4˘˘˝ ˘5 RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. … paints, perfumes, ACs, dish washing...

12
I n a major decision that would impact 40 lakh stu- dents, the Union Cabinet on Friday approved the creation of a National Testing Agency (NTA) as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organisation to conduct entrance examinations for higher educational institutions. The NTA would initially conduct those entrance exam- inations which are currently being conducted by the CBSE. All other examinations, like those conducted by the AICTE, would be taken up gradually by the NTA. Apart from Class 10 and 12 board exams, CBSE conducts five other tests namely Joint Engineering Entrance (JEE), NEET, UGC’s National Eligibility Test (twice a year), Central Teacher Eligibility Test (twice a year) and the entrance test for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas. The exams will be con- ducted online. The NTA would be chaired by an eminent edu- cationist appointed by the HRD Ministry. The Government said establish- ment of NTA will benefit about 40 lakh students appearing in various entrance examinations. HRD Ministry officials said that NTA would be creat- ed as a Society registered under the Indian Societies Registration Act, 1860. “NTA’s entrance examinations will be conducted in an online method mode at least twice a year, thereby giving adequate opportunity to candidates to bring out their best,” said the official. T he Chief Justice of India on Friday presided over an unprecedented sitting to over- rule a two-judge Bench’s order to constitute a larger Bench to hear a petition that alleged bribe was paid to fix a case pending in the apex court. The matter relates to admissions in a Lucknow-based medical col- lege and a retired High Court judge has already been arrested by the CBI in this connection. Sitting in a combination of five judges picked by him, CJI Dipak Misra nulli- fied the order of the Bench of Justices J Chelameswar and S Abdul Nazeer and said that the order could not be “binding” as the decision to refer a case to a five- judge Bench was solely the pre- rogative of CJI, who is the mas- ter of the roster in apex court. However, the CJI’s ruling came only after unprecedented drama that exposed the rift in the top judiciary in the process. Terming the two-judge bench decision as “illegal and void”, the court recalled the same and ordered the petition filed by Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) filed by advocate Prashant Bhushan to be heard by an appropriate Bench after three weeks. The Thursday order passed on a petition by advocate Kamini Jaiswal had directed CBI, the probe agency, to submit all records of inves- tigation in a sealed cover before a Bench of five senior most judges on Monday. The judges sitting along with CJI Dipak Misra - Justices RK Agarwal, Arun Mishra, Amitava Roy, AM Khanwilkar, were unanimous that the action of the 2-judge Bench in listing the case before a Constitution Bench amounted to judicial impropriety. Bhushan was pre- sent in court as the hearing of the case witnessed chaotic scenes, with lawyers present in large numbers, shouting down Bhushan and demanding con- tempt proceeding against him for making insinuations against CJI. The case being investigat- ed by CBI was against a med- ical college, whose petition was decided by a Bench headed by CJI on September 18, 2017. Continued on Page 4 S tarting November 15, eating out in hotels and restaurants would be cheaper. So would be savouring your favourite chocolate or using your pre- ferred brand of cosmetics, as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Friday slashed tax rates on over 200 items in the biggest restruc- turing exercise undertaken since the new indirect tax sys- tem came into force on July 1, reducing 28 per cent tax on 178 items to 18 per cent or less.. Nevertheless, the Council retained the maximum 28 per cent tax slab on luxury, sin and white goods like cigars and cig- arettes, washing machines and air-conditioners. The massive reductions are aimed at provid- ing a major relief to consumers as well as businesses. Following the implementation of GST, while traders and small busi- nesses complained of increased compliance burden, the masses dissented on the high tax rate on some common use goods. In one of the most signif- icant decisions, the Council fixed a uniform 5 per cent GST rate for all restaurants, AC or Non-AC. Currently, 12 per cent GST on food bill is levied in non-AC restaurants and 18 per cent in air-conditioned ones. All these got input tax credit (ITC), a facility to set off tax paid on inputs with final tax. “The restaurants, howev- er, did not pass on the ITC to customers and so the ITC facil- ity is being withdrawn,” Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in Guwahati after chairing the marathon 23rd GST Council Meeting. “As many as 178 items of daily use were shifted from the top tax bracket of 28 per cent to 18 per cent.” Jaitley pointed out. Shortly after the Council’s decision, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “The recommendations made by the GST Council today will further benefit our citizens and add strength to the GST. These recommendations are in spir- it of the continuous feedback we are getting from various stakeholders on GST.” “Jan Bhagidari is at the core of our working. All our deci- sions are people-inspired, peo- ple-friendly and people-centric. We are working tirelessly for India’s economic integration through GST,” he said. The top tax rate is now restricted to luxury and demer- it goods like pan masala, aerat- ed water and beverages, cigars and cigarettes, tobacco products, cement, paints, perfumes, ACs, dish washing machine, washing machine, refrigerators, vacu- um cleaners, cars and two- wheelers, aircraft and yacht. Continued on Page 4 D elhiites can look forward to a better air quality over the weekend as average Air Quality Index, which remained close to ‘severe plus’ across all monitor- ing stations on Friday, is expect- ed to improve further on Saturday with the System of Air Quality and Weather Foreca- sting and Research (SAFAR) predicting average PM2.5 and PM10 levels at 303 and 470 respectively. It may improve a shade and enter the ‘very poor’ zone on Sunday night. According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), “light west-northwest- erly surface winds (5-10 kmph) are very likely to prevail over plains of North India during next 24 hours”. Wind speed is also expect- ed to be far better from Monday and that can blow away the pollutants in the air. Meanwhile, stepping up efforts to curb stubble burning, one of the leading factors for deteriorating air quality in Delhi and the NCR region, a meeting chaired by Environment Secretary CK Mishra called upon the neigh- bouring States to set up one or more monitoring groups, which will continuously look at compliance. There were sug- gestions that State Governments should also set up Flying Squads to assess the situation on the ground, pre- vent violation and report, said a statement here. Though the dense smog layer thinned considerably and level of pollutants dropped steadily in Delhi on Friday, data collected from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed that the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 (particles with diameter less than 2.5 and 10mm) were “severe”. According to SAFAR, the average AQI of Delhi was recorded 480 close to ‘severe plus’, while the average PM2.5 (particles with diameter less than 2.5) of 24 active moni- toring stations was 479 units by 12 pm. It saw slight improve- ment at 7 pm with the average PM2.5 and PM10 was over 375 and 590 units respectively. The safe limit for PM2.5 is 60 microgrammes per cubic metre according to national stan- dards and 25 microgrammes I n a move aimed at ensuring that India joins the elite international exhibition mar- ket, the Union Cabinet on Friday approved the construc- tion of a nearly Rs 26,000-crore Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (ECC) at Dwarka here and allied infrastructure, including exhibition and con- vention spaces, arena, trunk- infrastructure, Metro/NHAI connectivity, hotels, office and retail spaces in PPP and non- PPP Mode. The centre, to come up by 2025, will infuse more than 100 major international and local exhibition events annually. The number of people vis- iting the exhibition facility annually (paying visitors) is estimated to be over 1 crore in the first phase (2019-20) and 2.30 crore after completion of the second phase (2025). Similarly, convention-based delegate attendance is estimat- ed to cross 15 lakh annually after successful completion of second phase of the project. Once fully operational, likely by December 2019, the project is expected to create 5,00,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has already given its green signal to this project. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) would be created to execute the pro- ject. The ECC has been designed to have 2,00,000 square metre of exhibition space, 60,000 square metre of convention space, a multipur- pose arena with a capacity to accommodate 20,000 people, 3,500 hotel rooms and 3,75,000 square metre of retail and commercial space. The ECC will be around 15 min- utes from the international air- port in New Delhi and the site is being linked up with arter- ial road and rail networks. The Centre will provide budgetary support of Rs 2037.39 crore to the SPV as equity over a period of 3 years to fund trunk infrastructure, a part of exhibition centre, foyer, convention centre, metro con- nectivity, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), road connectivity including cost of land to be paid to DDA, water and Sewerage infra- structure, Railway land for Metro Connectivity and expenses towards other Non- PPP components. T he Army will have ‘Make in India’ “eyes in the skies” both at the Line of Control(LoC) with Pakistan and Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China for strength- ening surveillance of cross- border terrorism and trans- gressions as also counter-insur- gency operations in the hin- terland. All the 600 infantry battalions manning the LoC and LAC apart from those deployed in the counter-ter- rorism grid will be equipped with mini-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The project is worth Rs 1,000 crore. The trials of the equip- ment, supplied by a dozen of odd competitors, began earli- er this week. The Army expects to shortlist the ultimate vendor soon and the supplies are like- ly to begin within a year. The initial evaluation is on to determine if the UAVs meet the technical specifications as men- tioned by the Army in its ten- der. The project is ‘Buy India’, meaning the Army will procure UAVs manufactured only by Indian vendors. It will be the first big deal to be inked under this category, sources said here on Friday. The mini-UAVs, weighing about 35 kg, can fly at height of over 4,000 to 5,000 metres and have a range of 10 km. They will be the armed forces’ eyes in the skies, sources said adding it means, the bat- talion commanders can get real-time information about movement of terrorists towards the LoC and transgressions by the Chinese Army into India at the LAC. Continued on Page 4 per cubic metre as per inter- national standards. Continued on Page 4 RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015 N ITI Aayog will be holding India’s first ‘Tribal Entrepreneurship Summit ‘ at Dantewada in insurgency infested Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on November 14 this year, an official Press release informed here on Friday. The event is a part of 8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit being held in India for the first time with the joint efforts of Government of India and United States of America. The tribal entrepreneurship summit will see the participa- tion of tribal entrepreneurs from various sectors across the country and abroad. The summit will be addressed by eminent speakers like Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog; YS Chowdhary, Minister of State for Science and Technology & Earth Sciences and Dr MS Swaminathan, Father of Green Revolution alongside in pres- ence of Saurabh Kumar, District Collector, Dantewada. The summit will also wit- ness dignitaries from health and agri-pharma sectors like Ramanathan Ramanan, Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog; Tenzing Bodoza, Owner of the Bodosa Farms in Assam, Rohit Pillai, Director, Rural Caravan; Nagaraja Prakasam, Founder Chairman, Native Angels Network (NAN); Shakeb Nabi, Country Director for Christian Aid in Bangladesh and Rashmi Tiwari, Founder and Director of Aahan Tribal Foundation of India. The summit is organised to address the problems of the tribal community such as poverty, malnutrition, low lit- eracy and poor health. With the motive to inspire, nurture and promote the spirit of entrepre- neurship, this summit ensures yet another mammoth step towards tribal-centric sustain- able and inclusive develop- ment. Excited to host the first edi- tion of this summit, Saurabh Kumar, District Collector, Dantewada said, “We are grate- ful to the Government of India for choosing Dantewada for this particular summit.” “I believe, that problems of the tribal community can be solved when inspired individ- uals challenge the status quo with their entrepreneurial zeal and spirit of innovation and develop solutions building on the core strengths of the tribal regions,” he said. This summit not only pro- vides a platform to these indi- viduals but also addresses the issues faced by the tribal com- munity in pragmatic and pro- gressive ways, Kumar said. The tribal regions in India are bestowed with the wealth of natural resources like forest and minerals and traditional knowledge that the tribal com- munities possess about the natural eco-system, medicinal plants, forest produce, handi- crafts and agriculture, he said. This summit aims to acknowledge the potentiality of these natural resources in improving the livelihood of the tribal community, Kumar said.

Transcript of 4˘˘˝ ˘5 RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. … paints, perfumes, ACs, dish washing...

Page 1: 4˘˘˝ ˘5 RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. … paints, perfumes, ACs, dish washing machine, washing machine, refrigerators, vacu-um cleaners, cars and two-wheelers, aircraft

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In a major decision thatwould impact 40 lakh stu-

dents, the Union Cabinet onFriday approved the creation ofa National Testing Agency(NTA) as an autonomous andself-sustained premier testingorganisation to conductentrance examinations forhigher educational institutions.

The NTA would initiallyconduct those entrance exam-inations which are currentlybeing conducted by the CBSE.All other examinations, likethose conducted by the AICTE,would be taken up gradually bythe NTA.

Apart from Class 10 and 12board exams, CBSE conductsfive other tests namely JointEngineering Entrance (JEE),NEET, UGC’s NationalEligibility Test (twice a year),Central Teacher Eligibility Test(twice a year) and the entrancetest for Jawahar NavodayaVidyalayas.

The exams will be con-

ducted online. The NTA wouldbe chaired by an eminent edu-cationist appointed by theHRD Ministry. TheGovernment said establish-ment of NTA will benefit about40 lakh students appearing invarious entrance examinations.

HRD Ministry officialssaid that NTA would be creat-ed as a Society registered underthe Indian SocietiesRegistration Act, 1860. “NTA’sentrance examinations will beconducted in an onlinemethod mode at least twice ayear, thereby giving adequateopportunity to candidates tobring out their best,” said theofficial.

���� .45*416�

The Chief Justice of India onFriday presided over an

unprecedented sitting to over-rule a two-judge Bench’s orderto constitute a larger Bench tohear a petition that allegedbribe was paid to fix a casepending in the apex court. Thematter relates to admissions ina Lucknow-based medical col-lege and a retired High Courtjudge has already been arrestedby the CBI in this connection.

Sitting in a combination offive judges picked by him, CJI

Dipak Misra nulli-fied the

order of

the Bench of Justices JChelameswar and S AbdulNazeer and said that the ordercould not be “binding” as thedecision to refer a case to a five-judge Bench was solely the pre-rogative of CJI, who is the mas-ter of the roster in apex court.However, the CJI’s ruling cameonly after unprecedenteddrama that exposed the rift inthe top judiciary in the process.

Terming the two-judgebench decision as “illegal andvoid”, the court recalled thesame and ordered the petitionfiled by Campaign for JudicialAccountability and Reforms(CJAR) filed by advocatePrashant Bhushan to be heardby an appropriate Bench afterthree weeks. The Thursdayorder passed on a petition byadvocate Kamini Jaiswal haddirected CBI, the probe agency,to submit all records of inves-tigation in a sealed cover beforea Bench of five senior most

judges

on Monday.The judges sitting along

with CJI Dipak Misra - JusticesRK Agarwal, Arun Mishra,Amitava Roy, AM Khanwilkar,were unanimous that the actionof the 2-judge Bench in listingthe case before a ConstitutionBench amounted to judicialimpropriety. Bhushan was pre-sent in court as the hearing ofthe case witnessed chaoticscenes, with lawyers present inlarge numbers, shouting downBhushan and demanding con-tempt proceeding against himfor making insinuations againstCJI. The case being investigat-ed by CBI was against a med-ical college, whose petition wasdecided by a Bench headed byCJI on September 18, 2017.

Continued on Page 4

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Starting November 15, eatingout in hotels and restaurants

would be cheaper. So would besavouring your favouritechocolate or using your pre-ferred brand of cosmetics, asthe Goods and Services Tax(GST) Council on Fridayslashed tax rates on over 200items in the biggest restruc-turing exercise undertakensince the new indirect tax sys-tem came into force on July 1,reducing 28 per cent tax on 178items to 18 per cent or less..

Nevertheless, the Councilretained the maximum 28 percent tax slab on luxury, sin andwhite goods like cigars and cig-arettes, washing machines andair-conditioners. The massivereductions are aimed at provid-ing a major relief to consumersas well as businesses. Followingthe implementation of GST,while traders and small busi-nesses complained of increasedcompliance burden, the massesdissented on the high tax rate onsome common use goods.

In one of the most signif-icant decisions, the Councilfixed a uniform 5 per cent GSTrate for all restaurants, AC orNon-AC. Currently, 12 percent GST on food bill is leviedin non-AC restaurants and 18per cent in air-conditionedones. All these got input taxcredit (ITC), a facility to set offtax paid on inputs with finaltax. “The restaurants, howev-er, did not pass on the ITC tocustomers and so the ITC facil-ity is being withdrawn,” UnionFinance Minister Arun Jaitleysaid in Guwahati after chairing

the marathon 23rd GSTCouncil Meeting.

“As many as 178 items ofdaily use were shifted from thetop tax bracket of 28 per cent to18 per cent.” Jaitley pointed out.

Shortly after the Council’sdecision, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi tweeted, “Therecommendations made by theGST Council today will furtherbenefit our citizens and addstrength to the GST. Theserecommendations are in spir-it of the continuous feedbackwe are getting from variousstakeholders on GST.”

“Jan Bhagidari is at the coreof our working. All our deci-sions are people-inspired, peo-ple-friendly and people-centric.We are working tirelessly forIndia’s economic integrationthrough GST,” he said.

The top tax rate is nowrestricted to luxury and demer-it goods like pan masala, aerat-ed water and beverages, cigarsand cigarettes, tobacco products,cement, paints, perfumes, ACs,dish washing machine, washingmachine, refrigerators, vacu-um cleaners, cars and two-wheelers, aircraft and yacht.

Continued on Page 4

�"��������"������.45*416�

Delhiites can look forward toa better air quality over the

weekend as average Air QualityIndex, which remained close to‘severe plus’ across all monitor-ing stations on Friday, is expect-ed to improve further onSaturday with the System of AirQuality and Weather Foreca-sting and Research (SAFAR)predicting average PM2.5 andPM10 levels at 303 and 470respectively. It may improve ashade and enter the ‘very poor’zone on Sunday night.

According to IndianMeteorological Department(IMD), “light west-northwest-erly surface winds (5-10 kmph)are very likely to prevail overplains of North India duringnext 24 hours”.

Wind speed is also expect-ed to be far better fromMonday and that can blowaway the pollutants in the air.

Meanwhile, stepping upefforts to curb stubble burning,one of the leading factors fordeteriorating air quality inDelhi and the NCR region, ameeting chaired byEnvironment Secretary CKMishra called upon the neigh-bouring States to set up one ormore monitoring groups,which will continuously look atcompliance. There were sug-gestions that StateGovernments should also setup Flying Squads to assess thesituation on the ground, pre-vent violation and report, saida statement here.

Though the dense smoglayer thinned considerably andlevel of pollutants droppedsteadily in Delhi on Friday, datacollected from the CentralPollution Control Board(CPCB) showed that the levelsof PM2.5 and PM10 (particleswith diameter less than 2.5 and

10mm) were “severe”.According to SAFAR, the

average AQI of Delhi wasrecorded 480 close to ‘severeplus’, while the average PM2.5(particles with diameter lessthan 2.5) of 24 active moni-toring stations was 479 units by12 pm. It saw slight improve-ment at 7 pm with the averagePM2.5 and PM10 was over 375and 590 units respectively. Thesafe limit for PM2.5 is 60microgrammes per cubic metreaccording to national stan-dards and 25 microgrammes

���� .45*416�

In a move aimed at ensuringthat India joins the elite

international exhibition mar-ket, the Union Cabinet onFriday approved the construc-tion of a nearly Rs 26,000-croreExhibition-cum-ConventionCentre (ECC) at Dwarka hereand allied infrastructure,including exhibition and con-vention spaces, arena, trunk-infrastructure, Metro/NHAIconnectivity, hotels, office andretail spaces in PPP and non-PPP Mode.

The centre, to come up by2025, will infuse more than 100major international and localexhibition events annually.

The number of people vis-

iting the exhibition facilityannually (paying visitors) isestimated to be over 1 crore inthe first phase (2019-20) and2.30 crore after completion ofthe second phase (2025).Similarly, convention-baseddelegate attendance is estimat-ed to cross 15 lakh annuallyafter successful completion ofsecond phase of the project.

Once fully operational,likely by December 2019, the

project is expected to create5,00,000 direct and indirectjobs. The Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests hasalready given its green signalto this project. A SpecialPurpose Vehicle (SPV) wouldbe created to execute the pro-ject.

The ECC has beendesigned to have 2,00,000square metre of exhibitionspace, 60,000 square metre of

convention space, a multipur-pose arena with a capacity toaccommodate 20,000 people,3,500 hotel rooms and3,75,000 square metre of retailand commercial space. TheECC will be around 15 min-utes from the international air-port in New Delhi and the siteis being linked up with arter-ial road and rail networks.

The Centre will providebudgetary support of Rs2037.39 crore to the SPV asequity over a period of 3 yearsto fund trunk infrastructure, apart of exhibition centre, foyer,convention centre, metro con-nectivity, National HighwaysAuthority of India (NHAI),road connectivity includingcost of land to be paid to DDA,water and Sewerage infra-structure, Railway land forMetro Connectivity andexpenses towards other Non-PPP components.

"��������� .45*416�

The Army will have ‘Make inIndia’ “eyes in the skies”

both at the Line ofControl(LoC) with Pakistanand Line of Actual Control(LAC) with China for strength-ening surveillance of cross-border terrorism and trans-gressions as also counter-insur-gency operations in the hin-terland. All the 600 infantrybattalions manning the LoCand LAC apart from thosedeployed in the counter-ter-rorism grid will be equippedwith mini-Unmanned AerialVehicles (UAVs). The project isworth Rs 1,000 crore.

The trials of the equip-ment, supplied by a dozen of

odd competitors, began earli-er this week. The Army expectsto shortlist the ultimate vendorsoon and the supplies are like-ly to begin within a year. Theinitial evaluation is on todetermine if the UAVs meet thetechnical specifications as men-

tioned by the Army in its ten-der. The project is ‘Buy India’,meaning the Army will procureUAVs manufactured only byIndian vendors. It will be thefirst big deal to be inked underthis category, sources said hereon Friday.

The mini-UAVs, weighingabout 35 kg, can fly at height ofover 4,000 to 5,000 metres andhave a range of 10 km.

They will be the armedforces’ eyes in the skies, sourcessaid adding it means, the bat-talion commanders can getreal-time information aboutmovement of terrorists towardsthe LoC and transgressions bythe Chinese Army into India atthe LAC.

Continued on Page 4

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NITI Aayog will be holdingIndia’s first ‘Tribal

Entrepreneurship Summit ‘ atDantewada in insurgencyinfested Bastar region ofChhattisgarh on November 14this year, an official Pressrelease informed here onFriday.

The event is a part of 8thGlobal EntrepreneurshipSummit being held in India forthe first time with the jointefforts of Government of Indiaand United States of America.The tribal entrepreneurshipsummit will see the participa-tion of tribal entrepreneursfrom various sectors acrossthe country and abroad.

The summit will beaddressed by eminent speakerslike Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITIAayog; YS Chowdhary,Minister of State for Scienceand Technology & EarthSciences and Dr MSSwaminathan, Father of GreenRevolution alongside in pres-ence of Saurabh Kumar,

District Collector, Dantewada.The summit will also wit-

ness dignitaries from healthand agri-pharma sectors likeRamanathan Ramanan,Additional Secretary, NITIAayog; Tenzing Bodoza,Owner of the Bodosa Farms inAssam, Rohit Pillai, Director,Rural Caravan; NagarajaPrakasam, Founder Chairman,Native Angels Network (NAN);Shakeb Nabi, Country Directorfor Christian Aid inBangladesh and RashmiTiwari, Founder and Directorof Aahan Tribal Foundation ofIndia.

The summit is organised toaddress the problems of thetribal community such aspoverty, malnutrition, low lit-eracy and poor health. With themotive to inspire, nurture andpromote the spirit of entrepre-neurship, this summit ensuresyet another mammoth steptowards tribal-centric sustain-able and inclusive develop-ment.

Excited to host the first edi-tion of this summit, SaurabhKumar, District Collector,

Dantewada said, “We are grate-ful to the Government of Indiafor choosing Dantewada forthis particular summit.”

“I believe, that problems ofthe tribal community can besolved when inspired individ-uals challenge the status quowith their entrepreneurial zealand spirit of innovation anddevelop solutions building onthe core strengths of the tribalregions,” he said.

This summit not only pro-vides a platform to these indi-viduals but also addresses theissues faced by the tribal com-munity in pragmatic and pro-gressive ways, Kumar said.

The tribal regions in Indiaare bestowed with the wealth ofnatural resources like forest andminerals and traditionalknowledge that the tribal com-munities possess about thenatural eco-system, medicinalplants, forest produce, handi-crafts and agriculture, he said.

This summit aims toacknowledge the potentiality ofthese natural resources inimproving the livelihood of thetribal community, Kumar said.

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On a day the GST Councilslashed the GST rates on

over 150 items, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi onFriday said his party will notallow imposition of the"Gabbar Singh Tax" and askedthe Centre to do some coursecorrection "shedding arro-gance".

Taking to Twitter, Rahulalso said that the Governmentcannot break the back of smalland medium size enterprises inthe country, crush the informalsector and destroy millions ofjobs. "We will not allow the BJPto impose a Gabbar Singh Taxon India. They cannot breakthe back of the small andmedium businesses, crush theinformal sector and destroymillions of jobs.

#GSTCouncilMeet," theGandhi scion tweeted.

He suggested theGovernment to give the coun-try a "genuine simple tax". TheGovernment, he said, shouldnot "waste time" of the coun-try by allegedly engaging in lipservice. "... Acknowledge yourincompetence, shed away yourarrogance and listen to the peo-ple of India," he said on themicro-blogging site.

Later at the AICC Pressbriefing, Congress spokesper-son Abhishek Manu Singhvisought to find "flaws" in theGST, saying it cannot be a "onenation, one tax" if 40 per centto 45 per cent of the goods orservices are kept out of itsambit.

He questioned the timingof the GST Council meeting,which he said, took place aheadof the Gujarat Assembly polls

(scheduled to be held onDecember 9 and December14). Hitting out at PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andhis Government, Singhvi saidthat the Centre has been goingabout implementing the GST"without thinking first".

"The Prime Minister andhis Government first shoot,then they aim and then think,be it on the issues of demon-etisation or GST. And that isexactly what is happening inthe case of GST," he added.

He alleged the "noble con-ception" of GST has been dis-torted. He accused theGovernment of not addressingthe real concerns relating to thetax regime because of its "arro-gance and rhetoric". "Theanomalies need proper appli-cation of mind (to be solved)and not arrogance," he said.

���� .45*416�

The Union Cabinet chairedby Prime Minister Narendra

Modi on Friday accordedapproval for continuation andrestructuring of National RuralDrinking Water Programme(NRDWP) to make it outcome-based, competitive and bettermonitored with increased focuson sustainability (functionality)of schemes to ensure goodquality service delivery to therural population.

A sum of �23,050 crore hasbeen approved for the pro-gramme for the 14th FinanceCommission (FFC) period2017-18 to 2019-20, as per astatement here.

"The programme will coverall the rural population acrossthe country. The restructuringwill make the programme flex-ible, result-oriented, competi-tive, and will enable theMinistry towards to reach thegoal of increasing coverage ofsustainable piped water supply,"it added.

A new sub-programmeunder NRDWP viz. NationalWater Quality Sub-Mission(NWQSM) which has beenstarted by the Ministry ofDrinking Water and Sanitationin February 2017 will addressthe urgent need for providingclean drinking water in about28000 Arsenic and Fluorideaffected habitations (alreadyidentified). As per estimates,about �12,500 crore as Centralshare will be required over 4years i.e. up to March, 2021.This is being funded from theallocation under NRDWP, thestatement added.

As per the Governmentdata, about 77 per cent of ruralhabitations in India haveachieved a fully covered (FC)status (40 litres per capita perday) and 56 per cent of the ruralpopulation have access to tapwater through public standposts within which 16.7 per centhave household connections.

���� .45*416�

After denying access to for-mer Indian Navy official

Kulbhushan Jadhav for nearlytwo years now, Pakistan onFriday finally allowed Jadhav’swife to meet him on “human-itarian grounds”.

"The Government ofPakistan has decided to arrangea meeting of CommanderKulbhushan Jhadav with hiswife, in Pakistan, purely onhumanitarian grounds. A NoteVerbale to this effect has beensent to the Indian HighCommission in Islamabad,today," Pakistan ForeignMinistry said on Friday.

It is learnt that the timeframe allowing the meetingbetween Jadhav and his wifehas been given around end ofDecember. Sources in thePakistan Government said thatthe access to Jadhav's wife hasbeen given keeping in viewIndia's requests for meeting.

Incidentally, the Pakistan’sdecision comes days before ithas to file a reply in theInternational Court of Justice(ICJ) where India has com-plained that Jadhav was deniedConsular Access under theVienna Convention despiterepeated requests. Pakistan has

to file its reply to the ICJ byDecember 13.

India has in the last 21months requested at least 18times for Consular Access toJadhav. The ICJ had in May thisyear stayed the execution ofJadhav, who was awarded deathpenalty by the Pakistan militarycourt. India's Consular Accessrequest to Jadhav is still pending.

In addition External AffairsMinister Sushma Swaraj hadwritten to the former PakistanForeign Affairs Advisor SartazAziz requesting him to allowvisa to Jadhav’s mother to facil-itate her meeting with her sonand file an appeal against thedeath sentence. Pakistan, how-ever, remained silent overSwaraj's letter.

Pakistan’s statement onFriday added: “Commander

Kulbushan Jhadav alias,Hussain Mubarak Patel, a serv-ing Commander of the IndianNavy, working with IndianIntelligence Agency/RAW wasapprehended by Pakistan lawenforcement agencies onMarch 3, 2016 after he illegal-ly crossed over into Pakistan.He confessed before aMagistrate and the court thathe was tasked by RAW to plan,coordinate and organise espi-onage, terrorist and sabotageactivities aimed at destabilisingand waging war againstPakistan.”

The Indian Governmenthas strong objection to Jadhavbeing portrayed as a RAW spy.The Indian Government main-tains that he was a businessmanwho was abducted by thePakistan agencies.

New Delhi: The Centre onFriday took serious exceptionto a comment by the UnitedNation's Special Rapporteuron the right to safe drinkingwater and sanitation commentswho said that the SwachchhBharat Mission "lacked a holis-tic human rights approach".

The Government also tookexception to Leo Heller's ref-erence to Mahatma Gandhi'sspectacles in the mission's logo,and his "rambling" report con-taining "inaccuracies, sweepinggeneralisations and biases".

"In the last two weeks Ihave visited rural and urbanareas, slums and settlementcamps where undocumentedpopulation is residing... And Ihave found that these initiativeslack a more human rightsapproach," he had said to thereporters here.

Taking strong note of hisremarks on the logo of theClean India Mission, theGovernment issued a state-ment deploring that it showed"serious insensitivity towardsthe Father of the Nation". TheGovernment statement saidthe world knows that Mahatmawas the foremost proponent ofhuman rights. PNS

New Delhi: The Border SecurityForce (BSF) on Friday raisedconcern about the unprovokedcross-border firing incidents,infiltration and smugglingoccurring from Pakistan sidewith their counter parts PakistanRangers. The three day meetingbi-annual talks of BSF andPakistan rangers, concluded inDelhi, stressed for the need oftimely exchange of informa-tion and field Commander levelfrequent meetings to settle thetensions in the border areas.

"The Indian side firmly andstrongly took up specific issuesof concern including incidentsof unprovoked cross border fir-ing, smuggling of narcotics,infiltration attempts, tunnelingand defence construction activ-ities. The issue of inadvertentcrossing over by the borderpopulation and ways to facilitatetheir return on both the sideswas also discussed. It was agreedupon in deliberations thatutmost caution and care shouldbe exercised in dealing with thecivilians.

"The need for timelyexchange of information, at thefield level with increased fre-quency of field commanderslevel meetings, simultaneouscoordinated patrolling etc. werealso discussed. The need forcooperation to maintain thesanctity of the borders wasemphasised upon. The talkswere held in a constructiveatmosphere. The talks conclud-ed with both sides agreeing onconstant endeavor to maintainpeaceful and tranquil borders. Itwas mutually agreed to hold the

next round of talks in Pakistan,"said the statement issued byUnion Home Ministry after theBSF-Pakistan Rangers meeting.

The 23-member Indian del-egation was led by KK Sharma,DG BSF. Major GeneralMuhammad Saeed, DirectorGeneral, Pak Rangers (Sindh)led a 19-member Pakistani del-egation to India. Both the dele-gations also had representativesfrom respective Home andForeign Ministries along withofficers from Narcotics Controland Survey Departments.

���� .45*416�

With a huge buffer stock atits disposal, the Union

Cabinet on Friday gave its go-ahead to the Centre to utilise alittle over one-fourth of thestock of pulses for meeting theprotein component under var-ious Central Governmentschemes, like Mid-Day Meal(MDM), providing nutrition tobeneficiaries and target groups.

The disposal through theCentral Government Schemesis in addition to the disposal ofpulses from the buffer throughopen market sale and supply toStates at lower rates. TheCentre has created a bufferstock of 20 lakh tonnes ofpulses through local procure-ment and imports this year. Ofthis, 5.5 lakh tonnes will beused for the purpose.

For the first time, theGovernment had last yeardecided to create a buffer stockof pulses to ensure better pricesto farmers and at the same timeuse the stock to augment localsupply in times of price rise.

Incidentally, when the cropwas bumper and pricescrashed, it started procuring atthe support price. The cost ofpulses supplied to States would,in no case, be higher than the

market price, protecting theirinterest as well. The countryhad produced a record 22.95 million tonnes in the2016-17 crop year (July-June)buoyed by good rains andhigher support prices.

Around 3.5 lakh tonnes ofpulses will be given at a lowerrate to five States — Karnataka,Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, AndhraPradesh and Telangana becausethese States have responded tothe Ministry's urging to providepulses at cheaper rate. Aroundtwo lakh tonnes of pulses willbe given for consumptionunder various Central welfareschemes including the mid-daymeal programme.

According to officials, theCentre's decision will help toensure adequate supply of nutri-

ents/pulses under the variousschemes and programmes of the Centre and StateGovernments including theMDM scheme, Anganwadi andIntegrated Child DevelopmentServices (ICDS) Scheme hospi-tals, etc. as well asMinistries/Departments or theiragencies providing food/cater-ing/hospitality services.

The HRD Ministry isresponsible for the MDMscheme which provides mealsto school children in the coun-try. Similarly, the Women andChild Welfare Ministry,responsible for ICDS schemes,can take good quantity of puls-es from the central buffer stock.The scheme aims at holisticdevelopment of children below6-years of age, pregnant women

and lactating mothers by pro-viding a package of six servicescomprising supplementarynutrition; immunisation; healthcheck-up; referral services; pre-school non-formal education;and nutrition and health edu-cation are provided to the tar-geted beneficiaries i.e. all chil-dren below 6-years, Pregnantand Lactating Mothers.

The number of beneficia-ries [children (6 months to 6years) and pregnant and lac-tating mothers] for supple-mentary nutrition under ICDSscheme has increased from956.12 lakh to 1030.14 lakh andNumber of beneficiaries [chil-dren (3-6 years) for pre-schooleducation increased from353.29 lakh to 354.05 lakh in2016. Similarly, AnganwadiCentres have also increasedfrom 1,338,732 to 1,349,091 in2016. The total beneficiariesunder MDM are over 21 lakhin the country.

"To give effect to the deci-sion, the CCEA has empow-ered the concerned depart-ments/ministries to carry outsuitable amendments in theirschemes/guidelines to enablethem to take/provide pulsesfrom the buffer in 'kind' undertheir respective schemes," offi-cials said.

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The Union Home Ministryon Friday created new divi-

sions to check radicalisation andcyber fraud as part of a majorrejig of some of its crucialwings. Two new divisions —Counter Terrorism and CounterRadicalisation (CTCR) andCyber and Information Security(CIS) — have been created.

The CTCR division willdevise quick strategies for de-radicalisation and check ter-rorism, as per an order issuedby the Home Ministry.

Threats to internal securi-ty from increased radicalisation,mostly online, and terrorismwere growing, the officials said,adding that the new wing willfocus on assessing the reach ofglobal terrorist outfits besidesshaping strategies to countertheir propaganda and activities.It will also hire domain expertsfor the purpose.

The other new wing, CIS,

has been created to monitoronline crimes and threats,including cyber fraud andhacking, and suggest ways tominimise and fight them. Thisdivision will track and counteronline fraud, hacking, identitytheft, dark net, trafficking andcyber attacks on critical infor-mation infrastructure, the offi-cials said.

Several divisions have alsobeen merged as part of theadministrative changes. At pre-sent, the Home Ministry hasthree divisions on internal secu-rity — Internal Security I, II andIII (or IS-I, IS-II and IS-III). TheHome Ministry has merged itsInternal Security-I and InternalSecurity-III divisions, besidesmodifying the work of the IS-IIdivision, which will now beknown as the CTCR.

The existing InternationalCooperation division, whichdeals with matters related tointernational/bilateral securityissues such as Mutual Legal

Assistance Treaty, has beenmerged with the Coordinationand Public Grievances division.

A new wing, Coordinationand International Cooperation,has been carved out of them.Similarly, the judicial wing hasbeen merged with the Centre-State division. The judicialdivision deals with mattersrelating to legislative aspects ofthe Indian Penal Code (IPC),Code of Criminal Procedure(CrPC) and the Commission ofInquiry Act.

The Centre-State winglooks after work related toConstitutional provisions gov-erning such relations like theappointment of Governors,creation of new States, nomi-nations to Rajya Sabha/LokSabha, inter-State boundarydisputes, overseeing the crimesituation in States and imposi-tion of President's rule. TheMinistry will continue to have18 divisions, each led by a jointsecretary-level officer.

���� .45*416�

India and Bhutan on Fridayheld their annual

Development CooperationTalks to discuss the imple-mentation of ongoing projectsin the Himalayan Kingdom.

"The Annual DevelopmentCooperation Talks is an important bilateral mechanismto review the entire gamut ofIndia's development partner-ship with Bhutan. Governmentof India has committed assistance of �4,500 crore forimplementation of develop-ment projects during Bhutan's11th Five Year Plan (2013-2018). Over 675 projects,including 595 small develop-ment projects, have been underimplementation in Bhutan dur-ing the XIth plan period with-in GOI's committed assistanceof �4,500 Crore," Ministry ofExternal Affairs spokespersonRaveesh Kumar said on Fridayfollowing the talks.

Bhutan's 11th Five YearPlan (2013-2018) is now enter-ing the final phase and the twogovernments reviewed theoverall progress in the imple-mentation of the ongoing bilat-eral development projects.

"The Bhutanese side con-veyed appreciation of the RoyalGovernment of Bhutan for theinvaluable support of theGovernment of India for theirsocio-economic developmentpriorities, and for timely disbursements of funds for theongoing projects. The two sidesalso initiated discussions onGovernment of India's assistance to the 12th Five YearPlan (2018-2023) of the RoyalGovernment of Bhutan. India has been a privilegedpartner of Bhutan in its socio-economic development.GOI's commitment to contin-ue its support to Bhutan in itsdevelopment efforts was reit-erated by the Indian side,"Raveesh added.

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New Delhi: News reports insome Russian portals suggestingthat India breached the contractby allowing a US Navy technicalcrew onboard nuclear poweredsubmarine INS Chakra have ledto a controversy. While there wasno official reaction by theGovernment here, sources in theDefence Ministry said the reportwas wrong and the US crew wasnot allowed on the submarinemanufactured by Russia.

India has taken this Akulaclass submarine on a 10-yearlease and the Russian portals

claimed allowing the US crew onthe submarine last week inVisakhapatnam was against thecontractual agreement. Denyingthe report, sources said here onFriday adding Russian personnelare posted in Visakhapatnamnaval base to help maintain andoperate the submarine.

Sources also said the tim-ing of the news report wasstrange as it comes a monthahead of the visit of the RussianDeputy Prime Minister DmitryRogozin. Both the countries arelikely to finalise the terms of the

lease for another Russiannuclear submarine of the sameclass.

Russia and India last yeararrived at an agreement for theIndian Navy to acquire the sub-marine for approximately US$2 billion. The likely inductionof that submarine will coincidewith the INS Chakra's leaseending and returning to Russia.

A 14-member team of USdelegates of the India-US JointWorking Group on AircraftCarrier Technology Co-opera-tion had visited some Indiannaval bases last week. They alsovisited the Russian built aircraftcarrier INS Vikramaditya andsources termed it routine anddid not involved transfer of anyclassified information aboutthe warship. PNS

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In a move aimed to meet theshortage of specialists in the

country, the Medical Council ofIndia (MCI) has allowed theMBBS students to practice asmedical specialists in case theyhave done the two-year diplomacourses from the Mumbai-basedCollege of Physicians andSurgeons (CPS).

Presently, MBBS holders areallowed to perform surgeries,anesthetic procedures or C-sec-tion only after they have acquiredPost-Graduate (PG) degree.However, as per the recent direc-tion of the MCI, even those withthe two-year Diploma coursesoffered from the CPS will be eli-gible to become specialist in thesubject. Last month, the HealthMinistry issued a notification inthis regard.

Incidentally, in 2009, themedical education regulator hadderecognised the courses offeredby the CPS which was estab-lished way back in 1913 duringBritish rule to fulfill the need ofintermediate specialists.

The CPS offers two-yeardiploma courses in broad spe-cialties like anesthesia, pedi-atrics, obstetrics and gynecolo-gy, orthopedics, radiology and afew others. These were till recent-ly were recognised only byMaharashtra and GujaratGovernments. But now withthe MCI tag, says Devi Shetty,chairman of Narayana

Hrudayalaya and founder of theAssociation of HealthcareProviders India (AHPI), "theMBBS doctors can acquire inter-mediate specialisation from theCPS which will help strengthenrural healthcare delivery andimprove healthcare indicators bymaking available adequate spe-cialists in healthcare delivery."

He said, now 65,697 MBBSdoctors in Government hospitalsare eligible to become specialistsin two years. All 200-bed multi-specialty hospitals and 100 bedsingle hospitals in Governmentand private sector having expe-rienced faculties and adequateclinical load will be eligible tohost the CPS training courses.

Dr Giridhar Gyani, alsofrom the AHPI added that inkeeping with the Supreme Courtorder on a single entrance for allpost graduate courses, CPS toowill be taking in only NEET-qualified candidates and througha centralised counselling.

Currently, about 1,600MBBS graduates fromMaharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthanand Dadra and Nagar Haveli areenrolled for various CPS diplo-ma courses. Gyani further saidthat the gross underutilisation ofdoctors in India is due to hugedisparity between number ofundergraduate and post gradu-ate seats. "India is producing63,835 MBBS graduates everyyear but has less than 25,000 PGseats. We cannot improve onhealth indicators unless we havespecialists to deliver medicalcare." For instance, he said, weneed 2,00,000pediatriciansagainst presently available 23,000,similarly we need 100,00 radiol-ogists while we are producingjust 10,000.

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The Naya RaipurDevelopment Authority

(NRDA) had been utilisingrecycled water from its fourSewerage Treatment Plants(STPs) for watering trees andplants as part of its massivegreening exercise in the newcapital city, officials informed.

Notably, Naya Raipur —the high tech new capital cityof Chhattisgarh is a ‘zerosewage discharge city’ equippedwith decentralised sewagetreatment for better efficiency.

Being first planned city of21st century, Naya Raipuralready has state-of-the-artinfrastructure at its disposal.The city has well planned eco-nomic and social infrastruc-ture, officials informed.

The Village DevelopmentPlan is also taking care ofsocial equity and cohesion.The rich culture and heritageall adds to the strength of thecity, they informed.

It may be recalled that a‘Master System Integrator’ willmanage the extraordinarily

high-technology oriented ‘NayaRaipur Smart City System’.

The Naya Raipur SmartCity System will compriseSmart Governance, CitySurveillance, IntelligentTransport managementSystem, Electricity and Watersupply and City Commandand Control Centre amongothers, officials informed.

Notably, the Naya Raipuras a Smart City will leverage thecollective intelligence createdby connecting physical, insti-tutional, social and economicinfrastructure to deliver aquantum improvement in thequality of life of local popula-tion, they informed.

Notably, the new capitalcity of Chhattisgarh is a ‘greenfield’ city and is planned todevelop its infrastructure grad-ually in order to provide worldclass amenities and facilities toits residents and visitors.

NRDA has taken the nextstep in ‘Smart City’ develop-ment with plans now for‘Information &Communication Technology”(ICT) enablement of infra-structure and citizen services,

officials informed Naya Raipuris already among five othercities in the country chosen as‘Demonstration Cities’ for theCentre’s ambitious SustainableUrban Transport Project(SUTP).

The final five cities partic-ipating as ‘DemonstrationCities’ under Sustainable UrbanTransport Project (SUTP) are- Indore (Madhya Pradesh),Mysore (Karnataka), NayaRaipur (Chhattisgarh), Puneand Pimpri Chinchwad

(Maharashtra). Detailed project profiles

were prepared by all cities withthe assistance of the SUTPConsultants and then endorsedby the SUTP SteeringCommittee to be included toSUTP as ‘City DemonstrationProjects’, officials stated.

It plans of developing aproject comprising IT-enabledsystems to manage a host ofutilities using state-of-art tech-nology.

The design would com-

prise IT enabled land manage-ment system, city surveillancebesides a host of other systemstill now popular and beingused only in the developedcountries.

The other city manage-ment systems include intelli-gent lighting systems, pay anduse parking systems, city guidemap available through webbrowser, intelligent transportsystem, city level wi-fi touchscreens across the city, displayboards across the city for pro-

viding real-time information,emergency alert and crisisresponse systems, traffic re-routing applications based onreal time traffic data.

The city would also have aCentral Control Center formonitoring all the servicesincluding central traffic controland management system.

It may be recalled thatNaya Raipur has emerged inthe country with the largestland bank of a mammoth 237square kilometres ( 23,700hectares).

The NRDA has plans ofdeveloping a ‘Transport Hub’spread over an area of 161.9hectares in the new capitalcity.

The hub would includesetting up Light Rail TransportSystem (LRTS) stations. Thearea being earmarked for the‘Transport Hub’ would be 12.55per cent of the total area of thenew capital city, officials stated.

Five residential sectors hav-ing more than 8000 dwellingunits had already been com-pleted in Chhattisgarh’s newhigh tech capital Naya Raipurlast year, officials informed.

The habitation in the resi-dential sectors has also com-menced, they informed.

It may be recalled that theNRDA will also develop a‘Land Management System’ formanaging disposal of land forinfrastructure development,officials informed.

Naya Raipur is not just fastemerging as the hi-tech Statecapital of Chhattisgarh but alsoan adventure sports destina-tion.

The four kms cycling track,Kayaking, Burma bridge and a2 kms skating track are some ofthe facilities already function-al in the new capital city, offi-cials informed.

Boating facility had beenmade available to visitors at theJungle Safari from January 1this year in the new capital.

The Jungle Safari compris-es of four separate Safarisincluding Herbivore Safari,Bear Safari, Tiger and LionSafari.

Around 166 personnelincluding officials, doctors,zoo-keeper, guard and otherstaff are deployed for takingcare of animals in the Safari.

Notably the Chhattisgarhgovernment has also ear-marked 258.48 hectares of landin the capital for setting up a‘Nature Resort’ and a ‘ThemePark’ in future, officials stated.

On the other hand, it maybe recalled that a ‘ThemeResidential Township’-the firstof its kind in Central Indiawould have people living insort of a ‘getaway’ locationsurrounded by natural sur-roundings in the new capitalcity.

The State Governmentrecently informed that the‘Purkhauti Muktangan’ hadalso been developed with thevision to promote culture, tra-dition, and archeology.

Traditional sculptors ofChhattisgarh have given it theshape of cultural heritage.Spread over 200 acres of land,Purkhauti Muktangan is situ-ated nearly 20 km away fromvillage Uparwara, officialsinformed. Soon rock gardenand aquarium will also bedeveloped at the PurkhautiMuktangan premises whichwill further enhance its signif-icance, they informed.

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Steel Authority of India Ltd.(SAIL) registered 21per cent

growth in net sales revenuewhich stood at �13,442 crorefor the second quarter of FY17-18 (Q2FY18) as against Rs.11,080 in CPLY, a companypress release informed

SAIL’s emphasis onincreasing the share of highvalue products in its basket hasbegun to positively influencerevenue earnings. SAIL record-ed 4 per cent growth in domes-tic sales in H1FY18 (Apr-Sept’17) with 21 per centimprovement in sales of highvalue products like Cold Rolledand galvanized products. There

has also been a sizeable 30 percent improvement in sales ofrailway products during H1FY18.

Registering positive EBIT-DA for the sixth consecutivequarter, SAIL achieved EBIT-DA of �967 crore before excep-tional expenses in Q2FY18,recording a growth of morethan 400 per cent against anEBITDA of �192 crore duringCPLY, and posting a cash prof-it pre-depreciation and excep-tional items of �323 crore inQ2FY18. Notably, the EBITDAfor Q2FY18 is higher than ofthe entire fiscal 16-17. SAIL’sEBITDA margin to net salesrevenue ratio stands at 7.1 percent in Q2FY18 as against 1.7

per cent in CPLY, indicatinghigher efficiencies across theproduction processes and valuechain.

The company reduced itslosses by registering 26 per centimprovement in PAT whichstood at �(-) 539 crore inQ2FY18 as against �(-) 732crore over CPLY. Despiteimproved sales revenue, earn-ings were impacted by huge risein imported coal price, whichpartially negated the higheraccruals. In order to neutralisethe rise in input costs, theCompany is continually ramp-ing up production from newfacilities.

Simultaneously, theCompany is optimising the

utilization of its finishing facil-ities to increase the high valueproduct offerings for bettermarket realisation. Specificbranding of products from thenew mills is also one of thesteps towards this.

SAIL’s operational perfor-mance also exhibited goodnumbers In Q2FY18, register-ing the highest ever quarterlysaleable steel production at3.659 Million Tonnes (MT)and surpassing the previous

best of 3.626 MT achieved inQ4FY16-17, with growth of 5per cent over CPLY and 14 percent over preceding quarter inthe current financial year. Onthe important techno-eco-nomic parameters, SAILachieved the best ever quarterlyCoke rate of 459 kg/thm whichis lower by 5 per cent overCPLY. Cold Dust Injection(CDI) improved by 33 percent over CPLY and BlastFurnace (BF) productivity washigher by 4 per cent overCPLY.

Reiterating the need tochange product mix to makeway for more value added anddifferentiated products,Chairman, SAIL, PK Singh

said, “Our focus on reducingoperating cost of assets, pru-dent finance management, effi-cient production process andincreased share of value addedand branded products is begin-ning to show results. The prod-ucts from our modernizedmills will continue to claim alarge share of steel usage in sev-eral national infrastructureprojects.

“In line with theGovernment’s strategies forimproving infrastructure, SAILis aiming to supply large quan-tities of steel in prestigious pro-jects including Sagarmala,upcoming Bharatmala projectand railway expansion etc.”Singh added.

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The sugar factory run byLauh Purush Sardar

Vallabh Bhai Patel ShakkarKarkhana Maryadit at villageBisesra in Development blockPandaria in Kabhirdham dis-trict will be utilising state-of-artautomation software for oper-ation of the plant, officialsinformed.

Notably, the SardarVallabhbhai Patel Sugar facto-ry was built at a cost of �165crore. It may be mentioned thatthe Co-Operative SugarFactory had been built in arecord period of less than oneyear.

Chief Minister RamanSingh had laid the foundationstone of the factory onDecember 14, 2015. The con-struction of the factory hadstarted on March 3, 2016 andwas completed in a recordperiod of 10 months.

This is the second sugarfactory at Kabhirdham districtand fourth in the entire State.The sugar factory had beenbuilt meeting the internation-al standards and modern tech-nology.

The crushing capacity is2500 metric tonnes of sugar-cane per day and it will produce250 metric tonnes of sugar aday. Fourteen Megawatt ofelectricity also will be generat-ed from the plant.

This apart, the BhoramdeoSugar Mill will produce bio-fuelfor vehicles apart from sugar inKadirdham district.

The State Government inNovember last year had decid-ed to set up an ‘Ethanol Plant’near the Sugar Mill, officials

had informed.About �70 crore would be

invested in setting up of theplant, which will produceEthanol from Molasses- whichis a by-product obtained dur-ing Sugar production.

The State Government hasgiven in-principle approval forsetting up of the plant.

“On the back side of sugarmill in about 30 acres, land islying vacant where the Ethanolplant will be established. TheState government has givenin-principle approval for settingup of the �70 crore plant,” KNKhande Managing DirectorBhoramdeo Sahakari ShakkarKarkhana Maryadit had stated.

According to an estimate,65 lakh liters of Ethanol will beproduced in one season thatwould be mixed with petrolused in vehicles as a fuel.Currently, a 6 MW power plantis also functioning at sugar millthat will also provide power tothe proposed Ethanol plant.

Notably, in every season,25,000 metric tonnes ofMolasses is produced at thesugar mill which is sold to‘Gudhakhu’ and liquor factoriesthat fetch �12.50 crore for theplant. Once the Ethanol plantstarts functioning in full swing,it would generate profit ofabout �27.63 crore, officialsstated.

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Chief Minister Raman Singhhas approved issuance of

�35.13 crore to farmers underPrime Minister Crop InsuranceScheme, officials informed.

During 2017-18 as many as12.94 lakh farmers werebrought under the ambit of PMCrop Insurance Scheme.

The ChhattisgarhGovernment has started imple-menting the Prime MinisterCrop Insurance Scheme forKharif season 2017 in May thisyear.

Department of Agricultureand Biotechnology has issuednotification in this regard, offi-cials informed.

As per notification, paddy(irrigated) and paddy (non-irrigated) have been notified.Other crops which have beenbrought under its purviewinclude maize, soyabean,peanuts, Arhar(Tuar), Moongand Urad.

Village panchayat has beenmade unit. All kinds of farm-ers whether they are loanee ornon-loanee or landlord or even“bataidars” (those who takeagriculture land on lease) canavail the said scheme.

Those farmers who are

cultivating notified crops andtheir loan sanctioned from anyfinancial institution from April2017 to July 2017 for Kharifseason will remain under theInsurance cover.

But if farmers have gottheir loans sanctioned fromtwo different financial institutesfor notified crops, they will getinsurance cover of only one ofthe two financial institutes.Non-loanee farmers who havecultivated notified crops, canavail insurance cover by pro-ducing necessary documents.

It has also been clarified inthe notification that benefit ofinsurance cover will be giventhe same way it was approvedin 2016.

IFFCO Tokyo GeneralInsurance Company has beenappointed insurance agencyfor various districts mainly —Narayanpur, Kanker,Kabirdham, Raigarh, Durg,Kondagaon, Bilaspur, BalodaBazar, Gariaband, Balrampur,Koria, Bijapur, Mahasamund,Dhamtari, Raipur, Jashpur,Bastar, Janjgir-Champa,Dhantewada, Rajnandgaon andSurguja. Similarly, RelianceGeneral Insurance Companyhas been appointed for otherdistricts like Sukma, Balod,

Mungeli, Bemetara, Surajpurand Korba.

Two per cent of the maxi-mum insured amount or orig-inal amount whichever is lesswill be paid and for rest of theamount, Centre and state gov-ernment will make contribu-tion in ratio of 50:50.

Claims will be effectivefrom period of sowing to har-vest covering all the adversitylike non-sowing of notifiedcrops, natural calamity, non-germination of seeds, etc.

A State-level Review andAdvisory Committee for holis-tic development of agricultureand allied sectors has been con-stituted under Chairmanship ofChief Minister Raman Singh inJune this year, officialsinformed.

Agriculture MinisterBrijmohan Agrawal is the ViceChairman of the Committeewhile Ministers of Finance,Co-operatives, Food,Commerce and Industry,Village Industry, Energy,Woman and ChildDevelopment and SocialWelfare Department are itsmembers.

This apart, all MLAs andMPs from the State, ChiefSecretary, Agriculture

Production Commissioner,Additional Chief Secretary,Principal Secretary,Development Commissioner,Panchayat and RuralDevelopment Department,Principal Secretary andSecretaries of Revenue andDisaster Management, Food,Civil Supplies and ConsumerProtection, Co-operatives,Industry andCommerce,Village Industries,Energy, Social Welfare, Womanand Child Development,Convenor, State Level BankersCommittee, Chief GeneralManager, NABARD, ViceChancellor, Indira GandhiAgriculture University, Raipur,Chairman, Farmer WelfareCouncil, Director, NationalBiodiversity StressManagement Institute, Two

progressive farmers nominat-ed by Regional Office of ICARbesides one farmer nominatedeach by Departments ofAgriculture, Horticulture,Animal Husbandry, Fisheries,an Agriculture Entrepreneur,farmers involved in seed culti-vation, two women represen-tatives from the welfare sectorin the State will also be mem-bers of the Committee.

Secretary, Agriculture willbe Member Secretary of theCommittee.

Notably, Chhattisgarhdeveloped cold storage capac-ity of 65,349 metric tonnesunder the NationalHorticulture Mission duringperiod 2009-10 to 2016-17,the Central Government hasinformed.

As per All India Cold

Storage Capacity andTechnology - Base line Survey(December 10, 2014) conduct-ed by M/s Hansa ResearchGroup, commissioned byNational Horticulture Board(NHB) under Department ofAgriculture, Cooperation &Farmers Welfare, 75 per cent ofthe total cold storage capacityin the country was used for thepurpose of storage of horticul-ture crops including potato,itinformed.

Out of total production ofpotatoes in the country, 75 percent was stored in cold storagesfor long term storage at farmgate. Further, 95 per cent ofcold storages in the countrywere owned by private sector,3 per cent by cooperatives andremaining 2 per cent wereunder Public SectorUndertakings.

Notably, the ChhattisgarhGovernment will establishMulti-Commodity ColdStorage chambers forHorticulture and other com-modities in five districts of theState. The cold storages will beestablished at Mandi/SubMandi Yard of Raipur (TULSI),Durg, Rajnandgaon , Bilaspurand Raigarh.

State Agriculture Minister

Brijmohan Agrawal in Januarythis year had stated that amaster plan had been pre-pared to provide subsidy foropening of cold storages also byfarmers.

The Minister said that heconsiders himself lucky that hegot an opportunity to serve thefarmers and always makesefforts to improve their livingconditions.

He was addressing themembers of ProgressiveFarmers’ Union at villageKhapri (Kumhari) in Durgdistrict. The Minister calledupon the farmers to grow cropslike fruits and vegetables apartfrom paddy and augment theirfamily income.

State AgricultureDepartment, HorticultureDepartment and Indira GandhiAgriculture University hadbeen working in close co-ordi-nation to improve the lot offarmers, Agrawal said.

He had appreciated theefforts of Progressive Framers’Union in spreading awarenessof improvised techniques infarming.

Notably, the cold chaincapacity created by the UnionMinistry of FoodProcessingIndustries in Chhattisgarh

stood at 8500 metric tonnes(MT) till April 2015, officialsstated.

In a power point presenta-tion on Prospects of ColdChain Infrastructure in EasternRegion on April 6, 2015, theMinistry has spelled out itsplans of taking up a total of 500Integrated Cold Chain projectsas per the modified pattern ofthe Central assistance duringthe next five years across thecountry to create capacity of 2.5million tonnes.

The core objective of theprojects is to make the schemeof cold chain value addition ndpreservation infrastructureopen ended, it stated.

Incidentally, on August 31,2016, Chhattisgarh ChiefMinister Raman Singh haddirected officials to draw anaction plan for operating aState-level ‘Food ProcessingMission’ in the State.

Chairing a meeting of theState Industry Department atthe office in his residence inRaipur, the Chief Minister saidthat as per the recommenda-tions of the 14th FinanceCommission, the State wouldrun the ‘Food ProcessingMission’ while using its ownresources.

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Three Maoists were onFriday arrested during a

joint search operation in restiveBijapur district of Bastar, policesaid.

The cadres - Uika Joga(24), Madkam Somdu (21) andKujnam Bodda (40) - wereapprehended from the forestsof Bugdicheru village underBasaguda police station limits,according to Bijapur AdditionalSuperintendent of Police (ASP)Mohit Garg. A joint team ofCoBRA (Commando Battalionfor Resolute Action) 204th bat-talion, Special Task Force (STF)and district force was out onthe combing operation inBasaguda, when it receivedinputs about the movement ofthese rebels, he said.

The three were allegedlyinvolved in Naxal-related inci-dents of attempt to murder andrioting, the ASP said.

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The air quality across theregion remained in the

‘very poor’ category with peo-ple continuing to wake up todense smog and poor visibili-ty on Friday.

Thick smog, mainlycaused by stubble burning,continued to envelop parts ofPunjab, Haryana and has also,deteriorated the air quality inChandigarh, the joint capital oftwo states.

According to the HaryanaPollution Control Board, alldistricts especially 13 in thenational capital region areworst affected due to the highpollution levels. InChandigarh, the air qualityhas plunged to ‘very poor’category.

As per the data ofChandigarh Pollution ControlCommittee (CPCC), in thepast few days, the air qualityindex (AQI) of the city hasstayed in the 301-400 micro-grams per cubic meter (μg/m )limit, which is categorised as‘very poor’.

In industrial area, the AQIhas increased from 306 to 352 inthe past one week. Only a daybefore, the AQI at Sector 39 was303. The AQI from 1 to 50 isconsidered as good, from 50 to100 as moderate, 201 to 300 aspoor and from 301-400 as very

poor.According to the latest

available data, the city hashigh concentration of PM 10-(particulate matters with diam-eter of 10 microns or less) andPM2.5 (particulate matters lessthan 2.5 microns)-form of airpollution, which can causesevere health problems.

The Respirable SuspendedParticulate Matter (RSPM) andPM 2.5 exceeded the permis-sible limits at all five locationsmonitored by CPCC in thecity. While the level of PM 2.5

was more than triple, the stan-dard of 60 μg/m , the level ofPM 10 ( RSPM) was double thelimit of 100 at industrial area,Sector 39 in the city.

The air quality in theneighboring township ofPanchkula has also plungeddue to smog. According to theCentral Pollution ControlBoard, the level of PM 2.5 wasrecorded as 139.89 μg/m3 inPanchkula in past 24 hours.

In Gurugram, the level ofPM 2.5 was 389.50 μg/m3while in Rohtak, it was 312.39μg/m3 in past 24 hours, as perCPCB data. A day before, the

level of PM 2.5 was 513.80μg/m3 in Gurugram, which isin ‘severe’ category.

Meanwhile, theChandigarh Met Departmenthas predicted that people of theregion might get some respitefrom smog in next 48 hours.

“The smog in the region islikely to get cleared in next 48hours,” said Surender Pal,Director ChandigarhMeteorological Departmentwhile talking to The Pioneer.

He said that the situationis improving and people in var-ious parts of the region wokeup to a slightly less hazy morn-ing on Friday as smog subsidedto an extent.

Many districts in Haryanaand Punjab are worst affecteddue to the smog and are wit-nessing poor visibility of less

than 150 m due to smog. A daybefore visibility was less than150 m in Karnal, Kaithal andvarious parts of Haryana andPunjab, he said.

Western disturbances areapproaching the region andrains are expected onNovember 13 and 14, Paladded.

Manomohan Singh,Director of Shimla MetDepartment said that like pre-vious years, the smog hasaffected Sirmour and Una dis-tricts of Himachal.

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In a major setback to PunjabGovernment’s efforts to seek

compensation for farmers tomanage crop residue, theCentral Government onFriday claimed that the statefailed to utilise funds allocat-ed to it to deal with the issue.

Centre maintained thatthe state was allocated �49.08crore and �48.50 crore during2016-17 and 2017-18, respec-tively, to deal with the issue,and did not utilise any of theamounts.

On the other hand, theCentre maintained that theBJP-led Haryana Governmentutilised �39 crore out of �45crore allocated for the same in2017-2018.

The funds were allocatedby the Department ofAgriculture Cooperation andFarmers’ Welfare for cropresidue management underSub-Mission on AgricultureMechanization.

Punjab has seen over

40,000 field fires till date dur-ing paddy harvesting and stillthe fires are going on to clearthe stubble.

There was total around29.25 lakh hectares under ‘ricecultivation’ in Punjab this yearincluding over 4.50 lakhhectares under ‘Basmati rice’(fine quality rice) and remain-ing under ‘parmal rice’(paddy).

Basmati rice is harvestedmostly manually and its stub-ble is used as ‘fodder’ for cat-tle. The main problem is‘paddy stubble’ which is notmuch popular as fodder andaround 75 percent of total197 lakh tonnes paddy stubbleis burnt in the fields only.

Punjab Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh hasseveral times raised the issueof seeking compensation forthe farmers to manage thecrop residue. He has twicewritten to the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, and also tothe Union Finance MinisterArun Jaitley to raise the issue.

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In Haryana, all technical insti-tutes would be well guarded

by the security personnel andthrough CCTV cameras.

“In a bid to provide a safeenvironment to work and studyin the State, Haryana TechnicalEducation Department hasdecided that the technical insti-tutes falling under the ambit ofthe Department will complywith the guidelines for safetyand security,” said EducationMinister, Ram Bilas Sharma.

For the successful acade-mic functioning, safe environ-ment is of paramount impor-tance, therefore, the Principals,Head of the Institutions and theManagement would ensureproper safety and security ofthe students, said he.

The Minister said all thetechnical institutes would bewell guarded by the securitypersonnel and through CCTVcameras with the provision of

recording and storage capaci-ty for minimum 45 days. Theinstitutes would get done thesecurity audit of their employ-ees from the respective policestations and ensure the safetyaudit of the premises from anApproved Agency, said he.

Principal Secretary,Technical Education, SumitaMisra, said all the technicalinstitutes were required toestablish and empowerGrievance RedressalCommittee, Anti-raggingCommittee, InternalComplaints Committee han-dling Gender Sensitization,Prevention and Prohibition ofSexual Harassment of WomenEmployees or Students andSC-ST Grievance Committeeand prominently display thedetails of these committees onthe institutional notice boardsas well as on the website.

She said the guidelinesissued by Union Ministry ofHuman Resource Development

(MHRD), and other regulato-ry bodies like UGC, AICTE,PCI, CoA and NCHMCT fromtime to time would be duly alsobe complied with by all thetechnical institutions.

The Standard OperatingProcedures and prescribedsafety norms would be adopt-ed by the students while per-forming in labs and work-shops, she added.

She added that since, thestudents of the institute are alsosent on educational tours, studytours, field visits, industrialvisits and excursion. Therefore,appropriate safety and standardsafeguards during such visitswere to be assured to prevent anyuntoward incidents, Misra said.

The Institutions will imple-ment these safety measures infull, within three months, fail-ing which, the competentauthority will take the actionagainst the institutes for non-compliance of these instruc-tions, she added.

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In Haryana, a superintendingengineer would be compe-

tent to give technical sanctionof above �25 lakh to �50 lakhand chief engineer exceeding�50 lakh for the works of grampanchayats, panchayat samitisand zila parishads in the state.

Haryana Government hasamended the HaryanaPanchayati Raj Finance, Budget,Accounts, Audit, Taxation andWorks Rules, 1996 and the newrules will be called as theHaryana Panchayati RajFinance, Budget, Accounts,Audit, Taxation and Works(Amendment) Rules, 2017.

A spokesman ofDevelopment and PanchayatsDepartment said that a notifi-cation has been issued in thisregard.

As per the amendment, fororiginal works, the concernedgram panchayat, panchayatsamiti and zila parishad wouldgive the administrative

approval without any cappingfor administrative approvalfrom their own fund as well asgrant-in-aid.

He said the sub divisionalofficer would be competent togive technical sanction of upto�10 lakh for the works of grampanchayats, panchayat samitisand zila parishads, whereas theexecutive engineer would becompetent to give technical sanc-tion above �10 lakh to �25 lakh,superintending engineer above�25 lakh to �50 lakh and chiefengineer exceeding �50 lakh.

He said that for repair andmaintenance work, the con-cerned gram panchayat, pan-

chayat samiti and zila parishadwould give the administrativeapproval without any cappingfor administrative approvalfrom their own funds as well asgrant-in-aid.

While the sub divisionalofficer would be competent togive technical sanction of upto�25,000 for the repair andmaintenance work of grampanchayat, panchayat samitiand zila parishad, executiveengineer would be competentto give technical sanction above�25,000 to �50,000, superin-tending engineer above �50,000to �1 lakh and chief engineerexceeding �1 lakh, said thespokesman.

For the original works upto�20 lakh and repair worksupto �25,000, the junior engi-neer would have the authorityto prepare notice inviting quo-tations (NIQs) or notice invit-ing tenders (NITs), whereas thesub divisional officer wouldhave the authority to approvethe same, added he.

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From Pqge 1Earlier in the day, CJAR

petition was heard by a Benchof Justices AK Sikri and AshokBhushan which said it was“pained” that despite the peti-tion being listed before it, afresh petition by Jaiswal wasmentioned and heard on thesame set of facts. AdvocateBhushan sought tagging of thematter with the petition listedfor Monday. But the Benchplaced it before CJI for listingbefore appropriate Bench andallowed Supreme Court BarAssociation (SCBA) to jointhe proceeding. On this order,CJI constituted a five-judgeBench post-lunch at 3 pm.Initially, a seven-judge Bench

was notified to hear the casebut within minutes, it wasreplaced by a fresh oneannouncing a five judge Bench,with the names of Justices AKSikri and Ashok Bhushan beingdropped.

Bhushan, accompaniedwith advocate Kamini Jaiswalcreated a flutter with his open-ing remark when he said, “thename of CJI is in the CBI FIR”.The Bench pulled up Bhushanfor making such irresponsibleremarks. It said, “There cannotbe FIR against a sitting districtjudge or magistrate, much lessa judge of High Court orSupreme Court. To say this isper se contempt. Are we to putour judiciary at the hand of a

sub-inspector?” Bhushan ‘s response got

drowned in the sea of protestby lawyers gathered in thecourtroom. SCBA led thecharge against Bhushan as itsPresident RS Suri and SecretaryGaurav Bhatia sought con-tempt action against Bhushan,Jaiswal and senior advocateDushyant Dave who appearedfor Jaiswal on Thursday.

The Bench said, “We are onjudicial impropriety and notcontempt.” Dealing with theimpropriety of the two-judgeBench to refer a case to fivejudges when CJI directed thesame to be listed before anoth-er Bench on Friday, the CJIsaid, “How can a two-judge

Bench decide first five judgesshould hear the case. Is it nota reflection on other judges ofthe court?” He further askedBhushan, “What was theurgency for you to file a secondpetition and say that a partic-ular judge should hear a par-ticular matter. Who shouldhear and who should recuse, isa lawyer is allowed to make thatchoice is it not denigrating thesystem?”

The Bench heard seniorlawyers present in the court onthis issue. Additional SolicitorGeneral (ASG) PS Narasimhaalso spoke stating that CJI hasthe constitutional duty andauthority to allocate businessfor effective administrative

functioning in apex court. CJIreplied, “If such type of allo-cation of business is done (byBenches of SC other than CJI),the institution cannot func-tion…If High Court ChiefJustice is the master of roster,can it be said CJI is not the mas-ter of roster at the apex court.This Bench has been set up tolay down this guideline.” Thejudges further observed such asituation cannot be permitted asit will result in chaos and anar-chy as against judicial disciplinethat must prevail.

Bhushan was not allowedto speak as lawyers gathered inthe court shouted him downeven as judges unequivocallycondemned him for making

“wild, improper and imper-missible” allegations againstCJI. The Bench even allowedsenior lawyers present in court-room, not associated with thecase, to slam the 2-judge Benchorder that remarked onThursday that allegations are“disturbing” while orderingCBI to enclose all evidence col-lected by it in a sealed cover forperusal by the five-judge Benchon Monday.

When chaos prevailedinside the court, Bhushan toldthe Bench in an agitated toneto pass whatever order itwished and forced his way outthrough the sea of lawyers.Security persons escorted himout of the court.

From Page 1The SAFAR attributed the

October dust storm in theWest Asia and biomass burn-ing in Haryana, Punjab andWestern Uttar Pradesh as theleading factors behind the “airemergency” in the nationalCapital, which now appears tobe on wane.

“Since November 9 morn-ing, upper air winds are con-sistently slowing down andhave touched 5-7 km/hour andthere is no trace of dust enter-ing the Indian subcontinent,particularly the NCR region.Also the stubble-burning influxis marginal,” the SAFAR reportsaid.

The report said that a duststorm, which swept across Iraq,Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia in thelast week of October and spilledonto the first week ofNovember, severely affectedDelhi’s air quality.

However, SAFAR warnedthat a fresh western distur-bance (WD) was in the off-ing, which may impact the air

quality adversely. “After thewithdrawal of WD, lots ofmoisture enter Delhi andtemperature also cools down.This may bring down theinversion layer and air’s hold-ing capacity may increasefrom November 13. This mayimpact air quality adverselybut we do not expect therepeat of this week,” it said.

Privately run Skymet dis-played a far better air quali-ty in the air on Fridayevening. According toSkymet, Punjabi Baghrecorded 199 ug/m3, AnandVihar recorded 187 ug/m3,ITO at 181ug/m3, Sirfort at297 ug/m3, mandir marg at499 ug/m3 and RK Puram at213 ug/m3.

In the meeting chaired bythe Environment Secretary,representatives from Haryanaand Punjab Government saidthat stubble burning in boththe States was over and in themedium term, further prob-lems because of that may notarise.

From Page 1As per the Council’s deci-

sion, chewing gum, choco-lates, coffee, custard powder,marble and granite, dentalhygiene products, polishes andcreams, sanitary ware, leatherclothing, artificial fur, wigs,cookers, stoves, after-shave,deodorant, detergent andwashing power, razors andblades, cutlery, storage waterheater, batteries, goggles, wristwatches and mattress areamong the products on whichtax rate has been cut from 28per cent to 18 per cent.

Restaurants in starred-hotels that charge Rs 7,500 ormore per day on room tariffwill be levied 18 per cent GSTbut the ITC is allowed forthem. Those restaurants inhotels charging less than Rs7,500 room tariff will charge 5per cent GST but will not getITC.

Tax on wet grinders andarmoured vehicles has been cutfrom 28 per cent to 12 per cent,he said, adding the tax rate onsix items was reduced from 18per cent to 5 per cent, on 8items from 12 per cent to 5 percent and on six items from 5per cent to nil.

Bihar Deputy ChiefMinister Sushil Kumar Modisaid the cut in tax would costRs 20,000 crore in revenuesannually. “There was unanim-

ity that in the 28 per cent slab,there should only be the so-called sin and demerit goods(the consumption of which isdiscouraged through high taxrates). So, today the counciltook a historic decision toretain only 50 items in thehighest slab and to bring downthe rate on the rest to 18 percent,” added Modi.

In order to ease complianceburden to the tax payers, theCouncil also relaxed the returnfiling criteria and also loweredthe penalties for late filing. “Aspart of efforts to rationaliseGST structure, the Councilhas been reviewing rates fromtime to time. In the last 3 meet-ings, we have been systemati-cally looking at 28 per cent taxbracket and rationalising cer-tain items out of that bracketinto lesser categories, mostly 18per cent or even less,” Jaitleysaid.

GST tax slabs of 5, 12, 18and 28 per cent were decidedgoing by the principle of fittingeach item into a category mostclose to cumulative pre-GSTtaxes. “Optically, some itemsshould not have been in 28 percent despite being in oldregime. Secondly, some itemsmanufactured by small entitieshad excise exemption,” he said,adding in the last meetings 30-40 items have been taken out of28 per cent bracket.

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From Page 1The UAV can be controlled

from a system carried in abackpack of a soldier and thecommander just has to view thepictures generated by the “eyein sky” on a laptop or palm-sized screen, they said.

Every battalion (1,000 sol-diers) manning the 750-kmlong LoC in Jammu & Kashmirwill get one UAV each. Thesame formula will be followedfor the battalions guarding the4,000 km long LAC touchingStates like Jammu & Kashmir,

Himachal Pradesh,Uttarakhand, Sikkim andArunachal Pradesh.

As per records, nearly 350transgressions by the ChineseArmy take place every yearmostly in Ladakh, Sikkim andArunachal Pradesh.

The armies of the twocountries had recently engagedin a face-off in Doklam inSikkim for nearly 72 days andultimately withdrawn afterdiplomatic and political inter-ventions at the highest level inboth the governments.

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Page 5: 4˘˘˝ ˘5 RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. … paints, perfumes, ACs, dish washing machine, washing machine, refrigerators, vacu-um cleaners, cars and two-wheelers, aircraft

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The US Congress has taskedthe Pentagon to develop a

“forward-looking strategy” tobuild an “enduring defencerelationship” with India in linewith its designation last year asa “Major Defence Partner” ofthe United States.

The Congress’s directive isset out in the National DefenceAuthorisation Act for 2018after reconciling the differ-ences between the Senate andHouse versions of the omnibuslegislation through the confer-ence mechanism.

The legislation that alsosets the limit for disburse-ments to Pakistan underCoalition Support Funds at$700 million for fiscal 2018extends the conditionality,

tying 50 per cent of the fund-ing to Islamabad’s “demon-strable steps” against terroroutfits Haqqani Network andLashkar-e-Tayyeba.

Making its case for beefingup defence ties with India, theSenate-House conference doc-ument says the modified pro-visions of the Act “require theSecretary of Defence to devel-op a forward-looking strategythat would build upon currentobjectives and goals, underlin-ing a mutual desire to developan enduring defence relation-ship with India”.

Noting that the “MajorDefence Partner” designation is“unique to India”, the reportsays the reconciled version ofthe legislation “institutionalis-es the progress made to facili-tate defence trade and tech-

nology cooperation betweenthe United States and India toa level commensurate with theclosest allies and partners of theUnited States”.

The designation also pro-motes joint exercises, defencestrategy and policy coordina-tion, military exchanges, andport calls in support of defencecooperation between the twocountries.

In respect of cooperationon Afghanistan, the documentsaid, “The United States andIndia should work closely withAfghanistan to promote sta-bility in the region to includetargeted infrastructure devel-opment and economic invest-ment, means to address capa-bility gaps in country, andimproved humanitarian anddisaster relief assistance.”

The report requires thePentagon and the StateDepartment to brief the appropriate Congressional committees within 90 days ofcommencement of the Act,and every year thereafter, onthe actions taken by them topromote US-India defencecooperation.

Following the reconcilia-tion exercise, the NationalDefence Authorisation Act2018 will now go back to theHouse and the Senate for a for-mal approval and then head tothe White House for thePresident’s signature.

As for Pakistan, the recon-ciled legislation says that of thetotal amount of $900 millionthat may be provided underCoalition Support Funds dur-ing fiscal 2018, the amount for

Pakistan would be limited to$700 million.

“The provision would alsoextend for one year certainnotifications and certificationrequirements relating to pay-ments to Pakistan,” it says,adding: “The provision wouldmake $350.0 million of thisamount contingent upon cer-tification from the Secretary ofDefense that Pakistan is takingdemonstrable steps against theHaqqani Network andLashkar-e-Tayyiba in Pakistan.”

“The House recedes withan amendment that wouldextend the CSF authoritythrough December 31, 2018and remove Lashkar-e-Tayyeba from those certifica-tion requirements not eligiblefor a national security waiver,”it said.

Danang (Vietnam): USPresident Donald Trump willnot hold a meeting with Russiancounterpart Vladimir Putin onthe sidelines of a regional sum-mit in Vietnam, the WhiteHouse said today after the twocountries sent mixed messagesabout the encounter.

Relations between Moscowand Washington have plum-meted as a US probe hasaccused Trump’s former cam-paign aides of secretly meetingKremlin-connected officials - acharge Moscow denies.

Both leaders are attendingthe Asia Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC) forumin the city of Danang andthere had been conflicting indi-cations as to whether a face-to-face was on the cards.

“Regarding a Putin meet-ing, there was never a meetingconfirmed, and there will notbe one that takes place due toscheduling conflicts on bothsides,” press secretary SarahSanders told reporters justbefore Air Force One toucheddown in the Vietnamese beachresort city. AFP

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US President Donald Trumpon Friday said the Asia-

Pacific region was being heldhostage by the “twisted fan-tasies” of North Korean leaderKim Jong-Un, as he called oncountries to stand unitedagainst Pyongyang.

Trump has embarked on atour of Asia this week trying torally regional support for curb-ing North Korea’s nuclear

weapons programme, warn-ing that time is running outover the crisis.

“The future of this regionand its beautiful people must notbe held hostage to a dictator’stwisted fantasies of violent con-quest and nuclear blackmail,” hesaid during a speech in Vietnamto the annual Asia PacificEconomic Cooperation forum.

The region, he added, must“stand united in declaring thatevery single step the North

Korean regime takes towardmore weapons is a step it takesinto greater and greater dan-ger”. The US administrationthinks China’s economic lever-age over North Korea is the keyto strong-arming Pyongyanginto halting its nuclear weaponsand missile programmes.

On Thursday, Trump wasin Beijing meeting President Xi Jinping, where hecalled on China to “act fast”over North Korea.

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Danang (Vietnam): USPresident Donald Trumparrived in Vietnam on Fridaywhere he is expected to fleshout his “America First” visionfor the future of world com-merce, fresh from a visit to fel-low superpower China whichis pitching itself as the newarchitect of global free trade.

Trump, who tweeted hisarrival shortly after stepping offAir Force One at Danang airport,is likely to press his protection-ist doctrine when he addresses

CEOs ahead of the APEC forum.In a day mixing big hitters

of politics and business, Trumpwill share the venue with worldleaders including Russia’sVladimir Putin, Japan’s ShinzoAbe and China’s Xi Jinping.

Xi will also deliver aspeech, likely to double downon his commitment, deliveredat the recent Communist PartyCongress, that China is readyand able to step into the role ofglobal free trade leader vacat-ed by America.

Islamabad: Pakistan will con-struct community bunkers onthe Line of Control (LoC) toprotect civilians from firing byIndian troops, Prime MinisterShahid Khaqan Abbasi said on Friday.

Abbasi accompanied byChief of Army Staff QamarJaved Bajwa and PoK “PrimeMinister” Raja Farooq Haidervisited the Chirikot sector ofthe LoC, the Pakistan Armysaid in a statement.

While interacting withfamilies of those killed andinjured in the cross-border fir-ing, Abbasi appreciated theirdetermination and resolve.

He announced enhance-ment in financial assistance tothe families of those killed orinjured in the firing andapproved funds to developcommunity protection bunkersfor the safety of civilians,according to the statement.

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Page 6: 4˘˘˝ ˘5 RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. … paints, perfumes, ACs, dish washing machine, washing machine, refrigerators, vacu-um cleaners, cars and two-wheelers, aircraft

Compassion, one of the noblestof human emotions, and car-ing, frequently its manifesta-tion, cut across social strata.Two recent events in Delhi

once again underlined this perennialtruth. The first had at its centre PratimaDevi, a rag-picker who cares for 400 dogsin the region of PVR Anupam in Saket.The other occurred at the high-end res-idential complex of World Spa inGurugram. In the first instance, the shackin which Pratima Devi lived, and fromwhich she cared for her canines, wasdemolished by South Delhi MunicipalCorporation on October 30. She, howev-er, continues to live there, in a make-shiftapology of a shelter, as she would notleave them.

Winter is approaching and she isworried. The flimsy shelter will notkeep the knife-edged winds out. Nor willit help when heavy rains are blown in bythe winds. Adversity, however, is not newto her. Married at the age of seven to aman more than 10 years older, and whooften returned home drunk and beat her,life was not happy. Finally, she left himand moved away from Nandigram inMidnapore in West Bengal where theylived. After many vicissitudes, she land-ed in Delhi in the early 1980s with hertwo sons. Settling down in the PVRAnupam complex, building a new life andcontinuing to look after dogs as she didin Nandigram. Slowly, their numbersgrew to the present strength of 400.

While many people in the neighbour-hood have helped her in her noble mis-sion, some, animal haters, and those whoview most poor as actual or potentialcriminals, have been harassing her. Oneof them is suspected to have got her shackset on fire causing her burn injuries andkilling several of her dogs. No action wastaken against anyone.

She, however, stayed on and contin-ued to care for her dogs. She is doing sonow. All who value compassion and car-ing, must give her every assistance theycan. And they must also congratulate allinvolved in the providential rescue of atwo-month old puppy — brought homefrom the streets with a broken leg —which fell from the 17th to the 14th floorof Tower B6 at World Spa West. A littleafter 8:30 pm on November 3, the puppy,Bernie, apparently, in an adventurous andcelebratory mood after dinner and theremoval of the plaster on her leg follow-ing the healing of the fracture, decidedto have a peek down the hole leading toa shaft in the building going down to the ground floor.

Curiosity cost her dear. While whatshe did is unknown, the end result wasthat she fell into the shaft and went down.

Her disappearance was first noticed byZoha, a passionate animal lover, whofrantically called her parents, Anju andArjun Srivastava who, besides Bernie, hadthree other local canines and two beaglesas pets. After running through severalpossibilities, they concluded that shemust have gone down the shaft. Arjun,his son, Viramaditya and nephewArmaan, rushed downstairs to the guards’room to seek help. The guards, in turn,alerted the maintenance staff who swunginto action. Figuring out that the base ofthe shaft was in the ground floor lobby,they made a hole in the wall to reach itonly to find that there was no puppy.

They then went up to the 17th floorbalcony form where Bernie had fallen andbroke stone slabs to reach the shaft. Thatdone, they flashed a torch and, fortunate-ly, could see her below. Lowering astring tied to a stone to measure, theyfound that it was 35 feet to where she was,which meant it was the 14th floor and bythe balcony of the flat in which Deepaand Sunil Mohindra lived.

They were out at dinner at anotherapartment which, as luck could have it,was also in World Spa West. Receiving acall from the guards’ room that a dog hadfallen down the shaft and that they need-ed to return to their flat for it to be recov-ered, they rushed back. Members of themaintenance staff who were waiting, said

they would have to break a part of thewall to reach the shaft. They agreedimmediately. But it was, as SunilMohindra put it, “a tricky job”, as they hadto locate the precise spot where Berniewas. The maintenance staff went up againand lowered a line attached to a stone andfound that it was, indeed, 35 feet.

To reach her, they had to remove astone slab measuring three feet by twofeet to get at the tower’s cement and con-crete wall and make an opening throughit. In all this, they had to be very careful— and also very lucky — to ensure thatno part of the wall or the plaster fell onBernie, killing her. Proceeding withextreme caution, they removed the stoneslab and began hammering on the wall.After a while, when the wall had thinnedsomewhat, they could hear Bernie whim-pering. She was alive! Now the task wasto bring her out alive!

A hole was made through which ahand could go in and light from a torchshowed were she was. The hole, howev-er, was not big enough for her to be takenout. One member of the maintenance stuffheld on to the puppy when the hammer-ing resumed — both to reassure her andensure that she did not slide further downif the wires and rubber pipes she stood on,began subsiding under the impact of thehammer blows! Finally, the puppy was outand, to everyone’s relief, it looked all right

except being in a state of shock.What happened was a miracle. But it

could happen because people cared.Arjun Srivastava, Vikramaditya andArmaan were on their toes until aroundmidnight when the puppy was rescued.Deepa and Sunil Mohindra did notthink twice before agreeing to have theirwall broken. And the maintenance staffdid much more than travel that prover-bial extra mile. Concern for the puppy,this writer was told, was writ large ontheir faces as they worked feverishly; sowere joy and relief after taking her outalive. More, while they hammered in relayin Mohindras’ apartment, one held hishand on the other side of the wall, tak-ing the full shock of each impact, to pre-vent pieces of plaster, that might be bro-ken, falling on Bernie.

All of them — Raju Sah (supervisor-technical), Sandeep (electrician), Sukul Das(electrician), Anwar Hussain (lift opera-tor), Netra Pal and Manoj (both plumbers),Brijesh (fire technician), Surendar (super-visor-security) and Madal Lal (securityofficer) — deserve a huge round of cheers,as does the Board of Management, head-ed by Siddharth Gupta, president, and rep-resented on the spot by Vineesh, withoutwhose support none of all this would havebeen possible.

(The writer is Consultant Editor, ThePioneer, and an author)!

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Going for broke” (November10). The smog that has engulfedDelhi and some parts of northIndia is mainly because of stub-ble burning by farmers in neigh-bouring areas. Resultantly, smokegets trapped in the layers oflower atmosphere, which leads toextremely toxic air.

Particulate matter enters theblood stream through the lungs,which causes serious healthproblems. Besides, greenhousegases to pollution levels in a bigway. Authorities in Delhi are try-ing various options to keep acheck on high pollution levelsbut keeping in view the enormi-ty of the problem, steps shouldhave been taken before the airquality became so poor.

Devendra Khurana Bhopal

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Was it worth it?” (November8). Demonetization anniversaryon November 8 was observed byboth the Union Government andthe Opposition as an economicsuccess and a black day in India’seconomic history respectively. Ithas been a year since both theGovernment and the Oppositionhave been indulging in an unabat-ed war of words over the movewhich has caused mental anguishto the common man.

In support of demonetisa-tion, the common man stood inlong queues in banks and ATMsto withdraw and deposit money.

Now, we have been informed thatdemonetisation and the Goodsand Services Tax have numerousbenefits. However, the claim isbaseless. The upcoming Assemblyelections in several States, includ-ing Himachal Pradesh andGujarat, may answer the questionwhether both the moves reallybenefited the common man orbroke their backbone.

Azhar A KhanRampur

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Sir — This refers to the report,“Five-day Odd-Even rerun fromNov 13, exemptions intact”(November 10). The implemen-tation of odd-even scheme forcars in the Capital city with toomany exemptions after the worstpolluted days seem to be overmay prove to be simply theoret-ical since two-wheelers, whichhave been exempted, are highlypolluting vehicles as they burnpetrol mixed with mobile-oil.

It is not understood howreducing metro fares will helpcurb pollution because peoplewho desire to shift to metro areprecisely those who can affordcars too. Odd-even, if applied,should be from 4 pm to 12 mid-night to additionally tackle roadjams because of the marriage-season. The scheme has been aboon for car-manufacturers andrich people because of doublingcar-fleet with alternate numbersby rich section of society.

Madhu AgrawalDelhi

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��������������6����������������7�����8����"�����)����At a time when Saudi Arabia is

caught up in a whirling vortex oftremendous domestic and externalchallenges, the kingdom has givenbirth to a visionary and seculardespot — unlike earlier rulers whoinvoked puritanical Islamic norms tolegitimise and secure their rule — inCrown Prince Mohammed binSalman (MBS). King Salman binAbdulaziz Al Saud has allowed MBSto wield enormous power when theGovernment handouts have failed tokeep the youth in good humour.

Cashing in on the undercurrentof resentment against rampant cor-ruption, widespread nepotism andthe gilded royal members whosplurge national resources on them-selves, MBS launched, in the nameof the King, a massive anti-corrup-tion drive arresting over 200 (tillNovember 9) members, includingbillionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed binTalal and ousted head of the power-ful National Guard Prince Miteb.MBS’ crackdown team has claimedthat over $100 billion were siphonedoff in the past two decades. Howeverthe timing of the ostensible anti-graftpurge has raised obvious allegation:A power grab by crushing down theCrown Prince’s potential rivals andhurdles to the throne, under the guiseof cleaning garbage for his ambitiousVision 2030 game plan designed toget rid of the desert country’s imageas an oil-dependent state.

End of consensusBy usurping all powers, the

Crown Prince has demolished theconcept of “consensus”, among royalfamily members of the House ofSaud, to nip in the bud any rivalryamong the ruling clan. Although,according to a local custom, the Kingis the last word, “Assabiyah” (groupsolidarity) gives popular legitimacyto the royal authority. In the histo-ry of the kingdom, it is for the firsttime that ruling family membershave been unceremoniously removedand persecuted publically.

Ironically, nobody is talkingabout the precursor to the anti-graftpurge. MBS’ ambition is seen as thesole driving force. However, thefoundation for such an unprece-dented crackdown on members ofthe House of Saud was laid by KingSalman, who strategically deviatedfrom the agnatic seniority rule toappoint his son as successor. It hasbeen done even when the youngestand the only other member ofSudairi Seven, Prince Ahmed binAbdulaziz Al Saud, is alive. In fact,when King Abdullah, the thenmonarch, had entrusted Prince

Ahmed with the interior ministry —an important portfolio during thosetimes when the kingdom was reel-ing under security threat from al-Qaeda and the Shia uprising was atits peak — in 2012, it was consideredin Saudi Arabia as a confirmed tick-et for Prince Ahmed to succeed thenCrown Prince Salman (present King)as King. The day never came. KingSalman did the trick by deviatingfrom the custom of appointing hisnext younger brother (Ahmed) as theCrown Prince, and chose his nephewMuhammad bin Nayef Al Saud as theCrown Prince, only to be uncere-moniously removed for KingSalman’s son MBS. Surprising thedeposed Crown Prince Nayef, whowas awarded by the CIA for his con-tribution to counter-terrorism, is one of the victims of the sweepingpurge. When corruption is a wide-spread concern in the kingdom,King Salman could not choose a bet-ter moment to authorise his succes-sor, MBS, to lead the war on cor-ruption and consolidate his grip onpower by earning kudos from thepublic.

New West Asian OrderThe Crown Prince’s challenges

are not limited to domestic ones.Saudi Arabia has long been facinghurdles in creating a new WestAsian Order, an alignment that suitsto the interest of the kingdom. It hasbeen customary in Saudi Arabia forall kings to acknowledge themselvesas custodians of two holiest placesamong Muslims — Mecca andMedina — to accentuate their lead-ership of Muslim-majority countries.This caused the kingdom to espousethe puritanical Islamic norms andassume charge as protector of thefaithful and destroyer of the hereticssuch as Shias. However, in reality theconflict has seldom been driven bySunni-Shia hatred, but the sectarianperception gives a peculiar twist tothe predicament.

Seen in this context, Shia-major-ity Iran, with its own brand ofIslamism, is a natural rival in pub-lic perception in Saudi Arabia, but inreality even the kingdom considersit an arch rival, albeit because itthreatens Saudi hegemony in theMuslim world. Iran too considers

Saudis are trying to create in the WestAsia and North Africa (WANA)region a new order that is inimicalto the interest of Teheran. The resultis interference by Saudis and Iran inthe internal and external affairs ofsovereign nations of WANA.Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Haririis the latest casualty of MSB’s foreignpolicy. Sunni-majority Qatar isalready angry for the ill-treatment bythe kingdom and four of its Gulfneighbours on the charge of hob-nobbing with Shia Iran.

MBS needs to work for furtherrealignment against the backdrop ofthe void created by the collapse ofISIS as a functioning entity in Iraq.The Crown Prince’s task is more dif-ficult as depending on who fills thespace left by ISIS will have a majorimpact on the US’ security interestsin the region.

MBS’ new war against Iran andhis willingness to sign huge defencedeal with the US have already madehim the darling of the Trump admin-istration. Now, MBS is trying to keepa balance between Russia and the US.“The main objective is not to have

Russia place all its cards in the regionbehind Iran,” MBS has reported tohave said.

The endgameAt the outset, the anti-corruption

crackdown on high-ups and theCrown Prince’s overt endeavour tomodernise the economy by sheddingthe total dependence on oil when itsprices have been on the wane havecreated a good perception among thepublic, but the way the arrests — par-ticularly of those considered as hur-dles to MBS’ elevation to the throne— were made without credible evi-dence has stirred up a hornets’ nest.Though there is no overt resistanceagainst the sweeping purge — to thecontrary some denizens have show-ered praises on MBS on social media— the move is fraught with dangeras deeply tribal Saudi Arabian historyis witness to the consequences ofpublic insult to royal family patri-archs or tribal heads/representa-tives in power.

Therefore, the Crown Princeneeds to keep the tribal lords and theclerics in good humour as the House

of Saud takes legitimacy in WahabiIslam to rule the Kingdom. His ideaof “moderate Islam” is set to ruffle afew feathers of a section of the cler-ic, but its seems MBS is relying onthe ultra-conservative religious estab-lishments, which have in the pastthrown their weight behind theKings in the time of crises, to extendat least “silent” support to his agen-da of modernising Saudi Arabia.

MBS’ ambitious economicreforms will also face challenges asthe “no taxation, no representation”premise based on the other royallegitimacy — rentierism that ensuresfree social economic services to thecitizens — will take a hit. Two otherbiggest hurdles for him are unem-ployment and housing. Admittingreservations among the public abouthis agenda, he had told an investors’conference in Riyadh, “If the Saudipeople are convinced, the sky is thelimit.” But that sky has several otherpotential dark clouds. For example,if the kingdom obliges US PresidentDonald Trump by listing Aramco atthe New York Stock Exchange, it mayface the danger of seizure by the USauthorities under the Justice AgainstSponsors of Terrorism Act, whichgave a legal option to the families of9/11 victims to pursue a civil suitagainst Saudi Arabia to seek damagesfor its alleged involvement in the ter-ror plot.

Also there is uncertainty as tohow much “Vision 2030” will be suc-cessful in creating jobs. The questionhas arisen considering the fact thatNeom — the planned investors’ hubwhere companies will not be bound by the local rules — isexpected to employ more machinesthan people.

On the external front, MBS hasnot been very successful. He has beenleading a team to increase the king-dom’s regional influence and stemthe expansion of the Shia crescent.His Yemen operation has cost theSaudi exchequer heavily, but MBShas failed to install his favouriteGovernment there. Instead it tookseveral innocent lives. In fact, the warhelped Iran bolster its position as thedefender of human rights in theMuslim world.

However, it will be injustice towrite MSB off at the moment as thechurning stirred by the ostensibleanti-corruption purge is still goingon. The young imminent successorto the throne must be given time andsupport to establish and prove hisleadership credentials.

(The writer is Associate Editor, The Pioneer)

��*��������������������2��������������������������Vladimir Putin, the current Russian

President, has made obviously moreheadlines than the much-talked about cel-ebration of the 100th year of the historicOctober Revolution last month across theglobe, including its homeland. His date withKremlin in a very unusual style for more thanone-and-a-half decade has set his persona asno less than a charismatic leader. His Russiahas an edge over many powerful nations ofAsia and Europe. At a time when Europe isencountering the fall of the great Europeanunity (mostly from within, the last beingCatalonian crisis in Spain), Russia is quiet-ly demonstrating its stability under Putin.Precisely, Russia today is capable of bring-ing back its imperial glory to millions ofyoung people who are offering support toPutin. Therefore, his Russia is fast creatinga sense of stability and strength for a longperiod than the turbulent days of MikhailGorbachev and Boris Yeltsin of the 1990s.

When the centenary of the Revolutioncame this October, what the whole worldwitnessed was more of a celebration of Putin’sachievements in power since 1999 than any-thing else. Indeed official silence on theRevolution speaks volumes about the wari-ness of the country’s ruling elite, especiallyabout President Putin. Though a few pub-lic exhibitions displayed the greatness of thetwo revolutions — one in February whichoverthrew the imperial Government and sec-ond in October which brought theBolsheviks to power under the legendaryleadership of Vladimir Lenin — yet the cur-rent official narrative truly ignored thespirit behind the Revolution in all spheresof political system. This is all because of thefact that today’s political elite, mostly the ex-KGB men, their close family relatives andcronies in the industry have actually grabbedeach and every opportunities across thecountry. And clearly all of them want the newTsar to continue so as to exploit the systemin their favour. Hence Russia cannot expectany Revolution to emerge in the presentpolitical, social and economic environmentof the country. Neither is it engaged in anywar-like situation as it was in the peak daysof 1917. Besides, the energy, the enthusiasmand particularly the revolutionary fervourspread by a tall figure in Russian society istruly lacking.

Many political and strategic commen-tators on Russia opine that today the Russianelite are far more consolidated around Putinthan they were once around Tsar NicholasII. It is all evident that the way Putin has

modelled and wielded power through theorgans of the State resembles more of a Tsarof the yesteryears than any grand politiburochief of the former USSR.

The litany of horrors brought forth byPutin is indicating the re-emergence of aTsarist rule in its most modern form inRussia. First of all, he has sent hundreds ofspies around the world, especially to Britain,than there were during the Cold War. He hascarried out vendettas outside Russia in thesame way it was done in the heydays of theUSSR, but in a more sophisticated mannerto convey to the rest of the world that a newemperor is back. His Government is believedto have murdered many activists, journalistsand Opposition leaders in the recent past. Infact, it has been creating more tension andterror since he has assumed office.

Putin was rediscovered as a super heroby the Russians when for the first time hecame in public in the wake of the war inChechnya in 1999. When the bombing of theapartments took place in Moscow and someother cities in that very year, the blame waspassed on to dreaded Chechen rebels. AndPutin appeared as no other than a saviourto the helpless Russians who were desperatelylooking for a strong leader who could bringback their confidence and put back the coun-try as a great power on the global stage. Putintook full advantage of this situation andpromised his countrymen a better future forthe first time since the coming of the post-Soviet era. This all worked like a magic asthose were the last few days of the ailing anddying President Yeltsin.

Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014was regarded as the first unilateral land grabin Europe since 1945 and it really shockedthe whole world, particularly the NATO alliesin and around the former USSR. TheRussian military, which has so far assumeda new role, had gone to intervene in Donbasregion of Ukraine, took aggressive positionsboth in Chechnya and Georgia and finallyentered the battleground in Syria to save oneof Russia’s old allies. Since Russia’s entry intoWest Asia, the geopolitics of the region hastaken entirely a different turn. Putin hasacted like a life jacket for the embattled SyrianPresident Bashar al Assad, who was almoston the verge of losing his power. This hasabove all given him a status not less than thecountry’s most ruthless ruler, Stalin, who wasknown for brutally executing his agenda.

Surely, Putin needs to be taken serious-ly by the leaders in the West. The westernobservers and policymakers have misread

him simply as a strategist. He is workingmore like a Tsar and consolidating power inevery possible way. The supporters ofOpposition leader Alexei Navalny echoedslogans across St Petersburg this October,“Down with the Tsar”. The authoritative booktitled Mr Putin: Operative in the Kremlin,written by Fiona Hill and Clifford G Gaddyin 2015, clearly cautions the Western lead-ers in this manner: “First, many in the Westunderestimated Putin’s willingness to fight,for as long and as hard (as dirty) as he needsto achieve his goals. Vladimir Putin will useall methods available and he will be ruthless.Second, Western observers misread his skillas a strategist. Putin is not, as some have said,a mere tactician. He thinks strategically andhe has great advantages over the Westernleaders in his ability to translate that think-ing into action.”

Both the authors were absolutely rightand the whole world can witness how he hasworked and turned situations in his favourto project himself as Hobson’s choice inRussia. But then what has helped him to risebeyond the rank of a very stereotypical KGBman to the status of one of the most pow-erful rulers of Russia?

Putin knows very well that his countrydoes not have the industrial and economicmight to sustain a long drawn war againstthe West. Still, Russia is beefing up its armedforces and keeping its forces on a war gearfor some time now. It’s bringing a new iden-tity to one of the world’s largest forces. But

today, Russia’s position is less secure than thatduring the 1980s. It was a time when theUSSR could no longer hold back its EastEuropean allies and the socialist satellitenations around the world for its dying econ-omy. What Putin is fighting for is self respectof his country. He wants to invoke historyto regain the control of the old RussianEmpire. It is no other than the fear of beingencircled by either NATO or other Westerncountries as many of the former Russianrepublics have already moved into the clos-et of the West.

Putin is a fighter and a survivalist.Though his United Russia Party has beendescribed as a collection of “crooks andthugs” by Navalny, it rules and does whatmakes him stronger in every possible way.Just two days before Yeltsin handing overpower to Putin in December 29, 1999, in amanifesto titled “Russia on the Threshold ofthe New Millennium”, Putin formallydeclared the supremacy of the “Gosudarstvo”.This word refers to an extension of the Tsaras the final source of order and authority. Itseems he has sent a clear signal to the peo-ple of Russia and to the world what he exact-ly aspired to do.

In subsequent years, he has been able todisplay unity with his people like any otherTsar in the past. He is truly wedded to theRussian people and no one can dare to standbetween the people and his persona. He hasestablished this thread through the State-sponsored media houses and has always triedto project himself not as an ambitious politi-cian, but only as an honest slave of the mass-es like any other Russian monarch. Hesmartly justifies Kremlin’s monopoly over pol-itics and the rising economy by evokingTsarist rule of the past. He does it beautiful-ly by calling upon cultural stereotypes of thepast Russian society. This is working fantas-tically for now, but then no one knows whatkind a dangerous vacuum Putin will createonce he retires from formal politics. However,Tsarist legitimacy cannot be passed on to thenext generation. This will indirectly questionthe very presence of the larger than life imageof Putin. This increased preponderance ofpower in the corridors of Kremlin will leadto an unmanageable situation for the Russianswho might see another breakdown muchworse than the chaos of the 1990s.

Whatsoever it may be, Russia’s mean-dering across the “Putin agenda” will not helpthe country stabilise in future. Russia wouldprobably be unwieldy once he exits from thepolitical scene. The reasons are not far to

seek. He is even not allowing his own partyto project someone as his successor. Becauseonce it is done, the myth around him will beno more there. He has been projected by theState, his cronies and the official media asthe only legitimate power centre which caneffectively rule the country. Hence anOpposition party or a strong leader, emerg-ing to challenge him at any time would besimilar to dethroning him from the Kremlin.

Today, a strong voice like that of Navalny,who is on his way to challenge Putin in thenext year’s presidential poll, will probablychange the political landscape of the coun-try. But by now, Kremlin has branded himas a violent ultra-nationalist and at times asa pro-American liberal. Further, the Russianstate has declared him ineligible to run forthe presidential election next year as he is con-victed in a case related to embezzlement in2013. But he is contesting any way even ifMoscow uses all types of terror tactics (bothmental and physical). And for sure, Putin willemploy all his KGB-style methods to dealwith Navalny. How fearful Putin is about thepresence of him can be observed very wellin some recent instances: On October 2, a fewdays after Navalny’s tour to the country’s FarEast region, he and his campaign chief werejailed for 20 days. It was an attempt by theKremlin to stop him from staging a huge rallyin St Petersburg, the hometown of thePresident on the very birthday of Putin.Unfortunately, thousands marched withoutNavalny and raised prominent slogans suchas “Russia without Putin” by painting theirfaces with both the Russian flags and a large“N”. What does all this mean?

The reordering of Russia by Putin maynot herald a new era to this land symbolisedby rich history, culture and traditions. Therecould have been an alternative or a differ-ent way to make Russia great again. The newoligarchs who are jostling for power, profitand position may not even support Putinwhen he falls. They are a new brand ofopportunists who are ashamed of identify-ing themselves with the ethos of the OctoberRevolution. Bringing home a modern statein such a situation wherein hardly there isany chance for an Opposition and socialactivism growing, the new generation of theRussians may have to think of a silent rev-olution so as to secure their future. Let uswait and watch who brings this ‘Nadezhda’,(the Russian word for hope).

(The writer is an expert on international affairs)

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Amid major protests by theBJP and Sangh Parivar

organisations, the rulingCongress Government celebrat-ed Tipu Sultan Jayanti inKarnataka on Friday. Thoughthe official programme was boy-cotted by the BJP and otherrightwing parties, the celebra-tions went on without any unto-ward incidents barring minorincidents across the State.

The celebration of TipuSultan’s birth anniversary, an18th century ruler of Mysorekingdom ahead of ensuing pollsin the State has become a majorrow between the ruling Congressand the major Opposition BJP.

Last year when theSiddaramaiah Governmentdecided to celebrate Tipu’s birthanniversary as a State function itwas vehemently opposed by theBJP and marred with violencewhich saw the brutal death of

two people in Kodagu district.This year too, the BJP opposedthe celebration by saying Tipuwas a tyrant monarch for beingbiased against Hindus. But ChiefMinister Siddaramaiah and hisGovernment say that TipuSulatan was a patriot and foughtagainst the British. This is thethird year in a row the ruling

Government celebrated TipuJaynthi amidst protests. A thickblanket of security was put inplace across the entire State to seethat the celebrations take placepeacefully. As many as over54,000 police personnel and pla-toons of the Karnataka State Re-serve Police, bolstered by the Ra-pid Action Force, kept a hawk-

eyed vigil as functions wereheld at the district headquarters,where State Ministers and oth-ers hailed the legacy of Tipu.

On Tuesday Karnataka HighCourt had refused to put on stayTipu Sultan Jayanti celebrations.BJP and other Hindu outfits haveopposed Tipu Jayanti celebratio-ns, by calling him “religious bi-got”, “fanatic” and “anti-Kannada”. However, Siddar-amaiah had also defended theState Government’s decision tocelebrate the birth anniversary ofthe Mysore ruler by saying hewas the first ruler to fight againstthe British and a great warrior toprotect the kingdom.

There were reports of stonesbeing hurled at a State transportbus and over 100 people, includ-ing local BJP MLA AppachuRanjan, being detained inKodagu district, where wide-spread protests and violencehad marred the Tipu Jayanti cel-ebrations two years ago, when a

local VHP leader died and sev-eral others, including policemen,were injured. Kodagu districtobserved a shutdown in responseto a bandh called by the BJP andcertain rightwing outfits. Prohi-bitory orders are in place in thedistrict till Saturday morning.

Prohibitory orders had alsobeen clamped at certain places inBelagavi and Chitradurga dis-tricts. In Mangaluru, BJP districtminority morcha presidentFranklin Monteiro, who tried tobreak the security cordon andbarge into the premises wherethe celebrations were organised,was placed under arrest.

Even as BJP MLAs and MPsstayed away from the event,with some even writing to therespective district administra-tions not to mention their namesin the invitations for it, partyMLA from Vijayanagara con-stituency in Ballari districtAnand Singh joined the cele-brations.

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One of the allies in BJP-ledNational Democratic

Alliance (NDA) Government atthe Centre, Shiv Sena is seri-ously mulling to contest ensu-ing Gujarat elections by field-ing candidates in 50 to 75Assembly seats out of 182.

Gujarat elections are slatedin two phases on December 9and 14. Talking to mediapersonsShiv Sena leader and RajyaSabha member Anil Desai saidthat BJP had forgotten it’s orig-inal aim of preserving sentimentsof the majority community.

According to him,Hindutva has always been theforte of Shiv Sena since itsinception. Unfortunately thesaffron party had forgottenthat people voted it over theagenda of Hindutva, Desaisaid, adding that Shiv Sena

would give better option topeople of Gujarat.

He quickly added thatHindutva wouldn’t be the onlyagenda of his party as the partyfounded by Bala SahebThackeray would also focus onbasic issues including health,education, agriculture and over-all improvement of quality of life.

On Hardik’s meeting withShiv Sena supremo UddhavThackeray, Desai said that only

thing discussed during thatmeeting was with regards toMaratha reservations. “Casteand casteism is not our cup oftea. To us, all communities areequal,” he added.

Shiv Sena would prefer tocontest singlehandedly in cer-tain seats without any politicalalliance in Gujarat, he said,adding that a team of the partyis working on the seats wherecandidates from the politicaloutfit have chance of winning.

It is believed that the saffronparty would focus its attentionon urban centres asAhmedabad, Rajkot and Surat,where BJP or Congress had wonwith a margin of less than 5,000votes. These urban centres alsohappen to be places whereCongress is seen to be dentingthe margins of BJP, courtesycaste issues and issues related toGST and demonetisation.

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The massive raids launchedby the Department of

Income Tax on Thursday as partof its Operation Clean Moneyinitiative in 187 locations asso-ciated with the jailed AIADMKleader, VK Sasikala and hernephew TTV Dinakaran con-tinued on Friday.

According tosources in I-TDepartment, raidswere completed in 40places while the searchin on in 147 locations.“This round of raidsmay go on till Mondayas the number of peo-ple under our scanner and thebank accounts which are beingprobed are many,” said the offi-cial on condition of anonymity.

But the I-T Department isyet to come out with any offi-cial statement about the raids.The official who spoke to themedia on Friday confided that1,800 personnel were involvedin the operation. “More than300 bank accounts operated bythe relatives and associates ofSasikala are being examined andscrutinised. Their bank lockers

are also under the scanner,” hesaid. The official said the shellcompanies connected toSasikala and her relations arebeing thoroughly probed bythe Department

News Today, a prominentevening newspaper in Chennaihas come out with an exclusivenews report about the how fero-cious dogs were unleashed at the

sleuths of the Income Taxdepartment when theywent to one of the placesfor the raid. The I-T offi-cials had to summonarmed police to go aheadwith their work, reportsthe newspaper. The officialhas been quoted as tellingthat this was the first

instance of this kind he faced inhis decades long profession inthe Income Tax department.

Even as the sleuths weregoing ahead with their job inChennai and other places in theState, political landscape inTamil Nadu started sending outsignals of new permutationsand realignment. While theruling faction of the AIADMKsaid there was nothing unusu-al in the operations, the BJPwashed its hands off the “CleanMoney” drive.

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Bengaluru-based Art of LivingFoundation has brought

together the people of conflict-ridden Jammu & Kashmir toheal their pain.

In a programme organisedat the Art of Living centre on theoutskirts of Bengaluru on Fridaythe initiative was to bridge themistrust, heal the hearts, andbring about a reconciliationamong people, who have direct-ly suffered in the long-drawnconflict in Jammu & Kashmir.

The Art of Living under theguidance of spiritual Guru Sri SriRavishankar organised a pro-gramme called Paigam-e-

Mohabbat (Message of Love)which brought together familymembers of slain terrorists, fam-ilies of victims of cross-firing

from across Kashmir and fami-lies of defence and security per-sonnel from across the countrywho have been martyred in theValley. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, hai-led this as a landmark beginningto foster the spirit of love, for-giveness and reconciliation, andis likely to play a historic role increating an ecosystem for peace-building in the troubled Valley.

The programme broughttogether family members ofslain terrorists and victims ofcross-firing from Kashmir andfamilies of defence and securitypersonnel from all over Indiawho have been martyred in theValley. Representatives from over200 affected families, including

60 women, travelled all the wayfrom remote places in Kashmirto attend the programme. It wasa heart-touching moment foreveryone to see the familiesshare the pain they have gonethrough and renounce the cul-ture of militancy, which hasclaimed their dear ones.

Sri Sri said, “When the fam-ilies affected by violence cometogether in a spirit of forgiveness,a new vision for a non-violentsociety will emerge. I am confi-dent that this would inspiremany youths to take that path.”“Unless and until we put a balmto heal the hurt and give a newvision, the chain reaction ofviolence will continue,” he added.

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Lucknow: Hitting out at the rul-ing Bharatiya Janata Party,Samajwadi Party presidentAkhilesh Yadav said that sincethe Yogi Government has cometo power it has exploited farm-ers by playing with their senti-ments and depriving them oftheir basic rights.

“The BJP gained publicity byclaiming that it had waived croploans of farmers. But the fact isthat genuine farmers have beendeprived of this benefit. This isa matter of probe as to who arethe farmers who got money inthe name of loan waiver. TheYogi Government will never doit because it knows that if a probe

was ordered, the truth wouldcome out,” Yadav said in a state-ment issued in Lucknow onFriday. The SP chief said that theGovernment announced just`10 as increase in SAP of sugarcane ina similar fashion whichwas hardly going to help sugar-cane farmers. "The Governmentis playing in the hands of sugarmill owners, he said.

“Similar is the case withpotato farmers. The Governmenthad announced MSP of potatobut can the CM tell a single far-mer who got that money. Potatogrowers were forced to keep theirproduce in cold storages and hadto face huge losses,” he said. PNS

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Bounded by:-On the North by : Front 40” WideOn the South by : Left ParkOn the East by : Right Plot No 21.On the West by : Rear – Another property Authorised Officer

Assistant General ManagerSyndicate Bank

POSSESSION NOTICE

DESCRIPTION OF THE IMMOVABLE PROPERTY

All the part and parcel of the property consisting of UREM of Residential Property at Residential House no 20 (measuring 450 Sq mtrs), situated in residential sector no 1,IMT Manesar, Tehsil-Manesar, Dist-Gurgaon, Haryana in the name of Mr. Anil Gulati together with all construction made thereon bound as under.

Central Market, Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi-110026

Tel : +91-11-25224456,25223774

(As per Appendix IV read with rule 8(1) of the security Interest (Enforcement) Rules,2002)

Whereas, The undersigned being the authorized officer of the Syndicate Bank, Punjabi Bagh

Branch, Bldg No 2 & 3,Central Market, West Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi 110026,Under the

Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act,

2002 and in exercise of powers conferred under section 13 (12) read with rule 3 of the security

Interest (Enforcement ) Rules,2002 issued a Demand Notice Dated 19.08.2017, Calling upon the

borrower M/s Unison Overseas, Prop: Saurav Gulati and surety Sri. Anil Gulati to repay the

amount mentioned in the notice being Rs.5,18,70,706/- (Five Crores Eighteen Lakhs Seventy

Thousand Seven Hundred and Six only) as on 31.07.2017 together with further interest thereon at

the contractual rate plus costs, charges and expenses till date of payment within 60 days from the

date of receipt of the said notice.The borrower having failed to repay the amount, notice is hereby given to the borrower and the public

in general with the undersigned has taken possession of the property described herein below in

exercise of powers conferred on him/her under sub section (4) of the section 13 of the Act read with

rule 8 of the Security Interest Enforcement rules, 2002 on this the 7 th Day of November of the year

Two Thousand and seventeen.The borrower/Guarantor/Mortgagors in particular and the public in general is hereby cautioned not

to deal with property and any dealings with the property/ies will be subject to the charge of the

Syndicate Bank, Punjabi Bagh Branch, Bldg No 2&3, Central Market, West Punjabi Bagh, New

Delhi 110026, for an amount Rs.5,18,70,706/- (Five Crores Eighteen Lakhs Seventy Thousand

Seven Hundred and Six Only) as on 31.07.2017 and future interest thereon at the contractual rate

plus costs, charges and expenses till date of payment.The Borrowers attention is invited to provision of sub section (8) of section 13 of the Act, in respect

of time available, to redeem the secured assets.

Date : 07.11.2017Place : New Delhi

(For Immovable property/ies)

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First of its kind in StatePower Utilities in India, the

Andhra Pradesh State PowerGeneration Corporation(APGENCO) has set a novelpath to complete the powergeneration projects muchbefore contract period.

In its initiation, APGEN-CO Management has taken akey decision to incentive EPCContract Agencies whichwould complete projects inadvance prior to closure of con-tract period without requestingExtension of Time (EOT) tothe contract. The Managementhas taken this decision to gainmulti benefits in the form ofsaving Interests DuringConstruction (IDC) and togenerate power in targetedperiod particularly in NewHydro Power Stations and tosell the power to distributioncompanies to retrieve backinvestments much early.

As the power reforms aretaking new shapes across theworld, after the regime ofActual Based Tariff System inthe country, State PowerGeneration Companies are fac-ing backing down of plants

problems in intolerable mannerfinancially. On one hand, theCentral Electricity Authority ofMinistry of Power putting thecondition to maintain the aver-age Plant Load Factor (PLF)not less than 85% per annumin Thermal Power Plants. Onthe other hand, the ElectricityRegulatory Authorities arerestricting power supply pricesbased on ABT system. In con-trast situations, State PowerGeneration Companies arelanding in catastrophic situa-tions and not able to meet thelosses and expenditures ofVariable Costs of ThermalPlants.

Also, in Andhra Pradesh,for FY 2018-19, the StateGovernment has askedAPGENCO to project actualpower generation quantitiesin realistic approach by taking70% PLF on an average to avoidincrease of power tariff while

filing Average RevenueRealization (ARR) of PowerDistribution Companies(DISCOMs) of the State.

After thorough discussions,the APGENCO Managementhas taken a decision to incen-tivize EPC contract agencies ofnew hydro power stations tocontrol IDC and to get back theinvestment at the earliest byselling generated power fromnew hydro stations to Discoms.

To set path, theManagement has decided to50% of saved IDC to the EPCagency of 960 MW (12 x 80MW) Polavaram HydroelectricProject, Navayuga EngineeringCompany-Alstom JointVenture.

The APGENCOManagement Director, KVijayanand, has categoricallyclarified the Chairman of NEC,C.V. Rao, not to misuse theincentive offered and alsowarned if NEC JV fails tocomplete within Contract peri-od, it would be penalized with50% of IDC could accrue in theExtension of Time of theContract. The EPC has agreedto the decision of the APGEN-CO and promised to completethe Polavaram HydroelectricProject within contract period.

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The Border Security Forceseized five Pakistani boats on

Friday with three persons aboardfrom Haraminala area situated inthe Gulf of Kutch.

The patrol teams of the 79thbattalion of the BSF have arrest-ed Pakistani nationals NiyazHussain Gohar Ali, Laung AliBabu Ali and Rajib AliHabibulla. In primary interro-gation, the Pakistani nationalssaid that they all belonging toJatti area under Sindh provinceof the neighbouring country.

The five boats fitted withChinese fan made propellingmotor had entered the Indiawaters in the night and werecaught by BSF patrol team.Three persons sitting in theseboats were nabbed while theother over two dozen managedto flee to the Pakistani territorythrough nearby land border.They all looked like fishermenand nothing objectionable fromthe boats was found. Fishes, fish-ing equipment and diesel havebeen found in it. Since August2017 as many as 28 Pakistaniboats and 9 fishermen havingPakistani nationality have beennabbed from Haraminala areaoff Koteshwar coast.

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Dejected with the poorresponse of the successive

State and Centre Governmentstowards granting them citi-zenship/voting rights in theState Assembly members of theWest Pakistan Refugee ActionCommittee on Friday spelt outtheir frustration in clear wordsbefore the CentreGovernment’s special repre-sentative Dineshwar Sharma.

After meeting Sharma hereat Jammu convention centrechairman of the West PakistanRefugee Action committeeLabha Ram Gandhi toldreporters, “Today I made itclear to the special representa-tive of the Union Government

if you people cannot grant us cit-izenship of the State of Jammu& Kashmir we are ready to relo-cate to any other place in India".

Gandhi said, "We have beenprojecting our demand in frontof every one for over 70 yearsnow but we are still deprived ofour citizenship rights".

Everyone is talking aboutKashmir but we are living herefor last 70 years and stilldeprived of our basic rights.

According to officialsources, an estimated 19,960families of West PakistanRefugees with a population ofaround 80,000 to 85,000 areregistered with the Revenueauthorities in J&K.

The West PakistaniRefugee leader said, "We told

special representative "India isa big country take us anywhereyou want to we are ready to go.We also want to live with dig-nity. We are proud citizens ofIndia not J&K. They have notaccepted us till date".

Our children have grownover age and they have beendenied caste certificates by theRevenue authorities in J&K.They cannot get entry in theparamilitary/Defence forces inthe absence of caste certificate.Gandhi also made a passionateappeal to the Prime Minister forexpediting compensation pack-age and granting them the vot-ing rights failing which dis-gruntled youth would be forcedto take the same route adoptedby the Kashmiri youth.

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Mantralaya, the Secretariat ofthe Maharashtra

Government, witnessed a highdrama on Friday afternoon, as ayoung farmer climbed onto theterrace of the seven-storey build-ing and threatened to commitsuicide by jumping from there.

The security personnel at theState Secretariat were taken bysurprise, as the young man iden-tified as one Jnyaneshwar Salvefrom Osmanabad district inMarathwada region, as they sawhim standing on the terraceand threatened to leap fromthere, if they did not facilitate hismeeting with either ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis or

the Agriculture Minister.Before long, a huge crowd

gathered outside the state secre-tariat. A huge posse of police, firebrigade personnel and seniorState Government officials rus-hed to the scene and made effo-rts to bring the youngster down.

During the course of hisagitation, Salve threw a chitcarrying his mobile number.State Education MinisterVinod Tawade, who wasamong the persons present onthe scene, spoke to the youngfarmer, assured him that hisdemands would be looked intoand requested him to comedown. After considerable per-suasion, Salve came down fromthe terrace.

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The ongoing work on theMumbai Metro Line III gath-

ered momentum on Friday, asthe authorities began excavationwork using Tunnel BoringMachine (TBM) at Nayanagar inMahim in south-centralMumbai. The Mumbai MetroRail Corporation (MMRC) willin all be using 17 TBMs to con-struct 33.5 km-long twin tunnels.

Of the 17 TBMs beingimported by the state-runMumbai Metropolitan RegionDevelopment Authority (MM-RDA), three have arrived, while13 more TBMs are expected toarrive in the city by February2018. “Of the four TBMs cur-rently in use, three have beenlowered. One of the TBMs beganexcavation work on Friday,” aMMRC spokesperson said.

Senior MMRC officials,including its Managing DirectorAshwini Bhide, were presentwhen the TBM began excavationwork at the tunnel at Nayanagar.To be built entirely underground,the Mumbai Metro Line III willconnect downtown Cuffe Paradein south Mumbai with SantacruzElectronics Export Processing

Zone (SEEPZ) and Aarey local-ity at Goregaon in northMumbai. It will also pass throughthe Domestic and Internationalairports of Mumbai. There willin all be 27 railway stations.

The MMRDA, which is co-ordinating with the MMRC inthe construction of MumbaiMetro Line III, will launch 17TBMs through seven shafts andstart boring the metro tunnelsfrom various points like CuffeParade, Chhatrapati ShivajiMaharaj Terminus, MumbaiCentral, Worli, Bandra KurlaComplex, Mumbai Airport andMarol Naka.

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Friday saw West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee’s

ex-man Mukul Roy — whorecently joined the BJP wit-nessing a “qualitative transfor-mation” in his former boss —dropping one hell of a bomb-shell implicating top Trinamoolleadership in the multi-croreSaradha chit fund scam.

Stopping not just at that healso alleged how some of herrelatives benefited from thenepotism cult unleashed by herGovernment. Appearing in hisfirst public meeting for the BJPRoy dropped a bomb sayinghow one top Trinamool leaderheld a number of meetings withnow jailed Saradha boss

Sudipto Sen.The former Railway

Minister — who finds himselfat the receiving end of policeactions after joining the BJP —stopped short of naming theChief Minister directly butiterated, “I was personally pre-sent in the meeting withSudipto Sen at Dello Bungalow(in Kurseong)” adding, “Manyother meetings were held withthe Sharada chief like the oneat the house of painterSuvaprasanna.” Meetings alsotook place at a Bengali news-paper office, following whichthe ponzi king pin invested lib-erally about �840 crore intourism, media and ambu-lance services.

Incidentally the Oppos-ition parties had earlier com-plained about how ambulanceswere used during the nights tocarry hard cash of the chit fundcompany from Jangal Mahalarea to Sen’s office in Kolkata.

Similar allegations hadbeen made by rebel TrinamoolMP Kunal Ghosh earlier whenhe said, “Mamata Banerjee isthe biggest beneficiary of theSharada chit fund scam.”

The Opposition had also

kicked off a storm whenBanerjee was the RailwayMinister and when Sen used histourism company’s logo along-side that of the Indian Railways’.Her opponents also objected tothe way Sen’s company wasallowed to benefit from RailwayMinistry's “Bharat TeerthaDarshan” scheme.

Much to the chagrin of theBengal ruling outfit Roy com-plained how the State had beenturned into a personal fief of aparticular family where eventhe “FIFA under-17 World Cupwas given to be organised by acompany named BishwaBangla and owned by AbhishekBanerjee (the MP nephew ofMamata Banerjee).”

In a calculated moveBanerjee let State administrationto react through a Secretary whosaid though the Bishwa Banglalogo was created by Banerjeeherself she had given it to beused by the Government and

now the logo was exclusively theState’s property.

Roy also said the juniorBanerjee owned a companythat ran the Trinamool Congr-ess mouthpiece Jago Banglathough he would not reveal asto what cooked up inside. “Ca-mpaign materials, literatures,leaflets, monograms and every-thing are printed by this com-pany,” he said adding even thecommon party members ofthe TMC did not know that.“This is the first installment Ihave given there are manymore files to come in thefuture,” he said.

Attacking the Banerjee forher regular foreign sojourns hesaid “the Marxist patriarchJyoti Basu also had the pen-chant for his London trips buthe kept things within his ownfamily but “here the presentChief Minister takes with hera whole army of officials, politi-cians and media people.”

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Page 10: 4˘˘˝ ˘5 RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. … paints, perfumes, ACs, dish washing machine, washing machine, refrigerators, vacu-um cleaners, cars and two-wheelers, aircraft

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State Bank on Fridayreported a group net of1,840.43 crore for

September quarter, boosted bythe gains from the public offerin its life insurance arm and avery low base when it had apaltry �20.70 crore of profit.

Since the nation's largestlender had merged its fiveassociate banks and BharatiyaMahila Bank from April thisyear, the numbers are notcomparable.

However, on consolidatedbasis, the merged entitywould have made a loss of�557 crore in the same peri-od last fiscal, as the associatebanks had incurred huge loss-es due to higher slippagesafter the RBI's asset qualityreview forcing them to makeadditional provisions.

On standalone basis, netprofit plunged to �1,582 crorefrom �2,538.32 crore a year ago.

In absolute terms, grossbad loans rose to �1,86,114.60crore or 9.83 per cent from

�1,05,782.96 crore or 7.1 percent, while net NPAs rose to�97,896.29 crore or 5.43 percent from �60,013.45 crore or4.19 per cent.

However, on a sequentialbasis, gross NPAs and netNPAs improved a bit to 9.97per cent and 5.97 per cent,respectively. Fresh slippagesstood at �9,026 crore in thereporting quarter.

Commenting on thenumbers, which was lappedup by the market with an over

6 per cent rally, SBI ChairmanRajnish Kumar said, “this is avery satisfying quarter as faras our performance is con-cerned. If you look at ouroperating income, the story isvery strong.”

“Our retail franchise isgiving us tremendous supportin these times and digitaloffering also remains verystrong,” he told reporters on aconcall on his maiden earn-ings presser after assumingoffice last month.

During the reporting quar-

ter, State Bank of India sold itsshares in life insurance businessSBI Life for �5,436 crore.Domestic net interest margindeclined in the quarter to 2.59per cent from 2.98 per cent ayear ago. Net interest incomerose a tad to �18,586 crore from�18,119 crore.

On asset quality, thechairman said “we are capableof handling NPAs and we'llemerge stronger. Just wait for afew more quarters and you willsee improvements”. The watchlist has come down from�24,000 crore to �21,000 crorein the quarter and fresh slip-pages stood at �9,026 crore.

The sl ippage ratiodeclined to 1.85 per centfrom 5.38 per cent in the firstquarter. The bank upgraded�1,113 crore of loans whilerecovered �2,210 crore. Totalprovision rose to �18,418crore from �14,546 crore.

The bank parked a part ofthe IPO proceeds from SBI Lifefor accelerated provisioningtaking its provision coverageratio to 65.10 per cent.

NEW DELHI:Industrial productiongrew at a slower pace of3.8 per cent inSeptember, mainly dueto subdued performanceof the manufacturingsector coupled with con-traction in output ofconsumer durables.

Factory output measured interms of the Index of IndustrialProduction (IIP) rose 5 per centin September 2016 and 4.5 percent in August this year, datareleased by the Central StatisticsOffice (CSO) showed on Friday.According to the data, IIP grewat a meagre 2.5 per cent inApril-September this fiscal com-pared to 5.8 per cent in the firsthalf of 2016-17.

In September, growth in themanufacturing, which accountsfor 77.63 per cent of the index,slowed to 3.4 per cent, from 5.8per cent a year earlier. DuringApril- September, manufacturinggrew at 1.9 per cent, down from

6.1 per cent in thesame period last fiscal.

C o n s u m e rdurable goods outputcontracted by 4.8 percent in September asagainst a growth of10.3 per cent in the pre-vious year. During the

first half of this fiscal, the outputof these goods declined by 1.5 percent as against a growth of 6.9 percent last year. Electricity genera-tion growth slipped to 3.4 per centin September compared to 5.1 percent a year before.

However, mining recordeda growth of 7.9 per cent in themonth under review as againsta contraction of 1.2 per cent ayear ago. According to the use-based classification, growth ratesin September 2017 came in at 6.6per cent for primary goods, 7.4per cent for capital goods, 1.9per cent for intermediate goodsand 0.5 per cent for infrastruc-turegoods compared to the pre-vious year. PNS

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The nine-million tonne mega projectof Hindustan Petroleum Corporation

Limited (HPCL), the Barmer refineryplant in Rajasthan, is on the track and thecompany is expected to complete the pro-ject by March 2022. The State-run oilretailer also plans to invest over �40,000crore in the Barmer project, while over�7,000 crore will be spent initially in thisfinancial year, according to a top officialof the company.

“We have got all the approvals for set-ting up our proposed mega refinery com-plex at Barmer in Rajasthan. As of now,the project is on the track and all the landdeed has been completed and the envi-ronment clearance has been given a go-ahead for the project. As far as non-plantrelated tender activities are concerned, ourteam has already initiated the process andwe expect to complete the project by 2022for the 9-Million Tonne (MT) refinery

plant in barmer,” the offi-cial told The Pioneer.

“As for total invest-ment, we plan to investover �40,000 crore in theproject, where �7,100crore has been planned toinvest in the currentfinancial year,” he added.

Keeping PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’saspiration intact to cut theoil import significantlyand increase the oil out-put capacity in the coun-try, HPCL has been mak-ing its all-out efforts tomeet its demand in thenear future.

However, confirming the develop-ment on the Barmer project, HPCLChairman and Managing Director(CMD) MK Surana said, “TheGovernment approval is already in place

and a land deal has beensigned. Boundary wallconstructions havealready started. The con-figuration part is overand we have startedRFPs for processlicences. In Barmer, weare planning an invest-ment of �43,129 crore,which we are planningto complete in 2022.”

The oil and gasretailer is looking for-ward to expand itsrefineries aggressively inthe near future. HPCLalso informed that pro-ject activities for Vizag

Refinery Modernization project andMumbai Refinery expansion project areon track. “We are expanding the Vizagrefinery from 8.3 MT to 15 MT, expand-ing the Mumbai refinery from 7.5 MT to

9.5 MT, and setting up a new 9-MT refin-ery in Barmer as well,” Surana added.

As far as the Vizag refinery is con-cerned, he further said, “We will be invest-ing �20,000 crore. The two phases of theMumbai refinery will come to the tuneof �8,500 crore. We will invest another�35,000 crore in marketing infrastructure.In total, we are planning about �60,000crore worth of investments.”

When asked about demand of petro-leum products in India, Surana said,“India has the potential to develop as arefining country. In terms of petro-chemicals, demand is growing and ourper capita consumption is very low. Ithink the demand for overall petrole-um products is set to grow at around 4-5 per cent. Considering the populationthat we have, demand will increasebecause of the availability of moneyin the hands of people, greater ten-dency of people to use vehicles thanwhat it used to be.”

NEW DELHI: GST Network onFriday said businesses can nowmake changes to the formsuploaded on the portal to claimtransition credit.

“The facility to revise FormGST TRAN-1 declaration hasbeen introduced on the GSTPortal for taxpayers who hadalready filed it prior toNovember 9, 2017,” GSTN saidin a statement.

Form TRAN-1 declaration isto be filed by persons registeredunder GST law who wish toclaim credit for taxes paid underpre-GST regime. The function-ality to fill the claim form wasprovided on the GSTN portal inAugust 2017.

The Government inSeptember allowed for one-timerevision of TRAN-1. The facili-ty to revise TRAN-1 declarationhas been enabled for taxpayerswho had already filed it, theGSTN statement said. PNS

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Passenger vehicle(PV) sales

declined to 2,79,837units in Octoberfrom 2,80,677 unitsin the same monthlast year, the firstdecline in fourmonths with companies resort-ing to inventory correction,according to the data releasedby the Society of IndianAutomobile Manufacturers(SIAM) on Friday.

Car sales were also down5.32 per cent to 1,84,666 unitslast month as against 1,95,036units in October last year. Thisis also the first decline sinceJune this year when car salesdeclined by 11.24 per cent.

“The festive season couldhave been a lot better but thisis not necessarily a reflectionof market sentiment. It is atemporary blip...The declinein sales is more to do withinventory correction by themanufacturers,” SIAMDirector General VishnuMathur said here.

From July to Septemberthere was inventory build up bymanufacturers at dealershipsahead of the festival purchas-es and in October they havereduced dispatches, he added.

The last drop in PV salesthis year was in June when thedispatches declined by 11.21per cent, Mathur said.

The decline was alsoreflected in the overall vehiclesales across categories, whichstood at 21,62,164 units asagainst 22,01,489 units inOctober 2016, down 1.79 percent. This is the first declinesince January this year.

In the passenger vehiclesegment, Maruti Suzuki Indiaposted a growth of 9.25 percent at 1,35,413 units but thatof Hyundai Motor India wasdown 0.86 per cent at 49,588units. Mahindra & Mahindraalso posted a decline of 5.35 percent at 23,413 units althoughhomegrown rival Tata Motorssaw a growth of 3.22 per centat 18,314 units in October thisyear.

Total two-wheeler salesalso dropped in October by2.76 per cent to 17,50,966 unitscompared to 18,00,668 units inthe year-ago month. This is thefirst decline in the segmentsince February this year.

Motorcycle sales lastmonth also declined by 3.50per cent to 11,04,498 unitscompared to 11,44,512 units inOctober 2016.

Market leader HeroMotoCorp posted domesticsales of 5,40,552 units asagainst 5,61,427 units in theyear-ago month, down 3.72per cent. Rival Bajaj Autosaw its bike sales droppingmarginally to 2,11,553 unitsas against 2,12,997 units inthe same month last year.Honda Motorcycle andScooter India (HMSI) alsosaw its sales dropping by13.77 per cent to 1,44,431units as against 1,67,496 unitsin October 2016.

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NEW DELHI: The EconomicAdvisory Council to the PrimeMinister (EAC-PM) on Fridaymade a case for incentivisingstates for achieving results insectors like health and educa-tion, an official statement said.

The EAC-PM, headed byNiti Aayog Member BibekDebroy, at its meeting tookstock of the prevailing eco-nomic situation and spelt out“a clear road map” for steppingup skill development, job cre-

ation and enhanced resourceinvestment in the social sector- including for health and edu-cation and boosting infra-structure financing.

“It formulated far-reachingrecommendations to guide theevolving framework for theFifteenth Finance Commission,including the incentivisation ofstates for achieving health,education and social inclusionoutcomes,” the release said.

The Council is also evolv-

ing the design of a new‘Economy Tracking Monitor’,linking economic growth indi-cators with social metrics forlast-mile connectivity.

Presentations by expertswere made to the Council onkey themes, including infra-structure financing by Debroy.He underlined the need forinfrastructure financing to beaccorded high priority, withnew mechanisms for a risk cov-erage umbrella.

“The unique feature of thenew Economic AdvisoryCouncil to the Prime Ministeris turning out to be its abilityto link economic growth withsocial aspects, with greaterlast-mile connectivity,” therelease said.

Its “value addition as anindependent institutionalmechanism” for providinginformed advice to the PrimeMinister is increasingly beingrecognised, it added. PTI

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Neymar scored one from the spotand missed another Friday inBrazil's 3-1 win over Japan in a

friendly.The Paris Saint-Germain striker con-

verted his penalty in the ninth minute,sending Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashimathe wrong way, after Fernandinho wasfouled in the box. The referee at PierreMauroy Stadium in Lille used video assis-tance to award the penalty.

Neymar's second penalty attempt did-n't go so smoothly. Hotaru Yamagushi wassanctioned for a clumsy challenge onGabriel Jesus in the 17th, but Kawashimapalmed away Neymar's shot.

Marcelo and Gabriel Jesus also scoredfor the five-time champions, who got allthree goals in the first half. TomoakiMakino scored for Japan in the second half.

Brazil has embarked on a mini-tour ofEurope and will next play England atWembley Stadium next week.

Both Brazil and Japan have qualifiedfor next year's World Cup in Russia.

Despite the missed penalty, Marcelodoubled Brazil's lead in the next minutewith a superb strike into the top left cor-ner following a corner that was poorlycleared. Brazil made it 3-0 after Japan gavethe ball away close to the box. Willianfound Danilo on the right flank with theoutside of his boot and the ManchesterCity defender set up Gabriel Jesus at thefar post with a precise cross.

Japan managed to pull one back froma corner when Makino rose above thedefenders to head past goalkeeper Cassioin the 63rd minute.

���������������"��4#3��������Son Heung-min scored two goalsFriday to lead South Korea overColombia 2-1 in a friendly.

Son, who scored the only goal of the

game last weekend in Tottenham's winover Crystal Palace in the PremierLeague, scored in each half to giveSouth Korea coach Shin Tae-yong his firstvictory since being appointed in July.

Cristian Zapata pulled a late goalback for Colombia with a header from afree kick by James Rodriguez.

Both teams have qualified for nextyear's World Cup in Russia, but both havebeen struggling lately.

South Korea had previously won onlyone of eight matches in 2017, whileColombia hasn't won in five straightgames.

������2����"��"�(��������������� Since arriving in NewZealand for their World Cup playoff,Peru's players have responded cautious-ly and patiently to the same question. Notabout who might play on Saturday, but

who will not.Paolo Guerrero, Peru's captain and

leading scorer, is missing while provi-sionally suspended for failing a dopingtest following the World Cup qualifieragainst Argentina.

The absence of striker Guerrero is thebiggest setback Peru faces as it attemptsthrough home-and-away playoff match-es against New Zealand to qualify for theWorld Cup for the first time in 35 years.

There are also the formidable obsta-cles of travel, time zones and climatewhich make the match against No.122nd-ranked New Zealand more diffi-cult than it might have been for 10th-ranked Peru.

Peru's players have tried techniquesof sleep deprivation to quickly acclima-tize to a new time zone and have paddedthemselves lavishly against New Zealand'sstrong winds and cool temperatures.

But Guerrero's absence has been therecurring theme. He scored six times inSouth American qualifiers and led histeam to fifth place. Peru's football asso-ciation will challenge his suspension withthe Court of Arbitration for Sport inSwitzerland and, if successful, will havehim for the return leg in Lima on Nov.16.

For now, the South Americans havedone their best to treat persistent ques-tions about their captain with respect butindifference.

Edison Flores, whose partnershipwith Andre Carrillo is one of the team'sstrengths, is hopeful the Guerrero-sizegap will be filled by a player he is notnaming.

"It will be someone who has all ourconfidence and characteristics similar tothose of Paolo," Flores said. "We just haveto wait for him to adapt to the work sothat he does it in the best way."

New Zealand coach AnthonyHudson has said Guerrero is "irreplace-able," taking a neat opportunity to high-light Peru's problem.

"I don't really think they have any-one that is a physical presence like himand who can play the type of game theylike to play with him in the team,"

Hudson said.But he makes a concession."Attacking midfielders, the two who

sit in behind whoever plays up front ...they're all quality players. Where peoplesay (Peru goes) direct to Guerrero, theyactually play a lot through (Christian)Cueva and Flores and (Yoshimar) Yotun.They've got some very good playersthrough the middle."

Flores, based in Denmark, is one ofthose players and part of a new genera-tion.

The older generation is representedby 36-year-old New Zealand strikerShane Smeltz and 33-year old Peru for-ward Jefferson Farfan, both in their lastWorld Cup cycles. Smeltz played for NewZealand at the 2010 World Cup in SouthAfrica but Farfan has never had thatexperience, which adds urgency to hispersonal quest in Saturday's match.

Smeltz knows the opportunity to playin football's showpiece will never comeagain for him.

"It certainly adds to the occasion, Ithink, knowing that this is definitely orprobably my last," Smeltz said. "It wouldcertainly be a fairytale to get to anotherWorld Cup.

"I think it's just as exciting, thepressure, the intensity, as it was the firsttime."

Neither Farfan nor Smeltz have fullyrealized their youthful potential. Smeltzhas played 58 games for New Zealandwithout matching his young promise andFarfan, whose talent was first recognizedat 14, first played for Peru at 19. Now atLokomotiv Moscow and after 75 caps, theinconsistent Farfan remains a contentiousfigure in Peru.

But his greatest endorsement mayhave come from the absent Guerrero,who said come the World Cup playoffs"Farfan will be playing. He is needed inthe team."

��� J%7C42

Croatia took a decisive step towardWorld Cup qualification on

Thursday, overwhelming Greece for a 4-1 victory in the first leg of their playoff.

Captain Luka Modric, whose recentform for Real Madrid had been criticizedin Spain, opened the scoring from thepenalty spot in the 13th minute - beforeleaping into the air in celebration.

Italian referee Gianluca Rocchiawarded the penalty after Greece goal-keeper Orestis Karnezis failed to controlthe ball and fouled Nikola Kalinic witha poorly judged clearance.

Kalinic added another goal six min-utes later, flicking in a cross from IvanStrinic with the side of his foot.

Greece struggled to regain compo-sure and rarely attacked, but SokratisPapastathopoulos briefly silenced thehome crowd, sending a header over keep-er Danijel Subasic and into the net.

However, relief for the visitors wasshort lived. Ivan Perisic headed in a crossfrom Sime Vrsaljko in the 33nd minuteas the Croats dominated both wings.

The fourth goal came four minutesafter the break from Andrej Kramaric,swooping in after another Greek error, byKostas Stafylidis.

As fans and players celebrated atZagreb's Maksimir Stadium, Croatiacoach Zlatko Dalic highlighted the sec-ond leg on Sunday. "We had a tremen-dous game. I've thanked the players andthe fans who made us feel like we had anextra man on the pitch," Dalic said. "Butit's not over. This was the first game.

"Our aim tonight was to pressureGreece down the wings, and that worked.We had a lapse in concentration and con-ceded a goal, but I can't really complain."

Over 90 minutes, the Croats domi-

nated possession and had nine shots ongoal compared to Greece's three.

"It was a very difficult night for us ...We have never made so many mistakesin one game," Papastathopoulos said. "Ofcourse Croatia has the upper hand now.They have a 90 percent chance of goingthrough."

����F�"���2�����"���"��"����2������ Northern Ireland defenderJonny Evans thinks the contentiouspenalty awarded for handball during histeam's 1-0 loss to Switzerland onThursday was "a worse decision" than theThierry Henry handball which deprivedneighboring Republic of Ireland a spotat the 2010 World Cup.

A volley by Xherdan Shaqiri struckthe shoulder of Evans' brother Corey asthe Northern Ireland midfielder attempt-ed to block the shot. Romanian refereeOvidiu Hategan pointed to the spot,sparking angry protests from the

Northern Ireland players. RicardoRodriguez duly converted in the 58thminute for an away goal that putSwitzerland in good position going intothe return leg of qualifying for its fourthconsecutive World Cup.

In 2009, striker Thierry Henry'sinfamous and deliberate handball set upthe goal that sent France to the 2010World Cup at the expense of the Republicof Ireland.

Evans thinks the call in Belfast wasworse. "It's a worse decision because thereferee has actually made a call," Evanssaid. "It's different if he didn't see it, (but)he's claiming that he did see somethingthat didn't happen, and that's the hard-est bit to take. It's strange because I hada feeling the referee knew that he hadmade a wrong decision and I'm sure hewas getting feed information throughoutthe game and he could tell with every-body else's reaction that maybe he hadmade the wrong call."

����-(-2%�

The new head coaches of Indian SuperLeague sides FC Goa and Chennaiyin

FC on Friday expressed hope that theywould be able to replicate the achievementsof the two World Cup-winning footballlegends-turned coaches Zico and MarcoMatterazi.

"Substituting a legend like Zico ascoach is a pleasure for me. Everyone knowshis skills as a player and coach," said FCGoa's head coach Sergio Lobera of Spain.

"We have put together a team fromscratch. I will introduce my philosophy.Winning is important, but so is the needto focus on style. We will play the shortpassing game," said Lobera.

Goa had finished runner-up toChennaiyin FC in season 2 of ISL that hadeight teams. This season two more teamshave been added — Bengaluru FC andJamshedpur FC.

"A lot is expected of us, champions inyear two and semi-finalist in the first.Marco Matterazi is a tough act to follow,he's left a big legacy," said Gregory.

"This year we don't have a marquee

player but I still expect a successful season.The least we should be looking for is a play-off position," he added.

Head coach of two-time I-Leaguechampions Bengaluru FC, Albert Roca,denied he was under any pressure to deliv-er the goods in the club's debut year in ISL.

"We are not under pressure but it's anew challenge. We need to be humble aswe are new. Players are wary of the com-petition," said Spaniard Roca.

"After AFC Cup semi finals we havehad lot of injuries but we are ready for ISL.All the teams in ISL are of almost equalstrength," he said.

About the longer duration of the ISL— four months compared to two in thefirst three seasons — Roca said it stillresembled a sprint as compared to leaguesthat last for 8-9 months. "It's a longer leaguenow, but I am used to leagues lasting 8-9months. It's like a sprint in athletics, every-one is concerned about it (players' recov-ery time from injuries)," he remarked.

Bengaluru FC defender John Johnsonsaid his team held a slight edge as it hadthe chance to blend for a longer period of time.

���� 7(C(7C%-

Vani Kapoor put on a fine show as she finishedthe opening day at tied-4th place in the 11th

Hero Women's Indian Open at the DLF Golf andCountry Club here.

Vani, who is playing her seventh Women'sIndian Open but fifth as a pro, used her courseknowledge to come back from being two-over afterfive holes to finish with 69.

She had six birdies against three bogeys and wasplaced tied-4th along with five others.

Vani was two shots behind leader NorwegianMarianne Skarpnord, who also had six birdies butonly one bogey, the result of a three-putt on fifth,in her first competitive round at the Gary Playerlayout.

Sharing the second place were CamilleChevalier and England's Liz Young, who shot four-under 68 each. Chevalier had five birdies againstone bogey, while Young had six birdies against twobogeys.

Vani was tiedfourth with MeghanMacLaren, KlaraSpilkova, Olivia Cowan,Karolin Lampert andK a n p h a n i t n a nMuangkhumsakul.

Just behind themwas defending champi-on Aditi Ashok (70)and local DLF golfer,Gaurika Bishnoi, who isalso the Order of Meritleader on the local HeroWomen's Pro Golf Tour.

Among otherIndians, SaaniyaSharma (73) was tied-41st, while GursimarBadwal (74) was tied-54th. However,Amandeep Drall (77),Smriti Mehra (78) andSharmila Nicollet (79)had a disappointing firstday.

���"��������������"������96��!� �� (�"��� +��D�(�-� Anirban Lahiriopened with a steady four-under 67 to remain tied11th after the first round of the OHL Classic atMayakoba.

Lahiri, who is coming off three Top-10s in hislast four starts, had four birdies and an eagle againsttwo bogeys in the round.

Lahiri, who plans to close for the year after thisyear, is currently 29th on the FedExCup list and 60thin World rankings.

He started with a bogey, but quickly made upwith a birdie on third and on the fifth, he landedan eagle that took him to two-under.

Another birdie on eighth saw him turn in three-under. On the back nine, he birdied 11th and 17th,but bogeyed 14th.

Patton Kizzire carried some momentum fromlast week in Las Vegas by running off six straightbirdies in the middle of his round Thursday for acareer-low 9-under 62 and a two-shot lead.

Rickie Fowler, playing for the first time sincethe Presidents Cup showed no rust in opening witha 65. Kizzire closed with a 64 last Sunday in LasVegas to tie for fourth. Vaughn Taylor played bogey-free for a 64.

Brandon Harkins, a 31-year-old PGA TOURrookie, joined Fowler at 65, while two-timeRetief Goosen was in the group at 66.

Sean Jacklin, the grandson of British Openand U.S. Open champion Tony Jacklin, qualifiedMonday and shot 71 in his f irst PGA TOUR event.

���-�.)�

CoCo Vandeweghe will play in theopening match of the Fed Cup final

on Saturday when the United States takeson Belarus looking for its record 18th titlein the competition.

The 10th-ranked Vandeweghe wasdrawn to face Aliaksandra Sasnovich inthe first singles match. US Open cham-pion Sloane Stephens will then playAryna Sabalenka.

"You play a match, you win, you lose,"Vandeweghe said Friday. "You just try yourbest. Doesn't matter if I play first, second,not at all. I'm out here for these girls (herteammates), to compete as hard as I can."

On Sunday, Vandeweghe will go upagainst Sabelnka, and Stephens will meetSasnovich. In doubles, the final match ofthe best-of-five series, Alison Riske andShelby Rogers will play for the UnitedStates against Vera Lapko and LidzlyaMarozova.

Stephens, who retired from a matchwith a knee injury in China last week, saidshe is ready to play on the indoor hardcourt.

"Really looking forward to gettingback on the court," the 13th-rankedStephens said. "I'm excited to be here for

a final. Just hoping to have a great week-end."

The Americans won their 17th FedCup title in 2000, with Billie Jean King ascaptain. Since then, they have played inthree finals — 2003, 2009, 2010 — but lostall of them. Belarus is playing in the FedCup final for the first time.

Kathy Rinaldi, in her first season asUnited States captain, is trying to becomethe first woman since King to lead a win-

ning Fed Cup squad."We know we're going to have a very

competitive weekend," Rinaldi said. "Welook forward to it. We're here to win. We'rehere to compete. We're going to put ourbest foot forward. We're going to have eachother's backs and compete as a really tight-knit team."

Friday's draw ceremony was present-ed with a nod to traditional Belarusian cul-ture. There was an archer who perfectly

placed an arrow through a tennis ball,which contained Sasnovich's name, todetermine the order of play. The officialphotos featured all the competitors hold-ing swords. And two men dressed in old-fashioned knight's attire greeted drawattendees on horseback outside the MinskCity Hall.

���������"������2������"��Sloane Stephens is back in the United

States team for the Fed Cup final, andVictoria Azarenka is missing for Belarus.

That alone gives the early advantageto the Americans.

Stephens, who won the US Open thisyear for her first major title, missed theopening two rounds of the internationalteam competition because of a foot injury.But she is back and will be playing along-side CoCo Vandeweghe, Shelby Rogersand Alison Riske in the best-of-five seriesthis weekend in Minsk.

"I'm happy to be back playing andhappy the team made the finals," the13th-ranked Stephens said Wednesday."It's awesome I can be on this team."

Stephens hasn't played in the FedCup since the 2016 quarterfinals, but shesaid it's been "no problem at all" slippingback onto the squad.

"Obviously, I've known these girlssince I was 12-13 years old, so we're allreally good friends," Stephens said. "It'seasy to be with girls you like, girls youhave fun with and girls you've beenaround for a really long time."

Stephens didn't play from the 2016Olympics through Wimbledon in 2017and underwent foot surgery during thatperiod. She arrived in Minsk after notwinning any of the four matches she'splayed since her surprise U.S. Open vic-tory. She retired with a knee injury fromher last match against Barbora Strycovain China last week.

Vandeweghe, in her first week at acareer-high No 10 ranking, won two FedCup singles points against Germany inthe quarterfinals, and two singles andthe doubles points against the CzechRepublic in the semifinals.

But the US Open semifinalist saidshe knows very little about this week-end's competition, having never playedAryna Sabalenka, AliaksandraSasnovich, Vera Lapko or LidziyaMarozava.

Azarenka, a two-time AustralianOpen champion, is not playing in thefinal because of an ongoing custody dis-pute with the father of her infant son.

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Chasing an elusive dream of winning theirfirst cricket Test in India, Sri Lanka willbegin their gruelling tour with a two-day

tour fixture against a depleted BoardPresident's XI here on Saturday.

Sri Lanka who will play their first Test inIndia since 2009-10 have a forgettable recordin the country as they are yet to win from 16appearances and have suffered 10 defeats intheir head-to-head record spanning 1982-2017.

It's an improbable task for skipper DineshChandimal who will play his maiden Test inIndia and would bank upon the experience ofAngelo Mathews and Rangana Herath the onlytwo members who were part of their sidewhich suffered 0-2 defeat seven years back.

Having suffered a 0-9 humiliation athome across three formats, the Islanders arehere in India in a gap of two months but witha confidence-boosting surprise 2-0 Test serieswin over Pakistan in UAE last month.

The Lankans will play three Tests and asmany ODIs and T20Is in the long series con-cluding in Mumbai on December 24.

Chandimal and Co. Will hope to start wellagainst a third-string Board's side led by SanjuSamson.

The match is scheduled at the JadavpurUniversity second campus ground, the deck ofwhich primarily supports seam bowling.

Giving importance to the Ranji Trophy, theBoard has opted for a third-string outfit pri-marily comprising of players from --Hyderabad, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh andPunjab who are not featuring in the ongoingfifth round of the domestic tournament.

In such a scenario, it will hardly give theIslanders a perfect build up. For Sri Lanka thespotlight will be on former captain and ace all-rounder Mathews who will make a return aftermissing the entire series against Pakistan.

Having recovered from a calf muscleinjury, Mathews was in full flow in their firstpractice here as he will look to get into rhythmahead of the first Test at Eden Gardens fromNovember 16-20.

Having bagged 16 wickets against Pakistan,senior-most spinner Rangana Herath willeye a rich haul here as he will lead the spin

department.Giving the 39-year-old company will be

left-arm chinaman Lakshan Sandakan whobagged a five-wicket haul against India inPallekele in their third and final Test in August.

Fresh from his 93 and 196 against Pakistan,left-handed opener Dimuth Karunaratne willlook to continue from where he left in AbuDhabi as they will also bank heavily on skip-per Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella in bat-

ting department.Chandimal also has a century against

Pakistan while Dickwella was their thirdleading run-getter in Abu Dhabi with two half-centuries.

The Board squad has in-form Punjabyoungster Anmolpreet Singh, who scored acareer-best 267 in the last round Ranji Trophymatch against Chhattisgarh. He was drafted inafter Naman Ojha, who was originally named

captain, was ruled out due to an injury.Punjab opener Jiwanjot Singh, who led

their side against Himachal Pradesh in absenceof Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh, too findsa place in the team.

There's also Punjab batsman AbhishekGupta, who scored a double century in hisfirst-class debut in the season opener againstHimachal Pradesh.

B Sandeep, Tanmay Agarwal and RohanPrem are the other members in the battingdepartment.

The pace department consists of SandeepWarrier from Kerala and Avesh Khan from

Madhya Pradesh.MP all-rounder Jalaj Saxena, who

now plays for Kerala, will lead the spindepartment, assisted by Hyderabad's

leg-spinner Akash Bhandari in thesquad, coached by former wrist

spinner Narendra Hirwani.

����������"2������Aware of the challenge that

the Indian spinners are likely topose in the Test series, the Sri

Lankan batsmen today focused ontackling the turning ball ahead of their

warm-up against Board President's XI hereon Saturday.

Left-arm chinaman Lakshan Sandakan,who bagged a five- wicket haul against Indiain Pallekele in August, was the busiest man atthe nets as he kept the batsmen guessing withhis variations.

Giving him company was senior mostspinner Rangana Herath, who not onlyrolled his arm but also gave invaluable tips tothe young attack. A vital cog in their bowlingline-up, the 39-year-old also padded up andbatted in the second lot alongside skipperDinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews.

In the first lot, Dimuth Karunaratne bat-ted with Sadeera Samarawickrama and vice-captain Lahiru Thirimanne.

Former captain and all-rounder Mathews,who will return after missing the entire seriesagainst Pakistan last month, looked in full flowin a long session. Three of their players —uncapped batsman Roshen Silva, all-roundersDilruwan Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva —skipped practice.

���� �E1�%!%

For Rangana Herath, the two-day game against Board

President's XI may be a warm-up game but for home teamskipper Sanju Samson, it is anopportunity to gain experienceof facing one of the best spinnersin world cricket.

"He (Herath) is a very expe-rienced cricketer. It is a practicematch for him but for us it's agreat opportunity to face him.He is one of the greatest spinnersSri Lanka have ever seen. He isone of the legends and to gothere and play against him willbe a great experience," Samsontold reporters ahead of thegame.

The BCCI has opted for athird-string side giving chanceto the players, who are notplaying in the ongoing fifthround Ranji Trophy for thetour-match at JadavpurUniversity second campus

ground in Saltlake.Sending a clear message to

his team, Samson said: "It is apractice match for them but it'snot a practice match for us. Wewill be looking forward to beatthem in the coming match onSaturday. We are lucky to get agood opportunity in this gap."

For Samson, this is anopportunity to make a statementto national selectors with a solidperformance. "Each and everyindividual in the team has puthis heart together for past manyyears to perform at this level. It'sjust a one match but it's a greatopportunity for each and every-one of us. We should look thisas a great platform to performand give everyone a chanceand succeed."

Samson will lead the side onhis 23rd birthday. "I have ledKerala for a season and I am upfor the challenge. We will havea team strategy," he said on theeve of his birthday. "All of usknow each other well as we havebeen playing domestic matchesfor many seasons. We haveplayed against and together."

The Board President XIcaptain however conceded thatthey have not done much plan-ning against the touring sidewho have a lot of youngsters intheir ranks. "They are a qualityTest side with a lot of talentedand experienced players. Theyhave a lot of new guys in theirteam. We will take some timeand see, we did not have enoughtime to plan," he concluded.

���� .45*416�

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandyawas on Saturday rested from the

first two Test matches against SriLanka with the BCCI citing "heavyworkload" as the reason despite hisselection in the squad initially.

The selectors did not name anyreplacement for Pandya and theBCCI media release did not clarifywhether he has sustained injury orit is workload-related issue.

Pandya was in pain trying tostop a powerful hit off his ownbowling during the final T20International against New Zealandin Thiruvananthapuram. Henonetheless completed his over.

"The All-India Senior SelectionCommittee in consultation withthe Indian team management hasdecided to rest all- rounder HardikPandya for the upcoming PaytmTest series against Sri Lanka. MrPandya was named in the squad forthe first two Tests.

"Considering Pandya's heavyrecent workload, the decision wasmade to negate any possibility of amajor injury concern. Pandya willundergo a period of strength andconditioning at the National CricketAcademy in Bengaluru," the BCCIrelease stated.

Since the start of ChampionsTrophy in June, Pandya has playedthree Tests, 22 ODIs and five T20Internationals -- second only toskipper Virat Kohli in terms of firstXI appearances.

The question that has not beenanswered is why the selectors didnot rest Pandya prior to the Testsquad selection knowing fully wellwhat his workload is.

When PTI contacted chairmanof selectors MSK Prasad, he refusedto comment citing protocol.

With Sri Lanka not the mostpowerful team, Indian team man-agement is likely to go in with allthree specialist spinners inRavichandran Ashwin, RavindraJadeja and Kuldeep Yadav as the all-rounder may not be necessary.

Pandya had a memorable Testdebut in Sri Lanka where he scored178 runs, including a century anda half-century on debut.

�I���Virat Kohli (Captain), KL Rahul,

M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan,Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane(Vice-Captain), Rohit Sharma,Wriddhiman Saha (WK), R Ashwin,Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav,Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav,Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma.

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All-rounder Stuart Binny scored a scintil-lating century while Shreyas Gopal hit a

splendid 92 as Karnataka put on a massive649 in their first innings against Delhi on thesecond day of a Ranji Trophy Group A matchhere.

At the close of play, Delhi were 20 with-out loss in five overs with openers UnmuktChand and skipper Gautam Gambhir battingon 8 and 12, respectively.

Karnataka resumed the day on 348 forfour with Binny, starting at his overnight scoreof 14, hammered 72 runs in only boundariesduring his brilliant knock of 118 runs off 155deliveries.

But another overnight batsman MayankAgarwal was run out after adding just sevenruns to his Thursday night's score of 169.

After Agarwal's departure, Binny adopt-ed an aggressive approach and scored runsquickly in the able company of wicketkeep-er-batsman CM Gautam, who also chippedin with an important 46 off 81 balls with eightboundaries. Shreyas Gopal though missed outon a century by just eight runs, he played aresponsible 165-ball 92 that was studded with11 fours and a six.

"�������!3;4��������"2���������!���� A career-best 182 by SanjayRamaswamy put Vidarbha in the driver's seatas Bengal trailed by 410 runs in their RanjiTrophy group D fixture at the Bengal CricketAcademy ground here on Friday.

Resuming his innings on 117 withVidarbha at 285 for one, Ramaswamy got past

his previous best of 161, scored in their sea-son opener against Punjab. Along withAditya Sarwate (89), Ramaswamy helpedthem reach a mammoth 499 in their firstinnings.

Bengal replied shakily as they were 89 forthree with skipper Manoj Tiwary (36 batting)and Kanishk Seth (1 batting) at stumps on daytwo, still 260 runs shy of avoiding follow- on.

�����"���"H���������"�(�"���J�50;(����(��Riding on centuries by B Aparajithand all-rounder Vijay Shankar, Tamil Nadupiled up 530 for 8 and declared their firstinnings on the second day of their Group 'C'Ranji Trophy cricket match here on Friday.

The hosts reached 36 for no loss at drawof stumps.

���� .45*416�

PSPB grandmaster Lalith Babu,with nine points, was crowned

as the National Premier ChessChampion, thanks to Odisha'sgrandmaster Debashis Das' vic-tory over other title seekerAravindh Chithambaram of TamilNadu in the Khadi India NationalPremier Chess Championship,organised by All Bihar ChessAssociation at Lemon Tree Hotel,Patna on Friday.

Irrespective of the loss,Aravindh scored 8.5 points toremain status quo in ranking —the runner up spot he secured bylosing the final round to RRLaxmanin in 2016. Defendingchampion Karthikeyan couldmuster only the third positionwith 7.5 points. Debashis and SLNarayanan of Kerala were placedfourth and fifth with same num-ber of points.

Aravindh's preference ofKings Indian defence was not ben-eficial to him, as Debashis attaineda good positional advantage on12th move itself. To add to the

woes, Aravindh's bad move of Ne5on 18th move, for which he con-sumed just 18 seconds, gifted awinning position to his opponent.When Debashis' c6- pawnattacked Aravindh's bishop, thelatter's ploy of attacking the queennot only failed miserably, but alsoproved to be fatal. Debashisdemolished Aravindh in just 28moves.

In an equal position arisingout of the Catalan opening, LalithBabu surprised everybody byallowing GM Swapnil Dhopade torepeat the moves and get awaywith a draw claim in just 14moves, shortest in terms of bothmoves and time. Later, the muchrelieved and elated Lalith admit-ted that the pressure on him wastoo much and he boldly took therisk of splitting the point.

The splendid performance ofRailways international masterArghyadip Das took a back seat inthe final round, when he lost toformer national champion AbhijitKunte of PSPB. After castling onthe queen side, Arghyadip gave uphis bishop for a compensation of

three pawns. His another knightsacrifice was unwarranted andAbhijit won in a relaxed mannerwith plenty of pieces in his kitty.

SL Narayanan of Kerala gotthe better of S Nitin of Railwaysin the Rubinstein variation of fourknights game in 55 moves. Untilmove 41, the game predicted a

draw. The course of the gamechanged, once Narayanan com-bined his queen and knight tomake an assault on Nitin's king.Failing to safeguard his knight andking, Nitin resigned.

In the clash between the tailenders GM Himanshu Sharma ofRailways and Sammed Shete of

Maharashtra, Himanshu broughta halt to his dry spell, by long wait-ed first win in the tournament. Inthe Fianchetto variation ofGrunfeld defence, Himanshu wasin his elements during a series ofexchanges in the middle game,finally fetching him an extraminor piece. Sammed resigned on

the 47th move. Defending champion

Karthikeyan Murali of TamilNadu underperformed in the sec-ond half of the tournament andthe final round was no exception.He conceded a draw to the nation-al blitz champion RR Laxman ofRailways in a Reti opening gamein mere 30 moves, without anyfight. In an English opening,Railways teammates InternationalMaster P Shyaamnikhil and GMDeepan Chakkravarthy quicklysettled for a draw in 26 moves.Though White had a slightly bet-ter position, Shyaam could notconvert it to a winning advantage.

Ajay Kumar Tripathy, Justice,Patna High Court was the chiefguest and Bharat Singh Chauhan,Hon, Secretary, All India ChessFederation, former national cham-pions GM Dibyendu Barua andGM Pravin Thipsay were theguest of honours, together with thepresident of the OrganisingCommittee RR Laxmanan,Rakesh Prasad, General Managerof NTPC, and Sangita Kumari,Regional Director of Khadi India.

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