IPL Auction 2019: Yuvraj ‘not surprised’ to go....
Three small gifts for Sandra Bullock’s kids page no. 02
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ENGLISH DAILY MORNING REPUTED NEWS PAPER, AHMEDABAD EDITION Editor : Kapilkumar M. Hirpara
Jasdan election
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december 21, 2018, friday
The Jasdan assembly constituency in Gujarat votes today with both the Congress and the BJP sounding confident of winning the seat held by former Congressman Kunvarji Bavaliya. The result for Jasdan - largely a rural constituency - will be announced on December 23.
Gujarat: Jasdan bypoll, 72% Voting
ahmedabad : BJP candidate and minister minister Kunvarji Bavalia casted his vote in the morning. Jasdan is a Koli majority seat where Congress has also fielded Avsar Nakia, a Koli candidate. * It’s a Koli majority seat and Congress has also given ticket to Koli candidate Avsar Nakia, who was Bavalia’s campaign manager in past. According to election commission, voters in big numbers are standing in queues to cast votes* Bavalia, a five time MLA from this constituency on Congress ticket, resigned after
2017 election. * Bavaliya had won from Jasdan in the 2017 assembly polls on a Congress ticket. 71.27% voter turnout reported till 7pm. 50 per cent voter turnout recorded till 2pm. Total eight candidates are in the fray for Gujarat’s Jasdan bypoll but the main fight is between Kunvarji Bavalia and Avsar Nakia. Jasdan is Congress’ stronghold where PM Modi had addressed a public rally during 2017 assembly elections even though Bavalia won from this seat on Congress ticket by a margin of nearly 10,000 votes.
RLSP’s Upendra Kushwaha joins UPA, becomes part of grand alliance in Bihar
New Delhi : Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) joined the UPA Thursday, becoming part of a grand alliance in Bihar. Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP had pulled out of the NDA on December 10 after disagreements over seat sharing for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The former Union minister joined the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) after holding
talks with the Congress leadership. Kushwaha said the main reason behind him quitting the NDA was the failure of the Modi government to fulfil the promises made to the people of Bihar, besides the “insult” he suffered within the NDA. He said an “aakrosh march” will be taken out in Patna on February 2 in which various like-minded parties would participate.
Mo : 98250 98053
PSU bank officers’ union to go on strike on December 21
ahmedabad : A union of public sector bank officers has called for a strike on Friday, demanding immediate wage revision and protesting merger of the state-owned banks. The strike call given by the All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC) expected to hit banking operations across the country. However, private sector banks would continue their usual business as they are not part of the strike. Most of the banks have already informed their customers about the strike and its impact on their normal banking operation. The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of the top nine bank unions, has also decided to observe a strike on December 26. Taking into account these two days of unions’ strike and other holidays, banks would be closed for most of the extended Christmas weekend.
Setback for Banerjee govt, Calcutta HC allows BJP to hold 3 yatras in WB Kolkata: In a setback to Mamata Banerjee government, the Calcutta High Court on Thursday gave permission for the three BJP rath yatras in West Bengal, reported ANI. Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty directed the state BJP to inform the superintendents of police of the districts, in which the rallies shall enter, at least 12 hours ahead of schedule. The party was also directed to ensure that the ‘Yatras’ are conducted abiding by the law and shall not impede normal
movement of vehicular traffic. Justice Chakraborty said that the petitioner BJP will be vicariously responsible for any damage or loss of public property. He also directed that the police shall deploy adequate force to ensure that there is no breach of law and order. Senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya said, “We welcome Calcutta High Court’s decision and we had trust on judiciary that we’ll get justice. This decision is a slap on the face of tyranny.
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friday, 21 december, 2018
India’s 1st step towards EVs raises concerns too
The guidelines released recently by the power ministry for setting up charging infrastructure will go a long way in allaying the apprehensions of existing and prospective manufacturers of electric vehicles in India. The guidelines can be considered the first major step taken by India to push electric mobility but leave a lot of unanswered questions. However, let’s take a look at the positives first. The decision to allow private charging stations to be set up at residences and offices will surely encourage potential buyers of electric vehicles. Also, that an individual setting up a station will not require a licence and power distribution companies will set up a connection on a priority basis are welcome steps. The fact that most of the charging stations in the first stage will be established in mega cities such as Delhi and Mumbai is also indicative of the government’s resolve to reduce vehicular pollution in leading urban centres. Most of the these cities have recorded alarming levels of pollution in the last few years and the lack of charging infrastructure has been the major roadblock for would-be buyers of electric vehicles. However, the guidelines will not fully assuage concerns of the customers and manufacturers. Basic things, such as the incentives on offer for an individual or a corporate entity for setting up charging stations, were not mentioned. Also, there is lack of clarity on issues such as who will provide the land for the charging stations, and whether it would be given by the government at a discounted rate. One can understand fiscal incentives will be a part of the main electric vehicles policy, or the second phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles or FAME scheme. Hence, the power ministry did not have the mandate to issue any guidelines, but why leave out the Chinese standard of charging known as GB/T when Chinese companies are leading vehicle manufacturing across the globe? Most electric cars, buses, two- and three-wheelers running on Indian roads at the moment are compatible with the Chinese standards as opposed to the Japanese CHAdeMO, or the CCS of standards of the Europeans and Americans. So, what happens to these vehicles when these new fastcharging stations come up? Chinese companies like SAIC Motor and BYD have been making high-quality electric vehicles, while most of the Japanese, American and European manufacturers are yet to develop an affordable electric power train.
- Kapilkumar M. Hirpara
Editor
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Katrina, the only heroine Shah Rukh Khan kissed twice
Farhan Akhtar’s next by Anjum Rajabali
Mumbai: Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan may not agree on many things. But the one thing that they agree on is their nokissing policy. Being a familyoriented man Shah Rukh never kisses his heroines on screen. The only exception he had made is with Katrina Kaif in Yash Raj Films Jab Tak Hai Jaan in 2012 all because the kiss came at a crucial point in the plot
and, well…one couldn’t say no to Yash Chopra. Now five years later it is Katrina again who has forced SRK out of his no-kiss clause in Aanand Rai’s Zero. A source close to the film says, “The kiss is the turning point in the plot, and, in the life of the protagonist. Without it the plot couldn’t move forward.” Let’s just say, this is one kiss that SRK couldn’t give a miss.
Mumbai: Farhan Akhtar is in the process of starting his next film as a filmmaker and sources inform that it is not the third instalment of Don. The first was written by Farhan Akhtar, based on the original screenplay by Salim Khan and Farhan’s father Javed Akhtar. The second instalment of Don had Ameet Mehta doing the screenplay with Salim and Javed credited for the characters. What Farhan is now working on is being written by Anjum Rajabali. Veteran writer Anjum who has also penned films like Pukar, The Legend of Bhagat Singh,
Khan-daan in non-stop celebration Spree Mumbai: Salman Khan’s family is in celebration mode. This Saturday the entire Khan-Daan celebrated the birthday of Sohail Khan’s son Nirvan at Bandra. Next on the cards is the Christmas Eve celebration to be followed by the B’day celebrations of Salman Khan himself. Says a source, “Every year, Salman usually goes to his farm house in Panvel’s Waza village. This year, from the farm house, he will be going to the Big Boss house in Lonavala to cut the X’Mas cake.” Another source informs us that Salman’s family will also join him at Panvel on the 24th as they all start celebrating from Christmas Eve and the party
on Saina who incidentally got married to her long-time friend and shuttler Parupalli Kashyap. The actress is also looking to catch up on movies. “There are a lot of very good films being made. I have not been able to see a lot of films and I want to catch up on them. There are so many good actors coming up and they are coming on screen with so much preparation,” says Shraddha. Shraddha is also shooting for the biopic on Saina who incidentally got married to her long-time friend and shuttler Parupalli Kashyap.
Brad Pitt spends birthday with his kids
Fatima Sana Sheikh sad ‘Thugs Of Hindostan’ bombed at Box Office Mumbai: Actress Fatima Sana Sheikh, who had a perfect launch with Aamir Khan’s Dangal got her second big film opposite Aamir in Thugs Of Hindostan. Though the film bombed at the box office, the actress avers that they tried to make an honest film.“It hasn’t done well, which is very heartbreaking because we all made an honest attempt to make a good film. Unfortunately, the film didn’t work, people didn’t like it, so we are feeling bad,” says Fatima.Starring Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Fatima Sana Sheikh, Katrina Kaif the film was touted as one of the highest budget films, but was given the thumbs down by the audience. Meanwhile, Fatima is excited to see how the digital space is coming up with more Indian series. “We have a lot of opportunities, writers have a lot of opportunities so we have many options to watch and perform as well. So I think it’s great that we have more Indian series on Netflix,” she enthuses.
According to the director Anand L. Rai, the story of Zero celebrates the imperfections in one’s life.
I am very far from being a director: Shah Rukh Khan
Mumbai: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan who has ruled the industry for many years has a great understanding over film making, but denies that he has plans to turn director anytime soon. Responding to a question on this, Shah Rukh says, “No not at all. I am a filmmaker, I like making films. I could be someone who can visualise a film but not as a director. I don’t think I am so closely related to emotions.”Adding he continues, “A director gives you the emotion and an actor shows it. So it is a different world — an actor takes and a director gives. I don’t think I am giving enough yet to become a director. I am still in the space of an actor where I would like to take some emotion and be the medium for the emotion. I am
Raajneeti, Aarakshan and the upcoming Shah Rukh Khan starrer Saare Jahaan Se Achha is now writing a film for Farhan. Anjum confirmed the same in a recent media interaction. “Yes, I have started writing a film for Farhan Akhtar and if it works out it will be the one after Saare Jahaan Se Acchha,” he affirms. Farhan has not taken up the direction mantle for a while and incidentally he had an interaction with Ranveer Singh at his house. We are not sure as to what is cooking at the moment. His last film as a director was in 2011.
Hollywood buzz
extends into the next day. On the important day in Salman’s life, our source says, “On Bhai’s birthday, December 27, his family members and near and dear ones from within the industry will join him. This day is celebrated with great pomp and show. Bhai also distributes food to the poor from the vicinity.” Further, the New Year will also be celebrated at the Panvel farm house. Those with professional assignments may leave the farm house, but the rest can stay on and enjoy the weekend party. “It will probably be January 7 before all the guests and the family will return home,” the source concludes.
Shraddha busy with ‘Saaho’
Mumbai: Shraddha Kapoor is busy with her film Saaho and will be shooting till the year end in Hyderabad. Keeping her fingers crossed, she hopes she will get to celebrate her New Year. “I am shooting till December 31 in Hyderabad for Saaho with Prabhas and others. The shoot is on for a while now. We are having a lot of fun on the shoot with the entire team. It depends on the producers whether they give us a holiday or not. If I get a chance, I will need to plan something with friends,” says the actress.Shraddha is also shooting for the biopic
Bollywood
very far from being a director,” he reiterates. Shah Rukh is currently busy promoting his film Zero in which he is casted as a dwarf and will reunite with his Jab Tak Hai Jaan co-stars Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. According to the director Anand L. Rai, the story of Zero celebrates the imperfections in one’s life. Talking about his costars Shah Rukh says, “Anushka is competent, organised and a fantastic actor. She takes things very seriously. Katrina is playing an actress and her characterisation is very different. Fortunately or unfortunately we have not been able to show that in the trailer. For her to go so deep into that dark space is quite amazing. I really hope people love them.”
los angeles : Brad Pitt had a family-filled 55th birthday! A source informs EOnline.com that the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star was able to spend some quality time with his kids. “The kids arrived at Brad’s house on Monday afternoon for a sleepover. Some of them were picked up at 12:30 pm on Brad’s birthday Tuesday and taken back to Angelina’s,” the insider said, adding, “Some of them stayed for more time with their dad.” While Pitt was with the kids, his ex-wife Angelina Jolie “spent the day flying her small plane around Los Angeles with a flight instructor.” The source reveals, “It was a huge deal for Brad and something he has wanted for a long time. It was the first time they had spent the night and meant the world to him.”
Three small gifts for Sandra Bullock’s kids
los angeles : Sandra Bullock wants her kids to keep the holidays in perspective. According to reports on USWeekly.com, the actress shared that her son Louis and her daughter Laila will be receiving “three small gifts” this Christmas. While speaking with Today, the Oscar winner revealed that previous Christmases were “really overdone because I overdo it, and then I panic that I didn’t do enough, and then I get more.” Finally, Bullock decided it was time to end the cycle. “We just stopped because there’s so much happening in the world where people don’t have anything,” she said, adding, “And we said, ‘Why don’t we just make this about other people?’”
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SPORTS ROUNDUP
IPL Auction 2019: Yuvraj ‘not surprised’ to go unpicked in the first round
It came as no surprise to Yuvraj Singh that he went unpicked in the first round of the IPL Auction on December 18. The southpaw believes that youngsters were going to be main picks for franchises. Mumbai: When Yuvraj Singh’s name was called out during the IPL Auction for the 2019 edition, there was an eerie silence in the room. From once igniting bidding wars and going for Rs 14 crore and Rs 16 crore, he went unpicked in the first round. It came as no surprise to the southpaw who believes that youngsters were going to be the main pick for the franchises in the opening round. After being released by Kings XI Punjab following a poor season where he mustered just 65 runs from 8 matches, the World Cup winner was put into the auction and was one of the biggest names at the draw. In the second round, as teams made
their request for players to be brought back for the rapidfire round, Yuvraj had only one bidder – Mumbai Indians – who eventually acquired his services for Rs 1 crore. Yuvraj spoke about being hopeful of finding a buyer eventually. “There was no disappointment as such because I had an idea that I would not be picked in the first round,” the 2011 World Cup winner was quoted as saying by Mumbai Mirror. “The reason is obvious, when you are putting together an IPL team, you will be looking at the youngsters. I am at that stage of my career where it could be presumed that I may be in the last stages of my career.
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European champions Real Madrid will play host side Al Ain FC in Saturday’s final in Abu Dhabi as they bid to win the title for the third year in a row.
Gareth Bale hat-trick leads Real Madrid into Club World Cup final
Abu Dhabi : Gareth Bale scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Japan’s Kashima Antlers 3-1 on Wednesday to book a spot in the Club World Cup Final. European champions Real will play host side Al Ain FC in Saturday’s final in Abu Dhabi as they bid to win the title for the third year in a row. Kashima almost made a dream start inside two minutes with a close-range shot from Serginho that was saved by Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Bale opened the scoring in the 44th minute with a left-foot strike into the bottom corner of the net after playing a one-two with Marcelo. Bale struck his second in the 53rd minute, taking advantage of a defensive mix-up that left the Kashima goal wide open, and the Wales forward made it 3-0 to the Spanish side two minutes later with a left-foot shot into the top corner.
Bale has now scored six goals in the tournament, trailing only his former team mate Cristiano Ronaldo who has netted seven. “He (Bale) played a superb match,” Real coach Santiago Solari told reporters. “He has shown what he is, and what he can do.” Bale was substituted
in the 60th minute only for his replacement, Asensio to be forced off 14 minutes later due to injury. “I hope it is not a serious problem with him because it is very that important all the players are fit,” Solari said. “It is a pity that he had to leave the pitch today.”
Cricket needs passionate characters like Virat Kohli, says Allan Border
Perth: Virat Kohli’s onfield behaviour came under light once again in the second Test of the India-Australia series at Perth with the Indian skipper getting into a war of words with his counterpart Tim Paine. The scenes unfolded on the third and fourth day of the Perth Test – which India lost by 146 runs to see the series levelled at 1-1 – inviting criticism from the likes of Mike Hussey,
Mitchell Johnson and Sanjay Manjrekar. However, one Aussie great – Allan Border – has defended Kohli’s actions, suggesting cricket needs such passionate characters. “There’s not many characters in our game at the moment. The professional era has sort of beaten that out to a certain degree,” Border said on Fox Cricket’s podcast ‘The Follow-on‘.
Nathan Lyon picked up eight wickets and emerged as Man of the Match in the second Test against india in Perth to move up seven places in the ICC Test Rankings.
ICC Test Rankings: Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood move into top-10 Perth: Australia’s Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood have moved up to No. 7 and No. 9 respectively in the latest ICC Test Rankings released on Thursday (December 20) after inspiring their side to an impressive victory over India in the second Test played at Perth. Lyon, the 31-year-old right-arm spinner, has been rewarded for his match-winning haul of 8/106 in Australia’s 146-run series-levelling win. He has climbed seven spots, while Hazlewood’s figures of 2/66 and 2/24 in the two innings moved him up two places in the latest rankings. For India, Jasprit Bumrah, who bagged five wickets in Perth, yet again
made a significant move, climbing five places to No. 28. His teammates, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma too climbed up the charts. Shami who registered figures of 6/56 in the Test, despite going wicketless in the first innings, moved up by two slots to No. 21, while Ishant’s five wickets helped him overtake England spinner Moeen Ali to take 26th place among bowlers. In the batting charts, Virat Kohli extended his lead over New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, who recently became the first New Zealander to make it to 900 points.
Growing power demand a Shares in SoftBank mobile unit rebound after earlier plunge challange: World Bank
Rupee slips 24 paise against US dollar in early trade Mumbai: The rupee on at 70.39 against the US Thursday depreciated by 24 paise to 70.63 in early trade on the forex market amid strengthening American currency and weak opening in domestic equities. Forex traders said strength in the US dollar against some currencies overseas weighed on the local unit. However, fresh foreign fund inflows and easing crude prices capped the losses for the domestic unit. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee opened on a weak note at 70.63 against the US dollar, showing a decline of 24 paise over it’s previous closing. On Wednesday, the rupee had settled 5 paise higher
dollar. Foreign funds bought shares worth Rs 1,209.21 crore from the capital markets on a net basis on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 481.46 crore, provisional data showed. The global benchmark, brent crude oil was trading at USD 56.49 per barrel, lower by 1.31 per cent. Meanwhile, domestic equity market opened on a weaker note. The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex, was trading at 36,305.11, down 179.22 points in early trade. The widebased Nifty was also trading lower by 51.95 points at 10,915.35.
New Delhi: Despite making a remarkable progress in electricity distribution over the years, India still faces challenges to meet its growing demand for power and reliable supply still remains low in the country, the World Bank said in a report. India has made enormo us progress in expanding household access to electrici ty and reducing power shortages over the last few years. In 2018 India achieved 100 per
cent village electrification, the World Bank Regional Re p ort –— ‘In the Dark: How Much Do Power Sector Distortions Cost South Asia’ — here on Wednesday. “Notwithstanding this remarkable progress, India still faces an enormous need to meet the growing demand for electricity.” With growing population, rapid urbanisation and an economy that is expected to grow at an average of 7 per cent per year, demand
for electricity in India will almost triple between 2018 and 2040, the World Bank said, citing projection from the International Energy Agency. Even as air pollution from fossil fuelbased power generation poses another daunting challenge, coal is India’s dominant source of energy, the report added. “Despite ambitious programmes to promote renewable energy development, India still uses coal to generate 75 per cent of its electricity.
E-commerce continues to happen heavily in the more traditional categories like consumer electronics, fashion, appliances, home goods.
Focussed on bringing next 200 mn Indians into e-commerce fold: Flipkart
New Delhi: Walmart-backed Flipkart is betting big on categories like grocery, furniture and its range of private labels to bring new customers onboard its platform as well as expand its share in the user’s wallet, according to CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy. Speaking to PTI, Krishnamurthy said Flipkart will continue to invest in innovation for consumers and sellers in the coming year as it focusses on “impactful, inclusive growth” to get the next set of 200 million Indians shopping online. “E-commerce continues to happen heavily in the more traditional categories like consumer electronics,
fashion, appliances, home goods... we need to ensure that a lot more categories get into the fold of (online) shopping. That’s the reason we are solving for a lot more categories,” he said. Krishnamurthy said segments like grocery,
furniture and even refurbished goods will play an important role in attracting more customers to its platform -- with many of them shopping online for the first time. “Today, barely 20-25 per cent of customer’s wallet is served by e-commerce categories but if you solve for these new categories, suddenly that goes to 70-75 per cent of the wallet served,” he explained. Flipkart -- which competes head-on with American rival, Amazon in the Indian market -- clinched the biggest retail deal in the country this year with Walmart picking up 77 per cent stake for USD 16 billion.
Tokyo: Shares in the mobile unit of Japanese technology giant SoftBank rebounded after steep early declines on a rollercoaster second trading day on Thursday, after a bruising debut saw stocks close 14.5 per cent lower. In early exchanges, shares in SoftBank Corp were down 7.6 per cent at 1,183 yen as heavy selling dominated at the opening bell. The IPO price was 1,500 yen.The shares were 8.3 per cent down at their lowest point -- 22 per cent below the IPO price. But buyers were found at that level and shares erased all of their early losses, eventually closing in positive territory at 1,296 yen, up 1.09 per cent. The stock in fact bucked the trend on a day of heavy
selling on the wider Tokyo market, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 down more than three percent and plunging to a 15-month low. The volatile trading came after the firm raised some $23.5 billion in an initial public offering that was Japan’s biggest and the second-largest globally after Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s debut in 2014. The money raised will swell the coffers of CEO Masayoshi Son’s Vision Fund, which has invested in some of the hottest tech firms, including Uber and WeWork. Analysts said the stock had underperformed for several reasons: a weaker market in general, concerns over increased official intervention in the Japanese mobile sector.
Gold rallies on firm global cues, jewellers’ buying
New Delhi: Gold prices on Thursday rose by Rs 150 to close at Rs 32,000 per 10 gm at the bullion market in the national capital, following a firm trend overseas amid fresh buying by local jewellers. Silver, on the other hand, fell by Rs 130 to close at Rs 37,750 per kg, owing to slackened demand from coin makers and industrial units. Traders said gold prices shot up on the back of a firm trend overseas amid increased buying by local jewellers at the domestic spot market. Globally, gold edged up by 0.52 per cent to
USD 1,249.80 an ounce and silver rose 0.21 per cent to USD 14.69 an
ounce in New York. In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purities traded higher by Rs 150 each to Rs 32,000 and Rs 31,850 per 10 gm, respectively. The precious metal had fallen Rs 210 on Wednesday.
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international JK separatists using every opportunity to The home minister said the Pakistan establishment is seeking to forge an alliance between the Sikh extremist groups, their country’s Islamist outfits and Kashmir-focused terrorists to hurt Indian interests.
fan anti-India sentiments: Rajnath Singh
Kevadia : Home Minister Rajnath Singh Thursday hit out at separatists in Jammu and Kashmir, saying they exploit every possible situation to fan anti-India sentiments and incite the people. Inaugurating the annual conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police at the site of the tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Gujarat, the home minister said the Pakistan establishment is seeking to forge an alliance between the Sikh extremist groups, their country’s Islamist outfits and Kashmir-focused terrorists to hurt Indian interests. “The separatists exploit every possible situation to agitate the people, to fan anti-India sentiments which lead to law and order situations. Financing from across the border for militants and separatists is
a cause of concern,” he said. Singh said Pakistan has been perpetrating terrorist activities on Indian soil from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab. The security situation in the hinterland and in Jammu and Kashmir continues to be vitiated even though stone pelting incidents have declined, he said. “Attempts by militants to infiltrate in large numbers,
intermittent attacks and efforts at local recruitment continue. Terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoK remains in the form of training camps, launching pads and communication control stations,” Singh said. The home minister asked the security establishment to check efforts to revive terrorism in Punjab. He said recent
terror incidents in Punjab and related interdiction indicate concerted efforts on part of the Pakistan establishment and Sikh extremist elements based in Pakistan to revive terrorism in the border state with active support from Sikh radical and extremist entities based abroad, especially Europe and America.
Karnataka, Rajasthan, Odisha and Kerala were rated as top performers The ranking framework was finalised in February DIPP believes with the ranking states can foster their startups in a planned way
DIPP Announces State-Wise Startup Rankings: Gujarat Named Best Performer ahmedabad : The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), on Thursday, released the much-awaited State Startup Rankings on basis of the startup policy framework that it had announced earlier this year. According to the State Startup Ranking Report, while Gujarat is rated the ‘best-performing state’, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Odisha and Kerala come in a notch below as ‘top-performing states.’ The state startup ranking framework measures and compares the efforts and results of the startup initiatives and exercises undertaken by different state governments. The results, which were announced at an event in New Delhi, today, saw participation from top officials from different state governments and departments responsible for
growing and managing the startup ecosystems in their respective states. At the event, DIPP said that the states have been graded according to six categories, which are: Beginners, Emerging States, Aspiring Leaders, Leaders, Top Performers and Best Performers.
Gujarat police officer who probed Sohrabuddin Sheik encounter case suspended
At the Thursday event, DIPP said that in the windup to the state-wise startup programme, knowledge exchange workshops were held in April and state representatives were taken to Silicon Valley and Israel to see their startup systems.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to be on a two-day visit to his home state Gujarat from December 21 to attend the annual conference of state Director Generals of Police (DGP) and preside over the BJP’s women’s wing convention.
Narendra Modi likely to attend DGPs’ conference, BJP women’s wing meet in Gujarat from today ahmedabad : A day before a special CBI court in Mumbai is scheduled to pronounce its verdict in the high profile case of fake encounters of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, wife Kauser Bi and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has suspended Gujarat cadre IPS officer Rajnish Rai, who was the first investigator in the case, and had arrested three IPS officers as key accused. Mr. Rai is a 1992 batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre, and currently serving central deputation heading the Counter Insurgency and Anti-Terrorism (CIAT) School of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. His suspension comes after he sought voluntary retirement in August, and had reportedly written to the MHA that he may be considered deemed to have resigned from the service. The centre, however, had rejected his plea seeking VRS. However, he had stopped attending office after applying for VRS.
ahmedabad : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to be on a two-day visit to his home state Gujarat from December 21 to attend the annual conference of state Director Generals of Police (DGP) and preside over the BJP’s women’s wing convention. The three-day annual conference of state DGPs, for which a new venue within India is selected every year, is being held at the convention facility at the newly constructed Statue of Unity in Gujarat’s Narmada district this
time. At 182 metres, this tallest statue in the world was inaugurated by Modi in October. The DGPs’ conference began Thursday morning with Union home minister Rajnath Singh and his deputy Kiran Rijiju in attendance. This is the second time in three years that Gujarat is hosting the annual DGP conference. In 2015, it was held at the Rann of Kutch. The last conference was held at the Tekanpur BSF Academy in Madhya Pradesh in January 2018.
BJP Worker Takes Photo Inside Gujarat Booth During Jasdan Assembly Bypoll, Circulates it on WhatsApp
Ahmedabad: A Bharatiya Janata Party worker on Thursday clicked a picture of himself inside a polling booth, while voting for Jasdan assembly election was underway. The man took a photo while pressing the button on the electronic voting machine and posted it on a Whatsapp group. The man can be seen voting for BJP candidate Kunvarji Bavaliya. He posted the picture on a group named ‘BJP Jasdan’. The incident prompted the election officials to swing into action with Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Murali Krishna asking the Returning Officer (RO) to file a report and said that action will be taken against erring officials as carrying electronic gadgets inside polling centers is prohibited.
US presence in Syria was to destroy ISIS, not to end civil war: White House
Washington : US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria is consistent with his policy that the main objective of American troops in the war-torn country was to destroy the ISIS and not to resolve the civil war, the White House has said. The White House’s assertion came after Trump claimed the US has “defeated” the Islamic State group in Syria. Before him, a White House official announced Wednesday that the US has started to withdraw American troops from the country, in a move that has surprised many. The Wall Street Journal described it as an abrupt decision by the Trump administration. Currently, there are about 2,000 US forces in Syria. A
senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters in a conference call that Trump, over the past two years, has clearly declared the US is not going into Syria to resolve the civil war. “What we were going in to do was to destroy the territorial caliphate, which he referred to as ‘ISIS in Syria’, very specifically,” the official said. Speaking a few hours after the decision was announced, the official left the timeline of withdrawal to the Pentagon, which declined to give any comment immediately. “We are under no illusion that that means ISIS writ-large or the scourge of Sunni radical terrorism has in some way gone away.
Flights suspended at Britain’s Gatwick aiport after reports of drones
Washington : Gatwick airport, the second-busiest in Britain, said on Wednesday it had suspended flights while it investigated reports of two drones flying over its airfield. An increase in near collisions by unmanned aircraft and commercial jets has fuelled safety concerns in the aviation industry in recent years. Flights due to take off remained parked on the runway, while others scheduled to land at Gatwick were diverted to other airports, according to some passengers who took to Twitter to express their annoyance over the situation. Gatwick, on Twitter,
apologised to affected passengers, adding that safety was its “foremost priority”. The airport advised everyone flying or collecting someone from Gatwick on Wednesday or Thursday to check the status of their flight. Gatwick lies 30 miles (50 km) south of London and competes with Britain and Europe’s busiest airport Heathrow, 20 miles to the west of London. In Britain, the number of near misses between private drones and aircraft more than tripled between 2015 and 2017, with 92 incidents recorded last year, according to the UK Airprox Board.
North Korea state media says denuclearisation includes ‘eliminating US nuclear threat’
Seoul : North Korea’s commitment to the “denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” also includes “completely eliminating the US nuclear threat to Korea,” North Korean state media said on Thursday. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a joint statement after their historic meeting in Singapore in June that reaffirmed the North’s
commitment to “work towards complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula” and gave US guarantees of security to North Korea. Conflicting or vague views of what exactly “denuclearisation” means, however, have complicated negotiations that now appear stalled. Thursday’s commentary, released by North Korea’s staterun KCNA news agency, is one of
the clearest explanations since the June summit of how Pyongyang sees denuclearisation. “When we refer to the Korean peninsula, the term encompasses the area of DPRK plus South Korean territory where US nuclear weapons and other forms of aggression forces are deployed,” the editorial said, using the initials of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
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