The Hindu

Delhi friday, november 11, 2016

www.thehindu.in Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 RNI No. TNENG/2012/49940 ISSN 0971 - 751X Vol. 6 No. 268 CITY EDITION 28 Pages Rs. 8.00 ●

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Printed at Chennai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Madurai, Noida, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Vijayawada, Mangaluru, Tiruchirapalli, Kolkata, Hubballi, Mohali, Allahabad, Malappuram and Mumbai

Mumbai court declares Mallya absconder as he ignored summonses

Nuke policy should be unpredictable, says Parrikar

Interpol elects Chinese public security official as its president

Ben Stokes adds to India’s woes with a ton in the first Test

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BRIEFLY Mulayam rules out alliance LUCKNOW: Amid talk of a Bihar-

like anti-BJP ‘mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance)shaping up in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh on Thursday ruled out any alliance in the State for the coming Assembly polls.

NATION PAGE 11

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Modi to discuss nuclear pact with Abe NEW DELHI: Prime Minister

Narendra Modi reached Tokyo on Thursday for the India-Japan annual summit. He will discuss the civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. NEWS | PAGE 14

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Malik, Mirwaiz detained again SRINAGAR: Separatists Mirwaiz

Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik were detained again on Thursday, two days after the Hurriyat leaders decided to extend their shut-down call.

NEWS | PAGE 14

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Army foils infiltration bid, kills militant SRINAGAR: One militant was

killed on Thursday when the Army foiled an infiltration bid on the Line of Control in Baramulla district of north Kashmir.

NEWS | PAGE 14

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FRIDAY REVIEW 4 Pages

problems of Tamils Punjab law to stop sharing Solving is my obligation: Sirisena Ravi, Beas waters illegal: SC “Most of them voted for me and they have confidence in me”

State reneged on agreement with Haryana, Rajasthan: Court

Amarinder quits LS, Sukhbir remains defiant

KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL

VIKAS VASUDEVA

NEW DELHI: Sounding the death knell for the hopes of thousands of Punjab farmers set to re-claim their lands acquired for the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal and triggering a political crisis in the poll-bound State, the Supreme Court on Thursday declared that Punjab reneged on its promise to share the waters of rivers Ravi and Beas with neighbouring States like Haryana by unilaterally enacting the controversial Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act of 2004.

A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Justice Anil R. Dave gave its opinion on a Presidential Reference made to it 12 years ago, on July 22, 2004, questioning the constitutional validity of the Act. The apex court concluded that the Act was illegally designed to terminate a December 31, 1981, agreement entered into among Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to re-allocate the wa-

NEW DELHI: Soon after the

ters of Ravi and Beas in “the overall national interest and for optimum utilisation of the waters”. The SYL Canal was a product of this 1981 agreement.

By introducing the 2004 Act, the State defied two back-to-back apex court verdicts, pronounced in 2002 and 2004, it said. The first one had directed Punjab to complete the SYL Canal in a year. The second judgment had ordered the formation of a central agency to “take con-

Hawala operators, bullion traders face I-T heat SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The Income

Tax Department on Thursday conducted searches in Mumbai and Delhi on hawala operators and bullion traders found accepting demonetised currency.

The IT searches followed “specific and definite information” against at least a dozen hawala operators and jewellers suspected to be dealing in demonetised currency in return for gold, sources said.

“The raids began on Wednesday night itself,” an

There were long queues at all bank branches as Delhiites made a beeline for banks and post offices to exchange their old notes. Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma I-T official told The Hindu, confirming that there were

definite raids in Noida. “They were not random raids, but planned ones against those suspected of indulging in these illegal activities.”

“The monitoring in the cooperative banks is loose, and chances of manipulation and back-dated entries is high,” another official said. “But mainly, the searches were restricted to hawala operators in the Mumbai region.”

PROBE ORDERED INTO DESIGN LEAK | PAGE 15

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J SEE ALSO PAGE 2 & 3

trol” of Punjab’s work on the canal.

In short, the Supreme Court said Punjab acted as “a judge in its own cause”. “The State exceeded its legislative power in proceeding to nullify the decree of this court and therefore, the Punjab Act of 2004 cannot be said to be a validly enacted legislation,” Justice Dave wrote for the Bench.

Supreme Court delivered the verdict, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal told reporters on Thursday that the State would not allow even a single drop of its precious river water to go outside and cited the Assembly resolution in this regard.

“We will convene a special Assembly session on November 16,” Mr. Badal said.

As a mark of protest against “the deprivation of the people of my State of the much-needed Sutlej river water”, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt. Amarinder Singh announced his resignation from the Lok Sabha.

Congress MLAs said they would submit their resignations to the Speaker on Saturday.

A GIFT TO THE PEOPLE OF HARYANA: KHATTAR | PAGE 14

J COURT SAYS SYL LAND BILL J UNWARRANTED | PAGE 14

Collectors bid a fortune for ‘worthless’ notes SHARATH S. SRIVATSA BENGALURU: For those who saved

some high-value currency after the 1978 demonetisation, it has been a rewarding experience. The Rs. 1,000, Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 10,000 denomination notes that were scrapped that year, and remain in good condition, are fetching several lakhs of rupees from collectors.

These notes were not even worth Rs. 100 soon after they were demonetised in January 1978, an enthusiast recalls.

The Rs. 1,000 notes of old have come up for auction a few times, including this July in

Bengaluru, when one fetched Rs. 2.4 lakh. The Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 10,000 notes have never come under the hammer, says Rajendra Maru of Marudhar Arts, an auction house. Wellkept old Rs. 1,000 notes can fetch up to Rs. 5 lakh, he estimates.

About 200 auctions have taken place since 2000, when auction of currency notes was legalised. “I know that Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 10,000 notes are sold privately. This has happened about 10 times in the last 15 years. They were sold for even up to Rs. 20 lakh,” Mr. Maru says.

MEERA SRINIVASAN COLOMBO: Emphasising his commitment to resolving Sri Lanka’s Tamil question, President Maithripala Sirisena has said he has an obligation to address the concerns of the island’s Tamils, most of whom had voted for him.

About 90 per cent of the people in Sri Lanka’s Tamildominated north voted for him in the January 2015 elections, he said. “They have confidence in me that I will solve their problems. So it is not only my responsibility, but also my obligation to solve their problems,” he told The Hindu in an exclusive interview on Wednesday at the Presidential Sec-

Maithripala Sirisena retariat in Colombo.

Amid growing concern over the apparently slowpaced reconciliation efforts, President Sirisena said: “Reconciliation is not something that can be done in a few days.”

The government’s endeavour must be acceptable to the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and other communities.

“That is not an easy task,” he observed.

Asked about accountability for alleged war crimes, which many Tamils believe is integral to reconciliation, President Sirisena ruled out participation of international judges in any probe, as suggested in the UNHRC resolution co-sponsored by Sri Lanka. However, he added: “We can obtain advice from foreign judicial experts.”

He dismissed the view that as leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, running a consensus government with the United National Party, he was facing pressure from the faction led by Mahinda Rajapaksa. “There is no pressure or influence within the party that I cannot withstand.”

J INTERVIEW | PAGE 13

Mistry sacked for not performing: Tata LALATENDU MISHRA MUMBAI: Tata Sons on Thursday

said its board had to remove Cyrus Mistry from the chairman’s post as he “failed to show results” despite being at the helm for five years, including a year as executive vice-chairman.

During Mr. Mistry’s tenure, the dividend from 40 companies, other than TCS, declined from Rs. 10,000 crore in 2012-13 to Rs. 780 crore in 2015-16, according to a nine-page statement from Tata Sons. There was no profit from the sale of investments, and impairment provisions increased 12 times to Rs. 2,400 crore during Mr. Mistry’s tenure, it said.

Stating that Mr. Mistry failed to deliver as per commitment made during his selection process, the letter noted that during the interview, Mr. Mistry had made “relevant comments and submitted a detailed note setting out his views on how the Tatas should be managed.”

The group’s century-old management structure was ‘consciously dismantled’ by

Ishaat Hussain is Tata Chem board TCS interim head backs Mistry NEW DELHI: Tata Sons

removed Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Ishaat Hussain, director of several Tata companies, has been appointed the interim chairman. PAGE 18

MUMBAI: Nusli Wadia and three other directors have reposed faith in Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata Chemicals. This is the second group company after Indian Hotels where independent directors have backed Mr. Mistry. PAGE 18

Mr. Mistry resulting in the drifting away of operating companies from the promoter company. “Now, we have an unacceptable new structure where the Chairman alone is the only common director across several companies. This situation could not be allowed to go on.” Tata Sons alleged there were some significant issues of conflict of interest involving the Sharpoorji Pallonji Group which Mr. Mistry did not address.

Stating that Mr. Mistry could not take credit for the good performance of TCS and JLR, it said these ‘two jewels’ were inherited from Ratan Tata, who, the statement reiterated, was

responsible for the acquisition of JLR and turning it around.

In response, Mr. Mistry’s camp said the claims by Tata Sons were unsubstantiated and half-truths and failed to address why Mr. Mistry was removed without an explanation.

His public relations agency, in a statement, dismissed the allegation of conflict of interest.

“To allege ‘ulterior motive’ of taking over control of companies, demonstrated true independence is not there in keeping with Tata governance standards.”

INDIAN HOTELS, TCS ASKED TO CONVENE EGMS | PAGE 18 I AM A VICTIM, SAYS SIVASANKARAN | PAGE 18

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Devise plan to monitor air pollution, says SC KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court

on Thursday asked the government and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) whether it intends to just sit back and watch people gasping for breath finally die in a polluted national Capital.

“The courts are trying to monitor, the National Green Tribunal is trying to monitor the pollution... and there you are, just sitting there and waiting for people to die,” Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur addressed CPCB chairman S.P. Singh Parihar and the Centre, represented

by Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar.

The Bench, also comprising Justices A.K. Sikri and S.A. Bobde, directed the Centre and the CPCB to hold a meeting on November 19 with the authorities concerned and come up with a comprehensive plan for a central mechanism to monitor pollution in actual time, fix the different grades of pollution levels, measures to counter them on and the number of air ambience monitoring stations required in Delhi, among other factors. “You must have plans. How will you have spread of stations (to monitor air quality) that will clear the picture? You need to imCM YK

mediately plan as to how many stations will be reasonable, looking into the importance of the situation. You must prepare a plan and tell us,” the Bench told the CPCB chief.

The Centre had promised to inform the court about its comprehensive plan to grade pollution and warn the public about the air toxicity levels.

However, instead of a plan, the Bench found that Delhi had just three air ambience monitoring stations – Dwarka, Dilshad Gardens and Shaadipur – with no central monitoring system to collate real-time pollution data and inform the public.

When Mr. Parihar, who was summoned to the front of the courtroom, agreed that more of these stations are required, Chief Justice Thakur shot back, saying “so till now... till we called you here, it had never occurred to you that Delhi is dying?”

Mr. Kumar complained that though the government is willing to do what is necessary to help, the implementing agencies are not doing what they should do to curb pollution.

In response, the Chief Justice called the government “sluggish.”

J SEE ALSO PAGE 4 ND-ND

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MONEY EXCHANGE 3-year-old falls into drain; feared dead

Surprise checks conducted in south Delhi

A three-year-old girl is feared dead after she fell into an uncovered drain in Sriniwaspuri on Thursday Page 5

Over 100 challans were issued by the SDMC for littering, burning of garbage and illegal dumping of waste Page 5

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

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Several branches reported not receiving cash from the Reserve Bank of India; skirmishes reported inside and outside banks across the National Capital Region

Cash shortage greets serpentine queues on Day One STAFF REPORTER

BRIEFLY

NEW DELHI: A day after the

WORTHLESS: Discontinued currency notes being collected at a bank in New Delhi on Thursday. — PHOTO: AP

Busy day for police NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police had a

busy day on Thursday as they received over 750 calls from anxious people and also play peacemaker as many made a beeline to exchange and deposit old Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 on Thursday.

Sanjay Beniwal, the Special Commissioner of Police (Operations), said: “We got close to 750 calls from people about their notes not being exchanged or banks running out of cash.”

DCP (North) Madhur Verma said: “We got calls over issues like the bank not opening closing down early, the bank staff not having enough cash or people being pushed out of the queue. In some cases, the bank staff too made the call.”

In North district, a peon sent by his owner to get the new notes was duped. “He was coming out after exchanging the notes when someone asked him to show the notes. When that person returned the notes, the peon didn’t count them. He handed them over the notes to his owner, but it was found there the amount was one note short,” said a senior police officer, adding that they hadn’t received a formal complaint in the matter so far. — PTI

‘Ban to curb capitation menace in education’ NEW DELHI: The demonetisation of

Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes is a bold initiative to make the economy stronger and is expected to curb the capitation menace in the education sector, noted academicians said on Thursday.

In a bid to fight against black money, fake currency, corruption and terror financing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced demonetisation of Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 notes on Tuesday night.

As many as 31 faculty members from IIT-Madras lauded the initiative.

“Bank notes in circulation have been increasing rapidly over the last five years, growing as much as 40 per cent and contributing to inflation. We, therefore, welcome the government’s war on black money by pronouncing the existing currency notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 as no longer valid,” they said.

“Even the education sector has been impacted by this, with college seats being sold for a fee,” they added.

The total cash in circulation in the form of these two sets of demonitised notes is believed to be about Rs.14 trillion.

— PTI

Counter for foreign delegates at meet GREATER NOIDA: Amid difficulties

faced due to demonetisation of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000, a special counter was opened for foreign delegates participating at an ongoing global conference on tobacco conference here.

A special counter of the State Bank of India was opened at the India Expo Mart, where the seventh session of the Conference of Parties (COP7) to World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) is taking place. India is hosting the meet for the first time.

“There were some problems faced by delegates participating in the conference due to the government’s decision. That is why the SBI counter was opened,” a top Health Ministry official told PTI. He said that the Ministry is also holding discussions with the local administration to make more facilities available to the foreign delegates so that they do not face problems. — PTI CM YK

Central government’s demonetisation rule came into effect, serpentine queues and skirmishes inside and outside banks across the National Capital Region marked Day One of exchange of banned Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 currency notes.

Scores of people stood in lines for hours in the hope of receiving some usable cash, even as several banks reported not having received any cash from the Reserve Bank of India.

Common complaint The most common complaint was the slow pace at which bank executives went about issuing the new currency notes. Many women and the elderly appeared miffed with the absence of separate queues for them.

The long wait and confusion resulted in skirmishes and scuffles between customers themselves, and with bank staff at several banks.

The police had to be called in to manage the crowd at few places, while barricades had to be put up at others.

Several banks downed their shutters intermittently to keep agitated customers from forcing their way in.

‘Mismanagement’ While mismanagement was common at many banks, some branches dealt with the problem by issuing tokens to customers. Many people used this opportunity to slip away for other work till their numbers were called. However, at many centres, the bank staff indulged in long periods of recesses.

Many customers arrived with family so that someone would always stay in line if one of them had to leave briefly for necessary work.

Customers exiting the banks after exchanging cash said it took anywhere between five to 10 minutes for each of them to get their work done at the counters.

SAME SCENE: All over Delhi, including Swasthya Vihar and Preet Vihar in east Delhi and Tagore Garden in west Delhi, people were seen waiting outside banks or filling out declaration forms on Thursday. — PHOTOS: SANDEEP SAXENA & SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR. The long wait also financially hurt many people, who were forced to take leave from work.

Loss of pay “I had to take a half-day leave on Thursday. I had no option but to visit a bank and exchange money. Now I will lose half-a-day’s salary,” said Rohtash, a driver in Janakpuri.

Disappointed In many poor areas, people had to travel as far as 2 km to reach a bank.

Many residents of Kali Basti in Vikaspuri were a disappointed lot as they had to walk back a long way after the banks announced they had run out of cash. People had begun lining up outside banks as early as 7 a.m. at many places.

“I knew there would be a

huge rush, so I queued up early to exchange some old notes. Hopefully, I will be able to reach office on time after the transaction,” said Subhash Sharma, a resident of Shalimar Garden in Ghaziabad.

The long queues extended to busy roads outside the banks. Traffic management turned into a nightmare at several places. Poorlyparked vehicles outside many banks added to the woes as queues had to be split at several points.

The Delhi Police had announced on Wednesday that there would be adequate deployment to manage crowds and ensure security at banks.

While banks in places like Khan Market and Parliament Street saw police deployment, places like Janakpuri and Vikaspuri barely had any visible police

presence.

At Janakpuri’s B Block Community Centre, a private security guard with a gun on his shoulder arrived with a cash-laden bag in an autorickshaw.

Absence of police “I have a gun. There should be no worry,” he said, when questioned about the absence of police personnel.

At many banks, policemen were requested to hand out forms to people seeking to exchange currency notes.

Otherwise, this job was given to private security guards, who also had to control the crowds. At many places, educated people helped illiterate people fill up their exchange forms.

Bank officials were seen emerging outside frequently to explain the reason behind the delay in exchange of

cash. “Some customers want to deposit cash to the tune of lakhs or, in some cases, even a crore. It takes time to count all that cash,” said a bank official.

Many customers were unaware about the requirement of a photocopy of their identification document for the transaction. They had to rush to the nearest photocopy shops, providing brisk business to those shop owners. By afternoon, many banks ran out of cash.

Urgent “I waited all morning as I needed to pay medical bills urgently. But after hours of wait, I was told that the bank had exhausted all its cash.

Each passing day is getting more difficult for us,” said Ashraf, an Afghan national living in south Delhi’s Bhogal.

In Gurugram, banks complain of short supply trickle in even before the banks opened for the day to avoid the rush. Soon, there were serpentine queues running for several hundred metres.

“I was among the first to reach the bank. But even before it opened, there was a long queue. The average waiting time was two to three hours,” said Dinesh, a labourer, who was waiting outside ICICI Bank at Old Judicial Complex.

ASHOK KUMAR GURUGRAM: Chaos prevailed at

most banks in Gurugram, with people from all walks of life turning up in huge numbers on Thursday morning to get old currency notes exchanged or deposited.

Many banks did not get a supply of the new Rs.500 and Rs.2,000 notes, making it difficult for them to handle crowds. The unprecedented rush even led to minor scuffles and heated exchanges, with people forced to wait outside banks for two to three hours.

“Our branch witnessed over four times the usual business on Thursday. We did not receive the supply of Rs.500 and Rs.2,000 notes, and cash ran dry around noon. To handle the rush, most customers were given smaller amounts. Though 200 extra personnel were deployed at various branches, it was still inadequate,” said an

BANKING WOES: The branch manager of an ICICI bank (in tie) tells customers the bank has to shut as it has run out of cash.

— PHOTO: V. V. KRISHNAN

Oriental Bank of Commerce employee.

With several banks falling short of cash, the bankers, in a review meeting with the local administration, demanded a bigger supply to banks in the Millennium City.

“We have decided to write to regional director of the Reserve Bank of India and seek Rs.100 crore every day to

meet the needs of the city,” Additional Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh told The Hindu.

‘Wait of two to three hours’ There are around 1,300 ATM booths and 700 branches of various banks in Gurugram.

People had started to

Extra staff deployed Despite, more than half-adozen private and public sector banks within a 200-metre radius at the Old Judicial Complex, all banks saw a huge rush. The State Bank of India, Mehrauli Branch, set up two separate counters — one for women and the elderly, and another for men — but the rush was difficult to handle anyway.

“Those who came in the morning had to wait for three

to four hours because the bank had smaller value denomination notes. The exchange gained pace after the bank procured Rs.2,000 denomination notes,” said Shankar, a security guard.

Jitender, a rickshaw-puller, said he had no choice but to wait as he did not have money to buy even food or milk.

Manish Bakshi, the assistant manager at Axis Bank, Sector 14, said extra staff had been deployed to handle the rush, hampering routine work.

“We have deployed five people at the deposit counter against the usual two and spared six more for exchange and verification. We have also decided to work extra hours, but the rush is unmanageable,” said Mr. Bakshi.

With many banks running out of cash, Rati Ram, a customer, commented: “What’s the point of working extra hours when the bank ran out of cash by afternoon.”

Demand for new notes soars in Noida, Ghaziabad PURUSHARTH ARADHAK NOIDA: People in Noida and

Ghaziabad exchanged their old currency notes of Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 denominations with new notes on Thursday, even as many banks saw the presence of police personnel.

Problem While the new notes were available in some areas, many bank branches failed to arrange them. Sources said the problem was particularly rampant in rural areas of Greater Noida and Ghaziabad.

People had started queueing up outside banks in Noida Sector 18 and Sector 62, the two commercial areas with most banks in Noida, 6 a.m. onwards. Many custom-

counts in these post offices.

Post office officials said they tried to get the new notes till late afternoon.

ers had to wait for two to four hours to exchange notes.

Some branches in Ghaziabad eventually ran out of cash and shut shop by afternoon. Many people left fuming after failing to get currency notes exchanged.

Heavy police deployment Keeping the law and order situation in mind, heavy police force was deployed at various branches. Senior police officers were also deployed in the city to avoid any untoward incident.

“Thankfully no major incident was reported in Noida on Thursday. There were some customers who lost their patience, but the police reacted on time. We have made special arrangements for the coming days,” said Dinesh Yadav, the Noida Su-

Pacifying customers “We had dispatched our staff to get the new notes, but when we failed to do so, we decided to invest all our energies into pacifying customers.

We had informed the local police about the development to avoid any untoward incident,” said Surender Singh, Noida’s Post Master.

THE LUCKY ONE: A shopkeeper at ITO with the new notes.

— PHOTO: V. SUDERSHAN

perintendent of Police.

None of the 21 post offices in Noida had managed to arrange for the new currency

notes and were hard-pressed to handle customers. Sources said there were over one lakh customers with savings ac-

Shops closed Meanwhile, many shops in several markets remained closed on Thursday as shopkeepers did not have enough usable currency to deal with customers.

(The writer is a freelance journalist)

‘BJP, allies already knew about demonetisation’ STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to demonetise Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 currency notes. He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies were informed about the demonetisation move “a week in advance”.

Questioning the timing of the decision, Mr. Kejriwal said it was done keeping in mind the Uttar Pradesh elections.

“Commission” “There is evidence that their [BJP’s] friends and own people were informed a week before the decision was announced. They have made all arrangements, like buying property or gold. The BJP is going to fight polls in Uttar Pradesh and other States. It has made all arrangements.

The common man is the only one suffering. I spoke to many people, who told me that money will be delivered to the residences of black money holders in lieu of 15 to 20 per cent commission,” Mr Kejriwal said in a video message on social media.

Mr. Kejriwal said he found it difficult to understand why a Rs.2,000 note had been introduced, which, he said, will only make hoarding of black

money easier.

“What is the logic behind the introduction of Rs.2,000 notes? It will lead to increase in corruption and black money economy instead of containing it. It is only the common man who has been hit hard.”

While Mr. Kejriwal criticised Mr. Modi, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday afternoon supported the “historic” move to introduce Rs.2,000 currency notes saying it would remove corruption and black money.

“To remove corruption & Black money, decision to introduce Rs 2000 notes historic [sic],” Mr. Jain tweeted.

Tweets In a series of tweets, the Chief Minister also took potshots at a newspaper advertisement issued by Paytm, a mobile payments firm, that featured Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image. Mr. Kejriwal said the company was the biggest beneficiary of the demonetisation move.

“Utterly shameful. Do people want their PM to model for pvt cos? Tomo, if these cos do wrongdoings, who will act against them? Paytm biggest beneficiary of PM’s announcement. Next day PM appears in its ads. Whats the deal, Mr PM? [sic],” Mr. Kejriwal wrote.

GOOD MANAGEMENT: Policemen monitor both traffic and the queue outside a bank in west Delhi’s Mahavir Enclave on Thursday. — PHOTO: V. V. KRISHNAN ND-ND

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

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MONEY EXCHANGE

Crackdown on Old Delhi shops Not many takers for I-T sleuths undertake ‘surveys’ to prevent large-scale cash conversion into bullion SHUBHOMOY SIKDAR

STAFF REPORTER

Income Tax sleuths on Thursday carried out searches at several markets in Old Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, triggering panic among businessmen who shut shop hours before the scheduled time.

The searches were reportedly part of a countrywide drive to crack down on attempts to convert largescale cash into bullion or other commodities. This, after the Central government demonetised Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 notes from Tuesday midnight.

The raids began late afternoon and were on till 11 p.m.

NEW

DELHI:

In the dock Locals said places such as Dariba and Lajpat Rai, including Bhagirath Palace in Chandni Chowk, remained affected. While Lajpat Rai and Bhagirath Place are known for electrical and electronic goods, respectively, Dariba is a hub for jewellers.

Searches were also carried out at shops in Sadar Bazar and Chawri Bazar by I-T and Sales Tax officers, respectively.

Ramesh Agarwal, a businessman from the Dariba

NEW DELHI: Initial elation at

BUSINESS HAMPERED: A deserted Bhagirath Palace following searches conducted by Income Tax officials on Thursday. PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Shopkeepers were asked whether they had used backdated forged bills to make hoarded money legal gold market, said the I-T sleuths told him that they were carrying out a “survey”.

“When I went inside Hari

Ram Hari jewellery shop, which belongs to my friend, I was told that a team from the I-T Department was carrying out a survey. They did not disclose anything further,” said Mr. Agarwal.

Shopkeepers were purportedly made to produce their account books and asked whether they had used backdated forged bills to make their hoarded

money legal.

Raju, a watch seller, recalled witnessing what he described as an “army” of tax officials entering jewellery shops at Bhagirath Palace and pulling down their shutters. “When other shopkeepers realised that the shops were being searched, they started downing their shutters immediately,” said Raju.

Post offices turn away customers BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN NEW DELHI: When banks

became “unreachable”, several Delhiites headed to their nearest post offices only to be told that money had not reached there even at 10:30 a.m.

Those who waited till lunch time to exchange the now defunct Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 currency notes finally left disappointed.

“Cash hasn’t arrived, which is creating confusion and leading to harassment of the common man. We have been calling the RBI office every 30 minutes since 7 a.m. We are hopeful that the situation will improve by next week,” said staff members at a post office on Pandara Road.

Gole Dak Khana also saw crowds, which started

CM YK

new Rs.2,000 note

HEAVY RUSH: People throng Gole Dak Khana in New Delhi on Thursday. PHOTO: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY building up from Thursday morning.

Similar scenes were played across the city. No cash was being exchanged at a post office in Janakpuri’s B-Block Community Centre.

Notices put up inside the post office only informed people that Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 currency notes would not be accepted

there. “We have been informed that we will be receiving no cash today.

We have no information about cash being sanctioned to us on Friday, either,” said an official there.

‘Poor planning’ Customers appeared angry because of the post office’s unwillingness to

exchange notes. “The least the government could have done was to ensure that the designated places received currency notes. This was poor planning by the government,” said Nishant Kaushik, a local.

Earlier, the government had announced that starting Thursday, a person could exchange up to Rs. 4,000 at any bank branch or post office upon producing a valid identity proof.

“Poor people have been the worst hit. I am running a fever, but came to exchange notes as there is no cash to buy medicines and food. If I don’t get money today, my husband will have come tomorrow,’’ said Rekha, who works as a domestic help and lives in central Delhi.

getting their hands on a crisp new Rs. 2,000 currency note quickly gave way to frustration for many due to the lack of smaller denominations at city markets, petrol pumps and other commercial establishments.

After standing in queues outside banks to exchange Rs.1,000 and Rs. 500 notes for an average 30 to 60 minutes, those bearing Rs. 2,000 notes were told to either spend the entire amount at a single point of sale or asked to tender precise change.

“I went to my local bank branch where I had to stand in line for at least 45 minutes to exchange the old notes for two new Rs. 2,000 notes; when I tendered one of these at a grocery store, I was told I should either purchase items worth the entire amount or use my debit card because they were out of Rs. 100 notes,” said Sameer Suri, 54, a businessman from Saket.

Tough choice Vijay Arora, a private ex-

DILEMMA: Those bearing Rs. 2,000 notes were told to either spend the entire amount at a single point of sale or asked to tender precise change. PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA ecutive, complained of having faced a similar dilemma at a petrol pump in central Delhi. “When I tendered a Rs. 2,000 note to the pump attendant and asked for a refill worth Rs. 1,500, he refused to accept the note because they were out of Rs. 100 notes. I could either purchase fuel for the entire Rs. 2000, or leave.”

Both Mr. Suri and Mr. Arora said the government should have increased circulation of currency notes of at

least of the denomination of Rs. 100 if not of lesser value such as Rs. 50, Rs. 20 and Rs. 10 before announcing that currency notes of both Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 had ceased to exist as legal tender.

Shopkeepers, too, complained of inconvenience.

“I had to buy my daily stock of some items on credit and deal it to customers also on credit because of lack of enough change,” said Ram Niwas Sharma, who owns a tea shop.

Hit by demonetisation, small traders suggest changes JATIN ANAND NEW DELHI: The effects of de-

monetisation on small traders and manufacturers in the Capital were discussed here at a meeting of the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI), a national body that aims to look out for the interests of small businessmen.

An estimated 150 traders from grocery, jewellery, transport, garment, property, and manufacturing raised problems they were facing, and extended suggestions to meet the challenges of the situation marked by paucity

of usable notes and new banking rules.

This, even as Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party president Satish Upadhyay and the party’s National Secretary Sardar R.P. Singh requested Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that banks be directed to keep branches open till at least 9 p.m. to help allow those from the business community to make deposits less than Rs. 1 lakh.

‘Extend deposit limit’ According to Brijesh Goyal, national convenor of the CTI, the suggestions to tackle the situation included

extending the deposit limit from Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh, enhancing the withdrawal limit from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 50,000 and extending the income tax exemption limit to. Rs 10 lakh, in addition to bringing down the maximum tax rate to 25 per cent.“All the suggestions will be discussed further so that an agenda can be prepared to be presented to the Centre and the Delhi government,” Mr. Goyal said.

“Some representatives also suggested a united Dilli Bandh in case the demands were not met,” Mr. Goyal added.

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FIGHTING FOR CLEAN AIR

Pollution is capital punishment for Delhiites: HC Punjab says crop burning in its areas does not affect air quality in the Capital; court accuses State of being in denial AKANKSHA JAIN NEW DELHI: Calling air pollution “capital punishment killing Delhiites for no fault”, the Delhi High Court on Thursday said that 20 million people were losing 60 million years of life each year.

A Bench of Justices B D Ahmed and Ashutosh Kumar said that the World Health Organisation had declared air pollution as the world’s single largest health risk, attributing seven million deaths to it globally.

“As long as PM2.5 is in excess of the prescribed standard, life expectancy would be 3.2 years less than what it ought to be. Assuming that the population of Delhi is 20 million, it would mean that approximately 60 million life years are robbed from the people of Delhi. It also means air pollution takes one million lives in Delhi,” said the Bench.

Noting that “danger to life visible from extensive newspaper reporting had not led to the government acting in a manner it should have”, the Bench said 13 of the 20 cities in the world with the worst air were in India.

Senior advocate Kailash Vasudevan, meanwhile, highlighted that the action plan submitted by the State and central agencies did not reveal much.

Further, the Bench was disquieted by Punjab’s

As long as PM2.5 is in excess of the standard, life expectancy would be 3.2 years less than what it ought to be

SC, NGT orders need of the hour, say experts DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI: Air pollution in the National Capital Region may finally be treated as a common problem, experts said on Thursday as the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered the Central and State governments to work together on a comprehensive regional plan.

TAKING NO CHANCE: Children wear masks on their way to school on Thursday after a three-day break due to the smog cover in the Capital. PHOTO: AFP “denial mode” as it looked at a screen that flashed images of stubble burning in the State and the smoke travelling towards Delhi and even as far as Madhya Pradesh. The State of Punjab responded saying there was no proof that crop burning within its area affected the air quality in Delhi, and that it was not fair to expect its farmers to invest in crop residue management techniques as they were a distressed lot after having suffered the Partition, two Indo-Pak wars, and low returns.

“It has not been conclusively proved that alleged stubble burning in Punjab affects air quality in Delhi.

For the alleged stubble burning in Punjab to affect air quality in Delhi, factors like wind direction and

wind speed matter a lot. No conclusive study seems to have been undertaken in this regard,” said the State in an affidavit.

‘Dereliction of duty’ “What is distressing is that we warned you. This is dereliction of duty,” the Bench told the Delhi government as well as the counsel for the State of Punjab, who said the State would need 100 per cent grant-inaid from the Centre for crop residue management, while listing the efforts it had put in to check crop burning.

Visibly disturbed byPunjab blaming the pollution on firecrackers, the Bench said, “Your affidavit is in denial mode. Delhi has had to cancel schools, etc. Look at the loss. The satellite images clearly show that crop burn-

ing in Punjab is the main culprit.”

The Bench, however, appreciated the efforts made

by Haryana and Rajasthan to check stubble burning and said “they were moving in the right direction”.

“Unfortunately, Punjab has not taken any steps despite our warning. Before we issue any contempt notice to its Chief Secretary, we would like a detailed affidavit as to why no steps were taken,” the Bench said, fixing the matter for hearing on November 18.

Waste segregation at source The Bench also heard the issue of overflowing landfill sites, which it said had simmering fires and were releasing toxic gases.

When the Delhi government’s counsel Rahul

Mehra said that the Capital produces 10,000 metric tonnes of waste every day, the Bench noted that about four million metric tonnes of waste was being dumped in Delhi annually at just three sites — Ghazipur, Bhalswa and Okhla.

The Bench then asked the civic agencies to ensure waste segregation at source.

Mr. Mehra also told the Bench that the Delhi government was mulling converting the now-defunct Rajghat thermal power plant to a waste-to-energy plant, and needed 20 acres of land near Bawana that is with the NTPC. “We think this ought to be taken up expeditiously,” said Justice Ahmed after the counsel said it would take 18 months to complete the project.

Monitoring strategy While the Supreme Court ordered the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to come up with a monitoring strategy for Delhi-NCR, the NGT ordered the Centre and Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan governments to form centralised and State committees.

Environmentalists have been demanding a comprehensive regional anti-pollution strategy for years, but the Central and State governments have been slow to act. Co-ordination meetings have been held between stakeholders in NCR, but not much has changed on the ground.

In fact, according to a study by the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur commissioned by the Delhi government, even if Delhi enacts stringent measures to curb pollution, the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 would come down to 115 and 200

Stress on plan that includes emergency, long-term measures, and covers all emission sources micrograms per cubic metre respectively - or about twice the safe limits. But, if these measures are implemented across NCR, the PM2.5 and PM10 levels could be brought down to 72 and 120 micrograms per cubic metres. The safe levels are 60 and 100 micrograms per cubic metre for PM2.5 and PM10 respectively.

Now, with the Supreme Court and NGT issuing orders, experts say the governments will finally have to act.

‘It’s a health emergency’ Anumita Roychowdhury, who heads the air pollution and clean transport programme of the Centre for Science and Environment, said the Supreme Court order was the need of the hour.

“It is critical that we have a comprehensive emergency response system. A health emergency has to be treated like one. It’s not just about data and monitoring of pollution, but about the steps taken when PM2.5 levels reach 300 micrograms per cubic metre, for instance,” she said.

Others added that the

NGT order could lead to a regional-level action plan — similar to that in China.

“Air doesn’t act according to city or State boundaries.

The NGT shouldn’t have had to intervene as the governments had enough information, but it is a good step,” said Sunil Dahiya, a campaigner with Greenpeace India. He added that the Central and State governments should work towards time-bound plans, including specific targets for States and cities.

Sumit Sharma, a fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), said antipollution plans should include collaboration between the Centre and States since many pollution control measures are nationallevel issues. “The NGTordered regional approach is a welcome step. But we need to take it forward. We have suggested a national air quality mission on the lines of the Swachh Bharat Mission,” said Mr. Sharma.

According to experts, everything from the use of clean energy to preventing burning of agricultural waste needs to be tackled at a regional level. With Delhi experiencing one of its worst smog episodes last week, a plan that includes emergency and long-term measures, and covers all emission sources, has become even more important.

Where are the air filters, tribunal asks Delhi govt STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The National

Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday asked the Delhi government why it had not installed air filters in government schools despite thick smog recently engulfing the Capital for almost 10 days.

A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said: “We had specifically asked you to install air filters in schools. Why didn’t you do it? You cannot provide fresh air to children, at least install air filters in government schools.”

The NGT’s observation came during the hearing of

a plea filed by lawyer Vardhman Kaushik seeking directions to provide free masks to schoolkids.

Penalty for non-compliance?

The plea argued that since the Delhi government had failed to implement the orders of the green panel on air pollution, it should provide free masks as a punitive measure. He also sought penalty for noncompliance of the tribunal’s orders on curbing air pollution.

The green panel, meanwhile, refused to pass directions on giving free

masks to schoolkids and senior citizens saying it was for the State government to decide.

‘How will a mask protect’ “How can a mask protect somebody when the pollution level is 20 times higher than prescribed limits,’’ the Bench asked. It added that the mask would only choke people.

“The intention should be to free the air from pollution and make it breathable. This mask business should come to an end. All other philosophies, we are not interested,” the Bench added.

Students write to PM Modi, demand ‘clean air day’ ASHOK KUMAR

CHOKED: A metro train makes its way through dense smog in Gurugram on Thursday. PHOTO: PTI

GURUGRAM: Students of Delhi Public School in Sushant Lok here have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to declare a national ‘Clean Air Day’ and take concrete measures to curb air pollution in Delhi-NCR. Writing on postcards, the

students suggested several ideas such as planting more trees, banning crackers on Diwali, curbing crop burning, introducing the oddeven scheme in Gurugram, promoting the use of bicycles, stricter checks on industries, and use of clean fuels for vehicles.

In her letter to the PM, Class X student Pearl said:

“Please don’t allow our future to go up in smoke. We need to observe a national Clean Air Day each year.”

Another student Ashreya Singh said: “I suffer from asthma and have breathing problems. I wear a mask, which is very cumbersome.

Please take strict measures so that children like me can lead normal lives.”

NGT suggests setting up central, State-level panels Pollution impacted ‘What about pollution my health: Gadkari near Kaushambi?’

DMRC QUIZZED

are in excess of the prescribed limits.

Earlier the court had come down heavily on States for not acting against farmers burning farm residues.

BINDU SHAJAN PERAPPADAN

NEW DELHI: In an attempt to

STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to inform them about the steps that have been taken to check the worsening ambient air quality near Kaushambi township on Delhi-UP border.

Affidavit A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar on Thursday asked the DMRC to file an affidavit stating the steps it was taking to ensure that it does not generate pollution from its yard near Sahibabad Industrial area.

The green panel was hearing a petition filed by the Kaushambi Apartments Residents’ Welfare Association that contended that

the presence of two bus terminus (Anand Vihar and Kaushambi) within 200 metres of each other had aggravated pollution.

Decongest Pollution here is caused due to vehicular congestion and Metro work and services. The green court has also asked the UP State transport secretary to meet officials of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation and look at mechanisms to decongest the area near Kaushambi bus depot. It also directed the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board to file a status report on steps it has taken regarding pollution, dumping of municipal solid waste and generation of pollution by other means. The matter has been listed for hearing on November 11.

tackle pollution in the Capital, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan governments to consider banning 10-year-old diesel vehicles.

The green panel has also directed the setting-up of centralised and State level monitoring committees to prepare action plans to combat pollution.

A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said that every State committee, in its first meeting, should notify one district where land use for agriculture is high and make it a model district for implementing orders to stop stubble burning.

“When air pollution reaches alarming or severe levels, immediate steps are required to be taken as environmental emergency. According to experts, when

THE EXTRA MILE: A man sprays water to help the dust settle on Thursday. PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA PM10 and PM2.5 are above 431 and 251 micrograms per cubic metre respectively then it is a situation of severe emergency,” the Bench said.

In such a case, the tribunal said, helicopters should be used to sprinkle water in Delhi-NCR, especially in areas where pollution levels

‘Withdraw incentives’ The NGT had asked neighbouring States, particularly Punjab, to consider withdrawal of incentives - including free power - to farmers burning crops.

The court explained that in case of such an emergency, States should immediately provide Happy Seeders or other such machines to farmers to help them remove agriculture residue. Incentives should be provided to farmers to sell their paddy straw to biomass plants, industries and board making units, it had noted. “Also, all construction and demolition activities, and transportation of construction material should be halted temporarily. Stone crushers should be directed to shut down,” said the court.

NEW DELHI: Admitting that the

recent Delhi pollution has taken a toll on his health, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari suggested on Thursday that farmers, instead of burning paddy straw, should produce ethanol from it.

“Delhi pollution has impacted my health....rice straw, which people burn, causes pollution and can be used to produce second generation ethanol that can be blended with petrol,” said the Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister at an economic editors conference here.

The Minister said that the BJP government was emphasising on generation of bio-fuel and reducing oil imports as this would minimise pollution and make the country self-reliant.

“Our government is laying emphasis on bio-fuel, ethanol, and CNG,” he

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at a conference on Thursday. PHOTO: RAMESH SHARMA added.

Also, Mr. Gadkari said that coal caused pollution and manufacturing methanol from it could help address the issue. The Minister also stressed that the vehicle scrapping policy would contribute significantly in curbing pollution as heavy commercial vehicles more than 15 years old contributed to 65 per cent of the pollution. — PTI

Published by N. Ram 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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Boy kills minor, surrenders Accused was allegedly bullied, police say victim was hit with stone 22 times STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: A 17-year-old boy

was bludgeoned to death in south Delhi allegedly by a 16-year-old friend, who later surrendered before a Juvenile Justice Board.

The police said the alleged murder took place after the accused was bullied by the victim.

The accused and the deceased lived as neighbours in a labour camp near a power plant in Jaitpur.

Their parents worked as labourers at construction sites.

The duo had grown up together and dropped out of school a couple of years ago to help their parents.

The accused surrendered before a Juvenile Justice Board hoping for lenient treatment However, the accused boy was regularly bullied by the deceased and felt humiliated, said the police.

Killed on spot The accused hit the victim with a stone 22 times, killing him on the spot, said Romil Baaniya, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-East).

Last Thursday, the accused called his friend to a forested area on the pretext

of drinking.

Once the victim was inebriated, the accused allegedly asked the victim to lie down with a cloth over his face in the pretext of showing him a magic trick.

He then allegedly used a stone to hit him on his head and face 22 times and hid the body nearby before returning home.

The boy had initially purchased a knife, but was unable to muster the courage to kill his friend, said investigators.

The victim’s family, meanwhile, had registered a missing person’s complaint with the police when he did not return home.

“Even as the police were

searching for the missing boy, we received a call from a juvenile justice board on Monday, informing us about a boy who had approached them to surrender in connection with a murder,” said Mr. Baaniya.

Murder planned A police team then questioned the boym who led them to the spot where he had left the body.

Investigators said the boy claimed to have planned the murder and then surrendered before a juvenile justice board in an attempt to evade the law, hoping for leniency.

He has been booked for murder.

Excise Dept. arrests 45 for drinking in open

SDMC issues 170 challans for littering, burning waste

STAFF REPORTER

Surprise checks conducted across the four zones in south Delhi

NEW DELHI: Intensifying its

special drive, the Delhi government’s Excise Department arrested 45 people on Wednesday for consuming liquor in open and public spaces. A total of 122 violators have been arrested so far in the drive that was launched on Monday.

According to the Excise Department, 10 teams were formed to catch those found drinking in the open.

The action was taken against violators under section 40 of the Delhi Excise Act and they were handed over to the Delhi Police.

The arrests were made from Seelampur, Anand Vihar, Chanakya Puri, Babarpur, Kalkaji, Defence Colony, Mayapuri, Khyala, Mangol Puri, Rani Bagh, Bhalswa Dairy and New Ashok Nagar.

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STAFF REPORTER NEW DELHI: Over 100 challans were issued by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Thursday for littering, burning of garbage and illegal dumping of construction waste, as it conducted surprise checks across its four zones.

THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Five held with 6 tonne of stolen aluminium

Sriniwaspuri: 3-year-old girl falls into drain, feared dead

STAFF REPORTER

The child’s mother jumped into the drain in an attempt to save her

NEW DELHI: A five-member gang that had stolen around six tonnes of aluminium from a scrap godown late last week have been arrested, the police said on Thursday. The police claimed to have recovered around half of the stolen aluminium. The market price of the recovered item is around Rs 4 lakh, said Ravindra Yadav, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime).

The men had entered the godown located in outer Delhi’s Shahbad Dairy in the early hours of Sunday, said the police. They then tied up the three security guards at the premises before breaking open the locks of the godown. They loaded the entire stock of aluminium in a tempo and fled. The police were informed later and the probe was handed over to the crime branch.

STAFF REPORTER

Tip-off On Tuesday, the team probing the theft was tippedoff about the robbers arriving near Bhalswa Jheel in their tempo, along with the aluminium. They were arrested when they got out to sell the stolen goods, said the police.

NEW DELHI: A three-year-old

girl is feared dead after she fell into an uncovered drain in south-east Delhi’s Sriniwaspuri on Thursday afternoon, even thought the child's mother had jumped in herself in an attempt to save her.

The body of the girl, Kiran, was not found till late evening. According to the police, the incident happened when the girl was playing outside her residence with her brother.

Broken slab “The drain near which she was playing is covered with slabs. One of the slabs was partially broken, leaving a gap big enough to fit a minor. The girl lost balance and fell into the running water, which swept her away,” said a police officer.

“Her brother, Sawan immediately alerted everyone.

Everyone started to panic and I immediately called up the police, who reached our house soon but Kiran has not been found yet,” said the girl’s aunt.

GRIM SCENE: Locals alleged that drains in the area are not properly covered. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Meanwhile, the girl’s mother had jumped into the drain herself. The woman was, however, pulled out by the locals whose own efforts to find the girl proved futile.

The fire brigade and the police began a search operation but the minor’s body had not been found as of late evening.

‘No action’ While the police have started investigation, locals

Infant’s mutilated body found The body is that of a stillborn with no signs of premature birth

alleged that the drains in the area are not properly covered and there are very high chances someone falling in, as has allegedly happened a few times.

“Despite complaints no action has been taken. Even after a couple of incidents were reported in the area, nothing has been done to ensure our safety,” said Suresh Chhabra, president of the Residents’ Welfare Association of the area.

Neighbour held for killing man NEW DELHI: A 38-year-old man

STAFF REPORTER Par t of ongoing drive As part of the ongoing cleanliness drive, senior leaders and officials of the SDMC carried out inspections across south Delhi and issued 170 challans for lack of sanitation. In fact, the SDMC ended up issuing three challans against its own garbage collection concessionaire — Dakshin Dilli Swachh Initiaives Limited — for allowing trash to spill

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GURUGRAM: The body of a new-

UP IN SMOKE: During inspections, 42 challans were issued against those found burning garbage. FILE PHOTO: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA out of dumps.

During the inspections, 42 challans were issued against those found burning garbage and 38 challans were issued for littering and collection of garbage.

SDMC Mayor Shyam Sharma said that these “unwarranted” situations were an environmental hazard and that the civic body would continue to carry out inspections.

born baby boy, mutilated by stray dogs, was found in a vacant plot at Kanhai village on Wednesday.

According to the postmortem report, part of the infant’s skull and brain had been eaten up by the dogs.

“The body is that of a still born, with no signs of premature birth. It seems the infant was abandoned soon

after delivery not more than a day ago,” said Dr. Deepak Mathur, who conducted the post-mortem on Thursday.

Dr. Mathur said that the birth seemed non-institutional as all precautions had not been taken.

Bus driver spots body The matter came to light on Wednesday morning when a bus driver, Om Prakash, spotted a stray dog with the body of the infant in

its mouth. He retrieved the body from the animal and informed the police.

Case registered A case has been registered against an “unknown” person under Section 318 (concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body) of the IPC at the Sector 40 Police Station here. The police said that they had no leads so far as to who could have abandoned the baby.

was killed on Thursday, allegedly by his neighbour, following an argument in south Delhi’s Gautam Nagar area, the police said.

The victim, identified as Kiran, died after being hit repeatedly with a frying pan by his neighbour Sandeep in a fit of rage at around 5.15 PM, the police said.

Kiran and Sandeep used to have frequent fights over some issues, the police said.

— PTI

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EDUCATIONAL

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SITUATIONS VACANT GENERAL

LEGAL NOTICE

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Centre’s move could be to crush Opposition: Rawat KAVITA UPADHYAY DEHRADUN: Prime Minister Nar-

endra Modi’s announcement declaring Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes as invalid could be a step to financially crush the political Opposition ahead of elections in States of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, Chief Minister Harish Rawat said here on Thursday.

Questioning the transparency that the Central government claims to attain through demonetisation, Mr. Rawat said the decision could help the Bharatiya Janata Party during the upcoming elections as it did in March this year when the BJP allegedly paid huge sums of money to the nine Congress MLAs who revolted against the party, brought the State under President’s Rule and later joined the BJP. “If money flows into Uttarakhand like it did in March

[this year], then how will there be any transparency? If this exercise is for transparency then we welcome it. But, if this is to [financially] crush the [political] Opposition then the nation will decide [during elections],” Mr. Rawat said.

“But, in principle, I am with the Central government in its efforts to curb black money and terrorism,” Mr. Rawat said.

Tourism badly hit in Uttarakhand Uttarakhand being a tourism-based economy, the demonetisation decision has hit the State’s earnings.

Mr Rawat said: “The first blow of demonetisation is to tourism. We need to get the exact numbers researched, but tourism was currently at full flow in the State…. Bookings have been cancelled to places as far as Munsiyari.”

Panel appointed to address power sector problems SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT JAIPUR: In an attempt to reach

out to the electorate, the Congress in Rajasthan has appointed a State-level committee to draw the government's attention to problems caused by repeated revisions in power tariffs and alleged irregularities rampant in the power sector.

The committee, headed by State Congress president

Sachin Pilot, will deliberate on the issues involved in the power sector and formulate an action plan to exert pressure on the State government for bringing about changes in policy decisions.

State Congress vicepresident Archana Sharma said on Thursday that the common people were facing the burden of unwarranted tariff revisions.

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“Inform about steps to check black money” U.P. govt declares dengue as epidemic SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday demanded that the NDA government at the Centre inform the public without delay about the steps being taken to control black money after its hasty decision for demonetisation which had put common people to a great inconvenience.

Talking to media persons in Sikar, Mr. Gehlot asked whether the Union government had a clear roadmap for changing the system that

JAIPUR:

had led to the growth of black money. “If the system is not changed, black money will start collecting again after December 30. Does the government have a clear answer to this?”

Mr. Gehlot said the chain of black money starts from funding of political parties through cash donations.

“What are the government’s plans to deal with this? Does the government intend to bring a State funding policy?” he asked.

Unless the “firm and concerted steps” are taken to change this system, the NDA government’s decision for

demonetisation would turn out to be a mere populist measure and would fail to make an impact on the national economy, said Mr. Gehlot.

“Not solve the problem” The former Chief Minister said merely changing the currency notes would not solve the problem of black money being invested in properties, used in elections, sent to foreign banks and paid through gold and jewellery. “It is necessary to make longterm institutional reforms to deal with this issue.”

LUCKNOW: With Allahabad High

Court breathing down its neck for “non-action” on dengue prevention, Uttar Pradesh government has declared the outbreak of the disease as an epidemic requiring daily filing of report on the vector-borne viral infection.

“Dengue has been declared epidemic by the state government. The decision in this regard has been taken by the State Cabinet,” Principal Secretary (Health) Arun Kumar Sinha said on Thursday.

A notification in this regard has been issued after which private hospitals will have to provide information regard-

ing dengue to government authorities on a day-to-day basis.

The High Court had asked the State government on Monday as to what strategies it had adopted for prevention and control of vector-borne

diseases like dengue and chikungunya.

Over 800 people have been affected in Lucknow district alone, while data from other places were not immediately available. - PTI

DEATH

Himachal announces incentives to teachers STAFF CORRESPONDENT SHIMLA: With hundreds of government schools on the verge of closure because of poor infrastructure and no students, the Himachal Pradesh government on Thursday announced incentives to teachers to give good results and hold back students in government schools.

The State Cabinet in its meeting here gave the approval to launch the Chief Minister Shikshak Samman Yojna to motivate teachers and headmasters to give

better results in government schools in subjects like Maths, Science and English.

The teachers giving 100 per cent results for five years will be given extension in service and even monetary awards.

The strength of students in various primary and middle schools in the hill State is going down.

In more than 2,050 government schools, mostly opened on political considerations by the government, the total strength of students is less than 15.

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Stunt actor Anil’s body surfaces

Tipu Jayanti passes off peacefully

Katju to appear in SC to debate Soumya verdict

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

BJP leaders arrested in Kodagu; party accuses Karnataka government of dividing society

LEGAL CORRESPONDENT

BENGALURU: After over two

days of search operations, the body of 32-year-old Anil finally surfaced in the T.G. Halli reservoir in the early hours of Thursday. Fellow actor Uday Raghav’s body was found around the same spot on Wednesday.

Anil’s body was sighted by the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force personnel, who resumed search operations around 5.30 a.m. It was found within a 50-metre-radius of the spot where he drowned, the Tavarakere police said.

Both Anil and Uday drowned on Monday while shooting for an action sequence for the Kannada film Maastigudi.

They had jumped from a helicopter along with hero Duniya Vijay, who was rescued later.

The post-mortem was held at the spot in the presence of the tahsildar. Anil’s brother, Harish, received the body, and it was taken to his home in Kadirenahalli. The families of both actors performed the last rites later in the evening.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT BENGALURU/MYSURU: Tipu Jay-

anti celebrations, scaled down and held amid security, passed off peacefully across Karnataka on Thursday. Members of the BJP, who observed the day as ‘black day’, courted arrest in some places.

Kodagu, which witnessed violence last year, saw BJP leaders turning up at the Old Assembly Hall in Madikeri Fort and shouting slogans against the government.

They were later arrested for violating Section 144 imposed across the district.

March to Assembly At Bengaluru, members of the BJP, led by State president B.S. Yeddyurappa, staged a protest in front of Town Hall. The protesters, wearing black badges, shouted slogans against the government for holding the event. They accused the State government of dividing society. Traffic movement was disrupted for some time as hundreds of protesters

‘BLACK DAY’: Karnataka BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa and party workers protesting against the Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Bengaluru on Thursday. — PHOTO: PTI tried to march towards the Vidhana Soudha.

Minister ‘caught’ The BJP demanded the resignation of Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanvir Sait after

Sidda successfully shifted to ‘kraal’

visuals of him browsing through “objectionable” pictures of women on his phone during the State-sponsored Tipu Jayanti celebrations at Raichur were captured by a Kannada television channel.

While the BJP said he had

no “moral right” to continue as Education Minister, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he would inquire into the incident. He was allegedly browsing through the pictures as a lecture on Tipu Sultan was being delivered

on the dais he shared as the district in-charge Minister.

Responding to the controversy, Mr. Sait said the image had popped up as he was scrolling through the messages to keep track of what was happening in his home district, Mysuru, during the celebrations. “I did not log on to any website or surf any portal. I don’t even know who sent the pictures,” he said, claiming he did not download them. The Minister said he was open to any inquiry, and would not step down from his post.

Working president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Dinesh Gundu Rao said: “Political leaders should lead by example.” He said the party would seek a report from him and examine the media footage. Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj H.K. Patil, however, defended Mr. Sait saying he was one of the “well-behaved Ministers” in the Cabinet. The BJP has decided to step up protests.

(With inputs from Raichur)

NEW DELHI: All eyes are on the

Supreme Court as former apex court judge Markandey Katju is expected to appear in person before a Bench on November 11 to “debate” his Facebook comments that the court’s verdict to spare the life of a condemned man in the Soumya rape case suffered from “fundamental flaws.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll be appearing in the Supreme Court at 2 p.m. before the bench presided over by Justice (Ranjan) Gogoi on their request in the Soumya case,” Justice Katju tweeted on Thursday.

Unprecedented order In an unprecedented order on October 17, a Bench led by Justice Gogoi put the review petitions of Soumya’s mother and the State of Kerala on hold.

The Supreme Court Bench had converted the Facebook post of the former judge into a review petition and took suo motu judicial notice of his remarks that judges on the Bench had “grievously erred in law by not holding

Don’t treat subordinates as slaves: HC

STAFF REPORTER SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT BENGALURU: After a day-long

BACK ON ITS FEET: Elephant Sidda in its kraal (enclosure) on Thursday. — PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

CM YK

operation, Sidda, injured tusker at the Manchanabele reservoir, was shifted on Thursday morning to its new home — a kraal constructed by the Madras Engineer Group and Centre team.

The operation started on Wednesday. Attempts to lift the elephant, using a harness and crane, increased the animal’s stress and strain. The tusker was given a few hours of rest and, by late afternoon, another attempt was made.

Over 40 personnel from the MEG, the Forest Department, and NGOs managed to lift Sidda and strap him to the kraal around 1.30 a.m.

MADURAI: Higher authorities

in paramilitary forces such as the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) cannot put their subordinates “in a state of slavery” and attempt to enforce discipline among them by curbing their personal liberty, the Madras High Court Bench here has said.

Justice S. Vimala made the observation while allowing a writ petition filed and argued by R. Thiyagarajan, who was terminated from the post of sub-inspector, to which he was appointed through Limited Departmental Competitive Examin-

‘No society can be free when employee’s liberty is made to depend on arbitrary will of another’ ation after serving as constable for nine years, without any enquiry.

“By declining liberty, no discipline can be enforced.

Discipline expected should be self-imposed and to acquire that, training must be imparted. Discipline should not be superficially imposed.

“No society could be free when an employee’s liberty is made to depend upon the arbitrary will of another. It is

possible only in dictatorship and not in a democracy,” the judge observed.

She held that the difference between clauses used in the appointment order of the petitioner and that of other similarly placed employees, and various other factors that led to the termination of his service would create a reasonable suspicion of the higher authorities having planned to remove him even before his appointment as sub-inspector. The judge pointed out that the petitioner’s application for the sub-inspector post was rejected in 2010 over a trivial reason. Hence, he filed a writ petition and got the rejection

order set aside. He had to file another writ petition to get his appointment orders for the post of sub-inspector on probation for two years.

Going by this and the minor delinquencies, such as non wearing of T-shirt for drill classes and making unwarranted comments against senior officers being the reasons cited for his termination from service, the judge said these would “probabilize the contention that the termination is by way of punishment.”

The judge set aside the termination order passed in 2012 and directed the Centre to post him in any other paramilitary force.

the convict Govindachami guilty of murder.”

Justice Katju’s blog, reproduced in the court order, said the September 15 judgment of the apex court is “regrettable” and needed to be reviewed in open court.

“We issue notice to Justice Markandey Katju and request him to appear in court in person and participate in the proceedings on November 11 at 2 p.m. as to whether the judgment and order dated September 15, 2016 passed by this Bench suffers from any fundamental flaw so as to require exercise of the review jurisdiction,” Justice Gogoi dictated in open court.

The Bench said Justice Katju’s views expressed in the Facebook blog — Satyam Bruyat — deserved the “respect and consideration” and a debate was in order. Justice Katju’s appearance is rather unconventional as Article 124 (7) of the Constitution specifically mandates that no person who was a judge of the Supreme Court “shall plead or act” in any court or before any authority within the territory of India.

Man takes selfie before ending life HYDERABAD: A 28-year-old taxi

driver allegedly committed suicide on Wednesday, moments after taking a selfie at his house here, the police said on Thursday.

Kranti Kumar, a native of Nalgonda district in Telangana, hanged himself from a ceiling fan on Wednesday.

Before that, he apparently took a selfie with a noose of cloth around his neck.

A suicide note was found in which he had written that he was fed up with life.

“In the phone, a photo was found, where Kumar is seen with a piece of cloth around his neck, tied to the ceiling,” the police said. — PTI

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THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Baliyan raises ‘exodus’ issue in BJP ‘Parivartan Yatra’

Mulayam rules out any alliance for U.P. polls

STAFF REPORTER

OMAR RASHID

MEERUT: Days after Rajnath

Singh kept mum on the alleged ‘forced exodus of Hindus’ while speaking in Kairana, another Minister in the Narendra Modi government and MP from Muzaffarnagar, Sanjeev Baliyan, on Thursday raked up the controversial issue during party’s ‘Parivartan Yatra’ in Meerut on Thursday. Mr. Baliyan said that “forced exodus” was an issue in Uttar Pradesh and it was happening in other parts of the State as well. He alleged that people were migrating from different parts of Meerut as well.

LUCKNOW: Amid talk of a Bi-

har-like anti-BJP ‘mahagathbandhan’ (grand alliance)shaping up in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh on Thursday ruled out any alliance in the State for the coming Assembly polls.

Open to mergers Responding to a question by reporters here, Mr. Singh, however, said his party was open to mergers.

“The SP will not engage in any alliance, if anybody wants a merger, we will do that,” the SP chief told a press conference convened on the demonetisation issue.

Mr. Singh’s comments came a day after his son, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had said though his party could fight alone, with an alliance it would clear the 300-seat mark in the 403-strong U.P. Assembly.

The Yadav scion had said the final call on an alliance would be taken by his father, even as it is known that his uncle Shivpal Yadav favours the coming together of all socialist

Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh with State party chief Shivpal Yadav addressing the media in Lucknow on Thursday.

PHOTO RAJEEV BHATT

parties. SP sources, however, indicated that by publicly dismissing the chances of an alliance, Mr. Singh was merely engaging in ‘pressure politics.’

The sources also said that with talks of a united front against the BJP, the SP was hoping for a consolidation of Muslim voters, which the BSP has been aggressively wooing.

Speculations have been rife of a SP and Congress alliance, along with the RLD

| 11

NATION

NOIDA/DELHI

and a few other regional parties after the appearance of erstwhile Janata Party members at the SP’s silver jubilee function and the meetings of Congress poll strategist Prashant Kishor with both Akhilesh and Mulayam.

At the November 5 event, the Janata Parivar leaders pitched for the need to unite against the BJP and also to forge a collective opposition for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Appeal to farmers “The exodus is happening not only from Kairana but other parts of the State as well. There are reports that people are leaving from different colonies of Meerut.

Now, this won’t be allowed to happen once the BJP government comes to power. We will punish everyone responsible for forced exodus,” said Mr. Baliyan, the Union Minister of State for Agriculture, while addressing the BJP rally.

Mr. Baliyan tried to appeal to the strong vote bank of farmers in the region while

Maharashtra to shut most toddy shops ‘Areas which do not grow palm trees cannot sell toddy’ ALOK DESPHANDE MUMBAI: In a move that is not

Sanjeev Baliyan promising that the BJP government in U.P. will bring in a law for the payment of sugarcane arrears to the farmers in 14 days.

He slammed the Samajwadi Party (SP) government for waiving off Rs. 2,000 crore, which the cane industrialists owed to the State farmers. “Has the Chief Minister of the State struck a deal with sugarcane mill owners over the Rs. 2,000 crore that he waived off this amount? Where will the farmer go? But it is my promise that we will get this money returned to the farmers once the BJP forms the government in the State,” added Mr. Baliyan, who is an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riot cases.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh was supposed to address the rally, but his visit was cancelled. He addressed the rally through phone.

likely to go down well with tipplers, the government has decided to shut down most toddy shops in Maharashtra.

If things go as per the government’s plans, Mumbai may soon be left with only two toddy shops. As per a recent Government Resolution (GR) issued by the Excise Department, areas which do not grow palm (toddy) trees cannot sell toddy. The department had even conducted a census of palm trees across the State and, following this, decided to allot one toddy shop per 1,000 palm trees.

The census report reveals that while Mumbai city has no palm tree, the suburbs have 2,528 such trees which mean only two toddy shops can be operated in Mumbai, and that too in the suburbs.

Hazardous chemicals found “All existing toddy shops in Mumbai have been shut down. Across the State, out of 1,250 [toddy shops] over 850 shops have been shut down.

We have found materials such

as sleeping pill powder and other chemicals that are hazardous to health in the toddy samples,” according to Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the State Excise Minister. As per the new rules, tenders will be floated in Mumbai only for two toddy shops.

The excise department also decided to ban toddy sales in areas that do not grow toddy.

It has issued orders to cancel all toddy shops in Mumbai, Pune and the rest of Maharashtra except the Konkan region, which has toddy trees.

In a recent survey, the ex-

cise department found these shops were selling a deadly cocktail of chemicals in the name of toddy. It found massive quantities of chemicals such as chloral hydrate and alprazolam in toddy sold by depots even in urban areas such as Mumbai, Pune, Solapur and Nanded, among others.

As per the government census of palm trees, Sindhudurg has the highest number with 15.54 lakh trees, while Ratnagiri ranks second with 7.77 lakh, followed by Palghar with 5.74 lakh trees.

Mallya declared an absconder, assets to be attached SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI: Businessman Vijay

Mallya on Thursday was declared an absconder by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai.

On June 14, a special court had declared Mr. Mallya a proclaimed offender after he ignored three summons by the Enforcement Directorate and non-bailable warrants issued by the PMLA court. The order stipulated Mr. Mallya to appear before the court, but he failed to do so. The ED on October 26 moved an application before the special court to declare him an absconder so that his properties could be attached.

Hiten Venegavkar, the agency’s counsel, said, “He has now been officially declared an absconder. All his properties, including shares and debentures, will be attached.” A high-level source in ED said: “After a copy of the court order is received, we can begin attaching his properties even outside the country. The move will force him to return to India.”

The ED has sought an order under the Criminal Procedure Code’s Section 82 (proclamation of absconding person) as several arrest warrants are pending against him.

The ED wants Mr. Mallya to join “in person” the investigation into cases related to a Rs. 900-crore loan from IDBI Bank.

The agency said it had exhausted other legal remedies such as seeking an arrest warrant from Interpol and revoking Mr. Mallya’s passport.

Ban junk food on campuses: UGC NEW DELHI: The University

Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all Central varsities to take steps to ban junk food on their campuses.

In a letter to all Vice-Chancellors, UGC secretary Jaspal S. Sandhu said that the HRD Ministry wanted to issue instructions against availability and sale of junk food in Higher Educational Institutions.

“Banning junk food in colleges would set new standards for healthy food and make the students live better, and learn better and also reduce the obesity levels in young learners, thus preventing lifestyle diseases which have a direct link with excessive weight,” the senior UGC official said in his communique. He said that all central varsities should implement measures to sensitise the students on ill effects of junk food. — PTI CM YK

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12 |

EDITORIAL

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

The forgotten war The Maoists are far from diminished. While operations like the one in Malkangiri last month help, the government needs to recognise that the movement cannot be approached only from the law and order perspective Bengal, where economic and developmental measures appear to have weakened the Maoist stranglehold, elsewhere in the country there are few signs that the movement is in retreat. The entire Dandakaranya region, which includes vast areas of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, considerable parts of Chhattisgarh, especially southern Chhattisgarh, as also large spaces in Odisha and, in addition, Jharkhand and parts of Maharashtra, show signs of a Naxalite revival. The strategic importance of this entire region is quite obvious when one looks at the map of India.

F R I D AY , N O V E M B E R 1 1 , 2 0 1 6

M.K. NARAYANAN

Making climate rules at Marrakech

T

he United Nations conference on climate change now under way in Marrakech, Morocco, has the ambitious task of drawing up the first steps on enhanced finance and technology transfer, which is vital to advance the Paris Agreement that entered into force on November 4. India’s negotiating positions at the ongoing Conference of the Parties 22 (CoP 22) must ensure that on both these aspects, the basic principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities laid down by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change are upheld. Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions is central to the effort to contain the rise of the global average temperature in the current century to well below 2° Celsius since pre-industrial levels. But that goal is considered impossible even if sincere action is taken on all pledges made so far, necessitating a higher ambition. Moreover, the Paris Agreement does not have a carbon budget system that gives weightage to the emerging economies taking their historical handicap into account. The imperative therefore is to demand suitably high financial flows to both mitigate emissions and prepare communities to adapt to climate change. Such a mandate should be seen as an opportunity, since CoP 22 will discuss ways and means for countries to integrate their national commitments submitted for the Paris deal into actual policies and investment plans. In India’s case, new developments in sectors such as construction, transport, energy production, waste and water management, as well as agriculture, can benefit from fresh funding and technology.

Adopting green technologies in power generation, which has a lock-in effect lasting decades, and other areas like transport with immediate impacts such as reduced air pollution has a twin advantage.

The local environment is cleaned up, improving the quality of life, and carbon emissions are cut. It is imperative therefore that the national position raises pressure on rich countries for technological and funding assistance under the Paris Agreement.

In parallel, India would have to update its preparedness to meet the new regime of transparency that is to be launched under the climate pact. The preparatory decisions to write the rules and modalities for such a framework, and assist developing countries with capability building will be taken at Marrakech. There is some apprehension that the U.S. could exit the climate consensus since the President-elect, Donald Trump, has vowed to cancel the Paris Agreement. Yet, business and industry today see a strong case to take a new path, as energy costs favour renewable sources over fossil fuels.

States and cities are also charting their own course to curb emissions. These are encouraging trends.

On October 24, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) lost around 30 of its cadres in a covert operation jointly organised by the Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh and the Special Operations Group of Odisha. This occurred in the densely forested region of Malkangiri district in Odisha. Many in the establishment, including some among the security forces and the media, have since claimed that it marked the beginning of the end of the Naxalite movement in the country. Unfortunately, this may be far from true.

Euphoria of this kind is usually the result of a lack of understanding of the true nature of the Maoist movement. The phenomenon is much more than a mere militant movement. It partakes of an idea, pernicious though the idea might appear, which cannot be destroyed merely through a militarystyle setback. In the past half a century of its existence, the Naxalite (now Maoist) movement has weathered many such ‘setbacks’.

Down but definitely not out In its initial stages, the movement had strong ideological moorings, receiving guidance from leaders like Charu Majumdar, Kanu Sanyal, Santosh Rana, Kondapalli Seetharamaiah, Nagabhushan Patnaik and T. Nagi Reddy, to mention just a few. This kind of grounding enabled the movement to withstand changes in methods adopted by the authorities, including techniques such as ‘cordon and search’ and counter-terrorist operations such as ‘Operation Green Hunt’.

Over the years, the trajectory of the movement, as also its character, changed and it became more brutal and sanguinary. Nevertheless, it still maintained a veneer of being true supporters of the poor and the downtrodden, especially the tribal people. It did lose some of the support it previously enjoyed among sections of the urban intelligentsia, but Maoism still resonates with some of the more ideologically oriented ele-

ILLUSTRATION: SURENDRA

Maoism today suffers from a lack of tall leaders — the present party general secretary ‘Ganapathy’ can hardly measure up to the ‘giants’ of the past ments in universities and colleges. The movement consequently still has considerable depth. It would, hence, be highly invidious to liken it to movements such as the Boko Haram in Africa — as obliquely hinted recently in a submission by the Chhattisgarh government before the Supreme Court.

It is a sign of the times to be blasé about almost anything and everything. Slogans such as ‘China’s Chairman is our Chairman’ may no longer reverberate in the country, but the Maoist movement has not entirely lost its elan. It is less visible in the urban areas, but in many pockets of the country, especially in the more remote areas in the heartland States of the country, the Maoist movement is still a force to reckon with. It is only kept in check by a large security presence.

A dip in violence levels during 2013-2014 has been followed by signs of a Maoist revival in 2015 and 2016. Apart from West

Fashionable once again Recent reports further indicate that from this core, the movement is now radiating out to other parts. This includes the crucial trijunction of the three southernmost States of India, viz. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Both in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, there is growing concern at the manner in which the movement seems to have resurfaced. Adilabad, Warangal, Nizamabad and Khammam are the areas in Telangana where signs of such revival are currently evident.

Naxalite ideas have once again become fashionable among college and university students. In Andhra Pradesh, re-emergence of Naxalite activity in the Araku Valley after nearly two decades is causing a great deal of concern among the authorities. Charges are being raised that leaders in Andhra Pradesh are siding with mining barons against the interests of the local tribal people. Threats to politicians and their backers are being freely held out.

In Chhattisgarh, Dantewada, Bastar, Bijapur and Sukma are the main centres of Maoist activity currently. Many areas within these districts remain out of bounds for the local administration, the police and the security forces. This is despite years of efforts devoted to ‘pacifying’ the belt. Ambushes of security force personnel occur at regular intervals. In March this year, seven Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were killed in Dantewada by a skilfully concealed Improvised Explosive Device (IED). During the same month, three members of the

CARTOONSCAPE

Theresa May’s underwhelming visit

I

ndia and the U.K. have many reasons to have close relations. They are two pillars of the Commonwealth, sharing democratic values and a world view on many political issues including terrorism. The Indian community that has settled in Britain has helped deepen ties. Today India is the third largest investor in the U.K., and the U.K. is the largest G20 investor in India. It stands to reason that for her first foreign visit outside Europe after taking over as Prime Minister, Theresa May chose India. As long as British courts don’t stand in her way, she will work to engineer the U.K.’s exit from the European Union in early 2017, and her visit to India was seen as a way of exploring a trade path outside of the EU, with preliminary talk expected on reviving negotiations for a free trade agreement that were first started in 2007. For the past few months, British ministers, including key advisers to Ms. May, have emphasised that the Brexit movement would benefit India-U.K. ties. Given this backdrop, it remains a mystery why, in the event, Ms. May’s visit turned out to be devoid of any substantial measures that would put India-U.K ties on a new trajectory.

The two MoUs signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ms. May, on improving the ease of doing business and on intellectual property rights, did little to add any shine to the lacklustre visit. Worse, Ms. May seemed more comfortable with her previous role as U.K. Home Secretary when she had announced strictures on immigration and student visas that have led to a 50 per cent drop in Indian students enrolling in British universities. Just three days before her visit to India, London announced new restrictions on overseas students, including two-tier visa rules based on the “quality of courses”, and a crackdown on work visas to control migration. Quite oblivious of the impact of these measures on her hosts, Ms. May chose to announce during her first day in Delhi that not only could she not consider India’s demands for relaxation, but that the U.K. could not do so unless India did more to assist in the return of “Indians with no right to remain in the U.K.” The irony is that London has refused to budge on facilitating the “return” of the likes of Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi. It was odd that the Modi government chose to rejoice that Ms. May offered visas on a short notice scheme only for the extremely wealthy Indian as part of a “Grand Club”, which even British newspapers have criticised as a racist, colonialist and elitist measure.

CM YK

highly trained ‘CoBRA Battalion’ of the CRPF were killed in an ambush in Sukma.

Both Dantewada and Sukma also figured prominently in terrorist attacks on security forces during 2015. The same pattern is being witnessed in Bastar. Several of the attacks take place even when anti-terrorist operations are being conducted.

Descent from high ideology We are, hence, hardly at an inflection point in the battle against Maoists. Major strides have undoubtedly been made over the years to improve the condition of the ‘poorest of the poor’ and the ‘wretched of the Earth’ (to quote Frantz Fanon). Nevertheless, the gap still remains wide, enabling movements such as those of the Maoists to exploit the situation.

Admittedly, there is little in common between today’s Maoists who indulge in unbridled and often gruesome violent acts and the erstwhile purist revolutionaries of the Charu Majumdar era who had hoped to bring about “A Spring Thunder over India”.

Yet, there is still more than an umbilical link between the latter and today’s Maoists. This cannot be ignored.

Between the first phase of Naxalism (1967 to 1972) and today’s Maoist movement, vast changes have occurred in the taxonomy of Naxalism. Till the turn of the century, the movement retained at least some of its original ideological underpinnings and intellectual effervescence. Today, it has metamorphosed into a highly rigid and militaristic movement, more intent on terrorising segments of population than on supporting people’s causes. It maintains its own small arms factories where it fashions much of its weaponry. It has a well-established arms trail to obtain state-of-the-art weapons from sources outside the country. It is extremely adept in the use of IEDs, and in resorting to unconventional methods to deploy them.

This had led to large-scale security force casualties (in 2010 in an IED explosion in Dantewada, 76 CRPF personnel were killed). Over the past decade, the Maoists seemed to have had the better of the exchanges with security forces/civilians in terms of casualties — averaging a ratio of three security forces/civilians killed for every Naxalite. The jury is still out whether — in part at least — this transformation is a reaction to a shift in tactics on the part of the administration of employing a combination of counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency techniques.

Twenty-first century Maoism cannot obviously claim to be a legatee of the ideological movement launched half a century ago. At its inception, it had proper credentials to be listed as a true Marxist-Leninist movement. No longer. It today suffers from a lack of tall leaders as well — the present party general secretary ‘Ganapathy’ can hardly measure up to the ‘giants’ of the past.

Nevertheless, the movement cannot be written off. It still has reservoirs of support in many rural pockets, and still more so in the more neglected and forgotten tribal regions of the country. It is still able to convey an impression that the Maoists are the ‘torch bearers’ of ‘an idea’ whose time is about to come. Central and State governments, the administration and the security establishment need to recognise that the movement cannot be approached from a purely law and order point of view. The process of improving the conditions of the poor and the tribals clearly need to be speeded up if the movement is to be effectively checked.

M.K. Narayanan is a former National Security Adviser and former Governor of West Bengal.

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

The triumph of Trump Donald Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential election lays bare two facts (“Shock and awe win for Donald Trump”, Nov. 10). The first is the unreliability of poll predictions. We’ve seen many cases in the recent past where pre-poll surveys have gone off the mark. In the U.K., in 2015, many pollsters predicted a Labour win or said it would be a close call, completely underestimating the Conservative vote. Again in June this year, pollsters predicted that Britain would remain in the European Union. Brexit happened. And now again, Mr. Trump’s win has taken us by surprise.

In this election, no poll agency seems to have bothered to find out what was going in the mind of the average citizen. Instead, pollsters have gone by media reports about a candidate’s level of support. While all were shouting themselves hoarse about Mr. Trump’s comments on women, what the average American really cared about clearly was perceived loss of jobs due to immigration.

Sharada Sivaram, Chennai

Mr. Trump’s win was America’s Brexit moment. He trumped Hillary Clinton’s Democratic leviathan, which was backed by media moguls and Wall Street, and secured the much-coveted job. Mr. Trump was demonised by his opponents and the media in such a way that people even in other countries thought his election would precipitate the apocalypse. Do the election results

indicate an endorsement of Mr. Trump’s so-called negative attributes? No. They should be seen as the people’s desperation for a leader who would hoist their country out of the morass it finds itself in. Americans were left with no alternative. Hopefully, this sobering political reality will have a mellowing effect on Mr. Trump and he will prove his critics wrong by conducting himself responsibly.

J.S. Acharya, Hyderabad

One thing that was in favour of Mr. Trump was his ‘America First’ policy. This primacy is important to Americans. And what is of importance to other countries is Mr. Trump’s tough stand against terrorism and his position that religious fundamentalism is the cause of terrorism. Mr. Trump seems averse to dictatorial regimes like the one in North Korea. When asked once what he would do if Kim Jong-un came to the U.S., Mr. Trump said he would welcome the North Korean dictator for negotiations but without the fanfare generally given to other world leaders. This is a positive sign for the world. India has something to cheer about too, as Mr. Trump has no love lost for Pakistan’s policy of promoting terrorism.

K.R. Jayaprakash Rao, Mysuru

Not only China’s but Russia’s power too will grow if Mr. Trump has a new vision for Asia (“If Trump shifts Asia policy, China’s power will grow”, Nov. 10). Prime Minister Narendra Modi did some fast

diplomatic footwork with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Goa to put India-Russia relations on an even keel. As many as 16 agreements were signed between the two countries. Mr. Putin also condemned the cross-border terror attack in Uri. Russia has stood by India since the days Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin visited India in the 1950s. Besides, Moscow exercised its veto in the United Nations Security Council in 1962 to thwart the West’s attempt to pass a resolution on Kashmir..

At a time when our relations with China and Pakistan are strained, and Mr. Trump’s foreign policy towards Asia is yet to take shape, Mr. Modi has acted wisely in strengthening India’s strategic relationship with a time-tested friend like Russia. India can rely more on Russia to broker peace with China and Pakistan than on the U.S., which employs double standards in its dealings with India and Pakistan. Russia can also nudge Islamabad to shun cross-border terrorism and improve trade and investment with India.

Kangayam R. Narasimhan, Chennai

Flushing out black money While the move to demonetise existing Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes looks sensible, it is proving to be a hindrance to common people. The rich and powerful, whose money is stashed in tax havens outside the country, are leading hassle-free lives.

More importantly, if the Finance Minister is more worried about

India’s security, why hasn’t any action been taken against all the black money flowing to cricket, business, etc.? What action has been taken against those whose names appeared in the Panama Papers?

Supporting big sharks and catching small fish does not augur well.

Devadas V., Kannur

The media is full of reports about serpentine queues outside banks.

But when some of my relatives and friends and I went to the bank, we did not face any difficulty. The bank had made appropriate arrangements for smooth conduct of transactions. I think the queues are exceptions. In matters like this, the media should focus on general cases rather than on exceptions so that undue panic is avoided.

M.D. Ravikanth, Chennai

Since morning, TV channels have been showing long queues in banks.

Some showed senior citizens waiting patiently to exchange old notes. The most heart-rending scene I saw was of a frail 80-yearold woman standing with great difficulty in a queue in a Mumbai bank. Is it not the duty of bank officials everywhere to ensure that senior citizens stand in separate queues and are not inconvenienced for long hours? This doesn’t seem to be the case. In a society where old age homes are becoming a necessity, does anyone even care about how senior citizens are treated?

A. Mohan, Chennai

On the day after the announcement, there were mixed reactions from people. But many common people I spoke to cheered this decision despite the fact that they are facing problems in the short run. This shows that people can tolerate some inconvenience if it’s for the right cause: for national security and the betterment of the country.

Hope this decision is the right one and curbs the menace of black money.

Sandeep Yadav, Jaipur

One may disagree with the Prime Minister on a hundred issues, but one cannot deplore this move. The bold stroke of demonetisation may rattle people but it will definitely inject dynamism in the moribund economy. Such a shock is warranted as the rich and influential have had too long a honeymoon.

M.A. Siraj, Bengaluru

This move cleanses the economy of fake currency but not all black money. There may be unaccounted money in overseas banks and some may have invested in assets. To make the transition smoother, the government could have issued a circular of what the common man should do and what options are available for traders in small towns and villages where a cashless system barely exists. Nevertheless, this replacing of notes should be a regular exercise. Perhaps it can be carried out every 30 years or so so that there is no counterfeit cash.

Praveen Kumar T.B., Hyderabad ND-ND

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PERSPECTIVE

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

‘Reconciliation can’t be done in a few days’ Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on his achievements, challenges, and the importance of a judicial mechanism that has the confidence of Tamils Burgher and other communities to ensure coexistence and harmony.

MEERA SRINIVASAN

In January 2015, nearly six years after Sri Lanka’s brutal civil war ended, President Maithripala Sirisena came to power deposing Mahinda Rajapaksa on the promise of good governance, the abolition of the executive presidency, and reconciliation with the Tamil minority. His election, to many at home and abroad, heralded hope of a new beginning for the country. Almost two years later, he is grappling with old and new challenges — ranging from an open split within the Sri Lanka Freedom Party he leads, to the frictions of coalition politics in the country’s first national unity government, to growing impatience of the Northern polity — even as he tries to move ahead with his reformist agenda.

Speaking to The Hindu in Colombo, President Sirisena discusses the progress made so far, the problems that linger, and his political vision for Sri Lanka. Excerpts from the interview:

In November 2014, you left the ruling party to join the common opposition. At that time, you spoke of grave personal risks associated with the defection that proved historic, leading to a regime change in Sri Lanka. When you look back now, how does it feel? What do you consider your biggest success as President?

Now 22 months have passed since I became the President. I am satisfied with my performance during this time.

There are reasons for that. First, I succeeded in getting the 19th Amendment to the Constitution (that clips powers of the executive President and strengthens the independence of oversight bodies) passed in parliament. We actually proposed that the executive powers of the President be reduced immediately. The Supreme Court said major clauses cannot be deleted without a referendum.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court told us what could be done with two-thirds majority in parliament. So we have changed clauses to the maximum extent possible with two-thirds majority in parliament.

Establishment of independent commissions is another reason. It was essential for the country to ensure (protection of) human rights, democratic rights, fundamental rights and the freedom of the people. I have ensured that people

You spoke about the economy. As someone with a leftist background, now in coalition with the United National Party known for its right-wing economic policies, how do you think your government can promote economic growth while safeguarding living standards and social welfare of farmers and workers?

We have a consensual government of the two major parties. There are similarities as well as differences in the vision and policies of these two parties. My vision is social democracy. Your question is how compatible is liberal democracy with social democracy. The two major parties have agreed on a consensual formula. We need large-scale investments. We cannot come out of the economic crisis without such investments. At the same time, enhancing social welfare and subsidies are also essential. The poor man is the one badly affected by a market economy. We have to protect the welfare and economy of the ordinary man.

Maithripala Sirisena. PHOTO: BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT get these rights, I have succeeded in doing that as President. I have given the maximum possible media freedom.

The international community is so satisfied with my performance that they have completely changed their impression of the country. I have told the international community that I cannot accept any proposal that allows foreign judges to probe our domestic matters. This is another great victory I was able to achieve in this time.

The former President Mahinda Rajapaksa called snap polls even though he had two more years in power left. There are two reasons for that. There were two problems he could not solve as President. One was the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council) proposals against our country. The second was that the country was heavily indebted at that time. We had a national debt of 9,000 billion (Sri Lankan) rupees. That was a major economic crisis for our country.

I am now dealing with the UNHRC

proposals while protecting the respect and dignity of my country. In order to solve this major economic crisis, we have been formulating a new economic plan. I believe in a mixed economy. One is the increase of foreign and local investments. My second step is to strengthen the export production market and increase our exports.

The new programme for national reconciliation is being implemented. It is a major initiative for reconciliation among Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Malay,

Reconciliation is not something that can be done in a few days. In the last 22 months, I have been to Jaffna as President 11 times. Prior to that no leader went to the north (as often0. I feel very happy to interact not just with the Tamil politicians in the north, but also with the people and obtain their ideas directly. A vast majority — about 90 per cent of the people — in the north voted for me.

They have confidence in me that I will solve their problems. So it is not only my responsibility, but also my obligation to solve their problems.

In drafting the new Constitution, we are looking at a Constitution that will strengthen the reconciliation between the communities. These things will have to be done keeping the southern Sinhala-Buddhist masses also satisfied. If the southern people are opposed to cer-

Can reconciliation proceed without accountability? How will you convince the Tamils, who have little confidence in domestic judicial mechanisms, that an internal probe will be fair?

When we came to power, our judiciary was very weak. One of the reasons we appointed a Chief Justice from the minority community was to enhance confidence in the judicial system among the minorities.

We have improved the quality of the judiciary and its independence and impartial nature. We can obtain advice from foreign judicial experts. As per our constitutional provisions, there is no possibility of foreign judges participating in our judicial process or conducting cases. I don’t have any mandate to act against constitutional provisions.

We have to create a judicial mechanism that has the fullest confidence of the people in the north.

In the context of the ongoing constitutional reform, there is a call from the Tamils for federalism. Do you think the new Constitution can meet that aspiration? Some political actors in the south want a unitary Constitution, while constitutional experts seem to suggest that a compromise might be not terming the Constitution either unitary or federal.

People of the south are scared of the word ‘federal’. People of the north are scared of the word ‘unitary’. What we should do is not fight over these two words. We should come up with a formula that is acceptable to all. It takes maturity to understand devolution. We cannot satisfy the extremist elements either in the north or in the south. We have to do what is good for, and acceptable to, the majority of the people. We should not waste time over these arguments.

We have to do whatever is possible as early as possible.

Given the enhanced ties between India and Sri Lanka, do you think there is reason to expedite signing of the ETCA

People of the south are scared of the word ‘federal’. People of the north are scared of the word ‘unitary’. We should come up with a formula that is acceptable to all.

(Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement), which has drawn considerable local resistance?

Since ancient times we have very close relations with India. This relationship has been built on Hindu and Buddhist philosophies. We expect to sign trade agreements with quite a number of countries. These agreements are aimed at benefitting both the signatory countries, and we don’t intend signing any agreement that could be detrimental to any one country. The proposal for India and Sri Lanka to sign a fresh (trade) agreement has been there for the last 10-15 years. Deliberations and discussions continued under different names. We will enter into an agreement which is not harmful to either party.

There should not be any unnecessary apprehension or fear over this. We cannot do anything in secrecy, we are transparent and accountable to the people.

We’ll discuss it in the Cabinet, and after that it will also be produced in parliament. If there are any unsuitable clauses, we will have further discussions and finalise the agreement.

Work on China’s port city project has resumed under your government amid local opposition. How is your government’s policy towards China different from the former President’s?

The port city agreement, when it was signed during President Rajapaksa’s time, was contradictory to the constitutional provisions. No government in the past had signed such an agreement. We amended certain clauses of that agreement as the new government.

In such an agreement, the importance of national security as well as regional security should be taken into consideration. Both China and India are our good friends.

The full interview is available on www.thehindu.com.

The new colour of money

FROM THE ARCHIVES (dated November 11, 1966)

TV for all State capitals

Nanda to take up Congress party work

Mr. Raj Bahadur, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, announced here [Hyderabad] to-day [November 10] that the new 50 kilowatt transmitter of the Hyderabad Station of All India Radio might be commissioned on December 1.

The Minister was speaking at a reception accorded to him by the Hyderabad Film Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Raj Bahadur said it was the intention of the Government to have television in all the State capitals, including Hyderabad, by the end of the Fourth Plan period.

The Government recognised the value of TV channelising the energy and enthusiasm of the youth in the right direction and in promoting family planning and agricultural programme. The Minister said that steps were being taken for the manufacture of equipment needed by the film industry and also for TV sets by the end of the Fourth Plan period.

Orders had been placed for 3,000 sets with two firms.

Mr. Raj Bahadur said the Andhra Government had set a fine example to other States by implementing the incentive scheme for production of films and for setting up studios.

Sufficient provision was made for foreign exchange for new equipment for the film industry.

Hyderabad, he said, was becoming a production centre and he assured the industry of its due quota of raw film, including colour film. Mr. B.V. Gurumurthy, State Minister for Information, said that the Andhra Government had introduced the incentive scheme for promotion of the film industry, which was taking root in Hyderabad. Four more producers had agreed to open their studios in Hyderabad. Lack of adequate supply of raw film and equipment were hampering the growth of the film industry. Dr. M. Chenna Reddi, Minister for Finance and Industry, said that standard of censorship should be common to both Indian and foreign films. Mr. Ramesh Lahoti, President of the Film Chamber, welcomed the Union Minister and Mr. Shyam lyengar proposed a vote of thanks.

Mr. Gulzarilal Nanda has been asked by the Congress President Mr. Kamaraj, to be in overall charge of election work of the Congress it is learnt. Mr. Nanda has agreed to take over the assignment.

Mr. Lal Bahadur Shastri was in overall charge of the Work during the last general elections.

Mr. Nanda had a meeting with the Congress President this evening [November 10, New Delhi]. After the meeting Mr. Kamaraj told Pressmen that he would be entrusting Mr. Nanda with “some organisational work.” Asked whether the Party would allot a room to Mr. Nanda in the AICC office, Mr. Kamaraj said that that was not a very material point.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Nanda called on Mr. Kamaraj, and is believed to have discussed with him the recent controversy in the Congress Parliamentary Party executive, which led to his resignation from the Cabinet.

Mr. S.K. Patil, Mr. Atulya Ghosh and Mr. Sanjiva Reddy also met Mr. Kamaraj separately. The discussion is believed to have centred round the Cabinet reshuffle. Mr. Nanda intends to visit Acharya Vinoba Bhave at Pusa in Bihar shortly. Mr. Nanda has requested the Chief Minister of Bihar to ascertain Acharya Vinoba Bhave’s convenience to receive him.

CM YK

Our endeavour towards reconciliation must also be acceptable to the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and other communities. That is not an easy task. But we have to do this challenging job.

You have been a frequent visitor to the Tamil-majority Northern Province. How do you respond to the Tamil political leadership’s concern over the pace of reconciliation, with unresolved issues like militarisation, political prisoners and the call to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA)?

tain things, we cannot have a successful reconciliation process. Hence our endeavour towards reconciliation must also be acceptable to the Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and other communities. That is not an easy task. But we have to do this challenging job.

Mysterious march of mice The mysterious march of the mice from the mountains went on yesterday [November 10]. All this week column after column of them have been coming down from their breeding-grounds in the foothills of the Andes, 25 miles south of here [Santiago, (Chile)], and heading for the valleys. Already the vanguard is within 20 miles of Santiago.

Nobody knows why the mice are coming. Some people say they were frightened from their nests by an earth tremor last Sunday.

Others say that the march is a migration caused by overpopulation — though nobody can recall it happening before.

Demonetisation of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes has some benefits, but it cannot stem the flow of unaccounted income to be generated in the future be generated will not be held in the form of the new Rs.500 and Rs.2,000 notes to be issued by the RBI? Nothing at all.

Currency after all is only the medium in which unaccounted wealth money is held. Pulping the stock of money of certain denominations cannot stem the flow of unaccounted income to be generated in the future. Strict oversight of transactions in the areas of the economy where they thrive can alone achieve this result.

PULAPRE BALAKRISHNAN

The government had announced that the Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes in circulation till the midnight of November 8 will no longer count as legal tender. Demonetisation is a standard tool in any government’s bag of public policy instruments. However, unlike many other tools in the bag, it is also uncontroversial for we know exactly what it can and cannot achieve. Of course, that a policy is uncontroversial does not make it necessary or sufficient in a given context. The demonetisation announced by the Prime Minister in a speech relayed over radio and TV did not contain particularly convincing economic reasons as to why one was necessary at this stage, but he did speak of it as an act of ‘purifying’ the economy and that it would check the growth of corruption.

So what could be the economics and politics of this most recent demonetisation?

On the taxman’s radar A demonetisation that delegitimises a certain currency, or even certain denominations of it, would extinguish wealth held in that form. What we have seen, however, is a less extreme case. In this one, holders of Rs.500 or Rs.1,000 notes can exchange them or pay these into their bank accounts. This does not extinguish wealth as much as it will bring the hoards into the taxman’s radar when their owners draw upon them to make payments. For, as these will be bank transactions there would be a record of them. So existing black money cannot be used to generate more of the same. To this extent the scheme cannot be faulted. Of course, it cannot be assumed that what is in a bank will necessarily be declared to the income tax authorities, but it will certainly come under scrutiny in a way that it was not when stashed under the mattress.

What are some reasons why we may welcome such a move? First, the concealment of income with a view to avoid tax is a crime. So, in a constitutional democracy such as ours, those who do deserve to be punished. Second, in order to evade the law, those with unaccounted wealth proceed to corrupt others, most importantly representatives of the state. This criminalises the system further. If democracy is a way of actualising the public will, such crimi-

UNANSWERED: “What will ensure that unaccounted income to be generated will not be held in the form of the new Rs.500 and Rs.2,000 notes?” People outside a bank in Lucknow. PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT nalisation of the machinery of government works against the ideal. So, the practice of tax evasion needs to be rooted. To that extent this move of the government may be welcomed.

But how significant is it likely to be in the punishment it metes out to tax evaders and in its ability to control the generation of unaccounted wealth in the future? The quantitative significance of this move depends upon the extent to which unaccounted, or ‘black’, wealth is held in the form of high-value currency notes of the specified denomination. If unaccounted money by Indians is held in the form of foreign bank accounts, the present scheme can do nothing about it. This speculation would suggest that if unaccounted money is not held as Rs.500 or Rs.1,000 notes, the move is pretty much useless.

There is, however, the separate issue of counterfeit currency. If there is a significant volume of counterfeit currency circulating in the form of Rs.500 or Rs.1,000 notes, the demonetisation will also extinguish unaccounted money from this source. If counterfeit currency is actually used to de-stabilise the Indian Union, as has been claimed, deflating this route enhances its security.

This would count as another reason to welcome the move.

Now to the question of whether the demonetisation will eliminate the black economy of the future. It should be obvious that it cannot by itself. For this we would need a policy that checks the generation of black incomes at source.

It would be a good surmise that much of the unaccounted money is generated in

It requires the Central government to step in and legislate that all transactions in gold and property go through banks the purchase and sale of gold and of property. The markets for gold and property are highly concentrated, with relatively few sellers exerting considerable control over supply. Monopoly power combined with the cultural significance of both a home and gold ornaments in India empowers these sellers to insist that they are paid in cash, leaving many ordinary people in this country to have to abet criminal activity.

However, the very fact of property firms, lesser builders and jewellers being highly visible and small in number makes it that much easier for the long arm of the law to control them. For this to take place though, action by the tax authorities alone will not suffice. It would require the Central government to step in and legislate that all transactions in gold and property go through banks. There could be hue and cry following this of course, but you can’t govern crime by being sensitive to the grief of criminals.

To sum up then, we have no idea really how much unaccounted money will be driven overground due to this measure, and can say with certainty that there is nothing in it to ensure that financial transactions of the future will all be accounted for. What, for instance, will ensure that unaccounted income to

A political twist None of this even begins to explain why the demonetisation was necessary in the first place. Historically, demonetisations have been resorted to during hyperinflation, as in Weimar Germany, or periods when windfall profits were made, as in British India during World War II. No similar situation prevails in India today. Inflation is trending downwards and the private sector is facing stressed balance sheets. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the move has a political component. Note that the government has only just closed a tax amnesty scheme ending September 30.

Dire threats had been held out then to those who would not come clean. Did this not flush out all the black money?

More to the point, are we to understand that tax evaders will continue to dodge the tax administration and, therefore, demonetisation would have to be resorted to again some time in the future?

Surely the government is aware that such data that we have access to do not show anything of the kind of resurgence in the economy promised by this government in May 2014, and we are almost exactly at the halfway mark of its tenure.

The demonetisation could be a desperate signal of its determination to act.

After all, those with some savvy can see that there may not be too much in it for energising the economy.

In his speech the Prime Minister had invoked the metaphor of a purification of the economy by rooting out black money. But another form of purification can be espied in the action. In the prototype Rs.2,000 note to come, displayed on television, we can see the denomination written in the Devanagari numeral.

It is a first. India’s founding fathers had avoided privileging any one language.

This principle, so vital to the prospects of this great country, is set to be breached. The demonetisation has also proved to be a cultural opportunity.

Pulapre Balakrishnan teaches economics at Ashoka University. The views expressed are personal.

ND-ND

14 |

NEWS

SYL Land Bill unwarranted, says court KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL

The Supreme Court, referring to its 2006 Mullaperiyar dam judgment, held on Thursday that a State Assembly “cannot through legislation do an act in conflict with the judgment of the highest court which has attained finality”.

A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Justice Anil R. Dave gave its opinion on a Presidential Reference made to it 12 years ago, on July 22, 2004, questioning the constitutional validity of the Act. The opinion termed the enactment of the Punjab Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal Land (Transfer of Proprietary Rights) Bill in 2016 by the current Akali Dal government as “unwarranted developments” when the Presidential Reference was still pending in the apex court.

The 2016 Bill, which is yet to receive the assent of the Governor, planned to give back to the farmers over 5000 acres acquired for the canal.

NEW

DELHI:

States should foster federal spirit: Judge LEGAL CORRESPONDENT

Will India accept a nullification or termination clause?

NEW DELHI: States should keep

SUHASINI HAIDAR

Verdict a gift to people of Haryana, says Khattar NEW DELHI: Haryana Chief

IN SHOCK: Punjab Congress chief Capt. Amarinder Singh announces his resignation from the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat in Chandigarh on Thursday. — PHOTO: AKHILESH KUMAR

India slams World Bank process on Indus Treaty SUHASINI HAIDAR NEW DELHI: India lashed out at

the World Bank over its decision to favour Pakistan on the Indus Water Treaty dispute process over the Kishenganga and Ratle dam and hydropower projects.

While India had asked for a neutral expert to be appointed over Pakistan’s objections to the projects first, Pakistan appealed directly for a Court of Arbitration (CoA) to be set up as it claims India has violated the 1960 treaty.

“Inexplicably, the World Bank has decided to continue to proceed with these two parallel mechanisms simultaneously.

India cannot be party to actions which are not in accordance with the Indus Waters Treaty,” said a statement issued by the MEA spokesperson from Tokyo, shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed there.

When asked if the strong language in the statement indicated India would consider cancelling the Indus Water Treaty arbitration process, or even, as it had threatened after the Uri attacks, would consider abrogating the Treaty itself, a government source said, “The World Bank’s illegal action has brought into question the workability of the Indus Water Treaty.”

Dispute internationalised The MEA statement came just hours before the World Bank was due to draw lots by which it selects “umpires” for the Court of Arbitration.

Pakistan’s request for Court of Arbitration taken up despite India’s plea for a neutral expert On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Water and Power secretary Mohammad Dagha had informed its Senate that the World Bank had begun the process requested by Islamabad under Arbitration Article IX of the Indus Water Treaty rather than India’s appeal for the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) or at most a neutral expert to mediate on what India called “technical issues” with Pakistan Officials said the World Bank’s action of going ahead with Pakistan’s claim had escalated the differences into an international dispute. The Hindu has learnt that Mr PM Modi held a high level meeting on the issue last week, where several senior officials proposed that India should pull out of the arbitration entirely unless the World Bank changes what one official referred to as its “legally untenable” stance on Pakistan “intransigience”.

The World Bank country director Junaid Ahmad, an official of Bangladeshi origin is expected to speed up efforts at reconciling the matter in the next few days.

“This is a matter of worry for us all,” a diplomat from a third country told The Hindu, indicating that the current military tensions between India and Pakistan were adding to the urgency. .

Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal issue.

“The Supreme Court has given its decision on this vital issue after a gap of 12 years. It’s a gift to the people of Haryana in the golden jubilee year of the State,” said Mr. Khattar in a statement.

He urged the political

parties in Punjab to respect the decision and not to give political colour to the issue in view of the coming Assembly elections in the State.

Meanwhile, describing the judgment as a major blow to the people of Punjab, Capt.

Amarinder Singh blamed the ruling Akalis for “this pitiable situation”. “President’s Rule should be imposed in the State and early elections announced,” he said.

Targeting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Capt. Am-

MUMBAI: Abdul Rauf Merchant, former aide of Dawood Ibrahim, was on Thursday brought to Mumbai from Bangladesh in connection with the 1997 murder of singer and founder of Tseries Gulshan Kumar.

Merchant, who was convicted for the murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2002, absconded when he was out on parole in 2009. He subsequently went to Bangladesh, where he was arrested for entering the country illegally, and then

CM YK

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting the Indian community at a hotel in Tokyo on Thursday. — PHOTO: PTI dia if India conducts nuclear test.”

Voluntary moratorium India maintains a voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing, but has thus far refused to sign on to the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) or given any other undertaking outside of its commitments at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, analysts concede that Japan, the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack, has special sensitivities that India may need to make an exception for, despite India’s insistence on nuclear sovereignty.

“Given Japan’s history, one can understand its insistence on a nullification clause,” explains nuclear law expert Arghya Sengupta. “However,

this would send an unfortunate signal to others that the IAEA safeguards are insufficient in ensuring that Indian nuclear energy facilities are used for peaceful purposes alone.” he added.

Report fuels speculation Adding to the speculation is an article in the Yomiuri Shimbhun newspaper on November 6 that confirmed that Mr. Modi and Mr. Abe will hold a signing ceremony for the nuclear deal during the visit, adding that the contentious cancellation clause will now be part of a separate document, while India would give an assurance that its cooperation with Japan would be “limited to peaceful purposes.”

MEA officials refused to comment on the report, saying only that the “text will speak for itself.”

Parrikar feels nuclear policy has to be ‘unpredictable’

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SRINAGAR: One militant was killed on Thursday when the Army foiled an infiltration bid on the Line of Control (LoC) in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

A group of infiltrators was spotted in the Rampora Sector of Uri, more than 100 km north of Srinagar.

The militants made a bid to sneak into the Valley from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) while taking advantage of the darkness early in the morning.

“Alert Army troops challenged the group. The militants opened indiscriminate fire. In retaliatory fire, a militant was killed,” said a Defence spokesman.

NEW DELHI: Diverging from India’s declared No First Use (NFU) policy, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday suggested there should be a degree of “unpredictability” when it came to nuclear weapons. However, he said this is “not a change in any policy” and was his personal opinion.

“Why should I bind myself? I should say I am a responsible nuclear power and I will not use it [nuclear

Search operation The Army said it had launched a combing operation in the nearby forest areas “to ensure no militant sneaks in”.

Security agencies fear a spike in the infiltration bids by militants ahead of winter, when snowfall blocks the mountain passes in Kashmir and makes it difficult to move around.

Call for heightened alert for Meanwhile, Governor N.N. Vohra, who had a meeting with Maj. Gen. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, GOC, 26 Infantry Division, has called for “heightened surveillance on all fronts considering the continuing attempts at infiltration, ceasefire violation and militant activities in the hinterland”.

conducted in close co-ordination by both the governments with help from the Interpol, it is being officially said that Merchant was detained by the BSF while trying to enter the country illegally.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sanjay Saxena said, “The BSF, after questioning Merchant, found out that he was wanted in Mumbai for jumping parole in the Gulshan Kumar murder case.”

“The Mumbai High Court has directed us to produce him in the sessions court on Friday,” Mr. Saxena added.

weapons] irresponsibly,” he said after releasing a book, The new Arthashastra: A security strategy for India edited by strategic expert Brig Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).

The policy of NFU came into being soon after India tested nuclear weapons in May 1998 under the prime ministership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the first NDA government. The NFU policy committed to only by India and China among the nuclear weapon states has been the corner stone of In-

Call to take up gender Malik, Mirwaiz detained audit of textbooks

PREVENTIVE ACTION: JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik being taken into custody in Srinagar on Thursday. — PHOTO: PTI

VIKAS PATHAK

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT SRINAGAR: Separatist leaders

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik were detained again on Thursday, just two days after the Hurriyat leaders met in Srinagar and decided to extend their shutdown call in the Valley.

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Malik was arrested from his Srinagar residence. It was on October 29 that Mr. Malik was released after around 114 days of incarceration.

“The so-called biggest democracy of the world and its stooges here have virtually choked every little space of peaceful political struggle and unleashed a reign of terror,” he said.

A Hurriyat spokesman

said the Mirwaiz, who was planning to lead the Friday congregational prayers, was put under house arrest at his Srinagar residence.

Fresh detentions come as Hurriyat leaders jointly decided to extend their shutdown call by another week on Wednesday.

Life has been badly impacted for more than four months in the Valley due to the separatists’ shutdown, triggered by the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

Meanwhile, All Party Sikh Coordination Committee chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina has appealed to the separatist leadership to withdraw the November 14 protest “in view of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s birthday”.

NEW DELHI: There should be a gender audit of textbooks to ensure that progressive social values are imparted to students.

This suggestion was made by the BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe at a workshop organised by the Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar here on Thursday to seek the legislators’ views on the national education policy that is under formulation.

“There are varying social problems like a low sex ratio, harassment of women, etc.

Mr. Sahasrabuddhe suggested a gender audit of textbooks to correct this,” a participant told The Hindu on condition of anonymity.

“It was also said that there

should be focus on social justice, sensitivity towards the disabled, etc.”

Attended by more than 40 MPs, the workshop saw some other key suggestions such as the need to set up a vocational university to certify the skills of workers and enable their career mobility; a training framework for non-teaching staff in educational institutions; and a university for democratic governance to research the interface of politics, its compulsions and administrative needs.

Since many MPs could not attend the meeting, the Ministry would organise another workshop during the winter session of Parliament to seek more suggestions.

Mr. Javadekar described the discussion as fruitful.

dia’s nuclear doctrine.

Mr. Parrikar said if a written down strategy exists or if India takes a stand really on a nuclear aspect, “you are actually giving away your strength in nuclear.” “This is my thinking,” he said.

Referring to Pakistan’s claims that it would use Tactical Nuclear Weapons (TNW) if it was threatened, the Minister said, “After surgical strikes, no such threat came. They realise that we can do something which is not well-defined.”

Class X exams may be back SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said he was in favour of reintroducing the Class X Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examination.

At an interaction organised by the FICCI here on Thursday, he said: “I want to start CBSE X Board exams because all students, other than CBSE, are appearing for Board exams. But for CBSE it is an option. Why?” The change, however, would only be brought about from 2017-18, Mr. Javadekar was quoted

by PTI as saying.

Charges framed against Darda in coal case SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on

again for alleged terrorist links. His jail term expired last week. For the last couple of months, the Indian government has been in talks for his deportation with the Bangladesh government. According to top police officials, following his release from prison, Merchant was taken to Meghalaya by the Bangladeshi authorities and handed over to the Border Security Force.

A team of Mumbai Crime Branch officers went to Meghalaya on Wednesday to take him into custody, Crime Branch officials said.

While the operation was

arinder asked AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal to clarify his stance on the SYL issue and asked if he would allow the water from Punjab to be diverted to Haryana and Delhi, or would stand by the people of Punjab.

The AAP accused both the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal as being responsible for the adverse court opinion. It said it would stage an indefinite protest at Kapoor village (origin of SYL Canal) from November 11.

NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prepare to discuss the conclusion of the civil nuclear cooperation agreement after their talks on Friday, all eyes will be on whether India will accept a “nullification” or “termination” clause.

The deal, which will open up access for India to cutting edge nuclear energy technology, reactors and critical parts, has been held up for years over the clause, which stipulates that it would be cancelled if India were to conduct a nuclear test.

The Prime Minister landed in Tokyo on Thursday evening for the India-Japan annual summit meeting after a brief stopover in Thailand where he paid respects to the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Along with the $1.5-billion deal for U-2 amphibious aircraft, the civil nuclear agreement will be the highlight of the talks between Mr. Modi and Mr. Abe, which will follow business meetings and a call on Emperor Akihito.

“If India conducts a nuclear test, Japan shall stop its cooperation for India,” Yasuhisa Kawamura, Press Secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, told The Hindu in written comments, adding that “Prime Minister Abe told PM Modi last December that Japan will cease its cooperation for In-

Army foils infiltration bid, kills militant in Baramulla

Gulshan Kumar murder convict deported, brought to Mumbai SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Modi in Japan, all eyes on nuclear deal

the Indian federal structure healthy and foster the federal spirit, Justice Shiva Kirti Singh, one of the judges of the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, observed in a separate note supporting the unanimous Sutlej-Yamuna Canal verdict.

Justice Singh said that delay in execution of final judgement or decree of the apex court, should never be “countenanced by any authority because it would surely tend to undermine people’s faith in the judicial system of the country, entailing in turn avoidable harm to all the institutions and functionaries under the Constitution, may be even to the Constitution itself.”

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NOIDA/DELHI

Thursday framed charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and cheating against former Rajya Sabha MP and chairman of Lokmat Media, Vijay Darda, former Coal Secretary H.C. Gupta, and five others in a coal block allocation scam case.

The court also framed charges against two senior bureaucrats, K.S. Kropha and K.C. Samria, allottee company JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd, its Director Manoj Kumar Jayaswal, and Mr Darda’s son Devendra Darda after they pleaded not guilty.

The CBI had in 2014 filed a

plea with the court to close the case but Mr. Parashar had rejected the closure report and asked the investigating agency to further probe the charges.

Case reopened The court had then said Mr Darda had misrepresented the facts in letters to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to get the Fatehpur (East) coal block in Chhattisgarh allotted to JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd. Mr. Singh was then holding the additional charge of the Ministry.

A prima facie offence of cheating was committed by private parties in furtherance of conspiracy hatched

Vijay Darda between them and the public servants, the court had then observed. JLD Yavatmal Energy Pvt Ltd was allotted the coal block by the Screening Committee.

The CBI FIR says that JLD Yavatmal had wrongfully concealed previous allocation of four coal blocks to its group companies in 1999-2005.

In another order, Mr. Parashar dismissed a petition by Yavatmal Energy to summon former Coal Minister Shibu Soren and erstwhile Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayana Rao as accused in the case.

The Judge also imposed a cost of Rs. one lakh on the petitioner.

Quotes book Citing excerpts from a book titled Crusader or Conspirator? Coalgate and others Truths written by then

Coal Secretary P.C. Parekeh, counsel for the company had alleged that the former bureaucrat had apprised Mr Soren and Mr Rao that the existing system for allocation of coal blocks was discriminatory but both then ministers had overruled his concerns.

The role of the said two persons (Soren and Rao) was clear from the book written

by Parekh. Hence, viewed from this angle, it was clear that Shibu Soren and Dasari Narayana Rao are the persons who were involved...and on the basis of the excerpts, the two should have been summoned as accused, counsel for the pettioner said.

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NEWS

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THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Exclusive e-platform soon for payments to govt.

The demonetisation gambit is backed by a proposed single window system that enables electronic remittances to various departments YUTHIKA BHARGAVA NEW DELHI: The NDA govern-

ment's demonetisation gambit is being backed up by an effort to move all government transactions to the cashless mode, with the Centre working on a new single window e-payment system that individuals or businesses can use to make payments to any central or State department.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will be issuing a request for proposal (RFP) by December to set up a com-

mon e-governance platform for end-to-end transactional experience for a citizen, businesses as well as internal government functions, a senior government official told The Hindu.

Elimination of cash An RFP is issued by an agency to invite bids for a particular project from interested parties.

“We had issued a framework sometime back with an aim that all government departments, ministries, agencies — both from Centre and States — should make their

payments system electronic…they should be in a position to collect and make payments in an electronic mode.

Our idea is to eliminate use of cash in dealing with government bodies,” the official said.

The official added that while some government departments have introduced electronic payments system, a lot of PSUs, schools and courts have said they lack mechanisms to introduce such a system.

“For all such entities, this will be a single platform…

We have done a pilot for the

thousands of customers, so we need an agency to do it,” the official explained.

SHOW ME THE MONEY: The system aims at forming a platform for end-to-end transactional experience. — PHOTO: NAGARA GOPAL programme. There are large number of government schools, hospitals, courts…anyone can use this.

“So, this is a mammoth project for which we don’t have the capability. There will be a need to cater to

Not mandatory While it will not be mandatory for the government bodies to be part of the platform, the IT ministry will “continue to encourage and push” all departments to go cashless.

Last year, the Prime Minister’s Office had also set an ambitious target to shift at least 90 per cent of all government transactions that involve payments or receipts from citizens and businesses

to electronic or paperless mode by the end of 2016, replacing the use of cash, demand drafts, cheques and challans in government offices.

The implications of such a platform on corruption will be huge, the official said, adding, “If cash isn’t involved anywhere…there can be no deniability. If someone has taken money, it will be easily traceable.”

The official pointed out that for payments happening out of Central government, over 97 per cent are already electronic.

New Rs. 100 and Rs. 50 notes also in the pipeline ing system, then there won’t be any incentive to again convert it to black.”

The Finance Minister also promised that nobody would face any questions or harassment for small deposits made in banks.

Will be infused in the system while slowly phasing out the old series SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: The Centre on

Thursday said it would also replace the smaller denomination currency notes of Rs.50 and Rs.100, incorporating new features and design.

Secretary, Economic Affairs, Shaktikanta Das, said the new currency notes will be gradually infused in the system while slowly phasing out the old series. New Rs. 1,000 denomination notes, with enhanced security, will be in circulation soon, he said.

“The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is going to monitor the release of the Rs.2,000 notes, and in due course, (and) within a few months, the Rs. 1,000 note will be reintroduced into the market with completely new dimensions, new design and new colour from the old one,” Mr.

Shaktikanta Das Das said at the Economic Editors Conference.

Handling convenience “The RBI had initially said that looking at the way inflation is progressing, it should introduce Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 10,000 notes,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said at the conference.

“But the government did not agree . The reason we decided on Rs. 500 and Rs. 2, 000 is because of the handling convenience, and once all the money is in the bank-

‘Indian tradition’ “There has been an Indian tradition to keep small amounts of cash at home for exigencies and emergencies,” Mr. Jaitley added.

“They can exchange that and deposit it in their accounts and the revenue department is not going to take notice of these small depositors. It’s only those with large amounts of undisclosed money who will have to face the consequences under the tax laws.”

The Reserve Bank of India has issued an instruction to banks to ensure that no ATM dispense Rs. 1,000 or Rs. 500 denomination bank notes.

ATM counters will re-start functioning from Friday and will dispense only Rs. 50 and Rs. 100 notes.

Govt. investigates Rs. 2,000 note design leak No urgent hearing VIKAS DHOOT NEW DELHI: The government is

probing how the design of the new Rs. 2,000 note, issued as legal tender from Thursday, was leaked and circulated on social media well before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation announcing the demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes.

The Reserve Bank of India’s central board had taken a decision to start producing

Rs. 2,000 notes several months ago, but it was kept top secret as was the Prime Minister’s decision to demonetise high-value notes taken earlier this year by keeping very few officials in the know.

However, speculation had begun on social media groups using applications such as WhatsApp about the impending launch of a new Rs. 2,000 note by the RBI. Some of these messages also included a purported image

Jewellers deny I-T raids, term Modi move ‘bold’ SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The gems

and jewellers associations on Thursday denied any searches or pressure from the I-T department, over alleged underhand deals following the demonetisation move. The jewellers have been taking necessary steps to support the “bold move” initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they said.

“As of today, not a single member of our association has been raided for any violations,” said Kumar Jain, vice-president of the Mumbai Jewellers Association.

Ashok Minawala, director of the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation said there were no major

searches in the market, and the last raids conducted were in September during the final phases of the Income Disclosure Scheme (IDS). “Today there were no raids,” he said.

Allowed for utility bills Meanwhile, the Centre announced on Thursday that electricity, water and telephone bills can continued to be paid with old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes till November 11.

The old notes will be accepted for payment of fees, charges, taxes and penalties to the Central and State governments, including municipalities and local bodies, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said.

The new notes with security features will be far more difficult to counterfeit, says official of the new currency.

“During the printing and distribution of notes from the mint to the Reserve Bank’s vaults, it is possible someone took a photograph [and posted it]. But nobody knew about this decision of

demonetisation,” said a top Finance Ministry official.

“However, we are looking into how the images of the note and the launch of Rs. 2,000 notes were leaked and at what point of the chain,” the official said. “We will probe this matter,” he said.

The new notes with different designs, security features and of a smaller size than the older Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes, would be far more difficult to counterfeit, the official said. The new series of

notes, called the Mahatma Gandhi series of notes, are also Braille-compliant with lines on the side that enable blind people to ascertain their denomination easily.

“Over the past weeks and months, we have ramped up our production of notes and are ready to meet the requirements in the days and weeks to come,” RBI Governor Urjit Patel had said after the demonetisation announcement by the Prime Minister on Tuesday night.

Banks reopen; officials brace for resumption of ATMs SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: Long queues were

seen in bank branches which reopened on Thursday after being closed on Wednesday following the demonitisation exercise. According to bankers, operations of branches went smoothly though there was a five-fold increase in customers. Most branches had extended working hours so that customers had more time to exchange or deposit their existing Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.

“There were long queues in the branches but there was no panic,” said a chief executive of a public sector bank.

Senior officials of banks visited several branches to

MONEY MATTERS: Two girls pose with the new Rs. 2,000 rupee notes in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. — PHOTO: BISWARANJAN ROUT ensure smooth operations.

Bankers said that in some large branches, more than 70 per cent of the customers came for depositing existing series of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes, which have

been declared invalid.

Meanwhile, bank managers were keeping their fingers crossed for the first few days of ATM operations over fears that the the machines could run out of money.

on demonetisation LEGAL CORRESPONDENT DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to give an urgent hearing to a petition to quash the November 8 government notification demonetising Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes without giving the poor a reasonable opportunity to organise their lives.

A Bench led by Justice Anil R. Dave, however, agreed to hear the petition on November 15 (Tuesday), provided it was numbered by the administrative side of the Supreme Court and listed for hearing that day.

The Centre also did not take any chance and has filed a caveat in the case to prevent the court from passing ex-parte orders.

The writ petition filed by Supreme Court advocate Sangam Lal Pandey said the scrapping of the high-denomination currency was implemented from November 8-9 midnight. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the government was constrained to take this measure to fight the black money menace.

Mr. Pandey’s petition terms the announcement a “Tughlaki Farman,” after the medieval ruler Mohammed bin Tughlaq whose decisions to change the nation’s currency and the capital from Delhi had boomeranged.

NEW

A Supreme Court Bench, led by Justice Anil R. Dave, agreed to hear the petition on November 15 Mr. Pandey, who is a party in person, claimed he had information that several private hospitals had refused to take payments in cash. This could delay “serious operations” scheduled for today or tomorrow.

He said thousands of weddings scheduled between November 9 and 11 may have to be cancelled.

“A large number of people are suffering,” the petition said.

Another petition A similar petition against the November 8 demonetisation has been filed by another advocate, Vivek Narayan Sharma.

Mr. Sharma mentioned his petition before Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur’s Bench and requested an early hearing.

However, Chief Justice agreed with Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar’s suggestion that since Mr. Pandey’s petition was scheduled to be heard on November 15, this petition should be tagged along with it for a joint hearing by an appropriate Bench.

IN BRIEF More moves on the anvil: BJP NEW DELHI: Two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the withdrawal of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes from circulation, senior BJP leaders said more “shocking moves” are on the anvil to curb black money and increase the country’s “revenue basket.”

A BJP leader, high up in the echelon of decision-making, said through the demonetisation, Mr. Modi was not only looking at “flushing out” black money from the economy but also increasing the revenue. “This mop-up exercise will boost infrastructure and defence spending,” he said.

“The government is monitoring bank deposits during the currency swap and has said deposits above Rs. 2.5 lakh will come under the scrutiny of the Income Tax Department.” he said. — Special Correspondent

Curbs on airline, railway refunds NEW DELHI: Domestic airlines and the Indian Railways have imposed curbs on refunds for cancelled tickets. While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has directed domestic airlines not to issue refund for any ticket booked in cash using the old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes, the Railways has stopped cash refunds for cancelled tickets worth Rs. 10,000 and above booked at the counters between November 9 and November 11. Railways refunds will be only through cheque or ECS [electronic clearing service], said a circular issued

by Vikram Singh, Director, Passenger Marketing, at the Railway Board here on Thursday.

The government had allowed airport and railway counters to accept the demonetised Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes till Nov. 11.

— Special Correspondent

Rs. 2,000 notes in ATMs in a week CHENNAI: Even as ATMs will provide only Rs. 100 denomination of notes when they open on Friday, Rs. 2,000 notes would take a week’s time to be made available, industry players said. “Rs. 2,000 notes will be available at bank branches. We have loaded ATMs with only Rs. 100 notes as of now,” V. Balasubramanian, president, Transaction Processing and ATM Services, Chennai-based FSS, told The Hindu. ATM operators also said the new Rs. 2000 notes would need testing and change in configuration. “Testing and configuration has to be carried out for dispensing the notes through ATMs, once they are received and this will take time,” Balasubramanian said.

— Sanjay Vijayakumar

Notes retrieved from garbage dump PUNE: As cities witnessed serpentine queues outside banks for exchanging Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 denomination notes, a bizarre incident occurred in Pune on Thursday.

Police said a woman sweeper recovered a total of Rs. 52,000 (Rs. 1,000 notes numbering 52) dumped in a garbage pile near a police station in the city’s Deccan area. “The notes were given to us by a sweeper, Shantabai Owhal, and a municipal worker Khandu Kasbe.

All 52 [notes] are genuine,” said an inspector.

Police continued to be deployed at petrol pumps as hundreds of vehicles queued to buy fuel for the value of old notes. Pune District Collector Saurabh Rao had asked citizens to buy fuel to exact amounts of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000. — Shoumojit Banerjee

No lights, camera or action as currency crunch hits Mollywood and Tollywood P.K. AJITH KUMAR SURESH KRISHNAMURTHY

T

he arc lights went dark in the cashdependent film industry in Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad, as technicians walked away even from star projects and the release of big films was postponed.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was announcing the big decision on black money and fake currency on Tuesday night, Nadirshah, in Chennai, was CM YK

making the final arrangements to release his new Malayalam film.

Kattappanayile Hrithik Roshan was scheduled to reach cinemas on Friday. Its release has now been postponed by a week, as is Dhyan Sreenivasan-starrer Ore Mukham.

“There is no point in releasing a film when people have no currency notes, so I felt I should delay the release,” Nadirshah said on Thursday. “If I was the viewer, my priority would not be to spend my money

on a film at a time like this,” he said.

While he had the option to postpone the release, others with movies already in theatres could only suffer losses. “There has been a sharp decline in the box office collection over the last two days,” said A.P. Hubai, manager, Film City, Kozhikode. “Pulimurugan has become the biggest casualty. It had been running to full houses since its first show in our multiplex, but the collection has dipped by half since the removal of Rs.

to be released as per the original schedule. “Those films are almost certain to be affected, at least for the next few days,” he said.

“There is the option of buying tickets online and you could also pay through debit or credit cards at the counter, but we have found most people prefer currency notes.”

Collection of Malayalam film ‘Pulimurugan’ has dipped.

500 and Rs. 1,000 notes.”

However, new Tamil and Hindi films were expected

Technicians stop work In Hyderabad, schedules were in disarray as the shooting of at least half-adozen Telugu films came to

a grinding halt. Producers could not find the cash to pay the daily wages of technicians who represent 24 crafts in the industry.

Among these, the biggest production now in the works is a film with actors Rakul Preet Singh and Mahesh Babu, and it is helmed

by Murugadoss.

This venture is being jointly-produced by the actor and director themselves.

Shooting for the film was on at different parts of the twin cities. On Wednesday,

technicians refused to report for shooting because their wage payments could not be made on Tuesday evening. The situation continued on Thursday.

Technicians in the industry from the light boy to those in costumes, make-up and ground staff are paid in cash every evening.

Unavoidable problems Cash problems were nagging prominent producer B.V.S.N. Prasad, of the Pawan Kalyan-starrer Atharintiki Daredi.

Mr. Prasad was to have released Intlo Deyyam Naakem Bhayam, starring Allari Naresh and directed

by G. Nageswara Reddy, this Friday.

The producer was forced to make an official statement that the release had to be postponed indefinitely due to ‘unavoidable’ problems.

However,, Katamarayudu starring Shruti Haasan and Pawan Kalyan, directed by Kishore ‘Dolly’ Pardhasani and produced by Sharrat Marar completed its schedule on Wednesday.

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THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

‘Not my President’: Protests erupt in the U.S. In at least 25 cities across the country, thousands of protesters took out rallies denouncing President-elect Donald Trump VARGHESE K. GEORGE WASHINGTON: A day after Re-

publican Donald J. Trump was elected the 45th President of the U.S., it dawned on America that divisions are easy to create but difficult to heal. The three protagonists of this election season — President Barack Obama, President-elect Trump and his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton — appealed for unity and calm, but protests broke out in many parts of the country.

In at least 25 cities across the country, protesters chanted ‘not my President’ and lit candles while numerous social media initiatives sought support to ensure that Mr. Trump is a oneterm President. The protesters marched on Trump buildings in several cities.

Protests were reported in Dallas, Oakland, California, Boston, Chicago, Portland,

SPEAKING OF PRESIDENCY: U.S. President Barack Obama with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Thursday. — PHOTO: REUTERS Oregon, Seattle and Washington. College campuses in California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania also witnessed students protests.

Muslims, Hispanics and Blacks, three communities that felt particularly at the receiving end of Mr. Trump’s campaign, are more anxious.

The most unsettling prospect for minority communities is the potential re-

pealing of Obamacare, which Mr. Trump has promised to do. The programme ensured health insurance for 20 million people who were not previously covered, a large number of them from minority communities.

Amid the atmosphere of distrust and discontent between their supporters, Mr. Obama received Mr. Trump at the White House on

Thursday morning. The rivalry between Mr. Obama and Mr. Trump is the subtext to the current state of racial politics in the country. Mr. Trump supported Ms. Clinton in her run against Mr. Obama in 2008. When Mr. Obama became President, Mr. Trump led the birther movement that alleged he was not born in America. Mr. Obama and wife Michelle cornered Mr. Trump throughout the campaign, and told African-Americans that all their progress is at stake in the event of a Trump presidency.

Minority groups suspicious of Mr. Trump are still in a state of shock. Alicia Garza, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement wrote on Facebook: “It’s ok to feel. This is scary and I’m scared too. Defiant, but scared... If you can connect to your humanity today, do it. We gonna need it.”

WASHINGTON: Bernie Sanders, who galvanised young Americans during this year’s Democratic primary race, said on Wednesday that he is ready to work with President-elect Donald Trump if he wants to “improve the lives of working families”.

“Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment economics, establishment politics and the establishment media,” the Vermont Senator said in a statement.

Common ground “To the degree that Mr Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him,” added Mr. Sanders.

“To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him,” he said.

Like Mr. Sanders, Mr. Trump honed a populist appeal to Americans who feel left behind by economic globalisation and mounting inequity.

Unlike Mr. Sanders, however, Mr. Trump proposes slashing taxes for the wealthiest Americans.

After his primary loss, Mr. Sanders called on his supporters to rally behind Ms. Clinton, campaigning against Mr. Trump, whom he called a “danger” and a “demagogue”.

What can Trump do to your U.S. dreams?

VARGHESE K. GEORGE WASHINGTON: “I am totally

committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse and ending outrageous practices such as those that occurred at Disney... I will end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labour programme,” U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had said in one of his campaign meetings earlier this year, specifically talking about an incident in which Indian workers replaced American workers at the Disney amusement park in Florida.

Senator Jeff Sessions, a staunch opponent of the H-1B visa programme, was the only Senator who had the chance to appear with the President-elect at his early morning victory speech on Wednesday. “What a wonderful man,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Sessions.

H-1B visas are run under a Congressional mandate and the executive cannot arbitrarily make changes in them. But a Trump presidency raises concerns about what the future holds for potential visa seekers and immigrants from India, since he has made immigration and visa regulations a centrepiece of his politics.

Puneet Ahluwalia, a

Islamists greet results with glee Islamist extremists have responded to Donald Trump’s election victory with glee over his reputation as a loose cannon who has been openly hostile to Muslims.

As the results came in, the group’s supporters took to chat groups and accounts on the social media app Telegram to celebrate Mr. Trump’s win.

CAIRO:

“America’s ugly face” “Rejoice, he will show America’s ugly face,” said one post.

“I am optimistic about Trump’s victory because he is a stupid, arrogant, hubristic bull who is dumber than [George W.] Bush,” said another. IS has not officially commented on Mr. Trump’s victory.

Al-Qaeda ideologue Abu Mohammed al-Maqdisi, who is based in Jordan, played up the division in American society over Mr. Trump’s victory. “Trump’s rule may be the beginning of a split in the United States and the era of its disintegration,” he wrote on Twitter. — AFP

Washington DC-based lobbyist who was a member of Trump campaign’s Asia Advisory Committee, says Indian IT companies will have a big role to play in the new President’s economic agenda.

“Mr. Trump is a pro-business guy. The U.S. wants to keep its competitive technology edge in the global market and will require talented folks in that sector. H1 B visa is the legal way of importing talent into our nation. It will be

NEWS ANALYSIS important that Indian technology companies look in U.S. rural areas and create opportunities,” he says, adding Indian companies might require to align with the new President’s political priorities. “They can assimilate a lot of semi-skilled workers into jobs that can be done from their homes, in the U.S.” Adds Sampat Shivangi, a Mississippi-based doctor and a delegate at the Republican National Convention: “Trump has not ever said that he will not allow immigration or people coming in. He has said he will stop illegal immigration.

Immigration of skilled workers will not be affected by a Trump presidency or a Republican

The H-1B visa cap, currently 65,000 a year, is unlikely to be raised under a Trump administration Congress.” Now, if ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ are the operative words, there could be some trouble there. Because H1-B regulations are meant to bring in talent that is not already available in the U.S., and that is always a tricky thing to establish. Critics have always accused companies of misusing the programme to ‘illegally’ displace American workers.

But several U.S. courts, including one last month on the Disney case, have ruled that H-1B workers can be hired at lesser salaries than previously existed.

Stephen Bannon, Mr. Trump’s campaign chief and potentially an official in the new administration, is a strong opponent of the H-1B programme.

In a 2015 interview with Mr. Bannon, Mr. Trump, who was then one of a dozen Republican presidential aspirants, had said he “felt strongly” that job creators should be allowed to come to the U.S. “We have to create job

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday refused to rule out prosecuting Democrat Hillary Clinton or investigating the foundation run by former President Bill Clinton. Ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a likely member of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet, told CNN that it was a “tough decision” on whether a special prosecutor should be appointed to look into possible illegal Clinton activities, as Mr. Trump threatened to do on the campaign trail.

“It’s been a tradition in our politics to put things behind us. On the other hand you have to look at how bad was CM YK

‘Help working people’ The other main voice of Left-wing Democrats, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren — who waged a bitter personal war of words against Mr. Trump during the campaign — said on Wednesday that she is “intensely frustrated” by his victory.

However, she also offered the Republican an olive branch.

“President-elect Trump promised to rebuild our economy for working people”, she said, “and I offer to put aside our differences and work with him on that task”. — AFP

Hillary’s campaign of hope and missteps

A

s the dust settled on Hillary Clinton’s defeat, Democrats recognised two central problems of Ms. Clinton’s flawed candidacy: Her decades in Washington and the paid speeches she delivered to financial institutions left her unable to tap into the anti-establishment and anti-Wall Street rage.

And she ceded the white working-class voters who backed Bill Clinton in 1992.

Though she would never have won this demographic, her husband insisted that her campaign aides do more to try to cut into Mr. Trump’s support with these voters.

They declined, reasoning that she was better off targeting college-educated suburban voters by hitting Mr. Trump on his temperament.

Instead, they targeted the emerging electorate of young, Latino and AfricanAmerican voters who catapulted Mr. Obama to victory twice, expecting, mistakenly, that this coalition would support her in nearly the same

FACING CLASS ANGER: Hillary Clinton with her husband, former President Bill Clinton, waves to the crowd in New York as she arrives to speak after her defeat on Wednesday. — PHOTO: AP numbers. They did not.

In the end, Mr. Trump’s simple promise to “Make America Great Again,” a catchphrase Ms. Clinton dismissed as a vow to return to a racist past already long disappeared, would draw enough white Americans to the polls to make up for his low minority support.

Trump aide refuses to rule out prosecution against Clinton WASHINGTON: A top aide to

creators. One man went to Harvard, did well, but was not allowed to stay, went back to his home in India, started a company, which is now a very successful company with thousands of employees. We have to be careful about this. We have to keep the talented people in this country,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Snapdeal founder Kunal Bahl, though the details were wrong.

Mr. Bahl did not go to Harvard, but to University of Pennsylvania.

All told, the increase in cap of the H-1B — currently 65,000 annually — as many American and Indian companies have been arguing for several years, is unlikely to happen.

It is unlikely that a Trump administration will want such a route, and such a proposal may not get enough support from members of Congress. It is unlikely to be cut either. But the companies will be under pressure to use those visas more creatively to fit into the Trump political agenda.

At the same time, a future immigration policy of the U.S. will encourage more foreign students to pay and study STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Management — in the U.S, by promising them an easier route to permanent residency.

AMY CHOZICK

Trump had called for a special prosecutor to probe the financial dealings of the Clinton Foundation it?” he said. “Equal administration of justice. It’s one of our most important principles,” he said.

Mr. Trump in August had called for a special prosecutor — an outsider — to probe the financial dealings of the Clinton Foundation, claiming while on the campaign trail that the FBI and the Justice Department could not be trusted to im-

partially investigate the case.

He had suggested that the foundation allowed Ms. Clinton to set up a “pay for play” scheme while she was the Secretary of State.

Speaking on Fox, Mr. Giuliani said “I don’t think President Obama should pardon her” — even though Ms. Clinton has not been convicted of any crime.

Mr. Giuliani was coy when asked if he’d accept if offered the office of the U.S. Attorney-General. “I certainly have the energy, and there’s probably nobody that knows the Justice Department better than me,” he told CNN. — AFP

The weaknesses in her candidacy, Democratic leaders said on Wednesday, were more than demographic.

The rationale for her run seemed more of a repudiation of Mr. Trump than her own positive vision.

Her campaign had built-in contradictions and challenges. She wanted to make

history as the first woman President, but she did not want to play it up so much so that she would turn off men.

She vowed to help the little guy, but she accepted millions of dollars for speeches to Wall Street. She wanted to bring the country together, but she suffered from a stubbornly high number of voters who did not trust or like her.

Ms. Clinton had defeated Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in the primary race by rallying older African-American voters and Democratic women, but she seemed disconnected from the white working class that delivered Mr. Sanders’ victories in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Mr. Trump won Wisconsin on Tuesday and appeared to have narrowly won Michigan, as well.

The Clinton campaign was also betting on college-educated suburban voters who ended up drifting away from Clinton in the final days, which the campaign attributes to the FBI’s renewed focus on her e-mails as early voting began.

The campaign also appeared to overestimate how

“She vowed to help the little guy but accepted millions of dollars for speeches to Wall Street” offended Mr. Trump’s woman supporters would be by an “Access Hollywood” recording. Mr. Trump lost among women by 12 percentage points, about the same deficit Mitt Romney had in 2012.

The situation was made worse in September, when she described half of Trump supporters as a “basket of deplorables.”

In the end, Mr. Trump’s Twitter feed proved more powerful than any of Ms. Clinton’s poll-tested slogans, said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant.

“Class anger won,” he said, delivering a defeat to her strategy of “more money, more consultants, more polling and more of a campaign based on what we thought we knew rather than what the electorate felt.” — New York Times News Service

Chinese official to head Interpol BEIJING: Global police cooper-

ation agency Interpol elected a senior Chinese public security official as president, Chinese state media said on Thursday, in what could be a boost to Beijing’s domestic anti-graft crackdown.

The move hands China another leading spot on an international agency and will likely help facilitate its highprofile efforts to track down Chinese fugitive officials who have fled the country.

Vice Public Security Minister Meng Hongwei was chosen for a four-year term at the agency’s 85th members’ meeting in Indonesia, the official Xinhua news agency said.

“He is the first Chinese of-

Senators Sanders, Warren offer olive branch to Trump

Meng Hongwei, who was elected president of Interpol on Thursday. — FILE PHOTO: AP ficial to take the post,” Xinhua said. His predecessor was Mireille Ballestrazzi from France.

China has worked bilaterally with countries around the world, and through the France-based organisation, to chase down Chinese sus-

pects as part of President Xi Jinping’s sweeping campaign against corruption.

In 2014, China issued an Interpol “red notice”, the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant, for its 100 most-wanted corruption suspects who have fled overseas. It has said it has brought back at least one-third of them so far.

China has been seeking more international cooperation to hunt down suspected fugitives since Mr. Xi began the drive against deeply rooted graft about four years ago.

Duan Daqi, a Chinese national, is currently an Interpol vice-president whose term ends in 2018. — Reuters

Chinese state media exude confidence in dealing with Trump

STATUS QUO? Two businesswomen with support banners for Donald Trump in Jinhua, Zhejiang province. — PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES ATUL ANEJA BEIJING: China’s State media has exuded confidence in engaging with Donald Trump, anticipating that the President-elect’s natural instincts against foreign military interventions and focus on the economy can open up new opportunities for Beijing.

A signed commentary in the People’s Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC), underscored that the emergence of a Trump presidency will not fundamentally alter ties between the two countries, which are woven by strong economic strands. It pointed out that it was in the interest of Beijing and Washington to avoid conflict, as bilateral trade had already reached $550 billion last year. By 2024, the two-way commerce was expected to scale a staggering $1 trillion.

Besides, the two countries had developed proven mechanisms for addressing their disputes, in case of a rise in tensions. “China and the United States, as two mature countries, can handle many different complicated and sensitive issues and cooperate constructively in solving all disputes – whether they involve bilat-

eral, regional or global matters,” it observed.

A report published by the Liaowang Institute, a thinktank affiliated with the staterun Xinhua news agency, highlighted that Mr. Trump’s remarks during the campaign trail that China could pose a military threat to Washington’s interests should not be taken at face value.

“If handled properly, East Asia will become an area where China’s power and influence can spread and help to banish the Cold War mentality,” it observed. On the eve of the elections, an article in the state-run tabloid Global Times predicted that in his foreign policy “Trump will cut back on the U.S. overseas presence and pull together domestic resources and energy to focus on building capability domestically”.

However, on the economic side, the report warned that the President-elect was likely to impose protectionist measures, including punitive tariffs on Chinese exports.

On Wednesday, President Xi Jinping signalled that China was ready to work with the U.S. as an equal partner as the two countries, as major international players, had special attributes to ensure global peace and stability.

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THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

SEBI can’t be silent on unsolicited investment advice

SENSEX 27,518 27,252

266 points

10-11-2016 09-11-2016

MUMBAI: Four days before the

board meeting of Tata Motors, its union leaders from Pune met Tata Sons interim chairman Ratan Tata in Mumbai on Thursday. The leaders are believed to have come to show their support for Mr. Tata.

Ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry is still the chairman of Tata Motors. Sameer Dhumal, president of Tata Motors Employees Union-Pune said: “We have a long lasting relation with the Tatas as we have been with them for 25 years.” The union is expected to issue a statement to clarify its stance.

— Special Correspondent

Exchange Rates Indicative direct rates in rupees a unit except yen at 4 p.m on November 10

Currencies U.S. Dollar Euro Pound Sterling Jap Yen (100 Units) Chinese Yuan Swiss Franc Singapore Dollar Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swedish Kroner Danish Kroner New Zealand Dollar Hongkong Dollar Malaysian Ringgit Kuwaiti Dinar UAE Dirham Bahraini Dinar Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal Omani Riyal

TT TT Buying Selling 66.43 66.75 72.41 72.76 82.42 82.83 62.26 62.56 9.76 9.81 67.29 67.62 47.23 47.47 51.11 51.36 49.44 49.68 7.35 7.38 9.73 9.78 48.13 48.37 8.56 8.61 15.47 15.56 218.50 221.01 18.08 18.17 176.10 177.04 18.29 18.31 17.76 17.77 172.44 173.36

Source:Indian Bank

Bullion Rates November 10 rates in rupees with previous rates in brackets

45,105 48.30 31,260 3,023

(44,570) (47.70) (31,660) (3,060)

44,700 (45,000) 31,150 (31,750) 24,600 (24,700)

BRENT OIL

RUPEE 31,150 31,750

600

₨/10gms

10-11-2016 09-11-2016

INTERVIEW  VIRINDER BAHADUR GARG

Tata Motors union leaders meet Ratan Tata

Chennai Bar Silver (1 kg) Retail (1 g) 24 ct gold (10 g) 22 ct gold (1 g) Delhi Silver Standard gold Sovereign

GOLD

10-11-2016 09-11-2016

U.K.Sinha, Chairman, SEBI

BRIEFLY

| 17

BUSINESS

NOIDA/DELHI

Weak pound will make imports pricier

66.63 66.43

0.20 ₨/$

On Thursday, Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty House reopened a Welsh steel works it had acquired along with other steel products assets of the Caparo Group last year. The Tredegar plant will produce steel structural hollow sections and tubes largely for the construction industry, creating around 70 new jobs.

Virinder Bahadur Garg, CEO of Libery Steel Newport and Liberty Steel Tredegar spoke to The Hindu about his ambitions for the plant, and his expectations that it will be relatively immune to both Brexit and the dumping of Chinese products on the European market.

• You have re-invested 3.7 million pounds into the plant what is this going into?

To restart a facility that was

not operating for more than a year since it went into administration, and was not running to a good level. Before that we had to do a lot of re-equipping, revamp the IT systems, do market studies and look at what is viable. We can’t go to the market with the same product portfolio, so have had to improve the product mix and efficiencies in the mill.

• What products will you be focusing on?

We are looking at 100 per cent of import substitution.

At the moment, most of the steel comes from Italy and Turkey. We will be catering 100 per cent to the U.K. market, and 100 per cent of the raw materials will be coming from Newport.

MUMBAI: The benchmark 30-

share Sensex gained 265.15 points or 0.97 per cent to close at 27,517.68 on Thursday as banking stocks saw renewed investor interest after the Centre’s action against black money.

A total of 2,029 stocks on the BSE gained ground, as against 721 declines. The BSE Bankex index outperformed the benchmark Sensex, gaining 3.63 per cent or 811.39 points.

The broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) ended the day at

favour.

• Have you noticed an

The consumption pattern is stable with positive growth of around 2 per cent. I don’t see a big reason for concern. In fact, what we have seen in the last 8 months is that prices have gone up 50 per cent, driven by

increased demand for local products?

Customers do want local products and another company that was producing a similar one has shut production, which is another move in our

• What is the outlook for demand in the construction sector, which you supply?

relatively immune to the weakening of the pound, which followed Brexit?

8,525.75, up 93.75 points or 1.11 per cent.

“Supportive global markets kept sentiments upbeat.

Banking sector was a big performer on the back of benefits expected from the government’s recent initiatives against black money and corruption,” said Dipen Shah, senior vice president & Head PCG Research, Kotak Securities.

“Going ahead, markets will look for early signals of increase in private sector capital expenditure. The U.S. Fed meeting in early December will be watched closely,” Mr. Shah said.

demand and raw material prices and costs.

• To what extent are you impacted by the dumping of products from outside the EU that is proving such a headache for the wider EU steel sector?

Competition for this product has been from Turkey and Italy — this is a low volume product, catering to the end-user market, and customers want a mix, so it doesn’t come from deep-sea destinations.

• What is your ambition for the plant?

Before it went into administration, it was producing around 10,000 tonnes a year. We would be starting at around 30,000 next year with an ambition to reach 100,000 tonnes a year.

• Does that mean you are

Bank stocks help indices recover losses SPECIAL CORREPONDENT

In the short term, the weakness of the pound will make imports non-competitive, which is good from our perspective.

45.86 45.79

0.07 $/bbl

GST to take effect from April 1: Jaitley SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

VIDYA RAM

10-11-2016 09-11-2016

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday that major issues on the GST have been resolved and the new regime will be implemented from April 1, 2017.

“A lot of distance has been covered as far as GST is concerned,” Mr. Jaitley said at the Economics Editors’ Conference.

“It is the consensus approach that we have been following. And one of the objects has been that since the GST Council is a federal decision-making process, the manner in which it functions in the initial years will lay down a precedent for the future.”

Reaching consensus “Rather than resorting to voting and divisions on every issue, we have been trying to discuss, re-discuss and then reach a consensus and so far we have been able to resolve most of the major

issues through a consensus,” he said.

“Only the last stages remain and I do hope that we are able to resolve that with a larger consensus also.”

Decisiveness An important feature of this government, the Minister said, was its decisiveness. “But despite decisiveness, we have endeavoured our best to take as many decisions as possible through a larger consensus,” Mr. Jaitley said. “We have not delayed decisions indefinitely looking for a consensus, but have created a space and environment for that.” He added that, along with GST, the government had been implementing parallel reforms in direct taxes.

“If you look at some of the important directional decisions, I think one of the most obvious ones pending for a long time was that the different sectors of the economy needed to be opened up,” Mr. Jaitley said.

India hopes for fair resolution on U.S. work visa issue ARUN S NEW DELHI: India will take up

the IT industry’s concerns regarding curbs on the nonimmigrant temporary work visas as well as the absence of a bilateral social security pact, once U.S. Presidentelect Donald Trump takes charge in mid-January 2017, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.

“We will continue our negotiations … At the earliest available moment, we will brief (the Trump administration) about the Indian (IT) industry’s contribution to the U.S. economy. We hope the new President will

deal with the issues in a fair manner,” Ms. Sitharaman told the media. She was responding to a question on the impact of Mr. Trump’s promises, among other things, to put an end to outsourcing business and take steps to curb immigration.

Meanwhile, the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) in a statement said the Trump administration must expedite talks on the proposed India-US Bilateral Investment Treaty.

USIBC president Mukesh Aghi stated that according to the USIBC’s more than 350 member companies, both American and Indian, the Trump administration must

support India’s entry into the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, work to boost defence trade with India and engage with its government to enhance Intellectual Property protection in India.

The USIBC said the U.S. should also take up market access barriers faced by American companies in India. This includes tariff increases on the importation of Information & Communications Technology products, foreign direct investment (FDI) barriers in insurance – especially with respect to ownership and control, inequitable FDI restriction in tobacco, and

price controls in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry.

Unfair tax The members of the USIBC, an advocacy organisation for boosting economic and commercial ties between both the nations, also wanted the government led

by Mr. Trump “to eliminate outdated and unfair tax for Indian workers by concluding an executive agreement with India on social security (totalisation agreement).”

The USIBC said about “five lakh U.S.-based Indian workers pay the 6.2 per cent Federal Insurance Contributions Act payroll tax on

an ongoing basis.

Despite their contributions, which add up to $1 billion per year, they will never receive the benefits because they return to India before having worked for at least 40 quarters (approximately 10 years).”

Following the Obama administration’s move to increase the fees for H1-B and L-1 visas (employment-based non-immigrant visas used mostly by the Indian IT sector for moving skilled workers to the US for short-duration work), industry body Nasscom had said the move will result in the IT sector taking a hit of over $400 million annually.

Disclaimer: Readers are requested to verify & make appropriate enquiries to satisfy themselves about the veracity of an advertisement before responding to any published in this newspaper. Kasturi & Sons Limited, the Publisher & Owner of this newspaper, does not vouch for the authenticity of any advertisement or advertiser or for any of the advertiser’s products and/or services. In no event can the Owner, Publisher, Printer, Editor, Director/s, Employees of this newspaper/company be held responsible/liable in any manner whatsoever for any claims and/or damages for advertisements in this newspaper.

CM YK

ND-ND

BUSINESS

18 | Tata Sons asks Indian Hotels, TCS to convene EGMs to sack Mistry SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI: Tata Sons has told In-

dian Hotels and Tata Consultancy Services to call for an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting of their respective shareholders to remove Cyrus Mistry as a director in both these firms.

Mr. Mistry, ousted as chairman of Tata Sons last month, had got support from independent directors of IHCL to continue as its chairman. TCS’ board meeting to record its results had taken place before the October 24 coup at Tata Sons.

“A requisition is received from Tata Sons Limited, a shareholder of the Indian Hotels Company Limited (the ‘Company’), holding 28.01 per cent of the paid-up equity share capital of the company to convene an Extra-Ordinary General meeting of the shareholders of the company, in the manner prescribed under applicable law,

to pass the resolution for removal of Mr. C. P. Mistry as director of the company,” said Indian Hotels in filing to the exchanges.

Similarly, a TCS statement to the exchanges informing them about Mr. Mistry’s removal as its chairman said: “Tata Sons Limited has issued a special notice ...and a requisition for convening an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders of the company ...to consider a resolution for the removal of Mr. Mistry as director.”

In a statement on Thursday explaining the removal of Mr. Mistry from Tata Sons, the company said, “Having been replaced as the chairman of Tata Sons, where the majority of the Board and the major shareholders had expressed lack of confidence, Mr. Mistry is trying to gain control of IHCL with the support of the independent directors of the Board.”

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Mistry sacked as TCS chairman Critics cite lack of board resolution seen necessary for the move SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI: Ousted Tata Sons

chairman Cyrus Mistry on Thursday was also removed as the chairman of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), with immediate effect and has been replaced by Ishaat Hussain as the chairman of the Board of Directors of the company.

A source close to Mr. Mistry termed the move as displaying poor corporate governance as Mr. Mistry was replaced without any board resolution being passed.

Interim chairman In a statement on Thursday, TCS said, “The company has received a letter dated November 09, 2016 from Tata Sons Limited nominating Mr. Ishaat Hussain as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company in place of Mr. Mistry with immediate effect.

In view of this, Mr. Mistry

Mistry.

“The culture of poor governance in the Tata-Mistry saga continues,” said a source close to Mr. Mistry adding that Article 90 of TCS its had Articles quoted of

Ishaat Hussain has ceased to be the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company and Mr. Hussain is the new chairman of the Company.”

The statement added that the company had been further informed that Mr. Hussain will remain chairman until a new person is appointed in his place.

Significantly, Mr. Hussain was one of the two board members to have abstained from the meeting of the Tata Sons board, late last month, which decided to sack Mr.

Association to do so. This, the source said, only enabled Tata Sons to nominate a Chairman.” TCS has sent a notice to all stock exchanges stating that Mr. Mistry ‘stands replaced’ as Chairman by Ishaat Hussain without even a board resolution being passed.”

‘No board resolution’ Tata Sons had sent the nomination of Mr. Hussain, to the chairman’s post, to TCS on Wednesday.

“TCS had to then convene a board meeting to table the nomination or for a circular resolution. Nothing of this nature was done. In premediated haste, by a letter of the same date, TCS has directly gone on to announce that Mr. Mistry stands replaced,” said a statement from Mr. Mistry’s PR agency.

TCS’ statement on the removal of Mr. Mistry said that Tata Sons had issued a special notice under Section 169 read with Section 115 of the

Companies Act, 2013 and a requisition for convening an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to consider a resolution for the removal of Mr. Mistry as Director of the Company.

“The hasty actions appear to have been done at night as the stock exchange announcement was made at 8 a.m. on Thursday,” said the source, adding that “cloak and dagger machinations with little regard to due process of law have come to define the angry strategy of the Ratan Tata camp.”

Other companies?

A legal consultant requesting anonymity said that Tata Sons, being the largest shareholder of TCS with close to 74 per cent holdings, could remove Mr. Mistry as chairman but would find it difficult to remove him from the boards of other companies where Tata Sons’ holdings ranges from 30 per cent to 39 per cent.

Tata Chemicals’ independent directors repose full faith in Mistry PIYUSH PANDEY MUMBAI: Nusli Wadia, along

with three other independent directors, expressed support and reposed confidence in Cyrus Mistry as the chairman of Tata Chemicals.

“The independent Directors unanimously affirmed their confidence in the Board, its chairman and the management in the conduct of the company's business,” according to a filing by Tata Chemicals to the exchanges.

Mr. Mistry was sacked as the chairman of Tata Sons last month and Ratan Tata took over as the interim chief.

“In view of the recent events and subsequent media reports which may

cause speculation (and) which could impact the company both domestic and international, the independent directors met today[Thursday] to review the impact on the company leading to the said events,” according to the statement.

Reaffirm assessment The independent directors “recalled and reaffirmed their earlier assessment and evaluation carried out in the year 2015 and 2016 of the chairman, the Board, and its functioning. The independent directors referred to the minutes of the above meetings, the outcome of which was with the entire Board at that time.”

“The independent direct-

CRUCIAL SUPPORT: Nusli Wadia’s backing of Cyrus Mistry is a big blow to the Tatas, said a source. — FILE PHOTO ors also considered the subsequent statement made by the Board of Directors in the Annual Report in which the Board recommended and sought the support (of all shareholders) for confirma-

Private sector interest in road projects set to revive: Gadkari

tion of Mr. Mistry’s re-appointment at the Annual General Meeting held on August 11, 2015 and noted that the same was approved by 97.64 per cent of the votes cast,” according to the state-

Centre probing ONGC, DGH officials over KG gas SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Petroleum and

NEW DELHI: It may take another

two years for bankers and private developers to regain their confidence and interest in the road sector, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.

“Bankers are still not supporting us because the previous experience has not been fruitful,” Mr. Gadkari said at the Economic Editors’ Conference 2016, here. He said this in reference to the new hybrid annuity model introduced by the Centre recently to revive public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the road sector. “The approach of the bankers is changing.

However, contractors and investors are also facing a lot of problems in PPP projects.

Although sentiments are reviving, it will take another one-and-a-half to two years to get to the ideal situation,” Mr. Gadkari said.

Hybrid annuity He said the Centre has finalised 18 projects so far on

SEBI favours quicker listing process for firms SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT MUMBAI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is working towards reducing the timeline for listing of new companies, which will help investors especially when the markets are in a volatile phase.

SEBI Chairman U.K. Sinha, on Thursday, said that the gap between the close of an initial public offer (IPO) and listing of the shares would be brough down to four days from six at present.

“A team in SEBI is already working with T+4. We may take a little bit of more time, but we are already working on it,” he said.

The SEBI Chairman was speaking at a financial market summit organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

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CLEARING HURDLES: Mr. Gadkari says it may take up to two years for private investors to fund projects. — PHOTO: RAMESH SHARMA the hybrid annuity model under which the government invests 40 per cent of the construction cost for building highways over a period, while the remaining amount comes from the private developer.

The Centre invests money in five equal instalments based on the targeted completion of the road project.

Also, unlike the build, operate and transfer (BOT) toll model, the Centre collects the highway toll tax under the model. It also offers

80 per cent of prior land acquisition and forest clearance in such projects to the developers.

Mr. Gadkari said the Centre will now give priority to the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model, in which it pays the contractor a sum to build the project.

“Our priority is to give projects to Indian contractors. The situation is changing but it will still take some to reach the ideal situation,” he said.

ment. The independent directors also clarified that all decisions that had been taken with regard to the operations and business of the company had been taken by the Board unanimously and executed by the chairman and management as per the directions of the Board.

“All the independent directors of Tata Chemicals including Mr. Wadia reposed full faith and confidence on Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata Chemicals. This is certainly a big blow to the Tatas,” said a source close to the development.

“The independent directors also wish to reassure all the stakeholders, management of the company and its subsidiaries wherever loc-

Natural Gas Ministry is probing the alleged inaction of ONGC’s and Directorate General of Hydrocarbons’ (DGH) senior officials on information about the stateowned firm’s natural gas flowing into the adjoining fields of Reliance Industries in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin.

The latest development in the ongoing dispute between RIL and ONGC came when the government on Friday sent RIL a notice for a $1.55 billion fine for using the gas that migrated from ONGC’s section of the gas field.

‘Misinterpretation’ The Mukesh Ambaniowned company said it would go in for arbitration under the terms of the production sharing contract (PSC) while adding that the claim of the Union government is based on the “misreading and misinterpretation of key elements of the PSC” and is “without precedent in the oil and gas

industry anywhere in the world”.

“All stakeholders are being looked into as to what role they had played in those days,” Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters on Thursday on the sidelines of the Economic Editors’ Conference.

The Minister said stakeholders include those working at ONGC and the DGH during the controversy.

Oil Secretary K.D. Tripathi is reportedly overseeing the probe.

Lower output The Minister, during his speech at the conference, also said that the lower output from KG basin had caused a lot of trouble in the power sector as a number of gas-based power plants had been built.

“At one point, we expected a certain amount of gas from the KG basin,” Mr Pradhan said. “But that was not coming from the start. But on that basis, investments were already made in gas-based power plants.

Passenger vehicle sales rise 4.48% in Oct. from 20,35,905 units in October 2015. In the April-October period, total vehicle sales across categories grew by 14.96 per cent at 1,38,56,370 units as against 1,20,52,750 units in the year-ago period.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: Sale of passenger vehicles in the country increased by a modest 4.48 per cent in October to more than 2.80 lakh units, according to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) .

This follows a rise of about 20 per cent in sales in September.

In September, there was stock build-up ahead of the festive season but in October that was not the case.

“Therefore, the wholesale numbers of last month are a reflection of the stock adjustment undertaken by the companies,” SIAM director General Vishnu Mathur said.

Overall, the auto industry’s growth has been “satisfactory” last month.

“Even in the heavy and medium commercial vehicles segment, we have witnessed 1.3 per cent growth during

FESTIVE HANGOVER: Sales of cars rose marginally in October compared to a 20 per cent growth in September. — FILE PHOTO the April-October period, which was earlier in the negative territory,” Mr. Mathur said.

Motorcycle sales SIAM said last month motorcycle sales grew by 7.37 per cent to over 11.44 lakh units, while scooter sales

stood at 5,68,410 units against 5,25,138 units in the year-ago period.

Sales of commercial vehicles were up 11.9 per cent to 65,569 units in October, SIAM said, adding that vehicle sales across categories registered a growth of 8.14 per cent to 22,01,571 units

Positive sentiment Abdul Majeed, PartnerPrice Waterhouse said overall this festive season has been better than last year.

“This is reflected clearly in the growth numbers of certain segments such as two wheelers…This growth momentum is also backed by positive customer sentiments and better cash flows both in rural and urban markets.”

Medium and heavy commercial vehicles reflected positive growth in October with the expectations of secondary sales picking up pace in the next few months due to increase in freight demand, Mr. Majeed said.

ated of their full confidence and support,” according to the statement.

A partner of a leading legal firm, involved in advising one of the Tata group firms said: “It’s unfortunate but the way things are going, it is slated to be a long-drawn battle between the Mistrys and the Tatas.” Besides Mr. Wadia, other independent directors who backed Mistry include, Nasser Munjee, Y.S.P. Thorat and Vibha Paul Rishi. Ms. Rishi had also backed Mr. Mistry in the Indian Hotels board meeting.

Tata Chemicals posted a flat growth in its net profit to Rs.293 crore for the quarter ended September 30 on a consolidated basis on revenue of Rs.3,496 crore.

‘I am a victim, not a beneficiary of investment in TTSL’ K.T. JAGANNATHAN SANJAY VIJAYAKUMAR CHENNAI: “I am a victim and not a beneficiary of investment in shares of Tata Teleservices,” declared C. Sivasankaran, Chairman of Siva Group.

Accusing Cyrus P. Mistry, the ousted Chairman of Tata Sons, of having “selective dementia’’, Mr. Sivasankaran demanded that the Siva Group be compensated for the huge investment loss it had suffered in Tata Teleservices Ltd. (TTSL), primarily due to mismanagement.

He put the loss to the Siva Group at more than Rs.3,000 crore. “The Tata Group has a legal and moral obligation to compensate for the losses of capital and opportunity cost incurred by the Siva Group,’’ he said in a notice to Tata Sons, Tata Teleservices and NTT DoCoMo of Japan.

Attacks Mistry Launching a scathing attack on Mr. Mistry, he said the ousted Chairman was dragging the Siva Group into his spat with Ratan Tata.

Stating that his group was denied a board position when it invested in Tata Teleservices, Mr. Sivasankaran squarely blamed the Tatas and NTT DoCoMo for the financial plight of Tata Teleservices.

Asserting that Mr. Mistry knew the background of his Group’s investment in Tata Teleservices, he accused the former Chairman of Tata Sons of deliberately spreading incomplete versions of the story.

The notice held the three — Tata Sons, Tata Teleserves and NTT DoCoMo — “responsible individually and collectively for treating the minority Siva Group unfairly and discriminatorily.” The three were accused of caus-

C. Sivasankaran ing the Siva Group losses intentionally and “gaining at its expenses.’’ Asserting that their behaviour “is despicable,” it warned them of consequences for “ignoring the moral and legal rights of minority shareholders” while securing the exit of NTT DoCoMO from Tata Teleservices.

Elaborating the context in which the investment was made, Mr. Sivasankaran said “mutual trust and moral responsibilities’’ had played a key role in Siva Group picking up shares in Tata Teleservices. Mr. Mistry had been briefed on these factors as early as 2013, he said. Pointing out that Siva Group’s investment in Tata Teleservices was largely a Tata Group-assisted one (through fund support and provision of a comfort letter), he, nevertheless, asserted that it was also occasioned by the fact that Tata Teleservices was in dire need of equity infusion at that time. Mr. Sivasankaran said Siva Group’s initial investment was the trigger for others such as Temasek and NTT DoCoMo to bring funds into Tata Teleservices at a higher premium subsequently.

Regretting that an investment done on trust had soured, Mr. Sivasankaran said a solution could yet be found through mediation. “I want an amicable understanding and resolution of the issue,” he said.

Tata Sons doled out hefty dividends even as profits fell

ASHISH RUKHAIYAR MUMBAI: The directors of Tata

Sons may be concerned with the financial health of the company but the shareholders — trusts controlled by the Tatas — should be happy, if the dividends doled out by the company are anything to go by.

Tata Sons in a statement on Thursday, highlighted that the dividend income steadily declined even as expenses continued to rise.

The directors of Tata Sons are primarily concerned with the results of Tata Sons and their duty to all its shareholders, particularly, the Tata Trusts, who hold 66% of the equity capital.

Interestingly, the two main trusts controlling Tata Sons – Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust – saw their dividend income more than double from Rs.166.62 crore in 2014-15 to Rs.499.87 crore in 2015-16, as per the company's filings with the Registrar of Companies.

The total dividend paid to shareholders of Tata Sons amounted to Rs.805.15 crore in 2015-16, higher than Rs.267.69 crore paid in the previous financial year. Mr. Mistry became the chairman of Tata Sons in December 2012. Details of the dividends paid in the earlier years could not be ascertained.

Even Mr. Mistry, by virtue of his holding in Tata Sons through Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Invest-

ment Corporation, saw his dividend income rise from Rs.59.40 crore to Rs.178.18 crore between 2014-15 and 2015-16.

While the trusts controlled by the Tata family collectively hold nearly 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons, Mr Mistry has a stake of 18.38 per cent through the two investment entities.

Special dividend As per its RoC filings, Tata Sons announced an 800 per cent dividend on the equity shares of the company in 2015-16. While the quantum of ordinary dividend was the same as that of the previous financial year, a special dividend of 800 per cent was declared as well in 2014-15.

The special dividend payout amounted to Rs.5,774 crore, as per the filings. The dividend received by the company from Tata Consultancy Services, however, nearly halved from Rs.10,854.57 crore in 2014-15 to Rs.5,845.98 crore in 2015-16.

Tata Sons, in its statement on Thursday, has said that dividends received from as many as 40 entities declined from Rs.1,000 crore in 201213 to Rs.780 crore in 2015-16.

It has, however, excluded the dividends received from TCS saying “Mr. Mistry does not really contribute materially to TCS’s management and TCS has needed no funds from Tata Sons for its growth.”

The statement adds that

the fall in dividends “surely reflects the decline in the total profits of those operating companies from which dividends are paid during the last four years.”

As per the RoC filings of Tata Sons, the dividend is used to “augment the resources of the company to make longterm investments in its promoted companies.”

The hefty dividend payouts also seem to have impacted the standalone profit of Tata Sons. Between 201516 and 2014-15, the net profit fell nearly 67 per cent from Rs.9,062.05 crore to Rs.3,013.11 crore. On a consolidated basis, though, the profit rose from Rs.19,180 crore to Rs.23,119 crore between 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Tata Sons’s contribution to Progressive Electoral Trust fell to zero in 2015-16 from Rs.4.74 crore in 2014-15.

Progressive Electoral Trust has been formed by the Tata Group for the purposes of political funding. Board members and directors like Ronendra Sen, Farida Khambata, Ishaat Hussain, Vijay Singh and Nitin Nohria were being paid Rs.1.30 crore a year as commision.

“While prima facie the commission paid to the directors may look somewhat higher, I think it would be wrong to correlate the quantum of commission with the sacking of Mr. Mistry from the board,” Amit Tandon, MD, IiAS, a proxy advisory firm said.

ND-ND

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SPORT

NOIDA/DELHI

THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

Telecast schedule

Blacking out

India v England: 1st Test, STAR Sports 1, 3 & HD 1, 3, 9.30 a.m. ISL: STAR Sports 1, 2 & 3 & HD 1, 2,3, 6.50 p.m. FIFA WC Qualifiers: Sony Six & Sony Six HD, 10.30 p.m. & 1 a.m. (Saturday); Sony ESPN & ESPN HD, 1 a.m.

(Saturday). Australia v South Africa: 2nd Test, STAR Sports 2 & HD 2, 5 a.m. (Saturday). NBA: Sony Six & Six HD, 6.30 a.m. (Saturday)

Tottenham Hotspur’s Dutch striker Vincent Janssen ‘lost 20 minutes of his memory’ after being concussed, following a clash with Belgium goalkeeper Simon Mignolet during an international friendly on Wednesday, the Netherlands manager Danny Blind confirmed at a press conference

A

Ocon for Force India A

Stokes adds to India’s woes with a ton

FRANKLY SPEAKING

Embrace the change to grow

CRICKET / Moeen also completes century; the host responds positively stump flying. It was a pleasant sight for the home team, but England kept India in the field even after the tea break.

G. VISWANATH RAJKOT: Even though M. Vijay

and Gautam Gambhir gave a bright start, raising 63 runs without being separated, India will proceed in this opening Test against England with its back to the wall.

It has been a peculiar first two days. The first five sessions, totalling a little over 10 hours, forced the home team to look at all its options from the resources available so it could make an impact on a match that was being snatched away.

Missed chances Even after sending four England batsmen to the pavilion on Wednesday, India continued to struggle for two full sessions on the second day, with Moeen Ali making his fourth century and Ben Stokes punishing the home team, especially after ‘keeper Wriddhiman Saha put down two chances.

Stokes scored his fourth century, the first against India, as England was all out for 537 in its first innings.

It was the first time in 55 years that three England batsmen embellished an innings scorecard in Asia with centuries. The previous occasion was when opener Geoff Pullar (119), Ken Barrington (172) and Ted Dexter (126 not out) put

ON SONG: Ben Stokes punished India’s sloppiness in the field and put England in a commanding position. — PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK the Indian attack to the sword in the second innings of the Kanpur Test in 1961.

In excellent batting conditions here, England executed its plans to near perfection against an Indian attack that has rarely been collared in the last 13 home Tests, beginning with the fourth match against

Australia three-and-a-half years ago.

A great deal of introspection had gone into the England team selection, with coach Trevor Bayliss suggesting immediately after the Mirpur setback that Gary Ballance’s spot was on the line and that changes would be made for the

Watch out for the bounce: Moeen SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT RAJKOT: Moeen Ali bowled six economical overs following his century that swelled England’s score and he’s looking forward to causing more damage on a pitch that’s predicted to decline.

“I think one has to watch out for the bounce. I think it’s going to get a little bit lower. The cracks are opening up a little bit.

“There was a bit of spin there which was nice. What I like about this wicket is that not every ball is spinning and that makes the bowler a bit more dangerous. The last time [against India] somehow I picked up some wickets and hopefully I can do that again,” said Moeen.

How long he will occupy the No. 5 slot is not known, but

Alastair Cook would definitely be impressed by Moeen’s fine batting effort.

“I slept really well. I knew I had to get only one more run. I was fine. There is a change in my mentality; before I almost used to give my wicket away.

“In the last few months, I have really taken responsibility. Obviously last winter I didn’t play that well. I worked hard this summer and am working hard in the nets.”

Moeen has set roles for himself as a batsman. “I think when I was batting No. 7 and 8, I forgot the time I needed to bat and the singles and the proper sort of batting mentality. Since I have come to No. 5, I feel I can bat a long time.

“My aim is to always bat 200 balls and if I can, then I will score a hundred. That’s what I tell myself.’’

STAKING HIS CLAIM: Moeen Ali says he is batting with greater responsibility after moving up the order. — PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK CM YK

Praising Ben Stokes for adapting according to the situation, Moeen said, “We are going to see so much of him with different kinds of innings. He can play the sort he did in Cape Town (258 off 198 balls with 30 boundaries and 11 sixes) last year. We have seen him grind out a hundred as well and also play a smart innings.

“I think today was perfect where he chanced his arm a bit. When you play with that freedom and that sort of fearless approach, then you can become a fantastic all-rounder.”

Moeen felt happy that England made India toil. “The good thing is we made them bowl a lot of overs. I think we are pleased with the way we played spin.

“I know there wasn’t much spin but we didn’t just prod around. We used our feet, went back and forth and took the attacking option. I think the wickets are going to get tougher through the series.”

Friday is crucial: Jadeja India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who sent down 30 overs and picked up three wickets, feels that India has its task cut out on the third and fourth days of the opening Test.

Taken off after Stokes hammered him for two fours in his 22nd over — he had bowled 21 on the first day — Jadeja said, “whatever runs on the board, we have to score.

Tomorrow is crucial, we have to play good, normal and positive cricket.

“Play according to the merit of the ball and not plan too much.”

He added: “As the game progresses, the pitch will become a little slow. After two days, there will be footmarks and the ball will turn.

“The centre part is still the same, but the sides will assist slow turn. Hopefully the wicket remains the same. On the first two days, the ball was coming on to the bat; there was bounce for fast-bowlers.”

opening Test here.

What England eventually did was take a gamble by giving a chance to Haseeb Hameed at the top of the order, dropping left-hander Ben Duckett to No. 4 and batting Moeen at No. 5, which paid dividends. Moeen hit a superb 117.

Then Stokes, who has been a terrific success at No. 6, showed a lot of patience for the team’s cause, the outcome of which was a century that came about after Saha dropped him twice in the 60s.

England had kept the scoreboard moving on the first day when off-spinner R. Ashwin bore the brunt of the attack, sending down one-third of the 93 overs India had bowled.

The prospect of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav manipulating the ball to reverse had delayed the decision to bring the second new ball into play, but Virat Kohli claimed it straightaway on resumption.

The new ball though only enabled Moeen to help himself to easy boundaries, with Umesh not up to the mark with his line and length. Moeen worked him off his toes, slashed and executed shots to pick up three fours.

Runs flowed with Stokes

employing the horizontal pull shot against Shami. All action happened after Moeen had run a quick single to reach his century.

The 62-run stand for the fourth wicket ended with Shami sending Moeen’s off

Bairstow’s knock After Moeen’s dismissal, Bairstow took a heavy toll of Amit Mishra, but it was Stokes’s cautious shot-making that kept the Indians under a scorching sun till tea time.

Stokes and Bairstow had a rollicking partnership of 99 runs.

Quite unmistakable was the England batsmen’s intention to not allow the Indian bowling back into the contest after the fall of the top-order batsmen.

Even tail-ender Zafar Ansari held out for nearly two-and-ahalf hours before falling a legbefore victim to Mishra, a decision that was confirmed by DRS. The second day belonged to Stokes. He hung in for six minutes short of five hours, faced 235 balls, struck 13 fours and two sixes, and most significantly was involved in partnerships with Moeen, Bairstow and Ansari that took England past the 500-run mark.

India will rue the chances it did not take in the first session on Wednesday and also on Thursday.

BCCI must compensate for cancelling bilateral series: PCB LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket

Board (PCB) executive committee chairman Najam Sethi has asserted that the board has demanded financial compensation from the BCCI and the International Cricket Council (ICC) for losses incurred due to India’s refusal to play the scheduled bilateral series.

The Board of Control for

Cricket in India (BCCI) and the PCB had signed an MoU in 2014 under which the two countries agreed to play a total of six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023.

But increased political tension between the two countries has affected cricketing ties.

BCCI president Anurag

Deadly Herath bowls Lanka to massive win HARARE: Rangana Herath fin-

ished with 13 wickets as Sri Lanka completed a convincing 257-run victory over Zimbabwe in the second Test to sweep the series 2-0 at Harare Sports Club on Thursday.

The tourists went into the final day needing just three wickets to wrap up the match, and Herath required less than an hour to claim them as he finished with eight for 63 in the second innings, bowling Zimbabwe out for 233. Sri Lanka’s captain finished with figures of 13 for 152 in the match.

Zimbabwe’s only real hope of pushing Sri Lanka on day five rested with Craig Ervine, who began the final day on 65 not out as Zimbabwe resumed on 180 for seven in pursuit of

for nine decl.

Zimbabwe — 2nd innings: T. Mawoyo c de Silva b Herath 15, B. Chari b Herath 8, H. Masakadza lbw b Herath 10, C. Ervine c de Silva b Herath 72, S. Williams c Mendis b Kumara 45, M. Waller c K. Perera b de Silva 0, P. Moor c Mendis b Herath 20, G. Cremer b Herath 5, D. Tiripano (not out) 16, C. Mumba lbw b Herath 1, C. Mpofu lbw b Herath 20; Extras (b-12, lb-6, w-3): 21; Total (in 58

Thakur had even asked the ICC recently not to place India and Pakistan in the same group during international tournaments.

The BCCI had consented to a limited-overs series Sri Lanka in December last.

But the Indian government did not give its consent to the fixture. — IANS

MAKARAND WAINGANKAR

E

mbracing the change is the only way to grow. All the talks about experimentation in Test cricket like the usage of pink ball or a four-day Test is meaningless in the Indian context till the real play-tofinish Test match between Justice Lodha Committee and the BCCI gets over.

The Apex Court from time to time is attacking with variety of deliveries and the Board of Control for Cricket in India is trying to defend it steadfastly.

It is very disheartening to see a historical institution — the richest of all in the cricketing world — struggling to survive. It is the only sports body that contributes hugely to the foreign exchange of this country. After studying the entire 238-page annual report of the BCCI for the period of 2015-2016, one feels that they have not been able to convince the court about their current standing: Yes, we have a few associations who have not followed the strict procedures laid down by the audit. But, we will get them to fall in line.

Going by the legal proceedings available in public domain, the defiance of the order is making the court tougher. Predominantly, the Lodha Committee report has recommended reforms which certainly will help Indian cricket grow in the right direction.

However, the only clause that seems unfair and that needs reconsideration is the ‘One State, One Vote’. How can anyone deprive Mumbai of a vote but give the North Eastern States the right? Can there be any comparison between the contribution of Mumbai Cricket Association and the States in North East?

At one time, 9 out of 11 in the Indian team were from Mumbai.

The immense contribution to cricket by the MCA cannot be forgotten.

Nonetheless, resistance to change in this scenario is not surprising. Typically, we tend to lose the rationale behind why the change is required and begin stalling it instead.

Yes, it is time to suspend some of the errant associations which have been notorious in misusing the BCCI funds. But what about the majority who have done exceedingly well? Why should those associations which have planned and implemented measures to spread the game systematically keeping the jurisdiction under their control be penalised?

In order to make it easier for the teenagers in the districts to follow their dream, there are a few associations which have invested more than Rs. 200 crore in infrastructure. This is a boon as they otherwise had to travel all the way to the cities to pursue their love for the game.

The Test match between the Lodha Committee and the BCCI must draw to a close at the earliest

Better infrastructure Some associations have themselves realised the importance of better facilities and sound tournament structure to produce cricketers of top quality. Kerala is a fine example of a noncricketing association that has invested crores in developing the infrastructure in the districts. Also, as a part of Vision 2020, they have selected young boys and girls to be housed at the academy centres. The association takes care of their entire schooling and spends around Rs. six to eight crore every year.

It is the duty of the BCCI to ensure that sufficient expenditure from all the associations is spent in developing the districts.

However, this is not the case. Some associations have not spent a single penny.

It has been reported that the audit agency Deloitte found half a dozen associations misusing the funds. There’s no need for any guesswork. These associations have been known to do all kinds of illegal activities — from printing duplicate tickets to diverting the funds to personal account. Yet, the BCCI rewarded them by giving plum posts.

In 1994, the Dalmiya-Bindra duo marketed the game so well that even Doordarshan had to pay the BCCI for covering matches. Subsequently, telecast rights brought in more money.

Even before the first ball was bowled in the IPL, BCCI coffers began to overflow and a stark improvement was seen in cricket.

India was taken seriously on and off the field.

But even when everything seemed to be going in the right direction, things took an ugly turn. Ego clashes, match-fixing accusations, filing FIR against Dalmiya tarnished the reputation of this glorious institution. With commercialisation, the moral dimensions are on a steady decline.

The situation is such that the Supreme Court is not paying any heed to the contributions of the associations. It wants Lodha Committee reforms to be implemented. For the betterment of Indian cricket and its financial growth, embracing the change seems to be the only way.

Eugeneson’s late strike lifts FC Pune City Mumbai City FC 0 lost to FC Pune City 1 (Lyngdoh 89) NANDAKUMAR MARAR

overs): 233.

MUMBAI: FC Pune City’s waiting game paid off as substitute Eugeneson Lyngdoh struck late against Mumbai City FC at the Mumbai Football Arena on Thursday.

Lyngdoh, playing his first game after the AFC Cup final, capitalised on goalkeeper Albino Gomes’s error, who came out of his line to catch Narayan Das’s cross but fumbled it. The ball fell kindly to Lyngdoh, who volleyed it into an empty net in the 89th minute.

Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-32, 3-39, 4-113, 5-114, 6-166, 7-176, 8-195, 9-201.

Sri Lanka bowling: Lakmal 15-258-0, Herath 23-6-63-8, D. Perera 8-1-42-0, Kumara 9-0-42-1, de Silva 3-0-10-1.

Sri Lanka won by 257 runs to take series 2-0 Man-of-the-match: Rangana Herath Man-of-the-series: Dimuth Karunaratne

Bete impresses MCFC tested Pune custodian Edel Bete in both halves, trying to sneak the ball past him from various angles, but the custodian anticipated each move and countered with blocks and kicks. His reflexes and positioning were topclass. He had a tough time dealing with Diego Forlan free-kicks at the far post, but came out on top.

Herath. — PHOTO: AFP 491 for victory. But the lefthander was the first batsman to fall as he was well caught by Dhananjaya de Silva at slip off Herath for 72.

Carl Mumba was next to go, trapped lbw by the left-arm spinner. — AFP

SCOREBOARD Sri Lanka — 1st innings: 504.

Zimbabwe — 1st innings: 272.

Sri Lanka — 2nd innings: 258

French driver Esteban Ocon, after agreeing a multi-year deal, will partner Sergio Perez at Force India next season, replacing Nico Hulkenberg in the midfield squad. Ocon, who joined Manor Racing midway into this season replacing Indonesia’s Rio Haryanto, is also a Mercedes junior driver

MAKING HIS MARK: Eugeneson Lyngdoh, who played his first game for FCPC, stabbed in the winner in the 89th minute.

— PHOTO: ISL/SPORTZPICS

The home team handed a first-team place to Gomes under the bar, leaving custodian Amrinder Singh on the bench.

Sony Norde was replaced by Sunil Chhetri, who is back from the AFC Cup final.

Lyngdoh took his place in the visitors’ dugout as coach Antonio Habas kept faith in Lenny Rodrigues. PCFC gave Eduardo Ferreira back his place in the defence.

Anibal gave MCFC a scare bursting through on the right to the goalline, but no teammate was at hand to finish a pull-back.

Sehnaj Singh sneaked in, chasing a pass in the goalmouth but hit his shot

wide. Lyngdoh joined the action after the breather, after a subdued first half where the home team focused on ball possession and fast breakaways.

The visitors defended well, but were hesitant of taking shots at goal.

The win lifted FCPC to fourth place after nine games (12 points). MCFC remains in second place after 10 games, one point behind leader Delhi Dynamos FC.

Today’s game FC Goa vs NorthEast United ND-ND

20 |

SPORT

DeRozan dazzles for Raptors DeMar DeRozan scored 37 points as Toronto Raptors defeated Oklahoma City Thunder 112-102.

In Los Angeles, the Clippers rolled over Portland Trail Blazers 111-80.

The results: NY Knicks 110 bt Brooklyn 96, Washington 118 bt Boston 93, Charlotte 104 bt Utah 98, Minnesota 123 bt Orlando 107, Indiana 122 bt Philadelphia 115 (OT), Atlanta 115 bt Chicago 107, Toronto 112 bt Oklahoma City 102, Phoenix 107 bt Detroit 100, Houston 101 bt San Antonio 99, LA Clippers 111 bt Portland 80, Golden State 116 bt Dallas 95. — Agencies OKLAHOMA

CITY:

Subha stars in Karnataka’s win HYDERABAD: S. Subha scored 112

to help Karnataka defeat Tamil Nadu by 106 runs in the inter-zonal women’s (under-19) cricket tournament here on Thursday.

The scores: Hyderabad 152 for seven in 50 overs (Anuradha Nayak 30) bt Goa 117 in 46 overs (Purvaja 39, G. Trisha three for 14); Karnataka 293 for four in 50 overs (S. Subha 112, K. Prathyoosha 70, C. Pratyusha 50, K.N. Ramyashri three for 59) bt Tamil Nadu 87 in 37.3 overs; Kerala 154 for six in 50 overs (Jilu George 50, A. Akshaya 53 n.o., P. Sri Lekha three for 29) lost to Andhra 155 for six in 47.2 overs (M. Bhavana 65 n.o.). — Special Correspondent

Indian women win gold BIRMINGHAM (UK): Indian women

won the team gold in the seventh World carrom championship in Birmingham (UK), outplaying Sri Lanka 3-0 in the final on Thursday.

For S. Appoorwa it was her second gold in this edition having won the women’s doubles title on Wednesday.

The other members of the team are Kajol Kumari, Parimala Devi and Tuba Sehar.

Other results: Finals: Men: Team: Sri Lanka bt India 2-1. — Sports Bureau

hary, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) joint secretary, on Thursday said that it was contemplating introduction of a format for under-16 girls in the women’s cricket segment and this new age group will become functional from 2017-2018.

Speaking to media persons here, Choudhary said that as an experimental effort the zones will be advised to host tournaments for under-16 girls in the current season itself.

The tournaments will be held around February / March. — Special Correspondent

Bengaluru races cancelled BENGALURU: Owing to unavoid-

able circumstances the Stewards of the Bangalore Turf Club Ltd. have decided to cancel the races scheduled to be held on Friday (November 11).

Match drawn

BOXING

Women’s team felicitated

IBA announces four ‘pro fight nights’

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: The Indian women’s hockey team has been in the city for a few days now but instead of getting crucial training under their belt, the girls have been sitting in their hotel rooms and waiting to fly away to Australia for a three-Test series on Sunday.

The team returned from Singapore after winning its maiden Asian Champions Trophy but pollution in the city forced it to abandon its practice sessions.

The team did try and train for an hour on Tuesday but cut it short after several girls complained of breathing problems and were unable to exert themselves.

“We knew things were bad by talking to our families back home but had no idea it was this bad! Coming from Singapore it was a shocker for us,

NEW DELHI: The Indian Boxing

HAIL THE CHAMPIONS: The Indian women’s hockey team that was felicitated for winning the Asian Champions Trophy recently. some of the younger players have a bad throat and cough ever since we landed in Delhi,” admitted goalkeeper Savita Punia, one of the senior players at a felicitation programme organised for them by the sports ministry.

TENNIS ROUND-UP Purav, Divij in semifinals BRATISLAVA: Purav Raja and

Divij Sharan sailed past Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-1, 6-2 in the doubles quarterfinals of the €85,000 Slovak Open Challenger tennis tournament.

The results: $50,000 Challenger men, Knoxville, US Singles (first round): Michael Mmoh (US) bt Yuki Bhambri 6-4, 7-6(8). €85,000 Challenger men, Bratislava, Slovakia, Doubles (quarterfinals): Purav Raja & Divij Sharan bt Julian Knowle & Jurgen Melzer (Aut) 6-1, 6-2. €64,000 Challenger men, Ortisei, Italy, Doubles (quarterfinals): Riccardo Ghedin (Ita) & Dino Marcan (Cro) bt Alessandro Motti (Ita) & Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 7-6(7). $25,000 ITF men, Wollongong, Australia, Singles (prequarterfinals): Sriram Balaji bt Benard Bruno Nkomba (Aus) 6-3, 7-5; Sumit Nagal bt Dimitri Vidin (Aus) 6-4, 6-1.

PUNE: Unseeded Ankita Raina

VIJAYAWADA: Amitabh Choud-

THE HINDU FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016

HOCKEY

Ankita advances

BCCI bats for women’s under-16 cricket

NOIDA/DELHI

moved into the semifinals of the $25,000 Pune Open ITF women’s championships at Deccan Gymkhana courts.

The results (quarterfinals): Irina Khromacheva (Rus) bt Jia-Jing Lu (Chn) 7-5, 6-4; Ankita Raina bt Cristian Jaqueline Adina (Rom) 6-4, 6-2; Conny Perrin (Sui) bt Laura Pigossi (Bra) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3; Riko Sawayanagi (Jpn) bt Tadeja Majeric (Slo) 6-3, 7-6(5).

Doubles (semifinals): Sowjanya Bavisetti & Rishika Sunkara bt

Kamila Kerimbayeva (Kaz) & Stefanie Tan (Sin) 6-3, 6-2; Irina Khromacheva (Rus) & Aleksandrina Naydenova (Bul) bt Ankita Raina & Hsu Chieh-Yu (Tpe) 6-3, 7-6(4).

It’s Hooda vs Vaz HYDERABAD: Kirshan Hooda defeated K. Shashidhar 6-2, 6-0 to set up a title-clash with third-seeded Leston Vaz, who got the better of Boopathy Sakthivel 6-0, 6-1 in the other semifinal, at the Asian junior (under-14) tennis championship here on Thursday.

Other results (semifinals): Boys: Doubles: Manan Navlani & Arnav Pathange bt Aditya Chopra & Kartik Saxena 6-2, 6-1.

Girls: Singles: Yana Dhamija bt S. Sanjana 6-3, 7-5; Malikaa Marathe bt Shambhavi Tiwari 6-3, 6-0.

Doubles: R. Srujana & Mushrath Anjum Shaik bt Aditi Narayan & Sagarika Ramesh Sonni 6-1, 7-5; Smriti Bhasin & Shambhavi Tiwari bt Abhilasha Bista & Tanisha Pranjal 6-1, 6-3.

The forced rest has given the players time to recover before the series that would see at least four-five faces from the junior ranks making their debut.

“Since the girls would not be participating in any competi-

SDAS wins big again many as six different players getting their names on the scoresheet as Indira Priyadarshini HS (Bhopal) thrashed Springdales Senior School (Amritsar) 7-1.

Gursharanpreet Singh was the lone scorer for the Amritsar team.

The results: Group B: SDAS, Jalandhar 10 (Sandeep Kumar 3, Karajwinder Singh 3, Karandeep Singh 2, Dilpreet Singh, Lakhbir Singh) bt SSBS, Sirsa 1 (Ramkesh).

Group A: CRZ, Sonepat 3 (Deepak, Yashdeep Siwach, Parmeet) bt GGSS College, Lucknow 2 (Rahul Rajbhar 2); IPHS, Bhopal 7 (Harshdeep Singh 2, Mohd Alishan, Naresh Rathi, Imaduddin, Suhail Zafar, Abhijeet Mahor) bt Springdales, Amritsar 1 (Gursharanpreet Singh).

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: Sandeep Kumar and

Man-of-the-Match Karajwinder Singh scored three goals apiece and Karandeep Singh got two as Sain Dass AS Senior Secondary School (Jalandhar) registered its second big win in as many games, defeating Shah Satnamji Boys School (Sirsa) 10-1 in a Super League Group B match of the 45th Nehru junior hockey tournament on Thursday.

With this win, the Jalandhar side also became the first team to book a spot in the semifinals.

In Group C, Harshdeep Singh scored twice and as

Nayudu Under-23 cricket match between Kerala and Maharashtra ended in a draw here on Thursday. Kerala took three points from the tie for the first ininngs lead while Maharashtra got one.

Meanwhile at Mumbai, captain Akshay Wadkar’s unbeaten century and his unbroken 157-run partnership with Mohit Kale helped Vidarbha salvage a draw against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium.

The scores: At Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala 456 for nine & 291 for nine in 109.2 overs (Fabid Ahmed 80, Anand Joseph 61, Mohd. Azharuddeen 30) drew with Maharashtra 202.

At Mumbai: Mumbai 518 for eight decl. (Armaan Jaffer 126, Sairaj Patil 92, Vikrant Auti 89, Eknath Kerkar 73, Shubham Ranjane 61, Jay Bista 31; Siddhesh Neral five for 119) drew with Vidarbha 249 (Akshay Agarwal 84, Siddhesh Wath 76; Aditya Dhumal five for 57) and 248 for three in 90.5 overs (Akshay Wadkar 104 n.o., Mohit Kale 72 n.o., Sachin Katariya 63).

REGIONAL ROUND-UP Shashikant stuns Sarthak enters final CHANDIGARH: Shashikant Rajput fought his way past third seed Sarthak Suden 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 in the under-16 boys’ semifinals of the AITA Super Series junior tennis tournament at the CLTA Complex on Thursday.

Naresh downs partner In the final, Shashikant will play Naresh Badgujar who beat his doubles partner Bhupendra Dahiya in three sets.

Naresh and Bhupendra won the doubles title with a 12-10 victory in the super tie-break

over Nishant Dabas and Sarthak.

In the girls’ section, Prinkle Singh and Kaavya Sawhney, the top two seeds, set up a title clash.

The duo won the doubles title.

The results: Under-16 boys (semifinals): Naresh Badgujar bt Bhupendra Dahiya 3-6, 6-1, 6-1; Shashikant Rajput bt Sarthak Suden 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.

Doubles (final): Naresh & Bhupendra bt Nishant Dabas & Sarthak 2-6, 6-4, 12-10.

Under-16 girls (semifinals): Prinkle Singh bt Rutuparna Choudhary 6-4, 6-2; Kaavya Sawhney bt Smriti Singh 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles (final): Kaavya & Prinkle bt Rutuparna & Harleen Kaur 7-5, 6-2.

Big win for Achievers over Sona Polo NEW DELHI: Matias Vial Peez top scored with three goals as Achievers beat Sona Polo 7-2 in a league match of the Yes Bank Indian Masters 14-goal polo tournament at the Jaipur Polo ground here on Thursday.

In the last league matches on Friday, 61st Cavalry will play Jindal Steel and Power while Sona Polo will be challenged

by Jindal Panther.

The topper of the two groups will play the final on Sunday.

The results (league): Achievers 7 (Matias Vial Perez 3, Padmanabh Singh 2, Vishal Singh 2) bt Sona Polo 2 (Sunjay Kapur, Gaurav Sahgal).

FOOTBALL

Indians are hard-working and eager to learn: Zambrotta

Kirrtane’s feat

VIJAY LOKAPALLY

KOLKATA: Forty-three-year-old

NEW DELHI: Head coach Gianluca Zambrotta has transformed Delhi Dynamos into a winning combination. At the end of nine matches, Dynamos lead the table under the able guidance of the Italian. He shares his views with The Hindu.

How has been your experience with Indian players?

It has been a very good experience to see the Indian players closely because Indian football and the ISL are showing tremendous growth. They

Nitten Kirrtane beat Ravishankar Sathiyaraj 6-3, 7-6 (5) to qualify for the main draw of the eighth leg of $5000 Asian Tennis Tour at the Bengal Tennis Academy courts here on Thursday.

The results (qualifying round): Niki Kaliyanda Ponacha bt Vashal D’Souza 6-0, 6-2; Jagmeet Singh bt Rithvik Anand 6-4, 6-4; Nitin Kirtane bt Ravishankar Sathiyaraj 6-3, 7-6 (5), Chinmaya Chauhan Dev bt Archit Jain 6-3, 7-6 (8). — Sports Bureau

tion for the next four-five months, this Test series is important for exposure. The girls are excited and a good performance in Australia immediately after the ACT would be a big morale booster for them,” coach Neil Hawgood said.

Council has announced four Pro Boxing Fight Nights across the country, to be held from January to March 2017, to kickstart the pro-boxing calendar in the country with a prize purse of $1 million.

The pro-boxing season will begin with the IBC-3 fight card in Guwahati on January 14 with leading Indian boxers taking on challengers from Thailand.

IBC-4 is scheduled for January 28 in Hyderabad, followed

by Kolkata on February 15. The fourth and fifth fight nights will feature boxers from Korea and China respectively.

The season will culminate with the title bout in Chennai on March 11, where National titles in six weight categories for men and three for women will be decided.

The champions will qualify

for the Asian Title Challenge.

While the marquee bouts on the 3-5 nights will be of eight rounds, others will be of six rounds.

“We have already signed some big names in Indian boxing who have decided to switch to a professional career.

Amateur boxing has its own space, but all big names have earned stardom only after turning pro.

“We are also in the final stages of talks with several others and announcements are likely soon,” IBC president Brigadier P.K. Muralidharan Raja said.

The IBC has been licensed by the World Boxing Organisation, World Boxing Association and the Commonwealth Boxing Council to sanction, run, govern, train, regulate, structure and conduct professional boxing in India.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The C.K.

are young, hard-working and always eager to learn more. I think that’s the key for the future.

How important are full-backs in modern football?

The full-back is a very important position in football. In Italy, we are producing some good players like Zappacosta, Antonelli, De Sciglio and Darmian. Internationally too, there are some great full-backs like Dani Alves at Juventus, Jordi Alba at Barcelona, Marcelo at Real Madrid and others like Lahm in Germany. These players have made a huge dif-

Gianluca Zambrotta.

— PHOTO: R. RAVINDRAN

ference in the last ten years.

Thoughts on some of the coaches coming out of Italy?

At the moment, Italy is pro-

ducing some really good quality coaches. In my opinion they are doing a good job. In Italy there is a good tradition of tactical and technical football. Also you have to recognise that the Italian coaches are doing really well in the international market. We have a lot of examples like Conte (Chelsea), Ranieri (Leicester), Prandelli (Valencia), Ancelotti (Bayern), Lippi and Cannavaro in the China market.

Why did you choose to come to India?

I decided to come to India

because I saw that India presents a real opportunity for me to grow up as a professional. It’s true that the ISL is doing a good job and if they continue with a good academy system, they is a lot of possibility of becoming a powerhouse.

Has the ISL caught the attention back in Italy? Will more Italians take up jobs in the league?

Of course, Materazzi has been here for three years. This is my first year. We will do our best to spread a lot of information about the ISL in Italy.

GENERAL

NSFs to be more accountable, sports science centres to be established: Goel SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI: With the govern-

ment looking to make National Sports Federations (NSFs) accountable and kick off preparations for the 2020 Olympics, Sports Minister Vijay Goel has been holding a series of meetings with the federations and both archery and tennis federations agreeing to hold fresh elections to ensure they complied with the rules.

“I have had meetings with the AITA and Anil Khanna a

couple of days ago, the archery people met me today, boxing has been recognised finally and I am also meeting with the basketball authorities. We are trying our best and I am hopeful that things will improve soon,” Goel said after a four-hour long Chintan with eminent Baithak sportspersons and current and former sports administrators here on Thursday.

Adding that the ministry wanted to make both the NSFs and the players more accountable, Goel said that all tourna-

ments including National championships would be monitored and top stars required to participate to be eligible for selections unless they had a valid reason.

The ministry would also support events organised by the private sector if required and had met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in this regard, seeking enhancement of the budget.

O “We are trying our best

and I am hopeful that things will improve soon,” Vijay Goel said after a four-hour long Chintan Baithak

preparations for 2020 and then 2024 as per the vision of the Prime Minister, we need more money and resources,” he said adding that the government was also planning to establish sports science centres across the country to supplement players’ training.

Sports science centres “We are aware that if we have to seriously start our

“It was also suggested that we need more sports science centres.

UGC on board “They will be set up at 4-5 universities and the UGC is already on board with the meeting today.

“And if a player or an Association or an NGO starts an academy, the government will support that too through our infrastructure, though its working would be monitored to ensure maximum kids can utilise the facilities,” he

added.

Goel also said that while the government would henceforth advertise before selecting foreign coaches for any discipline instead of going only by the federations’ recommendations, the NSFs would still have a say in the final appointment.

“If there are recommendations from the NSFs and some others have applied through another process then all will be evaluated by a committee before a final decision and the NSF will be a part of

that process,” Goel, flanked by sports secretary Rajiv Yadav, clarified.

He also said that Indian coaches who hesitate to associate with the National teams or camps for fear of loss of job security would also be taken care of.

“The Indian coaches would now paid from Rs. 50,000 to two lakh. Also, we will try and work out a mechanism so that they may draw salary from only one organisation but will continue to hold their jobs,” Goel explained.

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1 Training program cut with hesitation (8) 5 Short snap by governor is commonplace (6) 9 Doctor to detain cure (8) 10 Help in existing circumstances to admit second student finally (6) 12 Extremely poor segment of grass or rye (5) 13 View wild lap dances (9)

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1 Pass by eastern shore’s boundaries covering circuit (6) 2 Retain ten at sea for support (9) 3 Caught father starting to leave with assistant (5) 4 Established fixed temperature with light source (7) 6 Final battle’s about capturing Troy – it could lead to a disaster (4,5) CM YK

G 7 Earthenware from our neighbour (5) 8 Former lover meets new lover at last inside – it is of interest (8) 11 Decline covering new glitch (4) 15 Moving with ease in short time, man thus cut fruit (9) 17 Let go resistance to join hostile practice session (4,5) 18 Outflow of broadcast

14 Everyone interrupting unpleasant song (6) 16 It’s a mistake to cage one royal animal (7) 19 Cruel person on to supplant a supervisor (7) 21 Writer firm with minor under custody (6) 23 Block and block to save one wicket (9) 25 Method to detect sources of

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noise is minute (8) 20 Almost set to study (4) 21 Army officer had to get rookie to study evidence (7) 22 Devil protecting right mate (6) 24 Command opening batsman to leave boundary (5) 25 First off commend increase in salary (5)

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radiation and deploy automatic recovery (5) Happening within four walls of MP’s city, say (6) Naval submarines essentially on a specified speed (8) Could a brave man have these made of steel? (6) Recalled vibrator ringing on the inside (8)

Focused worship Saint Sambandar sang that one should melt when one thought of Lord Siva. Tears well up in the eyes of one who loves the Lord, says the saint. Sundarar says that even if he were to forget the Lord’s name, his tongue will continue to utter His name. Saint Vallalar prays for this kind of focus.

The determination to keep one’s mind on the Lord, and not let it go astray is not easily achieved.

Draupadi believed firmly that calling out the names of Lord Krishna would save her from humiliation in the Kaurava court. Her belief was not in vain.

When the Kauravas tried to shame her in court, by pulling off her saree, the Lord saved her by sending yards of cloth to help preserve her modesty.

Saint Appar’s determination to hold on to his belief in Lord Siva even in the face of torture is recorded in the Peria Puranam, said M.A. Manickavelu in a discourse.

The saint incurred the displeasure of the Pallava king, whose orders the saint chose to ignore.

The King therefore decided that he would break Appar’s resolve and make him bow to his monarch.

He had the saint cast into a pit of limestone, but the saint was unharmed and unafraid.

He then buried him neck deep in sand and sent elephants to trample on him. But the elephants did not obey the orders of the mahouts.

Finally, the King tied Appar to a stone and cast him into the sea. But the stone became a boat, which carried Appar to safety.

Any one of these methods of torture would have been enough for an ordinary mortal to do as the king expected.

But Appar knew that he had nothing to fear, for the Lord was on his side.

E L A P S E

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C L I C H E A H X A S S I S T S T N R N D S C A P E A T M G I R A F F E A I S C OWA R D O E F L R A D A R L A R I A R I T I M E T S L N E P E A L E D

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TODAY'S SOLUTIONS X E R C I S E N A E N T I D O T E E D T O R R Y L A T E B A L L A D I I O N S T E R H E T O N EWA L R S D N D O O R M E M E R V E S R

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FAITH

set by Lightning

E M I S S I O N

THE HINDU CROSSWORD 11849

Sudoku is a mind game and a puzzle that you solve with reasoning and logic.

Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row, every column and every 3x3 box accommodates the digits 1 to 9, without repeating any.

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CRICKET

CHESS

India starts with a win Bala Kannamma stuns Vijayalakshmi RAKESH RAO NEW DELHI: In what should rank

among the biggest upsets in the history of the National women’s chess championship, 20-year-old P. Bala Kannamma made a mockery of the ratings in getting past titlecontender S. Vijayalakshmi in the seventh round here on Thursday.

In a marathon lasting over five hours and 79 moves, the lowest-ranked participant in the field came out stronger against the most experienced among the 12 women.

Bala, rated a whopping 317 points below Vijayalakshmi at

CAUGHT SHORT: Wicketkeeper Sushma Verma whips the bails off to dismiss West Indies’s Shemaine Campbelle. — PHOTO: CH.VIJAYA BHASKAR J.R. SHRIDHARAN VIJAYAWADA: A flamboyant halfcentury by Veda Krishnamurthy (52 n.o., 70b, 4x4, 2x6) and an unbeaten 97-run fifth-wicket partnership with skipper Mithali Raj (46 n.o., 91b, 6x4) helped India post a comfortable six-wicket win over West Indies in the first of the three ODIs here on Thursday.

Veda, who strode in after the fall of three quick wickets, played her natural aggressive game at the Mulapadu Cricket playfield. She kept the momentum going by finding the gaps. The bowlers to suffer were Deandra Dottin, Shakera Selman and Shaquana Quintyne. In fact she finished the match, with a flourish, hoisting a huge six off Shaquana over mid-wicket.

The experienced Mithali kept her head down and guided her young partner, with whom she has chased many targets in the domestic Challenger fixtures.

Earlier West Indies, electing to bat, was off to a disastrous start losing opener Shaquana,

CM YK

trapped in front by Shikha Pandey in the second over.

The introduction of spin did wonders for India. The trio of Rajeswari Gayakwad (four for 21), Ekta Bisht (three for 14) and Deepti Sharma succeeded not only in containing runs but chipped in with wickets at regular intervals.

Left-arm spinners Ekta and Rajeswari struck crippling blows to leave the visitors tottering at 94 for six after 25 overs.

The West Indies batters fell to indiscreet strokes and hardly showed the temperament to give company to the free-stroking Merissa Aguilleira who remained unbeaten on 42 with six rasping boundaries.

“I asked Ekta to bowl the arm-ball right from the beginning and it worked. There was lateral movement in the morning but it kept low when we batted. It is a nice strip to bat on,” said Mithali after the match.

The scores: West Indies: Hayley Matthews lbw b Ekta 24, Shaquana Quintyne lbw b Shikha 0, Stafanie Taylor b Ekta

19, Kycia Knight b Ekta 9, Deandra Dottin c Sushma b Rajeswari 8, Merissa Aguilleira (not out) 42, Shemaine Campbelle run out 7, Shakera Selman lbw b Rajeswari 3, Afy Fletcher run out 0, Anisa Mohammad b Rajeswari 5, Tremanye Smartt lbw b Rajeswari 0; Extras (lb-1, w-13): 14; Total (in 42.4 overs): 131.

Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-42, 3-54, 4-63, 5-63, 6-94, 7-115, 8-115, 9-131.

India bowling: Jhulan Goswami 8-1-32-0, Shikha Pandey 8-1-22-1, Ekta Bisht 8-3-14-3, Deepti Sharma 6-0-27-0, Rajeswari 9.4-2-21-4, Harmanpreet Kaur 3-0-14-0.

India: Deepti Sharma lbw b Afy 16, Smriti Mandhana c Deandra b Shakera 7, Mona Meshram c Merissa b Shakera 2, Mithali Raj (not out) 46, Harmanpreet Kaur lbw b Hayley 1, Veda Krishnamurthy (not out) 52; Extras (lb-3, w-3, nb-3): 9; Total (for four wickets in 39.1 overs): 133.

Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-28, 3-33, 4-36.

West Indies bowling: Tremayne Smartt 3-0-21-0, Shakera Selman 94-11-2, Hayley Matthews 8-3-18-1, Afy Fletcher 6-1-20-1, Deandra Dottin 4-0-17-0, Anisa Mohammad 4-016-0, Stafanie Taylor 2-0-5-0, Shaquana Quintyne 3.1-0-22-0.

Toss: West Indies.

India won by six wickets.

2073, handled the endgame splendidly to pull out the biggest victory of her career.

Facing the Nimzo-Indian Defence adopted by Bala, Vijayalakshmi appeared better off in the opening phase.

She went on to sacrifice a pawn, but Bala’s clever play ensured that Vijayalakshmi did not get enough compensation.

A smart exchange of minor pieces by Bala on the kingside spoilt Vijayalakshmi’s pawn structure. Later, though a draw appeared the possible result, Bala’s rook played a key role in clinching a vital point.

“This was the first time I

was playing Vijayalakshmi and I’m very happy with the way I played,” said Bala, a final year B. Com student from Chennai. “I like the way I finished the game,” said the youngster.

Big setback The setback was a huge one for Vijayalakshmi who is eyeing a seventh title in the championship. This is also her second loss to a fellow Chennai player, the first came against M. Mahalakshmi in the fifth round.

With four rounds left, Vijayalakshmi plays black against defending champion and

leader Padmini Rout on Friday in what could be a crucial game in the title race.

Padmini, held by Mahalakshmi, took her tally to 5.5 points — one better than Vijayalakshmi, Eesha Karavade and Soumya Swaminathan who share the second spot.

Padmini looked better off in the Grunfeld game but Mahalakshmi saw a good defensive line and salvaged half a point in 54 moves.

Soumya was one of the early winners of the day after getting past tailender Pratyusha Bodda in 36 moves.

Swati Ghate used her experience to down the immensely

talented 15-year-old R. Vaishali, the youngest player in the field.

The results: Seventh round: Kiran Manisha Mohanty (3) drew with Mary Ann Gomes (3) in 44 moves; Swati Ghate (2.5) bt R. Vaishali (2.5) in 33 moves; Soumya Swaminathan (4.5) bt Pratyusha Bodda (1.5) in 36 moves; Nisha Mohota (3) drew with Eesha Karavade (4.5) in 27 moves; M. Mahalakshmi (4) drew with Padmini Rout (5.5) in 54 moves; S. Vijayalakshmi (4.5) lost to P. Bala Kannamma (3.5) in 79 moves.

Eighth-round pairings: MaryBala; Padmini-Vijayalakshmi; EeshaMahalakshmi; Pratyusha-Nisha; Vaishali-Soumya; Kiran-Swati.

ATHLETICS

Tejaswin shatters senior high jump National mark SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT COIMBATORE: Even as the day

was coming to a close, Tejaswin Shankar took everybody by surprise with a magic jump of 2.26m for the gold and a new National record in the under-18 boys’ high jump on the opening day of the Sri Krishna 32nd National junior athletics championship at the Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

Standing over six feet, the Class XII student of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya pumped in his best and went on to surpass the senior National mark of 2.25m set by Hari Shankar Roy in the Asian All Stars meet at Singapore in 2004.

Only a couple of months ago, Tejaswin scaled 2.22m in the open Nationals at Lucknow. Obviously, all eyes were on this young man from Delhi.

The 17-year-old stayed calm right through. He cleared 2.24m and followed it up with

the record jump.

“In big meets like these, I do not know what happens to me.

I know everybody is watching, but my eyes are only on the bar and the rest I believe is magic.

There’s some divine power that keeps pushing me to the next level,” said Tejaswin.

The results (final): Boys: U-14: Long jump: 1. Aditya Kumar Singh (UP) 6.18m, 2. S. Arya (Kar) 6.11, 3. Sandeep Singh (Pun) 6.05.

U-16: 2000m: 1. Vikas (Har) 5:31.87 (NR ), 2. Avdesh Nagar (Del) 5:32.51, 3. Anil Bambaniya (Guj) 5:34.81. Discus: 1. Sahil Silwal (Har) 53.96m (NR ), 2. Sourabh (Har) 52.65, 3. Ajay (HP) 52.50. High jump: 1.

Shanawaz Khan (Del) 2.02m (NMR ), 2. Varun Kakran (UP) 1,95m, 3. Robindeep Singh (Punj) 1.89m).

Boys: U-18: 1500m: 1. Shankar (Har) 3:53.63 (NMR ), 2. Ajit Kumar (Guj) 3:53.79, 3. Rakesh Mandal (Uttk) 3:56.29. Javelin: 1. Vipin Sangwan (Del) 66.69m, 2. Anand Singh (Bih) 65.22, 3. Vinay Kumar (Raj) 63.78. High jump: 1. Tejaswin Shankar (Del) 2.26m (NR ), 2. K.S.

MAGIC: Tejaswin Shankar flashes the victory sign after a record jump of 2.26m. — PHOTO: M. PERIASAMY Anandhu (Ker) 2.04, 3. Nishant (Del) 2.02.

Junior men: U-20: 1500m: 1.

Dinesh Lathwal (Har) 3:56.08, 2.

Sahil Thakran (Har) 3:57.19, 3. Abin Sajan (Ker) 3:58.36. 5000m: 1. Murli Gavit (Guj) 14:40.69s, 2. Mohan Saini

(Utk) 14:43,69s, 3. Vijay Rathee (Har) 14:47.66. Shot put: 1. Naveen (Har) 19.02m, 2. Akshay (Raj) 18.54 3.

Mankirat Singh (Chatt) 16.76m.

Girls: U-16: 2000m: 1. Amrita Patel (UP) 6:25.66 (NR ), 2. Seema (HP) 6:27.13, 3. Sandra S. Nair (Ker)

6:37.76. High jump: 1. Gayathry Sivakumar (Ker) 1.67m, 2. Rubina Yadav (Har) 1.65m, 3. G. Giji (TN) 1.61m.

Shot put: 1. Paramjot Kaur (Punj) 14.21m (NR ), 2. Pooja (Har) 12.70m, 3. Anshika Kannojiya (UP) 12.52.

Javelin: 1. Sakshi Parmar (Mah) 36.73m, 2. Jashanpreet Kaur (Pun) 34.77, 3. Varsha Veera (UP) 34.71.

Long jump: 1. Ancy Sojan (Ker) 5.58m, 2. Manisha Merel (Odi) 5.42, 3. P.S. Prabhavathi (Ker) 5.38m.

U-18: 1500m: 1. Komal Jagadale (Mah) 4:51.81s; 2. S. Neelambari (TN) 4:55.13; 3. Sheelu Yadav (UP) 4:55.96. U-20: 1500m: 1. Lili Das (WB) 4:25.22 (NMR ), 2. C. Babitha (Ker) 4:33.77; 3. K. Priya (TN) 4:40.21.

5000m: 1. Sudha Pal (UP) 17:49.46s, 2. Kavita Yadav (UP) 17:52.78s, 3.

Jyoti (Asm) 17:59.61. Discus: Preeti Rani (Har) 43.55m, 2. Kirandeep Kaur (Pun) 43.19, 3. Suravi Biswas (WB) 41.92.

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