01 ˘ˇˆ˙ ˇ˝˛˚˜ !ˆ #ˇ ˆ˝#˜˘$!#%%#˜˛ˆ˙ %#˙ ˝%...rific scale of the extremist...

16
N avy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Tuesday said there are reports about terror- ists being trained to carry out operations through the sea against India even as New Delhi refuted Pakistan’s claims of presence of an Indian Navy submarine in Pakistani waters in the Arabian sea. Addressing a gathering of global experts at the Indo- Pacific Regional Dialogue here, Lanba said the Pulwama attack was perpetrated by extremists that were “aided by a State” that seeks to destabilise India. But he did not name Pakistan. “We have reports of ter- rorists being trained to carry out operations in various modus operandi, including through the medium of the sea,” he said. His warning came days after the Pulwama attack. The 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008 was carried out by 10 sea-borne terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), who hijacked an Indian fishing trawler to reach Mumbai and unleash mayhem. While sounding a note of caution about the possibility of terrorists using the sea route for their actions, the Navy chief said this part of the world had witnessed multiple forms of terrorism in recent years and few countries in the region had been spared. The global nature that ter- rorism has acquired in the recent times has further enhanced the scope of this threat, Lanba said. India, how- ever, faces a “far more serious” version of “State-sponsored” terrorism, he said. “We recently saw the hor- rific scale of the extremist attack in J&K about three weeks ago. This violence was perpetrated by extremists aided and abetted by a State that seeks to desta- bilise India,” he said. He added, “We have seen how quickly terror groups evolve across the globe. A par- ticular brand of terror can well become a global problem in near future.” The Indian security estab- lishment is continuously work- ing to address this menace, the Navy chief said, noting that “it is imperative that the global community works in concert to eliminate terrorism”. Lanba also emphasised the importance of the Indo-Pacific Region. “There is a renewed focus of the world on the seas. This is principally due to the geoeconomic and geopolitical significance of the maritime domain.” Meanwhile, India and Pakistan on Tuesday traded charges with the latter claiming that an Indian Navy submarine was forced to return from Pakistani waters after it was detected on Monday. New Delhi termed it as “false propaganda and spread of misinformation” besides rubbishing Islamabad’s claim that its air force had shot down a SU-30 fighter plane. On the submarine issue, the Pakistan Navy said it had identified an Indian submarine in its maritime zone. The offi- cial message said it “success- fully detected and thwarted an attempt by the submarine to enter Pakistani waters. The Pakistani Navy spokesperson also said, “The Indian subma- rine was not targeted keeping in view Pakistan’s policy of peace.” The Pakistan Navy also released a video, shot from air, supposedly of the Indian sub- marine’s mast above water. Brushing aside the Pakistan claim, the Indian Navy termed it as “false pro- paganda.” The brief statement also said the Navy does not “take cognisance of such pro- paganda” adding “our deploy- ments remain undeterred.” J aish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar’s son and brother were among 44 members of the banned ter- rorist outfit arrested by author- ities in Pakistan on Tuesday, amid mounting pressure from the global community on Islamabad to rein in the terror groups operating on its soil. Meanwhile, Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its wing Falah-e- Insaniat Foundation were for- mally placed in the list of banned organisations by Pakistan on Tuesday. “We have taken 44 people in custody as part of crackdown on militant groups,” Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi said at a press con- ference here. Ministry of Interior Secretary Azam Suleman Khan said Hammad Azhar and Mufti Abdur Rauf were among those arrested on Tuesday. Hammad is the son of Masood Azhar while Rauf is his brother. Khan said a dossier shared by India with Pakistan con- tained names of Rauf and Hammad. “It does not mean that action is being taken against only those individuals who are mentioned in the dossier,” he added. The crack- down came amid tensions with India following a suicide attack in Pulwama on February 14 that martyred 44 CRPF men. India last week handed over the dossier to Pakistan to take action against the JeM, as pressure mounted on Islamabad to take action against individual and organi- sation listed by the UN Security Council as terrorists. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi last week admitted the JeM chief is in Pakistan and is “very unwell”, but said the Government can act against him only if India presents “solid” and “inalien- able” evidence that can stand in a court of law. “He is in Pakistan, accord- ing to my information. He is unwell to the extent that he can’t leave his house, because he’s really unwell,” Qureshi told CNN in an interview. Afridi, however, said the action was not taken due to any pressure. “This is our own ini- tiative...We won’t allow the use of our soil against any country,” he said. Interior Secretary Khan said the action would be taken against all the proscribed organisations under the National Action Plan, which was formulated after an attack on an army school in Peshawar in 2014 that killed nearly 150 people, mostly children. “This is across the board - we don’t want to give the impression that we are against one organisation,” he said. He said the crackdown will continue for two weeks and actions against the arrested members will be taken on the basis of evidence. U S President Donald Trump has announced plans to scrap the preferential trade treatment to India, claiming that New Delhi has failed to assure the US of “equitable and reasonable” access to its mar- kets, a move India said will not have a “significant impact” on its exports to America. The move to end the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for India and Turkey is the latest push by the Trump Administration to redress what it considers to be unfair trading relationships with other countries like China. Trump has pledged to reduce US trade deficits, and has repeatedly called out India for high tariffs. On Monday, President Trump notified Congress in let- ters of his “intent to terminate” trade benefits for both coun- tries under the GSP eligibility criteria. Under the United States GSP programme, nearly 2,000 products, including auto com- ponents and textile materials, can enter the US duty-free if the beneficiary developing coun- tries meet the eligibility criteria established by Congress. India was the largest ben- eficiary of the programme in 2017 with $5.7 billion in imports to the US given duty- free status and Turkey the fifth largest with $1.7 billion in cov- ered imports, according to a Congressional Research Service report issued in January. In a letter to Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Trump said, “I am taking this step because, after intensive engagement between the United States and the Government of India, I have determined that India has not assured the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets of India,” Trump said. “I will continue to assess whether the Government of India is providing equitable and reasonable access to its mar- kets, in accordance with the GSP eligibility criteria,” Trump said in his letter. In New Delhi, Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan, while reacting to the US move, said India exports goods worth $5.6 billion under the GSP, and the duty benefit is only $190 million annually. India mainly exports raw materials and intermediate goods such as organic chemi- cals to the US, he said. “GSP withdrawal will not have a significant impact on India’s exports to the US,” he told journalists. He said “the benefits in absolute sense and a percent- age of trade involved are very minimal and moderate”. The US Trade Representative’s Office has said that removing India from the GSP programme would not take effect for at least 60 days after notifications to Congress and the Indian Government, and it will be enacted by a pres- idential proclamation. A s tension persists with Pakistan, India on Tuesday said it will have “all options” available in case there is anoth- er terror strike while maintain- ing that New Delhi will persist with its efforts to reach out to international community to put pressure on Islamabad to show concrete steps taken in dis- mantling terror infrastructure. Asserting this point here, official sources also said the Indian Air Force (IAF) has kept all its bases in western sector on maximum alert after India car- ried out a strike on the biggest terrorist training camp of JeM in Pakistan’s Balakot on February 26. As to preparedness of the IAF, a SU-30 fighter jet on Monday shot down a Pakistani military drone in Bikaner sector of the India-Pakistan border. Detailed report on P5 T he liquor lovers in Haryana can soon expect to find their favourite brand of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in tetra packs across all the dis- tricts. For, the Manohar Lal Khattar led Haryana Government on Tuesday gave nod to its excise policy 2019- 20 which enables liquor man- ufacturers to market IMFL in tetra packs (biodegradable) of 180 ML, technically called Nips. In a bid to please booze lovers and eyeing more rev- enue from liquor business in the next financial year, the State Government has announced a series of new initiatives in excise policy for 2019-20. Among this measures included launch of superior 65 degree proof country liquor called metro liquor to be distilled and marketed by the state based distilleries, lowering excise duty on Rum sold through CSD canteens and permitting the establish- ment of state of the art, ‘Avant-garde' outlets in malls and licensed shopping areas in Gurugram, Faridabad and Panchkula to enhance the marketing experience of all the liquor consumers. Emphasising its commit- ment to environment pro- tection, the government’s pol- icy has stated that at least 20 per cent of the liquor will be sold in glass bottles. “The cabinet has approved the excise policy for 2019-20 with a projection of an all time high target of 7,500 crore indicating a year-on-year growth of 19 per cent from this year's 6,300 crore,” said an official spokesman of Haryana Government. The excise policy empha- sises the launch of Ease of Doing Business (EODB) ini- tiatives involving application and grant of licenses online through the Department's portal. Time limits have been framed for each activity under the EODB. Also, the renewal of labels and permissions for exports will be automated. Disposal of expired or confiscated beer will also be carried out under an environment friendly manner through the Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) of the breweries, the spokesman said. To provide quality coun- try liquor to the consumers at lower rates, the policy allows the launch of superior 65 degree proof country liquor called metro liquor to be dis- tilled and marketed by the state based distilleries. It also fulfills the expectations of the armed forces by lowering excise duty on Rum sold through CSD Canteens in the state by Rs 61 per proof litre, he said. With a view to moulding the consumption from strong to mild liquor, the State Government has allowed micro breweries to opt for a license without seeking a mandatory license for hard liquor. The policy also permits the establishment of state of the art, `Avant-garde' outlets in Malls and licensed shop- ping areas in Gurugram, Faridabad and Panchkula to enhance the marketing expe- rience of all the consumers. Giving details related to excise duty, the spokesman said that the excise policy has rationalized excise duty on IMFL, Country Liquor and Beer to maximise revenue and to simultaneously pro- mote the industry as a whole. To cater to the growing demand, the annual manda- tory lifting quota for country liquor and IMFL has been marginally raised from 10 to 10.5 crore proof litre and from 6 to 6.5 crore proof litre respectively. The policy also allows more suppliers in the import- ed foreign liquor to break the shackles of the monopolies while ensuring that revenue increase of the previous two years is further enhanced, he said. For quicker clearances and decision making in the department, district level offi- cers have been delegated the authority of collector excise to a large extent. The retail zones have largely been retained of the same size with six vends located in each geographical position, the spokesman said. To facilitate individuals to keep enhanced stock of liquor through his life time for self consumption at home, the licence for this purpose (L-50) has been made more afford- able and it would now be pos- sible to obtain this license online through the depart- ment's portal. In urban areas, besides the earlier two sub vends, two additional sub vends can be provided in every zone to ensure that no bootlegging takes place within the zone, he added. Apart from this, to facil- itate potential licenses who want to bid higher than 25 per cent above reserve price of a zone, the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) has been rationalised to 15 per cent instead of 21 per cent. Liquor will not be sold in 57 panchayats which passed a resolution to that effect in the prescribed time in Haryana. Apart from this, liquor will also not be sold in the holy cities of Thanesar MC limit and Pehowa. Liquor will also not be allowed to be sold in villages where Kanya Gurukul is functioning. In rural areas, villages with population exceeding 5000 will also be allowed an additional sub vend as well in the state. To keep a check on sup- ply of illicit liquor in the state, the government has decided that 350 police per- sonnel would be deputed in the Excise Department exclu- sively for this purpose. The excise policy also provides for stringent norms of sale for bars and restaurants, partic- ularly in towns like Bhiwani, Kaithal, Hisar, Jind and Fatehabad to ensure that licenses are not mis-utilised for sale of bottled liquor in competition of legitimate L-2 and L-13 licensees. E ight trains were cancelled and 24 were diverted on Tuesday as farmers continued their protest on the Amritsar- Delhi rail track in Jandiala here. A large number of farm- ers, under the banner of Kisaan Majdoor Sangharsh Committee, resorted to blockade of rail track on March 4 in support of their several demands, including full loan waiver, stopping auction of land and arrest of farmers, payment of sugar- cane crop with 15 per cent interest. The protest was being led by committee president Satnam Singh Pannu at Devidaspura, around 22 kilo- meters from Amritsar. Pannu alleged that farm- ers were being harassed and humiliated by banks and other financial institutions for their failure to repay loans. He claimed that the farmers were not being paid sufficient dues of their yield. The protest led to termi- nation of eight trains, includ- ing New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express, and diver- sions of 24 trains, officials said. Nearly six trains which were scheduled to depart from Amritsar now would depart from Beas, Ludhiana, Phagwara and Ambala, they said.

Transcript of 01 ˘ˇˆ˙ ˇ˝˛˚˜ !ˆ #ˇ ˆ˝#˜˘$!#%%#˜˛ˆ˙ %#˙ ˝%...rific scale of the extremist...

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Navy chief Admiral SunilLanba on Tuesday said

there are reports about terror-ists being trained to carry outoperations through the seaagainst India even as NewDelhi refuted Pakistan’s claimsof presence of an Indian Navysubmarine in Pakistani watersin the Arabian sea.

Addressing a gathering ofglobal experts at the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue here,Lanba said the Pulwama attackwas perpetrated by extremiststhat were “aided by a State” thatseeks to destabilise India. Buthe did not name Pakistan.

“We have reports of ter-rorists being trained to carryout operations in variousmodus operandi, includingthrough the medium of the sea,”he said. His warning came daysafter the Pulwama attack. The26/11 Mumbai terrorist attackin 2008 was carried out by 10sea-borne terrorists of the

Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), whohijacked an Indian fishingtrawler to reach Mumbai andunleash mayhem.

While sounding a note ofcaution about the possibility ofterrorists using the sea route fortheir actions, the Navy chiefsaid this part of the world hadwitnessed multiple forms ofterrorism in recent years andfew countries in the region hadbeen spared.

The global nature that ter-rorism has acquired in therecent times has furtherenhanced the scope of thisthreat, Lanba said. India, how-ever, faces a “far more serious”version of “State-sponsored”terrorism, he said.

“We recently saw the hor-rific scale of the extremist attackin J&K about three weeks ago.This violence was perpetratedby extremists aided and abettedby a State that seeks to desta-bilise India,” he said.

He added, “We have seenhow quickly terror groups

evolve across the globe. A par-ticular brand of terror can wellbecome a global problem innear future.”

The Indian security estab-lishment is continuously work-ing to address this menace, theNavy chief said, noting that “itis imperative that the globalcommunity works in concert toeliminate terrorism”.

Lanba also emphasised theimportance of the Indo-PacificRegion. “There is a renewedfocus of the world on the seas.This is principally due to thegeoeconomic and geopoliticalsignificance of the maritimedomain.”

Meanwhile, India andPakistan on Tuesday tradedcharges with the latter claiming

that an Indian Navy submarinewas forced to return fromPakistani waters after it wasdetected on Monday. New Delhitermed it as “false propagandaand spread of misinformation”besides rubbishing Islamabad’sclaim that its air force had shotdown a SU-30 fighter plane.

On the submarine issue,the Pakistan Navy said it had

identified an Indian submarinein its maritime zone. The offi-cial message said it “success-fully detected and thwartedan attempt by the submarine toenter Pakistani waters. ThePakistani Navy spokespersonalso said, “The Indian subma-rine was not targeted keepingin view Pakistan’s policy ofpeace.”

The Pakistan Navy alsoreleased a video, shot from air,supposedly of the Indian sub-marine’s mast above water.

Brushing aside thePakistan claim, the IndianNavy termed it as “false pro-paganda.” The brief statementalso said the Navy does not“take cognisance of such pro-paganda” adding “our deploy-ments remain undeterred.”

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Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)chief Masood Azhar’s son

and brother were among 44members of the banned ter-rorist outfit arrested by author-ities in Pakistan on Tuesday,amid mounting pressure fromthe global community onIslamabad to rein in the terrorgroups operating on its soil.

Meanwhile, Mumbai terrorattack mastermind HafizSaeed-led Jamaat-ud-Dawa(JuD) and its wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation were for-mally placed in the list ofbanned organisations byPakistan on Tuesday.

“We have taken 44 peoplein custody as part of crackdownon militant groups,” Minister ofState for Interior ShehryarKhan Afridi said at a press con-ference here.

Ministry of InteriorSecretary Azam Suleman Khansaid Hammad Azhar and MuftiAbdur Rauf were among thosearrested on Tuesday. Hammadis the son of Masood Azharwhile Rauf is his brother.

Khan said a dossier sharedby India with Pakistan con-tained names of Rauf andHammad. “It does not meanthat action is being takenagainst only those individualswho are mentioned in thedossier,” he added. The crack-down came amid tensions withIndia following a suicide attackin Pulwama on February 14that martyred 44 CRPF men.

India last week handedover the dossier to Pakistan totake action against the JeM, aspressure mounted onIslamabad to take actionagainst individual and organi-

sation listed by the UN SecurityCouncil as terrorists.

Foreign Minister ShahMehmood Qureshi last weekadmitted the JeM chief is inPakistan and is “very unwell”,but said the Government canact against him only if Indiapresents “solid” and “inalien-able” evidence that can stand ina court of law.

“He is in Pakistan, accord-ing to my information. He isunwell to the extent that hecan’t leave his house, becausehe’s really unwell,” Qureshitold CNN in an interview.

Afridi, however, said theaction was not taken due to anypressure. “This is our own ini-tiative...We won’t allow the useof our soil against any country,”he said.

Interior Secretary Khansaid the action would be takenagainst all the proscribedorganisations under theNational Action Plan, whichwas formulated after an attackon an army school in Peshawarin 2014 that killed nearly 150people, mostly children.

“This is across the board -we don’t want to give theimpression that we are againstone organisation,” he said.

He said the crackdown willcontinue for two weeks andactions against the arrestedmembers will be taken on thebasis of evidence.

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US President Donald Trumphas announced plans to

scrap the preferential tradetreatment to India, claimingthat New Delhi has failed toassure the US of “equitable andreasonable” access to its mar-kets, a move India said will nothave a “significant impact” onits exports to America.

The move to end theGeneralized System ofPreferences (GSP) for India andTurkey is the latest push by theTrump Administration toredress what it considers to beunfair trading relationshipswith other countries like China.Trump has pledged to reduceUS trade deficits, and hasrepeatedly called out India forhigh tariffs.

On Monday, PresidentTrump notified Congress in let-

ters of his “intent to terminate”trade benefits for both coun-tries under the GSP eligibilitycriteria.

Under the United StatesGSP programme, nearly 2,000products, including auto com-ponents and textile materials,can enter the US duty-free if thebeneficiary developing coun-tries meet the eligibility criteriaestablished by Congress.

India was the largest ben-eficiary of the programme in2017 with $5.7 billion inimports to the US given duty-free status and Turkey the fifth

largest with $1.7 billion in cov-ered imports, according to aCongressional Research Servicereport issued in January.

In a letter to Speaker of theUS House of RepresentativesNancy Pelosi, Trump said, “Iam taking this step because,after intensive engagementbetween the United States andthe Government of India, Ihave determined that India hasnot assured the United Statesthat it will provide equitable andreasonable access to the marketsof India,” Trump said.

“I will continue to assess

whether the Government ofIndia is providing equitable andreasonable access to its mar-kets, in accordance with theGSP eligibility criteria,” Trumpsaid in his letter. In New Delhi,Commerce Secretary AnupWadhawan, while reacting tothe US move, said India exportsgoods worth $5.6 billion underthe GSP, and the duty benefitis only $190 million annually.

India mainly exports rawmaterials and intermediategoods such as organic chemi-cals to the US, he said.

“GSP withdrawal will nothave a significant impact onIndia’s exports to the US,” hetold journalists.

He said “the benefits inabsolute sense and a percent-age of trade involved are veryminimal and moderate”.

The US TradeRepresentative’s Office has saidthat removing India from theGSP programme would nottake effect for at least 60 daysafter notifications to Congressand the Indian Government,and it will be enacted by a pres-idential proclamation.

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As tension persists withPakistan, India on Tuesday

said it will have “all options”available in case there is anoth-er terror strike while maintain-ing that New Delhi will persistwith its efforts to reach out tointernational community to putpressure on Islamabad to showconcrete steps taken in dis-mantling terror infrastructure.

Asserting this point here,official sources also said theIndian Air Force (IAF) has keptall its bases in western sector onmaximum alert after India car-ried out a strike on the biggestterrorist training camp of JeMin Pakistan’s Balakot onFebruary 26.

As to preparedness of theIAF, a SU-30 fighter jet onMonday shot down a Pakistanimilitary drone in Bikaner sector of the India-Pakistanborder.

Detailed report on P5

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The liquor lovers in Haryanacan soon expect to find

their favourite brand of IndianMade Foreign Liquor (IMFL)in tetra packs across all the dis-tricts. For, the Manohar LalKhattar led HaryanaGovernment on Tuesday gavenod to its excise policy 2019-20 which enables liquor man-ufacturers to market IMFL intetra packs (biodegradable) of180 ML, technically calledNips.

In a bid to please boozelovers and eyeing more rev-enue from liquor business inthe next financial year, theState Government hasannounced a series of newinitiatives in excise policy for2019-20.

Among this measuresincluded launch of superior65 degree proof countryliquor called metro liquor tobe distilled and marketed bythe state based distilleries,lowering excise duty on Rumsold through CSD canteensand permitting the establish-ment of state of the art,‘Avant-garde' outlets in mallsand licensed shopping areasin Gurugram, Faridabad andPanchkula to enhance themarketing experience of allthe liquor consumers.

Emphasising its commit-ment to environment pro-tection, the government’s pol-icy has stated that at least 20per cent of the liquor will besold in glass bottles.

“ The cabinet hasapproved the excise policy for2019-20 with a projection ofan all time high target of�7,500 crore indicating a

year-on-year growth of 19per cent from this year's�6,300 crore,” said an officialspokesman of Har yanaGovernment.

The excise policy empha-sises the launch of Ease ofDoing Business (EODB) ini-tiatives involving applicationand grant of licenses onlinethrough the Department'sportal. Time limits have beenframed for each activity underthe EODB.

Also, the renewal of labelsand permissions for exportswill be automated. Disposal ofexpired or confiscated beerwill also be carried out underan environment friendlymanner through the EffluentTreatment Plants (ETPs) ofthe breweries, the spokesmansaid.

To provide quality coun-try liquor to the consumers atlower rates, the policy allowsthe launch of superior 65degree proof country liquorcalled metro liquor to be dis-tilled and marketed by thestate based distilleries. It alsofulfills the expectations ofthe armed forces by loweringexcise duty on Rum soldthrough CSD Canteens in thestate by Rs 61 per proof litre,he said.

With a view to mouldingthe consumption from strongto mild liquor, the StateGovernment has allowedmicro breweries to opt for alicense without seeking amandatory license for hardliquor.

The policy also permitsthe establishment of state ofthe art, `Avant-garde' outletsin Malls and licensed shop-ping areas in Gurugram,

Faridabad and Panchkula toenhance the marketing expe-rience of all the consumers.

Giving details related toexcise duty, the spokesmansaid that the excise policy hasrationalized excise duty onIMFL, Country Liquor andBeer to maximise revenueand to simultaneously pro-mote the industry as a whole.To cater to the growingdemand, the annual manda-tory lifting quota for countryliquor and IMFL has beenmarginally raised from 10 to10.5 crore proof litre andfrom 6 to 6.5 crore proof litrerespectively.

The policy also allowsmore suppliers in the import-ed foreign liquor to break theshackles of the monopolieswhile ensuring that revenueincrease of the previous twoyears is further enhanced, hesaid.

For quicker clearancesand decision making in thedepartment, district level offi-cers have been delegated theauthority of collector excise toa large extent. The retail zoneshave largely been retained ofthe same size with six vendslocated in each geographicalposition, the spokesman said.

To facilitate individuals tokeep enhanced stock of liquorthrough his life time for selfconsumption at home, thelicence for this purpose (L-50)has been made more afford-able and it would now be pos-sible to obtain this licenseonline through the depart-ment's portal.

In urban areas, besidesthe earlier two sub vends, twoadditional sub vends can beprovided in every zone to

ensure that no bootleggingtakes place within the zone,he added.

Apart from this, to facil-itate potential licenses whowant to bid higher than 25 percent above reserve price of azone, the Earnest MoneyDeposit (EMD) has beenrationalised to 15 per centinstead of 21 per cent.

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Liquor will not be sold in57 panchayats which passed aresolution to that effect in theprescribed time in Haryana.

Apart from this, liquorwill also not be sold in theholy cities of Thanesar MClimit and Pehowa. Liquor willalso not be allowed to be soldin villages where KanyaGurukul is functioning.

In rural areas, villageswith population exceeding5000 will also be allowed anadditional sub vend as well inthe state.

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To keep a check on sup-ply of illicit liquor in thestate, the government hasdecided that 350 police per-sonnel would be deputed inthe Excise Department exclu-sively for this purpose. Theexcise policy also provides forstringent norms of sale forbars and restaurants, partic-ularly in towns like Bhiwani,Kaithal, Hisar, Jind andFatehabad to ensure thatlicenses are not mis-utilisedfor sale of bottled liquor incompetition of legitimate L-2and L-13 licensees.

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Eight trains were cancelledand 24 were diverted on

Tuesday as farmers continuedtheir protest on the Amritsar-Delhi rail track in Jandialahere.

A large number of farm-ers, under the banner ofKisaan Majdoor SangharshCommittee, resorted toblockade of rail track onMarch 4 in support of theirseveral demands, includingfull loan waiver, stoppingauction of land and arrest offarmers, payment of sugar-cane crop with 15 per centinterest.

The protest was beingled by committee presidentSatnam Singh Pannu atDevidaspura, around 22 kilo-meters from Amritsar.

Pannu alleged that farm-ers were being harassed andhumiliated by banks andother financial institutionsfor their failure to repayloans. He claimed that thefarmers were not being paidsufficient dues of their yield.

The protest led to termi-nation of eight trains, includ-ing New Delhi-AmritsarShatabdi Express, and diver-sions of 24 trains, officialssaid.

Nearly six trains whichwere scheduled to departfrom Amritsar now woulddepart from Beas, Ludhiana,Phagwara and Ambala, theysaid.

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With the passage of con-tentious Punjab Land

Preservation (HaryanaAmendment) Bill, 2019 in theState Assembly, the ManoharLal Khattar Government inHaryana seems to have givenmuch-needed ammunition tothe opposition parties, ahead ofthe ensuing Lok Sabha polls.

While the HaryanaGovernment has been claimingthat the amendment has beenmade in public interest and tostrike a balance in regulatingenvironment and development,it has ended up serving on aplatter ammunition that theleaders of opposition parties arelikely to make full use of in thehustings.

The leaders of oppositionparties—Congress, IndianNational Lok Dal, JannayakJanta Party and Aam AadmiParty—have termed theamendment in PLPA as a“multi-crore scam” and keepingalive the controversial issue, ina bid to dent the ruling BJP’sreputation as it heads to LokSabha polls.

Last week, Punjab LandPreservation (HaryanaAmendment) Bill 2019 waspassed in the State Assembly,amid sloganeering and walkoutby the opposition. The amend-ment has opened up thou-

sands of acres to real estate andother non-forest activity thatwere protected under the pre-vious 119-year old PLPA.

The Supreme Court hadalso come down heavily on theHaryana Government for pass-ing amendments to the PLPA.The Apex Court had asked theState not to take any furtheraction on the law and termedit “shocking” that the HaryanaGovernment has taken thisstep despite being told earlierby the court not to do so.

The opposition parties,meanwhile, have alleged thatthe amendment in PLPA is amulti-crore scam which willbenefit the mining mafia andreal estate developers. Whilethe Opposition parties are yetto produce proof to substanti-ate its claims, the controversialissue is likely to resonate allthrough the election campaign.

Upping the ante against theState Government, a delegationof Congress leaders, led by for-mer Chief Minister BhupinderSingh Hooda on Tuesday, metHaryana Governor SatyadeoNarain Arya to request him notto give his assent to the amend-ment in the PLPA.

Hooda was accompaniedby MLAs Karan Dalal, GeetaBhukkal, Lalit Nagar,Shakuntala Khatak amongother senior Congress leaders.

After the meeting, the two-time former Chief Minister

Hooda, while talking to themediapersons said theCongress has urged theGovernor to return the Bill andnot to give his assent to theamendment.

“The Congress has alsourged him to order a high-levelprobe so that those who standto gain due to the amendmentto the Act are exposed. We havealso demanded dismissal of theState Government as theamendment in PLPA is a multi-crore scam with real estatedevelopers and mining mafia tobe benefitted. This amend-ment Bill was passed on the lastday of Budget Session of StateAssembly even after vociferousprotest by the Congress,”Hooda said.

He further said, “The del-egation also apprised theGovernor about the recentdirections of SC over theamendment in PLPA. Eventhe top environmentalistshave expressed fear that ifAravalli forest cover is tin-kered with, it can play havocwith the environment of DelhiNCR. The cities l ikeGurugram and Faridabad arealready facing pollution prob-lem and can become gaschambers.”

He added that theGovernor has assured theparty delegation to look intothe issue.

Hooda had ear l ier

announced to revoke theamendments , when theCongress comes to power inHaryana.

On the other hand,Jananayak Janta Party hasalso stepped up its diatribeagainst the Government andheld protest in Faridabadover the issue of amendmentin PLPA. The party has alsowarned of a statewide protestif the Government goesahead with the amendment.

A day before, Hisar MPand JJP leader DusyantChautala had said that hisparty is looking into, who allhave purchased lands in theAravallis recently. He hadalleged that the Governmentwanted to extend benefit toits own people and henceused its majority for passingthe PLPA amendment Bill inthe Haryana Assembly.

Fol lowing SupremeCourt’s observations on theissue, the main Opposition,Indian National Lok Dal(INLD) has been demandingChief Minister Manohar LalKhattar’s resignation.

Leader of opposition andINLD’s senior leader AbhayChautala have termed theamendment a brazen act bythe Government to ignorethe pleas and arguments ofthe INLD, other politicalparties and environmental-ists.

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Himachal Chief Minister JaiRam Thakur on Tuesday

launched Pradhan Mantri ShramYogi Maan-Dhan Yojna for theState which would provideassured monthly pension of�3,000 to the workers working inthe unorganised sector.

Speaking on the occasion,the Chief Minister saidthat this was a Centralsector scheme for unor-ganized workers whosemonthly income was�15,000 or below andhave Aadhar numberand Jan Dhan or otherbank account. He saidthat any one between theage group of 18 to 40year would be coveredunder the scheme.

It was a voluntaryand contributory basedscheme under which thesubscriber would be paidan assured minimummonthly pension of�3,000 from the age of 60years onwards. The con-tribution under thescheme is to the extent of50 percent by subscriberand 50 percent by theGovernment of India.

Thakur said thescheme would go a longway in providing muchneeded financial sup-port to the family of theworkers.

He said efforts werebeing made to developMandi as a tourist desti-nation with a Shiv Dhamat Mandi besides creat-ing an artificial lake inMandi town.

MPP and PowerMinister Anil Sharmasaid that till date theworkers working in theunorganised sector weredevoid of any pensionand with the launch ofthis pension scheme theywould be providedassured monthly incometo them.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal on Tuesday

said the State Government is inthe process of preparing fam-ily ID considering the nuclearfamily as a unit.

“Out of about 50 lakh fam-ilies in the State, data of about30 lakh families have so farbeen collected and the remain-ing data would also be collect-ed within next 15 to 20 days,”Manohar Lal said while pre-siding over the meeting ofChief Minister’s GoodGovernance Associate(CMGGA) here.

He said various schemes ofthe Government would beintegrated with this data so thatthe eligible families get thebenefit of various schemesand programmes in a trans-parent manner. This scheme islikely to be rolled out fromJune, 2019, he added.

The Chief Minister saidthat the State Government hastaken several steps for bring-ing about a systematic changein the system to make the lifeof people more convenientand to ensure that they get thebenefit of various schemesand programmes online bysitting at home.

Directions have beenissued to enforce walk-in-clo-sure in the departments andensure that only online appli-cations for various people cen-tric services are receivedthrough the saral platform.All departments would betaken up for this purpose, hesaid.

On the occasion, ChiefMinister also released compi-lation of research paper for theyear 2017-18 prepared by ChiefMinister’s Good GovernanceAssociates (CMGGAs).

While appreciating theCMGGA’s for assisting theState Government in effectiveimplementation of various pro-jects at the grass root level, theChief Minister said that pro-jects undertaken by them espe-cially Antyodaya SARAL,Saksham Haryana andTransport have yielded positiveresults.

It was informed in themeeting that the ChiefMinister has launched morethan 485 schemes and servicesof 37 departments on Saralportal on the occasion of GoodGovernance Day on December25.

While for the delivery ofschemes, people could apply atthe Antyodaya Kendra , forservices; they could apply atSaral Kendra established at 22district headquarters.

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Aday after parting ways withthe Shiromani Akali Dal

(SAD), Ferozepur MP SherSingh Ghubaya on Tuesdayjoined the Congress—becom-ing the second sitting parlia-mentarian of the BJP-led NDAto join the grand old party inthe last three days after BJP MPfrom Uttar Pradesh Savitri BaiPhule.

With his joining, Ghubayais a likely claimant of the partyticket for Ferozepur Lok Sabhaseat for the ensuing elections.Though it is being claimed thatGhubaya has joined theCongress unconditionally, ithas been learnt that the dealwas struck after he was assuredof getting the party ticket.

However, the preliminarysignals on tickets will be clearon March 10 when the first

screening for the PunjabCongress candidates happensin Delhi.

After more than two yearsof his hostility with the party,Ghubaya finally bid a finaladieu to the Akali Dal. Earlier,he was expected to join theCongress on March 7 duringthe party’s national presidentRahul Gandhi’s rally at Moga.

However, his “hurried”induction in the party hasraised many eyebrows withinthe Congress circles. It isbelieved that Ghubaya’s induc-tion a day after was done tokeep any sort of controversyaway.

“Many senior leaders haveraised objection over Ghubaya’sinduction, especially the pos-sibility of giving him the partyticket. Moreover, many havealso opposed his induction cit-ing Ghubaya’s sleazy video thatwent viral ahead 2017 elec-

tions,” a senior Congress leadertold The Pioneer requestinganonymity.

Notably, Ghubaya’s son —Devinder Singh Ghubaya — isCongress MLA from Fazilkaafter winning 2017 state assem-bly polls.

Two-time MP, Ghubayahails from the Rai Sikh com-munity which is a dominantvote bank in Ferozepur con-stituency. He is a two-timeMP from Ferozepur parlia-mentary seat—first in 2009and then in 2014. He has alsobeen elected MLA twice fromJalalabad in 1997 and 2007, andlater left the seat for Sukhbir.

On the other hand, theCongress’ old guard and seniorparty leaders are not in favourof fielding a “turncoat” or any-one who had opposed theparty in the past as its candidatewhile ignoring the workers.

While making public his

resignation from the SAD,Ghubaya had blamed the partypresident Sukhbir Badal’s“wrong policies” for resigningfrom the primary member-ship and all posts of the party.

Hours later, the SAD issueda press note from its head-quarters at Chandigarh sayingthat Sukbir has “expelled”Ghubaya from the primarymembership of the party for his“anti-party activities”.

While Punjab Congresspresident Sunil Jakhar — who

was the party’s candidate in2014 elections and is now sit-ting MP from Gurdaspur —has already made clear hisintention of seeking re-elec-tion from Gurdaspur, the stateCabinet Minister RanaGurmit Singh Sodhi hadclaimed the party ticket fromFerozepur either for himself orhis son Anumit Singh ‘Hira’Sodhi.

Sodhi, who is MLA fromGuru Har Sahai constituencywhich is a part of Ferozepur

Lok Sabha seat, was also inrace for the party ticket dur-ing previous general elections,but lost to Jakhar, who wasgiven party ticket.

Up in arms against thedecision, Sodhi had revoltedagainst the party in 2014 evenindicating crossing over toSAD, while his son Anumithad given enough indicationsof entering the electoral fieldas an “independent”. But theparty managed to pacify themlater on.

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Haryana Government onTuesday approved amend-

ments in provisions for grant-ing furlough to prisoners, pol-icy pertaining to surrender oflicence and rationalisation ofrates of tax on the stage car-riages operated by any StateTransport Undertaking.

The decisions were takenduring the State Cabinet meet-ing held under Chief MinisterManohar Lal on Tuesday.

This was the third StateCabinet meeting in last 35days, as the State Governmentis rushing to give nod to vari-ous policies and projects, beforethe model code of conductkicks in for ensuing Lok Sabhapolls. The Cabinet is likely tomeet again on March 8 now totake decisions benefitingGovernment employees.

The Cabinet on Tuesdayapproved amendment inHaryana Good ConductPrisoners (Temporary Release)

Act, 1988 for making specialprovisions for prisoners otherthan hardcore prisoners.

Under the amendment, aconvict other than a hardcoreprisoner will be released ontemporary basis or on fur-lough to attend marriage of hisgrand child or sibling, or deathof his grandparent, parent,grandparent-in-law, sibling,spouse, child or grandchildunder an Armed Police Escortfor a period of 48 hours to bedecided by the concernedSuperintendent of Jail, said anofficial spokesman.

Further, a convict otherthan a hardcore prisoner maybe released on temporary basisto attend the marriage of hisdaughter for 96 hours and forthe marriage of his son for 72hours under an Armed PoliceEscort, to be decided by theconcerned Superintendent ofJail.

He will intimate with 24hours the concerned DistrictMagistrate and Superintendent

of Police in this regard with fullparticulars of the hardcoreprisoners being so released.

Earlier, such a provisionwas not available to the con-victed prisoners other thanthe hardcore prisoners in subsection 5A in the Act. However,now the Act has been amend-ed to insert sub section 5B soas to remove this anomaly, thespokesman added.

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The State Government hasgiven approval to amendmentin policy pertaining to surren-der of licence. As per theamendment, no third partyrights should have been creat-ed in the colony.

However, in case the samehave been created then sur-render of licence, partly orwholly, will be allowed with theconsent of the allottees of thecolony, which will be deemedas extinguishing of third partyright to the extent of said part

of the colony.The area over which such

third party right stand created,should be in a compact blockas defined in the HaryanaDevelopment and Regulationof Urban Areas Rules, 1976.Further, if the third party rightcreated area is scattered overthe licenced area then, thecoloniser has to submit consentof each individual allottees formaking it in a compact blockalong with detailed scheme ofthe relocation within licencedarea, the government’sspokesman said.

He said that the licences ofthe project which are consid-ered under this policy for ‘sur-render of licence’ will requirepayment of outstandingrenewal fee with interest up todate. All government duesincluding scrutiny fee, licencefee, conversion charges, IDC,qua the part of licenced areabeing surrendered, will be for-feited.

The Cabinet has further

approved that the licencee willhave three options qua EDCwhen he or she applies for sur-render of licence.

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A proposal of TransportDepartment for rationalisa-tion of rates of motor vehicletax was approved. Accordingly,the motor vehicle tax for vehi-cles having GVW not exceed-ing 1.2 tonnes will be �300,having GVW exceeding 1.2tonnes but not exceeding sixtonnes will be �7,200, havingGVW exceeding six tonnes butnot exceeding 16.2 tonnes willbe �9,600, having GVWexceeding 16.2 tonnes but notexceeding 18.5 tonnes will be�11,200, having GVW exceed-ing 18.5 tonnes but not exceed-ing 28 tonnes will be �17,300and having GVW exceeding 28tonnes, the motor vehicle taxwill be �25,300. These taxes areper annum.

The State Government alsoapproved rationalisation ofrates of tax on the stage car-riages operated by any StateTransport Undertaking ofHaryana as City Bus Serviceand for EducationalInstitutions.

Following this, the buses ofeducational institutions regis-tered outside the state will berequired to pay 20 per centmore tax than the tax paid bythe buses registered withinthe State.

Under the approved pro-posal, the rate of tax for stagecarriage operated by any StateTransport Undertaking ofHaryana as City Bus Serviceswill be �1,000 per month.Similarly, the rate of tax forcontract carriage used by edu-cational institutions (ordinary)registered in the state, havingsix to 12 seats excluding driverwill be �5,000 per year, having13 to 32 seats excluding driver�8,000 per year and having 33and above seats excluding dri-

ver �10,000 per year.The rate of tax for contract

carriages used by educationalinstitutions (air-conditioned)registered in Haryana havingsix to 12 seats excluding driverwill be �12,000 per year, hav-ing 13 to 32 seats excludingdriver will be �20,000 per yearand having 33 and above seatsexcluding driver will be�30,000 per year.

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on

Tuesday gave in-principleapproval to the master plan forthe development of Banur as anindustrial hub and directed theCountry and Town PlanningDepartment to immediatelymake necessary amendmentsfor time-bound completion ofthe project.

Capt Amarinder, chairingthe 37th meeting of PunjabRegional and Town Planningand Development Board,underlined the importance ofthe move to boost the region’sindustrial development in thelight of the pro-investmentenvironment in the state, backedby the policies and incentivesannounced by his government.

The Chief Minister alsogave approval to effect amend-

ments in the development con-trol regulations, thus accedingto the demand of theConfederation of Real EstateDevelopers Association of India(CREDAI) Punjab regardingcalculation of saleable area ofEWS sites and alignment ofZonal roads for connectivity ofsector/inter sector roads in var-ious master plans.

In another important step,the Chief Minister also gave go-ahead to make amendments inthe unified Zoning Regulationsand Development Controls forMaster Plans to ensure plannedand holistic urban develop-ment in the state.

It was also decided in themeeting to allow warehousingof all commodities in the agri-cultural zone of the notifiedplan, for which objectionswould be invited from the gen-eral public before the final noti-fication of the Master Plan.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal on Tuesday

said that during the last fouryears, the State Governmenthas worked for the prosperityof the people belonging to allsections of the society includ-ing poor and labourers byensuring them the benefit ofvarious schemes and pro-grammes online.

The Chief Minister saidthis while addressing the work-ers of unorganised sector, at theState level function of PradhanMantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhanYojna (PM-SYM) in Panchkula.

On this occasion, the ChiefMinister also awardedRegistration Letter and incen-tive money of �5,100 each to

the first ten workers registeredunder the PM-SYM scheme.He also awarded certificate ofappreciation to the VillageLevel Entrepreneurs (VLEs) ofCommon Service Centre(CSC) Raipur Rani and CSCBuriya, Yamuna Nagar for theiroutstanding work in the regis-tration process under PM-SYM scheme.

He said that over 300Central and State Governmentschemes are being run for thewelfare for the poor. The StateGovernment has establishedAntyodaya Saral Kendras andAtal Seva Kendras at the villagelevel so as to make availableschemes of various depart-ments under one roof, he said.

The Chief Minister also

announced that the premiumamount of �55 to �200 permonth under the PM-SYMscheme would be borne by theState Government from June2019. Besides, he alsoannounced that amount ofpremium under PradhanMantri Jeevan Jyoti BimaYojana, Pradhan MantriSuraksha Bima Yojana would tobe borne by the StateGovernment in future.

He said that today thePrime Minister Narendra Modihas launched PM-SYM schemenationwide under which work-ers of unorganized sector.

He added that underAyushman Bharat Yojanaaround 15.50 lakh people havebeen registered in Haryana,under which medical treat-

ment up to �5 lakh is provid-ed in the empanelledGovernment or private hospi-tals.

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The political sniping thatstarted after the IAF air

strike against terrorists inPakistan again led the BJP andthe Modi-Government onTuesday to attack the Congressfor doubting the effectivenessof the operation and accusedit of lowering the morale ofarmed forces as several seniorcentral ministers defendedGovernment stand with UnionHome Minister Rajnath Singhcryptically maintaining thatthe number of terrorists killedin Balakot would be “ knownone day.”

While Union MinisterRavishankar Prasad speakingon behalf of the BJP here atParty headquarters lashed outat the Congress for allegedlyechoing Pakistan’s view pointson the air strike, DefenceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanat Chennai sought to say thatthe IAF strike that destroyed aJaish-e-Mohammad terrorcamp in Pakistan’s Balakot areawas “not a military action” asthere was no civilian casualty.

She also said ForeignSecretary Vijay Gokhale hadnot given any casualty figure inhis media briefing after the airstrike and only gave a statementwhich is the government’s“position”.

Gokha lehad said thenon-militaryand preemp-tive strike onthe Jaish-e-Mohammedtraining campkilled a “verylarge number”of terrorists,trainers andsenior com-manders.

Sitharaman said, “Therewas no need to analyse more onBalakot strike” as she declinedto link the air strike on terrorcamp with the coming LokSabha election.

“After Pulwama attack, wewere waiting patiently fordays... When we got informa-tion the terrorist attacks wereoriginating from that region(Pakistan), without militaryaction, we carried out the strikepointedly,” she told reporterson the sidelines of the launchof Pradhan Mantri Shram YogiMaandhan , a pension scheme.

“Civilians in the vicinity orsurrounding areas were notaffected in any way, so wehave been saying the strike wecarried out after Pulwama sui-cide bombing was not a mili-tary action,” she added.

Joining the debate Unionhome minister Rajnath Singh

who wasspeaking atD h u b r i ,Assam, stated“It will beknown oneday how manyterrorists werekilled inBalakot”. “IfC o n g r e s swants to knowhow many ter-

rorists were killed, they shouldgo to Pakistan and ask there orcount bodies,” said Rajnathtaking a swipe at the oppositionparty.

“NTRO system showedthere were 300 mobile phonesactive at Balakot attack site;were these used by trees if notterrorists,” quipped HomeMinister.

BJP leader Prasad seized onCongress leader DigvijaySingh’s tweet, terming thePulwama terror attack a“durghatna” (accident), tomount a stinging attack on theopposition party and allegethat its senior leaders are speak-ing the language of Pakistan.

Prasad also referred tocomments of Congress’ formerministers Kapil Sibal and PChidambaram to claim they donot trust the Indian Army andthe Air Force. No foreign coun-try has sought evidence of the

air strike, the BJP leader said,adding that Congress leadersdo not believe in Indian mediareports.

“It is part of a design withblessings of (Congress presi-dent) Rahul Gandhi and (UPAchairperson) Sonia Gandhi.Let the country ask them ques-tions,” the Union Minister said.

He also asked the Congressnot to “reduce the morale,courage and prestige of ourforces” for “petty extraneouspolitical gains”.

Prasad also attackedChidambaram for asking whohad made the claim of 300-350terrorists being killed inBalakot when neither the AirForce nor MEA gave out anyfigure.

“There is voluminous con-temporaneous evidence avail-able that entire attack was veryeffective and caused extensivedamage to terrorist network”,he said.

Prasad cited news reports,including one that spoke aboutpresence of many ambulanceson the site in Balakot, origi-nating from Pakistan to assertthat the air strike hit terrorcamps.

His colleague PrakashJavadekar lashed out at theCongress for “rubbishing thearmed forces’ claims and ques-tioning their strength”.

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Top Congress leadersDigvijay Singh and Kapil

Sibal have sought proof ofIndian Air Force’s strikedestroying the biggest camp ofJaish-e-Mohammad inPakistan and accused PrimeMinister Narendra Modi ofpoliticising terror. Congressalso asked the prime ministerto clear the doubt as one of theUnion Minister was denyingTV news that 300 terroristswere killed in the air strike onFeb 26. (Jha)

“Modi ji must answer as theinternational media like NewYork Times, Washington Post,London-based Jane Informationgroup, Daily Telegraph, theGuardian and Reuters, arereporting that there is no proofof militant losses at Balakot inPakistan,” Sibal said on Twitterholding the government guilty

of politicising terror. Senior Congress leader

Digvijaya Singh, termed thePulawama attack an accidentand questioned the air strike inPakistan demanding proof.

Sharp reactions also camein the wake of Union MinisterS S Ahluwalia’s statement thatneither Modi nor any govern-ment spokesperson had givenany figure on the casualty of airstrikes. Congress chiefspokesman Randeep Surjewalaalso put out a news report

about Union Minister SSAhluwalia in this regard.

Punjab minister andCongress leader Navjot SinghSidhu said, “300 terrorist dead,Yes or No? What was the pur-pose then? Were you uprootingterrorist or trees? Was it anelection gimmick? Deceit pos-sesses our land in guise of fight-ing a foreign enemy. Stop politi-cising the Army, it is as sacredas the State,” he said, adding“Oonchi Dukaan, PheekaPakwan” (big talk, no delivery).

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Former Defence MinisterAK Antony on Tuesday

accused Prime MinisterNarendra Modi of sacrificingnational interests and urgedhim “not to politicise” theArmed forces. The Congressleader also accused the PrimeMinister of “ignoring” thereport of a committee that hadsaid there were irregularities inthe selection of L-1 in theRafale deal and had called forits withdrawal.

At a time when the securi-ty forces were still fighting at theborders, the BJP president wasgiving out operational details ofthe armed forces action, whichwas very unfortunate, Antonysaid. “Even now our soldiersdied, that details only Army andCRPF can explain, not BJPspokesman or BJP president. Itis very very unfortunate. Don’tpoliticise the armed forces.Don’t bring the military in thepolitics. I request the BJP pres-ident, I request the prime min-ister don’t politicise the Army.As a former defence minister, Iam telling them,” Antony saidat AICC Press conference.

“No other leader but ourprime minister is touring the

country and is spreading mis-information. Yesterday, he hasgone to the extent of sayingCongress compromised thenational security, accusedCongress of delaying the Rafaledeal for commission,” he said.

The former defence min-ister accused the prime minis-ter of ignoring the report of thecommittee instituted by him tolook into alleged irregularitiespointed out by SubramanianSwamy and Yashwant Sinha,who was then in the BJP. Afterthe complaint of Swamy andSinha, and some members ofthe Contract NegotiatingCommittee, “a committee ofexperts found irregularity inthe process of L-1. So, they cat-egorically recommended thatthis must be withdrawn,” healleged.

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Petroleum and ExplosivesSafety Organisation (PESO)

told the Supreme Court onTuesday that it has finalised“improved formulations” formaking green firecrackers andproduct approvals will be givento manufacturers by March 21.

The apex court wasinformed that joint work wasundertaken by Council ofScientific and IndustrialResearch (CSIR), NationalEnvironmental EngineeringResearch Institute (NEERI), andother fireworks manufacturersrelated to formulation and pro-duction of green firecrackers.

Trial of some samples wasalso conducted, PESO said,adding that the developmentwould reduce the emission ofpollutants PM 2.5 at least by 25-30 per cent.

As per the CSIR-NEERIminutes of meeting placedbefore a bench of Justices A KSikri and S Abdul Nazeer, theauthority would proceed withproduct approval documents ofmakers of fireworks by March 7.

New Delhi: The SupremeCourt Tuesday referred to athree-judge bench a plea chal-lenging the Constitutionalvalidity of provisions in matri-monial laws empoweringcourts to ask estranged spous-es to “cohabit” and “take part insexual intercourse”.

The plea said that theselaws treat women as “chattel”and are violative of funda-mental rights including theright to privacy.

Ojaswa Pathak andMayank Gupta, the students ofGujarat National LawUniversity at Gandhinagar,have challenged the validity ofsection 9 of the HinduMarriage Act (HMA), Section22 of the Special Marriage Act(SMA) and certain provisionsof the Code of Civil Procedure(CPC). They empower courtsto pass a decree of restitutionof conjugal rights to anestranged couple. PTI

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An Election Commissionproposal to ban political

advertisements in newspaperson election day will not beimplemented in the comingLok Sabha polls as it is pend-ing with the Ministry of Lawand Law Ministry.

Sources said that the movewill require changes in theRepresentation of the PeopleAct and it is now up to the nextLok Sabha to take a call.

“The Law Ministry did notconsider moving the Cabinet topropose amendments in thestatutes as the Budget session wastoo brief and it required politi-cal consensus. Now the 17th LokSabha will take a call on the pro-posal,” sources explained.

A 10-member committeeof the EC suggested thatFacebook, WhatsApp ,Twitteror any other social media plat-forms should not be allowed tocirculate any election cam-paign related material for 48hours till polling is over duringelections in a constituency.

“The period of 48 hoursbefore closing time of pollingin India is “sacrosanct” and vot-ers are provided a period ofsilence to “independently con-

sider their decision” of whichcandidate to vote for on the pollday”, the Committee said in itsrecommendations.

As of now, only the elec-tronic media is barred fromshowing election publicitymaterial during the last 48hours before conclusion ofpolling. But the committeerecommended bringing theprint media under the ambit ofSection 126 of theRepresentation of the PeopleAct 1951. It would, in effect,mean that political parties can-not publish campaigningadvertisements on election day.

In 2016, the EC urged thegovernment to amend the elec-toral law to bar political adver-tisements in newspapers 48hours before the day of pollingon the lines of the restriction onelectronic media.

The move came in thewake of the poll panel using itsconstitutional powers to bansuch newspaper advertisementson a case-by-case basis duringthe Bihar assembly election inOctober-November of 2015.Elections are due in April-May. The term of the 16th LokSabha ends on June 3 and anew Lok Sabha has to be con-stituted before that.

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The Supreme Court onTuesday said it would con-

sider listing of a fresh plea seek-ing direction to the authoritiesnot to evict any forest dwellerand to set up an SIT to lookinto illegal acquisition of trib-als’ land.

A bench comprising ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi andJustice Sanjiv Khanna tookcognisance of the plea, filed byChhattisgarh-based TarikaTarangini Larka, seeking direc-tion to the Centre not to allotpossession of any forest landbelonging to tribals to anyoneother than ‘Adivasis’ residing inthat particular area.

“We will see to it (listing ofplea). We will not assure that itwill be come on Monday,” thebench said when lawyer MLSharma sought urgent listing ofthe plea.

Sharma had mentioned theplea for urgent hearing onFriday before a bench headedby Justice A K Sikri and wastold to mention it before thebench headed by the CJI.

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With the political temper-ature heating up over

the issue of alleged data theft ofAndhra Pradesh voters, theTelugu Desam Party (TDP)on Tuesday accused Telangana’sruling Telangana RashtraSamithi (TRS) of misusingpower to help its rival YSRCongress. A Hyderabad-basedfirm is embroiled in a row overthe alleged data theft.

TDP national spokesper-son Kambhampati RammohanRao said the 70 lakh people,said to be hit by the data leak,are party cadres. In a statement,Rao said misinformation overthe episode has created confu-sion among people and “causeddamage” to the party. He urgedthe TRS and YSR Congress tonot spread “misguided infor-

mation” on the issue. The TDPis also “seeking advice” forlegal action, he said.

The issue has gained polit-ical traction in the two statesafter Telangana police booked aHyderabad-based firm forallegedly stealing voters’ datathrough “Seva Mitra” mobileapplication, used by TDP to con-nect with its registered cadres.

On Monday, TDP chiefand Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister N ChandrababuNaidu alleged it was part of aconspiracy to help oppositionYSR Congress headed byJaganmohan Reddy.

However, YSR Congresshas questioned how confiden-tial data went into private hands,claiming the data theft is “partof a plan to remove names ofthose against the (TDP) gov-ernment from electors’ list.”

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Suggesting that the world’slargest sanitation pro-

gramme has managed tochange the behaviour of peoplewith respect to toilet usage, aGovernment survey has foundthat of 93.1 per cent of house-holds who had access to toilets,96.5 per cent used it.

The National Annual RuralSanitation Survey (NARSS)2018-19 survey was conductedbetween November 2018 andFebruary 2019, covering 92040households in 6136 villagesacross the country by an inde-pendent verification agencyunder the World Bank supportproject to the Swachh BharatMission Grameen (SBM-G).

The survey has also recon-firmed the Open DefecationFree (ODF) status of 90.7 percent of villages which were pre-viously declared and verified asODF by various districts andstates, as per a statement hereby the Union Ministry of Waterand Sanitation on Tuesday.

The remaining villages alsohad sanitation coverage ofabout 93 per cent while 95.4per cent of the villages surveyed

found to have minimal litterand minimal stagnant water.

The IVA presented theirfindings to the Expert WorkingGroup (EWG) constituted foroversight of NARSS, compris-ing representatives from orga-nizations including the WorldBank, UNICEF, Water Aid,Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation, India SanitationCoalition, NITI Aayog, andMinistry of Statistics andProgram Implementation.

The survey also coveredschools, anganwadis and pub-lic/community toilets in thesevillages. Launched by PrimeMinister Modi, the goal of themission is to make India OpenDefecation Free (ODF) byOctober 2019.

According to the state-ment, five hundred millionpeople have stopped defecatingin the open since the SBMbegan, down from 550 millionat the beginning of the pro-gramme to less than 50 milliontoday. Over 9 crore toilets havebeen built across rural Indiaunder the Mission. Over 5.5lakh villages and 615 districtshave been declared ODF, alongwith 30 ODF States and UnionTerritories, said the statement.

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As tension persists withPakistan, India on Tuesday

said it will have “all options”available in case there is anoth-er terror strike while maintain-ing that New Delhi will persistwith its efforts to reach out tointernational community to putpressure on Islamabad to showconcrete steps taken in dis-mantling terror infrastructure.

Asserting this point here,official sources also said theIndian Air Force (IAF) has keptall its bases in Western sectoron maximum alert after Indiacarried out a strike on thebiggest terrorist training campof JeM in Pakistan’s Balakot onFebruary 26.

As regards to preparednessof the IAF, a SU-30 fighter jeton Monday shot down aPakistani military drone inBikaner sector of the India-

Pakistan border. The dronewas trying to gather intelligencefrom air about India’s militarystrength in Rajasthan when anair to air missile fired by theSU-30 brought it down. Thedrone fell on the Pakistani sideafter getting hit at about 11.30am. It was the second unsuc-cessful attempt by Pakistan touse drones for spying in the lastseven days.

Besides its military pre-paredness, India has launcheda fresh initiative to get Jaish-eMohammed (JeM) chiefMasood Azhar blacklisted bythe UN Security Council. NewDelhi is also approaching othercountries outside UNSC tocompel Pakistan to take con-crete action against terror out-fits operating from its soil.

Sources said as parts of itseffort India has shared with theUS the evidence of use of F-16fighter jet by Pakistan duringretaliatory aerial combat and

was confident that the US isinvestigating the matter.

Since Balakot punitivestrikes against terrorist campsby the IAF, India is trying tobuild maximum pressure onPakistan on the issue of ter-rorism, they said.

Pakistan has gone to allcountries seeking mediationbut there is greater under-standing of India’s position,

sources said, adding India hastold the international commu-nity that it is not an India-Pakistan issue, but about ter-rorism. If JeM chief Azhar getsbanned by the UN, Pakistan willget into a difficult situation as hehas been residing there as perthe Pakistan Foreign Minister’sadmission, said sources.

Sources said on Mondaythe IAF has kept all its basesin Western sector on maxi-mum alert after India carriedout a strike on the biggest ter-rorist training camp of JeM inPakistan’s Balakot on February26.

Pakistan had attempted toretaliate by unsuccessfully tar-geting a number of militaryinstallations in Rajouri sectorthe next day. In the ensuingaerial combat after somePakistan fighter jets intrudedinto India, a jet each of twocountries were downed andIAF pilot Wing Commander

Abhinandan Varthaman wascaptured by the Pakistanis afterhis MIG-21 Bison was hit byPakistan’s air defence. Heejected from the plane beforeit crashed and was taken pris-oner in Pakistan OccupiedKashmir (POK). The Indianpilot was released two days laterand returned to India on Fridaynight and now undergoingmedical tests and debriefing bythe IAF.

India’s air strike which thegovernment had termed a“non-military” action, followeda terror attack on a CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF)convoy in Pulwama, Jammu &Kashmir on February 14, inwhich 40 personnel were killed.The JeM had claimed respon-sibility for the attack. NewDelhi called the air strikesnon-military as the targetswere terrorists and their infra-structure and not militaryinstallations or assets.

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Asenior advocate, assistingthe apex court as an ami-

cus curiae in a matter related toadministration of Jagannathtemple in Puri, Tuesday filed inthe Supreme Court a “detailedreport” after his recent visit tothe shrine.

The top court is dealingwith a petition which has high-lighted the difficulties faced bythe devotees at the Jagannathtemple and their alleged harass-ment and exploitation by the‘sevaks’ (staff).

Senior advocate RanjitKumar, who was earlier askedby the top court to visit thetemple to assess the groundrealities there, told a bench ofjustices A K Sikri and S AbdulNazeer that he has given detailsof his interaction with the tem-ple management committee,‘sewaks’ and others in hisreport.

“I am filing my report. Ihave made a detailed report.This is required to be goneinto,” he told the bench, addingthat he would assist the courton the basis of his report.

The counsel appearing forOdisha said that the report filedby the amicus should be givento them also.

The bench said the reportbe given to advocates appear-ing for all the parties in thecase.

The court also said thatparties can file their responseon the report within four weeksand posted the matter for hear-ing on April 2.

On February 5, the coun-sel appearing for Odisha hadtold the top court that the ami-cus should visit the temple totake stock of the situationthere.

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The DMK-led UnitedProgressive Alliance in

Tamil Nadu on Tuesday suc-cessfully finalised and for-malised the seat sharingprocess for the upcoming LokSabha elections. MK Stalin,who turned 66 on March 1 (hisfirst birth day since getting ele-vated as party chief in August2017), told reporters at theparty headquarters that hisparty would contest 20 seatswhile the alliance partnershave been allocated 20 seats outof the total 40 seats at stake (39seats from Tamil Nadu and thelone seat from Puducherry).

Though the AIADMK-ledfront has almost finalised theseat sharing talks with its part-ners, a final announcementabout the composition of theline-up would be made only bylate Tuesday night orWednesday morning, accord-ing to AIADMK leaders. Aclear picture would beannounced by Wednesdaybecause Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is flying downto Chennai to address the elec-tion rally convened by the

AIADMK-led front.Stalin said that the CPI, the

CPI(M) and VCK have beenallocated two seats each whilethe MDMK, KMDK , MuslimLeague and Indian JananayakaKatchi were given one seateach. The DMK had allocatedten seats to the Congress (ninein Tamil Nadu and the lonePuducherry seat). ManithaneyaMakkal Katchi, an Islamic out-fit which had been with theDMK for the last three yearscould not be accommodatedthis time because of shortage ofseats. “They will be given dueconsideration in the next elec-tion,” said Stalin while M HJawahirullah of the MMK leftthe DMK headquarters with asheepish smile.

Stalin also announced thatthe DMK-led front wouldlaunch its election campaign onMarch 13 from Kanyakumariwhere Rahul Gandhi, theyoung president of theCongress would address amammoth rally.

Though Vaiko of theMDMK had demanded threeLok Sabha seats, Stalin boughtpeace with him with one seat.“Vaiko would be nominated tothe Rajya Sabha in June 2019,when the next vacancy from theState is due,” said Stalin. He alsodisclosed that Vaiko, who waswith the BJP-led NDA in the2014 Lok Sabha election wouldlead the propaganda for theUPA all over Tamil Nadu.

With the DMK choosing to

content with 20 seats, it hasbecome clear that some hardbargaining took place in theparty head- quarters with therepresentatives of the Lefts andthe VCK. Leaders of the DMKhad made it known earlierthat they would keep aside 15seats for the alliance partnerswhile the party itself wouldcontest a minimum of 25 seatsto make its presence felt in NewDelhi during the Governmentformation.

All eyes are now onDMDK leader Vijayakanth ,who is expected to announcehis course of action lateTuesday or Wednesday morn-ing. The DMDK was the leadalliance partner of the NDA inTamil Nadu during the 2014Lok Sabha election when it hadcontested 14 seats. This time itmay have to be satisfied withtwo or three seats to be allo-cated by the AIADMK.

In the AIADMK-led front,the PMK and the BJP havebeen allocated seven and fiveLok Sabha seats while smallerparties like the PT, and IJP weregiven one seat each. The TamilManila Congress too is expect-ed to cast with the AIADMK-led front.

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Congress president RahulGandhi is likely to start his

election campaign in Bengalsometime later this month,Pradesh Congress sources said.

The new move comes inthe wake of two parallel but notunconnected developments:Firstly, the proffering by theCPI(M) of a “no mutual con-test” formula in at least six par-liamentary seats and second, aletter from PCC presidentSomen Mitra to Gandhi advo-cating early decision on anagreeable seat-sharing formu-la with the Left Front which stillenjoys an appreciable vote basenotwithstanding BJP’s recentmeteoric rise in the State.

In his letter sent onTuesday Mitra has “expressedthe opinion of the rank and file”underlining the need for a“seat-sharing or alliance” for-mula with the CPI(M) so as to“stop the march of the BJP inthe State and dethrone theTMC in 2021 Assembly elec-tions.”

Mitra told reporters that hehad “written to Rahulji with myassessment. Now it is for ourparty president and the AICCto take a call on the matter.”

About his assessment he said hehad only written about the“aspirations of party workersand leaders.”

Though a major section ofboth the Congress and theLeft Front have been asking foran alliance or “in the least aseat-sharing arrangement,” thetwo parties have failed to agreeon two seats of Raiganj andMurshidabad where both theparties have a good presenceand their workers are againstleaving the seats.

According to insidesources both in the CPI(M)and the Congress “the mood issuch that if the seats are sacri-ficed for the alliance to standthen the workers who havebeen cultivating the con-stituencies might go towardsthe BJP.”

In 2014 general elections

when all the parties contestedseparately the Congress wonfour seats of: Malda North andMalda South, Behrampore andJangipur. In multi-corneredcontests Deepa Dasmunshi ofthe Congress lost Raiganj toLeft’s Md Salim by about 3,000votes whereas the CPI(M)defeated the tri-colour party inMurshidabad by about 25,000votes.

After several rounds ofdeliberations the State com-mittees of both the partieshave refused to leave thesetwo closely contested seats.

“Raiganj which was theconstituency of PR Dasmunshiand subsequently DeepaDasmunshi and Murshidabadare our traditional bastionsand cannot be left,” a seniorPCC leader said admittinghowever that “if the two partiesfought separately then the BJPwill gain an advantage.”

As for Malda North afterthe sitting Congress MPMausam Benazir Noor joinedthe Trinamool Congress the tri-colour party is planning to fieldhis cousin a local MLA IshaKhan Chowdhury. SouthMalda seat is currently held byCongress MP Abu HasemKhan Chowdhury.

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Mumbai: A CPI(M) leaderfrom Maharashtra has beensuspended from the party'sCentral Committee, days afterhe publicly praised PrimeMinister Narendra Modi.

The BJP responded to thisaction by the communist partyas "shameless display of intol-erance."

At a rally in Solapur onJanuary 9, former CPI(M) MLANarsaiyya Adam praised andthanked Modi and MaharashtraChief Minister DevendraFadnavis for speedy clearance toa housing project in Solapurdistrict. Adam, a former MLAfrom Solapur district, had saidModi should get another termas Prime Minister.

"Such praise is against thepolicy of our party, so a decisionhas been taken to suspend himfor three months from theCentral Committee," a partyofficial said on Tuesday.

The Committee is a keydecision-making body of thecommunist party. While Adamwas unavailable for comments,state BJP spokesperson MadhavBhandari said the CPI(M) deci-sion is "a shameless display ofintolerance." PTI

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Agartala: The IndigenousPeoples Front of Tripura (IPFT),an ally of the ruling BJP inTripura, said on Tuesday itwould go it alone in the upcom-ing Lok Sabha polls.

Mangal Debbarma, thespokesperson of the party, saidthe decision to field candidatesin the two Lok Sabha seats in thestate was taken on March 3, fol-lowing the IPFT central com-mittee meeting here.

"When BJP national presi-dent Amit Shah visited Agartalaon January 5, we submitted amemorandum to him, demand-ing that the IPFT be allowed tofield candidate in East Tripuraconstituency, reserved forScheduled Tribe. He told us thathe would get back to us on thematter, but never did,"Debbarma, who is also theassistant general secretary of the

party, told reporters.As Shah did not respond to

the IPFT request, the party wascompelled to take this decision,he said.

A five-member committeehas been formed with IPFTpresident NC Debbarma as thechairman to select candidatesfor the two seats and discuss themodalities of election cam-paign, he added.

BJP spokesperson AshokSinha, when asked about hisreaction to the IPFT move,said every political party has thefreedom to make a choice.

"It is up to the IPFT todecide what it wants to do forthe Lok Sabha polls. Everypolitical party is free to take itsown decision. However, when itcomes to the BJP, such decisionsare taken by the senior leadersin Delhi," Sinha added. PTI

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Shillong: BJP, which is backingthe NPP-led DemocraticAlliance Government inMeghalaya, on Tuesdayannounced that it will go alonein the upcoming Lok Sabhapolls and field candidates onthe two Parliamentary seats—Tura and Shillong.

The decision was taken ata meeting chaired by BJP gen-eral secretary in-charge ofNorth East, Ajay Jamuwal andattended by State party's lead-ers and workers here.

"We have decided in prin-ciple to contest the Lok Sabhaelections from both the parlia-mentary seats in Meghalaya,"BJP state leader and Cabinetminister AL Hek told reporters.

Hek said the election com-mittee will be constituted soonfor inviting application fromaspiring candidates for the twoseats.

According to BJP minister,a delegation of the state partywill also be meeting the nation-al president Amit Shah toinform him about the Tuesday'sdecision.

He said that so far aroundfour-five candidates havealready approached the partyfor tickets, but the decision onthe matter will be taken by thestate election committee.

The announcement cameafter the MDA partners failed

to decide consensus candidateon both the constituencies,Hek said.

The UDP, the leadingregional party supporting theMDA Government, hadannounced its general secretaryJemino Mawthoh as the can-didate. However, other region-al parties like the HSPDP, PDFand the KHNAM are yet tomake public if they support theidea or not.

"We are confident to winboth the seats. The BJP washaving only two MPs in 1984but now it is the biggest partyin the country," he said, whilereacting to a query on poorperformance of the party in the2018 Assembly polls.

BJP state president ShibunLyngdoh said that the partyearlier thought of supportingand had waited for the MDA topropose the consensus candi-dates but nothing happened tillTuesday.

Facing tough questionsfrom natives on CitizenshipAmendment Bill and the beefban politics, the BJP did notfield candidates in the February27 tribal council elections.

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Adalaj (Guj): Asking theGovernment to account for itswork has now become a trendin the country, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi said here onTuesday.

The BJP-led Governmentaims to empower society toconduct more social works, hesaid, after the 'pran-pratistha'(idol installation) ceremony atthe newly-built AnnapurnaDham temple here.

"There is a recent trend ofpeople expecting that every-thing has to be done by theGovernment. They also seekanswers from the Governmentfor the works that are notdone. This was not a traditionin our country," he said.

The society used to builddharmshalas (guest houses),gaushala (cow shelters), waterponds and libraries, he said.

"All these used to be con-structed by society's strength.Slowly, knowingly or unknow-ingly, this activity of the soci-ety was suppressed and thestate took the role of carryingout social work," Modi said.

"Our attempt is (to ensure)

that the state should do theadministrative work, and soci-ety should be empowered so itcan carry out such socialworks beneficial for people atlarge," he said after the cere-mony at the temple set up byLeuva Patels, a sub-caste of thePatidar community. The primeminister said it was the LeuvaPatel community, led byIndia's first Home ministerSardar Vallabhbhai Patel,which started the Amul move-

ment and benefited peoplecoming from all castes andclasses in the villages ofGujarat.

"Sardar Patel should not beseen from the prism of caste.He was a tall world leader. His'Statue of Unity' (in Gujarat'sNarmada district) is theworld's tallest statue, and Idon't think we can break thisrecord," he said.

"Who started the AmulDairy? For our understanding,

they were all Leuva Patels...Theleaders of our communitywho founded Amul benefitedpeople from all communi-ties," he said.

Modi said he would likethis trust (of the AnnapurnaDham) to set up food pro-cessing units and develop ascientific method of food pro-cessing.

"We should work on foodprocessing on a large scale andconduct research in the sector.I would like people from theindustry to think in this direc-tion," he said.

He suggested the templetrust to gift plants to devoteesso they stay like "God's bless-ings" after growing up.

After the birth of a daugh-ter in a Leuva Patel family, itsmembers should be encour-aged to visit the AnnapurnaDham to seek the Goddess'blessings, he said.

The family should begiven five plants of best woodquality for making furniture,and government's help shouldbe sought for land to growthem, he said. PTI

Jammu: A soldier was injuredon Tuesday as Pakistan againviolated ceasefire by resortingto unprovoked mortar shellingand firing of small arms on for-ward posts and villages at twoplaces along the Line of Controlin Jammu & Kashmir, officialssaid.

The unprovoked firingfrom across the border tookplace in Nowshera sector inRajouri district and KrishnaGhati in Poonch district,prompting effective retaliationby the Indian Army, a defencespokesman said.

Official sources said asepoy, guarding a forward postin Kalal area of Nowshera sec-tor, suffered a bullet injury inthe firing from across the bor-

der and was subsequentlyadmitted to a hospital.

The defence spokesmansaid Pakistani troopers firsttargeted forward posts and vil-lages in Nowshera around11:30 am and the cross-borderskirmishes continued for sometime.

Pakistani army also initi-ated shelling with mortars andsmall arms in Krishna Ghati

sector around 6pm, thespokesman said.

He said the Indian Armyretaliated strongly but the casu-alties on the Pakistani sidecould not be known immedi-ately.

There has been a spurt inceasefire violation by Pakistanafter India's air strike at Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist campin Balakot on February 26 in apreemptive action followingthe February 14 suicide bomb-ing in Pulwama in which 40CRPF personnel were killed.

Four civilians, includingthree members of a family, werekilled and several othersinjured in over 60 ceasefire vio-lations by Pakistan along theLoC last week. PTI

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Ahmedabad: Congress law-maker from Gujarat BhagvanBarad has been disqualified asan MLA following his convic-tion in an illegal mining case,state Assembly Speaker RajendraTrivedi said on Tuesday.

The Opposition Congresshas termed the move "political-ly motivated" and said it wouldapproach court over theSpeaker's move and also holdprotests. A court in Gir-Somnath district last Fridayawarded Barad a jail term of twoyears and nine months in a 24-year-old case of illegal mining.

The 60-year-old Congressleader won from Talala seat inGir-Somnath in the 2017Assembly polls. PTI

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Still to find a berth, theO p p o s i t i o n

“Mahaghatbandhan” in theState, Maharashtra NavnirmanSena (MNS) chief RajThackeray may spell out hisparty’s stand whether it will bea part of the Opposition front orgo it alone in the polls, at hisparty’s 13th foundation dayhere on March 9.

Raj — whose party has notso far come to an electoralunderstanding with any politi-cal party despite his desperateefforts to hitch a ride on theOpposition bandwagon for theforthcoming Lok Sabha polls –will unveil the MNS' road mapfor the forthcoming Lok Sabhapolls and the subsequent StateAssembly polls at the partyrally on Saturday. In its effort towhip up enthusiasm amongthe cadres ahead of the party’s

foundation day rally to be heldat the Rangsharda auditorium atBandra in north-west Mumbai,the MNS has gone to town withteasers in the social media,exhorting the party workers tobe ready for a “surgical strike”from its president, at Saturday’srally. Notwithstanding theefforts made by Raj to jumponto the Opposition bandwag-on ahead of the Lok Sabha polls,there is still uncertainty onwhether the MNS will be admit-ted into the Opposition“Mahaghatbandhan”.

Between the two main con-stituents of the“Mahaghatbandhan”, the NCPhas evinced interest in takingthe MNS into the Oppositionfold, while the Congressstaunchly opposed the RajThackeray-led party’s inclusionin the Opposition front.

It may be recalled that for-mer deputy chief minister andsenior NCP leader Ajit Pawarhad on February 12 made astrong case for MNS’ inclusionin the “Mahaghatbandhan” toensure consolidation of theOpposition votes.

Subsequently, MaharashtraCongress president AshokChavan said that his party hadconveyed to its ally NCP that itcould not come to an under-standing “covertly or overtly”with the MNS to include it inthe “Mahaghatbandhan” cob-bled up for the forthcoming LokSabha polls. Chavan’s statement

came in the backdrop of thehints thrown by the NCP thatit would offer the Kalyan LokSabha seat to the MNS.

Talking to media persons,Chavan had said that theCongress would not “tolerate”any move by the NCP to forgea seat-sharing arrangementwith the MNS “either overtly orcovertly”.

The Congress’ hesitationto take the MNS into the“Mahaghatbandhan” stemsfrom the fact it fears that thepresence of the Raj Thackeray-led party in the Oppositionfront might erode its north-Indian vote bank.

Though he sought to mendhis ways by participating in anorth-Indian conventionrecently, Raj has been targetingthe north-Indians settled inMumbai ever since he quit theShiv Sena and founded theMNS on March 9, 2006.

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Lucknow: The Rashtriya LokDal will contest three LokSabha seats as part of analliance with the SP and theBSP, Samajwadi Party chiefAkhilesh Yadav said onTuesday and asserted that theCongress was "very much" partof their "mahagatbandhan" inUttar Pradesh.

Addressing a press confer-ence with RLD leader JayantChaudhary, son of partyfounder Ajit Singh, Yadav saidthe RLD, which has politicalinfluence in western UttarPradesh, would contestMathura, Baghpat andMuzaffarnagar Lok Sabha seats.

After repeated questions byreporters at the press confer-ence, the SP chief said theCongress was "very much inthe alliance".

"We have left two seats(Amethi and Rae Bareli) for theparty (Congress)," he said.

Amethi is represented byCongress president RahulGandhi and Rae Bareli byUnited Progressive Alliance

chairperson Sonia Gandhi.Yadav said the alliance

partners will jointly take on theBJP in Lok Sabha polls inUttar Pradesh.

Chowdhury said that thisalliance is a "Sangam of ide-ologies and parties" and addedthat for him, "relations areimportant".

BSP chief Mayawati andSP's Yadav had jointlyannounced their alliance inJanuary, saying the SP and theBSP will contest 38 seats eachout of the total 80 in UttarPradesh.

However, according to a list

released later, the SPannounced it will contest 37seats and the BSP 38.

On Feb 21, over a monthafter the SP-BSP alliance wasannounced, Samajwadi Partyfounder Mulayam Singh Yadavmade it clear that he was upsetwith the tie-up, questioningwhy Akhilesh Yadav gave "half "of the total seats in UP toMayawati's party.

The remarks had comedays after the SP patriarch cre-ated a stir in Parliament, say-ing he wished that PrimeMinister Narendra Modireturns to power. PTI

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Dhubri (Assam): Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh onTuesday said the Governmentdoes not have the number ofJaish-e-Mohammed terroristskilled in the IAF strike inPakistan's Balakot and attackedthose questioning its veracity,insisting people who do that areindulging in politics over thevalour of the armed forces.

He said the number of fatal-ities at the JeM terror trainingcamp will be known some day.

Singh, however, claimedthat the National TechnicalResearch Organisation (NTRO)has informed the security estab-lishment about the presence ofaround 300 "active" mobilephones at the training camp sitebefore the IAF bombing.

Charging the oppositionwith doing politics over the"valour and sacrifice" of defencepersonnel, the minister advisedthe Congress, which beendemanding proof of the retal-iatory assault and casualties inthe aftermath of the Pulwamasuicide bombing that left 40CRPF men dead, to go toPakistan and count the bodiesif they indeed wanted to ascer-tain the number of fatalities.

"Some leaders of otherpolitical parties are asking usquestions about how many ter-rorists were killed in the IAFstrike. Some day, it will beknown that how many were

killed. Leaders in Pakistanknow in their hearts how manyperished in the IAF attack,"Singh told a public gathering

after inaugurating an electron-ic border guarding project ofthe BSF on the Indo-Bangladesh border here. He

mocked the opposition over itsdemand for the number offatalities, wondering why itsleaders were asking "kitnemare, kitne mare?" (how manywere killed?)" "Should our AirForce personnel count the bod-ies after the attack — 1, 2, 3, 4,5...? What is this joke," heasked. The Home Ministerreferred to Indian Air Forcechief B S Dhanoa's media inter-action on Monday where he saidthe force does not count bodiesand is concerned only aboutwhether the target was hit.

Sidestepping a ragingdebate on the number of casu-alties in the Balakot strike,Dhanoa had said it was for thegovernment to provide detailsof the terrorists. PTI

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Dhubri (Assam): Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh onTuesday said illegal immigrantswill not be treated inhumanlyand the Government will speakto the neighbouring country tofind a way out to handle theissue.

Singh said the governmentwill not treat anyone coming toIndia, whether legally or ille-gally, in an inhuman manner asit is not part of Indian culture.

"For those coming to India

illegally, we will talk to theneighbouring country and seewhat can be done humanly. Wedo not do inhuman treatmentto anyone," he said addressingthe public after inaugurating aborder project by the BSF,without naming the country.

Hinting his support to thecontentious citizenship bill,he said all people coming toIndia from Pakistan,Afghanistan and Bangladeshdue to religious persecution

will be treated with "humanbehaviour".

The Citizenship(Amendment) Bill, which waspassed by Lok Sabha on January8 but was not tabled in RajyaSabha, seeks to provide Indiancitizenship to Hindus, Jains,Christians, Sikhs, Buddhistsand Parsis from Bangladesh,Pakistan and Afghanistan aftersix years of residence in Indiaeven if they do not possess anydocument. PTI

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Barmer: The marriage of a 23-year-old Indian groom with aPakistani bride scheduled to beheld later this week has beendeferred due to the lingeringtension between the two coun-tries following the IAF's airstrike on a Jaish terror facilityat Balakot in KhyberPakhtunkhwa.

Mahendra Singh of Khejadka Par village here was tomarry Chagan Kanwar of Sinoivillage in Amarkot district ofSindh province in Pakistan onMarch 8.

The groom and his familymembers were to take a trainto Pakistan on March 2 itself,but the tickets had to be can-celled amid the lingering Indo-Pak-tension.

"Considering the tensionbetween India and Pakistan,the family decided to call offthe marriage for now andcancelled the train tickets.My Pakistani in-laws tooagreed to the decision. Thefamily is waiting for the situ-ation to normalise,” saidMahendra.

He said six family mem-bers had got visa for Pakistanfor three months in Januaryafter lot of hitches and prepa-rations were on for the weddingceremony for which even theinvitation cards had been dis-tributed. PTI

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Chennai: Defence MinisterNirmala Sitharaman said onTuesday the Indian Air Forcestrike that destroyed a Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp inPakistan's Balakot area was "nota military action" as there wasno civilian casualty.

She also said ForeignSecretary Vijay Gokhale had notgiven any casualty figure in hismedia briefing after the airstrike and only gave a statementwhich is the government's "posi-tion".

Gokhale has said the non-military and preemptive strikeon the Jaish-e-Mohammedtraining camp killed a "verylarge number" of terrorists,trainers and senior comman-ders.

Sitharaman's remarks comeamid some Opposition leaderdemanding evidence about thenumber of terrorists killed in the

air strike.The IAF, which carried out

the strike on February 26, saidon Monday that governmentwould provide details on thecasualty figures as the Air Forceonly sees if a target has been hitor not.

On Tuesday, the defenceminister said, "There was noneed to analyse more on Balakotstrike" as she declined to link theair strike on terror camp withthe coming Lok Sabha election.

"After Pulwama attack, wewere waiting patiently for days...When we got information theterrorist attacks were originat-ing from that region (Pakistan),without military action, we car-ried out the strike pointedly," shetold reporters here on the side-lines of the launch of PradhanMantri Shram Yogi Maandhan(PMSYM), a pension scheme.

"Civilians in the vicinity or

surrounding areas were notaffected in any way, so we havebeen saying the strike we carriedout after Pulwama suicidebombing was not a militaryaction," she added.

On February 14, a suicidebomber of the Pakistan-basedJeM group rammed an explo-sives-laden vehicle into a bus inJammu and Kashmir's Pulwamadistrict, killing 40 CentralReserve Police Force personnel.

Sitharaman said Pakistanhas failed to take action againstterror groups despite India pro-viding details of terrorist train-ing camps.

"Pakistan has beeninformed about terrorist camps,with proof, by the present(NDA) and previous UPAGovernment. But they neithertook action, nor did theyremove the terrorist trainingcamps." PTI

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Agartala: Union Minister VijayGoel on Tuesday said the airstrike by the IAF on the train-ing camp of Jaish-e-Mohammedin Pakistan's Balakot was inresponse to the Pulwama terrorattack. "This for the first time theCentre has responded to terrorstrikes by giving a befittingreply which was possible due tothe will power and vision ofPrime Minister NarendraModi," he told reporters here.

The Union Minister of Statefor Statistics and ProgrammeImplementation claimed thatPrime Minister Narendra Modiwould return to power andform the government for thesecond time. "Modi is guidingall developmental activities inthe country in one hand andalso giving stern and promptreply to terrorism on the otherhand," Goel said. PTI

Bengaluru: Amid the continu-ing uncertainty about JD(S)patriarch HD Deve Gowda’schoice of constituency for thecoming Lok Sabha electrions,there is growing demand with-in the party that he contestfromMysore-Kodagu seat.

"...Deve Gowda has himselfsaid Prajwal will contest fromHassan and Nikhil will contestfrom Mandya. We want DeveGowda to contest fromMysuru.. We have said thisearlier also in public meeting,"Mysuru district in-chargeMinister and JD(S) leader G TDeve Gowda said.

Prajwal and Nikhil areDeve Gowda's grandsons.

Speaking to reporters, theMinister said, the former prime

Minister had an affectionaterelationship with the people ofMysuru, who have recognisedthe developments in the irriga-tion sector in the region ush-ered in by him.

"If there is alliance betweenCongress and JD(S), H D DeveGowda should be candidatethat's the wish of the people," hesaid adding there was no othername, and "we have requestedhim," the Minister said.

Demand for the JDSsupremo to contest from Mysore-Kodagu con-stituency resurfaced, with himindicating on Sunday thatCM Kumaraswamys sonNikhil Kumaraswamy waslikely to be the candidatefrom Mandya. PTI

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Kolkata: The BJP on Tuesdayaccused the TrinamoolCongress Government in WestBengal of unleashing atrocitiesduring motorbike rallies heldacross the State on Sunday aspart of the saffron party's pub-lic outreach programme.

Over 3,500 party workershave been detained for takingpart in the 'Sankalp Yatra'motor cycle rallies, he said.

An unspecified number ofBJP workers and policemenwere injured in clashes in sev-eral districts of the state Sundayafter the authorities preventedthe rallies saying they had notbeen granted permissionbecause of the ongoing school

board examinations.Addressing a press meet

here, BJP state president DilipGhosh said, "The TMC gov-ernment has throttled alldemocratic principles and tra-ditions by preventing our ral-lies in recent times. The inci-dents happened during theSankalp Yatra rallies is themost recent example."

The Sankalp Yatra bike rally is part of the BJP'scountrywide pre-poll exerciseto establish contact with thepeople.

Ghosh claimed that around 60-70 BJP activistswere injured in the attack bythe TMC's goons and police-men as party workers were"peacefully" bringing out therallies in different parts ofState on March 3.

"This shows the frustrationand desperation of the TMC

and how scared they havebecome of the BJP," he said.

Asked about report of afarmer's death in the state on Monday, Ghosh said, "TheState Government wants tosuppress the unnatural death ofa farmer. It wants to pass off thesuicide of a farmer as due to ail-ments. It does not want to facethe truth."

He claimed that 5 lakhmetric tonnes of potatoremained unsold in the State, but the TMCGovernment is doing nothingto address the issue and helpthe potato growers.

To a question about reportsof WBCS officers to be givenflats by the Government,Ghosh said, "The decision hadbeen made two years back, butthe Government is announcingit only now, just before the elec-tions." PTI

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:�#������9������&������������ ��������"����(����&������9�)�!�����*<:����Kolkata: Hitting out at the BJPfor allegedly politicising the airstrike in Pakistan, theTrinamool Congress onTuesday said it was trying toreplace the Ashoka emblem onthe uniform of armed forceswith party logo.

The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) should stop taking creditfor the preemptive strike on ter-ror camps in Pakistan as armedforces belong to India, not to thesaffron party, TrinamoolCongress national spokespersonDerek O'Brien said.

"The BJP is shamelesslytrying to replace the AshokStambh (emblem) on the armedforces' uniform, with their partylogo. Not a single opposition

leader has politicised theairstrike, it was just the BJP whodid it.

"The armed forces areIndia's pride. We are always withthem, but we will oppose theincumbent government, whoseexpiry date is over," O'Brien,who is also the TMC parlia-

mentary party leader in RajyaSabha, said.

BJP national presidentAmit Shah said on Saturdaythat those who did not havecourage to avenge the killing ofsoldiers, when in power, wereraising doubts on the recent airstrike on Jaish-e-Mohammedcamps for "cheap politics" andtheir statements have madePakistan happy.

Two days before Shah'sassertion, West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee haddemanded evidence of theIndian Air Force (IAF) airstrike.

She also said that the oppo-sition parties wanted to knowthe details of the operation. PTI

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Nagpur: An 85-year-oldfarmer from Nagpur district inMaharashtra allegedly com-mitted suicide last week by set-ting his crop on fire and jump-ing into it, police said onTuesday.

Police suspect the farmer,Gopal Jaane took the extremestep due to recurring healthissues.

The incident occurred onMarch 1 evening when Jaaneallegedly set the pigeon pea cropon fire at his farm in Madna vil-lage, and jumped into it, an offi-

cial release stated.When contacted,

Jalalkheda police stationinspector GR Tambe said, "Asper preliminary investigation,the deceased farmer had somehealth issues. He was sufferingfrom a kidney problem".

Quoting villagers and kinof Jaane, the police officer saidthe farmer had tried to killhimself in the past as well.

Police are awaiting post-mortem report, and have reg-istered a case of accidentaldeath. PTI

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@�� ���������������������!��+������� �!������� �Jaipur: Rajasthan Congress

chief Sachin Pilot said on onTuesday the party will contestall 25 Lok Sabha seats in theState in the upcoming elec-tions.

"Selection of nominees isin the final stage and a lot willbe clear after the screeningcommittee meeting on March8 in New Delhi," Pilot toldreporters.

He said the selection ofcandidate would be done onthe basis of feedback of partyworkers, hard work andwinnability. The party is of theopinion to find nominees otherthan the family members of

leaders, sitting MPs and MLAsand those who lost elections inthe past.

However, the choice ofparty workers and people andwinnability of the candidateswould be considered, he added.

He said the Congress hasbeen contesting on all seats inthe state and will do so thistime as well to secure a win inthe upcoming Lok Sabha elec-tions.

A panel of three candidateswill be sent to the party's cen-tral committee to finalise thenames, he said.

Pilot attacked the incum-bent BJP-led government at the

Centre, saying the Congress iscontesting the election todefeat the "forces that haveweakened and hollowed demo-cratic institutions in the pastfive years".

"So, it is an importantelection for us," he said.

The BJP won all 25 seats inRajasthan in the 2014 generalelections.

On the Indian Air Forceair strike at a Jaish terror campin Balakot of Pakistan, Pilotsaid the action on terroristfacility was a matter of pridefor India and "it is not right toraise question on valour of thesecurity forces". PTI

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Page 8: 01 ˘ˇˆ˙ ˇ˝˛˚˜ !ˆ #ˇ ˆ˝#˜˘$!#%%#˜˛ˆ˙ %#˙ ˝%...rific scale of the extremist attack in J&K about three weeks ago. This violence was perpetrated by extremists aided

It was way back in October, 1973, thatmembers of the Organisation of ArabPetroleum Exporting Countries(OAPEC) imposed an embargo on oilsupplies to certain nations, which was

in retaliation against the Yom Kippur War.This caused enormous turmoil in the glob-al oil market and the US, which was heavilydependent on oil imports, was particularlybadly affected. Its production declined rapid-ly in earlier years, to compensate for which,imports grew substantially. In 1973, forinstance, the US imported 6.2 million barrelsper day of oil (mbd), compared to 3.2 mbdin 1970. While there was considerable panicamong these major importers of oil, leadingto a serious economic crisis, most of thesecountries were able to recover within a rea-sonable period of time. For instance, PresidentRichard Nixon introduced the CorporateAverage Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards forautomobiles in the US, which in the short runincreased their average fuel efficiency and withincrease in petro-dollars, countries like SaudiArabia imported large quantities of capitalequipment and services from the US at inflat-ed prices, thereby leading to a balance in trade.

What is now ironic is the fact that theUS has emerged as the largest producer ofoil in the world. There are serious issuesrelated to the production of shale oil butwhat has contributed to this phenomenalincrease in the US’ oil production is theincrease in shale, which during the mid-dle of 2018, reached a total of 11 mbd,including both conventional and shale pro-duction. When Saudi Arabia was thelargest producer of oil in the past, thatcountry and, in general, the OPEC nations,had regularly dictated terms to the rest ofthe world in respect of oil prices. Ironically,it is now the US which has enhanced itsinfluence. US President Donald Trumpstated recently, “Oil prices are getting toohigh. OPEC, please relax and take it easy.World cannot take a price hike — fragile!”How much this warning will be heeded isanother matter. Indeed, a country like Indiais very vulnerable to the impacts of highoil prices on its economy, and in recentmonths, the decline in the value of theIndian rupee is a direct reflection of glob-al oil prices. There are, of course, majorissues related to India’s hydrocarbon poli-cies, which need detailed discussion andserious reflection, but we may first dealwith alarming trends at the global level.Historically, there has never been a trad-ed commodity which has influenced theglobal economy and its distribution as thecase of oil.

What is particularly disturbing is the factthat the global demand for oil in October,2018, was 101.1 mbd, which is substantiallyhigher than projections made in the past. Thisfigure clearly exceeds consumption of oil asfossil fuels committed by nationalGovernments in their Nationally DeterminedContributions (NDCs) under the Paris agree-

ment. Since the last century,there has been a huge increase inthe consumption of fossil fuelsand allied economic activities.The result is, therefore, a signif-icant increase in the emissions ofgreenhouse gases (GHGs) dur-ing 2018. Clearly, there are vest-ed interests that would want toprolong the era of oil and max-imise profits from existingreserves and new discoveries.

Curiously, it was a formerSaudi oil Minister, SheikhYamani, who is reported to havesaid that “the stone age did notend because there were nostones”. Yet, in the case of oil,clearly, the oil age is not endingbecause there is still the lure ofoil under the ground and withthe oil industry, the automobileindustry, the highway lobby andothers benefitting perpetuallyfrom the consumption of oil.They, thus, resist any move tolower carbon sources of energywith all the power and moneythat they have. India, unfortu-nately, is no exception to thistrend because our transport pol-icy, which is moving rapidlytowards vehicular transporta-tion, is totally dependent on oilimports, which jeopardise oureconomy and foreign exchangeoutflow. And our efforts to dealwith climate change are, there-fore, unlikely to succeed fully.

The knowledge about cli-

mate change has been around fora long time now, including oneof the earliest efforts by SvanteArrhenius, a Swedish scientistwho won the Nobel Prize in1903, but the euphoria andromance with the internal com-bustion engine has completelyignored the warning of scientistsover the years.

The IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change (IPCC)was established in 1988. It notonly gets the best scientists of theworld mobilised to provide theirtime and talent on a voluntarybasis, but their reports areapproved and accepted by all theGovernments of the world. Yet,the fossil fuel lobby in most coun-tries continues to look the otherway when it comes to assessingthe risks and damage from thegrowing impacts of climatechange. Efforts to convert thosein power and involved in ener-gy decisions have generallyproved futile.

This writer was the presidentof the International Associationfor Energy Economics in 1988,when during the annual interna-tional conference of that body, asix-point programme of actionwas proposed to reduce thegrowing burden on the environ-ment due to the use of fossil fuelslike coal, thereby saving theworld from excessive levels ofcarbon dioxide. It was also pro-

posed in this conference that aglobal dialogue between northand south be held to reduce lev-els of carbon dioxide on an equi-table basis. Indeed, such a dia-logue commenced in 1992 withthe acceptance of the UNFramework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC) byall the countries of the world.Yet, it is unfortunate that after aquarter century of the existenceof this convention, GHG emis-sions continue to grow.Technology, which should havebeen directed to the develop-ment of low carbon energy sup-ply and possibly intensive devel-opment of carbon capture andstorage technologies, has gonetowards production of shale oiland fracking technologies forproduction of natural gas. Someof these not only have seriousenvironmental problems at thelocal level but contribute signif-icantly to emissions of GHGs.The question remains whetherlike the stone age ending, weneed to end the era of oil evenif there are reserves under theground. Or do we continue witheconomic disruption, inequitabledistribution of income andwealth and dangerous levels ofclimate change for the comfortand prosperity of a few?

(The writer is former chair-man, Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change, 2002-15)

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Sir — It is a sorry spectacle to wit-ness that both the BJP and theOpposition have been tradingcharges against each other topoliticise the Pulwama terrorattack and the subsequent hero-ic act by our Air Force. All of thisto score brownie points ahead ofthe Lok Sabha poll. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hasbeen attacking the Nehru-Gandhifamily at almost every platformwith choicest slogans and words.

Both parties are just interest-ed in catching votes, caring littlefor national security, which isunder threat from India’s enemies.It is high time that they maintainrestraint during their campaigns.

KR SrinivasanSecunderabad

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Sir — It is distressing that a newstudy has found that seven of thetop 10 most polluted cities in theworld are in India. It is a matter ofconcern that Gurugram, locatedsouthwest of India’s capital NewDelhi, led all cities in pollution lev-els in 2018, even as its score

improved from the previous year,according to data released by IQAirAirVisual and Greenpeace. Threeother Indian cities joined Faisalabadand Pakistan in the top five. The ill-effects of pollution are grave. It isalso known that only a healthy gen-eration can make a nation healthy.But when will India’s war on air pol-lution finally begin?

Muhammad ZaidRamanagara

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Sir — Indian Air Force (IAF)chief BS Dhanoa has made itamply clear that the Air Force’sduty is to only see if a target hasbeen hit or not. That it isn’t itsresponsibility to provide thedetails on the number of terror-ists killed during an operation.That is the job of the

Government. Dhanoa is absolutely right to

say so but it is a reality that in awar, there is no a feeling of com-passion and nobody wins at all.War is a battle waged betweentwo or more nations where rag-ing revenge prevails. Can a nationreally win a war? Certainly not.War always kills people, which isnot a happy thing. So, in the inter-est of the mankind, nations must

stop using force to kill people. As human beings march for-

ward from barbarianism to acivilised world, war is sure toelude us and ultimately, perfectpeace and harmony would cometo stay. Once we stop earmarkingthe budgetary allocation of astro-nomical amount for defence, wewill have the sure chance ofspending a whopping amount forthe welfare of people. Let us alllook forward to such a peacefuland prosperous world sans war.

TK NandananChennai

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Sir — The air strikes betweenIndia and Pakistan and the con-sequent capture and release of theIndian pilot may just have post-poned a war between the twocountries. It will, however, benaive to think that Islamabad willdesist from performing anti-India activities. It will be inIndia’s best interest to co-opt thelocal populace in Kashmir.

ShivanshVia email

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Picking undervalued stocks requires bothquantitative and qualitative analysis.Quantitative factors use more of numbers

and can be analysed through a ratio analysisor other valuation methods. On the otherhand, qualitative factors are important to iden-tify fundamentally strong companies and thequality of the stock, beyond numbers.Although these factors are very crucial for busi-ness valuation, they are very difficult toquantify. However, no company can ignorethem as they are, sometimes, tangible. At thesame time, they can be intangible, too, as theyare the imperatives for valuation of a compa-ny. They provide a range of important infor-mation that factors both the financial statementanalysis and valuation process. They also oftenidentify important catalysts for the upward ordownward movement of stocks in the future.

Qualitative factors can be internal (com-pany-related) or external (industry-related).There are different ways to make an analysisthat has a significant bearing on the fundamen-tal analysis: The business model, competitiveadvantage, customer base and management aswell as corporate governance.

The core business model: It is importantto understand what the company does and howit generates value for its customers. For somefirms this is easy because they sell food or man-ufacture something simple. For example, if youlook at the business model of KFC, one willnotice that it sells delicious chicken burgers,chicken roasts, many varieties of mouth-lick-ing chicken and veg recipes. Their businessmodel is very easy to follow. An investor knowsthat this is how KFC makes money. Othertimes, it is more complicated. Therefore, it isimperative to first know the business modelof a company and then conduct due diligence— find out its history, revenue generationmodel, how it got started, how long the com-pany has been in the market, what is the rev-enue and profit margin maintained by them.

Customers and Geographic exposure: Aninvestor must identify if the firm has a few largecustomers or a very fragmented customer base.It is also essential to know how the firm isviewed by the customers — as a value or pre-mium brand? Is it consistent with the qualityof its product? Does it deliver on time? And arethe products fairly priced? Some companiesserve only a handful of customers while oth-ers serve millions. In general, it’s a red flag (anegative) if a business relies on a small num-ber of customers for a large portion of its salesbecause the loss of each customer could dra-matically affect revenues. Further one mustknow the geographic sales breakdown — eacheconomy has different growth rates and criti-cal factors that may require additional research.

Competitive advantage: Before an investorevaluates a company in quantitative terms andjudges it on the basis of figures, he/she needsto find out what’s the competitive advantage ofthe firm? This is important because withoutcompetitive advantage, competition increasesand profit margins decrease or disappear. Forexample, if a company sells online, its logisticscan be its competitive advantage, which can help

it reach its customers superfast and delivergoods/products faster than its competitors. Asan investor, one needs to think about the com-petitive advantage or lack of it before investing.Because competitive advantage is the soleingredient of producing astounding or mediocreresults. For example, while for Intel, Research& Development and size maybe advantageous,for Wal-Mart, it’s their industry leading logis-tics along with size that provide them leverageover suppliers.

Quality of management: One of themost important factors of any business is thequality of management in the company. If themanagement is motivated enough to steer thecompany toward its summit, it would be agigantic force and it would always find a wayeven amid greatest economic turndowns. Agood management team can make a big dif-ference, especially when a business is in a chal-lenging environment or still developing indus-try. Checking management comments in thefinancials can reveal if a team is hitting tar-gets and has had successful strategy in the past.So before investing in a company, having acheck on management quality is of utmostimportance.

Corporate governance: In simple terms,corporate governance is the holy grail of a sus-tainable business. If corporate governance ofa business is not in order, the entire businesswill crumble sooner or later. So, an investorshould check out the corporate governance ofa company and look out for three things: Arethe rules of the company aligned with the firm’smission and vision?; is the company servingeach and every stakeholder well?; and is itlegally compliant with the Government’s poli-cies? If the answer to these questions is a ‘yes’,usually, the company is pretty good at corpo-rate governance.

Externally, industry related factors that aninvestor should look out for are:

Industry growth trends: If an industry isexpected to decline by five per cent, it is hardto forecast a company in it to grow at 10 percent. Knowing the industry trends and cycleis critical factors in modelling companygrowth. Look at the historic data along withforecasts from competitors and trade groups.

Market share: A company can be thelargest player in an industry, a small, up andcoming firm or a niche player. Gaining or los-ing market share is a growth factor to consid-er, know what trends are driving the stocksgains or losses. Good market research helpuncover these trends.

Competition: Identifying the closest com-petitor is very important. Often times, thecompetitive position determines pricing powerand margins. Also, conduct market researchto track competitors and search for actions thatare disruptive such as a new product launch,discounting or strategic shift.

Regulatory authorities: External regula-tors are impactful for some firms. Knowingwho plays key roles and issues critical legis-lation or rulings is critical.

Disruptive Technologies: Technologiescan shape or break a company. Look for dis-ruptive technologies that have shaped theindustry altogether. And then see whether thecompany you are evaluating is using thosetechnologies or not. In this age of continuousadvancement of technologies, only disruptiveones make any progress.

These are the ten mantras that can help aninvestor look more than just numbers like prof-its and sales that can help them make aninformed decision based on the quality of stock.

(The writer is Assistant Professor, Amity University)

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After the Pulwama terrorattack on February 14 andIndia’s subsequent retalia-

tion to it, poll issues seem to havechanged overnight. It is clear nowthat issues like the Rafale scam, job-lessness, rural and farm crisis,among others have taken a back seatas the terror narrative is giving anadvantage to the ruling BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. Whetherthe issue will help them garner votesor not is a different question alto-gether.

However, the party at the helmoften stands benefited when deal-ing with a war-like situation because

of the surcharged atmosphere in thecountry. A muscular policy is whatthey want. This happened duringthe 1971 Bangladesh war when thethen Prime Minister Indira Gandhiwon kudos all around.

The planning for the coup tookalmost from April to December,1971. It was such a closely keptsecret that even US Secretary ofState Henry Kissinger did not get ahint about it when he met IndiraGandhi in July 1971. US PresidentRichard Nixon was so upset that hecalled Indira Gandhi “a witch anda bitch”.

Former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee, too, got the nation’ssupport during the Kargil war andhis party, the BJP, won the LokSabha poll in 1999; although it didnot increase the party’s seat tally.The BJP went all-out to propagatethe Kargil victory; though it wasknown that de-escalation cameonly after the intervention of thethen US President, Bill Clinton, whowas keen to avert a war between thetwo nuclear powers.

Now, it is the turn of Prime

Minister Modi to claim victory;although it is clear that both Indiaand Pakistan have cooled downafter pressure from the US andother international powers, whoadvised both countries to avertany kind of escalation. The BJPbelieves that Modi’s chances ofreturning to power are much moreafter the Balakot airstrikes as he hasbeen able to send an effective sig-nal to the country that he is a strongleader.

Prior to Pulwama, Modi was ina vulnerable position politically,particularly after the major debaclein the three Hindi heartland Statesof Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh last December. Theelection results sent the messageclear that people were slowly gettingdisenchanted with the ModiGovernment for not fulfilling thetall promises on job creation andagrarian crisis. Anti-incumbencyhad to be countered.

However, all of these havechanged after Pulwama. Earlier,the BJP was thinking of making thebuilding of Ram Mandir in

Ayodhya as the main poll issue. TheRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS), which had been banking on‘temple’ plus ‘cow’ narrative to lurethe voters, has now changed itsfocus to prioritise terrorism.

On February 22, at an RSSinternal meeting, it re-designedthe campaign to focus on the needfor a stable Government to dealwith terror.

Second, the BJP is attempting atinvoking nationalism after theattack, making use of the simmer-ing anger against Pakistan withinthe country. With the Balakotairstrikes, Prime Minister Modihas locked his political script for the2019 polls. He had used the ‘MiaMusharraf ’ narrative even duringhis 2002 Gujarat campaign success-fully to polarise the electorate. Theparty is propagating the achieve-ments of the strong Prime Ministerand his muscular policy.

Third, though the Opposition,including the Congress, came out insupport of the Government soonafter the Pulwama attack, theybegan to criticise Prime Minister

Modi within days. Now, both theBJP and the Opposition have beenaccusing each other of politicisingthe Pulwama issue in view of theelections. Around 21 oppositionparties last week issued a statementthat: “National security must tran-scend narrow political considera-tions.”

The Opposition has beenstumped by the BJP’s security nar-rative and has planned its own strat-egy to counter it. Congress insidersclaim that the Opposition has moreammunition to fire, most of themcreated by the BJP itself.

The first step is to raise doubtsabout the airstrike itself. TheCongress’ narrative is to shredModi’s claims into pieces and ques-tion the intelligence failure, asacknowledged by Jammu &Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik.

Already, multiple voices havequestioned Modi’s security strate-gy. West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee has questionedthe timing of the Pulwama attack,asking whether the Governmentwanted to go to war when the Lok

Sabha election was round the cor-ner. Other Opposition leaders havejoined the chorus.

The Opposition believes that itwould be difficult for PrimeMinister Modi and the BJP to sus-tain the momentum for the nexttwo months and it will have enoughtime to hit out.

Therefore, other issues likeRafale could come to the forefrontsooner than later. But it is a chal-lenge for the Opposition how tochange the national security narra-tive so soon and bring back the localand domestic issues and failures ofthe Modi Government.

The point is: Questioning theBJP’s national security narrativewould be risky. The Opposition hasto find other ways of restoring theprimacy of other issues like jobs.Whose narrative works will best beknown when the ballot boxes open.But the Opposition faces a toughchallenge of countering the com-municative strategy of the BJP.

(The writer is a senior politicalcommentator and syndicated columnist)

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Tasked with cleaning up ofmammoth financial mess at

embattled IL&FS, itsGovernment-appointed boardhas charged 14 former directorsof group firm IL&FS FinancialServices Ltd (IFIN) of facili-tating money laundering, sanc-tioning loans in violation ofrules and causing “huge finan-cial stress and losses” to thecompany.

In show-cause noticesissued to the 14 former direc-tors, the new management hascharged them of having “sanc-tioned loans deceptively toexternal and group companieswith sole objective to infringeRBI guidelines of excessiveexposure of IFIN to intra-group companies.”

They have also beenaccused of extending loans for“criminal intent of falsificationof repayment by a number ofborrowers, including someentities associated with largecorporate groups.

The notices, datedFebruary 27, have asked former

directors to reply within sevendays upon receipt as to whydepartmental and legal actionsshould not be taken againstthem for their “misconduct,dereliction of duties, gross neg-ligence and acts of conspiracyand getting unlawful gains foroneself and others.”

Officials said no reply hasbeen received from any of the14 noticees and the board is setto follow up the notices withstern action, which mayinclude filing of cases.

When contacted, IL&FS(Infrastructure Leasing andFinancial Services Ltd)spokesperson Sharad Goeldeclined to comment.

The notices follow anextensive special audit orderedby the new board and con-ducted by Grant Thornton ofcrisis-hit IL&FS Group, whichidentified numerous financialirregularities in deals withfinancial implications of over�13,000 crore.

IL&FS Group, which oper-ates at least 24 direct sub-sidiaries, 135 indirect sub-sidiaries, six joint ventures and

four associate companies, is sit-ting on debt of �94,000 croreand landed in a major contro-versy last year following mul-tiple defaults, prompting thegovernment to supercede itsboard.

The audit report has iden-tified at least 29 instanceswhere loans disbursed to bor-rowers appeared to have beenutilised by their group compa-nies to repay the existing debtobligations with IL&FSFinancial Services Limited(IFIN). LIC is the single largestshareholder with over 25 percent stake in IL&FS and Japan’sOrix Corp owns a little over 23per cent.

IL&FS Employees WelfareTrust holds 12 per cent in thecompany. The Abu DhabiInvestment Authority, HDFCand Central Bank of Indiahold 12.56 per cent, 9.02 percent and 7.67 per cent, respec-tively, in the cash-strappedcompany. SBI has the loweststake, at around 7 per cent, inthe company.

In the show-cause notice,former IFIN directors havebeen accused of sanctioningloans worth thousands ofcrores to certain entities by“overlooking negative assess-ment by the credit risk assess-ment group” and withoutrecording any cogent justifi-cation, despite having fullknowledge that the assets ofthe borrower entities werestressed.

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Indian equities benchmarkSensex on Tuesday surged

by nearly 379 points to closeat 36,442 on intense buyingmainly in auto, financial andenergy stocks amid easinggeo-political tensions andpositive macroeconomic out-look.

The NSE Nifty too rosenearly 124 points to close a tadbelow the psychological11,000-level.

Among the Sensex con-stituents, 23 stocks rose andseven counters fell.

Tata Motors led the Sensexchart with a rise of 7.72 percent, followed by HeromotoCorp 5.28 per cent and Axisbank 4.12 per cent.

The key BSE index was fur-ther lifted by ONGC, CoalIndia, Tata Steel, NTPC, Marutiand ICICI Bank — rising asmuch as 3.96 per cent.

Among the major Sensexlaggards, Infosys slipped 1.15per cent, HUL dropped 0.62per cent and TCS fell 0.19 percent. PowerGrid, LT, Yes Bankand HCL Tech were the otherlosers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, the country’sservices sector activity gatheredmomentum in February, drivenby a quicker expansion in newwork orders that supported afaster increase in output andjob creation, a monthly surveyshowed Tuesday.

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The rupee rebounded by 43paise to close at 70.49 against

the US dollar on Tuesday large-ly driven by positive macrodata and easing crude prices.

Forex traders said heavybuying in domestic equities andsustained foreign fund inflowsalso propped up the local unit.

At the Interbank ForeignExchange (forex) market, thedomestic unit opened slightlydown at 70.95.

During the day, the localunit, however, gathered momen-tum and rose to an intra-dayhigh of 70.43 before finally end-ing at 70.49, showing a gain of 43paise. The local unit had weak-ened by 20 paise to close at 70.92against the US dollar Friday.

The domestic forex marketand equity market were closedMonday on account ofMahashivratri.

Commenting on the appre-ciation in rupee, Sunil Sharma,Chief Investment Officer,Sanctum Wealth Managementsaid, “Over last one month theIndian rupee has appreciated1.5 per cent and is the best per-forming emerging market cur-rency”.

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IIFL Finance, India’s non-banking finance company, is

bringing exciting offers onGold Loan schemes by launch-ing its Gola Loan Mela from 1stMarch to 11th March 2019.

Gold Loan Mela offersattractive interest rate of 1% permonth along with commit-ment of quick processing ofloan in just 5 minutes, maxi-mum Loan value on Gold andeasy digital payment options.

This Mela also offersattractive prizes for customersunder the ‘Refer & Win’scheme. The Gold Loan Melais being held at more than 480IIFL branches in AndhraPradesh, Telangana, Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,Maharashtra and Goa.

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The World Bank will providea $250-million loan for the

National Rural EconomicTransformation Project(NRETP) to help women inrural households develop viableenterprises for farm and non-farm products.

An agreement in thisregard was signed between theWorld Bank and theGovernment of India onTuesday.

“A key focus of the projectwill be to promote women-owned and women-led farmand non-farm enterprisesacross value chains; enablethem to build businesses thathelp them access finance, mar-kets and networks; and gener-ate employment,” Wold Banksaid in a statement.

NRETP is an additionalfinancing to the $500-millionNational Rural LivelihoodsProject (NRLP) approved bythe World Bank in July 2011.

The $250 million loan hasa 5-year grace period, and afinal maturity of 20 years.

The NRLP, which is cur-rently being implementedacross 13 states, 162 districts

and 575 blocks, has so farmobilised more than 8.8 mil-lion women from poor ruralhouseholds into 7.5 lakh self-help groups (SHGs).

These SHGs have beenfurther federated into 48,700village organisations and 2,900cluster or gram panchayat-level federations.

While the 13 states willcontinue to be supported underthe new project signed onTuesday, 125 new districts willbe added from within thesestates, the release said.

Since its launch in 2011, theNational Rural LivelihoodsMission (NRLM) has mobilised50 million poor rural womeninto self-help groups and theirhigher-level federations.

According to the release,these groups have leveragednearly $30 billion from com-mercial banks.

The World Bank furthersaid the NERTP would supportenterprise development pro-grammes for rural poor womenand youth by creating a plat-form to access finance includ-ing start-up financing optionsto build their individual and/orcollectively owned and man-aged enterprises.

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Kundan Gold Refinery, aprivate gold refinery in

India, is expanding and enter-ing into an affordable gold jew-ellery segment by launching itsnew brand ‘Zeya by Kundan’ incollaboration with Swarovski.The Company has invested �60Cr in its expansion.

Zeya by Kundan will befirst of its kind hand-craftedgold jewellery adorned withcubic Zirconia from Swarovski.The jewellery range includespendants, rings for men andwomen.

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Keeping in view of Holi, theCentre on Tuesday fixed

sugar sale quota at 24.5 lakhtonne for March in the openmarket. It has also allocatedsugar quota for sale to each ofthe 524 mills in the country.Recently, mills were alsoadvised to go for advancebooking of sugar sales to bulkconsumers.

According to the Ministryof Food and Consumers’Affairs, the increase (in quotafor March) is attributable tovarious factors.

“There is a pattern of highsales/dispatches around thistime of the Year. Mills areallowed to sell sugar at a min-imum selling price of �31 perkg. The rate was increasedrecently from �29 per kg tohelp mills realise maximumrevenue and clear cane pricearrears of farmers”, it said.

The Government has beenfixing sugar quota for millssince June 2018 and imple-menting the Sugar Price(Control) Order 2018 in orderto manage surplus produc-tion in the country and to sta-bilise sugar prices with a viewto clear cane price arrears offarmers.

Sugarcane arrears to farm-ers have crossed �20,000 crorein the current marketing year2018-19 (October-September).

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New Delhi: Aon, a global pro-fessional services firm provid-ing a broad range of risk,retirement and health solu-tions, on Tuesday released the23rd edition of its annual SalaryIncrease Survey in India. Thestudy, analysed data across1000+ companies from morethan 20 industries.

As per the results of thesurvey, companies in Indiagave an average pay increase of9.5% during 2018, reflectingimproved business sentimentcompared to 2017. PNS

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Page 11: 01 ˘ˇˆ˙ ˇ˝˛˚˜ !ˆ #ˇ ˆ˝#˜˘$!#%%#˜˛ˆ˙ %#˙ ˝%...rific scale of the extremist attack in J&K about three weeks ago. This violence was perpetrated by extremists aided

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New Delhi: The Reserve Bank has imposed a fine of �2 crore on AllahabadBank for non-compliance of directions with regard to Nostro accounts, the state-owned lender said on Tuesday. A Nostro account is an account that a bank holdsin a foreign currency in another bank. Private sector lender ICICI Bank too hasbeen slapped with a fine of Rs 1 crore for delay in compliance with directionsrelated to global messaging software Swift. Allahabad Bank was fined for non-compliance of RBI directions dated February 20, 2018 pertaining to reconcili-ation of Nostro on real time basis with immediate effect, as per a BSE filing.According to RBI directions, banks have to interpret real time as T+1 for Nostrodebits and T+5 for Nostro credits. The amount of penalty is not material con-sidering the size of the bank, and necessary measures for compliance with thesaid RBI directions have been taken, Allahabad Bank added. In a separate fil-ing to exchanges, ICICI Bank said: “The Banking Regulation Act, 1949, leviedan aggregate penalty of Rs 10 million vide its order dated February 25, 2019. Thepenalty has been levied for delay in compliance with RBI's directives on 'Time-bound implementation and strengthening of Swift related controls.” Yes Bankalso informed Tuesday about a fine of Rs 1 crore for non-compliance of direc-tions on Swift. Stock of Allahabad Bank was trading 4.10 per cent up at Rs 52on BSE; ICICI Bank was at �362.45, up 2.53 per cent. Yes Bank was trading down0.21 per cent at �236.90. On Monday, a number of private as well as public sec-tor banks informed about penalties levied on them by RBI for failing to com-ply with Swift software operating requirements.

��������������������0����������������� ��������14'44��New Delhi: German luxury car makerAudi Tuesday launched its A6 sedanLifestyle Edition in India, priced at �49.99lakh. The A6 Lifestyle Edition is equippedwith new added features and accessoriessuch as rear seat entertainment, mobilecoffee machine Espresso Mobil and entryexit lights with Audi logo projection,among others, Audi India said in astatement. hese features are meant for thenew age customers who like to movearound impressively and with style, AudiIndia Head Rahil Ansari said. “With theintroduction of the Audi A6 LifestyleEdition, we have further increased the luxury quotient of the already favouriteAudi A6 amongst the luxury car buyers," he said. With the rear seatentertainment, rear seat passengers can enjoy infotainment throughnetworked tablets with 25.65 cm touch screen that also works outside the car,the company said. Currently, the A6 sedan is available with 1.8 litre petrolengine and 2 litre diesel engine options.

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Rejecting the US claims ofimposing "tremendously

high" tariffs, India on Tuesdaysaid its import duties are nothigh and are within the normsof the World TradeOrganisation (WTO).

“We do not agree with thatat all. Our tariffs (importduties) are very consistent withthe bound rates that we areentitled to in theWTO,”Commerce SecretaryAnup Wadhawan toldreporters here.

“Our tariffs are very com-parable to more liberal devel-oping economies and somedeveloped economies,” headded.

He said India’s tariffs arewithin the bound rates underthe WTO commitments, andon the average are well belowthose rates.

Duties which are imposedon imported goods are calledapplied rates and the extent towhich a country can increasethose duties are known asbound rates.

India’s trade weightedaverage tariff is 7.6 per cent,which is comparable with themost open developingeconomies, and some devel-oped economies.

The commerce ministry,in a statement, said on devel-opmental considerations,there may be a few tariffpeaks, which is true for almostall economies.

US President DonaldTrump had claimed that Indiais a “tariff king” and imposes"tremendously high" tariffson American products likeHarley Davidson motorcy-cles.

Trump has said he intendsto end the preferential tradestatus granted to India, assert-ing that New Delhi has failedto assure America of "equi-table and reasonable" access toits markets.

The US has also beenraising the issue of tradedeficit with India. The bilat-eral trade was USD 74.5 bil-lion in 2017-18 against USD64.5 billion in 2016-17.

The commerce ministrymentioned that due to variousinitiatives resulting inenhanced purchase of USgoods like oil and natural gasand coal, the US trade deficitwith India has substantiallyreduced in 2017 and 2018.

“The reduction is esti-mated to be over USD 4 bil-lion in 2018, with furtherreduction expected in futureyears on account of factors like

the growing demand for ener-gy and civilian aircraft inIndia,” it said.

This reduction, it added,has happened in the face of arising overall US trade deficit,including with some othermajor economies.

“India is also a thrivingmarket for US services and e-commerce companies likeAmazon, Uber, Google andFacebook with billions of dol-lars of revenue,” it said.

The commerce ministrysaid that on the US demand toreduce import duties on cer-tain IT products, the countryhas conveyed that its dutiesare moderate and not importstopping.“Any MFN (mostfavoured nation) duty reduc-tion would almost entirelybenefit third countries.Accordingly, India conveyedwillingness to extend dutyconcessions on specific itemsin which there is a clear USinterest,” it said.

On telecom testing, Indiawas willing to consider dis-cussions for a MutualRecognition Agreement, itadded. It said that acceptabil-ity of the US market accessrequests related to productslike alfalfa hay, cherries andpork was also conveyed tothem.

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Uttar Pradesh Power Corporationwill get 40 paise per unit cheaper

electricity from Prayagraj PowerGeneration Company's plant at Bara inPrayagraj district, which will translateinto savings to the tune of Rs 500 croreannually.

An arm of Tata Power-backedResurgent Power Ventures, RenascentPower Ventures -- which has acquired75.01 per cent stake in the Bara powerplant -- will be offering 40 paise per unitcheaper electricity to Uttar PradeshPower Corporation Ltd (UPPCL)under revised terms of power purchaseagreement, a source said.

UPPCL is the company responsi-ble for electricity transmission and dis-tribution within the Indian state ofUttar Pradesh.

The revised PPA would also beapproved by the state power regulatorwhile disposing off the plea.

A plea for change in ownership ofPrayagraj Power Genreation CompanyLtd (PPGCL) is under consideration ofUttar Pradesh Electricity RegulatoryCommission (UPERC), which isexpected to be decided this month. Thenext hearing is scheduled onWednesday. The source further saidthat since the acquisition is at deep dis-count, UPPCL is keen on passing thebenefits to consumers reeling underhigh energy tariffs. The average pooledpower purchase cost of the UPPCL isaround Rs 4.40 per unit. The UPERChas also asked UPPCL to explain thebenefit that would accrue to con-

sumers, with takeover of the PPGCL byResurgent Power.

Industry experts believe the aver-age pooled power purchase cost isexpected to increase in the comingmonths owing to increase in varioustaxes and duties during the last threeyears.

In such a situation, the discount of40 paise per unit comes as as a relief forUPPCL since this discount will lead tosavings of Rs 500 crore annually for theUPPCL, they said.

Besides, UPPCL would be buying100 per cent power from plant to caterto the upcoming summer powerdemand surge, which wold further leadto savings for UPCCL, the sourcesaid.

The Renascent Power Ventureshad announced acquisition of 75.01 percent stake in PPGCL last year inNovember.

PPGCL was incorporated as a spe-cial purpose vehicle (SPV) on February27, 2007, by UPPCL for setting up 1,980MW (660X3) coal-based thermalpower plant at Bara.

Uttar Pradesh power discoms hadentered into a 25-year PPA for supplyof 90 per cent of power output from theplant. The Uttar Pradesh govermenthad awarded the project to JaiprakashPower Ventures Ltd (JPVL) on March2, 2009. The power plant was to be fullycommissioned in June 2015.

However, owing to various issuesfaced by the project firm, the plant wasdelayed for more than two years lead-ing to escalation in capital cost of theproject.

Script Open High Low LTPSUZLON 6.00 7.60 5.95 7.44TATAMOTORS 183.95 198.00 181.50 194.00JPASSOCIAT 6.26 6.95 6.19 6.76IBULHSGFIN 671.00 752.95 664.55 739.25RPOWER 12.50 13.25 12.40 12.74YESBANK 236.70 240.65 234.25 237.30RELINFRA 125.80 133.20 125.00 130.30DHFL 129.50 135.30 129.45 134.00GRAPHITE 424.00 466.30 424.00 466.30RELCAPITAL 181.00 193.75 179.05 192.80HEG 2100.00 2302.20 2092.95 2270.35IOC 146.95 154.25 146.80 153.70RELIANCE 1226.70 1239.40 1218.20 1236.95TATASTEEL 509.00 522.80 505.20 521.50AXISBANK 704.60 734.20 701.05 732.10JETAIRWAYS 225.70 242.00 224.90 238.50FORCEMOT 1609.00 1724.80 1599.65 1677.75PNB 77.00 83.20 76.60 82.55PCJEWELLER 72.45 81.15 71.70 79.70ASHOKLEY 87.00 92.95 86.00 90.65ONGC 148.60 155.60 148.20 154.95ICICIBANK 355.00 363.35 352.85 362.35WIPRO 376.00 376.00 361.20 363.60DBL 448.00 537.80 448.00 516.95SBIN 271.90 277.50 271.20 276.05IDFCFIRSTB 47.60 51.50 47.40 50.90TECHM 821.00 824.80 807.00 809.55BEL 86.00 90.80 85.20 90.05NCC 89.50 99.00 88.80 98.00LT 1309.00 1312.00 1276.35 1306.65NATIONALUM 55.00 56.40 54.40 56.15ITC 279.10 283.60 276.20 282.65EICHERMOT 19550.00 21786.95 19340.20 21507.70HINDPETRO 233.00 248.00 232.05 246.70REPCOHOME 356.45 450.10 356.45 427.75INFY 742.00 742.55 730.00 732.60PHILIPCARB 168.00 184.65 166.50 181.35SUNPHARMA 449.50 456.85 445.55 455.75TATAMTRDVR 93.00 97.70 91.20 95.95BANKBARODA 108.00 113.50 107.60 112.20CGPOWER 36.50 39.15 35.90 38.05ADANIPOWER 48.90 52.20 48.90 51.10MARUTI 6941.00 7155.00 6895.25 7114.50JSWSTEEL 284.90 292.00 281.85 291.10L&TFH 128.00 136.10 127.60 135.35VEDL 173.50 176.30 172.50 174.95RECLTD 135.60 144.80 135.60 143.95EDELWEISS 139.75 155.70 138.55 153.80ICICIGI 952.00 1012.00 950.00 971.20TCS 2002.00 2005.00 1978.05 1987.85

COALINDIA 233.05 241.40 233.05 240.30IDEA 30.00 30.50 29.50 29.90JINDALSTEL 161.90 168.75 160.60 167.95M&M 650.00 657.95 642.50 656.45DISHTV 41.75 42.35 40.45 41.00JAICORPLTD 93.80 103.65 93.75 101.35HDFC 1864.00 1867.95 1840.05 1860.55JKTYRE 88.00 94.15 87.30 92.95KEC 269.00 275.30 268.95 273.45KOTAKBANK 1226.90 1245.35 1218.70 1240.20STRTECH 248.95 268.90 248.95 267.40M&MFIN 411.35 437.60 410.25 433.60ACC 1488.60 1535.00 1472.95 1530.80BOMDYEING 114.15 121.40 114.10 117.95ESCORTS 675.00 716.00 671.05 713.35BANKINDIA 88.90 91.40 87.80 90.55INFIBEAM 36.20 39.85 35.85 39.35SPARC 186.10 191.80 185.50 187.50SAIL 52.45 55.40 52.30 54.95RADICO 382.00 403.25 382.00 400.35RAIN 95.10 102.95 94.00 102.95WOCKPHARMA 424.00 431.75 420.05 425.80HDFCBANK 2094.00 2110.60 2070.25 2107.50SPICEJET 81.20 84.00 81.15 83.40IBREALEST 71.15 76.05 71.15 74.80JSLHISAR 88.80 98.75 88.80 95.20BHARTIARTL 308.00 309.50 304.00 308.05IBVENTURES 277.00 299.70 276.20 294.65AUROPHARMA 728.00 740.70 720.60 735.90BPCL 345.05 366.00 345.05 362.70ZEEL 487.00 487.00 479.80 484.65UJJIVAN 286.40 314.45 283.95 312.25EQUITAS 117.05 130.65 116.60 128.30HEROMOTOCO 2675.00 2819.00 2653.10 2796.70LAKSHVILAS 64.95 72.70 64.95 71.45VIPIND 418.85 430.80 408.00 422.10MEGH 56.10 63.45 56.05 62.10

MCX 673.00 732.30 673.00 729.80VGUARD 212.70 218.15 208.80 216.70ABCAPITAL 95.90 100.30 95.90 99.65RCOM 6.57 6.70 6.44 6.64UNIONBANK 77.00 80.95 76.55 80.65MOTHERSUMI 161.55 164.50 159.55 164.10HINDUNILVR 1735.50 1739.00 1717.80 1724.20CANBK 246.00 256.90 242.10 253.00MUTHOOTFIN 535.40 578.35 529.10 570.15BEML 857.80 920.00 852.00 908.20JUSTDIAL 530.00 544.85 525.00 539.80SBILIFE 600.80 616.95 598.00 606.95MANAPPURAM 115.05 123.55 115.00 120.20DLF 167.25 176.55 167.25 175.25IDBI 44.50 48.10 44.15 46.40GNFC 274.90 294.95 274.15 291.35TITAN 1022.05 1036.00 1017.35 1033.35PEL 2372.15 2480.00 2372.15 2461.85TATAPOWER 67.50 69.60 67.35 69.00INDIACEM 92.60 97.75 92.25 97.20VOLTAS 573.90 598.45 572.85 596.05BHARATFORG 514.95 528.00 505.15 525.70SUNTV 615.00 630.30 612.90 626.95DELTACORP 248.00 263.00 248.00 261.05TVSMOTOR 470.50 495.10 470.00 490.35KSCL 408.80 428.20 407.15 420.15TATACHEM 565.20 582.20 565.20 578.65HINDALCO 196.85 199.35 192.30 198.70IRB 140.90 152.00 140.40 151.05CHENNPETRO 239.50 257.55 239.50 255.30CANFINHOME 278.00 296.45 276.10 293.30VENKYS 2188.00 2264.00 2165.00 2240.35FEDERALBNK 86.15 89.40 85.25 89.00DRREDDY 2654.30 2659.95 2601.55 2651.00SRTRANSFIN 1167.10 1236.75 1166.05 1230.75ADANIPORTS 333.35 341.00 330.70 339.50LUPIN 788.10 790.00 778.25 784.75BAJAJ-AUTO 2833.00 2923.80 2820.00 2906.60UPL 875.00 876.05 862.75 873.80ISEC 202.80 225.90 202.80 220.20BAJFINANCE 2664.95 2707.00 2646.80 2694.20DMART 1457.00 1500.00 1457.00 1472.05RCF 56.25 59.20 55.55 58.65INTELLECT 191.00 209.45 191.00 202.95ALBK 50.00 52.60 49.50 52.15BHEL 67.55 68.00 66.50 67.40LINDEINDIA 499.95 542.75 494.45 538.00MINDTREE 933.55 939.10 912.05 916.50SYMPHONY 1306.00 1387.60 1306.00 1353.45RBLBANK 591.60 610.00 591.60 607.00NTPC 144.00 147.80 143.00 146.95SADBHAV 216.90 225.00 210.50 223.65SOUTHBANK 13.90 14.50 13.55 14.35BIOCON 633.40 633.40 624.00 627.25PFC 113.90 116.95 113.05 116.30HAVELLS 707.35 724.00 706.00 721.55SREINFRA 28.55 30.10 27.35 29.80NBCC 55.40 57.85 55.05 57.50LICHSGFIN 473.75 490.50 473.60 484.95BBTC 1238.90 1284.95 1218.00 1278.80HFCL 21.95 23.30 21.95 22.85GRUH 252.00 254.80 250.30 253.65ASIANPAINT 1394.50 1409.00 1384.80 1401.20HDFCLIFE 363.95 378.90 360.00 375.75DCBBANK 183.10 193.75 182.75 191.15MMTC 26.65 29.05 26.35 28.90LTI 1739.00 1739.00 1670.00 1676.80INDIGO 1122.50 1194.90 1119.00 1184.10BATAINDIA 1280.20 1311.55 1276.85 1306.45IGL 292.95 300.80 292.95 299.50JSL 36.50 42.70 36.25 41.35JUBLFOOD 1280.00 1286.95 1262.00 1274.70HINDCOPPER 47.20 50.60 47.10 49.95GRANULES 103.50 107.50 103.50 106.20NMDC 102.40 105.75 102.40 105.30WELCORP 118.90 122.50 114.45 120.05ITI 93.20 97.65 92.65 96.20EIDPARRY 187.55 204.95 186.35 201.45ORIENTBANK 91.20 95.50 91.20 94.85CENTURYTEX 827.90 863.00 827.55 859.40NOCIL 142.00 143.45 140.30 142.00BAJAJFINSV 6543.00 6648.30 6393.50 6569.10CASTROLIND 161.40 164.10 158.70 159.90ULTRACEMCO 3878.00 3975.00 3878.00 3963.85JAMNAAUTO 60.50 61.95 58.70 61.00APOLLOTYRE 222.00 224.00 219.00 223.50TV18BRDCST 36.35 37.25 35.40 37.00POWERGRID 183.30 185.40 182.85 182.95JINDALSAW 86.00 91.35 86.00 90.95MARICO 335.35 337.50 332.15 335.95EXIDEIND 219.00 224.60 218.40 222.70MANPASAND 78.70 87.80 75.95 86.25STAR 426.15 439.50 426.15 437.00INDUSINDBK 1515.00 1545.30 1510.00 1539.70DCMSHRIRAM 410.10 463.00 410.10 451.50ENGINERSIN 110.55 115.00 109.65 114.15MGL 906.55 914.00 894.50 898.95AVANTI 338.25 363.00 338.20 358.55FSL 44.80 47.60 44.80 46.60TATAELXSI 918.00 929.90 918.00 924.30CADILAHC 321.00 332.50 321.00 331.20NAVINFLUOR 595.00 656.00 595.00 645.50BALKRISIND 895.30 916.60 885.55 909.90NAVKARCORP 40.95 44.10 40.60 43.10SUVEN 245.90 254.40 245.90 252.90OMAXE 207.50 209.95 201.70 205.65HEXAWARE 359.90 363.00 355.65 359.00COLPAL 1240.10 1258.50 1235.50 1239.95APOLLOHOSP 1158.35 1194.95 1148.70 1190.60

WELSPUNIND 54.65 57.85 54.40 57.50TEJASNET 165.05 186.00 163.35 183.05QUESS 730.00 754.80 717.05 727.30JSWENERGY 67.95 69.15 66.05 68.10CONCOR 479.40 487.50 476.55 485.00OIL 179.25 181.85 178.30 181.45GODREJAGRO 483.90 512.60 482.30 506.20NAUKRI 1827.00 1831.00 1753.05 1767.55NHPC 23.15 23.70 23.15 23.60UFLEX 201.40 223.00 201.40 219.40APLAPOLLO 1296.50 1397.80 1296.50 1372.65HUDCO 41.85 43.95 41.60 43.55GRASIM 792.00 811.60 791.40 808.35BAJAJELEC 454.40 481.00 452.00 478.10HINDZINC 270.05 274.40 270.00 271.55SUNTECK 348.45 362.05 346.00 358.35GUJFLUORO 916.15 975.00 916.15 950.75AMBUJACEM 218.05 223.20 217.80 221.85IDFC 40.45 41.75 40.15 41.60SRF 2294.00 2332.20 2294.00 2319.80JISLJALEQS 60.50 63.00 60.30 62.65HCLTECH 1054.00 1059.45 1045.60 1053.20PRSMJOHNSN 80.20 89.90 80.00 89.05HEIDELBERG 157.65 171.00 157.65 170.00ABFRL 223.45 226.60 221.65 225.50DABUR 445.30 445.35 440.30 442.80PAGEIND 22299.85 23154.20 22129.65 22863.15GUJALKALI 499.70 523.90 496.50 518.15WHIRLPOOL 1439.00 1570.00 1425.00 1547.90UBL 1350.05 1395.00 1350.05 1379.50GAIL 341.00 347.45 341.00 346.45TRIDENT 62.85 65.00 62.65 64.40JMFINANCIL 81.00 85.15 79.60 83.85IPCALAB 856.90 886.15 853.45 870.95GODREJCP 680.55 701.30 680.00 694.25NESTLEIND 10400.00 10550.00 10300.00 10507.95IFCI 13.35 14.58 13.30 14.08GODREJIND 500.00 503.90 490.75 502.05PIIND 934.00 985.05 930.70 947.75FRETAIL 438.80 438.80 428.05 435.75FCONSUMER 47.25 49.25 47.25 47.95ABB 1244.00 1253.20 1224.30 1233.85BANDHANBNK 480.00 488.00 480.00 484.95ISGEC 4879.00 4879.00 4650.00 4698.00KTKBANK 113.15 119.85 113.15 119.45SIEMENS 999.95 1033.10 998.50 1027.80PETRONET 224.40 227.20 223.00 226.20HSIL 226.05 241.10 226.05 239.70HSCL 124.65 124.65 121.70 123.40RAMCOCEM 695.25 719.95 688.95 717.30MPHASIS 1026.25 1026.25 1005.00 1007.30MRPL 67.50 70.95 67.20 70.05NETWORK18 32.90 35.00 32.90 34.40ICICIPRULI 325.15 331.80 325.00 327.20INDHOTEL 139.00 140.00 137.00 138.75CUMMINSIND 703.10 724.95 701.75 718.65TAKE 131.10 136.50 130.55 134.75WESTLIFE 352.00 368.50 348.50 366.15CIPLA 552.00 552.00 546.75 548.55TATAGLOBAL 197.45 199.90 196.60 197.60BRITANNIA 3050.00 3101.80 3050.00 3067.40CEATLTD 1114.00 1142.00 1102.00 1132.75AUBANK 570.10 594.00 570.10 579.25TATAMETALI 621.00 641.00 620.00 631.00GUJGAS 126.00 126.00 121.50 122.50ASHOKA 122.35 132.00 121.45 130.30MOIL 151.35 161.00 151.35 159.45KEI 355.00 378.20 355.00 375.65INDIANB 231.30 238.50 228.75 237.25ASTRAZEN 2000.65 2081.65 2000.65 2065.15BDL 286.10 291.55 278.05 288.25GSFC 98.10 98.10 94.10 97.80CHOLAFIN 1268.30 1297.10 1268.30 1288.10ADANITRANS 206.05 211.50 203.75 208.35PNBHOUSING 913.15 928.35 912.70 921.00SYNDIBANK 35.80 37.75 35.80 37.40CROMPTON 210.00 217.50 210.00 216.30RAYMOND 795.70 795.70 783.30 790.75MFSL 405.10 411.00 398.25 407.90ADANIGREEN 34.65 37.40 34.25 36.40INFRATEL 293.00 297.45 291.85 296.60DEEPAKFERT 129.95 135.85 129.35 134.05TTKPRESTIG 8000.00 8675.00 8000.00 8586.85EIHOTEL 186.20 193.00 185.70 187.45AJANTPHARM 994.50 1001.95 988.00 994.10RNAM 186.65 192.90 184.95 188.90MAGMA 109.40 115.50 109.40 114.45MAXINDIA 69.95 69.95 68.25 68.70MERCK 3255.05 3400.00 3255.05 3356.75PIDILITIND 1143.90 1154.00 1137.00 1142.30GMRINFRA 16.65 17.00 16.45 16.95THOMASCOOK 215.10 215.55 211.80 213.85SOMANYCERA 347.85 368.15 334.00 360.55TATACOMM 590.00 604.10 590.00 600.45NLCINDIA 64.70 66.60 64.45 66.30ITDCEM 111.80 118.55 109.65 117.40KAJARIACER 557.95 565.00 556.60 562.75CENTURYPLY 183.00 187.00 180.40 185.55RALLIS 153.50 159.70 151.80 157.20COCHINSHIP 370.00 378.50 370.00 376.75WABAG 313.00 323.40 312.00 317.05KRBL 368.00 386.65 368.00 381.95HIMATSEIDE 176.00 181.00 171.00 177.95SCI 36.50 38.20 36.20 37.75NILKAMAL 1325.00 1390.00 1325.00 1377.90GODFRYPHLP 901.50 961.75 898.75 956.20NBVENTURES 104.75 110.20 104.20 108.25TATACOFFEE 87.25 90.00 85.95 89.25VINATIORGA 1499.80 1595.00 1499.80 1581.75

BIRLACORPN 509.50 539.75 509.50 535.10REDINGTON 89.00 93.50 89.00 91.25BALMLAWRIE 181.50 188.35 181.50 186.55PFIZER 3300.00 3351.00 3260.00 3316.40GICRE 225.00 249.60 223.90 246.35DCAL 189.00 202.50 189.00 197.70AARTIIND 1406.40 1465.00 1406.40 1458.80GDL 108.00 120.40 107.80 118.30LTTS 1549.45 1565.00 1527.10 1532.80KNRCON 225.00 225.00 187.00 219.50JUBILANT 778.75 785.65 770.05 779.65CENTRALBK 32.00 32.60 31.75 32.05ITDC 274.00 288.80 273.65 281.45TORNTPOWER 247.40 251.40 247.40 248.85LAOPALA 197.00 212.50 195.85 208.10TNPL 198.00 210.50 198.00 205.85DIVISLAB 1670.00 1681.45 1657.35 1662.00MAHINDCIE 237.45 245.65 237.05 243.15GLENMARK 599.40 607.85 598.20 603.45HAL 670.00 694.00 669.00 682.90RELAXO 826.05 826.05 718.00 750.70COROMANDEL 442.75 463.00 442.00 461.75J&KBANK 39.85 42.90 39.15 41.80MINDAIND 325.00 335.40 324.70 329.00PARAGMILK 237.40 244.25 237.20 241.75CHAMBLFERT 161.00 166.10 161.00 165.15NIITTECH 1322.05 1329.60 1309.00 1313.40SWANENERGY 114.05 115.50 113.00 114.65DEEPAKNI 233.75 244.75 233.75 240.95PVR 1491.65 1545.00 1487.05 1522.55MOTILALOFS 569.90 584.00 565.05 579.50OBEROIRLTY 493.75 493.75 485.00 487.25EMAMILTD 394.00 401.80 394.00 399.25BERGEPAINT 303.00 306.25 301.60 304.95GHCL 230.05 236.95 230.00 234.70AMARAJABAT 727.00 739.40 727.00 734.90JAGRAN 97.00 100.50 95.35 98.75LUXIND 1186.65 1251.00 1170.00 1240.90TRENT 342.00 351.55 338.25 345.75INOXLEISUR 284.00 287.00 283.10 285.75BLISSGVS 178.90 179.90 175.20 176.75PGHH 10916.00 11178.95 10842.05 10976.05OFSS 3518.80 3590.85 3501.60 3570.05NATCOPHARM* 571.20 576.65 565.00 568.10MINDACORP 150.40 153.80 147.95 151.40PNCINFRA 129.75 139.70 129.30 135.00GPPL 88.45 88.90 84.00 87.60GREAVESCOT 128.90 130.45 128.80 129.60GICHSGFIN 239.00 251.90 238.50 250.40FORTIS 134.15 135.30 131.00 134.70CAPPL 389.00 410.00 384.00 403.55TIMETECHNO 90.00 97.90 90.00 97.15DENABANK 11.91 12.42 11.91 12.37INOXWIND 71.35 79.55 70.50 76.40BASF 1349.50 1411.00 1332.45 1389.65VIJAYABANK 44.80 45.30 43.30 44.95CARBORUNIV 382.25 386.90 378.50 385.20KANSAINER 452.65 452.65 436.50 440.55GSPL 160.85 164.80 158.00 163.75LAXMIMACH 5950.00 6100.00 5919.10 6067.40BHARATFIN 950.40 968.30 948.40 964.30ANDHRABANK 25.50 26.60 25.10 26.30SCHNEIDER 96.75 105.20 96.10 104.80SHREECEM 16805.00 17419.60 16721.80 17232.25JYOTHYLAB 181.85 186.75 181.85 184.90GODREJPROP 711.45 720.00 707.85 711.80GREENPLY 145.70 149.00 143.15 147.85CUB 190.00 191.50 185.95 187.00MRF 57476.00 57921.00 57253.50 57622.95SOBHA 439.00 446.70 436.10 443.50MHRIL 206.00 213.70 204.30 212.60TIINDIA 370.00 383.40 368.05 377.95COFFEEDAY 274.80 287.65 273.65 282.90IFBIND 857.00 904.80 846.55 899.55ADVENZYMES 153.00 153.00 150.00 151.95THYROCARE 524.00 547.10 523.50 540.25APLLTD 549.65 551.55 545.85 549.80CENTRUM 32.95 34.80 32.70 34.40HERITGFOOD 454.70 490.70 454.70 482.25CORPBANK 30.50 30.85 30.20 30.60BOSCHLTD 18749.30 18957.50 18690.15 18877.10SUDARSCHEM 342.45 346.05 338.00 341.90RAJESHEXPO 569.95 577.70 567.60 574.15TORNTPHARM 1786.00 1789.05 1767.05 1774.20SANOFI 5914.05 5970.05 5780.00 5792.95ALKEM 1789.00 1789.00 1750.00 1754.45JBCHEPHARM 333.00 345.00 333.00 342.00

ELGIEQUIP 261.20 263.85 259.90 261.15SOLARINDS 985.00 1072.00 984.20 1042.95PERSISTENT* 670.00 685.00 668.35 679.70UCOBANK 19.20 19.50 19.15 19.40ENDURANCE 1275.50 1301.80 1255.20 1263.50LALPATHLAB 1014.00 1021.45 1003.00 1014.85KALPATPOWR 397.00 402.40 389.15 395.10BAYERCROP 4279.00 4364.95 4264.25 4301.05SYNGENE 591.50 596.00 586.05 589.25SUPREMEIND 1122.00 1132.00 1094.80 1104.60SHARDACROP 357.85 369.65 355.45 367.25SONATSOFTW 340.50 346.95 339.00 340.50TEAMLEASE 2900.00 2900.00 2782.45 2849.25TATAINVEST 831.00 856.00 831.00 846.60FINCABLES 422.05 438.00 421.80 435.25DBCORP 180.00 181.65 178.60 179.40PTC 78.30 80.90 78.20 80.30ALLCARGO 102.75 106.25 102.75 105.65ZENSARTECH 197.00 206.50 197.00 205.55ORIENTCEM 74.40 82.00 74.40 81.05AEGISLOG 206.45 208.00 203.90 206.05STARCEMENT 97.50 105.30 97.50 99.30FORBESCO 2200.00 2274.00 2199.00 2229.35GET&D 299.00 308.00 287.55 307.10MAHABANK 13.00 13.49 12.96 13.38GLAXO 1365.00 1365.00 1321.00 1328.20AIAENG 1770.00 1790.05 1739.75 1779.10CYIENT* 650.65 653.00 650.00 650.15JKLAKSHMI 327.45 335.00 327.45 333.10SJVN 24.00 24.20 23.70 24.15SHK 150.15 155.00 150.00 154.30IOB 13.61 14.15 13.37 13.90BLUESTARCO 625.65 652.75 625.55 647.10FINOLEXIND 492.00 524.90 484.00 519.15IEX 156.40 160.00 156.35 159.00SHILPAMED 351.60 373.55 351.60 368.45INDOSTAR 345.10 349.80 342.10 344.65NIACL 175.00 186.65 175.00 184.30PRESTIGE 204.00 207.10 204.00 205.75GMDCLTD 79.40 82.95 78.50 82.50THERMAX 995.00 1019.00 994.95 1010.05IBULISL 286.65 300.95 284.00 300.95NESCO 440.05 462.00 440.05 460.95TRITURBINE 103.95 114.45 103.40 112.75ATUL 3388.00 3416.90 3370.00 3410.00VBL 800.05 823.80 799.80 820.60SUNDRMFAST 524.55 531.85 524.50 528.75JCHAC 1780.00 1887.40 1740.00 1869.90SHANKARA 437.00 453.45 435.40 453.45GSKCONS 7299.00 7299.00 7163.10 7179.95EVEREADY 197.45 197.45 195.45 196.35MAHLIFE 375.00 377.00 373.00 376.503MINDIA 23450.00 24005.00 23000.00 23595.85WABCOINDIA 6480.65 6584.95 6370.00 6444.65MAHLOG 452.00 474.70 452.00 470.05AKZOINDIA 1789.30 1809.00 1757.65 1786.25ASTRAL 1087.90 1115.80 1085.00 1109.80GESHIP 278.00 285.00 276.40 283.25ABBOTINDIA 7331.00 7402.35 7250.00 7285.40TVSSRICHAK 2321.50 2343.00 2182.00 2287.30DHANUKA 416.50 430.00 399.00 418.90ASAHIINDIA 263.90 280.55 263.90 276.15TIFHL 454.85 491.00 454.00 480.15VMART 2620.00 2625.45 2548.00 2552.45PHOENIXLTD 616.70 637.80 614.55 626.90GRINDWELL 549.60 559.00 530.35 554.25CRISIL 1474.20 1501.20 1474.20 1479.90KIOCL 131.90 140.10 131.90 136.65FLFL 427.00 432.45 427.00 431.10VTL 1043.05 1062.50 1033.70 1043.05SUPPETRO 208.00 219.35 208.00 216.90ASTERDM 160.00 160.00 152.00 153.70ZYDUSWELL 1240.00 1270.00 1234.00 1268.55CARERATING 966.95 981.15 952.00 979.90APARINDS 649.30 669.00 635.00 663.05FDC 164.10 174.55 163.95 173.90SUPRAJIT 197.15 204.70 197.15 203.75TVTODAY 330.40 338.90 328.25 335.55KPRMILL 552.00 577.30 552.00 571.25ECLERX 1053.10 1053.10 1022.45 1034.60NAVNETEDUL 106.00 107.90 105.50 107.25BAJAJCON 352.20 352.95 349.05 350.40SKFINDIA 1950.00 1977.40 1935.05 1956.80TIMKEN 565.65 584.90 565.65 580.70ESSELPRO 112.75 115.00 112.40 112.70GALAXYSURF 1025.00 1080.00 1025.00 1078.65SCHAEFFLER 5434.75 5499.00 5389.10 5456.25SIS 785.15 843.40 785.00 820.20JKCEMENT 732.40 755.65 732.40 751.75CERA 2491.20 2517.50 2450.55 2499.20SUNCLAYLTD 2868.00 2929.95 2839.80 2910.00LAURUSLABS 341.05 348.95 340.45 347.45LEMONTREE 76.00 76.30 75.35 76.15CCL 277.20 289.45 277.20 287.15GILLETTE 6890.00 6890.00 6480.00 6501.45GAYAPROJ 161.40 173.95 161.40 170.05BAJAJHLDNG 3166.90 3210.00 3156.05 3176.90SHRIRAMCIT 1671.80 1710.00 1643.95 1695.70GEPIL 810.65 822.00 809.60 814.95NH 220.00 230.00 219.00 227.90MONSANTO 2569.15 2580.00 2548.80 2562.25BLUEDART 3120.00 3142.65 3104.00 3131.25GULFOILLUB 874.10 874.10 864.00 871.10HONAUT 22000.00 22273.45 22000.00 22235.95RATNAMANI 860.00 879.00 859.90 870.65HATSUN 660.00 665.00 660.00 665.00ERIS 621.15 621.15 610.75 615.75SHOPERSTOP 481.90 482.00 478.20 481.30SFL 1400.00 1400.00 1355.00 1366.65

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 10864.85 10994.90 10817.00 10987.45 123.95IBULHSGFIN 669.30 753.60 663.95 739.15 67.25EICHERMOT 19500.00 21877.00 19320.00 21510.00 1561.35TATAMOTORS 183.80 198.35 181.40 193.40 13.10HINDPETRO 232.35 248.20 231.35 248.00 15.30BPCL 346.05 365.45 345.45 363.00 16.95AXISBANK 705.70 733.90 700.70 733.85 31.45HEROMOTOCO 2669.95 2822.00 2652.05 2794.00 118.40IOC 146.80 154.25 146.70 154.00 5.95ONGC 148.75 155.65 147.85 155.10 6.00COALINDIA 233.40 242.00 232.70 240.25 7.60JSWSTEEL 284.95 292.10 282.00 290.65 8.55NTPC 143.00 148.20 143.00 147.10 4.10MARUTI 6950.00 7158.15 6894.45 7130.00 194.85BAJAJFINSV 6440.00 6650.00 6386.00 6610.00 169.40TATASTEEL 508.40 522.90 505.20 520.20 12.60GRASIM 791.50 813.45 789.45 810.50 18.75ICICIBANK 355.00 364.15 352.80 361.75 7.50ITC 280.00 284.00 276.05 284.00 5.80ADANIPORTS 333.25 340.50 330.50 339.55 6.35SUNPHARMA 447.85 456.90 445.35 455.70 8.35INDUSINDBK 1510.00 1547.00 1510.00 1538.70 24.60TITAN 1023.60 1039.95 1016.20 1037.00 15.65ULTRACEMCO 3893.90 3978.70 3870.05 3937.25 58.90BAJFINANCE 2655.00 2708.35 2644.60 2696.00 35.25KOTAKBANK 1223.90 1246.30 1217.80 1240.00 14.05HDFCBANK 2088.90 2111.10 2070.00 2107.00 23.65BAJAJ-AUTO 2835.05 2917.40 2814.80 2895.65 32.15SBIN 271.70 277.85 271.20 275.95 3.00HINDALCO 195.00 199.45 194.50 198.20 2.05M&M 649.85 657.90 642.05 656.00 6.30RELIANCE 1223.40 1239.80 1218.60 1237.45 11.40GAIL 343.00 347.40 341.25 346.60 2.75INFRATEL 295.00 297.00 291.60 295.55 2.30UPL 872.80 878.50 865.55 875.60 5.85ASIANPAINT 1393.50 1409.75 1382.70 1401.10 8.75VEDL 172.95 176.40 172.40 174.50 1.05DRREDDY 2635.00 2668.80 2604.60 2660.00 14.00BHARTIARTL 308.00 309.20 303.60 308.00 0.35HDFC 1856.80 1868.40 1838.55 1860.05 0.60HCLTECH 1057.70 1059.80 1045.20 1052.05 -0.55POWERGRID 184.00 185.45 182.60 182.85 -0.35YESBANK 236.00 240.75 234.50 237.10 -0.50LT 1302.00 1310.40 1277.05 1305.00 -3.55TCS 2005.00 2007.00 1976.60 1985.05 -10.35HINDUNILVR 1739.80 1739.80 1717.50 1725.00 -9.65CIPLA 550.00 551.50 546.55 547.65 -3.90ZEEL 484.90 487.30 479.55 482.40 -3.95INFY 740.50 742.50 730.25 732.75 -9.15TECHM 822.50 824.70 808.05 810.80 -21.00WIPRO 374.00 374.65 362.00 362.85 -12.85

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SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 26884.00 27378.60 26867.15 27347.05 499.15GICRE 225.00 249.80 223.15 249.10 23.80L&TFH 128.00 136.15 127.50 135.75 7.75INDIGO 1117.40 1198.90 1117.00 1190.00 67.85BEL 85.80 91.15 85.15 90.05 5.05SRTRANSFIN 1165.00 1237.70 1164.05 1226.50 66.60SAIL 52.50 55.35 52.25 55.15 2.80ASHOKLEY 86.70 91.00 85.80 90.65 4.05DLF 167.50 177.00 167.50 174.85 7.60PEL 2371.50 2475.00 2364.95 2469.35 97.35BANKBARODA 108.50 113.70 107.60 112.50 4.40ACC 1481.70 1536.40 1472.00 1525.00 57.30ABCAPITAL 96.70 100.40 96.10 99.60 3.65HDFCLIFE 360.10 379.00 360.10 376.40 13.45NIACL 177.75 185.30 177.75 184.00 6.25SHREECEM 16759.00 17377.00 16687.35 17215.00 527.65NMDC 103.00 106.00 102.60 105.75 3.00GODREJCP 680.00 701.50 679.05 697.20 18.05LICHSGFIN 473.50 491.00 473.15 486.30 11.70CADILAHC 320.00 332.75 320.00 331.10 7.90OFSS 3490.00 3609.85 3490.00 3589.15 84.35MOTHERSUMI 162.45 165.00 159.50 164.00 3.50NHPC 23.20 23.75 23.15 23.60 0.50BANDHANBNK 483.00 492.05 480.00 490.00 9.95ICICIGI 953.00 1014.80 953.00 968.40 18.15AMBUJACEM 218.00 223.35 217.65 221.55 4.10SIEMENS 1005.65 1036.40 998.50 1028.05 18.70HAVELLS 707.55 723.90 705.10 719.50 11.95OIL 179.65 181.75 178.25 181.35 2.95PETRONET 223.40 227.45 222.80 227.00 3.60SUNTV 617.00 627.90 613.10 625.75 9.85BHEL 67.75 68.00 66.40 67.20 1.05CONCOR 479.30 487.00 477.70 485.30 7.15AUROPHARMA 729.00 740.75 720.00 734.00 9.05DMART 1457.00 1502.95 1457.00 1472.00 15.45PGHH 10950.85 11199.00 10821.00 11060.00 109.15BOSCHLTD 18700.00 18991.00 18665.20 18930.00 180.25MRF 57397.00 58000.00 57218.50 57566.10 437.00ICICIPRULI 326.60 332.25 323.05 327.15 2.05MARICO 335.90 337.00 332.10 336.40 1.55MCDOWELL-N 566.10 572.45 558.30 566.15 1.55HINDZINC 270.85 275.10 270.10 271.00 0.15LUPIN 791.55 791.60 778.10 785.20 -1.40COLPAL 1236.10 1258.80 1235.15 1243.00 -2.95BRITANNIA 3065.20 3100.25 3060.00 3070.00 -7.25SBILIFE 599.00 617.00 596.10 606.10 -1.80PIDILITIND 1150.00 1154.50 1136.20 1140.70 -3.45DABUR 445.50 445.85 440.05 443.00 -2.30IDEA 29.90 30.50 29.60 29.65 -0.25BIOCON 633.20 633.25 623.50 626.00 -6.90ABB 1250.30 1254.40 1222.25 1230.00 -14.50

Page 12: 01 ˘ˇˆ˙ ˇ˝˛˚˜ !ˆ #ˇ ˆ˝#˜˘$!#%%#˜˛ˆ˙ %#˙ ˝%...rific scale of the extremist attack in J&K about three weeks ago. This violence was perpetrated by extremists aided

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Brexit talks with theEuropean Union are mak-

ing progress, a senior BritishGovernment Minister said onTuesday, as Prime MinisterTheresa May seeks conces-sions from Brussels to help per-suade lawmakers to back herdeal in a series of crucial votesnext week.

Britain is due to leave theEU on March 29 — the firstcountry ever to do so — butBritish lawmakers have reject-ed a draft deal sealed by Mayand her EU counterparts inNovember. Both they and EUlawmakers must endorse anyagreement.

“I think the signals we are getting are reasonably pos-itive,” Foreign Secretary JeremyHunt told the BBC. “I don’twant to overstate them becauseI still think there’s a lot of workto do, but I think they dounderstand that we are being

sincere.”EU chief negotiator Michel

Barnier was due to meet U.K.Brexit Secretary StephenBarclay and Attorney GeneralGeoffrey Cox in Brussels lateron Tuesday seeking to breakthe deadlock.

The objections in Londoncenter on a provision demand-ed by Brussels to guaranteethere are no barriers along thecurrently invisible borderbetween EU member stateIreland and Northern Ireland,which is part of the U.K. Britainwants reassurances that thismechanism would be tempo-rary.

EU leaders insist that thelegally binding divorce agreement governing Britain’sdeparture can’t be reopened.But Hunt told the BBC that hiscountry is “prepared to beflexible” about how changes areachieved, and argued that theEuropeans are coming aroundto the idea that May “can get a

majority in Parliament.”With time running out, the

chances of Britain crashingout without any deal at all aregrowing, although Hunt saidhis government wants to avoidsuch a potentially devastatingscenario. EU leaders want toavoid that too.

In Poland, leaders werediscussing Tuesday a plan toprepare for that eventuality.

Prime Minister MateuszMorawiecki and his Cabinetwere taking up the draft legis-lation during their regularweekly meeting Tuesday.Konrad Szymanski, a deputyForeign Minister responsiblefor European issues, told Polishnews agency PAP that the planshould help alleviate the mostacute consequences of a no-deal Brexit.

Also hanging in the balance is the fate of hundredsof thousands of Poles who have settled in the UKsince Poland joined the EU in

2004.The Bank of England has

warned that “significant mar-ket volatility” is likely ifBritain crashes out.

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Malaysian prosecutors hereon Tuesday charged a

former ally of former PrimeMinister Najib Razak withmultiple counts of money laun-dering.

Musa Aman, former ChiefMinister of Sabah, was chargedat a Kuala Lumpur court with16 counts of money launderingamounting to $37 million,Xinhua news agency reported.The offences were committedbetween 2006 and 2008, reportssay.

Musa was accused of indi-rect involvement in allegedmoney laundering activitiesby instructing a bank accountto be opened at a Singaporeanbank to receive proceeds froman illicit transaction.

He was also accused ofindirect involvement in moneylaundering through receivingillicit funds from various com-panies and individuals througha foreign bank between 2006and 2008.

The largest recorded sumfor a single transactionamounted to $16.15 million,the report said.

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China plans to complete the construction of the

artificial sun this year, achiev-ing an ion temperature of 100million degrees Celsius, anofficial has said.

The HL-2M Tokamakdevice is designed to replicatethe nuclear fusion process that occurs naturally in the sunand stars to provide almost infinite clean energy throughcontrolled nuclear fusion,which is often dubbed as the“artificial sun.”

Achieving an ion temper-ature above 100 million degreesCelsius is one of the threechallenges to reach the goal ofharnessing the nuclear fusion,and the core of the sun is wide-ly believed to be 15 milliondegree Celsius, meaning thatthe ion at the device’s core willbe seven times higher than thatof the Sun, Duan Xuru, an offi-cial of the China NationalNuclear Corporation (CNNC)was quoted as saying by thestate-run Global Times.

The other two challengesare containing the fusion with-

in a limited space in the longterm, and providing a suffi-ciently high density profile,Science and Technology Dailyreported on Monday.

“The artificial sun’s plasmais mainly composed of elec-trons and ions, and the coun-try’s existing Tokamak deviceshave achieved an electron tem-perature of over 100 milliondegrees Celsius in its core plasma, and an ion temperatureof 50 million degrees Celsius, and it is the ion thatgenerates energy in the device,”Duan said.

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Tehran: Iran says its ForeignMinister wanted to resign lastmonth after being kept in thedark about a surprise visit bySyrian President Bashar Assad toTehran.

President Hassan Rouhaniultimately rejected MohammadJavad Zarif ’s resignation, throw-ing his full support behind thediplomat who negotiated thecountry’s nuclear deal withworld powers.

Zarif later returned to hisjob. Both men face growingpressure from Iranian hard-lin-ers as the nuclear accord unrav-els under American pressure.

Foreign Ministry spok-esman Bahram Ghasemi said onTuesday that “one of the reasonsfor Zarif ’s resignation was thistype of lack of coordination withthe Foreign Ministry.” Assadwas warmly received bySupreme Leader Ayatollah AliKhamenei, Rouhani and alsoGen. Qassem Soleimani, thecommander of an elite unit ofthe Revolutionary Guard. AP

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AVietnamese womanaccused of murdering the

half-brother of North Korea’sleader will testify in court for thefirst time next week, when thelong-running trial over the ColdWar-style hit resumes, herlawyer said on Tuesday.

In a brazen killing thatshocked the world, Doan ThiHuong from Vietnam and SitiAisyah from Indonesia areaccused of assassinating KimJong Nam by smearing VXnerve agent on his face at KualaLumpur airport in February2017. The women have deniedmurder, saying they believedthey were taking part in a prankand were tricked by NorthKorean agents.

Salim Bashir, one of Huong’slawyers, said she will testify onMonday when the trial resumeswith the defence stage of pro-ceedings after a break of sever-al months.

“Huong is in good health,confident and is ready to take thestand,” he told AFP, adding thatthe thrust of the defence

remained that the women weretricked into carrying out thekilling.

“Huong had no... Intentionto commit murder.” The pairhave been on trial since October2017 but proceedings have beenhit by repeated delays, andAisyah’s defence — which wasoriginally due to start last year— is currently on hold due to arow over witness statements.

Prosecutors presented theircase in the first stage of the trial,with witnesses describing howthe victim — the estranged rel-ative of Kim Jong Un and onceseen as heir apparent to theNorth Korean leadership —died in agony shortly after beingattacked.

In August, a judge ruledthere was sufficient evidence thesuspects had engaged in a “well-planned conspiracy” with fourNorth Koreans to murder Kim,and ordered that the trial con-tinue to the defence stage.

The four, who are accusedof having recruited the pair andbeing the masterminds of theplot, are also formally accusedover the killing.

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AUK-based male patient’sHIV has become “unde-

tectable” following a stem celltransplant — in only the sec-ond case of its kind in theworld, scientists led by anIndian-origin researcherreported Tuesday in a studypublished in the journalNature.

The ‘London patient’, whohas not been named, was diag-nosed with HIV in 2003 andadvanced Hodgkin’s lymphomain 2012. Professor RavindraGupta said the patient was treat-ed with stem cell transplantsfrom donors carrying a geneticmutation that prevents expres-sion of an HIV receptor CCR5.

The subject of the newstudy has been in remission for18 months after his antiretro-viral therapy (ARV) was dis-continued, he said.

“At the moment the only

way to treat HIV is with med-ications that suppress the virus,which people need to take fortheir entire lives, posing a par-ticular challenge in developing countries,” saidGupta from University CollegeLondon (UCL), the study’slead author

“Finding a way to eliminatethe virus entirely is an urgentglobal priority, but is particu-larly difficult because the virusintegrates into the white bloodcells of its host,” he said in astatement.

The team, which com-prised of researchers at UCLand Imperial College Londonas well as partners at theUniversity of Cambridge andthe University of Oxford, saidthe latest case is a proof of theconcept that scientists will oneday be able to end AIDS,caused by HIV, but does notmean a cure for HIV has beenfound.

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There is a new trend emerging inthe job market these days.Employers are looking for can-

didates with multiple skills. One areaof expertise among candidates is nolonger appealing to the organisationsfor the job. They believe that profes-sionals who are proficient in two ormore business domains can be betterperformers at jobs that are interdis-ciplinary in nature.

An increasing number of studentshave realised that they need to com-bine their specialisations to meetemployer expectations. Here are somereasons why students prefer to enrolin dual specialisation PGDM degree.

�� ������With dual specialisation in their

skills kitty, you can widen the scopeof job opportunities. You can fit intodiversified roles effortlessly. Dualspecialisation gives you a competitiveedge over other candidatesarmed with only oneskill. It is akin todoubling the chancesof landing a job. Moreover,students with dual speciali-sation have better access to jobprospects in both domestic andinternational markets.

������� �6����� ���Today’s business world operates in

a volatile, uncertain and dynamiceconomy. Organisations require

adapting their business objectivesand workforce to cater to the chang-ing market. Employees who do notreskill, upskill or cross-skill themselvesmay lose their jobs. On the contrary,employees with dual specialisationsare equipped to handle different andvaried roles single-handedly as per themarket changes. Hence, there is morejob security.

�����Who doesn’t expect promotions

and higher salaries in their career? Adual specialisation will enable you toclimb the corporate ladder fasterthan your peers. As and when you

want to make a career transition,you can do it smoothly

because you can lookfor opportunitiesbeyond yourcomfort zone.

The fact that youhave expertise in

two business func-tions works to your

a d v a n t a g ewhen it comesto advancingyour career.

���� �����������When you have dual specialisa-

tions, you come into contact withmany people during both academicand professional life. As you go on cul-tivating relationships with peoplefrom two different domains, morepeople know about your skills andqualifications. So, you again havetwice the chances of learning about

new openings in the job market andfast-track your career.

�������When you pursue dual speciali-

sation simultaneously, you can savehalf the time of what you would takeby doing two courses one after anoth-er. The time which you save can beutilized to master other hard or softskills to bridge the skill gaps in yourcareer. This way, you earn not onlydual specialisation but also add othernew skill-sets on your resume in thesame time frame.

�� � �� ����If you aspire to become an entre-

preneur, dual specialisation PGDMdegree can come quite handy. As anentrepreneur, you need to possessknowledge of multiple business func-tions and sectors. Depending on thebusiness you are venturing into, youcan take up the specialisations that canprove useful in the future.

There is no doubt that dual spe-cialisation is a value-addition on yourresume as an amateur as well as anexperienced professional. ����$���������#���(������,���������� �

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���� �/�����-������� �5� ������� ���� �The Ryan International School, Rohini

aims at all round development of stu-dents’ personality by providing quality edu-cation in a pollution free and friendly envi-ronment. With strong pedigree, constitu-tion of the institution epitomises imbibingand assimilating the social, moral, ethicaland spiritual values among the students.

The dignitaries of the event who gracedthe occasion with their presence were RitaGangwani, Entrepreneur, Gangwani'sSashes and Crowns Pageantversity, RadhikaSuri, Director of Environment EducationWWF, India, Shamel Hans, Gospel Singer,Supriya Nagpal, Mrs Gurgaon, 2014, PallaviLuthra, Consultant, IT, Central SurveillanceUnit, Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare, Anil Kumar Mudgal Zonal Head,

Bhartiya Yoga Sansthan and RachnaMalik, Social Worker.

The programme was based on a special

theme, Be the Change. This auspicious daywas adorned with rhythmic action that gen-erated quality, creativity and execution high-lighting One Nation — One Heart.

A musical feast was presented by theschool voice-overs under the play Piratesv/s Mermaids — depicting the story ofpirates and mermaids in the form of anorchestral train journeying through variousstates of India.

The Galaxy of guests gave the prizes tothe meritorious students who had excelledin academics and various competitions heldat school. He urged the students to honetheir talents and potentials to not only carvea niche for themselves or bring laurels toschool but also aim to bring glory to theirstate as well as their nation.

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The Lal Bahadur ShastriInstitute of Management

(LBSIM) observed its 24thFoundation Day Lecture onSecure India — Challengesfor Future Leaders. The eventtook place at LBSIM’sCampus at Dwarka, Delhi.

The guest speakers forthe lecture were Lt GenDeependra Singh Hooda,former General OfficerCommanding-in-Chief ofNorthern Command.

The event started with a

short screening on Shastrijiwhich commemorated hispraiseworthy deeds for thenation.

This was followed by awelcome address by DKSrivastava, director, LBSIMafter which the chief guest, LtGen Deependra SinghHooda took over.

The event ended by analumni prize distributionwhich awarded five esteemedalumni’s who have been shin-ing bright over the years. Itwas definitely a moment offeather in the cap.

������� �������The University of

Strathclyde is inviting appli-cations for MSc AppliedGender Studies course start-ing in September 2019.

The MSc Applied GenderStudies degree is a Master’slevel course for those whowish to study how gender‘works’ in relation to otherstructural inequalities suchas race, sexuality, class anddisability within society.

If students wish to pursuea career in the charitable,education, Government orcivil service or the heritagesectors then this course is ide-ally suited to them.

Eligibility: First class orupper second Honours degreein a relevant discipline, usu-ally in the Humanities andSocial Sciences.

Fee: £14,650 for interna-tional students

How to apply: Log on toh a s s - p g -e n qu i r i e s @ s t rat h . a c . u k ;https://www.strath.ac.uk/courses/postgraduatetaught/applied-genderstudies/.

�� �����������������International School of

Design invites application forBachelors, Masters & DiplomaProgrammes in FashionDesign.

Eligibility: Class X passfor diploma, Class XII forbachelors & diploma andgraduates for masters degreeor diploma(any stream).

Deadline: March 20, 2019How to Apply: Log on to

http://www.insd.edu.in/apply-online.html or downloadapplication form website andapply or walk into the corpo-rate branch with all docu-ments to register.

�������<�������TKWs Institute of

Banking & Finance, NewDelhi invites applications forits new Academic Session ofPost graduate diploma inBanking & Finance with spe-

cialisation in InternationalTrade Finance.

This program starts byproviding fundamental clari-ty and then advances toexpose the participants to allessentials of banking &finance.

With certif icate inInternational Trade andFinance (CITF), a studentcan easily seek jobs in tradedepartment of a bank. Theexam for this certification isconducted by InternationalChamber of Commerce(ICC).

Eligibility : Minimumqualification for securingadmission to PG diplomacourse in Banking & Financeis graduate in any stream with50 per cent marks, studentsawaiting final year resultsmay also apply.

How to apply: Fill anonline application form andpay �1000 application fee,online or by visiting the insti-tute.

Last date to apply: March19, 2019.

��%���� �� ����KIIT Group of Colleges

invites applications for admis-sion to various courses in2019-2020 Session.

The courses offered areBTech. (CSE ECE, EEE, CivilEngineering & MechanicalEngineering), MTech (ECE &CSE), MBA, BBA & BCA.

Eligibility: Candidatesmust have appeared/passedClass XII examination forbachelors degree, andappeared/passed graduationfor masters degree pro-grammes.

Deadline: June 30, 2019.

Blended learning is the answerthat addresses the problem

that no single educational methodor arrangement might really beoptimal for any kind of education.While the typical, traditional faceto face training benefit from thesocial aspects like communicationand development of manual skills,digital forms of learning are gen-erally associated with higherdegrees of efficiency and flexibil-ity, based specifically on ensuringdemands of learnability.

����Face to face lectures lack het-

erogeneous pre-knowledge andhave a fixed place or time while e-learning on the other hand negatesgeo-spatial conditions and pro-vides flexibility of creating learn-er paths basis individual learners.

��������Blended learning is a harmo-

nious arrangement that combinesboth the kinds of teaching meth-ods and their individual benefitswhile circumventing their indi-vidual associated drawbacks. Thisis why it is described as integrat-ed or hybrid learning. BlendedLearning allows for immenseopportunity for immersive learn-ing.

�What is immersive learning?The concept and term of

immersive learning is very popu-lar in the new age academic field.It includes several environmentsincluding game-based learning

scenarios where course partici-pants are involved deeply in a sub-ject that is expected to give resultsin an intensified learning experi-ence that increases learning out-come. This refers to early peda-gogical strategies of learning thesubject directly by diving into it onthe deep end. Immersive learninggives course participants a strongsense of ‘being there’ (live inter-active video classes) even if direct-ly attending is not possible –whether it is because of conflict-ing schedules or inaccessible situ-ations.

�Immersive learning in a blend-ed environment: In the modernera of blended learning, immersivelearning includes closed interwo-ven possibilities where this is ahigh degree of involvement withsubmerging different scenarios orenvironments. This is done inmany ways, few being:�Live interactive classes where stu-dents can attend classes and askqueries and get answers real time.They can also request Mentor ondemand.�Gamification feature where stu-dents compete with each other in

a gaming environment to forge aspirit of competitiveness.�Close monitoring by mentorswith feedback on assignments andperformance.�Recorded sessions of classesmade available for future reference.�Technical courses with browseraccessed actual labs to practice andbuild applications on.

With blended learning comesthe collaboration of mentors andstudents from across demograph-ic regions, backgrounds and jobroles where each one brings to thecourse their experience, perspec-tives and approaches adding to anoverall rich and wholesome learn-ing experience. This could well belikened to studying in an interna-tional university and helps courseparticipants open up to diversemethods, and prepare them for aninternational work environment.

In addition to the above, peerinteraction and group projectshelps a great deal in learning thesubject thoroughly. Blended learn-ing has proven to be the best chan-nel for immersive learning inmodern times. The elements areconstantly evolving basis industrydemands. It is a collaborative ecosystem that will evolve with inputsand insights from learners, cor-porate stake holders and the train-ing industry. Immersive learningis not an innovation, but a manda-tory requisite in today’s dynamicskilling environment.

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Board exam is the first formallyorganised examination taken by

students.It sets the tone for a student'sacademic future as board resultsdefine the career path. Meritoriousresult in the board exam is com-mendable and boosts one’s confi-dence. Hence, it creates a lot of pres-sure on students to perform well andmake their parents, teachers, friendsand well-wishers proud.

With careful planning and disci-plined execution, students can pre-pare efficiently for their exams andachieve desirable outcomes. Hereare some practical tips which can helpstudents remain stress-free and pre-pare more efficiently for the upcom-ing board exam.�Prepare an agenda and time table:Studying too much may at times becounter-productive to the task athand, so it is healthy to pay attentionto what you are studying rather thanjust memorising it for hours. It helpsto first analyse and then chart out aHow To Study plan. �You will also have to make atimetable in order to maintain a bal-ance between study and rest, toavoid a burn out.�Identify the important sectionsand your areas of weakness.�Be realistic about how much youcan achieve in a day or week or astudy session.�Prepare short notes: One of themost efficient ways to save time andenergy is to memorise by using shortnotes, charts and diagrams. Thatway, when there isn’t enough time torevise in a detailed manner your

memory can be refreshed by con-sulting the easy-to-understand shortnotes. �Solve previous years’ questionpapers: Solving previous years’ ques-tion papers can give you an under-standing of what to expect, and if youattempt them analytically, you will beable to find a way that helps you giveyour best in the exams. You get toknow the structure and level of dif-ficulty of the question papers. Youshould also look at the model testpaper and the marking scheme issuedby the board to get an idea of whatto expect in the exam. You will notfeel stressed as there will be no fearfor the examination. Consequently,your mind will stay calm andfocussed, which is conducive forperforming well in the exams. �Group study can help: Studying ina group helps in resolving doubts orquestions. However, it is important tokeep in mind that group study hoursshould be used for studying only.

�Study regularly: Consistency isessential in studies.That way one canbe exam ready without relying toomuch on last-minute cramming.Studying on a regular basis can helpyou complete the course early,leavingyou with ample time for revision. �Take care of your mind and body:You need a sound body and mind toperform to the best of your abilitiesin the examinations. Stress is likely toaffect your performance adversely. Sostaying healthy and calm is as impor-tant as it is to concentrate on studies.

Board exams are arguably one ofthe most stressful times in a student'slife. It is important to accept the factthat stress is an unavoidable part oflife, and getting overwhelmed doesnot help in any way. So the best wayto approach the exams is by assess-ing one’s strengths and weaknessesand making a realistic plan and fol-lowing it sincerely.

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The Department of Information Technology, Government ofMeghalaya in association with NIIT, felicitated students from

across Meghalaya who successfully cleared NIIT’s cutting-edgecertification programs as part of ‘Sponsored IT program ofDepartment of Information Technology, Government ofMeghalaya’, over the last one year.

The chief guest for the convocation ceremony MR Synrem,IAS, Commissioner & Secretary, Information & TechnologyDepartment felicitated the students. The function was also gracedby Shakera Roy, regional head – East, general manager, NIIT Ltd.

Speaking on the occasion MR Synrem said, “I take this oppor-tunity to congratulate all candidates who have successfully clearedthe training program. The training program was conceptualisedwith the objective to enhance the employability of youth inMeghalaya. This initiative will help us to develop industry-readyprofessionals who will contribute towards the development ofIT sector in Meghalaya.

Page 14: 01 ˘ˇˆ˙ ˇ˝˛˚˜ !ˆ #ˇ ˆ˝#˜˘$!#%%#˜˛ˆ˙ %#˙ ˝%...rific scale of the extremist attack in J&K about three weeks ago. This violence was perpetrated by extremists aided

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TheFaculty of

Science at theUniversity of

Strathclyde, Glasgow isoffering scholarships

towards course tuition fees in each year of study of afull-time undergraduate programme.

Eligible students must have excellent gradesfrom High School and strong English test results.

Value: £2000 per yearEligibility: To apply for a scholarship, candi-

dates must: Be available to commence their acade-mic studies in the UK by the start of the academicyear in September-October 2019. Hold an offer ofstudy on an Undergraduate course in the Faculty ofScience, University of Strathclyde. Be paying fullinternational fees.

Subject — Chemistry, Computer andInformation Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics,Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Physics,Forensic Science.

For more information visit: [email protected]

Application deadline: The last date to aply isSeptember 16, 2019.

The University of Melbourne invites applicationsfor the International Graduate Merit Scholarshipsfor all international students who apply to a course-work programme within the Faculty of Business &Economics, to receive a 25% -50% fee waivers forthe duration of the course.

Eligible Course or Subjects: Commerce, eco-nomics, and management courses are eligible forthis scholarship.

Numbers of Award: Approximately 15 scholar-ships are available.

Eligibility: To be eligible for this scholarship,you need to: Applicants must be an internationalstudent. Applicants must be applying to a course-work program within the Faculty of Business andEconomic.

How to apply: No application is required. Youwill be automatically considered for this award ifyou are applying to a coursework program withinthe Faculty of Business and Economic.

Application deadline: Open for 2019

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�What is the programme about?We are one of the largest poverty

alleviation programmes in India. Wehave impacted more than 10 lakh chil-dren and young people in the last 20years. The Childhood to Livelihoodprogramme works with children andyoung people living in poverty, in India,taking them from a childhood full ofchallenges to a life with meaningfullivelihoods. We equip children andyoung people in the age group of 12 to18, with the skills and knowledge theyneed to grow up and move out ofpoverty.

Through our sports activity-basedcurriculum, we equip children with lifeskills, making them confident, resilient.Our youth-centred livelihoods pro-gramme connects the aspirations andpotential of young people to availablemarket opportunities. We build theiremployability skills and map job poten-tial based on individual strengths andmobility.�What is the impact it has had?

There was a 28% point’s increase inthose attending school regularly, with81 per cent reporting attending schoolfive days a week at end line, as com-pared to 63% at baseline. In the pro-gramme, less than 5% of girls drop outof school by Class 8 (age 14). In India,40% of girls drop out of school by Class8 (age 14), 95% girls do not get mar-ried before the age of 18. In India, 30%of women were married before the ageof 18, 79% of young people trained inthe Magic Bus Livelihoods Programmeare placed in salaried work with anaverage income of �9700�What are the challenges the youthface?

The challenges faced by young peo-ple today are lack of a quality educa-tion and a lack of job opportunities.Lack of proper sanitation in schoolsalso leads to many girl children to dropoff from the education system.�What is the importance of activity-based curriculum today?

A sports activity based curriculumis important to equip children andyoung people with life skills they needto help them fight challenges in thecommunities they live in or to help

them earn a better livelihood. Througha sports activity based programme,engaging children becomes easier.They are able to understand how topractically impart these skills in theirreal life situations. �What role can parents play?

The most important roles areplayed by the parents as they are theimmediate support structures of thechildren. To ensure the change broughtto each child is transformational, par-ents are the biggest participants in theprogramme. �This not be balanced with theoret-ical studies as well?

It is indeed very important forevery child to have strong academics.We can then be assured that the childis engaged in class, is productive andwilling to regularly attend school andcomplete her secondary education.The Magic Bus programme ensures allparticipants complete their secondaryschooling. �What are some of the sectors wherethese kids find jobs?

Some of the sectors where theyoung people on our programme havebeen placed are: IT enabled Services;Retail; Quick Service Restaurants;Hospitality; Banking, Financial Servicesand Insurance and Healthcare.

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This year, over 15 lakh aspiringstudents have registered forthe NEET 2019 exam, which

will be held on the May 5, 2019. Thisis a record-breaking number andalmost 2 lakh more than last yearitself.

At present, the Governmentand private colleges in most Stateschoose their MBBS and BDS can-didates based on NEET score. Theexam is an extremely tough examwith its vast syllabus, tricky ques-tions, and negative marking schemefor incorrect answers.

In spite of this, the number ofapplicants has constantly been onthe rise. Why the sudden jump inthe number of applicants? There aretwo reasons for this 14 per cent risein applicants.

Hours before the applicationdeadline for the exam closed, theSupreme Court announced thatstudents above 25 years of age areeligible to take the exam. To helpthese students complete their appli-cation forms.

The second reason is, that

NEET is now a mandatory exam forall students who want to pursuetheir MBBS and BDS coursesabroad.

With this sudden rise in appli-cants, the number of students com-peting for a single rank has alsoincreased. This means, that studentswill have to learn better, aim high-er, and attempt as many questionsas they can while maintaining a highpercentage of accuracy. Practice isthe key to a high score. s a NEETaspirant, you only have two monthsbefore your final exam. Spend asmuch time practising as you can.

�Prioritise the chapters thatyou practice based on the weightagethat exam authorities have given inthe past.

�Download an app that givesyou adaptive practice. In simplerwords, these apps create uniquelearning paths for every studentdepending on their unique needs.If your basics are weak, it will cre-ate questions that build your fun-damentals. As you improve, it willkeep raising the level of questions

until you ace the tricky ones.�Take a mock test every day for

at least a month.�In the last month before your

exam, you should start taking mocktests at the same time of the day asyour final exam.

�Ensure that you take it in atime-bound, exam like environment

�Develop answer strategies -Which subject will you attempt first?What is the most amount of timethat you should spend answering aquestion?

�Keep evaluating your incor-rect answers. Make a note of con-cepts that you keep getting wrong.Moreover, categorise your incorrectanswers.

�Did you start solving it cor-rectly and then get confused?

�Did you have no idea how tosolve the question?

This will help you prioritiseyour revision. Since NEET hasnegative marking, accuracy is asimportant as volume.

�Make short notes and flash-cards of formulae, diagrams, and

other concepts that you keep gettingwrong. Have a look at these duringyour last minute revision.

�Ensure that you understandthe concepts instead of rote learn-ing them. There's no room fordoubts!

�Clarify your doubts immedi-ately.

�When you just have about 60days left before an extremely criti-cal exam, you cannot wait for yourteachers to free up time so that youcan clarify your doubts.

�Get your doubts solvedimmediately, or else you will keeprepeating the same mistakes inevery mock test that you take.

�You can download a doubtson chat app to clarify your doubtsinstantly, 24X7.

�Here, you can chat withexperts at any time of the day ornight and they will answer yourquestions.

�Keep your mind calm, stayfocused, and give it your best shot.

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Page 15: 01 ˘ˇˆ˙ ˇ˝˛˚˜ !ˆ #ˇ ˆ˝#˜˘$!#%%#˜˛ˆ˙ %#˙ ˝%...rific scale of the extremist attack in J&K about three weeks ago. This violence was perpetrated by extremists aided

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1'-0��@ 1'�0?�%20.��0$#3-��4-'..2-����� ��Indian bowlers deliv-ered in a heart-stopping cli-max to fashion a narroweight-run victory against

Australia in the second ODIafter skipper Virat Kohli con-jured up a resolute hundred intesting conditions on Tuesday.

Pacer Vijay Shankarscalped the last two Australianbatsmen in the final over inwhich Australia needed toscore 11 runs for a series-lev-elling win.

Handing the ball to medi-um pacer Shankar at themake-or-break situation wasa bold decision by skipperKohli, who had the option ofemploying Kedar Jadhav aswell.

Chasing 251, Australiawas 240 for eight whenShankar got rid of dangerousMarcus Stoinins (52) in thevery first ball of the 50thover and castled Adam Zampain the third ball to trigger cel-ebrations in the Indian camp.

Before that, pacer JaspritBumrah (2/19), who is ever-reliable in death overs, dis-missed Nathan Coulter-Nileand Pat Cummins in space ofthree balls in the 46th overand conceded just one run inthe 48th over, playing a cru-cial role in India's win afterthe spinners had choked theAustralians in the middleovers.

It was Stoinis who hadkept the visitors in hunt as heresisted the unrelentingIndian attack with aplomband added 47-runs for thesixth wicket with Alex Carey(22).

Kohli's 40th ODI centurysteered India to a competitive250 after a middle-order col-lapse on a dry surface at theVCA stadium but it proved tobe just enough in the end asIndia earned the win with justthree balls to spare.

India now lead the five-match series 2-0 with thirdmatch slated for Friday inRanchi.

The Indian skipper was ingood touch and played somedelightful drives wheneverthe ball was pitched up. Inconditions which tested thefitness of each and every play-er, Kohli struck only 10boundaries and ran a lot ofsingles and two's in his 116-

run knock.He was at the crease till

the start of the 48th over, fac-ing 120 balls in an inningswhich will rank among one ofhis top ODI knocks in recenttimes.

Australia were off to a flu-ent start with openers AaronFinch (37) and UsmanKhawaja (38) adding 83 runsat a decent pace but the spin-ners led by ChinamanKuldeep Yadav (3/54) notonly put the brakes on run-rate but also hurt the visitorsby taking wickets intermit-tently.

Kuldeep broke the open-ing stand by trapping Finchand later sent back dangerousGlenn Maxwell (4) and Careywhile Jadhav and Jadejaaccounted for Khawaja andShaun Marsh respectively.

Stoinis and Carey took theAussie chase deep with theirdogged batting but Kuldeepturned the tide in India'sfavour by dismissing the lat-ter.

After the first innings, itwas clear that spinners willshape the outcome of thematch and Kuldeep alongwith Ravindra Jadeja andKedar Jadhav did strangulatethe Australian innings.

Between overs 13 and 33the Indian bowlers concededjust one boundary.

Kuldeep, who was themost impressive bowler onshow, was taken to cleaners bythe two Aussies who creamedoff 15 runs in the 43rd over toease some pressure.

The two batsmen showedtremendous grit under pres-sure but Kuldeep provided themuch-needed breakthroughby cast ling Carey, whodragged it on his stumps.

Earlier, Kohli steadilybuild the Indian innings even

as he saw the fall of col-leagues Shikhar Dhawan (21)and Ambati Rayudu (18).

Dhawan looked in goodtouch as he too hit somecrushing boundaries beforebeing trapped by part-timerMaxwell.

Rayudu struggled torotate strike as the ball was notcoming on to the bat and waseventually adjudged leg beforeoff Lyon.

Kohli got a good ally in

Vijay Shankar (46 off 41) withwhom he added 81 runs forthe fourth wicket but the lat-ter was unfortunately run outwhen he backed up too far atthe non-striker's end to aKohli straight drive.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampathen got rid of Kedar Jadhav(11) and M S Dhoni (0) offsuccessive balls but Kohli heldone end up.

He completed his hun-dred by cutting one from

Nathan Coulter-Nile to thesquare boundary.

The innings approachingthe end, acceleration wasrequired but Ravindra Jadejacould only manage 21 off 40balls and was soon removedby Cummins. Kohli was final-ly dismissed while trying topull Pat Cummins.

Kuldeep Yadav and JaspritBumrah too perished in ajiffy and India could not evenbat for full 50 overs.

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Page 16: 01 ˘ˇˆ˙ ˇ˝˛˚˜ !ˆ #ˇ ˆ˝#˜˘$!#%%#˜˛ˆ˙ %#˙ ˝%...rific scale of the extremist attack in J&K about three weeks ago. This violence was perpetrated by extremists aided

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Germany winger SergeGnabry has extended his

Bayern Munich contract until2023, adding three more years tohis deal, as the defendingBundesliga champions continueto rejuvenate their squad.

The 23-year-old is beinggroomed to replace Bayern's age-ing wingers Arjen Robben andFranck Ribery, who are both 35and out of contract at the end ofthe season.

Gnabry, Canadian wun-derkind Alphonso Davies, 18,and Frenchman KingsleyComan, 22, are the next genera-tion of Bayern wingers.

"We are happy that we at FC

Bayern have tied ourselves toSerge for the long term," saidBayern's sports director HasanSalihamidzic.

"He has taken a big step for-ward with us this year."

Bayern paid Werder Bremeneight million euros ($9m) forStuttgart-born Gnabry in 2017,but loaned him out toHoffenheim last season, so this ishis first year at Bayern.

Having scored eight goals in29 games for Bayern, Gnabry,who can play on either wing, hasbeen a key factor in slashingDortmund's lead at the top of theBundesliga in recent weeks.

Defending championsBayern have eroded Dortmund'snine-point lead in December

and draw level on 54 points lastweekend with only a goal differ-ence of just two separating theclubs.

"Sportingly, things are goingvery well for me personally rightnow," Gnabry said, who spent fiveyears at Arsenal from 2011 until2016 having initially joined theGunners' academy. "I know thatI still have potential and need todevelop further."

Gnabry was part of theGermany team which won Silverin the men's football tournamentat the 2016 Olympic Games.

He scored a hat-trick in an 8-0 thrashing of minnows SanMarino on his senior debut inNovember 2016 in the first of hisfive appearances for Germany.

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Dani Alves jokes that Paris Saint-Germainare still Champions League "virgins", butthe presence of players like the decorated

Brazilian only helps make them more crediblecontenders to win the coveted trophy.

In a glittering career, Alves has won theChampions League three times with Barcelonaand reached another final with Juventus.

He is a veteran now, his 36th birthdayfalling several weeks before this season's final, andhe is conscious of what players like him and goal-keeper Gianluigi Buffon, now 41, can add to a PSGsquad already featuring Neymar and KylianMbappe.

"We know how to win and how to lose. Whatwe try to transmit to the others is that either weall go together in the same direction, or we leavethe doors open to a defeat," Alves said.

He is speaking at the club's training ground,48 hours before their last 16, second leg at hometo Manchester United.

The mood is relaxed, with confidence highin Paris that Thomas Tuchel's side will make goodtheir 2-0 first-leg win last month, achieved with-out Neymar and Edinson Cavani, the two super-stars both out injured.

"This is not a competition that depends onlyon one player having a spectacular day," he insists.

"When you have experienced players, youdon't tremble when it comes to playing in a hos-tile atmosphere, or under pressure."

;��� ��������������JIn his first campaign at PSG last season, they

were knocked out at this stage by Real Madrid,the first time Alves had not been involved in thequarter-finals of the Champions League in adecade.

It was an enormous disappointment forParis and their Qatari owners, who had just paidthe two biggest transfer fees in history forNeymar and Mbappe.

"I always talk about how we have special play-ers here, like 'Ney', like Kylian, like 'Edi', who at

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Indian Super League championsChennaiyin FC will make their

AFC Cup debut when they takeon Sri Lanka's Colombo FC in aqualifying play-off round matchon Wednesday.

Chennaiyin, the first ISLoutfit to participate in the AFCCup, are vying for a place in thegroup stage of the AFC Cup inthe South Asian Zone.

The Chennai-based side arecoming in the first-leg tie at theColombo Race Course Groundafter concluding their 2018-19ISL campaign with a 0-1 defeatto FC Goa last week.

"The boys are in good spir-its, ahead of what is a very biggame for us against Colombo FC.We are honoured to be the firstIndian Super League team tohave qualified for the AFC Cup,and are hopeful of securing a vic-tory that puts us in a command-ing position in the second leg,"said Chennaiyin FC Head CoachJohn Gregory ahead of the match.

"We are aware of the qualityColombo FC possess and expecta good fight from them tomor-row (on Wednesday)," he added.

Nine players from the 25-man Chennaiyin squad havefeatured in the competition onprevious occasions with otherclubs. Star India striker JejeLalpekhlua is the most seniorplayer in the squad.

The Mizo striker has playedagainst Colombo FC in the past,having turned out for MohunBagan in the 2017 AFC Cup pre-

liminary round."This is a historic match in

the club's history, and we are opti-mistic about taking home a goodresult for the second leg. Iremember facing Colombo FCwith Mohun Bagan two yearsback and they are a very toughside. It is not going to be an easygame," said Jeje.

Chennaiyin will be bolsteredby the comeback of Indian mid-fielder Dhanpal Ganesh for thequalifying play-off againstColombo, after he missed out onthe 2018-19 ISL season with aknee injury.

Australian Chris Herd, whojoined CFC in the January trans-fer window, will be the club'sAsian player in the qualifierwith the Brazilian trio of MailsonAlves, Eli Sabia and RaphaelAugusto being the other threeforeigners.

Four youth team players —defenders Hendry Antonay (U-18 and B team) andReamsochung Aimol (B team),midfielder Zonunmawia (Bteam) and forward Bawlte

Rohmingthanga (B team) havealso been included in the squad.

Colombo FC defeatedBhutan's Transport United 9-2on aggregate in the preliminaryround to set up the clash withChennaiyin.

Colombo have five differentplayers who found the back ofthe net so far in their qualifyingcampaign, but Tagne Dimitriwould be the man to watchafter scoring a hat-trick againstTransport United.

This is Colombo's secondappearance in the AFC Cup, hav-ing lost 2-4 on aggregate toIndian side Mohun Bagan in the2017 edition's preliminaryround.

Colombo qualified for the2019 edition's preliminary roundon the back of their third succes-sive Sri Lankan top flight (DialogChampions League) title in 2017-18. They finished as runners-upin the 2018-19 edition, whichconcluded recently.

The second leg of the qual-ifying play-off will be played inAhmedabad on March 13.

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0���������� ��� � ������=�*�������C���%=��������� ��(<��� ��some point can make the difference,and we have to help them," Alves says.

"Otherwise it would be like havinga big meal without the right side dish-es, and it wouldn't have the sameflavour." But what dish would he be?

Alves, a brilliant full-back with lim-itless energy, has recently been rein-vented as a midfielder, fully recoveredfrom the knee injury which saw himmiss last year's World Cup.

��� ����� EHe is happy in Paris, and the hap-

piness is infectious. "I like to get on witheveryone. I ask myself how I can get onwith this guy, with that guy. Becausewhat happens on the pitch sort ofreflects how things are off it," he says ashe discusses getting along with a squadfull of big names.

"We spend more time here than wedo with our families, so you need to get

on with people, have fun, and that isreflected on the pitch. We try to put theegos to one side — because like it or notpeople have egos.

"We need to not let that showthrough, because then you stop think-ing about being happy, and life is notabout being right, it's about beinghappy!"

It is certainly easy to see how hemight be happier now in Paris under

Tuchel, a warmer, more charismaticcoach than his predecessor, Unai Emery.

PSG don't just want to get pastUnited — they want to go beyond thelast eight, something they have not man-aged since the Qatari takeover in 2011.

"We are lucky this year to have ateam that is liked, respected by every-one, that there is an incredible atmos-phere," he says. "Everything has been putin place to make this a great year for us."