every year in India. Unsurprising­ ly, the Prime Minister ignored the case for a better payroll system but pounced on the 55 lakh new jobs number, citing it to claim in an inter­ view that his government is doing a splendid job in creating new jobs.

Unfortunately, it is a case of data ana­ lysis gone berserk. The celebrations are completely unjusti ed.

Ethical journalism I learnt about fairness in journalism from Ai­ dan White of the Ethical Journalism Net­ work. He makes an important distinction between free expression and journalism: “Journalism is not free expression, it is a con­ strained expression — you can’t just say wha­ tever you want to say.” According to him, good journalism is guided by truth, indepen­ dence, impartiality, accountability, and hu­ manity.

Journalistic freedom is inextricably and inalienably linked to good practices and it has no space for any kind of witch­hunt or targeted slander. How do we understand some of the prime­time television pro­ grammes nowadays? Do they uphold any of

the principles of journalism? Can we call gla­ diatorial sport, which is designed to draw blood rather than hold those in power ac­ countable, journalism, and accord all the privileges that are inherent to a free press to it? Can a channel that advocates the abroga­ tion of others’ freedom invoke the freedom of press argument when someone chooses not to speak to it? What happens to the rights of individuals, including of political activists, to choose who they don’t want to talk to and avoid in their private space? Is it right to in­ voke the rules of a press meet, which has to be open and non­discriminatory across me­ dia houses and platforms, to an informal dis­ cussion forum?

On tolerance and intolerance This column has been a champion for the means of journalism as much as it is about fair and accurate journalistic content. John Rawls, the celebrated moral and political philosopher, has dealt with one of the salient issues which arose from the Mevani versus Republic TV debate. In A Theory of Justice, he explained the vexatious question of tolerating intole­ rance: “First, there is the ques­ tion whether an intolerant sect has any title to complain if it is not tolerated; second, under what condi­ tions tolerant sects have a right not to toler­ ate those which are intolerant; and last, when they have the right not to tolerate them, for what ends it should be exercised.”

Professor Rawls, a champion of tolerance, agreed to a small window for the tolerant to curb the intolerant: “While an intolerant sect does not itself have title to complain of intol­ erance, its freedom should be restricted only when the tolerant sincerely and with reason believe that their own security and that of the institutions of liberty are in danger.” His argument was that the just should be guided by the principles of justice and not by the fact that the unjust cannot complain.

One has learnt to acknowledge that most principles get re ned over a period of time.

For instance, the Supreme Court, which de­ ned Article 21 in a narrow manner in the early 1950s in the A.K. Gopalan v. the State of Madras case, expanded its scope to bring in due process as an essential element in the Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India case in 1978. Freedom of press is of paramount im­ portance and should be guarded at all cost.

We cannot safeguard this hard­won right by outing journalistic principles and values. readerseditor@thehindu.co.in

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FROM

Left without consensus

FIFTY YEARS AGO JANUARY 22, 1968

Ceylon Bill to check illicit immigration

The return of the CPI(M) and Left parties to relevance is incumbent on their independent mobilisation

The Prime Minister of Ceylon, Mr. Dudley Senanayake, will present on January 26 to the House of Representatives a Bill to provide for the registration of persons, who are in Ceylon and for the issue of identity cards to the persons so registered. This measure is designed to check illicit immigration. The Prime Minister will also present to the House on the same day the regulations under the Indo­Ceylon Agreement (implementa­ tion) Act. The regulations, which will prescribe the form of ap­ plication for Ceylon citizenship and the procedure for grant­ ing such citizenship, will come up for discussion in the House on January 27.

Srinivasan Ramani

PTI

In what is being termed as a setback to the general secretary of the Commu­ nist Party of India (Marxist), Sitaram Yechury, the Central Committee, the party’s highest decision­making body, has voted 55­31 to defeat his draft reso­ lution on the tactical line that the party must adopt for the 2019 general elections against the domi­ nant Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Mr. Yechury sought to underline the fact that the BJP can only be defeated if there is political understanding among like­minded secular forces, including the Congress. His pre­ decessor, Prakash Karat, who endorsed the alternative line, agreed that the BJP is the main adversary but disagreed on the means of opposing it. The debate in the party recently has focussed on whether the present regime is fascist. But boiled down, the conundrum is whether to forge a national pre­ or post­poll alliance with the Congress, if an opportun­ ity arose for an alternative to a BJP­led government.

The CPI(M) has been relegated to a region­speci c force today. It is strongest in Kerala and Tripura where it is in pow­ er and where, at least till the upcoming elections in Tripura, the principal opposition is the Congress. Notwithstanding the rise of the BJP as a political force in these States, the ide­ ological and political policies that delineate the CPI(M) are in contrast to the Congress’ policies. It is inconceivable for the CPI(M) to have a pre­poll electoral alliance with the Con­ gress in these States, which is why the opposition to Mr. Ye­ chury’s positions was primarily concentrated there.

It is only in West Bengal where an alliance with the Con­ gress is seen as sine qua non. This is partly because of the rise and consolidation of the Trinamool Congress as the pre­ eminent party in the State, by displacing the CPI(M) by cap­ turing some of its support base, and also because the BJP has emerged as the principal opposition in the State. The CPI(M)’s leadership in Bengal sees an alliance with the Con­ gress as a way to increase its diminished electoral support.

But this omits the fact that the CPI(M) has shown no initia­ tive in taking on the Trinamool Congress. This is evidenced in the lack of political campaigns in rural Bengal where the fall in the CPI(M)’s support has been the most precipitous. In other States, the CPI(M) is largely irrelevant and both the re­ solutions agree on the tactics that will maximise returns for forces ranged against the BJP. The CPI(M) and other Left parties are at a low. Their re­ turn to relevance is incumbent on their independent mobil­ isation by appealing to those disenchanted with the BJP’s rule on the basis of their progressive vision (which includes the marginalised and the minorities in their coalition), and their support for employment­generating and socially se­ cure welfare and growth policies. Talk of an alliance is mea­ ningless without any e ort by the leadership to rev up the CPI(M)’s cadres to begin campaigns and movements in plac­ es where the Left parties are both weak or strong. This will pave the way for a broader understanding with other like­ minded forces before the 2019 elections.

ARCHIVES

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO JANUARY 22, 1918.

Russian Constituent Assembly Dissolved.

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CONCEPTUAL

SHELF HELP

Complexity bias

Books for impressionable readers

Psychology

Do we remember sad stories or cheery children’s tales?

This refers to the common tendency among people to trust complex ideas more than simple ones. For in­ stance, many people tend to think that complex mathematical equations o er a more valid answer to a problem than simpler ones based just on com­ mon sense. Complexity is thus seen as superior to simplicity. People may al­ so tend to trust experts who use complex scienti c jargon more than those who rely on simple lan­ guage. The existence of this bias was rst tested and proved by American psychologists Hilary H. Farris and Russell Revlin.

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MORE ON THE WEB

3

What Darwin actually said about man and apes

Sudipta Datta

In The Child That Books Built, Francis Spu ord, the British writer, organis­ es his reading life as a young bookworm into four parts: ‘The Forest’, ‘The Island’, ‘The Town’ and ‘The Hole’. The Forest is where he began and where there were fairy tales and myths. He then graduated to the Island, where he was drawn to es­ capist worlds like C.S. Le­ wis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, stories that sent “jolts and shimmers” through him. Should chil­ dren’s books be sending “jolts” through an impres­ sionable reader? Then again, what are the stories we remember vividly — the sad ones or the happy tales?

Often asked whether he wanted to give the two nine­year­olds in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2006) a happy ending, John Boyne has always

said: “Never.” In the Vin­ tage edition of the book, tagged in the end is an in­ terview with Boyne where he explains why: “The sto­ ries of the people who ar­ rived at the concentration camps almost always end­ ed tragically. There was no point in pretending other­ wise…” Nine­year­old Bru­ no is constantly asking questions. He wants to know why his family has to leave their beautiful home in Berlin, a place of safety, to go to “Out­With”.

Who is the “Fury”, he wonders. And who are the people on the other side of the fence? As no one will answer his questions on Auschwitz, a camp his father commandeers, he decides to explore the place alone. By the time Bruno meets Shmuel, who shares a birthday with him and little else, you see the fence disappearing, a pos­ sibility that seems to be outside the realm of the imagination of adults.

Imagine. That’s all you’re asked to do in R.J. Palacio’s rst book, Wonder (2012). Ten­year­old August Pullman won’t de­ scribe what he looks like: “Whatever you’re think­ ing, it’s probably worse.”

Born with facial deformi­ ties that make people do the “look­away thing”, Auggie has to negotiate the brutal reality that is school. J.D. Salinger’s 16­ year­old protagonist Hol­ den Caul eld in The Catcher in the Rye (1951) is a mis t, failing at a fancy prep school, weary of the “phoniness”. Yet, each time you revisit these books, you feel that the writers are helping young minds confront “the dis­ comfort around di e­ rence”, teaching them the importance of always choosing kindness, and preparing them for the real world where we often have to say “glad to’ve met you” to people we are not really glad to have met.

The Constituent Assembly has been dissolved [according to a report from Petrograd dated January 20]. M. Sverdlof read a declaration of workers’ rights, proclaiming Russia a republic of Soviets or Councils of Workmen, Soldiers and Peasants, abolishing private ownership, making work compulsory, arm­ ing workers and disarming leisured classes, organising social­ ist army, repudiating loans and concluding “power belongs ex­ clusively to workers and Soviets, their representatives”.

Sailors armed with ri es and bayonets were stationed at the gangways and two eld guns were posted at the entrance. The Constituent Assembly was dissolved by sailors at 4 in the morning.

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DATA POINT

Join us now https://t.me/towardstomorrow CM YK

http://bit.ly/ApeDarwin

A ND-NDE

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NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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FROM PAGE ONE

Nod for AAP MLAs’ disquali cation

Poll panel cites SC rulings on o ce of pro t Says there is little to dispute that the o ce of Parliamentary Secretary is an o ce under the government

‘EC delay gave AAP edge in RS polls’

Devesh K. Pandey NEW DELHI

“The ‘speed’ at which the President delivered the 120­ page order raises suspicion about many institutions.

Wish the same speed while President & LG sit on legisla­ tions passed by Delhi As­ sembly,” tweeted Mr. Bharadwaj.

The controversy started in 2015, when the AAP came to power with a whopping majority of 67 out of 70 seats and appointed 21 law­

makers as parliamentary se­ cretaries. One out of these 21, Jarnail Singh, left his po­ sition to ght elections from Punjab.

Though attempts were made to exclude the post of the parliamentary secretar­ ies from the ambit of ‘o ce of pro t’ by the Arvind Kej­ riwal government, former President Pranab Mukher­ jee refused to approve the proposal.

India can strike across the borders: Rajnath “Prime Minister Narendra Modi consulted all of us on this serious issue, and the Indian Army entered the Pa­ kistani area and killed the militants,” the Home Minis­ ter said.

Meanwhile, concern is rising across the security es­ tablishment over the wor­ sening situation along the Indo­Pakistan border, where casualties from cross­ border ring have now climbed beyond all recent trends. “There seems to be no strategy at all. The situa­ tion is getting out of hand, cease re is as good as over,” a former Intelligence agency chief said, as yet another soldier and a civilian were killed along the border.

The Army said Signalman Chandan Kumar Rai was grievously injured in Mend­ har sector along the Line of Control on Saturday, and he succumbed to injuries on Sunday. It said the Pakistani Army initiated “unprovoked and indiscriminate ring of mortars, small arms and au­ tomatics” on Saturday.

On Sunday, Pakistani troops resorted to heavy shelling along the Interna­ tional Border in Jammu.

Two brothers were injured

when shells hit their house in Kanachak­Pragwal sector.

One of them, Gopal, later died,” a senior police o cial said The Pakistan Foreign Of­ ce meanwhile summoned Indian deputy high commis­ sioner J.P. Singh to Islama­ bad and condemned the “unprovoked cease re vio­ lations” by Indian troops.

It said 18 Indian posts re­ sorted to “unprovoked r­ ing with mortars and heavy weapons”, resulting in the death of two civilians on its side, and injury to a few oth­ ers. “The repeated cease re violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation,” Pakistan warned.

Worsening situation The situation along the bor­ der continued to be volatile for the fourth day on Sun­ day, with 11 people dead and at least 15 people, including two security personnel, in­ jured in Pakistani ring in January. In 2017, the region saw 12 deaths.

Over 20,000 people liv­ ing in border villages have been shifted to safer localities.

CPI(M) not for a tie­up with Congress To a question whether the Congress will be among the secular democratic forces that his party is seeking to unite, Mr. Yechury said: “Our e ort will be to mobil­ ise all the secular democrat­ ic forces and how that will be done will be decided at the time of elections. Appro­ priate electoral strategies will be undertaken which will ensure the maximum polling of votes against the BJP.” As for the coming As­ sembly elections in Tripura, Mr. Yechury said the BJP is “emerging as the anti­Left” force and was aligning with “extremist organisations.”

“They (BJP) are trying to unite extremist organisa­ tions and have already en­ tered into an alliance with the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura,” said Mr. Yechury. He also ruled out the possibility of an electo­ ral understanding with the Congress in Tripura.

O ered to quit?

According to sources, at the Polit Bureau (PB) meeting on Saturday night, again ef­ forts were made to arrive at a consensus on the draft political resolution. When the di erences could not be sorted out, Mr. Yechury of­ fered to resign. It is learnt that the PB asked him to continue for the sake of the party’s unity.

In total, there were four rounds of voting. Amend­ ments to the majority draft political resolution were moved.

One of the amendments,

by Mr. Yechury demanding that a phrase, “party should not enter any understand­ ing with the Congress”, be dropped, got only 35 votes in favour.

Two drafts For months, the party has been deliberating on two drafts, one backed by Mr. Yechury and the other by

the Kerala faction led by the former general secretary Prakash Karat.

Common aim Both drafts agree that the primary objective is to de­ feat the BJP. They, however, di er on how to achieve this end.

Mr. Yechury’s draft says the party should defeat the BJP “without entering into an electoral alliance or front with the ruling class par­ ties.” It does not name the “Congress.”

The majority draft, mean­ while, categorically says that the party should not en­ ter into any “understanding or alliance with the Con­ gress party.”

“As per the adopted reso­ lution, there is no alliance or electoral front with the Congress. This is the politi­ cal line. Left Front as Left Front will accept the chal­ lenge to thwart BJP. Howev­ er, the draft political resolu­ tion will now go to the Party Congress, which will take the nal decision over the matter. Let us go to the Par­ ty Congress,” Mr. Yechury said.

This draft will now be pu­ blished in all languages and every member of the party and even the public can push for amendments. The nal call will be taken at the Party Congress.

“This was not a vote to decide on who won or who lost. We have no alliance with the Congress. At the time of the elections we will concretise our tactics,” Mr. Yechury said.

This is the second defeat for Mr. Yechury. Earlier, the Central Committee had re­ jected his nomination for a third term in the Rajya Sab­ ha. “Once a position is taken at the committee, it be­ comes a collective decision.

It can’t be branded as defeat of any one individual,” a PB member from Kerala said.

(With Sobhana K. Nair)

Even as the Aam Aadmi Par­ ty (AAP) has criticised the Election Commission for not giving its MLAs a proper hearing, the panel has cited several rulings of the Su­ preme Court in its recom­ mendation to the President that the 20 legislators be dis­ quali ed for holding o ce of pro t.

The recommendation said the Supreme Court in Maulana Abdul Shakur vs Rikhab Chand (1958) had de­ ned the concept of o ce of pro t under the govern­ ment. The court said the go­ vernment’s power to ap­ point a person to an o ce, or to keep him in that o ce, or revoke his appointment at its discretion, and payment from government revenues were important factors in determining if one held an o ce of pro t. Payment from a source other than go­ vernment revenue was not the decisive factor.

Various parameters In Pradyut Bordoloi vs Swapan Roy (2001), the Su­ preme Court outlined the following questions for the test: whether the govern­ ment makes the appoint­ ment; whether the govern­ ment has the right to remove or dismiss the holder; whether the government pays the remuneration; what are the functions of the hol­ der; does he perform them for the government; and does the government exer­

Special Correspondent New Delhi

AAP legislators who were disquali ed by the Election Commission addressing the media at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on Saturday. PTI *

cise any control over the per­ formance of those func­ tions?

Three other rulings were cited to highlight the grounds on which a distinc­ tion between the holder of an o ce of pro t and of a post/service under the go­ vernment could be made.

In Guru Gobinda Basu vs Sankari Prasad Ghosal (1964), the court said: “But all these factors need not coexist. Mere absence of one of the factors may not negate the overall test. The decisive test for determining whether a person holds any o ce of pro t under the govern­ ment, the Constitution Bench holds, is the test of ap­ pointment; stress on other tests will depend on the facts of each case.”

The court said the nal query was, whether, on ac­

count of holding of such of­ ce, would the government be in a position to in uence him so as to interfere with his independence in func­ tioning as an MLA and/or would his holding of the two o ces involve a con ict of interest.

Citing the judgments, the EC said the AAP MLAs were appointed Parliamentary Se­ cretaries by the Delhi go­ vernment, which exercised control over them. The go­ vernment had the power to remove them, their work was allocated by Ministers concerned as delegated authority and expenses of their o ce were paid from government revenues. The Commission concluded that there could be “no dispute that the o ce of Parliamen­ tary Secretary was an o ce under the government.”

AAP to go to court Staff Reporter New Delhi

The Aam Aadmi Party said it would go to court against Sunday’s noti cation.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal said no matter what, the party would continue to serve the people of the city.

AAP’s Delhi convener Gopal Rai said it was unfor­ tunate that the President did not allow the MLAs to present their case.

The 20 disquali ed MLAs also expressed their shock. Adarsh Shastri, MLA from Dwarka, called the de­ cision “unconstitutional” and “biased”.

Announcing that the Delhi unit of the Congress will be protesting outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejri­ wal’s o ce on Monday, Del­ hi Congress chief Ajay Ma­ ken said had the Election Commission acted on their petition earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party would not have sent three members to the Rajya Sabha.

“The Election Commis­ sion (EC) recommended to the President the disquali ­ cation of MLAs on January 19 while on December 22, the EC declared the results of the three Delhi Rajya Sab­ ha seats. We believe that if the EC had taken this deci­ sion before December 22, then AAP MLAs would not have been able to vote and the party would have disin­ tegrated,” Mr. Maken said.

“The EC should take deci­ sions quickly on such mat­ ters. It shouldn’t keep deci­ sions pending and announce them on some date to help the AAP,” he said. Mr. Maken said Mr. Kej­ riwal had lost the moral right to continue in o ce.

The Congress leader con­ tested the claim that the dis­ quali ed lawmakers were not enjoying any perk or monetary bene t. “I have

Judiciary will sort out rift, says Modi Wants everyone else to keep away from the row so that judges can nd a solution to their problems Press Trust of India New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that the government and political parties must stay out of the unprecedented judicial cri­ sis, gave enough indications that the upcoming Budget may not be populist, and as­ serted that his poll slogan of “Congress­free India” was not aimed at eliminating the party politically.

In a wide­ranging 75­mi­ nute interview to the Times Now television channel, Mr. Modi said he was open to more changes in the GST to

plug loopholes and make it a more e cient tax.

Asked about the crisis in the Supreme Court after the four senior­most judges came out to criticise alloca­ tion of sensitive cases by the Chief Justice, Mr. Modi said, “I think I should stay away from this debate. The go­ vernment must also stay away. The political parties must also keep out of it.”

In his rst public remarks on the crisis, he expressed con dence that the judiciary would sit together to nd a solution to its problems. Mr. Modi said his slogan of ‘Con­

control over power, among other ills. Maintaining that the Congress had been the “main pillar” of politics in the country that spread its culture to all political par­ ties, he said his call for “Con­ gress mukt” or “Congress­ free India” was “symbolic” and he wanted even the Con­ gress to be free of the “Con­ gress culture.”

#3 3 1 0 0 7

Narendra Modi

gress­free India’ was about ridding the country of the “Congress culture”, which he termed casteist, dynastic, corrupt and involving total

Budget plans He also attacked the party for its objection to the triple talaq Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

Asked if his government will turn populist in the Budget,

Syndicates target cash hoarders Well­oiled ring o ering to change old notes for a hefty commission, say o cials Vijaita Singh New Delhi

The government's decision to scrap 500 and 1,000 notes in 2016 has led to the creation of a space for police acting as complainants in multiple cases of ‘cheating.’

The cash haul in Uttar Pra­ desh last week, where 16 pe­ ople were arrested for alleg­ edly storing scrapped 500 and 1,000 notes worth 96 crore is a case in point.

The tip­o was provided by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the ac­ cused were booked for cheating with the police as the complainant.

As per the Speci ed Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabili­ ties) Act, 2017, a person can only be ned for storing old currency notes and it’s a non­cognisable o ence.

On November 8, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a televised address to the nation had announced that the 500 and 1000 notes were no longer valid.

He described the move as a measure to address black money hoarding and to curb terrorist activities.

O cials say they have identi ed a well­oiled ring that was o ering to change the old currency notes for new ones for a hefty com­ mission.

With no one to complain in such cases, the police are registering the case on their own.

Anurag Arya, Superinten­ dent of Police, Kanpur (East)

The U.P. police arrested 16 people last week, for allegedly storing 500 and 1,000 notes worth 96 crore. PTI *

where the arrests were made said one of the accused, Anand Khatri, a sari shop owner had stored the notes at his house and had been collecting them for the past six months. The money be­ longed to Khatri, Santosh Ya­ dav and Mohit.

Asked who they were cheating as the money be­ longed to them, Mr. Arya said, “It is cheating because they were making people be­ lieve that they would get the notes exchanged when there was no way of doing it. They were basically fooling people that they could do it after charging a commission of 30­40% of the value of the old notes. The RBI doesn’t provide any such window.”

Provision for penalty As per Section 7 of the Spec­ i ed Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017, “whoever contravenes the provisions of section 5 shall be punishable with ne which may extend to ten

thousand rupees or ve times the amount of the face value of the bank notes in­ volved in the contravention.”

Security agencies have picked up phone conversa­ tions of money launderers who were using terminolo­ gies like “receipt and revert, second channel, VP Slot and U­Turn” as various methods to launder money through the banking system.

“These code words are a mystery to us as well. The ex­ change of old currency notes through fraudulent means stopped in March 2017. The recent recoveries have all been cases of cheating,” said the o cial.

The Income Tax Depart­ ment and State police o ­ cials said they had identi ed several such agents in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharash­ tra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka who were contacting people who had hoarded cash.

Another o cial said these agents claimed to have a con­

tact in the RBI who would as­ sist them in getting new notes.

“There are several syndi­ cates of cheats who are tak­ ing advantage of all those who had stored old currency notes. For a commission, they o er to change the old notes for new ones through some source they claim to have in RBI,” said an o cial.

He said that several cash hoarders had retained their stock in the hope that the go­ vernment would allow a short window some day to exchange the old notes.

Another o cial said at­ tempts were also being made through Temple Trusts for this purpose.

Terror link On November 7 last year, the NIA arrested 10 people and recovered over 36 crore in old notes.

It claimed the seizures were made in connection with an ongoing probe in the J&K terror funding case where several second­rung separatists were arrested. A senior NIA o cial said they are yet to link the demone­ tised currency to the J&K ter­ ror funding case.

Explaining the money laundering method, an o ­ cial said, “VP Slot probably means that two VPs of two banks will sit on their sys­ tems at the same half hour slot and then large sums of 100 cr etc will be transferred without being recorded on the database.”

Mr. Modi said the issue falls within the ambit of the Fi­ nance Minister and he did not want to interfere in it.

The common man, he said, expects honest governance.

“He doesn’t demand sops and freebies. It is our myth.”

Mr. Modi defended his eco­ nomic policies, saying demo­ netisation was “a very big success story.”

He said the suggestion that the country’s foreign policy was based on Pakistan was wrong but stressed that the world was uniting against those sympathetic to­ wards terrorists.

Ajay Maken

released a letter of the Chief Secretary of the Delhi go­ vernment to the EC where he has admitted that 13.25 lakh was allotted for their of­ ce furniture and 11.75 lakh had been spent. Even their electricity and water bills were paid by the Delhi go­ vernment,” he said.

BJP welcomes move Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said that with his speedy decision, the Presi­ dent had made a major con­ tribution towards protect­ ing democratic values.

“People of Delhi feel the AAP MLAs must now return to the treasury all nancial bene ts they have taken,” he said.

BJP MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa said he would move court to get Mr. Kejriwal dis­ quali ed for appointing the MLAs to the o ce of pro t.

(With Jaideep Deo Bhanj)

CPI(M) veteran passes away A Correspondent Agartala

Khagen Das, CPI(M) vete­ ran and chairman of the Left Front Committee of Tripura, died in Kolkata on Sunday.

Mr. Das, 81, died within minutes of his admission to a hospital for chest pain.

He was in Kolkata to at­ tend the party’s central committee meeting. Mr. Das served as a Minister and member of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.

His body will be donated to the Agartala Govern­ ment Medical College.

Former CAG o cial ridicules Raja’s claims Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

A key CAG o cial behind the 2G scam audit has ridi­ culed the claims of former Telecom Minister A. Raja about a grand conspiracy to tarnish the UPA government and that former Comptroll­ er and Auditor­General Vi­ nod Rai was a “contract killer”.

“Riding on a questiona­ ble court order, Mr. Raja is claiming that there was no such thing as 2G scam. The fact is that the public exche­ quer su ered thousands of crores of loss, and there is enough and more evidence to show that there was a grand conspiracy in the allo­ cation of 2G spectrum,” R.B. Sinha, former Director­Gen­ eral of CAG, who was the key o cial behind the 2010 audit of the 2G spectrum al­ location, told The Hindu.

The CAG audit had docu­ mented how the spectrum allocation was carried out without transparency and

was undertaken in an “arbi­ trary, unfair and inequitable manner,” outing “every ca­ non of nancial propriety, rules and procedures.” The report has pointed out that the presumptive loss to the exchequer could be anywh­ ere in the range of 67,000 crore to 1.76 lakh crore.

‘No clean chit’ “No one has made any cred­ ible arguments against our ndings. The trial court has pointed out some draw­ backs in the investigations by the CBI and the ED. Ho­ wever, it is no clean chit to Mr. Raja or the 2G allocation process,” Mr. Sinha said.

During the release of his book on 2G spectrum allo­ cation on Saturday, Mr. Raja alleged that Mr. Vinod Rai was a “contract killer” hired to kill the United Progres­ sive Alliance government of Manmohan Singh. Mr. Raja also demanded that Mr. Rai must be prosecuted for cheating the nation.

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THE HINDU

NEWS 11

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MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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IN BRIEF

Air India planes to transport security forces NEW DELHI

Air India aircraft will be hired by the Home Ministry to facilitate travel of personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces, Intelligence Bureau and the National Disaster Response Force serving in remote areas of the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir, from home and places of postings, an official said. PTI

Left Front sees red over Lal Sarkar NEW DELHI

The ruling CPI(M) in Tripura is seeing red over a Hindi feature film, Lal Sarkar, which the party believes is part of the BJP’s electoral campaign ahead of the Assembly polls.

Scheduled for release in the first week of February, Lal Sarkar, or the red government, tells the story of a documentary film-maker who discovers the alleged wrongdoings of the Left government. Producer Susheel Sharman said it had nothing to do with the BJP. PTI

Modi is a social scientist, says Kovind AHMEDABAD

President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday drew a parallel between A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Narendra Modi, saying while the former President was a “space scientist”, the Prime Minister is a “social scientist”. Mr. Kovind was addressing the 66th convocation of the Gujarat University here. “While Modiji was an alumnus, Kalam sir too had stayed here,” he said. PTI

Gujarat verdict moral victory for Cong.: Patel NEW DELHI

The Gujarat poll outcome has instilled the belief in Congress workers that the BJP could be defeated, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said on Sunday, confident that the party would be victorious in the 2019 general elections under party president Rahul Gandhi. He also said the verdict in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home State was a “moral victory” for the Congress. PTI

Scientists ‘deeply pained’

by Minister’s claim

Academies turn up the heat

Satyapal had said Darwin was wrong on evolution

R. Prasad

Vikas Pathak NEW DELHI

Scientists have come out against the comment of Un­ ion Minister of State for Hu­ man Resource Development Satyapal Singh that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is a myth and should be ta­ ken o school textbooks.

Talking to The Hindu over phone, Sandhya S. Viswes­ wariah, Chairperson of the Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics at the Indian Institute of Science, Benga­ luru, said: “Evolution is such a fundamental aspect of all biological processes. The time scales that it occurs in are not comprehensible to the human mind.”

Minister: I’m a Ph.D. This happened on a day Mr. Singh stood by his com­ ment, telling a television channel: “Darwin’s theory is

Satyapal Singh

being challenged the world over. Darwinism is a myth. If I’m making a statement I can’t make it without a basis ... I am a man of science, I’m not coming from an Arts background ... I have com­ pleted my Ph.D. in Chemis­ try from Delhi University.”

A letter to Mr. Singh with at least 1,800 signatories, shared on social media, questioned his claim.

“We, the scientists, science communicators and scienti cally oriented mem­ bers of public, are deeply

Say there is no scienti c basis for the Minister’s statements Two days after Union Minis­ ter of State for Human Re­ source Development Satya­ pal Singh said that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolu­ tion of man was “scienti ­ cally wrong” and needs to be changed in school and college curriculum, three science academies in India have issued a statement de­ nouncing his claim.

The three academies are the Indian National Science Academy, the National Aca­ demy of Sciences, and the Indian Academy of Science.

On Saturday, scientists and students from institu­ tions across the country drafted a response and were planning to send the letter to the Minister, asking him to retract the statement.

The letter had over 1,000 signatories as of Sunday evening.

On January 19, Mr. Singh had said: “Darwin’s theory

pained by your claim. It is factually incorrect to state that the evolutionary princi­ ple has been rejected by the scienti c community. On the contrary, every new discov­ ery adds support to Darwin’s insights,” the letter said.

While BJP spokespersons The Hindu contacted re­ fused to comment, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said: “The problem with the ruling party’s arro­ gance is that each member is a self­proclaimed, self­ap­ pointed sociologist in one case, historian in another, scientist in a third and pse­ phologist in a fourth.”

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson and managing director of Biocon, tweeted, “‘Darwin Wrong, Nobody Saw Ape Turn Into Human’: Junior Education Minister — this is not just an embarrass­ ment but an insult to the high o ce of education.”

O.P. Rawat to head poll panel Takes over from A.K. Joti, will oversee polls in northeast, Karnataka, M.P. this year SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI

The Union Law Ministry on Sunday appointed the se­ nior­most Election Commis­ sioner, Om Prakash Rawat, as the next Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) as the incumbent, A.K. Joti, will re­ tire on Monday.

Former Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa was appointed Election Commissioner to ll the vacancy created by Mr. Rawat’s elevation.

Crucial polls to follow Mr. Rawat, who will take charge on Tuesday, will have a tenure of almost a year till his retirement in December.

He will oversee elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Na­ galand scheduled next month.

Crucial States such as Kar­ nataka, Madhya Pradesh, Ra­

Om Prakash Rawat

jasthan and Chhattisgarh will also go to the polls under his watch.

Sunil Arora next in line Sunil Arora, the second se­ nior­most Election Commis­ sioner, will continue until April 2021.

As per convention, Mr. Ar­ ora will be the CEC during the 2019 Lok Sabha elec­

Ashok Lavasa

tions. Mr. Lavasa, due to de­ mit o ce in October 2022, will be the Chief Election Commissioner after Mr. Aro­ ra.

Election Commissioners have a xed term of six years but have to step down if they reach 65 years of age before their term expires.

A Madhya Pradesh­cadre IAS o cer, Mr. Rawat has

served as Secretary, Depart­ ment of Public Enterprises in the Ministry of Heavy In­ dustries. Mr. Rawat had also served as Principal Secretary to Babu Lal Gaur, the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, between 2004 and 2006.

Mr. Rawat has a postgrad­ uate degree in Social Deve­ lopment Planning from the United Kingdom, completed in 1989, and has been a reci­ pient of the Madhya Pradesh Award for recognition of for­ est rights in 2009.

Mr. Lavasa, before retiring as the Finance Secretary, served in the Ministries of Environment and Forests, Civil Aviation, Power, Home and Finance at the Centre and in the departments of Industries, Tourism and Pu­ blic Relations in his home cadre of Haryana.

#3 3 1 0 0 7

Cong. silent on ‘ 414­cr ne’ on Young Indian I­T Dept. says assessment orders of individuals or unincorporated assessees cannot be disclosed Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

Neither the Income Tax De­ partment nor the Congress on Sunday formally reacted to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy’s submissions before a lower court on Saturday that the department had le­ vied a ne of 414 crore on Young Indian Private Ltd. The department sources said assessment orders of in­ dividuals or unincorporated assessees were exempt un­

der Section 8(1)( j) of the Right to Information Act and could not be disclosed. “As­ sessment is not a public pro­ ceeding,” an o cial said.

“If an assessment has been made by the assessing o cer concerned, the nd­ ings can be challenged be­ fore the appropriate Com­ missioner of Income Tax (Appeals). Assessees have another option of taking the writ petition route on the grounds of breach of funda­

Subramanian Swamy

mental rights,” the o cial said. The Congress too main­ tained a tactical silence on the issue. According to a par­

ty source, “the matter has been taken note of and will be dealt with appropriately.”

On Saturday, Dr. Swamy told the court that the ne was imposed in connection with his complaint pertain­ ing to the National Herald case, involving Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Young Indian and others.

He submitted the said In­ come Tax papers in the court, which directed that

that has made many predic­ tions that have been repeat­ edly con rmed by experi­ ments and observation. An important insight from evo­ lutionary theory is that all life forms on this planet, in­ cluding humans and the other apes have evolved from one or a few common ancestral progenitors. It would be a retrograde step to remove the teaching of the theory of evolution from school and college curricula or to dilute this by o ering non­scienti c ex­ planations or myths.”

The statement adds, “The theory of evolution by natural selection as pro­ pounded by Charles Dar­ win and developed and ex­ tended subsequently has had a major in uence on modern biology and medi­ cine, and indeed all of mod­ ern science. It is widely sup­ ported across the world.

See for example http:// www.nas.edu/evolution/ TheoryOrFact.html.”

CHENNAI

they be kept in a sealed cov­ er till further orders.

Counsel for the accused opposed Dr. Swamy’s sub­ missions stating that he was not authorised, and it was unlawful for him, to possess the income tax documents.

“Let him le an a davit about how he got these doc­ uments. This can’t be taken on record,” counsel appear­ ing for the Gandhis said.

The court posted the mat­ ter for hearing on March 27.

[of evolution of humans] is scienti cally wrong. It needs to change in school and college curriculum.

Since the man is seen on Earth, he has always been a man. Nobody, including our ancestors, in written or oral, have said they saw an ape turning into a man. No books we have read or the tales told to us by our grandparents had such a mention.”

The statement from the three academies says: “The Honourable Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Shri Satyapal Singh, has been quoted as

saying that ‘Nobody, includ­ ing our ancestors, in writ­ ing or orally, have said they saw an ape turning into a man. Darwin’s theory (of evolution of humans) is scienti cally wrong. It needs to change in school and college curricula.’ The three Academies of Science wish to state that there is no scienti c basis for the Mi­ nister’s statements. Evolu­ tionary theory, to which Darwin made seminal con­ tributions, is well esta­ blished. There is no scientif­ ic dispute about the basic facts of evolution. This is a scienti c theory, and one

Visa work una ected by shutdown: U.S. Embassy Centres that host events and run libraries will remain shut Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

Visa services will be opera­ tional at the U.S. Embassy here and the consulates, though the American centres functioning in a few cities will be closed because of the U.S. government shutdown.

“If you have a scheduled visa interview or American Citizen Services appoint­ ment, please arrive at the embassy at your designated time,” said the U.S. Embassy spokesperson on Sunday evening, con rming that ser­ vices will “continue to func­ tion during the lapse in Con­ gressional appropriations”.

The Trump administra­ tion, which marked one year in o ce, was paralysed from Friday midnight after the U.S. Senate failed to clear a funding Bill to nance the government, after a bitter stando between Republi­ cans and Democrats over immigration and spending could not be resolved in time.

Shortly after the shut­ down was declared, the

Minor setback: The consulates will issue visas, but their cultural arm will be closed. FILE PHOTO *

American centre in Delhi and those in Chennai, Kolka­ ta, Hyderabad and Mumbai, which host cultural events and operate libraries, put out statements announcing that they would “remain closed until further notice”.

Flights not a ected O cials set a rest specula­ tion that consular and visas services were also a ected.

Flights to and from the U.S.

will also not be a ected, but travellers may face longer vi­ sa processing time if the shutdown were to be pro­ longed.

During the shutdown, es­ sential U.S. federal services and military operations will continue, but thousands of workers will be suspended from government jobs, until the government is able to reach a deal with the Oppo­ sition.

Chidambaram bats for GST on fuel Says Centre is squeezing consumers SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI

Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Sunday accused the Modi govern­ ment “of being anti­con­ sumer and squeezing the consumer with high fuel prices”, and asked for petro­ leum products to be brought under the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

In a series of tweets, the Congress leader questioned the Centre over the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s acquisition of the govern­ ment’s stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd., and asserted that it would have an impact on the scal de cit.

“Petrol and diesel prices have hit the roof. Govt. con­ tinues to squeeze the con­ sumers. Absolutely anti­ consumer,” he said in one of his tweets.

Mr. Chidambaram ac­

P. Chidambaram

cused the government of squandering windfall gains collected through “massive taxation” on petrol and die­ sel on “wasteful expendi­ ture”. “Why does not the BJP bring petrol and diesel under GST and give relief to consumers,” he asked.

On the ONGC move, Mr. Chidambaram said, “Govt cuts borrowing by 30,000 crore, but ONGC will bor­ row 30,000 crore to pay govt for HPCL shares. It has the same e ect.”

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12 WORLD

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THE HINDU

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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18 killed after gunmen Trump slams opponents over shutdown ahead of vote attack Kabul luxury hotel Urges GOP to change Senate rules to pass spending Bill with simple majority

10 injured in 13-hour battle; Taliban claim responsibility

Jordan King worried over Jerusalem decision

Agence France-Presse

KABUL

AMMAN

Washington

A Taliban assault on the In­ tercontinental Hotel in Af­ ghanistan’s capital killed at least 18 people, including 14 foreigners, and pinned se­ curity forces down for more than 13 hours before the last attacker was slain on Sun­ day. The casualty toll is ex­ pected to rise.

The heavily guarded luxu­ ry hotel is popular among fo­ reigners and Afghan o ­ cials.

Interior Ministry spokes­ man Najib Danish said the 18 killed included 14 foreigners and a telecommunications o cial from western Farah province who was attending a conference.

Mr. Danish said 11 of the 14 foreigners killed were em­ ployees of KamAir, a private Afghan airline.

KamAir also put out a statement saying some of their ights were disrupted because of the attack.

Jordan's King Abdullah II on Sunday voiced concern over Washington's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited Amman. Mr. Abdullah said he had "continuously voiced over the past year... my concerns regarding the U.S. decision on Jerusalem that does not come as a result of a comprehensive settlement to the Palestinian Israeli conflict". AFP

Pak. SC gives police 72 hours to find girl’s killer LAHORE

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Sunday gave a 72­hour deadline to the Punjab police chief to arrest the culprit behind the brutal rape and murder of a seven­ year­old girl. Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar admonished the police for their failure to arrest the killer. PTI

Sikh man asked to remove turban in Canada OTTAWA

A Sikh man was asked to remove his turban by a woman in a Canadian club.

She threatened to “rip” off the head gear and heckled him with racist remarks, according to a news report.

The incident took place on Wednesday at the Royal Canadian Legion club. PTI

Germany’s SPD votes to begin coalition talks BONN

Germany's centre­left Social Democrats Party on Sunday voted to begin formal coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, bringing Europe's top economy a step closer to a new government after months of deadlock.

This will come as a relief to Ms. Merkel, staving off the threat of snap polls. AFP

Associated Press

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday launched a fresh attack on his oppo­ nents ahead of a new e ort in the bitterly divided U.S. Congress to end a govern­ ment shutdown.

“Great to see how hard Republicans are ghting for our Military and Safety at the Border. The Dems just want illegal immigrants to pour in­ to our nation unchecked,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter.

He also encouraged the Senate’s Republican leaders to invoke a procedural ma­ neuver known as the “nu­ clear option” to change the chamber’s rules to allow pas­ sage of a budget by a simple majority of 51 votes to end the shutdown.

Senate leaders have been wary of such a move in the past, as it could come back to haunt them the next time the other party holds a majority.

“If stalemate continues, Republicans should go to 51% (Nuclear Option) and vote on real, long term bud­ get, no C.R.’s!” he tweeted.

Late on Saturday, top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell set a key vote for a funding measure for 1 a.m. on Mon­ day, with both houses of Congress set to reconvene on Sunday.

At the heart of the dispute is the thorny issue of undoc­ umented immigration.

Democrats have accused Republicans of poisoning chances of a deal and pan­ dering to Mr. Trump’s popu­ list base by refusing to fund the programme that protects an estimated 700,000 “Dreamers” — undocument­ ed immigrants who arrived as children — from deportation.

Powerful voices: Large crowds participated in the Second Annual Women’s March on Saturday in Chicago, Illinois. The march was held to ght for women’s rights and social justice AFP *

Women rally across U.S. against Trump policies PATRICIA MAZZEI New York/Los Angeles

A year after women took to the streets en masse to prot­ est President Donald Trump’s inauguration, thou­ sands of marchers gathered on Saturday in cities across the U.S., galvanised by their disdain for Mr. Trump and his administration’s policies.

In Los Angeles, so many women showed up that it was hard to get a cellphone signal within the crowd.

In Chicago, thousands as­ sembled downtown, sur­ rounded by gleaming skyscrapers.

And in New York, women lled Central Park West from 61st Street to as far north as the eye could see.

“Over the last year, every

Turkish troops enter Syria to ght Kurdish militia

day when I read the news or watch the news, I’m horri­ ed at the things that Trump and his administration are doing,” said Claudia Grubbs, a 42­year­old high school teacher, in Los Angeles.

Women in politics Ms. Grubbs said the expe­ rience of marching a year ago spurred her to donate to organisations that support women in politics.

Amanda Kowalski, also in Los Angeles, said she was fed up with the power imba­ lance between the sexes.

“I’m done with men feel­ ing like they have some sort of power over women,” said Ms. Kowalski, 28, who works in nancial services.

The President seemed to

celebrate the women’s de­ monstrations, even though the protests had a distinct anti­Trump message.

“Beautiful weather all ov­ er our great country, a per­ fect day for all Women to March,” the President tweet­ ed.

“Get out there to cele­ brate the historic milestones and unprecedented eco­ nomic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months. Low­ est female unemployment in 18 years!”

According to Bureau of Labour Statistics data, the unemployment among wo­ men aged 20 and older has been falling since 2012, years before Mr. Trump took o ce. NY TIMES

#3 3 1 0 0 7

Holding on: A man tries to escape from a balcony of the Kabul Intercontinental Hotel on Sunday. REUTERS *

Ten other people, includ­ ing six from the security forces, were reported wounded and more than 150 people, including 41 foreign­ ers, were rescued from the hotel, Mr. Danish said.

The Taliban claimed the attack, which began around 9 p.m. oon Saturday, saying ve gunmen armed with sui­ cide vests targeted foreign­ ers and Afghan o cials.

Special Correspondent writes from New Delhi: India “strongly con­ demned” the attack, saying

it highlighted once again the need to target sanctuaries of internationally proscribed terror groups like the Pakis­ tan based “Haqqani net­ work” a liated to the Taliban.

“The reports about the at­ tack… bring to fore once again the need to e ectively deal with safe havens and sanctuaries that these terro­ rists nd in our shared neighbourhood,” the Exter­ nal A airs Ministry spokes­ person said in a statement on Sunday night.

Iraq sentences German woman to death for IS ties Court says she provided logistical support to terror group Agence France-Presse Baghdad

An Iraqi court said on Sun­ day that it had condemned to death by hanging a Ger­ man woman of Moroccan origin after nding her guilty of belonging to the Islamic State (IS).

She was sentenced for providing “logistical support and helping the terrorist group to carry out crimes,” said court spokesperson Ab­ del Settar Bayraqdar.

“The accused admitted during interrogations that she left Germany for Syria and then Iraq to join IS with her two daughters, who married members of the ter­ rorist organisation,” Mr. Bay­ raqdar said.

In September 2017, the same court sentenced to death by hanging a Russian man who was captured in Iraq’s second largest city Mosul and found guilty of ghting for IS.

Iraqi forces expelled the jihadists from Mosul in July 2017, ending three years of IS rule in the city.

The same month, a Ger­ man teenage girl suspected of joining IS was arrested in Mosul, according to Germa­ ny’s Justice Department.

German magazine Der Spiegel reported that the girl had been held in Baghdad with three other German women, including one of Moroccan origin.

Syria regains control over vital air base Agence France-Presse

Planes, artillery pound 153 targets, including weapons stores Agence France-Presse Hassa

Turkish ground troops en­ tered Syria on Sunday to push an o ensive against Kurdish militia as rocket re hit a border town in appa­ rent retaliation.

Turkey on Saturday launched operation “Olive Branch” seeking to oust from the Afrin region of northern Syria the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers a terror group.

But the campaign risks further increasing tensions with Turkey’s NATO ally the U.S. — which has supported the YPG in the ght against Islamic State jihadists — and also needs at least the tacit support of Russia to succeed.

Prime Minister Binali Yil­ dirim said troops crossed in­ to the YPG­controlled region in Syria at 08.05 a.m. GMT, the Dogan news agency reported.

Turkish artillery and war planes pounded YPG sites around Afrin and a total of 153 targets, including YPG

Turkish Army o cers block the outskirts of the village of Sugedigi, Turkey, on the border with Syria on Sunday. AP *

refuges and weapons stores have now been hit, accord­ ing to the Army.

In a sign of risk to Turkey, four rockets red by the YPG hit the border town of Kilis early on Sunday, damaging one building and lightly wounding a woman.

“No one lost their life,” Ki­ lis Governor Mehmet Teki­ narslan said, quoted by Do­ gan. “They can re one rocket at us and we will re 100 back. There is no need to worry.”

Other countries react Turkey risks entering a di­ plomatic mine eld with its action in Syria and the Fo­

reign Ministry lost no time in inviting the Ambassadors of all major powers to be briefed on the o ensive.

The Ministry said it had even informed Damascus through its Istanbul consu­ late. But the Syrian regime, which is at odds with Tur­ key, strongly denied this, de­ nouncing the operation as a “brutal Turkish aggression”.

The Russian Foreign Mi­ nistry voiced concern and urged Turkey to show res­ traint. And the Defence Mi­ nistry said its troops were withdrawing from the Afrin area to ensure their security and prevent any “provocation”.

Damascus

Syria's Army on Sunday an­ nounced it had captured the vital Abu Duhur mili­ tary airport in the coun­ try's northwest, more than two years after losing it to rebels and jihadists.

"After a string of special operations, units from our armed forces in coordina­ tion with allied ghters succeeded in their military operation and took control of the Abu Duhur military airport in Idlib province," the Army said in a state­ ment. "Engineering units are now dismantling and clearing mines, explosives, and bombs planted by ter­ rorists in the area," he said.

An alliance of jihadists and rebels overran the vast majority of Idlib province in 2015, seizing Abu Duhur in September of that year.

Syrian troops had been advancing on the north­ west province of Idlib, and Abu Duhur in particular, as part of a erce o ensive launched in late December with Russian backing. Mos­ cow on Sunday con rmed that allied troops were now in control of Abu Duhur.

S. Korea welcomes North megastar Agence France-Presse Seoul

South Korea went into swoon mode on Sunday — at the feet of a party apparatch­ ik from the North.

Hyon Song­Wol is, howev­ er, no dourly­dressed, suit­ wearing bureaucrat from the nuclear­armed nation, but the leader of Pyongyang’s most popular girl band.

Cameras followed her ev­ ery move as the glamorous songstress swept through Se­ oul at the head of a North Ko­ rean delegation sent to in­ spect performance venues for the Pyeongchang Olym­ pic Games.

In the spotlight: Leader of the North Korean Moranbong band, Hyon Song­Wol, arriving in South Korea on Sunday. AFP *

Wearing a fur mu er and exuding an air of con dent calm, Ms. Hyon was unfazed by the throng of cameras that followed her

everywhere.

Believed to be in her late 30s or early 40s, Ms. Hyon is as close to a megastar as North Korea probably has.

She is also a politically po­ werful gure as an alterna­ tive member of North Ko­ rea’s ruling Workers’ Party’s central committee.

Ms. Hyon’s presence in the run­up to the interna­ tional event — which until re­ cently was marked by global tensions over North Korea’s missile and nuclear pro­ gramme — is seen by some as the latest attempt to capital­ ise on the appeal of its performers.

South Korea’s media fol­ lowed her every move, with tiny details about her facial expressions and fashion style making headlines.

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THE HINDU

BUSINESS 13

NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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IN BRIEF

Federal govt. shutdown may a ect India’s exports to U.S.

TCS bets on ‘localised recruitment’ Press Trust of India New Delhi

American economy among the largest destinations for the country’s exports The shutdown, the rst since October 2013, followed U.S. lawmakers not being able to come to an agreement on immigration and border se­ curity­related issues.

Special Correspondent New Delhi

Maruti may unveil four products over 18 months PUNE

Maruti Suzuki plans to introduce four products in the next 12 to 18 months to build further on ve years of successive double digit sales growth. It will unveil the all­new version of Swift at the Auto Expo to be held from February 9­14. The rm plans to introduce a new version of Ciaz and multiple purpose vehicle Ertiga. “An all new version of compact car Wagon R is also in the pipeline,” a source said. PTI

IRDAI to hire adviser to implement RBC regime NEW DELHI

Insurance regulator IRDAI will hire consultancy services for implementation of the risk based capital (RBC) regime towards enhancing protection for policyholders.

The decision to move to the RBC norms from the current solvency principle regime had been taken after proposals were made by a panel, which gave its report to the regulator last July, the IRDAI said. The RBC model is expected to be implemented

by March, 2021. PTI

Ministry seeks removal of sunset clause for SEZs NEW DELHI

In a letter to the Finance Ministry, the Commerce Ministry has pitched for the removal of MAT, and for the continuation beyond March 2020 of tax incentives being enjoyed by units in special economic zones with a view to boost shipments and job creation, an o cial said. In the FY17 budget, the Finance Minister had said income tax bene ts to new SEZ units would be available to only those that begin activity before March 31, 2020. PTI

Indian shipments to the U.S. are likely to get a ected fol­ lowing the shutdown of that country’s Federal Govern­ ment, exporters said.

“The shutdown of the U.S. Federal Government is cer­ tainly a bad news for the In­ dian exporters since the American economy is among the largest destina­ tions for (India’s) exports,” said Ravi P Sehgal, chair­ man, EEPC India — the apex body for Indian engineering exporters.

“For the (India’s) engi­ neering sector, the U.S. is the number one export destina­ tion, giving a robust growth in the current nancial year.

On notice: With many sta on furlough, port operations would be hit, says Ravi P. Sehgal. REUTERS *

Between April­December period of the current scal, (India’s) engineering exports to the U.S. grew by over 50% to $7.5 billion,” Mr. Sehgal said in a statement. With as many as 60,000 employees of the U.S. Commerce and

Paytm introduces business application To help SMEs accept digital payments Yuthika Bhargava NEW DELHI

Digital payments platform Paytm has unveiled an ap­ plication called ‘Paytm for Business’ to enable small and medium businesses to accept digital payments.

The application, available on Android Play Store, would enable merchants to sign up quickly and get a Paytm QR code to start ac­ cepting digital payments, the company said.

“The ‘Paytm for Busi­ ness’ app will make manag­ ing day­to­day business op­ erations simpler for our partner merchants,” said Ki­ ran Vasireddy, COO, Paytm.

“All needs, ranging from seamless acceptance of va­ rious payment modes to

day­wise settlement sum­ mary, have been taken care of,” he said.

The move follows recent announcement by instant messaging service What­ sapp to introduce a separate app that small businesses can use to connect with their customers.

The application, available in 10 regional languages, would allow merchants to track payments, navigate past collections and trace settlements made to their bank accounts.

They can also generate a Paytm QR instantly through the app, print it and start us­ ing it at their shops to accept unlimited payments directly into their bank accounts at 0% charge.

Transportation Departments being furloughed (placing an employee in a temporary non­duty, non­pay status in this case because of lack of funds), port operations as al­ so the clearing (of ship­ ments) would be hit, he said.

Funding approval According to reports, Feder­ al government employees had been asked to work without salary or stay home till new funding was ap­ proved.

India’s exports to the U.S. in April­October this scal were $27.09 billion or 16.27% of the total exports of $166.46 billion in the period.

In 2016­17, exports to the U.S. were $42.2 billion, or 15.3% of the overall exports of $275.85 billion.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) hired more than 20% of its recruits in the last one year in international mar­ kets as part of its “localisa­ tion initiatives.”

In the October­Decem­ ber 2017 quarter alone, the rm recruited almost 3,000 people from outside India.

“Overall, in the last 12 months, we have recruited 59,700 employees, which includes 12,700 outside In­ dia, a good indicator of how our localisation initia­ tives are progressing,” CEO & MD Rajesh Gopinathan said at a recent investor call. He added that the company had “always prid­ ed ourselves in our ability to attract and retain di­ verse talent.”

HPCL brand to stay, says ONGC Yet to decide on borrowing to pay for deal: Shashi Shanker Special Correspondent NEW DELHI

HPCL will retain its brand even after ONGC’s purchase of the Centre’s 51.1% stake in the oil major, according to a top o cial of ONGC. ONGC would also not make major changes to HPCL’s functioning, Shashi Shanker, CMD, ONGC told the media on Sunday, a day after the Centre announced deal.

Deal completion The deal’s price — 36,915 crore — was in line with the recommendations made by the independent evaluator, he said. The transaction was expected to be completed by the end of January.

“With HPCL coming into our fold, look at the market­ ing capability,” he said. “At

Shashi Shanker

#3 3 1 0 0 7

the moment, HPCL markets 35.2 million tonne (mt) of re­ ned products. Its re nery capacity is 17­18 mt and MRPL’s capacity is 15 mt. So, we can leverage this market­ ing capacity. The other point is that they are sourcing crude oil, the same is the case with us. So, if we do it together, we will have grea­ ter bargaining power.”

ONGC currently owns

71.63% in MRPL, 13.77% in IOC, 12.5% in Petronet LNG, and 4.87% in GAIL. Mr. Shanker said that ONGC was keeping all op­ tions open in terms of fund­ ing the deal.

“We have some liquid as­ sets, about 25,000­ 30,000 crore. And simultaneously, we have tied up short­term borrowing at a very compet­ itive rate. As of now, we have not yet decided when we will have to make the payment.

At that point, we will look at all our options and pick the best one. We wanted to have more exibility in our fund­ ing options, so we increased the borrowing limit from 25,000 crore to 35,000 crore,” Mr. Shanker said.

“We have not yet decided on how much we will borrow,” he added.

‘Develop a U.S.­style online platform to sell bad loans’ Banks have over 10 tn in dud assets Press Trust of India Mumbai

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has called for putting in place an online trading platform on the lines of the system in the U.S., to sell distressed assets to ensure more transparency and bet­ ter price­discovery.

Deputy Governor Viral Acharya has opined that such a platform could help create a thriving market for selling bad loans, which is plaguing the domestic bank­ ing system, and asked all the stakeholders to come to­ gether to develop such a mechanism.

The banking system is saddled with more than 10 trillion worth of bad loans as of September, 2017.

Following a massive spike in stressed assets, the RBI has, since last June, identi­ ed 40 largest stressed ac­ counts and asked banks to refer them to various debt recovery tribunals.

These 40 accounts, which include Essar Steel, Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power, Amtek Auto, Video­ con Industries and JP Infra among others, constitute as much as 40% of this 10 tril­ lion dud loans.

In the nancial stability report released recently, the central bank had warned that the bad loans could spike to 10.8% by March and 11.1% by September, 2018.

“The Indian Banks Asso­ ciation, Association of Asset Reconstruction Companies [Arcon] and the credit rating agencies can come together to set up what could be the equivalent to the Loan Syn­ dication and Trading Asso­ ciation (LSTA) in the United States,” Dr. Acharya told a summit hosted by the indus­

Viral Acharya

try lobby Assocham here.

The Loan Syndication and Trading Association is a loan syndication and trad­ ing system which provides disclosure on credit events, digitisation of loans and le­ gal documents apart from providing an online bidding platform for the sale of such assets, Dr. Acharya said.

Industry standard “My recommendation to you, or at least what I would encourage you, is to discuss whether there is value to building something like this or not. The U.S. and South Korea have built such plat­ forms during their banking crises and then it became an industry standard for doing loan sales thereafter,” the Deputy Governor noted.

Dr. Acharya said it was in the interest of banks to create primary market li­ quidity to o oad loans and probably in the interest of asset reconstruction compa­ nies to have a secondary market for such assets.

If such a platform is deve­ loped, then loan sales can occur for risk transfer, per­ haps, prior to default or be­ coming an NPA because, maybe somebody wants to come in even before an (In­ solvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) ling takes place.

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14 BUSINESS REVIEW

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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A Budget less cluttered

GUEST COLUMN

With little to do on indirect taxes, the Budget can now focus on aspects of govt. nance that matter Aarati Krishnan Chennai

As a watershed tax reform, Goods and Services Tax (GST) promised to have a profound impact on India’s budget­making exercise. The debut year has proved so­ mething of a disappoint­ ment. But as teething trou­ bles with the new tax regime are addressed, there are three key areas where its re­ formative impact on the bud­ get process may be felt.

One reason why Indian Fi­ nance Ministers (FMs) have such a tough time balancing their budgets is the our nar­ row tax base. While a crack­ down is on to identify evad­ ers, the GST was expected to expand the indirect tax base and plug leaks in the indirect tax compliance structure.

Wider tax base The GST was expected to de­ liver an expansion in the in­ direct tax base, sweeping more small and mid­sized businesses under its ambit, compared with the excise duty regime. It mandates re­ gistration for all entities with an annual turnover of 20 lakh or above. To ensure bet­ ter compliance, GST has a self­policing mechanism by way of invoice matching of supplies by every registered assessee, a reverse charge mechanism for unregistered suppliers and e­way bills to check under­invoicing.

So has GST managed to net new taxpayers? It started o well by reporting 72 lakh registrations at the outset, which has steadily climbed to 99 lakh by December 2017.

While the bulk of these num­ bers came from the automat­ ic migration of erstwhile state VAT, excise and service tax assessees to the GST net­ work, government estimates suggested that about 18 lakh new assessees had registered afresh. The GST tax base of 99 lakh is prima facie a good number, given that the com­ bined taxpayer base under all the taxes that GST sub­ sumed (excise, service tax, VAT, sales et al) was estimat­ ed at 75­80 lakh.

But the larger base, so far, hasn’t translated into a fatter indirect tax kitty. Govern­ ment releases suggest that

EXPLAINER

GST collections started o with a bang in July 2017 at 92,283 crore, but have end­ ed with a whimper, with monthly collections at 80,808 crore for November 2017. These are subject to la­ ter revisions too, based on input and transitional credit claims and refunds.

One explanation for the falling collections in recent months is the wide­ranging cuts in GST rates that the GST Council has e ected re­ cently to pre­empt any in a­ tionary impact from the tax change. In November, for in­ stance, rates on 177 items were slashed from 28% to 18%. Some o cial estimates have placed the revenue fo­ regone due to these rate cuts at 20,000 crore a year.

The other reason for mod­ erating collections though, is lacklustre compliance. Even as registrations have been growing signi cantly, the number of GST return lers has dwindled from about 59 lakh in July to 53 lakh for No­ vember. Excluding taxpayers under the composition scheme who are supposed to le their returns only on a

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The importance of credit scores

quarterly basis, this suggests that less than two­thirds of registered 99 lakh entities, are ling their returns and paying the tax due.

With lers dwindling and rates declining, GST collec­ tions have predictably head­ ed south. With the monthly run rate on collections for the rst ve months of FY18 at about 88,000 crore, doubts are now emerging as to whether GST will even match the taxes it has sub­ sumed this year. While there are no o cial targets for this year, analyst estimates sug­ gest GST will have to mop up anywhere from 10 lakh crore to 12 lakh crore for FY18, for the sc to remain revenue neutral.

Glitches in the GST net­ work which prompted the Council to relax some of its compliance requirements may have contributed to fall­ ing return lings in recent months. Therefore, the key to xing the shortfall in col­ lections may be for the GST Council to focus on the com­ pliance in the coming months. It can either rein­ state the policing mechan­

isms that have been de­ ferred, or bite the bullet to selectively raise GST rates.

Better forecasting In the pre­GST era, indirect tax targets in Union Budgets relied heavily on qualitative judgments and extrapola­ tions of previous year’s num­ bers. Every year, ahead of the Budget, the CBEC would compile sector­wise indirect tax collections for the pre­ vious year and source growth projections from res­ pective Ministries to arrive at its forecasts for the next year.

The Finance Ministry would then put together the forecasts from CBEC and CBDT and arrive at its num­ bers, with (often sizeable) tweaks to ensure that the s­ cal math added up. But the problem with this approach was that actual revenues for the year often fell short, leading to a last­minute scramble and aggression on collections. While the Cen­ tral budget at least used esti­ mates, State budgets were a complete black box. By un­ ifying central and State le­ vies, GST is expected to ren­

der budget revenue forecasts more reliable. The monthly return lings are designed to give the FM a real­time han­ dle on collections, with rich data to assess compliance.

But while GST can help the FM arrive at better fore­ casts in the long run, transi­ tional issues in GST have made this year’s budget exer­ cise more challenging. The 2017 Budget had to skip GST targets as the law was still in the making, and presented numbers for excise and ser­ vice taxes alone. The Budget may now have to sum up ex­ cise/service tax mop­ups un­ til June, patching on GST col­ lections from July to measure the annual mop­up.

The targeted GST number is also shrouded in mystery due to lack of data on State VATs and uidity in GST rates. It is unlikely that all the tangles will be sorted out by February 1 for a clear picture of the real potential of GST to emerge. Hopefully, the next scal will bring clarity.

In India, one aspect of the annual budget spectacle is industry groups lobbying for indirect tax cuts. The FM, af­ ter considering con icting demands, doled out cuts or e ected increases, with the stock markets eagerly hang­ ing on to his every word. But with excise duty and service tax now under GST and the decision­making powers on rates vesting with the Coun­ cil, the FM may have limited room for such giveaways.

Budget speeches from now on may have to dwell more on direct taxes and basic customs duty changes.

And yes, products still out­ side the GST ambit (alcohol, fuel and energy, land) o er scope for rate changes.

But then, this may be a good development from a policy perspective. Without all the trimming and tucking on rates, the Budget exercise can now focus on aspects of government nance that really matter — measuring the outcomes of allocations made in previous budgets, changing the skewed capital­ revenue mix of the sc, re­ forming the draconian tax administration and attacking the bloat in unproductive re­ venue expenditure.

#3 3 1 0 0 7

Flawed scal policy favours the a uent T.C.A.Ramanujam T.C.A.Sangeetha

“To hunt crocodiles, water was drained from a pond.

While crocodiles were not found as they had moved up to land, the smaller sh died.” — from a school magazine The Union Budget will be presented soon. The twin disruptions of demonetisa­ tion and GST have left the poor in India poorer and the rich, richer. This is no empty rhetoric of a roadside ro­ mantic. These are the nd­ ings of the World Inequality Report 2018 released recent­ ly. The the top 1% income earners received 6% of the total income in the early 1980s; it went up to 15% in 2000 and today stands at 22%. IMF research papers give country­wise gures of the share of the billionaires in the GDP of each country.

The worth of dollar billio­ naires is most skewed in Rus­ sia, the U.S. and India which are home to a substantial number of billionaires. The World Inequality Report points out that inequality ac­ tually declined in China in the past decade and growth was faster compared to In­ dia. China’s per capita in­ come was ve times that of India in 2016.

Data from India’s Income Tax department showed that 59,830 individuals re­ ported gross total income more than 1 crore. Over 30,500 individuals reported earning salary income of ov­ er 1 crore. Five individuals reported earning salary in­ come between 100 crores and 500 crore. Thirty two persons showed gross total income over 100 crore. On­ ly one individual showed the income over 500 crore.

French economist Tho­ mas Pikkety, in his ‘Capital In The 21st Century’ analysed data from 20 countries over the past three centuries. In page 491 of his classic, he at­ tributes the reason for grow­ ing inequality in India to the low tax to GDP ratio. Fiscal policies fail to reduce in­ equality levels because of low tax to GDP ratio.

Instead of incentivising distribution companies, the government must reward developers who create capacity M. Ramesh

Chennai

When your achievement is 8­9% of your target, things are not quite all right. That is the reality of the rooftop so­ lar business in India today.

Against a target of 10,000 MW for March 31, 2018, the achievement as of the last day of 2017 was 923 MW. While India’s track record in large­scale solar installa­ tions is respectable — the country had 16,070 MW by December­end, 2017 and is set to add another 6,500 MW

by March — the rooftop part of the solar story has not been good.

Why it is so, is no mystery.

For individual house owners, rooftop solar is still not an at­ tractive alternative to the subsidised power supplied by the electricity distribu­ tion companies (discoms) — such as Tata Power Delhi Dis­ tribution Ltd. in Delhi, MSEDCL in Mumbai and BESCOM in Bengaluru.

As for others, such as shopping malls and factory buildings, they are the cus­ tomers that the discoms — which are monopolies in the areas allotted to them — de­ rive their sustenance from.

So, the discoms nd ways of preventing them from put­ ting up rooftop solar plants and generating their own power.

scores

J

A credit score deter­ mines how creditworthy a person is and helps banks and nancial institutions de­ cide on loans. A person with a high credit score enjoys access to credit facilities without hassles.

Who issues credit scores?

J

In India, the scores are issued by credit reporting agencies such as CIBIL, Equifax, Experian and the like. These agencies are reg­ ulated by the RBI and collect data from banks on their loans and come up with cre­ dit scores through use of al­ gorithms. The data is updat­ ed frequently. Credit scores in India range from 300­900.

Are credit reports available at no charge?

J

A credit report may be obtained for free once a year from every credit re­ porting agency. However, what is free is a matter of de­ bate. More frequent reports cost 300­ 400 apiece.

Can errors creep in?

GETTYIMAGES/ISTOCK

Chennai

Why are credit important?

J Arun Ramamurthy, founder, Credit Sudhaar, a credit advisory, points out that data in the credit bu­ reau is critical to lending

and pricing decisions made by banks and errors in them a ect credit scores. The er­ rors include: Reporting error: some­ times, banks report wrong client data to the bureau which can, in turn, lead to errors in the credit report.

Algorithmic error: the bu­ reau uses a matching algo­ rithm to generate a credit re­ port based on multiple data sets (pertaining to each bank) submitted by banks.

Often, due to the lack of un­ ique identi ers, the match­ ing logic can go wrong which can lead to errors Identity theft error: this happens when someone im­ personates another person (who has a good credit re­ cord) to take a loan and then defaults on the loan.

How does a customer ensure data accuracy?

J Mr. Ramamurthy sug­ gests customers monitor credit reports at least once in two months and protect them from identity fraud by using good rewall protec­ tion on their devices.

If an error is spotted, a customer should write to the bureau concerned for a resolution on the link pro­ vided on the respective bu­ reau website.

Think of the poor Every time the question of taxing the super­rich is raised, the a uent lobby comes out with the criticism that growth will be a ected adversely and there can be a ight of capital to lower tax

jurisdictions. Think of the poorer sections. The Inter­ national Food Policy Re­ search Institute has come out with a Global Hunger In­ dex. India is Ranked 100 among 119 countries behind North Korea, Bangladesh and Iraq this year. It was ranked 97 last year. The re­ medy lies in introducing Un­ iversal Basic Income as done in rural Kenya.

In contrast, there has been steady growth in the numbers belonging to the million­dollar salary club from 94 in 2013­14 to 100 in 2014­15 and 119 in 2015­16. It now stands at 120.

The total compensation its members earn has risen from 1,528 crore in 2015 to 1,979 crore in 2017. Average compensation is about 17 crore. Among 190 CEOs in the club, 61 are professional CEOs and 59 are promoters.

Promoter CEOs gained from equity appreciation and commissions. The Ambanis, the Birlas and the Marans ­ gure at the top of this club.

(T.C.A. Ramanujam is former chief commissioner, Income Tax, former mem­ ber, ITAT, and an advocate.

T.C.A. Sangeetha is an advo­ cate.)

Rooftop solar is still out in the cold

Sanjay Vijayakumar

Recently, a customer in Chennai was refused a loan by a bank despite having a good repayment track re­ cord, due to an error in his credit score. Here is all you need to know about credit scores:

Agricultural income is not taxed with 2,746 cases show­ ing agricultural income of 1 crore and more in the last se­ ven years.

Tax on the super­rich is a ea bite. There should be a separate, higher rate for the super­rich instead of a surcharge.

The 10% tax on dividends above 10 lakh is a mirage; it should have been at least 25% with exemption for divi­ dends up to 10,000.

Additional resource mo­ bilisation is concentrated on indirect taxes with a slew of relief measures in direct tax­ es, bene ting only the rich.

The stock market boom calls for revisiting the pre­ sent policy of exempting long term capital gains on shares held for 12 months and more. India’s market to GDP ratio stands at 104%.

Inheritance tax, abol­ ished in 1987, should be rein­ troduced.

Refusing surplus power One of the e ective ways has been to refuse to buy surplus power from the rooftop plants. As such, a factory that has roof space for 2 MW but can self­use only 1 MW, will restrict itself to its needs.

Even the 1 MW may not be viable if any unutilised pow­

Not a hot idea: Giving incentives for creation of capacity is seen as anachronistic, as it could encourage distribution companies to compromise on quality.

er or power generated on ho­ lidays is not sold. Since the rooftop plant owner cannot nd a customer for o ­and­ on surplus power, he has to sell it only to the discoms — and the discoms are not buying.

Many states, like Tamil Na­ du, disallow ‘net metering’, which measures the power put into the grid by the roof­ top plants. Others impose a cap on the capacity allowed for net metering.

If the cap is, say, 1 MW, and if the shopping mall in­ stalls a 1.5 MW solar plant on its roof, only the 1 MW will be connected to a net­meter, which means all additional power would either need to be either self­consumed or

unconsumed. “The most common challenge accord­ ing to rooftop installers is the restriction of net­metering policies that put an upper ceiling of 1 MW on rooftop solar projects,” said Mercom India, a solar research and consulting rm.

“This is restricting the growth of rooftop according to many in the industry,” the note from the research rm added.

The government of India wants the country to have 100,000 MW of solar capaci­ ty by March 2022 — 60,000 MW from large plants and 40,000 MW from rooftops. It is not inconceivable that in the next four years the target of 60,000 MW would be

achieved. However, the tar­ get for rooftop plants ap­ pears unattainable. At a time when the Secretary of the re­ newable energy ministry ad­ mits rooftop solar is going nowhere, the Ministry of Commerce has recommend­ ed safeguard duty of 70% on imported solar panels, a move that might cripple the entire solar industry, espe­ cially the rooftop segment.

Duly concerned, the go­ vernment wants a new deal for rooftop solar. Last month, it put out a ‘concept note’ in this regard for public comments. The essence of the new proposals is to put the discoms in the driver’s seat, giving them incentives for rooftop solar capacity

created by them in their op­ erating areas. The govern­ ment­owned SECI , a renew­ able energy facilitating company, would come out with tenders on behalf of in­ terested discoms; the bid­ ders who quote the least ta­ ri will put up the rooftop plants and sell power to the discom.

The government would give the discom incentives, worth 23,450 crore, for rooftop capacities created.

This, the Centre hopes, would propel the discoms to create an ‘enabling ecosys­ tem’ for rooftop plants in their areas.

As many experts have pointed out, the idea of giv­ ing an incentive for capacity created is anachronistic.

With an eye on the incen­ tives, discoms would get cheap capacity installed, dis­ regarding quality. Second, by o ering discoms incentives for capacities ‘added by them, the proposed policy ignores a growing trend — the ‘opex model’. Energy companies put up plants on leased roofs and sell power directly to consumers.

“There is no provision for a third party developer like us,” said Manu Karan, vice president, Business Develop­ ment, at the Warburg Pincus­ backed solar energy compa­ ny, CleanMax Solar.

Bias for size Third, by selecting the roof­ top plants only through com­ petitive bidding, the pro­ posed policy comes with a bias for large size.

A factory with roof space for 500 kW will be edged out because it cannot quote a price that is competitive with

another energy company that might want to build a 5 MW unit. The proposed poli­ cy also leaves a lot to chance.

What if the competitive bid­ ding process does not discov­ er a price attractive enough for the discom to buy? Such a scenario is not unlikely. In a tender for solar plants on the roofs of government­owned buildings with a subsidy of 1.5 crore a MW, the tari s quoted were 4.17 a kWhr for plants in Tamil Nadu, 3.94 in A.P. and Gujarat, and 3.83 in Karnataka.

Remove the subsidy, the tari goes up by a rupee. And this, for government­owned buildings, with little risk of property disputes.

Replicating GBI The prices may not be attrac­ tive unless the discom passes on the incentives to the plant developer — which is e ec­ tively no di erent from the situation today. Will the dis­ com use the incentives to create “an enabling ecosys­ tem” or pass it on to the bid­ ders to lower the prices?

A better approach would be generation­based incen­ tives (GBI), say, ‘50 paise for every kWhr generated, per­ haps capped at 1 lakh for a MW of capacity’.

A similar scheme served the wind industry well until it was scrapped last year. The GBI could be limited to, say, the rst 10 years, by which time the rm would have ser­ viced its debt. A suitably structured GBI would lower the prices for the discoms to be attracted to it.

The need of the hour is not to put the discoms in the driver’s seat, but to get them out of the way.

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THE HINDU

SPORT 15

NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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A sight that will make du Plessis smile

Bacher goes down memory lane

Grassy Wanderers pitch a far cry from the one in Centurion

S. Dinakar

INDIA IN SA S. Dinakar Johannesburg

The grass on the pitch at the Wanderers will force a smile from the normally taciturn Faf du Plessis.

It is typically grassy and should provide bounce and seam movement for the pace­ men. The track, expected to be lively, could pose more searching questions to the al­ ready beleaguered Indian batsmen.

When the Indians trained here on a quiet Sunday, the batsmen would have been aware of the challenges of facing a four­pronged South African pace attack on this surface when the third Test gets underway on Wednes­ day. There are indications that vice­captain Ajinky Ra­ hane may be recalled for the third Test. du Plessis was both disap­ pointed and ba ed at the na­ ture of the pitch for the se­ cond Test in Centurion which, actually, suited the In­ dians’ brand of play more.

He was angry, too. After all, the South Africans had to cope with rank turners — du Plessis called them “border­ ing on the extreme” — when the side toured India in 2015.

And the Indian spinners exploited the conditions for a 3­0 sweep. The setback and

Field Marshal: Faf du Plessis, centre, has led South Africa brilliantly, rallying his men in crucial situations.

memories of those pitches still hurt and the Proteas want the same score­line back — this time in their favour.

Even if the pitch gave the Indians an advantage in Cen­ turion, the South Africans dug deep, regrouped, dis­ played resilience with the bat, control and skill with the ball, and eventually quelled the Indian challenge.

And, du Plessis has been brilliant at the helm. du Ples­ sis’ captaincy has been ag­ gressive without being rash.

He can be ruthless with his methods, goes for the jugu­ lar. Importantly, he does not let slip the crucial game­de­ ning moments.

He is calm under pressure, doesn’t get carried away by the emotions of the moment. du Plessis had his ngers on

the pulse of the game in the rst two Tests.

He has often dared bat­ smen with his eld place­ ments — leaving the mid­ wicket open for Virat Kohli was a ploy to get him to play across the line for a leg­be­ fore verdict — while his bow­ ling changes have been spot­on.

His chemistry with new coach Ottis Gibson has been

Bavuma injured

SL beats Zimbabwe

Special Correspondent

Associated Press

Johannesburg

Dhaka

South African middle­order batsman Temba Bavuma, who was part of the squad but did not make the eleven in the rst two Tests, will not be available for the third Test here because of a frac­ tured nger.

Bavuma su ered the inju­ ry during a domestic match and will be out for at least a month.

South Africa already has injury worries with opener Aiden Markram facing a t­ ness test for a quad strain,

Thisara Perera (four for 33 & 49 n.o.) came up with a stel­ lar all­round performance as Sri Lanka stayed alive in the tri­nation one­day tour­ nament, securing a ve­ wicket win against Zim­ babwe on Sunday.

Temba Bavuma. *

IAN HITCHCOCK/GETTY IMAGES

ahead of the Test beginning here on Wednesday.

Theunis de Bruyn is the extra batsman in the squad and can open the innings.

MUSHTAQ ALI T20

KOLKATA

In a thrilling duel, Punjab held its nerve to pip Karnata­ ka via the ‘one­over elimina­ tor’ in the super league open­ er of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament at the Jadav­ pur University Ground here on Sunday.

In another match, Delhi recorded a thumping eight­ wicket win over Tamil Nadu.

The encounter at the JU ground swung from side to side after Punjab putting Kar­ nataka in. Manpreet Grewal’s excellent opening spell — two for eight in four overs — built early pressure on Karnataka.

Medium­pacer Baltej Singh removed Karun Nair, caught by Yuvraj Singh at square­leg, to reduce Karna­ taka to three for 35 in the fth over.

R. Samarth (31, 29b) and C.M. Gautam (36, 31b) conso­ lidated the innings by adding 64 runs before Punjab cap­

tain Harbhajan Singh claimed Samarth.

A quick­ re 67­run part­ nership between Mandeep Singh (45, 29b, 7x4, 1x6) and Harbhajan (33, 19b, 5x4, 1x6) bene ted Punjab after Ma­ nan Vohra’s fall.

Spinner Pravin Dubey dis­ missed Harbhajan and left­ arm pacer S. Arvind got rid of Mandeep and Yuvraj (29, 25b, 5x4) as Punjab managed to tie the scores.

In the tie­breaker, Yuvraj and Mandeep collected 15 o

K. Gowtham, while Karnata­ ka managed 11 for Karun’s wicket.

Rescue act At the Eden Gardens, captain Vijay Shankar (57 n.o., 48b, 4x4, 3x6) and B. Aparajith (45, 32b, 7x4) gathered 92 runs to rescue Tamil Nadu from 37 for three in the sixth over.

Openers Rishabh Pant (58, 33b, 7x4, 3x6) and Gautam Gambhir (21, 21b, 2x4, 1x6) put on 43 runs to give Delhi a sound start.

Nitish Rana (34 n.o., 14b, 3x4, 3x6) and Dhruv Shorey (28 n.o., 24b, 2x4, 1x6) maintained the tem­ po for Delhi’s comfortable win.

The scores: Group A: Karnataka 158 for seven in 20 overs (Ani­ ruddha 40 n.o., C.M. Gautam 36, R. Samarth 31, Baltej Singh three for 21, Manpreet Singh Grewal two for eight) tied with Punjab

working. Both are like­mind­ ed and attacking, and the brave decision to play four specialist quicks at the ex­ pense of a batsman (Temba Bavuma) or an all­rounder (Chris Morris) was a master­stroke.

Even after Dale Steyn was injured and could not bowl in the Indian second innings at Newlands, South Africa had three seamers to complete a

Sydney

#3 3 1 0 0 7

Thisara Perera.

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AFP

Dinesh Chandimal 38 n.o, This­ ara Perera 39 n.o, Blessing Muzarabani three for 52).

158 for nine in 20 overs (Man­ deep 45, Harbhajan Singh 33, Yuvraj Singh 29, S. Arvind four for 32, Pravin Dubey two for 12); Punjab 15 for no loss in one over bt Karnataka 11 for one in one over via one­over eliminator.

Mumbai 170 for ve in 20 ov­ ers (Siddhesh Lad 46, Aditya Tare 45, Surya Kumar Yadav 33 n.o., Atul Singh Surwar two for 35) bt Jharkhand 157 for seven in 20 overs (Virat Singh 81, Sau­ rabh Tiwary 32, Akash Parkar two for 32).

Group B: Tamil Nadu 145 for se­ ven in 20 overs (Vijay Shankar 57 n.o., B. Aparajith 45, Kulwant Khejroliya four for 26) lost to Delhi 146 for two in 15.2 overs (Rishabh Pant 58, Nitish Rana 34 n.o., Dhruv Shorey 28 n.o., Washington Sundar two for 32).

Baroda 149 in 20 overs (Vish­ nu Solanki 26, Sayan Ghosh three for 37, Manoj Tiwary two for 25, Kanishk Seth two for 26) bt Bengal 132 in 19.5 overs (Shreevats Goswami 58, Krunal Pandya three for 14, Lukman Meriwala three for 26, Soaeb Tai two for 27).

A scintillating century from Jos Buttler brought England a 16­run win and a ODI series victory against Australia here on Sunday.

Australia, set 303 to win

by England after winning the toss and choosing to bowl, was always struggling in its chase and eventually man­ aged only 286 for six.

The result gave England an unbeatable 3­0 lead in the ve­match series, a remarka­ ble turnaround after Austra­ lia had trounced it 4­0 in the Ashes Tests.

England ODI captain Eoin Morgan said Buttler had en­ gineered one of the best wins he’d been part of.

“Jos was probably the dif­ ference between the sides,” he said. “On a two­paced wicket, he paced it to perfec­ tion, played the anchor until about ve or six overs out.

“This is one of the best wins from this group.”

Australia’s hopes largely rested with Steve Smith (45) and Mitchell Marsh (55), but both were dismissed at a crucial stage of the chase, with Smith falling to a con­ tentious low­down catch by Buttler o the bowling of Mark Wood (two for 46).

Marcus Stoinis made a late attempt to lift Australia with a punishing 56, but England managed to hold on despite losing pacemen Liam Plun­ kett to a leg injury early in the Australian innings.

Australian captain Smith said the game was lost in the last few overs of the England

Making the di erence: Jos Buttler was the only batsman from either team to get to grips with a slightly slow pitch, his century enabling England to set a daunting target. AFP *

SCOREBOARD

Ali Bacher. *

FILE PHOTO: C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM

Graeme was. He replied, ‘Marginally better than Gar­ ry Sobers as a batsman.’

That’s how good he was.”

Highlighting the glorious­ ly attacking qualities of Barry Richards, Bacher said, “He represented South Australia for some time and when the side met Western Australia at Perth, he was beaten very early in the innings by Den­ nis Lillee. ’Keeper Rod Marsh said, ‘We thought he could play.’”

Bacher added, “And Barry responded to that comment by scoring more than 300 in a day, hammering both Lillee and Graham McKenzie.”

On Procter, Bacher said, “He had a whirlwind action but did not bowl o the wrong foot as many said.

“He was an explosive bat­ sman and could bowl fast from both over and round the wicket and bowled o ­ spin too.”

Anand draws with Svidler

Agence France-Presse

Punjab pips Karnataka in a thriller Y.B. Sarangi

AP

Johannesburg

Ali Bacher organised rebel tours to South Africa during the days of apartheid, was among the most in uential cricket administrators when his country returned to the international fold in the ear­ ly 90s and earned quite a reputation for resolving vex­ ing issues. Yet, something that is often forgotten while discussing Bacher is the fact that he led a South African ‘dream side’ that routed Bill Lawry’s formidable Austra­ lians 4­0 here in 1970; South Africa did not play Test crick­ et again for 22 years.

A determined batsman and an outstanding elder, Bacher’s greatest moments came as captain.

Talking to The Hindu here on Sunday, Bacher, now 75, remembered, “We were quietly con dent. Had there been a fth Test, we would have defeated Australia 5­0.”

That South African team had Graeme and Peter Pol­ lock, Barry Richards, Mike Procter, Eddie Barlow — some of the nest cricketers South Africa has seen.

Talking about Graeme Pollock, Bacher remem­ bered a conversation with the legendary Don Bradman.

“Meeting Don Bradman was one of my nest moments. I stayed with him in Adelaide during the 1992 World Cup and I asked him how good

Buttler serves up series success for England

The scores: Zimbabwe 198 in 44 overs (Brendan Taylor 58, Graeme Cremer 34, Nuwan Pradeep three for 28, Thisara Perera four for 33) lost to Sri Lanka 202 for ve in 44.5 overs (Ku­ sal Perera 49, Kusal Mendis 36,

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demolition job.

At Centurion, South Africa unearthed Lungi Ngidi, who was quick and on target; clearly a man for the future.

To cover all bases, South Afri­ ca elded a fth bowler in left­arm spinner Keshav Maharaj.

The South African elding and catching has been excep­ tional. In the two Tests, the host have put down just two opportunities while the In­ dians dropped nine.

The razor­sharp elding has backed the bowling, put the batsmen under stress, and created run­out scena­ rios; these were cashed in by lightning quick throws.

The electric A.B. de Vil­ liers has created chances out of nothing. The tall Morne Morkel has ung himself to pull o sensational catches near the boundary ropes. de Villiers has sizzled with the willow, turned matches around. The manner in which he picks the length early and plays the ball late shows how gifted he is.

The South African batting is not without chinks, has a tendency to lose wickets in bunches, but du Plessis has been resourceful in the mid­ dle­order, often rallying with the tail, employing calculated aggression or grinding it out.

For du Plessis and his men, there is un nished work yet in the series.

AUSTRALIA VS ENGLAND, THIRD ODI

England: J. Roy c Finch b Cum­ mins 19, J. Bairstow b Zampa 39, A. Hales c Zampa b Stoinis 1, J. Root b Hazlewood 27, E. Mor­ gan c Paine b Hazlewood 41, J. Buttler (not out) 100, M. Ali b Marsh 6, C. Woakes (not out) 53; Extras (lb­2, w­13, nb­1): 16; Total (for six wickets in 50 overs): 302.

Fall of wickets: 1­38, 2­45, 3­ 90, 4­107, 5­172, 6­189.

Australia bowling: Starc 10­0­ 63­0, Hazlewood 10­0­58­2, Cummins 10­1­67­1, Stoinis 8­ 0­43­1, Zampa 9­0­55­1, Marsh 3­0­14­1.

Australia: A. Finch lbw Rashid 62, D. Warner c Hales b Woakes

8, C. White c Buttler b Wood 17, S. Smith c Buttler b Wood 45, M. Marsh c Hales b Rashid 55, M. Stoinis c sub b Woakes 56, T. Paine (not out) 31, P. Cummins (not out) 1; Extras (lb­5, b­4, w­2): 11; Total (for six wickets in 50 overs): 286.

innings.

“I thought the way we bowled in the rst 45 overs was good, but Jos played ex­ ceptionally well, Woakesy too, but we bowled poorly at

the end, can’t do that to a guy like Jos,” he said.

“We were chasing proba­ bly 30 too many... batted well but not enough to get over the line.”

Fall of wickets: 1­24, 2­44, 3­ 113, 4­181, 5­210, 6­284.

England bowling: Wood 10­1­ 46­2, Woakes 10­0­57­2, Plun­ kett 1.2­0­6­0, Ali 10­0­57­0, Root 8.4­0­60­0, Rashid 10­0­51­2.

Toss: Australia.

England won by 16 runs, takes series 3­0.

Wijk Aan Zee: Treading care­ fully, Viswanathan Anand and Peter Svidler played out a 27­move draw in their dull eighth­round encoun­ ter before the day produced a series of dramatic results in both sections of the Tata Steel chess tournament here on Sunday.

Anand (4.5 points) re­ tained his joint sixth place with Sergey Karjakin who drew with B. Adhiban in 43 moves.

Going into Monday’s rest day, overnight leader Shak­ hriyar Mamedyarov’s dream run came to a rude halt after the Azerbaijani ran into Anish Giri and lost in 32 moves.

By bouncing back from a poor position to beat En­ gland’s Gawain Jones, Mag­ nus Carlsen joined Giri and Mamedyarov at the top with 5.5 points.

Eighth­round results: Mas­ ters: Peter Svidler (Rus, 4) drew with Viswanathan Anand (4.5); B. Adhiban (2) drew with Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 4.5); Anish Giri (Ned, 5.5) bt Shakhriyar Mamedya­ rov (Aze, 5.5); Magnus Carl­ sen (Nor, 5.5) bt Gawain Jones (Eng, 3.5); Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 5) drew with Wesley So (USA, 5); Wei Yi (Chn, 3) drew with Maxim Matlakov (Rus, 4).

Challengers: Dmitry Gordiev­ sky (Rus, 3.5) lost to Vidit Gujrathi (6); Je ery Xiong (USA, 3.5) drew with D. Hari­ ka (3); Anton Korobov (Ukr, 6) lost to Bassen Amin (Egy, 4); Benjamin Bok (Ned, 4) bt Lu­ cas van Foreest (Ned, 4); Jor­ den van Foreest (Ned, 4) bt Aryan Tari (Nor, 3.5); Olga Gi­ rya (Rus, 2.5) lost to Michal Krasenkow (Pol, 4).

Real Madrid steamrollers Deportivo, back in top four

FC Goa downs Blasters

Agence France-Presse

Stan Rayan

EUROPEAN LEAGUES

London

Real Madrid moved back into the top four of La Liga after thumping lowly Deportivo La Coruna 7­1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, with Cristiano Ronaldo ending a miserable run of league form with a late double.

Ronaldo had only scored four league goals before Sun­ day’s clash with Deportivo, but the Portuguese added Real's fth and sixth with a smart volley and a diving header as it moved back above Villarreal and into the Champions League places.

Villarreal had temporarily taken fourth place with a 2­1 win over Levante on Satur­ day after beating Real at the Bernabeu for the rst time ever last week.

Gareth Bale and Nacho al­

Opening the oodgates: Nacho scored a brace as Real Madrid beat Deportivo La Coruna 7­1.

so bagged braces each side of half­time and Luka Modric curled home a 68th­minute beauty as Real came back from a shock early de cit, a 23rd­minute tap­in from Adrian.

The results: Premier League: Southampton 1 (Sanchez 15­og) drew with Tot­ tenham 1 (Kane 18). Manchester City 3 (Aguero 34, 63, 83) bt Newcastle United 1 (Murphy 67).

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AP

32, 88, Bale 42, 58, Modric 68, Ronaldo 78, 84) bt Deportivo 1 (Adrian 23).

Las Palmas 2 (Viera 20, Calleri 53­pen) bt Valencia 1 (Mina 5); Alaves 2 (Munir 46, Alfonso 52) drew with Leganes 2 (Pires 75­

pen, Zaluda 90); Villarreal 2 (Tri­ gueros 26­pen, Denis Cheryshev 50) bt Levante 1 (Roger 90+4­pen).

Serie A: Bologna 3 (Destro 35, De Maio 75, Dzemaili 88) bt Be­ nevento 0; Lazio 5 (Luis Alberto 23, Milinkovic­Savic 32, 68, Bas­ tos 83, Nani 86) bt Chievo 1 (Pucciarelli 25); Sampdoria 3 (Quagliarella 30, 60, 68) bt Fio­ rentina 1 (Sanchez 80); Sassuolo 1 (Berardi 54) drew with Torino 1 (Obi 26); Udinese 1 (Samir 11) drew with SPAL 1 (Floccari 49); Hellas Verona 0 lost to Crotone 3 (Barberis 3, Stoian 54, Ricci 67); Atalanta 0 lost to Napoli 1 (Mertens 65).

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich 4 (Mueller 41, 84, Lewandowski 63, 76) bt Werder Bremen 2 (Gondorf 25, Suele 75­og); Ham­ burg 0 lost to Cologne 2 (Te­ rodde 27, 67).

ISL

KOCHI

There was no heavy ma­ chine­gun action like the last time, but FC Goa walked away with a 2­1 victory over Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League at the Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.

Spaniard Ferrran Coromi­ nas gave Goa the lead in the seventh minute while Blas­ ters’ C.K. Vineeth levelled the scores in the 29th.

Another Spaniard, Eduardo Bedia, gave the visitors the match­winner in the 77th.

Goa, which had won the away encounter 5­2 last month, appeared sure and con dent as it advanced through the left, working up little triangles near the box, through mid elder Manuel Lazarote, left­winger Man­ dar Desai and striker Ferran

Eduardo Bedia Pelaez. *

H. VIBHU

Corominas, which troubled the Blasters defence.

One such move gave Goa the lead with Corominas sending the ball home through a crowded defence after getting a cross from the left from Mandar.

At the other end, a few minutes after Blasters’ Siam Hangal had hit the cross­ piece, C.K. Vineeth moved into the box taking a high ball from Hangal with Iain Hume virtually tailing him.

The two Blasters forwards were close together and that kept the Goa defenders guessing their next move.

Suddenly, Vineeth broke away to the right and sent the ball into the right corner to level the scores.

Goa regained the lead o a corner, with Eduardo Be­ dia heading home the swir­ ling kick.

The result: FC Goa 2 (Ferran Corominas 7, Eduardo Bedia 77) bt Kerala Blasters 1 (C.K. Vi­ neeth 29).

Join us now https://t.me/towardstomorrow CM YK

La Liga: Real Madrid 7 (Nacho

A ND-NDE

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16 SPORT

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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A great day out for Ethiopians Deksisa and Gobena Indian category titles for Gopi and Sudha Singh; pacesetters come in for criticism

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MUMBAI MARATHON G. Viswanath Mumbai

Solomon Deksisa arrived here as rm favourite for the Tata Mumbai Marathon, stamped his authority and became only the second Eth­ iopian to win the men’s title, staving o a spirited chal­ lenge from compatriot Shu­ met Akalnaw and Kenyan Joshua Kipkorir.

The 23­year­old Ethiopian clocked 2:09:34s, 3:12s o his personal best achieved as a runner­up at the Rotter­ dam marathon two years ago.

Amane Gobena made it a memorable day for the Eth­ iopians, winning the wo­ men’s title.

The three podium nish­ ers censured the pacesetters

Indian winners Olympic marathoners T. Go­ pi (2:16:51s) and Sudha Singh (2:48:32) claimed the Indian men’s and women’s titles.

Gopi generated his own pace crossing the tape one second later than the 10th runner overall (Kenyan Elli­ ud Barnegetuny clocked 2:16:50) and will earn $1,500 and 5 lakh as the Indian topper.

“I aimed for the course re­ cord till 30km and realised that our pacesetter was slow­ ing down. We ran without anyone to pace us after 32km,” he said.

Jyoti Gawate (2:50:47) and Fazul Chowdhary (2:53:26) nished in that order behind the leader.

Srini Bugatha gained the third place in men’s catego­ ry, a 5000 and 10,000m run­ ner who was running a ma­ rathon for the rst time.

The half­marathon (21km) was won by Pardeep Singh and Sanjivani Jadhav.

The results: Men Elite: 1. Solo­

RACING

Asteria may score again HYDERABAD: Asteria, who main­ tains form, may score again in the first division of the R. C. T. C. Plate the main event of the races to be held here on Monday ( Jan. 22).

1

NORTHERN DANCER PLATE (Div. I), (1,200m), maiden 3­y­o only (Cat. II), (Terms), 1­20 p.m.: 1. Aflatun (8) Arshad Alam 55, 2.

Ashwa Arjun (12) Akshay Kumar 55, 3. Brave Warrior (6) Kunal Bunde 55, 4. Hopscotch (11) Rawal 55, 5. Long Range (10) Aneel 55, 6. Super Dart (2) Deep Shanker 55, 7. Symbolic Star (7) Neeraj 55, 8. Wings Of Eagles (5) I. Chisty 55, 9. Crimson Fire (4) Ajeeth Kumar 53.5, 10. Surprise Gift (3) Nakhat Singh 53.5, 11. Windy Dawn (9) Kiran Naidu 53.5 and 12. Yogya (1) Sai Kiran 53.5.

1. SYMBOLIC STAR, 2. WINGS OF EAGLES, 3. AFLATUN. STARRY SCENE PLATE (Div. I) (1,100m), 5­y­o & over, rated 42 to 62 (Cat. II), 1­50: 1. Negress Pearl (5) Deepak Singh 60, 2. Pal­ isades Park (11) Arshad Alam 58.5, 3. Kimono (8) C. P. Bopanna 57.5, 4. Dream Girl (3) Rawal 57, 5.

Mandy (4) Gaddam 56.5, 6. Royal Dynamite (6) Akshay Kumar 56, 7.

Ruby's Gift (2) Kunal Bunde 55.5, 8. Kireeti (10) Kiran Naidu 55, 9.

Ashwini (7) Aneel 54, 10. Amazing Venus (­) (­) 54, 11. Space Ship (1) Nakhat Singh 52.5 and 12. West­ ern Express (9) Gopal Singh 51.

1. RUBY'S GIFT, 2. DREAM GIRL, 3.

WESTERN EXPRESS.

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3

NORTHERN DANCER PLATE (Div. II), (1,200m), maiden 3­ y­o only (Cat. II), (Terms) 2­20: 1.

Alexanderthegreat (9) Neeraj 55, 2. Best Friend (1) C. P. Bopanna 55, 3. Exclusive Shanghai (11) I. Chisty 55, 4. London Bridge (3) Tanwar 55, 5. Max (8) Arshad Alam 55, 6. Rapid Fire (5) Akshay Kumar 55, 7. The Special One (4)

Aneel 55, 8. Blazing Speed (6) Rawal 53.5, 9. Running Fire (2) Deepak Singh 53.5, 10. Secretary (7) Naresh 53.5 and 11. Yogastha (10) Sai Kiran 53.5.

1. ALEXANDERTHEGREAT, 2. LONDON BRIDGE, 3. EXCLUSIVE SHANGHAI. R. C.T. C. PLATE (Div. I), (1,200m), 4­y­o & over, rated 58 to 78 (Cat. II), 2­55: 1.

Baashagar (6) Sai Kiran 60, 2.

Paprika (1) Akshay Kumar 58.5, 3.

Green Image (7) Dileep 57.5, 4.

City Of Wonders (8) N. S. Parmar 57, 5. Asteria (9) Arshad Alam 56.5, 6. Rubyonrails (5) Deep Shanker 56.5, 7. Astra (2) Gaddam 55, 8. Vallee Sceptre (10) Kuldeep Singh 55, 9. Aakash Vani (4) I. Chisty 54.5 and 10. Kalinda (3) Deepak Singh 53.5.

1. ASTERIA, 2. PAPRIKA, 3. VALLEE SCEPTRE.

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FALAKNUMA PLATE (1,100m), 4­y­o & over, rated 26 to 46 (Cat. III), 3­25: 1. Apowerx (9) Ajeeth Kumar 60, 2. Free Eagle (7) Kuldeep Singh 58.5, 3. Lord Gift (6) I. Chisty 57.5, 4. Striker (8) Aneel 57.5, 5. Dippy Dip (2) To­ grallu 56, 6. Vallee Bloomer (1) Deep Shanker 55.5, 7. Proud N Ar­ rogant (13) Kiran Naidu 55, 8. Pat­ ron Saint (10) C. P. Bopanna 53, 9.

Soaring Sensex (5) Akshay Kumar 52.5, 10. Exclusive Symbol (11) Naresh 52.5, 11. New Comer (3) Nakhat Singh 52.5, 12. Reach The Heights (12) Kunal Bunde 52.5, 13.

Time Is Luck (4) Rawal 52.5 and 14. Bahagar (14) Sai Kiran 50.5.

1. FREE EAGLE, 2. APOWERX, 3.

REACH THE HEIGHTS.

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R. C. T. C. PLATE (Div. II), (1,200m), 4­y­o & over, rated 58 to 78 (Cat. II), 3­55: 1. Numin­ ous (6) Akshay Kumar 60, 2.

Pentagon (5) Koushik 59.5, 3.

Vallee Secrete (1) Deepak Singh 58.5, 4. Aragonda Princess (3)

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Kuldeep Singh 58, 5. Dancing Leaf (2) Arshad Alam 57.5, 6.

Masti (4) Gaddam 57, 7. Seven Col­ ours (8) I. Chisty 56, 8. Sketch Of Beauty (9) Kiran Naidu 55, 9.

Commanding Boy (10) Kunal Bunde 54.5 and 10. Limitation (7) Nakhat Singh 54.5.

1. ARAGONDA PRINCESS, 2. SEVEN COLOURS, 3. NUMINOUS. STARRY SCENE PLATE (Div. II), (1,100m), 5­y­o & over, rated 42 to 62 (Cat. II), 4­30: 1. Magna Carta (3) Vikrant 60, 2. Ice Cave (4) C. P. Bopanna 59, 3. Mahathi (9) Koushik 58.5, 4. Symbol Of Gold (11) I. Chisty 58, 5. Nelly (12) Kiran Naidu 57, 6. Cash Landing (10) Gopal Singh 56.5, 7. Undu Undu Undu (5) Aneel 56.5, 8.

Rapidest (6) Gaddam 54, 9. Rebel­ lion (7) Rawal 54, 10.Platinum (1) Akshay Kumar 53.5, 11. Princess Hina (2) Khurshad Alam 53.5 and 12. Bouncer (8) Kunal Bunde 51.5.

1. MAHATHI, 2. RAPIDEST, 3. UNDU UNDU UNDU. COMMAND LAND PLATE (1,400m), 5­y­o & over, rated upto 30 (Cat. III), 5­05: 1. Ice Mummy (11) Dileep 62, 2. Invasion (14) Rohit Kumar 62, 3. Mountain Of Light (9) N. S. Parmar 61.5, 4.

Carnival Express (6) Vikrant 61, 5.

Forever Bullish (5) A. S. Pawar 61, 6. Dolce (3) Sai Kiran 60, 7.

Golden Adara (1) Kiran Naidu 60, 8. Charlie Brown (13) Rawal 58, 9.

Brioni (2) Akshay Kumar 56.5, 10.

Good Taste (8) Ajeeth Kumar 56, 11. War Lady (7) Naresh 56, 12.

Chemical Daddy (4) Tograllu 53, 13. Green Memories (10) Nakhat Singh 50 and 14. Top Sprint (12) Ajit Singh 50.

1. BRIONI, 2. DOLCE, 3. INVASION. Day's best: ALEXANDERTHEGREAT Double: RUBY'S GIFT — ASTERIA Jkt: 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8; Tr (i): 1, 2 & 3; (ii): 3, 4 & 5; (iii): 6, 7 & 8; Tla: all races.

7

8

Bengaluru

Sports Bureau

Special Correspondent

427.0 (1144).

Favourite Pankaj Advani cruised past Tushar Shreshtha 125­0, 103­11, 62­ 32 in their opening group stage match of the Senior National men's snooker championship here on Sunday.

Advani got going with a 125­break in the rst frame, and didn't look back.

In the women's billiards event, M. Chitra defeated Keerath Bhandaal 77­49, 75­65 in the semi nals.

Cordoba (Spain)

New Delhi

There was a lot to celebrate for Hero MotoSports as Oriol Mena nished se­ venth and the Indian star C.S. Santosh had his best performance, placing 35th for his third nish, in the highly challenging Dakar Rally that concluded here after a 14­day journey.

“I am really happy with my result. Enjoyed the Da­ kar a lot. The last stage felt the longest, as I ap­ proached the nish line,” said Mena, who was ad­ judged the “best rookie rid­ er” for his ne perfor­ mance on his Dakar debut.

“It was tough this year for sure. I had lots of ups and downs. I am happy to make it to the nish line,” said Santosh.

It was a considerable leap forward for Hero Mo­ toSports after Joaquim Ro­ drigues had placed 12th last year on his debut.

Sanjeev Rajput continued to assert his strong grip over the 50­metre free ri e as he topped the second trials in men’s ri e 3­position event in the shooting National se­ lection trials at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Sunday.

In the 45­shot nal, San­ jeev had a total of 460.9 as he beat Akhil Sheoran by one point. The e ort also saw Sanjeev nishing on top in the overall averages, ahead of the young Swapnil Kusale and Akhil Sheoran.

In centre re pistol, Adarsh Singh surprised the strong eld by topping with 585.

25m centre re pistol: 1.

Adarsh Singh 585; 2. Pemba Tamang 584; 3. Vijay Kumar 584.

The results: Men’s snooker: Vishal Gundrecha (Guj) bt Ad­ itya Agarwal (Rly) 9­50, 13­ 77, 53­13, 66­25, 71­17; Pankaj Advani (PSPB) bt Tushar Shreshtha (Bih) 125­0, 103­11, 62­32; K.S. Naveen Kumar (Kar) bt Peter Paul (Rly) 67­ 34, 29­60, 60­7, 42­52, 67­ 49; Mukund Bharadiya (Mah) bt E. Pandurangaiah (Rly) 70­7, 62­2, 63­36; Malkeet Singh (Rly) bt Priyank Jaiswal (MP) 89­6, 56­14, 62­31; Sun­ deep Gulati (Del) bt Harshit Verma (Utk) 78­30, 70­29, 90­0; Laxman Rawat (PSPB) bt Harshit Modani (Raj) 69­ 27, 71­2, 72­0; Dhvaj Haria (PSPB) bt Sahil Dogra (Utk) 55­19, 12­61, 64­43, 64­4.

Women’s billiards: Semi ­ nals: M. Chitra (Kar) bt Keer­ ath Bhandaal (Del) 77­49, 75­ 65; R. Umadevi (Kar) bt Var­ shaa Sanjeev (Kar) 75­52, 75­69.

Quarter nals: Keerath bt Amee Kamani (MP) 50­35, 50­14; Chitra bt Vidya Pillai (Kar) 50­25, 51­8; Umadevi bt Arantxa Sanchis (Mah) 50­39, 50­38; Varshaa bt I. Lahari (Tel) 40­50, 51­16, 51­40.

The winners: Mumbai Marathon Elite men’s podium nishers Shumet Akalnaw, Solomon Deksisa and Joshua Kipkorir and the women Bornes Kitur, Amane Gobena and Shuko Genemo. PTI

— Kenyan Jacob Kendagor, Ugandan Ezekiel and South African Xolisa Tyali — for not being up to the mark and al­ so pointed out instances of amateur runners straying from their path and proving to be a hindrance.

Sporting a tricolour head­ gear, Deksisa said after the race: “I expected to win.

This win will motivate me to participate in other races.”

A tussle appeared to be on the cards when Kenyan wo­ men’s defending champion Bornes Kitur and Amane stayed behind the paceset­ ters. But, from the 25km mark, it was Amane all the way.

Sanjeev continues to impress

Ashwin Achal

Good show

by Mena, Santosh

Easy for Advani

mon Deksisa (Eth, 2:09:34); 2.

Shumet Akalnaw (Eth, 2:10:00); 3. Joshua Kipkorir (Ken, 2:10:30); 4. Shumi Decha­ sa (Bah, 2:12:24): 5. Bantie Ay­ chew (Eth, 2:12:49).

Women Elite: 1. Amane Gobena (Eth, 2:25:49); 2. Bornes Kitur (Ken, 2:28:48); 3. Shuko Gene­ mo (Eth, 2:29:41); 4. Birke De­ bele (Eth, 2:29:45); 5. Kaftu Ta­ hir (Eth, 2:35:01).

Indians: Full marathon: Men: 1.

T. Gopi (2:16:51); 2. Nitendra Rawat (2:1654); 3. Srini Bu­ gatha (2:23:56).

Women: 1. Sudha Singh (2:48:32); Jyoti Gawate (2:50:47); Parul Chaudhary (2:53:26).

Half marathon: Men: 1. Par­ deep Singh (1:05:42); 2. Shan­ kar Mann Thapa (1:06:40); 3.

Deepak Kumbhar (1:06:54).

Women: 1. Sanjeevani Jadhav (1:26:24); 2. Monika Athare (1:27:15); 3. Juma Khaturn (1:27:48).

The results: Men: 50m ri e 3­ position: 1. Sanjeev Rajput 460.9 (1168); 2. Akhil Sheoran 459.9 (1161); 3. Parul Kumar 449.8 (1159).

Junior men: 1. Sartaj Tiwana 438.2 (1141); 2. C. Sam George 437.9 (1133); 3. Nishant Malik

Junior men: 25m sports pistol: 1. Vijayveer Sidhu 587; 2. Raj­ kanwar Singh Sandhu 585; 3.

Anish Bhanwala 585.

Trap­2: 1. Kynan Chenai 123; 2.

Manavjit Sandhu 119; 3. Zora­ var Sandhu 118. Trap­1: 1.

Prithviraj Tondaiman 119; 2.

Manavjit Sandhu 119; 3. Laksh­ ay Sheoran 118.

Skeet­2: 1. Smit Singh 122; 2.

Sheeraz Sheikh 121; 3. Man Singh 120. Skeet­1: 1. Smit Singh 124; 2. Sheeraz Sheikh 122; 3. Angadvir Bajwa 120.

Women: Trap­2: 1. Shreyasi Singh 114; 2. Seema Tomar 114; 3. Manisha Keer 112. Trap­1: 1.

Shreyasi Singh 112; 2. Seema Tomar 110; 3. Shagun Chowd­ hary 105.

Skeet­2: 1. Ganemat Sekhon 116; 2. Maheshwari Chauhan 114; 3. Areeba Khan 112.

Skeet­1: 1. Saniya Sheikh 114; 2.

Rashmmi Rathore 113; 3. Ma­ heshwari Chauhan 112.

Karan, Koharu seeded top Sports Bureau INDORE

Karan Srivastava and Koharu Nimi of Japan have been seeded No.1 in the boys’ and girls’ sections respectively in the ITF grade­5 junior tennis tournament to be played at the Indore Tennis Club courts here from Monday.

The results: Boys (qualifying third and nal round): Sushant

Dabas bt Udit Gogoi 6­1, 7­5; Sarthak Suden bt Shashikant Rajput 4­6, 6­3, 7­5; Krishan Hooda bt Tushar Madan 7­6(5), 1­6, 6­3; Naresh Badgujar bt Shaurya Piplani 6­2, 6­2.

Girls (qualifying singles, third and nal round): Sarah Dev bt Laalitya Kalluri 6­0, 6­1; Kritika Chhabra bt Deeksha Manju Pra­ sad 3­6, 6­1, 6­2; Ruju Chauhan bt Riti Agarwal (US) 6­0, 7­6 (6); Gargi Pawar bt Priyanshi

Bhandari 6­3, 6­2.

The seedings: Boys: 1. Karan Srivastava, 2. Dev Javia, 3. Piy­ ush Salekar, 4. Calvin Golmei, 5.

Kevin Patel, 6. Varsh Bhatani, 7.

Bikramjeet Singh Chawla, 8.

Dharmil Shah.

Girls: 1. Koharu Nimi (Jpn), 2.

Kaavya Sawhney, 3. Bhakti Par­ wani, 4. Aesha Patel (US), 5.

Prinkle Singh, 6. Smriti Bhasin, 7. Maanya Viswanath, 8. Rishita Vyas.

Manifold wins Villoo Poonawalla Indian Oaks MUMBAI: Manifold piloted by David Probert won in a great style from her rivals, the Villoo Poon­ awalla Indian Oaks (Gr.1), the stel­ lar attraction of the Sunday’s ( Jan.21) afternoon races.

The winner is owned by Ms. Ameeta Mehra & Mr. Berjis Minoo Desai.

Pesi Shroff trains the winner.

2

#3 3 1 0 0 7

1

LT.COL. GOVIND SINGH (VRC) TROPHY (1,400m), Maiden, 3­ y­o only: HOPE AND GLORY (David Probert) 1, Augustus Caeasar (Neeraj) 2, Rogue One (Dashrath) 3 and Bourbon Princess (C.S.Jodha) 4. Lnk, 2­1/2, 2­1/2. 1m 27.85s. 18 (w), 10 and 11 (p). SHP: 24, FP:29, Q:11, Tanala: 32 and 34.

Favourite: Augustus Caesar. Own­ ers: Mr. Niraj Tyagi and Mr. Vikas Sachdeva rep. Blazing Saddles (PF) & Mr. Vikram Singh. Trainer: Vishal Gaikwad.

R.R.BYRAMJI TROPHY (2,000m), Cl. III, rated 40 to 66: SUSSEX PRIDE (Trevor) 1, Samarjeet (C.S.Jodha) 2, Harmony (Dashrath) 3 and Albareto (A.Im­ ran Khan) 4. 1­3/4, 1­1/2, 1­3/4. 2m 6.93s. 28 (w), 11 and 19 (p). SHP: 26, FP: 163, Q: 68, Tanala: 180 and 182. Favourite: Albareto. Owner: Mr. Ketan R.Mehta. Trainer: Subhag Singh.

RHYTHM TROPHY DIV.I (1,600m), Cl. V, rated 1 to 26: ARASHI (Zeeshan) 1, Royal Éclair (T.S.Jodha) 2, Highland Wind (P.S.Chouhan) 3 and Azeeza (Bhawani) 4. 5­1/2, 1/2, 2­1/2. 1m 40.49s. 18 (w), 12, 11 and 18 (p).

SHP: 30, FP: 49, Q: 28, Tanala: 200 and 91. Favourite: Arashi.

Owners: Mr. & Mrs. Vijay B.Shirke, Mr. K.N.Dhunjibhoy rep.

Five Stars Shipping Co Pvt Ltd & Mr. Berjis Minoo Desai. Trainer: P.Shroff.

3

4

GOOL S POONAWALLA MILLION (Gr.3) (1,200m), 3­y­o only: STAR INSPIRATION (Suraj) 1, Riquewihr (David Probert) 2, Whitewalker (P.S.Chouhan) 3 and Lambretta (A.Imran Khan) 4. 7, 4­ 3/4, 6­3/4. 1m 11.94s. 32 (w), 11 and 11 (p). SHP: 52, Q: 13, Tanala: 52 and 65. Favourite: Riquewihr.

Owners: Mr. & Mrs. Prem Vazir­ ani, M/s. Firoze A.Vakil, Tariq D.Vaidya, Vivek S.Jain & Mrs. B.E­ .Saldhana. Trainer: M. Narredu.

P.D.AVASIA TROPHY (1,200m), Cl.II, rated 60 to 86: SUMMER RAYS (Trevor) 1, Gazino (P.S.Chouhan) 2, Queen Credible (C.S.Jodha) 3 and Governor Gen­ eral (Nazil) 4. Sh, 1­3/4, 3/4. 1m 10.50s. 26 (w), 13, 12 and 16 (p).

SHP: 33, FP: 43, Q: 19, Tanala: 148 and 105. Favourite: Gazino. Own­ ers: Mr. & Mrs. Shapoor P.Mistry rep. Manjri Horse Breeders’ Farm Pvt Ltd & Mr. Vivek S.Jain.

5

Trainer: Imtiaz Sait.

6

30.54s. 18 (w), 11, 13 and 16 (p).

SHP: 26, FP: 48, Q: 16, Tanala: 123 and 71. Favourite: Manifold. Own­ ers: Ms. Ameeta Mehra & Mr. Ber­ jis Minoo Desai. Trainer: P.Shroff.

7

RHYTHM TROPHY DIV.II Cl.V, rated 1 to 26: ABU AL BUKHOOSH (Merchant) 1, Sir Song (Dashrath) 2, Gnostic Eyes ( Bhawani) 3 and Artus (P.S.Chouhan) 4. Hd, 2­1/4, 2­1/2.

1m 39.66s. 96 (w), 32­18 and 12 (p). SHP: 60, FP: 803, Q: 756, Tanala: 2,808 and 1,098. Favour­ ite: Artus. Owners: M/s. Vinay Ku­ mar & Ranjit Pai. Trainer: Faisal Abbas.

Jackpot : 70 per cent: 17,882 (18 tkts). : 30 per cent: 376 (367 tkts).

Treble : (i) 156 (159 tkts), (ii) 989 (41 tkts).

Super Jackpot: 70 per cent: 31, 279 (4tkts).: 30 per cent: 432 (124 tkts).

TRICUMDAS DWARKADAS TROPHY (1,200m), Cl. IV, rated 20 to 46: CHAPLIN (David Allan) 1, Gloriana (Trevor) 2, Sporto (Nirmal) 3 and Ridgewood Star (S.J.Sunil) 4. 2­3/4, 2­1/4, 1­1/4. 1m 10.89s. Rs. 21 (w), 12, 17 and 60 (p). SHP: 41, FP: 66, Q: 37, Tanala: 1,915 and 1,045. Favourite: Chap­ lin. Owners: M/s. Mukul Sonawala & D.R.Thacker. Trainer: Dallas Todywalla.

VILLOO POONAWALLA INDIAN OAKS (Gr.1) (2,400m), Indian Fillies 4­year­old only: MANIFOLD (Multidimensional – Dhaawiah) (David Probert) 1, Themis (Lord Shanakill – Soul So­ ciety) (Trevor) 2, Selfie Star (Excellent Art – Maha­ ranee) (David Allan) 3 and Auburn (Champs Elysees – Atwirl) (Sandesh) 4. 4­1/4, 3­3/4, 1. 2m

8

Breezeofthesouth clinches feature event HYDERABAD: Breezeofthesouth (ridden by Akshay Kumar) won the T. Chandrasekhar Reddy Me­ morial Cup, the chief event of the races held here on Sunday. The winner is owned by Mr. Dwarakanath Reddy Vemireddy and trained by R.H. Sequeira.

THE RESULTS: NEXT MOVE PLATE (Div. II), (1,200m), 4­y­o & over, rated upto 25: GLORIOUS GREY (Deepak Singh) 1, Cannon Fury (N. Rawal) 2, Conroy (Rohit Kumar) 3 and Gaandeevan (G. Naresh) 4. 3­1/2, 3/4 and 1/4. 1m 15.37s. 41 (w), 8, 8 and 8 (p), SHP: 24, FP: 265, Q: 132, Tanala: 3,513 (17 tkts). Favourite: Aalishaan. Owner: Mr. C. Nanda Kumar. Trainer: Faiyaz.

1

2

THE SWEET GIRL PLATE (Div. I), (1,400m), 4­y­o & over,

rated 26 to 46: TURF LEGEND (Ajit Singh) 1, Star Gazer (C.P. Bop­ panna) 2, Shivalik Arrow (I. Chisty) 3 and Wannawin (F. Sweeney) 4. 1­3/4, 1­1/2 and 3­1/4.

1m 27.23s. 104 (w), 11, 5 and 6 (p), SHP: 19, FP: 359, Q: 68, Tanala: 709 (149 tkts). Favourite: Star Gazer. Owner: Mr. A.K. Jaiswal.

Trainer: Ravinder S. SALARJUNG PLATE (Div. II), (1,200m), 5­y­o & over, rated 26 to 46: GOLDEN IMAGE (A.A. Vikrant) 1, Shakesphere (Akshay Kumar) 2, Prime Time (K. Sai Kiran) 3 and Gayle Force (A.M. To­ grallu) 4. 3/4, 1­3/4 and 1­1/4. 1m 13.78s. 83 (w), 23, 7 and 8 (p), SHP: 22, FP: 405, Q: 136, Tanala: 506 (148 tkts). Favourite: Prime Time. Owners: M/s. K.S.N. Murthy, L. D. Silva and Surender Singh Makhija. Trainer: L. D’Silva.

3

SALARJUNG PLATE (Div. I), (1,200m), 5­y­o & over, rated 26 to 46: GORGEOUS LADY (Deepak S) 1, Chinese Thought (A.A. Vikrant) 2, Aston Doulton (N. Rawal) 3 and Ikigai (P. Ajeeth Kumar) 4. 1, 1/4 and 1/2. 1m 13.50s.

14 (w), 7, 22 and 17 (p), FP: 284, SHP: 69, Q: 237, Tanala: 2,590 (29 tkts). Favourite: Gorgeous Lady.

Owners: M/s. Rajesh Sanghani, Narender Surana, Chander Kumar Patny and Kishor Siddamsetty.

Trainer: D. Netto.

4

MAYOR’S CUP (1,600m), 4­y­o & over, rated 42 to 62: GUNNER (Kuldeep Singh) 1, Supremo (Ar­ shad Alam) 2, Ashwa Ashoka (P.K. Gaddam) 3 and Bayrd (Deepak Singh) 4. Nk, nk and 1­1/4. 1m 40.28s. 257 (w), 28, 7 and 15 (p), FP: 1,571, SHP: 21, Q: 523, Tanala: 73,070 (one tkt). Favourite: Mer­

5

itocracy. Owner: Col. S.B. Nair.

Trainer: Arjun Anne.

6

(p), FP: 73, SHP: 22, Q: 42, Tanala: 583 (111 tkts). Favourite: Mr. Baahubali.

Owner: Mr. Dwarakanath Reddy Vemireddy.

Trainer: R.H. Sequeira.

7

NEXT MOVE PLATE (Div. I), (1,200m), 4­y­o & over, rated upto 25: MAN OF THE SERIES (Ak­ shay Kumar) 1, New Hope (Deepak Singh) 2, Touch Of Gold (N. Rawal) 3 and Dawning Hope (A.A. Vikrant) 4. 1/2, 1­3/4 and, 1/2. 1m 15.16s. 9 (w), 6, 7 and 8 (p), FP: 41, SHP: 19, Q: 29, Tanala: 180 (496 tkts). Favourite: Man Of The Series. Owner: Mr. S.A. Shehzad Abbas. Trainer: S. Abbas.

SWEET GIRL PLATE (Div. II), (1,400m), 4­y­o & over, rated 26 to 46: YANGA (K. Sai Kiran) 1, O’ Star (C.P. Boppanna) 2, Jumeira Express (Arshad Alam) 3 and Aerofoil (G. Naresh) 4. 2­3/4, 3/4 and 1. 1m 26.79s. 31 (w), 9, 10 and 8 (p), FP: 230, SHP: 29, Q: 152, Tanala: 954 (62 tkts). Favourite: Secret Art. Owners: M/s. Vinay Ku­ mar and Ashok Rupani. Trainer: Arjun Anne.

T. CHANDRASEKHAR REDDY MEMORIAL CUP (1,400m), 4­ y­o & over, rated 74 & above: BREEZEOFTHESOUTH (Akshay Ku­ mar) 1, Ashwa Raftar (I. Chisty) 2, Kolors (P.K. Gaddam) 3 and Morn­ ing Miracle (N. Rawal) 4. 1, 1 and 1­ 1/2. 1m 25.68s. 15 (w), 7, 7 and 13

8

Treble (i): 21,132 (two tkts); (ii): 31935 (carried over); (iii): 611 (112 tkts). Consolation jackpot: 10,340 (13 tkts). Jackpot: 1,56,826 (two tkts).

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 12220

(set by Gridman)

13 Story told to support what prevents one's prompt arrival by road (8) 15 Spirit shown in short race (4)

We assume we are in charge of everything in our lives, and keep patting ourselves on the back for everything that goes right. But we are not the ‘doers’ in the strict sense of the term, and Lord Krishna explains this to Arjuna in the Bhaga­ vad Gita. He shows Arjuna His Viswarupa to impress upon the doubting and confused Pandava, that He is the Supreme One, said V.S. Karunakarachariar, in a discourse. Arjuna sees the entire Kaurava army caught in the mighty jaws of the Supreme One. Krishna makes it clear to Arjuna that he is not going to do the killing, for the Lord has come to the earth as Krishna to rid the world of evil. He will anyway des­ troy the Kauravas, even if Arjuna does nothing. Arjuna is merely going to do his duty as a warrior, which is to ght the enemy.

When the war begins, Krishna is Arjuna’s charioteer, deft­ ly steering him out of danger, and Himself taking the arrows that come towards Arjuna. At the end of a day of battle, Ar­ juna tells Krishna that he saw someone go before him when the ghting was taking place. Arjuna wants to know who that was. Lord Krishna replies that it was Lord Siva who had gone into the battle eld, before Arjuna, killing all the enemy soldiers. Arjuna had assumed that he had felled them with his arrows, but all he was doing was to strike down those who had already been killed by Lord Siva.

The Supreme One, in His Rama avatara, exhibits kindness and love towards those who are well disposed towards Him. He gladly admits Vibhishana into His camp. Vedanta Desika, in his Raghuveera Gadyam, praises Rama’s compassion to­ wards Ravana. Seeing that the demon king is worn out and in no condition to continue ghting, Rama tells him to go and have a night’s rest, and resume ghting the next day.

18 Nominal chief F? (10)

7 A vanishing point that is atop a high mountain (4,3)

24 Son and men starting late to gain fanfare (6) 26 Engineer's plan abruptly stops a learner in dislodgement (7) 27 I, Sue, managed to have oil put to good use (7) ■ ACROSS 1 Agree icon is acting harmfully to the said team (8) 5 Both move around to nd you in French jacuzzi (3,3) 10 Father returns to Mumbai neighbourhood for dress (7) 11 Compelled army to get wine (7) 12 Good ght: Lok Sabha makes unpleasant sounds (6)

Always in charge

4 Tedious leaders of Delhi University lying low (4) 6 Ex slamming male fold (3,5)

23 Marginal shift is causing concern (8)

28 Go up and down the Supreme Court list (6)

FAITH

3 Get round to a group (6)

16 A Samaritan wandering in US city (5,5)

20 Madly, team took away dirty tote in a raid (4)

SUDOKU

8 These dishonest businessmen might deal in white goods too (5,10) 9 Being fair, one man's taking rst section to a learner (9) 14 Rough up scholar and composer by an account (9) 17 First in time, grotesque vampire draws a number (8)

29 Wishes to give up rst year's wages (8)

19 Indian mother steeped in good rules — set of language rules (7)

■ DOWN

21 Say, say fellows avoid (7)

1 Diplomat accused of romantic escapades (6,9)

22 Again approve surrender (6)

2 Wicked rogue with debts (7)

25 A top­grade artist's glow (4)

Solution to puzzle 12219

Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku

Join us now https://t.me/towardstomorrow CM YK

A

Join &share t.me/towardstomorrow EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

THE HINDU

SPORT 17

NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Relieved Rafa survives test even as Dimitrov takes out Kyrgios Paes-Purav crash out of men’s doubles; Bopanna & Babos advance; Wozniacki on course Agence France-Presse

THE RESULTS

Melbourne

Rafael Nadal battled through a huge test to make his 10th Australian Open quarter nal Sunday as Grigor Dimitrov ousted Nick Kyrgios to join him.

On an overcast and muggy day at Melbourne Park, the Spanish World No. 1 was up against his most dangerous opponent yet in pocket­rock­ et Diego Schwartzman, one of the smallest men on tour.

The Argentine 24th seed endeared with his astonish­ ingly powerful ground­ strokes before Nadal pre­ vailed 6­3, 6­7(4), 6­3, 6­3 in almost four hours.

It kept alive his push for a 17th Grand Slam title and al­ so ensured he will remain No. 1 when the new rankings come out after the tournament.

Marin Cilic beat Spanish 10th seed Pablo Correna Bus­ ta 6­7(2), 6­3, 7­6(0), 7­6(3), his 100th win at a Grand Slam.

Dimitrov downed the 17th seed Kyrgios 7­6(3), 7­6(4), 4­6, 7­6(4) in 3hr 26min.

Dimitrov stepped up his campaign after a couple of indi erent wins in the earlier rounds to avenge his defeat to Kyrgios in the semi nals of this month’s Brisbane International.

He won all three tiebreak­ ers in a charged night match atmosphere on the Rod Lav­ er Arena before a capacity home crowd willing their player on.

Turning on the style World No. 2 Caroline Woz­ niacki turned on the style in her match to take another step towards a maiden Grand Slam title.

Wozniacki, a semi nalist in 2011 who has never quite lived up to the hype in the

Fourth round: Men: 6-Marin Cilic (Cro) bt 10-Pablo CarrenoBusta (Esp) 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(0), 7-6(3); 3-Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) bt 17-Nick Kyrgios (Aus) 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4).

1-Rafael Nadal (Esp) bt 24Diego Schwartzman (Arg) 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3; Kyle Edmund (GBr) bt Andreas Seppi (Ita) 67(4), 7-5, 6-2, 6-3.

Women: Carla Suarez Navarro (Esp) bt 32-Anett Kontaveit (Est) 4-6, 6-4, 8-6; 2-Caroline Wozniacki (Den) bt 19-Magdalena Rybarikova (Svk) 6-3, 6-0; Elise Mertens (Bel) bt Petra Martic (Cro) 7-6(5), 7-5; 4-Elina Svitolina (Ukr) bt Denisa Allertova (Cze) 6-3, 6-0.

Doubles: Men: Third round: 11Juan Sebastian Cabal & Robert Farah (Col) bt Leander Paes & Purav Raja 6-1, 6-2.

Mixed doubles: First round: 5Timea Babos (Hun) & Rohan Bopanna bt Ellen Perez and Andrew Whittington (Aus) 6-2, 6-4.

Marathon: Grigor Dimitrov won a gripping four-setter to knock Australia's big hope Nick Kyrgios out of the Australian Open on Sunday. AFP *

majors, annihilated 19th­ seeded Magdalena Rybariko­ va 6­3, 6­0 in her most im­ pressive performance to date.

“She really mixes up the pace, I just tried to calm down, get my returns in and wait for the opportunities to attack,” she said after crush­ ing the Slovak.

Mixed luck Leander Paes and Purav Raja crashed out as Rohan Bopan­ na and his Hungarian partn­ er Timea Babos outplayed their opponents to progress to the second round.

The unseeded Paes and Raja were beaten 6­1, 6­2 by their 11th seeded opponents in a contest that lasted one hour and nine minutes.

Bopanna and Babos dis­ patched the unseeded Aus­ tralians Whittington and Pe­ rez 6­2, 6­4.

Belgium beats India IANS Tauranga (New Zealand)

Belgium beat India 2­1 in the nal of the rst leg of the Four­Nation invitation­ al hockey tournament at the Blake Park here on Sunday.

Tom Boon’s fourth­mi­ nute strike gave Belgium the lead but Mandeep Singh pulled India level in the 19th minute. Sebastien Dockier came up with the winning goal in the 36th minute for the Rio Olympic silver medallists.

Bagan downs EB

*

IANS Kolkata

Mohun Bagan stopped East Bengal’s eight­match un­ beaten run with a 2­0 victo­ ry in a high­voltage I­ League clash here on Sunday.

Dipanda Dicka (1st, 35th minute) scored a rst­half brace to help his side win the Kolkata derby and climb two rungs to the fourth position by record­ ing its fourth win in 10 matches.

Gill reigns Sports Reporter Bengaluru

Mahindra Adventure’s Gaurav Gill annexed his fth MRF­FMSCI Indian Na­ tional Rally Championship (INRC) trophy, with a victo­ ry in the MRF 43rd K­1000 Rally here on Sunday.

#3 3 1 0 0 7

Top form: Karnataka’s H.M Bhandawaya, left, led from the front garnering 30 points. R. RAGU

Final standings: MRF FMSCI INRC 2017 Championship (overall, winners only): INRC Drivers: Gaurav Gill (100 points) & Musa Sherif (110).

INRC 2 Drivers: Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Y Bhatt (97).

INRC 3 Drivers: Dean Mascarenhas (115) & Shruptha Padival (118).

FMSCI 2WD Cup: Chetan Shivram & Rupesh Koley (75).

Karnataka downs TN, tops group Uttarakhand sails past Rajasthan Special Correspondent Chennai

It was always going to be a tall order for Tamil Nadu against an in­form Karnata­ ka and the match went ac­ cording to script as the hosts went down 83­67 in the women’s section of the 68th senior National basket­ ball championships here on Sunday.

Karnataka topped Group A with an all­win record, while Tamil Nadu nished fourth in the group, but still has a chance to enter the quarter nals.

From the lower pool (Le­ vel II), UP defeated West Bengal 68­62, and is expect­ ed to ‘choose’ Telangana (it nished fourth in Group B) in the pre­quarter nals.

Earlier, defending cham­ pion Uttarakhand eased past Rajasthan 77­55 in a men’s Group A contest and nished second behind Kar­ nataka. Uttarakhand meets Punjab in the quarter nals.

The results: Level I: Group A:

Uttarakhand 77 (Yadwinder Singh 24, R. Murli Krishnan 13, Amandeep Singh 10, Arjun Singh 13 bt Rajasthan 55 (Saurabh Badaya 16, Vinod Kumar 11).

Group B: Gujarat 94 (Harpal 16, Dhaval Ulva 13, Vinay 11, Vivek Goti 14, M. Kasi Rajan 26) bt Haryana 65 (Vineet Nehra 14, Deepak Rathi 19, Vikas Kumar 13); Indian Railways 88 (Gagandeep Singh 26, Himanshu Sharma 17) bt Punjab 81 (Satnam Singh 23, Jagdeep Singh 15).

Level I: Women: Group A: Karnataka 83 (Bhandawaya 30, P. Priyanka 12, Roshini Rosa John 12) bt Tamil Nadu 67 (Vandana Arya 12); Kerala 62 (Grima Merlin Verghese 11, P.S. Jeena 25, Annesha Cleetus 14) bt Madhya Pradesh 34 (Nima Doma Bhutiya 15).

Group B: Delhi 78 (Akansha Singh 16, Raspreet Sidhu 17, Pratima Singh 13) bt Rajasthan 37 (Nisha Sharma 12, Kamlesh Taragi 16); Maharashtra 76 (Susan Pinto 15, Mugdha Amarotkar 11) bt Telangna 35 (Manasa 21).

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IN BRIEF

The Shape of Water wins PGA best lm LOS ANGELES

Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy romance The Shape of Water took home best movie at the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, putting it in pole position for Oscars glory in March. The 1960s­set fairytale bested leading Academy Awards contenders including Call Me by Your Name, Dunkirk, Get Out, ‘I, Tonya’ and Lady Bird. AFP

Blind FB sta developing tech for visually impaired SAN FRANCISCO

A blind Facebook engineer, Matt King, is developing a technology that will use Artificial Intelligence to verbalise content of an image or video and enable the sightless to “see” and determine appropriate content for people and advertisers. It could be used to spot images and videos that violate terms of use. IANS

In China’s atomic city, dark memories haunt the ruins

What’s so wrong about the ‘tide pod challenge’?

People faced executions, brutal expulsions in the name of Mao’s revolution

Spitting out or ingesting laundry detergent could prove fatal

CHRIS BUCKLEY ADAM WU JINYINTAN, China

Among the yak herds and Ti­ betan Buddhism prayer ags dotting the windswept high­ lands of northwestern China stand the ruins of a remote, hidden city that vanished from the maps in 1958.

The decaying clusters of workshops, bunkers and dormitories are remnants of Plant 221, also known as Chi­ na’s Los Alamos. Here, on a mountain­high grassland called Jinyintan in Qinghai province, thousands of Tibe­ tan and Mongolian herders were expelled to create a se­ cret town where a nuclear arsenal was built to defend Mao Zedong’s revolution.

Patriotic showpiece “It was totally secret; you needed an entry pass,” said Pengcuo Zhuoma, 56, a rud­ dy­faced ethnic Mongolian herder living next to an abandoned nuclear work­ shop, whose family once supplied meat and milk to the scientists. “Your mouth was clamped shut so you couldn’t talk about it.”

New ‘tattoo’ lets you control objects remotely

Unforgotten past: The museum tells visitors that the weapons were made to fend o U.S. and Soviet aggressors. NYT *

That changed in the 1990s, when “Atomic City,” as it is now billed, became a patriotic showpiece, cele­ brating the scientists and la­ bourers who worked in the harsh, breathtaking condi­ tions on a plateau 11,000 feet above sea level. They built China’s rst atomic bomb, detonated in 1964, then its rst hydrogen bomb, tested in 1967, and they helped de­ velop missiles to carry the warheads.

Today, veterans of the project proudly speak of

how they helped to forge China’s nuclear shield. A mu­ seum, still forbidden to fo­ reigners, tells visitors that the weapons were made to fend o U.S. and Soviet ag­ gressors encircling China. A statue of Mao gazes paternal­ ly over the square of the main town, where thou­ sands of people still live.

“At the time, China’s so­ cial conditions and interna­ tional position were a bit like North Korea now,” said Liao Tianli, a writer who visits Ji­ nyintan once or twice a year.

“For many people, it was purely in the spirit of, ‘I’ll do whatever Chairman Mao tells me to.’”

The herders and farmers who were moved for the pro­ ject endured starvation, exe­ cutions and brutal expul­ sions. Political paranoia engulfed the project itself, and thousands of scientists and technicians were perse­ cuted. Some veterans have said that the nuclear workers were not adequately protect­ ed against radiation, or given e ective care after they fell ill from cancer.

Herders in many parts of Qinghai had risen up against the con scations of land and livestock that were part of Mao’s so­called Great Leap Forward. O cials, con­ cerned that the uprising might threaten the nuclear plant, were gripped by fears of spies and saboteurs.

Yin Shusheng, a former police o cer, wrote that o ­ cials imprisoned about 700 herders around Jinyintan, accusing them of joining counterrevolutionary gangs.

Seventeen died under brutal interrogation. NY TIMES

NIRAJ CHOKSHI

I

t seems every few weeks another challenge takes social media by storm.

Some, like the Ice Bucket Challenge, promote a cause.

Others, like the bottle­ ip­ ping craze, are benign. But then there are those fads that are ill­informed or, worse, dangerous.

The latest, the “Tide pod challenge,” belongs in that category. It involves biting down on a brightly coloured laundry detergent packet and spitting out or ingesting its contents, an act that pos­ es serious health risks.

YouTube and Facebook said they will remove mate­ rial showing people who have recorded themselves performing the challenge.

Tide released a video in which Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots discouraged the practice.

In the rst half of January, poison control centers han­ dled 39 cases in which teen­ agers were intentionally ex­ posed to the detergent packets. That was as many as in all of 2016, the Ameri­ can Association of Poison

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Giant leap

Berlin

Scientists have developed ultrathin electronic skin tat­ toos that can help control virtual and physical objects with mere hand gestures.

The extremely thin, almost invisible foil that sticks to the palm of the hand like a second skin, have sensors which provide people with a “sixth sense” for magnetic elds.

These sensors will enable people to manipulate every­ day objects or control ap­ pliances with mere ges­ tures, similar to how we use a smartphone now.

“Our electronic skin trac­ es the movement of a hand, for example, by changing its position with respect to the external magnetic eld of a permanent magnet,” said Canon Bermudez of Helm­ holtz­Zentrum Dresden­ Rossendorf (HZDR) in Germany.

“This not only means that we can digitise its rotations and translate them to the virtual world but also even in uence objects there,” said Mr. Bermudez, lead author of the study.

Using this technique, the researchers managed to control a virtual light bulb on a computer screen in a touchless way.

To achieve this result, they set a permanent mag­ net in a ring­shaped plastic structure emulating a dial.

Then, they associated the angle between the wearable sensor and the magnetic source with a control pa­ rameter which modulated the intensity of the light bulb. “By coding the angles

between 0 and 180 degrees so that they corresponded to a typical hand movement when adjusting a lamp, we created a dimmer and con­ trolled it just with a hand movement over the perma­ nent magnet,” said Denys Makarov from HZDR. The researchers were al­ so able to use a virtual dial in the same way. The ap­ proach provides a unique al­ ternative for interfacing the physical and the virtual world that goes far beyond what is possible with cur­ rent technologies.

Virtual objects “To manipulate virtual ob­ jects, current systems essen­ tially capture a moving body by optical means,” Mr. Ma­ karov said.

This requires a load of cameras and accelerome­ ters as well as fast image da­ ta processing, he added.

“Because they are so bul­ ky, the standard gloves and glasses hamper the expe­ rience of virtual reality,” he added.

“As our polymer foils are not even three micrometres thick, you can easily wear them on your body. Just by way of comparison: a nor­ mal human hair is roughly 50 micrometres thick,” said Martin Kaltenbrunner, from Johannes Kepler University Linz ( JKU) in Austria.

The sensors can also withstand bending, folding and stretching without los­ ing their functionality. They are suitable for the incorpo­ ration into soft, shape­able materials like textiles to ma­ nufacture wearable electronics.

*

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

Control Centres said.

The problem is more se­ rious for young children.

Last year, centres received 10,570 reports of children 5 or younger being exposed to the packets, the group said.

Details on the severity of the injuries were unavailable.

Why so dangerous?

The companies that make the packets use di erent for­ mulas, but one thing is clear: They contain more than just soap, said Dr. Diane Calello, the medical director of the New Jersey Poison Informa­

Will Japan’s Olympic mascots be cash cows?

They are ambassadors for tourism sector

‘Sensors aid manipulation of appliances’ Press Trust of India

Yuck!: Once inside mouth, the contents explode.

tion and Education System at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

A variety of chemicals are inside, depending on the brand, she said. A dissolva­ ble covering holds it all to­ gether. “What we’ve seen is when children or adults bite into these things that mois­ ture­sensitive membranes basically just disintegrates and the contents explode in­ side your mouth,” she said in a phone interview. That’s when the pain sets in. The chemicals cause severe burns to the mouth, esopha­ gus or respiratory tract, she said, adding that some very young and very old patients with cognitive issues have been rushed to emergency rooms or even died as a re­ sult of eating the packets.

“This is not something I would put anywhere near someone’s mouth,” she said.

The origins and inspira­ tion of the challenge are murky, but jokes have circu­ lated online about the temp­ tation of a product that is known to be dangerous but that bears a resemblance to candy. NY TIMES

Agence France-Presse Tokyo

#3 3 1 0 0 7

Spectacle in Malta: Performers of Spanish theatrical company La Fura dels Baus control a giant puppet during the opening of the cultural festival Valletta 2018, in Valletta, Malta. REUTERS *

Come to this island, before it sinks Already much of Kutubdia in Bangladesh has been swallowed by the rising seas has been swallowed by rising seas, leaving countless fami­ lies with nothing. Nurul Haque, a farmer who lost all his land to the ocean, told me that he may have to pull his daughter, Munni Akter, 13, out of eighth grade and marry her o to an older man looking for a second or third wife, because he has few nancial options left to support her.

“I don’t really want to marry her o , because it’s not good for girls,” he said

NICHOLAS KRISTOF KUTUBDIA

Anyone who doubts climate change should come to this lovely low­lying island, lapped by gentle waves and home to about 100,000 peo­ ple. But come quickly, while it’s still here. “My house was over there,” said Zainal Abe­ din, a farmer, pointing to the waves about 100 feet from the shore. “At low tide, we can still see signs of our house.”

Already much of Kutubdia

glumly. “But I’m considering it.”

He insisted that if it we­ ren’t for the rising waters and his resulting impover­ ishment, he wouldn’t think of nding a husband for her.

Climate change One of the paradoxes of cli­ mate change is that the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people — who contribute almost nothing to warming the planet — end up being most harmed by it.

Bangladesh is expected to be particularly badly hit by ris­ ing oceans because much of the country is only a few feet above sea level. “Climate change is destroying chil­ dren’s futures,” noted Justin Forsyth, deputy executive director of UNICEF. “In Bangladesh, millions of children and families are at risk of losing their homes, their land and their liveli­ hoods from rising sea levels, ooding and increased cy­ clone intensity.” NY TIMES

They’re wide­eyed, brightly coloured, and completely adorable. But can Japan’s Olympic mascots bring in the cash, in a country where cuddly icons promote eve­ rything from regional tou­ rism to local prisons?

Japan unveiled three sets of prospective mascots for the 2020 games last year.

The winning duo will be an­ nounced in February, grad­ uating into a landscape packed with cute and quirky characters.

Known locally as “yuru­ kyara” or “laid­back charac­ ters”, mascots can be major money spinners. The pot­ bellied, red­cheeked bear known as Kumamon — created in 2010 to promote Japan’s southern Kumamoto region — raked in $8.8 mil­ lion last year for local businesses.

Mascots capitalise on a lo­ cal love of all things adora­ ble, including characters that have gained interna­ tional fame like the perky­ eared yellow Pokemon, and the demure Hello Kitty with her signature hair bow. “Ja­ pan has a tradition of creat­ ing personalised characters out of nature — mountains, rivers, animals and plants,” said Sadashige Aoki, profes­ sor of advertisement theory at Hosei University.

Now the hope is that the Tokyo Olympics mascots can serve as both ambassa­ dors for Japan’s expanding tourism sector, and a way to recoup some of the billions spent on staging the Games.

“It’s a once­in­a­lifetime chance for Japan to promote

A le photo of children with Olympics mascots in the background. AFP *

its tradition, culture and how its society looks,” said Mr. Aoki. “The question is how to make them globally popular, like Mickey Mouse.”

Licensing limitations In the past, Olympic mas­ cots have been anything but a sure bet in terms of reve­ nue. Brazil netted $300 mil­ lion in pro ts from licensing intellectual property from the 2016 Games, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Merchandise featuring Rio’s feline mascot Vinicius was the top­selling item. But Wenlock and Mandeville, the widely mocked mascots of the 2012 London Games, proved far from Olympic gold. The one­eyed charac­ ters were dubbed “bizarre” and “creepy” by some, re­ portedly sending shares in their manufacturer down by more than a third. There has been no indication so far that Japan intends to re­ quest rights to the mascots, with a spokeswoman for Olympics con rming that it expects to relinquish them after the Games.

Arti cial Intelligence is making inroads into tourism sector Hotels are hoping to use AI to get better knowledge of their clients via personal data provided on reservation or “beacon” technology Agency France-Press Madrid

A hotel room automatically adjusting to the tastes of each guest, virtual reality headsets as brochures: the tourism sector is starting to embrace new technologies, hoping to bene t from lucra­ tive personal data.

In a prototype of the hotel of the future on display at Madrid’s Fitur tourism fair, receptionists have disap­ peared and customers are checked­in via a mirror equipped with facial recognition.

Once the client is identi­ ed, the room adapts itself automatically to all demands made at reservation: temper­

ature, lighting, Picasso or Van Gogh in the digital frames hanging on the walls.

“Technology will allow us to know what the client needs before he even knows he wants it,” says Alvaro Carrillo de Albornoz, head of Spain’s Hotel Technology Institute.

Tracking guests Some hotels already o er such experiences at a more basic level. But the room pro­ totype put on show by French technology consul­ tancy Altran, aimed at luxury hotels, has incorporated cut­ ting­edge speech recognition technology, allowing for in­ stance a guest to order a piz­ za in 40 languages.

On demand: Hotel room adapts itself automatically to all demands made at reservation. GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO *

“Even the lock is intelli­ gent — it opens and closes via the WhatsApp application on the client’s phone,” says Car­ los Mendez, head of innova­ tion at Altran.

The mattress is equipped with sensors and records the movements of those sleep­ ing, which could prompt ho­ tel sta to o er them a co ee when they wake up.

Generally speaking, hotels are hoping to use arti cial in­ telligence (AI) to get better knowledge of their clients via personal data provided on reservation or “beacon” technology used once the client is in the hotel or resort.

Restricted in some coun­ tries, the latter involves plac­ ing a beacon in the hotel that will detect customers’ smart­ phones, meaning they will know how much time they spend in their rooms, for in­ stance, or at what time they go to the pool.

Algorithms at work Fed with this data, AI algo­ rithms will get to work, de­ termining what the clients’

habits are to lure them back again by o ering a tailor­ made experience, or sell them additional products.

If the algorithm “knows that when you come to the hotel with your wife, you don’t eat at the restaurant but order room service, it will propose a special room menu with a bottle of cham­ pagne,” says Mr. Carrillo.

“But if you come with your entire family, it will propose a reduction on kids’ menus.”

For Rodrigo Martinez, head of consultancy Hotel Servicers, these technologi­ cal tools could also help im­ prove hotels’ productivity.

“All purchases can be made automatic,” he says.

“For instance, if a huge amount of Brits are coming, the system will know that it has to order more bacon.”

Virtual reality Manufacturers of virtual real­ ity (VR) headsets are also jumping onto the bandwa­ gon. At various Fitur stands, visitors are able to immerse themselves in the streets of Marrakech or amble along a portion of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrims’ trail.

“We’re in a completely pioneering phase,” says Mar­ cial Correal, head of the Spanish association for vir­ tual travel agencies, who is promoting this tool to tou­ rism professionals as the bro­

chure of the future, without too much success so far.

“Professionals say ‘how amazing’ but they don’t buy it. It’s not in their marketing budget priorities.”

Headsets themselves are not too pricey, between 50 and 600 euros , says Cesar Urbina of virtual reality agen­ cy Iralta. “Then there’s con­ tent production, a little more than a normal video — from 2,000 euros up to 150,000 euros.”

Hotel chain Palladium, ho­ wever, has decided to give it a go. Its salespeople no lon­ ger have paper brochures on them to present their hotels to travel agents, they carry virtual reality headsets.

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Girls outshine boys

AAP calls for bandh

‘Only 2% go to theatres’

A stitch in time...

Haryana districts with abysmal record of female foeticide till 2012 show improvement Page 2

AAP announces day-long bandh on Tuesday in protest against the ongoing sealing drive by the BJP-ruled civic bodies Page 3

Madhavan is set to make his digital debut with psychological thriller Breathe Page 4

Narendra Kumar talks about how fashion is becoming our cultural ambassador on the global stage Page 5

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IN BRIEF

‘No one told us we were putting explosives in packets’ A ve­month pregnant woman who joined the factory just four days ago and two cousins are among the 17 people killed in the Bawana tragedy SAURABH TRIVEDI NEW DELHI

28-year-old held for murdering friend NEW DELHI

A torn visiting card recovered at a murder spot led to the arrest of a 28­year­old for the alleged murder of his friend, whom he suspected of having an a air with his wife, the police said on Sunday.

Pawan Shukla was arrested from a de­addiction centre at Tughlakabad Extension on Sunday.

CITY

A PAGE 3

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IGNOU dates for MPhil, PhD entrance tests NEW DELHI

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has opened admissions to its PhD and MPhil programmes for July 2018 session in regular mode. IGNOU Research Unit Director Prof. Kaustuva Barik announced on Sunday that a national­level entrance exam will be conducted on March 4 at select examination centres across the country.

CITY

A PAGE 3

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‘Make life choices to keep diabetes at bay’ NEW DELHI

Diabetes with Delight, a comprehensive manual on the metabolic disorder written by Dr. Anoop Misra, chairman of Fortis C­Doc, was launched at the book fair here. Dr. Misra says his book is an “educative guide that teaches readers about how diabetes can a ect mental, emotional and physical well being but can be prevented or managed through some simple, methodical steps” CITY A PAGE 2 DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

A ve­month pregnant wo­ man and two members of one family are among the 17 people killed in the Bawana re tragedy on Saturday.

Roop Prakash Singh and Sunita — the only survivors — claimed the factory owner or the supervisor never told them about explosives being used in the factory.

“We were never briefed about the nature of the sub­ stance [powder] used to ll the packets. I rushed down­ stairs after hearing screams but thick smoke had covered the entire oor and it was coming towards the rst oor. I saw a man jump from the second oor to save him­ self, I followed him and jumped. When I gained con­ scious, I found myself in the hospital,” said Ms. Sunita.

Five­month pregnant Soni had joined the factory just four days ago on a salary of 5,000 per month to help share family responsibilities with help her husband, who works as a labourer in anoth­

A victim’s relative breaks down on Sunday. SUSHIL *

KUMAR VERMA

L­G Anil Baijal meets relatives of the victims. *

SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Eighteen lives, < > including that of my unborn grandchild, were lost in the re... We were looking forward to the birth of Soni’s child but everything is over now... We identi ed her body with the help of her kurta and bangles Mother of five-month pregnant victim Soni

Sorrow strikes: A family member holds the photograph of a loved one who perished in the re, in the Capital on Sunday.

er factory in same area. Ex­ cited about the birth of So­ ni’s rst child, the family had made many plans to wel­ come the baby. However, their happiness was short­ lived.

‘Grandmother’ griefs “Eighteen lives, including that of my unborn grand­ child, were lost in the inci­ dent. We were looking for­

ward to the birth of Soni’s child but everything is over now. Her face was unrecog­ nisable. We identi ed her body with the help of her kurta and bangles,” said So­ ni’s mother, who was incon­ solable while waiting outside the mortuary at Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital.

Soni’s brother Babu Ram said her husband was away in his village in Sitapur and is

on his way back after learn­ ing about the tragedy.

#3 3 1 0 0 7

‘I will never see him again’ The family of 22­year­old Su­ raj Singh, who was one among the seven men killed in the blaze, had come from Unnao to take his body home.

Suraj’s mother Rajeshwari said she had not seen her

*

SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

son for almost two years since he had moved to Delhi in search of employment.

“I will never see him again,” she sobbed.

Suraj’s 19­year­old cousin Rohit, the son of Rajeshwa­ ri’s elder sister, was also killed in the re.

“I realised my three brothers — Rohit, Sanjit Singh and Suraj — were working in the basement. I

decided to alert them. As soon as I reached the ground oor, I saw the re spread swiftly. Instead of alerting my brothers, I ran upstairs to save myself,” said Suraj and Rohit’s cousin Roop Pra­ kash Singh.

Just like the other survi­ vor, Mr. Roop Singh man­ aged to escape the blaze by jumping from the second oor of the building.

Remains of burnt­out recrackers that were made in the factory. *

SAURABH TRIVEDI

‘Factory was operating without licence’ Factory had single entry-exit door Mayor Preety Agarwal caught on camera saying licensing lies within their authority

Forensic Scienti c Lab experts visit the spot and collect samples

Soumya Pillai Damini Nath

mare paas hai, isliye hum kuch nahi bol sakte [the li­ censing of the factory is with us, hence we can’t say anyth­ ing],” she is heard whisper­ ing to an aide in a video cap­ tured by a news agency.

The video has been wide­ ly shared on social media and was retweeted by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Ms. Aggarwal, however, said that she only meant that “We shouldn’t say anything about such unfortunate inci­ dents at this time.” She also demanded an apology from the Chief Minister.

“Is making a fake video vi­ ral and confusing the public fair? It’s condemnable and I expect Arvind Kejriwal ji to apologise,” she said.

She also reiterated that though the permits are is­ sued by the municipality, the monitoring agency is the DSIIDC, which is responsible for looking into whether the factories are being run for unsafe activities. It is under the Delhi government and so is the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) which is supposed to give re clearance certi ­ cates to these units.

SAURABH TRIVEDI

Interim report The interim report of the DSIIDC, which is responsible for setting up industrial areas including the one in Bawana, found that the site was being used illegally to package or store reworks.

“The activity mentioned at the time of allotment [of the 100 square metre plot] was plastic goods...But it was gathered from the site that the premises was being used to carry out packing/storing of recrackers/explosives without obtaining due clea­ rances/permissions from the authorities,” the report said.

It also said that manufac­ turing of explosives is among the list of industries

BJP blames AAP govt.

New Delhi

The recracker factory at the Bawana Industrial Area, where 17 workers were killed in a blaze on Saturday, was operating without a licence, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation con rmed on Sunday.

The civic body, which is responsible for giving neces­ sary permits to factories in the area, said they had re­ ceived an online application for licence for the factory back in 2014 but it was rejected.

“The North Corporation has not issued any licence on property number F­83, Sec­ tor­5, Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Develop­ ment Corporation (DSIIDC), in Bawana,” a senior o cial said.

The o cial said it also ap­ peared that the sale of the factory happened illegally since the name of the owner in the initial application re­ ceived by the North Corpo­ ration was Uma Mittal but the present proprietor is identi ed as Lalit Goel.

“Sale of factories is not al­ lowed as per a court order since these industries have been relocated and the land has been provided to them at a subsidised rate. This is another violation, along with operating without a li­ cence,” he added.

Political blame game Though the civic body has clearly brushed o responsi­ bility for negligence, the is­ sue snowballed into a politi­ cal blame game after North Delhi Mayor Preety Agarwal was caught telling an o cial that they cannot comment on the incident because the licensing of the factory lies within their authority.

“Is factory ki licensing hu-

New Delhi

The illegal factory manufac­ turing ‘cold reworks’ locat­ ed at Plot No. F­83 of Sector 5 in Bawana Industrial Area has only single entry­exit door, which was locked at the time of re incident, said workers in neighbouring factories.

“I went to the factory at 6 p.m. to deliver 30 cups of tea. Most of the workers were accommodated on the ground oor and a few were on the rst oor. I delivered tea at the main gate and went back. I was among the rst responder when the re broke out in the factory but we could not do anything to rescue the people trapped inside because the main gate was locked from outside and only the single entry gate was open,” said Chote Lal, a tea vendor in the locality.

Stocking crackers The factory premises was ta­ ken on rent since January, and around 50 workers were employed in two shifts. The quantity of the crackers

A team from the Forensic Scienti c Lab at the site on Sunday. *

SAURABH TRIVEDI

were more because owner Manoj Jain was storing it for sale in the run up to Holi.

They were illegally manufac­ turing colour smoke crack­ ers and cold reworks for the upcoming wedding sea­ son, said police.

“The factory owner paid a monthly rent of 25,000 for using the building. He has denied that any recrackers were manufactured inside and said it was only used for packaging of crackers he got from elsewhere,” said a pol­ ice o cer.

A team of Forensic Scien­ ti c Lab (FSL) experts visited the spot to collect samples.

Party says DSIIDC owes an explanation Staff Reporter NEW DELHI

In the net: (Top) Police stand guard outside the recrackers factory. Police arrest Manoj Jain, owner of the Bawana factory, on Sunday. SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA/ PTI *

prohibited by the Master Plan of Delhi­2021 and that the municipal corporation “is mandated to stop and not allow any such industrial ac­ tivity not permitted in the NCT of Delhi.”

Meanwhile, Health Minis­ ter Satyendra Jain lashed out

at the North Corporation saying that if they cannot manage the licensing, then they should hand it over to the government. “Strict ac­ tion will be taken against anyone found guilty of negli­ gence, even if it is a govern­ ment o cial,” he said.

The Delhi BJP said the Ar­ vind Kejriwal government’s negligence was primarily responsible for the deaths of the workers, as the Bawana Industrial Area is a con­ rmed industrial area of Delhi maintained by the Del­ hi State Industrial and In­ frastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), which is chaired by the Chief Minister.

It added that the North

Corporation had cancelled the licence of the factory in February 2015 and that the DSIIDC owes an explanation to the citizens of Delhi as to how the factory was being allowed to run.

“DSIIDC which is chaired by the Chief Minister and Ministers Satyendra Jain, Gopal Rai and Imran Hus­ sain are primarily responsi­ ble for allowing this illegal Bawana factory to run, for the deaths of the workers,” the BJP said in a statement.

“An FSL team visited the fac­ tory again on Sunday and conducted an extensive search on the premises for about four hours along with the police,” said DCP (Rohi­ ni) Rajneesh Gupta.

“Except a few, all died due to asphyxiation. Survivors Roop Prakash and Sunita were trapped in the building and jumped from the second oor to save their lives. They are undergoing treatment at LNJP hospital,” he added.

However, Delhi Fire Ser­ vice director G.C. Mishra said the police is probing the incident. “Electric wires in the building were running

haywire, I think the re must have started there, but, it will be disclosed only after probe. There was no re­ ghting equipment in the building,” he said.

The police arranged a help desk at Baba Saheb Am­ bedkar (BSA) Hospital and deputed sta members who facilitated in identifying the victims with the help of relatives.

The police said of the 17 bodies, 14 victims have been identi ed by the relatives.

The deceased were identi­ ed as Baby Devi (40), Afsha­ na (35), Sonam (23), Reeta (18), Madeena (55), Rajjo (65), Suraj (20), Ravikant (18), Sukhda (42), Khusna (47), Soni (21), Rohit (19), Sanjeet (19) and factory su­ pervisor Ajeet Ranjan (22).

“The bodies were handed over to the relatives after the post­mortem. Three dead bodies — one female and two male — are yet to be identi­ ed,” added Mr. Gupta.

The police on Sunday pro­ duced Mr. Jain before the du­ ty magistrate, who sent him to judicial custody.

Congress calls for judicial investigation Staff Reporter NEW DELHI

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Maken who visited the re site in Bawana demanded a judicial inquiry into the inci­ dent.

Mr. Maken said that a ma­ gisterial inquiry was not enough to unravel the truth and alleged that if an inqui­ ry under the government was held, the whole truth will not come out as the go­ vernment will try to save its

own “guilty departments”.

He also demanded that the Delhi government should immediately give 50 lakh compensation to each of the kin of the victim.

Role of govt. agencies “We demand a judicial probe. The role of Delhi go­ vernment’s agencies — DSI­ IDC and the pollution de­ partment — cannot be investigated impartially in a magisterial inquiry,” Mr. Ma­ ken said.

Join us now https://t.me/towardstomorrow CM YK

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2 CITY

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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#3 3 1 0 0 7

INTERVIEW | DR. ANOOP MISRA

‘Make informed and intelligent life choices to keep diabetes at bay’ One needs individualised dietary counselling for balanced diets and must maintain normal body weight from early age, says doctor The diet, exercise < > and management

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

Diabetes with Delight, a comprehensive manual on the me­ tabolic disorder written by Dr. Anoop Misra, chairman of Fortis C­Doc, was launched at the World Book Fair 2018 at Pragati Maidan. Speaking to The Hindu about diabetes and its management, Dr. Misra says his new book is an “educative guide that teaches readers about how diabetes can a ect men­ tal, emotional and physical well being but can be prevented or managed through some simple, methodical steps”

What is the magnitude of diabetes problem in India, more speci cally in Delhi?

Currently, 82 million peo­ ple in India are a ected due to diabetes and the number is expected to rise to 151 mil­ lion by 2045. In a 2015 study, it was estimated that around a quarter of Delhi’s popula­ tion su ers from some form of diabetes and around 48% from pre­diabetes (impaired glucose tolerance).

■

What does your book talk about?

from physicians and the In­ ternet. Physicians do not have enough time to educate patients and the Internet of­ ten provides confusing and wrong information.

Further, most of this infor­ mation is derived from sources in the United States and the United Kingdom, which is often not applicable to Indian patients. An India­ speci c information source for management of diabetes was needed and is provided by this book. Diet, exercise and management techniques in the book are tailored to­ wards Indian patients, based on research done by our and other groups in India.

How is it helpful for the common man?

■ Besides giving comprehen­ sive information about dia­ betes, the book also informs readers about solutions to common problems that pa­ tients face. For example, what to do in case a patient develops nausea, vomiting or fever? What drugs to take when travelling to the hills?

What if a diabetic person plays competitive sports?

This book answers scores of questions on diabetes and has a list of frequently asked questions for quick refe­ rence. The book has photo­ graphs and diagrams to bet­ ter explain exercises or insulin­injection techniques.

This book also gives healthy food recipes and a sustaina­ ble diet plan. Knowledge about these issues can em­ power patients and their re­ latives to manage diabetes.

The book is also apt for nutri­ tionists, lifestyle coaches and physicians.

techniques in the book are tailored towards Indian patients, based on research done by our, and other, groups in India Anoop Misra Fortis C-Doc chairman

Are there ways to prevent diabetes?

■ With modest weight loss (around 7­10% of ideal body weight), physical activity (at least 60 minutes a day) and proper diet, onset of dia­ betes can be prevented or delayed.

For those who are morbid­ ly obese, massive weight loss can reverse diabetes, as has been shown with application of bariatric surgery. Type­2 diabetes is often preventable

by simple lifestyle changes.

Keep your weight in its ideal range, exercising regularly and eat a balanced diet in small meals with intermit­ tent snacks, which should in­ clude whole grains. Avoid sugary drinks and over re­ ned grains.

Choose good fats instead of bad fats. Polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats in olive, canola and mus­ tard oils can help ward o Type­2 diabetes.

Limit intake of red meat and avoid processed meat.

Nuts, seeds, beans, masoor dal, lobia, sprouts, tofu, or poultry are much more healthy sources of protein.

Also add two servings each of green leafy vegetables and fruits.

What are the rules to help prevent diabetes in children?

■ Prevention of obesity and Type­2 diabetes in children requires systematic and fo­ cused approach involving not only the child, but also the parents and peers. You need individualised dietary counselling for balanced diets and must maintain nor­ mal body weight from early age. It is important that chil­ dren/adolescents be encour­ aged to include at least 60 minutes of moderate intensi­ ty outdoor physical activity/ sports daily. Discourage time spent watching TV or playing computer games. Parents should try to set an example by themselves exercising reg­ ularly. They should share at least one meal with the chil­ dren and should accompany them to parks and play with them. Group/community must encourage participa­

tion in physical activity. Fit­ ness centres, courts for bas­ ketball and badminton, playgrounds for hockey and skating, and parks for jog­ ging and walking should be made more accessible. Regu­ lar health check­ups should also be done at least once a year. During this visit, the doctor should calculate the child’s Body Mass Index and counsel parents if it is above the normal range.

What is the proportion of women a ected by diabetes?

The prevalence of diabetes for women 20­79 years is es­ timated to be 8.4%, which is slightly lower than among men (9.1%). There are about 17.1 million more men than women with diabetes (221.0 million men against 203.9 million women). Going by the current trend, they will outnumber men in diabetes soon. There are a number of factors responsible for this.

Many studies show that girls in India are getting obese and

■

show more metabolic syn­ drome — clustering of risk factors such as high sugar, blood pressure, deranged li­ pids — as compared to males.

Other factors include weight gain after pregnancy, post­ menopausal hormonal changes, as well as social and security issues that prevent them from engaging in out­ door activities and exercises.

What are the essential tips to manage diabetes?

■ Making patients under­ stand the importance of cor­ rect diet and exercise throughout their life. En­ hancing awareness about the importance of scienti c treatment and its com­ pliance, which can prevent complications, disability and death. Providing good educa­ tion to prevent long­term dia­ betes complications. Regular physical examination and check ups to detect early damage. Maintain positive outlook even if disease is complicated. Maintain disci­ plined lifestyle.

Join us now https://t.me/towardstomorrow Before this book, patients obtained knowledge and education about diabetes

■

CM YK

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THE HINDU

CITY 3

NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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IN BRIEF

Man held for murder

AAP announces day­long bandh on Tuesday

He suspected his friend of having an a air with his wife Staff Reporter

In protest against sealing drive, FDI in retail

New Delhi

‘Wanted to quit but stayed on after Nirbhaya’ NEW DELHI

Sheila Dikshit wanted to step down as Delhi Chief Minister in 2012 because of health concerns and also to enable the Congress to find another leader before the next Assembly elections, but the December 16 gang rape firmed her resolve to stay on.

Resigning then would have been seen as fleeing the “battlefield”, the former Chief Minister says in her memoir, Citizen Delhi: My Times, My Life. PTI

1 killed in accident on Yamuna Expressway MATHURA

A woman was killed and her parents injured after their car overturned on Yamuna Expressway on Sunday, the police said. Ruchi (35) was driving the car when it rammed a divider and overturned. The Dehradunbased family was on the way to Agra from Delhi. PTI

3 arrested for illegal sand mining in UP NOIDA

Three men were arrested on Sunday for allegedly mining sand illegally in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Budh Nagar district, the police said.

Ashok, Arvind and Sushil, who allegedly mined sand illegally at Dadupur Khatana, were nabbed while on the way to the market. PTI

A torn visiting card reco­ vered at a murder spot led to the arrest of a 28­year­old for the alleged murder of his friend, whom he suspected of having an a air with his wife, the police said on Sun­ day.

Pawan Shukla was arrest­ ed from a de­addiction centre at Tughlakabad Ex­ tension on Sunday. He had been hiding there since the murder of his friend Deven­ der on January 18.

PCR call The police had received a call on January 18 regarding a body at a vacant plot near Mohan Co­operative area on Mathura Road near Badar­ pur yover. The victim’s head was crushed. Besides a tattoo on four ngers of the right hand, there was noth­ ing to help the police identi­ fy the remains.

Telephone number “The police re­examined the spot and found a torn visit­ ing card. The pieces were collected and put together.

There was a phone number on the back of the card. The phone number was regis­ tered in the name of a wo­ man whose house was locat­ ed in Govindpuri. However, she had shifted residence.

With help of technical sur­ veillance, she was located in Faridabad at her father’s house,” said Deputy Com­

CM opens project for laying sewer lines Press Trust of India

*

ARRANGEMENT

Tip­o “A police team questioned the woman, Mr. Shukla wife.

She identi ed the deceased as her husband’s friend De­ vender. Devender’s father was traced and he raised doubts about Mr. Shukla, who had called his son to his house. However, the police failed to nd Mr. Shukla at home. His wife too was un­ able to provide information on his whereabouts,” added Mr. Biswal.

The police conducted raids, questioned a number of persons, used technical

New Delhi

New Delhi

Chief Minister Arvind Kejri­ wal on Sunday inaugurated a project for laying sewer lines in 12 colonies in north­ west Delhi’s Najafgarh. The project will bene t around 16,000 people living in the area, the government said.

“In the next two years, development work in all unauthorised colonies in Delhi will be carried out at breakneck speed. I have ar­ ranged for funds and re­ sources for this purpose,” he said at the event, where he was shown black ags by a group of people.

Sewerage from these co­ lonies will be pumped through the lines to a treat­ ment plant in Najafgarh.

Therefore, pollution in the Najafgarh drain due to un­ treated waste will be miti­ gated, Mr. Kejriwal said.

The project will cover A­1, A­2 and A­3 blocks of Dharampura; Roshan Gar­ den; Roshan Vihar; Dwarka Vihar; Seichand Park; Shankar Park and Chander Mohalla, the government said, adding that work is ex­ pected to be completed in 24 months.

Speaking at the event, Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot said it has been 50 years since these colonies came into existence but sewer lines had not been laid till Sunday.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday announced a day­ long bandh in Delhi on Tues­ day in protest against the on­ going sealing drive by the BJP­ruled municipal agen­ cies and the Centre’s move to allow 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail.

Speaking to the media af­ ter the party’s Delhi State conference on Sunday, Delhi convener Gopal Rai said the BJP­ruled civic bodies were trying to trample on busi­ ness opportunities for small traders in the name of seal­ ing business establishments.

“A large sum of money was collected in the name of conversion and parking charges. The traders neither received anything in return nor do they have any infor­ mation on the money col­

In police net: Pawan Shukla was arrested from a de-addiction centre at Tughlakabad Extension on Sunday. SPECIAL

missioner of Police (South­ East) Chinmoy Biswal.

Staff Reporter

surveillance and deployed secret informers to trace Mr. Shukla. Following a tip o , he was arrested from a de­ addiction centre in Tughla­ kabad Extension.

The police claimed that Devender used to visit Mr. Shukla house and the ac­ cused suspected his friend of having an a air with his wife. The accused claimed he was consuming drug with the deceased at the vacant plot when he saw Devender take out a visiting card with his wife’s phone number written on it. The smashed Devender’s head with a stone and slashed his neck with blade.

In protest: AAP Delhi convener Gopal Rai during a press conference in the Capital on Sunday. R. V. MOORTHY *

< >

A large sum of money was collected in the name of conversion and parking charges.

The traders neither received anything in return nor do they have any information on the money collected

Gopal Rai Aam Aadmi Party Delhi convener

Karni Sena writes to Haryana theatre owners against screening Padmaavat

Padmaavat: DND yway booths vandalised

Gurugram, Faridabad police assure adequate deployment at multiplexes, malls

lected,” Mr. Rai said, de­ manding that the Centre stop levying these charges until information on where the money went is made pu­ blic.

January 29 protest “Our cadres in all 70 consti­ tuencies will join traders’ unions to raise their voice against these issues on Tues­ day,” he said.

The party also announced that its Lok Sabha and Rajya

Sabha MPs and other stake­ holders will take part in a march to Parliament on Ja­ nuary 29. Mr. Rai slammed the Congress government for initiating 49% FDI in retail, which was followed by the BJP, which spiked it to 100%.

“We are with the traders when their shops are being indiscriminately sealed des­ pite having paid conversion charges. No one from the municipality is willing to hear them out,” he said.

HC: Fast track proposal for building new juvenile home Court issues directions to Finance Department

Press Trust of India Ashok Kumar GURUGRAM

Shri Rajput Karni Sena acti­ vists took out a bike and car rally on Sunday afternoon against the release of the Deepika Padukone and Ran­ veer Singh starrer Padmaavat, which is slated for re­ lease later this week.

They also handed over let­ ters to the managements of multiplexes not to screen the lm.

Holding banners and rais­ ing slogans such as “Hindu Ekta Zindabad” and “Jai Bha­ wani”, several hundred acti­ vists went around major roads in the city in protest against the lm.

“The rally started at Be­ gumpur Khatola and culmi­ nated at Sohna Road, after passing through Subhash Chowk, Mehrauli­Gurugram Road and Leisure Valley Park. On the way, the acti­ vists handed over letters to managements of several multiplexes requesting them not to screen the movie,” said Sena member Jitender Singh Chauhan.

Shri Rajput Karni Sena activists took out a rally from Begumpur Khatola to Sohna Road on Sunday afternoon. *

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

the way [during < > On the rally], the activists handed over letters to managements of several multiplexes requesting them not to screen the movie Jitender Singh Chauhan Shri Rajput Karni Sena member

Stating that Sena mem­ bers will be forced to launch a movement if multiplexes screen the movie, Mr. Chau­ han said the managements had assured that they will

not screen Padmaavat.

When contacted, a represen­ tative for PVR Cinemas re­ fused to comment.

‘Communal riots’ The Sena letter to cinema owners says the movie hurts the sentiments of Hindus and its release will lead to communal riots, vandalism at cinema halls and arson.

The letter, featuring the picture of Sena founder member Lokendra Singh Kalvi, requests cinema own­ ers to refrain from screening

the movie on the lines of Guj­ arat and Rajasthan.

Sena members also burnt an e gy of Padmaavat di­ rector Sanjay Leela Bhansali at Pataudi, and raised slo­ gans against him.

Meanwhile, Gurugram Police spokesperson Ravin­ der Kumar said police will be deployed at multiplexes and shopping malls after Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khat­ tar’s visit on Monday to en­ sure peaceful screening of the movie in compliance with the Supreme Court or­ ders.

“No one will be allowed to take the law into their own their hands,” he said.

Faridabad Police said in a press statement that police were deployed at multiplex­ es and shopping malls in view of protest against the movie. Faridabad Commis­ sioner of Police Amitabh Singh Dhillon has directed Deputy Commissioners of Police, Assistant Commis­ sioners of Police and Station House O cers to be pre­ pared to tackle any situation.

#3 3 1 0 0 7

Noida

Staff Reporter

Protesting against the re­ lease of Sanjay Leela Ban­ sali’s Padmaavat, mem­ bers of the Shri Rajput Karni Sena and other Raj­ put organisations on Sun­ day damaged toll plaza counters at DND yway and set a barrier ablaze.

“With DND yway being toll free, the counters were non­operational. Only the windows and computers were broken,” said Supe­ rintendent of Police (City) Arun Kumar Singh.

The o cer said a dozen protesters were detained and a case lodged after exa­ mining CCTV footage.

The protesters belonged to various organisations in­ cluding the Karni Sena, Rajput Uthan Samiti and Kshatriya Sabha from Gau­ tam Budh Nagar, Ghazia­ bad, Bulandshahar, Hapur and nearby areas, Mr. Singh said.

The protesters had as­ sembled at Greater Noida’s Pari Chowk for a bike and car rally till Noida.

New Delhi

The Delhi High Court has di­ rected the Finance Depart­ ment to fast­track the propo­ sal for construction of a new building at Narela here to house juveniles in con ict with law.

A Bench of Justice S. Ra­ vindra Bhat and Justice A.K. Chawla gave the order after it was told by the Delhi go­ vernment that the issue per­ taining to sanction by the Fi­ nance Department was pending with the Depart­ ment concerned.

“The Finance Depart­ ment is directed to deal with the proposal at the earliest, so that further steps towards construction of the facility are undertaken,” the Bench said.

The court was also in­ formed that a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), to be used in all Child Care Institutions (CCI) and obser­ vation homes here was in

Finance < > The Department is directed to deal with the proposal at the earliest, so that further steps towards construction of the facility are undertaken Delhi High Court

the process of nalisation.

The amicus curiae ap­ pointed to help the court in the case pointed out that the Juvenile Justice Boards ( JJB) has been directing housing of children facing inquiries with those already serving sentences at CCIs. ‘Unwholesome practice’ The amicus curiae said the “unwholesome practice” tends to expose children fac­ ing inquiries — in need of care and protection — to po­ tential bad in uences.

However, the Bench not­

ed that the JJB have taken the logical decision to direct children to be sent to CCIs. In most of these cases, the JJB have granted bail to juve­ niles. But such children can­ not be handed over to their families because parents did not report or were unable to comply with bail conditions.

“The court is of the opi­ nion that the JJB appears to have adopted a reasonable procedure in the overall cir­ cumstances,” the Bench said.

“Furthermore, as to whether the child in ques­ tion [who is facing an inqui­ ry] can cause some threat or disturbance or bad in­ uence to other children in CCIs may have to be as­ sessed properly by the Child Welfare Committee [CWC] concerned on a case­to­case basis,” the Bench said.

It directed the CWC to monitor on a periodic basis children who are facing an inquiry.

Children’s Literature Festival ends

IGNOU announces dates for MPhil, PhD entrance tests

Aimed at building passion for reading among kids, parents

Last date for submitting application is Feb. 16; online portal will be operational from Tuesday

Staff Reporter

Staff Reporter New Delhi

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has opened admissions to its PhD and MPhil programmes for July 2018 session in regu­ lar mode.

IGNOU Research Unit Di­ rector Prof. Kaustuva Barik announced on Sunday that a national­level entrance exam

will be conducted on March 4 at select examination centres across the country.

The last date to submit the application form is February 16. The online portal for ad­ mission to the programmes will be operational from Tuesday.

Applications are invited for MPhil in sociology, politi­ cal science, economics, ge­

Music: IIC Annual Day 2018 music.

Qawwali by Dhruv Sangari (Bilal Chishty), Su singer and Rooh En­ semble at C.D. Deshmukh Auditorium, Main Building, IIC, 6:30 p.m.

ography, translation studies, statistics, food & nutritional sciences, environmental stu­ dies, geology, management, life sciences, commerce, Hindi, distance education, nursing, social work, phys­ ics, chemistry and biochemistry.

Those applying for MPhil in economics are not re­ quired to go through the en­

trance exam but have to be eligible as per the criteria mentioned on the universi­ ty’s website; www.ignou.ac.in.

PhD in biochemistry, physics and life sciences will not have entrance exam and will be based on an eligibility criteria that is mentioned on the university’s website, IG­ NOU informed.

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DELHI TODAY Book Launch and Talk: “Innovative Departures: Anthropology and the In­ dian Diaspora” by Prof. Ravindra K Jain. Prof. Deepak Nayyar, Former VC, Delhi University will release the book.

The release will be followed by a dis­ cussion. Panelists: Prof.Shyam B. Menon, Vice Chancellor, Ambedkar University, Delhi; Prof. A.C.Sinha, Former Professor, NEHU, Shillong; Prof. Vivek Kumar, Professor at CSSS, JNU, Lecture Room ­ II, Basement, An­ nexe Building, India International Centre (IIC), 6 p.m.

ography, translation studies, social work, commerce, che­ mistry and distance education.

PhD programmes have been o ered in psychology, anthropology, sociology, li­ brary and information science, political science, public administration, histo­ ry, gender and development studies, women’s studies, ge­

(IHC), 10 a.m.–7 p.m.

Paintings: “The Utopian World” ­ solo show of paintings by Dr. Amrit Kapoor at Open Palm Court Gallery, IHC, 11 am. – 7 p.m.

Exhibition: “Antraal: Space in Between” a solo show of paintings by Anil Gaikwad at Triveni Gallery, Triv­ eni Kala Sangam, Mandi House, 11 a.m.­7 p.m.

Exhibition: “Winter Collection” solo show of paintings by Divyaman Singh at All India Fine Arts & Craft Society (AIFACS), 1 Ra Marg, 11 a.m.­7 p.m.

Exhibition: `Glorious Ajanta’ photo­ graphy show on the beautiful paint­ ings and digital restoration of Ajanta Caves at Twin Art Gallery, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Janpath, 11 a.m.­7 p.m.

(Mail your listings for this column at cityeditordelhi@thehindu.co.in)

In rapt attention

GURUGRAM

The second edition of the two­day Children’s Litera­ ture Festival, aimed at build­ ing passion for reading among children and pa­ rents, ended here on Sunday.

The festival, held by Vega Schools, saw the participa­ tion of renowned author and commentator Gurcharan Das. The event also featured other personalities re­ nowned in the world of liter­ ature and storytelling, in­ cluding award­winning children’s authors, storytell­ ers, theatre artists and pu­ blished illustrators.

‘Directional change’ Festival founder Avishek Roy said, “We need a directional change to move our children away from gadgets and malls, and bring them close to reading and storytelling.”

Exciting sessions were conducted during the festiv­ al for children in the age groups of 3­6 years, 7­9 years and 10­12 years, and their pa­ rents.

Day One of the festival

Literature lovers: Parents and children at a workshop during the second edition of the two-day Children’s Literature Festival in Gurugram. SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT *

saw engaging sessions on storytelling for children of di erent age groups in di e­ rent forms like music, dance, drama, reading and writing, and puppetry.

Cartoon sketches Apart from storytelling, creative workshops and ac­ tivities related to art and craft, and reading and writ­ ing were also organised.

Cartoonist Ajit Narayan conducted a workshop on cartoon sketches for chil­ dren in the age group of 7­9

years.

Day Two of the festival saw exciting storytelling ses­ sions and a puppet­making workshop for children in the age groups of 3­6 years. The storytelling session was con­ ducted by Kathalaya foun­ der Geeta Ramanujam.

She also undertook a sto­ rytelling master class for pa­ rents to help them under­ stand the art of storytelling.

A fun poetry­writing work­ shops was conducted for children in the age group of 10­12 years.

Join us now https://t.me/towardstomorrow Paintings: Solo show of Charcoal paintings by Yuvraj Patil at Conven­ tion Centre Foyer, India Habitat Centre

CM YK

Career Launcher co-founder Gautam Puri at MBA Junction 2018, organised by Career Launcher in association with The Hindu, in the Capital on Sunday. R.V. MOORTHY *

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4 SHOWCASE

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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SHORT TAKE

‘Only 2% go to theatres’ Madhavan is set to make his digital debut with psychological thriller Breathe Vishal Menon

Debutante author Bollywood actress Soha Ali Khan has turned author with her book “The Perils of being Moderately Fa­ mous”, which was launched in style at a func­ tion at the heritage setting of Bikaner House in Delhi.

Speaking on the occa­ sion, the actress said: “I am very excited that the book has received such a great response, It’s extremely encouraging for a rst­time author. I’ve had so much fun writing it and to be pu­ blished by Penguin is very cool.”

Her mother, Sharmila Tagore commented: “Soha has always been great at speaking and writing, so it came as no surprise when she told me she wanted to pen this book. It’s a great read and I’m glad the read­ ers have loved it.”

From endearing charac­ teristics of her father to her mother's illustrious family tree, her relationships and her struggle with writing, Soha’s debut book is a col­ lection of personal essays where she recounts, with self­deprecating humour.

The book carries unre­ leased images of her family and childhood, along with a few of her adorable baby daughter Inaaya.

A father who has been told that his ve­year old son has just a few months to live. He explores every chance he can take to save his dying so­ n...even if it means killing.

That’s the character Madha­ van gets to play in his digital debut in Amazon Prime Vi­ deo’s Breathe, a departure from the roles he has essayed in feature lms. Directed by Mayank Sharma, the eight­ episode series will air in 200 territories worldwide on Ja­ nuary 26, becoming Ama­ zon’s second Indian original to release after Vivek Obe­ roi’s Inside Edge. Speaking on the sidelines of the series’ trailer launch in Chennai, ac­ tor Madhavan gives the new

format credibility and star power. The actor speaks about how bullish he is about the format.

Breathe is set in a format that’s very di erent from feature lms. It has eight episodes with runtime hitting close to four hours. How tough is it to be in character for the duration of such a shoot? ● Very tough. It was the rst time in a lm set that I had to keep taking notes to record the mindset of my character.

We would be shooting for the nal episode and then sud­ denly we would have to shoot bits that were meant for the rst episode and I’d have to get into a totally di e­ rent mindset. What made it

Breath of fresh air: Stills from Breathe

harder was that I was simul­ taneously shooting for Vik­ ram Vedha where my cha­ racter was quite the opposite of Breathe. That’s also why my look is quite similar in both roles. But what I en­ joyed in Breathe was the abil­ ity to shoot in live sound...it’s hardly an opportunity I get in Tamil. These factors gave me the chance to go much deeper into the character.

done that with lms such as Aayutha Ezhuthu. But of course, Breathe, is about an ordinary person getting drawn into an extraordinary situation. It’s a story that re­ quired a certain length and we didn’t retro t anything to make it into full­length lm.

You signed on to do this series even before one could predict the success of streaming services like Amazon and Net ix in India... ● It is obviously the future.

Even the biggest lms are be­ ing watched in theatres by just 2% of our population.

Just take a look around...eve­ ryone’s primary source of entertainment has become

Did the small­screen format allow you the freedom to choose a character you might not have opted for in a feature lm? ● If you’re referring speci ­ cally to my character’s nega­ tive shades, then I’ve already

Pencils that sprout

their mobile phones. In fact, a big chunk of the people watching our movies watch it either on their laptops or phones. Services like Ama­ zon Prime isn’t just about a particular kind of audience either, it’s as much for the masses as it is for a multiplex audience. But because it’s

Even the biggest < > lms are being watched in theatres by just 2% of our population. Just take a look around... everyone’s primary source of entertainment has become their mobile phones

meant for a smaller screen, it doesn't mean there are any compromises to how it’s be­ ing made. We’ve shot Breathe in 8K format which would be crystal clear in any theatre.

As an actor, what were your thoughts before you got into the small­screen format? ● My mindset would have been a lot of di erent had my last two lms (Irudhi Suttru and Vikram Vedha) not been blockbusters. When a fea­ ture lm actor in India gets into the digital space, it’s ea­ sy for people to start talking and say it’s because the o ­ ers have dried up. But just take a look at the West.

There’s no di erence there and it’s common to see top actors star in TV shows and original series. If there are actors staying away from this format because of some pre­ conceived notions, it’s them who is going to lose out on this exciting new format. I’m glad I got into it so early and it hasn’t come at the cost of a feature lm career...I have two big biopics, a Tamil lm and the Hindi remake of Vik­ ram Vedha that’s lined up.

Lastly, what are the shows that you’ve been watching lately? ● Oh, I’m constantly hooked to shows. I’m currently ad­ dicted to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Write green: (Extreme left bottom) Divya Shetty and Vishnu Vardhan, and snapshots of Plantcil variants

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to market their products,” says Vard­ han. In 2017, they launched an online portal, indianorganic.store: they tied­ up with over 800 farmers who could sell their produce directly to consum­ ers.

Edible food colours, fruit avours and seeds. Here’s how Divya Shetty and Vishnu Vardhan of Coimbatore­based Plantcil are adding fresh avour to the plant­a­pencil trend

Susan Joe Philip

Did you know over 2,500 woo­ den pencils can be created from a single tree? And to pro­ duce the 15­20 billion pencils needed every year, four lakh trees are cut. Troubled by these alarming statistics, soft­ ware engineer Divya Shetty, along with friend, Vishnu Vardhan, launched Plantcil in October 2017.

Their biodegradable pencils, made with recycled paper and ed­ ible food colours, come in many variants: rainbow, velvet, cartoon, seed, and the latest, fruit pencil, was launched last month. “We make pencils without cutting down trees, and use only waste new­ sprint. We have saved 28 trees in

the last three months,” says Shetty.

If you think their pencils are made abroad or shipped from up north, you will be pleasantly surprised to know they are crafted a lot closer to home. At their manufacturing plant at Avinashi (40 kms from Coimba­ tore), that employs 100 people, over a tonne of waste paper is brought in ev­ ery month. “We make 6,000 pencils a day. There is zero wastage as whatev­ er waste is generated gets recycled and goes back into the production cy­ cle,” says Vardhan.

All things organic Hailing from an agricultural family in Karnataka, Shetty explains why she quit a career in IT to helm two social enterprises. “When I was eight, my grandfather committed suicide due to

crop failure. I was a ected by this in­ cident and always wanted to do so­ mething for our farming community,” says the 27­year­old, who was work­ ing with Vardhan at an IT rm in Ben­ galuru two years ago.

It was in 2015 that she nally decid­ ed to make the switch, and launched Indian Superheroes, a social enter­ prise aimed at introducing people to organic and zero­waste farming, and the rent­a­farm concept — along with Vardhan.

For the rst two years, they worked on getting farmers together, and con­ vincing them to make the switch to or­ ganic. “We brought in 12 NGOs and self­help groups who taught them the bene ts of organic farming and how

Fruity avours During her interactions with farmers, Shetty says, she learnt that deforesta­ tion is the primary reason we are fac­ ing a water crisis today, and how the water­intensive pencil industry plays a huge role in this. “That’s when we decided to make sustainable pencils inspired by all things natural,” she says. They kick­started Plantcil in a rather innovative way. Rather than source paper from scarp dealers, they started collecting old newspap­ ers from schools in the city and, in turn, provided them with a monthly supply of pencils. “We realised that by approaching schools, children are introduced to sustainable living early on,” says Vardhan.

As the concept of plantable station­ ery began a few years ago with inde­ pendent Indian and Chinese brands, Shetty and Vardhan constantly brain­ storm for fresh ideas and work closely with their design team. Once provid­ ed with a basic sketch for a pencil, the team works on the speci c size and shape.

The classic pencils have Indian eth­ nic prints on them and the seed pen­ cils have plant seeds at their non­writ­ ing tip. “We procure native seeds like chilli, spinach, beans, tomatoes and brinjal directly from farmers. Stu­ dents can plant the pencil and water it. In a few days, a new plant sprouts

to life from it,” says Shetty. The rain­ bow pencils are unique as the shav­ ings are multicoloured and ideal for craft. An attempt at teaching children about the colours and aromas of fruits, their latest range of fruit pen­ cils come in di erent avours: pi­ neapple, orange, green apple, cocoa, mixed fruit and pista. “We source fruits directly from farmers in the re­ gion and the extracts give the pencils their aroma. They are made­to­order as the extraction process takes a week and the extracts cannot be stored for too long,” she says.

Up next They are now working on seed pens, all set to launch shortly. Costing 7 each, at present the nib and re ll is made with plastic, with a cardboard body. They are now researching on how to make it a 100% eco­friendly pen using recycled paper.

Plans are also in place to launch an app, Farm Zeal, next month. “It is aimed at educating people about or­ ganic farming. We will be putting up announcements for workshops and gardening activities for children.

There will also be an option for peo­ ple to rent a portion of land to imple­ ment what they learn,” says Shetty, who believes there is a growing mar­ ket for all things organic and is look­ ing at retailing her pencils in Maha­ rashtra, Bengaluru and Chennai.

The pencils can also be customised with a company’s name, and start at 6 a piece. Available at Sapna Book House, RS Puram in Coimbatore, Nil­ giris supermarket in Puducherry, and online at plantcil.com.

5 EVENTS WORTH-YOUR-WHILE

EXHIBITION

MUSIC

FILM

EXHIBITION

‘Engross’ A group show of paintings and sculptures by Niren Sen Gupta, Suresh Kumar, Sudip Roy, S.C. Ahuja. Only best works of participating artists have been selected.

Venue: Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road Time: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Dream Project Korean Cultural Centre India in collaboration Korea National University of Arts is conducting a workshop in which senior students will sharpen skills of participants in piano and violin. Anyone with a musical background can apply.

Venue: Korean Cultural Center, Lajpat Nagar Time : 2 p.m.

“Sonar Kella” Screening of filmmaker Satyajit Ray’ s masterpiece Sonar Kella. Mukul, a young boy, is being haunted by memories of his previous life.

This Bengali film will be subtitled in English.

Venue: Gulmohar, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road Time: 7 p.m.

Patriotic fervour Celebrating Republic Day, a week-long exhibition of live paintings of Indian flag, handicrafts by artisans from different parts of India and a full-fledged display of Army equipment and weapons.

Venue: DLF Place, Saket Time: 10-30 a..m. to 11 p.m.

ARTS Ramayana Festival Indian Council of Cultural Relations is showcasing talent of perfromers from Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, and India, who will enact their interpretations of the saga.

Venue: Kamani Auditorium, 1 Copernicus Marg Time: 6:30 p.m. onwards

Join us now https://t.me/towardstomorrow CM YK

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THE HINDU

SHOWCASE 5

NOIDA/DELHI

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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IN BRIEF

A stitch in time...

Ahead of the NIFT’s international conference, seasoned fashion commentator Narendra Kumar talks about how fashion is becoming our cultural ambassador on the global stage

Fostering confidence AAMAD Dance Centre presented an innovative cultural festival by senior and younger artists both abled as well as differently abled at Kamani Auditorium in Delhi recently.

Speaking on the occasion Rani Khanam, founder of AAMAD Dance Centre, talked about the theme of the festival saying that," the art is connected with the soul irrespective of the disability.

Spirit is important rather than the bodyparts."

The programme began with dance performance on the song “Khwaja mere khwaja” on wheelchair. It was followed by a kathak, Natak sudha which was choreographed by Rani Khanam.

Through their skilled wheelchair performances, Kathak dance performance and melodious voices, audience witnessed the indomitable spirit of these artists.

Pictorial beauty A photo exhibition “Crimea Today” opened at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture in Delhi.

Organised by ROSSOTRUDNICHESTVO (Federal Agency for CIS Affairs, Russian Compatriots Living abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation) in association with the Regional Public Organisation, the exhibition showcased the heart and soul of Crimea. It comprised 80 photos, which had been shot by Moscow and Crimean photographers from 2015 to 2016.

Referring to Crimea, Sergey Karmalito, Director, Russian Centre of Science and Culture, said it had charm and serenity and was also making progress and prosperity. He urged people to enjoy the beauty of Crimea.

Madhur Tankha

Even as we see a sustained shift in focus of fashion designers towards a more responsible attitude to­ wards the fashion environment in the country, a lot needs to be done to stitch concepts like sustainabili­ ty and value of indigenous crafts in the mindset of emerging design­ ers. Keeping this in mind, National Institute of Fashion Technology is holding a three­day international conference in New Delhi on ‘Re­ discovering Culture: Transforming Fashion’ where seasoned designer and fashion commentator Naren­ dra Kumar will share his vision on how technology is playing a vital role in identifying craftspersons from across the country. An alum­ nus of NIFT, Kumar, who is the creative director of Amazon India, says, “This is a rst big step in identifying a way to address the changing climate of fashion by creating an inclusive and self sus­ tainable environment.”

Excerpts: On rediscovering culture through fashion Every state of fashion goes through a cycle. In late 1990s, the government run textile empori­ ums were there but the onslaught of brands took away that novelty.

Everybody wanted a global feel as they felt wearing international clothes would make them global citizens. But things are changing slowly as India is becoming a larg­ er, stable economy. There is a growing sense of con dence with­ in the country about Indianness, which marries the contemporary global aspirations and what India means. It is not about rediscover­ ing; it is a journey which every cul­ ture goes through.

On the idea of sustainability in fashion It has lot of implications. The good thing is that there are a num­ ber of local textiles which are sud­

denly getting lot of visibility. It is also creating sustainability for In­ dian crafts and Indian craftsper­ sons; there is a large sector in In­ dia that does this. Even international brands Zara are also looking at creating sustainable stu . If you see trends in fashion over the past few years, lot of younger Indian designers are emerging and they are working with indigenous textiles and are showcasing their work abroad.

And they are being recognised for that. All this is signi cant as de­ signers are reorienting themselves and not looking at everything be­ ing driven by Western brands.

On the impact of Make in In­ dia campaign Make in India has played a big role in giving us bigger visibility. It has created consciousness about our textiles. There is also a socio­ logical dimension. We are now proud of our heritage. It is part of our evolution that we are con ­ dent about carrying our roots to the global stage. Earlier, it was car­ ried through the medium of dance. Today our heritage is being conveyed through fashion. Fash­ ion is a big conveyor of sensibili­ ties across the globe.

On the conference’s focus on craftspersons We are creating so much due to a multitude of crafts available across the country. They suit our body types. A special online store on handicrafts has been created which will work with designers to create new age products. So it is not just talk; you can actually see it happen.

Technology will help take inno­ vations to remote regions. Our skilled artisans are not technologi­ cally savvy so we need interven­ tions. Technology will enable them to take their crafts to new markets. NIFT students are work­ ing with those working in handi­ crafts.

Creating avenues for craftspersons: Narendra Kumar

On the role of NIFT It has evolved in many ways and has contributed to the industry.

Every brand has NIFT students working at di erent levels. At one point, the government was think­ ing of shutting it down as it had be­ come elitist but today it has be­

*

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

come a place which contributes to such a large extent towards the In­ dian economy. Like the craze for the IITs, IIMs in 1990s, today NIFT is the go to place because lifestyle sector has become much more im­ portant than it was 20 years ago.

However, it needs to create

more entrepreneurs. This is a challenge for the future. It needs to make necessary changes in its curriculum. Where it stands out is that it is not running for pro t but providing a platform for students to excel but I think they need deeper integration.

New dimension Harmeet Bajaj, former professor and founder of fashion communication course at NIFT, says the mega event will be one of its kind.

“With the change in government policies over time, today we have access to all leading fashion brands in the world. Everything is available almost at our doorstep. A lot of brands are manufactured in India, exported, branded and brought back for consumption here.” Bajaj says for years we have been a manufacturing nation. “But now with trained designers we are in the process of creating brands. It is essential we go back to our culture and establish an identity which is unique. The process has started with designers like Manish Arora, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Rahul Mishra. Their creations compete in the international market but have an Indian accent, reflective of our culture.”

On fashion students being encouraged to make use of traditional embroideries and craft techniques, Harmeet says it needs to be done as an essential prerequisite. “Embroideries and craft techniques is our history, our culture that defined luxury.

Even today it inspires leading designers all over the world. It should be an integral part of any design course. Its application should be not only at couture level but also at the fast fashion level. That’s what international brands come to us for.”

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DOWN MEMORY LANE

The remains of the day The rulers of Delhi have left behind a legacy which even in its ruined state inspires thoughts too deep to fathom R.V. Smith

The Shahar­e­Dilli exhibi­ tion on the ruins of Shahja­ hanabad, as visualised by artist Yajenekka Aroraa at the India Habitat Centre, brought to mind Delhi’s old landmarks. It was C.M. Vil­ lier’s Stewart who com­ mented in the rst decade of the 20th Century that the vast sandy plain of Delhi, stretching up to the Qutab Minar, dotted with monu­ ments built over the centu­ ries by many dynasties, bog­ gles the mind. She was not alone in this bewilderment.

Even before her the compil­ ers of the Delhi Gazetteer of 1883­84 had quoted Euro­ pean writers of late 18th and early 19th centuries who had marvelled at the complexity of the Delhi landscape. Like Shelley’s Ozymandais, “King of Kings”, whose shat­ tered statue gave an idea of his greatness, with the des­ ert sands stretching far away, the rulers of Delhi too have left behind a legacy which even in its ruined state inspires thoughts too deep to fathom.

In Shahjajanabad, a his­ tory of 350 years is laid bare in preserved edi ces and in ruins too. Take Bhuli Bhati­ yari­ka­Mahal whose gate­ way is the main remnant of a vanished palace which is hard to conceptualise. You look at it and wonder who the celebrated Bhatiyari of Firozeshah Tughlaq’s reign was. Seven hundred years is a long time and the Ridge area near Karol Bagh is not exactly Shahjahanabad but an outskirt of it. Still this ruin connects in a way with Firoze’s Kotla though it is not haunted by jinns but by the banshee ghost of a gyp­ sy who happened to be an innkeeper’s daughter, if one were to overlook Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s comment that the word “Bhatiyari” was a corruption of the

Towering presence: A view of Qutub Minar in Mehrauli, the biggest graveyard of the Sultnate period V. SUDERSHAN *

name of a nobleman, Bhu Ali Bhatti.

That was in­depth histor­ ical reasoning but fancy weaves its own web in which the Bhatiyari is caught like a mysterious spider luring the visitor into her enmeshed parlour, just like the y in the nursery rhyme that alas, children of today don’t recite. (“Come into my parlour, said the Spider to the Fly,” who ho­ wever was too intelligent to fall into the honeyed trap) Unravelling monuments Percival Spear was fascinat­ ed by what he saw in the Delhi of 70 years ago. He walked in the footsteps of the medieval sultans in Mehrauli to discover monu­ ments and the ruins of those that de ed descrip­ tion and concealed the identity of the ones they were meant to commemo­ rate. Earlier, Miss Stewart had done the same. She la­ mented the state of the then forsaken Roshanara gar­ dens before the iconic club was built there after the Third Afghan War. Follow­ ing long after her, Mrs Moly­ nihan, wife of a former US Ambassador, discovered other Mughal gardens that had ceased to exist as such.

The Lothian Road ceme­ tery, where rest Europeans of the pre­“Mutiny” days, is now a ruined God’s Acre

with many of the tomb­ stones, which gave an in­ sight into the lives of people who had come from Britain and settled down in Delhi, missing. One epitaph was of the merchant who buried three wives but the fourth did the same for him. Many such quaint reminders are found all over Shahjahana­ bad like the ramshackle house of Ahmed Ali in Kun­ cha Pandit (where “Twilight in Delhi” was written), a grave, a hammam, a turret, like the one in the old city wall with a watch­tower on which a Mughal sentry kept a lookout for invaders, thieves, robbers and other undesirable characters.

Beyond it are the deserted Mortello towers with a bro­ ken bridge that now leads to nowhere and just hangs like a question mark on the face of time. The sun, however, still catches the turret in a noose of light, as Omar Khayyam so famously dep­ icted of the one built by a sultan in Iran.

The caravanserais of which Omar spoke are also found in Delhi though they are now little more than ruins, but Arab Sarai is still there right and proper, with the nearby Afsarwallah tomb, without any inkling as to who this medieval o ­ cial was. According to his­ torian Narayani Gupta, “The city of Delhi is as full

of surprises as a good trea­ sure hunt. You may sudden­ ly nd a ruined arch, many hundred years old, beside a recently­built bungalow (as in Daryaganj) or see the re­ ection of a high­rise build­ ing in the waters of an an­ cient well” (like the step­well known as Ugar­ sen­ki­Baoli). But only the re ection of an old, gnarled tree is visible in the Dhaula Kuan of Shah Alam’s time, which once was situated on the old Palam­Gurgaon road but now is surrounded by a garden. It’s a ruin which lends its name to a famous area, the focal point in Del­ hi’s criss­cross of many roads. Why is it named Dhaula Kuan? Probably be­ cause of the white sand called “dhaula” found in it.

The minaret of Sultan Alauddin Khilji was not built to catch a glimpse of Padma­ vati, the Rajput heroine who is erroneously believed to have caught his fancy, leading to the sacking of the fortress of Chittor. But it still catches the noose of light thrown by the sun on the as­ cendant before visitors be­ gin to pour in to view the Qutub Minar, which it was planned to dwarf. Mehrauli is the biggest graveyard of the Sultanate period, fol­ lowed by the locality of Ni­ zamuddin with Humayun’s tomb towering above it and containing the graves of ma­ ny Mughal princes and prin­ cesses, some of them rest­ ing in anonymity with the likes of the unfortunate Da­ ra Shikoh, whose headless body is buried there.

All this past of Delhi is re­ ected in the ruins of Shah­ jahanbad too as depicted by artist Yajenekka Aroraa in exhibits that do not include South Delhi as such but ne­ vertheless make us curious about it too!

Noteworthy suggestions Matthew Nicholl and Rick Peckham, seasoned musicians from the Berklee College of Music, talk about their love for Indian rhythm and how technology has democratised the music scene Atif Khan

On their rst visit to India, Matthew Nicholl and Rick Peckham, musicians and vis­ iting faculty from the Ber­ klee College of Music say that there is much to be learnt from Indian perspective of music. While Matthew, Asso­ ciate Vice President of Glo­ bal Initiatives at Berklee, has been the composer of lm scores for National Geo­ graphic Society, PBS and NA­ SA and also for presidential campaigns including that of Ronald Reagan, Peckham, Guitar Professor at Berklee, has been winning critical ac­ claim around the world for his album, “Left End”. On the sidelines of a workshop at Global Music Institute in Greater Noida, they opened up on their understanding of Indian music, the impor­ tance of culture and how dif­ ferent is guru­shishya rela­ tionship from music college learning.

How do you feel about your rst Indian visit?

Rick: I am happy to be here. It is amazing to see the rhythm of life here. The city in itself is musical and it is in­ spiring to feel the energy. I have a lot of interest in Car­ natic music. If you under­ stand rhythm from Indian perspective, you can’t go wrong anywhere in the world. It is something that I want to learn from here.

Do you listen to Indian music?

Mathew: I do listen to it.

In fact, I am a big fan of Rah­ man’s music who also did a big concert at Berklee when I was in charge. We have ar­ tists from India, recently we had Shreya Ghoshal there.

In India, a majority of artists had someone at home teaching music from an early age. Does someone from non­musi­ cal family can learn mus­ ic the same way in an aca­ demic set­up?

Mathew: Malcolm Glad­ well in his Outliers proves that if one wants a skill, then he has to practice it ten thou­ sand hours. And I believe, if one practices a lot, then he can learn it no matter if he is from a music family or not. I started playing drum at the age of ve but gave up at the age of 14. Then I decided to play the piano. People used to tell me that I will not able to learn music because it’s too late . It is di erent from person to person. If you have music at your school at the early stage of life, it is as good as you have it at your home.

How academic learn­ ing di ers from Indian guru­shishya parampara of learning music?

Mathew: I think an aca­ demic setting is quite similar to what guru­shishya rela­ tionship is. When we had

is something < > There below the surface which you can’t reach without appreciating the whole culture

In harmony: Rick Peckham and Matthew Nicholl with Megha, Aditya and Tarun Balani, founders of Global Music Institute

gone to college in the ’80s we had a professor who be­ came a friend. We used to stay together, travel together and there was a personal re­ lationship with him. I think the whole time spent with him was learning in itself.

You pick a certain kind of be­ haviour and absorb whatev­ er happens in front of you.

They are not going to tell you what is important but you have to pick it up that way.

Rick: In my view, instead of focusing on one guru, one should have a series of teach­ ers. It should be a team to train students to help them go where they want to reach.

How can an under­ standing of di erent cul­ tures help a musician?

Mathew: There is a me­ lodic and rhythmic compo­ nent and musical style which cannot be written down. You can hear a really nice groove in Brazilian music but you cannot write it down. You cannot sequence it. There is something below the surface which you can’t reach with­ out appreciating the whole culture. I fell in love with Brazilian music and I ended up learning Portuguese also.

Do you think music is a commodity?

Rick: I think there are two families, family of artists those playing on the stage to­ gether, and the second one if we include the audience in that circle. If the band is only communicating with itself

and there is no re ection of the world around, it is not a commodity. But we have a responsibility to realise the vision and aspirations of the audience also; which makes it a commodity.

How has technological shift in recording music changed the experience of a musician?

Mathew: I see a lot of it is very liberating because ear­ lier only the wealthy people were able to do the record­ ing in a studio because the equipment was very expen­ sive and the labels did not al­ low everyone to record.

They used to control the whole thing but now it is more egalitarian and availa­ ble to everybody and it is al­ so empowering. But it is still veryhard to make good mus­ ic as technology can only help you if you have tho­ rough knowledge of record­ ing and mixing. Even if you have all the tools, it is still ve­ ry tough.

What about digital ver­ sus analogue debate... ?

Rick: Technology is mag­ ic and there are ways to ro­ manticise the earlier ways of recording. Neo young is very interested in digital versus analogue, they are listening to vinyl records, but I think in digital, people can enjoy in more formats which were not possible with analogue.

So in my feeling, change is inevitable and we have to ac­ cept it.

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The author is a veteran chronicler of Delhi

Matthew Nicholl

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6 HEALTH

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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Getting kids to eat fruits and vegetables is tough, unless you make the food pretty enough to have them asking for more

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THE FITNESS GAME

There’s a strawberry in my soup! they’re full of antioxidants — they re­ duce toxicity and free radicals.” This is important for children who are exposed to so much toxicity, with both the envi­ ronment and the junk food they eat.

“The berries have vitamin A and C and micronutrients (potassium, zinc, seleni­ um). They contain folic acid, the de ­ ciency of which is a cause of anaemia, and also iron that is easily available to the body, unlike some other vegetarian sources. The sugars from fruit are dig­ ested slower than table sugar, because they come bound to the bre.” She also says it’s best not to cook the fruit for ov­ er a couple of minutes, as the nutrients are heat­sensitive.

Sunalini Mathew

Soup conjures up imagery of colds and coughs. Strawberries are often tart (un­ less you add them into sugared cream, which defeats the health quotient), which is why kids will often avoid both, given a choice. Chef Reetu Uday Kugaji put the two together, to give us fruit soup: a cooked concoction, making strawberry the hero, with a few addi­ tional nutrient boosters — perfect for the seasonal produce.

Delhi­based nutritionist Manjari Chandra tells us about the bene ts of the red berry. “Strawberries are a store­ house of pigments, which means

Strawberry and roasted bell pepper soup Ingredients K

2 cups strawberries, chopped

K

1 red bell pepper

K

1/8 tsp ground ginger

K

1/2 tsp extra­virgin olive oil

K

1/4 tsp mixed dry herbs

K

1 bay leaf

K

A pinch of sea salt

For the garnish K 2 strawberries, sliced K

1/2 tsp pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted

K

1/4 tsp black peppercorn, crushed

Strawberry and grape soup Ingredients K

2 cups strawberries, pureed

K

1/4 cup fresh grape puree

K

1/4 cup grated carrot

K

1/8 tsp ground ginger

K

1/2 inch cinnamon stick

K

1/4 vanilla extract

K

1/2 tsp extra­virgin olive oil

K

A pinch of rock salt

Method K

Preheat the oven to 4500F.

K

Grease the pepper with the olive oil.

Place the whole pepper on a baking sheet pan and place in the oven for 15 minutes, until the skin is completely wrinkled and the pepper is charred. Turn it occasionally during the roasting process.

K

Remove from the oven and immediately cover it tightly with aluminium foil.

K

For the garnish K 1 strawberry, chopped

K Set aside for 10 minutes, or until the pepper cools down completely.

4 grapes

Remove the stem, peel and seeds. Cut into quarters.

K

K

Puree the pepper till smooth with a little water.

Method

K

Heat olive oil in a heavy­bottom non­stick pan. Add bay leaf.

K

Heat olive oil in a heavy­bottom non­stick pan.

Add ground ginger; sauté for half a minute; add strawberries.

K

Add ground ginger; sauté for half a minute.

Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the cinnamon stick.

K

Add carrots and cinnamon stick.

K

Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

K

K K

Now add roasted bell pepper puree. Turn o the gas almost immediately, mixing the two together.

K

K

Now add grape puree; cook for 2 minutes.

K

Remove the whole spice.

K

Add strawberry puree

K

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

K

K

Add salt and herbs.

Add vanilla extract; remove the cinnamon stick and blend in a blender. *

#3 3 1 0 0 7

COURTESY: CHEF REETU UDAY KUGAJI

K Serve at room temperature or chilled, garnished with pumpkin seeds and strawberries. Serves 2.

Serve at room temperature or chilled, garnished with chopped strawberries and grapes.

K

CHANDRA’S TAKE: This is like getting a double shot of lycopene, vitamin B6 and folate, as both the red pepper and strawberry are rich sources.

CHANDRA’S TAKE: Beta­carotene at its best here, with carrots and strawberries. The cinnamon helps regulate blood sugar.

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Beasts in my studio Preeti Zachariah

Now, if you’ve been doing yoga for some time, you will recognise a bunch of poses that are inspired by animals. I mean, ima­ gine a vinyasa class without multiple Adho Mukha and rdhva Mukha Sv n sanas (downward and upward facing dog res­ pectively). And if you’ve ever struggled with a back problem (I have one), I’m pret­ ty sure your yoga teacher would have led you through a cat­cow stretch or spine­ strengthening asanas like Bhujangasana (cobra pose) and Ustrasana (camel pose).

Throw in those balancing poses like Kaka­ sana (crow pose) and Mayurasana (pea­ cock pose) or relaxing ones like Makara­ sana (crocodile pose) and you have quite the menagerie, so to speak.

No one seems to know exactly why there are so many animal­derived poses.

But the general consensus on most yoga websites is that the ancient yogis, who drew their inspiration from the natural world around them, found animals to be super enlightening.

I have no doubt there is plenty of merit in that statement: fur on a pair of yoga pants adds to character, for sure. And I bet, even that old fashion snob Karl Lager­ feld will agree: his pet cat Choupette tra­ vels business class, eats caviar and makes more money than most of his models.

So perhaps bringing in real animals into your yoga class is just an extension of that ideology. It began with Goat Yoga (I kid you not) that rst started a year or so ago by Lainey Morse at the No Regrets Farm in Al­ bany — she now has a 1,000­people­long waiting list. Yoga and goats work together because, “they chew their cud and go into a meditative state,” she is reported to have said. Which is perhaps why, in December

last year, the Denver International Airport decided to turn a storage room into a goat yoga studio, welcoming weary, travel­sod­ den holidayers with a yoga instructor and a dozen ruminates. After all, as Morse said, “It’s hard to be sad and depressed when there are baby goats jumping on you.”

Constant toss­up between going for a yoga class and taking Fido for a nice, long walk? Well, turns out you no longer have to choose: you can just take him along with you for a class. Enter Doga. Created

by Florida­based Suzi Teitelman, it’s a reg­ ular yoga class that incorporates dogs into your practice. Planks with a pooch on your back will give you a core of steel, for sure. (Or leave you sprawled across the mat, go gure.)

The latest entrant to this list — and this is probably the one I would attend, if it ev­ er trudged across sea and shore and reached Chennai — is kitten yoga. Appa­ rently, animal welfare organisations are partnering with yoga studios and releas­ ing kitties in class. Trust me, it really ups your awareness and increases endurance.

I once managed to hold an Urdhva Dhan­ urasana or upward bow (an intense back bend that sees you balancing your body on your feet and palms alone) for ve mi­ nutes at, because my cat had decided to power nap under my suspended bottom.

And you know what the nicest part about kitten yoga is: every kitten in that class is up for grabs and you head home with not just a yoga glow but your own lit­ tle ball of fur. And for all those yoga puri­ tans (I used to be one, I must admit) who will shake their head and say disapprov­ ingly, “This is not yoga,” I simply quote yo­ ga’s bad boy Eric Paskel who believes that yoga isn’t so much about tightening your buttocks (since this is a family newspaper I am not using the slightly ruder term he ac­ tually uses) but, “about getting your head out of it.”

And since sharing your mat with an ani­ mal helps you do it, it is yoga, as far as I am concerned.

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EAT. TRAIN. REPEAT

*

Stop when you’re satisfied

The secret to tness is simply consistency.

And for something to be consistent it needs to be made a habit. And that’s all there is to it

3

GETTYIMAGES/ISTOCK

HABITS TO KEEP YOU FIT

Raj Ganpath

Brushing our teeth is a habit most of us cultivated when we were little and is one we live with for life. Fitness or health isn’t different. If we aspire to stay fit and healthy in the long term, we need to habitually do things that promote health and fitness.

Here are three habits that will keep you fit and healthy over the years to come.

Raj Ganpath is an NCCA­accredited personal tness trainer; a certi ed coach in tness, nutrition, barbell and kettlebell training and a Functional Training and Senior Fitness Specialist, with over 5,000 hours of coaching experience

Move every day Simply carve out some time for movement every day. This might be 60 minutes or just 20, and you might do something very intense or light, but make a habit out of moving daily.

Most of us work out or play or do something intense two to four times a week and that’s about it for movement. This means that we do absolutely nothing active on three to five days of the week, barring the occasional walk to the kitchen or restroom. This merits concern because the human body is designed to move, and without movement it will not be able to thrive.

So, irrespective of whether it is your workout day or not, move. Set aside time every day for movement. Some days this time will be used to work out and on other days you’ll use this time to do some form of movement, be it walking, stretching, breathing, swimming or whatever else you like to and can do. Make movement a habit you can’t live without.

Habits are about feelings. When doing any activity, our brains make us feel a certain way and it is that feeling that we go back for. Eating sugar, smoking cigarettes, exercising, listening to music and even helping people, results in a type of feeling which we want to go back to. Once we get used to this feeling, and we start liking it, we do things to experience that again. Overeating is one such feeling.

Eating was, is, and always will be, fun. And when food is available in abundance, when we stop eating is a conscious decision that we need to make.

We typically eat until we’re full.

In fact, we have been taught to ‘eat well’, and that, in most Indian households at least, means to eat a lot. This advice of eating a lot

comes from a time when food and nutrients weren’t abundant and activity was not a concern.

That time is long gone. Today, if we want to stay fit and healthy, we need to eat just enough and not more. The only way to do that is to consciously stop eating when we are satisfied, but not full. Yes, it sounds vague, and yes, there is no certain way of saying when you’ve eaten just enough. But practise listening to your body and you’ll figure it out very quickly.

Once you do, you will enjoy the feeling of satiation combined with lightness, which you will want to keep coming back to. And once you are there, it becomes a habit to stop eating before you’re full, which will help you consume enough nutrients without adding more body weight.

Say no to sugar after meals You know that craving to eat something sweet after every meal? That’s not a physiological need.

It is simply a habit that we have developed over time. And now, we look to finishing each meal with a mouthful of something sweet, if not a full plate of dessert.

This is a habit we need to break and, like most habits, the only way to do that is by replacing this with something else. Stated differently, sweet has become our finisher for every meal. To fix that, we need to replace that with something less harmful and a lot more useful.

Fruit is a simple option and one that most of us have tried. While it is still sweet, it is low in calories and isn’t indulgent enough to keep you coming back for more, compared to a cookie or ice cream. But it needn’t be just fruit. Your ‘finisher’ can be anything as long as it keeps you away from sugar. Cheese, curd, nuts, milk or even water can be used as finishers. Just do it consistently for a few weeks, and you’ll see that you’ll search the cabinet for this, instead of something sweet.

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0

EDGE

www.thehindu.com/education www.facebook.com/thehinduedge

< >

www.twitter.com/thehinduedge

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

DELHI Monday • January 22, 2018

Eleanor Roosevelt

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Making history come alive

AFP

K.V.S. GIRI

Museums can help foster an understanding of the past as we move towards the future

b

Nimesh Ved

“She is not interested in mu­ seums,” a friend said, of his daughter. He left me wondering.

The history lover in me was not happy. I frequent museums and try to savour those at places I vi­ sit. Here, I speak not just of large and exquisite collections like the ones at the Prince of Wales Mu­ seum in Mumbai but also of small­ er museums.

Museums in capitals of Megha­ laya, Mizoram, and Nagaland have taught me about the homes and festivals of people there, the

clothes they once wove and wore, their shing and cultivation prac­ tices and more.

Today, we also have privately­ owned museums. Some of them like the textile and vessel mu­ seums at Ahmedabad boast of ve­ ry focused and novel collections.

Then, of course, there are the mu­ seums owned by the erstwhile royal families and even state agencies like the Indian Railways and the Reserve Bank of India.

These museums — rich reposi­ tories of our shared past — can hold our hands as we move to­

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Museums not only enable schools to take education out of classrooms and look beyond the allotted 45minute periods but also enable students to experience a sense of awe and wonder in the course of learning. wards the future. They can not only help take history beyond the mugging of dates and names, and bring it alive, but also help facili­ tate discussions on a wide range of topics.

The Salar Jung Museum in Hyd­

erabad, which, among a host of galleries, has one dedicated to ivory, can be a learning ground for how forests and their resourc­ es were put to use during earlier times. Trips to the Nicholas Roer­ ich Estate in Naggar (Kullu) or the Raja Ravi Varma collection at the Vadodara museum can be learn­ ing spaces for art and painting with few parallels. The potential is immense. #3 3 1 0 0 7

Co-educating Museums o er a wonderful op­ portunity to become partners in

voices)

education. They not only enable schools to take education out of classrooms and look beyond the allotted 45­minute periods but al­ so enable students to experience a sense of awe and wonder in the course of learning. Some mu­ seums also house auditoriums.

internships)

A case of clipped wings?

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Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, will soon introduce compulsory attendance for its students. While the JNU student union is resisting the move, here’s what others have to say b

M. SUBHASH

Beyond the classroom: (Clockwise from left) The utensils museum in Ahmedabad; Exhibits at the Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad.

Neha Rupeja

Schools may want to take a crit­ ical look at their existing relation­ ship with museums. While many of them arrange museum visits, on most occasions, primarily on account of group sizes, all they succeed in doing is to get students to move in a proper le.

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Coming back to my friend, af­ ter his daughter moved away, I asked him when he last had a chat with her about history, or got a book for her on the topic, or went with her to a structure of histori­ cal or cultural signi cance. Did he expect her to be interested in mu­ seums after taking her to Play Zones at malls and subjecting her to Tarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma at home? All said and done, chil­ dren may or may not be interest­ ed in history or museums. This is a choice they make. We have the choice of enabling them access to joyous learning avenues — such as museums — beyond the class­ rooms. The question is whether we are playing our roles well — that of exploring these avenues and presenting them as options to our younger friends.

The author blogs at nimeshved.blogspot.com and can be reached at nimesh.explore@gmail.com

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Utkarsh Kumar III, B.A. Geography (Hons), Banaras Hindu University, varanasi Making attendance man­ datory in universities is a narrow approach to widen the objective base of an edu­ cational ecosystem.

It is detrimental to the ar­ ticulation of responsible freedom, and underlines the ideology of forced discipline — this invites negative reper­ cussions and leaves less space for grooming of crea­ tivity, which happens prima­ rily through research and co­ curricular activities.

The fructi ed sparks of education come best from interactive learning, com­ munity participation, and eld exposure.

The Hindu Edge Interna­ tional Career Fair, the #1 event in its genre in South India, caters to the aspiring student community across major metros in South — Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyde­ rabad, and Coimbatore.

Over the past decade, this event has carved a niche for itself among stu­ dents and parents. It is an ideal platform that brings the best of universities and

Mrinalini Mukherjee III, Psychology (Hons), Bethune College, Calcutta University, Kolkata When I got into college, I was always told by seniors to regularly attend classes. As I was interested in the sub­ ject, there was no need for the university to create a rule for attendance. But la­ ter, when the pressure of stu­ dies increased, I realised the importance of this rule. This reduces the workload which we usually keep procrasti­ nating. Thus, this rule should be retained.

R.Rakshana II, Biotechnology, Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Chennai Attendance doesn’t eq­ uate to knowledge. One can be physically present in class but mentally absent. It is ab­ surd to ask for minimum at­ tendance to be maintained in order to complete a course. For all those debates on the legitimacy of college attendance, why don’t we have attendance in Parlia­ ment to make sure the law­ makers are attentive to the needs of the nation too?

minimum attendance requirement should be < > A mandatory during undergraduate studies, though the consequences of non­ful lment can be relaxed.

S. Shashank

Jump-start your career colleges from across the world. The fair will host a variety of exhibitors rang­ ing from foreign universi­ ties to specialised institu­ tions, from travel and banking to other service providers.

There are also special se­ minars for students by Con­ sulates and o cial educa­

tion boards.

The fair will be conduct­ ed in four cities and the dates are as follows:

S.Shashank IV, B.A.LLB, National Law School, Tiruchi The imposition of this rule is equivalent to curbing aca­ demic freedom.

A minimum attendance requirement should be man­ datory during undergrad­ uate studies — but the conse­ quences of non­ful lment can be relaxed.

For example, a student need not be detained, or failed, for having less than 75% attendance.

But, in postgraduate stu­ dies, a mandatory atten­ dance requirement is un­ founded, as specialisation courses are intensive and de­ nitely require more aca­ demic freedom to stimulate original thought in the eld.

Chennai: February 4, 5 at Hotel Hyatt Regency Coimbatore: February 7 at Taj Surya Bengaluru: February 9 at Taj MG Road Hyderabad: February 11 at Taj Deccan To attend the expo, regis­ ter for free at: www.thehin­ du.com/ief and follow the event on Facebook through www.facebook.com/the­ hinduief

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Test date: February 18 Test Centres: Across the country in­ cluding Chennai, Thiruvananthapu­ ram, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mum­ bai, New Delhi, Kolkata.

Course duration: Diploma — three years (Acting specialisation is two years); PG certi cate — one year Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree in any discipline. For sound recording/re­ lated courses, applicant should have studied physics at Class XII­level. For art direction & production design courses, a bachelor’s degree in ap­ plied arts, painting, sculpture, archi­ tecture, interior design or similar is required.

Application fee: 4,000 (For SC/ST/ PwD 1,250) Application: Online till January 25 http://applyadmission.net/jet2018 www.ftiindia.com/admission.html b

BITS Admission Test (BITSAT 2018)

For admission to various degree pro­ grammes (B.E./ B.Pharm./Integrated M.Sc.) o ered at BITS campuses in Pilani, Goa and Hyderabad Test date: Computer­based test from May 16 to May 31 Test centres: Dubai and across India, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Thi­ ruvananthapuram, Goa, Benguluru, Hyderabad, Vishahapatnam, Tirupa­

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The test is compulsory to apply for direct recruitment for the posts of Assistant Lecturer and Teaching As­ sociate in the 59 Institute of Hotel Managements in India.

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2 EDGE

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2018

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wide angle)

.

SOMASHEKAR G.R.

The decision by the All India Council for Technical Educa­ tion (AICTE) to relax the stu­ dent­faculty ratio from the existing 15:1 to 20:1 in techni­ cal education institutions (degree as well as diploma engineering institutions) has been received with mixed reactions by the academic community. According to a newspaper report, an asso­ ciation has led an online petition requesting the Prime Minister to intervene and direct the AICTE to maintain the existing 15:1 ratio.

Those who oppose the move state that the quality of technical education will be diluted because the teachers will be forced only to teach and not to focus on research and their professional deve­ lopment. They also state that their workload will increase and some teachers will lose their job because of the re­ laxation rule.

Those who welcome the move are of the opinion that many engineering colleges in India are teaching­centric and say that the ratio is quite reasonable. It is true that many technical education institutions focus only on teaching and do not give im­ portance to research and professional development of the faculty. Only in some un­ iversities and colleges pro­ fessors are involved in super­ vising research scholars, guiding students in innova­ tive research projects, col­ laborating with industries and teaching.

Teacher­students ratio is de ned di erently by Quac­ quarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education (THE). QS de nes it as “the number of full­time academ­ ic sta members employed relative to the full­time stu­ dent enrolment numbers,”

Mr. _____, an Indian industrialist, got into trouble with the law when he hoisted an Indian flag in front of his company’s factories — it was on a day other than Republic Day or Independence Day. But in 2004, the Supreme Court ruled in his favour, and now, Indians have the right to display the Indian flag with discipline and honour, whenever they want. Identify the industrialist.

iversities: Duke University (7:1), Caltech (3:1), Stanford University (11:1), Harvard (7:1), Washington University (8:1) and Yale (6:1). All these universities are research­ centred institutions and they have more graduate stu­ dents than undergraduate students.

albert p’rayan

but THE de nes it as “the ra­ tio of full­time equivalent students to the number of academic sta – those in­ volved in teaching or research”.

Is the lower student­to­ sta ratio (SSR) linked to high quality of education in higher education institu­ tions? Will it improve pro­ ductivity? Is it fair to use SSR as an indicator to assess the quality of technical educa­ tion in colleges? Is SSR a key determinant of learning outcomes?

The main advantage of lower sta ­student ratio is that teaching and learning will be more e ective. It helps them have easy access to their professors and ena­ bles them to connect with their fellow students and learn better.

Professors can also do jus­ tice by giving individual at­ tention students need, inte­ racting with them, modifying their teaching by knowing their learning styles and learning needs, mentoring them and leading

What’s a good ratio?

Will the AICTE move to relax the student­faculty ratio help improve the quality of learning in technical institutions? them to the path of success.

If there are fewer students, professors can go through the work (assignments, pro­ jects, papers, etc) carefully and provide proper gui­ dance and support.

When there is a low stu­ dent­sta ratio, students get personalised attention from their teachers. This helps them excel in studies and

motivates them to learn bet­ ter and acquire knowledge and develop skills in a more e cient way. We can very well state that the lower the student­sta ratio, the high­ er the level of engagement in academic activities.

Foreign universities Is it fair to compare Indian higher education institu­

tions with foreign universi­ ties and colleges?

“No” is the answer. The reason is that in developed countries there are many re­ search­intensive institutions and in such universities the focus is mainly on research and there the student­sta ratio is lower than 5:1. For ex­ ample, in Massachusetts In­ stitute of Technology (MIT) the ratio is 3:1. In India we have very few such institu­ tions. Tata Institute of Fun­ damental Research is one such institution where the number of students per one member of sta is 2.2.

In top­ranked higher edu­ cation institutions in deve­ loped countries such as the USA and Japan, almost all academics are involved in teaching, research activities, projects and other academ­ ic­related activities. Profes­ sors are accessible to stu­ dents and devoted to spending time with their stu­ dents and providing perso­ nal academic guidance. Here is a sample of student­to­ sta ratio in some top un­

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Q1

.

‘This is ____ __’ is a mockumentary made about the lives of the band ____ __, who have been called the ‘Loudest Band in England.’

They were formed based on a sketch that parodied rock/metal bands for their eccentricity. In the mockumentary, they’ve been shown to have amplifiers with volume controls that go up to ‘11’, instead of the usual ‘10’. In homage, IMDb also rated the mockumentary out of 11 (instead of out of 10).

Identify the mockumentary or the band.

Q2

Two categories In India we have mainly two categories of technical edu­ cation institutions. The rst category of institutions fo­ cuses on research as well as teaching and teachers work­ ing at these institutions spend a signi cant portion of their time in research and are also involved in teaching.

The second category focuses only on teaching. Though the education system in the second category is not desir­ able, such a system is quite prevalent across the country.

What is an ideal student­ to­sta ratio? It depends on many factors. If an institute of higher education is re­ search­centric, the ratio should be lower than 15:1 and if it is teaching­centric, it can be 20:1.

If it is a mix of both teach­ ing and research, the ratio could be 15:1. What is crucial is that technical education institutions should move from being mere teaching­ centric institutions to teach­ ing and research­balanced institutions. What is impor­ tant is focusing on holistic education and improving the quality of technical edu­ cation by creating opportun­ ities for learners to acquire knowledge and develop skills required in the 21st century.

Ultimately, the learning outcome should be e ective.

.

This Birmingham-based club ____ ____ had a lion on its crest, with the word ‘Prepared’ written below.

Ironically, they weren’t prepared for the top-flight of English football and were relegated to a lower league in 2016. Before the 2016-17 season, the club owners and managers decided to remove the word ‘Prepared’ and magnify the lion to fit the crest. Now, their website highlights the words ‘Passion, Pride and Purpose’ instead.

Identify this club, who managed to sign an English legend (to help get them back to the top-flight) in 2016.

Q3

.

“And in her ears the little Seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk and music and talk coming in, coming on the shore of her unsleeping mind.”

This is a paragraph from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, written in October 1953.

This paragraph predicted/inspired/ foreshadowed a common, universally used, invention. Which one?

Q4

.

Q5

_______: Snapdeal: Psst, I have something for you. ________: Erm…what?

Snapdeal: Will you ________ my life? ________: Yes, I will, I will; it’s a deal.

Snapdeal: Actually, its ‘dil ki deal’ Who was Snapdeal conversing with, and what was the subject of the conversation?

.

The author is an academic, columnist and freelance writer.

He can be contacted at rayanal@yahoo.co.uk

______ is an island situated off the coast of Spain and forms the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is classified as overseas U.K. territory. There is a strong but almost invisible military presence throughout the island.

It is most notably characterised by a huge ‘rock’ and The ______ Strait. Identify this island.

Q6

Scientists of a new ilk

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Meet Nidhi Singh who works with statistical climate models and investigates how climate change a ects Varanasi

A new breed Nidhi is a climate change scientist — a relatively new breed of scientists who work

Data Nidhi’s research needs two kinds of data: health and cli­ mate. Though the climate data is available as models that are widely used, the health data has to be collect­ ed from local hospitals in Va­ ranasi. Every year, the hospi­ tals treats thousands of patients su ering from TB, diabetes, diarrhoea, mala­

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Nidhi’s motivation comes from the love of science combined with the love for her home town Varanasi — or Benaras as it has been called for centuries.

Invaluable: Data collection through patient surveys.

ria, and black fever or kala­ azar. The large patient data generated is invaluable for Nidhi’s work. Other than the hospitals’ o cial records, she also needs additional survey data directly from pa­ tients that needs to be fol­ lowed up for three years.

Once she has all the data, she can correlate the num­ bers of patients with a partic­

ular disease with the climat­ ic conditions. Her goal is to nd relationships in the da­ tasets to generate a general­ ised result of the impact of climate change on the health of Varanasi residents.

Nidhi’s motivation comes from the love of science combined with the love for her home town Varanasi — or Benaras as it has been called

for centuries. “Once we have good research based on speci c data, local commun­ ities can take seasonal miti­ gative steps like widening sewers and directing the ow of water. Policies and plans the government makes are based on the data that scientists have done re­ search on. So, unless and un­ til we have knowledge on

particular areas it would be tough to deal with problems locally,” she said.

Nidhi is a true Benarsi.

She was born here, grew up here, and plans to go nowh­ ere — maybe she will do a stint abroad if Benaras Hin­ du University (BHU) doesn’t o er her a lectureship when her research is complete.

She pursued her B.Sc and M.Sc at BHU, and in 2013 joined an integrated M.Phil course that would lead her into her PhD at the Institute of Environment and Sustain­ able Development at BHU. The author is a science writer and co-founder of the Life of Science project. To know more about women scientists of India and their research, visit www.thelifeofscience.com

A skeleton crew and a cash cow know your english) S. UPENDRAN

“I had a sip of your company’s new cola last night. It was just plain aw­ ful. How could a company like yours launch a terrible product like that?”

“You might not like the taste of the new cola, but little kids love it.

The company is hoping it’ll be­ come a cash cow.”

“Cash cow? You’re hoping that it’s going to make your company a lot of money?”

“Exactly! When you say that a product or a service is a ‘cash cow’, what you’re suggesting is that it’s something that’s earned

the company money over a period of time. The money that it’s earned is often used to promote the com­ pany’s other activities and products.”

“In other words, the product is something that can be relied on.”

“That’s right!

The IPL, for example, is the BCCI’s biggest cash cow.”

“They make tons of money o it, don’t they? Many people in the lm industry see Shah Rukh and Salman as cash cows.”

“Let’s see how long they conti­ nue to be cash cows. If you ask me, it won’t be for long.”

Pinched lips “Hey, you don’t look or sound like your usual self. Is something both­ ering you?”

“What gives you that impres­ sion? Is it my pinched lips or my...”

“I didn’t see you pinching your lips. Your hands were on the co ee cup all the time.”

“The expression ‘pinched lips’ is frequently used in informal con­ texts to mean to compress one’s lips, especially when there’s a lot on one’s mind.”

“In other words, you pinch your lips when you’re worried or angry.”

“Exactly! When they questioned Revathi, she merely pinched her lips and said nothing.”

“I could tell Lavanya was sad.

Her lips were pinched and there were tears streaming down her eyes. Now tell me, why were your lips pinched?”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to go to Ooty next weekend. I’ll have to cancel.”

“But we’ve already booked our train tickets and....”

“I know. But you know that our company works 24/7. We never close for...”

“Does this mean that everyone works even on holidays?”

“Not everyone. We have a skele­ ton sta to keep things running.”

“A skeleton sta ? What does that mean?”

“The fewest people required to keep a company or an organisa­ tion running — these people are usually referred to as ‘skeleton sta ’. It’s also possible to refer to this group of people as ‘skeleton crew’. For example, during Dus­ sehra and Diwali, our company op­ erates with a skeleton crew of twenty people.”

“How about this example? After tying up the skeleton sta on duty, the robbers escaped with over a hundred laptops.”

“Sounds good! During the

Answers

aashima dogra

This column is a fortnightly reminder that there is fasci­ nating research taking place around us. Nidhi Singh re­ searches the impact of cli­ mate change on humans.

NOT human impact on the climate, but the other way round. “We know that cli­ matic parameters play an important role in the spread and transport of diseases such as tuberculosis, diar­ rhoea, malaria, black fever, and pneumonia. Similarly, a person having cardiac issues can get troubled in high tem­ peratures like 48­50° C. Heat stress is another problem due to loss of water and de­ hydration in extreme tem­ peratures,” she says.

A1. Naveen Jindal of Jindal Steel A2. Spinal Tap/This is Spinal Tap A3. Aston Villa Football Club A4. (In-ear) Earphones A5. Freecharge/Snapdeal’s acquisition of Freecharge A6. Gibraltar

life of science)

with statistical climate mo­ dels that predict future cli­ matic conditions based on data from the past. These models provide speci c in­ formation on di erent cli­ matic parameters such as temperature and humidity in three scenarios for the fu­ ture, depending on how cli­ mate change mitigation is handled: low, medium and high warming. Climate change scientists might work with an additional dataset to match against the climate models. Nidhi is looking speci cally at how climate change in Varanasi, the ol­ dest city in India, will a ect the health of its residents.

An excerpt from a Twitter conversation between Snapdeal and

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VIDEO CAFE b

MADHUMITHA SRINIVASAN

Protect your dream Based on a true story, The Pursuit of Happyness is an inspirational movie about a down and out salesman Chris Gardner whose life looks like it has nowhere to go but down — he loses his life’s earnings, his wife leaves him, and he is left to raise his son all by himself. Gardner’s life eventually does take a turn for the better when he manages to take up an unpaid internship and eventually finds his feet as a stockbroker. The movie is peppered with inspiring moments and quotes, but the one that stands out is the advice Gardner gives to his young son.

In the scene, Gardner tells his son that he will probably not be very good at basketball because he wasn’t as well, and that he shouldn’t waste so much time on the court shooting hoops.

His son’s face falls and he starts to pack his basketball when Gardner realises that he should be encouraging his son rather than shattering his dreams. So, after a pause, he says to him: “Don’t ever let someone tell you, you can’t do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you got to protect it.”

Watch the scene here: youtube.com/watch?v=DvtxOzO6OAE

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EAR SHOT nights, the nursing home has a ske­ leton sta to take care of emergencies.”

“What I don’t understand is why you volunteered to work this weekend!”

“I didn’t volunteer. The CEO de­ cides who is going to be part of the skeleton crew. We are usually put on duty once a year, so no one really complains.”

“So, he decided to put you on duty this weekend!”

“It’s just my rotten luck, I guess!” * * * * * Why didn’t the skeleton go to the dance?

Because he had no body to go with. — Alice Jane

ASHOK RAJAGOPALAN

Join us now https://t.me/towardstomorrow CM YK

The author teaches at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. upendrankye@gmail.com

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THE HINDU

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INITIATIVE)

Free-wheeling for a cause Two youngsters come up with a top-notch idea for a novel bicycle, which, with minor tweaks, is an eco-friendly marvel Rajdeep Mukherjee

Turning a dream into reali­ ty often take sweat, deter­ mination and hard work.

Our innovation of the elec­ tric drivetrain bicycle bears testimony to it.

Nayan and I, while stu­ dying at the University of Petroleum and Energy Stu­ dies (UPES) in Dehradun, wanted to create a bicycle which could easily switch from manual operation to electric mode within mi­ nutes. The product is our contribution towards pro­ tecting environment and healthy living. Most elec­ tric bikes available in the market have some ubiqui­ tous shortcomings such as mounting of heavy compo­ nents like batteries on the frame, producing excessive strains by fatigue or by im­ pact load which result in failure of the frame, and high cost, to name a few.

We wanted to o er both electric and manual drive­ train to a rider at a nominal cost.

Innovative To make the product eco­ nomical, we decided to convert our old bicycle into a new electric one. After learning about various electrical motors, we de­ cided to opt for brushless DC motor of 250 kw pro­ ducing 21 Nm of torque, which costs about 6,000.

We bought other essential parts such as battery, wheel rim, tire, plastics, fa­ brications and other tools.

The motor was set in a triangular formation with

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b

Green ride: With their innovation. : ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The electric bicycle is the answer to so many questions. The best thing about the bike is that it is a regular bicycle with minor modi cations only. two idler pulleys for force balancing.

Now, the transmission of power from the motor to the front wheel took place with the help of a friction drive. For this, the motor was machined in accor­ dance with the rim’s sur­ face. As we had to use inter­ nal surface of rim for transmission, we got a solid tyre as there was no space for air pressure valve like in a normal tyre. The electric bicycle is the answer to so many questions. The best

thing about the bike is that it is a regular bicycle with minor modi cations only.

It is eco­friendly too as it does not use any fuel to move.

Our hard work paid o within a few days. We de­ cided to call it ‘Electric Dri­ vetrain Bicycle’. Thomas Edison once said, “There is a way to do it better — nd it”. We are exhilarated with the outcome and hoping to make our little contribu­ tion in making the world better.

Rajdeep Mukherjee and Nayan Arora are pursuing B.Tech Mechanical Engineering at UPES, Dehradun. They were guided by Dr. Swapnil Bhurat, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UPES.

Tackling work woes OFF THE EDGE NANDINI RAMAN

)

I completed my chemical engineering degree in 2016.

I worked as a trainee in ITC­ PSPD paper industry for ov­ er a year. Now I am looking for a new job. I always feel that something is missing in my life and feel low when I think about others who chose a di erent career path, or are earning more and successful. I am into t­ ness and a gym enthusiast; so I have always wanted to pursue a career in the t­ ness industry but I am con­ fused about what course to take, what to do, and how to grow nancially in this in­ dustry. — Srikanth

Dear Srikanth, “Passion is the di erence between having a job and a career”. I think that you feel ‘stuck’ in a mundane job — it is not a career that you are pursuing! There will always be people who will be better than us but what will bring you joy? What will make you want to jump out of the bed every single morning, look­ ing forward to your day with joy and excitement? It is nev­

er too late to get started on what you would want to do in your life.

Of course, you will need to equip yourself and ensure that you are certi ed and rightly trained for the job.

You seem to be a tness en­ thusiast who is unfortunate­ ly ‘trapped’ in a boring of­ ce, regular desk job! Also, be aware that tness trainers today are the new MBA grad­ uates — personal trainers, tai chi, zumba, yoga and gym instructors who live a more ful lled, well balanced life than many with a fancy white collared job. Go chase your passion!

I am 31 years old and have been working as a software engineer at an MNC for the last seven years. Since my college days I have nurtured a passion towards becom­ ing an IPS o cer. But due to family responsibilities and nancial constraints, I had to force myself to pursue IT. Now, I want to seriously put e orts into preparation for UPSC exams. Here comes the confusion: one of my friends suggested I should pursue chartered accoun­ tancy rather than UPSC. The friend says it could yield more money if I move to Dubai as a CA. I am con­ fused about what to do now: 1. Excel in my current pro­ fession, 2. Start preparing

admissions) b

Ph.D. programmes

Institution: IIHMR University, Jaipur

Public health; pharmaceutical management; health and hospital management; nursing management; population and development; health econom­ ics and nance; rural and urban health; health communication and behavioural change; information technology in the health sector; Areas of research:

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seriously for UPSC, or 3. Be­ come a CA with a plan to move to Dubai. — Bharath

Dear Bharath, You did very well for your family. Unfortunately, you seemed to have missed out on your IPS dream as the qualifying age limit under the eligibility criteria is 30 years of age, as on August 1 the year of the examination.

So now, you only need to decide between how much you love what you are cur­ rently doing to upgrade your current skill sets and/or if you would have the courage to re­invent yourself with so­ mething completely new and di erent (CA) from what you are currently doing now to make more money or move to Dubai. But be realis­ tic about the time and e ort that the CA course generally demands.

What will it take for you to get an international skill cer­ ti cation in your current job, to be able to get a pro­ motion, move to another company with better pros­ pects for you — both, nan­ cially and with respect to role responsibilities? Good luck!

I have a civil engineering de­ gree and secured a job in a PSU after good perfor­ mance in GATE. I later got to know PSUs aren’t good for career growth — at least for

health systems; food security and nutrition and rural development.

Duration: Three to six years Eligibility: Candidates must have a master’s degree, or an equivalent professional degree with at least 55% marks in aggregate (grade ‘B’ in the UGC seven­point scale) Application: Online Deadline: January 26 Selection process: Application screening, IIHMR Research Apti­ tude Test (IRAT) and personal inter­

civil engineering graduates.

Moreover, the job is repeti­ tive and taxing. Now I am in a desk job, but I am in con­ stant fear of being shifted to the eld. So in a very short span of time, I decided to go into the nance sector. I have started preparing for competitive exams. But I can’t leave my job because my family is dependent on me. They have also forced me to take a home loan. So leaving the job and then preparing for my choice of the exam is a long shot!

Adding to my woes are egoistic bosses and not­so­ friendly work environment.

Being an introvert, I can’t even communicate proper­ ly or talk to my boss if I feel something isn’t right. I am unable to reach targets I had set for myself in prepar­ ing for the competitive ex­ am. I am losing hope, I feel lonely and suicidal! I think I am slowly embracing de­ pression. I want to leave this PSU at any cost this year by cracking that competitive exam. But I feel I am not able to give it my all. — Ajay

nd something else that is interesting and well­paying is not an option at all, right now. I am just wondering what you were thinking dur­ ing your degree if you didn’t want to be on the ‘ eld’?

I hope the move to pursue a job in the nancial sector is not a knee­jerk reaction, and that you have given it some serious thought! I wouldn’t want you to be a case of ‘out of the frying pan into the re’. How often do you get the suicidal thoughts? It would be best for you to meet a psychiatrist who will help you assess your mood swings and check for de­ pression. In addition, regu­ lar counselling and therapy will bene t you greatly as you seem to be passive with colleagues and family mem­ bers, and unable to be asser­ tive at work with your boss.

Take care!

Disclaimer: This column is not a substitute for long-term therapy. It is merely a guiding voice.

Some issues may need medical intervention.

Dear Ajay, You need to b­r­e­a­t­h­e, my dear!

You are heading for a clear burnout. You are so aware of your entire situa­ tion and I see that you are feeling trapped and help­ less. Quitting this job till you

The author is a practising counsellor and a trainer. She has worked extensively with students and young adults across a range of issues. She will answer questions sent to eduplus.thehindu@gmail.com.

The subject line should be: ‘O the edge’.

view (PI) IRAT and PI: February 3­4

www.iihmr.edu.in b

B.Voc in Automotive Skills

Bachelor of Vocation is a UGC ap­ proved degree based on the Nation­ al Skill Quali cation Framework.

Applications invited for the batch starting in February 2018.

Institution: Bhartiya Skill Develop­ ment University (BSDU), Jaipur Seats available: 30

Eligibility: Student must have passed 10+2 with PCM or ITI after Class X, OR polytechnic diploma Admission process: Entrance test at BSDU based on 10+2 syllabus Fees: 60,000 p.a.

Duration: Three years Application: Online or forms may be collected from Controller of Exami­ nations (COE) o ce at BSDU.

www.ruj­bsdu.in

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